ABCNews.com(WASHINGTON) -- The Department of Veterans Affairs is updating how it stores veterans' electronic health records by adopting the same record-keeping system as the Department of Defense.



The adoption of the same system between VA and DOD is going to allow all patient data to reside in a common system so you will have the seamless link between the departments without the manual or electronic exchange of information, VA Secretary David Shulkin told reporters Monday.



Shulkin said the move will ultimately allow the VA to deliver better, more efficient care to veterans.



"Having an electronic health record that can follow a veteran during the course of his health and treatment is one of the most important things I believe you can do to ensure the safety and the health and wellbeing of a veteran. So that's why this is so important," he said.



Shulkin credited President Donald Trump's leadership with the difference thats allowed the VA to move forward with this decision months into the new administration.



While in the last administration we considered this and we looked at a number of things, I think it really was this administration and the president's mandate to do business differently that allowed us to move forward with this type of speed, he said.



Congress needs to approve the costs associated with adopting the new records keeping system. Shulkin expressed optimism that the move would gain the needed support.



"We've already begun to engage, starting today, with the appropriations leadership in both the Senate and the House. And I will tell you that this is something that Congress has been asking for. I believe that they will support this," he said.

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Aamir Khan rocks the nose pin on the sets of Thugs of Hindostan in Malta.

Aamir Khan with a crew member on the set of Thugs of Hindostan

By India Today Web Desk: Aamir Khan is on cloud nine, thanks to the box-office success of Dangal in China. He is currently shooting for Thugs of Hindostan in Malta, a country in Europe.

A photo of Aamir Khan's look from Thugs of Hindostan, with a curly hairdo, a handlebar moustache and a nose pin has gone viral on social media.

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In the picture, the Dangal star is seen with a crew member.

Mr Perfectionist is known for his dramatic physical transformations for his roles. He took us all by surprise with his look for Dangal too.

He is sporting a completely new and interesting look for Thugs of Hindostan. A picture from the Vijay Krishna Acharya-directed film hit the web sometime back, where Aamir is seen with a beard, a handlebar moustache and a turban.

Thugs of Hindostan is reportedly an adaptation of the novel, Confessions of A Thug written by Philip Meadows Taylor.

The movie, which stars some of the big Bollywood names like Amitabh Bachchan, Katrina Kaif, Jackie Shroff along with Aamir, is slated to release on Diwali 2018.

Meanwhile, Aamir Khan's Dangal is breaking all box-office records, with huge collection in China. The film has crossed Rs 1000 crore in China alone.

ALSO READ: Aamir Khan receives Deenananth Mangeshkar Award for Dangal

ALSO READ: Aamir Khan to get 70 per cent of Thugs of Hindostan's profit?

ALSO WATCH | Dangal's Dhaakad review: Aamir Khan's song is impactful and electrifying

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Snowy Range Summer Theatre Presents The Fantasticks at UW

UW Department of Theatre and Dance students Hannah Kipp and Andrew Thornton rehearse a scene from the musical The Fantasticks. The UW production will run June 15-17 and June 23-24 at 7:30 p.m., and at 2 p.m. June 25 in the Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts Thrust Theatre. (Donald P. Turner Photo)

A sunny, funny musical about love ushers in the 64th year of the Snowy Range Summer Theatre season during a two-weekend period later this month.

Presented by the University of Wyoming Department of Theatre and Dance, the 2017 summer season features The Fantasticks, a family-friendly, funny and romantic musical about a boy, a girl, two meddling parents and a wall.

Directed by Assistant Professor Kevin Inouye, The Fantasticks runs June 15-17 and June 23-24 at 7:30 p.m., and also at 2 p.m. June 25 in the Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts Thrust Theatre.

Tickets are $10 for the public and $7 for students, senior citizens and children over the age of 5. Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more. For tickets and information, call (307) 766-6666 or go online at www.uwyo.edu/finearts.

Called "the perfect musical" by the Wall Street Journal, The Fantasticks has enchanted audiences all over the world since Dwight Eisenhowers presidency. Each generation, from bobby-soxers to flower children to Gen Xers to cyberkids, has embraced its universality.

The Fanstasticks is a charming and deceptively simple little story, Inouye says. Its innocent yet wise, honest yet steeped in theatrical pretense, and, for many of us, it reminds us of earlier times in our lives.

The Fantasticks began as a summer theater production at Barnard College by Tom Jones (book/lyrics) and Harvey Schmidt (music). The production opened off-Broadway, opening at the Sullivan Street Playhouse in May 1960, and went on to become the longest-running production in the history of the American stage, and one of the most frequently produced musicals in the world.

The story begins when the narrator, El Gallo, asks audience members to use their imagination and follow him into a world of moonlight and magic, where a starry-eyed boy and the girl next door fall in love, grow apart and, finally, find their way back to each other after realizing the truth in El Gallos words that without a hurt, the heart is hollow.

The famous score, which includes the classic songs Try to Remember, They Were You and Soon Its Gonna Rain, is as timeless as the story itself.

A host of well-known actors have played in different productions of the show, including Jerry Orbach, F. Murray Abraham, David Canary, Ricardo Montalban, Elliott Gould, Liza Minnelli, Glenn Close, Richard Chamberlain, John Carradine and Ed Ames.

During its original run, The Fantasticks logged a record-breaking 17,162 performances, before closing in 2002. A revival opened in 2006 at The Theater Center in New York City, directed by Tom Jones; the beloved musical has recently reached an unsurpassed 21,000 performances.

This was one of the first shows I did as an actor in high school, and its been a pleasure to return to it now with my first time directing a musical, surrounded by our eminently capable collaborators and cast, Inouye says. Pack your imagination and join us on a journey through youth, love and wisdom through the power of pure theater.

The Fantasticks will embark on a tour to four different Wyoming communities from June 18-21, sponsored by the Department of Theatre and Dance, in conjunction with UW Fine Arts Outreach.

The 2017 Snowy Range Summer Theatre production of The Fantasticks features actors Justen Glover, Hannah Kipp, Andrew Thornton, Sean Stone, Brikai Cordova, Dustin Petrillo and Daniel Daigle, with musical direction by Sean Stone. The musical will be accompanied by pianist Cheng Weng.
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By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Jun 6 (PTI) Adani Enterprises today said Adani Green Energy Ltd is no longer its subsidiary as its stake has been diluted below 50 per cent in the arm.

"...pursuant to the allotment of further equity shares by Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL), the companys stake in AGEL has been diluted below 50 per cent.

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"Consequently, AGEL ceased to be a subsidiary of the company from June 6, 2017," Adani Enterprises Ltd said in a statement. PTI KKS ABM

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Afghanistan officials believe explosives were hidden in a motorcycle left in a parking area outside the Jama Masjid, a large mosque dating from the 12th century, known for its intricate blue tiles.

By Reuters: A suspected bomb outside a mosque in the Afghan city of Herat killed at least seven people and wounded 15 on Tuesday, police said, the latest casualties in a particularly bloody week in Afghanistan.

Officials in the western city believe explosives were hidden in a motorcycle left in a parking area outside the Jama Masjid, a large mosque dating from the 12th century, known for its intricate blue tiles.

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Abdul Ahad Walizada, spokesman for Herat police, said at least seven people were killed and 15 wounded as they made their way to the mosque for prayers.

Near the border with Iran, Herat is one of Afghanistan's largest cities.

The attack came after a spate of violence in Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, where on Wednesday more than 150 people were killed and hundreds wounded in a suicide truck-bomb attack.

Several protesters were killed in clashes with police on Friday at the bomb site, and at least a dozen people were killed when suicide bombers attacked the funeral for one of the dead protesters on Saturday.

Also Read:

Grenade attack on Indian envoy's residential compound in Kabul, all safe

Pakistan's ISI behind Kabul truck bomb blast: Afghanistan govt to India Today

WATCH: Kabul blast: India Today accesses visuals of moment when truck exploded

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Several policemen were injured while trying to control the violence in Mehra Naharganj village of Agra.

Police at the scene of violence in the Agra village. Photo credit: Kamir.

By Siraj Qureshi: Violence erupted in the Mehra Naharganj village of Dauki area in Agra following the murder of a BJP leader. An angry mob attacked a police jeep, dragged the accused out of it and beat him to death.

Several policemen were injured while trying to control the violence in the area on Monday evening. Some angry villagers reportedly fired at the police.

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The mob also torched a police jeep and the vehicle used by the alleged assailants before pushing it into the Yamuna river.

According to sources in the police, BJP leader Nathuram Verma had an old enmity with the alleged assailant Sudhir, a resident of Barauli Gujar village.

The two had started talking to each other recently but had a war of words over some issue following which the BJP leader was allegedly killed.

Agra BJP district president Shyam Bhadoriya, however, said that Nathuram Verma did not have any links with the party and was not a member of the BJP.

HOW IT ALL STARTED

When Nathuram Verma was shot, the villagers reportedly saw two people--Sudhir and Samar--running away from the spot. The duo was soon surrounded by villagers. The two men claimed that the BJP leader was gunned down by some robbers and they were fleeing the spot to save themselves.

The villagers doubted their version and called up the police. Sudhir and Samar were taken into police custody and were seated in a police jeep when an angry mob pulled Sudhir out of the jeep and beat him to death.

After killing Sudhir, the mob tried to pull Samar out of the jeep but the police managed to save him. With the violence spiralling out of control, extra force from seven police stations was rushed to the spot, and the situation was finally brought under control by night.

Agra District Magistrate Gaurav Dayal and SSP D C Dubey visited the village at night to assess the situation.

ALSO READ:

BJP leader hacked to death on outskirts of Bengaluru, suspects absconding

Kerala: BJP worker hacked to death in Kannur

Three years in power, Agra BJP MPs have nothing to show for development

ALSO WATCH: Greater Noida: Villagers transporting cow mistaken for smugglers, thrashed by mob

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Paul Scally was back hosting the 8th Annual Sundown in Downtown for the Las Vegas Natural History Museum on Friday Night.

The British comedian and show host can be seen all Summer every Friday night at Planet Hollywood Hotel & Casino hosting at Comedy & Dolls inside the World Famous Cabaret Show Lounge.
Vietnams e-commerce market is forecast to reach US$15 billion by 2025.

The strong growth has created high demand for e-commerce logistics projected to grow at 42 percent every year until 2022.

While the industry has its challenges, its growth is promising, with the government keen to remove regulatory hurdles faced by the industry.

Vietnams e-commerce market size is expected to reach US$15 billion by 2025. Vietnam is the second fastest growing e-commerce market behind Indonesia according to the e-Conomy report by Google and Temasek. This strong growth has set high demand for e-commerce logistics and the industry expected to reach an average growth of 42 percent every year until 2022. The industry was valued at US$103 million in 2018 according to market research firm Ken Research.

Vietnams growing e-commerce space

The market has witnessed the entrance of many large players in recent years, with lotte.vn and aeoneshop.com joining in early 2017 alone. In 2018, Amazon entered the Vietnam market to help Vietnamese small and medium enterprises (SMEs) export their goods. Yet, e-commerce extends beyond sales and slick web design.

The speed of product delivery is increasingly important as is the quality for both customers and merchants. As the market continues to grow, it becomes increasingly clear that the long-term prospects of Vietnamese e-commerce lie in the development of a good logistics system to facilitate the sector. Last-mile connectivity is crucially important for e-commerce businesses who know that customers expect fast and reliable deliveries.

Currently, several e-commerce platforms such as Lazada, Tiki and Grab have their own logistics department including warehousing, package, and shipping. Nevertheless, most firms involved in e-commerce cannot handle logistics alone, creating a demand for third-party logistic providers (3PLs). Firms such as Shopee and Sendo use 3PLs partners.

E-commerce logistic players

According to the Vietnam Logistics Business Association (VLBA), the logistics industry in Vietnam accounts for 20 to 25 percent of GDP with the sector projected to grow by roughly 12 percent every year in the near future. The high growth of the e-commerce industry offers more opportunities for logistics companies to tap into the markets potential. In particular, express delivery and logistic services targeting e-commerce are fertile ground for investment.

In recent years, a number of notable companies have begun investing in logistics within Vietnam and help to showcase the success and opportunities which Vietnam can afford.

With the goal of tapping in to the field of e-commerce logistics, Indo Tran Logistics and ITL Corps Speedlink have entered into and provide services in the field of express delivery in Vietnam. SpeedLink now has operations in 50 provinces and cities across the country.

Giao Hang Nhanh, an e-commerce delivery and logistics business, caters to the countrys vibrant online stores. Giao Hang Nhanh currently serves over 800 online merchants, 20 of which are larger scale business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce sites such as Tiki. Its aim is to enable a better e-commerce experience for both consumers and merchants through efficient logistics service.

Uber for logistics is another area that has already seen immense potential for profitability as a means of bridging existing gaps in Vietnamese logistics networks. Grab, the Uber rival in Southeast Asia, recently announced a rebranding alongside a few new services which include delivery service (GrabExpress). Known locally for its ability to set trends within the Vietnamese market, it is likely that this model of logistics will gain momentum in the years to come.

Challenges faced by industry

While a growing sector, the logistics sector in Vietnam is not without its share of challenges. Firms such as Lazada that have their own delivery network have limitations. Even with its own logistics network in place, it has to rely on 3PL partners to fulfill orders underlining the demands of the growing e-commerce sector.

Aside from this, Vietnam is mainly a cashed based economy, with most transactions conducted using cash as payment. E-commerce firms are forced to rely on cash on delivery which leads to higher operational costs.

Firms also have to contend with products returned, exchanged or damaged. In addition, 75 percent of daily e-commerce orders are transacted in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City which have heavy traffic, further increasing costs.

Moreover, the legal framework and regulations covering the logistics sector remain difficult and complex. Last mile issues have to be addressed and shipping to the rural areas is challenging. These issues become more pronounced as companies seek to gain footholds outside of Vietnams first-tier cities, such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Da Nang.

Future prospects of e-commerce logistics

Despite facing major hurdles, the logistics sector has a positive future especially due to Vietnams free trade agreements. The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) came into effect this year and the European Union Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) is set to be ratified sometime next year. These FTAs will help promote FDI in Vietnams infrastructure and information system.

Beyond this, the government has passed legislation to improve regulatory hurdles faced by the industry.

These include Decision No.1012/QD-TTg on the development of logistics centers nationwide by 2030. Followed by Decision No. 200/QD-TTg which focuses on enhancing competitiveness and development of logistics services in Vietnam by 2025.

With the conditions for investment improving and regulatory reform ongoing, it is anticipated that capital expenditure from current investors will continue to rise in the years ahead and that new entrants will continue to consider the Vietnamese market for investment. The key to success for existing and prospective investors in e-commerce logistics will ultimately remain in maintaining a firm understanding of the challenges inherent in the Vietnamese market and finding the most cost-effective ways to provide solutions to these challenges.

Note: This article was first published in June 2017, and has been updated to include the latest developments.
The cooperation between BRG Group and Sumitomo, with the support of the Hanoi Peoples Committee, will create a new highlight for Hanoi

The agreement was signed at the Vietnamese investment promotion conference in Tokyo under the witness of Prime Ministers Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Shinzo Abe within the framework of PM Phucs official visit to Japan. The aim is to develop Nhat Tan-Noi Bai area in the north of Hanoi into one of the most modern smart cities in Southeast Asia.

BRG was assigned to create the 1/500 detailed master plan for the 2080-hectare project in 2011. BRG used its own funds and together with the Hanoi Urban Planning Institute and the Vietnam Urban Planning and Development Association created a selection committee. They picked global design firm P&T Group to create the plan.

The urban area will be an architectural highlight of the city and create a momentum for socioeconomic development in the area north of the Red River.

BRG knows that this is an important project not only to Hanoi but also to Vietnam. The area is the worlds gateway to Hanoi. The building of a smart urban area with such significance shows our strategic vision for the city, BRG Group chairman Nguyen Thi Nga said.

BRG and Sumitomo Corporation officially entered into a strategic partnership in multiple fields in December 2016 and signed the agreement to develop the smart city in April 2017.

Sumitomo has the capacity and experience in master planning infrastructure and the construction of real estate projects, as well as considerable prestige with the government of Japan and Japanese companies. The cooperation between BRG Group and Sumitomo, with the support of the Hanoi Peoples Committee, is going to ensure an efficient project that would create a highlight for the city.

The signing of the agreement also realises the Vietnamese governments hopes to improve urban development and strengthens the ties between the two countries.
This is the third year Vietnam Property Awards is organised. Kohler has been on the sponsorship list for two years, and is the title sponsor this year. What is the motivation behind this decision?

As an American brand and a global leader in the manufacturing of kitchen and bathroom products, we are always seeking to cooperate with top-notch names in the real estate industry to approach and get a deeper understanding of our target consumers, with the ultimate purpose of providing them with the highest satisfaction when using our products and services.

Kohler has been present in Vietnam for over a decade. Such a long time allows us to witness the ups and downs of the local real estate industry, from which we gain a better understanding of our consumers, namely real estate developers.

In recent years, the rapid and stable economic growth has motivated the wave of investment in high-end housing projects with sophisticated design and first-class amenities. Kohlers premium bathroom products have been selected to add value to many of these projects.

By cooperating with PropertyGuru Group, the organiser of Vietnam Property Awards, we hope to become a bridge between our customers and consumers to provide more choices of comfortable living, as well as to contribute to the sustainable development of the real estate industry in Vietnam.

As the title sponsor, what role did Kohler play in organising the award and selecting the winners?

Kohler joined because we wanted to accompany the prestigious organiser PropertyGuru Group to initiate a fair yet competitive playground to honour developers that have been ceaselessly working to develop the Vietnamese real estate industry. Besides, Vietnam Property Awards is also a bridge to connect the Vietnamese real estate industry with other regional markets. In all honesty, we are very proud to be the sponsor.

We were not involved in the selection process, as Kohler highly respects and appreciates the professionalism of the judges, as well as the transparency in the evaluation criteria of the organiser.

Moreover, the awards are also independently monitored by BDO, the fifth largest accounting and auditing firm in the world with approximately 60,000 staff working at 151 offices all over the globe. As BDO has rich and solid experience in monitoring numerous international competitions, participants can be assured of Vietnam Property Awards credibility.

Is there any difference between this years event and the previous ones?

Initiated in 2015 with 22 categories, the award came back with 32 categories this year and attracts candidacy from hundreds of real estate projects from reputable developers. These facts and figures not only prove the quality and prestige of the award, but also show the vibrant and vigorous development of the domestic real estate market.

Besides, the independent Board of Judges will offer several other awards, such as The Best Green Project, Certificate for Outstanding CSR Activity, and the Certificate for Sustainable Development. We highly regard these positive changes.

Kohler is a global leader in the manufacturing of kitchen and bathroom products. Therefore, we have always focused on research and development to create products certified in sustainability in order to help housing projects attain Green Project or Sustainable Development certifications. Kohler is proud of our range of products that are certificated for sustainability, health and safety, and some of our most prominent achievements include the WaterSense label and the Red Dot Design Award.

Aside from research and development, Kohler often accompanies trustworthy organisations and experienced experts to host several seminars to provide knowledge on green architecture and sustainable design for practitioners in the fields of construction, architecture, and design.

For instance, in December 2016, Kohler hosted the Kohler Design Forum with the topic Sustainability: Architects and Designers tackle the challenge. In the near future, we are planning to organise more exclusive events for experts to discuss key issues related to sustainable development.

Because of PropertyGuru Groups professionalism, the deep understanding and the willingness to catch the latest trends, we are extremely proud to be a part of Vietnam Property Awards this year.

Will Kohler continue to accompany Vietnam Property Awards in the future?

As long as the award is a fair and credible playground to honour the achievements of the real estate industry in Vietnam, Kohler will throw our wholehearted support behind it.

I wish Vietnam Property Awards an even greater success to attract more and more attention from developers in particular and those who are fond of the real estate industry in general.
The Japanese companies which were present at the meeting all had successful operations in Vietnam

PM Phuc said the fourth industrial revolution is changing the face of the world and the way people live and work. In this context, the driving force of the Vietnamese economy is gradually shifting to fields with high added value, using advanced technology, and high quality human resources. Vietnam has the advantage to grow in many areas, especially agriculture, IT, tourism, and education and training.

In 2015, Vietnam was among the top 10 countries in the Asia-Pacific and the top 30 in the world in software outsourcing. About 60 per cent of Vietnamese people under the age of 35 had quick access to new technology and about 52 per cent of the population used the internet.

PM Phuc also said that the Vietnamese government will prioritise investment in information infrastructure, digital connection, building the national database, ensuring data security, and building the human resources suitable for the digital age. The PM said he hoped that the Japanese companies will invest in all fields of the economy, but focus on technology-intensive projects that are environmentally friendly and would help develop the Vietnamese people.

The Japanese companies said they were all successful with their Vietnamese operations and will contribute to the socioeconomic development of Vietnam as well as the relationship between the two countries.

The PM said the suggestions and proposals of the Japanese companies regarding human resources training, postal and telecom services, logistics, and retail are very relevant to Vietnam and that the government and government agencies will do all they can to facilitate the operation of the companies.

Japan is the biggest official development assistance (ODA) donor to Vietnam, ranking second in cumulative foreign direct investment (FDI), the third biggest tourism partner, as well as the fourth biggest trade partner. As of the end of 2016, there were over 3,200 effective investment projects by Japanese investors in Vietnam, with the total registered capital of over $42 billion, accounting for 15 per cent of the total FDI reaching Vietnam.

A recent survey by JETRO showed that 66.6 per cent of Japanese companies investing in Vietnam plan to expand their business and continue to view Vietnam as an important investment destination.

Below are some images from the meeting:
Investment contracts, certificates, and agreements with the total value of $22 billion were signed between government agencies, localities, and businesses

On June 5 in Tokyo, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe joined the Vietnamese investment promotion conference and witnessed the signing of multiple investment contracts, certificates, and agreements between government agencies, localities, and businesses with the total value of $22 billion.

The investment promotion conference was held by the Japan External Trade Organisation in conjunction with the Vietnamese Ministry of Planning and Investment, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, and Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade.

PM Phuc said he appreciated the Japanese investors suggestions regarding the investment environment, and proposals of ideas and projects to increase the cooperation between the two countries.

The Vietnamese government will consider your suggestions when making policies in the near future, he said, adding that now is the perfect time for Japanese investment in Vietnam.

On this occasion, PM Shinzo Abe and I, as well as leaders and partners from Japan, want to express our vision of a comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries, not only for the next five or ten years, but for 100 years, he said, adding that the potential for cooperation between the two sides is limitless.

PM Phuc expressed hope for a new wave of investment from Japan in Vietnam. The door is wide open. We hope to share big opportunities with Japanese partners in manufacturing, the support industries, infrastructure development, high-quality services, tourism, renewable energy, organic agriculture, and, in the process of restructuring the economy, developing startups in the fourth industrial revolution, he said.

In his speech, PM Abe recalled that when he was elected for the first time, he visited Vietnam with 130 companies, after which Japanese companies activities have grown tremendously. After he became PM for the second time, his first official trip was also to Vietnam.

I believe that under PM Phucs leadership the economic relationship between the two countries will grow even more, he said, adding that in the next period he will, together with PM Phuc, encourage and support the business activities of Japanese companies in Vietnam. I hope PM Phuc continues to listen to the voice of Japanese companies.

Abe affirmed that the two countries will continue to cooperate to push freedom of trade.

Below are some images from the conference:
Now, you may be able to use social media and access emails while travelling by air.

By India Today Web Desk:

It was after the hijacking of an Indian Airlines flight from Delhi to Kathmandu in 1999 that the Ministry of Civil Aviation decided to ban the use of in-flight services for any and all aircrafts flying in the Indian airspace, for security reasons.

This rule has been applicable since, even for international flights entering the Indian airspace, besides of course domestic flights.

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Things, however, are set to change, hopefully. We may finally be able to access internet services while flying, after the central government gives its permission to allow airlines to offer in-flight internet in a few months.

According to a report in the Times of India, the government is likely give an okay to in-flight internet by August-end this year. The report states that the Directorate General of Civil Aviation is awaiting clearance from the Department of Telecommunications. "Currently they (international airlines) have to switch off WiFi in the Indian airspace (where in-flight Internet is banned on security grounds)," said Lalit Gupta, joint DG, Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

In March this year, Air India announced its plans to introduce free Wi-Fi on some flights by July. Other Indian carriers like SpiceJet and Jet Airways are likely to follow suit.

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There exist no photographs of the meeting of the Bilderberg Group, whose work is confidential. Security for the meeting is not handled by the FBI, nor the Virginia police force, but by a private militia organised by NATO.

The Bilderberg Group was created in 1954 by the CIA and MI6 in order to support the Atlantic Alliance. It was intended to gather personalities from the economic and media sectors with political and military leaders in order to sensitize civil society to the  Red peril . Far from being a place for decision-making, this very exclusive club has historically been a forum where the elders had to juggle with their fidelity to London and Washington, and the younger members were expected to show that they could be trusted with the opposition to the Soviets [1].

It was during the annual reunion of 1979 that Bernard Lewis revealed to those present the role of the Muslim Brotherhood in the resistance to the Afghani Communist government. This Israeli-British-US Islamologist then proposed that the  War for Freedom  (sic) should be extended to all of Central Asia.

It was in 2008, in other words two and a half years in advance, that Basma Kodmani (future spokewoman for the Syrian opposition) and Volker Perthes (future advisor to Jeffrey Feltman for the total and unconditional capitulation of Syria [2]) explained the interest of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood in order to dominate the Middle East. They stressed the  moderation  of the Brotherhood faced with the West, and the contrast offered by the  extremist sovereignty  of Iran and Syria [3].

And it was in 2013 that the chairman of the German executive board, Ulrich Grillo, made a case for the organisation of a massive migration of 800,000 Syrian workers to German factories [4].

Bilderberg 2017

The Bilderberg Group has just held its 2017 meeting, from 1 to 4 June, in the United States. Contrary to habit, the 130 participants were not all defending the same project. Quite the opposite - following the speeches by Donald Trump at the Arabo-Islamic-US summit, and at NATO [5], the CIA and MI6 organised a first-day debate which opposed those who are partisans of the fight against Islamism and those who support it. The point was, obviously enough, either to find a compromise between the two camps, or to acknowledge the dissension without allowing it to destroy the initial objective of the Alliance  the fight against Russia [6].

On the anti-Islamism side (that is opposed not to the Muslim religion, but to political Islam as formulated by Sayyid Qutb), we noted the presence of General H. R. McMaster (President Trumps National Security Advisor) and his expert Nadia Schadlow. McMaster is a recognised strategist whose theories have been verified on the battle-field. Above all, Schadlow has worked on the ways of transforming military victories into political successes. She is particularly interested in the restructuration of poltical movements in conquered countries. She should soon be publishing a new book about the struggle against Islamic radicalism.

On the pro-Islamism side, we note the presence, for the United States, of John Brennan (ex-Director of the CIA) and his ex-subordinates Avril Haines and David Cohen (financing of terrorism). For the United Kingdom, Sir John Sawers (ex-Director of MI6 and a long-time protector of the Brotherhood) and General Nicholas Houghton (ex-Chief of Staff, who prepared the land invasion of Syria). For France, General Benoit Puga (ex-Chief of Staff for the Elysee and commander of the Special Forces in Syria) and Bruno Tertrais (neo-conservative strategist for the Ministry of Defence). Finally, for the private sector, Henry Kravis (Director of the investment fund KKR, and unofficial treasurer for Daesh) and General David Petraeus (co-founder of Daesh).

And if this imbalance were not enough, the organisers had planned for the presence of experts capable of justifying the unjustifiable, like Professor Niell Fergusson (historian of British colonialism).

The possible reversal of alliances

It will take a little time before we know what was said during this meeting, and to understand the conclusions that were reached by the various attendees. However, we already know that London is pushing for a change of paradigm in the Middlde East. If the model of the  Arab Spring  (reproduction of the  Arab Revolt of 1916  organised by Lawrence of Arabia in order to replace the Ottoman Empire by the British Empire) is abandoned, MI6 hopes to create a new agreement on the basis of political Islamism.

As a result, while Washington has renewed its alliance with Saudi Arabia, and has convinced it to break with the Brotherhood in exchange for 110 billion dollars worth of armament [7], London is pushing for an agreement between Iran, Qatar, Turkey and the Muslim Brotherhood. If this project were to be realised, we would experience the abandon of the Sunni/Chiite conflict and the creation of a  croissant of political Islam  encompassing Teheran, Doha, Ankara, Idleb, Beyrouth and Gaza. This new distribution would enable the United Kingdom to maintain its influence in the region.

The only thing upon which the Allies seem to agree is the necessity of abandoning the principle of a jihadist state. Everyone admits that the devil has to be put back in his box. Which means getting rid of Daesh, even if some people keep working with Al-Qaida. This is why, worried about its survival, the self-proclaimed Caliph has secretly transmitted an ultimatum to Downing Street and the Elysee.

Choosing sides

We shall see within the next few months if Saudi Arabias about-face is genuine. It would be good news for the Syrians, but bad news for the Yemenites (whom the Western world would then ignore). It would offer King Salman the possibility of stimulating the evolution of Wahhabism from a fanatical cult to a normal religion. Already, the sudden conflict which opposes Riyadh to Doha on the question of Iran is doubled by an argument about the possible kinship between the founder of the cult, Mohammed ben Abdelwahhab, and the Qatari Al-Thani dynasty  a claim which has enraged the Saudis.

The project of  political Islam  consists of uniting the Muslim Brotherhood and the Khomeinists. It would mean that Iran, and even Hezbollah, would have to substitute this problem for the fight against anti-imperialism. If this were come to pass, it would most certainly lead to the withdrawal of Iran from Syria. The White House is taking this very seriously and is frantically preparing for it. In his speech in Riyadh, Donald Trump already designated Teheran as his new enemy, and has just nominated Michael DAndrea (who organised the assassination of Imad Mougniyeh in Damascus in 2008) as the representative for the Iranian section of the CIA [8].

Russia had already prepared for a potential new deal in the Middle East. Consequently, by supporting Syria, it pursued its ambition of gaining access to  warm waters , and by seeking rapprochement with its hereditary adversary, Turkey, of being able to navigate freely via the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus (indispensible for entering the Mediterranean). However, in the long term, political Islam could only cause it problems in the Caucasus.

As always when the players sort their cards, they all have to define their positions. The United Kingdom defends its Empire, France defends its ruling class, and the United States defends its people. In the Middle East, some people will fight for their community, others for their ideas. But things are not always so simple. Thus, Iran might follow the ideal of Imam Khomeiny, confusing the end and the means. What was in the beginning an anti-imperialist revolution led by the power of Islam could evolve into a simple affirmation of the political use of this religion.

The consequences for the rest of the world

MI6 and the CIA took a huge risk by inviting a non-Atlantist to the meeting of Bilderberg 2017. The Chinese ambassador, Cui Tiankai, who was scheduled to speak only on the fourth day of the seminar, was thus able to evaluate the positions of each member of NATO as from the first day.

On one hand, Beijing is counting on the collaboration of Donald Trump, the opening to the United States of its Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and the development of all its commercial routes. On the other, it is hoping that the Brexit will lead to an economic and financial alliance with London [9].

Ambassador Cui, who was the Director of the Centre of Political Research for the Chinese Ministry for Foreign Affairs, might possibly be satisfied with the simple destruction of Daesh. But he is not unaware that the people who organised the Caliphate in order to cut the  Silk Road  in Iraq and Syria, and then the war in Ukraine in order to cut the  new Silk Road , are preparing, preventatively, to open a third front in the Philippines and a fourth in Venezuela in order to cut off other communiction projects.

From this point of view, China, which, like Russia, has an interest in supporting Donald Trump, if only to prevent terrorism in its own country, will be asking itself about the possible long-term consequences of British hegemony in the  croissant of political Islam .
The snapshot: a crowd in San Carlo Square in Turin, seized by a panic which had far-reaching consequences [1]. This photo symbolizes the situation we are in today, suffering from a psychosis induced by the fear of a terrorist attack, which been skilfully propagated by the political-media machinery. True, the psychosis is grounded in reality, but the true causes and objectives of terrorism are hidden from our eyes. The fear of a terrorist attack has allowed our basic survival instinct to burst forth in spasms. Yet it is interesting that a media-political black-out has anaesthetized this same instinct at a time when there was a rational basis for its expression: coming face to face with a phenomenon that endangers the survival of humanity in its entirety: the race to nuclear weapons. Their instincts dulled in this way, the overwhelming majority of Italians is unaware that the second phase of the negotiations for a treaty prohibiting nuclear weapons is about to take place (15 June  7 July) at the United Nations.

The draft Convention on Nuclear Weapons, drafted after the first negotiating phase in March, prohibits every State party from producing, possessing, transferring or receiving nuclear weapons, be it directly or indirectly. The decision to begin negotiations was taken by a General Assembly Resolution voted in December 2016 by 113 countries with 35 voting against and 13 abstentions. The United States and the other two Nato nuclear powers (France and Great Britain), the other Nato countries and its principal partners  Israel (the only nuclear power in the Middle East), Japan, Australia and Ukraine  have voted against it. Even the other nuclear powers have expressed an opinion contrary to it: Russia and China (both abstained), India, Pakistan and North Korea.

Among the countries that have voted against is Italy, at heel to the United States. The Gentiloni government declared, on 2 February, that summoning a UN Conference to negotiate a legally binding instrument on the prohibition of nuclear arms, is a strongly divisive step, that risks compromising our efforts in favour of nuclear disarmament. The governments position was that Italy is following a gradual, realistic and concrete path that is able to lead to a process of irreversible nuclear disarmament, that is transparent and verifiable, based on the full application of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, the cornerstone of disarmament.

And so Italy is applying the NPT which it ratified in 1975. The facts demonstrate this. Despite the fact that this treaty binds states that are militarily non-nuclear not to receive from anyone whosoever nuclear weapons, nor to control such arms, directly or indirectly, Italy has allowed the United States to install nuclear arms on Italian soil. Thus the US has stocked at least 50 B-61 bombs at Aviano and 20 at Ghedi-Torre. In addition, Italian pilots have been trained to use them. Starting from 2020, the B61-12 will also be stored in Italy. This is a new weapon for a nuclear first strike. It is able to penetrate ground level to destroy the bunkers of the command centres. Come 2020, or perhaps even earlier, the B61-12 will be stored in Europe. Thus Italy, formally a non-nuclear country, will be transformed into the firing line for an even more dangerous nuclear confrontation between US/Nato and Russia.

What to do? We must require Italy to contribute to launching the UN Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons and to sign up to it. At the same time we must demand that the United States remove any nuclear arms it has from our territory and desist from installing the new bombs (the B61-12), using as a basis for our claim the Non-Proliferation Treaty that is in force. Yet for almost the entire political world, our appeal is a nonsense  on stilts as Bentham would have it. If political conscience is wanting, then we have no other option than to eject forth the juices of our basic survival instinct.
I am greatly honored to be invited to address this illustrious audience. The European Commission, just published a reflection paper on the future of the European Monetary Union, which will open a debate that I greatly welcome. I should like to join the previous speaker in dedicating my remarks to the memory of my great friend Tommaso Padoa Schioppa. Thinking of Tommaso brings back bitter-sweet memories. We became close collaborators during his retirement. We worked together trying to save the European Union at a time when few people realized it was moving towards an existential crisis. I firmly believe that he worked himself to death. Im glad to have this occasion to remember him.

Before I come to the subject of my speech, I should like to tell you who I am and what stand for. I am an 86-year-old Hungarian Jew who became a US citizen after the end of World War II. I learned at an early age how important it is what kind of political regime prevails. The formative experience of my life was the occupation of Hungary by Nazi Germany in 1944. I probably would have perished if my father had not understood the gravity of the situation. He arranged false identity papers for his family and many other Jews; with his help, most of us survived.

In 1947, I escaped from Hungary, which was by then under Communist rule, to England. As a student at the London School of Economics, I came under the influence of the Austrian philosopher Karl Popper, and I developed my own conceptual framework, built on the twin pillars of fallibility and reflexivity.

I distinguished between two kinds of political regimes: one in which people elect their leaders, who are supposed to serve the interests of the people rather than their own, and the other, where the rulers manipulate the people so that they serve the interests of their rulers. Under Poppers influence, I called the first kind of society open, the second, closed. In George Orwells time the closed society could be best described as a totalitarian state; today it is best characterized as a mafia state, one which maintains a facade of democracy but the rulers use their control of the media, the judiciary and the other levers of influence, to enrich and maintain themselves in power.

This classification is too simplistic. Even so, I find the distinction between the two types of regimes illuminating. I became an active promoter of open societies and an opponent of totalitarian and mafia states.

***

My purpose today is to explain what Tommaso Padoa Schioppa and I would be working on together if he were still alive.

We would try to save the European Union in order to radically reinvent it. The first objective, saving Europe, has to take precedence because it is in existential danger. But we wouldnt forget about the second objective either.

The reinvention would have to revive the support that the European Union used to enjoy. We would do it by reviewing the past and explaining what went wrong and how it could be put right. And thats what I want to talk about today.

***

Let me start with the past. After the Second World War, Western Europe was rebuilt with the help of the Marshall Plan, but it was still threatened by the Soviet Union, which occupied the eastern part of the continent. A group of visionaries led by Jean Monnet wanted to bind the western part together into an organization whose members would never wage war with one another. The visionaries engaged in what Karl Popper called piecemeal social engineering. They set limited but attainable goals, established a time line and generated public support, knowing full well that each step would necessitate a further step forward. The European elite of our generation responded enthusiastically. I personally regarded the European Union as the embodiment of an open society.

All went well until the Maastricht Treaty, which was signed in 1992. The architects knew that the treaty was incomplete: it created a central bank but did not establish a common treasury. They had reason to believe, however, that when the need arose the necessary political will could be summoned and the next step forward would be taken.

Unfortunately, that is not what happened. Two things intervened: the collapse of the Soviet empire and the reunification of Germany, which were so intimately interrelated that they count as one event, and then came the crash of 2008 which is the second event.

Let me discuss the Soviet collapse and German reunification first. Chancellor Kohl recognized that Germany could be reunited only in the context of a more united Europe. Under his farsighted leadership Germany became the main driver of European integration. Germany was always willing to contribute a little bit extra so that every bargain could be turned into a win-win situation. President Mitterrand wanted to tie Germany more closely into Europe without giving up too much national sovereignty. This Franco-German bargain was the foundation of the Maastricht Treaty.

Then came the draft constitutional treaty, which sought to transfer sovereignty to centralized institutions, notably the European Parliament and the Commission but it was defeated by referenda in France and the Netherlands in 2005. During the euro crisis which followed the crash of 2008, de facto political power migrated to the European Council, where the heads of state were able to take urgently needed decisions in the nick of time. This discrepancy between formal and de facto power is at the heart of what I call The Tragedy of the European Union.

The crash of 2008 originated in the United States but hit the European banking system much harder. After 2008, a reunited Germany felt neither politically motivated nor rich enough to remain the motor of further integration.

Following the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the finance ministers of Europe declared that no other systemically important financial institutions will be allowed to fail, But, Chancellor Merkel insisted that every country should be responsible for its own banks. In doing so, she was reading German public opinion correctly. And that was the tipping point from integration to disintegration.

***

The European Union is now in an existential crisis. Most Europeans of my generation were supporters of further integration. Subsequent generations came to regard the EU as an enemy that deprives them of a secure and promising future. Many of them came to doubt whether the European Union can deal with a multiplicity of accumulated problems. This feeling was reinforced by the rise of anti-European, xenophobic parties that are motivated by values that are diametrically opposed to the values on which the European Union was founded.

Externally, the EU is surrounded by hostile powers  Putins Russia, Erdogans Turkey, Sisis Egypt and the America that Trump would like to create but cant.

Internally, the European Union has been governed by outdated treaties ever since the financial crisis of 2008. These treaties have become less and less relevant to prevailing conditions. Even the simplest innovations necessary to make the single currency sustainable could be introduced only by intergovernmental arrangements outside the existing treaties. That is how the functioning of European institutions became increasingly complicated and eventually rendered the EU itself dysfunctional in some ways.

The eurozone in particular became the exact opposite of what was originally intended. The European Union was meant to be a voluntary association of like-minded states that were willing to surrender part of their sovereignty for the common good. After the financial crisis of 2008, the eurozone was transformed into a creditor/debtor relationship where the debtor countries couldnt meet their obligations and the creditor countries dictated the terms that they had to meet. By imposing an austerity policy the creditor countries made it practically impossible for the debtors to grow out of their debts. The net result was neither voluntary nor equal.

***

If the European Union carries on with business as usual, there is little hope for an improvement. That is why the European Union needs to be radically reinvented. The top-down initiative started by Jean Monnet had carried the process of integration a long way but it has lost its momentum. Now we need a collaborative effort that combines the top-down approach of the European institutions with the bottom-up initiatives that are necessary to engage the electorate.

Brexit will be an immensely damaging process, harmful to both sides. Most of the damage is felt right now, when the European Union is in an existential crisis, but its attention is diverted to negotiating the separation from Britain.

The European Union must resist temptation to punish Britain and approach the negotiations in a constructive spirit. It should use Brexit as a catalyst for introducing far-reaching reforms. The divorce will be a long process taking as long as five years. Five years seems like eternity in politics, especially in revolutionary times like the present. During that time, the European Union could transform itself into an organization that other countries like Britain would want to join. If that happened, the two sides may want to be reunited even before the divorce is completed. That would be a wonderful outcome, worth striving for. This seems practically inconceivable right now, but in reality it is quite attainable. Britain is a parliamentary democracy. Within five years it has to hold another general election and the next parliament may vote to be reunited with Europe.

Such a Europe would differ from the current arrangements in two key respects. First, it would clearly distinguish between the European Union and the Eurozone. Second, it would recognize that the euro has many unsolved problems and they must not be allowed to destroy the European Union.

The eurozone is governed by outdated treaties that assert that all member states are expected to join the euro if and when they qualify. This has created an absurd situation where countries like Sweden Poland and the Czech Republic have made it clear that they have no intention of joining the euro, yet they are still described and treated as pre-ins.

***

The effect is not purely cosmetic. It has converted the EU into an organization in which the eurozone constitutes the inner core and the other members are relegated to an inferior position. There is a hidden assumption at work here, namely that various member states may be moving at various speeds but they are all heading to the same destination. This has given rise to the claim of an ever closer union that has been explicitly rejected by a number of countries.

This claim needs to be abandoned. Instead of a multi-speed Europe we should aim for a multi-track Europe that would allow member states a wider variety of choices. This would have a far-reaching beneficial effect.

Right now, attitudes towards cooperation are negative: member states want to reassert their sovereignty rather than surrendering more of it. But if cooperation produced positive results, attitudes may improve and some objectives that are currently best pursued by coalitions of the willing may qualify for universal participation. There are three problem areas where meaningful progress is indispensable. The first is the refugee crisis; the second, territorial disintegration as exemplified by Brexit; the third, the lack of an economic growth policy.

We need to be realistic. In all three areas we start from a very low base and in the case of the refugee crisis, the trend is still downward. We still dont have a European migration policy. Each country pursues what it perceives to be its national interest and it often works against the interests of other member states. Chancellor Merkel was right: the refugee crisis has the potential to destroy the European Union. But we mustnt give up. If we could make meaningful progress on alleviating the refugee crisis, the momentum would change in a positive direction.

***

I am a great believer in momentum. I call it reflexivity in my conceptual framework. And I can see a momentum developing that would change the European Union for the better. This would require a combination of top-down and bottom-up elements and I can see both of them evolving.

Regarding the top-down political process, I kept my fingers crossed during the Dutch elections in which the nationalist candidate Geert Wilders fell from first to second place. But I was greatly reassured by the outcome of the French elections in which the only pro-European candidate among many achieved the seemingly impossible and emerged as the president of France. I am much more confident about the outcome of the German elections where there are many combinations that could lead to a pro-European coalition, especially if the anti-European and xenophobic AfD continues its virtual collapse. The growing momentum may then be strong enough to overcome the biggest threat, the danger of a banking and migration crisis in Italy.

I can also see many spontaneous bottom-up initiatives and, significantly, they are mainly supported by young people. I have in mind the Pulse of Europe initiative, which started in Frankfurt in November and spread to some 120 cities across the continent; the Best for Britain movement in the United Kingdom; and the resistance to the PiS Party in Poland, and to Fidesz in Hungary.

***

The resistance that Prime Minister Viktor Orban encountered in Hungary must have surprised him as much as it surprised me. He sought to frame his policies as a personal conflict between the two of us and has made me the target of his unrelenting propaganda campaign. He cast himself in the role of the defender of Hungarian sovereignty and me as a shady currency speculator who uses his money to flood Europeparticularly his native Hungarywith illegal immigrants as part of some vague but nefarious plot.

This is the opposite of who I am. I am the proud founder of the Central European University that has, after 26 years, come to rank among the fifty best universities in the world in many of the social sciences. I have generously endowed the university and that has enabled it to defend its academic freedom not only from interference by the Hungarian government but also from its founder.

I have strenuously resisted Orbans attempts to translate our ideological differences into personal animosity  and I have succeeded.

***

What lessons have I learned from this experience? First, that to defend open societies, it is not enough to rely on the rule of law; you must also stand up for what you believe in. The university I have founded and the organizations that my foundation has supported are doing so. Their fate is in the balance. But I am confident that their determined defense of freedomboth academic freedom and the freedom of association will eventually bring the slow-moving wheels of justice into motion. Second, I have learned that democracy cannot be imposed from the outside; it needs to be asserted and defended by the people themselves. I am full of admiration for the courageous way the Hungarian people have resisted the deception and corruption of the mafia state the Orban regime has established. Im also encouraged by the energetic way the European institutions have responded to the challenge emanating from Poland and Hungary. I find the proposal made by Germany to use the Cohesion Funds for enforcement purposes very promising. I can see the revival of the European Union gaining more and more ground. But it wont happen by itself. Those who care about the fate of Europe will have to get actively involved.

I must end with a word of caution. The European Union is cumbersome, slow-moving and often needs unanimity to enforce its rules. This is difficult to achieve when two countries, Poland and Hungary, are conspiring to oppose it. But the EU needs new rules to maintain its values. It can be done. But it will require resolute action by the European institutions and the active engagement of civil society. Lets get engaged!
The Ministry for Heritage has announced that three new interpretation panels have been placed within our Old Town in order to provide information on our Medieval History, namely our Islamic and Spanish Periods.
ePlanning  New Map Search Feature

In October 2015 the Government of Gibraltar launched its ePlanning service. This allows members of the public to view planning applications online, including all the plans and other documents submitted with an application.

The service has been well received and the take-up for submitting applications via the service has been positive and encouraging. In 2016 approximately 60% of applications were submitted online, which is a much higher proportion than originally anticipated. There are now approx 500 users registered for the ePlanning service and the majority of these are professional agents and members of the public who have registered in order to be able to submit their applications in this manner.

Since its launch, the Department of Town Planning and Building Control has been working with its programmers and the Governments IT Department to further develop the service available to the public.

Government says it is now pleased to announce that it has released an additional feature which is available on the ePlanning portal. This view feature adds to the existing service by allowing the public to search and view applications by use of a map of Gibraltar; hence, it is possible to navigate to any area of interest by using standard navigation tools. Specific applications can then be called up for any given area by simply drawing and highlighting the relevant area of the map.

The new map search tool includes other useful features such as a Street Gazetteer allowing users to easily navigate to any given street. It also allows for the easy downloading of information on applications and a print facility is also available. The print facility provides users who are submitting an application the ability to easily produce location and site plans for inclusion in their submissions and applications.

Commenting on the new improved ePlanning service the Minister with responsibility for Town Planning, Paul Balban, said:

The Government has made huge strides in making the planning process more transparent and accessible to the public. The ePlanning service introduced in October 2015 was an important element of this and has given the public easy access to information on applications that affect their environment. The latest improvement to the ePlanning service is intended to make it as easy as possible for the public to access information on planning applications. It will also be an extremely useful tool for professionals working within the field.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff of the Department of Town Planning and Building Control, the Governments IT Department and the programme developers for their hard work on the continued development of the service.

The e-planning portal can be accessed through the Governments e-Government platform www.egov.gi
On Monday, during the 29th division grievance cell meeting, the angry TDP corporator alleged that in spite of bringing a common man's problems before the concerned officers, they have been turning a deaf ear to him.

By Ashish Pandey: It was a bizarre scene at an official meeting in Anantpur district of Andhra Pradesh, when a ruling Telugu Desam Party corporator slapped himself with slippers, that too in front of officers and public.

TDP corporator Uma Maheswara Rao was apparently frustrated with the alleged red tapism and high handedness of government officials.

On Monday, during the 29th division grievance cell meeting in Anantpur district, the angry TDP corporator alleged that in spite of bringing the common man's problems before the concerned officers, they have been turning a deaf ear to him.

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OFFICIALS NOT PAYING HEED

Rao appealed before the grievance cell that many problems have surfaced in his ward including the non-clearance of bills but no one is heeding his constant appeal and efforts. Frustrated with this, Rao said to the concerned officer at the meeting that his ward people have threatened him to beat with slippers, if he fails to solve their problems.

While the officers and others present at the meeting tried to pacify the angry corporator, he screamed, "Instead of getting a public thrashing it is better I should slap myself only with slippers" and started thrashing himself with his slipper.

His action left everyone shocked present at the meeting.

OFFICIALS TO LOOK INTO MATTER

Later, senior officials said that they will look into the allegation and try to resolve the issue as early as possible.

Meanwhile, taking a dig over the incident, the Opposition YSR Congress Party said that the incident shows the sad state of affairs where a ruling party corporator cannot get work done, adding "What can a common man expect from the TDP-lead government and its officers."

Also read: Andhra Pradesh: ACB raids house of senior govt official, properties worth crores unearthed

Also read: Andhra Pradesh: Congress VP Rahul Gandhi to attend meet on Special Category status in Guntur

--- ENDS ---
Maher and Franken. Photo: Getty Images

Senator Al Franken is steering clear of Bill Mahers show after the Real Time host used a racial slur on air. Franken has canceled his appearance on this weeks show due to a remark in which Maher referred to himself as the N-word during an interview on last Fridays show. Senator Franken believes that what Bill Maher said was inappropriate and offensive, which is why he made the decision not to appear on the next episode of Real Time, a spokesperson for Franken told the Huffington Post. This isnt the first time in recent weeks Frankens press tour to promote his new book Al Franken, Giant of the Senate has inadvertently ended up in the crosshairs of controversy: Franken recently also uninvited Kathy Griffin from an event on his press tour after she came under fire for posing for a photo with Donald Trumps fake severed head.

While HBO has denounced Mahers use of the slur, the network will reportedly not discipline Maher and says it will replace Frankens slot on Fridays show. Bernie Sanderss former national press secretary Symone Sanders is set to appear on this weeks show and plans to have a discourse about the N-word; Ice Cube, former U.S. representative David Jolly, and journalist David Gregory are also still on the schedule.
A talking dog, two advertising guys, and a Fargo star walk into the Sundance Film Festival. Thats not the setup for some hipster comics hacky punch line; its the story behind ABCs new rom-com, Downward Dog. Allison Tolman stars as Nan, a Pittsburgh-based Everywoman with two male influences in her life: her sweet, maybe-boyfriend Jason (Raising Hopes Lucas Neff) and her dog Martin (Ned, a real-life rescue pup). The latter, an overly sensitive creature who tends to speak passive-aggressively about his owners shortcomings, delivers mockumentary-like asides to hyperanalyze their lopsided relationship. (In short: Nan should, like, totally appreciate him more, given hes, like, totally obsessed with her.)

The sitcom is co-created by Pittsburgh ad men  Samm Hodges, who voices Martin, and Michael Killen, responsible for Taco Bells legendary talking Chihuahua spots  based off their web series of the same name. To ensure that Downward Dog would meet Peak TVs high standards for bittersweet, wryly told dramedy, earlier this year it became the first-ever broadcast comedy to premiere at Sundance. Vulture talked to Tolman about working with Hollywood outsiders, Martins monologues, and the preexisting condition that comes between her and her co-star.

Talk me through how you became part of this show. Im picturing your agent saying something like, Two words. Allison: Talking. Dog.

Very close. It was two summers ago and I was on set for The House and I got an email: Here are several projects that were looking at for you  um, and this is a new show we think is really cute and funny. Theres a talking dog in it. I was like, Oh, dear. I was immediately horrified. Oh, its a kids show like Dog With a Blog. Im not interested in doing that. I dont even have kids. I have no reason to do a kids show. And then I read the script and I was doubly confused. Clearly, it was really smart and really funny. The jokes were there and this woman was interesting. But then I was like, If shes so smart and funny, then why did you put a talking dog in this? I still didnt get until I watched the shorts the show is based on. Then I was like, Oh, I get it. Its hyperrealistic. I understand now.

Do you think Samm Hodges and Michael Killens outsider status ultimately made the show better?

Yes, I do. I think it made it harder to get made, but I think it made it better. Everything that makes the show what it is exists because this came from outside the system, down to the fact that we shot it on location in Pittsburgh and Samm is the voice of Martin. They wanted to keep it that way; they didnt want a voice-over artist to come in. The key was having showrunners who really knew the system and knew how network television works and how Hollywood works.

If I may get a little dramaturgical for a minute, I have a theory that Martins monologues are like a canine embodiment of toxic masculinity.

Wooooah.

He has this bloated sense of self-importance. He constantly downplays Nans contributions to the household. But its refreshing because Nan isnt bothered because she cant hear it.

Oh, man. You just fucked up my whole weekend. Im just going to be thinking about that. I love this!

If Nan actually heard the things Martin says about her, it would be very demoralizing and dark.

It would be terrible. But its also palatable to us as an audience because its a dog.

Exactly! So its like, imagine if you could go through life as a woman not hearing all of the toxic noise around you.

And being able to filter it so youre just like, I love you too, pup. Good boy! Thats so interesting. I love that.

Samm Hodgess vocal performance as Martin is brilliant. Its full of these vocal tics usually gender-coded as female: the vocal fry, the overuse of like, the uptalking. Is that how he talks in real life?

He puts on a bit of a millennial voice when he gets into the booth. Its not a full-on performance. Its very much Samms speech patterns and the way he uses words, but he definitely puts on the vocal fry and he doesnt say like nearly as much as Martin does. Theres a little bit of a character that I think he slips into when he gets into the booth.

We also have to talk about your insane chemistry with Lucas Neff.

Its weird, right?

Its fantastic! Its so intense but its so light.

I know, I know. When we finished episode two [when Nan and Jason decide to just be friends], I was truly, truly in mourning. Like, when will we see each other again? When will we be together again? Ive never had a reaction to another actor the way I had with Lucas. When I was already in the role and they were looking for people to play Jason, we did a chemistry read. I was like, Obviously, that is the person. But it was also really terrifying to me because there was a lot of electricity there. Not knowing at that time where these characters were going to go, I thought, This is gonna be a lot of emotionally taxing work, to exist on that plane constantly for two months. But luckily, we have some ups and downs so we dont spend all of our time in that place for the entire season.

Theres plenty of good comedy on TV right now, but a lot of it is auteur-driven and heavy. How would you would describe the shows comedy?

Well, Ive never been allowed to be a romantic lead. In a lot of other shows, theres no way that I would be cast, even though in the real world, all sorts of people are meeting and falling in love and having sex and breaking up. I think thats helped our show a lot. The key to our show  oddly, besides the talking dog  is the realism. I have trouble describing the show as a comedy because it feels limiting to me. A lot of vehicles for comedy-drama like this have a lot of heart and can be both of those things, but we havent seen that on network.

So according to your IMDb bio, youre more of a cat person in real life?[Laughs.] Yeah, Im a cat owner. Im actually allergic to dogs. I grew up with dogs and cats, but then I moved out of my parents house and I got a cat when I was 19 and I think I just developed an allergy to dogs. So I have to take allergy pills when I go to work.

Allison, you buried the lede of this interview! Youre allergic to your co-star! This is insane!

I know, its dumb.

When did you tell them?

I told them after we were underway, after I was cast and after they cast the dog. Guess what? We need to keep Benadryl on hand.

You also worked as a professional dog walker.

I did, when I first got out of school. I got a job in a suburb north of Dallas at a vets office where I would walk all the dogs that were being kenneled. Thats what I did for that summer. I think at this point in time, I was close enough to living with dogs that my allergies hadnt developed yet. But it was fun. It was a job. This ones better. I like this one better.

The last time you spoke with Vulture, you talked about making the transition to the working life of an actor and the anxiety of not always knowing when your next paycheck was coming. Have you grown more comfortable with that?

Im still not fully comfortable with it. As the paychecks get larger, you have a longer period of time that passes before you start to think, Oh, shit. What if I dont get another job? Youre comfortable floating along for longer. If Downward Dog doesnt get a second season, then Ill be like, Oh, man. Ill miss that regular paycheck because you can plan. I can plan to have no money, but its a plan. I dont think thatll ever go away. That might just be my personality. That might just be how I operate.

Do you talk about this with other people?

I think everyone I know, knows the feeling of, Am I ever gonna work again? Like, where is the next job coming from? I dont think I know anyone who is so wealthy that they dont worry about that. There probably is a level you get to where youre like, Im fine forever! But I dont think I know anybody whos really at that level yet.

You famously nabbed a guest spot on The Mindy Project by tweeting at Mindy Kaling. Are there any other shows youd like to give shout-outs to?

Oh, man, yeah. I was never on Girls, which was a real bummer for me. I love Transparent, big fan of Transparent. I think Handmaids Tale is awesome and I hope its up for a second season.

It already has been renewed, yes.

Yeah, I would love to do something with them. Theres so much good television out, its bonker-balls right now. If Downward Dog isnt renewed, it would be such a bummer. After I was done mourning for that, I would be really thankful but also immediately looking for another show that was my show. I really wanted to have a show that was my own vehicle, and I was lucky that this one came along and I didnt have to write it for myself. So I dont know, maybe Id have to start.

You come from a sketch and improv background, so is that what youd draw from to write your own material?

Absolutely. As soon as I got to Hollywood, the second question anyone would ask is, So, youre a writer too? Like, So, youre a hyphenate! When are you going to start writing? When I first got out here, I was like, Im not gonna write right now. Im just gonna act for a little bit. Eventually, Ill have an idea or a partner to go write with. During Fargo and after Fargo, I found out how cruel people can be on the internet about your appearance. It really made me think that I want to contribute in a way thats not visual, to contribute to my own career in a way thats beyond images. Its so hard to have your face and your body out there. Im a smart woman and I can write and I have these other things to offer. Eventually, it will be the right time and I will start writing.

This interview has been edited and condensed.
Theres plenty of blame to go around in Better Call Saul  blame for Chucks condition and subsequent humiliation, for Jimmys rise and fall, for the rift between Kim and her former employer and school-loan creditor Howard, and for Chuck and Jimmys parents middle-class boom and bust, which clouds each of the brothers consciences. The cold-open flashback, which is shorter and sweeter than most of late, finally resolves the mystery of whether Jimmy was outright spiting his father into bankruptcy. Turns out, the kid merely siphoned nominally valuable coins and kept them in a Band-Aid box hidden in his houses ceiling panels.

He and Marco break into the McGills childhood home, which could almost be mistaken for Chucks EHS bachelor pad in its sad darkness. Though on this occasion, the younger Jimmy kept his wits about him and forestalled police intervention. (Incidentally, Marco in the shadows bore an uncanny likeness to Chucks P.I. who helped sabotage Jimmy.) He kids Marco about how years of gratis Little Debbie bars led to the grocery stores undoing. But he also coarsens while summing up in earnest that his dad was never gonna do what he had to do. And so, with his meager register savings, Jimmy set out to dupe a group of farm-equipment conventioneers and redeem his fathers ruin.

Back in present day, Mike wrests thousands of dollars from underneath the floorboards, and readies to make a deal with Gus Fring that would ensure his familys long-term security (though, sadly, who knows how that shook out after both of their murders in Breaking Bad) but indebt him to the budding kingpins service. Odds are weve seen the last of his days manning a midnight tollbooth. But Mike knows the risks, and knows that at least now theyre all his. After metal-detecting the infamous Good Samaritans corpse (genius move by the way) and alerting local cops, and with his work for Wormald sewn up, every choice he makes from here is clear-eyed and relatively uncomplicated. Which probably answers the question of whether hell let himself become too intimate with Anita. (That would be a negative.)

Conversely, Chuck is giddy and game for reentering the workforce and society at large. He proudly shares journals of his depreciating pain levels with Dr. Cruz, whos been getting him back on the good foot since that perilous payphone sojourn weeks earlier (good thing for Chuck its still 2003). She communicates caution that he pace himself, and listens patiently as he opens up about the pain of confronting his psychosomatic state. Both characters are at their gentlest, a reminder that the version of whomever were seeing at any given time serves a particular function. When Jimmy was Better Call Sauls outright protagonist, Chuck was his foil. And in Dr. Cruzs coldness toward Chuck, she supported our and Jimmys shared sense that he was at the mercy of this mans mania.

But as season three rounds its final lap, Jimmy has darkened like the interiors of those rooms that bookend his adult life. Its time to see Chuck in a new light. Not a halo, per se, but more like Rebecca views him, or as Kim began to understand him  an ill individual coping with a delayed neurological reaction to past trauma, whos contending with the possibility that hed displaced his anger and grief for decades. Whereas Jimmy is still hung up on settling scores and proving his worth to everyone but himself, Chuck appears genuinely dedicated to getting better and being whole.

That, of course, will be tested now that Howard fills him in on their malpractice-insurance issues, which they will both surely peg as Jimmys doing. Over the remaining two episodes, were almost certain to see Chucks anger get triggered and his antiquated coping techniques get weaponized. If only Jimmy had left well enough alone. Like Mike, hes crossed a line that he likely cant walk back, charting his irrevocable course toward the indignity of losing consciousness in a Cinnabon kitchen down the road.

The same could be said for Nacho, who follows through on his plan to swap out Hectors nitroglycerin with harmless ibuprofen and watch him stroke out. The relief when Nacho steadies and unclenches his hands by the espresso is palpable, almost virtually real. Malfunctioning El Michoacanos A/C to ensure Hector removes his blazer is brilliant strategy, but also a terrific way of authoring silent tension, from the cook wiping his brow to beads of sweat bubbling on Nachos temples. His nervous shuffling of dollar bills betrays a compulsive anxiety wed sooner expect from Chuck. A preceding sequence of Nacho prepping the pills and practicing his subterfuge actually parallels Chucks pre-hearing rehearsal from two episodes prior. It also foreshadows Walter Whites tactical jitters first taking on some of these very same foes. Funny thing is, Nacho would have been just the kind of accomplice Walt was searching for when he stumbled on Jesse instead.

When Billy Gatwood of Gatwood Oil came to Kevin at Mesa Verde for help securing new legal counsel amid his interstate entanglement, he couldnt fathom the web of conflict hed be walking into. Kim is, as Kevin keeps attesting (and Howard, somewhat more snarkily, confirms), the best at what she does. But shes also overwhelmed with Mesa files and eager to cut bait with work thats in any way connected to her and Jimmys 1261/1216 switcheroo. A la Mike, she seeks a way forward without baggage. Unfortunately, theres Jimmy laid out on an aching back, strumming a signed Ritchie Blackmore guitar he scammed off the ABQ Tune In twins after cornering them into buying more ads with Saul Goodman Productions. She sees Jimmy slipping, and before he can finish another run-through of Smoke on the Water, shes assuring Mr. Gatwood shes all his.

If any moment makes plain how our view of Jimmy is intended to change, its when he dresses down the dickhead community-service guy, threatening a lawsuit on behalf of another garbage picker, who then happily pays Jimmy $700 before ditching his court-appointed duty for a drug deal. Its the straightest line weve seen from Jimmy McGill Esq. to crooked Saul Goodman, and it points our sympathies directly toward his supervisor, who was an intransigent bully not too long ago. But its evident by now that if king douche nozzle or anybody else were to observe how that little stunt could indirectly lead to some Albuquerque teen ODing, Jimmy might echo Kim and Howard and reply, Thats on you.

Apart From All That

 That was some solid mindfulness exercising from Chuck in the grocery store.

 New Mexico power lunchers really love their Moscow mules.

 All of Chucks anger, ironically, was probably intended for their dad.

 Paige is just about at her wits end.

 Oh, for law school to cost what it did in the 90s.

 As we get closer to Jimmys complete metamorphosis, its even more thrilling to re-watch this.
Chris Brown, left, and Justin Bieber. Photo: Getty Images

Not that long ago, Justin Bieber was only a few mistakes away from becoming this generations Vanilla Ice. Between Biebers legal challenges, reports of him abandoning monkeys in Germany (Michael Jackson would never), rumors of substance abuse, and shots of him being carried across the Great Wall of China because apparently his legs stopped functioning, many were starting to write him off. It didnt help that he was increasingly being accused of being rude to his fan base, who rival only David Koresh followers and Beyonce worshipers (shes certainly my lord and gyrator) in dedication.

In response to his increasingly soiled reputation, Bieber rather shrewdly spent a year making amends by way of conversations on Ellen, a Comedy Central roast, and online videos conveying the sweet sentiment, my bad, yo. There was also that GQ profile that featured a quite candid Bieber acknowledging his mistakes, explaining, Everyone, when they start growing up, realizes, Man, I did some dumb shit when I was younger. Its not just me  If I could go back, I wouldnt really change much. I think its all my journey. That stuff made me who I am.

Whether or not he genuinely matured or only cynically presented maturation to the public remains largely debatable. After all, Bieber seems to still be grappling with megafame given that within the last year hes punched a fan and stormed offstage. He continues to be apologetic when met with rightful criticism, so well see if he keeps his hands to himself and his body onstage throughout the concerts on his upcoming stadium tour.

However, the fact that he can even do a stadium tour is a testament to not only his growth as an artist, but being shrewd enough to temper the behavior that was increasingly overshadowing his work. In doing so, he managed to not derail his career, keep a sizable portion of the fan base he accrued as a child star, and ultimately expand on it as a bona fide successful adult entertainer. In addition to his apology tour, Bieber finally cemented a sound that works for him as an adult. It started with 2013s Journals, but his personal transgressions largely overshadowed his artistic growth. Thats why Purpose was far more successful: He settled his debt with the public and gave them something to bop to in What Do You Mean? Bieber offered growth in terms of his image and the music behind it all.

Since the release of both those projects, Bieber has only extended his shining-shining-shining and added two additional No. 1 hits on the Hot 100 with features on DJ Khaleds Im the One and the remix to Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankees Despacito, which has topped the charts for four consecutive weeks.



Bieber may not remember his Spanish each time he performs the latter track, but Im sure he and his label remember how that track and Im the One have made him the go-to artist for a feature. That said, his voice, while pleasant, isnt necessarily remarkable enough to make him necessary to carry a song. The last time Bieber worked on the same track as Quavo it was for his Migos-featuring song, Looking for You. It was okay, but no one heard it and instantly thought, This is the best pairing and they should keep doing this. Time has just been kinder to Bieber than other artists who once were more commercially viable for crossover success.

Now more than ever, I cant help but look at Justin Biebers success and think, This could have been you, Chris Brown. It doesnt help that much of the material Bieber has released since 2014 sounds a lot like songs more suited for Chris Brown.

I feel like DJ Khalid should of used Chris Brown instead of Justin Bieber on "I'm the one"  Im a Graphic Designer  (@blvkpicvsso__) May 26, 2017

i'm convinced that chris brown is somewhere still trying to figure out how justin bieber ended up on that ' i'm the one ' hook and not him  kamo jxde (@kamosignature) May 19, 2017

What if we replaced Justin Bieber with Chris Brown in "I'm the One" ..  Katie Pippen (@KatiePip33) May 6, 2017

They need to make an I'm the One remix and substitute Chris Brown for Justin Bieber.  Troy W (@TDWhite28) May 6, 2017

Dj Khaled should have put Chris Brown on I'm the One instead of Justin Bieber   Mavis Johnson (@mayjay143) May 1, 2017

I'm the one is good asf an Justin Bieber is a good singer but if it had Chris Brown or even Usher singing his part it easily be way better.  uh oh lani (@jelani_walker20) May 2, 2017

Apparently Im not alone in thinking that Biebers got better taste (and better handlers) than Brown, even if Brown is arguably far more gifted as a songwriter and entertainer.

Browns life changed when he attacked Rihanna, and while a simple apology could never erase his monstrous act, he also became stagnant in his actions, both in and out of the studio. Yes, Brown has scored hits in tracks like Loyal and maintains a sizable fan base and share of urban radio airplay  both of which still keep him a headlining tour act  but he had the chance to move his career forward and recapture at least some of the crossover success he was building. That is all but gone, not only because he hasnt settled his personal demons, but because, musically, hes stuck.

When you listen to recent songs like Privacy, they hearken back to Loyal and so many of the other singles that followed which also clearly chased Loyal in terms of subject matter and sound. The only major difference here is the odd insertion of boom shakalaka.

Chris Browns remaining fans may enjoy his retreads of his own songs, but when you reportedly dont listen to your crisis-management people (or even hire any) and dont work with new producers who can help build on your natural talent, you miss the opportunity to grow. And for all of the nonsense Brown has subjected himself to, he possessed a natural skill for creating chart-topping pop music, well-received R&B, and sometimes surprisingly convincing hip-hop tracks.

While Bieber being a white man affords him a bit of privilege that Brown will never enjoy, the streets arent dying to hear Biebers remake of Kendrick Lamars Humble. And now more than ever, music fans are suspicious of white people who step into subcultures they do not directly belong to. Justin Bieber succeeds because he grew up and carved a lane for himself, but he was able to enter that lane because Chris Brown failed to move in the right direction.
Cosby. Photo: Getty Images

The only other Bill Cosby accuser whose testimony a judge has permitted at Cosbys trial for the alleged 2004 sexual assault of Andrea Constand has testified that Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her in 1996. The second woman, previously known only to the public as Kacey, but identified in court as Kelly Johnson, was the first witness to take the stand on Monday, the first day of the trial. She alleges that while working as an assistant to Tom Illius at William Morris, an agency that used to represent Cosby, Cosby was inappropriate with her. She recalled a particular incident in 1996 when Cosby asked her to come to his Bel Air hotel, bring him food, and discuss her potential career as an actress. While there, she alleges he gave her a big white pill with the disclaimer, Would I ever do anything to hurt you? Trust me, it will just help you relax. I felt extremely intimidated, she said, claiming she failed to pretend to take the pill. Johnson said the pill made her feel underwater and she had to lie down on his couch.

The next thing she remembers, she said, was being on a bed next to Cosby with the bottom of her dress pulled up, and the top pulled down, exposing her breasts. She claimed Cosby took a bottle of lotion from the nightstand, lotioned her hand, and placed it on his penis. She said she does not remember going home. I was very afraid because I had a secret about the biggest celebrity in the world at that time, Johnson testified, reportedly between tears and gasps. And it was just me and my word against his. I was afraid. When asked by the district attorney if she consented to this alleged sexual act, Johnson responded, No, I didnt; asked if she would have consented, she said, No, I couldnt.

Johnson, now 55, also testified that there were several instances where Cosby, whom she met in 1990, entreated her to call him from her job and not tell her boss of their correspondence. On a separate visit to Cosbys Los Angeles residence, Johnson said he invited her over for acting lessons  though she says she never expressed interest in acting  and told her to play out a scene in which she was to act tipsy, embrace Cosby, and kiss him. She said they did the scene six times, with Johnson refusing the kiss every time. She said the alleged assault in 1996 occurred at a later period, after she and Cosby didnt have much contact.



Following the alleged assault, Johnson said she overheard a conversation between Cosby and her boss in which Cosby complained about her work and encouraged her to be fired from the company. Shes ungrateful for all the things that have been done for her. Shes a problem. You need to get rid of the problem, she said she heard Cosby tell her boss. I hung up the phone and I was sitting at my desk with tears streaming down my face. Johnson, when asked by Cosbys lawyers, denied having a relationship with Cosby that violated company policy. According to documents cited by Cosbys lawyers at trial, Johnson had alleged that her boss and not Cosby was sexually harassing her and that she filed a workers compensation claim against the agency. Johnson said on the stand that she could not clearly remember the sequence of events at her workplace after the alleged assault. Johnson was eventually terminated from William Morris.



Prior to the trial, a judge ruled that only one other accuser aside from Constand could testify as a prior bad acts witness. The prosecution had wanted 13 other accusers. Johnson testified that she does not know Constand, who is expected to take the stand either Monday or Tuesday.


Sonoya Mizuno, Constance Wu, and Ken Jeong. Photo: Getty Images

Singapores old-money royalty is at the center of Crazy Rich Asians, the upcoming movie based on Kevin Kwans best-selling book. Jon M. Chu (Step Up: All In, Now You See Me 2) is directing this look at Singapores high life, a narrative notable for being an Asian-American production produced by Hollywood (which, after Scarlett & Emma & Tilda & Matt, has a lot to make up for). Chus adaptation has scouted talent from Hollywood and beyond, mixing newcomers with familiar faces  including Vulture faves like Constance Wu and Michelle Yeoh. Now that Crazy Rich Asians has started production, heres everything we know about the cast.

Constance Wu (Rachel Chu)

Constance Wu. Photo: David Crotty/Patrick McMullan via Getty Image

Fresh Off the Boat star and outspoken advocate for equality Wu leads the feature as Rachel Chu, a economics professor living in New York. She agrees to attend a wedding in Singapore with her boyfriend Nick, but the glitzy affair soon turns into baptism by fire. Nick is a lusted-after bachelor from a wealthy family, it turns out, and his family and friends grill her on their relationship and her background, determined to break them up.

Henry Golding (Nick Young)

Henry Golding.

Golding, a Hollywood newcomer, was tapped to play Rachels beau Nick after director Jon Chu opened a worldwide search. The actor, who resides in Singapore, has done TV-hosting work before, but this appears to be his first feature film. His character Nick is a history professor at NYU whos also rich, hot, and desired by every woman at the wedding.

Michelle Yeoh (Eleanor Young)

Michelle Yeoh. Photo: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Seen most recently in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and perhaps best known for her role in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Yeoh has signed on to play Nicks icy mother Eleanor. In the book, she travels to Shenzhen to look into Rachels past, and shes perfectly cast to intimidate the hell out of Constance Wu. In classic Monster-in-Law fashion, she disapproves of Rachel.



Ken Jeong

Ken Jeong. Photo: Isaac Brekken/2011 Getty Images

Its unknown what role Jeong will take on in Crazy Rich Asians, but the Community and Dr. Ken alum will reportedly be bringing his offbeat comedic sensibilities to the production.

Sonoya Mizuno (Araminta Lee)

Sonoya Mizuno. Photo: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images

The Ex Machina actress will play Araminta Lee, the weddings bride. A super-wealthy fashionista, Araminta is marrying Colin, Nicks best friend. Lainey Gossip described Aramintas character as the Olivia Palermo of Singapore  only much wealthier and much more famous. Araminta comes from money, and befriends Rachel. Heres hoping that Mizuno gets another dance scene.



Awkwafina (Goh Peik Lin)

Awkwafina. Photo: Elyssa Goodman

The New Yorkbased rapper is signed on to play Goh Peik Lin, Rachels college friend. Goh Peik Lin lives in Singapore, and gives Rachel the rundown on the complicated social milieu shes stepping into. Awkwafinas last movie was Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, and shes poised to break out in Oceans 8. If youre not already totally charmed by her raps, check out Green Tea, her collab with Margaret Cho.

Chris Pang (Colin Khoo)

Chris Pang. Photo: Gabriel Olsen/FilmMagic

Pang will play Colin Khoo, Nicks best friend and the groom of the storys big wedding. Pang was in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny and appeared in a few episodes of season two of Netflixs Marco Polo. Pang is a Melbourne native, and is fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese.

Gemma Chan (Astrid Teo)

Gemma Chan. Photo: David M. Benett/David M. Benett/Getty Images for

Chans starring turn as a lifelike robot on AMCs Humans gives her plenty of cred to play a distant, otherworldly beauty. Chan will play Astrid, Colins cousin and CRAs true style maven. Never out of couture, Astrid is called the goddess. Her family has more money than god, and probably the Youngs, too. Shes living a charmed life, but shes concerned her husband is cheating on her. Chan had a role in Fantastic Beats and Where to Find Them as Madam Ya Zhou, and will appear in the upcoming Transformers installment.

Remy Hii (Alistair Cheng)

Remy Hii. Photo: Brad Barket/Getty Images

Hii, an Australian actor, will play Nicks cousin Alistair. He works in the movie business in Hong Kong, and is dating a soap opera star. Like Pang, Hii also had a role on Netflixs ill-fated Marco Polo, and starred in the hit Australian mini-series Better Man. In real life, Cheng is active on Instagram, and shared some photos from the set.

Photo: Mike Windle/Getty Images

Harry Shum Jr. (Charlie Wu)

Harry Shum Jr. was a Glee breakout, playing the (admittedly cool) dancer Mike Chang. After the shows end, he appeared in 2016s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny and stars on Freeforms Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments. Shum will reportedly play a tech billionaire named Charlie Wu. Well before CRAs plot unfolds, the ultra-glamorous Astrid was engaged to Wu. Charlie had wealth, but hes wasnt bred from an old-money legacy like Astrids parents wouldve preferred. The engagement dissolved, and Astrid moved on with her current husband, Michael. Does Charlie still harbor secret feelings for Astrid? With Astrids suspicions about her husbands infidelity, maybe its high time they met again, Before Sunset style.

The Ensemble

Singaporean actors Pierre Png, Fiona Xie and Tan Kheng Hua are signed on to play supporting roles. Jing Lusi (Stan Lees Lucky Man), the Daily Shows Ronny Chieng, and Silicon Valleys Jimmy O. Yang round out the supporting cast.


In her dressing room at the Nederlander Theatre on a Tuesday evening, Patti LuPone is doing her makeup for War Paint, which, she claims, will be her last Broadway musical. Of course, nothing is certain, but for now, the actress has made up her mind. Shes working through a grueling, eight-shows-a-week schedule playing the cosmetics magnate Helena Rubinstein, recording a cast album, and campaigning for the Tonys (both LuPone and her co-star Christine Ebersole are nominated). She doesnt know how long her voice will last, and shed rather not step into character acting or be put in a box on the side of a poster. Why not go out in a blaze of glory as Helena Rubinstein? she says. In a great part, with great music, and one more costume change than Evita!

Evita, for those unaware of theater history or LuPones recent diss of the film adaptation, is the show that launched her into stardom and earned her her first Tony in 1980. Its one of the many shows LuPone is famous for, along with Les Miserables, where she played the original Fantine, her comedic turn in Anything Goes, and recent revivals like Sweeney Todd and Gypsy, the latter of which won her a second Tony. As LuPone applied her makeup for War Paint, and later her wig, she sat down with Vulture to discuss the show, her most famous roles, and why she prefers not to be recognized offstage.

So, Scott Frankel, who wrote the music for War Paint, approached you out of the blue with the idea of playing Helena Rubinstein?

Yes, he came up to me on the street at night outside 54 Below and said, I have a role for you, and then I found out what it was. I dont normally turn down things that are offered to me, and I love Scott and his music, so it was sort of a no-brainer. Im not often offered original material. That was five years ago. I think we did four workshops, and we worked on it for three years before we went to Chicago.

During the workshops, what were you trying to refine in the production?

I think it was just developing a character. Doug Wright is a great writer, and the more research that I did on Helena, the more I was able to contribute in the room. My process is instinctual, its organic, and I was just making sure that I was connecting the dots in what Doug had written and what Michael Korie [who wrote the lyrics] and Scott had written.

I did want to understand what the atmosphere of what their roles were. Was it going to be a rivalry, or was it going to be a statement about these women and what they accomplished at that time in society, in that period? I urged them to veer away from a catfight  it couldve so easily gone into camp, and that wouldve been a great disservice to the two of us and the two women were portraying. So it was decided very early on that this would be about the accomplishments of these women and their individual trajectories and journeys in life.

Helenas costumes and jewelry are so impressive. Were you imitating specific items she owned?

I think they did, certainly the charm bracelet. And there was a five-row strand of pearls, which is here someplace. I think this is the strand  [LuPone points out a wall of Helena Rubinstein portraits in her dressing room.]

She would layer jewelry upon jewelry. The bracelet  is it over here? Theres one massive bracelet.

Do you have a favorite piece you wear in the show?

No. Well, I love the bracelet, the look of Forever Beautiful [Rubinsteins last solo]. I met her great grand-niece. I said to her when we met her in Chicago, Oh, were emulating the bracelet, and she said, Oh yes, I remember playing with that in the Paris apartment. Someone asked what I admire about her, and I admired her real estate. She had serious real estate.

You recently said you thought this might be your last musical.

It is.

Are you certain?

As certain as I can be about anything. This is the last musical. Theyre very difficult. I think theyre more difficult because of automation and technicals. Tech is longer and more exhausting, and this one may have been more difficult because of the recording and all the Tony stuff, and we went in right under the Tony wire. But  I dont know how long my voice will last. By the time another one comes along I may not have a voice. I dont want to have be character woman and be put in a box [on the side of a poster]. I cant be a leading lady forever, so why not go out in a blaze of glory as Helena Rubinstein? In a great part, with great music, and one more costume change than Evita!

I love doing musicals and I love performing onstage and I dont think Ill ever stop performing onstage. Id like to do more plays. If Im going to come back to Broadway, itll be in a play. Im saying that now. Something might come along and Ill change my mind. But right now, this is the end.

What else would you do? Would you go to TV?

Yes, TV! I want to go back and do TV. Its less pressure. You just do your job, go home, and when the Emmys come along youre so far removed from what you did if you get the nomination! Thats the thing about TV and film  youre far removed from it when the nominations come out. Its over, youve done your season and whatever. Here its immediate. The reviews  theyre immediate! You cant go anyplace. Youre on stage the next night. If you got terrible reviews, you go on stage the next night and youre like, Okay.

Thats what it was with The Anarchist [the 2012 David Mamet play that starred LuPone and Debra Winger]. Bad notices, bad producer. Bad notices close the show. In my opinion, producers only know how to produce when they get bad reviews. If you dont know how to produce when you get bad reviews, youre not a producer, because you dont need to produce a hit.

Photo: Lauren Klain Carton/Vulture

You did that stint on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend 

Isnt it the best? Shes so fun!

How did that come about?

I was in L.A. talking to my manager who asked what shows I like. The ones I like are Silicon Valley, Veep, and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, as far as comedies are concerned. She called the producer of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and said, Patti loves your show. They went, Just a minute, called back and said, Youve got a part. So I played Rabbi Shari. [Crazy Ex-Girlfriend creator] Rachel Bloom is the only person in film today that knows how to do musical numbers.

What do you mean by that?

She understands the spontaneity, how to lift it from talk to song, so it makes total sense. We were prerecorded, but their camera department, their directors, her music staff, and she just know how to do it. Ive always said TV is a proscenium. So a lot of times with these musical numbers on TV, in my opinion, you want to see the whole thing, and you want to see the atmosphere that created it. You want to see their bodies, you want to see their legs. I got dizzy watching Chicago, because it was like the MTV cuts from those videos. I got nauseous! How can you have an emotional reaction to something unless youre taken on a journey? You cant if youre constantly cutting.

When a production with a role youre known for, like Evita or Les Mis, is adapted into something else, do you feel ownership of it?

You know what the ownership is? You know what pisses me off? When they do movie musicals, they dont pay enough attention to the stage production that allowed them to make the movie. That is not my ownership; that is the creators ownership, that is the director who came up with the concept. When Evita was made in 96, two things happened that were shocking. They wanted me to play Evitas mother  but that wasnt shocking. Then, my agent at the time told the studio, Why dont you talk to [original director] Hal Prince? and they didnt even know who he was. That, to me, is blatant disrespect.

As far as Les Mis is concerned, maybe they just wanted to get it on, and maybe thats what [producer] Cameron Mackintosh wanted to look at the tonsils, I dont know. But when you look at what directors Trevor Nunn and John Caird did in the original production, it was pretty extraordinary. If the writers, Alain Boublil, Jean-Marc Natel, and Claude-Michel Schonberg, agreed to however they cut it [she shrugs]. But as the actor, the ownership I have is my performance and nothing more.

On Crazy Ex-Girlfriend youre Rabbi Shari, in The Comedian you were Florie Berkowitz, and on this youre Helena Rubinstein. You keep playing Jewish roles.

Im a Jew! I just saw Jerry Zaks, and I was like, Im an honorary Jew!

Is there a reason behind the trend. Do you just find that people offer you those parts?

I guess so, lately.

I guess theres a certain kinship with fellow immigrants to America.

Whats the difference between an Italian and a Jew? Nothing, really. But in between all that I played Doctor Seward, the Cut-Wife [in Penny Dreadful], who was not a Jew. I dont know what she was, but she wasnt a Jew.

How did you end up on Girls?

I got a shout-out, so I wrote to Lena Dunham thanking her, and she said, You want to be on it?

Photo: Lauren Klain Carton/Vulture

What was it like to play yourself?

Well, it was a version of myself, a drunk Patti LuPone. It was great working with Reed Birney, Lena, and Andrew Rannells. I had so much fun [laughs]. I want to be in a comedy.

Im interested in how you see yourself as a star. In your memoir, you wrote that when you were in Evita, you didnt listen to people telling you to dress up like a star as you exited the stage door.

No, its not that. Carlos, the dance captain, used to tell me I didnt have to dress up. Mary Martin might have, and Ann Miller certainly did, but I have never. When I first moved to NYC, it was the late 60s and the city was about to go bankrupt, so I dressed like I didnt have money so I wouldnt get mugged, and I never grew out of that habit. I always dress kind of like a slob. I never wear makeup, because I wear so much of it every day. I have to give my face a rest.

The idea of drawing attention to myself has never been something that I was comfortable with. It prevents me from observing humanity, you know, sitting on a park bench and just looking. Id prefer not to be recognized so I can remain an observer. Nobody ever does recognize me because they think I might be a six-foot-tall blonde. I used to walk out the stage door and look people in the eye who were waiting for Evita to leave the door, but she just left! Id go out in my little overalls and my long brown hair, and that was it.

Ive also always been shy in my own life. Im certainly an extrovert, but Im also an introvert. You see some people and youre drawn to them. I dont have that, Ive never had that, and I dont know what it is. I guess all that is reserved for the stage. In my life, I lead a really, really quiet life in Connecticut and I dont do anything. I prefer to stay home. Thats why I commute. I wake up in green.

Youve talked about trying to find a new interpretation of Mama Rose when you did Gypsy. Whats important to you about finding a new interpretation of a work?

Because I dont want to imitate. John Doyles production of Sweeney wasnt Hal Princes, so there was no way to do Angies [Angela Lansburys] performance. I read a script and I see it a certain way. I dont try to be different, I just read it differently than someone else. I think thats true of all actors: They look at it in their own minds eye. So its not that I go out intentionally trying to do something different than the last production, its just how I read it.

Now that you can find clips of old performances on YouTube, it just seems easy to find a standard interpretation to develop. Do you think its harder for people to break out of that?

For actors, it depends on their training, it depends on their ability to create, the creativity they have in their body. If its a good part, if its a universal part, it can withstand a myriad of interpretations within the context of the play, as long as its hitting all the right emotional notes, you know, to progress the character. Look at how many different Hamlets there are!

[The half-hour call comes on the speaker in the dressing room.]

Do I have my makeup on? [Checks mirror.] Yes, I do.

I remember you saying that, before you did Anything Goes, you felt people had forgotten you could do comedy.

Exactly, they did because Evita left its mark  well, I did make them laugh at the end of the first act and I did make them cry at the end of the second act.

When you play a character like Evita, whos abetting this horrible regime, how do you approach that as an actor?

I have to win the audience over to accept what theyre seeing. Stanislavsky said you cant play a villain without showing their good points. There has to be humanity. They have to be recognizable to an audience, whether you like them or not. My applause used to dip after Mandys, and it broke my heart. But people still remember my performance to this day. They couldnt make up their minds about her. I kept saying, Its because Im doing such a good job! [Laughs.] It used to break my heart, but they still remember my performance. I think thats what theater is  a memory, a treasured memory.

Photo: Lauren Klain Carton/Vulture

Youve been critical about the way the press can set up feuds between women in theater, like comparisons between the London and U.S. productions of Evita or the bitter history of the New York and London productions of Sunset Boulevard. Do see War Paint responding to that?

Absolutely. Why do people want to see women feuding? How come we dont want to see guys feuding? Is it sexual? What is it that makes people want to see fighting between women? What is it? Why do we all want to see women mud wrestle instead of men mud wrestle? What the hell?

In War Paint, theres only a slight bit of cattiness in it when we talk about each other, but that is humorous, its to be expected. But to make an entire evening of that would make these women unattractive. Power is attractive and theres something powerful about these women that made them attractive. You dont want to alienate an audience, you dont want them to go, Shut up! Get over it already! You want them to be fascinated by these people. I dont know if were achieving that, but I think we are.

[She looks up at the clock.]

Seven oclock curtain! That means we get outta here early!

How do you preserve your voice during these runs?

For me, a lot of quiet time is the best thing. The muscles want to relax. The disco days are over. I cant even go into Bar Centrale. Theres a Thursday night at Sardis for actors thats wonderful, but it gets so loud that when you start talking over the din, you come home with no voice. Its the first thing that goes. If somebody wants to take me out, we have to find a quiet corner someplace.

Since you started on Broadway, do you think the theater community has changed?

Joe Mantello started that night at Sardis because there are no more theater parties. Its only Joe Allen and Bar Centrale. It used to be Jimmy Rays, McHales, Charley Os. Theyre all closed, and nothing stays open anymore. I called the 21 Club to get John Doyle a real New York experience after the show, and they said, Last seating is 9:30. I yelled, YOU WERE A SPEAKEASY! I dont know why, but its harder to go out.

Times Square has changed a lot, too.

Well, they took the focus off the theater district, thats for sure. It used to be literary and theater, and they put it on a jumbotron next to a museum. Its very depressing. You have to fight to get to the theater.

This interview has been edited and condensed.
Even Donald Trumps own counselor Kellyanne Conway has suggested everyone stop analyzing President Donald Trumps constant barrage of tweets. If even his own staff doesnt want Americans to read too much into them, maybe no one should, especially any and all leaders in countries the U.S. has traditionally considered allies. On Late Night tonight, Seth Meyers takes a look at Trumps recent tweets about the revived travel ban, his burgeoning beef with London mayor Sadiq Khan, and, of course, his comments about the Paris climate accord, and its hard not to think there is power in numbers. Numbers of people just not reading every single POTUS tweet. Or any.


Justin Theroux and Carrie Coon in The Leftovers finale. Photo: HBO

HBOs The Leftovers has always been a story of faith and doubt, filled with coincidences that might really be the result of fates wheels turning. Sundays finale was the culmination of everything that series co-creators Damon Lindelof and Tom Perrotta and their collaborators have done to put that notion and others across during the shows three seasons, but always with an element of what we might call plausible deniability. No matter what uncanny events occur, the viewer can credibly interpret events as breaking one way or the other, secure (or insecure) in the knowledge that the show will remain officially agnostic about what happened and what were supposed to take away from it. As the second seasons theme song advised us  in a nifty bit of meta-commentary on the disappointingly received finale for Lindelofs last major series, Lost  we have to let the mystery be. It might (or might not) be a sign that the theme reappeared at the start of the series finale, during a season that changed its theme music every episode. I prefer to think of it as a sign, or at least a hint, but Ill entertain other explanations, because The Leftovers devised its own intricate cosmology but kept many of its fine points a secret right up to the shows final frame.

In that spirit, lets observe that the series finale of The Leftovers aired exactly ten summers after the finale of The Sopranos, a show rich in ambiguity, dream images, daring but seemingly offhand pivots of tone and style, strategic deployments of anticlimax (such as Richie Apriles death in season two), and conspicuously unresolved story strands. Among the latter was the Russian gangster in season threes classic episode Pine Barrens, who survived two bumbling mob assassins murder attempts like a mook Rasputin, then vanished from the show forever. Episode writer Terence Winter has said he suggested bringing the Russian for a cameo later, but series creator David Chase refused, preferring to think of the character as, in Chases words, a creature out of a Russian folktale. The disappearing Russian now seems in retrospect like a harbinger of many other audience provocations that distinguished the series. The most notorious, of course, was the finales abrupt cut to black, which Chase himself has repeatedly described, with increasing exasperation, as a generalized statement about how life was precious and could be snatched from us at any moment, but that instead sparked a seemingly unending debate between fans about whether the hero lived or died.

Leave it to Lindelof, Perrotta & Co. to take the last four minutes of The Sopranos and turn it into a show.

In that spirit, Ill tell you what I initially believed happened in The Leftovers finale. Then Ill tell you the conclusion that I came to the day after I watched it and how I got there.

You should bear in mind that nothing I say here is meant to seem definitive. The Leftovers bunch wouldnt have spent their second season warning us to let the mystery be at the start of each new chapter if they didnt mean it.

You should also bear in mind that I have  to my surprise as much as everyone elses  a personal relationship with this series that has ripped away the membrane that usually separates artists from critics, making it impossible for me to review any future Lindelof productions without a disclaimer. Lindelof told me earlier that year that that episode five of season three, Its a Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt World, was inspired in part by his reading of my personal writing about grief and recovery, as well as previous writing Id done about the character of Matt Jamison, the minister played by Christopher Eccleston. (Go here to read our full discussion on the episode.)

So, about the finale: Just as the last episode of The Sopranos, the end of which made viewers wonder if their cable went out, summed up everything that Chases series was about, philosophically as well as dramatically, so too did The Leftovers ending distill the shows half-spiritual, half-psychiatric vibe. Lindelof and Perrottas series has always been good at suggesting, like a therapist or cleric, ways of thinking about trauma and loss that dont so much identify destinations for us to journey toward, but suggest various pathways for us to travel as we think and heal.

A therapist once told me, Everyone in a dream is you. I think that in the dreamy universe of The Leftovers, every character is us, and every plot development, even the ones that contradict each other, really happened. Ordinary distinctions between real and not real dont apply here, for the most part, and the writers have made a point of messing up any possible left-brained attempts to solve the shows mysteries. No matter how far backward you bend in order to justify a single reading of events on the show, theres always going to be a wild card like a David Burton, who showed up in the International Assassin episode telling Kevin he has to sing to get home, then appears again in Its a Matt, Matt, Matt, Matt World, in the real world.

The episode starts with Nora (Carrie Coon), a fiercely unsentimental but deeply emotional person, saying good-bye to her brother Matt right before getting into the transporter-destroyer-teleporter that shes been told will take her to the other side, wherever that is, and reunite her with the family she lost on the day of the Event. As the chamber fills up with fluid, the episode (written by Lindelof and directed by the great Mimi Leder) cuts away from Nora the instant that she seems to change her mind about drowning herself  a mode of transport that links her to her lover Kevin, a Christlike shaman who journeys to the other side by drowning or intentionally asphyxiating himself, as well as Kevins ex-wife Laurie (Amy Brenneman), who appeared to commit suicide by drowning. The cutaway from Nora is another echo of the Sopranos ending, however oblique: The timing of the cut, not just mid-sentence but mid-word, is so brutal and seemingly random that at first I thought it was a glitch in HBOs signal.

Then we meet Nora again, looking ten years older. We dont know where we are, geographically or in time. At first I assumed the Australian landscape was somewhere in the alternate reality that Kevin had visited twice at length, in International Assassin and The Most Powerful Man in the World (though maybe a less jock-ish, David LynchdoesJames Bond corner of it). Nora has evidently been living there long enough to acquire grey hair and wrinkles. Kevin shows up on her doorstep, visibly aged as well, telling a hugely redacted story about how they met that makes him sound like one of those earnest stalkers that used to be commonplace in romantic comedies until critics started pointing out en masse how creepy they were.

The way the place is photographed, favoring wide panoramas of depopulated areas, has a dreamlike aura, in character with the rest of The Leftovers, though more gentle and reflective. Kevins account of his and Noras relationship made it seem as if were supposed to think we were getting either a glimpse of life on the other side or Noras dream of it, a place in which Kevin might not be Kevin but Kevin, a dream-figure manifestation of Noras issues. I also wondered if this show, which has shown us so many doppelganger-like figures, was doing it again here with Kevin, two versions of whom had struggled to the death in the preceding episode, The Most Powerful Man in the World.

Eventually the episode gets around to clarifying that this Australian outback is, in fact, a continuation of the reality we saw in the opening sequence, where Nora intentionally drowns herself. Were just further along on the timeline. Nora explains to Kevin that she ended up on the other side and wandered through a mirrored universe in which she had died and the rest of her family had lived, her husband remarrying an attractive woman (when describing her, Nora says she was pretty twice). Noras account of her journey is redolent of the sequences in A Christmas Carol where Scrooge is taken on a tour of his past, present, and future as a ghost who cant interact with the living, as well as the post-bridge jump sections of the American version of that story, Its a Wonderful Life.

Noras descriptions of the other side are conveyed without flashbacks. Its vividness is put across by Coons skills. It is the high-water mark in one of the best lead actress performances Ive seen on a TV series. Jen Chaneys 2016 piece about Coon sums up everything I could possibly say here about her, so Ill just add two things on her performance in this finale. First, the scene was a sustained piece of verbal storytelling that ranks with the One Time at the Beach scene in Ingmar Bergmans Persona and Tommy Lee Joness closing aria in No Country for Old Men. Second, Coons performance made me believe her as strongly as Kevin believed her.

Another striking thing about Noras story is the way it gives audiences an organizing metaphor for a scenario that happens over and over on The Leftovers, and in life: people comparing their own grief to others as if it were an ouch contest. Rather than seeing a world in which there was no Event, Nora sees one where there was another, mirrored but more devastating event. There arent even enough people left to fly planes and have an airline industry; its possible to travel for long periods of time without seeing another person; and rather than standing as the sole survivor in her family, Nora is the only person who was taken.

On first viewing, I was convinced that Nora really did visit that other world, but I later came to think that the only reason I believed the story is because Carrie Coon delivered it. Now Im not sure what happened. And as always on this show, what happened is less important than what the characters are feeling as it happens to them, or as they describe the events to others.

There are many creative choices in this episode that the viewer just has to decide to be okay with. The biggest one, for me, is Kevins seeming amnesia about his relationship with Nora. Lindelof has justified these as conventions out of a romantic comedy  they made me think of Deborah Kerrs explanation for bailing on Cary Grant at the end of An Affair to Remember, oddly  and while Im not entirely persuaded in terms of character motivation, this gambit is no stranger than anything else weve seen on the show. In fact, its of a piece with The Leftovers knack for lucid-dream logic, in which the sleeping mind is met with a scenario that seems outwardly realistic but that has a few details that are surreal or inexplicably off. When youre having a dream like that, you arent sure at first if youre awake and having a weird experience or asleep and envisioning a mostly believable one.

The Kevin-Nora exchanges in the ending sum up the heart of The Leftovers perfectly. Lies are personal attempts to twist reality into a shape that the liar can live with or function within; its the opposite of accepting what actually happens to us in life and dealing with the implications, however unpleasant or embarrassing those might be. The resolution of the couples story here is also about letting yourself be vulnerable, trusting others to accept you, and accepting love when its offered. The finale brings Noras story and Kevins in the preceding episode together  marries them, sort of. Kevins ridiculous airport-thriller adventure in The Most Powerful Man in the World (and His Identical Twin Brother) pits two Kevins against each other. One of the Kevins is being compelled (by a version of Ann Dowds character, Patti Levin, who haunted him like a specter in season two) to destroy the world; the other Kevin has been tasked with killing the first Kevin in order to prevent that from happening. Its an externalized version of an internal conflict thats always driven Kevin, though its not always easy to see because hes such a reactive, emotionally constipated character (note the detail that he has so many bowel movements in a day; he can expel physical toxins but not emotional ones). My own reading of the battle in The Most Powerful Man in the World is that the president version of Kevin is one driven by his doubts and demons to destroy love, and the other Kevin knows he must be stopped. The apocalypse that ends that episode may not signal the end of that world, or any world, but the end of Kevins potential for happiness. It seems fitting that the next and final episode would see Kevin traveling obsessively to Australia over and over to find Nora (a wonderfully romantic image, however fucked-up the characters may be).

Noras story is fun to think about in terms of alternate realities. The only thing that bothered me about Kevins trips are that they seemed so ridiculously macho and juvenile in some ways. Its all about commandos, assassins, luxury hotels, tuxedos, presidential codes, nuclear weapons, and the like. But what if the reality you see is shaped by your own perceptions of whats interesting and important? Kevin is a cop, hes not an intellectual, and hes overwhelmingly, at times hilariously, stoic. It makes sense that his alternate world  where everyone is dead  would look like a crackpot version of a Jason Bourne film.

If we roll with that interpretation, it makes it easier for me (or anyone) to think that Nora really did go on a journey, and that the only reason we didnt see it portrayed in images is because Carrie Coons performance is so powerful that we didnt need them. So lets set aside, for a moment, the fact that the Leftovers bunch didnt show Noras trip because they wanted us to wonder if it really happened. Lets say it did happen.

What sort of world did Nora see?

One thats more reflective of Noras sensibility than Kevins.

The only fantastic or science-fictional element is the duplicate teleporter that she asks the machines inventor to build for her so that she can return to our world. Everything else that she describes sounds like a version of what wed see right here, right now. But its a bleak and depopulated world, distinguished by open, empty spaces, and its a very hard world, filled with people who feel isolated and alone but have decided to just soldier along and depend on themselves, not a community. (It seems notable that Nora never mentions the machines inventor as part of a community: I picture him living in a shack somewhere like the Unabomber.)

So does everyone who visits an alternate reality see one custom-tailored to fit their personalities and interests? Maybe.

But another possible way to see these trips is that they arent really trips, but traumatic dreams or hallucinations brought about by near-death experiences. What if Kevin never went anywhere, either? What if he just hallucinated those adventures as a byproduct of the trauma of forcing his own clinical death? What we could be dealing with here, in both Kevins visible journeys and Noras narrated one, is a description of metaphor-laden dreams that dont describe any external reality, but the internal landscape of the person telling the story.

Thus, Kevins trips look like the kinds of movies he probably watches on TNT or AMC on Memorial Day weekend, sitting on a couch with a six-pack of beer and a bowl of chips. And Noras trips look more like an Andrei Tarkovsky or Samuel Beckett film because thats more her speed. (Not that shes given any indication of being into either of those artists  Im just describing how the vibe is different.)

So if the other worlds are not other worlds, but dreams of a sort, then what were seeing when we watch The Leftovers is a Russian nesting doll metaphor for trauma, grief, and recovery. The show is itself a dream, and within it, there are other dreams, each experienced by individual characters who all have their own sensibilities and emotional issues. You fall down a rabbit hole, and when youre at the bottom, you have a choice of more rabbit holes to go down, and there are probably more at the bottom of whichever one you choose.

A minister friend of mine once cautioned me against comparing my own grief to anyone elses, especially when it led me to conclude that my own was not so bad in comparison. He said that no matter what sort of loss you experience  a parent, a child, a spouse, a friend; even a nonlethal loss like a divorce, a layoff, or losing your house in a fire or flood  the event opens up an emotional abyss that you fall into. Its all the same abyss, he said. Some people fall more deeply into the abyss than others, always for their own reasons. And once youre down there, he told me, There are no magic words from other people that can get you out. You stay down there until youre ready to climb out.

Ive heard from so many people, including colleagues who write about television, that this show has been hugely helpful to them as they work through their own losses. Its certainly been helpful to me, and it was helpful long before I learned that Lindelof was taking details from my story and transforming them into elements to be used in his. Of course, the therapeutic aspects of the show arent enough to cement its claims on importance. I think its the writing, directing, acting, editing, photography, and music that do that: i.e., the storytelling, the filmmaking. But its the point of it all, the ultimate function of it all, that gives the form meaning. The Leftovers was not content to be impressive or thoughtful. It was also generous and kind.

I miss it already.
Anupam Kher has been confirmed to play the role of former prime minister Manmohan Singh in the upcoming cinematic adaptation of the book The Accidental Prime Minister.

By India Today Web Desk: Anupam Kher confirmed that he is playing the character of former prime minister of India, Manmohan Singh, in the cinematic adaptation of Sanjay Baru's book, The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh.

The book, written by Singh's former media adviser, gives a rivetting insight into Indian politics. It was released just before the 2014 general elections and has been discussed at length since then. The book gave a detailed account of the UPA Prime Minister and the controversies regarding prominent Congress leaders.

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The first look of the film is to be released on Wednesday. The movie is slated to release in December 2018, ahead of the 2019 parliamentary polls.

The project promises to be a political drama of a grander stature than Richard Attenborough's Academy award-winning Gandhi, as told by producer Sunil Bohra.

Apart from Kher, the rest of the cast has not been confirmed yet.

"The research on the movie is already over. Auditioning (for the remaining cast) is in its final lap. The movie will hit the screens next year," producer Bohra told Economic Times.

The film is to be directed by debutant Vijay Ratnakar Gutte. The screenplay of the film has been written by National Award-winning director Hansal Mehta.

ALSO READ | Anupam Kher on CM Yogi Adityanath: Don't want to dignify troll attack

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ALSO WATCH: Anupam Kher bristles at selective media

--- ENDS ---
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kerjwal has asked discoms to take a slew of steps to ensure citizens face minimum inconvenience in the summer.

By India Today Web Desk: With the mercury hitting the roof and the power demand soaring in Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met the chief secretary and directed him to ask discoms to inform Delhiites about unscheduled power cuts through SMS.

Arvind Kejriwal also wants the discoms to increase the staff at call centres handling public complaints and list scheduled power cuts on their websites.

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Discoms have also been directed to put up hoarding across the city displaying their complaint numbers for the benefit of power consumers.

Discoms have been asked to mend the faults in the supply line if there is any and ensure a continuous supply.

MORE HELP AT HAND

Addressing a press conference, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia announced a series of steps the discoms have been asked to take which would give relief to Delhiites.

"Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, after analysing the power demand situation of past few days, has given directions to his chief secretary to ask all three discoms to increase the number of seats in their call centres," Manish Sisodia said.

Among other steps, the power department has been asked to record, transcribe and analyse each complaint call for public satisfaction. Kejriwal has also asked for a daily report on unscheduled power cuts for the previous day.

COMPENSATE CONSUMERS

In a significant measure, Manish Sisodia also talked of reviving an aborted clause in the Delhi Electricity Act which required discoms to pay compensation to the consumers for power-cuts exceeding two hours.

"The court had shot it down earlier, saying that we did not have approval of the Lt. Governor... I am meeting him (LG) tomorrow (Wednesday) and would talk to him about bringing it in practice," Sisodia said.

With the capacity of producing 8,000 MW, Delhi has no shortage of power, Manish Sisodia assured, and said the national capital is only second to Mumbai in terms of sustained supply of electricity.

(with inputs from IANS)

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Heat wave kills 10 in Uttar Pradesh; simmering Delhi looks forward to rain, thunderstorm: 10 facts

Odisha: Heat wave, water scarcity claim 34 lives; mercury rises to 47 degree

Kejriwal's open threat over power outage: Will give stick to discoms

ALSO WATCH: North India simmers, no respite in heat wave

--- ENDS ---
Viviana Smith said she was dumbstruck last month when the vote of a single Waco City Council member killed her application for a special permit to turn a downtown house into a vacation rental unit.

On Tuesday, that case will get a do-over.

The council will vote on whether to annul the May 9 decision and approve the special permit for a temporary residential rental unit at 617 Columbus Ave.

The vote is set for 6 p.m. at the Waco Convention Centers Bosque Theatre, following a 3 p.m. work session in which the council will interview candidates for the District 1 council seat recently vacated by Wilbert Austin.

Because 14 people are vying for that seat, the council will wrap up interviews at a 5 p.m. meeting June 13 and name a replacement then to fill out the remaining year on Austins term.

The move to annul the May 9 council decision on the vacation unit is unusual, but so was the decision itself.

Smiths application for the special permit faced no opposition from neighbors, and it had the unanimous support of the Waco Plan Commission and city planning staff. On May 9, with Councilman Austin absent and Mayor Kyle Deaver out of the room, the council voted 3-1 in favor of the special permit.

But the citys rules for special permits require support of a majority of the entire six-member council, not just the members present, so the motion fell short.

Personal grudge

Smith, who owns Texas Star Properties with her husband, Randall, appeared before the council afterward. She accused the lone dissenter, Alice Rodriguez, of retaliating against her because of a personal grudge.

In an interview Monday, Mayor Kyle Deaver said he asked for the revote.

I requested that, because I had to step out of the the room to take an urgent call, and I didnt expect to miss the vote, he said. I wasnt able to get back in time. . . . I felt like that wasnt a fair situation to the applicant for me not to be there, because we were already missing a council member.

Deaver said he didnt want to commit to how he would vote until Tuesdays meeting, but he said he didnt have any concerns about the application. City Manager Dale Fisseler said he expects five council members will be present Tuesday, with Austins seat still vacant.

Rodriguez said Monday she hadnt decided how she would vote this time.

I never make up my mind until I get to the council, she said.

Smith said Monday that Rodriguez should abstain from voting.

I think the citizens of Waco would expect anyone in the position of city council member to recuse themselves when they know theres some history that would conflict with the way theyre going to vote, she said. When a councilwoman uses her position to retaliate, thats not ethical.

Smith was referring to a well-publicized dispute in 2006, when Viviana Smith was a board member of the Cen-Tex Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Rodriguezs husband, Joe Rodriguez, was executive director. Smith and several other chamber members accused Joe Rodriguez of financial mismanagement and went to court to get access to the organizations financial records. Smith later supported a council campaign against Alice Rodriguez.

Alice Rodriguez denied any motivation to retaliate against Smith, whom she said she has never met.

Rodriguez said she has opposed several temporary residential rental unit applications, not just Smiths.

The last time, I voted against several of them, she said. I had problems with someone not being there. A person who is renting the house should be there.

The house at 617 Columbus Ave. is in O-3 zoning, a mixed-use category that is prevalent downtown. It is surrounded by commercial zoning, and its neighbors are vacant lots, old office buildings and the Masonic Grand Lodge of Texas.

Smith said the location avoids the objections that other temporary residential rental units in traditional neighborhoods have faced.

I think its ideal, because residential homes are far from the house, she said.

Long vacant

The two-story brick home was long vacant and was listed on the tax rolls for $17,257 shortly before the Smiths bought it in 2008. Viviana Smith said they put about $100,000 into renovating the house, which is about a century old. It has been rented to Baylor University students until a few months ago.

We wanted to give it a rest and have this other way of renting it out, she said. I thought it would be great for people (on) vacation. Its a great house with a lot of seating areas and a great view of the ALICO Building and the courthouse.

Smith said she appreciates that city staff and council members have been willing to listen to her concerns about the first vote.

Its a victory for us, and its a victory for Waco, she said.
The Heart of Texas summer meals program is back in action, offering meals to children while school is out of session.

The program is scaling back the number of sites in Waco and Bellmead where it will offer meals this year after a few years of adding sites, said Craig Nash, the Texas Hunger Initiative child hunger outreach specialist for Waco. Officials dont expect the reduction in meal sites to reduce the number of meals served, and about 70 sites in the area are up and running this summer.

A couple of years ago, we kind of went through a phase where we were just adding sites and really kind of experimenting in neighborhoods that may not have had a high concentration of kids, but we were setting up sites just in case, Nash said. Weve learned over the years where the need is and were refining that.

Baylor Universitys Texas Hunger Initiative hosted kick off events Monday and Tuesday at Seley Park and Brame Park to celebrate the start of the program, which addresses a meal gap for children and added expenses parents face while school is out for three months, Nash said.

The Texas Hunger Initiative, a collaborative project that focuses on tackling childhood hunger statewide, has served as a coordinator for the summer meals program about seven or eight years, but the summer meals program has operated for much longer, he said. It brings the Waco and La Vega school districts together with nonprofit groups to serve at dozens of school and community sites, he said.

Some of the parents in the summer, they struggle with food, and this gives them a little bit of breathing room, La Vega ISD parent Carmen Castro said. You dont have to worry about what youre going to have for lunch or trying to come up with something. Its just different.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reimburses the groups that run the program for every meal served, meaning it costs the local groups basically nothing to operate, Nash said. Meals are free to all children and teenagers ages 18 or younger, regardless of enrollment, ID or proof of income.

The Texas Hunger Initiative has about 5,500 meal sites operating across the state, twice as many as when it started in 2009, senior director Jeremy Everett said.

Now were serving about a hundred million meals annually, during school and during summer, Everett said. I think its just more of an awareness. We had 5.5 million food-insecure individuals in 2009. Weve almost seen that number drop by a million people in that time period. The jobs and economy, and so on and so forth, is strengthening, but the need is still high.

As part of the effort, Waco ISD will also continue its Meals on the Bus program, and La Vega ISD will host its annual Lunch Bus Express, using school buses to deliver nutritious lunches to local parks, libraries, community centers and churches. Both programs have been running since about 2014 and 2015, respectively.

Even with 5,500 meal sites, its inadequate to serve all the children food, Everett said. People are beginning to realize parks are an ideal location, and whats happening is were all becoming better at getting food to the kids at the right time and the right location.

In a September study done by the Texas Hunger Initiative, researchers found more than 1 in 4 children in the state are considered food-insecure. Public school systems are quickly becoming the primary infrastructure to address the ongoing issue of childhood hunger, and Waco ISD is no exception, according to the study.

Overall, 63 percent of McLennan County students were eligible for free or reduced-price meals in the 2014-15 school year, according to the study. The same year, 87.4 percent of Waco ISDs students were eligible for free or reduced-price meals, the study states. About half of La Vega ISDs 3,000 students receive free or reduced-price lunch, according to the National Center of Education Statistics.

Everybody needs help

Castro, who has two children in La Vega ISD and will soon have a third, doesnt consider himself a parent who is facing financial hardships, he said. But he sees it every day, and said he plans to take his children to Brame Park twice a week to keep them from going stir crazy during the summer. A free meal offered by La Vega ISD as part of the summer meal program is just a bonus, he said.

This will give them a chance to be around other kids and give them time to play. Theres a lot of kids they can play with, and I think its a good idea for other parents, especially in Bellmead, Castro said. Some parents really, really struggle. I want to say were good, but everybody needs help once in a while.

The eight or 10 mobile sites, like Seley Park and Brame Park, will feed 10 to 15 children each, Nash said. The stand-alone sites where school districts deliver the meals, like a community recreation center, will serve upward of 100-120 meals a day, Nash said.

Waco ISDs bus will visit Seley Park at 12:40 p.m. every day, and La Vegas bus will visit Brame Park at 12:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, officials with the programs said.

The Heart of Texas summer meals program also gives children a chance to forget about the possibility of going hungry and be in a place where they can make new friends, which can help reduce the stigma of a difficult financial situation, he said.

Theres research that says one of the most intimate things you can do with someone is share a meal with them, Nash said. Not just the kids, but the families who come here, get connected with each other. It strengthens neighborhoods in a way really few other things can.

For more information or to find the nearest meal site, families can visit summerfood.org, call 211 or text FOODTX to 877-877.
By Press Trust of India: By Natasha Chaku

Melbourne, Jun 6 (PTI) Australian police today confirmed that a shooting and hostage situation in Melbourne which killed two people, including the gunman, was an act of "terrorism", after the Islamic State claimed responsibility.

The gunman identified as Yacqub Khayre was shot dead yesterday following a stand-off with police which lasted for more than an hour at serviced apartments on Bay Street in Brighton, 11km south-east of Melbournes central business district.

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Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said Khayre, was known to police and had a long criminal history.

Khayre was charged and acquitted by a jury over a plot to attack the Holsworthy Army barracks in Sydney in 2009.

Three of his co-accused were found guilty of planning the terrorist attack for Australias military involvement action in the Middle East.

Ashton was quoted as saying by the ABC that the siege was being treated as a "terrorism incident".

"He has a long criminal history with us, but also from what were piecing together comments he made related to Islamic State and Al-Qaeda certainly for us put this in the terrorism category," he said, adding that, Khayre was released on parole in November last year.

"He has recently done some jail time, he got out late last year and has been on parole at the time of this offending last night," he said.

"This person wasnt someone around which we had major concerns at this time, and we had nothing to suggest (he was planning) what he did suddenly decide to do."

ABC had reported that the Islamic state claimed responsibility for the siege through a published statement via Amaq news agency which is affiliated to the terror group.

It said the attack in Melbourne was carried out by one of its "soldiers".

"The attack in Melbourne, Australia was carried out by a soldier of the Islamic State in response to the call for targeting the subjects of the coalition states," the statement said.

Last night, Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Andrew Crisp said police were also probing reports of a phone call made to the Channel 7 newsroom by someone referring to the Islamic State.

"Thats all part of the investigation at this point in time as to who made that phone call, but we will certainly be working with Channel 7 in relation to that phone call," he said.

The siege began after emergency services responded to reports of an explosion at the apartment building at 4pm in the evening.

Police discovered the body of a man with gunshot wounds in the foyer.

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Ashton confirmed the man worked at the apartment building, and said he was "at the wrong place, at the wrong time".

Dozens of gunshots rang out just after 6 PM in Bay Street with crowds of people fleeing and taking refuge in a nearby supermarket.

Three police officers were shot by the gunman during the shoot-out. A woman, in her 20s who was held hostage by Khayre was rescued. PTI NC AJR

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After a nearly two-year process, the Lorena Police Department was awarded the Recognized Law Enforcement Agency for implementing and adhering to the best practices for law enforcement in Texas.

Being a chief administrator, it makes me feel good and proud to know we have policies in place to be rated in Texas law enforcement, Lorena Police Chief Tom Dickson said. Being a smaller agency, we dont always have the benefit of larger agencies, so if we have good policies in place . . . and we know that if they follow our standard operation policies, our highest standards will be in place.

Late last week, Lorena police were notified of the recognition award for compliance under the Texas Enforcement Agency Best Practices Recognition Program. The agency voluntarily applied for the program in August 2015, and under the direction of Lorena police program manager Dr. Robert Peevey, Lorena became the 139th agency in the state to be recognized  and the second McLennan County agency.

Woodway Department of Public Safety was recognized in February 2009 and will be up for re-recognition this month.

I think that we have shown that we have a good department here and we have to meet the very same standards that larger departments have, Peevey said. Unfortunately, we dont have the resources that larger departments have, but I think weve shown that this department is a top-notch agency.

Specific criteria

In Texas, more than 2,500 law enforcement agencies are commissioned agencies, said Max Westbrook, director of best practices for the Texas Police Chiefs Association. While agencies can voluntarily apply for the Best Practices program, he said Texas law enforcement professionals developed specific criteria to assist agencies in the efficient and effective delivery of service, the reduction of risk and the protection of individual rights.

They conduct ride-alongs with officers, they look at the property and evidence room, they look at vulnerable areas to make sure pursuit policies and use-of-force policies are meeting the best standards, Westbrook said.

Observations, visit

Lorena police, an agency with five full-time sworn officers and one part-time sworn officer, underwent professional observations and an on-site visit in mid-May before a report was compiled and reviewed by a committee composed of nine current Texas police chiefs. The committee then decides if best practices are in place and agencies can earn the recognition.

Much like hospitals and universities can be accredited, so can law enforcement agencies, and while there is an international accrediting body and there is also state recognition programs, Westbrook said. Weve identified 168 standards that agencies have to meet in order to obtain recognized status.

A policy document for a police department is a living document, and it changes all the time with court decisions coming out and new technology coming out, Dickson said. The recognition program will act like a double-check for the agency to make sure we are following the best practices for our officers and community.

Dickson said the recognition will be presented to Lorena City Council later this month.
Dont get me wrong. I have zero sympathy for President Trumps aides who choose to remain in the White House and lie to the American people. Working in this administration in Trumps circle requires you to say things that are patently untrue; if you make the decision to do it, you have only yourself to blame. That said, one can pity senior advisers such as Kellyanne Conway and Sebastian Gorka who are sent out to declare that we should not pay attention to what Trump says. Not policy! Dont obsess!

Put differently, Trump is harming himself, the administration and the country because he cannot control his worst impulses. The best(!) defense is to claim that the public pronouncements of the president of the United States do not matter. It would be better from their perspective for us to un-hear or minimize Trumps words. Maybe it would be better if he said nothing, you know?

To be blunt, the country should realize the presidents proclivity to say things that even his aides cannot defend poses an immediate and ongoing problem, a serious one. The president tweeted on Sunday about the London attack and in the wee hours of the morning Monday, compulsively confessing (Yes, I ordered Code Red!) that his executive order was a travel ban and that he liked the original. (The original ban included green-card holders and was more obviously directed at Muslims.) In doing so, he may have eviscerated whatever arguments his lawyers have left to argue that the new ban is not a pale copy of the previously invalidated ban. (For those arguing that campaign statements shouldnt be held against a president, the problem remains his statements in office.)

There is, we strongly suspect, no master plan that involves attacking the mayor of a victimized city, blowing your cover on the Muslim travel ban and worsening our already-tarnished image with European allies. This is impulsive, unhinged behavior  and thats an inconvenient fact for those convinced that it is honorable to serve in this administration because the presence of mature, sober figures keeps the country from running into a ditch.

With the exception of Jim Mattis, who might prevent a nuclear volley or other calamity involving our armed services, there seems to be less and less reason for others to hang around.

If Trumps response to the London carnage and his pullout from the Paris agreement did not convince you that he is immune to reason and unwilling to accept advice from adults in the room, the latest backstory from his European trip should dispel any remaining doubts. It seems that leaving out mention of Article 5 was something that left his team flummoxed. Politico reports:

The president also disappointed  and surprised  his own top national security officials by failing to include the language reaffirming the so-called Article 5 provision in his speech. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, Defense Secretary James Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson all supported Trump doing so and had worked in the weeks leading up to the trip to make sure it was included in the speech, according to five sources familiar with the episode. They thought it was, and a White House aide even told The New York Times the day before the line was definitely included.

Maybe Trump was peeved there was no sword dance or lavish reception, as there had been in Saudi Arabia. Maybe he didnt like French President Emmanuel Macrons handshake. Whatever the explanation, a president who on the spur of the moment decides not to communicate a key commitment is also a president who might not keep it even if he said it. He repeatedly proves himself feckless and thereby undercuts the United States standing with allies and its image with foes. And once again, it demonstrates that when it matters most, top advisers serve up the appearance of sanity without prompting him to act more sanely. In other words, they are enabling him.

Literally to prevent nuclear war, Mattis should remain, but the other two in his national-security triumvirate have failed to constrain and guide the president when it pivotally mattered. Their leaving would be more beneficial than their staying at this point.
Academics, military enthusiasts and interested members of the public are being invited to attend two FREE forthcoming lectures this month focusing on two very different RAF subjects. The lectures form part of the 2017 series of lectures from the Royal Air Force Museums Research Program and will explore the expansion of the Royal Indian Air Force during the Second World War and the RAF strategic thinking during the latter Cold War years.

The Expansion of the Royal Indian Air Force in World War II, 1939-46

Date: 8 June 2017

Time: 6.30pm

Cost: FREE

Location: University of Wolverhampton, MC001, Millennium City Building, Wolverhampton Campus

The first of two lectures is being held on Thursday 8 June at the University of Wolverhampton and is a continuation of the joint partnership between the Universitys Department of War Studies and the Royal Air Force Museum. This evening lecture commencing at 6.30pm will examine how the establishment of the Indian Air Force (IAF) in 1933 was a consequence of the colonial Government of Indias policy of handing Indians token military control to forestall popular calls for greater Indian control of the Indian armed forces. The lecture entitled The Expansion of the Royal Indian Air Force in World War II, 1939-46 will be presented by Aashique Iqbal, a DPhil candidate in History at the University of Oxford.

In this lecture, Aashique will explore how the outbreak of the Second World War led to the reversal of earlier policies and saw the tenfold expansion of the IAF. Though the Indian Air Force would go on to perform well in the war, earning the prefix Royal in 1945, the suddenness of wartime expansion had severe consequences. Plagued by a shortage of equipment and personnel the RIAF struggled to expand. Though equipment shortages were eventually overcome by Allied wartime production, personnel shortages remained a problem throughout the war. The RIAF responded to these in a variety of ways including drawing on foreign personnel, lowering recruitment requirements, increasing pay and embarking on the largest recruitment propaganda program launched by any wing of the Indian military during the Second World War.

The rushed expansion of the RIAF would have two key consequences. First, it would result in the RIAF strikes of 1946. Coming on the heels of the RAF strikes, the Indian National Army trials and the Royal Indian Navy mutiny, the strikes had a destabilizing effect on British military control in the subcontinent. More critically it revealed the divide between Indian officers and ranks that had emerged during the war. Further, the process of Indianisation or the replacement of foreign personnel with Indians remained incomplete as it became increasingly difficult for the RIAF to tap Indias limited pool of educated labor. This would have significant consequences, not the least of which was independent Indias reliance on British personnel to command the RIAF long after the achievement of formal independence.

RAF Strategic Thinking and Doctrinal Vacuum, 1970-1989

Date: 16 June 2017

Time: 12.30pm

Cost: FREE

Location: RAF Museum Cosford, National Cold War Exhibition Lecture Theatre

On Friday 16 June, Dr Viktoriya Fedorchak, a graduate of the University of Hull (PhD) will be presenting the second 2017 Cold War lunchtime lecture, being held in the lecture theater at the RAF Museum Cosford at 12.30pm. Entitled RAF Strategic Thinking and Doctrinal Vacuum, 1970-1989 Dr Viktoriya Fedorchak will look at the development of RAF air power thinking in the late Cold War period.

The Royal Air Force has a long history of using doctrine in its practice. The first RAF doctrine Confidential Document (CD) 22: Operations Manual, Royal Air Force was published in July 1922. This document introduced the concept of strategic bombing and key principles of cooperation with the Army and the Navy. The Air Power (AP) 1300 series followed. The first edition of AP1300 was published in July 1928, followed by a further three editions (1940, 1950, and 1957). However, after 1957, AP1300 was reissued a few times without any substantial changes, thus paving the way to stagnation of strategic thinking and doctrinal vacuum.

Within this lecture, Dr Viktoriya Fedorchak will examine how until 1971, the service was not only without a conceptual framework but also lacked creative and strategic thinking on air power. For the service to get a second life, it required stimulation of intellectual thinking on air power. The starting point was 1977 when the position of the Director of Defence Studies (DDefS) for the RAF was established by the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Neil Cameron. The role of this post was to be responsible for reviving and maintaining an interest in the study of present and future uses of air power in its various military applications.

The first DDefS was then Group Captain Tony Mason. The primary aim of this talk is to look at the reasons why strategic thinking declined in the 1960s, and why the RAF had to establish the position of the DDefS. A connection is made between strategic thinking, the significance of a conceptual component for organizational development and the future of the service. In this talk, institutional skepticism of formalized conceptual framework in the studied time frame is also addressed.

Dr Ross Mahoney, RAF Museum Aviation Historian said: In June, as part of the RAF Museums Research Program, we have two fascinating talks looking at different aspects of the RAFs history. Aashique Iqbals talk on the Royal Indian Air Force offers an examination of a much forgotten organisation in British imperial history while Viktoriya Fedorchaks lecture will highlight some of the challenges faced by the RAF in the late-Cold War period concerning how it thought about the employment of air power. Both talks will be insightful and through our Research Program, the RAF Museum is pleased to give a platform for emerging and early career scholars to disseminate their research to a wider public audience.

As spaces are limited to both lectures, organizers advise visitors to book their FREE tickets in advance via the Museums website to avoid disappointment www.rafmuseum.org/cosford. Additional information about both lectures and the Museums Research Program is also available online.
The incident took place after the members of the minority community refused to let the attackers build a house in a disputed land.

By Sahidul Hasan Khokon: At least 10 people including women were injured when terrorists on Tuesday attacked Hindu families. The incident occurred in Khatra village of Bhanga upazila, Faridpur district on minority Hindu families where the attackers burnt and vandalised their house also.

Suresh Biswas, a victim of the attack, said, "Around 100 armed people came under the leadership of local Anisur Rahman, Litu Hawlader, Hafez Hawladar and Suruj Hawlader to build a house in a disputed land of the Hindu community of Khatra village.

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At this time, when the Hindus obstructed, the attackers carried out robbery by vandalising and burning their house. After being informed, the local people and the police brought the situation under control dousing the fire flames.

The injured were admitted to Sadarpur hospital and other local clinics.

Bhanga Police Station Officer Majibur Rahman said, "The police went to the spot after the attack and situation is under control. A case is being registered. Police have arrested three people named Aftab Howlader, Jahangir Howlader and Tamim Hawlader to keep the situation peaceful."

Also read: Bangladesh: 3 more members of banned militant outfit Neo-JMB detained

Also read: Bangladesh: Seven people arrested for Rangamati arson attack

--- ENDS ---
In the early 1990s, my friend Owen Harries made a startling observation: that the collapse of Soviet Communism would mean the "collapse of the West". The West, he explained in Foreign Affairs, has been and would remain a culture defined by representative democracy, the rule of law, the market economy and so on. But a common civilisation is one thing; political unity is another.

"The West," Harries pointed out, has been usually divided politically: think of Europe's wars. "It took the presence of a life-threatening overtly hostile 'East' to bring [the 'West'] into existence" as a strategic entity. "It is extremely doubtful whether it can now survive the disappearance of that enemy." The political unity of the Cold War would give away to differences of national interests and strategies.

It has taken a quarter century, but Harries' prediction has come true. The clash between the Europeans and the Americans over NATO and the Paris climate treaty could prove to be breaking points in the political West. True, there have been earlier rifts: Suez, Vietnam, Iraq come to mind.

But this time the West really is divided, probably irrevocably. This is not just because of Donald Trump's boorish behaviour. It is also because of broad historical forces, as Harries set out in his landmark essay.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Credit:Bradley Kanaris Not so mega That's why Downer EDI, one of the expected beneficiaries on Tuesday only said it had received "further clarification of the scope of work to be done and the process for negotiating a binding mining services contract". The Queensland government is keenly aware what is being proposed so far by Adani is not a "megamine", as Treasurer Curtis Pitt noted last week. Carmichael "is certainly smaller than many mines around the world", Pitt said. Adani not yet ready to roll. Credit:Glenn Hunt

True, the $4 billion-odd mine being discussed in the Queensland cabinet might one day be expanded towards the original 60 million tonnes-a-year monster that has fossil fuel fans drooling and environmentalists fuming. But that "might" needs many unlikely factors to fall its way. Can Adani get a $900 million loan from the federal government for a 400-kilometre railway to link mine and port, for instance? Can it get over remaining legal challenges, not to mention the protests from environmental groups determined to head off another giant source of greenhouse gases that will help cook what remains of the Great Barrier Reef, and all the tens of thousands of tourism jobs dependent on that? "We have been challenged by activists in the courts, in inner city streets, and even outside banks that have not even been approached to finance the project," Gautam Adani, the company's chairman, intoned in Churchillian terms, omitting all but the beaches.

"We are still facing activists. But we are committed to this project." Biggest hurdle The highest hurdles, though, have always been thrown up by the investment and financial community. With Australian banks ruling out support, international investors are left to wonder what they know about the mine's viability. Investment bank UBS's commodity team reviewed the prospects of Galilee coal in 2013. The team estimated then a $110 a tonne thermal coal price would be needed for the projects there to be viable. Even assuming some costs may be lower now, the outlook for coal is, if anything dimming, further.

That sum compares with KPMG's forecast last month of Newcastle's benchmark coal trading below $US65 ($87) a tonne for years to come  even before a discount is applied to Carmichael's typically poorer quality coal. (See KPMG's forecast Newcastle coal benchmark price chart below.) It's not only that the coal price remains nowhere near what would make Galilee's lower quality coal profitable, especially when compared with Hunter Valley's exports. But also that the whole "pit to plug" plan Adani was touting  digging, shipping, and burning its own coal  is looking increasingly dubious. Tim Buckley, a former Citi analyst and now director of the coal-sceptic Institute for Energy Economics & Financial Analysis, notes the news at home just gets worse for Adani.
South Australian nurse Kirsty Boden is believed to be the fourth Australian victim of the London Bridge terror attack and is feared dead, Fairfax Media has confirmed.

Channel Nine reported the family of the 28-year-old, who was living and working in London, were "very distressed" and had been provided with assistance.

Fairfax Media has confirmed Ms Boden's identity with a well-placed source who said authorities were almost certain she had been killed in Saturday night's terrorist attack.

South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill told Channel Nine: "We're putting in place all the appropriate measures to provide support for the families that were associated with this particular notification.
While she ultimately won the legal battles, her story is a warning for small businesses in an era of big brands and social media.

After 10 years of running her Champagne Jayne business, Jayne Powell decided to register her trademark. What followed was a saga that saw her fighting a global organisation to keep her business and the reputation she'd built.

It was a 2003 champagne tasting event in London where Powell saw the potential for telling the iconic wine's story. "In order to give context to champagne, I thought it was also important to get people to try other sparkling wine styles, not to say there were cheaper or better or not as good but to give people a reference point when tasting," she told MySmallBusiness.

She set about setting up a career as wine expert, educator and then social media influencer under the name 'Champagne Jayne'. Over the following decade, Powell wrote a successful book, was engaged to speak about champagne around the world, and won an industry award for promoting the wine. However that counted for nothing when her trademark application was noticed by the Comite Champagne.

Jayne Powell at her home in Surry Hills. Credit:Christopher Pearce

The Comite Champagne is the trade association representing the interests of champagne producers, with a broad mandate to promote and protect the champagne appellation around the world. The CIVC failed to respond to a request for comment.

The French-based organisation has a reputation for being litigious, says Robert Joseph, editorial consultant at trade magazine Meininger's Wine Business International. "The CIVC would claim that their biggest international concern is with the use of the broader use of the brand: bar staff casually describing lesser fizz as champagne, for example."
The committee initially had a 3-hour long meeting on important issues affecting the city, such as traffic and pollution emanating from the lakes.

By Nolan Pinto: On Tuesday afternoon, Pinaki Mishra, Chairman, Parliamentary Standing committee on Urban Development, along with various officials visited the Varthur and Bellandur lakes. He was also accompanied by PC Mohan, MP, Bangalore Central and Aravind Limbavali, MLA, Mahadevapura constituency.

According to sources, inspection of these two lakes was not part of the committee's agenda but they decided to do so keeping in mind the intense national media coverage it has got over the past few months. The members were briefed by the BDA and BBMP commissioners on the developmental works being undertaken and also how they are adhering to the NGT orders.

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The committee initially had a 3-hour long meeting on important issues that are affecting the city such as traffic and pollution emanating from lakes.

Talking to India Today, Pinaki Mishra said, "These issues figured extensively in our delibrations and our committee is going to recommend very strongly the issues that we have discussed."

During their deliberations, they focused on zero liquid discharge into the lakes of the city, which include industrial effluents as well as domestic sewage which should be stopped. Mishra also dwelt upon the NGT's ruling that STP's be made mandatory in all apartments stating that they are all committed to cleaning the city saying, "What we are doing today is a powerful audit and it will continue."

The Committee has assured the citizens of the city that they will submit a very strong report on the present crisis.

PC Mohan talking to India Today said it is understandable that the work cannot be completed within 24 hours and the state government can take 24 months to get it done. But they need to involve citizens and activists as well who have been fighting to save the lakes. He said that KJ George, Bengaluru Development minister has assured him that a meeting with citizens will be called soon where the government will deliberate on what is being done and what more can be done to preserve the lakes.

A few citizen activists were also present when the Standing committee members visited the lakes. Jagadish Reddy, a lake expert was hopeful that with this visit, on-going works can be completed faster. However, in the past as well many Committee members have visited the lakes but no changes have taken place but still Jagadish is optimistic that this time around things might be different.

Also read: Why are Bengaluru lakes always on fire? All you wanted to know about city's chemical snowfall

Also read: After Bengaluru's Varthur and Bellandur lakes, Mumbai's Powai lake is dying a slow death

--- ENDS ---
"The first they saw was the muzzled flash," one senior officer said. Police outside the Brighton apartments. Credit:Luis Ascui Three SOG officers were hit and injured. Six anti-terror police returned fire, killing Khayre instantly. The police, who were protected by body armour and shields, suffered pellet injuries to the hands and neck.

One of the police received 18 pellet wounds to his head and neck, while another suffered a finger injury. One was treated at the scene and two were taken to hospital. They are listed as satisfactory. Police are investigating if the Brighton siege was a copy-cat response to the weekend's London attack that resulted in the death of seven victims and three terrorists. Khayre was considered a "peripheral player" in a long running anti-terror investigation code-named Neath. He was charged and acquitted over plans to carry out a suicide attack on Sydney's Holsworthy army barracks. He was on parole on non-related violent offences.

It is understood Khayre cut off his parole GPS security ankle bracelet on Monday to avoid having his movements monitored. The IS magazine Rumiyah, as part of its "Just Terror Tactics" series a month ago, urged supporters to carry out an attack inside a building, using hostages, and for the terrorist to "keep some of his victims alive and restrained, making for a more lengthy and drawn-out hostage scenario". "One may then notify the authorities, explaining to them that he is a soldier of the Islamic State and informing them of what he has just done," according to the article. "The intention of this delay is therefore only to prolong the terror, as the ideal scenario is that they storm the location and he is killed as a shahid [martyr]  inshaallah  after having inflicted upon the kuffar [the infidel] a just massacre." The purpose, the article said, was "not to hold large numbers of the kuffar hostage in order to negotiate one's demands," but to sow terror.

"The scenario for such an attack is that one assaults a busy, public, and enclosed location and rounds up the kuffar who are present. Having gained control over the victims, one should then proceed to slaughter as many of them as he possibly can before the initial police response". Potential jihadists were instructed to gather hostages inside a building, which "allows one to massacre them while using the building as a natural defense against any responding force attempting to enter and bring the operation to a quick halt". It also suggested luring people into a place with an advertisement at a job centre, by advertising an apartment for rent, or advertising something for sale on "Craigslist, Gumtree, eBay ... and others". "Using deception as a tactic of warfare in order to lure one's target or trick them into believing that they are safe before killing them or inconspicuously assassinating them is divinely approved," the article said. IS has claimed responsibility for the attack.

"The attack in Melbourne, Australia was carried out by a soldier of the Islamic State in response to the call for targeting the subjects of the coalition states," the group's Amaq propaganda agency said. IS blamed the attack on Australia's membership in the US-led coalition against the militant group. Court documents reveal that Khayre previously had an affinity with al-Shabbab, the extremist group from his native Somalia. Police believed he had become radicalised after attending Preston mosque along with other men who were also charged in relation to the Holdsworthy barracks plot. It was alleged Khayre had also travelled to Somalia as part of preparation for the plot.
Elmar's in the Valley has come to the party with plenty of cheese... we're just not quite sure exactly what type.

The German-themed microbrewery and restaurant found itself on the backfoot over the weekend after WAtoday published the story of a customer's angst at a $15 plate of nachos she thought was bereft of essential ingredients - namely cheese, sauce and corn chips.

Is Elmar's taking the mickey with this mountain of cheese?

Ashlin McCamish posted a photo of the bare-looking dish she ordered from the Swan Valley establishment on Saturday afternoon, with the ensuing publicity causing more rumbles one would hope from a bad plate of nachos.

News outlets and TV networks around Australia soon took a dip at the story, before widespread criticism prompted Elmar's to revamp its so-called "European version" nachos to a cheesier offering.
London: Boris Johnson has launched a strident defence of his successor, Labour's Sadiq Khan, in the row between the London Mayor and Donald Trump but says there is no reason to rescind the US President's state visit scheduled for later in the year.

President Trump has used a partial quote of Mr Khan's to accuse the mayor, who is Muslim, of being soft on terrorism.

US President Donald Trump, right, and British Prime Minister Theresa May during a joint news conference in the White House in January. Credit:Bloomberg

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who was Mayor until last year, strongly backed his successor on Tuesday.

"I do not wish to interpose myself in a row between the Mayor of London and the President of the United States... two individuals who I think are probably perfectly able to stick up for themselves if I know them both," he told BBC's Radio 4.
Ottawa: Canada intends to make "a substantial investment" in its military because it can no longer rely on the United States for global leadership in the face of threats posed by terrorist groups or countries like Russia and North Korea, the Canadian foreign minister said Tuesday.

Echoing complaints made recently by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Chrystia Freeland told Canada's House of Commons that Washington has decided to forfeit its position of leadership on many issues, forcing Canada to invest in its own armed forces to defend liberal democracy.

"The fact that our friend and ally has come to question the very worth of its mantle of global leadership, puts into sharper focus the need for the rest of us to set our own clear and sovereign course," Freeland said, never mentioning President Donald Trump by name. "To say this is not controversial. It is fact."

But while criticising US foreign policy, Freeland conceded that Canada has not pulled its weight in terms of its military spending, a criticism that Trump has made of several NATO members, without necessarily singling out Canada. In 2016, Canada spent just over 1 per cent of its gross domestic product on its military, half of the 2 per cent level that is the goal of the NATO military alliance. In fact, Canada ranks 20th of 28 NATO members in military spending. The United States is No. 1 at 3.6 per cent of GDP.
Banned British preacher Abu Haleema is quickly building a support base in Australia. Credit:Fairfax Media Abu Haleema was banned from social media in 2015, but his inflammatory sermons have continued on YouTube, which admitted this week "we know we can do better" at stopping the spread of extremist material on its services. In July 2016 Anjem Choudary was found guilty of encouraging support for Islamic State and jailed for five and a half years. Theresa May outlined a far-reaching plan for tackling extremism. Credit:Getty Images Police said he had been a recruiter and radicaliser for over 20 years, and closely associated with al-Muhajiroun, which they said was the driving force behind the 7/7 bombers and Lee Rigby's murder.

Choudary had pledged allegiance to IS in 2014, police said. A woman is comforted by her friend as she breaks down in tears after a minutes silence near the scene of Saturday's terrorist attack in London, England. Credit:Getty Head of the Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism command Dean Haydon said Choudary and another man convicted with him had "stayed just within the law for many years". "But there is no one within the counter terrorism world that has any doubts of the influence that they have had, the hate they have spread and the people that they have encouraged to join terrorist organisations," he said. Khuram Shazad Butt. Credit:PA

"Over and over again we have seen people on trial for the most serious offences who have attended lectures or speeches given by these men." Choudary had talked with the teenage boy who plotted a 2015 Anzac Day terror attack in Melbourne, according to Alexandra Bain, an assistant professor at St Thomas University, cited in sentencing submissions at the boy's trial. The boy had also been in close, regular contact with Abu Haleema. The boy was sentenced to life in jail, with a minimum five year term, in October 2015. The then 14-year-old had sent thousands of messages to an Australian accomplice, hatching a plot to behead a police officer at the parade. The plot was detected just weeks before Anzac Day, after police investigating the boy's increasing, obvious radicalisation found encrypted material on the boy's phone.

Justice Saunders said the boy had been "indoctrinated" into terrorism. One witness in the trial, who had worked for the government's Channel deradicalisation program, said the boy "had been radicalised to an extent that he had seen in no other intervention". He said he believed "some other person was taking advantage" of the boy. According to the prosecution, the boy had admitted he was in touch over the internet with Abu Haleema, who the witness described as a "radical preacher". The boy's phone revealed Abu Haleema was part of the boy's extremist social networking that had led to and maintained his radicalisation.

After his first arrest, before police discovered the terror plot, the boy had used a Twitter account to warn other extremists, including Abu Haleema, of his arrest, encouraging them to delete evidence of their connection to him. Professor Bain said the boy had been in touch with other radical preachers in Britain, including Anjem Choudary, Abu Haleema and Mizanur Rahman - who was jailed alongside Choudary in 2016. Rahman gave an online speech in January 2015 saying "Britain is the enemy of Islam", praising al-Qaeda and defending the Charlie Hebdo terror attack. Professor Bain said due to family troubles the boy had become isolated and "it was only on the internet, on Twitter, on his phone where he was understood, where he was respected, where he had friends, namely in the extended world of Jihadi Twitter". Another man who had tried to counsel the boy concluded "he is under the tutelage and pupillage of someone that is taking advantage of his vulnerability".

During an attempted intervention, the boy was in constant contact with Abu Haleema by Twitter and SMS. During the counselling, the witness said, Abu Haleema texted the boy a link to news of a woman being beheaded. The boy had visited east London months before he began plotting the attack, where he met "an older man who shared his views", according to sentencing submissions. In 2016 Abu Haleema produced YouTube videos attacking moderate Sydney sheikhs, and counter-terrorism police told Fairfax he had been developing a following among young Australians. Fairfax is not suggesting that Abu Haleema or Choudary were involved in Saturday's terror attack, or the Anzac Day plot. But The Sunday Times has calculated  before the latest attack  that 25 Britons from Choudary's al-Muhajiroun group had been convicted of terrorist offences since 2010  including Michael Adebolajo, who murdered fusilier Lee Rigby.

The group also arranged for up to 80 Britons to travel to Syria. Researcher Hannah Stuart estimates that almost a quarter of all Islamist terrorists convicted in Britain had a direct link to al-Muhajiroun, and at least one in 10 had a proven personal relationship with Anjem Choudary. For years Choudary was a regular figure on British media, taking every opportunity to publicise extreme views but staying just within the law. One mainstream Muslim group head told The Sunday Times that "the most dangerous place in London was between Choudary and a TV camera". He was a regular guest on television programs, despite calling the September 11 terrorists "magnificent martyrs" and declaring that Britain would become an Islamic state.

LBC radio presenter James O'Brien said the media shared the blame for giving a platform to extremists such as Choudary and Butt. Swathes of "hate-filled" people delighted in the fact that Anjem Choudary "got conflated with every Muslim in the country", he said. And putting jihadists on TV "made them feel like they were the Kardashians of jihad, like they had some form of celebrity that is being fanned and inflamed and enlarged by all the attention that we, (but not me), we give them," O'Brien said. "You don't notice how nuts things are, do you, until it's too late?" One Muslim Twitter user, in a widely-shared thread, complained the media had "a lot to answer for" over Choudary.
By Press Trust of India: enters 6th day

Mumbai, Jun 6 (PTI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the government would write off farm loans in the biggest such waiver ever in the state, but the promise had little impact on the farmers strike, which entered its sixth day today.

Fadnavis, who said the government would announce the loan waiver before October 31, added that the modalities were being worked out.

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About 1.07 crore farmers with less than five acres of land would be eligible for the waiver.

"I can say with conviction that this will be the biggest loan waiver in Maharashtras history," Fadnavis told reporters after a meeting on urban development with Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu here.

But farmers, agitating since June 1 to press for loan waivers, higher minimum support prices and other benefits, continued with the stir, despite the government announcing its loan waiver for marginal farmers on Saturday.

Prices shot up in various markets because of the short supply of vegetables and fruits. In Punes Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC), the inflow of vegetables and fruits was half of that of regular days, which led to prices going up by three to five times, officials said.

In Ahmednagar district, the inflow of vegetables was 1 per cent of the usual supply, and there had been no milk collection.

The daily business of around Rs 20-25 crore in 17 major APMCs in Nashik and other smaller market committees had come to a standstill, government sources said.

Fadnavis, however, said 300 of the states 307 APMCs were operational yesterday, four had their weekly day off, while three were shut because of the ongoing agitation. Transactions were at 85 per cent of normal levels.

He also said workers of political parties, and not farmers, were indulging in violence and road blockades.

There was trouble in a few areas today. Farmers locked the offices of the talathi (revenue officer) in some villages in Kolhapur and Nashik districts.

Agitating farmers dumped vegetables outside the divisional commissioners office in Puntamba village in Ahmednagar district and in front of the district collectors office in Amravati.

The police took into custody 20 members of the Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatna (SSS), who were holding a protest outside the collectors office in Sangli, and six SSS workers in Amaravati.

Meanwhile, market sources said the farmers strike in Maharashtra had benefited traders from Surat, Belgaum, Indore and Delhi as the Vasai-Virar region was witnessing an influx of agricultural produce from outside the state.

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The region has several vegetable markets with the produce usually coming in from Nashik, Junnar and Vashi. The stir had stopped the flow of vegetables from Maharashtra, they said.

"Traders from Surat, Delhi, Indore and Belgaum have taken advantage of the strike, increased the prices and the inflow of vegetables in the Vashi APMC by around 30 per cent," an official from the cooperatives department said.

The farmers demand for loan waiver led government officials to do some arithmetic, with some estimating that it would cost the state Rs 30,000 crore.

Maharashtras Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, however, refused to divulge the financial details, but said today the state was committed to helping the farmers.

Mungantiwar said the government was looking to cover the burden with the help of an additional Rs 10,000 crore mobilisation through non-tax revenues, 14 per cent growth in GSDP expected during the fiscal and also savings on expenses.

Union minister Naidu, however, reiterated the Centres stand that states should announce loan waivers as per their fiscal situation.

Chief minister Fadnavis gave a new twist to the stir, by stressing that road blockades were being carried out by political activists "hiding" behind farmers.

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He ruled out consulting "those seeking to make political gains" and said he would talk only to "true" farmer leaders.

The farmers protest, which has rocked various parts of the state since the beginning of the month, has also exposed fissures in the ruling coalition in the state.

The BJP-led governments allies Shiv Sena and the SSS are supporting the agitation.

The Sena warned the BJP if it did not cede to the demands, the "lava of farmers pain" would create havoc.

SSS leader Raju Shetti said his party would soon decide if it would continue to be a part of the BJP-led government.

The Lok Sabha MP from Hatkanangle said he was "remorseful" to be a part of the Fadnavis government.

"What should be done about it (on being a part of the state government) will be decided in a forthcoming meeting," he said in Miraj, about 385 km from here.

The Sena pointed out the government was considering suspending internet services in Nashik, where the agitation has been particularly intense.

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An editorial in Sena mouthpiece Saamana asked if the BJP compared "Nashik with restive Kashmir and protesting farmers with the anti-nationals who throw stones at the Army".

It added that the Sena would continue to support the strike till the end. PTI AA MM DK GK KRK ND RMT BDS

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Patel had allegedly started sending obscene and threatened messages to Nupur through Facebook, Twitter, email and SMSes.

By Atir Khan: A person stalking BJP leader Nupur Sharma for more than a month now has been arrested by Delhi Police, for breach of peace.

Police are however, probing his role in stalking the BJP leader, who had contested against Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi Assembly elections. Sources said Mihir Bhai Patel was arrested by New Delhi district team after he misbehaved in the police station and threatened to harm the leader.

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After this development, Delhi Police Security Wing are also carrying out a threat assessment of Nupur Sharma.

Patel had allegedly started sending obscene and threatened messages to Nupur through Facebook, Twitter, email and SMSes.

Investigations revealed he had also made ingress into Nupur's privacy and had gathered details about her family members.

32-year-old Patel was arrested on Nupur Sharma's complaint even last month by Gujarat Police in Vadodra, but since he was booked under bailable offence, he was released after he furnished security.

Also Read:

Vadodara man arrested for stalking BJP leader Nupur Sharma

1 of 4 DU students accused of 'stalking' Smriti Irani apologises to the minister

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One of 4 DU students accused of stalking Smriti Irani apologises

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Following an invitation from Jordan Customs Department (JCD), the WCO successfully completed a Time Release Study (TRS) workshop in the MENA RTC/Amman-Jordan from 14 to 18 May 2017 with a financial support from Her Majestys Revenue and Customs (HMRC) fund.

The core objective of the mission was to support the JCD in building capacities to conduct a TRS in line with Jordans commitments under the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade Facilitation (TFA). The mission came in line with Jordan Customs Strategic Implementation Plan, which defines a specific objective on minimizing the time requested for the release of goods at borders.

The workshop allowed participants to gain an increased understanding of the concept of TRS as a key instrument to identify bottlenecks in the clearance process and its importance for trade facilitation. Moreover, participants had the opportunity to strengthen their knowledge in performance management and how this can be facilitated by the WCO TRS tool. The participants represented both Customs officials as well as a broader group of stakeholders from the public and private sector involved in the clearance process of goods, such as Food and Drugs Administration, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Transport, Jordan Metrology and Standardization Organization, Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, brokers and freight forwarders and port authority

The mission concluded in the drafting of process maps for various Customs procedures which will be refined with time. It also led to the development of an action plan including specific deadlines for the completion of a second TRS in Jordan of which one of the next steps under the countrys tailor-made Strategic Implementation Plan.
By Press Trust of India: Madurai, Jun 6 (PTI) The CBSE today denied in the Madras High Court that vernacular question papers for NEET 2017 for admission to MBBS and BDS courses were easier than the papers in English.

In its counter affidavit to petitions seeking cancellation of the National Eligibility-cum Entrance Test held recently citing alleged non-uniformity in the exam, the CBSE rejected the contention that question papers in vernacular languages such as Gujarati were easier compared to English.

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In an interim order on the petitions, Justice M V Muralidharan had on May 24 stayed the publication of the NEET results and directed officials of the Medical Council of India, the CBSE director and the Union health ministry to file their counter affidavits.

The petitioners have alleged that uniform question papers were not given. In Tamil Nadu, a different set of questions was given to those who opted for English and Tamil, they said claiming that the one in Tamil was easier.

Seeking vacation of the stay, the CBSE counter said the question papers had been set -- at easy average and tough levels -- and they had been moderated by the experts and the issue of one question being tougher than the other did not arise.

It was only experts who decided on the difficulty level of the question papers.

The counter said 90.75 per cent of the students had written the examination in English and only 9.25 per cent of the students had written in vernacular languages.

It also said question papers were prepared in vernacular language to ensure that there was no leakage. In case of leakage, it would be enough if re-examination was held only for 1.05 lakh students. In some cases, not even 0.03 per cent of the candidates opted for vernacular language.

Besides, the scheme of NEET examination was a single eligibility-cum-entrance test and not a single question paper test, the counter said.

The stay of publication of results would jeopardise the interests of lakhs of students.

There was already delay in the publication of results and it should not be delayed further, the counter said.

Hence, the court should vacate the stay and enable students join the course.

The court had yesterday sought the English translation of Gujarati, Hindi and Marathi question papers of the NEET. PTI SSN VS ZMN

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By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Jun 6 (PTI) The Centre should withdraw the Clinical Establishments Act as its "stringent" provisions severely affected the private doctors and clinics, who provided healthcare services to two-thirds of the population, VHP international working president Pravin Togadia said today.

"Gradually, this act will make the treatment costly as its stringent provisions will force the closure of the private clinics. The patients will be forced to go to the big corporate hospitals which charge a hefty amount," he said.

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Togadia, who himself is a doctor by qualification, was speaking at a protest organised by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) here.

"Today, 71 per cent of the healthcare services in the country are provided by private doctors and clinics while the remaining 29 per cent is provided by the government," he said.

The Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010 was enacted by the Centre to provide for registration and regulation of all the clinical establishments in the country to prescribe the minimum standards of facilities and services provided by them. PTI JTR RC

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By West Kentucky Star Staff Jun. 06, 2017 | 11:07 AM | PADUCAH, KY





A former McCracken County Jailer was in court Monday, and will have a trial by jury in August.A court clerk said Ben Green's court hearing was held by phone due to a scheduling conflict with Judge Hunter Whitesell, who was appointed to handle the case after Judge Chris Hollowell recused himself. Whitesell spoke with special prosecutor Jason Darnall and Green's attorney, Jeremy Ian Smith.A pre-trial conference is set for July 28 and a jury trial is scheduled for August 18 in McCracken District Court.Green plead not guilty May 23 to sixteen counts of official misconduct after multiple inmates at the jail say they were mistreated.In February, Green moved several inmates from protective custody to general population cells, resulting in altercations between inmates. At least three inmates claim they were physically assaulted.Smith says there was no real procedure in place at the jail, and since his client was a supervisor, he could reclassify inmates.
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By West Kentucky Star Staff

Jun. 06, 2017 | WEST PADUCAH, KY

By West Kentucky Star Staff Jun. 06, 2017 | 03:30 PM | WEST PADUCAH, KY

Authorities have arrested three people in connection to a theft investigation in McCracken County, and say more arrests are likely.



The McCracken County Sheriff's Department says residents in the Lightfoot and Mayfield-Metropolis Road areas reported several thefts from unlocked vehicles in April and May. Cash, firearms, and other easily accessible items were reported stolen.



Detectives executed a search warrant Friday at a home on Old Hinkleville Road and seized illegal items, including stolen property.



They executed a second search warrant at a home on Ronnie Avenue in West Paducah later that afternoon. During a search of that home, detectives seized firearms and other items that had been reported stolen by area residents. They arrested 25-year-old Vanessa Gomez on receiving stolen property charges.



After questioning Gomez detectives searched another home, where a 16-year-old juvenile reportedly admitted to stealing several items from vehicles. Deputies charged the juvenile with six counts of theft.



On Monday detectives arrested 21-year-old Austin Felts, who lives at the Ronnie Avenue address, on receiving stolen property and possession of marijuana charges. They executed another search warrant later that day at a home on Tralee Drive, and arrested 33-year-old Antonio Williams on tampering with physical evidence and possession of marijuana charges.



Deputies say more charges are possible.
By West Kentucky Star Staff Jun. 05, 2017 | 08:27 PM | WARREN COUNTY, OH

The trial of a Massac County man facing the death penalty for allegedly kidnapping his estranged girlfriend from Mayfield and then killing her on Interstate 75 began with jury selection Monday in Warren County, Ohio.

Forty-three-year-old Terry Froman, of Brookport, is accused of fatally shooting 34-year-old Kim Thomas inside his stopped vehicle on the interstate near Middletown, OH, in September 2014. Thomas' son Michael Eli Mohney was also shot and killed in the process of the abduction.

Authorities say Froman fled the scene and traveled to his mother's home in Paducah. According to Graves County officials, Froman's mother told police her son was covered in blood when he arrived to her home.

Froman then drove to Ohio where authorities pulled him over on I-75 North. Police say they found Thomas dead inside the vehicle with multiple gunshot wounds. He then turned the gun on himself in a suicide attempt.

Froman faces aggravated murder and kidnapping charges in both states.

Froman had requested that his trial be moved out of Warren County because he said it is "racially imbalanced." His attorneys had also moved that a specification on the murder charge - that he is accused of killing more than one person - be dismissed because the second alleged murder was outside of Warren County.

Judge Joseph Kirby did not grant either motion.
By West Kentucky Star Staff Jun. 06, 2017 | 07:51 AM | LYON COUNTY, KY

Kentucky State Police arrested a Princeton man late Saturday night after an argument ended in shots being fired.Troopers received a call at 10:30 pm, stating shots had been fired in the parking lot of the Mobile gas station near exit 45 of Interstate 24 in Lyon County. Troopers responded to the area and talked with several witnesses who directed them to a man who reportedly fired the shots.

According to state police, 33-year-old Hushton R. Burton of Princeton and 28-year-old Jennifer L. Boyd of Clarksville, TN, got into a verbal argument in the gas station parking lot. When Boyd began to leave in her vehicle, Burton allegedly fired two shots from a handgun toward her.



Police said there were two small children in Boyds vehicle at the time of the shooting.

Troopers took Burton into custody. While in the back seat of the KSP cruiser, Burton allegedly threatened the troopers and broke a back window out by kicking it.



Burton was charged with three counts of first degree wanton endangerment, third degree criminal mischief, two counts of terroristic threatening, second degree disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. He was lodged in the Marshall County Detention Center.

Troopers also arrested Boyd. She was charged with driving under the influence, failure to notify address change to the department of transportation and possession of an open alcohol container in a motor vehicle. She was lodged in the Caldwell County Jail.
Paducah City Commission sees three retain seats and one return
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By The Associated Press

Jun. 05, 2017 | FRANKFORT, KY

By The Associated Press Jun. 05, 2017 | 06:47 PM | FRANKFORT, KY

Some clients of an eastern Kentucky disability attorney who pleaded guilty to bilking $600 million from taxpayers say they are not surprised he has disappeared one month before his sentencing.



Eric Conn pleaded guilty earlier this year to using fake medical information and bribing a judge to win Social Security disability benefits for some of his clients. The FBI said Saturday that Conn removed his electronic monitoring device and his whereabouts are unknown.



A federal judge released Conn on $1.25 million bail last year despite testimony from an FBI agent that Conn had told at least six people he would flee the country to avoid prison.



Donna Dye, whose husband lost his benefits because of the scheme, said she laughed when she heard the news. She said everyone knew Conn would run.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the application for accession by non-NPT countries is a multi-lateral question and should be addressed on the basis of consensus of the NSG members.

By India Today Web Desk: A day after India said they are engaging with Moscow over India's application for membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), China today said they are in touch with Russia on the issue.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying however made it clear that its position on the issue remains "unchanged".

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had yesterday said that India is engaging with Moscow and making efforts to convince Beijing on the issue.

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"China and other member including Russia maintained close communication and we also maintain that we should act in accordance with the principles of the NSG," Hua told reporters.

The application for accession by non-NPT countries is a multi-lateral question and should be addressed on the basis of consensus of the NSG members, Hua said when asked for reaction to Swaraj's comments.

"We have stressed our position many times on this issue. Our position remains unchanged," Hua said, reiterating China's two step approach - first to reach a non-discriminatory resolution that applies to all non-NPT countries and then to discuss the application to non-NPT countries.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN IN BERN?

She said that at the NSG plenary session this month in Bern, China wishes to conduct "constructive discussion".

Swaraj yesterday said India has always engaged with China and "we are doing it for NSG as well. And (it is being done) not only by us, but even nations friendly to us as well as enjoying good relations with China, who feel that India should get an NSG membership."

Giving Russia's example, she said Moscow feels that India should be a part of the NSG and UN Security Council.

"So we feel, since Russia and China share good relations, it should talk to China. We are not asking them to put pressure on China, but use its good offices. Our effort is to convince China on the issue and also involve nations friendly with both the countries," the minister added.

Pakistan too has applied for the NSG membership after India's application following which China came up with the two step approach blocking India's entry.

On the concerns expressed by Swaraj on China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in which USD 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a part, Hua said, "we also stressed many times that the Kashmir issue is one left behind by history between India and Pakistan and should be addressed properly through negotiation."

"The CPEC is an economic corridor and not targeted at any third party and has nothing to do with any territorial dispute. It will not affect China's position on Kashmir," she added.

(PTI inputs)

Also read:

Nuclear Suppliers Group likely to meet next month, slim chance of India's entry

Ahead of Modi-Jinping SCO meet, China says India joining NSG more complicated than imagined

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China says unchanged on India's Nuclear Suppliers Group bid ahead of meet

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3 years of Modi government: Sushma Swaraj highlights achievements, says relations with other countries have improved

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Sarah Crompton, WhatsOnStage



"It's not a bad moment for this revival of Annie to open. Amidst gloom, uncertainty and random acts of violence, what the world needs is a feel-good musical featuring a plucky orphan, a shaggy dog  and a glistening message of cast-iron hope and optimism."

"...hearing Annie's resilient assertion that "the sun will come out tomorrow" a few days after a terrorist attack on London, felt apt rather than Pollyanna-ish. Annie is a show that asserts the value of courage and endurance, just as much as it celebrates unconditional love."

"This production, fluently directed by Nikolai Foster, also has the benefit of a kind of rough theatrical magic. Its scale fits perfectly into the relatively compact Piccadilly and Colin Richmond's designs manage to be both glittering  the bright lights of New York dazzle  and simple at the same time."

"Nick Winston's choreography is inventive and tightly danced, and the singing, under George Dyer's direction, is both audible and meant. Ben Cracknell's lighting adds massively to the overall effect, creating quick changes of mood and atmosphere."

"The real stars are the children and the team I saw  led by Ruby Stokes as Annie  were as confident and cute as you might expect, with excellent comic timing."

"Hart is an attractive presence on stage, with a voice that lends considerable punch to Hannigan's big party piece about her hatred of little girls. She's at her best when being most herself  sinking to the floor slowly to take a slug of gin, or kissing Daddy Warbucks' head in awed admiration. The problem is, she's a warm actress and her character is not a pleasant one; she's cruel, unkind and given no chance of redemption, which is a bridge the debutante cannot cross... The dog Sandy is played by Amber and is, of course, heartwarming."

Henry Hitchings, Evening Standard



"[Hart] brings a fruity vigour and eccentricity to the part, and her rapport with the audience is warm. But vocally she has real limitations, and it's not easy to accept this essentially goofy performer as someone who'd contemplate getting mixed up in abduction and murder."

"Charles Strouse's score and Martin Charnin's lyrics have a catchy charm. But while director Nikolai Foster, keen to emphasise the story's setting amid the poverty and injustices of Depression-era America, conjures the atmosphere of the Thirties, he can't mask the thin characterisation in Thomas Meehan's script."

"There are other problems. The quality of the sound is patchy, and the tone of some of the performances is shrill."

"Still, there's plenty of verve from the younger members of the cast, with a total of twenty-one actors rotating in the seven youthful roles... Right now their infectious vitality feels essential, as does the spirit of the show's most famous lyric  the inspiringly hopeful Tomorrow, tomorrow, I love ya, tomorrow'."

Dominic Cavendish, The Telegraph



"I've been a devotee of Nikolai Foster's stylish revival of Annie  perhaps the schmaltziest, most winningly spirited musical ever fashioned by American hands  since its 2011 premiere in Leeds... More than that, though, I'm a fan-boy of La Hart; for me she can do no wrong, precisely because she's that rare bird, a comedian who's unafraid to muck it all up, courting embarrassment as she fails to get to grips with "adulthood"."

"Half gorgon, half goofball, all round pleasure, she daftly-deftly combines menace with physical comedy, lurching into view through scary-tall dormitory doors, sending her grubby young charges screaming as if from a fire-breathing dragon."

"Choreographer Nick Winston ensures the two-hour shebang is as nimble-footed as its long-installed (arguably superior) West End rival Matilda  even the Labradoodle playing Annie's sidekick stray Sandy doesn't put a paw wrong. My 12-year-old daughter Anna (admirer of the mirabile Hart, spokes-girl for the Miranda generation) came out beaming, albeit shrewdly wanting Alex Bourne's Warbucks to be sterner at the start."

"Perfect, then, as anticipated, for the summer and the school-holidays but, more unexpectedly, for these jittery, fear-filled times too; a potent juvenile rallying cry to resist hard-knocks and fight back."

Dominic Maxwell, The Times



"...while its chief selling point  the West End debut of Miranda Hart  is actually one of the less impressive elements of this Annie (she has comic charisma, while not looking entirely convinced by herself as the nasty orphanage manager Miss Hannigan), Nikolai Foster's revival is otherwise just what the doctor ordered."

"Slickly staged, buoyantly performed, motored by cracking musical set pieces and an expert mixture of naivety, whimsy and wit, it puts a smile on your face and a tear in your eye."

"...the storytelling is a finely judged mixture of celebration and satire, of nasty villains (Jonny Fines and Djalenga Scott as the spiffily dressed Rooster and Lily) and good-hearted authority figures you would like to think were in charge (Russell Wilcox as Franklin D Roosevelt.)"

"Ruby Stokes, one of the three girls playing Annie in this run, is demure and indefatigable. She has a small frame, but a big singing voice. She's terrific. And, yes, although Hart's singing is spirited rather than slick, although her American accent is highly perishable, you're glad of her comic brio in those moments when she suggests Hannigan as a gin-glugging wreck rather than a gorgon."

"Hart gets top billing, but really it's a colourful cameo. The show is the star. And its mixture of open-heartedness, wit and pizzazz enables the little orphan inside us all to see off our enemies. For a couple of hours, anyway."

Michael Billington, The Guardian



"...for all her strenuous attempts to convey the child-hating nastiness of the orphanage boss, Miss Hannigan, there is something essentially likable about Hart. She works hard and sings and dances capably, but it's difficult to accept her as an accomplice, as the role demands, to abduction and possible murder."

"But Hart is this revival's selling point and I feel decidedly ambivalent about her performance. She is suitably authoritarian as the whistle-blowing, gin-swilling Miss Hannigan; she sadistically pummels an orphan's teddy bear and highlights the character's sexual repression whenever a man is rash enough to enter her domain. She can also carry a song, as she shows in her musical diatribe against "Little Girls". But, while I admired Hart's professionalism, I never quite felt, as I did with Sheila Hancock's exuberant performance in the original West End production, that this Miss Hannigan possessed the instinctive villainy of Mrs Squeers from Dickens's Dotheboys Hall. Hart, I suspect, has too much heart."

"...It remains a mildly pleasurable family musical but, given the current climate, its faith in the beneficence of the rich, a progressive American president and the good intentions of governmental agencies now seem recklessly optimistic."

Mark Shenton, The Stage



"...Never mind that she doesn't so much belt her songs as bellow them, Hart brings an eccentric air of baffled but winning charm to the role of Miss Hannigan."

"But the great joy of Nikolai Foster's production  originally staged at West Yorkshire Playhouse in 2011  is how lovingly it conjures the period, and how lightly and brightly it plays the show without sending it up, yet also not drowning it in earnestness."

"Colin Richmond's set may echo Matilda's jigsaw lightbox pieces a little self-consciously, but it has spectacle and makes smooth transitions between locations. An advertising jingle heard in the show states, "You're never fully dressed without a smile." Audiences who leave the Piccadilly Theatre beaming may find themselves feeling over-dressed, so wide will those smiles be."

Annie runs at the Piccadilly Theatre until 6 January 2018
The Defence Ministry said in a statement in Beijing on Tuesday, "The Chinese army carried out routine training activities on its side of the Line of Actual Control. Indian media reports do not match the facts."

Swaraj had noted that "this is the first such air space violation".

By Ananth Krishnan: China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) has rebutted External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's statement on Monday regarding the reported airspace violation by Chinese helicopters in the border near Barahoti in Uttarakhand.

The Chinese Ministry of Defence said in a statement early on Tuesday that its military was carrying out activities on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and said Indian reports were "not factual".

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The EAM in her annual press conference on Monday told reporters India would "101 per cent" take up the issue with China, after authorities said two helicopters were sighted in Indian airspace on Saturday morning in Barahoti in Chamoli district.

SWARAJ NOTED AIR SPACE VIOLATION

Pointing out that on-the-ground transgressions had taken place earlier because of differing perceptions of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), Swaraj had noted that "this is the first such air space violation". "We can understand even ground incursion it can be a mistake but this is not acceptable. We will take it up with Beijing," Swaraj was quoted as saying.

The PLA, however, held firm that in China's view the helicopters had not intruded into Indian airspace.

The Defence Ministry said in a statement in Beijing on Tuesday, "The Chinese army carried out routine training activities on its side of the Line of Actual Control. Indian media reports do not match the facts."

The Chinese Foreign Ministry had also, earlier on Monday, said that "the Chinese military carries out regular patrols in the relevant areas."

TRANSGRESSION INCIDENTS IN THE PAST

Officials had said that "two suspected Chinese helicopters" had been seen hovering over Barahoti, in Chamoli district. Barahoti has in the past seen a number of what officials describe as "transgression" incidents, but on the ground.

In July last year, an on-the-ground transgression incident by PLA troops was reported. The then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar played down that incident and attributed it to differing perceptions of the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Barahoti is among around a dozen areas along the 3,488-km border where there are pronounced differences in perceptions of the LAC, with both sides patrolling up to their claim lines with the border not formally demarcated.

Speaking during a visit to Russia this weekend, Prime Minister Modi reiterated that although both sides had a border dispute, "in the last 40 years not a single bullet has been fired".

China on Monday welcomed the PM's remarks, saying it had "noted the positive remarks". "We have been stressing that as two major countries, China and India maintaining sound, steady and in depth growth of the bilateral relationship is of great significance," Hua Chunying, the Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said.

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Also Read:

China denies violating Indian airspace in Uttarakhand, says patrols 'regular'

Now Chinese troops stop Indian Army from patrolling along LAC

Also Watch:

China renames 6 places in Arunachal Pradesh on Chinese map after Dalai Lama visit

--- ENDS ---
HP Inc. today (6th June) unveiled a new multimillion-dollar Graphics Solutions Service (GSS) Learning Academy dedicated to providing enhanced professional development and training to accelerate the digital transformation of the printing industry across Asia Pacific and Japan.



At a time when printing is rapidly evolving from analog to digital, training and development on the latest digital transformation technologies are vital for print services providers and professionals in the print industry. The HP Graphics Solutions Service Learning Academy will provide a highly effective learning experience for over 1000 customers, production managers, engineers and operators from across the region, over the next 12 months.

Yehuda BenSimon, HP GSS Learning Academy Manager at the opening. The Learning Academy is testament to the importance we place on Asia Pacific and Japan as a source of knowledge, growth and innovation for our organization. Our mission is to create opportunities for our customers by unlocking the full potential for growth in their businesses. We enable this by building skills capability for both our customers and channel partners  from operators to production mangers and supporting engineers.

Pee Beng Kong, Director of Electronics, Singapore Economic Development Board said, We are pleased that HP has chosen Singapore to set up its Learning Academy. The Learning Academy will help to upskill and equip our workforce with capabilities in digital printing.

The HP Graphics Solutions Service Learning Academy will develop production managers, operators, service engineers and application engineers through a blended learning model. The curriculum of over 50 courses includes on-site hands-on-training, self-paced modular eLearning, instructor-led webinars and online assessment tools. Participants in the Academy will have the opportunity to attend general training courses that create a deeper awareness about the enormous potential of digital printing and how it can empower businesses to do more, as well as product training courses such as HP Indigo operator level 1, level 2 and color management.

The 1,700 square-metre training facility at the HP Graphics Solutions Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Tuas has been renovated and includes seven training classrooms, hands-on Digital Printing Press workshops, remote monitoring and diagnostic command centre, and a next-generation product and solution training room. The facility also showcases the latest printing solutions including HP Indigo Digital Presses, HP Sign & Display Presses and HP DesignJet Printers.

As we work to create technology that makes life better for everyone, everywhere, we recognise that we are at the threshold of a huge digital transformation, said Michael Boyle, General Manager, Graphic Solutions Business, HP Asia Pacific & Japan. HP is committed to providing the necessary skills, development and support that will empower businesses, brands and print service providers across Asia Pacific and Japan to take advantage of the growth in digital printing market.

HP is committed to leading the analog-to-digital transformation across Asia Pacific and Japan by reinventing not only the approach to print but also providing critical skills development and knowledge transfer. We continue to see strong customer adoptions with converters around the world having purchased more than 120 HP Indigo Series 4 large format digital presses for packaging since their release in 2014, half in the past year alone. HP Indigos narrow-web Series 3 labels and packaging presses, including the HP Indigo 12000 and HP Indigo WS6800 digital presses, have reached 2000 installed units in Asia Pacific and Japan. HP Latex Printers have now reached more than 42,000 Latex printers installed worldwide since their Introduction in 2009.

HP Australia

www.hp.com.au/graphicarts
By Press Trust of India: (EDs: Updating with details of protest from across UP)

Lucknow/Mirzapur (UP), Jun 5 (PTI) Upset over a statue of former PM Rajiv Gandhi being vandalised, state Congress chief Raj Babbar claimed today that such incidents reflected an intolerance towards ideologies other than that of the ruling dispensation.

Party leaders also demanded that those who had damaged the prime ministers statue in Mirzapur should be immediately arrested or else they instensify their protests.

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"This was not an effort to damage a statue but (an attempt) to finish an ideology...The damage to the statues in the state (in the recent past) from Saharanpur to Mirzapur indicates that there are governments at the Centre and the state which cannot tolerate any ideology other than their own," Babbar, who was leading his partys sit-in in Mirzapur, said.

What was found written at the place where the statue was damaged points towards those who all are behind this act, the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee chief alleged.

He said the Mirzapur incident took place the night after UP Chief Minister Adityanath held a review meeting there.

Is this the rule of law that the chief minister has been talking about, he said.

"The chief minister is going about making claims on rule of law but it is continuously on the decline," he said.

Babbar also recalled the services rendered by the former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, especially in the field of information technology and communications.

Reminding the district administration of its promise to nab the culprits within 48 hours, a deadline which ends tomorrow morning, Babbar warned that the agitation will be intensified in the state if the wrong-doers were not booked.

"If required, the stir will be launched at the national level," he said.

As part of the call for holding protests, Congressmen led by former MP PL Punia also held a dharna at the GPO Park in Lucknow and before the Raj Bhawan.

According to a party release, addressing Congress workers who set the effigy of the prime minister and the UP chief minister on fire, Punia said the Mirzapur incident is not a coincidence but a conspiracy to vitiate the atmosphere.

Protests were also held in Kanpur, Pratapgarh, Farrukhabad, Varanasi, Allahabad and Barabanki, the release said.

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In Amethi, a constituency once represented by Rajiv Gandhi, Congress workers shouted slogans and burnt the PMs effigy and later submitted a memorandum addressed to UP Governor Ram Naik through SDM, Gauriganj, alleging breakdown of law and order in the state. PTI SAB SMI ADS

--- ENDS ---
CRPF DG Rajiv Bhatnagar today visited the Sumbal camp in Kashmir that came under a fidayeen attack on Monday. The chief paid the visit the boost the morale of the troops who managed to kill the four suspected LeT militants.

By Poulomi Saha: It was a big moment for Constable Praful Singh, when his force's chief, CRPF Director General Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar came to his 45 Battalion camp in Sumbal, Bandipora district in Kashmir, to laud his effort in foiling a fidayeen attack on the camp on Monday morning.

Praful Singh was at Morcha No 2 at the Sumbal CRPF camp when two suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists tried to enter the camp in the early hours of Monday morning. Singh, who saw suspicious movement in the bushes, immediately alerted his colleagues inside the camp.

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The terrorists opened fire and Singh retaliated with heavy firing from his end, before he received support from other CRPF personnel from the camp and nearby unit headquarters. They were successful in fatally injuring the two terrorists.

"They wanted to try something Uri-style because a lot of ammunition was found on them. If they had entered the camp, then surely it would have been a repeat of Uri. But we were alert", Praful Singh told India Today.

CRPF CHIEF VISITS CAMP

DG Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar today visited the 45 CRPF Battalion camp in Sumbal to survey the incident site and boost the morale of his troops, who ended up killing 4 terrorists in the two-hour-long encounter.

"Our boys were very alert. They acted very bravely and in a coordinated manner. Therefore they were able to give total protection to the camp, save everybody and inflict heavy damages as also liquidate the four militants who were trying to enter the camp," Bhatnagar told India Today.

He felicitated and gave commendation certificates to 17 CRPF personnel whose alacrity and bravery was responsible for foiling the suicide bid on the Sumbal camp yesterday.

He was joined by Jammu and Kashmir Police DG, SP Vaid, who also felicitated three police personnel for providing the CRPF with the required support.

ALSO READ | Jammu and Kashmir: CRPF kill 4 militants after they attacked camp in Bandipora

ALSO READ | Commandant Chetan Cheeta gives thumbs up to his CRPF battalion that fought off terror attack

ALSO WATCH | From Dantewada in 2010 to Sukma in 2017, has CRPF failed to learn from its mistakes?

--- ENDS ---
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 06/06/2017 (1983 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg multimedia artist Divya Mehra is one of five nominees named for the 2017 Sobey Art Award.

Mehra, a graduate of the University of Manitoba and New Yorks Columbia University, is the nominee from the Prairies and the North for the award, which goes to a Canadian contemporary artist under the age of 40.

Its the 14th year the award will be handed out and this years top prize is $50,000.

There Are Greater Tragedies by Winnipeg artist Divya Mehra. (Supplied)

Mehra splits her time between Winnipeg, New York and Delhi, India, and her works address the effects of colonization and institutional racism in her three homelands.

Her pieces have appeared around the world, including New York, Toronto, Beijing and Delhi.

In 2010, her exhibition Turf Wars was on display at Winnipegs Platform Centre and included the shell of a 1987 Jaguar car suspended on a gallery wall in a piece called Just an American Dream (still just a Paki).

Jaguar is known for being a symbol of British luxury, but the company had been sold to Indias Tata Motors Ltd. in 2008. By showing the glitzy car, Mehra made a statement on the waning colonial power of Britain on India.

Mehra has published two art books: 2014s Pouring Water on a Drowning Man and 2013s Quit, India.

Artist Divya Mehra was nominated for the Sobey Art Award in June 2017. (Supplied)

Also nominated are: Ursula Johnson of Dartmouth, N.S., Jacynthe Carrier of Quebec City; Bridget Mosher of Toronto and Raymond Boisjoly of Vancouver. The nominees works will be on display at the Art Museum at the University of Toronto from Oct. 24 to Dec. 9.

If you value coverage of Manitobas arts scene, help us do more.

Your contribution of $10, $25 or more will allow the Free Press to deepen our reporting on theatre, dance, music and galleries while also ensuring the broadest possible audience can access our arts journalism. BECOME AN ARTS JOURNALISM SUPPORTER Click here to learn more about the project.
Deepak Reddy is the son-in-law of Telugu Desam MP and businessman JC Diwakar Reddy.

By Ashish Pandey: In a high profile case, the Central Crime Station police have arrested Anantapur TDP MLC Deepak Reddy and two others in connection with a land forgery case.

Deepak Reddy is the son-in-law of Telugu Desam MP and businessman JC Diwakar Reddy and also for his 2012 by election affidavit where he had declared assets over Rs 6000 crore.

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He was elected as the member of Andhra Pradesh Legislative council in March this year.

A forgery case was registered against him and four others alleging encroachment of land in posh Banjara Hills road no. 2 and other areas of Hyderabad with the help of forged documents.

Confirming the arrest, a senior police officer said, "An advocate Sailesh Saxena in connivance with the Telugu Desam Party MLC created forged documents of government lands located in Banjara Hills, Asif Nagar, Abids and few others places in the city and grabbed them. Three cases were registered at CCS against Deepak Reddy, Sailesh and another realtor Srinivas.'

The arrests came as part of an ongong investigation in a case registered in the year 2016 based on the complaint given by Shaikpet's Tehsildar.

Meanwhile, arrest of Deepak Reddy has created a sensation in the political circle as he is know for his political connections and relations across the part in Twin Telugu state.

Also Read:

Andhra Pradesh: TDP corporator slaps himself with slipper during meeting

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu kicks off TDP Mahanadu in Vishkhapatnam

--- ENDS ---
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 05/06/2017 (1984 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It has been nearly 22 years since 13-year-old Joseph Beeper Spence was gunned down on a muggy summer night, a victim of mistaken identity when gang members thought he was a rival and opened fire.

It was a senseless killing that rocked the city and signalled, for the first time, that street gangs had become a major force.

Since then, Winnipegs gang population has swelled  as many as 1,500 active youth members now operate in the city  while many similar tragedies have followed. Its an issue that those involved in police, justice and social services continue to wrestle with, especially when the weather begins to heat up and street violence starts to rise.

JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Winnipeg Police chief Danny Smyth (centre) and Inspector Jamie Blunden speak to residents at a community meeting in Winnipeg on Monday.

And so on Monday evening, in a North End building just a few blocks from where Beeper took his final breaths on that fateful day back in July 1995, the various stakeholders gathered for a public forum looking at issues such as gang recruitment and the drugs which serve as their primary fuel.

We have a gang problem because of a drug problem, Det. Steve Mitchell of the organized crime unit told the audience of about 50 who gathered at Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre. The reason why one gang comes to the top and another falls is directly related to the drug trade.

Mitchell began his talk by asking, by a show of hands, how many people in attendance have had a personal interaction with a gang member. About half the room reached for the sky in response.

Mitchell showed a slide with about two dozen gangs in the city  from well-known ones like the Manitoba Warriors and Indian Posse to lesser-knowns such as the Black Sheep Mob and Dynamic Crew.

And he issued a word of warning to parents in the crowd, especially those with young teens, while giving some of the basics with regards to gang lingo, clothing and graffiti.

Ive seen them recruit and Ive seen how they recruit. Thirteen and 14, up to 15, its a really heavy recruitment period. Its one of the most transitional phases of your life. This is where the insecurities set in. This is where the gangs can help fill that void, Mitchell said.

Gang imagery in our city is very strong, its very well-rooted. Some of them are very sophisticated. It can fill that void, that sense of who do I belong to.

Mitchell also described what he called the idle hands theory, where those who may seem bored can be ripe for recruiting.

Gangs look for that. Ive seen it, he said. Are they involved in drug use? It can and probably will lead to some form of gang affiliation.

Shelley Marshall, a clinical nurse specialist who works in public health, led community members through an interactive crash course called Mind Altering Drugs 101, with a specific focus on what Winnipeg police Chief Danny Smyth called the insidious nature of fentanyl and opioids.

The conditions for drug-related harms are usually shaped by the whole social structure, said Marshall, citing physical, mental, emotional and spiritual pain as big factors.

One of the most alarming issues surrounding fentanyl is that people often have no idea theyve put it in their bodies.

Marshall presented a chart showing the risk of fentanyl poisoning when using other drugs that have been adulterated, with cannabis and meth on the low end of the scale while heroin, counterfeit prescription pills and cocaine are on the high end.

She predicted the 145 average overdose deaths a year in Winnipeg is likely to grow in coming years. Those at the meeting were shown a chart documenting all naloxone administrations done by first responders in 2016, with 57 per cent of them happening in downtown and Point Douglas.

Were kind of surrounded by it, she said.

Insp. Jamie Blunden, who recently took over the North End district, spoke to the crowd about significant changes hes trying to bring to the area.

Blunden said a turnover in senior staff led to a new direction with more focus on community engagement, rather than the traditional arrest the bad guy approach.

We looked at that as an opportunity to change the culture of how we do business, said Blunden. We want to get to know you as individuals in the community.

Several booths were set up Monday with information on recruitment, opioids and Crime Stoppers. Members of the Winnipeg Police Board were also in attendance and had a table set up to educate the public about what they do.

This gives us an opportunity to educate the public about things going on, but also to hear back from the community, Smyth told the audience regarding the value of the public forum.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 06/06/2017 (1983 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Another $751,000 construction flaw inside the Winnipeg Police Services downtown headquarters is heartbreaking but has to be paid.

Councillors on the civic property and development committee agreed Tuesday to pay the money after being told it is needed to fix an improperly designed heating and ventilation system in the former Canada Post building.

Noting all the buildings previous problems that have resulted in millions of dollars of cost overruns, Coun. Jenny Gerbasi said the new issue was heartbreaking.

$750,000 is needed to fix an improperly designed heating and ventilation system in the former Canada Post building. (Joe Bryksa / Winnipeg Free Press files)

Its the gift that keeps giving. It just keeps coming back like a bad dinner, she said.

Its a pain.

The HVAC problem means police cant use its firearms analysis or bio/chem labs in the building until the problems are fixed.

The original cost to renovate the building was $135 million, but has jumped to $213.5 million. The RCMP are currently investigating various allegations about the project, including alleged fraudulent billings by the general contractor and suspected bribes to people monitoring the construction, including the citys former chief administrative officer.

No charges have been laid by police.

Committee chairman John Orlikow said the city hopes to recoup the heating and ventilation repair money from the systems designers.

I dont think anyone is happy with this, Orlikow said.

I dont think anyone doesnt want that money back in our coffers.

Orlikow said he has been told this is the final extra expense for the building.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 05/06/2017 (1984 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A large-scale search of a river and its shoreline in a northern Manitoba First Nation ended in tragedy Friday night when searchers discovered the body of a missing three-year-old boy.

The mood is very sad and sombre, council member Russell Lambert said Monday from Poplar River, 340 kilometres north of Winnipeg. When we encounter a tragedy, which is what we experienced on Friday, the community usually pulls together. Were always like that It is hard for a community of this size.

The child was with family at a waterfront residence on the Poplar River when he went missing Friday afternoon, RCMP said in a news release. At about 5 p.m., the local RCMP detachment received a report of a missing three-year-old boy and joined community members in a search of local residences, along the shoreline and on the river.

 Mapbox  OpenStreetMap

Just before 9 p.m., community members located the body of the boy in the water, police said. Even though the investigation continues, foul play is not suspected, police say.

It was a big search. They started posting (on social media) about 4 p.m It escalated into a search party. When I got there at 5:30 p.m., there were approximately 75 people. They were doing both a land search and the river, Lambert said of the communitys efforts.

When something like this happens, people get together With (social media), it gets out there very quickly and people respond to it.

Poplar River First Nation has a population of roughly 1,500 living on the reserve located on the east side of Lake Winnipeg at the mouth of the Poplar River.
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 06/06/2017 (1983 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Police Service is reducing its staffing complement by 15 officers as it grapples with a funding-level freeze imposed by the Pallister government.

Police Chief Danny Smyth said Tuesday the cuts will include elimination of two specialized units operated jointly with the RCMP  the Manitoba Integrated Organized Crime Task Force and the Manitoba Warrant Task Force.

Services provided by the two task forces will be covered off by other officers, Smyth told a news conference.

PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Winnipeg Police Chief Danny Smyth: 'I dont think there will be a tremendous impact on public safety'

I dont think there will be a tremendous impact on public safety, he said.

The provincial government has changed the way it funds municipalities and police agencies, employing a lump sum basket funding approach rather than earmarking funds for specific projects. This year, the WPS is receiving $19 million from the province, the same amount as last year.

That has forced the police service to adapt its budget to the new realities, Smyth said. With costs going up, it means finding $1.2 million in savings for the coming year. The police service opted to reduce the number of provincially funded positions by 15 to balance its books.

The warrant task force, which chased down people charged with offences who dont show up for court, had three city police officers devoted to it. There were six city officers on the organized crime task force. Six more positions in the police central prisoner intake and processing area will be eliminated.

Smyth said despite folding the organized crime task force, both city police and the RCMP retain capacity to investigate organized crime and will continue to co-operate where necessary. He added that the citys street gang unit is unaffected by the cuts.

No city officers will lose their jobs as a result of the cuts, as there are vacancies within the police service.

Currently, provincial funding pays for 166 city police officers, 12 civilian positions and 75 cadets. With the reduction in positions, WPS will have a total of 1,403 officers.

The integrated organized crime task force had some spectacular successes, including the 2009 arrests of 34 gang members and associates.

RCMP spokeswoman Tara Seel said the eight Mounties who were members of the organized crime task force will join existing Winnipeg-based RCMP serious and organized crime units.

Organized crime remains a national and divisional (Manitoba) priority for us, she said.

As is the case with city police, Seel said no RCMP officers will lose their jobs due to the suspension of the two joint units.

There were three RCMP officers on the warrant task force.

NDP justice critic Andrew Swan decried the need for the cuts.

Its a shocking development that the provincial government has frozen funding for police services in Manitoba, he said. They (police) have made what I know must have been a very, very difficult choice to suspend these two very successful units.

Swan, a former Manitoba justice minister, said he once went on a ride-along with warrant enforcement officers and appreciates the work they do.

During the ride-along, officers went to a house across the street from a school where someone had been charged with sexual offences against children and had failed to show up for court.

That warrant enforcement unit was able to put in the resources and bring that person in. Police are busy. We know that theyre working very hard. We know with the crime rate going up in the past year theyre working even harder, he said.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 05/06/2017 (1984 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba Association of Friendship Centres has voted to cut ties with the troubled Indian and Metis Friendship Centre in Winnipegs North End.

The board met this weekend and suspended their membership indefinitely until theyve met their obligations, Muriel Parker, president of the Manitoba Association of Friendship Centres, said Monday.

There are several reports due and applications for funding that are due and, until they have a fully operating board, they have several obligations to meet, Parker said by phone from Swan River, Man. The association holds the government-funding purse strings  estimated at $370,000 annually  and its not willing to open them for for the Winnipeg centre until it gets its act together, she said.

BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Police at The Indian and Metis Friendship Centre in Winnipeg's North End in May, 2017

No one in charge of the centre in Winnipeg Monday was aware of the provincial associations decision to suspend their relationship.

I never heard anything, said interim executive director Garrett Courchene at the centre, which is being kept open using the proceeds from bingo. He contacted interim president Bill Greenwalt, who called the Free Press to say he spoke to Parker last week about the vote being held over the weekend but hadnt been contacted with the results.

Nobody talks to us from there, said Greenwalt. He blamed the association for not helping the centres interim leadership to get established and be successful, as well as the former board and staff at the Winnipeg centre for nine years of mismanagement, and leaving an administrative mess.

Its been two months and were supposed to have everything done? an exasperated Greenwalt asked. It takes four to six weeks  longer than 30 days allowed by the Indian and Metis Friendship Centres own constitution  to have criminal record background checks done, for example, he said. A committed group is keeping the centre open and is still running an after-school program for youth and a program for elders, said Greenwalt, the centres former maintenance manager.

Its business as usual, he said. Were trying to keep everything squared away, said Greenwalt. Theyre still holding an annual general meeting on June 13-14, with an open mic followed by new board elections.

Greenwalt said he hopes the next group of leaders will be a success but he has no interest in staying involved with the friendship centre.

Im out, completely. Its a headache and it nearly killed my spirit.

The Winnipeg centre was the first friendship centre in Canada to be officially incorporated to provide services for indigenous people.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 06/06/2017 (1983 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The provinces regional health authorities cut senior management positions Tuesday in keeping with the provincial governments order that 15 per cent be eliminated.

The Winnipeg Regional Health Authority served 132 layoff notices Tuesday, while the Northern Health Region cut seven jobs.

WRHA leadership met face to face with the laid-off employees to smooth the transition and thank them for service. The decisions were made carefully, and with the intent to ensure care to patients and families would not be compromised, a WRHA spokesman said via email.

A spokesman for the Northern Health Region declined to elaborate on the positions cut, out of respect for the individuals.

The WRHA and Northern Health arent the only health authorities making cuts. Prairie Mountain Health in western Manitoba will cut 24 jobs this week, while Southern Health will cut 19.

These decisions were difficult and were not made lightly, PMHs CEO Penny Gilson said in a statement. Layoff notices will be delivered over the course of the next few days.

In an statement, Southern Health CEO Jane Curtis echoed Gilsons sentiments and said, plans are in place to redistribute the work of these individuals to ensure that Southern Health-Sante Sud continues to meet the needs of our clients, residents and patients and stakeholders.

A spokesman for the Interlake-Eastern Regional Health Authority declined Tuesday to discuss how many jobs would be cut or when, saying only it will not be proceeding today.
The woman was sexually assaulted by three men including the driver of the auto-rickshaw. When the victim's child started crying one of the suspects threw the toddler out of the vehicle.

By Puneet Kumar Sharma: Investigation in the gangrape case of a woman and murder of her child has revealed some disturbing facts. The victim has said that her husband had a fight with their neighbour and left the house. She felt scared and decided to go to her in-laws house. She took an auto-rickshaw around midnight from Manesar to Khandan in Gurgaon.

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The woman was sexually assaulted by three men including the driver of the auto-rickshaw. When the victim's child started crying one of the suspects threw the toddler out of the vehicle.

She carried the dead child to her in-laws house and then took the body to her parent's house in southwest Delhi. She later informed her husband about the horrific crime.

Police released sketches of the three suspects in Manesar gangrape case, in Gurgaon on Tuesday. (PTI Photo)

On May 30, the husband informed Manesar police about the incident. The police asked the victim to record her statement in Manesar. She then took a Metro and carried the body from southwest Delhi to Gurgaon.

At that time Manesar police filed the case only under sections of murder and rape charges were not pressed against the accused.

When the Station House officer reached the Metro station he saw the woman coming out from the station with body of the toddler.

On June 3, the victim again went to police and told them she was sexually assaulted on May 29. Sections of gangrape were added after the new complaint was filed.

Also Read:

Delhi Metro card helps trace duo behind stabbing, robbery

Gurugram: Woman gangraped in auto, 6-month-old daughter killed

Woman gangraped at Lucknow's KGMC hospital, 1 arrested

Uttar Pradesh: 4 held for murder, gangrape on Bulandshahr-Jewar highway

--- ENDS ---
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 06/06/2017 (1983 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Death is inevitable. A bad death is not, blares the headline of the April 29 edition of the Economist. The feature repeats the arguments why more palliative care is needed and why honest and open conversations about dying should be as much a part of modern medicine as prescribing drugs or fixing broken bones.

The imminent first anniversary of the legalization of doctor-assisted suicide in Canada on June 17 easily muddies the discussion-of-death waters.

The mistaken premise of this debate is the affirmation that the choice to die is what makes for a good death. Autonomy does not transform something that is inherently bad into something good.

Preparing for death needs to focus on the completion of living.

Still, in spite of medicines progress, 100 per cent of us die.

True, for most, death will typically come three decades later than it would have in 1900, but infinitely forestalling death remains the domain of science fiction.

Approximately 10 per cent of us will die suddenly, without warning and without a chance to say goodbye to those who are near to us.

For the remaining 90 per cent or so, at some point well receive the news that while the precise time cant be pinpointed, it will likely be a matter of years/weeks/days when we can expect our passing.

Sure, we may be able to choose from among a medical intervention or three, which may (or may not) extend that timeline marginally, but the inevitable is near.

I wonder if the question surrounding a good death involves less medicine and more of how we prioritize the remaining time.

For most of us, these priorities are likely to fall into some combination of five categories.

By happy coincidence, they are congruent with Dr. Ira Byocks The Four Things That Matter Most: A Book About Living, although I had not read his 2004 book when I came up with my own list:

 There is someone to whom we need to say, I love you.

Whatever our status or wealth, death is an equalizer.

The value of intimacy and our closest relationships are highlighted at these times and the need to say, with words and deeds, I love you to those whom we really love becomes the most important item on our agenda.

 There is also, for most of us, someone to whom we need to say, Im sorry.

Living with broken relationships is a plight too common but there is nothing like the urgency of a deadline to resolve things that need to be resolved.

 Thank you is another priority for those who have a finite number of words and visits to share.

There are important people in each of our lives and the reality of the final deadline focuses the mind on who helped us become who we are and contributed to our successes.

 Depending on our station in life, some may feel the impact of our death, not just in terms of our absence but also from the loss of our care.

You will be OK and taken care of are words that need to be shared with those who depend on us, with the appropriate arrangements made to back up those words after we are gone.

 I, too, will be OK are the final words our loved ones need to hear from us.

The content and character of this statement will differ significantly depending on your understanding of life and death.

Whatever debates we may have about such matters while were alive, these matters take on an urgency when the inevitably of death is near.

So what does any of this have to do with palliative care and the end of life?

Imagine how much less stressful, and less terrifying, anyones last days would be if facilitating the five priorities above were part of the care received.

Pain management, support for caregivers and advanced care planning all play important parts in this equation.

Tying up the loose ends in life must be part of the equation, too.

Done well, preparing for death will result in a better life, right to our last breath.

Ray Pennings is the executive vice-president of the think-tank Cardus.

 Troy Media


Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 05/06/2017 (1984 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Britain has been through this before. Irish nationalist bomb-planters carried out a long string of terrorist attacks in Britain through the 1970s, 80s and 90s, but did not scare the U.K. into abandoning Northern Ireland. The London Bridge killings on Saturday night, following attacks on Westminster Bridge in March and the Manchester concert bombing two weeks ago, are also unlikely to bring Britain to its knees.

The bad news, however, is that this may continue for a long time and may involve many casualties, harsh measures by the authorities and terrible injustice to innocent people. A few ruthless terrorists can commit spectacular crimes. The police dragnet designed to catch them may sweep up plenty of law-abiding people and falsely accuse some of them. Canadians watching Britains escalating struggle with jihadi terror should brace themselves for a long and brutal campaign.

The Islamic State group uses the Internet to encourage its sympathizers in European countries, Canada and the U.S. to get a truck or a knife and use it to kill defenceless people in the streets. Their aim, apparently, is to scare the European and American armies away from Mosul and other IS enclaves, where they are slowly strangling the self-proclaimed caliphate.

Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press Files Police stood guard after homegrown terrorist Michael Zehaf-Bibeau attacked Parliament Hill in 2014.

The recruiting tool of the Internet reaches into every home with a computer, all over the world. Suicidal maniacs in Canada may be just as likely as those in London, Paris and Brussels to rent a truck or pick up a butcher knife and strike a blow for the caliphate. Canadas intelligence services and police forces need to pay close attention to events in Britain: Scotland Yard and MI-5 are finding out the hard way how jihadi recruiting works and how cities can defend themselves.

Canadian agencies should not be far behind, because similar crimes have been carried out and attempted here in the past and there may be further incidences in the future.

Free online expression may be an early casualty in the struggle. North Americans usually deplore tight police controls on Internet use in China, where users who complain about the government are quickly shut down.

But free online expression as it is enjoyed in the West leads, in practice, to IS recruiting people to go out and commit mass murder.

Somewhere between the shackled East and the wild West, there may be a system of Internet expression that allows wide freedom but does not instigate slaughter in the streets.

The police will need plenty of informants in the Arabic-speaking communities of western countries to find out who is listening to IS propaganda and what they are up to. This may sometimes seem to cast suspicion on large numbers of innocent people.

At the moment, the police have files on far more people than they can ever hope to watch closely. The science of discerning which IS sympathizers are most likely to take action needs to be developed from careful study of those who have already struck.

A multinational agency such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization may be the best means of pulling together the experience of all terror-afflicted countries and snooping on people who have, up to now, committed no crime.

So much for privacy and freedom of thought! But the alternative is to let murder plots proliferate and let terrorists dictate our foreign policy.

Our free societies may have to become a little less free until this is over.
Mankato Avenue near Winona Health was closed in the southbound lanes for several hours Tuesday due to an overturned truck.

The full trailer of garbage took several hours to clean up, forcing drivers to take alternative routes, according to the Minnesota State Patrol.

The truck flipped in late morning, and was responded to by the State Patrol and Winona Fire and Ambulance, along with Winona Police assisting with traffic control.

The tarps covering it werent able to hold in the garbage when it tipped, and had spilled around it.

Around 11:15 a.m. another box had been brought from Miller Scrap to load the garbage into.

The scene was cleared by early afternoon.
Road construction season is well under way, and one of the bigger projects in downtown Winona is almost done.

Xcel Energys large construction project that began late spring is nearing completion. The project started on Third and Liberty streets, spanning 13 blocks to Winona Street, including the of blocks from Walnut to Franklin streets along Fourth Street.

The construction crew tore up the edge of the streets to replace the main gas pipes and renew all services for businesses and residents along Third and Fourth streets.

Its the longest project Im part of this summer, project manager Ben Hach said.

Right now the crew is working between Main and Johnson on Third Street. Hach said they expect to finish the final block of Third Street by Friday, June 23.

Xcel Energy met with Third Street business owners back in November to notify them of the plan.

Winona Main Street coordinator Emily Kurash said when the meetings took place last year, it was with the understanding the project was necessary.

Nobody likes construction, she said. It needed to be done... (the construction crew) has done a really good job accommodating and connecting with people who had questions.

They completed the area on Third Street just before Mid West Music Fest set up at the end of April, and Kurash said there shouldnt be any issues for Steamboat Days, which begins next Wednesday.

Things should be pretty open again in a couple weeks, Kurash said
President Trump has just returned from a visit in Israel and a visit with the Palestinians. Israeli Prime minister Netanyahu professed a desire for establishing a peace agreement with the Palestinians. President Trump has to be wary of putting too much faith in these statements, even though Israel has tried to position itself as a trusted, critical ally. Let me give some reasons why we should be wary.

First, even though the Israelis had promised that they would not be the first country in the Middle East to develop nuclear weapons, by 1962, they were already working with France to develop nuclear weapons. From there, they moved to the development of various ranges of missiles, concluding in ICBMs. In 1973, when invaded by Egypt, they prominently displayed some of these missiles, causing concern that they might launch them, possibly even against Russia. Under this implicit threat, the United States immediately went on a crash program to provide military aid to Israel. Sounds much like blackmail to me.

In between, in 1967, I personally witnessed another action by Israel that I have always questioned. That year I was a junior officer on the USS Cambria, an attack transport warship. My ship was part of an amphibious flotilla carrying a Marine battallion landing team, practicing amphibious landings in the Mediterranean Sea. We had a Russian trawler following us during our entire deployment. While we were at liberty port in Valetta, Malta, the Six Day War broke out between Israel, Jordan, Syria and Egypt. Isreal had invaded those three countries. Yes, little Israel had invaded three of its neighbors. The rationale was that this was a preventive war, because these three countries were an imminent threat.

I then witnessed a radio message from the USS Liberty, an intelligence gathering ship, operating off the Israeli coast. The Liberty sent a flash message saying that they were being attacked by unidentified aircraft and suffering casualties. The flash status meant that it must be on the Presidents desk within 10 minutes. It was known that the Russians had been arming the Arabs. Might it have been Russian planes that attacked our ship? Suddenly, were we to be involved in the start of World War III?

The admiral of the Sixth Fleet then ordered a carrier to launch planes and in a flash message, instructed the planes to take all measures necessary to protect and defend the Liberty. This meant that guns and missiles were free to be fired.

The commanding officer then came back with another flash message, announcing that they were going to abandon ship status. This meant that all sensitive electronics gear, which had timed explosive charges attached, were to be thrown overboard, with charges activated. This would prevent their capture.

As it turned out, the Liberty did not sink, eventually getting to port with a substantial list. It had suffered a number of casualties, including a number of dead. It turned out that the attacking planes were Israeli planes. Israel then apologized and claimed that this was by mistake. Never mind that the Liberty had been there for days and was flying the American flag. This was a mistake.

The lesson is, beware of Israeli duplicity when their national security is involved.
By India Today Web Desk: It's been more than two months since Kapil Sharma and Sunil Grover's infamous spat. On one hand, where everyone has given up on Sunil's return on The Kapil Sharma Show, their fans are still trying their best to coax them to bury the hatchet and work together again.

Recently a fan requested Kapil Sharma on Twitter to bring Sunil Grover back on the show. He tweeted, "Kapil paaji @WhoSunilGrover Sunil paaji ko wapis kab la rhe ho? Please @KapilSharmaK9 sir."

Jab b unka dil kare.. I told him many times ..- KAPIL (@KapilSharmaK9) June 4, 2017

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Kapil politely replied to him saying, "Jab b unka dil kare. I told him many times."

Also read: Sunil Grover has this to say about The Kapil Sharma Show's falling TRPs

The conversation didn't stop there, fans praised Kapil and said that he is a good person and mistakes happen. To which Kapil replied, "That is called life brother."

That is called life brother- KAPIL (@KapilSharmaK9) June 4, 2017

Looks like Kapil has given up on Sunil Grover's return. It was after quite some time that Kapil got chatty with his fans on Twitter. Kapil used to be one of the most active celebrities on Twitter but post the mid-air feud, he had taken a back seat. Looks like, he wants to stay away from all kinds of controversies.

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A contract between Epic Systems Corp. and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs  worth more than $600 million  will remain in force even though the VA has chosen a competitor to provide other electronic health record services.

Veterans Affairs secretary David Shulkin said Monday that his agency will use the same technology as the Department of Defense, a system known as MHS Genesis, being developed by Cerner Corp. and Leidos.

Cerner and Leidos had beaten out a team of Epic and IBM in 2015 for that hotly contested Defense Department contract, which is worth $4.3 billion over 10 years.

Epic was not a contender for providing the main electronic health records (EHR) for the VA, announced Monday. The VA had also considered updating its own internally developed records system, known as Vista, and did not seek outside bids.

But Epic won a separate contract in 2015 to produce an online medical appointment scheduling program for veterans, worth $624 million over five years.

Epic was working with Systems Made Simple, which was then a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin. Systems Made Simple was acquired last August by Leidos, the company working with Cerner on the huge military records contract.

A pilot project on the veterans medical appointment software is underway, with results expected in 18 months, a Veterans Health Administration official told a Congressional committee in February, according to an article on the website Healthcare Informatics.

In his announcement Monday, Shulkin was not immediately clear about whether the Epic contract for scheduling doctors appointments could be in jeopardy. He said the goal is to make health records seamless as members of the military become veterans.

Having a veterans complete and accurate health record in a single common EHR system is critical to that care, and to improving patient safety, Shulkin said.

He made no mention of the scheduling contract, but a VA spokesman on Tuesday clarified that the Cerner arrangement is for electronic health records only.

There is no connection to appointment scheduling, etc. and we expect no changes resulting from the new EHR contract, VA spokesman Randal Noller said in an email exchange.

Epic released a statement about the situation:

We are proud to serve our veterans both through the VA scheduling project and through our customers that care for millions of veterans across America. These customers are the top health systems in America and we stand with them, committed and eager to ensure veterans get the very best medical care regardless of where they receive it, spokeswoman Meghan Roh wrote in an email exchange.

Privately owned Epic, of Verona, is one of the nations largest electronic health record vendors. It has more than 9,600 employees and had $2.5 billion in revenue in 2016.
Mindy Moon never expected to find the mysteries buried under the old cottonwood tree behind her house.

Moon, who lives along Pleasant Street in New Lisbon, was disappointed when the more than 100-year-old tree blew over in a strong storm that whipped through the county last month. She called local stump remover Mike Edwards to extract the tree and what he found just below the roots was fascinating.

Edwards discovered a few very old glass bottles and kept digging. He found several more, both large and small, until about 50 were unearthed. Many of the bottles are still intact and contained the engravings of Dr. Peter Fahrney and Sons, a doctor based in Chicago in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Fahrney made concoctions to treat blood disorders and other ailments, especially for soldiers affected by the Civil War.

Edwards dug a little deeper and just below the bottles found what appeared to be remains, small bone fragments and ashes.

At first I thought they were animal remains, but I had my wife look at pictures and shes a nurse and she said, No, those are human, Edwards said.

Edwards told Moon about the findings and she was very surprised and somewhat shaken. She contacted local authorities who said there were no missing persons or cold cases which would relate to the discovery. Besides, the fragments are so decomposed theyve likely been there for several decades.

Mike came across this burnt substance and at the time we really didnt know what it was, I was thinking it could have been burnt garbage, who knows?, Moon said.

After finding the suspected remains, Edwards and his wife talked to Juneau County Coroner Linda Mitchel-May. The coroner gave them masks to protect them from any harmful chemicals along with materials to store the fragments for testing. Moon has contacted the Wisconsin Historical Society and is working on getting an archeologist to test the remains.

Mitchel-May said her department typically works with a forensic scientist from UW-Madison to analyze remains and create a DNA roadmap. The corner hasnt confirmed it is human remains, but she finds the discovery very intriguing.

She wanted to go through the historical society, which is good. I think shes going through the right people, Mitchel-May said. Ive kind of backed away from this. Mindy expressed taking it on herself and thats fine.

It might take weeks for results to come back proving the remains are human, and if they are, who they belong to.

Since the bones are old and there are no missing persons, its probably just a burial site, Moon said. Once the archeologists deal with it we can hopefully give it a proper burial.

While he had no way of knowing, Edwards said hes worried he may have disturbed an ancient Native American burial plot. Moon said if archeologists determine it is a burial site, she will have the chance to name it.

I was freaking out and wondered why the construction guy was extracting bones and not the police and the coroner, Moon said. But they followed their protocol and didnt do anything wrong. Im going to put up some no trespassing signs and a fence in the time being and I cant touch anything out there until we find out what it is.

Moon has lived in the home since 2012 and currently has it on the market. Through a recent remodeling process, she didnt find any suspicious items hidden in the walls.

At first I thought the bottles might be from the bootlegging days, Moon said. But then we found out theyre old medicine bottles.

Until the fragments are analyzed, the mystery of whats under the old cottonwood lingers.
In June 1900, famous or infamous Confederate spy, Belle Boyd, came to Kilbourn as Wisconsin Dells was then known to speak to the Grand Army of the Republic local chapter. On June 13, at 7 p.m. Boyd will be back to speak at the same venue, but not as a specter.

Belle Boyd died in Kilbourn and is buried in the citys Spring Grove Cemetery. Civil War reenactor Melanie Lichtfeldt will become Belle Boyd for the evening of June 13 at the Masonic Hall, 815 Oak Street, that was first the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) hall.

Boyd will be accompanied by Governor James Taylor Lewis, the ninth governor of Wisconsin and the governor who served during the last years of the Civil War. Lewis is portrayed by Lichtfeldts father, Richard Lichtfeldt. He will be giving what was Lewis inauguration speech from 1864. The event is sponsored by the Dells Country Historical Society, and the Wisconsin Dells Masonic Lodge is hosting the event. John Campbell of the Dells, a Mason, will give a short talk on the history of the hall. The Eastern Star Chapter will provide refreshments at the end of the evening. The event is free.

Melanie Lichtfeldt said her father has long been a Civil War buff so that was the start of her interest in the Civil War. Lewis was from Columbus, and Melanie, who had been organizing the Columbus Horse and Carriage show, was asked to do something special to bring more people to the event. Since it was the 150th anniversary of the Civil War she organized a re-enactment.

In her research, she discovered Belle Boyd and chose her for her character which she has been portraying since then. The bold and courageous Virginia woman, who did not follow the customary role of women, appealed to her. Lichtfeldt, herself, heads a successful fourth generation Madison Plumbing Company, Lichtfeldt Plumbing, and has a stable.

Boyd was known as an excellent horsewoman. Several of Boyds exploits involved riding, crossing enemy lines and escaping capture. An article in the 1906, Kilbourn Weekly Illustrated Events said, She was bold and dashing rather than a beautiful woman, and her chief accomplishment was perfect mastery of a horse. She rode at a pace and with a grace that knew no equal, shot with great skill, and with it all she was a well-educated and accomplished woman.

One of the more famous rides Boyd did was when she rode to warn Confederate General Thomas Stonewall Jackson of Union troop deployment before Jackson attacked at Front Royal, Virginia. It was a win for Jackson and lead to the Union withdrawal from the Shenandoah Valley

Boyd visited different army camps and visited with Union soldiers, some of whom were from Wisconsin, Lichtfeldt said. Those Wisconsin soldiers told her of the beauty of Wisconsin and prompted Boyds desire to visit here.

Lichtfeldt, who will be dressed in a period costume for the event on June 13, said she will be telling about the real Belle Boyd, who was not a woman of ill repute. Boyd did end up in prison five or six times and was deported to Canada. She was captured once on her way to England where she eventually stayed during part of the war and wrote her memoirs, which were not published until after her death.

After the end of the war, Boyd returned to the United States where she made a career lecturing about her exploits as a spy. On one of her lecture tours, with her third husband, Nathaniel High, Boyd checked into the Hile House, Kilbourn. An article in the June 12, 1986 issue of the Wisconsin Dells Events described Boyds death at the Hile House that later became the Travelers Motel on La Crosse. The Travelers Motel, located across from the train depot, was being torn down at the time of the article. That article states that Boyd arrived in Kilbourn on May 9 and died on June 11. Before her death she gave talks in Portage and Pardeeville.

She was scheduled to lecture to the GAR chapter, but on that day, she suffered a heart attack and died. She was destitute at the time of her death so her body could not be returned to her home in Martinsburg, Virginia. The Episcopal Church provided a site for her funeral and Union veterans in uniform carried her coffin to Spring Grove Cemetery.

Boyds grave was unmarked for the first few years until first local women put a wooden cross on it and then later a stone marker was put on it by a friend. In 1928, the United Daughters of the Confederacy contemplated moving Boyds remains to West Virginia, however that never happened, and in the 1950s, Harris Botsford started a fund to erect a memorial on the gravesite. It wasnt until 1976 that the memorial was completed. The site is cared for the American Legion Post now and occasionally draws visitors with an interest in the Civil War.
By Press Trust of India: Bhopal, Jun 6 (PTI) Five persons were killed today as the farmers agitation turned violent in Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh, prompting the authorities to clamp curfew in the trouble-hit area.

Some eyewitnesses alleged that the victims suffered bullet wounds, but Mandsaur district authorities denied that police fired on the protesters, who were on a rampage.

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While the Congress called for state bandh tomorrow, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan blamed the opposition party for instigating the violence.

Mandsaur collector S K Singh confirmed death of five persons and said a magisterial inquiry has been ordered. As tension prevailed, mobile internet service were suspended in Mandsaur, Ratlam and Neemuch districts since morning to check spread of rumours.

Singh also told PTI that police categorically told him that they did not fire at the protesters.

The deceased were identified as Kanhaiyalal Patidar, Bablu Patidar, Chain Singh Patidar, Abhishek Patidar and Satynarayan. Abhishek and Satynarayan died en route to a hospital in Indore, police said.

Curfew has been imposed in Pipalya Mandi police station area of Mandsaur district where the incident took place, while prohibitory orders restricting movement under section 144 of CrPC have been imposed in rest of the district, the collector said.

"Police have told me that neither did they fire nor did they have any orders to fire," Singh added.

In-camera autopsy of bodies was going on and the cause of death will be known after it, the collector said, adding that families of the deceased will get financial aid.

According to eyewitnesses, protesting farmers torched vehicles and indulged in stone pelting in Parshvanath area under Pipaliya Mandi police station limits of the district.

The CM announced a financial help of Rs 10 lakh to the kin of the deceased.

"I request the farmers to be patient. Do not fall in the trap of anyone. The government stands with farmers. We will solve all problems through discussion," Chouhan tweeted while blaming Congress for the violence.

Farmers in western Madhya Pradesh are protesting since June one demanding higher minimum support prices (MSP) among others.

In Ratlam, the district collector Ashok Bhargava imposed prohibitory orders under section 144 of CrPC following the violence in neighbouring Mandsaur district.

Ratlam superintendent of police Amit Singh announced a reward of Rs 10,000 each for information about absconding farmer leaders D P Dhakad, Rajesh Bharava, Bhagwati Patidar (said to be Congress members) and others who were allegedly involved in violence in the district on Sunday in which two police personnel had been injured.

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Meanwhile, the state Congress and the Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangh have given a call for bandh tomorrow across the state to protest the farmers death in Mandsaur.

"We have called for a massive MP bandh tomorrow," state Congress chief Arun Yadav told PTI.

The Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Ajay Singh, demanded resignation of Chouhan, saying the incident of firing in Mandsaur is shameful for a chief minister who claims to be a farmers son.

"All the claims of the chief minister have proved false so far. Now the government is using bullets to suppress farmers voice. Chouhan should resign immediately," the Congress leader said.

The main opposition party also constituted a committee of MLAs "to investigate" the Mandsaur firing incident. Singh and the state Congress chief would visit Mandsaur tomorrow.

Senior Congress leader and MP Jyotiraditya Scindia also condemned the incident. The BJP government dealt with the agitation through bullets instead of talks, he said.

"This is a black day in the history of the state. It is shameful that the state government is crushing farmers agitation. Farmers demands are genuine," Scindia added.

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Trouble was reported from many parts of western Madhya Pradesh as farmers stir continued for the sixth day today.

In Indore, police used lathi charge following stone- pelting during a march by farmers.

A police officer said that people taking part in the march started throwing stones at the police near Devi Ahilyabai Fruits and Vegetable Market, which led to lathi- charge.

In Dhar, farmers blocked the Indore-Ahmedabad national highway for about three hours. Farmers also staged protests at Amjhera and Ghoda Chowpati in the city.

The shops in the local market remained closed all day in Neemuch city.

Meanwhile, Mahendra Patidar, president of MP Patidar Samaj, said they would cremate the bodies of victims who died in Mandsaur district today only in the presence of the chief minister. PTI CORR HWP LAL ADU KRK SMJ RT SMJ

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The Supreme Court recently ruled that Lalu will have to stand trial in all fodder scam cases setting aside Jharkhand High Court's ruling dropping conspiracy charges against him.

Supreme Court recently ruled Lalu Prasad will have to face trial in all fodder scam cases. (File Photo)

By Rohit Kumar Singh: Former Bihar Chief Ministers Lalu Prasad and Jagannath Mishra appeared before a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Patna today for hearing in a case linked to the fodder scam.

The case relates to withdrawing Rs 47 lakh fraudulently from Bhagalpur treasury. The CBI had registered a case in this regard in 1996. Later, it filed a chargesheet naming 44 accused including Lalu and Mishra.

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Last month, the Supreme Court had ruled that Lalu will have to stand trial in all four fodder scam cases setting aside a Jharkhand High Court order which had dropped conspiracy charges against the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief.

The fodder scam relates to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 900 crore by the Animal Husbandry Department from various district when Lalu was the chief minister.

Former Bihar chief minister Jagannath Mishra and former state chief secretary Sajal Chakraborty are also accused in the case.

The apex court, while setting aside the 2014 high court order which had stayed the trial against Yadav after conviction in one of the cases, said the high court should have been consistent in its findings and not have given different views for different sets of accused in a case.

It also pulled up the CBI for delay in filing the appeal against the high court order in the case and said the probe agency's director should have looked into this important matter and deputed an officer to pursue the case.

The CBI had challenged the 2014 order of the Jharkhand high court quashing four pending fodder scam cases against him on the grounds that a person convicted in one case could not be tried in similar cases based on same witnesses and evidences.

The apex court had in November 2016 pulled up Mishra for allegedly dragging and delaying the appeal filed by CBI challenging the quashing of four pending fodder scam cases against him.

(With inputs from PTI)

ALSO READ:

More trouble for Lalu Prasad? Income Tax raids at 22 locations in Delhi, Gurgaon linked to benami land deals

Fodder scam cases: In big setback for Lalu Prasad, conspiracy charges restored by Supreme Court

Nitish's JD-U distances itself from Lalu Yadav on benami property controversy

Lalu Yadav admits controversial land belongs to family, says they are co-owners of the mall

WATCH: Fodder scam - Massive setback for Lalu Prasad as Supreme Court orders separate trials

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General Rawat is reported to have discussed "all options" against Pakistan's aggression along the Line of Control (LoC) and the international border.

By India Today Web Desk: As tension with Pakistan remains at an all-time high over frequent ceasefire violations and funding of terror in Jammu and Kashmir from across the border, Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat today said all options are open against the belligerent neighbour.

In details of a high-level meeting in Srinagar to discuss border security, accessed by India Today, General Rawat is reported to have discussed "all options" against Pakistan's aggression along the Line of Control (LoC) and the international border.

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General Rawat had visited Jammu and Kashmir last week to review the security and also met state Governor NN Vohra to discuss the security situation. His statement comes as tension continues to simmer along the India-Pakistan border, with several ceasefire violations being reported in recent months.

Last week, a civilian was killed and two others, including a BSF trooper, were injured in firing exchanges between Pakistani and Indian troops along the LoC.

On the same day, Pakistan also summoned the Indian Deputy High Commissioner in Islamabad over fresh ceasefire violations on the Line of Control, claiming that one Pakistani civilian was killed.

The Army on May 23 had released a video of attack on Pakistani posts across the LoC. The video showed what appeared as bunkers in a forested area being bombed and smoke and fire billowing up after the explosion.

The mutilation of Indian soldiers by Pakistani border forces, the Kulbhushan Jadhav trial, and the funding of Kashmiri separatists to fuel unrest in the Valley as exposed by India Today have been the other sticking points between the two countries.

Also read:

The gloves are off: Hardliner Gen Bipin Rawat fights Kashmir insurgency, with government's backing

Army chief Bipin Rawat on Kashmir unrest: Wish protesters fired at us instead of pelting stones

Indian Army to open up combat positions for women, says General Bipin Rawat

WATCH | Army Chief General Bipin Rawat holds high-level meet to discuss security situation in Kashmir

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Former Virginia Supreme Court Justice John Charles Thomas to speak at Convocation

Convocation speaker: Judge John Charles Thomas was appointed to the W&M Board of Visitors in 2006 to fill an unexpired term and reappointed to two four-year terms in 2009 and 2013, making him the longest-serving Board member in modern history. Hunton & Williams photo

W&M Law School graduation: Thomas served as the 2012 W&M Law School graduation speaker. Photo by Gretchen Bedell

Science of persuasion: In 2015, Thomas spoke to the Mediation Society as the final lecturer in the Science of Persuasion Speaker Series. Photo by David F. Morrill

Board of Visitors: Thomas, pictured here at a reception in May 2015, is the the longest-serving Board of Visitors member in modern history. Courtesy photo Photo - of - Hide Caption

Judge John Charles Thomas, the first black justice appointed to the Supreme Court of Virginia and a longtime member of the William & Mary Board of Visitors, will welcome the universitys newest students to campus at the 2017 Opening Convocation ceremony, to be held Aug. 30 at 5:15 p.m. in the Wren Yard.

In addition to marking the beginning of the 2017-18 academic year, the event will coincide with the start of a yearlong series of events at the university commemorating the 50th anniversary of William & Marys first African-American residential students.

Thomas is a senior partner at Hunton & Williams, where he leads the appellate practice group. He was appointed to the W&M Board in 2006 to fill an unexpired term and reappointed to two four-year terms in 2009 and 2013, making him the longest-serving Board member in modern history. Thomas will step down from the Board next month after nearly 12 years of service. In addition to being the first black justice on the Virginia Supreme Court, at 32, he was also the youngest to be appointed to that position.

A William & Mary law student once described Justice Thomas as the epitome of the citizen lawyer and thats exactly right, said President Taylor Reveley. John Charles Thomas has been at the forefront of progress on so many fronts during his extraordinary career, paving the way for countless others to follow. It is our great good fortune that he has agreed not only to welcome the Class of 2021 at Opening Convocation, but also to be part of our important year recognizing the African-American experience at William & Mary.

Thomas earned his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Virginia. He was appointed to the Virginia Supreme Court in 1983 and, until his retirement in 1989, ruled on thousands of appellate matters ranging from contracts to taxation, according to the Hunton & Williams website. In his current role with that firm, Thomas  an American Arbitrator Association-certified mediator and arbitrator  concentrates on appellate practice, general litigation and alternative dispute resolution. He also serves on the AAA Panel of Commercial Arbitrators and AAA Panel of International Arbitrators and has been a judge of the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland, since 2005.

Thomas has been highly involved at W&M throughout his tenure on the Board of Visitors. He is a frequent and popular speaker at W&M Law Schools orientation for new J.D. and LL.M. students. In 2012, he spoke at W&M Law Schools graduation ceremony. The next year, he collaborated with W&M faculty members Sophia Serghi and Harris Simon for a poetry recital of original work at Carnegie Hall. Among other campus engagements, Thomas was a panelist for a discussion about the state of diversity at W&M and a speaker at W&M Law Schools first African-American Law Alumni Celebration.

Justice Thomas is an amazing man of many talents and firsts himself, breaking barriers for countless others, said Jacquelyn McLendon, professor emerita of English and chair of the 50th anniversary committee. As an English professor, I appreciate his creativity in crafting poetry. More important, as a black American citizen, I appreciate his proven commitment to equality for all. He is, indeed, a most appropriate person to mark the official opening of this important milestone in William & Marys history.

For the Board of Visitors, Thomas is currently the chair of the Committee on Audit and Compliance and vice chair of the Committee on Administration, Buildings and Grounds. He previously chaired the Committee on Student Affairs.

In addition to his work at William & Mary, Thomas has lectured at multiple universities, including the Interim University Center in Dubrovnik, Croatia, the University of Virginia School of Law and the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he is a Friend of the Class of 1971.
By Press Trust of India: Darjeeling, Jun 6 (PTI) The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) today took out procession in the hill during the visit of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleging that the state government was trying to impose Bengali in schools in Darjeeling hills.

GJM supporters led by the party chief Bimal Gurung took out the procession and shouted slogan like "Go back Mamata".

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Trinamool Congress alleged that the GJM activists have torn the pictures of Banerjee and posters of the party.

Mamata Banerjee who was on the street, was seen greeting the hill people and the tourists.

TMC supporters organised a procession in Kurseong demanding arrest of the GJM chief Bimal Gurung in Madan Tamang murder case.

The Chief Minister yesterday told a meeting in Mirik that she never said that Bengali will be compulsory in the Hills and described the GJM propaganda as a "big lie".

She had stated that her government had given recognition to Nepali language. Public service examination could also be taken in Nepali now, she had said.

Banerjee had said, "GTA (Gorkhaland Territorial Administration) elections are coming. They do not have any issue. So they are trying to drive a wedge between Nepali and Bengali".

In the recent municipal election in the hill, GJM had lost the civic body in Mirik, to TMC. The GJM had, however, won in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong. PTI SUN RG KKB

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By Press Trust of India: Cong

New Delhi, Jun 6 (PTI) The Congress today launched a scathing attack on the Modi government, alleging that there was a brazen campaign to straitjacket the country into a regressive and narrow-minded world view.

Chairing a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, the partys highest decision-making body, Sonia asked partymen to be ready for 2019 elections to protect the essence and idea of India, which this government is seeking to "extinguish".

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Apart from taking stock of the political situation in the country, the CWC discussed the upcoming presidential and vice presidential elections. It also approved the schedule for organisational elections.

With the meeting taking place in the backdrop of raging debates over contentious issues like cattle slaughter, the Congress chief alleged that "divisive issues are being whipped up and there is an assault on livelihood and food habits of those who follow different tenets and beliefs".

She said, "Where there was economic potential, there is stagnation. Where there was rich diversity, there is a brazen campaign to straitjacket the whole country into a regressive and narrow-minded world view."

Emphasising that the current crisis in Jammu and Kashmir is due to the "colossal failure" of the government, she said the "insensitive" handling of the situation by both the state and central governments are systematically alienating and antogonising the local people, especially the youth.

"A divisive agenda is being followed which has undone years of goodwill and progress," she said.

On the partys failure to form governments in Goa and Manipur despite winning the highest number of seats in the assembly elections, she said "we cannot let this happen again" and asked partymen to help strengthen the organisation.

The meeting, which was attended by top party leaders including party vice president Rahul Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh, slammed the NDA dispensation, saying it is only a government of "slogans and publicity" that seeks to become a "hero on television alone, but is zero on the ground".

Asserting that whether it is the politicians, the institutions, students, civil society or the media, Sonia said there was growing intolerance and active persecution of divergent voices in blatant disregard of the law of the land.

The party president said it is a matter of grave concern that there has been a rise in lynch mobs and alleged that there existed a close ideological affinity between these mobs and the ruling establishment.

After the meeting, Rahul Gandhi tweeted, "Discussed vital political issues including crisis in J&K, Governments mishandling of the economy, Presidential polls as well as Congress organisational elections."

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Referring to CBI searches at the premises of NDTV founder Prannoy Roy, senior party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said, "Yesterday, we were seeing shamelessness.

"While people have vanished with thousands of crore, why is the government so rattled by a Rs-50 crore matter?"

He accused the government of misusing the official machinery to crush voices of dissent and fix political rivals, in an apparent reference to recent raids by investigation agencies like the CBI and the ED against opposition leaders.

Azad alleged women did not feel safe in the country any more and the youth instead of getting new jobs, were losing them.

"This government has misused official machinery like never before. Even dictatorial regimes across the world may not have gone to that extent to misuse official agencies...It seems this government does not believe in democracy at all," he told reporters.

Alleging that the government is using the power of the state to stifle voices that express different thoughts and ideas, or speak out for alternative policies and philosophies, Sonia said, "Worst of all, women, Dalits, adivasis, minorities and other oppressed people are facing perilous times."

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She also attacked the Modi government, saying there is a systematic attempt to blunt tools of accountability, undermine the judiciary and suppress dissent.

"Cronies and individuals close to the establishment have either seen dramatic increase in wealth and influence in the last three years, or have escaped the wrath of the law and managed to flee the country," she said, in an apparent reference to Vijay Mallya and Lalit Modi.

During the meeting, ex-PM Singh expressed serious concern over the slowdown of the countrys growth and said it is mainly because of demonetisation that has impacted job creation.

He also said that the economy is running on just one engine of public spending.

Senior Congress leaders A K Antony, P Chidambaram, Ahmed Patel, Ambika Soni, Janardan Dwivedi and Digvijay Singh were among those who attended the CWC meet. PTI SKC PYK SC

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The Gurgaon police on Wednesday released the sketches of the three men accused of gang raping a woman and murdering her infant daugher. The incident took place on May 29

By Agencies: Gurgaon police today released sketches of the three men accused of gang raping a 23-year-old woman and murdering her infant daughter. This comes after the police failed to recover any concrete evidence of the heinous crime which took place on May 29.

The police has questioned over 50 auto drivers plying in the IMT, Manesar area, since the crime occurred in a moving auto-rickshaw. They have also detained some of them for interrogation to ascertain the auto and accused persons.

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It has become a challenge for the Gurgaon police to nab the criminals after three back-to-back cases of molestation and gang-rape since last month.

The accused left the victim after raping her for four hours. She then went to the spot where they had earlier thrown her nine-month-old daughter and picked her up in the middle of road and went to a hospital.

The doctors declared the infant dead but still she did not believe it and travelled with the dead child to a hospital in Delhi and later returned to M G Road metro station.

Gurgaon police commissioner Sandeep Khirwar admitted that the victim had travelled with her dead child in the metro the day after the incident and police learnt about the crime only after the victims husband approached them.

"Her husband and Gurgaon police received the victim from M G Road metro station after she returned from hospital in Delhi. Following that, police conducted post-mortem of the infant," Khirwar said.

It has been alleged that as the victim belongs to a poor family, the police tried to suppress her statement.

The police also reportedly did not register an FIR of gang rape initially but later included the charge five days after the incident.

The police constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to nab the culprits. The SIT has taken the victim to all possible locations to identify the crime scene and sequence of events.

The woman and her daughter had left home in Bas Khusla village after an altercation with her husband and neighbours on the night of May 29.

She was on her way to her parental house at Khandsa village when she was first given a lift in a truck. The truck driver also molested her but as she put up strong resistance, he dropped her off on NH 8.

As the victim was alone, the three accused in the auto offered her a lift and then gang-raped her.

The accused also threw her infant daughter from the vehicle to avoid attention after she started crying.

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Also Read:

Gurugram: Woman gangraped in auto, 6-month-old daughter killed

Delhi shocker: Rape victim forced to carry body of her child in Metro to Gurgaon

Also Watch:

Uttar Pradesh: 4 held for murder, gangrape on Bulandshahr-Jewar highway

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Japan puts fifth reactor back into operation

06 June 2017

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Unit 3 of the Takahama nuclear power plant in Japan's Fukui prefecture was restarted today, plant owner Kansai Electric Power Company has announced. Takahama 4 - which had also been kept offline since March 2016 by a court injunction - was restarted last month, joining three other reactors in operation.

Takahama units 3 and 4 (Image: Kansai)

Kansai said the 830 MWe (net) pressurised water reactor (PWR) was restarted at 2.00pm today and is expected to achieve criticality tomorrow. The company plans to resume electricity generation at Takahama 3 and reconnect it to the grid on 9 June "as the final stage of the periodic outage inspection following various types of tests". It added that "full-scale operation" of the unit will resume in early July after completion of the comprehensive inspection performed by the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA).

In late January 2015, 29 residents of Shiga prefecture - part of which lies within 30 kilometres of the Takahama plant - filed a petition with the Otsu District Court for a temporary injunction against operation of Takahama 3 and 4. The court's presiding judge ruled on 9 March that the safety of the units could not be guaranteed - despite the NRA saying they meet revised safety standards - and issued an injunction against their operation.

Unit 3 of the Takahama plant had resumed operation on 29 January, 2016. Takahama 4 was restarted on 26 February, but was taken off line on 29 February following an automatic shutdown of the reactor due to a "main transformer/generator internal failure". The injunction then kept both Takahama 3 and 4 offline. Last August, Kansai removed the fuel from both units and placed it in their storage pools.

Kansai appealed to the court to temporarily remove the injunction. However, the court ruled last June the injunction would remain in place. The utility then filed an appeal with the Osaka High Court on 14 July 2016, pointing out the decision of the Otsu District Court was not rational. In late March, the Osaka High Court ruled in Kansai's favour and lifted the injunction.

Kansai began reloading the 157 fuel assemblies - including four mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel assemblies - into unit 4 on 28 April and completed the process on 1 May. That unit - also an 830 MWe PWR - restarted on 17 May and reached full generating capacity on 25 May. It is expected to resume commercial operation this month.

At unit 3 fuel loading began on 13 May and was completed on 16 May.

Three other Japanese reactors are currently in operation: Kyushu Electric's Sendai units 1 and 2 and Shikoku Electric's Ikata unit 3. Another 19 have applied to restart.

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

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New York State benefits from nuclear investment

06 June 2017

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Investment of $310 million in recently completed refuelling and maintenance outages at Exelon's nuclear power plants in upstate New York would not have been possible without the state's clean energy legislation, Exelon said yesterday. Meanwhile, 13 US states have joined a coalition committed to upholding the Paris climate change agreement.

Nine Mile Point (Image: Exelon)

The three plants - RE Ginna, James A Fitzpatrick and the two-unit Nine Mile point - had all been under threat from the economic challenges of the deregulated electricity markets they operate in, and competition from low-cost gas and federally subsidised wind power. However, the state in August 2016 approved a Clean Energy Standard (CES) that explicitly recognises the zero-carbon contribution of nuclear power plants in its pursuit of clean energy goals.

Exelon said it invested more than $180 million in the Ginna and Nine Mile Point outages, with expenditure on new fuel, capital upgrades and outage execution costs. The company also helped to fund refuelling outage costs of over $130 million at Fitzpatrick, which it acquired from Entergy in April.

"New York State is committed to meeting the standards set forth in the Paris Accord regardless of Washington's irresponsible actions."



Andrew Cuomo,

New York Governor

Bryan Hanson, Exelon Generation senior vice president and Exelon Nuclear chief nuclear officer, said the refuelling outages - and the reinvestment associated with them - had been made possible by the state's ruling. "We applaud New York for adopting the Clean Energy Standard," he said.

The refuelling outages - all completed between January and May - saw over 3000 additional workers joining the plants' full time employees, with associated benefits for local economies.

The Clean Energy Standard is critical not only to helping our state meet its clean energy goals, but also extremely important to the region I represent and its economy," Senator Patty Ritchie said.

Ted Skerpon, president of IBEW Local Union 97, said the consistent nature of refuelling outages ensured a steady stream of work for the state's tradespeople. "We've come to count on this work every year," he said.

States form alliance



New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has emphasised the state's ongoing commitment to act on climate change despite President Donald Trump's recent announcement of the USA's planned withdrawal from the agreement, a decision Cuomo described as "reckless".

In response to Trump's decision, Cuomo, along with California Governor Edmund Brown and Washington State Governor Jay Inslee, on 1 June announced the formation of the United States Climate Alliance, a coalition of states committed to upholding the Paris Climate Agreement and taking aggressive action on climate change.

"New York State is committed to meeting the standards set forth in the Paris Accord regardless of Washington's irresponsible actions."

Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia have now joined the alliance of states committed to achieving the national goal of reducing emissions 26-28% from 2005 levels and meeting or exceeding the targets of the federal Clean Power Plan.

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

Related topics
Lisa Falls was a waterfall that seemed to have more to it than what was revealed to us while driving up Little Cottonwood Canyon.

Indeed, it seemed like the accessible part of the falls was merely a teaser to its overall features.

I sensed that such hidden qualities of the falls would only be revealed to people prepared with technical gear to climb its adjacent granite-like cliff face.

It was either that or somehow being able to climb to a higher vantage point on the opposite side of Little Cottonwood Canyon.

As you can see from the photo above, we only managed to get a look at just a couple of tiers spilling somewhat sideways from our view.

In fact, this waterfall had more of a local feel to it because its trail was unsigned and probably could be easily missed without any prior research or knowledge of this place.

That said, Lisa Falls was one of the shorter waterfall excursions that I did while touring the Salt Lake City area on Memorial Day Weekend in 2017.

Its short trail length also made it pretty friendly for some kids as well as the odd well-dressed individuals to take time out of their day to recharge here.

Experiencing Lisa Falls

From the unsigned trailhead (see directions below), I followed a somewhat obvious path through the vegetation as it climbed towards some creek overflow that ultimately came from Lisa Falls.

After barely a quarter-mile or less, I then started to see the falls to my left.

So I crossed the stream towards the pile of boulders strewn about the base of the waterfall at a clearing in the vegetation.

It was here that I managed to get right up to the falls as well as look back across Little Cottonwood Canyon towards the impressive peaks on the other side.

In addition to the people that I shared the falls with, there were also big squirrels moving about probably looking for scraps of human food.

In less than 45 minutes, I was back at the car, and a good chunk of time was spent taking pictures and just soaking in the atmosphere of the falls.

Therefore, Id imagine one could easily spend even less time here than I did.

Authorities

Lisa Falls resides in Little Cottonwood Canyon in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest near Salt Lake City in Salt Lake County, Utah. It is administered by the USDA Forest Service. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website.
Rocky Mouth Falls was said to plunge a cumulative height of 70ft though I swore that it seemed shorter than that.

Still, its plunging characteristic within a narrow chute made this a good place to cool off, especially on a warm day.

That was certainly the case during our mid-afternoon visit on Memorial Day Weekend.

We had to have shared this falls with a couple of large families with many kids, which was indicative of how family-friendly this excursion was.

Speaking of sharing the Rocky Mouth Falls, it felt strangely situated because accessing it involved walking amongst some pretty exclusive homes in the suburb of Sandy.

This suburb sat pretty much in the foothills of the Wasatch Mountains in close proximity to Salt Lake City.

From the way the trail was routed and how new the housing developments appeared, it seemed like the waterfall and its access had always been there.

However, developments had sprouted up around the trail.

So from what I had read about how much of Utahs wilderness areas were being sacrificed for private developments, this particular waterfall seemed to be exhibit A when it came to how public use and private ownership would get mixed together.

Hiking to Rocky Mouth Falls

As a result of the awkward mix of public trail versus private ownership, the official trailhead to Rocky Mouth Falls and the actual parking area were actually in two different spots (see directions below).

Once we found the right parking area, we then had to walk up some grassy-wooden steps to a residential road before following it up to the official trailhead.

Upon arriving at the official trail, we then had to walk through a corridor sandwiched between high fences (marking the boundaries of two adjacent homes) as it gained most of its elevation in this short stretch.

After we made it up to the apex of the climb (when the high fences werent as much in the way), we were able to enjoy attractive views in the direction of the Salt Lake Basin.

As the trail continued straight towards the creek responsible for Rocky Mouth Falls, we then followed it around a bend to the left to go in the upstream direction alongside the creek.

As the trail paralleled the stream, we noticed a couple of caves to our left that werent deep enough to be considered a legitimate cave.

However, they were interesting enough to get the attention of our daughter as well as other curious kids who happened to be on this hike.

A couple of minutes later, the trail then pretty much climbed up the rocky creek itself.

During this climb, we skirted around some of the intermediate cascades on the creek, and that was when we started to see the main drop of Rocky Mouth Falls further upstream.

Shortly after this climb, we got to a spot where we could look right at the main drop of the waterfall.

Unfortunately, the harsh early afternoon lighting striking the foreground rocks made the shadowy falls a bit difficult to photograph.

This made me wonder if Rocky Mouth Falls might be better visited earlier in the morning.

Using my Gore-tex boots , I was able to scramble within the creek itself without getting my feet wet as I went right up to the falls, where I could see its brink.

Apparently it was possible to continue to the top of the Rocky Mouth Falls, but we pretty much ended our hike at its base.

When we returned to the parking lot, we wound up logging around 0.9-1 mile round trip, which took us about an hour encompassing the hiking, the water play, and the photo taking.

Authorities

Rocky Mouth Falls resides in the city of Sandy in Salt Lake County, Utah. It may be administered by the City of Sandy. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( MIT) is a private research institute located in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the United States of America.

5. History

The first classes of MIT were held in 1865 despite the ongoing American civil war of the time. In 1863, the Massachusetts Agricultural College was founded (eventually named the University of Massachusetts at Amherst). MIT was informally called Boston Tech and despite financial challenges, the institute prospered in the 19th century under President Francis Amasa Walker as other programs in chemical, electrical, marine and sanitary engineering were introduced. There were as many as six attempts to absorb MIT into Harvard University due to financial problems. MIT and Harvard were merged for some time but the decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court put an end to this. The institute later received funding and it has kept pace and managed to advance to the digital age since.

4. Founding

The institute of technology was founded in 1861 as a result of the increased industrialization in the USA. The institute was also founded as part of the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act to fund institutions. A charter of incorporation of the MITproposed by William Barton Rogers signed by the governor of Massachusetts was issued on April 10, 1861. MIT adopted a European polytechnic system and stressed on laboratory science.

3. Structure

MIT is a private research institute governed by a privately appointed board of trustees referred to as the MIT Corporation. They consist of 43 members elected for a 5-year term. MIT has five schools: School of Science, Engineering, Architecture and Planning, Management, and Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. It also has one college (Whitaker College of Health Sciences and Technology). MIT operates on a 4-1-4 academic calendar and the research institute has 5 subject library systems, one museum (the MIT Museum) and independent research organizations in Boston areas such as Charles Stark, Draper Laboratory and the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research.

2. Rankings

MIT ranges between top ten positions in many universities overall rankings. Nationally, the MIT was ranked 4th by the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) and ranked the 5th by Forbes Magazine of Americas Best Colleges. Globally, ARWU ranked MIT the 5th, the Times Magazine ranked it 5th and QS World University Rankings ranked the institute as the 1st. In 2015, MIT was ranked as the third in the USA as per report Beyond College Rankings.

1. Alumni

MIT has over 120,000 alumni who have had considerable success in scientific research, public service, business, and education. As of 2014, 27 of MIT alumni have won the Nobel Prize, 61 have been selected as Marshall Scholars and 47 have been selected as Rhodes Scholars. Some of the MIT alumni include the former President of Colombia Virgilio Barco Vargas, President of the Europe Central Bank Mario Draghi, former Foreign Affairs Minister ofIran Ali Akbar Salehi and Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu among many others. The MIT alumni have formed over 25,800 companies and created many employment opportunities worldwide. Prominent institutions such as Harvard University and the University of California are also led by MIT alumni.
The OSCE came into existence from 1975 after the Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE), which was held in Helsinki, Finland. OSCE is the worlds leading intergovernmental security oriented organization. The organization is mandated to control arms, promote human rights, fair elections, and freedom of the press. OSCE has 57 participant states and these states are located in Europe, North- America, North, and Central Asia.

5. Founding

The establishment of OSCE began in 1973 in the CSCE during the Cold War era. The Soviet Unions suggested holding talks so as they could maintain controlling the Eastern Europe communist countries. The talks were held in Helsinki in Finland where 35 states had been represented. Talks were held in three stages the last of which was held on July 21, 1975, and that is when OSCE was formed through the signing of an agreement by the present 35 countries.

4. Membership

OSCE has 57 participating states that come from three continents: Europe, Asia, and North America. The countries include Andorra, Albania, Romania, Austria, Belarus, Italy, Bulgaria, Greece, Canada, Croatia, and United Kingdom. Other nations are Denmark, Estonia, France, Finland, Germany, Montenegro , Belgium ,Georgia, Hungary, Holy See, Armenia, , Ireland, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, , Bosnia & Herzegovina , Mongolia, , Norway, Azerbaijan, Netherlands, Portugal, Poland, Russian Federation, Iceland , Serbia, San Marino, Slovenia, Slovakia, Sweden, Spain, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Republic of Macedonia, Turkmenistan, Moldova, Czech Republic, Turkey, Monaco, Ukraine, United States, Cyprus and Uzbekistan

3. Structure

The organization has structures that execute its mandate.

OSCE Parliamentary Assembly comprises of 323 parliamentarians that have its members from the geographical locations of the member state. It is tasked at leading election observations, strengthening of cooperation among the participants, and undertaking parliamentary debates on diplomacy.

OSCE National Minorities High Commissioner is tasked with identifying causes and of conflict and addressing them and settling of tensions involving national minorities.

OSCE Office for Human Rights &Democratic Institution offers support in promoting democracy and the rule of law.

OSCE Media Freedom Representative helps in observing of media developments, combating hate speech, and promoting freedom of expression.

Court of Conciliation and Arbitration is a dispute settling mechanism that helps resolve in interparty differences.

OSCE Minsk Group leads the organization efforts in having a solution in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. France, the United States, and the Russian Federation head this institution.

The secretary general who supports the operation of the organization heads OSCE Secretariat.

2. Objectives

Below are the objectives of OSCE.

OSCE provides border management by facilitating authentic travel, commerce, and protecting human rights.

OSCE offers arms control in order to bolster security in the region and preventing illegal arm ownership.

It is tasked with providing counter-terrorism measures.

OSCE works in conflict prevention and settling long lasting resolution to such conflicts.

1. Present State

A majority of OSCE staff are in field operations in Europe, as well as Central Asia areas. Present OSCE operation in Albania aims at fighting trafficking aimed at electoral assistance, arms control, fighting gender mistreatment, promoting human rights and controlling media reforms.

OSCE has received criticism, especially from Russia who claims that the organization is being used by the Western States in advancing their own private interests.
WTO is an international organization that provides regulations on international trade. The organization deals with trade negotiations among member countries and also offers solutions to trade disputes.

5. Founding

WTO was founded on 1st January 1995 after the agreement formally known as Marrakesh Agreement that was signed on 15th April 1994 by 123 member nations to replace the General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). There were extensive rounds of negotiations by GATT member states before the breakthrough after the Uruguay Round of negotiation that led to the signing of the Act that established WTO on April 15, 1994, in Morocco.

4. Objectives

WTO aimed at providing a platform for trade negotiation and trade dispute settlement. The organization is there to take charge of the implementation, operations and the administration of the multilateral trade agreements.

To work hand in hand with other international bodies like the IMF in international economic policy creations. Providing administration of trade policies and trade review mechanism. WTO shall provide administration of rules and procedures that are to be used in trade dispute settlement.

3. Membership

The process of attaining membership to this organization varies from one applicant country to the other. The difference comes on the level of economic development and the existing trade regimes of the country. At an average, the process of attaining WTO membership takes about five years but it can as well take longer than that.

The process of attaining membership begins with the country requesting membership submitting an application to the General council of WTO and in the application; it should describe all the aspects of economic policies and trade. When all has been presented, the working party examines the differences between the domestic trade laws of the applying nation and that of WTO. The last phase involves a negotiation between the working party and the applying nation in matters pertaining commitments to the WTO.

At present WTO has 164 members other 22 observer nations. The most recent members are Liberia that joined on July 14th, 2016 and Afghanistan, which joined on July 29th, 2016. The European Union EU is a member of the organization.

2. Structure

The organizations General Council has subordinate bodies that take care of committees in different trade areas. The following are the trade areas.

Goods Council: this council is made up of 11 committees that each has a task to perform.

TRIPS council:this is the council that deals with the information about the intellectual property in WTO.

Council for trade: this council works under the direction of the General Council and its tasks are to monitor the running of General Agreement on Trade in Services GATS.

Trade negotiation committee: this is the committee tasked with dealing with talk rounds pertaining trade. For instance the Doha Development Round.

1. Present State

WTO is made up of 164 present member states. The organization also has 22 observer states. Liberia and Afghanistan are the latest members of the organization who joined in 2016. Apart from states, the European Union is also a member of WTO. The states must not necessarily be fully independent states. For instance, the memberships of Hong Kong and that of the Peoples Republic of China are good examples of states that are members and are not fully independent.
Harbhajan Singh also tipped India to reach the ICC Champions Trophy final and said only the English weather can stop Virat Kohli's team.

By India Today Web Desk: Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh wants Team India to retain the same playing XI in their next match against Sri Lanka, which thrashed Pakistan in their ICC Champions Trophy 2017 opener on Sunday.

Harbhajan particularly lauded India's bowling performance in their opening match and said everything went their way because of the hard work the team has put in.

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CLICK TO WATCH FULL INTERVIEW

"This team is definitely playing like champions and they showed it in their first game. We have all spoken about how the Pakistani's are not as good as India but let's just talk about how good we were.

"Too happy to see Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma scoring runs, and ofcourse, I was so happy to see Yuvraj Singh batting out there and the way he hit those shots it's just amazing to see. When Yuvraj gets going it's impossible to stop him.

"The bowling unit was fantastic from the first ball itself. From the seamers to spinners everything went in our favour but by working hard. We made it happen," Harbhajan told India Today's Boria Majumdar.

The 36-year-old also praised the efforts of all-rounder Hardik Pandya, his Mumbai Indians teammate, and backed India to play with the same team against Sri Lanka.

"I would play with the same XI because everyone played really well against Pakistan including Hardik Pandya. He gives you so much with the bat, bowl and with his fielding, he's electric. He's feeding off Virat's energy on the field. He's someone who looks forward to the challenges and I think he should play.

"The same XI gives us more batting and bowling options with Pandya and one spinner Ravindra Jadeja. And if at all we have to bowl another spinner then don't forget the golden arm of Yuvraj Singh," Bhajji said.

Harbhajan also doesn't rate the current Sri Lankan team too highly and feels that the only thing that can stop Team India is the rain.

"The only thing that can stop Indian team is the rain, so I want the rain to stay away and we get to play 100 overs.

"If we do have a full game then I don't think this Sri Lankan team has that much in them to beat India. They have a couple of good individual players in Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews and Upul Tharanga but as a team I don't rate them too highly," Harbhajan opined.

India will face Sri Lanka in their next match at The Oval on June 8. A win would secure India's place in the semi-finals of the tournament.

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North Wales Police Participate in Minutes Silence For Victims of London Bridge Terror Attack

This article is old - Published: Tuesday, Jun 6th, 2017

Officers and staff at North Wales Police Headquarters gathered this morning to pay their respects to the victims of the London Bridge terror attack.

Seven people died and 48 injured during the attack on the evening of Saturday June 3rd.

This morning officers and staff of North Wales Police participated in a minutes silence in memory of those who suffered and those who lost their lives in London.

DCC Gareth Pritchard said: Thank you for gathering to reflect upon the awful events of Saturday night in London where seven people tragically died and 48 people were injured, some who remain in hospital in a critical condition. Four of these people of course were Police Officers, both on and off duty who put themselves in harms way to safeguard the public.

The horror of what the victims experienced and what families continue to experience is unimaginable. This includes of course the vast number of people present who were not killed or injured.

Our thoughts are with them today. Terrorists want to divide us. They want us to be afraid.

North Wales Police will stand together as a team with all UK forces in the face of the current national threat and we will stand together with all of our communities across North Wales. We continue to unite against those who seek, through violence and extremism, to intimidate or cause fear.

Let us remember those who suffered, and those who were lost on Saturday.

Today NWP gathered to remember those who lost their lives and all others affected by the attacks in London on Saturday #WeStandTogether pic.twitter.com/pGz5yeLUtx  North Wales Police (@NWPolice) June 6, 2017
By Press Trust of India: London, Jun 6 (PTI) World-renowned British astrophysicist Stephen Hawking will vote for the Opposition Labour Party in the Thursdays general election as he believes another five years of Conservative government would be a "disaster" for the UK.

Hawking, regularly referred to as the worlds smartest man, has backed his local Cambridge Labour candidate Daniel Zeichner for the general election.

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"Im voting Labour because another five years of Conservative government would be a disaster for the NHS, the police and other public services," 75-year-old Hawking said after his meeting with Zeichner yesterday.

"I was delighted to meet Professor Hawking again and receive his support for my re-election and a Labour government," Zeichner told Cambridge News after his meeting with the scientist.

Hawkings support for the Labour party comes a week after he described its head Jeremy Corbyn as a "disaster".

"I regard Corbyn as a disaster. His heart is in the right place and many of his policies are sound, but he has allowed himself to be portrayed as a left wing extremist," he said.

The Cambridge scientist said he would still vote for the Labour but did not believe the party would win at the general election.

Hawking has been a Labour supporter and backed Zeichner, at the 2015 election. This time around he is competing with Lib Dem Julian Huppert, who won the seat from him in 2010 but went on to lose it again in 2015.

The scientist was diagnosed with motor neurone disease aged 21 and is a staunch defender of the National Health Service (NHS) and is against privatisation. PTI MRJ AKJ MRJ

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In Sydney yesterday for Australia-US Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN), US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson sent a blunt message to China to end its reclamation activities in the South China Sea and do more to force North Korea to abandon its nuclear and missile programs.

Usually held annually, this years AUSMIN talks involved Tillerson and US Defence Secretary James Mattis with their Australian counterpartsForeign Minister Julie Bishop and Defence Minister Marise Payne. Tillerson and Mattis were accompanied by two top military officials responsible for the huge US build-up in AsiaChairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford and the head of Pacific Command Admiral Harry Harris.

Speaking at a joint press conference with the Australian ministers, Tillerson emphasised that the US and Australia speak with one voice in demanding that North Korea denuclearise and oppose Chinas artificial island construction and their militarisation of features in the South China Sea.

Referring to Chinas growing economic influence, the secretary of state declared that we cannot allow China to use its economic power to buy its way out of other problems, whether its militarising islands in the South China Sea or failure to put appropriate pressure on North Korea.

The comments were a warning, not just to China but also Asian nations such as the Philippines that have tilted away from Washington and toward Beijing in a bid to boost economic relations. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has reversed the aggressive anti-China stance of his predecessor and played down his countrys territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea.

A joint AUSMIN statement emphasised the importance of upholding lawful freedom of navigation in the South China Sea and adhering to the rules-based order. In the lead-up to last weekends Shangri La Dialogue, Asias premier annual security conference in Singapore, the US Navy carried out the Trump administrations first freedom of navigation operation, sending a guided-missile destroyer within the 12-nautical-mile limit claimed by China around one islet.

The AUSMIN statement also provocatively proposed that last years ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague become the basis for settling territorial disputes in the South China Sea. China does not recognise the courts jurisdiction or the ruling, which was heavily weighted in favour of the US-backed case brought by the Philippines.

The Trump administration has already placed China under great pressure to force North Korea to dismantle its nuclear arsenal, but has praised Chinese efforts and until recently refrained from exacerbating other dangerous flashpoints. Tillersons remarks opposing Chinas actions in the South China Sea and insinuating that it was failing to put appropriate pressure on North Korea indicated a tougher approach as time runs out for Beijing. Trump has declared that if China does not solve North Korea, the US willby implication through military means.

Facing rifts with US allies in Europe, notably Germany, it is significant that Trump officials chose to broadcast a harsher message to China at the talks in Sydney. Their Australian counterparts echoed Washingtons message, with Foreign Minister Bishop emphasising we are like-minded in our worldview and AUSMIN has reaffirmed once more the strength of the bilateral relationship between Australia and the United States.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull set the stage in his keynote speech at the Shangri La Dialogue, warning that a coercive China would find its neighbours resenting demands they cede their autonomy and strategic space and urging Beijing to use its great leverage to curb the unlawful, reckless and dangerous conduct of North Korea. Both Turnbull and US Defence Secretary Mattis insisted that China abide by the international rules-based order established by the US and not seek to establish regional hegemony in Asia.

Turnbulls comments followed last weeks visit to Australia by US Senator John McCain, chairman of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee, who publicly criticised Trump but urged allies such as Australia to stand by the US and collaborate closely with officials such as Mattis and Tillerson. Turnbull met privately with the two Trump officials for a dinner last night.

At yesterdays press conference, Tillerson and Mattis were at pains to stress that Trumps America First policies did not imply a retreat from Asia or from US allies in the region. Asked if Trumps decision to toss aside pacts like the Paris climate agreement and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) would undermine cooperation, Tillerson emphasised the shared interests between Australia and the US, and the so many other areas of such strong mutual interest and cooperation.

Foreign Minister Bishop stepped in to play down differences. While Australia always took its own national interest into account, she said: We have shared values, shared interests  And we certainly are absolutely aligned with the United States in supporting the rules-based order, and we make up our own mind about when Australia should act, when Australia should be involved in defense and security operations. As it happens, the United States and Australia share similar views.

Tillerson stressed Washingtons commitment not only to Australia but the Asia Pacific region. Thats why were here. Thats why we travelled to the region and thats why we engage with our counterparts, he said. He added that the Trump administration was going to be very active in regional gatherings such as the East Asia Conference and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

In the wake of the London terror attack, Australian and American officials again exploited the pretext of the war on terror to justify the ongoing US-led wars in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, which the Trump administration is stepping up. We stand resolute in our determination to fight terrorism and to fight the poisonous ideology that gives rise to these brutal attacks so often on innocent civilians, Bishop declared. Just last week, the Australian military committed another 30 troops to the US occupation of Afghanistan.

The US and Australian militaries are already deeply integrated, with an ever-expanding use of Australian bases by US Marines, naval vessels and warplanes. Spy and communication bases, including the joint intelligence facility at Pine Gap in Central Australia, are essential to the US militarys ability to wage war over a vast swathe of territory, from the Middle East to East Asia.

While no new military basing arrangements or Australian deployments were announced during the AUSMIN talks, the statement stressed the joint commitment to further strengthen the interoperability of our armed forces; and continued close collaboration on capability development and defence technology as well as the full implementation of existing basing deals.
In UP, the number of patients with heat stroke conditions, diarrhoea, vomiting and high fever has increased in hospitals across the state.

By India Today Web Desk: At least ten persons have reportedly died due to the heat wave in various parts of Uttar Pradesh in the last 24 hours. In New Delhi, residents suffered under a searing sun on Monday as the mercury touched 44.6 degrees Celsius, four notches above normal.

Almost the entire country, barring a few eastern and southern states, was in the grip of a severe heatwave. In UP, the number of patients with heat stroke conditions, diarrhoea, vomiting and high fever has increased in hospitals across the state.

Here's all you need to know: In UP, Bundelkhand is the worst hit with mercury logging an average of 47 degrees Celsius in most districts. Banda and Mahoba continue to simmer under an unprecedented heat wave. Officials say four persons died in the Bundelkhand region while six children died in the Avadh region owing to heat stroke and 'loo' (warm winds). All these deaths have been reported from Bahraich district, where more than three dozen children, infants were being treated for heat stroke, news agency IANS reported today. Temperature is hovering at around 46 degrees in Etawah, Mainpuri, Unnao, Kanpur, Lucknow, Fatehpur, Hardoi and Auraiyya. In Poorvanchal, the maximum temperature recorded in Mirzapur is 46.4 followed by Sonebhadra at 45.6 and Varanasi at 45 degrees Celsius. Districts in western Uttar Pradesh - Bijnore, Saharanpur, Baghpat, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Bulandshahr remain extremely hot with average maximum temperatures being 42 degrees Celsius. It was a hot Tuesday morning in the national capital as the minimum temperature rose seven notches above the season's average and was recorded at 34.2 degrees Celsius. "The sky would remain partly cloudy throughout the day. There is possibility of rain, thunderstorm or dust storm in the evening or night," an official from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. Punjab and Haryana continued to reel under blistering heat with Amritsar being the hottest in the two states at 46 degrees Celsius. In Punjab, Ludhiana recorded a maximum of 44.5 degrees Celsius while Patiala sizzled at 44.8 degree Celsius, five degrees above normal. In Haryana, Hisar was the hottest recording a high of 44.2 degrees Celsius while Karnal and Ambala recorded 43.8 degrees Celsius each. Heatwave conditions also prevailed at many places in Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh.

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ALSO READ: Odisha: Heat wave, water scarcity claim 34 lives; mercury rises to 47 degree

ALSO WATCH: Severe heat wave grips North India

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During his election campaign and since taking office, Donald Trump has postured as a champion of American workers, particularly the coal miners, whom the billionaire president claims he loves. According to Trump, trade war and the lifting of all restrictions on corporate profit-making will reverse decades of deindustrialization and revive the economically depressed Appalachian coalfields.

That such a con game could even be attempted, let alone have an impact on a section of miners and their families, is a testament to the complete bankruptcy of the United Mine Workers (UMW) union and the Democratic Party. The UMW and the Democrats have collaborated, along with the Republicans, in a four-decade-long drive to claw back every gain won by generations of miners in bitter and often violent struggles in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Today there are little more than 50,000 workers employed in the coal mining industry, down 40,000 since 2012 and 120,000 since 1985. Former mining communities in southern West Virginia and eastern Kentucky are now centers of poverty and a devastating opioid and suicide epidemic. Tens of thousands of retired miners and their spouses are facing the loss of health and pension benefits as the coal companies use the bankruptcy courts to escape their obligations.

According to Trump, this disaster is caused by job-killing environmental regulations, from the Paris climate accord to federal clean air and water regulations. Since taking office, he has repealed rules aimed at protecting waterways from coal mining waste, lifted the moratorium on coal leases on federal lands, and overturned the limited restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions and toxic metal releases from power plants.

In a visit to a southwestern Pennsylvania coal mine last month, Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), declared that the federal governments war against the energy industry was over and environmental regulation would be handed back to state governments. As attorney general of Oklahoma, Pruitt, a climate change denier, repeatedly sued the EPA over clean air and water regulations on behalf of the oil, gas and coal industry.

Stripped of the demagogy and lies, the line of the Trump administration amounts to the proposition that miners must place their full trust and confidence in the benevolence of the coal bosses, who, once freed from regulations on the environment (and health and safety), will share their profit bounty with their workers. This is the ideology of corporatism, the notion that workers have no interests separate and distinct from, let alone in conflict with, those of the owners of the mines, the oil fields and the banks.

This, in turn, is based on the premise that the blame for the destruction of jobs and living standards does not lie with capitalism, which has produced the greatest levels of social inequality in history, but rather with legal restrictions on the ability of billionaires like Trump to maximize their profits.

How do these claims stand in relation to the history of the miners struggles?

The forebears of todays miners understood well a basic fact of life under capitalism: nothing could be won or, once won, defended without a bitter struggle against the coal companies. Every improvementpensions, overtime pay, health care, safety rules, decent wageswas the product of massive struggles. What has enabled the employers to destroy those gains is precisely the suppression of the class struggle, above all at the hands of the UMW, which has been transformed into an industrial police force for the coal industry and the banks.

The coal bosses and the UMW insist that environmental regulations prevent them from competing with domestic and foreign producers. They say the same thing about pensions and health care. It is only a matter of time before the Trump administration, which includes Wilbur Rosswho owned the deathtrap Sago Mine, where 12 West Virginia miners were killed in 2006declares that protections against cave-ins, mine explosions and the spread of Black Lung disease are counterproductive.

The choice between jobs and the environment is a false choice. Miners do not want to live with toxic air and water, any more than they want to work in deadly conditions. But they need jobs that provide decent wages and benefits. The conflict is not between a healthy environment and decent living standards, it is between the interests of the workers and those of the capitalists. The problem is the capitalist system.

If jobs can be secured only by poisoning the air and water, then there is something radically and fundamentally wrong with the way society is organized. The existing system is irrational and socially destructive. It subordinates every aspect of life, and life itself, to the drive of a corporate elite to accumulate ever greater levels of personal wealth.

No worker with a knowledge of the history of the miners struggles can seriously believe that giving the coal and energy bosses a carte blanche to pollute and exploit will improve the lot of miners and their families. Just to get the most minimal improvements it took mass struggles that at certain points assumed a semi-insurrectionary character.

For more than a century, from the 1870s to the 1980s, the coal miners had to wage fierce battles against the violent resistance of the employers and the capitalist state. From the frame-up and hanging of the Molly Maguires in 1877-78, to the Paint Creek and Cabin Creek strikes in 1912 and the Mine Wars of the 1920s, to the rank-and-file rebellions of the 1960s and 1970s and wildcat strikes against UMW betrayals in the 1980s, the miners had to fight the coal companies, which hired spies and gun-thugs and controlled the state politicians, the judges and the police.

What concessions were won, including safety and environmental protections, were wrenched from the bosses and the government through mass struggle. Only 36 miles south of Consol Energys Harvey mine, where EPA head Pruitt declared an end to the regulatory assault on the coal industry, lies the small West Virginia town of Farmington. On November 20, 1968, an explosion ripped through the Consol No. 9 Mine killing 78 miners who were trapped underground.

The defense of Consol by UMW President Tony Boyle helped spark a rank-and-file rebellion across the coalfields that would incorporate demands for greater safety, federal compensation for Black Lung diseasestill not recognized in West Virginia and other statesand improved environmental conditions. The latter emerged particularly after the March 6, 1972 Buffalo Creek Disaster, when 125 people were killed and 4,000 made homeless when a coal slurry dam at a Pittston Coal surface mine burst in southern West Virginia.

During this period, coal miners, retirees, widows, black lung victims and others conducted wildcat strikes and other actions, culminating in the historic 111-day strike in 1977-78, when 120,000 miners defied a Taft-Hartley back-to-work order by President Jimmy Carter.

While Trump has focused on undoing the chiefly cosmetic regulations passed in the last days of the Obama administration, his real targets are the mine safety and environmental laws that date back a half-century or more.

Todays energy companies, which are controlled by vast transnational corporations and their Wall Street investors, are no less ruthless than Rockefeller, Carnegie and the coal barons of the past. They derive their profits from the exploitation of miners in the US, China, South Africa and around the world, and are determined to sweat as much profit from workers as possible to satisfy the demands of powerful shareholders.

The crisis in the coalfields confronts miners and working people in general with fundamental political questions. The great weakness of the minershistorically the most militant, courageous and class conscious section of the American working classhas been the failure to join their industrial fighting spirit with a conscious political program. The result has been their subordination to the capitalist parties, primarily the Democrats, which has led to one defeat after another and a devastating decline in living standards.

It is not possible for the working class to assert and fight for its social rights if workers are chained to the Democratic Party and politicians like West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin and current West Virginia Governor and coal boss Jim Justice. The working class must break with both corporate-controlled parties and build its own mass political party, which sets out consciously to replace the capitalist system with socialism.

There is no reason in principle why the development of technology and the global integration of energy production cannot be a blessing to workers rather than a curse. A rational plan for energy production and usage, including decisions on the future use of coal and other fossil fuels, cannot be developed if social needs remain subordinated to the demands of giant energy conglomerates and powerful financial institutions.

And the jobs and living standards of workers in Appalachia and other former coal mining centers must be guaranteed regardless of the impact of new technology and the need to protect the global ecosystem. There is ample wealthproduced by the working class but monopolized by the idle rich under capitalismto provide training and new, secure and well-paying employment for any and all workers, including miners and former miners.

The development of such a plan must be based on science and human need, not private profit. For this to happen, the working class must expropriate the coal bosses and Wall Street speculators and transform the energy industry into a public enterprise, collectively owned and democratically controlled by the working class. The Socialist Equality Party (SEP) is the only party that fights for this revolutionary perspective. We urge miners and workers throughout the coal regions to study our program and make the decision to the join the SEP.
Nine months ago, Peter Hartcher, the international editor of the Fairfax-owned Sydney Morning Herald, published a provocative article calling for action against foreign manipulation in Australia by alleged pro-Chinese government rats, flies, mosquitoes and sparrows. Under conditions of immense war dangers on the Korean Peninsula and flaring tensions between China and the US and its allies over strategic influence in Asia, last Septembers anti-Chinese campaign is resurfacing to the centre of Australian political life.

The state-owned Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and Fairfaxs newspapersthe so-called liberal wing of the Australian mediaare conducting a joint investigation into how Chinas Communist Party is secretly infiltrating Australia. Last night, the ABCs current affairs program Four Corners was dedicated to sensationalist claims that the Chinese regime is seeking to exert clandestine power and influence over Australian politics and foreign policy.

Top journalists from both outlets, including Melbourne Age foreign affairs writer Daniel Flitton, a former intelligence analyst, and the ABCs political editor, Chris Uhlmann, are conducting the investigation. And they make no secret of the fact that they are serving as the direct conduit for the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), which is repeatedly cited as their primary source of information.

In introducing Four Corners, Chris Uhlmann directly compared purported Chinese government activity in Australia with the unsubstantiated allegations that the Russian government and its agents sought to subvert the US election and, possibly, help deliver the presidency to Donald Trump. Paralleling the campaign in the US to portray Trump as a puppet of Moscow, the program was laced with anti-communist overtones, reminiscent of the hysteria that characterised the Cold War.

The ABC and Fairfax news media are churning out what can only be described as anti-Chinese propaganda, not investigative journalism. The evidence presented of Chinese subversion in Australia is even more threadbare than the claims in the US of Russian interference.

Four Corners made great play of the case of Sheri Yan, a businesswoman with political connections in Beijing, who specialised in arranging meetings between Chinese political and corporate leaders and their Australian and American counterparts. In 2015, she was arrested in the United States and pleaded guilty to taking part in bribing the late John Ashe, then president of the UN General Assembly.

Yan is married to former Australian intelligence official Roger Uren, who retired in 2001. At the time of her arrest in New York, ASIO raided their apartment in Canberra and purportedly found government documents dating back to the period of his employment. But Uren was never charged with any crime, nor has Yan been charged with any attempt to bribe Australian politicians.

ASIO, however, according to the ABC/Fairfax investigation, has linked the Yan case with its serious concern over the activities in Australia of two Chinese billionaires, Huang Xiangmo and Chau Chak Wing. Yan was at one time employed by Chau.

Much of the Four Corners program dwelt on the fact that companies owned by the two businessmen have made substantial, entirely legal and publicly disclosed donations over the years to Australias major establishment parties, Liberal and Labor. Huang, who immigrated to Australia in 2011, also donated $1.8 million to help establish the Australia China Relations Institute at the University of Technology Sydney.

Set to ominous background music, more befitting a crime movie, Four Corners showed images of a host of current and former Australian politicians, who have received political donations from these men, or appeared at public events beside them. A partial list includes former Liberal Party trade minister Andrew Robb, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, and Labor Party senator Sam Dastyari and shadow treasurer Chris Bowen.

In the course of the Four Corners investigation, the ABC chose to interview Peter Jennings and Rory Medcalf, strategic commentators well-known for their fulsome support for the US-Australia military alliance; Peter Mattis, a former CIA agent, now China-watcher; and, directly on behalf of the American state, Mike McCaul, the multi-millionaire Republican who serves as the chairman of the US House Committee on Homeland Security.

Each expressed agreement with ASIOs concern that such donations could be aimed at buying influence for the Chinese Communist Party in the corridors of power in Canberra.

McCaul told the program that Australia was allowing a foreign government to influence your elections, and in this case, China is the biggest offender. Coming from a representative of the US state, which has never shied away from wielding its influence on political and economic life in Australiaincluding taking part in conspiracies to remove at least two prime ministers who fell foul of its agendathis was nothing short of absurd. Moreover, the donations by American-linked corporations to Australias establishment political parties runs into the millions each year.

The evidence of so-called Chinese Communist Party influence consisted of remarks made by Labor Senator Sam Dastyari, one day after Huang Xiangmo cancelled a large donation to the Labor Party. Dastyari differed with Labors announcement, during the 2016 federal election campaign, that it would support the Australian navy conducting a freedom of navigation operation against Chinese territorial claims in the South China Sea.

Far from influencing Australian foreign policy, Dastyaris statement opposing such an operation only became front page news after the federal election, in late August 2016. Just days later, Labors powerbrokers compelled him to resign from the partys shadow cabinet.

The Fairfax media utilized Dastyaris comments to initiate a hysterical anti-Chinese vendetta in its newspapers. Hartcher, in his Sydney Morning Herald article, labelled Dastyari as one the most prominent of the pro-Chinese political rats in Australia, but insisted that many more would be exposed. Implicit in last nights Four Corners program was that the politicians it portrayed could well fall into the rat camp, if they do not take steps to prove their allegiance to Australias alignment with Washington.

Echoing Hartcher in 2016, Four Corners insinuated that many of the one million Australians of Chinese background, along with the 140,000 Chinese students currently studying in the country, constituted a virtual fifth column, loyal to, and spying on behalf of, the Chinese state. In the most sinister fashion, the program showed footage of a 2016 demonstration by several thousand Chinese students, opposing US actions against Beijings territorial claims in the South China Sea. The implication was that the ABC considers such protests an illegitimate challenge to US and Australian foreign policy.

In April 2017, independent senator Nick Xenophon, seemingly in possession of insider knowledge, delivered a rare foreign policy speech, on the eve of the visit to Australia by vice-president Mike Pencethe first by a top official of the Trump administration. Xenophon spoke, with great concern, of the prospect of Australia joining the US in provocative actions against China, which could result, he said, in a full-scale war with the countrys largest export market and trading partner. He declared that such a war would rip  Australias social fabric apart and could lead to the establishment of internment camps for hundreds of thousands of Chinese-Australians and Chinese citizens.

Since Xenophons statements and Pences visit, the US-Australia alliance, directed above all against China, has been repeatedly reaffirmed by both the Turnbull government and the Labor opposition. This was underscored last week by prominent Trump critic, Senator John McCain, and yesterday, during the Australia-US ministerial talks involving Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense James Mattis.

Nothing in bourgeois politics can be dismissed as simply coincidental or accidental. The Australian political and military-intelligence establishment is seeking, through its major media mouthpieces, to generate nationalist and anti-Chinese sentiment within the population, aimed at intimidating and silencing the widespread opposition in the Australian working class and among young people to the US-led preparations for war.

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Just under a week before the first round of the legislative elections, newly-elected French President Emmanuel Macrons party, The Republic On the March (LREM) is set to obtain a large majority in the National Assembly. According to a raft of recent polls, LREM would obtain more than 30 percent of the vote and would have a 330 to 390 seat majority in the 577-seat Assembly.

The Socialist Party (PS) of former President Francois Hollande faces a historic collapse. It is expected to win around 8 percent of the vote in the first round of the legislative elections and only 25 to 35 seats. The Unsubmissive France (UF) movement of Jean-Luc Melenchon and the Stalinist French Communist Party (PCF) would only obtain about 12 and 3 percent of the vote, respectively, and about 30 seats together.

This collapse is the devastating conclusion to nearly a half century during which the PS dominated what passed for left-wing politics in France, while carrying out policies of austerity and war. Now the PS, the central axis of social democratic politics and of the various organizations of the radicalized petty-bourgeoisie, is threatened with destruction. It is facing the worst defeat since its foundation in 1971far worse than its collapse in the 1993 elections, under the first PS president of France, Francois Mitterrand, when the PS was reduced to only 57 seats.

Abstention is set to be extremely high for France, at 45 percent, amid deep discontent in the population with the political establishment. The right-wing The Republicans (LR) would obtain under these conditions around 22 percent of the vote and 95 to 115 seats, whereas the neo-fascist National Front (FN) would obtain 18 percent of the vote and 5 to 15 seats.

The broad disparity between the number of votes and of seats parties obtain is due to the two-round organization of the election. Since candidates must obtain over 12.5 percent of registered voters to advance to the second round, in the face of abstention by over half of voters, candidates need to carry nearly a quarter of the vote to advance. Parties who have that level of support only in a small number of electoral districts face significant losses.

The victory LREM is hoping to win does not reflect popular support for Emmanuel Macrons program, despite the massive propaganda for him that currently dominates the media. The landslide for Macron that is being prepared, France Info admitted, does not seem to correspond to the wishes of the electorate, only half of which want the head of state to have a friendly governmental majority. Only 37 percent want his party to be able to form a government.

The popular hostility and mistrust towards Macron is entirely justified. According to what details have emerged of the presidents plans, Macron intends for the Assemblydominated by his party, founded last year and consisting largely of people who have just come to politicsto serve as a rubber stamp for a social counterrevolution in France.

Its first actions will include the passage of an enabling act allowing Macron to rewrite the Labor Code and Hollandes labor law by decree. The goal would be to slash fines for unjustified sacking, to allow companies to impose contracts that violate industry-level agreements and the Labor Code, and more broadly to smash the social protections obtained by the working class in France during the 20th century.

Social spending cuts would be all the more intense in that, as part of his bid to work with Berlin to turn the European Union (EU) into a military rival of the United States, Macron plans to re-establish the draft and massively increase military spending.

The National Assembly would also be tasked with passing a law to make permanent most of the provisions of Frances two-year state of emergency, giving the president and the security forces emergency powers. As large sections of the political establishment expect explosive opposition in the working class to Macrons agenda, the main target of this measure will be the working class.

Macron is seeking to impose the diktat of the financial aristocracy on the French people without a shred of democratic legitimacy. Fully 70 percent of the population opposed Hollandes labor law, even without the most reactionary measures that Macron is now pledging to re-establish, and two-thirds of French youth are hostile to establishing universal military service.

Macron is poised to win a majority despite the unpopularity of his program due above all to the complete abdication of political responsibility by Melenchon and other allies of the PS, like the New Anti-capitalist Party (NPA). While they did not dare openly endorse him in the second round of the presidential elections on May 7, they made it clear that they agreed with the PS, LR, and the media, who presented Macron as the democratic alternative to FN candidate Marine Le Pen.

The Parti de legalite socialiste (PES), the French section of the International Committee of the Fourth International, alone called for an active boycott of the second round of the presidential elections, to warn that Macron would not be an alternative to Le Pen for the working class. This demonstrated the unbridgeable class gulf separating the PES from Melenchon, the NPA and the entire petty-bourgeois periphery of the PS.

Melenchon, after rising suddenly to 20 percent of the vote in the first round of the presidential election, based on rising anti-war sentiment after Trumps April 7 strike on Syria, has fallen rapidly in the polls. Rather than appealing to popular opposition to Macron, he is very publicly seeking to develop an alliance with him.

After offering to become Macrons prime minister and to provide him with the tempered hand of a wise man who knows where the happiness is to be found, Melenchon has offered to work with Macrons ministers. He boasted last week that he was meeting with Macrons right-wing justice minister, Francois Bayrou, to discuss adding measures from Melenchons presidential election program to Macrons law to moralize French politics.

As for the NPA, it stated that Macron was the best representative of the free-market policies of the last 30 years, but that workers should nonetheless vote for Macron to prevent the building of a dictatorial regime by Le Pen. This gave political cover to Macrons anti-democratic program, which consists of counterrevolutionary policies well to the right of those implemented by PS governments 30 years ago.

Macrons election with the tacit support of UF, the NPA, and similar organizations has vindicated the boycott call of the PES. Moreover, it is increasingly clear that, just as in the presidential elections, there is no electoral way out for the working class. It is impossible to halt Macrons attacks by voting for PS or LR candidates, which also support Macrons counterrevolutionary program. The only way to defend basic social and democratic rights is the mobilization of the working class in revolutionary struggle.

As Macron seeks to impose his diktat on the workers, the critical question is the building of the PES as the vanguard of the struggle against Macron, articulating an independent political perspective for struggle by the working class.
Police have named all three murderers whose stabbing frenzy left seven dead and 18 in critical condition Saturday night at London Bridge and Borough Market.

One is Khuram Shazad Butt, 27, the other Rachid Redouane, both from Barking, in east London. In the case of Butt, it has now been admitted that he was known to MI5 and the police.

The third attacker was named on Tuesday in the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera as Youssef Zaghba. The Moroccan-born man was stopped by authorities in Bologna last year while attempting to get to Syria. The newspaper reports that Italian intelligence services informed British intelligence of this. Minutes after, the Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command unit released Zaghbas name while claiming he was not a police or MI5 subject of interest.

This confirms earlier reports that at least one suspect, Butt, who was previously referred to as Abs or Abu, a derivative of his Arabic name Abu Zeitoun, was reported to the police, who then protected him from investigation.

On Sunday evening the Guardian reported that Erica Gasparri, who lives in the same flat complex in Barking, said she confronted Butt in a local park two years ago because he was seeking to radicalise young children, including her son. Gasparri took four photographs of Butt and gave them to the police. Their reaction was extraordinary. They said the information had been passed on to Scotland Yard... They told me to delete the photos for my own safety, which I did, but then I heard nothing.

A former friend of Butt also said he had contacted police in Barking, telling BBCs Asian Network he had phoned the anti-terror hotline.

The same attacker appeared in a Channel 4 documentary last year about British jihadis, in which he is involved in a confrontation with police after he holds up an ISIS flag in Regents Park. The documentary states that he and others were detained for an hour but released without charge after officers supposedly failed to find the flag!

Perhaps the most devastating account is in yesterdays Daily Telegraph, which reports that counter-terrorism officers secretly recorded an ISIS-inspired terror cell in Barking only last month discussing how to carry out a van and knife attack in London.

The Telegraph writes throughout as if the cell concerned does not include the three perpetrators of Saturdays identical atrocity. But one of those investigated boasts that he has radicalised more than a dozen students in Barking wanting to martyr themselves. He details how an attack would use a car as a weapon, driving at pedestrians and then getting out to attack others with knives: YouTube videos all make it properly easy to do.

It would, he said, involve going to the gym to make their arms stronger. The Mail reports that the London Bridge attack suspect Butt was a keen gym user.

One of the plotters also talked about getting an automatic [vehicle] so the boys can drive it. A neighbour of Butt said he had asked him about where he could hire an automatic transmission van.

On Sunday, police arrested 12 people, mainly residents in the Elizabeth Fry tower block in Barking where Butt lived. The Mail reports that during the raid a police detective was photographed with notes in his possession that were on display, relating to Saturdays terror attacksuggesting of one of those involved: He had been interrogated last year for his Islamic views, his house was searched, passport was taken + he had to sign on.

The list of those involved in terrorist outrages known to the police and secret services gets longer: Mohammed Sidique Khan, who led the July 7, 2005 bombings in London; Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale, the killers of Fusilier Lee Rigby in 2013; Khalid Masood, who in March carried out a similar vehicle/knife attack on Westminster Bridge; and Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi. In all cases, the official explanation is that they were not considered to be a real threat.

Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said that, in the case of Butt, there had been no evidence of attack planning and he had been deemed a low priority.

Met Commissioner Cressida Dick is infamous for leading the July 22, 2005 operation that ended in the police execution of innocent Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes. She is already busy formulating the excuses for why the three perpetrators of Saturdays attack were left free. She told BBC Radio 4s Today programme, Inevitably, [even] with a large database and some very good knowledge, on occasion somebody will, as my predecessor predicted, get through and be successful, and on occasion those people may have been known to the agencies before.

Even more exposed than Dick is Prime Minister Theresa May. She declared Sunday, Enough is enough, and demanded stepped-up action against suspected terroristsabove all by strengthening the police and security services. But her bellicose rhetoric cannot conceal the fact that Manchester bomber Abedi has been exposed as one of a family of Libyan Islamists who were protected assets of MI5 because they were involved in the campaign of destabilisation and military intervention to bring down the regime of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

Indeed, the only real way of lessening the terror threat would involve closing down the Islamist networks sponsored and protected by the British state to be deployed in regime-change operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria.

For May, this is a particularly explosive question. She was home secretary in the government of Prime Minister David Cameron when, in 2011, the Abedis and many others were released from the control order restrictions on them so they could take part in fighting in Libya. So exposed is she that after she suggested the recent attacks should lead to a review of Britains counter-terrorism strategy, Steve Hilton, who worked for Cameron until 2012, tweeted that she was responsible for security failures of London Bridge, Manchester, Westminster Bridge. She should be resigning not seeking re-election. Her spin doctors attack MI5, but she was in charge of them for years.

These issues were deliberately concealed by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn yesterday, when he was asked if he was supportive of Hiltons call for Mays resignation.

He replied in the affirmative, but did so while solidarising himself with a lot of very responsible people who are very worried that she was at the Home Office for all this time and presided over these cuts in police numbers, and shes now saying that we have a problem.

Weve got an election on Thursday and that is the best opportunity to deal with it, Corbyn added.

Corbyn chose his words in line with his ongoing efforts to reassure the ruling elite that he can be trusted to lead a Labour government that will safeguard its interests. Having abandoned his previous declarations of opposition to anti-democratic measures, militarism and nuclear weapons, he is now pledged to recruiting 10,000 extra police and providing more money for the army, MI5 and MI6.

Corbyn is busy changing the political narrative of the general election just as surely as May is attempting to do with her own focus on terror. If Labour does win the June 8 general election, then it will be thanks to millions of workers and young people who supported Corbyns claims to be opposed to Tory austerity. Now, however, Corbyn is positioning himself and Labour to be able to claim a mandate for strengthening the repressive apparatus of the state.

By concealing the true purpose of the police and secret services, Corbyn is politically disarming and demobilising the working class in the face of grave political dangers. The Tory-supporting media gives a far more accurate indication of the sweeping attacks on democratic rights being prepared behind Corbyns recent statement that the police and MI5 must be given what they need to protect the public.

Writing in the Sun, Douglas Murray called for an end to large-scale Islamic immigration, the permanent closure of mosques caught hosting anti-British views, imprisonment of everyone known to have connections with extreme organisations and the deportation of dual nationals caught associating with designated groups. The Mail editorialised, We need actionnow. There is a war being fought on our streets and its time to deploy all the weapons at our disposal.
Assisted by the media, the Australian political establishment has rushed to declare a hostage incident and fatal shooting in Melbourne yesterday afternoon, the details of which remain murky, an act of terrorism.

None of the claims by the government and media about the incident can be accepted at face value. What is known is that 31-year-old Yacqub Khayre, a Somalian-born Australian citizen, fatally shot an unidentified male employee in the foyer of an apartment complex in the suburb of Brighton. Khayre had reportedly checked into the apartment and taken an unidentified woman hostage inside his room.

Khayre reportedly called Channel 7 news at approximately 5.40pm, and declared: This is for IS [Islamic State] and this is for Al Qaeda. He was shot and killed approximately 20 minutes later by special operations police forces after an exchange of gunfire outside the building, during which three police received minor injuries.

No evidence has been produced of any contact with terrorist groups, despite Islamic State claiming responsibility for Khayres action. His statement supporting both Al Qaeda and Islamic State, two rival organisations, is contradictory.

The Victorian state police declared that Khayre was operating as a lone wolfin other words, that the event was not part of a coordinated plan by any terrorist organisation.

Despite what police called a long record of criminality, Khayre was released from jail on parole last September after serving three years of a five-year sentence. In 2012 he had been convicted of a violent home invasion and armed robbery while high on the methamphetamine ice.

No plausible explanation has been provided for his release. Victorian police commissioner Graham Ashton said: Most recently hes done some prison time in relation to reckless intent to cause injury and whilst in prison was processed as well for arson whilst in the corrections system.

Once again, it seems, the actions of a mentally unstable individual who was well known to the intelligence agencies are being seized upon to justify the strengthening of the police and intelligence forces and attacks on basic democratic rights.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called a press conference this morning to declare that the terrorist attack  underlines the need for us to be constantly vigilant, never to be deterred, always defiant, in the face of Islamist terrorism. Turnbull used the incident to defend the ongoing war by Australia, US and allied forces in Iraq and Syria, saying Australian forces were in the field fighting IS.

Victorian state Labor Premier Daniel Andrews foreshadowed further increases in police powers and resources. The [police] chief commissioner has more powers and more resources than has even been the case  but anything else the chief commissioner needs, he will get it. The Andrews government previously announced a massive boost to police numbers and recently introduced US-style shooting training tactics for police.

Before any of the facts were known, newspapers featured front-page stories on the incident as part of the effort to whip up an atmosphere of national crisis. The Murdoch-owned Herald Sun published a special 1.00 a.m. edition on the Brighton Siege with a cover photo of the gunman and the banner, Face of Terror.

Khayre was one of five men tried as part of an alleged 2009 terrorist plot against the Holsworthy army base in Sydney. During their 2010 trial, it emerged that an undercover police officer, working under the alias Hamza, played a major role in entrapping them. Hamza had proposed that the group target the Holsworthy base, and convinced Wissam Fattal to travel to Sydney to observe the base. Fattals trip to Sydney was then filmed and used as evidence of a terrorist plot. The agent later admitted that no plot to carry out an attack existed, other than his proposal. (See: Australia: Jury delivers split verdict in long-running terror trial)

Khayre was acquitted in the case, while Fattal and two other men were convicted and jailed for 18 years. All five, who came from trouble backgrounds of petty crime and involvement with drugs, were kept in solitary confinement for 18 months leading up to the trial.

When he was finally released, Khayre appears to have been a thoroughly damaged young man. The security agencies claim that he was a low-risk person of interest who was not being closely monitored. In fact, his background made him a prime candidate to be manipulated and used by the intelligence agencies.

A 2009 cable from US intelligence services released by WikiLeaks stated that Australian Federal Police counter-terrorism coordinator Damien Appleby and Victoria Police detective inspector Andrew Gutske characterised Khayre as a weakling who struggled with the harsh day to day life in Somalia  The AFP believes that Khayre may be turned while in prison to serve as an informant in related cases.

In December 2014, another hostage incident involving a mentally unstable man with prior connections to the intelligence agencies, Man Haron Monis, at the Lindt cafe in Sydney, was deliberately elevated to the level of a national terror emergency by government and police agencies. (See: Australian inquest into Sydney siege whitewashes unanswered questions)

Similar incidents throughout the bogus war on terror, have been used by governments in Australia, the United States, Britain and across Europe to introduce draconian police powers and provide the pretext for predatory wars across the resource-rich Middle East.

The Brighton siege followed statements by the Turnbull government calling for an expansion of powers to monitor the Internet and for greater domestic use of the military in the wake of last weekends terror attacks in London.
NBC News broadcast an 11-minute interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin Sunday night, in which host Megyn Kelly repeatedly, but unsuccessfully, sought to bolster allegations of Russian interference in the US 2016 presidential election.

The exclusive interview was part of the debut episode of Sunday Night With Megyn Kelly and intended as a platform for Kelly to attack Putin for Russian meddling in the election, as part of the campaign to discredit US President Donald Trump as an agent of Moscow. Only hours before the interview, Kelly attempted to embarrass Putin at the World Economic Forum by demanding he answer allegations of Russian hacking in front of 4,000 attendees, including heads of state.

The claims of Russian involvement in the election were based on attributing to Russian intelligence agencies the hacking of emails from the Democratic National Committee (DNC), detailing the party organizations efforts to promote Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders, as well as emails from Clinton chairman John Podesta, revealing the text of Clintons groveling speeches to Wall Street audiences. No evidence has ever been presented proving a Russian role in the hacking of the emails, delivered anonymously to WikiLeaks, which made them public.

Throughout the NBC interview, Putin effectively rebutted the claims put forward by Kelly about Russias involvement in hacking the DNC. Putin responded to US intelligence agencies assertion of Russian meddling, stating, They arent analyzing the information in its entirety. I havent seen, even once, any direct proof of Russian interference in the presidential election. Kelly had no answer.

The US intelligence community has stated almost since the initial hack that sections of the code and IP addresses used by the hackers amount to a smoking gun, proving the involvement of the Russian government. Putin pointed to other plausible explanations including the hacks being carried out by non-government patriotic hackers in Russia, or US intelligence agencies that are capable of shifting the blame onto Russia.

He added, There is a theory that [president John F.] Kennedys assassination was arranged by the United States intelligence services. So, if this theory is correctand that cant be ruled outthen what could be easier in this day and age than using all the technical means at the disposal of intelligence services  [to point] the finger at Russia?

Kelly dismissed Putins statement on the Kennedy assassination, referring to it as a Cold War conspiracy theory. The irony of rejecting an intelligence agency role in the killing Kennedy as a conspiracy theory while making far more fantastic and unsupported allegations of a complex network linking the Trump administration to Moscow was apparently lost on her.

Putin pointed to the hypocrisy of the US accusations against Russia noting that it is common knowledge that the US intervenes in elections around the world. Put your finger anywhere on a map of the world, he said, and everywhere you will hear complaints that American officials are interfering in internal election processes.

Kelly responded by citing the ongoing investigation into Jared Kushner, Trumps son-in-law and adviser, for allegedly attempting to set up a secret channel. Putin denied having ever received reports about meetings between Kushner and the Russian ambassador.

He elaborated about the current anti-Russia hysteria as amazing. You created a sensation out of nothing, and out of this sensation you turned it into a weapon of war against the current president.

Throughout the interview Kelly was completely unable to counter any of Putins points and jumped from one unsubstantiated claim to another. Her supposed incriminating evidence about Russian collusion with Trump included a single photograph of Michael Flynn, Trumps first national security adviser who was forced to resign in February, sitting at a table with Putin, and unsupported rumors of the Russian government having information to blackmail Trump with.

Kellys inability to press Putin effectively was not merely a personal failure, as negative US media reviews of the program suggested. Rather it reflects the completely flimsy factual basis of the anti-Russian campaign as a whole.

Significantly, there was almost no reporting in the American media Monday about Kellys supposed scoop in gaining a face-to-face interview with the Russian president. It is clear that the interview was regarded as a political debacle, about which the less said the better.

The ongoing attacks on Trump as a supposed agent of Moscow reflects deep divisions between the Democrats and a section of the Republicanswhich wish to continue the Obama administrations provocative moves against Russiaand the current administration that is attempting to reorient US imperialism to focus more on China.

For these sections of the ruling elite, the campaign against Trump as a Russian agent serves a dual purpose of pressuring the current administration and attempting to divert mass anger over Trumps policies behind a drive for war against Russia.
Eight months after his ouster as general secretary of the Socialist Party (PSOE), Pedro Sanchez was re-elected general secretary with 50.2 percent of the votes. He defeated the favourite of the political establishment, the regional premier of Andalusia Susana Diaz, who won 40 percent.

The PSOE had been in the hands of a caretaker committee since Sanchezs ouster in October, in an internal coup orchestrated by a cabal of bankers, the intelligence services and the media. Led by former PSOE Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez and El Pais editor-in-chief Juan Luis Cebrian, they ousted Sanchez due to his refusal to allow Mariano Rajoys conservative Popular Party (PP) to form a minority government. At that point, Spain had been without a government for 10 months.

Sanchezs opposition reflected factional interests within the PSOE bureaucracy, backed by left publications like Publico and Eldiario.org, that feared that the PSOEs support to a PP government would completely discredit one of the main pillars of Spanish capitalism in the post-Franco period.

Sections of the party apparatus and membership were won over to Sanchezs proposal for a vague turn to the left and developing closer relations with the Podemos party. This is a desperate attempt to respond to and control rising social discontent.

The radicalization of wide layers of the population was reflected in a recent poll of young people by the European Broadcasters Union. When asked, Would you actively participate in a large-scale uprising against the generation in power if it happened in the next days or months? more than half, 53 percent, said yes. In Greece, France and Spain the figure was over 60 percent.

With Sanchezs election, the PSOE is signalling to Podemos and the organisations orbiting around it that they are prepared to go into government if the PP minority government collapses. Such a government would seek to suppress growing anti-capitalist sentiment and continue to carry out the dictates of the financial oligarchy.

Sanchez has made it clear that he does not aim to bring down the PP government. He opposes the no confidence vote against the PP proposed by Podemos in parliament. Last week, moreover, the PSOE collaborated with the PP in parliament to bury an investigative commission dedicated to investigating the political police, a unit created by the former Interior Minister Jorge Fernandez Diaz to counter conspiring Catalan nationalist politicians.

Sanchez has also responded to one of the major concerns of the Spanish bourgeoisie: the calling of a referendum on independence in the wealthy region of Catalonia.

Only three days after taking control of the PSOE, he phoned Rajoy to tell him that the PSOE will join his government in defence of legality and the Constitution in Catalonia, and that he opposes the planned Catalonian independence referendum. This was a direct response to the Catalan premiers call of a meeting with all the political parties in favour of the independence referendum.

The nomination of Sanchez has been well received by the pseudo-left, which aims to work a deal with the PSOE. On Twitter, Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias stated: The members have spoken very clearly. Congratulations to Pedro Sanchez. The following day Iglesias and Sanchez spoke by telephone; both agreed on the unsustainable situation of the PP in the government, surrounded by corruption.

Iglesias announced that he was willing to drop Podemos no confidence if the PSOE announced their own no confidence vote. Under Spains constitutional system, a no confidence vote is a de facto debate, whereby the party proposing the vote asks parliament to form a government majority. That is, by dropping its no confidence in favour of that of the PSOE, Podemos is signalling its support for a PSOE-led government.

Iglesias has tried to form a government with the PSOE for the past year and a half since the December 2015 general elections. Such a government, as the WSWS has insisted, and as experiences in Portugal and above all the imposition of austerity in Greece by Syriza have shown, would be no alternative. It would rapidly move against the working class.

At the local level, Podemos-controlled city councils have already proven to be defenders of bourgeois order, implementing austerity, paying billions of euros to the banks, and mobilizing police to crush strikes and persecute migrants.

Sanchezs victory was hailed by the various groups orbiting in or around Podemos, such as Revolutionary Left (Izquierda Revolucionaria), Class Struggle (Lucha de Clases) and Class against Class (Clase contra Clase).

Izquierda Revolucionaria (Revolutionary Left, IR), the Spanish section of the Committee for a Workers International, declared that Sanchez went from being a puppet in the hands of the apparatus to resisting the onslaught of Felipe Gonzalez.  Now Pedro Sanchez enjoys an authority between the PSOE base and the voters of the PSOE much greater than any other leader of the party. They concluded by urging an alliance with Podemos to form a government.

Similarly, Lucha de Clases calls for a PSOE-Podemos alliance. It claimed that the ruling class has lost, in principle and pending the development of the PSOE congress in June, direct control of the leadership of this party, which is more exposed to the influence of working class pressure and Unidos Podemos.

The Morenoite Revolutionary Workers Tendency states that Sanchez belongs to a new batch of intelligent politicians of the bourgeoisie  [who] have no intention of confronting the capitalist model, only to make it less brutal. He wants to reform, not revolutionize. He also aspires for capitalism to be a bit less austere towards the lives of workers.

Jaime Pastor, the long-time leader of the Spanish Pabloites and leader of Podemos highest body in Madrid, the Citizens Council, announced in the Viento Sur that Time will tell if Sanchezs victory is limited to a change in the ruling elite of this party or if, on the contrary, it announces the entry into a phase in which social-liberalism becomes a thing of the past.

These forces are desperate to prevent workers from drawing political conclusions from the experiences the Spanish and international working class have had with the social democratic parties and their pseudo-left successors like Podemos and Syriza. They have imposed the dictates of the capitalists anywhere they have ruled. Nonetheless, these forces insist thatinstead of building a revolutionary Trotskyist party in the working classit is possible to go forward through an alliance with the PSOE.

Pastors reference to a thing of the past is a euphemism for the PSOEs militarist and free-market policies over the past four decades. This is the party that led Spain into the European Union, NATO and the euro currency, and implemented the first attacks against the working class through labour and pension reforms, deindustrialization policies, privatisation and crackdowns on democratic rights.

This party sent the Spanish army on its first missions in the US-led wars in the former Yugoslavia and the Middle East, the first foreign interventions since World War II, and sent them against striking air traffic controllers in December 2010.
Backed by Egypt and its closest Gulf State allies, Saudi Arabia has launched a diplomatic and economic offensive against Qatar, a tiny, energy-rich neighbor. This offensive is aimed at forcing the emirate to fall fully in line with the Saudis belligerent stand against Iran and other of its predatory policies, including unstinting support for Egypts military regime.

US President Donald Trump gave the Saudi autocracy and its plan to forge a Sunni-Arab military coalition against Iran Washingtons full-throated support when he visited Riyadh last month.

This support, as even many Western news reports on the Saudi-Qatari confrontation acknowledge, has emboldened Saudi Arabia. Yesterday, it, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Yemen announced a series of measures against Qatar that stop just short of war.

They include: severing all diplomatic relations, travel, and economic ties with Qatar; denying Qatari aircraft, including all Qatar Airway flights, the right to use their airspace; closing their ports to all Qatari vessels; and shutting down all broadcasts by Qatar-based al-Jazeera.

Saudi Arabia and its closest Gulf State allies are also closing their borders to Qataris and ordering all Qatari citizens currently in their countries to leave within two weeks.

These measures threaten to roil the emirates economy. A peninsula state whose only land border is with Saudi Arabia, Qatar is heavily reliant on food shipments from Saudi Arabia. News agencies report that long lines have formed at supermarkets in Doha as residentsfully 80 percent of the 2.3 million people living in Qatar are non-citizen foreign workersscramble to stock their shelves and refrigerators.

In 2014, the Saudis and several of their allies suspended diplomatic relations with Qatar because Riyadh was rankled by the emirates opposition to the military coup that overthrew Egypts elected president, Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi.

The current dispute is of a qualitatively different character, as exemplified by the Saudis imposition of an economic blockade that threatens to strangle Qatars economy.

Qatar, not without reason, has charged that Saudi Arabia is seeking to subject it to guardianship, i.e., to reduce it to the status of a vassal state.

The Saudis are accusing Qataras they have long accused Iranof supporting terrorism. They claim it is backing the opposition to the royal family in Bahrain, the anti-Saudi Houthi rebels in Yemen, and the opposition to Saudi rule in the countrys largely Shia Al-Qatif region. Qatar has vehemently denied these claims.

Riyadh is also charging that the emirate is in league with ISIS in Syria. In fact, the ruling families of both sheikdoms have played a major role in the US regime-change war in Syria, helping finance, organize and arm various reactionary Islamist forces, including many of those that came together in ISIS.

The Saudis overriding objective is to force Qatar to distance itself from Iran, which it considers its principal rival for regional influence.

Qatar has developed extensive economic ties with Iran, including in the co-development of the massive South Pars Persian Gulf natural gas field. Until its ejection yesterday, Qatar was a reluctant member of the Islamic Military Alliance, the international coalition Riyadh formed ostensibly to fight terrorism, but which more and more openly has assumed the shape of a Sunni Arab alliance for waging war on predominantly Shia Iran.

Last weekend, in an attempt to placate the Saudis, Qatar reportedly ordered several leaders of Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that has ties to Iran, to leave the country. But the Saudis are treating this as too little, too late.

It cannot be excluded that the Saudis will threaten Qatar with military action in the coming days or weeks. They are already waging war, with US logistical support, in Yemen, causing an ever-widening humanitarian disaster, and in 2011 they led a military intervention in Bahrain so as to stave off the popular overthrow of its autocratic regime.

Israel has welcomed the Saudi offensive against Qatar, calculating that it will weaken Tehran. Like the Saudis, the Zionist establishment views Iran as its principal strategic rival.

Trump and the cabal of generals who head his administration have repeatedly made clear that Washington has Iran in its cross-hairs. And whilst serious differences persist within the US political establishment over the Iran nuclear accord, the Democrats, no less than the Republicans, support America continuing to enforce sweeping economic sanctions against Tehran and threatening it with military action.

That said, nothing suggests Washington wanted, let alone encouraged, Riyadh to move against Qatar.

Qatar is the forward headquarters of the US Central Command and thus a pivotal staging area for the US wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, and the cockpit for war-planning against Iran. Bahrain, which is part of the Saudis anti-Qatar coalition, is the home base of the US Fifth Fleet.

The escalating conflict between Washingtons Gulf allies, complained the New York Times, presents a fresh and unwelcome complication for the United States military.

That the Saudis, with the support of Egypts US-backed military regime, acted independently of Washington in no way takes away from Americas primary responsibility for the growing aggressiveness of the Saudi regime, let alone the wars and sabre-rattling that threaten the people of the Middle East.

On the contrary, the Saudi offensive against Qatar should serve as a salutary warning as to the reckless and incendiary role of US imperialism. In its drive to offset the decline in its economic power through aggression and war, the US is arming and emboldening all sorts of right-wing, crisis-ridden regimes. Any one of these, in the pursuit of its own reactionary interests, including mere survival, could lash out at its rivals, provoking a crisis that quickly develops into a military conflict, drawing in the US and other world powers, daggers-drawn.

No less significantly, the sudden clash between Qatar and Saudi Arabia points to the explosive geopolitical tensions that run through the region and are ever more enmeshed in the conflicts between the major imperialist and great powers.

The series of predatory wars Washington has waged in the Middle East since 1991 has shattered whole societies, killing millions, rendering millions more refugees, and engulfing ever greater areas in war and destruction. Their cumulative impact has been the effective collapse of the state system French and British imperialism imposed on the region at the end of World War One and the fueling of a new struggle for the redivision of the Middle East.

The developments in Syria reveal most clearly that the repartition of the Middle East has already begun. While nominally a joint struggle against ISIS, the war in Syria has drawn in a host of great and regional powersincluding the US, Russia, France, Germany, Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Israeleach pursuing its own strategic interests. For US imperialism, Syria is a key front in its military-strategic offensive against Russia and Iran.

And it is not just Syria, but the entire region that is in flames. Given the Middle Easts economic significance as the worlds most important oil-producing region, and its pivotal geographic position as the hinge between Europe, Asia and Africa, all of the imperialist and great powers are increasingly compelled to intervene to assert their respective interests.

The US views its drive against Iran through the prism of its world strategy. This includes the need to prevent China from leveraging its plans to develop Eurasian economic corridors to forge a strategic partnership with Iran, and the need to prevent European capital from beating out corporate America in capturing Irans markets and oil concessions.

As Trotsky explained in the run-up to the second imperialist world war of the last century, the only alternative to the war maps of the great powers is the map of the class struggle. The only answer to the incendiary struggle of the rival capitalist ruling elites for natural resources, markets and strategic advantage is the mobilization of the international working class against war and the outmoded capitalist social order.
In the run-up to the snap June 8 general election, the trade unions have sabotaged every struggle of the working class.

Workers in both the public and private sectors have been engaged in long-running and bitter disputes, including on the railways, at the Japanese-based Fujitsu, the carmaker BMW, as well as teachers and college lecturers.

These disputes have been ended entirely, or where the unions were unable to do so, they have only called further strikes well beyond election day. The unions have performed this service not only on behalf of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who wants no association with actual struggles of the working class as he seeks election as a safe pair of hands for British capitalism. It is carried out on behalf of the ruling elite at a time when opposition to a decade of job losses and worsening pay and conditions is intensifying.

In response to pressure from their members, prior to the election, the trade unions had called single days of strikes or 48-hour strikes, on a plant-by-plant/company-by-company or regional basis, with limited picketingutilising anti-strike legislation to justify minimising the effect of the action.

A planned walkout on May 30 by conductors in the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) union, at Southern Govia Thameslink Rail, Arriva Trains Northern and Merseyrail, was cancelled. The workers are involved in a bitter dispute against the planned introduction of Driver Only Operated (DOO) trains, which threatens thousands of jobs and public safety.

RMT General Secretary Mick Cash announced the cancellation of strike action, immediately, utilising the May 22 suicide bombing at Manchester Arena and citing the heightened safety and security alerts on our transport services 

Southern Rail immediately went on the offensive following the RMTs capitulation, declaring, The union now need to use this opportunity to agree to the very good offers we have made, including job guarantees, and work with us to future-proof the busiest railway in the UK for our passengersmost of whom simply want to get to their place of work each day.

Another dispute called off involved three proposed walkoutson May 18, May 21 and May 24, by BMW workers. The German auto manufacturer plans to close its final salary pension scheme by the end of the month. Unite will ballot members at plants in Cowley, Goodward, Swindon and Hams Hall on an offer from BMW which even the union feels it cannot recommend. Unite national officer for BMW Fred Hanna said lamely, While Unite is not recommending the offer, as it will have different outcomes for people and their pensions, members should be proud that by standing together they have forced BMW into making this offer.

The University and College Union (UCU), citing the Manchester bombing, called off a two-day strike by staff at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) due to take place the week of May 22. Workers are fighting job losses due because of the proposal to close an MMU campus at Crewe in Cheshire.

After the unions suspension of the strike, management unsurprisingly demonstrated no similar intention to honour Manchesters dead. The MMU refused a UCU offer to end the dispute by merely postponing its planned compulsory redundancies for this summer and accepting a proposal to go to the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, the government conciliation body. Last week, UCU regional official Martyn Moss said, Strike action is always a last resort but members will walk out next month if the university refuses to address the jobs issue, as the union announced a two-day strike on June 20/21.

On May 19, the Unite union suspended strikes to discuss a new offer to its workforce by IT giant Fujitsu. The offer will be discussed over a lengthy period at various locations, beginning in Wakefield May 26, and finally Derry in Northern Ireland on June 13. Strikes called off were a 24-hour stoppage on May 22, and a further 48-hour action beginning May 25.

Workers at Fujitsu have taken 15 days of strike action since February 28 and ongoing action short of strike action against attacks on pensions and 1,800 proposed job loss. Fujitsu intends to shed 3,000 jobs throughout Europe.

Leaders of the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) college lecturers union agreed a deal with employers to call off a three-day strike. Staff were angry, as a previously agreed deal on pay differences between colleges had still not been implemented.

After eight strikes over two months, the National Union of Teachers (NUT) called off action at Forest Hill School in London, until June 15. The dispute, during which parents have joined the teachers picket line, involves the imposition of a 1.3 million budget cut by Labour-run Lewisham Borough Council, threatening 40 teaching and support staff posts.

Despite every effort by the union to demobilise struggles, the mounting anger of workers in opposition to years of relentless austerity is seen in the emergence of further disputes.

Nurses in the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) have voted by a 78 percent majority in an online consultation to ballot for industrial action against low pay. Their pay has fallen by 14 percent since 2010 because of the governments 1 percent pay cap. Some nurses have had to resort to food banks or payday loans to get by.

Staff in the Unite trade union at St. Barts National Health Service Trust hospital are also balloting over jobs, pay and working conditions.

Last week, Unite announced that British airways cabin crew are to strike for four days from June 16. The workers, based at Londons Heathrow Airport, have staged 26 strike days over a two-tier pay system. Unite called off further strikes in May after reaching an agreement with the airline, with the details not made public. Unite said the new strike is due to BAs persistent refusal to restore the travel concessions that airline management had withdrawn from those who took part in strike action.

This week staff at the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) are due to strike over a continuing dispute against job and budget cuts.

Last November, a year-long junior doctors dispute was sold out when the British Medical Association (BMA) accepted the imposition of an inferior contract by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and his shadow chancellor John McDonnell, made just one visit to the picket line and insisted doctors reach a negotiated settlement with a Tory government.

The Trades Union Congress (TUC) recently reported that the latest Office for National Statistics data show the total number of stoppages for 2016 was the eighth lowest since records began in 1891.
Walmart, the worlds largest multinational retailing corporation, unveiled a new package delivery program Thursday, in which the company will pay its employees to deliver packages to customers on their way home from work.

The program shows how Amazons exploitative practices are lowering working conditions for the entire working class. With Amazon occupying a dominant position in online retail sales, it dictates the terms of employment far beyond its own workforce.

The new initiative is the brainchild of Walmarts e-commerce director Marc Lore, who publicly announced the new program in a blog post on the companys web site. Lore, who worked for Amazon between 2011 and 2012, wrote that the goal of the program is to cut shipping costs and get packages to their final destinations faster and more efficiently.

Cutting costs is corporate code for increasing the level of exploitation of the workforce in order to increase the companys profit line. At present, last-mile deliverythe movement of goods from a transportation hub to the final delivery destination, often the consumers residenceaccounts for an estimated 53 percent of the total cost of online retail delivery.

The move is part of an effort by Walmart to control an even greater portion of its workforces lives. Amazon and Walmart executives are probably plotting a way to make money off of workers while they sleep!

The average FedEx delivery driver earns roughly $24/hour, while the average UPS driver earns close to $30/hour, according to Glassdoor.com. An entry-level Walmart employee, on the other hand, earns a mere $9/hour during their first 6-18 months of training, at which point the starting wage is roughly $10/hour. The new associate delivery program thus strives to replace largely full-time, salaried truck drivers with informal, minimum-wage employees. It marks another step toward the uberization of the global workforce.

Stephanie Luce, a labor professor at the City University of New York, told the Washington Post, The practice seems ripe for abuse if the company does not compensate workers for the full cost of their journey, the expenses related to gas, car depreciation, and potential problems like accidents, tickets or parking expenses. Like other gig economy type jobs, there is a potential to benefit workersbut in reality, most of the benefits accrue to the employer, not the employee.

The competition between Walmart and Amazon shows the degree to which a handful of massive corporations dominate the world economy.

Nearly all growth in the retail market now stems from e-commerce, and in 2016 Amazon accounted for 53 percent of all growth in US e-commerce sales for the year, placing immense pressure upon Walmart to elevate its standing in the online marketplace. This prompted Walmarts decision last August to purchase the e-commerce web site Jet.com for $3.3 billion. As part of the acquisition, Jet.com founder and CEO Marc Lore was promoted to president and CEO of Walmart e-commerce and given a total compensation package of $243.9 million, making him one of the countrys highest-paid executives.

Lore was previously the co-founder of Quidsi, the parent company of a family of web sites including Diapers.com, Soap.com, Wag.com, and more, all of which were sold in 2011 to Amazon for $545 million. Last March, Quidsis subsidiary companies were all deemed unprofitable and closed, widely seen as a an act of retribution by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos against Lores decision to head e-commerce at Walmart.

Since Lore took the helm of e-commerce operations, Walmart has engaged in an acquisition spree, buying out online footwear retailer ShoeBuy.com ($70 million), outdoor gear company Moosejaw ($51 million) and the online fashion web site ModCloth ($45 million) in the past year alone. At present, there are ongoing negotiations to acquire the menswear web site Bonobos.com for a reported $300 million.

Walmarts efforts to compete with Amazon in e-commerce, including the latest move to hire current employees to deliver packages on their commute home, has had a substantial impact on corporate sales. In the most recent quarter, Wal-Mart reported a 63 percent increase in e-commerce sales, up from 29 percent growth in the previous quarter and its fourth consecutive quarter of increases.

Meanwhile, workers wages at both corporations stall. As they compete with each other for market share, they similarly compete to increase the profit margin by cost cuttingi.e., cutting workers wages and benefits.

The average Walmart employee in the US earns a starting wage of $9/hour, while the average Amazon warehouse worker in the US makes roughly $12.40/hour, or annual salaries of roughly $18,720 and $25,792, respectively.

Last year, Walmart had an operating income of $22.76 billion, while Amazon raked in $2.37 billion of net income. At present, the six heirs of Walmart founder Sam Walton, who own a majority of the company, possess a combined net worth of roughly $143 billion.

With the rise of Amazon, founder and CEO Jeff Bezos has seen his personal fortune skyrocket. On May 30, Amazon stock topped $1,000/share for the first time, pushing Bezos wealth to $86 billion and making him the second-richest person in the world. In the past year alone, Bezos has accrued $22.5 billion, and in the last five years he has earned an astounding $66.6 billion, or $25,342 per minute .

The immense wealth accumulated by the Waltons and Bezos is extracted from the labor of hundreds of thousands of workers worldwide that toil for both corporations. This is the real source of profit under capitalism, and is the driving motive behind Walmarts new package delivery program, which seeks to extract surplus value during its workers drive to and from work.

Walmart and Amazon workers have no interest in the frenzied competition for profits between the two major conglomerates. Rather, their interests lie in unifying with one another against both corporations in a common struggle for social equality.

The World Socialist Web Site encourages all Walmart and Amazon workers to subscribe to the International Amazon Workers Voice (IAWV), like us on Facebook, and contact us to learn more about the fight for socialism.
Going by a survey report of anti-corruption global civil society organisation Transparency International (TI), it is clear that PM Modi's efforts have started bearing fruit.

By Kumar Shakti Shekhar: BJP-led NDA came to power in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections on the main plank of fight against corruption. Criticising the previous Congress-led UPA government over a string of corruption cases such as 2G spectrum, coal allocation and CWG scams in the run-up to the elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's refrain had been to check corruption if his government came to power.

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Going by a survey report of anti-corruption global civil society organisation Transparency International (TI), it is clear that PM Modi's efforts have started bearing fruit. Though the report, titled 'People and corruption: Asia Pacific - Global corruption barometer', concluded that India was the most corrupt country in Asia, it also inferred that the people were optimistic about the efforts being made by the government to root out corruption.

TI spoke to 21,861 people in 16 countries, regions and territories across the Asia Pacific region between July 2015 and January 2017 about their perceptions and experiences of corruption. The report estimated that over 900 million people across the 16 surveyed places had paid a bribe in the past year when trying to access basic services like education or healthcare.Bribery rates for countries varied considerably across the region - from 0.2 per cent in Japan to 69 per cent in India.However, the report went on to say that "the results from other countries show a mixed picture of positive, mediocre and negative ratings - which in part reflect the varied nature of the corruption challenges across the region.

"In some of these countries, like India, the bribery rate was very high, but citizens were fairly positive about government efforts to fight corruption and a clear majority felt they could make a difference in the fight against corruption. South Korea, by contrast, had a very low bribery rate, but citizens were critical of government efforts to fight corruption".

In India, the survey was conducted by Cvoter International through face to face methodology. The fieldwork was conducted between March 1 and April 11, 2016 with a sample size of 2,802 people.

The report has been divided in sections.

1. FEW PEOPLE THINK THAT CORRUPTION IS ON THE DECLINE

The report says only one in five people thought the level of corruption had decreased recently, while two in five thought the level of corruption had increased and a further one third had seen no change. "People in China were most likely to think the level of corruption had increased recently - nearly three quarters of people said corruption had risen. This compares with just 14 per cent in Thailand who reported corruption had increased," it said.

In India, 41 per cent of the people surveyed thought that the level of corruption had increased. On the other hand, the percentage of such people was 73 in China, 65 in Indonesia, 59 in Malaysia, 56 in Vietnam, 50 in South Korea 50 and 46 in Hong Kong.

Graphic taken from report published on https://www.transparency.org/whatwedo/publication/people_and_corruption_asia_pacific_global_corruption_barometer Graphic taken from report published on https://www.transparency.org/whatwedo/publication/people_and_corruption_asia_pacific_global_corruption_barometer

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2. PEOPLE ARE DIVIDED AS TO WHETHER GOVERNMENTS ARE DOING ENOUGH TO STOP CORRUPTION

According to the report, a half of people in the region said that their government was doing a bad job at fighting corruption, while around two in five said that they were doing a good job. "People in India, Indonesia and Thailand were most positive about their governments' efforts, with over a half saying they were doing well. In contrast over three quarters of people in South Korea rated their government badly at addressing corruption," it said.

In India, a majority (53 per cent) of the people surveyed were happy with the government's efforts while 35 per cent thought otherwise.

The report said the people in South Korea were most likely to rate their government as doing badly at stopping graft. Over three quarters rated their government badly (76 per cent). Governments in Hong Kong, Vietnam, Japan, Mongolia, and Malaysia were perceived to be doing badly at fighting corruption by six in 10 of their citizens (from 60 per cent to 62 per cent).

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In contrast, around a half or more of people living in India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand said that their government was doing a good job (from 49 per cent to 72 per cent).

Graphic taken from report published on https://www.transparency.org/whatwedo/publication/people_and_corruption_asia_pacific_global_corruption_barometer

3. MORE THAN ONE IN FOUR, OR OVER 900 MILLION PEOPLE, PAID A BRIBE WHEN USING A PUBLIC SERVICE, IN THE 16 PLACES SURVEYED

As per the report, India had the highest bribery rate of all the countries surveyed, where nearly seven in 10 people who had accessed public services had paid a bribe. Japan had the lowest bribery rate, with 0.2 per cent of respondents reporting paying a bribe.

People were asked whether they had come into contact with six key public services during the previous 12 months - public schools, public clinics or hospitals, official documents, utility services, the police and the courts. Of those who had contact, more than one in four people in the 16 places surveyed had paid a bribe in the last 12 months when they used a public service (28 per cent). Based on the bribery rates for each country/territory and its adult population size, this is equivalent to over 900 million people across the 16 places surveyed.

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Bribery rates vary considerably between countries. Bribery was highest in India where nearly seven in 10 people who had accessed public services had to pay a bribe (69 per cent). This was followed closely by Vietnam where around two thirds had paid a bribe when accessing services (65 per cent).

4. POLICE ARE SEEN AS MOST CORRUPT

The TI report stated that across the region, nearly two in five said that they thought most or all police officers were corrupt, which was the highest of any group. In addition, just under a third of people in the region who had come into contact with a police officer in the last 12 months had paid a bribe, which was the highest of any service we asked about.It further said the law and order institutions in Pakistan were the most likely of any country that TI surveyed to accept bribes - around seven in 10 people who came into contact with either the police or the courts had to pay a bribe (75 per cent and 68 per cent respectively).

"Vietnam and India had the highest bribery rates of all the countries surveyed for public schools (57 and 58 per cent) and healthcare (both 59 per cent), suggesting serious corruption risks when people try to access these basic services," the report added.

5. 'STANDING UP' AND 'SPEAKING OUT' ARE SEEN AS THE BEST WAYS TO FIGHT CORRUPTION

When TI asked citizens for examples of the best actions they can take to help fight corruption, the top responses were to speak out by reporting it, and to stand up by refusing to pay bribes. Worryingly, more than one in five felt completely powerless to help fight against corruption, saying that there is nothing that they could do.

6. BUT FEW PEOPLE REPORT CORRUPTION AS THEY ARE AFRAID OF THE CONSEQUENCES

On this topic, the TI report said only 7 per cent of bribe payers in the survey said that they had actually reported it to the authorities. "The main reason most corruption incidents went unreported was because people were afraid of the consequences, followed by a belief that it would not make a difference and a lack of awareness of the appropriate reporting channels," it said.

7. MALAYSIA AND VIETNAM ARE SEEN AS HAVING THE MOST SEVERE CORRUPTION PROBLEMS

Across the different corruption issues covered in the survey, the report said, citizens in Malaysia and Vietnam were the most negative in the region across five of the key questions in the survey. People in Australia were the most positive.

Also read:

Ahead of anti-corruption day, 4 in 10 Indians admit paying bribe

PM Modi draws surgical strikes analogy to fight corruption, black money

Demonetisation deals a blow to left-wing extremists hoarding black money worth Rs 1000 crore

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FLORIDA (WTXL) -- The overseas highway in the Florida keys was shut down in both directions as firefighters battled a massive fire at a marina.

When crews responded, the flames had already engulfed a home and a lot filled with wooden lobster traps.

People were evacuated and no one was hurt.

Authorities are investigating how that fire started.

MOBILE USERS: Download our WTXL news app on your Apple and Android devices for the latest from South Georgia and North Florida. Also, download our WTXL Weather Now app for Apple and Android devices to get the latest local weather wherever you go.
THOMASVILLE, Ga. (WTXL) -- Thomasville Police identify the man accused of pointing a gun at several people over the weekend, including a child.

Investigators say it happened around 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 2 at the CK Crabhouse off Highway 19.

Employees of the business say Montreal Riles entered the business and began yelling and making threats to shoot them.

Investigators say Riles is facing charges on aggravated assault and cruelty to children.

MOBILE USERS: Download our WTXL news app on your Apple and Android devices for the latest from South Georgia and North Florida. Also, download our WTXL Weather Now app for Apple and Android devices to get the latest local weather wherever you go.
VALDOSTA, Ga. (WTXL) - A Valdosta woman has been arrested after police say she threatened a victim on social media and attacked her with a knife outside the victim's apartment.

On Sunday around 11:45 p.m., patrol officers with the Valdosta Police Department responded to a report of a fight in the parking lot of an apartment complex in the 1000 block of North Toombs Street.

When officers arrived on scene, the victim told them that Jennifer Murray, 21, had been threatening to hurt her on social media.

She said that before she was able to report the threats, Murray came to her apartment complex and attacked her.

VPD was told that the victim was trying to go to the police station and when she left her apartment, she saw that Murray was standing in the parking lot.

The victim said that Murray, with a knife in her hand, then attacked her.

She said that fought with Murray and in the process Murray reportedly cut herself on the arm and left the scene afterwards. The victim said that she received superficial injuries, but was not injured with the knife.

VPD says that a witness on scene supported the victim's account.

Police went to talk to Murray, who was at a local hospital receiving treatment for a cut to her arm.

She was taken into custody after receiving medical care and transported to the Lowndes County Jail on charges of aggravated assault and terroristic threats.
CRAWFORDVILLE, Fla. (WTXL) - Wakulla County taxpayers will foot the bill to settle a lawsuit against the former sheriff.

Monday night, the Wakulla County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved paying a $105,000 settlement after former sheriff Charlie Creel broke Florida's open public records law back in 2015.

The current sheriff Jared Miller says his predecessor willfully ignored requests for public records.

"There were eight issues involved," said Sheriff Miller. "According to the attorney that represents me as the Sheriff, he recommended that we would lose six out of the eight. He could not argue those so I think it's a no brainer that we go ahead and settle."

The $105,000 will come out of the county's general fund. That means every penny of that money is taxpayer money that's supposed to be used to improve the county. Instead, it'll all be used to settle the ongoing lawsuit.

"There [are] a lot more important things we could be doing with that money, so it's really disappointing to have to spend those kinds of funds that something that we really wish we didn't have to," said Wakulla County Commissioner Chuck Hess.

Sheriff Miller says all requests will now go through a Public Records Custodian to be replied to in a timely manner. He's also been taking steps to make sure his administration learns from past mistakes.

"I had an attorney come give us a full day class on public records laws," said Sheriff Miller. "The biggest thing is being transparent to our citizens. They deserve transparency and that's what I want to give them as the sheriff. We don't have anything to hide."

The pending lawsuit against the former sheriff is expected to be settled within the next week.

The Wakulla County Board also approved a request for $9,500 to buy new software and equipment for the Sheriff's Office's Narcotics Unit. The money will come from the county's Drug Trust Fund. That's money specifically set aside for these kinds of purchases.
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Jun 6 (PTI) The Indian Navys sailing vessel Tarini, with an all-woman crew, today visited Port Louis harbour in Mauritius as part efforts by the two countries to ramp up maritime security cooperation.

"Tarini has begun a new chapter in the history of ocean sailing by Indian women, wherein the first Indian all-woman crew of IN would endeavour to circumnavigate the globe in August," the Navy said in a statement.

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On its maiden sea voyage, Tarini is a sister vessel of the Navys first sailing vessel INSV Mhadei, and was inducted into the Indian Navy in February.

INSV Tarini is 55 feet in length and built in India in line with the Make in India initiative of the Indian Navy.

The vessel is skippered by Lieutenant Commander Vartika Joshi (a Naval Architect) and the all-woman naval officer crew comprising Lieutenant Commander Pratibha Jamwal, Lieutenants P Swathi, Vijaya Devi, Payal Gupta and B Aishwarya, the Navy said in a statement. PTI MPB KUN

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By Press Trust of India: Srinagar, Jun 6 (PTI) Twenty security personnel were today decorated with the DG disc for killing four terrorists who attempted a fidayeen attack on a CRPF camp in Bandipora district of Jammu and Kashmir.

CRPF Director General (DG) R R Bhatnagar flew down to the Valley and met the troops of the 45th battalion in Sumbal. Jammu and Kashmir police DGP S P Vaid accompanied him.

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Both the chiefs jointly decorated the troops, from CRPF as well as the JK Police, and pinned DG discs on the chests of the chosen 20 men, who undertook the operation along with others in the wee hours yesterday.

Those awarded include Commandant of the 45th CRPF battalion Iqbal Ahmad, Assistant Commandants Shakar Lal Jat and Pankaj Hallu and two sentries whose were at the front and foiled the militants bid to breach the camp fence, constables Dinesh Raja and Prafulla Kumar, and guard commander Head Constable Pankaj Kumar.

Few others from the Central Reserve Police Force and JK Police were also decorated with the honour, a senior official said.

The DG disc is given to the troops in recognition of excellent service and undertaking special operations fraught with risk and danger.

The two sentries made the first contact with the terrorists and rained heavy gunfire to thwart their attempts to breach the camp security. The gun battle ended with the elimination of the four terrorists.

The heavily armed terrorists had tried to storm the CRPF camp in a pre-dawn suicide attack in Sumbal, but were killed in retaliatory fire by the security forces led by the CRPF.

The two forces will also recommend some of their personnel involved in the operation for gallantry awards, official said. PTI NES SRY

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The American Kennel Club is working to include more young people in competitions, through programs aimed at younger dogs and younger dog showers, said Adele Keyfel, Yakima Valley Kennel Club delegate to the AKC.
Iran said Monday that rising tensions among its Arab Gulf neighbors threaten the interests of everyone in the region and has called for "political and peaceful methods" to resolve the crisis.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, as well as Egypt, have severed diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing the gas-rich nation of supporting regional terrorist groups. The four nations also moved to cut off Qatar's land, sea and air routes to the outside world.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi was quoted on the ministry's website as calling for a "clear and explicit dialogue" among the feuding nations.

Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency said Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, discussed the recent developments in a phone conversation.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Monday the 1967 Six-Day War has resulted in generations of Palestinians living in refugee camps with little hope and is urging Israelis and Palestinians to resume direct talks on a two-state solution.

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In a statement on the 50th anniversary of the Six-Day War, Guterres said Israel still occupies the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Syria's Golan Heights and the "occupation has imposed a heavy humanitarian and development burden" on Palestinians.

"Among them are generation after generation of Palestinians who have been compelled to grow up and live in ever more crowded refugee camps, many in abject poverty, and with little or no prospect of a better life for their children," Guterres said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (Photo: EPA)

He reminded that "In 1947, on the basis of United Nations General Assembly resolution 181, the world recognized the two-state solution and called for the emergence of 'independent Arab and Jewish states.' On 14 May 1948, the State of Israel was born. Almost seven decades later, the world still awaits the birth of an independent Palestinian state."

Guterres lamented that "The occupation is fueling recurring cycles of violence and retribution," claiming that "Its perpetuation is sending an unmistakable message to generations of Palestinians that their dream of statehood is destined to remain just that, a dream; and to Israelis that their desire for peace, security and regional recognition remains unattainable."

He also condemned "Continued settlement construction and expansion; violence and incitement; and the illicit arms build-up and militant activity in Gaza," which he said "risk creating a one-state reality that is incompatible with realizing the legitimate national and historic aspirations of both peoples."

The UN chief asserted that "Ending the occupation that began in 1967 and achieving a negotiated two-state outcome is the only way to lay the foundations for enduring peace that meets Israeli security needs and Palestinian aspirations for statehood and sovereignty. It is the only way to achieve the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people."

Guterres went on to say that ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would open doors to cooperation, security, prosperity and human rights for all.

"Now is not the time to give up on this goal," he urged. "Now is the time to return to direct negotiations to resolve all final-status issues on the basis of relevant United Nations resolutions, agreements and international law."

Israel's Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon slammed Guterres's statement, saying, "Instead of spreading lies, the UN best stick to facts. Israel's neighbors didn't start attacking it in 1967. The UN, meanwhile, is trying to compare terrorism and murder of innocents to the construction of houses.

He went on to say that it was "delusion to blame the only democracy in the region for the violence and terrorism in the Middle East. When the Palestinian leadership abandons incitement and terrorism, only then would we be able to make progress towards peace."

Meanwhile, Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, the head of the UN Human Rights Council, said Tuesday the Palestinian people were marking "a half-century of deep suffering under an occupation imposed by military force."

Speaking at the start of a three-week session of the Human Rights Council, al-Hussein called for "an end to Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory," saying it would benefit both sides after 50 years of enmity.

Israelis also deserve freedom from violence, he said, adding, "Maintain the occupation and for both peoples there will only be a prolongation of immense pain."
Keeping in mind the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan by PM Modi, a Jodhpur locality has come up with a unique practice to ace cleanliness using their cars.

By India Today Web Desk: In their drive to ensure cleanliness, people in a locality of Jodhpur are moving around with dustbins tied to their cars, picking up trash whenever and wherever they can.

Keeping in mind the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the initiative was started in Jodhpur's Kamla Nagar area, where the residents are actually following this practice.

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"PM Modi started a mission to clean this country, and we must support it," an ANI report quotes resident Mohammad Yusuf. "It is sad to see the dirty environment. We must not just focus on cleaning the city, but the country too."

"I collect the garbage, put it in a bucket and dump it in the dumping yard. I have been carrying out this activity for a week, and I feel happy to be doing this," said Gopal, another resident of the area.

Residents here are tying dustbins to their Audi cars, "for collecting the garbage,". That is the level of commitment.

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The IDF's Northern Command completed an extensive surprise drill on Monday meant to test the Galilee Division's readiness to combat a large-scale Hezbollah attack at a short intelligence notice.

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Thousands of soldiers from the Northern Command's conscript divisions were called in for the drill, which began Sunday morning and ended Monday afternoon.

Surprise drill on northern border (  ")

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Among the troops participating in the exercise were soldiers from the Golani Brigade and the special operations Oz Brigade, which has been dubbed the Commando Brigade. In addition, troops from the Combat Intelligence Collection Corps and other Special Forces took part.

The troops only had a few hours to leave their assigned posts and head to the northern border.





Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit

Unlike drills conducted by other divisions, during which reserve forces are also called up, this time the IDF sought to test the ability and flexibility of the conscript forces to arrive at the Lebanese border quickly to counter a large-scale, surprise ground attack by Hezbollah forces.

Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit

A senior IDF officer said the drill helped the army learn more about the Galilee Division's ability to command reinforcements sent to its area, the use of the Commando Brigade in such a scenario on the northern border, and the issue of communications between the forces.

"The more we're seen training and preparing, the more the threat decreases," the senior officer said.

Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit





IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot watched the drill on Sunday along with GOC Northern Command Maj. Gen. Yoel Strik and the Galilee Division Commander Brig. Gen. Amir Baram.
Six senior members of Hamas military wing, who operated and funded dozens of terror cells in the West Bank, were expelled from the Qatari capital of Doha several weeks ago. We were all kept in the dark about this affair because none of the parties involvedthe Egyptians, the Saudis, the Qataris, the Americans and the Israeliswere interested in creating noises, on the eve of US President Donald Trumps arrival in the Middle East, that would overcloud the harmony of the Islamic heads of state gathering in Saudi Arabia.

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The Hamas leaders kept a low profile too. They knew that in addition to the American demand to banish these senior members, the American administration had also demanded that Qatar would stop transferring funds to Hamas military wing. It turns out that Qatar managed two coffers vis-a-vis the strip: From the first coffer, some $900 million have been funneled since the end of Operation Protective Edgein coordination with Israelfor the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip; from the other coffer, money has been flowing without any supervision and in violation of the agreements.

Trump with Arab leaders in Riyadh. In addition to the demand to banish Hamas members, the US administration also ordered Qatar to stop transferring funds to the organizations military wing (Photo: Reuters)

When its people were kicked out of Doha following American orders, Hamas had yet to understand the intensity of the change created by Trump in the Middle East. Even before the US president set foot in Saudi Arabia, different countries in the region had already received missions from him. They were required to pay earnest money to be able to join the Sunni bloc against Iran and the Islamic State. When, in Saudi Arabia, Trump spoke about Hamas being a terror organization like Hezbollah, ISIS and al-Qaeda, he meant that all the countries in the Sunni Arab domain that support Hamasparticularly Qatarshould wash their hands off it.

The Saudis and the Egyptians claim that the Qataris are playing a dirty game, and they are right. Qatars leader, who sits on a mountain of money, is conducting a policy which is a combination of a survival war and megalomania. The Qataris want to have it all ways in the region, including nurturing the Muslim Brotherhood and funding terror organizations. It is a small emirate with 300,000 citizens, a million and a half foreign workers, half of its territory is an American military base, and it is led by a ruler whose ambition is to be the leading element in the Middle East.

It has been reported that Qatar served as an efficient communication mechanism between Israel and Hamas at times of crises. That didnt stop the country, at the same time, from funding Hamas military wing and sabotaging ceasefire attempts during Operation Protective Edge. The Qataris multi-faced policywhich includes hugging Israel, hugging the Iranians, supporting the Muslim Brotherhood and abusing the Egyptian government through the Al-Jazeera channel and undermining its positionhas come to an end. The Saudis and the Egyptians have informed the Qataris: You must take a side and stop undermining us. Saudi Arabia, which received the mandate from the UStogether with Egyptto lead a Sunni bloc against the Shiite-Iranian-ISIS threat, has decided to tame the Qataris.

Hamas is watching the events impatiently. It is seeing its only political support in the Arab Sunni world being pulled from under its feet. Under pressure, the Qataris will be willing to sell the Palestinian organization.

This strategic crisis has caught Hamas in the middle of a deep civil crisis which the Gaza Strip has never experienced before: An electricity and water shortage, collapsing health systems, extreme poverty. These two major crises could push Hamasagainst its ideologyinto the hands of Hezbollah and Iran. If Tehran wishes to seize the opportunity, the countdown will begin towards another military operation in Gaza.

In the meantime, the Hamas leaders are trying to find a sympathetic ear in Cairo which will make it possible to open the Rafah Crossing and supply electricity to the strip. Egypt, however, has strict conditions: Hamas must cut its ties with ISIS in Sinai and turn in the Muslim Brotherhood and ISIS members who have found shelter in Gaza.

The Trump effect is rocking the Middle East. One thing is clear: An old-new creature is being built in the form of an Arab Sunni bloc that is willing to incorporate Israel into it. The ball is in our court. Lets just hope we dont score an own goal.
A special parole board has determined that Yusuf Abu al-Hir, a convicted terrorist who was released as part of a 1983 prisoner exchange deal and expelled from Israel, will serve out the rest of his sentence after violating the terms of his release by trying to return to Israel illegally.

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Abu al-Hir, originally from Acre, was jailed in 1969 for a series of security offenses. He was found guilty of planting explosives in various places and facilities, causing the death of two people and wounding many others. A military court sentenced him to 15 life sentences plus 20 years in prison and another 10 years, set to be served concurrently.

In 1983 Abu al-Hir was released as part of the first Jibril Agreement, when Israel released 4,765 security prisoners in exchange for six Nahal soldiers captured during the First Lebanon War.

Photo: Shutterstock

One of the conditions for the deal was that the released prisoners would have to leave Israel, never to return.

Abu al-Hir, who lived in Greece after his deportation, inquired from time to time whether he would be allowed to return, petitioning both the Israeli High Court of Justice and the Interior Ministry, but was warned he would be jailed if he returned to Israel.

Despite these warnings, the convicted terrorist arrived in Israel on a flight from Athens on May 25, and was immediately arrested at Ben-Gurion International Airport.

Abu al-Hir's lawyers tried to argue their client's probation period had ended as 34 years have passed since his release, but the parole board rejected that claim.

In its decision, the parole board noted that Abu al-Hir "agreed to the terms of his released, as demonstrated by the fact he left the country for many years, knowing this departure was part of the conditions for his freedom. When the he chose to return to Israel, he violated his freedom knowingly and of his own accord. Therefore, he can only blame himself."

(Translated & edited by Lior Mor)
The United Nations human rights chief called on Tuesday for an end to Israel's "occupation of Palestinian territory," saying it would benefit both sides after 50 years of enmity.

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Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, in a speech opening a three-week session of the UN Human Rights Council, said that the Palestinian people were marking "a half-century of deep suffering under an occupation imposed by military force."

He said Israeli rule of the West Bank and east Jerusalem "has denied the Palestinians many of their most fundamental freedoms, and has often been brutal in the way it has been realized; an occupation whose violations of international law have been systematic, and have been condemned time and again by virtually all states."

Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein (Photo: Reuters)

Zied said his experiences as a boy during the 1967 Six-Day War "forged my later desire to understand the depths of Palestinian suffering but not only that, Jewish suffering toothe latter spanning over two millennia, and which culminated in that colossal crime, the Holocaust."

Zeid, a Jordanian prince, acknowledged that some people would respond "that the experiences of the two peoples are not equivalent: How could I mention them in one breath?

"Indeed, I agree: The Holocaust was so monstrous and so mathematically planned and executed, it has no parallel, no modern equal."

Zeid asserted both peoples, Israelis and Palestinians alike, deserve freedom and cautioned, "Maintain the occupation and for both peoples there will only be a prolongation of immense pain."

The Palestinians, he said, "deserve to bring up their children safe in their homes, on their land, exercising their rights in their state, free from this long and bitter occupation."

The Israelis, meanwhile, deserve "a different sort of freedom, for they have long had their state, but they too have suffered grievously. The Israeli people have long endured unlawful attacks against their own civilian populationattacks which are often vicious, in clear violation of international humanitarian law, and also worthy of condemnation. Israelis too need to be free from this violence, from any existential threat posed to them."

Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein (Photo: Reuters)

The commissioner began his speech with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and only after dedicating several minutes to it did he turn to other conflict zones, reporting ISIS murdered at least 163 Iraqi men, women and children in Mosul on June 1 alone to prevent them from fleeing the fighting in the city.

"The brutality of Daesh and other terrorist groups seemingly knows no bounds," he said, referring to ISIS by its Arabic acronym.

US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley is expected to address the counil during Tuesday's session. Haley recently wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post slamming the council for "wrongly singling out Israel for criticism."

"When the council passes more than 70 resolutions against Israel, a country with a strong human rights record, and just seven resolutions against Iran, a country with an abysmal human rights record, you know something is seriously wrong," she wrote.

In a statement Monday on the 50th anniversary of the Six-Day War, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Israelis and Palestinians to resume direct talks on a two-state solution.

Guterres said Israel still occupies the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Syria's Golan Heights and the "occupation has imposed a heavy humanitarian and development burden" on Palestinians.

"Among them are generation after generation of Palestinians who have been compelled to grow up and live in ever more crowded refugee camps, many in abject poverty, and with little or no prospect of a better life for their children," he added.






The UN's Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People will mark the anniversary of the Israeli "occupation" with an event featuring representatives from the left-wing NGO B'Tselem, including executive director Hagai El-Ad.

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The conference, titled "United Nations Forum to Mark Fifty Years of Occupation," will be held at the UN headquarters in New York on June 29-30. The first day will see discussions on "Ending the Occupation: The Road to Independence, Justice and Peace for Palestine" and include a panel on "The prices and implications of fifty years of occupation," among others.

The second day will focus on "Ending the Occupation: Creating a Space for Human Rights, Development and Just Peace," host members of the Civil Society Forum and include a discussion on "International Law Enforcement and Accountability: How to bring about change."

B'Tselem Executive Director Hagai El-Ad speaking at the UN

Among the conference's speakers and panelists are international experts from Israel and the "State of Palestine," UN officials, representatives of UN member states, human rights organizations, academics and journalists.

"B'Tselem wants to see Jerusalem in the hands of the Palestinians," said Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon.

"It is shameful that an Israeli organization is helping the Palestinians harm Israel on the UN stage. B'Tselem continues its obsessive attempts to defame Israel and exploits its status as an Israeli organization to legitimize incitement against us. B'Tselem has joined forces with Israel haters to undermine our historical right to the Land of Israel and its eternal capital, Jerusalem," he continued.

Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon

Responding to Danon, B'Tselem said in a statement, "The Israeli government and the UN ambassador continue to lie and slander, because they have nothing to offer the 13 million Israelis and Palestinians under their control except for the continued oppression and violence of the occupation. In contrast, B'Tselem demands international action, for the sake of a future of human rights, liberty and equality."

UN launches website to mark '50 years of occupation'

Meanwhile, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has launched a special project to mark the "50th anniversary of the Israeli occupation," which includes 50 stories of Palestinian men, women, and children who talk about their suffering at the hands of "the Israeli occupation."

UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein: calls to end Israeli 'occupation of Palestinian territory' (Photo: Reuters)

"June 2017 marks fifty years since Israel began its military occupation of the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip," the website states. "The ongoing Israeli occupation, whose end is not in sight, creates a sense of hopelessness and frustration that perpetuates violence and affects both Israelis and Palestinians."

The website further states that "the Israeli occupation is a key factor for humanitarian needs" and that "the occupation prevents Palestinians from controlling the basic aspects of their lives: moving within their own country and developing their territory and their economy. These stories illustrate the Palestinian experiences of the occupation and its humanitarian effects."

(Translated & edited by Lior Mor)
The US. ambassador to the United Nations has decried the "rapidly deteriorating human rights situation" in Venezuela, and says its government should withdraw from the UN. Human Rights Council if it can't address the problem.

Nikki Haley took about four minutes to deliver her highly-anticipated remarks to the council as it opened its three-week summer session on Tuesday.

Reiterating concerns voiced by officials of President Donald Trump's administration about the effectiveness of the 47-member body, she said the United States is "looking carefully at this council and our participation in it."

Haley also said it is "essential that this council address its chronic anti-Israel bias if it is to have any credibility."

She called on the council to adopt "the strongest possible resolutions on the critical human rights situations in Syria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Belarus and Ukraine, and that it follow up to prevent further human rights violations and abuses in those countries."
The Trump administration gave formal notice on Tuesday that it is reviewing its participation in the UN Human Rights Council and called for reforming the body to eliminate its "chronic anti-Israel bias."

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"The United States is looking carefully at this Council and our participation in it. We see some areas for significant strengthening," Nikki Haley, US ambassador to the United Nations, told the Geneva forum in her first address.

She also called for the Council to address serious human rights violations in Venezuela and for the government of President Nicolas Maduro to give up its seat in the 47-member UN forum unless it gets its "house in order."

Nikki Haley speaks at the UN Human Rights Council (: )

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Haley, who holds cabinet rank in President Donald Trump's administration, said last week Washington would decide on whether to withdraw from the Council after its three-week session in Geneva ends this month.

The Council's critical stance of Israel has been a major sticking point for its ally the United States. Washington boycotted the body for three years under President George W. Bush before rejoining under Barack Obama in 2009.

Haley, writing in the Washington Post at the weekend, called for the Council to "end its practice of wrongly singling out Israel for criticism."

The possibility of a US withdrawal has raised alarm bells among Western allies and activists.

Eight groups, including Freedom House and the Jacob Blaustein Institute, wrote to Haley in May saying a withdrawal would be counterproductive since it could lead to the Council "unfairly targeting Israel to an even greater degree."

US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley (Photo: Reuters)

In the letter, seen by Reuters, the groups also said that during the period of the US boycott, the Council's performance suffered "both with respect to addressing the world's worst violators and with respect to its anti-Israel bias."

The Council has no powers other than to rebuke governments it deems as violating human rights and to order investigations but plays an important role in international diplomacy.

"When the council passes more than 70 resolutions against Israel, a country with a strong human rights record, and just seven resolutions against Iran, a country with an abysmal human rights record, you know something is seriously wrong," wrote Haley.

John Fisher, Geneva director of the US-based Human Rights Watch, did not appear to fear an immediate withdrawal.

"Our understanding is that it is going to be a message of engagement and reform," Fisher told reporters.

However, Fisher said Israel's human rights record did warrant Council scrutiny, but the special focus was "a reasonable concern."

"It is an anomaly that there is a dedicated agenda item in a way that there isn't for North Korea or Syria or anything else," he said.

Earlier, the UN Human Rights Commissioner, Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, called for an end to Israel's "occupation of Palestinian territory," saying Israeli rule "has denied the Palestinians many of their most fundamental freedoms, and has often been brutal in the way it has been realized; an occupation whose violations of international law have been systematic, and have been condemned time and again by virtually all states."
The civilian security guard who shot dead 27-year-old Muhammad Taha during clashes in Kafr Qassim told police on Tuesday he didn't have a choice but to open fire, according to his lawyer.

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"It was a pogrom," said the lawyer, Shachar Mendelman.

The guard gave his version of events to police on Tuesday morning and was then released to his home.

Mendelman was confident Taha's autopsy would show his client, a released IDF officer, did not intentionally shoot Taha in the head and did not shoot to kill.

Yasam forces posted outside the Kafr Qassim police station the day after the rioting (Photo: Reuters)

"The guard acted according to the law, he fired a warning shot into the air first," Mendelman added.

"The guard was facing apparent danger. He was inside the flames," the lawyer continued. "They (the rioters) started to charge and there was no choice. The police accepted his version because if they hadn't, he wouldn't have been released."

Destruction at the Kafr Qassim police station the day after the rioting (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

The deceased's father, Mahmoud Taha, presented a different version of events. "My son was murdered. Lately the police's finger is very light on the trigger, and they shoot quickly, especially when it comes to an Arab," he said.

The father insisted his son "did not pose a danger at all. (Even) if he did, they should have shot him in the leg, not three times in the head. (The security guard) shot to kill, not to (defend himself)."

Destruction at the Kafr Qassim police station the day after the rioting (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

He further claimed the protest was "peaceful... We know the police, who keep describing violence, but there was no violence at all. The fabricate everything; make a joke out of it, cause drama. My son went to protest, like all of the other youth in the village. He has a right to protest. A quiet protest. But they shot him three bullets to the head."

Muhammad Taha, who was shot dead by a security guard outside the police station in Kafr Qassim

Kafr Qassim mayor, Adel Badir, said that in light of the high tensions and until things calm down, Commissioner Roni Alsheikh promised not to send police forces into the city.

"It can't be that they haven't solved the murders of 15 victims over 13 years," Badir said of the crisis of trust between the residents and the Israel Police. "There isn't a single case in which an indictment has been filed, and the killers remain at large. How are we going to have trust in the police? Over the past six months, six people have been murdered here by crime organizations. Innocent people were murdered, while the police claims they know who the perpetrators are but don't have enough evidence. That's not enough for us. The residents want to see results."

Yasam forces posted outside the Kafr Qassim police station the day after the rioting (Photo: AFP)

He said the Kafr Qassim leadership from across the political spectrum met with the police on Sunday to talk about ways to resolve the crisis.

"We agreed the police would go after organized crime and criminals with full force. Instead, the day after making these agreements, (police) jumped the head of security of all people, who is one of the more esteemed people in Kafr Qassim," the mayor said.

Destruction at the Kafr Qassim police station the day after the rioting (Photo: Reuters)

Badir accused the Police Special Patrols Unit (Yasam) of "brutality," saying "I trust our young people to keep the peace more than the police. We asked them (to stop rioting) and within an hour Kafr Qassim calmed down completely."

Meanwhile, Yasam forces were stationed outside the local police station, checking drivers before allowing them to enter the complex.
Since the establishment of the State of Israel, 3.2 million immigrants have immigrated to Israel, about 43 percent of them since 1990.

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This emerges from data published Tuesday by the Central Bureau of Statistics. In the past year, there has been a decline in the number of immigrants compared to the previous year: in 2016, 25,977 immigrants arrived in Israel compared to 27,908 in 2015a seven percent decrease. The most significant decline was among immigrants from Francea 36 percent drop.

(File photo: Shaul Golan)

In 2016, the largest number of immigrants arriving in Israel came from the European continent (77 percent of all immigrants). The remaining immigrants arrived from the Americas and Oceania (17 percent of all immigrants), Asia (4 percent) and Africa (1 percent).

That same year, the largest number of immigrants came from Russia (27 percent of all immigrants in 2016), followed by Ukraine (23 percent), France (17 percent) and the United States (11 percent). The number of immigrants from France recorded a relatively large decline (-36 percent), and the Ukraine saw a smaller decrease (12 percent) than in the previous year.

In 2016, immigration continued to be composed of a majority of women (51 percent). The ratio of men to women was 945 men to 1,000 women. The median age of women was slightly higher than that of men (33.0 years and 32.4 years, respectively).

A survey of the choice of residence by the immigrants shows that most of the immigrants preferred to settle in large cities, where they probably have relatives or more veteran communities from their country of origin. Of the total number of immigrants who arrived in 2016, Jerusalem absorbed the largest number of immigrants (12 percent of all immigrants), followed by Tel Aviv-Jaffa(11 percent), Netanya (9 percent), Haifa (8 percent), Ashdod and Bat Yam (5 percemt each) and Ra'anana (3 percent).

Immigration in 2016, as in previous years, was characterized by a relatively high percentage of academic professionals prior to immigration to Israel.

The level of education of immigrants who arrived in 2015 is relatively high72 percent of them had 13 or more years of education, half of them (about 52 percent) had 16 years of schooling or more.
He was a Jewish-American scientist, a member of a family of Holocaust survivors who linked his fate with Israel and supplied it with special nuclear batteries that helped win the Six-Day War. On Monday, about a year after his death, the great secret of Prof. Zalman Shapiro was revealed.

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The captivating story of Shapiro, who was 96 years old at the time of his death, was revealed Monday in the Tribune Review in a series of interviews with journalist Mary Ann Thomas. Shapiro was the owner of a large nuclear equipment manufacturing company. In the interview, he said that a year before the Six Day War, he supplied Israel with nuclear batteries that were used by its intelligence community. They were intended for long-term operation of sophisticated listening devices deep in the Arab home front.

File photo

Thomas claims in the article that the information obtained from the secret facilities operated by the batteries paved the way for Israel's crushing victory in the Six-Day War. According to her, former Mossad official Rafi Eitan approved the transfer of batteries to Israel.

According to foreign reports, the Sayeret Matkal Special Forces unit was the one that planted the listening devices in the heart of the Arab states. One of the devices, which was set up by Maj. Gen. (Res.) Amiram Levin, is displayed in the Museum of the Yom Kippur War in Cairo.

Many of the details exposed in the article were made known to Yedioth Ahronoth ten years ago, in a series of interviews I had with the late Meir Amit, who was the head of the Mossad during the Six-Day War. The interviews dealt with Israel's intelligence preparations for the war, but were rejected over the years by censorship.

So who is Zalman Shapiro, the man to whom Israel owes so much? He was an inventor, and a genius in chemistry and physics. He was born in Ohio to a religiously observant family, some of whom perished in the Holocaust. During his scientific career, he was one of the reactor developers of the first nuclear submarine, he developed nuclear fuels of various kinds and registered countless patents. He was the owner of the Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corp (NUMEC), which operated in the city of Apollo, Pennsylvania, and manufactured nuclear equipment.

In the past, it was suspected that hundreds of kilograms of fissionable material of military quality had disappeared from his company's warehouses and had been smuggled into Israel. He denied, was not tried, but at the same time, was not cleared of the suspicions until the day of his death.

Zalman Shapiro (Photo: Shaul Golan)

The special batteries he supplied to the listening facilities were developed at Mound Laboratories in Ohio in 1954 and were considered a scientific revolution. They were used by satellites, spacecrafts and weather monitoring stations in remote and hard-to-reach areas, such as Antarctica. To this day, NASA spacecrafts like Voyager 1 and 2 that departed earth about 40 years ago are still powered by these batteries.

It is a kind of a small nuclear reactor that runs on a material called strontium-90, which can generate a high level of energy over many years. Shapiro's company developed a tiny version of this mechanism for the operation of pacemakers as well.

Shapiro said in an interview that a year before the Six-Day-War, Mossad chief Meir Amit got in touch with him: "He could feel that Egypt was planning something and therefore, wanted Israel to have the ability to gather intelligence about the Egyptian army." According to him, Amit asked him to supply the batteries in favor of tiny listening devices that would connect to telephone lines and wireless transmissions. "The batteries had to be strong enough to convey the information and had to have a range to pick up what the Egyptians were saying to their allies."

Shapiro revealed that his company sent at least one technician to Israel to make sure the batteries were working. He said that he helped Israel not only on this issue, but also on many other issues. At the same time, he refused to elaborate stating they were still classified.

Shapiro said he also had contact with former Mossad senior official Rafi Eitan, whom he met in 1968 during his visit to the US. He said the CIA and the FBI knew about Eitan's arrival in the United States and the purpose of his visit. "When I visited the factory in the 1960s," Eitan told the American newspaper, "there were very few people in the world who knew how to produce these batteries."

Oscar Gray, vice president of NUMEC at the time, approved the supply of batteries to Israel. According to him, the Israelis claimed, at least overtly, that they needed batteries for weather forecasting, but he supposed these were telephone line-tapping devices.
The incident took place on May 30, when the minor girl went to the nearby forest with a man Ramesh, who she claims to be her lover.

By Nolan Pinto: A 16-year-old minor girl was gangraped under Chandragere police limit of Davengere district, Karnataka. The incident took place on May 30, when the minor girl went to the nearby forest with a man Ramesh, who she claims to be her lover. In the forest, when they were in an intimate situation, two friends of Ramesh came and recorded everything on their mobile phone.

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Later, on the basis of the mobile clip, they forced the minor girl to establish a physical relationship with them. The girl narrated everything to her parents but instead of going to the police, the matter went to the village panchayat. They tried to hush up the matter after which the victim approached a women's organisation for help.

The NGO helped the girl to file an FIR. Police then registered the complaint on Monday and arrested Ramesh. The two other accused Arun and Rana are still at large. The victim and the accused are from the same village.

The police is investigating the matter further.

Also read: Gurugram: Woman gangraped in auto, 6-month-old daughter killed

Also read: Karnataka: Pregnant Muslim woman stabbed, burnt alive for marrying Dalit man

--- ENDS ---
An Israeli panel approved plans on Tuesday for the first new Jewish settlement in the West Bank in two decades, Israeli media reports said, drawing Palestinian condemnation and defying repeated international appeals to avoid such measures. The plan includes 100 new housing units in the new West Bank settlement of Amichai, intended for the evacuated settlers of Amona.

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If confirmed, the plans, which media said also envisage the construction of some 1,800 other settler homes in the West Bank, are likely to deliver a further serious blow to efforts to revive the moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

The West Bank settlement of Ma'ale Adumim (Photo: AFP)

At the order of the political echelon, the Supreme Planning Council of the Civil Administration has not convened since February because of Prime Minister Netanyahu's instructions shortly after the swearing-in of US President Donald Trump. Plans will also be placed in the settlements of Ma'aleh Adumim, Ma'ale Michmash, Neve Tzuf, Pnei Hever, Einav, Beit El and Kfar Tapuach.

A spokeswoman for the military-run Civil Administration in the West Bank of which the panel is a part declined to comment on the reports.

Peace Now, an Israeli anti-settlement group that monitors settlement activity in the West Bank, could not immediately confirm the reports, but said the panel was due to discuss further building plans for the territory on Wednesday.

The reported move follows an Israeli government decision in March to build the new settlement, known as Amichai. It will house some 300 settlers evicted in February from the former settlement of Amona.

Israel's Supreme Court ordered the removal of the Amona settlers after ruling that their homes had been built illegally on privately-owned Palestinian land. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to re-house them at a new site in the West Bank.

The negotiations leading up to the evacuation was fraught with conflict, though eventually evacuation forces managed to finish clearing the settlement without serious injuries or loss of life.

According to the media reports, the panel approved plans to build 102 homes at the Amichai site for the Amona settlers. Plans for another 1,800 housing units in several existing settlements were also ratified, the reports said.

Palestinians, who seek to establish a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with east Jerusalem as its capital, reacted angrily to the reports.

"When President (Donalded) Trump visited the region, and didn't mention anything about the settlements, the Israeli government thought that it is a green light to continue expanding settlements against all international laws," said Wassel Abu Yussef, an official of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Trump did not speak publicly about the settlements during a May 22  23 visit to Jerusalem and the West Bank, though he urged Israeli and Palestinian leaders to "make a deal" for peace that would entail mutual compromise and tough decisions.

About 400,000 settlers and 2.8 million Palestinians live in the West Bank.
The Israeli government, in cooperation with the Volcani Center, is due to set up its first greenhouse company intended for the research and development of cannabis plant, otherwise known as marijuana. Among the plant's other uses, the company will be looking into the plant's medical benefits, from Alzheimer's to cancer and inflammation. One hundred different cannabis species will be imported to Israel as part of this project.

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The project will be led by Dr. Nirit Bernstein, a senior researcher at the Volcani Center specializing in plant physiology, and professor Nativ Dudai, director of the herbs research center. Their aim is to create 15 different original strains intended for different medicinal uses within three years.

The cannabis plant (Photo: AP)

Though roughly 160 medically effective compounds (named cannabinoids) have been identified in cannabis , only three have been studied and used, mainly for pain relief and soothing. The project's research will engage in hybridization and cultivation of new, more disease and weather-resistant species, since the cannabis plant is very sensitive and currently has no regulated protocol for its growth.

According to Bernstein, Israel is among the few countries to carry out research projects of this type and scope on marijuana. In the United States, for instance, though medical marijuana has been approved for personal use in 25 states, the federal government has not approved research on the plant.

NIS 6 million will be invested in the first stage of the project. One of the partners financing it is Pharmabis Genetics, a private company owned by businessman and former Rishon LeZion deputy mayor Shlomo Sagiv. Sagiv initiated the project after his wife was injured in a car accident that left her suffering from severe pain, which was relieved by her using medical marijuana.

The partnership agreement with the Volcani Center was signed last week. Pharmabis Genetics is planning to export the cannabis strains developed in the project after Israel's exporting regulations allow for it.

Bernstein said that one of the aims of the study is to create strains that will enhance the plant's medicinal properties. "There are components in cannabis that have not been studied at all," said Bernstein, adding, "We are now studying the effects of Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis and various cancers" and that cannabis has been found to be effective in cases of inflammation and nausea.

"This project could lead to a breakthrough in cannabis research. It is still very limited around the world, but the Israeli government encourages the plant's research and development, placing Israel at the top of the global pyramid for the study of medical cannabis," said Bernstein.

There are currently eight farms in Israel that are licensed to grow cannabis, with their overall goal being to become a lucrative, national agricultural export industry.
The US Embassy went all out, draping its building with large-scale Pride flags along its external walls. The US's is the second embassy to gussy up for Pride, after the British Embassy hung a huge poster in anticipation for the month-long festivities.

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The US Embassy sits on Tel Aviv's Yarkon St., and its western wall faces the boardwalk, which is the last leg of the Pride parade.





Photo: Yaron Brenner

Unlike previous years, when a Pride flag was hung in front of the embassy, below the US flag, this year the colorful flag did not festoon the building's front.

The US Embassy, decked out in Pride flags (Photo: Yaron Brenner)

The Tel Aviv Pride parade is to take place this Friday. It will begin at Meir Park and then will make its way down Bugrashov St. before heading south on the boardwalk and end in Charles Clore Park.

The UK Embassy's Pride poster (Photo: UK Embassy in Israel)

Ten floats will grind along the parade route, including a British Embassy float, which will include British Ambassador to Israel David Quarrey and his husband, Aldo Oliver Henriquez.

Police recommend people visiting Tel Aviv leave their cars at home, as many streets will be closed on Friday for the parade. It is also forecast to be hotreal hot. Temperatures are expected to reach 29C.
Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir said on Tuesday, "Qatar must stop supporting Hamas." This was against the background of the deepening crisis in the Gulf, in which six countries, led by Saudi Arabia and Egypt, isolated the Qatari emirates.

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"Enough is enough," said the Saudi ambassador to Paris and made it clear that ending support for terrorist organizations is a critical step on the part of Qatar to restore relations between the two countries.

Emir of Kuwait and Saudi king (Photo: Twitter)

"We have decided to take steps to make it clear that enough is enough," Jubeier told reporters in Paris. "No one wants to hurt Qatar, but it must decide whether it is going in one direction or the other, and I hope that the cost of the economic damage that will be caused to Qatar will convince it to go in the right direction and stop supporting organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas."

Jubeir added that Qatar was actually undermining the Palestinian Authority and Egypt by supporting these organizations and the "hostile media"apparently referring to the Al-Jazeera network.

French President Emmanuel Macron spoke on the phone with the emir of Qatar, saying that stability in the Gulf must be maintained and that he supports any initiative to try to reconcile the huge crisis between the emirate and its Arab neighbors. He added that France would be willing to mediate between the parties.

At the same time, Kuwaiti Emir Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah arrived in Jeddah to meet with the King of Saudi Arabia and try to advance a solution to the crisis with Qatar. Kuwait managed to resolve a similar dispute about three years ago, and before his arrival in Jeddah, he also discussed the issue with his Qatari counterpart in the hope that he would not take steps that could lead to escalation.

Earlier in the day, US President Donald Trump referred to the deepening diplomatic crisis between Qatar and the Gulf states, which appeared to be an expression of support for Saudi Arabia and its members. "During my last trip to the Middle East, I said there could be no more funding for an extremist ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatarlook!" tweeted Trump.
Israeli soldiers opened fire at Palestinians who were throwing stones near the border fence in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, killing one man and wounding seven others, residents and hospital officials said.

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An Israeli military spokeswoman said dozens of Palestinians had gathered at the fence and were trying to damage it. Soldiers on the Israeli side of the border fired warning shots in the air after their calls to halt were ignored.





A Palestinian throwing rocks (Phoot: AP)

Residents of Gaza, which is run by the Islamic militant group Hamas (considered by Israel, the US, EU, UK and others to be a terrorist organization) said the protesters were throwing stones near the fence when the Israeli troops shot at them. Hospital officials in Gaza said a 25-year-old man was killed.

Photo: MCT

The Israeli spokeswoman said the military was looking into reports of a Palestinian fatality.

At least 248 Palestinians and one Jordanian citizen have been killed since a wave of sporadic violence began in 2015 in Israel and the Palestinian Territories.

Israel pulled out of Gaza in 2005. The Palestinians hope to to establish an independent state including Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories Israel captured in 1967 during the Six-Day War.

An Israeli panel approved plans on Tuesday for the first new Jewish settlement in the West Bank in two decades, drawing Palestinian condemnation and defying repeated international appeals to avoid such measures.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Tuesday morning at a youth conference of the Ministry for the Development of the Negev and the Galilee: "I came to tell you that the Golan Heights will always remain under Israeli sovereignty. We will never leave the Golan Heights. It is ours."

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"I suggest you go outside and see the ancient synagogues," Netanyahu said. "When you stick a shovel in the ground, you see here synagogues and writings in Hebrew from the Talmudic period. The Golan is ours, and it will remain ours. If we are not here, radical Islam will come, and we all understand the implications."

An IDF tank on the Syrian border in the Golan Heights (Photo: EPA)

The prime minister added: "Come to the Golan. This is your home, and it will always be ours."

Before him, Interior Minister Aryeh Deri spoke. He commented, "It's accepted that the young people of today are not the young people of previous generations, that we were less spoiled and not lazy, and that today's generation is spoiled with a silver spoon.

"And I want to tell you it's just a stigma. Today's generation is very diligent. A generation that a couple together work from day to night. A generation that needs 150 months of work to get a normal apartment. You are our future and the engines of growth, and for you we are here."
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 Nebraskas 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 thirteenth consecutive month of one 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 number one 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 to 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. If you have any feedback or suggestions on how we can help better grow our communities, I hope youll contact my office by emailing pete.ricketts@nebraska.gov or calling 402-471-2244. We look forward to hearing from you!
About a decade ago, Graham Christensen decided to join the Nebraska Farmers Union (NeFU) team, in part because he felt that farmers and ranchers had a great opportunity before them to help in the mitigation of climate change by reducing greenhouse gases (GHGs). Recently, Christensens passion for battling climate change as farmers and ranchers led him to Paris, France where he attended a conference entitled, Sequestering Carbon and Soil: Addressing the Climate Threat.

Christensen (the only Nebraskan who attended) was selected for the conference through the Young Climate Leaders Network, a program that was sponsored by Breakthrough Solutions and Strategies  the group that put together the carbon and soil event under the direction of Betsy Taylor.The following are some of Christensens reflections and experiences  and a great call to action aimed at agriculturists to envision and implement exciting changes on their farms and ranches.

Historically, Christensen and others at NeFU worked very hard to aggregate farmers and ranchers who were implementing sustainability techniques that were scientifically proven to capture and store GHGs with the Carbon Credit Program. At the time, Nebraska farmers and ranchers stepped up and more than three million acres were enrolled in the program in this state. However, unfortunately, the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 did not pass and the Carbon Credit Program was discontinued.

Despite the challenges, Christensen pointed out the carbon sequestration conversation has come full circle with the Paris conference reflecting this fact, For the first time, as part of the global climate talks, a conference was held that put farmers at the focal point of solving the climate crisis through carbon sequestration and regenerative farming. The scientific community believes firmly that we cannot reduce GHGs to safe levels unless we adopt more regenerative farming practices such as cover cropping, improved grazing practices, conversion of degraded rangeland, agro-forestry, enhanced nutrient management, silvopasture and no-till.

Christensen added, These regenerative practices provide a solution to the climate crisis and our growing water quality issues stemming from industrialized agriculture. Furthermore, these practices can create a better net per acre on the farm and, in addition, can open up new market opportunities that will help us transfer our farms to the next generation of Nebraskans.

He noted, Despite the current reality of low commodity prices and net losses on the farm, it is nice to know that adopting these practices can help improve our bottom line, as well as the environment.

Christensen pointed out that research shows more farmers are open to adopting new practices; however, farmers could use some help to eliminate risk during the transition. He is doubtful there will be ample funding through the Farm Bill to fully address transitioning farmers. That is why he, and others, believe that partnering with private industries would be a good place to seek out new opportunities.

We are seeing growth in the renewable energy sector, Christensen acknowledged. However, at the conference, the scientific consensus was that farmers are the best hope to lead the way in reducing GHGs to more stable levels. I also believe farmers are the solution and there can be a great incentive for them in doing so  preserving their way of life and increasing the health of the soil at the same time.

Oftentimes in U.S. agriculture we talk about feeding the world. Issues like these are what the world is talking about and we need to be aware of the future that is coming and that is already here.

Learn more at: https://www.breakthroughstrategiesandsolutions.com/copy-of-overview-1
YORK  York Public Works Director Mitch Doht provided an overview and update of projects the city has undertaken and will be embarking upon, when the city council met in regular session this past week.

Doht has been telling the council, for some time, that the bridge in city limits on Blackburn Avenue which crosses Beaver Creek need to be replaced. While its been on the long-term financial plan for the city for a considerable amount of time, he said it still will be contingent on this years budget.

The design is 90 percent complete, Doht told the council. Right-of-way plans need to be developed so acquisitions can be made. Benesch will complete the design and get the appraisals/acquisitions started by mid-June.

He said hed like to see bid letting in October, but we have to see how the budget goes.

As far as the paving extension on 35th Street (which runs along the north side of Wal-Mart), Doht said the design work is fully completed and reminded the council that Van Kirk Brothers has been awarded the contract. He said contractor mobilization has been scheduled for July 1, with work to start after that. A pre-construction meeting has already been held.

Doht also provided information about a big project that will take place next year  the replacement of a 100-year-old water main down Lincoln Avenue. The project will stretch from Third to 12th Street.

Doht said the survey is completed and the design is 50 percent complete.

The construction target is March of 2018 with a December 2018 substantial completion date, Doht said.

He noted that the scope of work will also include a water main replacement to the trailer park west of Lincoln Avenue near 12th Street, as well as other valve replacements off Lincoln Avenue.

We are currently gathering additional information about existing utilities, Doht said.

That said, we will have a meeting with public stakeholders toward the end of June, Doht said. This project will be in the next construction season, but we will have a public meeting prior. Our plans now are to inform everyone as much as possible, maybe even going door to door (of the people, businesses being affected), to let them know they will need to attend this meeting.

Mayor Orval Stahr also interjected that we will want to make sure that what we put back is with the downtown revitalization plan.

Suggestions during public meetings held recently were that physical changes in the downtown area  including those that could pertain to traffic flow  would enhance visitation of the downtown. Those changes remain under discussion and recommendations will be brought to the council to the near future.

When it comes to the drawn-out quiet zone project, Doht said dialogue with the railroad has resumed. We are waiting for final documents and review. Then we can schedule bid letting. Construction may be possible yet this season, but it will more likely be next spring. June, 2018, is the target for a working quiet zone.

Regarding the South Lincoln Avenue beautification project (in which wildflowers will be planted in the medians), work is going to begin any day by Miller Seed and Fallers, Doht said.

This project is being funded through a Greener Towns grant through the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum.

City workers have already killed the weeds and vegetation at the planting sites, Doht said. The seed, plants and all project materials are ready to go.

He said the state has asked that no plantings be done just south of Naomi Drive, so the existing contract will have to be slightly modified.

Other current public works projects include:

 Upgrading the St. Andrews Court sewer lift station. All work will be done by the city, to include new pumps, controls, concrete and fencing. The project will be completed in a month, once it begins.

 Crack sealing is being done by city crews on many streets. Doht said they are making great progress and the work will be done in the next two weeks.

 For this fiscal year, $60,000 was budgeted for a new restroom facility at Mincks Park. But the bids were over the budget, Doht said. So at this point, we will have to decide what to do. This project may have to carry over to the next fiscal year.

 And a future project was discussed  a citywide detailed drainage study that will be conducted by the city with assistance from the Upper Big Blue Natural Resource District. The goal, Doht said, is to identify deficiencies and determine beneficial storm water projects. The project has not yet started. It will include an inventory of storm sewer network and identification of drainage areas.
According to inputs, the student wing of Tehreek-e-Azadi Jammu and Kashmir and Al-Mohammadia students are being trained for water-borne activities like negotiation of water channel with the help of improvised and sophisticated equipment.

By Kamaljit Kaur Sandhu: The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has sounded a high alert in its two state-owned National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC) in Kashmir. In the wake of increased infiltration bids by terrorists in the region of north Kashmir, security has been beefed up around the hydel power plants of Uri-I and Uri-II, close to Line of Control (LoC).

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DGP CISF OP Singh confirmed that an alert has been sounded, "We have heightened the security of Uri projects. There is an increased vigil and round the clock patrol." Sources say there are 500 CISF personnel deployed at the NHPC.

According to an intelligence note accessed by India Today, the student wing of Tehreek-e-Azadi Jammu and Kashmir (TAJK) and Al-Mohammadia students (AMS) are being trained for water-borne activities like negotiation of water channel with the help of improvised and sophisticated equipment. The note further says that the group is planning to exploit the riverine gaps to infiltrate inside the Indian territory. Jamaat-ud-Dawa recently resurfaced under a new name of 'Tehreek-e-Azadi Jammu and Kashmir', days after its chief Hafiz Saeed was put under house arrest and a crackdown was launched on the organisation's activities. Al-Muhammadia students is the student wing of LeT, which was founded in 2009, and is now an active subsidiary of Lashkar.

The note further says, "The plan of the terrorists is to target hydro-electric projects, dams and security forces." In wake of the advisory, the CISF sources said that the force has taken preventive and precautionary measures.

INFILTRATION BIDS

In the past one month, there have been 3 failed infiltration bids and one successful infiltration in the region. Multiple search and cordon operations have been launched by the security forces.

The Indus Water Treaty between India and Pakistan allows the three rivers Indus, Jhelum and Chenab to flow into Pakistan. India's Intelligence Bureau (IB) has also warned of a possible terrorist attack at the project.

A senior Army officer said, "There are regular inputs but the flow of water in the area is significantly high and swift, anyone coming in the opposite direction (from Pakistan to India from the LoC) will have to face a mammoth task." But sources say that with Pakistan's recent aggression, security forces are taking all measures to foil any infiltration bid and prevent a terror attack.

On Monday, four terrorists were gunned down by the CRPF and JK Police in an encounter in north Kashmir's Sumbal area of Bandipora.

Also read: Zakir Musa slams 'spineless Indian Muslims' in audio clip

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Also read: Website of NIT Srinagar hacked after India-Pakistan match, 'Azaad Kashmir' message posted

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As a homeowner, you probably already know that you should be working to maintain your home. But, chances are, you Read More
British police identified that man, Khuram Shazad Butt, a 27-year-old Pakistan-born Briton, as one of the assailants, saying he was known to authorities, though they had no evidence he was planning an attack.

By AP: One of the men believed to have carried out the deadly weekend attack in central London was a known radical Islamist who was filmed unfurling a black flag resembling the one used by the Islamic State group and raised the suspicion of a neighbor after allegedly trying to lure local youngsters to join his jihadist campaign.

On Monday, British police identified that man, Khuram Shazad Butt, a 27-year-old Pakistan-born Briton, as one of the assailants, saying he was known to authorities, though they had no evidence he was planning an attack. They identified a second attacker who had not aroused suspicion prior to Saturday's rampage that killed seven people .

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As details about Butt emerged, however, they prompted questions of whether he could have been stopped sooner.

'THE JIHADIS NEXT DOOR'

He had appeared in a documentary, "The Jihadis Next Door," that aired on British television last year. Neighbors identified Butt from the film's footage Monday, pointing to a scene in which he is shown participating in a provocative prayer session at Regents Park, near London's biggest mosque helping to display a black flag covered in white Arabic lettering similar to the one used by the Islamic State group, which took responsibility for the attack.

Butt is also seen in the film sprawling on the lawn and nodding as he listens to a sermon in which the speaker tells those gathered: "This is not the real life, my dear brothers. This is a passing time for us."

Butt's apparent zealotry led one neighbor, Erica Gasparri, to contact police about 18 months ago. The 42-year-old mother of three was working at a local school when she noticed Butt, who was also known as Abu Mohamed, meeting with local children and trying to draw them into his radicalism.

"It was wrong what he was doing," Gasparri said. "He kept talking about the Islamic State. I got very angry."

Salaudeen Jailabdeen, who lived near Butt, said the alleged assailant had once been ejected from a local mosque for interrupting an imam. Another neighbor, Michael Mimbo, said he saw the van used in the attack near his home on Saturday, but didn't see who was behind the wheel. He said the vehicle was seen going the wrong way down a one-way street and was later seen speeding off, followed closely by a small red car.

The second alleged attacker was identified by police as Rachid Redouane, who alternately used the surname Elkhdar, and claimed to be Moroccan and Libyan. He used two different birthdates that would make him either 25 or 30, authorities said.

Police have not yet released the identity of the third person involved in carrying out the attack on London Bridge, where the van swerved into pedestrians, and in nearby Borough Market, where the knife-wielding assailants slashed and stabbed anyone in their path. Besides the dead, dozens more were wounded by the men, who wore fake suicide vests to make themselves look even more imposing.

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All three were ultimately shot and killed by police. Twelve others taken into custody have since been released.

8-MINUTE MAYHEM

All of it happened in just eight minutes, and though police have won praise for their response, it has led to a political fight certain to dominate the waning days before Thursday's national elections. The campaign roared back into public view Monday after a one-day hiatus, with Prime Minister Theresa May and Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn trading blame over one another's security stances.

May served as home secretary for six years before becoming prime minister last year, a period in which the number of police dropped by about 20,000 officers. That fact provided a line of attack for Corbyn, who called on May to resign even as he said the best remedy was to vote her out.

"There's an election on Thursday, that's the chance," he said, citing an "appalling" cut in police staffing levels. "We're calling for a restoration of police numbers, and there's a call being made for her to go, because of what she's done on the police numbers."

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May said she has protected police budgets and increased the number of armed officers and matched Corbyn's finger-pointing with some of her own, saying her opponent wasn't fit to safeguard Britain at a time of heightened threat. "We have given increased powers to the police to be able to deal with terrorists, powers which Jeremy Corbyn has boasted he has always opposed," she said.

Given the speed with which the attack was ended, it wasn't clear whether having more police on the beat would have prevented it, but questions persisted over whether investigators had the resources to look into such complaints and whether crucial opportunities were missed that could have saved lives.

It was the third attack in as many months where suspects had been on the radar of British authorities.

Under the British government's counterterrorism program, residents are encouraged to alert police to suspicious activity. Police then cross-check whether the person has been reported for similar activity. From there, a number of scenarios can unfold. The matter can be dropped or if the complaint seems warranted, police and security officials can open an investigation. The real test comes in determining whether the person has the potential to become violent and what resources are available to investigate. Watching a suspect around the clock can require some 20 officers or security agents.

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"That is the awkward question going forward," said Andrew Silke, who has advised the House of Commons on preventing violent extremism. "A message should have been passed onto the counterterrorism section, and if the report had some degree of credibility, an assessment would have had to have been made. There's a genuine question mark over this now and how the government's risk assessment framework is weighted. Given the recent attacks, it looks like people were on the radar but somehow they were still able to carry out attacks."

Police have foiled 18 terror plots since 2013 and are managing 500 active investigations involving around 3,000 individuals at any one time, according to two security sources who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about ongoing investigations.

Some 20,000 other suspects, however, are on the periphery, according to the sources.

The country's official terror threat level had been set at "critical" in the days after the Manchester concert bombing on May 22 that killed 22 people - reflecting a judgment that an attack might be imminent because accomplices with similar bombs might be on the loose.

It was lowered once intelligence agencies were comfortable that this wasn't the case. Authorities have said the London attack was apparently unconnected to the Manchester bombing.

PERVERTED IDEOLOGY

May has said the three attacks - including one outside Parliament in March - weren't connected in any operational sense but were linked by what she called the "perverted ideology" of extremist Islam.

Most of the London Underground stations that had been shuttered after the attack were reopened, and some residents who had been cooped up inside emerged for the first time since the violence. Police were not yet releasing the names of the dead, but thousands of people gathered at Potters Field, across from the Tower Bridge and the medieval Tower of London, to pay tribute to the victims.

It provided a kaleidoscope of London's diversity, with Buddist monks in saffron robes, Christian clerics in purple cassocks and Muslims in black T-shirts bearing the words "I am a Muslim: Ask me anything."

Speaking to those gathered, Mayor Sadiq Khan decried the attackers, saying: "You will not win. We will defeat the terrorists."

ALSO READ: 2 London attackers identified as Pakistan-born Khuram Butt, Moroccan-Libyan Rachid

ALSO WATCH | Pakistan-born London Bridge attacker known to authorities, was earlier filmed praying with ISIS-style flag

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"We always kept track of his friends and made sure he didn't fall in with the wrong people. But he had Internet and that's where everything comes from," she said.

By Reuters: The mother of the Italian-Moroccan jihadi who helped carry out a deadly attack in London last week said on Tuesday she had tried to keep her son from falling under the sway of Islamic State ideology, but the Internet and his London friends changed him.

Valeria Khadija Collina, who is Italian and converted to Islam, spoke in an interview with Italy's L'Espresso news magazine about her son, Youssef Zaghba, 22, one of the perpetrators of the June 3 attack.

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"When children make mistakes, parents always feel some guilt. But I did my best, and I think he was worn down on the inside," she said. Collina lives near the northern city of Bologna.

"We always kept track of his friends and made sure he didn't fall in with the wrong people. But he had Internet and that's where everything comes from," she said.

'HE SPENT HIS TIME WITH THE WRONG KIND OF PEOPLE'

Collina visited her son in London, and "that neighbourhood did not make me feel comfortable," she said. "I was there and didn't like it. He spent his time with the wrong kind of people."

Collina said she had spoken to Italy's anti-terrorism police last year after her son was prevented from travelling to the Middle East, and that they were the ones to told her on Tuesday that her son had been one of the men who carried out the attack.

ZAGHBA STOPPED AT AIRPORT IN BOLOGNA IN 2016

Zaghba was stopped at the airport in Bologna in 2016 when he was trying to get to Syria via Turkey, city prosecutor Giuseppe Amato told broadcaster Radio24 on Tuesday.

"A person going to Turkey with a backpack aroused some suspicion, also because he told the agent who checked him that he wanted to go and be a terrorist, then he corrected himself," Amato said.

Collina said her son had been enticed to try to go to Syria by a "fantasy that was transmitted by Internet" in which he thought he could "live according to pure Islam", but that he did not mention wanting to fight there.

Investigators confiscated Zaghba's computer but did not have proof of a crime. They returned the device but pointed him out to London as a possible suspect, Amato said.

ZAGHBA HADN'T BEEN A SUBJECT OF INTEREST

British police said Zaghba had not been a subject of interest for them or the domestic intelligence agency MI5 before he and two others launched their attack.

Collina said she last spoke to her son two days before the attack and that in retrospect she realises "it was a goodbye call". She also said she agreed with the Muslim religious leaders who refused to recite funeral prayers for the attackers.

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"I understand and agree with their choice because it is necessary to send a strong political message," Collina said.

MORE ABOUT ZAGHBA

Her son and the two other attackers rammed a van into pedestrians on London Bridge, then ran into the Borough Market area, and slit throats and stabbed people indiscriminately before they were shot and killed by police.

Italian media said Zaghba was born in the Moroccan city of Fez in 1995 but had broken off relations with his Moroccan father. He lived in Morocco for much of his life but made short visits to his mother.

He spent a total of 10 days in Italy in the past year and a half, the Bologna prosecutor said.

Collina said she would dedicate her life to fighting Islamic State ideology by "teaching real Islam to people and trying to convince families to fill the void that they might find in their children".

Also Read:

British police name third London attacker as Moroccan-Italian Youssef Zaghba

One of London attackers was known radical Islamist, born in Pakistan: Report

Also Watch:

Pakistan-born London Bridge attacker was earlier filmed praying with ISIS-style flag

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Lahore: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will be operating special flights to Doha to bring back stranded Pakistani pilgrims in the wake of the ongoing diplomatic rift in the Gulf.

The Dawn quoted the statement issued by CEO Nayyar Hayat that Pakistan International Airlines had directed that special flights be arranged for the pilgrims.

During Ramadan, Pakistani pilgrims who were travelling to Saudi Arabia for Umrah via Qatar were stranded in Doha after several countries including Saudi Arabia, UAE and Egypt cut diplomatic ties with Qatar.

Hayat has asked the Doha manager to coordinate with the Pakistanis stranded in Qatar. PIA officials in Doha have also been directed to contact the Pakistani embassy in Doha.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain ended diplomatic relations and all land sea and air contacts with fellow Gulf Arab state Qatar over allegations that the latter is encouraging terrorism and extremism.

Riyadh accused Qatar of backing terrorism and extremism, while Bahrain charged Qatar with interfering in it internal affairs, according to a report published by The Guardian.

Saudi Arabia had decided to sever diplomatic and consular relations with Qatar "proceeding from the exercise of its sovereign right guaranteed by international law and the protection of national security from the dangers of terrorism and extremism," the report said
Ranchi:Eight policemen in Jharkhand were injured in a clash with villagers on Tuesday in Gumla district.

The clash took place when a team of police reached Asnitetar village to rescue a family held hostage by the villagers. The family was accused of practicing witchcraft.



When the police team tried to rescue the family members, the villagers clashed with the police personnel. They pelted stones in which eight policemen were injured.



The injured policemen have been admitted to hospital.



Later, another police team was dispatched and the situation was brought under control. Police have detained three persons including a woman.
New Delhi: Liquor manufacturers from Bihar today moved the Supreme Court seeking a clarification on its May 29 order granting time till July 31 to dispose old stocks of alcoholic beverages worth over Rs 200 crore outside the state.

A vacation bench of justices Ashok Bhushan and Deepak Gupta said that it would hear the matter tomorrow after senior lawyer Salman Khurshid, representing the liquor manufacturers, mentioned the matter before it.

Khurshid told the bench that the apex court's May 29 order mentioned about time to destroy the stock but it did not indicate anything about its export.

"The issues were about the export and destruction of old stocks. The May 29 order indicates about destruction but the issue of export is not there in the order," he said.

In the May 29 order, the apex court had said, "Time to destroy/drain the stocks is extended up to July 31, 2017. It is made clear that no further extension will be granted in future."

Earlier, the court had extended till May 31 the deadline of April 30 for disposing of old stocks, including raw material, fixed by the Nitish Kumar government which had imposed a ban on liquor in the state from April 1 last year.

On May 29, the counsel representing the manufacturers, had submitted before the apex court that the firms would be incurring huge losses if they were not allowed to dispose of their existing stocks of alcoholic beverages outside Bihar.

The state government had opposed the demand for extension of time, claiming the firms were indulging in illegal liquor trade.

The apex court had on March 31 granted time till May 31 to these companies to dispose of the old stocks and directed them to follow the resolution passed by the Bihar government on disposal of stocks following the imposition of prohibition in the state.

The Bihar government which has prohibited consumption, stocking and sale of liquor in the state had on March 30, had passed a resolution by which it has allowed the companies to export their old stocks to other states.

The state government had granted time to export the excisable and non-excisable articles till April 30, after which they will not be able to do so.

On October 7, 2016, the apex court had stayed the operation of Patna High Court judgement quashing the state's law banning sale and consumption of all types of liquor, saying liquor and fundamental rights "do not go together".

The Bihar government has challenged the high court verdict of September 30, 2016, which had quashed the notification banning consumption and sale of liquor in the state.

However, after the law was set aside, Bihar government had come out with a new law banning sale and consumption of liquor which was notified on October 2, 2016.

It had notified the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016 to ensure that the ban on sale and consumption of alcohol including Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) as well spiced and domestic liquor, continued in the state.

The Patna High Court had on September 30, 2016 quashed the notification banning consumption and sale of alcohol in the state, saying it was ultra vires to the Constitution.

The Grand Secular Alliance government in Bihar had first banned manufacture, trade, sale and consumption of country- made liquor since April 1, 2016, but later imposed a blanket ban on all types of liquor, including foreign liquor, in the state.
Katihar: Six armed miscreants looted Rs 12 lakh from two maize traders at gun point in Bihar's Katihar district on Tuesday.

Confirming the loot of Rs 12 lakh from two traders, Semapur police outpost in-charge Ajay Pandey said the incident took place around 3 pm near Sakraili area when the two traders - Pritam Choudhary and Chiranjivi Jaiswal- were on their way back to Barari Semapur on a bike after withdrawing Rs 18.50 lakh from a nearby HDFC branch.

They told the police that they had put Rs 6.50 lakh in motorcycle's dickey while they were carrying Rs 12 lakh in a bag, the officer-in-charge said adding that six miscreants riding three motorcycles intercepted the traders near Sakraili area and looted Rs 12 lakh at gun point.

A case has been lodged in this connection and investigation is on in the matter.
Saeed Naqvi/IANS

Prime Minister Theresa May and the leader of the opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, have been pitted against each other on a host of issues but nothing has caught the popular imagination more than terrorism, as I discovered after recent interaction with students, teachers and social workers in Manchester. Terrorism has acquired urgent saliency after the Manchester bombing in which 22 youngsters, including children, lost their lives.



The tailwind would have been behind the Prime Minister in another era -- say, when George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld were embarked on full-spectrum global dominance before Lehman Brothers collapsed. Theresa May, alas, is mandated to unclasp one hand from Europe and attempt to clasp Donald Trump's with the other. But Trump is perpetually on a high wire act of unpredictable spins and turns. How to clasp that hand? His dizzying performances, most recently at the G7 and NATO summits, have caused even the dour Angela Merkel to throw up her hands. He is too unreliable; Europe has to fend for itself, she suggested.



Even as she said this, the new French President Emmanuel Macron was embracing Vladimir Putin at Versailles Palace. "We have to fight terror together."



This is not as straightforward a commitment as it sounds. If he is to follow through on "fighting terror" with the Russians, he will come immediately into conflict with the Deep State in Washington with tentacles in Paris as well.



There is a huge difference of opinion on Syria, to begin with. How to separate militant outfits like Jabhat al Nusra, Al Qaeda and the IS from the so-called Syrian opposition. According to the Russians, their merger and separation depend on alliance tactics.



Since it is becoming difficult even for Western intelligence agencies to keep so many balls up in air, a brazen new theory is being floated: The US must not waste its time fighting groups like the Islamic State and its affiliates in Syria.



This theory was spelt out by Thomas Friedman, ace columnist for the New York Times. He says the Islamic State's targets are not the US or Israel. "IS right now is the biggest threat to Iran, Hezbollah, Russia and pro-Shia Iranian militias."



Friedman wants "Trump to be Trump -- utterly cynical and unpredictable".



Columns of this nature are not written to advise the state. They are written to generate a wider debate.



It is prescient of Merkel's advisers to have picked up the scale of "unpredictability" already in the works in Trump's Washington.



The theory being promoted by Friedman has theoretical application in India's vicinity as well. The US cannot be indifferent to the potential of Shia-Sunni chaos between Pakistan and Iran which could disrupt the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a key link in China's mega One Belt-One Road project. But all game plans are not implementable because international relations do not proceed in straight lines.



Weigh May's and Corbyn's stands on the issue of terror in this balance. May's Security Minister Ben Wallace is flailing his arms against "duplicitous social media firms". They are failing to halt terror. "Their data encryption is allowing Jihadist cells to emerge unnoticed".



May has been talking of a full-fledged commission, upgradation of police, intelligence. Corbyn has no quarrel with any of this. But to insulate Britain against terrorists -- in this instance, with Libyan links -- foreign policy will have to obviate military interventions which destroy local structures and leave behind terror breeding grounds.



Outspoken though Corbyn is, even he had to measure his words just in case the media supportive of the ruling party give it an anti-national or an Islamophobic spin.



It is clear as daylight even to the ubiquitous taxi driver: If you destroy countries, kill millions, render many more homeless, by what logic do you consider yourself exempt from the fury of revenge?



It is one of the ironies of our time that the cult of suicide bombing is, in a sense, a gift of the alliance which ousted the Soviets from Afghanistan in 1989. But when, at George W. Bush's behest, Gen. Musharraf turned upon the very Afghans whom Pakistan had groomed as double-distilled, ferocious Islamists, the suicide bomber mushroomed.



Brilliantly brain washed, he was convinced of his pre-paid passage to paradise. Maulana Fazlur Rehman, leader of Pakistan's Jamiat-e-Ulema, once told me a chilling story. At a Majlis-e-Shura, meant only for the elders, he was surprised to see a young man approach him with some urgency: His parents, both seriously ill, were eager for their son to go to paradise while they still lived. Could the Maulana help him jump the queue of suicide bombers?



Corbyn dare not cast Salman Abedi, the Libyan suicide bomber of Manchester, in that kind of stark drama, but he did link faulty foreign policy to acts of terror at home. Immediately, the Prime Minister was on his case: Corbyn is making excuses for terrorism. Her campaign has consisted of attacks on Corbyn, while he has focused on issues -- foreign policy, for instance.



As the popularity gap between the candidates narrows, papers like the Guardian spot a comparison with Bernie Sanders. But situations differ.



I had written then: "If the establishment makes Sander's impossible, it makes Trump inevitable." In British elections, if the establishment (media) makes Corbyn impossible, well, you have a lacklustre May, one who can barely eclipse Corbyn.
New Delhi: Wipro Limited Chairman Azim Premji has denied a media report that promoters of the IT company were evaluating sale of their holdings and said he "remains committed to Wipro."

In his letter to Wiproites, he had termed the news article reportedly published in this regard as "baseless and malicious."

Premji sent out a letter to its employees late last night. Here's what he said.



Dear Wiproites,

Over the past 50 years, I have seen Wipro grow from a small regional player in vegetable oils to a global leader in technology. I continue to be incredibly excited about the potential of the IT industry and Wipro. I see enormous energy within the company to power the success of our clients and therefore the success of Wipro.

I remain as committed to Wipro as I have ever been. The news article about promoters of Wipro evaluating sale of their holding in the company is baseless and malicious. There is no truth to these unsubstantiated rumors.

Azim Premji

A news website had yesterday quoting banking sources reported that the promoters of the India's third-largest IT services company are in the early stages of evaluating the sale of the company or some of its units, and have even approached investment banks.
New Delhi: In a bid to boost its engagement with Bimstec, India is looking to expand the UDAN scheme of its aviation policy to countries of this regional bloc, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha said on Tuesday.



"What the government of India would like to see is that we can take the policy design behind UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik or 'common people of the country can fly') and extend it across the Bimstec region," Sinha said while speaking at an event here to mark the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec).



"So if we can link Pakyong (greenfield airport in Sikkim), there is no reason why we can't link an airport in Bhutan or an airport in Myanmar in the same fashion," he said.



Tuesday's event served as a curtain-raiser for a conference on "Bimstec: An Enabling Architecture for Growth, Prosperity and Partnerships" being organised by industry body Ficci and India Foundation with the support of the External Affairs Ministry and the state government of Assam in Guwahati from November 2 to 4 this year.



Bimstec comprises Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Its main objective is technical and economic cooperation among south Asian and southeast Asian countries along the rim of the Bay of Bengal.



With the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) virtually rendered ineffective as a bloc, largely due to non-cooperation on the part of Pakistan in a number of areas, India has been giving more importance to Bimstec in recent times.



The UDAN scheme is a key component of the National Civil Aviation Policy launched by the Ministry of Civil Aviation in June last year. Its focus is on regional airport development and connectivity and making air travel affordable.



The first flight under UDAN took place in April when Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a New Delhi-Shimla flight.



Sinha said that to make the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean the real power centre of the region, the Bimstec countries would have to work together.



"Trade and business and commerce are really going to be the engine that are going to be able to drive prosperity and closer collaboration and linkages across the Bimstec countries," he said.



Stating that to strengthen trade and business, connectivity was vital, he said: "As far as India is concerned we have poured tremendous resources to both road and rail linkages."



He said that the government was working on expanding road linkages not only in northeast India -- seen as the hub for India's engagements with Bimstec -- but also to Myanmar and on to Thailand.



He said that the government was pushing for broad gauge rail tracks across the northeast and was opening up trade connectivity to Bangladesh.



He said that work was also on to develop waterways, including one on the Brahmaputra river to Bangladesh.



However, for high value economic progress through business and tourism, aviation was very important, he said.



Sinha said the conference in Guwahati would look at the possibilities of having an open skies policy between the Bimstec countries.


New Delhi: The government on Tuesday said post the abolition of the FIPB, ministries will have to decide on FDI proposals within 60 days of the application and any rejection will need concurrence of the DIPP.

India had last month scrapped the 25-year old foreign investment advisory body FIPB as it looks to attract more FDI by providing quick approvals under a single-window clearance system.

In an office memorandum, the Finance Ministry said subsequent to the abolition of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), concerned administrative ministries have been alloted the work of granting approval for foreign investment in the specific sector.

The Industry Ministry, in consultation with the administrative ministry, will come out with a detailed guideline for processing of the FDI proposals and ensure a "consistency of treatment and uniformity of approach".

The Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) shall involve the process of inter-ministerial consultation for the examination of FDI proposals, wherever necessary, it said.

"The SOP will also recognise that ordinarily FDI applications, including those related to non resident Indian (NRI)/ Export Oriented Unit (EOU), food processing, single brand retail trading and multi brand retail trading proposals, should be decided in 60 days," the office memorandum said.

All pending applications with the FIPB would be transferred to the administrative ministry and oversight of the FIPB portal shall be transferred to the DIPP from the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) within four weeks.

While FDI approval decisions in majority of the sectors have been relegated to concerned ministry, those relating to private security agencies would be decided by the Home Ministry. The DEA will clear proposals of financial services which are not regulated by a regulator or where there is more than one regulator or there is a doubt about the regulator.

Any FDI proposal in banks will be approved by the Department of Financial Services.

"FDI proposals by NRIs/EoUs requiring approval of the government will be dealt with by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and the DIPP will continue to be the administrative ministry for this purpose," it said.

Also, application for import of capital goods or machinery shall be handled by the DIPP.

However, applications involving investments from "Countries of Concern", requiring security clearance as per the FEMA guidelines and FDI policy, shall be processed by the Home Ministry.

While the Home Ministry will only process those applications coming via automatic route but requiring security clearances, cases pertaining to approval route sectors requiring security clearance will be processed by the concerned administrative ministry.

Besides, the format of security clearance form has been changed and has been made available on the FIPB portal. The government has asked applicants to upload the new form failing which application will not be entertained.

For FDI application in which there is a doubt about the administrative ministry concerned, the DIPP shall identify the ministry where the application will be processed, it said, adding that the concerned ministry will have to seek Cabinet nod wherever required.

"The concurrence of DIPP would be mandatory with reference to the FDI applications which are proposed to be rejected by the competent authority or where approval is proposed by competent authority subject to additional conditions not provided in the FDI policy," it said.

A joint quarterly review meeting will be undertaken by a committee co-chaired by DEA and DIPP Secretary on pendency of proposals with Government.

All past and future litigations and liabilities shall be handled by the administrative department and about 4,500 reference and record files currently with the FIPB secretariat will be transferred to concerned ministry.

Currently, about 91-95 percent of FDI is coming through the automatic route and only 11 sectors, including defence and retail trading, require the government approval for FDI.

Inflow of foreign direct investment into India increased by 9 percent to USD 43.48 billion in 2016-17.

Foreign investment proposals above Rs 5,000 crore would continue to be cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.

The FIPB was constituted under the Prime Minister's Office following economic liberalisation in the early 1990s.
New Delhi: Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement did not go down very well with Elon Musk.

After Trump announced that the US would exit the Paris Climate Agreement on Thursday, the Tesla founder severed his ties with him, quitting the presidential advisory boards.

Musk, who runs companies that build electric cars and lease solar panels to homeowners, told Trump loud and clear that hell quit from the Presidents Advisory Council if the US doesn't abide by the Paris agreement.

And he's done that as he revealed on Twitter saying that he's departing presidential councils.

Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world., Musk said in a tweet.

Am departing presidential councils. Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world.  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 1, 2017

Musk joined the presidents advisory councils a month after the election last year, along with a band of high-profile tech executives.

Musk joined the presidents advisory councils a month after the election last year, along with a band of high-profile tech executives.

Musk wasnt the only high-profile name to withdraw from Trump's advisory boards, Disneys Robert Iger also pulled out over the move.

As a matter of principle, Ive resigned from the Presidents Council over the #ParisAgreement withdrawal, Iger said.

As a matter of principle, I've resigned from the President's Council over the #ParisAgreement withdrawal.  Robert Iger (@RobertIger) June 1, 2017

Major technology companies like Google, Apple, and Tesla have sounded their concerns that the US pulling out of the Paris agreement will damage Americas standing in the world, and in the process hamper their ability to sell high-tech goods and services around the world.

Donald Trump, who repeatedly describes climate change as a hoax, on the other hand said that he is open to negotiate a new climate deal which is more fair to the US as he believes that the Paris pact is going to cost the country both jobs and businesses.
British police said 22-year-old Youssef Zaghba had not been a subject of interest to police or the domestic spy agency MI5.

By Reuters: British police named the third of the jihadis who killed seven people in a knife and van attack in London as Youssef Zaghba, 22, believed to be an Italian national of Moroccan descent.

The fallout from the attack eclipsed all other subjects in the political campaign ahead of Thursday's general election, with both the ruling Conservatives and opposition Labour Party battling to defend their records on security.

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Police said Zaghba had not been a subject of interest for them or for the MI5 domestic intelligence agency.

Earlier, Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera had reported that Zaghba had been stopped at an Italian airport because authorities believed he was on his way to Syria, and that Italian officials had warned British counterparts about him.

In Britain's third Islamist attack in as many months, the three men rammed a van into pedestrians on London Bridge on Saturday evening before running into the bustling Borough Market area, where they slit throats and stabbed people.

Police had named the other two attackers as Khuram Butt, 27, a British national born in Pakistan, and Rachid Redouane, 30, who had claimed to be Moroccan and Libyan. Butt was previously known to security agencies and had appeared in a British TV documentary called "The Jihadis Next Door".

As these details have emerged, Prime Minister Theresa May has faced questions about her record overseeing cuts to police numbers when she was interior minister.

The latest opinion poll on voting intentions, by Survation for ITV, had the Conservatives' lead over Labour narrowing to just one point from six points in the same poll a week earlier.

However, the consensus among pollsters remains that May's party, who have been in government since 2010, will win a majority.

"ATTACK ON THE FREE WORLD"

Saturday's rampage followed a suicide bombing that killed 22 adults and children at a pop concert in Manchester two weeks ago, and an attack in March when five people died after a car was driven into pedestrians on London's Westminster Bridge.

All three of the London Bridge attackers were shot dead at the scene by officers within eight minutes of police receiving the first emergency call.

The first among the dead to be named were Christine Archibald, a Canadian and Britons James McMullan and Kirsty Boden. The 48 injured included people from Britain, France, Spain, Australia and New Zealand, in what May called "an attack on the free world".

"As she ran towards danger, in an effort to help people on the bridge, Kirsty sadly lost her life," said Boden's family in a statement on Tuesday. She was a nurse.

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A nationwide minute of silence was held at 11 a.m. (1000 GMT) to honour all the victims.

Before the recent attacks, Brexit and domestic issues such as the state of the health service and the cost of care for the elderly had dominated the election campaign.

When May called the election in April, her Conservatives led in opinion polls by 20 points or more.

But an announcement - made before the Manchester and London Bridge attacks - that they planned to make some of the elderly pay more for their care saw that lead start to shrink, to between one and 12 points now.

The polls have continued to narrow since the attacks took place.

Security has become the number one issue and both main parties issued statements on Tuesday portraying their own positions on policing and intelligence as the most robust.

ALSO READ:

London Bridge attack: One of the terrorists idolised preacher, ISIS recruiter Ahmad Musa Jibril

2 London attackers identified as Pakistan-born Khuram Butt, Moroccan-Libyan Rachid

Enough is enough: Full text of PM Theresa May's statement on London terror attack

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Man walking with beer mug amid crowds running away from London Bridge becomes symbol of London's spirit

ALSO WATCH | PM Modi condemns London terror attacks

--- ENDS ---
United Nations: Top UN officials at an an international conference on the health of the world's oceans and seas here have called for coordinated global action to protect the planet.



UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned governments that unless they overcome short-term territorial and resource interests, the state of the oceans will continue to deteriorate.



The Ocean Conference opened on Monday with a traditional Fijian ceremony at the UN General Assembly, and was the first major UN conference Guterres addressed since taking office, Xinhua news agency reported.



"Improving the health of our oceans is a test for multilateralism, and we cannot afford to fail," the Secretary-General said.



"We must jointly address the problems of governance that have held us back," he said, calling for a new strategic vision of how to govern the oceans and marine resources.



One of the main challenges, he said, is to end the "artificial dichotomy" between jobs and healthy oceans. "The conservation and sustainable use of marine resources are two sides of the same coin," he noted.



The UN Chief called for strong political leadership and new partnerships, based on the existing legal framework, and concrete steps, such as expanding marine protected areas and reducing plastic waste pollution.



Among other specific actions, Guterres urged states to allocate their promised funding for the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, as well as to improve data collection and share their best experience.



"The time has come for us to correct our wrongful ways," President of the UN General Assembly Peter Thomson told thousands of participants, including heads of state and governments, business people, actors, and ocean and marine life advocates.



"We are here on behalf of humanity to restore sustainability, balance and respect to our relationship with our primal mother, the source of life, the Ocean," he said.



Also speaking at the opening of the conference was Wu Hongbo, the secretary-general of the Ocean Conference, who said that without oceans and seas, there would be no life on the planet.



Wu, who is working as UN Under-Secretary-General for economic and social affairs, also noted that everyone must work together to achieve the goals of the conference.



The Ocean Conference, which runs through Friday, focuses on the targets outlined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.



The conference is expected to give a call for action backed by UN member countries, and approve a document already negotiated here in previous months, the organisers of the conference said.


Ahmedabad: He got a 99.9 percentile in Class 12 but is all set to shun it to become a Jain monk.

17-year-old Varshil Shah, who comes from a middle-class family, will take diksha (religious ceremony that marks the initiation of Jain monks and nuns) on June 8.

Hindustan Times quoted his uncle, Nayanbhai Suthari, as saying that the ceremony will be held in Gandhinagar.

The result is as per expectations, but to attain and maintain peace, I think renouncing the world is the only way, he said.

Varshil was among the toppers in Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board, which was announced on May 27.

His family follows Jainism.

His father Jigarbhai is an income-tax official.

As per HT, Varshil's father and his mother, Amiben Shah are happy with his decision.

The couple also have a daughter Jainini.

The family is said to closely follows the Jain principle of Jivdaya (compassion for all living beings) and things like use of electricity is restricted in the Shah household.

They believe that many aquatic animals are killed in the process of power generation.

They don't have a television or a refrigerator at home and use electricity only when it is necessary, like when children are studying.
Chandigarh: To ensure faster dispensation of financial relief to the families of martyrs, the Haryana Government has decided to not wait for documents from security forces in cases where facts are "self-evident", but release ex-gratia on its own.

An official spokesman said defence and paramilitary authorities often take time to issue necessary documentation in cases of death due to enemy action, terrorist encounters and IED blasts.



"The state government has, therefore, decided to release ex-gratia financial grants in cases of martyrdom which are widely reported in national media and where the facts are self-evident. In such cases, the government has decided not to wait for issue of documents from military and para-military authorities," he said.

The power to sanction ex-gratia of Rs 50 lakh has been delegated to Deputy Commissioners so that there is no delay in transit of documents from district office to headquarters and vice versa, he said.

The state government provides ex-gratia financial compensation of Rs 50 lakh to the bereaved families.
New Delhi: The BJP on Tuesday accused the Congress of making "baseless" allegations and said the Congress Working Committee meeting should have "worried" about party Vice President Rahul Gandhi rather than attacking the Modi government.



BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra sought to make a point-by-point rebuttal of the allegations made by the Congress after the CWC meeting on Tuesday. He said the Modi government was working for the welfare of all sections while the Congress party worked for the "welfare of one family".



Patra said the Congress should not worry about the work done by the Modi government as people were happy as reflected in the results of various elections.



Responding to Congress allegations of fear and tension in the society, Patra raked up the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and said it had "instilled a sense of fear in every citizen".



He also referred to the Emergency imposed by the Indira Gandhi government.



Responding to Congress allegations over unemployment, he said that youth of the country were happy with the Modi government.



"There is only one youth whose future is in jeopardy. Everyone knows who he is," he said.



"The CWC should have worried about Rahul Gandhi," he added.



Patra said he was surprised that the CWC had time to discuss about the BJP and the performance of the Modi government but did not discuss "falling fortunes" of the Congress party.



"The Congress party should have discussed whether there is any working hand left in Congress," Patra said.



He referred to Congress leader P. Chidambaram's comments on Jammu and Kashmir and said he had sought to drag the army into the political arena.






New Delhi: A meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) is currently underway at party president Sonia Gandhi's residence.

The CWC meeting which is being chaired by Sonia Gandhi is likely to discuss Rahul Gandhi's possible elevation to party president's post later this year.

The CWC meet, which is being held after a gap of seven months, is also expected to ratify the timeline for the organisational elections due to be held later this year.

Among other issues, the CWC is likely to discuss the upcoming presidential election, current political situation, opposition unity, vendetta politics by the Narendra Modi Government, current beef controversy and Kashmir's deteriorating situation.

Today's closed-door CWC meeting will be held at Sonia Gandhi's residence which comes against the backdrop of attempts by the Congress to unite opposition parties ahead of the presidential election next month and put together a broad coalition of opposition parties ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to take on the BJP.

Sonia Gandhi had skipped the last meeting which was chaired by her son and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

The CWC had then made a strong pitch for appointing Rahul Gandhi as Congress chief in order to revive the fortunes of the party.

At the November 7 meeting, all members, including former prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh and senior leader A K Antony, had made a strong pitch for Rahul Gandhi to take over the reins of the party.

This is the top panel's first meeting after the Congress was washed out in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand in the assembly elections. Apart from another round of introspection, Gandhi had concluded that structural and organisational changes were required to revive the party.

The party has to complete internal elections by this year-end.

Since the CWC does have powers to appoint party chief, Rahul Gandhi is keen on getting appointed as Congress chief democratically.
New Delhi: In an unusual development, the Delhi Police on Tuesday examined a group of pilots after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) filed a police complaint against some police for making obscene remarks against its top officials on a WhatsApp group.

Based on the complaint, the police today examined at least 10 pilots of Jet Airways in connection with the case. However, there was no report of any arrest or detention of anyone.

"DGCA has filed a complaint (against pilots) for making remarks against our officials on social media. It is for the police to take any action," Director General of Civil Aviation B S Bhullar said in a text message response.

DGCA officer Lalit Gupta, who filed the complaint with the police against the pilots, told ANI, "At least 34 pilots belonging to various airlines used filthy language against me in their WhatsApp group."

Meanwhile, all the four airlines, with whom the pilots are associated, have issued an apology to the DGCA official over the matter.

"Its up to the Delhi Police if they ant to take any action against those pilots for their misbehavior," the official further added.

The complaint has been filed against the pilots belonging to a group on Whatsapp where the alleged 'obscene remarks' were made by a few pilots.

"The text of the message was highly objectionable, unpardonable and obscene language was used against family members of DGCA officials," a senior DGCA official, on the condition of anonymity was quoted as saying by The Hindu.

The bad blood between pilots and the senior DGCA official happened when they addressed him wrongly in a mail. Following this, the DGCA had asked Jet Airways to check the mental "alertness" of 10 of its pilots and see if they are fit enough to be allowed to fly.

The 10 pilots had written to the regulator, opposing its proposed move to double the notice period of commanders to a year. But while doing so, the official the letter was addressed to carried his wrong designation. Instead of saying joint Director-General, it described him as "joint director, DGCA" which is several notches below his position.

The joint DG wrote back to the pilots, saying: "This shows your absent state of mind and not fit condition for flying as the alertness required to perform cockpit tasks appears to be missing. With absent mind, cockpit checks performed in a casual manner may create hazardous situation leading to compromise with safety of aircraft operations."
New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested a Delhi-based businessman in connection with its notes ban money laundering probe against Delhi lawyer Rohit Tandon and others.

Officials said the agency arrested Yogesh Mittal, a businessman from the Model Town area, yesterday evening for his alleged role in the illegal conversion of demonetised currency worth Rs 51 crore in "connivance" with Tandon, a suspended Kotak Mahindra bank manager and an another person who acted as entry operator or illegal funds router.

They said Mittal was arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

He will be produced before a competent court today for further custody, they said.

The agency, on May 30, had also conducted raids on the premises of Mittal and an ex-Congress MLA in Delhi to collect more evidence in this case.

It said Mittal was "instrumental in picking up the demonetised cash of Tandon during the period of November 14-19 last year and deposited in various bank accounts of shell companies."

"It was conspired amongst Kamal Jain, Tandon's CA, Mittal, Ashish Kumar (ex-bank manager), Raj Kumar Goel (entry operator) and others that demonetised currency would be collected and deposited in various accounts of the firms which have huge cash in hand and from those accounts Demand Drafts (DDs) in fictitious names would be issued.

"Later, these DDs would be cancelled to get the money back into the accounts, thus converting the demonetised currency into monetised currency," the agency said in a statement.

The two big currency notes of Rs 1000 and Rs 500 were demonetised after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a national address in this regard on November 8 last year.

The said cash, the ED said, was also allegedly deposited in accounts of certain fictitious people using fake documents.

This is the fourth arrest in this case by the ED as it has already arrested Tandon, former Kotak Mahindra bank manager Kumar and Goel.

The ED had alleged that Tandon and the other accused in the case "conspired so that demonetised currency would be collected and deposited in various accounts of the firms which have huge cash in hand, and from those accounts demand drafts in fictitious names would be issued."

The ED took over the case and registered an FIR under PMLA after taking cognisance of Delhi Police crime branch FIR on alleged fake accounts with deposits worth Rs 34 crore.

The agency has attached, under PMLA law, assets (DDs) worth Rs 41.65 crore in this case.

The Income Tax Department too is probing the case.
New Delhi: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has attacked Army Chief General Bipin Rawat for supporting Major Leetul Gogoi, who had used a stone-pelter as a human shield in Kashmir.

An editorial in party mouthpiece People's Democracy also accused the Army Chief of reflecting the views of Modi government which seeks to suppress the people of Kashmir. Prakash Karat, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member is the editor of the newspaper.

Here's the article published in People's Democracy:

THE remarks made in an interview by the Army Chief of Staff, General Bipin Rawat, about dealing with civilian protestors in Kashmir exemplifies all that is wrong with the way the Modi government is dealing with the situation there.

Gen. Rawat stated in the interview that: In fact, I wish these people instead of throwing stones at us, were firing weapons at us, then I would have been happy. Then I could do what I (want to do).

He also defended the wrongful action of Major Nitin Gogoi who had tied a civilian in front of a jeep to act as a human shield and drove his convoy through a number of villages. The army chief had given a commendation to the officer even while an enquiry into the action was being held.

Gen. Rawat justified the serious violation committed by Major Gogoi in the following words: This is a proxy war ....It is played in a dirty way....That is where innovation comes. You fight a dirty war with innovation.

The way Farooq Ahmad Dar, who had gone to vote in the Srinagar by-poll, was caught and tied to a jeep as a deterrent to stone pelters was a shocking incident. The army chief of staff, by commending this act, has let down the high professional standards of the army. Some former serving generals of the army have decried the use of the civilian as a human shield. They have correctly pointed out that the army cannot treat its own people in such a manner.

Gen. Rawat makes no distinction between young protestors throwing stones and armed militants. He had, on an earlier occasion, warned that the army would treat all those who do not support army operations or obstruct them during encounters as overground workers of terrorists. To taunt protestors to take up arms, so that the army could deal with them appropriately is a needless provocation and displays an attitude which is unbecoming of a senior army officer.

Unfortunately, the army chief is reflecting the views of the Modi government which seeks to suppress the people of Kashmir, who are voicing their political protest, through the sole reliance on use of force. Not only the people of Kashmir but the army itself will suffer irreparable damage due to the governments blind adherence to the use of coercive force against the civilian population.
Kolkata: The NIA has filed a charge sheet in a court here against two men for their alleged involvement in smuggling from Bangladesh fake Rs 2,000 currency notes having face value of Rs 3.9 lakh .

Two accused -- Habibur Rahaman and Fakirul Sk alias Akash alias Fakirul Seikh -- both residents of Malda, have been charged with smuggling and circulation of fake currency notes across the country with a view to damage the monetary stability of India, the NIA said in a release issued today.

The case is related to the seizure of new Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) of Rs 2000 denomination, having a total face value of Rs 3.9 lakh, on March 6 this year, in front of the Hotel Shine, Station Road, Jhalijhalia, Malda from the exclusive possession of Habibur and Fakirul, it said.

Both the accused were arrested, and following the investigation, the charge sheet was filed on June 2, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said.

Initially a case was registered at English Bazar police station of Malda district.

Following recovery of huge quantity of FICN of Rs 2,000 denomination, the Ministry of Home Affairs directed the NIA to take up the investigation. The agency registered the case on March 28, 2017.

The accused admitted during the examination that they procured the seized FICNs from their counterpart in Bangladesh namely one Daku Sekh, the NIA said.

He had passed on the consignment of FICNs over the Indo-Bangladesh International Border Security Fence and they (accused Habibur and Fakirul) positioned themselves on the Indian side.

The duo had received the consignment for further supply to another recipient at Malda town railway Station with intent to circulate in India when they were intercepted by a NIA team, it said.

On March 6, they used a motor cycle owned by Fakirul, which was seized from the place of occurrence, as conveyance for carrying the FICNs, the agency said.
A report in Newsweek said that one of the two attackers was an ardent follower of radical American preacher Ahmad Musa Jibril.

By India Today Web Desk: After the gruesome terror attack in London on Saturday that claimed seven lives and wounded dozens, the British Police have released the names of two of the main accused. While the investigation is progressing briskly, several shocking details about the attackers have emerged.

Three men on Saturday rammed a van into pedestrians on London Bridge before running into the Borough Market area, where they slit throats and stabbed people indiscriminately. All three attackers were shot dead by police, who made at least a dozen arrests in east London on Sunday and carried out further raids on Monday.

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Two of the attackers have been identified as Khurram Shazad Butt (27), a British citizen born in Pakistan and Richard Redouane (30) who according to the police is a Moroccan or Libyan.

Police said that Butt was investigated by Britain's spy agency MI5 in the past. Although the police have said that there was no intelligence suggesting that the attack was being planned, the investigation has been prioritised accordingly.

PATRON OF RADICAL PREACHER

A report in Newsweek said that one of the two attackers was an ardent follower of radical American preacher Ahmad Musa Jibril. A friend of one of the attackers, on condition of anonymity, said that he used to watch videos of Jibril, a preacher of Palestinian descent who has a massive online following.

Jibril advocates the Salafist version of Islam which is believed to be one of the most conservative sect of the religion . Incidentally, ISIS and Al-Qaeda draw inspiration from the Salafist school of thought.

The attacker's friend said that recently he spoke about an attack with him. The anonymous friend said that the attacker had justification for everything related to radicals. The friend also said that he even called the anti-terror hotline when he learned that the attacker was a follower of Jibril.

The police are yet to disclose details about the radicalisation of the attackers. They are yet to find evidence suggesting that the recent attack was inspired by the fiery videos and speech by Jibril.

Sources have indicated that many foreign fighters in Syria followed Jibril's online content. The attacker, based on the tip off from his anonymous friend, is believed to be a homegrown jihadist from east London of Barking.

JIBRIL AND HIS INFLUENCE

At present, Jibril has nearly a quarter million likes on Facebook, over 40,000 followers on Twitter and about 16,000 subscribers on YouTube. Jibril made his sermon videos from his hometown of Michigan, Detroit.

Incidentally, Jibril has not posted any video since 2014 after the US authorities limited his access to social media. However, regardless of his absence, his supporters continue to share and post his online content.

He has also been identified as one of the leading ISIS recruiters. International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) in a report in 2014 said that Jibril was among the top preachers among networks that were active in sending radical Islamists to Syria.

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In the past, Jibril had praised Syrian rebels during the civil war according to ICSR. The Centre also found that nearly 60 per cent of foreign fighters in 2014 were following Jibril on Twitter.

Also read:

One of London attackers was a known radical Islamist: Reports

2 London attackers identified as Pakistan-born Khuram Butt, Moroccan-Libyan Rachid

One of the terrorists responsible for London attacks said to be of Pakistani origin: Reports

--- ENDS ---
Kolkata: A Bengali scholar has stirred controversy by comparing Indian Army Chief Major General Bipin Rawat to British General Reginald Dyer, infamous for organising the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

The massacre took place on April 13, 1919, when non-violent protesters, along with Baisakhi pilgrims, were subjected to unprovoked firing by the British Indian Army troops, commanded by Colonel Reginald Dyer.

More than 1,000 people were believed to have died in the action, which left the nation in a state of shock and paved the way for widespread public rebellion.

Despite criticism, scholar Partha Chatterjee has said that he sticks to his opinion and will not change his opinion whatsoever.

"I have nothing to say. I have written what I have written. I am not changing anything at all," Chatterjee told ANI.

The Bengali scholar's article titled In Kashmir, India Is Witnessing Its General Dyer Moment came after Major Rawat extended support for Major Leetul Gogoi over the human shield controversy in Kashmir.

In his write-up, the scholar cited General Dyers testimony before the Hunter Commission and compared it with Army Chief Bipin Rawats justification of Major Gogois innovative way of using human shield to counter the dirty war underway in Kashmir.

"There are chilling similarities between the justifications advanced for the actions of the British Indian Army in Punjab in 1919 and those being offered today in defense of the acts of the Indian Army in Kashmir," Chatterjee wrote in his article.

Indicating his firm approach to counter the insurgency, Gen Rawat had said Army would take steps, which would break the clutches of militancy in South Kashmir.

Major Gogoi was in the spotlight after a video shot during the April 9 Srinagar Lok Sabha by-polls, posted on the social media, showed a man tied on the bonnet of an Army jeep in Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam.

The video went viral and sparked a major controversy, with one faction condemning the Army's action while the other commended their ingenuity.

(With Agency inputs)
New Delhi: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi is likely to be elevated as party chief at the culmination of party's organisatonal polls in October, party sources said on Tuesday.



They said Congress President Sonia Gandhi may step down ahead of Rahul's likely elevation.



The party on Tuesday released a schedule for the organisational elections which entail election of Congress President by October 15.



The schedule was released after a meeting of Congress Working Committee (CWC), the highest decision-making body of the party.



The Congress had deferred the organisational elections after Sonia Gandhi's five-year term as party chief ended in 2015.



Sonia Gandhi became party chief in 1998 and is the longest-serving party President.



There have been demands from within the party that Rahul Gandhi, who became its Vice-President in 2013, should take over party reigns from his mother Sonia Gandhi.



But the Congress faced a series of electoral reverses after its debacle in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, in which Rahul Gandhi was the party's lead campaigner.



Even as the party has faced mounting electoral challenges, its poor electoral run has led to repeated speculation about the timing of Rahul Gandhi's elevation.



Party sources said Rahul Gandhi's likely elevation will mark a generational change as it prepares for the the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.



The likely elevation will be weeks before the assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat where the Congress faces tough challenge from the Bharatiya Janata Party.



The sources said the likely elevation at the end of organisational elections will also fit in with Rahul Gandhi's emphasis on fostering internal democracy in the party. Sonia Gandhi has also been dealing with some health issues of late.



In her remarks at the CWC meeting here, Sonia Gandhi said the ongoing organisational elections must be completed with utmost speed and sincerity.



According to the election schedule, Congress membership drive has be completed by May 15 and election of presidents of booth committees by August 20.



Elections of block Congress chiefs, members of District Congress Committees and members of Pradesh Congress Committees has to be concluded by September 4.



The elections of President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Executive panel of District Congress Committees has to be completed by September 15 and that of these posts in the Pradesh Congresss Committees (PCC) by October 15.



Elections of All India Congress Committee members by the respective PCCs and of the Congress President also has to be concluded by October 15.



According to the schedule, members of the CWC will be elected by AICC members at the party plenary, for which dates will be decided later.
Kabul: A rocket landed on Tuesday inside the India House, the country's embassy in Kabul where the Indian ambassador and many other mission staffers stay, but there were no reports of any injury.

According to Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan Manpreet Vohra, the rocket landed in the compound of the embassy building in the morning but there were no injuries as it fell away from the people there.

The envoy asserted that the attack will not deter India from continuing to help the Afghan people, who are friends of India, and support the war-torn country's economic reconstruction.

Vohra said they had reports that certain attempts will be made by some terrorist groups, and today's incident "may be it's a part of that". He added that terror incidents have increased in the recent weeks and months, including in Kabul.

"There have been attacks in the past on our compounds here. I wouldn't call it a precise attack on my compound as these are rudimentary rockets and only after an investigation, I may able to make a judgement on what might be the possible target," he told a TV channel.

The attack comes amid extremely tight security in the capital following last week's deadly explosions that claimed more than 150 lives, and coincides with the launch of the Kabul Process meeting this morning.

Representatives from at least 23 countries, including India, are participating in the meeting aimed at establishing peace in the country.
New Delhi: Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday slammed the Modi government, saying there is a brazen campaign to straitjacket the whole country into a regressive and narrow-minded world view.

Speaking at a meeting of the Congress Working Committee, the party's highest decision-making body, Gandhi also asserted that the Congress must be ready to protect the essence and idea of India "which this government is seeking to extinguish".

On the ongoing unrest in Kashmir, the Congress president said the people of Jammu and Kashmir were being "systematically" alienated and antagonised.

Gandhi`s remarks that the government`s "divisive agenda" had "undone years of goodwill and progress" in the state follow spike in militant violence and daily stone-pelting protests in the Kashmir Valley.

"The crisis in Jammu and Kashmir has come to represent the colossal failure of this government. We are facing a rise in cross-border terrorism," she said, addressing the Congress Working Committee meeting here.

The Congress president accused the state and central governments of "insensitive handling" of the situation in Kashmir which was "systematically alienating and antagonising the local population, especially the youths".

"A large number of jawans (soldiers and troopers) and civilians have lost their lives or have been injured, young people have even been blinded."

Gandhi said it was imperative for the government to address the crisis and that it "corrects its flawed approach, works in earnest to rebuild and restore normalcy to regain the trust of the people".

She said a small team of Congress leaders led by former prime minister Manmohan Singh has been formed to keep abreast of the situation in Kashmir.

With Presidential Elections round the corner, Sonia Gandhi said it was essential that the person to be elected to the high office should protect the Constitution.

"In a few weeks we will be electing the President and Vice President of our republic. In times such as these, it is even more essential that those who occupy this august office protect the Constitution," she said.

Gandhi said that Manmohan Singh, Rahul Gandhi, other colleagues and she have met the leaders of like-minded parties to find commonly acceptable candidates for these high offices.

A subgroup of representatives has been constituted to take this forward, she said.

Referring to the next Lok Sabha election, Gandhi said, "We are not far from the 2019 elections. We must be ready to protect the essence and idea of India, which this government is seeking to extinguish."

She said the recently held Assembly Elections hold vital lessons for the party both in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

"With an energized cadre and effective leadership we were able to defeat a sitting NDA government in Punjab, but in Manipur and Goa we failed to convert our winning numbers into forming a government. This outcome reminds us that the BJP will use their enormous resources and muscle power to steal mandates from us, just as they did in Arunachal Pradesh and earlier in Uttarakhand. We cannot let this happen again," she said.

Towards this end, Gandhi said the party organisation must be strengthened.

"The ongoing organisational elections must be completed with the utmost speed and sincerity. The schedule for organisational elections has been determined and will come up before the CWC for approval," she said.

The meeting, which was attended by party vice president Rahul Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh, discussed the current political situation and the upcoming Presidential Election.

Top Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, P Chidambaram, Ambika Soni, Janardan Dwiwedi and other CWC members were also present at the meeting.

(With Agency inputs)
Srinagar: Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday blamed the Centre and the PDP-BJP government in Jammu and Kashmir for the current unrest in the border state, accusing them of "colossal failure" and "systematically alienating" the local population in the Valley.

The fresh offensive by the Congress against the BJP over the crisis in Kashmir came even as former chief minister Omar Abdullah alleged that the Centre's "unfortunate failure" to reach out and build bridges of reconciliation and peace with the youth in the Valley has created a political vacuum.

Emphasising that the current crisis in J and K was due to the "colossal failure" of the government, Gandhi said the "insensitive" handling of the situation by both the state and central governments is systematically alienating and antagonising local population, especially the youth.

"A divisive agenda is being followed which has undone years of goodwill and progress," she told a meeting of the Congress Working Committee(CWC) in New Delhi.

Addressing a youth convention of National Conference party in Srinagar, Omar said the youth of the state are being suffocated by the "repressive" policies of the PDP-BJP government while the looming uncertainty has created a sense of despair and hopelessness among them.

"The Central government's unfortunate failure to reach out and build bridges of reconciliation and peace with our youth has created a political vacuum," he said.

"The youth of the state are being suffocated by the policies of the present government. The looming uncertainty in the state coupled with the confrontational approach of the PDP-BJP government has created a sense of despair and hopelessness among the youth," he claimed.

Referring to the unrest in the Valley, Omar said that in this grim atmosphere, the youth is being robbed of their right to dream of a dignified and prosperous future.

He said the youth is feeling cheated as promises made to them were either broken or unapologetically abandoned.

"The same promises were then bartered without any inhibitions for personal and familial political empowerment of a few people while our hardworking, honest and sincere young men and women were let down and left to the mercy of uncertainty and turmoil," he said.

Due to this treachery, the trust deficit has been further widened to an extent where scepticism on the ground far overshadows the utility of any rhetoric the Government has to offer, the NC working president added.

Separately, the CPI(M) criticised army chief Gen.Bipin Rawat over his recent remarks defending use of human shield in Kashmir Valley, saying the comments reflected the views of the Modi government which "seeks to suppress" locals.

It claimed that the army and Kashmiris will suffer "irreparable damage" due to the government's "blind" adherence to the use of "coercive" force against civilians in the Valley.

"Unfortunately, the army chief is reflecting the views of the Modi government which seeks to suppress the people of Kashmir, who are voicing their political protest, through the sole reliance on use of force," former CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat said.

Karat made the remarks in an editorial in the latest issue of party mouthpiece 'People's Democracy'.

"Not only the people of Kashmir but the army itself will suffer irreparable damage due to the government's blind adherence to the use of coercive force against the civilian population," he added.

Speaking to PTI last week, Gen.Rawat had said that it would have been easier for the armed forces to deal with the protesters in the Valley had they fired weapons instead of hurling stones at the security personnel.



Rawat had also defended the actions of Maj. Leetul Gogoi, who had used a local Farooq Ahmad Dar, as a human shield.

Karat observed that Gen.Rawat allegedly made no distinction between young protestors throwing stones and armed militants.

"To taunt protestors to take up arms, so that the army could deal with them appropriately is a needless provocation and displays an attitude which is unbecoming of a senior army officer," he added.

Karat further said the army chief's remarks exemplify "all that is with the way the Modi government is dealing with the situation there."

"The army chief of staff, by commending this act, has let down the high professional standards of the army," the Marxist leader added.
Washington: Four Indians and one Pakistani have pleaded guilty to the charges for their role in a massive telephone impersonation fraud and money laundering scheme in the US perpetrated by India-based call centres, the Department of Justice has said.

Three Indians Rajubhai Patel, 32, Viraj Patel, 33, Dilip Kumar Ambal Patel, 53, and Fahad Ali, 25, a Pakistani national each pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy before US District Court Judge David Hittner of the Southern District of Texas.

Hardik Patel, 31, an Indian national pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy before the same court on June 2.

Sentencing dates are pending for all five defendants, the Department of Justice said.

Based on the statements in his June 2 guilty plea, beginning August 2012, Hardik owned and managed the day-to-day operations of an India-based scam call centre before later leaving for the US.

While in India, in his capacity as a manager, Hardik communicated extensively via email, text, and other means with various India-based co-defendants to operate the scheme and exchange scripts used in the scheme, coordinate the processing of payments from scammed victims, obtain and exchange lead lists used by callers to target US victims, and exchange spreadsheets containing the personal identifying information (PII) of US persons misappropriated by the scammers to register reloadable cards used in the scheme.

He also managed worker payroll and kept detailed records of profits and expenses for various associated scam call centres.

According to his June 6 guilty plea, Rajubhai Patel operated as a runner and assisted a co-defendant in managing the activities of a crew of other runners, based primarily out of Illinois, who liquidated victim funds in various locales in the US for conspirators from India-based call centres.

Viraj Patel first became involved in the conspiracy between April and September 2013, prior to entering the US, when he worked at and assisted with overseeing the operations of a call centre in India engaging in scam activity at the behest of a co-defendant.

Dilipkumar A Patel operated as a runner in and around Southern California, along with other co-defendants based in the region.

Fahad Ali worked as a member of a crew of runners operating in the Chicago, Illinois area, the Southern District of Texas and elsewhere throughout the country.

To date, 56 individuals and five India-based call centres have been charged for their roles in the fraud and money laundering scheme in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Texas on October 19, 2016.
New Delhi: Former Hizbul Mujahideen commander Zakir Musa has urged the Indian Muslims to join the ongoing Islamic jihad (the holy war) to conquer India.

According to the Times of India, Musa made this appeal in his first audio message as an al Qaeda operative in which he slammed Indian Muslims for not joining the Islamic jihad for 'Ghazwa-e-Hind' - the final and last battle for the conquest of India.

Meanwhile, two senior officials of the Jammu & Kashmir Police have confirmed that it was Musa's voice in the audio.

The audio clip was shared via Telegram and WhatsApp groups.

Invoking the recent "atrocities" against Muslims in India, Musa reiterated that the war was not just limited to Kashmir.

"It's a war between Islam and the infidel," he said in his first direct address to Indian Muslims.

The former Hizbul militant also referred to the recent instances of lynching of Muslims by cow-vigilantes across India.

Shaming Indian Muslims for not standing up for the victims, Musa said, "They are the most shameless Muslims in the world. They should be ashamed of calling themselves Muslims. Our sisters are getting abused and dishonoured and Indian Muslims keep screaming that Islam is peace."

Referring to the historic Islamic 'Jung-e-Badr', Musa said, "They were 313 and ruled the world. We are crores now but only as slaves."

Warning Indian Muslims, Musa said, "You still have a chance to stand up and join us. Come forward or it will be too late for you." Show cow vigilantes "the muscle of Islam and Muslim community", he said.

"We will take revenge of each murder and every atrocity committed against a Muslim and establish Sharia not just in India but across the world," he warned.
Mumbai: Women activists on Tuesday called for immediate legislation of special Section under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for honor killing after a pregnant woman in Karnataka's Bijapur district was burnt alive by her family members for allegedly marrying a Dalit man.

Talking to ANI, Advocate and Activist Abha Singh said the Karnataka incident shows that the Indian society is getting fractured on communal lines.

"The incidents of honor killing are increasing day by day. Honor killing in India are on rise, be it south India or north India.

The Karnataka incident shows that the society of India is getting fractured on communal lines and what is worse that the politicians and the government in the country have not found time even to make a specific offence on honor killings.

Presently an honor killing is only tried under murder. It is necessary that a special section under IPC for honor killing is immediately legislated in the parliament," she added.

Echoing similar sentiments, another women activist Nirmala Samant said strictest action should be taken so that a strong message is given to the society.

"This is a very cold-blooded offence. Strictest action should be taken so that a strong message is given to the society," she added.

In a dreadful incident of honour killing, 21-year-old Banu Begum was burnt to death for allegedly marrying a Dalit person.

Begum was in love with 24-year-old Sayabanna Sharnappa Konnur, a young man from the same village.

After firm resistance from the girl's parents who refused to accept their relationship, the couple decided to elope to Goa and get married.

Banu's family was so enraged that they dragged the girl to the local police station and sought a case of POCSO to be filed against Sayabanna.

On June 3, the duo returned home after she got pregnant, with the hope that they will have to accept their marriage.

However, both the families were unwilling to change their stand and soon got into a fight.

Sayabanna was brutally assaulted by the girl's family but he managed to escape with bite marks all over his body but Banu could not escape.

When Sayabanna returned with police, the family members had set Banu on fire.

Four members including Banu's mother, her sister, brother and brother-in-law have been arrested.
Thiruvananthapuram: A Kerala school is fighting a heated controversy which has erupted on the social media after the design of its new school uniform for girl students went viral.

This happened after a photographer named Zachariah Ponkunnam posted an image on his Facebook wall of three girls wearing the uniform of St. Alphonsa Public School, Aruvithura.

In the post, Ponkunnam stated that the school uniform was designed obscenely.

The post went viral and social media users slammed the school authorities accusing them of objectifying the bodies of minors. The post has been shared by more than 5000 users in a day.

One Noushad Thekkayil from Kozhikode filed a complaint against the school authorities with the Child Rights Commission over the inappropriateness of the school uniform. In the complaint, he has sought action against the school at the earliest.

However, the Principal has rejected the allegations and justified saying that the photo of the uniform which went viral on social media was in no way similar to the original uniform.

"They are spreading a photograph which has been photoshopped. We have not received any complaints from the parents regarding the uniform till now. We have given complaint with the police against such defamatory campaigns against the school. We have also appointed a five-member PTA executive committee to enquire whether there are any complaints regarding the school uniform. We would take further action after the report from the committee," The News Minute quoted the principal saying.

The Parent Teachers Association of the school too back the Principal's stand and stated that they have not received any complaint regarding the uniform.

Meanwhile, according to latest update, following the increasing outrage over the uniform, the school management has reportedly decided to change the uniform for its girl students.

According to the report, the 'half jacket' in the uniform will be replaced with an overcoat and the school management will bear all the expenses for it.
The firing on protesting farmers came a day after Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced a slew of measures to placate protesting farmers in Madhya Pradesh.

By Hemender Sharma: At least five farmers were killed and four others injured in firing by police in Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur district on farmers, who have been protesting for a week demanding loan waiver and fair price for their produce. State Home Minister Bhupendra Singh, however, has denied cops were involved in the firing.

"There was no firing by the police. An investigation into the incident has been ordered," Singh said. He also denied that any curfew has been imposed in restive Mandsaur or internet banned in the area.

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The firing on protesting farmers came a day after Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced a slew of measures to placate protesting farmers in Madhya Pradesh.

On Monday, Chouhan had assured that the government would purchase onions at Rs 8/kg and moong dal at an agreed price and to set up a Rs 1,000 crore stabilisation fund.

Though the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh called off its strike, the other organisations have continued with the stir.

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi attacked the Modi government alleging that they are at war with the farmers.

This Govt is at war with the farmers of our country#Mandsaur #MadhyaPradesh https://t.co/HQsjluDUPg; Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) June 6, 2017

The week-long agitation by the farmers has hit supplies of milk and vegetables were hit across the state. Late on Monday night, farmers in Mandsaur district tried break the gates of a railway crossing and disrupt the railway lines as part of their protest.

Following the violence, internet services was suspended in Indore, Dewas, and Ujjain. The farmers have been protesting for the last few days demanding higher prices for their produce and loan waiver.

The prices of vegetables, meanwhile, have almost doubled in the last six days with only exception being that of onion which is selling at Rs 10 per kg in retail.

Traders, however, have claimed that farmers are not selling their produce after the chief minister's announcement of the minimum support price. The trading that happened on Tuesday was less than the minimum support price of Rs 8 per kg.

"The market is really tight after the chief minister announced the minimum support price. Today onion price has gone up to Rs 7 per kg depending upon the quality," said Shakib Mansuri a trader.

Several parts of the state has been witnessing similar protests and violence. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has called an emergency meeting of senior ministers and officials to discuss the farmers' protest.

Also read:

MP CM Shivraj Chouhan announces measures to end farmers' agitation, protesters respond with more violence

Farmers' shutdown receives mix response in Maharashtra

WATCH | Maharashtra, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh witness agitations by farmers

--- ENDS ---

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Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Tuesday that his government was sensitive and stood with farmers.

He added, "But Congress party, through conspiracy tried to fuel violence."

"Many Congress leaders did so," he further said, as per ANI.

Yesterday, also Chouhan had assured that the government would purchase onions at Rs 8/kg and moong dal at an agreed price and to set up a Rs 1,000 crore stabilization fund.

Meanwhile, agitating farmers, on strike for the sixth consecutive day, today resorted to violence, pelting stones at police, with two killed in police firing in Mandsaur district in Madhya Pradesh.

"Around 2 pm in order to control the agitated farmers the police had to open fire in which two farmers died and several others were injured," Ujjain Division Commissioner OM Jha, told IANS.

According to locals, the farmers resorted to stone pelting at police due to which police had to open fire.

However, State Home Minister Bhupendra Singh told reporters that the firing was not initiated by the police but by "anti social" elements who had entered the mob.

Farmers also surrounded Piplya Mandi Police Station after which heavy police reinforcement was sent to control the situation.

Though the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh called off its strike, the other organisations have continued with the stir.

(With Agency inputs)
Lucknow: Samajwadi Party chief and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday announced financial assistance of Rs. 2 lakh for the kin of the deceased farmers in Mandsaur incident.

Yadav took to Twitter saying, "SP will offer financial assistance of Rs. 2 lakh to kin of deceased farmers in Mandsaur incident.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan earlier this day increased the compensation for the kin of deceased, who were killed by security forces during a protest from Rs. five lakh to 10 lakh.

The Chief Minister said that his government was sensitive to the farmers' cause and blamed the Congress party for a "conspiracy to fuel violence".

"This government is with the farmers. This Government is sensitive and stands with farmers but Congress party, through conspiracy tried to fuel violence. We stand with the family of the kin of deceased," he said.

However, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi accused the Centre of being at war with the nation's farmers.

Earlier in the day, Chouhan ordered a judicial enquiry into the matter. Meanwhile, the death toll in the violent Mandsaur farmers protest has climbed to five.

Several others were injured in the firing by security forces here earlier in the day, as farmers intensified their agitation demanding fair price and loan waiver.

Internet services in Mandsaur, Ratlam and Ujjain remain suspended following the farmers' protests, and a curfew has also reportedly been imposed.

The farmers in the central state are demanding remunerative prices for their produce and a loan waiver. They are also demanding that they should be given Rs 50 per litre of milk bought from them as they spend Rs 37 per litre.

The killing of the farmers came hours after Mandsaur collector Swatantra Kumar Singh claimed all was well in the district and that the situation was under control.
Bhopal: At least four farmers have been killed and four others were wounded after the Madhya Pradesh Police opened fire in an attempt to control a rioting mob demanding fair price and loan waiver in Mandsaur district on Tuesday.

The police resorted to firing to gain control on the agitating farmers after their protests turned violent as they allegedly set ablaze at least 10 trucks, one Dial 100 vehicle and three motorcycles in Pipliamandi area.

While two of the farmers were killed on the spot, another succumbed to his injuries in the hospital.

In view of farmer' deaths, the Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangh warned to give greater shape to the movement and announced a state-wide shutdown tomorrow.

However, state Home Minister Bhupendra Singh has denied that the police resorted to firing. He also denied imposition of any curfew or internet ban in the restive Mandsaur area.

It is to be noted that in view of the agitation carried out by the farmers, the authority imposed a ban on the internet services in the area while also restricting the bulk text messages. The internet services were closed altogether in Mandsaur, Ratlam and Ujjain areas.

Meanwhile, farmers resorted to violence in other parts of Ratlam and Mandsaur, forcing police to use force to disperse the crowd. In Suwasara area, police lobbed tear gas shells as farmers damaged public property and attempted to set a fire police vehicles.

The protesting farmers damaged railway tracks and railway crossing gates in Daloda area of Mandsaur. They also reportedly set afire vehicles on Mandsaur-Neemuch road and pelted stones at the police.
Bhopal: At least five persons were killed on Tuesday as the farmers' agitation turned violent in Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh, prompting the authorities to clamp curfew in the trouble-hit area.

Some eyewitnesses alleged that the victims suffered bullet wounds, but Mandsaur district authorities denied that police fired on the protesters, who were on a rampage.

As tension prevailed, mobile internet service were suspended in Mandsaur, Ratlam and Neemuch districts since morning to check spread of rumours.

Condemning the incident, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced a compensation of Rs one crore for kin of those killed during protest and accused the opposition party for instigating the violence.

Congress attacked the BJP-led state government and called for a band tomorrow.

Mandsaur collector SK Singh confirmed death of five persons and said a magisterial inquiry has been ordered.

Singh also told PTI that police categorically told him that they did not fire at the protesters.

Curfew has been imposed in Pipalya Mandi police station area of Mandsaur district where the incident took place, while prohibitory orders restricting movement under section 144 of CrPC have been imposed in rest of the district, the collector said.

"Police have told me that neither did they fire nor did they have any orders to fire," Singh added.

In-camera autopsy of bodies was going on and the cause of death will be known after it, the collector said, adding that families of the deceased will get financial aid.

According to eyewitnesses, protesting farmers torched vehicles and indulged in stone pelting in Parshvanath area under Pipaliya Mandi police station limits of the district.

Farmers in western Madhya Pradesh are protesting since June one demanding higher minimum support prices (MSP) among others.

In Ratlam, the district collector Ashok Bhargava imposed prohibitory orders under section 144 of CrPC following the violence in neighbouring Mandsaur district.

Ratlam superintendent of police Amit Singh announced a reward of Rs 10,000 each for information about absconding farmer leaders D P Dhakad, Rajesh Bharava, Bhagwati Patidar (said to be Congress members) and others who were allegedly involved in violence in the district on Sunday in which two police personnel had been injured.

Meanwhile, the state Congress and the Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangh have given a call for bandh tomorrow across the state to protest the farmers' death in Mandsaur.

"We have called for a massive MP bandh tomorrow," state Congress chief Arun Yadav told PTI.

The Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Ajay Singh, demanded resignation of Chouhan, saying the incident of firing in Mandsaur is shameful for a chief minister who claims to be a farmer's son.

"All the claims of the chief minister have proved false so far. Now the government is using bullets to suppress farmers' voice. Chouhan should resign immediately," the Congress leader said.

The main opposition party also constituted a committee of MLAs "to investigate" the Mandsaur firing incident. Singh and the state Congress chief would visit Mandsaur tomorrow.

Senior Congress leader and MP Jyotiraditya Scindia also condemned the incident. The BJP government dealt with the agitation through bullets instead of talks, he said.

"This is a black day in the history of the state. It is shameful that the state government is crushing farmers' agitation. Farmers' demands are genuine," Scindia added.

Trouble was reported from many parts of western Madhya Pradesh as farmers' stir continued for the sixth day today.

In Indore, police used lathi charge following stone- pelting during a march by farmers.

A police officer said that people taking part in the march started throwing stones at the police near Devi Ahilyabai Fruits and Vegetable Market, which led to lathi- charge.

In Dhar, farmers blocked the Indore-Ahmedabad national highway for about three hours. Farmers also staged protests at Amjhera and Ghoda Chowpati in the city.

The shops in the local market remained closed all day in Neemuch city.

Meanwhile, Mahendra Patidar, president of MP Patidar Samaj, said they would cremate the bodies of victims who died in Mandsaur district today only in the presence of the chief minister.

(With Agency inputs)
New Delhi: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi may on Wednesday visit Madhya Pradesh`s Mandsaur, where at least five farmers were killed in police firing, said party sources.

Five farmers were killed and several others injured on Tuesday in Mandsaur as police opened fire on peasants, who indulged in violence and stone-pelting.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan ordered a judicial probe into the incident even as Mandsaur city and Piplya Mandi area were put under curfew after the violence.
Mumbai: Students seeking Maharashtra SSC Result 2017 will have to wait for some more time.

The Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education will declare Maharashtra SSC Result 2017 after June 09.

The official confirmation on Maharashtra Class 10 result date/SSC result 2017 Maharashtra board date and time is likely to be announced on Tuesday.

MSBSHSE SSC Class 10 results 2017 will be available on mahresult.nic.in.

Over 17.66 lakh students appeared for Maharashtra SSC Class 10 exams/Maharashtra SSC Class 10th exams which were held from March 07 to March 29, 2017.

Once declared, here's how to check the SSC Maharashtra Result 2017:

- Log on to website mahresult.nic.in

- Click on `SSC Examination Results 2017` link

- Enter your Hall Ticket No and other details

- Click on View Result

- Download the Maharashtra SSC Class 10 Results 2017

The results will be also available on results.nic.in.
Mumbai: On May 13, an incident took place on Platform 7 of Kurla railway station in Mumbai, which left the travellers completely petrified.

A 19-year-old girl was run over by a goods train. Thank goodness, she was brought out from under the train safely. She had just suffered an injury near her left eye.

The nail-biting incident was recorded by CCTV camera installed at the platform.

After meeting her friend in Kurla, Bhandup resident Pratiksha Natekar was returning at around 11 am.

She was wearing her earphones and speaking to a friend over the phone while walking on the tracks towards platform 7.

"As she was busy over the phone, she didn't hear a goods train thundering down the tracks. When she suddenly looked up the train had already reached her. She panicked and ran first towards the platform and then straight into the train," Mid-day quoted senior police inspector Ashok Bhorade from Kurla Government Railway Police as saying.

The train knocked her down and ran over her. By the time the driver applied brakes, the first wagon had already passed over her.

The miracle happened as Natekar was pulled out safe and sound.

Watch the video:
New Delhi: The successful launch of India's heaviest rocket, GSLV Mk III-D1, on Monday, June 5, 2017, ushered a new era for the Indian space agency, enabling it to launch heavier payload satellites.

The mission, which was the first developmental flight of the next generation Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle, called GSLV-MkIII-D1, is perhaps the most crucial mission in the last three decades for ISRO who has been working on this project since 2002.

The mission is so significant for India, mainly, because of the cryogenic engine that is powering the rocket, using liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen as propellants.

Moreover, the GSAT-19 satellite - powered with indigenously-made Lithium-ion batteries - will open lot of vistas in internet communication.

Weighing 3,136-kilogram, the GSAT-19 satellite is the heaviest satellite made and launched from our own soil till date.

The successful launch of the GSLV-MkIII-D1/GSAT-19 is so satisfying as the rocket is totally homegrown.

How the GSLV programme started?

ISRO initiated the The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) project 1990 with the objective of acquiring an Indian launch capability for geosynchronous satellites.

GSLV uses major components that are already proven in the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) launchers in the form of the S125/S139 solid rocket booster and the liquid-fueled Vikas engine. The third stage was procured from Russian company Glavcosmos based on an agreement signed in 1991.

However, after the US imposed sanctions on India in 1992, Russia backed out of the deal. Following the US sanctions, ISRO started the Cryogenic Upper Stage Project in April 1994 and began developing its own cryogenic stage.

Later, in an alternative arrangements, Russia agreed to sell 7 cryogenic stages and 1 ground mock-up stage instead of 5 cryogenic stages and the technology to build the stages.

These engines supplied by Russia were used in the initial flights of first and second generation GSLVs (Mk-I and Mk-II). The first development flight of GSLV Mk.I (GSLV-D1) was launched on 18 April 2001.

Two launches of second generation GSLV rockets in 2010 failed. The first flight of the GSLV Mk.II, with an Indian-developed third stage engine failed to ignite in the third stage. The next launch, in December 2010, used the Russian engine, however the vehicle went out of control during first stage flight and was destroyed by range safety.

The first breakthrough, yet successful flight of the GSLV Mark.II happened in 2014 when the GSLV-D5 was launched on 5 January, using the indigenously developed cryogenic engine, the CE-7.5.

On September 8, 2016, the GSLV-F05, carrying 2211 kg satellite INSAT-3DR, was successfully launched from Sriharikota.

In a latest, the GSLV-F09 that launched the GSAT-9 -- the South Asian Satellite -- on May 5, 2017, was one of the three successful launches of second generation GSLV (Mk-II).

The GSLV MkIII-D1/GSAT-19 mission has opened up a number of opportunities for the Indian space agency. It has also set the stage for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in its manned mission.

Weighing 640 tonnes and standing 43.43 metres tall, ISRO's 'fat boy' GSLV MkIII-D1 is capable of lifting payloads of up to 4,000 kg into the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) and 10,000 kg into the Low Earth Orbit.

ISRO will now work on launching vehicles with "electric propulsion system" so that large satellites can be sent into space by the agency.
Chennai: Several lawmakers of Tamil Nadu`s ruling AIADMK faction on Tuesday met party Deputy General Secretary T.T.V.Dinakaran and discussed party affairs, said party leaders.



Former law maker V.P. Kalairajan told reporters that legislators are meeting Dinakaran, who continues to be the party`s Deputy General Secretary.



Dinakaran, who had been arrested in New Delhi in a case of trying to bribe Election Commission officials with Rs 50 crore for allot the "two leaves" symbol to the faction led by party General Secretary V.K.Sasikala, was released on bail by a court recently.



During the past two days, around 25 AIADMK legislators have met Dinakaran at his residence leading to impression the formation of third group in the ruling party, apart from those led by former Chief Minister O.Panneerselvam and another led by current Chief Minister K.Palaniswami.



Meanwhile Palaniswami also met several party legislators on Tuesday.



On Monday the ruling AIADMK faction reiterated that they are firm on the decision to sideline jailed Sasikala and her nephew Dinakaran from the party.



After presiding over a meeting of ministers at the Secretariat here on Monday, Finance Minister D. Jayakumar said that his faction, led by Chief Minister Palaniswami, are firm on keeping away from both of them.



Pointing out that Dinkaran himself stated that he would stay away from party activities, Jayakumar urged him to "stick to his words".



The minister`s statement came just few hours after Dinakaran asserted that he would surely engage in party work and accused senior leaders of not advancing the initiative for merger between the two rival AIADMK groups.



The other AIADMK group, led by former Panneerselvam, still insist that a merger is possible only if Sasikala and Dinakaran are officially removed from the party.
SPG teams have been dispatched to Madhya Pradesh and Rahul Gandhi is all set to visit Mandsaur either on Wednesday or day after.

By Supriya Bhardwaj: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi is all set to visit Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh to meet the family members of the deceased farmers and other protesting farmers.

According to sources, SPG teams have been dispatched to Madhya Pradesh and Rahul Gandhi is all set to visit Mandsaur either on Wednesday or day after.

Madhya Pradesh Congress has handed over the report to Rahul Gandhi about the sordid episode in Mandsaur where five farmers were killed during shooting by police.

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Earlier in the day, Madhya Pradesh Congress General Secretary Mohan Prakash had rushed to the site along with PCC President Arun Yadav, Leader of Opposition Ajay Singh and Secretary Meenakshi Natarajan.

Congress has already declared support to the farmers protest scheduled on Wednesday in Mandsaur. The party has also given instructions to all district units to support farmers' agitation in all the districts of the state.

"We have reported the situation to Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi. He is always standing with the farmers and fighting for their rights and here too he will stand for them," said Mohan Prakash.

Also read:

MP CM Shivraj Chouhan announces measures to end farmers' agitation, protesters respond with more violence

Farmers' shutdown receives mix response in Maharashtra

Also watch:MP minister denies police fired on farmers, says no state-wide protests taking place

--- ENDS ---
Chennai: The ruling AIADMK on Tuesday appeared to be undergoing great churning with around 25 MLAs meeting TTV Dinakaran, who is out on bail, raising a question mark over the stability of the Edappadi K Palaniswami government.



Several MLAs and former lawmakers, including VP Kalairajan, met Dinakaran, who the ruling faction forced sometime ago to announce that he was stepping aside in the interest of party unity.



After the meeting, Kalairajan told reporters that MLAs were meeting Dinakaran, who continues to be the party's deputy general secretary.



Senior leader and MLA, Thangatamil Selvan, even asserted that disciplinary action would be taken against Finance Minister D Jayakumar for his statement that Dinakaran had nothing to do with the party now.



Another supporter of Dinakaran and the party's Karnataka unit chief, Pugazhendi, warned the ruling faction that it was surviving on a wafer thin majority of five MLAs and that Dinakaran enjoys the support of 25 legislators - in a hint that the government could come to harm.



However, Jayakumar - a powerful figure in the Edappadi faction - downplayed the threats from the other side, saying these are individual opinions of leaders.



Dinakaran, who was arrested in New Delhi in a case of trying to bribe Election Commission officials with Rs 50 crore for allot the "two leaves" symbol to the faction led by party general secretary VK Sasikala, was released on bail by a court recently.



During the past two days, several AIADMK legislators met Dinakaran at his residence leading to impression about the formation of a third group in the ruling party, besides those led by former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and by current CM K Palaniswami.



Meanwhile Palaniswami also met several party legislators on Tuesday.



In the Tamil Nadu Assembly, which has a strength of 234, the undivided AIADMK enjoyed the support of 134. Twelve MLAs owe allegiance to the faction headed by Panneerselvam, leaving the ruling faction with the support of 122 - five more than the half way mark.



Even as Dinakaran supporters keep issuing warnings to the ruling group, they also maintain that they will not bring any harm to the government.



On Monday, the ruling AIADMK faction reiterated that they are firm on the decision to sideline jailed Sasikala and her nephew Dinakaran from the party.



After presiding over a meeting of ministers at the Secretariat here on Monday, Finance Minister D Jayakumar said that his faction is firm on keeping away from both of them.



Pointing out that Dinkaran himself stated that he would stay away from party activities, Jayakumar urged him to "stick to his words".



The minister's statement came just few hours after Dinakaran asserted that he would surely engage in party work and accused senior leaders of not advancing the initiative for merger between the two rival AIADMK groups.



The other AIADMK group, led by former Panneerselvam, still insists that a merger is possible only if Sasikala and Dinakaran are officially removed from the party.


Coimbatore: A group of Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam organised a beef festival to protest against the central government's decision to ban on the sale of cattle for slaughter purpose.

Opposing the ban imposed by the central government, the people gathered here said that beef is their part of their daily meal and nobody has the right to decide what to eat and what not to.

Earlier on June 1, the students at the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT- Madras) staged a protest against the Central Government's notification banning the sale of cattle for slaughter.

With the police deployed in front of the IIT campus, the students protested at the main gate and raised slogans against the Centre's controversial notification.

Around 50 students on May 28th took part in a 'beef fest' as a mark of protest against the new rule.

Later, R. Sooraj, a PhD student of aerospace engineering at the college, who was also part of the ' beef fest', was brutally thrashed by few students from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) for organising the fest.

Sooraj, who is a member of the Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle (APSC), received severe injuries in his right eye and was hospitalized.

On May 27, Students' Federation of India (SFI) staged similar protest in Kerala by eating beef outside University College, Trivandrum.

Similar fest was also organised at different locations across Kerala against the government's ban on cattle trade.

However, reiterating the Government's stand of its order on ban on sale of cattle for slaughter, Union Minister for Science and Technology Dr. Harshvardhan said the rules have not been formed to change or control anybody's food habits, nor will it affect the slaughter business.

"We have clearly mentioned that the rules under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act have not been formed to change or control anybody's food habits, nor affect slaughter business. Despite this, if people have misconception about it, we have asked suggestions that have been submitted and will be contemplated upon. It is not a prestige issue for us," he told ANI.

There has been a wide opposition of the Central Government's order, with many states openly denying accepting the notification.

Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Harsh Vardhan had 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.
Mumbai: Its been over three months Sunil Grover has not shot for The Kapil Sharma Show. The actor, who essayed the funniest Dr. Mashoor Gulati and adorable Rinku Bhabhi, is apparently being missed by Kapil Sharma, who reportedly had a massive fight with him on board a flight sometime in March this year.

Kapil had apologised to Sunil on Twitter but the latter was in no mood to return to the show. However, Kapil is still keen to have Sunil back. His tweets reflect his sentiments and fondness for Sunil.

While responding to a fan on Twitter, Kapil said that Sunil is always welcome.

Take a look at what the star comedian tweeted:

Kapil paaji @WhoSunilGrover Sunil paaji ko wapis kab la rhe ho?

Please @KapilSharmaK9 sir  Keerthy Sam KS (@khushal_offl) 4 June 2017

Jab b unka dil kare.. I told him many times .. 4 June 2017

Yaar tum dil k sacche ho kabhi kabhi mistakes kr jate ho tumme ego toh bilkul b nhi h  RITESH SUKHIJA (@RiteshSukhija12) 4 June 2017

That is called life brother  KAPIL (@KapilSharmaK9) 4 June 2017

Besides Sunil, Ali Asgar and Chandan Prabhakar too quit the show. Only Kiku Sharda continues to be a part of Kapils core team.

Moreover, if the latest buzz is anything to go by, then the makers of The Kapil Sharma Show are not quite happy with its performance these days. The TRPs of the show have reportedly dipped despite having new artists on board.
Mumbai: Bigg Boss season 10 hosted by Bollywood superstar Salman Khan was one of its kinds because it saw common people competing with celebrity contestants. And heres good news for fans of the reality show. The auditions for the eleventh edition are open now!

Watch the video posted on Twitter by the maker of the popular show:

Last year, Manveer Gurjar, a commoner contestant won the show while competing with celebrity finalists Bani J and Lopamudra Raut besides an Indiawala participant Manu Punjabi.

Wonder what this season has in store for us. Auditions have begun and it will be interesting to see many more common people joining celebrity contestants on the show.
Lucknow: Those involved in cow slaughter and illegal transport of milch animals for slaughter will be booked under the stringent National Security Act and Gangsters Act in Uttar Pradesh.

The directive has been conveyed to all district police chiefs by the state Director General of Police (DGP) Sulkhan Singh.

"NSA and Gangsters Act is to be invoked against those involved in cow slaughter and trafficking of milch animals for slaughter," the DGP's order said.
Lucknow: In a bid to promote education for girls, the Yogi Adityanath government has announced to give a Rs 10,000 cash reward to every girl who passes class 10th examination across the state.

The announcement was made by Uttar Pradeshs Deputy Chief Minister, Dinesh Sharma.

The class 10th result 2017 for CBSE and ICSE boards have already been declared. However, the class 10th results for UP Board is yet to be announced.

Officials said that the scheme will be on the lines of the existing Kanya Vidya Dhan Yojna (KVDY).

In one such decision aimed at helping the minorities, the Yogi Adityanath government had earlier announced helping poor Muslim families in organising weddings of their daughters.

Minister of State for Minorities Affairs Mohsin Raza said, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has given his consent to mass weddings of poor girls belonging to minority communities and we have included it in the 100 days programme of the state government.

Interestingly, the UP government's decision to reward about 1,00,000 girls comes on a day when Chief Minister Adityanath turns 45.
Lucknow: A small incident has flared up into a communal clash in Uttar Pradesh`s Muzaffarnagar, leaving one dead and another critically injured, the police said on Tuesday.



The clash late on Monday night was triggered by a spat earlier in the afternoon between two men in Naseerpur village when one was going to offer prayers and the other splashed some water on him.



By late evening both sides came face-to-face and opened fire at each other. A father and son were shot at and injured.



The son, Aakash, was rushed to Meerut in a critical condition where he died from his injuries. Brajlal, the other injured person, was said to be in a critical condition.



Earlier on Monday, just before the clashes broke out, a village panchayat had almost sorted out the matter. However, the fragile peace was shattered by nightfall.



The situation took an ugly turn and a communal colour, an official said.



Heavy police reinforcements have been rushed to the village to contain the violence from spreading.
Lucknow: In a bid to improve the law and order situation in the state, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday sought explanation from Superintendents of Police in connection with addressal of public grievances.

Adityanath sought explanation from ten Superintendents of Police over not attending public grievances.

According to reports, Adityanath last week ordered officials to fix responsibility to ensure effective improvement in the law and order situation in the state.

The chief minister, who held a review meeting on law and order with senior officials, asserted that no laxity would be tolerated.

He asked the bureaucrats to fix responsibility, from the beat constable up to the level of senior officials, to help bring about wide ranging improvement in the law and order situation.
Lucknow:Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will join yoga guru Baba Ramdev here in a yoga practice session on Wednesday before the upcoming 'Yoga Diwas' or International Day of Yoga which is to be held on June 21.

According to reports, Naik, Yogi Adityanath and Baba Ramdev will perform various yogic postures or asanas together at the Raj Bhavan or the governor's official residence.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Yogi Adityanath are expected to participate in the International Yoga Day event to be held in Lucknow on June 21 along with 50,000 other yoga practitioners.

State Chief Secretary Rahul Bhatnagar, a joint secretary of Ministry of AYUSH and other officials recently took part in a preparatory meeting for the event that is to be held under the auspices of the Centre and the state government.

Senior citizens, aanganwadi workers and around 500 divyangs are expected to participate in the International Day of Yoga celebrations. Participants will be given bottles of mineral water and monogramed T-shirts to highlight the event and its significance.

Urging the nation to make Yoga an essential part of their lives to remain stress free, Prime Minister Modi in his radio address 'Mann ki Baat' had said last month that Yoga is the only thing that has the potential of uniting the world.

"June 21 has become one of the known dates across the world. The entire world celebrates International Day of Yoga. In a very short span of time, the message of yoga has spread to every corner of the world. Yoga is integrating the world today. Through yoga, India as a whole has successfully started connecting the world," the Prime Minister said in his 32nd ' Mann Ki Baat' address on May 28.

The world will celebrate the third International Day of Yoga on June 21.

It has been celebrated annually since its inception in 2015. An International Day for Yoga was declared unanimously by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on December 11, 2014.
Dehradun: The Congress today protested across Uttarakhand against the ruling BJP's "flip-flop" over a CBI investigation into the Rs 300 crore NH-74 scam and sought the president's intervention to ensure that a probe was launched without delay.

Congress leaders burnt effigies of the state government in front of collectorates at all 13 district headquarters. They also submitted memorandums addressed to President Pranab Mukherjee to the district magistrates, urging him to expedite the CBI probe into the scam.

Leading the protests here, Pradesh Congress president Pritam Singh accused the BJP government in the state of dragging its feet over the issue despite recommending a CBI probe into it.

"It is more than two months since the BJP, which claims to have a zero-tolerance policy to corruption, came to power in the state. It sent a recommendation to the Centre to order a CBI probe into the NH-74 scam soon after being sworn in.

"However, the Centre instead of acting on the state government's recommendation is delaying it deliberately to save the big fish involved in the scam," Singh alleged.

"It has happened for the first time in a democracy that the Centre is prevaricating over a CBI probe into a scam inspite of the fact that the state government has recommended it," he claimed.

The PCC chief quoted from a letter written by transport minister Nitin Gadkari to Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat last month asking him to reconsider his decision on a CBI probe as it would affect the morale of NHAI officials working on different projects and impede their progress.

He alleged it proved that the Centre was mounting pressure on the state government to withdraw its recommendation to save the guilty.

Singh asked the Centre to clarify why it was "shying away" from a CBI probe into the scam.

Irregularities worth nearly Rs 300 crore were detected in the acquisition of farmland for the construction of the proposed NH-74 in Udham Singh Nagar district between 2011- 2016.

Farmland was shown to be non-agricultural to increase the compensation amount by at least 20 times to benefit chosen stakeholders and beneficiaries, he alleged.

The Congress leader also criticised the state government for transferring an official on the basis of whose report the CBI probe was recommended.

He also accused the state government of adding to the burden of the people of the state by increasing the price of water and electricity.
BJP leader Bachu Marak's resignation comes days after BJP's West Garo Hills district president Bernard Marak resigned from the party over 'beef ban'.

Beef eating is part of our culture, said Bachu Marak. Photo: Facebook/Bachu Chambugong Marak.

By India Today Web Desk: Another Meghalaya BJP leader, Bachu Marak, has resigned from the party over the Centre's notification regarding ban on sale of cattle in animal markets for slaughter.

Bachu Marak's resignation comes days after BJP's West Garo Hills district president Bernard Marak resigned from the party over 'beef ban'.

Bachu Marak said that beef eating is part of "our culture and tradition", and he cannot compromise with the sentiment of the Garos.

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"As a Garo, it is my responsibility to protect the interest of my community. Beef eating is part of our culture and tradition. Imposition of BJP's non-secular ideology on us is not acceptable," Bachu Marak said after resigning from the BJP on Monday night.

"I resigned from the BJP as they are dishonouring my culture. This is an anti-Christian party," Bachu Marak was quoted by ANI.

Nalin Kohli, BJP's national spokesperson, welcomed Bachu Marak's resignation and said action against him was in the process. "(Bachu) Marak had been working against the party in the state," he said.

BITCHI AND BEEF PARTY

Bachu Marak, BJP's district president in North Garo Hills, has submitted his resignation to state party president Shibun Lyngdoh.

Bachu had proposed a bitchi (rice beer) and beef party in the Garo Hills on his Facebook page recently to mark the Narendra Modi government's three years in office and had attracted party leadership's criticism.

Nalin Kohli had warned of stringent action against Bachu Marak.

Announcing his resignation from the BJP in another Facebook post, Bachu said, "My Tradition and Cultures is (sic) my first priority and Party at Last. Why is beef Everytime the issue, why not pig, chicken, goat and other animals."

BJP DISMISSES CLAIMS

State BJP President Shibun Lyngdoh, however, dismissed Marak's claim.

"He (Bachu Marak) is making such statement to mislead the people. The party has no intention to impose any anti-constitutional measures on the people. The objective of the Modi government is to ensure all-round development across India," Lyngdoh said.

Bernard Marak, who resigned from the BJP last week, is organising a beef party at the Eden Bari locality of Tura on June 10 and Bachu Marak is expected to participate in the event.

"I will attend the beef party in Tura to register our voice against such moves of the BJP," he said.

(with inputs from agencies)

ALSO READ:

Meghalaya BJP leader quits after his 'bitchi-beef party' to celebrate 3 years of Modi govt fails

BJP shows flexibility over beef ban, says states are free to decide on slaughter of cows

Beef ban: How BJP plans to milk the cow in West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu

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ALSO WATCH: Vegetarian for 19 years, Kerala Congress MLA VT Balram eats beef to lodge protest

--- ENDS ---
Jerusalem: Israeli police say a private security guard has shot dead an Arab demonstrator during anti-police riots in central Israel.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld says the clashes broke out when police came to arrest a local resident in the Arab town of Kfar Kassem. He said the man resisted and then other local residents attacked the police forces, managing to free the suspect.

The police say rioters burned three police vehicles and masked men attacked the local police station early today.

Rosenfeld said the security guard stationed there felt threatened and opened fire, killing a local resident.

Ayman Odeh, head of the Arab Joint List in the Israeli parliament, accused the police of "killing another Arab citizen." He said the police treated Arabs as enemies.
Moscow: Russia's defence ministry said on Tuesday one of its fighter jets intercepted an American strategic bomber that was flying near the border of Russian airspace.

The defence ministry said in a statement that it had to scramble the Su-27 to the area over the Baltic Sea on Tuesday morning after Russian radars spotted an aircraft flying along the border. The ministry said the Russian jet identified it as a US B-52 bomber and escorted it until it flew further away from the border.

The defence ministry did not specify where exactly the intercept happened.

In a separate incident, a Russian MiG-31 was dispatched early today afternoon to intercept Norwegian maritime surveillance aircraft flying over the Barents Sea near the Russian border, the Russian defense ministry said.

Similar incidents have happened close to Russian airspace in the past. In September, a Russian fighter jet flew within 10 feet (3 meters) of a US Navy surveillance aircraft, in what American officials called an unsafe intercept over the Black Sea. In another dramatic incident last year, Russian jets buzzed over the USS Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea, coming within 30 feet of the American warship.

Capt Joe Alonso, a spokesman for US European Command in Stuttgart, Germany, said he could not confirm the report, but that the military was aware of it and looking into it.
Paris: French police shot and injured a man who attacked an officer with a hammer outside Paris's Notre Dame cathedral on Tuesday, while shouting "this is for Syria".

Police sources said the officer sustained only minor neck injuries in the assault, which comes with France on high alert after jihadists killed seven people in London on Saturday.

The suspect later claimed to be a "soldier of the caliphate" of the Islamic State group, according to a source close to the investigation.

The policeman's colleague opened fire on the man, hitting him in the chest in panicked scenes around the Gothic cathedral that is one of France's most visited tourist attractions.

The man lay bleeding on the ground as police sealed off the area and searched for possible accomplices.

About an hour after the attack he was taken to hospital and police declared the situation to be under control.

Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said the man had shouted "this is for Syria" as he lunged at the officer.

He said the man had also been carrying "kitchen knives" and was found in possession of a card identifying him as an Algerian student.

Anti-terrorist prosecutors were put in charge of the investigation.

A witness told AFP he heard someone "shout very loudly".

"Then there was a crowd surge and people panicked. I heard two shots and saw a man lying on the ground in a pool of blood," he said.

Notre Dame, which is situated on the banks of the Seine river in the heart of Paris, draws 13 million visitors a year.

Over 1,000 people were inside the cathedral at the time of the attack.

Authorities in Paris asked the public to stay away from the area.

Pictures on social media showed people sitting in the pews with their hands in the air -- apparently at the request of police.

Andre Finot, the cathedral's head of communications, described the situation as calm. "People are talking to each other, praying and continuing their visit," he said.

In September, Notre Dame was already the scene of a scare after a car full of gas canisters was found parked nearby.

The car was tracked to an all-female terrorist cell, allegedly acting on the orders of Syria-based Islamic State jihadists.
Washington: US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said isolating Qatar was the 'beginning of end' of terrorism.

Arab nations including Saudi Arabia and Egypt on Monday cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting extremism, in the biggest diplomatic crisis to hit the region in years.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, Libya, the UAE and the Maldives severed relations with gas- rich Qatar, accusing it of supporting groups, including some backed by Iran, "that aim to destabilise the region".

Qatar reacted with fury, denying any support for extremists and accusing its Gulf neighbours of seeking to put the country under "guardianship".
Doha: Kuwait has offered to mediate in the crisis between Qatar and its estranged Arab neighbours, a media report said on Tuesday.

The Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah, asked his Qatari counterpart, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to exercise self-control and refrain from taking steps which could worsen the situation, the Kuwaiti news agency Kuna reported.

Following the telephonic conversation, Al Thani decided to postpone the speech he had planned to give to the Qatari people following the diplomatic crisis, Efe news reported.

This was to give the Kuwait Emir the time to make contacts with the parties of the conflict and try to contain the damage, a Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry statement said.

Following the diplomatic crisis, Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani met his Omani counterpart Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah.

Oman, which has not joined the diplomatic boycott, has mediated in other times in regional conflicts such as the war in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain announced on Monday they had cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, whom they accuse of supporting terrorism and undermining stability in the region. Libya and the Maldives followed suit.
Kabul: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani issued an ultimatum to the Taliban on Tuesday, warning them to embrace peace or "face consequences" after announcing that the death toll from last week`s truck bombing had passed 150.

Ghani has come under mounting public criticism for spiralling insecurity, with a wave of protests and deadly street clashes roiling the Afghan capital as people incensed by the violence call for his government`s resignation.

The president made a strong plea for security at an international peace conference on Afghanistan attended by around two dozen countries.

Armoured vehicles patrolled the streets as part of tight security and fighter jets roared over the capital.

"We are offering a chance for peace but this is not an open-ended offer," Ghani said.

"Time is running out... this is the last chance: take it or face consequences."

The conference, labelled the "Kabul Process", aims to build international support for peace. There was no immediate reaction from the Taliban to Ghani`s comments.

Kabul has been on edge since the massive truck bomb last Wednesday ripped through the city`s highly fortified diplomatic quarter, home to the presidential palace and a host of foreign embassies.

The death toll from the devastating attack has jumped to more than 150 people, while over 300 wounded were brought to hospitals, many with burns and amputations, Ghani told the conference.

Previously officials had put the number of dead at 90. Ghani did not immediately explain the much higher figure.

Four more people were killed Friday when hundreds of protesters incensed by the bombing clashed with police, prompting officials to force them back with live rounds fired in the air, tear gas and water cannon.

The protesters, holding a sit-in for a fifth day Tuesday near the bombing site, have demanded the resignation of Afghanistan`s security chiefs, including national security adviser Hanif Atmar.

The attacks have worsened tensions between rival ethnic groups and raised the prospect of a political crisis.

Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani, who heads the mainly Tajik Jamiat political group, also called for Atmar`s dismissal on Monday. But Ghani, an ethnic Pashtun, firmly rejected the demand.

Rabbani survived an attack at the funeral of one of the protesters on Saturday where suicide bombers tore through a row of mourners and killed seven more people.

He blamed "terrorists within the system" for the funeral blasts, suggesting they were an inside job.

The government has accused the Taliban-allied Haqqani Network of carrying out Wednesday`s attack, and said the funeral was targeted by bombers trained at a religious seminary in Pakistan.

Previous international efforts to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table have failed, but diplomats in Kabul hailed Tuesday`s conference as a stepping stone to peace.
Washington: A top US think tank has said that Islamabad is more of a threat than an ally as Pakistan is still a sanctuary for the Taliban and the Haqqani network.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), in a report released on Monday, noted: "Afghanistan is currently doing badly both in the fighting and in its civilian politics, governance, and poverty. Pakistan is still a sanctuary for the Taliban and Haqqani network and more of a threat than an ally.

Authored by Anthony H Cordesman, CSIS's Arleigh A Burke, Chair in Strategy, the report further underlined that the Donald Trump administration should make it clear to Pakistan that it will face sanctions if it continues to support the terror groups.

The United States should make it clear to Pakistan that it faces a total end to aid, and the imposition of sanctions, if it continues to support the Taliban and tolerate the Haqqani network. Russia should be told that any end to US sanctions will depend on it not supporting the Taliban, and the Unites States should reach out to China to make it clear that Chinese cooperation in dealing with Afghanistan and Pakistan can serve both Chinese and US interests.

The report underlined that there has to be a better strategy and a better approach to both the military and civil dimensions of the war to provide a reason to stay, and no commitment should be open ended. The Afghans have to do far more, and do it far better, to justify each future year of US commitment.

Afghanistan, however, cannot do better unless it can stop and reverse Taliban and Haqqani gains, it, however, noted.

CSIS said the US should make it totally clear that it will conduct a public annual review of its commitments to Afghanistan and the Afghan performance.

"It should make it clear that it can and will leave in the face of Afghan failure. If necessary, the United States should make good on such a threat," it said.

"It should send a clear message to all 'partner states' that they must meet reasonable standards of performance. The United States should never bully its allies, but it also should not be bullied -- or let nations slip into the kind of overdependence that ultimately undermines rather than aids them," the CSIS said.

(With Agency inputs)
Beirut: The offensive that saw US-backed forces break into the Islamic State group`s Syrian stronghold Raqa on Tuesday aims to deal a "decisive blow" to the jihadists, the US-led anti-IS coalition said.



Warning that the fight will be "long and difficult", coalition commander Lieutenant General Steve Townsend said the fight for Raqa would "deliver a decisive blow to the idea of ISIS as a physical caliphate".


Riyadh: Saudi Arabia today revoked the operating licence of Qatar Airways and ordered the airline's offices to close within 48 hours, state media reported, as a regional diplomatic crisis escalated.



"The General Authority of Civil Aviation has decided to cancel all licenses granted to Qatar Airways and to close all of its offices in the kingdom within 48 hours," read a statement carried by the official SPA news agency.
Colombo: Over 125,000 Sri Lankans working in Qatar will not be affected by severance of ties between five Arab nations and Qatar, Sri Lanka's foreign employment minister said, underlining that the country has an independent stance over the situation.

Saudi Arabia along with the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Yemen and the Maldives severed relations with Qatar yesterday, in the biggest diplomatic crisis to hit the region in years.

Sri Lanka's Foreign Employment Minister Thalatha Athukorale said she has consulted Sri Lankan diplomats and it was found that 125,000 Sri Lankans working in Qatar will not be impacted by the move.

She also said Sri Lanka has its own independent stance on Qatar and its diplomatic relations with Qatar remains the same.

Sri Lankan Airlines, the country's national carrier, will continue to operate flights to Doha as scheduled. The airlines will closely monitor the situation in the Middle East, she said.

Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka has denied a rumour that it has advised banks operating at the Colombo International Airport to stop Qatar Riyal currency exchanging process at the airport.
After RJD chief Lalu Yadav's daughter Misa Bharti failed to appear before the Income Tax department on Tuesday despite being summoned, the department has begun cracking down on benami properties in Delhi.

By Atir Khan: After RJD chief Lalu Yadav's daughter Misa Bharti failed to appear before the Income Tax department on Tuesday despite being summoned, the department has begun cracking down on benami properties in Delhi.

The department has issued notices under the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act to several farmland owners in Delhi. Misa Bharti, along with her husband and brothers, allegedly bought property worth Rs 1,000 crore, including a south Delhi farmhouse.

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A notice for imposing penalty as per the Income Tax Act has been sent to Misa. What is more significant is that investigation into her case has widened the scope of I-T probe into benami properties in Delhi.

HERE IS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW Highly-placed sources in the Income Tax Department told India Today that a full-fledged drive had been initiated against benami farmhouse owners in Delhi. The drive also includes investigation into the various violations of land revenue and stamp duty rules. The drive is likely to have a huge impact as the amended benami laws even attract imprisonment and attachment of immovable properties and bank accounts. Apparently, the drive has been expedited after major irregularities were detected in Misa Bharti's case, in which she along with her husband and brothers allegedly bought property worth Rs 1,000 crore, including a south Delhi farmhouse. She had links with a company called Mishail Packers and Printers Pvt Ltd, which brought a farmhouse in Bijwasan area. According to the land laws in Delhi, in order to protect agricultural land cover and to ensure it is retained, agricultural land cannot be registered in the name of an individual. However, it can be registered in the name of a company. Taking advantage of this loophole, several companies have bought farmhouses in Delhi. A company or a group of companies buys a plot of land and registers it in the name of the company. Later, the shares of the company are transferred in the name of the benami owner. Since the transfer of shares is registered with the registrar of the company, the deal acquires legitimacy. A large number of shell companies are created for this purpose. I-T officials believe hundreds of farmhouse owners have tried to hoodwink the authorities and have indulged in large-scale violations of revenue laws, including the evasion of stamp duties. They have also violated provisions of municipal corporations by evading taxes. If such violations are detected, concerned departments will be roped in. Sources said I-T had identified a number of such shell companies and notices had been issued to them. The Enforcement Directorate had recently arrested one chartered accountant Rajesh Kumar Agarwal for running such a shell company, which was aiding illegal transactions. I-T officials will give 90 days' time to the people summoned through notices. In case they fail to explain their transactions, the department will initiate prosecution in the lower courts.

Also read | Income Tax department issues fresh summons to Misa Bharti over benami land deal case

Also read | Income Tax Department discloses names of 5 defaulters in Delhi

WATCH VIDEO

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Shanghai: The United States has called upon China to release three activists detained for investigating conditions at factories manufacturing shoes under the brand name of U.S. President's daughter Ivanka Trump.

On Monday, Alicia Edwards, a deputy State Department spokeswoman, said that such labor activists can help American companies find abuses in the factories that make their products or parts, reports the New York Times.

"We urge China to release them immediately and otherwise afford them the judicial and fair trial protections to which they are entitled," she said.

According to the Guardian, the three activists were preparing to issue a report accusing factories that make shoes for the daughter of US president Donald Trump of a host of violations including paying below China's legal minimum wage, managers verbally abusing workers and "violations of women's rights".

According to the report, one of the activists, Hua Haifeng, was detained by police on suspicion of "illegal use of monitoring equipment" and two others, Li Zhao and Su Heng, have gone missing and are presumed to be in police custody.

Meanwhile, Chinese officials on Tuesday dismissed the calls to release the activists as at a daily news briefing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said it was an internal Chinese matter.
Wellington: Visiting US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, was in for a surprise when plenty of middle fingers was flipped at the American motorcade for quitting the Paris climate deal.

"I've been in motorcades for a couple of years now... I've never seen so many people flip the bird at an American motorcade as I saw today," according to New York Times correspondent Gardiner Harris.

Tillerson landed in Wellington as an add-on to his recent trip to Australia.

He is the first senior member of the Trump administration to visit the country.

About 200 protesters with the climate change action group 350 Aotearoa gathered outside Parliament on his arrival, as per The Guardian.

Greenpeace New Zealand referred to Tillerson as Trumps 'henchman'.

Tillerson later allayed local fears about US becoming more isolationist and about US President Donald Trump being 'unpredictable', as per New Zealand Herald.

New Zealand remains committed to the Paris agreement and its target to cut emissions by 11% of 1990 levels by 2030.

US media travelling with Sec of State Rex Tillerson surprised by the number of people flipping the bird at his motorcade in Wellington. June 6, 2017

SecState Tillerson's motorcade arriving New Zealand greeted by people signaling thumbs down & display of middle fingers for quitting Paris  Andrea Mitchell (@mitchellreports) June 6, 2017

Just saw a stuff notification about tillerson's motorcade and imagining people in Wellington lining the streets looking like this. pic.twitter.com/XcDq6FIkZG  Tony Kuriger (@TMKuriger) June 6, 2017

An impressive turn-out in the rain for the #ActOnClimate rally to welcome US Secretary of State Rex "Exxon" Tillerson to NZ Parliament pic.twitter.com/7XOabJ76zL  Nathan Ross (@NathanJonRoss) June 6, 2017
Hanoi: The Vietnamese government has decided to continue waiving visas for citizens of Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain for one year starting July 1, Vietnam`s tourism watchdog said on Tuesday.





Earlier, Vietnam had waived visas for people from these five countries for one year from July 2015, and extended the period for another year, said the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.



Vietnam hosted nearly 5.3 million international arrivals in the first five months of 2017, up 29.6 per cent against the same period in 2016. The country received 873,400 European visitors, up 23.7 percent, Xinhua news agency reported.



In the five-month period, Vietnam welcomed 126,400 visitors from Britain, 123,600 from France, and 94,200 from Germany, posting year-on-year rises of 12.7 per cent, 10.1 per cent and 17.4 per cent, respectively, said the administration.
YEREVAN, JUNE 6, ARMENPRESS. A group of investors from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will arrive in Armenia in upcoming months - Raffy Semerdjian, member of the Council of European League for Economic Cooperation (Brussels), Vice-President of Armenia-UAE Business Association, Management Mix Consulting and Investment Company President, said.

He gave an interview to Armenpress talking about the Armenian-UAE partnership and financial-banking issues.

-Mr. Semerdjian, what prospects do you see for the development of Armenias financial system?

-Firstly, I want to say that financial system is based on economic system. If we generally talk about economy or financial development, we need to first of all refer to the role of the state.

To what extent we would like the state engagement in economy, whether the states role must be more or less. As I am from liberal school, I prefer that the state creates competitiveness field and encourages it. As Armenia has few resources, the economic units have very limited experience, the oldest companies have history of 20-25 years, therefore, it is important for the state to have role in certain strategic fields. For instance, Air France, which belongs to one of the state structures in France. My proposal is that the state must boost investments, establish some companies, to make the activity of those companies successful, and then to privatize.

As for the financial system, we see that over the past 10 years the banks management is governed in a very good way, the capital of banks reached 30 billion, a healthy financial-banking sector. The main structural problems in the banking sector will remain the deposits being as few. Today, except from the Central Banks reserves which comprise over 1.8 billion, the deposits of all banks in total comprise over 4-5 billion. This is very little, trust must increase. The state also must promote this process and turn it into a policy.

-You earlier said that if 1 out of 10 Armenians living abroad opens account in Armenias bank, there will be a strong banking system in Armenia soon. Your proposal, seems, was accepted by the Diaspora Ministry. Is there any progress in that process?

-The proposal remained theoretical, there must be the one who will move forward that idea. The Government must develop policy on that path and set a priority. I havent seen a progress on this path yet. Its necessary to organize a flow of capital, rather than that of people in Armenia. Of course, we see that some people come and buy lands, houses here, but this must be turned into a policy which will positively affect the financial-economic system.

-Publics trust is one of the key factors for the development of banking system. Do you see publics trust towards banks in Armenia?

-Of course, the publics trust is the No1 issue. Here the Government, banks play significant role. I am quite satisfied, majority of banks manage to inspire trust to people very well. If we manage to sell the idea that Armenias banks can be trusted, and engage capital, it will be very good. For that purpose, the Government, banks must work to increase that trust.

-During the financial crisis Armenias banking system showed stability. To what extent can it be a guarantee for foreign investors?

-Yes, Armenias banks really showed stability. I want to note that foreign investors, especially major ones, will prefer to work through their banks. Of course, while carrying out their activities in Armenia they need to have their accounts here. In other words, I dont see a problem here since majority of Armenias banks do not face problems, they are being managed very good, and I am convinced that investors in Armenia should work also with the Armenian banks.

-Mr. Semerdjian, recently Armenias Government is carrying out works at various directions aimed at attracting investments. How would you assess this work?

-I think the efforts made are still at initial stage, and I hope the newly-appointed government will spare no efforts on this path. I believe that the leadership of the Development Foundation will turn that work into a policy. We have also proposed new model to them. For instance, there can be offices in Europe, US, Middle East with a concrete mission  to attract investments to Armenia. In terms of attracting investments efforts are being made, however, they are not turned into a policy yet. I think privileges must given also to those investment programs which will provide with jobs.

-Armenias Government targeted the market of the United Arab Emirates among other countries. In what directions Armenia can be interesting for UAE investors?

-Almost two years ago visits at professional level to the UAE launched. Already the first steps are taken. At the moment, small investments are being made in real estate market, for the next stage it is expected to implement agricultural programs. There is already a concrete cooperation deal in food industry. The UAE is more interested in agriculture sector, hotel economy, industry. It is expected to boost tourism flow, over the past two years we realize a positive progress. I want to add that business groups from UAE arrive in Armenia once or twice a month. We are going to organize a conference in July or October. 20 UAE investors will arrive in Armenia, and we will visit with them concrete places to show them our programs and the economic opportunities. As you see, works are being done on this path, and we know that people want to very quickly see the results, but 5-10 years are needed to see results in industry field, so we need to be more patient.

Interview by Anna Gziryan
YEREVAN, JUNE 6, ARMENPRESS. Qatar has paid over a billion dollars in ransom for members of their royal family, who were taken hostage in Iraq, the Financial Times reported citing sources familiar with the deal.

According to authorities, Doha was forced to make the hostage deal for the 26 individuals who were captures while hunting in Iraq, and the 50 soldiers who were kidnapped in Syria.

According to the Financial Times, Qatar paid the money to an Al Qaeda affiliate branch in Syria, and officers of Iranian special services. The deal was made in April.

This information comes amid the diplomatic tensions in the Middle East, as Bahrain, Egypt, the UAE and Saudi Arabia cut their ties on June 5 with Qatar, accusing the latter in supporting terrorism.

A few other countries also announced cutting diplomatic ties with Qatar shortly thereafter.
YEREVAN, JUNE 6, ARMENPRESS. Davit Tonoyan, Armenias minister of emergency situations, had a meeting with CSTO Secretary General Yuri Khachaturov during his visit to Moscow, the ministry of emergency situations told ARMENPRESS.

The sides discussed the further prospects of development of CSTO member states partnership in preventing emergency situations and eliminating consequences.

The issue of launching the unified information system of emergency situation response of CSTO member states was namely discussed.

During the meeting the necessity of improving collective response mechanisms during the elimination of consequences of emergency situations was emphasized.

In addition, training issues related to the Armenian emergency situations personnel and resources within the CSTO rapid response forces was discussed.
YEREVAN, JUNE 6, ARMENPRESS. Armenia-Italy business forum will be held in Rome on June 7.

Hayk Mirzoyan  Export Director at the Development Foundation of Armenia (DFA), gave an interview to Armenpress talking about the major goals and the expected results of the forum.

-What is going to be the major goal of Armenia-Italy business forum? How many companies from both sides will take part in the forum, what is the vision in terms of intensifying the Armenian-Italian investment and business ties?

-Armenia-Italy business forum is taking place within the frames of Armenian-Italian inter-governmental commissions session. This is the commissions first session, and the Armenian side will be led by Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian. 27 companies from Armenia and 170 companies from Italy are participating in the business and investment forum. We can state that both sides are greatly interested in boosting business ties. Within the frames of the forum, it is expected to present Armenias investment attractiveness, sectoral presentations, mainly in agro-processing, energy, transportation infrastructures and information technologies fields will be held, as well as bilateral meetings will take place between the Armenian and Italian companies.

-Except from presenting Armenias investment attractiveness to Italian businessmen, what practical steps can take place at the forum?

-During the forum the Development Foundation of Armenia will sign Memorandum of Understanding with Italian Trade Promotion Agency (ICE) aimed at developing bilateral economic ties. As I said, bilateral meetings will be held between the interested companies, and we hope they will bring practical results. It is expected cooperation agreements will be reached and contracts will be signed between the businessmen of both countries. There is already some interest in textile field, the Armenian companies hold talks with their Italian partners on this path. I want to add that recently the DFA signed another memorandum with Shaula International consulting company, according to which the company will be DFA representative in Italy which in its turn will boost the Armenian-Italian business ties.

-In what sectors Armenia can be attractive for Italian businessmen?

-In all those fields which we plan to present through sectoral presentations. In addition, Armenia can also be attractive in textile, shoes-making and also jewelry fields.

-The DFA has already held similar forums. What can distinguish this forum from the other ones?

-We can speak about the features after summarizing the results, when we will have concrete agreements.

-In general, what do such forums give to Armenia, how they are effective? What kind of results can be recorded from previous forums?

-I think, these forums are very effective since not only Armenias business and investment environment is presented, but also a platform is created for holding meetings between bilateral business circles, talks which later turn into meaningful business ties. As for previous forums, I want to mention about the results of recent forum which was held in Abu Dhabi on March 22. 4 documents were signed within the frames of that forum, as well as investment program worth 100 million USD in energy field and exclusive export contract according to which the preserves made of Armenian organic and natural fruits-vegetables have already been sent to the UAE hotels. Other companies as well hold talks, and already groups of 5-6 UAE companies visited Armenia.

In summary, we can state that such forums are quite productive. They provide opportunity both for export of Armenian products and attracting investments to Armenia.

Interview by Karen Khachatryan
BERD, JUNE 6, ARMENPRESS. Tavush Textile LLC, which is engaged in production of workmens gloves, expands its production volumes and facilities in bordering communities, reports Armenpress.

Executive Director of the company Mikayel Yezekyan told reporters that the company acquired the territory of former Rele Factory in Berd community. The main production building will be a three-storey building. Starting from 2018 it is planned to construct another production facility which will be completed in June 2020, he said.

During the production facilities operation with full capacity it is expected to reach the number of total workers 800, with 120.000 AMD average monthly salary.

The Executive Director also informed that the company is going to expand the area of production facility in Artsvaberd community, the construction works of which are already launched. He said there is a great demand for companys production since the market is also great. The companys products are mainly exported to Russia and Ukraine, however, there are also plans for exporting them to US and Europe.

Founder of Tavush Textile LLC Suren Yeritsyan told reporters with a great pride that he made investments in bordering communities and doesnt regret for that. He called on other people to make investments in bordering communities, assuring that the fragile peace situation is not an obstacle for making investments and receive profit. I have long wanted to establish production of gloves in Tavush province. Then I realized the key of solving this issue, I took a step and I succeeded. I have one production facility in Choratan community, the other one is in Artsavaberd and the third one we establish in Berd. We also have a small production facility in Movses village. Last year our turnover amounted more than 1 billion AMD, but this year it will be more than 2 billion AMD, he said.

Suren Yeritsyan assured he has no problem and feels the states assistance. He said the company is completely exempt from profit tax which greatly facilitates their work.
YENOKAVAN, JUNE 6, ARMENPRESS. One of the most attractive complexes for active tourism has been established in Yenokavan community of Tavush province by using the resources of adventurist and extreme tourism. This complex annually hosts nearly 45.000 tourists, reports Armenpress.

Apaga Tour created conditions in Yenokavan for active tourism. The center established by the company has all conditions for active rest.

Within the frames of journalists tour in Yenovakan, Tigran Chibukhchyan, Tourism Development coordinator at Yenokavan Development Foundation, said at the moment services are provided in 12 cottages of community-based hotel complex which have 22 rooms and 44 beds. He informed that the complex also has facilities for organizing events.

The guests here have a good chance to get acquainted with the Armenian cuisine, and the yogurt, butter and cheese are made here, as well as bread and biscuits are baked every day. Racecourse operates since 2005.

Tigran Chibukhchyan informed that since 2015 Yell Extreme Park operates in Yenokavan, and they attracted new investments for it. The Park has been built and is developing thanks to private investors. It offers non-professionals zipline flights. The first flight took place in July, 2015, and as of July, 2016 the number of visitors was more than 5.000, he said.

It is expected to construct the worlds longest zipline in Yenokavan. For that purpose, crowdfunding was launched at Indiegogo international co-financing platform. The worlds longest zipline will be 2680m in length and 200-300m in height. Zipline flight will last 3 minutes during which it is possible to develop a maximum speed of 120 km/h. The zipline is expected to be built until late July 2017.

Tigran Chibukhchyan said at the moment Yenokavan community development program is being prepared, and as a result of its implementation it is expected to host 250.000 tourists up to 2025. Apaga Tour applied to the European Union to receive grant for creating ethno village in Yenokavan. As a result ot the grant, 20-25 houses of the community will be renovated. This part of the program will also contribute to creation of jobs and community development.
YEREVAN, JUNE 6, ARMENPRESS. U.S. President Donald Trump told Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that the dispute over probes into links between his inner circle and Russia should not undermine U.S. efforts to rebuild relations with Moscow, Tillerson said, Reuters reported.

Tillerson arrived in New Zealand on June 6.

Tillerson said Trump told him to try to improve ties with Russia regardless of the U.S. political backdrop.

"I can't really comment on any of that because I don't have any direct knowledge," Tillerson told a news conference in Wellington, when asked how worried he was that the U.S. political crisis could take down the Trump administration.

"The president's been clear to me: do not let what's happened over here in the political realm prevent you from the work that you need to do on this relationship and he's been quite clear with me... that we might make progress. I'm really not involved in any of these other issues," he said after a meeting with New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English as quoted by Reuters.
Lalu Prasad's daughter Misa Bharti has been slapped with a penalty of Rs 10,000 by the Income Tax department which is probing benami land deals linked to her.

Misa Bharti has been slapped with Rs 10,000 penalty for failing to appear before I-T department. (File Photo)

By Shivendra Srivastava: Misa Bharti, daughter of former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad, has been summoned notice by the Income Tax department in connection with a benami land deal case.

The department is probing alleged land deals worth Rs 1000 crore linked to Misa Bharti.

Bharti was to appear before I-T sleuths for questioning today but the RJD chief's daughter chose not to following which the deparment issues fresh notice asking her to appear before it on June 12.

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She has also been slapped Rs 10,000 penalty for failing to appear before the I-T department despite a prior notice.

Bharti's husband Shailesh Kumar has been summoned in the same case by the department for tomorrow.

WHAT IS THE CASE

A chartered accountant, Rajesh Kumar Agrawal, allegedly linked to Bharti and others was also arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on May 22.

Agrawal is alleged to have aided in llegal transactions involving Lalu's kin.

Officials had said that the summonses to Bharti and Kumar are part of the investigation in the case and their statements will be recorded.

The couple are alleged to have links with a firm links with a firm - Ms Mishail Packers and Printers Private Limited - which is suspected to have entered into benami deals for purchase of a farm house in Delhi's Bijwasan area.

Certain other property deals are also under the scanner of the taxman, they had said.

I-T department officials had said they will apply provisions of the newly enacted Benami Transactions Act, 1988, which became operational from November 1 last year, in this case. The law provides for a maximum punishment of seven years in jail and a fine.

The action under this new law will be over and above the legal proceedings under the Income Tax Act, 1961, which relates to charges of domestic tax evasion.

However, Lalu had sought to put up a brave face after the raids, saying he was 'not scared at all' and will continue to fight against 'fascist forces'.

ALSO READ:

Misa Bharti's accountant Rajesh Agarwal arrested by ED in money laundering case

Lalu Yadav's daughter Misa Bharti, her husband summoned by I-T department in money laundering case

Stung by Income Tax raids, Lalu Prasad hits back, says will continue fight against Fascist BJP

WATCH: Income Tax raids at Lalu Prasad, daughter Misa Bharti's houses over dubious land deals

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YEREVAN, JUNE 6, ARMENPRESS. We should carry out joint harmonious work with our spiritual brothers and organize the election of Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul in peaceful and brotherly atmosphere, Patriarchal locum tenens Archbishop Garegin Bekchian said at the 6th Church-Representative Assembly in the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin chaired by His Holiness Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II, reports Armenpress.

Today is a historical day since after the National Church meeting the Church-Representative Assembly is being held to approve the orders and rules of our church and to prosper it not only in Armenia but also in Diaspora. During those years every time I visit the Mother See of Hoy Etchmiadzin I gradually realize progress and see what great work has been carried out within the Mother See. As for my election as locum tenens, this election was a little late, but the important thing is not the past, but the upcoming days, the future, Bekchian said.
YEREVAN, JUNE 6, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan on June 6 paid a working visit to Noyemberyan, Berd and Ijevan towns of Tavush province, press service of the Presidents Office told Armenpress.

The Presidents visit began from Koghb military unit where he had a meeting with the members of inter-agency commission which has been established to solve issues subjected to coordination in bordering communities.

The meeting was also attended by Tavush governor and heads of several bordering communities of Noyemberyan. Chairman of the commission, Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan and commission members briefed the President on the works done so far, inventoried issues and their possible solutions.

At the beginning of the meeting Serzh Sargsyan said he always attached importance to the works at local level which enable to directly get acquainted with the problems faced by communities and find solutions, adding that the Government will assist the communities through all possible measures.

We have completed the pre-election stage, the elections were held, and we received our peoples vote of trust. Now we together with the government, state agencies, heads of local self-government bodies.

launch the process of solving our issues.

All settlements of our Republic face problems, and it is obvious that many of them are similar. They require simiar solutions, but one of the major tasks is the solution of problems faced by our bordering communities since these problems are accompanied by constant ceasefire violations which bring tension on the one hand and cause additional damages to us on the other hand. In other words, there is a need of additional work. We have provided sufficient privileges to our bordering communities. I would like to understand, also to hear from you to what extent these privileges work, whether they are useful or not, what is the degree of their usefulness and in general, what more we can do to justify our compatriots expectations who stayed in the homeland with the expectation that situation will change, that we will work more effectively.

Our government is completely ready for practical works at local level. We would like the local self-government bodies to be more active and realistic.

I am aware that the commissions first session was held in other region. The Defense Minister told me that, and I am convinced that this structure can be really useful, the President said.

He toured the military unit, got acquainted with the combat readiness, talked to soldiers and encouraged some distinguished soldiers with gifts.

During the working visit President Sargsyan also attended the groundbreaking ceremony of TUMO Koghb center in Koghb community. The event was attended by TUMO founder Sem Simonian, representatives of Ucom, Koghb foundation, local officials and philanthropists.

The program coordinators said that over 1000 students from Koghb, Noyemberyan, Berdavan and nearby settlements will attend the newly-opened TUMO center. It is also expected to implement TUMO-Army project in cooperation between the Defense Ministry and TUMO Center for Creative Technologies, by engaging soldiers of adjacent military unit.

The President also talked to Koghb community residents and the project sponsors. Then he visited Armath engineering laboratory in Koghbs main school, got familiarized with the engineering laboratories establishment program which has been initiatied by the Union of Information Technology Enterprises (UITE) and Ucom. The President also met with students studying at Armath laboratory.

The Presidents visit in Tavush province continues. He departed for Berd region from Noyemberyan.




YEREVAN, JUNE 6, ARMENPRESS. Koghb community of Tavush province will soon have TUMO Center for Creative Technologies which will host 600-1000 students from Koghb, Noyemberyan, Berdayan and nearby settlements, reports Armenpress.

On June 5 the groundbreaking ceremony of TUMO Center was held in Koghb with participation of President Serzh Sargsyan.

The project is being jointly implemented with Koghb Foundation.

During the ceremony Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Koghb Foundation Arman Barseghyan delivered speech stating: TUMO-Koghb project in reality is symbolic and has certain feautures and many important components. The first component I want to mention is the educational component which is perhaps the most important tool for making long-term changes. The second key factor is the regional development issue. This is another project which contributes to the development of provinces. In this sense, we believe that TUMO-Koghb project will play a significant role for Koghb and adjacent communities. This initiative is also important from security perspective since cooperation with the army is expected within the frames of the project. In the morning hours the center will also be used by soldiers, he said.

Head of Education Department at Tavush Governorate Karen Nazaryan said from the very start the Simonian Educational Foundation while proposing the TUMO center project put a goal to further develop the contemporary information knowledge of Armenian children. Personally being engaged in educational reforms, I can state that goal is being fulfilled. The results are especially visible in our province. The first TUMO center in our province was opened in Dilijan. We are very happy that after long-lasting discussions a decision was made and agreement was signed in 2016 to open the second TUMO center in Tavush province. I want to thank all those who had their contribution to implementing this important initiative, Nazaryan said.

The funds necessary for construction of the center will be provided based on donations of Koghb foundation, TUMO, Ucom and Mission Enfance companies and private philanthropists.
YEREVAN, JUNE 6, ARMENPRESS. The ongoing tension over Qatar will be most likely solved soon, it will not last long, expert on Arabic studies Sargis Grigoryan told a press conference in Armenpress.

Qatar has significant resources to counter it. Qatar is not the state to wait and see what will happen. Thus, the tension will continue, but will not last long, the expert said.

He said Saudi Arabia played a role in this process. It considers Qatar as an opponent which puts a shadow to Saudi Arabias political ambitions, and Qatar has that capacity. Qatar is the richest country in terms of GDP per capita, it is ranked 3rd in the world with natural gas reserves, moreover, it also has significant information opportunities.

In response to a question according to which given that Qatar assists terrorist groups, and that Armenia lifts visa requirements for Qatari citizens, whether there is threat for Armenia, expert on Arabic studies Armen Petrosyan said there is no such threat.

Qatars population is 2.6 million, from which 100.000 are citizens of the country. Armenia lifts ban for those who are citizens. And I dont see terror threat for Armenia from here. When Qatar is blamed on assisting terror groups, the talk is not about citizens engagement in that processes, rather, its about the states assistance to extremist structures. Therefore, Armenia here is not targeted at any way, Armen Petrosyan said.

He stated that if Qatar issue prolongs, the conflict will deepen, and in that case it will have to improve ties with Iran with the only way so that to ensure normal life. According to Petrosyan, Armenia can also have a role within the frames of Qatar-Iran economic cooperation.
YEREVAN, JUNE 6, ARMENPRESS. Over 60% of Armenians think of Russia as their main friendly country, Armenpress reports director of Sociometer center for sociological studies Aharon Adibekyan told the reporters. According to him, the same poll has been conducted for over 20 years, and Russia has retained this position during this period.

The EU is the second, Iran and the USA are the 3rd and the 4th, whereas during different years the positions of Iran and the USA have changed. The EU and the mentioned 3 countries are those which are supporters for Armenia in the eyes of Armenians, the sociologist said.

Referring to a similar poll in Russia, according to which only 12% of Russians take Armenia as a friendly country, Aharon Adibekyan noted that its not a bad result. According to him, Armenians in Russia are rather respected. You will not find an Armenian cleaning the streets there. Armenians are accepted there for their intellect and hard working manner. Armenians in Russia represent the higher layer of the society. The fact that only 12% take Armenia for a friendly country is normal, Adibekyan said.
YEREVAN, JUNE 6, ARMENPRESS. 2000 AMD banknotes will be issued in Armenia. Spokesperson of the Central Bank of Armenia Harutyun Kbeyan told Armenpress that the banknotes will be hybrid-based.

When the banknotes will be issued depends on the decision of the CB Board. When the CB Board makes a final decision and confirms it, all the deadlines connected with the banknotes will be known, he said.
YEREVAN, JUNE 6, ARMENPRESS. The OSCE considers conducting monitoring in the contact line of Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone one of the key measures of confidence building between the sides, Armenpress reports press officer of OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Helene Spitzer said, answering the question of a reporter.

Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk prepares and coordinates the monitoring exercises in detail with the sides. These exercises are conducted with the support of military experts for ensuring the security of all the participants. In the preparatory phase the Personal Representative clearly defines the area he wants to conduct the monitoring, from where its possible to make assessments of the situation. The monitoring exercise is considered a successful one if the Personal Representative and his team are able to manage the agreed area with the sides through visual communication. Besides, the Personal Representative and his team give information through briefings. Conducting a monitoring is important in terms of confidence building, Spitzer said.

According to Helene Spitzer, the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office constantly examines other measures for raising the confidence between the conflicting sides.
YEREVAN, JUNE 6, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan visited on June 6 the branch of Tavush textile company located in the bordering Artsvaberd community of Tavush Province.

As Armenpress was informed from the press service of the Armenian Presidents Office, President Serzh Sargsyan, accompanied by Minister of Economic Development and Investments Suren Karayan, the leadership of Tavush textile and the Provincial authorities toured in the factory of the company, got acquainted with the investments made, the recent works, export volumes and the development programs of the company. In the sidelines of the working visit President Sargsyan also visited the branch of Tavush textile located in Berd. The representatives of the company informed the President that Tavush textile company established in 2015 has factories in Choratan, Artsvaberd and Mosesgegh communities, while the construction works of new branches in Berd and Parvakar communities. The company now has 274 employees with an average salary of 120 thousand AMD.

Serzh Sargsyan also met with the residents of Artsvaberd community and Berd town, and visited the St. George church of Berd.

In Berd region of Tavush Province President Sargsyan visited Apaga resort and Yell Extreme Park located in Yenokavan. Serzh Sargsyan, accompanied by the Minister of Economic Development and Investments, Chairperson of State Tourism Committee and the leadership of the mentioned companies toured in the area and familiarized himself with the conditions created for the development of extreme and adventure tourism in Yenokavan, including the hotel infrastructures.

In the same community President Sargsyan visited the hotel complex called French village, got acquainted with the construction works of the complex. In 2014 a memorandum of understanding was signed between Armenias Yenokavan and French Villecroze communities, according to which the two communities became sister communities.
YEREVAN, JUNE 6, ARMENPRESS. Nagorno Karabakh conflict must be settled only through negotiations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced in a meeting with students of Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University.

An agreement must be reached, there is no other option. In the prolonged period of the negotiations that went on in different formats, agreements were often very near, even on a distance of an outstretched hand, but afterwards some instinct of distrust came over. But we have to continue working, Armenpress reports Lavrov saying.

The Russian FM stated that despite the fact that a number of principles have already been developed as a result of negotiations, some difficult details touching very sensitive issues must be coordinated.

But we do not give up making attempts. As you may know, Russia, together with the USA and France is an OSCE Minsk Group Co-chair, in the sidelines of which we hold regular meetings with the sides. In the future we will think how to overcome small but very serious details which are not agreed yet, Lavrov stated.
PINELLAS PARK, Fla.2015 AVN Best New Starlet nominee Dakota (aka Dakota Skye) was arrested early Saturday morning at the home of her boyfriend, Robert Anderson Jr., after a brawl that left Anderson Jr. with a swollen, cut lip, The Smoking Gun reports.

Dakota was charged with domestic battery and spent a day in Pinellas County jail before being released Sunday on her own recognizance and ordered to have no contact with Anderson Jr.

According to the arrest record, the fight erupted after the two had sex and Dakota "would not get off the phone. Anderson Jr. wanted [Dakota] to leave his residence, she became upset and hit Anderson Jr. in the face, swelling and cutting his bottom lip."

Dakota has asked for permission from a Pinellas County judge to travel back to her permanent residence in Los Angeles. She told the Florida police she had been in an "intimate relationship" and co-habitated with Anderson Jr. for six months.

While Dakota has no previous domestic violence charges on her record, Anderson Jr. has a rap sheet that includes charges of domestic battery, stalking, felony robbery and trespassing.

Dakota told AVN she cannot discuss details of this case until she's spoken with her lawyer, but stated that she wishes "for the industry to understand these things have to be handled in court and to not judge [me] from the state's immediate decision. I'm innocent until proven guilty."
By Press Trust of India: Chennai, Jun 6 (PTI) A section of ruling AIADMK-Amma MLAs today called on party deputy general secretary T T V Dhinakaran, being opposed by Chief Minister K Palaniswami-led camp, sparking speculations over the governments stability.

However, Finance Minister D Jayakumar, representing the cabinet, asserted there was absolutely "no threat" to the government and dubbed the legislators meeting with Dhinakaran as "personal".

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"There is no threat to the government and it will continue through its tenure till 2021," he told reporters here.

The MLAs met Dhinakaran amid the stand-off between him and the Palaniswami camp, which has revolted against him and jailed party general secretary V K Sasikala and decided to keep them away from the party affairs.

With Dhinakaran, appointed by Sasikala, going back on his earlier assurance to withdraw from party affairs, the ministers and senior party functionaries yesterday held a meeting and reiterated their opposition to him.

Dhinakaran, however, had mocked at their meeting and questioned their authority to remove office-bearers appointed by general secretary.

"We (Palaniswami government) are having absolute majority and that is not an issue," Jayakumar said answering a question.

He said the legislators meeting with Dhinakaran was at a "personal level," and added "it should not be politicised... A stable regime is on and there is no connection between the government and their meeting (Dhinakaran)."

Jayakumar said while the party was being led by a panel of seniors, the government was steered by Chief Minister K Palaniswami.

"All are happy but some have worries, I am not going to say anything about that," he said.

Meanwhile, in a notable mark of assertion of authority, Palaniswamis portrait was featured in the chambers of several state ministers in addition to those of late chief minister Jayalalithaa.

Also, new images of AIADMK founder and late chief minister M G Ramachandran could be seen in the chambers.

When O Panneerselvam was chief minister, only the portraits of Jayalalithaa alone found place in the ministers chambers.

Earlier in the day, some legislators, including Thanga Tamilselvan, V P Kalairajan and former transport minister V Senthil Balaji, called on Dhinakaran at his residence here.

Dhinkaran had returned to the city on June 3 after obtaining bail in the case related to alleged attempt to bribe EC officials.

He had yesterday met Sasikala in the Bengaluru prison, where she is serving her term in the disproportionate assets case.

Thanga Tamilselvan, a known loyalist of Dhinakaran, said only Sasikala and Dhinakaran were authorised to decide on party matters.

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Hitting out at Jayakumar for asking Dhinakaran to stick to his assurance to "keep off" party work, he said "it is Jayakumars personal view, it is not valid."

Asked if action can be expected against Jayakumar for breach of party discipline, he said, "for sure, that information will come."

Legislators belonging to eight districts met Chief Minister K Palaniswami today at the state secretariat.

According to Jayakumar, the meeting was about the issues in constituencies against the backdrop of commencement of Assembly session on June 14. PTI VGN VS KUN

--- ENDS ---
LAS VEGAS, Nev.After several postponements, the sentencing of Jonathan Koppenhaver, who legally changed his name to "War Machine" in 2008, got off to a late start this morning, as Las Vegas Superior Court Judge Elissa Cadish wanted to clear her calendar of other matters before tackling what she knew would be a lengthy discussion of what to do with the famous mixed martial artist (MMA) who had beaten his porn star former girlfriend Christy Mack nearly to death, and inflicted much damage on Christy's friend Corey Thomas.

As the hearing got under way at about 10:20 a.m., the first order of business was to deal with the defense's motion for a new trial, which attorney Jay Liederman had only recently filed, although Nevada law requires that such motions be filed within seven days of a verdict, unless such requirement is amended by the judge. Liederman argued that he had put Judge Cadish on notice that he would be filing such a motion on the day the jury delivered its verdicts, but the judge ruled, after nearly a half hour of argument on Liederman's part, that Liederman's motion had not been timely filed, and she denied it.

Also under discussion was a motion as to whether the judge should have allowed the defense to argue at trial that Koppenhaver had been "unconscious" during the times he beat Mack and Thomas, and Liederman cited case law dating back to the late 1800s which, he said, distinguished the state of unconsciousness from the legally recognized terms of "insanity" and "diminished capacity"and that therefore, any counts in the indictment which described the defendant as having "knowingly" committed various acts should not have been considered by the jury. But in response to questioning by the judge, who pointed out some of Koppenhaver's clearly conscious actions and words during the altercation at issue, all Liederman could offer was that his medical expert, Dr. Stephen Holper, who had seen an MRI taken of Koppenhaver's brain, had testified that there was evidence of traumatic brain injury which left a frontal lobe lesion in Koppenhaver's brain, which allegedly caused the "unconsciousness." However, as the judge pointed out, Dr. Holper had been unable to point to such lesion on the MRI when it was displayed in court during the trial, and she therefore rejected Liederman's arguments that testimony of the alleged lesion should have been considered by the jury.

After reading a list of the charges of which Koppenhaver had been convicted, Judge Cadish then allowed prosecutor Jacqueline Bluth to argue what sentences should be imposed. Bluth said that she'd considered putting together a sentencing memorandum, but felt that simply speaking her thoughts to the court would be better.

"At the end of the day, this case is no different than any other case that I've had in this department, or any case that Your Honor deals with," she began. "There's this idea that this case should represent something different because of who the victim is and who the defendant is. I find that notion disgusting. I think that no matter who walks in these doors, they should be treated the same by this court, they should be treated the same by the state and should be treated by the defendant, and if I'm being quite honest, I don't give a damn who Christy Mack is, who War Machine is; I don't care if there's one camera in here, I don't care if there's 50. What I care about is [the non-porn Christy Mack] and Jonathan Koppenhaver and what happened in the 15 months of that relationship, and what's right and what's justand the notion of anything different because of who these individuals are is not right."

Bluth said that one of her main concerns was that a situation like this involving Koppenhaver doesn't happen again, and to drive home that point, Bluth used a PowerPoint display which highlighted Koppenhaver's interactions with law enforcement dating back to February of 2002.

"The biggest predictor [of reoffending] is looking at history," she said, "so what I did was go through all of the criminal history of the defendant, and I have these [documents] if you have any specific questions about the cases I'm about to talk about."

Bluth also quoted from Koppenhaver's MySpace page, where he'd written, in part, "I'm a different breed of human. I don't follow or go along with the current hype. I do what the fuck I want to do and could care less what anyone thinks of me ... I fight not because I love the sport but because I hate the world and the sheep that live in it ... My soul yearns for a real war. The feeling I get from destroying my enemy is far better than giving the love of even the most beautiful womanand by the way, when I speak of war or enemies, it has nothing to do with any country or politic. I am against most war of that nature. Real war is fought between those who know and hate each other. Anyone who has experienced this knows its beauty."

As her recitation progressed, Bluth noted the many times that Koppenhaver had excused his actions because he had been "depressed," had been "drinking too much and acting stupid," or any of several other "reasons" that deflected any personal responsibility for his actions. She also quoted from Koppenhaver's Twitter feed an hour after he'd been sentenced to probation in a prior case, where he wrote, "How can a fat cunt who hasn't brushed her hair in weeks judge me? What has the world come to?"

Finally, Bluth gave her recommendation: "I think what would be fair, Your Honor, is if you sentence the defendant on Count 7 for the Boulevard Mall incident, which is the first degree kidnapping with substantial bodily harm, to a minimum term of 15 and a maximum term of life; on Count 25, sex assault with a deadly weapon with substantial bodily harm, I'd ask that you also sentence him to 15 to life with those terms served consecutively; Count 31 is battery by strangulation for Corey Thomas, I do think the defendant should also take responsibility and serve time on the actions committed against Mr. Thomas, and ... I'd ask that he be given a term of 24 to 60 [months] to be served consecutively, so Your Honor, that would be about 32 years to life in prison."

The court then called on Koppenhaver himself, who delivered a somewhat rambling defense. "Not a day goes by that I don't seriously regret all those things that I did. I was a very, very lost, very empty person. And to top it off, something's not right with my head. Plain and simple. I've known that a long time and I've hated it. I've hated the way that I think. I've hated my impulses. Half the time, I don't know why I do some of the things I do. And some of the times I do things and I don't even feel like I did them until it's already done." He also claimed to hate himself, stating, "Smashing my face was like a sick form of therapy. It was the only thing I could do to prevent myself from killing myself." However, he said, his stay in prison before trial had resulted in a religious conversion, which had allowed him to "grow into a real man," thanks to having read two books by religion author Lee Strobel.

Koppenhaver's attorney Jay Liederman then spoke, and over the next hour, he stated that his client had experienced "a genuine conversion, a giving over of himself to Christ," which had "changed his point of view"; that Koppenhaver had been abused as a child and who "witnessed his mother every night passed out in a puddle of her own vomit or urine or both, and his father every night coming home, washing her off and beating her"; that he'd never had therapy to deal with his "depression and the rage and the anxiety panic"and basically that Koppenhaver suffered from "bad karma."

After Liederman finished his long, often rambling argument, the court took a long break, and when it resumed, Judge Cadish and the attorneys watched a video recording of Koppenhaver's mother pleading for leniency for her son, which recording for some technical reason could not be played in open court. Bluth then called to the witness stand Corey Thomas, who related an incident he had witnessed where Koppenhaver had beaten up one of Thomas' friends at a bar in San Diego, concluding, "I have all the confidence in the world in Your Honor. I'm concerned with time defense has wasted. It's his fault he did it ... The minimums do not apply in this sentencing. He's wasted everyone's time."

Next to take the stand was Christy's mother Erin, who through tears told the judge, "Every time I think about this I get so mad. I don't even know half of what happened to my daughter ... There is nothing more precious to me than my children. He needs to spend rest of his life in prison."

Finally, Bluth called Christy Mack herself, and after describing the evolution of her relationship with the defendant (as quoted here), she reflected on how Koppenhaver's incarceration would affect her life.

"I think I can truly help others with my experiences," she told the court. "I feel I have to stay strong for everybody. I'm still a work in progress," adding in anticipation of what her former lover's sentence might be, "I don't know if my life will feel complete in 12 years or 30 years and neither do you, but I do know when he gets out he will kill me."

After hearing the victims' statements and considering the voluminous letters of support she had received from Koppenhaver's friends, family and fans, Judge Cadish was ready to deliver her sentence. After noting that she wished Koppenhaver had "received counseling as a child," and stating that she understood that rage can often require a trigger, she nonetheless sentenced the defendant on the 29 counts for which he'd been convicted. Barring any successful appeals, Koppenhaver will be spending at least 36 years in prison before he can apply for parole in 2053, at which point the 35-year-old would be 71though he may be in prison possibly for as long as the term on his natural life.

Pictured: Prosecutor Jacqueline Bluth addressing the court.
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.
It was discreetly referred to as Operation Overlord - the final push into Fortress Europe through the inflexible sea wall, built by the Nazi overlords, just a spare few miles from the free shores of Great Britain, where the entire United States Expeditionary Force was congregated awaiting deployment. Later it would de revered as D-Day - the "longestday," when Allied forces grasped a toehold on the beaches of Normandy in the Nazi occupied nation of France, and Vishay France to the south of the landing zone.It was the beginning of the end for Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. The Allied forces: United States and Great Britain, and in lesser numbers; Canada, Norway, Poland, Australia, New Zealand, Netherlands and Free France stormed the beaches of Normandy and unleashed the maelstrom of Allied might that within 11 months crushed the spine of the German Wehrmacht's western front.The combined Allied forces stormed the Normandy beaches, divided into four sectors: Gold, Juno, Sword and Utah, with the fifth sector, Omaha Beach, just the American soldiers. It was the bloodiest fighting of the day, with the Americans suffering nearly 5,000 casualtiesout of the overwhelming force of 50,000 brave soldiers that withstood the withering fire from entrenched Wehrmacht positions high above the sand and foam, stained to a scarlet hue from the blood of these bravest and best of all Americans, anywhere, that drew breath that June morning.The fighting from as much as 30 miles deep behind the Nazi sea wall, some of it quite heavy, was left to the well-trained young men of the 82nd and the 101st Airborne Divisions, who airdropped amidst hellacious anti-aircraft fire from below in the pitch black of that near moonless eve of that infamous Longest Day.It was a day long, exhaustive fight, whereby the Allied forces made their way ashore on the continent of Europe's mainland. It was also a day that must always be remembered for the ultimate sacrifice that so many young men so willingly gave, and by their supreme effort, preserved our freedoms that we still enjoy today. Should we ever forget their selfless sacrifice, we, as a free American people, do no longer deserve that gift of freedom that is continued by their unwavering courage that fateful day.I close with this poignant message from the Supreme Allied Commander, Dwight Eisenhower, delivered as these young American soldiers braved the hell that was Omaha Beach:
Bob Dunning in the 101st Airborne

Bob Dunning in Toccoa, 2003: Above.

At Mr. Dunning's house in Hartwell, Georgia, 2003 (from left to right: Bucky, Joel, Bill, Marty, Mr. Dunning with the peachmaker): Above.

This is what I call making a difference. If you are or have ever had a teacher like this, say a private or public thank you if they are still around.One of my greatest regrets about the old Grammar days at Mary Lin was that I never went back to look up Mr. Dunning (He will never be Bob to me). It is amazing to me that after 58 years or so this one teacher could have made such an impression on us all. He was a WWII veteran and member of the 101st Airborne Division. He made the jump into Normandy and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. I started doing research on Mr. Dunning in early 2014. I found quite a few sites on the jump in 1994 as well as some mentions in various books. He was an active veteran and spoke to many classes and groups about his wartime experiences. Many people do not know that he jumped again in Normandy on D-Day plus 50 years in 1994.He was 73 years old. If there was ever a poster boy for the Greatest Generation, it was Robert C. Dunning. But there seems to have been millions of these young guys who also fit that bill. I wonder if there are that many from my "ME" generation.When I came across Marty's (an old classmate from school) story which was forwarded to me from a mutual friend, I choked back a tear or too. If I had maintained contact with my old classmates, I would have been one of the ones who went back to visit my old 7th Grade Teacher & Hero. During my entire adult life, I would have flashes of memories of Mr. Dunning and his strict no nonsense way of handling us rambunctious kids. As Marty says in the article below, he would take every opportunity to counsel us about life. Some of us at the time took it to be war stories told to enhance his importance, but later came to realize that his passion was to teach us things that could not be found in books.During some of my worst moments during my tour of Vietnam, Mr. Dunning memory always popped into my head and somehow helped me to endure.Here is the Email from Marty, used with permission:In the early morning darkness of June 6, 1944, Bob and many others of America's finest took off in C47 transports with special D-Day black strips on their wings indicating the invasion, termed project "Overlord". The plan was to drop men behind German lines to disrupt enemy reinforcements among other things. The Germans had purposely flooded the low lands fearing an invasion, although they didn't know exactly when or where. His plane was hit by enemy fire and they had to jump earlier than planned. Bob said that several of the guys were assigned to carry mortar shells, which added considerable weight to a rather short guy. Needless to say, he landed in water over his head and that made for a great story on its own.Bob went on the jump again in Holland. Another historic event He told us he ended the war outside Berlin. These guys were all concerned that they would be reassigned to the Pacific theater rather than going home. Thankfully, that war front ended, too. He had many stories, which were told to us as kids. When we became adults, he relayed stories that wouldn't have been appropriate for a young audience. Although many were intense, a few were down right hilarious.We went to see Bob and Myra Dunning several times prior to his death. I have a 8x10 picture down in my "Man Cave" of the five of us guys bent over with Bob Dunning standing behind us in the famous "Ready Position" and...........you guessed it, he's got the Peace Maker in his hands. Yep, he kept it all those years. On one of our trips up to his house in Hartwell, Ga. from out of the blue, he asked us to leave our correct contact information because he wanted us to be Pall Bearers at his funeral. Kind of a surprise considering he could have a full military service. We really thought he was kidding. However, several years and visits later we got the call that this American Hero had died. And sure enough four of us served as Pall Bearers, an honor none of us will ever forget. He treasured the many young people he taught and their parents, as well. That was his life, teaching young people to become good citizens.We could write a book about Pfc. Robert C. Dunning and the experiences he relayed, before, during and after the war. One thing is for certain he was the real MAN that John Wayne portrayed. He was a true American Hero, both as a soldier and as an educator. And we loved him and the influence he had on our lives.As I said, we could write a book about him. If anyone finds errors in the above, please speak up. But, in closing I have to say visiting with Bob and Myra Dunning in later life was a hoot! I thank God that we had the opportunities to do so.While he always made us walk the line, we all respected him and he taught us some great values to live by!! Thanks Marty Price!!Here is link to this amazing man's obituary I contacted Marty and asked if I could publish his email. Marty responded with the following. "Good to hear from you. Yes, of course you can use what I wrote about Bob Dunning. Unfortunately, Myra Dunning passed away just a short time ago. There was a short obituary in the Atlanta paper. Myra told us that at around age eighty Bob was experiencing some heart issues. His doctor told them that he would be OK if he would just quiet jumping out of airplanes.Seeing that Bob Dunning received the Good Conduct Metal brings a smile to my face after hearing of some of his "adventures" while stationed in England preparing for Operation Overlord. Very funny, indeed. He was young, full of piss and vinegar and obviously high-spirited. I can only imagine what he would have done to us if we had done some of the stuff he did. Yes, we had a lot of laughs listening to Bob tell his "other" wartime stories to us adult students."


Scott Maitland of Top of the Hill Distillery in Chapel Hill and president of the N.C. Distillers Association, speaks on behalf of Senate Bill 155 Thursday at the Senate Rules Committee. (CJ photo by Rick Henderson)

No discussion. No debate. No drama. A lopsided vote.A couple of hours after slipping through a skeptical Senate Rules Committee, Senate Bill 155 , aka the brunch bill, breezed through the full Senate Thursday by a 32-13 vote. Republicans were split, 22-12, and those divisions became apparent, mainly during a Wednesday meeting of the Senate's Finance Committee and to a lesser extent at the Thursday Rules session.If the House concurs with the Senate and the bill becomes law, North Carolina distillers will be able to sell five bottles per customer annually to patrons who take a distillery tour. The current annual limit is one bottle.Distilleries will be able to hold tastings at festivals, trade shows, and conventions that allow alcohol tastings.Restaurants and retail outlets also will be able to serve and sell alcohol beginning at 10 a.m. Sundays rather than at noon with the approval of local governing bodies. This will put North Carolina evem with 47 other states that allow alcohol to be served Sundays before noon, noted Sen. Rick Gunn, R-Alamance, the bill's chief sponsor.The five-bottle provision would take effect July 1, if the bill becomes law by then.Taylor Howard, co-owner of H & H Distillery in Asheville, says the five-bottle law will help distilleries the most of any part of the bill. It would bring more people in more often, making the distillery more like a brewpub.The major objection among Rules members came from Sen. Jerry Tillman, R-Randolph. He scoffed at a provision in the bill charging a $750 per-event fee to auctioneers marketing beer, wines, and spirits - primarily aimed at auctions of high-dollar vintage merchandise or from estates. The events happen rarely. Legislative staff estimated the provision would raise a mere $3,000 a year, but said business might improve if they could include vintage spirits and other rare alcoholic beverages.The Rev. Mark Creech of the Christian Action League implored the committee to reject the bill on religious grounds, giving a speech much like the one he delivered at the Finance meeting. Scott Maitland, proprietor of Top of the Hill Distillers in Chapel Hill, owner of the popular Top of the Hill Restaurant, and president of the N.C. Distillers Association, told the committee the law would make a huge impact on distilleries. The five-bottle rule would make a big difference at his business and allowing alcohol sales before noon on Sundays would boost his restaurant's business (and its ability to employ people) dramatically.The committee approved the bill by voice vote in what appeared to be a narrow margin. But when the bill reached the Senate floor, it passed quickly without any discussion or debate.
The silly answer of the convention lobby

2. Why do they want a convention?

Article V of our Constitution provides two methods of amendment:

3. The Revisionist Account of the federal convention of 1787

4. Our Framers said the purpose of amendments is to remedy defects in the Constitution

5. The Dispute over the proper role of Congress in the amendment process

6. Why was the convention method added to Article V?

7. What's our real problem? Let's man-up and address that

Those who have read Article I, 8, clauses 1-16 of our federal Constitution know that it delegates only a tiny handful of powers (over the Country at large) to the federal government.They also know that, for the last 100 years, the federal government has violated the Constitution by usurping thousands of powers not delegated.The convention lobby says that when the federal government violates the Constitution, the solution is to amend the Constitution.Now think about that: When a spouse violates the marriage vows, is the solution is to change the marriage vows? When people ignore speed limits, is the solution to change the speed limits? When people violate the Ten Commandments, is the solution to change the Ten Commandments?Of course not! The solution is obedience: to the Constitution, the marriage vows, the speed limits, and God.But the convention lobby moves from silliness to insidiousness: They say we can only get the amendments we need at an Article V convention.; From the beginning, the enemies of our Constitution wanted to get rid of it: On Aug. 31, 1787 , George Mason said "he would sooner chop off his right hand than put it to the Constitution as it now stands"; and if it wasn't changed to suit his views,Such demands for another convention were made throughout the ratification process, and continued after our Constitution was ratified by the ninth State on June 21, 1788. James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay, among others, addressed these demands in their writings.Today's enemies of our Constitution are spending vast sums of money to buy an Article V convention . Their hirelings are propagandizing the People and are pushing State Legislatures all over our Country to apply to Congress to call a convention. Congress proposes amendments and sends them to the States for ratification; or Congress calls a convention if two thirds of the States apply for it.Our existing 27 Amendments were obtained under the first method. We've never used the convention method because until recently, Americans understood the danger.James Madison wrote in his Nov. 2, 1788 letter to Turberville that he "trembled" at the prospect of a second convention; and if there were another convention, "the most violent partizans", and "individuals of insidious views" would strive to be delegates and would have "a dangerous opportunity of sapping the very foundations of the fabric" of our Country. 3Alexander Hamilton "dreaded" the consequences of another convention because he knew that enemies of our Constitution wanted to get rid of it: Federalist No. 85. 4 The same goes for today. If there is an Article V convention, our enemies will have the opportunity to get rid of our existing Constitution and impose a new one. 5The globalist elite [the Bush family, et al] want to move our Country into the North American Union (NAU). Under the NAU, Canada, the United States, and Mexico merge, and a Parliament is set up over them. Until recently, a copy of the Task Force Report on the NAU was posted at the website of the Council on Foreign Relations; now one must purchase a copy. The globalists need a new Constitution for the United States which transforms us from a sovereign nation to a member state of the NAU. To get this new Constitution, they need an Article V convention. See this brief commentary Now that you see what's at stake, let's return to the claims of the convention lobby.The convention lobby claims that, at the federal convention of 1787 where our present Constitution was drafted, our Framers gave us the Article V convention as the "solution" to federal usurpations. E.g., Michael Farris wrote: 7"George Mason demanded that this provision [the convention method of proposing amendments] be included in Article V because he correctly forecast the situation we face today. He predicted that Washington, D.C. would violate its constitutional limitations and the States would need to make adjustments to the constitutional text in order to rein in the abuse of power by the federal government." [boldface mine]But Mason didn't say that. Nor did any other delegates say that. They weren't silly men; and they understood that amendments have a very different purpose.James Madison was a delegate to the federal convention of 1787, and kept a Journal. I went through it, collected every reference to what became Article V, and wrote it up - here it is. Madison's Journal shows what the Framers really said about the purpose of amendments: Elbridge Gerry said on June 5, 1787, the "novelty & difficulty of the experiment requires periodical revision". George Mason said on June 11, 1787: Alexander Hamilton said on Sep. 10, 1787 amendments remedy defects in the Constitution.Other primary source writings of the time show: useful amendments would address the Federalist No. 85, 13th para ).would be suggested by experience (Federalist No. 43 at 8.) If "... the distribution or modification of the constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way which the Constitution designates ..." ( Washington's Farewell Address, page 19 ) 8Amendments can't "rein in" the federal government when it "violates its constitutional limitations" because when it does so, it is ignoring the existing limitations on its powers. We cannot fix federal usurpations of non-delegated powers by amending the Constitution to say the federal government cannot do what the Constitution never gave it the power to do in the first place!And look at recent history: The 1st Amendment didn't stop them from banning Christian speech in the public square. The 2nd Amendment didn't stop them from regulating the sale of firearms. The 4th Amendment didn't stop them from spying on us without a warrant. The 5th Amendment didn't stop them from regulatory takings. The 10th Amendment didn't stop them from usurping thousands of other powers not delegated.Now let's look at the words of George Mason which the convention lobby has twisted and taken out of context in an attempt to justify their absurd and ruinous claim.Under the Articles of Confederation (ART. 13) , amendments had to be approved by the Continental Congress and all of the then 13 States.The dispute at the federal convention of 1787 was whether Congress - under the second Constitution then being drafted - should have any power over the amendment process.Madison wanted Congress to propose all amendments, either on their own initiative or at the request of two thirds of the States. On Sep. 10, 1787, he proposed this wording for Article V:But Mason said the States should be able to propose amendments without having to depend on Congress. On Sep. 15, 1787, Mason said, respecting Madison's proposed wording:Now remember! Mason agreed with the other delegates that the purpose of amendments is to remedy defects in the Constitution. Mason's concern was that Congress might not agree to amendments which would be needed to correct defects.Footnote 8 shows that the 11th Amendment was adopted to correct what the States saw as a defect in the powers delegated to the federal courts. The 11th Amendment removed that delegated power from the federal courts. But what if Congress hadn't agreed to propose that amendment? That type of scenario is what Mason's words addressed.Here are examples of other defects Congress might not agree to fix by amendment:The Tariff Act of 1828 was constitutional - it was authorized by Art. I, 8, clause 1. But it was oppressive because it benefited infant industries in the North at the expense of the Southern States. An amendment could provide that tariffs may be imposed only to raise revenue to carry out the delegated powers of the federal government; and may not be imposed to benefit domestic industries, or to benefit one part of the Country at the expense of another part. But Congress might not agree.Slavery was permitted under our original Constitution. The federal fugitive slave laws (Art. IV, 2, clause 3) were oppressive. Slavery is a defect to be repaired by amendment. But Congress might not agree.Do you see? Mason's words, read together, show that his concern was that Congress might not agree to amendments the States wanted to correct defects in the federal Constitution.Neither Mason nor anyone else was so silly as to say that when the federal government "violates its constitutional limitations", the solution is to amend the Constitution.That the convention method was added doesn't mean that all thought it a terrific idea. It was a compromise; and the delegates knew they couldn't keep future generations from doing what they themselves had already done twice: Invoking the Right, acknowledged in the 2nd para of our Declaration of Independence, to throw off one government and set up a new one. They invoked that Right during 1776 to throw off the British Monarchy; and during 1787, they invoked it again to throw off the Articles of Confederation - and the government it had created - and set up a new Constitution which created a new government.In Federalist No. 40 (15th para) , Madison specifically invoked this Right as justification for what they did at the federal convention of 1787: They ignored the Resolution of February 21, 1787 of the Continental Congress which called the convention "for the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation"; they ignored the instructions from their States; 9 and they drafted a new Constitution with a new mode of ratification (only 9 States needed to ratify our Constitution of 1787).There is nothing which can stop the delegates to an Article V convention from doing the same thing. And remember: New Constitutions are already prepared or in the works.Our problem today is not a defective Constitution. Our problem is ignorance, loss of virtue, and disobedience. Our Framers expected us to be virtuous and informed; and the States to resist federal usurpations. 10Are we no longer worthy of the Constitution our Framers gave us? If not, the globalists have plans for us, and they need an Article V convention to impose them.Don't fall into the trap they have set for us. Open your eyes.1 My friend Don Fotheringham and I discussed this issue; this paper reflects his valuable insights. His paper, "Article V is Deliberately Vague", is HERE ; and his excellent book, "The President Makers: How Billionaires Control U.S. and Foreign Policy", is HERE 2 Mason didn't chop off his right hand. He, along with Edmund Randolph and Elbridge Gerry, refused to sign the Constitution: see Madison's Journal of the Federal Convention for Sep. 17, 1787. Randolph wanted the States to be able to propose amendments to the proposed Constitution, and then all would be submitted to and finally decided on by another general convention: Aug. 31, Sep. 10, and Sep. 15, 1787. Gerry's objections to the proposed Constitution were such that "the best that could be done...was to provide for a second general Convention": Sep. 15, 1787.Note well: The federal convention of 1787 was called "for the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation", and all referred to it as a "general convention" [search HERE for "general convention", and you will see]. And in Madison's Nov. 2, 1788 letter to Turberville, he writes,"...3. If a General Convention were to take place for the avowed and sole purpose of revising the Constitution it would naturally consider itself as having a greater latitude than the Congress appointed ..." [boldface mine]An Article V convention is a "general convention".3 Madison opposed the convention method: Federalist No. 49 (Feb. 1788); his letter to Turberville of Nov. 2, 1788; his letter to George Eve of Jan. 2, 1789; and on June 8, 1789, he circumvented the application previously submitted by Virginia on May 5, 1789 for an Article V convention, by introducing into Congress a proposed "bill of rights". That is the procedure we have followed ever since: When States want amendments, they instruct their congressional delegation to propose them.4 In Federalist No. 85 (Aug. 1788), Hamilton addressed the arguments of antifederalists who wanted another convention so they could get rid of our newly ratified Constitution. The "excellent little pamphlet" he refers to (9th para) was written during April 1788 by John Jay (first Chief Justice of the United States) and shows:"the utter improbability of assembling a new convention, under circumstances in any degree so favorable to a happy issue, as those in which the late convention met, deliberated, and concluded."Jay warned in his Pamphlet that a new convention would run "extravagant risques" [risks].5 Even though Article V speaks of "a Convention for proposing Amendments", the delegates will have the "self-evident" power, recognized in the 2nd para of our Declaration of Independence, to throw off our existing Form of Government and set up a new Constitution which creates a new government. And since the new Constitution drafted at an Article V convention will also have its own new mode of ratification, it is sure to be approved.6 The proposed Constitution for the Newstates of America is ratified by a national referendum [Art 12,  1]. Here's the proposed Constitution for "The New Socialist Republic in North America".The Constitution 2020 movement is backed by George Soros, Eric Holder, Cass Sunstein, and Marxist law professors. They want a progressive Constitution in place by the year 2020.7 Farris' paper, "Answering the John Birch Society Questions about Article V", is HERE on the COS website; the copy I preserved is HERE.8 Our Constitution originally delegated to federal courts the power to hear cases "between a State and Citizens of another State" (Art. III, 2, cl. 1). But when a Citizen of South Carolina sued the State of Georgia, the States were outraged! See Chisholm v. Georgia, 2 U.S. 419 (1793). So the 11th Amendment was ratified to take away from the federal courts the power to hear such cases.9 ART. 13 of the Articles of Confederation required amendments to be agreed to by Congress and all of the States. HERE are the instructions the States gave delegates to the federal convention of 1787:"alterations to the Federal Constitution which, when agreed to by Congress and the several States, would become effective": Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Georgia, S. Carolina, Maryland, & New Hampshire."for the purpose of revising the Federal Constitution": Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Delaware, and Georgia;"for the sole and express purpose of revising the Articles of Confederation": New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut."provisions to make the Constitution of the federal Government adequate": New Jersey10 Nullification Made Easy and What Should States Do When the Federal Government Usurps Power?
Faith leaders, lawmakers, criminal justice officials say measure would offer teens chance for better lives



Sen. Tamara Barringer, R-Wake, discusses a bill to raise the juvenile age at a May 30, 2017 news conference. (CJ Photo by Kari Travis)

RALEIGH A stint in juvenile detention is tough for kids who run afoul of the law, but it's nothing compared to time spent in adult prison.Seventeen-year-old M.B., whose name is withheld because he's a minor, would know.In North Carolina, kids older than 16 are prosecuted as adults. Some are even sent to adult prisons.That scares M.B.he said.North Carolina is the only state in the country that hasn't raised its juvenile age.In April, New York passed "raise the age" legislation. North Carolina lawmakers are trying to enact a similar law, House Bill 28o , the Juvenile Justice Reinvestment Act.Raising the age will yield social and economic benefits, but treating 16- and-17 year-olds like juveniles primarily should be a moral decision, supporters say. They note that kids handled through the juvenile justice system have more interaction with family members, and counselors, and get the opportunity to learn habits and skills that will help them become responsible, productive adults.M.B., one of seven children in his family, fell in with a rough crowd during his early years. Fighting and stealing landed him a spot inside the Stonewall Jackson Youth Development Center in Cabarrus County.The punishment was difficult, but he's grateful for the experience, saying it put him back on the right path.After leaving juvenile detention, M.B. was accepted into a rehabilitation program run by the North Carolina Methodist Home for Children.He's been there for six months, learning life skills, excelling in school, and working a job. He's about to graduate from high school, and wants to study business at East Carolina University.The former delinquent is one of a lucky few - an at-risk kid with a chance to rebuild his life.Some of his friends aren't so fortunate.he said.Crime is a decision, and his friends have to deal with the consequences, he said.But sometimes the punishment seems unfair.H.B. 280 passed the House last month by an overwhelming 104-8 vote.The House budget, passed June 2, assigned a portion of $7.5 million in nonrecurring reserve money to fund to H.B. 280, but didn't specify exactly how much would be allocated to the bill.The estimated annual cost to raise the age is just over $40 million.The bill is being considered in the Senate, but that body's budget included an unfunded policy provision to raise the age.House and Senate leaders will negotiate the final budget this month.Sen. Tamara Barringer, R-Wake, a primary sponsor of the Senate version of the legislation, addressed the need to raise the age during a May 30 news conference.she said.Barringer was joined by two prominent faith leaders, Rev. Mark Creech of the Christian Action League of North Carolina, and Rev. Bruce Stanley, president and CEO of the Methodist Home for Children.Both ministers called on Senate lawmakers to support H.B. 280.Creech said.Children are susceptible to surrounding influences, and laws that place kids in adult prison are only pushing juveniles into lives of crime, Stanley said.Multiple studies, including one from the North Carolina Commission of the Administration of Law and Justice, show that kids are less likely to become adult criminals if they are punished under the juvenile system.One common misperception is that teens will be held more accountable under the adult system, William Lassiter, deputy commissioner of public safety, told Carolina Journal.But 16- and-17 year-olds who commit low-level felonies often receive unsupervised probation when charged in adult court. Additionally, parents and guardians are not required to participate in any part of the process.The juvenile system requires offenders to undergo counseling, community service, and rehabilitation. In some of the more serious cases, kids are detained in one of the state's four youth development centers.Parents and families are involved every step of the way.Yet some lawmakers continue to express concern that raising the age will soften punishments for violent crimes.Only 3 percent of 16- and 17-year-olds convicted in 2014 committed violent felonies, according to data from the North Carolina Sentencing Commission. Under H.B. 280, all teens convicted of those crimes will be automatically transferred to adult court.For most older teens, raising the age isn't about second chances. It's simply about getting the justice they deserve, Lassiter said.Some kids commit minor offenses that, if punished in adult court, could ruin college or job opportunities. Others are spurred to crime by family-related violence or trauma, he added.Of the 16 females in juvenile detention, 14 are victims of sexual assault, rape, or prostitution. Many have been violated at the hands of family members. Some have killed or injured their attackers in self-defense.The juvenile justice system takes these factors into account.Lassiter said.For M.B., being treated like a kid in the juvenile system provided a pathway to becoming a responsible adult. That's not an opportunity he takes for granted.he said.M.B., and the other advocates for raise-the-age, want many more teens like him to have that same chance.
Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said the Narendra Modi government has failed to fulfill its promises to various sections, including the youth and farmers.

Ghulam Nabi Azad speaks to reporters after the CWC meet in New Delhi. Photo: ANI.

By India Today Web Desk: The Congress today attacked the Narendra Modi government over its performance in the last three years and called it a "hero on TV and zero on ground".

"The Modi government has completed three years. Where there was harmony, there is discord. Where there was tolerance, there is provocation," Congress president Sonia Gandhi said after chairing a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) in New Delhi.

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"We must be ready to protect the essence and the idea of India which this government is seeking to extinguish," Sonia Gandhi said.

HERE IS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CONGRESS's ATTACK ON THE MODI GOVERNMENT: Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said the Modi government has failed to fulfill its promises to various sections, including the youth and farmers. The senior Congress leader alleged that government machinery was being used to "silence voices of dissent" while briefing reporters after the CWC meeting. "Whether it is political parties, print media or electronic media, the government does not respect voice of dissent. It seems it does not respect democracy," Ghulam Nabi Azad said. Azad, who was accompanied by Congress leaders Mukul Wasnik, A K Antony and P Chidambaram, said the government may celebrate its three years and congratulate itself on television, but its performance has been disappointing. "This is a government of slogans and publicity. It is hero on TV and zero on the ground," Ghulam Nabi Azad said. He said there was an atmosphere of fear among the Dalits, Scheduled Tribes, minorities and weaker sections. Ghulam Nabi Azad alleged that women did not feel safe in the country. He said BJP leaders talked of generating two crore employment opportunities every year, but youth were actually losing jobs. He said farmers were promised minimum support price that was 50 per cent over the input cost. "The promises have proved to be false," he said, adding that a large number of farmers commit suicide every year in the country.

(with inputs from agencies)

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--- ENDS ---
Most of the information provided to Governors promotes the administration's agenda. Wise decision-making requires that decision-makers hear arguments both for and against a proposal, not just information that leads to a foregone conclusion.

Important issues are frequently ignored. If the General Administration does not regard an issue worthy of attention, board members often lack the awareness to explore it independently.

Board members are often unaware of their own rights and responsibilities, causing them to defer to the administration when they should be asserting themselves.

Board members are not always given information in a timely manner. Too often, board votes on important decisions, such as chancellor appointments, are conducted without sufficient time to adequately appraise candidates. Instead, they are routinely given hundreds of pages of information just days before a decision is to be made-hardly enough time to make a proper assessment.

The University of North Carolina was founded with an excellent governance structure-with one glaring flaw that allows power to be concentrated in the General Administration rather than dispersed between the several branches.That flaw is the Board of Governors' dependence on the administration for information. In 2013, I proposed that this problem could be corrected with a relatively minor fix: giving the board its own small staff so that it can have an independent source of information.Now that provision is made for board staff in the Senate version of the 2018 North Carolina budget, it makes sense to reiterate my reasons for that proposal.My critique is not intended to disparage the UNC Administration; rather, I merely suggest that each branch of governance has its own interests that may not always match those of other branches. For example, it is natural that university administrators will try to maximize revenues, whereas the Governors best serve taxpayers by emphasizing cost control.The board, as the representative of the state's people and taxpayers in the university governance system, is supposed to have oversight over the entire system. Yet because the General Administration controls the flow of information, the board does not fully assert itself. This is because, in the current structure, board members are at a severe disadvantage. They are chosen for their accomplishments in other endeavors; they are busy people who can devote only a few days a month to university system affairs. The administration, on the other hand, has roughly 100 full-time employees and has much closer contact with the rest of the university system.As a result, board members often only know what they are told by administrators, limiting their understanding of the issues and diminishing their ability to oversee the universities to make sure they are excellent, efficient, ethical, and unbiased. The General Administration, which represents the university itself rather than the citizens of North Carolina, controls the agenda. And it is only human nature that the administration takes advantage of the current way UNC system governance is incentivized.This imbalance of knowledge resulting in one-sided governance is known as an "asymmetry of information" problem. To address the asymmetry, the Board of Governors needs at least one high-level staff member of its own, who will conduct independent research to identify problems and solutions that the board may otherwise overlook.After following board activities for the better part of a decade, I witnessed how administrative control of information negatively impacted board decisions, including:Hiring a board staff will alleviate all of these problems. The cost to maintain staff members will be repaid many times over by bolstering the board's oversight of expenditures through better information. And governance works best with a serious process of investigation, argumentation, and reconciliation, not when there is no opposition to a single agenda. Such tension between branches is not unnecessarily adversarial; it is merely the by-product of a well-designed system of checks and balances.Every system needs tweaking from time to time. The time for the Board of Governors to have its own staff has come.


(Photos by Cliff Hollis)

From left: Will Broughton, coordinator of the Office of Health Access at the Brody School of Medicine; James Madson, health director for Beaufort County Health Department; and Al Delia, director of the Office of Health Access.

The Office of Health Access in the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, working with the Foundation for Health Leadership & Innovation, has secured a grant that should go a long way towards improving population health in the East.The $320,000 award from The Duke Endowment will help establish a standardized regional community health needs assessment process for eastern North Carolina over the next year.As part of the Affordable Care Act, not-for-profit and government hospitals are required by the IRS to conduct community health needs assessments every three years. Survey questions touch on a wide range of topics including community safety and recreation opportunities, housing and transportation options, vaccinations and nutrition, smoking and drinking habits, and chronic diseases.The Division of Public Health in the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services requires local health departments to conduct similar assessments periodically. But the process each department uses - including the questions asked as part of that process - varies widely between jurisdictions and organizations.said Al Delia, director of Brody's Office of Health Access.Twenty hospitals and 19 health departments (representing 25 counties) have expressed their intent to participate in the new centralized, self-sustaining structure called the N.C. Eastern Regional Community Health Needs Assessment Collaborative. It will be administered through the Foundation for Health Leadership & Innovation, launched in 1982 as asaid Maggie Sauer, outgoing president and chief executive officer of the Foundation,Will Broughton, coordinator for the Office of Health Access and future project coordinator for the collaborative, will be facilitating the day-to-day implementation efforts. He said the infrastructure will create opportunities for new and better collaborations and partnerships among health organizations as they seek to identify the most effective health interventions for the populations they serve - and as they seek funding for those interventions.Broughton said.The grant will fund the hiring of vendors to administer a standardized survey beginning in October 2017 - primarily via the internet, but also through paper surveys, in-person and telephone interviews as needed. Trained facilitators will lead focus groups to collect additional data.Project organizers will monitor the data to ensure the demographics adequately reflect each county's population. It will be maintained in a database so counties can compare outcomes for various interventions.said Jim Madson, Beaufort County Health Director and chair of the project's steering committee. He noted that each individual county and hospital will still decide at the local level how they would like to prioritize their findings and what interventions they want to focus on.The baseline survey will be the same across all eastern North Carolina counties, but counties can add unique questions tailored to their specific populations or to emerging health concerns in their areas.For more information about the Foundation for Health Leadership & Innovation visit
 I underwent surgery when I was five years old. I remember how my sister and I were taken to another house, where there were three other girls. Of course, we didnt know what was to come. It all looked like a small celebration, but something was not right. We were told not look up or look around, and then one by one they led us to the bathroom. The drummers clattered louder and louder to drown out our screams. I remember, I myself was allowed to beat the drum and I even smiled till it was my turn. To say it was painful is an understatement. For a week I lay almost motionless, and when I needed the toilet, I was in terrible pain. They do not use any painkiller nor any treatment methods. Unless they boil water with a goats dung, on which you then need to sit down. I had problems later, with infections, so the pain did not go away.

When I got married, I had a painful sexual relationship with my husband and I did not feel any pleasure. Talking with my sister who lived in Senegal, who had not had the Procedure, I found out that it was different. If I could return to that time, I would tell my mother never to do this to me. Now I have a 4-year-old daughter and my mother insisted that she have the operation, too. Ill kill you if you do that! was my reply.
This can't be good for Fyre Media co-founders Billy McFarland and Ja Rule: leaked emails and documents show that organizers were not only grossly incompetent, they didn't seem to particularly care that the Fyre Festival was doomed.

From Mic:

In an urgent April 3 email with the subject line, "RED FLAG- BATHROOMS/ SHOWER SHIPPING," a mid-level Fyre Festival worker alerted senior staff, including 25-year-old co-founder Billy McFarland and Fyre Media president Conall Arora, of a growing crisis: the unexpectedly high costs (estimated to be at least $400,000) of shipping enough toilets and showers to the Bahamas to accommodate an anticipated 2,500 people on the island. This followed the news that its caterer, Starr Catering Group, had just pulled out of the festival. Those two events prompted one assistant on the email thread to joke, "No one is eating so therefore no ones pooping."

Here's another snapshot from the train wreck:

But there was one problem with Weinstein's plan: Those luxury villas  which Fyre Media marketed on its website and sold for thousands of dollars to attendees  don't seem to have existed. Two days later, on April 22, Weinstein sent an email to staff strongly suggesting a campaign begin to reach out to the influencers planning to attend  and prepare them for seriously reduced accommodations. "It is my opinion based on conversations with influencers, that the majority of them are not going to receive what they were promised," Weinstein said in a note urging Fyre staff to be more transparent. "In speaking to even low level influencers, it was clear they expected their own rooms at private villas on the beach. Of course, these villas don't exist."

After reading this, it's clear that the only way McFarland could avoid being sent to prison is if Trump appoints him to Secretary of HUD.

Image of Mr. McFarland by Ian Moran. Image of Mr. Rule by Digo 015
Moses Gashirabake is a confident, distinguished, sharply dressed 28-year-old who is normally completely composed.

But after his convocation ceremony at McGill University, with degrees in both civil and common law in his hands, he spotted Rosemarie Schade making her way toward him for a hug and was simply overwhelmed with emotion.

"Over and above being my professor, she ended up being my international mother," Gashirabake said, as he searched for a tissue to wipe away his unexpected tears.

"She played the role of a mother even before my mother came over to Canada, so that is definitely something I remembered, and then tears just started flowing."

Genocide survivor

Gashirabake, the 10th of 12 children, had always dreamed of becoming a lawyer, but the road to graduating from McGill University's law school has been long and difficult.

He was just five when his family escaped from Rwanda in 1994 and started a new life in Kenya.

"I was a lucky survivor of that genocide," he said. "So I grew up as a refugee."

Gashirabake said his older siblings suffered more trauma before leaving Rwanda, but he admits he too has difficult memories.

"Along the streets as we were moving out, [I saw] dead bodies," he said.

"At one point I saw one person being shot, and this person was actually shot by [a person] that was protecting us. How cruel was that?"

Refugees in Kenya

Gashirabake says in Kenya, his family was economically privileged compared to other refugees, thanks to his father's business connections.

His father owned a transportation company and helped other Rwandans, too. That inspired Gashirabake to volunteer with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in Kenya.

During that time, he was also scoring top grades in high school and won a scholarship that would have paid his university tuition.

However, the fact that he was not a Kenyan citizen  despite having lived in the country for 13 years  meant he wasn't eligible to receive that money.

Story continues

"I was extremely disappointed and sad," he said.

'Blessing in disguise'

"Losing the scholarship became a blessing in disguise because it got me now to look to other opportunities," Gashirabake said.

He won a scholarship to attend University of Pennsylvania in the U.S.

"It's an Ivy League school," he said, but he had no family nearby, and that experience soon turned out to be a lonely one.

"I knew no one. In most of my classes, I would be the only black kid in the class."

After visiting his older sisters in Montreal just two months into his first semester in the U.S., he gave up that scholarship to join them.

"I had to take a leap of faith and move here. I think this is the best decision I've ever made," he said.

Discovering Montreal

Gashirabake said he saw lots of Montrealers who look like him; he liked the mix of French and English in the city, and with his sisters already here, he felt at home.

As a political science student at Concordia University, he started to open up about his life.

"It was one of my professors who encouraged me to share the story in a human rights class," he said.

"The first time I spoke about me being a Rwandan genocide survivor, I cried."

That experience led to several invitations to speak at the Holocaust Memorial in Montreal, he said.

"So I was going through my academic training but I was also, from a personal perspective, going through healing," he said.

He went "from feeling victimized to actually feeling that I'm contributing."

Gashirabake became a Canadian citizen and got involved in many community initiatives, including creating Concordia Students for Refugees, a group that raised money to sponsor students from refugee camps to come to Concordia to study.

'Almost giving up'

He was thriving in Montreal and then faced a sudden shock in 2012 when his father, still living in Kenya, died after what was supposed to be a routine medical procedure.

"I was almost giving up on moving on to the next step in going to law school," he said.

That's when Rosemarie Schade stepped in.

"She became a counsellor to me," he said. "She mobilized so many people that she knew that would make a difference to come and talk to me and tell me, 'Hey, this is a valley, but soon we'll be on the mountain.'"

2 mothers

Schade was among the dozens who showed up to witness Gashirabake's graduation and give him a big hug after convocation.

"This is someone who has an incredible strength of character, incredible integrity, incredible spirit and intelligence," she said.

"I'm very proud of being what he calls his 'international mother,'" said Schade.

Marguerite Gashirabake, who joined her son in Montreal just two years ago, was also in the crowd, beaming with pride.

Speaking Kinyarwanda, she said she's extremely happy her son "did a good job in this country."

And he has plans to do much more.

Gashirabake is already working at an international law firm in Montreal and wants to do pro bono work for people who cannot access justice.

"I know what it means to be in a position of need or to be in a position of weakness," he said. "I'm definitely going to do a lot of hours on behalf of the community." .

"When you have hope, and you work hard, and then luckily people come into your life and they push you and they support you ... nothing is impossible."
The squads, made up of plainclothes and uniformed police officers, were introduced in March to crack down on "Romeos"- a term loosely used for molesters.

While Babuddin promised to slap any case on an innocent in exchange for bribes, Ved offered to trap the "target" in an unresolved case of rioting.

By Mail Today: At the most, they were mocked as "moral police" for swooping on parks, forcing youths to do sit-ups or slapping dating couples in full public view.

But an India Today TV investigation has discovered a disturbing phenomenon in the very crop of Uttar Pradesh police on which the Yogi Adityanath administration has raised anti-Romeo squads purportedly for women's safety.

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The probe found members of the new contingents out not only to harass but implicate innocents in false cases, ready as they were to resort to blatant thuggery for bribes. Their new role, observed the India Today TV investigation, was a mere cover for abuse of authority.

The squads, made up of plainclothes and uniformed police officers, were introduced in March to crack down on "Romeos" - a term loosely used for molesters - after the BJP government took power in the state.

'HOW TO HAVE AN INNOCENT MAN ROUNDED UP FOR NO CRIME'

In Meerut's Transport Nagar, sub-inspector Onkar Nath Pandey offered tips to the undercover team on how to have an innocent man rounded up for no crime.

Pandey, the local head of an anti-Romeo squad, also promised to plant weapons on him, a fictitious business rival concocted by India Today TV's investigative team. "What I am saying is he should have a companion first (on the street); even if that's a man. Take him into confidence. Let there be a scuffle after drinks. Let that man provoke him (your rival). He'd lose his senses. Then call the police who will pick him up. He'll be prosecuted," Pandey suggested.

"Will he be sent to jail?" asked the reporter, to which the cop claimed, "Definitely, he'll go to jail. We'll frame him in a weapons' case and he'll be imprisoned." He demanded `50,000 for the dirty job.

Sub-inspector Vineet Verma, the head of an anti-Romeo squad at a Bulandshahr police station, asked India Today TV's investigative team to send the target's photo to him on WhatsApp.

NO WRITTEN COMPLAINT TO ACT

He needed no written complaint to act. In the conversation recorded on secret cameras, he was ready to harass, beat up or even torture an innocent. "Nothing in writing (is needed). We'll have him slapped, etc. We'll have it done," Verma said. His counterpart at Agra's Nai Ki Mandi, Ved Prakash, proposed to entangle the fictitious character in an unresolved case of rioting.

"Police were attacked near Haweli Garib Khan. A lot of stone-pelting also happened. A case is registered against 150 people in the rioting," he recalled. "We'll have warrants issued for him from a magistrate court," Prakash said.

The racket was found to be running deep in the national capital region as well. Babuddin, part of a special operations group at Ghaziabad's Loni police station, promised on-demand action.

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"There will be a cost involved but there is work to be done by police. We will have to put in many hours in preparing a good case against him. Then, we will be able to pick him up from wherever we want," he said.

PLOT CENTRED AN IMAGINARY MAN

The plot centred on an imaginary man in a consensual relationship with a woman. "For six months in prison, you'll have to give `3 lakh. He will be behind the bars in 36 hours," Babuddin said.

Soon, his team joined in to firm up the nasty plan. They all agreed to pick up the fictitious character from his dating spot, have his call details dug out and take him into custody over cooked-up charges.

After the report aired, UP police chief Sulkhan Singh asked the ADGs in Meerut and Agra to submit a preliminary probe on India Today TV's #OperationRomeo by Tuesday. He also asked for the career records of all four cops exposed in the findings. A detailed probe will be carried out by the Uttar Pradesh DG headquarters.

"Laws per se and their implementation must not be blamed," said Amitabh Thakur, inspector general, UP police. "For women from the upper echelons of society, a Romeo wandering the streets is not a problem. But for women in smaller areas, these are real issues. Your expose raises those real issues."

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State power minister Shrikant Sharma termed the findings shocking. "It is very unfortunate that such things are happening in our administration," he said. "We will take action against such people. Your sting operation will make our administration more proactive. But the good work of the anti-Romeo squads cannot be ignored."

Also Read:

Anti-Romeo or extortion squads? India Today exposes the thuggery

Uttar Pradesh: Self-proclaimed anti-Romeo squad takes on bandits of jungles where police don't go

Also Watch:

Operation Romeo: For a fee, how UP's anti-Romeo thugs fleece innocents

--- ENDS ---
At least 2,458 Canadians died from opioid-related overdoses in 2016: report

At least 2,458 Canadians died from apparent opioid-related overdoses in 2016, the Public Health Agency of Canada says.

That amounts to seven people a day dying from opioid use, the agency said Tuesday on behalf of the federal, provincial, territorial Special Advisory Committee on the Epidemic of Opioid Overdoses.

In April, the committee agreed to define apparent opioid-related death as one caused by intoxication or poisoning as a result of drug use, when one of the drugs is an opioid.

On Monday, Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson called fentanyl-related overdose deaths in the city a "bloodbath" with no end in sight. Fentanyl is an especially powerful opioid.

Western Canada experienced the highest rates, with apparent opioid-related death rates of over 10 per 100,000 population for Yukon, Northwest Territories, British Columbia and Alberta, according to the new report.

Nationally, the apparent opioid-related death rate in Canada was 8.8 per 100,000 population, without adjusting for age.

In comparison, cancer is the leading cause of death in Canada, with an estimated 78,800 Canadians are expected to die from cancer every year, about 30 per cent of all deaths in the country. In 2012, the age-standardized mortality rate from cancer was 296 cases per 100,000 population.

The agency said information on opioid deaths from Quebec is not currently available.

Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador reported 2015 deaths. g
MONDAY, June 5, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- Genetically tuning a person's own immune cells to target cancer appears to provide long-lasting protection against a blood cancer called multiple myeloma, an early trial from China shows.

The treatment, called CAR T-cell therapy, caused 33 out of 35 patients with recurring multiple myeloma to either enter full remission or experience a significant reduction in their cancer.

The results are "impressive," said Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, deputy chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society.

"These are patients who have had prior treatment and had their disease return, and 100 percent of the patients are reported to have had some form of meaningful response to these cells that were administered," Lichtenfeld said.

The new therapy is custom-made for each patient. Doctors collect the patient's own T-cells -- one of the immune system's main cell types -- and genetically reprogram them to target and attack abnormal multiple myeloma cells.

Lead researcher Dr. Wanhong Zhao likened the process to fitting immune cells with a GPS that steers them to cancer cells -- making them into professional killers that never miss their target.

Zhao is associate director of hematology at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University in Xi'an, China.

CAR T-cell therapy is promising because the genetically altered T-cells are expected to roost in a person's body, multiplying and providing long-term protection, Lichtenfeld said.

"The theory is they should attack the tumor and continue to grow to become a long-term monitoring and treatment system," Lichtenfeld said. "It's not a one-shot deal."

The technology represents the next step forward in immunotherapy for cancer, said Dr. Michael Sabel, chief of surgical oncology at the University of Michigan.

"Immunotherapy is now really providing hope to a lot of patients with cancers that were not really responding to our standard chemotherapies," Sabel said.

CAR T-cell therapy previously has been used to treat lymphoma and lymphocytic leukemia, Lichtenfeld said.

Zhao and his colleagues decided to try the therapy to treat multiple myeloma. They re-engineered the patients' T-cells and then reintroduced them to the body in three infusions performed within one week.

Multiple myeloma is a cancer that occurs in plasma cells, which are mainly found in bone marrow and produce antibodies to fight infections. About 30,300 people will likely be diagnosed with multiple myeloma this year in the United States, researchers said in background notes.

"Multiple myeloma is a disease that historically was fatal in the course of a couple of years," Lichtenfeld said. During the past two decades, new breakthroughs have extended survival out 10 to 15 years in some patients, he noted.

To date, 19 of the first 35 Chinese patients have been followed for more than four months, researchers report.

Fourteen of those 19 patients have reached the highest level of remission, researchers report. There hasn't been a relapse among any of these patients, including five followed for more than a year.

"That's as far as you can go in terms of driving down the amount of tumor that's in the body," Lichtenfeld said.

Out of the remaining five patients, one experienced a partial response and four a very good response, researchers said.

However, about 85 percent of the patients experienced cytokine release syndrome (CRS), a potentially dangerous side effect of CAR T-cell therapy.

Symptoms of cytokine release syndrome can include fever, low blood pressure, difficulty breathing, and impaired organ function, the researchers said. However, most of the patients experienced only transient symptoms, and "now we have drugs to treat it," Lichtenfeld said.

History suggests the therapy will cost a lot if it receives approval, Lichtenfeld said. However, prior to approval, much more research will be needed, he added.

The Chinese research team plans to enroll a total of 100 patients in this clinical trial at four hospitals in China. They also plan a similar clinical trial in the United States by 2018, Zhao said.

The study was funded by Nanjing Legend Biotech Co., the Chinese firm developing the technology.

The findings were presented Monday at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting, in Chicago. Data and conclusions presented at meetings are usually considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

More information

For more on multiple myeloma, visit the American Cancer Society.
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New York, June 6, 2017Jordans Ministry of Information today revoked the license for Qatar broadcaster Al-Jazeera and said it will close the broadcasters Jordanian office. In an announcement reported by the state-run Petra News Agency, the ministry said its actions came after reviewing the crisis between Qatar and neighboring Gulf states Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Journalists, and ordinary people who rely on them for news and information, are paying the price for this regional diplomatic dispute, said CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour said. We call on Jordan not to follow its neighbors down the path of censorship, and instead to allow Al-Jazeera and all news outlets to operate freely.

CPJ could not determine if the order has immediately gone into effect. The Jordanian Embassy in Washington, D.C. did not immediately return a phone call from CPJ requesting comment.
San Quentin prison, California

The California Supreme Court hears many high-stakes cases on issues such as individual rights, taxes, and the lawmaking powers of the state and its voters. But it has seldom confronted a case with such potentially dramatic consequences as Tuesday's hearing on the Proposition 66 death-penalty initiative.





If the court - traditionally deferential to the will of the voters - upholds the central provisions of Prop. 66, it will open the door to the resumption of executions in a state that last put a prisoner to death in January 2006. Nearly 750 condemned inmates inhabit the nation's largest death row, and about 20 have run out of appeals to their conviction and sentence.





Prop. 66 also seeks to speed up future executions, in part by requiring the state's high court to decide all death-penalty appeals within 5 years of sentencing - more than twice its current pace. If the court upholds that requirement, one of the most hotly contested in the case, it may have to reconfigure itself as a tribunal that gives priority to capital cases over all other types of criminal and civil law disputes in the nation's most populous state.





The justices could reject the deadlines while upholding other Prop. 66 provisions aimed at shortening the death-penalty process, such as limiting prisoners' appeals and requiring more lawyers to accept capital cases. But opponents say the proposed timetables for court action are the heart of an initiative that seeks to hamstring judicial authority over state law.





Neither lawmakers nor voters can "force the courts to prioritize a certain type of case at the expense of all other types of cases," said Christina Von der Ahe Rayburn, a lawyer in the suit to overturn Prop. 66. The requirement to move death cases to the front of the line, she said, would "impair the court's inherent function of giving fair and equal treatment to (all) litigants."





Not so, said Kent Scheidegger, legal director of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation and an author of Prop. 66. He said the measure would actually relieve the state Supreme Court of some of its current death-penalty workload by transferring some hearings to trial courts. It sets a 5-year deadline that he says the court could meet if it eliminated needless delays.





"If our side wins, we can get back to having a death penalty that actually works and really see some executions being carried out," probably before the end of this year, said Scheidegger, who will argue in defense of the measure along with Attorney General Xavier Becerra's office at the hearing in Los Angeles.





Rayburn said an unrelated federal court case would probably delay any executions in California by at least six months, even if Prop. 66 were upheld. If the court overturns most or all of the initiative, executions will remain on hold for a year or longer as challenges to proposed new lethal-injection procedures work their way through state and federal courts.





A ruling is due within 3 months.





Prop. 66 passed with 51 % of the vote on the same November ballot in which a rival measure to repeal the death penalty in California was rejected by about 7 % points, nearly twice the margin of defeat for a similar measure in 2012. While the votes were close, the message seemed clear: Californians want the death-penalty law enforced.





But the far-reaching provisions of Prop. 66, which received little attention during the campaign, have evidently raised concerns among the justices, who put the measure on hold while they consider a lawsuit seeking to overturn it. The suit was filed by the late John Van de Kamp, a former state attorney general, and Ron Briggs, a former El Dorado County supervisor whose father, the former Southern California state Sen. John Briggs, sponsored a 1978 initiative that established the current death-penalty law.





Even before a federal judge halted California executions in 2006 by citing flaws in injection procedures, equipment and staff training, death-penalty appeals in the state were taking 20 years or more.





About 1/2 that time is typically spent in the federal courts, which consider constitutional objections to state death verdicts and are beyond the reach of state initiatives. But some of the delay is due to heavy state court workloads and a shortage of qualified lawyers who are willing to take the cases.





In addition to imposing a deadline on the time the state Supreme Court takes to review a death row inmate's appeal, Prop. 66 would apply the same 5-year limit to state courts' review of the 2nd-stage appeals known as habeas corpus. Those usually involve such post-trial claims as incompetent legal representation and misconduct by the prosecutor or jurors, and have often been the basis for federal court rulings overturning California death sentences.





The initiative doesn't say what would happen if the courts missed their deadlines.





Habeas corpus challenges are now filed directly with the state Supreme Court, but Prop. 66 would redirect them to the Superior Court judge who conducted the trial, and would shorten the filing deadline from 3 years to 1 year.





Scheidegger said the change would free the state's high court to concentrate on appeals and handle them more quickly. But Rayburn said Prop. 66, while providing no additional court funding, would simply shift more work to already overburdened Superior Courts in the handful of counties - Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside - that issue most of the state's death sentences.





She also argued - though Scheidegger disagreed - that the state Constitution requires all death-penalty appeals, including habeas corpus cases, to be filed directly with the state Supreme Court.





Another provision of the measure seeks to expand the pool of defense lawyers by requiring attorneys to take capital cases if they already accept court appointments to represent defendants in other criminal cases.





Supporters say the change would ease the shortage of available lawyers, 1 of the chief reasons appeals take so long. Opponents say it would put condemned inmates' fates in the hands of unqualified lawyers and prompt many lawyers to refuse future assignments.





Prop. 66 would also speed up the state's switch from 3-drug executions, in use from 1996 to 2006, to lethal injections of a single barbiturate.





Gov. Jerry Brown's administration proposed procedures for 1-drug executions last year in settlement of a lawsuit by relatives of murder victims. Prison officials are still reviewing those procedures under a long-standing law that requires them to consider public comments. The commenters have included organizations that say the proposed drugs are untested in executions and the procedures are unreliable.





Prop. 66 would allow the state to enact the 1-drug procedures without considering public comment, though opponents could still object in court.





2 of the court's 7 justices, Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye and Justice Ming Chin, have removed themselves from the case because they are members of the state's Judicial Council, a defendant in the lawsuit by Van de Kamp and Briggs. Their replacements are 2 randomly selected appeals court justices, Andrea Hoch of the Sacramento court, an appointee of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Raymond Ikola, appointed to the court in Santa Ana by Gov. Gray Davis.





The case is Briggs vs. Brown, S238309.

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: San Francisco Chronicle, June 5, 2017
Federal Supreme Court, Abu Dhabi, UAE Ten Indians, convicted of killing a Pakistani man over a bootlegging feud in Abu Dhabi, were absolved of the death penalty in May 2017 after an amount of Rs 60 lakh was paid as blood money (diyah) to the victim's family. Dubai-based businessman of Indian origin, SP Singh Oberoi, who paid the amount as per provisions of the sharia law, says that there are several Indians on death row in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for similar murders. Often, these immigrants, in a bid to make quick money, find themselves in the midst of local turf wars between alcohol runners, and either end up dead, injured or as convicted murderers. Ten Indians, convicted of killing a Pakistani man over a bootlegging feud in Abu Dhabi, were absolved of the death penalty in May 2017 after an amount of Rs 60 lakh was paid as blood money (diyah) to the victim's family. Dubai-based businessman of Indian origin, SP Singh Oberoi, who paid the amount as per provisions of the sharia law, says that there are several Indians on death row in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for similar murders. Often, these immigrants, in a bid to make quick money, find themselves in the midst of local turf wars between alcohol runners, and either end up dead, injured or as convicted murderers.





Oberoi, who has rescued 89 Indians from the gallows after paying over 3 million USD in blood money so far, said that 130 men have been on death row in the UAE for bootlegging-related murders. These include immigrants from Pakistan, Nepal, the Philippines, among other countries; however, the majority - over 100 of them - have been Indians from various states (Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, among others). The similarity, he says, lies in the financial background of these men, the abject poverty in each of their homes.





"In all these cases, without an exception, the boys have reached the UAE after their families paid an amount of Rs 1 to 1.5 lakh to local agents, who promised lucrative, high-paying jobs for their children abroad. The amount, in all cases, was arranged by the families through loans and mortgages. But when the boys reached UAE, they discovered that they were employed in menial jobs, where their monthly salary did not exceed Rs 14,000. Further, their monthly expenses were around Rs 8,000. They did save Rs 6,000 on an average, but the loan interest itself was Rs 10,000 to 15,000. That's how they ended up indulging in illegal activities like bootlegging to make a quick buck," said Oberoi, a 62-year-old who owns seven companies in the UAE.





Turf wars, said Oberoi, are a mundane feature of the bootlegging culture in the UAE, where the sale of alcohol is strictly controlled or regulated, especially in the dry emirate, Sharjah. Areas, like in most cities with the presence of local Mafiosi, are divided among gang leaders, each with their own sources and clients for illegal supply of alcohol. However, these gangs often infiltrate into each others' zones, leading to turf wars, injuries, and many a time, fatalities. When the police reach the spot after learning of the murder, they pick up members of the rival gang, and in all such cases, the accused are either sentenced to life imprisonment, which ranges from 25 to 40 years in the UAE, or to death.





Oberoi says that the Shariat law has provisions for diyah, which means that a convict can be absolved of the death penalty if he pays a minimum of 2 lakh dirhams (Rs 35 lakh) as blood money to the victim's family if the victim was male, and one lakh dirhams (Rs 17.5 lakh) in case of female victims. Upon accepting the money, the family issues a consent letter for pardon, which is admitted in court, and the death sentence is waived off. But since the amount is substantially high for the immigrant accused to foot, they often remain on death row.





"I first learnt of these youths on death row in 2010, when I read a news report about 17 Indians being sentenced to the gallows for the murder of one man. It sounded strange to me. How could 17 men be responsible for killing one? That's when I visited these boys in jail, spoke to the Indian embassy, and got in touch with the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). With the MEA's moral backing, I paid the blood money amount of $1.2 million (Rs 6.4 crore as of today) to the victim's family, and the 17 boys were pardoned from the death penalty. My contention wasn't to save convicted murderers only because they were Indians. I wanted to help 17 families, the tens of men, women and children waiting for these boys to return," said Oberoi, who has been spending 98 % of his income on repatriating such Indians for the past 7 years.





The businessman, however, says that coughing up money is not as difficult a task as convincing victims' families to accept money in exchange for justice for their sons. In every case, he personally reaches out to the families, and often, flies them to Dubai, and sponsors their hotel stays. In the case of the 17 Indians in 2010, he hosted the Islamabad-based family for 40 days in Dubai.





"In another case, 3 boys from Gurdaspur were on death row for killing a youth from Punjab. When I went to the victim's home in Punjab, they were ready to beat me up. I explained to them that their boy had lost his life while he was working abroad to make money for his family, and that now that he's gone, they should help serve his purpose. But they were not moved. I explained that families of the 3 accused would be as aggrieved as them after their boys were hanged, and that they shouldn't let such a fate befall them. But they didn't listen. After a few minutes, I noticed that the murdered boy had 3 sisters - aged 19, 13 and 9 years. I spoke to the oldest daughter, and explained to her that the money would help marrying the 3 girls, secure the future of the aged parents. When the girl was convinced, she convinced her father," said Oberoi.





Oberoi stated that he is currently working to secure pardon for 16 other Indians on death row for the same offence in the UAE. 1 case involves 11 boys from Punjab convicted for murdering 2 other Indian boys in a bootlegging brawl, and the other involves 5 Indians (4 from Punjab, one from Uttar Pradesh) convicted for killing another Indian from UP.





"These boys on death row are not hardened criminals; they do not have criminal antecedents. They are poor and desperate. That's why the jails here in the UAE are clogged with such children. Even when I get their death sentences pardoned, I do not contest their jail terms. I let them serve it. They should serve it; they have sinned essentially. My only motive is to save their lives so that their families are protected from the inexplicable grief of losing a child," said Oberoi.

 | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com



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: firstpost.com, June 5, 2017
Indiana officials probably don't want to have a big debate about the death penalty, but they more or less have to. The issue has been hijacked by capital punishment opponents, who have pushed the state into a corner by challenging the lethal cocktail used to carry out state-sanctioned executions. If the state can't talk its way out of the corner, it might have to go back to "less humane" methods of execution.





Most death penalty states have a similar dilemma. Influenced by anti-capital punishment activists, major drug companies have stopped making their lethal products available to states using them for capital punishment, so states have been scrambling to find alternatives.





In 2014, the Indiana Department of Corrections came up with a 3-drug cocktail of methohexital, potassium chloride and pancuronium bromide, which no state or federal prisoner in the country has been executed by. Other states coming up with their own concoctions have had horrible instances of prisoners dying gruesome, drawn-out deaths, which has put the "cruel and unusual punishment" argument back on the table.





Roy Lee Ward, one of Indiana's 11 prisoners on death row, sued the state in 2015, arguing that the DOC skirted procedures when it chose the new drugs. A LaPorte Circuit judge dismissed the claim. But now a 3-judge Indiana Court of Appeals panel has reversed the lower court. The judges found that when the DOC chose the new drugs, it violated Ward's rights under the state and federal constitutions. The DOC did not follow guidelines set by the General Assembly that regulate how state agencies change its rules, including holding a public hearing, the court said.





The state's options are limited. Even if it backs up and follows all the procedures the court says are necessary, it may be a moot point. Indiana's stock of lethal injection drugs is expired - and, given the attitude of the drug companies, the state is not likely to replenish them any time soon.





So what is the state to do? Put executions on hold indefinitely, which would have the effect of eliminating capital punishment? Bring back the gas chamber, hanging, the firing squad, the electric chair?





It is more than a little ironic that lethal injections were settled on as a more humane way of dispatching capital offenders. In trying to deal with claims of its cruelty, the state might have to revert to killing in ways considered even more barbaric.





Maybe it's time for one of those public hearings.





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: News-Sentinel, Editorial, June 6, 2017
Ohio may have a path to obtaining a long-sought lethal injection drug if the state can locate the proper ingredients, the prison system's top lawyer said during a deposition in a legal challenge to Ohio's proposed execution drugs.





The state has been unable to carry out executions on more than 2 dozen condemned killers because of court challenges to its proposed 3-drug method, which includes midazolam, a sedative used in problematic executions in other states.





Gov. John Kasich delayed executions once again in May, including that of Ronald Phillips, now scheduled to die in July for raping and killing his girlfriend's 3-year-old daughter in Akron in 1993.





Stephen Gray's deposition, taken last year and unsealed May 24, suggests Ohio may have a possible source of a barbiturate called pentobarbital through a compounding pharmacist. Gray said in the deposition that the pharmacist might be able to supply pentobarbital to the state.





Pentobarbital was Ohio's preferred lethal drug until U.S. supplies dried up, and obtaining supplies of pentobarbital could go a long way to breaking the legal deadlock over state executions. A single, lethal dose of pentobarbital was without problems in 10 Ohio executions from 2011 to 2013.





Compounding pharmacists typically mix small, specialty batches of drugs that aren't subject to the same type of federal regulations as pharmaceuticals mass-produced by drug makers.





If Ohio could legally import overseas ingredients for pentobarbital, "then maybe there may be a relationship with that compounding pharmacist to supply that to my Department," Gray said in the Dec. 16 deposition.





In the same deposition, Gray confirmed that a compounding pharmacist on a prison system list wouldn't be able to mix pentobarbital without being supplied the active ingredients. The list Gray refers to, "Exhibit 22," is sealed.





The prison system declined comment. Timothy Sweeney, the attorney who questioned Gray in the deposition, also declined comment.





In a May 25 filing with a federal appeals court in Cincinnati, Sweeney and other attorneys argue that, based on the evidence, death row inmates "are likely to succeed in showing that pentobarbital is available to Ohio."





The appeals court on June 14 will hear death row inmates' challenge of the state's proposed 3-drug method that includes midazolam, which was used in problematic executions in recent years in Arizona, Arkansas and Ohio. Opponents say midazolam creates a substantial risk of harm by not rendering inmates deeply unconscious.





A 3-judge panel previously declared the method unconstitutional, but in a rare move, the full court agreed to re-hear the case at the state's request.





 | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com



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: The Republic, June 6, 2017
The trustee of an international school in Mumbai, who was on Monday booked on the charge of sexually abusing a three-year-old, has called charges against him unfounded.

By Mustafa Shaikh: The trustee of an international school in Mumbai, who was on Monday booked on the charge of sexually abusing a three-year-old, has called charges against him unfounded.

The MIDC police in Andheri is recording statements of parents and teachers in the case. This incident of sexual abuse is believed to have taken place earlier this year.

The police, which booked the 57-year-old founder and trustee of this international school identified as Patrick in this case, has said the accused will return to the city on June 30.

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Meanwhile, Patrick released a statement to the parents of the school victim, saying that the allegations against him were unfounded.

The identity of a female teacher, who is accused of having sent the three-year-old girl to the director's room, has not been disclosed. This female teacher has been made the co-accused.

ACCUSED ON PARIS TRIP AT TIME OF INCIDENT

Police, on the other hand, have said that the accused was on a trip with students to Paris when the incident happened. While the students have come back, the trustee is yet to return home.

According to the information given by his family to the police, he will return to Mumbai on June 30. Meanwhile, the police is awaiting the medical report of the girl and recording statements of teachers and parents for any headway in the investigation.

After the news of a police complaint came to the fore, the founder-trustee sent an email to his parents. "As we grow and expand sharing the light of education, the darkness of the material world also clings to us", the statement read.

WHAT THE ACCUSED SAYS IN HIS STATEMENT

The statement added, "In the same way that I prepare students for the unexpected, I am preparing myself to face the unexpected so that truth ultimately prevails. I am confident that in due course of time, it will be clear that the accusation against me is unfounded."

A senior officer said that parents of the girl had given names of people, two of whom had already been booked in the FIR. A statement from the teacher, who is alleged to have taken the girl to the trustee's cabin, has given her statement to the police.

Also read | Director of international school in Mumbai booked for sexually abusing 3-year-old

WATCH VIDEO

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The lesson to take from the history of oil and gas is that companies are always looking for the next frontier. They seek to invest in technologies that will reduce cost, increase efficiencies, and enable the recovery of challenging reserves. Few have heard of methane hydrates, gas molecules trapped within a crystalline lattice that look like white ice, but they might just be the next energy frontier.

In the aftermath of the 1973 energy embargo, the government launched a search for alternatives to oil and policies to promote energy independence. One of the alternatives was shale oil. Back then, recovering shale involved mining and heating. Union Oil developed a product that cost almost twice the price of conventional crude oil--$42 per barrel versus $24. The plant was shut down in 1991 because of falling crude oil prices and technical challenges.

Although the Union Oil project did not pan out, companies continued the search for a way to unlock the great reserves of shale oil and gas. A long-term outlook and commitment to technology finally led to the development of 3D seismic, horizontal drilling, and hydrological fracturing, which has been the foundation of the U.S. energy renaissance.

While attention and subsidies have focused on wind, solar, and electric vehicles over the past two decades, the Energy Department, some oil companies, and countries such as Japan have been investing in the potential recovery of methane hydrates.

The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that gas hydrates hold more carbon than the world's other fossil fuels combined, from 10,000 trillion cubic feet to more than 100,000 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, most below the ocean floor.

While the resource base is enormous, the daunting challenge is how recover these hydrates safely and economically. When methane hydrates are exposed to less pressure and higher temperature conditions then those at the seabed floor, the crystalline solid turns to water and the methane molecules are released as gas unless they are quickly refrigerated.

Last year, the United States and Japan, along with ConocoPhillips, announced the worlds first successful field trial (in Alaska) of a technology that uses carbon dioxide to free natural gas from methane hydrates in the sea bed. The Global Warming Policy Forum stated, Methane hydrates constitute the worlds No. 1 reservoir of fossil fuel. Ubiquitous along vast stretches of Earths continental shelves, they hold enough natural gas to fuel the world for a thousand years  and beyond.

Given the large reserves of shale gas in the United States, and the current low price of natural gas, oil and gas companies are not pressing ahead at a rapid pace. But, that is not the case with Japan, which is highly dependent on imports which presently run over 80 percent of total primary energy use. Japan is the largest importer of LNG in the world. The potential for reducing those imports and the consequences from the 2011 nuclear accident have resulted in a high priority for methane hydrates.

In 2013, a Japanese drilling ship successfully extracted methane hydrates from the seabed off Central Japan (the Nankai Trough) by simply lowering the reservoirs pressure without resorting to heating. Ryo Minami, director of the oil and gas division at Japans Agency for Natural Resources at the time, estimated that methane hydrates may be at the stage where shale gas was 10 years ago. If he is correct, Japan could start the commercialization of methane hydrates in around 10 years. Whether that estimate is too optimistic depends on continued advances in technology, lowering recovery costs, and successfully addressing the hazards of dealing with an unstable resource.

Engineering and technology can address the technical and safety issues involved in methane hydrate production but the economic forces are not within Japans control. The price of gas would have to reach $5.57 to $8.91 per Mcf2 to 3 times the price of natural gas-- for production to be commercially viable.

Breakthroughs in technology can rarely be predicted. However, the lesson learned from fracking is that new sources of energy can arise unexpectedly. Perhaps the same will be true of methane hydrates.

William O'Keefe is the former CEO of the George C. Marshall Institute and president of Solutions Consulting. You can follow him on Twitter here.

Interested in real economic insights? Want to stay ahead of the competition? Each weekday morning, e21 delivers a short email that includes e21 exclusive commentaries and the latest market news and updates from Washington. Sign up for the e21 Morning eBrief.
By Tim Hepher

CANCUN, Mexico (Reuters) - Airbus <AIR.PA>, Europe's largest aerospace company, raised the prospect on Monday of a new cut in production of its A380 superjumbo because of weak sales but pledged to try to make sure the struggling project still breaks even.

Airbus already plans to cut production to one superjumbo a month in 2018 from an unspecified level now and has said it needs to win more sales this year to maintain output at that new level, called rate 1 by the company's executives.

At the same time, Airbus is trying to reduce its industrial costs to prevent financial losses, pending what it believes will be an upturn in sales as global air traffic continues to grow.

"My first job is at least to adapt to the assumptions that we have for rate 1 in 2018, which is being done," Programmes Head Didier Evrard told reporters.

"Doing that is our first goal and meanwhile (sales chief) John (Leahy) is trying to sell more to A380 customers."

Asked whether Airbus could have to cut production again, Evrard said, "Yes, it is likely that we may have to go below rate 1... and we will continue to study opportunities to (make) our program as healthy as possible on the financial side."

Airbus shares fell 1.1 percent.

Leahy told the same briefing that Airbus was working to reduce the A380 breakeven level to less than one a month.

But he insisted he saw a future for the world's largest airliner as air traffic continues to double every 15 years.

Both executives were speaking on the sidelines of an annual meeting in Mexico of about 200 airline leaders hosted by the International Air Transport Association.

Airlines have been ordering fewer large four-engined jets such as the A380 and Boeing 747 in favor of smaller but efficient twin-engined models.

Boeing plans to launch a new version of its 737 MAX family, the 737 MAX 10, at this month's Paris Airshow, though Leahy said it would be a "marginal airplane".

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He confirmed Airbus was looking at enhancements to its rival A321neo model, which has heavily outsold the 737 MAX equivalent, but said it was a routine annual product review.

Leahy said Boeing had a "crisis" in the middle of the market, having ceded it to the A321neo, and he was not worried by the Chicago-based manufacturer's efforts to develop a new aircraft in the roughly 220-260 seat segment.

After years of booming orders, Airbus expected a "very, very slow" year of orders, he said.

The 67-year-old, who has overseen the sale of more than 10,000 aircraft, said he would step down "sooner rather than later" and that his role would be filled by his current deputy, executive vice-president Kiran Rao.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher; editing by David Clarke)
By Andrius Sytas RAMONISKIAI BORDER CROSSING POINT, Lithuania (Reuters) - Lithuania has began constructing a two-meter high wire fence along its border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad ahead of military exercises Moscow is planning to hold there in September. While the 45-km-long (30 mile) fence will provide little defense against a full-scale attack, it aims to prevent provocations and incidents, Lithuanian Interior Minister Eimutis Misiunas said on Monday. "In order to avoid such situations, we decided we need the fence", Misiunas said at the groundbreaking ceremony. For Lithuania and other Baltic republics, which won their independence from Moscow in 1991 but remain home to ethnic Russian minorities, any massing of Russian troops near their borders spreads concern, especially since the 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula by Moscow. Although Russia has not disclosed the size of the Zapad (West) exercises that it holds every four years on its western borders, analysts have said that this year's drill may be the largest in quarter of a century, with a movement of about 100,000 Russian troops expected. The recent deployment of 1,000 NATO troops to Poland and each of the Baltic states has unnerved Moscow, which had warned in January that it was a bad idea. The United States will have doubled its troops in the region for the duration of the military exercises, an official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. In July, the U.S. Patriot surface-to-air missile (SAM) missile battery will be deployed in Lithuania for two weeks in July, for the first time in the region where Russia has air superiority. The fence, which is to cost 3.6 million euros, is to define clearly the geographical border between Kaliningrad and Lithuania. Surveillance equipment installed alongside will give an early warning of any violation, the minister said. (Writing by Andrius Sytas; Editing in Warsaw by Lidia Kelly)
After a week spent alienating Germany, the United States most powerful ally on the European continent, Donald Trump trained his sights slightly westward over the weekend and into Monday morning, singling out Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, for particular abuse as his city coped with a terrorist attack that left seven dead and dozens injured.

That the president of the United States should do anything but offer condolences and support to the countrys most reliable friend and partner on the world stage at a time like that was remarkable enough. But it's clear that Trumps reaction to the report that three men had run down pedestrians with a van on London Bridge before exiting the vehicles and stabbing more victims, was motivated by to trying to promote his domestic political agenda.

Related: The More Trump Fails, the Better Off Well Be

We need to be smart, vigilant and tough. We need the courts to give us back our rights. We need the Travel Ban as an extra level of safety! He tweeted on Saturday. Several minutes later, he got around to an offer of assistance and an all-caps WE ARE WITH YOU. GOD BLESS!

(A quick aside to deal with White House resistance to coverage of Trumps tweets. In an interview Monday morning, Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway complained about, This obsession with covering everything he says on Twitter and very little what he does as president.

This is absurd. Trump does not stop being president when he tweets. And he has personally said that he likes to be able to communicate with the public through Twitter. His tweets are objectively newsworthy and, by his own admission, representative of his thinking as the nations chief executive.)

On Sunday morning, Trump fired his first shot at Khan, writing, At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is no reason to be alarmed!

Related: Donald Trump and Americas Benighted Self-Interest on Climate Change

To people just waking up Sunday morning, the tweet suggested that Trump was responding to a ridiculous claim by Khan. Indeed, the words no reason to be alarmed did come out of Khans mouth. But in a very different context than Trump suggested.

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As part of a statement to his constituents, Khan said, My message to Londoners and visitors to our great city is to be calm and vigilant today. You will see an increased police presence today, including armed officers and uniformed officers. There is no reason to be alarmed by this. We are the safest global city in the world. You saw last night as a consequence of our planning, our preparation, the rehearsals that take place, the swift response from the emergency services tackling the terrorists and also helping the injured.

Khans remarks were plainly meant to indicate that the increased police presence, by itself, should not cause people to believe another attack had taken place or that danger was imminent. It would take a willful misreading of his words to conclude otherwise.

Trump was roundly criticized for his decision to go after Khan on Twitter, ripping his comments out of context at a time when the man was trying to coordinate a response to terrorist incidents in one of the worlds largest cities. But the president was unable to let it go, abusing Khan on Twitter again Monday morning.

Related: Heres Who Wins as Trump Exits the Paris Climate Accord

Pathetic excuse by London Mayor Sadiq Khan who had to think fast on his no reason to be alarmed statement. MSM is working hard to sell it! he wrote.

At some point, one has to ask: How dumb does the president think his Twitter followers are?

Pretty dumb, it seems. Trumps egregiously unfair sustained attack on Khan was just one element in a burst of Twitter activity Monday morning that evidently assumed complete pig-ignorance of basic facts about the news and about how the United States government operates among many of his followers.

Separately from his tweets about London, Trump fired off at least one other howling falsehood Monday morning, as well as a raft of complaints about the Justice Departments handling of his attempt to ban residents of many Muslim-majority countries from entering the US.

Related: Heres a Basic Problem With Trumps Plan to Deport Undocumented Immigrants

Perhaps recognizing that he still has no ambassador to the UK, he attacked Congressional Democrats for the fact that the vast majority of executive branch positions in his government remain empty.

Dems are taking forever to approve my people, including Ambassadors, he tweeted. They are nothing but OBSTRUCTIONISTS! Want approvals.

Democrats, of course, control neither the House nor the Senate, and since the elimination of the filibuster for nominations, have little power to block the confirmation of major or minor nominees if the Republican majority in the Senate is determined to confirm them.

The real problem for Trump is that he hasnt nominated anyone to serve in hundreds of top-level executive branch jobs.

Related: Trump Pulls Out of the Paris Climate Deal: How Much Damage Could It Do?

But his assumption -- sadly, one that is probably accurate -- seems to be that just as a large number of his supporters were probably unaware of Sadiq Khans actual statement, many will also be unaware that the Democrats actually cant substantially interfere with the nomination and approval of people to serve in the executive branch.

He was evidently counting on that same level of ignorance when he began tweeting his complaints about court challenges to his executive order attempting to block refugees in general and travelers from certain Muslim countries from entering the US.

The Justice Dept. should have stayed with the original Travel Ban, not the watered down, politically correct version they submitted to [Supreme Court,] Trump wrote.

Related: As Trump Abdicates Global Leadership, Europe Moves to Fill the Vacuum

But the Justice Department, from the Attorney General on down, works for Trump. Trump himself signed the order he is complaining about.

Again, this strategy only works if you assume that the target audience for these tweets is utterly ignorant of these basic facts -- something that Trump has time and again demonstrated that he does.

Top Reads from The Fiscal Times:
By Makiko Yamazaki TOKYO (Reuters) - Apple Inc and Amazon.com Inc will join Foxconn's bid for Toshiba Corp's semiconductor business, the Nikkei business daily quoted Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou as saying on Monday. The two U.S. technology giants plan to "chip in funds", Gou said in an interview, according to the newspaper. It was not immediately clear if this would take the form of a direct investment in the semiconductor unit or would be financing for the deal. Taiwan's Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, has also partnered with its Japanese unit Sharp Corp in its bid. "Foxconn can confirm that we have submitted a bid for Toshiba's chip business with a number of strategic partners," the Taiwanese firm said in a statement to Reuters. It said it would discuss details "at the appropriate time". Representatives for Apple and Amazon declined to comment. Toshiba is depending on the sale of the unit, the world's second-largest NAND chip maker, to cover billions of dollars in cost overruns at its now bankrupt U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse. Foxconn, which is also a major supplier to Apple, is not seen as a frontrunner for the unit, which Toshiba has valued at at least $18 billion, due to its deep ties with China. The Japanese government has said it will block any deal that would risk the transfer of key chip technology out of the country.




Vladimir Putin

A leaked NSA document determining that hackers connected to Russian military intelligence tried to breach US voting systems days before the 2016 election has national security experts and former intelligence officials reeling.

Russian military intelligence, according to the document, launched an attack on at least one US voting-software supplier and sent so-called spear-phishing emails to at least 100 local election officials shortly before the election.

In addition to being the strongest public indication so far that Russia interfered in the US election, the document also indicates that Russian hackers may have "penetrated further into US voting systems than was previously understood," The Intercept, which first published the document, reported.

A US intelligence official contacted by The Intercept said the document's findings were not necessarily definitive and warned against drawing too many conclusions from the analysis. The Intercept said it was unclear from the document whether the hackers had an effect on the election's outcome.

But others in the national security apparatus feel differently.

"This is indeed a big deal," said Bob Deitz, a veteran of the NSA and CIA who worked under presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. "We are lucky that US presidential elections are so localized that it is difficult to do an effective hack."

For more news videos visit Yahoo View, available on iOS and Android.

Claire Finkelstein, a professor and national security expert at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, said of the document, "Wow, this is huge."

The leaked report is "evidence for the public now to see yet another example of quite a coherent operation" by the Russians, said Glenn Carle, a CIA veteran and former spy. "And that is significant."

The clearest indication yet of a cyberattack

The document's findings seem to more clearly indicate an attempted Russian cyberattack on the US electoral system than past findings did, Finkelstein said.

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"We tend to associate this kind of stuff with China and North Korea," Finkelstein said. "Technologically advanced societies like ours are often soft targets, and Russia has every reason to engage in this kind of activity."

donald Trump

The US intelligence community determined in 2016 that there was ample evidence of Russian interference in the election and that Russian President Vladimir Putin was directly involved. The intelligence community also concluded that Putin specifically chose to help candidate Donald Trump at the cost of Hillary Clinton and to cast her in an unfavorable light.

Until the NSA's report, dated May 5, was leaked earlier Monday, Russian influence during the 2016 election was gauged to be a largely covert operation. This latest document suggests that Putin's activities were far more overt.

According to the document, the attack was conducted by the GRU, a Russian military-intelligence outfit. "That's no longer just covert activities like email hacking and dissemination of fake news," Finkelstein said. "This starts to look much more like a cyberattack." Though the definition of a cyberattack has not been universally agreed upon, "it could certainly look like a military attack on US interests," Finkelstein added.

Trump likely to be highly scrutinized

Experts say the next thing to look out for is Trump's reaction to the document. The president has in the past sharply criticized leaks of sensitive or classified information to the press, and he recently ordered the Department of Justice to crack down significantly on people who leak information.

Trump's response to the NSA's document will be critical, Finkelstein said. "If he does not decry this interference or attempted interference with the machinery of democratic processes in the US, that in and of itself will be highly suspect."

During the transition period and numerous times after assuming office, Trump lambasted the intelligence community for what he said was a politically motivated conclusion that Russia meddled in the election to hurt Clinton and help him.

trump comey combo.JPG

The timing of the document's publication has raised further questions, since it came to light three days before former FBI Director James Comey was set to testify before the Senate about conversations he had with Trump as part of a broader inquiry into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia.

Comey was fired May 9  four days after the NSA document, which Trump as president would have been briefed on, was compiled by the intelligence agency.

The document "could have been a meaningful event that had an impact" on Trump's decision to fire Comey, Carle said. The White House's stated reasons for firing Comey have varied. Initially, the White House said that Trump's decision was based entirely on the recommendations of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Later, the president said he'd been considering firing Comey for a while and that Rosenstein's memo sealed the deal. Afterward, Trump said he was going to fire Comey regardless of Rosenstein's recommendation.

He told NBC News' Lester Holt that "this Russia thing" had been a factor in his decision, and he reportedly told Russian officials that firing "nut job" Comey had taken "great pressure" off of him.

The NSA document adds yet another layer to a "growing scandal" involving the president and his associates, Carle added.

Finkelstein said it was "highly suspicious" the document was dated four days before Comey was fired. "I suspect that whoever leaked it now was trying to facilitate Comey's conversation with Congress by putting a few more cards on the table."

But a leak of classified information does not declassify it. Comey, who has been tight-lipped in the past when it comes to discussing sensitive or classified information, is unlikely to address it during his testimony, "despite the fact that he was likely tracking the report and many others like it," Finkelstein said.

Comey would have been privy to the information, given the frequent collaboration between the FBI and the NSA, and he may also have been involved in trying to identify further instances of Russian interference and potential collusion with the Trump campaign. "So, the investigation into Trump's ties to Russia may go deeper than we have been assuming up until this point," Finkelstein said.

James Comey

Another dilemma

These latest revelations may also point to a potential bind that top intelligence officials could find themselves in.

"What do you do if you're serving the president, and this is information he has to know," but it relates to a topic in which his and his associates' ties are being examined as well, Carle asked.

Law enforcement and investigative officials typically do not inform the subjects of investigations of their findings. "But in this instance, that is the chain of command," Carle said.

Trump's fuzzy relationship with Russia also adds another wrinkle to fallout after the release of the NSA document, because it raises questions about whether nations with interests that are antithetical to US interests can be considered enemy nations when the president himself has not clearly outlined them as a threat.

"As commander-in-chief of armed forces, the president identifies who constitutes a threat to the US," Finkelstein said. "If, however, there's a clear attack on the US of a military nature, and that includes a cyberattack like this one conducted by Russian military intelligence," then the president's definition of what constitutes an enemy nation may start to carry less weight, Finkelstein added.

One of the steepest threats arising from the latest revelations about a deeper penetration of US voting systems, Deitz, the NSA and CIA veteran, said, was to democracy itself.

"Democracies ultimately rest their legitimacy upon fair elections," he said. "And if people believe that elections are rigged or otherwise corrupt, they will lose faith in them."

NOW WATCH: 'Where is Sean?': Things got awkward when April Ryan asked Sarah Sanders why Spicer didnt attend the WH briefing





More From Business Insider
By Vipin Das M and Nidhi Verma NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India launched a communication satellite using its most powerful rocket on Monday, improving its prospects of winning a bigger share of the more than $300 billion global space industry and its hopes of a manned mission. The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mk III, or "Fat Boy", lifted off from the Sriharikota space centre in southern India at 5.28 p.m. (1158 GMT) in clear blue skies. At 3,136 kg (6,914 lb), or more than three tonnes and the height of a 13-storey building, the GSAT-19 satellite is the heaviest India has tried to put in orbit, the space agency said. The United States, Russia, China, Japan and European Space Agency have the capability to launch satellites weighing more than three tonnes. Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the scientists behind the launch and said it took India closer to the next generation of launch capabilities. "The nation is proud," he tweeted. Modi's government has been promoting a domestic space programme as a demonstration of low-cost technology and in February it launched 104 satellites in a single mission, most of them for foreign customers. The Indian space agency has also considered a manned space mission involving sending astronauts into a low-Earth orbit, but the programme has not yet been cleared by the government. In 2014, scientists first flew the GSLV Mk III and ran checks on an unmanned crew module on board, suggesting that it would be the launch platform for a manned mission in future. "GSLV Mk III has put GSAT 19, which is a next generation satellite, into orbit," Indian Space Research Organisation chief A.S. Kiran Kumar said. "It is a perfect launch. The information from the satellite is being tracked. And it is good." The rocket used a cryogenic engine, developed in India after the United States leaned on Russia in the 1990s not to supply such a powerful engine in case it was used for missiles. In May, India launched a communications satellite for its smaller neighbours to share, part of its efforts to build goodwill in the region. A 2015 Space Foundation report pegged the global space industry at $323 billion. Indias share of global launch services industry is about 0.6 percent, government data shows. (Editing by Sanjeev Miglani and Louise Ireland)
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, June 6 (PTI) CBI raids on the residence of NDTV founder Prannoy Roy drew widespread criticism from political parties and press bodies today, with the chief ministers of Kerala and West Bengal describing the searches as an attempt to muzzle the media.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called yesterdays action a "disturbing trend" while her Kerala counterpart, Pinarayi Vijayan, said it sought to "threaten" a critical media.

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Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said the raids reflected "shamelessness".

He said, "Yesterday, we were seeing shamelessness. While people have vanished with thousands of crores (of rupees), why is the government so rattled by a Rs-50 crore matter?"

In Thiruvananthapuram, Vijayan said the searches were "an attempt to threaten the media which criticises the functioning of the Central government headed by Narendra Modi".

Banerjee tweeted she was "shocked" at the raids. "He (Roy) is highly respected and reputed. Disturbing trend," she said.

Calling it a "serious matter", the CPI said the action reflected the Narendra Modi governments plan to curb the freedom of expression.

"The party expresses its deep concern over the raids...a part of the Modi governments plan to curb freedom of expression," it said in a statement.

A number of media bodies also condemned the raids.

The All India Newspaper Editors Conference said it was "clearly a case of am attack on the freedom of the press", while the Press Club of India (PCI) in Delhi expressed its "grave" concern.

"While we maintain that all individuals and every institution have to abide by the law of the land, we condemn any attempt to either intimidate the media or put curbs on its freedom," PCI president Gautam Lahiri said.

The Indian Womens Press Corps (IWPC) here alleged that the law of the land should not be applied "selectively", nor should it be "used as an instrument to harass anyone including the media".

The Kashmir Editors Guild described it as a "muscular manifestation".

A group of intellectuals under the banner of SAHMAT, a platform for artistes, academics and others, condemned the raids as "totally unwarranted" and said they were an "intimidatory" tactic.

"By attacking the media, the present government is undermining the freedom of the press, so essential for a democratic polity," it said.

In the Himachal Pradesh capital of Shimla, citizens expressed their solidarity with NDTV at a protest in front of a statue of Mahatama Gandhi at the Ridge.

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The protesters, who gathered under the banner of Citizens of Shimla, were led by CPI(M) leaders Sanjay Chauhan and Tikender Singh Panwar.

Deputy Advocate General Anoop Rattan said the action was an attempt to stop the media from questioning the actions of the BJP leadership.

The CBI converted a private complaint against the NDTV into an FIR and carried out searches on the premises of its founders Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy, and their company RRPR Pvt Limited, yesterday.

NDTV in a statement said the channel and its promoters would fight tirelessly against this "witch-hunt" by multiple agencies.

"We will not succumb to these attempts to blatantly undermine democracy and free speech in India. We have one message to those who are trying to destroy the institutions of India and everything it stands for: we will fight for our country and overcome these forces," the NDTV said. PTI KND ABS JRK ENM MPB PYK PCL KIS BDS

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Microsoft MSFT shares continued their impressive run on Monday morning, moving more than 1.5% higher and hitting a new 52-week high in the process. The software giant will now try to break into a new range, which could lead some investors to wonder whether now is a greator riskytime to buy this stock.

After closing at $71.76 per share on Friday, MSFT gained as much as 1.6% in early trading Monday, hitting an intraday peak of $72.89 per sharea new 52-week high.

Microsoft has been one of several tech giants to capture the attention of investors throughout the year. The software pioneer has gained a solid 13% year-to-date, outpacing the S&P 500but notably behind its on-fire rivals like Apple AAPL and Amazon AMZN.

Nevertheless, the stock has ignited over the past several trading days, gaining more than 4% since this time last week. Shares have actually been steadily climbing ever since Microsofts latest earnings report in late April, as the company once again reported better-than-expected EPS results.

The catalyst for Microsofts recent successand its primary potential growth driver in the near futureis its rapid cloud growth. In the latest quarter, Microsofts Intelligence Cloud revenue increased 11% to $6.8 billion. Breaking that down, the companys Server Products and Cloud Services revenue increased 15%, driven by Azure revenue growth of 93%. Interestingly enough, that growth rate was actually down from the 120% growth in Azure that Microsoft posted in the prior-year quarter.

As we look towards Microsofts future, the Azure division will continue to be a major factor for its stock performance. The company has certainly doubled down on Azure, and recent rumors indicate that the company is eyeing smaller cloud companies to buyouta strategy that is clearly an effort to chip away at Amazon Web Services lead in the public cloud space.

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Its also worth noting that Microsofts recent purchase of LinkedIn provides the company with a plethora of new enterprise data, which could be used to expand into the CRM space and compete with the likes of Salesforce (CRM).

Nevertheless, Microsoft remains a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). The Zacks Rank is a short-term indicator, so the companys long-term potential is less of a factor, and weve seen some mixed estimate revision activity for the stock recently.

Indeed, Microsoft has seen plenty of positive revisions to its current-quarter, full-year, next-quarter, and next-year earnings, but its Zacks Rank is being held down slightly by a couple of negative revisions in those categories.

Still, theres plenty of growth opportunity here, especially considering how long Microsoft has been around. Our current consensus estimates would represent sales growth of nearly 18% in both the current and next quarter.

As MSFT looks to break into a new range, investors should focus on whether sentiment surrounding the industry remains positive, as well as any M&A rumors or other noteworthy stock movers. If the company can post another earnings beat on the back of strong cloud growth when it reports again, that should definitely send shares higher. We expect Microsoft to report again on July 20.

Want more stock market analysis from this author? Make sure to follow @Ryan_McQueeney on Twitter!

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WHITE ROCK, BC / ACCESSWIRE / June 5, 2017 / Orsu Metals Corporation (OSU.TO) ("Orsu" or the "Company") is pleased to announce encouraging results from Phase 1 exploration program at its 30% owned Sergeevskoe Gold Project in Russia.

Highlights:

Three prospects - Klyuchi West, Kozie and Zone 23 - were trenched at the Sergeevskoe Gold Project with a total of 1314 metres in 9 widely-spaced trenches completed to test historical results.

At Klyuchi West, trench results include (at 0.5 g/t ("Au") gold cut-off grade):

At Kozie, results from trench 17-752 include:

At Zone 23, results from trench 17-684 include:

Dr. Sergey V. Kurzin, the Executive Chairman of Orsu, commented, "We are very excited by these first results from a very limited amount of work performed so far. Although the widely-spaced nature of initial trenching at the Sergeevskoe Gold Project does not allow yet to definitely correlate the mineralized intercepts between the trenches, our new results validated both the historical results and, most importantly, provide modern insights. Our new intercepts in trenches indicate presence of well-mineralized high-grade gold pods.

We intend to accelerate further exploration work at Sergeevskoe with additional trenching that would allow us to test our concepts, to understand the deposit structurally and to expand the mineralized foot-print. During the summer season we are planning to commence an initial drilling program of 1500 m to test the depth extension of the best targets identified to date."

Orsu has been conducting exploration at the Sergeevskoe Gold Project since November 2016. In addition to an environmental baseline study and a ground magnetic survey, the Phase 1 works included a 1314 m trenching program in 9 trenches (Figure 1). The program consisted of two short trenches (17-1042 and 17-1025) at Klyuchi West near the eastern boundary of the Sergeevskoe license, two long trenches and one short trench across Kozie (17-752, 17-679, 17-576), and four long trenches across Zone 23 (17-684, 17-941, 17-679 and 17-996). These three targets were selected for initial trench testing on the basis of historical results.

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Figure 1. Historical map and position of completed trenches at the Sergeevskoe Gold Project. Yellow colour in the middle of the map depicts a porphyrytic to brecciated granodiorite intrusion emplaced into pre-existing granite shown in white. Pale-red colours correspond to quartz-tourmaline stockwork according to historical data.

To view Figure 1, please click here: http://www.accesswire.com/uploads/16953_orsufigure1.png

The mineralization consists of quartz-tourmaline-sulfide veinlets, forming stockwork zones emplaced into porphyrytic to brecciated granodiorite intrusion at Kozie, along the contact between the granodiorite porphyry stock and pre-existing host granite at Klyuchi West, and mainly into the hosting granite at Zone 23 (Figure 1). The stockwork zones are variable in strike, with trenches intercepting it in perpendicular to oblique directions. The style of mineralization can be best classified as intrusion-related gold. Kozie, Klyuchi West and Zone 23 are multiple gold-mineralized centres within the Sergeevskoe license area, with adjacent Klyuchevskoe (Klyuchi) gold deposit representing the currently largest +6 Moz gold resource in the area (see Orsu press-release dated September 21, 2016).

Klyuchi West

At Klyuchi West, two almost perpendicular trenches have been driven near the contact between granite and porphyritic granodiorite intrusion, some 70 m from the eastern boundary of the Sergeevskoe license area. They intercepted exceptionally high-grade gold mineralization (Figure 2). Selection of mineralized intervals is based on a 0.5 g/t Au cut-off for compositing. Composited intervals are presented uncapped.

Figure 2. Results of Phase 1 trenching from the Sergeevskoe Gold Project.

To view Figure 2, please click here: https://www.accesswire.com/uploads/Orsu_image2_6.2.2017.png

Trench 17-1042 was driven from the southwest to the north-northeast over 9.7 m. At its eastern end, this trench joined trench 17-1025. It aimed to test the historical intercept of 14 g/t Au over 10 m, including 97.4 g/t Au over 1 m. It intercepted a linear oxidized stockwork in almost perpendicular direction to the stockwork. The newly intercepted mineralized interval returned 48.56 g/t Au over 8 m (above the 0.5 g/t Au cut-off grade, uncapped). It includes 94.55 g/t Au over 4 m (above 5 g/t Au) and also 335 g/t Au over 1 m (uncapped).

Trench 17-1025 was driven from the south to the north over 27.5 m. It obliquely intercepted one interval in the same stockwork, which was intercepted in Trench 17-1042. Historical results showed 3 g/t Au over 13 m. The new results from trench 17-1025 revealed a mineralized interval of 4.01 g/t Au over 13.5 m (above the 0.5 g/t Au cut-off grade), including two subintervals of 9.93 g/t Au over 2.3 m and 5.94 g/t Au over 3.8 m.

The mineralization remains open in eastern and southwestern direction. It is controlled by the contact between the two granitoid intrusions. The extent of mineralization along the contact zone requires further investigation.

Kozie

At Kozie, three trenches have been driven across the poorly-oxidized quartz-tourmaline-sulfide stockwork, occurring in the hydrothermally brecciated granodiorite porphyry intrusion.

Trench 17-752 was driven from the south to the north (Figure 2) for a total length of 182.3 m, starting from interval 17.7 m of historical trench. It intercepted a linear stockwork, chiefly trending 290 WNW. Several mineralized intervals, with best intercept of 2.3 g/t Au over 16.8 m, were revealed starting from the beginning of the trench (Table 1). The mineralization remains open to the south, west and east.

Trench 17-756 was driven from the southwest to the northeast over 21.5 m, some 130 m east from trench 17-752. It intercepted one interval with 3.9 g/t Au over a length of 1.7 m in perpendicular direction to the linear stockwork, indicating its strike to west-northwest.

Trench 17-679 at Kozie was driven from the south to the north over 214 m, starting from interval 630 m of historical trench, some 190 m east from trench 17-752 (Figure 2). It intercepted several short stockwork intervals trending in the 290WNW direction.

Orientation of the stockwork and recognized mineralized zones suggests their extension from trench 17-752 to the southeast rather than straight to the west towards short mineralized intervals in trench 17-679 (Figure 2). This area in the southeast, occurring half distance between Kozie and Zone 23, was not historically trenched or drilled and therefore requires immediate attention during the summer season.

Table 1 summarizes all intercepts in the three trenches at Kozie. Selection of mineralized intervals is based on a 0.5 g/t Au cut-off for compositing. Composited intervals are presented uncapped. No minimum thicknesses considered, but maximum 2 m intervals grading
The stock market is one of the best stories in America right nowand its goosing President Trumps performance when it comes to the broader economy.

New economic data pushed Trumps grade on the economy from a B to a B+ in the latest installment of Yahoo Finances exclusive Trumponomics Report Card. Using data supplied by Moodys Analytics, the report card compares Trumps performance on the economy with six prior first-term presidents going back to the 1970s. (View our detailed methodology.)

The S&P 500 stock index rose about 1.2% in May, enough to boost Trumps rating by two notches on this particular indicator. The stock market under Trump has exceeded its performance under Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter at the same point in their first terms. Stocks did better at the four-month mark under Presidents Barack Obama and George H. W. Bush.

Heres how the overall report card looks, as of early June:

Trump lost ground on employment in May, slipping by one notch compared with the six other presidents. The jobs report for May was disappointing, with employers adding 138,000 new jobs, or about 50,000 fewer than economists expected. On manufacturing employment, another key metric we monitor as part of the report card, employment actually fell by about 1,000 workers from month-to-month, although manufacturers have still added 43,000 workers on net under Trump so far. Heres the tally of new jobs created under Trump, compared with his predecessors:

Source: Moodys Analytics, Bureau of Labor Statistics

The weak May unemployment report may have been an anomaly, but years of strong job growth are still due to level out at some point. May serves as a reminder that job growth will slow as the economy hits and surpasses full employment, says Ryan Sweet, director of real-time economics at Moodys Analytics. That could depress Trumps grade on the economy in the future.

For now, investors fueling the stock-market rally like Trumps proposals for tax cuts, deregulation and infrastructure spending, helping keep the market buoyant. But Trump also inherited a steadily improving economy. Nothing much has changed for the economy since the election, Sweet tells Yahoo Finance. It is expanding at the same pace as it has throughout its nearly eight-year expansion.

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Its also true that the economy can change dramatically during a presidents first term. Jimmy Carter began with explosive job growth in 1977 but a recession hit late in his firstand lastterm. Barack Obama, by contrast, inherited a blistering recession and massive layoffs, but job growth had turned positive by the time he ran for reelection four years later. Trump, no doubt, would love to start like Carter and finish like Obama.

Confidential tip line: rickjnewman@yahoo.com

Read more:

Rick Newman is the author of four books, including Rebounders: How Winners Pivot from Setback to Success. Follow him on Twitter: @rickjnewman
Donald Trump

President Donald Trump's recent tweets about the London terror attack and his administration's controversial "travel ban" have increased the perception that he is going rogue and undermining his team along the way.

Trump started off Monday morning by blasting the Department of Justice for watering down his executive order temporarily banning travel from some majority-Muslim countries.

"The Justice Dept. should have stayed with the original Travel Ban, not the watered down, politically correct version they submitted to S.C.," he tweeted, referring to the Supreme Court.

After several more tweets on the travel ban, he pivoted to criticizing London's mayor over his handling of the terror attack there on Saturday.

"Pathetic excuse by London Mayor Sadiq Khan who had to think fast on his 'no reason to be alarmed' statement," Trump tweeted.

News outlets pointed out that Trump seemed to have misconstrued Khan's statement, which urged Londoners not to be alarmed by the increased police presence around the city in response to the attack. Seven people were killed and 48 others were injured after three men rammed a van into pedestrians and subsequently went on a stabbing spree. The terrorist group ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.

Trump's Monday morning tweets created new controversy, undermined his Justice Department, and took attention away from his administration's planned "infrastructure week," supposed to showcase an important part of the president's agenda amid the public testimony on Thursday of James Comey, the FBI director Trump fired last month.

Instead of focusing on Trump's infrastructure plans, the White House on Monday was forced to address his latest tweets. In an interview with NBC's "Today," White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, who has promoted the president's use of Twitter, said the news media had an "obsession with covering everything he says on Twitter and very little what he does as president."

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But Trump's inflammatory tweets often draw backlash  sometimes from their subjects  which leads to more headlines and questions from reporters.

Trump first criticized Khan on Sunday.

"At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is 'no reason to be alarmed!'" Trump wrote.

The tweet was a sharp turn from Trump's earlier tweet in which he promised Britain the US would "be there" and do "whatever" to help.

Khan's staff called the tweet "ill-informed" and said the mayor did not have time to respond, which triggered Trump's Monday morning tweet.

Meanwhile, the US embassy in London felt it was necessary to contradict Trump and praise Khan's leadership.

"I commend the strong leadership of the @MayorofLondon as he leads the city forward after this heinous attack," Lewis Lukens, an appointee of President Barack Obama's who is serving as the interim leader of the embassy, tweeted Sunday.

Trump also might have created headaches for his administration with his travel-ban tweets.

In upholding a nationwide block of the executive order, the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals last month said it "drips with religious intolerance, animus, and discrimination."

But Trump seemed to suggest the current, revised ban didn't go far enough. The initial order introduced by the Trump administration, which did not make clear that existing visa holders could enter the US and also included Iraq on the list of banned countries, was withdrawn after it, too, was blocked by the courts.

The Department of Justice appealed last week to the Supreme Court to review the legality of the revised order.

"The Justice Dept. should ask for an expedited hearing of the watered down Travel Ban before the Supreme Court  & seek much tougher version!" Trump tweeted Monday.

London Bridge

The tweets could cause problems in court, as the Justice Department has tried to distance itself from the original order in defending the new one. Trump has already seen his past statements, and those of his surrogates, used against him in court, particularly his call in December 2015 for barring all Muslims from entering the US.

The Justice Department lawyers defending the order have repeatedly asked judges not to consider Trump's statements when ruling on its legality, but to instead focus on the text of the document  a strategy that has not proved effective.

"In any event we are EXTREME VETTING people coming into the U.S. in order to help keep our country safe," Trump tweeted Monday. "The courts are slow and political!"

George Conway, Kellyanne's husband, who recently withdrew from consideration for a top job at the Justice Department, tweeted Monday that the president's tweets hurt his cause.

"These tweets may make some ppl feel better, but they certainly won't help OSG get 5 votes in SCOTUS, which is what actually matters," he wrote, referring to the Office of the Solicitor General. "Sad."

These aren't the only recent instances of Trump falling out of sync with his administration.

Politico reported Monday that Trump's national-security team was "blindsided" by Trump not explicitly endorsing Article 5 of NATO during a speech to NATO leaders last month in Europe.

According to Politico, the text of the speech Trump was set to deliver included an endorsement of Article 5, which states that an attack on one NATO nation is considered an attack on all. But Trump did not discuss it in his speech, instead opting to focus on lecturing representatives on the need to increase defense spending.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, national security adviser H.R. McMaster, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson reportedly worked for weeks with Trump to nail down the NATO speech, with each pushing for the endorsement's inclusion after noticing it had been removed in later drafts.

"There was a fully coordinated other speech everybody else had worked on"  and it wasn't the one Trump gave, a White House official told Politico.

Trump's continued undermining of his staff has led to rumors of a bigger White House shakeup to come.

After Comey's firing last month, multiple outlets reported that a staff shakeup was coming and that Trump was not pleased with his communications staff and its messaging. Trump even tweeted after contradicting his administration's rationale for the firing that his surrogates couldn't speak for him "with perfect accuracy."

"As a very active President with lots of things happening, it is not possible for my surrogates to stand at podium with perfect accuracy!" Trump tweeted, adding in a subsequent tweet: "Maybe the best thing to do would be to cancel all future 'press briefings' and hand out written responses for the sake of accuracy???"

But in the weeks since those reports, the only person who has left a top White House job is Mike Dubke, the communications director.

Trump's tendency to go rogue, which has amplified in recent weeks, might make such a shakeup impossible.

Politico reported Monday that Reince Priebus, Trump's chief of staff, who is routinely mentioned as being on the chopping block, remains in place because of "his greatest job security": that "there are few takers for what might be an unworkable gig."

With Trump's decision-making often splitting from that of his team, Priebus is left with little power, according to Politico.

"He stays in the office until late at night and often toils away on the weekend with little control over what ultimately happens," the report said.

NOW WATCH: 'Where is Sean?': Things got awkward when April Ryan asked Sarah Sanders why Spicer didnt attend the WH briefing





More From Business Insider


Heres a pretty good idea from the Trump administration: Privatize the air-traffic control system, with a nonprofit corporation taking over the complex technology and the Federal Aviation Administration remaining in charge of safety. New technology would arrive faster, with the nations skyways (in theory) becoming more efficient.

This is the kickoff to what White House officials are calling infrastructure weeka series of proposals for investing in transportation and revitalizing the nations network of roads, bridges, ports and other byways. This comes the same week that fired FBI Director James Comey is due to testify before Congress, perhaps embarrassing President Donald Trump. So the White House, not surprisingly, is trying to change the subject to something less controversial that Republicans and Democrats might generally agree on.

Trumps infrastructure outline will also include new ideas for building and improving inland waterways, easing the permitting process for big projects and improving cooperation on transportation deals among various levels of government. Mayors, governors and airline executives will arrive for photo ops at the White House. Trump himself will probably start tweeting about infrastructure.

Trumps agenda is an indecorous yard sale

Many analysts think Trump should have started this way when he first arrived in Washington in January. But instead, Trump swept into town ordering travel bans that courts have systematically shot down, while pushing Congress into a dead-end alley on healthcare reform, with a bill to repeal Obamacare that cant possibly pass. A tax plan came in late April, right before Trumps 100th day in office, although there really isnt a plan yet. White House adviser Gary Cohn says there might be one by September.

The Trump legislative agenda is now an indecorous yard sale with agenda items strewn everywhere, and no single one of them quite worth carrying home. Congresss most pressing business right now is passing a budget by Sept. 30, which will be contentious enough to roil both chambers, even without Trump tweets egging on the opposition. Congress will then dig into a bill to undo the Affordable Care Act, because Republicans need to roll back taxes associated with that to help offset the tax cuts they plan in a different bill by year-end. But even Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority leader, says repealing the ACA may be impossible, which makes the whole Trump legislative agenda dependent on implausible developments, in an impossibly compressed period of time.

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So wouldnt an infrastructure bill that might attract bipartisan support establish some positive momentum for Trump? If he were serious about it, sure, it might. But in the current environment, thats wishful thinking, if not outright shysterism. The understaffed administration has no actual infrastructure plan it can submit to Congress, other than a couple of memos. White House staffers point out theres already a House bill that would privatize the air-traffic control system, as Trump wants to do. The House passed that bill last year, but the Senate ignored it, and the final bill that funded the FAA contained nothing on privatization. That was in a Republican-controlled Congress similar to the current one.

Trump aide DJ Gribbin told reporters recently that Trump envisions new infrastructure spending of $200 billion or so, which, paired with private investment, could bring as much as $1 trillion in new transportation money. But hold onTrumps budget, unveiled just a couple weeks ago, would cut, not increase, transportation spending, along with just about every other type of funding except national security. Huh? This would be over and above whatever Congress ends up appropriating for normal infrastructure spending, Gribbin explained, leaving reporters confused.

Theres nothing inherently wrong with Trumps ideas on infrastructure. If he were passionate about the issues and committed to getting them through Congress, he might have some innovative new programs to crow about in a year or so.

But its more likely Trump is paying lip service to the issue, and will soon lose interest, if he ever had any in the first place. Will we still be hearing about Trumps infrastructure plan in a month? Six months? Or is this merely a cynical distraction from less flattering news? And if a Trump tax plana top prioritywont be ready until September, then how many more months will it take to get a real infrastructure plan that Congress can legislate? Maybe Trump will tell us if the Comey hearing goes worse than expected.

Confidential tip line: rickjnewman@yahoo.com

Read more:

Rick Newman is the author of four books, including Rebounders: How Winners Pivot from Setback to Success. Follow him on Twitter: @rickjnewman
On Monday, shortly after CBI raided NDTV offices and homes of the Roys in New Delhi, Dehradun and Mussourie, NDTV issued a statement accusing the CBI of a "blatant political attack on the freedom of the press".

By India Today Web Desk: Responding to the NDTV's allegations that the CBI raided its premises "without even conducting a preliminary enquiry" indicating "a witch-hunt against independent media", the central investigation agency today clarified that the searches were carried out based on search warrants issued by a competent court.

"It is clarified that searches have been carried out at the premises of the promoters and their offices based on search warrants issued by the Competent Court. CBI has not conducted any search of registered office of NDTV, media studio, news room or premises connected with media operations," the CBI said in its statement today.

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"The CBI has registered the case based on the complaint of a share holder of ICICI Bank and NDTV after carrying out due diligence. Denigrating the allegations at this stage of investigation and wrongly accusing the agency of acting under pressure is uncalled for and an attempt to malign the image of the CBI," it said.

"It has been mentioned in the statement of NDTV that NDTV and its promoters have never defaulted on any loan. The allegations under investigation are not regarding the default in loan repayment, but relate to the wrongful gain of Rs 48 crore to the promoters (Prannoy and Radhika Roy)," the CBI said.

CBI HAS JURISDICTION OF CASES OF PRIVATE BANKS

On the NDTV's questioning of jurisdiction over a case involving a private bank, the CBI said, "It is clarified that the Honourable Supreme Court in the case of Ramesh Gelli vs CBI of 2016, held that the provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 are applicable to the officials of private banks. Therefore, CBI has jurisdiction to take up investigation of the cases of private banks."

On Monday, shortly after CBI sleuths raided NDTV offices and homes of the Roys in New Delhi, Dehradun and Mussourie, NDTV issued a statement accusing the CBI of a "blatant political attack on the freedom of the press".

"It is clearly the independence and fearlessness of NDTV's team that the ruling party's politicians cannot stomach and the CBI raid is merely another attempt at silencing the media," the NDTV statement said.

"The CBI has been compelled to file an FIR based on a shoddy complaint by a disgruntled former consultant at NDTV called Sanjay Dutt, who has been making false allegations and filing cases in courts of law with these false allegations," the news channel said.

"Even though lakhs and crores of rupees of dues have not been paid by several industrialists and no criminal case has yet been registered against any of them by the CBI, the CBI has chosen not only to register an FIR, but also conduct a search for a loan which has been duly repaid to ICICI Bank. Moreover, ICICI is a private bank," NDTV said in its statement.

Dismissing the charges, the CBI today said it "fully respects the freedom of press and is committed to the free functioning of news operations".

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Also read: CBI raids residence of NDTV founders in criminal conspiracy, cheating case

Also read: Ex-Bihar CMs Lalu Prasad, Jagannath Mishra appear before CBI court in fodder scam case

WATCH | CBI raids residence of NDTV founders in criminal conspiracy, cheating case

--- ENDS ---
Oslo, Norway, 6 June 2017 - Targovax ASA ("Targovax" or "the Company"; OSE: TRVX), a clinical stage company focused on developing immuno-oncology therapies to target solid tumors, announces formal agenda for its Capital Markets Updates, to be hosted in Oslo on Thursday 8 June and in London on Monday 26 June 2017.

The event in Oslo will commence at 9:00am CEST, and will also be webcasted. The event in London will commence at 12:30pm BST. Lunch will be served.

The meetings, which will be open to analysts, brokers, investors and press, will include presentations from Targovax's senior management team, as well as the Key Opinion Leaders below:

In Oslo: Doctor Svein Dueland, Principal Investigator at The Norwegian Radium Hospital and Oslo University Hospital, Norway

Doctor Svein Dueland, Principal Investigator at The Norwegian Radium Hospital and Oslo University Hospital, Norway In London: Professor Daniel Palmer, Chair of Medical Oncology, Head of the Academic Oncology Unit and Consultant Medical Oncologist of the University of Liverpool, UK and the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, UK

Please find the formal agenda below.





Introduction

General Overview

Two Platforms TG Peptides ONCOS-102



Comprehensive Walk-Through

Technology

Clinical Trials to Date

Expert Presentation: A Physician's View on Pancreatic Cancer

Introduction to KOL: Doctor Svein Dueland (Oslo event) Professor Daniel Palmer (London event)

Current Treatment Options

Data Presented at ASCO

Financial Update

Q&A

Closing Remarks





To register for the Oslo event, please contact renate.birkeli@targovax.com.

To register for the London event, please contact hanna.skeppner@fticonsulting.com.

###

For further information, please contact

Renate Birkeli, IR

Phone: +47 922 61 624

Email: renate.birkeli@targovax.com

Media and IR enquires:

Jan Petter Stiff - Crux Advisers (Norway)

Phone: +47 995 13 891

Email: stiff@crux.no

Julia Phillips/Simon Conway - FTI Consulting (International)

Phone: +44 20 3727 1000

Email: Targovax@fticonsulting.com

About Targovax

Arming the patient's immune system to fight cancer

Targovax is a clinical stage company focused on developing and commercializing novel immuno-oncology therapies to target, primarily, treatment-resistant solid tumors. Immuno-oncology is currently one of the fastest growing therapeutic fields in medicine.

The Company's development pipeline is based on two novel proprietary platforms:

The first platform, ONCOS, uses oncolytic viruses, an emerging class of biological therapy. ONCOS exclusively uses an adenovirus that has been engineered to be an immune activator that selectively target cancer cells. In phase I it has shown to immune activate at lesional level which was associated with clinical benefit. We expect proof of concept data for this platform in 2017 from a clinical trial of lead product ONCOS-102 in patients with refractory malignant melanoma.

The second platform, TG peptides (TG), solely targets tumors that express mutated forms of the RAS protein. Mutations to this protein are common in many cancers and are known to drive aggressive disease progression and treatment resistance. There is a high unmet medical need for therapies that are effective against tumors that express these mutations. The TG platform's therapeutic potential stems from its ability to enable a patient's immune system to identify and then destroy tumors bearing any RAS mutations. In early 2017, key proof of concept data for the TG platform from a clinical trial of TG01 in resected pancreatic cancer patients showed encouraging overall survival and will give guidance for the future clinical development of this platform.

Targovax's development pipeline has three novel therapeutic candidates in clinical development covering six indications.

Both platforms are protected by an extensive portfolio of IP and know-how and have the potential to yield multiple product candidates in a cost-effective manner. Additionally, we have other products in early stages of development.

In July 2016, the Company listed its shares on Oslo Axess. In March 2017, the shares were upgraded to Oslo Brs, the main Oslo Stock Exchange.



This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.


AIM: MARL

TSX-V: MARL







6 June 2017



Granite House, La Grande Rue,

St. Martin, Guernsey, GY1 3RS

Channel Islands





Issue of Equity- Option Exercise

Mariana Resources Ltd ("Mariana" or the "Company"), the AIM ("MARL") and TSXV ("MARL") listed exploration and development company with projects in Turkey, Cote d'Ivoire and South America, announces that the following options and warrants have been exercised into ordinary shares with funds received.

96,667 Options exercised at GBP0.30

10,000 Options exercised at GBP0.20

170,000 Options exercised at GBP0.425

50,000 Options exercised at GBP0.60

The Company will issue and allot 326,667 new ordinary shares.

Admission to AIM

Application has been made to the London Stock Exchange for the new ordinary shares to be admitted to trading on AIM and the TSXV. Dealings are expected to commence on or about 9 June 2017 ("Admission").

Following Admission, there will be a total of 134,351,705 ordinary shares on issue.

Mariana Resources Limited

Glen Parsons, CEO

**ENDS**

Glen Parsons (CEO) Mariana Resources Ltd +61 2 9437 4588 Eric Roth (COO) Mariana Resources Ltd +56 9 8818 1243 Karen Davies (IR) Mariana Resources Ltd (Canada) +1 604 314 6270 Rob Adamson RFC Ambrian Limited (Nomad) +61 2 9250 0041 Will Souter RFC Ambrian Limited (Nomad) +61 2 9250 0050 In U.K. Oliver Stansfield Brandon Hill Capital (UK Broker) +44 20 3463 5061 Jonathan Evans Brandon Hill Capital (UK Broker) +44 20 3463 5016 Camilla Horsfall Blytheweigh (Financial PR) +44 20 7138 3224 Megan Ray Blytheweigh (Financial PR) +44 20 7138 3203

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

About Mariana Resources

Mariana Resources Ltd is a TSX.V and AIM (MARL) quoted exploration and development company with an extensive portfolio of gold, silver, and copper projects in South America, Turkey, and Ivory Coast.

Mariana's most advanced asset is the Hot Maden gold-copper project in northeast Turkey, which is a joint venture with Turkish partner Lidya Madencilik (30% Mariana and 70% Lidya) and which is rapidly advancing to development. On January 17, 2017, Mariana released the results of a Preliminary Economic Study ("PEA") which demonstrated exceptional potential economics for the Hot Maden Project (after-tax NPV and IRR of USD 1.37B and 153%, respectively) based on a development scenario incorporating a 1Mtpa underground mining / processing operation and the production of two saleable concentrates (a copper-gold concentrate and a gold-pyrite concentrate). This PEA was based on the updated (July 25, 2016) mineral resource estimate of 3.43 Moz gold equivalent (Indicated Category) and 0.09 Moz gold equivalent (Inferred Category) (100% basis) in the Main Zone, as well as a maiden 351,000 Moz gold equivalent (Inferred Category) (100% basis) resource in the New Southern Discovery. Elsewhere in Turkey, Mariana holds a 100% interest in the Ergama gold-copper project.

On October 7, 2016, Mariana announced the signing of a binding Term Sheet to acquire an indirect 80% interest in Ivory Coast-focused private exploration company Awale Resources SARL ("Awale"). Through the transaction Mariana will gain an immediate foothold in an established exploration portfolio with known gold mineralisation and artisanal gold workings, and which comprises i) 3 granted contiguous licenses (1,191 km2) in the Bondoukou area, and ii) 4 licenses under application (1,593 km2) in both the Bondoukou and Abengourou areas. The Boundoukou concessions lie along the southwestern extension of the Birimian Bole-Nangodi greenstone belt in adjacent Ghana, host to a number of high grade orogenic gold deposits.

In southern Argentina, the Company's core gold-silver projects are Las Calandrias (100%), Sierra Blanca (100%), Los Cisnes (100%), and Bozal (100%). These projects are part of a 100,000+ Ha land package in the Deseado Massif epithermal gold-silver district in mining-friendly Santa Cruz Province.

In Suriname, Mariana has a direct holding of 10.2% of the Nassau Gold project. The Nassau Gold Project is a 28,000 Ha exploration concession located approximately 125 km south east of the capital Paramaribo and immediately adjacent to Newmont Mining's 4.2Moz gold Merian project.

In Peru and Chile, Mariana is focusing on acquiring new opportunities which complement its current portfolio.

Hot Maden Mineral Resource Estimate - Main Gold-Copper Zone (2 g/t AuEq Cut-off) Indicated Mineral Resource Domain Tonnes Au Cu Zn AuEq Au Cu AuEq t g/t % % g/t* Ounces Tonnes Ounces** Main Zone LG 463,000 1.1 1.1 0.3 2.4 17,000 5,000 36,000 Main Zone HG 4,501,000 3.9 1.9 0.2 6.3 570,000 87,000 908,000 Main Zone UHG 2,086,000 32.7 3.5 0.1 36.9 2,195,000 73,000 2,476,000 Mixed Gold-Zinc 17,000 7.5 3.1 3.6 11.2 4,000 1,000 6,000 Peripheral Lodes 60,000 2.1 0.4 0.4 2.5 4,000 5,000 Total 7,127,000 12.2 2.3 0.2 15.0 2,790,000 166,000 3,431,000 Inferred Mineral Resource Domain Tonnes Au Cu Zn AuEq Au Cu AuEq t g/t % % g/t* Ounces Tonnes Ounces** Main Zone LG 395,000 1.7 0.9 0.03 2.8 21,000 4,000 35,000 Main Zone HG 31,000 3.9 1.6 0.1 5.8 4,000 6,000 Main Zone UHG 6,000 39.1 2.1 0.01 41.6 7,000 8,000 Mixed Gold-Zinc 4,000 1.7 0.4 2.4 2.2 Peripheral Lodes 282,000 3.2 0.9 0.1 4.3 29,000 2,000 38,000 Total 718,000 2.7 0.9 0.1 3.8 62,000 7,000 88,000



Hot Maden - Southern Gold-Copper Zone (2 g/t AuEq Cut-off) Inferred Mineral Resource Domain Tonnes Au Cu Zn AuEq Au Cu AuEq t g/t % % g/t* Ounces Tonnes Ounces** South Zone LG 396,000 2.8 0.7 0.0 3.6 35,000 3,000 46,000 South Zone HG 583,000 5.3 0.7 0.0 6.1 98,000 4,000 114,000 Main Zone UHG 224,000 22.2 1.0 0.0 23.4 160,000 2,000 169,000 Mixed Gold-Zinc 44,000 9.0 1.0 3.2 10.2 13,000 15,000 Peripheral Lodes 104,000 1.9 0.3 0.0 2.2 6,000 7,000 Total 1,352,000 7.2 0.7 0.1 8.1 313,000 10,000 351,000

*Au Equivalence (AuEq) calculated using a 100 day moving average of $US1,215/ounce for Au and $US2.13/pound for Cu as of May 29, 2016. No adjustment has been made for metallurgical recovery or net smelter return as these remain uncertain at this time. Based on grades and contained metal for Au and Cu, it is assumed that both commodities have reasonable potential to be economically extractable.

*-The formula used for Au equivalent grade is: AuEq g/t = Au + [(Cu % x 22.0462 x 2.13)/(1215/31.1035)] and assumes 100 % metallurgical recovery. **-Au equivalent ounces are calculated by mulitplying Mineral Resource tonnage by Au equivalent grade and converting for ounces. The formula used for Au equivalent ounces is: AuEq Oz = [Tonnage x AuEq grade (g/t)]/31.1035

Safe Harbour

This press release contains certain statements which may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as at the date of this press release and include, without limitation, statements regarding discussions of future plans, the realization, cost, timing and extent of mineral resource estimates, estimated future exploration expenditures, costs and timing of the development of new deposits, success of exploration activities, permitting time lines, and requirements for additional capital. The words "plans", "expects", "budget", "scheduled", "estimate", "forecasts", "intend", "anticipate", "believe", "may", "will", or similar expressions or variations of such words are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause actual results to vary materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to: the effects of general economic conditions; the price of gold, silver and copper; misjudgements in the course of preparing forward-looking statements; risks associated with international operations; the need for additional financing; risks inherent in exploration results; conclusions of economic evaluations; changes in project parameters; currency and commodity price fluctuations; title matters; environmental liability claims; unanticipated operational risks; accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals or in the completion of development or construction activities; political risk; and other risks and uncertainties described in the Company's annual financial statements for the most recently completed financial year which is available on the Company's website at www.marianaresources.com . Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions and have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. We do not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
First Conquer Cancer Foundation/Anna Braglia Endowed Young Investigator Award (YIA) in Cancer Supportive Care, supported by Helsinn, awarded to Dr. Sarah A. Buckley, MD, University of Washington

Lugano, Switzerland, June 6, 2017 - Helsinn, the Swiss pharmaceutical group focused on building quality cancer care products, in conjunction with the Conquer Cancer Foundation (CCF) of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), today announces Sarah A. Buckley, MD, of the University of Washington as the first recipient of the Anna Braglia Endowed Young Investigator Award in Cancer Supportive Care.

The Conquer Cancer Foundation's Young Investigator Award (YIA) funds physicians who are in the final years of training to aid their transition from a fellowship program to a faculty appointment. The YIA is a one-year $50,000 grant that aims to promote quality research in clinical oncology.

The inaugural recipient of this endowed YIA, Dr. Sarah A. Buckley completed an undergraduate degree in biology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and received her medical degree from New York University. Dr. Buckley then moved to the University of Washington (UW) and is a senior fellow in hematology/oncology at UW. Dr. Buckley's clinical interests include developing tools to improve medical decision-making for patients with aggressive myeloid malignancies and she is currently in the process of developing an acute myeloid leukemia-specific quality of life instrument. Dr. Buckley's YIA project, which will begin this summer, is entitled Validation of a disease-specific quality of life instrument in patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML).

Established in 2016, this endowed YIA honors the life of Anna Braglia, the wife of Helsinn Group Founder and Chairman Gabriele Braglia and mother of Helsinn Group Vice Chairman and CEO Riccardo Braglia, who passed away in 2015. Helsinn endowed this award, which is part of CCF's Grants and Award's Program, to encourage more aspiring physicians to move into all areas of oncology by supporting them as they move from academia into research.

Riccardo Braglia, Helsinn Group Vice Chairman and CEO, commented: "Dr. Sarah Buckley is an outstanding candidate for this award as her work holds the potential to radically improve our understanding of the support needed by patients with AML. In everything we do, Helsinn is committed to helping people with cancer improve their quality of life. Dr. Buckley's work is highly complementary to this goal. We are delighted to be able to support her valuable work and wish her the best with her project."

Dr. Sarah A. Buckley, said: "I am honored to have been selected as the first recipient of the Anna Braglia Endowed Young Investigator Award. Patients with AML face a unique set of challenges, many of which are not captured adequately by the quality of life questionnaires that are available. The clinical focus of my group is in developing a Quality of Life questionnaire that is specific to issues faced by patients with AML, and we propose a study to see how this questionnaire works in practice. The Anna Braglia Endowed YIA, supported by Helsinn through the Conquer Cancer Foundation, will provide critical support as we progress towards the validation of a disease-specific Quality of Life instrument."

About the Helsinn Group

Helsinn is a privately owned pharmaceutical group with an extensive portfolio of marketed cancer care products and a robust drug development pipeline. Since 1976, Helsinn has been improving the everyday lives of patients, guided by core family values of respect, integrity and quality. The Group works across pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices and nutritional supplements and has expertise in research, development, manufacture and the commercialization of therapeutic and supportive care products for cancer, pain and inflammation and gastroenterology. In 2016, Helsinn created the Helsinn Investment Fund to support early-stage investment opportunities in areas of unmet patient need. The company is headquartered in Lugano, Switzerland, with operating subsidiaries in Switzerland, Ireland and the U.S., a representative office in China as well as a product presence in approximately 190 countries globally.

About Conquer Cancer Foundation

The Conquer Cancer Foundation (CCF) was created by the world's foremost cancer doctors of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) to seek dramatic advances in the prevention, treatment, and cures of all types of cancer. Toward the vision of a world free from the fear of cancer, CCF works to conquer this disease by funding breakthrough cancer research and sharing cutting-edge knowledge with patients and physicians worldwide and by improving the quality of care and access to care, enhancing the lives of all who are touched by cancer.

For more information, visit CONQUER.ORG.

For more information:

Helsinn Group Media Contact:

Paola Bonvicini

Group Head of Communication

Lugano, Switzerland

Tel: +41 (0) 91 985 21 21

Info-hhc@helsinn.com
OTTAWA, June 06, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cornerstone Capital Resources Inc. (Cornerstone or the Company) (TSX-V:CGP) (Frankfurt:GWN) (Berlin:GWN) (OTC:CTNXF) is pleased to provide further information on the recent highly successful initial field visit at the Bramaderos Gold-Copper Project in southern Ecuador where its subsidiary La Plata Minerales S.A. (PLAMIN) has signed a binding letter of intent with Avalon Minerals Ltd. (ASX:AVI) whereby Avalon will have the right to earn a majority interest in the 4,949 hectare Bramaderos concession subject to satisfaction of certain conditions.



A location map of the Bramaderos concession, figures and photographs can be seen in PDF format by accessing the version of this release on the Companys website (www.cornerstoneresources.com) or by clicking on the link below:

http://www.cornerstoneresources.com/i/pdf/NR17-15Figures.pdf.

Highlights

Field investigations at Bramaderos have identified several target areas for high priority follow-up exploration

Assessment of known mineralized areas also highlights significant exploration potential

Follow-up exploration on track to start later this month

Assays from rock chips samples due within four weeks

The initial field program was aimed at further defining and prioritizing the exploration program which is due to commence later this month.

Thirteen surface rock chip samples were collected across multiple prospects within the property. These have been submitted to the MS Analytical Laboratory sample preparation facility in Ecuador. Assaying will be carried out in Vancouver, Canada. Assay results are expected in late June.

Figure 2 shows location and photographs from main prospects identified so far on the Bramaderos property.

Photographs from figures 3 and 4 show outcrops from the Limon gold-copper prospect exhibiting surface mineralization, and intense stockwork and sheeted quartz veining indicative of a porphyry-style mineralized system. The area of veining at surface is surrounded at a more regional scale by extensive areas of intense argillic alteration which is interpreted to represent an epithermal alteration overprint.

Previous rock chip sampling in the Limon area has returned up to 1.8% Cu and 1.45g/t Au in rock chip samples, and paired samples of 1.24g/t Au and 0.23% Cu, and 1.45g/t Au and 0.45% Cu. Historic soil sampling has defined areas of coincident Cu, Au and Mo anomalies over an area of approximately 1.4km x 0.5km. This prospect has never been drill tested.

A proposed work program commencing in June across the Bramaderos Project comprises:

Re-processing of existing ground magnetic data;

Collection of additional ground magnetic data in areas not previously covered;

Detailed geological mapping and rock chip sampling at each of Bramaderos main, Porotillo, Melonal, Limon and West Zone prospects;

Trenching at the West Zone prospect to follow up historical trenching of 41.7m @ 3.7g/t Au;

Alteration mapping to provide vectors to mineralization;

Regional mapping and sampling in areas not previously explored and yet exhibit potential outcropping mineralization such as Yeso and Ghangue prospects in the south.

Qualified Person:

Yvan Crepeau, MBA, P.Geo., Cornerstones Vice President, Exploration and a qualified person in accordance with National Instrument 43-101, is responsible for supervising the exploration program at the Bramaderos project for Cornerstone and has reviewed and approved the information contained in this news release.

About Cornerstone:

Cornerstone Capital Resources Inc. is a well-funded mineral exploration company with a diversified portfolio of projects in Ecuador and Chile, and a proven ability to identify, acquire and advance properties of merit. The companys business model is based on generating exploration projects whose subsequent development is funded primarily through partnerships.

Further information is available on Cornerstones website: www.cornerstoneresources.com and on Twitter. For investor, corporate or media inquiries, please contact:

Investor Relations:

Mario Drolet; Email: Mario@mi3.ca; Tel. (514) 904-1333

Due to anti-spam laws, many shareholders and others who were previously signed up to receive email updates and who are no longer receiving them may need to re-subscribe at http://www.cornerstoneresources.com/s/InformationRequest.asp

Cautionary Notice:

This news release may contain Forward-Looking Statements that involve risks and uncertainties, such as statements of Cornerstones plans, objectives, strategies, intentions and expectations. The words potential, anticipate, forecast, believe, estimate, expect, may, project, plan, and similar expressions are intended to be among the statements that identify Forward-Looking Statements. Although Cornerstone believes that its expectations reflected in these Forward-Looking Statements are reasonable, such statements may involve unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors disclosed in our regulatory filings, viewed on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. For us, uncertainties arise from the behaviour of financial and metals markets, predicting natural geological phenomena and from numerous other matters of national, regional, and global scale, including those of an environmental, climatic, natural, political, economic, business, competitive, or regulatory nature. These uncertainties may cause our actual future results to be materially different than those expressed in our Forward-Looking Statements. Although Cornerstone believes the facts and information contained in this news release to be as correct and current as possible, Cornerstone does not warrant or make any representation as to the accuracy, validity or completeness of any facts or information contained herein and these statements should not be relied upon as representing its views after the date of this news release. While Cornerstone anticipates that subsequent events may cause its views to change, it expressly disclaims any obligation to update the Forward-Looking Statements contained herein except where outcomes have varied materially from the original statements.

On Behalf of the Board,

Hugh Brooke Macdonald

President and CEO

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.




Lithuanian English

AB "Rokiskio suris", Pramones str.3, Rokiskis, Lithuania, 2017-06-06 15:52 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On 2 June 2017, Panevezys Regional Court has dismissed all the claims of East Capital (LUX) Baltic Fund against AB Rokiskio suris CEO Antanas Trumpa.

East Capital (LUX) Baltic Fund submitted a claim against Antanas Trumpa for compensation of potential damages to AB Rokiskio suris in the amount of EUR 10.524 million. East Capital (LUX) Baltic Fund specified in its claim statement that Antanas Trumpa was liable for granting loans by AB Rokiskio suris in breach of the provision of the Law on Companies of the Republic of Lithuania prohibiting the provision of financial assistance, and for conclusion of contracts that are against the interests of AB Rokiskio suris.

In its judgement Panevezys Regional Court indicated that the claims data allows to state that Antanas Trumpa as a manager of AB Rokiskio suris had performed in breach with the Law on Public Limited Liability Companies, i. e. provided the Companys financial support against the law (Law on Public Limited Liability Companies Article 44 Part 10, valid supplements of Law on Public Limited Liability Companies Article 452 Part 4). However, by dismissing the claim of East Capital (LUX) Baltic Fund, the Court held that the actions of Antanas Trumpa did not constitute any damage against the Company or its shareholders.

The Court established that East Capital (LUX) Baltic Fund missed the prescription period to file the claim, which, in the claims for the compensation of damages, is 3 years and starts on the date when the right to file the claim has arisen. In the opinion of the Court, East Capital (LUX) Baltic Fund, as a professional investor that became a shareholder of Rokiskio suris in 2003, had to be interested in the activities of the Company, its loans and other information which was publicly available. However, as stated by the Court, the claimant started addressing its enquiries to Rokiskio suris about the financing of UAB Pieno pramones investiciju valdymas (PPIV) only in 2013, although it was always actively present in all the meetings of the shareholders of the Company as well as meetings with the representatives of the Company. The claimant did not substantiate why it missed the prescription period and the Court therefore stated that there was no ground to restore the missed period of prescription.

The judgment of Panevezys Regional Court does not have the force of res iudicata. The parties of the case may within 30 days from the date of the judgment, file an appeal with the Court of Appeal of the Republic of Lithuania.
CARMEL, Ind., June 06, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- KAR Auction Services, Inc. (NYSE:KAR), a global vehicle remarketing and technology solutions provider, announced today that it was honored with two prestigious awards from United Way of Central Indiana. KAR Chairman and CEO Jim Hallett was named Exceptional Executive for 2017, and KAR was recognized with the Spirit United Award, the United Ways highest corporate honor.



At KAR, community involvement is one of our core values  giving back is what we do. And through our Leap Into Service program, we provide all employees with paid time off to volunteer with organizations that benefit our diverse communities, said Hallett. The United Way is one of KARs marquee causes, and its an honor to support them and be recognized with these two awards.

The United Way of Central Indiana hosted its annual meeting on June 6, where supporters and contributors were recognized with individual and company awards. The Spirit United Award is United Ways most prestigious company award and was given to four companies that have consistently supported and generously donated to the United Way of Central Indiana. The Exceptional Executive individual award is given to a business leader who has made a significant impact on the community.

Ive seen first-hand how United Way strengthens our communities and helps build a brighter future for our families, friends and neighbors, said Hallett. Our employees really came together to support the UWCI this year. Im proud to share these awards with them and eager to see what we can accomplish together through this years campaign.

Each year, KAR participates in an annual United Way Giving Campaign, during which employees are encouraged to donate. KAR then matches all employee contributions dollar for dollar. Last year, KAR raised more than $240,000 through campaign activities.

About KAR Auction Services

KAR Auction Services (NYSE:KAR) provides sellers and buyers across the global wholesale used-vehicle industry with innovative, technology-driven remarketing solutions. KARs unique end-to-end platform supports whole car, salvage, financing, logistics and other ancillary and related services, including the sale of approximately 5.1 million units valued at over $40 billion through our auctions. Our integrated physical, online and mobile marketplaces reduce risk, improve transparency and streamline transactions for customers in 110 countries. Headquartered in Carmel, Ind., KAR has approximately 17,400 employees across the United States, Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom. www.karauctionservices.com.
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Magoosh Test Prep





Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.  William Butler Yeats (1865  1939) Mike McGarryEducation is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.  William Butler Yeats (1865  1939) Signature Read More
- Chinese firm has come under attack after fish and wildlife died in reserve

- The animals died as a result of pollution that left stream in the reserve literally red

- Locals believe the company in question released toxic chemicals into the stream

- Samples of the water have since been taken and here is the report

A Chinese company has come under fire after thousands of fish and wildlife were found dead in a popular Gambian wildlife reserve.

Golden Lead Factory is being blamed for releasing lethal chemicals into the stream, thus poisoning the water and consequently killing both the aquatic life in it and wildlife that depend on the stream for drinking water.

Some samples have been taken for research and investigation purposes. Area residents seem convinced that the animals and the fish died as a result of chemicals from the factory in question, noted Green Wall Warriors, a Dutch wildlife conservation organisation.

READ ALSO: In Russia they got river of blood, like a sign of the end of time

Stream turns bloody.

PAY ATTENTION: Get all the latest gossips on NAIJ Gossip App

It has also emerged that the very Chinese firm had earlier been accused of dumping into the stream dangerous chemicals through pipes, leading to death of numerous fish.

However, in the initial case, the company was reportedly absolved after investigations revealed that some group of local fishermen used unauthorized fishing gear to catch immature fish and dumped the fish in the coastline. A number of them were apprehended.

Thousands of fishes and wildlife found dead.

Meanwhile, a petition has been lodged and campaign is ongoing against the Chinese firm as locals insist the company is to blame for the death of fish and wildlife.

The locals also claim that their lives are endangered by the chemicals that are coming from the Golden Lead Factory. They want the president to act.

President Adama Barrow is yet to comment or act on the matter.

Video below shows a related case where stream turned bloody red due to alleged pollution:

Source: Legit.ng
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Jun 6 (PTI) The CBI today examined complainant Sanjay Dutt in connection with alleged irregularities in the foreclosure of a bank loan by NDTV from ICICI Bank which resulted in a purported loss of Rs 48 crore to the bank.

The agency has filed an FIR on the basis of a complaint from Dutt which it had received on April 28 this year and had carried out searches at the premises of NDTV promoters Prannoy Roy and his wife Radhika Roy.

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Dutt was called today to give his statement and other details about the case.

"The complainant was examined today. Relevant documents related to the loan and further details of correspondence have been sought from the ICICI Bank," a CBI spokesperson said.

Sources said names of ICICI Bank officials who were concerned with the sanction of the loan have also been asked from the bank.

The loan of Rs 375 crore (disbursed Rs 350 crore) was sanctioned in 2008 and was repaid within 10 months by NDTV.

The agency has said that the repayment was done by reducing the rate of interest from 19 per cent per annum to nine per cent per annum which caused a loss of Rs 48 crore to the bank.

The searches which sent ripples in the media fraternity saw criticism from Editors Guild of India, SAHMAT and various political parties which termed the move as muzzling of the press.

"Entry of police and other agencies into the media offices is a serious matter," the Editors Guild statement had said after the raids yesterday.

Press Club of India and All India Newspaper Editors Conference also condemned the CBI raids on NDTV.

The CBI defended its move saying it respects freedom of the press and it did not search the studio or newsroom of NDTV.

Its searches were limited to residential premises of the promoters of NDTV, it said.

In an unusually lengthy statement, the agency said it has not conducted any search on the registered office of NDTV, media studio, newsroom or premises connected with media operations.

"CBI fully respects the freedom of the press and is committed to the free functioning of news operations," it said and clarified that the allegations under investigation are not regarding the default in loan repayment.

The allegations "relate to the wrongful gain of Rs 48 crore to the promoters -- Prannoy Roy, Radhika Roy, RRPR Holdings Pvt Ltd and a corresponding wrongful loss to the ICICI Bank arising from their collusion and criminal conspiracy," the CBI said. PTI ABS KUN

--- ENDS ---
By Press Trust of India: (Eds: updating with Deubas quotes)

By Shirish B Pradhan

Kathmandu, Jun 6 (PTI) Sher Bahadur Deuba, a veteran Nepali politician known for his close ties with India, was today overwhelmingly elected the prime minister of Nepal for the fourth time, taking over the reigns of the Himalayan nation at a time it navigates through a political turmoil.

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Deuba, the president of Nepals oldest party, the Nepali Congress, was elected the 40th prime minister, following a voting in the parliament. He secured 388 votes out of a total of 558 votes cast in the 601-member legislative parliament.

The 70-year-old was the only contender in the election.

He succeeds Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda, who last month resigned as prime minister after nine months to honour a power-sharing deal and proposed Deubas name.

Deuba is likely to form his Cabinet tomorrow, which may be expanded later to accommodate some of the Madhesi parties.

Following his election, Deuba pledged to carry forward the process of Constitution implementation. He said political parties "should work together" to implement the Constitution.

Deuba said conducting the second phase of the local level elections on June 28 will be a priority of his government.

He takes over at a crucial time in the politics of Nepal, which is holding the first local-level polls in 20 years, but one that is being resisted by the Madhesi people.

The inhabitants of the southern Terai region, who share cultural ties with Indians, have been demanding more political representation and were until recently boycotted the polls.

Deuba, who was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from New Delhis Jawaharlal Nehru University in 2016, is said to enjoy a good rapport with prominent Indian leaders, which could potentially aid him in arresting the increasing disenchantment between the Madhesis and the hill people.

He played an important role in amending Nepals Constitution promulgated in September 2015 to address the demands of Madhes-based political parties. Deuba also played a key role in bringing the Madhesi parties on board for the second phase of the local-level elections.

Deuba, who has been elected to the parliament from far- western Dadeldhura district, has promised to amend the new Constitution to fulfil the demands of the Madhesi people.

During Deubas previous term as prime minister in 1996, Nepal and India signed the historic Mahakali Treaty for shared utilisation of the waters of the river by the same name.

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He served as the prime minister from 1995 to 1997, from 2001 to 2002, and from 2004 to 2005. His political career has gone through several ups and downs through this period.

Nepals then king Gyanendra Shah took power through a coup detat in October 2002 and removed Deuba from the premiership. But the king had to restore him in 2004 after weeks of street protests.

Deuba was again removed from power by the king in 2005, when he was also imprisoned on charges of corruption.

After a dispute between Girija Prasad Koirala and Deuba, Nepali Congress underwent a vertical split in 2002 and Nepali Congress?Democratic was formed under the leadership of Deuba.

But the new party merged into the parent party after Koirala and Deuba reached an agreement in 2007.

Earlier today, Deuba addressed the parliament before the voting. He said he would accord priority to complete the local polls and conduct provincial and parliamentary elections by March next year.

He said he would also prioritise the amendment of the Constitution to address the demands of the Madhesi people.

"My other priorities will be economic reforms and rapid development of the country and for that I would focus on developing infrastructure such as electricity, transportation and irrigation," Deuba said. PTI SBP UZM ABH ZH AKJ ABH

--- ENDS ---

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India Today had aired evidence of Pakistan's state and non-state actors, including 26/11 attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed, choreographing anarchy through their agents in the Kashmir Valley.

By Kamaljit Kaur Sandhu: After an India Today sting operation, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has registered FIR into the funding of Hurriyat leaders by Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and other Pakistan-based terrorists to carry out subversive activities in Kashmir including stone pelting on security forces.

The FIR says credible information has been received by the central government that Hafiz Saeed Amir of the Hurriyat Conference has been acting in connivance with LeT and other terror organisations, raising and receiving money through various illegal and hawala channels for funding separatists and terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir.

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The NIA will probe Lashkar-Hurriyat links.

Sources tell India Today that Asiya Andrabi has a team of women ring leaders who mislead young school and college women. These women are seen mixing and influencing girl students.

NIA believes these ring leaders are paid money to get women to pelt stones. The girls are at the front, while the women in burqa are behind.

India Today had aired evidence of Pakistan's state and non-state actors, including 26/11 attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed, choreographing anarchy through their agents in the Kashmir Valley.

In the report 'Operation Villains of Valley' a number of top Kashmiri separatists admitted on camera that they received funds from Pakistan.

The investigation on Hurriyat tapes had even prompted the NIA to take action.

Also read:

India Today impact: NIA raids Kashmiri separatists for second consecutive day

Jammu and Kashmir separatists warn of dire consequences after NIA raids

--- ENDS ---
Energy from sunlight is now providing electricity to Syrian refugees at a camp in Jordan.

The Azraq camp is the first in the world to completely operate on clean energy, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency, or UNHCR.

The new power center uses hundreds of panels to collect energy from the sun. The solar power plant cost about $10 million to build.

The money came from the IKEA Foundation, a program that directs IKEAs efforts to help people living in poverty. The Swedish company donated one euro to the UNHCR each time someone purchased certain lighting products.

The power plant began operating in the middle of May. It currently serves about 20,000 Syrian refugees living in shelters. There are plans to expand the service to all of the camps 36,000 refugees by early 2018.

Until only recently, people living there only had small solar lanterns to light up their living spaces. They also had very few ways to keep shelters and food cool.

In January, Jordans power system began providing electricity to some of the camps residents.

Now, the new solar plant will save the refugee agency about $1.5 million a year on fuel costs. U.N. officials say the savings can be used to pay for other much-needed assistance.



Kelly Clements is Deputy High Commissioner of the UNHCR. She says the solar plant marks a great turning point in the lives of the refugees.

It means lighting for safety, for protection at night, for some cool  in terms of a fan on a hot summers day - or some heat in the winter during the cold months.

Refugee Farhan Nazzal says having reliable electricity gives his family more individual freedom.

Before electricity, we could not come and go as we please. At sunset we would be confined to our homes. Now that we have electricity, we can go to our neighbors house, enjoy the evening, or our neighbors can come over. It is more enjoyable, we have fun and are happier.

Another refugee, Anas Ahmed, said the solar power now gives his children a way to study with the lights on. A fan also helps cool the area. He says electricity also helps the family in many other ways.

We also have a fridge now, so we have cool water and can preserve our food. And a washing machine. I previously had to transfer water and my wife would wash clothes by hand. It's a lot easier for her now."

Setting up the power plant also provided jobs for about 50 refugees. They were trained and employed to build and set up the solar panels. They may even be able to use their new skills to find work outside the camp.

Im Bryan Lynn.

Faith Lapidus wrote this story for VOA News.com. Bryan Lynn adapted her report for Learning English, with additional material from the Associated Press, Reuters and the UNHRC. George Grow was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

according  adv. as stated by or in

solar  adj. of or related to the sun

panel  n. a hard, flat surface used to cover something

lantern  n. light source small enough to be carried

fan  n. device used to move air through an area to make it cooler

reliable  adj. able to be trusted to successfully do something

confined  adj. very small

fridge  n. device used to keep food and drinks cool and fresh

preserve  v. keep something in its original state or in good condition
Image reveals a nucleus and two neuronal markers, validating the conversion of adult blood cells that have been reprogrammed into pluripotent cell lines and then differentiated into neurons. Credit: Peter Baas Laboratory

At least 100,000 military veterans who served in the 1990-1991 Gulf War were exposed to chemical weapons, released into the air after the United States bombed an ammunition depot in Khamisiyah, Iraq. Today, many are still suffering from Gulf War Illness, a mysterious, multi-symptom disease that experts believe is linked to organophosphate nerve agents sarin and cyclosarin.

A new paper by researchers at Drexel University sheds light on the neurological consequences of exposure to low-levels of these nerve agents and suggests that drugs like tubacin could treat some of the toxins' neurological effects. The results were recently published in the journal Traffic.

To model Gulf War Illness, the researchers treated cultures of human and rat neurons with an organophosphate called diisopropyl flurophosphate, which is an analog of sarin. They also pretreated the neurons with stress hormones to better mimic the stressors of war.

Within the neurons, the research team was looking for deficits in the activity of microtubules, hollow cylinders that act as the cell's conveyor belt, which the investigators believe might go awry in Gulf War Illness patients. Organophosphates can affect a variety of proteins and pathways in cells, and the impacts on microtubules and microtubule-related proteins are likely to be many. The researchers wanted to find whether particular microtubule-related deficits could be identified and corrected pharmacologically to improve Gulf War Illness symptoms.

"In addition to being an architectural element that helps to shape the cell, the microtubule also acts as a railway, which transport organelles throughout the cytoplasm," said Peter Baas, PhD, a professor in the Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy at Drexel's College of Medicine. "We hypothesized that toxins would change the typical way microtubules are chemically modified in neurons and that a drug like tubacin could restore those modifications to normal, thereby treating the disease."

Once treated with tubacin, which makes the microtubules more chemically modified, the researchers observed a restoration in everything that went wrong with the microtubules due to the toxin and stressor treatments.

Surprisingly, they also found that once they corrected the microtubule deficit, defects in dopamine release also markedly improved. Fluctuations in dopamine are thought to be connected to many of the neurological symptoms that Gulf War Illness sufferers face, including insomnia, cognitive problems and headaches. This study's results suggest that dopamine alterations after toxin exposure are in part due to changes in microtubules, and restoring microtubule function to a more normal state could help to alleviate symptoms.

"The fact that a microtubule-based therapy would correct the problem with dopamine release is really encouraging," Baas said.

Baas' research group is part of a multi-institution Gulf War Illness Consortium, a group of investigators dedicated to uncovering the source and treatment for Gulf War Illness. As described in the journal Neurology, Drexel University and Boston University recently received funding from the U.S. Department of Defense to create a Gulf War Illness human stem cell repository, to be shared with researchers across the country for a deeper understanding of this disease.

To create the repository, the researchers are taking blood cells from Gulf War veterans and "reprogramming" them into their "pluripotent" state, which can then be transformed into any type of cell, from a kidney to a neuron. These "pluripotent cell lines" will be especially groundbreaking for studying Gulf War Illness, because they preserve the genetic and possibly epigenetic factors specific to disease susceptibility.

For the study published in Traffic, the researchers did not use pluripotent cells lines derived from Gulf War veterans, but said they plan to use veterans' cells in the future for more refined results.

Since the use of organophosphate pesticides is widespread around the world, and growing evidence indicates a link between these pesticides and disorders such as Parkinson's disease, Baas said that a deeper investigation of low-level OP exposure is critical for preventing and treating neurological conditions arising from such exposures, in addition to Gulf War Illness. Baas also noted that the use of sarin is a concern for the growing threat of bioterrorism, so preparedness for treating victims is paramount.

"We're living in an increasingly toxic world," Baas said. "It's likely that this kind of disease is going to repeat itself if we don't educate ourselves as to its causes, as well as how to prevent and treat it."

More information: Anand N. Rao et al, Pharmacologically increasing microtubule acetylation corrects stress-exacerbated effects of organophosphates on neurons, Traffic (2017). Anand N. Rao et al, Pharmacologically increasing microtubule acetylation corrects stress-exacerbated effects of organophosphates on neurons,(2017). DOI: 10.1111/tra.12489
The roundworm, C. elegans, is a popular model in aging research because its short lifespan allows scientists to quickly assess the effects of anti-aging interventions, including genetic manipulation and drug therapies. Scientists at the MDI Biological Laboratory used C. elegans as a model to identify markers of healthy aging. The study will help scientists assess the tradeoffs between lifespan and health span in humans. Credit: MDI Biological Laboratory

Exactly when does old age begin? Which health markers best predict who will live a long and healthy life versus a life spent in poor health?

Developing metrics to help answer these questions and to understand the tradeoffs between lifespan and health span is the subject of a recent paper by MDI Biological Laboratory scientists in Journals of Gerontology: Biological Sciences, a publication of the Gerontological Society of America.

The authors studied various parameters of health in short-lived strains of the roundworm, C. elegans, with the goal of developing an empirical definition of the onset of old age, and of teasing out which health markers are most predictive of a long and healthy life.

With the development of new genetics tools, scientists are getting closer to developing therapies to extend human lifespan, but the effect of such therapies on health span (the proportion of life spent in good health) is unclear. While it used to be thought that therapies to extend lifespan would also extend health span, new research is showing that may not always be true.

The growing number of anti-aging therapies on the horizon creates a need for the development of new parameters to assess healthy aging. Instead of striving to only to prolong longevity, as has been the case in the past, the use of such tools will allow scientists to focus their efforts on lifespan-enhancing therapies with the greatest positive effects on health.

"All anti-aging interventions aren't created equal," said post-doctoral researcher Jarod Rollins, Ph.D., one of the study's lead investigators. "A recent study in C. elegans found, for instance, that the proportion of life spent in a frail state is longer in long-lived mutants than in wild-type animals. Our research is aimed at developing tools to help scientists assess the effect of lifespan-enhancing interventions on health span."

The molecular mechanisms of aging are a focus of research at the MDI Biological Laboratory, located in Bar Harbor, Maine, which is pioneering new approaches to regenerative medicine focused on the development of drugs to increase healthy lifespan by enhancing the body's innate ability to repair and regenerate lost or damaged tissues and organs.

Rollins works in the laboratory of Aric Rogers, Ph.D., the lead author of the study, in the institution's Kathryn W. Davis Center for Regenerative Biology and Medicine.

Jarod Rollins, Ph.D., was one of the lead investigators in a new study of the markers of aging in the roundworm, C. elegans, published in the Journals of Gerontology: Biological Sciences. The study will help scientists develop new parameters to assess healthy aging. Credit: MDI Biological Laboratory

C. elegans is a popular model in aging research because its short lifespan of only two to three weeks allows scientists to quickly assess the effects of anti-aging interventions, including genetic manipulation and drug therapies. The tiny, soil-dwelling roundworm also has other advantages for research: it shares many of its genes with humans and its health markers roughly correspond to those in humans.

One marker that the MDI Biological Laboratory scientists found to be predictive of a healthy lifespan in C. elegans was movement speed. Movement speed corresponds to walking speed in humans, which studies have found to be an accurate predictor of longevity. One of the scientists' next steps will be to further develop movement speed as a marker for assessing the effect of anti-aging interventions in C. elegans.

"As science closes in on the mechanisms underlying aging, the tradeoffs between lifespan and health span become a greater cause for concern," said Kevin Strange, Ph.D., president of the MDI Biological Laboratory. "The scientists in the Rogers laboratory are at the forefront of developing metrics to assess the impact of anti-aging interventions on quality of life."

More information: Jarod A. Rollins et al. Assessing Health Span in Caenorhabditis elegans: Lessons From Short-Lived Mutants, The Journals of Gerontology: Series A (2017). Jarod A. Rollins et al. Assessing Health Span in Caenorhabditis elegans: Lessons From Short-Lived Mutants,(2017). DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glw248
(HealthDay)Depression treatment with venlafaxine is associated with increased levels of the bone resorption marker C-terminal cross-linking telopeptide of type 1 collagen (CTX), as well as decreased levels of the bone formation marker procollagen type 1 N-propeptide (P1NP), according to a study published online May 26 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Kerri S. Rawson, Ph.D., from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and colleagues conducted an open-label treatment study involving 168 older adults with major depression at medical centers in Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and Toronto. The authors examined serum CTX and P1NP before and after 12 weeks of venlafaxine treatment.

The researchers found that during venlafaxine treatment there was an increase in CTX and a decrease in P1NP, which was consistent with accelerated bone loss. There was a correlation for two individual-level clinical variables with bone turnover; higher CTX levels were seen for participants whose depression did not go into remission, while those with chronic depression had lower P1NP levels. P1NP change was predicted by 1B receptor genotype, while the serotonin transporter genotype was not associated with either biomarker.

"Bone turnover markers change with antidepressant treatment in a pattern that suggests accelerated bone loss, although the clinical significance of these changes is unclear," the authors write. "These data are preliminary and argue for a larger, controlled study to confirm whether antidepressants are harmful to bone metabolism."

Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.

Copyright  2017 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
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A 55-year-old woman suffering from leprosy died due to heat, hunger and dehydration in an Odisha village after villagers disowned her, believing her disease was communicable.

By Manogya Loiwal : In yet another case highlighting the sheer lack of health services in Odisha, a 55-year-old woman suffering from leprosy died due to heat, hunger and dehydration in an Odisha village on Monday.

The incident, a tragic reminder of Dana Majhi's case from last year, was reported from Saharapali village in Sonpur district, where Jagyaseni Bhoi died on June 5 after struggling with leprosy for the past few years. Bhoi's dead body was left untouched for several hours due to a common belief in the village that leprosy is a communicable disease.

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Bhoi died not only from leprosy but also due to heat and non availability of food. She was forced out of the village a few months ago when her family disowned her for not being able to bear expenses of her disease, as well as the fear of spreading of infection in the family. The myth that leprosy is a communicable disease spread like wild fire in the village, compelling locals to force her out.

She then started living in a shack she built with the help of some people, in the outskirts of the village. She either begged for food or somehow managed to arrange food for her survival. Bhoi was also devoid of medical facilities from the government or any form government aid too.

The shack Bhoi made after she was forced out of her village.

Some well wishers from the village gave her some leftover food, but because of the unavailability of medical facilities, she ultimately lost her life.

After her body remained untouched for several hours, the panchayat pradhan (head of village court) finally spared Rs 2000 to ferry her dead body in old discarded garbage bags to a cemetery around 4 km away in the Goonjpali forests.

Her body was then wrapped in white waste gunny bags used for garbage for her last rites and taken to another village crematorium. Bhoi, who was a Hindu, was buried instead of being cremated with proper rituals.

(Reported by Manogya Loiwal in Kolkata and Kushal Singh Rathore in Sonpur)

--- ENDS ---
Opposition parties have lashed out on the government for not acting according to the expectation, which they blame, is a result of weak preparation into the Kulbhushan Jadhav case.

By Hamza Ameer: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif along with his ruling party members in the federal government have been under severe criticism over what they call, lack of effort, leading to a weak approach and case presentation before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which resulted in staying of the execution sentence of Kulbhushan Jadhav, an Indian Navy officer on death row, granted through the military courts on charges of espionage, affiliated to terror attacks in Quetta, Balochistan and Karachi, Sindh.

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Opposition parties have lashed out at the government for not acting according to the expectation, which they blame, is a result of weak preparation into the Kulbhushan Jadhav case.

Legal experts also echo voices of the opposition parties.

"It was not a difficult case for Pakistan to end in the first sitting. All they had to do was to notify ICJ that they cannot question in cases of national interest to Pakistan, reference of which is the March 2017 declaration. But because homework was not done, nor was the case presented properly, we see ourselves in a situation where ICJ's interim verdict stands against us.

"It was an open and shut case. Pakistan should have simply rejected the ICJ's request to appear and raised the one point agenda of jurisdiction."

The uproar from the opposition parties pushed the argument in the Parliament and the Senate of Pakistan.

Senator Siraj-ul-Haq, Chief of Jamat-e-Islami (JI) Pakistan presented a motion in the session today and called for a debate over Kulbhushan Jadhav case in reference to the stay on his execution, ordered by the ICJ.

JI chief maintained that Pakistan faced global embarrassment, when ICJ gave its verdict against Pakistan's contention, which he said exposed the fact that Pakistan's team was not very well prepared presenting the case before ICJ.

"lCJ adopted India's stance in its order and stayed Jadhav's dead sentence. We did not present our case properly."

He further said that Pakistan government created confusions from the start as the many important things were kept in secret and not made public, for reasons unknown.

"The government's actions have been suspiciously confusing since the time Kulbashan's case was taken to ICJ by India. The government did not take the parliament or the senate into confidence on its line of action for the case. No one was told anything. Parliamentarians kept asking the government but they did not give any clear answers. We did not even know who is going to present Pakistan's case in the ICJ till the last day."

"And even today, when the government is gearing up to go to the first hearing on June 8, we have no idea what their line of action is going to be now. They need to take the Parliament and Senate into confidence over the matter, because this is a matter of Pakistan's national interest."

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Siraj-ul-Haq also insisted that India has been issuing threats to Pakistan regarding Jadhav's case, which makes it even more certain that it is a case of national interest.

Chairman of the Senate Raza Rabbani, heard the argument and accepted the motion for debate for at least two hours. Senator Rabbani has also summoned notices to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Attorney General of Pakistan.

Also Read:

Pakistan Senate to debate Kulbhushan Jadhav case on Jamaat-i-Islami's motion

Pakistan implicated Kulbhushan Jadhav to check India's growing influence: Sindh-based group to ICJ

7 RAW rules that prove Kulbhushan Jadhav is not an agent; straight from the mouth of former sleuth

ALSO WATCH | What are India's options if Pakistan refuses to accept ICJ's verdict on Kulbhushan Jadhav?

--- ENDS ---
Predicting Worker Fatigue

Sean Kerklaan of Fatigue Science held a session on the importance of sleep, and how to improve it for workers.

SEATTLE-- A Monday morning session of AIHce Expo 17 kicked off with a focus on one thing: sleep. While seemingly obvious, lack of sleep, commonly referred to as fatigue, accounts for 5-8,000 work-related deaths per year.

Sean Kerklaan, CEO of Fatigue Science, discussed the importance of getting a good nights sleep and how employers can leverage technology in order to keep workers safe and increase productivity.

Fatigue Science has a number of interesting clients, including the Seattle Seahawks and Chicago Cubs. The company started working in Australia in 2007 when legislation was passed to hold companies accountable for workers that are involved in fatigue-related incidents.

Kerklaan discussed the importance of monitoring sleep in order to acquire data that helps inform decisions from a company level. He also stressed the importance of sharing the responsibility between employees and employers, which is a much better way at achieving results.

Some of the solutions seem obvious, such as turning the television off a couple hours before bed and not consuming too much caffeine after 2 pm, but some of the anecdotes Kerklaan shared highlight how common sense can sometimes go out the window when it comes to sleep.

For example: an employee of a construction company in the UK trained his body to get up every morning at 2am, make a cup of black tea, and watch television for two hours before going back to sleep. When his employer was searching for reasons why he might be fatigued, the answer turned out to be right in front of them.

By conducting the research and utilizing the technology available, Kerklaan explained how companies can save the bottom line as well as a human life/
A report by the CSIS said that the Trump administration must tell Islamabad that it will face total ban on aid if it continues to provide breeding ground to the Taliban and Haqqani network.

A US think tank said that Trump administration must tell Pakistan it has to stop backing terror groups. (File Photo/PTI)

By India Today Web Desk: Pakistan continues to provide breeding ground to banned terror groups such as the Taliban and Haqqani network despite, a top US think tank has said, adding that Islamabad must be told that it faces the risk of sanctions if it fails to take decisive action against terror operators.

"Afghanistan is currently doing badly both in the fighting and in its civilian politics, governance, and poverty. Pakistan is still a sanctuary for the Taliban and Haqqani network and more of a threat than an ally," the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said in a report.

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The report by Anthony H Cordesman, CSIS's Arleigh A Burke, Chair in Strategy, said there has to be a better strategy and a better approach to both the military and civil dimensions of the war to provide a reason to stay.

"No commitment should be open ended. The Afghans have to do far more, and do it far better, to justify each future year of US commitment," it said.

"The United States should make it clear to Pakistan that it faces a total end to aid, and the imposition of sanctions, if it continues to support the Taliban and tolerate the Haqqani network," the report added.

'RUSSIA SHOULD STOP SUPPORTING TALIBAN'

Russia should be told that any end to US sanctions will depend on it not supporting the Taliban, and the Unites States should reach out to China to make it clear that Chinese cooperation in dealing with Afghanistan and Pakistan can serve both Chinese and American interests, the report said.

CSIS said the US should make it totally clear that it will conduct a public annual review of its commitments to Afghanistan and the Afghan performance.

"It should make it clear that it can and will leave in the face of Afghan failure. If necessary, the United States should make good on such a threat," it said.

"It should send a clear message to all 'partner states' that they must meet reasonable standards of performance. The United States should never bully its allies, but it also should not be bullied -- or let nations slip into the kind of overdependence that ultimately undermines rather than aids them," the CSIS said.

(With inputs from PTI)

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--- ENDS ---
Zika, Ebola Updates Provided at AIHce 2017

Only three occupational cases of mosquito-borne Zika virus transmission have been recorded in the United States, a NIOSH presenter said June 5.

SEATTLE  Good news about two diseases that recently have caused concern in the United States and beyond came in a June 5 educational session here at the AIHce EXP conference. Those in attendance heard from three federal employees who updated them about Zika precautions for employers and employees and training modules on pathogens such as Ebola that have been created to help at-risk employee groups.

Dr. Kerton Victory, Ph.D., an environmental health officer with the NIOSH Emergency Preparedness and Response Office, discussed the agencys knowledge so far about the Zika virus health effects and its spread. CDC and other public health organizations continue to study the virus, outbreaks of which occurred last year in Miami and Brownsville, Texas.

I think we have done a great job communicating the risk of Zika virus to the U.S. population and protecting workers, he said, explaining that only three occupational cases of mosquito-borne Zika virus transmission have been recorded in the United States, including a Miami police sergeant who contracted it.

Mosquito control workers, lab workers, health care workers, travel industry workers, business travelers, and outdoor workers are occupations potentially exposed to the virus, he said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on June 2, 2017, lifted the Zika cautionary (yellow) area designation for Miami-Dade County, Florida, because there had been no new cases of local Zika virus transmission identified and no cases under investigation in Miami-Dade County for more than 45 days.Lifting the yellow area designation means there are no longer any travel recommendations related to Zika virus for Miami-Dade County.

Jonathan Rosen and Sharon Beard of NIEHS, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (an NIH agency), explained what its Worker Training Program is doing to train vulnerable worker populations about the potential for exposure to dangerous pathogens including the Ebola virus. The NIEHS Pathogen Safety Data Guide has been trialed with several organizations, including Make the Road New York, Rosen said, explaining that the guide is available free to the public and should be tailored to each specific worker group to be effective.
When MillerCoors announced it was bringing back Zima, the clear malt alcoholic beverage sold as a beer alternative before being discontinued in 2008, the responses basically fell into two camps: those who were nostalgically, if perhaps ironically, excited for its return, and those who rolled their eyes, shuddered and said "blech." But crossing both sides was one overarching question.

Why?

Why bring back the fizzy lemon-lime drink with a Slavic name and a zzzany advertising identity nine years after its slumping sales and lack of appeal to its target demographic resulted in its American demise? And why now, at a time when craft beer  effectively Zimas market foil  is experiencing enormous growth and popularity?

Answer: "It was brought back because '90s inspiration is everywhere, from food to fashion and more  its clear the decade has made a comeback," MillerCoors spokesman Marty Maloney told the Business Journal. "Thats why its the perfect time for our very own '90s legend, Zima, to return for a limited time."

Yeah, OK, sure. Maybe a retooled version of the ostensibly refreshing beverage that recalls fond memories of a yesterdecade, but updates the look, feel and taste  especially the taste  of a product that ultimately became a pop-culture punchline?

That could be good!

"We got some of the people that worked on Zima in the '90s to recreate the look, feel and taste so that it is almost identical to the original," Maloney said.

Wait, so ... it'll be exactly the same?

All right, well, maybe it is a pure nostalgia play. And thats fine. Nothing wrong with reminding zillions of grownup '90s teens of simpler days hanging out in their parents basement, listening to "Tubthumping," dropping some Watermelon Jolly Ranchers in a bottle of Zima and being excited about Windows 95. Nostalgia definitely sells  and this seems like a better way to do it than reviving Crystal Pepsi.

But here are some other reasons why MillerCoors is bringing back Zima:

1. Loyalty

Bolstered by a big, if now baffling, advertising campaign  replacing ss with zs, calling itself "Zomething different" and in general being pretty bizarre  the then Coors-produced Zima was actually pretty popular when it first came out, selling 1 million barrels in 1993 and garnering 1 percent of the U.S. alcohol market at its peak. It had a sort of cult-like following. Even if those early drinkers palates have presumably matured, theres a built-in consumer base that will probably pick up a six pack just for old times sake, and they wont even need a fake ID to get it anymore. Maybe we go with a new, less-creepy ad campaign, though.

2. Why not?

Zima never took off with young men, and MillerCoors killed it in 2008  though it has since remained alive, naturally, in Japan. When Zima once again flows across the United States, beginning on the Fourth of July weekend  it should see an initial spike for the outdoor summer holiday  the product will be available nationwide in a limited release. Its only here until its gone, MillerCoors said  or until Labor Day, whichever comes first  so there isnt much risk if Zima sells poorly, and the delight of its return among its many wistful consumers is certainly good for the brand.

3. Zimilar zuccesses

Zima was the trailblazer for other beer alternatives like Smirnoff Ice and Mikes Hard Lemonade, which were more successful, and its expected to augment MillerCoors profitable line of Henrys Hard Sodas that are targeted toward the same demographic Zima was aimed at two decades ago. And while the world was not yet ready for "Zomething different" back then, the brand could briefly steal some market share from Anheuser-Busch InBevs competitor, Bud Light Lime-a-Rita, and Seagrams Lemon-N-Lime Hard Soda. Let's also hope for a Smirnoff Ice-like challenge, where you get "Zima'd" and have to do something dumb!

4. Irony

Thanks largely to an unexpected boost from hipsters, Pabst Blue Ribbon experienced a major comeback over the past decade, with its sales jumping 19 percent from 2009 to 2011 and its growth by volume vastly outpacing Bud Light and other competitors. In the '90s, Zima cultivated a kind of grungy, alternative image  or a girly one, depending on who you ask. Perhaps MillerCoors is hoping for a similar, PBR-like resurgence among a new audience, with its tongues in cheek and its taste buds in distress.

5. It's cold

Apparently, the main thrust (?) of Zima's original ad campaigns was that it was cold and refreshing. According to some scientists, it's even hotter now than it was in the '90s, but regardless of that, it's still going to be summertime and you probably need to cool off/have your body and the surrounding area freeze over, which the beverage can accomplish.

6. We still have Jolly Ranchers

Zima paired well doctored with Jolly Ranchers. And Skittles. And, hey, we still have those around! Just try it.

7. Zima is reliable

Particularly during this uncertain and tumultuous time for our nation, when we cant be sure what might make America great again, its dependably reassuring to know that  no matter what side of the political aisle youre on, no matter how you feel about this polarizing clear malt beverage from the '90s  Zima is, for better and for worse, still Zima. Enjoy!
At the heart of what Facebook does best, I believe, is passionate community building.

Too many people focus on the negatives of what can happen via Facebook. Sure, theres "bad" there, but I believe the platform and company have not only changed the way we live and tell our stories but also have bonded groups together in ways that simply just were never available.

The network effect of Facebook is real, human and, as Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg showed last night at the Riverside Theater in Downtown Milwaukee, resilient.

You can read all the reviews of Sandbergs books "Lean In" and her new "Option B." I dont need to retell those  buy them, though, as both are powerful and well written. If you dont know her story, find her on Facebook here.

I attended Sandberg's "Option B tour last night, with my wife, and here are several observations.

1. Self Help is really, or should be, Help Others

During her talk, Sandberg noted that book stores dont have "Help Others" sections, but rather "Self Help" sections. It was a great observation and one that we can all, sadly too often, take to heart.

2. Books matter

I read most books via my iPad, but I still love a stroll through a book store. Boswell Book Company, the presenter of last nights show, is a local gem and a true community builder. Cheers to all that Daniel Goldin and his team do. He did a great intro for Sandberg, by the way.

3. "The power of three" works

Our pastor, Fr. Tim Kitzke, loves to use three things in his homilies. It works and helps the audience digest the information. Great speakers and communicators, like Sandberg, use the power of three well too. On Monday night, Sandberg obviously focused on grief and resilience, but recommended using what the psychologist Martin Seligman coined the "three Ps": personalization, pervasiveness and permanence. Read more about this here.

4. Death sucks, but it can heal

I am blessed that I haven't experienced major personal loss, but we all lose someone somehow and at sometime. The circle of life never stops. As my wife told me, "She (Sandberg) gave words to grief like one else ever has ... it was heavy but helpful. I don't think I am ready to read her book ... but I will at some point. Everything she described is how I feel about losing my Dad." Loss and death suck, but time heals and resilience comes. Weve all seen it, and Sandberg is helping give voice to the shared experience.

5. "How can I help?" You cant but 

"Please let me know what I can do to help?" We all say it with death, cancer or whatever, but as Sandberg and many have noted, this question actually puts the burden back on the individual who is grieving. Intentions are fine with questions like this, but dive in and help. Action works in times of loss and tragedy.

6. A Milwaukee custard connection

Sandberg opened her conversation with some local flair, telling the moderator  Wisconsin novelist Jane Hamilton  that her aunt and uncle are from the Milwaukee area, and that she was expecting that they would have brought her custard from Kopps.

7. I wanted to hear more from her about the business of Facebook, but thats OK

Obviously this book tour is about "Option B." Many in attendance were there for community and support, and it was powerful. As much as I wanted a few questions about the business of Facebook, I think I got them answered without hearing them. Sandberg's "collective resilience" message is what any company needs and, frankly, should demand of its team.

Sandbergs heart and soul shined on Monday night  and Im certain they also do the same every day at Facebook.
Monday 5 June, Laguna Phuket visited Phuket Panyanukul School for children with disabilities and presented donation raised from Laguna Phuket presents Big Body+ Charity Concert 2016 which was cancelled in August 2016 due to unsettling incidents in the Southern provinces of Thailand a day before the scheduled concert date.

Beds and bedding sets were donated for Phuket Panyaunkul School to use in Phuket Panyanukul Hotel Vocational Skills Development Programme. With objectives to provide training in hotel room preparation and equip the schools children with knowledge and skills in hospitality, the Programme will expand the students career opportunity in Phuket and other tourism destinations after graduation.

Laguna Phuket has supported the School since 2007, then donated a whopping 1.5 million baht to support the construction of skill development playground, an infrastructure required to improve the students learning ability. In 2015, a charity concert Laguna Phuket presents Bodyslam raised total donation of 110,000 baht to the School.

Todays activity follows Laguna Phukets series of announcement after Laguna Phuket presents Big Body+ Charity Concert 2016s event cancellation in August 2016 which stated money left from purchased tickets refund will go to Phuket Panyanukul School. The total amount of 510,800 baht was raised and will be managed by a fund specially set up for long-term charitable partnership between Laguna Phuket and the School. The donation of the beds and bedding sets marks the official start of the long-term support.

We are here today representing Laguna Phuket and all the associates who believe in sustainable community development, the goal achievable only with sufficient educational opportunities given to the young members of our communities at all learning abilities, said Mr. Anthony Loh, Senior Assistant Vice President of Laguna Phuket,

More

Wonderful schools like Phuket Panyanukul are our societys way of giving these children a place to thrive upon and, with caring teachers and staffs, a place to call home, he added,

Laguna Phuket is celebrating our 30th anniversary this year in the theme Make Laguna Phuket Your Home with new great events and newly set up Children First Fund to extend our community services, making it extra special for us to start the long-term partnership with Phuket Panyanukaul School this year, he concluded.

Much to the schools astonishment, Thailands number one rock star and Bodyslam rock bands vocalist Khun Toon made his surprise appearance to interact with the school children, and also added 50,000 baht cash donation from his pocket to the School.

I am very glad to be here today and meet everyone, said Khun Toon, Thanks to Laguna Phuket for organising this activity and to the school for taking good care of the children. Together, I believe, we can all help them achieve their goals and become valuable resources in developing our country.

For more information about sustainable community development programmes by Laguna Phuket or to make contribution, please visit www.lagunaphuket.com/CSR or contact +66 (0) 76 362 315, email CSR@lagunaphuket.com and/or follow Facebook page @LagunaPhuketCSR
Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/R. Montez et al.; Optical: Adam Block/Mt. Lemmon SkyCenter/U. Arizona

In biology, "symbiosis" refers to two organisms that live close to and interact with one another. Astronomers have long studied a class of starscalled symbiotic starsthat co-exist in a similar way. Using data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes, astronomers are gaining a better understanding of how volatile this close stellar relationship can be.

R Aquarii (R Aqr, for short) is one of the best known of the symbiotic stars. Located at a distance of about 710 light years from Earth, its changes in brightness were first noticed with the naked eye almost a thousand years ago. Since then, astronomers have studied this object and determined that R Aqr is not one star, but two: a small, dense white dwarf and a cool red, giant star.

The red giant star has its own interesting properties. In billions of years, our Sun will turn into a red giant once it exhausts the hydrogen nuclear fuel in its core and begins to expand and cool. Most red giants are placid and calm, but some pulsate with periods between 80 and 1,000 days like the star Mira and undergo large changes in brightness. This subset of red giants is called "Mira variables."

The red giant in R Aqr is a Mira variable and undergoes steady changes in brightness by a factor of 250 as it pulsates, unlike its white dwarf companion that does not pulsate. There are other striking differences between the two stars. The white dwarf is about ten thousand times brighter than the red giant. The white dwarf has a surface temperature of some 20,000 K while the Mira variable has a temperature of about 3,000 K. In addition, the white dwarf is slightly less massive than its companion but because it is much more compact, its gravitational field is stronger. The gravitational force of the white dwarf pulls away the sloughing outer layers of the Mira variable toward the white dwarf and onto its surface.

Occasionally, enough material will accumulate on the surface of the white dwarf to trigger thermonuclear fusion of hydrogen. The release of energy from this process can produce a nova, an asymmetric explosion that blows off the outer layers of the star at velocities of ten million miles per hour or more, pumping energy and material into space. An outer ring of material provides clues to this history of eruptions. Scientists think a nova explosion in the year 1073 produced this ring. Evidence for this explosion comes from optical telescope data, from Korean records of a "guest" star at the position of R Aqr in 1073 and information from Antarctic ice cores. An inner ring was generated by an eruption in the early 1770s. Optical data (red) in a new composite image of R Aqr shows the inner ring. The outer ring is about twice as wide as the inner ring, but is too faint to be visible in this image.

Since shortly after Chandra launched in 1999, astronomers began using the X-ray telescope to monitor the behavior of R Aqr, giving them a better understanding of the behavior of R Aqr in more recent years. Chandra data (blue) in this composite reveal a jet of X-ray emission that extends to the upper left. The X-rays have likely been generated by shock waves, similar to sonic booms around supersonic planes, caused by the jet striking surrounding material.

Time-lapse of R Aqr. Credit: NASA/CXC/A. Hobart

As astronomers have made observations of R Aqr with Chandra over the years, in 2000, 2003, and 2005, they have seen changes in this jet. Specifically, blobs of X-ray emission are moving away from the stellar pair at speeds of about 1.4 million and 1.9 million miles per hour. Despite travelling at a slower speed than the material ejected by the nova, the jets encounter little material and do not slow down much. On the other hand, matter from the nova sweeps up a lot more material and slows down significantly, explaining why the rings are not much larger than the jets.

Using the distances of the blobs from the binary, and assuming that the speeds have remained constant, a team of scientists from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) in Cambridge, Mass, estimated that eruptions in the 1950s and 1980s produced the blobs. These eruptions were less energetic and not as bright as the nova explosion in 1073.

In 2007 a team led by Joy Nichols from CfA reported the possible detection of a new jet in R Aqr using the Chandra data. This implies that another eruption occurred in the early 2000s. If these less powerful and poorly understood events repeat about every few decades, the next one is due within the next 10 years.

Some binary star systems containing white dwarfs have been observed to produce nova explosions at regular intervals. If R Aqr is one of these recurrent novas, and the spacing between the 1073 and 1773 events repeats itself, the next nova explosion should not occur again until the 2470s. During such an event the system may become several hundred times brighter, making it easily visible to the naked eye, and placing it among the several dozen brightest stars.

Close monitoring of this stellar couple will be important for trying to understand the nature of their volatile relationship.

Rodolfo ("Rudy") Montez of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) in Cambridge, Mass, presented these results at the 230th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Austin, TX. His co-authors are Margarita Karovska, Joy Nichols, and Vinay Kashyap, all from CfA.
FS Heincke in Spitsbergen . Credit: Kristina Bar

The Arctic Ocean was once a gigantic freshwater lake. Only after the land bridge between Greenland and Scotland had submerged far enough did vast quantities of salt water pour in from the Atlantic. With the help of a climate model, researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute have demonstrated how this process took place, allowing us for the first time to understand more accurately how Atlantic circulation, as we know it today came about. The results of the study have now been published in the journal Nature Communications.

Every year, ca. 3,300 cubic kilometres of fresh water flows into the Arctic Ocean. This is equivalent to ten percent of the total volume of water that all the world's rivers transport to the oceans per year. In the warm and humid climate of the Eocene (ca. 56 to 34 million years ago), the inflow of freshwater was probably even greater. However, in contrast to today, during that geological period there was no exchange of water with other oceans. The influx of saline Atlantic and Pacific water, which today finds its way into the Arctic Ocean from the Pacific via the Bering Strait and from the North Atlantic via the Greenland-Scotland Ridge, wasn't possible - the region that is today completely submerged was above the sea at that time.

Only once the land bridge between Greenland and Scotland disappeared did the first ocean passages emerge, connecting the Arctic with the North Atlantic and making water exchange possible. Using a climate model, researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) have now successfully simulated the effect of this geological transformation on the climate. In their simulations, they gradually submerged the land bridge to a depth of 200 metres. "In reality, this tectonic submersion process lasted several million years," says Climate Scientist Michael Starz, first author of the study. "Interestingly, the greatest changes in the circulation patterns and characteristics of the of the Arctic Ocean only occurred when the land bridge had reached a depth of over 50 metres below the surface."

This threshold depth corresponds to the depth of the surface mixed layer, and determines where the relatively light Arctic surface water ends and the underlying layer of inflowing North Atlantic water begins. "Only when the oceanic ridge lies below the surface mixed layer can the heavier saline water of the North Atlantic flow into the Arctic with relatively little hindrance," explains Starz. "Once the ocean passage between Greenland and Scotland had reached this critical depth, the saline Arctic Ocean as we know it today was created." The formation of ocean passages plays a vital role in global climate history, as it leads to changes in heat transport in the ocean between the middle and polar latitudes.

The theory that the Arctic Basin was once isolated is supported by the discovery of freshwater algae fossils in Eocene deep-sea sediments that have been obtained during international drilling near the North Pole in 2004. What was once a land bridge now lies ca. 500 metres under the ocean and consists almost entirely of volcanic basalt. Iceland is the only section remaining above the surface.

More information: Michael Starz et al, Threshold in North Atlantic-Arctic Ocean circulation controlled by the subsidence of the Greenland-Scotland Ridge, Nature Communications (2017). DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15681 Journal information: Nature Communications
In Australia animal testing is currently required for some potentially toxic new cosmetic ingredients. Credit: Understanding Animal Research/Flickr, CC BY-SA

Last week, a bill was put before the House of Representatives that would ban animal testing of industrial chemicals intended solely for use in cosmetics.

The proposed bill would affect a wide variety of products: "cosmetics" are legally defined as any substance used on the body, or in the mouth to change its appearance, cleanse it, perfume it or protect it. This includes soaps, shampoos, moisturiser, hair dye, perfumes and deodorants.

It's difficult to know exactly how many animals will be affected by this ban, as companies do not advertise their use of animal testing and results are often unpublished. It's likely to be relatively small, but this ban will both improve their lives and be an important international signal.

Cosmetic testing commonly measures the reaction of animals' skin, eyes and respiratory tracts to high concentrations of certain chemicals. Other tests determine a product's potential to cause foetal abnormalities, cancer or genetic mutations.

The global move away from animal testing

As a practice, it has had a turbulent history. It's increasingly opposed by the public but many governments  including Australia's  require animal tests to be conducted for some potentially hazardous new cosmetic ingredients.

Most prominent in this arena is the European Union. After animal testing was first banned in Germany in 1986, it was extended to the entire Union in 2004. In 2009 the ban was expanded to include ingredients, not just the finished product. Then imports came under scrutiny, as Japan and the United States are major exporters to the EU, and imports of cosmetic products tested on animals were banned in 2013.

Since that time Israel, India, Norway, New Zealand, South Korea, Turkey, Taiwan and parts of Brazil have all banned testing of cosmetics on animals. However, the Humane Society International estimates that globally around 100,000-200,000 animals are still used annually for this purpose.

The US is considering a ban, which would drastically diminish the market for any manufacturers still using animal testing. Until recently China required all cosmetics to be tested on animals, although this requirement has [now been relaxed for non-specialised cosmetics such as hair, skin and nail care products, perfumes and make-up.

Australia's situation

Until July 2018, animal testing will still be required in Australia for some cosmetic ingredients, as it is considered by the Department of Health to be the best means of testing for potential toxicity. After this time industrial chemicals scheduled for use only in cosmetics may not be tested on animals. Chemicals used for other purposes may still be tested on animals, providing a potential loophole for manufacturers.

However, many ingredients have already been extensively tested on animals, and there is no need to repeat this. For others, alternative means of testing are being developed, such as clinical trials on humans and use of skin samples from cosmetic surgery to test penetration levels.

There have been major advances in alternative testing methods in recent years. As well as clinical studies and skin tests, we can, for example, use hen's eggs to test if a product is likely to irritate human eyes. In future differentiated stem cells may be used as well.

Australia already has in place a code of practice for the care and use of animals for scientific purposes. This requires research using animals to be licensed by an authority, usually associated with a university or government services. The committee evaluating applications has to be satisfied that the benefit to humans outweighs the harm to animals.

In the case of cosmetics, the harm to animals is often major and benefit to humans minor. However, my experience is that committees are likely to be persuaded that any government requirement for animal testing should be honoured.

The proposed bill will save animals from the suffering often associated with testing. Although Australia's cosmetic industry is not large by international standards, it is growing rapidly, particularly in body and hair products, cosmeceuticals, sunscreen and anti-ageing products.

Once this ban passes, it will be noted internationally. This, together with the increasing number of other countries banning all animal testing of cosmetics, suggests an international accord could be possible.

Over the past decade the international World Animal Health Organisation  which primarily promotes animal disease control  has assumed responsibility for animal welfare standards worldwide. With 180 member states, it is in a good position to spearhead movement towards an international agreement. It already has a Code of Practice for Use of Animals in Research and Education, which recognises that:

"Animals should only be used when ethically justified and when no other alternative methods are available."

This Code includes "harm versus benefit" ethical review, similarly to the existing Australian system, but without the government imperative to encourage or require animal testing. This could be used to deny companies the opportunity to conduct animal trials with cosmetics in countries still using them.

Eventually, it is clear, cosmetics will not be tested on animals anywhere in the world. Australia's new regulations will be a small but valuable step towards this future.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
Previous studies have shown that, generally, there has been a decline in walleye populations in Wisconsin lakes and that warming water temperatures seem to be the culprit. But researchers have seen variability in the trend from lake to lake, so they are trying to determine what other factors are involved. Credit: Tyler Wagner

A few degrees, on average, can make a huge difference in lakes and streams as aquatic species struggle to compete and in some cases survive, and that's why a warming climate is of concern to fisheries managers.

In some cases, like that of Eastern brook trout, the effects will be painfully obvious, according to Tyler Wagner, a researcher in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. Occupying only clean, cold streams, wild brook trout have been eradicated from nearly a third of their historic watersheds, and their populations have declined by more than half in an additional third of watersheds in their range in the eastern United States.

The fish has been a victim of pollution and degraded habitat resulting primarily from historical forestry practices and development.

If waters in the eastern United States continue to warm, "brookies" likely will occupy only small headwater streams in northern states and Canada in coming decades, warns Wagner, adjunct professor of fisheries ecology. He has studied brook trout habitat in the region extensively and developed a computer model to locate wild-trout waters. Brook trout prefer temperatures between about 52 F and 61 F and can't live for long in water temperatures above about 75 F.

But in the case of walleyesa cool-water speciesin the upper Midwest, warming lakes are expected to have a more subtle and complex influence. In just-published research in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Wagner and researchers from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and Louisiana State University concluded that walleye recruitment success (adequate number of young fish surviving to enter and sustain the fishery) is less resilient to warming water temperatures in lakes with abundant largemouth bass populations.

An economically and socially important sport and food fish in the upper Midwest, walleye populations have been sagging in some lakes in the region, and fisheries managers aren't sure why. Previous studies have shown that warming water temperatures seem to be the culprit, which was motivation for the study. Optimum temperature for the growth of walleye fry is about 72 F.

Uneasy coexistence: More research is needed to determine if walleye (right) recruitment success is influenced directly by abundant largemouth bass (left) or if largemouth bass simply benefit from the same environmental conditions  such as warmer water  that reduce the resilience of walleye recruitment. Credit: Tyler Wagner

"Previous studies have shown that, generally, there has been a decline in walleye populations in Wisconsin, and a lot of that appears to be driven by poor recruitment in recent years," said Wagner, who is assistant unit leader of the Pennsylvania Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at Penn State. "But it also has been acknowledged that there is a high level of lake-to-lake variability in that pattern. Lakes geographically close to each other have shown different trends in recruitment, so other factors are involved."

One of those factors may be the presence of largemouth bass, noted lead researcher Gretchen Hansen, now with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, who conducted the study when she was employed by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. She pointed out that lakes with abundant largemouth bass populations are least likely to support successful, natural walleye recruitment.

"Additionally, walleye recruitment is more sensitive to water temperature increases in lakes with abundant largemouth bass," she said. "And climate change is projected to increase temperatures throughout Wisconsin over the next several decades."

Researchers collected walleye recruitment and temperature data from 359 Wisconsin lakes and determined which ones had bass populations. Because researchers were not able to assess relationships between fish species in this study, they can't tell if walleye recruitment success is influenced directly by abundant largemouth bass or if largemouth bass simply benefit from the same environmental conditionssuch as warmer waterthat reduce the resilience of walleye recruitment.

"Therefore, we don't know if intentionally changing largemouth bass densities would affect the probability of successful walleye recruitment in these lakes," Hansen said, "although an adaptive management test of this idea is currently underway."

Wagnerwho met Hansen and other Midwestern colleagues while conducting doctoral research at Michigan State University related to largemouth and smallmouth bass on inland lakes from 2004 to 2006explained that when temperatures rise, bass will experience more ideal conditions that could give them a competitive advantage over other fish species and result in increased foraging rates. That may result in them eating more walleye fry which, along with achieving larger body sizes, allows the females to deposit more eggs.

"It's not a good scenario for walleyes, and in many cases it doesn't take a large change in temperature to influence the species interactions," he said. "A few degrees warmer may favor bass over walleyes, and over time the largemouth populations could become dominant. In the upper Midwest, where most anglers cherish their walleye fishing most of all, any decline in walleye populations will not be welcomed, so fisheries managers may have to adjust regulations and habitat-management strategies to protect walleyes."
Scientists all over the world are working towards new methods to realize an unhackable internet, an internet based on quantum entanglement  an invisible quantum mechanical connection  as networking links. The greatest challenge is scaling to large networks that share entangled links with many particles and network nodes. Researchers in Delft and Oxford have now managed to distil a strong entangled link by combining multiple weaker quantum links into one. This method is essential to realize a trustworthy quantum network between several quantum nodes. This innovative new work has now been published in Science magazine.

Spooky internet

Safe communication is one of today's greatest digital challenges. There is a world-wide scientific effort towards new methods to realize a truly safe internet based on the laws of quantum mechanics. With such networks, secret eavesdropping is fundamentally impossible. However, realizing strong links in a quantum network, based on the powerful but fragile principle of quantum entanglement, is a great scientific challenge.

"Entangled particles behave as one, independent of distance. Any observation of such entangled electrons result in correlated information," Professor Ronald Hanson explains. Measuring one particle therefore instantaneously influences the other, even when they are light-years apart. Albert Einstein did not believe such a connection could exist, but a carefully designed experiment from the group of Professor Hanson in Delft in 2015 reached the world press for showing that this really is the case. They were able to succeed at this long-standing challenge by entangling quantum information over distances of over a kilometre via light particles. Scientists are now working towards ground-breaking technologies based on entanglement. Strong connections via quantum entanglement can be the basis for information sharing. 'The information exists at both places and there is no need for sensitive information to travel in between," Hanson elaborates, "we expect fundamentally safe future networks based on entanglement between quantum nodes: a quantum internet." The power of quantum entanglement is that it is invisible for third parties: the information is impossible to eavesdrop.

Entanglement distillation

The research group of Ronald Hanson at QuTech is famous for realizing networking links based on quantum entanglement. They are now building on this work to construct the first quantum internet. Ronald Hanson: "We are now taking an important step forward. Whereas we first realized entangled information between two electrons in diamonds, we now also are using one of the nuclear spins present in each diamond to temporarily store the entangled information." With the information stored safely, the scientist can entangle the electrons again. Hanson: 'Now we have two entanglement links. By combining these in a smart way, we manage to generate one strongly entangled link using two weaker entangled links, just like distilling whisky out of lower-alcoholic ingredients." In principle, this process of entanglement distillation can be repeated over and over, until high-quality entanglement is obtained."

Extending possibilities

The demonstrated method is an important step towards the quantum internet. Norbert Kalb, one of the leading authors of the paper: "To realize such a network, we need all the ingredients of the current internet: a memory, a processor and networking links. Now we have demonstrated that nuclear spins can be employed as memories that are not disturbed by regenerating entanglement between the electron spins, the processors," says Kalb.

In this publication, Hanson and his team showed that entanglement can be stored in nuclear spins while regenerating entanglement between electron spins. Hanson explains the future possibilities: "We could now entangle electrons in additional quantum nodes such that we can extend the number of networking links towards a first real quantum network. Scientifically, a whole new world opens up." This entanglement distillation is essential for the future quantum internet, which requires multiple networking links of high quality. Hanson thinks the future is within reach: "In five years we will connect four Dutch cities in a rudimentary quantum network."

More information: Entanglement Distillation between Solid-State Quantum Network Nodes. Science, DOI: 10.1126/science.aan0070 , arxiv.org/abs/1703.03244 Journal information: Science
These six Hubble Space Telescope images reveal a jumble of misshapen-looking galaxies punctuated by exotic patterns such as arcs, streaks, and smeared rings. These unusual features are the stretched shapes of the universe's brightest infrared galaxies that are boosted by natural cosmic magnifying lenses. Some of the oddball shapes also may have been produced by spectacular collisions between distant, massive galaxies. The faraway galaxies are as much as 10,000 times more luminous than our Milky Way. The galaxies existed between 8 billion and 11.5 billion years ago. Credit: NASA, ESA, and J. Lowenthal (Smith College)

Boosted by natural magnifying lenses in space, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has captured unique close-up views of the universe's brightest infrared galaxies, which are as much as 10,000 times more luminous than our Milky Way.

The galaxy images, magnified through a phenomenon called gravitational lensing, reveal a tangled web of misshapen objects punctuated by exotic patterns such as rings and arcs. The odd shapes are due largely to the foreground lensing galaxies' powerful gravity distorting the images of the background galaxies. The unusual forms also may have been produced by spectacular collisions between distant, massive galaxies in a sort of cosmic demolition derby.

"We have hit the jackpot of gravitational lenses," said lead researcher James Lowenthal of Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. "These ultra-luminous, massive, starburst galaxies are very rare. Gravitational lensing magnifies them so that you can see small details that otherwise are unimaginable. We can see features as small as about 100 light-years or less across. We want to understand what's powering these monsters, and gravitational lensing allows us to study them in greater detail."

The galaxies are ablaze with runaway star formation, pumping out more than 10,000 new stars a year. This unusually rapid star birth is occurring at the peak of the universe's star-making boom more than 8 billion years ago. The star-birth frenzy creates lots of dust, which enshrouds the galaxies, making them too faint to detect in visible light. But they glow fiercely in infrared light, shining with the brilliance of 10 trillion to 100 trillion suns.

Gravitational lenses occur when the intense gravity of a massive galaxy or cluster of galaxies magnifies the light of fainter, more distant background sources. Previous observations of the galaxies, discovered in far-infrared light by ground- and space-based observatories, had hinted of gravitational lensing. But Hubble's keen vision confirmed the researchers' suspicion.

Lowenthal is presenting his results at 3:15 p.m. (EDT), June 6, at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Austin, Texas.

According to the research team, only a few dozen of these bright infrared galaxies exist in the universe, scattered across the sky. They reside in unusually dense regions of space that somehow triggered rapid star formation in the early universe.

The galaxies may hold clues to how galaxies formed billions of years ago. "There are so many unknowns about star and galaxy formation," Lowenthal explained. "We need to understand the extreme cases, such as these galaxies, as well as the average cases, like our Milky Way, in order to have a complete story about how galaxy and star formation happen."

In studying these strange galaxies, astronomers first must detangle the foreground lensing galaxies from the background ultra-bright galaxies. Seeing this effect is like looking at objects at the bottom of a swimming pool. The water distorts your view, just as the lensing galaxies' gravity stretches the shapes of the distant galaxies. "We need to understand the nature and scale of those lensing effects to interpret properly what we're seeing in the distant, early universe," Lowenthal said. "This applies not only to these brightest infrared galaxies, but probably to most or maybe even all distant galaxies."

Lowenthal's team is halfway through its Hubble survey of 22 galaxies. An international team of astronomers first discovered the galaxies in far-infrared light using survey data from the European Space Agency's (ESA) Planck space observatory, and some clever sleuthing. The team then compared those sources to galaxies found in ESA's Herschel Space Observatory's catalog of far-infrared objects and to ground-based radio data taken by the Very Large Array in New Mexico. The researchers next used the Large Millimeter Telescope (LMT) in Mexico to measure their exact distances from Earth. The LMT's far-infrared images also revealed multiple objects, hinting that the galaxies were being gravitationally lensed.

These bright objects existed between 8 billion and 11.5 billion years ago, when the universe was making stars more vigorously than it is today. The galaxies' star-birth production is 5,000 to 10,000 times higher than that of our Milky Way. However, the ultra-bright galaxies are pumping out stars using only the same amount of gas contained in the Milky Way.

So, the nagging question is, what is powering the prodigious star birth? "We've known for two decades that some of the most luminous galaxies in the universe are very dusty and massive, and they're undergoing bursts of star formation," Lowenthal said. "But they've been very hard to study because the dust makes them practically impossible to observe in visible light. They're also very rare: they don't appear in any of Hubble's deep-field surveys. They are in random parts of the sky that nobody's looked at before in detail. That's why finding that they are gravitationally lensed is so important."

These galaxies may be the brighter, more distant cousins of the ultra-luminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGS), hefty, dust-cocooned, starburst galaxies, seen in the nearby universe. The ULIRGS' star-making output is stoked by the merger of two spiral galaxies, which is one possibility for the stellar baby boom in their more-distant relatives. However, Lowenthal said that computer simulations of the birth and growth of galaxies show that major mergers occur at a later epoch than the one in which these galaxies are seen.

Another idea for the star-making surge is that lots of gas, the material that makes stars, is flooding into the faraway galaxies. "The early universe was denser, so maybe gas is raining down on the galaxies, or they are fed by some sort of channel or conduit, which we have not figured out yet," Lowenthal said. "This is what theoreticians struggle with: How do you get all the gas into a galaxy fast enough to make it happen?"

The research team plans to use Hubble and the Gemini Observatory in Hawaii to try to distinguish between the foreground and background galaxies so they can begin to analyze the details of the brilliant monster galaxies.

Future telescopes, such as NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, an infrared observatory scheduled to launch in 2018, will measure the speed of the galaxies' stars so that astronomers can calculate the mass of these ultra-luminous objects.

"The sky is covered with all kinds of galaxies, including those that shine in far-infrared light," Lowenthal said. "What we're seeing here is the tip of the iceberg: the very brightest of all."
Police said a man attacked an officer near Notre Dame cathedral in the French capital, and was later shot and injured by police officers who responded.

By Reuters: Police in Paris shot and wounded a man who attacked an officer outside the Notre Dame cathedral on Tuesday, the Paris police headquarters said.

Police had earlier said they were dealing with an incident in the courtyard outside the world-famous tourist site and warned the public to stay away.

An attacker at Paris Notre Dame cathedral carrying an Algerian student card shouted "this is for Syria" when he smashed with a hammer one of three police officers, French interior minister Gerard Collomb said on Tuesday.

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"A man came behind these police officers and, armed with a hammer, started hitting one of them. His colleagues reacted with composure...and fired," Collomb told reporters near the cathedral in central Paris.

Collomb added that the injured attacked was being treated in hospital and seemed to have acted alone.

Police sources said the officers shot at the man after he had threatened them with a hammer and refused to stop.

The motive for the attack was not immediately known.

Also read:

Grenade attack on Indian envoy's residential compound in Kabul, all safe

London: British Police name third attacker as Moroccan-Italian Youssef Zaghba

When terrorists drove van into pedestrians, stabbed revellers: All you need to know about the London attack

London Bridge attack: Why terror can't be stopped, quicker response only option

Modi in Paris: Climate deal shared legacy of world, article of faith for India

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Main stream and branch of the Kuroshio. Credit: Science China Press

The Kuroshio ocean current, originating in the Philippine Sea east of the Luzon Strait, enters the East China Sea (ECS) northeast of Taiwan Island, flowing along the outer edge of the ECS shelf, and turns eastward to the Pacific Ocean through the Tokara Strait (Figure 1). It directly affects hydrological conditions, the distribution of biota, and seabed sediments in the marginal seas of China, particularly the ECS.

Research programs like the China-Japan Joint Research Program on the Kuroshio (JRK) and the Kuroshio Edge Exchange Processes (KEEP) offer detailed understanding of the Kuroshio's impact on adjacent sea areas. Among these, the Luzon Strait, the area northeast of Taiwan Island, and the sea area southwest of Kyushu (Japan) were the three key incursion areas of the Kuroshio into China's marginal seas. But generally, except for some research discussing Kuroshio incursion after the investigation of parameters like nutrients and inorganic carbon, most studies have been focused on the numerical simulation of marine oceanic processes. Very few reports concern trace elements such as barium in the Kuroshio mainstream and adjacent East China Sea.

Now, Professor SONG's group in Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, have identified that the scope and extent of the Kuroshio incursion into the East China Sea could be quantitatively described by using barium as a tracer. In an article titled "Dissolved barium as a tracer of Kuroshio incursion in the Kuroshio region east of Taiwan Island and the adjacent East China Sea", co-written by professor Jinming Song and published in Science China: Earth Sciences, the geochemical characteristics and the factors influencing dissolved barium in the Kuroshio mainstream east of Taiwan Island and the adjacent East China Sea area are reported. The influx and extent of incursion of Kuroshio water into the ECS were first quantitatively estimated by using barium as a tracer.

By the investigation of dissolved barium in seawater in the region of the Kuroshio mainstream east of Taiwan Island and the adjacent ECS, the study found that the Kuroshio upwelled in the sea area northeast of Taiwan Island; the north-flowing water in the Taiwan Strait restrained the incursion of Kuroshio surface water onto the ECS shelf, while Kuroshio subsurface water gradually affected the bottom of the ECS from outside. Using end member calculation and choosing barium as a parameter, the authors report that the Kuroshio surface water had little impact on the ECS, while the Kuroshio subsurface water formed an intrusion current by climbing northwest along the bottom of the middle shelf from the sea area northeast of Taiwan Island into the Qiantang Estuary, of which the volume of Kuroshio water was nearly 65 percent. Kuroshio water was the predominant part of the water on the outer shelf bottom and its proportion in areas deeper than the 100 m isobath could reach more than 95 percent. Thus, barium was able to provide detailed tracing of the Kuroshio incursion into the ECS owing to its geochemical characteristics.

This study enriches the research of the Kuroshio. It provide a new means to reveal quantitative interactions between the Kuroshio and the East China Sea, and it have important significance and reference value in exploring the influence of the Kuroshio on the ecological environment of the ECS.

More information: Wei Liu et al, Dissolved barium as a tracer of Kuroshio incursion in the Kuroshio region east of Taiwan Island and the adjacent East China Sea, Science China Earth Sciences (2017). DOI: 10.1007/s11430-016-9039-7 Journal information: Science China Earth Sciences
Geography doctoral student Paul Nesbit has led a study on how the proliferation of drones in Canadian airspace is causing new safety concerns. Credit: Paul Nesbit

Canadian airspace is adapting to the rise of uninhabited aerial vehicles (UAVs) or, drones, which now outnumber piloted aircraft in our skies, and a new study from the University of Calgary shows this has led to a growing number of incidents and safety concerns.

The study  published online in the Journal of Unmanned Vehicle Systems  examines drone incident data in Canada from the Transport Canada Civil Aviation Daily Occurrence Reporting System (CADORs) database. Between November 2005 and December 2016 a total of 355 drone incidents were reported in Canadian airspace. Of these incidents, 66.5 per cent were drone sightings with 22.3 per cent involving close encounters between drones and piloted aircraft. These incidents began to rise dramatically after 2013, a time at which drone technology became more readily available to consumers.

"Drone use has skyrocketed, and with that comes new potential safety concerns," says geography doctoral student Paul Nesbit, who led the study, along with co-authors, associate professor Chris Hugenholtz and research associate Thomas Barchyn. "The spike in incidents seems to correlate with the proliferation of consumer drone technology, which is affordable and requires virtually no training to operate."

Hobbyists have been flying model aircraft safely in Canadian airspace for decades. But in recent years, drones requiring substantially less skill to operate have entered the airspace. "This is fueling new opportunities for research, commercial, recreational, and humanitarian applications," notes Nesbit.

"The potential problem with the rapid rise of drones is that the technology is now accessible to people who may not be aware of, or who choose to ignore Canadian airspace regulations," adds Hugenholtz. He also notes that the nature of the incidents uncovered in the study point to drone operators who are unlikely to hold drone certifications from Transport Canada or have training in airspace regulations. "These individuals could damage Canada's nascent drone industry," Hugenholtz says.

Recognizing these new safety concerns, Transport Canada has legislated new guidelines that clarify drone regulations, also establishing fines for those breaking the rules. Further, they have enacted a new online system allowing anybody to anonymously report unsafe drone activity. Drone manufacturers have been proactive too, adding geo-fencing features to some drones, which prevent users from flying in restricted airspace.

Despite these precautions though, Hugenholtz says there's still a lot of work to be done to safely integrate drone use in Canadian airspace.

"This study confirms anecdotal evidence from a growing number of media reports suggesting a rise in drone incidents in the last few years," says Hugenholtz. "Our results speak for themselvesdrone incidents increased up to the end of 2016. However, there are a growing number of educational, regulatory, and technology-based solutions emerging that we believe will reduce drone incidents moving forward."

More information: Paul R. Nesbit et al. Reported UAV incidents in Canada: analysis and potential solutions, Journal of Unmanned Vehicle Systems (2017). DOI: 10.1139/juvs-2016-0033
An after-school program that empowers young people to be agents of change in their communities has helped 8th-grade students in one Michigan area develop more prosocial behaviors and avoid antisocial behaviors, say University of Michigan School of Public Health researchers.

A five-year evaluation of the Youth Empowerment Solutions program developed by U-M and piloted in the Flint area shows the program was successful in helping youth gain confidence in themselves, think critically about their community, and work with adults to create positive change, says Marc Zimmerman, the Marshall H. Becker Professor of Health Behavior and Health Education.

"If you give middle school age kids a challenge and the opportunity to be creative within a safe and structured environment, they do amazing things when they are encouraged to think critically and think more about their communities and more outside of themselves," Zimmerman said. "This creates confidence in their abilities. They are not going to engage in destructive behaviors because they are focused on positive goals for which they feel ownership."

The program enrolled and followed for four years 367 youth from 13 urban and suburban middle schools. The participants were comprised of 32 percent white students, 46 percent African-American students and 22 percent mixed race, Asian-American, Latino, Native American or other ethnic/racial group. Sixteen percent were from Flint public schools and the others were from nearby districts in Genesee County.

The researchers measured prosocial outcomes including helping others, academic effort and responsible decision-making, and antisocial behaviors such as aggressive and delinquent behaviors.

They say the program improved youths' sense of psychological empowerment, which was associated with more helping of others, greater academic effort, more responsible decision-making, and less aggressive and delinquent behavior.

Zimmerman has written extensively about empowerment theory, which he says has three major parts: The intrapersonal component includes beliefs about control and confidence that one can make a difference; the interactional component, which involves awareness of the forces that shape life and an understanding of the resources and actions needed to create situations more aligned with personal goals; and the behavioral component, which refers to actions individuals take to make desired changes in their environment, including involvement in prosocial activities.

While many youth intervention programs incorporate some empowerment principles, few include all three of these elements, Zimmerman says.

The YES program was created based on researchmuch of it conducted by Zimmerman and others at the U-M School of Public Healthshowing that a young person's sense of identity, particularly ethnicity, is beneficial to his or her development.

"Youth need to engage in activities that develop pride in their community and who they are, develop projects that they 'own,' and that involve active learning. That's the 'secret sauce,'" Zimmerman said. "They learn by doing. They also learn by working with adults, but the adults don't take over. They are there for support and guidance."

Zimmerman says the curriculum provided structured lesson plans responsive to local culture and helped students develop leadership confidence and skills. It also created opportunities for intergenerational collaboration and prepared youth to plan and implement community change that they would like to see. While it was an after-school program, YES was implemented within the school structure by teachers hired by the school.

Zimmerman says they are currently collaborating with colleagues at Wayne State University to adapt the program to address dating violence among middle schoolers. The original YES program has been disseminated and implemented nationwide.
DJ Seo, UTA professor of civil engineering. Credit: UT Arlington

A UTA civil engineer and hydrologist has expanded his weather-watching audience to iPhone users.

D.J. Seo, the Robert S. Gooch Endowed Professor of Water Resources Engineering and a civil engineering professor at The University of Texas at Arlington, designed a cell phone app called iSeeFlood.

The app, developed in 2016, was initially available only for Android cell phones. It is now available for iPhones. iSeeFlood encourages the public to file timely reports when they see flooding of varying severity on the streets, in and around their homes, and in streams and creeks.

Such flash floods can be dangerous to pedestrians and motorists alike. Any advantage in knowing where, when and how fast flash-flooding is occurring can save lives and property.Visit this link for the iOS download. Visit this link for the Android download. Visit https://www.iseeflood.org for an interactive display.

For iSeeFlood, Seo is collaborating with DeepStratus, a technology company based in northern Virginia to improve the app and data display.

"We are hopeful that the collaboration with DeepStratus will help UTA take this cell phone application worldwide," Seo said. "This crowdsourcing tool can not only inform the citizens for real-time decision making but also help build the data we need to understand and cope with flash flooding worldwide in a more intelligent and data-driven way."

The iSeeFlood app. Credit: UT Arlington

Seo said DeepStratus is also harvesting weather-related tweets and social media posts to help collect and build the data needed to make informed decisions on flash flooding and to advance flood science.

"Urban flood management has become an integral part of planning and services in metropolitan areas like North Texas," Seo said. "We need big data and crowdsourcing approaches to assemble needed information is especially needed in urban areas where so much development is taking place."

Since last year, Seo's team has also been installing about two dozen innovative wireless sensors around creeks, streams and flash-flooding zones in Fort Worth, Dallas, Grand Prairie and Arlington to improve high-resolution modeling of urban water systems. The sensors recorded and transmitted information about how much water was flowing, providing additional data to help the cities and National Weather Service make quicker and more accurate forecasts and alerts.

"But it's too expensive to put up sensors wherever flash flooding data are needed," Seo said. "That's why we need to rely on crowdsourcing and this phone app is a great way to gather the data we need."

Ali Abolmaali, UTA Department of Civil Engineering chair and Dr. Tseng Huang Endowed Professor, said Seo's work will help design changes in how North Texas is built.

"Once the data are collected, it's invaluable to the cities where they came from," Abolmaali said. "I could see this kind of phone app and data collection spreading across the globe."

Seo's iSeeFlood app and sensor work is but one of the many projects he and his UTA team are working on.
Facebook and Twitter vowed to continue policing their networks for terrorist elements after U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May's call for tougher Internet regulation in the wake of recent terror attacks in London.

May called for international collaboration to "regulate cyberspace to prevent the spread of extremist and terrorism planning. And we need to do everything we can at home to reduce the risks of extremism online."

Her comments came Sunday morning after a Saturday night attack beginning on London Bridge with attackers ramming pedestrians with a van before stabbing several people in a market. Seven people were killed with many more injured. The Islamic State, also known as ISIS, claimed responsibility for attack. "We cannot allow this ideology the safe space it needs to breed," she said.

Facebook seeks to be "a hostile environment for terrorists," said Simon Milner, Facebook's Director of Policy said in a statement Sunday. "Using a combination of technology and human review, we work aggressively to remove terrorist content from our platform as soon as we become aware of itand if we become aware of an emergency involving imminent harm to someone's safety, we notify law enforcement."

In December 2016, Facebook joined Microsoft, Twitter and YouTube in creating an database to help prevent the spread of terrorist content including videos and images online. "We have long collaborated with policymakers, civil society, and others in the tech industry, and we are committed to continuing this important work together," Milner said.

At Twitter, the network's U.K. Head of Public Policy Nick Pickles said in a statement Sunday, "Terrorist content has no place on Twitter. We continue to expand the use of technology as part of a systematic approach to removing this type of content."

Twitter has suspended more than 636,000 accounts for violations related to the promotion of terrorism. "We will never stop working to stay one step ahead and will continue to engage with our partners across industry, government, civil society and academia," Pickles said.

But it will take more than the help of popular global social networks such as Facebook and Twitter to prevent the spread of terrorism online, said Peter Neumann, director of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence at King's College London.

"Big social media platforms have cracked down on jihadist accounts, with result that ... Most jihadists are now using end-to-end encrypted messenger platforms e.g. Telegram," he said in a series of tweets Sunday after May's speech. "Moreover, few people (are) radicalised exclusively online. Blaming social media platforms is politically convenient but intellectually lazy."

2017 USA Today

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Saint Louis University professor of physics Jean Potvin, Ph.D. Credit: Saint Louis University

In a recent paper published in PLOS One, Saint Louis University professor of physics Jean Potvin, Ph.D., and biologist Alexander Werth, Ph.D. at Hampden-Sydney College, detail for the first time how baleen whales use crossflow filtration to separate prey from water without ever coming into contact with the baleen. Baleen are comb-like keratin plates that have replaced the teeth of the whale's ancestors about 30 million years ago and play the role of a filtration surface in their mouths. The researchers looked at how this type of feeding affects a whale's drag as it moves through the water and how this form of filtration is enhanced by a large body size.

Scientists hope that a greater understanding of how these aquatic mammals feed will shed light on how whales have evolved to the enormous sizes seen today. This new knowledge also will aid conservation efforts for whales, most of which are endangered species.

"As a physicist, I collaborate with biologists and paleontologists," Potvin said. "We study the physics of the various feeding mechanisms used by whales such as the humpback, blue and right whales. One practical aspect of this research is to know how much food they need. For the largest species, the food is krill and copepods. With climate change and human exploitation currently affecting prey availability, scientists wonder how whales will adjust to the possible food shortages or geographical displacements that are likely to arise. Answering how much food whales need to eat, or in other words, how much energy they have to spend throughout the year to catch and digest food, will help answer this question.

"Blue whales, for example, feed on millions of krill that gather in big patches, in many cases patches that are larger than the whales themselves. This allows whales to grow to enormous sizes. These whales are the largest animals to have ever lived on Earth - they are larger than most dinosaurs. They engulf water and prey, and then filter what they don't need out through the baleen plates.

"There's still a lot we don't understand about filtration by baleen, especially with regards to the detailed physics involved. Blue whales lunge toward the prey patch and open their mouth to enormous gapes to catch as many prey as possible. In the process they engulf an enormous amount of water which needs to be filtered out instants after mouth closure. Blue whales engulf the equivalent of their own mass, which for a 90 foot-long whale translates into a hundred tons of water. This is a lot of water to purge out of the mouth. It's done after prey capture, with the whale's belly muscle tightening to force the water through the baleen, past the lips and out of the mouth. This is a complicated process, most of which is out of view. This leaves scientists with very few clues on the workings of the filtration process that takes place within."

In their current paper, Potvin and Werth studied another type of baleen whale, the right whale, which offer a simpler version of filtration by baleen. Right whales have a baleen system that is similar to that of blue whales, although with longer baleen plates. But unlike their distant cousins the blue whales, right whales do not lunge and catch their prey like a raptor. Instead, they skim the water with their mouths open to collect their food at a much slower pace, effectively eating like a grazer. This process also is more visible since it is performed with the mouth partially opened. And, because of this skimming motion, the flow of water moving though the baleen system is simpler to simulate mathematically than the flows taking place inside a blue whale's closed mouth.

Right whales feed on small prey called copepods which are about the size of a grain of rice.

"Copepods also hang out in big patches," Potvin said. "Whales open their mouths while swimming through the patch, effectively skimming through it in a manner similar to a collector's net capturing butterflies. Again the baleen act like a filtration surface but the copepods are smaller than the space between baleens and so the filtration process must be different from, for example, draining pasta using a strainer.

"Instead, crossflow filtration is used, with most of the water passing through the baleen and exiting out of the mouth, but with the prey heading straight to the back side of the mouth where it is swallowed, all the while without ever coming into contact with the baleen.The copepods are mostly a slurry of food by the time they get to the whale's esophagus.

"Humans developed crossflow filtration in the wine-making process to remove the particles created during production without requiring frequent cleaning of the filtration surface. Of course, Mother Nature knew about cross filtration long before we did."

Watch how scientists tag whales and see the ocean from their point of view.

This is the first paper in the field that shows how this can be done for baleen whales through simulations and data, Potvin says.

"This is a study of how the water flows through the mouth in terms of speed and pressure, and how this leads to the drag created by the open mouth," Potvin said. "When these whales open their mouths, there is more water resistance because of the flow within. This will affect how much energy the whale needs to spend in order to feed. We can calculate the drag. People had measured it but it had never been calculated. I think it's a big step.

"Another thing this analysis allows you to do is to go back to the question of body size. This type of crossflow filtration works best with a big body size. Right whales are about 50 feet-long. Our analysis found that, sure enough, this mode gets more efficient at the larger body size.

"The bigger the filter, the slower the water through the filter. This reduces the clogging rate and also the drag. If water is too fast through the baleen system, it carries along most of the prey, thereby allowing the copepods to escape and over time gums up the filter. The bigger the filter surface, the slower the flow out of the filter at the level of the pore. The process is analogous to rivers discharging into a bay: the faster river flowequivalent to the water entering a whale's mouthwill always slow down as it enters the bay because it is always wider, which is equivalent to the water passing through the whale's baleen."

This modeling answers some key questions about feeding that will help scientists understand how to best protect whales as their habitat changes due to global warming and human activity on oceans.

For his next project, Potvin will turn his attention to the physics of how whales swim and maneuver in the water.

Thanks to a recent $800,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), Potvin and colleagues will collect data on the swimming habits of blue whales and humpback whales in the wild using drones and electronic tags. Potvin and Saint Louis University received $232,634 to fund their portion of the three year study.

"We will have a big expedition in August near the Channel Islands off the coast of Santa Barbara, California, tagging blue whales," Potvin said. "We are likely to see some of the highest concentrations of blue whales in the world. We hope to get a lot of data out of that trip."

The expedition will be led by colleagues at Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station using specially devised digital tags to measure the speeds and accelerations performed by the whales, as well as record video of the maneuvers and encounters with the prey.

"Researchers usually sneak up next to a whale as it surfaces for air and attempt to attach the tag to the animal with the use of suction cups," Potvin said. "There is a piece of metal that dissolves after several hours after attachment and that releases the suction cups. The package then floats up to the surface and a mounted beacon helps the biologists locate and retrieve the tag for data download."

With the new data, Potvin will be able to carry out computational fluid dynamics simulations at Saint Louis University to learn more about how these whales maneuver to capture prey, avoid predators and obstacles, and compete for mates.

More information: Jean Potvin et al, Oral cavity hydrodynamics and drag production in Balaenid whale suspension feeding, PLOS ONE (2017). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0175220 Journal information: PLoS ONE
The detected pattern of an electron neutrino candidate event observed by Super-Kamiokande. Credit: University of Tokyo

The different rates of neutrino and anti-neutrino oscillations recorded by an international collaboration of researchers in Japanincluding from Kavli IPMUis an important step in the search for a new source of asymmetry in the laws that govern matter and antimatter.

The Standard Model of particle physics describes the basic building blocks of matter and how they interact. It also makes a point that for every particle created, there is an anti-particle. However, the Standard Model does not explain why our Universe still exists today, since the matter and anti-matter symmetry implies that matterincluding galaxies, stars, and even humansshould have been annihilated by the equal amounts of anti-matter.

This violation of symmetry, called the charge-parity (CP) violation, has been observed experimentally, but not enough to explain the large amount of matter existing in the Universe.

The international T2K (Tokai-to-Kamioka) collaboration is the first experiment in the world that can search for CP violation by studying neutrino and anti-neutrino oscillations. High intensity beams of muon neutrinos (or muon anti-neutrinos) are produced at J-PARC (Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex) on Japan's east coast, and fired towards the Super-Kamiokande detector 295 km away in Gifu Prefecture. On the way, the neutrinos and anti-neutrinos spontaneously change 'flavor' from muon neutrinos or anti-neutrinos, to electron neutrinos or anti-neutrinos. A difference in the rates of oscillations in separate neutrino and anti-neutrino beams would be proof of an imbalance between particles and anti-particles, and that there is new physics to be learned beyond the Standard Model.

The first data set by T2K was published in April, and detected 32 electron neutrinos and 4 electron anti-neutrinos.

"While the data sets are still too small to make a conclusive statement, we have seen a weak preference for large CP violation and we are excited to continue to collect data and make a more sensitive search for CP violation," said T2K collaborator and Kavli IPMU Project Assistant Professor Mark Hartz.

Recently, the T2K experiment has finished collecting another set of data that has doubled the amount of data available in the electron neutrino configuration, and its results are expected to be presented later this year. Hartz has said they expect to continue to take data for another 10 years.

"If we are lucky and the CP violation effect is large, we may expect 3 sigma evidence, or about 99.7% confidence level, for CP violation by 2026," he said.

Details of T2K's most recent results using neutrino and anti-neutrino data were published in Physical Review Letters as an Editors Suggestion on April 10.

More information: K. Abe et al. Combined Analysis of Neutrino and Antineutrino Oscillations at T2K, Physical Review Letters (2017). DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.151801 Journal information: Physical Review Letters
U.S. Navy diver off the coast of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Credit: MC2 Kori Melvin, U.S. Navy/Wikipedia

Cuba is the ecological crown jewel of the Caribbean. It harbors thousands of the region's endemic species and about half of its coastal ecosystems. It is rare to find comparable ecosystems or such rich biodiversity anywhere in the Caribbean, and perhaps in the Western Hemisphere.

Cuba also is inextricably linked to its neighbor countries, especially the United States. These two nations have been adversaries for over 60 years, but their common backyard is an ocean filled with limited shared resources.

Since December 2014, when then-President Barack Obama ordered the restoration of diplomatic relations with Cuba, both governments have taken steps to improve cooperation. They include agreements to work together to protect some of the Caribbean's most important coral reefs and marine sanctuaries. Now, however, the Trump administration reportedly is planning to slow or halt at least some U.S. engagement with Cuba.

I am a Cuban marine biologist and have had the opportunity to be part of U.S. academia and facilitate scientific partnerships between the two countries. Scientists on both sides are very interested in working together, and I believe that we owe it to nature and people on both sides to keep this door open.

Connected waters

Cuban waters provide vital spawning and nursery grounds for snapper, grouper and other marine species that are commercially important in the United States. Cuba is also a major stopover point on migration routes for many North America birds.

When I tagged and tracked longfin mako sharks with colleagues from Florida, we found that they ranged into territorial waters around Cuba, the United States, the Bahamas and Mexico  showing clearly just how connected our waters are. Other scientists have reported similar results for species including manatees, sea turtles and fish larvae.

Since the U.S. government relaxed restrictions on American travel to Cuba in 2015, Cuba has experienced an explosion in international tourism, which is projected to continue. Expanding tourism and related development, combined with longstanding poor management of reefs and fisheries and economic scarcity, could have major impacts on the waters that link our countries.

Although Cuba's coastal habitats are in fairly good condition, its fish populations are heavily exploited and threatened by commercial and private subsistence fisheries. Over 80 percent of its fishery resources are in critical condition.

In many coastal communities, for example, small private fishermen depend on fish for subsistence and also supplement their incomes by selling fish on the black market. Pressures on targeted species such as tarpon and bonefish are believed to be substantial, but currently no data are available to quantify the extent and magnitude of impacts on fish populations or ecosystems.

Cuban agriculture does not presently rely on extensive use of synthetic fertilizers, pesticides or other agricultural chemicals. This means that pollution and eutrophication (overfertilization, which produces large blooms of algae and "dead zones") may not be major threats to its fisheries and marine ecosystems. Nonetheless, isolated and significant pollution sources, such as food processing industries and oil refineries, affect many important bays and harbors around the island. Their impacts on marine ecosystems currently are not well-understood or well-documented.

Maximum likelihood tracks for two longfin makos and the locations where they were. tagged and where their pop-up tags were released: (A) the first longfin mako, LFM1, was tagged April 28, 2012 off northwest Florida; and (B) the second longfin mako, LFM2, was tagged February 14, 2015 off Cojimar, Cuba. Credit: Fish. Bull. 115:104/Mote Marine Laboratory.

Cuba has established 108 marine protected areas that provide some level of protection to nearly 23 percent of the shallow waters around the island. However, many of them are at risk due to funding shortages, lack of trained staff, poor enforcement and inefficient management. In 2015 the United States and Cuba agreed to create partnerships between sanctuaries in the two countries, so that we can share data and ideas for conserving these sites.

Cuba at a crossroads

Our common ocean is an essential resource for the United States and Cuba, and any action (or inaction) by one country will significantly impact the other. Scientific collaboration to protect marine resources will benefit both nations.

Cooperation between scientific organizations in Cuba and the United States dates back to the 19th century, and has helped to maintain dialogue even during the most difficult phases of U.S.-Cuban relations. Cuban and American scientists have worked together to address sensitive environmental issues such as shark conservation, conduct state-of-the-art research and train Cubans to do research and conservation.

At times, however, bureaucratic hurdles and misunderstandings on both sides have arisen, and government decisions or indecision have blocked good projects and ideas, such as importing and exporting equipment, organizing research expeditions and field courses, and collecting and exporting samples.

Cubans are facing very difficult economic times, and many are struggling to feed their families. In such circumstances they are unlikely to see environmental protection as a high priority. Cuba is at a crucial decision point, choosing between an environmentally friendly development path like Costa Rica's or a destructive Cancun-style model.

Joint Cuban-American scientific ventures should reach out to the public in both countries with a strong message about preserving our shared ocean resources. They should also invest in communities to change environmental perceptions and attitudes. We need to create effective incentives, increase exchanges of people and ideas, and improve communication about these issues.

More academic partnerships

Academia has a key role to play in this effort. U.S. colleges and universities should explore models that offer more opportunities to Cuban scientists, and Cuban schools should do the same. U.S. schools are already increasing their presence in Cuba through field courses that allow students to experience Cuban realities. Other U.S. organizations such as the Environmental Defense Fund have also expanded ties with Cuban institutions and people.

Unfortunately, this process is working in only one direction. It is much more difficult for Cubans to visit the United States, thanks to restrictions on both sides. We need opportunities for groups of Cuban students to come to the United States for field courses and other academic programs.

Cubans and Americans have more in common than anyone may think. Our nations are united by nature, history and cultural links that have overcome politics. The timing is right for scientists on both sides to make a strong case in favor of normalization over confrontation, and a better future for both countries.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord has received widespread condemnation from political leaders, scientists, activists and climate experts. Perhaps surprisingly, a number of big businesses have also voiced their disagreement with the US president's move.

Among others, well-known companies such as Apple, General Electric, Google, Facebook, Goldman Sachs, Tesla, Morgan Stanley, PepsiCo, Walmart and Walt Disney all condemned the announcement and vowed to continue with their own efforts to protect the environment regardless. Coupled with statements from states and cities, as well as other organisations, this shows that while the president may be appealing to a very specific slice of his electorate, many Americans are decidedly critical. Even large oil companies such as ExxonMobil and Chevron have argued against withdrawal.

It's clear why. Climate change cannot be ignored and these companies are better off moving with the times  and profiting from it in the process.

Competitive advantage

Trump had campaigned against the Paris Agreement. He argued it placed a heavy burden on America's economy by putting people (notably coal miners) out of jobs to the benefit of other nations.

Of course, all policy decisions have an impact on business in some way. But the US president's assertion that taking steps to limit climate change is bad for business is evidently wrong given the very significant growth in renewable energy investment and jobs in recent years. For example, in the US, there are already more than twice as many more people employed in the solar energy sector compared to coal.

Indeed, many of the US' biggest companies are its most innovative. And it has been their engagement with climate change that has led to significant (green) product innovations and process improvements that have saved businesses countless dollars in energy costs. Take Campbell Soup for example. Until 2020 its aim is to reduce its environmental footprint including carbon emissions by 50%. The company's varied initiatives span across reducing waste, water and packaging, but it also made improvements in the transporting and handling of raw materials and ingredients.

This kind of innovation, in turn, makes companies more competitive internationally. It also improves their reputation with customers and attracts a workforce that increasingly demands this kind of action from their employers. Trump's focus appears extremely narrow in its overriding concern for one particular sector  coal. But then this garners him crucial political support. Meanwhile, he ignores the large gains enjoyed by other industries.

Many leading companies increasingly integrate proactive responses to climate change in their strategies by setting ambitious science-based carbon reduction and broader sustainability targets. They also aim to source their electricity exclusively from renewable sources and are offering incentives to all their employees to help them reduce carbon emissions. At a time when costs in the renewable energy sector are falling significantly, many American companies are simply realising the commercial opportunities from reducing their emissions, sourcing their own clean electricity, and developing products and services to help others reduce their emissions.

Moving with the times

Fossil fuel energy companies, for their part, have long faced public pressure to recognise the global threat from climate change and ensure they play their part in the wider energy transition. In recent years, however, their shareholders have also grown increasingly concerned about a potential carbon bubble, which would potentially leave oil reserves (and thus future profits) stranded.

There has therefore been a slight shift in these companies' stance towards less opposition to climate action. Even the shareholders of the world's largest public oil company, ExxonMobil just voted in favour of the fossil fuel giant being more open about the risks it faces due to climate change.

Coal mining companies, by contrast, are struggling. They have faced strong competition from US growth in natural gas production and their hopes for a revival are pinned on the Trump administration. But, as economies change, governments should focus on supporting and retraining those whose jobs are on the line. By trying to save coal, Trump is propping up a dying industry.

For the majority of other businesses, though, both competitive and shareholder pressures are driving them to cut their carbon emissions. While the US might now symbolically take its foot off the climate policy pedal, the response of its businesses and cities is likely to ensure that the consequences are less severe than feared.

The US prides itself as being the world's leading innovator. There is therefore hope that its companies can make both America and the planet great again  even if its leader refuses to engage.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
Credit: IMEC

Quad Industries, Agfa, imec and TNO announced today that they have demonstrated a plastic 12-bit RFID tag and read-out system with screen-printed circuitry. The system integrates, for the first time, a screen-printed antenna and printed touch-based user interface, allowing implementation of the reader on curved surfaces. The demonstrator has been designed for badge security applications, but holds promises for many other applications, including smart packages, wearables and interactive games.

RFID tags made of plastics electronics offer specific advantages over silicon (Si)-based identification devices. They can be affixed to curved packaging, incorporated seamlessly in every-day objects and accommodate inexpensive manufacturing. Typical applications include item-level identification, smart food packaging, brand protection and badge security. RFID tags need to be scanned by a dedicated RFID reader which is typically within two centimeters of the tag. To fully exploit the benefits of plastic electronics, the antenna in both the tag and the reader should be flexible as well. Screen-printed antennas have already been successfully implemented on top of RFID tags, but the read-out systems typically use rigid PCB-based antennas. This is mainly due to a poor resistance and Q-factor of the printed antenna.

Imec, Quad Industries and Agfa have, for the first time, integrated a screen-printed antenna in both the RFID tag and the read-out system. This allows for an optimal integration of both devices on a variety of surfaces. The antennas have been screen-printed by Quad Industries, using printing inks from Agfa.

The partners have demonstrated the new technology in a badge security application. The access badge combines the credit-card size printed antenna with a plastic 12-bit RFID chip, integrated on a flexible plastic substrate. The RFID tag is manufactured in imec's metal-oxide thin-film transistor (TFT) technology. This technology uses large-area manufacturing processes that allow for inexpensive production in large quantities. The 12-bit RFID developed for this demonstration contains 438 TFTs.

The read-out system contains innovative printed functionality at different levels. Firstly, an RFID read-out antenna is screen-printed on a plastic film, allowing optimal integration on flat, curved or even 3-D shaped reader surfaces. Secondly, between the cover lens and the display, a fully printed touchscreen interface with numerical keypad has been added to allow users without a badge to access the building by entering a numerical code. The printed touchscreen was printed using highly transparent screen-printed inks.

"Newly developed nanoparticle based Ag inks allow to achieve much lower resistances over conventional Ag-flake based inks enabling to directly integrate new functionalities by screen printing" stated Wim Christiaens, R&D director at Quad Industries. "Moreover the antenna is printed at the same level of the printed touch screen resulting in direct, more cost effective integration of both the printed antenna and the customized touch screen in the reader device."

"This printed example shows how Orgacon nanoparticle based silver inks open new possibilities in the market of Internet-of-Things where the highest silver efficiency, ultra-fine conductive circuitry, and a wide substrate choice can bring costs down" said Guido Desie, R&D manager at Agfa.

"This demonstration is a noteworthy example of hybrid flexible electronics, combining the advantages of plastic electronics with metal-oxide TFT technology developed by imec and TNO" commented Kris Myny, principal member of the technical staff at imec. "The technology allows for low-cost screen-printing manufacturing, is easily customizable and eco-friendly, and enables direct chip integration on various substrates including plastics, paper and more. The technology promises applications in smart packaging, smart gaming and smart PCB."

The prototype system is demonstrated at the SIM User Forum in Antwerp, Belgium. The work on printed conductive structures is carried out as part of the Flemish Met@link project. The work on transparent touch screens is carried out by Quad Industries under the framework of the European project INREP which received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement n 641864. The work on flexible RFID technologies is performed in Holst Centre, an open innovation initiative set up by imec and TNO.

Provided by IMEC
Condemning the "atrociuos" comparison, Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu today said that people like Partha Chatterjee can only ridicule the Army and not do nothing else.

By India Today Web Desk: The Centre on Tuesday slammed the comparison of human shield controversy with the Jallianwala Bagh massacre and General Dyer.

Condemning the "atrociuos" comparison, Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu today said that people like Partha Chatterjee can only ridicule the Army and not do nothing else.

Bengali scholar Partha Chatterjee in his article had written that Kashmir was witnessing its "General Dyer moment".

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Speaking at a press conference, Naidu said, "Chatterjee is only trying to find fault in the Indian Army which is doing a great job to protect the unity, integrity and security of the country. They only want to condemn the army but never want to come in support of it. Comparing Major Gogoi's incident and then General Rawat's observation to General Dyer is total atrocious and height of perversion".

"These people have sympathy for the stone pelters but don't have sympathy for the ones who leave their family and serve the country," Naidu added.

SCHOLAR STAND BY HIS ARTICLE

Chatterjee has, however, has said that he stands firm with his comparison of Army Chief Rawat with General Dyer.

"I have made my arguments as clearly and precisely as I could in my article. If I need to clarify or change anything then I will write again. I stand by what I wrote. I am not seeking any publicity," Chatterjee told ANI.

HUMAN SHIELD CONTROVERSY

The article came after General Bipin Rawat supported Major Leetul Gogoi, who had used a Kashmiri as a human shield on polling day in the Valley which created a huge furore.

The Army Chief while announcing a reward for Major Gogoi had said that such "innovative" ways are required to counter the "dirty war" underway in Kashmir.

Major Gogoi was in the spotlight after a video shot during the April 9 Srinagar Lok Sabha by-polls, posted on the social media, showed a man tied on the bonnet of an Army jeep in Jammu and Kashmir's Budgam.

Also read: Omar calls inquiry against Major Gogoi in human shield case a 'farce'

Also read: Army chief Bipin Rawat on Kashmir unrest: Wish protesters fired at us instead of pelting stones

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE

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This figure shows an overview of global carbon dioxide levels from 2003 to 2015. The colored lines show the average amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide in different latitude bands. For example, the red line shows the average carbon dioxide in the latitude range 30o north to 60o north, over northern hemisphere mid-latitudes. As can be seen, atmospheric carbon dioxide is increasing despite effort to reduce emissions primarily caused by burning of fossil fuel. Credit: IUP, Univ. Bremen/SRON/Univ. Leicester/ESA/DLR/JAXA/NIES

Last year was the hottest on record, Arctic sea ice is on the decline and sea levels continue to rise. In this context, satellites are providing us with an unbiased view of how our climate is changing and the effects it is having on our planet.

Estimates show that the global sea level is rising by about 3 mm a year. This is one of the major threats of global warming, especially for low-lying coastal areas.

Identifying the individual contributors to sea-level rise is a complicated challenge in climate science. Earth-observing satellites are mapping sea-level changes, which vary across the globe, but the data from satellites can also be used to quantify the amount of water coming from various sources such as melting glaciers and ice sheets, as well as the thermal expansion of ocean water due to rising temperatures.

Space's role in monitoring our planet doesn't stop there: from greenhouse gas emissions to ozone, sea ice to soil moisture and more, spaceborne instruments provide us with the independent and scientific facts which show that our climate is changing.

"Climate and Earth system science are essential to position countries at the forefront of the green revolution," said Josef Aschbacher, Director of ESA's Earth Observation Programmes.

"Space-based Earth observation plays an increasingly important role given the satellites' global reach with the same monitoring instruments. Europe is committed to contribute to a better understanding of planet Earth and to its preservation."

The physical processes causing global sea-level rise are highlighted in the animation. The main causes are thermal expansion of oceans, as they accumulate the excess heat caused by greenhouse gas emissions, the melting of ice from the ice sheets and glaciers, as well as changes in land water storage such as lakes. Regionally, sea level changes vary quite dramatically. The reasons for this are different to the global causes of sea-level changes and include changes to sea water density, influenced by salinity and temperature. Credit: European Space Agency

The global, consistent coverage that satellite data provide is ideal for the type of research undertaken by climate scientists. But the long-term series of data needed by climate scientists 30 years or more  is significantly longer than the lifetime of satellite missions.

omparing data acquired by different satellites is complicated as technology is constantly improving and there are often gaps in the data between satellite missions. To overcome this, ESA created the Climate Change Initiative, or CCI, which integrates datasets derived from different Earth-observing missions to produce the most comprehensive global, long-term records possible for each factor influencing Earth at large  called Essential Climate Variables.

These datasets show clear evidence of changes to our climate.

For a comprehensive view of our planet's changing climate through the eyes of satellites, check out a new digital book for iPad and Android tablets featuring interactive maps and video interviews with top scientists.

Two Sentinel-1 radar images from 7 and 14 April 2017 were combined to create this interferogram showing the growing crack in Antarcticas Larsen-C ice shelf. Credit: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2017), processed by A. Hogg/CPOM/Priestly Centre, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO

More information: Scientists interested in accessing Essential Climate Variable datasets are welcome to visit the CCI Open Data Portal.
In this photo taken on Thursday, June 1, 2017, the board game 'Trump: I'm Back And You're Fired' is on display at the Museum of Failure in Helsingborg, Sweden. Green Heinz ketchup? Fat-free Pringles? Colgate frozen lasagna? You don't need to be an expert to know they weren't successful. Which is why these creations, with dozens of others, feature in the new Museum of Failure, a wacky parade of rejected products from years gone by. (AP Photo/James Brooks)

Green Heinz ketchup? Fat-free Pringles? Colgate frozen lasagna? You don't need to be an expert to know these products weren't successful.

Which is why these creations, with dozens of others, feature in the new Museum of Failure , a wacky parade of rejected products from years gone by set up in the Swedish town of Helsingborg.

It's the brainchild of 43-year-old curator and clinical psychologist Samuel West. The idea came to him while on holiday and he quickly purchased the internet domain name. West later realized he'd accidentally misspelled "museum"a sure sign the project would succeed.

"We know that 80 to 90 percent of innovation projects, they fail and you never read about them, you don't see them, people don't talk about them," West says. "And if there's anything we can do from these failures, is learn from them."

Many items in the museum show companies' attempts to diversify their brand. There's Coca-Cola's BlaK coffee beverage and Pepsi's Crystal clear soda.

Iconic motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson makes an appearance with a men's eau-du-toilette, launched in the mid-1990s.

"The fans hated it," West says. "They had Christmas ornaments, Barbie dolls, all kinds of other stuff with the Harley-Davidson logo and it sort of trivializes the brand."

In this photo taken on Thursday, June 1, 2017, Samuel West, curator of the Museum of Failure, holds a bottle of Heinz 'Green Sauce' tomato ketchup at the Museum of Failure in Helsingborg, Sweden. Green Heinz ketchup? Fat-free Pringles? Colgate frozen lasagna? You don't need to be an expert to know they weren't successful. Which is why these creations, with dozens of others, feature in the new Museum of Failure, a wacky parade of rejected products from years gone by. (AP Photo/James Brooks)

Even one of the world's best-known businessmen, President Donald Trump, makes an appearance.

The "I'm Back And You're Fired" board game from 2004 looks like Monopoly, but players use "T'' branded pieces and the paper notes are adorned with Trump's image.

"It's a boring version of Monopoly. It's simplified so stupid people can play it, but it's also horribly boring," West says.

The Museum of Failure is also home to some high-tech devices, including Google's Glass headset with augmented reality display and in-built camera.

"The problem was Google released it too early, it was still a prototype, so it was full of bugs," West says.

In this photo taken on Thursday, June 1, 2017, a bottle of Heinz 'Green Sauce' tomato ketchup is on display at the Museum of Failure in Helsingborg, Sweden. Green Heinz ketchup? Fat-free Pringles? Colgate frozen lasagna? You don't need to be an expert to know they weren't successful. Which is why these creations, with dozens of others, feature in the new Museum of Failure, a wacky parade of rejected products from years gone by. (AP Photo/James Brooks)

Segway's two-wheeled electric mobility device is also featured.

"The Segway was supposed to revolutionize the way we transport people," West says. "And we all know that the Segway today is used by tourists before they go get drunk."

Experts say innovation is tough and failure is often part of the process.

"You're working on the edge of tomorrow," says Nicolai de Gier, a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. "It's like the other part of trying is failing, so it's just a very natural thing and very important thing."

West says many brands featured in his museum want nothing to do with it. But he says other companies have booked large group visits, perhaps to learn from past mistakes.

In this photo taken on Thursday, June 1, 2017, a 'Rejuvenique' electric beauty mask is on display at the Museum of Failure in Helsingborg, Sweden. Green Heinz ketchup? Fat-free Pringles? Colgate frozen lasagna? You don't need to be an expert to know they weren't successful. Which is why these creations, with dozens of others, feature in the new Museum of Failure, a wacky parade of rejected products from years gone by. (AP Photo/James Brooks)

"It's liberating for us, when we try out a new skill or learn something, it's OK to fail," he says.

The museum does offer some hope. On display is an Apple Newton personal digital assistant from 1993. The bulky black device paved the way for the iPhones and iPads that millions use today.

The Museum of Failure opens June 7 and will stay in its gallery space until at least early September. Entry is 100 Swedish kroner, or approximately $11.

 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Shrinking Arctic sea ice is expected to lead to a loss of ice algae - an important food source for deep sea invertebrates. Credit: University of Aberdeen

A study by scientists at the University of Aberdeen has found that invertebrate life in the deep Arctic Ocean is more resilient to the effects of climate change than previously thought.

The shrinking sea ice cover in the Arctic has led to fears that the associated loss of ice algae - tiny algae growing in large numbers in and under the ice - would pose a serious risk to deep sea invertebrates such as clams, crustaceans and polychaete worms, that rely on them as an important food source.

However, research carried out in the Canadian Arctic has found that the creatures will happily feed on phytoplankton as an alternative food source, despite previous research suggesting a preference for ice algae.

The study, which has been published in the Marine Ecology Progress Series (MEPS) journal, was co-authored by Anni Makela and Professor Ursula Witte from the University's School of Biological Sciences, and Professor Philippe Archambault from Laval University in Quebec.

Professor Witte said: "Arctic deep sea seafloor communities rely on ice algae and phytoplankton sinking from the surface waters for food.

"Summer sea ice loss is predicted to increase phytoplankton but reduce ice algal production, but ice algae are a higher quality food source and reach the seafloor communities earlier in the year when other food is scarce.

"Previous research has indicated that the animals preferentially eat the high quality ice algae, which would make them very vulnerable if this main food source was lost.

"However, by feeding the deep-sea fauna of the Canadian Arctic with both ice algae and phytoplankton, we have been able to show that they will happily feed on both, with no group exclusively preferring ice algae.

"Our research shows that Arctic deep sea animals are more resilient to changes in their food supply than previously thought  an unexpected finding that suggests they are adaptable to the challenges imposed by climate change."

More information: A Makela et al. Ice algae versus phytoplankton: resource utilization by Arctic deep sea macroinfauna revealed through isotope labelling experiments, Marine Ecology Progress Series (2017). DOI: 10.3354/meps12157 Journal information: Marine Ecology Progress Series
Can a Change in Retail Hiring Practices Help Save Americas Department Stores?

In their early days, department stores were the epitome of innovation. Towards the end of the 19th century, Marshall Field was challenging the old-fashioned notion that shopping should be conducted purely out of necessity. By emphasizing customer service (his famous motto: give the lady what she wants), offering luxury amenities for his clientele and turning shopping into a full-blown experience, he truly revolutionized the retail industry. At the turn of the century, his protege Harry Selfridge brought the mentality of the customer is always right from Chicago to London, further revolutionizing the industry through ingenious marketing stunts and a customer-first approach at Selfridges & Co.

Just one century later, the advent of the internet has once again revolutionized the retail experience  unfortunately, not to the benefit of most brick-and-mortar retailers. These days, shoppers dont need to visit their local department store to purchase a new pair of shoes  thanks to the internet, theyre now spoiled with options in all kinds of colors, styles and sizes. Nowadays, we can purchase virtually any style of shoe from anywhere in the world at a competitive price point, and, for the most part, still receive fairly decent customer service.

Needless to say, the once rock-solid retail industry is experiencing an upheaval, with many beloved brick-and-mortar mainstays struggling to keep up with these changes. Whats a retailer to do?

Intrigued by the shifting retail landscape, the psychometrics team at Good&Co Labs used its proprietary data to demonstrate how recruiting tactics may help (or hinder) the business goals of some of Americas largest retail stores.

Walmart vs. Amazon



Our data shows that Walmart employees fall short on characteristics that lead to sales. Amazons employees may provide the competitive edge needed to overtake brick-and-mortar retail giants like Walmart, scoring higher on characteristics such as drive and enthusiasm  traits considered to be the basis for success in customer-facing sales positions.

How to hire for sales success:

Interested in improving sales at your organization? Seek out employees that exhibit high levels of enthusiasm, drive and energy. If youre looking to maintain a high level of customer satisfaction while boosting sales, youll also want to seek out those with high levels of empathy.

Empathy and Innovation

Dillards is clearly getting their recruitment strategy right. Not only do they have the most innovative employees, but their workforce is also the most empathic  a trait which typically results in a higher level of customer service. Combined, these strengths can translate into increased revenues, giving Dillards a competitive edge over Nordstrom, Macys and Saks.

Hiring to improve customer service:

For many industries, customer service has become more important than ever. This is especially true for the retail industry, where a reputation for poor customer service can harm an organizations brand and bottom line. Looking to improve customer service at your organization? Seek out employees who are empathetic, cheerful and energetic.

Macys vs. Nordstrom

Nordstrom employees are well-prepared for the fast-changing retail landscape. Though Macys has more than twice the pull on the digital end of the market when compared to Nordstrom, it should not become complacent. Our data shows that Nordstroms workforce is 17% more organized, 12% more tenacious and a whopping 22% more competitive than Macys  all traits that will leave them better-prepared for the changing landscape of the apparel market.

Hiring for long-term success:

Who are the employees that will help pull your retail organization through tough times? Seek out employees who are persistent and competitive. For an added competitive edge, look for individuals who are highly creative, yet extremely organized.

Methodology

Analyses are based upon the personality profiles of over 2,400 retail employees who are registered Good&Co users. Descriptive statistics are based on each companys average score on specific personality traits that are highly relevant to the retail industry. Comparisons are made with Bayesian estimation. Click here to explore additional company insights.

To learn more about the science behind Good&Co, visit www.good.co/the-science

Disclaimer: Good&Co Labs, Inc. is not affiliated with the retail organizations featured in this article.



Author Bio

Samar Birwadker is co-founder and CEO of Good&Co Labs, Inc., the worlds first and largest quantified culture graph. Using a proprietary psychometric algorithm, Good&Co helps companies leverage employee insights to increase employee engagement, reduce turnover and make better hiring decisions, while empowering millions of employees to make smarter, more informed career decisions.



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Payment Alliance Internationals Donna Embry Receives Women in Payments Award

LOUISVILLE, Ky., June 1, 2017  (Business Wire)  Payment Alliance International (PAI), the nations largest, privately-held ATM provider, is pleased to announce that Chief Payments Advisor Donna Embry has been honored with the Distinguished Payments Professional Award for 2017 from Women in Payments. Presented at a dinner last night in conjunction with the Women in Payments U.S. Symposium at the Ritz-Carlton Pentagon City in Arlington, Virginia, the Distinguished Payments Professional Award recognizes the lifetime achievement of a woman who has served as a role model while contributing greatly to the overall positive image of the payments industry.

I am deeply honored to be recognized among the elite roster of 2017 award recipients by Women in Payments, said Donna Embry, chief payments advisor for PAI. These women are the leaders of today and the creators of tomorrow, laying the groundwork for new and innovative payment technologies throughout our industry, added Embry.

Donna Embry embodies the key elements our awards program strives to spotlight, said Kristy Duncan, founder and chief executive officer of Women in Payments. She is a well-known payments leader who innovates, mentors and is a terrific ambassador for our industry, added Duncan.

Donna Embry is an incredibly talented and respected businesswoman in payments who truly loves this industry, states John J. Leehy, III, president and chief executive officer for PAI. Throughout her illustrious career, she has readily given both time and talent to the betterment of our industry and is certainly deserving of this award, added Leehy.

Embrys payments industry career spans an amazing 50 plus years with companies such as Citizens Fidelity, PNC Bank, Vital Processing Services, Financial Alliance Processing Services, and for the past 11 years Payment Alliance International. No stranger to industry recognition, Embry was profiled as an industry leader by The Green Sheet in 2005, received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Midwest Acquirers Association (MWAA) in 2009, was recognized by SourceMedia as One of the 20 Most Influential Women in Payments in 2013 and 2014, and received the ATM Industry Champion Award from the ATM Industry Association (ATMIA) and Distinguished Payments Professional Award from the Electronic Transactions Association (ETA) in 2016.

Currently, Embry serves the payments industry as chairwoman of ETAs professional development group; board member of the Northeast Acquirers Association (NEAA); and as a member of the Federal Reserve Faster Payments task force, ATMIA EMV Migration and Withdraw Cash Wednesday committees, National Automatic Merchandising Association (NAMA) education committee and ETA mobile payments council. Frequently quoted in industry publications, Embry is a sought-after conference speaker and mentors ETAs Young Payments Professional (YPP) program participants.

Embry previously was a founding member and served on the board of directors of Quest ATM Network; president and board member of the Midwest Acquirers Association (MWAA); advisory board member for SourceMedia publications; chairwoman of ETAs body of knowledge working group for Certified Payments Professional (CPP) accreditation; and a member of ETAs program planning, awards and recognition, and education committees.

About Women in Payments

Women in Payments is a growing network of women across the global payments ecosystem striving for gender parity. We connect and empower like-minded women through career development, education and community building in Canada, the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom today, with plans to launch in many more markets globally. We celebrate the accomplishments and expertise of women payments professionals, giving them a platform to have their voices heard in the push towards diversity and gender parity in payments. Women in Payments was founded in 2012. For more information, please visit womeninpayments.org.

About Payment Alliance International (PAI)

Payment Alliance International (PAI) is the nations largest, privately-held ATM provider and offers processing and maintenance services, equipment sales and support, and unique ATM branding opportunities. PAI also offers industry-leading, revenue-generating, value-added solutions and customized partner programs that increase customer profitability, reduce operational expense and maximize uptime. Payment Alliance International is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky with offices around the country. For more information, please visit GoPAI.com or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

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Inventory needs to be managed and managed well, or you are going to get in recurring trouble, and lose your credibility and hard-earned conversions, whether 

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Kaspersky Lab Files Europe Antitrust Complaints Against Microsoft

Kaspersky Lab today announced that it has filed antitrust complaints against Microsoft with the European Commission and the German Federal Cartel Office.

According to that announcement, Microsoft has been using its Windows 10 operating system market dominance to gain unfair competitive advantage in the security software space, favoring its Windows Defender solution over other antimalware software products. Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab had filed similar complaints with Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) back in November.

Last month, Eugene Kaspersky, chairman and CEO at Kaspersky Lab, had indicated that the FAS complaints would be continuing even though Microsoft had addressed some matters with Windows 10 version 1703, the so-called "creators update." However, he also indicated that Kaspersky Lab still would be filing a complaint with the European Commission.

Specifically, Kaspersky Lab is complaining that Windows 10 creates obstacles for competing software security solutions and pushes users toward using Microsoft's built-in Windows Defender antimalware software. As a consequence, user choice is limited. It leads to financial losses for users and software makers, Kaspersky Lab's announcement claimed.

In addition, Microsoft's faster update release pace with Windows 10 doesn't provide sufficient time for software vendors to update their products compared with Microsoft's past Windows release-to-manufacturing (RTM) approach. Eugene Kaspersky, in a separate blog post today, said that vendors now have just "a couple of weeks" to address RTM releases prior to public release, a practice that's associated with Windows 10. Previously, they had a couple of months to establish compatibility and fix flaws, including Windows flaws, he contended.

Eugene Kaspersky also complained that Windows 10 will delete the drivers of antimalware software if it's deemed incompatible, and it will switch on Windows Defender in its place, with scant notification to end users. In addition, Microsoft personnel have suggested that users should be "kicking out the independent antivirus" to use Windows Defender instead. Even Microsoft's technical support pages now typically advise users to remove non-Microsoft antimalware products in "any unclear situation," Kaspersky added.

According to Kaspersky Lab, Microsoft's Windows Defender can't be removed from Windows 10, at least by consumers. Windows Defender can be switched off from the commercial version of Windows 10, and it can be deleted from Windows Server, according to the company.

Early on, Microsoft had described the Windows 10 "anniversary update" (version 1607) as having a Windows Defender"Limited Periodic Scanning" capability, which suggested that Windows Defender could coexist with alternative vendor antimalware solutions. It's unclear if this feature actually became part of the anniversary update release in August, though. Microsoft's list of Windows 10 version 1607 features doesn't include Limited Periodic Scanning, for instance. Update 6/6: "The limited periodic scanning functionality did make it into the final Anniversary Update release + beyond," a Microsoft spokesperson clarified.

In a released statement via e-mail, Microsoft suggested its motivation has been to protect Windows 10 users.

"Microsoft's primary objective is to keep customers protected and we are confident that the security features of Windows 10 comply with competition laws," a Microsoft spokesperson stated, via e-mail.

Microsoft also claims it has tried to meet with Kaspersky Lab executives on the matter.

"We're always interested in feedback from other companies and we engage deeply with antimalware vendors and have taken a number of steps to address their feedback," the spokesperson added. "We reached out directly to Kaspersky a number of months ago offering to meet directly at an executive level to better understand their concerns, but that meeting has not yet taken place."
Active Shooter Prompts Quick Response to Indiana Beauty College

Two females were injured after a man entered the beauty college and open fired. He then shot and killed himself.

Police in Fort Wayne responded to the scene of a shooting a Ravenscroft Beauty College where at least two people were injured by a man who open fired on those inside. He then shot and killed himself.

The station said officers received a report of an active shooter at the school around 6:45 p.m. local time. Upon arriving, they found a woman with a gunshot wound outside the building and rushed her to the hospital in serious condition. The womans status has since been downgraded to critical.

As officers entered the building, they found a male suspect who was deceased from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. They also found a second woman who was injured. She was rushed to the hospital and is in good condition.

Fort Wayne Police Officer Justin Chambers says they treated the incident as a possible active shooter at the time of dispatch and set up a perimeter and secured the premises. Local news stations report that as 50 law enforcement vehicles were at the scene, including city, county and members of the FBI task force.

Police believe the shooting was motivated by a domestic dispute.
Nestled in the hills of Austria sits Gugging, an artists' colony with a difference where the worlds of psychiatry and art collide -- with spectacular success. Over the past 50 years, mentally ill patients here have churned out an astounding 75,000 recognised artworks, some selling for over 100,000 euros ($110,000). In particular, it is a wellspring for "Art Brut", producing some of the giants in the popular genre like August Walla, Oswald Tschirtner and Johann Hauser. "Raw art" or "outsider art", as it is known in English, is art by those untrained in -- and untainted by -- artistic conventions. To the Frenchman who coined the term, Jean Dubuffet (1901-1985), it is found in the works of "primitive societies", of children -- and of the mentally ill. Until July 2, Dubuffet's sensation-causing 1949 "L'Art Brut" exhibition in Paris that started it all is being staged again at the Gugging Museum. Featured are works by those Dubuffet met while scouring Europe's care homes for people with mental illnesses, like Adolf Woelfli, a Swiss suffering from psychosis and hallucinations. Others include schizophrenic Aloise Corbaz who would use, at first in secret, juice from petals and toothpaste to create colourful and fantastical images, often of lovers. "Up until then (1949), what they produced was seen, at best, as a kind of curiosity, certainly not as works of art," Johann Feilacher, director of the Gugging Art Brut Centre, told AFP. - Nazis to Bowie - The early history of the Gugging psychiatric hospital, in the forested hills north of Vienna, is dark. During World War II, the Nazis killed hundreds of its patients. In the 1950s though, its new director, Leo Navratil, began to diagnose his patients by getting them to draw. Amazed by the results, Navratil began a correspondence with Dubuffet and as the output of its patients grew, so did Gugging's fame as a mecca for art brut. In 1981, Navratil founded at Gugging an art and psychotherapy centre, later renamed the House of Artists. A commercial gallery and museum followed, drawing a growing stream of visitors. One was David Bowie, who bought several works for his art collection. The psychiatric clinic itself closed around a decade ago, but the artists' colony remains. "For us, the residents are first and foremost artists with special needs, not patients," said Feilacher, who took over from Navratil in 1986. Walla, Tschirtner and Hauser are dead now but half a dozen Gugging artists still generate works today bought by galleries and collectors the world over. They include Franz Kernbeis, who, when first admitted in 1955, would remain immobile for hours, Karl Vondal, who specialises in erotic works, and Johann Garber. "Along with the Creative Growth Art Center in Oakland (California), Gugging is one of the rare places in the world to have produced so many great artists," said Sarah Lombardi, director of the Art Brut Collection in Lausanne, Switzerland, home to Dubuffet's legacy. - 'Beautiful to paint' - The artists split the proceeds from sales 50:50 with the gallery, in which they are also shareholders. Garber, whose busy surrealistic designs adorn Gugging's walls and whose technicolour ear sculpture is a Vienna landmark, also has an exhibition on. "I am an artist and a genius," Garber told AFP. "It is beautiful to draw and paint. We are happy that we have a place where we can live and draw." Just being part of Gugging is no guarantee of success, however. Not all of the 15 residents produce work "particular enough to be recognised artworks," said Feilacher. "Some of them develop late, some of them never." phs/stu/nla/kjm Website: http://www.gugging.at/en
Faced with objection of the HAV, producer Shetty had written to Prime Minister Modi. Finally, the PM has written back with assurance of support.

By Mail Today Bureau: Malayalam superstar Mohanlal's ambitious multilingual screen Mahabharata has found a supporter in Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after a pro-Hindu group objected to the project.

A letter from Modi to producer BR Shetty extended full support to the two film project, said to be riding a neverbefore Rs 1,000-crore budget.

The letter from the Prime Minister came in the wake of controversy sparked off recently when the Hindu Aikya Vedi (HAV), said to be the face of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in Kerala, threatened to stop the film from being screened on completion.

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Although filming is yet to begin, the HAV has already raised objection over the project being titled Mahabharatam. The group's claim is that the film is based on MT Vasudevan Nair's awardwinning Malayalam novel Randamoozham, which, they alleged, misinterprets Vyasa's original epic.

"Randamoozham was fiction that misinterpreted Mahabharatham. Hence, they should retain the name Randamoozham for the film," KP Shashikala, state president of Hindu Aikya Vedi told the media, adding that if the film released as Mahabharat, it would 'not see the cinemas'.

Faced with objection of the HAV, producer Shetty had written to Prime Minister Modi. Finally, the PM has written back with assurance of support. In his letter, Modi wrote that he is looking forward to the release of the film, which will be a matter of pride for the nation. Mohanlal and the film's team are scheduled to meet the Prime Minister on Wednesday to thank him.

Shooting of the saga starts next year and the first of the two films is slated for a 2020 release. The project is directed by Srikumar Menon and, just like Vasudevan's novel, will narrate Mahabharat from the perspective of Bheem, to be played by Mohanlal. The mammoth venture promises to feature a mega-star cast comprising big names of Bollywood and the southern industries. Each film will be almost three hours long.

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(PHOTO: Getty Images)

Two former Spring Singapore employees who cheated the statutory board of some $50,000 in grant money were jailed on Tuesday (6 June).

Former business capabilities manager Soh Hua Xiang, 30, and former finance manager I Shu Hui, 30, were sentenced to 15 months and 12 months jail respectively.

Both Soh and Shu Hui were slapped with some 200 charges each. Soh was convicted on 21 counts of cheating while Shu Hui was convicted on 20 counts of the same crime.

The pair, who were dating at the time the offences were committed, had last month (23 May) pleaded guilty to cheating Spring Singapore by submitting fraudulent claims for Innovation and Capability Vouchers (ICVs) from August to October 2015.

The ICV scheme is aimed at helping small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to develop their capabilities by giving them $5,000 grants.

The couples fraudulent submissions of ICVs were made under the guise of obtaining funds for Point-of-Sale (POS) systems. Soh would identify SMEs from heartland areas and use their names to obtain funds for the POS applications.

The couples scheme involved the use of fake e-mail addresses, forged quotations and Giro forms, and even a bank account for Soh to receive the monies. While Soh had left Spring Singapore by the time the crimes were committed, Shu Hui remained employed by the statutory board and helped to submit Sohs applications.

In total, Soh submitted claims on behalf of 40 SMEs, while Shu Hui submitted 39. Shu Hui also approved 10 Giro disbursements of the ICV grants and processed the disbursements for her superiors approval.

In addition to the $50,000, the duo tried to cheat Spring Singapore of another $145,000.

Dream life conversation not a confession: defence

Seeking lighter sentences for his clients, the duos lawyer Che Wei Chin said that Soh had twice tried to arrange a meeting with his superior to confess his actions but this did not happen as his superior was busy.

Che had previously said that Sohs crimes were motivated by frustration over being unable to convince his superior of the loopholes in the ICV application system.

Story continues

Of Sohs promise to Shu Hui to buy a condominium for the couple with the money gained, Che said it was merely a dream life that the two were hoping for which did not amount to a confession.

This was said between a girlfriend and boyfriend, who are sharing dreams and hopes for a better future [and] should not be taken as a confession, said the lawyer.

However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Magdalene Huang pointed out that the couple had admitted to having monetary motivations in their statements. The DPP added that if Soh had wanted to prove the systems flaws like he claimed, he need not have submitted 40 fraudulent applications.

If he wanted to show them, he could have submitted one or two applications. (He) must be motivated by monetary gain, said Huang.

District Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan agreed with the prosecution on this point.

On the defences submission that Sohs and Shu Huis acts should be taken as a single transaction, the judge disagreed, saying that each application should be regarded as separate and distinct. The DJ Shaiffudin added that Soh had a higher culpability in the case.

Both Soh and Shu Hui made a formal apology to the court after their sentences were meted out. For cheating, Soh and Shu Hui could have each been jailed up to 10 years and fined.

Other Singapore stories:

Man who mocked Traffic Police officers death charged with shoplifting

Man who criticised dead Traffic Police officer on Facebook arrested for shop theft

Man who punched and spat on ex-girlfriend jailed 7 months
The publication of a top secret National Security Agency report on Russian interference in the US election Monday was just the latest in a string of disruptive leaks. US authorities arrested a 25-year-old woman, Reality Leigh Winner, who worked for an NSA subcontractor, soon after the report was posted by The Intercept, a news website. In an age of digitized data and advanced encryption, it appears to have gotten harder to keep secrets. Here are the most spectacular leaks to rock US spy agencies in recent years: - Chelsea Manning, Julian Assange and WikiLeaks - Assange launched the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks in 2006, but it was only in 2010 when it showed the power of leaks in the digital age. Manning, an army private doing intelligence work in Iraq and disturbed by US policies, downloaded hundreds of thousands of pages of US diplomatic communications and secret Iraq war files, handing them over to Assange's operation. The Manning leaks exploded over the internet, stirring tensions with US allies and undermining trust and exposing confidential sources of intelligence. - Edward Snowden and the NSA files - In 2013, Edward Snowden released to journalists Laura Poitras and Glenn Greenwald a set of files detailing extra-legal surveillance operations by the NSA. Snowden had worked for the NSA and CIA, lastly employed via Booz Allen Hamilton, a powerful private firm that contracts a huge amount of work for US intelligence. Snowden's revelations exposed US spying on its allies, including tapping the phone of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. They also forced the US government to curb the NSA's wholesale collection on Americans' communications data. - Glenn Greenwald and The Intercept - After the first Snowden revelations, Greenwald and others, backed by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, launched The Intercept in 2014. The online news website has continued to publish Snowden materials and has regularly attracted leaks of other secret materials, including the NSA Russia hacking report it posted on Monday. In 2015, The Intercept also reported on British intelligence materials showing a plan to monitor as much of the internet and global communications as possible. - The NSA and the Shadow Brokers - In 2016, a mysterious individual or group calling itself the Shadow Brokers appeared online offering for sale a portfolio of tools and exploits from the NSA's ultra-secret hacking team known as the Equation Group. No one took up the offer, and since then the Shadow Brokers, believed to be Russian or Eastern European, has trickled out parts of the portfolio to demonstrate how genuine and potent they are. One NSA exploit revealed on April 14 was used a month later by hackers in a global wave of cyber-attacks and ransomware extortion. It remains unclear how the Equation group materials were taken from the NSA. - NSA contractor Harold Martin - Martin was arrested in August 2016 after investigators discovered he had amassed an "astonishing quantity" of classified information over two decades in his suburban Maryland home. Like Snowden he had worked for the NSA via contractor Booz Allen Hamilton. It remains unclear what Martin did, if anything, with the information; he has been charged only with taking secret materials against the rules of his employment contract, rather than espionage. - The CIA's Hacking Tools and WikiLeaks - Since March, WikiLeaks has been steadily releasing nearly 9,000 documents from the CIA's hacking program, a cyber-arsenal it calls "Vault 7." WikiLeaks suggested it received the files from a private contractor of the intelligence community. The data provides a window into how the CIA, like the NSA, breaks into computers and cellphones using software and hardware vulnerabilities, many of which are still open to exploitation. "The source wishes to initiate a public debate about the security, creation, use, proliferation and democratic control of cyberweapons," WikiLeaks said.
Since moving to Barcelona, UK Thunder Trucks rider Adam Keys has been on a filming mission in the Catalan capital as well as during visits back to the UK and has come through with a killer clip for Pixels.

This one takes in everything from DIY spots and street transitions to ledges and stairs, all of which are handled with style and a deep bag of tricks. Press play and enjoy
Materion Corporation, through with its subsidiaries, produces advanced engineered materials used in semiconductor, industrial, aerospace and defense, automotive, energy, consumer electronics, and telecom and data center in the United States, Asia, Europe, and internationally. It operates through Performance Alloys and Composites, Advanced Materials, and Precision Optics segments. The Performance Alloys and Composites segment offers advanced engineered solutions comprising beryllium and non-beryllium containing alloy systems and custom engineered parts in strip, bulk, rod, plate, bar, tube, and other customized shapes. This segment operates the bertrandite ore mine and refinery located in Utah that provides feedstock hydroxide for its beryllium businesses and external sale. The Advances Materials segment produces advanced chemicals, microelectronics packaging, precious metal, non-precious metal, and specialty metal products, including vapor deposition targets, frame lid assemblies, clad and precious metal pre-forms, high temperature braze materials, and ultra-pure wire. This segment offers its products from its facilities, as well as through direct sales offices and independent sales representatives. The Precision Optics segment designs and produces precision thin film coatings, optical filters, and assemblies. This segment sells its directly from its facilities, as well as through direct sales offices and independent sales representatives throughout the world. The company was formerly known as Brush Engineered Materials Inc. and changed its name to Materion Corporation in 2011. Materion Corporation was incorporated in 1931 and is headquartered in Mayfield Heights, Ohio.
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Effective office etiquette can help transform a company culture and can even result in the difference between business success and business failure.

In recognition of National Business Etiquette Week, Small Business Trends has compiled a list of 50 amazing office etiquette tips to transform your company culture.

Office Etiquette Tips

An Office Isnt a Rock Concert, Keep Noise to a Minimum

Other than the necessities, like speaking on the phone and talking with co-workers, keep noise low in an office, after all, youre all there to work.

Put Personal Phones Onto Silent

Personal phones blasting out into the office can naturally be disrupting and off-putting to fellow workers.

Avoid Taking Personal Calls at Your Desk

Chatting to your best friend about Saturdays night out is hardly conducive with hard work. Avoid taking personal calls in office time.

Reply to Colleagues Messages in a Timely Manner

When receiving emails, voice messages, Skype messages, texts and other forms of correspondence from colleagues, reply in a timely manner instead of keeping them waiting.

Show Respect to Colleagues at All Times

When working in an open office environment, respect is the crux of an affable, effective company culture. Treat colleagues with the same level of respect you would expect to be treated yourself.

Dont Interrupt Colleagues when They Are Speaking

Interrupting others is rude and shows a lack of social skills.

Be Mindful of Your Body Language

Body language speaks volumes in working environments. Talking to colleagues with your arms crossed and without making eye contact could be perceived as being rude.

Be Polite to Other People in the Office

The words please and thank-you can never be overused, especially in a working environment.

Be Pleasant to Others in the Office

Being pleasant and friendly to colleagues will craft a company culture that is desirable to work in, thus helping to retain and attract employees.

Pay Attention to the Interests of Co-Workers

Show a genuine interest into the hobbies and past-times of other workers.

Share Your Own Interests with Other Workers

By the same token, show friendliness by being willing to share your own interests and hobbies with your fellow employees.

Share the Credit for Good Work

If you have co-worked on a successful project or task, share the credit between colleagues and teams.

Be a Team Player

Working well with colleagues and being part of a team will help generate good will amongst your co-workers that is often reciprocated.

Help New Employees and Interns by Showing Them the Rules

We all feel nervous on our first few days at a job. Show new employees respect by informing them of certain office rules, such as the time of breaks and lunch hours and where to make a drink.

Introduce New Employees to Other Members of the Team

When showing new employees round the office, introduce them to other team members and other departments so they can start putting names to faces.

Help Colleagues That May Be Struggling With a Deadline or Project

If you know that a fellow employee is struggling with some aspect of their work and you have the knowledge and skills to help them, go ahead and lend them a helping hand, after all, most businesses are driven by team efforts.

Keep Smiling

A smile a day keeps bad moods at bay! Smiling throughout the day helps generate a pleasant and friendly working environment.

Dont Be Late to Work

Slinking into the office half an hour after everyone else will not paint yourself in a professional light. Being on time to work is a basic office etiquette requirement.

See Also: Consider These Tips When Picking Your First Office Space

Praise Fellow Workers for Good Work

Part of showing colleagues respect it showing appreciation and gratitude for good work. Give praise where its deserved.

Try and Remember Co-Workers Names

Some people have better memories than others, granted. However, doing your best to remember the names of other people in the office will show colleagues the respect they deserve.

Treat Others Fairly

You may be friendlier with certain co-workers than others, but all members of staff should be treated fairly to prevent favoritism casting a shadow on the office culture.

Refrain from Getting Too Personal With Others at Work

It might be nice to be friendly with colleagues but getting too personal and paly can show favoritism and an unprofessional tone.

Avoid Cursing in the Workplace

It might sound obvious but using bad language at work is a definite office no-no.

Give Fellow Office Workers Space and Privacy to Work

Collaborating and conversing with co-workers is naturally required but respect each others privacy and give colleagues their own space so they can get on with their job.

Be Mindful of Smells: Eat Your Lunch and Snacks Away from Your Desk

Nobody wants to work in a smelly environment. Refrain from creating an unnecessarily smelly workplace by eating away from your desk. Eat meals and snacks in the likes of the staff restaurant or in a cafe down the road.

Pay Attention to Personal Hygiene

Of course, smells come in a multitude of guises! Paying attention to personal hygiene will ensure youre not avoided being sat next to at work.

Avoid Overdoing the Perfume or Aftershave

That said, too much perfume or aftershave can create a sickly aroma in a confined office space. Dont infringe your favorite perfume on co-workers too much that it is all they can smell all day!

Keep Office Attire Professional

Even if you have a company culture of wearing jeans and trainers to the office, show respect to clothing conduct by avoiding turning up to work in sandals and Bermuda shorts!

Keep Your Desk Neat and Tidy

Show your organizational skills and professional image by keeping your own desk tidy and in order throughout the working day.

Keep Your Personal Belongings Confined to a Specific Space

Rather than having your lipstick, wallet, coat, handbag, mobile phone and diary spread across the office, keep personal belongings in one specific space, so they dont get in the way of others.

Help Maintain the Overall Tidiness of the Whole Office

As well as keeping your own desk neat and tidy, work together as a team to maintain the tidiness of the whole office, including break out areas, staff kitchens, bathrooms and canteens.

If Youre Sick, Stay at Home

You may be tempted to come to work when youre feeling unwell but if theres a possibility your sickness is contagious, stay at home so your co-workers dont catch the bug.

Help Keep Office Coughs and Colds at Bay: Cover Your Mouth when You Sneeze

If you have a cough and cold at work, try and help prevent the spread of germs in the office by covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze.

Have Hand Sanitizer Available

Hand sanitizer is an effective way to prevent germs from spreading. If you have a cold, wipe hand sanitizer on phones, computer keyboards and other shared areas to help prevent the spread of germs.

Dont Leave Tissues Lying Around

It might sound obvious, but leaving used tissues lying around the office is like giving colleagues an open invitation to your germs. Put tissues in the bin.

Listen to the Ideas and Opinions of Others

Part of respecting fellow team members is to listen to the ideas and opinions of everybody in the office.
Coalition proposes change to legislation that would remove Ondrej Krajnak from the post of head of the National Memory Institute.

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Ondrej Krajnak was one of the rare examples of unity between coalition and opposition when choosing the head of a state institution. With 105 of 150 votes in February 2013 he became the third head of the Nation's Memory Institute (UPN), responsible monitoring crimes of communist and pro-Nazi regimes in past.

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Before the elections, former historian of the institute Patrik Dubovsky described him as a good person but too mild to carry out needed personnel changes.

Four years later, UPNs administrative board describe him as a strict authoritarian leader who punishes his employees for voicing their opinions and wastes the institutes money.

After the board approached parliament, coalition MPs proposed an amendment to the law on UPN to make the administrative board the collective leadership organ with the powers of UPN director. This would mean that Krajnak would leave his post as of October 15, 2017, yet he would remain a member of the administrative board until the end of the term in office for which he was elected, i.e. until 2019.

Krajnak denies the accusations and points to the fact that the proposal came just a few months before the Czech general election on October 2017. He is currently involved in a dispute with Czech Finance Minister of Slovak origin, Andrej Babis who is, according to the UPN, registered in the files of the communist-time secret service, StB, as an agent with the code name Bures.

The World Association of Former Political Prisoners (SZBPV) backed Krajnak, claiming that if parliament passes the amendment this would mean a return to totalitarian practices of the past and would reduce the UPN to a retirement business for political nominees.

Out of respect for the sacrifices of fascism and communism which were brought in the name of freedom and democracy, SZBPV appeal to coalition MPs and MP [Martina] Simkovicova to withdraw their amendment to the law on UPN, Frantisek Bednar o SZBPV told the press.

Read also:

Read also: When will we learn? Read more

Conflict within UPN

Krajnak claims that from the beginning he wanted to change the UPN from promoting nationalist ideas to documenting crimes of totalitarian regimes.

However, soon after he took office he started to complain that without supporters in the administrative and supervisory boards he cannot adopt any significant changes.

Three years of tug-of-war with the board resulted in two criminal complaints by Krajnak against his own institution for preventing him from fulfilling his duties. Both boards approached the parliamentary committee for human rights on October 2010 with a list of accusations against Krajnak.

There is an atmosphere of fear, chairman of the institutes supervisory board Juraj Hamulak told MPs during a committee session. The situation is unbearable.

Hamulak explained that the Supervisory Board is now handling dozens of motions concerning Krajnaks authoritative behaviour.

The Supervisory Board also claims that Krajnak hired an external law firm in a non-transparent way, ignoring the fact that UPN already has its own lawyer.

Another complaint was that the UPN joined the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) election campaign. The party was broadcasting one of UPNs movies and also used its brand.

Since then the Supreme Audit Office and Labour Inspectorate has checked into UPN but has found no violation of the law. Regarding the KDH campaign, the party already apologised for using UPNs logo, according to Krajnak.

The institute is obliged to provide its films to anyone who asks for them. KDH used the institutes logo without informing him about it, according to Krajnak.

Moreover, he explained hiring an external law firm by the fact that the institutes lawyer has lost 19 cases.

Read also:

Read also: Memory institute struggles with communists Read more

Disputes over history

The only relevant objection is that there are tensions between UPNs head and some of his inferiors, according to Krajnak.

His predecessor Ivan Petransky hired several historians praising the first Slovak state despite the fact that it was a Nazi-allied country transporting around 70,000 Jews to concentration camps during the World War 2. 

I told them that the priority of this institute is to expose crimes of Nazism and Communism, Krajnak told The Slovak Spectator. Instead they were focusing on statehood.

Their attitude was also mirrored in the content of the institutes quarterly. Instead of dealing with crimes of previous oppressive regimes, the authors, for example, wrote around 15 pages about Hlinkas Guard symbols without mentioning that it was a fascist organisation abusing citizens.

I cannot tolerate below-average quality of [employees'] work and unreasonable harm to the institutes name, Krajnak told the committee, adding that some employees got used to showing up to work only a few times per month.

Some authors saw that as censorship, Krajnak added.

Coalition: It is not about Krajnak

The MPs who filed the draft amendment  Jaroslav Paska (SNS), Maria Janikova (Smer), Edita Pfundtner (Most-Hid) and Martina Simkovicova (independent) claim that the amendment is not about getting rid of Krajnak .

Making the administrative board responsible for all important decisions instead of giving such power to one person is a more democratic approach, according to them.

Yet this would make the UPN vulnerable to disputes because disagreement over some issue among board members could paralyze decision making, according to the Confederation of Political Prisoners of Slovakia (KPVS).

It is possible that members of the administrative board appointed from various [parties from the] political spectrum would not agree on a united statement for a long time, KPVSs head Andrej Dvorecky told the press.

When approached by The Slovak Spectator, head of Smer parliamentary group Martin Glvac stated that the change is related to accusations against Krajnak. When asked about proven ones he pointed only to the KDH's use of its logo.

In addition, Pfundtner stated that the proposal comes after long-term criticism of Krajnak's work, though she failed to name a single accusation that would be proven by authorities. She also admitted that she approached several people in UPN but has never spoken with Krajnak or checked into the claims of his critics.

Where would we end up if we as parliament members started to interrogate employees, Pfundtner told The Slovak Spectator.

On the other hand, the civic organisation, Daughters of Political Prisoners (DPV) supports Krajnak claiming that the coalition merely wants to create jobs for its nominees who have close ties with the former communist regime.

The reason [for the amendment] is to have power to manipulate the truth, reward our people with posts and protect followers of communism and their supporters, reads a statement of DPV.
The case brings back the issue of securing garbage bins against bears.

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The story of the bear family from the High Tatras has a sad ending. The mother Inga was shot and the cubs were taken to ZOO Bojnice and are now waiting to be moved to Hungary.

After their first visit to Stary Smokovec, the bear family did not stay in the forest but appeared again in the village of Pribylina and its surroundings.

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Read also:

Read also: Mother bear with two cubs from Smokovec have new home Read more

Workers at the Tatras national park had to decide what to do with the family. The result was to divide them  Inga was taken back to the Ticha dolina valley and the cubs were sent to ZOO Bojnice for a while with their next stop being a national park in Hungary. In this way the nature protectionists hope to give them a chance to live as wild animals as Inga was teaching them to be so-called garbage bin bears.

We took a hard decision but when an animal behaves in an unnatural way, we have to as well, said Milan Boros, the head of the State Nature Protection for the public RTVS.

Dividing the family unfortunately did not turn out in the way the environmentalists had planned. Inga stayed in the valley for only a few hours and then came back to the village of Liptovska Kokava where she saw her cubs for the last time. In the end, hunters had to shoot Inga dead.

"During efforts to scare her away from the village, she turned against the nature conservationists, hunters and police," explained Boros. "At the direct order of the police the hunters had to act."

Boros added that the destiny of Inga resulted from the fact that she had got used to finding food in easily accessible garbage bins and appealed to citizens and managers of restaurants and hotels in the regions.

It is necessary to secure garbage bins against bears and not give them a reason to get to use to a human presence, said Boros, as quoted by the television Markiza.
Oh, and she's hanging out with designer Michael Kors. No big deal.

By India Today Web Desk: So, Priyanka Chopra is continuing to spread her magic all over New York. After her first Hollywood film, Baywatch, hit the silver screens recently, Priyanka Chopra seems to have become a force to reckon with on international red carpets.

Last night, the actress was all dressed up for a coveted fashion event in New York, the CFDA (Council of Fashion Designers of America) Awards, in a Michael Kors creation, and you will not be able to handle how hot this dress made her look!

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Now that we're on the subject, it's kind of pertinent to mention that the Indian beauty was hanging out with Michael Kors, the man himself, during the award function. Here's proof:

Picture courtesy: Instagram/michaelkors

Picture courtesy: Instagram/priyankachopra

We, for one, are head-over-heels in love with this black Michael Kors sequined gown. It's hugging Priyanka's body in all the right places, and showing off those curves rather elegantly.

During a Facebook live stream on the official CFDA page, Michael Kors described Priyanka's dress as, "A little dangerous, very New York, covered up and sexy at the same time."

And she continues to twirl... #cfda @michaelkors A post shared by Priyanka Chopra (@priyankachopra) on Jun 5, 2017 at 3:56pm PDT

Priyanka Chopra, on the other hand, had this to say about her dress, "Give me a dress I can twirl in and I will twirl," and added, "Who more classic than Michael Kors for me to be able to wear and come with? So I left it up to him."

Surely on the way to world domination then, Priyanka!

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Three good tips for online security.

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In mid May computers of national railways in Germany, mobile operators in Spain and Hungary and hospitals in the United Kingdom were infected by the WannaCryptor ransomware, leaving them with the message Ooops, your files have been encrypted! on their screens. The ransomware encrypted their files and demanded payment of $300 in bitcoin to get them back. In Slovakia only a hospital in Nitra reported infected computers.

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We spoke with Ondrej Kubovic, security evangelist at the Slovak security software company ESET about the ransomware WannaCryptor, also known under the name WannaCry, and the best ways to keep yourself protected from cyberthreats.

The Slovak Spectator (TSS): What exactly happened when the ransomware WannaCryptor attacked computers on May 12?

Ondrej Kubovic (OK): Actually two things happened there. First the EternalBlue exploit was leaked sometime in February from Americas National Security Agency (NSA). It is believed that it was used for espionage. This tool abused vulnerability in the Windows operating systems, meaning it found and opened a door into many computers. It primarily did not do anything wrong to computers; it was just a tool to enter them. But then hackers developed several malicious codes that were able to use this exploit and infect computers via this open door. WannaCryptor was only one of them.

TSS: Did Microsoft react to what happened in any way?

OK: Yes, very promptly. It issued a security patch closing this open door already two months before the attack of WannaCryptor. Those using Microsoft-supported operating systems of Windows, like Windows 10, received the patch via automatic updates, if they have them switched on. Microsoft even issued patches for its operating systems that it no longer supports, like Windows XP or Windows 8. But people using these unsupported systems had to install the patch on their own and in many cases that was not done. This is why there were so many vulnerable computers.

TSS: How many computers were infected?

OK: Based on data published by Europol, WannaCryptor infected over 200,000 computers in 150 countries around the world, which is not an extremely high number. What earned it such extensive coverage was that it infected computers in sensitive institutions like mobile operators in Spain and Hungary or health-care related organisations in the UK. It is estimated that the hackers who were behind the attack received some $120,000, which is not a huge amount of money. From this point of view, this was rather faulty implementation. But there are also speculations that WannaCryptor was leaked on the web when it was only in its testing phase.

TSS: How did WannaCryptor infect computers?

OK: Compared to other, more common, ransomwares, WannaCryptor is a worm. This means that it found the vulnerable computers to infect on its own. Computer users did not need to do anything for their computers to become infected. It is more common that ransomware spreads via emails with attachments containing a malicious code. In such cases people can protect their computers by using cautious behaviour and not opening suspicious emails. But we have to say that ransomware operators learn and improve their product, and sometimes it is very difficult to identify such emails. They can now even mimic a letter from your boss, for example, with an enclosed invoice in which payment is asked.

TSS: Did people get the decryptor when they paid the ransom, which was $300 in bitcoins?

OK: We do not really know, as there are no official data about this. But what we know from what was published is that even those who paid the ransom did not get the decryptor. But some decryptors have already been developed.

TSS: Is it known who developed WannaCryptor?

OK: No. There are some indicators that it may be the work of a group known as Lazarus from North Korea, as part of this malicious code is the same as has been previously used by this group. But we can never say exactly who is behind which particular malware, as these hacker groups exchange their codes.

The hacker groups also already provide ransomware as a service. This means that you can simply buy ransomware, ready to use, on the internet. What you only need to do is to spread it. Malware creation has already developed into a kind of ordinary business. From what we see, it even seems that the people behind these malicious codes work in specific times, resembling the eight hour workday.

TSS: When did ESET realise that something was happening?

OK: We were monitoring the situation from the very beginning even when the problem with EternalBlue occurred. We developed a network detection for it and implemented it into our security products that have Firewalls already in April. Thus, computers using our products were protected from being infected by any malicious codes abusing this vulnerability. But what our detections saw first was a wave of malware mining virtual currencies. Such programs only used the performance capacity of affected computers, so it is not as dangerous as ransomware. Such a code could potentially just slow your computer down. WannaCryptor attacked later. Actually, for us WannaCryptor was rather an interesting incident, as our clients did not report any problems.

TSS: Did WannaCryptor also infect computers in Slovakia?

OK: As people in Slovakia dont announce this, we only have information from media. So the only case that we know about is the hospital in Nitra whose computers were infected. But I have to say that Slovaks are quite conscious in terms of cybersecurity and use antiviruses on a large scale.

TSS: Did security software companies like ESET cooperate in any way when WannaCryptor attacked?

OK: In general companies active in cybersecurity cooperate on resolving such threats. On the level of marketing and sales there is big competition among us and we fight for each client, but on the level of security and research we are a cooperating community. We meet at various forums and conferences and share our knowledge and findings. But of course we very carefully protect our technologies and products.

TSS: Do solutions of individual security software companies differ?

OK: Yes. Their approach, for example, differs in their area of focus. To say it simply, some may focus on preventing malware from entering computers. Like for WannaCryptor, they blocked the EternalBlue exploit. Others focus on the behaviour of malicious codes. For example, in the case of WannaCryptor they may have detected that it is going to encrypt data in computers and acted at this point. But usually security solutions that clients can buy  including ours  combine several approaches in order to increase the level of protection.

TSS: Is there any general advice of what people should do if their computers are infected by ransomware?

OK: There are some basic rules, but it is specific for each case. Before WannaCry we recommended switching off the infected computer as soon as possible. This might have improved the possibility that the malware would not encrypt all the data. But for Wanna-Cryptor this was not good advice because it is possible to get the decrypting key from the computers memory which would get cleaned during a restart. In the WannaCryptor case, probably the best advice would be to hibernate the infected computer and call a cybersecurity expert.

But people should keep their encrypted data. It happens that after some time hackers publish the decryption key based on which it is possible to make a decryptor and decrypt the data.

Last year, one of our analysts saw that operators behind TeslaCrypt ransomware were fading out their activities. He pretended to be a harmed user and asked them for the master key. Surprisingly the group made it public and apologized for their activities. Afterwards we created a free decrypting tool. So far 126,000 people have downloaded this tool from our website.

TSS: What lesson should people take from WannaCryptor?

OK: We keep repeating a trio of mantras. The first one is to keep your operating system, web browsers and other programs you use updated as their creators develop patches for newly discovered vulnerabilities. The second one is to back up. If you have your data backed up, after ransomware encrypts your data, you just need to reinstall the computer software and copy the data to it from the backup. The only damage is the time you spend on this. The third one is to use a really good antivirus program. It is ideal when it protects your computer on various levels. I also always add a fourth one  use common sense and do not click on everything in your emails or on the web. Clicking on an advertisement offering the latest iPhone for a fraction of the standard price sounds too good to be true and it usually is.
There is a big difference in size between the smallest and the biggest books in the Slovak National Library fund.

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A glossary of words as well as exercise related to this article are also published online.

The smallest one is just a little bigger than two Smarties together, measuring 2.5 centimetres in width and 3.5 centimetres in height. The book is written in the Arabic language and its origin, as well as how it ended up in the Slovak National Library Fund, is foggy.

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On the contrary, its difficult for two men to carry the biggest book of the librarys fund, as it is 56.7 centimetres wide, 80.5 centimetres high and weighs almost 20 kilograms. The largest book is a copy of the Atlas of the Great Elector, a collection of 38 maps, which was published in Leipzig, Germany, in 1664. The Atlas was made on the impulse of Friedrich Wilhelm, a prince elector of Brandenburg in the years 1620  1688, who probably also paid for the printing.

The original atlas is located in the Berlin state library. The copy in the funds of the Slovak National Library is the 52nd facsimile from the year 1971, given to the library as a gift in 1974. Its author is German cartographer and historian Egon Klemp.

The Slovak National Library, with its seat in the third building of Matica slovenska in Martin, has worked as an independent institution since 2000. In its funds are not only books and documents but also maps, periodicals, photos, letters and posters, in either physical and/or digital form.

The Slovak National Library has 8,244 active users and in 2016 had 146,069 book loans, informed Katarina Mazariova, PR manager of the library.

The Spectator College is a programme designed to support the study and teaching of English in Slovakia, as well as to inspire interest in important public issues among young people. The project was created by The Slovak Spectator in cooperation with their exclusive partner  the Leaf Academy.
Slovak President Andrej Kiska later promoted Slovak to higher rank in memoriam.

Czech President Milos Zeman (l) and his Slovak counterpart Andrej Kiska (r) in Bratislava in 2014. (Source: TASR)

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Czech President Milos Zeman reportedly rejected the proposal of Slovak President Andrej Kiska to decorate Czechoslovak paratroopers who organised the assassination of the high-ranking German Nazi official Reinhard Heydrich.

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Kiska approached Zeman few months ago with the idea to honour Jozef Gabcik and Jan Kubis, who had worked with other members of the resistance movement to organise the assassination in Prague in 1942.

Both sides met twice, but the Prague Castle eventually turned down the proposal, the Czech weekly Respect reported.

Read also:

Read also: Blog: Czechoslovakia is not afraid Read more

Kiskas team proposed that each president decorate one of the paratroopers: Kiska would honor Gabcik, who was a Slovak, and Zeman would honor Kubis, who was a Czech. The ceremony would have taken place in the Prague-based Church of Ss Cyril and Methodius on Resslova Street, where the two men and other resistance movement members hid following the assassination and where they were eventually killed, the SITA newswire reported.

Respekt said it had learned from diplomatic sources that the plans failed because of a lack of interest from the Czechs.

video //www.youtube.com/embed/blAKCJcXC5c

No positive answer has come from Prague, a well-informed diplomatic source told Respekt.

Following this response, Kiska organised a smaller event on May 26 to promote Gabcik to a major-general in memoriam.
For foreigners, drama is a less accessible genre and thus the Eurokontext theatre festival, which brings a selection of Slovak and foreign productions with English subtitles to Bratislava every second year, represents a unique chance to gain insight.

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(Every odd year, drama is on the programme of the festival while every even-numbered year, opera and dance are the core genres.)

Civilisation threatened by civilisation is the leitmotif of the 2017 edition, the dramaturge of the festival Miriam Kicinova said, adding that it is not always a threat coming as outside force but also the illusionary threats and fears caused from inside, like the extremism in Slovakia.

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Since the dramatic part of the festival took place in 2015  which had the (Berlin) Wall and its breaking as leitmotif, it seems that Europe has seen new walls and fences arise, animosity appear, and the leitmotif this time around is Civilisation Threatens Civilisation, Kicinova told The Slovak Spectator, adding that the feeling of being threatened is caused also from inside, by domestic problems of the due country  e.g. the issue of extremism in Slovakia. This has become the key in selecting the productions, she said and also explained that the host theatre, Slovak National Theatre (SND) addressed mainly peer, i.e. national or bigger theatres with more ensembles. Kicinova also pointed out that some of the plays are new unknown for wider public, while others represent innovative remake of classical, well-known pieces by famous directors who through them gained Europe-wide reputation. Some plays will have their Slovak premiere, she added.

Central-European theatre, and some treats on offer

Between June 10 and 20, there will be 16 pieces offered to audiences, of them nine are produced by the host theatre, the Slovak National Theatre, while seven are guest performances by national theatres, from Ostrava (the Czech Republic) Budapest (Hungary) Krakow (Poland) Bucharest (Romania) Ljubljana (Slovenia) Mannheim (Germany) and the Icelandic Vesturport Theatre troupe. There are mostly new, modern plays, but also some classics remade in a more contemporary spirit.

The plays on offer are varied, too, as are the authors and directors. From Ingmar Bergmann through Roland Schimmelpfenig, to Denis Arcand, and Marius von Mayenburg; from Henrik Ibsen through to the dramatisation of the Slovak hit novel, Rivers of Babylon, to Willian Shakespeare, the stagings offer tragedies, intimate poetic statements, avant-garde absurd drama, comedy, as well as a one-woman show.

Several of the SND productions have been written specifically for this stage and there will be several guest directors: from the Czech Republic (David Jarab), Slovenia (Diego de Brea), Bosnia-Herzegovina (Dino Mustafic), and Germany (Tilmann Kohler).

Head of the SND drama section, Roman Polak, noted that the Ubu the King by Slovenian Theatre will have, as the only piece, live interpreting, as there are some part improvised that cannot have subtitles.

Whom is Eurokontext aimed at

Eurokontext does not aim at being an avant-garde festival for just a few connoisseurs, Polak defined, adding that it is rather meant for theatre-goers who also visit some more demanding Slovak pieces and now are able to compare the SND with foreign productions.

There will be accompanying events, too  master-classes by directors, workshops, photo-exhibition and more  which are either in English or translated.

Tickets for the festival performances  which all have Slovak as well as English subtitles  and more detailed information can be obtained via the festival website.

The plays on offer prove that theatre is still a free medium able to talk about all threats  be it the influence of politics or media on individuals, environmental disasters that threaten us; or a clash with a different culture or religious disputes, Kicinova summed up. This all has been concentrated in one week and one place; mostly in the foreign productions, but also in ours which interpret the most topical fears and issues.
It disapproves of the scheme subsiding power generation from brown coal.

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The European Commission is looking into how Slovakia covers up support for the private mining company, Hornonitrianske Bane Prievidza. Its office workers are currently scrutinising the subsidy used by the chief power producer Slovenske Elektrarne (SE) which subsequently buys brown coal from the mines to burn in the power plant in Novaky, the Sme daily reported.

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This process however is not voluntary as SE is only following the instruction from the Slovak Economy Ministry, which claims that it is in the general interest to keep employment in the mining sector. The ministry adopted its latest decision on this issue in September 2015 and ordered the company to continue producing electricity from coal until 2030, Sme wrote.

Since such production is loss-making, SE is entitled to ask for an additional payment. This year it is expected to receive 95 million, according to the decision made by the Regulatory Office for Network Industries.

We are in contact with the Slovak authorities in connection with their support for electricity production from the local brown coal at the Novaky power plant, the EC claimed in its statement, as quoted by Sme.

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Read also: Hornonitrianske Bane mines may end Read more

If the EC decides that such practice is unauthorised state aid, the government would have to ask SE to return the money, according to the daily.

Despite the scrutiny, the EC is not investigating Hornonitrianske Bane Novaky. It is dealing only with the order for SE to purchase the brown coal. The fact is however that all households pay for the additional payment as part of their electricity bill. It amounts to 4 a month on average, Sme calculated.

The EC started its scrutiny based on a motion submitted by the European Institute for Protection of Consumers and the Rule of Law, which claims that the subsidies on electricity generated from brown coal are at odds with European regulations.

The problem is that the Hornonitrianske Bane Prievidza company, controlled by businessman Peter Cicmanec, is also indirectly subsidised via this scheme. The reason is that it is the only company that mines local brown coal. Though the Economy Ministry does not claim anywhere that it subsidises this company, the order makes SE generate electricity from the coal that can be obtained only from Hornonitrianske Bane Prievidza, Sme wrote.

The scheme to support miners was first introduced by the Mikulas Dzurinda government in 2005, while the following ministers have only prolonged the deadlines, without changing the mechanism.

Even though the money is received by SE, it ends up in Hornonitrianske Bane Prievidza, according to Sme. The chair of the mining companys supervisory board Rastislav Januscak however claims that part of the money ends up in the state budget in the form of paid taxes, payroll levies, VAT and fees for emission permissions, calculating the sum to be 31 million a year.

Though the current support for brown coal mining is expected to last until 2030, there is a possibility it may end sooner, as Economy Minister Peter Ziga (Smer) has recently admitted. He wants to analyse the possibilities, Sme reported.
Assessment

Florida Department of Education Approves Curriculum Associates for Private School Scholarship Programs

Florida private schools participating in either the Florida Tax Credit or the Gardiner Scholarship Program can now use a math and reading assessment system from Curriculum Associates to meet program requirements.

Private schools in either of these scholarship programs must demonstrate academic accountability to the parent by annually administering or making provisions for students participating in the scholarship program to take one of the nationally norm-referenced tests, according to the 2016 Florida State Statutes Section 1008.22. The Florida Department of Education recently approved the Curriculum Associates i-Ready Diagnostic assessment for grade 3 to 12 to provide student academic achievement and learning gains data to students, parents, teachers, school administrators and school district staff, as required by the Florida Statutes.

Although Curriculum Associates only recently joined the list of 20 other approved norm-referenced assessments for private schools to use, the i-Ready program is the most widely used supplemental mathematics and reading program in Florida public schools. About 75 percent of school districts, or 1 million students, use i-Ready, according to a company spokesperson. The web-based adaptive diagnostic system helps to pinpoint student needs and offers ongoing progress monitoring to ensure students are prepared to meet end-of-year benchmarks.

More information about the i-Ready Diagnostic system can be found in the video below or on the Curriculum Associates site.
By Press Trust of India: Amritsar, Jun 6 (PTI) Pro-Khalistan slogans were today raised by Sikh hardliners in the premises of the Golden Temple complex here on the 33rd anniversary of Operation Bluestar.

A bandh was also observed in the holy city on the call given by radical Sikh outfit Dal Khalsa on the anniversary of the military operation that was carried out in 1984 to flush out heavily-armed terrorists holed up in the Golden Temple.

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Policemen in civil clothes were deployed along with the SGPCs task force to thwart any attempt to disturb law and order.

When the Akal Takht (the highest temporal seat for Sikhs) Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh started his customary address, supporters of the SAD (A) led by Simranjit Singh Mann raised slogans of Khalistan Zindabad.

Despite sloganeering, the Jathedar continued with his address to the Sikh community.

Some Sikh hardliners even raised slogans against Gurbachan Singh.

The Sarbat Khalsa appointed "parallel" Jathedar Dhian Singh Mand, in his address from the ground floor of the Akal Takht, accused former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal of interfering in Sikh religious affairs including in the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC).

Mann said SGPC chief Kirpal Singh Badungar had assured them yesterday that the Jathedar would not be allowed to address the Sikh community from the platform of Akal Takht.

Badungar had assured us that the head priest of the Golden Temple would be asked to address the community, said Mann.

However, former Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal mounted pressure on Badungar and forced him to send Giani Gurbachan Singh to address the community instead of the head priest, claimed Mann.

Mann alleged that Sukhbir Badal had a plan to foment trouble in the Golden Temple premises. "But our men foiled their nefarious designs as the anniversary of Operation Bluestar passed off peacefully," he claimed.

Mann also accused the Akal Takht Jathedar of allegedly hurting the sentiments of the Sikh community by accepting the apology of Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh. The apology was later withdrawn after the Sikh community raised objections.

Mann also demanded that Gurbachan Singh be removed from the post forthwith.

Addressing the gathering, Giani Gurbachan Singh said, "The Sikh community across the world will remember the unhealed wounds of Operation Blue Star".

The memorial dedicated to those killed during the 1984 Army action on the Golden Temple witnessed a steady stream of visitors.

In view of the anniversary, security personnel were on high alert in Punjab.

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Amid apprehensions that Sikh hardliners might object to the customary address by the the Akal Takht Jathedar at the Golden Temple, Amritsar city was turned into a fortress with about 5,000 security personnel comprising seven companies of paramilitary forces being deployed to maintain law and order.

As many as 15 companies of paramilitary forces including CRPF, ITBP and RAF have been deployed in different parts of Punjab. Seven companies of paramilitary forces have been deployed in Amritsar. PTI CORR CHS VJ DV

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BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia's Finance Ministry has been asked to provide over $1.2 million (929,728 pounds)in initial funding for the Marxist FARC rebel group's new political party, the electoral commission said on Monday, as soon as the group finishes a weapons handover. Under a peace deal signed last year by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the government, the rebels will turn over all their weapons to the United Nations and become a legal political party after more than 52 years of war. All political parties and presidential and legislative campaigns in the Andean country receive some state funds, though amounts can vary. "We've put forward the request for the FARC political party, a sum of 3.56 billion pesos ... once the arms handover happens," said Alexander Vega, head of the country's electoral commission. The FARC have not yet named their political party, which will participate in elections next year, but Vega said the initial funds will go towards operational costs and a think tank. The government and the rebels last week extended the weapon hand-in deadline by 20 days, after logistical delays slowed the arrival of some of the group's nearly 7,000 fighters to special UN demobilization zones. (Reporting by Javier Andres Rojas, writing by Julia Symmes Cobb, editing by G Crosse)
Fox News Channel has been forced to apologise for comments Katie Hopkins made on their show, Fox & Friends, during a guest appearance alongside her like-minded peer Nigel Farage.

Fox has apologised on air for comments Hopkins made about concentration camps for Muslims.

The American broadcaster has distanced itself from Hopkins and called her remarks reprehensible after she said that the UK should introduce drastic measures to tackle terrorism and send individuals, who have not committed a crime but are on a list to internment camps.



Internment camps were used to arrest 1,981 Irish people between 1971 and 1975, who were believed to have links to the IRA, and the measure was used during the Holocaust and times of war.

Hopkins insisted the UK should open internment camps now for suspected terrorists, when former UKIP leader Nigel debated the special measure and said he wasnt convinced it was the right approach.

Guests on @FoxAndFriends discussed "internment" talk in UK, so Fox felt it should clarify: the network thinks that's a "reprehensible" idea pic.twitter.com/1a7OMUNLmL  Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) June 4, 2017

The i reports that he said: And if there is not action, the calls for internment will grow. We have 3,000 people on sort of a known terrorist list. And were watching their actions. But a further 20,000 people who are persons of interests, namely theyre linked by some way to extremist organisations. Unless we see the [government] getting tough, you will see public calls for those 3,000 to be arrested.

Farage then added: Im not sure that that is the right approach, because the big danger with that is we might alienate decent, fair-minded Muslims in Britain.

To which Hopkins disagreed and said: We do need interment camps.

Katie Hopkins

Apologising for their comments later in the show, presenter Clayton Morris told viewers: I think I made it well-known my feeling on that, which I find reprehensible, but on behalf of the network, I think all of us here find that idea reprehensible here at Fox News Channel. Just to be clear.

Story continues

Hopkins was forced to step down from her position at LBC last month when she tweeted that there should be a final solution to the terrorist threat. The term was used by the Nazis to defend the Holocaust.

Her colleague at LBC, James OBrien, later said that he felt immense shame for sharing a platform with her and called her a monstrous self-publicist who employs the most vile of thoughts and language in a desperate attempt to stay relevant and get noticed.

READ MORE

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Anthea Turner: Husband might have stayed with me if wed had kids

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for the latest celebrity news.
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The royal family has provided enough scandal to keep fans of Netflixs The Crown entertained for four seasons. And while Season Five of the hit show is no different, not all of the dramas that beset the royals in the tumultuous early 1990s have made the final cut  Netflix only had 10 hours after all. From how unbelievably close Diana came to getting caught collaborating with royal biographer Andrew Morton on his 1992 bestseller, Diana: Her True story, to how desperate Diana was to be believed that she even slipped Morton private correspondence between Charles and Camilla to prove her husbands infidelity once and for all, what got left out is just as gripping. While many of the scandals did end up being depicted on screen by Elizabeth Debicki and Dominic West as the warring Waleses, Scobie explores why some of these astonishing real-life moments of controversy were left out.
The little boy whose bloodied body became a symbol of the horrors of the Syrian war has now been pictured looking healthy at home.

The photo of Omran Daqneesh, five, shocked the world when it showed him looking confused, covered in dust and blood, as the result of an air strike.

Tragically his ten-year-old brother Ali died as a result of the bombing but Omran is now fit and healthy and back at his home in Syria.

Omran Daqneesh is looking much healthier than in the picture that shocked the world (Twitter/@Kinana Allouche)

The five year old was pictured sitting on his fathers knee at home in Syria (Twitter/@Kinana Allouche)

His family was interviewed by Lebanese TV station Al-Mayadeen, who are supporters of the Bashar al-Assad regime.

Journalist Kinana Allouche  who is also pro-Assad  tweeted a picture of herself to attack the media for their use of the photograph.

She wrote: The child Omran, those who tried to shed Syrian blood misled the news that he was hit by the Syrian Arab Army.

MORE: Aleppos Boy in Ambulance Omran Daqneesh Fine and Well, Rescuer Says

MORE: Syria army takes Aleppo town from IS: military source

Here he now lives in the Syrian state with its army, its leader and its people.

Omrans family are said to have refused to speak to the media since the photo first surfaced over fears they would be targeted by Assad supporters.

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Top pic: Grab
This is the dramatic moment a news reporter covering the London terror attacks was forced to interrupt his broadcast when he spotted someone fell into the River Thames in the background.

Presenter Juan Carlos Velez was doing a report on the horrific attacks of the past week, when another emergency unfolded live on camera.

While explaining the current political outlook in the wake of the attack in London Bridge on Saturday, a tourist accidentally fell off Westminster Bridge and into the River Thames.

The tourist fell into the River Thames in front of a shocked television crew (CEN)

As police rushed to the scene in the background, Velez noticed the commotion and said to the camera: We are watching police movement right now.

It seems as somebody has fallen into the water.

He and the camera crew then move closer to the water where a floating buoy can be seen floating but no sign of the tourist who fell.

TERROR IN LONDON  MORE COVERAGE AND ANALYSIS FROM YAHOO UK

Sirens can be heard in the distance as police officers nearby react quickly, while other tourists watch on.

Police can be seen running across the busy road, holding up traffic, to signal to an incoming boat that there is a person in the water who needs rescuing.

The RNLI conformed they had rescued the woman who fell after they were alerted by Thames Clipper crew.

Reporter Juan Carlos Velez was recording a piece about the London attacks when the woman fell into the Thames (CEN)

A spokesman said: At 9.20am on Monday 5 June the RNLI lifeboat, based at Tower Lifeboat Station was launched after reports of a woman in the water at Westminster Bridge.

The crew of the E class boat were on the scene in two minutes and found a woman in the water who was conscious, but in some distress.

This morning we responded to a person in the water at Westminster. Thanks to @thamesclippers for alerting emergency services  life saved pic.twitter.com/KQYVzEES5c  Tower RNLI (@TowerRNLI) June 5, 2017

She was rescued by the crew and taken in the lifeboat back to Tower Lifeboat Station, next to Waterloo Bridge.

The woman, who was in her forties, was fully conscious and treated by paramedics at the lifeboat station before being taken to hospital.

According to the crew who attended the scene had the lifeboat not arrived so rapidly it wouldnt have been long before she would have disappeared under the water.
US officials were blindsided by Saudi Arabia's decision to sever diplomatic ties with Qatar in a coordinated move with Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, the current and former officials said.

By AP: The United States will quietly try to calm the waters between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, current and former US officials said on Monday, arguing that the small Gulf state was too important to US military and diplomatic interests to be isolated.

US officials were blindsided by Saudi Arabia's decision to sever diplomatic ties with Qatar in a coordinated move with Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, the current and former officials said.

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In announcing the decision to cut ties, Saudi Arabia accused Qatar of providing support to Shi'ite Iran, which is in a tussle for regional supremacy with Riyadh, and to Islamist militants.

Washington has many reasons to want to promote comity within the region. Qatar is host to the largest US air base in the Middle East at Al Udeid, a staging ground for US-led strikes on the Islamic State militant group that has seized parts of Syria and Iraq. US Donald Trump has made defeating Islamic State a priority of his presidency.

Further, Qatar's willingness to welcome organisations such as Hamas, which Washington brands a terrorist group, and the Taliban, which has fought US forces in Afghanistan for more than 15 years, allows contacts with such groups when needed.

"There is a certain utility," one US official said on condition of anonymity. "There's got to be a place for us to meet the Taliban. The Hamas (folks) have to have a place to go where they can be simultaneously isolated and talked to."

The current and former US officials said they were unable to identify precisely what may have triggered the four countries' coordinated decision to cut ties, which was later followed by Yemen, Libya's eastern-based government and the Maldives.

They said the Saudis may have felt empowered by the warm embrace that Trump gave them when he visited Riyadh in May and adopted a harsh anti-Iran stance.

"My suspicion is (they felt) emboldened by what Trump said on his visit and... that they feel they have got some kind of backing," said a former US official. "I don't know that they needed any more of a green light than they got in public."

A senior administration official told Reuters the United States got no indication from the Saudis or Emiratis in Riyadh that the action was about to happen. The White House said on Monday it was committed to working to de-escalate tensions in the Gulf.

In Riyadh, Trump made an impassioned appeal to Arab and Islamic leaders to "drive out" terrorists, while singling out Iran as a key source of funding and support for militant groups.

SEEKING RECONCILIATION

US officials in multiple agencies stressed their desire to promote a reconciliation between the Saudi-led group and Qatar, a state of 2.5 million people with vast natural gas reserves.

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"We don't want to see some kind of permanent rift and I suspect we won't," said the senior Trump administration official on condition of anonymity, adding the United States would send a representative if the Gulf Cooperation Council nations met to discuss the rift with Qatar.

The GCC includes six wealthy Arab nations: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.

"There's an acknowledgement that a lot of Qatari behavior is quite worrisome not just to our Gulf neighbors but to the US," said the senior administration official. "We want to bring them in the right direction."

Marcelle Wahba, a former US ambassador to the UAE and the president of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington think tank, said the United States had leverage but would use it discreetly.

"The US will step up to the plate. How we will do it? I think it will be very quiet and very much in the background," she said. "I doubt very much we will sit on the sidelines and let this crisis get more serious."

Qatar's backing of Islamists dates to a decision by the current ruling emir's father to end a tradition of automatic deference to Saudi Arabia, the dominant Gulf Arab power, and forge the widest possible array of allies.

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Qatar has for years presented itself as a mediator and power broker for the region's many disputes. But Egypt and the Gulf Arab states resent Qatar's support for Islamists, especially the Muslim Brotherhood, which they see as a political enemy.

"We are engaging with all of our partners to find a way to reassemble some GCC unity to support regional security," said another US official, saying it was critical to "maintain the fight against terrorism and extremist ideolo.

ALSO READ: Qatar row: Saudi Arabia shuts Al Jazeera channel

Qatar Airways suspends all flights to Saudi Arabia

Etihad Airways to suspend flights to and from Qatar

--- ENDS ---
WOODLAND PARK, Colo.  Police in a Colorado town rescued a bear cub that got trapped in a car after likely searching for a snack.

Officers in Woodland Park said a woman called police Friday to report strange noises coming from her car.

A responding officer opened the door and ushered the cub back into the wild, but not before snapping a few photos. Authorities posted them online with a reminder not to keep food in cars in areas frequented by bears.

Police believe the cubs mother somehow opened the car door. When officers arrived, they could hear an animal rustling in the nearby bushes, but they didnt see the mother bear.

The Gazette in Colorado Springs reports (bit.ly/2ru8GUa) that officers checked the area several hours later and saw no signs of the animals.

___

Information from: The Gazette, http://www.gazette.com
SANTA FE  The Santa Fe City Councils Finance Committee gave the green light to advancing a proposal to restart the S.T.O.P. speed limit enforcement program.

The Santa Fe Traffic Operations Program involves the use unmanned speed enforcement vehicles, generally known as speed vans, parked roadside and equipped with radar and cameras to catch speeders. The city allowed the program to lapse in 2014 while the CEO of the company that held the citys contract, Phoenix-based Redflex Traffic Systems, was being prosecuted on bribery charges in Ohio.

The full City Council now will consider publishing notice of a public hearing for public hearing on July 12.

In a 3-1 vote, the Finance Committee approved changes to the existing ordinance  removing references to red light cameras, eliminating language that would allow an offenders car to be seized upon a second violation and modifying the fine structure for violators  and a resolution to direct the city manager to restart the program.

A speeder would be fined $50 for a first offense. If they were caught speeding again within a two-year period, the fine would be $100. For violations in a school or construction zone, the fine would be $150. Tickets would only be issued if vehicles were exceeding the speed limit by at least 11 mph or more, or 6 mph in school and construction zones.

City Councilor Renee Villarreal voted no on the speed van plans, saying she wanted more information, including data from other cities with similar programs.

The amendments to the ordinance already have four city councilors as sponsors. It would take five votes to approve the proposal. Last week, the Public Works Committee, which includes Villarreal, voted down the speed van plans 3-0.

When in effect before, the program was not popular with many people who felt the program was intrusive. One man fired a gun into a speed van, even as the vans cameras recorded the shooting.

Councilor Signe Lindell, one of the sponsors, explained her support by saying, I just want people who are speeding continuously all over town to slow down. She also said she considered it a quality of life issue in that people should expect that cars wont be speeding through their neighborhoods at 60 or 70 mph. Proponents said speed vans also would help keep police officers from spending so much time on traffic enforcement.
The formation of the Albuquerque Police Foundation, a nonprofit that will provide financial assistance to police officers and their families who experience life-altering events that prevent them from working for extended periods, is an effort worthy of citizens support.

Two private entities, AT&T and the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters union, have already stepped up with $5,000 donations each to jump start the foundation.

Theres a common misconception that when a police officer is killed or injured on the job, diagnosed with a medical condition that requires time off for treatment or faces some other event that prevents him or her from working, insurance, workers compensation or some other type of financial relief is readily available.

But thats not always the case, and its often not enough.

Aviation Police Officer Bobby Dilley, who works for the city at the Sunport, was driving home three years ago when a drunken driver going more than 90 mph slammed into his vehicle. He was out of work for about 18 months, lost part of his foot, was saddled with medical bills from multiple surgeries and struggled to get out of debt.

Officer Lou Golson, who was shot four times while attempting to arrest a drunken driver in January 2015, faced months of hospitalization and rehabilitation, and is still litigating the huge medical expenses stemming from the shooting. Though he briefly returned to duty at the police academy, his injuries forced an early retirement.

Both officers could have certainly used the resources that will now be available through the nonprofit foundation.

Something for the long haul is where this type of organization is really needed, Golson said at the foundations kickoff on March 25.

Shaun Willoughby, the president of the police union, said the foundation will work with police agencies around the state to raise money for the fund. He said Wednesday the foundation is in the process of setting up a civilian board of directors to oversee it.

Anyone interested in donating can do so at the foundations website, www.abqpolicefoundation.org.

This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.
WASHINGTON  Two former leaders of the U.S. Senate  one Democrat and one Republican  will be in Albuquerque on Wednesday to lead a conversation on how to move past partisan bickering and gridlock for the sake of the community and the nation.

Former Sens. Trent Lott, a Mississippi Republican, and Tom Daschle, a South Dakota Democrat, will headline the talk in conjunction with New Mexico First, a public policy organization celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Daschle served in the Senate from 1987 until 2004. Lott was a member of the chamber from 1989 until 2007. Both served in various leadership roles during their tenures, including majority leader.

Heather Balas, executive director of New Mexico First, said the group decided to invite the former federal lawmakers to New Mexico after the release last year of their book Crisis Points: Why We Must  and How We Can  Overcome Our Broken Politics in Washington and Across America. The senators, who were in opposing parties but became friends and advanced legislation together before leaving the Senate, have wisdom to impart at a time of deep partisan divisions not only in Congress, but in state legislatures and even on Facebook, Balas said.

How can we advance a really collaborative, constructive governmental system and move away from this culture of partisan bickering? Balas asked, describing the theme of Wednesdays discussion. We thought it would be an opportunity for community leaders, as well as elected officials in New Mexico, to engage in a deeper way and learn from these federal leaders.

In a Journal interview Monday, Lott conceded that he and Daschle had their political differences but said they tried hard to put them aside, sometimes with success. He lamented that over the past decade or more, opposing lawmakers and even the White House have ceased talking with each other. That dynamic is poisoning political discourse across the country, he said.

Weve reached a point where things really need to change, not only here in Washington but in many respects across the country, Lott said. In order to do that  communication is so critical. If youre talking, youre not listening, and in the past 10 years, the presidency has sort of drifted away from communicating with the Congress, and the leaders of Congress now quite often are not communicating, either.

Having a relationship and understanding and knowing each other is so important in finding a way to get a result.

Lott also called on Congress to do something  anything  to try to move legislation and bridge the divide.

Congress needs to step up, Lott said.  They need to get the ball moving, and you dont always have to have a huge bill. Do some routine stuff  some stuff that is a little more bipartisan. But find a way to move some bills that have traditionally been bipartisan, and then you get some momentum.

HONOREES

At Wednesdays event, New Mexico First will honor the following leaders for putting good policy above partisan politics.

This years recipients are:
Polls in Bernalillo, Sandoval and Socorro counties are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. today for voting in the election for four Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District board members.

At stake are board position numbers 3 and 4 in Bernalillo County, position 6 in Socorro County and position 7 in Sandoval County.

The conservancy district, whose board members are unpaid, serves 11,000 irrigators, delivering water to 70,000 acres of cropland along 150 miles of the Rio Grande from Cochiti Dam in the north to the Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge in the south. Conservancy district board members also make decisions that affect drainage, flood control, fish and wildlife, and recreation.

Seven members serve on the MRGCD board  three from Bernalillo County; one each from Sandoval, Socorro and Valencia counties; and one in an at-large position.

Seven candidates, two each in three contested races and one who is unopposed, are on the ballot. Members serve four-year terms. Incumbents Karen Dunning, who holds one of the Bernalillo County positions, and Derrick J. Lente of Sandoval County are running. Incumbents Adrian Oglesby of Bernalillo County and Chris Sichler of Socorro County are not seeking new terms.

In the Bernalillo County position 3 race, Dunning is facing a challenge from Pat McCraw. Dunning, a Los Ranchos resident, is self-employed and does environmental assessments for housing developments. McCraw lives in the South Valley, where she keeps horses, goats, chickens, a mule and a donkey.

Joaquin Baca is unopposed in his run to succeed Oglesby in Bernalillo County position 4. The Downtown Albuquerque resident is a hydrologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

James Lee Martin and Valerie Moore are running against each other for Sichlers Socorro County position 6 post. Both candidates live in Lemitar. Martin is retired from New Mexico Tech as a construction supervisor, and has served in both the New Mexico House and the New Mexico Senate. Moore and her late husband managed ranches in New Mexico and Arizona, and she now lives on a 26-acre farm.

Incumbent Lente is running against Orlando J. Lucero in the Sandoval County position 7 race. Lente, of Sandia Pueblo, now serves as MRGCD board chairman. He operates a farm and ranch, and was elected last year to the New Mexico House. Lucero, a Bernalillo resident, is a retired teacher and a farmer. He served eight years on the Sandoval County Commission.

To be eligible to vote, people must own property in the area benefited by the conservancy district. It is those people, even those who are not irrigators, who pay the taxes that provide operating funds for the district.
Copyright  2017 Albuquerque Journal

A new comprehensive set of rules unveiled Monday by the state Supreme Court transforms pretrial release and detention around the state and instructs judges on how to comply with a constitutional amendment passed by voters last year.

The new rules go into effect July 1.

The amendment was designed to ensure that defendants be detained in jail based on evidence of their individual risk of dangerousness or flight, not on their ability to pay a monetary bond.

The rules include providing new specific guidance for judges to revoke release orders for so-called turnstile suspects who commit new crimes while on bond or otherwise violate release orders.

Those who are arrested and detained while on probation or parole wouldnt be released from jail pending trial without first seeing a judge.

Currently, they can buy their way out (by posting bond), said state Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Daniels on Monday.

Fixed jailhouse bond schedules that set a monetary bond based only on the crime will be prohibited. Instead, new rules will permit some people arrested on minor offenses in New Mexico to be automatically released on their personal recognizance from jail pending an initial appearance before a judge. Extremely dangerous defendants can be held without bond.

New Mexico has now taken two very substantial steps toward better protecting community safety and better administration of justice thats not based on money. Its based on fact, Daniels said in a Journal interview Monday.

The first step was the passage of the constitutional amendment overwhelmingly approved by voters last November, he said. The second, the creation of the new rules and procedures, is the result of two years of study by an ad hoc working group of lawyers, judges, bail bondsmen and others.

The key to success is in having an immediate evaluation of release conditions, presuming release and providing attorneys to help from the beginning, said Las Cruces attorney Michael Stout, chair of the New Mexico Public Defender Commission.

Matthew Coyte, president of the New Mexico Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, said the new rules could be the catalyst for a positive cultural change in the way we address pre-trial detention.

Now, a mechanism exists to detain only the most dangerous people and release those who simply dont have enough cash. My concern is the courts will enforce one part of the rule, but not the other.

Bernalillo County District Attorney Raul Torrez filed a petition earlier this year asking the states highest court what prosecutors should or shouldnt be required to show during pretrial hearings. He has complained some judges have essentially put on mini-trials when considering whether to have a suspect detained pending trial.

Michael Patrick, spokesman for the office, said Monday evening, Were disappointed in how some of the rules played out but we will continue to push for preventative detention to keep the community safe. Daniels said judges will still retain the discretion under the new rules on what evidence will be required for the no-bond hearings.

Under the reforms, people arrested on certain petty misdemeanor and misdemeanor offenses in New Mexico will be automatically released on their own recognizance until they have an initial appearance before a judge.

But the Supreme Court excluded 16 offenses, including DWI and domestic violence crimes like aggravated battery or harassment of a household member, that will not be eligible for automatic release.

The state court administration is working to provide broader information about the criminal history of defendants to judges who will make decisions on whether to release a defendant pending trial, and under what conditions.

Daniels said judges feel the pressure of criticism when defendants they release on bond commit new crimes pending trial.

Now that we have an honest method of having evidence-based decisions to detain someone there should be no pressure on a judge to use dollar bond setting to try to keep a person from getting out and these rules make that clear. Ultimately, the result should be better protection of the community and fairer administration of justice for all the people involved.

The goal is to offer judges statewide a risk assessment tool, based on facts such as prior criminal history, to help make their release decisions. The courts in Bernalillo County are about to implement a new Public Safety Assessment tool to help in pretrial release decisions.

Meanwhile, the state Department of Public Safety is working on implementing a criminal history clearinghouse system for the courts to access before setting release conditions.

Monetary bail bonds have not been formally abolished, Daniels said. Were just saying it cannot be the determining factor.

The hardest part is still ahead of us, he added. I think the hardest part is going to be changing old habits and changing the culture inside and outside the judiciary.
Copyright  2017 Albuquerque Journal

Corporate income tax revenues have plunged in New Mexico over the past several years, falling beyond what was predicted when a tax cut package was passed in 2013.

The drop is expected to be nearly 65 percent, from the year the cuts began to the current fiscal year projection.

The reasons go beyond the tax package, pushed by Gov. Susana Martinez and approved by lawmakers, and have much to do with the plunge in the oil and gas industry, state finance officials say.

They defend the phased-in tax cuts and say the changes are helping to diversify a state economy too long dependent on government and oil and gas jobs.

We saw what the oil and gas crash has done to our state, Duffy Rodriguez, secretary of the Department of Finance and Administration, said Monday. To put something in place to not have that happen in New Mexico again is extremely important.

The 2013 tax package, a compromise passed by lawmakers in the final minutes of that years legislative session, called for the states top corporate income tax rate to drop from 7.6 percent to 5.9 percent over a five-year period. The package included several other provisions, such as expansion of the states film tax credit.

This year, corporate income tax collections are expected to account for 1.2 percent of the states general fund revenue and are considered more volatile than other taxes.

The package, which the governor at the time called the New Mexico Jobs Package, was aimed at making the state more competitive in attracting jobs and supporting existing ones.

Since then, the states unemployment rate has hit the bottom or near-bottom compared with all other states, and the number of jobs remains below the level it was before the start of the recession in late 2007.

But Clinton Turner, chief economist for the Department of Finance and Administration, pointed to job growth in New Mexicos private sector. Private businesses were up 9,000 jobs, or 1.4 percent, compared with last year  the biggest gain since June 2015, according to the state Department of Workforce Solutions. April year-over-year figures showed overall job growth of 1.2 percent, the highest in almost two years, according to the department.

The Journal on Friday and Monday requested an interview with Martinez, but spokesman Michael Lonergan said Monday that she was unable to fit it into her schedule.

Jim Peach, New Mexico State University economist, said the tax package and increased funding for economic development programs have not put New Mexico at the forefront among the states in employment growth. There is very little evidence that lowering tax rates promotes economic growth. Youre kind of seeing that here.

Instead, Peach said, firms are looking for a well-trained and highly educated workforce.

When you talk to industry people and read industry newsletters  tax rates are not the first thing that firms look for, Peach said.

Matt Geisel, state economic development secretary, disagreed, saying the cuts and New Mexicos other business incentives are opening the doors for us.

The state has suffered a series of blows, including the Great Recession, automatic federal budget cuts in 2013 and a devastating drop in oil and gas prices in 2014.

On top of that, Intels plant in Rio Rancho has shed more than 2,000 jobs over the past few years, he said. Intel was once the largest private industrial employer in the state.

The most recent figures show corporate income tax collections were down 63.6 percent year-to-date as of March, compared with the same period the year before. The drop for personal income tax collections was 4.9 percent.

The reality is, if we didnt do what we have done  we as a state would be in much worse shape, Geisel said. The diversification is taking foot, and when you factor in the impact of these headwinds  many of which are global in nature, we have made forward progress.

Turner also pointed to a 6 percent boost in construction jobs over the past year and said the oil and gas industry has finally hit the bottom.

That industry is a big reason for the corporate revenue drop, and other commodity-heavy states have seen similar or even more drastic reductions, he said.

Some lawmakers, facing a huge budget deficit, proposed last October a two-year halt to the phase-in of the tax cut, but the Martinez administration opposed the move.

The Legislature last month wrapped up another special session to deal with the continuing budget crisis. The $6.1 billion spending plan that was approved is about $133 million more than expected revenues.

The governor vetoed a package of tax increase proposals that would have generated at least $215 million in new annual money, saying it would have hurt New Mexico families. A separate GOP-backed proposal to overhaul the gross receipts tax system stalled in the Democratic-controlled House.

The state now faces the possibility of a second downgrade in its credit rating, which would mean higher borrowing costs for state and local governments.
Rep. Steve Pearce is among a dozen members of the U.S. House who met with Mexican government officials in Mexico City Monday to discuss trade relations, border security, immigration and other issues.

The U.S.Mexico Inter-Parliamentary Group  a bipartisan contingent of U.S. House members appointed by House Speaker Paul Ryan  met with the Chamber of Deputies and Chamber of Senators of the Mexican Congress, among other officials. Pearce, a Republican who represents New Mexicos border with Mexico, is among the newer members of the inter-parliamentary group.

In a Journal interview before he left for Mexico, Pearce said the meeting comes at an extremely important time in the U.S.-Mexico relationship.

Its a once a year exchange effort and it is fully bipartisan, he said. It is intended to be an outreach between governments and not political. There is a desire for positive interaction on what can we do to facilitate cooperative projects between the two nations.

The Mexican visit comes as multi-lateral talks on revamping the North American Free Trade Agreement between the United States, Mexico and Canada are expected to commence in August.

The trip also comes amid President Donald Trumps continued call for the construction of a border wall between Mexico and New Mexico. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has said the wall is unnecessary and that his government wont pay for it, as Trump has asserted. Pearce, while a supporter of of many Trump policy proposals, has said repeatedly that he opposes his proposal to build a wall because it is impractical and would not be effective in curbing illegal immigration. Pearce does support other border security enhancement measures.

The New Mexico congressman said he doubted that talk of the wall would dominate the congressional groups talk with the Mexican officials.

They recognize that Trump is one person and some things will work out for the better for them, under Trump, Pearce said. I dont think its a total negative opinion of Mr. Trump. I dont think were going there to smooth it out this is a recurring trip that happens once a year.

Instead, he said he expected the meeting to focus on economic opportunities on both sides of the border.

How can we move this relationship forward and how can your business guy work with us to improve our business opportunities, and the opportunities for jobs in Mexico and the U.S. both, Pearce said. How can we join together to fight off the heavy encroachment of cheap products from other parts of the world? I think its going to be very positive on how can we forge this relationship in this new era. The Trump administration is very much on board with this. 
FARMINGTON  Its habit of ensuring that students have access to music education has earned the Farmington school district recognition from a national nonprofit organization.

The National Association of Music Merchants Foundation recognized the Farmington Municipal School District with the Best Communities for Music Education designation for its outstanding commitment to music education, according to a press release.

The organization is partially supported by NAMM and is dedicated to advancing active participation in music.

Albuquerque Public Schools, Cloudcroft Municipal Schools and Santa Fe Public Schools were the other districts in New Mexico that also were recognized.

The 527 school districts selected nationwide this year represent about 4 percent of all the districts in the country, according to the NAMM Foundation press release.

Farmington Superintendent Gene Schmidt said the designation is something residents should be excited about.

I have a great appreciation of music, Schmidt said. I think music is a special area like foreign language that expands you as a person.

Schmidt played the trumpet while in high school and college. He also performed with the Piedra Vista High School Orchestra during a concert in December.

The district submitted its paperwork for the designation in October and learned in April it had been selected, according to the districts coordinator of fine arts, Daniel Fear.

It shows our district is really working toward building an arts community, Fear said.

The districts music instruction classes in elementary schools and ensembles for band, choir, orchestra and guitar in middle and high schools were among the programs recognized, Fear said.

A couple of new music teachers at Tibbetts and Heights middle schools were hired for this school year, Fear said. That allowed the schools to offer additional music courses, including a general music class, a piano lab and a drumming class.

Districtwide, there are 22 instructors who teach music education.

Marletta Newman has been teaching choir and piano at Mesa View Middle School for 13 years. She has remained at the school because she loves the students and staff.

(Teachers) just all work together, and we support the core subjects, and they support us for a well-rounded education of the students, Newman said.

Music education is important for Newman because it allows the school to bring out the creative side in students.

I think its fantastic, Newman said about the designation. Farmington is a very strong and supportive district for music. When music (education) is going out of so many schools, and teachers are losing positions, Farmington has held onto its music program.

Joshua Kellogg covers crime, courts and social issues for The Daily Times. He can be reached at 505-564-4627.



2017 The Daily Times (Farmington, N.M.)

Visit The Daily Times (Farmington, N.M.) at www.daily-times.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

_____
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan has written a letter to EAM Sushma Swaraj, raising concerns about the 6.5 lakh Indians living and employed in Qatar.

By Rohini Swamy: Amid a rapidly intensifying diplomatic rift between Qatar and other Arab countries, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote a letter to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, raising concerns about the 6.5 lakh Indians living and employed in the country.

In his letter, the Pinarayi wrote the geo-political situation in the Middle East has raised deep concerns among the people of Kerala, "since each family has at least one family member or a relative in the region."

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He also urged the government to "suitably empower" the Indian Embassy in Doha, to "respond presciently to the concerns of the Indian population in Qatar."

Here's the full text of his letter:

I am writing this letter in the context of the developing geo-political situation in the Middle East today. As you are aware millions of Indians are working in Countries in the Middle East and therefore the geo-political developments in the region has raised deep concerns among the people in the state since each family has at least one family member or a relative in the region.

There are about 6.5 Lakh Indians in Qatar of which nearly three lakh people hail from Kerala, and I bring to your attention our concern regarding their safety and future of their employment and their engagement in Qatar.

I would like to place on record the full support of our State to the considered stance that Union Government would take on the issue, given the complexities involved.

We do appreciate that it is a complex situation and we are in no doubt that Union Government will come out with the most appropriate diplomatic and geo-political stance in this regard taking into consideration all aspects and put in place a robust mechanism for addressing all the concerns.

I would also request that the Indian Embassy in Doha may be suitably empowered to respond presciently to the concerns of the Indian population in Qatar.

The tension has resulted from a move by five Gulf countries -- Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt and Yemen -- to sever all relations with Qatar, alleging the nation supports terrorism and Islamic groups.

Foreign minister Sushma Swaraj has said, meanwhile, that there is no need for India to worry. "There is no challenge arising out of this for us. This is an internal matter of GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council). Our only concern is about Indians there. We are trying to find out if any Indians are stuck there. If we found anyone in need, we will get them back to India," Swaraj told mediapersons.

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Also read:

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SAN ANTONIO  Authorities say a 37-year-old man who fatally shot his estranged girlfriend in San Antonio and took their 1-year-old child was later shot dead by state troopers.

Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Jason Reyes says Adrian Maurice Hardeman had a handgun Monday when troopers responded to a report of a single-vehicle accident about an hour east of San Antonio.

Reyes declined to explain why troopers were prompted to shoot Hardeman, saying Texas Rangers are investigating.

It was only after the shooting that DPS learned Hardeman was being sought by San Antonio police in the death earlier Monday of 35-year-old April Russell.

Authorities say Hardeman went to the womans apartment in an effort to reconcile but was rejected. He later returned and shot Russell.

The child was found safe at a relatives home.
Sombra Cosmetics of Albuquerque shipped its first truckload of its natural pain relieving gels to Canada for sale there.

The company is also working on deals in China and the Middle East, according to a news release from the company.

In addition, the company expects to begin manufacturing and distributing private label pain relievers for a large retail brand later in the year. Sombra has spent the past year gutting and refurbishing two properties to prepare for the expansion.

Sombra Cosmetics, an Albuquerque-based manufacturer of natural therapeutic products for the professional and consumer markets, has been manufacturing in Albuquerque for over 30 years.
GANZHOU, China  Chinas government on Tuesday rejected a U.S. State Department call to release three activists detained while investigating a factory that produced shoes for Ivanka Trump and other brands. It sought instead to enforce a cone of silence around the men, according to a lawyer and the wife of one detainee who was interrogated for hours herself.

The U.S. State Department on Monday called on China to release the men, who were detained last week after working undercover in a Chinese factory to check into worker abuses.

We urge China to release them immediately and otherwise afford them the judicial and fair trial protections to which they are entitled, said Alicia Edwards, a State Department spokeswoman. She said the U.S. remains concerned about the pattern of arrests and detentions and noted that labor activists are instrumental in helping American companies understand conditions in their supply chains and holding Chinese manufacturers accountable under Chinese labor laws.

Deng Guilian, the wife of one of the detainees, Hua Haifeng, told The Associated Press that she had been interrogated twice by police in her hometown in central Chinas Hubei province. The police pulled her in for four hours of questioning that lasted past midnight on Friday, and then called her for a further interrogation on Saturday. She said police questioned her sharply about her contacts with foreign media.

She said that on Friday four policemen sat in a close circle around her, one asking questions, one examining her phone, one taking notes and one just staring at her.

In a normal situation, as a woman at midnight squeezed in the middle of four men  moreover theyre policemen  its impossible not to be nervous, she said. I was terrified.

Asked about the detentions Tuesday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said the State Department has made the U.S. position very clear and will continue to exert the proper diplomatic pressure. On whether the president or Ivanka Trump would comment directly, he said its a State Department issue.

A spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee criticized Ivanka Trumps company for not speaking publicly about the detentions. Adrienne Watson said in a statement Tuesday that Ivankas company should switch suppliers, and the Trumps should stop hypocritically telling corporations to buy American and hire American while they continue to knowingly take advantage of workers abuses abroad.

China has been cracking down on perceived threats to the ruling Communist Party, particularly from sources with foreign ties such as China Labor Watch, the New York-based nonprofit that was leading the investigation.

The group planned to publish a report this month alleging low pay, excessive overtime, verbal abuse and possible misuse of student labor at factories belonging to the Huajian Group. The company has denied the allegations and says it stopped producing Ivanka Trump shoes months ago.

Hua Chunying, spokeswoman for Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a regular news briefing Tuesday that the men working with China Labor Watch had been accused of using secret recording devices to disrupt normal commercial operations and would be dealt with under Chinese law.

Other nations have no right to interfere in our judicial sovereignty and independence, she said, adding, The police found these people illegally possessed secret cameras, secret listening devices and other illegal monitoring devices.

Hua Haifengs lawyer, Wen Yu, said Tuesday that all three of the activists are being held at the Ganzhou City Detention Center in southeastern Jiangxi province and that after a day and a half of waiting he was finally able to consult with his client Tuesday afternoon.

His condition inside is OK. Nobody beat him, Wen said. Its just that he has to sleep next to the toilet. People go to pee all night. He said the cell was crowded with 21 people, who have been ordered not to speak with Hua.

The lawyer said he had applied for bail for Hua, who faces imprisonment of up to two years if found guilty. Then Wen was contacted by city authorities who told him not to speak with foreign media and he stopped responding to questions.

China Labor Watch executive director Li Qiang has said all three men, whom he lost contact with late last month, are not guilty and did not use secret recording devices. In an April letter to Ivanka Trump, he urged her to press for better conditions in her brands supply chain. Your words and deeds can make a difference in these workers lives, he wrote.

Ivanka Trumps brand has declined to comment on the allegations or the arrests. She stepped back from day-to-day management of the company when she took on a White House role as adviser to her father, but retains ownership. Marc Fisher, which produces shoes for Ivanka Trump and other brands, has said it is looking into the allegations.

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Associated Press writer Catherine Lucey and Matthew Pennington in Washington and researcher Fu Ting in Ganzhou contributed to this report.

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Follow Kinetz on Twitter at twitter.com/ekinetz
KANSAS CITY, Mo.  A classical musician has accused a United Airlines supervisor of barring her from boarding a plane with her centuries-old violin, sparking a scuffle that caused her to miss her flight and left her worried her hands  and by extension, her livelihood  may have been harmed.

Yennifer Correias attorney said Tuesday a lawsuit against United is likely on the 33-year-old Memphis womans behalf after the Sunday confrontation in Houston as she was preparing to fly to Missouri for a symphony rehearsal.

Correia had a discount fare that, according to rules posted on Uniteds website, doesnt let passengers stow luggage in the overhead bin, although an exception is allowed for small musical instruments. It was not clear Tuesday why Correia was told to check the violin  made in Italy and believed to date to the late 1700s, her attorney said  instead of being allowed to carry it on board.

Chicago-based United has refunded Correias airfare, discussed the matter with its Houston employees and has reached out to Ms. Correia to gain a better understanding of what occurred and to offer assistance, spokesman Charles Hobart said.

Were disappointed anytime a customer has an experience that does not live up to his or her expectation, he said.

Correia, who was making the trek Tuesday to Missouri on another airline, will have her hands examined next week by a Houston surgeon, attorney Philip MacNaughton told The Associated Press.

While the Venezuelan-born Correias hands show no immediate bruising or redness, were all holding our breath, MacNaughton said. We think the odds of injury are low, but the stakes are career-killing.

You dont grab a surgeons hands, a pitchers hands or a professional violinists hands, he added, calling Sundays dispute a physical attack on Correia. She knows she has to stand up to United and say you cant treat professional musicians this way. I dont understand why airlines, especially United, cant simply deal with an issue and not turn it into a confrontation.

Musicians long have complained that airlines frequently require that instruments they rely on for their livelihoods be checked and be entrusted to baggage handlers, with the result that they often are damaged or lost.

These instruments cost, at her level, tens of thousands of dollars, MacNaughton said. Youre making a living with an instrument that costs twice as much as your car  probably the most expensive thing you own. Airlines cant safely transport it.

Uniteds grappling with the issue even went lyrical. After Canadian musician Dave Carroll had a guitar smashed during a flight in 2009, he wrote a song and book about it, calling both United Breaks Guitars. Carrolls online video of his song was so popular  and so damaging to United  that it has become a business case study of how social media can harm a companys image.

More recently, Florida State University graduate student asked for public help in January in replacing a cello she claimed was smashed on a United flight. In June of last year, violinist Yura Lee reported being kicked off a United flight for attempting to stow her instrument below seats.

Uniteds customer service took another hit in April, when 69-year-old David Dao was injured by Chicago airport security officers who were called to remove him from an overbooked United Express plane  a confrontation captured on cellphone video that went viral. United later apologized and reached an undisclosed settlement with him.

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Associated Press writer David Koenig contributed to this report from Dallas.
The Albuquerque police chief, Bernalillo County sheriff, 2nd Judicial District attorney and Albuquerques chief administrative officer sent a letter to Attorney General Hector Balderas on Monday asking him to direct the countys Criminal Justice Coordinating Council to comply with the Open Meetings Act.

Their letter says that while prosecutors and law enforcement officials are in favor of making the meetings public, the public defenders office and court officials raised concerns about complying with the act in a recent meeting.

The criminal justice system and crime in our community is probably one of the most important issues for the community, said Adolfo Mendez, the chief of policy and planning for the district attorney. So it is important for the public to have as much information about the discussions about crime.

Nan Nash, the chief judge of the 2nd Judicial District, said in an interview that the council members, including the court, agreed at its May meeting to ask the attorney general for his opinion on OMA compliance.

We all agreed  whatever the AG says well just go along with, she said. If the AG opines that we are subject (to OMA), that absolutely decides the issue.

She said the council, which previously had a different name, has always held public meetings. But because the court was originally in control of the group, its meetings werent subject to OMA.

The council meets monthly to address local criminal justice issues, such as conditions at the jail or the length of time it takes to adjudicate different types of criminal cases. Its members consist of officials from the city of Albuquerque, Bernalillo County, probation and parole, the New Mexico Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, the public defenders office, the 2nd Judicial District Court, the countys Metropolitan Court, the Administrative Office of the Courts and the District Attorneys Office.

Its always been the intention that anyone who wanted to attend the meetings could attend the meetings, Nash said.

To comply with the Open Meetings Act, bodies such as school boards or county commissions have to post agendas prior to meetings and keep minutes, among other rules, according to a compliance guide issued by the Attorney Generals Office, which enforces state sunshine laws. They are also only allowed to discuss topics at their meetings that were put on the official agenda.

The coordinating council is a body that discusses the public business of public safety and crime reduction in Bernalillo County, formulates public policy concerning the use of criminal justice resources, and takes actions to this end, says the letter, which was sent Monday. Accordingly, its meetings must comply with the OMA.
DENVER  Pilot error caused the 2015 crash of an Army Black Hawk helicopter in Colorado that injured four crew members and destroyed the aircraft, according to military documents released Tuesday.

The pilot over-estimated his ability and lost situational awareness, a military term for a wide-ranging perception of conditions, the report said. The investigator ruled out misconduct and negligence.

The report was released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request from The Associated Press. The Army had released other information about the crash in March, but not the cause.

The UH-60L helicopter was practicing evading enemy fire during high-altitude flights when it crashed in a forested area at about 9,000 feet (2,760 meters) above sea level in September 2015. The crash site was northwest of Colorado Springs.

Officials said the $7 million helicopter, which was based at Fort Carson, Colorado, was a total loss.

Crew members names not released, but the Army said the 35-year-old pilot held the rank of chief warrant officer 2 and suffered a broken leg in the crash.

He had served in Iraq and Afghanistan, with 915 hours of combat flying time and a total of nearly 1,370 hours of helicopter flight time. He received four Air Medals.

The report did not say whether he was disciplined or whether he was still in the Army. Fort Carson officials had no immediate comment.

Another crew member suffered a suspected concussion and broken rib and the other two suffered suspected back injuries.

The report said the pilot tried to throttle up and pull the helicopter out of a descent but could not do so. Other crew members said the helicopter was so low the rotors were hitting trees.

The last vivid memory I have is watching the main rotor blades hit the trees and hearing them shatter, a crew member told investigators.

The report was done by a Fort Carson investigator and was dated 2015.

A 2016 report by the Army Combat Readiness Center at Fort Rucker, Alabama, said a separate safety investigation found no mechanical or material problems in the helicopter.

But that report, released three months ago, said the Black Hawk was not considered airworthy because of clerical and maintenance errors in the records. Michael J. Negard, a spokesman for the Combat Readiness Center, said that description applied only to administrative procedures and that investigators found no material defects in the aircraft.

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Follow Dan Elliott at http://twitter.com/DanElliottAP. His work can be found at https://apnews.com/search/dan%20elliott.
WASHINGTON  The White House and its allies are scrambling for ways to offset potential damage from fired FBI Director James Comeys highly anticipated congressional testimony, an appearance that could expose new details about his discussions with President Donald Trump about the federal investigation into Russias election meddling.

Asked about the testimony, Trump on Tuesday was tight-lipped: I wish him luck, he told reporters before a meeting with lawmakers.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday evening a person familiar with the situation said Comey had told Attorney General Jeff Sessions that he did not want to be left alone with Trump.

The person, who was not authorized to discuss the matter by name and spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press the comment was made because of concerns Comey had about Trump.

It was not immediately clear when the conversation occurred. But The New York Times, which first reported the interaction with Sessions, said it came after Trump had asked Comey in February to end an FBI investigation into Trumps first national security adviser, Michael Flynn.

Justice Department spokesman Ian Prior declined to comment. He said Sessions doesnt believe its appropriate to respond to media inquiries on matters that may be related to ongoing investigations.

Trumps White House and its allies are crafting a strategy aimed at undermining Comeys credibility. Both White House officials and an outside group that backs Trump plan to hammer Comey in the coming days for misstatements he made about Democrat Hillary Clintons emails during his last appearance on Capitol Hill.

An ad created by the pro-Trump Great America Alliance  a nonprofit issues group that isnt required to disclose its donors  casts Comey as a showboat who was consumed with election meddling instead of focusing on combating terrorism. The 30-second spot is slated to run digitally on Wednesday and appear the next day on CNN and Fox News.

The Republican National Committee has been preparing talking points ahead of the hearing, which will be aired live on multiple TV stations. An RNC research email Monday issued a challenge to the lawmakers who will question Comey. Theres bipartisan agreement, the email says, that Comey needs to answer a simple question about his conversations with President Trump: If you were so concerned, why didnt you act on it or notify Congress?

Comeys testimony before the Senate intelligence committee marks his first public comments since he was abruptly ousted by Trump on May 9. Since then, Trump and Comey allies have traded competing narratives about their interactions. The president asserted that Comey told him three times that he was not personally under investigation, while the former directors associates allege Trump asked Comey if he could back off an investigation into Michael Flynn, who was fired as national security adviser because he misled the White House about his ties to Russia.

Democrats have accused Trump of firing Comey to upend the FBIs Russia probe, which focused in large part on whether campaign aides coordinated with Moscow to hack Democratic groups during the election. Days after Comeys firing, the Justice Department appointed a special counsel, former FBI Director Robert Mueller, to oversee the federal investigation.

The new revelation about Comeys uneasiness with Trump brings to mind a posting last month by Comey friend Benjamin Wittes on his Lawfare blog, in which he said Comey saw it as an ongoing task on his part to protect the rest of the Bureau from improper contacts and interferences from a group of people he did not regard as honorable.

Despite the mounting legal questions now shadowing the White House, Trump has needled Comey publicly. In a tweet days after the firing, he appeared to warn Comey that he might have recordings of their private discussions, something the White House has neither confirmed nor denied.

White House officials appear eager to keep the president away from television and Twitter Thursday, though those efforts rarely succeed. White House spokesman Sean Spicer said the president plans to attend an infrastructure summit in the morning, then address the Faith and Freedom Coalitions Road to Majority conference at 12:30 p.m.

The presidents got a full day on Thursday, Spicer said.

The White House had hoped to set up a war room stocked with Trump allies and top-flight lawyers to combat questions about the FBI and congressional investigations into possible ties between the campaign and Russia. However, that effort has largely stalled, both because of a lack of decision-making in the West Wing and concerns among some potential recruits about joining a White House under the cloud of investigation.

If there isnt a strategy, a coherent, effective one, this is really going to put us all behind the eight ball. We need to start fighting back. And so far, I dont see a lot of fight, said Barry Bennett, a former Trump campaign aide.

Still, Trump supporters say they are willing to step in to help the White House deflect any accusations from Comey.

If we feel he crosses a line, well fire back, said Ed Rollins, chief strategist of Great America PAC, the political arm of the group airing the Comey ad.

Rollins and others with Great America say they plan to stand up for Trump in cable appearances Thursday.

He said the White House has improved its communications with surrogates, starting with the presidents recent trip abroad, and frequently holds call-ins to discuss what story lines theyd like to push.

I assume theyll do the same thing with this, Rollins said of the Comey hearing. However, he added, he had not heard from the White House about the Comey hearing as of midday Tuesday.

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Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report.

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Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC and Julie Bykowicz at http://twitter.com/bykowicz
By Dan McKay

SANTA FE  New Mexico's anti-domestic violence programs are fragmented and uncoordinated, putting victims at risk, according to a report presented to state lawmakers Tuesday.

Seventeen types of agencies or groups are involved  across all levels of government  and there's no evidence that a statewide Domestic Violence Leadership Commission has met in years, despite its establishment in state law, the report says.

The findings are outlined in a 55-page report compiled by nonpartisan evaluators working for the Legislative Finance Committee.

Emily Martin of the state Children, Youth and Families Department  which oversees about $12 million in programs that address domestic violence  said the report underscores how complex the problem is.

No government agency can handle it alone, she said, but her department is committed to improving coordination, holding offenders more accountable and providing consistent services to victims.

There's no easy answer or fix to this issue, Martin told lawmakers who attended Tuesday's meeting of the Legislative Finance Committee at the Capitol.

Rep. Antonio Moe Maestas, an Albuquerque Democrat and former domestic violence prosecutor, said it's often difficult to get offenders to realize they've broken the law because they may have grown up in violence-filled households themselves.

He called the LFC report eye-opening. It's very troubling.

Among the findings of the report:

 There's little evidence that a 52-week intervention program that some offenders are required to attend is effective.

 State law doesn't require domestic violence offenders' compliance with court orders to be monitored. Misdemeanor domestic violence offenders are not always held accountable under New Mexico's current community monitoring system, the report says.

 At least 17 types of agencies or groups are involved in responding to domestic violence, making it difficult to coordinate their work. This includes law enforcement, CYFD, courts, social service providers and schools.

 About 33 percent of women in New Mexico will be the victim of domestic violence at some point in their lifetimes, or about 8 percentage points higher than a national average for intimate partner violence. There are about 10,000 domestic violence arrests a year in New Mexico, but there are almost certainly tens of thousands of more domestic violence incidents that don't result in arrest, the report says.

 The state should consider approving a pilot project that would seek to establish a comprehensive, interagency procedure to respond to domestic violence and ensure offenders are monitored afterward.

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New Mexico pinball wizards Tim and Kristin Mezel are helping turn pinball machines across the globe into bright, colorful works of art.

The couple, who founded Rio Rancho-based Mezel Mods in 2013, use 3-D printers to make decorative accessories for pinball machines that they ship to collectors and arcade owners around the world who want to spice up their games with brightly-lit toys and figurative molds generally unavailable anywhere else.

The company, called Mezel Mods, is one of 41 businesses to graduate from the Albuquerque-based Creative Startups business accelerator since 2014, and many are now actively building their operations in New Mexico and elsewhere.

Some, like Mezel Mods, report significant success.

Were selling accessories all over the world to pinball collectors who want to upgrade their games to make them look better, more attractive and more exciting, said Kristin Browning-Mezel. Were shipping more than 200 accessory orders per month now, and we have a re-seller in Germany partnering with us.

Like Mezel Mods, a lot more creative startups could soon be building businesses here and elsewhere, thanks to aggressive expansion by Creative Startups in New Mexico and in other states and countries.

The accelerator is simultaneously recruiting for four different programs scheduled for this summer and fall. That includes a new cohort in Albuquerque, another one in North Carolina where an affiliate began using the Creative Startups curriculum last year, and a first-ever cohort in Kuwait that will begin in November.

Creative Startups is also recruiting students for a new, credit-earning boot camp, the Lobo Lab, that will launch in August in partnership with the University of New Mexicos Innovation Academy. About a dozen students have already signed up, said Innovation Academy director Robert DelCampo.

Its a super-intensive course thats a cross between a boot camp and an accelerator program, DelCampo said. Students will take new startup ideas and actually stand them up as businesses by the end of the semester. Potentially viable startups will come out of it.

Creative Startups is also in advanced stages of program development in Portugal and Malaysia.

The accelerators rapid expansion contrasts with similar programs elsewhere, many of which are struggling because of market saturation, said program co-founder Alice Loy. The accelerators that continue to thrive are generally more focused on specific industries, rather than grouping all types of startups into a single program.

There are too many accelerators now that are just too much the same, so the model is shifting more to focus on specific industries, Loy said. Creative Startups has

always been based on a strategic focus on the creative industries, and that has helped us weather the market contraction.

Meanwhile, some Creative Startup graduates are opening brick-and-mortar locations in New Mexico. The most successful to date is Meow Wolf, which is thriving with its interactive art exhibit in Santa Fe.

Native Realities, which graduated from Creative Startups last year, opened its first store in Downtown Albuquerque this month to sell Native America-focused comic books, novels and toys. And Mezel Mods launched a new arcade business, 505 Pinball, in Rio Rancho in February that it now rents out for parties and other events.
We can help you make sense of the agribusiness industry, extending from chemicals and fertilizers used as inputs into agriculture, to the commodities, food and by-products that are an output to farming, with policy and regulation applied at every step of the value chain.
NORKA, a Non-Resident Keralites' Affairs Department, say that they have been in constant touch with many families in Qatar and as of now there is no panic.

By Rohini Swamy: There are over 6 lakh Indians working in Qatar of which nearly 3 lakh are Malayalees. The recent decision by Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain and Egypt to snap ties with Qatar has pressed a panic button among several families who live in India.

The gas-rich Qatar has been one of the major destinations of Indians to find jobs. People are hoping that the present crisis will be short term and the situation will return to normalcy. Many have been told that they should watch the situation for a few more days, if it lasts more than a week, then it could termed as a severe crisis.

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NORKA, a Non-Resident Keralites' Affairs Department, say that they have been in constant touch with many families in Qatar and as of now there is no panic.

In a letter written to Kerala Chief Minister Pinrayi Vijayan they said: "We do appreciate that it is a complex situation and we are in no doubt that the union government will come out with the most appropriate diplomatic and geo-political stance in this regard taking into consideration all aspects and put in place a robust mechanism for addressing all the concerns."

Speaking to India Today, NORKA CEO K Raghavan said that there is no need for panic. "We are working very closely with the MEA," he said.

India Today spoke to some families whose relatives are in Qatar. Anees, a resident of Kannur said there are lakhs of people working in Qatar. If the situation is not resolved several Malayalees will have to return to India. Since several products are imported from Dubai, this crisis may be serious as business will be severely affected.

A travel agent Ayub said that there has been no problem as yet but since this is the time when people return to Qatar to work after Ramzan, people may have to cough up tickets which would be priced two times higher.

Qatar Airways cancelled all its flights to Saudi Arabia following the diplomatic crisis. The airline company has daily flights to the state capital Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode and another 11 weekly flights to Kochi.

The impact of the diplomatic crisis will affect flyers as they would have to skip the Hamid International Airport if they want to reach other Gulf states.

Also read:

Gulf crisis: Kerala CM Vijayan writes to Sushma Swaraj, raises concerns about Indians living in Qatar

Also watch:

Yemen joins list of nations that have cut ties with Qatar

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Google has recently launched the Be Internet Awesome program, an initiative that aims to help parents and teachers alike in instilling the sense of positivity and kindness among online youth. The initiative is spearheaded by Google and its three partners  the Family Online Safety Insititute, Internet Keep Safe Coalition, and ConnectSafely. In an effort to develop the youths idea of digital security and citizenship, the entire Be Internet Awesome program focuses on five key lessons which should teach children to share content online with care, exercise critical thinking when judging the veracity of content, be aware of online privacy and secrecy, show kindness over the Internet, and speak about certain issues that cause doubt among themselves.

In order to achieve the programs goals, Google and its partners developed games, tools, and content that should help parents and educators in teaching kids how to properly behave online. For teachers, Google has developed a classroom curriculum that will show students real-life examples of Internet-related problems and how to correctly deal with them. For example, Googles curriculum contains lessons on how to identify and properly deal with phishing websites and emails. To further ensure that the Google-developed curriculum is compatible with what is already being used in schools, it has been certified by the International Society for Technology in Educations Standards for Students, the company said.

Outside the four corners of the classroom, Google has also collaborated with content creators to develop materials that will help parents and children alike to learn more about the Internet. The search company partnered with YouTubers like John Green, the Whats Inside? Family and MinutePhysics to develop a video series titled the #BeInternetAwesome Challenge. The ultimate goal of the video series is to make discussions about online safety fun. To increase the kids involvement in learning about online safety, a game named Interland has been developed in order to teach children the basic principles of being a good Internet citizen in a more creative manner. The came tasks kids to combat hackers, phishers, oversharers, and bullies in four different imaginary worlds. Altogether, Google, its partner organizations, parents, and educators alike are meant to use this initiative to work together and teach children on how to make smart decisions online.
Google and many other major companies such as Facebook, Amazon, and Microsoft are opposing President Donald Trumps stance on climate change. These are just some of the companies that are taking part in the We Are Still In initiative, an open letter to the international community and those involved in the Paris Agreement from US governors, mayors, business leaders, investors, and college leaders. The statement released today follows news last week that saw the US president withdraw support from the landmark Paris accord that was signed in December 2015 by many world leaders. The environmental agreement pertains to a global commitment to combat climate change, which would then lead to public health and economic benefits. It aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions that will limit the extent of global warming, with each country allowed to set their own emissions targets and strategies.

The move from the Trump administration to withdraw from the pact has prompted heavy criticism across the world. However, President Trump has previously described claims of climate change as hoaxes and said that the pact was damaging for American workers and to the economy of the US. Several state governors prompted the coalition behind the open letter that was submitted to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday by Mike Bloomberg, former New York City Mayor. The statement has so far been backed by nine states, hundreds of US city and county mayors, and hundreds of businesses and investors, and its still possible to register further names. All of these supporters have joined forces to reinforce the idea that the US should remain committed to climate action through carbon and energy targets and sustainability, despite the position taken by the president. Aside from Alphabet Inc.s Google, Apple, Intel, Adobe, Yahoo, and Twitter are a few more of the companies that have pledged support, and one of the aims is to submit an Americas Pledge emissions-cutting target to the UN. The statement refers to the announcement from the Trump administration as undermining the pact and being out of step with current feeling in the US. Furthermore, it states that there will be increased efforts from those participating in We Are Still In, so that the US still plays a major role in fighting climate change despite the absence of leadership from Washington.
The Google Photos Android app surpassed one billion downloads several days ago, as evidenced by its Google Play Store listing. The mobile photo management tool is Googles 22nd app to hit this major milestone, though its number of active users is significantly smaller than that. As recently revealed by Google Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai, Google Photos currently boasts around 500 million users on Android and iOS combined that are active on a monthly basis and are uploading 1.2 billion photos to the service each day. Pichai disclosed that figure at the latest iteration of the Google I/O developer conference that took place last month, indicating that the Mountain View, California-based Internet giant is looking to maintain that traction going forward.

While Google Photos is far from an only photo management solution on the Google Play Store, its popularity is largely driven by the services free cloud storage that allows each individual user to upload a significant volume of photos at no charge. This backup solution proved to be well-received among consumers and the Alphabet-owned company is now designing many of its new features and changes to complement that core functionality. Google Photos is also a part of the firms services that come pre-installed on a majority of devices running the Android operating system as per its license agreement that original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are required to sign, though its currently unclear to what exact degree did that privileged status help push the app into the hands of hundreds of millions of users.

Google Photos has been a major talking point at the aforementioned Google I/O 2017, with the tech giant stating that the app will be ennobled with many new technologies going forward. Googles artificial intelligence (AI) endeavors led to some of those technologies that are currently enabling Google Photos to make archiving suggestions, recognize individual people, and automatically create slideshows and galleries. The latest update to the app that started rolling out last week also introduced the ability to quickly create and print photo books, in addition to debuting a simple archiving functionality. While its still unclear how is Google planning to monetize its app in the long term, more information on its efforts to do so may follow shortly.
The Nubia Z17 was released last week in China as the worlds first smartphone to incorporate Qualcomms new Quick Charge 4.0+ technology. However, it appears that this particular achievement has been hindered by Nubia itself; according to Chinese media outlets, the Nubia Z17 does not contain a Quick Charge 4.0+ charger inside the box, effectively negating any benefits users may have had from Qualcomms latest charging solution.

Quick Charge 4.0+ was introduced by Qualcomm last week as an enhanced version of Quick Charge 4.0, and the company confirmed that the technology will be adopted by smartphone manufacturers starting mid-2017. It so happened that the Nubia Z17 was the first smartphone with Quick Charge 4.0+ onboard to hit the shelves in China, and the smartphones launch was mentioned by Qualcomm itself in its announcement of the new charging tech. However, sources in China recently revealed that the Nubia Z17 includes a Quick Charge 3.0 charger in the retail box, as opposed to a new charger supporting Quick Charge 4.0+ or at least Quick Charge 4.0. Moreover, there dont seem to be any Quick Charge 4.0+ chargers available for purchase separately, meaning that while the Nubia Z17s internal hardware does support Qualcomms latest fast charging technology, there is currently no way to take advantage of it. It remains to be seen whether Nubia will release a Quick Charge 4.0+ charger eventually, or if accessory manufacturers will launch such devices before the Chinese phone maker does.

As for what Nubia Z17 owners miss out on until an updated charger will be available, Quick Charge 4.0+ revolves around three main additions to Quick Charge 4.0, namely Dual Charge, Intelligent Thermal Balancing, and Advanced Safety Features. Qualcomm claims that a device incorporating all of those features has the potential of charging up to 15-percent faster and be 30-percent more efficient compared to devices supporting only Quick Charge 4.0. The Nubia Z17 was launched last week featuring a 5.5-inch IPS LCD display with a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 system-on-chip, 6GB / 8GB of RAM coupled with 64GB / 128GB of onboard storage, and a dual camera setup comprised of a 23-megapixel sensor and a 12-megapixel one, in addition to featuring a 16-megapixel front camera and a 3,200mAh battery.
Samsung Electronics on Tuesday started updating its Bixby artificial intelligence (AI) assistant with support for short voice commands, as reported by media outlets in South Korea. The newly added functionality is currently exclusive to the companys home country seeing how thats the only market where Bixbys voice-enabled component is available as of this writing, with the Seoul-based tech giant promising that Bixby Voice will launch in the United States and other territories later this year.

The functionality itself works in a relatively simple manner and is powered by deep learning algorithms that are said to be one of Bixbys strongest suits, as the digital companion was initially promised to provide a highly personal user experience by learning various habits and speech patterns of its users. Short voice commands are partially based on the latter, with Bixby allowing consumers to utter more succinct versions of previously used commands in order to accomplish identical goals. In a statement provided to Korean ETNews, a Samsung official explained how the new functionality works in conjunction with the recently added support for voice-enabled payments, revealing that users can simply say account balance to check their funds, provided that they have already pronounced the full command at least once in the past. All standard security checks still apply for this method of accessing personal information through Bixby Voice, Samsung confirmed.

While voice-enabled payments likely wont be available outside of South Korea anytime soon due to the fact that they rely on verifying ones identity for payments via an iris scanner  something thats currently only possible in the Far Eastern country  support for short voice commands will presumably debut in the United States and other markets that are set to receive Bixby in the future. Samsungs digital helper has been touted as one of the main selling points of the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus but the service has yet to gain any significant traction in the West, likely due to the fact that it has yet to be updated with a voice-enabled component and presently cannot compete with the likes of Amazons Alexa and the Google Assistant. While the largest phone maker in the world initially promised to launch an American English variant of Bixby by the end of spring, recent reports suggest that the company may miss that release window as Bixby is still struggling with English.
Wall Street Journal articles now rank lower in Google search results after the publication prevented Google users from reading an article on the website for free. Wall Street Journal makes most of its income from the fees it collects from its subscribers, which currently number at around 2.2 million, and is supplemented by the advertising income it gains on the limited number of free pages it provides to readers coming from Google and social networking sites. However, the company behind the publication, News Corp, observed several Google users take advantage of the free articles provided to them by deleting the cookies stored in their browsers and in turn allowing them to read the Wall Street Journal articles for free. This behavior by some users may have negatively affected the rate of new subscriptions to the publication, which prompted its publishers to stop providing free articles for individuals arriving from search results.

However, this move by the Wall Street Journal negatively impacted the search rankings of the publication. The algorithm currently being used by Google reads articles that are freely available on the internet. Once the algorithm is prevented from reading the entirety of the article, the website is penalized through lowering the search rankings. For the Wall Street Journal, the lower search rankings resulted in a 44 percent drop in the number of readers coming from Google Search.

Given the tendency of Googles search algorithm to penalize paid websites in search ranking, many publications resorted to allowing Google users to read at least one article for free. Google views this as a solution that is beneficial to the publishers, content creators, and the search company. In this scenario, the search rankings of the publications remain high, Google garners a portion of the free articles advertising revenue, and the publications may garner new subscriptions once users hit the limit of free articles. However, there are other publications that do not agree with Googles view on the situation, especially since the search giant and the publishers do not share the same business interests. As an alternative to providing Google users free articles, some publications utilize social media to increase readership and subscription numbers. This is essentially applicable to websites with niche markets where potential readers tend to be in the same social circle. In the case of Wall Street Journal, this method has been successful in mitigating the impact of the reduction in views resulting from the lower Google search rankings, with social media visits from Facebook and Twitter up by around 34 percent. The publication was also able to increase its subscriber numbers after its decision to bar Google users from reading articles.
Qatar, which has a population of 2.5 million people, is largely dependent on imports of foodstuffs to meet its needs.

By Reuters: A decision by the Arab world's strongest powers to break off diplomatic ties with Qatar is already hitting food imports into the small Gulf state with reports that Qataris are beginning to stockpile supplies, trade sources say.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain cut relations with Qatar on Monday over alleged support for Islamists and Iran in a coordinated move. Yemen, Libya's eastern-based government and the Maldives joined in later - opening up one of the worst rifts in years.

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Qatar, which has a population of 2.5 million people, is largely dependent on imports of foodstuffs to meet its needs.

Trade sources, who declined to be named, said the UAE and Saudi Arabia had stopped exports of white sugar to Qatar.

Qatar is dependent on the UAE and Saudi Arabia for its white sugar imports, which are estimated at less than 100,000 tonnes annually. Consumption is traditionally higher during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which is currently being observed.

"Supplies of sugar have been stopped and there is no indication when they could resume," one Middle East based trade source said.

Qatar's cabinet said earlier on Monday it was still open for trade. "The Council would like to reassure Qatar's citizens and residents that the government had already taken the necessary measures and precautions to ensure that normal life continues, and that there will be no negative impact caused by the latest measures," the Qatari government said in a statement.

"In addition, sea ports will continue to be open for trade, and air space will continue to be open for trade, transport and air travel, with the exception of the countries that have closed their borders and air space."

THOUSANDS OF TRUCKS WITH FOOD STUCK AT BORDER

There were already signs of emerging difficulties. Two Middle East trade sources pointed to thousands of trucks, carrying food supplies, stuck at the border with Saudi Arabia which were unable to cross over into Qatar.

Eva Tobaji, an expat resident in Doha, told Reuters after returning from shopping, "People have stormed into the supermarket hoarding food, especially imported ones. It's chaos I've never seen anything like this before."

Trade sources pointed to the likelihood of food shortages growing until there was a resolution of the crisis. About 80 percent of Qatar's food requirements are sourced via bigger Gulf Arab neighbours, such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

"There will be a crisis for them maybe in the next month or so until they figure out their supply chain," another Middle East trade source said. "The situation as it now stands is like a siege."

Saudi Arabia's Ports Authority notified shipping agents on Monday not to receive vessels carrying Qatari flags or ships that are owned by Qatari companies or individuals.

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The move followed a similar step by the UAE port of Fujairah, which issued a notice barring all vessels carrying Qatari flags and any destined for or arriving from Qatari ports.

The world's no. 1 container shipping line Maersk said on Monday it was still open for business to and from Qatar, adding that it was following developments closely.

Qatar has denounced its diplomatic isolation as based on lies about it supporting militants. It has often been accused of being a funding source for Islamists, as has Saudi Arabia.

Iran, long at odds with Saudi Arabia and a behind-the-scenes target of the move, blamed U.S. President Donald Trump's visit last month to Riyadh.

Trade sources said it was possible that Qatar could look at other sources of food from Asia and also Iran if the diplomatic crisis was not resolved.

Reza Nourani, chairman of Iran's Union of Exporters of Agricultural Products, was quoted by the semi-official Fars news agency as saying that Tehran could export food to Qatar by sea, which could reach the country in 12 hours.

"We can export any kind of agricultural products and food from Iranian ports of Bandar Abbas, Bandar Lengeh and Bushehr," Nourani told Fars, which is believed to be affiliated to Iran's hardline Revolutionary Guards.

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Also read:

Saudi Arabia shuts Al Jazeera channel in Qatar row

Qatar Airways suspends all flights to Saudi Arabia

WATCH | Yemen joins list of nations that have cut ties with Qatar

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Across several districts, the common people of Rajasthan have been encountering one problem after another with little help coming forth. Their woes have been compounded as high temperature has been adding to their existing sets of problems

By Dev Ankur Wadhawan: The desert state of Rajasthan has been reeling under severe spell of dry heat. The unrelenting weather has made daily lives of common people akin to living hell in the state.

Across several districts, the common people of the state have been encountering one problem after another with little help coming forth. Their woes have been compounded as high temperature has been adding to their existing sets of problems. Here is a brief on the crisis in several parts of Rajasthan:

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DHOLPUR

The government had given directions to ensure proper arrangements for shade, water and medical kit at the workplace of MNREGA labourers. But despite the sever heat conditions, in Rajasthan's Dholpur district, labourers have been slugging it out without any proper arrangements. The MGNREGA workers have not been provided with any facility by the district administration. They have to work hard under scorching heat when the temperature hovers around 47 degree celsius without any respite coming forth.

Basanti Devi, Munni Devi and Bhikam Singh have been working under MGNREGA scheme. They lament that the temperature begins to rise from the morning itself and their working equipments become hot as well due to which they become difficult to handle. MGNREGA labourers have demanded that they be provided early leave and arrangements for shade and drinking water.

UDAIPUR

In Rajasthan's Udaipur district, residents of Eklavyanagar village in Salumbar area are unaware whether their hardships will end anytime soon. June heat has brought with it added misery for them.

It has added to the persistent water crisis that the villagers of this district have to suffer year after year. This village is located 35 kms away from Jaisamand lake which is known for its sweet water. However, the village has only one hand pump which can supply potable water. However, as its located near the local cemetery, the villagers are scared of going near it. There is no drinking water project at present there. As the administration did not make drinking water available in the locality, the villagers have to pool in their own money to fund delivery of water through a tanker which comes only once a week. A villager laments, "We people are fetching water from different places. There is no arrangement in this village. People are not getting drinking water."

As per the villagers, the authorities have been made aware of the problems that persist in this village. But despite the crisis situation, nothing has been done to alleviate the problems of the villagers.

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BIKANER

In Rajasthan's Bikaner district, people have been made to suffer for every drop of water. The Bajrang Dhora area in Rajasthan's Bikaner district has 800 families. But there is no source of drinking water neither has the administration ensured water pipe lines are made available to provide water for the daily needs of the villagers. Long queues are easily visible as scores have to travel long distances to fetch even a pot of water.

In the afternoon heat, the sun does not differentiate. It comes down heavily. Be it young children, women, old or infirm, everyone has to cover long distances to get to that elusive water to quench their thirst. Much of their day gets spent in getting to arrange the water to meet their needs. As per the village sarpanch, "During this hot weather, water being not available is no less than a punishment."

DHOLPUR

In Rajasthan's Dholpur district, the home town of Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, the condition is not any better. There is a severe drinking water crisis existing in the villages. People of as many as 40 villages have been in the process of migrating alongwith their livestock. Those who decided to stay back are not getting any respite.

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Its ironical that the village, which is located hardly 10 kms away from the Chambal river, has been suffering in this manner. Political apathy and administrative neglect has resulted in the unenviable condition that the village finds itself in.

Some of the villages from where the villagers migrate because of the several water crisis include Galori, Dagripura, Gopalpura, Sirona, ballapura, Dompura, Gunraich, etc. The villagers claim at this time, there is water shortage due to which they go and live with their relatives and return to their villages when it rains. As per Sukhram Kohli, former BJP MLA from Basedi village, "There is a severe problem of water in the Dang area during summers and there is no alternative as well."

ALSO READ:

Khaulta Punjab: Bathinda India's hottest city, 3 other cities above 45 degrees

Heat wave kills 10 in Uttar Pradesh; simmering Delhi looks forward to rain: 10 facts

Odisha: Heat wave, water scarcity claim 34 lives; mercury rises to 47 degree

At least 161 people have died due to heat stroke in Telangana

ALSO WATCH: Severe heat wave grips North India

--- ENDS ---

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Rani Mukerji's outfit is proof that she never got over the '90s; though we wish she had.

By Shivani Chhabra: Actress Rani Mukerji is becoming increasingly gorgeous by the day, and it warms our hearts every time she steps out looking like a total stunner in classy sarees.

While we haven't been able to stop swooning over the beauty that she is, her fashion game hasn't been exactly marvellous, and we had sort of made peace with that, until she appeared in the kind of ensemble that she did.

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The dusky diva was spotted in a white, asymmetrical top with a plunging neckline--the only decent aspect of her outfit. Rani teamed up the white top with a pair of shabby-looking straight trousers that would have fit right in an early-'90s movie. The fit and structure of those pants is so unflattering, we wish she'd have left those pants back in the '90s, where they belong.

Picture courtesy: Instagram/afashionistadiaries

If you haven't shut your eyes already at the sight of these oversized, tan-coloured trousers, take a look at her black shoes and join us in our misery.

Also Read: You cannot handle how hot Priyanka Chopra is looking in this black dress

We're actually trying to figure out where Rani even bought those black peep-toe wedges. But okay, we'll give her the benefit of the doubt, she's a busy human being, maybe she was in a hurry and didn't realise what she was putting on.

To add insult to injury was a studded Gucci belt that looked really odd on this ensemble, thanks to its glimmer and purposelessness.

Also Read: Shruti Haasan really needs to do something about her fashion sense. Really

Like the dress wasn't enough, Rani covered her face with a pair of oversized, mismatched sunnies.

Rani, you're beautiful. That outfit, however, is not. Try to keep up with the times, please?

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By Press Trust of India: Kabul/New Delhi, Jun 6 (PTI) A rocket landed today inside the India House, the countrys embassy in Kabul where the Indian ambassador and many other mission staffers stay, but there were no reports of any injury.

According to Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan Manpreet Vohra, the rocket landed in the compound of the embassy building in the morning but there were no injuries as it fell away from the people there.

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The envoy asserted that the attack will not deter India from continuing to help the Afghan people, who are friends of India, and support the war-torn countrys economic reconstruction.

Vohra said they had reports that certain attempts will be made by some terrorist groups, and todays incident "may be its a part of that". He added that terror incidents have increased in the recent weeks and months, including in Kabul.

"There have been attacks in the past on our compounds here. I wouldnt call it a precise attack on my compound as these are rudimentary rockets and only after an investigation, I may able to make a judgement on what might be the possible target," he told a TV channel.

The attack comes amid extremely tight security in the capital following last weeks deadly explosions that claimed more than 150 lives, and coincides with the launch of the Kabul Process meeting this morning.

Representatives from at least 23 countries, including India, are participating in the meeting aimed at establishing peace in the country. PTI PYK ASK ABH AKJ ABH

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Kemp Strang has appointed Kevin Pringle as partner and Ivan Oshry consultant in its Sydney office, bolstering the firms dispute resolution and corporate teams.Pringle, who will join Kemp Strangs dispute resolution team, was most recently a partner at Gadens , which in December completed its merger with Dentons . Oshry, who spent nearly nine years at his own law firm, joins Kemp Strangs corporate team.Michael Joseph, Kemp Strang chair of partners, said the appointments strengthen two key divisions at the firms Sydney office and demonstrate the firms focus on providing senior counsel for clients.Oshry is an expert in the investment banking and financial sector, having practised corporate law for nearly 30 years, Joseph said. A specialist in mergers and acquisitions, private equity, and capital raisings, Oshry has led many corporate transactions and advised many public and large private companies on both local and international deals.Pringle has extensive experience in insolvency, banking, and commercial litigation, Joseph said. With a diverse legal background in disputes, mediations, litigation, conciliations, and alternative dispute resolution, he is expected to enhance the firms disputes resolution team particularly in the banking and financial sectors.The appointments follow Kemp Strangs January appointment of Rodd Peters, Tony O'Reilly and Douglas Linnette as consultants
Law firms are among a wide range of businesses that may find their brands being used without permission in China.At least three global law firms have found their names being used in China due to the countrys first-to-register trademark system and the challenging route to resolve others using their brand. Norton Rose Fulbright and Osborne Clarke are all registered to a technology company called Qinhuangdao Hongshun and a domain registry check finds that the company lists the administrative contact for squirepattonboggs.net as [email protected] The Law Society Gazette has highlighted the issue and Norton Rose Fulbright told them that the issue has been resolved. The domain norton-rose-fulbright.com domain does now show as registered to the law firm and diverts to its official website.However, Squires said that it was aware of the issue and was working on a solution and to minimize any unlikely confusion this illegitimate activity could cause in that market.Lawyers from Herbert Smith Freehills in Brisbane and Sydney have advised LaSalle Funds Management on the sale of two retail centres in Sydney to Aventus Retail Property.The $436 million deal for Home Hub Castle Hill and Home Hub Marsden Park, is significant for Sydneys metropolitan retail market and represented a weighted average capitalisation rate of 5.60 per cent.The HSF team was led by Brisbane partner Kerry Heilbronn and consultant David Stitt, assisted by Sydney-based senior associate Anna Williams.Global law firm Linklaters has reached carbon neutral status having invested in a cookstove project in Ghana to offset its unavoidable carbon emissions from its operations.The firm has reduced its carbon footprint by 30 per cent compared to 2010, cut carbon emissions from waste by 76 per cent and sources 65 per cent of its electricity from renewable supplies.
This big blue planet we live on is as culturally diverse as it gets for us human beings. And in the world of automotive marketers, thats a bit of a problem. The Mitsubishi Pajero is probably the best case in point.

16 photos
In 2015, Tesla's Fremont plant was said to have generated injury rates that were 31 percent higher than the industry average, with almost double the number of serious injuries. Since the report came out, some voices have questioned its soundness while Tesla restated the fact that it plans "to have as close to zero injuries as humanly possible and to become the safest factory in the auto industry."Of course, the health and physical integrity of the company's employees is a very touchy subject, so the CEO couldn't afford to just shove everything under the rug and hope the storm would pass on its own. Not when there's already some unrest regarding the unionization of the Fremont workers.Departing from his preferred communications channel, Twitter, Elon Musk wrote an email to all of the company's employees, reassuring them about how seriously work safety is taken at Tesla. He wrote: No words can express how much I care about your safety and wellbeing. It breaks my heart when someone is injured building cars and trying their best to make Tesla successful.Going forward, Ive asked that every injury be reported directly to me, without exception. Im meeting with the safety team every week and would like to meet every injured person as soon as they are well, so that I can understand from them exactly what we need to do to make it better. I will then go down to the production line and perform the same task that they perform.This is what all managers at Tesla should do as a matter of course. At Tesla, we lead from the front line, not from some safe and comfortable ivory tower. Managers must always put their teams safety above their own. (via Electrek Nobody in their right mind would expect Musk to actually go through with it. It's not that he's not capable of a stunt like this, but he simply lacks the time. With the Model 3 just around the corner, things picking up for the Boring Company and SpaceX always requiring some of his attention, you do question when he even finds the time to sleep.Besides, showing up on the production line and lifting something a few times isn't sufficient. Most injuries were provoked by the repetition of a certain movement over the course of days, if not weeks. That part is obviously nothing more than a PR flick, albeit a well written one. Much like the one he sent to Grohmann Engineering employees after Tesla acquired the German company:Everyone will have equal access to parking, eating the same tables, and there will be no management offices. I am convinced that managers should work at the forefront, in the same work environment as the entire team. Even though I run the company myself, I still do not have my own office and often moved my workplace to the most challenging area in the factory and slept on the factory floor when there was a real crisis. Managers should always take care of their team before they take care of themselves  the supervisor is there to serve his team  not the other way round.At least that sorts out the sleeping enigma.
The Spaniards chose the Sahara desert for this adventure, and they published a few photos of the trip to go with the press release. For those of you who might not know that much about the Sahara, it is a grueling place that spans between Morocco and Algeria.It comes with rocky terrain, extreme temperatures, sand storms, and massive dunes. One of them is 22 km (13.7 miles) long, and it has a width of five km (3.1 miles). Its ridges exceed 150 meters in height, and the route is known to Moroccans and other people who have crossed this treacherous area.If the dunes, sand storms, and rocks were not already an issue, the desert also has outside temperatures that range from below zero degrees Celsius during the night and over 50 during the day. The difference is challenging for any vehicle, and SEAT said the Leon X-Perience handled it without any concern.The Spanish crossover also met the Scirocco, but not the one made by Volkswagen. Some of you already know this, but VWs coupe is named after a south-eastern wind, which is common to this area. It can carry dust particles that only measure one micron, which is one-thousandth of a millimeter.Just like its rival manufacturers, SEAT took upon itself to ensure that the passenger compartment is airtight and watertight, and that not a single particle of dust will get inside the cockpit.Cabin filters have become so advanced at their role these days that the air will be cleaner inside a car than outside thanks to the technologies implemented.Last year, SEAT managed to register the highest ever operational profit in the companys history, with a result of 143 million euros thanks to the sale of almost 410,000 units.
Sixteen general aviation advocacy groups signed on to a letter on Monday (PDF) opposing President Trumps plan to turn the FAA into a private nonprofit corporation. Dismantling the current system will devastate GA, while not accomplishing the desired goals of efficiency and technological improvements, the letter says. Today, the U.S. air traffic control system is the best in the world, moving more aircraft, more safely and efficiently, than any other country. Working with Congress and the FAA, aviation stakeholders have been able to ensure that our system operates for the public benefit, providing access for all stakeholders to airports, heliports and airspace, and encouraging competition and innovation. The letter says big airlines are pushing for the new funding model, but the GA groups say they have seen similar systems in other countries and they are not good for GA.

The letter concludes: We respectfully request that you provide ample opportunity for all stakeholders and citizens to carefully review, analyze and debate any proposed legislation changing the governance and funding for air traffic control. The groups signing the letter are: Air Care Alliance, Aircraft Electronics Association, AOPA, Citation Jet Pilots, Commemorative Air Force, EAA, GAMA, Helicopter Association International, International Council of Air Shows, National Agricultural Aviation Association, National Association of State Aviation Officials, National Air Transportation Association, NBAA, Recreational Aviation Foundation, U.S. Parachute Association, and Veterans Airlift Command.
David Rank, who was serving as charge d'affaires (Acting U.S. Ambassador) in China, resigned from his post over Trump's decision to pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate pact. A State Dept. official tells Axios Rank "made a personal decision," adding that the dept. thanks him for his "years of dedicated service."

Rank was responsible for delivering official notice to the Chinese that the U.S. was pulling out of the deal, and he declined to do so, telling colleagues in a speech he could not in good conscience as "a parent, a patriot and a Christian" play a role carrying out Trump's wishes to withdraw, per The Washington Post.

Rank was a career foreign service officer since 1990 and had been serving in Beijing when China and the U.S. originally made commitments to the deal.
Russian air defence systems detected a US B-52 strategic bomber at around 1000 Moscow time as it was flying over neutral waters parallel to the Russian border.

By Reuters: Russia scrambled a Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jet today to intercept a US B-52 strategic bomber which it said was flying close to its border over the Baltic Sea, Russia's Defence Ministry said.

Russian air defence systems detected the bomber at around 1000 Moscow time as it was flying over neutral waters parallel to the Russian border, the ministry said in a statement.

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"The Russian Su-27 crew, having approached at a safe distance, identified the aircraft as an American B-52 strategic bomber and escorted it" until such time as it changed course and flew away from the border area, the ministry said.

Russia said the Su-27 had been scrambled from its Baltic Fleet air defence unit which is based in Kaliningrad.

The B-52 "Stratofortress," a long-range nuclear-capable bomber, is one of the most recognisable symbols of the Cold War and entered service in the 1950s.

In another sign of Moscow's unease over NATO's proximity to its borders, Russia also scrambled a MiG-31 jet fighter later on Tuesday to intercept a Norwegian patrol plane over the Barents Sea. Russia's Defence Ministry identified the plane as a P-3 Orion anti-submarine aircraft.

The Defence Ministry said the Norwegian plane had flown close to Russia's state border with its transponders switched off.

The Norwegian military confirmed the encounter and said it was "normal".

Also read:

US says Chinese Sukhoi-30 jets intercepted American radiation-sniffing plane

China in touch with Russia over India's NSG bid but no change in stance

Russia to supply S-400 missile system to India: Why Pakistan, China should worry

China says India-Singapore South China Sea drills 'should not hurt interests of other countries'

China installs rocket launchers on disputed South China Sea island, says report

Why the world is worried about this 'unstoppable' hypersonic Russian missile

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In the meeting at the White House today with Republican Congressional leaders, President Trump spent some time talking up his latest idea for the border wall. According to 3 people with direct knowledge of the meeting, Trump floated the idea that the wall could be covered in solar panels and the electricity generated used to pay for the cost.

Trump said his vision was a wall 40 feet to 50 feet high and covered with solar panels so they'd be "beautiful structures," the people said. The President said that most walls you hear about are 14 feet or 15 feet tall but this would be nothing like those walls. Trump told the lawmakers they could talk about the solar-paneled wall as long as they said it was his idea. One person cautioned that the President wasn't presenting the solar-paneled wall as the definite solution.

Where this idea might come from: A proposal to cover the wall with solar panels was among those submitted when the U.S. requested designs earlier this year, according to the AP. Companies winning contracts and asked to build prototypes may be announced this month.

What else was discussed:
6 June 2017 11:05 (UTC+04:00)

By Laman Ismayilova

Alat Free Trade Zone will make Baku Port more attractive for Turkey, said Ambassador Erkan Orzoral as he met Director General of Baku International Sea Trade Port Taleh Ziyadov.

President Aliyev signed a decree on 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.

Taleh Ziyadov informed the ambassador about the condition created at the Baku Port, Azertac reported.

The ambassador said Baku Port is a door which unites Turkey with Asia.

Free Trade Port project will give an important contribution to Azerbaijan`s economy. The importance of Baku Port will significantly increase following the opening of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project, he added.

The FTZ will be located within the grounds of the new port, covering an area of 100 hectares. Since the new port is being built at the major railway juncture connecting the North-South and the East-West railway lines in Azerbaijan, FTZ will also have rail access. Serving as a multimodal transit logistics hub, the new port and FTZ will become a major consolidation and distribution centre in Central Eurasia that provides a wide range of value added services.

Moreover, seeking to become the largest logistics zone in the Caspian region, the FTZ will offer comprehensive logistics services to its residents and international clients, serving as a major regional intermodal distribution hub. Taking into account that many manufacturers now prefer to put the final touches onto their products at the distribution centres, such as FTZs nearby consumer markets, the provision of value added logistics services at the FTZ becomes an even more compelling prospect. This would not only generate significant non-oil trade for Baku Port at Alat and Azerbaijan in whole, but would establish it as a regional logistics leader with all three main services of import/export, transit shipment and logistics.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
6 June 2017 12:30 (UTC+04:00)

By Sara Israfilbayova

A bill on establishment of a Free Trade Zone (FTZ) in Azerbaijan will be submitted to the Milli Majlis [Parliament] until the end of the year, said Taleh Ziyadov, the Director General of the Baku International Sea Trade Port CJSC.

President Aliyev signed a decree on 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.

Ziyadov reminded that last year an agreement was signed with the UAE-based Dubai Port World (DP World), which completed all the works and submitted the bill to the government of the country.

"An important factor in the successful operation of the FTZ is the legal regime. The draft law was prepared and President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree establishing a task force headed by Vice-Speaker Valeh Alasgarov to coordinate it and conduct state expertise, he said.

The 11-man task force will work to speed up the establishment of free economic zones. Under the presidential order, the task force shall submit  within three months  a final draft law on the creation of free economic zones to the head of state.

Ziyadov further added that a meeting with Turkish Ambassador Ercan Ozoral, who visited the port in Alat and got acquainted with the conditions, proved more prospects.

A 100-percent growth in the number of trucks was recorded in 2016, and about 23,000 trucks were shipped from Turkey to Central Asia and back. In 4 months of this year, we sent more than 10,000 trucks in both directions. This is a very positive trend, and we hope that it will continue," Ziyadov stressed.

The Alat FTZ will make Baku Port more attractive for Turkey, said Ambassador Orzoral following the meeting.

The ambassador said Baku Port is a door which unites Turkey with Asia. Free Trade Port project will give an important contribution to Azerbaijan`s economy. The importance of Baku Port will significantly increase following the opening of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project, he added.

The free trade zone in Alat is expected to bring up to $1 billion just in the first few years. Special tax and customs policy, which will be pursued in the territory of the free trade zone will also stipulate further development and simplification of a number of procedures.

Moreover, seeking to become the largest logistics zone in the Caspian region, the FTZ will offer comprehensive logistics services to its residents and international clients, serving as a major regional intermodal distribution hub. Taking into account that many manufacturers now prefer to put the final touches onto their products at the distribution centres, such as FTZs nearby consumer markets, the provision of value added logistics services at the FTZ becomes an even more compelling prospect. This would not only generate significant non-oil trade for Baku Port at Alat and Azerbaijan in whole, but would establish it as a regional logistics leader with all three main services of import/export, transit shipment and logistics.

The FTZ can bring $57 billion to the countrys economy by 2040. In this regard, 60,000 additional work places can be opened in the country, said Khudayar Hasanli, the head of the Strategic Planning and Development Department of the Baku International Sea Trade Port CJSC.

Hasanli, talking to Milli.Az, stated that the new port of Baku was chosen for the FTZ for its favorable geographical location

Since the new port is being built at the major railway juncture connecting the North-South and the East-West railway lines in Azerbaijan, FTZ will also have rail access. Serving as a multimodal transit logistics hub, the new port and FTZ will become a major consolidation and distribution centre in Central Eurasia that provides a wide range of value added services., Hasanli said.

He noted that, the essence of the concept is to provide access to markets within a radius of 1000 km from Alat, which means having access to a market where 130 million people live. Hasanli stressed that for entrepreneurs will be created favorable conditions.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
6 June 2017 17:45 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

Azerbaijans State Committee on Property Issues held another auction for privatization of the state property on June 6.

The Committee announced that seven small state enterprises, six non-residential areas and four vehicles were privatized at the auction.

Four of the small enterprises are located in the Garadagh, Nasimi, Binagadi and Narimanov districts of Baku, and other three are in Ganja, Imishli and Guba regions of the country.

Some of the properties, including Metals and Food warehouse in Garadagh district and Petrol station No. 2 in Imishli region, were privatized together with the land.

As for the privatized non-residential areas, five of them are located in Yasamal, Khatai and Nasimi districts of Baku, and another one is in Ganja region. Their areas vary between 14.2 and 107.3 square meters.

The State Committee informed that the next auction on privatization of state property will take place on June 13. It will offer 88 state objects, including 20 joint stock companies, 40 small enterprises and 28 non-residential areas.

The third stage of privatization in Azerbaijan started in the framework of the presidential decree dated May 19, 2016. Under the decree, the acceleration of the state property privatization process has been defined as an important direction of the economic policy.

The portal for privatization  privatization.az, launched in July 2016, reflects all necessary information about the facilities, their addresses, location, and even initial cost and aims at facilitation of the process. The website is available in two languages - Azerbaijani and English. Why Azerbaijan is special section available on the website explains the reasons and advantages of investing in the country.

The privatization process is designed to attract both foreign and local investors, as well as improve the business environment of Azerbaijan.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
6 June 2017 10:44 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

Blogger Alexander Lapshin, who is under arrest in Azerbaijan, hopes that he will be released upon the court decision, his lawyer Eduard Chernin told Trend on June 5.

Chernin said he has met with Lapshin in the medical center of a detention facility in Baku.

Lapshin continues his medical treatment, the lawyer noted. The detention conditions are normal.

Chernin added that the investigation on the criminal case filed against Lapshin has been completed and now the case is being reviewed. Then the files will be sent to the court.

Blogger Lapshin, who owns citizenship of several countries, will stand trial in Baku for his illegal visits to the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan.

The blogger illegally visited Azerbaijan`s Armenia-occupied lands and now is charged under the articles 281.2 (appeals directed against state) and 318.2 (illegal border crossing) of the Criminal Code of Azerbaijan. He violated Azerbaijani laws on state border in April 2011 and October 2012.

Helped by his accomplices in the occupied territories, Lapshin paid a number of visits to Azerbaijan`s occupied lands, where he voiced support for "independence" of the illegal regime, and made public calls against Azerbaijan`s internationally recognized territorial integrity on April 6 and June 29, 2016.

The blogger was arrested in Minsk in late 2016 and transferred to Baku in February 2017.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
6 June 2017 11:53 (UTC+04:00)

The OSCE is expected to monitor the border of Azerbaijan and Armenia on June 7, Azerbaijans Defense Ministry reported on June 6.

The monitoring will be held under the mandate of the OSCE chairperson-in-office personal representative in Azerbaijans Alibayli village of Tovuz district.

On the Azerbaijani side, the monitoring will be held by field assistants of the OSCE chairperson-in-office personal representative Mikhail Olaru and Simon Tiller.

On the Armenian side, the monitoring will be carried out by field assistants of the OSCE chairperson-in-office personal representative Gennady Petrica and Martin Schuster.

Azerbaijan and Armenia for over two decades have been locked in conflict, which emerged over Armenian territorial claims. Since the 1990s war, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions. The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal, but they have not been enforced to this day.

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6 June 2017 15:57 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

A growing number of people keep joining the Armenia-Azerbaijan Platform for Peace, created by Azerbaijan to accelerate the process of peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict through the peoples diplomacy.

The Russian political analyst, editor of the Investigative Service of the Interstate socio-political television and radio magazine "World Community", Denis Korkodinov, announced about joining the Platform on June 6.

Peace, happiness and brotherhood among people  thats what we need in this world. I think it is important to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict only by peaceful means, the statement reads.

Korkodinov expressed his respect and support to territorial integrity and sovereignty of the conflicting countries. He also emphasized the necessity of implementation of resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council, as well as resolutions and decisions of different international organizations.

Also, I would like to note the importance of efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group regarding the settlement of the conflict, Korkodinov stated.

Korkodinov stated that the peace initiative is a very important step to resolve the conflict. Therefore, I make a statement about joining the Armenia-Azerbaijan Platform for Peace, which is aimed at a peaceful settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and restoring and preserving peace in the South Caucasus, he concluded.

The Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Platform was founded on December 6 in Baku 2016 by a group of Azerbaijani and Armenian public figures and peacekeepers. It was created to bring together representatives of civil society of the two countries for creating dialogue between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the sides to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

However, this initiative was negatively perceived by the Armenian government, which started persecution of those Armenians who joined the Platform.

Nevertheless, the Platform for Peace continues to gain strength as increasing number of people from around the world, including Armenia, joins it.

--

Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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6 June 2017 10:10 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on June 5 to appoint members of Supervisory Board of the State Fund for the Support of Mass Media Development under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Members of the Supervisory Board are:

From state bodies:

Jamaladdin Guliyev  Head of the Sector for Work with Information and Press Agencies of the Department for Public and Political Affairs at the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan

Rasim Hasanov  Head of the Group on Print Media of the Department for Human Rights and Public Relations at the Ministry of Justice of Azerbaijan

Intigam Humbatov  Head of the Sector for Work with Media and Public Relations of the Department for Information and Public Relations at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Azerbaijan

From media outlets:

Hasan Hasanov  Editor-in-Chief of Xalq Qezeti newspaper

Ilgar Huseynov  Director General of Trend Agency

Bahruz Guliyev - Editor-in-Chief of Ses newspaper

From journalist organizations:

Ramiz Askarov  Director General of Journalists Union of Azerbaijan

Ayaz Mirzayev  Chairman of the Azerbaijan Journalists Network Public Union

Avaz Rustamov  Chairman of Ruh Public Union for Protection of Journalists

The presidents new decree annuls the first part of the June 3, 2013 decree On Appointment of the Members of the Supervisory Board of the State Fund for the Support of Mass Media Development under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

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6 June 2017 10:09 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has congratulated King of Sweden Carl XVI Gustaf on the occasion of Swedens national holiday.

On behalf of the people of Azerbaijan and on my own behalf, it is my pleasure to extend my most sincere congratulations to you and through you to all the people of your country on the occasion of the national holiday of the Kingdom of Sweden, said President Aliyev in his congratulatory letter.

On this remarkable day, I wish you robust health and happiness, and the friendly people of Sweden lasting peace and prosperity, added the president.

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6 June 2017 11:15 (UTC+04:00)

By Sara Israfilbayova

Polish presidents chief of staff Krzysztof Szczerski held talks with Azerbaijans Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov in Warsaw on June 6.

The talks were held to prepare for an upcoming visit of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev to Poland, reads a message on the official website of the Polish president.

The sides are expected to discuss political, economic and cultural issues during the visit.

They will sign a joint declaration comprising a series of agreements that together will create a road map in relations between the two countries, the message reads.

Azerbaijan and Poland enjoy significant prospects to expand cooperation in the agricultural, industrial, ICT, tourism and energy sectors.

Poland is interested in the East-West and North-South transport corridors and seeks to cooperate with Azerbaijan in this regard. More than 20 companies of Poland operate in Azerbaijan, especially in trade, industry, transport, service, construction, insurance, banking and other fields.

Besides, Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR successfully cooperates with Polands ORLEN and LOTOS oil companies, as well as Przyjazn company of Poland within the Sarmatia International Pipeline Company.

Azerbaijans State Customs Committee reported that the trade turnover with Poland amounted to $18.202 million in January-April 2017.

Poland recognized the independence of Azerbaijan in 1991. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1992. The Embassy of Poland was established in Baku in 2001. The Embassy of Azerbaijan was established in Warsaw in 2004.

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By India Today Web Desk: Sara Ali Khan and Harshvardhan Kapoor are the latest lovebirds in B-Town, if rumours are to be believed. The buzz about Saif Ali Khan's daughter Sara and Harshvardhan being an item started some time ago, when they were reportedly spotted walking hand-in-hand into a restaurant and whispering sweet nothings to each other.

And the rumours only got stronger when they were spotted on a dinner date last month. While the two have remained tight-lipped about their relationship status, their public appearances say a lot. It was only last night that Sara was spotted with Harshvardhan yet again.

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The 21 year old, who attended a party at dad Saif's residence, was accompanied by the Mirzya actor. The two arrived together for the party. While Sara sported a casual look, Harshvardhan looked dapper in a white shirt.

On the work front, Harshvardhan will be seen next in Vikramaditya Motwane's Bhavesh Joshi, while Sara is prepping for her big entry in Bollywood. She has been roped in by director Abhishek Kapoor for his next film Kedarnath. Sara will romance Sushant Singh Rajput in her Bollywood debut.

(Photos: Yogen Shah)

ALSO READ | Jhanvi-Ishaan to Sara-Harshvardhan: The link-up rumours that made headlines

ALSO READ | Harshvardhan Kapoor clicked coming out of Sara Ali Khan's building in the wee hours

ALSO WATCH: Behind the scenes of Jacqueline-Harshvardhan's shoot for Harper's Bazaar Bride

--- ENDS ---
By Amina Nazarli

The third meeting of heads of anti-corruption organizations and ombudsmen of ECO Member States kicked off in Baku on June 6.

The event brought together representatives of prosecutor offices from Turkey, Iran, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, as well as members of the international organizations.

Azerbaijan`s Prosecutor General, Zakir Garalov, addressing the event, said fight against corruption is a priority for the country, and stressed the importance of holding this ECO event in Baku.

Azerbaijan has an effective mechanism to combat corruption, said prosecutor general.

Calling the ECO a bridge connecting various cultures, Garalov emphasized Azerbaijan's active participation in organizations events.

As a result of the Armenian occupation, over a million of Azerbaijanis became refugees and internally displaced, he said.

Garalov said the strengthening of anti-corruption measures is in the limelight.

He added that Azerbaijan has joined all conventions of international and regional levels, improved legislation in this area, and established a working mechanism.

Three national action plans have been realized in this area. The Commission on Combating Corruption and the Anti-Corruption Department under Prosecutor General are working in this area successfully. The role of ASAN Service in combating corruption, is highly important, which completely rules out corruption. ASAN Service is also offered to other countries on an international level. We have an effective mechanism to combat corruption, the prosecutor general said.

There are all the necessary conditions to achieve such higher goals as strengthening the economic ties and supporting the integration process of member countries of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), said Garalov.

He noted that there is huge need for political stability, moral solidarity and partnership of Muslim states.

All this makes it necessary to develop the economies of these countries, he added.

Azerbaijans Human Rights Commissioner Elmira Suleymanova also noted that Azerbaijan demonstrates strong political will in the fight against corruption.

She stressed that due to the reforms carried out in Azerbaijan in accordance with the law "On Fighting Corruption" a commission was created, and then the Department on the fight against corruption under the Prosecutor General of Azerbaijan was established.

Deputy Secretary General of the Economic Cooperation Organization Alavi Sabzevari thanked the Government of Azerbaijan for high-level hosting of the event and brought to the attention that Azerbaijan is one of the most active members of the ECO.

Speaking about the history and the way of development of the ECO, Sabzivari noted that the territory of the member countries of the organization covers over 8 million square kilometers. ECO, whose activities serve as an impetus for the development of a global society, has set itself a number of important goals for the next 25 years.

The Organization makes every effort to expand mutual cooperation with the aim of strengthening economic ties between the member countries of the organization. Anti-corruption measures play an important role in this process. Therefore, anti-corruption activity is one of the important directions in the activity of the ECO. Among the member states there is a rapid development in this area. Azerbaijan is particularly different in this respect. The country demonstrates a united and determined intention to fight corruption.

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6 June 2017 11:25 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the situation around Qatar during a telephone talk, the Kremlin's press service.

The telephone conversation took place on the initiative of the Turkish side.

"The two presidents discussed the developments around Qatar and called on all interested countries to engage in dialogue with a view to reaching a compromise for the sake of preserving peace and stability in the Persian Gulf area," the message said.

They emphasized that the grave crisis in the Middle East requires well-orchestrated efforts and close coordination of the international community in fighting the terrorist threat, according to the press service.

At the same time, separate issues of the bilateral cooperation have been discussed.

The presidents pointed out the successful work on full restoration of the Russian-Turkish trade and economic ties as well as the implementation of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline project.

The UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen announced about breaking their diplomatic relations with Qatar over Dohas support for the Muslim Brotherhood, and also its ties with Iran.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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6 June 2017 13:21 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

The conflict between the emirate of Qatar and its neighbors, primarily Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, has reached the boiling point to destabilize the situation in the Middle East even further.

Seven Arab countries including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain broke off diplomatic relations with one of the richest and most influential states of the world, accusing it of supporting ISIS, Al-Qaeda and other terrorists. They cut air, sea and land links and ordered Qatari officials and nationals stationed in their countries to return home.

Qatar denied allegations over its support to terrorism and extremism adding that the diplomatic rift was based on "baseless fabricated claims."

However, Qatar is not going to aggravate relations with neighbor countries by taking counter-action measures.

Major reasons of crisis

Each country has possibly its own reason for taking such a decision. For instance, Bahrain-Qatar had disputes in the 1980s over the Hawar Islands. More recently Bahrain has been accusing Qatar of encouraging the Bahraini Sunnis to migrate to Qatar. It should be noted that Saudi Arabia has great leverage over Bahrain.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt are critical of Qatars continued support for the Muslim Brotherhood (MB), a movement that they consider aims at spreading terror.

For Saudi Arabia as well, Qatars relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood (MB) might be an issue as it has also declared the MB as a terrorist organization. Qatars soft stance on Iran, Saudis arch-rival, is possibly the bigger issue for Saudi Arabia.

Actually, for years now, officials in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi have been angry over Qatar's rogue, activist foreign policy. Unlike neighboring Bahrain, for example, which largely supports the Saudi line, Qatar has diverged from other members in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Qatars independent policy and desire to gain bigger influence in the region might be another reason which angered its neighbors.

Trumps visit on the backdrop

The diplomatic conflict erupted two weeks after the visit of U.S. President Donald Trump to Saudi Arabia.

At the Arab-Islamic summit held in Riyadh on May 21 the U.S. president called for greater international isolation of Iran, accusing Tehran of financing terrorism and supporting the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria.

At the end of May, excerpts from the speech that was attributed to Emir of Qatar which said that "it would be unwise to have tense relations with Iran, which is a strong power and guarantor of stability in the region" appeared on the website of the Qatar News Agency (QNA).

Later, the Foreign Ministry of Qatar said that the site was hacked and "speech" was placed by hackers, however, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain found this refutation unconvincing.

Saudis and the U.A.E. who have closer ties with the U.S. under Trump are seeking to crush any opposition that could weaken a united front against Iranian influence in the Middle East. If Qatar resists agreeing with Saudis, that will further aggravate the situation in the region.

Possible outcomes of Qatar's isolation

Currently, Doha faces serious problems due to economic sanctions as it relies on Gulf neighbors for 80 percent of food imports. To deal with its economic isolation, Qatar will probably look for other friends. This turn may accelerate its relationship with Turkey and Iran, who have already said they are eager to help.

Ankara voiced readiness to help resolve the dispute, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said, while Iranian officials have offered to send food to Qatar by sea.

Meanwhile, friendlier Doha-Tehran links could impact Al-Thani's alliance with Washington. That will place the U.S. in a serious dilemma. The United States has major military bases in Qatar but at the same time, the country wants to maintain close ties with its ally Saudi Arabia.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
6 June 2017 16:29 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

Ties between NATO allies Germany and Turkey have been recently strained by a series of rows and Germany will decide on June 7 whether to withdraw troops deployed at Turkey's Incirlik Air Force Base.

Roughly 250 German troops are based at Incirlik to help in the fight against ISIS militants.

The decision might be approved by the Bundestag in mid-June, while Jordan was named as a possible alternative to the Incirlik Airbase. Media reports that representatives of the Bundeswehr were inspecting eight sites where German planes from Turkey could be relocated. Three air bases were visited in Jordan, three  in Kuwait, and two  in Cyprus.

Finding alternative to the Incirlik Air Base might not be easy for the West, especially for Germany, said Salih Yilmaz, an expert at the University of Ankara.

Yilmaz believes that the issue of relocation of German military to Cyprus is not so easy.

In the first place, in order to deploy the German Air Force in Cyprus, the permission from the UK and a number of other countries is required, he said.

Cyprus is not a NATO member and it does not belong to the coalition against ISIS, therefore Germany can possibly use two British bases in Cyprus - Akrotiri and Paphos. However, this is fraught with political complications - Cyprus is not a NATO member, but is part of the EU. Therefore, the attempt to involve the country in military operations against its will can create certain difficulties for Germany.

Yilmaz further said that there are also a number of obstacles for the deployment of the German Air Force in the territory of Jordan.

At present there are U.S. military bases there and it is not yet known whether the authorities of Jordan will approve such a decision of Germany," Yilmaz said.

The expert noted that the importance of Incirlik Air Base also lies in the fact that it includes an air defense system and is also protected by other types of modern weapons.

"Another important advantage of Incirlik Air Base is its close location to Iran," Yilmaz added.

The expert stressed that Germany's position towards Turkey was initially incorrect. "It is not permissible for Germany to conduct a "double play" in relation to Turkey, and at the same time to deploy a military contingent on the territory of this country. Moreover, Turkey did not feel the support of the German Air Force during the military operation Shield of the Euphrates," Yilmaz said.

Recently, the Turkish government refused to grant German lawmakers access to the site prompting German Chancellor Angela Merkel to suggest that Berlin may consider moving the troops stationed at the Incirlik Air Base to one of the neighboring countries.

In turn, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said a possible withdrawal of the German Air Force contingent from the Incirlik air Base in southern Turkey poses no problem for Ankara.

Turkey remains the key NATO member country in the Middle East. The Incirlik Air Base is one of the main bases of the United States and the alliance in the region. Aircrafts of the countries of the international coalition led by the United States, which participates in air operations against ISIS , are based here.

German military specialists are involved in the formation of crews for AWACS radar reconnaissance aircraft. Berlin also supports the coalition's actions with the help of six reconnaissance planes Tornado, which are deployed in Incirlik.

The Bundeswehr's mandate in the Syrian operation does not involve participation in ground operations.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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6 June 2017 17:27 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

Gazprom is considering withdrawing from the Turkish Bosphorus Gaz Corporation, Deputy Chairman of the Russian company Alexander Medvedev said, RIA Novosti reported.

Bosphorus Gaz is a Turkish importer and distributor of gas. In 2004, Gazprom Germania a subsidiary of the Russian gas company Gazprom, became shareholder in Bosphorus Gaz. At the moment Gazprom owns 71 percent of the company shares.

"The events in the Turkish market are complex, due to the economic situation in Turkey, as the latest political developments have had a strong impact on the Turkish lira rate. In addition, prices remain regulated, there is a subsidy mechanism for gas that BOTAS sells, so, in fact, the free market, despite the fact that the gas law has been adopted, was not full-fledged," Medvedev explained.

Medvedev stressed that it will not affect relations with Turkish partners.

Bosphorus Gaz is a company undertaking nearly 7 percent of the countrys total imports, on the basis of a combined volume of 3,250 million cubic meters, and gained prominence as the primary independent company accounting for the highest import quantity after BOTAS.

The company was established in 2003 in Istanbul. In 2004, Gazprom Germania a subsidiary of the Russian gas company Gazprom, became shareholder in Bosphorus Gaz. In 2009, Gazprom raised its share in the company from 40 percent to 51 percent. Later this year, Gazprom Germania acquired additional 20 percent of shares.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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6 June 2017 18:31 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

Swiss investors will build the Iran's largest solar power plant in the north-east of the Islamic Republic, Alireza Saburi, managing director of the Iranian company North Khorasan Electric Distribution said.

Construction operations will begin in the coming months, he said, Mehr agency reported on June 6.

The unresolved nature of banking and insurance issues was the main obstacle to the launch of the project, Saburi noted, adding that the problems were largely resolved and soon the first stage of the project  construction of a 30 MW power plant  will be implemented.

All panels will be installed in three months, and it will take a little more than a month for synchronization of the power station with the national grid, according to Saburi.

About 60 percent of the plant's equipment, including solar panels and an external inverter, will be imported, while Iran will produce 40 percent of the equipment, the managing director added.

Iran is heavily dependent on natural gas and oil to generate power and one of the most energy-intensive countries in the world because government subsidies for fossil fuels encourage inefficient energy use.

Water shortage and air pollution, however, is becoming a serious problem for the country of more than 80 million people, forcing officials to embrace the idea of expanding renewable energy capacity.

Islamic republic is seeking 5,000 MW of renewable energy by 2020, with more than 4,000 MW expected to come from wind power.

Irans renewable energy output is expected to hit 850 MW in the current fiscal year.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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6 June 2017 17:46 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Qatar Airways has begun using Iranian airspace following the surprise fallout between Doha and a number of Middle Eastern countries, Financial Tribune reported.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the UAE broke all ties with Qatar on June 4, with Riyadh going as far as closing border crossings between the two nations.

The fallout has also resulted in those countries banning Qatari-registered aircraft from making overflightswhen an airline uses the airspace of a foreign country. Consequently, Qatar's flag carrier began using Iranian airspace from June 5 for flights going to Europe.

A Qatar Airways representative in Tehran told Financial Tribune that they have been instructed not to speak to the media about the issue.

Iranian media reported that as many as 200 Qatar Airways flights per day from Doha will use Iranian airspace. However, that is impossible since the airline's fleet has less than 180 aircraft.

The Qatar Airways representative, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said they do not yet have exact figures.

Nevertheless, an Iran Air source told Financial Tribune that no more than 80 Qatari flights daily will use Iranian airspace.

Commenting on snapshots of Flight Radara website that shows global air trafficcirculating online and depicting a trail of airplanes flying over Iran from Qatar to Europe, the source said "only flights going to South America, Australia, and Africa will use Iran's airspace", adding that the airline has been using Iranian airspace for its European flights for years.

The Civil Aviation Organization of Iran has a strict policy on divulging information regarding overflight fees, as representatives of two foreign airlines based in Tehran both said they are not allowed to make the rates public "because it could hurt Iran's revenue if regional countries found out".

According to CAOI, some 955 foreign flights use Iranian airspace every day.

Bloomberg reported that as many as 72 flights a day will be canceled, 52 of which are operated by flag carrier Qatar Airways. Fourteen of those are flights to Dubai, which means they are indefinitely grounded.

Diogenis Papiomytis, director of aerospace at Frost & Sullivan, was quoted by Bloomberg as saying that he expects Qatar Airways' revenues to take a 30% hit.

Saudi Arabia and its regional allies accuse Qatar of backing the Houthis in Yemen, despite Doha's involvement in the Saudi-led coalition to snatch the capital Sana'a and reinstate the Riyadh-backed government of fugitive president, Abd-Rabbuh Mansur Hadi. Qatar was removed from the coalition on Monday.

Iran has called for dialogue between the two countries, while Turkey has offered to mediate in settling the regional row.

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6 June 2017 10:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

Baku has turned out one of the Top 5 cities in terms of popularity of trips among Russian tourists on weekends.

Analytical agency TurStat identified cities that are popular for travel on weekends this summer.

Minsk, Prague, Tbilisi, Baku, Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius, Yerevan, Barcelona and Rome make up the Top 10 cities that are popular for trips this summer weekend.

The rating is based on the analysis of the online booking systems of hotels.

Russian tourists come for an average of 2.5 days on summer holidays in Baku and spend $85 per day on rest, according to TurStat.

Russian tourists are especially attracted by the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan, which will be held from June 23 to 25 in Baku, and the "Zhara" music festival scheduled for July 27-30.

The Top 5 Russian cities popular among tourists on weekends include St. Petersburg, Kazan, Moscow, Kaliningrad and Nizhny Novgorod.

Unique culture and history, delicious food and wine and plenty of adventures are awaiting travelers in Azerbaijan.

The capital Baku is on the Caspian Sea, but also home to oil drilling derricks and futuristic skyscrapers. The Caucasus Mountains are as earthy as you can get, peppered with traditional elevated villages such as Lahic, where subsistence farming and traditional art forms still alive. And then there is fire everywhere. From the permanently alight natural gas flaming mountain of Yanardag to fire worshippers temple Ateshgah, both on the Absheron Peninsula. And as for air, just head to the omnipresent mountains, ideal for visiting any time of year, whether summer or winter.

But beyond its nature, which is key reason for the tourism, the people of Azerbaijan are wonderfully welcoming and hospitable.

Neighboring Russians choose Azerbaijan as their travel destination for many reasons. First of all the Land of Fire does not require visa for Russian tourists to enjoy the country.

Azerbaijan is also a perfect destination for Russian tourists, because of its peoples very friendly attitude towards Russia. Here Russian-speaking tourists have no problem with communication, as Azerbaijanis speak Russian well enough to help with any difficulties.

--

Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli



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First up, Joe Biden is thinking about dropping tariffs against China. But theres a spy in prison this morning that helps us understand why he shouldnt. Ill explain.





Your second brief, If youre looking for a good paying job, you might consider being a CEO for a health insurance company. One executive made $142M dollars last year. Let's talk about that.





And as always, Im keeping an eye out for developing stories. Put this one on your radar. Mexican cartels are grooming American kids online and paying them cash to traffic illegals or run drugs across the border. Ill share details.





If you enjoyed this episode of the President's Daily Brief, remember to subscribe and listen daily at podfollow.com/pdb.

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By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Jun 6 (PTI) Heavy security was deployed outside the CPI(M) headquarters here, anticipating protests by cow-vigilante groups against Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who is in the national capital for the two-day politburo meeting of the party.

Vijayan has drawn the ire of right-wing organisations for his criticism of the Centres notification banning sale and purchase of cattle at animal markets for slaughter.

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According to a senior police officer, security personnel, including those from paramilitary forces, were deployed outside AK Gopalan Bhavan, the CPI(M) headquarters, as a precautionary measure.

The police had received information that some people might try to create a ruckus outside the CPI(M) office, protesting the recent beef fests in Kerala and the chief ministers views on the issue, the officer said, adding that the area around the office, along Bhai Veer Singh Marg, had been heavily barricaded.

The Left party, however, had not asked for an additional security deployment ahead of the meeting which got underway today.

Beef fests were recently held in Kerala and Tamil Nadu to protest the Centres decision to ban the sale and purchase of cattle at the animal markets for the purpose of slaughter.

Some Youth Congress activists had even butchered a calf in full public view in Kerala as a mark of protest, drawing criticism from various quarters. PTI SLB ENM RC

--- ENDS ---
By Press Trust of India: meeting

Srinagar, Jun 5 (PTI) The separatists camp in Jammu and Kashmir today hit out at the PDP-BJP state government for preventing them from holding a meeting by putting them under house arrest, saying it was doing this at the "bidding of its masters in New Delhi".

While hardline Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Geelani has been under house arrest for a long time now, the authorities today put Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Shabir Ahmad Shah and several other second-rung separatist leaders under house arrest to prevent them from reaching Geelanis Hyderpora residence for the said meeting.

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JKLF chairman Mohammad Yasin Malik was taken into preventive custody and lodged at a police station here.

Security personnel were posted outside Geelanis residence, a police official said, adding that no one was being allowed to enter the premises.

In a joint statement, the separatists said not allowing them to hold meetings had become a "norm" for the state authorities who had to "keep up the farce of normalcy through repression at the bidding of their masters in New Delhi", otherwise "they will be shown the door by them".

The meeting was to be attended by separatist leaders and members of the business community in the wake of National Investigation Agency (NIA) raids on several of their second- rung leaders as part of a crackdown on the fundings of street protests and businessmen suspected of carrying out hawala operations.

"The meeting was barred by the anti-Kashmir ruling regime through force," the statement read.

Referring to the NIA raids, the separatists claimed that these moves to "intimidate and harass" their leaders and activists was Government of Indias "acceptance" that it had not been able to politically defeat the peoples struggle in Jammu and Kashmir.

"The Government of India has completely failed in crushing the peoples revolt, despite its largest military concentration in the world in Jammu and Kashmir, who have unleashed a reign of terror and torture upon the people for the past seven decades, inflicting untold miseries upon the masses," it alleged.

The separatists called for a peaceful protest after the Friday prayers across the Valley against the "witch-hunt, coercion and intimidation of resistance activists, leaders and members of the business community".

"The people will also strongly protest the Indian electronic medias propaganda war against Kashmiris and its shameless attempt to discredit their freedom struggle," they said. PTI MIJ RC

--- ENDS ---
A day after Jammu and Kashmir government and state police foiled a meeting of separatists in Srinagar, leaders of Hurriyat's Mirwaiz faction are trying to build a strategy to open up new channels of communication.

By Pooja Shali: A day after the Jammu and Kashmir government and state police foiled a meeting of separatists in Srinagar, leaders of the Hurriyat's Mirwaiz faction are trying to build further strategy to open up new channels of communication.

The recent crackdown by the National Investigation Agency has sent the outfit's leaders into a tizzy.

India Today spoke to Hilal Ahmed War, a Hurriyat leader who had come to meet Mirwaiz Umar Farooq on Tuesday morning. Taking an aggressive stand over the Hurriyat Truth Tapes expose, War said, "One rotten fruit does not corrupt the tree. Only, the fruit falls." The metaphor is a direct reference to Naeem Khan, who confessed on camera to having received funds from Pakistan to stoke unrest.

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BLOCKING MEETING SHOWS GOVT'S HIGH-HANDEDNESS: HURRIYAT LEADER

War added, "The government showed high-handedness in blocking our meeting, which was within our rights and is not creating a law and order problem. Today, I met our chairman Mirwaiz to discuss the further strategy for the organisation." Hurriyat leaders are also wanting to open up channels to communicate.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was unavailable for comment throughout the day.

At about 4 pm, Farooq left his residence for a scheduled appointment and refused to take questions on the outfit's strategy and the sting operation.

HURRIYAT MEETING BARRED TO AVOID TENSION

If sources with the state police are to be believed, a meeting with Umar Farooq and his interaction with the media were barred to avoid further tension in the area. This comes after the All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) issued regular statements warning of large-scale protests and "dire consequences", if raids were not stopped.

While India Today's Hurriyat Truth Tapes expose have been followed by day-long searches and raids at Hurriyat leaders' residences recently, the leaders are expected to spend the next few days formulating new strategies.

NIA continued to question a few businessmen and alleged sympathisers of the separatist leadership in Srinagar for the fourth consecutive day today. Even documents, which were seized during searches yesterday, were examined.

Also read | Crackdown on Yasin Malik, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq ahead of separatists' meet

Also read | Traders funding separatists to fuel violence in Jammu and Kashmir under NIA scanner

WATCH VIDEO

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June 6, 2017  Ottawa, Canada

Check against delivery. This speech has been translated in accordance with the Government of Canadas official languages policy and edited for posting and distribution in accordance with its communications policy.

Mr. Speaker,

Here is a question: Is Canada an essential country, at this time in the life of our planet?

Most of us here would agree that it is. But if we assert this, we are called to explain why. And we are called to consider the specifics of what we must do as a consequence.

International relationships that had seemed immutable for 70 years are being called into question. From Europe, to Asia, to our own North American home, long-standing pacts that have formed the bedrock of our security and prosperity for generations are being tested.

And new shared human imperativesthe fight against climate change first among themcall for renewed, uncommon resolve.

Turning aside from our responsibilities is not an option. Instead we must think carefully and deeply about what is happening, and find a way forward.

By definition, the path we choose must be one that serves the interests of all Canadians and upholds our broadly held national values; that preserves and nurtures Canadian prosperity and security; and that contributes to our collective goal of a better, safer, more just, more prosperous, and sustainable world. One we can pass onto our children and grandchildren, with a sense of having done the right thing.

This is no small order, Mr. Speaker. It is what I would like to spend few minutes talking about today.

Since before the end of the Second World War, beginning with the international conference at Bretton Woods in 1944, Canada has been deeply engaged in, and greatly enjoyed the benefits of, a global order based on rules.

These were principles and standards that were applied, perhaps not perfectly at all times by all states, but certainly by the vast majority of democratic states, most of the time.

The system had at its heart the core notions of territorial integrity, human rights, democracy, respect for the rule of law, and an aspiration to free and friendly trade.

The common volition toward this order arose from a fervent determination not to repeat the immediate past.

Humankind had learned through the direct experience of horror and hardship, Mr. Speaker, that the narrow pursuit of national self-interest, the law of the jungle, led to nothing but carnage and poverty.

Two global conflicts and the Great Depression, all in the span of less than half a century, taught our parents and grandparents that national borders must be inviolate; that international trading relationships created not only prosperity but also peace; and that a true world community, one based on shared aspirations and standards, was not only desirable but essential to our very survival.

That deep yearning toward lasting peace led to the creation of international institutions that endure to this daywith the nations of Western Europe, together with their transatlantic allies, the United States and Canada, at their foundation

In each of these evolutions in how we humans organize ourselves, Canadians played pivotal roles.

There was Bretton Woods itself, where the Canadian delegation was instrumental in drafting provisions of the fledgling International Monetary Fund and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

A few years later in 1947, a Canadian, Dana Wilgress, played a leading role at the meetings in Geneva that led to the development of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, precursor to the WTO.

It is a Canadian, John Humphrey, who is generally credited as the principal author of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948. That was the first of what became a series of declarations to set international standards in this vital area.

And let us not neglect the great Canadian perhaps best known for advancing the cause of humanitarian internationalismLester B. Pearson. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his leadership during the Suez crisis in 1956, for the creation of modern peacekeeping.

These institutions may seem commonplace now, Mr. Speaker. We may take them for granted. We should not. Seventy years ago they were revolutionary. And they set the stage for the longest period of peace and prosperity in our history.

It was the same appreciation of the common interests of the human family, in caring for our common home, that led us to the acid rain treaty of the Mulroney era. It is what led us to the Montreal Protocol of 1987 to phase out CFCs and preserve the ozone layer. It is what led us to Paris, Mr. Speaker, with 194 signatories at our side. That is global co-operation.

And it is important to note that when sacrifice was required to support and strengthen the global ordermilitary power, in defence of our principles and our alliancesCanada was there. In the Suez, in Korea, in the Congo, in Cyprus, in the First Gulf War, in the Balkans, in Afghanistan, up to and including today in Iraq, among many other places, Canada has been there.

As the Prime Minister has often said, that is what Canadians do. We step up.

Today it is worth reminding ourselves why we step upwhy we devote time and resources to foreign policy, defence and development, why we have sent Canadian soldiers, sailors, aviators, diplomats, aid workers, intelligence officers, doctors, nurses, medics and engineers into situations of danger, disaster, and chaos overseas, even at times when Canadian territory was not directly at risk.

Why do we spend billions on defence, if we are not immediately threatened?

For some countriesIsrael, Latvia come to mindthe answer is self-evident. Countries that face a clear and immediate existential challenge know they need to spend on military and foreign policy. And they know why.

For a few lucky countrieslike Canada and the United Statesthat feel protected by geography and are good neighbours, the answer is less obvious. Indeed, you could easily imagine a Canadian view that says, we are safe on our continent, and we have things to do at home, so let's turn inward. Lets say Canada first.

Heres why that would be wrong.

First, though no foreign adversary is poised to invade us, we do face clear challenges. Climate change is by definition a shared menace, affecting every single person on this planet. Civil war, poverty, drought and natural disasters anywhere in the world threaten us as wellnot least because these catastrophes spawn globally destabilizing mass migrations. The dictatorship in North Korea, crimes against humanity in Syria, the monstrous extremists of Daesh, and Russian military adventurism and expansionism also all pose clear strategic threats to the liberal democratic world, including Canada.

Our ability to act against such threats alone is limited. It requires cooperation with like-minded countries.

On the military front, Canadas geography has meant that we have always been able to count on American self-interest to provide a protective umbrella beneath which we have found indirect shelter.

Some think, some even say, we should therefore free ride on U.S. military power. Why invest billions to maintain a capable, professional, well-funded and well-equipped Canadian military?

The answer is obvious: To rely solely on the U.S. security umbrella would make us a client state. And although we have an incredibly good relationship with our American friends and neighbours, such a dependence would not be in Canadas interest.

That is why doing our fair share is clearly necessary. It is why our commitment to NORAD, and to our strategic relationship with the United States, is so critical. It is by pulling our weight in this partnership, and in all our international partnerships, that we, in fact, have weight.

To put it plainly: Canadian diplomacy and development sometimes require the backing of hard power. Force is of course always a last resort. But the principled use of force, together with our allies and governed by international law, is part of our history and must be part of our future.

To have that capacity requires a substantial investment, which this government is committed to making. The Minister of Defence will elaborate fully on that tomorrow. I know he will make Canadians justly proud.

Whatever their politics, Canadians understand that, as a middle power living next to the worlds only super power, Canada has a huge interest in an international order based on rules. One in which might is not always right. One in which more powerful countries are constrained in their treatment of smaller ones by standards that are internationally respected, enforced and upheld.

The single most important pillar of this, which emerged following the carnage of the First and Second World Wars, is the sanctity of borders. And that principle, today, is under siege.

This is why the democratic world has united behind Ukraine. The illegal seizure of Ukrainian territory by Russia is the first time since the end of the Second World War that a European power has annexed by force the territory of another European country. This is not something we can accept or ignore.

The atrocities of Daesh directly challenge both the sanctity of borders and the liberal international order itself. They create chaos, not only because of the carnage they perpetrate on their innocent victims, but because of the humanitarian crises and migratory explosions that follow. This is why the world has united against this scourge; violent extremism challenges our way of life. We will always oppose it.

Another key benefit for Canada from an international system based on rules, is of course free trade. In this sphere as well, beggar-thy-neighbour policies hit middle powers soonest and hardest. That is the implacable lesson of the 1930s, and the Great Depression. Rising trade barriers hurt the people they are intended to help. They curb growth, stifle innovation and kill employment. This is a lesson we should learn from history. We should not need to teach it to ourselves again through painful experience.

The international order an earlier generation built faces two big challenges, both unprecedented.

The first is the rapid emergence of the global South and Asiamost prominently, Chinaand the need to integrate these countries into the worlds economic and political system in a way that is additive, that preserves the best of the old order that preceded their rise, and that addresses the existential threat of climate change. This is a problem that simply cannot be solved by nations working alone. We must work together.

I have focused these remarks on the development of the postwar international ordera process that was led primarily by the Atlantic powers of North America and Western Europe.

But we recognize that the global balance of power has changed greatly since thenand will continue to evolve as more nations prosper.

The G20, in whose creation Canada was instrumental, was an early acknowledgement of this emerging reality. The countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa and Asia are on the ascendant, delivering ever-increasing living standards to fast-growing populations bursting with innovation, creativity and enterprise.

This is not a trend anyone should fear: it is one we should embrace. Let us recognize that the peace and prosperity we in the West have enjoyed these past 70 years are desired by all, and increasingly within reach of all. And, as Canadians, let us be agents of that change.

Let us seize the great opportunity we now have to help the people of the worlds fastest-growing countries join the global middle class and the multilateral system that supports it. Peace and prosperity are every persons birthright. The second great challenge is an exhaustion in the West of the belief among working people, the middle class, that the globalized system can help them better their lives. This is an enormous crisis of confidence. It has the potential, if we let it, to undermine global prosperity itself.

At the root of this anxiety around the world is a pervasive sense that too many people have been left behind, betrayed by a system they were promised would make them better off, but hasnt.

Heres the key: its true that the system is flawed. But international trade is the wrong target, Mr. Speaker. The real culprit is domestic policy that fails to appreciate that continued growth, and political stability, depend on domestic measures that share the wealth.

Admittedly, this is a complicated problem. If there were easy solutions everybody would be applying them.

But lets be clear on this point: it is wrong to view the woes of our middle class as the result of fiendish behaviour by foreigners.

The truth is that the nature of work has changed because of profound, and generally benign, global economic innovation. This transformation, driven primarily by automation and the digital revolution, is broadly positive.

Managed fairly, it has the potential to increase prosperity for allnot just the global one percent. That means supporting families, supporting pensioners, and supporting education and retrainingas the Minister of Finance did in his recent budget.

By better supporting the middle class, and those working hard to join it, Canada is defining an approach to globalization that can be a model. At the same time, we strongly support the global 2030 Goals for Sustainable Development, Mr. Speaker. The world abroad and the world at home are not two solitudes. They are connected.

Likewise, by embracing multiculturalism and diversity, Canadians are embodying a way of life that works. We can say this in all humility, but also without any false self-effacement: Canadians know about living side-by side with people of diverse origins and beliefs, whose ancestors hail from the far corners of the globe, in harmony and peace. Were good at it. Watch how we do it.

We say this in the full knowledge that we also have problems of our own to overcomemost egregiously the injustices suffered by Indigenous people in Canada. We must never flinch from acknowledging this great failure, even as we do the hard work of seeking restoration and reconciliation.

Now, it is clearly not our role to impose our values around the world, Mr. Speaker. No one appointed us the world's policeman. But it is our role to clearly stand for these rights both in Canada and abroad.

It is our role to provide refuge to the persecuted and downtrodden, to the extent we are able, as we are so proud to have done for more than 40,000 Syrian refugees.

It is our role to set a standard for how states should treat women, gays and lesbians, transgendered people, racial, ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious minorities, and Indigenous people.

We can and must play an active role in the preservation and strengthening of the global order from which we have benefited so greatly. Doing so is in our interest, because our own open society is most secure in a world of open societies. And it is under threat in a world where open societies are under threat.

In short, Canadian liberalism is a precious idea. It would not long survive in a world dominated by the clash of great powers and their vassals, struggling for supremacy or, at best, an uneasy detente.

Canada can work for better, Mr. Speaker. We must work for better.

Let me pause here and address the United States, directly. As the Prime Minister said last week: Canada is deeply disappointed by the decision by the U.S. federal government to withdraw from the Paris Agreement on climate.

That said, we will continue to seek opportunities for constructive progress on the environment, wherever we can find them, with our counterparts in Washington and across the great United States, at all levels of government and with partners in business, labour and civil society.

As I have said, we Canadians can rightly be proud of the role we played in building the postwar order, and the unprecedented peace and prosperity that followed.

Yet even as we celebrate our own part in that project, its only fair for us to acknowledge the larger contribution of the United States. For in blood, in treasure, in strategic vision, in leadership, America has paid the lion's share.

The United States has truly been the indispensable nation, Mr. Speaker. For their unique, seven-decades-long contribution to our shared peace and prosperity, and on behalf of all Canadians, I would like to profoundly thank our American friends.

As I have argued, Canada believes strongly that this stable, predictable international order has been deeply in our national interest. And we believe it has helped foster peace and prosperity for our southern neighbours, too.

Yet it would be naive or hypocritical to claim before this House that all Americans today agree. Indeed, many of the voters in last year's presidential election cast their ballots, animated in part by a desire to shrug off the burden of world leadership. To say this is not controversial: it is simply a fact.

Canada is grateful, and will always be grateful, to our neighbour for the outsized role it has played in the world. And we seek and will continue to seek to persuade our friends that their continued international leadership is very much in their national interestas well as that of the rest of the free world.

Yet we also recognize that this is ultimately not our decision to make. It is a choice Americans must make for themselves.

The fact that our friend and ally has come to question the very worth of its mantle of global leadership, puts into sharper focus the need for the rest of us to set our own clear and sovereign course. For Canada that course must be the renewal, indeed the strengthening, of the postwar multilateral order.

We will follow this path, with open hands and open hearts extended to our American friends, seeking to make common cause as we have so often in the past. And indeed, as we continue to do now on multiple frontsfrom border security, to the defence of North America through NORAD, to the fight against Daesh, to our efforts within NATO, to nurturing and improving our trading relationship, which is the strongest in the world.

And, at the same time, we will work with other like-minded people and countries who share our aims.

Mr. Speaker, to put this in sharper focus, those aims are as follows:

First, we will robustly support the rules-based international order, and all its institutions, and seek ways to strengthen and improve them.

We will strongly support the multilateral forums where such discussions are heldincluding the G7, the G20, the OAS, APEC, the WTO, the WHO, the Commonwealth and La Francophonie, the Arctic Council, and of course NATO and the UN.

A cornerstone of our multilateral agenda is our steadfast commitment to the Transatlantic Alliance. Our bond is manifest in CETA, our historic trade agreement with the European Unionwhich we believe in and warmly supportand in our military deployment this summer to Latvia.

There can be no clearer sign that NATO and Article 5 are at the heart of Canadas national security policy.

We will strive for leadership in all these multilateral forums. We are honoured to be hosting the G7 next year, and we are energetically pursuing a two-year term on the UN Security Council. We seek this UN seat because we wish to be heard. For we are safer and more prosperous, Mr. Speaker, when more of the world shares Canadian values.

Those values include feminism, and the promotion of the rights of women and girls.

It is important, and historic, that we have a prime minister and a government proud to proclaim ourselves feminists. Womens rights are human rights. That includes sexual reproductive rights and the right to safe and accessible abortions. These rights are at the core of our foreign policy.

To that end, in the coming days, my colleague the Minister of International Development and La Francophonie will unveil Canadas first feminist international assistance policy, which will target womens rights and gender equality. We will put Canada at the forefront of this global effort.

This is a matter of basic justice and also basic economics. We know that empowering women, overseas and here at home, makes families and countries more prosperous. Canadas values are informed by our historical duality of French and English; by our cooperative brand of federalism; by our multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-linguistic citizenry; and by our geographybridging Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic. Our values are informed by the traditions and aspirations of the Indigenous people in Canada. And our values include an unshakeable commitment to pluralism, human rights and the rule of law.

Second: We will make the necessary investments in our military, to not only redress years of neglect and underfunding, but also to place the Canadian Armed Forces on a new footingwith the equipment, training, resources and consistent, predictable financing they need to do their difficult, dangerous and important work.

We owe this to our women and men in uniform. We will not let them down, Mr. Speaker.

Canadas broader interest in investing in a capable, professional and robust military is very clear: If middle powers do not implicate themselves in the furtherance of peace and stability around the world, that will be left to the Great Powers to settle among themselves. This would not be in Canadas interest.

Third, we are a trading nation. Far from seeing trade as a zero-sum game, we believe in trading relationships that benefit all parties. We look forward to working with our continental partners to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement, and to making a great trading partnership even better. We will also intensify our efforts to diversify Canadian trade worldwide. We will actively seek new trade agreements that further Canadian economic interests and that reflect our valueswith the Canada-EU Trade Agreement as our template.

We are proud of the role Canada has played in creating a rules-based international trading order. We believe in the WTO and will continue our work to make it stronger, and more responsive to the needs of ordinary people in Canada and around the world.

We believe in progressive trade that works for working people. That is why we are very proud that this month, Canada will ratify the last of the fundamental conventions of the International Labour Organization.

In summary, we will be tireless in pursing our national interest, tireless in upholding progressive Canadian values, tireless in working to create a rules-based international order for the 21st century. Seventy years ago Canada played a pivotal role in forming the postwar international order. We are now calledby virtue of our unique experience, expertise, geography, diversity and valuesto do this again, for a new century.

Mr. Speaker, these are ambitious objectives. There is no guarantee of success.

We set them, not in the assumption that success will come easily, but in the certain knowledge that it will not. We will venture, in noble and good causes. We will risk. We will enjoy victoriesand we will suffer defeats. But we will keep working toward a better world, Mr. Speaker, because that is what Canadians do.

Let me conclude on a personal note.

A popular criticism today of the argument I am making here, is that all such ideas are abstract, perhaps of interest to the so-called Laurentian elite, or the media, or the Ottawa bubble, but not at all relevant to real Canadians.

That line of reasoning is the ultimate, elite condescension; it is nonsense. And in reply, I offer the example of my grandfather, John Wilbur Freeland.

He was born in Peace River, Albertathe son of a pioneer family. Wilbur was 24 in 1940, and making a bit of a living as a cowboy and boxer. His nickname was Pretty Boy Freeland.

My grandpa was the opposite of an Upper Canada elite. But in the darkest days of the Second World War, Wilbur enlisted to serve. Two of his brothers, Carleton and Warren, joined up too. Wilbur and Carleton came home. Warren did not.

My grandfather told me they signed up partly for the excitementEurope, even at war, was an exotic destination for the youths of the Peace Country.

But there was more to it than a young mans thirst for adventure. My grandfather was one of a generation of Canadians who intuitively understood the connection between their lives, and those of people theyd never met, whose speech they couldnt comprehend, who lived on a continent so far away as to constitute, back then, another world.

That generation of Canadiansthe Greatest Generation, we call them, with good reasonhad survived the Great Depression. They were born in the aftermath of the First World War. They appreciated viscerally that a world without fixed borders or rules for the global economy, was a world of strife and poverty. They sought to prevent that from ever happening again.

That is why they risked and gave their lives to fight in a European war. That is why, when they came home, they cheerfully contributed to the great project of rebuilding Europe and creating a postwar world order. That is why they counted themselves lucky to be able to do so.

They were our parents, and grandparents, and great-grandparents. The challenge we face today is significant, to be sure. But it pales next to the task they faced, and met.

Our job today is to preserve their achievement, and to build on it; to use the multilateral structures they created as the foundation for global accords and institutions fit for the new realities of this century.

They rose to their generations great challenge. And so can we.

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Bishop of Liverpool attacks Theresa May over failing to rebuke Donald Trump

The Bishop of Liverpool has criticised the Prime Minister for failing to rebuke US President Donald Trump's attack on the Mayor of London.

Paul Bayes described Trump's comments as 'puerile and deeply unhelpful' after the President repeatedly mocked Sadiq Khan on Twitter.

After the attacks where three militants shouting 'this is for Allah' drove across London Bridge at high speed, hitting several pedestrians, and then jumped out and stabbed people in Borough Market, leaving seven dead and nearly 50 injured, Khan made a statement expressing grief and insisting terrorists 'would not win'.

He added: 'Londoners will see an increased police presence today and over the course of the next few days. There's no reason to be alarmed.'

Taking the remarks out of context, Trump tweeted:

At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is "no reason to be alarmed!"  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 4 June 2017

When he was heavily criticised for taking the quote out of context he followed it up with another tweet:

Pathetic excuse by London Mayor Sadiq Khan who had to think fast on his "no reason to be alarmed" statement. MSM is working hard to sell it!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 5 June 2017

Theresa May has repeatedly refused to condemn Trump's comments, although she has praised Khan's role in the aftermath. Reluctant to be drawn into the feud, she said: 'Sadiq Khan is doing a good job and it's wrong to say anything else  he's doing a good job.' Paul Bayes responded:

I regret Mrs May's unwillingness to draw a line in the face of President Trump's puerile & deeply unhelpful remarks https://t.co/TLT83BXrg7  Paul Bayes (@paulbayes) 6 June 2017

The row comes after Khan joined the Archbishop of London and other religious leaders at a vigil for those who died. Alongside the Mayor and Home Secretary Amber Rudd, Welby laid flowers at the ceremony in Potters Fields Park, near London's City Hall.

Thank you @MayorofLondon for bringing us together tonight to remember the victims and families of the #LondonAttacks. We stand together. pic.twitter.com/QgSOcPqjEp  Justin Welby  (@JustinWelby) 5 June 2017

Moving vigil led superbly by @MayorofLondon, London united in calm dignified memory. Great civic leadership, let's pray on & persist in hope  Justin Welby  (@JustinWelby) 5 June 2017

Tonight we stood together to honour those who lost their lives and send a clear message: Londoners will never be cowed by terrorism pic.twitter.com/2fUHjNbRiJ  Mayor of London (@MayorofLondon) 5 June 2017

A minute's silence will be held in the capital at 11am today in memory of the seven who died.
Cancel Trump's proposed state visit to UK, says London Mayor Sadiq Khan

The London Mayor, Sadiq Khan has called on the British government to cancel a planned state visit by Donald Trump after being attacked by the US president in several widely condemned tweets.

On Sunday, following the London Bridge attack, Trump tweeted: 'At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is 'no reason to be alarmed!''

Trump had taken Khan's words out of context. In fact the London Mayor had said: 'Londoners will see an increased police presence today and over the course of the next few days. There's no reason to be alarmed.'

Khan's office then sought to correct the President, leading Trump to accuse the Mayor of making a 'pathetic excuse'.

Appearing on Channel 4 News last night, Khan said that Trump was wrong about 'many things' and that his state visit, initially proposed by the Prime Minister, Theresa May, should not go ahead.

'I don't think we should roll out the red carpet to the president of the USA in the circumstances where his policies go against everything we stand for,' Khan said.

'When you have a special relationship it is no different from when you have got a close mate. You stand with them in times of adversity but you call them out when they are wrong. There are many things about which Donald Trump is wrong.'
Christ the Captain: The final address of Charles Spurgeon, 'Prince of Preachers'

On this day in in 1891, the famed Baptist preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon gave his final sermon at London's Metropolitan Tabernacle. Known as the 'Prince of Preachers', Spurgeon's words have lived on to inspire countless lives.

Spurgeon was converted at age 15, and soon after began to make his mark on the ministry. When he stepped into preaching, he discovered a gift that soon made him famous. Spurgeon gained a reputation for his poetic voice, fiery energy and sometimes provocative irreverence.

He held to a predominantly conservative, Calvinist theology, but described his creed as simply 'Jesus Christ'. London's Metropolitan Tabernacle was built in 1861 to better fit Spurgeon's vast crowds. There he would weekly address crowds of 6,000, and did so for 30 years.

There are no recordings of Spurgeon's melodic oratory, but a short recording of Spurgeon's son, Thomas, reading from his father's final sermon can be heard at The Gospel Coalition.

In his final address Spurgeon preached Christ as the 'magnanimous captain' who stands up for and saves the weak.

Spurgeon declared: 'Beloved, we follow a noble Prince. Jesus is the chief among ten thousand for tenderness as well as for everything else. How tenderly considerate he is! How gentle and generous! He has never said a stinging word to us ever since we knew him. He is that riches which has no sorrow added to it. He has rebuked us; but his rebukes have been like an excellent oil, which has never broken our heads.

'When we have left him, he has turned and looked upon us, and so he has cut us to the quick; but he has never wounded us with any sword except that which cometh out of his mouth, whose edge is love. When he goes away from us, as David did from those two hundred who could not keep up with him, yet he always comes back again in mercy, and salutes us with favor. We wonder to ourselves that we did not hold him, and vow that we would never let him go; but we wonder still more that he should come back so speedily, so heartily, leaping over the mountains, hastening like a roe or a young hart over the hills of division.

'Lo! he has come to us. He has come to us, and he makes our hearts glad at his coming. Let us indulge our hearts this morning as we take our share in the precious spoil of his immeasurable love. He loves the great and the small with like love; let us be joyful all round.'

Concluding his words, and his iconic ministry, Spurgeon encouraged his audience that Christ 'is always to be found in the thickest part of the battle.

'When the wind blows cold he always takes the bleak side of the hill. The heaviest end of the cross lies ever on his shoulders. If he bids us carry a burden, he carries it also. If there is anything that is gracious, generous, kind, and tender, yea lavish and super abundant in love, you always find it in him.

'These forty years and more have I served him, blessed be his name! and I have had nothing but love from him. I would be glad to continue yet another forty years in the same dear service here below if so it pleased him. His service is life, peace, joy. Oh, that you would enter on it at once! God help you to enlist under the banner of Jesus even this day! Amen.'
Christian candidate in the spotlight: Bath's battle over Brexit

With the General Election 2017 just days away Christian Today is zooming in on some crucial battleground seats where Christian candidates are in the spotlight.

Bath was a Liberal Democrat stronghold for 22 years under the much-loved Don Foster.

But when the local legend retired, aged 68, ahead of the 2015 election the seat fell to the Conservative's Ben Howlett who snatched it by 3,833 votes.

Since then Howlett, a Christian and regular churchgoer, has faced accusations of sexual assault at a gay nightclub in Bath but did not face police charges.

He is now in the spotlight again, forced to fight for his seat against a Lib Dem campaign that has made being anti-Brexit its key priority.

Bath voted to Remain by 62 per cent, making regaining their old fortress a real target for Tim Farron's party.

Although Howlett has emphasised his pro-EU credentials and led the south-west's Remain campaign, his association with a Conservative campaign focused on Theresa May and her drive towards a hard Brexit may unseat him.

But his Lib Dem rival has also had a shaky start to the campaign, with the snap election catching the original candidate Jay Risbridger unawares meaning he stepped aside and Wera Hobhouse, stepped up last minute.

She admitted to Christian Today her late arrival was a 'challenge' but said she was well prepared.

Both candidates spoke to Christian Today about their own personal faith as well as the role religion should play in the campaign.

'A lot of what I do comes not just from my faith but the values that our Western societies are inspired by and at the bottom of that is a lot of the Christian faith,' she said.

'For me it is about solidarity  love your neighbour. Those are the key values that can go into politics and be very valuable there as values that we stand for,' she told Christian Today.

'They have very much informed me in the way I am looking at the world and look at society.'

Pressed on what role faith should play in society she initially said, 'I wouldn't change anything'. But when asked about Bishops in the House of Lords she said the UK's second chamber should be elected.

Howlett, speaking after Tim Farron was repeatedly grilled on his faith, said religion was playing too big a role in the campaign.

'I think people should be a lot more vocal about their religion and about their spiritual beliefs. We should respect all beliefs.

'But I think at the moment it has been used for a bit more party political point scoring I'm afraid to say.'

Asked about the Church of England's stance on gay marriage, he said it still has a long way to go on LGBT rights.

'I think the Church of England is going through a big journey at the moment,' he told Christian Today.

'I have to say, as the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, was my former vicar in the University of Durham, he has been a very good advocate in shifting the Church of England to being more progressive.

'I think there is a long way to go particularly when it on the LGBT issue for the Church of England in the coming years.'

Although parliament shouldn't tell the Church what to do directly, MPs do and should pressurise it to be more progressive, he said.

'What we are seeing is questions coming up time and time where parliamentarians ask the Church Commissioners to intervene or make representations.

'I don't think parliament should intervene in the Church, however I think we should be the main pinnacle of debate on this particular issue and we have been pushing that issue forward over the last two years I've been in parliament at least.'
Going to Church helps you to live longer, says study

Many people attend churches because it helps them to stay grounded in their faith and offers spiritual guidance for their situations. However, a new study has found that attending church may help you live longer.

The research study titled 'Church Attendance, Allostatic Load and Mortality in Middle  Aged Adults' by Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, found that middle-aged people between the ages of 40 and 65, who attend worships services decrease their chances of an early death by 55 percent.

Researchers examined the participants church attendance, morality and the 'wear and tear' on the body which accumulates as an individual is exposed to stress. The higher the 'stress load' on an individual, the more wear and tear is suffered by the body.

Marino Bruce, The Associate Director for the University's Center for Men's Health's told Vanderbilt News, 'Our findings support the overall hypothesis that increased religiosity  as determined by attendance at worship services  is associated with less stress and enhanced longevity.'

Of the 5,449 people of all races and both sexes who were surveyed, 64 percent were regular worshipers. Studies found that those who did not attend regular or any worship service had a higher stress load score than those who did.

'We've found that being in a place where you can flex those spiritual muscles is actually beneficial for your health.

'For those who did not attend church at all, they were twice as likely to die prematurely than those who did, who attended church at some point over the last year,' he added.

The effects of attendance at worship services remained after education, poverty, health insurance and social support status were all taken into consideration. However, the study did not address the effects of frequency of worship.

The study, was officially published on May 16 in PLOS ONE, a multidisciplinary open access journal, using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination and data notes are now available to the public.
Thanks to the Shah Rukh Khan film directed by Imtiaz Ali, Salman Khan-starrer Tiger Zinda Hai and Aamir Khan-starrer Thugs of Hindostan, we Indians are in for a travel treat.

By Ananya Bhattacharya: It doesn't take rocket science to figure out what Bollywood can do to certain travel destinations. Take Switzerland, for example. The moment an Indian hears this word, the only images that come to mind are Yash Raj heroines in their chiffon sarees, the snowy Alps, and the Eurail. Ever since filmmaker Yash Chopra decided to film some of his most-popular films in the European country - with Rishi Kapoor-Sridevi's Chandni being the most famous of the lot - Indians have put Switzerland in the bucket lists and how.

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For the 90s kids, growing up with the dream of running into their Raj Malhotras and Simran Singhs on board the Eurail has been an eternal wish. And even though newer destinations crop up on every young Indian adult's to-visit list every now and then, Switzerland still remains among their countries-to-visit-before-I-die plans.

Yash Chopra put Switzerland on the travel map of Indians so firmly that the government of the country even decided to honour him with a statue in Interlaken, the place that Chopra shot most of his films in, and name a Jungfrau train after him. The romance of Switzerland, thanks to one filmmaker, is an undeniable one now if you're an Indian.

The same happened with Paris too. A photo in front of the Eiffel Tower has remained many Indian's dream ever since they saw An Evening In Paris on the big screen. Kissing a lover in front of the world's most-visited paid monument too has been on several youngster's bucket list for years, decades. Out of the 18 million people who visit Paris every year, India contributes to about 3,00,000 (~1.6 per cent) tourists. In 2017, visiting the Eiffel Tower during any day of the year and not overhearing an Indian language or seeing Indian tourists is a near-impossible occurrence.

Bollywood, for the average Indian moviegoer, has been the best way to travel to little-known destinations. Films have not only made us dream about travelling to places, but also made us get up and get that ticket to the place.

In recent times, take countries like Croatia and Bulgaria, for example. Dubrovnik has suddenly become the rage with Indians, what with travel agencies routinely taking people to Croatia and even custom-editing tours for them. Of course, the rage called Game of Thrones too added its bit to the charm of Dubrovnik (King's Landing). But it was Shah Rukh Khan chasing Shah Rukh Khan through the narrow cobbled alleys and orange-tiled roofs of Dubrovnik in Croatia that worked the charm for us Indians.

After all, doing what the Khan triumvirate does has always been in fashion with us.

Now, as Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan take us to even newer destinations in Europe, here's looking at the bank accounts. And trying to save for that next big trip to Malta, Austria, Hungary or the Czech Republic.

SHAH RUKH KHAN'S YET-UNTITLED FILM WITH ANUSHKA SHARMA AND IMTIAZ ALI

Czech Republic and Hungary

Thanks to Imtiaz Ali, who made us explore Corsica in all its beauty in his last film Tamasha, we will now get to see Prague and Budapest. His next film starring Shah Rukh Khan and Anushka Sharma has been extensively shot in Prague, the Czech capital and the Hungarian capital, Budapest.

"I am a cage, in search of a bird." Kafka in Prague. In our case we r only trying to discover characters in our film. A post shared by Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) on Aug 26, 2016 at 11:31am PDT

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Here's what you need to see in Prague.

Among the other recent films shot in Budapest are John Abraham and Sonakshi Sinha's 2016 film Force 2 and Sushant Singh Rajput and Kriti Sanon's soon-to-be-released Raabta. But the charm attached to a Khan film is an altogether different one.

Tripping..."People don't take trips, trips take people." Steinbeck. A post shared by Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) on Aug 27, 2016 at 6:54pm PDT

Here's all you can see in Budapest.

SALMAN KHAN'S TIGER ZINDA HAI WITH KATRINA KAIF AND ALI ABBAS ZAFAR

Austria

Shah Rukh Khan is not the only Khan taking us to exotic places in Europe. Salman shot in the idyllic Innsbruck and wrapped up the Austria schedule of the shoot in Tyrol. Director Ali Abbas Zafar has placed several parts of his Tiger Zinda Hai in Austria.

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Photos from the sets of Tiger Zinda Hai in Innsbruck made their way to social media, causing extreme excitement among Salman fans. Vienna, the Austrian capital too is on Salman's shoot-itinerary.

Director Ali Abbas Zafar too shared a photo from the sets of Tiger Zinda Hai in Tyrol to announce the wrapping up of the Austria leg of the shoot.

Freezing journey comes to end as @BeingSalmanKhan wraps 1st shooting schedule of @TigerZindaHai in Tyrol , Austria ???? pic.twitter.com/V63vnDNrkE- ali abbas zafar (@aliabbaszafar) March 30, 2017

Here's all you can see in Vienna, Tyrol and Innsbruck.

AAMIR KHAN'S THUGS OF HINDOSTAN WITH FATIMA SANA SHAIKH, AMITABH BACHCHAN AND DIRECTOR VIJAY KRISHNA ACHARYA

Malta

An archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea is on Mr Perfectionist's radar this time. Aamir Khan's next film Thugs of Hindostan is set in Malta, the European archipelago in between Sicily and the North African coast. Photos of this Khan shooting in the island are already on social media.

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Here's what you need to see in Valletta.

(The writer tweets as @ananya116.)

ALSO SEE: Aamir Khan snapped on the sets of Thugs of Hindostan in Malta

ALSO SEE: Shah Rukh Khan begins shooting for Imtiaz Ali's next in Prague

ALSO SEE: Salman Khan wraps up Austria leg of Tiger Zinda Hai shoot

ALSO WATCH: What happens when a single girl goes to Uzbekistan, the land of Amir Taimur

--- ENDS ---
'It was a privilege and blessing to serve.' How the Salvation Army helped survivors of London terror attack

They were calm but needed to help. They were tourists with nowhere to sleep because hotels were in lockdown Or they had no mobile phone battery left to call relatives back home and say they were ok. Or they were police and ambulance workers simply needing a cup of tea.

These were some of the many people helped by the Salvation Army in Southwark, near London Bridge, in the hours following the terror attack.

Some people who sought refuge ended up staying the night. There was nowhere else to go.

Normally, everyone would be asleep already, but it was 11pm on Saturday night when the Salvation Army's Southwark community church near the attack site decided to open its doors to offer a place of safety.

They had seven people sleep overnight, they were able to help people to charge phones and call family and taxis, and they were able to offer the on-duty police officers a place to rest and use facilities.

Captain Ashish Pawar, church leader at Southwark Salvation Army, said: 'Being so close to the scene, we just wanted to do something to help so we opened up our church and community centre at 11pm. Around 25 police officers came for refreshments, seven people slept here, including people who were not able to go back to their hotels, and a number of others just needed to have a hot drink, chat and charge their phones so they could call family and friends.'

He had become quickly aware of the unfolding emergency. 'We said alright, let's just open our hall to see if we can serve people, there's people who came here. There's people who came here because in the London Bridge area and Borough, their hotels were on a lockdown so they couldn't get in.'

People just sat there drinking coffee.

'We said you can stay here for the night.'

Police also started coming in to use the toilets. Others came in so they could charge their phones and call their families. 'It was a real privilege and a blessing to be able to serve them in this atmosphere.'

The Salvation Army's territorial leader, Commissioner Clive Adams, said, 'Yet again, we awoke to news of another monstrous attack by depraved and cowardly men, this time much closer to home - in the borough where we live... in the area where we walk and commute every day. Yet again, my thoughts go to those who mourn loss, and those who are injured both physically and emotionally.

"I have no words. I turn, and point, to Sovereign God.'

He added a prayer: 'Lord, you are great and powerful. You have glory, victory, and honor. Everything in heaven and on earth belongs to you. The kingdom belongs to you, Lord; you are the ruler over everything.' (1 Chronicles 29:11 NCV)
Leadership and the election: Does Jeremy Corbyn know something that Theresa May doesn't?

The British General Election has been full of surprises, and the outcome of this Thursday's vote seems less predictable as each day passes.

One of the most notable features, of course, has been the steady rise in Jeremy Corbyn's approval ratings  while at the same time, those of Theresa May have declined.

A number of explanations might be offered for this. But whatever else might be said, the fact is that the Labour Party leader is embodying a fundamental truth about how to exercise leadership and inspire others while the Conservative leader isn't.

Probably neither Corbyn nor May have ever heard of the acclaimed theologian Walter Brueggemann (described on Wikipedia as 'an American Protestant Old Testament scholar ... who is widely considered one of the most influential Old Testament scholars of the last several decades').

But one of his best-known aphorisms sums up this current election campaign surprisingly well. Featuring in his 1987 book, Hopeful Imagination: Prophetic Voices in Exile, it says simply this: 'People are not changed by moral exhortation, but by transformed imagination'.

In other words, people don't like to be nagged or exhorted into doing the 'right thing'. They are much more likely to change their behaviour and views as a result of having an alternative, positive vision set out in front of them.

Now say what you like about Jeremy Corbyn (and many do), but ask people what he stands for and most likely they will be able to tell you. They will mention things like raising taxes on the richest and on corporations in order to abolish student tuition fees, spend lots more on schools and hospitals, and end austerity. Many people thus associate with him a particular vision  a positive vision  of how the future could be.

Ask people what vision Theresa May offers, however, and pundits will tell you that voters and even Tory election candidates themselves are struggling to nail it. As an article in the London Times on Saturday observed, research of social media posts, even those supporting the Conservatives, showed that in content and substance they 'have little to hold on to. They are varying noises of support around the themes of May, strength and remembering to vote Conservative. [But] few in their number are offering a reason (my italics) for that vote'.

In other words, it's what George W Bush memorably called 'the vision thing'. All this is not to say that the Conservatives do not have a vision which could transform people's imagination  but, if they do, it has not been clearly articulated. Nor is it to say that the Labour vision is necessarily deliverable, when leadership competence and financial realities are taken into account.

But when it comes to setting people's minds on fire with a vision of a brighter future, Jeremy Corbyn wins over Theresa May hands down. It may be that this is a lesson that is too late for her to learn. And as the campaign has revealed, she is plainly in fact an extremely shy person who, whatever her other talents, finds engagement with the general public tricky. She is also more of a details person than a big picture one.

However, regardless of one's politics, people do require a vision. It's notable that Jesus in his teaching is constantly teaching in parables  transforming people's imagination  and speaking of the Kingdom of God, that embodiment of life as it should truly be, rather than just popping up and saying, 'Do this' or 'Don't do that'.

Even the ten commandments, which when read as a standalone list do look simply like 'moral exhortations', actually come in the context of who God is and his transformative, radical grace in rescuing his people.

There's a place for both, of course. I think Brueggemann slightly overstates his case. But the substance of his point remains. And that is one of the main reasons Jeremy Corbyn has moved up the popularity ratings, while Theresa May has lost quite a bit of her shine.

As the Bible put it memorably many centuries ago: 'Where there is no vision, the people perish,' (Proverbs 29v18). And in a democracy, they are less likely to give you a landslide, too.

David Baker is a former daily newspaper journalist now working as an Anglican minister in Sussex, England. Find him on Twitter @Baker_David_A
Man shouts 'Allahu Akhbar' and assaults priest at Christian wedding

A man has been taking into custody and is awaiting court after shouting 'Allahu Akhbar' at a Spanish wedding.

Last Saturday, the 22-year-old Moroccan man, who has not yet been named, interrupted a Catholic wedding cermony which was being held in Valladolid, Spain. Witnesses say that he ran inside and shouted 'Allahu Ahkbar' which means 'Allah is Great' and tried to throw liturgical objects around him to attack the priest and churchgoers.

The ceremony was put on hold for around 20 minutes as several groosmen stumbled across the altar trying tried to chase the man out of the wedding. They eventually chased the man into a corner of the church and held him outside until police had arrived.

The young man, a student living in Valladolid, was arrested by police at the scene and will be charged for 'disturbing public order, crime against religious feelings and threats.'

A national police source told ABC that he was not armed during the incident, however he had a history of disorderly conduct. PJ Media is among the outlets that reported the incident.

The priest who officiated the wedding in front of about 100 guests told Inversion y Finanzas that the incident started when a 'group of young troublemakers' started making noise at the back of the church.

'Suddenly, someone started to shout and charged at the altar.

'A lot of people, including the bride's mother, were crying, and there were people who had already jumped out of the pews because we did not know whether this person came alone or not, or if he was armed.'

The shocked couple could do nothing but watch in amazement as to what was happening. The priest said that he could not make out for the attacker was saying, however witnesses claimed to hear 'Allah is Great.'

Upon his arrest, police investigated the church for potential explosives before the wedding ceremony could continue.
Pastor Jamal Bryant's ex-wife explains why she couldn't stay married to him after adultery revelations

Gizelle Bryant, who's a cast member on Bravo's reality TV series "The Real Housewives of Potomac," is speaking out about her previous marriage to controversial Baltimore megachurch Pastor Jamal Bryant.

During an interview on the syndicated radio program "The Breakfast Club," Gizelle said that the senior pastor of Empowerment Temple in Baltimore, Maryland, had committed adultery in their marriage. In 2007, Gizelle decided to divorce her husband of eight years to set an example for her three daughters.

"I had little kids. So, I have three kids. At the time I had two 1-year-olds and a 3 year old," she said. "And I said, 'I'm not doing this. I'm not going to be, you know, just being disrespected.'"

Gizelle, however, did stay in the marriage for a year to try and make it work after she learned about her husband's infidelities.

"I decided to give it a year to say to myself, 'OK, am I going to work this thing out? Is this going to happen when my kids [are] in high school and then I leave," she recalled asking herself before realizing it was time for a divorce. "I just felt like it was time."

Last year, the pastor joked about no longer believing in monogamy on his daytime talk show, "The Preachers." However, he cleared things up and let the world know that he still believes in the sanctity of marriage after joking about agreeing with open marriages.

"My mother called me sleepless in Seattle trying to figure out, 'What did I mean laughing about open marriages? God is not pleased,'" Bryant said on the show. "So, I'm not talking to the millions of y'all watching. Dear mama, please know that I still believe marriage is between two people and what God has brought together let nobody put asunder."

This article was originally published in The Christian Post.
What was the main driver of the thousands of Ebola deaths in West Africa?

Global heath experts are once again on their toes as another Ebola outbreak has been declared in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the number of suspected cases of Ebola has risen to over 43 from nine in less than two weeks in an isolated part of the DRC, where three people have died from the disease since April 22.

The last outbreak in West Africa killed more than 11,300 people across four countries. Now, Ebola appears to be back, bringing with it arguments, recriminations, accusations and counter-accusations of whether the right decisions and choices are made when outbreaks erupt.

Three years ago, Sierra Leone closed its borders with Guinea and Liberia on June 11 in a bid to stop the epidemic. However, a country-wide emergency was not declared until August: 6 months later. But it's a mistake to believe that the delay in an emergency response was the main driver behind the thousands of infections and deaths that were recorded across West Africa.

As a recent study entitled Protecting the Living, Honouring the Dead attests, cultural insensitivity to local burial practices, was the main driver fuelling the high rate of Ebola infections in most communities.

Almost all of the bereaved families we interviewed who lost relatives between May and November 2014 did not appreciate burials done by the early burial teams across the districts covered. 71 per cent of families who lost someone in the first six months of the crisis reportedly did not witness the burial of their relatives, and only 19 per cent were involved in the burial in some way.

We decided to tackle the issue by training people to handle and bury the dead in a way a cultural sensitive way. We trained burial workers  many of whom were survivors themselves  to observe religious and cultural funeral practices.

I've worked on the West African Ebola emergency response from the early outbreak in 2014 up to the present day, and it is a mistake to place blame solely on delayed action. As aid workers suspected, and now this report confirms, it was the failure to respect traditional burial customs - and wider ignorance of the virus - that contributed to thousands of Ebola deaths in Sierra Leone.

I hope that the latest outbreak of Ebola in northern DRC will remain 'isolated, remote, and small'. The location of the affected area appears to have helped contain the spread of the virus. Hopefully the Congolese health authorities have it under control. This is their fourth Ebola outbreak in 15 years. They seem to understand the virus and have a good track record on containment.

The situation in Sierra Leone in 2014 could not have been more different. Nobody had heard of Ebola. And when people started to die locals believed that it was witchcraft, government lies or anything but the fatal infectious virus that scientists and NGOs were talking about.

The arrival of burial teams clad in head to toe in white overalls, goggles and face masks struck fear into the minds of Sierra Leoneans. In the early days of the epidemic, burial workers gathered bodies without a thought for traditional funeral practices. Bodies were piled high and disposed of as efficiently as possible. There were no ceremonial dressings of the deceased or last goodbyes. No wonder then that around 96% of the families we spoke to were unhappy that prayer, washing, dressing and perfuming of bodies were not part of the process.

It's no surprise then that families started to hide the bodies of loved ones and bury them secretly. The consequence was that infection rates and deaths shot up.

The families we spoke to told us that the use of black bags and chlorine to wash corpses of their loved ones instead of shrouds were 'disrespectful and undignified'.

One bereaved parent told us how burial workers had 'dropped the corpse of my late child on the ground as though it was a bag of cassava. I also saw corpses rolled with sticks; others tied on ropes and dragged on the ground. It was such a painful and sorrowful scene that no one would be happy to see and talk about.'

Another issue that was overlooked was the cultural taboo of men burying women. It wasn't until our safe burial teams involved women and the wider family in the funerary process that we saw a shift in behaviour change.

Involving religious leaders made a huge difference to our Ebola emergency response. Interestingly 100 per cent of all bereaved families agreed that the involvement of religious leaders and women in the burial process was very important. The mobilization of priests and imams to spread prevention messages saw infection rates plummet. And in the month after the Safe and Dignified burials were introduced the highest number of deaths were reported since the outbreak started.

Ultimately, the culturally sensitive approach to the response was key to the containment of the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone. Wherever this virus strikes next, first responders must engage faith leaders, women and the wider community to stop Ebola in its tracks.

Caroline Iliffe is Emergency Programme Officer at World Vision. Follow on Twitter @worldvision
The candlelight vigils didnt work. After the Manchester Arena suicide bombing in England last month, liberal pundits suggested mass vigils and community solidarity as a counterterrorism response. The most important imperative, according to the media intelligentsia, was to signal that the Wests commitment to diversity and inclusion was intact.

Unfortunately, the three Islamic terrorists who used a van and knives to kill another seven civilians and critically injure dozens more in London on Saturday night were unmoved by the diversity message. Witnesses described the killers frantically stabbing anyone they could reach, while shouting This is for Allah; one witness said that a girl was stabbed up to 15 times.

The candlelight vigil counsel has been more muted after this latest attack, though the New York Times has predictably advised the candidates in Britains upcoming elections not to succumb to draconian measures or to do just what the terrorists want by undermining democratic values.

The usual blame the West strategy did make an appearance, with some politicians and commentators trying to change the subject from Islamic terrorism to alleged right-wing violence in the U.S. Congressman Adam Smith, from Washington state, reached back to the Oklahoma City bombing to claim that there was a common thread of racism and fear of people who dont look like you in the violence on the other side. That right-wing violence would only be exacerbated if President Donald Trumps ideas for fighting terrorism were realized, Smith suggested Sunday on Fox News. Likewise, a spokeswoman from the progressive think tank Demos said that the Trump administration was tolerating right-wing hate and violence.

The main response to the London attack, however, has been to reiterate opposition to Trumps March 2017 executive order briefly suspending new visa issuance from six terror-ridden and terror-sponsoring countries: Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Syria, and Libya. That modest three-month pause in new visas for travel to the U.S. was to be accompanied by a thorough review of security screening protocols in those six countries.

On Saturday night, following the London attacks, Trump had tweeted: We need to be smart, vigilant and tough. We need the courts to give us back our rights. We need the Travel Ban as an extra level of safety! Trumps exhortation produced expletive-laden fury, as well as more sober dismay. Columnist Fareed Zakaria summarized two of the main arguments against the visa pause on CNN Monday morning. The pause is a nonsense solution to Islamic terrorism, Zakaria said, because the vast majority of attacks have been committed by homegrown terrorists and locals. In other words, homegrown Islamic terrorism is not an immigration problem. But a second-generation Muslim terrorist is more of an immigration problem than a first-generation Muslim terrorist. Such a killer demonstrates that the uncontrolled flow of immigrants from terror-breeding countries has overwhelmed the necessary process of assimilation. When security forces in a country like Britain can no longer keep track of Islamic extremists within their borders, that is a consequence of specific immigration policies.

Zakaria claimed that the problem is ideology, not immigration. But how will the Wests ability to counter that ideology be improved by bringing in more bearers of it without a better understanding of who is ripe for radicalization? Until we are confident of our ability to screen for radical Islamic ideology in newcomers and their progeny, the rational reaction is to temporarily slow things down.

Zakaria also invoked a study from the libertarian Cato Institute that allegedly shows that there has not been a terror attack on U.S. soil by a visa holder from the six visa-paused countries since 1975. Therefore, the argument goes, the U.S. could not possibly be attacked by someone from those six countries. But just because something has not happened yet does not mean that it cannot happen. The Trump administration chose the six countries on the travel pause list because, as the Obama administration previously declared, they are the most dangerous breeders of radical Islamic ideology on earth. Several of the countries have no functional government at all. There is no reason to think that the U.S. is immune from the North African-generated terror attacks plaguing Europe, especially if the U.S. mimics European immigration levels.

Trumps proposed visa pause follows the precautionary principle. Supporters of the Paris climate accords use that principle all the time. They accuse critics of the Paris accords of forcing the world to wait until it is destroyed by a tidal wave before it can take action against climate change. Yet many of those same advocates of the environmental precautionary principle would have the Trump administration wait until the country is attacked by a Libyan, say, before it can tighten visa protocols in Libya. But of course, if the Trump administration did wait until after an attack, it would be accused of overreacting to a one-shot incident. And if the travel pause were broader, to take in countries already associated with terror attacks on U.S. soil, it would be lambasted for its even greater racist, xenophobic reach.

Other pundits and Democratic politicians have resurrected the constitutional arguments against the travel pause. They echo the Fourth Circuit opinion striking down the pause that was issued three days after a second-generation Libyan in Manchester killed 22 people with his suicide vest in May. The Fourth Circuit majority held that the Trump executive order violates the First Amendments ban on laws respecting an establishment of religion. The majoritys argument is preposterous. The executive order establishes or disestablishes no religion. It has no effect on the vast majority of Muslims worldwide living outside the six covered countries, and it applies to non-Muslims from the six covered countries. Why is Bali not on the list? Because it is not a significant source of terror-breeding ideology and terrorist training. But even if the order had been drawn on religious grounds, foreigners living outside the U.S. have no constitutional rights. The U.S. government owes foreigners on foreign soil nothing when it comes to immigration policy; the equal protection clause and the First Amendment do not apply to them. No one has a right to enter the U.S., or any other country, on his own terms. If the government wanted to suspend visas for blondes, those non-American blondes living abroad would have no standing to challenge the governments actions.

Courts that have invalidated Trumps national security orders have tried to finesse those territorial limits by holding that the orders violate the First Amendment rights of U.S. residents. That is a pretextual move. The core impulse behind the judicial rulings to date is to spread constitutional rights worldwide and to dissolve the prerogatives of national sovereignty.

The one potentially valid argument against the executive order now is that the three-month period from the time the order was signed has almost passed. The review of security-screening capacity in the six affected countries could have been completed by now, with or without the travel pause. It could be that such a review can only be thoroughly conducted with visa issuance on hold. Trump officials have not addressed this argument, so it is impossible to say. The main truth of the executive order, however remains in force: the U.S. must review and refine its immigration policies to avoid becoming the next Europe, unable to detect or deter the Islamic terrorists in its midst.

Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images
Friends of the Earth were fined for breaking campaigning rules during the 2015 election

A letter from over 50 different charities outlining their deep concerns about the effect of the Lobbying Act has been sent to party leaders ahead of Thursdays general election.

The letter says that a number of charities have altered or reduced campaigning activities before the election as a result of the act, and is calling on the next government to repeal the act. It said: Voices are being lost at this crucial time, and our democracy is the poorer for it.

Bond, the umbrella body for organisations working in international development, has also been collecting case-studies on the effect of the Lobbying Act on charitable activities.

The letter states that charities which continue to campaign to further their charitable objects are subject to an enormous and unreasonable administrative and financial burden.

It adds that this is compounded by the retrospective year-long regulated period which requires us to go back and assess campaigning from before we knew a general election would be called.

The Lobbying Act means that even when a snap election is called, the election period still starts one year before. In this case it meant the period started on 9 June 2016, despite the announcement of an election not taking place until April 2017.

The letter said that the charities backed Lord Hodgsons review of the Lobbying Act, which said that there was a disproportionate regulatory burden for campaigners, and that current regulations failed to strike the right balance between preventing undue influence before an election.

The charities said: Charities are being weighed down by an unreasonable and unfair law which restricts our ability to contribute fully to a democratic society.

Cost of legal advice unaffordable for smaller organisations

Tamsyn Barton, Bonds chief executive officer, said: Campaigning during election time is a critical and legitimate part of what our members do. This is how charities ensure those who are vulnerable and marginalised have a voice. But the level of red tape involved in complying with the act is excessive and the cost of legal advice is unaffordable for smaller organisations  especially at such short notice.

Shockingly, many organisations have felt unable to speak out during this snap election on issues which affected the people they aim to represent  and our democracy is all the poorer for it.

Friends of the Earth coordinated the letter which was sent to the major political parties.

The charitys chief executive, Craig Bennett, said: The problem with the Lobbying Act is that it seriously damages charities ability to do their job, and that job is to work for the greater public good.

From environmental, to international development, to social care sectors, charities are united on this.

The governments own report has called for the Lobbying Act to be reformed. This is the right thing to do because important civic voices that speak for the most marginalised are being lost.

If the Lobbying Act is not reformed, democracy will ultimately suffer.

See also

Friends of the Earth, along with Greenpeace, became the first charities to be fined under the Lobbying Act for breaking campaigning rules during the 2015 general election, it was announced in April.

Impact on individual charities

One example collected by Bond of a charity impacted by the Act is that of Christian Aid, whose Christian Aid week takes place annually in May. The snap election meant that it was in the middle of the campaigning period, and because of the Lobbying Act Christian Aid said it created a huge amount of additional bureaucracy to monitor activities, to make sure Christian Aid Week was not seen as political.

As part of its activities for Christian Aid Week, the charity petitioned the government about the plight of refugees. The charity said it spent a huge amount of staff time managing and recording all of this, just in case there was an accusation of being party political.

Christian Aid said that the administrative burden caused by the act has had a significant impact on its work, with a member of staff having to work almost fulltime auditing its campaigns for the last year, and providing internal advice and guidance to ensure the charity continues to speak out on its campaigns, while remaining in the law.

Friends of the Earth said the administrative burden caused by the Lobbying Act has had a significant impact on its work, particularly regarding concerns over one of the charitys biggest events of the year, Basecamp, which this year takes place the weekend before the election.

The charity said that although the Electoral Commission has tried to be helpful, but said that it seemed as though some advisors did not know the regulation well enough.

The Labour Party, The Liberal Democrats, The Green Party and The Scottish National Party have all committed to repealing or revising the Act.

In the letter, the 50 charities call on all parties to overhaul the Lobbying Act as a matter of urgency after the general election.

It asks that they:

Changing the definition of regulated activity in line with the recommendations of the Hodgson Review;

Reforming the rules for charities and campaign groups working together;

Reducing the regulated period from one year to four months;

The full list of charities to sign the letter are:

ActionAid UK Age UK Amnesty International UK ARTICLE 19 Avenues Bethphage Bond British Institute of Human Rights Buglife Camphill Village Trust CARE International UK Children's Rights Alliance for England Christian Aid Client Earth Core Coalition Detention Action Discrimination Law Association Focus on Labour Exploitation (FLEX) Friends of the Earth Greenpeace UK Health Poverty Action Help Refugees Humanists UK INQUEST JUSTICE Malaria Consortium Medical Justice Migrants Organise Migrants' Rights Network National Star ONE Against Poverty (UK) Race On The Agenda (ROTA) Refugee Council Results UK Runnymede Trust Saferworld Share Action SignHealth Small Charities Coalition Student Action for Refugees (STAR) Sue Ryder Tearfund The Wildlife Trusts Traidcraft Exchange UK Lesbian and Gay Immigration Group United Nations Association of the UK (UNA-UK) Vibrance VODG (Voluntary Organisations Disability Group) War on Want Welsh Centre for International Affairs Welsh Council for Voluntary Action Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) Women's Aid


C# var ds = new DataSet(); using ( var connection = new SqlConnection( " ..." )) { var da = new SqlDataAdapter( " SELECT ..." , connection); da.SelectCommand.Parameters.AddWithValue(...); da.Fill(ds, " FirstTable" ); } using ( var connection = new OleDbConnection( " ..." )) { var da = new OleDbDataAdapter( " SELECT ..." , connection); da.SelectCommand.Parameters.AddWithValue(...); da.Fill(ds, " SecondTable" ); }

If one of your queries returns multiple result-sets, you might need to use TableMappings to specify the table names:

DataAdapter DataTable and DataColumn Mappings | Microsoft Docs[^]





"These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined."

- Homer













"These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined."

- Homer











Performance may have changed in recent versions.

Never underestimate the power of human stupidity

RAH







If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^] Bastard Programmer from Hell



Hi all,



I have an SSIS Package, I am using the Oracle Database table as Datasource in my package, when I am trying to Edit and Test the Connection by putting the credentials its giving me the following error. Test connection failed because of an error in initializing provider. ORA-12541: TNS:no listener

I did set the Oracle_Home to the right directory, still I am getting the problem.



Now I set the TNS_ADMIN also with the network folder still getting the error.



Can anybody help me in resolving this issue, any help is going to be greatly helpful, thanks in advance.



Thanks,



Abdul Aleem



"There is already enough hatred in the world lets spread love, compassion and affection."



-- modified 13-Jun-17 19:34pm.





I would first check if the connection to the server is ok by using tnsping:

https://docs.oracle.com/cd/E11882_01/network.112/e41945/connect.htm#NETAG357



or try to connect with orcale sql developper



I just want to ask, what is your solution on storing encrypted data on database? And also how you do searching on it? For now the subject database server is mysql.



Disk level encryption is not an option. I also research about database level encryption but, MySql TDE is not for me, and also if you migrate to other database server in my understanding you need to re-encrypt all the data.



So my last bet is application level encryption. And I tried to implement it using AES-GCM, but on this I will lose database searching, because encrypting the same data with the same key and id will produce different results. Now I got an idea but, i don't know what would be the risk implementing it. I was thinking blind indexing.



What I am planning to do is to store 2 version of the encrypted data. first the data will be encrypted with aes-gcm, then store another version of it using one-way encryption on this same data will produce the same hash. So the first encryption is reversible but not searchable, while the second one is not reversible but I can do whole word searching.



The obvious drawback of this is speed. But I want also to ask if in security perspective is it feasible? And also how do you do a search query on encrypted database using the partial text of the data?



Thank you





As for the HASH based search - it will work only if you search for exact data, for instance 'Gilbert Consellado' will produce a constant HASH but the HASH for 'Gilbert' will not be part of it, so you will find that piece of data only if you are looking for 'Gilbert Consellado' exactly as is (include case and space and order)...



If there is a way to index the data, prior encryption, than you can use it (the HASH of the indexes) to search quickly at the DB level...

Skipper: We'll fix it.

Alex: Fix it? How you gonna fix this?

Skipper: Grit, spit and a whole lotta duct tape.



Hi expert,



Database : MySQL



I am trying to create 2 tables with a one-to-many relationship.

Table 1 - tutor

Table 2 - subject



In my table tutor, I have id as the Primary key and it is auto-incremental.



In my subject, I have id as the Primary key and it is auto-incremental, tutorNRIC as the foreign key and tutorNRIC in my tutor table as the reference key.



For my subject, there will be more than one entry in the column tutor_subject.



For example, a tutor will sign up and then all the subjects that she can teach will be entered into that column tutor_subjet.



I'd like to check if my insert sql is correct :



SQL private final String INSERT_QRY1 = " INSERT INTO hi5project.subject tutor_subject, tutorNRIC VALUES ('?', '?') SET tutorNRIC = hi5project.tutor.tutorNRIC" ;



Thanks.







LinkID

TutorID

StudentID

Never underestimate the power of human stupidity

RAH







I am not creating a table to store the students.



So, do I still need a many-to-many relationship between the table : tutor and the table : subject ?





Never underestimate the power of human stupidity

RAH







Can I know if the ammended database schema is correct ?



SQL Create table tutor( id integer, auto_increment; tutorName varchar ( 50 ), not null , tutorNRIC varchar ( 50 ), not null , ( Primary Key ) tutorEmail varchar ( 50 ), not null , );



SQL Create table subject( id integer, auto_increment; subject varchar950), not null ; subject_id, integer, not null , ( Primary Key ) _;



SQL Create table tutor_subject( tutorNRIC integer, subject_id integer, Primary Key (tutorNRIC, subject_id), Foreign Key (tutorNRIC) references tutor(tutorNRIC), Foreign Key (subject_id) references subject(subject_id));





Never underestimate the power of human stupidity

RAH







Is it possible to use tutorNRIC as my primary key instead of tutorID ? my tutorID is just an index for me to keep track how many people have signed up.



Another question is that how should I do my insert statement based on many to many relationship ?



karengsh wrote: Is it possible to use tutorNRIC as my primary key Yes it is possible just wrong. A user should NEVER be able to edit a primary key.

karengsh wrote: my tutorID is just an index for me to keep track how many people have signed up. That statement means you need to do some reading/learning on database design. A primary key should be stupid and used for just one purpose, to identify the record, NOTHING else.



Normally you would create the primary records and when you link them (via the UI) you create the link record with the 2 primary keys.

Never underestimate the power of human stupidity

RAH







The thing is that in my country NRIC is unique. Nobody holds the same NRIC.



In this case, can I make it my Primary key ? And I'd like tutorID as my index with incremental value?







karengsh wrote: And I'd like tutorID as my index with incremental value That is fine but it will not be a count of the records in the table.

Never underestimate the power of human stupidity

RAH







However, how do I insert into the third table?



Should I use select subj_Id from subject and select tutor_id and then insert into the 3rd table ?



hi everyone





Are you asking why we use datareader.



The following link might be a good read for you



DataSet vs. DataReader[^]





Never underestimate the power of human stupidity

RAH



Hi,



I am trying to run an SSIS Package which is using Oracle Db as Datasource. When I am running the Package I am getting the above error: attempt to load oracle client libraries threw badimageformatexception ssis. I have downloaded the Oracle Client tools as suggested in a link upon goolging. Still I am not able to find an answer for it. Any help can be greatly helpful.



As that Database is secured, I am encrypting the connection string and placing it into a variable, then assigning to ConnectionString property the Source Connection, could it be the problem? I am not understanding what am I missing here.



Any help would b very helpful thanks in advance.



Thanks in advance.



Thanks,



Abdul Aleem



"There is already enough hatred in the world lets spread love, compassion and affection."





-- modified 1-Jun-17 20:13pm.


Vaghela is reportedly upset with the party leadership for not declaring him as the Congress' CM candidate for the Gujarat Assembly elections to be held later this year.

By India Today Web Desk: In a matter of concern for the Congress, Leader of Opposition in the Gujarat Assembly Shankersinh Vaghela skipped the crucial meeting with party vice-president Rahul Gandhi in the national capital here on Monday. Vaghela is reportedly upset with the party leadership for not declaring him as the Congress' chief ministerial candidate for the Gujarat Assembly elections to be held later this year.

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According to sources, Vaghela was supposed to meet Rahul along with Congress general secretary in-charge of Gujarat Ashok Gehlot and four co-in charge leaders. However, Vaghela did not turn up for the meeting.

Another crucial meeting of the Gujarat Congress leaders with Rahul is slated for June 9. Congress leaders would anxiously await Vaghela's participation in it. If Vaghela does not turn up even for that meeting, it would be almost clear that he is extremely upset with the Congress leadership and matters were worsening for the party in the state.

DEMANDS BY VAGHELA

The sources said Vaghela has made some demands which included projecting him as the CM candidate. He had put forth this demand in his earlier meeting with Gehlot and Rahul. He has also threatened to quit the leader of opposition's post if his demand is not fulfilled, the sources added.

The meeting of Gujarat Congress leaders with Rahul on Monday was convened to apprise the latter of the current state of political affairs in the state. The delegation also submitted a report on the issue to the party vice president.

Efforts are being made by the Congress leadership to rid the party's Gujarat unit of factionalism. To that end, Vaghela and state unit party chief Bharatsinh Solanki were summoned by the high command to the national capital.

Also read: Vaghela 'unfriends' Cong

Also read: Sonia Gandhi on 3 years of Modi government: Where there was harmony, there is discord

WATCH VIDEO HERE

--- ENDS ---
The Port of Townsville Limited (POTL) said in a statement it is welcoming todays announcement by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk that the Governments State Budget will allocate up to $75 million AUD in funding for the Townsville Channel Capacity Upgrade Project.

The $193 million Channel Capacity Upgrade, which is Stage 1 of the $1.64 billion Townsville Port Expansion Project, will widen the shipping channels to accommodate larger ships.

POTL Chief Executive Officer Ranee Crosby said that the project would future-proof the port by ensuring it remains competitive and viable for major shipping lines, as well as providing certainty for industry investment into the region.

Being able to accommodate larger ships will have significant and far reaching benefits for Northern Australia; larger ships are more efficient, which means lower operating costs per unit, particularly for container and car ships," said Crosby.

"Townsville will also be able to attract larger cruise ships, providing a much needed boost to the local tourism industry.

POTL Chair Renita Garard said that todays announcement was a huge milestone for the project and future trade opportunities for the Port of Townsville.

The Channel Widening Project will return $580 million in benefits to Queensland, providing the safest, most cost effective and environmentally sustainable solution for meeting the freight requirements of North Queensland.

Dredging work for channel widening could commence in 2018, subject to environmental approvals and final funding, meaning the region would begin to see larger ships visiting Townsville within two years. The Channel Widening Project will take up to six years in total with completion in 2023.
Voters in Bar Harbor, Maine, are expected to vote next Tuesday, June 13, on whether to convert an idle ferry terminal into a cruise pier and also whether to limit the size on cruise ships allowed to dock and eventually on the number of passengers that can come ashore on any given day.

The busiest port in Maine, Bar Harbor already limits cruise passengers coming ashore in one day to 3,500 during July and August, when there is heavy visitor congestion, and to 5,500 during the early summer and fall months.

Today, large ships anchor and tender in, only vessels carrying up to 100 passengers dock in downtown Bar Harbor. (The ferry terminal is outside of town and would require a five-minute shuttle ride.)

According local news sources, there is a local citizens group that would like to limit the size of cruise ships calling at the ferry terminal to 300 feet in length and also have the voters decide on the daily limits rather than the city council.

With a local population of 5,535, Bar Harbor reportedly sees more than 3 million visitors a year, including 170,000 cruise passengers last year. This year, a record 163 cruise calls are booked and are expected to bring as many as 225,000 passengers.

This has caused the citizens group to be formed, led by A.J. Greif, who is a Bar Harbor resident and attorney. He said in an interview with WDEA Radio posted on YouTube that Miami port consultants Bermello Ajamil & Partners had proposed the building of a new cruise terminal, replacing the old ferry pier. The terminal would be 2,300 feet long from the high tide line, to accommodate the largest vessels.

An artists rendering shows the proposed terminal to extend about three times further out than the existing terminal and with two ships, one on each side.

With an estimated cost in the range of $30 to $40 million, Greif also said that the only way to pay for a bond to finance the terminal would be to triple the number of ship calls and passengers.

Greif compared the process of going to the consulting firm before having a local policy in place like asking the fox to design the henhouse.

View of unused ferry terminal:
CUNA is engaged with both House and Senate proceedings this week, as the House prepares to vote on a piece of regulatory relief legislation and a CUNA board member will testify before a Senate Committee. Dallas Bergl, who also serves as CEO of INOVA FCU, Elkhart, Ind., will testify before the Senate Banking Committee Thursday.

Bergl will appear before the committee at a hearing titled Fostering Economic Growth: The Role of Financial Institutions in Local Communities, scheduled for Thursday at 10 a.m. (ET).

In his testimony, hes going to present a number of common-sense solutions to stimulate economic growth, I would expect he will discuss the role credit unons play in serving their communities through small business loans, and the need to provide parity for 1-4 family non owner occupied residential loan, said Ryan Donovan, CUNAs chief advocacy officer. Hell also discuss the impact the member business lending cap has on credit unions ability to serve communities.

Live video of the hearing will be streamed on the committees website.

Rep. Jeb Hensarlings (R-Texas) Financial CHOICE Act, an alternative to Dodd-Frank, is expected to be considered by the House this week.
Block, Inc. is the parent company to a host of digital financial solutions including Square. The company was founded in 2009 by Jack Dorsey (also founded Twitter) and Jim McKelvey as a solution to a problem faced by McKelvey. Mr. McKelvey was unable to complete a transaction because he was unable to accept credit cards and that provided inspiration for Mr. Dorsey. The firm was founded in St. Louis but now has no official headquarters, instead choosing to do most work remotely or from one of several key hubs. That decision was made in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic when it became clear telecommuting was a solution that worked.

The original Square app provides a multitude of payment and POS solutions that include hardware and software. The hardware includes the iconic Square card mag-stripe reader that can be plugged into any tablet or smartphone as well as many other solutions. The software enables sellers to turn their smart devices into POS on a temporary or permanent/dedicated basis.

The company went public in 2015 when it IPOd on the NASDAQ stock exchange and then later decided to change its name to Block to better represent the business. Today, Block, Inc. operates as a network of businesses that are working together to expand access to the economy. The core brands are Square, CashApp, AfterPay, Weebly, Tidal, Spiral, and TBD.

The Square brand encompasses all the core business including but not limited to hardware and its related software. The CashApp business is a money transfer solution that is working to make money more available and universally acceptable. Afterpay is a buy-now-pay-later service. Weebly is an eCommerce and web hosting service for small and medium-sized businesses. Tidal is a platform for musicians and artists to connect with fans and monetize their brands. Spiral is the firm's cryptocurrency division and TBD is a division focused on crypto, specifically building a crypto platform.

Block, Inc. stunned the market in 2020 when it began to purchase Bitcoin. Then Square, the company purchased Bitcoin in two transactions for a total of $210 million. The holdings amount to 8,027 Bitcoins which were worth $154.75 million in October 2022. The purpose of Spiral is to fund open-sourced applications that encourage and facilitate the use of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Mr. Dorsey remains the CEO and chairman of Block, Inc. The company employs more than 8,500 individuals across its footprint and netted $17.66 billion in revenue for 2021. Mr. Dorsey is also the companys largest shareholder with about 10% of the shares.
Graco Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets systems and equipment used to move, measure, control, dispense, and spray fluid and powder materials worldwide. The company's Industrial segment offers proportioning systems to spray polyurethane foam and polyurea coatings; equipment that pumps, meters, mixes and dispenses sealant, adhesive, and composite materials; and gel-coat equipment, chop and wet-out systems, resin transfer molding systems and applicators, and precision dispensing solutions. It also provides liquid finishing equipment; paint circulating and supply pumps; paint circulating advanced control systems; plural component coating proportioners; spare parts and accessories; and powder finishing products to coat powder finishing on metals under the Gema and SAT brands. The company's Process segment offers pumps to move and dispense chemicals, water, wastewater, petroleum, food, lubricants, and other fluids; pressure valves used in the oil and natural gas industry, other industrial processes, and research facilities; and chemical injection pumping solutions for injection of chemicals into producing oil wells and pipelines. It also supplies pumps, hose reels, meters, valves, and accessories for fast oil change facilities, service garages, fleet service centers, automobile dealerships, auto parts stores, truck builders, and heavy equipment service centers; and systems, components, and accessories for the automatic lubrication of bearings, gears, and generators in industrial and commercial equipment, compressors, turbines, and on- and off-road vehicles. The company's Contractor segment offers sprayers to apply paint to walls and other structures; and viscous coatings to roofs, as well as markings on roads, parking lots, athletic fields, and floors. It sells its products through distributors, original equipment manufacturers, and home center channels; and directly to end-users. The company was incorporated in 1926 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
In a late Tuesday night announcement, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said family of the farmers killed in Mandsaur will get Rs 1 crore in relief. This was the second time in one day that Chouhan hiked the relief amount.

At least five farmers died in firing in Mandsaur on Tuesday (PTI photo)

By India Today Web Desk: In a late Tuesday night announcement, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the family of the farmers killed in today's protests in Mandsaur will receive Rs 1 crore each in compensation.

This was the second time in a day that the Bharatiya Janata Party chief minister hiked compensation, having already raised relief from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh earlier in the day.

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Apart from monetary compensation, one member of the family will also be given a government job, Chouhan told news agency ANI. Chouhan added that the kin of farmers injured in today's violence will receive Rs 5 lakh and free medical treatment.

In his late-night message, Chouhan appealed for calm after a day of unrest that saw at least five farmers dying in firing. However, it remained unclear who fired the shots that led to the deaths of five farmers.

Earlier in the day, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Bhupendra Singh denied police had fired on the protesting farmers and said he has ordered a probe to find out how the firing took place. Protesting farmers however claimed that police started firing on them in Mandsaur.

RAHUL GANDHI TO VISIT MANDSAUR

Meanwhile, sources told India Today that Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi is set to visit Mandsaur, with advance teams of the Special Protection Group, which guards the Gandhi family, already dispatched to the Madhya Pradesh district. Congress has been accused by the Shivraj Chouhan Bharatiya Janata Party government of aggravating the situation by politicising the issue.

Farmers in Madhya Pradesh have been protesting since the beginning of this month over the extremely low prices at which they have been forced to sell produce in open market.

Chief Minister Chouhan on Monday announced a slew of measures, including minimum support prices, to quell the unrest, but the farmers refused to call off their agitation.

(With inputs from Supriya Bharadwaj)

ALSO WATCH | Farmers protest in Maharashtra, MP: Loan waivers only solution to their problems?

--- ENDS ---
Hilltop Holdings Inc. provides business and consumer banking, and financial products and services. It operates through three segments: Banking, Broker-Dealer, and Mortgage Origination. The Banking segment offers savings, checking, interest-bearing checking, and money market accounts; certificates of deposit; lines and letters of credit, home improvement and equity loans, loans for purchasing and carrying securities, equipment loans and leases, agricultural and commercial real estate loans, and other loans; and commercial and industrial loans, and term and construction finance. This segment also provides treasury management, wealth management, asset management, check cards, safe deposit boxes, online banking, bill pay, trust, and overdraft services; and estate planning, management and administration, investment portfolio management, employee benefit accounts, and individual retirement accounts, as well as automated teller machines. The Broker-Dealer segment offers public finance services that assist public entities in originating, syndicating, and distributing securities of municipalities and political subdivisions; specialized advisory and investment banking services; advice and guidance to arbitrage rebate compliance, portfolio management, and local government investment pool administration; structured finance services, which include advisory services for derivatives and commodities; sells, trades in, and underwrites U.S. government and government agency bonds, corporate bonds, and municipal bonds, as well as mortgage-backed, asset-backed, and commercial mortgage-backed securities and structured products. This segment also provides asset and liability management advisory, clearing, retail, and securities lending services. The Mortgage Origination segment offers mortgage, jumbo, Federal Housing Administration, Veterans Affairs, and United States Department of Agriculture loans. Hilltop Holdings Inc. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. operates as a specialty retailer and distributor of professional beauty supplies. The company operates through two segments, Sally Beauty Supply and Beauty Systems Group. The Sally Beauty Supply segment offers beauty products, including hair color and care products, skin and nail care products, styling tools, and other beauty products for retail customers, salons, and salon professionals. This segment also provides products under third-party brands, such as Wella, Clairol, OPI, Conair, and L'Oreal, as well as exclusive-label brand merchandise. The Beauty Systems Group segment offers professional beauty products, such as hair color and care products, skin and nail care products, styling tools, and other beauty items directly to salons and salon professionals through its professional-only stores, e-commerce platforms, and sales force, as well as through franchised stores under the Armstrong McCall store name. This segment also sells products under third-party brands, such as Paul Mitchell, Wella, Matrix, Schwarzkopf, Kenra, Goldwell, Joico, and Olaplex. As of September 30, 2021, the company operated 4,777 stores, including 134 franchised units in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Peru, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Spain, and Germany. It also distributes its products through full-service/exclusive distributors, open-line distributors, direct sales, and mega-salon stores. Sally Beauty Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1964 and is headquartered in Denton, Texas.
The security forces from 44 RR and SOG of Jammu and Kashmir Police launched the cordon-and-search operation in Ganowpora area of Shopian following information about presence of two militants.

By Ashraf Wani: A student was killed and 10 other civilians were injured today in a clash between a stone- pelting mob and security forces in Kashmir's Shopian district during a cordon-and-search operation, police said.

Today evening, the security forces from 44 RR and SOG of Jammu and Kashmir Police launched the cordon-and-search operation in Ganowpora area of Shopian following information about presence of two militants here.

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However, the local residents pelted stones at the security forces while a cordon was being laid. Security forces fired tear smoke shells to chase them away. Some time later, the stone-pelting intensified and the security forces had to open fire to disperse them.

In the clash, a student identified as Adil Farooq was hit by a bullet and later succumbed to injuries on way to hospital. 10 other civilians were also injured.

Two local Hizbul militants are believed to be trapped in the cordon.

Also read:

All options against Pakistan open, says Army chief General Bipin Rawat

The gloves are off: Hardliner Gen Bipin Rawat fights Kashmir insurgency, with government's backing

Army chief Bipin Rawat on Kashmir unrest: Wish protesters fired at us instead of pelting stones

Indian Army to open up combat positions for women, says General Bipin Rawat

WATCH | Army Chief General Bipin Rawat holds high-level meet to discuss security situation in Kashmir

--- ENDS ---
Sidharth Malhotra and Jacqueline Fernandez have come together for the first time for A Gentleman. The posters of the film are out.

Siddharth Malhotra in the first poster of A Gentleman

By India Today Web Desk: The first poster of Sidharth Malhotra and Jacqueline Fernandez's upcoming film A Gentleman hit the web at midnight on Monday.

The Student Of The Year star took to Twitter to share the poster, which has him holding a pressure cooker lid in one hand and a gun in the other.

The 'sundar, susheel and risky' gentleman captioned the poster: "Pressure cooker se leke Bandook - he can use both. First look of #AGentleman guys @Asli_Jacqueline here I am , as promised! (sic)"

Pressure cooker se leke Bandook - he can use both. First look of #AGentleman guys @Asli_Jacqueline here Iam , as promised! pic.twitter.com/WfZjsXmBEO- Sidharth Malhotra (@S1dharthM) June 5, 2017

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A Gentleman, starring Jacqueline Fernandez opposite Sidharth in the lead, is an eccentric action-comedy.

The Kapoor And Sons star shared the second poster of A Gentleman on Twitter which reveals the look of Fernandez in the film.

Hey @Asli_Jacqueline you remember shooting this one #AGentleman second poster! Watch out for Jackie taking on the bad guys ! pic.twitter.com/sGwDoFbCce- Sidharth Malhotra (@S1dharthM) June 6, 2017

Directed by the Raj and DK of Go Goa Gone and Shor In The City fame, the film is slated to release on August 25 this year.

ALSO READ: Did Alia uninvite Sidharth Malhotra from Bhatt event?

ALSO READ: Alia Bhatt opens up on link-up rumours with Sidharth Malhotra

ALSO WATCH: Sidharth Malhotra opens up on his relationship with Alia Bhatt

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The Congress president attacked the government for its failures in dealing with issues like the Kashmir crisis or the Indian economy.

By Supriya Bhardwaj, Kumar Vikrant Singh: "Where there was harmony, there is discord. Where there was tolerance, there is provocation," Congress president Sonia Gandhi said today on the Narendra Modi government completing three years in power.

"The Modi government has completed three years. Where there was harmony, there is discord. Where there was tolerance, there is provocation," Sonia said after chairing a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) in New Delhi.

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"We must be ready to protect the essence and the idea of India which this government is seeking to extinguish," she said.

On May 26, the Modi government finished three years in power, which the Opposition led by the Congress alleges has been marked by communal tension and the rise of the Hindutva ideology.

From India Today Magazine | Maximum leader

The Congress president also attacked the government for its failures in dealing with issues like the Kashmir crisis or the Indian economy.

"There was relative calm earlier in Kashmir but now there is growing confrontation, tension and fear," Sonia said. On economy, she said the potential of India has been replaced by stagnation.

She also claimed most of the government's achievements are due to the previous Congress-led government. "Ironically, whatever success or progress this government has scored, came from programs and projects started by the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government," she said.

Also read:

Sonia Gandhi to India Today: I'm not the right person to decide on Rahul's elevation as Congress chief

India's next President, Vice President: Sonia, Rahul make conference calls for common Opposition candidate

WATCH | Sonia Gandhi to India Today: Don't write off Congress yet

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By Press Trust of India: Kashmir

New Delhi/Srinagar, Jun 6 (PTI) Congress president Sonia Gandhi today blamed the Centre and the PDP-BJP government in Jammu and Kashmir for the current unrest in the border state, accusing them of "colossal failure" and "systematically alienating" the local population in the Valley.

The fresh offensive by the Congress against the BJP over the crisis in Kashmir came even as former chief minister Omar Abdullah alleged that the Centres "unfortunate failure" to reach out and build bridges of reconciliation and peace with the youth in the Valley has created a political vacuum.

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Emphasising that the current crisis in J and K was due to the "colossal failure" of the government, Gandhi said the "insensitive" handling of the situation by both the state and central governments is systematically alienating and antagonising local population, especially the youth.

"A divisive agenda is being followed which has undone years of goodwill and progress," she told a meeting of the Congress Working Committee(CWC) in New Delhi.

Addressing a youth convention of National Conference party in Srinagar, Omar said the youth of the state are being suffocated by the "repressive" policies of the PDP-BJP government while the looming uncertainty has created a sense of despair and hopelessness among them.

"The Central governments unfortunate failure to reach out and build bridges of reconciliation and peace with our youth has created a political vacuum," he said.

"The youth of the state are being suffocated by the policies of the present government. The looming uncertainty in the state coupled with the confrontational approach of the PDP-BJP government has created a sense of despair and hopelessness among the youth," he claimed.

Referring to the unrest in the Valley, Omar said that in this grim atmosphere, the youth is being robbed of their right to dream of a dignified and prosperous future.

He said the youth is feeling cheated as promises made to them were either broken or unapologetically abandoned.

"The same promises were then bartered without any inhibitions for personal and familial political empowerment of a few people while our hardworking, honest and sincere young men and women were let down and left to the mercy of uncertainty and turmoil," he said.

Due to this treachery, the trust deficit has been further widened to an extent where scepticism on the ground far overshadows the utility of any rhetoric the Government has to offer, the NC working president added. Separately, the CPI(M) criticised army chief Gen.Bipin Rawat over his recent remarks defending use of human shield in Kashmir Valley, saying the comments reflected the views of the Modi government which "seeks to suppress" locals.

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It claimed that the army and Kashmiris will suffer "irreparable damage" due to the governments "blind" adherence to the use of "coercive" force against civilians in the Valley.

"Unfortunately, the army chief is reflecting the views of the Modi government which seeks to suppress the people of Kashmir, who are voicing their political protest, through the sole reliance on use of force," former CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat said.

Karat made the remarks in an editorial in the latest issue of party mouthpiece Peoples Democracy.

"Not only the people of Kashmir but the army itself will suffer irreparable damage due to the governments blind adherence to the use of coercive force against the civilian population," he added.

Speaking to PTI last week, Gen.Rawat had said that it would have been easier for the armed forces to deal with the protesters in the Valley had they fired weapons instead of hurling stones at the security personnel.

Rawat had also defended the actions of Maj.Leetul Gogoi, who had used a local Farooq Ahmad Dar, as a human shield.

Karat observed that Gen.Rawat allegedly made no distinction between young protestors throwing stones and armed militants.

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"To taunt protestors to take up arms, so that the army could deal with them appropriately is a needless provocation and displays an attitude which is unbecoming of a senior army officer," he added.

Karat further said the army chiefs remarks exemplify "all that is with the way the Modi government is dealing with the situation there."

"The army chief of staff, by commending this act, has let down the high professional standards of the army," the Marxist leader added.PTI SKC SSB MIJ ENM GSN GSN

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Just ahead of World Ocean Day, the CEO of the Dalhousie-led Ocean Frontier Institute is taking her message about safe and sustainable ocean development to the United Nations (UN).



On Monday, Wendy Watson-Wright spoke at the first ever UN Ocean Conference, hosted at UN headquarters in New York, advocating for more women to pursue careers in ocean management and science. She spoke about what needs to happen to attract not just heroes but she-roes to ocean-related careers, building on a concept first voiced by poet Maya Angelou.





On Tuesday, she put the spotlight on Ocean School, a partnership between Dalhousie and the National Film Board, which advances ocean literacy among youth. This presentation was in support of a voluntary commitment the Ocean School team, led by Dalhousies Boris Worm, helped draft in support of Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG 14), which identifies actions to sustainably use the ocean, seas and marine resources.



Supporting ocean science and management



Diversity and youth involvement she says, have the same goal: attracting the talent needed to find solutions to the oceans challenges and encouraging career choices that use innovation and the principles of sustainable development to grow our economy.



If sustainable ocean development is to achieve its potential, we must have a more diverse talent pool working in all aspects of ocean management: policy, advocacy, resource development, fisheries, tourism and yes, even politics, said Dr. Watson-Wright. Theres too much at stake and so much to gain. We need a diverse, global team to get the job done.



According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the value of the opportunity for ocean development is approximately $3 trillion US, an estimate anchored by traditional investments in Maritime and coastal tourism, resource development, shipbuilding and port activities.



But this blue economy will also be built through new, innovative approaches: ocean data analytics, ecosystem-based fisheries management, aquaculture and ocean renewable-energy systems to name a few. And the Ocean Frontier Institute (OFI)  a partnership between Dalhousie, Memorial University of Newfoundland and the University of Prince Edward Island  is playing a key role in leveraging this opportunity.



Established in the fall of 2016 through $220 million in funding from the Government of Canada and various private and public sector organizations, OFI supports research projects, personnel exchange, infrastructure sharing and more at its partner universities and eight international institute partners.



A week of ocean celebration



June 2-11 is Ocean Week in Halifax, which provides an opportunity to celebrate our shared ocean. A big part of the week is World Ocean Day, held on June 8. The concept of was first proposed in 1992 by the Government of Canada at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. A United Nations General Assembly resolution was passed in December 2008, which led to the official recognition of the day. Each year, an increasing number of countries and organizations participate in this annual event.



To mark World Ocean Day, the Dalhousie-affiliated International Ocean Institute (IOI) is hosting its annual Elisabeth Mann Borgese lecture. The focus of the event will be on marine protected areas, and will feature whale songs, live streaming and updates from the first UN Oceans Conference in New York as well as a panel discussion.



This years lecture will be hosted by the Manager of Marine Programmes at the Canadian Wildlife Federation, Sean Brilliant. In addition to Brilliant, panelists include Maxine Westhead, Section Head, Protected Areas and Conservation Planning, Oceans and Coastal Management Division of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans; Ken Paul, Director of Fisheries, Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs Secretariat; Paul Barnes, Director, Atlantic Canada & Artic, Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers and Veronika Brzeski, Executive Director, Cape Breton Fish Harvesters Association.



There will be many ocean-focused and community activities available to the public this week. For more information, visit the Ocean Week Halifax website.


Two of Myanmars operators have accelerated their 4G rollouts as they prepare to expand their coverage.

One week after acquiring extra spectrum from the government, state-owned MPT has begun offering 4G in the three major cities of Mandalay, Nay Pyi Taw and Yangon. MPT has provided some 4G service in Yangon and Nay Pyi Taw since October last year, but only in specific locations.

Despite leading the market, it was the last of the four players to launch commercial 4G services. The operator has said that it is aiming to expand its commercial 4G service swiftly after obtaining 2x10MHz blocks of 1.8GHz spectrum from the Myanmar Post and Telecommunications Department for $80 million.

Meanwhile third-placed Ooredoo Myanmar  as well as the countrys other players Mytel and Telenor Myanmar - was allocated the same amount of additional spectrum for the same price, and is now upgrading its sites in order to increase 4G speeds. The operator has also pledged to fast-track 4G deployment in order to extend its coverage to other cities more rapidly.

Ooredoo Myanmar was the first operator to offer 4G services in Myanmar, launching in May 2016 in the same three cities as MPT and delivering services via the 2.1Ghz band. It has since expanded its coverage across most of Bagan, Magway, Mandalay, Nay Pyi Daw and Yangon, covering 52 townships.

Ooredoo Myanmar CMO Charity Safford said: Customers have much bigger data needs than can be provided on 3G technology. For example, they want a superior experience watching TV on their mobile phones. Ooredoo has been busy upgrading our network.

While Ooredoos overall market share rests at 19%, it comfortably leads the 4G market with 5 million subscribers  around 54% of its user base. Number two Telenor Myanmar has a market share of around 37%. It deployed 4G services in July last year and has around 500,000 4G subscribers.

The fourth player Mytel was awarded its licence in January. It is a joint venture between a consortium of local firms and Vietnams Viettel; the venture is named Myanmar National Tele & Communications (MNTC) and is not expected to launch services until 2018.
Canadian group Brookfield Asset Management is reportedly considering an acquisition of the Indian tower assets of both Idea Cellular and Vodafone India for a total of INR64.5 billion ($1 billion).

Vodafone India and Idea Cellular announced in March that they had agreed to merge their Indian operations, which will create a new market leader with 400 million customers, giving them a 35% market share by subscriber numbers and 41% share by revenue.

Talks are currently underway, although an agreement could be reached in as little as a month. It has also been reported that the operators are holding concurrent negotiations with American Tower over a possible sale. While the two players were keen to have their combined tower assets valued at over $1.3 billion, consolidation in the tower market coupled with reduced tenancies per site has dampened this prospect.

Idea has a dedicated tower unit that owns around 11,000 towers. Vodafone India meanwhile has 10,926 towers, and has not spun off its tower assets into a separate company but is likely to do so. This unit would then be included in any deal with Brookfield.

Both Vodafone India and Idea Cellular have holdings in Indus Towers, the worlds largest tower firm. Respectively, Vodafone and Idea hold a 42% and an 11.15% stake, but these holdings will not be affected by their merger.

Idea had previously considered divesting a minority holding in its tower unit, before announcing in November last year that it would attempt to sell it for around $1 billion. Tower asset sales have been a common trend in India of late, with operators selling off the infrastructure to bring in funding.

Market leader Bharti Airtel  which similarly holds a stake in Indus Towers  shifted a 10.3% stake in its tower business Infratel in March. It was acquired for INR61.9 billion by a group of investors. Bharti intends to use the proceeds to write down its debt.

In October last year, Brookfield Infrastructure Group agreed to acquire a 51% stake in the tower assets of Reliance Communications in a non-binding agreement that included a INR110 billion upfront payment.
Investors in Forbidden Technologies were gathering in South West London for the firms annual general meeting on Tuesday, with chairman David Main set to update them on its current progress.

The AIM-traded firm, in its preliminary results for the year 2016 calendar year on 13 March, said it was debt free with a cash balance of 3.7m.

Since the beginning of the year the board has continued to build the company's commercial capabilities in North America, through relationships with value added resellers in both the US and Canada, Main said on Tuesday.

In the UK we have just completed the hiring of a new sales director who will be focused on driving our sales performance outside of North America.

Finally, we are continuing to focus on adding additional third-party channels to market and we are looking at technology licensing opportunities.

Main said the company was making good progress in its search for a new CEO.

We are working with a leading executive search firm in London and we expect to finalise a short-list of talented individuals within a few weeks and hope to make an appointment soon.

The company started 2017 with a larger pipeline of business than at the beginning of 2016, Main claimed, and with an increased focus on the live market versus the traditional broadcast market.

Whilst this pipeline has larger deals sizes than before we are currently experiencing a slower conversion rate than we had expected.

However, since the beginning of the year we have announced two multi-year deals with Deltatre, including one in the last week.

In addition, two weeks ago we announced a deal with Gfinity, our first client in the rapidly growing market of eSports.

In the coming months we Forbidden was expecting to continue to build its sales through larger deals with longer terms than it has historically signed, Main added.

In support of our commercial efforts, we have recently launched Blackbird 9 which will continue to strengthen the value of our Forscene platform to our customers.

We are also continuing to undertake developments in response to specific customer needs.

The board is confident in the commercial opportunities for the Forscene platform going forward and looks forward to reporting further progress in due course.
He will replace current CFO Tony Dyer, who has decided to pursue other interests after 21 years with the group. Dyer - who has resigned from the board with immediate effect - will remain at Gattaca until the end of this month to ensure a smooth transition.

Farzad joins Gattaca from television production company Zodiak Media, where he was group CFO from 2014 to 2016. Prior to this, he held senior financial roles at Macmillan Science and Education, 2Entertain, MTV Networks International and EMI.

Chairman Patrick Shanley said: "We are delighted to welcome Salar to the group. His extensive international experience will add considerable value as the company continues to expand its non-UK business."

At 1500 BST, the shares were down 1.6% to 320p.
Gold supplanted crude oil futures as the centre of traders' attentions on Tuesday as the yellow metal got a boost higher on its safe-haven appeal ahead of 'blockbuster' Thursday.

At about 15:23 BST, on Comex, gold rose 1.02% to $1295.8 an ounce. Silver added 0.59% to $17.69 an ounce, and copper fell 0.08% to 255.55 cents a pound.

"Safe-havens, led by precious metal gold, are enjoying dramatically increased demand ahead of Thursday's three key market events," said Henry Croft, research analyst at Accendo Markets.

On Thursday, the market would be glued to the UK election, European Central Bank policy meeting and also the testimony of ex-FBI boss James Comey.

Joshua Mahony, market analyst at IG, said the focus remained firmly fixed on Thursday's blockbuster schedule and what it could mean for the future of politics either side of the Atlantic.

"UK election polls have been widely conflicting of late, reflecting the significant impact different methodology has upon results," said Mahony.

On London Metals Exchange, three-month industrial metals were firmly down. Zinc fell 1.74%, aluminum dropped 1.45%, tin shed 0.76% and copper dropped 0.65%.

Turning to oil, Nymex-priced West Texas Intermediate crude was down 0.32% to $47.25 a barrel. Intercontinental Exchange-traded Brent shed 0.44% to $49.25 a barrel.

Both grades were at roughly month lows, these on concerns about the sufficiency of Opec's production curb extension, and also Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and United Arab Emirates having severed diplomatic ties with Qatar.

"The ongoing weakness seen in oil prices continues to highlight how oversupply woes in the markets have hindered investor attraction towards the commodity," said FXTM research analyst Lukman Otunuga.

"In the headlines, the Saudi-led alliance cutting diplomatic ties with Qatar does not actually change the heavily bearish outlook for the oil markets.

"With oversupply concerns still a recurrent theme, and Opec's efforts to re-balance the markets repeatedly sabotaged by US Shale production, WTI crude remains vulnerable to downside risks."
The father of model-actor Sonika Chauhan, who died in a car accident on April 29 in Kolkata, has now written to the city police, seeking a detailed investigation into the case.

By Manogya Loiwal : The parents of model-actor Sonika Chauhan, who died in a car accident on April 29 in Kolkata, have now written to the city police, seeking a detailed investigation into the case.

In his letter to Kolkata Police Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, Sonika's father Vijay Singh Chauhan appealed that a thorough investigation be carried out into the case, as protocols of standard operating procedure were not followed in the days after the accident.

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Sonika's friend and actor Vikram Chatterjee was driving the car on the fateful day.

HERE IS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW Vijay Singh Chauhan has given his version before and after Sonika met with the accident. Vijay said, "Sonika, my wife and I had returned from a family holiday on April 17. Sonika was eagerly awaiting a big assignment coming up in June-July, when she was to be the co-anchor of the Indian Kabaddi League. But prior to that, she had plans to leave Kolkata on May 1 to spend time with her grandparents." Vijay added, "On April 28, she had informed her mother of her plans of going clubbing and meeting her friends before leaving for Bengaluru that night. My wife had personally dropped Sonika to OTT in Middleton Row area at 9:45 pm. Sonika went to party once a week when she got time from her busy schedule and she had similar plans for 28th too." "Whether my daughter was in a relationship with Vikram Chatterjee is irrelevant. The crucial part is the fact that Sonika trusted him enough and by his act of drunk and rash driving, he disrespected her trust", he went on to say. Sonika's mother was informed about her death by a policeman at 8:45 pm. He asked her to call the Ruby General Hospital. Upon arriving there, she was informed that her daughter had died. Sonika's father Vijay was in Bengaluru on a business visit when he learnt of his daughter's death. Vijay immediately took the next available flight and reached Kolkata by 9 p.m. Later, he got to know that the police had given Sonika's belongings to a third party and surprisingly not to a family member. It was only after a period of 12 days that they were given a list of the seizures made and asked to procure Sonika's belongings, which had again been confiscated by the police for investigation purpose. The aggrieved father feels that his appeal to the Kolkata Police Commissioner to thoroughly investigate this case will bring out the truth. Vijay says, "We want justice for our daughter. Kolkata Police has taken a step forward in terms of imposing stricter section. Now we are waiting till June 13 after courts open and the bail plea will be heard."

Also read | Vikram Chatterjee files for anticipatory bail in Sonika Chauhan death case

Also read | Sonika Chauhan death: Lab claims Vikram's blood sample inadequate for forensic test

Also read | Kolkata model Sonika's death: Actor Vikram Chatterjee booked for culpable homicide

ALSO WATCH VIDEO

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Investors remained in a cautious mood amid a dearth of fresh economic data and ahead of the week's main risk events, on Thursday.

At the closing bell, the benchmark Stoxx 600 was down by 0.67% to 389.40, alongside a retreat of 1.04% for Germany's Dax to 12,690.12 while the Cac-40 was slipping 0.73% to 5,269.22.

Among the events investors were watching out for were the European Central Bank's policy meeting on Thursday, alongside the General Elections and ex-FBI Director James Comey's testimony before a Senate panel.

"It's quite normal to see this kind of behaviour when the latter part of the week is as busy as it is. Were seeing a little bit of risk aversion in the markets today with European futures tracking similarly small losses across the US and Asia, Gold making modest gains to trade at six week highs and the yen making further advances," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda.

Tellingly, dollar/yen, a popular gauge of investors' risk appetite, was down sharply, falling 0.92% to 109.43.

Against that backdrop, gold futures on COMEX rose 1.06% - and past their year-to-date highs - to $1,296.30/oz. That, technical analysts said, might signal a move back towards their November highs of $1,337/oz..

The day before, strategists at JP Morgan recommended clients stick to a defensive stance, referencing the risk of a sharp correction in US stocks, a phase of significant de-risking in Chinese assets and the possibility that Italian political risks might come to the fore sooner than expected.

In parallel, front month Brent crude oil futures were up by 0.6% to $49.77 a barrel on the ICE.

On a more positive note, according to a poll from Ipsos Sopra-Steria French president Emmanuel Macron's party was set to win the second round of the country's parliamentary elections on 18 June by the biggest margin since Charles de Gaulle's landslide victory in 1968.

Investor sentiment in the Eurozone edged higher in June, according to the Sentix institute, with its index of investor confidence gaining from 27.4 to 28.4 (consensus: 27.4).

That, Claus Vistesen at Pantheon Macroeconomics said, was compatible with a further gentle increase in the headline ZEW economic sentiment index which was set for release in the following week.

Euro area retail sales volumes edged higher by 0.1% month-on-month in April (consensus: 0.2%).

Germany's Delivery Hero AG, which was part-owned by Rocket Internet, said it was preparing a 450m flotation on the German market.

Societe Generale was looking to float up to 23% of its car leasing unit ALD Automotive this month, generating proceeds of possibly as high as 1.6bn.
Budget airline Flybe has signed an agreement establishing a new alliance with Eastern Airways.

The heads of terms includes a five-year franchise agreement in which Eastern will operate its scheduled route network under the Flybe brand and a joint venture and risk sharing agreement, covering four Eastern aircraft, to fly existing Flybe branded routes from Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester.

The four aircraft will be operated under the Flybe franchise and significantly improve connectivity for Scotland.

The contracts are expected to be finalised and signed in the next few weeks, but tickets will go on sale immediately and flights will start operating under the new arrangements from September.

Flybe's chief executive officer Christine Ourmieres-Widener said: "This alliance with Eastern Airways is an excellent opportunity to strengthen the Flybe network. We already operate flights at a number of common airports and this will enable passengers to connect to a greater number of destinations, across the UK and into Europe, all booked through Flybe.com."

Eastern is a UK-based regional airline, whose head office is at Humberside Airport and which operates scheduled domestic and short-haul international services and private charter services, with hubs at Aberdeen, Norwich, Teesside, Newcastle, Southampton, Leeds, Cardiff and Paris.

At 0810 BST, Flybe shares were up 2.4% to 34.82p.
British Airways and Iberia parent International Consolidated Airlines Group reported a rise in traffic in May on the same day its chief executive said the recent meltdown at BA may have been caused by human error.

The airline, which also owns Aer Lingus and Vueling, said group traffic as measured in revenue passenger kilometres rose 1.8% in May from the previous year.

Group capacity measured in available seat kilometres was up 0.8%, while premium traffic increased 5.2%. Meanwhile, the load factor - which measures how full flights were - ticked up to 80.5% from 79.8% in 2016.

IAG also brought up the power failure at British Airways, which caused severe disruptions to flights last month. It said an independent investigation will examine "every aspect" of the power failure, adding that BA is "working hard" to compensate affected passengers as quickly as possible.

BA was forced to cancel 479 flights, or 59% of its operations, on 27 May, and 193 flights, or 23% of its operations, the following day.

IAG chief executive Willie Walsh told The Guardian that the systems meltdown, which left 75,000 passengers stranded, may have been caused by a technician switching the power off and on again. He said the technician in question was "authorised to be in the room, but wasn't authorised to do what he did".

You could cause a mistake to disconnect the power - its difficult for me to understand how you can mistakenly reconnect the power. Walsh said the power was restored to the data centre in an uncontrolled and uncommanded fashion that caused physical damage to the servers and distribution panels.
Alex Honnold has added another gravity-defying accomplishment to his list of historic climbs. The legendary free solo climber from Sacramento, California has scaled Yosemites 3,000-foot El Capitan in a little less than four hours with nothing more than a chalk bag.

So stoked to realize a life dream today, the 31-year-old wrote on Facebook on June 3.

Alpinist Magazine described the unroped climb as indisputably the greatest free solo of all time.

This is the moon landing of free soloing, Tommy Caldwell, who scaled the Dawn Wall, El Capitans most difficult climb, with just ropes and other equipment for safety, told National Geographic.

Free soloing is exactly what it sounds like. No ropes, no harnessjust hands, feet and mental fortitude. And yes, a loose rock, a misstep or a slip of the grip can mean death.

National Geographic, which is producing a documentary about Honnolds epic ascent, detailed his meticulous prep work as well as uncanny ability to, well, not experience fear like us regular folk:

Some of his poise can be attributed to his detailed preparation. He is obsessive about his training, which includes hour-long sessions every other day hanging by his fingertips and doing one- and two-armed pullups on a specially-made apparatus that he bolted into the doorway of his van. He also spends hours perfecting, rehearsing, and memorizing exact sequences of hand and foot placements for every key pitch. He is an inveterate note-taker, logging his workouts and evaluating his performance on every climb in a detailed journal.

There are other climbers in Honnolds league physically, but no one else has matched his mental ability to control fear. His tolerance for scary situations is so remarkable that neuroscientists have studied the parts of his brain related to fear to see how they might differ from the norm.

Honnold, however, was much more nonchalant.

With free-soloing, obviously I know that Im in danger, but feeling fearful while Im up there is not helping me in any way, he told the magazine. Its only hindering my performance, so I just set it aside and leave it be.
A senior U.S. diplomat in China has reportedly resigned in protest of Trumps move to exit the Paris agreement.

Acting U.S. Ambassador to China David Rank reportedly called a town hall meeting at the embassy to announce his departure, stating that as a parent, a patriot and a Christian, he could not in good conscience formally participate in the U.S. withdrawing from the accords.

Such a move shows the level of utter disdain for Trump and his policies by senior American diplomats, Brett Bruen, former Director of Global Engagement for the Obama administration, told Politico. They face the brunt of the blowback from our allies and have to contend with the advantages it offers our adversaries.

The State Department would only confirm to press that Rank, who joined the department in 1990, resigned due to personal reasons.

For a deeper dive:

BBC, CNN, NBC, Washington Post $, Reuters, The Guardian, WSJ $, Politico, Bloomberg

For more climate change and clean energy news, you can follow Climate Nexus on Twitter and Facebook, and sign up for daily Hot News.
Thousands of Kansas farmers claimed in district court in Kansas City on Monday that Swiss agribusiness giant Syngenta rushed its genetically modified (GMO) corn seed to the U.S. market in 2010 before getting Chinas approval for imports, which rejected shipments of the corn over GMO contamination and caused turmoil in commodity markets.

As Bloomberg explains, the plaintiffs claim that this move, coupled with U.S. corn farmers inability to regain a foothold in China once other countries filled the void, almost wiped out the U.S. corn market for several years and continues to depress corn prices even today.

The plaintiffs are seeking $200 million in lost sales, plus punitive damages.

Every bushel of corn grown in this country is worth less today than it would have been had Syngenta waited for China to approve the product, plaintiffs lawyer Scott Powell told jurors.

According to court filings cited by the Associated Press, Syngenta knew Chinese approval was going to be a problem but aggressively marketed its MIR162 corn anyway.

Per the AP:

Court papers show that Syngenta initially assured stakeholders that China would approve MIR162 in time for the 2011 crop. But the date kept slipping. Some exporters sent shipments containing the trait to China anyway. After two years of accepting them, China began rejecting them in late 2013.

Syngentas MIR162 corn, aka Agrisure Viptera, is genetically engineered to resist pests such as earworms, cutworms, armyworms and corn borers. China did not approve the trait until 2014.

The Basel-based company denies wrongdoing over its product, contending that it was a 2013 corn glut, not Chinas rejection, that impacted U.S. corn prices.

Syngenta acted responsibly when it began selling Viptera in 2010, company attorney Michael Brock said in his opening statement. It was a product that farmers wanted and needed.

A slew of related trials are pending, with around 350,000 U.S. corn growers claiming up to $13 billion in losses, Bloomberg noted.

Notably, the legal conundrum is mounting as state-owned ChemChina is in the midst of buying Syngenta for $43 billion, meaning that if the farmers win the suit, the buck could pass back to China, which initially rejected the grain.

China has strict rules against GMO cultivation but permits the import of a few varieties. Most Chinese consumers are wary of the products but in in recent years, the Chinese government has been spending billions on research and promoting GMOs as a means to boost agricultural productivity. President Xi himself called for the domestic cultivation of GMO crops in 2014.
Bolivian President Evo Morales blasted President Donald Trumps announcement that the U.S. is withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement.

He called the U.S. one of the worlds main polluters and said Trumps decision is akin to denying science, turning your backs on multilateralism and attempting to deny a future to upcoming generations.

This has made [the U.S.] the main threat to mother Earth and life itself, Morales said.

The remarks were made Monday at the United Nations Ocean Conference in New York City, where leaders and representatives from about 200 countries will devise ways to reverse the decline in oceanic health.

Other world leaders also seemed to criticize Trumps actions at the weeklong international conference.

Micronesia President Peter Christian emphasized that nations must work together to achieve the goals set out by the Paris agreement.

While some may continue to deny mans culpability for the damaging effects of climate change on islands and islanders  no man, no island, no village and no nation can deny that trash in our oceans is of mans own doing, Christian said. And for this, man must clean up his mess.

The United Nations has identified global warming, overfishing and pollution as major threats to our oceans.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned governments that unless they overcome short-term territorial and resource interests, the oceans will continue to deteriorate.

Improving the health of our oceans is a test for multilateralism, and we cannot afford to fail, Guterres said. We must jointly address the problems of governance that have held us back.
Steve Marsh, an organic farmer in Western Australia, has lost his final bid in his landmark genetic modification contamination lawsuit against his neighboring farmer, Michael Baxter, who planted Monsantos genetically modified (GMO) canola.

Marsh claimed that he lost organic certification on approximately 70 percent of his property in Kojonup, Perth after winds carried his neighbors Roundup Ready canola seeds onto his farm in 2010.

High Court refuses to consider GMO contamination case of Kojonup farmer Steve Marsh https://t.co/xdKZvUpSsj pic.twitter.com/O2RihFyHIF  Bridget Fitzgerald (@msbfitzgerald) February 12, 2016

Australia has a zero-tolerance organic standard concerning GMO contamination on organic lands and Marsh sought $85,000 in damages against his neighbor and former childhood friend.

Marsh lost the lawsuit in a May 2014 ruling from the Supreme Court of Western Australia and was ordered instead to pay court costs of about $804,000. He appealed the decision to the West Australian court of appeal but in September, the court instead ruled in favor of Baxter.

Today, after six years of legal wrangling, the High Court rejected Marshs bid for leave to appeal against that ruling.

Left with no further avenue of appeal, Marsh told Australias ABC News that he was very disappointed. We lost our income, practically half our growing income for three years, but it appears that we cant claim compensation for that, its extraordinary, he said, adding that while the court case had cost millions of dollars, it was an important issue for the organic industry.

I will try and hang onto our farm, it is our business and we will try and do the best we can, Marsh said. I think that this case has highlighted that more than ever and issues about food and its safety and how we produce it.

Baxter told ABC News he was relieved about the result, describing the process as six years of rigamarole.

Anti-GM farmer Steve Marsh fails in legal fight against neighbour Mike Baxter. https://t.co/C1LgHZ7rJ8 pic.twitter.com/lyFfSuxHxE  The West Australian (@westaustralian) February 12, 2016

This case highlights the challenges facing organic farmers whose crops are contaminated by GMOs, Ken Roseboro, editor of The Organic & Non-GMO Report, said.

They suffer economic losses and have no recourse to regain those losses and such contamination can ruin their organic certification and make potential buyers leery of buying their crops, Roseboro told EcoWatch. The situation is very unjust and biotech/pesticide companies should be held liable for their contaminating GMOs. This case also shows that so-called coexistence of GMOs and organics is very difficult, if not impossible, to achieve when there is no liability on the GMO producers or companies.

Lawyers told Reuters in May that a win for Marsh on the grounds of trespass would have led to new rules, such as larger buffer zones between GMO and organic farmers, potentially curbing the amount of GMO canola being planted.

Opponents of the suit claim it would have burdened GMO farmers with more rules and potentially restrict the amount of crops a farmer could plant.

Incidentally, Monsanto admitted last year that it financially supported Baxters legal defense.

Although we were not a party to the litigation, we respect Michael and Zanthe Baxters choice to defend themselves. Their neighbor initiated a legal claim against them when they were responsibly growing a safe and legal crop, as was clearly established in the Supreme Courts verdict, Monsanto Australias managing director Daniel Kruithoff said in a statement.

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Both farmers were entitled to seek support for this legal dispute so that their arguments could be heard in court. It was only fair that the Baxters received much needed support given the extensive fundraising efforts of Steve Marshs supporters. Monsanto Australia contributed to the Baxters legal costs to ensure they could defend themselves in court, Daniel said.

Marshs campaign was supported by the Safe Food Foundation, a nonprofit food advocacy group. The Australia-based organization produced the short clip below to give a background on Marshs case.

Farmers who have not purchased GMO seeds and find the crops growing on their land face potential litigation from the seed producers for patent infringement.

Monsanto, the worlds largest producer of genetically modified seeds, is known to be an especially aggressive GMO patent-infringement litigant and has filed at least 140 cases and settled 700 more against farmers for planting the companys GMO seeds since 1997and they havent lost a single case.

In 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court handed Monsanto a major victory when it dismissed the 2011 case Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association et al. v. Monsanto that meant to stop the company from suing farmers who inadvertently found themselves accused of patent infringement when their land gets contaminated by Monsanto seeds.

Ronnie Cummins, international director of the Organic Consumers Association, said of Marshs case: This is a perfect example of how the biotech industry and genetic engineering undermine not only human health, and the health of the environment, but also the very basis of democracy itself, and the long-held rights of farmers to protect their land from toxic trespassing.

Right now in Oregon, for instance, organic farmers reported suffering financial losses because of contamination from nearby GMO crops due to a 2013 law prohibiting local governments from regulating crops or seeds.

It appears that agribusinesses funneled large sums of money to the areas lawmakers to ensure passage of the 2013 legislation. According to the Statesmen Journal, companies such as Monsanto, Novartis and Syngenta contributed at least $127,745 in 2013 to legislators campaign committees, the two Republican caucus political action committees, and three other PACs that contribute to candidates.

Dozens of people recently testified at a hearing on HB 4122, which would repeal the law.

We lose money when we have a GMO contamination event, which Ive had happen twice, Don Tipping, an organic seed grower from Williams, said at the hearing. We lost money directly, as have other growers.

Advocacy groups are urging for better protections for farmers against GMO contamination.

All over the world, organic farmers are paying the price for GMO contamination, Food & Water Watch assistant Patty Lovera told EcoWatch. The companies that sell patented GMO seeds should be held responsible for preventing this contamination and held liable if it happens, instead of putting all of the burden on farmers who dont use their seeds.

Dave Murphy, founder of Food Democracy Now!, agrees. This is a classic case of Monsantos genetically engineered crops causing harm to a neighboring farmers land and there is no legal mechanism to protect that family farmer from the negative consequences of contamination, either financially or through contamination of seed stock, he said.

Every year organic and non-GMO farmers crops are contaminated with Monsantos predatory technology and it puts their economic livelihood at risk. If Monsanto can force farmers to pay royalty fees for their patented GMO seeds, they should be held liable when those patented genes end up in another farmers field, which causes them serious financial losses. We need fair laws that protect organic and non-GMO farmers from the economic hardships caused by genetic contamination of their crops, unfortunately the current legal system is rigged to protect Monsanto, not family farmers.

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Bridgewater looks to become a regional nightlife hub in western PA

Bridgewater bars offer patrons a nightlife experience that is unique from any other in western Pennsylvania
Earlier, landslides had blocked the traffic at many locations near Zoji la.

By Shuja-ul-Haq : After being shutdown due to bad weather the road to picturesque Ladakh is open again.

The 434-km strategic Srinagar-Leh highway was re-opened on Tuesday after being closed for traffic due to bad weather.

Earlier, landslides had blocked the traffic at many locations near Zoji la.

As per the Traffic department in Ganderbal at least three landslides, triggered by heavy rains disrupted traffic movement between Sonamarg and Meenmarg.

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The Srinagar- Leh ride takes a traveller through some beautiful places including the valley of Sonmarg.

The highway is the place where one gets the first glimpse of the mighty Zoji La mountains.

As one leaves Sonmarg soon you will find the Dras War Memorial built in the memory of martyrs of the 1999 Kargil war.

The road from Kargil to Leh is about 250 kms and on the route is the majestic Lamayuru Monastery. Travellers ideally spend a day at Kargil before heading to Leh.

Also read:

After 5 months of shutdown, Srinagar-Leh highway opens for light traffic

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Bremerhaven (Germany), 6 June 2017. The Arctic Ocean was once a gigantic freshwater lake. Only after the land bridge between Greenland and Scotland had submerged far enough did vast quantities of salt water pour in from the Atlantic. With the help of a climate model, researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute have demonstrated how this process took place, allowing us for the first time to understand more accurately how Atlantic circulation, as we know it today came about. The results of the study have now been published in the journal Nature Communications.

Every year, ca. 3,300 cubic kilometres of fresh water flows into the Arctic Ocean. This is equivalent to ten percent of the total volume of water that all the world's rivers transport to the oceans per year. In the warm and humid climate of the Eocene (ca. 56 to 34 million years ago), the inflow of freshwater was probably even greater. However, in contrast to today, during that geological period there was no exchange of water with other oceans. The influx of saline Atlantic and Pacific water, which today finds its way into the Arctic Ocean from the Pacific via the Bering Strait and from the North Atlantic via the Greenland-Scotland Ridge, wasn't possible - the region that is today completely submerged was above the sea at that time.

Only once the land bridge between Greenland and Scotland disappeared did the first ocean passages emerge, connecting the Arctic with the North Atlantic and making water exchange possible. Using a climate model, researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) have now successfully simulated the effect of this geological transformation on the climate. In their simulations, they gradually submerged the land bridge to a depth of 200 metres. "In reality, this tectonic submersion process lasted several million years," says Climate Scientist Michael Starz, first author of the study. "Interestingly, the greatest changes in the circulation patterns and characteristics of the of the Arctic Ocean only occurred when the land bridge had reached a depth of over 50 metres below the surface."

This threshold depth corresponds to the depth of the surface mixed layer, and determines where the relatively light Arctic surface water ends and the underlying layer of inflowing North Atlantic water begins. "Only when the oceanic ridge lies below the surface mixed layer can the heavier saline water of the North Atlantic flow into the Arctic with relatively little hindrance," explains Starz. "Once the ocean passage between Greenland and Scotland had reached this critical depth, the saline Arctic Ocean as we know it today was created." The formation of ocean passages plays a vital role in global climate history, as it leads to changes in heat transport in the ocean between the middle and polar latitudes.

The theory that the Arctic Basin was once isolated is supported by the discovery of freshwater algae fossils in Eocene deep-sea sediments that have been obtained during international drilling near the North Pole in 2004. What was once a land bridge now lies ca. 500 metres under the ocean and consists almost entirely of volcanic basalt. Iceland is the only section remaining above the surface.

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Delivering drugs to the brain is no easy task. The blood-brain barrier -a protective sheath of tissue that shields the brain from harmful chemicals and invaders - cannot be penetrated by most therapeutics that are injected into a person's blood stream. But for treating diseases of the central nervous system and cancers such as glioblastoma, it's essential to get drugs across this barrier and deliver them to where they are needed most. Current research models that are used to study or imitate the blood-brain barrier have a number of limitations. Investigators at Brigham and Women's Hospital have developed an innovative but easily implemented approach that uses "spheroids" to mimic the blood-brain barrier more accurately, and appears to overcome several challenges for discovering and advancing new drugs for treating brain conditions. They report their results June 6 in Nature Communications.

"Our model takes a new approach to mimic the blood-brain barrier outside of a living system. These miniature spheroids are relatively straightforward to culture, and yet it is able to reproduce many of the key blood-brain barrier properties and functions," said lead author Choi-Fong Cho, PhD, of the Department of Neurosurgery. "Our hope is that these findings will further advance neuroscience research and expedite the discovery and design of brain-penetrant drugs to treat diseases of the brain and central nervous system."

Current models of the blood-brain barrier rely largely on either animal models - which are expensive, laborious and can only be used to test a limited number of compounds at a time - or cells grown in the lab. For the latter, it's very difficult to replicate the conditions found in the human body. Cells are often grown on flat plastic surfaces, isolated by cell type, and may become less and less like the unique cells found in the brain over time. The new technique grows different kinds of brain cells - endothelial cells, pericytes and astrocytes - together, allowing them to spontaneously form multicellular spheroids. These self-assembled structures closely resemble the blood-brain barrier organization and can be used to predict drug penetration capabilities - molecules that can penetrate the surface of the spheres and accumulate inside are more likely to be able to penetrate the blood-brain barrier and enter the brain in a living organism.

The research team performed several tests on these spheroids to establish some of the key properties of the blood-brain barrier that allow it to restrict the influx of foreign molecules. The spheroid model scored much better on many of these properties than the standard model in use today. The team also used the spheroids to identify new brain-penetrant molecules, which could hold high potential for delivering therapeutics across the blood-brain barrier.

"We plan to use this model going forward in our own research to identify new therapeutics for glioblastoma," said senior author Sean Lawler, PhD, of the Department of Neurosurgery. "This is a very versatile model and should allow our group and others to test not only molecules but also viruses, cells and more that may be able to cross the blood-brain barrier."

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This work was supported by a Canadian Institute of Health Research Post-Doctoral Fellowship (1122374), a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, a David H. Koch Graduate Fellowship Fund, a Sontag Distinguished Scientist Award and a National Cancer Institute grant (5-RO1-CA166172).

Paper cited: Cho CF et al. "Blood-brain-barrier spheroids as an in vitro screening platform for brain-penetrating agents" Nature Communications DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15623
The world's largest particle hunter of its kind will travel across the ocean from CERN to Fermilab this summer to become an integral part of neutrino research in the United States

It's lived in two different countries, and it's about to make its way to a third. It's the largest machine of its kind, designed to find extremely elusive particles and tell us more about them. Its pioneering technology is the blueprint for some of the most advanced science experiments in the world. And this summer, it will travel across the Atlantic Ocean to its new home (and its new mission) at the U.S. Department of Energy's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.

It's called ICARUS, and you can follow its journey over land and sea with the help of an interactive map on Fermilab's website.

The ICARUS detector measures 18 meters (60 feet) long and weighs 120 tons. It began its scientific life under a mountain at the Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics' (INFN) Gran Sasso National Laboratory in 2010, recording data from a beam of particles called neutrinos sent by CERN, Europe's premier particle physics laboratory. The detector was shipped to CERN in 2014, where it has been upgraded and refurbished in preparation for its overseas trek.

When it arrives at Fermilab, the massive machine will take its place as part of a suite of three detectors dedicated to searching for a new type of neutrino beyond the three that have been found. Discovering this so-called "sterile" neutrino, should it exist, would rewrite scientists' picture of the universe and the particles that make it up.

"Nailing down the question of whether sterile neutrinos exist or not is an important scientific goal, and ICARUS will help us achieve that," said Fermilab Director Nigel Lockyer. "But it's also a significant step in Fermilab's plan to host a truly international neutrino facility, with the help of our partners around the world."

First, however, the detector has to get there. Next week it will begin its journey from CERN in Geneva, Switzerland, to a port in Antwerp, Belgium. From there the detector, separated into two identical pieces, will travel on a ship to Burns Harbor, Indiana, in the United States, and from there will be driven by truck to Fermilab, one piece at a time. The full trip is expected to take roughly six weeks.

An interactive map on Fermilab's website (IcarusTrip.fnal.gov) will track the voyage of the ICARUS detector, and Fermilab, CERN and INFN social media channels will document the trip using the hashtag #IcarusTrip. The detector itself will sport a distinctive banner, and members of the public are encouraged to snap photos of it and post them on social media.

Once the ICARUS detector is delivered to Fermilab, it will be installed in a recently completed building and filled with 760 tons of pure liquid argon to start the search for sterile neutrinos.

The ICARUS experiment is a prime example of the international nature of particle physics and the mutually beneficial cooperation that exists between the world's physics laboratories. The detector uses liquid-argon time projection technology - essentially a method of taking a 3-D snapshot of the particles produced when a neutrino interacts with an argon atom - which was developed by the ICARUS collaboration and now is the technology of choice for the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), which will be hosted by Fermilab.

"More than 25 years ago, Nobel Prize winner Carlo Rubbia started a visionary effort with the help and resources of INFN to make use of liquid argon as a particle detector, with the visual power of a bubble chamber but with the speed and efficiency of an electronic detector," said Fernando Ferroni, president of INFN. "A long series of steps demonstrated the power of this technology that has been chosen for the gigantic future experiment DUNE in the U.S., scaling up the 760 tons of argon for ICARUS to 70,000 tons for DUNE. In the meantime, ICARUS will be at the core of an experiment at Fermilab looking for the possible existence of a new type of neutrino. Long life to ICARUS!"

CERN's contribution to ICARUS, bringing the detector in line with the latest technology, expands the renowned European laboratory's participation in Fermilab's neutrino program. It's the first such program CERN has contributed to in the United States. Fermilab is the hub of U.S. participation in the CMS experiment on CERN's Large Hadron Collider, and the partnership between the laboratories has never been stronger.

ICARUS will be the largest of three liquid-argon neutrino detectors at Fermilab seeking sterile neutrinos. The smallest, MicroBooNE, is active and has been taking data for more than a year, while the third, the Short-Baseline Neutrino Detector, is under construction. The three detectors should all be operational by 2019, and the three collaborations include scientists from 45 institutions in six countries.

Knowledge gained by operating the suite of three detectors will be important in the development of the DUNE experiment, which will be the largest neutrino experiment ever constructed. The international Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF) will deliver an intense beam of neutrinos to DUNE, sending the particles 800 miles through Earth from Fermilab to the large, mile-deep detector at the Sanford Underground Research Facility in South Dakota. DUNE will enable a new era of precision neutrino science and may revolutionize our understanding of these particles and their role in the universe.

Research and development on the experiment is under way, with prototype DUNE detectors under construction at CERN, and construction on LBNF is set to begin in South Dakota this year. A study by Anderson Economic Group, LLC, commissioned by Fermi Research Alliance LLC, which manages the laboratory on behalf of DOE, predicts significant positive impact from the project on economic output and jobs in South Dakota and elsewhere.

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This research is supported by the DOE Office of Science, CERN and INFN, in partnership with institutions around the world.

Follow the overseas journey of the ICARUS detector at IcarusTrip.fnal.gov. Follow the social media campaign on Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag #IcarusTrip.

Fermilab is America's premier national laboratory for particle physics and accelerator research. A U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science laboratory, Fermilab is located near Chicago, Illinois, and operated under contract by the Fermi Research Alliance, LLC. Visit Fermilab's website at http://www.fnal.gov and follow us on Twitter at @Fermilab.

The DOE Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit science.energy.gov.

CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is one of the world's leading laboratories for particle physics. The Organization is located on the French-Swiss border, with its headquarters in Geneva. Its Member States are: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom. Cyprus and Serbia are Associate Member States in the pre-stage to Membership. India, Pakistan, Turkey and Ukraine are Associate Member States. The European Union, Japan, JINR, the Russian Federation, UNESCO and the United States of America currently have Observer status. Visit CERN's website at home.cern and follow them on Twitter @CERN.

The Italian Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN) manages and supports theoretical and experimental research in the fields of subnuclear, nuclear, astroparticle physics in Italy under the supervision of the Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (MIUR). INFN carries out research activities at four national laboratories, in Catania, Frascati, Legnaro and Gran Sasso and 20 divisions, based at university physics departments in different cities of Italy. Visit INFN's website at http://www.infn.it and follow them on Twitter @UffComINFN.
The promising drug is known as F8-TNF. When injected into the bloodstream, it lures killer cells from the body's immune system towards sarcomas. The killer cells then destroy the tumours. Researchers from ETH Zurich, led by Professor Dario Neri at the Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, developed F8-TNF four years ago. Since then, they have been able to show that it can completely cure sarcomas in mice when combined with a chemotherapeutic agent. Such an effective treatment cannot be achieved by chemotherapy alone or with other therapeutic approaches. Now, a drug closely related to F8-TNF is being tested as part of clinical trials in humans.

Consisting of two sub-units, the F8-TNF molecule works rather like a store detective: just as a detective tracks down a shoplifter and detains it until the police arrive, the molecule identifies cancer cells using its F8 sub-unit and then uses its TNF part to lure killer cells (cytotoxic T cells). TNF is an immune system messenger.

Implanted into the genome

Much of the molecule's mechanism of action was hitherto unclear, but the scientists in Neri's group have now succeeded in working it out. They wanted to find out how the killer cells recognise the tumour after they are lured to it. Although the messenger TNF alerts the killer cells to the tumour's presence, it does not provide them with a specific tumour identifier.

The scientists discovered that the killer cells called by F8-TNF are guided by proteins from specific dormant viruses (endogenous retroviruses). The genetic blueprint of these viruses has implanted itself into the mouse genome during evolution. In many cancer cells, the viral proteins are brought to life. Fragments of these retroviral proteins on the surface of tumour cells allow the killer cells to distinguish cancer cells from healthy cells.

Immune protection against cancer

In addition, the scientists observed that mice where the sarcomas were cured with F8-TNF rejected tissue later transplanted from various types of tumour. "The mice appeared to have acquired a sort of immune protection against cancer. As it turned out, this protection is also due to the killer cells, which recognise the tumour cells with the help of dormant viral proteins," says Philipp Probst, a doctoral student in Neri's group.

In cancer immunotherapy, the body's immune system is activated in order to combat tumours. In the past, many scientists assumed that the killer cells used modified proteins on the surface of tumour cells as an identifier and a point of attack. Tumours are a degenerate form of body tissue; they are formed as a result of certain genetic mutations in a precursor cell, which can lead to protein modifications. "In some cases, mutated proteins can indeed be the distinguishing criterion," says Neri. "In our paper, however, we confirm that killer cells can also use other distinguishing criteria, namely the presence or absence of retroviral proteins."

Aid to understanding

"Now we cannot only cure sarcomas in mice, but also know the mechanism behind this therapy," says Probst. In the relatively new field of cancer immunotherapy, it is important to understand the underlying mechanisms in order to predict which patients will respond best to which therapy.

Further research will be needed to find out whether the observations in mice also apply to humans, as the human genome is full of gene sequences from dormant viruses. In any case, the knowledge may be useful in the interpretation of clinical trials. The third and final phase clinical trials in humans for the active agent L19-TNF, which is related to F8-TNF, will soon begin in Germany; in the US, applications for such trials are currently being examined by the authorities.

More than 100 years ago, New York-based doctor William Coley had already observed that some sarcoma patients recovered spontaneously. These were all patients suffering not only from cancer but also from a bacterial infection. Coley attempted to convert his observation into a therapeutic approach and began to inject sarcoma patients with a cocktail of heat-inactivated bacteria. His experiments were successful and "Coley's toxin" became the therapy of choice for sarcoma patients in the early decades of the 20th century. Although it was later displaced to some extent by radiotherapy and the emerging field of chemotherapy, "Coley's toxin" was still manufactured in Germany until 1990.

In Coley's time, knowledge was not yet advanced enough to understand his cocktail's mechanism of action. From today's perspective, one must assume that the inactivated bacteria triggered an immune response and thus the formation of the messenger TNF. In turn, this messenger activated killer cells that fought the tumour.

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Reference

Probst P, Kopp J, Oxenius A, Colombo MP, Ritz D, Fugmann T, Neri D: Sarcoma eradication by doxorubicin and targeted TNF relies upon CD8+ T cell recognition of a retroviral antigen. Cancer Research, 8 May 2017, doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.can-16-2946 [http://dx.doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.can-16-2946]
Sales of the essential oil copaiba [koh-pey-buh] are increasing, at least in part, because more than 54 million Americans suffer from some form of arthritis and 23.7 million are limited in their usual activity primarily due to pain. The conventional way to treat arthritis is using nonsteroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) as well as cyclo-oxygenase-2 inhibitors (COXIBs), which are not without adverse events like gastrointestinal bleeding, heart attacks and stroke. For arthritis sufferers, copaiba may turn out to be a silver bullet or, perhaps, snake oil.

The side effects of NSAIDs and COXIBs as well as warnings from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on their risks of gastrointestinal side effects and bleeding as well as cardiovascular disease all suggest the need to test novel therapies with potential clinical benefits and fewer side effects than the available traditional medicines. One such possible remedy is Copaifera reticulate or copaiba.

The totality of evidence concerning the potential of copaiba to treat inflammatory arthritis is limited to basic research and uncontrolled clinical observations in humans. Researchers from Florida Atlantic University caution that randomized trials are necessary to discern whether the treatment is effective or that copaiba turns out to be "yet another beautiful hypothesis slain by ugly facts." They present the incomplete totality of evidence and challenges in treating arthritis in their commentary published in the journal Integrative Medicine.

"Copaiba is an essential oil that is used topically with little or no side effects, but there is insufficient evidence to judge whether it reduces pain and inflammation in patients with arthritis," said Charles H. Hennekens, M.D., Dr.P.H., the first Sir Richard Doll Professor, senior academic advisor to the dean in FAU's Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, and senior author of the paper. "In case reports, individuals with joint pain and inflammation who used copaiba reported favorable results, however, this hypothesis is promising but as of yet unproven."

Copaiba is a stimulant oleoresin obtained from the trunk of several pinnate-leaved South American leguminous trees found in the Amazon. Its medicinal usage dates back to the 16th century when natives of Brazil used it as folk medicine. Today, Brazil produces approximately 95 percent of this oil-resin, exporting more than 500 tons each year.

"Basic research has suggested mechanisms of benefit of this essential oil in treating inflammatory arthritis," said Hennekens. "Nonetheless, the only published data on copaiba on humans includes one case series and one small randomized trial of another inflammatory condition and not arthritis."

In the commentary, the researchers conclude that the totality of the currently available evidence for copaiba essential oil is wholly insufficient to judge either its benefits or risks for the relief of pain and inflammation in arthritis. They emphasize that despite the absence of reliable evidence from large-scale randomized clinical trials, sales of copaiba continue to increase, presenting clinical and public health challenges.

"To complete the totality of evidence, copaiba should be first tested in a randomized trial against a placebo in patients with inflammatory arthritis," said Hennekens. "If such a trial shows a net benefit, then the next step would be direct randomized comparisons against NSAIDs and COXIBs."

Co-authors of the commentary were, in order, Patricia R. Hebert, Ph.D., and E. Joan Barice, M.D., both affiliate associate professors in FAU's College of Medicine; Juyoung Park, Ph.D., associate professor, School of Social Work, FAU's College for Design and Social Inquiry; Susan MacLeod Dyess, Ph.D., associate professor and coordinator of the Advanced Holistic Nursing Graduate Concentration, and Ruth McCaffrey, DNP, professor emeritus, both in FAU's Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing.

Among the numerous honors and recognitions Hennekens has received include the Ochsner Award for reducing premature deaths from cigarettes in 2014. From 1995 to 2005, Science Watch ranked him as the third most widely cited medical researcher in the world and five of the top 20 were his former trainees and/or fellows. In 2012, Science Heroes ranked Hennekens No. 81 in the history of the world for having saved more than 1.1 million lives. In 2016, he was ranked the No. 14 "Top Scientist in the World" with an H-index of 173.

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About the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine:

FAU's Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine is one of approximately 147 accredited medical schools in the U.S. The college was launched in 2010, when the Florida Board of Governors made a landmark decision authorizing FAU to award the M.D. degree. After receiving approval from the Florida legislature and the governor, it became the 134th allopathic medical school in North America. With more than 70 full and part-time faculty and more than 1,300 affiliate faculty, the college matriculates 64 medical students each year and has been nationally recognized for its innovative curriculum. To further FAU's commitment to increase much needed medical residency positions in Palm Beach County and to ensure that the region will continue to have an adequate and well-trained physician workforce, the FAU Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine Consortium for Graduate Medical Education (GME) was formed in fall 2011 with five leading hospitals in Palm Beach County. In June 2014, FAU's College of Medicine welcomed its inaugural class of 36 residents in its first University-sponsored residency in internal medicine.

About Florida Atlantic University:

Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six-county service region in southeast Florida. FAU's world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form the basis of its strategic plan: Healthy aging, biotech, coastal and marine issues, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, informatics, lifespan and the environment. These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAU's existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visit http://www.fau.edu.
Companies that try to "do good" are likely to find that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is bad for their bottom lines, according to a new study from Florida Atlantic University's College of Business.

"We found that emphasizing Corporate Social Responsibility is not good for shareholders," said David Javakhadze, Ph.D., assistant professor of finance, who investigated the relationship between CSR and efficiency with which firms allocate their capital resources. "If you're an investor you should think twice before you invest in those firms that emphasize CSR."

For the purpose of the study, CSR is defined as strategies that appear to foster some social good, including programs that benefit community engagement, diversity, the environment, human rights and employee relations. The study, published in the Journal of Corporate Finance, found that focusing on CSR strategies imposes costs on firms in the form of foregone investment opportunities that in the long run leads to losses for their shareholders.

In his empirical analyses using a large sample of firms for the period 1992 to 2014, Javakhadze found that CSR reduces a firm's overall performance and investment efficiency. Investment should follow growth opportunities, he explained, and CSR distorts this relationship because it diverts a firm's resources from its core practices. That distortion is lower in firms where the CEO's compensation is tied to the stock price or in firms that are rich in resources.

"It's not only about money; it's about time," said Javakhadze, who co-authored the paper with doctoral student Avishek Bhandari. "If I'm a CEO I should be focusing on finding growth opportunities. If instead I spend my time and my energy to find CSR initiatives it diverts my time and my energy to something else, not focusing on building shareholder wealth."

While companies around the world have adopted CSR strategies, a trend that has gained traction in recent years, it hasn't always been popular. As the economist Milton Friedman said of CSR back in 1970, "a corporation's responsibility is to make as much money for the stockholders as possible."

"Most firms don't have unlimited resources," Javakhadze said. "If you invest in socially responsible activities then you won't have enough resources to invest in more profitable projects, which is not good. It might be good for society. It might be good for managers. But it is not good for shareholders."

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About Florida Atlantic University

Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six-county service region in southeast Florida. FAU's world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form the basis of its strategic plan: Healthy aging, biotech, coastal and marine issues, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, informatics, lifespan and the environment. These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAU's existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visit http://www.fau.edu.
Boulder, Colo., USA: A new field guide in conjunction with GSA's Rocky Mountain Section meeting offers five field trips that explore the structural geology, sedimentology, and paleontology near Calgary, as well as examining the relationship of the geology to the regional petroleum and mining industries. The guides describe the geology of a classic E-W transect through the Canadian Rockies, the stratigraphy of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Dinosaur Provincial Park, the unique fossils of the Burgess Shale, the Mesoproterozoic Belt Supergroup of the National Parks on both sides of the border, and the sedimentology of an analog for the prolific petroleum-producing Montney Formation.

Volume editor Jean C.C. Hsieh of Repsol Oil and Gas Canada Inc. believes that the world-class fossils found in Dinosaur Provincial Park, which are discussed in depth in one chapter, "represent possibly the best window into the biology of the late Campanian anywhere in the world."

Additionally, Hsieh contends that the chapter on the Sulphur Mountain Formation around the Canmore and Kananaskis areas provides "insight into one of the more complicated recent targets of drilling for the petroleum industry. The Triassic sediments in outcrop provide a good analog for the age-equivalent subsurface Montney Formation, which is considered a jewel in Alberta's unconventional resources crown."

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Individual copies of the volume may be purchased through The Geological Society of America online store, http://rock.geosociety.org/Store/detail.aspx?id=FLD048, or by contacting GSA Sales and Service, gsaservice@geosociety.org.

Book editors of earth science journals/publications may request a review copy by contacting April Leo, aleo@geosociety.org.

Geologic Field Trips of the Canadian Rockies: 2017 Meeting of the GSA Rocky Mountain Section

edited by Jean C.C. Hsieh

Geological Society of America Field Guide 48

FLD048, 182 p., $52.00, GSA member price $36.00

ISBN 978-0-8137-0048-9

View the table of contents: http://rock.geosociety.org/store/TOC/FLD048.pdf

http://www.geosociety.org
Scientists recognized for seminal discoveries in cancer's ability to thwart immune surveillance that paved the way to immune-based cancer therapies

The 2017 Warren Alpert Foundation Prize has been awarded to five scientists for transformative discoveries in the field of cancer immunology.

Collectively, their work has elucidated foundational mechanisms in cancer's ability to evade immune recognition and, in doing so, has profoundly altered the understanding of disease development and treatment. Their discoveries have led to the development of effective immune therapies for several types of cancer.

The 2017 award recipients are:

James Allison, professor of immunology and chair of the Department of Immunology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Lieping Chen, United Technologies Corporation Professor in Cancer Research and professor of immunobiology, of dermatology and of medicine, Yale University Gordon Freeman, professor of medicine, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School Tasuku Honjo, professor of immunology and genomic medicine, Kyoto University Arlene Sharpe, the George Fabyan Professor of Comparative Pathology, Harvard Medical School

The honorees will share a $500,000 prize and will be recognized at a day-long symposium on Oct. 5 at Harvard Medical School.

The Warren Alpert Foundation, in association with Harvard Medical School, honors trailblazing scientists whose work has led to the understanding, prevention, treatment or cure of human disease. The award recognizes seminal discoveries that hold the promise to change our understanding of disease or our ability to treat it.

"The discoveries honored by the Warren Alpert Foundation over the years are remarkable in their scope and potential," said George Q. Daley, dean of Harvard Medical School. "The work of this year's recipients is nothing short of breathtaking in its profound impact on medicine. These discoveries have reshaped our understanding of the body's response to cancer and propelled our ability to treat several forms of this recalcitrant disease."

The Warren Alpert Foundation Prize is given internationally. To date, the foundation has awarded nearly $4 million to 59 scientists. Since the award's inception, eight honorees have also received a Nobel Prize.

"We commend these five scientists. Allison, Chen, Freeman, Honjo and Sharpe are indisputable standouts in the field of cancer immunology," said Bevin Kaplan, director of the Warren Alpert Foundation. "Collectively, they are helping to turn the tide in the global fight against cancer. We couldn't honor more worthy recipients for the Warren Alpert Foundation Prize."

The 2017 award: Unraveling the mysterious interplay between cancer and immunity

Understanding how tumor cells sabotage the body's immune defenses stems from the collective work of many scientists over many years and across multiple institutions.

Each of the five honorees identified key pieces of the puzzle.

The notion that cancer and immunity are closely connected and that a person's immune defenses can be turned against cancer is at least a century old. However, the definitive proof and demonstration of the steps in this process were outlined through findings made by the five 2017 Warren Alpert prize recipients.

Under normal conditions, so-called checkpoint inhibitor molecules rein in the immune system to ensure that it does not attack the body's own cells, tissues and organs. Building on each other's work, the five award recipients demonstrated how this normal self-defense mechanism can be hijacked by tumors as a way to evade immune surveillance and dodge an attack. Subverting this mechanism allows cancer cells to survive and thrive.

A foundational discovery made in the 1980s elucidated the role of a molecule on the surface of T cells, the body's elite assassins trained to seek, spot and destroy invaders.

A protein called CTLA-4 emerged as a key regulator of T cell behavior--one that signals to T cells the need to retreat from an attack. Experiments in mice lacking CTLA-4 and use of CTLA-4 antibodies demonstrated that absence of CTLA-4 or blocking its activity could lead to T cell activation and tumor destruction.

Subsequent work identified a different protein on the surface of T cells--PD-1--as another key regulator of T cell response. Mice lacking this protein developed an autoimmune disease as a result of aberrant T cell activity and over-inflammation.

Later on, scientists identified a molecule, B7-H1, subsequently renamed PD-L1, which binds to PD-1, clicking like a key in a lock. This was followed by the discovery of a second partner for PD-1--the molecule PD-L2--which also appeared to tame T-cell activity by binding to PD-1.

The identification of these molecules led to a set of studies showing that their presence on human and mouse tumors rendered the tumors resistant to immune eradication.

A series of experiments further elucidated just how tumors exploit the interaction between PD-1 and PD-L1 to survive. Specifically, some tumor cells appeared to express PD-L1, essentially "wrapping" themselves in it to avoid immune recognition and destruction.

Additional work demonstrated that using antibodies to block this interaction disarmed the tumors, rendering them vulnerable to immune destruction.

Collectively, the five scientists' findings laid the foundation for antibody-based therapies that modulate the function of these molecules as a way to unleash the immune system against cancer cells.

Antibody therapy that targets CTLA-4 is currently approved by the FDA for the treatment of melanoma. PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors have already shown efficacy in a broad range of cancers and have been approved by the FDA for the treatment of melanoma; kidney; lung; head and neck cancer; bladder cancer; some forms of colorectal cancer; Hodgkin lymphoma and Merkel cell carcinoma.

In their own words

"I am humbled to be included among the illustrious scientists who have been honored by the Warren Alpert Foundation for their contributions to the treatment and cure of human disease in its 30+ year history. It is also recognition of the many investigators who have labored for decades to realize the promise of the immune system in treating cancer." -James Allison

"The award is a great honor and a wonderful recognition of our work."

-Lieping Chen

"I am thrilled to have made a difference in the lives of cancer patients and to be recognized by fellow scientists for my part in the discovery of the PD-1/PD-L1 and PD-L2 pathway and its role in tumor immune evasion. I am deeply honored to be a recipient of the Alpert Award and to be recognized for my part in the work that has led to effective cancer immunotherapy. The success of immunotherapy has unleashed the energies of a multitude of scientists to further advance this novel strategy."

-Gordon Freeman

"I am extremely honored to receive the Warren Alpert Foundation Prize. I am very happy that our discovery of PD-1 in 1992 and subsequent 10-year basic research on PD-1 led to its clinical application as a novel cancer immunotherapy. I hope this development will encourage many scientists working in the basic biomedical field."

-Tasuku Honjo

"I am truly honored to be a recipient of the Alpert Award. It is especially meaningful to be recognized by my colleagues for discoveries that helped define the biology of the CTLA-4 and PD-1 pathways. The clinical translation of our fundamental understanding of these pathways illustrates the value of basic science research, and I hope this inspires other scientists."

-Arlene Sharpe

Previous winners

Last year's award went to five scientists who were instrumental in the discovery and development of the CRISPR bacterial defense mechanism as a tool for gene editing. They were Rodolphe Barrangou of North Carolina State University, Philippe Horvath of DuPont in Dange-Saint-Romain, France, Jennifer Doudna of the University of California, Berkeley, Emmanuelle Charpentier of the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin and Umea University in Sweden, and Virginijus Siksnys of the Institute of Biotechnology at Vilnius University in Lithuania.

Other past recipients include:

Tu Youyou of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Science, who went on to receive the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with two others, and Ruth and Victor Nussenzweig, of NYU Langone Medical Center, for their pioneering discoveries in chemistry and parasitology of malaria and the translation of their work into the development of drug therapies and an anti-malarial vaccine.

Oleh Hornykiewicz of the Medical University of Vienna and the University of Toronto; Roger Nicoll of the University of California, San Francisco; and Solomon Snyder of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine for research into neurotransmission and neurodegeneration.

David Botstein of Princeton University and Ronald Davis and David Hogness of Stanford University School of Medicine for contributions to the concepts and methods of creating a human genetic map.

Alain Carpentier of Hopital Europeen Georges-Pompidou in Paris and Robert Langer of MIT for innovations in bioengineering.

Harald zur Hausen and Lutz Gissmann of the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg for work on the human papillomavirus (HPV) and cancer of the cervix. Zur Hausen and others were honored with the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2008.

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The Warren Alpert Foundation

Each year the Warren Alpert Foundation receives between 30 and 50 nominations from scientific leaders worldwide. Prize recipients are selected by the foundation's scientific advisory board, which is composed of distinguished biomedical scientists and chaired by the dean of Harvard Medical School.

Warren Alpert (1920-2007), a native of Chelsea, Mass., established the prize in 1987 after reading about the development of a vaccine for hepatitis B. Alpert decided on the spot that he would like to reward such breakthroughs, so he picked up the phone and told the vaccine's creator, Kenneth Murray of the University of Edinburgh, that he had won a prize. Alpert then set about creating the foundation.

To award subsequent prizes, Alpert asked Daniel Tosteson (1925-2009), then dean of Harvard Medical School, to convene a panel of experts to identify scientists from around the world whose research has had a direct impact on the treatment of disease.

Harvard Medical School

Harvard Medical School has more than 11,000 faculty working in 10 academic departments located at the School's Boston campus or in hospital-based clinical departments at 15 Harvard-affiliated teaching hospitals and research institutes: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston Children's Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Cambridge Health Alliance, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Hebrew SeniorLife, Joslin Diabetes Center, Judge Baker Children's Center, Massachusetts Eye and Ear/Schepens Eye Research Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, McLean Hospital, Mount Auburn Hospital, Spaulding Rehabilitation Network and VA Boston Healthcare System.
Nancy Chiaravalloti, PhD, director of Neuropsychology, Neuroscience and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) research at Kessler Foundation, and director of the Northern New Jersey Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Model System, gave the Mitchell Rosenthal Memorial Lecture at the 2017 Rehabilitation Psychology Mid-Winter Conference in Albuquerque, NM.

"Having had the privilege of working with Dr. Rosenthal early in my career, it is very meaningful to be chosen to give this memorial lecture in his name," said Dr. Chiaravalloti. "Dr. Rosenthal's mentorship is fundamental to what I have been able to accomplish as a clinical researcher. His leadership in brain injury research and education remains an inspiration to those of us who follow his path."

Honorees for this bi-annual award are selected by the Rehabilitation Psychology planning committee of the American Psychological Association Division 22. The award recognizes candidates whose lasting contributions honor Dr. Rosenthal's legacy of TBI research and his commitment to teaching and mentorship. Dr. Chiaravalloti was selected for her contributions to advances in cognitive rehabilitation research in TBI, and her successful mentoring of postdoctoral fellows at Kessler Foundation.

For this lecture, Dr. Chiaravalloti chose the topic: "Treating New Learning and Memory Deficits in Rehabilitation Populations: The modified Story Memory Technique (mSMT)." As a result of her research on the application of the mSMT in TBI and MS populations, this technique is being used by professionals in eight countries, as well in facilities across the U.S.

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About Dr. Chiaravalloti

Dr. Chiaravalloti is director of Neuropsychology, Neuroscience & Traumatic Brain Injury Research at Kessler Foundation, and director of the Northern New Jersey TBI Model System. An expert in cognitive rehabilitation research, she has focused on finding new ways to treat cognitive deficits in the brain injury and multiple sclerosis populations. Dr. Chiaravalloti has begun exploring cognitive issues affecting the population with spinal cord injury (SCI) in collaboration with colleagues in SCI Research at Kessler Foundation, also the site of the Northern New Jersey SCI Model System. Kessler Foundation is one of only nine centers in the U.S. with federally funded model systems for both TBI and SCI.

About Kessler Foundation:

Kessler Foundation, a major nonprofit organization in the field of disability, is a global leader in rehabilitation research that seeks to improve cognition, mobility, and long-term outcomes--including employment--for people with neurological disabilities caused by diseases and injuries of the brain and spinal cord. Kessler Foundation leads the nation in funding innovative programs that expand employment opportunities for people with disabilities.

For more information on Kessler Foundation's research, visit KesslerFoundation.org.

Facebook | http://www.facebook.com/KesslerFoundation

Twitter | http://twitter.com/KesslerFdn

Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/kesslerfdn

YouTube | http://www.youtube.com/user/KesslerFoundation

iTunes & SoundCloud | http://soundcloud.com/kesslerfoundation

Contacts:

Carolann Murphy, PA; 973-324-8382; CMurphy@KesslerFoundation.org

Laura Viglione, MS; 973-323-3675; LViglione@KesslerFoundation.org
Feasibility study marries cutting-edge imaging technology with the latest advances in artificial intelligence to achieve over 90 percent accuracy in differentiating between benign and malignant tissues; 'Real-time' method could one day be used in surgery

According to a recent study, one in four women with breast cancer who opt for a breast-saving lumpectomy will need a second surgery - increasing both costs and the risk of complications.

Why is a second surgery so common? Currently the only way surgeons can confirm during surgery that there are no cancer cells in the margin  the tissue surrounding the removed tumor  is by performing a frozen section, which uses liquid nitrogen to freeze the excised tissues before the tissue is sectioned into thin slices and stained for pathologists to examine in the lab. This procedure is often performed during surgery to evaluate the tumor margin. Surgeons remove more tissue if a positive margin is identified. The excised tissue is then sent for a thorough histopathological evaluation. However, the frozen section can miss the tumor margin on the tissue surface - and often does  and the histopathology results from the lab are not available for several days.

What if surgeons had a more accurate way to find out  in the operating room, in real-time  whether the margins were free of cancer cells?

Chao Zhou, assistant professor of electrical engineering at Lehigh University and his Lehigh collaborator Sharon Xiaolei Huang, associate professor of computer science and engineering, are working to make that vision a reality. They have created a computer-aided diagnostic technique that marries cutting-edge imaging technology with the latest advances in artificial intelligence to detect in real-time the difference between cancerous and benign cells.

Senior collaborators on the project include Professor James G. Fujimoto of Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Dr. James L. Connolly of Harvard Medical School; and, Drs. Xianxu Zeng and Zhan Zhang from the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University in Henan, China.

The idea is that one day, if this technique could be used during surgery, it could complement the histopathology, potentially reducing the need for a second breast cancer surgery, said Zhou.

A feasibility study published in an article in Medical Image Analysis  has yielded promising results: their technique achieved a classification accuracy of over 90%. This means the system correctly identified benign vs. cancerous cells over 90% of the time. Powerful imaging meets powerful analysis

Zhous and Huangs method is compelling for its relatively new application of an imaging technique called optical coherence microscopy (OCM) as a breast cancer diagnostic. It is also notable for its innovative approach to training a computer system to recognize texture patterns.

Features extracted from the OCM images are used to train the computer system to automatically identify different tissue types.

The process takes a large number of images, and labels the types of tissue in the sample, says Huang. For every pixel in the image, we know whether it is fat, carcinoma or another cell type. In addition, we extract thousands of different features that can be present in the image, such as texture, color or local contrast, and we use a machine learning algorithm to select which features are the most discriminating.

After examining multiple types of texture features, Huang and Zhou determined that Local Binary Pattern (LBP) featuresvisual descriptors that compares the intensity of a center pixel with those of its neighborsworked best for classifying tissues imaged by OCM.

The team also integrated two other featuresone, called the Average Local Binary Pattern (ALBP), compares the intensity value of each neighbor pixel with the average intensity value of all neighbors: The other one, called the Block-Based Local Binary Pattern (BLBP),compares the average intensity value of pixels in blocks of a certain shape in a neighborhood around the center pixel. Two different shapes of pixel blocks, namely Spoke and Ring, are used in their work.

Finally, because texture patterns of different scales appear in human breast tissue OCM images they constructed a multi-scale feature by integrating LBP, ALBP and BLBP features obtained with different radius parameters. All these combined to significantly improve classification accuracy.

From the article: Our experiments show that by integrating a selected set of LBP and the two new variant (ALBP and BLBP) features at multiple scales, the classification accuracy increased from 81.7% (using LBP features alone) to 93.8% using a neural network classifier.

"In addition, we used these multi-scale and integrated image features to achieve high sensitivity - 100% - and specificity - 85.2% - for cancer detection using the OCM images, adds Huang.

Zhou, whose work focuses on improving biomedical imaging techniques, is a pioneer in the novel use of OCM, a non-invasive imaging method that can provide 3D, high-reso

ution images of biological tissue at the cellular level. OCM images come very close to what can be detected through histopathology.

Huangs role, as an expert in training computers to recognize visual images, is to identify the best way to analyze those images to differentiate between benign and cancerous tissue.

The combination of powerful imaging and powerful image analysis that makes up their technique could be a significant step toward enabling real-time diagnosis of breast cancer tissue in the operating room. The researchers hope it may one day lead to minimizing the need for a second surgery, reducing costs and lowering the risk of complications for patients.

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India has one of the highest suicide rates among people aged between 15 to 29 years, the most vulnerable group being the ones studying in class 10 and 12 due to board exams related pressure.

These days, there are many career-counselling platforms to cater to a student's need and inquiries.

By India Today Web Desk: Every hour, one student commits suicide in India, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).

There have been many causes listed for student suicides although many leading psychologists have identified a strong correlation between low educational achievements or examination performance stress and suicides.

India has one of the highest suicide rates among people aged between 15 to 29 years, the most vulnerable group being the ones studying in class 10 and 12 due to board exams related pressure.

Recent student suicide cases in India:

advertisement

One of the recent suicide cases that shook the entire country was of Arjun Bharadwaj, a 24-year-old management student who committed suicide by jumping out of a 19th-floor hotel room in Mumbai. The boy committed suicide due to repeated failure in exams.

His story is a reminder for society to understand the importance of talking comprehensively to the youth about the stress they go through and for parents who may set unrealistic career expectations for their children. Some of the parents, who still think traditionally, are not aware of how a career in pure academics is not the only lucrative career option anymore.

In order to curb this trend, there is a dire need of proper counselling for parents as well as their children i.e. career counseling.

Here's how 'Career Counselling' can help stop student suicide in India:

It helps in providing the right career choice for a person

Students who may not fit in the traditional career options will get to know of more options

It helps to evaluate strengths, abilities, and interests of a person

Career counsellors understand a student's skills, strengths, weaknesses, interests, personality, and other important factors and give right career advice.

Moreover, these days, there are many career-counselling platforms to cater to a student's need and inquiries.

Lodestar is one such career guidance platform that claims that a student can have over 250 career options.

Also, this career counseling platform recently conducted a survey.

Here's what the survey revealed:

A survey was conducted on 6,000 students studying in class 9 and 10 across 102 schools in Bengaluru.

Further, the survey revealed that 63 per cent of the students were more interested in finding a job that matched their interest than finding one which paid a fatter income.

This reinforces the fact that today's youth want job satisfaction rather than blindly following the herd and they want to help youngsters at each stage of this crucial period.

For information on more upcoming results and notifications, click here.

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BAR HARBOR, MAINE - Exactly when does old age begin? Which health markers best predict who will live a long and healthy life versus a life spent in poor health?

Developing metrics to help answer these questions and to understand the tradeoffs between lifespan and health span is the subject of a recent paper by MDI Biological Laboratory scientists in Journals of Gerontology: Biological Sciences, a publication of the Gerontological Society of America.

The authors studied various parameters of health in short-lived strains of the roundworm, C. elegans, with the goal of developing an empirical definition of the onset of old age, and of teasing out which health markers are most predictive of a long and healthy life.

With the development of new genetics tools, scientists are getting closer to developing therapies to extend human lifespan, but the effect of such therapies on health span (the proportion of life spent in good health) is unclear. While it used to be thought that therapies to extend lifespan would also extend health span, new research is showing that may not always be true.

The growing number of anti-aging therapies on the horizon creates a need for the development of new parameters to assess healthy aging. Instead of striving to only to prolong longevity, as has been the case in the past, the use of such tools will allow scientists to focus their efforts on lifespan-enhancing therapies with the greatest positive effects on health.

"All anti-aging interventions aren't created equal," said post-doctoral researcher Jarod Rollins, Ph.D., one of the study's lead investigators. "A recent study in C. elegans found, for instance, that the proportion of life spent in a frail state is longer in long-lived mutants than in wild-type animals. Our research is aimed at developing tools to help scientists assess the effect of lifespan-enhancing interventions on health span."

The molecular mechanisms of aging are a focus of research at the MDI Biological Laboratory, located in Bar Harbor, Maine, which is pioneering new approaches to regenerative medicine focused on the development of drugs to increase healthy lifespan by enhancing the body's innate ability to repair and regenerate lost or damaged tissues and organs.

Rollins works in the laboratory of Aric Rogers, Ph.D., the lead author of the study, in the institution's Kathryn W. Davis Center for Regenerative Biology and Medicine.

C. elegans is a popular model in aging research because its short lifespan of only two to three weeks allows scientists to quickly assess the effects of anti-aging interventions, including genetic manipulation and drug therapies. The tiny, soil-dwelling roundworm also has other advantages for research: it shares many of its genes with humans and its health markers roughly correspond to those in humans.

One marker that the MDI Biological Laboratory scientists found to be predictive of a healthy lifespan in C. elegans was movement speed. Movement speed corresponds to walking speed in humans, which studies have found to be an accurate predictor of longevity. One of the scientists' next steps will be to further develop movement speed as a marker for assessing the effect of anti-aging interventions in C. elegans.

"As science closes in on the mechanisms underlying aging, the tradeoffs between lifespan and health span become a greater cause for concern," said Kevin Strange, Ph.D., president of the MDI Biological Laboratory. "The scientists in the Rogers laboratory are at the forefront of developing metrics to assess the impact of anti-aging interventions on quality of life."

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In addition to Rollins and Rogers, authors of the study include Amber C. Howard, Sarah K. Dobbins and Elsie H. Washburn.

The research was supported by grants to Rogers from the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health and the Ellison Medical Foundation, as well as by Institutional Development Awards (IDeA) from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health.

About the MDI Biological Laboratory

Our scientists are pioneering new approaches to regenerative medicine focused on drugs that activate our natural ability to heal, and that slow age-related degenerative changes. Our unique approach has identified new drugs with the potential to treat major diseases, demonstrating that regeneration could be as simple as taking a pill. As innovators and entrepreneurs, we also teach what we know. Our Maine Center for Biomedical Innovation prepares students for 21st century careers and equips entrepreneurs with the skills and resources to turn great ideas into successful products. For more information, please visit mdibl.org.
University Park, PA -- A newly discovered Jupiter-like world is so hot that even its nights are like the flame of a welding torch. Planet KELT-9b is hotter than most stars. With a day-side temperature of more than 7,800 degrees Fahrenheit (4,600 Kelvin), it is only about 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit (1,200 Kelvin) cooler than our own sun.

"At these temperatures, the fundamental component of KELT-9b's atmosphere will be blasted apart into individual atoms during the day," said Thomas Beatty, a research scientist at Penn State University and a coauthor on the study. This element is hydrogen, which usually exists as a pair of two hydrogen atoms. "Then as night falls, all those hydrogen atoms will try and get back together, creating an inferno at dusk," he said. "On Earth, this same process is used to create one of the hottest welding flames known."

In this week's issue of the journal Nature, an international research team including astronomers from The Ohio State University, Vanderbilt University, and Penn State University describes this planet and some of its very unusual features.

For instance, it is a gas giant 2.8 times more massive than Jupiter, but only half as dense because the extreme radiation from its host star has caused its atmosphere to puff up like a balloon. And because it is tidally locked to its star -- as the Moon is to Earth -- the day side of the planet is perpetually bombarded by radiation from its star and, as a result, is so hot that molecules such as water, carbon dioxide, methane and hydrogen can't form there. The properties of the night side are still mysterious -- molecules may be able to form there, but probably only temporarily.

"It's a planet by any of the typical definitions based on mass, but its atmosphere is almost certainly unlike any other planet we've ever seen just because of the temperature of its day side," said Scott Gaudi, professor of astronomy at The Ohio State University and a leader of the study.

KELT-9b orbits a star, dubbed KELT-9, that is more than twice as large and nearly twice as hot as our sun. Keivan Stassun, a professor of physics and astronomy at Vanderbilt who directed the study with Gaudi said, "KELT-9 radiates so much ultraviolet radiation that it may completely evaporate the planet. Or, if gas giant planets like KELT-9b possess solid rocky cores as some theories suggest, the planet may be boiled down to a barren rock, like Mercury."

That is, if the star doesn't grow to engulf it first. "KELT-9 will swell to become a red giant star in about a billion years," said Stassun. "The long-term prospects for life, or real estate for that matter, on KELT-9b are not looking good."

Given that its atmosphere is constantly blasted with high levels of ultraviolet radiation, the planet may even be shedding a tail of evaporated planetary material like a comet, Gaudi added. While Gaudi and Stassun spend a lot of time developing missions designed to find habitable planets in other solar systems, the scientists said there's a good reason to study worlds that are unlivable in the extreme.

"As has been highlighted by the recent discoveries from the MEarth collaboration, the planet around Proxima Centauri, and the astonishing system discovered around TRAPPIST-1, the astronomical community is clearly focused on finding Earthlike planets around small, cooler stars like our sun. They are easy targets and there's a lot that can be learned about potentially habitable planets orbiting very-low-mass stars in general. On the other hand, because KELT-9b's host star is bigger and hotter than the sun, it complements those efforts and provides a kind of touchstone for understanding how planetary systems form around hot, massive stars," Gaudi said.

Stassun added, "As we seek to develop a complete picture of the variety of other worlds out there, it's important to know not only how planets form and evolve, but also when and under what conditions they are destroyed."

The astronomers hope to take a closer look at KELT-9b with other telescopes--including Spitzer, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), and eventually the James Webb Space Telescope. Observations with HST would enable them to see if the planet really does have a cometary tail, and allow them to determine how much longer that planet will survive its current hellish condition.

"Looking at KELT-9b with Hubble will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It's the only place in the universe where we can watch an entire planet go through a phase-change from day to night," said Beatty, who is leading the efforts to observe KELT-9b in more detail.

How was this new planet found?

In 2014, astronomers using the KELT-North telescope at Winer Observatory in Arizona noticed a tiny drop in the star's brightness--only about half of one percent--indicating that a planet may have passed in front of the star. The brightness dipped once every 1.5 days, which means the planet completes a "yearly" circuit around its star every 1.5 days.

Subsequent observations confirmed the signal to be due to a planet, and revealed it to be what astronomers call a "hot Jupiter" -- the ideal kind of planet for the KELT telescopes to spot.

###

KELT is short for "Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope." Astronomers at Ohio State, Vanderbilt University, and Lehigh University jointly operate two KELTs (one each in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres) in order to fill a large gap in the available technologies for finding extrasolar planets.

Other telescopes are designed to look at very faint stars in much small sections of the sky, and at very high resolution. The KELTs, in contrast, look at millions of very bright stars at once, over broad sections of sky, and at low resolution -- a low-cost means of planet hunting using mostly off-the-shelf technology. A traditional astronomical telescope costs millions of dollars to build, while the hardware for a KELT telescope runs less than $75,000.

The study's coauthor from Penn State is Thomas Beatty, of the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics. American partner institutions include the Ohio State University, Vanderbilt University, Fisk University, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, University of Notre Dame, Lehigh University, NASA Ames Research Center, Bay Area Environmental Research Institute, Swarthmore College, IPAC, Brigham Young University, University of California-Santa Cruz, University of Wyoming, Louisiana State University, University of Louisville, Spot Observatory in Nashville, Westminster College, Kutztown University, University of Hawaii, University of Washington, Texas A&M University, Wellesley College, and Winer Observatory in Sonoita, AZ. International team members are from Denmark, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Switzerland, Australia, Germany and South Africa.

The study was largely funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) through an NSF CAREER Grant, NSF PAARE Grant and an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. Additional support came from NASA via the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Exoplanet Exploration Program; the Harvard Future Faculty Leaders Postdoctoral Fellowship; Theodore Dunham, Jr., Grant from the Fund for Astronomical Research; and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.

Pam Frost Gorder

TB@PSU

BKK@PSU

CONTACTS:

Thomas Beatty

tbeatty@psu.edu

1-814-863-7346

Scott Gaudi

1-614-292-1914

Gaudi.1@osu.edu

Barbara K. Kennedy (PIO)

BarbaraKennedy@psu.edu

1-814-863-4682
LA JOLLA--(June 6, 2017) Neurons have long enjoyed the spotlight in neuroscience--and for good reason: they are incredibly important cellular actors. But, increasingly, star-shaped support cells called astrocytes are being seen as more than bit players in the brain's rich pageant.

Salk researchers reported a new method of deriving astrocytes from stem cells, opening up broad avenues for research into diseases with inflammatory features. The protocol, which is described in the June 6, 2017, issue of Stem Cell Reports, offers a faster and more effective way to obtain astrocytes for brain research that could yield breakthroughs for treatments of such diverse conditions as stroke, Alzheimer's or psychiatric disorders.

"This work represents a big leap forward in our ability to model neurological disorders in a dish," says Salk Professor Rusty Gage, holder of the Vi and John Adler Chair for Research on Age-Related Neurodegenerative Disease and senior author of the paper. "Because inflammation is the common denominator in many brain disorders, better understanding astrocytes and their interactions with other cell types in the brain could provide important clues into what goes wrong in disease."

Astrocytes are known to support neurons in a number of ways, from providing them with energy and physical scaffolding to cleaning up their waste. Astrocytes also have more general brain functions related to regulating blood flow and inflammation (a marker of injury or disease). But current methods to guide their development and differentiate them from human stem cells are time consuming and functionally limited. In the new paper, the Salk researchers describe a more efficient way to differentiate astrocytes that are sensitive to inflammation and function very much like ones in our brain do. Additionally, the Salk astrocytes can be co-cultured along with neurons, allowing researchers to model the interactions between these two important cell types in both healthy and diseased states.

With the right cocktails of chemicals--called growth factors--administered in stepwise fashion, human pluripotent stem cells can be prompted to develop into any cell type in the body. The Salk protocol guided pluripotent stem cells, over a period of six weeks, first to become generic neural cells and then precursors to astrocytes. With further chemical baths, the precursor cells differentiated into astrocytes a few weeks later.

"There are other methods for differentiating astrocytes, but our protocol arrives at inflammation-sensitive cells earlier, which makes modeling more efficient and straightforward," says Carol Marchetto, a Salk senior staff scientist and one of the paper's authors.

Another advantage of the Gage lab's new method is that the astrocyte precursor cells can be frozen and later expanded and differentiated as needed, saving researchers approximately six weeks of time with each new experiment.

Tests revealed that the induced astrocytes functioned very much like astrocytes isolated from actual brain tissue. The lab-created astrocytes responded to the neurotransmitter glutamate and calcium similarly to natural astrocytes. Like typical astrocytes, the lab-generated cells also responded strongly to the presence of inflammatory molecules called cytokines by producing cytokines of their own.

Additionally, the team tested their protocol on induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which are adult cells, usually derived from skin, that have been reprogrammed to a stem-cell-like state. The lab successfully turned iPSCs into astrocytes that exhibited the same inflammation sensitivity the natural astrocytes did, providing an important resource for studying diseases where brain inflammation may play a role.

"This technique allows us to begin addressing questions about brain development and disease that we couldn't even ask before," says Gage. The team also co-cultured astrocytes derived from pluripotent stem cells with neurons, an important step in exploring the relationship of different brain-cell types to normal function and disease.

"The exciting thing about using iPSCs is that if we get tissue samples from people with diseases like multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's or depression, we will be able to study how their astrocytes behave, and how they interact with neurons," says Krishna Vadodaria, a Salk research associate and one of the paper's lead authors. This will be the next step in the lab's research.

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Other authors included: Renata Santos, Baptiste N. Jaeger, Arianna Mei, Sabrina Lefcochilos-Fogelquist, Ana P. D. Mendes, Galina Erikson, Maxim Shokhirev, Lynne Randolph-Moore, Callie Fredlender, Sonia Dave, Ruth Oefner, Conor Fitzpatrick, Monique Pena, Jerika J. Barron, Manching Ku, Ahmet M. Denli and Bilal E. Kerman of Salk; Patrick Charnay of France's Ecole Normale Superieure; and John R. Kelsoe of the University of California, San Diego.

The work was funded by Janssen Pharmaceuticals, the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Bob and Mary Jane Engman, The JPB Foundation, The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, Annette C. Merle-Smith, the National Institutes of Health, the G. Harold & Leila Y. Mathers Foundation, the National Cancer Institute, the Chapman Foundation, the Helmsley Charitable Trust, the Swiss National Science Foundation, Lynn and Edward Streim, the European Molecular Biology Organization, the Bettencourt Schueller Foundation, and the Philippe Foundation.

About the Salk Institute for Biological Studies:

Every cure has a starting point. The Salk Institute embodies Jonas Salk's mission to dare to make dreams into reality. Its internationally renowned and award-winning scientists explore the very foundations of life, seeking new understandings in neuroscience, genetics, immunology, plant biology and more. The Institute is an independent nonprofit organization and architectural landmark: small by choice, intimate by nature and fearless in the face of any challenge. Be it cancer or Alzheimer's, aging ordiabetes, Salk is where cures begin. Learn more at: salk.edu.
In a recent paper published in PLOS One, Saint Louis University professor of physics Jean Potvin, Ph.D., and biologist Alexander Werth, Ph.D. at Hampden-Sydney College, detail for the first time how baleen whales use crossflow filtration to separate prey from water without ever coming into contact with the baleen. Baleen are comb-like keratin plates that have replaced the teeth of the whale's ancestors about 30 million years ago and play the role of a filtration surface in their mouths. The researchers looked at how this type of feeding affects a whale's drag as it moves through the water and how this form of filtration is enhanced by a large body size.

Scientists hope that a greater understanding of how these aquatic mammals feed will shed light on how whales have evolved to the enormous sizes seen today. This new knowledge also will aid conservation efforts for whales, most of which are endangered species.

"As a physicist, I collaborate with biologists and paleontologists," Potvin said. "We study the physics of the various feeding mechanisms used by whales such as the humpback, blue and right whales. One practical aspect of this research is to know how much food they need. For the largest species, the food is krill and copepods. With climate change and human exploitation currently affecting prey availability, scientists wonder how whales will adjust to the possible food shortages or geographical displacements that are likely to arise. Answering how much food whales need to eat, or in other words, how much energy they have to spend throughout the year to catch and digest food, will help answer this question.

"Blue whales, for example, feed on millions of krill that gather in big patches, in many cases patches that are larger than the whales themselves. This allows whales to grow to enormous sizes. These whales are the largest animals to have ever lived on Earth - they are larger than most dinosaurs. They engulf water and prey, and then filter what they don't need out through the baleen plates.

"There's still a lot we don't understand about filtration by baleen, especially with regards to the detailed physics involved. Blue whales lunge toward the prey patch and open their mouth to enormous gapes to catch as many prey as possible. In the process they engulf an enormous amount of water which needs to be filtered out instants after mouth closure. Blue whales engulf the equivalent of their own mass, which for a 90 foot-long whale translates into a hundred tons of water. This is a lot of water to purge out of the mouth. It's done after prey capture, with the whale's belly muscle tightening to force the water through the baleen, past the lips and out of the mouth. This is a complicated process, most of which is out of view. This leaves scientists with very few clues on the workings of the filtration process that takes place within."

In their current paper, Potvin and Werth studied another type of baleen whale, the right whale, which offer a simpler version of filtration by baleen. Right whales have a baleen system that is similar to that of blue whales, although with longer baleen plates. But unlike their distant cousins the blue whales, right whales do not lunge and catch their prey like a raptor. Instead, they skim the water with their mouths open to collect their food at a much slower pace, effectively eating like a grazer. This process also is more visible since it is performed with the mouth partially opened. And, because of this skimming motion, the flow of water moving though the baleen system is simpler to simulate mathematically than the flows taking place inside a blue whale's closed mouth.

Right whales feed on small prey called copepods which are about the size of a grain of rice.

"Copepods also hang out in big patches," Potvin said. "Whales open their mouths while swimming through the patch, effectively skimming through it in a manner similar to a collector's net capturing butterflies. Again the baleen act like a filtration surface but the copepods are smaller than the space between baleens and so the filtration process must be different from, for example, draining pasta using a strainer.

"Instead, crossflow filtration is used, with most of the water passing through the baleen and exiting out of the mouth, but with the prey heading straight to the back side of the mouth where it is swallowed, all the while without ever coming into contact with the baleen.The copepods are mostly a slurry of food by the time they get to the whale's esophagus.

"Humans developed crossflow filtration in the wine-making process to remove the particles created during production without requiring frequent cleaning of the filtration surface. Of course, Mother Nature knew about cross filtration long before we did."

This is the first paper in the field that shows how this can be done for baleen whales through simulations and data, Potvin says.

"This is a study of how the water flows through the mouth in terms of speed and pressure, and how this leads to the drag created by the open mouth," Potvin said. "When these whales open their mouths, there is more water resistance because of the flow within. This will affect how much energy the whale needs to spend in order to feed. We can calculate the drag. People had measured it but it had never been calculated. I think it's a big step.

"Another thing this analysis allows you to do is to go back to the question of body size. This type of crossflow filtration works best with a big body size. Right whales are about 50 feet-long. Our analysis found that, sure enough, this mode gets more efficient at the larger body size.

"The bigger the filter, the slower the water through the filter. This reduces the clogging rate and also the drag. If water is too fast through the baleen system, it carries along most of the prey, thereby allowing the copepods to escape and over time gums up the filter. The bigger the filter surface, the slower the flow out of the filter at the level of the pore. The process is analogous to rivers discharging into a bay: the faster river flow -- equivalent to the water entering a whale's mouth -- will always slow down as it enters the bay because it is always wider, which is equivalent to the water passing through the whale's baleen."

This modeling answers some key questions about feeding that will help scientists understand how to best protect whales as their habitat changes due to global warming and human activity on oceans.

For his next project, Potvin will turn his attention to the physics of how whales swim and maneuver in the water.

Thanks to a recent $800,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), Potvin and colleagues will collect data on the swimming habits of blue whales and humpback whales in the wild using drones and electronic tags. Potvin and Saint Louis University received $232,634 to fund their portion of the three year study.

"We will have a big expedition in August near the Channel Islands off the coast of Santa Barbara, California, tagging blue whales," Potvin said. "We are likely to see some of the highest concentrations of blue whales in the world. We hope to get a lot of data out of that trip."

The expedition will be led by colleagues at Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station using specially devised digital tags to measure the speeds and accelerations performed by the whales, as well as record video of the maneuvers and encounters with the prey.

"Researchers usually sneak up next to a whale as it surfaces for air and attempt to attach the tag to the animal with the use of suction cups," Potvin said. "There is a piece of metal that dissolves after several hours after attachment and that releases the suction cups. The package then floats up to the surface and a mounted beacon helps the biologists locate and retrieve the tag for data download."

With the new data, Potvin will be able to carry out computational fluid dynamics simulations at Saint Louis University to learn more about how these whales maneuver to capture prey, avoid predators and obstacles, and compete for mates.

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Saint Louis University is a Catholic, Jesuit institution that values academic excellence, life-changing research, compassionate health care, and a strong commitment to faith and service. Founded in 1818, the University fosters the intellectual and character development of more than 13,500 students on campuses in St. Louis and Madrid, Spain. Building on a legacy of nearly 200 years, Saint Louis University continues to move forward with an unwavering commitment to a higher purpose, a greater good.
University at Buffalo-led study examines prevalence of tiredness by shift and gender in a sample of urban police officers

BUFFALO, N.Y. - Police officers on the afternoon shift are twice as likely to report being tired, according to a University at Buffalo-led study.

"Officers who work the afternoon shift are more likely to be fatigued, which puts them at greater risk for accidents, errors and stress," said John Violanti, the study's lead author and a research professor of epidemiology and environmental health in UB's School of Public Health and Health Professions.

The study on shift work and fatigue among police officers was part of Violanti's ongoing research project known as the Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Occupational Police Stress (BCOPS) study, which includes occupational-related data on more than 300 members of the Buffalo Police Department.

Violanti and his co-authors, which included researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), won first place in the poster competition at the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses (AAOHN) Annual Conference in New Orleans, where they presented their findings.

Afternoon shifts -- which typically go from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. -- are the busiest because of traffic control, motor vehicle accidents, domestic disputes and assaults and homicides, explained Violanti, who served with the New York State Police for more than two decades before moving into academia.

For the study, researchers examined shiftwork and fatigue data for 308 officers, 230 of whom were men. The BCOPS study includes a 15-year work history database that contains a daily account of start times and hours worked for the participating officers. Researchers measured fatigue using a questionnaire included in the overall BCOPS study and which asked officers how often they felt tired most of the time. Of the 308 officers, 116 responded "somewhat" to "very much" to feeling tired.

The results showed that working the afternoon shift is associated with a two-fold higher prevalence of fatigue among male police officers compared to those working the day shift, Violanti reported.

"Our inquiry was based on fatigue at work only focusing on fatigue involving physical, mental and emotional tiredness. It may be possible that other factors are involved in fatigue at work due to lack of proper sleep and increased activities and responsibilities outside of work," Violanti said, but this particular study did not explore these possibilities.

Interestingly, the researchers did not observe a significant relationship between shift work and fatigue among the 78 women officers in the study. "Female officers appear to use more effective types of coping with the stress and fatigue of shift work. Previous research shows that women are more likely than men to be supportive of each other to help protect against the stress of shift work," Violanti said.

Examining fatigue among shift-working professionals is important because the strenuous hours they often work can have a wide range of negative health effects, including disruption of the circadian regulation system, according to Violanti.

"Our research demonstrates a need for sleep intervention into police fatigue, including educating officers and police departments on sleep hygiene, possible use of caffeine, controlled napping and light therapy," Violanti added.

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Things couldn't be simpler at the start: the cells divide into two identical cells that then divide in turn, meaning that any tissue can grow at an exponential rate. But the moment comes when some of them have to develop into specialised cells. On the back of a fly, for example, a cell must "know" that when it splits, it will give birth to two fundamentally different cells: one will make a hair and the other one, a neuron. How do these asymmetric divisions function? How can a mother cell split into two daughter cells that are so different? The researchers at UNIGE set about trying to understand these mechanisms down to the last detail, as the stakes are extremely high: a stem cell that misses out on its asymmetric division may generate cancer cells that reproduce exponentially, forming a tumour. You can read about the results of this research in Nature Communications, where the scientists demonstrate how the required information circulates inside the mother cell, enabling it to make a success of the asymmetric division.

In asymmetrical cell division, the two future cells "talk" to each other and divide their roles: "You'll become that, and I'll become this." They exchange information via proteins which carry the message. , These proteins are themselves contained in tiny vesicles, called endosomes. These endosomes act as a kind of cellular memory card: they are responsible for instigating the specialisation by migrating to one of the two daughter cells, where the information will be processed and subsequently transmitted to the sister cell. The key to this specialisation, therefore, lies in the ability of the endosomes to move to the left or right of the mother cell so that they are only present in one of the two daughters. But how do they go about this?

To analyse the phenomenon, the team led by Professor Marcos Gonzalez-Gaitan (from the biochemistry department in UNIGE's faculty of sciences) examined the hairs on the backs of flies, more precisely on fruit flies (Drosophila). These hairs are, in fact, sensory organs consisting of four cells, which are capable of picking up the force and direction of the wind: this is important to fly. Each hair -- or sensory organ -- originates from a single cell or SOP (sensory organ precursor), which first divides asymmetrically, producing two different cells, PIIA and PIIB. Each of these cells divides asymmetrically in turn, generating the four final cells. This is the ideal setting for attempting to understand how -- and why -- the endosomes move and make these asymmetric divisions possible.

Without Sara, nothing goes!

The first clue lies in the fact that the Sara protein is present in the endosomes, which helps them group together on the same side of the cell. When genetically-modified, mutant flies are deprived of the Sara gene -- and, by extension, of the protein that it produces -- the SOPs divide symmetrically and the hairs do not form; the flies, in other words, have naked backs without hairs. In the first phase of the research, Professor Gonzalez-Gaitan's team was able to show that the same process occurs in other types of cells, such as intestinal stem cells and even in the vertebrate nervous system, thanks to observations on fish.

Sara provides the crucial piece of information, therefore, that decides which daughter cell will receive the endosomes. However, this does not explain why they assemble in only one of the two daughter cells. More detailed observation was required to understand this mechanism. Microtubules inside the mother cell serve as tracks for transporting the endosomes, driven by a molecular motor called kinesin. The tracks are polarised (they are one-way-roads) and the kinesin always moves in the same direction. Some of the tracks lead to the left, others to the right, and the kinesin passes from one to the other, oscillating in the centre of the cell in a rapid sequence. Because there are more tracks pointing to one cell, at the end the endosomes, with the key message in them, are sent towards the right cell. But at the end, the endosomes need to scape from the trap to be delivered to the PIIA cell, which will make the hair. How?

On the right track

To escape from this trap and to allow the endosomes to gather on the proper side, it is essential not only that the Sara protein is present, but also that it is bound to a molecular extension known as a phosphate group. Professor Gonzalez-Gaitan and his team succeeded in demonstrating the key role played by this phenomenon. Known as phosphorylation, it acts like a central switch signalling the start of the final migration of the endosomes to be released to the right cell. Without this process, the information could not circulate between cells, which would then prevent any differentiation between the two daughter cells... condemning the flies to everlasting baldness! Anomalies in the way these fascinating molecular phenomena function in the cells lies behind the emergence of certain cancer tumours in humans.

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Two new studies of progressive, neurodegenerative diseases linked to defects in cells' mitochondria offer hope for developing a new biomarker for research and diagnostics, and a drug for treating such diseases, report researchers at the University of California, Davis.

Both studies, co-authored by biochemist Gino Cortopassi in the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, have implications for Friedreich's ataxia, a rare, inherited disease that affects 6,000 people in the United States.

Friedreich's is characterized by progressive neurodegeneration in the spine, as well as muscle weakness, heart disease and diabetes.

Findings from the two studies are being published this week in the journal Human Molecular Genetics.

Mitochondrial diseases:

Friedrich's ataxia is one of several serious diseases caused by dysfunctional mitochondria -- microscopic structures inside the cell that generate the cell's chemical energy, and play a key role in cell growth, function and death.

In addition to Friedreich's ataxia, other mitochondrial diseases include Leber's optic neuropathy, myoneurogenic gastrointestinal encephalopathy, and myoclonic epilepsy with ragged red fibers -- complex names for unusual but devastating disorders.

There are currently no Food and Drug Administration-approved therapies for treating mitochondrial diseases, including Friedreich's ataxia.

Protein defect decreases mitochondria numbers:

Inherited deficiencies in the mitochondrial protein frataxin cause Friedreich's ataxia, but it has been unclear how the deficiency in this single protein leads to the death of neurons and degeneration of muscles.

One of the new studies shows that a loss of the frataxin protein causes a decrease in mitochondrial number in blood and skin cells from patients with Friedreich's ataxia. Mice with a deficiency in the protein also have fewer mitochondria.

There are two main applications of the new knowledge, Professor Cortopassi said.

"Knowing now that the frataxin deficiency causes a shortage of mitochondria, we and others may be able to use the number of mitochondria as a biomarker for determining the disease severity and progression in Friedreich's ataxia patients," he said. "Such a biomarker could also be used to evaluate the effectiveness of new drugs for treating the disease."

MS drug shown to increase mitochondria production:

In the second study, Cortopassi and colleagues focused on the drug dimethyl fumarate, or DMF, already approved by the FDA for treating adult patients with a relapsing form of multiple sclerosis as well as psoriasis, an autoimmune skin disease.

DMF is known to help prevent inflammation and protect cells from damage.

In this study, the researchers examined the effects of DMF on human fibroblast (skin) cells, mice and human patients with multiple sclerosis.

The researchers demonstrated that DMF dosing causes increased mitochondrial numbers in human skin fibroblasts, in mouse tissues and in humans. The researchers also showed that the drug enhanced mitochondrial gene expression.

"Taken together, these findings suggest that DMF, by increasing mitochondria, has the potential to lessen the symptoms of muscle diseases, which are caused at least in part by mitochondrial abnormalities," said Cortopassi, who for 25 years has focused on better understanding "orphan" mitochondrial diseases -- disorders so rare that no therapies have been developed for them.

In 2011 he established Ixchel Pharma in an effort to identify existing drugs and customize them for treating patients with Friedreich's ataxia and other mitochondrial diseases.

What others are saying:

The following comments are from researchers not involved with these two studies but knowledgeable about Friedreich's ataxia and other mitochondrial diseases:

"The studies are highly significant for several reasons. First they identify a novel disease mechanism. While defects in mitochondrial energy production in Friedreich's ataxia have been known for quite a long time, the loss of mitochondria associated with decreased frataxin provides a rational explanation for these observations. Second, changes in mitochondrial abundance will provide useful biomarkers to assess patients' responses to therapeutic trials. Third, and most important, the identification of DMF as a mitochondrial stimulator in Friedreich's ataxia is an important step forward in the search for effective therapies, providing proof of concept that modulation of the signals that tell the cell to make more mitochondria may offer unique opportunities to design effective drugs."

Giovanni Manfredi, physician and professor, the Brain and Mind Research Institute of Cornell University's Weill Cornell Medicine, New York City

"This represents groundbreaking work that provides an important contribution to understanding the pathology of both Friedreich's ataxia and mitochondrial diseases. The advances in these two papers are exciting because they suggest that a current drug could be used to treat FA and mitochondrial DNA diseases, for which there are few therapies. This work also shows the value of basic research in adapting current therapies to extend their range to treat currently devastating diseases."

Mike Murphy, principal investigator, MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit, University of Cambridge, UK

"DMF is a well-known drug approved by regulatory agencies in both the U.S. and Europe and clinically used worldwide for many years. Thus, the finding that it stimulates mitochondrial biogenesis in multiple sclerosis patients is very important and provides great perspectives for the treatment of patients with the many rare disorders affecting mitochondrial function, including the devastating Friedreich's ataxia. Given the amount of time and money nowadays required for developing brand-new drugs, discovering a new use for a molecule for which detailed clinical information is already available clearly represents a major, if not the only, hope for people affected by an orphan disease."

Franco Taroni, physician and researcher, Carlo Besta Neurological Institute, Milan, Italy

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Collaborators and funding:

Funding for both studies was provided by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and the Friedreich's Ataxia Research Alliance.

In addition to Cortopassi, collaborators on the frataxin protein deficiency study were Mittal Jasoliya, Marissa McMackin and Chelsea Henderson, all of UC Davis, and Susan Perlman of UCLA.

Collaborating with Cortopassi on the DMF study were Genki Hayashi, Mittal Jasoliya and Sunil Sahdeo, all of UC Davis; and Francesco Sacca, Chiara Pane, Alessandro Filla, Angela Marsili, Giorgia Puorro, Roberta Lanzillo and Vincenzo Brescia Morra, all of the University Federico II in Naples, Italy.

Media contacts:

Gino Cortopassi

UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine

530-754-9665 office, 530-304-6810 cell

gcortopassi@ucdavis.edu

Pat Bailey

UC Davis News and Media Relations

530-219-9640

pjbailey@ucdavis.edu
A newly discovered mechanism behind reduced insulin production in type 2 diabetes is now being presented. In an article in Nature Communications, researchers at Sahlgrenska Academy describe how insulin-producing cells regress in their development, become immature, and do not work properly. A finding that opens the doors to new clinical treatments.

"If you can affect things at the cellular level and restore the body's own rapid regulation, you can more accurately adjust blood sugar compared to what is possible with insulin injections," says Anders Rosengren, associate professor who is active at the Department of Neuroscience and Physiology as well as the Wallenberg Centre for Molecular and Translational Medicine at the University of Gothenburg.

It has long been known that the insulin-producing cells fail in type 2 diabetes. The body does not get enough insulin and blood sugar rises. One theory argues that the insulin-producing cells become fewer in number, while another argues that their function is impaired.

The new explanation, which combines the debated theories, states that the insulin-producing cells regress in their development and become immature. This reduces the number of functional cells.

The gene that drives the process

With the help of 124 tissue samples, of which 41 were from people with type 2 diabetes, the researchers were able to determine which genetic changes in the cells affected the course of the disease the most. Anders Rosengren describes the analysis by comparing it to the world of air travel.

"All airports are connected in a large network, but a disruption at a hub like Frankfurt Airport is much more serious than a disruption in Gothenburg. We searched out the hubs, i.e. the key genes, and the major links. Of almost 3,000 genes that were changed in diabetes, 168 could be described as Frankfurt genes. It was these we focused on," he says.

As the analysis continued, it showed that the gene SOX5, which was previously unknown in a diabetes context, affects the disease.

"If you experimentally suppress and deactivate SOX5, the function of the 168 genes deteriorate and the cells decrease in maturity. If you then increase the levels of SOX5, the 168 genes also increase and insulin delivery can be normalized," explains Anders Rosengren.

"It's very exciting to see. It was almost like a volume control, where you could increase or decrease the maturity level of the insulin-producing cells.

Existing medicines

According to Anders Rosengren, it will not be long until we see medicines that restore the maturity of insulin-producing cells. They may already exist in the form of medicines used for other diseases.

At the same time, he emphasizes the importance that healthy lifestyle habits play in type 2 diabetes. Current research shows that SOX5 decreases if you eat unhealthy foods or exercise too little.

"It is important to remember that everyone is different. Some manage a long time despite unhealthy lifestyle habits. For others, the tipping point is much earlier. But, regardless of genetic conditions, you can do something about your disease," says Anders Rosengren.

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Link to article: https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms15652

Principle investigator: Anders Rosengren +46 (0)705 316 704; anders.rosengren@gu.se

Portrait: Johan Wingborg

Press contact: Margareta Gustafsson Kubista +46 (0)705 301 980; margareta.g.kubista@gu.se
For hundreds of years, a species of flying squirrel was hiding right under (actually, above) our noses.

A new study published May 30 in the Journal of Mammalogy describes a newly discovered third species of flying squirrel in North America -- now known as Humboldt's flying squirrel, or Glaucomys oregonensis. It inhabits the Pacific Coast region of North America, from southern British Columbia to the mountains of southern California. Until now, these coastal populations were simply thought to be the already-known northern flying squirrel.

"For 200 years we thought we had only had one species of flying squirrel in the Northwest -- until we looked at the nuclear genome, in addition to mitochondrial DNA, for the first time," said study co-author Jim Kenagy, professor emeritus of biology at the University of Washington and curator emeritus of mammals at the Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture.

Biologists used to classify the flying squirrels of California and the coastal Pacific Northwest as northern flying squirrels. It wasn't until lead author Brian Arbogast, associate professor of biology at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, and formerly a postdoctoral researcher at UW and the Burke Museum, looked closely at the genetics of flying squirrel specimens from the Burke's collections that it became apparent that they may be a different species. Flying squirrels collected since the early 1900s in the Pacific Coast region often looked smaller and darker than their counterparts from east of the Cascades.

Ultimately, it was DNA testing that revealed a third species unique to the Pacific Northwest.

The results of the DNA analyses were striking: they indicated that no gene flow was occurring between the Pacific Coastal form and the widespread, inland, continental form of the northern flying squirrel, even when two occurred together.

Because the new study shows that Humboldt's and northern flying squirrels both occur together at the same places within some parts of Western Washington and southern British Columbia, it is possible that future studies might reveal hybridization between these two species, even though this study did not find the two species interbreeding in the areas the research team examined.

Kenagy, Arbogast and other researchers spent years studying small mammals in the Northwest and how they distributed themselves in the western and eastern mountain ranges, as recently as the period following the last Ice Age. In some cases, the eastern and western mammals evolved into different species over the past million years or so.

"It was a surprising discovery," said Kenagy. "We were interested in the genetic structure of small mammals throughout the Pacific Northwest, and the fact that in other cases we were aware that two different species had evolved in Eastern and Western Washington."

The new genetic study clearly demonstrates that Pacific Coast populations of flying squirrels from southern British Columbia, southward through western Washington and Oregon, and in California, now include members of the newly named species, Humboldt's flying squirrel.

The Humboldt's flying squirrel is known as a "cryptic" species -- a species that was previously thought to be another, known species because the two look similar.

This new discovery of the Humboldt's flying squirrel is the 45th known species of flying squirrel in the world. What are now three species of flying squirrels in North and Central America are all small, nocturnally-active, gliding squirrels that live in woodland habitats. These creatures don't actually fly like bats or birds. Instead, they glide from tree to tree by extending furred membranes of skin that stretch from the wrist of the forearm to the ankle on the hind leg. Their feather-like tail provides extra lift and also aids in steering. The gliding ability of flying squirrels is remarkable; they are capable of gliding for up to 100 meters and can make sharp, midair turns by using their tail as a rudder and moving their limbs to manipulate the shape and tautness of their gliding membranes.

The squirrel specimens in the Burke Museum's collections -- and other natural history museums around the world -- are standing by for future researchers to learn more about these remarkable "new" creatures.

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Co-authors are Katelyn Schumacher with the University of North Carolina Wilmington, Nicholas Kerhoulas with the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the University of Alaska Museum, Allison Bidlack with the University of Alaska Southeast and Joseph Cook with the University of New Mexico. The research was funded by the University of Washington.

For more information, contact Godinez at 206-616-7538 or burkepr@uw.edu.
Heart disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide, yet the few available treatments are still mostly unsuccessful once the heart tissue has suffered damage. Mammalian hearts are actually able to regenerate and repair damage - but only up to around the time of birth. Afterward, that ability disappears, seemingly forever. Research at the Weizmann Institute of Science has uncovered a molecule in newborn hearts that appears to control the renewal process. When injected into adult mouse hearts injured by heart attacks, this molecule, called Agrin, seems to "unlock" that renewal process and enable heart muscle repair. These findings, published today in Nature, are already pointing to new directions for research on restoring the function of damaged hearts.

Prof. Eldad Tzahor, who led the study together with doctoral student Elad Bassat, research student Alex Genzelinakh and other team members in the Weizmann Institute's Molecular Cell Biology Department, explains that following a heart attack in humans, the healing process is long and inefficient. Once damaged, muscle cells called cardiomyocytes are replaced by scar tissue, which is incapable of contracting and thus cannot participate in pumping. This, in turn, leads to further stress on the remaining muscle and eventual heart failure.

Heart regeneration into adulthood does exist in some of our fellow vertebrates. Fish, for example, can efficiently regenerate damaged hearts. Closer relatives on the evolutionary tree - mice - are born with this ability but lose it after a week of life. That week gives Tzahor and his lab a time window in which to explore the cues that promote heart regeneration.

Outside sources

Tzahor and Bassat believed that part of the secret might lay outside of the heart cells themselves - in the surrounding supportive tissue known as the extracellular matrix, or ECM. Many cell-to-cell messages are passed through this matrix, while others are stored within its fibrous structure. So the team began to experiment with ECM from both newborn and week-old mice, clearing away the cells until only the surrounding material was left, and then observing what happened when bits of the ECM were added to cardiac cells in culture. The researchers found that the younger ECM, in contrast to the older, elicited cardiomyocyte proliferation.

A screening of ECM proteins identified several candidate molecules for regulating this response, among them Agrin. Agrin was already known for its effects on other tissues - particularly in the neuromuscular junction, where it helps regulate the signals passed from nerves to muscles. In mouse hearts, levels of this molecule drop over the first seven days of life, suggesting a possible role in heart regeneration. The researchers then added Agrin to cell cultures and noted that it caused the cells to divide.

Next, the researchers tested Agrin on mouse models of heart injury, asking whether it could reverse the damage. Indeed, they found that following a single injection of Agrin mouse hearts were almost completely healed and fully functional, although the scientists were surprised to find that it took over a month for the treatment to impart its full impact on cardiac function and regeneration. At the end of the recovery period, however, the scar tissue was dramatically reduced, replaced by living heart tissue that restored the heart's pumping function.

Setting the chain in motion

In other words, Tzahor speculates that in addition to causing a certain amount of direct cardiomyocyte renewal, Agrin somehow affects the body's inflammatory and immune responses to a heart attack, as well as the pathways involved in suppressing the fibrosis, or scarring, which leads to heart failure. The length of the recovery process, however, is still a mystery, as the Agrin, itself, disappears from the body within a few days of the injection. "Clearly this molecule sets a chain of events in motion" he says. "We discovered that it attaches to a previously unstudied receptor on the heart muscle cells, and this binding takes the cells back to a slightly less mature state - closer to that of the embryo - and releases signals that may, among other things, initiate cell division." Experiments with mice that were genetically engineered to lack Agrin in their hearts further support this idea: In its absence, newborn mice could not properly regenerate heart tissue following injury. Because mice cannot live without the other functions of Agrin, this was a technically challenging experiment to perform, adds Tzahor.

The team then proved that Agrin has a similar effect on human heart cells grown in culture. He and his team are now working to understand exactly what happens in the period of time between the injection of Agrin and the return of full cardiac functionality. In addition, members of Tzahor's team have started pre-clinical studies in larger animals in Germany in collaboration with Prof. Kupatt of the Technical University of Munich to determine the effect of Agrin on cardiac repair.

Among other things, the findings of this study have highlighted a role for the ECM in both directing heart growth and promoting regeneration, and this insight may help in the design of further biomedical research.

A number of research groups took part in various stages of the research, in particular Prof. Shenhav Cohen of the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa and her PhD student Yara Eid, who provided novel insights into the biochemical inputs of Agrin on cardiac cells. Prof. Nenad Bursac of Duke University, North Carolina; James F. Martin of Baylor College of Medicine, Houston Texas; members of the Nancy and Stephen Grand Israel National Center for Personalized Medicine; and Prof. Irit Sagi of the Weizmann Institutes' Biological Regulation Department also participated in this research.

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Prof. Eldad Tzahor's research is supported by the Yad Abraham Research Center for Cancer Diagnostics and Therapy, which he heads; the Henry Krenter Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Genomics; the Daniel S. Shapiro Cardiovascular Research Fund; and the European Research Council.

The Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, is one of the world's top-ranking multidisciplinary research institutions. Noted for its wide-ranging exploration of the natural and exact sciences, the Institute is home to scientists, students, technicians and supporting staff. Institute research efforts include the search for new ways of fighting disease and hunger, examining leading questions in mathematics and computer science, probing the physics of matter and the universe, creating novel materials and developing new strategies for protecting the environment.
By India Today Web Desk: Sushant Singh and Ankita Lokhande were very public about their relationship, back when they were in one, and never shied away from talking about it. However, things got nasty after their break-up, what with numerous reports about the supposed 'reason' behind their break-up, Ankita's rumoured alcoholism and Sushant's apparent philandering ways.

However, Sushant has now opened up about his very public and talked about break-up with longtime girlfriend Ankita Lokhande in an interview with BollywoodLife.

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"There is nothing to learn. Now I have decided that if and when I get into a relationship, I won't discuss it with everybody. So that when the break-up happens, it doesn't become a public break-up. It remains a personal break-up," Sushant said.

"One thing is for sure, I am doing something that I really like to do (working in films) and having said that, I don't have the time to think what people think of me. And also, I don't have an obsession for my future. So I don't have to protect or earn a certain reputation. If you ask me a question in a nice way, I would answer you that question honestly. That's about it. There is nothing to mince and not say or protect," he added.

Sushant will soon be seen in the upcoming film Raabta, in which he is paired with Kriti Sanon. Raabta is scheduled for a June 9 release.

ALSO READ | SEE PICS: Sara Ali Khan meets Sushant Singh Rajput, Kedarnath to go on floors soon

ALSO READ | Sara-Sushant or Jhanvi-Ishaan: Which on-screen pair will win hearts?

ALSO WATCH: Sushant Singh Rajput on MS Dhoni, what he hates about him and his break-up

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Tuesday, June 6, 2017

(NewsUSA) - Rum aficionados, rejoice. A classic brand is re-entering the spotlight with a new look.

St. Lucia Distillers is re-launching the Chairman's Reserve rum in the United States in July 2017, and will unveil new packaging designed to highlight the brand's distinguished history and reputation for quality blends in the English rum style.

"Chairman's Reserve has always been recognized amongst the finest rums in the world," says Benjamin Jones, director of North America for the brand.

"Now, with an elegant, refreshed look, Chairman's Reserve will return the spotlight to St. Lucia as an island with a rich and an original legacy for producing world-class rum," he says.

The new label for Chairman's Reserve positions the brand to compete at the premium level in the rum category and compete against premium aged spirits overall, according to a company statement.

The Chairman's Reserve portfolio includes Chairman's Reserve Rum Original, Chairman's Reserve Spiced Original, Chairman's Reserve The Forgotten Casks, and Chairman's Reserve White Rum.

Chairman's Reserve Rum Original is the flagship St. Lucian rum, created in 1999. Chairman's Reserve Original combines rums from Coffey column stills and copper pot stills, well blended after maturation and further aged in oak casks.

Chairman's Reserve Spiced Original starts with original Chairman's Reserve and adds a spicy kick from a Caribbean bark known as "Bois Bande," which has a reputation as an aphrodisiac. Other key ingredients include cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, vanilla, and allspice, as well as lemon and orange peels.

The Forgotten Casks of Chairman's Reserve is formulated to mimic casks of rum that were saved from the St. Lucia Distillers during a fire on May 2, 2007. The casks were misplaced, then rediscovered, but were too old for the Chairman's Original blend, and the rum was released on its own in the extra-aged category.

The product was successful enough for Chairman's Reserve to regularly hold back some original rum for additional aging and branding as Forgotten Casks.

Chairman's Reserve White Rum features hints of citrus and a blend of three- to four-year-old rums aged in American white oak casks after distillation in copper pot stills and a Coffey still.

In addition, "St. Lucia Distillers will re-release the brand, "1931," as a limited reserve expression in the Chairman's portfolio," according to a company statement. The rare aged rum will be known as "Chairman's Reserve 1931."

For more information about Chairman's Reserve products and the relaunch, visit spiribam.com.

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The Scottish Conservatives has attacked the SNP for 'overruling' civil servants on a 1m crofting spending announcement.

The Scottish Conservatives have said a senior SNP Minister 'overruled' civil servants who didnt want to make a press statement on spending for crofters because it breached purdah rules.

The Scottish Conservatives has said the growing scandal has shown that the SNP Government is mired in sleaze.

On April 25th, Rural Affairs Secretary Fergus Ewing announced he would be spending 1 million to help crofters in Scotlands most rural and remote communities build new homes, or make improvements to existing buildings.

However, emails published show that civil servants advised him not to make the announcement because of the election period  but Mr Ewing insisted it go ahead.

Mr Ewing claimed the spending announcement was legitimate because it did not involve councils.

However, guidance states that Ministers should avoid spending announcements that could influence or could be seen to influence voters, particularly in local areas.

'Systematic breaking of rules'

Scottish Conservative MSP for the North East Ross Thomson said: It is now clear that Nicola Sturgeons government indulged in a systematic breaking of the rules prior to last months local government elections.

This is a growing scandal that requires an urgent investigation.

Mr Ewing was told by civil servants not to make this announcement but ignored them in an attempt to win a few headlines ahead of the local elections.

Nicola Sturgeon must end her silence over this affair. After ten years in power, her government is now mired in sleaze.

A Scottish Government spokesman said in a statement: During the local government election period, Scottish Ministers continued to be responsible for delivering the routine, devolved business of the Scottish Government.

Announcing offers of grants to crofters is an example of routine business falling within Scottish Ministers devolved responsibilities.

After careful consideration officials concluded that the announcement could proceed on the grounds that the overall funding package had already been announced in March, the grants were being given to individual crofters, and there was no local government involvement in the funding.
The next government should replace the old two pillar EU system with a new 'three part deal', according to a new report.

An alliance of 94 organisations with a combined public membership of millions has today launched a new report 'Beyond 2020: New farm policy'.

They recommended that the next government should create a new deal for farmers called 'Land Management Support'.

"We know our farm and food system is broken," the report said.

"As we leave today's European designed system, so we should now take the chance to fix it.

They said the government needed to maintain a support level to ensure 'rural economy and a ladder for those who want to enter the industry.'

The LMS, they said, would be based on a contract between the farmer and the government, and a well-established and independent assurance scheme could provide administration.

'Way forward'

Vicki Hird, Sustainable Farming Campaign Coordinator for the Sustain alliance, said the next government has a 'once in a lifetime opportunity' with Brexit.

She said: "[It should] end some of the absurdities of Europe's Common Agricultural Policy, which has not supported small and family farms well and which contributed to a loss of farmland diversity and wildlife.

"Our alliance proposals present a practical way forward and a basis that the Government could use for common ground between the industry, and those groups championing the rural economy, conservation, public health and development."

Pippa Woods, farmers and Director of Family Farmers Association added: "These excellent proposals contain most of the objectives family farmers have been working towards since 1979.

"If achieved we will have a happy countryside and plenty of wholesome home produced food."

Shift payments

Key proposals that the next government should implement, the report said, are shift payments from large landowners and biofuel production to create more rural jobs supported by a new Land Management Scheme.

"Consider making payments to farmers and land managers front loaded, with government tapering or capping payments to use taxpayers support wisely and ensure diverse farm businesses can thrive," the report said.

"Back new enterprise including: new entrants into farming, smaller and diverse farms and struggling sectors like fruit and vegetable, and overhaul farmer training and advice so they can access the tools they need.

"Adopt vital, complementary measures across government, such as extending the Grocery Code Adjudicators powers to ensure fair trading practices from supermarkets and their suppliers, keeping high standards, and requiring an increase in the purchase of local and sustainable food for public-sector organisations such as schools and hospitals."
Northern Ireland's Chief Veterinary Officer has warned holidaymakers of the risks of importing animal disease.

Robert Huey, from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, warned that bringing back products derived from animals or plants from countries where infections are present could bring serious diseases or unwanted pests to the UK.

Robert Huey said: Diseases such as foot-and-mouth cause serious economic impacts and can be brought into the UK via infected animal products (particularly those containing meat or milk). Fruit and vegetables may also carry pests that can infect plants.

Such diseases and pests can have a devastating effect on livestock, crops or the environment. Animal-related products may also risk human health from diseases, residues or contaminants (for example, from fish, honey or untreated animal hides).

'Threaten animal health'

Mr Huey said diseases such as foot-and-mouth would 'threaten ' the UK's animal health status.

He said should a major disease like this enter Northern Ireland, trade and jobs will be at risk.

He said: Holidaymakers need to be aware that there are rules on what they can and cannot bring back with them from their trip. For example, it is illegal to bring meat or dairy products from outside the EU into Northern Ireland.

People travelling through local ports or airports should therefore check the rules on food and plant imports before they leave home.

Mr Huey added: We wish to raise awareness of the importance of bio security to protect our industry and also avoid the potential for enforcement actions. However it is important to note that illegal products will be seized and destroyed and anyone caught carrying prohibited items risks prosecution and a fine.
Poultry industry leaders have met at a summit hosted by the NFU to discuss the problem of farmers being targeted by animal rights protesters.

The industry has seen a recent spate of break-ins on poultry units.

Activists have gained access to chicken sheds at night to take pictures or videos of birds in dim lighting, before releasing the footage some time later.

Often farmers do not know the break-in has happened until the media gets in touch with them.

One delegate at the summit reported people dismantling ventilation systems to gain access to chicken sheds. Fencing had been cut and mesh fixed across ventilation ducts kicked in.

They had spotted the intruders when they looked back on CCTV footage, but had had no reason to check it at the time.

Another member had been targeted following the publication of a planning application, while one reported that they had taken on a graduate, who went into the facility with a button-hole camera and staged pictures during her lunch break.

A picture speaks a thousand words, whatever you or your vet says, one farmer said.

Anti-stalking laws

NFUs chief legal adviser Nina Winter advised delegates at the summit that it is not a criminal offence for someone to be trespassing on farm, or in poultry sheds filming birds. She said that trespass is a civil offence.

Contrary to popular belief, there is no such crime as breaking and entering in the UK.

Ms Winter said that in the law, a person cannot cause harassment or distress to an animal, but if there is a pattern of harassment against a farmer then anti-stalking laws could be employed.

She said it was these laws that were used by members who had been victimised during badger cull protests.

Farmers can sue for defamation or causing loss by unlawful means in the civil courts, but activists are unlikely to have the funds to be able to pay damages.

Reporting every incident to the police is the only way to tackle the problem on a national scale, Ms Winter said.

Delegates at the meeting agreed to send a letter to Defra outlining the industry's concerns and raising awareness of this issue.
Scottish hill farmers on average are being denied around 14,000 over a six year period under the CAP convergence uplift, the Scottish Government has said.

Under the last CAP reform, the EU set out to redistribute direct payments more equitably across Europe based on average Euros per hectare.

Member states receiving less than 90% of the EU average would be awarded an uplift in order to move towards a minimum rate per hectare.

This would have seen up to 190 million over 6 years returned to Scotland.

Instead, Scotland received around 30 million under the UK Governments allocation.

'Money belongs to Scottish farmers'

Rural Secretary Fergus Ewing Ewing said the money 'rightly belongs' to Scottish farmers.

He said: Despite repeated requests, there is no evidence the UK Government are taking action to deliver a fair share of the additional convergence funding to Scotland.

Without the Scottish rate, there would have been no extra money for the UK. For example, had the full allocation been delivered to Scotland, instead of being shared across the UK on a historic basis, our hill farmers could have an extra 14,000 over the six year payment period, a significant amount for farmers, although of course the actual amount would depend on the scale of the business.

There is currently no level playing field north and south of the border. Farmers doing the same job in different parts of the UK do not presently receive comparable levels of payments for their hard work. This money rightly belongs to Scottish farmers and should be returned to them immediately.
Investors need an iron stomach to invest in the shipping sector. That's because stock prices can be quite turbulent, often going on stomach churning plunges during bad times, while still taking investors on a roller coaster ride during good times. One of the drivers of this volatility is shipping rates, which ebb and flow with the global economy. When the economy slows, and rates sink, cash flow can dry up, especially for shippers with higher costs and elevated debt levels.

That said, risk-tolerant investors do have some appealing options in the sector to choose from, with three top ideas being Seaspan Corporation (ATCO 0.29%), Nordic American Tankers (NAT -3.28%), and GasLog Partners (NYSE: GLOP). While these top shipping stocks have had their shares of ups and downs over the years, they have the potential to produce significant gains during good times while remaining insulated enough so that they shouldn't run aground when the tide turns.

The containership leasing leader

Seaspan Corporation is the largest independent charter owner and manager of containerships, operating 89 of the 114 vessels it manages, which also includes 10 newbuilds under construction. Most of its fleet are large modern ships, chartered to shippers under long-term agreements. In fact, 94% of its revenue comes from these contracts, which currently have an average remaining life of 5 years and $5 billion of contracted revenue.

That said, despite the overall stability that Seaspan's charters provide, the company's stock price has done nothing but sink over the past few years. Driving that downdraft has been the challenging market conditions in the container shipping sector due to overcapacity and tepid global trade growth. Conditions got so bad last year that one large shipper went bankrupt while charter rates for smaller containerships sank below breakeven levels.

While these challenges caused their share of problems for Seaspan Corporation, industry conditions appear to be getting better. For example, Seaspan Corporation CEO Gerry Wang noted on the company's first quarter conference call that freight rates are up 70% versus the prior year while charter rates for smaller vessels have more than doubled off the bottom. As that rebound starts showing up in Seaspan Corporation's results, it should help pull the stock out of its tailspin, which could drive significant gains for investors.

Focused on doing one thing well

Nordic American Tankers is the largest independent owner of Suezmax crude oil tankers, with 33 vessels in its fleet, including three under construction. What's noteworthy about that fleet is that the company has chosen to own one type of ship because that focus enables it to streamline maintenance to keep down costs. That allows it to not only remain profitable when shipping rates drop but make more money than competitors during normalized market conditions.

For example, Nordic American Tankers' current cash break-even rate for its vessels is $11,500 per day. Contrast that with diversified rival Frontline (FRO -1.31%), which has a much higher cash break-even of $17,300 per day for a Suezmax ship. With shipping rates for those vessels averaging $22,700 last quarter, Nordic American Tankers' lower break-even level enabled it to earn $11,200 per ship per day, which was more than double the $5,400 per ship per day that Frontline's fleet pulled in last quarter at spot market rates.

That said, one thing investors need to know about Nordic American Tankers is that unlike Seaspan Corporation it doesn't secure any long-term time charters for its ships, instead opting for full exposure to the spot market. Because of that, its cash flow rises and falls with shipping rates. When prices sink, which has been the case in recent years, its cash flow follows suit and takes its dividend down with it since the company's policy is to pay out 70% of cash flow. That said, when rates reverse course, Nordic American Tankers stands to collect a boatload of money, which means big dividends for investors. While it's anyone's guess when rates will shift directions, it's worth noting that the industry ordered the fewest number of new Suezmax vessels last year since the mid-1990s. That could eventually cause a scarcity of ships, which tends to cause rates to go higher.

A steadier way to invest in the sector

GasLog Partners is a relatively new entrant to the shipping industry, formed in 2014 by GasLog (NYSE: GLOG) to facilitate its growth. The partnership currently owns 10 LNG carriers chartered under multi-year contracts to oil and gas giant Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) (RDS.B). In addition to that, it holds options and other rights to acquire up to 12 additional LNG carriers currently owned by its parent company.

What sets GasLog Partners apart from most other shippers is its lower risk profile since 100% of its cash flow comes from fixed-fee contracts, which have no volume or commodity price risk. Because of that, the company can bank on receiving stable revenue from these contracts. That predictable cash flow, when combined with its growing fleet, has enabled the company to pay a steadily growing distribution to investors since its IPO, making it a top shipping stock for income investors. Meanwhile, with several additional drop-down candidates over at GasLog, the company has the clear visibility to continue growing cash flow and its distribution for the foreseeable future, which also has the potential to produce meaningful capital gains.

Investor takeaway

Shipping stocks tend to be as turbulent as the stormy seas, which can be unsettling for many investors. That said, when those seas calm and headwinds become tailwinds, these stocks can deliver massive gains. While that rising tide tends to lift all boats, Seaspan Corporation, Nordic American Tankers, and GasLog Partners offer a better combination of reward for the risk, which, in my opinion, makes them the top stocks in the sector to buy.
By Akshita Nandagopal: TTV Dhinakaran's return to Chennai, despite being plagued by legal hurdles, has reignited the fight for power within the AIADMK. The deputy general secretary of AIADMK Amma has refused to bow out without a fight and has already managed to cobble up some support among MLAs.

"Only the general secretary, which is my aunt Sasikala, can oust me from the party. I will wait for 60 days and then decide our next course of action," Dhinakaran said after meeting his aunt at Bengaluru's Parappana Agrahara.

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24 hours since, TTV has been busy with a series of meetings with MLAs, former ministers and district leaders of the AIADMK. Interestingly, a number of MLAs have pledged their support to the Mannargudi family, which could spell trouble for the EPS camp.

Here's how Dhinakaran's return can ruin Edappadi's power party:

1. EPS enjoys the support of 122 MLAs and that number is already dwindling with 20+ MLAs backing Dhinakaran. There are also reports doing the rounds of some ministers jumping ship, but nobody has openly spoken out yet. EPS is now has two options before him -- to extend an olive branch to Sasikala and Co again or speed up merger talks with OPS camp.

2. Finance minister D Jayakumar has categorically stated that there's no question of allowing TTV or Sasikala back in the party saying, "we won't allow Dhinakaran or Sasikala into the party or government. We are committed towards carrying forwards Amma's and MGR's legacy." But CM Edappadi Palanisamy has remained mum, keeping his cards close to his chest. He is yet to comment on the political developments, and the only sign that he will fight for power are his portraits cropping up next to Jayalalithaa's in all ministers' offices in Secretariat.

3. With TTV Dhinakaran already making a move, there are questions of whether a third faction will now spring up within the AIADMK. The EPS faction is yet to seal it in writing or pass a resolution to oust Dhinakaran from his party post. So, is the CM smelling trouble and aiming to reach some sort of compromise? The next few days will be all about the opportunistic MLAs and who they choose to support in this ongoing war for thrones in Tamil Nadu.

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By Press Trust of India: By Lalit K Jha

Washington, Jun 6 (PTI) US President Donald Trump will host President Juan Carlos Varela of Panama at the White House on June 19, according to an official announcement.

Both the leaders are expected discuss ways to reinforce the strong ties between the two countries and shared priorities in the fight against transnational organised crime, illegal migration, and illicit substances, a statement from the White House said yesterday.

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They will also discuss the economic partnership and ways to counter democratic backsliding in Venezuela, it added. PTI LKJ RSD

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N.C. opens 'state of the art' shooting range  for $2.9M

From left: Highway Patrol Maj. Bert Eastwood; SBI Director Bob Schurmeier; ALE Branch Head Terrance Merriweather; Samarcand Training Academy Director Richard Jordan; Rep. James L. Boles Jr.; Secretary Erik A. Hooks; Deputy Secretary Tim Moose.

JACKSON SPRINGS  Department of Public Safety Secretary Erik A. Hooks and other state officials on Monday officially dedicated a state-of-the-art Firearms Training Center at Samarcand Training Academy in Moore County.

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The North Carolina General Assembly allocated $2.89 million to construct the outdoor training center for correctional and probation/parole officers, as well as other law enforcement officials, to receive firearms and tactical training.

That construction cost is $17 million less than the projected cost of an indoor Law Enforcement Training Center in Hendersonville that also would boast a state of the art firing range. Sheriff Charlie McDonald, who told commissioners he needed an updated training facility and firing range, has come under fire for the cost of the proposed center at BRCC. In response McDonald has said he did not ask for a $20 million building nor did he choose BRCC as the site. McDonald started out looking for a site for an outdoor range, which he said could be built for around $3 million.

In October commissioners unanimously authorized $1.3 million in architects fees for Clark Nexsen, the countys architect of record, and OK'd $19.9 million overall for the project. The facility was to include 12 100-yard shooting lanes and 12 lanes 50 yards deep. Although the newly approved county budget includes funding for the project, commissioners have not discussed the facility since they sent McDonald back to the drawing board to lower the cost.

At 49,000 square feet, the Henderson County law enforcement training center would be 16 times larger than the 3,000-foot outdoor range that provides "the best possible training" for prison guards and parole officers.

Secretary Hooks said the Firearms Training Center will provide the necessary training officers need to safely do their jobs.

I believe its truly a calling, and the very least we can do to help those who answer that call is provide them with the best possible training and training aids  we must give them the very best lifesaving 'tools' to put in their 'toolbox,'" Secretary Hooks said. Thats why the new Training Center here at Samarcand is so important in helping us to protect and serve the people and communities of North Carolina.

Features of the training center in Moore County include:

A 3,000-square-foot range house that includes a training classroom with advanced technology and presentation equipment and space for 30 students.

A firearms training simulator that can be used to train students on marksmanship and weapon use. This can save thousands of dollars by training in a virtual simulator instead of training with live rounds on the range.

A 20-foot-tall range tower that overlooks the entire range area for safety oversight during live fire exercises.

A 20-foot-tall range tower that overlooks the entire range area for safety oversight during live fire exercises. Two ranges with advanced steel bullet traps, going from ranges of zero to 300 yards, and designed for all weapon systems up to sniper rifles.

A 360-degree turning target system, which will make training more realistic with timed drills and targets that face forward for a limited amount of time, which offer lethal and non-lethal targets that mirror the real world of shoot/no shoot decision making.



Both ranges also feature innovative technology in their use of steel bullet traps. The traps protect shooters by directing dangerous ricochets and lead dust build-up into the trap, which protects the environment by collecting lead fragments into sealed containers.

The extensive commitment by the governor and General Assembly to provide funding for this DPS training facility will allow North Carolinians and visitors to be served by dedicated public servants who have received their training at a premier facility, said Samarcand Training Academy Director Richard Jordan. This facility now provides potential savings by having training at one location, which cuts down on driving time, labor and vehicle costs.

Since its 2015 opening, Samarcand Training Academy has conducted basic, in-service, and advanced training for the Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice. NCDPS law enforcement agencies also utilize Samarcand to conduct in-service and advanced training programs, while other local, state, federal, and military agencies outside of NCDPS may conduct training events at the facility.

The opening of the Firearms Training Center and construction of an instructor dormitory that opened last month completed one phase of the renovation of what was the former Samarkand Manor youth rehabilitation center.

In March 2016, voters approved ConnectNC, a $2 billion capital improvement bond proposal that included $8.5 million for the continued renovation of Samarcand. These funds will be used to construct a free-standing dining hall, demolish three dilapidated buildings, renovate four additional buildings, and increase the capacity of Samarcand to 10 classrooms and dormitories to house 165 trainees. The total construction/renovation project is scheduled to be completed by 2019.
Man sent to prison for armed robbery at Triangle Stop

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A Fayetteville man was sentenced to five years in prison after a jury convicted him for an armed robbery at the Triangle Stop convenient store on Chimney Rock Highway on Jan. 14, 2016.

A Henderson County jury deliberated less than one hour before finding Andrew Dalton, 35, guilty of robbery with a dangerous weapon.

Dalton, who was represented by Hendersonville attorney Jason Hayes, was sentenced by Judge Alan Z. Thornburg to five years and three months months in the state prison system. He will be eligible for parole after serving 3 years.

District Attorney Greg Newman was the chief prosecutor in the case, along with Assistant District Attorney Beth Dierauf.

Store clerk Jeanette Kidd flagged down police officer Eric Larowe and told him that she had been robbed inside the store and that the suspect had run across the highway towards the Jack in the Box restaurant. Kidd testified at trial that the defendant came to her counter at 1:30 p.m. and asked for cartons of cigarettes. When she asked for an I.D., the defendant showed her a black gun that appeared to her to be a 9 mm pistol. Ms. Kidd said that the defendant pointed the gun at her and demanded she give him the money in the cash drawer. The defendant took the money, cigarettes and other items and left the store.

The identification of the defendant occurred after WLOS News13 broadcasted the store security video showing the robbery. As a result of the video, the defendant was identified and apprehended two days later in Polk County, NC. In his statement to police, the defendant said that after robbing the store, he made it to his car and left the area for Fayetteville. He purchased heroin with the stolen money. He threw the gun out of the window of his car somewhere between Hendersonville and Fayetteville. The defendant told police that the gun was a pellet gun that he shoplifted at Wal-Mart shortly before the robbery.

At trial, the defense acknowledged the robbery but contended that Dalton should be convicted of the lesser charge of Common Law Robbery based upon the argument that a pellet gun was used instead of a real gun. Newman pointed out to the jury that the type of gun is not the issue when it appeared to the store clerk to be the real thing.

Ms. Kidd was the one on the other side of the barrel of a gun that appeared real enough to her. The defendant represented it to be real and he threatened Ms. Kidd with it. She was petrified and felt that her life was in danger. Those facts should convict a person of robbery with a dangerous weapon every time, Newman said.

People who work in these stores should not have to put up with this kind of behavior, Newman added. I appreciate the investigation of the Hendersonville Police Department and the assistance of Ms. Kidd, who now lives in Florida. This defendant did not receive any plea offer from my office, so he appealed to members of our community on the jury for some form of relief. To their credit, they followed the law and convicted him for what he did. He needed to be held accountable for his actions and our jury did the right thing. They are to be commended, said Mr. Newman.

The next Superior Court trial term for Henderson County begins July 24.
Hyderabad : Four months ago, 36-year-old Rubeena Fatima from Hyderabad couldnt believe her luck. She was being offered Rs80,000 for just a one months job at a wedding in Dubai. Cut to June, Rubeenas trip has metamorphosed into a nightmare not just for her but her family as she has become yet another victim of torture, sexual harassment and forced captivity in an alien land after being allegedly sold for Rs3 lakh.

My wife spoke to me on the evening of June 2 and narrated her suffering. She kept crying on the phone. My two daughters and our family are greatly disturbed by what she is being subjected to, Gulam Hyder of Vattepally told TOI on Saturday.

Hyders wife Rubeena Fatima was taken to Dubai by an agent. However, after reaching Dubai, where she was kept for eight days, she was smuggled into Oman. My wife is desperate to come back home but she is not being allowed to by the agent who took her there. She has been told that she was sold for Rs3 lakh, Hyder said.

The Telangana General Administration (NRI) Department has now written to the CID to probe the case of Rubeena Fatima being taken to Oman and sold there.

In a letter dated June 2, the department has requested the additional director general of police (CID) to investigate the case and report to the government for further action on the matter. The department said she was sold to one Rajat Arabi in Oman after being taken to Dubai first on February 3, 2017.The letter also mentioned that one Abdul Sattar from a travel agency had allegedly sold Rubeena Fatima to Rajat Arabi.The name of the local agent, Khatija Begum, who sent her to Dubai also finds mention in the letter.

My wife is being taken from place to place. She has been beaten with a belt and has injuries all over her body. Though she was taken for just one month, it is now four months and she is not being allowed to return, Gulam Hyder said.

Gulam Hyder said he had contacted Abdul Sattar, who reportedly told him that his wife would be sent back to India if he paid Rs3 lakh. The husband was also asked to send her flight tickets. Though the Falukuma police registered a case on April 12, they are yet to take any concrete action against the agent to ensure Rubeena Fatimas safe return home.

Source : TOI
British national Amit, started his real estate career in Florida in 2002 where he was involved in marketing villas in the Orlando area. After successfully completing two years of business in the US, Amit returned to London to further develop his career. Back in the UK, he specialised in selling prime central London real estate primarily in the Hampstead & St Johns Wood area. Early in his career, Amit decided to try a new sector of the business, gain further experience and this is when he entered the commercial real estate market. With now almost eight years of experience in the Dubai commercial real estate sector and a total of 15 years in the business, Amit has built a name for himself within the market. Clients have included various Forbes 100 listed companies and many start-ups which have grown to be household names in Dubai.
Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants has appointed Allison Reid to chief development officer for the Americas region. Reid has a history of success in development, real estate investments, finance and hotel operations. In her role at Kimpton she will be responsible for leading real estate development and management contracts across the brand. Prior to Kimpton, Reid served as SVP of North America development for Starwood Hotels & Resorts, overseeing development and acquisition efforts for all 11 of its brands in North America, the Caribbean and French Polynesia. Reid was also instrumental in launching three new brands including Starwoods Tribute Portfolio, a collection of independent, four-star hotels, where she signed more than ten deals in the first year. Reid was also the CFO for W Hotels, driving strategic operating and brand growth initiatives. Reid spent six years at Interstate Hotels & Resorts Worldwide in various finance and regional roles prior to Starwood, and is a graduate of Bryant University with a bachelors degree in accounting, finance and hotel management.
Related Related Press Release Knowland Acquires Philadelphia Reader Board, Inc.

Knowland announced today that it has acquired Philadelphia Reader Board, Inc. effective June 1, 2017. Knowland is a globally recognized provider of meeting and group intelligence, offering powerful market analysis, competitive benchmarking, and lead generation tools. The company is headquartered in Rosslyn, Virginia, right outside the nations capital. Philadelphia Reader Board, Inc. was founded in 2003 by hotel industry veteran Ken Simmons. Upon opening, the company made an immediate impact servicing hotels and CVBs, allowing sales teams to move market share and gain group revenue. Ken will begin an exciting new role at Knowland serving as Director, Business Development.
Customer service is one of the hospitality industry's hallmarks. Thirty years ago, it put a premium on the reservations systems and consistent services. But as the traditional buy-sell model fades away, the customer experience  not the product itself  is now a primary focus.

Thanks to new levels of personalization and the need for convenient and cheap services, the hospitality industry has morphed from a product-centric to a customer-centric realm. These days, customers have little time to spare, so they seek relevant, timely recommendations from mobile and tech devices at a moment's notice.

So, the big question is: How can hospitality continue to leverage technology and deliver what today's and tomorrow's consumers want most?

Make Every Experience One-of-a-Kind

When visiting somewhere for the first time, customers need a trusted advisor.

The challenge for the hospitality industry is cultivating that trust, which starts by delivering an end-to-end travel experience that understands every traveler's needs and caters to all of their wants.

Hospitality companies need to support flexible, on-the-fly purchases so that inconvenience is never an obstacle. Customers looking for convenience want a service that not only lets them book their travel and hotel at once, but also organizes their activities, helps with reward cash-ins, finds discounts, and provides customer feedback.

If this kind of comprehensive and customized experience sounds impossible to deliver on, just look at a company like Marriott that already offers it. The hotel chain's recently revamped app uses personal information to give travelers relevant insights based on where they are in their trip, whether it's the planning, in-transit, or post-checkout stage.

Basically, the app is a traveling concierge that enhances the company's mobile check-in system and dispenses exactly what travelers need before they request it. To date, it has grossed about $1.7 billion in annual bookings, all thanks to technology that can be pulled up anywhere instantaneously.

How Tech Makes It Happen

Delivering a personalized experience takes more than just commitment. Understanding customer needs and wants and translating those into unique services is a significant challenge, even for the largest outfits. The key is to rely on the right technologies and to implement them in the right ways. Here are four strategies hospitality executives can use to get there:

1. Invest in data intelligence.

Companies use data intelligence to analyze the various bits of information they have coming in. The data helps companies not only expand their current products, but also personalize, predict, and contextualize them toward user intent and other factors.

For example, companies could increase upsell opportunities by offering last-minute, per-trip travel insurance plans to customers whose flights leave in less than two hours. With the right data, it's possible to anticipate the unique needs and interests of frequent customers.

Amazon Prime's anticipatory shipping platform looks at data, previous orders, and other variables to forecast what a customer might want before she even puts in an order. Amazon ships the items to its nearest warehouse, keeping items close by so that it can keep its promised two-day shipping. This transition further solidifies the part personal data plays in making the customer journey more convenient.

The predictive trend established by Amazon, Starbucks, and others points to the fact that customers in all industries expect frictionless, authentic, convenient experiences from all the brands they use. Travel and hospitality companies are working hard to meet customer expectations and remain competitive as digital startups like Hopper and Airbnb continue to emerge.

2. Focus on satisfaction and loyalty.

Consider this: Eighty-five percent of vacationers pick activities only after they have arrived, and 50 percent of travelers use smartphones to find options. These numbers underscore the importance of creating a strong end-to-end customer experience.

Much like Marriott's app has, companies can inject their brands with goodwill by capitalizing on the countless moments when travelers need information, ideas, or assistance. Sending recommendations and offers in response can drive revenue and digital return on investment.

In the long term, that kind of attentiveness will allow brands to identify patterns of behavior and receive feedback from their customers that can allow them to improve quality of service and increase customer loyalty. Focusing on a well-rounded customer journey pays obvious dividends for a brand.

3. Perfect the mobile experience.

An eMarketer study estimates that mobile will account for nearly 70 percent of all U.S. bookings by 2019.

Needless to say, it's time for companies that haven't invested in mobile to do so. However, just having a mobile platform isn't enough. It's more vital than ever for companies to create mobile experiences so easy to navigate and purchase through that they become indispensable.

That investment should have an omnichannel scope that covers desktop, mobile apps, and mobile web. If a customer selects hotel dates on a desktop computer but does not make a purchase, ensure conversion by waiting a certain period and then reminding him with a special discount via mobile. Most in the hospitality industry know that mobile is important, but it's time to think of it as an absolute essential to simplifying the traveler's journey and driving sales.

4. Partner with downstream merchants.

With companies like Airbnb disrupting the travel industry, established players need to beef up their loyalty programs to reconnect with customers. Rather than simply offering deals and discounts, these companies should offer perks that enhance the overall experience.

That means partnering with merchants that offer complementary services. For instance, Starwood Hotels awards loyalty points when guests use Uber to get around town. Rather than incentivizing only direct patronage, Starwood rewards travelers throughout their trip.

Thanks to the capabilities of today's technology  including chatbots and other virtual assistants  it's possible for every player in the hospitality industry to be the on-demand, on-the-go assistant that travelers want. But be strategic about implementing these innovations. Although providing tablets at your hotel's concierge may be appealing, it's important to consider the ways in which customers will respond. For some, it may be considered an easy way to look up restaurants nearby; for others, it may be considered impersonal.

Everyone's had both positive and negative travel experiences. What separates the good from the bad is often as simple as a missing piece of information  just the right recommendation on the right device at just the right time. Innovations that deliver seamless and singular experiences can drive a lot of positive Yelp reviews and a lot of repeat business.

Portia Tudhope is the marketing manager at Flybits, a context-as-a-service solution that enables enterprises to unify disparate sources of data and deliver hyper personalized customer experiences. Tudhope is in charge of the company's strategic planning, content marketing, and lead generation initiatives, and previously worked in Cisco Canada's marketing and Smart+Connected Communities teams.

Portia Tudhope

Marketing Communications Coordinator
The South East Asia Hotel & Tourism Investment Conference (AHTIC), a top-level gathering of international investors, business leaders, government ministers and officials will return to Colombo, Sri Lanka in November, under the patronage of H.E. Maithripala Sirisena, President of Sri Lanka.

At the inaugural event in 2016, the Sri Lankan government, keen to attract international finance, announced a series of tourism development zones and the President promised that the next three years, 2017-19, would be investment years with special concessions to overseas investors.

Dr. Prabath Ukkwatte, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourism Club, the Founder sponsor of AHTIC, hosted a delegation of Chinese investors, who expressed enthusiasm for opportunities in Sri Lanka, citing its tremendous variety of attractions, such as ancient temples, wild elephants and unspoilt beaches, all within close range of each other.

Dr. Ukkwatte confirmed he is, once again, planning to host a group of prospective investors at AHTIC to showcase the islands investment opportunities. He commented "AHTIC is becoming the biggest international hospitality conference in Sri Lanka and I am proud to be the founder sponsor".

According to the WTTC in 2015 Travel & Tourism directly accounted for 5% of total economy GDP for the region, and a further 7.4% in indirect and induced GDP. Over 32 million jobs across the ten countries are supported directly or indirectly by Travel & Tourism. A favourable climate, proximity to large outbound markets like China, good infrastructure by the standards of emerging economies, connectivity to further afield origin markets, and price competitiveness by the standards of developed economies, make many countries within the ASEAN region highly attractive travel destinations.

The 2017 edition of the South East Asia Hotel & Tourism Investment Forum will be hosted by the Galle Face Hotel in Colombo. Deni Dukic, General Manager of the Galle Face Hotel commented "It is my distinct pleasure to welcome all representatives to Sri Lanka and to be able to present the vast range of experiences available within Colombo. If there is Paradise on earth, it is Ceylon  This is indefinitely the most apt description of Sri Lanka and is the words of none other than Anton Chekhov, who as it happens was a guest at The Galle Face Hotel in 1890. Sri Lanka as a destination has an array unique experiences centred around a culture that has been in existence for centuries. We at The Galle Face Hotel are proud to be part of such illustrious history, being in existence for 153 years, combining old world charm with curated modernity".

Jonathan Worsley, Chairman of Bench Events, co-founder of the conference said "We are delighted to be returning to Colombo for the second time and look forward to working with Mandeep Lamba, Managing Director India, Hotels & Hospitality Group at JLL and his team on the conference programme to make the event even more impactful and useful to all delegates in 2017, by providing not only an overview of Sri Lanka, but the entire region".

About Sri Lanka Tourism Club

Sri Lanka Tourism Club's (SLTC) objective is to brand Sri Lanka as an outstanding tourist destination and aim to promote its unique life style, nature, wonders, attractions, heritage and cultures to develop both domestic and international tourism and enhance Sri Lanka's share of the market for international meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions. Its ultimate objective is to increase the number of foreign tourists to Sri Lanka, extend the average length of their stay and finally to increase the national tourism revenue. www.srilankatourismclub.com

About The Bench

The Benchhas established a legacy for delivering world-leading investment forums and conferences in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. The key principle behind these platforms has remained "dealmaking'. Transforming the way business connect, Bench has developed a reputation for creating innovative and high-impact meeting spaces for the industry.

For over two decades - government leaders, tourism ministries, global travel & tourism associations, the world's most influential hospitality brands, hotel owners & investors, renowned restaurant groups, airlines & aviation authorities, destination developers, asset managers, financial groups and consultants  have been participating in The Bench's events for their respective objectives. These include AHIC, AHIF, GRIF, FHS, AHF, IDEEA, AviaDev and RENEW where industry players showcase their brands, position themselves as thought leaders or innovators, and connect with the right opportunities and knowledge.

Learn more on thebench.com

About MEED

Launched on International Women's Day 1957, the Middle East Economic Digest, MEED, is a well-known and trusted brand used by governments and businesses operating in the region.

Encompassing a business intelligence service, digital media, publications and events MEED provides exclusive daily news, data and analysis. We are responsible for keeping our audiences of subscribers, registered users and event attendees informed, helping to facilitate decision making and connections.

Our marketing solutions team provides clients with access to our audiences. We partner with local and international companies who need to reach our high-value communities. In consultation with our clients we utilise tried and tested methods to target and engage decision makers to announce and explain, lead and grow and to contact and convert business leaders into customers.

MEED is wholly owned by data and intelligence company GlobalData Plc which means that our marketing solutions clients are also able to access a network of over 13m digital users per month across 18 different sectors.

Learn more on meed.com

Future Hospitality Summit (FHS)

Date: 19-21 September 2022

Location: Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai, UAE

Sponsors

Host Sponsor: Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts

Platinum Sponsors: Accor, Dur Hospitality, Hilton, Marjan, Millennium Hotels & Resorts and Radisson Hotel Group

Emerald Sponsors: Emaar Hospitality Group, IHG Hotels & Resorts, Marriott International, NEOM, Rotana, Royal Commission for AlUla, SMIT Morocco and Taiba Investments.

Gold Sponsors: Aleph Hospitality, CBRE, Colliers, Compass Project Consulting, Dentons, ELAF Group, ENVI Lodges, GG&Grace International, Hospitality Management Holding, HVS, The Indian Hotels Company, Insignia, Interior360, Ishraq Hospitality, IT Hospitality Group, Knight Frank, Louvre Hotels Group, LXA, Mapal Group, Minor Hotels, OBMI, PwC Middle East, QUO, SSH, STR, Valor Hospitality Partners and Voltere by egis.

Silver Sponsors: Deutsche Hospitality and Katch.

Supporters: The Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management, Hospitality Asset Managers Association (HAMA), Sustainable Hospitality Challenge, and Women in Hospitality (WiH).

Sally Marwaha

Event Manager

The Bench
In the past, when most people thought about the public relations profession, they thought of two things: spin and propaganda. Today, some people still hold the outdated view that PR professionals are just paid 'talking heads' with questionable morality. Being a PR professional myself, I object to this incorrect portrayal of a career I'm passionate about. That being said, I do understand where this misconception came from.

Edward Bernays, the man who was often referred to as the "Father of Public Relations", used very different tools than the ones in my modern PR toolbox. In the early years of PR, propaganda, which Bernays defined as "the conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses," was a commonly used PR tool, so much so that publicists were often viewed as deceptive manipulators.

Professionals in the industry have worked hard to change this perception by updating the guidelines and best practices in the field. In contrast to the public opinion of the past, those who work in PR today are embraced by journalists as credible and valuable sources of information. The industry continues to move forward and adapt to changing times in media and technology, strategies and tactics, with the goal of being more effective at telling the world about our clients and their products and/or services.

So, in the spirit of innovation and improvement, here are three outdated PR practices and the best modern-day replacement solutions, the implementation of which will make your outreach more effective at inspiring action, in reference to bookings, purchasing, demo requests, and the like:

Outdated practice: The press release

At one time, the press release was the most common format used to share a company's news with journalists. Today, increased competition for the attention of the media has made the press release a much less effective tool to secure coverage. So what is the best way to let media know about your company's news, and make sure that you stand out from the crowds of other companies reaching out to the same media on a daily basis?

Updated fix

Focus on developing the facts of your news into a story. For example, if your property's goal is to gain bookings by promoting your new on-site restaurant, pitching a story about food trends in your destination would have more value and generate greater interest with media, and readers, than just telling media that you opened a new restaurant. This tactic, which we call an expert pitch and which is best delivered in an email, is much more engaging than sending a dry press release to a journalist. Because an email pitch is much less formal, the most important elements to include are:

An innovative, newsworthy, timely story angle.

Solid sources to provide expert commentary.

Correct and attributed facts and information to support your angle.

Journalists will be happy to receive pitches that have all of the above and that are well-written and fact checked because they love when PR people make their job easier.

Outdated practice: "Spray and pray" pitching

Many companies used to believe that PR was a numbers game; they figured that the more lines you throw out, the more fish you will catch. Same thing with PR: the belief was that sending out your press release to more people would equate to more coverage. Today though, the opposite is true. This is because journalists know how to spot a pitch that was sent out to a list versus a story that was developed to suit the topics that they cover for their publication. Two key pitch features that will tip a journalist off to the fact that they are receiving a "spray and pray" pitch are a lack of personalization in the email and by the presence of over-generalized statements; I.e. not making it specific to a particular media audience.

Updated fix

To show journalists you've created a media list that focuses on quality over quantity, pitch only the contacts at publications which cover the specific topic that you're pitching, and make sure that you update your media list on each new pitch to make sure that your list will be interested. By doing your research and only sending each pitch to one journalist at each publication, never send a single pitch to more than one at each, they will know you are a pro and will be more likely to cover your news.

Outdated practice: Print is king

In the past, print media outlets, such as newspapers and magazines, were considered to have the highest value; however, many daily newspapers including traditional print media outlets are struggling to stay in business. According to Pew Research Center, "62 per cent of American adults get their news from social media outlets," demonstrating that, today, people can and do get their news anywhere  including from online sources and blogs.

Updated fix

Do not ignore online media outlets because of the outdated impression that print news is the most prestigious or valuable, or else your company may be left behind. Your media list should include all types of media outlets, including print, broadcast, online and blogs, to ensure the greatest visibility for your news and company.

Recap

Knowing how to make your story stand out from the hundreds of emails in a journalist's inbox is key to your PR campaign's success. By updating your media practices using the above tips, you will experience greater ROI from your media outreach and, as a result, achieve more of your business' overall goals.

Jennifer Nagy

President, JLNPR Inc.

+1.786.420.1160

JLNPR Inc.

View source
598 Key Sofitel Dubai Wafi Hotel to Open 2019

Sofitel Dubai Wafi will feature 501 luxury guestrooms, inclusive of 86 suites, ranging in size from 55 square meters to 625 sqm, in addition to 97 studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom serviced residences to be operated on an extended-stay basis.

Sofitel has announced the largest Sofitel property in the Middle East with development partner MKM Commercial Holdings LLC. Expected to open in early 2019, Sofitel Dubai Wafi will join the luxury brand's growing portfolio of 14 hotels and 4,400 rooms in operation and under development in the Middle East.

Sami Nasser, Chief Operating Officer, Luxury Brands, AccorHotels Middle East, commented: "We are delighted to work with MKM Commercial Holdings, one of our long standing partners, to develop this impressive project that will undoubtedly become a future flagship for Sofitel in the region. The development of this property is aligned with our strategy to operate one of our leading luxury brands across strategic locations in the Middle East." He further added, "Within the United Arab Emirates, we've established a strong presence with four operational hotels across landmark locations including Abu Dhabi Corniche, Downtown Dubai, the Palm Jumeirah, Jumeirah Beach Residences, and now Wafi  a major shopping destination set to undergo a comprehensive retail and leisure expansion."

Sofitel Dubai Wafi will feature 501 luxury guestrooms, inclusive of 86 suites, ranging in size from 55 square meters to 625 sqm, in addition to 97 studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom serviced residences to be operated on an extended-stay basis. The property will offer a number of dining concepts including an Asian specialty restaurant, gastro pub, a unique destination restaurant, bar and lounge on 43rd and 44th Floors, a French lobby cafe, an all-day restaurant and a pool bar. Guests will have the option to relax and unwind at the SoSpa or use a comprehensive gymnasium, outdoor pools, private cabanas and a kids club. Business travelers will have access to 10 meeting rooms in addition to a 1,115 square meter ballroom.

Guests of Sofitel Dubai Wafi will enjoy close proximity to Wafi Shopping Mall, Downtown Dubai, Business Bay and the Dubai International Airport. Corporate clientele will have convenient access to primary business and exhibition centers including the Dubai International Financial Center, Dubai Healthcare City and the Dubai International Conference and Exhibition Centre. Located adjacent to the iconic Raffles Dubai, both properties will form a luxury cluster within Wafi offering guests a range of shared amenities and services.

H.H. Sheikh Manna Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum, Chairman of MKM Commercial Holdings said: "We are excited to sign this agreement with AccorHotels, our trusted partner for the Sofitel Dubai Wafi. We are confident that the Sofitel, through its distinct brand positioning and expertise in the luxury segment, will be able to complement our existing Raffles Dubai while cementing the strength of hospitality offerings present within the expanded and revitalized Wafi."

Sofitel Hotels & Resorts offers luxury hotels with a difference, that combine French origin  a unique combination of elegance, savoir-faire and the art of hospitality  with the best of local culture in each destination. Sofitel Dubai Wafi will infuse the brand's essence with Arabic culture and design elements reflective of Wafi. Over the coming years, Sofitel will introduce stunning new hotels with the openings of Sofitel Kuala Lumpur Damansara, Sofitel Singapore City Centre, Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour and Sofitel Mexico City Reforma.

"Sofitel Dubai Wafi signifies our ongoing commitment to expanding AccorHotels' presence in the luxury segment through our landmark design and quality driven concepts. Sofitel operates luxury hotels and resorts across key destinations in the Middle East including the Sofitel Beirut Le Gabriel, Sofitel Jeddah Corniche, Sofitel Cairo Nile El Gezirah and the Sofitel Bahrain Zallaq Thalassa Sea & Spa. Through the development of the region's largest Sofitel, we look to strengthen AccorHotels' luxury offerings and cement our position as a leading luxury hotel operator." concluded Nasser.

AccorHotels has 39 existing properties in the UAE, in addition to 23 others under development. In the Middle East and Egypt, AccorHotels currently operates 95 hotels encompassing 28,800 rooms across the luxury to economy segments. The Group's regional network is expected to double in number, bringing over 25,000 additional rooms and nearly 2,400 branded residences to the Middle East.
The return of Dinakaran in Tamil Nadu has exposed the rift in the ruling AIADMK (Amma) party in Tamil Nadu.

By India Today Web Desk: A day after AIADMK leader TTV Dinakaran met aunt and party chief V K Sasikala in Bengaluru jail, 21 party MLAs from the Edapaddi Palaniswani (EPS) camp met Dinakaran at his residence today.

The meeting spells trouble for Chief Minister E Palanaswami as speculations are rife that several MLAs from his camp may support Dinakaran.

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After the meeting, V P Kalairajan, a Dinakaran supporter, said, "There is no third front. TTV Dinakaran is still the deputy general secretary. He has been falsely implicated".

Dinakaran was released on bail from New Delhi's Tihar Jail on June 1 in a case of allegedly trying to bribe an Election Commission official to win the AIADMK's two-leaves symbol.

A GAME OF WAIT AND WATCH

Ahead of his meeting with Sasikala at the Parappana Agrahara prison in Bengaluru, Dinakaran had said that a section of state ministers had revolted against him due to "some fears".

During the meeting with Sasikala, Dinakaran is believed to have discussed current developments in the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).

According to some reports, Sasikala asked Dinakaran to wait for two months before taking any major decision.

EPS GOVERNMENT CAN LOSE MAJORITY

The return of Dinakaran in Tamil Nadu and Tamil Nadu politics has exposed the rift in the AIADMK (Amma) faction. He recently said that he will continue to work for the party--the statement is in contrast to his earlier stand that he would stay away from party affairs.

In the wake of bribery charges against Dinakaran, senior Tamil Nadu cabinet ministers had revolted against Dinakaran and said he and his "family"--read Sasikala--will be kept out of the party and the government.

Nearly a month-and-half later, the situation within the AIADMK seems to have changed. Many MLAs are reportedly willing to support Dinakaran openly.

The latest crisis threatens to pull the plug on the EPS-led government in Tamil Nadu as it could lose the majority status on the floor of the House if more MLAs join the Dinakaran-Sasikala faction.

The current EPS government has 122 MLAs in the 235-member Assembly after O Panneerselvam camp chose to defect. If more MLAs leave the EPS camp, it would bring down the government.

ALSO READ:

Bengaluru: Out on bail, AIADMK's TTV Dinakaran meets jailed aunt Sasikala

How BJP is making in-roads in Tamil Nadu while AIADMK factions talk of merger

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Beef ban: How BJP plans to milk the cow in West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu

ALSO WATCH: Out on bail, AIADMK's TTV Dinakaran meets jailed aunt Sasikala

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Sojern & Google Examine Japan Travel Trends In New Report

Sojern Teamed Up With Google To Look At Inbound Travel Trends To Japan. In Our New Report, We Discuss Mobile & Cross-Device Trends, Last-Minute Planning Patterns, And Market Growth Trends. Here Youll Get Key Takeaways To Reach Inbound Travelers To Japan.

With a goal to bring in 40 million annual visitors to Japan by 2020, the country is poised to become a tourism powerhouse. To work on achieving this goal, travel experts from around the world descend on Tokyo for WIT Japan and North Asia. In preparation for this event, Sojern and Google Google explore Japan travel trends to produce a new report. Here we highlight a few of the key insights and takeaways from this collaborative project.

The Diverse Demand For Travel To Japan

According to previous travel analysis, Japan and Tokyo are the fastest-rising destinations for US travelers, And the trend holds: the US appears as the fourth largest searching origin market. Europeans also show interest in travel to Japan. The UK and Germany are both on the list of top 10 searching origin markets.

Yet, the majority of travelers coming to Japan are from nearby APAC countries. Taiwan, Hong Kong, and South Korea claim the top search spots.

Knowing which markets are most interested in travel to Japan allows travel marketers to hone their efforts and ad spend accordingly. It also signals places where you can try new channels or tactics to untap new audiences.

Japans Biggest Competition At Home & Abroad

When considering travel to Japan, APAC travelers most often search for South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong, and China in addition to Japan. Interestingly, European and American travelers are most likely to consider the US as a destination alongside Japan, indicating that shoppers from origins farther away are looking for a similar travel experience rather than destination.

Japan travel trends demonstrate that though tourism is growing, theres tough competition from both regional and international destinations. Consider using video to inspire travelers to choose your brand, destination, or offering with video.

How Mobile Is Making Waves For Japan Travel Trends

Travelers from APAC are becoming increasingly mobile-first, with 44% of in-region Google.com travel queries for Japan coming from mobile phones. American travelers are more likely to rely on desktop when researching for travel to Japan, but still, 34% of all Japan travel queries from the US are generated on mobile.

The share of mobile intent increases from 27% of all searches during weekdays to 36% on weekends. Desktop dominates the share of bookings to Japan, with mobile bookings spiking on the weekend.

The drop in users on mobile as they move from search to booking indicates tourists traveling to Japan engage heavily in mobile while planning their trip, but are likely to move cross-device further down the funnel. Consider implementing a multi-platform strategy that engages with travelers as they move across devices and during all stages in the travel funnel to capture these smartphone searchers.

Want to learn more about Japan travel trends? Download the full report.

About LLuvia

LLuvia Rodriguez is Sojern's Senior Data Insights Analyst. Born and raised in San Francisco's Mission District, LLuvia studied Physics and Electrical Engineering at UCSD and Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Previous to Sojern, LLuvia researched stellar intensity interferometry. Nowadays, she's busy advocating for beautiful data viz at Sojern, playing Zelda, and hanging with her cat, Tesla.
HSMAI will be accepting nominations until July 14. The award nominee should demonstrate excellence in all of the following areas: creativity and initiative; sales acumen; innovative leadership; and advancement of the discipline.

The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI), which is celebrating 90 years of fueling sales, has established the HSMAI Hotel Sales Professional of the Year Awards. Honorees will exemplify strong sales performance producing measurable results.

Recognizing deserving individuals with the HSMAI Hotel Sales Professional of the Year Awards reflects HSMAIs ongoing objective to promote excellence in the field of sales in hotels, said Robert A. Gilbert, CHME, CHBA, president & CEO of HSMAI. We are honored to celebrate HSMAIs 90-year legacy by recognizing individuals who exemplify HSMAIs mission to grow business for hotels and their partners.

HSMAI will be accepting nominations until July 14. The award nominee should demonstrate excellence in all of the following areas: creativity and initiative; sales acumen; innovative leadership; and advancement of the discipline.

Qualified individuals should be nominated for one of two separate entry categories, On-Property or Above-Property.

To qualify for the On-Property award, a nominee must currently serve in an on-property or regional sales role for a brand, management company, ownership group, or independent property.

To qualify for the Above-Property award, a nominee must currently serve in an above-property regional, national, or global sales role for a hotel brand, management company, or ownership group.

To nominate a deserving colleague, customer, or business partner for an HSMAI Hotel Sales Professional of the Year Award, click here. Honorees will be notified in early August, and celebrated on September 6 at HSMAIs 90th Anniversary Celebration Dinner.

For more information on the HSMAI Americas Hotel Sales Professional of the Year Awards, visit http://www.hsmai.org/HotelSalesStars.
The proposed Higher Education Empowerment Regulation Agency (HEERA) is aimed at eliminating overlaps in jurisdiction and remove irrelevant regulatory provisions.

By Press Trust of India: The University Grants Commission (UGC) and All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) are soon going to be a thing of the past with the government planning to replace them with a single higher education regulator.

The proposed Higher Education Empowerment Regulation Agency (HEERA) is aimed at eliminating overlaps in jurisdiction and remove irrelevant regulatory provisions.

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The HRD Ministry is working with Niti Aayog on the plan of bringing technical as well as non-technical institutions under the same umbrella.

According to sources, a detailed blueprint of the proposed regulator and its legislation is being worked upon.

"Both Niti Aayog and HRD Ministry officials are working on the plan. It was felt that multiple regulatory bodies led to excessive and restrictive regulation and hence contributed to lack of institutional autonomy," a source said.

However, the plan to have a single higher education regulator is not a new one but has been recommended by various committees set up by the government.

Also read:

Enrolling for PhD gets tougher: No admission without passing NET, SET

India has 23 fake universities, with 66 colleges in Delhi: UGC

These universities have been shut down by UGC

Also watch:

Aligarh Muslim University canteens will not serve food during Ramzan

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In Person KIAs Lamai Gum Ja: Kachin IDPs Live With Fear

An internally displaced persons camp on the China-Burma border in Kachin State. / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

This week marks six years since a 1994 bilateral ceasefire broke down and fighting renewed between the Burma Army and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). Thousands of ethnic Kachin remain displaced, living in poor conditions in camps with no idea when they will be able to return home. Burmas peace process may be ongoing, but fighting has persisted in Kachin State where Burma Army soldiers have been accused of human rights abuses.

The KIA recently joined armed groups in Northern Burmathe United Wa State Army, the Taang National Liberation Army, the Myanmar Democratic Alliance Army, the National Democratic Alliance Army, the Arakan Army, and the Shan State Army-Northin denouncing the governments nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA).

To mark the anniversary of renewed hostilities, The Irrawaddy spoke to Lamai Gum Ja, a representative of the KIAs political wing, the Kachin Independence Organization, which has been advising on negotiating peace between the armed group and the Tatmadaw.

What is your opinion on the current peace process? Is peace getting closer or further away?

It is very difficult for us to predictthis is our situation. The United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) is negotiating for groups to sign the NCA. This is one way [to approach the peace process].

There has been a lot of fighting on the ground, and we and other ethnic armed groups saw that the Burma Army launched military offensives to put political pressure on groups to sign the NCA. Because of this, the Northern Alliance seeks another way to stop offensives from the Burma Army. This is my point of view.

All our ethnic armed groups seek peace, and do not want to use fighting to solve political conflict. It is hard to predict how the government will react to this new alliance of northern ethnic armed groups.

Conflict between the Burma Army and the KIA renewed in 2011, what were your thoughts when the ceasefire first broke down?

To begin with, we believed that we could solve this conflict through negotiations. But, the situation got worse year by year. So, we began along the NCA path, which we believed could let us negotiate for peace. But, our belief was not realized as fighting broke out again in KIA areas.

The KIA and the Northern Alliance seek a new way to make peace negotiations. We will try to negotiate to solve the conflict peacefully. We do not use fighting to solve the conflict. But, the Burma Army only accepts the NCA, and it seems to me that they do not accept the Northern Alliances new way of approaching peace.

If we look at the current conditions, it seems to me we could have high tension again, especially as both the government and the Tatmadaw are important entities in the peace processit depends on how they will accept the Northern Alliances new approach. They are the parents of the countrythey should have an open mind in order to find the best way to peace.

What is your message to internally displaced civilians who are exhausted from living in camps for such a long time?

Both the government and the ethnic armed groups should take pity on civilians and negotiate the best they can for them. Without negotiations, our civilians have no guaranteed safety in their work or daily life: they will live with fear and eat with fear. So, the best thing is for both sides is to find a solution that truly benefits civilians.
Asia Top US Diplomat in China Quits Over Trump Climate Policy

An official of Chinas Giant Panda Protection and Research Center introduces Dujiangyan Panda Base to David Rank (C), the charge d'affaires of the US Embassy in Beijing, in Sichuan province, China March 24, 2017. / Stringer A / Reuters

WASHINGTON, USA  David Rank, the charge daffaires of the US Embassy in Beijing, has left the State Department over the Trump administrations decision to quit the 2015 Paris agreement to fight climate change, a senior US official said on Monday.

A State Department spokeswoman confirmed Ranks departure, but said she was unable to verify Twitter posts that said he resigned as he felt unable to deliver a formal notification to China of the US decision last week to quit the agreement.

He has retired from the foreign service, said Anna Richey-Allen, a spokeswoman for the departments East Asia Bureau. Mr Rank has made a personal decision. We appreciate his years of dedicated service to the State Department.

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, President Donald Trumps pick as the next US ambassador to Beijing, is expected to take up the post later this month.

A tweet from China expert John Pomfret quoted unnamed sources as saying that Rank had resigned as he could not support Trumps decision last week to withdraw from the Paris agreement.

Another tweet from Pomfret said Rank called a town hall meeting to announce his decision to embassy staff and explained that he could not deliver a diplomatic note informing the Chinese government of the US decision.

A senior US official confirmed the account given in the tweets but added that after Rank announced his intention to retire on Monday in Beijing, he was told by the State Department to leave his post immediately. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.

On June 1, the US State Department accepted the resignation of its top personnel officer, who had been among its few remaining senior Obama administration political appointees, another US official said.

Arnold Chacon had served as the director general of the foreign service and director of human resources.

The official said Chacon had tendered his resignation when Trump was inaugurated on Jan. 20, along with all presidential appointees, who serve at the pleasure of the president and secretary of state.

The acceptance of Chacons resignation was first reported by the DiploPundit website.

It was not immediately clear whether he would be offered another post at the department.

Other than Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, his deputy John Sullivan and Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Tom Shannon, the third-ranking US diplomat, most of the State Departments senior posts are currently vacant or filled by acting officials.

Chacon and Rank, a career foreign service officer who took over the post of deputy chief of mission in Beijing in January 2016, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Jonathan Fritz, the embassys economics councilor, would serve as charge in his place, Richey-Allen said.

Rank had been with the department for 27 years and served as the political councilor at the US Embassy in Afghanistan from 2011 to 2012.
Burma Burma Will Join Asian Forest Cooperation Organization

Timber logging threatens Burmas forest areas. / Reuters

The Union Parliament on Tuesday approved the signing of the regional agreement for the establishment of the Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO), after President U Htin Kyaw put forward the proposal.

Burmas Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation presented the proposal to Parliament last month.

The organization was proposed by Korea in 2009 and an agreement for its establishment (between Korea and Asean countries) was signed in 2012 at the 14th Asean-Republic of Korea Summit. The Asia-wide AFoCO was established in September 2015.

Prior to that, South Korea had been providing technical support for forestry management, restoration and rehabilitation to Asean countries, including Burma, from 2009-11.

U Ohn Win, the minister of natural resources and environmental conservation, shared his gratitude to parliamentarians on Tuesday for their support. He reassured them that joining the regional organization would promote Burmas forestry sector, watershed preservation and ecotourism.

Greater benefits will be yielded from the collaboration, minister U Ohn Win said, not only in international relations, but also in the sharing of technology and experience.

The AFoCO aims to improve sustainable forest management, preserve biodiversity, reduce climate change effects, prevent desertification, and promote research and exchange programs, explained U Hlaing Min Maung, from the office of the ministry.

The AFoCo is based in Korea. Seven countries including Bhutan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Timor-Leste signed the pact before June 2017.

Although [Burma] is not yet directly facing desertification, this is long-term preparation as a preventative measure, U Hlaing Min Maung said, discussing the future possibility of unfertile land due to mismanagement.

Burma was approximately 60 percent forest area in 1990. That number was down 26 percent in 2015 due to deforestation, mainly from illegal timber logging, according to a UNODC report.

Burma will also benefit from the Regional Educational Training Center, which will promote capacity building and skill sharing after construction is completed on the building in Rangoon later this year.

It will also help boost the countrys image, minister U Ohn Win said, referring to a time when Burma was a destination for forestry scholars in the mid-1900s.

Nineteen lawmakers discussed the proposal favorably in Parliament on May 23.

Lawmakers supported the proposal, highlighting Burmas need to sign the agreement for the sake of forest sustainability. Lawmakers also discussed the pragmatic implementation of the proposal and the need for collaboration from civil society groups.
Burma China and Burma: Not Only Pauk-Phaw

A CPB meeting at Panghsang in 1987, under portraits of old communist icons. / Hseng Noung Lintner

Part 2 of a 5-part series.

1962 to 1978: Brothers No More

It is generally assumed that Sino-Burmese relations took a turn for the worse in 1967, when anti-Chinese riots broke out in Rangoon. The fervor of the Cultural Revolution influenced the Chinese community in the Burmese capital and many young Sino-Burmese began wearing red Mao badges.

This violated an official Burmese regulation banning the display of such political symbols in public, and the young Red Guards were ordered to take off their badges. When some of them resisted, anti-Chinese riots broke out in June and July that year.

Chinese shops and homes were ransacked and looted, and many Sino-Burmese were killed. A mob even attacked the Chinese embassy in Rangoon before the situation was brought under control. However, the role of the authorities in this affair was a matter of dispute: the Chinatown riots in Rangoon came at a time when there were acute shortages of rice and basic food supplies in Rangoon. According to eyewitnesses, the police did not interfere with the killings and the looting until the Chinese embassy was attacked. It is widely believed that Burmas military government encouraged the riots in order to deflect attention from the countrys internal problems at that time.

The incident was followed by the withdrawal of ambassadors from both capitals and the expulsion of the Xinhua (New China News Agency) correspondent in Rangoon. Beijing also suspended its aid program to Burma, granted under the 1960 friendship treaty. Radio Beijing began broadcasting fierce attacks on the Ne Win government branding it fascist. On January 1968, heavily armed CPB units crossed from China into northeast Burma. The Chinese Communist Party decided to lend all-out support to its fellow communist Burmese-sister party.

However, more thorough research into Sino-Burmese relations indicates that the 1967 incident was little more than a convenient excuse for the Chinese to intervene directly in Burmas internal affairs. In reality, the new era in Sino-Burmese relations began in 1962 when General Ne Win seized power. The military takeover had upset the regional stability that existed by virtue of Burmas weak but neutral democratic government.

Furthermore, China had long been wary of the ambitious and unpredictable general in Rangoon. Six important events took place immediately after the coup in Rangoon: 1.) In the early fifties, several groups of CPB cadres had trekked to China to request assistance for their armed insurrection in Burma. However, as long as U Nu was in power, these Burmese communistsin all 143 peoplewere housed in Sichuan Province. There they attended communist party schools, but received no other support, and certainly not arms and military training. The leader of these CPB exiles in China was Thakin Ba Thein Tin, who later became the chairman of the CPB. He resided mostly in Beijing where he became close to Mao Zedong, and the two developed a long-lasting, personal relationship. Following Ne Wins takeover in Rangoon, the CPB was for the first time allowed to print propaganda leaflets and other material in Beijing. On August 1, 1962, Beijing-and Sichuan-based exiles published a document titled Some Facts about Ne Wins Military Government, denouncing the new regime.

2.) The most urgent task for the CPB exiles in Beijing was to find a way to contact the CPB units in the old base area located in the Pegu Yoma mountains of central Burma, north of Rangoon, where the once strong communist army was crumbling. There had been no links between the CPB units in Burma and the CPB exiles in China since the latter had trekked to Yunnan in the early fifties.

By a strange twist of historical events, it was the new military regime in Rangoon that unwittingly provided an opportunity for the CPB exiles in China to re-establish these links. Probably hoping that the insurgents would give up when faced with the massive force of the military government, the Ne Win regime called for peace talks after about a year in power. On July 14, 1963, the CPB, Thakin Soes much smaller Red Flag communist party, the Karen, Mon, Shan, Kachin ethnic rebel armies, and some smaller groups attended the negotiations in Rangoon with guarantees of free and safe passage to and from the peace parley, regardless of the outcome.

The colorful Thakin Soe probably attracted the most attention when he arrived accompanied by a team of attractive young girls in khaki uniforms. He placed a portrait of Stalin in front of him on the negotiating table and then began attacking the revisionism of Soviet leader Khrushchev and the opportunism of Mao Zedongs China (Thakin Soe was soon excluded from the talks). However, 29 veterans from the main CPB exiles in China also arrived in Rangoon, purportedly to participate in the peace talks. Among the Beijing Returnees, as they came to be known, were yebaw (comrade) Aung Gyi, Thakin Bo, Bo Zeyaand Thakin Ba Thein Tin who did not actually participate in the talks but seized the opportunity to visit the CPBs headquarters in the Pegu Yoma, bringing with him radio transmitters and other aid from China.

According to CPB documents, the Burmese government demanded that the communists should concentrate all their troops and party members inside an area stipulated by the authorities, inform the government if there were any remaining guerrillas or cadres elsewhere, stop all organizational activities of the party and cease fund-raising. The intransigence of the military regime was a blessing in disguise for the CPB. The talks broke down in November and the various insurgents returned to their respective jungle camps. Thakin Ba Thein Tin and another CPB cadre returned to Beijing, while the other 27 returnees stayed in the Pegu Yoma where they assumed de facto leadership of the party at home.

3.) In November 1963, shortly after the Sino-Soviet split in the international communist movement, some CPB cadres who had been studying in the Soviet UnionKhin Maung Gyi, San Thu and Thein Aungreturned to Beijing. To direct the work in China, a leading group of five was set up in Beijing shortly after Thakin Ba Thein Tins return from the peace talks in Rangoon. This group, which became the nucleus of the new leadership of the CPB that emerged during the sixties, consisted of Thakin Ba Thein Tin as leader, with Khin Maung Gyi as his personal secretary and Khin Maung Gyi as the CPBs main theoretician.

4.) In late 1963, San Thu, one of the Moscow returnees, was put in charge of a team that began surveying possible infiltration routes from Yunnan into northeastern Burma. During this period, China built a network of asphalted highways, leading from Kunming to various points along the borders with Burma and with Laos, where another communist movement was active.

5.) Nearly all the CPB cadres in China were well-read Marxist intellectuals with little or no experience in military matters. But in 1950, an ethnic Kachin rebel leader, Naw Seng and 200 to 300 of his followers, had retreated to China where they resettled in Guizhou province as ordinary citizens. Naw Seng was a decorated World War II herohe had fought brilliantly against the Japaneseand he was exactly the kind of military commander that the CPB intellectuals needed. In early 1963even before the peace talks in RangoonNaw Seng was brought to Sichuan. He was introduced to Thakin Ba Thein Tin and told that the time had come to go back to Burma and fight. Naw Seng, eager to leave his peoples commune in Guizhou, readily agreed. He assembled his men and they began military training in Yunnan in 1965. On January 1, 1968, Naw Sengs Kachin warriors at last entered northeastern Burma from the Chinese side, accompanied by Khin Maung Gyi and other political commissars from the CPB.

6.) Since the thirties, small cells of ethnic Chinese communists had been active in towns in central Burma, completely separate from the mainstream Burmese communist movement. In the early sixties these entities were put in touch with the CPB for the first time. They were few in number, but the Chinese embassy in Rangoon arranged for ethnic Chinese from the capital and some small towns in the Irrawaddy delta to visit the CPBs then-base area along the Shweli River (and later to travel to the northeastern base area set up after 1968). The CPBs numbers increased after anti-Chinese communal riots in Rangoon in 1967; these riots may have provided the catalyst for the already planned China-sponsored CPB thrust into Shan State, but they were not the reason for Chinas support for the Burmese communists.

During the decade that followed, China provided the CPB with assault rifles, machine-guns, rocket launchers, anti-aircraft guns, radio equipment, jeeps, trucks and petrol. Even rice, other food supplies, cooking oil and kitchen utensils were sent across the frontier into the new revolutionary base area that the CPB was establishing along the Sino-Burmese frontier in northeastern Burma. The Chinese also built hydroelectric power stations inside this area, and a clandestine radio station. The Peoples Voice of Burma, began transmitting from the Yunnan side of the frontier in April 1971. Thousands of Chinese volunteersmostly youthful Red Guards from China but also regular soldiers from the Peoples Liberation Armyalso streamed across the border to fight alongside their Burmese comrades. Within four years of the first thrust into northeastern Burma on New Year Day 1968, the CPB had wrested control over a 9,000 square mile area along the Sino-Burmese frontier.

During the Cultural Revolution, the Chinese saw themselves as the leaders of the World Proletarian Revolution and the massive support they lent to the CPB was only one of several powerful expressions of this policy; however, it was the main element of Chinas Burma policy until the late seventies. The change towards a less militant foreign policy began when an internal power struggle broke out within the Communist Party of China (CPC) after Mao Zedongs death in 1976. In April of that year, when Chinas radical Left reasserted itself and ousted Deng Xiaoping, the CPBunlike other communist parties in the regionspoke out loudly in favor of the hardline Maoists. On the 55th anniversary of the CPC in June 1976, the CPB offered the following congratulatory message:

The revisionist clique with which Deng was linked headed by Liu Shaoqi has been defeated  The movement to repulse the Right deviationist attempt at reversing correct verdicts, and the decision of the Central Committee of the CPC on measures taken against rightist chieftain Deng Xiaoping, are in full accord with Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong thought.

In a second message mourning the death of Mao in September 1976, the CPB stated:

Guided by Chairman Mao Zedongs proletarian revolutionary line, the Chinese people seized great victories in the socialist revolution and socialist construction in the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, in criticizing Liu Shaoqis counter-revolutionary revisionist line, in criticizing Lin Biao and Confucius and in criticizing Deng Xiaoping and repulsing the Right deviationist attempt at reversing correct verdicts and consolidating the dictatorship of the proletariat, thus, consolidating the Peoples Republic of Chinathe reliable bulwark of the world proletarian revolution.

The CPB had reason to re-evaluate the reliability of that bulwark the following year when Deng began to return to power in Beijing. The CPB, which once had branded its own revisionists Yebaw (Comrade) Htay and Hamendranath Ghoshal as Burmas Deng Xiaoping and Burmas Liu Shaoqi respectively, became silent. Htay and Ghoshal were two of the founders of the CPB and they had been executed during a series of bloody internal purges in the late sixties. The Beijing Review and other official Chinese publications, which had previously published battle views and CPB documents, stopped printing anything about the revolutionary struggle in Burma.

The CPB was mentioned for the last time in November 1976 when Thakin Ba Thein Tin and his Vice Chairman Thakin Pe Tint, were received by the new Chinese Chairman Hua Guofeng in Beijing, who was soon to fall into disgrace. No details about the meeting were disclosed, but it is plausible to assume that the two Burmese communist leaders wanted to ensure continued Chinese support for the CPB in the post-Mao era.

The Burmese military quickly and shrewdly exploited the CPBs rift with Beijing by lending its good offices to China in Cambodia as China shifted its focus to Vietnams designs on its Indo-Chinese neighbor. In November 1977, Ne Win became the first foreign head of state to visit Phnom Penh after the Khmer Rouge takeover. The Chinese were no doubt behind the unusual visit, hoping to draw the Khmer Rouge out of its diplomatic isolation. Ne Win played along, for his part hoping that Beijing would further reduce its support for the CPB. He was not disappointed. In 1978, the CPBs entire China-based central office, including the Peoples Voice of Burma broadcasting station, was forced to move to Panghsang on the Yunnan frontier. The Chinese volunteers, who had fought alongside the CPB since 1968, were also recalled.

In September 1979, Burma left the Non-Aligned Movement  which it had helped form in the fifties  at its Havana summit to protest against Cuba assuming the chairmanship and its decision not to let the Khmer Rouge represent Cambodia. Burmas delegate San Yu said in a report to parliament after the Havana meeting: Every nation has the inalienable right to freely choose its political, economic, social and cultural system without interference in any form by another stateBurma strictly stands for the solution of problems by peaceful means rather than resorting to threats or use of force. San Yus remarks were made with a vague reference to Vietnams December 25, 1978 invasion of Cambodia, but they were also interpreted as a signal to Beijing that Rangoon disapproved of its continued support for the CPBhowever limited it had become.

Read Part 1 of the series here. Tomorrow: Part 3. Rapprochement and Stalemate

This article was originally published here by The Project 2049 Institute, a policy group based in the US.
Burma Journalists Launch Campaign, Call for Termination of Article 66(d)

Freedom of Press white armband. / Thet Htun Naing / The Irrawaddy

RANGOON  More than 100 journalists in Rangoon demanded on Tuesday that the government withdraw lawsuits filed against reporters under the countrys controversial Article 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law.

The media representatives gathered at the Orchid Hotel in light of the recent arrest of The Voice Dailys chief editor, U Kyaw Min Swe, and columnist Ko Kyaw Zwa Naing. The two are charged with defamation, as is outlined in Article 66(d), after the military complained of an article in the publication that satirized the countrys armed struggle and peace process.

Ko Tha Lun Zaung Htet, from the Democratic Voice of Burma, organized the conference and temporarily formed the Committee for the Protection of Journalists (Myanmar), which has 21 members from various news outlets.

On Tuesday afternoon, the committee released a statement with three points: firstly, to terminate statutes like 66(d) which threaten freedom of the press, to drop the lawsuits under this law which are being conducted by the Burma Army and other authorities, and to collaborate with civil society organizations to ensure that these demands are met.

According to committee members, journalists will begin a white armband campaign entitled Freedom of Press on June 8, the day of the upcoming court hearing in Bahan Township for The Voice Dailys detained staff.

The journalists will march from The Voices office to the Bahan courthouse on that day and wear the armbands, but the committee stated that it would avoid any conduct that could be construed by authorities as a demonstration, for which permission must be obtained beforehand.

Ko Tha Lun Zaung Htet said, Our movement is not a protest. We will just go to encourage [U Kyaw Min Swe and Ko Kyaw Zwa Naing].

According to the Research Team on the Telecommunications Law, led by activist Maung Saung Khaa poet who was himself sentenced and jailed in 2016 under Article 66(d)seven cases were filed under the law during former President Thein Seins administration, which created the statute. However, charges have been filed in 68 cases during the first year of the National League for Democracys (NLD) government. Among those accused, around a dozen have been journalists.

Rangoon Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein, the Burma Army, and even some NLD lawmakers have used Article 66(d) to initiate lawsuits. Several journalists have criticized the NLD-dominated Parliament for not yet moving to amend or repeal the law.

Myanmar Journalist Networks General Secretary U Zayar Hlaing urged the government to urgently amend the law, citing a muzzling of the freedom of expression of the public, as well as the media industry.

Detaining people before conviction by a judge is really inappropriate. I would like to say that this law should be immediately amended, he said.
Burma Karen Refugees in Canada Raise Concerns Over State Counselors Visit

State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi arrived in Toronto, Canada on Monday. / State Counselors Office / Facebook

Ethnic Karen refugees in Canada released an open letter on the arrival of Burmas State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, raising concerns over the militarization in Karen State while the Union government pushes ahead with the peace process.

The Karen Community of Canada (KCC), an organization representing ethnic Karen refugees from Burma, said in the statement on Monday that it was concerned that this visit would be a feel-good celebration, ignoring ongoing militarization and human rights abuses in ethnic areas, which Daw Aung San Suu Kyis government has done virtually nothing to alleviate.

The Karen community organization also urged Canadian government officials to pay attention to the suffering of ethnic minorities under Daw Aung San Suu Kyis government.

We urge you, as our elected representatives in Canada, to heed the cries of Karen and other ethnic people in Burma, who continue to suffer under military occupation, read the statement.

The Karen refugee community also urged Canadian government officials to ask Daw Aung San Suu Kyi some tough questions including how her government plans to ensure a safe return for Burmese refugees in Thailand and how her government will respond to refugees calls for the withdrawal of Burma Army troops in Karen State.

Last month, internally displaced people in Karen State held a protest calling for the withdrawal of Burma Army units near their villages so that they could return home safely.

Although the Karen armed group the Karen National Union (KNU) signed a bilateral ceasefire agreement with the previous government in 2012, the Burma Army has reinforced its bases and built additional ones in the region, according to the statement.

The Karen community in Canada is also upset with KNU vice chairman Padoh Kwe Htoo Win who is visiting Canada on a federalism study tour but is not meeting with Karen refugee communities due to a tight schedule.

Slone Phan, chairman of the KCC in Canada, asserted the groups disappointment with the KNU vice chairman for failing to visit the community.

Although the vice chairman did not meet the Karen community, he and other ethnic leaders did visit Niagara Falls.

The KCC also said they were concerned over a meeting between Burma Army chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing and Canadian Ambassador Karen MacArthur last January, where they discussed potential Canadian investment in hydropower projects that fuel ongoing war, displacement, and human rights abuses in Burma.

This general [Min Aung Hlaing] and his army are responsible for obstructing peace and conducting campaigns of terror against Karen and other ethnic communities, so we are dismayed that Ambassador MacArthur would discuss cooperating with him, read the statement.

The Karen Community of Canada (KCC) is an umbrella organization that represents Karen people across Canada, promoting Karen culture, human rights and democracy.
Guest Column Myanmar Deserves More Than a Miserable Media Environment

A woman sells newspapers in Yangon, Nov. 9, 2015. / Reuters

According to the recently-released 2017 World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Myanmar moved up 12 places in the rankings since last year and stands at 131 among 180 countries. In making its assessment, RSF acknowledged that the National League for Democracy (NLD)-led government amnestied journalists imprisoned under Thein Seins government and repealed the state of emergency law. But it also pointed out, correctly, that  self-censorship continues in connection to government officials and military officers. The authorities continue to exert pressure on the media and even intervene directly to get editorial policies changed.

RSF is right in saying that self-censorship still prevails, especially when it comes to government officials and military officers as there continued to be troubling media cases during the past year, such as watch-gate. This was an ugly fight between Yangon Division Chief Minister U Phyo Min Thein and Eleven Media Group, where the latter essentially accused the former of corruption. This eventually led to the detention of its CEO and Editor-in-Chief for some time. While they were both released on bail, they are still facing trial. Since then, it has been rare to see anyone critically write or talk about this case and even Eleven Media itself has been silent about it.

Is Myanmars media landscape better off now than two years ago? The answer will surely be controversial. If you are a government official or a pro-government person, you will definitely say yes. If you are media personnel such as a reporter, producer, editor, or someone who is running a media organization, you will no doubt answer that question with reservations.

Does Myanmars media not have freedom of speech now? The answer is yes and no. Is there any repression of the media now? The answer to this is also yes and no. In fact, Myanmars media is enjoying a certain level of freedom and is much better off than neighbors like China and Thailand, and even better than regional neighbors such as the richest and most developed country in the region, Singapore, or the rising star, Vietnam. According to RSFs ranking, Myanmar now ranks third in press freedom among ASEAN countries after Indonesia (124) and the Philippines (127).

Since the NLD-led government took power, there has been no obvious repression of the media, as there was in the past. Myanmar has moved up from being labelled one of the worst violators of freedom of the press to one of 20 countries where a difficult situation still exists. That category includes all of Myanmars neighbor countries, except China and Laos, which are labelled under very serious situation according to RSF.

But, is this incremental improvement good enough? Does Myanmars media deserve only that? Does the country deserve only that? In the point of view of this author, the answer is much more than no. Myanmars media deserves much more than that and the country and the people also deserve more.

Myanmar people have been fighting for freedom from all kinds of fears, and for human dignity and human rights. But for a long time, we have had no idea of what freedom, human dignity or human rights would look like, let alone what media freedom or freedom of the press would entail. Many generations of Myanmar people have lived under oppressive regimes in one form or another. Throughout their entire lives, they have been familiar with government-controlled media, with little or no access to other sources of information.

The worst thing is that for generations the authorities have taken the position of assuming themselves to be superhuman. For example, during the one-party rule of the Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP), led by the late dictator Gen Ne Win, people were not allowed to participate freely in political, social, or economic matters in the country. He controlled practically every aspect of peoples daily lives. Through this era and later military governments, the authorities set the rules, made decisions for others as to what was good and bad, and created and practiced whatever policies they liked. The reason they gave was the interest of the country and the people, and there was no space for the public to question these claims or file complaints.

There are many examples to prove this point, but one recent one stands out in particular. In May 2008, Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar hard. In the hours and days after, thousands of people were presumed dead and hundreds of thousands or more lost their livelihoods. The international community offered assistance right away. But, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), led by former Sen-Gen Than Shwe, denied their offers in the early stages of the aftermath, when people were in urgent need of help. Even worse, the SPDC forcibly conducted a referendum on the 2008 Constitution just after Nargis, when people were still in dire need. This showed yet again how those in power controlled peoples lives.

That black-out period (in terms of media and information access, but also in terms of peoples ability to live meaningful lives more generally) spanned more than a generation. During this time, people had to live under the supervision of those who had appointed themselves as guardians of the public.

It is an undeniable fact that the situation is much better now than in those days. But, can we say there are not people today who act superhuman and set the rules for others, make decisions for others regarding what is good and bad and create and practice policies they choose, stating that it is for the benefit of the people? These people still exist, though not as many and not in such distinguished ways as before.

The question, then, to those government officials and pro-government people who defend the governments action or inaction, especially on press freedom, is whether this government is doing enough to guarantee press freedom and to nurture independent media so the public can be free from the hands of those superhuman beings? The answer apparently is no and it is a sad story.

As everyone knows, the military in Myanmar controls 25 percent of the seats at all levels of Parliament and three major ministries (Defense, Border Affairs and Home Affairs), which hold guns. This means that Myanmars democratization work (including press freedom) can only progress 75 percent. Even in that 75 percent, progress is limited because the bureaucracy inherited from previous regimes is gigantic and still well-protected. After subtracting an additional percentage because of that gigantic bureaucracy, is the rest of the government committed to making progress on press freedom? The answer again is no and it is an even more sad story.

There were reports that NLD lawmakers were asked by the party hierarchy not to talk to the media on certain issues and not to appear on particular discussion programs. The right to information has still not improved, even though the NLD-led government has appointed most of the ministers. The government-owned media is still running full throttle and is even extending its reach. On the other hand, the independent media is struggling to compete with government media, especially on the revenue front.

Why is it that the so-called peoples party, the NLD, which used to be at the forefront of fighting against those superhuman beings, has not done more for freedom of the press? What are they afraid of? Why cant they let independent media fully blossom and play its crucial role in providing information for the public to be free from fear, to fully enjoy human dignity and human rights? What are they concerned about?

As long as those questions are not answered fully and comprehensively, Myanmars media will remain in a miserable state.

Kyaw Kyaw Thein is a broadcast journalist with more than 11 years of experience in the field. The views expressed here are solely his own and do not reflect the views and policies of the media organization for which he is currently working.

This article originally appeared in Tea Circle, a forum hosted at Oxford University for emerging research and perspectives on Burma/Myanmar.
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By Frud Bezhan | ( RFE/RL) |  

Stunning landscapes, famous hospitality, and numerous World Heritage sites.

Irans potential as a holiday destination is vast, but foreign tourists have largely avoided the country ever since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

The reasons are numerous. The visa process can be lengthy and complex. Some female visitors object to customary restrictions on dress. Alcohol consumption is heavily restricted. And, for many foreigners when considering a holiday in the Islamic republic, fears of detention and political upheaval enter the mind.



The sunset on the Persian Gulf from Kish Island

Under President Hassan Rohani, a relative moderate who won a second term in office with a convincing first-round victory in Irans May 19 presidential election, the country has welcomed foreigners as part of an effort to improve its international image and boost an economy battered by low oil prices and years of crippling international sanctions imposed over Irans contentious nuclear program.

Since the signing of a nuclear deal with world powers in 2015 that was the crowning achievement of Rohanis first term, tour companies have launched holiday packages and major European airlines have resumed regular flights to Iran. The number of foreign tourists has increased accordingly, and the cash-strapped government is planning to build on its tourism revival by easing visa restrictions and spending heavily to spruce up tourist accommodations and shabby transportation networks.

Tsunami Of Tourists

In 2015, Masoud Soltanifar, the head of Irans Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts, and Tourism Organization, said he was expecting a "tsunami of tourists" once sanctions were lifted following the nuclear deal under which Irans nuclear program would be curbed in return for the lifting of sanctions.

The World Bank said the number of visitors to Iran increased from 2.2 million in 2009 to 5.2 million in 2015, and Iranian officials expect that trend to continue.

The influx of tourists has brought the country billions of dollars in revenue and created badly needed jobs. In 2015, Iran earned some $7.5 billion in tourism revenue; the government hopes to attract some 20 million foreign tourists by 2025 and gross some $30 billion.

Business Insider and Bloomberg have both named Iran among the "Top 50" and "Top 20" destinations to visit in 2017 due to security and the countrys ancient architecture, famous bazaars, and natural beauty.

To put Iran on the map for tourism in the region, authorities have announced sweeping plans that include easing visa restrictions to attract more foreign tourists. Issuing visas on arrival at the airport for nationals of 190 countries as well as issuing electronic visas are among the initiatives being considered by Iranian officials. Citizens from the United States, Canada, and Britain would still only be allowed to travel on escorted tours.

The government has also announced plans to create sufficient accommodation and transportation for the growing number of tourists. There is a plan to increase the number of higher-end hotels from 130 to more than 1,000 in 10 years. Iran also plans to add 400 new passenger planes to its domestic fleet to compensate for shortages due to international sanctions over the past three decades.

The plan is to make Iran a hotspot that would rival regional destinations. Like Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt, Iran is blessed with natural wonders. The Islamic republic also has a sunbaked coast with hundreds of kilometers of beaches. Iran is also a haven for culture buffs, with 19 World Heritage sites, including the ancient desert city of Bam and the ruins of Persepolis.

Tourist Hub

Key to the governments plans to boost tourist numbers is Kish Island, one of a handful of free-trade zones in Iran. The southern island in the Persian Gulf is known for its newly built, multistory malls; sparkling jewelry stores; and swanky, five-star hotels hugging the coast.

The island is a tourist hotspot that attracts an estimated 1 million people every year, mostly Iranians. But Tehran is stepping up its efforts to make the island, located 16 kilometers from the mainland, a destination for foreign visitors as well.

Irans first cruise ship since 1979 made its maiden voyage on April 13, docking at another Iranian Gulf resort island, Qeshm, with more than 200 passengers on board.

The seven-floor, Swedish-built cruise liner, named Sunny, is equipped with two cinemas, restaurants, a swimming pool, and a conference hall. With the capacity to carry up to 1,600 passengers and 200 vehicles between the two islands, the ship is intended to help launch a "boom [in] marine tourism," according to Irans state IRNA new agency.



Oasis of Luxury

Kish Island is known as an oasis of luxury and relative freedom in the otherwise conservative Islamic republic.

Women can be seen dipping their bare legs in the warm sea, alcohol is easier to come by, and even prostitutes can be seen on the promenades. It is a world away from the mainland where a strict ban on alcohol and prostitution is enforced and women must be covered.

Visitors to Kish are attracted by the duty-free shops, resort hotels, water sports, and an opportunity to escape the strict social norms on the mainland. A small number of foreigners are also going to Kish, where they do not need a visa and where they can mingle freely in foreigners-only parts of the island.

Authorities occasionally crack down on cinemas playing Western films, shops displaying mannequins that are deemed too exposed, and restaurants selling alcohol, but that is the exception.

Mina, a 21-year-old Iranian student who has visited Kish Island twice, says Iranians go there to escape the social restrictions on the mainland.

"I went there to relax because there is more freedom here than in cities like Tehran," says Mina, who did not want to reveal her full name. "There are beaches here and there are things to do at night. You can do things here that you cant in Tehran."

Mina, who visited Kish last year, says she rented out an apartment with her friends, including male friends. In other parts of Iran, couples are required to prove they are married to rent a room.

She also says women do not have to cover their heads completely. They can wear their head scarves loosely or wear a hat, although authorities still say women should be dressed modestly.

"I saw more foreigners coming to Kish, and as long the infrastructure improves, more will come," she said.

Frud Bezhan

Frud Bezhan covers Afghanistan and the broader South Asia and Middle East region. Send story tips to bezhanf@rferl.org via RFE/RL

Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.
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Human Rights Watch |  

Ramp Up Pressure for Accountability on all Sides

(Jerusalem)  Fifty years after Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza Strip, it controls these areas through repression, institutionalized discrimination, and systematic abuses of the Palestinian populations rights, Human Rights Watch said today.

At least five categories of major violations of international human rights law and humanitarian law characterize the occupation: unlawful killings; forced displacement; abusive detention; the closure of the Gaza Strip and other unjustified restrictions on movement; and the development of settlements, along with the accompanying discriminatory policies that disadvantage Palestinians.

Many of Israels abusive practices were carried out in the name of security. Palestinian armed groups have carried out scores of lethal attacks on civilians and launched thousands of rocket attacks on Israeli civilian areas, also in violation of international humanitarian law.

Whether its a child imprisoned by a military court or shot unjustifiably, or a house demolished for lack of an elusive permit, or checkpoints where only settlers are allowed to pass, few Palestinians have escaped serious rights abuses during this 50-year occupation, said Sarah Leah Whitson , Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. Israel today maintains an entrenched system of institutionalized discrimination against Palestinians in the occupied territory  repression that extends far beyond any security rationale.

As the occupation enters its second half-century, the focus should be on increasing the protection of the rights of the population of the occupied territory, Human Rights Watch said.
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - June 6, 2017) - Osisko Mining Inc. (TSX:OSK) ("Osisko" or the "Corporation") is pleased to announce that it has filed the Project Description with the federal government (Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency or "CEAA") and the Preliminary Project Information with the Quebec government (Ministere du Developpement durable, de l'Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques or "MDDELCC") for the Windfall Lake project. The Project Description report is available at www.osiskomining.com. Following review of both documents, CEAA and MDDELCC will provide Osisko with guidelines for executing the project impact assessment.

John Burzynski, President and CEO of Osisko commented: "Submission of the Project Description and the Preliminary Project Information to the federal and provincial governments represents the first step in the Environmental Approval Processes for Windfall. We look forward to consulting with all stakeholders as the design of the Windfall Lake project evolves."

Osisko also received approval from the MDDELCC for the mine water treatment system. This certificate of authorization ("CA") allows Osisko to begin dewatering the previously existing ramp in order to conduct advanced exploration, through extending the ramp that was commenced by previous operators.

Mr. Burzynski continued: "Receipt of the CA for the ramp dewatering activities is an exciting step in the advancement of the next phase of exploration. After rehabilitation of the existing ramp, it will allow us to continue to drive forward into the mineralized zones, as well as conduct further exploratory drilling from underground in conjunction with the surface drilling program."

The Corporation is currently evaluating the Windfall Lake gold project as a potential underground mining operation. Osisko is well-funded with approximately $190 million in cash and equity investments, and is carrying out an intensive definition drilling and large-scale exploration campaign on Windfall and the surrounding area. An updated NI 43-101 resource estimate on the Windfall Lake project is planned for release in the second half of 2017. Osisko has commenced collection of environmental baseline data in the vicinity of Windfall and intends to collect additional data along the potential haul road and around the proposed site of a mill complex near an existing industrial property (the former Domtar Corporation pulp and paper mill) in Lebel-sur-Quevillon, Quebec (the "Site").

About Osisko Mining Inc.

Osisko is a mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration, and development of precious metal resource properties in Canada. Osisko holds a 100% in the high-grade Windfall Lake gold deposit located between Val-d'Or and Chibougamau in Quebec and holds a 100% undivided interest in a large area of claims in the surrounding Urban Barry and Lebel-sur-Quevillon areas, a 100% interest in the Marban project located in the heart of Quebec's prolific Abitibi gold mining district, and properties in Ontario, including the Jonpol and Garrcon deposits on the Garrison property. Osisko continues to be well financed with approximately $190 million in cash and investments. Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd. (TSX:OR)(NYSE:OR) is a significant shareholder of the Corporation with approximately 14% ownership.
The police have busted a gang, which was running a makeshift blood collection centre, where unemployed youths were lured for money and their blood was collected.

By Shiv Pujan Jha: Several hospitals in Lucknow are under the scanner for accepting blood from gangs indulging in illegal human blood trade. It is suspected that huge amounts of unchecked and contaminated blood may have been supplied to these hospitals for the last several months.

The police have busted a gang which was running a makeshift blood collection centre where gullible unemployed youths were lured for money and their blood was collected. The same blood was then supplied to various hospitals in the state capital.

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The Lucknow Police have registered a case into this matter in Thakurganj Police Station and arrested one Arif alias Shibu. Investigations revealed that Aarif had set up a unit at Fatima Colony in Thakurganj area of Lucknow and was running the blood collection center from his home.

The police have also recovered 7 samples of blood, 12 packets of platelets, glucose bottles, over 1600 blood bags and several seals of renowned doctors, and also stickers of several hospitals.

HOW ARIF OPERATED

The modus operandi followed by Arif was simple. He used to lure unemployed youth and also drug addicts to his centre and take their blood by paying them some paltry amount. He would then supply the same blood to various hospitals in the city.

The police have managed to get the names of various hospitals from the accused that were his regular customers. Police are also suspecting that since Arif did not have any kind of formal training and no precautions were taken to check the blood samples, contaminated blood may have been supplied to various hospitals in huge quantity.

Arif has been taken into custody and a sustained interrogation is on to establish his links with others. Police are also planning to question various hospitals in the city in the case.

Also read: Delhi government to now give you information about blood availability with just a click

Also read: Delhi: Doctors perform rare surgery after man takes severed thumbs to hospital

--- ENDS ---
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 5, 2017) - Austral Gold Limited (ASX: AGD) (TSXV: AGLD) ('the Company') is pleased to announce that on 6 June 2017 the 35km long 33kv transmission line from the mine to the northern Chile National grid (SING) was energized, following final approval from the national grid operator CEN (Coordinador Electrico Nacional).

Connection to the grid should provide lower cost electricity, secured through a purchase agreement with the Almeyda Solar, a subsidiary of Enel Green Power Group. Since recommencement of operations at Guanaco in 2010 all electricity has been produced using diesel generators at the company's own onsite powerhouse.

The electrification of the line enables the company to commence ramp up testing of the recently of the agitation leach plant prior to going fully operational. The company expects to commence full operation by end of the month.

Once the plant is operational trucking and processing of mineralized material that is currently being stockpiled at Amancaya is expected to commence at the new plant.

"The approval for the energization of the transmission line is a significant step in the transformation at Guanaco. Not only do we expect a reduction of our electrical input costs, but it also allows us to commence ramp up testing of the new 1500tpd mill and agitation leach, Merrill-Crowe circuit," stated Stabro Kasaneva, CEO of Austral Gold. "We are very excited about this transition to a high recovery operation that should benefit our production and provide a platform for potential long term operations at Guanaco."

The transmission line connects the mine's substation to the northern grid at the Taltal Wind farm substation. The Chilean national grid is in the process of interconnecting the central grid (SIC) with the northern grid (SING), with the interconnecting transmission line under construction. The Company's existing diesel generators will provide back-up power to the mine in the event of disruption of supply from the grid.

Agitation Leach, Merrill-Crowe Plant

The new plant has been completed, with all elements of the plants fully tested. Ramp up testing is underway, with the complete circuit being tested at varying feed rates. It is expected that full operation will commence by the end of the month.

About Austral Gold

Austral Gold Limited is a growing precious metals mining, development and exploration company building a portfolio of quality assets in Chile and Argentina. The Company's flagship Guanaco project in Chile is a low-cost gold and silver producing mine with further exploration upside. The Company is also operator of the underground silver-gold Casposo mine in San Juan, Argentina. With an experienced local technical team and highly regarded major shareholder, Austral's goal is to continue to strengthen its asset base through acquisition and discovery. Austral Gold Limited is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV:AGLD), and the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX: AGD). For more information, please consult the company's website www.australgold.com
TORONTO, June 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - IAMGOLD Corporation ("IAMGOLD" or the "Company") today announced positive results from a Prefeasibility Study ("PFS") for its Cote Gold Project (Project) in Northern Ontario. The results, which outline an economically viable project and confirm the development concept previously set out in the Preliminary Economic Assessment, clear the way for the Company to initiate a feasibility study and to support the permitting process. Coinciding with this news release the Company also announced a partnership with Sumitomo Metal Mining in which they will acquire a 30% participating interest in the Cote Gold Project.

PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS

Proven and Probable Reserves of 5.9 million ounces

Mine Life of 17 years with mill throughput of 32,000 tpd

Life of Mine (LOM) average annual production of 320,000 oz

Average grade 0.94 g/t Au

LOM cash costs of $605/oz and all-in sustaining costs of $689/oz

At $1,250/oz gold price, after-tax Net Asset Value of $703M (5% discount rate)

After-tax Internal Rate of Return of 14%, with payback period of 4.5 years

Initial capital expenditures of $1,047M

Steve Letwin, President and CEO of IAMGOLD, said "The robust project economics generated from the PFS further validates our view that Cote Gold is an exceptional organic growth project, particularly when our industry faces a shortage of undeveloped gold deposits in attractive mining jurisdictions with surrounding infrastructure. This is a project with low operating costs and an attractive rate of return, that's expected to deliver 320,000 ounces a year for 17 years. The conversion of nearly six million ounces from resources to reserves on a project basis and over 3.8 million ounces attributable to IAMGOLD, representing an overall increase in our attributable consolidated reserves by 49%1, stands out in an industry challenged with reserve replacement. Additionally, Cote has significant exploration upside potential with more than 500-square kilometres of exploration rights-held property surrounding the deposit. We are looking forward to working with Sumitomo to advance the Cote Gold Project towards development."

The PFS was completed jointly by IAMGOLD, Amec Foster Wheeler (Amec), and Roscoe Postle Associates Inc. (RPA), with inputs from technical studies completed by other consultants. The PFS represents a comprehensive study of the technical and economic viability of a mineral project that has advanced to a stage where a preferred mining method is established and an effective method of mineral processing is determined.

IAMGOLD is using the PFS to identify the preferred development option, to demonstrate economic viability of the Project, to support Mineral Reserve disclosure, and to identify additional work recommended to support the completion of a feasibility study. We expect the feasibility study to be completed in the second half of 2018.

A technical report summarizing the PFS will be filed on SEDAR within 45 days of the date of this news release.

1 Based on IAMGOLD's 2016 year-end reserves of 7.8 million ounces and the Company's attributed reserves of 3.8 million ounces from the Cote Gold Project (based on IAMGOLD's 64.75% [70% x 92.5%] working interest in the Cote Gold Project).

PFS HIGHLIGHTS

Project Economics and Key Parameters Mining Capacity 60 Mtpa Milling Capacity 32,000 t/d LOM Average Annual Gold Production 320,000 oz. LOM Average Recovery Rate 91.8% Mine Life 17 years LOM Average Total Cash Costs $605/oz LOM Average AISC $689/oz Average Grade 0.94 g/t Au Average LOM Strip Ratio 2.85:1 Estimated Capital Expenditure (millions) Initial Capital* $1,047 Sustaining Capital $418 Closure Costs $40 Gold Price Assumption used in financial analysis $1,250/oz Pre-tax NAV (5%) (millions) $1,063 Pre-Tax IRR 16.7% After-tax NAV (5%) (millions) $703 After-tax IRR 14.0% Payback Period 4.5 years

*excludes deferred initial capital attributable to equipment leasing of $116M, net of down payments and leasing payments.

USD Currency used with exchange rate of: CAD$ = US$0.7692

MINERAL RESOURCES

The RPA Mineral Resource estimate used as the basis for the study is summarized below.

Mineral Resource Statement - May 26, 2017 Classification Cut-off Grade

(g/t Au) Tonnes

(000) Grade

(g/t Au) Contained Ounces

(000) Indicated 0.30 281,171 0.89 8,037 Inferred 0.30 76,471 0.50 1,231

Notes:

1. CIM Definition Standards were followed for classification of Mineral Resources.

2. Mineral Resources are reported at a cut-off grade of 0.30 g/t Au.

3. Mineral Resources are estimated using long-term gold price of $1,500 per ounce, and a US$/C$ exchange rate of 1:1.25.

4. Bulk density varies from 2.69 t/m3 for tonalite to 2.75 t/m3 for diorite, and 2.93 t/m3 for diabase.

MINERAL RESERVES

The tonnes, grades, and classification of the Mineral Reserves captured within the PFS mine plan are summarized below.

Mineral Reserve Statement - May 26, 2017 Classification Tonnes

(000) Grade

(g/t Au) Contained Ounces

(000) Proven - - - Probable 196,079 0.94 5,926 Proven & Probable 196,079 0.94 5,926 Waste within Designed Pit 559,155 Total Tonnage within Designed Pit 755,234

Notes:

1. Reserves estimated assuming open pit mining methods

2. Reserves are based on a gold price of $1200/oz

3. Fixed process recovery of 92.5%

4. Treatment and refining costs, including transport and selling cost, estimated to be $4.00/oz Au.

5. Variable royalty percentages by zone: 0.75% for zone 1, 1.00% for zone 2, 0.00% for zone 3, 1.50% for zone 4, 0.75% for zone 5, 1.50% for zone 6, 0.75% for zone 7, and 0.75% for zone 8. Only zones 2, 3, 5 and 6 have Mineral Reserves.

6. Processing costs: $8.77/t. Include process cost: $6.58/t, G&A: $1.45/t, Sustaining: $0.57/t, Closure: $0.18/t.

7. Mining costs: $1.93/t incremented at $0.035/t/12 m below 388m elevation. Average mining cost: $2.39/t. Rehandling cost $0.84/t.

MINING AND PROCESSING

The PFS study identifies the preferred development option as being a conventional truck and shovel open pit mining operation and determined an effective method of mineral processing being a processing circuit incorporating primary crushing, secondary crushing, tertiary high pressure grinding roll crushing, ball milling, gravity concentration and cyanide leaching, followed by gold recovery using carbon-in-pulp, stripping and electrowinning. The crushing-grinding circuit being utilized is more energy efficient than a standard SAG or a pre-crush circuit and uses less crushing and grinding media. A thickened tailings management facility is demonstrated and the mine site would be powered by a 44 km tap line connection to Hydro One's Shining Tree Substation. Key parameters that provide the basis for the PFS and other qualifications and assumptions are provided below:

Parameter Value Maximum Mining Capacity 60 Mtpa Stockpile Capacity 25 Mt Processing Rate 32 Ktpd (11.7 Mtpa) Metallurgical Recoveries 91.8%

Open pit mining includes 40 Mt extracted during the two year pre-production period followed by 16 years of production mining. Stockpile reclaim extends the operation into Year 17. The amount of rehandled mill feed over the life of the operation is 42 Mt. The average grade scheduled is 0.94 g/t Au and the LOM stripping ratio is 2.85:1.

Unit Production Costs

Life of mine total cash costs are estimated at $605/oz of gold produced and all-in sustaining costs at $689/oz of gold sold.

Capital Costs

Initial Capital costs are estimated at $1,047 million, life-of-mine Sustaining Capital costs are estimated at $418 million, and Closure costs are estimated at $40 million, with details below. Costs assume leasing of the mine production fleet and some other major equipment components.

Capital Cost Estimate Summary Initial Capital $M Mine Site Prep and Infrastructure 29 Mine Equipment 59 Electrical & Communications 31 Infrastructure 104 Process Plant 252 Tailings Management Facility Equipment 24 Tailings & Water Management 47 Offsite Facilities 25 Owner's Cost 27 Indirects 198 Contingency (20%) 170 Mining Pre-production 80 1,047 Sustaining Capital Mining 74 Mine General Site Works 11 Tailings & Water Management 150 Tailings Indirects 10 Capital Leases* 155 Contingency 19 418 Closure Costs 40

* total cost of capital leases (initial + sustaining) including financing costs, excluding down payments.

Operating Costs

Average operating costs per tonne processed are as follows:

Average Operating Costs ($/tonne milled) Mining 7.91 Processing 6.10 G&A 1.42 Total 15.43

Future Work

The PFS recommended the completion of a feasibility study to validate and detail the elements of the development concept set out in the PFS, and which would include additional drilling, stripping, engineering studies and environmental studies, including hydrological, hydrogeological and geotechnical analyses. The recommended feasibility study is expected to be completed in the second half of 2018. In addition, we continue to conduct exploration activities within our more than 500-square-kilometre property surrounding the Cote Gold deposit, the objective being to develop and assess targets that could further maximize our flexibility with respect to future development decisions.

Qualified Persons

The 2017 Cote Gold PFS was prepared by Amec Foster Wheeler and incorporates the work of IAMGOLD and RPA Qualified Persons (QPs) (as defined under National Instrument 43-101). Amec Foster Wheeler and RPA Qualified Persons are independent of IAMGOLD and have reviewed and approved this news release. IAMGOLD Qualified Persons are not independent of IAMGOLD and have reviewed and approved this news release. The affiliation and areas of responsibility for each Qualified Person involved in preparing the 2017 Cote Gold PFS, upon which the technical report will be based, are:

Amec Foster Wheeler QPs

B. Wang, Ph.D., P. Eng., Design of surface watercourse realignments, tailings management facility, mine rock areas and seepage collection ponds

A. Peralta, P. Eng., Mine design, capital and operating costs, reserve estimate

I. A. Lipiec, P. Eng., Process design, capital and operating costs

P. Baluch, P. Eng., Project infrastructure

D. Dyck, P.Eng., Environmental studies, permitting and social or community impact

D. Smiley, P. Eng., Economic analysis

J. Padilla, P. Eng., Project infrastructure, electrical power supply/distribution

RPA QPs

T. Ciuculescu, M.Sc., P.Geo. and L. Evans, M.Sc., P.Eng., Drilling, sample preparation and analysis and security, data verification, and mineral resource estimate

IAMGOLD QPs

A. Smith, M.Sc., P. Geo., Exploration, geological setting, and deposit

M-F. Bugnon, M.Sc., P.Geo., Property description, location, accessibility, climate, infrastructure, physiography and history

Other scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Geoffrey Chinn M.Sc.(A)., P.Geo., IAMGOLD, Project Manager, a Qualified Person under the terms of National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Chinn has verified the technical data disclosed in this news release.

Data Verification

IAMGOLD technicians and geologists on site follow a sample preparation protocol to ensure quality control before sending samples to the assay laboratory. Most of the drill holes are sampled at one-metre intervals and consist of one-half the drill core. Sample intervals are tagged by the geologist. All sample intervals are logged with a unique number in a sample book by the geologist. The borehole number and sample interval are transferred to one of the tags and recorded in the logs. One tag is placed in a plastic sample bag with the sample and the second is stapled in the core box beneath the remaining representative half core sample. During this procedure, the location for the insertion of certified reference material and blanks into the sample sequence is noted. Core is sawed by geotechnicians following the orientation line drawn by the geologist. The entire length of a drill hole is sampled, except, diabase dykes that occur within the sequence are not sampled, aside for two one-metre shoulder samples at the upper and lower contacts. The remaining half of the core is stored in racks at the core farm facilities located on site.

For quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) purposes, IAMGOLD inserts control samples after every twelfth sample interval. The control samples consist either of a certified reference material (CRM) or a blank sample. IAMGOLD inserts control samples as a standard procedure. The primary laboratory sets aside the pulp from one out of every 10 samples to be sent to a second laboratory as a check assay. Between 2012 and 2014, check assays were completed at ActLabs, Ancaster, Ontario. During the 2015 drilling campaign, check assays on pulps were completed by ALS Minerals, Val d'Or, Quebec. All of the samples were analyzed using the FA-AA method. Samples that assayed above the maximum limit using FA-AA were re-analyzed with the FA-Gravimetric method.

Mr. Alan Smith, P.Geo., District Manager Exploration for IAMGOLD, has made site visits to the Cote Gold Project and surrounding exploration projects between February 2013 and June 2017, the most recent site visit being May 29 to June 02, 2017, where the following areas were visited / inspected:

a review of current regional exploration programs and results; and

an inspection of the core farm, core shack, and specific outcrops of the Cote Gold Project.

Ms. Marie-France Bugnon, P.Geo., General Manager Exploration for IAMGOLD, has made site visits, exploration reviews and legal and claims updates to the Cote Gold Project between June 2012 and May 2017, the most recent site visit being on May18-19, 2017, where the following activities were reviewed and inspected:

2017 winter diamond drilling program results and observations for the King Errington and Weeduck Lake area of the Chester property, and the Monella Point target area of the TAAC West property;

Participation in a site visit with RPA geologists; and

Status on legal and assessment work requirements for the maintenance of the Cote Gold district exploration properties portfolio and updates.

Mr. Luke Evans, M.Sc., P.Eng., RPA Principal Geologist and Executive Vice President, Geology and Resource Estimation and Mr. Tudorel Ciuculescu, M.Sc., P.Geo., RPA Senior Geologist, visited the Cote Gold site on May 18-19, 2017, where the following activities were reviewed and inspected:

Used a handheld GPS to confirm the location of a small number of drill hole collars;

Reviewed core samples from several drill holes and compared them against the geology and assay tables; and,

Reviewed geology of stripped outcrops within the conceptual pit boundary.

RPA also carried out site visits on various occasions since 2007. It is the RPA QP's opinion that:

The sample preparation, security, and analytical procedures are adequate to support a Mineral Resource estimate on the Cote Gold deposit, and

The logging, sampling procedures, and data entries were completed to industry standards. It is the QP's opinion that the database is adequate to support a Mineral Resource estimate on the Cote Gold deposit.

Mr. Tony Lipiec, P. Eng., has been involved in supervising the Cote Gold testwork since October 2016 and has visited the laboratories performing the work. He visited the facilities at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada on January 16, 2017. He also visited and reviewed work performed at COREM in Quebec City, Canada on March 9-10, 2017.

Dr. Bing Wang, P. Eng., visited the Cote Gold Project site on several occasions: May 16, October 4 and 31 to November 4, 2016 and April 13-14, 2017. The following areas were inspected:

Property mineral lease boundaries;

Topography and geographical features  lakes, rivers, protected areas, etc.;

Prior mine excavations, select bedrock outcrop locations, depth of overburden;

Exploration drill sites and representative drill cores, potential for Acid Rock Drainage (ARD); and,

Proposed location of open-pit, mine rock area, mill feed stockpile, topsoil/overburden storage, tailings management facility, property access, mine facilities, utility corridors, water management structures.

Mr. Paul Baluch, P.Eng., visited the Cote Gold Project site on two occasions: October 4, 2016, and April 13-14, 2017. The following areas were inspected:

Existing project infrastructure such as the: Access roads Core shack area Mesomikenda camp Chester 1 site including the nearby Trelawney Aggregate Pit #1 Powerline corridor including Shining Tree substation area



Areas of the proposed project infrastructure such as the: Permanent camp location Emulsion plant location Processing plant location including the truck shop and warehouse area, coarse ore stockpile and electrical substation area Tailings management facility area Topography and geographical features (water bodies, etc.)



Ms. Debbie Dyck, P. Eng., has been involved in the Cote Gold Project baseline studies and EA process since 2012, and last visited the site on April 13-14, 2017.

CONFERENCE CALL

A conference call will be held on Tuesday, June 6, 2017 at 8:30 a.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) for a discussion with management regarding the IAMGOLD-Sumitomo transaction and highlights from the Cote Gold prefeasibility study. A webcast of the conference call will also be available through IAMGOLD`s website - www.iamgold.com.

Conference Call Information: North America Toll-Free: 1-800-319-4610 or 1-604-638-5340.

A replay of this conference call will be accessible for one month following the call by dialing: North America toll-free: 1-800-319-6413 or 1-604-638-9010, passcode: 1490#.
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - June 6, 2017) - Probe Metals Inc. (TSX VENTURE:PRB)(OTCQB:PROBF) ("Probe" or the "Company") is pleased to announce results from an additional nineteen (19) drill holes totaling 6,676 metres on its 100% owned Val-d'Or East project (the "Project") located near Val-d'Or, Quebec. Results include two significant new, shallow, gold discoveries of 7.4 g/t Au over 12.4 metres and 7.8 g/t Au over 2.5 metres located 1,200 and 600 metres south of the former Beliveau Mine, respectively, and represent the furthest step-outs from the New Beliveau deposit to-date. These intervals are associated with new geophysical targets generated along the interpreted mineralized trend and suggest the potential for a much more extensive gold mineralized system than previously thought. In addition to the new zones, drilling also intersected numerous high-grade intervals within the New Beliveau deposit, including 12.3 g/t Au over 8.9 metres, as well as thick, near-surface gold intervals.

The new discoveries were identified in a recently completed induced polarisation ("IP") geophysical program covering part of the Val-d'Or East property, and represents the first geophysics to ever be undertaken in the area. Mineralization intersected is similar to that observed in the New Beliveau Deposit, and is mainly characterized by sulphide-bearing quartz-tourmaline veins associated with mineralized diorite dykes. Hole PC-17-143 intersected a thick zone of high-grade gold mineralization, returning 7.4 g/t Au over 12.4 metres, within a broader zone of 24.5 metres grading 4.2 g/t Au, at a vertical depth of only 115 metres. The discovery zone is located 1.2 kilometres from the New Beliveau deposit, at the southern limits of the current IP survey. Additional surveys extending further south and east are now underway. Approximately 600 metres south of the New Beliveau deposit other gold zones were identified in Hole PC-17-137, returning 2.5 metres of 7.8 g/t Au and 11.8 metres of 1.7g/t Au, while Hole PC-17-135 returned a shallow interval of 7.3 metres grading 2.4 g/t Au from 133 metres vertical depth. The multiple discoveries indicate that the mineralizing system associated with New Beliveau may be much more extensive than currently modeled, suggesting an increase in the potential for both open pit and underground resource expansion.

Highlights from the drilling also include holes PC-16-132, and -136, which intersected significant gold mineralization in dyke-structures in and around the New Beliveau gold deposit returning intercepts of 1.2 g/t Au over 26.1 metres, including 13.6 metres of 2.1 g/t Au, and 8.9 metres of 12.3 g/t Au. Assay results from select drill holes are reported in the table below.

David Palmer, President and CEO of Probe, states "We are very pleased with the early success of both the resource drilling and geophysical programs. The results continue to confirm and strengthen our belief that New Beliveau is part of a much larger mineralized system with the potential to grow into a significant stand-alone deposit. In addition to the work in, and surrounding, New Beliveau, we are also ramping up exploration on the rest of the Val-d'Or East project for 2017 and see the potential for the same success in these similarly under-explored properties. With 75,000 metres of drilling targeted, we expect to generate significant results on the project before the end of this year."

Selected drill results from the Val-d'Or East drilling program

Hole Number From (m) To (m) Length (m) Au (g/t) Area/Host Rock PC-17-128 185.5 203.3 17.8 1.1 South IPs/Volcanics-Dyke Including 193.3 196.0 2.7 5.1 South IPs/Dyke PC-17-129 256.0 280.7 24.7 1.0 NB/Volcanics Including 256.0 257.4 1.4 9.4 NB/Volcanics PC-17-131 280.0 289.7 9.7 1.3 South IPs/Dyke Including 285.5 286.0 0.5 9.2 South IPs/Dyke 320.0 320.5 0.5 18.4 South IPs/Dyke PC-17-132 49.6 75.7 26.1 1.2 NB/Volcanics-Dyke Including 61.6 75.2 13.6 2.1 NB/Dyke PC-17-135 177.0 184.3 7.3 2.4 South IPs/Dyke Including 183.8 184.3 0.5 14.2 South IPs/Dyke PC-17-136 565.1 569.0 3.9 9.1 NB/Dyke 596.5 605.4 8.9 12.3 NB/Dyke Including 597.7 598.5 0.8 101 NB/Dyke PC-17-137 129.0 131.5 2.5 7.8 South IPs/Volcanics 150.9 162.7 11.8 1.7 South IPs/Volcanics Including 161.4 162.7 1.3 9.0 South IPs/Volcanics PC-17-142 246.4 248.0 1.6 5.8 NB/Volcanics 311.0 312.5 1.5 5.6 NB/Volcanics PC-17-143 145.5 170.0 24.5 4.2 South IPs/Volcanics-Dyke Including 147.5 159.9 12.4 7.4 South IPs/Volcanics-Dyke

(1) All the new analytical results reported in this release and in this table, are presented in core length. (2) True thickness is not known. Additional drilling is planned for the immediate area which will enable the true width determination

Figure 1: Val-d'Or East - Location Map





Figure 2: Surface Map - New Beliveau Area



Figure 3: Surface Map - South IP's Area





Complete Drilling Results



The New Beliveau Gold Deposit

The New Beliveau deposit consists predominantly of a series of parallel, east-west trending, moderately dipping, mineralized zones hosting gold-bearing quartz-pyrite-tourmaline veins. Gold mineralization occurs in the veins but also in their immediate wall rocks. The sulphide content is generally 1 to 5%, but may reach up to 10% in the higher-grade sections. The extent of the alteration zone, which consist of a mixture of quartz, tourmaline, dolomite, albite, and euhedral pyrite is commonly twice the thickness of the vein itself. The north-south-trending diorite dykes also contain significant gold with gold grades typically increasing in areas where the dykes are intersected by the east-west quartz-tourmaline veins. Wall rocks for both systems consist of intermediate volcanics rock.

Together with the Highway and North Zones, the New Beliveau Deposit host a NI 43-101 inferred resources of 770,000 ounces at 2.6 g/t gold calculated at a 1.0 g/t cut-off above 350 metres depth and 1.5 g/t cut-off below 350 metres depth (see NI 43-101 technical report: Mineral Resource Val-d'Or East Property - January 4, 2013).

Qualified Persons

The scientific and technical content of this press release has been reviewed, prepared and approved by Mr. Marco Gagnon, P.Geo, Executive Vice President, who is a "Qualified Person" as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101").

Quality Control

During the last drilling program, assay samples were taken from the NQ core and sawed in half, with one-half sent to a certified commercial laboratory and the other half retained for future reference. A strict QA/QC program was applied to all samples; which includes insertion of mineralized standards and blank samples for each batch of 20 samples. The gold analyses were completed by fire-assayed with an atomic absorption finish on 50 grams of materials. Repeats were carried out by fire-assay followed by gravimetric testing on each sample containing 5.0 g/t gold or more. Total gold analyses (Metallic Sieve) were carried out on the samples which presented a great variation of their gold contents or the presence of visible gold.

About Probe Metals:

Probe Metals Inc. is a leading Canadian gold exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration and development of highly prospective gold properties. The Company is well-funded and controls a strategic land package of over 1,000-square-kilometres of exploration ground within some of the most prolific gold belts in Ontario and Quebec: Val d'Or, West Timmins, Casa-Berardi and Detour Quebec. The Company is committed to discovering and developing high-quality gold projects, including its key asset the Val-d'Or East Gold Project. The Company was formed as a result of the sale of Probe Mines Limited to Goldcorp Inc. in 2015. Goldcorp currently owns a 13.8% stake in the Company.
Chilean Defence, Military, Naval and Air Attache Captain Juan Francisco Rojas, sixth from right in front row, poses at a reception organized by the Embassy of Chile to mark the country's Navy Day at the Army Club at the Ministry of National Defense on May 25. / Courtesy of Embassy of Chile





By Rachel Lee

The Embassy of Chile marked the country's Navy Day with a reception on May 25 at the Army Club at the Ministry of National Defense.

Chilean Defence, Military, Naval and Air Attache Captain Juan Francisco Rojas said Chile, between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, is a maritime country because the Pacific Ocean does not represent a boundary or barrier.

"For nearly 200 years, the Chilean Navy has contributed directly to the sustained development of the country, safeguarding a common interest of Chilean people and building strong ties of friendship with the majority of countries that have something special in common," Rojas said.

"Our main hero, Commander Arturo Prat, sacrificed himself for his values on May 21, 1879, during the naval battle of Iquique, leaving an unforgettable example of principles and sacrifice to all Chilean people."

Rojas also mentioned Korean Admiral Yi Sun-sin among world naval heroes, including Peruvian Admiral Miguel Grau and Admiral Horatio Nelson of the British Navy.

"The Chilean Navy, illuminated by the heritage of our main hero Commander Arturo Prat, represents in the world an active part of the challenges that the future offers to all those countries that are, in one way or another, linked to the sea," Rojas said. "Chile, symbolized by its friendly people and rich land, invites you to imitate the examples of your own heroes so that we will build a better world of peace and welfare for our people."
By Rachel Lee

The European Union (EU) is hosting an event in Seoul on Monday to promote sustainability.

The "Eurovillage: A Green Bridge to Europe," which coincides with World Environment Day on June 5, is part of the EU's efforts to combat climate change.

The event will feature performances on Seoullo7017's Rose stage and activities including quizzes, the EU said. It will also provide information about the EU and 28 member states.

For more information, visit eeas.europa.eu/delegations/south-korea.
A calf was born with human-like features in an Uttar Pradesh village but died shortly. People are hailing it as incarnation of Lord Vishnu and want to build a temple to honour the dead calf.

By India Today Web Desk: A deformed calf was born in the village of Pachenda, Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh. The calf was born with human-like head and is being treated as a manifestation of Lord Vishnu.

The deformed calf has a mouth and a pair of eyes and ears which are human-like.

The newborn calf died shortly after coming to this world but was put on display as hundreds of locals from villages around have gathered to pay their respects to the calf which is hailed as an incarnation of Lord Vishnu - Gokaran.

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The calf was kept in a glass display with flowers garlanded around its neck. According to a media report, people have been donating religiously as cows in India are considered sacred and there are even plans to build a temple to honour the dead calf after it is cremated.

Watch: Calf born with human face hailed as avatar of Lord Vishnu

"God has taken birth from the body of a local cow. We came here to seek his blessings. Religiously, it is an avatar of Vishnu. We believe it's a similar character mentioned in Bhagavata Puran, a Hindu religious text," local businessman Mahesh Kathuria told the the media outlet.

However Ajay Deshmukh of Wildlife SOS explained to NaiDunia that the bizarre creature was not a miracle, but rather a victim of birth defects.

"Sometimes in the womb, some organs of the body... are not fully developed, due to which they are born with a strange appearance or face."

"People are linking this deformity with the superstition," Deshmukh said.

FYI || Bihar woman refuses to accept baby born with deformity, says he looks like an alien ||

FYI || Parents called him a witch: Abandoned 2-year-old goes to school and is happy now ||

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The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has released the marks of civil service examination 2017 on its official website, the link for which is upsc.gov.in

By India Today Web Desk: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has released the marks of civil service examination 2017 on its official website, the link for which is upsc.gov.in

How to check the UPSC Civil Service Marks 2017:

Go to the official website

Click on the link, 'Marks of Recommended Candidates: Civil Services (Main) Examination, 2016'

Thereafter, click on to the PDF file

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The marks will be displayed on the screen

The first rank is scored by Nandini K R followed by Anmol Sher Singh Bedi by securing second rank, while the third rank is bagged by Gopalkrishna Ronanki.

Here are top 20 rank holders:

Nandini K R

Anmol Sher Singh Bedi

Gopalakrishna Ronanki

Saumya Pandey

Abhilash Mishra

Kothamasu Dinesh Kumar

Anand Vardhan

Shweta Chauhan

Suman Sourav Mohanty

Bilal Mohi Ud Din Bhat

Gaikwad Vishwanjali Murlidhar

Tejasvi Rana

Athul

Utsav Kaushal

Sidharth

Anuj Malik

Namami Bansal

Manish Gurwani

Sahil Gupta

Rahul Gupta

For any query regarding the results, candidates can visit the official website.

Read: Maharashtra SSC Class 10 Results 2017: Not releasing before June 9

Read: Bihar Board Class 10 Exam 2017: Result likely to be declared by June 15

For information on more upcoming results and notifications, click here.

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by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, June 5, 2017

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether law enforcement authorities must obtain a warrant before obtaining cell phone records that reveal individuals' locations over time.

The criminal case, which stems from a police investigation of a robbery suspect, could have a significant impact on people's privacy rights to a broad swath of digital data, including material stored in the cloud.

The underlying dispute dates to 2011, when federal prosecutors obtained court orders requiring Sprint and MetroPCS to turn over 127 days' worth of cell phone location records for Timothy Carpenter, a suspect in robberies in Michigan and Ohio. The prosecutors sought the orders under the Stored Communications Act -- which doesn't require authorities to show they have probable cause to believe the records will yield evidence of a crime.

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Some of the records showed that Carpenter was at the locations of the robberies. He was convicted of six robberies and sentenced to almost 116 years.

Carpenter argued that the authorities shouldn't have been able to access the location data without first obtaining a warrant -- which would have required them to convince a judge they had probable cause to think the records would connect Carpenter to the robberies.

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals sided against Carpenter, ruling that the authorities didn't need a search warrant on the grounds that he lacked a "reasonable expectation of privacy" in records that were held by third parties -- his wireless carriers.

He then asked the Supreme Court to hear his appeal. "Monitoring an individuals location and movements over an extended period of time by collecting and analyzing cell phone records can and frequently will expose extraordinarily sensitive details of a persons life," he argued in a petition seeking review.

The 6th Circuit's decision drew on a Supreme Court case from 1979, when the court held that the police didn't need a warrant to obtain a list of phone numbers dialed by a suspect. The court ruled in that case that people have no reasonable expectation of privacy in the phone numbers they dial because they have shared that information with their telephone carriers.

That reasoning has been called into question in the digital age. In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that the police violated a suspect's rights by installing a GPS device on his car without a warrant. In that case, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said in a concurring opinion that people might have an expectation of privacy in certain data -- including Web sites visited, books purchased and email addresses in their contact lists -- even when they share such information with outside companies.

Three years ago, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that police need to obtain a warrant before searching a suspect's cell phone.

While the ruling dealt specifically with searches by the police, the decision was later cited by consumers who brought a privacy lawsuit against Google and other companies.

A group of Safari users argued in that case argued that Google and the other companies violated the federal wiretap law by circumventing their browsers' privacy settings in order to track the Web sites they visited for ad-targeting purposes. The consumers contended that Google and the other companies illegally intercepted the "content" of their communications -- meaning the specific URLs. The Safari users argued that specific URLs should be considered "content" under the rationale of the Supreme Court's decision to require warrants for cell phone searches.

Google ultimately agreed to pay $5.5 million in order settle the litigation.
by Tanya Gazdik , June 6, 2017



Toyota returns as the most valuable car brand in an industry facing tighter margins, according to the 2017 BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands ranking, released today by WPP and Kantar Millward Brown.

The company saw a -3% fall in brand value to $28.7 billion, with increased sales offset by tough currency challenges as well as increased investment and rising labor costs. BMW ($24.6 billion) and Mercedes-Benz ($23.5 billion) complete the top three, with Ford moving up one place to number four with a brand value of $13.1 billion.

Tesla rises 32% to be the worlds fastest-growing car brand with a brand value of $5.9 billion, in the 12th annual report. The sharp increase reflects the success of the cars positioning as an innovative but stylish luxury brand offering the performance of a high octane, carbon-burning engine without the guilt.

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While there aren't huge changes in this years Top 10 Car brands, Teslas 32% growth  moving them to number eight  was notable, says Sana Carlton, SVP, Kantar Millward Brown.

"While we didnt see huge changes in Teslas growth reflects its success in positioning as a stylish luxury brand that offers performance without guilt, Carlton tells Marketing Daily. Car brands are clearly challenged with balancing the needs of todays market while investing in the possibilities for the future. They arent immune from the worlds shifting forces -- from technology in transportation and distribution to the emergence of a sharing culture."

In addition to needing to balance priorities for todays and the future consumer, the BrandZ study takeaways for auto marketers include the need to express a point of view.

Most brands say they are in mobility, connectivity, and autonomy, Carlton says. But me-too  even futuristic me-to  wont work. Have a point of view thats just not part of the future, but one that will shape it.

Automakers also need to be more agile as partners.

As technology companies enter the car business, partnering can be awkward, she says. Carmakers need to become as agile as tech companies in the way they are structured, think, and behave.

Mercedes-Benz, up 4%, was the best performer among the top seven places, while there was more significant movement at the lower end of the top 10.

In addition to Teslas success, Land Rover (number 9) and Porsche (number 10) also grew strongly, growing +17% and +16% to $5.5 billion and $5.1 billion, respectively. The former has taken advantage of growing demand for SUVs while the latter has built its popularity in key Asia markets such as Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines.

Brands that make it clear how they will make consumers lives better, such as Huawei and Toyota, have grown three times more on average over the last 12 years (the top third grew +170% compared to the bottom third which was +57%).
by Joe Mandese @mp_joemandese, June 6, 2017

To reach one of the most targeted audiences imaginable -- sophisticated computer coders -- data analytics startup Uptake is using one of the most ubiquitous media possible: out-of-home.

In a four-week outdoor media campaign that broke May 22 on the streets of Chicago, passersby will be invited to participate in the Uptake Challenge  but only if they can figure out how to read the posters placed in 150 strategically located bus shelters around the Windy City.

To do that, they will need to know how to read high-level computer code.

Its a recruiting campaign, explains Megan Parker, head of communications at Uptake, a fast-growing, 3-year-old startup that needs to fill 40 senior-level technical positions.

The company, which specializes in managing industrial-grade field data -- the kind generated by sensors on industrial equipment, such as a locomotive engines, energy systems or farm equipment -- has seen demand outpace its staffing. It is running its first-ever recruitment campaign and is using the unique creative approach to out-of-home media to find some highly specialized talent.

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Parker says Uptake doesnt know how many pedestrians will be exposed to the campaign, which was created in-house and executed via JCDecauxs outdoor media team. More than 11,000 people were able to decode the posters and accessed the Internet domain where they could actually enter the Uptake Challenge.

Former Publicis Media chief Laura Desmond has also joined the company as a senior advisor; she played a key role in developing the campaign.

So far, Parker said more than 300 people have actually begun participating in the challenge. The winners will be invited to apply for the Uptake job openings.

The ad is self-selecting in terms of who it targets, because only people with the ability to read it can actually apply, she says. It automatically weeds out the folks that arent going to be a good fit.
by Sara Guaglione , June 6, 2017

Hearst has acquired 21st Century Media Newspaper, a subsidiary of Digital First Media, and its three daily newspapers, eight weekly newspapers and

The three dailies in the deal are more than 100 years old: The New Haven Register was founded in 1812, The Middletown Press in 1878 and The Register Citizen in 1889. The new properties have a combined weekly circulation of more than 470,000 households and a monthly digital reach of 1.4 million unique visitors.

Hearst Newspapers president Mark Aldam stated: This investment strengthens Hearst Newspapers commitment to local communities in Connecticut.

Now, Hearst owns 22 dailies and 64 weeklies across the U.S, with eight dailies and 11 weeklies in Connecticut, including the Connecticut Post, based in Bridgeport; The Hour in Norwalk; The Advocate, based in Stamford; Greenwich Time; and The News-Times in Danbury.

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Its Connecticut-based weeklies include Darien News, New Canaan News, Westport News, Fairfield Citizen, Wilton Villager and Greater New Milford Spectrum.

Hearsts new titles will become part of Hearst Newspapers Connecticut Media Group.

Paul Barbetta, group publisher and president of the Hearst Connecticut Media Group, will oversee the business and news operations for the acquired properties.

By connecting our current Connecticut media assets across Fairfield County with the New Haven Register group, we expect to advance enterprise journalism across southern Connecticut, Aldam added.

Hearst has recently acquired a number of newspapers, including the Pioneer Group in Michigan in January and two dozen community newspapers in Houston last year.

Separately , Hearst and Scripps Networks Interactive debuted today the pilot issue of The Pioneer Woman Magazine with Food Network star and blogger Ree Drummond. The magazine will sell for $3.99 an issue and is available at Walmart stores across the country.
by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, June 6, 2017

The trade group NetChoice is joining advertisers in criticizing an online privacy bill introduced late last month by U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn.

The BROWSER Act would require broadband providers as well as "edge" providers -- meaning Google, Facebook and other Web companies -- to obtain people's opt-in consent before using any of their online browsing data for ad targeting.

"On its face, the BROWSER Act seems like pro-consumer privacy legislation. But its actually an awful deal for Americans whove come to depend on free online content and services," NetChoice's senior counsel Carl Szabo writes in an op-ed in The Hill. NetChoice's members include Google, AOL, Yahoo and Facebook.

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Szabo adds that the measure "would erase $340 billion in advertising revenue from American websites over the next five years."

That figure appears premised on the idea that consumers won't affirmatively agree to be tracked for ad-targeting purposes.

Last week, the Association of National Advertisers also weighed in against the proposed bill.

Earlier this year, Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee, successfully introduced a bill to scrap the Federal Communications Commission's online privacy rules. Those regulations also would have required broadband providers to obtain consumers' opt-in permission before drawing on their Web-browsing activity. The FCC's rules, unlike Blackburn's proposed restrictions, only applied to Internet service providers and not search engines, social networking services or other edge providers.

Blackburn has said her proposed bill will create "a level and fair privacy playing field by bringing all entities that collect and sell the personal data of individuals under the same rules."

Her bill also tasks the Federal Trade Commission with enforcement. Some privacy advocates have expressed skepticism over Blackburn's measure, arguing that it could prevent individual states from passing stronger laws.

The watchdog Public Knowledge, which supported the FCC's now-scrapped rules, has said it is evaluating the bill.
A Philadelphia mom decided to throw the best prom party for her son, after all, what's a prom without Lamborghinis, Rolls Royces and camels?

By AP: One Philadelphia teenager's mom took his prom to the extreme, spending $25,000 on a camel, three tons of sand and exotic cars. He brought three dates, all in custom-made gowns, and wore three different outfits himself.

Saudia Shuler says she had thought of sending her only son, Johnny Eden Jr., to Dubai for a visit. Instead, she decided to bring Dubai to Philadelphia for the formal dance.

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She brought the sand and the camel into their neighborhood for photos. Luxury cars , including a Rolls Royce and a Lamborghini, were on loan for the evening.

Shuler says it was all worth it. She says she fought cancer and suffered from a stroke in the past few years. She told herself if she was going to make it, she would put on a big prom for her son.

North Philly Mother Spends $25K on Sons Dubai Inspired Prom Send Off (Video) https://t.co/USQxBsupBo pic.twitter.com/WoGQCkeg8D- BlackSportsOnline (@BSO) June 5, 2017

Dubai in North Philly...I love black people yo. We are never to be outdone. pic.twitter.com/U9IJbbqvhp- Aunt Eb (@EboniZ) June 3, 2017

Prom was really a movie. My vision is Dubai came to Norrh Philly. ???????????????????????? S/O @pc.prince for JJ's custom #SnapchatFilter A post shared by Saudia Shuler??-???? (@countrycookin1) on Jun 2, 2017 at 8:46pm PDT

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The Bank of Nova Scotia provides various banking products and services in Canada, the United States, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Colombia, the Caribbean and Central America, and internationally. It operates in four segments: Canadian Banking, International Banking, Global Wealth Management, and Global Banking and Markets. The company offers financial advice and solutions, and day-to-day banking products, including debit and credit cards, chequing and saving accounts, investments, mortgages, loans, and insurance to individuals; and business banking solutions comprising lending, deposit, cash management, and trade finance solutions to small, medium, and large businesses, including automotive financing solutions to dealers and their customers. It also provides wealth management advice and solutions, including online brokerage, mobile investment, full-service brokerage, trust, private banking, and private investment counsel services; and retail mutual funds, exchange traded funds, liquid alternative funds, and institutional funds. In addition, the company offers international banking services for retail, corporate, and commercial customers; and lending and transaction, investment banking advisory, and capital markets access services to corporate customers. Further, it provides online, mobile, and telephone banking services. The company operates a network of 954 branches and approximately 3,766 automated banking machines in Canada; and approximately 1,300 branches and a network of contact and support center internationally. The Bank of Nova Scotia was founded in 1832 and is headquartered in Halifax, Canada.
GSK plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the creation, discovery, development, manufacture, and marketing of pharmaceutical products, vaccines, over-the-counter medicines, and health-related consumer products in the United Kingdom, the United States, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Pharmaceuticals, Pharmaceuticals R&D, Vaccines, and Consumer Healthcare. The company offers pharmaceutical products comprising medicines in the therapeutic areas, such as respiratory, HIV, immuno-inflammation, oncology, anti-viral, central nervous system, cardiovascular and urogenital, metabolic, anti-bacterial, and dermatology. It also provides consumer healthcare products in wellness, oral health, nutrition, and skin health categories. The company offers its consumer healthcare products in the form of nasal sprays, tablets, syrups, lozenges, gum and trans-dermal patches, caplets, infant syrup drops, liquid filled suspension, wipes, gels, effervescents, toothpastes, toothbrushes, mouthwashes, denture adhesives and cleansers, topical creams and non-medicated patches, lip balm, gummies, and soft chews. It has collaboration agreements with 23andMe; Lyell Immunopharma, Inc.; Novartis; Sanofi SA; Surface Oncology; Progentec Diagnostics, Inc.; Alector, Inc.; and CureVac AG., as well as strategic partnership with IDEAYA Biosciences, Inc. and Vir Biotechnology, Inc. The company was formerly known as GlaxoSmithKline plc and changed its name to GSK plc in May 2022. GSK plc was founded in 1715 and is headquartered in Brentford, the United Kingdom.
The following companies are subsidiares of Sysco: 2234829 Alberta ULC, 2234842 Alberta ULC, A. M. Briggs Inc., A.M. Briggs, Almacen Fiscal Frionet Caldera S.A., Almacen Fiscal Frionet Limon S.A., Appert's Foodservice, Arnotts (Fruit) Limited, Asian Foods, Bahamas Food Holdings Limited, Bahamas Food Services Limited, Brake Bros, Brake Bros Foodservice Ireland Limited, Brake Bros. Foodservice Limited, Brake Bros. Holding I Limited, Brake Bros. Ltd., Brakes Foodservice NI Limited, Buchy Food Service, Buckhead Beef Co., Buckhead Meat & Seafood of Houston Inc., Buckhead Meat Company, Buckhead Meat Midwest Inc., Buckhead Meat of Dallas Inc., Buckhead Meat of Denver Inc., Buckhead Meat of San Antonio LP, Buzztable Inc., CAKE Corporation, Central Seafood Co., Christys Wine & Spirits Limited, Clafra Aktiebolag, Colorado Boxed Beef Co - Specialty meat-cutting division, Corporacion Frionet Sociedad Anonima, Crossgar Foodservice, Crossgar Foodservice Limited, Crown I Enterprises Inc., Cucina Acquisitions (UK) Limited, Cucina Finance (UK) Limited, Cucina French Holdings Limited, Cucina Fresh Finance Limited, Cucina Fresh Investments Limited, Cucina Lux Investments Limited, Curleys Quality Foods Limited (Third Party), Davigel Belgilux S.A., Davigel Espana S.A., Desert Meats & Provisions, Distagro, Doerle Food Service, Doughtie's Foods Inc., Dust Bowl City LLC, Eko Fagel Fisk o mittemellan AB, Enclave Insurance Company, Enclave Parkway Association Inc., Enclave Properties LLC, European Imports, European Imports Inc., Figg Inc., Freedman Meats, Freedman Meats Inc., Freedman-KB Inc., Fresh Direct (UK) Limited, Fresh Direct Group Limited, Fresh Direct Limited, Fresh Holdings Limited, FreshPoint, FreshPoint Arizona Inc., FreshPoint Atlanta Inc., FreshPoint California Inc., FreshPoint Central California Inc., FreshPoint Central Florida Inc., FreshPoint Connecticut LLC, FreshPoint Dallas Inc., FreshPoint Denver Inc., FreshPoint Hawaii LLC, FreshPoint Inc., FreshPoint Las Vegas Inc., FreshPoint North Carolina Inc., FreshPoint North Florida Inc., FreshPoint Oklahoma City LLC, FreshPoint Pompano Real Estate LLC, FreshPoint Puerto Rico LLC, FreshPoint San Francisco Inc., FreshPoint South Florida Inc., FreshPoint South Texas Inc., FreshPoint Southern California Inc., FreshPoint Tomato LLC, FreshPoint Vancouver Ltd., Freshfayre Limited, Fruktservice i Helsingborg AB, GHS Classic Drinks Limited, Gilchrist & Soames Inc., Gilchrist & Soames UK Limited, Guest Packaging LLC, Guest Supply, Guest Supply Asia Limited, Guest Supply Singapore Pte. Ltd., International Food Group, Isakssons Frukt & Gront AB, J & M Wholesale Meats, J. Kings Food Service Professionals, J. Kings Food Service Professionals Inc., Kent Frozen Foods, Les Ateliers Du Gout, Liquid Assets Limited, M&J Seafood Holdings Limited, M&J Seafood Limited, Manchester Mills LLC, Mayca Autoservicio S.A., Mayca Distribuidores S.A., Menigo Foodservice AB, Mitshim Etatu Supply LP, Newport Meat Company, Newport Meat Northern California Inc., Newport Meat Pacific Northwest Inc., Newport Meat Southern California Inc., Newport Meat of Nevada Inc., North Star Holding Corporation, North Star Seafood, North Star Seafood Acquisition Corporation, North Star Seafood LLC, PFS de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Palisades Ranch Inc., Pallas Foods, Pallas Foods Farm Fresh Unlimited Company, Pallas Foods Unlimited Company, Pauleys Produce Limited, Promotora del Servicios S.A. de C.V., Restaurangakdemien AB, Restaurant of Tomorrow Inc., Rohan Viandes Elaboration SAS, SMS Bermuda Holdings, SMS GPC International Limited, SMS GPC International Resources Limited, SMS Global Holdings S.a.r.l., SMS International Resources Ireland Unlimited Company, SMS Lux Holdings LLC, SOTF LLC, SYY Netherlands C.V., SYY Panama S. de R.L., Serca Foodservice, Servicestyckarna I Johannes AB, Servicios Ameriserve S.A. de C.V., Shenzhen Guest Supply Trading Co. Limited, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) Bianchi Montegut, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) De Boiseau, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) De Garcelles, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) J.D. Lanjouan, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) Le Dauphin, Specialty Meat Holdings LLC, Stockflag Limited, Stockholms Fiskauktion AB, Supplies on the Fly, Sysco Albany LLC, Sysco Asian Foods Inc., Sysco Atlanta LLC, Sysco Autoservicio S.A., Sysco Baltimore LLC, Sysco Baraboo LLC, Sysco Bermuda Partners L.P., Sysco Boston LLC, Sysco Canada Holdings S.a.r.l., Sysco Canada Inc., Sysco Central Alabama LLC, Sysco Central California Inc., Sysco Central Florida Inc., Sysco Central Illinois Inc., Sysco Central Pennsylvania LLC, Sysco Charlotte LLC, Sysco Chicago Inc., Sysco Cincinnati LLC, Sysco Cleveland Inc., Sysco Columbia LLC, Sysco Connecticut LLC, Sysco Corporation, Sysco Corporation Director's Deferred Compensation Plan Trust, Sysco Corporation Employee's 401(k) Plan Trust, Sysco Corporation Executive Deferred Compensation Plan Trust, Sysco Corporation Good Government Committee Inc., Sysco Corporation Retirement Trust, Sysco Corporation Supplemental Executive Retirement Trust, Sysco Corporation Supplemental Unemployment Benefits Plan Trust, Sysco Detroit LLC, Sysco Disaster Relief Foundation Inc., Sysco EI VI S. s.r.l., Sysco EU II S.a.r.l., Sysco EU III S.a.r.l., Sysco EU IV Capital Unlimited Company, Sysco EU IV S. s.r.l.., Sysco EU V S. s.r.l., Sysco Eastern Maryland LLC, Sysco Eastern Wisconsin LLC, Sysco Foundation Inc., Sysco France Holding SAS, Sysco France SAS, Sysco George Town II LLC, Sysco George Town Limited S. s.r.l.., Sysco Global Finance LLC, Sysco Global Finance LLP, Sysco Global Holdings B.V., Sysco Global Resources LLC, Sysco Global Services LLC, Sysco Grand Cayman Company, Sysco Grand Cayman II Company, Sysco Grand Cayman III Company, Sysco Grand Rapids LLC, Sysco Guernsey Limited, Sysco Guest Supply Canada Inc., Sysco Guest Supply Europe Goods Wholesalers LLC, Sysco Guest Supply Europe Limited, Sysco Guest Supply LLC, Sysco Gulf Coast LLC, Sysco Hampton Roads Inc., Sysco Hawaii Inc., Sysco Holdings II LLC, Sysco Holdings LLC, Sysco Indianapolis LLC, Sysco International Food Group Inc., Sysco International Inc., Sysco Iowa Inc., Sysco Jackson LLC, Sysco Jacksonville Inc., Sysco Kansas City Inc., Sysco Knoxville LLC, Sysco Labs Europe Limited, Sysco Labs Pvt. Ltd., Sysco Leasing LLC, Sysco Lincoln Inc., Sysco Lincoln Transportation Company Inc., Sysco Long Island LLC, Sysco Los Angeles Inc., Sysco Louisville Inc., Sysco Memphis LLC, Sysco Merchandising and Supply Chain Services Canada Inc., Sysco Merchandising and Supply Chain Services Inc., Sysco Metro New York LLC, Sysco Minnesota Inc., Sysco Montana Inc., Sysco Nashville LLC, Sysco Netherlands Partners LLC, Sysco North Central Florida Inc., Sysco North Dakota Inc., Sysco Northern New England Inc., Sysco Philadelphia LLC, Sysco Pittsburgh LLC, Sysco Portland Inc., Sysco Raleigh LLC, Sysco Resources Services LLC, Sysco Riverside Inc., Sysco Sacramento Inc., Sysco San Diego Inc., Sysco San Francisco Inc., Sysco Seattle Inc., Sysco South Florida Inc., Sysco Southeast Florida LLC, Sysco Spain Holdings SLU, Sysco Spokane Inc., Sysco St. Louis LLC, Sysco Syracuse LLC, Sysco Technologies Cayman Ltd., Sysco Technologies LLC, Sysco UK Holdings Limited, Sysco UK Limited, Sysco UK Partners LLP, Sysco USA I Inc., Sysco USA II LLC, Sysco USA III LLC, Sysco Ventura Inc., Sysco Ventures Inc., Sysco Virginia LLC, Sysco West Coast Florida Inc., Sysco Western Minnesota Inc., The SYGMA Network Inc., Upsys, Victua SAS, Walker Foods Inc., Waugh Foods, and Wild Harvest Limited.

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By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Jun 6 (PTI) Drug firm Vivimed Labs today said US health regulator has recently inspected its manufacturing plant in Spain without making any observations.

"The companys active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacturing facility in Sant Celoni, Spain was recently inspected by the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA)", Vivimed Labs said in a BSE filing.

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At the end of the successful inspection, zero 483 observations were issued, it added.

As per the USFDA, an FDA Form 483 is issued to firm management at the conclusion of an inspection when investigator(s) have observed any conditions that in their judgement may constitute violations of the Food Drug and Cosmetic (FD&C) Act and related Acts.

Shares of Vivimed Labs today closed 2.42 per cent lower at Rs 105.05 per scrip on BSE. PTI AKT SBT

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Battle Proms, the UKs premier picnic concert series, celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, and MHM has three pairs of tickets to give away!

Since their first concert in 1997, the Battle Proms have been treating their audiences to a heady mix of sublime classical music, carefully choreographed Spitfire and and cavalry displays, dramatic cannon fire, and stunning firework finales.

As the series enters its 20th anniversary, five of the UKs most celebrated stately homes will play host to the ever popular open-air concert series: Battle Proms 2017. The opening night of Battle Proms returns to Burghley House, Lincolnshire on Saturday 8 July. On Saturday 15 July, the action moves to Queen Elizabeth Oak Field of Hatfield House, Hertfordshire. Next stop is the World Heritage Site Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, on Saturday 22 July. The penultimate concert is at a venue recognisable to many as the real Downton Abbey: Highclere Castle, Hampshire, on Saturday 5 August. Finally, the Battle Proms heads to Ragley Hall, Warwickshire, on Saturday 12 August. Battle Proms takes much of its inspiration from the Napoleonic Wars, and is the only place in the world where you can see Beethovens Battle Symphony performed as he intended. Celebrating a key victory during the Peninsular War, the Battle Symphony was composed to include 193 live-firing cannons. The Battle Proms team brings over 200 cannons to each of their concerts, for use in the symphony. It is this authentic, groundshaking percussion that makes the Battle Proms signature piece a truly remarkable experience.

Competition closed
Emmanuel Owusu-Bonsu, popularly referred to Wanlov the Kubolor has backed musician Medikal as the right man for his sister, Deborah Vanessa, arguing that the duo are very much in love with each other.

Deborah Vanessa who also happens to be a musician/model confirmed in July 2016 that she was indeed dating Medikal despite the ten (10) years age gap between them.

Medikal and I have been dating for two weeks, and it is really a serious one. The truth is, if he should pop the will you marry me question, I will not hesitate to say yes, she revealed.

Speaking on the award-winning Celebrity Fanzone last Saturday on GH One, Wanlov the Kubolor expressed his excitement over his sisters relationship with Medikal, joking that he is also in love with Medikal.

Deborah is very young at heart at the same time focused and driven the same with Medikal, focused and very talented, they are in love with each other. I myself am in love with medical, so if any problem comes and Deborah doesnt want Medikal, and Medikal doesnt want Deborah, I am going for Medikal, Kubolor disclosed.

It is however unclear whether Medikal will be willing to settle with the Uncle Obama hit maker especially in a Ghanaian culture that does not entirely support a woman being much older than the man in a union.

But Kubolor had a differing opinion, maintaining that we shouldnt allow numbers to control us.

I have seen them a lot together and you cant tell that they have years between them. We let these numbers control us.

Kubolor also revealed that he will be releasing his next album in August ahead of his music tour in Germany.
Broadcaster and host of the morning show on Madina-based Oman FM and NET2 Television, Fiifi Boafo has quit the media.

According to Myjoyonline.com sources the Broadcaster has taken up a new post as Special Assistant to the Chief Executive of Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod).

For some days now, the voice of regular host of the  National Agenda  morning show has been replaced by that of Yaw Amofa who used to deputise for Fiifi whenever he was not available.

Information picked up by Myjoyonline.com indicates that Fiifi Boafo started reporting for work last week, ending a 15-year broadcasting career which began in the Western Region, through Brong Ahafo Region and finally Accra.

Fiifi Boafo

Fiifi entered media practise at Dynamite FM at Tarkwa. He had gone on air as a guest but was later invited to host the show.

It was funny, but I took my chances and that was it, he said in a 2014 interview with NewsOne.

From there he moved to Space FM where he attracted scouts from Ghanas media giants, The Multimedia Group, which made him an offer to host Adom FMs Dwaso NsEm morning show.

He later left to join Kencity Media where he worked as host of the morning show on Oman FM and Net 2 TV.

Story by Ghana|myjoyonline.com
Guwahati: Senior robotic oncology surgeon from Manipal Hospitals Bangalore, Dr Ashwin Rajagopal attended the Evening with a Doctor program at Guwahati Press Club (GPC) on 27 May and offered free consultations to over 40 media persons.

The participants also got their blood pressure checked by the hospitals northeast representative Rahul Sarma.

The last Saturday media clinic at the press club was conducted by ENT specialists from Down Town Hospitals namely Dr Dhrubajyoti Datta and Dr Roshan Bonde, where they offered free consultations to over 30 participants.

The participants also got their blood pressure checked by health workers in the camp. The 3 June evening camp is scheduled for physician & health workers from the city based GNRC Hospitals.

The unique healthcare initiative was launched by eastern Indias pioneer pressmens organization (GPC) last year for the benefit of its member-journalists along with their dependents.

Assams Dispur Hospitals initially supported the endeavour with raising a doctors chamber at the club premises.

The city based hospital under the leaderships of Dr Jayanta Bardoloi also conducted the first episode of evening OPD clinics.

Practicing doctors from Apollo Chennai Hospital, Medanta-the Medicity Hospital, Narayana Super-Specialty Hospitals, Swagat Super-Surgical Institute, Sankaradeva Nethralaya Guwahati, Wintrobe Hospital, Barthakur Clinic, Nemcare Hospital, Rahman Hospitals, Sun Valley Hospital, Sight First Eye-Clinic, Government Ayurvedic College, MMC Panbazar, Institute of Dental Science & Research Center etc have attended the camps till date.
A 31-year-old lotto agent has been shot dead at New York in Zenu in the Kpone-Katamanso District of the Greater Accra Region.

The deceased, Lawer Asigbe, was reportedly shot in the stomach in his office by suspected armed robbers, who made away with an unspecified amount of money and personnel effects.

He was pronounced dead on arrival by medics at the Tema General Hospital.

His corpse has been deposited at the morgue of the aforementioned health.

It would be later transferred to the Police Hospital morgue in Accra for autopsy.

An eyewitness narrated to DAILY GUIDE that the incident occurred at about 8:00pm last Tuesday, May 27, 2016 when the deceased conveyed some monies to the office to meet some of his colleagues.

The armed robbers broke into the office after shooting the locker to get into the office. They pointed guns on us and asked us to surrender our monies and properties, he stated.

According to him, the armed robbers took monies and mobile phones before shooting the deceased, who later died at the hospital.

Police in Ashaiman have confirmed the incident, saying that investigations have been launched into the incident.

The police are therefore appealing to the general public to provide information that would lead to the arrest of the perpetrators of the criminal act.

From Vincent Kubi, New York


05.06.2017 LISTEN

Accra, June 5, GNA - Citi FM in partnership with the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) is organising a day's forum dubbed Citi Business Festival on the state of Ghana's readiness to attract the needed investment for economic transformation.

The investment opportunity forum, which aims at addressing challenges facing investors in Ghana, would be held on Tuesday, June 6 at the Alisa Hotel in Accra.

Key issues to be discussed at the forum would include how the GIPC can change the investment rules to enhance Ghana's investment attractiveness and which sectors the country must focus on in its new investment drive.

It would also look at the link between Ghana's Macroeconomic Outlook and the potential to boost investment in the country as well as ensuring the right mix between attracting foreign investment and boosting domestic investment.

The forum will take the form of a moderated Davos-style panel discussion made up of key actors from both public and private sector.

Citi FM would assemble a pane made up of Mr Yofi Grant, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the GIPC, Mr Henri Wientjes, the CEO of African Tiger Holdings Limited, and Nana Osei-Bonsu, CEO of the Private Enterprise Federation to discuss the topics and prescribe solutions.

The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) has set a target of achieving five billion dollars Foreign Direct Investment by the end of this year though it failed to achieve its target of two billion dollars last year.

Mr Yofi Grant had indicated that the centre would soon publish details of its review for the criteria and requirements from foreigners who wish to invest in Ghana.

GNA
Qatari planes are to be banned from Egyptian and Saudi air space, as a growing diplomatic row in the Gulf threatens large-scale air disruption.

Several countries have cut ties with the tiny Gulf state over accusations of supporting extremism in the region.

Air, land and sea links have been halted to the country from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain.

Qatar denies backing militants, including so-called Islamic State (IS), and said the move was "unjustified".

The unprecedented move is seen as a major split between powerful Gulf countries, who are also close US allies. It comes amid heightened tensions between Gulf countries and their near-neighbour, Iran.

Who has done what?

Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE co-ordinated together to set the diplomatic withdrawal into motion, closing all transport ties to Qatar, a tiny gas-rich peninsula.

They have given all Qatari visitors and residents two weeks to leave their territory. The three countries have also banned their citizens from travelling to Qatar.

The UAE and Egypt have given Qatari diplomats 48 hours to leave both countries.

Saudi Arabia took it one step further by closing down a local office of Qatar's influential Al Jazeera TV channel.

However, the country says it will still allow Qataris to take part in the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.

Egypt, Yemen, Libya's eastern-based government and the Maldives later followed suit in severing diplomatic ties.

What about air disruption?

Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authorities have banned Qatari planes from landing or stopping at its airports, as well as crossing Saudi airspace.

Egypt has also closed off its airspace to flights originating from Qatar, and said all flights between the two countries would be halted from 04:00 GMT on Tuesday and "continue until further notice".

Airlines from many of the affected countries, including Bahrain's Gulf Air, Etihad Airways and Emirates, say they plan to cancel flights to and from the Qatari capital Doha starting from Tuesday morning.

Budget carriers, such as Fly Dubai and Air Arabia, have also cancelled routes to Doha.

The national airline, Qatar Airways, meanwhile has suspended its flights to Saudi Arabia.

The BBC's Simon Atkinson says the suspension of flights may cause a major problem for the airline, forcing it to alter flight paths and inevitably add time to some flights.

There are reports of residents stockpiling food and water, as Qatar is heavily dependent on Saudi Arabia for its food imports.

About 40% of Qatar's food is believed to come by lorry from its Gulf neighbour.

An official with Iran's Union of Exporters of Agricultural Products was quoted by Fars news agency as saying Tehran could export food to Qatar by sea within 12 hours.

Why has this happened?

While the severing of ties was sudden, it has not come out of the blue, as tensions have been building for years, and particularly in recent weeks.

Two weeks ago, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE blocked Qatari news sites, including Al Jazeera. Comments purportedly by Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani criticising Saudi Arabia had appeared on Qatari state media.
A lecturer at the Political Science Department of the University of Ghana, Legon, says the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) risks losing its core values without respect for the founder of the party, former President Jerry John Rawlings.

Professor Ransford Gyampo says despite the public criticism of the NDC by Mr Rawlings, the party must give him the necessary respect.

NDC must respect Rawlings whiles Rawlings must also respect the party he founded, Prof. Gyampo, who is also a Fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) said on Monday on Adom FMs Burning Issues programme with Afia Pokua.

Prof Gyampos advice follows comments by the former President that Ghanaians booted the NDC out of office because of sickening greed, selfishness, and corruption.

Former President Rawlings described the current situation within the NDC as a "betrayal of the values of June 4", which are probity, transparency, and accountability.

Mr Rawlings made the remark when he addressed some NDC supporters in Wa in the Upper West Region on Sunday to mark the 38th-anniversary of June 4 revolution.

Rawlings said the National Democratic Congress (NDC) needs a complete overhaul.

The Central Region Chairman of the NDC, Allotey Jacobs, has since described Mr Rawlings comments as an attempt to control the party.

However, Prof. Gyampo has urged both the NDC and the former President to work towards restructuring the party following the 2016 elections defeat.

He said Mr Rawlings must also play his role as a founder by addressing issues of concern in-camera.
YaoundA (AFP) - Around 30 Cameroonian soldiers fighting the Nigerian jihadist group Boko Haram were arrested after a demonstration to demand the payment of bonuses and some leave, the defence ministry said Monday.

The soldiers on Sunday "set about stopping traffic with barricades on national route number one," the ministry said in a statement broadcast on state radio.

The men were demanding that they be immediately relieved from duty, as well as "the payment of bonuses for 'international soldiers' in line with those granted to their comrades from UN peace keeping missions," the statement said.

The soldiers were transferred from the Zigue area in the far north to capital Yaounde where they were placed under arrest and a judicial investigation was opened, the ministry said.

Traffic along the northern route was restored.

Cameroonian soldiers engaged in the fight against Boko Haram often complain about their conditions, but this is the first time a group have demonstrated for leave or greater pay.

Though Boko Haram was born in Nigeria, the Islamic State-affiliated group has carried out frequent attacks in Cameroon, Chad and Niger, prompting the formation of a 10,000-strong regional force to fight back.

Some 200,000 Cameroonians from the far north region near Nigeria have left their villages in fear of the violence.
By Press Trust of India: Ananya Sengupta

New Delhi, Jun 4 (PTI) At a time when questions are being raised by Hindu right wing groups on the contribution of Mughal rulers to India, experts from Uzbekistan, Baburs birthplace, are here to study about him and the era to trace the historical links between the two countries.

A team of researchers from the Central Asian country visited the National Museum which has a vast repository of information on Mughal rulers, including rare manuscripts about Babur, who founded the Mughal empire that reigned for over three centuries.

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The experts are working on the project Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the Art Collections of the World where teams are gathering Uzbeki historical material from across the world.

"The team had come in April and their aim is to document material related to the Mughal era, primarily.

"Babar was born in Andijan, (a city of Farghana province of Uzbekistan) and we have a lot of material on him and the Mughal dynasty in India. Another team will visit the museum too and we are happy to help them out," said Dr BR Mani, Director General, National Museum which is under the ministry of culture.

Babur, in fact, never visited Uzbekistan after he came to India and spent his life in his adopted country. At the museum, the Uzbek experts are particularly interested in manuscripts of the Holy Quran, scribed in Uzbekistan, which were presented to the Mughal emperors, as is evident from the royal seals on the cover page.

Also of interest are 15 illustrated folios of the Baburnama, which is Baburs biography, in Turkish.

"India is one of the friendliest countries for us. It was a real pleasure to visit. It is especially gratifying to realise that the culture of such a great country is connected with ours.

"So far, work with India has just begun. We are planning to publish 1-2 albums in India depending on the results of the work," said Professor Andrey Zybkin, the Uzbeki project coordinator, in an email reply to PTI.

Uzbekistan takes pride in Baburs contribution and has declared February 14 as Babur Day.

However, while there is a wealth of knowledge that Uzbekis are looking to gather from India, a section in India feels that Mughal rulers were "invaders" and historians did not project their true picture.

"Babar had looted the country. The Mughals were nothing but invaders. They remained outsiders till the end of their rule. In fact, the Ram temple in Ayodhya was demolished by them," alleged Mohan Yadav, co-convener of BJPs art and culture cell.

In 2015, Delhis central Aurangzeb Road was renamed after A P J Adbul Kalam, the former Indian president. BJP leaders have also backed a proposal to rename Akbar Road, named after a 16th century Mughal king, after Maharana Pratap, a Hindu ruler who fought the Mughals.

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This year, another change was recommended - to rename Babur Road in the capital after Lt Ummer Fayaz, the officer who was killed by militants in his home state of Jammu and Kashmir on May 9.

In February this year, the BJP-led government in Rajasthan backed a proposal to rewrite history taught at the university level to say that Rajput warrior-king Maharana Pratap won the Battle of Haldighati against the Mughal army of Akbar led by his general Man Singh, despite historical evidence suggesting otherwise.

Historian Audrey Truschke, who was on the receiving end of a social media backlash ever since her book Aurangzeb: The Man and The Myth was published earlier this year, says that modern attacks on the Mughals have little to do with Indias past and everything to do with Indias present.

"In the current political environment, it serves many anti-Muslim, Hindutva interests to label the Mughals as "invaders" and portray them as destroyers of Indian culture, which is invariably reduced to a narrow band of Hindu culture in this worldview.

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"Such views also obscure Indian history. In reality, India was shaped by the Mughals in cultural, linguistic, political, and economic terms. Even the self-identity of many Hindus today is informed by Mughal ideas," said Truschke.

The Hindu right wing cannot change the past, and its reach outside of Indias borders is limited, she argued.

"As a result, one possible impact of eroding historical knowledge within India may be to cede Indian history to those who work outside of its borders. It is a sad state of affairs," she added. PTI ASG RT

--- ENDS ---
The brutality meted out to Madam Yednboka Keena has come to the notice of Modern Women of Wisdom International.

The 67 year old woman was accused of witchcraft and stoned to death by self styled spiritual CIDs at Tindongo in the upper East region on the same day Captain Mahama was lynched.

Although there is no consensus about what is it that she had done, she was assaulted, kicked in the groin and stoned to death without any trial although the deceased kept saying she was innocent of the allegation.

Every now and then, we wake up to hear lynching stories in some part of our great, freedom-loving country, where all men are created free and equal.

As a humanitarian Association that supports women in crisis, we found the evil act perpetuated against the old woman unpleasant and disgusting.

When it comes to issues of women in crisis, this particular case sits within not just a criminal law structure or social justice structure but within violence against women which is a completely human rights issue as well.

We therefore urge the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) to step up its education of human rights to curb mob attacks in our beloved country.

Again, we urge the Government to mount CCTV cameras in every district so the police could monitor the activities of citizens and act rapidly without been called to crime scenes.

We humbly call on the Ghana Police service to immediately arrest all those behind the stoning of Madam Yednboka Keena to serve as a deterrent to others.

Long Live Ghana,

Long Live Women,

Long Live MWOW.

SPOKESPERSONS

Ama Adoma- 0542870342

Nana Akosua Takyiaw- 0240988300

Nana Ama Asantewaa -0244933893
Abuja (AFP) - The wife of Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari returned from London Tuesday after visiting her ailing husband, who is receiving treatment for an undisclosed illness, her office said.

Aisha Buhari left for the British capital last week to "spend some time" with her 74-year-old husband, who left Nigeria on May 7 and has not been heard from or seen since.

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has been formally deputising.

Aisha Buhari thanked Osinbajo for his work and said her husband would return "soon... as he is recuperating fast", without elaborating.

Before his latest trip, Buhari had previously spent almost two months in Britain being treated for what he described as one of the worst illnesses of his life.

The presidency has repeatedly rejected rumours that Buhari is terminally ill or even dead but refused to disclose his illness or what treatment he is having.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Monday visited family of the late Major Adam Mahama to commiserate with them.

There, he again, expressed his deepest condolences for their loss and disclosed that in agreement with the Chief of Defence Staff, Lt. Gen. Obed Akwa, the late Captain be promoted to the rank of Major.

He also revealed that a monument will be erected in his honour.

President Akufo-Addo greets the late soldier's widow, Barbara Mahama

The President also disclosed that a state burial will be held for the soldier who was lynched by residents of Denkyira Obuasi in the Central Region.

Barbara Mahama made a widow in her prime



Major Mahama's father, Capt. Rtd. Adam Mahama



Chief of Defence Staff, Lt. Gen. Obed Akwa read out decisions the Army and government have made regarding the late soldier

The President was accompanied by Interior Minister, Ambrose Dery; Finance Minister, Ken Ofori Attah; Gender and Social Protection Minister, Otiko Afisa Djaba and Defence Minister, Dominic Nitiwul.

Otiko Djaba oculd not hold her tears



Also with the President were Senior Minister, Osafa Maafo and Trade and Industry Minister, Alan Kyerematen

President Akufo Addo signed a book of condolence



Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com
May the soul of late Capt. Maxwell Mahama Rest in Perfect Peace. I join other Ghanaians to condemn the mob justice and I equally add my voice to the call for Justice for late Capt. Maxwell Mahama.

Ghana has witnessed several incidences of mob justice over the years. I recalled, the famous incident involving the alleged lady who was perceived to have stolen GHS 1,000 in Kumasi on 7th February, 2017 and the recent incident involving the late Capt. Mahama in Denkyira Obuase.

These two incidences are not the only mob justice recorded in Ghana. The political front was also not spared with mob justice by some grassroots supporters who have exercised displeasure towards political leaders from the two main political parties in Ghana.

Majority of the mob justice that has happened over the years which probably was not known to the public was due to the fact that an eye witness was not able to record the incident and circulate quickly on social media. In fact, a town in my own district, Agotime-Ziope also experienced a mob justice where the person was mistakenly lynched to death. I am sure as you read this article you have also observed such barbaric act of mob justice in your locality.

The emerging spirit of oneness among Ghanaians has enabled us to publicly damn any anti-social behaviour. This oneness was not different from what we have witnessed on late Capt. Mahamas lynching, where calls have been made for the perpetrators to be brought to book. The country is engulf in pain and anger in relation to the unfortunate late Capt. Mahamas death, due to this section of the public have called for a severe punishment for the entire Dentyira OBuase community. Recording some the of views of my friends on the incident, This village must be deleted from Ghana so next time when people are doing something they have to think about it, another person believed, In fact the whole town must be burnt, why this painful death, oh nooooo, furtherance to the views, another person also stated that Am still saying that, wipe off the people of Denkyira. Let the land go waste and heal. Let the towns people live like strangers in other towns, and always be on their toes that they could be lynched because they are strangers in another land too. The perpetrators, hang them at death gallows off the shai hills, let the vultures eat out their eyes, let nature deal with them, let them die slowly.. Even that kraa, am still not satisfied!!! When I look at his wife, the anger just returns.

This article was not written to analyze whether the mob justice was carefully planned and executed by the perpetrators or the deceased was mistakenly took for an armed robber. But, the article seeks to call appropriate stakeholders to apply the Social Reintegration and Reorientation techniques for the entire people of the Denkyira OBuase.

My call for social reintegration and reorientation for Denkyira OBuase, rather than continued public chastisement is based on the statement made by the former District Chief Executive, Ambrose Ashia on Asempa FM Tuesday, 30th May 2017, describing Denkyira OBuase, Most of the inhabitants have a warlike mentality which makes them have complete disregard for the rule of law- as one with a psyche of impunity, savagery and lawlessness. He further indicate that, Between 2013-2015 when the Chinese Company was constructing our main roads, the youth of OBuase attacked and beat the Chinese contractors, who were using stones from the area for the construction, claiming the contractors had not provided them with any amenities. They only stopped after security personnel were called in. Again, a man who had gone for an allnight service was lynched on his return after he was suspected to be a serial killer but luckily he survived and presented himself to the police.

The revelations from the former DCE should not be left on the shelves but rather I call on appropriate authorities to quickly engage the innocent fleeing members of the Denkyira OBuase to ensure measures are introduced to reorient and reintegrate them into society. Human rights activist should quickly engage the community members to ensure the stigma is off and the rebel mindset they have according to the DCE is rehabilitated. Currently, activities have come to a standstill, communities members are running helter skelter and the Denkyira OBuase has virtually turned into a ghost town. The community needs our social support in this trying moment. In as much as the public has condemned the unfortunate incident, psychologist, sociologist, and international human right activist should quickly take this case to support the entire Denkyira OBuase community.

The dangers of not providing social support could be detrimental to Ghanaians; we need to ask ourselves, should the people of Denkyira OBuase who have been described to have warlike mentality and characterised with lawlessness be allowed as a stranger to socialize with the rest of Ghanaians, can you imagine the repercussions? What if some of them tend to commit crimes as a result of frustration, being-finger pointed, and provoked? Do you think you are safe as an individual in Ghana? These are some of the many rhetorical questions going on in my mind.

The surest way to be safe as Ghanaians is to preach against mob justice and also call on law enforcement agencies to enforce the laws of the land to prevent future occurrences. Human right advocates should also step up their educational campaigns and not to go into sleep and the only time you can see them waking up from their slumber to condemn such acts is when it has already been committed.

The calls from some sections of the public for retribution and vengeance as it was stated from the introductory part of this article I can say are a reflection of us having a mob-like mentality. Criminologist and Conflict Resolution Expert, Prof. Ken Agyeman Attafuah speaking on the Super Morning Show on Joy FM Thursday, June 1, 2017, stated The horrific killing of a Captain of the Ghana Army is a reflection of the wicked and unforgiving make-up of us, as a people. I believe we shouldnt take the laws into our own hands to engage in vengeance, I call for calm and suggest social reintegration and reorientation for Denkyira Obuase.

Vozbeth Kofi Azumah

University of Cape Coast

Department of Sociology and Anthropology

[email protected]
Former President Jerry John Rawlings has descended heavily on his once trusted spokesperson Emmanuel Victor Smith, describing him as somebody who cannot be trusted.

He said Mr Victor Smith, who is the immediate-past High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, peddled falsehood about him and also attempted to divert campaign cash that was supposed to have come from some Nigerians to his office for onward transfer to the NDC.

The former president made the startling revelation in his speech during the 38th anniversary celebration of the June 4, 1979 'revolution' in Wa, the Upper West Regional capital, on Sunday.

He initially said he was not going to speak much because of the lynching of Captain Maxwell Mahama, which he described as dastardly, wicked, irrational and needless, but ended up lambasting his former spokesperson and a few others for undermining him.

I used to have a secretary called Victor Smith; we fell out. It wasn't so much because of disagreement over John Mahama and yet that's what he's touting. And yet I guess he, like a few of us who want to be president, has stepped back being promised, of course, that he will make them running mates, I presume, underscored Mr Rawlings.

Nigerian Deal

Listen, why did I turn against this boy called Victor Smith? He (Victor Smith) was my secretary. Some Nigerians invited us to the USA  I had left office  to come and give a talk and commission some business for them. We went. When we returned, subsequently  months or how many years later  when Prof Mills was our flag bearer, then these Nigerians decided to help, so, they were dealing with my office  Mr Victor Smith, the former president said.

He continued, Now I subsequently heard about it because there was a to-and-fro over this money. They know me, they want to give me the money and I can pass it on, not give it to Victor Smith and Victor Smith is saying that no, he would take it to the Prof, because I'm not the one who is going to be the candidate,' blah blah blah blah that type of rubbish. So, they came out through somebody and said this is what is going on.

No Show

Mr Rawlings, founder of the NDC said, Eventually, the contribution did not even come. I did not receive any contribution from them, through Mills, through Smith, or directly through the person who came to see me also and I don't believe that they sent it to Mills and I don't believe that Prof Mills received any money from that place because I think they got fed up with the way this man (Victor Smith) was behaving.

He added, And yet, when the time to pour poison on me started, this secretary of mine was telling the world on radio stations that contribution was coming for a certain nationalistic duty and he had stopped it and diverted it to the flag bearer. In other words, he had stopped it from coming to me. I was disgusted that this guy would make up such a story.

He averred, And you know the one who angered me the most? Our Prof Mills who knew the truth but kept quiet for this poison to burn me. It was fraudulent.

Victor's Indignation

Victor Smith recently granted an interview on Asempa FM in Accra, accusing Jerry Rawlings of stabbing the NDC in the back and causing the party so much pain, especially in the run-up to the 2016 general election, which saw the party being heavily defeated by then opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP).

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. It's unheard of in any jurisdiction to be seen to be hobnobbing with the principal opponent as we prepare for war, Victor Smith had said.

He added, And I had the opportunity to tell him: 'This is how I feel.' I told him on WhatsApp and he said I didn't 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 don't know about others who don't 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. It's painful. I must say it's painful.

By William Yaw Owusu
The ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) has outlined the modalities for its 2017 National Annual Delegates' Conference slated between 25th and 27th August, 2017.

According to Acting General Secretary John Boadu, the NPP, as its constitution demands, will use the conference which is to be held in Cape Coast, the Central Regional capital, to deliberate on all matters affecting the organization and wellbeing of the party. It will also be a forum to consider and approve a statement of account, consider and approve a programme of activities for the coming year, pass resolution and make recommendations.

At a news conference in Accra yesterday, Mr. Boadu said that constituency and Regional Annual Delegates' Conferences were expected to precede the national conference in Cape Coast explaining, Article 7(13) states that 'in every year, at least four (4) weeks prior to the National Annual Delegates' Conference, there shall be a Regional Delegates' Conference.'

He said the party had already sent a memo directing all Regional Executive Committees to organize their respective Annual Delegates' Conferences not later than July 26, 2017 adding, The party has directed all Regional Executive Committees to furnish the National Secretariat with details (timelines of activities) of their respective Annual Conferences not later than 30th of June, 2017.

The party wishes to state emphatically that these Annual Delegates' Conferences would not include the election or re-election of party executives to occupy the various positions at the constituency, regional and national levels because the mandate of the serving officers of the party is yet to expire. At the appropriate time, the party would come out with a timetable for the various conferences where elections would be held.

Mr Boadu said the yet-to-be prepared timetable would start from the election of polling station executives and climaxed with the election of national officers which would be held at congress.

The Acting General Secretary said that June 26, 2017 is the deadline for the submission of proposed amendment to the NPP Constitution, adding that all the proposals should be sent to him (Acting General Secretary).

He announced that all those who were directed to resign their respective positions in the party following their appointments to serve in the government, had adhered to the directive, saying, The party wishes to use this opportunity to thank them for their service to the party and wishes them well as they take up various positions in government. We hope that they would still avail their services to the party when needed.

Mr. Boadu also said that nominations had not opened for those who wish to contest for party positions. I think they are all testing the waters but I would advise them to be cautious in whatever they do, he entreated.

He later used the opportunity to officially console the family of Captain Maxwell Mahama who was lynched in a mob action at Denkyira-Obuasi in the Central Region last week, and called on all political parties to desist from playing politics with the gruesome murder.

As you all know, the country is still mourning the death of Captain Maxwell Adam Mahama and as such, we wish to once again, express our condolences to the bereaved family. I would also like to take this opportunity to announce that government will today take a decision and announce the plans that the State has for the late Captain and his family, having taken a serious view of all that has happened regarding this unfortunate incident, he said.

We mourn with the family and we will never, I repeat never, play politics with the death of such an innocent soul. We hope that the other political parties also refrain from playing politics with the painful death of a fellow citizen, he emphasized.

By William Yaw Owusu
Black Stars defender Rashid Sumaila has called on Ghanaians to back them ahead of their 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against the Walias of Ethiopia on Sunday.

The Al Qadsia guardsman earned a call-up into the side after three years absence following his impressive loan spell in the Qatari top flight league with Al Gharafa in the season gone by.

'We wants every Ghanaian to come to the stadium in their numbers and support us, their support is very important to us,' he said after the team arrived in Kumasi.

'Without them we can't play, they should keep praying for us and we will not disappoint.'

Rashid Sumaila
Transforming what meQasa.com does online  connecting people looking for property with those that provide available homes and offices for rent and sale  into an offline event, the renowned, Ghanaian-founded tech startup is hosting the maiden edition of the Dream Homes Expo on the 10th and 11th of June, 2017 at the Accra International Conference Centre.

The event is free and open to the public, running both days from 10am  6pm. In a country where the process of finding property has historically been more a pain than pleasure, the birth of meQasa.com just under four years ago was a welcome relief.

Now the number one online real estate marketplace with the highest number of quality property listings in Ghana and the most housing website visitors, it is befitting that the company continues to assist house hunters with such an event.

The Ministry of Works and Housing is endorsing the meQasa Dream Homes Expo, and Honourable Freda Opare Prempeh  Deputy Minister in charge of Housing - will be delivering the inaugural address at the 10th June morning launch.

Hosting a housing fair is a natural progression for meQasa. We are committed to our mission of creating an efficient housing search experience and to be the go-to source for reliable information on housing in Africa. explains meQasa CEO Kelvin Nyame.

This is another great avenue to foster business for our clients who offer stellar residential and commercial real estate options for people looking, Co-Founder Rashad Seini adds.

The 2-day exhibition event will feature the nations top property developers, high-end estate agencies and premium vendors of home and office products and services like mortgage lenders, electronics and home decor companies.

Sponsored by Ashfoam and Hisense and supported by web media including Ghana Web and Pulse Ghana, the Dream Homes Expo will also offer attendees superb networking opportunities and the chance to learn from knowledgeable speakers on topics like Solar and Energy Efficiency and Wealth Creation through Smart Property Investment during mini seminars.

There will also be an exclusive Business Lounge to assist trade talks between investors and other corporate tycoons.

The Dream Homes Expo, slated to happen annually, is the perfect housing fair for people actively and passively looking to buy a new house or land; seeking to rent an apartment or office space; investors seeking stellar real estate projects to back; individuals and families looking for deals on home improvement; property professionals and enthusiasts.

meQasa hosts lively industry events every year like 2016s Dreams to Reality Mortgages panel event, and has put on well-attended estate agents training as well. meQasa.com is Ghanas easiest way to rent, buy and sell property, offering a user-friendly online marketplace mutually beneficial to homeowners/landlords, home seekers, real estate agents and developers alike.

Learn more about this event and register online at meQasa.com/expo. Online registrants stand the chance to win prizes including an LED TV and plush mattress set.

To exhibit at the Dream Homes Expo, call 020 082 2126.
The Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) has asked the central government to place a cap on the volume of raw cashew that can be exported from Ghana.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GEPA, Gifty Klenam made the call on Friday, 2nd June, this year, in Accra, saying it has become imperative for government to impose limitation.

Ms Klenam, speaking to the media at her office, said if government cannot place a cap on raw cashew export, then it should surcharge it as an alternative.

That, she said, was because about 90 percent of Ghanas cashew were being exported raw by foreigners, particularly Indians, Vietnamese, Lebanese, among others, without leaving any significant quantity for local companies, who want to do value addition.

The cashews are first exported to India, Vietnam and processed or shipped raw to the US and other Western markets, accordingly projecting India and Vietnam as the producing countries of the products, she disclosed.

She pointed out that the foreigners engaged in the dubious act were not repatriating the proceeds from their exports to Ghana, adding that the State was losing huge amounts of money.

She said that the State is not able to create sufficient jobs for many unemployed youths in the cashew sector, as the companies that are found within the value-addition chain do not get much of the raw cashew for their production to be able to employ more persons.

BUSINESS GUIDE gathered that the indigenous exporters of cashew nuts registered with GEPA were paying GHC200 per annum as contribution.

She appealed to government to ensure that a large number of raw cashews are channeled to firms locally for their operations, which stand to benefit the State.

One Exportable Product Project

She disclosed that the Authority was in the process of commencing its export promotion initiative dubbed, one district, one exportable product project.

The project, which would begin on Wednesday, June 7, this year, with an engagement with DCEs, MCEs, Eastern Regional Minister and other key stakeholders in Koforidua, seeks to engage all 216 districts nationwide to try and identify one exportable product which GEPA can market to help raise additional funds for the State and create jobs for the masses.

By Melvin Tarlue


06.06.2017 LISTEN

Social change in the world is generally triggered by incidents, which society finds unacceptable.

Some of these events or occurrences help to shape social policies and initiatives. Some of the incidents are bitter but we must learn from them with the aim of making lives better.

By the definition of sociologists, Ghana is partially modern and partly traditional. Some of the cardinal characteristics of traditional societies are communal interdependencies, strong social cohesion and collectivism. These are positive social values.

Even though modernity is eating away these traditional principles, majority of Ghanaians still exhibit these characteristics or at least believe in them. It is common to see people running to the aid of accident victims and many people are often willing to come to the aid of those who may be under attack. The difference between us and the developed countries is that the developed countries have strong institutions that are responsive to incidents. For example, in the event of an accident, it takes a few minutes for an ambulance to appear and if anyone is under attack, the police are quick to respond.

In Ghana, the reverse is the case. When someone is ill, you cannot call an ambulance and expect immediate response. People tend to rely on the benevolence of neighbours, people in the streets and those we usually call good Samaritans.

Unfortunately when there is crime, people feel they cannot rely on the police so they have to use alternative means to punish the victims.

On Monday 29th May, 2017, something terrible happened that rocked the social foundation of this country.

A military officer was killed under unbelievably horrible circumstances. This incident really shocked the nation so much that people are beginning to take a second look at the description of the Ghanaian as peaceful and friendly.

It is increasingly becoming common to hear stories of mob attacks, lynching, beatings and mob destructions at the least provocation and very often without any provocations at all.

It is one of these unprovoked attacks- the killing of the military officer Captain Maxwell Mahama that has shocked the entire country, leaving many people numb with shock and paralysed with fear.

The entire story is so shocking, the narratives so bizarre and the process of killing so gory. It is a story that defies any logic and beats everyone's imagination.

People have asked several questions and the key one is how and when did we get here.

Many have argued that we got here long ago.

This is because this particular incident, though very sad and traumatic, seems to be a frequent occurrence in many communities. All it takes is for someone to scream, hey dzulor, ewi fiafitor or barawo then you will find people pouncing on someone without finding out whether the person was indeed involved in the act they are accusing him or her of or if it's a false alarm. In fact people don't care what it is. They just have to act.

What is even more worrying is that when something bad happens onlookers now love to videotape and take pictures rather than help.

We have recently heard serious mob attacks and killings. Indeed, in the very week that the nation was trying to come to terms with what had happened, there were news of series of mob attacks.

In the Upper West Region, a woman accused of being a witch was lynched. That same week we heard about a man that was lynched in Kumasi. These unfortunate incidents are just a few of the reports.

Not only that, we have also heard about indiscriminate killings of people suspected to be armed robbers by police.

Many of these incidents have been reported but not much has been heard about the investigations.

There has been countless attacks and deaths in many communities that never caught the attention of the media. So we can imagine what happened to the victims and their families. Were any conclusive actions taken?

When I was a child, I lived in Tudu and I heard and saw a lot of suspected thieves who had been arrested or attacked. Many of these suspects were usually beaten brutally and by the time they were taken to the police station or left on their own they were half dead. One thing the men in the community did was to make sure that they give the suspected thief a good beating that left him totally broken but they never wanted the person to die in their hands.

The situation is not the same again. It appears these recent mob attacks are intended to kill their victims. These attacks have gone on for far too long and today we are mourning one that involves a high ranking young boisterous military officer, who had been assigned to an important national project.

So how did a country that appears so exceedingly calm and religiously religious become like this? How does a country that wears the tag of a peaceful country explain this unimaginable desire for such indiscriminate killings? How does a country that prides itself as a democratic country accommodate such behaviours?

Perhaps most people seem to portray some form of godliness yet are clothed in cruelty. It raises the question of who we really are. Perhaps we need some sociological and psychological perspectives.

When the unfortunate incident of Capt. Mahama's murder happened, social media platforms were buzzing with several questions about the true nature of the Ghanaian. I was totally shocked for many days and could not participate in any form of discussions. My husband stated on a certain platform, When people tout the peaceful nature of Ghanaians, I often tell them to wait until something as terrible as a civil war (God forbid) happens, then we will see the true nature of Ghanaians. If you doubt it, see how we treat suspected thieves and robbers. Or consider how Ghanaians have treated their follow nationals in areas where there were ethnic conflicts. Ghanaians are not more peace-loving and kind than Liberians, Sierra Leoneans and perhaps South Africans. With these incidents can we conclude that a great number of Ghanaians are peaceful until something ignites a different trait in them?

The basic conclusion we can make is that many people don't value human lives; if they did we will be more careful with how we treat other humans.

It is time for authorities to begin to make our institutions work and not offer mere lip service. We need to re-orient the minds of Ghanaians to respect the rule of law and have confidence in our institutions. It is also time for everyone to begin to influence the people around them and to ensure that these attacks do not happen again.

We must stop this cruelty and allow the law to work. We must restore the values of togetherness, peace, love and respect for one another.

I pray for the family of Captain Mahama and all other families, who have lost their loved ones through such attacks. We pray that this incident sparks off some positive legal and social reforms in our society.
A threat note discovered in the bathroom of Virgin VA1174 flight said there was a bomb on the aircraft.

The Virgin Atlantic flight was on way from Sydney-Albury flight. (File Photo/ANI)

By Indo-Asian News Service: Passengers on board an Australia flight leapt out onto the tarmac today when a Sydney-Albury flight was evacuated following a threat note.

The note, discovered in the bathroom of the 68-seater turboprop, Virgin VA1174 flight, said there was a bomb on the aircraft, Xinhua news agency reported citing local media reports.

New South Wales State Police, however, told Xinhua there was no sign of any explosive on board the plane and said they believed the incident was merely a "prank".

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Police also said a man has been taken into custody.

It is believed the cabin crew "ripped off" the doors from the inside, after the plane landed and instructed people on board to "leave your luggage. Get out and run, run, run!" one passenger told the Australian Associated Press.

No passenger was reported injured after they jumped from the aircraft. Police emphasised "all of the occupants were secured and safe within five minutes of its landing".

ALSO READ:

Letter to Mumbai Police talks of plane hijack plot, bomb threat; major airports on alert

Two flights grounded at Delhi airport after hoax bomb threat

--- ENDS ---
The Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chairman of the Fidelity Group Ghana Ltd, Edward Effah has urged heads of institutions and entrepreneurs to build their organisations to thrive even when they vacate their positions.

Mr. Effah was speaking on Corporate Governance at the 2nd edition of the Ghana CEO Summit under the theme, 'Digital Innovation Economy for Business Growth' held from 22-23rd May, 2017 in Accra.

Lack Of Succession Planning

He bemoaned the fact that most organisations in Africa and Ghana for that matter do not thrive after the demise of their founders, a scenario he attributed to the absence of adequate succession planning.

He urged business owners to engage the services of competent professionals to add value in areas in which the individual does not have core competence.

Mr. Effah noted that good corporate governance is at the heart of any successful company and corporate leaders must make a conscious effort to indulge in best practices.

Good governance does not start in the board rooms, it starts at home, in schools, in associations, in church and at work. This is because these environments are where we form our good and bad governance habits. Good governance is an end in itself, not a short-term project, he added.

Good Corporate Governance

One of the mediums to ensure good corporate governance in any organization is to have in place an effective board responsible for the company's long-term success. The structure of the board should be such that they advise Executive Management on strategies to achieving the company's vision, he said.

Speaking to the over 300 CEOs, who had gathered at the summit, Mr. Effah urged them to be transparent in their operations.

Choose new directors through transparent and formal procedures. Directors must be committed to serve, it is not just another source of income. All directors must be properly inducted and given relevant training to stay abreast with modern trends in the businesses they operate in. Boards must meet regularly, have relevant information and hold evaluations at least once a year.

Citing Fidelity Bank as an example, Mr. Effah noted that the bank has come thus far because good organizational structures have been put in place, adding that the bank makes it a priority to hire professionals with diverse skills and experience, who work towards achieving the vision of the bank.

The Ghana CEO Summit & Awards is the brain child of the Chief Executive Network Ghana Ltd aimed at providing a platform that will enable both global and local CEOs to integrate and interact with world class subject experts to foster knowledge acquisition, learning, partnerships and synergies that can drive increased personal and organizational growth.

Fidelity Bank was a platinum sponsor of the 2nd edition of the Ghana CEO Summit because the bank believes in the responsiveness and capabilities of Ghanaians and is very committed to supporting the growth of businesses in Ghana.

A Business Desk Report
In our ongoing special coverage of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we profile SDG 14, whose aim is to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources. We review some of the challenges facing life under water. Over 3 billion people worldwide depend on marine and coastal biodiversity for their livelihoods.

Mr. Thomsons dire warning is not a hyperbolic flourish: about 80% of ocean litter is plastics that, when ingested, can kill fish, seabirds, turtles, oysters and other creatures. Also, plastics washed ashore often damage agricultural land and discourage tourism. The ocean is in deep trouble.... Marine pollution is taking us to a point where, by 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean than there will be fish, said Peter Thomson, the 71st president of the United Nations General Assembly, in an interview with Africa Renewal (see page 10).

Africa is primarily concerned with the livelihoods of its millions of citizens, especially those who live along the continents 30,500-kilometre coastline and depend on fish for food and income. Every year Kenyas supermarkets alone use about 100 million plastic bags, many of which end up in the ocean. And more plastics, which do not rot, in the ocean means more deaths of sea creatures.

Africas coastal communities also grapple with a changing climate and overfishing. As a result of coastal erosion, whole communities in Mozambique have had to relocate, while Togo has suffered economic losses of about 2.3% of GDP, according to a 2016 World Bank report.

Africas policy makers and prominent Africans, including former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, are unhappy over the billions of dollars lost annually to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. The cost of illegal fishing to Somalia alone is about $300 million annually.

Mostly perpetrated by foreign fishing fleets, overfishing also disrupts ecosystems and endangers biodiversity. Currently some 37 types of fish are on a growing list of species becoming extinct in Africa, including octopus and grouper, which are hardly found these days in Mauritanian waters on the West African coast.

In June, when scientists and representatives of governments and civil society gather at the UN headquarters in New York for the crucial Ocean Conference, they will discuss ways to prudently manage ocean resources for sustainable development, which is Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14. But individual African governments, with support from the World Bank, the UN and other institutions, are already taking measures to tackle climate change, overfishing and plastic in the ocean.

The Rwandan government has banned plastic bags, Liberia and Sierra Leone have enacted acts to regulate fisheries and installed ocean surveillance systems, fishing communities in Cape Verde have organized to protect fishing zones, and Mozambique has carved out an area for conservation that includes coastline.

Sylvia Earle, a renowned American oceanographer, says that shes hopeful that life in African seas, though in trouble, is not dead. Sounding a note of optimism, Mr. Thomson says, I have no doubt that we will break this problem.
The statements attributed to the judge who granted bail to the Chinese woman alleged to be a queen-pin in the importation of Chinese nationals to work with Ghanaians in carrying out galamsey here, filled my heart with grief.

How could the Attorney-General's office have failed the country so badly?

This is a very high-profile case in which our whole Government  from the President down  has an avid interest. The Attorney-General's Department, after the unimaginably deplorable failures it exhibited in the Woyome case, must be aware that public confidence in it, as a department, is extremely low. And yet the department went to court, in an equally sensational case, and proved itself incompetent again!

Here is what happened (and I don't think that the reports of the case that appeared in the media  amalgamated here  are necessarily exhaustive).

The reports said that the Accra High Court, on Friday 2 June 2017, granted bail to En Huang a.k.a. Aisha and four other Chinese alleged to be engaged in illegal mining (galamsey). En Huang was granted bail in the sum of Ghc 500,000 with two sureties , all to be justified. The four other Chinese were each granted bail in the sum of Ghc 500,000 with one surety, to be justified.

The court said all the sureties must be Ghanaians and their residences must be verified. Also, the passports and travelling documents of all the accused persons must be deposited with the court registrar, for onward transfer to the Director General of the Ghana Immigration Service.

The court, presided over by Mr Justice Charles Ekow Baiden, ordered the five Chinese to report to the Inspector -General of Police twice a week and also to the Director -General of the Ghana Immigration Service twice a week. The case was then adjourned to June 16, 2017 for the full commencement of the trial.

Aisha is charged with undertaking small-scale mining operations, contrary to Section 99 (1) of the Minerals and Mining Act, 2006, (Act 703), and providing mine support services without valid registration with the Minerals Commission, contrary to Section 59 and 99 (2) of the Minerals and Mining Act .

She has also been charged with the illegal employment of foreign nationals, contrary to Section 24 of the Immigration Act, 2000 (Act 573) and Regulation 18(1) of the Ghana Immigration Regulations, 2001 (L.I.1691).The four other Chinese - Gao Jin Cheng, Lu Qi Ju, Haibin Gao and Zhang Zhipeng - have been charged with disobedience of a directive given under the Immigration Act 2000 (Act 573.)

In granting bail, the court held that the state failed to prove that Aisha and her compatriots would interfere with investigations.

Did we read that right?

There have been media revelations, some of them based on reports that must be in the possession of the state, that Aisha is a high-class influence-peddler who does not scruple to procure her ends  with regard to galamsey and other operations  with instruments of blackmail, including sex videos calculated to compromise high state officials. And yet, neither the AG's department nor the police service that feeds it with facts, made any effort to furnish the judge with evidence that would have supported their claim that Aisha and Co. were dangerous and would interfere with their investigations if granted bail?

Also the court was of the view that the state failed to prove that the accused persons were a flight risk and would not present themselves to stand trial when granted bail. Here again, information is in the public domain to the effect that Aisha has widespread contacts and has even been able to importguns into Ghana.

How did she get the guns past Customs officials?

Besides, if she can organise the transportation of excavators and other heavy earth-moving equipment from the coast into the deep forests of our rural areas for galamsey purposes, who can say that she does not have access to people who can spirit her out of the country, not by aflight, or flights, but across our rather porous land borders? But if the judge wasn't told any of this as a background to the state's opposition of bail for the accused, how could he know?

Would anyone to be a complete numbskull to entertain the idea that while the prosecution was publicly opposing bail, it was secretly creating conditions under which the judge would have no option but to grant bail?

Indeed, the judge observed in court that the facts the state presented before him did not match the charges! Boy, is that damning or what? For before a case goes before a judge, the AG's Department is supposed to hold case conferences over it and expertly anticipate holes that the court might pick in it, in order to plug such holes.

To go to court and actually be caught by the judge to be presenting facts that do not match or support the charges preferred against the accused persons, is a professional failure of catastrophic proportions.

The judge added that the state's functionaries, led by the immigration department, failed to perform their duties as expected, leaving a number of loopholes in their opposition to the bail application.

What more can one say about that? The judge basically dismissed the prosecution machinery as being incompetent. And he did so because they failed the country. Badly. Just as in the Woyome case.

Another thing Justice Baiden said in his ruling was that counsel of the for the state had not indicated to the court, the amount of time the state would need to finish its investigations.

In other words, the state lazily expected the judge to take the state's word for it, instead of proving beyond any reasonable doubt that there was a case against the accused persons, and a strong one at that and that they should not be allowed to be free to interfere with the further investigation of that case.

The judge then warned the prosecution to put their house in order by seven days, because he would not tolerate any unnecessary adjournments!

That is the writing on the wall, in effect. If the AG's Department does not buck up, the case could possibly be thrown out! The state always loses, right? Woyome again! By God!

Now, Ms Huang was arrested on Saturday, May 6, 2017, following the arrest of four other Chinese nationals who confessed working as illegal miners for her at Bepotenten in Ashanti.

The Ashanti Regional Deputy Commander of the Ghana Immigration Service, Chief Superintendent Peter Adu-Appiah, has disclosed to the media that it took officers of the Service more than four hours to try to get the lady arrested, as she let loose her wild dogs on them, in an effort to resist arrest.

She was finally arrested when she went to the regional office of the Ghana Immigration Service to plead for the release of the four Chinese illegal miners now charged with her.

The question that arises-- again  is this: was the judge told this when the prosecution was opposing bail for Ms Huang? If not, why not? Wasn't it a relevant illustration of the lengths to which she would go to avoid getting into the hands of the law?

Additionally, why wasn't a charge of resisting arrest added to the other charges she faces? Isn't setting four ferocious dogs on officials going about their proper duties an offence?

Even if it wasn't an offence, could the incident not be capitalised upon to communicate to the judge that he was not dealing with an ordinary suspect but a woman of extremely dangerous tendencies who could employ sophisticated methods to frustrate the efforts of the law enforcement agencies to bring her to book?

It all leaves a sour taste in the mouth, doesn't it?

Fortunately, the President himself has once been the Attorney-General of Ghana and will have read into the failures exhibited by the department, the story of what's going on there, behind closed doors. I urge the President to provide his new AG with the support needed to reform the department from root to branch.

For what the Woyome case revealed to the world was that the department was rotten to the core, and the canker there might still be active.

Unfortunately. h
06.06.2017 LISTEN

Researchers are still trying to learn why the population of African penguins has dropped precipitously over the last 15 yearssome estimates say by 90%but most agree that climate change is a major factor in the decline of this iconic African species.

There may be additional forces at work, including pollution, overfishing, predators and disease, but warming currents on both sides of the continent are driving the huge shoals of sardines and anchovies on which the penguins dine farther south toward cooler waters.

Warming waters are not a problem only for penguins and other sea creatures. They have major implications for coastal communities all around the continent, where a quarter of all people rely on the ocean as a primary source of food.

Globally, average temperatures will increase by more than 2C by the end of the 21st century, and could increase by as much as 3C by 2050 and even by 6C by 2100. The impacts of this warming on the ocean surrounding the continent are already being felt.

Small-scale artisanal fishing and tourism are critical economic pillars for communities along Africas 30,500-kilometre coastline. Many of these are grappling with the effects of climate change, including rising sea levels, warming waters and increasing ocean acidification, which has led to greater coastal erosion that has damaged infrastructure in West Africa. A warming Indian Ocean has damaged coral reefs that are essential for tourism, fishing, and the protection of the shoreline.

One of the biggest threats to coastal and marine systems in Africa is climate change, says Yuvan A. Beejadhur, team leader on ocean economy at the World Bank, adding, The impacts are already being detected in many areas of the continent.

According to Mr. Beejadhur, natural resources specialist, sea temperatures in coastal boundary systems may continue to increase over the next few decades and centuries. If current trends continue, sea temperatures will increase from 0.62C to 0.85C over the next few years and from 2.44C to 3.32C over the long term, he warns.

This will mean Africa will need a cascade in financing. It will require significant funds, finance and investments that need to be unlocked, leveraged and catalysed for building resilient and climate-smart ocean economies, he predicts.

Jacqueline Alder, manager of Global Partnerships for Responsible Fisheries at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), also notes the significant impact on coastal infrastructure of coastal erosion. Fishery landing sites have been forced to move, resulting in higher fishing costs. In some cases poorer-quality fish has led to lower market prices.

In addition, more frequent flooding has affected coastal systems, with runoff from the storms ending up in the oceans, reducing the salinity of the water and causing fish to move farther offshore. Consequently fishermen have to travel farther to catch fish, or they dont fish at all, she says.

In Mozambique, coastal erosion due to rising sea levels has significantly altered the coastline, says Eugenio Joao Muiange, the director of the National Institute of the Sea and Boundaries. When we look at old maps and compare them with now, we see lots of changes. Small islands and sandbars have disappeared.

Erosion has eaten land 2 to 3 kilometres inland, he adds. When we look for a reason, we can only reach one conclusionthat it is sea-level rise.

Coastal erosion has led to the displacement of communities in West Africa and has already resulted in economic losses of about 2.3% of GDP in Togo alone, the World Bank reported in 2016.

Ronald Jumeau, permanent representative of the Seychelles to the UN, says many of these trends have been noticed for years yet were poorly understood. Coastal erosion in West Africa has been huge, he says, and as a consequence many people have been forced to abandon their communities on the coast and look inland for new opportunities. Suddenly it becomes a political issue, he says, adding, Theres a demographic shift underway.

African countries often lack the data, the computing power and the analytical ability to take action, Mr. Jumeau points out.

Another result of climate change is ocean acidification. As the ocean absorbs greater amounts of carbon dioxide, it becomes more acid, and its changing chemistry poses a threat to coral reefs and biodiversity. About 30% of carbon dioxide caused by human activity dissolves into the oceans, and the increased acidity prevents organisms that depend on calcium carbonate from producing shells and skeletons.

Fisheries in the western Indian Oceanoff the east coast of Africamainly depend on coral reefs, Mr. Jumeau points out. Increased coral bleaching and mortality (generally caused by warming ocean temperatures) will have negative effects on fisheries, fishery-related employment and nutrition.

Corals across the western Indian Ocean declined by an average of more than 35% after bleaching events in 1998, 2010 and 2016. Such events have an economic cost: the coral bleaching event in 1998 cost the scuba dive tourism industry an estimated $2.2 million in Zanzibar and up to $15.09 million in Mombasa, Kenya.

Acidification of the ocean

Coral reefs in the Seychelles also suffered from the 1998 bleaching event, which was caused by warming from an El Nino weather phenomenon, but other bleaching events have also affected the country, recalls Mr. Jumeau. Some reefs have since been restored to health; others have not. Coral reefs are an essential tourist attraction and provide protection from coastal erosion for the hotels on the islands.

Around 2.5 million tourists per year visit the tropical coast area of Egypt; 23% of these tourists come specifically to dive, and a further 33% participate in snorkelling activities.

Cognizant of the destructive impact of climate change on the oceans around Africa, affected countries came together at the African Ministerial Conference on Ocean Economies and Climate Change in Mauritius in September last year to assess the challenges faced by coastal and marine systems in Africa and discuss the need to develop climate-ready ocean economies.

And last November, at the 2016 Marrakech Climate Conference held in Egypt, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the FAO announced a African package for climate-resilient ocean economies, an ambitious bundle of technical and financial assistance focused on measures to build resilience, reduce vulnerability, develop early warning systems and optimize carbon sequestration.

Between 2017 and 2020, the initiative will mobilize between $500 million and $900 million and implement programs linked to climate change adaptation and mitigation.

World Bank experts caution that without action, fish catches are projected to drop because of climate changepossibly by one half in Cote dIvoire, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Togo, according to the FAO.

These ambitious programmes aimed at strengthening the resilience of African coastal communities are critical to meeting the challenges and opportunities of climate change, especially for vulnerable Small Island Development States, observes Maria Helena Semedo, FAOs deputy director-general for natural resources.

African coastal communities are some of the most affected by climate change, she continues. FAO is fully engaged and ready to be at the heart of these significant developments to work alongside countries and communities to reduce their vulnerabilities, build their resilience, and maximize opportunities emerging from climate change.

The African package for climate-resilient ocean economies is composed of five flagship programmes, and each will have its own focus as well as sharing knowledge and best practices with the others.

In North Africa, the focus will start with fisheries, aquaculture and ocean observation systems; West African priorities will include fisheries, combating coastal erosion, and building tourism; in Central Africa, stretching from Cameroon to Angola, priorities will include a focus on safety at sea; East Africa will develop its aquaculture and tourism; and the Small Island Developing States, often the most dependent on the oceans and the most vulnerable to disaster and erosion, will focus on the development of an economy designed for sustainable development, generally referred to by experts as the blue economy.

African countries will be participating in the Ocean Conference to be held this year in New York from 5-9 June, which is aimed at promoting the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 (Life below water). The goal calls for action to address a range of ocean issues, including protecting marine biodiversity, reducing overfishing and addressing ocean acidification and marine pollution.
There is a severe shortage of blood at the Berekum Holy Family Hospital, according to information gathered by DAILY GUIDE.

Patients who need blood, especially pregnant women who go there to deliver their babies but suffer from blood loss (post-partum haemorrhage), cannot have blood unless they are rushed to the St Mary Hospital at Drobo or Brong Ahafo Regional Hospital at Sunyani to get blood.

The hospital's administrator, Reena John, who spoke to DAILY GUIDE on phone, confirmed the story, reiterating that there is acute shortage of blood at the hospital's blood bank, especially the negative ones.

She said a woman in labour from Dormaa Ahenkro last week suffered from post-partum haemorrhage because there was no blood at the blood bank. Madam Rena added that the woman had to seek for blood from other hospitals before she was resuscitated, describing the situation as severe.

She said pregnant women who suffer from anaemia also need blood transfusion from the hospital blood, bank but because there is no blood at the bank, the hospital becomes helpless.

She appealed to individuals and organisations to come to the aid of the hospital to save the lives of many pregnant women who come there to deliver.

[email protected]

FROM Daniel Y Dayee, Berekum
Nana Kwadwo Ntow II  Chief of Gyankama

06.06.2017 LISTEN



Nana Kwadwo Ntow II, Chief of Gyankama located between Peduase and Aburi in the Eastern Region, has bemoaned the upsurge of activities of land guards.

He appealed to the security agencies to step up their efforts towards curbing violence arising out of land disputes.

According to the chief, activities of land guards are heightening tension at Water Works between Ayi Mensah and Peduase, Mile 19, where there is about 1,500 acres of land belonging to Gyankama.

A High Court in Koforidua has ordered all development activities to cease until the substantive case is properly disposed off.

At a news conference at Gyankama last week, Nana Ntow II said in spite of the injunction, some persons were attempting to use land guards to sell lands in the affected areas and advised prospective developers to be cautious in dealing with those purported to be selling lands.

He said there are people claiming to be chiefs in Aburi-Atweasi, who are believed to be behind the introduction of land guards to Mile 19 but I would like to state that those who are dealing with these people must be extra careful because the lands belong to Gyankama.

According to the chief, the Koforidua High Court, presided over by Justice G.S. Suurbaareh, issued an order for interlocutory injunction in a suit titled: Nana Kwadwo Ntow and Nana Kwakyewaa Ofori I versus Abusuapanin Adu Kwaku and 13 others.

He said the court on March 2013 specifically restrained the defendants and their assigns from interfering with the land in dispute or disposing of any part pending the final determination of the suit.

Nana Ntow II further said that the Gyankama stool lawyers, pursuant to the order, wrote to both the Lands Commission in Koforidua and the Deeds Registry of the commission to caution them about the activities of Adu Kwaku and his group, and requested that the state institution ceases the registration of lands in the area in dispute until the issues were settled.

The lands under reference include all that lands called Oyoko Clan of Gyankama lands bounded on the north-east by the Aburi-Oyibi Road, south-east by the Dodowa-Adenta Road, north-west partly by the Aburi-Accra Road, containing an approximate total area of 15,404 acres, Sir Asante-Ansong & Co, lawyers for the Gyankama chief, had said in the letter.

The chief said that he was pursuing all legal means to ensure that the people of Gyankama are not shortchanged in any deal.

By William Yaw Owusu


06.06.2017 LISTEN

Residents of Manso Tontokrom in the Amansie West District of the Ashanti Region had it tough last Sunday, when military officers raided the town and allegedly beat anybody they could lay hands on.

The heavily armed soldiers, numbering about 20, descended on the indigenes in pursuit of suspects involved in the murder of Captain Mahama at Denkyira-Boase, who had gone to seek refuge in the village.

An eyewitness, Nana Yaw Mensah, an indigene of Tontokrom, told The Chronicle that the military raided the community at 9pm in two military vehicles and one pick up vehicle.

According to Nana Mensah, a lot of the youth were assaulted, a development which resulted in some of the people sustaining injuries.

He told The Chronicle: The invasion by the military has seen Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) candidates fleeing the area, adding that as of Monday, no student in the area had showed up for the final examination.

The Regional Director of Education, Mrs Mary Owusu Achiaw, however, discounted this claim. She told this reporter, via text message, that the examination went on peacefully without any hitches.

Continuing, Nana Yaw Mensah wondered why the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) cannot conduct thorough investigations, instead of resorting to raiding, beating and arresting innocent people, who had nothing to do with the murder of the fallen Captain.

Reached on phone to establish the arrest of the 11 folks, the Manso Nkwanta District Police Commander, ASP Badu Poku, confirmed to The Chronicle that 11 males had been handed over to the police by military officers.

ASP Badu told this paper that the military never assaulted any civilian, and that suspects who were brought to his outfit were in good condition of health.

The District Chief Executive for area, Mr William Bediako Asante, on his part, told The Chronicle, via telephone yesterday, that though he was not informed about the operation, he was later told that it was sanctioned by the Military High Command.

The military undertook the operation based on intelligence that some of the suspects were hiding in the village. Mr Bediako made it clear that he would not support any indigene of the area to harbour some of the suspects involved in the heinous crime.

From Richard Owusu-Akyaw, Kumasi
The Daily Graphic reported yesterday that about 26 suspects have so far been arrested by the police in connection with the gruesome murder of Captain Maxwell Mahama.

The police administration and the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) had earlier on Friday, held a joint press conference to brief the nation on how far they have gone with their investigations.

Looking at the mood of the GAF, and the general public as a whole, regarding the murder, The Chronicle is happy with the seriousness the police have attached to the investigation.

Parties in criminal cases sometimes resort to violence in their attempt to seek vengeance, when they realise that the state security agency responsible for investigating the case is not doing its work. Fortunately, this is not what the country is experiencing at the moment.

The police are really on top of their job, and we hope they would build a watertight docket that would secure conviction at the end of the criminal trial.

This brings us to the issue of live coverage of the trial by the television stations that may want to do so. During the News File programme on Joy News last Saturday, the host told his viewers that Mr. Egbert Faible, a journalist and lawyer, had already made the proposal for live coverage of the trial.

The Chronicle is not privy to the basis for Faible's proposal. We, however, think the issue he had raised is worth considering by the Chief Justice.

When Mr Gabby Otchere Darko of the Danquah Institute first suggested live coverage of the 2012 Election Petition at the Supreme Court, many people did not understand him, but when the CJ decided to bend the rules and allowed TV coverage of the proceedings, many Ghanaians came to appreciate Gabby's suggestion.

The Chronicle is aware that TV cameras are not allowed in our court rooms, but like the Election Petition case, this murder trial is also an exceptional case. We are, therefore, pleading with the CJ to, once again, bend the rules and allow live TV coverage of the proceedings.

We are not supporting the idea (live coverage) because of the personality involved. We are rather looking at the situation where this case could be used as the platform to educate the public to put an end to the canker of mob injustice, which is on the ascendency. Even, despite all the media reports about the senseless killing of Captain Mahama, a group of people in the Upper East Region still went ahead to attack a man they suspected to be a wizard and nearly lynched him, but for the timely intervention of the police.

What this story is telling us is that Ghanaians would not turn away from killing innocent people they accuse of being armed robbers, unless they see with their naked eyes the trial and conviction of the Mahama murderers, if the latter are found guilty at the end of the trial.

As we noted in this column a couple of days ago, in Ghana, if your enemy wants to dispatch you to the other side of the world, all what the person needs to do is to shout thief, thief, in a crowded place, and that would be the end of the story.

The Chronicle is told that the people who were involved in the lynching of an administrator in the Brong-Ahafo some years ago, were found guilty and sentenced to death. But, because the majority of Ghanaians did not witness what went on in court, except reading about the conviction in the newspapers, they don't see the gravity of such mob injustice.

We are not judging the suspects involved in Captain Mahama's murder, but should they be found guilty at the end of the trial live on TV and sentenced to death, Ghanaians would come to appreciate the gravity in killing suspects without handing them over to the police.

We have already proposed to the Information Minister, Mustapha Hamid, to use the community radio stations as a platform to properly educate Ghanaians in the various local languages on the need to hand over suspects to the police instead of beating him or her to death.

Should the CJ accept the latest proposal, it would complete the efforts of the Information Ministry to ensure that this Stone Age practice is put to end, once and for all. Over to you, Madam CJ.
06.06.2017 LISTEN

Most Ghanaians are perplexed by a three-year suspension imposed on Mr. Francis Xavier Sosu, a Ghanaian lawyer, for supposedly advertising his name and number on Facebook. This, according to the General Legal Council (GLC), is based on 1969 disciplinary rules, specifically Rule 2(4) of the Legal Profession (Professional Conduct & Etiquette Rules) 1969, L.I. 613.

It is highly ironic that the United Kingdom, which we copied the rule from as part of our colonial heritage, has abandoned the total ban on lawyer advertising, as has the United States and other European Union countries.

It is symptomatic of our inability as a country to get on with the times, that we are enforcing a 1969 rule on professional advertising in the age of Facebook and the Internet. My particular pet peeve, in terms of outmoded laws still being applied in Ghana, is the criminal law on attempted suicide. That we still imprison people for attempted suicide in Ghana is a pity. The English, again, from whom we derived this law, have long since abolished it yet which we continue to enforce it with vigor. The Suicide Act (1961) decriminalized attempted suicide in England and Wales.

The blanket ban on lawyer advertising in Ghana is an unconstitutional infringement on free speech as protected by Article 21(1)(a) of the 1992 Constitution. Article 21(1)(a) states that: All persons shall have the right to freedom of speech and expression Speech takes all forms and commercial speech is recognized as one variant of speech and hence protected. It must be noted that freedom of speech is protected in the 1992 Constitution as a fundamental freedom.

Just as pertains in Ghana, Lawyer advertising was banned in the United States until the US Supreme Court found it an unconstitutional infringement on free speech in 1977. The case was Bates v. State Bar of Arizona. Bates advertised his legal services in a newspaper and was brought before the disciplinary committee of the State Bar of Arizona which prohibited lawyer advertising. He was found guilty and subject to suspension from practice and he sued the bar association. The US Supreme Court derided the advertising ban as an anachronism meant to perpetuate the market position of established lawyers. The Court also found that the ban served to inhibit the free flow of information and keep the public in ignorance.

The decision in Bates v. State Bar of Arizona, and that of Virginia State of Pharmacy Board v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council (1976) which upheld the constitutional right of pharmacists to advertise the price of prescription drugs, opened the way to advertisement by professionals in the United States.

The General Legal Council can impose reasonable limits on lawyer advertising and in almost all jurisdictions that allow lawyers to advertise, the ban is only limited to false, deceptive or misleading advertisement.

Many European Countries previously prohibited their lawyers from advertising. However, the adoption of The Code of Conduct for Lawyers in the European Union (CCBE Code) and decisions by the European Court of Justice made them rescind the prohibition and permit lawyer advertising. The Bar of England and Wales revoked their ban on lawyer advertising in its March 31, 1990 Code.

This was before the enactment of the Court & Legal Services Act of 1990. So also, The UK Solicitors Publicity Code only prohibits misleading or inaccurate advertising. The Code of Advertising and Publicity of the Code of Conduct of the Bar of England & Wales (2002 Amendment) also permits lawyer advertisement except for inaccurate or misleading advertisements; advertisements likely to bring the profession into disrepute; advertisements which make direct comparison or criticism of other barristers or members of other professions; advertisement which include statements about the barristers success rate; or advertisements which are so obtrusive as to cause annoyance to those to whom it is directed.

Scotland also allows Solicitors and Barristers to advertise and Northern Ireland allows Solicitors to advertise. In France, the Bar of Paris, which is the largest bar association allows advertising by lawyers. It provides that: personal advertising aimed at providing the public with needed information is lawful. It shall be implemented with dignity, thoughtfulness, probity and discretion; it shall be accurate and respectful of the professional obligation of confidentiality.

The General Legal Council ought to revise or lead a revision of its disciplinary rules on lawyer advertisement to accord with the free speech provisions of the 1992 Constitution and to conform to modern trends in Europe and the United States.

In the interim, I will encourage Mr. Sosu to sue to vindicate his constitutionally protected right to free speech.

John K. Akpalu, Esq. LL.M.(Harvard). The writer is an admitted lawyer in Ghana and New York.
The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has donated One Hundred and Fifty Thousand Ghana Cedis (GHS150,000.00) to the Western Regional Coordinating Council to aid in the treatment of victims of the May 9 gas explosion in Takoradi.

Presenting the cheque to the Western Regional Minister Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, Chief Executive of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) Alhassan Tampuli noted that, as a regulator of the downstream industry, we are concerned about the safety of industry players and consumers. We are working to improve the situation. We must all join hands to see our industry become safer. it is also our social responsibility to assist the victims in times like this he added.

We were devastated when we heard the news. We will ensure that safety standards are adhered to by both service providers and consumers,Mr Alhassan Tampuli said.

Also present at this brief ceremony was also the Deputy Western Regional Minister Honourable Mrs. Gifty Eugenia Kusi who doubles as the chairperson of the eleven (11) member committee tasked to investigate the Takoradi Gas explosion.

The Chief Executive of NPA, Alhassan Tampuli used the occasion to commend the Western Regional Coordinating Council for their support and regular visits to various hospitals to ensure that the victims are treated well.

Receiving the donation, Dr. Kwaku Afriyie expressed his gratitude to NPA for the gesture and said the donation would go a long way in paying for the bills of the victims.

He assured that all donations will go to support the victims. We will make sure it goes to the hospitals for their intended use the Minister said. He also appealed to other organisations to support the victims.

It will be recalled that on Tuesday, May 9, a stationary gas tank and a gas discharging tanker both exploded at the Ghana Household Utilities Manufacturing Company Limited which left over a 100 people injured along the Sekondi-Takoradi highway, including some fire fighters which attempted to fight the blaze from the explosion. Most of the victims were admitted to the hospitals including the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital, the GPHA Hospital, the Takoradi Government Hospital, the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital and the 37 Military Hospital in Accra.
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, Jun 6 (PTI) Union Minister Jayant Sinha today said regulators and pilots should be working together in a "very collaborative manner", amid DGCA complaining to the police against some pilots.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has filed a police complaint against 34 pilots of Jet Airways, IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir for allegedly posting "obscene" messages on a WhatsApp group against officials at the regulator.

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Following the complaint, Delhi Police today questioned 13 pilots.

When asked about the incident involving the pilots and the DGCA, Sinha said it was "unfortunate".

"It is obviously quiet distressing that (such) kind of language has been used and of course, we are hoping that... cooler minds will prevail and the matter will settle down," the Minister of State for Civil Aviation said.

"We obviously want our regulators and our pilots to be working together in a very collaborative and cooperative manner," he told reporters on the sidelines of an event here. PTI JC RAM ABM

--- ENDS ---
Accra, June 6, GNA - President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo left Ghana on Monday to attend the meetings of the United Nation's on the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) in Belgium and the US, and the G-20 Partnership Africa Summit in Germany.

He would be attending the UN's SDG meeting in his capacity as co-Chairperson of the Advocacy Group of Eminent Personalities.

Whilst in Belgium, President Akufo-Addo would meet with the Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, his co-chair of the UN SDGs Advocates Group of Eminent Personalities.

The President would also hold separate meetings with the Belgian Prime Minister, Charles Michel; and President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker.

At the opening of the 2017 European Development Days, Europe's leading forum on international co-operation and development, he would deliver an address on the theme 'Making Gender and the Youth the Private Sector's Business.'

In the United States, President Akufo-Addo would participate and address the UN Oceans Conference, the high-level UN Conference being held in New York to support the Implementation of SDG 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development (Life under Water).

The President would also have his first formal meeting with UN Secretary General, AntAnio Guterres.

In Germany, President Akufo-Addo is expected to call on the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, and participate in the G-20 Africa Partnership Summit, being held in Berlin to deliberate on Germany's 'Marshall Plan' for Africa, at the invitation of the German Chancellor.

He would also deliver a speech on the theme 'Ghana, Africa's Rising Star', at an event organised by the Konrad Adenaeur Stiftung.

President Akufo-Addo would then pay a two-day private visit to the United Kingdom, and return to Ghana on Saturday, June 17.

The President was accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shirley Ayorkor Botchway and officials of the Presidency and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

GNA

By Ken Sackey, GNA
Five (5) Islamic Senior High Schools (SHS), in Ghana, presented 74 candidates at the 2016/2017 West Africa Senior School Certificate (WASSCE) Examinations in Oral Arabic.

The schools include Al-Azhariya Islamic Senior High School at Old-Tafo in Kumasi, Sakafia (SHS) at Ayigya in Kumasi and Hamisa (SHS) in Madina, in Accra.Others are Mercy (SHS), at Japan Motors near Madina in Accra and Hambariya (SHS) in Tamale.

Speaking to the media in Kumasi, the President of Federation of Islamic Senior High Schools in Ghana (FISHSIG), Sheikh Mohammed Kamil Mohammed, said Arabic as an examinable subject has been a long standing one.

He said Arabic was examinable in Ghana during General Certificate of Education (GCE). Ordinary and Advance (O and A) levels era.

Ghana only stopped doing it when the country introduced the Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) which was a national examination he added.

The President of FISHSIG said since the introduction of WASSCE, Arabic has been part of examinable subjects being offered by the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) in the other West African Member Countries, and efforts to bring it back as an examinable subject at the SSCE or WASSCE level in Ghana have proven futile since 2000.

Sheikh Mohammed Kamil, is also the Deputy National Imam of Ahlul-Sunna Wal Jamaa, in charge of Education and Daawa, and Director of Al-Azhariya Islamic Schools (Basic and SHS) in Kumasi, disclosed that more candidates were also expected to present in the 2017/2018 in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in Arabic.

The Ghana Education Service (GES) inspected some of our Schools including Al-Azhariya (SHS) and Islamic (SHS) in Kumasi, as well as others in Tamale and found them satisfactory in the teaching of Arabic as a subject hence the approval given by GES. He added.

The FISHSIG President disclosed that there are Arabic teachers already teaching the subject in their basic schools who are employed and paid by the state since 1987.

So, one may ask; if the government has been paying teachers to teach the subject all these years and have now decided to make the teaching and learning of the subject more effective by making it become part of the examinable subjects for students who choose to do the subject just like French, then what is the big about this. He lamented.

He commended the Baraka Policy Institute (BPI), a Research Think Tank in Islamic Education, the offices of the National Chief Imam and the Ahlul Sunna Wal Jamaa for their efforts for the approval for students in Islamic Senior High Schools preparing for WASSCE to write the Arabic examination beginning 2017. END.
The Spokesperson for the family of Major Maxwell Mahama has said they were astonished when the President announced that government has set up a fund for the wife and children of Major Mahama.

President Akufo- Addo on Monday 5th June 2017 announced that government has set up a memorial trust fund with GHC500,000 to support the wife and children of late Major Mahama when he visited the family as they observed the one week of Major Mahama's death.

Expressing his astonishment and gratitude to the government for this initiative, Zakaria Sakara told Hot 93.9fm's host Akwasi Boateng that:

"we were short of words when the President announced that government has set up a fund for the wife and children of Major Maxwell Mahama.

Some of the promises made by the government was in response to some requests by the family. We made a proposal for the burial to take place on Friday, June 9 2017 which the President agreed. We also proposed that we would like a state burial and also the erection of a monument to his memory to serve as a lesson to all Ghanaians to remind us that never again will such a thing happen but what we did not expect is the government setting up a fund and the President contributing to it for the wife and children Major Mahama left behind."

He added that, the family is grateful to all Ghanaians for their support since the tragedy happened and further asked for continuous of tge public. He called on the public to help in fighting for justice for Major Mahama.
06.06.2017 LISTEN

The original caption for this article was How Can Major Oduro Be So Sure? because it is based on a news report in which the Deputy Minister of Defense, Major Derek Oduro (Rd), is reported to be contradicting the Lands and Natural Resources Minister that the attempts being made to completely halt illegal mining activities are being significantly impeded because some armed personnel from the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) are providing protective cover for foreign-owned Galamsey companies (See Therere No Galamsey Soldiers  Derek Oduro Classfmonline.com / Ghanaweb.com 5/23/17).

This is rather curious because Mr. John Peter Amewus account is informed by first-hand eyewitness experience. The Lands and Natural Resources Minister has actually espied with his own naked eyes, as it were, heavily armed military personnel from the Ghana Armed Forces who are protecting illegal Russian and Ukrainian mining companies in the country. I also dont suppose that Major Oduro, who is also the ruling partys Member of Parliament for Nkoranza-North, in the Brong-Ahafo Region, wants to half-imply by any stretch of the imagination that Mr. Amewu was under the proverbial influence when toured the Galamsey littered parts of the country.

These illegal foreign-owned mining firms were laying our water bodies and lands and forestry resources to waste long before the Akufo-Addo Administration appeared on the scene. Major Oduro tells us that conversations with the Chief of the Defense Staff indicates the certain absence of any authorized military personnel in the Galamsey business. In other words, by the lights of Major Oduro, any active-duty military officer or enlistee engaged in the protection of Galamsey companies must, perforce, be doing so privately, and not as a result of any authorization from the GAFs High Command.

But, of course, we know from previous news reports in which former Defense Minister under the watch of President John Dramani Mahama, Dr. Benjamin Kumbuor, is quoted to be saying that he had been fully aware of the involvement of military personnel in the concessionary protection of Galamsey companies, although he personally never gave any permission or authorization for such high-powered involvement. According to Dr. Kumbuor, any soldier legitimately involved in the protection of Galamsey companies may very well have received his or her marching orders from the GAFs Military High Command, because even as Defense Minister, he never directly instructed the GAFs Military Command.

Now that leaves us with only one definitive answer, namely, the Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces during the period under review. And that personality, of course, is none other than former President John Dramani Mahama! Investigations into the activities of the recently arrested Russian and Ukrainian illegal miners, in the Asante Region, ought to offer us some telling clues as to who has really been behind the scandalous use of personnel from the Ghana Armed Forces in the protection of foreign-born polluters of our water resources and the wanton destruction of our environment or ecological system. And then the most effective policy measures and initiatives could be deployed to solve this conundrum that seriously threatens the stability of our very existence as a nation and a people.

*Visit my blog at: kwameokoampaahoofe.wordpress.com Ghanaffairs
The government has earmarked a 3,000 acre of land for the construction of an Airstrip in the Central Regional capital, Cape Coast.

The Airstrip which will take light aircrafts when completed is expected to boost tourism in the Region.

During an inspection of the land Tuesday, Aviation Minister Cecilia Dapaah told Joy News the intention of government is to open the country up to investors and tourists.

Aviation Minister, Cecilia Dapaah

She disclosed government plans to construct an international airport in the Region but would first want to start with an Airstrip.

We will start with an airstrip...later on when we get a lot of funding we can develop it into a tarmac which will take bigger aircrafts, the Minister said.

The Region has two of its major tourist sites  Kakum National Park and Elmina Castle - on the UNESCO World Heritage map.

Tourism remains one of the major contributors to Ghanas Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has revealed the total contribution of travel and tourism to the countrys economy was GHS6.24 billion ($1.73 billion) in 2013 or 7.2 percent of GDP.

This has been estimated to triple by 2024 but there remains one major challenge, accessibility to the tourist sites.

The roads to the Kakum National Park and Elmina Castle, as well as other tourist sites in the country, are untarred creating difficulties for tourists.

The only means of transport for tourists who wish to visit sites in the Central Region is by road. This means they will have to spend long torturous hours on the Accra-Cape Coast Highway before getting to their destination.

This, the Aviation Minister said, informed government's decision to construct the Airstrip in the Region.

We dont want people to sit in the plane for eight hours and come and drive through Bujumbura to visit Kakum National Park or Elmina Castle, Cecilia Dapaah said.

The completion of the Airstrip will afford tourists the opportunity to join a lighter aircraft to the Region upon arrival at the Kotoka International Airport, she said, adding it will help to eliminate the harassment they go through.

The Minister appealed to residents of Cape Coast to desist from encroaching on the land "so that we can have an open space to develop the aviation industry in this Region"

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Austin Brakopowers | [email protected] | Instagram: @realbrakopowers
Maseru (Lesotho) (AFP) - Lesotho's former prime minister Thomas Thabane is poised to form a coalition government after his party won snap elections at the weekend and defeated the ruling alliance, official results released Tuesday showed.

Thabane's All Basotho Convention (ABC) won 48 parliamentary seats and will form a coalition with three other parties to obtain the required 61-seat majority.

The ABC secretary general Samonyane Ntsekele said the party would join forces with the Alliance of Democrats (AD), Basotho National Party (BNP) and the Reformed Congress of Lesotho (RCL)to form the country's third coalition government.

"We will officially announce the formation of this coalition government within the next two days," Ntsekele said.
Do we say that every misfortune that concerns the death of an innocent soul is a blessing in disguise?

The death of captain Adam Mahama of the Ghana army through mob action though not the first of its kind in Ghana is a complete eye opener to the people of Ghana and an opportunity to put right what is going wrong about us as a people. We were not barbaric but why are we treading that cause now?

Come to think of this ,the processes leading to the death of Captain now Major Maxwell Mahama have served to unite the nation against atrocities and mob injustice being experienced daily in Ghana. True to his words President Nana Addo Danquah Akufo Addo has set up a huge fund with government putting in Ghc500,000 for support towards smooth upkeep of the family of the late soldier. Former President John Mahama has pledged to support the widow of late Major Mahama and her children.

The support from these stalwarts are quite apart from many people including chiefs, philanthropists and religious leaders sending donations through certified bank accounts opened for the purpose and published on social media and the main media houses. The death of the soldier has taken away partisanship bringing all together including the president from New Patriotic Party and john Mahama of National Democratic Congress.

This would lead to all Ghanaians irrespective of their partisan affiliation to join hands in this national crusade to stamp out crude atrocities from Ghana. Every chief and religious leader and their followers have joined the band wagon. While they condemn the daily killings of innocent people they are prepared to continue preaching and praying against it.

Because the fund created by government concerning the wrongful and untimely death of Major Mahama it is our desire for the fund to be turned into a foundation that would benefit not only the immediate family of the diseased soldier but the nation as a whole.

It is our suggestion that the foundation must be called Major Mahama Foundation for Public Safety [MFPS]. Through this foundation funds could be raised throughout Ghana to be used as follows;

First and foremost, the foundation should be concerned with the general welfare of the family of the diseased major with special emphasis of the education feeding and shelter of his wife and children.

The foundation should also team up with chiefs, religious leaders, educational institutions and civil society generally to educate people on the need to value human life and to learn to help people out when they find themselves in trouble.

Part of the fund can be used in supporting less privileged children to go through their educational studies..

It is our belief that if the tenets of the foundation are followed we would succeed in reducing the incidents of mob justice and get people to honor people and help them out in times of difficulties as has been the lot of Ghanaians since time immemorial
United Nations (United States) (AFP) - France will ask the UN Security Council to authorize an African military force for the Sahel region that will be sent to root out jihadists and drug traffickers, the French ambassador said Tuesday.

A French-drafted resolution is expected to be presented this week to the Security Council, which could vote on the measure in the coming weeks.

Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, which make up the G5, agreed in March to set up the force of 5,000 troops for the Sahel region.

The force will have its headquarters in Mali but will be under a separate command from the UN peacekeeping force MINUSMA, which has been deployed in the country since 2013.

"France is going to propose a draft Security Council resolution to authorize the G5 Sahel counter-terrorist force," Ambassador Francois Delattre told reporters.

Delattre said he expected the council to back the measure, drafted under chapter 7 of the UN charter, which provides for the use of force.

"We cannot afford to let the Sahel region become a new safe haven for terrorists from across the region," he said.

France carried out a military intervention in Mali in 2013 to drive out jihadist groups, some of which were linked to Al-Qaeda, which had seized the country's north.

Though the Islamists have been largely ousted from the north, jihadist groups continue to mount attacks on civilians and UN forces and the violence has engulfed parts of central Mali.

The measure will include a request to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to propose ways to support the Sahel force through logistical and financial means.

UN support for the Sahel force would come at a time when the 12,000-strong MINUSMA force has come under a series of attacks in what has become the UN's deadliest mission.

Two peacekeepers from Chad were killed in an ambush in the north on Tuesday.

The attack, like many others in the last weeks, was claimed by a powerful jihadist alliance, the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM), a fusion of three Malian jihadist groups with previous Al-Qaeda links.
Fagnano (Italy) (AFP) - The Italian mother of London attacker Youssef Zaghba says she tried to prevent him being radicalised, "but he had internet" and fell in with the wrong crowd in the British capital.

Zaghba, 22, has been identified as the third of the three attackers shot dead by police after their attack in London on Saturday that killed seven people and left dozens injured.

A Moroccan-Italian dual national, it has emerged he had tried to join the Islamic State group in Syria last year and was notified to Britain as a suspect figure after being intercepted by Italian authorities.

His mother, Valeria Collina, a convert to Islam who is separated from the attacker's Morocco-based father, told Italian weekly L'Espresso that she thought her son had been radicalised by a combination of online propaganda and contacts in London.

"We always kept an eye on who he was friends with and checked that he was not mixed up with the wrong people," she told the magazine in her only interview since her son was identified.

"But he had internet and that is where everything came from.

"He never let himself be led by anyone, neither in Italy, nor in Morocco, where he was studying computing at the University of Fez."

Collina said she had been concerned by the milieu in the part of east London where her son lived.

"I have been there and I did not like it. He was mixing with the wrong people."

The Italian said that her son had shown her videos about Syria before his March 2016 attempt to board a flight for Turkey, apparently with the intention of reaching its conflict-torn neighbour.

"But he never spoke about going to fight there. For him Syria was a place where you could live according to a pure Islam. The way he told it was a fantasy... transmitted to him over the internet."

Goodbye call

His mother added that she "always told him there were horrible things they did not show. But I wasn't able to make him change his mind."

The mother of London attacker says she understands why British imams have said they are not prepared to give her son a Muslim funeral

She said she understood why many British imams have said they are not prepared to give her son a Muslim funeral.

"I understand that and I share their choice because it is necessary to send a strong political signal. Also to give a message to the victims' families and non-Muslims.

"Only a mother can feel the pain of another mother. I know that nothing can be enough but I am ready to do whatever I can to bring them peace.

"I understand that asking to be forgiven means nothing, that's why I promise to dedicate my life to ensuring this does not happen again.

"We must fight the ideology of Islamic State with true knowledge and I will do that with all my force, by teaching the true Islam and by trying to convince families to fill this void that can afflict their sons."

Collina said she had last spoken to her son on Thursday afternoon. Neither she nor her estranged husband had been able to reach him on Friday.

"With hindsight I realise now that he intended it as a goodbye call. Although he did not say anything particular, I felt it in his voice. Also because he usually sent messages, he didn't always call.

"We joked about how he was going to pick me up at the airport in London. I was due to go and meet him in ten days to celebrate the end of Ramadan together. He had just bought a new second-hand car, I asked if he was going to put little flags on it for me."
The Minority in Parliament is insisting the government of President Akufo-Addo gave the authorization for the supply of 43 specialised armoured vehicles valued at $9 million for its use.

The Minority insisted the National Security Minister Kan Dapaah knew about the said vehicles and accused the government of "bad faith."

The new government has said it had no knowledge about the vehicles which were ordered barely eight days before the official transfer of power.

The vehicles are capable of firing rounds of ammunition and are designed to withstand the deadly effects of a hand grenade.

The passengers compartment and the roof of the vehicles are protected using a high-quality armoured steel which deflects any bullet.

Deputy Information Minister, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah told Joy FMs Super Morning Show Monday, no member of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) Transition team sanctioned the purchase of the vehicles.

He noted, all request during the transition period were documented [including] the former President [John Mahamas] request for building.

Mr Oppong Nkrumah said the claim that members of the new government had asked for the new vehicles is news to us.

He challenged persons who claimed he was contracted by the President Akufo-Addo to purchase the vehicles to come forward.

National Security Minister, Kan Dapaah who is alleged to have played a role in the authorization of the vehicles has denied it.

The Minister in an interview with Joy News Evans Mensah Tuesday said at no time during the Transition process did he make the request for the vehicles.

But the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Members of Parliament (MPs) are accusing the government of bad faith over the matter.

Former Deputy Finance Minister, Casiel Ato Forson told Joy News it is unforgiving for government to deny its involvement in the purchase after it had given its acceptance.

It hurts when you deal with somebody at that high level and you expect that everybody will keep good faith [after] you [have] authorized somebody to do something on your behalf, he said.

The Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam MP cautioned government not to repeat this blood denial again not in the name of politics.

Contributing to discussions on Joy FMs Top Story Tuesday, private legal practitioner, Kofi Bentil says the simple way of dealing with the issue is for government to demand documents from those who claim they have valid order.

It is not always true that once the Chief of Staff writes a letter it constitutes a valid order binding the Republic of Ghana, he said, adding government must determine if the supposed order is valid.

"Something can be improper but it is not illegal," he said, adding if the order is found to be true, government has no option than to pay for them.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Austin Brakopowers | [email protected] | Instagram: @realbrakopowers
By Press Trust of India: Beijing/New Delhi, Jun 6 (PTI) Trade associations from India and several other countries have joined hands as part of a first-ever global initiative that was launched in Beijing today aiming to combat mosquito and other pest-borne diseases.

"After a number of conferences on the subject, leading to it, the first-ever World Pest Day was launched in the Chinese capital. We at Indian Pest Control Association (IPCA) have supported this global coalition, and for India it is all the more important as we are fighting malaria, dengue and chikungunya, besides other diseases," President of IPCA, Raju Parulkar told PTI.

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A dedicated day would allow raising of public awareness world over to highlight the importance of pest management industry through various events, he said.

"It would also allow us to exchange ideas on ways and methods to combat menace of mosquito and other pests," Parulkar said.

Initiated by the Chinese Pest Control Association (CPCA), international organisations and associations, it was proposed to increase awareness of pest-borne diseases and safeguard public health through scientific and professional pest control methods, Chinas state-run news agency Xinhua said.

More than 30 national and international organisations signed to support the initiative.

CPCA President Xu Jianguo said the launching of World Pest Day came at the right time as the number of mosquito, tick, and rodent-borne diseases like Zika virus, yellow fever, dengue fever and malaria were on the rise in recent years.

The severity of invasion had also increased due to a rapidly warming planet, accelerating urbanisation and booming trade and tourism, according to Xu.

Statistics from the World Health Organisation show that more than one billion people worldwide are exposed to vector- borne diseases, and every year one million people lose their lives as a result, the report said.

The economic costs of these diseases amount to more than 17 per cent of the total costs of infectious diseases.

The IPCA president said it has joined hands with Americas National Pest Management Association (NPMA), Federation of Asian & Oceania Pest Managements Association (FAOPMA), Chinese Pest Control Association(CPCA) and the Confederation of European Pest Management Associations (CEPA) to support this global in initiative.

The IPCA today also held a parallel event in New Delhi to mark the day.

"From next year, it will become a calendar event, and awareness events would be held in various countries," Parulkar said. PTI KND/CPS NSA

--- ENDS ---
Tunis (AFP) - Tunisian judicial authorities on Tuesday slapped a one-month ban on radical Islamist party Hizb ut-Tahrir, notably for incitement to hatred, the prosecution said.

"The activities of the party have been suspended for a month from today," said prosecution spokesman Sofiene Sliti.

The decision was taken because of the party's "incitement to hatred and its calls to put in place a caliphate", said Sliti.

AFP was unable to immediately reach Hizb ut-Tahrir for comment.

It is the second time that the radical Islamist party has been suspended from political activity at the request of the authorities.

Hizb ut-Tahrir is known for focusing on unifying Muslims into a caliphate and is already banned in several countries.

In August 2016, the party successfully overturned a decision by a civil judge to ban it, and has denounced what it says is "police harassment" in Tunisia.

The Tunisian branch of the pan-Islamic movement appeared in the 1980s but it remained on a list of banned organisations until after the 2011 overthrow of longtime strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

The party is frequently accused of causing public disturbances with its rallies and had its annual congress cancelled in June for "security reasons".

"This is a party that does not recognise the civilian character of the state," said Interior Minister Hedi Majdoub.
Algiers (AFP) - Dozens of Syrian refugees remained stranded in no-man's land between Morocco and Algeria on Tuesday, non-governmental groups said, despite an Algerian offer to help.

Algiers said last week it would take in the refugees after the United Nations urged both sides to help the Syrians, who include a pregnant woman and have been stranded in the desert area since April 17.

"The Syrian refugee families are still blocked on the border between Algeria and Morocco. Authorities on both sides are passing each other the buck," said Noureddine Benissad of the Algerian League of Human Rights.

Saida Benhabiles, the head of the Algerian Red Crescent, said a joint team from her organisation and the UN refugee agency have been waiting on the Algerian border since late Monday.

"There's no obstacle on the Algerian side," she said. "But the problem is they're in Moroccan territory and we can't go to get them."

In a statement, non-governmental groups including the Moroccan Association of Human Rights, International Federation for Human Rights and the Algerian League of Human Rights urged "authorities in both countries to find an immediate solution".

The zone between the two countries has been closed since 1994. The North African rivals have very difficult relations, especially over the question of Western Sahara.
Accra, June 6, GNA - Mr John Sena, a talented gospel artist, has launched his album titled 'Declarative' to encourage all believers to achieve whatever they have been believing God for.

The album has a 30-minute medley, 20-minute medley and declarative songs that can be played at all times to uplift the spirit.

Launching the album in Accra, Mr Sena said proceeds made from his music over the years had been used to support about 200 children in deprived communities in the Eastern Region.

'A chunk of what comes out from the album sale goes into supporting the projects. The NGO activities are usually self-funded and because I'm a music minister I try to use proceeds from whatever I get, and support that comes from others to support the communities,' he said.

He does this under the auspices of Inspire Love International, an Accra-based humanitarian non-governmental organisation focused on providing health care, education, leadership and empowerment as well structural growth for the deprived communities.

Highlighting the activities of the NGO, the Gospel artist said: 'We have borehole projects, a child sponsorship programme, which has seen about 200 children through school so far.

'We also have health care programmes, and bridge constructions in the villages.'

During the launch, a number of children who are due for sponsorship and need support through school were displayed.

People got the chance to read the profile of the child and if they are interested sponsor his or her education.

The organisation also raises funds by storming the streets to collect contributions, washing cars and selling cookies.

'Our choice of fund raising technique depends on what project we are embarking on as some of the projects do not need a lot of money. We write proposals for support for projects that need a substantial amount of money,' he explained.

He urged Ghanaians to purchase the album as buying it translated into support for deprived communities as well as encouragement for the organisation to bless more people.

GNA

By Caroline Pomeyie, GNA
Ho, June 6, GNA - The youth of Alavanyo and Nkonya are calling for a ceasefire in the 94-year-old land dispute between the two traditional areas.

The conflict seem unending despite efforts by religious bodies, the National Peace Council and government, with intermittent reports of killings from both sides.

The two areas are currently under curfew from 2200 hours to 0530 hours.

At a meeting between, members of the Volta Regional Security Council (REGSEC) and representatives of the two factions in Ho on Monday, youth from the feuding parties agreed to end the hostilities and co-exist peacefully.

Mr Francis Pongo, spokesperson for the youth of Alavanyo, said the killings were enough and called on both sides to lay down their arms.

He said the conflict was having negative effects on the development of both areas, hampering social and economic growth.

Mr Kokroko Asong Julian, spokesperson for the youth of Nkonya, said the youth of both areas were bearing the brunt of the conflict and appealed to the security agencies to act promptly to avert further bloodshed.

Dr Archibald Yao Letsa, Volta Regional Minister and Chairman of REGSEC lauded the youth for the bold initiative to end the conflict.

He recommended the organisation of various fora in the communities towards the realisation of peace.

Dr Letsa also suggested the compilation of names of families bereaved by the conflict for psychological assistance.

The Regional Minister also called for the formation of a disarmament committee to rid the communities of assault rifles.

'Declarations alone don't make peace. It takes the commitment of the people declaring the peace', he stated.

Mr Clemence Gyato, Alavanyo/Nkonya Peace Ambassador recently told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that assurances from the two areas were no longer inspiring and reiterated the call on government to take over the disputed land.

He said though the traditional areas had had several reconciliation durbars and performed rituals invoking the gods against anyone who attacked the other, killings were still being recorded.

GNA
Tamale, June 6, GNA - Bamba Islamic Institute-Ghana has donated various items worth GHE1, 270.00 to the inmates of the Tamale Central Prison as they observe the Ramadan fast.

The items include two bags of sugar, one bag of maize, a bag of rice and an amount of GHE200.00.

Mr Sheikh Amin Bamba Iman, Chief Executive Officer of Bamba Islamic Institute-Ghana, who presented the items, said 'the month of Ramadan is full of blessing and any act of kindness to a brother or a sister is a great act of worship, which attracts God's blessings'.

He called on individuals and organisations to remember prison inmates during this year's Ramadan fast.

Mr Joseph Aryeetey, Assistant Director of the Tamale Central Prisons, who received the items on behalf of the inmates, expressed gratitude to the organisation for the donation.

He appealed to Non-Government Organisations and philanthropists to come to the support of inmates because government alone cannot meet all their needs.

Bamba Islamic Institute-Ghana is an Islamic Civil Society Organisation involved in education, welfare and religious activities in the Northern.

GNA

By Comfort Sena Fetrie/ Naa Shormei Odonkor, GNA
Takoradi (W/R), June 6, GNA - The Takoradi Technical University (TTU) Chapter of the National Association of Nzema students, Ghana, has honoured the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ellembelle, Mr Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah for his leadership style.

The honour was also due to the MPs contribution to the Association and the rapid development of the Nzema area.

President of the Chapter, Frederick Angamah said this in a citation to Mr Buah at the handing over ceremony of the old executives to new ones in Takoradi.

The citation read in part: 'As we show our appreciation today, we do so knowing that an example of a true character and virtue has been shown to us to follow a seed, which has to be nurtured to its fruition.

'We look back and are convinced without doubt that your kind-hardheartedness, generosity and love are your codes of service both in the good and unusual times".

Speaking on: 'The Role of the Student towards the Development of Nzema,' Mr Buah charged students at the University to impact positively on their communities after graduation.

He advised the students to be involved in communal labour and organise free extra classes for the young ones at home.

Recounting his experience as a student at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, when he became the first President at the inception of the Association, he said: "The fruits of steering affairs of the Association sacrificially, had motivated him to become an MP and a Minister.

He said the Association became more vibrant during his tenure by initiating good programmes.

Mr Buah appealed to the new executives to render sacrifices towards the sustenance of the association to push the development agenda of Nzema forward.

Touching on his contribution to education he revealed that his outfit had sponsored hundreds of Nzema students to pursue their master's degree in the United Kingdom, Germany, and China among others.

He has also awarded scholarships to second cycle students, organised Mock examination for BECE candidates as well as the registration of private candidates to write the November/December WASSCE at no cost.

Mr Buah advised the students to "see ourselves first as Nzemas before our political colours in a bid to push the development agenda of Nzema forward".

GNA
Mildred Siabi-Mensah GNA

Sekondi, June 6, GNA - The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) at the weekend presented a cheque for GHE150,000.00 to the Western Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) to help in catering for the medical needs of the GHUMCO gas explosion victims.

Mr. Alhassan Sulemana Tampuli, the Chief Executive Officer of NPA, who presented the cheque to Mrs. Eugenia Gifty Kusi, Deputy Regional Minister, said the financial support was to help reduce the financial burden of the RCC in meeting the daily health needs of the victims.

He said as the regulatory body in the downstream petroleum sector, it was imperative that the Authority should support the victims.

Mr. Tampuli asked that part of the money should be used to defray sitting allowances of the committee set up to investigate the cause of the disaster, whilst a portion be used to restore hope to the afflicted in terms of livelihood empowerment.

Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, Western Regional Minister was dumb founded about the magnitude of the disaster and described it as, 'great escape' for the country.

He said throughout his medical practice, he had not seen such a miracle adding, 'About 60 people could have easily been loss to the gas explosionit is really amazing and we should be thankful to God'.

Mrs. Kusi said there were 16 more people still receiving treatment in hospitals across the country and that the money would help to cover some of their cost.

GNA
The absence of transparency in fertilizer distribution and low farm gate prices hampered the effort of cocoa farmers in Ghana to plant more, a World Bank report has revealed.

According to the report which is yet-to-be made public, the prices paid farmers for their produce rob them of a good return on their land, labour and capital.

It also revealed COCOBOD  the body in charge of the sale of cocoa - has been unable to guarantee farmers stable prices because it is more interested in getting a better export revenue margin for government.

The World Bank report sighted by Joy News was emphatic the countrys cocoa production is not witnessing the needed boost because of issues of corruption and mismanagement.

The report by the Bretton Wood institution comes at a time the former COCOBOD Chief Executive Officer, Dr Stephen Opuni is being investigated by the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) for some fraudulent transactions.

Assets of Dr Opuni have reportedly been frozen pending conclusion on the investigations.

He is alleged to have given government's free fertiliser to only cronies of the previous National Democratic Congress (NDC) government leaving out farmers who are not aligned to the party.

Chairman of the Western Regional Cocoa Farmers Association, Nana Johnson Mensah told Joy News the yield of some farmers suffered in 2016 because they were not given the fertilisers.

To ensure all the farmers get their share of the fertilisers, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has directed them to pay 50 percent of the fertilisers price for government to absorb the rest.

Nana Mensah lauded the shift in fertiliser distribution policy of the new government, saying "every farmer will now have access to fertilisers."

The government has also set the target of raising cocoa production levels to at least 1 million tonnes and to process more than 50 percent of cocoa beans in the country.

It hope to achieve this by exploring new markets and improving the cocoa value chain. But these might be hampered if government does not address the issues of corruption, mismanagement and underpayment of farmers identified as major challenges in the sector.

The World Bank report has recommended a conscious institutional arrangement which will help to improve cocoa yield in the country.

Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com | Austin Brakopowers | [email protected] | Instagram: @realbrakopowers
Yosemite's Mist Trail from the top of Vernal Fall View Photos

Yosemite, CA  Yosemite National Park officials are seeking information about a reported incident that occurred Monday afternoon.

Park officials say at 12:30pm an unknown white male hiker reportedly fell from the Mist Trail and into the Merced River. The park reports that the hiker may have been in his twenties with a blue shirt and red or tan shorts. He is described as being 62 with a shaved or bald head and carrying a hiking pole.

If you witnessed this incident on the Mist Trail, or have any information about the individual, you are asked to call Yosemite National Park dispatch at 209-379-1992.
Very often among fashion lovers you will hear people say that how a person dresses says a lot about who he/she is. The right outfit will make you look brighter and even make you feel happier. People will notice you much more especially if you are seen wearing one of Yomi casual latest designs. So check out these last fashion creations for men and women by the famous fashion designer, Yomi Casual!

Nigerian native attire - where does Yomi Casual get inspiration?

Despite the challenges we face, Nigerians always want to look good. They want to be admired.

In recent years fashion photographers all around the world have an increased interest in street fashion in developing countries. You can often see a lot of fashion photos from the streets of Nigeria.

Traditional clothes

When it comes to the true traditional outfits in Nigeria, men wear a wide spacious cape (cape) over a t-shirt. While women wear blouses (Buba) and wrapper or skirt. They also wear a headdress which is called the gele.

Nigerian gele  a headgear which is simply a piece of cloth wrapped around a head is one of the most colorful elements of womens clothing.

A woman would often wear gele as a way to beautifully complement her outfit when attending an occasion. The style of tying it on the head can get so intricate that it might even need another person's help.

European clothing is also popular, especially in the cities.

Nigerian native attire styles

Attend a typical Nigerian wedding and you will get to witness some impressive styles. Whether it is a religious party, an official reception or simply a birthday, Nigerians would always look great and festive.

Yomi Casual designs

The world of fashion improves every day. We can all watch as famous designers create something unique and stylish. Yomi Casual is one of them. He creates the most beautiful and charming attires for Nigerians.

People all over the world applaud him for his creativity.

Yomi Casual is a Nigerian fashion designer, who mostly makes clothes for men. But he also creates absolutely beautiful clothes for women. A few of them can be seen here.

Yomi Casual latest designs

READ ALSO: Gele styles in Nigeria 2017

The new collection of the fashion brand Yomi Casual is quite impressive. Just look at some of them and you will be awed.

Men's fashion trend is represented by its unisex collection of shirt dresses and shirts.

The designer was very imaginative during the creation of his collection. He wanted to create the most elite designs for his clients. Yomi Casual experimented with fabrics of different colors - from warm to cold. He used velvet and linen fabrics.

We can definitely say it is a fantastic job.

The unisex collection composes of 16 pieces of clothing. There are bishops and classic collared shirts.

The collection also composes:

- patterned;

- plain;

- striped shirts;

- buttoned down shirts.

Yomi also created a big variety of shirt dresses for Nigerian women.

The creative head of the brand, Yomi Makun, said this is aimed at changing their style. Before this collection, they created clothes only for men. He explained that their brand wanted to create beauties from traditional attire. That's why Yomi Casual decided to create special and unique clothes.

People can combine these shirts with formal pants, ripped jeans and other accessories.

The collection also consists of shorts, sportswear, and heels. That is because Yomi doesn't want his customers to wear shirts with boring articles of clothing.

Yomi Casual designs for ladies

Here you can see different types of shirt dresses for the ladies. They look stunning in such outfitss. It is both common and stylish.

Thanks to the Yomi Casual new unisex collection, ladies and gentlemen get to look perfect. They radiate self-confidence! Everyone should try this new style and they will look fantastic.

READ ALSO: olour combination for traditional wedding attire

Source: Legit.ng
Nursing is a commendable and desired profession in Nigeria. We have compiled a comprehensive up-to-date list of accredited nursing schools in Nigeria (as of 2017). This data is taken from the official website of Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (www.nmcn.gov.ng). There, you can find more information about the nursing profession and the school of your choice.

List of nursing schools in Nigeria

The following nursing schools have been accredited and are presented by state in alphabetical order. The list does not include schools of midwifery, but it does include university departments and schools that specialize in nursing specifically.

Abia State

Dept. of Nursing, Abia State University, Uturu

School of Nursing, Amachara

School of Nursing, Umuahia

Adamawa State

College of Nursing and Midwifery, Dept. of Nursing, Yola

Akwa-Ibom State

School of Nursing, Anua-Uyo

School of Nursing, Ikot-Ekpene

School of Nursing, Eket

Anambra State

Dept. of Nursing, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nnewi

School of Nursing, Iyi-Enu

School of Nursing, Ihiala

School of Nursing, Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital, Nnkpor

School of Nursing, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi

Bauchi State

School of Nursing, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Teaching Hospital, Bauchi

Bayelsa State

Dept. of Nursing, Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island

School of Nursing, Tombia

Benue State

Two of existing nursing schools were withdrawn, as they did not receive accreditation.

Borno State

School of Psychiatric Nursing, Maiduguri

School of Post Basic Nursing Peri-Operative, University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Maiduguri

School of Nursing, Maiduguri

School of Nursing, University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Maiduguri

Cross River State

Dept. of Nursing, University of Calabar

School of Psychiatric Nursing, Federal Neuro Psychiatric Hospital, Calabar

School of Nursing, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital

School of Nursing, Itigidi

Delta State

Dept. of Nursing, Delta State University, Abraka

School of Nursing, Agbor

School of Nursing, Eku

School of Nursing, Warri

Ebonyi State

Dept. of Nursing, Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki

School of Nursing, Afikpo

School of Nursing, FETHA

Edo State

Dept. of Nursing, Igbinidion University, Okada

Dept. of Nursing, University of Benin

School of Psychiatric Nursing, Uselu

School of Nursing, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin

School of Post Basic Ophthalmic Nursing, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin

School of Post Basic Peri-Operative Nursing, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin

School of Post Basic Peri-Operative Nursing, Irrua Specialist Hospital, Irrua

Ekiti State

Dept. Of Nursing, Afe Babalola University, Ekiti

School of Nursing, Ado-Ekiti

Enugu State

Dept. of Nursing, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus

School of Psychiatric Nursing, Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Enugu

School of Nursing, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu

School of Post Basic Nursing, Anaesthetics, Enugu State University Teaching Hospital, Enugu

School of Post Basic Nursing, Burns & Plastic, National Orthopaedic Hospital, Enugu

School of Post Basic Nursing, Cardiothoracic, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu

School of Post Basic Nursing, Ophthalmic, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu

School of Post Basic Peri-Operative Nursing, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu

School of Post Basic Orthopaedic Nursing, National Orthopaedic Hospital, Enugu

Gombe State

School of Nursing, Gombe

Imo State

College of Nursing & Health, Orlu

Dept. of Nursing, Imo State University, Owerri

School of Nursing, Amaigbo

School of Nursing, Emekuku

School of Nursing, Mbano

School of Nursing Umulogho, Obowu

Jigawa State

School of Nursing, Birnin-Kudu

Kaduna State

College Of Nursing, Kafanchan

Dept. Of Nursing, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria

School of Psychiatric Nursing, Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Barnawa, Kaduna

School of Nursing, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria

School of Nursing, St. Geralds Hospital, Kakuri

School of Nursing, Wusasa

School of Post Basic Nursing, Ear Nose and Throat, Kaduna

School of Post Basic Ophthalmic Nursing, Kaduna National Eye Centre

Kano State

READ ALSO: Best Medical Schools in Nigeria 2017

Dept. of Nursing Science, FAHS, Bayero University, Kano

School of Nursing, Kano

School of Nursing, Madobi

School of Post Basic Orthopaedic Nursing, National Orthopaedic Hospital, Dala-Kano

School of Post Basic Paediatric Nursing, AKTH

Katsina State

School of Nursing, Katsina

Kebbi State

School of Nursing, Birnin-Kebbi

Kogi State

School of Nursing, Egbe

School of Nursing, Obangede

Kwara State

College Of Nursing, Oke-Ode

School of Nursing, Ilorin

School of Nursing, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital

School of Post Basic A&E Nursing, University of Ilorin

School of Post Basic Nursing, Paediatric, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin

Lagos State

Dept. of Nursing science, University of Lagos

School of Psychiatric Nursing, Federal Neuropsychiatric, Yaba.

School of Nursing, Igando

School of Nursing, Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba

School of Nursing, Military Hospital, Yaba

School of Post Basic A&E Nursing, Lagos University Teaching Hospital

School of Post Basic Paediatric Nursing, Lagos University Teaching Hospital

School of Post Basic Ophthalmic Nursing, Lagos University Teaching Hospital

School of Post Basic Peri-Operative Nursing, Lagos University Teaching Hospital

School of Post Basic A&E Nursing, National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos

School of Post Basic Orthopaedic Nursing, NOH, Igbobi, Lagos

Nasarawa State

School of Nursing, Lafia

Niger State

School of Nursing, Bida

Ogun State

Dept. of Nursing, Babcock University, Illishan-Remo

School of Psychiatric Nursing, Aro, Abeokuta

School of Nursing, Abeokuta

School of Nursing, Ilaro

School of Nursing, Lantoro

Ondo State

School of Nursing, Akure

Osun State

Dept. Of Nursing, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife

Dept. of Nursing, Ladoke Akintola University Of Technology, Osogbo

School of Nursing, Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex, Ilesa

School of Nursing, Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex, Ile-Ife

School of Nursing, Osogbo

School of Nursing, Seventh Day Adventist Hospital, Ile-Ife

School of Post Basic Peri-Operative Nursing, Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex, Ile-Ife

Oyo State

Dept. Of Nursing, University of Ibadan

School of Nursing, Baptist Medical Centre, Saki

School of Nursing, Bowen University Teaching Hospital, Ogbomosho

College of Nursing and Midwifery, Dept. of Nursing, Eleyele, Ibadan

School of Nursing, University College Hospital, Ibadan

School of Post Basic Peri-Operative Nursing, University College Hospital, Ibadan

Plateau State

Dept. Of Nursing, University Of Jos

School of Nursing, Jos University Teaching Hospital, Jos (MMH)

School of Nursing, Vom, Jos

School of Post Basic Anaesthetic Nursing, Jos University Teaching Hospital, Jos

School of Post Basic Critical Care Nursing, Jos University Teaching Hospital, Jos

Rivers State

Dept. of Nursing, Madonna University, Elele

Dept. Of Nursing, University Of Port-Harcourt

School of Nursing, Port-Harcourt

School of Post Basic A&E Nursing, University of Port-Harcourt Teaching Hospital

School of Post Basic Paediatric Nursing, University of Port-Harcourt Teaching Hospital

Sokoto State

School of Psychiatric Nursing, Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Kware

School of Nursing, Sokoto

School of Nursing, Usuman Danfodio University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto

Taraba State

School of Nursing, Jalingo

Yobe State

School of Nursing, Dr. Shehu Sule, Damaturu

Zamfara State

School of Nursing, Gusau

Federal Capital Territory (FCT)

School of Nursing, Gwagwalada

School of Post Basic Critical Care Nursing, University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Abuja

Total number of accredited nursing schools in Nigeria: 128

Conclusion

As you can see, there are plenty of schools to chose from. Almost every state has at least one school of nursing. Therefore, if you want to pursue a career in medicine, you don't have to go far from home. Enjoy studying your passion in one of the best nursing schools in Nigeria.

We hope that this list will help you choose the right institution!

READ ALSO: Latest CV format in Nigeria 2017

Source: Legit.ng
- Hoodlums stormed a church in Iju area of Lagos at about 3am on May 30th

- They stabbed the pastor, who they met praying and left without saying a word

- The pastor's wife said the criminals did not take anything and they left by scaling the church's fence

A group of hoodlums believed to be armed robbers allegedly stormed a church in Iju Ishaga on May 30 and stabbed the pastor of a Christ Apostolic church to death.

Legit.ng learnt that the the criminals, numbering up to four, stormed the Christ Apostolic Church, Sanctuary of Blessing, Iju and stabbed the senior pastor to death.

Punch reported that the 56 year old senior pastor was taken to a private hospital from where he was referred to Lagos state Teaching Hospital where he was eventually pronounced dead.

The victim's wife, Mrs Olasunbo Olayinka said it happened around 3am on May 30th and that the hoodlums didn't say a single word when they attacked the church.

READ ALSO: Arrest Nnamdi Kanu - Kogi group demands

Outside the church with obituary poster of the late pastor.

Olayinka said: We were asleep when they entered the church. They came to our house and we didnt know anything was happening until we heard a sound like something was falling. There was a power outage, so we couldnt see clearly. My husband was the first to wake up. They broke into the house through the front door.

They didnt say anything to us even as we asked what they wanted from us. I just heard my husband shouting, In Jesus name. I also re-echoed it, saying Amen, in Jesus name. I never knew they had stabbed him in the chest.

They left by scaling the churchs fence. I saw that my husband had become weak. That was when I knew that they had stabbed him. There was a lot of blood in the room.

They didnt take anything. Up till now, I cant say who they are and why they did what they did. He had a lot of ministerial assignments in June, which will now be on hold. It is painful, she added."

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However, a nurse, Amah Eze, who posted about the incident on Facebook, said the hoodlums were escaping after a robbery operation when they took the church as an escape route.

She said: He was always ringing a bell at 12 midnight for prayers. So humble that whenever he greeted a small girl like me, he always bowed down.

"Only for absconding thieves to run into his church while he was praying as usual, and cut him with a machete. Thats how he met his death; but God knows best.

Meanwhile, a thief who broke into a Christ Apostolic Church, Ughelli, Delta state, was apprehended after he tried to steal some of the church's electronics.

The thief was caught with the church's plasma screen TV, and some other electronics. He was handed over to the police while his accomplices escaped.

Watch the Legit.ng video below of Nigerians suggesting best punishment for looters of national treasury:

Source: Legit.ng
- Dame Aisha Buhari has returned from her trip to the UK where President Muhammdu Buhari is getting medical help

- The first lady on her arrival, says the prayers of Nigerians for her husband, have indeed been very effective

- Aisha says contrary to rumors in the media, the president is recuperating very fast

- She says Nigerians must continue to stand strong in unity for the good of the nation

Nigerias First Lady, Dame Aisha Buhari has returned from London where she went to visit the president who is on a medical vacation.

The First Lady arrived Nigeria on Tuesday, June 6, Premium Times reports.

Mrs Buhari had on May 30 traveled to the UK to spend some time with the president.

READ ALSO: Reno Omokri attacks Lai Mohammed,takes up fault finding challenge

Aisha Buhari says President Muhammadu Buhari will return sooner than many expect

On her arrival, Aisha thanked Nigerians for the faith in the presidency and the prayers of the people for her husband. She said the president is getting stronger by the day.

BREAKING: Aisha Buhari returns from UK, makes striking revelation over President's health

She told newsmen that the president will return to the country sooner than many expect.

According to a statement by Suleiman Haruna, her spokesperson, Mrs Buhari called on Nigerians to continue to be strong in the face of challenges.

Aisha Buhari says the president is stronger than he is portrayed in the media

She urged the people to support the federal government in implementing the agenda for which they were elected.

Mr. President thanked the acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo for his loyalty and called on Nigerians to continue to support the acting President in his effort to actualize the mandate of the All Progressives Congress, she said.

Aisha Buhari has urged Nigerians to continue in their prayers for the president

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Before her departure, she thanked Nigerians for their support and prayers for Mr. Buharis quick recovery.

In a message to the 23rd Annual Ramadan Lecture of Ansar-ud-deen Society of Nigeria (ADS) held in Abuja, the First Lady had assured Nigerians that he is getting better and urged Nigerians to continue to pray for him.

Below is a Legit.ng video in which Nigerians react to the possibility of President Muhammadu Buhari returning to Nigeria soon.

Source: Legit.ng
Kevin Mazur/WireImageMatchbox Twenty and their pals Counting Crows will be kicking off a lengthy tour July 12 called A Brief History of Everything. But separately, Matchbox Twenty has now announced a series of headlining dates for August, September and October.

Friday is the public on-sale dates for these new shows, but fan club members can access tickets today. The dates start August 3 with a show in Tucson, Arizona and end with an October 7 show in Moline, IL. Opening all the dates but one will be Matt Nathanson.

All these tour dates are Rob Thomas and the guys' way of marking the 20th anniversary of their multi-platinum debut album, Yourself or Someone Like You. Though the anniversary was technically last year, the band didn't get a chance to tour in 2016.

The Brief History of Everything tour with Counting Crows wraps up October 1 in Irving, TX. Here are the dates:

8/3 -- Tuscon, AZ, Anselmo Valencia Amphitheater

8/11 -- Southhaven, MS, Bank Plus Amphitheater

8/18 -- Orange Beach, AL, The Wharf

9/19 -- Toledo, OH, Toledo Zoo Ampitheater

9/29 -- Cedar Park, TX, HEB Center

10/4 -- Denver, CO, Pepsi Center

10/6 -- Council Bluffs, IA, Harrah's Casino

10/7 -- Moline, IL, iWireless Center

Copyright  2016, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.




- Members of the House of Representatives, mainly from the South-East shun plenary in what appears as a protest following the rejection of the South East Development Commission bill

- Political analysts and observers blame the defeat of the bill to the absenteeism of south-east lawmakers

- Meanwhile, member of the House of Representatives, Goodluck Opiah, describes the rejection of the bill as a calculated attempt to marginalize people from the south east

Lawmakers from the south-east region have reportedly boycotted plenary session in the House of Representative on Tuesday, June 6, in what appeared as a protest move following the rejection of a bill for an Act seeking to establish the South East Development Commission.

READ ALSO: Nigerian blogger Kemi Olunloyo regains freedom after 81 days in prison

Legit.ng recalls that members of the House of Representatives, mainly from the South-East, on Thursday, June 1, protested in the House following the defeat of a bill seeking to create a South-East Development Commission.

Political analysts and observers had blamed the defeat of the bill to the absenteeism of south-east lawmakers who could only muster the presence of 18 out of the 43 members from the region on the day the bill was rejected by majority voice vote, Daily Independent reports.

The newspaper stated that the boycott by the lawmakers was unclear as at press time due speculations of an ongoing caucus meeting at an undisclosed location.

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Meanwhile, member of the House of Representatives Goodluck Opiah has expressed sadness and frustration at the rejection of the bill proposing the establishment of a South-East Development Commission, during its first reading.

In a recent interview with Daily Post, Opiah, representing Ohaji/Egbema/Oguta/Oru West federal constituency of Imo state, disclosed that the bill was rejected due to a gang up by northern lawmakers who opposed to its passage.

He stated that there was a calculated attempt to marginalize people from the south east.

This week's edition of THE SCOOP focuses on Donald Trump's Covfefe Tweet, Biafra's sit-at-home order among other issues: Watch

Source: Legit.ng
- Without the shedding of blood, Biafra will not come to pass says Prophet Joshua Yanis

- The Jewish prophet says Biafra actualization will still take quite some time

- Yanis says Kanu must be very careful as not to be killed

Jewish Prophet Joshua Yanis has noted it is inevitable to achieve Biafra without the spilling of blood.

Yanis says the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu's life is in grave danger.

The clergyman says there are many elites of the east who do not want the best for Kanu, and will do anything to oust the Radio Biafra director.

Yanis warned Kanu to be careful of the people he works with, shakes hands and relates with, warning against politicians, pastors and other prominent Nigerians that are paying him visits.

READ ALSO: Aisha Buhari returns from UK, makes striking revelation over President's health

In his Youtube video titled: The future of my people, Biafra, Yanis said Kanu should be careful and watchful as some people that claim to be his friends may be out to eliminate him.

Regarding Biafra attainment he said the world is now aware of the Biafra people, he said the movement has made a very concrete statement.

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The clergyman however noted that Biafra will still take sometime before it is actualized.

He also stressed that there has to be shedding of blood or else there won't be an attainment of Biafra.

Below is the now highly viral video of the self-acclaimed Jewish prophet.

In a similar vein, a call has been made for the arrest of Nnamdi Kanu, following a move by the IPOB to map Kogi and Benue states as part of Biafra territory.

The call for Kanu's arrest was made by a Kogi socio-cultural group named the Ujache Igala Association.

The group which gave the police a deadline of two weeks to arrest Kanu, said the IPOB's claim to territory was "utter madness".

Chief Goodman Akwu, the group's national chairman, in a statement made on Monday, June 5, stressed that there is no logical reason why Kogi and Benue should be mapped as part of Biafra.

Akwu said the IPOB and other pro-Biafra agitators that agreed to the mapping are but pushing their dreams too far.

It is high time the government overcame its insouciance and nipped this audacity of seditious act on time, the group said.

Legit.ng TV decided to ask Nigerians if they believe Biafra Republic will be achieved in the nearest future. Check out what they had to say in the video below:

Source: Legit.ng
- The Ijaw Youth Council blasted MASSOB for including it in its Biafra map

- The group sad it is not interested in being part of the new agitation

- It said its own agitation predates the Biafran own

The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) worldwide has lashed out at the Movement for the Actualisation of a Sovereign State Of Biafra (MOASSOB) for including the Niger Delta region in its Biafra map.

MASSOB and other pro-Biafra group have been agitating for an independent Biafra state and has insisted that the Niger Delta region was part of its territory.

READ ALSO: Aso Rock cabal allegedly commences second face of battle against Osinbajo

However, in a statement issued on Tuesday, June 6, the IYC through its spokesperson, Barr. Henry Iyalla, said while it recognised the Biafra struggle, their agitation predates the south east own.

The Ijaw group said it has a separate and distinct identity to the Igbo people and therefore wasnt part of its territory.

The group said: we wish to state clearly that the Ijaw and Niger Delta struggle for self-determination predates the Biafra agitations.

It is on record that even before the Biafra declaration of independence in 1967, Major Jasper Adaka Boro during the twelve days revolution declared a Niger- Delta Republic in 1966. This was before the advent and struggle for the actualization of Biafra.

The Ijaw and Niger Delta people had always maintained separate and distinct identity from our Igbo brothers of the South East.

While we share in the Biafra agitation for self-determination which is not in any way different from our agitation; we wish to clearly state that the Ijaw areas are not part and parcel of the territory of Biafra.

We will collaborate with our south eastern, middle belt and any other minority groups in the quest for self-determination based on mutual respect and common understanding. In the coming days, we will start the constructive engagement on these terms.

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The IYC's position was in reaction to a statement by Solomon Chukwu who is the leader of MASSOB.

He said: Those who say south south or Niger Delta is not part of Biafra are ignorant; most of them are politicians in the south south zone who are saying it out of mischief to impress their Hausa/Fulani task masters.

History has it that people like Ojukwus second in command, Gen. Philip Effiong, fought for Biafra till the end.

Was Effiong not from Akwa Ibom State?

My father and other strong men of Niger Delta also fought for Biafra till the last day of the battle. How can somebody like Albert Horsefall say that Port Harcourt is not part of Biafra?

Im a Biafran from Ikwerre land in Obio/Akpor local government area of Rivers state.

Im a true son of Niger Delta. Till today, we still have many strong men from the South South who stands to be counted in supporting Biafra.

People like Uche Okwukwu, Asari Dokubo, among other great Niger Delta sons who are in support of Biafra.

Whether they call us south south or Niger Delta or Igbo, the Eastern region is united in the struggle to actualize an independent State of Biafra. "

Watch a Legit.ng TV video below about acting president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo speaking about Biafra.

Source: Legit.ng
- Dr. Ramas Asuzu said the current Biafra agitation cannot solve the problems of Igbos

- The grand patron of Biafra war veterans said Kanu and Uwazuruike may be motivated by personal interests

- He said elders should have been consulted before the agitation began

Dr. Ramas Asuzu who is the grand patron of Biafran War Veterana has rejected the current Biafra agitation led by Nnamdi Kanu saying he should have consulted with elders.

Vanguard reports that Asuzu spoke on the outcome of the May 30 sit-at-home protest saying the agitation of Kanu and Ralph Uwazuruike smacked of personal interest.

He said: While Kanu of IPOB continues to bask in the euphoria of a hero since regaining his freedom, Uwazuruike of MASSOB, started the same way and ended up enriching himself and abandoning the struggle.

READ ALSO: Former vice president knows about my communication with Boko Haram - Ndume

Before Kanu embarked on that struggle, he should have first consulted Igbo leaders widely and seek their input rather than taking a plunge that has not yielded any result so far.

Late Odumegwu Ojukwu fought for the Igbo course with his whole might, yet, the world powers deprived us that freedom.

Although Kanu started with negative approach by abusing everybody through Radio Biafra, I think he should have consulted the elders before such liberation journey,. I dont know if he actually did so, but as the grand patron of War veterans, I suppose to be on the roll."

The Biafra war veteran noted that Igbos have been losing in the power play of Nigeria but that Biafra will not be the sudden solution.

He said: I think Kanu and Uwazuruike should have placed the rights of Ndigbo on top priority before the agitation for restoration or actualization of Republic of Biafra.

I am warning that with the present position of the Country, Nigeria may likely disintegrate naturally, without shooting a bullet.

I dont think there is need for any agitation in order to realize Biafra. The only best way for that is through the optimum implementation of the national Conference report.

This is the only way out. Let the power be at the centre, so that the component zones will not be weak. Let the South East be governed independently while the North West be on their own, likewise others. This will stop the craze of second tenure and the madness of being in power perpetually. Causing violence or abusing people in the radio will not bring any solution to our problem.

Biafra can never be dead but only when Ndigbo speak with one voice, the dream shall come true. Nnamdi Kanu may be right in whatever he is agitating for but who can predict what the mind habours. Whatever they are doing is on their own, and that is why the South East governors have been mute over the whole deal.

For me, if Kanu really wants to do anything, he has to properly consult the Igbo Elders Council. They will sit down together to know whether Kanu should be the leader because we have seen them a lot.

However, I must expressed my happiness over the release of Kanu but I must also note that his detention for so long a time before granting him bail has ended up making him Kanu popular.

I thank the federal government and President Muhammadu Buhari for having done something that supposed to have been done for a very long time because the continued detention of Kanu has made him to be one of the famous men in the world.

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The demonstration of his mindset for Igbo liberation has given him a pat on his shoulder because I dont know any Igbo man that would present himself to fight for the liberation of Igbo nation from the shackles of marginalization in Nigeria.

As for Uwazuruike, the MASSOB leader, I take a swipe on the him because his actions were more of a Chinese revolution which looks like drinking tea in the interest of the masses.

When Uwazuruike was agitating for Biafra nation, he was not using Limousine but now he moves on fleet of exotic cars with private security and he doesnt talk any longer.

So also we dont know the mission of Kanu for now because within a short time, he may start using private Jet.

Watch a Legit.ng TV video below of the 50th anniversary of Biafra.

Source: Legit.ng
- Peter Obi, the former governor of Anambra state has warned Nigerians that the economy may collapse soon

- He also criticized the federal government policies and huge cost of governance

- Mr Obi spoke at an address at the Federal University, Ndufu Alike Ikwo (FUNAI) during the grand-finale and presentation of awards to winners of a creative writing competition

Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra state, Peter Obi, has warned that the Nigerian economy will collapse soon if the federal government does not take immediate steps.

During an address at the Federal University, Ndufu Alike Ikwo (FUNAI) during the grand-finale and presentation of awards to winners of a creative writing competition, he criticized the federal government.

The event was organised by the universitys chapter of the Creative Writers Association of Nigeria, with the theme Hope for Africa: The Birth of A New Age.

Peter Obi speaking at The Platform

Mr Obi said they were not doing enough to alleviate the sufferings of the people.

According to Premium Times, he said: Our leaders are doing things wrong, we should not follow them to celebrate what is wrong. What we have in Nigeria is that we are celebrating what is wrong.

"And I am of the opinion that we should stop celebrating what is wrong and start doing things right so that this country can grow.

People are hungry and we should join hands together to question our leaders to tell us what is happening in this country and making sure that the right thing are done."

Speaking on the cost of governance, the former governor urged the government to cut cost and employ frugal methods.

READ ALSO: Group denies listing Ekweremadu, Peter Obi, others as sponsors of Biafra movement

Our leaders should cut the cost of governance and show more concern to how to improve the standard of living of all Nigerians.

All of us, from 1960 when we gained independence, if we had done the right thing from then, it is not the question of PDP or APC. We have lived wrongly, we have done the wrong things and that is why the country is not growing.

If we dont do anything now the country will collapse. Nigeria is living on a borrowed money. So, you see things are difficult in Nigeria and we need to change our society so that things will get better, he concluded.

PAY ATTENTION: Watch more videos on Legit.ng TV

Legit.ng earlier reported that Peter Obi said that the Igbos must arise and invest in their future. He said the Igbos must stop wallowing in self-pity and start doing greater deeds for themselves.

Obi stressed that restructuring the nation is the only way the country can move forward. He said: I believe in the restructure of Nigeria but for us as Ndigbo, emphasis should be on investing in our future more that political demands."

Watch this Legit.ng video on how Nigerians feel about Buhari's presidency so far:

Source: Legit.ng
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DC's Batman spotlight is expanding to his sidekicks more and more

Members of Batman's family will seemingly play huge roles in the DCU in 2023
The Oceaneos Marine Research Foundation of Vancouver, Canada, says that it is seeking permits from the Chilean government to release up to 10 tonnes of iron particles 130 kilometers off the coast of Coquimbo as early as 2018. But Chilean scientists are worried because the organization grew out of a for-profit company, Oceaneos Environmental Solutions of Vancouver, that has sought to patent iron-fertilization technologies.

The Oceaneos foundation has accused the scientists of improperly classifying its work as geoengineering, rather than ocean restoration.

* Iron in some parts of the Ocean are at 2-4 parts per trillion when it should be at 10-15 parts per trillion for healthy amounts of plankton and algae.

* Tens of millions of tons of soil is blown into the ocean from deserts. That soil is 1 to 5% iron. Volcanoes also naturally deposit a lot of earth materials with iron into the oceans

* The 120 ton iron dumping in 2012 generated record salmon harvests in 2013 and 2014. The 2012 iron fertilization generated an algae bloom that fed salmon at the right time to boost the salmon population

* the salmon bloom died in days and then fell to the bottom of the ocean taking large amounts of CO2 with them

Researchers worldwide have conducted 13 major iron-fertilization experiments in the open ocean since 1990. All have sought to test whether stimulating phytoplankton growth can increase the amount of carbon dioxide that the organisms pull out of the atmosphere and deposit in the deep ocean when they die.

Oceaneos makes the case for iron fertilization of the ocean. Current projections suggest that by 2050, oceans will be depleted and the fishery industry will cease to exist. This is a major disaster for the more than 1 billion people that are directly dependent on the oceans and fish as their main source of protein.

Commonly the reasons for the decline are attracted to overfishing and pollution. However, less discussed is the fact that the base of the ocean food chain  Phytoplankton  is in decline.

The shrinking base of the oceans ecosystems has complex causes. One factor is the decline in atmospheric dust over the last 50 years, which is related to climate change. Some leading scientists estimate rates of Phytoplankton decline at 1% per year.

The decline in dust deposition means the plankton has fewer nutrients to grow and thrive. And less plankton in the system means less food for organisms higher on the food chain.

In 2008, the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity put in place a moratorium on all ocean-fertilization projects apart from small ones in coastal waters. Five years later, the London Convention on ocean pollution adopted rules for evaluating such studies.

Oceaneoss links to a 2012 iron-fertilization project off the coast of British Columbia, Canada, have made some researchers wary. In that project, US entrepreneur Russ George convinced a Haida Nation village to pursue iron fertilization to boost salmon populations, with the potential to sell carbon credits based on the amount of CO2 that would be sequestered in the ocean.

Nextbigfuture interviewed Jason McNamee, former Director and Operations Officer of the Haida Salmon Restoration project and Scientific Advisor to the World Aquarium and Conservation for the Oceans Foundation. Jason provided a lot of information about processes in the deep ocean (100 miles from the coast) and how more still needs to be learned. Nextbigfuture covered how the 120 ton iron fertilization in 2012 increased salmon catches in 2013 and 2014.

Most people have been hearing warnings about desertification and how the deserts are increasing. Actually the deserts are becoming more green and are producing less dust. This is driving the steady reduction of iron into the oceans by about 1% per year. 42% more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere means that plants in the desert need to breathe less and keep more water. Less dust from the desert means less iron into the ocean. Iron shortage in the ocean is the key factor that is reducing algae and plankton in the ocean. There is plenty of nitrogen and phosphorous. Less algae and plankton causes reduction in the amount and size of fish.

Jason indicated that the Haida Nation village were far more active in the iron fertilization test. It was just Russ George. Russ George was a lot more vocal in the media. Many articles want to spin that the Haida were duped. It was not the case.

The 2012 work boosted the salmon catch to record high levels by feeding the baby salmon at the right time.

Pink salmon mature in two years. Salmon can add a pound a month if they are well fed in the ocean. 2013 had the largest pink salmon run in 50 years.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) has completed compilation of preliminary values for the 2013 commercial salmon fishery. Powered by a record pink salmon harvest of 219 million fish, this years harvest ranks as the second most valuable on record. At $691.1 million, 2013 is only exceeded by the 1988 harvest value of $724 million. In addition to setting a record for pink salmon, the total number of salmon harvested also set a new record at 272 million fish.

The SE Alaska Pink catch in the fall of 2013 was a 170 million fish more than were expected. The Fraser river and the Canadian catches were also boosted.

The Haida Salmon Restoration Corporation, financed it with $2.5 million of their own savings, and used it to support the efforts of American scientist-entrepreneur Russ George to demonstrate the feasibility of open-sea mariculture  in this case, the distribution of 120 tons of iron sulfate into the northeast Pacific to stimulate a phytoplankton bloom which in turn would provide ample food for baby salmon.

The number of salmon caught in the northeast Pacific more than quadrupled, going from 50 million to 226 million. In the Fraser River, which only once before in history had a salmon run greater than 25 million fish (about 45 million in 2010), the number of salmon increased to 72 million.

Iron sulphate dumping returned over 100 times the value in fish in one year versus the cost of the dumping.

Iron sulphate dumping returned about 1000 times the weight in increased fish versus the amount of dumped iron sulphate

Millions of tons of plastic and junk are dumped into the oceans and rivers every year. Iron Sulphate dumping could restore or even increase fish catches beyond historical levels

David Brin points out that ocean-fertilization is the inverse of irrigation. You are adding land to water in the form of nutrients.



Role of iron

Soil is typically between 1% and 5% iron and soil is blown into the ocean all the time. Adding iron into the ocean is just performing a process that wind and erosion perform all the time. It is just performing this fertilization at a specific time and place to feed fish that we want to feed by generating an algae bloom. Millions of tons of iron is blown into the oceans from wind blowing dust from the worlds deserts.

About 70% of the worlds surface is covered in oceans, and the upper part of these (where light can penetrate) is inhabited by algae. In some oceans, the growth and reproduction of these algae is limited by the amount of iron in the seawater. Iron is a vital micronutrient for phytoplankton growth and photosynthesis that has historically been delivered to the pelagic sea by dust storms from arid lands. This Aeolian dust contains 35% iron and its deposition has fallen nearly 25% in recent decades.

The Redfield ratio describes the relative atomic concentrations of critical nutrients in plankton biomass and is conventionally written 106 C: 16 N: 1 P. This expresses the fact that one atom of phosphorus and 16 of nitrogen are required to fix 106 carbon atoms (or 106 molecules of CO2). Recent research has expanded this constant to 106 C: 16 N: 1 P: .001 Fe signifying that in iron deficient conditions each atom of iron can fix 106,000 atoms of carbon, or on a mass basis, each kilogram of iron can fix 83,000 kg of carbon dioxide.

Renewable subsidies at around $66 billion in 2010 (one year of world subsidies). This added less than 5% of world energy over decades for solar and wind energy.

The iron dumping paid off over 100 to 1. $2.5 million for over 1 million tons of sequestering of CO2 using 120 tons of iron sulphate and get over way over $200 million of extra fish. $25 billion for 1.2 million tons of iron sulphate to sequester 10 billion tons of CO2 (about 30% of world CO2) and more than double the $217 billion in world fish (140 million tons of fish farming and wild catch).

Riedijk says he was intrigued when he read about the Haida experiment in 2013, and contacted one of its organizers, Jason McNamee. McNamee later served as chief operating officer of Oceaneos Environmental Solutions  which Riedijk co-founded  before leaving the company last year.

Ocean Micro Nutrient Replenishment

This and other scientific information is from the Haida Salmon Restoration project website

This information runs counter to the narrative of some environmental scientists that

* the iron fertilization failed to achieve its goals

* diminishes the role and knowledge of the Haida native group

Also known as the Iron Hypothesis , this process is more accurately called Ocean Micro Nutrient Replenishment and was first proposed by oceanographer John Martin in 1993. It is based on the concept that iron is a critical nutrient for primary ocean productivity, and oceanic iron deposition has been in decline for decades. Hence, natural or man-made iron replenishment in the ocean may restore primary ocean productivity which in turn may reduce oceanic fish mortality and lead to improvements in fisheries.

Our Oceans contain phytoplankton, a single cellular microscopic plant that uses photosynthesis to convert light, carbon dioxide and nutrients into oxygen and food source. The primary consumers of phytoplankton are zooplankton, which are small creatures that are visible to the naked eye. Zooplankton in turn are the main food source for most of the ocean biomass. Fish and marine cetaceans consume vast amounts of zooplankton as their primary food source. In fact the worlds largest animal, the great blue whale, is a zooplankton consumer.

Iron is normally present in our oceans, however over the last century we have seen a significant decline in phytoplankton biomass, an average of 1% of the global median per year. Ocean waters near shore do not show depleted iron levels due to the interaction of the ocean with land, and water runoff that contains iron. However, the far ocean (also known as the Pelagic Zone) is generally deficient in iron. These areas are known as High Nutrient, Low Chlorophyll (HNLC) zones.

Surprisingly, the source of pelagic iron is primarily dust from deserts and volcanos. For millions of years, great global winds known as Aeolian winds have transported sand and dust from land, across thousands of miles of Ocean. This dust contains iron.

However, studies of sediment cores have shown that natural dust deposition has been in decline. For example, the North Pacific has seen a decline in dust from northern Asia, notably the Gobi and Taklimakan deserts. Climate change may be responsible. Because of the precipitous rise of global carbon dioxide levels, photosynthesizing grasses have an improved food source. This has resulted in dramatic spread of global grasslands, which trap dust and limit aeolian transport of iron into the pelagic ocean.

Somewhere between 71 percent and 87 percent of the iron in Atlantic Ocean samples was delivered by dust storms from the Sahara desert. That is, life in the deep ocean depended on an annual delivery of fertilizer from one of the worlds emptiest and most parched regions.

In the Northern Pacific Ocean a primary source of dust and iron is from the Gobi desert.

Researchers found that wind-blown dust could transport microbes from West Africa all the way to the Caribbean. An estimated 50 million tons of Saharan dust is blown across the Atlantic to the Amazon every year.

The amount of iron in that ton of water would weigh about as much as a single eyelash. The key reason that everybody cares about iron is because it limits the growth of phytoplankton such as algae in maybe a fifth of the ocean.

Iron in some parts of the Ocean are at 2-4 parts per trillion when it should be at 10-15 parts per trillion for healthy amounts of plankton and algae.

We also know that phytoplankton, the base of the oceanic food chain, significantly effects atmospheric oxygen and carbon dioxide levels, despite their decline.

One might expect that phytoplankton, which also photosynthesize, would manifest a positive response to the abundance of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and multiply in the ocean. However it has been shown that oceanic iron deficiency limits phytoplankton growth despite the availability of large concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide.

This indicates that replacing missing iron back into the ocean could stimulate phytoplankton based photosynthesis and generate improvements to the ocean ecosystem, while removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as it is consumed by photosynthesis.

There have been two naturally stimulated iron replenishment events in the Pacific Northwest due to volcanic dust from a nearby eruption. The most recent such event occurred in 2008 with the eruption of Mt Kasatochi in the Gulf of Alaska. This eruption deposited millions of tons of volcanic ash, containing iron, across the Pacific Ocean.
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Insurance Back Fetooh Al Zayani & Kai-Uwe Schanz Join Trust Re's Board of Directors

TRUST Re is has announced the appointment of Mrs. Fetooh Al Zayani and Dr. Kai-Uwe Schanz as independent non-executive Directors for a full 3-year term.



Commenting on the new Board appointments, Mr. Kamel Abunahl, Chairman of the Board of Directors said "We are proud to welcome both Fetooh Al Zayani and Dr. Kai-Uwe Schanz to our Board of Directors, both of whom are professionals of excellent repute within our industry". He continued, "TRUST Re is fully committed to corporate governance, in line with best international practices, and the two recent appointments are testament to this".



The career of Fetooh, a Bahraini national, spans 36 years in executive management, underwriting, and business development in the regional and international insurance and re-insurance industry. This includes leading roles at regulatory & development authorities in the Gulf Cooperation Council region such as the Dubai International Financial Centre and Qatar Financial Centre Authorities where she was one of the founding team members; and was instrumental in developing the vision and strategy for the insurance and reinsurance sector.



Fetooh has received numerous accolades for her contribution to the insurance and reinsurance market and she is also the International Insurance Society's (IIS) Ambassador for Bahrain.



Dr. Kai-Uwe Schanz, a Swiss and German citizen, is Chairman and founding partner of Dr. Schanz, Alms & Company AG, a Zurich-based research, strategy and communications consultancy, advising financial services organisations around the globe. His 25 years of experience in global reinsurance and academia included senior management roles at Swiss Re and Converium in Zurich and Hong Kong such as Chief Economist (Asia-Pacific) and Chief Communication and Corporate Development Officer.



Dr. Schanz holds a Ph.D. degree in Economics from the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland.



About TRUST Re



TRUST Re is a reinsurance company based in the Kingdom of Bahrain with branches in Malaysia and Cyprus, as well as a representative office in Morocco and a Liaison Office in India. With authorised capital of US$ 500 million and issued and paid up capital of US$ 250 million, TRUST Re earned its recognition as a solid and reliable security through its long term professional commitment to the Insurance & Reinsurance Industry. It is classified as a highly reliable security (S&P: A- and A.M. Best: A-), and writes both life and non-life business on a Facultative & Treaty basis with a wide scope of geographical operation that includes: Africa, Asia, Russia, CIS countries and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region. TRUST Re has a fully-owned subsidiary, Afro-Asian Assistance, which provides Travel Assistance and Personal Accident products.





Author: Daniela GHETU on 06.06.2017





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* This report is arranged in a chronological order.



As the Dutch saying goes, Waar is dat feestje? Hier is dat feestje!. H eld at Tilburg University (Netherlands) a few weeks ago, t he 5th bi-annual TILTing Perspectives conference was indeed a feast of thinking. An exceptional large number of researchers, practitioners, policy makers, and civil society at the intersection of law, regulation, technology, and society were brought together to explore the answers to the contemporary challenges facing technological innovation.





This 3-day, well-organized conference features five large tracks: Privacy, Health, Intellectual property (IP), Data Science, and PLSC Europe, which were staged in the form of plenary sessions, parallel sessions, and panel discussions with invited speakers, as well as presentations from respondents to the call for papers. Attendees therefore could customize their own schedule. Apart from the IP track, based on personal preference, this Kat also attended several sessions on "other topics"  despite the strict role definition of IP-Kat  nowadays everything seems to be all connected anyway.





The Healthcare Session





The ongoing technical and social developments of ICT and consumers/patiences ICT apps have not only reshaped the structure and organization of care delivery, but also increasingly challenged the protective legal mechanisms regarding healthcare and the concomitant principle of confidentiality. Meanwhile, a multitude of ethical questions have been raised...





1. Robot Doctors and Algorithm Therapists  The Limits of Automated Decision-making in Healthcare





Sebastian J. Gollas presentation emerged from an interdisciplinary research cluster BeMobil  Regain Mobility and Motivity in which he took part. The s presentation emerged from an interdisciplinary research cluster BeMobil  Regain Mobility and Motivity in which he took part. The BeMobil project is funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research, and aims to develop and improve rehabilitation technologies and therapeutic systems, while focusing on intelligent system in telecare settings.





Golla examined autonomous assistant systems in healthcare, questioning their decision-making capacity from a legal perspective: to what extent is it legal that autonomous assistant systems replace the decisions of doctors and therapists? He discussed how new technologies affect the right not to be subject to automated decisions regulated in Art. 22 General Data Protection Regulation. He also tackled whether technologies are compatible with the duties of practitioners as regulated in Medical Associations codes of conduct: technologies should be applied in a way that could help fulfilling the professional obligations.





He concluded that medical/therapeutic assistance systems are becoming more important and can be very valuable, in terms of saving costs, time and improving medical supports. This also means that physicians will have to learn to deal with embedded (clinical) environments. They will need to be able to understand and explain the used assistance systems, review the assistance systems suggestions: the role of doctors might accordingly change significantly.





2. Robotic Cognitive Therapeutic researches and the law





Eduard Fosch Villaronga opened his presentation in an optimistic tone: A robot can adapt easily to each individuals needs; robots behaviour is predictable and repetitive; robots are very engaging, shortly after which he identified the fearful risks involved: decrease of human-human interaction, safety issues, compliance confusion between robot toy and medical device, and - of course - privacy issues (which involve external sensors, robots, experts, AI and cloud computing).





Apart from the current laws (eg the EU Civil Law Rules on Robotics), he stressed that unleashing the full potential of these technologies, while protecting the interests of users, requires an appropriate framework.





To better regulate the emerging therapeutic robot technologies, he suggested several principles as the basis for a future framework, namely: principle of policy learning (e.g. evidence-based policies), principle of individualization (e.g. individualization of care), principle of no assumption (e.g. end-user centric design, value sensitive design), principle of non-isolation (promotion of human-human interaction), and principle of accessibility (e.g. low cost robot, cheap robot-as-a-service).





3. Expert systems (ES) and medical malpractice: reframing the notion of negligence





Andrea Bertolini presented his very interesting research on the ES and traditional medical practices by taking the Expert systems promise to radically change the way medical consulting is performed. Medical doctors are supposed to stay in charge and hence be liable for negative consequences suffered by the patient. presented his very interesting research on the ES and traditional medical practices by taking the IBM-WATSON as a example.





Starting from what the ES is, the speaker addressed three distinct legal issues:

- Will ES impact the assessment of medical malpractice? Is it like any other tool?

- Will ES influence the behaviour of medical practitioners? The new frontier of defensive medicine?

- Will ES influence the apportionment of liability? A new player involved?





The speaker explored the liability rules (negligence, product liability) in the context of EU legal systems (i.e. the Italian, French and German systems) and US tort law.




Between April 2010 and the January 2016 implementation of the nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers, the countrys oil output was stuck under three million barrels per day as a result of punishing economic sanctions. In the wake of the agreement that eased those sanctions, Iran was exempted from a deal brokered by OPEC and Russia to limit global oil supplies in a bid to stabilize prices. Since that latter agreement went into effect, the Islamic Republic has been striving to claim larger shares of the export market, in a move that had clear potential to further exacerbate sanctions between it and its regional rival and fellow OPEC member, Saudi Arabia.

Those tensions have already been amplified by political conflicts and proxy wars, with Saudi Arabia having organized a coalition in 2015 to resist Irans pursuit of influence in the region, particularly through its support of the Houthi rebels who are fighting to take control of Yemen, on the Arabian Peninsula.

It is perhaps because of sensitivity to these worsening relations that Zanganehs comments about the Iranian oil industry were somewhat measured in places where they referred to last years OPEC agreement. Although the oil minister reiterated that Iran would not participate in the output cuts that have been implemented by other OPEC countries and Russia, he also allowed that Iran would keep its own output frozen at current levels for the duration of the agreement, which Zanganeh estimated might last for another three, six, or nine months.

On the other hand, it is difficult to confirm that Irans self-reported output figures are accurate. After boasting a rapid increase in the immediate aftermath of the nuclear deals implementation, the pace of that increase seemed to slow precipitously as the OPEC deal was being negotiated and implemented, during which time Iran said it would not participate in the agreement until such time as it reestablished what it deemed to be its pre-sanctions output level.

Given the Islamic Republics long history of disseminating propaganda via state media, it is easy to imagine that the oil production figures could have been manipulated at the earlier stage as a way of attracting investor interest or at the later stage to stave off expectations of cooperation with Saudi Arabia and others. Either move would be of concern to rivals who are concerned about Irans market share or its efforts to expand both political and economic influence through newfound trade relations with foreign powers.

The EA Worldview report noted that the oil ministry did not clarify how it would accomplish the proposed output growth, although Zanganeh personally insisted that had had seen only positive signals from would-be foreign investors, including those based in Europe. Such claims are highly questionable, considering that international reports regarding the post-nuclear deal environment have overwhelmingly emphasized that foreign companies are remaining wary of investment in the Islamic Republic, out of fear that sanctions could return to full force if Iran is found to be cheating or if the US changes its approach to dealing with the country.

The notion of a changing strategy became a more prominent issue after the election of President Donald Trump, who has gradually rolled out more assertive policies toward the Islamic Republic. The New York Times reported last week upon the appointment of Michael DAndrea as the head of Iran operations for the CIA, and it described this as the first sign of Trump invoking a hard line. The report went on to note that Trump has filled his National Security Council with hawks who are eager to contain Iran and push regime change. Thus, more signs of an assertive policy adjustment are likely to emerge in time to come.

Any aggressive or non-cooperative moves that Iran makes toward Saudi Arabia and its partners would likely provide further impetus for this shift, considering that President Trump has sought to strengthen relations between the US and its traditional Arab allies, often specifically tethering these moves to a mutual interest in containing Iran and pushing it back from influence over the broader Middle East. This connection was certainly on display in May at the Arab Islamic-American Summit, which Trump attended as part of his first official oversees trip, and which yielded a concluding statement that directly called out the Islamic Republic.

Following that summit, the US has bolstered its combat power in Syria and, according to Reuters, it has done so specifically with an eye toward containing Iran-backed militant groups that have long been playing a leading role in propping up the embattled government of Bashar al-Assad. As of Thursday, the US military was reportedly working to drive lingering groups of these fighters out of a deconfliction zone established by the US and Russia, Irans ally in the defense of Assad.

Already, American and US-backed forces in Syria and Iraq have compelled Iran to re-draw its planned route linking Tehran to Damascus. And depending on how the control of territory proceeds from this point forward, Iran could still be compelled to give up on such a route altogether.

This would be a boon for the Gulf Arab states that are worried about the growth of Irans sphere of influence, which has been driven by direct intervention in Syria and Yemen as well as by the effort to expand oil market share and trade relations with the world at large. Furthermore, this latter factor may be affected by the mere appearance of competition between Iran and the US in the region, insofar as it would give already wary Western businesses further reasons to expect that Iran may come under renewed sanctions or otherwise be made even more unstable an investment opportunity.

Meanwhile, the escalating tensions also appear to be prompting countries who are otherwise caught between Iran and its adversaries to either take a side or struggle to maintain their position in the middle. For instance, last week an advisor to the Pakistani Prime Minister said that Pakistan wants to maintain political and economic relations with the Islamic Republic and avoid making Tehran happy, even though Pakistan sent representatives to the Arab summit and signed onto the Saudi-led coalition that is widely viewed as a bulwark against Iranian regional activities.

Voice of America news notes that some Pakistani lawmakers have accused the government of breaking a 2015 neutrality agreement by joining the alliance. Sartaj Aziz, the PMs advisor, responded to this criticism by claiming that the nature of the alliance and Pakistans role in it are distinct from the anti-Iranian statements that emerged from the summit and from other such gatherings or member states.

But other countries appear to be quietly taking steps to distance themselves from Iran, even if without commenting on them directly. Turkey is among those nations that have had inconsistent relations with Iran, operating as a trading partner even when sanctions were in full force and accepting Iranian support in the wake of last years coup attempt, but also being subject to disputes over border security and sectarian issues, with Turkey supporting moderate rebels in Syria while Iran backs the Assad dictatorship.

Last week, the Associated Press reported that Turkey had announced a plan to build walls along its borders with Iraq and Syria, ostensibly as an obstacle to either ISIL-affiliated terrorists or Kurdish separatists. But the plan also includes walls along appropriate places on the border with Iran, suggesting worsening distrust over Irans role in the nearby conflicts and the region as a whole.

These various developments could negatively impact Irans plans for expanded oil exportation and general economic development. Despite the Oil Ministrys claims about positive signals from the West, Iran may be turning its attention to the East in order to prepare for the possible loss of established and prospective partnerships. As an example of this trend, the New York Times reported on Friday that Iran had entered into talks with the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union, in order to establish a free trade pact and move toward Iranian membership in the organization.

This reflects the fact that Iranian-Russian relations have remained strong and appear to be getting stronger in the midst of increasing tensions among Iran, the US, and the Gulf States. Trade between Iran and Russia approximately doubled in value between January 2016 and January 2017, and Russian continues to back Iranian interests in Syria. These factors will surely pose a challenge to the American shift toward an assertive Iran policy, especially in light of President Trumps previously declared interest in improving relations between the US and Russia.
State-run ILNA news agency reported on May 26, 2017, that with increased marginalization, addiction among children and teenagers spreads as much, as this section of society is highly subject to social harms. It should not be ignored that poor family conditions is the reason behind 90 percent of addiction cases among youth.

The dimensions of Irans poverty, the unfair distribution of wealth, which has increased the gap between rich and poor and has nearly destroyed the middle class, has pushed low-income segments of the population to be unable to afford to live in cities, and to find refuge in marginal urban areas.

The phenomenon has become so widespread that President Rouhanis Minister of Roads and Urban Development, Abbas Akhunid, announced that nearly 18 million, or one third, of Irans 55-million urban population are living in marginal areas.

This situation, with its accompanying spread of addiction among youth, students, and children, has become so ubiquitous, that the head of regimes Association of Social Workers acknowledged that teen students are more vulnerable than others to the risk of addiction. Drug dealers tend to target young students since they could be their source of income for years.

ILNA also quoted the regimes head of the Welfare Organizations Prevention Development Center as saying today, no one can deny addiction among students as its too clear to be denied. Addiction among students is now an accepted reality.

This tragedy becomes clearer when the regimes commander of Independent Committee on Combating Drugs, speaking at regimes Expediency Council, acknowledged that, regarding drug trafficking turnover ever since the regime came to power, I venture to say that from the beginning of the Islamic republic the drug cartels have not been hit even one percent, so that 1,100 billion tomans of peoples money is wasted on drugs every day, as reported by the state-run Bartarinha website, May 6, 2017.

The Director of Education Departments Social Harms Prevention Office, Nader Mansourkiaee, announced recently that 136 thousand students are subject to the risk of drug use, with 3,600 of them having used drugs at least once. Apparantly, the director of Education Departments Social Harms Prevention Office has also outlined the policy for dealing with the students who are using drugs. He said, schools have no right to expel addicted students. Efforts are being made in this regard so that vulnerable students be identified and be provided with necessary treatment and social services.

Bartarinha website explained the Education Departments new directive, quoting education officials as saying due to limited financial resources, the Education Department can hardly move ahead with its traditional tasks, let alone educating and informing students to deal with social harms. The Ministry is stuck with budget deficit and claims of teachers and the retired, thus being out of resources to seriously educate students coming from families suffering from economic and cultural problems.

The director added, Have we made a good society for our children or have we put them in a vicious circle? He said, families are forced to play the role of school teachers for their children, practicing dictation and doing their crafts, and schools meanwhile are trying to do parents responsibilities, teaching the children right from wrong and compensate for their emotional shortcomings. Both are stepping into the other ones shoes, trying to make up for the other sides shortcomings, with one being out of money and the other out of patience.

Theres no exact figure on addicted teenagers in Iran. The latest figure quoted by Mansourkiaee is close to the one previously released by regimes taskforce on combating drugs, which places the number of addicted students at one percent of Irans 13.5 million students. However, this figure only accounts for teenagers who are in school, and ignores dropouts, or those who dont go to school. So, the real number of addicted teenagers could be much higher.
Expressing regret over the distress and division overshadowing lives of nations in the Middle East and North Africa, Mrs. Rajavi called upon all Muslims, both Sunnis and Shiites, to unite in solidarity and stand up to the velayat-e faqih regime ruling Iran.

She urged all nations in the region to support her proposed three-pronged initiative, which she outlined as:

 designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as a terrorist entity,

 expulsion of the Iranian regime from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC),

 recognition of the Iranian peoples Resistance for the overthrow of the mullahs religious dictatorship and establishment of freedom.

Asking all Muslims to unite over rejection of compulsory religion and compulsion in religion and stand up to the Velayat-e Faqih regime ruling Iran as the common enemy of all nations in the region. Mrs. Rajavi noted, The spirit of Islam abhors all forms of compulsion, coercion and forcible prohibition, ranging from imposing the compulsory veil to the forced observation of fasting and prayers by flogging and terror, to preventing the construction of Sunni mosques, and especially to imposing the rule of a government under the name of God and Islam.

She also lauded the stances adopted at the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh and their emphasis on the Iranian regime being the source and origin of terrorism in the region. The Iranian Resistances President-elect said, This is a stance in the right direction and now it should be able to stop the regimes belligerence and bloodshed.

She added that the clerical regimes moderation over the past 38 years have not resulted in any change, saying, The permanent policy of the regime throughout its rule has been the gross violation of human rights and brutal suppression at home. On the regional level, too, the regime has always sought to dominate the region by invasions and promotion of fundamentalism and sectarianism under the name of Islam.

She believes that the same policies will continue for the next four years as Rouhani was elected to office for a second term. The only difference is that the election intensified the rift among the regimes leadership, perhaps paving the way for its overthrow.

A large number of senior officials of the Syrian Opposition Coalition, as well as prominent political personalities from other Islamic countries and leaders of the Muslim community in France, all participated in the Interfaith Solidarity Against Extremism conference. They included Nadhir Hakim, Director General of the Syrian Opposition Coalition; Nasr Al-Hariri, head of the Syrian negotiation team; Haitham Maleh, head of the Legal Committee of the Coalition; George Sabra, Chair of the opposition National Council; Taghrid Al-Hejli, former minister of Culture and Family Affairs in the transitional government; Moheyeddin Bananeh, Minister of Education in the transitional Government; and a large group of Syrian personalities residing in France.

Also among the speakers were French MP, Dominique Lefevbre; Sid Ahmad Ghozali, the former Prime Minister of Algeria; Anissa Boumediene, former First Lady of Algeria and Islamic scholar; Shiekh Taysir At-Tamimi, former Chief Justice of Palestine; Walid Assaf, former minister and MP representing a parliamentary delegation from Palestine; Mohammad Al-Haj, representing a parliamentary delegation from Jordan; Anwar Malik, writer and former Syrian reporter in UAE; Khalil Meroun, director of the Mosque of Evry and joint chairman of the French Muslim Committee against Extremism and for Human Rights; Dahou Meskin, General Secretary of the Council of Imams in France and joint chairman of the French Muslim Committee against Extremism and for Human Rights; Taraveh Moudibou, head of the Federation of Muslims in Cergy; Abdullah Khalaf, Coordinator of the Saad Hariri movement in France; Ismail Khalilollah, Algerian lawyer; Jean Abd-al-Wadoud Gouraud, French scholar on Islam, and Jalal Ganjeii, Chairman of the NCRI Freedom of Religions Committee,

A photo exhibition on the courageous six-year resistance of the people of Syria, and some of the shocking scenes of the crimes of the Iranian regime and its allies in that country, was also featured at the conference, and was welcomed by its participants.
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A massive bombing in Kabul at the end of May underscored the difficulties the country has had in maintaining security in the face of the Taliban insurgency and a growing Islamic State presence.

Kunduz Mazar-i-Sharif Baghlan Kabul Jalalabad Nangarhar Province Herat Afghanistan Ghazni Areas of control, March 15 Lashkar Gah Kandahar Taliban control Taliban support Islamic State control/support 100 Miles Kunduz Mazar-i-Sharif Baghlan Kabul Nangarhar Province Afghanistan Herat Ghazni Areas of control, March 15 Lashkar Gah Kandahar Taliban control Taliban support Islamic State control/support 100 Miles Mazar-i-Sharif Kunduz Baghlan Kabul Herat Nangarhar Province Afghanistan Ghazni Areas of control, March 15 Taliban control Kandahar Taliban support Islamic State control/support 100 Miles Kunduz Mazar-i-Sharif Baghlan Kabul Herat Nangarhar Province Afghanistan Ghazni Kandahar 200 Miles Areas of control, March 15 Taliban control Taliban support ISIS control/support The New York Times | Source: Institute for the Study of War

On Tuesday, officials revised the death toll in the bombing to 150, which could make it the deadliest attack in Afghanistan since the start of the American-led invasion in 2001.

The United States spent almost $700 billion in the first 13 years of the war in Afghanistan. Still, Afghan forces lack the manpower, equipment and training needed to take back large areas of territory from Taliban control, says Caitlin Forrest, a counterterrorism research assistant at the Institute for the Study of War.

The reality is that the Taliban have the initiative, said Jack Keane, a retired Army vice chief of staff.

Attacks like the one in Kabul are increasingly aimed at demoralizing Afghan security forces and reducing their will to fight, Ms. Forrest said.

Number of people killed in major attacks AprIL 16 JulY Oct. Jan. 17 APRIL Kabul ISIS militants attack a protest 80 killed ISIS militants attack a Shiite mosque 27 killed Unknown militants attack near the German embassy 150 killed Other cities ASADABAD Taliban militants attack near the provincial government compound 14 killed MAZAR-I-SHARIF Taliban militants attack army headquarters 140 killed Number of people killed in major attacks AprIL 16 JulY Oct. Jan. 17 APRIL Kabul ISIS militants attack a protest 80 killed Unknown militants attack near the German embassy 150 killed Other cities ASADABAD Taliban militants attack near the provincial government compound 14 killed MAZAR-I-SHARIF Taliban militants attack army headquarters 140 killed Number of people killed in major attacks AprIL 16 JulY Oct. Jan. 17 APRIL Kabul ISIS militants attack a protest 80 killed Unknown militants attack near the German embassy 150 killed Other cities ASADABAD Taliban militants attack near the provincial government compound 14 killed MAZAR-I-SHARIF Taliban militants attack army headquarters 140 killed Number of people killed in major attacks Apr. 16 JulY Oct. Jan. 17 APR. Kabul ISIS militants attack a protest 80 killed Unknown militants attack near the German embassy 150 killed Other cities MAZAR-I-SHARIF Taliban militants attack army headquarters 140 killed The New York Times | Source: Institute for the Study of War

Now, the Trump administration is debating sending up to 5,000 more troops to Afghanistan in addition to the 8,400 Americans who are already there.


Jeremy Paxman interviews Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn face questions from Jeremy Paxman on the big issues of the 2017 General Election, hosted by Sky News and Channel 4.

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British Prime Minister Teresa May juxtaposed with the Labour Party's Jeremy Corbyn during recent TV interview.

Thursday June 8th could be a key moment in British history, even have worldwide implications as the people go to the polls and vote for a new prime minister of Great Britain.

Not exactly of course with Britain having a parliamentary system. Bear with me here's a brief short primer on the British parliamentary system.

In Britain the people don't vote directly for prime minister they vote for their own MP's-members of parliament to represent them from their "constituencies" in the House of Commons- similar to the congressional districts in the US. If the party each MP represents reaches a 326 seat majority threshold that parties leader becomes prime minister.

However if no party reaches that 326 seat threshold a coalition with other parties must come together to form a new government with the new prime minister most likely being from the party with the most seats.

Now Teresa May, the current prime minister is also the leader of the Conservative Party and the Conservatives are expected retain enough seats in the election for her to remain as prime minister.

Most interestingly, if the Conservatives don't reach that 326 majority seat threshold and Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the Labour Party and MP's of his party are elected and come in a close second in the voting he could attempt to form a new coalition government himself aligning with members of other minority parties.

Of course May could also reach out to other minority party seat members to form a new coalition government and remain as PM but there's no guarantee these other party members will agree to form a new coalition government with her as prime minister.

Without getting too complicated with the British system May called for this new election-called a "snap election"- in April believing her party would garner even more seats and give her a sort of mandate rather than simply replacing David Cameron as Conservative party PM after he resigned suddenly as PM in June 2016.

That decision may-no pun intended-have cost her. Apparently she's a terrible campaigner, comes across as stiff and in polls is disliked by a majority of the people. Then last week she refused to debate Corbyn after a terrorist bombing in London. Meanwhile Corbyn comes across as more human, curmudgeonly old who can relate to the people's concerns.

If Corbyn, and it's a big if, should become prime minister it would be an earthquake in US British relations as he's made it clear it's not in British interests to always follow the US lead in war often citing former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's wrongful decision joining with George "Dubya" Bush invading Iraq in March 2003.

That decision has been clearly understood by the people in Britain as disastrous with blowback in the form of Islamic terrorism coming directly into Britain.

With Britain following every US misadventure whether it be Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria creating a massive refugee crisis coming from those countries into Europe-which is certainly not received well by the people in Europe including Britain even though it was these unnecessary US/British/European led wars of choice in those Islamic countries that created the refugee crisis .

With Corbyn as PM the US and British elite led neo-liberal economic policies would be attacked as harmful to the people what with the harsh austerity measures they bring, high unemployment, decline of the unions, reduced pensions, reduction in the social welfare safety net, cuts in the universal health care system, a low minimum wage and further decimation of the middle working class-as now happening in the US- revealing the great disparity in wealth between the 1% and the 99% in Britain as well as the US.

Corbyn wants the equivalent of a $15 minimum wage, re-nationalization of public utilities, increased taxes on the richest 5% to cover it all including fully funding the health care system, free publicly funded education through university, guaranteed pensions and no unpaid apprenticeships. With May none of these measures would likely be passed much less enacted.

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Late last May, Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs was body slammed to the ground, his glasses broken, by the man Montanans the next day elected to represent their state in Congress, Republican Greg Gianforte. Jacobs had had the temerity to ask the candidate what he thought about Trumpcare.

To be fair, Gianforte was charged with misdemeanor assault (meaning that he can still vote, unlike a felon) and apologized later.

Of course, 70 percent of voters had already voted by mail in this special election to replace Ryan Zinke, who left Congress to join the DT's "cabinet" as Secretary of the Interior. There's no telling how the vote would have changed had the entire election taken place after the body slam, but studies show that those who vote early are usually committed to and decided on their candidate.

Who knows? Is assault of the press the new normal when a reporter asks an unwelcome question? Like "Please tell the truth, you s.o.b. pig." Not that they'd stoop to that language. Their subjects might.

Like most dedicated journalists, he and Jacobs "learned to go closer when told to move back," said investigative reporter, author, and filmmaker Greg Palast at the Left Forum yesterday.

He should know. He's been bodily removed before from conservative venues for requesting the truth from scumbags. See Danny Schechter's 2003 film "Counting on Democracy," where you can revisit one such tragicomic episode.

Flying down to the humid, tepid red state Georgia to check out the shenanigans keeping the winner from winning in the sixth district, which includes parts of Atlanta, Palast was body-slammed by three thugs for asking Congressional candidate Karen Handel, former "purgin general"/Sos of her state, about GOP corruption of that election--at the registration level.

It was former Confederate Memorial Day, changed since last year to Memorial Day.

It had been okay to ask about Democratic corruption previously, though the answer had been evasive. Sure they're stealing the election. We must uphold the Constitution, said Handel, who had stepped down from her SoS post in 2012 to run for Georgia governor and lost.

And the network channels covered another event, framing Palast as a crackpot harassing a candidate. Why is she purging blacks from the voter rolls? he had tried to ask. There's a video at gregpalast.com recording abusive cries of "Get out of here, you idiot liberal!"

So, just back from the red clay state, Palast said that the winner in the sixth district so far is Jim Crow. Yee-hah!

The sixth district had put Newt Gingrich into office for two decades when demographics were slightly different; if you're bored, blink and things will change. When Tom Price, a subsequent U.S. Rep, was appointed by the DT to Trump's "cabinet" as HHS Secretary, a special election held in April to replace him pitted Democrat Jon Ossoff against former SoS Karen Handel and others. Ossoff was winning by 53 percent when the machinery went down for several hours and resurfaced showing him now at 48 percent. Handel came in a distant second with 19 percent of the vote. Now they're running neck and neck since skullduggery has elevated Handel to tying in the polls with Ossoff.

The district, now a "different world," said Palast, has diversified. "People of color" now try to vote there, and 40,000 of them were left off of the voter rolls in April. Photocopies of their registration forms were produced, but it's illegal to photocopy! 80 to 85 percent of Koreans now vote Democratic there. Small wonder that they were left off of the registration lists; when one woman was threatened for asking why, she was told to stay out of trouble. The group's advocacy office shut down.

That's why Ossoff won't win, said Palast. Asians will receive provisional ballots.

GEORGIA 6 IS AMERICA, Palast later said. Get used to winning elections by more than 51 percent. What do we do?

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By Norman Solomon

The Trump administration has already done enormous harm to the United States and the planet. Along the way, Trump has also caused many prominent progressives to degrade their own political discourse. It's up to us to challenge the corrosive effects of routine hyperbole and outright demagoguery.

Consider the rhetoric from one of the most promising new House members, Democrat Jamie Raskin, at a rally near the Washington Monument over the weekend. Reading from a prepared text, Raskin warmed up by declaring that "Donald Trump is the hoax perpetrated on the Americans by the Russians." Soon the congressman named such varied countries as Hungary, the Philippines, Syria and Venezuela, and immediately proclaimed: "All the despots, dictators and kleptocrats have found each other, and Vladimir Putin is the ringleader of the unfree world."

Later, asked about factual errors in his speech, Raskin floundered during a filmed interview with The Real News. What is now boilerplate Democratic Party bombast about Russia has little to do with confirmed facts and much to do with partisan talking points.

The same day that Raskin spoke, the progressive former Labor Secretary Robert Reich featured at the top of his website an article he'd written with the headline "The Art of the Trump-Putin Deal." The piece had striking similarities to what progressives have detested over the years when coming from right-wing commentators and witchhunters. The timeworn technique was dual track, in effect: I can't prove it's true, but let's proceed as though it is.

The lead of Reich's piece was clever. Way too clever: "Say you're Vladimir Putin, and you did a deal with Trump last year. I'm not suggesting there was any such deal, mind you. But if you are Putin and you did do a deal, what did Trump agree to do?"

From there, Reich's piece was off to the conjectural races.

Progressives routinely deplore such propaganda techniques from right-wingers, not only because the left is being targeted but also because we seek a political culture based on facts and fairness rather than innuendos and smears. It's painful now to see numerous progressives engaging in hollow propaganda.

Likewise, it's sad to see so much eagerness to trust in the absolute credibility of institutions like the CIA and NSA -- institutions that previously earned wise distrust. Over the last few decades, millions of Americans have gained keen awareness of the power of media manipulation and deception by the U.S. foreign-policy establishment. Yet now, faced with an ascendant extreme right wing, some progressives have yielded to the temptation of blaming our political predicament more on a foreign "enemy" than on powerful corporate forces at home.

The over-the-top scapegoating of Russia serves many purposes for the military-industrial complex, Republican neocons and kindred "liberal interventionist" Democrats. Along the way, the blame-Russia-first rhetoric is of enormous help to the Clinton wing of the Democratic Party -- a huge diversion lest its elitism and entwinement with corporate power come under greater scrutiny and stronger challenge from the grassroots.

In this context, the inducements and encouragements to buy into an extreme anti-Russia frenzy have become pervasive. A remarkable number of people claim certainty about hacking and even "collusion" -- events that they cannot, at this time, truly be certain about. In part that's because of deceptive claims endlessly repeated by Democratic politicians and news media. One example is the rote and highly misleading claim that "17 U.S. intelligence agencies" reached the same conclusion about Russian hacking of the Democratic National Committee -- a claim that journalist Robert Parry effectively debunked in an article last week.

During a recent appearance on CNN, former Ohio State Senator Nina Turner offered a badly needed perspective on the subject of Russia's alleged intrusion into the U.S. election. People in Flint, Michigan "wouldn't ask you about Russia and Jared Kushner," she said. "They want to know how they're gonna get some clean water and why 8,000 people are about to lose their homes."

Turner noted that "we definitely have to deal with" allegations of Russian interference in the election, "it's on the minds of American people, but if you want to know what people in Ohio -- they want to know about jobs, they want to know about their children." As for Russia, she said, "We are preoccupied with this, it's not that this is not important, but every day Americans are being left behind because it's Russia, Russia, Russia."

Like corporate CEOs whose vision extends only to the next quarter or two, many Democratic politicians have been willing to inject their toxic discourse into the body politic on the theory that it will be politically profitable in the next election or two. But even on its own terms, the approach is apt to fail. Most Americans are far more worried about their economic futures than about the Kremlin. A party that makes itself more known as anti-Russian than pro-working-people has a problematic future.

Today, 15 years after George W. Bush's "axis of evil" oratory set the stage for ongoing military carnage, politicians who traffic in unhinged rhetoric like "Putin is the ringleader of the unfree world" are helping to fuel the warfare state -- and, in the process, increasing the chances of direct military conflict between the United States and Russia that could go nuclear and destroy us all. But such concerns can seem like abstractions compared to possibly winning some short-term political gains. That's the difference between leadership and demagoguery.

Norman Solomon is the coordinator of the online activist group RootsAction.org and the executive director of the Institute for Public Accuracy. He is the author of a dozen books including "War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death."


The Left Forum logo, 2017

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Teeming with Geistschmertz about every corner of today's reality possible for hundreds to take on, bleeding with anger, at the same time drawing strength from fellowship, another Left Forum filled the John Jay School of Criminal Justice last weekend.

Election Integrity was of course my focus and there was some forum focus on it, culminating in a showing of Greg Palast's brilliant film The Best Democracy Money Can Buy. Well, money is buying everything, anyway. Perhaps a new description of our government is in order, Greg.

Eighty percent of Americans were disgusted with Election 2016 and 90 percent have lost confidence in the system, said Green Party 2016 presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein at the first relevantt panel, "Election Theft and Why the Media (and the Democrats) Won't Go There," organized and moderated by Dr. Joel Simpson, photographer and activist.

"WE'RE IN AN EXISTENTIAL CRISIS . . . AN EXISTENTIAL MOMENT IN DEMOCRACY," she said. This is a dangerous, unprecedented moment. The future is dire for not only Election Integrity but everything else. "WE MUST BECOME A MOVEMENT."

"WE HAVE THE POWER. WE ARE NOT THE LUNATIC FRINGE." It's all about us being together.

Professor Mark Crispin Miller spoke of the serial election theft in 2016. The presidency was yanked from under Sen. Bernie Sanders, from whom 11 primaries were stolen. "Democracy Lost."

The recounts in states Jill Stein managed to finance so quickly and easily to the tune of our willing millions in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania were all sabotaged. The recounts continue, though, in two of these states, even though Pennsylvania has something like 80 percent touchscreen machinery that can't be audited.

The liberal media and Left press didn't ask the Forbidden Question, "Did he really win?" The left should have seized this issue a lot sooner.

Back to square one, just like in North Carolina, where SCOTUS shot down their torpid gerrymandering and the Tar Heels will just start anew? Back to the Edmund Pettus Bridge?

THE ENTIRE PRESS HAS BEEN COMPROMISED BY THE DEEP STATE.

Here's a good idea: OVERCOME OUR DEPENDENCE ON MEDIA. We must think independently from the press and take radical steps to solve our electoral problems. SEIZE THE OPSCANS!

Homage was paid to EI movement martyrs Athan Gibbs, inventor of a viable, transparent voting system who was killed in an automobile accident in 2004 shortly after introducing it to Bob Fitrakis, who was eager to activate it. Mike Connell, digital czar for GOP servers in Chattanooga, Tennessee, was about to reveal all of his Rove connections, having confessed to designing the man-in-the-middle device that helped steal Ohio 2004 from the Dems. This deeply devout Christian was killed in a suspicious crash of his private plane en route home from Washington, DC, right before his second hearing was scheduled.

Beloved former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman, jailed by Rove people for being a politician, dared complain about the fixed election that drove him out of office. He languished behind bars for seven (?) years and was only recently freed.

Q&A of this first panel reminded us that 220 out of 222 Members of Congress were reelected to an institution with an approval rating of 8 percent.

Where was Bernie? He could have objected.

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By Kimmy Boyle

Trump's election and his subsequent cabinet appointees assured the ascendance of corporate America into the highest levels of government. Under this new administration the intermingling of corporate America and our government is clearer than ever. However corporate power and influence over our government has been ascending for well over a century.

In 2010 after the Citizens United case was decided, corporate personhood--the corporate use of human constitutional rights--was propelled into the spotlight. In Citizens United vs. the Federal Election Committee (FEC), the Supreme Court decided that corporations have rights to free speech--just like people--under the First Amendment. Terms like 'big money' or 'dark money' have become commonplace and are used constantly, especially during election years. Since the Citizen's United decision, corporation's use of the First Amendment has been highly scrutinized and criticized.

But what many people do not realize is that corporate personhood extends past the First Amendment and is the perversion of all human rights. Through court cases and legal battles over the last 150 years corporations have slowly gained many of the same rights solely designated for human beings. High profile cases such as Citizens United vs. FEC or more recently Hobby Lobby vs. Burwell have highlighted the corporate perversion of the First Amendment, but corporations have also claimed rights and protection under the 4th, 5th, and 14th Amendments. Only a handful of cases get the wide publicity it takes to spark discussions about the constitutionality of corporations claiming the same rights as humans. As corporations gain more access to our protected individual rights our safety, our livelihoods, and even our own constitutional rights are undermined.

Corporate abuse of the Fifth Amendment has duly gone unnoticed and with frightening consequences. Under the Fifth Amendment individual citizens have protection against the government unjustly taking their property without proper reason or just compensation. Corporations for the last 90 years have used this right as well to sue individual citizens and even the United States government. The 1922 Supreme Court case H.J Mahon vs. Pennsylvania Coal Company was the first case in which corporations claimed protection under the Fifth Amendment. H.J Mahon bought land in Pennsylvania from the Pennsylvania Coal Company and built his house upon it in 1878. At the time of the original purchase the Pennsylvania Coal Company waived their rights to the surface land to Mahon, but retained the rights to mine the coal underneath his house. In 1921 the Kohler Act was passed in order to protect individual's homes and businesses from destructive coal mining techniques. Later that year the Pennsylvania Coal Company tried to mine under Mahon's property, but because of the Kohler Act his property was protected. The Pennsylvania Coal Company argued that the government-- through the Kohler Act--had eliminated their property's worth and demanded that they be justly compensated.

The Supreme Court agreed and ruled in favor of the Pennsylvania Coal Company. With this ruling the court decided that a corporation had the same protections as individuals under the Fifth Amendment, and that the Kohler Act--meant to keep citizen's homes and properties safe from damage caused by coal mining--did in fact count as a taking by the government. H.J Mahon's right to his own property was undermined by a corporation's abuse of human constitutional rights. This case has set the precedent for corporation's continued abuse of the Fifth Amendment--even at the cost of individual property, life, and safety.

The Mahon vs. Pennsylvania case has allowed for corporations to use the Fifth Amendment to avoid government restrictions or regulations put in place to protect the public. A recent example is the ruling in Lost Tree Village Corporation vs. The United States in 2015. In 2002 while developing land it had previously acquired the Lost Tree Village Corporation was denied a permit to fill parts of its property. The Army Corps of Engineers denied the permit because they found that corporation had not taken the least environmentally damaging route, and that the land's development purpose had already been adequately realized. The Lost Tree Village Corporation then sued the United States government claiming that the environmental regulations and permit denial constituted a government taking. With the permit and the following development of the land they argued the plot would have been worth approximately $4.25 million. The U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Lost Tree Village Corporation and awarded them $4.25 million dollars, even though the estimated value of the land was only $30,000 and they never developed the plot.

These cases show how corporations manipulate human constitutional rights to get out of rules or regulations that they see as threatening to their profits or potential future profits. The corporate perversion of human rights not only undermines individuals' right to protect their property, but also prevents the United States government from enforcing legislation meant to protect the public and public interests. To ensure that our government can most effectively protect its citizens, we must take on this corporate perversion of human rights and state that these rights granted by the Constitution belong and apply only to human beings. Through the Campaign to Legalize Democracy and the We the People Amendment ( HJR 48) we can abolish corporate Constitutional Rights and reaffirm that our government works to protect its citizens, not large corporate interests! Join the Campaign to Legalize Democracy today!

Kimmy Boyle is a Political Organizing Intern with Move to Amend and a recent graduate of the University of California Davis where she earned her degree in International Relations and minored in Political Science.


Left Behind

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However, united with our greatest global allies, the Greatest Generation was victorious in war and peace.

In 2016, America was attacked by a foreign power with the intent of electing its choice for our government, defaming America's exceptional diversity with angry rhetoric, hate speech, racism, fear mongering, Muslim bans, belittling the disabled, conversion therapy and denial of environmental realities.

In the disarray of disunity reigned, apathy and claims that Free Speech was the right to succumb to a pied piper of corporatism.

Nonetheless, believing in the call of our Declaration of Independence, the evolution of our Constitution and the leadership example of our Gettysburg Address -- many persisted, knowing we are most indivisible, when our Bill of Rights is free of malice aforethought -- when we protect ourselves with an independent press, charged by We the People, to educate us with truth, not speculative gossip -- and when we exercise our right, peaceably to assemble and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances, including, but not limited to, bullies using the bully pulpit to preach Putin talking points.

As in 1941, America again needs to trust the courageous optimism of our youth, coupled with the expertise of experience.

Millennials, looking up from devices, with a momentary glance over their shoulders, need assure Baby Boomers, we've got this -- for now they are the seers of the gateway forward -- reinvigorating our I have a Dream, into the reality of its truth setting us free from the lies we tell ourselves.

Although divisive 1860-1960 political fog rises again to choke America's life breath, the strong can still see beyond the increasing smog -- resisting, despite bearing the brunt of coal ash water, food desserts and Wall Street's forever disappeared occupations, we will survive any attempt to blind our vision for generational renewal -- inspiring all, by embracing, possibility!

We, the young at heart and open-minded lift our eyes to the skies to harness the sun, and renew life on, and of, the earth with what cannot be seen -- but like freedom, is discernible by the resolve of its antagonists.

We are harvesting the very wind at our back, whisking those with eyes to see and ears to hear, into the technology of thinking ahead -- before the avarice festering in the towers of all that glitters without greatness, floods both reason and land with Water Wars.

Yet, wisdom whispers, stay calm and carry on, for we see correctly who, perceive our greatness is as earthly stewards from Genesis to Revelation.

I'm not certain what we should ask of those born into 1960's assassinations, the Vietnam War, Kent State tragedy -- left behind to survive Trickle Down economics -- after the lessons of The Greatest Generation were largely drowned out by, Government is the Problem .

So, I listened to the wind and the sea:

Reread Frank Capra's The Name Above the Title

Remembered the enormous cultural contributions Beethoven and Billy Wilder bequeathed after they were deaf

Unable to revisit Schindler's List, again immersed mind, body and soul in Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan

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There are three hopes in many circles about the testimony of former FBI Director James Comey before the Senate Intelligence Committee. And all track back to one thing: will there be anything to come out of it to provide grounds for bringing impeachment charges against #45 Trump. The first is that Comey can back up his now famed memo in which he asserts Trump demanded he stand down from investigations into then National Security Advisor Mike Flynn and the Russia election meddling connection. The second tracks back to the first hope. That's that Comey has added documents or even a tape in which Trump actually orders him to back off. The third is that Comey can provide just enough drama in his testimony to make it good media theater.

Those hopes almost certainly will be dashed. The so-called "impeachment clause," in the Constitution lists the thoroughly ambiguous, "high crimes and misdemeanors" as one of the crimes that a sitting president must commit for the House to initiate the action and then the Senate to convict. In Trump's case, this would fall into the category of obstruction of justice. The Comey memo isn't enough. Trump will continue to hotly deny that he ordered him to back off from the investigation. Short of a signature from Trump on a memo ordering Comey to back off, it will just be another case of "he said, she said." Even if the conversation did take place as Comey claims, Trump will pooh-pooh it by claiming that this was just shop talk banter, and there was no malicious intent behind it. The key words in the alleged memo are "I hope you can let this go." This comes nowhere near the requirement to bring a criminal case against Trump, that could only come as a direct order.

The only drama so far in the Comey-Trump tit-for-tat is Comey's firing. This has gotten tons of print ink and hour after hour of cable news chatter. However, testimony before a congressional committee is an entirely different matter. Most of it is long winded, dry, and almost never produces anything close to the required "gotcha moment," or a quote that can change the course of political events. Comey is the consummate just the facts Ma' am bureaucrat. The only fact that he's alleged about Trump is that he made a note about the conversation that he had with him about Flynn. This is hardly Nixonian Watergate stuff. That came complete with tapes of Nixon blatantly orchestrating ways to obstruct justice in the criminal probes of his henchmen.

The ones who have beat the drums loudest for something, anything from Comey, to nail Trump on have been congressional Democrats. The few Republican senators who have raised eyebrows about Trump's conduct have given absolutely no indication that they see anything in Comey's dealings with Trump that rise to the level of criminal misconduct. The worst that can happen is that GOP leaders will continue to try and figure out ways to further distance themselves from Trump and figure out more ways to get around his antics to ram through their retrograde health care and tax reform plans.

What's left after Comey is the independent probe by former FBI director Robert Mueller. He'll be looking at wide ranging and entangled business and political dealings of Trump and his associates with the Russians to determine if there was perjury, witness intimidation or obstruction of justice by Trump or any of the others in the Russia connection. Or, at the very least blatant favoritism.

Trump has been battered so long by the allegations of playing footsie with the Russians to steal the election, engage in sordid business deals, and jeopardize national security in the process that he's developed effective duck and dodge counter measures. They include pointed denials, blame and finger pointing at his political enemies, mostly Democrats, and at a "fake news media" that's out to smear him to bump up ratings.

He has a crack legal team that is well-versed on the rules about what public officials can do when it comes to business and government here. They know that eyes are carefully watching him to catch him in any dirty dealing. So, him doing something crudely illegal is almost unimaginable. This brings it back to the hope that somewhere there's a smoking gun tape or memo with Trump's voice or signature that proves beyond any legal doubt that he committed some act that falls within the constitutional parameter of what is an impeachable act.

The saving grace in the Comey testimony is that he is testifying and that he did keep a memo of the conversation with Trump about Flynn and Russia. It doesn't prove criminal malice and it's not enough to impeach. But it does pile on even more doubt about Trump's dubious conduct and dealings, and more importantly, his fitness to be called president.

Earl Ofari Hutchinson is an author and political analyst. He is an associate editor of New America Media. He is author of Cosby: The Clash of Race, Sex and Celebrity (Amazon Kindle). He is a weekly co-host of the Al Sharpton Show on Radio One. He is the host of the weekly Hutchinson Report on KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles and the Pacifica Network.
On Sunday, June 4, the same day that Our Revolution, a Democratic Party group that arose from the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, organized rallies and die-ins to highlight the number of people dying in the United States due to lack of access to health care, the New York Times published an article, "The Single Payer Party? Democrats Shift Left on Health Care", prominently on the front page and above the fold.

The article quotes RoseAnn DeMoro, head of National Nurses United, saying, "There is a cultural shift. Health care is now seen as something everyone deserves. It's like a national light went off." Minnesota Congressman Rick Nolan was also quoted, saying that rank and file Democrats "are energized in a way I have not witnessed in a long, long time." Nolan is correct in stating that following the Democrat's large loss in 2016, the party needs "a more boldly 'aspirational' health care platform."

Democratic Party voters have been strong supporters of single payer health care for a long time. Polls have consistently shown that super-majorities of Democratic Party voters want single payer, but Democratic Party candidates keep telling them that they can't have it. The Democratic Party has refused to add Medicare for All to its healthcare platform despite resolutions introduced by single payer advocates. Even the Congressional Progressive Caucus refuses to include single payer health care in their "People's Budget."

In 2009, with a Democratic President and majorities in the House and Senate, single payer health care was off the table. Instead, the "public option" was used to divide the Democratic Party voters and convince them that they were asking for too much. Democrats were told that the public option would be more politically feasible and would create a "back door" to single payer. Many were fooled. And the joke was on them because even the public option, which I call the "Profiteer's Option," was never meant to be in the final legislation.

While the New York Times wrongly blames the liberal and centrist Democrats for not supporting a public option, it was actually the White House and Democratic Party leadership that kept it out of the final bill. In December of 2009, public pressure was working to convince the Senate to include a public option in its healthcare bill. That's when leadership stepped in to stop them. Glenn Greenwald writes:

"I've argued since August that the evidence was clear that the White House had privately negotiated away the public option and didn't want it, even as the President claimed publicly (and repeatedly) that he did. " it is the excuse Democrats fraudulently invoke, using what I called the Rotating Villain tactic (it's now Durbin's turn), to refuse to pass what they claim they support but are politically afraid to pass, or which they actually oppose (sorry, we'd so love to do this, but gosh darn it, we just can't get 60 votes). If only 50 votes were required, they'd just find ways to ensure they lacked 50. Both of those are merely theories insusceptible to conclusive proof, but if I had the power to create the most compelling evidence for those theories that I could dream up, it would be hard to surpass what Democrats are doing now with regard to the public option. They're actually whipping against the public option. Could this sham be any more transparent?"

I was present at the Center for American Progress in March of 2009 when Senator Max Baucus stated that the public option was a bargaining chip being used to convince private health insurers to accept more regulations. It was Baucus' staffer, Liz Fowler, a former senior vice president for one of the largest private insurance corporations, WellPoint, who wrote the framework for the Affordable Care Act and shepherded it through Congress. The scam was revealed early and though progressive groups knew it, they were complicit in the scam because they accepted being controlled and silenced by the White House.

Jim Messina, a former Baucus chief of staff, was hired by the White House to be "the enforcer" for President Obama's agenda. Ari Berman described the situation in this enlightening article:

The administration deputized Messina as the top liaison to the Common Purpose Project. The coveted invite-only, off-the-record Tuesday meetings at the Capitol Hilton became the premier forum where the administration briefed leading progressive groups, including organizations like the AFL-CIO, MoveOn, Planned Parenthood and the Center for American Progress, on its legislative and political strategy. Theoretically, the meetings were supposed to provide a candid back-and-forth between outside groups and administration officials, but Messina tightly controlled the discussions and dictated the terms of debate (Jane Hamsher of Firedoglake memorably dubbed this the "veal pen"). "Common Purpose didn't make a move without talking to Jim," says one progressive strategist. During the healthcare fight, Messina used his influence to try to stifle any criticism of Baucus or lobbying by progressive groups that was out of sync with the administration's agenda, according to Common Purpose participants. "Messina wouldn't tolerate us trying to lobby to improve the bill," says Richard Kirsch, former national campaign manager for Health Care for America Now (HCAN), the major coalition of progressive groups backing reform. Kirsch recalled being told by a White House insider that when asked what the administration's "inside/outside strategy" was for passing healthcare reform, Messina replied, "There is no outside strategy." The inside strategy pursued by Messina, relying on industry lobbyists and senior legislators to advance the bill, was directly counter to the promise of the 2008 Obama campaign, which talked endlessly about mobilizing grassroots support to bring fundamental change to Washington. But that wasn't Messina's style--instead, he spearheaded the administration's deals with doctors, hospitals and drug companies, particularly the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), one of the most egregious aspects of the bill. "They cared more about their relationship with the healthcare industry than anyone else," says one former HCAN staffer. "It was shocking to see. To me, that was the scariest part of it, because this White House had ridden in on a white horse and said, 'We're not going to do this anymore.'" When they were negotiating special deals with industry, Messina and Baucus chief of staff Jon Selib were also pushing major healthcare companies and trade associations to pour millions of dollars into TV ads defending the bill.

This was the Democratic Party's deal with the devil. They rejected their voter base and went with the donor class to create and market a health law, the so-called Affordable Care Act, that protected the profits of the medical-industrial complex, and it backfired. In the 2010 election, 63 Democratic incumbents lost their seats in Congress and the party has been in decline ever since with a record low number of elected officials nationally. On issue after issue, the Democratic Party betrayed its base and voters finally gave up, choosing either to vote for other parties or not vote at all.

The question now is whether the Democrats will change.

So far, despite the title of the New York Times article, the answer is no. Although there is widespread voter support for single payer, Nancy Pelosi says the party is not going there and is funneling advocates' energy to the state level, even though state single payer systems are not possible without federal legislation. At the national level, Democrats are paying lip service to Medicare for All: "We need to get there eventually but right now our task is to fix the ACA" is the current talking point.

The reality is that the political currents have shifted. The public is not going along with the con. People want solutions to the healthcare crisis, not more tinkering with the current failed healthcare system. Across the country, the message is clear that the public supports National Improved Medicare for All. And whichever political party in power embraces this will see a surge in popularity.

Our task as advocates for National Improved Medicare for All is to stay fired up -- continue to speak out about Medicare for All, write about it in local papers, meet with members of Congress, organize in our communities and run for office. We must be clear and uncompromising in our demand for National Improved Medicare for All to create a visible tsunami of support that will wake our legislators up.

When the people lead, the legislators will follow.
This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. Back in 2011, thinking about the implosion of the Soviet Union two decades earlier and what followed, I wrote:

"So don't mark the end of the Cold War in 1991 as our conventional histories do. Mark it in the early days of 2011, and consider the events of this moment a symbolic goodbye-to-all-that for the planet's 'sole superpower.'"

"In 1991, when the Soviet Union disappeared and the United States found itself the last superpower standing, Washington mistook that for a victory most rare. In the years that followed, in a paroxysm of self-satisfaction and amid clouds of self-congratulation, its leaders would attempt nothing less than to establish a global Pax Americana. Their breathtaking ambitions would leave hubris in the shade. The results, it's now clear, were no less breathtaking, even if disastrously so. Almost 20 years after the lesser superpower of the Cold War left the world stage, the 'victor' is now lurching down the declinist slope, this time as the other defeated power of the Cold War era.

I had long had a feeling that, of the two superpowers of the Cold War era, one had left the stage in a rush, while the other was slowly inching its way toward the exits enwreathed in self-congratulation and an overwhelming sense of triumphalism. What I hadn't really imagined, what, even in 2011, I couldn't have put into words, was the twist on this strange tale of imperial decline that TomDispatch regular William Astore illuminates today. What if, from its quagmire war in Afghanistan to the surveillance of its own people, that other superpower, the only one left, was not just on the declinist slope but, in an eerie act of mimicry, taking on some of the coloration of the superpower that preceded it to disaster? Tom

America's Real Red Scare

The Slow-Motion Collapse of the American Empire

By William J. Astore

Jump into your time machine and let me transport you back to another age.

It's May 2001 and the Atlantic Monthly has just arrived in the mail. I'm tantalized by the cover article. "Russia is finished," the magazine announces. The subtitle minces no words: "The unstoppable descent into social catastrophe and strategic irrelevance." Could it be that the country I had worried most about as a military officer during all those grim years of the Cold War, the famed "Evil Empire" that had threatened us with annihilation, was truly kaput, even in its Russian rather than Soviet guise?

Sixteen years later, the article's message seems just a tad premature. Today's Russia surely has its problems -- from poverty to pollution to prostitution to a rickety petro-economy -- but on the geopolitical world stage it is "finished" no longer. Vladimir Putin's Russia has recently been enjoying heightened influence, largely at the expense of a divided and disputatious superpower that now itself seems to be on an "unstoppable descent."

Sixteen years after Russia was declared irrelevant, a catastrophe, finito, it is once again a colossus -- at least on the American political scene, if nowhere else. And that should disturb you far less than this: more than a generation after defeating the Soviet Union in the Cold War, the United States of 2017 seems to be doing its level best to emulate some of the worst aspects of its former foe and once rival superpower.

Yes, the U.S. has a Soviet problem, and I'm not referring to the allegations of the moment in Washington: that the Trump campaign and Russian officials colluded, that money may have flowed into that campaign via Russian oligarchs tied to Putin, that the Russians hacked the U.S. election to aid Donald Trump, that those close to the president-elect dreamed of setting up a secret back channel to Moscow and suggested to the Russian ambassador that it be done through the Russian embassy, or even that Putin has a genuine hold of some sort on Donald Trump. All of this is, of course, generating attention galore, as well as outrage, in the mainstream media and among the chattering classes, leading some to talk of a new "red scare" in America. All of it is also being investigated, whether by congressional intelligence committees or by former FBI director -- now special counsel -- Robert Mueller.

When it comes to what I'm talking about, though, you don't need a committee or a counsel or a back channel or a leaker from some intelligence agency to ferret it out. Whatever Trump campaign officials, Russian oligarchs, or Vladimir Putin himself did or didn't do, America's Soviet problem is all around us: a creeping (and creepy) version of authoritarianism that anyone who lived through the Cold War years should recognize. It involves an erosion of democratic values; the ever-expanding powers exercised by a national security state operating as a shadow government and defined by militarism, surveillance, secrecy, prisons, and other structures of dominance and control; ever-widening gaps between the richest few and the impoverished many; and, of course, ever more weapons, along with ever more wars.

That's a real red scare, America, and it's right here in the homeland.

In February, if you remember -- and given the deluge of news, half news, rumor, and innuendo, who can remember anything these days? -- Donald Trump memorably compared the U.S. to Russia. When Bill O'Reilly called Vladimir Putin "a killer" in an interview with the new president, he responded that there was little difference between us and them, for -- as he put it -- we had our killers, too, and weren't exactly innocents abroad when it came to world affairs. ("There are a lot of killers. You think our country's so innocent?") The president has said a lot of outlandish things in his first months in office, but here he was on to something.

My Secret Briefing on the Soviet Union

When I was a young lieutenant in the Air Force, in 1986 if memory serves, I attended a secret briefing on the Soviet Union. Ronald Reagan was president, and we had no clue that we were living through the waning years of the Cold War. Back then, believing that I should know my enemy, I was reading a lot about the Soviets in "open sources"; you know, books, magazines, and newspapers. The "secret" briefing I attended revealed little that was new to me. (Classified information is often overhyped.) I certainly heard no audacious predictions of a Soviet collapse in five years (though the Soviet Union would indeed implode in 1991). Like nearly everyone at the time, the briefers assumed the USSR would be our archenemy for decades to come and it went without saying that the Berlin Wall was a permanent fixture in a divided Europe, a forever symbol of ruthless Communist oppression.

Little did we know that, three years later, the Soviet military would stand aside as East Germans tore down that wall. And who then would have believed that a man might be elected president of the United States a generation later on the promise of building a "big, fat, beautiful wall" on our shared border with Mexico?
Jesse Martin Wins WSOP Event #7: $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball

June 05, 2017 Will Shillibier Executive Editor E.U.

Jesse Martin defeated a field of 225 entries to take down the $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Lowball event, and in doing so, won his second bracelet along with $130,948 in prize money.

The American defeated Australian James Obst heads-up and now has over $2.8 million in lifetime earnings. This result represents the fourth-largest WSOP cash of his career so far.

Event #7 Final Table Results

Position Player Country Prize Money 1 Jesse Martin United States $130,948 2 James Obst Australia $80,922 3 Chris Bjorin Sweden $52,671 4 Brant Hale United States $35,349 5 Jared Bleznick United States $24,356 6 Terry Jennings United States $17,272 7 Daniel Hirleman United States $12,617

Speaking after securing the victory, Martin said that it was nice to be heads-up in games that he was used to playing heads-up.

"There are certain games where I haven't played a lot heads-up, but these are games that I've thought about a lot, and I felt very comfortable in them... I certainly got better cards, but I felt confident in all my decisions for the most part. It was nice."

Reflecting on the turning point of the heads-up match, he said that there could have been a major swing in a single hand of A-5.

"I had chipped up to around one million and made a six in A-5, and he made a one-better six. So that could have been a turning point for him, but after that, I just won a bunch of small pots. That got me back into it instead of sliding back."

With a second bracelet under his belt and the realization of that fact sinking in, Martin's emotions started to bubble to the surface.

"I've never had a big, big series. I'd love to have that. I'm going to play pretty much everything!"

"I feel great [...] sorry, I got choked up for a second. I feel amazing having two bracelets. I'm more excited that it's so early in the Series. Now I can really go for a couple more this year and grab a bunch of results... Every Series I have one or two runs; coming second or win a bracelet one time. I've never had a big, big series. I'd love to have that. I'm going to play pretty much everything!"

Coming into the day, it was tight at the top, with Terry Jennings leading the final table. However, Jennings would relinquish his chip lead early on to the likes of Martin.

The first to be eliminated was Daniel Hirleman, who was left with fumes after a clash with Jared Bleznick in 2-7 Triple Draw. In the next game, Hirleman was all in for just 9,000, and despite drawing live into the final draw, he exited at the hands of Martin in seventh place ($12,617).

After calling the bluff of Bleznick, Obst took over the chip lead for a period of time. The next elimination might have come as a surprise to many, with Day 3 chip leader Jennings losing out to Brant Hale in a hand of A-5 Triple Draw where both players made six-lows, with Hales pipping his opponent. Jennings departed in sixth place ($17,272).

By the first break, Obst had the one-million chip mark in his sights, but Martin wasnt that far behind him. Bleznick was third in chips, but he was next to go in fifth after an A-5 Triple Draw hand against Maritn. Bleznick collected $24,356 for his fifth-place finish and immediately jump in the $1,500 8-Game.

Chris Bjorin fortuitously doubled through Obst twice in two hands to stay alive, meaning that it was Hale who exited in fourth. In a three-way tussle between him, Obst, and Martin, it was the latter who made a queen badugi, scooping the pot and eliminating Hale, who took home $35,349 for his efforts.

It wasnt long until the short-stacked Bjorin was eliminated, too, losing a battle of the three-card badugis to James Obst as play entered the heads-up phase.

Martin held the slenderest of margins going into heads-up play, leading by just over 300,000 chips, and it was the American who had the edge over his opponent during the first few hands of play. However, the skillful Australian held his own until some key hands in badugi and 2-7 lowball forced him into some decisions for his tournament life.

Ultimately, it was fitting that a hand in 2-7 Lowball decided the tournament  the same tournament in which Martin won his first bracelet back in 2013. He now has a second to join his collection, and the relief was evident on his face as he celebrated with his friends on the rail.

Sharelines "I feel great [...] sorry, I got choked up for a second. I feel amazing having two bracelets."
One old god has turned bullets into prayers in a very creepy Virginia town.

Shadow and Wednesday are on the run from Mr. World and his shapeshifting partner, Media. Laura, on the run chasing Shadow (ha, get it?), runs back into Mad Sweeney who's chasing his lucky coin inside of Laura's stomach. They both join Salim, who's chasing his jinn-lover, in Salim's taxi and drive off toward Kentucky.

(Spoilers below.)

Vulcan, Virginia. (YouTube)

"Welcome to Vulcan, Virginia," Wednesday says to Shadow as they drive into a suspiciously empty small town. Shadow is right to feel uncomfortable: the few people lining the sidewalk carry rifles strapped to their backs; the grandmother in a wheelchair rests her gun on her lap; a funeral parade marches down the middle of the main street, made up of dozens of gun-wielding, red-armband-wearing white people.



This town is Purge-levels of creepy and when the marchers fire a salute straight into the air, the bullets rain down on Shadow's car like hellish hail.

The leader of this show of force is Wednesday's latest potential recruit: the god of fire and the forge and namesake of the town, Vulcan.

Vulcan leads the parade. (YouTube)

Vulcan's bullet factoryhis giant forgetowers over the town breathing black smoke into the air and filling the guns of its citizens with Vulcan-made ammunition. With this factory, Vulcan explains to Wednesday, he has franchised his power.

Every fiery gunshot that fires a bullet stamped with Vulcan's name is like a prayer to him and every death by bullet, a blood sacrifice. The worker who fell into the vat of molten metal and became a few cases of bullets? An even better sacrifice. "Every bullet fired in a crowded movie theater is a prayer in my name," Vulcan says.

Vulcan counters Wednesday's proposal for war by explaining this new source of power. The rest of the Old Gods might be starving for prayers, but not Vulcan. He's happy with his murder-hungry followers and greedy for sacrifice. After pledging alliance to the New Gods like Mr. Wood, his hunger for power makes him just as much an enemy to Wednesday.

Always-clever Wednesday uses Vulcan's own trick against him: killing him with the sword that Vulcan has just forged in Wednesday's name, making him a godly blood sacrifice to Wednesday and cursing the bullets that will contain the fiery metal that buried him.

Jesus de Mexico. (YouTube)

Vulcan isn't the only god murdered in "A Murder of Gods."

This episode's "Coming to America" story follows a group of Mexican immigrants wading carefully across the unnamed-Rio Grande into unnamed-Texas or New Mexico. When some anti-immigration warriors show up in lifted pickups and armed with assault rifles loaded with Vulcan bullets, the triumphant scene turns tragic. In a display of Vulcan's power, the gunmen murder the immigrants, their guns engraved with "Thy Kingdom Come" and rosaries in their hands. They crucify the Christ figure who saved one traveler from drowning in the river and the camera zooms out on Dead Jesus, lying in the crucifixion pose and with a glowing heart like the famous Sacred Heart image.

Laura and Sweeney take the road. (YouTube)

"Did you just name-drop Jesus Christ?" Laura asks Sweeney when he says he knows a guy who knows a guy who can, possibly, resurrect her. Wednesday mentioned history's Jesuses in an earlier episode, and it looks like he'll be making more appearances in the show in one form or another. This opening scene showed the tragic incompatibility of guns and religion, while the rest of the episode basically turned guns into a form of idol worship. With both sides of the Old vs. New war showing off their power, the stakes are growing and the show is plunging headfirst into all of its implications for the real world.

Follow American Gods on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.

Watch Episode 7 this Sunday at 9pm Eastern.

READ MORE ABOUT FILM/TV:



Watch the warring sides shift in 'American Gods' Ep. 5

'American Gods' Ep. 3 climbs a fire escape to the heavens and breaks more TV boundaries

HBO announces 4 'Game of Thrones' spinoffs: what could they be?
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FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Frontier Lithium Inc.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Sudbury, Ontario (FSCWire) - Frontier Lithium Inc. (TSX Venture:FL). has issued a press release with the following headline:Frontier Lithium signs Exploration Agreement with neighbouring North Spirit Lake First NationTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on Frontier Lithium Inc., or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/Frontier Lithium Inc.Source: Frontier Lithium Inc. (TSX Venture: FL, WKN: A2ANKZ, ISIN: CA35910P1099)Date: June 06, 2017Time: 9:55 AM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Frontier Lithium Inc. and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2017 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
PR-Inside.com: 2017-06-06 21:20:01

WESTCHESTER, Ill., June 6, 2017 - Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE: INGR), a leading global provider of ingredient solutions to diversified industries, announced today that it applauds the new sugar suspension agreement negotiated by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.

"Ingredion supports open borders to facilitate sweetener trade. We appreciate the work of Secretary Ross and Mexico's Economy Minister Guajardo to reach an agreement on this important issue. Thanks to their cooperation and efforts, the new agreement protects against unfair trade practices while ultimately preserving U.S. jobs and cross-border market access," said Jim Zallie, Ingredion executive vice president and president, Americas.

ABOUT INGREDION

Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE: INGR) is a leading global ingredient solutions provider. We turn grains, fruits, vegetables and other plant materials into value-added ingredients and biomaterial solutions for the food, beverage, paper and corrugating, brewing and other industries. Serving customers in over 100 countries, our ingredients make crackers crunchy, yogurts creamy, candy sweet, paper stronger and add fiber to nutrition bars. Visit Ingredion.com to learn more.

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CONTACT:

Investors: Heather Kos, 708-551-2592

Media: Claire Regan, 708-551-2602





This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients.

The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.

Source: Ingredion Incorporated via Globenewswire


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FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for SmallCapPower--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Toronto, Ontario (FSCWire) - SmallCapPower (TSX Venture:ACB). has issued a press release with the following headline:5 Marijuana Stocks Representing Good Relative ValueTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on SmallCapPower, or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:Source: SmallCapPower (TSX Venture: ACB, TSX Venture: OGI)Date: June 06, 2017Time: 10:25 AM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of SmallCapPower and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2017 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
PR-Inside.com: 2017-06-06 16:33:02

Medtronic Will Host a Webcast of Its Diabetes Group Analyst and Investor Briefing

on Saturday, June 10 from 2 - 4 p.m. PDT

DUBLIN - June 6, 2017 - Medtronic (NYSE:MDT), the global leader in medical technology, today announced its schedule of notable sessions that will be presented at the 77th Scientific Sessions of the American Diabetes Association, in San Diego, June 9-13. A significant portion of the scientific data being presented focuses on Medtronic's insulin pump systems, including the MiniMed(TM) 670G system, the world's first hybrid closed-loop system which will be commercially available this month. Data will also be presented on the Sugar.IQ(TM) app, powered by IBM Watson technology, as well as managing glucose control for patients at Diabeter clinics in the Netherlands.

Scientific Presentations

Insulin Pump Therapy

Cognitive Science

"Sugar.IQ(TM) Insights: An Innovative Personalized Machine-Learning Model for Diabetes Management" - oral presentation by Dr. Huzefa Neemuchwala on Saturday, June 10 from 8:30 - 8:45 a.m. 63-OR

Diabetes Clinic Approach

Company Exhibit Floor Presentations

Medtronic will be showcasing their newest and most advanced sensor, the Guardian(TM) Sensor 3 through a virtual reality HoloLens experience at Booth #2221. Throughout the conference, booth attendees will have the opportunity to wear head-mounted display units and learn about this unique sensor technology through 3-dimensional, mixed reality projections.

Additionally, Medtronic will host a series of presentations at the booth from Saturday through Monday, providing an opportunity for attendees to learn about the application of Medtronic technologies from experts. A full list of presentations follow below:

CGM and Cognitive Computing: Easing Patient Burden in Daily Diabetes Management: Saturday, June 10 at 10:30 a.m.

Making Diabetes More Actionable with Predictive CGM for MDI Patients: Saturday, June 10 at 1:30 p.m.; Sunday, June 11 at 1:30 p.m.; Monday, June 12 at 1:30 p.m.

MiniMed 670G System with SmartGuard Hybrid Closed-Loop Technology: Saturday, June 10 at 3 p.m.; Sunday, June 11 at 10:30 a.m.; Monday, June 12 at 12 p.m.

Gaining Deeper Insights in Creating Effective Treatment Plans with iPro(TM)2 Professional CGM: Sunday, June 11 at 3 p.m.

Finally, Medtronic will also be hosting a Product Theater Presentation on Monday, June 12 at 10:15 a.m., where Drs. Richard Bergenstal and Jennifer Sherr will give a presentation on "Driving Patient Outcomes Through Automation: MiniMed 670G System with SmartGuard HCL Technology."

Analyst and Investor Briefing

Medtronic will host a webcast to provide an update on its Diabetes Group during the conference on Saturday, June 10, from 2 p.m. to approximately 4 p.m. (PDT). The webcast will feature remarks from Medtronic management, including comments on Medtronic's clinical data, product pipelines, and market outlooks. The live audio webcast can be accessed by clicking on the Investor Events link at http://investorrelations.medtronic.com on June 10. Within 24 hours of the webcast, a replay will be available on the same webpage. This event is not part of the official ADA Scientific Sessions.

About the Diabetes Group at Medtronic (www.medtronicdiabetes.com)

Medtronic is working together with the global community to change the way people manage diabetes. The company aims to transform diabetes care by expanding access, integrating care and improving outcomes, so people living with diabetes can enjoy greater freedom and better health.

About Medtronic

Medtronic plc (www.medtronic.com), headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, is among the world's largest medical technology, services and solutions companies - alleviating pain, restoring health and extending life for millions of people around the world. Medtronic employs more than 88,000 people worldwide, serving physicians, hospitals and patients in approximately 160 countries. The company is focused on collaborating with stakeholders around the world to take healthcare Further, Together.

Any forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties such as those described in Medtronic's periodic reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results may differ materially from anticipated results.

-end-





This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients.

The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.

Source: Medtronic plc via Globenewswire


PR-Inside.com: 2017-06-06 15:04:02

AUSTIN, Texas, June 06, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mitratech, the leading provider of legal, compliance, and operational risk software solutions, unveiled today the availability of the latest release of one of its leading enterprise legal management (ELM) solutions, eCounsel.

eCounsel allows legal teams to be in complete control of their legal operations, delivering integrated matter management, e-Billing, and spend management with robust reporting and a comprehensive document management system.

For the first time, corporate legal departments will be able to take advantage of real-time e-Billing analytics. The integration of Viewabill with eCounsel enables organizations to significantly drive legal spend savings. And, legal departments will also benefit from increased efficiency and productivity with the next-generation Microsoft Office integration, called Mitratech Office Link.

Viewabill provides corporate legal teams real-time insight into their law firms' activities and time entries through web and mobile app access by integrating with law firm time and billing systems. With the integration of eCounsel and Viewabill, corporate legal departments can now leverage real-time law firm time entries to facilitate collaboration, improve relationships, and optimize legal spend. Only Mitratech's legal management solutions provide access to law firm time entries against your matters prior to the invoice being created. Legal teams are now empowered to track, understand, and communicate with their law firms, and with notifications and integrated reporting it makes it even easier to stay informed.

Mitratech Office Link dramatically increases user adoption and advances the functionality that has been core to eCounsel. It enables the most common and repetitive matter management tasks to be performed seamlessly where lawyers and their legal staff are spending most of their time - within Microsoft Outlookand Microsoft Office tools. With Mitratech Office Link, users can view matter summary pages, easily review invoices, including approval/rejection workflow, and take advantage of bi-directional calendaring - all within Microsoft Outlook.

This release is the result of input from a working group of over 20 eCounsel clients who helped to shape the direction of the features and functionality. T-Mobile's Senior Manager of Legal Operations, Winston Yeung, was part of that working group and commented: "The relationship we have built with Mitratech and the eCounsel product team has been invaluable to our success as a legal department. From participating in working groups, to contributing to their long-term roadmap, to the ability to streamline our legal operations with technology by our side, eCounsel has allowed us to lead the charge as innovators in our space."

"Our approach to innovation is driven by our unmatched experience and knowledge of the legal function, our tight partnership with our clients, and the desire to enable our clients to advance their legal operations function," said Mitratech CEO, Jason Parkman. "Mitratech is committed to investing in innovation and this eCounsel release is a great example."

Microsoft Office and Outlook are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States.

ABOUT MITRATECH

Mitratech is a market-leading provider of legal, compliance, and operational risk solutions for more than 1,200 organizations of all sizes across the globe, representing almost 40 percent of the Fortune 500, and over 500,000 users in over 160 countries. Mitratech's portfolio of enterprise legal and risk management software includes: legal matter management, spend management, e-Billing, legal hold, contracts management, risk management, policy management, audit management, and health & safety management. To learn more, visit www.mitratech.com.

Media Contacts: Mitratech Bree Goodall bree.goodall@mitratech.com T. +44 (0)20 3664 6686
PR-Inside.com: 2017-06-06 18:25:12

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FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Plaintree Systems Inc--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Arnprior, Ontario (FSCWire) - Plaintree Systems Inc (CSE:NPT). has issued a press release with the following headline:Plaintree Systems Inc. Sale of Arnprior Fire Trucks Corp.To view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on Plaintree Systems Inc, or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/Plaintree Systems IncSource: Plaintree Systems Inc (CSE: NPT, OTC Pink: PTEEF)Date: June 06, 2017Time: 12:25 PM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Plaintree Systems Inc and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2017 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
[June 05, 2017] North America Ethernet Cable Market Research & Data Report 2017 - Research and Markets

DUBLIN, June 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "North America Ethernet Cable Market (2016-2022)" report to their offering. The North America Ethernet cable market is segmented based on types, applications, and country. Based on applications, the market is segmented into industrial, broadcast, enterprise, IT & network security, and others (residential & defense). The copper cables segment is a dominant segment within types, as copper cables are cost-effective and flexible, as compared to fiber-optic cables. Nevertheless, due to he suitability of fiber optic cable in various applications, the fiber optic cables would also gain popularity. Among the plausible applications, the industrial segment dominates the North America market, due to the superior performance of Ethernet cables even in extreme conditions.







Based on country, Ethernet Cable market is segmented into US, Canada , Mexico and Rest of North America . US remained the dominant country in the North America Ethernet Cable market in 2015. Canada would witness promising CAGR during the forecast period (2016-2022).



Key Topics Covered:





1. Market Scope & Methodology



2. Executive Summary



3. Market Overview



4. North America Ethernet Cable Market



5. North America Ethernet Cable Market by Application



6. North America Ethernet Cable Market by Country



7. Company Profiles



- Belden Inc.

- General Cable

- Nexans

- Anixter Inc.

- Siemens AG

- Hitachi, Ltd

- Schneider Electric

- Rockwell Automation



For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/wnpz4f/north_america Media Contact: Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

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PR-Inside.com: 2017-06-06 14:51:01

6 June 2017, Limassol, Cyprus.

Reference is made to the stock exchange announcement from SeaBird on 26 May 2017 concerning the proposed restructuring of the SeaBird group, as further described in said announcement.

The bondholders' meeting of the SBX04 bond issue has today unanimously approved the proposal for the debt restructuring, pursuant to the summons therefore. The bondholders present formed a quorum.

Following the bondholders' meeting, the Company continues its efforts to satisfy the outstanding conditions for the proposed restructuring. Said conditions include (i) the approval of the Restructuring at an extraordinary general meeting of the Company; (ii) consent to the Restructuring from Glander and subsequent execution of the same from Glander and Ordinat, (iii) that no SeaBird group entity has entered into any insolvency procedures, whether voluntary or involuntary; (iv) that no enforcement action have been taken by any creditors for any material claim or bankruptcy of any SeaBird group entity; (v) that final documentation required to implement the Restructuring, including final documentation on revised terms with trade creditors, has been entered into; (vi) subsequent confirmation that the abovementioned outstanding amounts under Tranche A and Tranche B of the SBX04 bond loan and the Glander credit facility have been irrevocably redeemed following the respective settlements; (vii) the entry into of an amended and restated SBX04 bond agreement between the Company and the bond trustee under the SBX04 bond agreement; and (viii) the entry into of an exchange agreement and income distribution agreement between TGS and the bond trustee under the SBX04 bond agreement to reflect the abovementioned distribution of the net income from the multi-client libraries.

ABG Sundal Collier ASA and Arctic Securities AS act as financial advisors to the Company. Advokatfirmaet Schjdt AS acts as Norwegian legal counsel to the Company.

This information is subject of the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.

SeaBird is a global provider of marine acquisition for 2D/3D and 4D seismic data, and associated products and services to the oil and gas industry. SeaBird specializes in high quality operations within the high end of the source vessel and 2D market, as well as in the shallow/deep water 2D/3D and 4D market. Main focus for the company is proprietary seismic surveys (contract seismic). Main success criteria for the company are an unrelenting focus on Quality, Health, Safety, Security and Environment (QHSE), combined with efficient collection of high quality seismic data. All statements in this press release other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict, and are based upon assumptions as to future events that may not prove accurate. These factors include SeaBird`s reliance on a cyclical industry and the utilization of the company's vessels. Actual results may differ substantially from those expected or projected in the forward-looking statements.

For further queries contact:

Christophe Debouvry

CEO SeaBird Exploration

Phone: +47 22 40 27 05

or

Nils Haugestad

CFO SeaBird Exploration

Phone: +47 22 40 27 17

This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients.

The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.

Source: SeaBird Exploration Plc via Globenewswire


PR-Inside.com: 2017-06-06 16:30:13

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FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for The Graystone Company Inc.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Santa Ana, California (FSCWire) - The Graystone Company Inc. (OTC Pink:GYST). has issued a press release with the following headline:The Graystone Company Far Outpaces Revenue Projections for Full Month of May 2017To view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on The Graystone Company Inc., or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/The Graystone Company Inc.Source: The Graystone Company Inc. (OTC Pink: GYST)Date: June 06, 2017Time: 10:30 AM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of The Graystone Company Inc. and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2017 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
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.




[June 05, 2017] The Puerto Rico Department of Health Has Declared That the 2016 Zika Epidemic is over; Zika Transmission Has Substantially Decreased in Puerto Rico below Epidemic Levels

Zika transmission has substantially decreased in Puerto Rico below epidemic levels, and the Puerto Rico Department of Health (PRDH) has declared that the 2016 Zika epidemic is over. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170605006235/en/ Dr. Carmen Deseda, State Epidemiologist (right), Dr. Rafael Rodriguez-Mercado (News - Alert), Secretary of Health (right), Ricardo Rossello, Governor of Puerto Rico (center), CDC Acting Director Anne Schuchat, MD (left), and other CDC and PRDH officials meet to discuss the latest Zika cases in Puerto Rico and ongoing collaboration and response efforts from the CDC and PRDH to keep the number of cases down. (Photo: Business Wire) Zika levels have substantially decreased since the same reporting period in 2016, with approximately 10 cases reported in each four-week period since April 2017, which is down from >8,000 cases reported in a four-week period at the peak of the epdemic in August 2016. These updated cases, as well as the reporting and testing methodologies by laboratories run by the PRDH have been confirmed and reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and CDC and PRDH will also continue to collaborate on consistent case definitions and reporting of Zika virus cases in 2017 and beyond, according to Dr. Carmen Deseda, MD, State Epidemiologist.



"While there are very low levels of mosquito-borne Zika transmission now, it is important that we remain vigilant to keep these numbers down and support families already affected by Zika," said Dr. Deseda. Since 2016, the PRDH and CDC have been strongly collaborating to control the outbreak and prevent further long-, and short-term public health consequences. "PRDH has been committed to a strong public health response," said Dr. Rafael Rodriguez-Mercado, MD, Secretary of Health.

"In coordination with the CDC, we have put in place a comprehensive program focused on preparation, prevention, precaution and surveillance," said Dr. Rodriguez-Mercado. "These efforts can be used as a model for other regions experiencing local Zika virus transmission." "Puerto Rico has a very strong surveillance system. This will allow Puerto Rico to continue to monitor the number of Zika virus cases, and be ready to rapidly respond to any changing situation," said Dr. Rodriguez-Mercado. "We are pleased that the peak of the Zika virus outbreak in Puerto Rico has come to a close," said CDC Acting Director Anne Schuchat, MD. "However, we cannot let our guard down. CDC will continue to focus on protecting pregnant women and work closely with PRDH to support comprehensive Zika surveillance and prevention efforts on the Island." Prevention and control activities include strengthening surveillance and laboratory capacity, and carrying out mosquito control. The highest priorities and responsibilities include continuing to improve active surveillance systems, and strengthening capacity to ensure that all pregnant women are closely monitored and screened throughout each trimester of their pregnancy for Zika, and that monitoring and appropriate care is provided for their babies. "It is because of the strong actions of the people of Puerto Rico that 2016 cases decreased, therefore the people of Puerto Rico will need to continue to work together to prevent future cases," said Dr. Rodriguez-Mercado. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170605006235/en/

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As government and non-profits search for ways to improve cost efficiencies, telecom expense management plays a huge role

Contact

Roy Lenhardt

Three Rivers Telecom Consulting

***@3riverstele.com

1-724-325-1660 X104 Roy LenhardtThree Rivers Telecom Consulting1-724-325-1660 X104

End

-- Three Rivers Telecom Consulting (TRTC) today announced that it received approval from the Pennsylvania Department of General Services for the state's COSTARS program as a qualified contractor. COSTARS is a purchasing program designed to assist local governments, state-affiliated entities and qualifying non-profit organizations in reducing their expenses and achieving best value.As a qualified contractor in the state's Master IT Services Invitation to Qualify (ITQ) program, Contract No. 4400016472, TRTC's telecom consulting services are now available to a list of 8,600 COSTARS members throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania."COSTARS is an excellent program for non-profits, universities, hospitals, municipalities and authorities because it saves them both money and time by removing the need for a long drawn-out and expensive RFP process," said Kris Macurdy, President of TRTC. "This streamlined access results in COSTAR members receiving faster service and more savings, all from state qualified and vetted vendors."Macurdy added, "TRTC's awarded contract further substantiates the quality of our telecom cost-reduction audits, managed and project services and we look forward to working with and delivering measurable added-value to COSTARS members. Our continuous improvement services are directly aligned with those of our clients. We ensure the best possible telecom services at the best possible prices." An important financial cost-improvement service considering telecom is a top 5 largest operating expense for nearly every business, including government and non-profits.TRTC is an independent and objective telecom consulting firm that helps businesses substantially reduce their monthly telecom (wireless, landline and internet/data)expenses by typically 22-39% without spending a dime of their own money or charging carriers. TRTC specializes in working with mid to large-sized clients that have locations in the United States, Canada, Mexico and/or the Caribbean. TRTC offers a free, no lose and no risk evaluation of an organization's telecom spend to identify where they are unknowingly and needlessly overpaying their carriers each month. For more information, visit www.3riverstele.com
Colliers Represents Non-Profit in Consolidation Play at 900 Chapel Street

By: Colliers International Connecticut

Contact

Caryl Communications

***@caryl.com Caryl Communications

End

-- Colliers International Group Inc. (http://www.colliers.com/en-us/newyorkcity)represented The Connection Inc. (http://www.theconnectioninc.org/)in a recent, 13,122-square-foot lease at 900 Chapel Street in New Haven. The private, non-profit human service and community development agency will occupy the full penthouse floor at the 142,439-square-foot, 13-story office tower.The move to 900 Chapel Street accommodates a consolidation of two local Connection operations, according to Colliers' Jeffrey Williams, who headed the site search with Hollis Pugh of the global commercial real estate services firm's Stamford, Conn., office. John Keogh of Dow Condon d/b/a Colliers International served as landlord broker for PMC Property Group, which owns 900 Chapel Street.The Connection has served Connecticut for more than 40 years. Each month, thousands of people throughout the state are assisted by the group's behavioral health, family support and community justice programs. According to The Connection's website, these programs reunite families; break the generational cycles of abuse and neglect; create safer, healthier communities;and assist with mental illness and addiction issues."This location is particularly well suited for The Connection, offering its clients direct accessibility from regional mass transit and major roadways," noted Williams, Colliers' Executive Managing Director | Market Leader. "The organization will benefit from the efficiencies of consolidation while enjoying the security, privacy and branding opportunities afforded by full-floor occupancy."The transaction marks Williams' and Pugh's first completed assignment for The Connection.-- End --Colliers International ( http://www.colliers.com/ ) Group Inc. is an industry leading global real estate services company with more than 16,000 skilled professionals operating in 66 countries. With an enterprising culture and significant employee ownership, Colliers professionals provide a full range of services to real estate occupiers, owners and investors worldwide. Services include strategic advice and execution for property sales, leasing and finance; global corporate solutions; property, facility and project management; workplace solutions; appraisal, valuation and tax consulting; customized research; and thought leadership consulting.Colliers professionals think differently, share great ideas and offer thoughtful and innovative advice that help clients accelerate their success. Colliers has been ranked among the top 100 outsourcing firms by the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals' Global Outsourcing for 11 consecutive years, more than any other real estate services firm.For the latest news from Colliers, visitColliers.com (http://www.colliers.com/)or follow us on Twitter ( https://twitter.com/ Colliers ): @Colliers andLinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/colliers-international). To see the latest news on Colliers International in New York, follow @Colliers_NYC and Twitter (https://twitter.com/colliers_nyc)Evelyn Weiss Francisco, Vice PresidentCaryl CommunicationsPhone: 201-796-7788Email: evelyn@caryl.com
By: Texas Trust Credit Union

Seth Moran received a $4,000 scholarship from Texas Trust Credit Union

Contact

Kristine Tanzillo

***@duxpr.com Kristine Tanzillo

End

-- Texas Trust Credit Union has awarded $8,000 in college scholarships to two Mansfield ISD graduating seniors, one from Mansfield High School and the other from Lake Ridge High School.The Texas Trust MISD Fine Arts and Engineering Scholarships provide $1,000 per year for the next four years.Jaelyn Bethea of Lake Ridge High School received the annual Rita Hamner Scholarship. Jaelyn plans to major in computer engineering at UT Austin. She attained a GPA of 101 and ranked 10th in her class. Bethea served as National Honor Society historian and was the head programmer of the Ben Barber Robotics Team. She received an Award of Excellence from the National Academy of Future Scientists, an annual program devoted to training future technology leaders.The Bill Hallmark scholarship was awarded to Mansfield High School's Seth Michael Moran, who achieved a GPA of 100 and ranked 40th in his class. Moran will attend Dallas Baptist University, where he plans to major in music and business. Moran was active in music and theater throughout high school and served as the choir student director his senior year. He participated in various UIL competitions and received the First Division UIL State Solo and Ensemblist award in 2016. He also attained the highest ranking award  the Gold Medal Achievement  in the international Royal Rangers."Jaelyn and Seth are outstanding students. Our hope is that this scholarship will help them achieve their educational goals, so that they may have a bright future," said Shelley Carlson, vice president of marketing for Texas Trust. "We hope they will continue to pursue their passions and dreams."The Rita Hamner and Bill Hallmark scholarships are named in honor of former Texas Trust board members. The Rita Hamner award is for students pursuing a degree in science and technology. The Bill Hallmark scholarship goes to students pursuing a degree in fine arts.About Texas Trust Credit UnionTexas Trust Credit Union was created in 1936 when a group of Chance Vought Aircraft Corporation employees pooled their savings so they could help each other achieve financial goals. Today, more than 84,500 members are served through checking and savings accounts; loans (personal, mortgage, auto, and small business); credit cards; insurance products; and investment services. Texas Trust Credit Union supports local students through its "Spirit Debit Rewards" program. With every eligible swipe of an SDR card, funds are donated to the school or district of the member's choosing. To date, Texas Trust has donated over $1.4 million since August 2011. Texas Trust serves members in Dallas, Tarrant, Henderson, Ellis, and Johnson counties through 17 locations in Mansfield, Arlington, Grand Prairie, Cedar Hill, Midlothian, DeSoto, Hurst, and Athens. With assets of $1 billion, Texas Trust is one of the largest credit unions in North Texas and the 17th largest in Texas. For more information, visit http://www.TexasTrustCU.org or follow us on facebook.com/texastrustcu or Twitter at @texastrustcu
Every INFINITI car sold in Oman during the Ramadan month will be coated with CougarShield's Nano Titanium, Water-based Paint Protection by Ozone Oman.

Contact

CougarShield International Pte Ltd

***@cougarshield.com CougarShield International Pte Ltd

End

--strategic partner in Oman,is pleased to announce that a key luxury car brand, INFINITI has chosen CougarShieldto be its exclusive car paint protection brand during the holy month of Ramadan in Oman.After a stringent selection process, CougarShieldemerged as INFINITI Oman'spreferred Paint Protection for its Ramadan promotion. With this initiative, every INFINITI car sold in Oman during the Ramadan month will be coated with CougarShield'sNano Titanium, Water-based Paint Protection by Ozone Oman."It is our honor that a key luxury car brand like INFINITI has chosen CougarShield. We congratulate our Omani partner, Ozone Oman's efforts to build a great foundation for the CougarShieldbrand in Oman through their solid reputation in providing excellent workmanship in environmentally friendly car care protection."said CougarShield's Commercial Director, Vincent Soh.Ozone Oman is the first and only company in Oman to provide a new category of water based, VOC-free car paint protection system using CougarShield'sNano-Titanium coatings. Since its introduction into the Omani market, Ozone Oman have served many satisfied car owners, INFINITI being one of the latest luxury car brands to embrace this new environmentally friendly technology."We will continue to do our part for the environment by choosing industry-leading technological green products like CougarShieldthat benefits our customers and preserve the environment at the same time." said Ozone Oman's Managing Director Alaa Jarrar.CougarShield International is headquartered in Singapore, and is renowned for its proprietary Nano Titanium coatings. When applied onto surfaces of automotive or buildings, CougarShieldcoatings forms a protective layer that protects and maintains the original condition of the coated surface, provides superb properties such as gloss enhancement, hydrophobic water barrier protection as well as superior hardness, and expansion & contraction adaptability. Water-based and non-toxic, CougarShield'sunique water-based formulation is also eco-friendly with no negative impact on the environment.Ozone Oman is Oman's leading company in automotive grooming with a key focus on the latest technologies in automotive protection and repair that complies with environmental needs and energy saving. The current portfolio of products includes high performance window films, patented technologies for smart repairs, anti-rust and corrosion as well the latest CougarShield'swater based coatings incorporating Nano-Titanium technology. Coupled with a highly motivated team of employees dedicated to Quality and Productivity, Ozone Oman aims to provide customers with highly reliable products and services at competitive price with better product flexibility, consistency and optimum service.For more information or business opportunities, visit our website at www.CougarShield.com SOURCE: PR17014 | CougarShield International Pte Ltd
[June 06, 2017] 2Keys and Dalhousie University Continue to Build Applied Research Collaboration - Receive Engage Plus Grant

OTTAWA and TORONTO, June 6, 2017 /CNW/ - 2Keys Corporation, a Canadian Information Technology Security Company, is pleased to announce that in collaboration with Dr. Nur Zincir-Heywood of Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, they have received an Engage Plus Grant from the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). 2Keys is a long-time partner in the development of advanced, Canadian-centric information security solutions. Dr. Nur Zincir-Heywood, in collaboration with 2Keys will continue to explore the relevant methodologies and approaches to identify different behaviours within the network environment. "This research initiative will lead to progress in the dynamic analysis of network traffic data enhancing the protections provided by managed security services. Researchers trained through this project will be valuable assets to 2Keys as well as a wide range of Canadian organizations." said Dr. Zincir-Heywood. "2Keys values and supports its long-term collaborative relationship with Dalhousie University in pursuing applied research aims within the critical fields of Digital Identity and Cyber Security" said Rob Pierce, President and Co-Founder, 2Keys. Pierce adds, "2Keys is committed to leveraging the results of this continued collaborative research initiative into evidence-informed, Canadian-focused monitoring and response solutions, relevant to both our government and business customers." 2Keys would also like to congratulate Dr. Zincir-Heywod for winning the Women Leaders in the Digital Economy Award presented by Digital Nova Scotia on May 30th.



About Dr. Nur Zincir-Heywood

Dr. Nur Zincir-Heywood is currently a Professor of Computer Science at Dalhousie University, Canada. She received her PhD in 1998 in Computer Science and Engineering from Ege University, Turkey. Prior to moving to Dalhousie in 2000, Dr. Zincir-Heywood had been a researcher at Sussex University, UK and Karlsruhe University, Germany as well as working as an instructor at the Internet Society Network Management workshops. She has published over 150 papers on networks, security and intelligent systems. She has substantial experience in industrial research of autonomous systems, network management and security related topics. She is also a member of the IEEE and the ACM. About Dalhousie University

As Atlantic Canada's leading research university, Dalhousie University attracts more than $142 million in grants and awards annually and emphasizes academic innovation. The university blends world-class academic programs with breakthrough thinking and leading-edge research. Top professors mentor more than 3,500 graduate students and post-doctoral fellows in a multidisciplinary research setting. With four priority research areas, Dalhousie is particularly strong in Ocean studies; Advanced materials and clean technology; Health and Wellness; and Governance, Society and Culture. Dalhousie's areas of emerging research strength are: Information Science and Communication; Agriculture and Food Technologies; and Energy and the Environment. An outward-looking institution, Dalhousie has significant research partnerships and exchanges with institutions in Germany, France, Brazil, China, Israel and Ethiopia.

(source: http://u15.ca/member/dalhousie-university)

About 2Keys Corporation

Founded in 1998 and based in Ottawa and Toronto, Canada, 2Keys is a private employee owned company. 2Keys is a national leader in enabling secure digital experiences for Canadian governments, financial institutions and commercial clients. 2Keys designs, deploys and operates Digital Identity Platforms and Cyber Security Platforms through Managed Service and Professional Service engagements. 2Keys engagements focus on confidentiality, integrity, availability and privacy as the best way to enhance and secure digital business value for our clients. Visit www.2keys.ca to find out more about 2Keys. SOURCE 2Keys Corporation

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Social- Media- Marketing- Sevices- IBL- Infotech

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And Jay Girgis publishes his debut historical action novel, "The Berberian!"

South-Africa Distribution of Celenic Earth Anthologies

Contact

Celenic Earth Publications

***@celenicearth.com Celenic Earth Publications

End

-- Both the first Celenic Earth Anthologies are finally available for local printing and distribution here in South Africa. That means that those who live here by us in this glorious country no longer have to pay for huge shipping fees or wait so long for delivery!We've been working with Groep 7 Drukkers since we first established Celenic Earth Publications in 2016, and even before then actually, and it has been a great business relationship. We look forward to a long future together and hope to be able to extend our reach through the rest of Africa one day.The CEA Through the Dark Horror #1 and CEA Writers without Boundaries #1 pages have been updated with the new distribution levels. You can visit our website for more information on the availability. https://celenicearthpublications.wordpress.com/Celenic Earth Publications is is also happy to announce that one of our newest authors, Jay Girgis, has just released his debut Novelette, 'The Berberian'. It is an action adventure story with tones of historical religious context as the Arabs invade christian lands:"Welcome to 698 A.D. It is time of unrest, with the Arabs taking Christian lands and the Berber Christians being taken into slavery in Carthage, North West Africa. Itri is a young boy when he is enslaved with his parents and enforced into the Arab religion and culture. After being physically emasculated, he meets his master's daughter and agrees to run away with her. They are hunted down until they meet Christians like themselves who are standing up against the Arab invasions.Years pass as the conflict rises and Itri learns to fight, but the tense love between him and Laila grows stronger. They forge strong relationships with fellow fighters, as Itri learns that his brother is in the Arab army. It is not just a contest of blood ties, but also religious beliefs and difference in cultures. With Itri refusing to take any life, can he hold to his principles as he faces his own family while holding back the oncoming Arabic hordes?"The book is only available in ebook format due to its length. We are also proud to announce that one of Jay's short stories will be a Celenic Earth Anthology exclusive to be featured in one of our anthologies soon.Visit our website for further announcements on authors, publications and anthologies!
DealerRater recently named Crown Eurocars of Dublin Dealer of The Year for the fifth year in a row in the Mercedes-Benz brand category for the state of Ohio. The dealership also earned its third consecutive DealerRater Consumer Satisfaction Award.

By: Crown Automotive Group

Capital Eurocars: #1 In Ohio For Mercedes-Benz 5 Years In A Row

Media Contact

Francis Mariela

pr@caldwellandkerr.com

pr@caldwellandkerr.com Francis Marielapr@caldwellandkerr.com

End

-- Crown Eurocarsof Dublin was awarded the Dealer of The Year award for Mercedes-Benz in Ohio for the fifth year in a row during DealerRater's annual awards announcement at the National Automobile Dealership Association (NADA) Convention. This is the fifth consecutive year that the Crown Automotive Group dealership is honored with this prestigious accolade.The Crown Automotive Group dealership also took home a 2017 Consumer Satisfaction Award. This is the dealership's third consecutive Consumer Satisfaction Award since 2015."At Crown Eurocars of Dublin we make it a priority to ensure that our customers receive the very best experience at our dealership. We feel deeply honored by these two prestigious awards because they are based on our customer's ongoing feedback," said Marc Wigler, President & General Manager of Crown Eurocarsof Dublin.The Dealer of The Year and the Consumer Satisfaction Award are awarded annually by industry-leading review website DealerRater.com. Winners are chosen based on the website's proprietary PowerScore, a Bayesian algorithm that takes into account the dealership's star rating, as well as the total number of reviews written about the dealership during the calendar year.Crown Eurocarsof Dublin currently has a 4.9 star rating on the site and a 100% recommend rate out of its 1,017 lifetime reviews."Our Dealer of the Year Award winners should be proud of this important distinction, which makes it clear to car buyers that their dealership is highly regarded for its customer experience,"said Gary Tucker, CEO of DealerRater.DealerRater's Dealer of the Year awards are given annually to the top U.S. and Canadian car dealers based on a Bayesian algorithm called PowerScore, which considers the dealership's average DealerRater star-rating as well as the total number of reviews written about the dealership during the 2016 calendar year.Categories for scoring include customer service, quality of work, friendliness, pricing and overall experience.Over the last 40 years, Crown Automotive Group has grown into one of the largest privately owned dealership groups in the nation with operations in Florida, Ohio, and Tennessee.Every Crown Automotive dealership features an extensive selection of new, certified, and meticulously inspected pre-owned vehicles with financing options for every budget. Customers can also expect superior service from a team of highly trained technicians at Crown's signature award-winning service facilities.Driven by four core values: Customer Focus, Teamwork, Integrity and Growth, the group is committed to providing each customer with "The Better Way To Buy."Visit http://www.crowncars.com for more information on Crown Automotive Group and The Better Way To Buy.
By: Rodeo Raggz

TEEN-JAM Rodeo Raggz Las Vegas, NV

Media Contact

Genie Forkner, New Media Vegas

genie@newmediavegas.com

702-517-0184 Genie Forkner, New Media Vegas702-517-0184

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-- Rodeo Raggz to host TEEN JAM a special event featuring local bands (BREE, Until the Eclipse, The Lesser Evil and The Black Tapes) all comprised of teens from local schools in Las Vegas giving them a unique opportunity to perform for their peers in a peaceful and safe environment.June 10, 20175pm-10pmVillage Courtyard located at 1302 South Third Street (3& Colorado), Las Vegas, NV 89104.$10 cover with Student ID (Parents are encouraged to attend)No gang colors or affiliation insignia will be allowed to be worn inside the venue. Alcoholic beverages, drugs, or weapons of any kind are strictly prohibited.Presented by Rodeo Raggz and hosted by Vic Vaga, guests will enjoy LIVE music, great food specials, a special meet-n-greet with NASCAR Driver Kayli Barker, special guest appearances from local entertainers, and FREE raffle prizes donated by generous community merchants.We're thrilled to host this community event for teens in Las Vegas. We moved to Las Vegas when my son was 15 and he never had a place to go to listen to LIVE music. For years now I've wanted to open a teen rock club but the right time and place just never aligned until now. With this being the first weekend of summer we want to give the kids a safe place to meet new friends and listen to great music created by their peers. We really hope to see parents join them and become a part of something very positive for youth in Las Vegas" Says Cindy Sherman-Brucker, Owner Rodeo Raggz.Located in the Las Vegas Arts District Rodeo Raggz (pronounced "row-day-oh")offers rock-n-roll clothing for your rock-n-roll lifestyle featuring unique apparel and accessories for both men and women that value versatility, style and a little bit of edge in their wardrobe. Whether you're a music fan or a discriminating artist you'll enjoy personalized service both in store or on location. To learn more visit www.rodeoraggz.net or call us at Call 702-610-4910


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M7 Real Estate has acquired a portfolio of 11 light industrial assets in Hungary and the Czech Republic, on behalf of M7 CEREF I, from a joint venture between Partners Group and Cromwell Property Group.

M7 has now acquired 19 properties with a total value of circa 127.5 million on behalf of the fu...

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Global workspace provider Regus has opened a new Express hub at Heathrow Airport. The new space is located in Terminal 2 and joins the companys existing Express location at the airport, situated in Terminal 5, which opened in 2014. The new T2 space is located landside, adjacent to the main

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[June 06, 2017] Generali Global Assistance Launches Identity Protection Platform In Canada

Innovative offering provides integrated approach to the four pillars of identity protection: prevention, monitoring, alerts and resolution TORONTO, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Generali Global Assistance ("the Company"), a leader in the assistance industry since its founding in 1963 and part of the global Generali Group, today announced that its innovative and proprietary identity protection platform is now available for the Canadian marketplace. Generali Global Assistance has protected the assets of organizations and their customers for over 50 years and was one of the first companies to offer identity theft protection and resolution services in the United States. The Company's identity protection platform includes identity and credit monitoring, alerts, and resolution tools, all of which are accessible via an easy-to-use dashboard. Leveraging the Company's infrastructure and expertise gleaned from the successful application of its identity protection services in the United States, the platform will provide Canadian organizations and individuals with an integrated, 360 approach to identity protection. Paige Schaffer, President and COO of Generali Global Assistance's Identity and Digital Protection Services Global Unit, commented on today's news, "As the world becomes increasingly more connected through social media, digital records and 'smart' devices, scammers and fraudsters have greater access to sensitive information than ever before, across all global borders. Our identity protection platform combats the increasing threat of identity theft through 24/7 prevention, monitoring, alerting and resolution tools. Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes i Canada and we are pleased to now offer our innovative suite of protection services to Canadian organizations, along with their employees and customers."



The Generali Global Assistance Identity and Digital Protection Services team protects millions of identities and is a trusted partner for Fortune 500 companies in the insurance, financial, and travel industries, among others. Through their people-first approach, the Company's certified identity resolution specialists help to rectify identity-related issues 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in order to mitigate the stress and hardships associated with identity theft. The identity protection platform is highly customizable and can be white labeled, exemplifying Generali Global Assistance's commitment to serve the unique needs of every partner organization. Identity Protection Platform Service Details

Prevention  defends personal information and enhances privacy while online. 24/7 identity protection expertise and online resources

Opt-out services to reduce pre-approved credit card offers, direct mail campaigns, and marketing phone calls

Online data protection that guards against keylogging and phishing so you can use the internet without worry Monitoring  tracks identity risk level and spots fraud early. Online dashboard  helps identify risk levels, track credit report and score, access identity theft protection tips, and respond to alerts from one dashboard

Identity monitoring  detects fraud at its inception by searching for compromised credentials and potentially damaging use of personal information

Credit monitoring, reports and scores  detects suspicious activity and ensures accuracy Alerts  detailed notifications of suspicious activity. Changes to credit profile

Compromised credentials

Black market activity Resolution  address and repairs problems thoroughly through award-winning support services. 24/7 access to Certified Identity Theft Resolution Experts

Affidavit submission

Creditor notification and follow-up

Communication with law enforcement

Lost wallet assistance

Translation services

Emergency cash advance and travel arrangements

Two bureau fraud alert placement assistance About Generali Global Assistance

Generali Global Assistance has been a leading provider of travel insurance and other assistance services for more than 25 years. The Company offers a full suite of innovative, vertically integrated travel insurance and emergency services, identity protection solutions, and beneficiary companion services. Generali Global Assistance is part of the multinational Generali Group, which for over 185 years has created a presence in 60 countries with over 76,000 employees. Our success has been built on the foundation of trust that clients have placed in our ability to provide assistance in the most difficult of circumstances. Generali Global Assistance Media Contact

Jay A. Morakis

M Group Strategic Communications (for Generali Global Assistance North America)

+1 212 266 0191

[email protected] Generali Global Assistance Marketing Contact

Eugenia Buggs

VP, Global Marketing, Identity and Digital Protection Services Global Unit

+1 240.330.1091

[email protected] To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/generali-global-assistance-launches-identity-protection-platform-in-canada-300469162.html SOURCE Generali Global Assistance

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The five editors presenting this years YA buzz books on a Thursday morning panel emphasized that books can change lives, whether a young person is reading a fantasy novel set in a world of magic and mystery, or reading nonfiction about a crime inflicted by one teen upon another on a city bus.

Connie Hsu, Roaring Brook/Macmillan senior editor, noted that while Spinning (First Second, Sept.) by Tillie Walden ostensibly is a graphic novel memoir about a teen figure skater, its really about feeling, with a protagonist who comes of age and comes out as gay. Although readers may not ice skate or be gay themselves, something in you connects with Walden, who was 19 years old when she wrote and illustrated Spinning. This is set to be one of the most authentic voices in the [YA] marketplace, Hsu said.

Which comes first, the book or the author? asked Ben Schrank, president and publisher of Razorbill, noting that Tochi Onyebuchi, author of Beasts Made of Night (Sept.), holds both an M.F.A. from NYUs Tisch School and a law degree from Columbia University. Onyebuchi drew upon his Nigerian heritage and his concern for social justice in creating Taj, a sin-eater in the walled city of Kos, a protagonist who at first glance is an anti-hero but is turned into a real hero to all readers.

While not as fantastical as Onyebuchis Kos, the Southwest setting in Samantha Mabrys All the Wind in the World (Oct.) is magical and dangerous, and bursting with secrets, Algonquin Young Readers editor Krestyna Lypen declared. Shed had high expectations for this debut novel by a teacher of writing and Latino literature at a community college in Dallas, she noted, and thats what I got: its compelling and complex; the language is beautiful and raw.

Crown Books for Young Readers publisher Phoebe Yeh recalled that she acquired Nic Stones debut novel, Dear Martin, based on the synopsis and first three chapters. (Oct.). I was excited about what Nic was doing, Yeh said, disclosing that Stone is a woman writing in the voice of a contemporary teenage boy whose response to being racially profiled is to write letters to Martin Luther King Jr. Its powerful, provocative, visionary storytelling about a topical issue, Yeh said.

FSG Books for Young Readers editorial director Joy Peskin presented the only nonfiction selection, The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives (Oct.) by Dashka Slater. Like Yeh, she emphasized the books relevance to young readers, in its exploration of issues of race, class, gender, sexuality, crime, and punishment in America. This is a book we need right now about empathy, she declared. Especially when there are politicians demonizing the other, who usually are people with dark skin.
Controversial former Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos has made good on his promise to self-publish his book, Dangerous, after Simon & Schuster cancelled its publishing agreement with him in February.

With a publication date of July 4, Dangerous is now available for pre-order on Amazon. The hardcover edition of the title was #1 in the humor category Tuesday morning, with a list price of $30. The Kindle e-book edition was #1 in the censorship and political categories. The e-book is edition is expected to be available through all major e-book retailers and to libraries as well. It is unclear if Yiannopoulus has found a distributor to get the print edition of the book into brick and mortar retailers.

Immediately after the news hit, in late December, that S&Ss Threshold Editions had signed Yiannopoulos to a $250,000 deal, there was widespread debate throughout the publishing industry about whether or not Yiannopoulos should have been handed a book deal by a major publisher. While some claimed S&S had every right to sign Yiannopoulos (especially because he's someone with a significant audience), others said the alt right provocateur is known for spewing hate speech and a publisher should never offer a platform to such a figure. Whether S&S's decision to sign Yiannopoulos' book came down to a publisher upholding free speech, or a publisher supporting hate speech, roiled the industry for weeks.

The tumult drove a number of S&S authors to sign a letter to S&S CEO Carolyn Reidy asking her to cancel Yiannopoulos' deal and one author, Roxane Gay, canceled her own book contract with the house. Many S&S employees were also known to be unhappy with the publishers plans to release the book.

Defenders of S&S and Yiannopoulos, among them a number of free speech groups, noted that the people who were criticizing the book had not read it. Critics responded that the book's content was irrelevant, because it's author is a proven racist and misogynist. (Dangerous is now in galleys and PW has requested copies to review the book).

S&S said it was going ahead with its publication plans until the organizers of the Conservative Political Action Conference disinvited Yiannopoulos after a video interview emerged of him appearing to condone pedophilia. Yiannopoulos denied that he condoned pedophilia and claimed that the video had been edited.
Mexicanal is adding the Mexican bull-riding competition Liga Mexicana de Jaripeo Profesional (LMJP) to its line-up and video-on-demand (VOD) services.





The US Hispanic network, owned and operated by Atlanta-based Castalia Communications and Mexico City-based Innokap, aims to provide viewers with a richer experience of jaripeo, a popular sport among Mexicans.Each show will be anchored by jaripeo expert Luis de A, who along with commentators Raul Cisneros and Raul Alcala will provide insights into each riders style and technique.For many Mexicans and Hispanics, jaripeo is an important part of their heritage, a tradition that is passed on from generation to generation, where men test and prove their courage by riding these beautiful animals, explained Luis Torres-Bohl, president of Mexicanal and Castalia Communications.Thats why we are including this new production in the programming line-up of Mexicanal. We want to celebrate the brave riders and bring excitement to the viewing experience of our audience, he added.The television series includes 13 HD half-hour episodes in its first season, featuring 89 riders and 79 bulls from the leading breeders of Mexicos state of Michoacan.The episodes will air on Sundays prime time slot for subscribers on Comcasts Xfinity, Charters Spectrum, AT&T U-verse , Mediacom, Frontier and Layer3services.
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Seven people have been killed and at least 12 others injured in an explosion in the western Afghan city of Herat, officials say.

A spokesman for the provincial governor, Jilani Farhad, said the incident took place near the entrance of the citys Great Mosque on June 6.

Police said initial information suggests the blast was caused by a bomb planted in a motorcycle.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, which came as representatives of about 20 countries gathered for a peace and security conference in Kabul.

President Ahraf Ghani said on June 6 that more than 150 people were killed in a suicide truck-bomb blast in Kabul on May 31, the deadliest attack in the Afghan capital since the ouster of the Taliban from power in 2001.

With reporting by Khaama Press


Afghan President Ashraf Ghani says that more than 150 people have died as a result of the massive tanker-truck bombing that struck a busy Kabul neighborhood during rush hour on May 31.

"More than 150 innocent Afghan sons and daughters were killed and more than 300 wounded were brought to hospitals with burns and amputations," Ghani told a multinational peace conference in Kabul on June 6.

Officials had previously put the death toll at 90, already making it the deadliest attack in the Afghan capital since the ouster of the Taliban from power in 2001.

The blast occurred when a truck packed with what Ghani called "military-grade" explosives detonated in Kabul's diplomatic quarter.

The president paid homage to 13 police officers he said stopped the vehicle at the entrance to the fortified area and died in the blast.

"We were not the only targets. The entire diplomatic community was the target of this attack," Ghani told representatives of about 20 countries gathered for the one-day Kabul Process conference.

He called Afghanistan "a nation of survivors," adding: "Terrorists can shed our blood but they cannot break our will," he said.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but the government blamed the Pakistan-based Haqqani network, which is allied to the Afghan Taliban.

The bombing has sparked calls for the resignation of Afghanistans national unity government, which was established under a power-sharing deal hammered out months after a disputed presidential election in 2014. Ghani is president, while Abdullah Abdullah is chief executive.

On June 2, at least five people were killed and around 20 wounded in deadly clashes between police and antigovernment protesters. And at least seven other people were killed and around 100 injured on June 3 after three suicide bombers detonated their explosives at the funeral of one of the protesters.

On June 6, a blast near the Great Mosque in the western city of Herat killed seven people and injured at last 12, officials said. Police said initial information suggested the blast was caused by a bomb hidden in a motorcycle.

The attacks have exacerbated tensions between rival, ethnically based political groups in Afghanistan, with Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani calling for the dismissal of the country's top security chiefs.

Rabbani, who heads the mainly ethnic Tajik Jamiat-e Islami political group, said on June 5 that the attacks in Kabul raised questions about the "security institutions and their abilities."

He blamed "terrorists within the system," suggesting elements in the government were behind the attack.

Speaking at the opening of the June 6 conference, Ghani reiterated his criticism of Pakistan, accusing it of waging an "undeclared war of aggression" against his country.

Afghan security officials claim that the Haqqani network enjoys Pakistans support, a claim rejected as "baseless" by Islamabad.

Afghanistan and Pakistan have long accused each other of turning a blind eye to militants operating along their common border.

Ghani also renewed his call on the Taliban to agree to peace negotiations and join the political process, saying the militants would not succeed in bringing down the government.

"We are offering a chance for peace, but this is not an open-ended offer," Ghani said. "Time is running out."

He offered the Taliban the opportunity to open a representative office and said he was flexible about the location of future talks.

He warned the militant group that "this is the last chance," adding: "Take it or face consequences."

Afghan security forces are battling a 16-year-long insurgency led by the Taliban, an extremist group that was driven from power after a U.S.-led invasion following the September 11, 2001, terror attacks. The United States and its allies targeted the Taliban because the group, which had seized control of nearly all of Afghanistan in the 1990s, harbored Al-Qaeda leaders, including Osama bin Laden.

The Taliban, which is refusing to negotiate with Kabul until all foreign forces leave the country, has expanded its reach since most international forces left the country in 2014.

The United States is considering whether to send 3,000 to 5,000 more military advisers to help train and assist Afghan security forces.

Police have locked down much of the city ahead of the Kabul Process, with more armed checkpoints and armored vehicles patrolling the streets.

Representatives from Russia, Pakistan, India, the United States, Britain, and other countries were attending the gathering, which aims to build international support for ways to restore security in the country.

As the conference got under way, a rocket landed at an Indian guesthouse in the heavily guarded Green Zone, Tolo News reported. No casualties were reported.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, AP, and Tolo News
[June 06, 2017] 3D Printing in the Aerospace & Defence Market Report 2017-2027

LONDON, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Forecasts for Additive Manufacturing (AM) by Type (Space, Defence, Commercial Aerospace), by Application (Prototyping, End Use Parts, Manufacturing and Tooling, Specialised Tooling), by Technology (Fuse Deposition Modelling (FDM), Electron Beam Melting (EBM) Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS,) Others), by Material (Metal, Polymer, Ceramics) & by Region Plus Analysis of Leading Companies. Developments in metal 3D printing have had a significant impact on 3D printing within the aerospace and defence industry. Visiongain's report provides a detailed overview of the $795m market, creating an accurate picture offering clarity to anyone involved in 3D printing technology within the aerospace and defence industry. Importantly, the report also delivers detailed forecasts and analysis of the market potential, providing an insight into the future opportunities that exist in the aerospace and defence industry. This report offers a global forecast, which is then broken down by the following national markets: North America Forecast 2017-2027

 USA Forecast 2017-2027

 Canada Forecast 2017-2027

 Rest of North America Forecast 2017-2027 Europe Forecast 2017-2027

 UK Forecast 2017-2027

 Germany Forecast 2017-2027

 Rest of Europe America Forecast 2017-2027 Asia Pacific Forecast 2017-2027

 China Forecast 2017-2027

 Japan Forecast 2017-2027

 South Korea Forecast 2017-2027

 Rest of Asia Pacific Forecast 2017-2027 Rest of the World Forecast 2017-2027

 Brazil Forecast 2017-2027

 MEA Forecast 2017-2027

 Other Countries Forecast 2017-2027 As well as 3D printing submarket forecasts by application from 2017-2027

 Prototyping Forecast 2017-2027

 End Use Parts Forecast 2017-2027

 Manufacturing and Tooling Forcast 2017-2027





Plus 3D printing submarket forecasts by type from 2017-2027

 Space Forecast 2017-2027

 Defence Forecast 2017-2027

 Commercial Aerospace Forecast 2017-2027

Also 3D printing submarket forecasts by material from 2017-2027

 Metal Forecast 2017-2027

 Polymer Forecast 2017-2027

 Ceramics Forecast 2017-2027 The report also provides forecasts and analysis of the following technologies from 2017-2027

 Fuse Deposition Modelling (FDM) Forecast 2017-2027

 Electron Beam Melting (EBM) Forecast 2017-2027

 Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) Forecast 2017-2027 In order to offer an accurate snapshot of the current market, visiongain also profiles the following leading companies with market share data:

 Stratasys

 Arcam AB

 3D Systems

 Protolabs

 SLM Solutions

 Materialise

 ExOne GmbH

 EOS GmbH

 Concept Laser

 Ultimaker With 175 tables and charts and a total length of 185 pages, this report is a fantastic opportunity to increase your knowledge of this sector. as well as analysis of the drivers and restraints for the overall market concisely informing you of the major factors affecting this market, whilst visiongain's data-rich approach provides great insight into the future market potential. To request a report overview of this report please email Sara Peerun at [email protected] or call Tel: +44-(0)-20-7336-6100 Or click on https://www.visiongain.com/Report/1877/3D-Printing-in-the-Aerospace-Defence-Market-Report-2017-2027 Companies Mentioned 3D Hubs 3D Slash 3D Systems AERIA Luxury Interiors Airbus Alenia Aermacchi Amaero Engineering Arcam AB AUDI AG Autodesk Avio Axis Rapid Prototyping BAE Systems BCN3D BigRep BMW Group Body Labs Boeing Bombardier Burloak Technologies byFlow Carbon Catalyst CEL CFM International CGTrader Colorfabb ComeTrue3D Concept Laser GmbH Cytosurge Doobs Group e-nable EnvisionTEC EOS e-Manufacturing Solutions EOS GmbH Etihad Airways ExOne GmbH Finmeccanica Food Ink Formlabs Fusion3 Garagem GE Aviation GE Group General Electric GKN Google GV (formerly Google Ventures) Honeywell International HP Javelin Technologies JBRND JSR Kegelmann Technik Leapfrog Linear Mold & Engineering Local Motors Lockheed Martin Lufthansa Technik Lulzbot Made in Space Magellan Aerospace Markforged Materialise Mcor Technologies Moog MTU Aero Engines Mubadala Nano Nano Dimension Technologies Nikon Norsk Titanium Objet Pratt & Whitney Premium Aerotec Printrbot Protolabs Protolabs Reliance Defense Limited (RDL) RepRap Rize3D Robotec Rolls-Royce Safran Safran Aircraft Engines Samuel Son & Co Sculpteo Siemens Simlify3D SKZ SLM Solutions SOLS Something3D Stilnest Strata Manufacturing Stratasys Swisslog The Peachy Printer Trinckle Ultimaker Voxel 8 VoxelJet WASP Xjet XJET Zortrax To see a report overview please email Sara Peerun on [email protected]

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A native of Chechnya who claimed in 2013 that he was tortured by police has managed to narrowly escape transfer to Grozny, the Chechen capital, following his release from custody in Russia's Bryansk region, a rights group says.

The Committee for the Prevention of Torture said on June 6 that Murad Amriyev, a former world champion in mixed martial arts, evaded law-enforcement officials from Chechnya who had blocked exits from a prosecutor's office where he had been taken and were demanding he be handed over to them.

Amriyev was detained by the Bryansk police on June 4 while travelling by train to Moscow and was expected to be transferred to the Chechen capital, Grozny. The rights group has warned that he could face abuse, torture, or even death if he is returned to Chechnya.

Lawyer Pyotr Zaikin told RFE/RL that after police formally released Amriyev on June 6, his client was brought to the transport prosecutor's office. He said lawyers, supporters, and activists from the Committee for the Prevention of Torture refused to hand Amriyev to the Chechen law-enforcement officers who were demanding his handover.

Spirited Away

Taking advantage of the confusion as lawyers, activists, local police, and Chechen authorities were heatedly discussing the situation, Amriyev slipped out of the building and was safely spirited out of Bryansk, Oleg Abdrakhmanov of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture told RFE/RL.

The effort to take Amriyev to Chechnya reignited questions about the reach of Kremlin-backed Chechen leader's Ramzan Kadyrov's security forces, who have raised concerns several times in the past by carrying out operations in Moscow and other areas far from Chechnya.

Amriyev told the antitorture committee in 2013 that he had been kidnapped by police in Chechnya who tortured him for two days, hanging him in handcuffs and applying electric shocks to his body.

He said at the time that the aim of the police was to force his older brother to return to Russia from Germany, where he had lived for many years. A high-ranking Chechen police official claimed that Amriyev's brother was involved in an alleged plot to kill him.

International Warrant

After Amriyev was released, he fled Russia. However, as he still holds a Russian passport he returned to Russia and was on his way to Moscow, where he planned to collect papers necessary to prolong his visa in a foreign country, when he was detained.

Chechen authorities issued an international arrest warrant for Amriyev in February, claiming that he used forged documents.

Rights activists say that Kadyrov, who was appointed to head Chechnya by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2007, rules through repressive measures and has created a climate of impunity for security forces in the province in the North Caucasus.

They claim that he bears responsibility for abuses including kidnappings, disappearances, torture, and killings of political opponents.

Kremlin critics contend that Putin has given Kadyrov free rein because it relies on him to keep a lid on separatism and insurgent violence after two devastating post-Soviet wars in the region.

With reporting by Novaya Gazeta
More than two months after six National Guardsmen were killed in an attack on their base in northern Chechnya, it remains unclear precisely what happened.

On May 25, the Russian daily Kommersant reported that Investigative Committee staffer Colonel Igor Sobol had identified the mastermind behind the attack as a local resident, Ali Bakiyev, who allegedly fled abroad two days before it took place. But that unconfirmed information does little to clarify the glaring discrepancies between the official version of the attack and details subsequently made public by Russian media.

The official version, according to statements by Chechen police and security personnel, is that eight young Chechens from the settlement of Naurskaya armed with knives and firearms attacked the control post at the entrance to the base in the early hours of March 24. Six of them then forced their way into the base, where they were killed in an hourlong shoot-out in which six guardsmen were also killed and three injured. The other two attackers reportedly escaped. Naurskaya resident Ibragim Dzhamalov, 21, was detained on March 31 and subsequently said to have confessed to taking part in the attack.

Some 20 other local men were detained for questioning later on March 24, as was Grozny resident Rizvan Minazov; all were subsequently released.

Russian media, however, tell a quite different story. Novaya Gazeta reported on March 25 that the six attackers were armed only with knives, axes, and staves, and that they were not killed in a gunfight but execution-style by a shot to the head at close range. The paper published photos of two of the dead men showing those head injuries. One of the two also had abrasions on his left wrist that might have been left by handcuffs, possibly suggesting that he had been overpowered before being killed.

A more detailed picture of the attack emerged on March 29 and 30 from follow-up reporting by Novaya Gazeta and the website RBK. The eight attackers are said to have scaled a fence and made their way to a control post, the doors of which were open. They allegedly cut the throats of two sentries who were asleep on duty, purloined their automatic rifles and rubber truncheons, then waylaid and opened fire on a patrol that initially failed to recognize them as intruders, possibly because it was pitch-dark and foggy. Novaya Gazeta suggested weather conditions cast doubts on a statement RBK attributed to a National Guard officer who said the head wounds sustained by the six assailants were inflicted by a sniper.

That alternative account of events calls into question the professionalism of the guardsmen at the base. Chechen Republic head Ramzan Kadyrov too openly affirmed in a TV interview that the Chechen "force" agencies were partly to blame for the attack. "We werent expecting something like this to happen," he said. A spokesman for the National Guard, however, insisted the guardsmen at the base reacted appropriately, in accordance with their orders.

Also unclear are the motive for the attack and the political and religious affiliations of the perpetrators. The Islamic State (IS) extremist group claimed responsibility for the attack within 24 hours, but as RFE/RLs Kavkaz.Realii pointed out, IS appeared to get the number of assailants wrong. The news portal Caucasian Knot quoted Denis Sokolov, head of the analytical center Ramson, as saying that not all Russian analysts believe IS was involved. Sokolov suggested that "we are witnessing the beginning of a revival of armed national protest movements" that have no connection either with IS or with the now-defunct Caucasus Emirate that coordinated armed resistance to Moscow from 2007-13.

Akhmed Zakayev, the head of the independent Chechen Republic Ichkeria government in exile, similarly told Kavkaz.Realii that he was absolutely certain the Naurskaya attackers had no ties to IS or to any other terrorist group. He suggested, as did Russian journalist Orkhan Dzhemal, that they were motivated by sheer desperation by the blanket oppression and arbitrary violence that are the hallmarks of the Kadyrov regime.

That same hypothesis was also aired with regard to the attacks in December in Grozny by young men and women who targeted individual police officers to lay hands on weapons.

And yet, as former Investigative Committee staffer Feliks Tsokov explained to the website OnKavkaz after the March attack, it is not difficult even today for Chechens to obtain firearms. That suggests that both the Grozny and the Naurskaya attacks were undertaken spontaneously, rather than meticulously planned in advance.

The views expressed in this blog post do not necessarily reflect those of RFE/RL
The Kremlin, it appears, is preparing for a war with its own people.

On yesterday's Daily Vertical, I noted how General Sergei Melikov, the deputy commander of Russia's National Guard, told Izvestia that the 400,000-strong force, which reports directly to Putin, is "the heir to the NKVD."

Well, now we're learning that this wasn't just wishful thinking.

Because Putin has apparently just handed his personal Praetorian Guard powers that even Josef Stalin's secret police didn't have.

According to the decree, which was signed late last month, the National Guard's commander now has the power to assume control over and give direct orders to regular military units.

And who is that commander?

Well, that, of course, would be Putin's old pal and former bodyguard Viktor Zolotov, one of the most hard-line members of the Kremlin inner circle.

So Putin's old bodyguard now has the power to commandeer entire military units.

And since the National Guard exists to combat domestic threats, this basically points to one conclusion: Putin is laying the groundwork to use the military against the Russian people should the need arise.

And he's making sure that he can do so without any input from the defense minister, who might, after all, get cold feet.

Call it insurance against either a popular uprising or a palace coup.

So, the man who was once tasked with protecting the security of Putin the man is now in charge of protecting the security of the Putin regime.

And that bodes ill for the security of the Russian people.

Keep telling me what you think on The Power Vertical's Twitter feed and on our Facebook page.
BRUSSELS -- The ambassadors of the European Union member states decided on June 6 to prolong the bloc's investment ban against Crimea for another year, punishing Russia for its armed takeover of the Ukrainian region.

The measures include an EU-wide ban on imports from Crimea unless they have Ukrainian certificates; a prohibition of the purchase by EU companies of property and companies on the Black Sea peninsula; and a ban on cruise ships flying the flag of an EU member state or controlled by a member state to call at ports there. Goods and technology for the transport, telecommunications, and energy sectors cannot be exported to Crimean companies or for use in Crimea.

The sanctions were adopted in 2014 as a response to Russia's invasion and annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula, and have been extended on a yearly basis.

EU foreign ministers are likely to confirm the decision by the ambassadors when they meet in Luxembourg on June 19.


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.
BISHKEK -- The trial of a former Kyrgyz lawmaker Sadyr Japarov, who is charged with taking a government official hostage in 2013, started in Bishkek on June 6.

Sadyr Japarov has rejected the charges, saying that they are politically motivated.

Japarov was detained on March 25 upon his return to Kyrgyzstan from three years of self-imposed exile abroad.

He was charged with hostage-taking, making a death threat, hooliganism, and violent assault of a government official.

The charges are linked to Japarov's role in 2013 protests around the Kumtor Gold Mine by demonstrators, who demanded the mine's nationalization.

Japarov, who openly positions himself as an opposition politician, had been a senior member of the government and an adviser to former President Kurmanbek Bakiev.

After Bakiev was ousted in 2010, Japarov became a lawmaker in the Central Asian country's parliament.

In 2013, Japarov was sentenced to 18 months in prison on charges of attempting to violently seize power after he and two other lawmakers tried to force their way into the presidential palace during a protest.

Just three months after serving his term, Japarov was acquitted and released. He fled Kyrgyzstan later that year after current investigation had been launched against him.


A top-secret National Security Agency document leaked to news media shows that hackers from Russian military intelligence tried repeatedly to break into U.S. voting systems before last year's presidential election.

After the document was leaked to the online publication The Intercept and published online late on June 5, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it had arrested an employee of a national security contractor for leaking top-secret information to "an online news outlet."

The Intercept said the classified document depicts a hacking operation tied closely to Moscow's GRU intelligence agency that targeted private U.S. companies providing voter registration services and equipment to local governments around the country.

The document said that the operation potentially threatened the integrity of the U.S. voting system by trying to trick more than 100 local election officials into opening malicious spyware, and that it went on for months -- ending just days before the November 8 election. It did not say whether the operation affected the outcome of the presidential vote.

The Intercept, which focuses on national security issues, said the White House National Security Agency (NSA) document was dated May 5, 2017, and is the most up-to-date and detailed discussion of Russian influence efforts as yet disclosed to the public or press.

The Intercept did not say how it acquired the document, but shortly after its report appeared online, the Justice Department said it had arrested Reality Leigh Winner, 25, an employee of a national security contractor, for the leak of a top-secret document dated "on or about May 5." It said Winner worked at a facility in Georgia and was arrested on June 3.

The indictment said Winner was one of only six people to print the document in question and that she had exchanged e-mails with the news outlet, which the indictment did not name but which Reuters reported was the Intercept.

Intercept spokeswoman Vivian Siu said the NSA document was given to the outlet anonymously and "the Intercept has no knowledge of the identity of the source."

The Intercept said that the NSA sought to dissuade it from publishing the document, and then requested redactions, some of which were accepted by Intercept.

The published document expands on U.S. allegations that Russian President Vladimir Putin directed a concerted effort, involving hacking and disinformation, to tilt the election toward Trump.

It comes days after Putin repeatedly denied any interference in the election in a series of interviews, though at one point he said that there could have been hacking by Russians he said were unconnected to the government.

The NSA report says that "Russian General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) actors ... executed cyberespionage operations against a named U.S. company in August 2016, evidently to obtain information on elections-related software and hardware solutions."

"The actors likely used data obtained from that operation to...launch a voter registration-themed spear-phishing campaign targeting U.S. local government organizations," it says.

The report shows that, by trying to steal log-in credentials and using spear-fishing e-mails to plant malware, the hackers "obtained and maintained access to elements of multiple U.S. state or local electoral boards."

How successful the operation was, and what kind of data may have been stolen, is not known, the document said.

The document also notes that despite President Barack Obama's warning to Putin in September 2016 to not interfere with the election, the hacking attack on voter systems continued through October.

With reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters


Montenegro has said Russia should not be alarmed by the Balkan country's joining NATO, after Moscow warned of retaliation against Montenegro's "hostile course" and condemned the country's "anti-Russian hysteria."

Montenegro on June 5 formally became NATO's 29th member, when Montenegrin Foreign Minister Srdjan Darmanovic handed over his country's accession papers in a ceremony at the U.S. State Department in Washington.



"We are witnesses of Russia's unfavorable position towards Montenegros accession to NATO," Predrag Boskovic, Montenegro's defense minister, said on June 6.

"I sincerely hope, Russia will understand this has nothing to do with any anti-Russian sentiment, and that there is no anti-Russian hysteria in Montenegro," Boskovic said at a news conference in Montenegro's capital, Podgorica, after meeting with his Slovak counterpart, Peter Gajdos.

"On the contrary, this is also in the best interest of Russia, as peace in the Western Balkans is in Moscow's best interest," he added. "I honestly hope the Kremlin administration will understand, too, that relations between Montenegro and Russia should improve, as theyre currently at their lowest possible level."

However, on June 6, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reinforced Moscow's stance, saying Montenegro was "dragged into NATO."

"We have already clarified our position," he told a news conference in Moscow, adding that the European Union and the United States are "obsessed" with the Balkans.

Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement released on June 5 before the ceremony in Washington that "the anti-Russian hysteria that continues in Montenegro has only caused regret."

"In the light of the hostile line of Montenegrin authorities, the Russian side reserves the right to take retaliatory measures on the basis of reciprocity. In politics, as in physics, every action generates a reaction."

With reporting by Reuters and TASS


Several hundred people rallied outside the Russian parliament on June 6 to protest a plan to demolish Soviet-era low-rise apartment blocks.

The State Duma on June 6 hosted Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, who was briefing the lower chamber of parliament on the redevelopment project to pull down entire neighborhoods of Soviet-era buildings.

Sobyanin plans to demolish 4,500 buildings erected in the 1950s and 1960s and replace them with high-rise apartment buildings to ease a housing crisis.

City Hall has insisted the buildings are too dilapidated and outdated, but many residents and activists see the plans as an excuse for the construction of high rises in some of Moscow's leafiest neighborhoods.

Several hundred people gathered for a protest outside the Duma, demanding antidemolition councilmen to be allowed to attend the hearing. Some protesters marched down Moscow's main street chanting "Sobyanin, resign!" No arrests were immediately reported.

Protesters say only those who support the "renovation" plan were allowed to take part in the Duma hearings.

Activists protesting the plan and those supporting the idea exchanged harsh words before the hearings started.



On May 14, thousands protested in Moscow against the old apartment blocks' demolition.


Rustam Azimov was once seen as a potential future president of Uzbekistan but after several months of being made a scapegoat for the country's economic problems, he has reportedly been removed from his post as deputy prime minister.

Uzbek media broke the news of Azimov's dismissal on June 6, roughly six months after former Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyaev was elected president.

After longtime President Islam Karimov's death was announced at the start of September 2016, there was much debate over who would succeed the only president Uzbekistan had ever known as an independent country.

Mirziyaev and Azimov were seen as possible successors, with the head of the National Security Service (SNB), Rustam Inoyatov, acting as kingmaker.

In the period between Karimov's death and the December 4 presidential election, it appeared all three men worked together to preserve an image of stability in Uzbekistan.

Mirziyaev was sworn into office on December 14 and relieved Azimov of the post of finance minister the next day, but Azimov remained a deputy prime minister in charge of macroeconomic development, structural reform, management of foreign investment, education, and science.

In January, Mirziyaev criticized Azimov for the failure of the bank-card payment system in Uzbekistan, whereby salaries, pensions, and other payments are deposited directly into banks and people are expected to withdraw money from automatic teller machines. State media reported on a pensioners' protest in the southern city of Denau, where elderly people complained they could not access their pensions reliably using the bank cards they had been given.

It was a rare event in a country where protests are broken up quickly and organizers taken away by police, and another indication Azimov's days in government were probably numbered.

At a special government meeting on investment on May 29, Mirziyaev lashed out at the country's ineffective banking system and bankers, questioning why a promised $2 billion investment from Turkey had failed to materialize.

Mirziyaev laid the blame on Azimov. "If Azimov, working in Tashkent, had controlled these matters from top to bottom, this wouldn't have happened," Mirziyaev said.

Mirziyaev's choice of words show his reputed disdain for urbane bureaucrats who work in offices; as prime minister, he was known for traveling around Uzbekistan, visiting factories and farms.

After the dressing-down on May 29, Azimov requested that he be released from his post, saying he was tired of taking the blame for all of Uzbekistan's financial woes.

The Gazeta.uz website reported that Azimov was put in charge of the state export-import insurance company Uzbekinvest.

The post of chairman of the Central Bank remains vacant following the May 23 death of longtime head Fayzulla Mullajonov, but it appears unlikely Azimov will be named as his replacement.

Azimov had been in the Uzbek government since 1998 -- always involved in finance, and including two stints as finance minister -- after spending the first years after Uzbekistan's independence as the country's point man dealing with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

His replacement as deputy prime minister is Jamshid Kuchkarov, who was serving as deputy finance minister.

Zamira Eshanova of RFE/RL's Uzbek Service contributed to this report. The views expressed in this blog post do not necessarily reflect those of RFE/RL
Russia says one of its fighter jets intercepted a U.S. bomber flying near its border over the Baltic Sea, while Russian news reports say another Russian warplane intercepted a patrol plane from NATO member Norway over the Barents Sea.

The incidents on June 6 came a day after Montenegro formally joined NATO, becoming its 29th member in a move that produced an angry reaction from Russia.

Russia's Defense Ministry said in a statement that a Su-27 was dispatched to the Baltic Sea in the morning of June 6 after Russian radar detected an aircraft flying along the border over the international waters.

The ministry said the Russian aircraft identified the U.S. plane as a B-52 strategic bomber and escorted it until it set course away from the Russian border.

Later on June 6, Russian news agencies quoted the Defense Ministry as saying that it sent a MiG-31 jet fighter to intercept a Norwegian patrol plane flying along Russia's border over the Barents Sea.

The ministry said it had identified the Norwegian plane as an antisubmarine P-3 Orion aircraft and said it had switched off its transponder during the flight, the agencies reported.



After the Norwegian aircraft changed flight course and flew away from the border, the Russian MiG-31 fighter-interceptor returned to the base, Interfax quoted the ministry as saying.

Relations between Moscow and the West have sunk to lows unseen since the Cold War amid rancor over Russia's seizure of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014, its backing of separatists in eastern Ukraine, and other issues.

NATO and the United States have repeatedly criticized Russia over what they have called dangerous actions by its warplanes in recent months and years.

In May, the U.S. military said its jets intercepted two Russian Tu-95 nuclear-capable bombers accompanied by two fighters that flew near the Alaskan coast.

And in September, a Russian fighter jet flew close to a U.S. Navy surveillance aircraft, in what American officials called an unsafe intercept over the Black Sea.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, Interfax, and TASS


Eight Russians have announced a hunger strike at a Moscow branch of Austria's Raiffeisenbank.

Yulia Yermakova, coordinator of the All-Russia Movement Of Hard-Currency Mortgage Holders, announced on June 6 that the eight borrowers are demanding that their debts be converted into rubles and that all penalties for late payments be waived.

Bank officials were demanding that the protesters leave the building.

Many Russians with loans denominated in foreign currencies have faced severe difficulties as the ruble lost much of its value over the last three years.

The economic slowdown has been driven by low global energy prices and the effects of Western sanctions introduced after Moscow annexed the Ukrainian region of Crimea and extended political and military support to separatists in eastern Ukraine.

In March 2017, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said people borrowing in foreign currencies should be aware of the risks involved.


Russian officials have protested strongly against comments by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence in which he mentioned Russia as a threat to global stability on a par with Iran.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on June 6 Moscow "regrets" the comments and called on the United States to "clarify its position."

"Obviously, President [Donald] Trump's position is the main thing that Moscow takes into consideration," Peskov said.

Speaking at the Atlantic Council in Washington on June 5, Pence strongly reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to NATO as "unwavering."

"A strong NATO is vitally important, especially in these trying times," Pence said. "From Russia's efforts to redraw international borders by force, to Iran's attempts to destabilize the Middle East, to the global menace of terrorism that can strike anywhere at any time, it seems that the world is more dangerous today than at any point since the fall of communism a quarter century ago."

Pence's comments come after some observers criticized Trump for insufficiently backing the alliance during a recent NATO summit in Brussels.

Leonid Slutsky, chairman of the Russian State Duma's Foreign Affairs Committee, said Pence's comments "sum up dozens and hundreds of anti-Russian speeches" that have been heard in the United States since Trump was elected last November.

Konstantin Kosachyov, head of the Federation Council's International Affairs Committee, said Pence's remarks were "the pinnacle of absurdity," adding that Russia and Iran are only "dangerous to the [U.S.-dominated] unipolar world."

Earlier on June 6, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said President Donald Trump told him to "begin a reengagement process" aimed at rebuilding relations with Moscow, and not to let the turmoil in Washington over possible Russian ties to Trump's inner circle get in the way.

The FBI and the U.S. Congress are investigating the contacts between Russians and the Trump campaign and transition team, including a search for any signs of collusion by associates of Trump with what U.S. intelligence officials say were Russia's aims in the election.

With reporting by Interfax and TASS


Ukrainian forces have recaptured 12 settlements in the south, advancing seven kilometers in two directions in the past 24 hours, Ukrainian Army chief Valeriy Zaluzhniy said on November 10 as Russia ordered one of the war's biggest retreats.

Zaluzhniy said Kyiv could not yet confirm whether Russia was indeed pulling out from the southern Kherson region but said Ukrainian forces were continuing their advance.

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.

"We continue to conduct the offensive operation in line with our plan," he wrote in a post on Telegram.

Russia on November 9 said its forces would retreat from the west bank of the Dnieper River, which includes Kherson, the only regional capital Moscow had captured since the start of its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February.

Kherson is strategically important, as it controls both the only land route to Ukraine's Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula and the mouth of the Dnieper, which bisects Ukraine.

Zaluzhniy said Ukrainian forces had advanced from Pervomaiske toward Kherson and from Petropavlivka toward Novoraysk, roughly parallel with the Dnieper River.

It was unclear which Pervomaiske Zaluhniy meant. There are two settlements named Pervomaiske relatively close to Kherson city, one located some 25 kilometers to southeast and one some 50 kilometers to the north of the city.

Zaluzhniy said the territorial gains totaled 264 square kilometers.

Earlier on November 10, Ukrainian forces said they had recaptured Snihurivka, a strategic town in the southern Mykolayiv region while repelling fresh Russian attacks in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, where heavy fighting has been under way for weeks.

In video footage published on social media and Ukrainian national television, a Ukrainian soldier shouted, "Today on November 10, Snihurivka was liberated by the forces of the 131st Separate Intelligence Battalion. Glory to Ukraine!"

The footage could not immediately be verified and there was no immediate confirmation of the town's recapture from Ukraine's Defense Ministry, a day after Russia ordered its forces to retreat from the area.

Snihurivka, seen as the last remaining Russian-occupied town in the Mykolayiv region, is important for control of a strategic road that leads to Kherson.



The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said earlier that they had repelled fresh Russian attacks in Donetsk where Moscow continues to mount an offensive in the Bakhmut and Avdiyivka directions.

The Ukrainian military said it had also repelled Russian attacks in Luhansk, which together with Donetsk comprise the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.

Russian forces launched missile and air strikes and pounded more than 30 settlements with rockets in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhya, Mykolayiv, Sumy, and Kherson regions, the military said.



The fierce fighting in the east came as Kyiv reacted with skepticism to the announcement of a Russian retreat from Kherson, noting some Russian forces remained in the city and reinforcements were being sent to the region.

Mykhaylo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Ukraine's president, said on November 10 that Moscow wanted to turn Kherson into a "city of death," accusing Russia of mining everything from apartments to sewers and planning to shell Kherson from the other side of the Dnieper River.

"This is what (the) 'Russian world' looks like: came, robbed, celebrated, killed 'witnesses', left ruins and left," he wrote on Twitter.

U.S. General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the initial indicators suggested Russia was following through with its withdrawal, but cautioned it could take time to complete.

"It won't take them a day or two. This is going to take them days and perhaps even weeks to pull those forces south of that river," Milley said in New York on November 9, estimating Russia probably had 20,000 to 30,000 troops north of the Dnieper River in that area.

Milley, the most senior U.S. general, said around 100,000 Russian and 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or wounded in the war, the highest estimate offered yet by a Western official.

Milley also suggested around 40,000 civilians had died after being caught up in the conflict.

The estimates could not be independently confirmed.

Both Kyiv and Moscow carefully guard their casualty numbers.

Russia's last update in September said 5,937 soldiers had been killed since the start of the conflict on February 24.

"There has been a tremendous amount of suffering, human suffering," said Milley, adding the conflict has created between 15 and 30 million refugees.

The UN has recorded 7.8 million people as refugees from Ukraine across Europe, including Russia. However, the figure does not include those who have been forced to flee their homes but remain in Ukraine.

With reporting by AP, AFP, Reuters, and BBC
A U.S.-backed alliance of Syrian Kurds and Arab fighters says it has begun a battle to capture the Syrian city of Raqqa, the extremist group Islamic State's stronghold and self-declared capital in the country.

"We declare today the start of the great battle to liberate the city of Raqqa, the so-called capital of terrorism and terrorists," a spokesman for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Talal Silo, told journalists on June 6 in the village of Hazima, north of the city.

Silo said SDF forces were attacking the city from the north, west, and east, and urged civilians to keep away from Islamic State (IS) positions and the frontlines.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the SDF has been engaged since dawn in heavy fighting with militants on the eastern and northern outskirts of Raqqa.

The observatory said the push followed heavy coalition air strikes overnight.

The U.S.-led coalition fighting IS in Syria and Iraq said the fight for Raqqa would be "long and difficult" but would deliver a "decisive blow to the idea of [IS] as a physical caliphate."

Coalition officials estimate that there are 3,000 to 4,000 IS fighters remaining in the city preparing for the assault.

The SDF has been gradually encircling Raqqa since November, and it remains unclear how many of its fighters have been deployed around the city.

IS militants seized large swaths of Syria and Iraq in an offensive in June 2014.

The offensive on Raqqa comes at a time when U.S.-backed Iraqi government forces say they are close to fully liberating Mosul, the final significant IS stronghold in Iraq.

'Dismantling The Caliphate'

The top commander of the international coalition, Lieutenant General Steve Townsend, said the coalition and its partners were "steadily dismantling the physical caliphate" of IS.

"It's hard to convince new recruits that [IS] is a winning cause when they just lost their twin capitals in both Iraq and Syria," he said.

The U.S.-led coalition has deployed special forces personnel to train and advise SDF forces on the ground and stepped up air strikes around Raqqa in recent weeks, leading to a rise in reported civilian deaths.

Last week, the United States announced it had begun providing weapons to members of the Kurdish militia that dominates the SDF, the Popular Protection Units (YPG).

The move has infuriated Ankara, which considers the militia an extension of the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) that has been fighting a decades-long insurgency in Turkey.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim warned on June 6 that Ankara would respond if the offensive by the SDF poses a security threat to Turkey.

"To support terror organizations does not suit [our] alliance," Yildirim said. "We will immediately give the necessary response if we come across a situation in Raqqa or any other point in the region that threatens our security."

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, dpa, and AP


ON MY MIND



In a piece featured below, Ruslan Gorevoy wrote that new powers acquired by Russia's National Guard are turning it into something akin to Ivan the Terrible's "Oprichniki" or Josef Stalin's NKVD.



That may be a bit of a stretch. The National Guard hasn't been empowered to carry out extrajudicial executions, at least not yet. And they certainly won't be riding around the country on black horses and clad in monastic garb, sacking cities and torturing dissidents.



But Putin did just give the guard the right to assume control over and give direct orders to regular military units.



And as Aleksandr Golts notes in another piece featured below, this suggests that the Kremlin expects mass protests and civil unrest -- and is preparing to use military force to suppress them if necessary.



And it's preparing to do so under the command of a force that reports to Putin alone and is run by his crony and former bodyguard.



It may not be the Oprichniki or the NKVD. But it is disturbing nonetheless.



IN THE NEWS



A top-secret National Security Agency document leaked to news media shows that hackers from Russian military intelligence tried repeatedly to break into U.S. voting systems before last year's presidential election.



Montenegro has formally joined NATO, with U.S. and Montenegrin officials sending subtle messages to Russia and the alliance's chief trying to allay concerns about the U.S. commitment to the alliance.



The deputy governor of Russia's Kursk Oblast, Vasily Zubkov, has been arrested on suspicion of corruption.



A man in the Russian region of Tatarstan has been awarded compensation after a court found that he had been tortured by police.



A Chechen man who claimed in 2013 that he was tortured by police has been detained in Russia's Bryansk region.



The trial of RFE/RL contributor Mykola Semena, a Crimean journalist who is fighting what he says is a politically motivated separatism charge on the Russian-controlled peninsula, resumed on June 5 in the Crimean capital, Simferopol.



A team of open-source researchers investigating the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 has published reports linking the movements of Russian military equipment to the plane's downing.



Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey have launched joint military drills near Tbilisi.



WHAT I'M READING



The War On Democracy



Freedom House has released a new report, Breaking Down Democracy: Goals, Strategies, And Methods Of Modern Authoritarians.



Putin's Praetorian Guard



Putin signed a decree on May 24 giving the commander of his National Guard the power to commandeer units from the regular army.

Just days after the decree was issued, Yury Baluyevsky, who advises the National Guard, published an article in Nezavisimoye Voyennoye Obozreniye, arguing that the main threats to Russia's security come from within the country.



Political analyst Ruslan Gorevoy weighs in about what this means in a piece in Versia, arguing that this turns the guard into a force resembling Ivan the Terrible's Oprichniki or Josef Stalin's NKVD.

Military analyst Aleksandr Golts also gives his take in Yeshednevny Zhurnal, arguing that the Kremlin is preparing to use military force to suppress dissent.



Washington, Moscow, And Transatlanticism



Former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Mike Carpenter talks to Vocal Europe about Russia, NATO, and the future of transatlantic relations.



Evolution Of The Russian Media



Public Diplomacy magazine has an interview with former Russian journalist Vasily Gatov, a visiting fellow at the University of Southern Californias Annenberg Center of Communication Leadership and Policy, on the evolution of the post-Soviet Russian media.

Trolling Romania



Corina Rebegea, director of the U.S.-Romania Initiative and a fellow-in-residence at the Center for European Policy Analysis, has a piece on the CEPA website looking at the shadowy world of pro-Kremlin trolls in Romania.

A New Europe?



Also on the Center for European Policy Analysis website, CEPA vice president and veteran Kremlin watcher Edward Lucas has a piece on Central Europe in the age of Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron.



Belarusian Foreign Policy



The Riga-based Center for East European Policy Studies has released a new book, edited by Andis Kudors, on Belarusian foreign policy. The book has sections on the domestic drivers of foreign policy as well as on Belarus's relations with the West, Russia, and its neighbors.



Estonia And Refugees



Time magazine has an interesting piece on Estonia's efforts to welcome refugees and the unintended misunderstandings this is causing.
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says President Donald Trump told him to "begin a reengagement process" aimed at rebuilding relations with Moscow and not to let the turmoil in Washington over possible Russian ties to Trump's inner circle get in the way.

Tillerson made the comments in New Zealand on June 6, amid probes by the FBI and Congress into Russia's alleged meddling in the U.S. election last year and any signs of collusion by Trump's campaign and transition team.

Trump "has been very clear with me that Russia is an important global player, and today our relationships with Russia are at a very low point and they've been deteriorating," Tillerson said.

"So the president asked me to begin a reengagement process with Russia to see if we can first stabilize that relationship, so it does not deteriorate further, and then can we identify areas of mutual interest where perhaps we can begin to rebuild some level of trust and some level of confidence that there are areas where we can work together," he said. "And that's the process that's under way today.

"The president has been clear to me: 'Do not let what's happening over here in the political realm prevent you from the work you need to do in this relationship'," Tillerson said.

He added that Trump had told him "to proceed at whatever pace and in whatever areas we might make progress."

The top U.S. diplomat spoke two days before former FBI chief James Comey is to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee on June 8 for a public hearing on Russia's alleged meddling in the election.

Tillersons comments also came a day after a media outlet published a top-secret document from the U.S. National Security Agency that described repeated efforts by hackers linked to the Russian state to break into U.S. voting systems before the November 8 vote.

The Intercept said the classified document, published online late on June 5, depicts a hacking operation tied closely to Russia's military intelligence agency, known by the acronym GRU, that targeted private U.S. companies providing voter-registration services and equipment to local governments around the country.

The document said that the operation potentially threatened the integrity of the U.S. voting system by trying to trick more than 100 local election officials into opening malicious spyware, and that it went on for months -- ending just days before the election. It did not say whether the operation affected the outcome of the presidential vote.

The Intercept, which focuses on national security issues, said the White House NSA document was dated May 5 and is the most up-to-date and detailed discussion of Russian influence efforts as yet disclosed to the public or press.

After the document was published, the U.S. Justice Department announced it had arrested Reality Leigh Winner, an employee of a national security contractor, for leaking top-secret information dated "on or about May 5" to "an online news outlet."

It said Winner, 25, worked at a facility in the U.S. state of Georgia and was arrested on June 3.

The indictment said Winner was one of only six people to print the document in question and that she had exchanged e-mails with the news outlet, which the indictment did not name but which Reuters reported was the Intercept.

Intercept spokeswoman Vivian Siu said the NSA document was given to the outlet anonymously and "the Intercept has no knowledge of the identity of the source."

The Intercept said that the NSA sought to dissuade it from publishing the document and then requested redactions, some of which were accepted by Intercept.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, denied that Russian military intelligence hackers tried to infiltrate U.S. voting systems.

"Apart from this claim, which absolutely does not conform to reality, we have not seen any other information nor heard any arguments for the reliability of this information and we resolutely deny the possibility that such a thing could have happened," Peskov told journalists on June 6.

The published document expands on allegations laid out by the U.S. intelligence community in January that Putin ordered a concerted effort, involving hacking and disinformation, to tilt the election toward Trump.

It comes days after Putin repeatedly denied any interference in the election in a series of interviews, though at one point he said that there could have been hacking by Russians he said were unconnected to the government.

The NSA report says that "Russian General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate [GRU] actors...executed cyberespionage operations against a named U.S. company in August 2016, evidently to obtain information on elections-related software and hardware solutions."

"The actors likely used data obtained from that operation to...launch a voter registration-themed spear-phishing campaign targeting U.S. local government organizations," it says.

The report shows that, by trying to steal log-in credentials and using spear-fishing e-mails to plant malware, the hackers "obtained and maintained access to elements of multiple U.S. state or local electoral boards."

How successful the operation was, and what kind of data may have been stolen, is not known, the document says.

The document also notes that despite former President Barack Obama's warning to Putin in September to not interfere with the election, the hacking attack on voter systems continued through October.

With reporting by AP, Reuters, and AFP
U.S. President Donald Trump says that Middle Eastern leaders complained about Qatar when he demanded an end to support for radical ideology that encourages terrorism.

In series of tweets on June 6, Trump appeared to suggest that the decision by several countries in the region to cut all ties with Qatar was understandable.

"During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!," Trump tweeted.

"They said they would take a hard line on funding ... extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!" Trump said, arguing that his visit to Saudi Arabia during his first presidential trip abroad last month was "already paying off." Qatar denies supporting extremism.

On June 5, Saudi Arabia along with Bahrain, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), the Maldives, and Libya's eastern-based government have all cut diplomatic and other ties with Qatar over its alleged support for extremists.

On June 6, Jordan decided to reduce diplomatic representation with Qatar and revoke the license of the Qatar-owned Al-Jazeera television channel, a government spokesman said in Jordan's capital, Amman.

U.S. Military Presence

However, the Pentagon said on June 6 that "We have no plans to change our posture in Qatar," and declined to comment on Trump's tweets. There are roughly 10,000 American troops and a major U.S. base in Qatar.

A spokesman said the Pentagon was grateful to Qatar for its support of the U.S. military presence and "enduring commitment to regional security."

"There has been no impact on our operations either in Qatar or with regards to airspace permission around it and we don't anticipate there will be," Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis said.

Asked whether Qatar is a supporter of terrorism, the Pentagon spokesman told a press briefing in Washington, "I'm not the right person to ask that."

Meanwhile, the leaders of France and Russia held telephone conversations with Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.

French President Emmanuel Macron told Qatar's emir it was important to preserve stability in the Gulf, and said France remained available to talk to all parties involved, an official at the French president's office said.

Macron also held a separate phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the crisis in the Gulf, the official added.

Separately, Erdogan said that isolating Qatar, including the use of sanctions, would not resolve any problems."We are and we will do everything we can to resolve this crisis," Erdogan said in a speech following a fast-breaking iftar dinner for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

President Vladimir Putin told Thani that Russia's stance remains that crisis situations should be solved by political and diplomatic means "in dialogue," the Kremlin said June 6. Putin also held a phone conversation with the leader of Egypt, one of the countries that cut ties with Qatar. Putin and President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi discussed the situation in the Middle East, the Kremlin said.

Kuwait -- one of the Gulf countries not involved in the dispute -- has also offered to help mediate talks, with Kuwait's emir traveling to Saudi Arabia.

Tillerson Calls For Calm

A day earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had called for calm, while avoiding taking sides. During a news conference in Australia, Tillerson said the United States was encouraging the countries "to sit down together" and address irritants that he said had "bubbled up" for some time.

Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al-Thani told Al-Jazeera that his country was seeking "a dialogue of openness and honesty," and said Qatar would not retaliate.

It was unclear how the mounting crisis would impede regional unity on fighting the Islamic State group and other extremist threats in the region, although U.S. military and diplomatic officials have thus far insisted they anticipate no change to cooperation on those efforts.

However, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said Qatar needed to take several steps, including ending its support of Palestinian Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, to restore ties with other key Arab states.

"We've decided to take steps to make clear that enough is enough," Adel Al-Jubeir told journalists in Paris. "Nobody wants to hurt Qatar. Qatar has to choose whether it must move in one direction or another direction".

Qatar's neighbors have long accused the country of tolerating or even encouraging support for extremist groups, including Al-Qaeda's branch in Syria, formerly called the Al-Nusra Front.

Those nations have also objected to Qatari support for Islamist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, whose political ideology challenges the system of hereditary rule in Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E. and other nations.

A large amount of Qatar's food is transported across the border from Saudi Arabia, which is being closed. Qatar's main exports are oil and gas, which are mostly seaborne, so should not be immediately hit.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, dpa, and BBC
On June 10, 2008, a Chechen man walked into a police office in Vienna with an ominous claim: The southern Russian region of Chechnya's Kremlin-backed strongman, Ramzan Kadyrov, possessed a list of 300 enemies who "have to die," around 50 of whom were residing in Austria.

The informer, 40-year-old Artur Kurmakayev, said Kadyrov had ordered him to travel to Austria to repatriate Umar Israilov, a former Kadyrov bodyguard who had received asylum there and had accused his ex-boss of torture. Kurmakayev said he saw the alleged kill list at Kadyrov's residence, and he warned that Israilov was in danger.

Seven months later, Israilov, 27, was shot dead on the streets of Vienna. The brazen daylight slaying heightened concerns about Kadyrov's alleged cross-border targeting of opponents, which Kadyrov denies. By that time, Kurmakayev, the seemingly prescient informer, had already left Austria. Authorities had rebuffed his bid for asylum, and Austrian police later said he was thought to be dead.

Kurmakayev, however, was very much alive. And he resurfaced this month as a key suspect in the shooting of another Chechen exile -- this time in Kyiv.

Ukraine's Interior Ministry last week confirmed to RFE/RL that Kurmakayev was the alleged gunman in the failed assassination attempt on Adam Osmayev, whom Russia accuses of plotting an assassination attempt against Kadyrov's boss, President Vladimir Putin.

Kurmakayev, known in St. Petersburg by the nickname "Dingo," has long had a reputation for landing in bizarre situations. And the June 1 incident in the Ukrainian capital's historic Podil neighborhood was a thematic culmination of his long record of collisions with the law and the criminal underworld: cars, guns, aliases, assassins, Chechen exiles, murky motives, and, ultimately, a woman who brought him down.

Bloody Payback'

Born with the last name Denisultanov in the Chechen town of Gudermes, Kurmakayev was convicted of extortion in the twilight of the Soviet Union. It was in prison that he was given the nickname Dingo, the prominent crime journalist Andrei Konstantinov wrote in his 1996 book Banditsky Peterburg.

After his release from prison, Kurmakayev ran a few kiosks at a St. Petersburg train station, Aleksandr Gorshkov, another well-known journalist and editor in chief of the St. Petersburg-based news site Fontanka.ru, told RFE/RL.

He was also said to be a member of an ethnic Chechen syndicate, one of several groups of ruthless capitalists who battled for influence and money during the city's bloody gang wars of the 1990s.

Kurmakayev made a public splash in the early 1990s when he appeared on 600 Seconds, a lurid, popular television program hosted by journalist Aleksandr Nevzorov that shone a light on St. Petersburg's seamy side. In an interview in Nevzorov's cluttered office, Kurmakayev warned that a car that had been stolen from his associates should be returned immediately, saying that "things will end very badly" for the culprits if it wasn't.

"And there will be problems both for them and for us. But mostly for them," he told Nevzorov, who said "Artur" had sought him out for the interview to warn that "bloody payback" was unavoidable.

At the end of the segment, Kurmakayev gave out his personal telephone number.

"He was by no means a towering figure," Nevzorov told RFE/RL in a telephone interview on June 5. "But he stood up for his group."

'No Longer Alive'

Kurmakayev again fell afoul of Russian law several years later, fleeing to Ukraine to avoid prosecution for the alleged 1998 kidnapping of a St. Petersburg man. Ukrainian authorities handed him over to Russia, where he was later freed in exchange for the release of a Russian conscript held by Chechen separatists. He later married a woman and took her last name, though the union was short-lived.

He also co-authored a 2001 book titled An Oath On The Koran: A Chechen's Fate, advertised with a blurb about a man named Artur whipping a 17-round Glock handgun out of his holster.

It wasn't until several years later that Kurmakayev's name grabbed international attention thanks to January 2009 reporting by The New York Times about the slaying of Israilov, Kadyrov's former bodyguard, in Vienna.

The newspaper published a copy of Kurmakayev's statement to Austrian authorities in which he claimed Kadyrov had tasked him with returning Israilov to Chechnya and that he had seen the purported kill list at the Chechen leader's residence in Gudermes.

The Austrian Interior Ministry later corroborated that a Russian national had informed them about the alleged list containing "around 300 people."

Kadyrov has rejected critics' allegations that he is behind a campaign to eliminate his enemies abroad, and he has denied involvement in Israilov's murder, for which three Chechnya-born men were later convicted in Austria.

According to the Austrian indictment, Kurmakayev made contact with Israilov in Vienna and told him that he and his family would be fine if he dropped his complaint about Kadyrov and his government in the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg and returned home.

Peter Pilz, an Austrian lawmaker with the Green Party, accused authorities of failing to protect Israilov and Kurmakayev. In an April 2010 post on his website, Pilz posted an excerpt from a Vienna police document that stated that according to "local" sources, Kurmakayev was "presumably no longer alive."

Pilz, who did not respond to an interview request from RFE/RL, wrote in the same post that shortly after Israilov's murder, he spoke by telephone to Kurmakayev. He says the would-be informer said: "I told them everything. But they protected neither me nor Israilov. They wanted to get rid of me quickly. I know that my life is in danger. No one is helping me anymore."

But a month after Israilov's murder, Kurmakayev told a different story to the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta. He denied that he had ever told Austrian police about the alleged kill list. He was merely recounting what Israilov had told him, he claimed.

'Adventure Seeker'

Kurmakayev ended up in prison again in 2011 after he was convicted of stealing 7.5 million rubles ($132,000) from a woman he planned to wed through a marriage agency under the alias Artur Krinari. The victim in the case said the agency portrayed him as an "Austrian businessman."

He was eventually sentenced to 7 1/2 years in prison, reemerging in the public eye in Kyiv last week, allegedly with a Ukrainian passport under the name Oleksandr Dakar.

Amina Okuyeva, the wife of Adam Osmayev -- the Chechen man whom Moscow accuses of plotting Putin's assassination and the target of the Kyiv attack -- says the shooter identified by authorities as Kurmakayev posed as a French journalist named Alex Werner.

The couple, both veterans of combat against Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, met the man in a car, ostensibly to go to the French Embassy for the interview. The assailant, however, pulled out a gun and fired, hitting Osmayev twice in the chest, Kyiv police say.

Okuyeva said he fired a Glock -- the same weapon mentioned in the blurb of Kurmakayev's book.

She said she grabbed her own gun and fired back, striking the shooter several times and immobilizing him. Both men are currently recovering in the hospital and were placed under police protection.

A spokesman for the Ukrainian Interior Ministry said on Facebook that a "Russian trail" in the crime was "obvious," calling the shooting an "audacious and insidious enemy attack on patriots of Ukraine."

But Pavlo Danyukov, deputy chief of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) branch in Kyiv, said on June 2 that there was no confirmed evidence of Russia's involvement in the attack, according to Current Time TV, the Russian-language network run by RFE/RL and VOA.

Denis Terentyev, the journalist who co-authored the 2001 book with Kurmakayev, told RFE/RL that he had not seen his former collaborator in 15 years but that "at that time, he hardly looked like a killer."

In separate interviews with RFE/RL, both Gorshkov and Nevzorov -- the St. Petersburg journalists who have previously crossed paths with Kurmakayev -- called him an "adventure seeker." Neither said he was surprised when Kurmakayev's named surfaced in the Israilov case in Austria or last week's shooting in Kyiv.

"I would probably react the same way if I heard he had ended up at the North Pole or atop Mt. Everest," Gorshkov said.

With reporting by Christopher Miller in Kyiv
The United States and Kuwait are seeking to bridge a diplomatic split that opened up between Qatar and several Arab states over allegations that Doha supports extremism.

Qatar's foreign minister said early on June 6 that Kuwait is trying to mediate the dispute, which includes charges that Doha supports Iran and Shi'ite rebel groups in the region backed by Tehran.

In a speech broadcast on Al-Jazeera television, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman al-Thani said Doha will refrain from escalating the dispute, which prompted the cutoff of diplomatic relations, trade, and air traffic between the two sides on June 5.

He called for "a dialogue of openness and honesty" to resolve the crisis and pledged that Qatar will not allow the standoff to harm relations with the United States, which maintains a major air base in the small Gulf state.

"Our relationship with the United States is strategic," said Abdul Rahman. "There are things we do not agree on, but our areas of cooperation outnumber those of contention."

U.S. officials said they are seeking to calm tensions between the two sides, while Kuwait has sought to act as a emissary between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which led the move among Arab states to cut off ties with Doha.

The dispute comes two weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump visited Saudi Arabia, called for a united Muslim front against extremism, and singled out Iran and its allies as sources of tensions in the region.

Kuwait and Oman were among a handful of states that did not join the move to isolate Qatar and Iran, Saudi Arabia's archrival. Joining the Saudis were Bahrain, Libya, Egypt, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, and the Maldives.

The Saudi-led coalition battling Iran-backed rebels in Yemen also took part, saying it had expelled Qatar from the group for providing "support to [terrorist] organizations" there.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on June 5 called for dialogue to resolve the conflict.

"Neighbors are permanent; geography can't be changed. Coercion is never the solution," Zarif said on Twitter.

Another Iranian official said his country will export food to Qatar by sea, as Saudi Arabia on June 5 cut off the peninsula state's sole land border across which food is trucked in, causing panicked Qataris to rush to supermarkets to stockpile groceries.

The semiofficial Fars news agency quoted Reza Nourani, chairman of the union of exporters of agricultural products, as saying that food shipments sent from Iran can reach Qatar in 12 hours.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss the situation, after which Ankara said it is "actively involved" in trying to tamp down the crisis.

"The Middle East is not at a point where it can endure a new crisis," Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said.

With reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters


TASHKENT -- Media reports in Uzbekistan say Rustam Azimov, an influential official who had been seen as a possible successor to the late President Islam Karimov, has been dismissed from the post of deputy prime minister.

The reports on June 6 said that Azimov has been replaced by former Deputy Finance Minister Jamshid Kuchkarov due to his "move to another post." No specific position was named, and there was no immediate comment from the government.

Azimov, 58, had been seen as one of three main possible successors to Karimov, whose death was announced on September 2 after more than a quarter-century of autocratic rule in the most populous former Soviet republic in Central Asia.

But longtime Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyaev was installed as interim president and then elected in a tightly controlled December 4 vote.

Mirziyaev promised major personnel changes in the government when he was inaugurated on December 14.

Azimov, who for many years combined the responsibilities of finance minister and deputy prime minister responsible for macroeconomic development and foreign investment, was relieved from the post of finance minister two days later.
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Washington's Newseum added the names of 14 journalists to its memorial wall at a ceremony on June 5. They included Belarus-born Pavel Sheremet, a reporter killed last year when his car exploded in Kyiv. (Current Time TV)
Endogenous cannabinoids (endocannabinoids) play an important role in the brain and immune system. Bern researchers from the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) "TransCure" have now found a new way to influence the endocannabinoid system. Anti-inflammatory, analgesic as well as anxiolytic effects could be achieved in an animal model.

Endocannabinoids are substances similar to fatty acids which are produced by the body. They activate specific cannabinoid receptors and among other things can exert anti-inflammatory or analgesic effects. Cannabis or tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) exhibit similar therapeutic effects in clinical use, but they are fraught with adverse effects. In contrast, endogenous cannabinoids are only produced in the cells when the body needs them, and therefore cannot be overdosed. The endocannabinoid system is considered promising as it uncovers new therapeutic options, for instance for disorders of the nervous system. For years, the research team led by Jurg Gertsch from the Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine at the University of Bern has been exploring the possibility to selectively activate endocannabinoids in the brain in order to treat neuropsychiatric disorders -- for example, anxiety states -- within the scope of the NCCR "TransCure" financed by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).

In cooperation with an international research team, the Bern research group led by Gertsch has now succeeded in blocking the transport route or endocannabinoids in the brain of mice for the first time by means of innovative inhibitors. This led to positive effects on the stress behaviour and immune system of mice. Anti-inflammatory, analgesic as well as anxiolytic effects have been observed. Although for several years it has been assumed that there is an endocannabinoid transport system in nerve cells and immune cells, this could now be shown for the first time. "I am convinced that in addition to the administration of exogenous cannabinoids, the endocannabinoid system will be specifically activated for therapeutic purposes in the future," says Gertsch. The study was published in the journal "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)."

Endocannabinoid Transport blocked

In cooperation with chemists from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology/ETH Zurich (research group led by Prof. Karl-Heinz Altmann) and the industry, hundreds of endocannabinoid transport inhibitors were synthesised in order to develop ideal pharmacological properties. The researchers were inspired for these inhibitors by a natural substance from the purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), a medicinal plant which is frequently utilised for colds and partially has an effect on the endocannabinoid system. The newly developed inhibitors block the uptake of endocannabinoids through the membrane of cells. As a result, cannabinoid receptors on nerve and immune cells are activated, which leads to a "brake" in the brain and in the immune system upon stress and in inflammatory disorders, restoring the physiological equilibrium.

New perspectives for new medicines

Andrea Chicca, lead author of the study from the group led by Prof. Gertsch, is confident that the molecular mechanism of endocannabinoid transporter can be elucidated in the coming years: "Then nothing stands in the way for the development of new medicines." Thanks to the new findings from the study, already now substances can be made which differ from previous drugs as they specifically activate the endogenous cannabinoids in the brain. The researchers see great potential in the field of stress-related disorders, because endocannabinoids regulate important stress hormones and restore the equilibrium in the brain.
Sales of the essential oil copaiba [koh-pey-buh] are increasing, at least in part, because more than 54 million Americans suffer from some form of arthritis and 23.7 million are limited in their usual activity primarily due to pain. The conventional way to treat arthritis is using nonsteroidal, anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) as well as cyclo-oxygenase-2 inhibitors (COXIBs), which are not without adverse events like gastrointestinal bleeding, heart attacks and stroke. For arthritis sufferers, copaiba may turn out to be a silver bullet or, perhaps, snake oil.

The side effects of NSAIDs and COXIBs as well as warnings from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on their risks of gastrointestinal side effects and bleeding as well as cardiovascular disease all suggest the need to test novel therapies with potential clinical benefits and fewer side effects than the available traditional medicines. One such possible remedy is Copaifera reticulate or copaiba.

The totality of evidence concerning the potential of copaiba to treat inflammatory arthritis is limited to basic research and uncontrolled clinical observations in humans. Researchers from Florida Atlantic University caution that randomized trials are necessary to discern whether the treatment is effective or that copaiba turns out to be "yet another beautiful hypothesis slain by ugly facts." They present the incomplete totality of evidence and challenges in treating arthritis in their commentary published in the journal Integrative Medicine.

"Copaiba is an essential oil that is used topically with little or no side effects, but there is insufficient evidence to judge whether it reduces pain and inflammation in patients with arthritis," said Charles H. Hennekens, M.D., Dr.P.H., the first Sir Richard Doll Professor, senior academic advisor to the dean in FAU's Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, and senior author of the paper. "In case reports, individuals with joint pain and inflammation who used copaiba reported favorable results, however, this hypothesis is promising but as of yet unproven."

Copaiba is a stimulant oleoresin obtained from the trunk of several pinnate-leaved South American leguminous trees found in the Amazon. Its medicinal usage dates back to the 16th century when natives of Brazil used it as folk medicine. Today, Brazil produces approximately 95 percent of this oil-resin, exporting more than 500 tons each year.

"Basic research has suggested mechanisms of benefit of this essential oil in treating inflammatory arthritis," said Hennekens. "Nonetheless, the only published data on copaiba on humans includes one case series and one small randomized trial of another inflammatory condition and not arthritis."

In the commentary, the researchers conclude that the totality of the currently available evidence for copaiba essential oil is wholly insufficient to judge either its benefits or risks for the relief of pain and inflammation in arthritis. They emphasize that despite the absence of reliable evidence from large-scale randomized clinical trials, sales of copaiba continue to increase, presenting clinical and public health challenges.

"To complete the totality of evidence, copaiba should be first tested in a randomized trial against a placebo in patients with inflammatory arthritis," said Hennekens. "If such a trial shows a net benefit, then the next step would be direct randomized comparisons against NSAIDs and COXIBs."

Co-authors of the commentary were, in order, Patricia R. Hebert, Ph.D., and E. Joan Barice, M.D., both affiliate associate professors in FAU's College of Medicine; Juyoung Park, Ph.D., associate professor, School of Social Work, FAU's College for Design and Social Inquiry; Susan MacLeod Dyess, Ph.D., associate professor and coordinator of the Advanced Holistic Nursing Graduate Concentration, and Ruth McCaffrey, DNP, professor emeritus, both in FAU's Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing.

Among the numerous honors and recognitions Hennekens has received include the Ochsner Award for reducing premature deaths from cigarettes in 2014. From 1995 to 2005, Science Watch ranked him as the third most widely cited medical researcher in the world and five of the top 20 were his former trainees and/or fellows. In 2012, Science Heroes ranked Hennekens No. 81 in the history of the world for having saved more than 1.1 million lives. In 2016, he was ranked the No. 14 "Top Scientist in the World" with an H-index of 173.
The Arctic Ocean was once a gigantic freshwater lake. Only after the land bridge between Greenland and Scotland had submerged far enough did vast quantities of salt water pour in from the Atlantic. With the help of a climate model, researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute have demonstrated how this process took place, allowing us for the first time to understand more accurately how Atlantic circulation, as we know it today came about. The results of the study have now been published in the journal Nature Communications.

Every year, ca. 3,300 cubic kilometres of fresh water flows into the Arctic Ocean. This is equivalent to ten percent of the total volume of water that all the world's rivers transport to the oceans per year. In the warm and humid climate of the Eocene (ca. 56 to 34 million years ago), the inflow of freshwater was probably even greater. However, in contrast to today, during that geological period there was no exchange of water with other oceans. The influx of saline Atlantic and Pacific water, which today finds its way into the Arctic Ocean from the Pacific via the Bering Strait and from the North Atlantic via the Greenland-Scotland Ridge, wasn't possible -- the region that is today completely submerged was above the sea at that time.

Only once the land bridge between Greenland and Scotland disappeared did the first ocean passages emerge, connecting the Arctic with the North Atlantic and making water exchange possible. Using a climate model, researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) have now successfully simulated the effect of this geological transformation on the climate. In their simulations, they gradually submerged the land bridge to a depth of 200 metres. "In reality, this tectonic submersion process lasted several million years," says Climate Scientist Michael Starz, first author of the study. "Interestingly, the greatest changes in the circulation patterns and characteristics of the of the Arctic Ocean only occurred when the land bridge had reached a depth of over 50 metres below the surface."

This threshold depth corresponds to the depth of the surface mixed layer, and determines where the relatively light Arctic surface water ends and the underlying layer of inflowing North Atlantic water begins. "Only when the oceanic ridge lies below the surface mixed layer can the heavier saline water of the North Atlantic flow into the Arctic with relatively little hindrance," explains Starz. "Once the ocean passage between Greenland and Scotland had reached this critical depth, the saline Arctic Ocean as we know it today was created." The formation of ocean passages plays a vital role in global climate history, as it leads to changes in heat transport in the ocean between the middle and polar latitudes.

The theory that the Arctic Basin was once isolated is supported by the discovery of freshwater algae fossils in Eocene deep-sea sediments that have been obtained during international drilling near the North Pole in 2004. What was once a land bridge now lies ca. 500 metres under the ocean and consists almost entirely of volcanic basalt. Iceland is the only section remaining above the surface.
The promising drug is known as F8-TNF. When injected into the bloodstream, it lures killer cells from the body's immune system towards sarcomas. The killer cells then destroy the tumours. Researchers from ETH Zurich, led by Professor Dario Neri at the Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, developed F8-TNF four years ago. Since then, they have been able to show that it can completely cure sarcomas in mice when combined with a chemotherapeutic agent. Such an effective treatment cannot be achieved by chemotherapy alone or with other therapeutic approaches. Now, a drug closely related to F8-TNF is being tested as part of clinical trials in humans.

Consisting of two sub-units, the F8-TNF molecule works rather like a store detective: just as a detective tracks down a shoplifter and detains it until the police arrive, the molecule identifies cancer cells using its F8 sub-unit and then uses its TNF part to lure killer cells (cytotoxic T cells). TNF is an immune system messenger.

Implanted into the genome

Much of the molecule's mechanism of action was hitherto unclear, but the scientists in Neri's group have now succeeded in working it out. They wanted to find out how the killer cells recognise the tumour after they are lured to it. Although the messenger TNF alerts the killer cells to the tumour's presence, it does not provide them with a specific tumour identifier.

The scientists discovered that the killer cells called by F8-TNF are guided by proteins from specific dormant viruses (endogenous retroviruses). The genetic blueprint of these viruses has implanted itself into the mouse genome during evolution. In many cancer cells, the viral proteins are brought to life. Fragments of these retroviral proteins on the surface of tumour cells allow the killer cells to distinguish cancer cells from healthy cells.

Immune protection against cancer

In addition, the scientists observed that mice where the sarcomas were cured with F8-TNF rejected tissue later transplanted from various types of tumour. "The mice appeared to have acquired a sort of immune protection against cancer. As it turned out, this protection is also due to the killer cells, which recognise the tumour cells with the help of dormant viral proteins," says Philipp Probst, a doctoral student in Neri's group.

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In cancer immunotherapy, the body's immune system is activated in order to combat tumours. In the past, many scientists assumed that the killer cells used modified proteins on the surface of tumour cells as an identifier and a point of attack. Tumours are a degenerate form of body tissue; they are formed as a result of certain genetic mutations in a precursor cell, which can lead to protein modifications. "In some cases, mutated proteins can indeed be the distinguishing criterion," says Neri. "In our paper, however, we confirm that killer cells can also use other distinguishing criteria, namely the presence or absence of retroviral proteins."

Aid to understanding

"Now we cannot only cure sarcomas in mice, but also know the mechanism behind this therapy," says Probst. In the relatively new field of cancer immunotherapy, it is important to understand the underlying mechanisms in order to predict which patients will respond best to which therapy.

Further research will be needed to find out whether the observations in mice also apply to humans, as the human genome is full of gene sequences from dormant viruses. In any case, the knowledge may be useful in the interpretation of clinical trials. The third and final phase clinical trials in humans for the active agent L19-TNF, which is related to F8-TNF, will soon begin in Germany; in the US, applications for such trials are currently being examined by the authorities.

More than 100 years ago, New York-based doctor William Coley had already observed that some sarcoma patients recovered spontaneously. These were all patients suffering not only from cancer but also from a bacterial infection. Coley attempted to convert his observation into a therapeutic approach and began to inject sarcoma patients with a cocktail of heat-inactivated bacteria. His experiments were successful and "Coley's toxin" became the therapy of choice for sarcoma patients in the early decades of the 20th century. Although it was later displaced to some extent by radiotherapy and the emerging field of chemotherapy, "Coley's toxin" was still manufactured in Germany until 1990.

In Coley's time, knowledge was not yet advanced enough to understand his cocktail's mechanism of action. From today's perspective, one must assume that the inactivated bacteria triggered an immune response and thus the formation of the messenger TNF. In turn, this messenger activated killer cells that fought the tumour.
In a recent paper published in PLOS One, Saint Louis University professor of physics Jean Potvin, Ph.D., and biologist Alexander Werth, Ph.D. at Hampden-Sydney College, detail for the first time how baleen whales use crossflow filtration to separate prey from water without ever coming into contact with the baleen. Baleen are comb-like keratin plates that have replaced the teeth of the whale's ancestors about 30 million years ago and play the role of a filtration surface in their mouths. The researchers looked at how this type of feeding affects a whale's drag as it moves through the water and how this form of filtration is enhanced by a large body size.

Scientists hope that a greater understanding of how these aquatic mammals feed will shed light on how whales have evolved to the enormous sizes seen today. This new knowledge also will aid conservation efforts for whales, most of which are endangered species.

"As a physicist, I collaborate with biologists and paleontologists," Potvin said. "We study the physics of the various feeding mechanisms used by whales such as the humpback, blue and right whales. One practical aspect of this research is to know how much food they need. For the largest species, the food is krill and copepods. With climate change and human exploitation currently affecting prey availability, scientists wonder how whales will adjust to the possible food shortages or geographical displacements that are likely to arise. Answering how much food whales need to eat, or in other words, how much energy they have to spend throughout the year to catch and digest food, will help answer this question.

"Blue whales, for example, feed on millions of krill that gather in big patches, in many cases patches that are larger than the whales themselves. This allows whales to grow to enormous sizes. These whales are the largest animals to have ever lived on Earth -- they are larger than most dinosaurs. They engulf water and prey, and then filter what they don't need out through the baleen plates.

"There's still a lot we don't understand about filtration by baleen, especially with regards to the detailed physics involved. Blue whales lunge toward the prey patch and open their mouth to enormous gapes to catch as many prey as possible. In the process they engulf an enormous amount of water which needs to be filtered out instants after mouth closure. Blue whales engulf the equivalent of their own mass, which for a 90 foot-long whale translates into a hundred tons of water. This is a lot of water to purge out of the mouth. It's done after prey capture, with the whale's belly muscle tightening to force the water through the baleen, past the lips and out of the mouth. This is a complicated process, most of which is out of view. This leaves scientists with very few clues on the workings of the filtration process that takes place within."

In their current paper, Potvin and Werth studied another type of baleen whale, the right whale, which offer a simpler version of filtration by baleen. Right whales have a baleen system that is similar to that of blue whales, although with longer baleen plates. But unlike their distant cousins the blue whales, right whales do not lunge and catch their prey like a raptor. Instead, they skim the water with their mouths open to collect their food at a much slower pace, effectively eating like a grazer. This process also is more visible since it is performed with the mouth partially opened. And, because of this skimming motion, the flow of water moving though the baleen system is simpler to simulate mathematically than the flows taking place inside a blue whale's closed mouth.

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Right whales feed on small prey called copepods which are about the size of a grain of rice.

"Copepods also hang out in big patches," Potvin said. "Whales open their mouths while swimming through the patch, effectively skimming through it in a manner similar to a collector's net capturing butterflies. Again the baleen act like a filtration surface but the copepods are smaller than the space between baleens and so the filtration process must be different from, for example, draining pasta using a strainer.

"Instead, crossflow filtration is used, with most of the water passing through the baleen and exiting out of the mouth, but with the prey heading straight to the back side of the mouth where it is swallowed, all the while without ever coming into contact with the baleen.The copepods are mostly a slurry of food by the time they get to the whale's esophagus.

"Humans developed crossflow filtration in the wine-making process to remove the particles created during production without requiring frequent cleaning of the filtration surface. Of course, Mother Nature knew about cross filtration long before we did."

This is the first paper in the field that shows how this can be done for baleen whales through simulations and data, Potvin says.

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"This is a study of how the water flows through the mouth in terms of speed and pressure, and how this leads to the drag created by the open mouth," Potvin said. "When these whales open their mouths, there is more water resistance because of the flow within. This will affect how much energy the whale needs to spend in order to feed. We can calculate the drag. People had measured it but it had never been calculated. I think it's a big step.

"Another thing this analysis allows you to do is to go back to the question of body size. This type of crossflow filtration works best with a big body size. Right whales are about 50 feet-long. Our analysis found that, sure enough, this mode gets more efficient at the larger body size.

"The bigger the filter, the slower the water through the filter. This reduces the clogging rate and also the drag. If water is too fast through the baleen system, it carries along most of the prey, thereby allowing the copepods to escape and over time gums up the filter. The bigger the filter surface, the slower the flow out of the filter at the level of the pore. The process is analogous to rivers discharging into a bay: the faster river flow -- equivalent to the water entering a whale's mouth -- will always slow down as it enters the bay because it is always wider, which is equivalent to the water passing through the whale's baleen."

This modeling answers some key questions about feeding that will help scientists understand how to best protect whales as their habitat changes due to global warming and human activity on oceans.

For his next project, Potvin will turn his attention to the physics of how whales swim and maneuver in the water.

Thanks to a recent $800,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), Potvin and colleagues will collect data on the swimming habits of blue whales and humpback whales in the wild using drones and electronic tags. Potvin and Saint Louis University received $232,634 to fund their portion of the three year study.

"We will have a big expedition in August near the Channel Islands off the coast of Santa Barbara, California, tagging blue whales," Potvin said. "We are likely to see some of the highest concentrations of blue whales in the world. We hope to get a lot of data out of that trip."

The expedition will be led by colleagues at Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station using specially devised digital tags to measure the speeds and accelerations performed by the whales, as well as record video of the maneuvers and encounters with the prey.

"Researchers usually sneak up next to a whale as it surfaces for air and attempt to attach the tag to the animal with the use of suction cups," Potvin said. "There is a piece of metal that dissolves after several hours after attachment and that releases the suction cups. The package then floats up to the surface and a mounted beacon helps the biologists locate and retrieve the tag for data download."

With the new data, Potvin will be able to carry out computational fluid dynamics simulations at Saint Louis University to learn more about how these whales maneuver to capture prey, avoid predators and obstacles, and compete for mates.
Companies that try to "do good" are likely to find that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is bad for their bottom lines, according to a new study from Florida Atlantic University's College of Business.

"We found that emphasizing Corporate Social Responsibility is not good for shareholders," said David Javakhadze, Ph.D., assistant professor of finance, who investigated the relationship between CSR and efficiency with which firms allocate their capital resources. "If you're an investor you should think twice before you invest in those firms that emphasize CSR."

For the purpose of the study, CSR is defined as strategies that appear to foster some social good, including programs that benefit community engagement, diversity, the environment, human rights and employee relations. The study, published in the Journal of Corporate Finance, found that focusing on CSR strategies imposes costs on firms in the form of foregone investment opportunities that in the long run leads to losses for their shareholders.

In his empirical analyses using a large sample of firms for the period 1992 to 2014, Javakhadze found that CSR reduces a firm's overall performance and investment efficiency. Investment should follow growth opportunities, he explained, and CSR distorts this relationship because it diverts a firm's resources from its core practices. That distortion is lower in firms where the CEO's compensation is tied to the stock price or in firms that are rich in resources.

"It's not only about money; it's about time," said Javakhadze, who co-authored the paper with doctoral student Avishek Bhandari. "If I'm a CEO I should be focusing on finding growth opportunities. If instead I spend my time and my energy to find CSR initiatives it diverts my time and my energy to something else, not focusing on building shareholder wealth."

While companies around the world have adopted CSR strategies, a trend that has gained traction in recent years, it hasn't always been popular. As the economist Milton Friedman said of CSR back in 1970, "a corporation's responsibility is to make as much money for the stockholders as possible."

"Most firms don't have unlimited resources," Javakhadze said. "If you invest in socially responsible activities then you won't have enough resources to invest in more profitable projects, which is not good. It might be good for society. It might be good for managers. But it is not good for shareholders."
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In April 2017 the U.S. Air Force demonstrated that F-16s equipped to operate as UAVs could successfully operate in formation with manned F-16s. This is all part of the Loyal Wingman program for eventually integrating combat UAVs with piloted warplanes. The F-16 UAV needed software that would allow it to fly in formation execute attack missions on its own, to avoid interference from jamming. That software worked although the initial flight tests of Loyal Wingman simply confirmed that the F-16 UAVs could safely fly in formation with piloted F-16s and effectively receive and respond to commands from the flight leader or other piloted F-16s. Upcoming tests will see if the F-16 UAV can carry out complex attack runs on its own. This involves avoiding ground fire (mainly missiles) and using its own EW (electronic warfare) equipment to deal with jamming. All this live software testing would eventually be used in combat UAVs like the ones the navy has been testing and the air force is now developing. The U.S. Army has already been testing similar software control of UAVs by suitably equipped (with secure digital commo gear) attack helicopters.

Loyal Wingman came about after four years of effort to develop a UAV version of the F-16. This UAV version was based on the QF-16, the remotely controlled target version of the F-16. Back in 2013 the air force got its first QF-16 flying and began converting over a hundred retired F-16s to QF-16s. At the time it was noted that with a little extra work the QF-16 could be turned into a combat UAV for dangerous missions like SEAD (suppression of enemy defenses) or attacking ground targets guarded by heavy air defenses. The air force was already planning to use combat UAVs for this but those are not available yet. It was noted that QF type aircraft use GPS to help with navigation and to insure that QFs flying in formation don't collide with one another. The QF-16 also carries sensors to detect near misses by missiles. Out of that came modified software and some additional hardware to enable the recent flight tests.

There are several other reasons for adapting the F-16 to be a combat UAV in addition to designing combat UAVs from scratch. For one thing, the UAV version of any combat aircraft is superior in some ways to one with a pilot in it. This is mainly because pilots black out when the aircraft makes turns too sharply at high speed. QF-16s used regularly for Loyal Wingman training also makes it possible to monitor (via additional sensors in the QF-16) how extreme (for piloted aircraft) maneuvers stress the fighters. Tests of manned aircraft have always been part of the development and testing process for new and modified aircraft. But those tests were limited by cost (of losing a lot of aircraft). By the 1960s fighter aircraft design had reached the point where the aircraft could perform maneuvers (like high speed turns) that humans could not handle. The air force discovered how effective this capability was during the 1970s, when they rigged some jet fighters to fly without a pilot and had them go up against manned aircraft. The remote controlled fighters were able to outmaneuver the same aircraft carrying pilots.

The QF-16 has already demonstrated its ability to carry out acrobatic maneuvers under remote control. This would be useful in getting into heavily defended air space. Adding more sensors and flight control software could produce a formidable combat UAV. Even when all the QF-16 conversions are completed there will be several hundred retired F-16s suitable for conversion to combat UAVs.

The air force ordered the first QF-16s in 2010 and the initial flight test took place in September 2013. These unmanned F-16s are for use as aerial targets. The QF-16s are converted from existing F-16s that have been retired from service. The air force ordered 125 QF-16s and deliveries began in 2015. Each QF-16 conversion costs about $1.2 million and consists of installing hardware and software that enables remote (no pilot in the cockpit) flight control. The process of equipping the F-16 with all the necessary sensors (cameras and remote feeds of the aircraft radar) and remote capabilities took longer than expected, even though there was a lot of experience doing this to older aircraft (F-4s, F-100s, F-102s, and F-106s). The original plan was to introduce the first QF-16s in 2011. The QF-16s can still carry a pilot who can fly the aircraft or simply observe how the remote control process is working.

The QF-16 replaces the older QF-4 drone aircraft. Nearly 250 F-4 Phantom fighters were modified to fly by remote control. The mods cost about $1.4 million per aircraft. The QF-4 first appeared when the U.S. Air Force retired its F-4 fighters in the 1980s. The air force has run out of retired (but still flyable) F-4s to convert and QF-4 conversions ceased in 2013.

Training operations destroy up to 25 remotely controlled QF class fighters a year. The existing supply of decommissioned F-4s is exhausted and the QF-16s are arriving just in time. Before the QF-4, the air force had converted 218 F-100s (for use from 1983-92), 136 F-102s (from 1974-85), and 210 F-106s (1990-98) to act as full scale target aircraft. There are smaller UAVs that are also used as targets. The full scale models are needed to fully test the capabilities of new, and existing, missiles. Nothing like using real missiles against real targets to build pilot confidence and be sure the damn things work.

But there are so many retired F-16s available that there are plenty that could be used as combat UAVs. The F-16 manufacturer (Lockheed) is not doing the UAV conversion research, but rather another aircraft company (Boeing) which sees a potential market for such aircraft. These UCAVs (Unmanned Combat Aerial vehicles) already exist as the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper. But an MQ-16 Lawn Dart (the unofficial nickname for the F-16) would be cheaper. This would be an inexpensive way to see what a more ambitious (and larger) UCAV could do.
Thailand joined a growing number of nations that are making it mandatory for cell phone companies to verify who users of SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) cards are. To do this Thais buying SIM cards must now present their ID cards, which now use fingerprints as well as photos, into special reader devices that verify the ID. The new measures initially (as of June 1 st ) apply to the three southern provinces (Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani) and parts of adjacent Songkhla province. Owners of existing SIM cards in those areas have until October to register their SIM cards or have them deactivated. Temporary SIMs, popular with tourists as well as terrorists and criminals in general, are also being modified to make them easier to track. This proposal is actually quite popular with the cell phone companies because this feature provides advertisers and marketing firms opportunities to increase sales.

The cause of all this SIM card scrutiny is the growing problem with terrorists and all sorts of criminals using unregistered SIMs to trigger bombs or for criminal activities in general. This is not a problem unique to any nation suffering from Islamic terrorists and is one of the unpleasant side effects of cell phones.

The unregistered SIMs was perceived as a major problem after 2001 and governments began to ban, or at least try to ban, the use of unregistered (anonymous) SIMs. In most parts of the world you can move your cell phone service from one phone to another by simply removing the small (25x14mm) SIM "card" from one phone and inserting it in another. SIM cards can also be bought just for the minutes stored on them, and these "anonymous" SIMs are were immediately recognized as very useful by gangsters and terrorists. Security forces soon found Islamic terrorists not only using anonymous SIMs in cell phones to set off bombs but also using lots of unregistered SIMs to avoid efforts to track users. This soon became clear because SIM cards often survived the explosion and they were almost always unregistered and when tracked back to the seller were found to be part of major purchases of SIM cards. Raids on terrorist hideouts often found hundreds of anonymous SIM cards and records indicating that regularly buying thousands at a time was considered an essential expense for outlaw groups. In many nations with an Islamic terrorist problem it was found that over ten percent of cell phones used anonymous SIMs.

These SIM card security efforts are always difficult to implement. For example in early 2016 Nigeria took extreme measures to a force a South African firm (MTN, one of the largest cell phone companies in Africa) to disconnect five million unregistered cell phone SIM cards as ordered in 2015. Nigeria threatened large fines ($250 million worth) but MTN thought local courts would not uphold such fines. MTN guessed wrong and Nigeria proceeded to shut down local MTN outlets that were found to have sold unregistered SIMs. In Nigeria other companies did disconnect over ten million illegal SIMs but MTN thought they could beat this in court. Because the SIM card shutdown order was mainly directed at a murderous Islamic terror group (Boko Haram) and not just a lot of lesser criminals the Nigerian courts agreed with the government and MTN was forced to comply and pay a somewhat smaller fine. This sent an unpleasant message to all cell phone companies.

Yet getting cell phone companies to cooperate on the SIMs issue is not the end of the problem. Even when the government is able (via changes in local laws and/or court rulings) to disconnect unregistered SIMs criminals got around that by paying others to buy registered SIMs and then tell police the cards were stolen. That raised the cost of being anonymous for criminals but did not stop the use of anonymous SIMs.
ITT Inc. manufactures and sells engineered critical components and customized technology solutions for the transportation, industrial, and energy markets worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Motion Technologies, Industrial Process, and Connect & Control Technologies. The Motion Technologies segment manufactures brake pads, shims, shock absorbers, and energy absorption components; and sealing technologies primarily for the transportation industry, including passenger cars, trucks, light- and heavy-duty commercial and military vehicles, buses, and trains. The Industrial Process segment designs and manufactures industrial pumps, valves, and plant optimization and remote monitoring systems and services; and centrifugal and twin screw positive displacement pumps, as well as aftermarket solutions, such as replacement parts and services. It serves various customers in industries, such as chemical, energy, mining, and other industrial process markets. The Connect & Control Technologies segment designs and manufactures a range of engineered connectors and specialized control components for critical applications supporting various markets, including aerospace and defense, industrial, transportation, medical, and energy. This segment's connector product portfolio includes electrical connectors, such as circular, rectangular, radio frequency, fiber optic, D-sub miniature, micro-miniature, and cable assemblies, as well as control products consist of actuators, valves, and pumps and switches for flow control applications; rate controls, seat recline locks, and elastomer isolators for aircraft interiors; elastomeric bearings for rotorcraft vibration isolation; heaters, hoses, and composite ducting for environmental control systems; and advanced composites for engine applications. ITT Inc. was incorporated in 1920 and is headquartered in White Plains, New York.
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.
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.
The following companies are subsidiares of Vodafone Group Public: 360 Connect S.A., 3@ Telecom, A-ccelerator B.V., A-ccelerator Holding B.V, AAA (Euro) Limited, AAA (MCR) Limited, AAA (UK) Limited, Acorn Communications Limited, Africonnect (Zambia) Limited, Ag Mercantile Company Private Limited, Al-Amin Investments Limited, Amsterdamse Beheer- en Consultingmaatschappij B.V., Apollo Submarine Cable System Limited, Array Holdings Limited, Asian Telecommunication Investments (Mauritius) Limited, Aspective Limited, Astec Communications Limited, Autoconnex Limited, Aztec Limited, BelCompany BV, Bluefish Apac Communications Pte. Ltd, Bluefish Communications, Bluefish Communications Limited, Business Serve Limited, C&W Worldwide Nigeria Limited, C.S.P. Solutions Limited, CCII (Mauritius) Inc., CGP India Investments Ltd., CGP Investments (Holdings) Limited, COOP Mobil s.r.o, CT Networks Limited, CWGNL S.A., CWW Operations Limited, Cable & Wireless Access Limited, Cable & Wireless Americas Systems Inc., Cable & Wireless Aspac Holdings Limited, Cable & Wireless CIS Services Limited, Cable & Wireless CIS Svyaz LLC, Cable & Wireless Capital Limited , Cable & Wireless Communications Data Network Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Communications Starclass Limited, Cable & Wireless Communications Technical Service (Shanghai) Co. Ltd (Beijing Branch), Cable & Wireless Europe Holdings Limited, Cable & Wireless GN Limited, Cable & Wireless Global (India) Private Limited, Cable & Wireless Global Business Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Global Holding Limited, Cable & Wireless Global Telecommunication Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Holdco Limited, Cable & Wireless Networks India Private Limited, Cable & Wireless Trade Mark Management Limited, Cable & Wireless UK Holdings Limited, Cable & Wireless UK Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Waterside Holdings Limited, Cable & Wireless Worldwide, Cable & Wireless Worldwide Limited, Cable & Wireless Worldwide Pension Trustee Limited, Cable & Wireless Worldwide Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Worldwide Voice Messaging Limited, Cable & Wireless a-Services Inc, Cable & Wireless a-Services Limited, Cable and Wireless (India) Limited, Cable and Wireless (India) Limited Indian Branch Office, Cable and Wireless Nominee Limited, Cable and Wireless Worldwide South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Cavalry Holdings Ltd, Celfocus  Solucoes Informaticas Para Telecomunicacoes S.A, Cellops Limited, Cellular Operations Limited, Central Communications Group Limited, Central Telecom (Northern) Limited, Centurion GSM Limited, Chelys Limited, City Cable (Holdings) Limited, Cobra do Brasil Servicos de Telematica ltda., Commnet Cellular Inc., Complete Network Technology, Connect (India) Mobile Technologies Private Limited, Cornerstone Telecommunications Infrastructure Limited, Dataroam Limited , Device Insight, Digital Island (UK) Ltd, Digital Mobile Spectrum Limited, East Africa Investment (Mauritius) Limited, Emtel Europe Limited, Energis (Ireland) Limited, Energis Communications Limited, Energis Holdings Limited, Energis Local Access Limited, Energis Management Limited, Energis Squared Limited, Erudite Systems Limited, Esprit Telecom B.V., Eudokia Limited, Euro Pacific Securities Ltd., Eurocall Holdings Limited, Europolitan Holdings AB (now Europolitan Vodafone AB), FB Holdings Limited, FM Associates (UK) Limited, FinCo Partner 1 B.V., FireFly Networks Limited, Flexphone Limited, GS Telecom (Pty) Limited, Gateway Communications Africa (UK) Limited, Gateway Communications Tanzania Limited, General Mobile Corporation, Generation Telecom Limited, Ghana Telecommunications, Ghana Telecommunications Company Limited, Global Cellular Rental Limited, Globe Limited, GrandCentrix GmbH, Grupo Corporativo ONO S.A.U., H3ga Properties (No 3) Pty Limited, HBO Nederland Cooperatief U.A., HBO Netherlands Channels sro, HBO Netherlands Distribution B.V., Hellas Online, How2 Telecom Limited, Hutchison Essar Ltd, Indus Towers Limited, Intercell Communications Limited, Internet Network Services Limited, Invitation Digital Limited, Ipergy Communications NV, Isis Telecommunications Management Limited, Jaguar Communications Limited, Jaykay Finholding (India) Private Limited, Jupicol (Proprietary) Limited, KABELCOM Braunschweig Gesellschaft Fur BreitbandkabelKommunikation Mit Beschrankter Haftung, KABELCOM Wolfsburg Gesellschaft Fur BreitbandkabelKommunikation Mit Beschrankter Haftung, Kabel Deutschland, Kabel Deutschland Holding, Kabel Deutschland Holding Erste Beteiligungs GmbH, Kabel Deutschland Holding Zweite Beteilgungs GmbH, Kabel Deutschland Neunte Beteiligungs GmbH, Kabel Deutschland Siebte Beteiligungs GmbH, Kabelfernsehen Munchen Servicenter GmbH & Co. KG, LG Financing Partnership, LGE HoldCo V B.V., LGE HoldCo VI B.V., LGE HoldCo VIII B.V., LGE Holdco VII B.V., LLC Vodafone Enterprise Ukraine, Le Bunt Holdings Limited, Legend Communications Limited, Liberty Global, Liberty Global Content Netherlands B.V., London Hydraulic Power Company, M-PESA Foundation, M-PESA Holding Co. Limited, ML Integration Group Limited, ML Integration Limited, ML Integration Services Limited, MV Healthcare Services Private Limited, Mannesmann AG, MetroHoldings Limited, Mezzanine Ware Proprietary Limited (RF), Mirambo Limited, Misrfone Trading Company LLC, MobiFon S.A., Mobile Commerce Solutions Limited, Mobile Phone Centre Limited, Mobile Wallet VM1, Mobile Wallet VM2, Mobile by Sainsburys Limited, Mobiles 4 Business.com Limited, Mobileworld Communications Pty Limited, Mobileworld Operating Pty Ltd, Mobilvest, Motifpros 1 (Proprietary) Limited, Multi Risk Indemnity Company Limited, Multi Risk Limited, ND Callus Info Services Private Limited, Nadal Trading Company Private Limited, Nat Comm Air Limited, National Communications Backbone Company Limited, Navtrak Ltd, Netforce Group Limited, Netgrid Telecom SRL, Number Portability Company (Proprietary) Limited, ONO, Omega Telecom Holdings Private Limited, Oni Way  Infocomunicacoes S.A, Oskar Mobil S.R.O., Oxygen Solutions Limited, P.C.P. (North West) Limited, PPL Pty Limited, PT Network Services Limited, PTI Telecom Limited, Peoples Phone Limited, Pinnacle Cellular Group Limited, Pinnacle Cellular Limited, Plex Limited, Plustech Mercantile Company Private Limited, Prime Metals Ltd., Project Telecom Holdings Limited, Quickcomm Software Solutions, Radio Opt GmbH, Rian Mobile Limited, SBC SMART CITY 1517 B.V., SMMS Investments Pvt Limited, Safaricom Limited, Safenet N.P A., Sarmady Communications, Scarlet Ibis Investments 23 (Pty) Limited, Scorpios Beverages Pvt. Ltd, Silver Stream Investments Limited, Singlepoint (4U) Limited, Singlepoint (4U) Ltd., Singlepoint Payment Services Limited, Siro Limited, Spar Aerospace (Nigeria) Limited, Sport TV Portugal S.A, Starnet, Stentor Communications Limited, Stentor Limited, Storage Technology Services (Pty) Limited, T.W. Telecom Limited, T3 Telecommunications Limited, TKS Telepost Kabel-Service Kaiserslautern Beteiligungs GmbH, TKS Telepost Kabel-Service Kaiserslautern GmbH & Co. KG, TNAS Limited, TSM NZ Limited, Talkland Airtime Services Limited, Talkland Australia Pty Limited, Talkland Communications Limited, Talkland International Limited, Talkland Midlands Limited, Talkmobile Limited, Tele2 Italia SPA, Tele2 Spain, Telecom Investments India Private Limited, Telecommunications Europe Limited, Ternhill Communications Limited, The Cobra Group, The Eastern Leasing Company Limited, The Old Telecom Sales Co. Limited, Thus Group Holdings Limited, Thus Group Limited, Thus Limited, Thus Profit Sharing Trustees Limited, TnT Expense Management LLC, Tomorrow Street GP S.a r.l., Tomorrow Street SCA, Torenspits II B.V., Townley Communications Limited, Trans Crystal Ltd., UMT Investments Limited, UPC Nederland Holding I B.V., UPC Nederland Holding II B.V., UPC Nederland Holding III B.V., Unified Communications, Uniqueair Limited, Urbana Teleunion Rostock GmbH & Co.KG, Usha Martin Telematics Limited, VAPL No. 2 Pty Limited, VBA (Mauritius) Limited, VBA Holdings Limited, VBA International (SL) Limited, VBA International Limited, VEI S.r.l., VM SA, VND S.p.A, VSSB Vodafone Shared Services Budapest Private Limited Company, Verwaltung Urbana Teleunion Rostock GmbH, Victus Networks S.A., Vizzavi Finance Limited, Vizzavi Limited, Voda Limited, Vodacall Limited, Vodacash s.p.r.l., Vodacom (Pty) Limited, Vodacom Business (Angola) Limitada, Vodacom Business (Ghana) Limited, Vodacom Business (Kenya) Limited, Vodacom Business Africa (Nigeria) Limited, Vodacom Business Africa Group (Pty) Limited, Vodacom Business Africa Group Services Limited, Vodacom Business Cameroon SA, Vodacom Business Cote Divoire S.A.R.L., Vodacom Congo (RDC) SA, Vodacom Financial Services (Proprietary) Limited, Vodacom Group Limited, Vodacom Insurance Administration Company (Proprietary) Limited, Vodacom Insurance Company (RF) Limited, Vodacom International Holdings (Pty) Limited, Vodacom International Limited, Vodacom Lesotho (Pty) Limited, Vodacom Life Assurance Company (RF) Limited, Vodacom Payment Services (Proprietary) Limited, Vodacom Properties No 1 (Proprietary) Limited, Vodacom Properties No.2 (Pty) Limited, Vodacom Tanzania Limited Zanzibar, Vodacom Tanzania Public Limited Company, Vodacom UK Limited, Vodafone (NI) Limited, Vodafone (New Zealand) Hedging Limited, Vodafone (Scotland) Limited, Vodafone 2, Vodafone 4 UK, Vodafone 5 Limited, Vodafone 5 UK, Vodafone 6 UK, Vodafone Albania Sh.A, Vodafone Alternatif Telekom Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Americas 4, Vodafone Americas Virginia Inc., Vodafone And Qatar Foundation L.L.C, Vodafone Asset Management Services S.a r.l., Vodafone Australia Pty Limited, Vodafone Automotive Deutschland GmbH, Vodafone Automotive Electronic Systems S.r.L, Vodafone Automotive France S.A.S, Vodafone Automotive Iberia S.L, Vodafone Automotive Italia S.p.A, Vodafone Automotive Japan K.K, Vodafone Automotive Korea Limited, Vodafone Automotive SpA, Vodafone Automotive Technologies (Beijing) Co Ltd, Vodafone Automotive Telematics Development S.A.S, Vodafone Automotive Telematics S.A, Vodafone Automotive UK Limited, Vodafone Belgium SA/NV, Vodafone Benelux Limited, Vodafone Bilgi Ve Iletisim Hizmetleri AS, Vodafone Business Services Limited, Vodafone Business Solutions Limited, Vodafone Canada Inc, Vodafone Cellular Limited, Vodafone Central Services Limited, Vodafone China Limited (China), Vodafone China Limited (Hong Kong), Vodafone Connect 2 Limited, Vodafone Connect Limited, Vodafone Consolidated Holdings Limited, Vodafone Corporate Limited, Vodafone Corporate Secretaries Limited, Vodafone Czech Republic A.S., Vodafone DC Pension Trustee Company Limited, Vodafone Dagitim Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Data, Vodafone Distribution Holdings Limited, Vodafone Egypt Telecommunications S.A.E., Vodafone Elektronik Para Ve Odeme Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Empresa Brasil Telecomunicacoes Ltda, Vodafone Empresa Mexico S.de R.L. de C.V., Vodafone Enabler Espana S.L., Vodafone Enterprise Australia Pty Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Austria GmbH, Vodafone Enterprise Bahrain W.L.L., Vodafone Enterprise Bulgaria EOOD, Vodafone Enterprise Chile SA, Vodafone Enterprise Communications Technical Services (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Vodafone Enterprise Corporate Secretaries Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Denmark A/S, Vodafone Enterprise Equipment Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Europe (UK) Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Europe (UK) Limited  Czech Branch, Vodafone Enterprise Europe (UK) Limited  DubaiI Branch, Vodafone Enterprise Finland OY, Vodafone Enterprise France SAS, Vodafone Enterprise Germany GmbH, Vodafone Enterprise Global Businesses S.a r.l., Vodafone Enterprise Global Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Global Network HK Ltd, Vodafone Enterprise Global Network Pte. Ltd., Vodafone Enterprise Hong Kong Ltd, Vodafone Enterprise Italy S.r.L, Vodafone Enterprise Korea Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Luxembourg S.A., Vodafone Enterprise Netherlands BV, Vodafone Enterprise Norway AS, Vodafone Enterprise Regional Business Singapore Pte.Ltd., Vodafone Enterprise Singapore Pte.Ltd, Vodafone Enterprise Spain S.L.U.  Portugal Branch, Vodafone Enterprise Spain SLU, Vodafone Enterprise Sweden AB, Vodafone Enterprise Switzerland AG, Vodafone Erste Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Vodafone Espana S.A.U., Vodafone Euro Hedging Limited, Vodafone Euro Hedging Two, Vodafone Europe B.V., Vodafone Europe UK, Vodafone European Investments, Vodafone European Portal Limited, Vodafone Finance Limited, Vodafone Finance Luxembourg Limited, Vodafone Finance Sweden, Vodafone Finance UK Limited, Vodafone Financial Operations, Vodafone Financial Services B.V., Vodafone Fixed Ltd, Vodafone Foundation, Vodafone Foundation Australia Pty Limited, Vodafone Gestioni S.p.A, Vodafone Ghana Mobile Financial Services Limited, Vodafone Global Content Services Limited, Vodafone Global Enterprise (Hong Kong) Limited, Vodafone Global Enterprise (Italy) S.R.L., Vodafone Global Enterprise (Japan) K.K., Vodafone Global Enterprise (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Vodafone Global Enterprise Limited, Vodafone Global Enterprise Russia LLC, Vodafone Global Enterprise Taiwan Limited, Vodafone Global Enterprise Telecommunications (Hellas) A.E., Vodafone Global Network Limited, Vodafone Global Network Limited  Slovakia Branch, Vodafone Global Services Private Limited, Vodafone GmbH, Vodafone Group (Directors) Trustee Limited, Vodafone Group Pension Trustee Limited, Vodafone Group Services GmbH, Vodafone Group Services Ireland Limited, Vodafone Group Services Limited, Vodafone Group Services No.2 Limited, Vodafone Group Share Trustee Limited, Vodafone Hire Limited, Vodafone Holding A.S., Vodafone Holdings (Jersey) Limited, Vodafone Holdings (SA) Proprietary Limited, Vodafone Holdings Europe S.L.U., Vodafone Holdings Luxembourg Limited, Vodafone Hutchison Australia Pty Limited, Vodafone Hutchison Finance Pty Limited, Vodafone Hutchison Receivables Pty Limited, Vodafone IP Licensing Limited, Vodafone India Digital Limited, Vodafone India Limited, Vodafone India Services Private Limited, Vodafone India Ventures Limited, Vodafone Institut fur Gesellschaft und Kommunikation GmbH, Vodafone Intermediate Enterprises Limited, Vodafone International 1 S.a.r.l. Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone International 1 S.a r.l., Vodafone International 2 Limited, Vodafone International Holdings B.V., Vodafone International Holdings Limited, Vodafone International M S.a r.l., Vodafone International Operations Limited, Vodafone International Services LLC, Vodafone Investment UK, Vodafone Investments (SA) Proprietary Limited, Vodafone Investments Australia Limited, Vodafone Investments Limited, Vodafone Investments Luxembourg S.a r.l., Vodafone Investments Luxembourg S.a r.l. Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone Ireland Distribution Limited, Vodafone Ireland Ltd., Vodafone Ireland Marketing Limited, Vodafone Ireland Property Holdings Limited, Vodafone Ireland Retail Limited, Vodafone Italia S.p.A., Vodafone Jersey Dollar Holdings Limited, Vodafone Jersey Finance, Vodafone Jersey Yen Holdings Unlimited, Vodafone Kabel Deutschland Field Services GmbH, Vodafone Kabel Deutschland GmbH, Vodafone Kabel Deutschland Kundenbetreuung GmbH, Vodafone Kenya Limited, Vodafone Leasing Limited, Vodafone Libertel B.V., Vodafone Limited, Vodafone Luxembourg 5 S.a r.l., Vodafone Luxembourg 5 S.a r.l. Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone Luxembourg S.a r.l., Vodafone Luxembourg S.a r.l. Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone M-PESA SH.P.K., Vodafone M-Pesa S.A, Vodafone M.C. Mobile Services Limited , Vodafone Magyarorszag Mobile Tavkozlesi Zartkoruen Mukodo Reszvenytarsasag, Vodafone Malta Limited, Vodafone Marketing UK , Vodafone Maroc SARL, Vodafone Mauritius Ltd., Vodafone Mobile Commerce Limited, Vodafone Mobile Communications Limited, Vodafone Mobile Enterprises Limited, Vodafone Mobile NZ Limited, Vodafone Mobile Network Limited, Vodafone Mobile Operations Limited, Vodafone Mobile Services Limited, Vodafone Multimedia Limited, Vodafone Nederland Holding I B.V., Vodafone Nederland Holding II B.V., Vodafone Nederland Holding III B.V., Vodafone Net Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Network Pty Limited, Vodafone New Zealand Foundation Limited, Vodafone New Zealand Limited, Vodafone Next Generation Services Limited, Vodafone Nominees Limited1, Vodafone ONO S.A.U., Vodafone Oceania Limited, Vodafone Old Show Ground Site Management Limited, Vodafone Overseas Finance Limited, Vodafone Overseas Holdings Limited, Vodafone Panafon International Holdings B.V., Vodafone Panafon UK, Vodafone Partner Services Limited, Vodafone Payment Solutions S.a r.l., Vodafone Portugal  Comunicacoes Pessoais S.A., Vodafone Procurement Company S.a r.l., Vodafone Property Investments Limited, Vodafone Pty Limited, Vodafone Qatar Q.S.C., Vodafone Retail (Holdings) Limited , Vodafone Retail Limited, Vodafone Roaming Services S.a r.l., Vodafone Romania S.A, Vodafone Romania M - Payments SRL, Vodafone Romania Technologies SRL, Vodafone Sales & Services Limited, Vodafone Satellite Services Limited, Vodafone Servicios SL.U, Vodafone Servizi E Tecnologie S.R.L, Vodafone Servicos Empresariais Brasil Ltda., Vodafone Shared Services Romania SRL, Vodafone Specialist Communications Limited, Vodafone Stiftung Deutschland Gemeinnutzige GmbH, Vodafone Technology Solutions Limited, Vodafone Teknoloji Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Tele-Services (India) Holdings Limited, Vodafone Telecel-Comunicates Pessoais S.A., Vodafone Telecommunications (India) Limited, Vodafone Telekomunikasyon A.S, Vodafone Towers Limited, Vodafone UK Content Services Limited, Vodafone UK Investments Limited , Vodafone UK Limited1 , Vodafone US Inc, Vodafone Ventures Limited1 , Vodafone Vierte Verwaltungs AG, Vodafone Worldwide Holdings Limited, Vodafone Yen Finance Limited , Vodafone m-pesa Limited, Vodafone-Central Limited Vodaphone Limited, Vodafone-Panafon Hellenic Telecommunications Company S.A., VodafoneZiggo Group Holding B.V, Vodata Limited , Vouchercloud SA (Pty) Ltd, Wataneya Telecommunications S.A.E, Waterberg Lodge (Proprietary) Limited, Wayfinder, Wheatfields Investments 276 (Proprietary) Limited, Wireless Interactions & NFC Accelerator 2013 B.V., Woodend Cellular Limited, Woodend Communications Limited, Woodend Group Limited, Woodend Holdings Limited, XB Facilities B.V, XLink Communications (Proprietary) Limited, Your Communications Group Limited, ZUM B.V., ZYB, Zelitron S.A., Zesko B.V., Ziggo B.V., Ziggo Bond Company B.V., Ziggo Deelnemingen B.V., Ziggo Finance 2 B.V., Ziggo Financing Partnership, Ziggo Holding B.V., Ziggo Netwerk B.V., Ziggo Netwerk II B.V., Ziggo Services B.V., Ziggo Services Employment B.V., Ziggo Services Netwerk 2 B.V., Ziggo Zakelijk Services B.V., and Zoranet Connectivity Services B.V..

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Global Payments Inc. provides payment technology and software solutions for card, electronic, check, and digital-based payments in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. It operates through three segments: Merchant Solutions, Issuer Solutions, and Business and Consumer Solutions. The Merchant Solutions segment offers authorization services, settlement and funding services, customer support and help-desk functions, chargeback resolution, terminal rental, sales and deployment, payment security services, consolidated billing and statements, and on-line reporting services. This segment also provides an array of enterprise software solutions that streamline business operations of its customers in various vertical markets; and value-added services, such as point-of-sale solutions, and analytic and engagement tools, as well as payroll and human capital management services. The Issuer Solutions segment offers solutions that enable financial institutions and retailers to manage their card portfolios through a platform; and commercial payments and ePayables solutions for businesses and governments. The Business and Consumer Solutions segment provides general-purpose reloadable prepaid debit and payroll cards, demand deposit accounts, and other financial service solutions to the underbanked and other consumers, and businesses under the Netspend brand. It markets its products and services through direct sales force, trade associations, agent and enterprise software providers, referral arrangements with value-added resellers, and independent sales organizations. The company was founded in 1967 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.
The Boeing Company is the worlds largest manufacturer of airplanes and commands more than 50% of the market in some channels and categories. The company and its family of subsidiaries design, develops, manufacture, sell, service, and supports commercial jetliners, military aircraft, satellites, missile defense, human space flight, and related services worldwide. The company operates through four segments including Commercial Airplanes; Defense, Space & Security; Global Services; and Boeing Capital providing products and services to end-users in 150 countries.

Boeing got its start in 1910 when William E. Boeing developed a love for aircraft. Soon after he takes his first plane ride which leads him to build a hangar and begin construction of his first plane. The onset of WWI helped spur the companys growth but business was cut drastically in its wake. The start of WWII was another milestone for the company and one that led to its current position of dominance. The company was incorporated in 1916 and is based in Chicago, Illinois. Boeing employs over 140,000 people in 65 countries making it one of the most diverse employers on the planet.

The Commercial Airplanes segment is built around the iconic 7-series which includes the 737, 747, and 787. The segment provides commercial jet aircraft for passenger and cargo requirements, as well as fleet support services for regional, national, and international air carriers and logistics and freight companies. In terms of global volume, the company estimates about 90% of all air freight is carried aboard one of its jets. This segment also includes the Dreamliner family of planes. The Dreamliner is a game-changing airplane for many carriers as it opens up the potential for new one-stop destinations because of its capacity and range.

The Defense, Space & Security segment develops and manufactures a range of systems including manned and unmanned aircraft, missiles, missile defense systems, satellites, communications equipment, and intelligence systems for governments. Among the many iconic brands within this segment are the AH-64 Apache, Air Force One, B-52, C-17 Globemaster, Chinook, F/A-18, and the V-22 Osprey VTOL aircraft used by the Marines.

The Global Services segment offers a range of products and services that include supply chain and logistics management, engineering, maintenance, upgrades, conversions, spare parts, pilot and maintenance training, technical and maintenance documents, and data analytics to its commercial and defense customers.

Boeing is also a leader in innovation, leveraging its many decades and avenues of experience to further aerospace and defense technology. Among the many innovations is the MQ-25 Stingray which will be the worlds first autonomous aircraft. The Stingray is only one of many areas of research that also include drones and undersea vehicles.
Lee Kaplan.

Last June, then-51-year-old Lee Kaplan was arrested for sexual assault after it was discovered that he fathered two children with an underage girl who was gifted to him by her ex-Amish parents. Shortly afterward, police found that the situation was even more harrowing: The Pennsylvania man was also living with eight of the girls young sisters. On Tuesday, Kaplan was found guilty of all the sex-abuse counts he faced, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

The children are the daughters of Daniel and Savilla Stoltzfus, who had once been aided financially by Kaplan during a difficult situation. The girls  who now range in age from 9 to 19  were all home-schooled by Kaplan, and he took the six eldest as his wives. The girls mother was also gifted as a wife by her husband.

Kaplan faces up to 20 to 40 years for several of the 17 charges.
Muddy Waters is using outdated information and dubious drone technology as the basis for its decision to short Asanko Gold Inc.s stock, with the sole goal of trying to make the shares worthless, the Canadian miners chief executive officer said.

The activist short-seller Muddy Waters, founded by Carson Block, issued a report last week saying it was shorting Asanko, which it believes is highly likely to end up a zero. That sent Asanko tumbling on Wednesday before the shares were halted for the day.

Their whole plan is to cut off your financing so that you do go to zero, Asanko CEO Peter Breese said Monday in an interview in Toronto. What they dont realize is weve got lots of flexibility.

The Vancouver-based miner issued a statement last week rebutting the Muddy Waters report and presented a feasibility plan for its West Africa gold mine to investors on Monday. In the interview after the presentation, Breese said Block has sharply underestimated the company.

We dont need money. We dont need equity, Breese said in the interview. We are perfectly able to survive on our own, and not just survive, but actually make money.

Even so, the report has eroded Asankos ability to raise money if something goes wrong, Breese acknowledged during the presentation. In response, it has decided to delay some spending on a conveyor for six to 12 months, ensuring it will end the year with $80 to $90 million in the bank. The company has the option to delay the conveyor spending for as many as four years, he added.

Asanko fell 2.4 per cent to $2.07 at 12:43 p.m. on Monday, giving the company a market value of $420.8 million. The shares are down 18 per cent since Tuesday, the day before the Muddy Waters report was made public.

Breese said Muddy Waters used an outdated resource model from 2014 to make its conclusions, choosing to ignore the findings of a more up-to-date model published in February of this year. He also disputed the reports findings on the steps and spending needed to deal with a side-wall failure at the mine.

How do I even comment when they are not even using the right models? he said in the interview. Despite us publicly doing a road show on the new resource, theyve elected to use the old resource model, which is totally irrelevant for business planning purposes.

A Muddy Waters spokesperson said Block wasnt immediately available to comment. In an interview last Wednesday, Block said Asanko had backed itself into a corner from which it was unlikely to escape without gold rallying to $1,700 an ounce.

Spot gold was trading at $1,279.56 an ounce at 12:42 p.m. in New York on Monday.

Muddy Waters said its 43-page report included analysis based on information from 21 sources in Ghana with extensive knowledge of Asankos operations.

Breese says Block has never reached out to his company, nor have Muddy Waters investigators visited the mine site.

The Muddy Waters report was released almost a year after K2 & Associates Investment Management, a Toronto-based activist hedge fund, took a short position in Asanko and said the miner had 90 per cent downside potential. At the time, Asanko responded by standing by its 2016 guidance and called the K2 report seriously misleading.

However, on Monday, Breese said it was the K2 report that prompted Asanko to seek a second opinion from industry consultant CSA Global, which ultimately resulted in it adopting the new resource model. Its previous model  the one Breese says is being used by Block  was drawn up by CJM Consulting, he said.

More details of the CSA model will be published in July, Breese said, but in the meantime, he hopes shareholders will take a long-term view despite the Muddy Waters report.

They can carry on slinging mud at me, Breese said. The only problem is they are destroying shareholder value.

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Sandra Pearson and Wanda Gosse spent much of May floating in inner tubes in the Mediterranean Sea  for the price of brushing a pair of pups teeth.

The Toronto-based couple scored their Greek island accommodation as a thank you after staying at a Tudor-style home in Kingston upon Thames, England  for free  where they fed, walked and cleaned the teeth of the homeowners two scruffy dogs while they were away.

The travel- and animal-loving retirees arranged the gig through U.K.-based Trusted Housesitters  a website that matches homeowners with people willing to house- and pet-sit in exchange for a place to stay. (Free accommodation in Greece after the fact is not usually included).

A lot of people hear what we do and they say, Oh, thats great, I should do that,  said Pearson. Its more than just getting free accommodation; its a commitment to taking care of someones pet.

Pet- and house-sitting is yet another industry on the rise as part of the worlds sharing economy. TrustedHousesitters, which launched in North America this May, is among several websites, such as Australian-based Nomador.com and New Zealands MindMyHouse.com, connecting people with mutually beneficial home- and pet-sitting opportunities.

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The TrustedHousesitters community is now almost a half-a-million strong and the website has set up more than two million nights of house-sitting, said Rachel Martin, 42, who founded TrustedHousesitters with Andy Peck, 46. The couple, based in Brighton, England, responded to the Star via email because they were travelling in Greece celebrating their upcoming marriage.

Membership on TrustedHousesitters currently costs $99 per year. Members are required to sign a code of conduct when they join and, like accommodations- and transportation-sharing services Airbnb and Uber, the service relies heavily on user reviews as a means of accountability.

Newcomers to the website can add references from friends and colleagues to help fill out their profiles, explained Martin. There is no definition of an ideal house-sitter because it suits anybody who loves pets who can show they are trusted and reliable, she said.

Peck told the Star he got the idea for the site after house-sitting and bonding with a dog named Dave at an amazing property in Spain in 2010.

To start, the couple sold everything they owned and flew around the world to gather ideas for the site, recruiting their first members in-person along the way.

Since no money is paid to the sitter by the homeowner, house-sitters are often covered under the owners home insurance, said Martin, and the website has an all-hours support line. But, she suggests all members check beforehand to know what to do if an incident does arise.

Exactly what each house-sitting assignment entails is decided between the sitter and the homeowner.

A recent scroll through the website led to listings seeking pet-sitters for two rescue cats in a Singaporean condo, two Frenchies in Norwich, U.K., who require a daily 15-minute walk plus cuddles, and two hamsters and two dogs (one who is a diaper-wearing pug) in an ocean-overlooking penthouse in Long Beach, Calif.

Theyre not all 3-year-old dogs that are happy to go for a long walk. Weve taken care of some ill pets, some pets that needed serious medication, Pearson said, recalling taking care of a blind dog and a cat that needed regular intravenous meds in past sits.

Pearson and Gosses house-sitting journey started as an attempt to make their travel funds go a bit further (this beat out other work-for-housing hacks, such as olive picking).

Since they signed up to TrustedHousesitters four years ago, Pearson, 53, and Gosse, 55, have established themselves among the top-ranked Canadians using the site. Their profile boasts almost 50 references and comes with the highest level of security verification available.

Initially, the couple house- and pet-sat mostly in Toronto and the GTA, but now that theyre retired theyre ready to take on the world, eager to use the service to escape Canadian winters.

The duo even launched their own Pets and Abode Sitting website and are now at a point where people schedule their vacations around their availability instead of the reverse.

U.K.-based Jo-Anne Greene, 66, who gifted the stay at her Crete vacation home to the couple, has hired several different couples to care for her and her partners two small dogs, Ellie and Truby.

Its a leap of faith, and I think a lot of people couldnt do it, she said, adding she always meets her house-sitters  at least via Skype  beforehand and has turned down people she didnt feel comfortable leaving her dogs with.

We just didnt get a warm, fuzzy feeling from some people, Greene said. If people are trusting, and it works both ways, then I think its a great thing.

She said good communication is one of the most important parts of a happy house-sitting relationship. She appreciated that Pearson and Gosse sent her regular updates with photos of her dogs.

Co-founder Peck said he knows of people who sold their house to live a completely nomadic house-sitting life. He predicts this type of arrangement  where being a reliable, honest and kind consumer pays off  will expand to other industries.

This is the economy of the future: the trust economy.

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OTTAWAConservatives are rallying around Andrew Scheer and the election that made him the new party leader, with one MP blaming sour grapes for internal complaints about the voting process.

Conservative MPs on Monday were keen to sidestep questions whether there might have been problems with the leadership vote  and the potential acrimony it might seed in Scheers early days as leader  and instead deferred the issue to the party to address.

I expect that everything will be answered in time by the party and I know that as members of the caucus were behind the newly elected leader, said Kelly Block, MP for the Saskatchewan riding of Carlton Trail  Eagle Creek.

Scheer was elected leader of the Conservative party on May 27, an unexpected victory over front-runner Maxime Bernier.

But media reports since then have highlighted a discrepancy between the total number of votes cast in the Conservative leadership race and the final voter ID list provided to the 13 leadership campaigns.

In all, the party counted roughly 141,000 votes and determined that Scheer won a razor-thin majority of support ahead of Bernier. Unofficial lists provided to the campaigns however, listed approximately 133,000 voters, a large enough discrepancy to potentially alter the final outcome.

The party blames the discrepancy on human error and problems updating the central database.

Conservative insiders unhappy with the process say they arent looking for another vote, only the partys assurance that it will investigate the concerns and ensure any problems are fixed for next time.

Yet Marilyn Gladu, MP for Sarnia-Lambton and a Scheer supporter, blamed sour grapes among some of the losing leadership camps for the complaints.

All the losing teams all are having their say, Gladu told reporters. Im sure thats for the party to come and call them to account. Its not helpful, obviously.

Conservative MP Diane Watts said that each leadership camp had scrutineers to oversee the ballot counts.

Watts denied that the legitimacy of Scheers win was in question. Not at all. I mean, you know, if theres any questions to be answered, theyll be answered, she said.

Meanwhile Scheer faced off against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for the first time as Conservative leader in question period Monday, a polite encounter that was overshadowed by the continuing fallout of the London terror attack that left a Canadian woman dead.

I want to thank the prime minister for his statement and trust that all members stand in solidarity at this time, Scheer said in the Commons, asking Trudeau for an update on the governments response to the attack.

Trudeau offered his condolences to the family and friends of Christine Archibald, the Canadian who was killed. And he noted that he spoke with U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May to state that Canada stands in solidarity with the British people.

With files from Alex Boutilier

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OTTAWACanada is preparing to boost its military spending and is reaffirming its commitments to international trade and the fight against climate change as its girds for a new world order where many Americans want to shrug off the burden of world leadership, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland says.

In what was billed as a major speech on Canadas foreign policy priorities, Freeland sketched out the challenges the country faces today  climate change, Daesh extremists, Russian aggression  and the prospect that the United States may no longer play the active role it has in the past on the world stage.

Speaking in the Commons, she acknowledged the dramatic changes unfolding in Washington under U.S. President Donald Trump, who has pulled out of a global climate change pact, assailed member nations in the NATO alliance for not paying their fair share and talked up protectionist trade barriers.

While Freeland called the United States the indispensable nation in the postwar world order, she suggested that those times may be coming to an end.

It would be naive or hypocritical to claim . . . that all Americans today agree. Indeed, many of the voters in last years presidential election cast their ballots, animated in part by a desire to shrug off the burden of world leadership. To say this is not controversial: it is simply a fact, Freeland said.

The fact that our friend and ally has come to question the very worth of its mantle of global leadership, puts into sharper focus the need for the rest of us to set our own clear and sovereign course. For Canada that course must be the renewal, indeed the strengthening, of the postwar multilateral order.

For Canada, that means more money for the military to better equip it to deal with global threats, she said.

To put it plainly: Canadian diplomacy and development sometimes require the backing of hard power. Force is of course always a last resort. But the principled use of force, together with our allies and governed by international law, is part of our history and must be part of our future, she said.

Freeland pledged a substantial investment in the military to not only redress years of neglect and underfunding, but also to place the Canadian Armed Forces on a new footing  with the equipment, training, resources and consistent, predictable financing.

The Liberal government is expected to reveal more on that front Wednesday when it releases its defence policy review, a document that will detail military policy and funding for the coming years.

Freeland acknowledged that having the U.S. as a neighbour has brought benefits but she cautioned that Canada cant afford to take a free ride on American military might.

To rely solely on the U.S. security umbrella would make us a client state, she said, adding that such a dependence would not be in Canadas interest.

Academic Stephanie Carvin said the speech spells out Canadas vision in what she calls a post-American world, though with few details of how that vision will become a reality.

This is the first articulation of where Canada is going to go in a world where Trump is president of the United States, said Carvin, an assistant professor of international affairs at Carleton University.

Were basically preparing for a post-American world, which is pretty astonishing . . . a world where the United States is no longer the global leader.

How do you now deal with an American that no longer has bipartisan consensus, no longer wants to bear the cost of leadership, nor wants to be basically a moral leader at all.

Canada is not the first to raise the prospect of Washington exiting the world stage. German Chancellor Angela Merkel left a G7 summit meeting that included Trump with the pointed declaration that saying that Europe really must take our fate into our own hands.

Trump was never mentioned by name in Freelands speech. But in reaffirming Canadas position on a number of global issues, Freeland made plain the gulf that exists between Ottawa and the White House.

Faced with a president who believes that trade has gutted American jobs, Freeland responded that international trade is the wrong target.

Lets be clear on this point: it is wrong to view the woes of our middle class as the result of fiendish behaviour by foreigners, she said.

She dismissed the idea of a Canada first foreign policy  in contrast to Trumps American first policies  declaring that such an approach would be wrong.

Instead, she underscored the need for the global co-operation, stressing that no one nation can go it alone to confront todays challenges.

For Canada, that means robustly supporting what Freeland called the rules-based international order and institutions such as the G7, NATO and the UN.

In those forums, Canada will promote Canadian values that include feminism, and the promotion of the rights of women and girls, Freeland said.

Womens rights are human rights. That includes sexual reproductive rights and the right to safe and accessible abortions. These rights are at the core of our foreign policy, she said.

In the days ahead, International Development Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau will unveil a feminist international assistance policy that will target womens rights and gender equality, Freeland said.

We will put Canada at the forefront of this global effort.

She said Canada has a huge interest in an international order based on rules.

The single most important pillar of this, which emerged following the carnage of the First and Second World Wars, is the sanctity of borders. And that principle, today, is under siege, she said.

Thats why countries rallied behind Ukraine, after Russias annexation of Crimea, and why the global community has joined in the fight against Daesh in Syria and Iraq, she said.

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Another pillar of Canadas foreign policy will be trade, starting with the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement and renewed efforts to diversify trade worldwide, she said.

We will actively seek new trade agreements that further Canadian economic interests and that reflect our values, Freeland said.

She touted the benefits of trade, saying barriers to global commerce in the 1930s proved costly.

Rising trade barriers hurt the people they are intended to help. They curb growth, stifle innovation and kill employment. This is a lesson we should learn from history, Freeland said.

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OTTAWAThe Liberal government will explicitly state in law that a sex assault complainant cannot consent to sex while unconscious and that sexual texts, photos or videos cannot be used to discredit a complainant.

It is part of the Liberals latest effort to clean up the Criminal Code and other laws to more accurately reflect developments in the common law  Canadian law as it is shaped on a case-by-case basis by judges.

Outdated criminal prohibitions against duelling or possessing crime comics and other archaic offences will be dropped.

The proposals do not change or set out to define how drunk is too drunk to consent to sex. Government officials say questions around intoxication and drug impairment are subtle and sophisticated issues that involve questions of fact and law, and are best left to individual judges to decide.

Advocates for sex assault victims welcomed Tuesdays proposals, saying the fact the government needs to codify what judges should already understand highlights the challenges facing complainants in Canadian courts.

Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres co-ordinator Nicole Pietsah said the bill seems aimed at operationalizing the law for judges or defence lawyers who do not get it.

In fact, a lot of our laws are actually really good on paper . . . but what actually happens is quite different once cases get to court, said Pietsah.

She pointed to the case of the Halifax judge who acquitted a taxi driver of sexually assaulting a young woman found drunk and unconscious in his cab. In the much-criticized ruling now being appealed by the Crown, the judge wrote, clearly, a drunk can consent.

The notion that a woman who is falling down drunk or unconscious cannot consent to sex seems like a no-brainer to the rest of us, Pietsah added.

I think it is promising that theres political will to actually take charge of that culture or habit of courts to get it wrong, said Amanda Dale, executive director of the Barbra Schlifer Clinic.

Ever since a 2011 Supreme Court of Canada decision that said an unconscious person is incapable of consenting to sex, the law should have been clear. In that case, the high court ruled the definition of consent requires the ongoing, conscious agreement of the complainant to participate in the sexual activity while it is occurring.

In some cases, surveillance video is key, as last year when a Toronto judge convicted Moazzam Tariq of sexually assaulting a woman who was falling-down drunk on hotel surveillance footage. The woman, the judge said, clearly had no capacity to consent.

Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould said the package will boost protections for sex assault victims, and ensure trial fairness for all involved.

Justice officials said none of the changes had anything to do with the Jian Ghomeshi case or other high-profile cases where consent or the credibility of complainants were at issue.

The amendments would clarify that sexting, texts, emails, photos or videos of a sexual nature or for a sexual purpose from before or after an alleged assault could not be used against a complainant, and instead would be put to the same legal test known as the rape shield law.

Under rape shield provisions now, a complainants private medical records are not admissible in a trial unless the accused can prove they are key to disproving the allegations and vital to his constitutional right to a fair trial. Such material cannot, however, be used to support a defendants claim that the complainant is blameworthy  more likely to have consented to sexual activity or is less worthy of belief  the so-called twin myths in rape cases.

The proposed changes would add personal emails or communications as well as other kinds of personal records, like personal diaries or counselling advice, to the list of inadmissible records.

In addition, sex assault victims would clearly have a right to their own legal counsel in the legal proceedings where such rape shield questions are decided. Courts would inform them of that right and be required to hear their objections to having their private records or emails or photos dragged into court.

The changes would codify existing restrictions when a defendant may not use the defence of an honest, but mistaken belief that the other person consented to sex. For example, it is not legally possible to claim that a third party offered consent, or for an accused to say the complainants failure to resist or protest meant she consented to sex, or for an accused to claim ignorance of the law.

Victims of sex assault and gender-based violence must be accorded the dignity they deserve, Wilson-Raybould told reporters.

The changes do not address the misuse of existing laws like the case that surfaced in Alberta this week, where a judge ordered a sex assault complainant to be held in jail over the five days she was to testify against a man accused of savagely attacking and sexually assaulting her. But Wilson-Raybould didnt rule out future alterations to the law.

The federal justice minister said she would work with the Alberta justice minister to address concerns such as those. She said she was proud of what the government has done to enhance the training of the judiciary, and to clarify laws around sex assault to uphold the dignity of victims of sexual assault.

The bill would repeal 20 criminal offences that are outdated or invalidated by court decisions, where criminal laws of general application, like fraud or assault, can cover crimes, including challenging someone to a duel or possessing crime comics such as Dick Tracy or The Watchmen, which were once thought to corrupt the morals of youth.

Other offences to be dropped:

Advertising a reward for the return of stolen property no questions asked

Blasphemous libel, an offence that has its origins in the 17th century when blasphemy was considered an offence against God. (Its repeal would enhance freedom of expression and religious belief.)

Fraudulently pretending to practice witchcraft

Issuing trading stamps, a provision that some thought could be applied to Air Miles or other corporate loyalty programs.

Bill C-51 would also create a new duty for the justice minister to publicly release a charter statement on every government bill that would outline its impact on the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and explicitly state whether a law might be inconsistent with the charter in any respect.

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Its long been apparent that the Liberal legalization of marijuana in this country is not going to provide the mellow buzz the government had sought.

Were more than a year out from promised legislation, but theres smoke on the horizon.

The Canadian Medical Association has condemned the legal age of 18 being set by the federal Liberals, citing data that shows early marijuana use leads to everything from depression and anxiety to a lifetime dependency rate of 17 per cent for those who start smoking as teenagers. Thats almost double the rate of those who begin use after their brains mature at age 25.

Too much has been offloaded on provinces who argue they will not have time to properly initiate and regulate a supply system when the federal law is in place, as promised, in about 13 months. They will be responsible for distribution, regulations on smoking in public places, compliance  and can set a different age limit higher than the federal legal age.

Big city mayors want a slice of the revenue to offset costs they will incur from police enforcement to processing business licensing applications.

There is some polling evidence that Canadian support for legalization is softening  especially over the age 18 limit  as the details of the law become better known.

There is time for the government and the provinces to get this right, but there are two problems that transcend regulation and distribution.

By refusing to decriminalize something it has promised to legalize in a year, the government is being hypocritical by allowing Canadians to be charged for simple pot possession. It must be prepared to announce a blanket amnesty for anyone convicted of marijuana possession in this country and be prepared to move with lightning speed once its bill becomes law.

And it must work with the Donald Trump administration to ensure that Canadians will not be turned back at the border for admitting to doing something that is legal in this country. Thats a tall order.

The government believes decriminalizing pot possession now or announcing a plan for blanket pardons would allow existing laws to be widely flaunted.

But they appear ready to move.

Scott Bardsley, a spokesperson for Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, says as the legislation proceeds, the government intends to consider options about what can be done to make things fairer for Canadians who have been previously convicted for minor possession offences.

Calls for amnesty are coming from all sides, and within the Liberal caucus the loudest voice has been that of Nathaniel Erskine-Smith who represents the Toronto riding of Beaches-East York.

He was contacted by a constituent  an old high school classmate  who was charged with possession in Espanola, Ont. He received a conditional discharge, but even that can cause difficulties crossing the border.

Erskine-Smith reminds that amnesty was part of the original party resolution on legalizing marijuana, and he believes his government is prepared to do the right thing.

Once we pass the legislation, it is important to undo the past injustices of this incredibly outdated law and to suspend the criminal records of any Canadian affected by a possession charge and a record, he said. He also believes there should be no more charges for simple possession.

Right now, Canadians are eligible for pardons after five years. Erskine-Smith is hoping to see a ministerial directive waiving the five-year waiting period for those recently convicted.

As recently as 2013, 59,000 Canadians were charged with simple cannabis possession.

But even though Statistics Canada reports cannabis offences declined for four consecutive years (a 15 per cent drop from 2014 to 2015) there were still nearly 49,000 possession charges in 2015.

According to the NDP, 15,000 people, including 7,000 under 25, have been arrested for possession since Justin Trudeau announced his plans to legalize.

Many of those charged are not just young, but marginalized and racialized. The charges hamper their ability to work or travel to the U.S.

Legalization does not change American laws, and this is not a Washington administration that shows signs of looking the other way out of respect for its neighbours more liberalized laws.

It would appear to be a matter of simple logic. No one should have to carry a criminal record or face travel restrictions for using something our government wants to legalize.

Tim Harper writes on national affairs. tjharper77@gmail.com , Twitter: @nutgraf1

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CC Lounge & Whiskey Bar. Pravda Vodka Bar. The Brass Rail.

A night on the gin-joint town. And on the newbie tab, at least the part where a bill was presented.

Rookie Buy Night it was called, the scrubeenie in this case a cub cop, or wannabe cop, that was her ambition, all of them working out of 51 Division.

It was Friday, January 16, 2015.

And it would end in a hotel room, many hours later, with an alleged sexual assault by three Toronto constables against a female parking enforcement officer.

Leslie Nyznik, Joshua Cabero and Sameer Kara each pleaded not guilty to the charges a week ago when the trial was to have started with jury selection. In a surprise last-minute move, however, the defendants opted to have the case heard by judge-alone.

That proceeding got underway Monday.

An admission of facts  the part that isnt being contested  is brief. The accused admit being with the complainant  her name protected by a publication ban  throughout the evening, as they meandered from one saloon to another. A couple of other officers in the original party group checked out earlier. Also departing the scene at the Pravda point  because hed thrown up on himself  was Kara. A colleague helped him get to the Westin Harbour Castle Hotel on the nearby waterfront.

A room there had been booked just after noon, with Nyznik checking in around 2:06 p.m., just after finishing his shift.

Those facts arent in contention. Security video from the hotel shows Nyznik entering the elevator, plastic bags in hand. Kara, leaning heavily into his colleague, is also captured lurching into the hotel a couple of hours before midnight.

At 12:20 a.m., Nyznik and Cabero arrive at the Westin in the company of the complainant. Up the elevator they all go, to Room 2340.

At about 3:30 a.m., now into Saturday, the complainant is seen leaving the hotel alone, getting into a cab. Within 15 minutes shed sent a text about the incident to a friend.

What transpired in those three hours?

Mr. Nyznik, Mr. Kara, Mr. Cabero and (the complainant) are alone in that hotel room, Crown Attorney Mabel Lai told Justice Anne Molloy in her condensed opening. The dispute is about what happened in that hotel room during that time.

The Crown will allege that the three defendants before the court variously engaged in intercourse and oral sex with (the complainant) without consent. That will be the crux of the Crowns case.

The festivities, court heard, had begun at the Westin. Just after 6 p.m., the group migrated to the CC Lounge. Thats where the complainant joined them around 8:45.

There is an abundance of video documenting most of this, though no footage was recovered by investigators from Pravda.

In the broad outline provided by Lai, the Crown said the complainant will relate what she did in the nine days between the alleged incident and her formal reporting of it to her supervisor on January 26.

In the interim, the complainant had spoken about the event to friends. Shed also gone, over that weekend, to two Toronto hospitals.

Lai said court would hear, from among a long list of witnesses  the trial is expected to last four or five weeks  the evidence of two expert witnesses, one of them a toxicologist. I expect shell tell you that urine and blood samples collected  on January 19, by a sexual assault specialist nurse, yielded no significant findings for drugs or alcohol.

Also scheduled to testify is a forensic biologist who will speak to DNA profiles taken from a rectal swab, an external general swab taken from the complainant, the outside of her bustier, inside crotch area of her jeans and her blouse.

Based on Karas DNA profile, he cannot be excluded as the donor of the semen on these items, said Lai.

The probability of Kara and a randomly selected individual unrelated to him would share that DNA profile is about 1 in 440 million for the rectal swab and 1 in 68 trillion for the other swabs.

A second DNA profile was taken from a swab taken from the complainants pendant necklace and brassiere cups, said Lai. Based on Nyzniks DNA profile, the forensic biologist is expected to explain that officer cant be excluded as the donor of the semen found on those articles, and the probability that Nyznik and a randomly selected individual unrelated to him would share that DNA profile is about 1 in 490 quadrillion.

The trial hasnt got to any of that yet.

Instead, the first day was spent almost entirely on a laborious scrutiny of the stills and video collected by investigators, with Nyzniks defence lawyer Joanne Mulcahy doing all the cross-examination heavy lifting on behalf of the three top-drawer defence teams, a go-to cast featuring Harry Black, Patrick Ducharme and Alan Gold.

With Det. Sgt. Jeffrey Attenborough  at the time with the criminal investigations unit from Professional Standards and lead investigator on the case  in the witness stand, Mulcahy educed a litany of shortcomings and gaps in the video evidence collected. Attenborough, who went on vacation just after the case was opened, had no explanation for why video from all the surveillance cameras at the CC Lounge had not been recovered, nor why footage from various hotel cameras was missing, even though those images had been documented by the hotels security staff in the camera activity report turned over along with the UBS flash drive.

Example: Footage purportedly showing two of the accused leaving the Westin at 8:45 Saturday morning, apparently going for a walk, and returning shortly thereafter. All three are seen leaving together in a cab once Nyznik checked out at 9:12 a.m.

That original missing hotel video is no longer available, due to a video crash which erased the material, except for one clip subsequently located.

All the other footage is gone? asked Mulcahy.

Attenborough: To my knowledge, yes maam.

The relevance of the missing video is unclear, beyond the implication that the investigation had been sloppy and inept.

Rosie DiManno usually appears Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

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A family is outraged after a police dashboard camera video caught two officers insulting a woman with Down syndrome.

Pamela Munoz was pulled over in November and ticketed by an officer for an alleged traffic violation when driving with her daughter, Francie, who has Down syndrome, CP24 reported.

Munoz planned to contest the ticket and got the police officers dashcam video through disclosure. When she was listening to it, she heard all of the derogatory terms they (the police officers) used to describe Francie, she told CP24. We were very hurt. I was absolutely enraged.

In a Facebook post, Francies father shared a transcript of the video, which shows the officers talking about Francie and calling her a little disfigured, while laughing.

An officer then says or different,  laughing again, before saying Artistic. Thats gonna be my new code word for . . . different.

The men and women of the Toronto Police Service go out there and try to do a good job each and every day, police Chief Mark Saunders told CP24. By no means is this situation a fair representation of what goes on on a day-to-day basis.

Chief Saunders has spoken with the family, confirmed Toronto police spokesperson Meaghan Gray.

There is an ongoing internal investigation, said Gray, adding discipline for police officers could range from a reprimand to dismissal.

Note - August 18, 2017: This article was edited from a previous version to update the headline.

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Deputy Mayor Vincent Crisanti and Police Supt. Ron Taverner have appealed to the public to help catch a gunman in a Sunday evening shootout in April in Rexdale in front of several community members.

A shooting victim at 1800 Martin Grove Road was treated in hospital for injuries while the gunman escaped, police say.

Thank God that no one else was injured, Crisanti told a press conference on Tuesday. That could have happened.

Crisanti said there were plenty of witnesses to the shooting, which took place at 6:07 pm on April 23.

Somebody knows the shooter, Crisanti said. The shooter is still out there.

He appealed to associates of the men and members of the public to come forward.

Theres no future in what theyre doing, Crisanti said. Their days are numbered in what theyre doing.

Crisanti said that he has raised his family in the area of the shooting.

It angers me greatly that this type of thing continues to happen, Crisanti said. The parking lot is full.

Taverner said the shooting shows just a callous disregard for life and people.

A video released by police show two men were walking away from a group.

One of them takes something out of a handbag.

The other man then brandishes a firearm and both men attempt to shoot each other.

One of the men crumples to the pavement, after being shot several times in the lower body area while the other man flees.

A driver of a SUV tends to the victim, who hands over what appears to be a handgun with an extended magazine.

The driver and shooting victim then drive away.

Less than 20 minutes later, police were called to an underground parking lot at 345 Dixon Road, for reports that a male had been shot.

That shooting victim matched the description of the victim in the Martin Grove Road shooting.

The victim was taken to hospital.

The suspect is described as male, black, light complexion, 20-25, 58-510, with a heavy build, black braided hair, and a thin beard.

Police say the driver of the SUV is Liban Hussein, 22, of Toronto. Hes wanted for several outstanding firearm-related offences.

He is described as black, light complexion, 510, 220 lbs., with short black hair, clean-shaven.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-2306, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), online at www.222tips.com , or text TOR and your message to CRIMES (274637). The public can download the free Crime Stoppers Mobile App on iTunes, Google Play or Blackberry App World.

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Avery Swartzs 6-year-old daughter, Clara, was looking forward to summer camp on Toronto Island. After all, riding the ferry is kind of magical, and she would get to do it every day.

But with the citys announcement last week that permits have been withdrawn until at least the end of July, Clara, like many other campers, wont get to go to the island.

I told her that the island is closed, because thats an easy way to explain it to a 6-year-old, said Swartz, who added that Clara understood from news coverage that the lakes water levels are very high.

Island flooding has forced hundreds of Toronto parents to make backup arrangements for July. Four city camps located on the island affect 350 campers, according to spokesperson Wynna Brown.

Staff have been reaching out to contact parents, family by family, to find alternatives that meet their needs, or to facilitate refunds where required, she wrote in an email.

In addition to the four city camps, there are other camps located on the Island, with hundreds more campers affected. These include Toronto Island YMCA Camp, Toronto Island Canoe Club Camp and the Island Natural Science School camp. Around 300 campers per week will be affected at the YMCA camp alone.

Clara will attend an alternative YMCA camp on the mainland along with her friends, although the final site hasnt been determined.

Theyve been doing a good job of keeping us updated, said Swartz.

Leigh Coffey, the manager for summer day camps for the YMCA of Greater Toronto told Metro: We want to assure parents that their children will be well cared for this summer. Parents do not need to reregister and every camper will have a camp to go to.

She added that alternate plans would be confirmed by June 15, and while not many parents have withdrawn their children full refunds will be given to those who do so.

In other island news, the flight of the peacock has ended. Last week we brought you the saga of Eyeball, the rogue peacock who fled his Centreville Amusement Park petting zoo for freedom on the slightly-more-dry Wards Island. Shawnda Walker, the spokesperson for Centreville, tells Metro that Eyeball wandered into a solarium at a seniors residence on the island. They shut the doors and kept him there until Centreville officials were ready to take him on the ferry to a private farm on Friday. Eyeball will return to the island with the other animals when the flooding has subsided.

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Metrolinx is considering subjecting workers who operate GO Transit and the Union Pearson Express (UPX) to random drug and alcohol tests.

The TTC began random spot checks of its workers in safety-sensitive positions last month in a move that provoked fierce pushback from the transit workers union.

Metrolinx, the provincial agency in charge of GO Transit bus and rail lines as well as the UPX airport train service, confirmed it is mulling a policy of its own.

According to Metrolinx spokesperson Anne Marie Aikins, the agency formed a committee of lawyers and human resources staff last year to study the potentially thorny issue.

Aikins said Metrolinx has an excellent safety record but that random testing could make your system even safer.

Some of our positions are driving trains, theyre driving buses on highways fast, with lots of customers, so there is a high risk associated with their job if they arent fit for duty, she said.

The implementation of any testing policy would likely be complicated by the makeup of Metrolinxs workforce.

The agency directly employs about 870 GO bus drivers, but the more than 850 people who operate UPX and GO train service work for Bombardier, which is under contract to Metrolinx.

Metrolinx has no direct control over testing for Bombardier employees, although it could ask the company to match any policy it puts in place.

Asked if Bombardier would support random testing, a spokesperson for the Quebec-based rail manufacturer said safety is paramount and the company welcomes all discussions to further reinforce a safe travel and work environment.

Reached by phone, the president of Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 1587, which represents GO bus drivers, declined to answer questions. Officials at Teamsters Canada Rail Conference Division 660, which represents Metrolinxs Bombardier employees, did not return requests for comment.

The president of Local 1587s national parent organization said he opposed random testing, however.

Its a breach of the employees human rights, said Paul Thorp, who heads ATU Canada.

He also raised concerns about the reliability of the tests. Theres a lot of false positives... I think that the science is not there as of yet, he said.

How quickly or how easily Metrolinx could move ahead with random testing is far from clear.

The TTC and its union have been locked in labour arbitration over the Toronto agencys policy since 2011, and the outcome of the case is still pending. The transit commission was only given the conditional green light for random testing in April after a Superior Court judge rejected the unions application for an injunction against it.

Metrolinx doesnt currently test its employees for drugs and alcohol, but says it takes a zero-tolerance approach and performs unannounced check-ins with drivers to ensure they comply. If a supervisor believes a driver is impaired, agency policy is to call police.

Bombardier does test its employees for drugs and alcohol, but only under certain circumstances, such as after an accident or if there is reasonable suspicion the worker is impaired on the job.

Aikins said she was not aware of any safety incidents on GO or UPX that were caused by impaired employees. But in April a GO bus driver made headlines when police charged him with impaired driving.

Read more: GO bus driver charged with impaired driving

The driver was returning from an eight-hour shift operating between Union Station and Mississauga when a supervisor concerned about his behaviour called police. The driver blew more than three times the legal limit on a breathalyzer test.

The TTC implemented its policy on May 8, and since then five employees out of about 200 randomly selected have tested positive for allegedly being impaired on the job  one for alcohol, and four for undisclosed drugs. None of the employees was a driver.

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Enbridge (NYSE: ENB) doesn't get enough credit for how good it has been to investors over the years. The Canadian pipeline giant has paid dividends to shareholders for more than 64 years, including increasing the payout for the last 22 consecutive years. Furthermore, these haven't just been trivial increases just to keep the streak alive because it has grown its payout by an average compound annual rate of 11.2% over the past 20 years.
In the hours before Toronto police shot and killed Devon LaFleur, they were informed by his friend that he was carrying a pellet gun, says Ontarios Special Investigations Unit.

His mother, Rena LaFleur, says officers were also told her son had serious mental health issues and had stopped taking his medication.

Devon LaFleur was wanted for armed robbery and car theft when, on the night of March 4, 2016, he was hit with eight police bullets on a North York street.

The SIU, which investigates deaths, serious injuries or alleged sexual assaults involving police, announced on Monday that no charges would be laid against officers in LaFleurs death.

In a news release, SIU director Tony Loparco said there was no doubt in (his) mind that the shooting was justified.

Devon LaFleur had pointed a pellet pistol that looked exactly like a real firearm at an officer, Loparco said.

But LaFleurs family, who live in Ottawa, say they spent the entire day he died trying to get Devon safely into custody, and care.

We wanted to make sure that everybody knew that he had a pellet gun and had been off of his meds and that he needed help, said his sister, Sascha LaFleur.

(We were) trying to facilitate him getting to a hospital as quickly as possible  If I had known this was the way things would go down, I would have gone and gotten him myself.

None of the officers involved in LaFleurs death has been named, and neither the SIU nor any other public body has acknowledged Devon LaFleurs identity.

The SIUs policy is not to name victims without the familys consent.

Rena LaFleur told the Star that her family had asked the SIU not to reveal her sons name. The family decided among themselves that they would not speak publicly about Devons death until after the SIU report came out.

Devon, who lived in Ottawa, was diagnosed with schizophrenia at age 18, his mother said.

The last time she saw him, a few weeks before his death, he was doing as well as he had ever been, she added.

He was being treated by a team of mental health professionals, including a psychiatrist, and was having his medication reviewed on a regular basis, Rena LaFleur said.

But Devons father, whom he lived with, told the family that Devon had stopped taking his medication in the days immediately before his death, Rena said, adding that when off his meds, Devons behaviour could become erratic and his thinking unclear.

Rena LaFleur, a registered social worker, said police should have approached their confrontation with her son differently, knowing that he had mental health issues and was off his medication.

Devon (was) my beautiful boy and, from our perspective, he was gunned down by public servants who were hired to serve and protect, she said.

I have no illusions that Devon didnt do something wrong, but he did not deserve to die the way that he died.

Rena LaFleur said she has read the recommendations made to Toronto police by retired Supreme Court justice Frank Iacobucci, on how better to deal with people with mental health issues.

But Rena said she is concerned officers are not fulfilling those recommendations, made in the wake of the Toronto police shooting death of Sammy Yatim.

I think there should be a (police) college like there is with other professions where they can be held publicly accountable for their actions, Rena LaFleur said.

The SIU has publicly released only a summary of its report on Devon LaFleurs death. Rena LaFleur told the Star that the SIU revealed to her the full contents of the report, but did not give her a copy of it.

Toronto police did not immediately provide comment for this story.

The SIUs public summary of the report states that police were aware Devon was in possession of a pellet gun at some point during the day he died.

The summary does not mention his mental health. However, Rena LaFleur told the Star that the full SIU report states that Toronto police were aware of her sons mental health issues.

The SIU summary refers to the shooting victim only as a 30-year-old man, but Devon LaFleurs family has identified him as the victim in question.

The summary says that, on March 4, 2016, Ottawa police were investigating Devon LaFleur in an alleged armed robbery and car theft.

Rena LaFleur says the family shared details about his mental health with the Ottawa police, along with the fact that a pellet gun, which looked much like a real handgun, had been taken from the family home.

Sascha LaFleur said that the family learned her brother was headed to Toronto to visit his friend Julie Knetsch.

After speaking with the LaFleur family, Knetsch, who in the SIU report is referred to only as the friend, called Toronto police, Sascha said.

Knestch told police about Devons mental health issues and about the pellet gun, Sascha said.

Knetsch also revealed to officers that Devon was going to meet her near Bayview and Steeles Aves., the SIU report said.

Rena LaFleur said that, according to the full SIU report, Toronto police planned to send plainclothes officers to intercept Devon, but the plan was later changed and uniformed officers in marked police cars were sent instead.

After officers arrived at the rendezvous point, Knetsch and Devon LaFleur pulled up in a taxi, the SIU report said.

Devon got out of the cab and faced police officers with what appeared to be  a handgun at his side, according to the SIU.

Officers repeatedly yelled at him to drop his gun, to which he repeatedly replied, What are you going to do?

After Knetsch tried unsuccessfully to wrest the pellet gun out of Devons hand, he raised his arm, pointing the CO2-powered pistol toward an officer, the SIU summary said.

Three police officers opened fire on him, hitting him with eight bullets, according the summary.

Rena LaFleur said the full report states her son was hit in the face and chest.

No mental health professionals were at the scene, and neither Tasers nor rubber bullets were used, according to the full SIU report, she said.

If they say that this is an acceptable mental health protocol, I think thats shameful, she added.

In a report issued in April, Ontario Court of Appeal Justice Michael Tulloch, who led a recent Independent Police Oversight Review, made 129 recommendations aimed at improving police oversight in Ontario, but said officers should be named publicly only when the SIU lays charges.

Tullochs report recommends not publicly naming witnesses to police shootings, but it takes no position on whether victims should be named.

Anthony Morgan, a Toronto lawyer with a specialty in human rights and policing who was not involved in this case, said it is difficult to have hard-and-fast rules.

If the police dont want to release the names but the family does, the family should have the final say, he said.

Daniel Brown, the Toronto director of the Criminal Lawyers Association, who was not involved in this case, says that the privacy of victims families should take precedence over the publics right to know.

I also think the familys desire to protect the identity of the victim ought to be the paramount consideration, especially where the victims mental health or medical history would be made public as part of the identification process, he said.

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A first-term councillor alarmed by the conduct of some former Brampton senior staffers on Tuesday demanded the names of those who were behind and benefited from a secretive program that paid out $1.25 million to non-union employees going back to 2009.

Its disturbing to read some of the things that are written in here. What it shows is a culture of misbehaviour that we had (at city hall) previous to this, said Councillor Gurpreet Dhillon, referring to a report delivered to the audit committee Tuesday that revealed a bonus payment system that handed out discretionary salary increases to 167 non-union city employees without council approval or knowledge between Jan 1, 2009, and May 14, 2014.

The payments, called Outside Policy Requests, had become common among the citys non-union staff, the audit report said. City officials described OPRs as discretionary salary increases determined by the operating department heads that were outside of council-approved policies and documented procedures, the report said.

Payments ranged from as little as $123 to more than $95,000, the audit report said. A total of $316,000 was paid to just eight employees.

The report also revealed that OPR payments to non-union staff could not be tracked because there was a lack of coding that would have allowed internal controls to track and monitor the secret bonuses.

The objective of OPR, according to previously undisclosed documents unearthed in the audit report, was to align the salaries within the respective grades to achieve fairness and equity.

On Tuesday, committee members accepted staffs recommendation to immediately abandon the practice, but did not call for an investigation into any possible criminal wrongdoing. Staff also indicated that names of staffers, past and present, involved with the OPR program would not be disclosed to councillors.

We promised change in this council and I think weve done well. But we still have to ensure we dont revert back to the culture of the old ways, said Dhillon. He added his support to Mayor Linda Jeffreys renewed calls for outside oversight of the cities practices, which was recently rejected by some members of council.

This is pretty evident and pretty clear that things werent working when you have $1.25 million in staff bonuses that could not be tracked, Dhillon said.

On Monday, asked whether she would call for a police probe into the payments, Jeffrey wrote in an email that this is at best serious negligence, and at worst corruption, adding that she will continue to explore any and all avenues available to us. Respecting the taxpayers and residents of Brampton is my highest priority. Jeffrey is not part of audit committee and did not attend the Tuesday meeting.

Regional Councillor Gael Miles, who has been on council for three decades and is the former budget chair who directly oversaw city budgets during the period of the audit report, defended the practice, though she said she had never been informed about the way it was being carried out.

My reading of the report was if someones pay was not where a commissioner felt it should be, they could take a look at that salary and make an adjustment, said Miles. It wasnt a slush fund that was set up to give bonuses to staff it was a policy to adjust salaries and wages that they felt were outside a pay scale range.

Miles said she is very concerned by the audit findings and criticized former staff for shaking her confidence, but argued that the practices under question were not illegal.

Tuesday, Miles said council was unaware of the dealings and there were no mechanisms in place that would have warned elected officials about the payments.

Having delegated at several budget meetings, I was often surprised that a citys annual budget could be deliberated and approved in a matter of a day or two, said Chris Bejnar, co-chair of the group Citizens For a Better Brampton, which has criticized Miles and council for how they scrutinize budgets presented by staff.

How are we to know, as members of council, if there are no red flags?" Miles asked Tuesday. "We need to have the trust and the confidence that our staff are doing the right thing.

Regional Councillor Elaine Moore, chair of the audit committee, called revelations of the unknown practice scary.

Even scarier is that usually there is someone usually whispering in our ears, she said. This was invisible, not just to members of council but to even staff within the organization aware of this practice taking place.

The Brampton auditors said that the bonuses were not authorized under relevant rules and that over time OPR requests were approved for reasons beyond its initial intention. They added that with no oversight or formalized processes the OPR practice became mismanaged.

The report notes that favouritism was listed as one of the top 10 reasons to allow an OPR bonus.

The auditors noted a sudden drop to almost no OPRs after 2014, the year of the last municipal election. The city stated that there was no OPR line item in the annual budget. It also noted that council approval for the OPRs was not sought.

Moving forward, staff said there would be another audit on the citys compensation structure.

Regional Councillor Martin Medeiros joined Dhillon in calling for outside oversight. I am just concerned that we dont sweep this under the rug."

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It was framed by the property manager of One Rosedale Rd. as just people misbehaving. But a racially charged eviction hearing for an Asian-Canadian couple ended Tuesday with a look at only recent complaints and not the years of turmoil at the building.

At question is whether, as accused by their landlord, the couple substantially interfered with other tenants enjoyment of their Rosedale apartment building.

Three tenants testified Tuesday before the Landlord and Tenant Board in Toronto about encounters in early 2017 with Dot Pang, a former journalist who moved into One Rosedale with her banker husband, Paul Pang, in 2010.

Read more: Tenant showdown ratchets up in Rosedale apartment building

The tenants told adjudicator Roger Rodrigues they had negative encounters with Dot, and in one case, Dot and Paul, in common areas.

Henry Cole, a tenant since 2011, said he and his partner ran into Dot at the door to the underground garage and that Dot was scowling and staring at us  like her first born had just been killed and muttering under her breath in a foreign language.

Cole, who does not speak Cantonese  the Pangs do when not using English  has a history with the couple. He complained in an email to the landlord that Dot had uttered profanities in the garage encounter. But questioned at the hearing, Cole said he misused the word profanity, explaining he did not hear any but assumed Dot was swearing in Cantonese, because of her tone.

Dot testified that nothing was said in the awkward encounter, but that Cole and his partner laughed afterward. She also said another tenants assertion that she swore in front of that tenant in English and insinuated she was mentally ill was false.

The couples lawyer, Caryma Sad told the hearing the allegations against her clients are petty and frivolous and questioned the evidence that they substantially interfered with others.

The landlords lawyer told the hearing his client is between a rock and a hard place and simply wants peace and tranquility. Property manager Aubrey Hannah told the hearing the landlord had spent $45,000 on lawyers and an outside consultant to try to remedy the situation.

After the hearing ended, Hannah said, referring apparently to all parties involved: There are people  adult, good educated people  misbehaving.

The adjudicator said he will decide by Monday if the landlord has made the case for eviction. The hearing focused only on the three recent complaints mentioned in the eviction notice.

Friction began almost immediately after the Pangs moved in and intensified over the years, resulting in calls to police (by the Pangs, and others); at least one tenant petition calling for a police-mediated meeting with the Pangs; an independent investigation into allegations of racism; and eviction.

The Pangs showed the Star two defaced posters they said theyd placed in the laundry room to remind others of their reserved time. One had CRAZY CHINESE written on it.

On Saturday, the Star detailed a chronology of unneighbourly behaviour in the building, including the removal of human rights material posted by the landlord as a result of the Pangs complaints of racism. One property management sign called on tenants to stop the racial discrimination at 1 Rosedale Road immediately!

Some tenants felt the landlord was labelling them racist.

The Pangs, the only Asian tenants, shared notes, emails and the investigators report with the Star. The investigator found the removal of the human rights material by unknown hands was a problem and that the Pangs genuinely felt they were being discriminated against, but had also behaved badly. Discrimination by any individuals could not be proven.

After the investigation, tenants were warned that continued bad behaviour would result in eviction notices.

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The flap over a tourist attraction coming to Ontario to celebrate the provinces 150th anniversary continues, with a Dutch artist claiming the big rubber ducky were getting isnt the one.

Studio Florentijn Hofman recently sent an email to reporters saying the Worlds Largest Rubber Duck, which is booked for a Toronto waterfront festival  and scheduled to make appearances at other events across the province this summer  is a costly counterfeit of its work.

But the company behind the 19-metre-high duck, which will hit Toronto waters on the July long weekend, said the studios complaints are factually and legally incorrect.

The Worlds Largest Rubber Duck is patented and trademarked so it can be displayed at festivals, said co-owner Ryan Whaley.

He said the company paid Hofman $50,000 in 2014 for technical plans, but received what he characterized as sketches  so it designed and built its own duck.

Whaley said there has not been any legal fight with the artist, and there is nothing stopping anyone from building their own giant waterfowl  though the company has the rights to tout its duck as the worlds largest.

While some opposition politicians slammed the government for providing the Redpath Waterfront Festival with more than $121,000, Whaley said the duck is expensive to transport, noting that it and its pontoon-barge base require a semi-trailer truck and a crew of six to eight.

Tourists elsewhere have flocked to the attraction, Whaley said, adding that people dress in towels and bathing caps to take selfies and pictures in front of it.

There is so much fun, he said. When its in Toronto, youll see.

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The provinces new strategy to address the high unemployment rate among Ontarians with disabilities was panned by advocates who said it lacks specifics and will take months if not years to have an impact.

David Lepofsky, chair of the Accessibility for Ontarians With Disabilities Act Alliance, said the announcement comes more than four years after the government promised action and it includes some good general ideas, but not enough specifics or timelines for results.

It too often re-announces things government had said it was already doing, and the risk of months of more delay. After years of waiting, what we need instead is a plan to hit the ground running now, with immediate, practical action that will quickly help get jobs for far too many unemployed and underemployed Ontarians with disabilities.

Read more:

How Ontario traps those with disabilities in lives of poverty

Ontario ends onerous reviews for disabled people on welfare

Employment will be Persons with Disabilities ministers key focus

Tracy MacCharles, the minister responsible for accessibility, told the Star in an interview that the strategy will particularly focus on helping students and youth better plan and prepare for employment, as well as try to connect employers with potential workers.

What we are focused on in this strategic announcement . . . is to take a number of actions to break down barriers for people with disabilities, she said, adding that throughout all of these efforts, we hope to make it easier for employers to tap into that untapped pool of talent.

In Ontario, almost two million people have a disability, and the unemployment rate is much higher than that of the general population, at about 16 per cent, compared to less than 6 per cent provincially.

The governments Access Talent plan includes providing personalized support for youth, including planning for post-secondary as well as help moving into the workforce, MacCharles said.

It will also help post-secondary institutions provide better services to students, especially those on the autism spectrum.

The government will also urge its ministries to work with companies that have a good track record of hiring Ontarians with disabilities. The premier has previously urged companies with more than 20 employees to hire at least one more person with a disability, to create some 56,000 jobs.

From boosting awareness to changing attitudes, the government needs to be a leader in all of this, MacCharles said.

So far, the government says $1 million will be spent in the public education system on the new strategy and $2 million to help with the new supported employment program.

Ontario was the first in Canada to enact legislation pledging that by 2025, all businesses will be accessible.

In response to the alliances criticism, MacCharles said it is widely recognized that change will not happen overnight, and increasing employment for people with disabilities requires time, culture change, and commitment across sectors.

Ongoing collaboration, building partnerships, and showcasing employer champions as role models are priorities as we implement the strategy.

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Ontario is better positioned for new negotiations on NAFTA with the Trump administration after meeting Monday with Quebec, Atlantic provinces and southeastern U.S. states, Premier Kathleen Wynne says.

Understanding where each of us is coming from is very important, Wynne told a news conference late Monday afternoon at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel.

Her day included a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trumps agriculture secretary, Sonny Perdue, along with state and business representatives from Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, the Carolinas and Tennessee.

The occasion was the annual conference of the Southeastern United StatesCanadian Provinces Alliance, billed as a strategic partnership formed to promote trade and investment opportunities among member states and provinces.

This alliance is all about business and jobs, said Wynne, who did not detail her talks with Perdue, a former two-term Georgia governor and founding member of the alliance.

Earlier in the day Perdue voiced concerns about several agricultural issues, including Canadian milk  used to make yogurt and cheese  that foreign industry groups consider underpriced.

Trump has branded Canadian dairy practices unfair and said they must be fixed as the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement is renegotiated with Canada and Mexico.

Perdue tweeted from his @secretarysonny account that he had friendly but frank talks with federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay about U.S. exports to Canada and boasted about riding the Union Pearson Express downtown from the airport.

Canada imported $20.2 billion (U.S.) worth of agricultural products from American states last year and exported about $21 billion worth of agricultural products to the United States, making the two countries key markets for each other, Perdues department said.

While provinces and states will not be at the NAFTA negotiating table, they will be advising their federal governments, Wynne said.

The Trudeau government in Ottawa has signalled it will seek to modernize environment and labour sections of the deal in talks with the U.S. and Mexico.

Governments are already consulting with industry groups about priorities as Trump, who was elected on a protectionist agenda, looks to improve the lot of American workers.

Wynne heads to Washington on Tuesday with other premiers for meetings with senators, members of congress and government officials looking for common ground to keep international trade links open.

There is plenty of shares and mutual interest, she said, noting Ontario is a top trading partner of many U.S. states where thousands of jobs depend on exports to this province.

Knowing the nature about what each of our jurisdictions is doing is really important and will help us as we go through the NAFTA negotiations, she said.

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Green. With envy.

Looking west to British Columbia  where the Green party elected three MLAs and agreed to back the NDP in a minority government  Ontarios Green boss hopes for a breakthrough in next Junes election here.

The Green party is more on the map because of what happened in B.C., Mike Schreiner said Monday.

Voters who have been reluctant could be more open to supporting the party, given the May 9 election out west showed Greens can be elected and hold the balance of power, he added.

What B.C. has shown us is that you can vote for what you want.

The Greens, however, have never elected an MPP in Ontario and shouldnt get ahead of themselves, said University of Toronto political science professor Nelson Wiseman.

I dont think what happened in B.C. portends anything for Ontario, he told the Star, noting the Greens have a more solid base in B.C. with federal party leader Elizabeth May holding a seat on Vancouver Island and a different political culture in the coastal province. As well, B.C. Green leader Andrew Weaver first won a seat four years ago.

While he believes the B.C. situation will give the Ontario Greens a boost because the party wont seem as alien a force, Schreiner would get a bigger bang by being included in party leaders debates, Wiseman added.

Getting that changed is everything.

Schreiner will again run in Guelph, an environmentally conscious city he considers the partys best shot and one of the top five ridings for Green support.

He got 19.3 per cent of the vote in 2014  just under half of the 41.5 per cent won by Liberal cabinet minister Liz Sandals.

Ive got to close the gap on her, acknowledges Schreiner, who placed third behind Sandals and the Progressive Conservative candidate at 20.8 per cent. A New Democrat placed a close fourth with 17.7 per cent.

With Liberals struggling in the polls, and rumblings of discontent from social conservatives who believe PC Leader Patrick Brown has turned his back on them, Schreiner has his fingers crossed for some favourable vote splits that could help the Greens.

The party is still struggling to get back to the 8 per cent of the popular vote it reached province-wide in 2008. That dropped to 2.9 per cent in 2011, when the Dalton McGuinty Liberals were reduced to a minority, and recovered somewhat to 4.8 per cent in 2014.

Schreiner is promising  but wont yet name  some relatively high-profile candidates for several ridings in the June 7, 2018 election to further boost awareness levels for the party.

While the minority situation in B.C. is yet to sort itself out, Ontario Greens are looking to their B.C. counterparts to show that a more collaborative, co-operative and less partisan approach can attract voters, Schreiner said.

Hes championing one publicly funded school system to eliminate wasteful duplication of administrative costs, including staff and buildings, that could lead to fewer school closures by saving as much as $1 billion a year.

Ontarios Greens also want a halt to the $12-billion project to refurbish the Darlington nuclear power plant owned by Ontario Power Generation, saying it will lead to huge hydro price hikes down the road.

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A Tory is a Tory. Unless you live in Ontario, Canada  in which case its harder to tell which Tories stand for what.

Federally, your new Conservative leader is Andrew Scheer, a backbencher who bided his time under Stephen Harpers prime ministership. And played footsie with pro-life, anti-gay-marriage, anti-sex-ed supporters.

Provincially, your Progressive Conservative leader is Patrick Brown. His political roots include all of the above (though he went further than Scheer by voting in 2012 to reopen the abortion debate in Ottawa).

Their shared outlooks were forged in the crucible of their real life experiences  as professional politicians almost all their adult lives. Scheer became an MP at age 25; Brown first won public office at 22.

Despite their similar vocations, their visions are diverging. Scheer clings to Conservative continuity federally, while Brown is repositioning the party provincially.

Which may leave Ontarios true-blue Tories torn: The federal wing flirts with homophobia and Islamophobia, while PCs make themselves more Muslim-friendly and gay-friendly provincially.

How can longtime activists keep their party loyalties straight? Will they stick with Scheers steady brand, or rally to Browns rebranding?

Difficult as it is for the party faithful to divine the dividing line between theology and ideology, its about more than just religion.

Never mind that the new federal leader opposed a perfunctory parliamentary motion condemning Islamophobia (citing specious free speech grounds). He also rejects any form of carbon pricing to combat global warming, so that provinces can do their own thing  or nothing. By contrast, Brown has seen the light on a carbon tax against greenhouse gas emissions.

While Scheer is promising faith-based funding (or tax refunding) for private (read religious) schools, Ontarios PCs have already been burned at that stake  and are loath to repeat their mistake by taking any more leaps of faith.

Brown cast his lot with socially conservative issues while in Ottawa  like Scheer, he voted against legalizing gay marriage. But since coming to Queens Park he has recanted, recasting himself as a marcher in Pride parades. And while Scheer is still grudging on transgender questions, Brown has made the transition to supporting human rights for all.

Scheer didnt wear his religion on his sleeve while wooing supporters for the federal leadership, but signalled he was of the faith. His website  quickly unplugged after he won the race but still archived on Google  used coded language to win over opponents of sex education (a provincial issue in any event) by promising to protect the rights of parents as first educators to their children.

Brown played the same double game during the 2014-15 provincial leadership race, and again during a Scarborough byelection, telling sex-ed opponents what they wanted to hear. When he no longer needed them, the PC leader suddenly divorced his faith-based supporters. Later denouncing the federal partys burka-bashing impulses, he reached out to all religious groups.

It doesnt matter who you love, where youre born, what the colour of your skin is, what your faith is, whether you belong to a union or not, you have a home in our PC Party, Brown says at every opportunity, post-epiphany.

You can hear the same phrasing in newspaper interviews, fundraising speeches and party advertisements. His belated embrace of pluralism and tolerance, diversity and humanity, hearkens back to the pre-Harper era of Brian Mulroneys Tories and the Bill Davis PCs.

By announcing a carbon tax, renouncing homophobia and rejecting Islamophobia, Brown has taken a U-turn  while Scheer sticks to the straight and narrow. Deviating from party orthodoxy is a calculated risk.

Were excited that a man of his conviction (Scheer) is leading the party, and we dont expect him to pull a Patrick Brown on us, fumed Charles McVety, the crusading head of Canada Christian College. He (Brown) betrayed us of course, and went against us and announced that were not even welcome in the party when were the ones who put him in the party.

Browns changing positions suggest a brave  if not quite bold  new face for his party. He is taking a stand on tolerance and the environment, while taking a pass on most other policy stances.

Perhaps Brown knew a lot less about himself  and life  as a 20-something, early-onset politician trying to fit into Harpers Ottawa. Today, we know even less about where he will take the provincial party in future.

As for Scheer, that other lifetime politician, what life lessons has he learned along the way? A Tory is a Tory, but too soon to say.

Martin Regg Cohns political column appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. mcohn@thestar.ca , Twitter: @reggcohn

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Only 365 days of campaigning to go.

The one-year countdown to the Ontario election has begun with all the major party leaders looking ahead to the vote on June 7, 2018.

Premier Kathleen Wynne, whose Liberals have been in power since 2003 and trail the Progressive Conservatives in most polls, will spend the coming months touting pharmacare, higher wages and transit improvements.

Weve brought in the first balanced budget in Ontario in almost a decade, and so we are in a position now to make some of the investments that will help people in their lives on a day-to-day basis, Wynne said Monday.

That includes the $465 million OHIP+ program, which provides prescription drug coverage for everyone under 25 starting Jan. 1; a minimum wage that jumps from $11.40 an hour to $14 next year and $15 in 2019, and billions in transportation spending ranging from a proposed high-speed rail link between Toronto and Windsor to a boost in TTC services.

Wynnes government is also pouring billions into reducing electricity rates for homeowners and small businesses by an average of 25 per cent, thereby turning down the temperature on an issue that was burning the Liberals.

The premier, who last week put to rest Tory-fuelled rumours about a snap summer election, hopes soaring hydro bills will be a distant memory by this time next year.

While PC Leader Patrick Brown is striving to keep electricity prices on the front burner, he is being careful not to make any platform commitments so far out from the election.

Brown, whose party brought in about $10 million more than the Liberals last year before a ban on corporate and union donations took effect in January, wants to protect any lead he has in public-opinion polls.

Voters are tired of promises by a government that it has no intention of keeping. Were going to give you the truth, said Brown. He added that was the formula for Ross Romanos stunning win in Thursdays Sault Ste. Marie byelection, wresting away a 13-year Liberal stronghold for the first PC victory there since 1981.

We spoke honestly to voters while the Liberals and NDP made pie-in-the-sky promises.

But the one pledge Brown has made  a vague assurance that a Tory government would impose some form of carbon pricing to tackle climate change  is causing him problems with his base.

The fledgling Trillium Party, which now has a sitting MPP thanks to Jack MacLarens departure from the Tories on May 28, is appealing to other disaffected Conservative voters by opposing any form of carbon taxation.

Social conservatives, who backed Browns leadership in 2015 only to have him renounce them last year when he flip-flopped and endorsed Wynnes updated sex-education curriculum, are pouncing on the carbon tax issue.

His advisers, however, believe his outreach to cultural communities in and around the Greater Toronto Area will more than offset any votes that bleed to the Trillium Party.

A wild card for both Brown and Wynne is NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.

Horwath, who led her party into both the 2011 and 2014 elections, has been pushing universal pharmacare coverage for all Ontarians for 125 drugs compared to the Liberals plan to offer it only to those under 25 for 4,400 medications.

Still, the byelection defeat in the Sault was a setback for the NDP, which had put a lot of effort into winning a seat they held until the Liberals won it in 2003.

The much bigger fight lies ahead, said Horwath.

Just a year from now, the people of Sault Ste. Marie  and all Ontarians  will be given a choice not just to change a seat in the Assembly, but to change governments, she said, taking a swing at the policy-light Tories.

Well give Ontario the choice to elect a government thats focused on people. A government with the courage of conviction to create the first universal pharmacare program, a drug plan that covers everyone, no matter how old they are or how much money they make.

With files from Rob Ferguson

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LONDONAfter a brief display of national unity, British Prime Minister Theresa May found herself on the defensive Monday, as rivals challenged her record on security following the deadly attack in London this weekend, the third terrorist episode in three months.

On a day when it became clear that at least one of the attackers was previously known to the security services, opposition politicians zeroed in on Mays record as home secretary.

She held the portfolio in charge of security for six years before replacing David Cameron as prime minister, and she oversaw a reduction in police forces, including armed officers, during that time.

I am so sick of Theresa May blaming others for terror when the system she presided over has obviously failed so lamentably, Steve Hilton, once a close adviser to Cameron, wrote on Twitter.

May, he added in a separate tweet, should be resigning, not seeking re-election.

Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition Labour party, when asked by a reporter if he would support calls for Mays resignation over the falling number of police officers, replied, Indeed, I would.

Stung by the criticism just days before a critical national election Thursday that will decide her political future, May responded at a news conference. We have protected counterterrorism policing budgets, she said. We have also provided funding for an increase in the number of armed police officers.

She cited comments from Cressida Dick, head of the Metropolitan Police in London, that the citys force is well resourced and has powerful counterterrorism abilities.

May also called for greater regulation of the Internet in light of the attacks. She blamed Internet providers and large websites on Sunday for providing violent extremism the safe space it needs to breed.

May called on governments around the world to develop international agreements that regulate cyberspace to battle terrorism. And we need to do everything we can at home to reduce the risks of extremism online, she said in a speech on Downing Street.

But technology experts are saying that the British governments surveillance powers are already so vast that theres little else officials can do to digitally monitor terrorism suspects without widely violating human rights.

The Metropolitan Police released photographs Monday of two of the assailants they shot dead, saying that one of them was known to the intelligence services.

In a statement, they said they believed one of the suspects was Khuram Shazad Butt, 27, a British citizen who was born in Pakistan and known to MI5, the agency that deals with internal security.

The other man was identified as Rachid Redouane, 30, who had claimed to be Moroccan and Libyan but who had also used the name Rachid Elkhdar and a different date of birth.

Khuram Shazad Butt was known to the police and MI5, the statement said. However, there was no intelligence to suggest that this attack was being planned, and the investigation had been prioritized accordingly. The other named man, Rachid Redouane, was not known.

Work is still underway to identify the third man who was killed during the attack on Borough Market.

The statement added that work is ongoing to understand more about them, their connections and whether they were assisted or supported by anyone else.

Both of the men identified as attackers were from Barking, in East London, where 12 people were arrested Sunday, although one, a 55-year-old man, was released without charges. Early Monday, police raided two other homes in East London, one in Newham and the other in Barking.

Butt had appeared in a documentary, The Jihadis Next Door, that aired on British television last year. Neighbours identified him from the films footage Monday, pointing to a scene in which he is shown participating in a provocative prayer session at Regents Park, near Londons biggest mosque, helping to display a black flag covered in white Arabic lettering similar to the one used by Daesh, which took responsibility for the attack.

Butt is also seen in the film sprawling on the lawn and nodding as he listens to a sermon in which the speaker tells those gathered: This is not the real life, my dear brothers. This is a passing time for us.

Butts apparent zealotry led one neighbour, Erica Gasparri, to contact police about 18 months ago. The 42-year-old mother of three was working at a local school when she noticed Butt, who was also known as Abu Mohamed, meeting with local children and trying to draw them into his radicalism.

It was wrong what he was doing, Gasparri said. He kept talking about the Islamic State. I got very angry.

The main political parties suspended campaigning Sunday as a sign of respect for the seven people killed and the scores wounded in the attack, but as campaigning resumed Monday, so did the pressure on May.

Although there has been widespread praise for the professionalism and courage of the armed officers who shot and killed the assailants within eight minutes of being called Saturday night, the countrys broader antiterrorism strategy was questioned.

Opposition politicians focused their fire on May, who gave a short speech outside her office on Downing Street on Sunday saying that enough is enough, promising to shake up antiterrorism and de-radicalization policies, and calling for new efforts to curb the dissemination of extremist materials on the internet.

Some of Mays political opponents regarded her comments as political and, as a result, in breach of the agreement to suspend campaigning.

Late Sunday, Corbyn criticized the decrease in the number of police officers since 2010. You cannot protect the public on the cheap, he said. The police and security services must get the resources they need, not 20,000 police cuts.

Corbyn also accused the government of failing to publish a report, undertaken in early 2016, on foreign financing of extremist groups, for fear of upsetting foreign governments, although he himself is vulnerable on security issues.

Corbyn has demonstrated past support for Irish republicans and expressed doubts two years ago about a so-called shoot-to-kill policy for police officers during serious terrorist attacks.

Four officers were among the wounded in Saturday nights attack. The victims are believed to have come from several countries, but only one has been identified publicly: Canadian Christine (Chrissy) Archibald.

With files from the Washington Post and The Associated Press

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WASHINGTONRussian hackers attacked at least one U.S. voting software supplier days before last years presidential election, according to a government intelligence report leaked Monday that suggests election-related hacking penetrated further into U.S. voting systems than previously known.

The classified National Security Agency report, which was published online by The Intercept, does not say whether the hacking had any effect on election results. But it says Russian military intelligence attacked a U.S. voting software company and sent spear-phishing emails to more than 100 local election officials at the end of October or beginning of November.

U.S. intelligence agencies declined to comment.

Read the latest news on U.S. President Donald Trump

However, the Justice Department announced Monday it had charged a government contractor in Georgia with leaking a classified report containing Top Secret level information to an online news organization. The report the contractor allegedly leaked is dated May 5, the same date as the document The Intercept posted online.

The document said Russian military intelligence executed cyber espionage operations against a named U.S. company in August 2016 evidently to obtain information on elections-related software and hardware solutions, according to information that became available in April 2017.

Read more: Russia investigation sets sights on ex-Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort

The hackers are believed to have then used data from that operation to create a new email account to launch a spear-phishing campaign targeting U.S. local government organizations, the document said. Lastly, the actors send test emails to two non-existent accounts ostensibly associated with absentee balloting, presumably with the purpose of creating those accounts to mimic legitimate services.

The document did not name any state.

The information in the leaked document seems to go further than the U.S. intelligence agencies January assessment of the hacking that occurred.

Russian intelligence obtained and maintained access to elements of multiple U.S. state or local electoral boards, the assessment said. The Department of Homeland Security assesses that the types of systems Russian actors targeted or compromised were not involved in vote tallying.

The Intercept contacted NSA and the national intelligence directors office about the document and both agencies asked that it not be published. U.S. intelligence officials then asked The Intercept to redact certain sections. The Intercept said some material was withheld at U.S. intelligence agencies request because it wasnt clearly in the public interest.

The Associated Press could not confirm the authenticity of the May 5 NSA document, which The Intercept said it obtained anonymously.

Also on Monday, Reality Leigh Winner, 25, of Augusta, Georgia, was charged in U.S. District Court with copying classified documents and mailing them to a reporter with an unnamed news organization. Prosecutors did not say which federal agency Winner worked for, but FBI agent Justin Garrick said in an affidavit filed with the court that she had previously served in the Air Force and held a top-secret security clearance.

Winners attorney, Titus Thomas Nichols, declined to confirm whether she is accused of leaking the NSA report received by The Intercept. He also declined to name the federal agency for which Winner worked.

My client has no (criminal) history, so its not as if she has a pattern of having done anything like this before, Nichols said in a phone interview Monday. She is a very good person. All this craziness has happened all of a sudden.

In affidavits filed with the court, Garrick of the FBI said the government was notified of the leaked report by the news outlet that received it. He said the agency that housed the report determined only six employees had made physical copies. Winner was one of them. Garrick said investigators found Winner had exchanged email with the news outlet using her work computer.

Garricks affidavit said he interviewed Winner at her home Saturday and she admitted intentionally identifying and printing the classified intelligence reporting at issue and mailing it to the news outlet.

Asked if Winner had confessed, Nichols said, If there is a confession, the government has not shown it to me.

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BEIT LAHIA, PALESTINIAN TERRITORYGrim records mark the 10th anniversary of Hamas rule in Gaza  the longest-ever daily electricity and water cuts, 60 per cent youth unemployment, and a rising backlog of thousands waiting for a rare chance to exit the blockaded territory.

Unable to offer a remedy, the Islamic militant group has been doubling down on oppression. It has jailed the few who dare complain publicly, including the young organizers of a street protest against power cuts and an author who wrote on Facebook that life is only pleasant for Hamas leaders.

Polls show almost half the people would leave altogether if they could, but that support for the group, despite three short, devastating wars with Israel, is steady at around a third. With potential opponents crushed, there is no obvious path to regime change.

Meanwhile, for most of Gazas 2 million people, life is bound to get worse.

The international isolation of Hamas, which refuses to recognize Israel, will likely continue  and with it the border blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt after the group seized Gaza in June 2007.

A new political program that Hamas hoped would mollify the West and Arab nations instead underscored its ideological rigidity; while softer in tone, the manifesto reaffirms a call to armed struggle and the creation of an Islamic state in historic Palestine, including what is now Israel.

There are also signs that one of Hamas remaining foreign backers, Qatar, is in trouble. On Monday, four Arab countries cut ties with the Gulf nation, in part over its support of Islamist groups, such as Hamas. Qatar reportedly asked several Hamas leaders-in-exile to leave.

Read more: Arab countries cut ties with Qatar

Hamas also faces financial pressure by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose forces it drove from Gaza a decade ago. Fed up with failed reconciliation efforts, the West Bank-based Abbas has warned he would cut more Gaza subsidies, such as electricity payments.

Hamas spokesman Salah Bardaweel dismissed suggestions Hamas should step aside, but acknowledged a deal to improve Gazas lot is unlikely as long as the 82-year-old Abbas, who runs autonomous enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, remains in power.

He said Hamas was never given a chance to govern. How do you hold someone accountable for a failure he did not create? he said, referring to the blockade.

Bardaweel was recently skewered on social media after asserting Gaza will remain steadfast.

Local writer Abdullah Abu Sharekh landed in jail after writing on Facebook that people are not steadfast.

They cannot do anything because you (Hamas) rule Gaza with iron and fire ... you brought Gaza back to the Middle Ages, he wrote.

After his release Saturday, he wrote that he was deprived of sleep for five days and forced to stand for long periods or sit on small chairs.

Stirrings of unrest are quashed.

A trio of unemployed friends in their 20s from the town of Beit Lahiya said Hamas has harassed them since they mobilized thousands in a rare street protest against chronic power cuts in January. They said theyve been detained, beaten and repeatedly summoned to security compounds.

Activist Mohammed al-Taluli, 25, said pressure built again several weeks ago as daily rolling power cuts worsened, with four hours of electricity followed by outages of 14 to 18 hours. Al-Taluli said he and his friends received death threats to deter them from protesting, and that it was effective because no one can protect them from Hamas.

People are asking us every day if we are planning a new demonstration, al-Taluli said, speaking in a room decorated with photos of revolutionary idols like Che Guevara. But ... we are afraid.

Palestinian rights groups say Hamas practices mirror those of its West Bank rivals. Both governments have carried out arbitrary arrests and mistreated detainees, and both monitor social media and civil society to silence dissent.

Hamas leaders often tolerate criticism by well-known figures, but strike back when they detect a threat to their rule, said Samir Zakout of the Gaza rights group al-Mezan.

Over the past decade, Hamas has also executed 28 people, most of them alleged informers, after trials widely condemned as a sham. This includes three men executed last month, after a field tribunal tried them in less than a week.

The three had been accused of involvement in killing a Hamas leader, Mazen Faqha, near his apartment building in March. Hamas violently interrogated dozens of people and claimed this netted dozens of informers.

Relatives of one of the three who were killed, 38-year-old Abdullah al-Nashar, said they believe he had indeed collaborated with Israel, lured by an Israeli exit permit from Gaza. But Al-Nashars father, Ahmed, said his son had nothing to do with the Faqha killing and didnt deserve to die.

Hamas rise to power was fuelled by frustration with corruption during the rule of Abbas Fatah movement. Hamas also rejected Fatahs attempt to negotiate Palestinian statehood on lands Israel captured in 1967, including Gaza.

In 2006, months after Israels unilateral withdrawal from Gaza, Hamas defeated Fatah in parliamentary elections. Subsequent failed attempts to negotiate a power-sharing deal and Hamas-Fatah street fighting culminated in the June 2007 Hamas takeover of Gaza.

Ahmed al-Nashar, 63, said he had voted for Hamas hoping they would do something good in the name of religion, but has concluded there is no future here with these people.

Hamas said it was sabotaged from the start.

Israel and Egypt, citing security concerns, enforced a crushing border blockade, banning most movement and exports. Three Israel-Hamas wars, in part triggered by a Hamas arms buildup, further devastated the territory and its economy.

Meanwhile, the international community stuck to its initial conditions for dealing with Hamas, including renouncing violence, even as it called for lifting the blockade.

This leaves Gazans in a miserable limbo.

Our life is just a long series of waiting, said Abed Meqdad, a teacher. You wait for electricity to come, for the crossing to reopen, for the situation to improve, and nothing gets done.

For weeks, dozens of Palestinians have rallied at the fence separating Israel from Gaza, hurling rocks at the soldiers stationed on the Israeli side in protest of their dire living conditions.

Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Kidra said a Palestinian was killed there on Tuesday. The Israeli military said soldiers fired warning shots in the air after Palestinians tried to damage the fence.

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LAS VEGASCities are pushing back on the possibility of losing millions of dollars in U.S. anti-terrorism grants under President Donald Trumps spending plan  the third straight White House that has moved to cut the funding.

The proposed budget would cut cash for the program from $815 million to to nearly $605 million for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1 and require cities such as New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas to pay 25 per cent of the grants.

The administration says it is proposing the cost-share system, similar to other grant programs, to share accountability with states and cities.

Read the latest news on U.S. President Donald Trump

But lawmakers and local officials argue that reducing funding for the Urban Area Security Initiative would undercut efforts to maintain safe communities. Cities have spent the money on command centres, active-shooter training and personnel to patrol airports, transit hubs and waterways.

Big cities have been down this road before, with funding fluctuating over the years.

Former president George W. Bush created the grant program after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, but scaled it back in his second term. Former president Barack Obamas proposed 2017 budget suggested slashing the funding from $809 million to $ 445 million.

In each instance, local politicians reacted with outrage and questioned the wisdom of taking away money in the fight against terrorism. This year, Congress ignored Obamas guidance and increased funding by $6.7 million.

But some cities that have received grants in previous years have not spent all the money, another reason the White House says the changes are needed.

The proposed cuts came a day after the deadly Manchester, England, concert bombing and the same day authorities in Las Vegas tried to ease concerns about the city being targeted in a recent Daesh propaganda video. It encouraged knife and vehicle attacks and featured images of Sin City, Times Square in New York and banks in Washington, D.C.

Law enforcement officials in Orlando, Florida, told a congressional committee weeks after a nightclub became the site of the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history that central Florida had missed out on needed training and opportunities to buy equipment because it had not made the cut to receive funding.

Grants are awarded to the highest-ranked urban areas on a list determined by risk of terrorist threats based on past plots or a known presence; whether its infrastructure is a valuable target; and the consequence of an attack on the population, economy or national security.

Read more:In wake of London terror attack, Trump vows to do whatever is necessary to protect U.S.

Last year, the 29 highest-ranked metro areas that applied for a grant received funding.

The Las Vegas area has spent the money on training and equipment for bomb and hazardous-material squads along with computer software and hardware at a law enforcement command centre.

Las Vegas received almost $4 million in fiscal year 2016. Irene Navis, planning co-ordinator and assistant emergency manager in Nevadas Clark County, said the area would be able to meet the proposed 25 per cent cost-share requirement.

Fortunately, not one agency is going to get the whole amount; its split up, Navis said. So, for one agency, it might be that they get $25,000 for equipment and the match is really small. Agencies that get a large amount of money, thats something that they would have to consider. But, in general, in our urban area, it would not be a problem.

U.S. Rep. Dina Titus, a Democrat whose district includes the Las Vegas Strip, called the funding change a pay-to-play scheme.

It is unimaginable that the administration believes southern Nevadas security will be improved by cutting vital programs that protect residents and travellers in our community, she said.

But the government questions why state and local governments arent spending all the money if its so important.

The federal government cannot afford to over-invest in programs that state and local partners are slow to utilize when there are other pressing needs, according to a written justification from the Trump administration.

The office of Sen. Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat who has sparred with Obama and Trump on the grants, says that because of government procurement rules, it can take time for cities and states to spend the money. But he says that does not mean they have not allocated the money or dont need it.

New York City received the largest grant last year at more than $240 million, followed by Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

Americas cities are critical partners in the fight against terrorism  and taking away this funding would undermine the national priority to secure the homeland, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, a Democrat, said in a statement.

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CANBERRA, AUSTRALIAA gunman who killed a man and took a woman hostage before dying in a police shootout had been acquitted of plotting a terror attack at a Sydney army base years earlier, police said Tuesday. Three police officers were wounded.

The siege Monday at an apartment building in a Melbourne suburb was being treated as an act of terror, but Victoria state police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said the gunman appeared to have acted alone and not as part of any ongoing plot or threat.

There is nothing that weve found thus far that would suggest to us that this was anything that was ... planned or done in concert with others, Ashton said.

The gunman, Yacqub Khayre, 29, was one of two men acquitted by a jury in 2010 of plotting a suicide attack in Sydney. Three people were convicted of conspiracy in that plot, which police thwarted before it could be executed.

Khayre, a Somali refugee, has an extensive and violent criminal record. He was sentenced in 2012 to 5  years in prison on convictions including aggravated burglary after beating a woman in her home.

He was initially denied parole after serving a minimum three years but was released on Dec. 8, Deputy Police Commissioner Shane Patton said.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said he would speak with state leaders Friday about changing state laws so that dangerous criminals are not released from prison early on parole.

There have been too many cases of people on parole committing violent offences of this kind, Turnbull told reporters.

Police said Khayre booked an appointment on Monday with an escort in an apartment building in Brighton and arrived carrying a sawed-off shotgun, sparking a 2-hour siege.

Police were called after neighbours heard the shotgun discharge as Khayre killed a Chinese-born Australian man employed by the escort agency in the lobby.

Khayre then called police to say he had a hostage in an apartment and made threats to her if police intervened. They tried to negotiate with him before Khayre walked out of the building firing the shotgun.

One police officer was shot in the neck and ear and two officers suffered wounds to their hands, but none of the wounds was life-threatening, Ashton said.

The woman, a 36-year-old Columbian national, was bound during her ordeal and had been very significantly traumatized, Patton said. But she had not been physically harmed.

Khayre spoke about al-Qaida in phone calls to police and to Seven Network television, and Ashton said the gunman may have plotted to lure police into an ambush. But it was too early to know if the gunman set out to target police or seized the opportunity he thought was presented to him, Ashton said.

Ashton said there was nothing to link the violence with a van and knife attacks in London in which three assailants killed seven people.

Police did not regard the Islamic State groups claim of responsibility for the Melbourne violence as evidence that it was planned.

The Seven Network said it had received a phone call Monday afternoon from a distressed woman who said she was involved in a hostage situation.

We asked her more information, at that point a man came on the same line and said This is for IS, this is for al-Qaida, Seven news director Simon Pristel said.

We asked for more information and thats when he hung up, Pristel added.

Khayre had been required to wear a satellite-positioning ankle bracelet as a condition of his parole. Police were not advised that Khayre had removed or disabled the bracelet until the siege started, Patton said.

Police said the Melbourne siege was the fifth terrorist-linked incident in Australia since the threat level was lifted in September 2014. Twelve other plots were disrupted.

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GANZHOU, CHINAChinas government on Tuesday rejected a U.S. State Department call to release three activists detained while investigating a factory that produced shoes for Ivanka Trump and other brands. It sought instead to enforce a cone of silence around the men, according to a lawyer and the wife of one detainee who was interrogated for hours herself.

The U.S. State Department on Monday called on China to release the men, who were detained last week after working undercover in a Chinese factory to check into worker abuses.

We urge China to release them immediately and otherwise afford them the judicial and fair trial protections to which they are entitled, said Alicia Edwards, a State Department spokeswoman. She said the U.S. remains concerned about the pattern of arrests and detentions and noted that labour activists are instrumental in helping American companies understand conditions in their supply chains and holding Chinese manufacturers accountable under Chinese labour laws.

Deng Guilian, the wife of one of the detainees, Hua Haifeng, told The Associated Press that she had been interrogated twice by police in her hometown in central Chinas Hubei province. The police pulled her in for four hours of questioning that lasted past midnight on Friday, and then called her for a further interrogation on Saturday. She said police questioned her sharply about her contacts with foreign media.

Read more: 1 activist arrested, 2 missing after investigating Chinese factory that makes Ivanka Trump shoes

She said that on Friday four policemen sat in a close circle around her, one asking questions, one examining her phone, one taking notes and one just staring at her.

In a normal situation, as a woman at midnight squeezed in the middle of four men  moreover theyre policemen  its impossible not to be nervous, she said. I was terrified.

Asked about the detentions Tuesday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer said the State Department has made the U.S. position very clear and will continue to exert the proper diplomatic pressure. On whether the president or Ivanka Trump would comment directly, he said its a State Department issue.

A spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee criticized Ivanka Trumps company for not speaking publicly about the detentions. Adrienne Watson said in a statement Tuesday that Ivankas company should switch suppliers, and the Trumps should stop hypocritically telling corporations to buy American and hire American while they continue to knowingly take advantage of workers abuses abroad.

China has been cracking down on perceived threats to the ruling Communist Party, particularly from sources with foreign ties such as China Labor Watch, the New York-based non-profit that was leading the investigation.

The group planned to publish a report this month alleging low pay, excessive overtime, verbal abuse and possible misuse of student labour at factories belonging to the Huajian Group. The company has denied the allegations and says it stopped producing Ivanka Trump shoes months ago.

Hua Chunying, spokeswoman for Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a regular news briefing Tuesday that the men working with China Labor Watch had been accused of using secret recording devices to disrupt normal commercial operations and would be dealt with under Chinese law.

Other nations have no right to interfere in our judicial sovereignty and independence, she said, adding, The police found these people illegally possessed secret cameras, secret listening devices and other illegal monitoring devices.

Hua Haifengs lawyer, Wen Yu, said Tuesday that all three of the activists are being held at the Ganzhou City Detention Center in southeastern Jiangxi province and that after a day and a half of waiting he was finally able to consult with his client Tuesday afternoon.

His condition inside is OK. Nobody beat him, Wen said. Its just that he has to sleep next to the toilet. People go to pee all night. He said the cell was crowded with 21 people, who have been ordered not to speak with Hua.

The lawyer said he had applied for bail for Hua, who faces imprisonment of up to two years if found guilty. Then Wen was contacted by city authorities who told him not to speak with foreign media and he stopped responding to questions.

China Labor Watch executive director Li Qiang has said all three men, whom he lost contact with late last month, are not guilty and did not use secret recording devices. In an April letter to Ivanka Trump, he urged her to press for better conditions in her brands supply chain. Your words and deeds can make a difference in these workers lives, he wrote.

Ivanka Trumps brand has declined to comment on the allegations or the arrests. She stepped back from day-to-day management of the company when she took on a White House role as adviser to her father, but retains ownership. Marc Fisher, which produces shoes for Ivanka Trump and other brands, has said it is looking into the allegations.

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ST. PAUL, MINN.A Minnesota police officer who fatally shot a black motorist told a supervisor on the scene that he didnt know where the motorists gun was, but added that he told the motorist to get his hand off the firearm, according to audio recorded after the shooting.

The audio is key evidence in the manslaughter trial of Officer Jeronimo Yanez, who shot Philando Castile last July in a St. Paul suburb. Prosecutors argue Yanez acted unreasonably; his attorneys say he feared for his life and made a split-second decision in the presence of a gun.

Yanez and another officer had stopped Castile over a broken tail light when the 32-year-old elementary school cafeteria worker informed Yanez he was carrying a gun. Within seconds of hearing that, Yanez fired seven shots and Castile was mortally wounded.

Read more: Castiles gun permit evidence should be omitted in trial, officers lawyer says

The shooting was one in a string involving police and black men nationally, and drew added attention because Castiles girlfriend streamed the aftermath on Facebook as he lay dying. Castiles family claimed he was profiled because of his race.

Prosecutors and defence attorneys have given different narratives about whether or not Yanez saw Castiles gun.

The audio of the encounter came from squad car video, which does not show Yanez after the shooting but picks up his voice from his body microphone. He is heard swearing, yelling and breathing heavily. He tells a supervising officer that Castile went to grab something and that Castiles grip seemed wider than a wallet would be.

I dont know where the gun was, Yanez says. He didnt tell me where the (expletive) gun was. Seconds later, he added, I told him to take his (expletive) hand off the gun.

The officer who was with Yanez, Joseph Kauser, testified that Yanez later told him he had seen a gun on Castile, who had a permit for the weapon.

Kauser said he didnt see a gun from his vantage point on the passenger side of Castiles car. But Kauser also said he was watching Castiles passengers  his girlfriend Diamond Reynolds and Reynolds then-4-year-old daughter  rather than the driver.

An officer who arrived on the scene, Roseville police Officer Juan Toran, said he performed CPR on Castile. As paramedics were rolling Castile onto a backboard, Toran said he saw the gun slide out of Castiles front right pocket. Toran said he didnt even have to reach into the pocket to grab it.

But St. Paul firefighter Eric Torgerson, a paramedic, testified that he saw an officer reach deeply into the pocket to retrieve the pistol.

Yanez, 29, who is Latino, is also charged with two counts of dangerous discharge of a firearm for endangering Reynolds and her daughter.

Earlier Tuesday, Reynolds cried as squad car video, her Facebook video and still images of Castile were shown. Asked why she took out her phone and started recording, Reynolds said she feared for her own life.

Because I know that the people are not protected against the police, Reynolds said. I wanted to make sure if I died in front of my daughter that people would know the truth.

Defence attorneys also have argued that Castile had smoked marijuana that day and that it affected his actions. Toxicology reports show Castile had THC  the high-producing component of marijuana  in his system.

Reynolds acknowledged under questioning from defence attorney Earl Gray that she and Castile smoked regularly. She also acknowledged marijuana was in the car at the time. Grays questioning also revealed inconsistencies in several statements she made to authorities and in public, including whether Castile was reaching for his wallet or seat belt when he was shot.

In his testimony, Kauser discussed the reason for the traffic stop and the way the officers handled it. He said even though Yanez told him that he thought Castile resembled a suspect in a recent armed robbery, there was not enough concern to do a felony traffic stop  in which all occupants are ordered out of the car with their hands up before officers approach.

Kauser, who is a good friend of Yanez, said he believed Yanez followed proper protocol, and that Castile was moving after Yanez told him not to reach for the gun.

Kauser and Toran also talked about how they would act if a motorist told them about a gun: Theyd make sure hands were in view and ask where the gun was. They also testified about the vulnerability of officers during traffic stops.

A jury of 15, including three alternates, is hearing the case in Ramsey County District Court. Two of the 15 are black.

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Sitting in his pickup truck one summer day in 2014, Conrad Roy III wavered about his plan to kill himself.

He was scared, he texted his girlfriend.

Get back in, she replied.

Roy did.

The 18-year-old who had long battled depression and suicidal thoughts succumbed to carbon monoxide. He was found dead the following day in a Kmart parking lot several miles outside Boston. His girlfriend, 17-year-old Michelle Carter, was charged with involuntary manslaughter.

Now, nearly three years later, Carter is on trial in a controversial case that experts say raises new and contentious questions: Can a person be charged and convicted in someones death even if she was not with the victim when he died? And can a person be found guilty of killing someone based solely on what she said in text messages?

Such questions are critical in a state such as Massachusetts, where assisting someone to commit suicide is not considered a crime.

The prosecutions most damning evidence against Carter, who is now 20: dozens upon dozens of text messages in which she was pushing Roy to commit suicide. The two exchanged hundreds of text messages for several days before Roy killed himself. She insisted that he would be better off dead.

Youre finally going to be happy in heaven. No more pain, she told him in one message. Its okay to be scared and its normal. I mean, youre about to die.

They also texted early in the morning of July 12, 2014, hours before Roys suicide. In some of the exchanges, Carter appeared to be faulting Roy for delaying it.

So I guess you arent gonna do it then, all that for nothing . . . Im just so confused like you were so ready and determined, she said.

When Roy said he wanted to go back to sleep, Carter suggested that now is the best time to do it because everyone was still sleeping.

Just go somewhere in your truck. And no ones really out right now because its an awkward time, she said.

In another text that same day, she kept pushing.

I thought you wanted to do this. The time is right and youre ready . . . just do it babe, she said.

Shortly after Roy died, Carter told a friend that she was talking to him on the phone when he killed himself.

I helped ease him into it and told him it was okay . . . I couldve easily stopped him or called the police but I didnt, she texted her friend.

Daniel Medwed, a law and criminal justice professor at Northeastern University, said Carters text messages arguably encouraged Roy. What prosecutors will have to prove this week is whether Carters encouragement resulted in his death.

Prosecutors will have to prove that Carter causes Conrad Roy to kill himself and essentially caused his death, Medwed told The Washington Post. Defence lawyers are going to argue that hes had suicidal tendencies predating their relationship. Theyre going to emphasize that he was alone in his car, that ultimately it was his decision . . .

There may be an issue on the extent to which she was aware of the risk. She knew he was suicidal, but did she know that he was going to go through with it?

Carter was indicted in 2015 and appealed, taking the case to the states Supreme Court. Last summer, the court ruled that she could stand trial for her alleged role in Roys death. She faces up to 20 years in prison.

In the ruling, the court found that Carters virtual presence at the time of the suicide and the constant pressure she had placed on Roy, who was in a delicate mental state, were enough proof for an involuntary manslaughter charge.

Medwed thinks the involuntary manslaughter charge is a stretch. Although assisted suicide through coercion is considered a crime in most states, Massachusetts is one of a few where it isnt.

Usually, manslaughter charges involve direct action by the defendant . . . some type of horrific unintentional killing where the behaviour disregarded a risk, like firing a gun into a crowd, Medwed said. This is different.

David Siegel, a professor at New England School of Law, agreed that the case has broken ground.

This defendant acted remotely only through communication, through text messages, and thats different, Siegel said. What I think is going to be significant, at least in the facts of this case, is that this was repeated, lengthy electronic communications between two young people. The issue is going to be whether that series of communications between those people under those circumstances amount to wanton and reckless conduct.

Carters and Roys ages and their relationship also would be critical, experts say, and Carter could argue that the text messages, although harrowing, are how teenagers communicate.

We recognize that a lot of our conduct today is virtual, Siegel said. A lot of our virtual conduct today is electronic, and we recognize that there can be just as serious consequences from electronic or digital or virtual actions as from physical actions in the physical world.

Carter waived her right to a jury trial Monday. A judge will hear her case and issue a verdict. Opening statements and testimonies will start Tuesday, said Gregg Miliote, spokesman for the Bristol County district attorneys office. Carters attorney, Joseph Cataldo, didnt return a call seeking comment.

Medwed said choosing a bench trial over a jury trial is a savvy move on the defences part.

The idea is the judge has sort of seen it all and wont be shaken by the facts and horrible details, he said. While jurors who are unaccustomed to the horrible nature of criminal activity, they could react emotionally to facts like these and hold it against her. A judge could be a little bit more dispassionate and objective in looking at the case.

The Washington Posts Lindsey Bever contributed to this report.

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LONDONDetails emerged Tuesday of the three London Bridge attackers: a Pakistan-born failed customer service clerk with links to one of Europes most prolific hate preachers, a Moroccan pastry chef whose partner said he once went swimming rather than see his daughter and an Italian man who told authorities he wanted to be a terrorist.

At least two of the men were known to British intelligence and law enforcement officials, raising questions about whether anything could have been done to stop the attack, which began Saturday when the men drove a rented van into a crowd and then leaped out to stab people who crossed their paths. Seven were killed and nearly 50 wounded. All three of the attackers were shot dead by police.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said it was fair to ask how the attackers slipped through our net.

Read more:

After London attack, Theresa Mays record on terrorism scrutinized

Alleged London attacker was known for radical views, appeared in documentary

In wake of London terror attack, Trump vows to do whatever is necessary to protect U.S.

Pubs, hotels, London citizens offered strangers shelter during terror attack

Security has become a key issue in the run-up to Thursdays general election. British security officials said none of the men was considered violent, but they acknowledged the difficulty of predicting whether extremists will turn dangerous. The assault was the third attack in three months in which most of the assailants had been on authorities radar at some point.

As the investigation expanded to look at how the men knew one another and whether they were part of a larger conspiracy, Pakistani intelligence authorities swooped Tuesday into the town of Jhelum, where Khurum Butt lived until the time he was 7, when he moved to Britain. His cousin, 18-year-old Bilal Dar, told The Associated Press that Butts uncle was taken in for questioning. It was unclear if he was detained.

Our family is hurt by what he did, Dar said in the town about two hours east of Pakistans capital. This has destroyed our familys pride.

Butt, 27, embraced radical Islam during his time in London and was once filmed in a documentary called The Jihadis Next Door. In the film, he was seen with a group unfurling a black-and-white flag associated with Daesh, also known as ISIS. The men were followers of Anjem Choudary, a preacher who was jailed for his support of Daesh and who once praised the Sept. 11 attackers.

It is thought that Choudary played a key role in Butts radicalization, according to a British government official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk about the ongoing investigation. Choudarys now-banned al-Muhajiroun group was linked to one of Butts alleged connections, Sajeel Shahid, according to the British government official who again spoke on condition of anonymity.

Shahid allegedly provided Al Qaeda terror training to Mohammed Siddique Khan, one of the four suicide bombers who killed 52 people during Londons morning rush hour in 2005. He was also accused of training other terror suspects in Britain, though Shahids whereabouts were not immediately confirmed late Tuesday.

During his time in Britain, Butt once worked for Transport of London as a customer service clerk but failed his probation after a few months on the job after attendance issues. He also worked at Kentucky Fried Chicken and used a gym in east London. In his spare time, he tried to recruit followers to Daesh  a practice that prompted a neighbour to report him to the police in 2015.

He was one of about 3,000 suspects who were known to British authorities but not part of 500 active investigations.

The problem occurs when we know someone is moving in extremist circles but we dont have evidence to indicate that they are plotting an attack, said the British government official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Thats where the question of resources comes into play.

Police identified the second attacker as 30-year-old Rachid Redouane, also known as Rachid Elkhdar, who claimed to have both Moroccan and Libyan roots and worked as a pastry chef in Ireland, where he had lived in the past five years as well the east London suburb of Dagenham.

He married a British woman named Charisse OLeary, who posted on Facebook last month that Redouane was negligent in seeing their young daughter and on one planned visit, she said he told her: Im going swimming. The couple is thought to have split. OLeary was one of 13 people arrested after Saturdays attacks. Twelve were later released. One man is still being held.

Redouane was never under surveillance by Irish authorities, and Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald urged caution in speculating about his movements. Several British media reports on Tuesday, however, said he had been denied political asylum in Britain in 2009 but allowed to work years afterward in Ireland after he married his British wife. British officials could not immediately confirm the reports.

The third attacker was identified as Youssef Zaghba, a 22-year-old Italian national of Moroccan descent who was reportedly working in a London restaurant.

An Italian prosecutor says Zaghba told authorities after being stopped last year at Bolognas airport that he wanted to be a terrorist, but then quickly corrected himself.

An eyewitness to the London Bridge attack filmed the scenes from inside Borough Market on Saturday night immediately after suspected attackers were caught by the police.

There was not enough evidence to arrest or charge Zaghba when authorities questioned him at the Marconi airport on March 15, 2016, Bologna prosecutor Giuseppe Amato said Tuesday. Amato told Italys Radio 24 that Zaghba was flagged to British authorities as a possible suspect.

Zaghba was stopped while trying to take a flight to Turkey on his way to Syria, Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported Tuesday.

After that, Amato said, any time Zaghba was in Italy, he was always tracked by Italian intelligence officers.

We did everything we could have done, he said. But there werent elements of proof that he was a terrorist. He was someone who was suspicious because of his way of behaving.

Over the past two years, Italy has expelled 181 people who were suspected of extremist activities but for whom there was insufficient evidence to bring formal charges. Zaghbas Italian citizenship prevented such an expulsion, Italian daily Repubblica reported.

His mother said her son used to show her videos of Syria and wanted to go because it was a place where you could live according to a pure Islam.

Valeria Collina was quoted by Italian weekly news magazine LEspresso as saying she last spoke to her son Thursday and now realizes it was a goodbye call. She said she tried to keep him away from radical friends, but he had the internet and from there he got everything.

Prime Minister Theresa May, who called the snap election in hopes of strengthening her mandate for discussions over Britains exit from the European Union, has come under fire for the cuts to police numbers in recent years. A string of opinion polls over the past couple of weeks have pointed to a narrowing in the gap between her Conservative Party and the main opposition Labour Party.

The number of police officers in England and Wales fell by almost 20,000 between 2010 and 2016  years when May, as home secretary, was in charge of policing.

The countrys official terror threat level remains at severe, one notch below the highest.

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It is time Canada spoke some harsh brutal truths to Aung San Suu Kyi, the de facto leader of Myanmar (also known as Burma) and one of only six honorary Canadian citizens.

The Nobel Peace Laureate, who has long been regarded as the female Asian equivalent of Nelson Mandela, is in Canada this week to meet Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to get some tips on federalism and constitutional reform.

But the top agenda item on any and every meeting she has in this country should be her governments persecution and near genocidal treatment of Burmas Rohingya Muslim minority.

Since her National League for Democracy won a crushing majority in national elections in Burma in November 2015, Aung San Suu Kyi has done virtually nothing to help the Rohingya people, who, for decades, have been widely described as the most persecuted people on Earth.

In fact, since last October, Burmas NLD-led government has waged a brutal security clearance operation in Burmas Rakhine State that has led to the killing of hundreds of Rohingya people and the forced the displacement of more than 30,000 others. Dozens of Rohingya villages have been burned, women raped, civilians arbitrarily arrested and children killed.

Last December, a dozen other Nobel Peace Laureates signed an open letter to the UN Security Council that warned the crisis in Burma is a tragedy amounting to ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.

This March, the UN office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights issued an urgent report that said the most recent abuses in Burma may amount to crimes against humanity.

While discrimination against the Rohingya has been endemic for decades, the recent level of violence is unprecedented, the report said.

UN observers and human rights groups have documented a litany of extrajudicial executions, random shootings, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention, rape, beatings, torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading punishments, looting, destruction of property and ethnic and religious discrimination.

The Rohingya, who number about one million people, have lived in Myanmar for generations, but Burmas predominantly Buddhist population view them as foreign intruders from neighbouring Bangladesh and have worked to persecute and marginalize them for decades.

Since 1982 the Rohingya have systematically been denied most elemental rights: citizenship, freedom of worship, education, marriage and travel. They have been rendered stateless, despite living in Burma for generations, and when forced to flee as refugees during repeated rounds of violence have remained unrecognized by Bangladesh.

As a result, hundreds of thousands endure persecution and poverty, while thousands more have sought to flee by undertaking dangerous and desperate sea voyages to other countries.

Aung San Suu Kyi, who was honoured by Canada for her own courage and determination during 15 years of imprisonment under the despotism of Burmas previous military rulers, has refused to speak up for her countrys Rohingya minority for fear of antagonizing Buddhist nationalists.

That needs to change.

It must change, if Canadas awarding of honorary citizenship is to be worth anything.

As Canadians we cannot complacently ignore the plight of the Rohingya as Aung San Suu Kyi has done.

At the very least, Canada should do everything possible to encourage the government of Myanmar to denounce the hate, racism and violence that has driven the Rohingya from their homes.

We should demand the reinstatement of citizenship to the Rohingya and allow them to return to their villages and we should insist that the Rohingya should have their rights restored and be given access to work, health care, schools and humanitarian assistance.

Peter Goodspeed is a retired journalist and a board member of Canadians in Support of Refugees in Dire Need (CSRDN).

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Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland didnt mention Donald Trump by name as she set out the Trudeau governments foreign policy priorities on Tuesday.

She didnt have to. Canada, like the rest of the world, is scrambling to figure out how to deal with Trumps relentless America First agenda, and Freeland gave a strong, positive answer. The response, she said, must be to reaffirm our long-standing commitment to upholding the international order. If the United States steps back, we and others must step up.

This is right as far as it goes, and it will resonate both with Canadians and others worried to see the U.S., in Freelands words, shrug off the burden of world leadership, most recently in Trumps misguided decision to pull out of the Paris Accord on climate change.

The risk for a so-called middle power like Canada, as Freeland pointed out, is that the rule-based system constructed in the aftermath of the Second World War will fray if its traditional champion turns inward. Other, less scrupulous powers, like China and Russia, will rush to fill the vacuum of leadership. In a might-makes-right world, the smaller fry (including Canada) will inevitably be more vulnerable.

So Freeland is unquestionably right to underline the often-overlooked benefits for Canada of an international order based on rules (including global trade organizations, the United Nations, NATO and the rest). The United States under Trump may be turning its back, but its to Canadas advantage to encourage others to join in upholding our shared values. Trump, after all, wont be there forever.

Talk, however, is cheap. And Canadas commitment will be measured not just in words but also in deeds and dollars.

Well start to find out how the Trudeau government will back up Freelands words on Wednesday when it issues the results of a review of defence policy. The minister promised the government intends to make a substantial investment in Canadas military, something that is badly overdue after years of embarrassing delays in procuring big-ticket items like modern naval ships and fighter aircraft.

That type of equipment allows Canada to back up its soft power talk with hard power action, at the right times and in the right places. Trump has been badgering Washingtons NATO allies to increase their military spending, and there is some truth in what he says. Others should not be perpetual free riders on the American dime. If thats all we do, Freeland noted, we risk becoming a mere client state of the U.S. Independence in world affairs doesnt come for free.

On a shorter-term note, the government should finally spell out what it intends to do in the area of peace operations. It put a potential mission to Africa on hold after the Trump victory, and its high time to clarify those plans.

Just as important, Canada needs to step up its game in foreign aid.

The government is about to announce what Freeland calls Canadas first feminist international assistance policy, focusing on womens rights and gender equality. A focus on women would not be a first for Canada; the Harper government funded programs for maternal and child health, and fighting sexual violence and forced marriages (even though it was criticized for not funding abortion services).

But the Conservatives allowed Canadas overall foreign aid effort to wither. It now accounts for just 0.24 per cent of GDP, below the average for developed countries and far short of the UN ideal of 0.7 per cent. Even as it shifts the focus to womens rights, the Trudeau government must do better on total spending if it wants to show true leadership in this area.

Freeland also defended free trade at a time when the concept is under attack from both right and left. Canada has always been a trading nation and it stands to be a big loser if the rest of the world follows Trumps lead and retreats behind their borders.

But she also made the vital point that the real issue is domestic policy. Its up to each country to make sure that the prosperity generated by trade and growth is widely shared.

If it isnt, as we have seen too many times in the recent past, ordinary people will justifiably turn against the international system itself and back politicians like Trump who play on their worst instincts. The Trudeau government is absolutely right to push back against this destructive trend.

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Re: Word gets out about Windsor, June 3

Word gets out about Windsor, June 3

In her article, Books Editor Deborah Dundas betrays her bias in her opening sentence where she writes: The stretch of Highway 401 between London and Windsor is relentlessly boring. I say, wake up, roll down your windows and open your eyes. Later in the same article she opines . . . this area of southwestern Ontario better known outside of the area for its thunderstorms and farms than for its literature. My goodness.

Perhaps she doesnt know that Alistair McLeod was a resident of Windsor for most of his writing life. Perhaps she hasnt heard of Archibald Lampman, who came of age in Morpeth near the shores of Lake Erie. Perhaps she is unfamiliar with the life and times of Raymond Knister, widely regarded as the first important modernist in English Canadian poetry. And what of the presence in the city of Canadas most widely celebrated literary publisher, Marty Gervais, poet laureate of the city of Windsor? His influence on generations of the practitioners of Peoples Poetry is beyond measure. His press, Black Moss Press is one of the longest continuously existent literary publishing house in Canada, and it began in Windsor and it remains firmly located in Windsor. Im sorely disappointed in the failure to give so much as a single mention to Marty Gervais.

Its high time the books editor of the Toronto Star took the kind of drive along the 401 that is attentive, and when she praises a region she might try a little harder to get to know the region shes praising

John B. Lee, poet laureate of the city of Brantford, and Norfolk County, Ont.

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As Softbank (SB) - Get Free Report scans the heavens for a new partner for OneWeb Satellites, it will be hard pressed to find as neat a match as Intelsat (I) - Get Free Report .

The star-crossed merger of OneWeb and Intelsat fell apart Thursday after bondholders of the latter refused to take a discount for their notes, a requirement of Softbank's $1.7 billion investment.

Other satellite groups include include Telesat Holdings Inc., owned by Loral Space & Communications (LORL) - Get Free Report and Canada's Public Sector Pension Investment Board; SES SA; Inmarsat and others would present a more complicated fit.

Intelsat owns geostationary orbit, or GEO, satellites. These satellites orbit about 22,000 miles above the earth, and can cover large areas. As the name implies, they remain stationed above a place on the ground.

OneWeb plans to launch hundreds of low earth orbit, or LEO, satellites. These satellites orbit a few hundred to a thousand miles or so above the Earth. They have lower latency, or delay in transmissions, than GEO satellites, but because they are not stationary it takes a constellation of them to cover an area. LEOs are less expensive to build than GEO satellites, however.

Adding to OneWeb's appeal to Intelsat, the company plans to operate on Ku-band spectrum, the same band of spectrum in which Intelsat operates. The spectrum compatibility could be why Intelsat was an early investor in OneWeb.

Intelsat CEO Stephen Spengler explained the reasoning behind combining the companies during a February earnings call.

"It starts with the selection of spectrum," he said, noting that the Ku-band is a favorite of commercial service providers because of the field of companies that develop applications and hardware compatible with the spectrum. "Ku-band benefits from a rich ecosystem, spurring innovation and allowing customers to select hardware best suited to their requirements," he said.

OneWeb's constellation of satellites will reach places Intelsat's GEO satellites do not. "OneWeb provides consistent ubiquitous coverage everywhere, including the polar regions that are important to mobility applications," Spengler added, noting that the LEO's "low-latency services are important for certain applications, especially voice or commanding of robotics," during the call.

Telesat CEO Daniel Goldberg is a big fan of LEO and clearly endorsed of the logic behind combining Intelsat's presence in GEO with OneWeb's planned deployments in LEO.

"It reinforces a lot of the things that we've been working on and a lot of the things that we've been saying to our shareholders and discussing with our customers and the like," Goldberg said of the Intelsat-OneWeb merger during a March investor call.

The catch is that, unlike Intelsat, Telesat is already working on its own LEO deployment. The company expects to launch two low-Earth satellites earlier this year to supplement its GEO satellite coverage, among other steps. The company did not respond to a query about Softbank and OneWeb.

"There would be overlap between OneWeb and Telesat," said CreditSights analyst Lindsay Pacia. "It's possible they do something with Telesat but it's not as good as a fit."

Inmarsat is another large geostationary satellite operator. "Regarding our strategy, Inmarsat has always operated as GEO company, providing global coverage from a base network of three large satellites, into which we add additional capacity based on customer demand," said a spokesman, who declined to comment regarding Softbank and OneWeb.

While OneWeb and Intelsat both use Ku-band, Inmarsat operates on L-band and Ka-band spectrum. The company is investing $1.6 billion in a Ka-band service. Jefferies analyst Giles Thorne suggested that OneWeb would be "too left field" for Inmarsat, given its commitment to other spectrum bands.

SES is another GEO player. However, the company has favored other orbits over LEO. Last year, SES spent more than $700 million to complete its ownership of O3b Networks Ltd. O3b operates on the medium earth orbit, or MEO, which is about 5,000 miles above earth and lies in between LEO and GEO. SES did not respond to a query.

As Softbank and OneWeb consider their options, they could come back to to Intelsat. Bondholders could change their views if Intelsat struggles, and Softbank could be willing to pay more if the company shows progress or if it changes its mind about paying up for a GEO partner. Softbank declined to comment and OneWeb did not respond to a query.

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.
Corporate America should prep for more regulation, not less, in spite of the rhetoric out of Washington, according to one leading executive adviser.

"In our collective organizations, it is hard to anticipate that we have anything other than more regulation," said Tim Ryan, U.S. chairman and senior partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. He made the remark in an interview with TheStreet's Jim Cramer at The Deal's second annual Corporate Governance Conference in Manhattan on Monday.

Wall Street has rallied in the wake of Donald Trump's surprise election November, in part due to the hopes that having Republicans in control of Congress and the White House will herald a major deregulatory wave.

The president has promised to "do a big number" on Dodd-Frank and early in his tenure signed an executive order requiring that for every one new regulation, two must be scrapped. The GOP has also used the Congressional Review Act to roll back about a dozen Obama-era rules.

This article was originally published by The Deal, a sister publication of TheStreet (TST) - Get Free Report that offers sophisticated insight and analysis on all types of deals, from inception to integration. Click here for a free trial.

Ryan, whose conversation with Cramer centered on what is on CEOs' minds at the moment, acknowledged that most corporations would like deregulation but are aware of the challenges of it coming about, especially in a moment when public distrust in Capitol Hill and corporate America is high.

"There's a fairly high degree of enthusiasm for deregulation [among executives]," Ryan said. "Yet at the same token, you have a lot of people who are sitting there saying, 'We don't trust CEOs.'"

He pointed to the uproar just last week over the nearly $100 million pay package awarded to the former CEO of EpiPen-maker Mylan Inc. (MYL) - Get Free Report .

"When you look at what policymakers' and regulators' responsibilities are, it's to listen to constituents," Ryan said. "That trust gap is so wide, why would the general populous be willing to sit there and say, 'We trust you more with less?"

Ryan and Cramer touched on a range of matters during their half-hour sit-down, including cyber security, transparency and diversity. Ryan, who has more than 25 years of experience in client strategy and relationship management, predicted that almost every company will experience some sort of "trust crisis" over the next 12 months.

President Trump, who has demonstrated an unparalleled interest in engaging directly with CEOs and corporate America, was of course a topic of conversation as well. His Twitter habits were top-of-mind, given the series of outbursts he unleashed on the platform over the weekend and on Monday.

"Most CEOs now have something in play that they didn't have before, which is what if we're the next tweet?" said Ryan.

Trump has singled out a number of companies directly on social media, including Ford Motor Co. (F) - Get Free Report , United Technologies' (UTX) - Get Free Report Carrier and Boeing Co. (BA) - Get Free Report .

"Shame on you if you don't have a plan already [for a Trump tweet]," Ryan said.

Being a corporate executive is harder now than ever, Ryan said, and the president isn't making it any easier. His decision to pull out of the Paris climate agreement exemplifies the dilemma by forcing execs to decide whether to continue to try to work with the White House or not. Tesla Inc.'s (TSLA) - Get Free Report Elon Musk and Walt Disney Co.'s (DIS) - Get Free Report Bob Iger resigned from presidential advisory councils; General Motors Co.'s (GM) - Get Free Report Mary Barra and IBM Corp.'s (IBM) - Get Free Report Ginni Rometty plan to stay in.

"What many CEOs have to figure out is can you have more influence at the table or not being at the table?" he said.

More From The Deal's corporate governance conference:
Lufthansa AG (DLAKY) led the European airline sector higher Tuesday as investors reacted to bullish statements from CEO Carsten Spohr at an industry event in Mexico late Monday.

The head of Europe's second-largest airline by passenger numbers, Spohr said that the German company is not interested in a bid for ailing Italian rival, Alitalia, but that it might look at expanding in Italy depending on the outcome of the state backed firm's ongoing bankruptcy process.

"From an outlook perspective we are getting more optimistic every week regarding our demand situation, especially from the U.S. and from Asia," Spohr told reporters on the sidelines of the conference.

Shares of Lufthansa rose nearly 2.7% in the opening two hours of trading in Frankfurt to change hands at 18.23 each, extending its year to date gain to more than 48%. The Stoxx Europe TMI Airlines index closed lower by 0.85% Tuesday.

Airfrance KLM (AFLYY) was another big gainer in the space Tuesday, up 2.6% to trade at an intraday high of 10.59, extending its gain since the beginning of January to more than 104%.

KLM CEO Pieter Elbers also iterated a positive outlook for the current fiscal year, saying that long haul bookings and unit revenues were both healthy.

He also said that KLM is looking at its relationships with third party bookings providers now that its major rivals have implemented surcharges for bookings made through third parties.

The French airline has been the best performer, in terms of its stock price, in Europe this year as the shares came back from their 2016 terrorism-induced lows and concerns over politics in many parts of Europe began to recede.

easyJet (EJTTF) , a low cost carrier listed in London, said Tuesday that passenger numbers climbed by 9.5% during May, when compared with the same period one year ago, and that its load factor remained steady at 91.5% despite having added capacity during the last 12 months.

Shares of easyJet rose more than 1% during early trading in London, to change hands at an intraday high of 1,361 pence, extending their year to date gain to more than 35%.
Shares of Albany Molecular Research (AMRI) jumped nearly 9% to $21.54 in premarket trading on the heels of news that the Albany, N.Y.-based firm agreed to be acquired by private equity firms Carlyle Group and GTCR for $21.75 per share in cash.

The price tag marks a 42% premium to the 60-day weighted average closing stock price leading up to April 5, the last trading day before the media reported on a potential sale process.

Meanwhile, shares of Acorda Therapeutics (ACOR) - Get Free Report rose 8.8% to $16.65. The Ardsley, N.Y.-based firm after the market close on Monday said data from a phase three study of CVT-301 (levodopa inhalation powder) showed "a statistically significant, clinically meaningful improvement in motor function, as measured by the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale - Part III (UPDRS III) in people with Parkinson's experiencing OFF periods." OFF periods refer to the re-emergence of Parkinson's symptoms.

The company added that multiple secondary endpoints were supportive of the primary endpoint result. Acorda is presenting the data at the International Congress of Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders, which is taking place June 4 - 8 in Vancouver.

In other Acorda news, the company said Tuesday it is presenting new data from clinical and preclinical studies of tozadenant at the event. Tozadenant is being developed as a maintenance therapy to reduce OFF time for people with Parkinson's taking an oral carbidopa / levodopa regimen.

Other biotech movers include

PTC Therapeutics

(PTCT) - Get Free Report

, up 7.7% to $14.59. The South Plainfield, N.J.-based firm Tuesday said it was

informed

by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of the tentative scheduling of a Peripheral and Central Nervous Systems Drugs Advisory Committee meeting on Sept. 28 to review the new drug application for ataluren (Translarna), a protein restoration therapy to treat nonsense mutation dystrophinopathy.

The news comes after PTC unveiled executive promotions on Monday. The company elevated Marcio Souza to chief operating officer and Christine Utter to principal financial officer and treasurer.

Jim Cramer and the AAP team discuss why they've Abbott Labs (ABT) - Get Free Report out of the bullpen and into the portfolio. Find out what they are telling their investment club members. Get a free trial subscription to Action Alerts PLUS.

Meanwhile, over on Real Money, Eric Jhonsa has seven key takeaways from Apple's (AAPL) - Get Free Report hardware and software announcements at the Worldwide Developers Conference.
Authorities in the U.S. and Mexico have reached an agreement that maintains Mexican sugar exports to the U.S., Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo announced on Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The agreement keeps Mexican sugar access to the U.S., but lowers the ratio of refined or raw sugar exports to 30%-to-70% from the current 40%-to-60% ratio.

Guajardo appeared in an interview on CNBC describing the talks, saying how negotiators dealt with "minor technicalities" overnight. Guajardo expects the countries to make an announcement regarding an agreement at this afternoon's conference.

Retail's downturn giving you the blues? Jim Cramer has a list of retailers that are currently oversold, giving investors a leg up one of the market's most volatile sectors.
Looking ahead to the Paris Air Show in two weeks, Boeing (BA) - Get Free Report on Tuesday announced highlights of its presence: appearances by top executives; a 737 MAX 9 flight; a 787-10 display; displays of several defense products and this: "Qatar Airways plans to present a 777-300ER, showcasing its newly designed business class interior."

This was perhaps the most positive comment about Qatar Airways' future that anybody made on Tuesday.

Qatar Airways faces an existential crisis due to a diplomatic showdown after four neighbors -- Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain -- severed relations with Qatar and closed their airspace to its flag carrier's flights on Monday. CNN reported that Qatar Airways is losing more than 50 flights a day, accounting for an estimated 18% of its capacity.

Not only can the airline not operate in the four countries, but also it cannot fly within their air space, a far bigger problem because the four countries largely surround Qatar. CNN said the airline must use alternative, longer routes -- primarily routes over Iran -- for flights to Europe and North America.

Longer term, it's not just Qatar and its passengers who may suffer. It is also Boeing and Airbus.

Boeing is having a good year. In trading Tuesday, shares were down 0.9% but have risen 20.3% year to date. Among the 30 Dow stocks, up 7% so far in 2017, Boeing is the No. 4 performer.

Nevertheless, a massive commitment to Middle East carriers has been a concern for some Boeing experts, if not for Boeing investors.

Middle East carriers combined account for 544 outstanding aircraft orders, about 10% of Boeing's total. The value percentage is higher because the Middle East order books tilt to widebodies.

Qatar has orders for 74 Boeing 777s and 30 Boeing 787s. Emirates has orders for 171 Boeing 777s. Etihad has orders for 26 Boeing 777s and 59 Boeing 787s.

Airbus, meanwhile, has 110 outstanding orders from Qatar, 94 from Emirates and 83 from Etihad.

The threat to Qatar is only the latest in a series of geopolitical events that have called the order books into question.

In April, Emirates cut its U.S. flying by 20%, blaming security measures that ban laptops -- very peculiarly, only on flights from Middle East airports -- and on the Trump administration's continuing efforts to ban travelers from some Muslim-majority nations.

Etihad, meanwhile, has not succeeded with a strategy of investing in troubled international carriers including Alitalia and Air Berlin. In an April report, aerospace consultant Scott Hamilton wrote, "Etihad's struggles and poor investment choices led to losses and a declining balance sheet, say those familiar with the situation.

"Etihad appears so far to be hardest hit by the evolving market dynamics. It's deferred Boeing 787s from next year into 2019, according to an analysis of the Ascend data base," Hamilton wrote. "It's also pushed 787s from 2020 and 2021 into 2022 and 2023."

The three Middle East carriers have an unusual business strategy. They are heavily subsidized by their governments, which seek to take advantage of a unique interpretation of Open Skies treaties with the U.S. to establish giant hubs in an area that produces minimal local traffic.

According to Hamilton, Emirates, Etihad and Qatar "largely compete for the same connecting traffic through hubs only 72-235 miles apart. This is like having hubs in Milwaukee and Chicago (81 air miles apart) and Chicago-Detroit (237 air miles) with much, much smaller domestic catchment basins."

The region has "too many airlines with too many grand ambitions," said Richard Aboulafia, airline analyst for the Teal Group.

The situation recalls U.S. aviation in the 1990s, when America West had a hub in Columbus, Ohio; Continental had a hub in Cleveland; Delta had a hub in Cincinnati, and US Airways had a hub in Pittsburgh.

In a country that requires its airlines to be profitable, none of the four hubs exist today and, except for Delta, none of the airlines do either.

On Monday, leaders of the world's airlines gathered in Cancun, Mexico, for the annual meeting of the International Air Travel Association, a trade group for 275 airlines. Qatar CEO Akbar Al Baker attended, but on Monday, as Qatar's neighbors announced they had severed relations "he left suddenly," said Hamilton, who also attended the session.

"There was no mystery," Hamilton said. "Everyone knew why."

Aerospace consultant Addison Schonland added, "Akbar's hasty and early departure from Cancun says it all. The airline has to be going through nasty schedule and route changes now. Traffic will also have shrunk {which} will likely mean a slowdown in deliveries.

"It's very early to opine," Schonland said. "l'm watching the Paris Air Show for a guide on how this plays out."

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New Jersey insurance regulators are conducting a comprehensive review of the financial services company Prudential (PRU) - Get Free Report . This is part of a state supervisory role over Prudential, Reuters reports.

There are no allegations of wrong doing on Prudential's part and the investigation is not a criminal probe. Rather, state insurance regulators often examine the businesses and finances of insurance companies under their authority.

Prudential is one of two U.S. insurance companies that the government considers a "systematically important financial institution," Reuters added. This means if the company were to fail it could ruin the financial system.

Shares of Prudential Financial were declining by 2.12% to $103.33 on Tuesday morning.

Retail's downturn giving you the blues? Jim Cramer has a list of retailers that are currently oversold, giving investors a leg up one of the market's most volatile sectors.
A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S (AMKBY) , the world's largest container line, said that it can't get its shipments into or out of Qatar following a blockade that was initiated by its neighbors and Saudi Arabia who say the country actively funds terrorism.

"We have confirmation that we will not be able to move cargo to or from Qatar," the company said in an emailed statement.

Maersk ships about 16% of the world's seaborne cargo.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain all accused the country this week of using proxies to fund violent terror groups in the region. \

Shares of A.P. Moller-Maersk are lower in late afternoon trading.

Everyone wants to sell oil stocks, but Jim Cramer believes there is a buying opportunity for the right energy securities. Read his analysis here.
Exxon Mobile (XOM) - Get Free Report believes the production and exports of liquefied natural gas from Qatar have not been disrupted by the increasing diplomatic conflicts in the Middle East, Reuters reports.

On Monday Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt all cut ties with Qatar, accusing the country of supporting extremism, something it has denied.

The issue has raised concerns of about global access to Qatar's LNG, most notably after some regional ports in the Persian Gulf said they would turn away vessels with Qatari flags. Exxon helped Qatar to become the world's largest LNG exporter.

Everyone wants to sell oil stocks, but Jim Cramer believes there is a buying opportunity for the right energy securities. Read his analysis here.
IDEX Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides applied solutions worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Fluid & Metering Technologies (FMT), Health & Science Technologies (HST), and Fire & Safety/Diversified Products (FSDP). The FMT segment designs, produces, and distributes positive displacement pumps, small volume provers, flow meters, injectors, and other fluid-handling pump modules and systems, as well as offers flow monitoring and other services for the food, chemical, general industrial, water and wastewater, agricultural, and energy industries. The HST segment designs, produces, and distributes precision fluidics, rotary lobe pumps, centrifugal and positive displacement pumps, roll compaction and drying systems, pneumatic components and sealing solutions, high performance molded and extruded sealing components, custom mechanical and shaft seals, engineered hygienic mixers and valves, biocompatible medical devices and implantables, air compressors and blowers, optical components and coatings, laboratory and commercial equipment, precision photonic solutions, and precision gear and peristaltic pump technologies. This segment serves food and beverage, pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical, cosmetics, marine, chemical, wastewater and water treatment, life sciences, research, and defense markets. The FSDP segment designs, produces, and distributes firefighting pumps, valves and controls, rescue tools, lifting bags, and other components and systems for the fire and rescue industry; engineered stainless steel banding and clamping devices for various industrial and commercial applications; and precision equipment for dispensing, metering, and mixing colorants and paints used in retail and commercial businesses. IDEX Corporation was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois.
Insperity, Inc. provides human resources (HR) and business solutions to improve business performance for small and medium-sized businesses. The company offers its HR services through its Workforce Optimization and Workforce Synchronization solutions that include a range of human resources functions, such as payroll and employment administration, employee benefits, workers' compensation, government compliance, performance management, and training and development services. It also provides Insperity Premier, a cloud-based human capital management platform that offers professional employer organization HR outsourcing solutions to its clients; personnel record management services; and employer liability management services, as well as solutions for middle market. In addition, the company offers MarketPlace, an e-commerce portal that offers a range of products and services; and Workforce Acceleration, a human capital management and payroll services solution; time and attendance; performance management; organizational planning; recruiting; employment screening; retirement; and insurance services. As of December 31, 2021, it operated through 85 sales offices in the United States. The company was formerly known as Administaff, Inc. and changed its name to Insperity, Inc. in March 2011. The company was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Kingwood, Texas.
Exxon Mobil Corporation is the largest direct descendent of John D. Rockefellers Standard Oil and one of the worlds largest companies. Its earliest roots lie with Vacuum Oil which got its start in the 1860s. Vacuum Oils primary product was kerosene, an important advancement for heating and lighting in rural America. Vacuum Oil was later merged with Standard Oil of New Jersey which was the parent operation of the Standard Oil empire prior to its breakup. Standard Oil of New Jersey would merge with other independent operators over the next few years until settling on the brand Exxon for most of its operations.

Meanwhile, Standard Oil of New York was operating under much the same impetus, merging and growing, until it became known as Mobil. Then, in 1999, the two giants became one with a merger of equals that on paper had Exxon buying Mobil. Now, the combined company operates under the Exxon, Mobil, and Esso brands as an international vertically integrated energy and petrochemical business.

Today, the company explores and produces crude oil and natural gas and their derivative products globally. As of 2022, it was ranked 6th on Forbes Fortune 500 list and 12th on the Global 500 list but it has held positions from #1 to #10 over the years. In terms of its operations, it is the worlds second-largest oil refiner and the largest refiner outside of China. In terms of reserves, ExxonMobil claimed about 18.5 million barrels of oil and oil equivalents at the end of 2021 and was ranked 15th globally.

ExxonMobil operates through three segments that are the Upstream, Downstream, and Chemical segments. The Upstream segment explores for and produces oil and oil equivalents and represents roughly 70% of the income. The Downstream segment gathers, receives, stores, transports and refines oil and equivalents and their derivatives. The Downstream segment also markets and delivers fuel products to consumers and businesses. The Chemicals segment produces the full range of petrochemicals including plastics, resins and synthetic rubber.

ExxonMobil is committed to advancing sustainable and carbon-free energy solutions. The company is targeting 2050 for net-zero emissions and its 2030 interim targets are in alignment with the Paris Accord, the EU's Global Methane Pledge, and US Methane Emissions Reduction Action Plan. The companys plans include investing $15 billion into reducing greenhouse emissions by 2028.






Summit Midstream Partners, LP focuses on owning, developing, and operating midstream energy infrastructure assets primarily shale formations in the continental United States. The company provides natural gas gathering, compression, treating, and processing services, as well as crude oil and produced water gathering services. Its unconventional resource basins include the Utica and Point Pleasant shale formations in southeastern Ohio; the Williston Basin that consists of the Bakken and Three Forks shale formations in northwestern North Dakota; the Denver-Julesburg Basin, which include the Niobrara and Codell shale formations in Colorado; the Permian Basin that comprise the Bone Spring and Wolfcamp shale formations in New Mexico; the Piceance Basin, which include the Mesaverde formation, and the Mancos and Niobrara shale formations in western Colorado; the Barnett Shale formation in north-central Texas; and the Marcellus Shale formation in northern West Virginia. The company also owns an ownership interest in Ohio Gathering, which owns and operates natural gas gathering and condensate stabilization facility in the Utica Shale in southeastern Ohio. It serves natural gas and crude oil producers. Summit Midstream GP, LLC operates as a general partner of the company. The company was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
Three people were arrested on outstanding warrants during the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office recent "Click It or Ticket" campaign.

The sheriff's office participated in the nationally organized campaign from 3 to 8 p.m. on May 24 with a high-visibility safety checkpoint on U.S. 77 just north of Nebraska 33.

Twelve deputies checked vehicles for apparent traffic violations and to assure that all occupants were properly restrained.

Deputies checked 566 vehicles, which resulted in two criminal citations, 15 traffic citations, 88 warning/defect cards being issued and the three arrests, the office said.

Then from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. the same day and two others days, additional deputies were patrolling.

During the high visibility checkpoint and the saturation patrol, a combined total of 777 vehicles were contacted, which resulted in 21 criminal arrests, the office said.

Those include 141 traffic citations for the following offenses:

* 5 driving under the influence

* 7 driving during suspension

* 12 seatbelt violations

* 3 child restraint violations

* 67 speeding violations

* 21 registration and insurance violations

* 26 various traffic violations

Criminal offenses included:

* 1 felony possession of a controlled substance

* 8 possession of marijuana less than 1 ounce

* 8 possession of drug paraphernalia

* 3 minor in possession of alcohol

* 1 resisting arrest

Overtime for the additional deputies working during the mobilization will be paid through a mini-grant funded by the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety.
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Millions and millions of gallons of organic milk contain industrial-brewed ingredients to beef up nutritional values.

When you buy a carton of organic milk, chances are you think youre getting a carton of pure organic milk. And if youre splurging on organic milk with DHA Omega-3 fatty acids to support brain health  and who doesn't want their brain health supported?  chances are you think that those healthy bits are coming courtesy of healthy grass-fed cows. But as Peter Whoriskey points out in the Washington Post, you might be wrong on both accounts  much of the nation's organic milk can thank algal oil (and fish oil) for its brain-boosting boasts.

Whoriskey describes a setting in a South Carolina factory that sounds a tad less charming than Horizons cartoon cow leaping across the planet's grassy fields might suggest. He writes:

Inside a South Carolina factory, in industrial vats that stand five stories high, batches of algae are carefully tended, kept warm and fed corn syrup. There the algae, known as schizochytrium, multiply quickly. The payoff, which comes after processing, is a substance that resembles corn oil. It tastes faintly fishy.

The oil is added to milk, in this case Horizons DHA Omega-3 version, allowing the company to advertise its added benefits and attach a higher price tag. Consumers bought more than 26 million gallons of Horizons algae-goop milk last year, according to the company; that accounts for 14 percent of all organic milk gallons sold.

(Meanwhile, on a related note, Costco's Kirkland organic milk gets its Omega-3 boost from "refined fish oil." Organic Valley says of their Omega-3 option, "Our pasture-raised milk naturally contains higher levels of these important nutrients. We further enrich that organic goodness with an extra dose of omega-3s." Meaning: Refined Fish Oil (Sardine, Anchovy), Fish Gelatin (Tilapia).)

For a lot of people, this all may be perfectly fine. Rather than taking an omega-3 supplement, they might prefer to eat it with their morning cereal. And algal oil is vegetarian and a sustainable option with a lot of potential. Yet for anyone with allergies it could obviously be detrimental  and the problem is that it all leads to a bigger question: Can you really call something organic when it includes factory-brewed ingredients?

We do not think that [the oil] belongs in organic foods, Charlotte Vallaeys, a senior policy analyst at Consumer Reports, told The Post. When an organic milk carton says it has higher levels of beneficial nutrients, like omega-3 fats, consumers want that to be the result of good farming practices...not from additives made in a factory.

Whoriskey says that the USDA initially misread federal regulations in 2007, and then five years after the algal oil milk was launched, quietly acknowledged that some federal regulations had been incorrectly interpreted. The USDA then maintained the status quo, he writes, allowing the use of algal oil, among other things  in order not to disrupt the market.

And indeed, the market is thriving. Millions of people choose our Horizon Organic milk with DHA Omega-3 for the added benefits DHA Omega-3s are thought to deliver, Horizon says, also noting that the additive may improve heart, brain and eye health.

But consumers purchasing organic milk are potentially paying higher prices without clearly understanding the implications, at least if they are expecting their organic products to be free of laboratory-inspired razzle-dazzle, as Whoriskey puts it.

Additives just dont have any place in organics at all, says Barry Flamm, former chair of the National Organic Standards Board. You might say additives should be allowed for health reasons, but I never saw an additive that you couldnt get in real foods.

Fortifying the food supply is nothing new; vitamin D added to milk virtually did away with rickets, niacin in bread and iodine in salt also come to mind. But the USDA's mistake in allowing supplements like algal oil in organic products  and deciding to let that mistake stand indefinitely  may conflict with consumer's expectations of what they are really purchasing.

If you want a dose of omega-3 with your coffee, great. But if you want a pure, single-ingredient, 100 percent organic product, step away from the brain-boosting wonder milk.
- Fresh details indicate the killing of Mumias Sugar Company legal officer, Ronald Lubya was politically motivated

- Lubya is said to have been hunted down and killed after he failed to sign the authorisation of illegal importation of sugar from Sudan

- The illegal sugar was set to be repackaged as Mumias Sugar and released to the market to finance political campaigns

Fresh details over the killing of a legal officer of Mumias Sugar Company have emerged revealing the motive behind his death.

READ ALSO: Mumias Sugar Company legal manager SHOT dead, wife injured in an attack at their Matungu home

Reports indicate that Ronald Lubya who was shot on Sunday night, June 5 was killed after he refused to allow illegal importation of sugar from Sudan.

Sabatia MP Alfred Agoi who was accompanied with his Vihiga and lugari counterpart said Lubya died for failing to sign for the importation of illegal sugar which was to be released in the market as Mumias Sugar.

READ ALSO: Waiguru gets unlikely SUPPORT from Kirinyaga residents

The illegal sugar was to be imported and repackaged as Mumias sugar

READ ALSO: ODM and Jubilee leaders team up against the IEBC with a warning

It is sad that now we have resorted to killing public officers who are protecting public funds from being misused in political campaigns. Let political parties get money for their campaigns from the right sources, said Agoi.

On Monday, May 5, NASA flag-bearer Raila Odinga called for a speedy investigation and also pointed fingers at the government over the incident.

The Jubilee government killed my friend Jacob Juma. On Sunday, they killed Ronald Lubya because he opposed a scheme to import sugar from Sudan to Uganda, said Odinga.

READ ALSO: Uasin Gishu MCA aspirant who lost three sons GRUESOMELY finally receives some good news

ODM leader Raila Odinga revealed that Lubya was killed for failing to authorise the illegal importation

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NASA co-principal Musalia Mudavadi also accused the government saying it was intimidating public officers by forcing them to raise funds for politics through illicit ways.

Lubya's widow said her husband had just arrived from Nairobi after attending a sugar miller's board meeting before he was ambushed and shot dead.

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The gangsters who wore jungle green uniforms later assaulted her before eating the food she had prepared for dinner and left with stolen electronics including a laptop and briefcase containing documents.

Have anything to add to this article or suggestions? Share with us on news@tuko.co.ke

Watch a video below on the youngest presidential candidate below;

Source: TUKO.co.ke
- Uhuru has been under fire from opposition following the murder of Mumias Company boss Ronald Kubya

- NASA leaders have accused the Jubilee government of 'silencing' Kubya

- Uhuru, during his Kisii tour, has now sent a message to opposition

President Uhuru has spoked for the first time after being linked to the murder of Mumias Sugar Company secretary Ronald Kubya..

Speaking during his rally in Kisii on Tuesday, June 6, the President condemned what he termed as incitement from opposition, and instead urged the selling of agenda to people.

Quit hurling insults and sell your agenda. Kenyans want agenda. There is no need for incitement, He urged.

READ ALSO: This is the HUGE amount of votes Khalalwe has promised NASA from Western Kenya

His utterances come at the back of an onslaught from NASA leaders, who on Monday, pointed an accusing finger on the Jubilee government in what they termed as the Unga revolution.

NASA co-principal Kalonzo Musyoka addressing residents in Machakos on Monday, June 5

READ ALSO: One killed after gunmen attack politician's vehicle

The alliance, through their co-principals Musalia Mudavadi, Moses Wetangula, Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka accused the government of killing Lubya for failing to comply with their alleged plan to hide illegal sugar imported from South Sudan.

NASA flag-bearer Raila Odinga called for a speedy investigation and also pointed fingers at the government over the incident.

READ ALSO: The expensive tablet IEBC officials will be using in the elections have now arrived (photos)

The Jubilee government killed my friend Jacob Juma. On Sunday, they killed Ronald Lubya because he opposed a scheme to import sugar from Sudan to Uganda,

However, during his campaign in Kisii, Uhuru condemned the utterances as incitement, daring opposition to come up with sufficient evidence for their damaging claims.

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"Announcing in public rallies of ones death will not solve anything. Let the aggrieved seek help from the relevant authorities," He told Kisii residents.

In addition the President urged the Kisii faithful to vote for another Jubilee regime, while handing somewhat of an incentive of KSh 358 million to about 7000 internally displaced persons in the county

READ ALSO: Big blow for Wiper Party as another governor nominee DROPS out of the race

Uhuru is set to tour Nyamira county on Wednesday, June 7.

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Watch the video below:

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-0 Nairobi governor Evans Kidero has on numerous occasions attempted to prove his track record over the past 4 years as governor

- Kidero will be seeking to defend his seat against a tough opponent in the form of JubileeS Mike Sonko

- More recently, the governor has attempted to highlight his achievements, while attributing his failures to a party supposed to be aiding him

Nairobi governor Evans Kidero on Tuesday, June 6 defended his record as Nairobi governor, while faulting the Jubilee government for frustrating his efforts to fully perform.

Kidero was addressing journalists after meeting with more than 1000 women in Westlands, where he cited his track record since he clinched the hot seat in 2013.

"We have done roads, hospitals...17 dispensaries are now 24-hour...we have built maternity and modern mortuary facilities at Mbagathi, modernised City mortuary, built an inpatient hospital in Mutuini, He said.

READ ALSO: Jubilee governors words against Uhuru Kenyatta come back to haunt him

Kidero has on numerous occasions been criticized over his track record in the Capita, with many feeling that perhaps he has underperformed during his first stint.

READ ALSO: Jubilee governors words against Uhuru Kenyatta come back to haunt him

He however defended the claims yet again, albeit via faulting the government who he claims have been frustrating his efforts.

READ ALSO: ODM MP aspirant claims police officers have sorrounded his home ahead of DP Ruto's visit

"We pay salaries of Sh1.3 billion every month, which translates to around Sh15 billion per year, yet we only get around Sh13 billion every year from the national government." He added.

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Typically, the ODM governor took a minor Jibe at arguably his biggest threat Mike Sonko, whom he claimed was not mature for Nairobi politics.

File photo of Senator Sonko and governor Kidero

READ ALSO: Uhuru Kenyattas son takes his first dig at politics

"Nairobi ni ya wale watu wamekomaa (Nairobi is only fit for mature people, He teased.

If popular opinion is anything to go by, Nairobi Senator holds a slight edge over the incumbent as elections draws nearer.

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Is Muthama a liability in NASA? Kenyans speak:

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Eight employees of the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services have been referred
Polish oil and gas company PGNiG considers the Ukrainian gas market to be very promising and plans to double gas exports this year.

Vice-President of the Management Board Maciej Wozniak said this during the II Polish-Ukrainian Gas Conference in Warsaw, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"It was a turning point for us last year. We exported 370 million cubic meters of gas to Ukraine... This year we plan to double exports," Wozniak said.

According to him, the main obstacle for gas export is a weak throughput. The company plan to overcome this obstacle with construction of the Ukrainian-Polish gas connection.

Wozniak described the situation on the Ukrainian energy market as "very dynamic" as there is a large number of traders, and transactions occur in short periods of time.

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Ukraine and Thailand have signed a trade agreement and an agreement on legal assistance in criminal matters.

Foreign Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin posted this on Twitter.

"Weve signed a Trade Agreement between Ukraine and Thailand and an agreement on legal assistance in criminal matters," wrote Klimkin.

As earlier reported, Foreign Minister Klimkin on June 4 for the first time took part in the Asia Security Summit: The Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD), which is held annually in Singapore.

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Swiss Federal Councillor Didier Burkhalter, who will be on a working visit to Ukraine on June 6-7, will visit Donetsk region and hold talks with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin.

This has been reported by the press service of the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine.

"On June 6, Didier Burkhalter, the Federal Councillor, Head of the Federal Department of Home Affairs of Switzerland, is paying a visit to Donetsk region for humanitarian reasons," the statement said.

The Foreign Ministry has informed that in Mariupol Burkhalter will take part in the transfer of the 6th Swiss humanitarian cargo (1,600 tons of reagents for water treatment and medical supplies worth USD 600,000), and he will also meet with representatives of the international organizations working in the east of Ukraine.

On June 7, Foreign Minister of Ukraine Klimkin will hold talks with the head of the Swiss Foreign Ministry. The parties will discuss bilateral cooperation, including the expansion of the Swiss technical and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.

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OMAHA  Omaha authorities have identified the body of a man found floating in the Missouri River.

Boaters spotted the body around 2:15 p.m. Sunday. An Omaha Fire Department river rescue team recovered it near Eppley Airfield on the northeast corner of the city.

Omaha police say investigators have identified the man but declined to release his name.

Police say no foul play is suspected in the death.
Chicago, IL (UroToday.com) Dr. Heather Cheng gave a short introduction before giving an excellent summary of abstracts 5009, 5010 and 5011. Nowadays there are many life prolonging treatments for metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), and more in development. Genomic sequencing is advancing in tremendous steps but is still not a standard in prostate cancer. It is however known, that mCRPC has >20% defects in DNA repair genes (BRCA1-2, ATM and more) and >10% of DNA repair defects are germline (heritable). Lastly, treatment with androgen receptor (AR) targeted agents can select for more aggressive variants.Dr. Cheng continued with the summary of abstract 5009  Need for re-evaluation of current guidelines based on results from germline genetic testing in prostate cancer (PC), presented by Dr. Piper Nicholsi. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2016 of 692 men with metastatic prostate cancer demonstrated that 11.8% had germline DNA mutations.The mutations were associated with autosomal dominant cancer predisposition in men unselected for family history of age of onset of disease. Unfortunately, existing guidelines for genetic testing rely on family history of cancer. Abstract 5009 analyzed 1158 patients with PC and all had germline genetic testing for 80 genes associated with cancer (with 14 being specific for PC). The authors also analyzed whether the current genetic guidelines would have prompted a genetic testing for all relevant patients. Key findings of this study included 17% having one of these genetic mutations, out of which 34% were in BRCA1 or BRCA2 and 43% in one of the other 12 prostate specific genes. Unfortunately, 40% of high risk men did not meet current guidelines criteria for genetic testing. Therefore, new guidelines are urgently needed for genetic testing.Dr. Cheng moved on to abstract 5010  Next generation sequencing (NGS) of tissue and cell free DNA to identify somatic and germline alterations in advanced prostate cancer, presented by Dr. Michael Cheng. It is known that over 20% of mCRPC men have homologous recombination DNA repair defects  enabling them to potentially benefit from PARP inhibitors and platinum chemotherapy. Furthermore, 5-10% of mCRPC have evidence of microsatellite instability/hyperstimulation, potentially making them candidates for immune checkpoint inhibitors. In the study presented in abstract 5010, 1038 tumor/normal DNA pairs were prospectively analyzed from 896 PC patients using the MSK-IMPACT NGS assay. The authors found that 29% had DNA damage response (DDR) mutations detected when somatic and germline analysis was done, compared to 11% with somatic only analysis. Therefore, combination of somatic and germline sequencing identified more patients with potentially actionable DDR alterations.The final abstract Dr. Cheng summarized was abstract 5011  Whole exome sequencing (WES) of circulating tumor DNA in patients with neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NPEC) informs tumor heterogeneity, presented by Dr. Himisha Beltran. NPEC is a distinctly aggressive clinical entity, diagnosed with specific clinical features and treated with different chemotherapy regimens. In this study the authors enrolled 64 CRPC patients to characterize heterogeneity (CRPC-adenocarcinoma patients vs. CRPC-NPEC patients). Additionally, they did WES of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA). Key findings included 80% concordance between mutations in plasma DNA versus metastasis, ctDNA identifying relevant alterations not found in a single site biopsy, and greater similarity in ctDNA and tumor in CRPC-NPEC than in CRPC-adenocarcinoma. In summary, if the results of this study are validated in the future, ctDNA may aid in early diagnosis, tumor taxonomy, and directing patients to research and treatment opportunities.Dr. Cheng concluded her presentation by stating that genomic biomarkers to guide treatment will soon be standard for prostate cancer. In order to continue on the right path, there is need for reproducibility, measures of sensitivity and specificity, a requirement to pair genomic data with clinical outcomes, caution and discipline in interpretation of various associations, and lastly, we need to exercise care in setting appropriate expectations for patients.Presented By: Heather H. Cheng, MD, PhD, University of Washington, Seattle, WAWritten By: Hanan Goldberg, MD, Urologic Oncology Fellow (SUO), University of Toronto, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaTwitter: @GoldbergHananat the 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting - June 2 - 6, 2017 - Chicago, Illinois, USAReference:1. Pritchard CC, Mateo J, Walsh MF, et al. Inherited DNA-Repair Gene Mutations in Men with Metastatic Prostate Cancer.2016;(5): 443-53.
The United States has called on the Gulf countries and Egypt to address their differences with Qatar. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Yemen, Maldives and Egypt cut ties with Qatar over its alleged links with terrorist organizations and questioning of U.S. hostility toward Iran. All of these countries are U.S. allies in the fight against Islamic State and Iran's expansionism. U.S. officials say the rift will not undermine these efforts. Zlatica Hoke reports.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has again invited the Taliban to peace talks at a mutually agreeable venue, promising the insurgents they eventually will be allowed to open a representative office if significant progress is made.

Ghani made the offer while addressing a peace conference he convened Tuesday in Kabul of regional and international partners to discuss ways to end the deadly conflict in Afghanistan and boost cooperation to counter the Islamic State-led emerging regional threat of terrorism.

We would accept that the location for peace talks can be anywhere that is mutually agreeable, whether it be in Kabul where we would provide guarantees or elsewhere. If there is agreement to develop a peace roadmap acceptable to both sides, we would allow Taliban groups to open a representative office so that both sides can meet in safety, said Ghani.

The conference - named the "Kabul Process on Peace and Security Cooperation"  was attended by representatives from 26 countries and international organizations. It took place as the turmoil-hit nation witnesses some of the worst terrorist attacks in years and unprecedented Taliban battlefield advances since 2001.

A powerful bomb went off at a main mosque in the western city of Herat on Tuesday, killing at least 10 people and wounding many more, Afghan officials said. There were no immediate claims of responsibility and a Taliban spokesman denied its involvement.

On May 31, a massive truck bombing of the Afghan capitals diplomatic section killed more than 150 people and injured hundreds of others, including foreigners.

The Taliban said it had nothing to do with the blast, the deadliest attack in the 16-year-old conflict.

Offering a chance for peace

While offering peace talks to the Islamist insurgency, Ghani reiterated his preconditions, including recognition of the Afghan constitution, continuity of the reforms of educating and advancing the rights of women, and renunciation of violence and linkages with terrorist groups.

We are offering a chance for peace but we must also be clear that this is not an open-ended opportunity, Ghani said.

The Taliban unofficially maintains its "political office" in Qatar, but Kabul does not recognize it and has been pushing Qatari authorities to close it down.

A Taliban spokesman rejected Ghani's latest offer of a peace dialogue and denounced Tuesdays Kabul gathering as another attempt to "endorse and prolong foreign occupation of Afghanistan.

The Kabul administration wants peace talks only for the Taliban to surrender but this fake process will never succeed, said Zabihullah Mujahid in a statement sent to media, including VOA.

He asserted that the Taliban, and Afghans in general, would welcome any peace conference that is organized for ending the occupation" of their country because all other gatherings would be futile and unproductive.

Ghani, in his speech, also underscored the urgency of resolving the conflict, saying Taliban-sponsored terrorism is attracting terrorists linked to Syria-based Islamic State to find refuge in Afghanistan.



Pakistan criticized

Global terror has targeted Afghanistan  Best estimates show an increase from 200 to 11,000 [IS-linked] foreign fighters over the past four years, Ghani noted.

The U.S. military, however, estimated the number of IS loyalists in Afghanistan stood at about 3,000 at the group's peak two years ago, but sustained counterterrorism operations have since reduced the number to fewer than 800, according to American military officials.

Ghani again criticized neighboring Pakistan for a lack of cooperation in promoting Afghan peace. Afghan officials allege that Taliban insurgents are using sanctuaries on Pakistani soil to wage the insurgency.

The Afghan spy agency blamed the Haqqani network, a Taliban ally, for conducting the May 31 attack in Kabul with the direct support of the Pakistani intelligence agency.



Authorities in Pakistan have strongly rejected what they say are baseless allegations and part of a malicious agenda to damage renewed efforts Islamabad has been making to improve bilateral ties and enhance cooperation to fight terrorism.

After a special meeting of top commanders Tuesday, the Pakistani military pledged to continue its cooperation with Afghanistan in fighting terrorism and militancy.

The forum took exception to the unwarranted accusations and threats against Pakistan in the aftermath of the Kabul blast. The forum also concluded that instead of blaming Pakistan, Afghanistan needs to look inward and identify the real issues, said a statement issued after the meeting.
The tiny nation of Lesotho is one of the few countries in the world, including the United States, and one of just two in Africa, without mandated paid leave for new mothers. International watchdogs and activists say maternity leave is often poorly enforced, especially since so many African women work in the informal sector.

When Makhopotsohad Letsie had her youngest child, she took a three-month break from her job as a riveter to care for her baby boy.



Her employer, a large factory in Lesothos capital, paid her during that time. She got a grand total of just more than $23.



It was not enough to meet her needs, she says, but she had no choice.

That amount was not even a quarter of her monthly salary. But she was grateful, she says, because she lives in one of the few countries that does not mandate maternity benefits.

Parliament Member and All Basotho Congress spokesman Moeketsi Majoro says paid leave is not a kindness, it is a necessity. He says his party wants to implement a three-month maternity leave policy.



We want everybody to participate, and participate fully in the economy and without the insecurity or the difficult choices of having to raise the future of Lesotho and having to go to work for a minimum wage," said Majoro. "It is, in fact, an empowerment process that we need to put in place, as a policy.



The International Labor Organization recommends maternity leave of at least 18 weeks. But in a survey, the organization found no African government offers that to all mothers, South Africa leads with its law mandating 17 weeks.



Other African nations are trying to expand their policies. Rwanda last year expanded benefits to 12 weeks. Nigerias government recently expanded leave for civil servants to six paid months, but the private sector is only required to give three months.



In Kenya, employers have strongly objected to a recent proposal to offer at least six months leave, the last three unpaid and voluntary. They say they can not afford such a plan.

The ILO estimates a universal maternity cash benefit would cost low- and lower-middle income countries less than 0.5 percent of their economy. But the organization acknowledges, cash-strapped countries, like Lesotho, struggle in the face of more urgent needs.



Professor Anita Bosch, who researches gender and workplace issues at the University of Stellenbosch Business School, says societies cannot afford to deny newborns the bonding and formative experiences that will set them up for life.



But she says few women in Africa benefit from maternity leave, because these laws only apply to the formal sector. The ILO estimates worldwide less than a third of women hold formal employment.



In the informal sector, people are so desperate for work, remember our unemployment levels are at extreme levels. People are just desperate to have a job and to hang on to a job. And so for that, they will do whatever, and that makes them highly exploitable, said Bosch.



In most African nations, the law puts the burden on employers to pay maternity benefits. For mothers without jobs, there is often little help from the state.

Letsie says that worries her. Her 18-year-old daughter just married and like a quarter of Lesothos population can not find a job. Letsie is the breadwinner for her extended family and says she desperately needs help. She wonders what they will do when her first grandchild comes along?




As one Arab state after another announced it was severing ties with Qatar, the tiny Gulf monarchy's flagship television channel Al Jazeera did not react like other broadcasters  it updated its news ticker, but its presenters said nothing.

It was only when the Qatari foreign ministry released a statement saying it was facing a campaign of lies and fabrications aimed at putting the Gulf Arab state under guardianship that the channel came to life on the topic.

"This has been planned since 2014, but only came out after the Riyadh summit," said Mohamed al-Mosfer, one of the many Qatari analysts the channel had on to comment, referring to a meeting last month attended by U.S. President Donald Trump.

The Arab world's strongest powers cut ties with Qatar on Monday over alleged support for Islamists and Iran.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain coordinated their move, while Yemen, Libya's eastern-based government, and the Maldives joined in later.

Al Jazeera did not focus on the statements and comments coming out of those countries, instead giving air time to the U.S. and Turkish foreign ministers and an adviser to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani  all urging dialogue.

The channel is at the center of the controversy. Arab rulers accuse Qatar of using its multimillion-dollar franchise as a mouthpiece to attack them.

Local media in the countries that cut ties speculated it would be shut down in an effort by Qatar to appease its angry neighbors, but while journalists working there are rattled by the crisis, they think their station will survive.

"Everybody is shocked at the escalation but no one thinks the channel will close," said one journalist with Al Jazeera English. "It is something the Qataris will not give up."

Later that night, Al Jazeera focused on news coming out of Washington indicating Trump wanted to see the Gulf rift healed, as well as Kremlin statements calling for unity in the fight against militancy.

A White House statement saying Trump would work to smooth things over between Arab Gulf states played for over an hour on Al Jazeera screens. Saudi and Emirati channels ignored it.

When a senior Trump administration official told Reuters several of Qatar's actions worried its Gulf neighbors, Al Jazeera disregarded it. Other Gulf channels gave it prominence.

Influence and enemies

The channel cheered on the 2011 Arab Spring revolts, particularly in Egypt, but now faces aggressive competition in its home region, and suspicion from many governments over air time given to Islamist groups in Syria, Libya and elsewhere.

Al Jazeera's spectacular growth took place under former Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani who, unlike other Gulf Arab leaders, backed Middle East protest movements and played mediator in a host of wars.

Under his son and current ruler Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Qatar has toned down its foreign policy.

Founded in 1996 as part of Qatari efforts to turn economic power into political influence, Al Jazeera offered free-wheeling, uncensored debate of a kind rarely seen on Arab televisions.

Its talk shows hosted guests who challenged the wisdom of Arab rulers and adopted the role of supporter of the dispossessed. Reporters broke with a widespread taboo of the Arab news media by interviewing Israeli officials.

Funded by Qatar's royal family, Wadah Khanfar, a Palestinian journalist who was director general of the network between 2006-2011, helped turn the Arab satellite channel into a world network with millions of viewers and more than 20 channels broadcasting in languages including Arabic, English and Swahili.

With Al Jazeera's expansion came unprecedented influence in the Arab world, but also new enemies.

Egypt views Al Jazeera as critical of its government, and the channel has been banned there since 2013. Al Jazeera says it is an independent news service giving a voice to everyone in the region.

Egyptian security forces have arrested several of its reporters and last year a Cairo court recommended the death penalty for two of them, charged in absentia with endangering national security by leaking state secrets to Qatar.

Three others had previously been sentenced to between seven and 10 years in jail on charges including spreading lies to help a "terrorist organization"  a reference to the banned Muslim Brotherhood  but were later freed.

Saudi Arabia shut down the channel on Monday.

"Al Jazeera condemns the measures taken by Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Culture and Information to close the Al Jazeera Media Network's office and withdraw the operating license," said a spokesman in Qatar.
PINE RIDGE, S.D.  Oglala Sioux Tribe officials hope a mutual-aid agreement between the tribe and outside authorities could help curb violent crime in South Dakota.

Tribal leaders have met with officials from the Pennington County Sheriff's Office and Rapid City Police Department to discuss sharing emergency and police resources through a proposed extradition agreement.

Local police can't arrest people on reservation land because the areas are considered sovereign territories under federal law. Tribal police also face jurisdiction restrictions once offenders have left the area. Rapid City and the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation are separated by about 80 miles.

"Criminal behavior and illegal drug trafficking and illegal drug use do not respect jurisdictional boundaries," Rapid City Police Chief Karl Jegeris said. "The jurisdictional complications that exist actually give an advantage to criminal behavior. We're behind the curve."

The agreement would target people involved in violent crimes, illegal drug activity and domestic violence situations. Authorities hope the extradition agreement will bring justice to victims.

"It's time to work through and past those jurisdictional boundaries," said Pennington County Sheriff Kevin Thom. "We want to recognize the tribe's sovereignty and establish a process like we do with the other states so we have a mechanism to extradite people."

Stanley Little Whiteman, who leads the tribal council's law and order committee, said some people are worried the agreement will mean the tribe is ceding some if it's power.

"The rumors have been that Pennington's gonna patrol the reservation, but that's not true," said Little Whiteman, a former law enforcement officer on Pine Ridge. "We're just all kind of expanding our areas to assist each other."

The tribe's 20-member council must vote on the proposed agreement.
Local residents in east London, where the three men who carried out the London Bridge terror attack lived, told VOA of their shock that the terrorists lived in the community.

Twenty-seven-year-old Khuram Shazad Butt and 30-year-old Rachid Redouane both lived in the East London district of Barking. The third terrorist, identified as Youssef Zaghba, also lived in East London.

Butt once worshipped at the local Jabir Bin Zayd mosque, but was reportedly thrown out after a confrontation with the imam over Butts extremist views.

Muslim leaders say the mosques are united in their condemnation of the attack.

All the community leaders, all the mosque authorities, they were saying very strongly that we will not spare anybody if someone does this (terrorism). They are concerned, they are serious, I think, and also community people are serious, because it is harming them, and it is negative for them, Mukhlesur Chowdhury, a local resident and editor of the newspaper Bangladesh Worldwide told VOA.

Community shaken

Opposite the Jabir Bin Zayd mosque, the British flag hangs at half-staff on the Saint Margaret's Church of England school. Just down the road lies the East London Sikh Gurdwara. Barking residents told VOA all faiths live together in harmony - but many are shaken.

To tell you the truth, Im scared to go out to the station now. You cant even go in the bus now because you are scared, said Italian immigrant Giuseppe Frisenda.

Muslim communities reject any link with Saturdays attack. Barking resident Mohammed Zaki fears a backlash against the faith.

Its a very friendly environment, the people living here. And there is no such extremism. Its unacceptable that only Muslims are being targeted around the world, not only in Britain. So they should look, that Muslims are being slaughtered around the world. So how is it possible that only the Muslims are the bad people and the rest are very good people? Zaki told VOA.

Intelligence services say the two named attackers were known - but there was no evidence an attack was imminent.

Authorities are investigating whether others in the community knew of or helped conceal their extremism. Muslim leaders reject any link with the terrorists and insist they are cooperating fully with police.
Lithuania has began constructing a two-meter-high wire fence along its border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad ahead of military exercises Moscow is planning to hold there in September.

While the 45 km-long (30 mile) fence will provide little defense against a full-scale attack, it aims to prevent provocations and incidents, Lithuanian Interior Minister Eimutis Misiunas said on Monday.

"In order to avoid such situations, we decided we need the fence," Misiunas said at the groundbreaking ceremony.

For Lithuania and other Baltic republics, which won their independence from Moscow in 1991 but remain home to ethnic Russian minorities, any massing of Russian troops near their borders spreads concern, especially since the 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula by Moscow.

Although Russia has not disclosed the size of the Zapad (West) exercises that it holds every four years on its western borders, analysts have said that this year's drill may be the largest in quarter of a century, with a movement of about 100,000 Russian troops expected.

The recent deployment of 1,000 NATO troops to Poland and each of the Baltic states has unnerved Moscow, which had warned in January that it was a bad idea.

The United States will have doubled its troops in the region for the duration of the military exercises, an official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

In July, the U.S. Patriot surface-to-air missile (SAM) missile battery will be deployed in Lithuania for two weeks in July, for the first time in the region where Russia has air superiority.

The fence, which is to cost 3.6 million euros, is to define clearly the geographical border between Kaliningrad and Lithuania. Surveillance equipment installed alongside will give an early warning of any violation, the minister said.
Britain held a nationwide minute of silence Tuesday to honor the victims of Saturday's terror attack in London, as police announced the name of the third attacker killed by officers and made a new arrest linked to the investigation.

Metropolitan Police said detectives believe 22-year-old Youssef Zaghba was the remaining attacker who had not yet been publicly identified. They said he is believed to be an Italian national of Moroccan descent who lived in East London, and that he had not been a subject of interest for either police or the MI5 intelligence agency.

Authorities on Monday identified the other two attackers as 27-year-old British citizen Khuram Shazad Butt and 30-year-old Rachid Redouane, who also lived in East London. Police said Butt was previously known to authorities, but had not been viewed as a serious threat.

"There was no intelligence to suggest that this attack was being planned, and the investigation had been prioritized accordingly," police said in a statement.

Counterterrorism police arrested a 27-year-old man Tuesday in the Barking area, but did not say how he might be connected to the attack that killed seven people and wounded at least 50 others.

Police had previously arrested 12 people in the course of the investigation, but said Monday those 12 had all been released without any charges.

British Prime Minister Theresa May said police also are still working to determine the identities of all the victims, but that so far it is known they include people of several nationalities.

"This was an attack on London and the United Kingdom, but it was also an attack on the free world," she said.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said at a vigil Monday that the city "will never be broken by terrorism."

"Our unity and love for one another will always be stronger than the hate of the extremists," Khan said.

Police have said Saturday's attack involved three men who were inside a van that struck pedestrians on London Bridge, and then got out and stabbed numerous people at a nearby market area before being shot dead by police.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack through its Amaq news agency.
A lieutenant colonel in Burkina Faso's presidential guard has declared himself the new head of state.

Yacouba Issac Zida said Saturday in a statement broadcast on the radio and posted on the Internet that he is assuming the "responsibilities of head of this transition and head of state to guarantee the continuity of the state."

Zida said: ``While waiting to define in a consensual manner, with all the political parties and civil society organizations, the content and the contours of this peaceful democratic transition, I assume from today the responsibilities of head of this transition and head of state to guarantee the continuity of the state. I call on the international community, in particularly countries that are friends and allies of Burkina Faso, notably in the African Union and ECOWAS, to demonstrate their understanding and support our people in this difficult time.''

The president of Burkina Faso, Blaise Compaore stepped down after protesters stormed parliament and set the building ablaze, ending his 27-year reign and sparking a struggle in the military for control of the West African country.

Confusion reigns in Ouagadougou

On Friday Zida, representing a group of junior army officers, said the group had "taken the destiny of the nation in hand" while the constitution was suspended and a transitional government was in formation.

But earlier Friday, General Honore Traore, head of Burkina Faso's military, said he was assuming "responsibilities as head of state."

It was not immediately clear if Traore accepted Zida's announcement Saturday or whether other army officers had approved Zida's move to become the new head of state.

In resigning Friday Mr. Compaore had called for a 90-day transition period leading to elections. He ruled the country for 27 years after seizing power in a 1987 coup.

Unrest had broken out Thursday as lawmakers prepared to vote on a constitutional amendment that would have allowed Mr. Compaore to run for another term.

The government withdrew the amendment after protests became violent.
With President Donald Trump pulling the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord, China and California signed an agreement Tuesday to work together on reducing emissions, as the state's governor warned that "disaster still looms" without urgent action.



Gov. Jerry Brown told The Associated Press at an international clean energy conference in Beijing that Trump's decision to pull the U.S. out of the Paris agreement will ultimately prove only a temporary setback.



For now, he said, China, European countries and individual U.S. states will fill the gap left by the federal government's move to abdicate leadership on the issue.



"Nobody can stay on the sidelines. We can't afford any dropouts in the tremendous human challenge to make the transition to a sustainable future," Brown said. "Disaster still looms and we've got to make the turn."



Brown later held a closed-door meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, during which the governor's office said the two pledged to expand trade between California and China with an emphasis on so-called green technologies that could help address climate change.



Trump's decision to leave the Paris accord has drawn heavy criticism within the U.S. and internationally, including in China, which swiftly recommitted itself to the agreement forged with the administration of former president Barack Obama. Trump argued that the Paris agreement favors emerging economies such as China's and India's at the expense of U.S. workers.



Tuesday's agreement between California and China's Ministry of Science and Technology effectively sidestepped Trump's move, bringing about alignment on an issue of rising global importance between the world's second-largest economy  China  with California, which has the largest economy of any U.S. state and the sixth largest in the world.



Brown signed similar collaboration agreements over the past several days with leaders in two Chinese provinces, Jiangsu and Sichuan.



Like the Paris accord, the deals are all nonbinding. They call for investments in low-carbon energy sources, cooperation on climate research and the commercialization of cleaner technologies. The agreements do not establish new emission reduction goals.



The U.S. has long been a leader in the clean energy arena, driving innovations in electric cars, renewable power and other sectors of the industry. California, with some of the strictest climate controls in the nation, has been at the forefront of the sector.



China in recent years overtook the U.S. as the world leader in renewable power development. But it's also struggled to integrate its sprawling wind and solar facilities into an electricity grid still dominated by coal-fueled power plants.



At the same time, Chinese leaders face growing public pressure at home to reduce the health-damaging smog that blankets many urban areas.



China is by far the world's largest user of coal, which accounts for almost two-thirds of its energy use and has made it the No. 1 emitter of climate-changing greenhouse gases.



Communist Party leaders pledged that greenhouse gas emissions will peak no later than 2030 under the Paris pact, and start to fall after then. They have canceled the planned construction of more than 100 new coal-fired power plants and plan to invest at least $360 billion in green-energy projects by the end of the decade. The nation's consumption of coal fell in 2016 for a third consecutive year, but have rebounded slightly in 2017.



It could meet its 2030 target a decade early.



Trump Energy Secretary Rick Perry also is attending this week's energy meeting in Beijing. Observers say delegates from other countries will be listening closely to the former Texas governor to gauge how Trump administration policies will shape global energy trends.



During a Tuesday forum devoted to capturing carbon dioxide emitted from coal plants and other large industrial sources, Perry said his agency was pursuing an ``all of the above'' strategy that includes research intended to spur innovation for coal, nuclear, renewables and other fuels. He left the event without taking questions.



Perry is from a state that is known for its oil production but that's also emerged as a leader in renewables development. Texas has some of the largest wind farms in the country and a fast-expanding solar sector.



Trump is a strong advocate of boosting U.S. fossil fuel industries, in particular coal mining. Cheap natural gas and tighter pollution restrictions toppled coal from its dominant position in the U.S. power sector during Obama's tenure. Experts say it's unlikely to regain that position anytime soon, regardless of what Trump does.



Without mentioning Trump by name, Brown told attendees at a forum on electric vehicles that ``there are still people in powerful places who are resisting reality, who are resisting the obvious science that we know governs our lives.''



Later, when asked by the AP what could prompt the U.S. to return to the forefront of climate change efforts, Brown replied, ``Science, facts, the world, the marketplace.''
A Chinese city is using big data provided by a phone company to track the movement of its migrant worker population, expanding the many ways China is using big data to not just enhance performance but also track the daily lives of its citizens.

"When you buy a mobile phone SIM card, you need to register your identity information," said an officer of China Mobile designated at the company's booth during the recent Big Data Expo in southwest China's Guiyang city. He was explaining how the mobile phone company is assisting Guiyang police about the movement of migrants in the city on a real-time basis.

"So, we can obtain information about the people in a given area and details like whether they are men or women, their age, and where they come from," he said.

Very suddenly, big data is set to take up many of the responsibilities of the Communist Party's feedback mechanism. It is also expected to act as feedstock for the anti-corruption campaign, which has been using information about spending on wines and luxury buying for the purpose of investigations.

Social profiling

China has already introduced a system data-driven social credit rating system in 40 towns and cities, which will be expanded to the entire country by 2020.

Information about a person buying expensive wine, foreign luxury goods or an air ticket would be fed into a giant system which will analyze blocks of data to keep the government informed about the situation on the ground.

The tracking of people posting critical comments in social media is already going on and social media data will also be fed into the system, which goes far beyond financial credit ratings practiced in developed countries. Here, the system isnt focused entirely on debts and earnings, but on economic and social behaviors with an intention to allocate rewards and punishments.

China's Internet-based companies are eagerly joining the government's grand experiment. Mobike, a bike hiring company is giving out award points for bicycle users to voluntarily inspect parked bikes and inform the company about the misbehavior of other bikers.

A big data based information system might help improve the working of the police force in some respects. Officials in the government's education and health departments said big data is being introduced as a tool improve delivery systems.

Risks for many

But it can also help authorities in tracking the movement of political dissidents, journalists, NGO workers, foreign companies and individuals, analysts said.

"For international companies operating in China, the Social Credit System poses significant challenges," Mirjam Meissner, an expert with Mercator Institute of China Studies in Berlin, said. "They will probably be fully integrated into the systems mechanisms and could see their freedom of decision-making in China significantly constrained," she said.

At the same time, the rating system could create a more level playing field, since both domestic and international companies would be subject to the same rating mechanisms, Meissner said.

Kweichow Moutai Group, which produces high-end wines, has introduced a mobile phone app and encourages buyers to make online purchases.

"We monitor online sales to analyze the proportion of our potential users and our actual users. So, we can allocate our promotion efforts in different regions based on the information," an official posted at the company's booth at the Guiyang Big Data Expo said.

"The data is only for decision-making support to our company, and our data is not being made public," he said.

However, officials from several companies confirmed that they routinely share data with government departments. For instance, the government's tourism department collects data from online ticket selling companies and airlines to determine the flow of Chinese tourists to specific countries, and judge which destination is attracting high-spenders.

This information is seen as a major asset for the government, which is anxious about the movement of money and talent out of China. In addition, China is widely believed to use tourism as a political lever in dealing with foreign governments.

For instance, it is believed to have actively discouraged the movement of Chinese tourists to South Korea during the recent controversy over the installation of the U.S.-made THAAD anti-missile system. China and South Korea are now discussing the resumption of tourist flows as part of a new effort to mend forces.
"When a new Japanese soldier would come, they raped all three of us. They took turns, sometimes once or twice a day. I was so weak I couldn't take it. I was only 14 years old," said Grandma Adela in The Apology.

It took filmmaker Tiffany Hsiung five years to persuade three former "comfort women," profiled in the documentary The Apology, to give unflinching and painful testimony about their experiences being forced into sexual slavery during World War II.

"The war hasn't ended for any of the survivors. And that's what I was really interested in documenting," said Hsiung.

Her film won Best Documentary award at the Busan International Film Festival in South Korea last year, and this week will be featured at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival in New York City.

The Apology focuses on the lives of Grandma Adela in the Philippines, Grandma Gil in South Korea, and Grandma Cao in China, who were among the reported 200,000 girls and young women across Asia, known as "comfort women," that were allegedly kidnapped by the Japanese army, imprisoned in military run brothels known as "comfort stations," and forced into prostitution, abused and raped.

Watch the preview for 'The Apology'

Historical divide

The extent of Japanese wartime atrocities committed in Asia continues to be a contentious and politically charged issue. During the administration of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, some of his nationalist supporters have attempted to downplay past Japanese war crimes in history textbooks and even suggested the "comfort women" volunteered to work as prostitutes and were not coerced.

For over 20 years, surviving "comfort women" and activist supporters in South Korea have conducted weekly protests in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul to demand an official public apology that specifically articulates the Japanese government's responsibility for perpetrating these wartime atrocities, and they want official state compensation made to the victims.

A 2015 "comfort women" deal between former South Korean President Park Geun-hye Seoul and Prime Minister Abe had agreed to resolve all grievances, but both the "comfort women" and current President Moon Jae-in have rejected the carefully worded statement of apology by Abe and the $8 million Tokyo donation to a victims fund as too vague and insincere.

Acknowledging truth

Grandma Gil, one of the South Korean "comfort woman" featured in The Apology, is a leading activist seeking justice for the survivors. In the film she travels to Japan on a speaking tour, where she is harassed by conservative protesters calling her a prostitute, but also embraced by teenage girls at a Japanese school who were brought to tears by her story.

"For over 70 years I have not lived like a normal person. Would the wound go away if you apologize? No. The scars will remain but my heart can heal. I am waiting for that day," Grandma Gil told the Japanese students.

On the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, Prime Minister Abe expressed "sincere condolences' to victims of Japan's past military aggression, but he also emphasized that "generations not involved in the conflict should not be burdened with continued apologies."

Hsiung said her documentary is not an attempt to place guilt on endless generations of Japanese but to acknowledge the truth and learn from the past.

"Just because everyone who has been responsible for that, and committed that, have all passed away, it doesn't mean that that history and those atrocities get lost," she said.

The Apology also contrasts the outspoken network for South Korean "comfort women" with the lack of support and isolation for the survivors in China and the Philippines. China's restrictive political environment in particular has made it difficult for "comfort women" supporters to organize.

Hsiung said during the filming of the documentary she became a conduit connecting "comfort women" survivors to the wider movement. In one scene in the film Grandma Adela is encouraged to speak out when she watches video of a "comfort women" rally in Seoul.

"I think when people get to see that they are not alone, it is not an isolated issue, it's not just in their village, it's not just this one grandmother, when they see that it is part of a bigger thing, they feel more inclined to participate," said Hsiung.
To celebrate the June 5 World Environment Day, diplomats from more than a dozen foreign embassies and international organizations Monday joined the U.S. State Department to plant underwater seagrass in the Potomac River, a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay.



Diplomats told VOA their participation in green diplomacy is to help raise awareness of the challenges of clean water here and at home.



Underwater grasses growing in shallow waters of the Chesapeake Bay add oxygen to the water, provide wildlife with food and habitat, absorb nutrient pollution, trap sediment and reduce erosion, according to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.



Representatives from China, Costa Rica, Finland, Germany, Indonesia, Iraq, Malta, Pakistan, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the European Union and the World Bank, have been growing seagrasses in their chanceries or ambassadors residences since January 2017.



After six months of grow-out, diplomats gathered at the Mason Neck State Park in Lorton, VA to plant their grasses to bolster grass populations and help restore the Chesapeake Bay.



Nursing the grasses is a challenge.



My gosh, it is very difficult, Anggarini Sesotyoningtyas from Embassy of Indonesias Economic Affairs office told VOA.



Its not just like regular plant cause I think it really needs a careful maintenance and care, said Sesotyoningtyas, adding that the first few days were making sure grass-growing kits were set up correctly, then checking constantly that the seeds were growing.



By working with the CBFs Grasses for the Masses program, diplomats are demonstrating the commitment to environmental protection.



Underwater grasses are great to protect the natural ecosystem. They offer a lot of benefits for the water. One of the neat things about grasses is they provide shade for some of the river critters or the bay critters. They also provide oxygen to the water, bring in more oxygen, they help trap pollution, said Rebecca LePrell, Chesapeake Bay Foundations Virginia executive director.

Addressing the challenge of clean water is part of the State Departments green diplomacy initiative.

Its certainly something that many other countries, most other countries, struggle with as well. And so its something that we share in common and can work around a simple product that can be taken to other countries to use. Just simple six months of growing grasses makes a huge benefit to waterways, the State Departments Office of Foreign Missions director Cliff Seagroves told VOA.



Some diplomats say the U.S. decision to leave the Paris agreement will affect their partnerships. Instead of country-to-country relationships, they will instead focus on cooperation with local governments and communities.



My job here at the embassy is environmental cooperation with the United States.That might take a different form going forward. We might focus more on state local actors, on the business community who have been very loud in their opposition to the pulling out with the Paris agreement and want to continue to fight climate change, said Anton Hufnagl from the Germany Embassy.



By helping restore seagrass in the Chesapeake Bay, the State Department said it aims to raise awareness of the challenge of clean water, both in the Washington, DC metropolitan area and around the world.



It also is an opportunity for the U.S. to work with the foreign diplomatic community to address an environmental challenge that people face globally.
The White House is intending this to be "Infrastructure Week," focusing on its trillion-dollar plan to improve America's outdated transportation system. But that itinerary seemed to be quickly derailed, just hours into the new week, as President Donald Trump himself detoured from the plan with a series of fresh provocative tweets.

In a three-hour period on Monday morning, the president took aim at the Democrats for not approving his nominees; criticized U.S. courts for suspending his travel ban, and denounced the mayor of London, mischaracterizing Sadiq Khan's "no reason to be alarmed" quote in the wake of the London attacks.

The tweets, which in some cases undermine or distract from the president's own stated agenda, have been a source of frustration for even some of his closest supporters.

As of now, those tweets posted by the president to his personal @realDonaldTrump account are not pre-screened.

"Not that I'm aware of," answered Principal Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders when asked if the tweets are being vetted by a lawyer or aide.

"I think social media for the president is extremely important," explained Sanders. "It gives him the ability to speak directly to the people without the bias of the media filtering those types of communications."

Sanders criticized reporters for what she described as "the obsession over every detail of the president's tweets."

The White House on Monday wanted the headlines to primarily be about the plan to privatize the nation's air traffic control system.

The president's only public appearance for the day was at a White House event announcing and signing the Air Traffic Control Reform Initiative, which he declared is the "first important step to clearing the runway for more jobs, lower prices and much, much, much better transportation." But by the time he announced it, the White House was again experiencing turbulence due to the earlier Trump tweets.

Programming on some cable news networks was more focused on the president's travel ban tweets in which he criticized his own Justice Department for the revised measure he characterized as "watered down" and "politically correct."

The tweets  a continuation of earlier ones by Trump in the wake of the Saturday night terrorist attack in London in which seven people died  also criticized London's mayor.

"Pathetic excuse by London Mayor Sadiq Khan who had to think fast on his 'no reason to be alarmed' statement. MSM is working hard to sell it!" said the president on Twitter. MSM referred to mainstream media.

Social media users pointed out that Khan was referring to an increased police presence, not the attack itself.

The mayor of New York City came to Khan's defense. Bill de Blasio tweeted that his London counterpart is "doing an extraordinary job supporting Londoners in a time of pain. President Trump's attack on him is unacceptable."

An "Infrastructure Week" presidential trip Wednesday to Cincinnati to highlight plans to upgrade inland waterways crucial to agricultural exports will come just a day before fired Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey is to testify publicly before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

Comey will be asked what Trump told him about the federal investigation of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and the retired Army lieutenant general's ties to Russia.

Another headline grabber Monday was the White House confirming the president "will not exert executive privilege regarding James Comey's scheduled testimony."

That means by Friday, "Infrastructure Week" may have a different name for the history books.
After the shock and anguish of a series of terror attacks in recent weeks, Britain will hold a general election Thursday, and security has moved to the top of the agenda.

In the wake of the most recent attack, Prime Minister Theresa May said "enough is enough" and warned that Britain needed to drastically change its approach to guarding against terrorism.

Meanwhile, the British capital is physically adapting to the apparent new threat.

Armed police are being deployed to soft targets like railway stations and tourist hubs. On the famous bridges across the River Thames, barriers have been erected to separate traffic lanes and sidewalks, offering some protection from vehicle attacks  the modus operandi of the two most recent terror incidents in the capital.

WATCH VIDEO:

But beyond physical defenses, how can Britain protect itself? That question is at the forefront as the country prepares to go to the polls.

More police power

On the campaign trail Tuesday, May pledged to give security services the tools they need.

"I will look at giving more powers to the police and the security service, longer sentences for terrorist-related offenses, dealing with this issue of the Internet and ensuring there is no safe space online for terrorists," she said.

The government is pressuring websites like YouTube to police content more rigorously. London Muslim community activist Hamdi Abdalla Mohamud welcomed the focus on online extremism.

"We should work together to tackle all these problems, and to make sure our youth are using proper websites and proper information and good information. Because as parents we don't know what our children are doing, even if they are at home with us. And we would like the government to help us," she told VOA.

Critics say the roots of extremism stem from ideologies within Islam itself and must be confronted.

"We believe that there is a lack of debate on this particular matter. And a lot of especially left-wing groups try avoiding speaking about this issue publicly as a means of being politically correct," said Julia Rushchenko, a lecturer at the University of West London and an associate fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, a policy analysis group in London.

From same district

All three London Bridge attackers came from the Barking and Dagenham district of east London. Muslim leaders there strongly reject any link with their faith.

Khaja Ashfaq Ali, trustee of the Dagenham Central Mosque, said, "We propagate peace and we preach peace. So what we expect from the people is peace and tolerance in the community. So we have a system in place that we follow the Prevent strategy. So we look at what is going on in our community, and we try to avoid as far as possible these kinds of issues."

The government's Prevent strategy works with communities to make it easier to report individuals voicing extremist views.

One of the London Bridge attackers, Khuram Shazad Butt, was twice reported to authorities over concerns about extremism. He was even featured in a documentary on jihadism and was a follower of jailed preacher Anjem Choudary, a convicted Islamic State recruiter.

The government wants an inquiry into security failings. Opposition leaders blame government cuts.

"What is obvious is that policing numbers, investment in that side of our security, has fallen every year Theresa May has had any responsibility for it," Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron told supporters on the campaign trail.

The terror attacks had given Thursday's election an added urgent dimension. The immediate focus is on preventing further bloodshed. Longer term, the challenges are profound.
If there had been rafters in the ballroom at the Cornhusker Marriott on May 10, they would have certainly been raised given all the applause and celebration at the United Way/Community Health Charities Campaign Leadership Breakfast to recognize individuals and organizations that gave more than $500 to the 2016 campaign.

Dr. Steve Joel, 2017 United Way board president, opened the event by saying that the 2016 campaign showed the city we are working hard for our agencies and the families they serve. He also noted that among over 1,200 United Ways in the United States, Lincolns is recognized as one of the top 100.

Todd Duncan, campaign co-chair, said that leadership gifts account for 46 percent of the overall campaign. Among the top honorees was Lighthouse, a nonprofit after-school program for adolescents, which had 11 leadership givers including three new contributors and 100 percent employee participation in the general campaign and leadership giving. Wells Fargo, Duncan Aviation and Lincoln Public Schools were also recognized for having the largest increase in leadership givers.

Five companies were presented awards for their work to promote United Ways ENGAGE. EMPOWER. GRADUATE. initiative aimed at helping students and their families achieve a higher level of learning. Included were Ameritas, Nelnet, Union Bank & Trust, Zoetis and Assurity Life Insurance Co. This program, in its fourth year at McPhee Elementary, will expand to Campbell Elementary this summer.

Sheila Odom, past chair of the Womens Leadership Council that focuses on this initiative, said that of the children who participated in the two-week Jump Start to Kindergarten program last summer, 81 percent were proficient in writing and 67 percent were proficient in math. Attendees had significantly higher proficiency rates than students who did not attend.

Dr. Fred Ohles, Nebraska Wesleyan University president, shared his perspective on The Giving Habit in his keynote address. Ohles related that his 44-year support of his college started with a $5 gift when he was a graduating senior. Its satisfying as well as rewarding to give, he said.

The event ended with an appeal to support the virtual book drive to help children in poverty maintain reading levels over the summer.

The miraculous thing is that research shows that reading just six books over the summer can help a student maintain their academic level, Odom reported.

The 2017 United Way/Community Health Charities Campaign launched in April. For more information, visit: unitedwaylincoln.org.
Canada will seek to play a larger role on the world stage as the United States retreats, Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Tuesday, in remarks underscoring strains between Washington and its closest allies.

Freeland spoke after recent NATO and G7 summits where U.S. President Donald Trump upset leaders to such an extent that German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed doubts about the reliability of the United States.

Freeland, noting "international relationships that had seemed immutable for 70 years are being called into question," stressed the value of bilateral ties with the United States, traditionally seen as Canada's closest friend. She also made clear those bonds might loosen.

"The fact that our friend and ally has come to question the very worth of its mantle of global leadership, puts into sharper focus the need for the rest of us to set our own clear and sovereign course," she said in an address to parliament outlining her foreign policy vision.

"For Canada that course must be the renewal, indeed the strengthening, of the postwar multilateral order," she said.

Trump, elected on a promise to put "America first", accused North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies of not picking up their fair share of military spending and then announced he was quitting the Paris climate change pact.

"Canadians understand that, as a middle power living next to the world's only super power, Canada has a huge interest in an international order based on rules," said Freeland.

Canada, she said, would "strive for leadership" in multilateral forums such as the G7, the G20, NATO, and the United Nations.

She said NATO and Article 5, the alliance's mutual defense doctrine, lay at the heart of national security policy. Trump upset NATO leaders by not personally affirming his commitment to the article.

For Canada to play a larger role globally, it would need to make "a substantial investment" in its armed forces, she added.

Officials are due to unveil additional military spending on Wednesday.

"Canadian diplomacy and development sometimes require the backing of hard power," she said. Canada spends less than one percent of what the United States devotes to defense.

Freeland said Canada was deeply disappointed by the decision to leave the Paris pact but made no other criticisms of U.S. policy. Canada will soon start talks on renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement, under which it sends a majority of exports to the United States.
A smartphone app lets citizen scientists help professional scientists track changes in the natural world as urbanization, habitat loss, invasive species and climate change shake up ecosystems worldwide.

More than 100,000 users on all seven continents are snapping pictures of plants and animals they find and uploading the images using an app called iNaturalist. Those geotagged photos are giving researchers an unprecedented amount of information about what lives where, and how that's changing with humanity's expanding footprint.

On a spring afternoon in Arlington, Virginia's Barcroft Park, a half-dozen eager onlookers huddle around a plywood board on the forest floor, waiting for the big reveal. Spray-painted on the board are the words, wildlife study.



As one volunteer lifts the plywood board, Arlington natural resources manager Alonso Abugattas spots a pair of snakes coiled underneath.

"Northern brown, northern brown," he calls.



Another volunteer leans in with smartphone clicking. He uploads the photos to iNaturalist, where crowdsourcing soon confirms Abugattas' identification.

WATCH: App lets citizen scientists help professional scientists



That observation, tagged by date, time and location, is now part of a growing database of nearly 5 million species finds all over the world.



Everyone knows that if you want to protect something, you've got to know what you have, Abugattas said.



Visitors to the iNaturalist website can search an annotated Google map for what lives in their neighborhood. Or search for where others have found a particular species.



As he works to protect Arlington County's natural spaces, Abugattas will be looking for how iNaturalist data gathered on this day-long photo safari compare with earlier surveys.



Are some things that we had then no longer here? Are some things that we never knew we had now popping back up? he asks. That will give us a gauge of how good or how poorly we're doing as far as being stewards.

Data + excitement

The app came about as a collaboration between biologist and software developer Ken-ichi Ueda and environmental scientist Scott Loarie.



Loarie was studying methods to gather more data for wildlife conservation, while Ueda was looking for a way to connect people to nature and find ways to use technology to get people excited about the outdoors, Loarie said.



That's one of the great things about citizen science. It achieves both those goals, he said.

And it comes at an important time.

Species are going extinct at an unprecedented rate, he said. We've only begun to understand exactly how those ecosystems contribute to our food system, or human health, all these things that we depend on.

There's a popular analogy in the field: it's like pulling rivets off the wing of an airplane while it's in flight.



We don't know exactly which rivet is going to cause the wing to fall off, but it's probably not a good idea to go around popping rivets off the plane, Loarie said.

Butterflies, snails and mushrooms

So far, iNaturalist data has been a part of studies on monarch butterflies, bats that may carry Ebola, and more.



An iNaturalist user snapped a picture of a rare snail on an island off the coast of Vietnam.



It's never been collected. It's never been photographed. It's only been drawn. And it was drawn on one of Captain Cook's voyages, when the 18th-century explorer sailed around the world, Loarie said.

Back in Arlington, the group logged more than 450 species, including some rare plants and the biggest puffball mushroom anyone had seen, as big as a mid-sized dog.



If you just open up your eyes to the natural world, you'd be amazed at what's out there, Abugattas said.
India has rejected comments by U.S. President Donald Trump that it joined the Paris climate accord because it would benefit by getting billions of dollars and said it remains committed to protecting the environment.



We did not sign the Paris agreement under pressure of any country or to get money from any country, Indias foreign minster Sushma Swaraj said Monday in response to questions from reporters about Trumps comments. That is not the reality.



While announcing his decision to quit the accord last week, President Trump had said that "India makes its participation contingent on receiving billions and billions and billions of dollars in foreign aid from developed countries.



Naming India and China as countries that received preferential treatment under the accord, he said that the Paris accord "is less about the climate and more about other countries gaining a financial advantage over the United States."



Under the Paris Agreement, developing nations such as India are to be provided with financial assistance by developed countries to assist in the transition to renewable energy.

But Minister Swaraj said our signature is not out of greed or fear of anyone. Asserting that in India people worship mountains, trees and rivers as part of a centuries-old tradition of protecting the environment, she said, that is why whether America stays in or not, India will abide by the accord.

India shifted stance

India was initially skeptical about joining the Paris accord, fearing that it would hold back the countrys pace of development and frequently pointed out that it still needs to provide electricity to a quarter of its population.



But the strong statements from Indian leaders in recent days indicate the worlds third largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions has shifted its position considerably and is prepared to tackle issues related to climate change.

At a joint news conference with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, the protection of the environment and the mother planet is an article of faith and vowed that India would go above and beyond the Paris accord.

India has promised to slash the intensity of its fossil-fuel emissions by one-third by 2030 compared to 2005 levels. To do that it aims to generate 40 percent of its energy from non-fossil fuels by 2030.



The big focus is solar and wind energy, both of which it is trying to scale up rapidly  the target is to generate 175 gigawatts by 2022. Energy and climate experts say while India may fall slightly short, its efforts are largely on track.



The trajectory is good, says Aruna Kumarankandath at the Center of Science and Environment in New Delhi. Giving that we are starting from scratch, around 2010 India had one megawatt or two megawatt of solar. So going from that in 12 years to reach even close is amazing for any country to achieve.



The head of Indias Council on Energy, Environment and Water, Arunabha Ghosh wrote in the Times of India that although there are skeptics about these ambitious targets at home and abroad India has demonstrated its willingness and ability to scale programs nationwide and rapidly, which serve to drive a shift towards cleaner fuels.
For many, the whereabouts and machinations of al-Qaida founder Osama bin Laden following the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks until his death remain shrouded in mystery.

The terror mastermind had been on the run, trying to evade U.S. forces, while al-Qaida itself was in a period of disarray.

Yet even as U.S. Navy SEALs burst into bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in May 2011 and killed him, things already had begun to change with the help of officials in Iran and Pakistan.

"It's a very, very crucial period that always has been overlooked and misunderstood," said Catherine Scott-Clark, co-author of the new book The Exile: The Stunning Inside Story of Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaida in Flight.

There have been some prior insights into bin Laden and al-Qaida during his years on the run, including the release by U.S. intelligence of three tranches of documents recovered from the Abbottabad complex. But many more remain classified.

Those documents, according to U.S. officials, give insights into a paranoid jihadist, hoping to prevent al-Qaida from falling apart.

"The movement is nothing like unified. It disagrees with itself all the time," a senior U.S. intelligence official said of the second set of declassified documents, most of which date from 2009 to 2011. "You got to see the mess it was behind the scenes."

But Scott-Clark and co-author Adrian Levy tell a more nuanced story of bin Laden's exploits, relying on testimony from his family, his deputies, his spiritual adviser, and others with links to the al-Qaida network.

"He was active and ambitious and happy that al-Qaida was on the up and coming back, and money was flowing through and the affiliates were kind of getting under control and doing what he wanted them to do," Scott-Clark told VOA following a discussion Monday at the Brookings Institution. "Things were continuing. It was business as usual."

Scott-Clark attributes much of that success to alliances bin Laden had forged with some current and former officials in Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI, although she emphasized that key officials were kept in the dark.

Pakistani authorities have denied that any officials had any knowledge of bin Laden's whereabouts. Scott-Clark said that the information was closely held.

"Not everyone has the same level of knowledge and people did not share information," she said. "If you look at the fallout after the killing [of bin Laden] and the way that the army and the ISI reacted by just shutting everything down, they were as shocked as everybody else."

Perhaps more important, bin Laden and al-Qaida got a boost from Iran  an unlikely ally that kept several family members, including some of his wives and his son, Hamza, as well as key members of al-Qaida's Shura, or ruling council, held at a Quds force training compound in Tehran.

After an offer was reportedly rebuffed to hand over the family and al-Qaida leaders to the U.S. or other Western nations in exchange for an easing of sanctions, Tehran took a more proactive approach and "negotiated with al-Qaida to mutual benefit."

"It was a fraught relationship, from the people who were in Iran from al-Qaida that I interviewed," Scott-Clark said. "It went up and down all the time, and there was complete mutual distrust on both sides for the whole time that they were there."

But both sides, she said, were able to get some of what they wanted. Iran was able to use al-Qaida and al-Qaida in Iraq  the forerunner of Islamic State  to create problems for U.S. forces in Iraq. And bin Laden and al-Qaida were able to reinvigorate the group's networks, setting up a comeback that has yet to abate.

"They were able to re-establish a funding pipeline through Iran which still exists today," Scott-Clark said. "These days, the money comes from Kuwait and Qatar and goes to Syria and Iraq. A lot of it used to go to Pakistan."

Yet divisions with al-Qaida remained.

Bin Laden, enamored by the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, wanted "to fight a physical war. He wanted the bigger bangs," according to Scott-Clark.

That vision seems to have died with bin Laden, Scott-Clark says, and was replaced by that of his former deputy and current leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, who sees al-Qaida as a means for inspiration.

"I don't think al-Qaida Central is going to carry out a sort of coordinated home-based mass attack. I think those days are gone," she said. "It's all about PR [public relations]."
James Comey's appearance Thursday before the Senate intelligence committee, during which he's expected to describe his encounters with President Donald Trump in the weeks before he was fired as FBI director, is one of the most anticipated congressional hearings in years.

Trump has derisively characterized Comey as a "showboat." While that's hardly a label with which his supporters would agree, there's no question Comey has shown a flare for drama during other testimony.

A look at some other riveting moments:

May 15, 2007

"This was a very memorable period in my life; probably the most difficult time in my entire professional life. And that night was probably the most difficult night of my professional life. So it's not something I'd forget."

So began Comey's extraordinary recounting of a tense clash with fellow Bush administration officials in the hospital room of the ailing attorney general, John Ashcroft, three years earlier.

His narrative of having faced down senior White House officials, and of having drafted his own resignation letter as deputy attorney general, helped cement a reputation for political independence and moral certitude that President Barack Obama cited in 2013 when he nominated Comey for the FBI director job.

The confrontation came over the renewal of a domestic surveillance program whose legality Comey had strenuously questioned. Upon learning the White House counsel and chief of staff were looking to get approval from the barely conscious Ashcroft, Comey had his security detail redirect him to the hospital so he could intercept them.

Speaking to a rapt congressional audience, he described how he ran up the stairs to Ashcroft's darkened hospital room, positioned himself in an armchair next to the disoriented attorney general and waited for the White House officials, Alberto Gonzales and Andrew Card, to arrive. He had already taken steps to ensure that FBI agents who were present would not remove him from the room under any circumstances.

Ashcroft, who during his illness had conveyed the powers of his position to Comey, lifted his head off the pillow and expressed his own misgivings about the surveillance program. Then, according to Comey, he added: "But that doesn't matter, because I'm not the attorney general."

Comey was, at least for the moment. And his objections mattered.

July 7, 2016

Days after announcing in unusually public fashion the FBI's decision not to recommend charges in the Hillary Clinton email investigation, Comey faced nearly five hours of often-contentious questioning about how he had reached his conclusion.

"People can disagree, can agree, but they will at least understand that the decision was made and the recommendation was made the way you would want it to be  by people who didn't give a hoot about politics, who cared about what are the facts, what is the law," Comey told the House oversight committee.

Comey revealed new details of the investigation, repeating his assertion that Clinton had been extremely careless in her handling of classified email but also suggesting she might not have fully grasped the classification marking system. He also parried Republican contentions that anyone else accused of mishandling classified information would have been prosecuted, saying it would have been "celebrity hunting" to charge Clinton under statutes that didn't fit the conduct.

Comey faced criticism for his detailed discussion of a case that ended without criminal charges. The unusual nature of his testimony was laid bare the following week when Attorney General Loretta Lynch declined to answer many of the same questions Comey received.

"I know that this is a frustrating exercise for you," she told lawmakers.

March 20, 2017

Though it had been reported the FBI was investigating potential collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign, this House intelligence committee hearing marked the first time Comey confirmed its existence.

It's unusual for the FBI to ever publicly disclose an investigation, much less one that affects the president, and there was significant uncertainty ahead of the hearing about whether Comey would break from protocol and acknowledge the probe was under way.

He did as soon as he began speaking, saying that though it was rare for the FBI to discuss an investigation involving classified information, there are "unusual circumstances" when it might be appropriate.

"This," he said to dramatic effect, "is one of those circumstances."

He continued: "I have been authorized by the Department of Justice to confirm that the FBI, as part of our counterintelligence mission, is investigating the Russian government's efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election," including potential coordination between the campaign and Moscow.

That bombshell announcement made clear to everyone, including the president who later fired him, that the investigation was very real.

May 3, 2017

Just six days before his firing, Comey strenuously defended his actions in the Clinton email case, including his decision to alert Congress just 11 days before the presidential election that the investigation was being revived because of newly discovered emails.

Comey told lawmakers that though it made him "mildly nauseous" to think his moves could have influenced the election, he would have made the same choices again.

To share information with Congress was "really bad." To withhold it from them would have been "catastrophic," he reasoned.

The appearance was also notable for misstatements Comey made, and that the FBI later corrected, about top Clinton aide Huma Abedin and her estranged husband, Anthony Weiner, on whose laptop the Clinton emails were found.

He could not have known then that the appearance before Congress would be his last as FBI director. But that didn't stop him from reflecting wistfully on his job in his opening statement, calling it the "honor of my life."

"I know you look at me like I'm crazy for saying this about this job. I love this work. I love this job."
1 Johainah Nasrodeng, 5, writes in her notebook at a makeshift classroom at the Pantar Central Elementary School in Pantar, Lanao del Norte on the southern island of Mindanao, Philippines. The schoolchildren, some 238 of them with their parents fled by foot for eight hours from Marawi City to Pantar municipality to escape heavy fighting between the government troops and Islamists militants.
Karmapa Rinpoche, the head of Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism who is often regarded by international media as the third-highest Tibetan lama, said he will return to Tibet and "share the happiness and misery" with Tibetans when the situation allows him to be beneficial to them.

After 17-plus years in exile, Karmapa said publicly for first time that he had left a written message behind when he escaped for India in late 1999.

"In it, I wrote I have made many failed efforts to be able to go to abroad. Now, having no other option, I am doing this way as a final solution. However, in the future if I could be beneficial to Tibet, the Land of Snow, I will return soon.' That's what I wrote," he said Sunday, speaking in Tibetan to about 4,000 Tibetans and devotees in Toronto. He had previously said that Chinese authorities turned down his requests to travel to India before his escape.

When the then-14-year-old Karmapa met with the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala for the first time on Jan. 5, 2000, he reportedly told the Dalai Lama that he came to India because he could not serve the Tibetan people in Tibet under the circumstances.

Karmapa secretly left his monastery in Tibet on Dec. 28, 1999, after announcing that he was going to be in strict retreat in his monastery near Lhasa. When he suddenly arrived in Dharamsala on Jan. 5, 2000, it shocked the world and humiliated Beijing.

After a period of awkward silence, Chinese authorities said Karmapa had left a message, saying that he was going to India to obtain his sacred hat that belonged to his predecessor, the 16th Karmapa, who left it in Rumtek Monastery in India. But Karmapa dismissed it in 2001, according to The Guardian.

"Why would I want to bring the hat back from India? All that would accomplish would be to place the hat on Jiang Zemin's head," he reportedly said.

Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje is the 17th Karmapa, recognized by both the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government in 1992. However, a Tibetan lama in India named Shamer Rinpoche recognized another Tibetan boy in 1994 named Tinley Thaye Dorje as the 17th Karmapa. Since then, there has been a dispute among the followers of Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism.

The followers of Shamer Rinpoche, who is also a high lama in Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism, argue that Tinley Thaye Dorje, who has recently declared that he was no longer going to be a monk, is the 17th Karmapa.

Although Karmapa is the head of only Karma Kagyu lineage, one of the Kagyu schools of Tibetan Buddhism, 17th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje has received great respect and hope from across Tibetan communities. Often described in international media as the third highest lama of Tibet, Karmapa also draws worldwide popularity.

During this trip, he was met by Prince Charles in London as he visited Britain for the first time. Upon his arrival in Canada, he was welcomed by some members of the Canadian parliament.
A large team of international researchers has found 30 percent of HIV positive individuals in nearly a dozen countries delay starting life-saving drugs.

A study spearheaded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looked at the prevalence of HIV in Haiti, Vietnam, Nigeria, Namibia, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

Investigators reviewed more than 694,000 treatment records from 2004 to 2015, from nearly 800 clinical facilities, focusing on patients age 15 and older.

HIV expert Andrew Auld, Malawi Country Director at the CDC, is lead author of the study. He said in eight of the countries, the percentage of people receiving early treatment increased, in Haiti, Mozambique and Namibia by 40 percent or more during the time period.

But Auld said treatment is still not reaching a significant portion of HIV positive people.

So some of the key things that still need to be done in these countries to further reduce the prevalence of advanced disease and HIV treatment initiation are to scale up testing strategies and facilitate HIV diagnosis at earlier disease stages, and also treatment policies that mean that patients once they are diagnosed are eligible to start HIV treatment the same day, he said.

HIV infects and destroys the immune systems CD-4 T-cells, so the body gradually loses its ability to fight off infections, eventually with lethal consequences in untreated individuals.

Ambitious target

UNAIDS has set a 90-90-90 target in dealing with the HIV epidemic.

By 2020, its hoped that 90 percent of all people with HIV will know their status, 90 percent will receive antiretroviral therapy and 90 percent of those receiving treatment will have viral suppression.

Not only does immediate antiretroviral treatment mean avoiding life-threatening complications, Auld said it reduces the risk of transmission.

Another study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2016, found treatment reduces the risk of spreading HIV to a sexual partner by up to 96 percent. The risk of vertical transmission, from pregnant women to their newborn babies, is also reduced if the mother is treated with antiretroviral drugs.

Despite advances in treatment and care of people infected with the AIDS virus, the NEJM article noted that there were more than two million HIV infections reported worldwide in 2014.

Auld said the main reason people wait until they are very sick to go for treatment is they are unaware that quick action increases their chances of survival.

Men with more advanced cases, according to Auld, point to work demands that keep them from seeking treatment earlier in the course of the disease. For women, childcare and family obligations are often cited. Among infected children, Auld said the problem is access to testing and treatment.

HIV diagnosis is not a death sentence, he stressed. Excellent HIV treatment is available and people can live long, healthy, productive lives if they adhere to the HIV treatment. And it will increase demand for both testing and treatment services.

The study by Auld and colleagues is published in the journal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly.
Memo from legal experts to President Donald Trump on resurrecting his stalled travel ban: Put down Twitter.



Trump's 140-character musings Monday may have undercut his own efforts to persuade the Supreme Court to reinstate his revised travel ban, which Trump called a "watered-down, politically correct'' version of what he'd originally sought. Just as Trump's Justice Department is arguing the ban doesn't target Muslims, legal experts said the president seems to be suggesting the opposite.



Those who oppose the travel ban said Trump's Tweetstorm, ironically, helps their case. Neal Katyal, the former acting solicitor general representing Hawaii in its lawsuit against the ban, said it was as if Trump was his co-counsel.



"We don't need the help but will take it!'' Katyal wrote in his own Twitter post.



The courts in January halted Trump's initial order, which banned travel from seven majority-Muslim countries and indefinitely halted entry to Syrian refugees. Trump begrudgingly scaled back the order by removing Iraq from the list and making the Syria refugee ban only temporary, but that order was blocked by the courts, too.



At the heart of the legal wrangling is whether Trump's proposed ban violates the Constitution by discriminating on the basis of religion. As a candidate, Trump called for a "Muslim ban,'' comments that came back to haunt him as president when the courts determined that even his scaled-down order was "rooted in religious animus and intended to bar Muslims from this country.''



Not so, the Justice Department has argued, insisting the temporary ban is based on credible national security concerns unrelated to religion, and his campaign statements should be ignored. But Stephen Vladeck, a University of Texas law professor, said Trump was making that argument much less tenable by calling the revised order "politically correct.''



"These tweets are basically winking at his supporters to say, obviously, I'm only doing this so that the courts will uphold it,'' Vladeck said. "It makes it harder to argue this is not a Muslim ban, and more importantly, it makes it harder to argue that the president's statements should be irrelevant.''



In a series of early-morning tweets, Trump bashed the Justice Department for its decision to ask the Supreme Court to review the second version of the ban  which he signed.



"The Justice Dept. should have stayed with the original Travel Ban, not the watered down, politically correct version they submitted to S.C.,'' Trump said. He urged the Justice Department, which he oversees, to seek a "much tougher version'' of the order.



Hoping to shore up the order's legal underpinnings, both the White House and Trump's Homeland Security chief have insisted it's not actually a "travel ban,'' criticizing reporters for mischaracterizing it. But Trump on Monday was having none of it.



"People, the lawyers and the courts can call it whatever they want, but I am calling it what we need and what it is, a TRAVEL BAN!'' Trump wrote.



The inconsistency put White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders in a delicate spot Monday afternoon as questions streamed in about why Trump was contradicting his aides. His Twitter missive notwithstanding, Sanders insisted Trump "isn't concerned with what you call it,'' only with protecting Americans.



Sanders said the president had asked the Justice Department to pursue an expedited hearing at the Supreme Court, adding that Trump "wants to go as far and as strong as possible under the Constitution to protect the people of this country.'' Still, she said he'd signed the revised ban "for the purposes of expediency'' and wasn't considering a third version of the ban.



Trump argues the ban is crucial for safeguarding American security, and he has intensified his push for it in the wake of the weekend vehicle and knife attack in London that left seven people dead and dozens injured. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack.



The second-guessing about Trump's Twitter strategy extended to the husband of one Trump's senior advisers. New York lawyer George T. Conway III, whose wife is White House aide Kellyanne Conway, wrote that online statements "may make some ppl feel better,'' but won't help win a Supreme Court majority.



"Sad,'' he said on Twitter, borrowing a phrase from Trump's own Twitter.



Conway had been considered for at least two high-ranking Justice Department jobs, including solicitor general, the government lawyer who represents the president at the Supreme Court.



Josh Blackman, a law professor at South Texas College of Law in Houston, called Trump "the worst client'' for the solicitor general.



"When you're a lawyer what you want is your client to stay silent,'' he said.



Trump has the authority to order the Justice Department to pursue a different strategy. It's unclear whether the president has conveyed his requests to the department in a forum other than Twitter. The Justice Department declined to comment.



Trump has used attacks around the world to justify his pursuit of the travel and immigration ban, one of his first acts since taking office. The original order, signed at the end of his first week in office, was hastily unveiled without significant input from top Trump national security advisers or relevant federal agencies.



After that order was struck down, the administration decided to write a second directive rather than appeal the initial ban to the Supreme Court. The narrower would temporarily halt entry to the U.S. from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.



If anything, Supreme Court may be more likely to hear the case in light of the tweets, to determine once and for all how far the president's power goes, said Peter S. Margulies, a law professor at Roger Williams.



It's unclear when it will make that decision.
An Australian man of Somali origin who killed one person and took another hostage had connections with two prominent militant groups, VOA has learned.

Yacqub Khayre was killed in a shootout with police Monday after killing an employee of a Melbourne apartment building and holding a woman captive inside one of the apartments. Three police officers were injured in the exchange.

The Islamic State militant group has claimed responsibility for the incident. Police say they are treating this as a terrorism incident, but add that they have not seen messages showing that Khayre was guided by an outside force.

A relative told VOA's Somali Service that Khayre, 29, had past connections to both Islamic State and the Somali militant group al-Shabab.

Violent history

Khayre was born in the Somali city of Baidoa; his birth name is Yacqub Ahmed Mohamed. He moved to a Kenyan refugee camp with his family in 1992, after the outbreak of civil war in Somalia, before moving to Australia with his grandparents in 1994.

He returned to Somalia in mid-2006 when the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) took over most of southern and central Somalia, according to the relative. At the time al-Shabab fighters were part of the ICU.

The relative, speaking on condition of anonymity, says he is certain that Khayre trained with members of al-Shabab near Baidoa for three months. He travelled there against the wishes of his family, says the relative.

After the intervention of Ethiopian troops and the collapse of the ICU, Khayre fled the country and travelled to Kenya. He was arrested at Jomo Kenyatta airport in Nairobi in 2006 by Kenyan authorities.

After being arrested by Kenya security forces he was handed over to Interpol and the FBI, says the relative who was familiar with the arrest. He was later handed over to the Australian authorities.

Lack of evidence

After returning to Australia, Khayre was involved in other crimes, including robbery.

He was among a group of men charged with plotting to attack an Australia army base in Sydney in August 2009. He was later released for lack of evidence, while three other members of the group were convicted and given jail sentences.

Khayre then spent 16 months in a high security facility for terrorism offenses, but was acquitted and later released in 2010, according to the Australia Broadcasting Corporation.

In 2012, he was arrested after committing robbery while armed with a knife. He was reportedly under the influence of drugs and was sentenced to five years. He was released in November last year on parole, according to the relative.

'No doubt'

The relative says he has no doubt that Khayre was radicalized. He says Khayre knew at least one Australian of Somali origin who travelled to Syria to fight for ISIS.

He was a close buddy to Sharmarke, an ISIS militant from Australia who was killed three years ago, the relative said.

Sharmarke Jama was an Australian model and DJ who joined ISIS. His death in 2014 in Syria attracted media attention. Jama was from Melbourne, as was Khayre.

According to sources, police have seized all the family members' electronic gadgets for review. The whole family is now treated as a scene for crime, said the relative.
The ruling party's candidate held a slight advantage in preliminary vote counts on Monday in the race for governor of Mexico's most populous state, an election seen as a key test ahead of next year's presidential election.

With about 97 percent of votes counted, Alfredo del Mazo of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, had won 33.7 percent of the votes in Mexico state, compared with 30.8 percent for his closest rival, Delfina Gomez of the leftist Morena party. Mexico state surrounds Mexico City, and includes many of its suburbs and outlying slums. Final ballot counts are expected by Wednesday.

A PRI victory would hand the party a lifeline, after President Enrique Pena Nieto's approval ratings dipped to near single digits and a parade of former PRI governors were jailed for corruption. Many believed the party would have been essentially knocked out of the 2018 presidential race if it failed to hold on to its last big bastion, Pena Nieto's home state and one it has governed without interruption for 88 years.

But if Del Mazo wins, he will face a state where two-thirds of voters opposed him.

Political analyst Raymundo Riva Palacio said such a narrow, "pyrrhic" PRI victory in the state of Mexico could spell trouble for the party next year. Considering the power of the PRI's political machine in the state and the fact that Gomez was practically unknown eight months ago, the result so far signals "an enormous discontent with the PRI" and portends a "very bad scenario" for the party and the president, he argued.

Jose Antonio Crespo, a political analyst at Mexico's Center for Economic Research and Teaching, said that with the bruising elections in Mexico state the PRI "is not going to win any more prestige or recover its lost credibility. On the contrary, the PRI insists on playing dirty."

"As far as 2018 is concerned, they lost prestige, it sends a very bad signal for 2018," he noted.

The other two main parties, the leftist Democratic Revolution and the conservative National Action, were behind in the state by significant margins.

But the Mexico state elections will also be a test for Gomez, the hand-picked candidate of Morena party leader and 2018 presidential hopeful Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. If Gomez' campaign holds protests in Mexico state, it could stir up memories of Lopez Obrador's unpopular decision to block streets In Mexico City for months in 2006 to protest perceived vote fraud in his narrow loss in the presidential race.

On Monday, Lopez Obrador said Gomez' campaign may demand a recount. "We are in the right," Lopez Obrador said in brief televised remarks. "Delfina won, and we are going to prove it. We will not accept any electoral fraud. ... Mexico needs democracy."

Both Del Mazo and Gomez have proclaimed victory, something that happens commonly in Mexico. PRI party leader Enrique Ochoa suggested Del Mazo's victory was a win against Lopez Obrador, a leftist who the PRI has consistently tried to link to Venezuela's hard-line leftist president, Nicolas Maduro.

"We stopped the advance of authoritarian populism in Mexico State, and together we will do so again successfully in 2018. Mexico doesn't deserve to be Venezuela," Ochoa said.

Lopez Obrador, who has disdained alliances, lost a chance to unify the left and oust the PRI. "The arrogance of Lopez Obrador contributed to a great extent to the fact the left didn't run together," Crespo noted.

Smaller states, pig heads

Voters in the states of Coahuila and Nayarit were also choosing new governors Sunday. In the small Pacific coast state of Nayarit, a coalition between National Action and the Democratic Revolution parties appeared to have wrested the governorship from the PRI. In the northern border state of Coahuila, the scandal-wracked PRI won with a 1.5-percent lead over National Action with all the votes counted.

The PRI, which has dominated political life in Mexico since 1929, now faces the prospect of heading into presidential elections while controlling fewer than half of the nation's governorships, something new for the party.

Mexico state was the day's biggest electoral prize, with 11 million voters. Control of the state can be key to a presidential campaign, giving the victorious party resources and a wealth of patronage jobs for backers.

Pena Nieto himself was governor of Mexico state before becoming president. So were the father and grandfather of Del Mazo, who is himself a distant cousin of the president  a fact often trumpeted by opponents hoping to capitalize on Pena Nieto's low popularity.

Sunday's election was marred by dueling accusations of vote buying, complaints that some voters received intimidating telephone calls warning them not to cast ballots and reports of bloody pig heads being left outside opposition party offices.
The smallest Balkan country, Montenegro, formally became the 29th member of NATO Monday at a ceremony at the State Department, despite fierce objections from Russia.

Montenegro was formerly part of communist Yugoslavia, a stronghold of Moscow. It became an independent republic in 2006 when Montenegrins voted in a referendum to split from Serbia.

U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon congratulated Montenegro for taking NATO's guidance to heart.

Over decades, the promise of NATO membership and broader Euro-Atlantic integration has advanced our security, our democratic values, and our respect for the rule of law. It has served as an incentive for nations to pursue difficult reforms. This policy has yielded clear results, and that is why NATO allies unanimously agreed to welcome Montenegro into the alliance.

Big day for a small country

At the ceremony in Washington, Montenegro's Prime Minister Dusko Markovic said this is a very big day for a small country that has endured a lot of sacrifices.

Nearly a hundred years after it was deleted from the political map of Europe at the end of the World War I, and 11 years since restoration of its independence, Montenegro is again a part of global politics. We are celebrating today the fact that it will never happen again that someone else decides instead of us and our state, behind our back, as it was the case in the past.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also was on hand to give a warm welcome to Montenegro as an equal partner.

Montenegro's accession sends a signal to other states that seek membership that if a country truly reforms, if it promotes democracy, strengthens the rule of law, modernizes its armed forces, and contributes to our collective defense, it, too, can join the alliance.

Shannon sought to reassure NATO allies after President Donald Trump shook the alliance by refusing to state his commitment to the Article 5 collective defense guarantee at last month's summit in Brussels.

Montenegro's accession sends a strong message of strength to the region and makes clear to our allies that the United States remains as committed as ever to the principle of collective defense as enshrined in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty.

'Harmless situation'

Trump also made negative headlines in Montenegro and elsewhere for appearing to push Prime Minister Markovic aside at that same summit, to be front and center for a photograph. Markovic himself played down the shove, dismissing it as a harmless situation.

The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly, 97-2, on March 28 to ratify Montenegro's accession protocol.

Two Republican Senators, Mike Lee of Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky, were the only ones to vote against it. Paul's efforts to stall the vote infuriated Republican Senator John McCain, who accused Paul of working for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Israel will maintain security control over all of the West Bank, with or without a peace agreement with the Palestinians.



Speaking at a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Mideast war, when Israel captured the West Bank, Netanyahu said Israel seeks "true peace'' with its neighbors but all has to ensure its own security.



"For that reason, in any agreement, and even without an agreement, we will maintain security control over the entire territory west of the Jordan River,'' he said.



Israel defeated Egypt, Syria and Jordan in six days of fighting in June 1967, capturing the West Bank and east Jerusalem from Jordan, the Gaza Strip and Sinai Peninsula from Egypt and the Golan Heights from Syria.



The Palestinians seek a future state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with east Jerusalem as its capital. Palestinians reject any Israeli military presence in their future state, while Israel considers some form of military presence in the West Bank essential for its national security.



Israel returned the Sinai to Egypt as part of a landmark 1979 peace agreement. In 2005, it withdrew its settlers and troops from Gaza, which is now controlled by the Hamas militant group.



The latest round of negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians, under the auspices of former Secretary of State John Kerry, broke down in April 2014.

Since taking office earlier this year, President Donald Trump has pushed to kick start peace talks. He visited Israel and the West Bank last month during his first trip abroad as part of his efforts to bring about "the ultimate deal'' between the two sides. Trump, however, has given few hints on how he plans to accomplish what a string of predecessors has failed to do.



Despite unprecedented American military aid, Netanyahu said the main lesson from the 1967 war is that Israel cannot rely on its allies for its defense.



"We will never place our fates in the hands of others,'' he said. "We respect our allies, foremost our big friend the United States, whose support we greatly appreciate. But in the moment of truth, Israel must be prepared and capable to deliver a serious, even deadly blow to anyone who wants to harm it.''
A top secret National Security Agency document shows Russian military intelligence tried to hack into U.S. voter registration systems before last year's election, an online news service reports.

The Intercept reports that according to the NSA, the attempts went on for months and lasted until just days before the November 8 vote.

The targets were reported to be companies that provide voter registration services to local governments.

It is unclear how successful the hackers were. The NSA did not say whether their actions affected the outcome of the election  something U.S. intelligence says did not happen.

The Intercept did not say how it came to possess the leaked NSA report.

The Justice Department said Monday that federal authorities arrested a Georgia contractor named Reality Leigh Winner for allegedly "removing classified material" from a government "intelligence community agency" and mailing it to an "online news outlet."

Justice officials did not name the government facility or the news outlet.

The date on Winner's suspected mailing was five days after the date stamped on the NSA report.

U.S. intelligence already has determined that Russia hacked into Democratic Party emails and leaked embarrassing information to WikiLeaks in an apparent effort to help Republican Donald Trump win the presidential election over Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Congress and a special counsel are investigating whether anyone in the Trump campaign colluded with the Russians.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied the Kremlin meddled in the election.

However, he has conceded that Russian "patriots" with no ties to the government may have been involved in hacking.
Although the official results will not be released until June 25, the closely watched vote for Cambodia's commune council elections showed the opposition's growing strength and suggest that the national elections in 2018 will be a race between two parties.

Political analyst Ou Virak, president of the Future Forum, a think tank in Phnom Penh, on Monday told Hello VOA, a radio call-in show, that the 2018 general election will be highly competitive. He anticipates a two-party contest.

In 2018 election, the smaller parties will have no chance, he said. This is because the competition between the two main parties is running so close. Therefore, voters will see the third party is merely a spoiler. They won't vote for the third party to spoil their ballots.

Unofficial results posted late Sunday by Fresh News, a pro-government website, reported the ruling CPP had won 1,163 commune chief seats compared to 482 for the opposition CNRP. The Khmer National Unity Party, one of the 10 smaller parties that participated in Sunday's vote, won one seat.

If the tally is verified, it signifies large gains for the opposition, which won only 40 seats in the 2012 commune elections.

60 complaints of irregularities

On Monday, the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) acknowledged the opposition's strong showing the day before but remained unfazed.

We consider support going up and down in each place is simply a loss in a few battlefields, not the whole war, Sok Isan told VOA Khmer. Overall, we've won the whole war.

Kem Sokha, president of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), said he hoped the local election results were an indication of support going into the general election scheduled for next year.

The National Election Commission received more than 60 complaints of irregularities during the campaign and voting. Despite political intimidation and harassment, the CNRP leadership said the party made a strong showing.

Before the vote, Prime Minister Hun Sen warned Cambodia could return to war if the CPP were to lose. During the months before the elections, opposition parliamentarians were beaten, defamation laws were criminalized, and the government banned anyone with a criminal conviction from elections. Hun Sen has also curtailed political street rallies.

The CNRP was successful and took a big stride in the commune elections, he said in a statement. The result will be the foundation that we build on to win in 2018.

As expected, most of those gains came in Cambodia's three largest cities  Phnom Penh, Battambang and Siem Reap. An estimated 89.52 percent of eligible voters participated in the current commune contest. A commune is a group of villages, which form a political entity akin to a ward in U.S. cities.

US embassy: 'An important milestone'

The U.S. embassy in Phnom Penh issued a statement on its Facebook page calling Sunday's election as an important milestone in Cambodia's continued democratic development.

On Sunday, Chan Samnang, a female opposition candidate standing in Russey Keo commune in the capital, told VOA she had won by some 3,400 votes over her CPP rival.

Samnang held the commune from 2007 to 2012 when she lost the seat amid claims of election fraud.

The current voting system is not 100 percent good, but it is better than last time, she said.

She claimed that she won this time around because locals recognized the work she had done for them in the past.

Wanted change

Peung Chansreyroth, 34, said she voted for the CNRP because she wanted change.

I voted for the CNRP because I wanted a fair commune chief, she said.

Oeun Kimheng, 21, a university student, claimed the previous commune chief was inefficient.

Services for providing documents were always late, she said. Any party is fine with me, but my decision to vote depends on my confidence and belief in a party that is capable of performing its duties.

The former commune chief, Moul Virak, declined to comment.

This report originated on VOA Khmer. Sun Narin contributed from Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Poland and Ukraine said Tuesday they are working toward developing a regional gas hub that would end Central and Eastern Europe's dependence on Russian supplies and keep prices in line with European standards.



The region still relies to some extent on Russian natural gas and has been exposed to political pressure from Moscow, which has at times in the past limited supply volumes or hiked gas prices. Governments in the region have been reducing their imports of gas from Russia and seeking other sources. They have also been trying to become more energy-efficient, a task Ukraine still needs to fully undertake.



Poland is increasingly importing gas from other regions. Its new liquefied natural gas port has received deliveries by sea from Qatar and is expecting a delivery from the United States this week. Poland is also proceeding with a project to bring in North Sea gas.



Poland is sending some of resources on to Ukraine, after the country cut imports from Russia in 2015.



Government officials participating in a Poland-Ukraine Gas Conference on Tuesday said the planned hub should be in place by 2022 on the Polish-Ukrainian border.



We now have enough infrastructure to move onwards with the hub, said Serhiy Makohon, deputy head of Ukraine's oil and gas company, Ukrtrans'haz.
The White House says President Donald Trump and Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud spoke by telephone, and the two stressed the need for Gulf unity following a decision by Arab states in the region to cut ties with Qatar.

A statement issued late Tuesday said the two discussed the "critical goals of preventing the financing of terrorist organizations and eliminating the promotion of extremism by any nation in the region."

Earlier in the day, the president entered the diplomatic spat involving Qatar and major Arab nations over Dohas alleged support of Iran and Islamist militant groups sponsoring terrorism in the region.



In a series of three Twitter posts Tuesday, the president seemed to take credit for the Saudi-led move to isolate Qatar  which hosts the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East.



Referring to his speech in Riyadh last month in which he called on Muslim leaders to take a stand against radical Islamist groups, Trump tweeted:

He followed that with two tweets that formed one message:

"I can't help you with that," Defense Department spokesman Captain Jeff Davis told reporters Tuesday in response to a question about how to reconcile the Trump tweets with the Pentagon's supportive comments about ally Qatar.

"We recognize that there are differing views in the region that have gotten us to this point," U.S. Marine Corps Major Adrian J.T. Rankine-Galloway told VOA. "We encourage all our partners in the region to reduce tensions and work towards common solutions that enable regional security."

White House press secretary Sean Spicer noted the long-simmering regional tension "is not new."

The United States wants a de-escalation and "continues to be in close communication with all parties to resolve the issues and restore cooperation, which is so important in regional security," Spicer told reporters at Tuesday's daily briefing.

Ambassadors recalled

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have recalled their ambassadors from Qatar and closed all borders, citing Doha's relations with Iran and its alleged support for groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and al-Qaida.

Jordan on Tuesday downgraded its diplomatic relations with Qatar and revoked the license of Doha-based broadcaster Al Jazeera, which supports Qatari foreign policy.

Qatar described the economic blockade as a "violation of its sovereignty," asserting the crisis was based on "absolute fabrications."

Last month, reports on the state-run Qatar News Agency website quoted Qatari leader Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani as questioning U.S. hostility toward Iran and claiming "tensions" between Qatar and the United States.Qatar said at the time it had been the victim of a "shameful cybercrime."

CNN reported Tuesday that U.S. investigators believe Russian hackers were responsible for planting a fake news story on the website that contributed to the crisis among the United States' closest Gulf allies. The U.S.-based cable news network quoted U.S. and Qatari officials as saying a team ofinvestigators had recently been sent to investigate the alleged hacking incident.

"Qatar has supported opposing sides of regional conflicts, and meddled in the internal affairs of its neighbors, including Saudi Arabia," Arabia Foundation executive director Ali Shihabi told VOA.

Shihabi, a Saudi national, added that Qatar's neighbors thought Doha "has carried out destabilizing efforts in each of their nations."

The combination of diplomatic and economic sanctions by so many of its neighbors hit hard in the peninsular emirate of 2.4 million people, which imports all its food.

The regional flare-up came after Trump denounced Shi'ite Iran's "destabilizing interventions" during his May 21 speech to Sunni leaders in Riyadh. He called for a united front against Islamic State and extremism, which led to hopes for an "Arab NATO."

After the president's tweets, U.S. lawmakers noted the complexities of the crisis.

Qatar has "been definitely playing footsie with a lot of terrorist organizations, but we have a big air base there," said Republican Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

'Just shocking'

Considering there are thousands of U.S. military personnel in Qatar, "it is just shocking that the president would be tweeting out foreign policy statements without talking to his national security advisers about the potential effects on our troops," said Democrat Chris Murphy of Connecticut, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

"None of our allies in the Middle East are perfect, but Qatar has been trying to bridge the gap between the Saudis and the Iranians," Murphy added.

A key question, according to Washington Institute for Near East Policy executive director Robert Satloff, is whether the United States brokers a deal leaving a chastened and repentant Qatari ruler still in power or lets Riyadh arrange a wholly new, totally compliant leadership.

Cairo-based analyst H.A. Hellyer, a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council, said wealthy Qatar has been punching above its weight through a series of wise investments, including Al Jazeera.

"The Qataris know that they don't have the power cards in this game," Hellyer said. "If relations between Saudi Arabia and Qatar are ruined, it is Qatar that stands to suffer tremendously in the short term, as it relies on Saudi Arabia for a land corridor and air space."

Kuwait, one of the Gulf countries not involved in the dispute, is trying to mediate a settlement. Kuwait's emir, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, flew to Riyadh for talks, which his court describes as a "brotherly visit."

VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb contributed to this report.
Russia scrambled a fighter jet Tuesday to intercept a nuclear-capable U.S. B-52 strategic bomber it said was flying over the Baltic Sea near its border, in an incident that had echoes of the Cold War.

The appearance of the B-52, a long-range bomber that first went into service in the 1950s, irked Moscow. A Russian Foreign Ministry official said the plane's appearance in Europe would not help ease tensions between the West and Russia. A former Russian Air Force commander called the move "disrespectful."

Russian air defense systems detected the U.S. bomber as it was flying over neutral waters parallel to the Russian border and sent a Sukhoi Su-27 jet to intercept it, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

"The Russian SU-27 crew, having approached at a safe distance, identified the aircraft as an American B-52 strategic bomber and escorted it" until such time as it changed course and flew away from the border area, the ministry said.

Russia said the SU-27 took off from its Baltic Fleet air defense unit, which is based in the European exclave of Kaliningrad.

The U.S. military said its aircraft was in international airspace and declined to comment immediately on the Russian plane's actions.

"We can confirm that the U.S. Air Force B-52 was operating in international airspace but we don't have any information to provide at this time regarding the behavior of Russian aircraft," Air Force spokesman Colonel Patrick Ryder said.

NATO members such as Britain regularly report scrambling jets to intercept Russian nuclear-capable bombers flying close to their air space. It is less common for Russia to report using its fighters for the same reason.

Norwegian plane

In a separate incident, Russia said a MiG-31 jet fighter had intercepted a Norwegian patrol plane over the Barents Sea.

Russia's Defense Ministry identified the plane as a P-3 Orion anti-submarine aircraft.

The Russian Defense Ministry complained that the Norwegian plane had flown close to Russia's state border with its transponders switched off. The Norwegian military confirmed the encounter, but said it was "normal."

Moscow was more put out by the B-52's appearance.

The state-backed Sputnik news agency cited a Foreign Ministry official, Mikhail Ulyanov, as saying Moscow believed a number of U.S. B-52s had recently been transferred from their base in Louisiana to Britain to take part in military exercises.

"The fact that NATO forces are converging near Russia's borders and carrying out military exercises supported by strategic bombers from the USA capable of carrying nuclear weapons hardly helps de-escalate tensions in Europe," Sputnik quoted Ulyanov as saying.

U.S. forces are engaged in various exercises with Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and other partner nations as part of the Saber Strike war games. The United States is also taking part in the annual BALTOPS naval training exercise in the Baltic Sea, which runs until June 16.

Pyotr Deinekin, a former Russian Air Force commander, was cited by the Interfax news agency as saying that he could not recall the last time a B-52 had flown over the Baltic Sea and that the incident raised troubling questions.

"Such behavior does not deserve respect," said Deinekin, who said Russia needed to establish what weaponry the B-52 was carrying.

The B-52 was designed to attack Moscow's most vital targets via the North Pole in the event of a nuclear war when the Soviet Union still existed, Deinekin said.

"Strategic bombers should not fly so close to our land borders," he said.
Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi has died at the age of 81. He had Parkinson's disease, according to his family.



Khashoggi was rumored to have been one of the world's richest men at the height of his career in the 1970s, when he was believed to have been worth some $4 billion.



He made his fortune by brokering international arms deals, and was implicated in the Iran-Contra affair, a notorious arms-for-hostages deal that saw several U.S. officials selling arms to Iran despite an arms embargo, and using the money to fund the rebel movement in Nicaragua.



Notorious for his opulent lifestyle and lavish parties, Khashoggi also was notable for his proximity to celebrity. He rubbed shoulders with the rich and famous of international society, including Imelda Marcos, widow of exiled Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos. Both Khashoggi and Marcos faced U.S. charges of racketeering and fraud in 1990, and both were acquitted.



Khashoggi's nephew, Dodi Fayed, was involved with Britain's Princess Diana before the car accident that killed them both in 1997.



His possessions themselves were famous. Khashoggi once owned one of the world's largest yachts, the 86-meter Nabila, which appeared in the James Bond film Never Say Never Again. The yacht also was the subject of Khashoggi's Ship, a 1989 single by the rock group Queen.



Khashoggi's family told media that Khashoggi died peacefully after spending his last days surrounded by his family. He is survived by his wife Lamia.
The head of NATO says members of the alliance are united in their stance toward Russia in a way they have not been for many years.

Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday in an interview with VOA's Serbian Service that NATO is committed to stepping up its defense while at the same time continuing dialogue with Russia.

"The dual track approach, meaning we have to be strong, we have to deliver credible deterrence and defense, that is the reason we are implementing the biggest reinforcement of our collective defense now as a response to what Russia did in Ukraine," Stoltenberg said. "Its not an easy dialogue, but thats exactly why the dialogue is important."

The approach is a modern version of the Cold War NATO "dual-track" decision that linked deployments of U.S. long-range theater nuclear forces to proposals for negotiations with Moscow over Soviet forces in Eastern Europe.

In recent months, NATO's defense has been in focus with the arrival of U.S. President Donald Trump and his calls for other nations to increase their defense budgets.

To the dismay of many NATO allies, Trump did not mention American support for Article 5 of the alliance's founding treaty, which calls for common defense, when he addressed a summit of NATO heads of state in Brussels last month.

But Stoltenberg said members of the Trump administration, including the president, have voiced support for NATO on numerous occasions.

"President Trump has expressed on different meetings and in a press conference with me at the White House in April that he is committed to NATO," Stoltenberg said.

He added that the commitment is not only in words, but in actions.

"The budget proposal that the administration put forward just a week ago has a 40-percent increase of funding for U.S. military presence in Europe. More troops, more exercises, more investment in infrastructure, equipment supplies. All of that underlines and shows U.S. commitment to NATO."

It is up to the U.S. Congress to work out in a long process how much of Trump's budget proposal turns into actual spending, but Trump has made it clear he wants to boost defense funding.

Regarding Trump's call to allies to do more in the fight against terrorism, Stoltenberg said the alliance has been already playing a vital role in counterterrorism.

"You have to remember that our biggest military effort ever is our presence in Afghanistan. The reason why we are in Afghanistan is to prevent the country from becoming once again a safe haven for international terrorists," he said. "We decided as part of a broader action plan against terrorism to join the international coalition to defeat ISIL. Thats sends a strong political signal, but also provides a platform for more and better cooperation and coordination with the efforts of the coalition.

Stoltenberg said terrorist attacks such as the recent ones in London and Manchester are no longer solely a policing issue for Europe.

"We need a comprehensive approach. We need, of course, the police, law enforcement, civilian intelligence. But we also need to step up further our political and ideological fight against this violent ideology and this kind of extremism. We need to also address some of the instability, which is motivating and supporting the types of attacks we are seeing in our own streets."

NATO has established a special division to enhance intelligence-sharing among allies to better fight terrorism emanating from the Middle East and elsewhere.

Alliance member Turkey has seen a number of terrorist attacks, and Stoltenberg noted no other NATO ally has suffered more than Turkey. There was also a failed coup there last year, but Stoltenberg expressed that those security concerns do not give Turkish leaders the ability to do whatever they want.

"Turkey has the right to defend itself against terrorist attacks, to prosecute also those there who are behind the foiled coup attempt. But at the same time, this has to be done based on the rule of law and our democratic values, and I have stated that clearly in my meetings in Ankara," he said.

Turkey's crackdown on the opposition and the press has strained ties with a number of NATO nations. But it remains an important player in challenges the alliance is facing.

"Turkey is a key ally not least because of its geostrategic location -- bordering Syria and Iraq, bordering Russia in the Black Sea -- and Turkey is key to the way Europe is handling the migrant crisis. NATO is present with its naval ships in the Aegean Sea, helping to stem the flow of migrants and that would not have been possible without the cooperation of Turkey and Greece, which are part of NATO," said Stoltenberg.
MOUNT PLEASANT  CNH Industrial celebrated the 175th anniversary of the Case brand Monday along with about 250 employees and executives and invited guests, including House Speaker Paul Ryan.

But it was a descendant of Case founder Jerome Increase Case who upstaged the other speakers with folksy stories about his great-grandfather who started a revolution in farming in 1842 when he formed Racine Threshing Machine Works.

Leading up to the start of the program was a video that made clear the long, rich history of the company that is now CNH, which includes the Case IH agriculture brand and Case Construction Equipment brand.

Not every company gets to celebrate 175 years, and its worth taking a moment to recognize that CNH Industrial is a company with significant history  and deep roots, company CEO Rich Tobin said.

What made J. I. Cases inventions transformative was the fact that his solutions were responding to a strong need: to feed a developing population, Tobin said. In the 175 years since then, the needs have changed  and we have evolved. The process of assessing and then creating has happened over and over again.

From the small company J.I. Case started with six ground hog threshers  to a leader in the capital goods sector, with 63,000 people worldwide and operations in 180 national markets, we are continuing a tradition of innovation, and we are honoring our roots that were established right here, in Racine County, Tobin said.

Nicer than your car

During his turn onstage, Ryan pointed out the 2,500 family-supporting jobs that support the Case IH and Case Construction Equipment brands here.

One-hundred seventy-five years, Ryan said, from something that looks like something you see in a thresheree to the most-amazing, state-of-the-art, nicer-than-your-car (tractor) cab. It is really something that we are proud of.

This is something that has put Racine on the map, said Ryan, R-Wis. This is a company that people know about worldwide.

State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, was part of a bipartisan foursome of legislators  including state Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, and state Reps. Cory Mason, D-Racine and Peter Barca, D-Kenosha  who presented Tobin with a plaque of appreciation.

Wisconsins economy is built on agriculture, tourism and manufacturing, Vos said, adding: You are deeply involved in two of our most important industries: agriculture and manufacturing.

And Racine County Executive Jonathan Delagrave issued a proclamation on the Case brands importance. The impact that Case Co. has had on this community and surrounding areas is immeasurable, he said.

Family stories

Batting cleanup was Kaleb Jerome Case, great-grandson of J.I. Case. (Kaleb would also have been around for the Case brands 100th anniversary, said CNH Chief Operating Officer Brad Crews.)

Case drew laughter when he said J.I. Case had a mole on his left lip that he would often twiddle when he was deep in thought, and it has been removed by many photographers.

J.I. Case was always striving to invent better machinery, Kaleb said. One year he spent all winter working in his Rochester home improving a type of thresher hed been selling.

Kaleb said after J.I. Case got into manufacturing and had delivered fewer than a dozen of threshers, he wrote his wife, Lydia, in despair. In the letter he says he had just put himself out of business: No one would need any machines anymore.

Wow, he should be here today, Kaleb said.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Monday extended the deadline for U.S.-Mexico sugar trade negotiations by 24 hours, and sources on either side of the spat said U.S. industry added new demands after the governments struck a provisional deal.

Ross said extra time was needed to complete "final technical consultations" for a deal. At stake is the possibility of stiff U.S. duties and Mexican retaliation on imports of American high-fructose corn syrup ahead of wider trade talks expected in August.

An agreement in Washington would end a year of wrangling over Mexican sugar exports. The latest talks began in March, two months after President Donald Trump took power vowing a tougher line on trade to protect U.S. industry and jobs.

They are seen as a precursor to the more complex discussions on the North American Free Trade Agreement between the United States, Mexico and Canada.

"The two sides have come together in quite meaningful ways, but there remain a few technical details to work out," Ross said in a statement as time was running out on a Monday deadline.

"We are quite optimistic that our two nations are on the precipice of an agreement we can all support, and so have decided that a short extension of the deadline is in everyone's best interest."

Ross did not provide details of the issues yet to be resolved in his statement.

ICE U.S. domestic raw sugar futures for July delivery finished down 2.9 percent at 27.66 cents per lb, in the largest one-day loss in over a year.

One Mexican official familiar with the talks described what was still being discussed as details of "implementation" of the main points already agreed.

The official and three other sources with direct knowledge of the talks earlier said an agreement had been struck between the governments. Another Mexican official and a U.S. industry source said the U.S. sugar industry later came back with additional demands outside of the terms agreed on earlier.

Those demands included changes to a "first refusal right" that would allow Mexico to sell U.S. refiners any additional sugar they needed beyond agreed quotas, one of the Mexican officials said.

That source said the cane refiner ASR Group, a partnership that includes the politically connected Fanjul family, was active in raising the new requirements. The Fanjuls own Domino Sugar, C&H, and Florida Crystals.

ASR Group declined to comment on its involvement in the talks.

In an earlier attempt to break the impasse, U.S. Commerce Secretary Ross came close to hammering out a compromise deal before a deadline in May, but that also fell through when the U.S. sugar lobby upped pressure on U.S. lawmakers, said two sources familiar with the talks.

The powerful lobby also includes Imperial Sugar, owned by Louis Dreyfus, and U.S. cane and beet growers.

A Washington-based source familiar with the negotiations said that the two sides had "come together" on the four largest issues separating the U.S. and Mexican sugar industries, but some technical details still needed to be worked out. The person declined to elaborate.

The agreed terms would lower the proportion of refined sugar Mexico can export to the United States to 30 percent of total exports, from 53 percent, one of the Mexican government sources said.

The agreement would also cut the quality of Mexico's crude sugar exports to 99.2 percent, from 99.5 percent, the source said, tackling a key complaint of U.S. refiners, who have said Mexican crude sugar was close to refined and going straight to consumers.

It also contemplated an increase on the price paid for Mexican sugar, to 23 cents per lb for raw sugar and 28 cents for refined, the source said.

Corn refiners including Archer Daniels Midland, Cargill, Corn Products International and Tate & Lyle would be affected if a final deal is not reached and Mexico resorted to retaliatory tariffs against fructose syrup.
Opposition to Islamic State is growing in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, according to a new opinion poll.

Of the 1,350 adults polled, nearly 90 percent of those who had heard of IS view the group as a threat to the country and even more, 92.9 percent, favor banning the group in Indonesia, according to the May 14-20 survey by the Jakarta-based Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting.

Two years ago, a Pew Research Center poll found 79 percent of Indonesians had unfavorable opinions of IS, and only 4 percent favored the group. That survey was conducted in 11 countries with significant Muslim populations, including several in the Middle East and Africa.

The new survey, however, showed that 10 percent of those who had heard of IS do not see IS as a threat to Indonesia, and many have never heard of the group.

Future of Islamic State

Despite the fact that IS has shown signs of expanding in the country of 258 million people, analysts in Indonesia say the group does not have a future there.

This is very encouraging. The survey makes us hopeful because the number of people who oppose ISIS is pretty big, said Thamrin Tomagola, a sociologist at the University of Indonesia, who used an acronym for the group.

The government and the public, however, should remain vigilant because IS and other militant groups could undermine the republic, pluralism and the authority of large Muslim organizations in the country, Tomagola said.

An ongoing battle in the southern Philippines between the military and IS-endorsed militants has raised concerns about a resurgence of Islamist terrorism in Southeast Asia.

The region has made significant inroads since the early 2000s against al-Qaida-linked groups such as Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines and Jemaah Islamiyah in Indonesia.

Azyumardi Azra, a Muslim scholar and former president of the State Islamic University in Jakarta, said that unlike the Wahabi or Salafi movements, Indonesia's inclusive form of Islam and multicultural society are too strong to be defeated by the ideologies of radical Islam.

Islam Indonesia is an Islam inherent in the culture, and Indonesian culture is basically a tolerant culture, Azra said. Even if IS pushes itself on Indonesia, the people of Indonesia, according to history, will rebel.

Attacks threatened

Indonesian authorities also point out that IS has repeatedly threatened to attack the country. IS claimed responsibility for coordinated bomb and gun attacks in central Jakarta in January that killed eight people, including the four attackers.

IS has been recruiting in Indonesia, and as many as 384 people had joined by January, according to the country's counterterrorism agency. Most of those have traveled to Syria and Iraq. Government reports last year suggested as many as 169 to 300 Indonesians who fought for IS have returned home.

Greg Fealy, an associate professor at the Australian National University who studies terrorism in Indonesia, said the IS terror threat in Indonesia has been rising since mid-2014.

U.S. Treasury authorities in March sanctioned Bahrun Naim, a prominent Indonesian national, and added him to the global terrorist list for providing financial and operational support for IS in Indonesia and funneling money through Southeast Asia to recruit people to IS battlefields.
"Europe stands by UK in fight against terrorism" tweeted EU Council President Donald Tusk after London was hit by a terror attack Saturday. Britain was also shocked by attacks in March and May.



Cooperation between Europe and Britain on security matters, however, might soon change due to Brexit, Britain's decision to leave the European Union following a referendum last year.



Saturday's incident killed seven people and left almost 50 wounded. Islamic State claimed the attackers were part of its terror network and several people were arrested and named.

Andrew Duff is a former liberal Member of the European Parliament and visiting fellow at the European Policy Center. He believes the recent attacks will mean a higher profile for the security aspects during the Brexit talks.



"It should be possible for the UK to negotiate its continuing use of the SIS 2 [Schengen information system] data exchange platform and to continue to be a member of Europol [the EU's law enforcement agency].," he said. "But participation will be at a financial cost and strong institutional connections will have to be invented, including recognition of the ultimate judicial authority of the European Court of Justice."



New face of cooperation



In recent weeks, experts and leading security specialists in Britain have warned about the importance of cooperation on intelligence and security if Britain wants to fight terrorism.



Technically speaking, security issues are not part of the Brexit negotiations, as the European Union wants to first settle issues on citizens' rights and financial matters before speaking about future cooperation between the bloc and Britain.

British Prime Minister Theresa May was tough in her letter late March that triggered Article 50, the official notification to leave the European Union.

She wrote: "In security terms a failure to reach agreement would mean our cooperation in the fight against crime and terrorism would be weakened."

May has publicly stated that "no deal is better than a bad deal," but recent events might question that logic.



Rosa Balfour, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Foundation, said when it comes to security, a hard Brexit will affect Britain more than the EU.

"The UK would be more isolated and its ability to deal with security issues, which requires cooperation, would be reduced ... where EU member states would continue to cooperate amongst each other," she said. "... If you're outside [the EU], you don't have the institutions and you don't necessarily have the trust if the [Brexit] negotiations don't go well."



Political influences



How much influence the recent attacks have on Britain's politics will become clear Thursday when national elections are held. May called an election when her party was riding high in polls in the hopes of getting a clear mandate from the public before Brexit negotiations start June 19.



The advantage of her Conservative Party has fallen. Most likely they will even be short of a majority, which will further complicate the exit negotiations.



Claude Moraes is a British Member of the European Parliament for the Labor Party and chairs the parliament committee on civil liberties, justice and home affairs. He said security will be one of the issues during the coming negotiations, but not the main one.



"The prime minister made a very political statement after the attacks where she talked about a more proactive response, but many of those were about international agreements," he said. "Like, the internet taking down material which would radicalize potential subjects, and also issues about how terrorists communicate on the internet."



Moraes urged a close working relationship with the EU, as he believes terrorism can only be countered with an international approach.



One of the approaches Britain could explore on security matters is the deal that Denmark struck with the EU. After a referendum, a majority of the Danish population refused to follow EU justice and home affairs policies. Despite the outcome of the referendum, Denmark will still be allowed indirect access to data and officers will still be posted at Europol headquarters.



Other security matters are moving along in the European Union without Brexit. The EU Commission will share its plans and vision for a common defense fund on Wednesday, a move long pushed back by Britain.
The leader of Thailand's military junta, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, will visit the White House in July following an invitation from U.S. President Donald Trump, a spokesman for the Thai government said on Monday.

The United States suspended high-level strategic dialogue and downgraded joint military exercises after a coup, led by Prayuth, overthrew an elected civilian government in 2014.

The invitation to the former army chief could signal a step by the United States toward re-establishing normal diplomatic relations with Thailand, its oldest ally in Asia.

Washington has sought to rally cooperation among partners in Asia to pressure North Korea over its nuclear and missile programs, and to counter China's ambitions in the disputed waters of the South China Sea.

Thai government spokesman Weerachon Sukondhapatipak told reporters that the talks would cover "trade, investment, commerce and security including security issues such as human trafficking."

He said the two governments were looking at fixing the visit for the end of July, but the dates had still to be confirmed.

Trump has reached out to other authoritarian leaders in the region including Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte, whose war on drugs has killed thousands.

Rights groups fear Trump's "America First" policy will result in Washington soft pedalling on human rights issues, and the visit to Washington by the leader of the Thai coup is expected to draw criticism.

The United States is Thailand's third-largest bilateral trading partner, after Japan and China.

In 2015, total two-way trade was estimated at over $37 billion. The United States is also one of the largest investors in Thailand, with over $11 billion in foreign direct investment in 2015.

Last year, the U.S. government rewarded the Thai government for improving anti-trafficking efforts with an upgrade in its annual report on human trafficking.

Thailand's agreement with Malaysia to build a wall to combat human trafficking across their porous border could strike a chord with Trump, who promised during his election campaign to build a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico. So far few details have emerged on the proposed wall between the Southeast Asian neighbors.
British Prime Minister Theresa May is being forced to defend her past record as the countrys interior minister, and the political architect of Britains counter-terror system, as more details emerge of the three attackers and what security agencies knew about them before their van-and-knife rampage Saturday in the heart of London.

Ahead of Thursday's vote in a snap post-Brexit parliamentary election, which May called with the expectation of securing a landslide victory, the terror attack is undermining the air of dogged competence May carefully crafted as the country's home secretary, a post she held for six years and relinquished on becoming prime minister last year.

Foreign Minister Boris Johnson conceded Tuesday that there were questions to answer about how the three militants slipped through the intelligence net. He was speaking as police named the third attacker as 22-year-old Italian-Moroccan Youssef Zaghba, who was on an Italian watchlist and suspected of being a foreign fighter.

Born in Fez, Morocco, in 1995 to an Italian mother and a Moroccan father, Zaghba was stopped by Italian police at the Bologna airport on March 15 of last year after arousing suspicions he was going to join the Islamic State terror group to fight in Syria.

Italian officials say he had a one-way ticket to Istanbul and was carrying just a small backpack. His cell phone, which was seized, contained jihadist content, including pictures and videos, and he was placed on a watchlist as a suspected foreign fighter. Italian officials say they shared intelligence on him with both the British and Moroccan security agencies.

Lived in Britain

The last few years Zaghba lived in Britain, where he worked on and off at a restaurant and a hotel near Regents Park, traveling back and forth to visit his mother, who lives in Bologna.

The naming of the third Islamic militant came after it emerged earlier Tuesday that the ringleader of Saturdays attack, 27-year-old British-Pakistani Khuram Shazad Butt worked for a man accused of helping to train the Islamic extremists responsible for the July 7, 2005 underground train bombings in London, Britains first Islamist suicide attack. Fifty-two people were killed across Britains capital in the coordinated strike and more than 700 others were injured.

Counterterror analysts say they are surprised that Butt remained a "low priority" for the security services despite his close connections to Sajeel Shahid, a 41-year-old who ran an all-Muslin gym in east London and was named in a New York court case as having helped to set up weapons training in Pakistan for the July 7 suicide bombers.

It was a blunder to have downgraded the terror threat in Britain so quickly after the Manchester bombing, said Olivier Guitta, managing director at GlobalStrat, a security and geopolitical risk firm. He says with election campaigning under way coinciding with Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, the chances of attacks were always high.

Guitta, who has advised government in the past on counterterrorism, said, No one should be surprised by the terrorism wave and which is linked to a policy of laissez-faire policy toward extremists.

The main charge leveled against May by Labour politicians and the leaders of the countrys smaller parties is the large cuts she introduced on funding for Britains police. Those cuts resulted in police personnel being drawn down from 2010 to 2016 by more than 20,000 officers.

Uncertain election impact

On Monday, the opposition parties received support for their criticism from an unlikely quarter. Conservative insider Steve Hilton, the policy guru of former Prime Minister David Cameron, demanded May resign over what he termed security failures, which he said led to Saturdays attack and the bombing of a concert last month in Manchester.

He said May should be resigning, not seeking re-election.

Pollsters are wary of predicting how the terrorist attacks  three in the past 10 weeks  will impact the voting on Thursday, but Labour leaders say they have renewed hope at the very least of reducing the ruling Conservatives majority as they seek to recast their campaign message in the final hours before voting as investment versus cuts.

On Sunday, May promised to review Britain's counterterrorism strategy, holding out the prospect of enhanced powers for the security services and longer prison sentences for extremists. May said she wants to take a tougher line with internet providers and social media businesses that allow extremist material on their sites.

She warned there has been far too much tolerance of extremism in Britain and promised to step up the fight against Islamist terrorism after the London Bridge attack, saying enough is enough.

British counterterror chiefs say that while Butt was investigated in 2015, he was deemed a low risk. According to Assistant Police Commissioner Mark Rowley, he had seen nothing to show that a poor decision has been made in 2015 and that police had no evidence Butt was planning anything.

Police, however, confirm they received several warnings from neighbors and associates about Butt.

British police and MI5 set up in 2013 an early warning system, known as Project Danube, to help them spot when low-priority suspects might be re-engaging in violent extremism. That program appears to have failed, say critics, as it did not help them identify Khalid Masood, the militant responsible for the Westminster Bridge attack in March that killed five people. Nor did it alert them to the Manchester Arena bomber, British-Libyan Salman Abedi.
Thousands of Slovaks rallied in Bratislava on Monday to protest against corruption and demand the resignation of the interior minister over his ties with a developer under investigation for tax fraud.

Slovakia's economy has boomed and living standards have risen sharply since it joined the European Union in 2004, but many Slovaks say their country fails to defend the rule of law, especially in punishing graft.

The protesters, chanting "Kalinak, resign" and "Leave our state alone", carrying Slovak and EU flags, largely targeted Interior Minister Robert Kalinak.

He has resisted pressure to step down over his business relations with real estate developer Ladislav Basternak, who is being investigated over possible tax fraud.

Kalinak has said he bought a 17 percent stake in one of the companies belonging to the developer. Both he and Basternak have denied any wrongdoing.

The protesters also demanded the resignations of police chief Tibor Gaspar and special prosecutor Dusan Kovacik for not doing enough to root out corruption.

The protest against Kalinak, number two in Fico's Smer party, came as civic protests mushroom across the EU's eastern wing.

Poland, Hungary and Romania have seen large anti-government protests in recent months, and thousands of Czechs took to the streets in May to protest against the finance minister.

A frequent theme is corruption and the inability of justice systems to put powerful suspects on trial.

Slovak media estimated turnout between 5,000 and 10,000, making it one of the largest protests since Fico took power in 2012. There was no official police estimate.

"Public sensitivity to corruption is growing and the prime minister has also reflected it in his activities  he has appointed a new head of an anti-corruption unit, spoken at anti-corruption seminars but a symbolic closure is still missing," political analyst Martin Slosiarik told Reuters.

"Many people don't believe justice is for all, they stopped believing in the principles of democracy, which has helped extremist parties," he said.

The far-right People's Party-Our Slovakia group won its first parliamentary seats last year, in an election which gave Fico a second consecutive term as prime minister but cost his party a parliamentary majority.

Fico said on Monday he supported freedom of speech. He backed Kalinak last year when the minister first faced protests demanding his resignation.

The government has stepped up anti-corruption efforts, introducing a 35 percent tax on dividends from companies in tax havens and banning firms with unclear ownership from doing business with the state.
The Trump administration is considering letting companies use seismic air guns to look for oil and gas deposits below the Atlantic Ocean, outraging environmentalists and coastal towns and resorts.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says it has gotten five separate requests to carry out the operations.

NOAA admits using the high-powered guns may incidentally but not intentionally harass marine mammals and reptiles. If the permits are approved, NOAA says companies must carry out a number of strict rules.

Observers would keep watch

They include placing observers on board ships to watch out for protected species and shut down operations if they are spotted. They also must listen for vocal communications between marine mammals, such as whales and dolphins.

The air guns use incredibly powerful blasts of air to look for oil and gas deep under the ocean floor.

The companies propose searching for possible drilling sites off the Atlantic coast from Delaware south to central Florida.

Environmentalists are furious. They say noise from the guns is one of the loudest man-made sounds created and can kill and injure millions of whales, dolphins, turtles, and other sea animals that depend on sound to communicate and survive.

Coastal towns oppose air guns

Coastal communities have the most to lose, but unfortunately their overwhelming opposition may be ignored by the Trump administration, said Nancy Pyne of the conservation group Oceana.

She calls it the first step towards offshore drilling and points to the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico as a major reason this should not be allowed to happen. Officials and business owners in coastal towns up and down the Atlantic also oppose the air guns.

NOAA has given the public 30 days to comment for or against the proposal.

Former President Barack Obama had rejected permits to air blast in the Atlantic. But President Trump signed an executive order in April expanding the search for oil and gas in the Atlantic to help make the U.S. more energy independent.
U.S. President Donald Trump used Twitter late Monday to again call for a travel ban from what he called "dangerous countries" while criticizing what he sees as "politically correct" efforts to soften his original executive order to block entry to people from a group of majority-Muslim countries.

"That's right, we need a travel ban for certain DANGEROUS countries, not some politically correct term that won't help us protect our people!" Trump wrote.

That followed tweets earlier Monday on the same topic blaming the Justice Department for a "watered down" version of the ban that Trump signed after his original order was challenged in court.

The first executive order banned entry to people from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Sudan for 90 days and indefinitely banned refugees from Syria, while giving exceptions to religious minorities.The revised order dropped Iraq from the list, changed the Syrian refugee ban to 120 days and removed the religious exception.

Multiple federal courts have barred authorities from enforcing the order, saying it amounts to unconstitutional religious discrimination against Muslim, with judges citing as part of their reasoning comments Trump made when he was a candidate for president and before he took office.

Trump's campaign once included a call to ban all Muslims from entering the United States, a policy that was later changed to advocating "extreme vetting" for people from countries with a link to terrorism.

The Trump administration has insisted the executive order is not a Muslim ban, and the president has argued the executive order is necessary to protect national security.

"In any event we are EXTREME VETTING people coming into the U.S. in order to help keep our country safe," Trump said Monday."The courts are slow and political!"

He further wrote, "The Justice Dept. should ask for an expedited hearing of the watered down Travel Ban before the Supreme Court - & seek much tougher version!"

The Justice Department last week filed an appeal with the Supreme Court asking it to hear an appeal in one travel ban case in which the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the administration.Other cases are still awaiting rulings from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Trump's wrath at Khan

Trump's Twitter postings Monday also included more of his criticism of London Mayor Sadiq Khan, saying Khan "had to think fast" on his statement that people in his city should not be alarmed to see a greater police presence in the streets following a deadly attack.

Trump's original response to Khan's statement drew criticism for wording that suggested the mayor was saying there was no reason to be alarmed by the attack itself.

"At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is 'no reason to be alarmed!" Trump wrote.

In an interview Monday with Britain's Channel 4 News, Khan said he does not have time to respond to tweets from Trump and said Britain should call off a planned state visit by the U.S. president expected later this year.

"I dont think we should roll out the red carpet to the president of the USA in the circumstances where his policies go against everything we stand for," Khan said."When you have a special relationship it is no different from when you have got a close mate. You stand with them in times of adversity but you call them out when they are wrong. There are many things about which Donald Trump is wrong."

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said later in a BBC radio interview that Khan "is entirely right to say what he said to reassure the people of his city about the presence of armed officers on the streets." But Johnson said the invitation for Trump's visit has been accepted and he sees "no reason to change that."

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson responded to a question Tuesday about Trump's tweets about Khan and other topics by saying, "That's up to him."

"The president has his own unique ways of communicating with the American people, and the world," Tillerson said during a visit to New Zealand."And it's served him pretty well, and I don't intend to advise him on how to communicate."
U.S. President Donald Trump has no intention of blocking former FBI Director James Comey from testifying to Congress later this week about key conversations they had earlier this year before Trump fired him, the White House said Monday.

Trump had been considering whether to invoke executive privilege on his White House conversations with Comey and keep him from testifying Thursday before the Senate Intelligence Committee. But White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that in order to facilitate a swift and thorough examination of facts, Trump would not try to halt the Comey testimony.

When Trump fired him a month ago, Comey was leading the Federal Bureau of Investigation probe of Russian interference into last year's presidential campaign and possible illegal collusion between Trump campaign aides and Russian interests aimed at helping Trump defeat his Democratic challenger, former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The president later called Comey a showboat and a grandstander.

Executive privilege

U.S. presidents in the past have invoked executive privilege to keep their conversations with top aides secret. But if Trump had exerted the privilege in Comey's case, it would almost certainly have left the impression that the administration was seeking to hide information about the Russia investigation.

Trump said he was thinking of this Russia thing when he decided to dismiss Comey, who was in the fourth year of a 10-year term as head of the country's top criminal investigative agency. Trump has often been dismissive of the FBI and congressional investigations of the Russian interference in the election, saying it is an excuse used by Democrats to explain Clinton's upset loss.

Within days of Comey's firing, his associates said the former FBI chief kept detailed notes of his White House meetings with Trump, including one instance when the president asked him to pledge his loyalty, which Comey declined to do. In another moment, the associates said Trump asked Comey to drop an investigation of Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, about his talks with Russian officials.

Comey felt pressured

The associates have told U.S. news outlets that Comey felt like Trump was trying to pressure him in an unacceptable way, a conclusion he is certain to be asked about when he appears before the Senate panel.

Trump fired Flynn in February after he had held the key White House post for just 24 days, when routine U.S. eavesdropping showed Flynn had lied to Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with Moscow's ambassador to Washington in the weeks before Trump assumed power in late January. The Comey associates said Trump asked the FBI director to drop his Flynn probe the day after the retired Army general had been fired.

Over Trump's opposition, his Justice Department named a special counsel, Robert Mueller, another former FBI director, to conduct a criminal investigation of the possible illegal collusion between Trump aides and Russian interests. That probe is in its early stages.
Germany's foreign minister said on Tuesday he would try to avoid damaging already strained relations with NATO partner Turkey during a withdrawal of German troops, as he didn't want a mounting dispute to push Ankara into

closer ties with Moscow.

Sigmar Gabriel said his officials would do their best not to escalate the situation as German troops left the Incirlik air base in southern Turkey - in reaction to Ankara's decision to restrict German lawmakers' access to the soldiers.

"Above all we should organize the withdrawal so that there is no megaphone diplomacy where we trade insults," Gabriel told Deutschlandfunk radio.

He said he had agreed with Chancellor Angela Merkel and Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen that the German cabinet would deal with the issue on Wednesday. He also said the Defense Ministry had already been working on a withdrawal plan.

Turkey's ties with Germany and other European Union states deteriorated sharply in the run-up to Turkey's April 16 referendum that handed President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stronger presidential powers.

Germany, citing security concerns, banned some Turkish politicians from addressing rallies of expatriate Turks before the referendum. Ankara responded by accusing Berlin of "Nazi-like" tactics, drawing rebukes from Berlin.

Turkey has reignited a row over access to German forces on its territory by imposing new restrictions on German lawmakers visiting Incirlik.

The German deployment at Incirlik is part of a mission providing reconnaissance aircraft to support U.S.-led coalition operations against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Gabriel said the Defense Ministry had concluded it now made more sense logistically to send Germany's Tornado jets to Jordan.

"We have no interest in pushing Turkey into a corner ... we don't want to push it towards Russia," Gabriel said. "This is no small thing but it is about more than Incirlik, it's about our relationship with Turkey," he said.

Turkey has been seeking to improve relations with Russia.

Last month it agreed plans with Moscow and Tehran to reduce the fighting in Syria, and has been working to end economic barriers imposed after Turkey shot down a Russian plane near the Syrian border in 2015.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said after meeting Gabriel in Ankara on Monday that relations with Germany had suffered recently, but that trade and investment between the two countries were still strong.

"We spoke about how we can focus on this more, what steps could be taken to increase contact between the two nations and disperse this negative atmosphere," he said.

Berlin is also worried about a security crackdown in Turkey after last year's failed coup. Some 150,000 people have been sacked or suspended from their jobs and 50,000 people jailed pending trial.

"Turkey wants an expansion of the customs union. We say we are ready for that ... but you have to move, too," said Gabriel, who stressed that adhering to the rule of law was necessary.

Germany has also pushed for the release of German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yucel, who was arrested in Turkey in February on a charge of spreading terrorist propaganda.
The head of the United Nations Population Fund, Babatunde Osotimehin, a champion for girls' and women's health, has died suddenly at his home, the UNFPA said on Monday.

"This is a devastating loss for UNFPA and for the people, especially women, girls and youth, he dedicated his life to serving, starting from when he became a doctor in Nigeria," the U.N. agency said in a statement. The cause of death was unclear.

"Dr. Osotimehin was bold and never afraid of a challenge and his strong leadership helped keep the health and rights of the world's women and girls high on the global agenda."

Osotimehin, a former Nigerian health minister, was particularly committed to ending preventable maternal deaths, tackling unmet demand for family planning and eliminating harmful practices against women and girls, UNFPA said.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres tweeted: "I mourn the death of UNFPA chief Dr Babatunde Osotimehin. Our world lost a great champion of well-being for all, especially women & girls."

Others paying tribute on twitter included the head of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibe, and former New Zealand prime minister, Helen Clark.

The UNFPA said it was "dedicated to continuing Dr. Osotimehin's grand vision for women and young people."

Osotimehin, who was 68, had headed the UNFPA since 2011.

He was Nigerian minister of health from 2008 to 2010 and before that served as director-general of his country's National Agency for the Control of AIDS.

Osotimehin qualified as a doctor from the University of Ibadan, in 1972, and subsequently received a doctorate in medicine from the University of Birmingham, England.

He was married with five children and several grandchildren.
Nikki Haley, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, has warned that the Trump Administration might pull out of the Human Rights Council if the U.N. body does not undertake necessary reforms.

In a tough take no prisoners speech at the opening of the council's three-week session, Haley put the group on notice that it should mend its ways.

As you know, the United States is looking carefully at this council and our participation in it. We see some areas for significant strengthening, she said.

Haley is the 29th U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and the first to address the U.N. Human Rights Council. Her tough, unequivocal message was not lost on the 47-member Council.

She criticized the human rights forum for what she perceived to be a double standard applied to Israel. By way of example, she noted that the Council had never adopted a resolution condemning Venezuela for its serious human rights violations.

And, yet it adopted five biased resolutions in March against a single country, Israel. It is essential that this council address its chronic anti-Israel bias if it is to have any credibility, she said.

Handling of Israel

The United States and Israel are allies. Washington has long argued that the council unfairly focuses on Israel's alleged violations of human rights, including its treatment of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Even critics of Israel's policies on the Occupied Palestinian Territories have acknowledged that Israel was being unfairly singled out for special attention at the council.

They note that grave and systematic human rights abuses in all other countries, such as North Korea, Syria, Eritrea, Iran, Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi are examined under the same item 4 on the agenda. Israel, however, is dealt with under its own special item 7.

At the same time, critics blame the United States for this situation. Because President George W. Bush boycotted the council for three years, they argue that Washington had lost its seat at the table and therefore was not able to use its influence to prevent item 7 from becoming part of the council agenda.

The U.S. rejoined the Council in 2009 under Barack Obama's Administration.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra-ad al-Hussein did not engage in this debate. In his opening remarks to the council Tuesday, however, he called for the end of the occupation.

He said the Palestinians deserve freedom, as all peoples do. They deserve to bring up their children safe in their homes, on their land, exercising their rights in their state, free from this long and bitter occupation.

At the same time, he noted that the Israelis also deserve freedom, for they have long had their state, but they, too, have suffered grievously.

Zeid added that Israelis, too, need to be free from this violence, from any existential threat posed to them.

Venezuelas place on council questioned

U.S. Ambassador Haley said membership of the council was an area open to reform, noting that Venezuela, a country with a poor human rights record, was a member of the council  a situation she found untenable.

She said the council must address this issue. If Venezuela could not make improvements in its human rights record, she said it should voluntarily step down from its seat on the Human Rights Council until it can get its own house in order.

She said being a member of the Council is a privilege, and no country who is a human rights violator should be allowed a seat at the table.

John Fisher, Geneva Director of Human Rights Watch agreed that the council could benefit from reform.

While no State's human rights record is perfect, he said in a statement, any steps that improve membership standards would strengthen the Human Rights Council and enhance its ability to tackle human rights abuses worldwide.

ACLU director calls out US

Another view of Haley's remarks at the council was uttered by Jamil Dakwar, director of the American Civil Liberties Union, who said it was hard to take the ambassador's support for human rights seriously in light of Trump administration actions like the Muslim ban and immigration crackdowns.

He said the U.S. must get its own house in order and make human rights at home a priority, then it can begin to credibly demand the same of other countries abroad.

Haley reserved some of her harshest observations regarding the worsening human rights situation in Venezuela for a side event hosted by the U.S. Mission later in the day on human rights and democracy in Venezuela.

She lambasted the government of Nicolas Maduro for starving and repressing its citizens. She accused the government of conducting a campaign of violence and intimidation against unarmed demonstrators, businesses, civil society, and freely elected political opposition.

She noted that since April, more than 60 people demonstrating against the government have been killed, more than 1,000 have been injured and nearly 3,000 have been detained, including over 300 civilians charged with criminality in military courts.

Maduro regime desperate

She said that President Maduro had begun the process of withdrawing from the Organization of American States, turning his back on the principles of democracy and self-determination in the Inter-American Democratic Charter.

She called the deteriorating situation in Venezuela an economic, political and humanitarian crisis that demands the world's attention.

The U.S. Ambassador said the Maduro regime was desperate to hide its abuses from the world and implied that its efforts were meeting with some success in Geneva at the Human Rights Council.

Here, at the world's preeminent human rights organization, Venezuela is a member in good standing, she said. And it uses that membership to block any meaningful discussion of its human rights violations.

Haley said the council has no excuses.

It cannot consider itself the world's leading human rights organization and continue to ignore the violations and abuses that are occurring in Venezuela, she said.

Venezuelan Reaction

Haleys comments alternately antagonized Maduros supporters and buoyed his rivals.

Rafael Ramirez, Venezuelas ambassador to the U.N., said the United States shares responsibility for the suffering in our country because it encourages and stimulates the most violent groups and interferes in our internal affairs." Ramirez accused the United States of crafting a calculated and committed strategy against our country.

But opposition lawmakers welcomed Haleys demand for Venezuela to restore protection of its peoples human rights or else lose its spot on the Security Council.

Juan Requesens, who serves in the opposition-led National Assembly, appealed to the international community for support  including through sanctions against rights violators.

Venezuela needs solidarity among nations, too, and support from the entire international community, Requesens said, because this nation is dying of hunger and is resisting a repressive regime.

VOA Spanish Service correspondent Alvaro Algarra contributed to this report from Caracas, Venezuela.
The U.S. Justice Department announced Monday the arrest of a government contractor it said sent classified material to an online news outlet.

The announcement came the same day as the release of a report by The Intercept, which said it had obtained a classified document showing Russian military intelligence tried to hack into U.S. voter registration systems before last year's elections.

An affidavit submitted by an FBI special agent said the arrested woman, Reality Leigh Winner, admitted to printing classified intelligence reporting and mailing it to a news outlet.

The affidavit also says a U.S. intelligence community agency determined in its investigation that Winner was among six people who had printed the document and that she had email contact with the unnamed news outlet.

The same dates appear in both the document mentioned in the affidavit and the one cited by The Intercept.

The government did not say from which agency Winner allegedly took the top-secret document, only that she was assigned to work at a U.S. government facility in the state of Georgia.

The Intercept reported that the top-secret National Security Agency document it obtained said the Russian hackers spent months trying to gain access to computers used by local election officials.

The effort involved so-called phishing techniques used to trick people into unwittingly handing over login information that hackers can then use to access data.

The first target was companies that provide local governments with software to manage voter registrations. Subsequent attacks targeted the local election officials themselves in the days before the November 8 vote.

It is unclear how successful the hackers were.The Intercept says the NSA analysis "does not draw conclusions about whether the interference had any effect on the election's outcome."

The U.S. intelligence community issued a report in January saying it assessed that Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign targeting the U.S. election. The goal was to both undermine faith in the process and harm former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's chance of winning against now-President Donald Trump.

That report said the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's assessment was that the types of systems the Russians "targeted or compromised" were not involved in counting votes.

Two U.S. congressional committees and a special counsel named by the Justice Department are investigating Russia's efforts targeting the U.S. election, as well as whether anyone in Trump's campaign colluded with the Russians.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that Russia strongly denies the accusations it tried to infiltrate the voting systems.

"This assertion has absolutely nothing to do with reality," he said.

Putin previously denied that the Russian government meddled in the election, but said that Russian "patriots" with no ties to the government may have been involved in hacking.
The United States on Monday called for the United Nations to investigate who murdered two U.N. sanctions monitors in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) amid mounting criticism of the Congolese authorities' own inquiry.

American Michael Sharp and Swede Zaida Catalan disappeared in March in central Congo's Kasai region, where hundreds have died since last July in an insurrection against the government.

Their bodies were found two weeks later in a shallow grave.

They were part of an independent panel of experts investigating sanctions violations, who report to the United Nations Security Council.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres set up an internal board of inquiry into what happened, which is due to report by the end of July, but U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley called for him to establish a special investigation that would lay blame.

"Their families deserve justice. We owe it to their legacy to end the human rights abuses being carried out by armed groups and the DRC government against the Congolese people," Haley said in a statement.

Sweden has opened a police investigation and U.N. diplomats said U.S. authorities had also been looking into the case.

Congo's foreign minister, Leonard She Okitundu, last month opposed the creation of an international inquiry.

Congolese military prosecutors announced last month that two suspected militiamen would soon face trial for the killings, but rights groups say they suspect Congolese forces could have been involved in the deaths.

A U.N. spokesman last month cast doubt on the credibility of the Congolese investigation, saying the world body was "taken aback at the rapidity at which it was done."

Haley said the United States would also support the Geneva-based Human Rights Council establishing a Commission of Inquiry into the ongoing human rights violation in the Kasai region, where Sharp and Catalan went missing.

The remote, heavily forested region in central Congo has been riven by clashes between security forces and a local tribal militia called the Kamuina Nsapu since July.

At least 400 people have been killed and 200,000 displaced since fighting broke out when police killed the militia's leader last August, the U.N. has said. The top U.N. rights official said in March that three mass graves had been discovered.

Insecurity in Congo, where millions died in civil wars around the turn of the century, has worsened since December when President Joseph Kabila refused to step down at the end of his constitutional mandate.
Venezuela's security forces arrested at least 14 army officers on suspicion of "rebellion" and "treason" in the first week of protests against President Nicolas Maduro's government in early April, according to military documents obtained by Reuters.

The soldiers, who include colonels and captains, are being held in Ramo Verde prison in the hills outside Caracas, according to lists being circulated within the military.

The documents said their cases were being "processed", and it was not clear if they had been formally charged.

The lists emerged after allegations by Venezuelan opposition leaders that a purge is underway within the military to quash dissent over the handling of massive demonstrations against the socialist government since early April.

The documents seen by Reuters only went up to April 8, after which opposition leaders and rights activists say many more soldiers have been rounded up.

The military's National Guard unit has been at the forefront of policing the protests, using tear gas, water cannons, and rubber bullets against masked youths who hurl stones, Molotov cocktails and excrement against security lines.

At least 65 people have died, with victims including government and opposition supporters, bystanders and members of the security forces. Hundreds more have been injured.

Opposition leaders say there is increasing disquiet within the military over the use of force against protesters who are demanding general elections, foreign humanitarian aid and freedom for jailed activists.

In public, top military officers have backed Maduro's accusation that an "armed insurrection" is being mounted by violent conspirators seeking a coup with U.S. backing.

But privately some National Guard members have complained of exhaustion and disillusionment.

Asylum requests

A few soldiers have gone public with their discontent.

Three lieutenants fled to Colombia and requested asylum last month, prompting the Venezuelan government to demand their extradition to face charges of coup plotting.



Opposition media last week published a video purporting to be a Venezuelan naval sergeant expressing his dissent and urging colleagues to disobey "abusive" and "corrupt" superiors.

"I reject Mr. Nicolas Maduro Moros as an illegitimate president and refuse to recognize his regime and dictatorial government," Giomar Flores said in a seven-minute video, wearing a white naval uniform and black beret next to a Venezuelan flag.

Reuters could not confirm his case or whereabouts.

Neither the Information Ministry nor the Armed Forces responded to requests for information.

Late leader Hugo Chavez turned the military into a bastion of "Chavismo" after a short-lived coup against him in 2002.

Though Maduro, 54, does not hail from the army as Chavez did, he has kept ties strong, placing current or former soldiers in a third of ministerial posts, and giving them control over key sectors like food distribution.

Opposition leaders have been openly calling for the armed forces to disobey Maduro and side with their demands, but the top brass have repeatedly pledged loyalty.
The 421-foot USS Gabrielle Giffords will be commissioned this weekend in Texas.

Navy officials say ceremonies will be held Saturday in Galveston to commission the warship named for the former Arizona congresswoman, who was shot in 2011 in Tucson, Arizona, but survived the assassination attempt.

The $475 million ship was constructed by Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama, and arrived in Galveston last weekend.

Giffords helped christen the ship in 2015. It's the ninth in a series of high-speed vessels designed to navigate in shallow coastal regions known as littoral waters.

Giffords' husband is retired astronaut Mark Kelly, a former Navy captain stationed in Galveston County during his NASA service.

Free public tours of the ship are available each afternoon through Friday in Galveston.

San Diego will be its home port.
West African troops have extended their military mission in Gambia by one year after entering the country in January to force out longtime ruler Yahya Jammeh, regional bloc ECOWAS said on Monday.

About 500 ECOWAS troops remain in Gambia of the original 7,000 that crossed over from neighboring Senegal to compel Jammeh to go into exile and leave the presidency to Adama Barrow, who defeated him in a December election.

Soldiers from the mission, known as ECOMIG, came under attack last Friday by locals in Jammeh's native village of Kanilai, Interior Minister Mai Ahmed Fatty said in a televised statement, underscoring unresolved tensions from Jammeh's 22-year rule.

One of the demonstrators demanding the departure of ECOMIG and state troops was killed in the clashes, and security forces made 22 arrests, Fatty said.

The tiny country of 2 million people is trying to rebuild its economy and obtain justice for victims of Jammeh's government, which is accused of torturing and killing perceived opponents.

Separately, ECOWAS's 15 member states gave preliminary approval to Morocco's bid to join the bloc "because of [its] strong and multi-dimensional links of cooperation with West Africa", ECOWAS said in a statement.
National Peoples Party interim president, Joice Mujuru, says there is nothing wrong in becoming the leader of a proposed opposition coalition, which wants to unseat 93 year-old President Robert Mugabes government in the 2018 general elections.

Speaking at a burial ceremony of her aides mother in Zvimba communal lands in Mashonaland West province, Mujuru said her desire to lead the coalition is part of Zimbabwes democratization process.

Its allowed for someone to wish for something. Thats what democracy is all about. Who said so and so will have to lead an opposition coalition? We are looking for a leader and so its allowed for one to show interest in that particular position. People are going to make a decision on this issue and are going to say not you Mister or not you Mrs 

She noted that it is possible that some people may want to be led by someone with links to the farming community and state security agents.

The former vice president of Zimbabwe is in the process of crafting an opposition coalition with the Movement for Democratic Change formations led by Morgan Tsvangirai and Welshman Ncube ahead of the crucial general elections.

She was expelled from the ruling party for allegedly attempting to unseat President Robert Mugabe using unconstitutional means. Mrs. Mujuru has dismissed these allegations as political machinations of some people who want to succeed President Mugabe.

Two factions are currently fighting for the succession of the president in the ruling Zanu PF party.
An investment adviser who has a fiduciary duty will have to act in the best interests of his or her clients. (istock)

Investors are about to get some major help in determining which financial advisers are working in their best interest.

After a long battle, which still might not be over, retirement savers will get some common-sense protection that should bring to light conflicts of interest that could cost them dearly.

Heres some background on the fiduciary rule that goes into effect on Friday.

The Labor Department, under the Obama administration, proposed that investment professionals, when giving advice about retirement plans, such as a 401(k), be required to put their clients interests first. I bet you didnt know that wasnt already the prevailing standard.

An investment adviser who has a fiduciary duty will have to act in the best interests of his or her clients. Advisers who are not fiduciaries dont have to meet this standard. Rather, they just have to make sure that their advice is suitable for their clients.

Let me show you how the suitability standard might have played out before the new rule. You were close to retirement and you didnt know what to do with the money in your 401(k), which had low fees and terrific investment options. Your investment adviser, who was not a fiduciary, suggested that you roll over all of your savings into an account managed by his firm  a transaction that yielded the adviser a huge commission and ultimately cost you in higher fees. Maybe you were told about the advisers bonus, maybe not, but it certainly was not made clear to you that your adviser received a fat incentive to get you to roll over your retirement funds.

[Are you putting your retirement at risk by supporting grown children?]

This type of conflicted advice has cost investors $17 billion annually, according to the White House Council of Economic Advisers.

The fiduciary rule is long overdue, said Carolyn McClanahan, founder of the fee-only Life Planning Partners based in Jacksonville, Fla. Consumers should have the confidence that their adviser is acting in their best interest, not just assuming this is the case.

Many financial companies opposed the rule, and in early February, President Trump issued a memorandum ordering the Labor Department to reexamine it. The rule was delayed but not reversed. By the way, it does not apply to non-retirement accounts.

In a recent op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta wrote, Trust in Americans ability to decide what is best for them and their families leads us to the conclusion that we should seek public comment on how to revise this rule.

What malarkey.

[Its too late for Trump to stop this financial rule]

Some advisers were taking advantage of folks. So now, heres what investors should expect, according to Barbara Roper, director of investor protection for the Consumer Federation of America.

Fewer rollover recommendations. Because advisers will only be permitted to recommend a rollover where that is in the customers best interest, they will either have to refrain from recommending a rollover where the workplace plan is the better option, or sweeten the deal in terms of the investments they roll investors into.

You may be encouraged to move to a fee-only account. Though most brokers and insurers have decided to continue to offer commission-based retirement accounts, Roper said, some firms have decided the easiest way to reduce conflicts and comply with the rule is to move retirement money to fee accounts. Under a fee-based account, clients might pay an hourly rate, a flat fee or be charged a fee based on a percentage of assets being managed, Roper added.

Some firms may drop smaller accounts. We dont know how many will actually follow through on this threat, but it is a possibility, Roper said. If this happens, investors need to know that there are firms that are available who will serve even the smallest accounts under a fiduciary standard. Its a nuisance to have to move, but do you really want your money with a firm that will only advise you if they can continue to profit unfairly at your expense?

There is much to learn about the rule, and Roper has put together an explainer for investors who had been working with non-fiduciary advisers. You can find it at ow.ly/kNpq30cnb0p .

Certainly there may be changes to how you receive and pay for retirement investment advice. But keep in mind that they are, by and large, to reduce conflicts of interest.

If you have more questions, join me for a live discussion at noon Eastern on June 15 at washingtonpost.com/discussions. Roper will be my guest.

Theres a new rule in town, and its in your best interest to now ask your adviser if he or she is a fiduciary.

Write Singletary at The Washington Post, 1301 K St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071 or michelle.singletary@washpost.com.

To read more, go to wapo.st/michelle-singletary.

Read more:

From Trump bump to Trump slump: How to navigate your investments

The Obama-era workplace retirement plans that the GOP wants to kill

He retired at 52. The 10 things that surprised him about early retirement.
Dear Readers: Privacy, please! How many times have you wanted to close the door on the outside world and take a break? You can remove yourself from your environment, but what you post online pretty much stays there forever.

Be careful, and advise your children and grandchildren about what not to post on social media. Here are some examples:

 A full picture of yourself. Scammers can take this image and create a fake profile of you and fake identification cards to steal your personal information.

 Anything that you may want to take down later. Once something is online, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to permanently delete it.

 Of course, personal information: date of birth, Social Security number, address, account information, etc. Be careful with posting pictures; some tags can give away your location. You dont want thieves to know when youre not at home.

There is a lot to learn on this subject. Educate yourself and your family so you can stay safe in cyberspace.

Dear Heloise: What is a quick and easy way to clean the microwave oven? I dont have a lot of time!

Harry T. in Montana

Harry T. in Montana: Dont worry  I have an easy solution for you.

To clean and deodorize the microwave, place a microwave-safe bowl with water and two heaping tablespoons of baking soda in the microwave.

Zap for about two minutes, and all the yuck will wipe right off. Be careful  the water is going to be hot.

Baking soda is one of my favorite household helpers. It is cheap, nontoxic and readily available. I have compiled a collection of my favorite baking soda hints and recipes into a handy pamphlet. Would you like to receive one? Its easy. Visit Heloise.com to order, or mail $5, along with a stamped (70 cents), self-addressed, business-size envelope, to: Heloise/Baking Soda, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001. Pour the old box of baking soda from the fridge down the garbage disposal to freshen it. Follow with a splash of vinegar for bubbles.

Dear Heloise: I read your column each day in the Dayton (Ohio) Daily News. Regarding saving spare change:

My husband of 71 years, Bob, and I always dropped our change into a jar. It was fun just watching it grow!

When we had company with small children, we gave the little ones a plastic sandwich bag and let them scoop out as many coins as they could grab. They would count the change and ask to do it again!

This was fun for Bob and me.

Ethelda I., Dayton, Ohio

Ethelda I.: Wonderful! And teaching kids to count? Im all for that!

Dear Heloise: Please remind women to have mammograms. Tell them: Do not feel you are too busy. Skipping a mammogram could be one of the biggest mistakes of their lives.

A Reader, Boardman, Ohio

Reader: Happy to pass along this important message!

Heloises column appears six days a week at washingtonpost.com/advice. Send a hint to Heloise , P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Tex. 78279-5000, or email it to Heloise@Heloise.com.


Jon Huntsman, outgoing chairman of the Atlantic Council, will be Washingtons new man in Moscow  if the Senate ever gets the formal nomination. (ImageLinkPhoto.com/ImageLinkPhoto.com)

Jon Huntsman is going to be ambassador to Russia.

Thats the current plan, at least.

The former governor, ambassador and GOP presidential candidate was offered the Moscow position months ago and is in the midst of preparing for the move. But as with so many of President Trumps diplomatic picks, Huntsmans nomination has not been formally submitted to the Senate for confirmation. So technically, hes not allowed to talk about it.

As a diplomat, youre supposed to say nothing when theres something to say, and something when theres nothing to say, quipped Huntsman. So Im caught between a cliche and an indiscretion.

Which made for some interesting banter at Mondays black-tie dinner of the Atlantic Council, the international affairs think tank where Huntsman has served as chairman for the past three years. At the VIP reception, he was surrounded by guests congratulating him, asking when he was headed overseas or whispering the latest tidbit theyd heard at the Capitol.

I was just up seeing my friend Rand Paul today and he said, When is Huntsman going to come up for a hearing?  shared Richard Burt, former ambassador to Germany. I said, I think its going to happen in July or August. What do you think?

Huntsman flashed his dazzling smile and answered without answering: Youre a smart man. You know these things.

A moderate Republican, Huntsman has sailed through the confirmation process twice before: in 1992, when he was approved as ambassador to Singapore by a unanimous vote, and again in 2009, when he was again confirmed unanimously as President Obamas choice for ambassador to China.

[Huntsmans strange odyssey to become Trumpss man in Moscow]

His name surfaced again in March, when administration sources confirmed that Trump had asked Huntsman, 57, to take the highly sensitive job. But no one knows exactly when the nomination will become official, and whether the ongoing probe into possible Russian attempts to influence the 2016 election will delay the process even further.

I cant even speculate on it until Im formally nominated, said Huntsman. But he acknowledged that, if confirmed, his experience in China might be helpful: There are elements of big power relationships that are similar, and the way that large, complex embassies function is also similar.

Still, the topic was an open secret among the 750 military, international policy and diplomatic leaders at the Ritz Carlton on Monday night.

Speaking of ambassadors . . . oh, Im sorry. Im not supposed to talk about that, said Atlantic Council President Fred Kempe in a tribute to Huntsman. You personify the Atlantic Councils ethos of principled, untiring engagement, not shying away from the very toughest of challenges.



NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenber with former secretary of state Madeleine K. Albright at the Atlantic Council Leadership Dinner. Albrights pin refers to NATOs mutual defense-affirming Article 5. (ImageLinkPhoto.com/ImageLinkPhoto.com)

The annual dinner, traditionally weighty and pretty wonky, had a renewed energy and relevance this year. The council was founded on the need for a strong relationship between the United States and NATO countries, and the guest list included NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg; Adm. Michelle Howard, the commander of NATOs Allied Joint Force Command in Naples; former secretary of state Madeleine Albright (wearing a Roman numeral V pin to signify her support for NATOs Article Five); and Dusko Markovic, the prime minister of Montenegro, which officially became the 29th member of NATO on Monday.

Albrights remarks included a couple of pointed jabs at President Trump (Its very good to see you up front this evening she told Markovic, whom Trump pushed aside at a photo op at last months NATO meeting in Brussels to stand in the front row) and a more serious warning.

[Breaking down Trumps shove]

Here in America, we are facing a great danger  and that danger is not a foreign enemy, she said, noting that 2017 is the 70th anniversary of the Marshall Plan. It is the possibility that we fail to hear the example of Marshall, that we will take for granted the institutions and principles upon which our own freedom is based, and forget what the history of the past century reminds us: Problems abroad, if left unattended, will come home to America, and the United States is stronger when it has allies and friends who share our interests and our ideals.

Many of the Atlantic Councils members were unimpressed by Trumps blunt speech at NATO headquarters, so it wasnt a huge surprise that Vice President Pence dropped by to reinforce the administrations relationship with its international partners.

Let me assure you, the United States will continue to build  to reach new heights of prosperity and security  and we will continue to strengthen the bonds between our nation and the nations of Europe for the benefit of our peoples for generations to come, said Pence to polite applause. And make no mistake: Our commitment is unwavering. We will meet our obligations to our people to provide for the collective defense of all our allies. The United States is resolved, as we were at NATOs founding and in every hour since, to live by that principle that an attack on one of us is an attack on us all.
MARYLAND

Man is sentenced to 35 years for raping nun

A District man who pleaded guilty to raping a nun was sentenced to 35 years in prison on Tuesday.

Juan Randolph, 29, was convicted of first-degree rape and burglary last week in connection with the April 2015 attack on the nun in her Hyattsville home, according to a statement from the Prince Georges County States Attorney Office.

Randolph broke into the womans home and told her he would kill her if she didnt listen to him, prosecutors said. He then sexually assaulted and raped her and afterward lay in the bed with the victim for several hours before leaving with her cellphone and $40, prosecutors said.

Authorities tracked the womans cellphone to an apartment in the District, where they found Randolph hiding under the kitchen sink with the phone in his hand the day after the attack, prosecutors said.

 Lynh Bui

D.C. woman dies

in parkway crash

A District woman was killed in a crash Monday evening on Suitland Parkway in Prince Georges County.

Briaunna A. Smith, 23, was the passenger in a vehicle involved in a collision with another car at the intersection of Branch Avenue in the Hillcrest Heights neighborhood about 10:30 p.m., according to the U.S. Park Police.

Smith was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. The driver of the car Smith was in is in critical condition. The driver of the other vehicle suffered injuries that didnt appear to be life-threatening, police said.

No information was available about the cause of the crash.

 Lynh Bui

Ex-state delegate

seeks Senate seat

Former Maryland state delegate Melony G. Griffith will run to succeed longtime state Sen. Ulysses Currie (D-Prince Georges), who is retiring after more than 22 years representing the 25th legislative district.

Griffith, 54, marked her birthday on Monday with the official launch of a campaign that came as little surprise to fellow Democrats or political observers. She lost a race against Currie in 2014 and was on the shortlist of candidates to succeed him when he said he would retire late last year.

In Annapolis, Griffith developed a reputation as a policy wonk who understood the vagaries of state budgets and complex issues such as health care.

She started her career as a social worker and now is an executive with a community-based primary-care service provider that runs clinics in some of the regions most vulnerable communities.

Griffith will run in the June 2018 Democratic primary against Dels. Angela M. Angel (D-Prince Georges) and Del. Darryl Barnes (D-Prince Georges). Both have openly expressed interest in succeeding Currie for more than a year.

VIRGINIA

Weekend races to shut

streets in Arlington

Two bicycle races and a youth triathlon will close several Arlington thoroughfares temporarily over the weekend.

The Clarendon Cup bike race will be held Saturday in Clarendon, and the Armed Forces Cycling Classic will be held in Crystal City Sunday.

In addition, the triathlon will close three streets near Washington-Lee High School Sunday, the police said.
Correction: Earlier versions of this article did not include state Sen. Richard S. Madaleno Jr. (D-Montgomery) as one of the Democrats seeking the 2018 gubernatorial nomination.

Former NAACP chairman Ben Jealous at his May 31 announcement that he is running for governor of Maryland. (Brian Witte/Associated Press)

Maryland gubernatorial candidate Ben Jealous spoke to a group of Prince Georges County Democrats on Monday night about expanding economic opportunity and reducing mass incarceration, his latest foray into the voter-rich back yard of a potential rival for his partys nomination.

In a 10-minute talk at the South County Democratic Clubs monthly meeting, the former NAACP chief described his most recent job, working for a venture capitalist firm that supports many minority-owned businesses; his work promoting President Barack Obamas policy initiatives; and his efforts on behalf of the failed presidential campaign of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.).

But what seemed to resonate most with the crowd in Suitland  many of whom lived during the civil rights era  was Jealouss call to push the political conversation beyond civil rights toward a broader discussion about economic injustice.

The biggest gap in our society is not black and white but rich and poor, said Jealous, describing himself as the son of a black mother from Baltimore and a white father from Michigan. We need to make sure we expand the pathways to opportunity that can exist if we have the courage to lead from the bottom up.

Jealous, who visited a church in nearby Clinton on Sunday, is courting voters in a deeply Democratic county whose executive, Rushern L. Baker III, is expected to announce his own candidacy in the next several weeks.

He shrugged off a question from the audience about whether the two African American leaders could divide the black vote in what is expected to be a crowded field seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge Gov. Larry Hogan (R) in 2018. And he decried the Democratic Partys failure to genuinely engage poor black voters who, he said, keep voting for Democrats but see little change in their lives, even when those candidates win.

Prince Georges voters came out in force for Obama but failed to match those same levels of turnout in 2014 and 2016. Jealous blamed the drop-off, and the subsequent elections of Hogan and President Trump, on disillusioned Democrats who have not seen their economic fortunes improve.

To turn folks out, we have to give them a reason to vote, Jealous said.

Retired educator Maxine Swann said Jealous caught her ear when he broached the question of how the state is using casino money to fund education, even though his speech was light on policy specifics. She was willing to hear more of what the lifelong activist has to say.

He gives opinions on what should happen but not on proposing particular policies, said Swann, who described herself as a fan of Sanders who nevertheless cast her primary ballot for establishment favorite  and eventual nominee  Hillary Clinton.

I loved Bernie, but we just didnt think hed be elected. We went with what we thought was the surer bet, Swann said. Maybe it will be different with Jealous.

James Dula, president of the South County Democratic Club, said Jealous is the first gubernatorial candidate the group has hosted.

Curiosity about his platform was overwhelming, Dula said, whereas voters seem to know what they are getting in other, more politically seasoned candidates. (In addition to Baker, Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, U.S. Rep. John Delaney, former state attorney general Doug Gansler and Baltimore attorney James L. Shea have said they may seek the nomination. State Sen. Richard S. Madaleno Jr. (Montgomery) and Baltimore tech entrepreneur Alec Ross are running.)

Hes appealing to the common man, because hes talking about the community issues, Dula said of Jealous. He is talking from the perspective of an outsider, but with experience, to try to make a difference.
Adnan Khashoggi, a Saudi middleman-for-hire who amassed huge wealth and influence peddling everything from American weapons to favors for Riyadhs rulers and CIA spymasters, only to see his fortunes collapse amid the Iran-contra affair and other scandals, died June 6 at a hospital in London. He was 81, by most accounts.

The cause was complications from Parkinsons disease, the family said in a statement reported by the Associated Press.

Mr. Khashoggis name may have lost its luster since his peak in the 1970s and 1980s, but not so the list of misdeeds and abuses that remain defining events of the time. Though never convicted, the U.S.-educated Mr. Khashoggi was linked, as a money-mover and five-star fixer, with some of the eras most infamous figures and schemes.

At the same time, he moved seamlessly between covert shadows and dazzling opulence  a lifestyle estimated by the Economist in 1987 to cost $250,000 a day. He partied with the Hollywood elite such as Cary Grant and Elizabeth Taylor; traveled in a blinged-out DC-8 jet; kept an Indian swami as an on-call adviser; and boasted about his bevy of young mistresses.

This was grade-A fodder for tabloids and gossip magazines years before Mr. Khashoggis nephew Dodi al-Fayed riveted the worlds attention with his brief and tragic romance with Princess Diana.

Saudi entrepreneur and arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi with wife Lamia in 2005. (Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

Mr. Khashoggis swashbuckling career and personal indulgences were underwritten by international weapons trade  of which he took a healthy commission  and other forays well off the books: funneling weapons to Iran and elsewhere; working as a private Saudi envoy; and forging bonds with former Philippines president Ferdinand Marcos and his wife, Imelda, amid accusations that they fled the country in 1986 with looted riches.

Mr. Khashoggi, meanwhile, was building a business empire that included resorts in Kenya, shipping lines in East Asia and an office complex in Salt Lake City that was left partially built.

There are skeletons hidden behind skeletons in the Khashoggi closet, Theodore Karasik, a Dubai-based defense analyst specializing in Persian Gulf affairs, said in an interview. No history of the region can be written without hearing them rattle.

For his 50th birthday in 1985, Mr. Khashoggi threw a five-day bacchanal at his retreat in southern Spain. The cake was topped by a spun-sugar crown modeled after one worn by Frances Sun King, Louis XIV, and guests roamed the grounds with flutes of Moet Champagne among imported African wildlife.

At another villa, near Cannes  one of more than a dozen homes he once owned across four continents  Mr. Khashoggi provided a haven-for-rent for the ousted Haitian ruler Jean-Claude Duvalier after he was driven from his Caribbean nation in 1986.

The mix of hedonism, power and audacity swirling about Mr. Khashoggi was so heady that the British rock band Queen wrote a song about it, Khashoggis Ship, referring to his 281-foot yacht outfitted with a laser that sketched its owners smiling image in the main cabin. The vessel would eventually end up with Donald Trump, who called Mr. Khashoggi a great broker and a lousy businessman.

Journalist Ronald Kessler, author of the 1986 book The Richest Man in the World: The Story of Adnan Khashoggi, described Mr. Khashoggi as a scalpel-sharp strategist. Even at these fantastic parties, hes working, doing deals, Kessler told People magazine at the time. Hes thinking, Whos important, who might help me with this or that? A deal is like a big hunt for him.

Donald Trump's yacht Trump Princess was originally built as the Nabila for Khashoggi. (JACQUES SOFFER/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images)

It all unraveled for Mr. Khashoggi  or A.K., as he liked to be called  in equally spectacular fashion.

He was named, along with Iran-contra pointman Oliver North and others, as a key intermediary in the clandestine CIA-directed plan in the 1980s to send arms to Tehran in exchange for captives held by pro-Iranian militias in Lebanon. The Iranian money was then shifted to U.S.-backed contra rebels in Nicaragua, in violation of codes including Congress-imposed limits on aid to the contras.

Mr. Khashoggi was not charged in the Iran-contra dealings. But his fingerprints cropped up in many other shady places.

He was accused of bankrolling some of the Iran-contra arms purchases through the Luxembourg-based Bank of Credit and Commerce International, which collapsed in 1991 amid probes into widespread money laundering. In the United States, Mr. Khashoggi was mentioned by investigators on the fringes of the contract-for-kickbacks scandal around Wedtech, whose downfall also led to the resignation of prominent officials such as then-Attorney General Edwin Meese III in 1988.

The following year, Mr. Khashoggi was arrested in Switzerland on U.S. charges linked to accusations of helping the Marcos family conceal more than $200 million in cash and artwork allegedly stolen during Ferdinand Marcoss presidency from 1965 to 1986. While awaiting extradition, Mr. Khashoggi had his jailhouse meals catered by the luxury Schweizerhof Hotel in Bern.

Mr. Khashoggi faced trial on racketeering and other charges. But he and Imelda Marcos, then a widow, were acquitted in U.S. federal court in New York in 1990. Jurors appeared swayed by contentions that Imelda Marcos knew nothing of alleged wrongdoing and that Mr. Khashoggi broke no American laws.

He then faded into a gilded twilight: living comfortably in Saudi Arabia and Monaco but shunned by the executives and political bigwigs who once clamored for his lets-make-a-deal skills.

Even well into his 70s, he pitched himself as a seen-it-all consultant unburdened by regrets.

Where did I go wrong? he told the New York Times in an interview while trying to drum up clients in Cairo in 2009. Nowhere.

Then, just a hint of enigmatic contrition: Okay, I behaved unethically, for ethical reasons.

Dealmaker from an early age

Adnan Mohamed Khashoggi, born in Mecca on July 25, 1935 (according to most biographies), had advantages from the beginning.

His father was the personal doctor of King Abdul Aziz ibn Saud, the first ruler of the young Saudi kingdom. Mr. Khashoggi was sent to a top boarding school, Victoria College, in Alexandria, then a cosmopolitan enclave on Egypts Mediterranean coast.

Mr. Khashoggi met the father of an Egyptian classmate whose family ran a textile company. The father of another school chum wanted to sell towels and sheets in Libya. Mr. Khashoggi arranged a meeting and earned a commission worth about $200. That made me feel its only [by] putting people together [that] you make money, he later quipped.

After he graduated in 1952, Mr. Khashoggi enrolled at the Colorado School of Mines to study engineering, but he disliked the cold. He transferred to California State University at Chico, then had a brief stint at Stanford University. His real passion, however, was shepherding deals.

He pulled together a key one: an exclusive contract to export American trucks to Saudi Arabia in the early 1960s, pulling in $150,000 in commissions over several months. He soon was the Saudi conduit for automakers such as Rolls-Royce, Chrysler and Fiat.

He branched out to defense and aviation firms eager for a share of the kingdoms oil-fueled spending spree. Lockheed, Northrop, McDonnell Douglas and others joined his client list, bringing Mr. Khashoggi millions of dollars in fees. According to various accounts, his Rolodex by the late 1960s contained CIA operatives, Swiss bankers, gun runners and Washington insiders such as Nixon confidant Charles Bebe Rebozo.

By 1980, Mr. Khashoggi was the intermediary for up to 80 percent of the military purchases by Riyadh. He had other high-level connections in the wings, too.

From 1954 to 1956, his sister Samira was married to Mohamed al-Fayed, an Egyptian-born business magnate whose later holdings included Harrods department store in London and the Hotel Ritz in Paris. (Their son Dodi died in 1997 in Paris, along with Diana and driver Henri Paul in a tunnel crash.)

It was widely assumed that best-selling author Harold Robbins used Mr. Khashoggi as inspiration for his 1974 novel The Pirate, about a Middle Eastern mogul with a ruthless streak.

As Mr. Khashoggi grew in stature and riches, he also came under scrutiny. In 1975, he was drawn into a Senate investigation of alleged bribes and other favors by U.S. companies to foreign governments.

Meanwhile, his home life was coming unmoored after having five children with his British-born wife, Sandra Jarvis-Daly, who converted to Islam and took the name Soraya after their marriage in 1962. They divorced in 1979, after having split years earlier amid rumors of Mr. Khashoggis numerous affairs. Soraya Khashoggi had her own flings, including with actor Warren Beatty, former British lawmaker Jonathan Aitken, and the namesake grandson of former British prime minister Winston Churchill.

Even before their divorce was final, Mr. Khashoggi had remarried  this time to an Italian teenager, Laura Biancolini, who also converted to Islam and took the name Lamia. They had a son.

In the early 1980s, Mr. Khashoggi was so awash with commissions and moneymaking projects that he was often called the worlds richest man. He wasnt  his net worth was about $4 billion at its peak in the mid-1980s, according to estimates. But he lived as if he were.

His yacht, the Nabila, named for his only daughter, was a floating pleasure palace and used in the 1983 James Bond film Never Say Never Again starring Sean Connery  an occasional guest at Mr. Khashoggis soirees.

As the Iran-contra affair unfolded, however, Mr. Khashoggis star began to dim.

Suddenly, no one returned his calls, and the cash spigots dried up. The Nabila was seized by the sultan of Brunei in 1987 for an unpaid loan. It was then sold to Trump for $29 million in 1988. He unloaded it several years later to Saudi Prince al-Waleed bin Talal at a substantial loss.

In January 1987, Mr. Khashoggi was on the Time magazine cover alongside the headline, Those Shadowy Arms Traders. Weeks later, his U.S. subsidiary, Triad American, filed for bankruptcy, leaving investors holding the bag and projects unfinished, such as a $400 million office and hotel complex in Salt Lake City.

Survivors include his six children. Lamia Khashoggi remained active in charity events. In the early 1990s, Mr. Khashoggi took a second wife, Iranian-born Shahpari Zanganeh, under Islamic law. They divorced in 2015.

Even after open-heart surgery, he was trying to get back into the mix. Just two months before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, Mr. Khashoggi set up a secret meeting in France between a Saudi tycoon and Bush administration insider Richard Perle, a former assistant secretary of defense under Ronald Reagan. According to the New Yorker magazine, the tete-a-tete included brainstorming about ways to cash in on the coming conflict.

My personal philosophy is I dont regret matters that happen, good or bad, Mr. Khashoggi told the New York Times in the 2009 interview. But he was not ambivalent when it came to cash, explaining, Money is not everything. Its the means to everything.

Editors Note: An earlier version of this story did not mention that Mr. Khashoggi and his his second wife, Shahpari Zanganeh, were divorced in 2015.


Miza Saleh stands with her daughter, Nora Alshareef, 20, as they are asked about two Northwest High School students who were killed Monday night. Saleh and Alshareef were outside DAR Constitution Hall before the Northwest High School graduation ceremony Tuesday in Washington. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post)

The family of Artem S. Ziberov was hours away from one joyous milestone and only days away from a second.

Ziberov, an honors student headed to college to study international relations, was set to graduate Tuesday with his classmate, Shadi Adi Najjar, 17, and the rest of the seniors of Northwest High School in Germantown, Md.

To be sure the full Ziberov clan could share the moment as he walked in cap and gown, his mother sent a link in advance for the live-feed broadcast to relatives in Moscow.

Graduation done, Ziberov on Thursday would turn 19.

But mourning displaced joy for his family and a larger suburban Maryland community was in shock after Ziberov and Najjar were killed Monday night in a fusillade of more than 22 shots fired as they sat in a car in a cul-de-sac in Montgomery Village.

(Dan Morse/The Washington Post)

Police called to the scene shortly before 11 p.m. found them dead in a parked and still-running Honda, Najjar at the wheel.

Instead of thinking about Ziberovs future, the family is stuck in the night before, his mother, Yulia Tewelow, said.

Montgomery County police had made no arrest and released few details of the shootings as of early Tuesday evening.

The two teens had been at Ziberovs home Monday before saying they were leaving to meet friends, Ziberovs mother said. Ziberov had also talked about selling extra tickets he had to the commencement, she said.

When it was after 10 p.m. and her son wasnt home, she called him.

He was already dead, his mother said, based on what police found when they arrived. A home surveillance system from a nearby house captured the sound of gunfire that popped for only seconds.

Its just hard to fathom what happened, said the resident, Gordon Gipe, who turned over the audio to police. He happened to be up at 10:30 Monday night and at first mistook the noise for fireworks.

Adi Najjar holds the cap and gown of his only child, Shadi Adi Najjar, 17 (Dan Morse)

Under blue skies, the graduating class of Northwest gathered at DAR Constitution Hall in downtown Washington as friends of the two teens recalled them amid tears and some speakers referred to the 517 graduates  a count that would include Ziberov and Najjar.

Najjar, who lived on Breezedale Lane in Germantown, was known as a bright student who challenged himself with calculus and a philosophy class at Montgomery College, where he planned on enrolling with an interest in the medical field.

Ziberov, 18, of Flag Harbor Drive in Germantown, had a dry sense of humor, was fluent in three languages and was learning a fourth, Japanese. He was headed to the University of Maryland at College Park.

Their homes are about seven miles from the place where they were shot.

Najjars father, Adi Najjar, had sent his son increasingly worried texts Monday night. He cradled his phone with the messages in his hand Tuesday.

Starting shortly before 2 a.m., he asked: Where are you? followed by Its 2 o clock and then, You disappear and you dont text.

Finally, the father messaged Are you ok and Where are you, repeating that series twice and getting no response.

The couples only child had hugged his mother before he left Monday night. Im going out to enjoy myself, he said.

His father texted him and then went early for 4:30 a.m. prayers, only to get a call from his wife saying police were at the house and to come home.

Ive been crying all day. I have no tears left, his father said.

Northwests principal, Jimmy DAndrea, told graduates Najjar was the type to lean over to help a classmate, and Ziberov signed his schoolwork the one and only Artem.

Their deaths, DAndrea said, weigh heavy on our hearts. Later, he said, I think its impossible to make sense of what occurred last night.

(The Washington Post)

Samyukda Babu, in cap, gown and cords, leaned into the embrace of her fellow graduates. She wept at the loss of a friend she said always made her laugh: Artem Ziberov.

None of this was meant to be, Babu, 17, said. He was supposed to be here with us today.

Babu and Ziberov had been close friends for three years. They met in classes and found out they shared birthdays. He was so nice and funny and outgoing and always making people laugh, she said.



Students gather at DAR Constitution Hall on Tuesday for the graduation ceremonies for Montgomery Countys Northwest High School. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post)

Najjar was recalled similarly outside the graduation hall.

Steps from the huddles of smiling teenagers posing for selfies, Nora Alshareef stood stoically beside her mom, Miza Saleh, who clutched a handful of brightly colored balloons.

Alshareef, who graduated from Northwest High in 2014, said Najjar was her brothers best friend. As she waited for the graduation procession to begin, she wiped tears from behind dark-rimmed glasses.

He was the sweetest person ever, she said.

Ziberov was an AP scholar with honors, a National Honor Society member and a Presidents Education Award recipient. Najjar was listed as an AP scholar in the graduation booklet.

A longtime Boy Scout, Ziberov earned the rank of Eagle in December 2015 with Boy Scout Troop 489, said the troops scoutmaster, Karl Moline.

Moline described him as quiet and studious, helpful, very friendly  quick to teach younger scouts or to pitch in with whatever needed to be done. In 2014, Ziberov was elected senior patrol leader, the top youth leadership position in the troop.



Northwest High School in Germantown, Md. (Victoria St. Martin/The Washington Post)

The scene where two teens were killed Monday night. (Dan Morse/The Washington Post)

Babu said Ziberov was known to be spontaneous. One year he baked her a cake in the shape of a dog, in honor of their shared love of pets. Babu reciprocated by baking him cookies. She said she had been thinking about what to give Ziberov on their birthday this year. Now she will celebrate without him.

Natashia Cosley, of Germantown, said her son, who was a friend of Ziberov, found out about his death late Tuesday morning as he was getting ready for graduation. Its a bittersweet moment, Cosley said. I told my son to wear his cap and gown proudly to honor them.

Cosley said the tragedy had been on their minds all day. As they waited for their train into the city, her son, John Thompson, 17, recalled a time Ziberov lent him his jacket when he was cold. He was literally someone who would give you the clothes off his back, Cosley said. These were normal kids, playing basketball, going to the mall, looking for girls.

[Video: Man describes hearing gunshots around time teens were killed]

Ziberovs mother said her son liked to read and would study for several hours a day. When he wasnt studying, he enjoyed snowboarding and ordering parts for his computer online. His family said Ziberov and Najjar were planning a trip to Ocean City after graduation.

Its a remarkable day where the whole future is ahead of you, and everything is in his hands, his mother said. He didnt experience life yet. Why does God take such a young kid? . . . Nothing bad should have happened to him



Students gather before the graduation of Northwest High School at DAR Constitution Hall on Tuesday in Washington. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post)

Saad Abbasi, a good friend of Najjar, said Najjar was the nephew of Ammar Najjar, imam at the Islamic Society of Germantown. Shadis funeral will take place there Wednesday after noon prayers, about 1:30 p.m.

Abbasi, who frequents a mosque in Germantown and met Najjar at various religious gatherings, said, I would say he fit the ideal personality of a good Muslim in that he kept a balance of self-development while at the same time worked to achieve the best in life.

He described Najjar as having an upbeat personality and said that life around the mosques in the areas will be different.

Hannah Shraim, a friend and 2016 Northwest graduate, said Najjar was involved in the local Muslim community and was a member the Muslim Student Association at Northwest.

Merien Abou Ghazaleh, 17, met Najjar at a mosque five years ago. Although she lives relatively far away in Fairfax County, she said they quickly became best friends.

He was the goofiest person that I ever knew, Ghazaleh said. He always stood up for me when someone said something about me. He was like an older brother who cared for me. The way he passed is a way no one should. His friends and I will never give up until he gets the justice he deserves.

Ghazaleh said Najjar excelled in math and English and in debate, and was particularly interested in politics. He showed up at protests and rallies in support of the people being bombed in Syria and the plight of the Palestinians.

In their last conversation, he talked about how excited he was to be headed to college, urged her to attend his graduation, and then planned for their families to get together to break the Ramadan fast. No one hated Shadi, Ghazaleh said. Everyone loved him.

The way he died, she said, it doesnt make any kind of sense to me.

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated Shadi Adi Najjar gave his friend Merien Abou Ghazaleh a ticket to his high school graduation before he was fatally shot. She did not receive a ticket.

Peter Hermann, T. Rees Shapiro, Mandy McLaren and Jennifer Jenkins contributed to this report.
Benjamin Barksdale, newly named Fire Chief for Prince Georges County, on one of two trips he has made in recent years to train firefighters in Nairobi. (Courtesy of Benjamin Barksdale)

Growing up in rural West Virginia, Benjamin M. Barksdale remembers hearing the siren blow from the neighboring fire station and asking his mother about the commotion.

Barksdales mother explained to him, then a boy of about 6, that the siren signaled volunteer firefighters would soon launch out of the station to help people in the community.

I would like to do that, Barksdale remembered thinking before eventually signing up to join the same fire department as a volunteer at 16.

After more than 35 years in the fire service, Barksdales career took a new turn Tuesday as he became the fire chief in Prince Georges County. Barksdale, 52, has been serving as acting chief of the nations largest combination career and volunteer fire and EMS department since March, when chief Marc S. Bashoor retired. The Prince Georges County Council unanimously confirmed Barksdale as the departments 12th fire chief.

Its a childhood dream what Im doing, Barksdale said.

[Think firefighting looks hard? Try doing it in Kenya.]

Barksdale takes the helm of the 16th busiest department in the nation, with a staff of 900 career firefighters and 1,400 volunteers.

Barksdale came to Prince Georges in 2011 as a deputy chief after retiring from the Arlington County Fire Department in Virginia. He worked in Arlington County for 24 years, rising through the ranks to the second top leadership position in the fire department.

In Arlington he revamped fire codes to help first responders get easier access into buildings as chief fire marshal. And he served as a battalion chief during the 9-11 terrorist attack on the U.S. Pentagon, overseeing various fire operations after a plane crashed into the building.

It was like someone had knocked the wind out of me, Barksdale said of learning of the attacks before quickly scrambling to the scene with fellow officers who were off duty at a conference three miles away.

Bashoor had recruited Barksdale to Prince Georges, but Barksdale turned down the first offer since he was a year or so shy of retirement in Virginia. Prince Georges continued to pursue Barksdale in the two or three months after the initial offer and he was going to turn it down again until he realized he had more than a years worth of sick leave that he could cash in to retire earlier than he planned without penalty.

The only time I took sick was when my daughter was born, Barksdale said. Barksdale, who has lived in Prince Georges County with his wife (an Arlington police officer) and daughter (a college student) for more than 20 years, said he gets his work ethic from his father.

Barksdale has a masters in management and has traveled to Kenya twice to train firefighters. He keeps a red, green and white bracelet around his wrist, a gift from the firefighters he worked with during his first trip in Nairobi.

[Urgent care on wheels: Fire departments rescuing patients from costly ER trips]

In his nearly six years with Prince Georges County as the fire departments second-highest ranking official, Barksdale has touched nearly every aspect of the department including human resources, training, budget management and emergency services operations. Barksdale also oversaw the recent purchase of $11.5 million in new breathing equipment and engine upgrades.

Barksdale said he looks forward to taking on many goals as fire chief in Prince Georges, including improving diversity within the ranks and working on turning the department into a fully accredited agency.

He wants to expand the departments mobile integrated health program, which currently has two firefighters working with nurses on preventive medical house calls aimed at curbing 911 activity.

Barksdale said he also aims to boost recruitment of career and volunteer firefighters so that every engine and ambulance will be staffed with at least three people 24-hours a day, 365 days a year. It would match Prince Georges to the standards of neighboring jurisdictions and improve response times, Barksdale said.

This is about career and volunteer staffing and having enough people to respond and get the apparatus out of the station 24-7. I would like to be the first chief to begin the staffing of apparatus.
An American who traveled undetected into Islamic State-controlled Syria and fled three months later says he was curious about life under the terrorist regime.

I know theres always two sides to a story, said Mohamad Khweis, 27, who was born and raised in Virginia and captured in Iraq in March 2016. I just wanted to see the other side.

Terror suspects rarely go to trial and almost never testify, but Khweis this week took the stand in federal court in Alexandria, where he is accused of supporting the Islamic State. Officials could name no other American who has testified at his own terrorism trial.

Khweiss tale of how he sneaked both into and out of Islamic State territory, along with documents seized in Mosul earlier this year and produced at his trial, offer an unusual view of the terrorist organizations inner workings.

Khweis described a detailed form the group filled out with questions he answered, including his shoe size, skills and his specialty before jihad. He was required to have his blood tested for hepatitis B and HIV. And he was asked, he told FBI agents, whether he would be a suicide bomber or commit a terrorist attack at home.

He said he also identified for FBI agents three Frenchmen who traveled with him from Turkey into Syria, as well as an American who had joined an elite unit within the Islamic State that focuses on homeland attacks.

In Virginia, Khweiss life was unremarkable. He graduated from Northern Virginia Community College and before his trip worked as a Metro Access driver.

On the stand, Khweis explained how articles online gave him a road map to the Islamic State, although he sought to minimize his own alleged machinations.

[What happens when you join the Islamic State  then change your mind]

He testified that he had stopped in two European countries before flying to Turkey. He then took a bus to the border city of Gaziantep, where he began communicating with Islamic State facilitators on Twitter.

His first handle, fearislove1, did not get much of a response. So he created an account with the handle IAgreenbirdIA, a reference to martyrdom that he thought would be more appealing.

He used several encrypted phone apps to communicate and was picked up at a hotel in the middle of the night.

From the hotel, he was taken in a cab with four other recruits to the border, where they were told to walk across to avoid detection. Because of land mines, the group was told to walk in the tracks of cars, FBI agent Brian Czekala testified.

Once in Syria, the group was picked up in an SUV by a Turkish man who told them to put their phones on airplane mode and remove the batteries.

Khweis, like other recruits, was asked upon arrival in Syria for his date of birth, blood type, kunya or nickname, country of origin, citizenship and other details.

The terrorist group kept meticulous records, many of which were seized during the Iraqi armys capture of parts of Mosul earlier this year. A copy of the computerized spreadsheet shown in court included an allowance for every fighter.

Its a treasure trove for researchers who are trying to understand this, said Seamus Hughes, deputy director of the Program on Extremism at George Washington University. Its important to the public, and it provides a level of nuts and bolts of joining a terrorist organization that you havent seen before in the U.S. court system. This stuff usually doesnt see the light of day.

Khweis said he chatted with other recruits, who told him they had heard it was impossible to be Muslim in the United States and that Syrian Muslims in the country had been killed over a parking space.

I told them, No, thats not how it is, Khweis testified. That there may be a few incidents, but Muslims are allowed to pray; there are even officers that walk them into the mosque.

The recruits were visited by a group called Jaysh al-Khalifa asking for volunteers to commit terrorist attacks in their home countries, Czekala testified. They were told that the volunteers must be single, uninjured, willing to train for six to 12 months in remote locations and able to live an isolated life on their return home.

Khweis said he met one American who had been part of Jaysh al-Khalifa but was sent back because of kidney problems. He later said he identified a photograph of that American for the FBI, along with the three Frenchman in his taxi.

Otherwise, Khweis said he was placed with people who did not speak English, first in Mosul for religious instruction and then in the northwestern Iraqi city of Tal Afar. Along the way he said he met fighters undergoing weapons and sniper training. But he claimed to have done little but suffer from a stomach illness.

.

.

He said the other recruits were suspicious of me and asked why I wasnt sent to be with other English speakers, Khweis testified. When he asked a member of the leadership, he said, I was told that I was still under investigation.

Throughout, Khweis maintained that he intended to be only an observer, not a member, of the terrorist group.

He told jurors he was emulating journalists, such as Vice News reporter Medyan Dairieh, who spent three weeks embedded with the Islamic State. The news media showed only the Islamic States atrocities, he testified, while their online supporters also touted the possibility of a peaceful life in the caliphate. He loved Syria when he visited with his family as a teenager, and was gripped by the current civil war. He wondered whether the ruling government was more violent than the Islamic State.

Coming from a Muslim background  I thought that I could just blend in, he said. I wanted to go real quick and come back out; I wanted to see it.

Prosecutors say Khweis gave himself over, willingly, to the Islamic State and is now trying to hide his affiliation in the face of three felony charges.

You chose to do what a lot of people wouldnt do, said prosecutor Raj Parekh. Nobody held you at gunpoint to get inside that taxi.

Under cross-examination, Khweis was reluctant to admit to his attempts to conceal his movements or that he was at all helpful to Islamic State members. He claimed he exaggerated his actions when he spoke to FBI agents in Iraq.

Khweis said he was desperate to leave but had no freedom of movement until Tal Afar, when after several attempts at escape he took a cab north and then walked the rest of the night toward what he believed to be Kurdish territory.

When he heard voices and smelled smoke, he said he knew he was no longer in Islamic State territory, where cigarettes are banned. He surrendered to local Kurdish forces on March 14 of last year.

Hello, can you please help me, he recalled asking. Im an American. . . . I want to go back home.
A second D.C. man was arrested Monday in connection with a fatal shooting in 2015, police said.

At around 11:25 a.m. on Nov. 12, 2015, officers responded to the 5300 block of Clay Terrace NE for the report of gunshots, D.C. police said in a statement. They found Antwan Baker, 29, of Southeast dead at the scene, the statement said, and another man suffering from gunshot wounds who was transported to a hospital for treatment.

[Two men shot, one fatally, on Clay Terrace in Northeast Washington]

In August, 26-year-old Joseph Brown of Southeast was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in connection with the shooting, according to the statement.

On Monday, 24-year-old Rondell McLeod of Northeast was also arrested and charged with first-degree murder, police said.

No information about a motive in the shooting was immediately available.
WASHINGTON, DC - Mildred King Chatman, a pastor and former city employee, organized the protest against stricter new day care regulations for D.C. child care providers. She plans to protest regularly until the rules are amended. She is pictured here from the back speaking in front of the Wilson building June 5, 2017. (Photo by Michael Chandler/TWP) (Michael Chandler/TWP)

A group of day care providers announced they will hold regular demonstrations outside the Wilson Building to protest a new requirement for teachers of infants and toddlers in the District to earn Associates degrees.

The workers, who are receiving unexpected support from a Virginia-based libertarian law firm, said increasing credential requirements will put child care centers out of business and low-income people out of work even as Mayor Muriel Bowser says she wants to expand the overtaxed child care system.

Mildred King Chatman, a pastor who used to operate a day care at her church, faced the government building during the first protest on Monday and lifted her arm in the air as she described the work of caring for a baby.

Changing diapers and showing them love, unconditional love. Giving them a bottle, giving them food. You dont need an associates degree to do any of that, she said, with gospel music playing in the background.

Chatman said her day care was shut down by the city for non-compliance with required staffing ratios five years ago but she wants to help other providers keep their jobs as the city tightens licensing requirements. These rules are so painful they are going to put day care owners that have been in business for 30 or 40 years out of work, she said.

WASHINGTON, DC - Mildred King Chatman, a pastor and former city employee, organized the protest against stricter new day care regulations for D.C. child care providers. She plans to protest regularly until the rules are amended. She is pictured here from the back speaking in front of the Wilson building June 5, 2017. (Photo by Michael Chandler/TWP) (Michael Chandler/TWP)

She obtained a permit to stage regular protests on Freedom Plaza over the next two months. She said the protests will continue until Bowser agrees to meet with the group.

The District increased education requirements for day care providers in December as part of a broader revision to licensing requirements that were written to comply with updated federal requirements and to position the nations capital at the forefront of efforts improve the care and education of infants and toddlers.

New regulations also call for child-care center directors to earn a bachelors degree and for home care providers and assistant teachers to earn a Child Development Associate (CDA) certificate, sending hundreds of child care workers back to school. The deadline to earn the degrees is December 2020.

[D.C. among first in nation to require child-care workers to get college degrees]

The new regulations have been met with anxiety and resistance in many corners of the city. A group of Spanish speaking child care providers said they met with the Districts assistant superintendent of early learning Elizabeth Groginsky last week to discuss concerns that Spanish speakers will have to spend extra years in school to learn English before they can even begin college course work, costing extra money and time - and putting extra pressure on bilingual and immersion day care options that are in high demand.

And some pre-school owners in Northwest say the broader regulations - which include specifications about how children can play at water tables or safely ride a tricycle - are overly prescriptive and seem out of touch to people who have built careers in the field.

After investing heavily in universal pre-school system for the citys 3- and 4- year olds, officials say they want to address educational disparities between children from poor and wealthy families as early as possible.

WASHINGTON, DC - Mildred King Chatman, a pastor and former city employee, organized the protest against stricter new day care regulations for D.C. child care providers. She plans to protest regularly until the rules are amended. She is pictured here from the back speaking in front of the Wilson building June 5, 2017. (Photo by Michael Chandler/TWP) (Michael Chandler/TWP)

The achievement gap starts early, and we know that 70 percent of a childs brain develops in the first year of life. A well-educated and prepared early childhood workforce is essential to ensuring that children in the District of Columbia receive the highest quality care in the centers they attend, said Patience Peabody, director of communications for the Office of the State Superintendent of Education in a statement.

Peabody said the District is committed to supporting our child development educators through this transition, and cited increased subsidy rates and more than $3 million in scholarships and support for directors, teachers, and providers to meet the new credentials requirements.

Bowser also introduced new funds in next years budget to help child care centers increase capacity and ease long waiting lists. The budget the D.C. Council approved last week included $11 million to increase the number of slots, as well as $4.5 million to increase the value of child care vouchers for lower income District residents.

[D.C. mayors budget plan aims to ease shortage of infant and toddler care]

The child care sector is starved for new investment. Subsidies, or vouchers, for children from low-income families currently cover about two-thirds of the median cost for quality infant care, and market rates for higher income families are some of the highest in the country, with average tuitions for infant care surpassing $1,800 a month.

At the same time, many child care workers earn minimum wage. Operators working on thin margins say they cant afford to pay higher salaries for better educated workers.

Some who are new to the field say they dont know how they will stay with it.

Tiana Ingram, a child care worker from Southeast, was one of about 15 people who showed up to protest on Monday and hold up fluorescent signs against the gray drizzly day. She said she earned her CDA about six months ago, a process that took her a year to complete. That was the credential she needed to be a lead teacher under the old regulations. But soon after she finished, she learned she would have to go back to school to get an associates degree.

Her employer wanted her to re-enroll in school, she said. But Ingram has five young children at home, and did not want to commit to going back to school at night. So she said she was laid off.

At Mondays protest, child care workers were also joined by an attorney and two organizers from the Institute for Justice, a libertarian law firm based in Arlington.

Renee D. Flaherty, the attorney, called the new regulations overly burdensome and questioned the research behind requiring day care providers to get higher degrees. They serve no purpose other than to funnel money to higher education, she said

Other providers said their concerns about the regulations go beyond the education requirements.

Barbara Elsas, director of the Little Red Playschool in the Palisades, said the regulations are detailed to the point of being discouraging and disrespectful to many providers who have spent their careers working in early childhood education and know how to create enriching environments that are also safe.

She cited new regulations that children must wear helmets when riding tricycles and that there must be a trained lifeguard or water safety instructor present at the side of a baby pool.

There are too many regulations and theres no way any of us can meet them all, she said.
A noose was found last week at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)

In response to nooses found at several locations in the District over the past week, Mayor Muriel E. Bowser announced that the city would be using a hate crimes protocol to combat the problem.

We are an inclusive city, and we do not tolerate signs of hate, ignorance, and fear, Bowser (D) said in a statement released Saturday. I have directed . . . the Office of Human Rights to activate our hate crimes protocol.

Id heard about response protocols for things like anthrax attacks and active shooter situations. But a protocol for an outbreak of nooses, that was new. What were black people supposed to do  shelter in place?

We encourage the public to report any compromised property, act of violence, or symbols or signage that put communities at risk, by calling 911, Stephanie Franklin, director of policy and communications for the D.C. Office of Human Rights, wrote to me in an email. There is no instance too big or small for 911. All follow-up measures and direct action stems from that call, so please do not be afraid to use it.

I have a better idea: If you find a noose in your neighborhood, like the one at a house being renovated in Southeast Washington, remove it. Tell your neighbors to keep an eye out for vandals. No need for special hate crime protocols, prayer vigils or news conferences. Just be prepared.

[Third noose in a week found in the District, this time in Southeast]

If your school gets a black student-body president, a noose will go up. If you try to bring down a Confederate statue, a noose will go up. Count on it.

Two nooses were found  one near the Hirshhorn Museum and the other inside the National Museum of African American History and Culture on the Mall. Apparently, not a lot of people knew what a noose hanging outside a museum of modern art was meant to symbolize, so that didnt get much attention.

But when a noose was found on the floor of the black history museum, there was no doubt about the meaning: It was a message of hate aimed at intimidating visitors.

I asked the Park Police to see any video as well as any photos of the noose.

They declined, citing the ongoing investigation. Same with the D.C. police.

Earlier this year, a noose was found in a Metro employees break room. There were reports of outrage and promises of a thorough investigation. Months passed. Nothing. On Monday, I asked Metro Transit Police if anyone had ever been caught. The answer: No. And the investigation has been closed.

With rare exceptions, thats how it goes  until the next noose is found.

Who would have thought in 2017 that I would be talking to you about a noose in an African American history museum or a noose in Hillcrest? Bowser asked the crowd of about 100 who gathered at the Hillcrest Recreation Center on Saturday, not far from where the third noose was found. Unfortunately over the last year, we have seen a rise in both hateful speech, hateful rhetoric and real hate crimes.

Over the past year? I reviewed stories about noose incidents going back to the 1970s before starting to yawn.

The nooses have always been there and will be for years to come.

All the bravado about special noose-stopping protocols and promises to catch the vandals have just become part of a very predictable play. A noose is discovered. People are outraged. Protests are held. A culprit is seldom found. People forget. Then, repeat.

To those who genuinely feel intimidated or discouraged, remember this: Just because someone hangs up a noose doesnt mean you must slip it over your head. Its not meant for you unless you think it is. Thats how the noose works  the more you pull on it, the tighter it becomes.

To read previous columns, go to washingtonpost.com/milloy.
Protesters gather in front of a contested statue of Robert E. Lee in a park named for the Confederate general in Charlottesville on May 13. (Allison Wrabel/Daily Progress via AP)

When torch-wielding white nationalists gathered in front of a Confederate statue in downtown Charlottesville last month, Mayor Michael Signer worried that the event harked back to the days of the KKK.

That warning has now become prophecy.

On Monday, city officials said the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan had applied to hold a rally near the statue on July 8.

A city spokeswoman said the permit would likely be approved.

People have a constitutional right to assemble, said director of communications Miriam Dickler.

Protesters shout as Virginia gubernatorial candidate Corey Stewart gives interviews to local television stations about his opposition to removing a Robert Lee statue from a Charlottesville park. (Fenit Nirappil/The Washington Post)

Signer condemned the KKK rally, but also called on people to ignore it.

This rump, out-of-state chapter of a totally discredited organization will succeed in their aim of inciting controversy only if folks take their putrid bait, and that begins with the media, he wrote in an email to The Washington Post. I encourage everyone to ignore this ridiculous sideshow and to focus instead on celebrating the values of diversity and tolerance that have made Charlottesville a world-class city.

But the town famous for the University of Virginia, a campus conceived of and designed by Thomas Jefferson, is already on edge.

In addition to the proposed KKK rally, a right-wing group known as Unity and Security for America has also applied for a permit to host a rally on Aug. 12. The applications were filed on May 24 and 30, respectively, and were first reported by the Daily Progress.

Unity and Security for America is led by Jason Kessler, a local blogger who was recently fired by conservative website the Daily Caller for his support for white supremacist groups.

On Monday night, news of the proposed rallies dominated a city council meeting that was supposed to center on municipal bonds.

When Kessler approached the podium to speak, protesters flipped him the bird and sang f--- white supremacy until Signer had to suspend the meeting. Police had to forcibly remove at least one protester.

Charlottesville has become an unlikely front in a nationwide battle over Confederate flags and monuments.

For years, discussion has simmered over what to do with the citys own symbol of its Confederate past: a bronze statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that stands in a downtown park named in his honor.

[Charlottesville votes to remove Robert E. Lee statue, but doing so may be difficult]

In 2012, when a city council member first proposed removing the statue, she received death threats and her car was covered in Confederate stickers.

Momentum shifted in 2015, after a white supremacist gunman massacred nine black churchgoers in Charleston, S.C., spurring a nationwide effort to remove Confederate symbols.

Days after the massacre, the Lee statue was painted with the words Black Lives Matter. Last year, activists launched a petition to remove the statue, and Signer created a task force to review the issue.

But the statue has its supporters.

A Facebook group called Save the Robert E. Lee Statue has more than 16,000 followers. And in February, when the city council voted 3-2 to remove the statue and rename the park, opponents quickly obtained an injunction, stalling the statues demise.

In recent months, the statue has become a rallying cry for Corey Stewart, a Republican gubernatorial candidate. Stewart, who is chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors and was chairman of Donald Trumps Virginia campaign until he was fired in October, has delivered speeches in front of the statue, calling efforts to remove it historical vandalism and political correctness gone mad.

Yet it was only last month, when the torch-bearing white nationalists gathered at Lees feet, chanting You will not replace us, that the statue  and Charlottesville  were thrown into the national spotlight.

The May 13 rally was led by Richard Spencer, a self-proclaimed white nationalist who coined the term alt-right  a far-right movement seeking a whites-only state  and rose to prominence during Trumps presidential campaign.

[White nationalist Richard Spencer leads torch-bearing protesters defending Lee statue]

The rally led to repudiation from local officials.

This event involving torches at night in Lee Park was either profoundly ignorant or was designed to instill fear in our minority populations in a way that hearkens back to the days of the KKK, Signer wrote on Facebook. Either way, as mayor of this City, I want everyone to know this: we reject this intimidation. We are a Welcoming City, but such intolerance is not welcome here.

For his remarks, Signer, a Jewish author and lawyer, drew a hail of racist and anti-Semitic assaults on social media.

Tensions in the city are likely to build as the KKKs proposed rally approaches, but local politicians insisted Charlottesville would get through it.

Weve been dealing with Confederate flaggers and white supremacists for some months now, but if they show up well deal with them, said city council member Bob Fenwick. The city is getting very tired of outsourced hooligans who come into our City Council chambers with open carry pistols and machetes in an attempt to intimidate . . . a very strange way to show your support for a historical figure like Robert E. Lee, whose personal qualities they profess to admire.

Kristin Szakos, the city council member who proposed removing the Lee statue back in 2012, suggested Trump is partly to blame for the situation in Charlottesville.

Perhaps the administration in Washington has empowered them to speak more loudly, she said, but we will handle it accordingly.

Spencer, who attended the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, said he did not plan to attend the July 8 rally.

KKK is not my scene, he said in a text message.

American society is fragmenting. Thats the cause of racial tension and violence. The Alt-Right is offering a way out, he said, adding that statues like the bronze of Robert E. Lee are symbols of our European heritage.

They represent gods, he said. Tearing them down is a symbolic genocide of the White race.

Stewart also said he would not attend the KKK rally but still supported keeping the statue.

Its unfortunate that there is a horrible organization like the Klan that tries to hijack this issue, he said. I believe in protecting historical monuments. I believe you cannot sanitize or erase history. But for the KKK, its all about race. Thats not what this is all about. The KKK is a racist organization that has no place in Virginia.

The Loyal White Knights of the KKK, which is based out of North Carolina, could not be reached for comment Monday night. Calls went directly to an answering machine that played an offensive message full of racial slurs. Always remember: If it aint white, it aint right, the message ended. White power.

But the chaotic city council meeting on Monday raised an urgent question: How will the city react to an actual KKK rally?

I will encourage those in attendance to simply and silently turn their backs and after a few minutes just return home, Fenwick said. I hope it will be the night Charlottesville turns its back on hate.
The Trump administration wants to sell the Washington Aqueduct, stirring fears among some that the White Houses passion for privatization could mean higher water bills for 1 million residents in the District and Northern Virginia.

But the plan, buried in a few short lines in a budget proposal of more than 1,200 pages, may lead to a different outcome. Some officials in the District want the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which operates the aqueduct, instead to turn over the facility to D.C. Water, a public utility.

In that case, water rates would not increase as much because there would be no need to earn a return for investors, according to officials and private analysts.

But theres a catch: D.C. Water would want to pay the federal government far less than the $119 million than the administration wants from the sale.

The aqueduct proposal is an example of the hurdles facing the Trump administrations ambitious plan to privatize public assets, such as roads and bridges. The administration would then use proceeds from the sales of the assets to fund new infrastructure projects.

(Claritza Jimenez/The Washington Post)

[Trump advisers call for privatizing some public assets to build new infrastructure.]

The White House also supports privatization to promote local control and market incentives. It isnt clear whether Congress will go along with its plans, including for the aqueduct.

The administrations proposal to divest of the facility was barely noticed when the full budget proposal was issued May 23. The Corps of Engineers has run the aqueduct since the conduit began operation during the Civil War.

The network of intakes, pipes and treatment plants carries water from the Potomac River, at Great Falls and Little Falls, to the Dalecarlia, Georgetown and McMillan reservoirs. The water is sold to D.C. Water and other utilities that serve all households in the District and Arlington, and some in Fairfax.

The Washington Aqueduct employs 140 people and is designated as a National Historic Landmark.

Divestiture would not save the federal government money in year-to-year costs, because the aqueduct receives no federal subsidies. Payments by customers cover all its expenses, for both operations and investments.

The administration said divestiture would end the outdated practice of having the Corps of Engineers play a role in supplying drinking water to civilians.

[Trump budget proposal spells more pain for D.C. region.]

Ownership of local water supply is best carried out by state or local government or the private sector, where there are appropriate market and regulatory incentives, Douglas W. Lamont, a senior official in the office of the Secretary of the Army, said in May 24 testimony to a House Appropriations subcommittee.

The proposal to eliminate the Corps role . . . would encourage a more efficient allocation of economic resources and mitigate risk to taxpayers, he said.

But officials in the District and Arlington expressed concern that a private operator would jack up water rates to maximize profits.

[White House formally backs plan to transfer air traffic control system to private corporation]

The best guess we have is that any transfer to a private, for-profit entity is likely to mean cost increases for customers, said Arlington County Board Chairman Jay Fisette (D).

He expressed bewilderment that the White House would push for divestiture when customers are satisfied with the current arrangement.

To me, you privatize when youre looking to enhance services and do something more cost effectively. Its unclear how this would accomplish any of those improvements, Fisette said.

D.C. Budget Director Matthew T. Brown, who also is chairman of D.C. Water, said that he might support a sale to a private entity or to D.C. Water but that there was absolutely concern about higher rates.

We would need a lot more information . . . to make any determination of what makes sense to consumers, he said.

Water bills are likely to rise anyway in coming years, because any owner of the aqueduct would have to invest hundreds of millions of dollars to pay for needed upgrades to handle new kinds of contaminants such as pharmaceuticals and antibiotics fed to animals.

[With proposed Trump cuts, hopes fade for bipartisan infrastructure deal]

They would probably go even higher with a private operator. A 2016 study by Food and Water Watch, an advocacy group, found that on average, private, for-profit water utilities charged households 59 percent more than government ones, a difference of $185 a year for a typical household.

D.C. Water General Manager George S. Hawkins said he doubted that a private company could run the aqueduct more efficiently than the Corps.

But he said D.C. Water might do so, adding he was very interested in studying whether his agency could take over the aqueduct.

Our inclination is it would be more efficient if we had the whole system within one management system, Hawkins said.

The caveat: He and other local officials indicated they would not pay the $119 million price tag named in the White House budget.

Instead, Hawkins offered the unconventional argument that D.C. Water already possesses a large ownership stake in the aqueduct, because its payments for water have covered most of the facilitys costs for decades.

D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) made the same argument, adding that the administrations price would be too high for a private operator.

We think the only feasible alternative is for D.C. Water to own and operate it, Norton said.

Aqueduct General Manager Tom Jacobus expressed skepticism that customers had acquired an ownership stake through their purchases of water over the years.

The aqueduct is on the property books of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, he said.

His boss, Army Col. Edward P. Chamberlayne, who commands the Corps Baltimore district, said his unit would obey whatever orders it gets  but suggested it would like to preserve the status quo.

Weve been given a mission since 1863 to provide a clean, reliable water supply for the District of Columbia, Chamberlayne said. Weve done that, and were prepared to do that into the future. . . . Were the U.S. Army. If were given a mission, well do it.
WIND POINT  After four years of Wind Point Elementary School sitting empty, the Wind Point Village Board is pressuring the Racine Unified School District to find a use for the property.

Wind Point Elementary closed in 2013. Since then, it has only seen use as a temporary school in 2014 after a fire at Mitchell Elementary School. Wind Point residents are concerned about the effect the vacant school may have on the community.

Weve gotten complaints from neighbors around the school property, said Village Administrator Michael Hawes. Hawes said the property is not well-kept and has suffered from a few cases of vandalism, as well as loud police exercises.

Village officials met with School Board President Robert Wittke last month to attempt to discuss the school, but they have not come to an agreement. Though there is no resolution, the fact there was a meeting in the first place bodes well for the villages efforts, Hawes said.

We think were getting on their radar, Hawes said. However, the demolition does not seem to be high on Unifieds priority list because it is not a very glamorous project, Hawes added.

District responds

The district is working on a plan that considers the cost of environmental abatement and demolition of the building as well as selling price of the property to get a clear picture of the impact on our facilities budget, Stacy Tapp, the districts chief of communication and community engagement, said Monday in an emailed statement. We will bring options to the board when that information is available.

Racine Unified School Board President Robert Wittke said the introductory meeting with the Wind Point officials helped build the relationship between the district and the municipality.

Obviously we have a property there that were not using, Wittke said. We would like to demolish the building but right now based on the budget and based on what were investing in, its on the plan but it doesnt have a specific time frame.

Hawes said the community would like to see the school demolished to make way for new residential development.

What (Unified) has going there is not working for the neighborhood or the community, Hawes said.

The surrounding area is comprised of mostly single-family homes, condominiums and senior homes, so the village is not looking to expand the commercial development of the neighborhood, Hawes said.

Unified saved about $600,000 by closing Wind Point Elementary in 2013, but the property has remained a expense for the district due to ongoing utility and maintenance costs. Demolishing the school, then, should be in the districts best interests, Hawes contends.

Reporters Ricardo Torres and Cara Spoto contributed to this report.


Construction continues on Corsa Coals new Acosta Deep Mine on Monday in Somerset County, Pa. The mine, which is holding a grand opening and ribbon cutting Thursday, will create more than 70 new jobs and should produce 400,000 tons of metallurgical coal annually. (Justin Merriman/For the Washington Post)

 Like many people here who have eked out a living underground, Edward Popernack, 84, is used to seeing outsiders paint the coal industry in sharp contrasts: Past or future. Liberal or conservative. Clean or dirty.

Popernack, who started working in his fathers coal mine when he was 13 years old, knows firsthand the value  and the hardships  of the job. Coal mining ruined his lungs and almost took the life of his son, who was trapped underground for days in an accident. But it also has sustained his family and community.

The towns scattered through the coal-rich Appalachian Mountains of southern Pennsylvania were pleased to hear their names on President Trumps lips last week as he announced the United States withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement. Trump hailed a big opening of a brand-new mine  the Acosta Deep Mine, about 70 miles southeast of Pittsburgh  as a sign of new life for the coal industry.

But while the locals heartily embrace the 70 or more new jobs the mine will bring, some, like Popernack, a lifelong coal miner like his father and his son, dont share the presidents view of the industrys renaissance.

Coal country is a great place to be from, Popernack said as he sat behind his applesauce at the Coal Miners Cafe in Jennerstown. He repeated the line, emphasis on from, cracking a smile around broken teeth. Do you get it?

[In the Paris of the Appalachians, theyre not buying Trumps climate talk]

The future of the industry has become a charged political symbol, as Trump seeks to reverse what he and his supporters see as the Obama-era war on coal. Locals decry regulations that have strangled businesses, but they also say much of coals decline is due to other factors, such as the natural-gas boom that has offered a cheaper, cleaner alternative.

Americas coal mining industry is small, with just 50,000 workers today  fewer people than are employed by the fast-food chain Arbys  down from about 170,000 in 1985, according to the Labor Department. In 2014, Somerset County had 700 coal miners among a population of 76,000.

(Meg Kelly/The Washington Post)

Coal and steel have long supported this area, where the ancient Appalachian Mountains open up into green valleys dotted with cows and old cars. The billboards speak to the rise and fall of industry in the region, touting steel-lined tanks, Red Wing boots and bankruptcy lawyers.

This county delivered 27,400 votes for Trump and just 7,400 for Hillary Clinton last fall. Some of the customers who patronize the Coal Miners Cafe, a brick building along the Lincoln Highway where Popernack goes to drink coffee and commiserate with other old-timers nearly every week, stuck signs in their yards reading Support coal, fire Obama.

Many locals have cheered Trumps support of the coal industry, including his March 28 order that nixed some of President Barack Obamas climate-change efforts and his decision last week to pull out of the Paris accord.

Yet the presidents support probably had little to do with the decision to open the Acosta mine, a move driven by economic factors far beyond the horizon, said industry analysts and the company that runs the mine, Corsa Coal.

A section of the Upper Kittanning coal seam is visible in the pit of Corsa Coals new Acosta Deep Mine. (Justin Merriman/For the Washington Post)

The Acosta Deep Mine focuses on metallurgical coal, which is used in making steel. Unlike thermal coal, which is used for power, metallurgical coal is a niche that is largely unaffected by the spread of natural gas and cheap renewable power.

The price of metallurgical coal crept up toward the end of 2016, after China announced that it was curtailing the number of working days at its mines. Then flooding and a cyclone in Australia shut off metallurgical coal mines from ports, sending the global price surging.

Market analysts debate the future of Chinese steel production, the future of Australian coal mining, said Trevor Houser, a partner at Rhodium Group, an economic research company. What there is no debate about is that the recovery of metallurgical coal prices has absolutely zero to do with any change in U.S. policy.

Executives at Corsa Coal spoke warmly about the presidents economic platform, but they said it had little to do with their operations. I dont think it had anything to do with the election, said Rob Bottegal, Corsas head engineer.

The company decided to move ahead with the Acosta mine in September. Its mining permit was approved in 2013, but years of low prices for metallurgical coal led Corsa to stay its development.

In December, the company broke ground on the massive pit that would be the entrance to the mine. Bottegal and his crew have since removed 320,000 cubic yards of dirt to create a giant, 120-foot-deep rectangular hole in the earth. The Upper and Middle Kittanning coal seams run around the sides of the hole like dark rings in a gritty bathtub.

Monday afternoon, Bottegal stood alongside Joseph Gallo, Corsas senior vice president, on a new viewing platform overlooking the hole, as workers prepared the site for the grand opening Thursday. Trump said last week that he would try to attend the event, but people here think hes probably not going to make it.

Do you know where the tent is going? Gallo asked.

Bottegal pointed in the direction of an adjacent farm field, where a storm front was gathering. The big American flag is going there, he said, gesturing in the opposite direction, to the towering wall of the mines rock face.



Rob Bottegal, head engineer of Corsa Coals Acosta Deep Mine, stands on a viewing platform above the pit of the mine in preparation for Thursdays grand opening ceremony. (Justin Merriman/For the Washington Post)

The company expects to draw coal from the Acosta mine for a decade or more. But analysts caution that while metallurgical coal prices are high now, global factors could easily knock the bottom out of the market, leaving local workers stranded  just as they were in 2015, when Corsa idled two mines in Somerset County, cutting more than 100 jobs.

Five miles away, past the Jennerstown Speedway, customers at the Coal Miners Cafe were hopeful that opening a new mine would be symbolic, but they still saw it as mostly a thing of the past.

He better take care of the miners, Popernack said of Trump. The coal miner is going to be a lost breed.

His wife, Karen, said the community needs the mine: We need the work.

For many people here, coal mining has taken limbs, lungs and years of their lives. It poisoned their wells, turning their water, their clothes and their bathroom walls orange, and the local townspeople against one another.

But the mines also sustained them  even with the industrys shortcomings. The orange water needed to be treated. The roads ripped up by heavy coal trucks needed to be fixed. The hungry miners needed to be fed.

And so Popernack and his wife welcome new mines, even though they are more acquainted with the industrys faults than perhaps anyone.

Popernacks body bears the scars of a long life of mining and farming. One eyelid droops a little over a flinty blue eye; two fingers on his left hand were lost to a buzz saw a decade ago. For nearly 20 years, Popernack has been trying to claim payments for his black lung. And 15 years ago, an accident in the Quecreek Mine nearly claimed his son.



Edward Popernack, 84, who worked in coal mines for more than 40 years, sits for a portrait at the Coal Miners Cafe in Jennerstown, Pa. (Justin Merriman/For the Washington Post)

Mark Popernack was underground on July 24, 2002, when the workers unknowingly struck an abandoned, poorly documented mine that had filled with water. As more than 50 million gallons gushed into their mine and blocked the entrance, the miners sought the highest ground they could find as the water rose for hours.

Ed Popernack, who was holding vigil above, assumed that his son was dead. But after 77 hours, Mark was the last man pulled out.

If youre never scared, youre lying, Ed Popernack said.

Hes happy about some coal jobs coming back to the area  but he wouldnt dream of advising his grandkids to pursue them.

Let them do whatever they want, but if they go in the mine theyre going to get a swift   and he mimed a kick in the rear. I dont want them even thinking about going in.
NORTH CAROLINA

Mistrial declared in church beating case

A judge held a juror in contempt and declared a mistrial Tuesday in the case of a North Carolina church minister charged in the beating a congregant who says he was attacked to expel his homosexual demons.

Superior Court Judge Gary Gavenus immediately sentenced the juror, Perry Shade Jr., to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine. Gavenus said the juror brought in three documents, including one related to North Carolina law, but it wasnt the right law pertaining to the charges in the case.

Gavenus said he had warned the jurors not to bring in outside material.

Brooke Covington, 58, a longtime minister at Word of Faith Fellowship in Spindale, N.C., faced up to two years in prison if convicted on charges of kidnapping and assaulting former member Matthew Fenner in January 2013.

Covington was the first of five church members to face trial in the case. Each defendant will be tried separately. Covingtons trial began May 30.

Fenner, 23, said he was leaving a prayer service Jan. 27, 2013, when nearly two dozen people surrounded him in the sanctuary. He said they slapped, punched, choked and blasted him  a church practice that involves intense screaming  for two hours.

 Associated Press

ILLINOIS

Suburb pays $580,000 settlement over mosque denial

A Chicago suburb that prevented a Muslim group from converting a vacant building into a mosque will pay the group $580,000 and be required to train city employees on religious land use law, the Justice Department announced on Tuesday.

In a news release, the department said Des Plaines settled a lawsuit the department brought and another one filed by the Society of American Bosnians and Herzegovinians. The settlements stem from a 2013 vote by the Des Plaines City Council to deny the groups rezoning request, and the group sued.

The settlements come days after the Justice Department announced that the New Jersey community of Bernards Township had agreed to settle for $3.25 million a similar lawsuit filed by another Islamic group. Last month, the U.S. attorneys office in New Jersey also said it is investigating Bayonne, N.J, where officials prevented a Muslim group from building a mosque there.

 Associated Press
CALIFORNIA

Two charged in warehouse fired that killed 36

A man who authorities say illegally rented out space in an Oakland warehouse that caught fire, killing 36 partygoers, and another man who organized the event were each charged Monday with three dozen counts of involuntary manslaughter.

Derick Almena and Max Harris knowingly created a firetrap with inadequate means of escape when they hosted the dance party Dec. 2 in the Ghost Ship warehouse, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy OMalley said. Both men were arrested earlier in the day.

Authorities say the site contained flammable materials, faulty wiring and a blocked exit.

Prosecutors also said Monday that the cause of the deadly blaze probably will never be known because so much evidence was destroyed.

Court documents show that Almena was the primary tenant and rented space to as many as 25 people to live and work in the building, which was licensed only as a warehouse.

Almena allowed Harris to live there, calling him the creative director who was in charge of collecting rent, mediating disputes and dealing with the building owner. Harris is accused of renting the upstairs to a dance party promoter on the night of the fire.

Between November 2013 and December 2016, police showed up at the warehouse multiple times to check on complaints, but Almena and Harris often met police outside the warehouse and told officers that no one lived there, records show.

 Associated Press

MINNESOTA

Jury selected in officer-involved shooting trial

A jury was seated Monday in the trial of a Minnesota police officer charged in the shooting death of a black motorist after defense attorneys unsuccessfully tried to block one of two black jurors in the final group.

Opening statements were to follow in the trial of St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez in the death of 32-year-old Philando Castile, an elementary school cafeteria worker. Prosecutors say Yanez, who is Latino, shot Castile during a traffic stop in a St. Paul suburb last July after Castile told the officer that he was carrying a gun.

Prosecutors have said that Yanezs actions werent reasonable, while Yanezs attorneys have said he feared for his life. The shooting captured national attention in part because Castiles girlfriend was in the car with her daughter and streamed the shootings aftermath live on Facebook.

The jury is made up of 15 people, three of whom are alternates, although it is not clear who the alternates are. Two jurors are black, including an 18-year-old Ethiopian American woman whom defense attorney Earl Gray had argued didnt understand the criminal justice system well enough to follow the proceedings.

The woman has been in the country about 10 years, and prosecutor Jeff Paulsen said Yanezs attorneys wanted to block the woman because of her race. Judge William Leary III rejected the defenses challenge.

A young black man who manages a Wendys restaurant is also on the panel.

 Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Threats lead to shutdown of college classes

New threats have prompted a small college in Washington state to cancel classes for the third consecutive weekday after recent protests on the progressive campus.

The Evergreen State College in Olympia closed its campus Monday. Administrators said police are reviewing new external threat information received over the weekend.

Protests followed a white professors decision to oppose an optional event in which organizers asked white students to leave campus for a talk about race. The event was a reversal of the colleges long-standing annual Day of Absence, in which minorities attend programs off campus.

Biology professor Bret Weinstein, who has taught at Evergreen for 15 years, wrote an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal saying he was called a racist because he had challenged coercive segregation by race.

Some students called for Weinstein to resign, and conservative media pointed to the furor as an example of intolerance on college campuses, where protests have derailed multiple appearances by controversial figures.

 Associated Press

Conn. diocese settles sex-abuse lawsuits: A Roman Catholic diocese in Connecticut has settled lawsuits by five men who alleged they were sexually abused by four priests when they were boys in the 1970s and 1980s. Settlement terms were not disclosed. Two lawsuits against the Diocese of Bridgeport were withdrawn Monday. The others were dropped this year. All four priests named in the lawsuits have died. The Connecticut Post said that the five lawsuits were the last of more than three dozen brought against the diocese by a Bridgeport law firm since the early 1990s. The cases involved abuse allegations against 29 priests and resulted in more than $20 million in settlements.

 Associated Press
AUSTRALIA

Extremist link weighed in siege that killed two

Australian police said a shootout Monday in which two men died, three police officers were wounded and a female hostage was freed might be related to Islamist extremism.

Andrew Crisp, the deputy police commissioner in Victoria state, said police arrived at an apartment building in a Melbourne suburb in response to reports of an explosion and discovered the body of a man in the lobby. He said police tried to negotiate with a gunman in one of the apartments.

Crisp said the gunman later left the building and shot three officers before police killed him. Two of the wounded officers were taken to a hospital, and the other was treated at the scene.

The Seven Network television said it had received a phone call from a woman who said she was involved in a hostage situation.

We asked her [for] more information. At that point, a man came on the same line and said, This is for IS [the Islamic State], this is for al-Qaeda,  said the networks news director, Simon Pristel. We asked for more information, and thats when he hung up.

The network called police.

Crisp said police had not confirmed the identity of the gunman.

Terrorism is one line of inquiry in relation to this matter. It is early days, he told reporters.

 Associated Press

TURKEY

Germany may move troops amid impasse

Turkey on Monday refused to budge on its refusal to let German lawmakers visit troops stationed at a Turkish air base, a stance that left NATO ally Germany on the verge of a likely decision to move those troops to Jordan.

Speaking after a meeting with his German counterpart, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called for positive steps on Turkeys requests for Germany to crack down on Kurdish rebels and alleged plotters of a July coup attempt.

Cavusoglu said Turkey would allow German legislators to visit a NATO base in the central province of Konya but not Incirlik Air Base, where about 270 German troops are stationed.

The German troops at Incirlik are part of an international coalition against the Islamic State group. German deployments abroad require parliamentary approval, and German leaders say it is essential that lawmakers be able to visit troops as they want.

Germanys defense minister said her government will decide Wednesday where we relocate [the troops] and whether we relocate. She said that we are well prepared for a relocation.

Turkey blocked the Incirlik visit request after Germany decided to grant asylum to soldiers and others whom Turkey accuses of participating in last years coup attempt. Turkey also accuses Germany of harboring Kurdish militant groups.

Also Monday, Turkish authorities said U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara blames for the coup attempt, will lose his Turkish citizenship if he does not return to Turkey within three months. The Interior Ministry named Gulen among 130 people wanted by authorities and said they risk being stripped of their citizenship unless they return.

 Associated Press

INDIA

Rocket launch marks key advance for nation

India on Monday launched its heaviest rocket, which it hopes will eventually be able to carry astronauts into space, a feat that only Russia, the United States and China have achieved.

The Indian Space Research Organization said the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk III rocket lifted off from the launch center in Sriharikota, an island off the coast of Andhra Pradesh state in the southeast, and placed a communication satellite into orbit.

The space agencys director, A.S. Kiran Kumar, said it is the heaviest rocket and satellite to be launched from India. The rocket is powered by an indigenous engine that uses liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen as fuel, he said.

In the past, India has used French rockets to launch its heavier communication satellites.

India hopes the launch of the satellite, which weighs 6,914 pounds, will expand its commercial launch business.

It is the latest success for the Indian space agency. In February, it launched a record-breaking 104 nano satellites into orbit, all on board a single rocket.

 Associated Press

Lithuania erecting fence on border with Russia: Lithuania has started building a fence on its border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad in an attempt to curb smuggling and illegal immigration and strengthen the European Unions external border. State border officials kicked off construction of the first segment of the 80-mile-long metal fence at the Raminiskiu village. The fence will run through two Lithuanian districts to the Neman River, which serves as a natural barrier between the Baltic nation and Kaliningrad.

 From news services
BRITAIN CONTINUES to respond with impressive fortitude and sobriety to a string of terrorist attacks claimed by the Islamic State. London bar customers who suddenly found themselves confronting armed attackers Saturday responded by hurling glasses and stools at them. Police ended the assault by shooting and killing the terrorists just eight minutes after the first emergency call. Though the country is only days away from a hard-fought and surprisingly close parliamentary election, both Prime Minister Theresa May and her opponents responded with relatively substantive proposals and arguments rather than rhetorical incitement.

The latter was left to President Trump, who would appear to be doing his best to ruin U.S. relations with its closest ally  if any calculation can be imputed to his reckless and irresponsible tweets. Even before expressing support for the British people, Mr. Trump tried to use the latest attack to justify his misguided ban on travel to the United States from six predominately Muslim countries. Then he chose to attack Londons popular Muslim mayor, misrepresenting his statement urging people not to be alarmed by a heightened police deployment and, predictably, doubling down when the distortion was widely ridiculed.

In fact, Mayor Sadiq Khan has been principled as well as responsible in reacting to the attack. While urging Londoners to remain calm, the citys first Muslim mayor said he was angry and furious that the terrorists are seeking to justify their actions by using the faith I belong to. Displaying a restraint that is glaringly absent in the White House, he had his spokesman respond to Mr. Trumps provocation by saying Mr. Khan has more important things to do than respond to Donald Trumps ill-informed tweet.

For her part, Ms. May also called on citizens to go about their lives as they normally would while stressing the need for better measures to combat the evil ideology of Islamist extremism. She rightly observed that it cannot be defeated by military intervention alone or by the maintenance of a permanent, defensive counterterrorism operation. Instead Britain must convince all its citizens that pluralistic, British values are superior to ideological extremism; to do so, more must be done to reach out to separated, segregated communities. That wisdom applies not just to Britain but also to nations across continental Europe where de facto Muslim ghettos fester.

Other proposals from Ms. May were less grounded. She pushed for more powers for police in a society where surveillance already is pervasive, as well as international agreements that regulate cyberspace  something that would be unlikely to eliminate extremist propaganda but could open the way to greater limits on free expression and privacy. Hammered by Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn over cuts to police forces, she ducked.

Whether Ms. Mays fragile-looking lead over Mr. Corbyn will be helped or harmed by all this will be evident on Thursday when Britons go to the polls. Whats already clear is that Mr. Trump has done himself and U.S.-British relations another disservice. Ms. May has tried to build a constructive relationship with the Trump administration; even if she wins handily, she now will have less political leeway to do so. Britain is holding steady under terrorist attack. But U.S. global leadership is in free fall.
Whats holding back the Republican agenda?

Its not the toothless Democrats, despite what you may have heard from President Trump. Five months ago, when Trump moved into the White House, they lost their grip on their last lever of significant Washington power.

Likewise, its not Trumps infernal nocturnal tweets, unhelpful though they may be.

Neither is it the distraction of nonstop news about Trumps aides ties to Russia or the presidents own possible attempts to obstruct justice.

Nor is it leaky White House staffers, nor the operatives of the deep state.

1 of 58 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  A look at President Trumps first year in office, so far View Photos The presidents term has featured controversial executive orders and frequent conflicts with the news media. Caption Scenes from the Republicans beginning months in the White House. Jan. 25, 2017 Trump signs an executive order for border security and immigration enforcement improvements at the Department of Homeland Security in Washington. Chip Somodevilla/Pool photo via Bloomberg News Wait 1 second to continue.

So whats actually obstructing the Republican agenda? Its the fact that there is no Republican agenda.

For years Republicans, including and especially the partys current standard-bearer, have promised magic bullets for nearly every social, economic and global ill, no matter how complex. But this was not a policy platform; this was a series of bluffs disguised as a policy platform.

The latest bluff arrives this week, as the White House promotes its grand plan to upgrade the nations infrastructure. This promotional effort comes despite an acknowledgment from National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn that no such grand plan exists. (A month earlier, Trump claimed his administrations infrastructure proposal was already largely completed.)

On other domestic issues, Republicans have been touting the superiority of their woolly policy agenda for ages. Trump merely added a little color to the con.

Republican members of Congress voted dozens of times to repeal Obamacare, knowing full well that their ill-conceived bills would never become law. Eventually the pledge to repeal the law morphed into a vague promise to repeal and replace it.

With Trump helming the party, the fantastical achievements of this TBD replacement plan grew greater by the day. It would offer, Trump promised, more widespread insurance coverage, cheaper premiums, lower deductibles, superior care and no cuts to Medicaid.

Were going to have insurance for everybody, Trump told The Post in January. Americans would be beautifully covered.

(Adriana Usero,Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post)

The plan that passed the House last month achieves none of this. And the proposals status in the Senate remains in limbo, given that Republican senators cannot agree on what a Republican health-care plan should actually do.

Tax reform, arguably the GOPs top priority, is on hold as well. And again, not because Democrats are undermining it  but because Republicans cant figure out what their priorities are, or how to achieve them.

They have promised to cut rates for everyone and somehow not cost the government a dime. Predictably, Republicans cannot agree how this magical revenue-neutral tax reform proposal would work. Proposed revenue sources, such as a  border adjustment  tax or the elimination of the state and local tax deduction, remain contentious, and even those would not fully cover the cost of steep rate cuts.

Sometimes the White House claims these tax cuts will pay for themselves through additional economic growth, and sometimes it says they wont. The administration is so ambivalent about its own fiscal policies that last week Mick Mulvaney, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, disavowed the tax portion of his own budget.

I wouldnt take whats in the budget as indicative of what our proposals are, he told the Washington Examiner.

This confusion about what the party  and the presidency  stands for extends to foreign matters as well.

Trump has declared that NAFTA, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Paris climate accord and even the NATO alliance are all bad deals for the United States and that he would negotiate better ones. He has yet to produce even a coherent explanation of what a better deal would look like.

Trumps most brazen bluff, of course, dates back two years, when he bragged about his secret plan to defeat the Islamic State, a plan so potent and powerful that it would reveal he knew more than the generals.

All I can tell you is that it is a foolproof way of winning, and Im not talking about what some people would say, but it is a foolproof way of winning the war with ISIS, he promised, declaring that his plan would achieve total victory. Secrecy was paramount, he insisted, not only because he didnt want the Islamic State to find out but also because he didnt want his political rivals to steal his brilliant scheme and claim credit. (America First, indeed.)

Two years later, theres still no foolproof new plan, no total victory  on the Islamic State, health care, taxes, trade, infrastructure or any other major issue. Yet we keep being told a game-changing policy package is but a few weeks away.

This bluffing has gone on long enough. Maybe its time for Republicans to show us their cards.
Its an unbelievably complex subject, President Trump said in February, discussing the Republican plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Nobody knew health care could be so complicated. It was a typically absurd proclamation for the president, who more recently bragged about how quickly he mastered everything there was to know about health care.

As complicated as health care is, the case against Trumps health-care bill is simple. Trump promised to provide insurance for everybody; the American Health Care Act passed by the House last month would cause 23 million Americans to lose their coverage. Trump promised not to cut Medicaid; the AHCA would slash more than $800 billion from the program. Trump promised to protect people with preexisting conditions; the AHCA would allow discrimination against such patients. As National Nurses United Executive Director RoseAnn DeMoro put it, Republicans are essentially proposing a 21st Century version of Lord of the Flies. 

For Democrats, opposing Trumps plan, which a measly 8 percent of Americans support in its current form, is a no-brainer. But with health care emerging as the American peoples top concern , according to recent polls, Democrats would be wise to seize the moment, go on the offensive and rally around a bold alternative to the Republican Partys backward vision. Its time for progressives and Democrats to unite behind Medicare for all.

Under a Medicare-for-all, single-payer system, the United States would join virtually every other Western country in recognizing health care as a fundamental right and providing insurance for every citizen. It would reduce the burden on employers, which bear the brunt of the cost of insurance today, and it would bring down overall health-care costs because Medicare is more efficient than for-profit private insurance. It would be paid for with tax hikes on the wealthiest Americans, including a financial transactions tax that would curb risky high-frequency trading.

Contrary to how it is often portrayed, this is not some left-wing fantasy but an idea with widespread across-the-aisle support. An April survey from the Economist/YouGov showed that 60 percent of Americans support expanding Medicare to provide health insurance to every American, including a majority of independents and nearly half of self-identified Republicans. Likewise, a Gallup poll conducted last month found that a majority of Americans would like to see a single-payer system implemented. (Given how deeply Medicare is woven into the fabric of our society, I prefer the term Medicare for all over the wonky single-payer.)

This is not to say that Democrats should stop defending the Affordable Care Act, which is more popular now that it is being threatened than ever before. The law was clearly a major step forward, as evidenced by the 20 million Americans who gained coverage because of it. But the most compelling argument for the Affordable Care Act was always that it was just that: not the final destination but a step in the right direction. For me, this legislation represents progress toward universal health care for all Americans, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), a longtime supporter of Medicare for all, said when it passed in 2010 . It is a beginning  and an important one.

Today, with Republicans fighting to put universal coverage further out of reach, more progressives and Democrats are recognizing that now is the moment to push Medicare for all. A bill introduced by Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) in the House has 112 co-sponsors, representing a solid majority of the Democratic caucus, up from just over 60 in the last Congress. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who made Medicare for all a central plank of his presidential campaign platform, is preparing to introduce a bill in the Senate. And last week, supporters of Medicare for all scored a big victory when the California Senate advanced a state-level single-payer bill that DeMoro hailed as a moral model for the country.

Looking ahead to 2018, strong progressive candidates are already making universal coverage part of their pitch to voters. In Iowa, nurse and union leader Cathy Glasson has launched a gubernatorial bid with a promise to provide universal healthcare to cover every Iowan. And in Maryland, former NAACP president Ben Jealous, who endorsed Sanders in 2016, is running for governor, pledging to ensure that every citizen in the state is covered.

It will take smart organizing and tireless work to make it a reality, but Medicare for all is an idea whose time has come. With organizations such as Our Revolution, National Nurses United and the Working Families Party leading the fight, though, the movement for Medicare for all is gaining momentum every day.

During the floor debate over the Affordable Care Act, Sanders declared, The day will come, although I recognize it is not today, when the Congress . . . will finally proclaim that health care is a right of all people and not just a privilege. He was right then, and hes right now. But it wont happen until progressives drive the debate to the point that Medicare for all is seen not as impossible, but inevitable.

Read more from Katrina vanden Heuvels archive or follow her on Twitter.
President Trump, after days of lashing out angrily at the London mayor and federal courts in the wake of the London Bridge terrorist attack, faces a convergence of challenges this week that threatens to exacerbate the fury that has gripped him  and that could further hobble a Republican agenda that has slowed to a crawl on Capitol Hill.

Instead of hunkering down and delicately navigating the legal and political thicket  as some White House aides have suggested  Trump spent much of Monday launching volleys on Twitter, unable to resist continuing, in effect, as his own lawyer, spokesman, cheerleader and media watchdog.

Trump escalated his criticism of London Mayor Sadiq Khan, incorrectly stating that Khan had told Londoners to not be alarmed about terrorism. He vented about the Justice Department, which he said pushed a politically correct version of his policy to block immigration from six predominantly Muslim countries, which Trump signed before it was halted in court. He also complained that Senate Democrats are taking forever to approve his appointees and ambassadors.

Inside the White House, top officials have in various ways gently suggested to Trump over the past week that he should leave the feuding to surrogates, according to two people who were not authorized to speak publicly. But Trump has repeatedly shrugged off that advice, these people said.

Not that Im aware of, White House principal deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Monday at a news conference when asked if the presidents tweets were being vetted by lawyers or aides.

1 of 58 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  A look at President Trumps first year in office, so far View Photos The presidents term has featured controversial executive orders and frequent conflicts with the news media. Caption Scenes from the Republicans beginning months in the White House. Jan. 25, 2017 Trump signs an executive order for border security and immigration enforcement improvements at the Department of Homeland Security in Washington. Chip Somodevilla/Pool photo via Bloomberg News Wait 1 second to continue.

Social media for the president is extremely important, Sanders said. It gives him the ability to speak directly to the people without the bias of the media filtering those types of communication.

Trumps refusal to disengage from the daily storm of news  coming ahead of former FBI director James B. Comeys highly anticipated public testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday  is both unsurprising and unsettling to many Republicans, who are already skittish about the questions they may confront in the aftermath of the hearing. In particular, they foresee Democratic accusations that Trumps exchanges with Comey about the FBI probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign were an effort to obstruct justice.

Some Republicans fear that Trumps reactions will only worsen the potential damage.

Its a distraction, and he needs to focus, said former Trump campaign adviser Barry Bennett. Every day and moment he spends on anything other than a rising economy is a waste that disrupts everything.

Rick Tyler, a veteran Republican consultant, said Trumps relentlessness in using Twitter poses a serious obstacle for the White House.

I cant imagine internally theyre happy with his performance, Tyler said. The president is undermining his presidency whenever his staff says one thing and then he does another. Theyll say something youd expect, and then hell go off and bring in the gun debate to a terror attack.

Some Trump supporters also fear that his extemporaneous rebukes are upending the priorities he is trying to implement.

(Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post)

George Conway, a well-known GOP lawyer who recently took himself out of the running to lead the Justice Departments civil division and is the husband of Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway, wrote on Twitter on Monday that Trumps fulminations on the travel ban could damage its chances.

These tweets may make some ppl feel better, but they certainly wont help OSG get 5 votes in SCOTUS, which is what actually matters. Sad, he wrote, using abbreviations for the Office of Solicitor General and the Supreme Court.

Trumps friends say hes just being himself.

Hes rightly frustrated, and he isnt always checking with his lawyers about each tweet. But hes getting his message out there, said Christopher Ruddy, a close associate of Trump and president of Newsmax Media, a conservative news organization. He is relying on himself to be the messenger.

It is an increasingly lonely endeavor. Trumps poll numbers have sagged, with Gallups daily tracking number showing him at 37 percent approval Monday, nearing the nadir of his presidency so far, while the RealClearPolitics polling average shows his approval rating just under 40 percent.

Yet even among party leadership and senior advisers in the West Wing, many remain supportive of Trumps combative posture, unable or unwilling to usher him toward a less incendiary approach.

Its all infighting and leaks to the point where Trump is diluting his own proposals, Bennett said. I dont get it. Rather than getting him to talk about jobs, they stand by as he goes on about Mayor Khan.

The few who have spoken up have been careful to not provoke Trump. Unfortunately, the president has, I think, created problems for himself by his Twitter habit, Sen. John Cornyn (Tex.), the No. 2 ranking Senate Republican, said with a tight smile during a Sunday interview on Dallas TV station WFAA.

Comeys testimony is one of a number of items on the White House radar this week that risk stoking Trumps rage.

A week after Trump declared his trip to the Middle East a success, the region was swept into turmoil Monday after four Arab nations  Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain  broke diplomatic relations with another U.S. ally, Qatar, which they have accused of supporting terrorism.

Several U.S. allies in Europe also have grown weary with Trump after he decided to withdraw the country last week from the Paris climate accord. One of his closer allies there, British Prime Minister Theresa May, responded uncomfortably Monday to Trumps outbursts about Khan, who is Muslim, as the United Kingdom was coping with the aftermath of the London Bridge attack, which killed seven.

I think Sadiq Khan is doing a good job, and its wrong to say anything else, May tersely told reporters.

In Congress, Trumps ambitions to pass a health-care overhaul and tax changes have been stymied by party infighting and growing nervousness about the potential political cost, especially in the more moderate Senate. The only major legislative accomplishment so far has been the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, which came in April after bypassing a Democratic blockade.

David Winston, a Republican pollster who works closely with congressional GOP leaders, said lawmakers are eager to avoid discussions on issues that do not have to do with their agenda  including Trumps tweets  and said an extended delay on big-ticket legislation would pose a problem.

Anytime theyre not talking about the economy or jobs, they know thats not what the electorate is looking for, Winston said. Its going to be the responsibility of the White House to provide that context when the news cycle and media has their attention elsewhere, he added.

Ongoing turmoil in the White House only exacerbates the problems. Talk of possible staff changes has fueled a rush of stories that irritate Trump, who disdains news coverage of his advisers and their many rivalries. Former campaign loyalists, such as Corey Lewandowski and David Bossie, have been spotted heading to the Oval Office for meetings.

Meanwhile, the Russia-related questions are ubiquitous. Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel delving into potential ties between Trumps campaign and Russia, is busy at work, and Trumps son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, is a focus of the investigation, according to people familiar with the probe.

Trump allies have for weeks discussed the possible formation of a Russia-focused war room either inside or outside the administration, but any such operation has yet to be formally announced. The president has retained an outside legal team, however, while Bossie and Lewandowski have been mentioned as possible leaders of an advocacy group that would defend Trump after Comeys testimony.

The White House has gamely attempted to ignore the fallout from Trumps latest tweets, pressing forward Monday with a conventional rollout of parts of a promised infrastructure program.

Standing in a dark suit and red-striped tie at the White House in front of Cabinet officials and Vice President Pence, Trump endorsed a plan to spin off more than 30,000 federal workers, including thousands of air traffic controllers, into a private nonprofit corporation  and he railed against the Obama administrations previous work to improve the Federal Aviation Administration.

The current [aviation] system cannot keep up, has not been able to keep up for many years, Trump said. Were still stuck with an ancient, broken, antiquated, horrible system that doesnt work.

It was a brief respite from rancor. A few hours later, this time on Facebook, Trump was back at it, posting a video and fervent note to his millions of followers.

We need the Travel Ban  not the watered down, politically correct version the Justice Department submitted to the Supreme Court, but a MUCH TOUGHER version! Trump wrote. We cannot rely on the MSM to get the facts to the people. Spread this message. SHARE NOW.
When former vice president Joe Biden announced a few days ago that he was setting up a new political action committee called American Possibilities, the political world read it as a signal: Hes seriously thinking of running for president in 2020.

Then again, Dwayne The Rock Johnson got the same reaction when Hollywoods highest-paid star told GQ magazine that running for office is a real possibility, though its not clear what party  if any  he would claim.

As did Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, when he set out to meet people in every state and dropped in for dinner with an Ohio Democratic family that voted for Donald Trump.

Go ahead and groan. Yes, the two nominees from 2016 are still trading fire about the elections results, and the 2020 Iowa caucuses are still more than 30 months away.

But presidential buzz seems to be building around an unusually large and varied group of Democrats and famous names from outside of politics  a parlor game that includes pretty much every current Democratic senator and governor, mayors and House members, barons of the business world and, of course, the occasional wild-card celebrity. The Hill newspaper recently tallied 43 people who might run against President Trump.

This is a country, it has often been said, where anyone can grow up to be president. Last year, a billionaire reality-TV star with no government experience proved that to be true.

How can you possibly tell someone they shouldnt run for president? Theres no one on the planet who you can tell, Thats crazy,  said Jennifer Palmieri, a presidential campaign veteran who was communications director for Hillary Clinton in 2016.

[Biden sets up new political action committee, signaling a possible 2020 White House run]

There is more at work here than the sheer improbability of Trumps election.

The presidents low poll numbers suggest a real opportunity for whomever the Democrats pick as their standard-bearer.

Everybody assumes that Trump will be dead meat by 2020, said former Democratic National Committee chairman Don Fowler.

And for the first time in at least a generation, the race for the nomination appears wide open, with no presumed early front-runner to be overcome in a Democratic primary. Conspicuously absent from the preseason handicapping is anyone named Clinton.

1 of 58 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad  A look at President Trumps first year in office, so far View Photos The presidents term has featured controversial executive orders and frequent conflicts with the news media. Caption Scenes from the Republicans beginning months in the White House. Jan. 25, 2017 Trump signs an executive order for border security and immigration enforcement improvements at the Department of Homeland Security in Washington. Chip Somodevilla/Pool photo via Bloomberg News Wait 1 second to continue.

The nomination will be a very inviting prize to have, said David Axelrod, who was Barack Obamas chief strategist in 2008 and 2012. It is more expeditious to put together a list of Democrats who are not thinking they are running for president in 2020, than ones who are.

Beyond that, its only a matter of time until a Donald Trump runs as an independent and swamps both parties, said Joe Trippi, a longtime Democratic operative who managed Vermont Gov. Howard Deans insurgent 2004 campaign.

It has been decades since the landscape appeared so fluid and unpredictable for Democrats. Back then, however, the forces worked in reverse from todays dynamic.

Going into 1992, the partys biggest names  most notably, New York Gov. Mario M. Cuomo  took a pass on the race, scared off in part by then-President George H.W. Bushs stratospheric poll numbers.

Instead, the nomination went to a little-known governor from Arkansas, Bill Clinton, who went on to win the White House when a recession brought Bushs popularity crashing to Earth.

The lesson, which would-be candidates have taken to heart ever since, is not to hesitate. It was reinforced in 2008, when Obama, a first-term senator from Illinois, won the Democratic nomination over prohibitive early favorite Hillary Clinton.

Politics takes a circular path sometimes: A quarter-century after his father declined what in retrospect looks like his biggest opportunity, Cuomos son Andrew, now himself the governor of New York, is among those being talked about as a 2020 possibility.

But any survey of likely candidates has to begin with a look backward, at people who have run before. One old joke has it that the only cure for presidential ambition is embalming fluid.

Former Maryland governor Martin OMalley, the distant third-place finisher in the 2016 Democratic primary, has been the most active of the presumed hopefuls. He has shown up in 13 states since the election, campaigning and raising money for candidates, and speaking at party dinners.

OMalley made friends here, said former DNC head Fowler, who lives in South Carolina. There are some people here who have an affinity for him.

Should Biden decide to make a third bid for the Oval Office, he would be first among equals, even at this stage in life, Axelrod said. At 74, the former vice president is four years older than Trump, who is himself the oldest first-term president in U.S. history.

Others argue that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), 75, would have the pole position, by virtue of his 2016 performance and his legions of liberal supporters.

He hasnt made up his mind, said former Sanders campaign manager Jeff Weaver. Hes open to it.

So, many liberals hope, is Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who has been touring the country to promote her latest book. At a fundraising dinner last month for a local NAACP chapter in Detroit, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) introduced Warren as the woman who might just be the next president.

Yet there is also a longing for fresh new faces. And while the Senate and governors mansions are traditional launchpads for presidential nominees, this time around could see an opening for mayors such as Mitch Landrieu of New Orleans or Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles, or highly visible House members, such as Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) or Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.).

[On SNL, The Rock and Tom Hanks joked about a 2020 White House bid. Some want to believe.]

What Democratic leaders do not want to see this time is a repeat of what happened to the Republicans last year.

With 17 declared candidates, the GOP debates became roller-derby-like spectacles. The sheer size of the field created an opening for a candidate like Trump to stage what amounted to a hostile takeover of the process.

Thats great that there are 38 [potential Democratic candidates] thinking about it, but once you hit Labor Day 2019, I hope it shakes down to a manageable few, said New Hampshire party chairman Raymond Buckley.

Former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, who at one point considered an independent bid in 2016, warned in an interview with New York Times columnist Frank Bruni that if there are too many Democrats running, theyll step on each other and reelect Donald Trump.

Bloomberg set the odds at a 55 percent chance he gets reelected.

The prospect of the kind of mogul-to-mogul matchup that Bloomberg took a pass on last time is tantalizing.

That is why names come up like those of former Starbucks chief executive Howard Schultz, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and lifestyle empress Oprah Winfrey, who caused a sensation earlier this year when she joked  or did she?  that Trumps election made her think she might be more qualified for office than she thought.

But seasoned operatives are skeptical that the party will ultimately turn to a Trump-like outsider.

I dont doubt that billionaires will start seeing presidents in the mirror, the way senators do now, said Tad Devine, a longtime Democratic consultant.

But he added: People dont want another Trump on our side. They want to get as far away from him as possible.

Axelrod agreed: I dont think you beat Trump by coming up with our own version of Trump. What is it that people find lacking in Trump? They find him lacking in experience, and lacking in knowledge of how government runs.

Also likely to be important to Democrats is finding a candidate whose demeanor presents a contrast to Trump, and one with an inclusive unifying message.

For now, most of the possible contenders are demurring when asked about their plans for 2020.

A few  such as Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe  own up to the fact that they were thinking about running for president. But an establishment figure may start out at a disadvantage at a time when most of the partys energy seems to be with the resistance to Trump.

Trippi says the Democratic primary field could sort itself into two groups.

In early states, where you whittle down the field, there may be a governor or a senator who knows how to get things done, versus someone from the outside, and thats the race, Trippi said. Now that so much is online, the opinions of someone posting from their basement in Anaheim could have an influence in New Hampshire, Granite State party chairman Buckley said. The old rhythms are thrown out the window.

Traditional ways of campaigning, meanwhile, may be disrupted  putting less of a premium on money, and on the need to spend months or years getting to know local political leaders and grass-roots activists in the early states.
President Trump has reignited a year-long public battle with London Mayor Sadiq Khan, one of the most prominent Muslim politicians in Western Europe, drawing criticism for reviving the feud in the wake of a terrorist attack.

In the two days since a group of terrorists killed seven people and injured many others on London Bridge on Saturday night, Trump has tweeted several times about the attack and used it to promote his travel ban, which is being blocked by the courts.

Among the presidents barrage of tweets have been two pointed messages directed at Khan.

At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terrorist attack and Mayor of London says there is no reason to be alarmed!  Trump tweeted Sunday morning, misrepresenting a comment the mayor made over the weekend when he told the citys residents to not be alarmed by an increased police presence in the coming days. Trump was criticized for the tweet, but Monday morning he dived right back into the controversy: Pathetic excuse by London Mayor Sadiq Khan who had to think fast on his no reason to be alarmed statement. MSM is working hard to sell it!

Although Khan has responded to past attacks from the president, he has refrained from doing so this week, with his office saying on Sunday that the mayor has more important things to do than respond to Donald Trumps ill-informed tweet.

(Bastien Inzaurralde/The Washington Post)

Khan, a human rights lawyer and practicing Muslim whose parents are from Pakistan, has repeatedly challenged Trumps calls to ban Muslims or people from majority-Muslim countries from entering the United States, saying the president has an ignorant view of Islam. Trump, meanwhile, has said that it is ignorant for him to say that and has raised questions about Londons approach to confronting terrorism.

During the White House briefing Monday, a reporter asked deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders if the president went after Khan because hes Muslim.

Not at all, Sanders said, and I think to suggest something like that is utterly ridiculous.

The presidents tweets come as London grapples with the aftermath of the attack and Khan tries to explain that the religious beliefs of the terrorists involved are not the same beliefs embraced by him and most of the worlds 1.6 billion Muslims.

The action of these three men on Saturday night was cowardly, was evil, Khan said at a news conference Monday. And Im angry and furious that these three men are seeking to justify their actions by using the faith that I belong to. . . . The ideology they follow is perverse, it is poisonous, and it has no place in Islam. And I condemn this terrorist act but also the poisonous ideology these men and others follow.

The presidents decision to lash out at the London mayor was widely questioned, with several critics asking why Trump was picking a fight with Khan as his city attempts to recover from Saturdays attacks. Some noted that after a mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando in June 2016, Khan tweeted: I stand with the City of Orlando against hate and bigotry. My thoughts are with all the victims of this horrific attack #lovewins.

Trumps tweets were widely mocked in Britain, where the overwhelming mood is one of unity against terrorism and praise for security services. Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition Labour Party, accused the president of lacking grace and sense. British Prime Minister Theresa May, who has tried to foster a productive relationship with Trump, came to Khans defense Monday, telling journalists that the mayor was doing a good job, and its wrong to say anything else.

Lewis Lukens, the acting ambassador at the U.S. Embassy in London, tweeted Sunday: I commend the strong leadership of the @MayorofLondon as he leads the city forward after this heinous attack.

Suhaib Webb  an imam who leads Center DC, which has a large online youth following  said he is angry that the president and those close to him are quick to pull the trigger on anything that has to do with Islam or involves a person of color.

I think its also extremely embarrassing as Americans that our president is engaged in a Twitter war with the mayor of a city in a sovereign country, Webb said. Its shameful that weve reinforced a bully personality. . . . We have someone who is unhinged.

Khan, a member of the Labour Party, took office in May 2016. Much of last years mayoral race focused on Khans religion and family background, and his then-rival Zac Goldsmith accused him of having repeatedly legitimized those with extremist views.

What I think the election showed was that actually there is no clash of civilization between Islam and the West, Khan said in an interview with Time magazine. When asked about Islamist extremists, he said: What better antidote to the hatred they spew than someone like me being in this position?

Soon after Khan became mayor, then-candidate Trump told the New York Times that he would make an exception to his proposed ban on foreign Muslims for Khan  an offer he turned down.

I think Donald Trump has ignorant views about Islam. Its not just about me. I dont want to be the exception to be allowed to go to America, Khan said in an interview on a British morning show in May 2016. You can be a Muslim and you can be European.

Trump wasted little time firing back. He doesnt know me, never met me, doesnt know what I am all about, he said. I think they are very rude statements. Frankly, tell him I will remember those statements.

Abigail Hauslohner and Samantha Schmidt in Washington and Griff Witte in London contributed to this report.
Trump speaks during a meeting with House and Senate Leadership in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Tuesday. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

President Trumps effort to assemble a legal dream team to defend him in the special-counsel investigation has faltered, making it increasingly likely that his representation will be controlled by a famously combative attorney who worked for Trumps businesses, according to sources familiar with the process.

Marc Kasowitz, a New York lawyer who represented Trump for more than 15 years, was selected late last month by Trump to handle the investigation into whether Russia colluded with his 2016 presidential campaign. Kasowitz does not, however, have Washington experience in dealing with a special-counsel case, and White House officials had held discussions with a number of top Washington attorneys about joining what some officials had hoped would be a high-profile team effort.

That idea has been largely shelved because the attorneys have conflicts of interest or scheduling, prefer not to work for Trump, or have associations with Democrats that have made the White House uncomfortable. Kasowitz, meanwhile, is said to be leery of bringing in a lawyer who might want to be a co-counsel or take over the case.

Kasowitz doesnt want to surrender the case, said Jay Goldberg, who served as Trumps lawyer from 1990 to 2005, including during his two divorces. Goldberg said that he had urged the president to hire a high-powered Washington attorney but is satisfied with the choice of Kasowitz, whom he admires.

If you bring in another lawyer of high quality, Kasowitz may find himself as the second, and lawyers dont ever want to do that, he said.

A source familiar with the selection process, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was discussing consultations with White House officials, said that the Kasowitz firm and Trump rejected the idea of a dream team of super lawyers because it reminded them of the 1980s Yankees, which had a bunch of big names but they didnt play well together. You have to be careful. This is the case of a lifetime.

The 1980s Yankees never won the World Series.

The source said that Kasowitz probably still will bring on help from an experienced Washington lawyer, but probably not anyone on the list of oft-mentioned high-profile lawyers.

The Washington Post has previously reported that Trump was considering an array of lawyers including former solicitor general Theodore Olson; Brendan Sullivan, who represented Oliver North in the Iran-contra matter; Reid Weingarten, who has represented many clients in government investigations; and A. B. Culvahouse, former White House counsel to President Ronald Reagan. Sullivan and Weingarten did not return calls seeking comment. Olson declined to comment via email, and Culvahouse said in a brief telephone interview that he could not discuss a confidential matter.

That leaves the presidents legal strategy to be overseen by Kasowitz, who is known for his boastful nature, strong-arm tactics and loyalty to Trump. His website biography quotes a publication saying Kasowitz is one of the most prominent and feared lawyers in the United States. Kasowitz declined to comment.

It was Kasowitz who filed a lawsuit against Timothy OBrien, arguing that the author of TrumpNation: The Art of Being the Donald had libeled Trump by understating the businessmans wealth. Trump sought $5 billion in damages. Kasowitzs team taped an OBrien book talk, asking whether he wrote it because you dont like him. Trump lost the case in 2011. OBrien told The Post last year that Trump used Kasowitz because he always favored scrappy lawyers and street fighters.

It was also Kasowitz who conveyed Trumps threat during the presidential campaign to sue the New York Times for a story that said two women accused Trump of touching them inappropriately. Kasowitz said at the time it was nothing more than a politically motivated effort to defeat Mr. Trumps candidacy. No suit has been filed.

A lawyer familiar with Kasowitzs work for Trump said the selection has stunned many in the legal community.

Kasowitz is not in the club, said the lawyer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity and also is familiar with the decision by one of the Washington attorneys not to join the Trump legal team. He is not a white-collar lawyer. He is a bulldog civil litigator. It is a peculiar choice. You want someone who is going to navigate this and keep it contained, someone [Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III] is going to respect. You dont go in there with your hair on fire.

But the source familiar with the selection process said that Kasowitz has something no Washington lawyer can match: a long history with Trump.

The reason to hire to Marc is that he has this clients trust and respect, and the client listens to him as much as he listens to anyone, said the person familiar with the decision. A stranger in D.C. who says, This is the way we do it in D.C., he is not going to be a good fit.

A report by Yahoo News anonymously quoted lawyers at four firms saying that they rebuffed efforts to represent Trump partly due to concerns that Trump would not heed their advice.

A White House spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.
President Trump walks into the East Room on Monday to announce his plan to overhaul the air traffic control system. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

President Trump this week began rolling out what he bills as a massive plan to rebuild Americas highways, bridges, railways and airports  but Sen. Thomas R. Carper (Del.) is nowhere to be seen so far.

Back in January, as one of the Democratic point men on infrastructure, Carper politely asked the new transportation secretary, Elaine Chao, if they could discuss what had been one of Trumps top priorities from the 2016 presidential campaign.

It took several months for that to happen, Carper recalled Monday.

He praised Chao as someone I like a lot, blaming her chronically understaffed agency for being incapable of promptly scheduling the meeting. When she told him to speak to Gary Cohn, the presidents chief economic adviser, Carper got one phone call and then participated in an hour-long bipartisan meeting with Cohn a few weeks ago to discuss financing the plan.

Thats pretty much the extent of it. Its not the kind of fulsome outreach that one might have hoped for and expected, said Carper, the top Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee.

In a different political orbit, Trump may have marked what the White House is calling infrastructure week with a signing ceremony for his first major bipartisan victory: making good on his pledge to drive $1 trillion into rebuilding the nations roads, bridges, airports and waterways. Trump regularly won begrudging plaudits from Democrats who saw the plan as something that would energize the economy.

And regardless of the hesitancy of party leaders on Capitol Hill toward big spending, the idea resonated with Republican voters who backed Trump all across the industrial Midwest and handed him the presidency. Those voters heard bridge-building and highway construction, and they saw new jobs for their once-thriving manufacturing regions.

Trumps plan to tap private investors for infrastructure funds worries senators from rural states

Moreover, in 2015, before they took over leading their respective caucuses, Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) were already working on a plan  now shelved  to encourage U.S. corporations to bring home cash stockpiled overseas that could be taxed, with the funds going toward a new infrastructure plan.

In the first days of his presidency, even as anti-Trump activists demanded total resistance, liberal Democrats still craved an infrastructure plan and were willing to cut a deal. Let me put it this way, if they had been willing to do a real infrastructure package, then I would have been willing to participate, said Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), one of the more liberal members of Minority Leader Schumers caucus.

Instead, in coordination with Speaker Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Trump put the infrastructure plan at the back of the line behind the repeal of the 2010 Affordable Care Act and a complete overhaul of the tax code.

There was an intricate timeline under fast-track procedures for those first two major items, which were expected to pass quickly this year solely with Republican votes, and maybe later this year or early next year Congress would dive into a bipartisan infrastructure plan.

There was a sense of urgency surrounding Obamacare, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) said Monday, arguing that the health law was in a death spiral that had to be addressed. There was a lot of pressure to fix that right away.

But its not fixed. Its stuck inside various working groups that McConnell has marched into his office trying to find the right mix. As long as that health-care logjam remains, the move to the tax code rewrite cannot move forward.

That legislative pileup has left the infrastructure plan  arguably the one issue that Trump, who made billions of dollars building things, personally cares deeply about  in political limbo.

So, on Monday, the president began his infrastructure rollout with a proposal to privatize the nations air traffic controllers and upgrade the industrys technology, to be followed by other events in which he will propose a series of tax credits to set up more public-private partnerships to encourage more construction projects.

Trump promised $1 trillion for infrastructure, but the estimated need is $4.5 trillion

The push is for $200 billion in federal funding over 10 years, hoping that would spur another $800 billion in private funding for the projects.

Democrats have largely panned this approach as insufficient in federal support and naive in its hopes for private funding. At best, it might lengthen the timeline for projects that were already underway during the Obama administration, such as another tunnel across the Hudson River. At worst, Democrats contend, it will give away tax cuts to private corporations for projects that would have happened anyway.

This is literally the opposite of an infrastructure package, said Schatz, a member of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.

Some proposals lack key Republican support. On Monday, Thune, who chairs the commerce panel, and Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), a senior member of Thunes committee, reiterated their opposition to the air traffic controller proposal.

Thune acknowledged that Trumps free-market infrastructure package will probably need to be rewritten because opposition from deficit-hawk conservatives will force Republicans to land solid Democratic support.

Youd probably have to tweak a bill and the approach a little bit from what the administration is proposing, he said, calling this week a first installment of the plan. A more traditional, conventional approach to infrastructure, for part of it, I think you could probably get some Democrats.

But that assumes Democrats even want to help Trump by the time they get to a real infrastructure proposal. His tenure so far has been marked by a stalled legislative agenda, a special counsel investigating his 2016 campaign and constant fights on Twitter that have little to do with day-to-day life in the Capitol.

For now, some Democrats are still talking about their desire to rebuild highways and bridges. If Republicans want to go down that path, someone better call Tom Carper.

They just dont have the people, particularly the people who have the ability to reach out to Congress, to develop relationships, Carper said.

Read more from Paul Kanes archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
Senate Republican leaders on Tuesday unveiled a series of policy options to overhaul the nations health-care laws, but substantial disagreements remained even as leaders aimed to conclude their perilous and divisive effort as soon as later this month.

During a closed-door luncheon for all Republican senators, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) delivered a slide presentation offering choices on how to structure Medicaid, tax credits to help people pay for insurance, and ways to stabilize the insurance marketplace and bring down the cost of premiums, according to Republicans familiar with the closely-guarded session.

Some of the proposals in the presentation, which was the most specific health-care discussion yet among the 52-member Senate GOP Conference, would amount to a less aggressive assault on the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, than a bill that passed the House last month.

For example, McConnell favored dropping a House provision that would end guaranteed protections for people with preexisting medical conditions, according to three Republicans familiar with the meeting. The House bill would allow states to seek waivers to opt out of a regulation requiring that such people may not be charged more for coverage. McConnell proposed the possibility of keeping waivers that pertain to other key regulations.

But it was unclear whether a lighter touch would satisfy the many Republican senators worried about shredding too much of the law  and whether a handful of influential conservatives would revolt.

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill on May 17 in Washington. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

You know, the big print giveth, the small print taketh away. Im looking for the small print at this point, said a cautious Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) as he exited the lunch. Heller is up for reelection in a purple state that expanded Medicaid under the ACA.

Republicans are trying to make major strides on health care on the eve of former FBI director James B. Comeys public testimony on Thursday before the Senate Intelligence Committee. Coupled with talks that have not yet sparked sufficient support for a health-care bill, the looming Comey drama has prompted several lawmakers to wonder if their plans to move forward in the coming weeks could also be thwarted by Trumps lack of focus on the legislation because of the controversy swirling around the FBI and congressional investigations into potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), a hard-line conservative from a ruby red state, was optimistic about the progress Tuesday but stopped short of endorsing any of the options presented in the meeting. Failure is not an option, he warned afterward.

Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) predicted before Tuesdays lunch that Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) would vote against the bill and leave Republicans with only one more no vote to spare. Paul spokesman Sergio Gor responded afterward that Graham should not be speaking for his boss, who remains optimistic the bill can be improved.

McConnells presentation was described by attendees as a walk-through of major goals and options and how to achieve them. Medicaid was one focal point.

Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said leaders proposed gradually reducing federal payments to states that accepted Medicaid expansion under the ACA. That would give recipients more time to ease out of the program and into purchasing coverage on their own or through an employer rather than under the House bill.

We talked about ways to have a smoother glide path, rather than an abrupt cutoff, said Barrasso. There have been worries among GOP senators from Medicaid expansion states that the House bills rollbacks to Medicaid would be too abrupt and severe. This Senate proposal would extend the timeline beyond 2020.

Tax credits are another topic on which leaders are hoping to build consensus. Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) has been looking at ways to adjust the tax credits in the House bill to offer more assistance to elderly and lower-income Americans.

Separately, the Senate parliamentarian decided Tuesday that the House legislation fits into a Senate budget rule that would allow the health-care bill to pass with a simple majority rather than having to clear a 60-vote threshold needed for most other legislation. That ruling is the first of several complicated procedural steps that must happen before the Senate can vote on a final bill.

Democrats will now have the chance to challenge whether individual elements of the House bill, including waivers to allow insurers to drop protections included in the ACA, like mandatory coverage of prenatal and maternity care, can stay in the Senate bill.

McConnell said after the meeting that Republicans are close to having a proposal to whip and take to the floor. His top deputies have signaled this week that they are eyeing a vote by the end of July on a bill to be completed by early that month, with some aspiring to wrap up even sooner. Their comments reflect a growing desire to bring a difficult debate to a close one way or the other.

Obviously, were going to have a vote one way or the other, but if we dont pass something and we go into 18, you know, its on us to try and get this fixed, said Thune on Monday. Asked Tuesday whether he would hold a vote without having the 50 votes necessary to pass it, McConnell would not say.

Tuesdays talks came after weeks of discussion in small and large groups of Republican senators. Some, though, were skeptical Tuesday about the partisan approach leadership opted to take.

As a growing number of senators have publicly doubted a health-care bill can pass, some Senate Republican aides and associates are already privately discussing how the GOP would craft its midterm campaign message if it fails to pass a health-care bill, suggesting they could tell voters they need to build a bigger majority to finally undo the ACA.

Quietly, people are preparing for a lot of possible outcomes and how to deal with them, said one Republican in frequent communication with GOP senators and staff, who like other aides and allies interviewed for this story were granted anonymity to speak candidly.

The differing ideas on health-care reflect not only contrasts in policy but sensitivities to opposite ends of the political spectrum, with some concerned about an electoral backlash from centrist or left-leaning voters who oppose major changes to Obamacare and others worried that a less aggressive assault on the ACA will leave right-leaning opponents of the law dispirited.

Some Republicans want to move on so that Congress can focus on pressing deadlines in the late summer and early autumn, including a vote to increase the federal borrowing limit that could come as early as mid-July. Republicans have also suggested that they want to begin negotiations with Democrats on a long-term spending bill before Sept. 30, when the fiscal year ends, and take up tax reform, another sweeping GOP legislative goal.

Much of the serious policy work has been conducted behind the scenes by a small group of health-policy staffers, with members of McConnells inner circle leading the political strategy, according to top GOP aides familiar with the negotiations. Experts have been working to craft a number of policy options that lawmakers can mix and match to create a final policy outline.

Complicating matters, leaders must also jump through a series of other procedural hoops, like waiting for an official cost estimate before the health-care bill can come up for a vote. That process typically takes around two weeks, meaning leaders would need to have a final bill in hand soon to get it scored and hold a vote by the end of next month.

Senate budget rules allow GOP leaders to scrap nearly every element of the health legislation that passed the House. The only requirement is that the Senate measure must save $133 billion over the current law, the same amount saved in the House bill.

Vice President Pence, who could break a 50-5o tied vote on health care should he need to, attended Tuesdays regularly scheduled policy luncheon, as he often does. But even as Pence represented President Trump at the crucial gathering, some Republicans have doubted the presidents focus on the debate  which is another complicating factor on top of the many others.

Judging from his tweets, I would say that he has partly moved away from the health-care debate, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said in an interview. He seems more focused on terrorism, his dispute with the mayor of London, his recent foreign trip and his infrastructure package.

Ed OKeefe, Robert Costa, Paul Kane and David Weigel contributed to this report.
As officials from around the world gathered in Kabul for a peace conference, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said that far more people were killed in last weeks massive truck bomb explosion than initially reported  more than 150, making it the deadliest attack in the capital in years.

Ghani said Tuesday that his country is under siege from the Taliban and the Islamic State but is also enmeshed in an undeclared war with neighboring Pakistan. He urged the international community to make good on its promise to end state-sponsored terrorism.

It is time to get serious . . . because our region is under threat, Ghani said.

[Anger and sorrow grip Kabul after devastating bombing in diplomatic zone ]

As if to underscore the fragile security in Kabul, a rocket landed less than a mile from the presidential palace, where the talks were taking place. It hit outside a diplomats home not far from the NATO headquarters and the U.S. Embassy, but no casualties were reported.

Also, at least nine people were killed and 15 wounded when a bomb attached to a motorcycle went off outside the entrance of the renowned Great Mosque in the western city of Herat, according to a government spokesman. The Taliban denied responsibility.

Ghani warned the Taliban  which is steadily gaining ground and controls 40 percent of Afghanistan, according to U.S. estimates  that his government wants talks but that the olive branch will not be offered indefinitely.

We want to talk with the Taliban, but it is not an open-ended opportunity, Ghani said. If the Taliban wants to join peace talks, the Afghan government will allow them to open an office, but this is their last chance.

Peace talks with the insurgent group have faltered, and the Taliban said Tuesday that it will negotiate directly with the government only after foreign troops leave Afghanistan. But instead of drawing down, the United States is weighing a request to increase the number of U.S. troops in the country by up to 5,000, in addition to the 8,500 already deployed in advisory and support roles.

As for the Islamic State threat, Ghani put the number of foreign fighters flowing to Afghanistan to join the Islamist militant group at 11,000, far higher than the 1,200 to 1,500 previously estimated by the countrys intelligence services.

Ghani said Pakistan was waging an undeclared war against Afghanistan. His government has claimed that the suicide bombers who attacked a funeral attended by high-level government officials Saturday were financed and trained in Pakistan, charges that Pakistan has denied. Twenty people died in that attack.

Experts say that the peace conference is largely symbolic and that nothing will be decided until there is a better understanding of the Trump administrations evolving policy in the region.

What we have seen is a fragmentation of regional and international consensus on Afghanistan, mainly created by the absence of U.S. leadership and direction. One hopes this meeting today in Kabul provides more clarity from Washington, said Davood Moradian, director of the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies in Kabul. The region is not sure now whether the United States is part of the problem or part of the solution. And the Afghan government is increasingly seen as part of the problem, with its internal divisions.

The U.S. Embassy said in a statement that the recent attacks underscore the need for all those who support peace to reassert their commitment to fight terrorism in all its forms.

Security remained heightened around Kabuls diplomatic zone, the site of last weeks deadly truck bombing, and roads were blocked off. Anti-government demonstrators hunkered down on a street not far from the palace, chanting slogans such as Death to Ghani and Death to America through a megaphone. Six protesters were killed Friday in clashes with security forces.

It is really difficult to be optimistic for peace with the Taliban and other armed oppositions when Kabul has witnessed such a tragedy, said Sayed Hamed Daqiq, a former government official who is now a political analyst. With the current government leadership, it is nothing more than a dream.

Sharif Walid contributed to this report.

Read more

The West is indifferent to Afghanistan and Iraqs world of terror

Respected Kabul trauma center threatens to shut doors because of violence

A look at deadly Afghan insurgent attacks in recent years

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
As soon as the evening call to prayer sounded over Kozhikode, a line formed along the esplanade. Volunteers started heaping food onto plates, cautious to keep the beef-to-rice ratio low, making sure there was enough to go around.

One man took out his smartphone to film the action; videos of beef-eating have been doing well on Facebook recently. News cameras from local stations zoomed in on the slogans plastered on a nearby screen that read: Our food our choice.

In this sleepy, palm-fringed city in southern India, eating beef has become a political act. On May 23, the Indian government introduced new anti-animal-cruelty rules, restricting the sale of cattle in markets. The move was widely interpreted as an attempt to close in on the countrys thriving beef industry, in line with right-wing Hindu ideology, according to which the cow is considered holy.

Some think the new rules are too draconian. For the past week here in the southern state of Kerala, people have gathered with pots and pans and firewood to cook beef and share it with strangers in the streets, a convivial form of protest. Many Hindus, who usually avoid cooking or eating beef, have joined the feasts.

At stake is the countrys $4.3 billion beef industry, which provides 23 percent of the worlds beef exports. Since the governments new rules were introduced, global beef prices have shot up, and major brands such as Prada and Armani, which source leather from India, are concerned about the stability of their supply chains.

Small-time beef and leather traders will bear the brunt in India. Most of them are Muslims and lowest-caste Dalits  the people once called untouchables  since Hindus historically considered these jobs unclean. According to Jayakumari Devika, associate professor and historian at the Center for Development Studies in Kerala, the rules will allow large supermarket chains to control supply.

Beef will become scarce, she said, at least for the time being.

But for many in Kerala, the rules are more than an economic blunder. To them, they epitomize the arrogance of Hindu politicians in faraway New Delhi.

For you in the north, beef may be food, said Muhais Mohammed, one of those at a protest feast on Kozhikodes beach. For us, it is a deep-seated emotion.

Since the election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, cow ambulances, cow hostels and even a system of ID cards for tracking cows have been introduced in veneration of the sacred animal. This bovine obsession hints at a bigger lurch toward the right in the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Protecting the gau mata  the cow mother  has long been on the agendas of Hindu supremacist groups such as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, which has close links to the BJP and its ruling elite. In Hindu tradition, eating beef is considered unscrupulous, to be left to the morally inferior.

Many say that the Modi governments anti-beef rhetoric has gone too far. Some argue it is emboldening bands of cow protectors, known to maul and even kill people suspected of carrying beef. In 2015, a mob dragged a man named Mohammad Akhlaq out of bed and beat him to death because they suspected he had slaughtered a calf. In recent months, a man was harassed because he was suspected of carrying a bag made of cowhide. In another case, a dairy farmer transporting cattle from a market to his village was killed.

For Keralans, the Hinduism of the north is unrecognizable. Hindus here coexist peacefully with sizable Muslim and Christian minorities. They consider themselves ethnically and culturally different from those in the north. Beef is a staple of the local cuisine and culture. Even the state BJP here breaks with its northern allies on the issue; the state party promised better-quality beef in a recent election campaign.

Public education in Kerala plays a big role in creating harmony, said Biju Lal, a legal clerk and a Hindu who joined Muslims on the beach. Keralas ruling Communist Party has championed state education for decades, and government schools are attended by children from all social strata, encouraging communal mixing from an early age.

There are historical reasons, too, Lal added. Partition probably left a bigger mark in the north, referring to the separation of India and Pakistan in 1947 and the subsequent sectarian violence between Hindus and Muslims.

Since the ban, the hashtag #dravidanadu has trended on Twitter, calling for south India to break off from the north. In the neighboring state of Tamil Nadu, students at the elite Indian Institute of Technology Madras wore black and ate meat in front of news cameras.

At one beef party, an ox was slaughtered, and the video was shared online. Right-wing parties retaliated, throwing milk parties of their own and carrying out vigilante attacks against protesters.

On Kozhikodes beach, the feast lasted less than an hour, long enough to scrape a large pot of curry bare.

Danish Subair was traveling with his cousin through the city when he came across the celebration. We also brought beef with us in our bag, he said. Everyone in Kerala is eating beef now. I have a friend who is a big BJP supporter. Even he posted on Facebook yesterday about how much he loves beef.

Taking cues from the south, states in eastern India are crying foul, too. In West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, a fierce critic of Modi, said that the governments passage of the rules using anti-animal-cruelty laws was underhanded and amounted to federal interference in state decisions. In Arunachal Pradesh, where the vast majority of people eat beef, Padi Richo, leader of the opposition Congress party, said the move was dictatorial. Even China doesnt do that, he said.

Modi, a strict vegetarian, spoke often about cow protection during his election campaign in 2014. One of his slogans was Vote Modi, give life to the cow.

In office, Modi has attempted to distance himself from the partys far right and position himself as a modern, business-friendly statesman who can open India up to the world. In 2016, he condemned overzealous cow protectors as anti-social elements.

But spurred by a recent electoral triumph in state elections, the BJP has become increasingly nationalistic.

In Uttar Pradesh, a hard-line Hindu cleric named Yogi Adityanath was appointed as chief minister and immediately launched a crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses, strangling the states booming beef industry.

He also initiated anti-Romeo squads to crack down on Western-style public displays of affection.

Arun Jaitley, the national minister of finance, suggested the beef protests were an overreaction to the governments rules. He said state laws would remain in effect.

The BJP, already weak in the south, is showing signs that it is alarmed by Keralas reaction. Party President Amit Shah swooped in over the weekend to do damage control, meeting with church leaders and party loyalists.

But for some, the governments efforts to restrict access to beef are a sign of darker things to come. Referring to the largest ethnic group in Kerala, Devika said, Beef has been a part of Malayali culture for many centuries. If there was a move to deny something very normal to you, wouldnt you protest?

Read more:

Why do Indian politicians want to ban beef?

On the road with Indias cow vigilantes

The rising tide of Hindu nationalism in Modis India

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
She is a steely, tight-lipped daughter of a vicar who said on British television this week that the naughtiest thing she has ever done is run through fields of wheat. He is a thrice-married real estate mogul who busted the rules of American political decorum.

A match made in heaven it is not.

However, Theresa May, the Conservative prime minister, and Donald Trump, the Republican president, have been thrust together on the world stage. It is not a partnership that charms British voters, even as they recognize the importance of their countrys association with the colony-turned-superpower that helped bring peace to Europe after 1945.

The difficulty is that this superpower is now led by a president viewed by 64 percent of British adults as a threat to international stability, according to a Guardian poll. This suggests that not even domestic politics, separated from Trump by a vast ocean, can escape the shrapnel of his chaotic presidency.

Voters go to the ballot box Thursday to decide whether to strengthen Mays majority, mere days after a terrorist attack in the capital raised fresh questions about the Conservatives record  and her willingness to distance herself from the American president. Trump used the attack to stoke fear and reopen a quarrel with the Muslim mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.

British Prime Minister Theresa May held hands with President Trump at the White House in January. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

[Authorities identify third London Bridge attacker]

The Tory leaders polling dominance has slipped in recent days, and while her ties to Trump are unlikely to dictate how people vote, they could compound other doubts about her leadership and credibility, political scientists and pollsters said. Numbers have been volatile going into the campaigns final days, with one poll giving May only a one-point lead. Others still show a more yawning gap between May and her principal opponent, Labours Jeremy Corbyn.

In focus groups over the past six weeks, swing voters have raised the issue of Mays cozying up to Trump without being asked, said James Morris, a British pollster who used to work for the Labour Party. What disturbs them most is not his ideology or policies but his reputation as a dangerous joke, Morris said, and the sense that May is aligned with someone who looks flaky and useless. As her counterparts in Germany and France distance themselves from Trump, the unmistakable impression is that the British premier is his closest Western European partner.

[British voters head to polls in a political landscape jolted by terrorism]

Corbyn, as well as the Liberal Democrats Tim Farron, seized on Trumps response to the attack to undermine May, with Farron accusing her of cultivating a supine relationship with the American president. Khan, meanwhile, joined calls for Trumps state visit later this year to be canceled.

Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, told the BBC the invitation to Trump would not be withdrawn, and the Conservatives otherwise did not respond Tuesday to a request for comment.

The vexed position in which Trump puts May with the British public also speaks to challenges that will outlast the election as Britain remakes its ties to Europe in a moment of uncertainty for transatlantic relations.

Life, when it comes to international relations, is not always a bed of roses, said Christopher Meyer, a former ambassador to the United States. The political-personal relationships between American presidents and British prime ministers have been marked more by their volatility than their stability. When I look at Donald Trump, for all of his excesses, it does fit into a pattern where there has been quite severe oscillation between London and Washington since 1945.

A chasm divides the two leaders personally. Politically, however, May and Trump are tightly bound. They were both elevated by forces of populism roiling their countries last year. Now, May has been tasked with shepherding Britain out of the European Union, a split Trump championed from across the Atlantic. May clambered to Washington after his inauguration, becoming the first foreign leader to visit Trumps White House  and, famously, held his hand as they walked along the colonnade. Hours after she left, the White House issued its executive order barring citizens from seven majority-Muslim countries from entry, and May drew criticism for equivocating about the American directive.

[In Twitter barrage, Trump ramps up push for TRAVEL BAN! ]

And when Trump yanked the United States from the Paris climate accord last week, inviting global outrage, she declined to sign onto a joint statement from the leaders of France, Germany and Italy affirming that the deal could not be renegotiated. She told him privately of her disappointment, her office said in a statement.

The dilemma became acute for May this week as Trump lashed out at Khan after the latest mass-casualty attack in Britain, the third in as many months. Asked by reporters about the spat, May expressed support for the mayor but seemed unwilling to counter Trump, ignoring questions about the presidents statements before offering, I think Sadiq Khan is doing a good job, and its wrong to say anything else.

Shes stuck between a Trump rock and an E.U. hard place, said Tim Oliver, an expert on British foreign policy at the London School of Economics with previous stints in the European Parliament and the House of Lords. Theres no one single relationship she can seek to maintain with the rest of the E.U., but she can do this with the U.S.A. in the hope of maintaining some form of close relationship with a government that remains crucial to the U.K.s place in the world and European security.

[Trumps tangle with Europe leads the continent to find partners elsewhere]

Anne Deighton, a historian and international-relations theorist at the University of Oxford, said May badly misjudged the importance of bilateral relations with the United States and, in rushing to join hands with Trump, failed to take time to assess first how things might go under his premiership.

She noted, too, that she was appalled by the video of the two leaders holding hands.

It makes me squirm as a citizen, a woman and a Brit, she said.

Not all citizens feel that way.

Andrew Davis, who runs a hotel in London, said he sees tactical advantages in the relationship May has cultivated with Trump.

You need cooperation between countries, said Davis, 53, who said he might vote for the U.K. Independence Party, a far-right movement that championed Britains exit from the European bloc, simply because he is so dissatisfied with the major parties. He cheered Trumps victory last year because it flummoxed the party establishment, but he acknowledged, He talks a lot, doesnt he?

Isobel Foster, a student at Queen Mary University of London, said Mays position as Trumps most loyal Western European partner adds to her distrust of the Conservative leader, but its not the central reason she will oppose her this week. She is more concerned, she said, about preserving funding for social care.

Read more

A new political opposition in France  people who dont vote

Marine Le Pen falls short in far-right bid for the presidency of France

A sigh of relief for an immigrant family as a populist insurgency is held back in the Netherlands

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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Syrian pro-government forces set up a road checkpoint next to a mural reading Islamic State in Arabic after they took control of the northern Syrian town of Maskanah on Monday. (George Ourfalian/AFP via Getty Images)

U.S.-backed forces have begun the long and difficult battle to capture the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, the Islamic States de facto capital, the U.S.-led coalition fighting the extremist group said Tuesday.

Kurdish-led militants began laying the groundwork for the offensive in November, edging through the surrounding province and cutting supply lines into the city. But a showdown for the city itself will prove a major test for the coalition, with the potential for high civilian casualties.

The fight for Raqqa will be long and difficult, Lt. Gen. Steve Townsend, the coalitions commanding general, said in a statement. In northeastern Syria, the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a group dominated by Syrian Kurdish militants, announced that a great battle had begun.

[On the road to Raqqa]

Islamic State militants seized Raqqa in January 2014, transforming it into the hub from which the groups leadership planned expansion throughout the region and attacks around the world.

Three and a half years later, the city has diminished in importance as the group has lost two-thirds of its self-declared caliphate across Syria and Iraq. Western diplomats and experts monitoring the group say the Islamic State has relocated foot soldiers and senior leaders to the eastern province of Deir al-Zour, where an even tougher fight against the militants can be expected.

But U.S. officials estimate that at least 3,000 Islamic State fighters are still holed up inside Raqqa, where they have erected defenses against the anticipated assault.

Among them are as many as 200,000 civilians, who aid groups fear may be used as human shields, a tactic employed by the Islamic State in its strongholds across Syria and Iraq as coalition forces closed in.

Conditions inside the city are understood to be dire. According to a recent assessment by the Syria Relief Network, a coalition of nongovernmental organizations, two-thirds of the population is living on two meals a day amid dwindling supplies of essentials because of the siege.

SDF forces reached the northern and eastern gates to Raqqa last week after intense clashes under the cover of U.S.-led airstrikes.

Talal Sillo, a spokesman for the SDF, said Tuesday that the great battle is underway. Morale is high and military readiness to implement the military plan is complete, in coordination with the U.S.-led coalition, he told reporters in northeast Syria, flanked by representatives of Kurdish male and female fighting units, as well as Syrian rebel groups and Arab tribesmen.

Washingtons decision to back a Kurdish-led force has soured relations with Turkey, a NATO ally, which is battling Kurdish militants within its own borders. In Ankara, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Tuesday that the army is not ruling out military force if the battle for Raqqa is seen as a threat to Turkey.

[In blow to U.S.-Turkey ties, Trump administration approves plan to arm Syrian Kurds against Islamic State]

The U.S.-led coalition emphasized the SDFs multi-ethnic composition in its statement Tuesday. But Arab fighters within the SDF have long maintained that they are the junior partner in a force dominated by battle-hardened Kurdish fighters.

Sometimes we feel like we are decorations. None of the Arab forces have any real power in this battle, one man said in a recent interview, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said Tuesday that the SDF has captured some buildings in the Mishlab area and that Islamic State fighters have withdrawn from parts of the district. A second attack was reported against a former Syrian army base on the northern outskirts of Raqqa that is controlled by the Islamic State.

[Panic spreads in Iraq, Syria as record numbers of civilians are reported killed in U.S. strikes]

Its hard to convince new recruits that ISIS is a winning cause when they just lost their twin capitals in both Iraq and Syria, Townsend said in the coalition statement, using an acronym for the Islamic State.

Islamic State fighters are also under pressure across the border in Iraq, where U.S.-backed forces are locked in a grinding battle to retake the last neighborhoods held by the extremist group in the sprawling city of Mosul.

The groups defeats across the two countries are believed to have strained its finances, which were heavily dependent on the ability to tax and extort populations under its control.

As Islamic State forces dig deep across their remaining territory, civilians have increasingly been caught in the crossfire, killed by the militants bombings and land mines as well as by coalition airstrikes and SDF shelling.

The International Rescue Committee said Tuesday that it was deeply concerned for Raqqas civilians and warned that they risked facing the full brunt of the assault to come.

Separately on Tuesday, the Pentagon said it had launched a second airstrike in a month against pro-government forces that it said threatened U.S. and allied troops based in southern Syria.

Despite previous warnings, pro-regime forces entered the agreed-upon de-confliction zone with a tank, artillery, anti-aircraft weapons, armed technical vehicles and more than 60 soldiers, the coalition said in a statement. It was not clear how many pro-government troops had been killed.

Read more:

U.S. military aid is fueling big ambitions for Syrias leftist Kurdish militia

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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Then-FBI Director James B. Comey testifies on May 3 on Capitol Hill. He is set to testify again Thursday. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)

When James B. Comey sits down before a microphone Thursday in his first public appearance since he was fired as director of the FBI, a key question he is likely to face is whether he believes President Trump tried to obstruct an ongoing federal probe of his associates.

Even before Comey has uttered a word, some predict the hearing will be historic  a moment in which a former senior official has a nationally televised platform to repudiate a president who has lashed out at the federal government he leads.

[5 things to expect when ex-FBI director James Comey testifies on Russia]

Comey has made a career of providing bombshell testimony to Congress, said Tracy Schmaler, a former Senate Judiciary Committee staffer who attended a 2007 hearing in which Comey captivated the capital with an account of apparent White House interference with Justice Department decision-making. In that respect, Thursday will be what everyones expecting  the most anticipated hearing so far in the Trump administration.

The president may also be watching. Though he has scheduled a midday public appearance, Trump may live-tweet his reactions if he feels prompted to respond to Comeys testimony, according to two White House officials who were not authorized to speak publicly.

(Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

White House staffers have signaled they will try to portray Comey as an unreliable witness. The last time he testified under oath, the FBI had to scurry to correct the testimony, adviser Kellyanne Conway said earlier this week. That was a reference to Comeys May 3 congressional testimony, in which the then-FBI director, as he was describing the bureaus probe of Hillary Clintons emails, misstated the number and type of emails forwarded by a Clinton aide.

After the president abruptly fired Comey last month, associates of the former FBI director revealed the president had repeatedly pressed him about the investigation of possible contacts between his associates and Russian operatives. They said Comey felt the conversations with the president often veered into improper areas, and the FBI director took pains to prepare for the talks with Trump and to make detailed written records after each one.

[Comey made detailed notes after meeting with Trump]

In a January dinner meeting, the president asked Comey to pledge loyalty to him but the director demurred, according to these associates, former colleagues of Comey. The next month, Trump asked Comey to drop the investigation of Trumps former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, and again the director demurred, according to associates.

The day after Trump made that request, Comey confronted Attorney General Jeff Sessions and told him he did not want be left alone again with the president, according to a Comey associate, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a confidential discussion. He said he felt that private interactions between the president and the FBI director were inappropriate, though he did not tell Sessions that Trump had asked him to end the Flynn probe, according to the associate. The exchange with Sessions was first reported by the New York Times.

In Thursdays testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Comey is expected to describe those conversations in detail, although he will be careful not to discuss classified information, which is likely to prevent him from providing new details about the Russia probe, associates said.

Comey also will try to steer clear of saying anything that could compromise or constrain the work of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, now heading up the investigation, such as offering legal or prosecutorial judgments, these people said.

One Comey associate said lawmakers should expect a vivid picture of his private interactions with the president.

In 2007, Comey offered riveting testimony to a Senate panel about a confrontation he had at a hospital with senior White House aides over a classified surveillance program. His dramatic telling of that story helped lead to the resignation of President George W. Bushs attorney general, Alberto Gonzales.

The showdown did much to cement his reputation as a law enforcement official willing to stand up to his political bosses when he thought they were wrong. Comeys testimony then was riveting, Schmaler said  a rare moment when lawmakers essentially stopped talking and just let a witness speak for 20 minutes straight. As important as that hearing was, the stakes  and the buildup  to Thursdays appearance are even bigger.

[Comeys 2007 dramatic showdown with White House, detailed]

Now were actually going to know what Comeys views, thoughts and reactions were when the president asked him those questions, Schmaler said. I will be curious to see whether and how he tries to lay a foundation for possible obstruction of justice.

Analysts who have studied Comeys career expect he will tell the tale in a way that draws clear moral lines through what might otherwise be murky legal matters. James Comey has the quiet confidence and a track record of knowing how to dominate, how to direct the story, said Karen Greenberg, the director of the Center on National Security at Fordham University.

He trusts his conscience, and hes not afraid to stand up to people who he thinks are wrong, she said. Its where he sees morality intersect with the law.

In this case, she said, his answers could help the public understand that attempts to interfere with the justice system are wrong.

This is a moment in history to say that the attack on the justice system stops here, she said.

Senior senators, meanwhile, have begun to preview their lines of questioning for Thursdays hearing.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) told CBS that her questions would focus on Trumps assertion that Comey had assured him three times that he was not under investigation. That phrase raises a lot of questions in my mind, she said. Does Mr. Comey agree that that was what was said?

Democrats are expected to press Comey about conversations not just with the president but also with other senior administration officials, such as Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein.

Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), the committees top Democrat, will ask Comey for details of his conversations with Trump and whether anything improper occurred, a Senate aide said.

A day before Comeys testimony, Rosenstein will face his own grilling, in his first public testimony since he penned a controversial memo that laid out a public case for firing Comey.

Democrats on Wednesday also will seek to have Rosenstein lay out publicly what he has told senators in private  that he knew Trump was going to fire Comey before he wrote his memo, essentially an admission that he knew his memo was going to be used in the effort.

Also scheduled to appear Wednesday are National Security Agency Director Michael S. Rogers and Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats. The Washington Post reported that Trump asked both men, in separate conversations, to publicly state that there was no evidence of collusion between Trump associates and Russian officials. Both men considered the request inappropriate and declined to do so.

Committee Democrats will also want to press Rogers and Coats on that report, Senate aides said.

Robert Costa contributed to this report.

Read more:

Trump said he was thinking of Russia controversy when he decided to fire Comey

Comey associates dispute Trumps account of conversations

Legal analysts: Trump might have obstructed justice, if Comeys allegation is true
The Drug Enforcement Administration has long warned potential users of the dangers of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid that often contributes to overdoses and is sometimes laced in heroin or cocaine.

Now it is worried about the substances effect on a different group  the police officers and firefighters who might touch or inhale it incidentally while on the job.

The DEA on Tuesday released a video targeted at emergency responders who might come into contact with fentanyl, warning them to take care if they see any sort of powdery white substance.

Assume the worst, acting DEA administrator Chuck Rosenberg says in the video. Dont touch this stuff or the wrappings that it comes in without the proper personal protective equipment.

[Video: 5 things to know about fentanyl]

(Amber Ferguson/The Washington Post)

The video features two New Jersey officers who were sickened merely by handling the drug. Officials at a news conference at DEA headquarters on Tuesday referenced an ever grimmer case of an Ohio officer who passed out about an hour after merely brushing the substance off his shirt with his bare hand. That officer had to be revived with four doses of naloxone, a drug that blocks the effects of opioids and that officers use to try to treat an overdose.

As they released the video, DEA and Justice Department officials said they were alarmed by the recent influx of fentanyl and of drug overdoses generally. In 2015, Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein said, more than 52,000 people in the United States died of drug overdoses  33,000 from heroin, fentanyl and other opioid drugs. He said preliminary numbers for 2016 showed an increase to almost 60,000 deaths.

Some people say we should be more permissive, more tolerant, more understanding about drug abuse, Rosenstein said. I say we should be more honest and we should be forthcoming with the American people about the clear and present danger that we now face.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has taken a hard-line stance toward drug use. Last month, he directed his federal prosecutors to pursue the most severe penalties possible, even when those include mandatory minimum sentences. That directive reversed the previous administrations charging policy and signaled a return to the war on drugs.

Civil rights groups, lawmakers  including some Republicans  and even the conservative Koch brothers issued condemnations of the policy, though the National Association of Assistant United States Attorneys, which represents federal prosecutors, embraced it.

Rosenberg, a former U.S. attorney who was appointed to his current job during the Obama administration, said he routinely charged the most serious readily provable offense, as Sessions had directed, during his days as a prosecutor.

And so I think that makes sense, Rosenberg said. We have to be thoughtful. We have to be judicious. Hes not asking us to do anything but that.
The Trump administration warned Tuesday that the United States could pull out of the U.N. Human Rights Council unless the body ends what Washington calls the whitewashing of dictators abuses and unfair attacks on Israel.

President Trumps U.N. ambassador, Nikki Haley, delivered the ultimatum in an unusual address in Geneva to the 47-member body.

The United States is looking very carefully at this council and our participation in it. We see some areas for significant strengthening, Haley told council members.

Being a member of this council is a privilege, and no country who is a human rights violator should be allowed a seat at the table.

The United States accuses the council of shielding the repressive regimes it should be condemning, allowing such regimes to join the body and then use it to thwart scrutiny. It is the same criticism that led former president George W. Bush to shun the council in 2006, a decision that President Barack Obama reversed in his first year in office.

President Trumps U.N. ambassador, Nikki Haley, delivered the ultimatum in an unusual address in Geneva. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images)

Haley pointed to what she said are egregious human rights violations in Venezuela, a council member, and said if the country cannot change then it should step down from the council.

Haley outlined proposals for change in a separate address later Tuesday, delivered away from the council headquarters. She again accused Venezuela of masking starvation and repression at home with membership in the human rights body and added others to the list of those she said misuse positions on the council.

Countries like Venezuela, Cuba, China, Burundi and Saudi Arabia occupy positions that obligate them to, in the words of the resolution that created the Human Rights Council, uphold the highest standards of human rights, Haley said in remarks at the Graduate Institute Geneva.

They clearly do not uphold those highest standards.

She did not mention U.S. ally Egypt, a council member accused of arbitrary detention, torture and other abuses.

When the council fails to act properly  when it fails to act at all  it undermines its own credibility and the cause of human rights, Haley said.

It leaves the most vulnerable to suffer and die. It fuels the cynical belief that countries cannot put aside self-interest and cooperate on behalf of human dignity. It reinforces our growing suspicion that the Human Rights Council is not a good investment of our time, money and national prestige.

The council risks becoming as discredited as its predecessor, the Human Rights Commission, Haley said.

That 60-year-old body was disbanded in 2006 as irredeemably tainted by its protection of abusers, and the Human Rights Council was formed as a fresh start.

America does not seek to leave the Human Rights Council. We seek to reestablish the councils legitimacy, Haley said.

Jamil Dakwar, director of the American Civil Liberties Unions Human Rights Program, attended the council session.

Its hard to take Ambassador Haley seriously on U.S. support for human rights in light of Trump administration actions like the Muslim ban and immigration crackdowns, he said in a statement. Regardless of the party in power, the U.S. needs to lead by example and practice what it preaches on human rights.

The United States is demanding changes to the way members of the council are chosen. Countries should have to compete for membership, thus making it much harder for human rights abusers to slip through, Haley argued.

The council must also stop singling out Israel for criticism, Haley said.

The former South Carolina governor, frequently mentioned as a future Republican presidential candidate, has focused heavily on what she calls mistreatment of Israel at the United Nations. The effort has endeared her to Israeli leaders and to conservative U.S. pro-Israel organizations. Haley will travel to Israel later this week.

Its hard to accept that this council has never considered a resolution on Venezuela, and yet it adopted five biased resolutions in March against a single country, Israel, Haley said in her remarks before the council. It is essential that this council address its chronic anti-Israel bias if it is to have any credibility.

The council should immediately address worsening human rights conditions in Syria, Congo, Eritrea and Ukraine, Haley told the body.

Before she spoke, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad al-Hussein had criticized Israel for the 50-year occupation of land the Palestinians claim for a future state. He invoked the Holocaust while saying that Israels actions now are not comparable.

The Holocaust was so monstrous and so mathematically planned and executed it has no parallel, no modern equal, Zeid said. Yet it is also undeniable that today, the Palestinian people mark a half-century of deep suffering under an occupation imposed by military force.

In June 1967, Israel captured the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights in fighting with Egypt, Syria and Jordan.

In response, Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon criticized Zeid, a veteran Jordanian diplomat, and said Israel is looking forward to working with the U.S. to enact real reforms and put an end to this most absurd chapter in the history of the U.N.

The connection between the commissioner and human rights has proven to be purely coincidental and it comes as no surprise that he chose to spread lies about Israel before he even mentioned the massacres in Syria, Danon wrote in a statement issued in New York.

Haley is the first U.S. United Nations ambassador to address the council, and her address is part of a Trump administration campaign to demand chages to what Haley has called hidebound and biased U.N. bureaucracies.

A separate ambassador represents Washington at the council and at other U.N. bodies headquartered in Geneva, so Haleys decision to make her case in person was intended to underscore U.S. frustration.

A U.S. withdrawal would have only symbolic effect, since the council has no enforcement powers, but would represent further U.S. disengagement from international organizations.

The ultimatum follows Trumps announcement last week that the United States will withdraw from the Paris climate change accord and his refusal to specifically pledge allegiance to European defense at a NATO summit last month.

The debate over whether to remain a part of the U.N. Human Rights Council has parallels to the administrations internal discussion about the 2015 Paris agreement, with some Trump advisers arguing that the United States can have more influence by remaining a member.

Haley had said last week that the Trump administration would decide on its council membership status after the councils session concludes later this month.
British police on Tuesday named the third London Bridge attacker as 22-year-old Youssef Zaghba from east London, offering further suggestions that the plot was hatched locally even as questions were raised about gaps in counterterrorism surveillance.

It now appears that at least two of the three assailants were known to British intelligence services, putting Prime Minister Theresa May and top law enforcement officials under pressure to explain what more, if anything, could have been done to stop the attack in London that left seven dead and dozens injured.

A senior Italian police official told The Washington Post that Zaghba was born in Fez, Morocco, in January 1995. The son of a Moroccan father and Italian mother, he lived for a time in Italy and had been suspected of associating with a terrorist organization, the official said.

In an interview with Italys Radio 24, Giuseppe Amato, chief prosecutor in Bologna, said Zaghba, an Italian national, had been flagged in March 2016 at the Bologna airport en route to Turkey because he was traveling on a one-way ticket with only a backpack as luggage.

When asked by authorities about his intentions, Amato said, Zaghba initially replied that he was leaving to become a terrorist. The suspect quickly corrected himself but nevertheless was later brought up on terrorism-related charges.

(Sarah Parnass,Griff Witte/The Washington Post)

Although an initial investigation found that his seized phone contained Islamic State propaganda, an Italian court later ruled that there was insufficient evidence, dropping charges and ordering the device returned.

Thus its contents could not be thoroughly examined, Amato said.

Italys anti-terrorism police continued to monitor Zaghba for 18 months. But the evidence wasnt there that he was a terrorist, Amato said. He was [just] a suspect because of his behavior.

Amato noted, however, that Zaghba had been flagged to London [authorities] as a potential suspect.

A second Italian official familiar with the investigation said there had been an absolute interchange of investigative information with British authorities in Zaghbas case.

In a statement Tuesday, British authorities said Zaghba was not a police or MI5 subject of interest, referring to the British intelligence service.

There already were questions about how one of the attackers, Khuram Shazad Butt, apparently eluded police despite being on a watch list and appearing in a 2016 British television documentary called The Jihadis Next Door.

People gather to pay tribute to the victims of the attack at London Bridge and Borough Market, in central London, on June 6, 2017. (Toby Melville/Reuters)

The growing attention to possible gaps in police monitoring  and cuts in law enforcement funding  has taken center stage in Britains political campaign two days before a tightening election called by May.

May told Sky News, I absolutely recognize peoples concerns. The prime minister said MI5 will launch a review into how the case was handled.

May set Thursdays election in a bid to strengthen her hand in negotiations with the European Union over Britains exit from the bloc. But after Saturdays rampage, she has faced tough questions over cuts to police funding that her critics say may have stymied efforts to monitor suspects.

Even one of Mays allies, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, fanned the flames.

People are going to look at the front pages today, and theyre going to say, How on earth could we have let this guy or possibly more through the net? What happened?  he told Sky News.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan criticized the cuts to the police under the Conservative-led government and argued that London could lose front-line police officers if Mays Conservative Party triumphs in the election.

The Labour mayor told the BBC that responsibility for the bloodshed lies with the attackers but said that theres no doubt that fewer police officers means we are in more danger.

When asked if Britain should rescind the offer of a state visit to President Trump following Trumps recent criticisms of Khan, the London mayor said he had not changed his view that a state visit was inappropriate.

In a separate appearance on ITV, Khan accused Trump of making ignorant comments about Muslims, but he insisted he did not want to engage in a war of words.

We are not kids in playground, Khan said. Hes the president of the U.S.A. Im too busy to respond to his tweets. Isnt he busy?

The two main candidates for prime minister  the incumbent, May, and the challenger, Jeremy Corbyn  traded barbs over how security services can better protect the public after three mass-casualty attacks in Britain in as many months.

May said that authorities will need greater powers to crack down on extremism and that Corbyn had blocked such efforts. Corbyn, the far-left leader of the Labour Party, accused May of starving police and other security services of personnel and funds.

Both agreed that the country will have to make changes as security services  which for years thwarted attacks on British soil  struggle to confront a threat that is growing in scale and tempo.

The agencies say they have disrupted 18 plots since 2013, including five in the past nine weeks.

That is completely different to anything we have seen for a long time. As the prime minister has indicated, were going to need to do some things differently, said Mark Rowley, Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner and the countrys top counterterrorism officer.

The identities of the three attackers fit a rough pattern. Much like the assailants in the two earlier attacks, these men, all Muslims, had British roots or residency. They lived in the same neighborhoods of east London  although in one case, not for very long. At least two appear to have been known to authorities but apparently were dismissed as peripheral subjects.

Metropolitan Police identified one of the assailants as 27-year-old Butt. He was a British citizen who was born in Pakistan and was a big fan of the Arsenal soccer team. He was investigated in 2015 after neighbors reported him as a possible extremist.

Police also named 30-year-old Rachid Redouane, who had claimed to be Moroccan and Libyan. According to Irish police sources cited by the Guardian newspaper, Redouane was a Dublin-based pastry chef who moved to the Irish capital five years ago and only recently turned up in London.

The three men lived in the Barking area of east London, a half-hours drive from London Bridge and Borough Market  the adjacent areas where victims were targeted Saturday night.

Despite Butt having been featured last year in the television documentary, police said that they had no warning of a plot and that their investigation of Butt had been shelved.

Redouane had not been known to the security agencies, police officials in both Britain and Ireland said.

Police say they have 500 ongoing terrorism investigations and are keeping tabs on 3,000 individuals suspected of extremism. Investigations involving known plots, authorities say, take up the bulk of the security services resources.

The Islamic State claimed Sunday to have been behind the attack. But experts have cast doubt on that statement, noting that the group did not provide any details to prove its involvement. Similar claims in the past have been shown to be unreliable.

All three assailants in Saturdays attack were fatally shot by police within eight minutes of the first emergency calls.

Saturday nights attack injured dozens, including four police officers. Eighteen people remain in critical condition.

Griff Witte in London, Anthony Faiola in Paris and Stefano Pitrelli in Rome contributed to this report.

Read more

Trump was terrorized by the London attack while Britain stood firm

I saw blinding white headlights.  It hit directly to the right of me.

Brits gather to see Ariana Grande again  this time in defiance

The London attackers chose an especially popular site

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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Canada intends to make a substantial investment in its military because it can no longer rely on the United States for leadership in the face of threats posed by terrorist groups or countries like Russia and North Korea, the Canadian foreign minister said Tuesday.

Echoing complaints made recently by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Chrystia Freeland told Canadas House of Commons that Washington is no longer committed to its position of world leadership, forcing Canada to invest in its own armed forces to defend liberal democracy.

The fact that our friend and ally has come to question the very worth of its mantle of global leadership, puts into sharper focus the need for the rest of us to set our own clear and sovereign course, Freeland said, never mentioning President Trump by name. But she said many of the voters in last Novembers U.S. presidential election cast ballots animated in part by a desire to shrug off the burden of world leadership.

While setting out several areas where Canada has taken a different tack from Washington, Freeland conceded that Canada has not been pulling its weight in terms of its military spending. Its a criticism that Trump has made of several NATO members, without singling out Canada. She promised that in the future Canada will do its fair share.

In 2016, Canada spent just over 1 percent of its gross domestic product on its military, half of the 2 percent level that is the goal of the NATO alliance. In fact, Canada ranks 20th of 28 NATO members in military spending. The United States is No. 1 at 3.6 percent of GDP.

On the military front, Canadas geography has meant that we have always been able to count on American self-interest to provide a protective umbrella beneath which we have found indirect shelter, Freeland said. But she added that to depend totally on U.S. protection would make Canada a client state.

To put it plainly, Canadian diplomacy and development sometimes require the backing of hard power, she said.

We will make the necessary investments in our military, to not only address years of neglect and underfunding, but also to place the Canadian armed forces on a new footing, she added, without providing any figures. Freelands speech is to be followed Wednesday with an announcement of a new defense policy review.

Although Freeland was careful to say that Canada was grateful for the outsized role that the United States has played in the world, there was an undertone of disappointment throughout the speech, something seldom heard recently in Canada-U.S. relations.

The tone was in sharp contrast with the effusive mutual admiration evident in March 2016 when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was hosted by President Barack Obama at a White House state dinner, just months after Trudeau was elected. The Canadian prime minister said at the time that Canada and the United States were actually closer than friends and more like siblings as the two leaders shared notes on how to broaden trade links and battle climate change, issues on which Ottawa and Washington no longer see eye to eye.

Freeland said Tuesday that Canada remains deeply disappointed by the Trump administrations recent decision to withdraw from the Paris agreement on climate change.

Freeland noted that Canada will continue to back multilateral institutions like the United Nations and the World Trade Organization and would seek new trade agreements as well as a modernization of the North American Free Trade Agreement with the United States and Mexico.

Laura Dawson, director of the Canada Institute at Washingtons Woodrow Wilson Center, said she saw the speech as less a shot against the U.S. as an effort by Canada to reassert its voice on the international stage while continuing to be seen as a helpful ally to Washington.

She said she expects Trudeaus government to invest significantly in new military equipment and boost defense spending but says the nation will probably not attain the 2 percent GDP threshold set by NATO. I would be quite surprised to see a doubling of Canadian military spending, she said.

Despite the widespread public backing for Canadas military intervention in Afghanistan, which ended several years ago, defense spending has seldom been a priority for Canadian governments, no matter their political stripe. At the same time, several large procurement programs for fighter jets and warships have been plagued by cost overruns and delays.

Read more

Build that wall? Some Canadians are calling for more border control, too

Trumps first foreign trip snubbed Canada. Canadians couldnt care less.

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

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In this May 14, 2010, photo, a Qatari woman walks in front of the city skyline in Doha. (Kamran Jebreili/AP)

Trump administration officials said Tuesday that President Trump was not taking sides in the deepening dispute among key U.S. counterterrorism partners in the Persian Gulf, despite a morning of presidential Twitter posts congratulating Saudi Arabia  and himself  for cracking down on Qatar for alleged terrorism financing.

During my recent trip to the Middle East, I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology, Trump tweeted. Leaders pointed to Qatar  look!

So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off, he continued. They said they would take a hard line on funding extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar.

On Monday, several of Qatars gulf neighbors  Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain  were joined by Egypt and smaller nations in severing diplomatic ties with Qatar, ordering its diplomats and citizens to leave and threatening deeply intertwined regional trade links and air routes.

[The Persian Gulf crisis over Qatar, explained]





The eruption appeared motivated by years-long regional disputes rather than any recent disagreement or action. It followed a late-May visit in which Trump, while calling on the Arab and Muslim worlds to unite against the terrorist threat, heaped praise on Saudi Arabia as the regional leader.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, in New Zealand, called for dialogue among the neighbors. At the State Department, spokeswoman Heather Nauert said that we recognize that Qatar continues to make efforts to stop the financing of terrorist groups, including prosecuting suspected financiers, freezing assets, introducing stringent controls into its banking system. They have made progress . . . but we recognize there is more work to be done.

Lets move off this social-media thing, Nauert said of numerous questions about Trumps tweets, because there are a lot of other important things that we need to discuss.

A senior administration official said: Were not taking sides. If we are taking sides, we are taking the side of unity and cooperation against terrorism. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive diplomatic issue.

Nauert and the senior official said the United States had been notified of Saudi Arabias intention to break relations, shortly before the move was announced Monday. But I dont think the U.S. government has perfect clarity on what triggered that, the official said. We know there have been issues between them.

U.S. air base in Qatar

The Pentagon, whose air operations for the Middle East are headquartered at a massive air base in Qatar where at least 10,000 U.S. service members are stationed, opted for balance and calming words.

We recognize that there are differing views in the region that have gotten us to this point, it said in a statement. United States and the Coalition are grateful to the Qataris for their longstanding support of our presence and their enduring commitment to regional security. We have no plans to change our posture in Qatar.

(The Washington Post)

[For Qataris, a U.S. air base is best defense against Trump attacks]

The statement said restrictions that Qatars gulf neighbors have imposed on Qatari movements in and out of the region have not impacted our air operations, including missions in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, shook his head in a Capitol hallway when shown Trumps tweets on a reporters cellphone. Each of these countries are people that are important to our country, he said. Our general policy as America has been to work with each of them.

We do have a base there that we operate out of thats very important, he said of Qatar.

During last months visit to Saudi Arabia, where he delivered a speech to dozens of leaders from Muslim-majority nations gathered for the occasion, Trump met personally with Qatars emir, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad al-Thani. We are friends. Weve been friends now for a long time. . . . Our relationship is extremely good, Trump said at the beginning of the closed-door meeting. One of the things we will discuss is the [Qatari] purchase of lots of beautiful military equipment.

The senior administration official said that Trump addressed U.S. concerns in private with the Qatari leader.

In New Zealand on Tuesday, Tillerson emphasized that all countries in the gulf region have their own challenges to live up to that commitment to terminate support for terrorism, extremism, however it manifests itself anywhere in the world. And I would say thats true of all the GCC countries; they have their own work to do in that regard.

The GCC is the Gulf Cooperation Council, whose six members  Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar  signed a communique with Trump pledging to continue their joint fight against terrorism. The visit also culminated in what the administration said was $110 billion in arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

The White House said in a statement Tuesday evening that Trump spoke by phone with Saudi Arabias King Salman about preventing terrorist financing and eliminating the promotion of extremism by any nation in the region. Trump, it said, underscored that a united Gulf Cooperation Council is critical to defeating terrorism and promoting regional stability.

Small but influential Qatar has long been at odds with some of its regional neighbors over its support for the Muslim Brotherhood, which is seen by Saudi Arabia and other nations as a threat to the network of ruling monarchs and others across the region.

Qatar, the worlds largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, also flexed its political influence by using its energy wealth to become a key patron of groups such as Hamas in the Gaza Strip and, in the mid-1990s, to launch the Al Jazeera media network, which has wide reach through the Arab-speaking world.

U.S. officials who monitor terrorist funding have said that gulf governments have made significant strides in ending official support for terrorist groups, although some money still flows from individuals, primarily in Kuwait and to a lesser extent from Qatar.

Saudi Arabia has come under scrutiny for indirectly backing militant networks through groups promoting the Saudis strict Wahhabi interpretation of Islam.

Irritation with Qatar

Gerd Nonneman, a professor of international relations at the Doha campus of Georgetown University, one of a number of U.S. universities with branches in the Qatari capital, said the dispute was fueled by irritation in Saudi Arabia and the UAE with Qatars independence of mind in foreign policy, including its support for the Arab Spring movements.

Qatars backing for the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist organizations, Nonneman said in an email, has been driven by a pragmatic calculation that these movements had considerable social traction and would likely become an important part of the post-Arab Spring era. Qatar, he noted, also refused to join the campaign to fully isolate Iran . . . even while it furiously disagreed with Irans policies in Syria.

The desire to isolate Iran, in addition to the fight against terrorist groups such as the Islamic State, has brought the Trump administration closer to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The administration has considered designating the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group, although it was dissuaded from immediate action by other Arab leaders, including King Abdullah II in Jordan, one of several countries in which Brotherhood political parties have significant support.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, speaking Tuesday in Paris, mentioned Qatars support for Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, saying that it has to choose whether it must move in one direction or the other, according to the Reuters news agency.

In the wake of Mondays events, Kuwait took the lead in trying to broker a dialogue. The countrys emir, Sabah Ahmed al-Sabah, headed to Saudi Arabia for talks with King Salman.

But there were signs that the feud was dividing the region beyond the gulf. Jordan, a close ally of Saudi Arabia, announced that it was downgrading its diplomatic relations with Qatar and canceling the license of the local Al Jazeera office, according to the Foreign Ministry.

In Turkey, which has tried to mediate the dispute, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the Saudi-led actions against Qatar. These developments, coming at a time when we need solidarity and cooperation more than ever, are no good for any country in the region, he said in remarks quoted by the semiofficial Anadolu news agency.

Qatari officials pushed back forcefully at the terrorism accusations and portrayed themselves as victims of a Saudi-led conspiracy. In a letter to U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Qatars U.N. ambassador, Alya Ahmed al-Thani, said her country had been a target of campaigns of fabricated accusations and a hidden agenda to cause harm to our country.

She referred to recently leaked emails allegedly written to the UAEs ambassador to the United States, Yousef al-Otaiba, which appear to show Otaiba trying to garner support in Washington for an anti-Qatar coalition.

Fahim reported from Istanbul and Raghavan from Cairo. Mike DeBonis in Washington contributed to this report.

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Four Arab nations cut ties with Qatar, exposing regional rift

Qatar could face food shortage in spat with neighbors

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3i Group plc is a private equity firm specializing in mature companies, growth capital, middle markets, infrastructure, and management leveraged buyouts and buy-ins. The firm also provides infrastructure financing and debt management. For debt management, it invests in senior and mezzanine corporate debt in typically large and private companies in United Kingdom, Europe, Asia, and North America. It makes private equity investments in business and technology services, financial services, consumer, healthcare, consumption and distribution, media and telecom, renewable energy, wind, and industrial sector. Within business and technology services, the firm seeks to invest in sub sectors such as testing, inspection and certification; BPO and consultancy; human capital including staffing, governance, risk and compliance, services to pharmaceutical companies, vertical application software, education and training businesses; facilities management; support services to industrial sectors such as oil and gas and utilities; human resources outsourcing and advising; recruitment; logistics and infrastructure support services including distribution, waste, and rental. In the consumer sector, it focuses on polarization, health and wellness, ageing population, millennials, consumer goods; e-commerce; retail; food and drinks; and leisure. In the healthcare sector, the firm focuses on pharmaceuticals and biotechnology including specialty pharma, generics / OTC, drug delivery, and animal health; healthcare Services including activities such as elderly and specialty care, including caring for people in their own homes, in hospital and in community facilities, as well as operational services such as outsourced support, clinical services and B2B contract services; medical devices and technology including devices, medical equipment and consumables, diagnostics, and healthcare IT. In the industrial sector, it focuses on automotive, chemicals, construction and building products, electronics and electrical components, flow control and filtration, life science manufacturing, mobility, packaging, software, oil, gas and power. Through 3i BIFM Limited and 3i Infrastructure plc the firm makes infrastructure investments where it focuses principally on the utilities including energy transmission and storage, electricity and gas distribution, water, power generation, and communication network; transportation including airports, ports, ferries, toll roads, and rail; and social infrastructure sector including primary and secondary PFI, public private partnerships, healthcare, education, and government accommodation. In infrastructure it invests primarily in utilities, transportation and social infrastructure in the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Europe, and Ireland. The firm prefers to invest in companies across Europe, France, United States, South America, and Asia. It seeks to make new investments in Northern Europe and North America. The firm typically invests between 5 million ($5.59125 million) and 300 million ($335.475 million) in companies with an enterprise value typically between 100 million ($111.825 million) and 500 million ($559.125 million) and sales value between 80 million ($89.46 million) and 1500 million ($1677.38 million). It seeks to take either majority or minority stakes. It seeks to take a board seat in its portfolio companies with regards to infrastructure investments. The firm invests through a combination of third-party and proprietary capital. It invests through its personal capital. 3i Group plc was founded in 1945 and is based in London, United Kingdom with additional offices across Europe, North America, and Asia.
Everest Re Group, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, provides reinsurance and insurance products in the United States, Bermuda, and internationally. The company operates through Reinsurance Operations and Insurance Operations segments. The Reinsurance Operations segment writes property and casualty reinsurance; and specialty lines of business through reinsurance brokers, as well as directly with ceding companies in the United States, Bermuda, Ireland, Canada, Singapore, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The Insurance Operations segment writes property and casualty insurance directly, as well as through brokers, surplus lines brokers, and general agents in Bermuda, Canada, Europe, South America, Canada, Chile, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the Netherlands. The company also provides treaty and facultative reinsurance products; admitted and non-admitted insurance products; and property and casualty reinsurance and insurance coverages, including marine, aviation, surety, errors and omissions liability, directors' and officers' liability, medical malpractice, mortgage reinsurance, other specialty lines, accident and health, and workers' compensation products. In addition, it offers commercial property and casualty insurance products through wholesale and retail brokers, surplus lines brokers, and program administrators. Everest Re Group, Ltd. was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda.
Workday, Inc. provides enterprise cloud applications in the United States and internationally. The company's applications help its customers to plan, execute, analyze, and extend to other applications and environments, and to manage their business and operations. It offers a suite of financial management applications, which enable chief financial officers to maintain accounting information in the general ledger; manage financial processes; identify real-time financial, operational, and management insights; enhance financial consolidation; reduce time-to-close; promote internal control and auditability; and achieve consistency across finance operations. The company also provides cloud spend management solutions that helps organizations to streamline supplier selection and contracts, manage indirect spend, and build and execute sourcing events, such as requests for proposals; Human Capital Management (HCM) solution, a suite of human capital management applications that allows organizations to manage the entire employee lifecycle from recruitment to retirement, and enables HR teams to hire, onboard, pay, develop, reskill, and provide employee experiences; Workday applications for planning; and applications for analytics and reporting, including augmented analytics to surface insights to the line of business in simple-to-understand stories, machine learning to drive efficiency and automation, and benchmarks to compare performance against other companies. It serves professional and business services, financial services, healthcare, education, government, technology, media, retail, and hospitality industries. The company was formerly known as North Tahoe Power Tools, Inc. and changed its name to Workday, Inc. in July 2005. Workday, Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Pleasanton, California.
By Joseph Ax NORRISTOWN, Pa. (Reuters) - The first witness to testify in Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial said on Monday that the comedian had drugged her before sexually abusing her in 1998 - the same method he is accused of using in the alleged 2004 attack that he is on trial for. Cosby, who was once one of the most-beloved entertainers in the United States, is accused in both instances of inviting a young woman to visit him for career advice, offered her pills that he said would help her "relax" and then sexually abused her once she was incapacitated by the drug. The 79-year-old entertainer is charged with sexually assaulting Andrea Constand, an employee of his alma mater Temple University, at his home in the Philadelphia suburbs in 2004. Constand is one of dozens of women who have accused Cosby of sex assault but hers is the only case recent enough to be subject to criminal prosecution. The allegations have essentially ended Cosby's long career. The first witness at his trial, Kelly Johnson, described an incident that she said took place at Cosby's hotel suite in Los Angeles in 1996. Her emotional testimony was intended to persuade jurors that Cosby demonstrated a pattern of behavior when he allegedly attacked Constand in 2004. A tearful Johnson, who worked at the time for Cosby's agent, said she initially hid the pill under her tongue but that Cosby checked to see if she had swallowed it. She later woke up disoriented and partially clothed in Cosby's bed with the comedian behind her, grunting, before he forced her to touch his genitals, she testified. "I was trying to say something," she said. "I dont know if I was actually speaking." Cosby has denied all the allegations related to the trial, as well as similar claims from more than 50 women dating to the 1960s. His lawyer, Brian McMonagle, fired aggressive questions laced with sarcasm at Johnson. He claimed she offered much different details during a 1996 deposition, including that the assault occurred in 1990, six years earlier than she testified on Monday. Cosby, once known as "America's dad" for his role as Heathcliff Huxtable on the 1980s hit TV series "The Cosby Show," walked into court on the arm of Keshia Knight Pulliam, who played his youngest daughter, the pigtailed Rudy Huxtable. His wife and business manager, Camille Cosby, was not seen in court on Monday. Like Johnson, Constand will testify that Cosby told her the pills he offered would help her "relax" before assaulting her, Assistant District Attorney Kristen Feden said in her opening statement on Monday. In his opening statement, McMonagle said Cosby is the victim of false accusations. He pointed out that Constand's initial allegations were investigated in 2005 and found to be insufficient at that time. "Today I get a chance, with your help, to right a wrong," he told jurors. McMonagle made it clear he will take aim at Constand's credibility as he did Johnson's. He told jurors that Constand's story suffered from numerous inconsistencies in her accounts to police in 2005. Constand, who did not report the alleged assault for nearly a year, said she had not maintained contact with Cosby after the incident. In fact, McMonagle said, she called him 53 times. (Editing by Scott Malone and Bill Trott)
European cities could become even more connected thanks to a superfast transportation system known as a "Hyperloop," which now has its first test facility on the continent.

Winners of a Hyperloop technology competition, held by Elon Musk's company SpaceX, unveiled Europe's first test facility for the rail transportation system this week. The nearly 100-foot-long (30 meters) track will be used to test all of the Hyperloop systems in a vacuum at low speeds, according to Hardt Global Mobility, the company set up to commercialize the technology developed by the competition team from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. Hardt representatives said this facility is the first step in a four-year plan to build a Hyperloop system connecting two European cities.

A second, high-speed test line will be built by 2019, Reuters reported. And by 2021, a commercial Hyperloop could connect Amsterdam and Paris. [In Photos: Building the Superfast 'Hyperloop One' Transit System of the Future]

"We're going to test all systems that you need to test before you can actually start building a route between two cities, so: top speed, taking corners, switching lanes, making it as safe as possible," Tim Houter, co-founder of Hardt, told Reuters.

The Hyperloop system is made up of passenger-filled pods that are accelerated through a low-pressure tube to their destination. When Musk first unveiled his vision for the transportation system, he said the pods would travel at around 760 mph (1,220 km/h). This could cut the travel time between Los Angeles and San Francisco to only 30 minutes.

Several companies are working to bring the transportation concept to fruition. For instance, a startup called Hyperloop One (which is not affiliated with Musk) is building a full-scale test track in the Nevada desert. This facility, known as DevLoop, may hold a public test run as soon as this summer, company representatives have said.

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Original article on Live Science.

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House Speaker Paul Ryan speaks to the media during his weekly briefing on May 18. (Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

One of the students who skipped a photo with House Speaker Paul Ryan last month penned an op-ed defending her peers decision.

Approximately 50 eighth-graders from South Orange Middle School in New Jersey opted out of a photo with Ryan last month during a class trip to Washington, D.C. The story drew national headlines, with some criticizing the students as losers, brats and disrespectful. Others said the teenagers were too young to have formed political opinions of their own and were clearly brainwashed by their teachers or parents against Ryan.

Does anybody believe a 13-year-old kid understands the intricacies of what Speaker Ryan does, day in and day out? wrote Jay Caruso on Red State, a right-wing blog. Most 13- and 14-year-olds have neither read widely enough nor lived long enough to have fully formed, independent political views; they are more likely to parrot whatever theyve learned from trusted adults, wrote Melissa Langsam Braunstein on the Federalist, another conservative publication.

Jordan McCray-Robinson, an eighth-grader who chose not to take a photo with the speaker of the House, wrote at length Monday defending herself and her classmates.

I am here to tell the nation that although were only in the 8th grade, we have our own thoughts and opinions, wrote McCray-Robinson. My teachers did not influence my decision not to take a picture with Mr. Ryan. I decided I didnt want to take a picture with someone who doesnt have my best interests in mind. Mr. Ryan and the administration want to cut health care for 23 million people.

In the piece, McCray-Robinson interviewed a teacher and multiple classmates about the trip, including some students who chose to be in the photo:

A lot of people mistakenly assumed that everyone in the picture supported Paul Ryan and the administration. Another student who wanted to stay anonymous said, I was in the picture and I took a picture with him because hes third in line to be the President and hes a powerful man in our government even though I dont support him. We were also under the impression that we would be able to ask him some questions. After the picture, he signed someones Declaration of Independence, then got in a car and left.

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A photo of Ryan with some of the students was posted to his official Instagram account with the caption Got that #FridayFeeling.

Got that #FridayFeeling ???? A post shared by Speaker Paul Ryan (@speakerryan) on May 26, 2017 at 6:39am PDT

John J. Ramos Sr., superintendent of the South Orange-Maplewood School District, defended his students actions last week.

While we should all respectfully and appropriately acknowledge those in authority, taking a conscientious position about a photo op is within our constitutional right, said Ramos in a statement. We are proud of all of our students, who exercised their rights and chose whether or not to participate for their own individual reasons.

I respect my elders and Mr. Ryan, continued McCray-Robinson, but I will not take a picture with someone who stands behind a president who wants to ban Muslims from the country because they worship differently. Why should Muslims or anyone else be banned from this country because of our presidents lack of understanding and compassion for people who arent white, male or Christian? I respect views and opinions that differ from mine and I expect the same when it comes to my opinion.

Asked about the incident by the Washington Post, a spokesman for Ryan said the speaker always appreciates the opportunity to welcome students to the Capitol.

Read more from Yahoo News:
Scientists say they have found the earliest evidence of humans affecting the environment based on samples taken from the Dead Sea that date back thousands of years.

The researchers went down 1,500 feet below the seafloor and analyzed sediment, giving them a window into what the region looked like as long as 220,000 years ago. A study in the journal Global and Planetary Change said the samples showed intensified erosion on the Dead Seas surrounding slopes about 11,500 years ago that would not have been caused by natural circumstances in the region, including tectonic activity from that era, which implies human impact on the landscape was the primary driver.

Read: Ancient Carvings Depict Devastating Comet Crash That Caused Climate Change

That ancient erosion occurred during the Neolithic Revolution when humans were transitioning from their hunter-gatherer culture to one that settled down and relied on agriculture, Israels Tel Aviv University explained in a statement. With the shift, the human population exploded.

Natural vegetation was replaced by crops, animals were domesticated, grazing reduced the natural plant cover, and deforestation provided more area for grazing, lead researcher Shmuel Marco said in the university statement. All these resulted in the intensified erosion of the surface and increased sedimentation, which we discovered in the Dead Sea core sample.

The scientists can see increased erosion from those changes in human society in part from a huge jump in the amount of fine sand that seasonal floods brought into the sea.

The Dead Sea sedimentary record serves as a reliable recorder of this impact, the study said.

dead-sea-aerial

Photo: NASA/JSC

Drilling down into the Dead Sea, which is the lowest point on Earths surface, at about 1,400 feet below sea level, can tell us a lot about the planets climate past. The salt content of a sample, for example, tells scientists how dry or wet a certain period of history was. Researchers who recently drilled out some samples found that during two warmer periods  one of them about 120,000 years ago and another about 10,000 years ago, both following ice ages  there would have been severe drought in the Middle East. During those times, the amount of rainfall was slashed at least by a half, and possibly up to about 80 percent. Each drought would have lasted thousands of years.

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The scientists can see the difference between wet periods and dry ones in sediment samples from the Dead Sea because when the sea dries up and its depth decreases, there is more salt in the sediment, as the water that held it has evaporated. The opposite is true during wetter times: As seawater increases, there is less salt in the sediment.

Over time, more layers of sediment settle on top of older ones, and the sea bottom preserves the mineral distribution from those ancient times. And the thickness of each layer indicates how long those time periods lasted.

Read: Here's What the U.S. Looked Like Before Environmental Protection Laws

The Dead Sea is not the only place where drilled samples hold clues about the climates past. Researchers who recently analyzed glacier samples from a site in the Alps along the Swiss-Italian border say they found evidence of humans polluting the air with lead for the last 2,000 years, beginning well before the Industrial Revolution. They based their conclusions on lead levels in the glacier, which would draw materials from the atmosphere and lock them inside the ice, much as the Dead Sea sediment trapped minerals from the water.

In the case of the glacier samples, which gave the scientists a view of the atmosphere going back two millennia, the ice only showed a lack of lead from 1349 to 1353 when the deadly plague known as the Black Death was so devastating to the population that it slowed commerce and caused a decrease in lead smelting, among other industry activities.

For the Dead Sea researchers who are exploring the ancient human impact on the environment, the next step in their investigation is studying earthquakes. Tel Aviv University said the researchers found evidence sediment layers in their samples had been shaken up, indicating tremors at the bottom of the sea. They hope to use the data to compile a history of earthquakes in the area.

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An Alabama boy, who was born without a nose and gained media attention for his rare condition, has died at the age of 2.

Eli Thompson, who was dubbed miracle baby, was born with congenital arhinia, an extremely rare condition which causes the absence of a nose, nasal or sinus cavities, in 2015.

Read: Baby Born with No Nose Holds Strong as Parents Hope for Help From Doctors

Elis dad, Jeremy Finch, described his son as "very, very bright and happy, always smiling and giving everybody fist bumps."

His parents initially had no idea that the baby boy would be born without a nose and were shocked after delivery. Eli was born breathing through his mouth, completely on his own.

It scared the living daylights out of me," Elis mother told Inside Edition in an interview in 2015. "I didn't even know it was possible."

After Elis birth, doctors performed a tracheotomy to help him breath while eating. His breathing tube had to be cleaned several times a day.

Finch, took to Facebook Sunday to announce the heartbreaking news.

We lost our little buddy last night. I'll never be able to make sense of why this happened, and this will hurt deeply for a long time. But I'm so blessed to have had this beautiful boy in my life! Finch wrote. He finished his race a lot earlier than we would have liked, but it was Gods time to bring him back home.

It is not clear what caused the toddler's death.

Read: Mom Says Carrying Baby With Fatal Condition to Full Term Will Help Her Find Closure

Finch also told AL.com that Eli had begun communicating using baby sign language and had started speech therapy at home.

Elis family is reportedly finalizing funeral plans. His funeral will be held at Fountain of Life Church in Saraland.

An earlier insideEdition.com report idenitifed Eli's dad as Troy Thompson, however, Thompson later turned out not be Eli's biological father.

Story continues

Watch: Baby Born 2 Days After Abortion Limit With Feet the Size of Pennies Defies Odds

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Photo credit: Getty

From Redbook

Here's a fun fact: Dads with daughters are better businessmen, according to a new study.

Researchers at Harvard recently looked at venture capital firms and discovered that capitalists with daughters are more likely to hire women, and those firms with more women are more likely to make more money.

"Subtle debiasing can have real effects," Paul Gompers, a professor at Harvard Business School, told The Huffington Post.

For the study, Gompers and his research partner, Sophie Wang, a Ph.D. student, made a list of VC firms and VC-backed startups going back to 1990. They then sent out email surveys to ask about senior partners and the gender of their children. From the 1,400 responses they received, they were able to conclude that having a daughter increased the likelihood of hiring a female investor by 24 percent, proving that the "daughter effect" is real. The "daughter firms" also saw three percent more returns on their investments.

Unfortunately, the VC world is still notoriously male (and so are the projects they fund). In previous research, Gompers has found that 75 percent of VC firms have never had a single female partner. Ouch. But this is definitive proof (not that any woman anywhere needed it) that there are advantages to having more women around. Gompers, a father of three, was partially inspired by the struggles his own daughters have faced with sexism at work.

"The more exposure we have to others who are different from us, the more we become debiased," Gompers told The Huffington Post. "Watching their struggles and issues, especially my 25-year-old who is working in a venture backed enterprise software company in New York City has created insights that are certainly dependent upon having daughters."

This is just the latest research to confirm that dads with daughters are a step ahead in the business world: a 2015 study showed that CEOs with daughters spend more time on social causes, and a 2014 paper revealed that judges with daughters tend to rule more favorably toward women's issues.

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Daughters: paving the way to a more equal future (hopefully).

Follow Redbook on Facebook.

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Bill Maher (Photo: HBO)

Bill Mahers use of the N word in making a feeble joke on his HBO show Real Time with Bill Maher is having multiple repercussions. Minnesota Sen. Al Franken, out on a book tour, has canceled an upcoming appearance on Real Time, saying that while he considers Maher a good friend, what Maher said was inappropriate and offensive. If you havent heard, Maher was talking to Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse on his show last Friday. Maher said hed like to visit Nebraska more often, to which the senator responded, You are welcome. Wed love to have you work in the fields with us. Mr. Maher said, Work in the fields? Senator, Im a house n*****. No, its a joke.

In the days following the blunder, Maher has benefited from the whiteness of late-night television hosts. Guys like Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, and Jimmy Kimmel arent going to start ridiculing Maher, passing judgment, or opining at length about racially charged language  they doubtless feel that this is a topic on which they have little authority to either get serious or to joke.

Leave it, therefore, to late-nights sharp observers Desus and Mero to offer a cutting yet funny take on Mahers race problem. On Mondays Desus & Mero, the Viceland hosts, ridiculed Mahers its-a-joke! protestation, playing the Real Time tape and observing that theN word rolled awfully easily off Mahers tongue. Desus said Maher has a long history of being publicly racist, specifically against Muslims, and played a clip in which Maher said he was upset at the number of British newborns being named Muhammad. The hosts comments about Mahers dating life  which they observe is very choco-laticious  are particularly choice.

Maher is scheduled to do a new show on Friday. Aside from the now-absent Franken, his scheduled guests are former Florida Congressman David Jolly and TV journalist David Gregory. Maher would be idiotic not to scrap that lineup and make sure that every one of his guests that night is black, and to conduct whatever passes as discussion on Real Time from a posture with which Maher is usually unfamiliar: humility.

UPDATE: Well, Mahers lineup has been announced, and hes splitting the difference: Jolly and Gregory will appear (though heaven knows why), and Michael Eric Dyson, Ice Cube, and Symone Sanders have been newly added. Sanders is an activist who was press secretary for Bernie Sanderss presidential run; Dyson is a well-known academic and author. Ice Cube is Ice Cube. Whatever Sanders, Dyson, and Cube have to say will be well worth heeding by both Maher and his audience.

Desus & Mero airs weeknights at 11 p.m. on Viceland. Real Time with Bill Maher airs Friday nights at 10 p.m. on HBO.
New York (AFP) - Former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg led nearly 1,000 business and government officials declaring they would honor the Paris climate accord on Monday, days after US President Donald Trump announced a US exit from the 190-plus nation pact.

Experts said the groundswell of support from the private sector, big states such as New York and California, and state and local leaders for the voluntary emissions-curbing commitments in the 2015 deal could even help the United States reach its goals earlier than planned.

"Today, on behalf of an unprecedented collection of US cities, states, businesses and other organizations, I am communicating to the United Nations and the global community that American society remains committed to achieving the emission reductions we pledged to make in Paris in 2015," Bloomberg said in a statement.

"I am confident the broad array of leaders and organizations that have signed today's declaration, and many others that will join in the days to come, will work together to reduce US carbon emissions by 26 percent by 2025, just as we had pledged in Paris."

Big names like Apple, Amazon, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Levi Strauss and Tiffany are in the group, called "We Are Still In," along with more than 100 mayors and governors and a range of colleges and universities.

A full list of the signatories is available at wearestillin.org.

- A 'grave mistake' -

The group called Trump's decision to pull the United States out of the climate accord "a grave mistake that endangers the American public and hurts America's economic security and diplomatic reputation."

"In the absence of leadership from Washington, states, cities, colleges and universities and businesses representing a sizeable percentage of the US economy will pursue ambitious climate goals," it said in a statement.

At least 211 mayors have adopted the Paris goals for their own cities since Trump's announcement on Thursday, and at least 17 governors have released individual statements saying they stand by the Paris deal, agreed in late 2015 by every country in the world except Syria and Nicaragua.

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Bloomberg, a billionaire climate advocate, also met with French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday to tell him the American people intend to uphold the pact.

Bloomberg has also pledged to muster $15 million for the United Nations' climate body, substituting for US funding likely to be axed by Trump.

Bloomberg, 75, was mayor of New York from 2002 to 2013.

Forbes magazine estimates him to be the world's eighth-richest person.

- Massive response -

Although Bloomberg's initiative is not the only pushback against Trump's move, it is the most prominent, said Steve Cohen, executive director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University.

"You are seeing a massive response to Trump's decision," he said, noting the United States has already begun to turn away from coal in favor of natural gas and renewable forms of energy.

"I think the US will exceed the Paris agreement targets," he added.

Darren Rosenblum, law professor at Pace University in New York, says the business community is coming together to address the most direct threat posed by a US pullout -- loss of competitiveness as the rest of the world barrels toward a greener economy.

"I do think that in the end, the effect is a positive one," he said.

"It starts to put in place the mechanisms for US companies and local governments to follow international norms."
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Harvard College rescinded the admittances of at least 10 potential members of the class of 2021 allegedly for taking part in a Facebook group chat in which they shared memes that made fun of sexual assault, child assault, specific races and the Holocaust, the Harvard Crimson reported during the weekend.

Read: Typing With Your Thoughts, Hearing With Your Skin? Neuroscientist Weighs In On Facebook F8 Ideas

The students reportedly connected through the Harvard College Class of 2021 Facebook group. The groups description says it is managed by the admissions office but states: We are not responsible for any unofficial groups, chats or the content within. As a reminder, Harvard College reserves the right to withdraw an offer of admission under various conditions including if an admitted student engages in behavior that brings into question his or her honesty, maturity, or moral character. The group has more than 1,500 members.

Its not uncommon for students to have a meme group. If you search university meme on Facebook, youll actually find a wide variety of meme groups associated with certain universities. Many colleges and universities have meme groups or meme chats in which they share the photos or videos with a cultural meaning that is slightly altered to fit certain jokes about the school or shared experiences students may have.

university meme

Photo: Facebook

Some of the more general popular memes this year have been the mocking Spongebob meme, or "Spongemock," and the Drew Scanlon reaction, or blinking guy gif. But the students who lost their admittances engaged in what the Crimson called dark memes.

The dark meme chat grew out of a larger group that shared lighthearted pop culture memes, the Crimson reported. The individuals who started the smaller and darker meme group required that prospective students post a dark-humor meme in the main chat before they were allowed into the smaller chat, a student told the Crimson.

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Read: Facebook Live Violence, Revenge Porn, Graphic Post Policies Detailed In Leaked Internal Documents

One student who took part in the chat for the dark memes and lost the acceptance told the Crimson the admissions office emailed students involved and asked them to send screenshots of every photo they had sent in the chat. The email also asked students to write a statement on their involvement for review by the Admissions Committee, the Crimson reported.

Harvard, which has an acceptance rate of less than 6 percent, did not comment on the allegations. We do not comment publicly on the admissions status of individual applicants, Rachael Dane, a spokesperson for the school, told International Business Times.

All of the alleged activity took place on Harvard alum Mark Zuckerbergs social media site. Zuckerberg was back at Harvard in May to deliver the commencement address. The sites Community Standards page does not specify whether this type of content is allowed in Facebooks chat or messenger although the site came under fire recently when the details of what was and was not allowed on the site were made public. Facebook had not responded to an inquiry from IBT on whether such content was allowed on Messenger at the time of this post.

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Two-month-old Inti Perez, diagnosed with microcephaly linked to the mosquito-borne Zika virus, is cradled by his mother, in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. (Photo: Carlos Giusti/AP)

Zika has faded from the media spotlight in recent months, but public health officials are gearing up for the virus to resurface as the summer brings warmer weather and mosquitos, through which it is primarily transmitted. The virus is linked to serious birth defects in babies of mothers who were infected while pregnant.

In February 2016, the World Health Organization declared the spread of Zika an international public health emergency. First detected in the Americas in early 2015, Zika has now spread to 33 countries in the region. Several U.S. states, including Florida and Texas, were considered high-risk regions for the virus last year.

But global health experts warn that the infectious disease and others like it will be much more difficult to contain in the future as Trump moves ahead with the reenactment and expansion of the Mexico City Policy, a ruling that blocks U.S. federal funding for NGOs and agencies that provide abortion counseling or referrals in any way. Future funding will reduce the possibility of properly combating the virus in Latin America, where it surfaced over the last two years. Thats because Trumps version of the Mexico City policy, which the administration recently dubbed the Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance, will cut $8.8 billion in funds, a dramatic increase from past implementations of the rule. And it will eliminate funding for USAID, the U.S. Agency for International Development, a government agency responsible for administering foreign aid. Prior policies cut around $600 million per year in global reproductive health funding, but the number has increased significantly, because, unlike prior policies under Republican administrations, Trumps plan includes cuts to all global health assistance, not just reproductive health.

Health care providers working overseas to combat diseases like Ebola, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, malaria and Zika, among other diseases, will all likely see their work and research diminish as a result of the funding cuts.

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And experts say the results could be devastating.

These viruses dont respect country borders, and the U.S. experienced alarm when both Ebola and Zika reached its shores, said Dr. Mellissa Withers, assistant professor at the Institute for Global Health at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine. But with proper interventions and health care abroad, citizens [were able] to stay healthy.

More than 5,000 cases of the Zika virus  which can be transmitted through mosquitoes, sexual intercourse, or from mother to unborn child  were recorded in the U.S. between Jan. 1, 2015, and March 1, 2017, according to a report released in April by the Pan American Health Organization. According to that data, about 4,700 of those cases occurred after Americans traveled back home from Zika hot spots.

Jackeline, 26, holds her son who is 4-months old and born with microcephaly, in front of their house in Olinda, near Recife, Brazil. (Photo: Nacho Doce/Reuters)

There is currently no vaccine or treatment for the illness, which, if contracted by a pregnant woman, can cause severe brain malformations known as microcephaly in newborns.

We live in an increasingly globalized society, where negative health outcomes in one part of the world can impact health and economics tens of thousands of miles away, said Dr. Kelly Culwell, a former medical officer with the World Health Organization and current chief medical officer for WCG Cares. If these organizations do not have sufficient funds to carry out their missions, we could see increased threats from these global diseases here in the U.S.

The impact this sweeping rule could have on the fights against these and other yet-to-emerge public health emergencies could be devastating domestically, just as these policies will likely have devastating consequences for women seeking family planning services globally, continued Culwell.

President Ronald Reagan enacted the Mexico City policy, named after the host city of the U.N. International Conference on Population where the U.S. announced it in 1984. It has gone in and out of effect since, depending on which party holds the Oval Office. Bill Clinton immediately rescinded the policy in his first week as president. George W. Bush reinstated it, and Barack Obama nixed it again. Trumps move to reenact the policy falls in line with his campaign promise to restrict abortion rights, both domestic and abroad.

The U.S. does not and has never funded abortion services overseas, even in countries that legally offer abortion in cases of incest, rape or life-threatening complications for the mother.

The money used for any abortion service is very, very separate from USAID funds, a spokesperson for Marie Stopes International (MSI), a family planning NGO that serves more than 150 countries, told Yahoo News in January. But under the Mexico City rule, American aid will be denied to organizations like MSI if it also provides abortions through separate funding sources.

An MSI vehicle sits outside a pop-up clinic in rural Uganda. (Photo: Mikaela Conley/Yahoo News)

Trump held an antiabortion stance during his presidential campaign. You have to ban it, he said in March 2016.

When the policy was last enacted during the George W. Bush administration, health care clinics in many countries were forced to close, and outreach services for the most vulnerable populations were eliminated. Millions of people around the globe were left without critical health services, including maternal and child health care, HIV testing and counseling, and contraceptives, including condoms. Bushs policy did not include cuts to funding for non-family-planning issues like malaria, tuberculosis, and vaccinations.

Trumps proposed budget also includes $1 billion in cuts to PEPFAR, or the Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which was instituted by George W. Bush. It funds HIV/AIDS treatment, testing and counseling around the world, and many consider the program to be the 43rd presidents greatest legacy.

Even fellow Republicans criticized Trumps proposed cuts to foreign aid programs like PEPFAR.

The government also announced in April that it will cut all funding for the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA), which provides maternal and child health services in more than 150 countries worldwide. The U.S. has long been a top donor to the U.N. agency  in 2016, the funds totaled $69 million. The agency credits those funds for helping to save 2,340 women from dying of pregnancy and childbirth, preventing 947,000 unintended pregnancies, preventing 295,000 unsafe abortions and ensuring 1,251 fistula surgeries.

Midwives who work with the U.N. Population Fund stand outside a maternity clinic in rural Java, Indonesia. (Photo: Mikaela Conley/Yahoo News)

Around 225 million women across the world are currently estimated to have an unmet need for modern family planning. In countries such as Zambia, Madagascar and Niger, up to 21 percent of married women have an unmet need for contraception, with fertility rates as high as 7.6 births per woman, said Culwell. The Population Fund works directly with local outreach workers, doctors and midwives to deliver reproductive health care to women throughout the world.

A spokesperson for UNFPA told Yahoo News that, with previous U.S. contributions, the agency was combatting gender-based violence and reducing the scourge of maternal deaths and injuries in the worlds most fragile settings, in areas of conflict and natural disasters, including Iraq, Nepal, Sudan, Syria, the Philippines, Ukraine and Yemen.

This will significantly affect the health and well-being of millions of girls and women in developing countries who depend on the life-saving health services affected by this decision, said Arthur Erken, direct of communications and strategic partnerships at Population Fund.

A recent report from the Guttmacher Institute found that each decrease of $10 million in U.S. funding for international reproductive health programs is estimated to result in 433,000 fewer women and couples receiving contraceptive services, 128,000 more unintended pregnancies and 55,000 more abortions. Numerous studies have shown that a lack of access to legal and safe abortion actually increases abortions.

Along with the millions of lives  mostly those of women and children  that are at stake because of the policy, research also shows that lack of contraception increases poverty and conflict, and in turn, decreases stability, not only in a region but also around the globe.

The world only has a finite amount of resources, said Withers. Those resources are becoming more scarce, so we should really be considering the health and sustainability of our planet when thinking about taking away access to contraception in already impoverished countries.

Furthermore, it has been reported that the U.S. directly benefits when societies across the world are healthy, thriving and growing more prosperous, said UNFPAS Erken.

He broke it down in this way: When women are able to time and space out the births of their children, families thrive. When families have the number of children theyre able to responsibly support, they are better able to feed, clothe and educate them. When families thrive, communities and economies thrive, resulting in a more prosperous and secure world. When developing countries become wealthier, they are better trading partners for the American people. Trade with them keeps American jobs.

An action like this deprioritizes women and girls and threatens womens rights across the globe, said Culwell. It will cost lives and money, while contributing to a more unequal and unstable world.

Read more from Yahoo News:
Unlike others who heard the news of Madison Mayor Paul Soglins interest in seeking the Democratic nomination for governor of Wisconsin in 2018, Barry Orton was not at all surprised.

The retired University of Wisconsin-Madison professor and longtime supporter said Monday that Soglin had dropped some hints over the past couple weeks.

Hes serious about this, Orton said. Its not a joke.

At the end of December, Soglin told the Capital Times he had not ruled out running for mayor in 2019 and said he could not think of anything that would keep him from running. He also told the Wisconsin State Journal he had no interest in challenging Gov. Scott Walker in a likely third-term race.

But Soglin said Tuesday while he hasnt previously given the governors seat any consideration, he has reconsidered recently after hearing encouragement from people in Madison and around the state.

Im just convinced right now that Wisconsin is looking for someone with the experience ... who knows how to build an economy, Soglin said. Ive done that.

Soglin said his over two decades of experience working in the private sector, in addition to his 20 years in the mayors office, gives him the opportunity to really make a difference. Soglin said he does not yet have a timeline for making a decision, but hes interested in visiting other areas of the state to get feedback.

If Soglin does decide to make a formal announcement, he needs to be prepared to lead a successful campaign.

Sara Soglin (Soglin's wife) said to me, You can run for governor but you better not lose, Soglin said.

Those who know Soglin said he could prove to be a strong contender as a Democratic candidate, comparing him to U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders. The Vermont democratic socialist garnered a large supportive base in Madison and won the states 2016 Democratic presidential primary.

Orton, who has served as editor of Soglins blog, said the parallels are too direct to ignore,  Hes Wisconsin's Bernie Sanders, Orton said  including similar age, demographic, background and experience. Sanders served as mayor of Burlington, Vermont, from 1981-1989.

Former Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, who defeated Soglin in 2003 and lost to him in 2011, is skeptical of the comparison, saying Sanders authenticity drove his support. He also pointed out that Sanders won a primary, not a general election, and that an off-year gubernatorial race could produce a smaller, more conservative electorate.

For a local candidate to say basically, 'I'm just like Bernie,' fails the authenticity test, Cieslewicz said in an email. You have to be like yourself and yourself needs to be likable.

Former Urban League of Greater Madison president Kaleem Caire said Soglins ability to connect with people would set him apart in a race if he chooses to run. However, Caire said he hasnt seen that side of Soglin lately.

Paul is the kind of person that would go and sit down with people and connect with them, Caire said. He is a community-minded mayor.

But thinking back on Soglins battles with the City Council and conversations the two of them have had about race, Caire said, Now hes not as open to other peoples ideas, in my opinion.

Caire has known Soglin since the 1970s as a supporter of Madisons racially and ethnically diverse south side and someone his grandmother respected. When Caire moved back to Madison from Washington D.C., he reconnected with Soglin.

Soglin served as mayor from 1973-79, 1989-97 and 2011 to now. Caire thinks thats enough.

I dont think Paul should run for mayor ever again. I think hes stayed in this job for too long. I think hes done a lot while hes here, Caire said. Under his leadership the city isnt going to fall apart.

Caire, whose name has been mentioned as a possible challenger to Soglin, said the city needs new blood to move forward. Likewise, he said, Soglin could bring new blood to the governors position. Caire also said he would have to see who else enters the race, but could see voting for Soglin if he runs for governor.

Running for governor would give him a new platform. Maybe it would give him a new breath of fresh air, Caire said.

But portraying a 72-year-old politician who first won elected office in Madison 50 years ago as new blood could be difficult. Stuart Levitan, a longtime political activist and Madison historian appointed by Soglin to the citys Landmarks Commission, acknowledged that age could be a challenge, although Soglin appears to be in good health. Fundraising could also be a factor in Soglins decision, he said.

But Soglin fits the mold of the anti-Walker candidate, Levitan said.

In terms of standing toe to toe with Walker and reciting chapter and verse of actual policy and policy implications, no one could do that better, Levitan said. He certainly would have a good narrative to tell about Madisons success. Obviously not all of Madisons success is due to him  theres a certain built-in advantage based on the university. But still, hes managed it well for a number of years.

However, Levitan added, Soglin has alienated a lot of people over a lot of years, adding that the citys progressive base likely would not rally behind him as it once might have. A recent example, Levitan said, is the ongoing friction between Soglin and Dane County Boys and Girls Club CEO Michael Johnson over how to address violence in the city.

While there are a lot of people who think Paul is past his sell date, Levitan said, there are also few people who demonstrated as strong an understanding of how government works.

If he did it, it sure would be fun, Levitan said.

Walker himself appeared to agree, telling reporters Monday he would love to have that battle, which would offer a great contrast.

Hes an unabashed throwback to the 1960s radical liberal out there, Walker said.

Republican lawmakers also welcomed Soglin as a potential candidate. Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke, R-Kaukauna, responded to the news that Soglin was considering a run by tweeting several praying-hands emojis.

Levitan compared the political environment today to the one Soglin saw in 1996, when he unsuccessfully challenged Republican former U.S. Rep. Scott Klug. Soglin garnered 41 percent of the vote to Klugs 57 percent.

While several other Democrats have indicated interest in challenging Walker, only one has officially declared candidacy for 2018.

I think Paul Soglin beats (Blue Jean Nation founder) Mike McCabe in a primary. Now, if (Dane County Sheriff) Dave Mahoney runs, Dave Mahoney would be an interesting candidate, Levitan said. I dont know if he has any interest in it, but Dave Mahoney would sure be a progressive law-and-order candidate from a population base.

Soglin highlighted Madisons strengthening economy in his 2018 operating budget instructions sent to department and division heads Monday. Unemployment rate is at 2.1 percent, home values increased by 6 percent in 2016 and real property values are up 10 percent, according to the memo. He also attributed two-thirds of all new jobs in Wisconsin in the past six years to Madison.

Were completely going against the flow of the state and while it will be a great challenge, Im convinced the kind of partnerships, the kind of investments that we have made will work and will lead to a creation of more jobs, get more families well above the poverty line, Soglin said.

State Rep. Terese Berceau, D-Madison, who was elected to the Dane County Board of Supervisors in 1992 and the state Assembly in 1998, did not comment directly on Soglins potential candidacy.

My only comment at this time is that I believe a primary would be good for our party so that we come out of it with our best candidate to beat Scott Walker. Its time to end Walkers destruction of the principles and policies that have guided us in Wisconsin for over a hundred years, Berceau said in an email.
President Donald Trump: AP

Donald Trump has announced his proposal to privatise the US's air traffic control system, part of his vision for a massive infrastructure overhaul that Democrats say could leave important assets in the hands of powerful corporations and special interest groups.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer blasted Mr Trumps infrastructure proposal, arguing that financiers would profit while average citizens will be stuck with the bill for projects aimed at trying to improve the nations waterways, roads and airports.

The administration's plan means Trump tolls from one end of America to the other, and huge profits for financiers who, when they put up the money, want to be repaid by the average driver, worker and citizen, Mr Schumer said.

Along with projects focused on rebuilding highways and waterways, Mr Trump wants to create a nonprofit corporation to take over the role of tracking and guiding airplanes, a task that is currently under the purview of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Trumps ideas for privatising air traffic control  which recycle a tired Republican plan that both sides of the aisle have rejected  would hand control of one of our nations most important assets to special interests and the big airlines, said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

In the White Houses East Room on Monday, with airline company executives in attendance, Mr Trump said the proposal is taking American air travel into the future.

Calling the current system ancient, broken, antiquated and horrible, the President said his reforms would make it safer and more reliable. He also asserted that moving the system to a private non-profit corporation will help speed up the shift from using land-based radar to more precise GPS tools, allowing more direct routes to reduce costs and fuel consumption for airlines.

The FAA has been transitioning toward a GPS system for several years, but it's not scheduled to be fully implemented until at least 2020.

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The President also slammed the Obama administration for investing money in an attempt to upgrade the system, an effort that totally failed, Mr Trump said.

Honestly, they didnt know what the hell they were doing, he said. A total waste of money.

Mr Trumps plan would need congressional approval, and both Republicans and Democrats in the past have expressed wariness about transferring the air traffic control duties from the government to a corporation.

Last year, a similar bill championed by Republican congressman Bill Shuster, chairman of the House Transportation Committee, never made it to a vote on the House floor. The White House used Mr Shusters bill as a guide to form its proposal.

While major airlines and the air traffic controllers' union are generally supportive of the proposal, certain trade groups  such as the National Business Aviation Association and the General Aviation Manufacturers Association  have said that private air traffic management would give big airline companies too much power and could threaten private aviation in smaller communities.

In a call with reporters, Mr Trump's chief economic adviser Gary Cohn asserted that there is money to make sure that rural airports get protected.

Democrats, preferring a much larger infusion of government money, have expressed scepticism over Mr Trumps overall infrastructure plan for its heavy reliance on private funding.

Mr Trump has proposed to set aside $200 billion (154 billion) over 10 years for infrastructure, which critics have said is not the big spending that Mr Trump promised during his campaign. According to the Presidents budget request, the funds would be used to encourage companies, as well as state and local governments, to invest at least $800 billion in US infrastructure projects.

Calling it a broken promise of Mr Trumps budget request, Democratic congressman Brendan Boyle asserted that the proposal falls short of the $1 trillion Mr Trump pledged during the campaign, one of his few promises that received support from Democrats.

Mr Schumer declared on the Senate floor that President Trumps campaign promises on infrastructure are crumbling faster than our roads and bridges.

During a House budget committee hearing, the White Houses Budget Director Mick Mulvaney repeatedly emphasised that private capital investment is more effective and more accountable than government investment. But Mr Schumer says the White Houses focus on privatisation means less construction and far fewer jobs, particularly in rural areas.
US President Donald Trump with King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud during the president's visit to the Middle East last month: EPA

Donald Trump has appeared to side with Saudi Arabia in its diplomatic stand-off with Qatar, referencing his recent trip to the Saudi capital of Riyadh in which he vowed to crack down on Islamic extremism.

During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar  look! the US president tweeted on Tuesday.

Mr Trumps post was followed up with two more a few hours later reading, So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding... extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!

So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding...  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017

...extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017

Saudi Arabia, along with Gulf neighbours the UAE and Bahrain as well as Egypt, took an unexpected decision to isolate the tiny kingdom on Monday in a coordinated severing of diplomatic ties, alleging the energy-rich state funds terror groups. The row could have manifold economic and political effects for the Middle East, as well as alter the course of the region's many conflicts.

On Tuesday, supermarket shelves across the country were empty after panic buying and Doha's Hamad International Airport was eerily quiet as the first concrete effects of the rift were felt.

A statement from Monday carried on SPA, the Saudi state news agency, accused Doha of harbouring "terrorist and sectarian groups that aim to destabilise the region including the Muslim Brotherhood, Isis and Al-Qaeda," as well as alleged Iranian-backed Shia militia activity in east Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Suggestions Qatar is abetting Shia Iran - the majority Sunni Gulf's arch-rival - are particularly sensitive. Doha has dismissed the claims as "baseless."

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The Qatari Government will take all necessary measures... to thwart attempts to influence and harm the Qatari society and economy, a statement from the foreign ministry said.

It went on to describe the crisis as being fuelled by absolute fabrications stemming from last month's hacking of Qatars state-run news agency.

The row has been caused in part by backlash over Qatars decision to rescue 24 members of the royal family, as well as two Saudi nationals, who were kidnapped by Shia paramilitaries while on a hunting trip in southern Iraq - a deal exclusively revealed by The Independent in April.

Dohas agreement to pay the extraordinary $500m (389m) ransom greatly angered its Gulf neighbours, who have long accused it of funding or otherwise supporting controversial groups and meddling in regional affairs, particularly through state-owned broadcaster al-Jazeera.

Iran, which Mr Trump singled out as a key source of funding and support for extremist groups during his two-day trip to Riyadh last month, is a secondary target of the decision by Saudi Arabia and its allies.

For its part, Tehran has accused the US of setting the scene for this week's growing spat during Mr Trumps visit to Saudi Arabia.

What is happening is the preliminary result of the sword dance, Hamid Aboutalebi, deputy chief of staff of Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, tweeted, in a reference to a traditional ceremonial dance that took place during the welcome ceremony on the president's arrival.

Mr Trump met with leaders and envoys from 50 Muslim countries during the 20-21 May visit to Riyadh, where he gave a speech on the importance of the international community working together to stamp out extremism.

The US maintains a military base in Qatar home to some 10,000 troops.

In a statement on Monday, US Central Command said that the deepening row - which has effectively shut down Qatar's airspace and land and sea borders - would have no effect on planned US military flights or operations.
Mr Trump spoke with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani in Riyadh: AP

Very soon, DC Comics may have to create a new superhero based on him.

Fresh from dressing-down Londons mayor in the aftermath of the London Bridge attack and criticising his own Justice Department for not defending his Muslim travel ban, Donald Trump has now claimed he may have lit the flame that will end the horror of terrorism.

In a series of tweets, the US President sided with Saudi Arabia in its diplomatic stand off with Qatar, and suggested that he had been told it was the source of much radical Islam.

So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding...  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017

During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar - look, he wrote.

...extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017

So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding....extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism.

Mr Trumps comments on Twitter were his first reference to the falling out between Qatar and major Arab nations over Dohas alleged support of Iran and Islamist groups, allegations that Qatar strongly denies.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed relations with Qatar and closed their airspace to commercial flights on Monday, in what Reuters said was the worst split between powerful Arab states in decades.

Mr Trumps comments will complicate its relationship with Qatar, home to the USs largest concentration of military personnel in the Middle East, at Al Udeid Air Base. The base, located 20 miles south-west of Doha, is the location of around 11,000 US military personnel.

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In 2016, the base was used as staging ground to fly B-52 airstrikes against Isis targets in Iraq and Syria. Early in the Afghanistan campaign, F-16 fighters and E-8C Joint Stars reconnaissance planes that monitor ground units were based there, along with refuelling tankers, CNN said.

The split among the Sunni states erupted last month after Mr Trump attended a summit of Muslim leaders hosted by Saudi Arabia, where he denounced Shiite Irans destablising interventions in Arab lands, where Iran and Saudi Arabia are rivals.

During that summit, Mr Trump held a bilateral meeting with Qatars Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani.

Reuters said Gulf Arab officials have reported that Kuwaits emir, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber al-Sabah, will meet Saudi Arabia's King Salman, in an effort to heal the damaging rift which has affected global oil prices, hit travel plans and sown confusion among bankers in the region.

In a sign of the potential consequences for the Qatari economy, a number of banks began stepping back from business dealings with Qatar. Saudi Arabias central bank advised banks in the kingdom not to trade with Qatari banks in Qatari riyals, sources said.

Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani told Al Jazeera TV that Qatar will not retaliate, hoping Kuwait will help resolve the dispute. It wants to give Kuwaits ruler the ability to proceed and communicate with the parties to the crisis and to try to contain the issue.

Qatar's leader, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, spoke by telephone overnight with his counterpart in Kuwait and, in order to allow Kuwait to mediate, decided to put off a planned speech to the nation, the foreign minister said.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte offered large bounties Monday for the leaders of Islamist fighters holding parts of a southern city as the military warned its recapture may take longer than expected.

Hundreds of gunmen loyal to the Islamic State (IS) group are battling air strikes, artillery and ground forces in Marawi. Up to 2,000 civilians are believed to have been trapped for two weeks in districts held by the militants, the government says.

The fighting has killed at least 178 people and caused nearly a quarter of a million others to flee, according to government officials.

Fresh rewards totalling 20 million pesos ($410,000) are on offer from Duterte for the "neutralisation" of Isnilon Hapilon, Abdullah Maute and his brother Omarkhayam Maute, a military statement said.

"We hope that this will bear significant accomplishments leading to the eventual arrest and neutralisation of Isnilon Hapilon and the Maute brothers," military chief of staff General Eduardo Ano said in the statement.

Half the amount will be for Hapilon, whom Ano described as the "amir" or top leader of the IS in the Philippines.

The US government also has a $5 million bounty on Hapilon's head for the kidnapping and killing of US citizens, as well as a standing bounty of 7.4 million pesos by the Philippine government.

Manila says it is fighting up to 250 gunmen holed up in central Marawi, the largely Catholic nation's most important Islamic city and home to 200,000 people.

The gunmen are a combination of Hapilon's Abu Sayyaf group, blamed for the country's deadliest bombings as well as kidnappings, and militants led by the Mautes and based in the Marawi region.

More than 224,000 residents of the city and nearby towns have fled the fighting, the provincial government said Monday.

Shortly after the violence erupted Duterte imposed martial law across the southern region of Mindanao, home to 20 million people, to quell what he said was an IS bid to establish a base in the country.

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The military warned Monday that defeating the militants, who are also believed to include several foreign fighters, was proving "difficult" even though 120 of them had been killed.

The gunmen were using an extensive network of tunnels and basements built many years ago beneath the buildings they have seized, military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Jo-ar Herrera told AFP.

They had also sited powerful weapons such as machine guns inside mosques and traditional Islamic schools that are off-limits to air strikes and artillery attacks, he added.

"What they are doing is un-Islamic," he said.

The buildings are also believed to contain at least a month's worth of food stocked up by their owners for the entire Muslim fasting month of Ramadan that coincided with the fighting, Herrera added.
London (AFP) - When British Prime Minister Theresa May on April 18 called a snap general election, the smart money said she would be handed a crushing victory.

May was deemed to have two massive advantages -- the chance of portraying strong leadership for Brexit and, a rival, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, scorned by many voters as weak and fumbling.

In such light, May was predicted to see her slender majority of 17 in the 650-seat House of Commons surge, quite possibly to triple figures.

But as the clock ticks down to polling day on Thursday, these expectations have become clouded by uncertainty.

"She thought she was going to win comfortably, easily, and without much effort. She has been disabused of that," said Iain Begg, a professor of politics at the London School of Economics (LSE).

"She was expecting a very substantial increase in her majority. Anything short of 50 seats is going to look a very bad performance for her."

Campaign trail missteps and a better-than-expected performance by Corbyn have combined to melt May's commanding lead.

- 'Strong and stable' -

Now, with just a few days of campaigning left, she may also face awkward questions about why Britain's security services seem unable to thwart a string of terror attacks.

In the past three months, three assaults in London and Manchester have killed 34 people and injured more than 200 others.

On Sunday, pollster Survation gave the ruling party just a one point lead over Labour on June 4.

Another poll, released a few days earlier by YouGov, even suggested the Conservatives could fall short of a majority and require the support of another party to govern -- a so-called hung parliament.

As last year's referendum on Britain's EU membership showed, opinion polls can be hugely unreliable.

Even so, talk of how Labour might be wiped out in some Brexit-backing seats has subsided, and some Conservative campaigners are saying candidates are struggling on the doorstep.

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May's mantra of "strong and stable leadership" as Brexit looms has been the centrepiece of the Conservatives' campaign.

But the monolithic image has cracked in the face of an embarrassing policy U-turn and May's starchy public manner.

- 'Liar, Liar' -

May backtracked on a manifesto policy on capping elderly social care, after a backlash from voters who feared they would have to sacrifice their wealth as they aged.

The tabloids stingingly called it a "dementia tax".

"It has affected perceptions," Paul Howell, a Conservative candidate in northeast England, admitted to AFP after the premier made a visit there last week.

May has also come under fire for refusing to join a head-to-head debate with Corbyn -- and when she does address the public directly, has been accused of offering only pat slogans.

She has sought to steer debate towards the question of who is best suited to get Britain through the arduous negotiations for Brexit.

May likes to contrast her six years' experience as interior minister with Corbyn's lifetime of left-wing protest.

But Brexit -- for many a toxic and divisive issue -- has featured far less in the campaign than might have been expected.

Instead, the biggest issues have been concerns about cuts to school funding and the overstretched National Health Service (NHS).

Both heavily benefit Labour.

Corbyn has promised a large increase in funding for public services, paid for by higher taxes for the rich and for businesses -- an antidote to seven years of Conservative austerity.

The state of the public services, and May's U-turns, also feature heavily in a ska protest song, "Liar, Liar", which reached number four in the UK charts on Friday.

- 'Comfortable in his skin' -

Just a few months ago, more of their supporters backed May as prime minister than Corbyn, a veteran socialist viewed as unelectable by a majority of his own Labour MPs.

But he has put in a number of assured performances on television.

"He has looked and sounded comfortable in his skin, in stark contrast to a prime minister who is brittle when she is not absent," a Times columnist observed.

He is a divisive leader, however, and some Labour candidates have said they are going out of their way not to mention his name to voters, stressing their own credentials.

As the election appears increasingly to be a two-horse race, smaller parties are being squeezed out -- except in Scotland, where the nationalist SNP is expected to retain most of the 56 out of 59 seats it won in 2015.

The smaller Liberal Democrats look on course to make little progress, despite presenting themselves as the main anti-Brexit party.
During an appearance on Fox News about the classified document leaks in the recent times, London Center for Policy Researchs Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer said more millennials are turning against President Donald Trump and the White House. Speaking on the issue, Shaffer said: "There are a lot of folks who think they are a part of the 'resistance' who are apt to do this sort of thing not realising the damage they are going to do to the national security."

When asked if he thinks that millennials are the ones compromising national security, Shaffer responded saying: "Look, I know millennials who are outstanding. Couple of them even voted for President Trump. I think they are great people, but, there are some others too... like in the Muslim religion. In the Muslim faith, there are a bunch of individuals who are radicals. Well, in the millennials you tend to have that kind of situation too."

"My point being when you look at this, these millennials who have been brought up to this liberal system which has made them snowflakes and then they react to this so-called resistance. They are 'not a part' of this resistance which is supposed to be opposing everything that the president does and what they do is they augment the step that we've talked about."

Read: Megyn Kelly's Putin Interview: Russian President Says CIA Could Have Hacked US Presidential Election

Shaffer's theory comes in the wake of the recent arrest of a federal contractor accused of leaking classified documents to a news organization. The U.S. Department of Justice on Saturday arrested a contractor from her Georgia home for allegedly leaking classified NSA information on Russias role in the hacking of the 2016 presidential election to a news organization.

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a criminal complaint in the Southern District of Georgia Monday against Reality Leigh Winner, 25, a federal contractor from Augusta, for removing classified material from a government facility and mailing it to a news outlet, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Section 793(e). Winner appeared in a federal court Monday afternoon. She worked with Pluribus International Corporation since Feb. 13 and held a top state clearance.

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Exceptional law enforcement efforts allowed us quickly to identify and arrest the defendant, Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein said. Releasing classified material without authorization threatens our nations security and undermines public faith in government. People who are trusted with classified information and pledge to protect it must be held accountable when they violate that obligation, he added.

The leaked document, dated May 5, contains details of a 2016 Russian military intelligence cyber attack on a U.S. voting software supplier, although there is not much evidence that the voting was in any way affected by the hack, CNN reported.

A story about the leaked document was published by The Intercept, an online news portal hours before FBI arrested Winner. Although FBIs criminal complaint does not mention anything about the news organization, a senior federal officer confirmed to NBC News that Winner was the one who leaked the classified document to the news company.

Read: 'Take a pill': Putin slams claims of US election hacking and Russian meddling as 'some kind of hysteria'

The Intercept also reported that this document is the most detailed account of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

The document completely contradicts Russian President Vladimir Putins denial that his country interfered in the U.S. election. In an interview with American journalist Megyn Kelly, Putin refuted claims of meeting between Russian officials and President Donald Trumps campaign team. I didn't know anyone was meeting anyone," Putin said adding, "It just some kind of hysteria and just doesn't stop. Do we need to give you a pill? Does anyone have a pill? Give them a pill, really, honestly. It's surprising."

Titus Thomas Nichols, Winners attorney told NBC News that his client has no previous criminal record and that she is looking forward to putting this behind her.

When interrogated by prosecutors, Winner admitted to deliberately stealing the classified documents and leaking it to the media, the report said.

Reality Winner

Photo: Reality Winner/Social Media via Reuters

In an interview with CNN, Winners mother, Billie, said her daughter is touch and go. I think she's trying to be brave for me. I don't think she's seeing a light at the end of the tunnel, she further said.

House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Jason Chaffetz praised Winners arrest in an appearance on Fox News' "The Story with Martha MacCallum." When you have classified information, you cannot put that out there just because you think it would be a good idea," Chaffetz said. "I want people in handcuffs and I want to see people behind bars, he added, Fox News reported.

Extending his support to Winner, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange termed her as a whistleblower and called on the public to support Winner.

If convicted, Winner will face up to 10 years in prison.

This story has been updated to add a quote.

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Miami (AFP) - World leaders convene at UN headquarters next week for the first major bid to solve the toughest problems facing our oceans, from coral bleaching to plastic pollution, overfishing and rising seas due to climate change.

The Ocean Conference in New York from June 5-9 will attempt to rally nations big and small to make meaningful changes to preserve what is arguably the Earth's most important resource, experts say.

US President Donald Trump's recent decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord is anticipated to be a hot topic at the talks, which no high-ranking US officials are expected to attend.

But despite Trump's decision Thursday to end US participation in the Paris deal, which drew worldwide condemnation, experts at the Pew Charitable Trust said the United States has been a part of crafting a broad "call to action," and is expected to sign it.

"We are committed to halting and reversing the decline in the health and productivity of our ocean," says the three-page document, which also expresses alarm at the impact of climate change on the ocean.

The call to action is expected to be signed and released at some point during the week-long conference, which will bring government officials, ocean advocates and some heads of state to New York.

The US pullout from Paris means other nations will lead the way at the UN talks, particularly small island nations that have the most to lose from rising seas.

"How can you worry about someone who is not in the room?" said Ambassador Ronny Jumeau, permanent representative to the United Nations for the Seychelles islands.

"Look at who is here, who is sitting in the front row, and say, 'Now what are we going to do about this?'"

- Ocean woes -

The world just marked its three hottest years in modern times. And the oceans have absorbed about one third of the carbon dioxide released by human activities, protecting the planet from the full brunt of climate change.

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Melting glaciers and sea ice at the poles threatens swell sea level to the point of washing away entire islands and populated coastlines -- home to 37 percent of the planet's population -- in the coming decades.

Just 20 inches (half meter) of sea level rise could displace 1.2 million people from islands in the Caribbean Sea, Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Recent studies have shown the troubling extent of plastic pollution, even in the most remote parts of the world.

An uninhabited island in the south Pacific, Henderson Island, thousands of miles from civilization was recently shown to be piling up more than 3,500 pieces of plastic per day.

Every year, more than eight million tons of plastic washes into the oceans, costing at least $8 billion in damage to marine ecosystems and killing an estimated one million sea birds, 100,000 sea mammals and untold numbers of fish.

And famous coral reefs, such as Australia's Great Barrier Reef, are suffering from hot temperatures like never before in modern times, with mass bleaching and die-offs continuing unabated for the past two years.

"Small island states cannot afford to be dismayed or feel down or depressed about any of this," said Jumeau during a UN press conference.

"We are reaching out to all the friends of the oceans that you can think of to meet the challenges that we face."

- Call to action -

Previous global meetings on problems facing the oceans have taken place, but the World Wildlife Fund's John Tanzer described this one as "historic" because the talks are under the auspices of the United Nations for the first time.

"The reality is that oceans have been in steep decline for at least the last 50 or 60 years," Tanzer, global oceans lead at WWF, told AFP.

"Here we are in 2017, and it is impossible to talk of anywhere in the world's oceans as being pristine," he said.

Specifically, nations will talk about how to meet the 2015 UN-adopted Sustainable Development Goal 14, to "conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources."

Targets include protecting at least 10 percent of coastal and marine environments by 2020, reducing ocean pollution and strengthening ways to fight illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

A recent report found that illegal fishing in the Pacific has reached a "staggering" value of up to $740 million a year, with much of the problem blamed on fleets from the US, Asia and Europe that under-report their catches.

Individual nations and advocacy groups are already announcing voluntary steps they will take to conserve oceans and protect marine life.

Those pledges will be updated throughout the conference, and can be seen online at oceanconference.un.org/commitments.
Top lawyers with at least four major law firms rebuffed White House overtures to represent President Trump in the Russia investigations, in part over concerns that the president would be unwilling to listen to their advice, according to five sources familiar with discussions about the matter.

The unwillingness of some of the countrys most prestigious attorneys and their law firms to represent Trump has complicated the administrations efforts to mount a coherent defense strategy to deal with probes being conducted by four congressional committees as well as Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller.

The presidents chief lawyer now in charge of the case is Marc E. Kasowitz, a tough New York civil litigator who for years has aggressively represented Trump in multiple business and public relations disputes  often with threats of countersuits and menacing public statements  but who has little experience dealing with complex congressional and Justice Department investigations that are inevitably influenced by media coverage and public opinion.

Before Kasowitz was retained, however, some of the biggest law firms and their best-known attorneys turned down overtures when they were sounded out by White House officials to see if they would be willing to represent the president, the sources said.

President Trump (Photo: Joshua Roberts/Reuters)

Among them, sources said, were some of the most high-profile names in the legal profession, including Brendan Sullivan of Williams & Connolly; Ted Olson of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher; Paul Clement and Mark Filip of Kirkland & Ellis; and Robert Giuffra of Sullivan & Cromwell.

The lawyers and their firms cited a variety of factors in choosing not to take on the president as a client. Some, like Brendan Sullivan, said they had upcoming trials or existing commitments that would make it impossible for them to devote the necessary time and resources to Trumps defense.

Others mentioned potential conflicts with clients of their firms, such as financial institutions that have already received subpoenas relating to potential money-laundering issues that are part of the investigation.

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But a consistent theme, the sources said, was the concern about whether the president would accept the advice of his lawyers and refrain from public statements and tweets that have consistently undercut his position.

The concerns were, The guy wont pay and he wont listen, said one lawyer close to the White House who is familiar with some of the discussions between the firms and the administration, as well as deliberations within the firms themselves.

President Trump in the Oval Office. (Photo: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

Other factors, the lawyer said, were that it would kill recruitment for the firms to be publicly associated with representing the polarizing president and jeopardize the firms relationships with other clients.

Another lawyer briefed on some of the discussions agreed that the firms were worried about the reputational risk of representing the president. One issue that arose, this lawyer said, was Do I want to be associated with this president and his policies? In addition, the lawyer said, there were concerns that if they took on the case, Whos in charge? and Would he listen?

None of the lawyers who turned down the White House overtures responded to requests for comment by Yahoo News.

The White House began discreetly reaching out to assemble an outside legal team several weeks ago, after the public uproar over the firing of FBI Director James Comey  who is due to testify before the Senate intelligence committee on Thursday  followed by the appointment of Mueller as Justice Department special counsel.

Among those who began calling around on the presidents behalf were White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, senior counselor Kellyanne Conway and White House counsel Don McGahn. In some cases, the discussions led to meetings or phone calls between the lawyers who were approached and the president himself.

Some of the sources who spoke to Yahoo News said the top lawyers and the four firms that rejected the overtures were not exhaustive of the list of firms approached by the White House. Among those who also were reportedly approached were Reid Weingarten of Steptoe & Johnson and A.B. Culvahouse Jr. of OMelveny & Myers.

The hiring of Kasowitz has been criticized by some who view the New York lawyer as a pit-bull litigator who lacks the finesse to represent the president in probes that involve the public arena. Among the cases on which he has represented Trump over the years were lawsuits involving Trump University and divorce proceedings.

But one of the sources said that Kasowitz has been reaching out to Washington legal veterans to solicit ideas and suggestions about how to craft an overall defense strategy, including how and when to publicly release information that might be helpful to the presidents defense, the source said.

Read more from Yahoo News:
Los Angeles (AFP) - Never known to do things by halves, George and Amal Clooney, one of the most glamorous power couples in the world, on Tuesday announced they had become parents at last, to twins.

"This morning Amal and George welcomed Ella and Alexander Clooney into their lives," said a publicist for the 56-year-old star of "Gravity" and "Ocean's 11."

"Ella, Alexander and Amal are all healthy, happy and doing fine," added publicist Stan Rosenfield, joking that "George is sedated and should recover in a few days."

Amal's parents, who are Lebanese, told AFP they were elated by the news and that everything had gone smoothly.

"We are over the moon," said Amal's mother Baria, speaking from London where she was in hospital with her daughter. "It was a beautiful delivery. The babies are beautiful and are doing well."

Amal's father Ramzi Alamuddin, reached in Beirut, said he had spoken with his daughter and son-in-law after the twins' birth and hoped to travel to London soon to meet them.

"They are in great health, all is perfect. I am very happy for them," he said, predicting the couple "will be great parents."

Oscar-winner Clooney was once one of Hollywood's hottest bachelors before falling for the stunning 39-year-old Lebanese-British human rights barrister. They married in 2014 in Venice, in a lavish wedding attended by A-listers and closely covered by media outlets from around the globe.

- Classic names -

News of the twins' birth set social media abuzz on Tuesday with many commenting on the classic names picked for the baby boy and girl.

"Amal Clooney gives birth to twins with beautiful, average names," read one tweet.

"I usually eschew celebrity news, but George and Amal Clooney having twins (boy & girl) seems like good news for humanity on some tiny level," another twitter user noted.

"Welcome to the world, Ella and Alexander Clooney," said US talk show host Ellen DeGeneres. "Congratulations, George and Amal, or as I'm now calling you, Ocean's Four."

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Amal was born in Lebanon before her family moved to Britain when she was three years old.

After her wedding to Clooney, she threw her legal clout and celebrity behind a series of high-profile causes including Britain's possible restitution of the Elgin Marbles to Greece.

She has also defended the cause of young Yazidi women who were abused by fighters of the Islamic State jihadist group.

Past clients include former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko and Australian Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

She defended Al-Jazeera reporter Mohamed Fahmy after he was jailed in Egypt and was part of the legal team for former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed following his toppling in 2012.

- 'The minute we met' -

Actor, director and producer George was married to actress Talia Balsam from 1989 to 1993, before his role in hit television series "ER" propelled him to international stardom.

He first met Amal in Italy in 2013 through a mutual friend and admitted to chasing her for months before she agreed to a date.

"From the minute we met, we just sort of felt like we were going to be together," he once told DeGeneres.

He said he popped the question six months after the pair started dating.

The silver-haired actor has won a slew of top awards including an Oscar for best supporting actor in "Syriana" in 2006 and a 2013 best picture award as producer for "Argo."

He also garnered Golden Globes as best actor in the Coen Brothers' "O' Brother Where Art Thou" in 2001 and Alexander Payne's "The Descendants" in 2012.

Another power couple, pop superstar Beyonce and rapper husband Jay Z are also expecting twins later this year.
World Environment Day is here, and Google is showing support the best way it knows how: through a colorful, green doodle.

Google is going green for World Environment Day.

Image: google

In the doodle, Google's logo grows green and sprouts leaves as a way to highlight World Environment Day, an annual celebration hosted by the United Nations. The day, celebrated on June 5 every year, is designed to promote awareness and action for environmental protection, according to the UN's website. Each year, a theme is chosen based on pressing environmental issues. A host country is also chosen for official celebrations.

This year's theme is connecting people to nature.

SEE ALSO: U.S. mayors and governors defy Trump, will stick to Paris agreement anyway

2017's World Environment Day comes at a pretty interesting time  less than one week after President Donald Trump announced that he would withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, an international treaty designed to address climate change. It was a move met with harsh criticism across the globe, particularly from the the U.S.'s northern neighbor  and coincidentally this year's World Environment Day host  Canada.

For today's celebration, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau penned a letter online explaining his country's commitment to the environment, in which he stated that "climate change is real," and said he's proud of the work Canada has done, along with other governments around the world.

"It was an honour to join with leaders from 194 other parties last year to finalize the historic Paris Agreement, which outlines ambitious actions to combat climate change, adapt to its effects, and collectively build a sustainable world," he wrote. "Canada is committed to working with the global community to protect the environment we all share."

Trudeau was one of many world leaders to express disappointment with Trump's decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement last week.

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We are deeply disappointed that the United States federal government has decided to withdraw from the Paris Agreement.  Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) June 1, 2017

"While the U.S. decision is disheartening, we remain inspired by the growing momentum around the world to combat climate change and transition to clean growth economies," he said in a statement.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron were among those who also criticized Trump's move. Along with Nicaragua and Syria, the U.S. is the only other nation abstaining from the agreement, setting back the U.S.'s efforts to fight climate change and protect the environment in general, experts say.
MADISON  About four minutes before Assembly Republicans even stepped to the podium to present their education funding plan, the state Senate majority leader declared the proposal dead on arrival.

So it has gone in the state Legislature, with Republicans mired in a budget impasse over education, transportation and taxes.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and other Assembly Republicans touted their education plan for addressing school funding inequities, with state aid targeted toward low-spending school districts. It would also represent roughly $70 million less than Gov. Scott Walkers proposed $649 million increase in per-pupil aid.

Vos, a Rochester Republican, called it a starting point for negotiations with the Senate. But Senate Majority Scott Fitzgerald dismissed the plan.

A proposal that raises property taxes and picks winners and losers within our school districts is a move away from the position of both the governor and the Senate Republican Caucus, said state Sen. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau. The Assembly package that was endorsed today is simply not the direction that this budget is headed.

Walker has threatened to veto the entire budget if property taxes go up beyond what they were in 2014 on a median-valued home. Under the Assembly plan, taxes would reportedly increase $11 on a median-valued home from what they were three years ago.

In a press conference at the Capitol, Vos said fellow Republican Fitzgerald said hes just going to be a rubber stamp for Gov. Walker.

I dont get why we would say we dont want to improve his plan, Vos said.

Bound to be some differences

The current two-year, $76 billion, budget runs through June 30, but state spending will continue at current levels if a new budget isnt enacted by then.

Senate leaders said Monday they may end up passing their own separate plan, a move Vos labeled as a threat, while Walker said theres still time for everyone to come together.

Its June 6, Walker told reporters in Wisconsin Dells. A lot can happen in 48 hours, let alone the next 3 1/2 weeks. If we were in the fall, it would be a little different matter. But again, 3 weeks out. Weve got such sizable majorities in the Assembly and Senate, theres bound to be some differences because youve got such a large group of people.

Republicans have their largest majority in the Assembly since 1957 and in the Senate since 1971.

Vos did not commit to passing a budget by July 1, calling it an artificial date that would not impact the average resident since the current budget would simply continues as is. He wants to continue talks with other Republicans.

I am willing to negotiate at anytime, any place, anywhere, Vos said, as long as people of goodwill get together and dont draw hard lines in the sand before theyve even heard the other persons ideas.

Democratic state Rep. Peter Barca, who represents part of southeast Racine County, said Republicans need to put aside their squabbling and do whats right for the people of Wisconsin.

When many schools in Wisconsin are having trouble keeping their doors open, they dont have the luxury of waiting for the outcome of petty political battles, said Barca, the Assembly Democratic Leader from Kenosha.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Photo credit: Getty

From Redbook

Photo credit: Getty

Halle Berry made an appearance at the Chrysalis Butterfly Ball in Los Angeles on Sunday, and instead of focusing on her commitment to raising awareness for homeless and low-income individuals, all anyone could talk about was the star's alleged "baby bump."

Photo credit: Getty

Berry wore head to toe silver, and appeared to cradle her "bump" on the red carpet. Berry's rep told Page Six on Monday, "It is completely untrue. She is not pregnant."

Photo credit: Getty

Anyone who's ever worn sequins knows how unforgiving the material can be - clearly, the light just managed to hit Berry in a way that highlighted her (enviable) curves.

Photo credit: Getty

Just three weeks ago, Berry posted a (probably?) naked photo to Instagram, so it seems pretty obvious this was just a poor choice of posing. We've all been there, Halle.

Ill tell you what freedom is to me. No fear. #NinaSimone A post shared by Halle Berry (@halleberry) on May 16, 2017 at 5:49pm PDT

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There are about 1,200 Islamic State (IS) group operatives in the Philippines, including foreigners of whom 40 are from Indonesia, the Indonesian defence minister told an international security forum Sunday.

Speaking in Singapore amid a bloody standoff between Philippine troops and militants fighting under the IS flag in Marawi city, Defence Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu called the militants "killing machines" and urged full-scale regional cooperation against them.

"I was advised last night, 1,200 ISIS in the Philippines, around 40 from Indonesia," Ryacudu told the Shangri-La Dialogue, using another name for the IS group.

The threat of heightened terrorism, including the impending return of hundreds of Southeast Asian fighters who fought with IS in Syria and Iraq, has been a hot-button issue at the three-day Singapore summit also attended by US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.

Hundreds of Islamist gunmen rampaged through Marawi, a largely Muslim city of 200,000 in the south of the mainly Catholic Philippines, on May 23 after government forces attempted to arrest their leader, Isnilon Hapilon.

Up to 50 gunmen are still controlling the city centre nearly two weeks after the start of fighting that has killed 177 people including 120 militants.

"How can we tackle these foreign fighters? We have to be comprehensive," said Ryacudu, a retired general.

"We have to find... complete ways but we must exercise caution, they are killing machines. Their aim is to kill other people so that's why it's our responsibility that we have common understanding, consensus and common proceedings on how to fight these foreign fighters."

Philippine Defense Undersecretary Ricardo David, speaking at the same forum, said the 1,200 figure for total IS fighters in the Philippines mentioned by Indonesia was new to him.

"I really don't know, my figure is about 250-400, a lot less," he told reporters.

But David said there were 40 foreign IS fighters among those who seized parts of Marawi, eight of whom have been killed by government forces.

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Earlier, Philippine officials said the slain foreign fighters were from Malaysia, Indonesia, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Chechnya.

"Our intelligence estimates that there are about 40 foreigners that fought in the Marawi incident," David said.

The Philippine official added that the foreign fighters used "back channels" in the Sulu and Celebes Seas near the borders of the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia to enter the southern island of Mindanao and link up with local terror groups.

"That's why they were able to muster the operations in the area of Marawi," David said.
Jacob Tremblay on the set of The Predator (Photo: @JacobTremblay/Twitter)

One of Hollywoods busiest child stars is moving on to his next adventure. Jacob Tremblay, 10, just wrapped filming on The Predator, Shane Blacks reboot of the 1980s sci-fi/action franchise (in theaters next summer). To mark the occasion, Tremblay tweeted out a picture of himself on set, his back to the camera, in a The Predator directors chair.

#ThatsaWrap! Time for me to #GETTOTHECHOPPA!!! wrote the actor (who tweets with his parents supervision).

That last hashtag, of course, is a callback to Arnold Schwarzeneggers famous line from the original 1987 Predator. In one of the signature lines of Schwarzeneggers career (see below), his special ops officer Dutch urges prisoner Anna (Elpidia Carrillo) to run for her life, after the rest of his team is killed by the titular alien creature.

Tremblay, best known for playing the son of a kidnapping victim in 2015s Room, stars in The Predator alongside Boyd Holbrook, Olivia Munn, Sterling K. Brown, Keegan-Michael Key, Thomas Jane, and Moonlights Trevante Rhodes. Before The Predator hits theaters in August 2018, audiences can see Tremblay in The Book of Henry (in theaters June 16) and the film adaptation of the YA bestseller Wonder (in theaters Nov. 17).

How Room co-stars Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay bonded over Star Wars:

Read more from Yahoo Movies:
A Jewish nurse volunteered to breastfeed a Palestinian baby whose parents were in a serious car crash. (Photo: Getty Images)

A Jewish pediatric nurse stepped in to breastfeed a 9-month-old Palestinian baby after his parents were in a deadly car accident.

The couple and their baby from Hebron  a Palestinian city in Israels West Bank  were in a car accident on June 2 that killed the father and left the mother seriously injured, according to YNet News. The mother, who sustained a major head injury since she wasnt wearing a seatbelt when their car collided head-on with a bus, and her baby, Yaman, were brought to the pediatric emergency room at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem for treatment.

With the mother in no condition to breastfeed her baby boy, his aunts tried to bottle feed him, but Yaman, who only sustained minor injuries, refused to eat for seven hours and continued to cry.

The aunts approached a Jewish pediatric nurse, Ula Ostrowski-Zak, and asked for help. Ostrowski-Zak, who is a breastfeeding mom herself, immediately volunteered to nurse the baby. They asked me if I could help them find someone who would breastfeed the baby, Ostrowski-Zak told the news outlet. As a nursing mother, I didnt hesitate and suggested that I do it myself.

Between caring for other children in the pediatric emergency room during her shift, Ostrowski-Zak nursed Yaman. I fed him five times, she said. His aunts embraced me and thanked me. They were really surprised and told me that no Jewish women would agree to nurse a Palestinian baby they did not know.

She added: His aunts were surprised that a Jew agreed to breastfeed him, but I told them that every mother would do it.

Towards the end of her shift, the nurse and aunts realized they would have to figure out who would breastfeed Yaman after Ostrowski-Zak went home. According to YNet News, the nurse posted to her local La Leche League, a closed Facebook group of nursing mothers, and received an outpouring of responses.

Within two hours I received more than a thousand likes and responses from women who volunteered to help, women who were willing to travel even from Haifa to breastfeed him, Ostrowski-Zak said. In between, I continued to try to expose the child to the bottle but without success.

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According to the news outlet, the mother is still in serious condition and remains in the hospital, while Yaman will be discharged soon. Hell reportedly stay with his grandparents where one of his aunts will take over breastfeeding him.

Read more from Yahoo Beauty + Style:

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. For Twitter updates, follow @YahooStyle and @YahooBeauty.
Kourtney Kardashian is at odds with baby daddy Scott Disick. (Photo: Getty Images)

Scott Disick is persona non grata in Calabasas, Calif.

After his whirlwind PDA tour in Europe with multiple women  including Bella Thorne, Sofia Richie, Chloe Bartoli, Maggie Petrova, and Ella Ross (to name a few)  Disick did not receive a warm welcome from the Kardashians upon his return home.

Kourtney Kardashian is disgusted by Scotts behavior.

Its not all of the women that has her concerned  even though she thinks its pathetic, a source tells Yahoo Celebrity. Its his partying that has really pushed her over the edge. Shes disgusted.

Scott Disick has spent time with Bella Thorne, left, and Ella Ross. (Photo: Splash News/BACKGRID)

Kourtney, 38, knows that Scott, 34, is just trying to make her jealous with his parade of women because shes hooking up with 24-year-old model and boxer, Younes Bendjima. However, she wont stand for Scott slipping back into his old lifestyle. Adds our Kardashian insider: She cares about her kids and their well-being first and foremost.

Scott has had various slip-ups since completing rehab in 2015 for alcohol and substance abuse issues.

Kourtney Kardashian and Younes Bendjima had a ball in Cannes, France. (Photo by J. Almasi/GC Images)

Although he was spotted grabbing lunch with two of his three kids  Mason, 7, and Penelope, 4  on Saturday, his visits must be supervised. According to E! News, Disick is allowed to see the children as of now if an assistant or handler is present as Kourtney and Scott are currently not on speaking (or seeing each other) terms.

Our source tells us that the whole Kardashian clan is backing Kourtney and however she wants to handle the situation with her family.

This is hardly the first time shes been down this road, says our insider. [Kourtney]s hoping he snaps out of it for the sake of their kids. She wants them to have a great relationship with their father.

In the meantime, Kourt is keeping busy with her boy toy..





Read more from Yahoo Celebrity:
Sir Ben Kingsley tapes Crosswalk the Musical: Mary Poppins with James Corden in London for The Late Late Show with James Corden (Photo: Craig Sugden/CBS)

Starting June 6, The Late Late Show with James Corden will broadcast three nights from London, the hosts hometown. Together with Corden, executive producers Ben Winston and Rob Crabbe have been planning the trip pretty much since they confirmed it would happen some six months ago. Theyll tape the shows at Central Hall Westminster, in a beautiful Methodist church that asked them to wait until after Sunday services to start converting the space into an 800-seat functioning studio. We didnt want to make a show in a television studio because if we did, then it wouldnt feel like we are in London. Ultimately, that television studio can be anywhere, Winston says. I think the biggest challenge has been just creating a studio with the same enthusiasm that our L.A. home has.

Here, the duo offers Yahoo TV a preview of what to expect:

1. A slightly revised opening to Tuesdays show. In light of Saturday nights terror attack in London, theyve made tweaks to the big comedy open they originally had planned. It didnt feel like the right tone for the first time we are in the room, introducing ourselves to a British audience in the UK, Crabbe says. It wont be somber, but it will be a message about the events. It will establish what we plan to do here this week in celebrating London.

Adds Winston, Yes, rather than starting with a big song and dance we do want to address it. We want to talk about what happened this week. But also, we want to explain why, apart from that, we are not changing a thing. Because if anything, this week for us is about carrying on as normal and having fun and celebrating London and creating comedy. Thats why we changed the opening  so we can talk about that so that we change nothing else.

2. Crosswalk the Musical: Mary Poppins. Tuesdays show will feature first-time guest Nicole Kidman, Game of Thrones Kit Harington, and a Carpool Karaoke with British rocker Ed Sheeran (that was actually shot in LA, because Carpool Karaokes take a couple of weeks to edit). Well also see the return of Crosswalk the Musical, which, thanks to Twitter, we know was shot May 31 in London and features special guest Sir Ben Kingsley.

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We just thought it was amazing, the idea that this celebrated actor, Academy Award winner, would be willing to put on a bird outfit and dance on a crosswalk in London. Him being a great sport and up for it and committed to it, it was too great of an opportunity, Crabbe says. Still, the segment was not without its difficulties. The main challenge? Trying to find a wide enough crosswalk in London, Crabbe says. When they shoot by the shows studio in Los Angeles, theyve got a six-lane highway. When were shooting Crosswalk at Beverly and Genesee, which were very happy to shoot there, we are sort of setting up at a 76 gas station, and when we shoot in London, we are setting up at a 16th century church where we are setting our craft services table. Its just a different vibe here, Crabbe says.

Theyre not complaining, Winston notes: I know this because I lived here for all of my life, apart from when I moved out to make The Late Late Show. Its like you put a camera down in the heart of London and it looks like an Oliver Twist or Mary Poppins film. It feels like you are on a studios beautiful film set everywhere you go around London. I think thats been a lovely thing for us.

Tom Cruise with James Corden in London for The Late Late Show with James Corden (Photo: Craig Sugden/CBS)

3. Another great sketch with Tom Cruise. Having already acted out his film career with Corden last year, Cruise returns on Wednesdays show for a segment that, judging from the photo above, involves Toms Cruise on the River Thames Corden. That night also boasts a Drop the Mic with Jennifer Hudson, a musical performance by Kings of Leon, world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, and Russell Brand.

4. More returning favorites Thursdays show features David Beckham, a really ambitious bit with Emily Blunt, and a musical performance by friend of the show Harry Styles.

5. Take a Break: Harrods. At some point, well witness Corden working at the fruit counter, in the chocolate section, and in the toy kingdom of the famed department store. I didnt think we would be able to pull it off. They never allow film crews into Harrods, Winston says. Unbelievably, a couple of weeks ago, they came back to us and said we were allowed to do it. Thats a really, really funny piece that we are excited about.

6. What you wont see: a new Toddlerography. I am not convinced that the world is crying out for a British version of that just yet, Winston says. I dont think theyd dance as bravely as the American kids. I think British kids might be a little more shy at that age.

But, Crabbe interjects, keep your eyes peeled for a couple British kids in Crosswalk the Musical. We did have cute British kids.

James Corden performs Crosswalk the Musical: Mary Poppins in London (Photo: Craig Sugden/CBS)

The Late Late Show airs weeknights at 12:35 a.m. on CBS.

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In an interview with Yahoo Global News Anchor Katie Couric, former WWE CEO and current head of the Small Business Administration Linda McMahon would not criticize President Trumps tweets about the London mayor. She said, President Trump really has taken his message directly to the American people through his tweets, and I think hell continue to do that. I also believe he sent his sincere condolences to the people of London and promised the support of the United States in investigations and anything we can do. So I think he is doing the right thing.
PA - New bill would make gun owners

protected class under state human rights act

By Tabitha Fleming. June. 2nd, 2017

Pennsylvania is considering making gun owners a protected class of citizens with proposed changes to the Pennsylvania Human Rights Act (PHRA).

The new bill, which was introduced by two dozen Republican representatives and one Democrat, would prevent employers from discriminating against employees who own or carry firearms. House Bill 38 is currently in committee, but if it makes its way through the legislature, it could have a major impact on the workplace.

Although there aren't many known cases in which an employer has discriminated against an employee for exercising Second Amendment rights, there has been some debate concerning employees keeping guns in their vehicles on employer property. Current law allows employers, or any private property owners, to forbid guns on their property, even if those guns are lawfully owned and contained in private vehicles. The issue has caused a rift, and House Bill 38 may be a way to work around the issue, explained Shira Goodman, executive director of CeaseFirePA, a group aimed at working with law enforcement and community organizations to prevent gun violence in the state. .......

Shira Goodman, executive director of CeaseFirePA, misses one vital point - which is that access to firearms just might be vital in the event of an armed attack. Instead, she considers the risk of firearms access on employer property to potentially favor a risk of workplace violence, forgetting that a determined attacker will find a way to circumvent such a limitation anyways. The continuing wish to try and maintain "gun-free-zones" seems to be alive and well for many espousing more "gun control".

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Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, pauses as he speaks to reporters, June 6, 2017. (Photo: Raphael Satter/AP)

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said Monday the United Kingdom shouldnt roll out the red carpet during President Trumps upcoming state visit, as the war of words between the two leaders keeps escalating.

In an interview with Britains Channel 4 News, Khan was asked if he thought Trumps visit to the U.K., tentatively planned for the fall, should be canceled in the wake of inflammatory comments he has made about immigration and Khan following Saturdays deadly terrorist attacks. Though he declined to answer directly, Khan nonetheless responded pointedly, drawing a sharp contrast between Trumps policies and the U.K.s.

Related slideshow: Mourning the victims of the London attack >>>

My position remains the same, Khan began. I dont think we should be rolling out the red carpet to the president of the U.S.A. in the circumstances where his policies go against everything we stand for.

I think one of the things, when you have a special relationship, is no different to when youve got a close mate, he continued. 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.

"His policies go against everything we stand for." Mayor of London @SadiqKhan criticises @realDonaldTrump's response to the London attack. pic.twitter.com/X4gN4AN2ES  Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) June 6, 2017

After Khans city was attacked Saturday, Trump posted a tweet that misconstrued the London mayors appeal for calm as downplaying the seriousness of the terror threat.

At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is "no reason to be alarmed!"  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2017

In reality, Khans remark to the BBC was in reference to the heightened law enforcement presence in London after the attacks. Khans spokesman responded with an acerbic, dismissive statement pointing out the mayor has more important things to do than respond to Donald Trumps ill-informed tweet that deliberately takes out of context his remarks.

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Monday, Trump said drawing attention to the intended context was a pathetic excuse.

Pathetic excuse by London Mayor Sadiq Khan who had to think fast on his "no reason to be alarmed" statement. MSM is working hard to sell it!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017

The London attacks exacerbated the long-standing tension between Khan and Trump. When Khan, a Muslim, won the mayoralty in May 2016, Trump had already proposed a ban on Muslims entering the United States. Khan said he intended to visit the U.S. before the following January, in case of a Trump victory in the election. On the other hand, Trump told The New York Times there will always be exceptions to the ban and he was happy Khan won.

If he does a great job, it will really  you lead by example, always lead by example, Trump said. If he does a good job and, frankly, if he does a great job, that would be a terrific thing.

Related slideshow: Deadly terror attack in London >>>

Khan rejected a BBC reporters suggestion that he could be an exception to Trumps proposed Muslim ban. He added he hoped Hillary Clinton trounces Trump in the election, provoking a counterattack by the candidate: I think they were very rude statements and, frankly, tell him I will remember those statements. They are very nasty statements.

Still, despite the protracted back-and-forth, Khan hinted on ITVs Good Morning Britain Tuesday that an end to the feud may be in sight. Look, it takes two to tango, and I am not tangoing with this guy.

Read more from Yahoo News:
An Illinois man has been arrested for the murder of his childhood friend after other people in the house allegedly found him asleep next to the body the morning after the attack, authorities said.

Craig Grzesiakowski, 35, is accused of stabbing his longtime friend Jeffrey Ziolo, 35, to death with a screwdriver after the victim invited him to come to his Des Plaines home on Wednesday, The Chicago Tribune reported.

Read: Teens Charged With Murder After Killing Man Who Responded To Craigslist Ad: Cops

Ziolo reportedly warned others at his house that he had invited a friend who was a hothead who was known to carry a knife, Cook County Prosecutor Julian Crozier said.

One of two other friends at the home who had gone to bed by 3 a.m. Thursday told police that he saw Grzesiakowski and Ziolo arguing before going to sleep.

When one of the friends woke at 10:30 a.m. the next day, they found Ziolo dead on the floor and Grzesiakowski passed out near the body with a bottle of bleach, the Tribune wrote.

Read: Men Stabbed To Death By Man Spewing Hate Speech At Women On Train Identified: 'He Was a Hero'

Police said Grzesiakowski allegedly told them that after getting into an argument with Ziolo  whom he had known since the third grade  he pushed Ziolo over a table and then stabbed him.

Ziolo died from blunt force trauma and three stab wounds, the Cook County Medical examiners office determined.

Grzesiakowski was charged with first-degree murder and was ordered held Saturday in lieu of $2 million bail, officials said.

He is due in court on Tuesday.

Watch: 9-Year-Old Boy Tells Teacher His Dad Stabbed Mom to Death: Cops

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White House senior adviser Jared Kushner and former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick. (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images, Sue Ogrocki/AP)

If Hillary Clinton were president right now, Jamie Gorelick might have been her attorney general.

Instead, Gorelick  a Democratic power player who served as deputy attorney general under Bill Clinton and raised more than $100,000 for Hillary in 2016  could wind up being Jared Kushners savior.

Gorelick, as you may have noticed from any number of recent news reports, is Kushners lawyer. And Kushner, as you may have also noticed, is someone who is going to be spending a lot of time talking to his lawyer over the next several months.

Federal investigators are now focusing on Donald Trumps son-in-law and top White House adviser after he failed to disclose several meetings with Russian officials and reportedly endeavored to establish a secret backchannel to the Kremlin during Trumps transition  which means that Gorelick, who initially signed on to help Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, sort through various nepotism and conflict-of-interest concerns, is suddenly responsible for keeping the crown prince of Trump World out of much more serious trouble.

This odd coupling has attracted considerable attention  much of it negative  on both sides of the political peanut gallery, with conservatives warning Kushner to steer clear of swamp queen Gorelick and progressives accusing the Clintonista of assisting an administration they abhor.

Hey Jamie Gorelick, youve just pored [sic] that Complicit perfume on yourself, fellow Democrat Hillary Rosen tweeted in March. (Rosen was alluding to a recent Saturday Night Live sketch about an Ivanka-branded scent.)

In an interview with Yahoo News, Gorelick admits that it hurts my feelings when people I otherwise like say things like that.

But while I can understand the criticism, she adds, I just dont agree with it.

The truth, according to those who know her best, is that Gorelick (pronounced Guh-REH-lick) is neither a Democratic plant nor a Trumpian turncoat. They say she is a rarer species altogether, at least in todays overly polarized, ultra-specialized Washington, D.C.  the last, perhaps, of a dying breed of Beltway superlawyers who spent much of the 20th century leveraging their broad experience and deep connections to become all-purpose political fixers for members of both parties.

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I handle big messes, Gorelick says. I consider this the best tradition for lawyers in Washington, and I have tremendous respect for what these [superlawyers] did in their careers. I think of myself as having a similar point of view.

The D.C. superlawyers were the ultimate go-to guys, as the Washington Posts David Ignatius once put it, who could get a bill passed or a presidential appointment scuttled or a secret deal negotiated.

Members of this mandarin class included Clark Clifford, who counseled all four Democratic presidents of the Cold War era; Tommy the Cork Corcoran, the first of the modern lobbyists; Robert Strauss, who advised both Republican and Democratic presidents over three administrations; and the most legendary superlawyer of them all, Edward Bennett Williams.

Jamie Gorelick is a flashback to an earlier time, says Williams authorized biographer Evan Thomas, who in his 1991 book The Man to See chronicled Williams inexorable rise and decades-long reign as king of the Washington establishment  and who knows Gorelick from his days as Newsweeks Washington bureau chief. If Williams liked to be the man to see, then Jamie likes to be the woman to see.

Attorney Edward B. Williams in 1958; former Defense Secretary Clark Clifford in 1972; and attorney Tommy the Cork Corcoran in 1946. (Photos: Paul Schutzer/The Life Picture Collection/Getty Images, AP Photo, George Skadding/The Life Picture Collection/Getty Images)

She has a breadth of experience that is a match for  or better  than any Washington lawyer, adds Ricki Seidman, who served under Gorelick in Clintons Justice Department. If I were looking for someone to guide me through the complicated terrain of Washington, D.C., in any official capacity, she would be the first person Id turn to.

Gorelick acknowledges that many Democrats consider Trump and his associates to be out-of-bounds  so politically abnormal that the old Washington rules should no longer apply. But she doesnt see it that way.

The Trump administration has really unsettled people, Gorelick says. But I have a view of the tradition that is pretty fixed. I dont think its antique. I think it holds today as much as it ever did. And if people criticize me for living within that tradition, so be it.

You have to be a little bit battle-hardened in this profession, she sighs. I guess I am.

*****

In retrospect, it seems as if Gorelick was born to play the superlawyer role. In high school, she worked so hard that her father offered her $10 to get a B. A friend predicted in her yearbook that she would end up as one of two things: Supreme Court Justice or housewife. (The housewife part was a joke.)

At Harvard, Gorelick impressed and befriended everybody, including upperclassmen and professors. The mark of destiny was on her when she was 19 is how one of her teachers, Martin Peretz, put it in a 1995 Washington Post profile.

Gorelicks first law school class was taught by Alan Dershowitz, a provocative thinker who relished hard cases. That stayed with me, she told DCBar.org in 2011. The joy and the thrill of  prevailing against all odds was just exhilarating.

At the end of her first year, Gorelick became Dershowitzs research assistant; at the beginning of her second year, he arranged for her to interview with Edward Bennett Williams. You belong in Washington, Dershowitz told Gorelick. She was hired to worked at Williamss firm the following summer, even though they didnt technically have a summer program.

Gorelick has remained in Washington ever since. After declining a Fulbright scholarship and passing on a clerkship with a federal judge, she took a job at a small D.C. firm specializing in criminal law. She was the first  and for many years, only  woman there.

It was challenging, Gorelick told the Washingtonian in 2011. We represented NASCAR, and Bill France Sr., the founder, and Bill France Jr., his son and the past leader of NASCAR, used to compete to see who could tell me the grossest joke. On another case, she continued, this very senior lawyer would never address me directly.

Yet Gorelick continued to climb the Washington ladder, bouncing back and forth between government service and white-collar litigation (even as she maintained her public-sector influence by securing spots on key governmental advisory boards and commissions.)

Jamie Gorelick, accompanied by Attorney General Janet Reno, in 1994 after Reno announced that President Bill Clinton would nominate Gorelick to become deputy attorney general. (Photo: Shayna Brennan/AP)

Jamie crossed a lot of barriers without acting like she was crossing barriers, says Seidman.

Gorelick vice chaired a Pentagon commission during her third year as an associate, then worked directly for the secretary of energy during the oil crisis of 1979. After another dozen years of private practice, she was elected president of the 80,000-member D.C. bar, cementing her insider status and learn[ing], as she once put it, about this town in a way I hadnt before.

I met people in large firms and in small firms, Gorelick explained. I came to see Washington as more of a village than an impenetrable city.

When a Democrat finally returned to the White House, Gorelick followed. During the Clinton administration, she was never far from the center of action. One of Gorelicks first tasks on the transition team was handling the confirmation process for Zoe Baird, Clintons nominee for attorney general. After Baird was derailed by Nannygate, Gorelick was assigned to Janet Reno, for whom the process went more smoothly. Gorelick went on to become general counsel at the Defense Department just in time to deal with the raging debate over gays in the military  and did a masterly job implementing Clintons controversial dont ask, dont tell policy, according to the 1995 Post profile, making the politically and legally dicey compromise work as well as it possibly could.

Next up was the Justice Department, where as deputy attorney general under the disorganized, distant Reno, Gorelick essentially ran the 100,000-employee operation, maintaining order during the Oklahoma City bombing and congressional inquiries into the Waco and Ruby Ridge confrontations. She presided over meetings with a gavel that read, Because I said so.

Gorelick is strong where Reno is weak, the Post wrote at the time. She is a tough, demanding manager, exerting an influence over every policy and practice that emanates from the top.

At the same time, Gorelick groomed a generation (or two) of influential D.C. lawyers, hiring them, advising them and helping to secure them jobs in both the public and private sectors. Two of her most prominent proteges were Beth Wilkinson, one of the top trial lawyers in the country, and Merrick Garland, Barack Obamas ill-fated Supreme Court nominee.

After her eventful stint in the Clinton administration, Gorelick returned to private practice, where she seemed to actively court controversy, surfacing at some of the most contentious moments of the 2000s: as vice chairwoman at Fannie Mae, where she earned $25.6 million even as the giant mortgage lender was coming under attack for massive accounting failures; as a member of the 9/11 Commission, where she was (falsely) accused by conservatives, including then Attorney General John Ashcroft, of creating an intelligence wall that hindered counterterrorism agents in the years before the attacks; as lead defense counsel for Duke University in 2006 during the highly publicized rape scandal there; as a lobbyist for Sallie Mae, seeking to stymie student loan reform; and as a lawyer for BP after the catastrophic Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010.

Sen. Hillary Clinton hugs Gorelick, a commission member, during a hearing of the 9/11 Commission. Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., is at left. (Photo: Tom Williams/Roll Call/Getty Images)

The highest and best use of a lawyers talent is to represent people when they need you the most, which is often when there are governmental inquiries, Gorelick tells Yahoo News. If you look at the work I did for BP or for Duke in the lacrosse matter  or at the very first case I ever worked on, which was Jack Millers representation of Richard Nixon in the taking of Nixons papers  thats what I do. Thats what my law firm does.

*****

Which brings us back to Kushner.

Democrats cant comprehend why a fellow progressive like Gorelick would aid and abet President Trumps slick son-in-law; conservatives cant imagine that someone who dutifully served both Clintons  and was reportedly one of Obamas top picks for FBI director  could possibly have Kushners best interests at heart.

What Gorelicks bipartisan critics dont understand is that shes actually part of a long Washington tradition. And they dont understand this because the Washington that gave rise to such a tradition no longer really exists.

Consider Williams. In 1954, he advised Joseph McCarthy after the Senate moved to censure the bullying anti-Communist for his conduct during public hearings; that same year, Williams also represented two Hollywood writers cited for contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions about their own alleged Communist activities.

Both Republicans and Democrats sought his friendship and counsel, Albin Krebs wrote in his New York Times obituary of Williams, and he seemed always to be in good standing with the occupant of the Oval Office.

What made the old model work, David Ignatius has explained, was the illusion that a Washington lawyer could somehow be above the fray.

Williams, Clifford and their fellow superlawyers hated the idea that they were mere partisans  in their minds, they were legal statesmen, he wrote. That lofty self-image allowed them to advise, simultaneously, all the various parties in a dispute  to be the presidents friend, and the Ways and Means chairmans friend and the tax-lobbying corporate CEOs friend.

Todays D.C. is different. Extreme polarization has forced everyone in Washington to see everything through a partisan lens. Power is more diffuse, amorphous. The economics of specialization have discouraged younger lawyers from becoming generalists like Gorelick, with her expertise in the fields of national security, law enforcement, ethics, regulation, politics and criminal litigation. And our obsessive 24/7 media ecosystem has put an end to the whole clubby, smoke-filled-room style of dealmaking that superlawyers such as Clifford thrived on.

Some of these changes are improvements; others arent. But they help to illuminate why Gorelick seems to confound so many observers, especially now that shes counseling Kushner.

Gorelick questions CIA Director George Tenet during his testimony before the 9/11 Commission in 2004. (Photo: Charles Dharapak/AP)

The reason Kushner came to Gorelick is clear enough: He and Ivanka wanted to work in Ivankas fathers White House  an unprecedented and potentially unethical situation  so who better to untangle the requisite corporate and legal knots than the last of the superlawyers? The fact that Gorelick is a dyed-in-the-wool Democrat only lends more credibility to the arrangement.

Shes a powerhouse, says Amy Jeffress, a former federal prosecutor who worked with Gorelick at the Justice Department and has known her since childhood. Very high-level clients are going to seek out someone of her stature  regardless of political affiliation.

The reason Gorelick accepted Kushner as a client is also pretty clear: She relishes the hard cases.

Ive been doing this exact thing since 1975, Gorelick told the Washingtonian. You have to enjoy long odds. You have to enjoy trying to right the system, in that the government and Congress, the executive branch, the press have enormous power to bring criticism to bear and to sue, to indict  and often the case is overstated. The obligation of someone representing an individual or a company in those circumstances is to make sure that the other side of the argument is heard and that the result is fair. I enjoy that.

Initially, the conflicts of interest surrounding Kushner were thorny enough; Gorelick spent two months late last year arranging for him to resign from his real estate and publishing businesses, shed most of his other assets and recuse himself from matters that would directly affect his remaining financial interests  just like any other person entering public service, according to Gorelick.

But now, with the recent Russia revelations, Gorelicks client is swimming in much hotter legal waters.

So far, Gorelick has mostly just insisted that Kushner is ready and willing to explain himself to the FBI. Mr. Kushner previously volunteered with Congress what he knows about these meetings, she has told the press. He will do the same if he is contacted in connection with any other inquiry.

It will be interesting to watch how the Kushner case develops in the months ahead  and how Gorelick defends him.

If Jared Kushner wants me to assist in these other matters, I will do so, Gorelick says. We are not going to refuse to represent him in the Russia probe because many of us in the law firm dont agree with the Trump administrations political views.

Gorelick notes that, even as she counsels Trumps family, she continues to work on cases involving climate change and sanctuary cities that directly contradict the presidents policies. Jared and Ivanka hired me for my legal advice, she says. Im not changing who I am.

Despite the bipartisan chorus of criticism, many Beltway insiders insist that the presidents son-in-law went to see the right woman.

Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner walk out to join President Trump aboard Marine One for the trip to Andrews Air Force Basein May. (Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)

Asked whether its a good thing that Gorelick is representing someone many Democrats seem to revile, Amy Jeffress doesnt hesitate before answering.

Its a good thing for Kushner, she says.

Evan Thomas goes one step further. Some people get all snooty about Jamie taking the filthy lucre of the Trumps, he says. But look, its better from the countrys perspective to have a savvy Washington hand defending Kushner  someone who can still make deals that are sensitive to the national interest without selling out her client. Its tricky, but if anybody can figure out the line here, its Jamie Gorelick.

Read more from Yahoo News:
Season 12 of The Real Housewives of Orange County premieres July 10, and it features both the original Housewife, Vicki Gunvalson, who has been with the show since it premiered in 2006, and the newest Housewife, Peggy Sulahian.

Sulahian is the 100th Housewife introduced to the franchise, so in her honor, we decided to rank the five most memorable Housewives from the show.

The Real Housewives of New York City reunion, left to right, Julianne Wainstein, Sonja Morgan, Dorinda Medley, Luann de Lesseps, Bethenny Frankel, Ramona Singer, and Carole Radziwill (Photo by: Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

At No. 5, we have Lisa Rinna, from The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Whether the loudmouthed former soap star was weirdly referring to her husband, Harry Hamlin, by his full name or breaking a wineglass while screaming at Kim Richards, Rinna was always an unpredictable and kooky treat.

At No. 4 is Real Housewives of Atlantas Kim Zolciak. From her insane, repetitive single, Tardy for the Party, to the wig-pull heard round the world, Zolciak has kept her name on everyones lips. She even scored her own reality show, Dont Be Tardy.

And at No. 3 is NeNe Leaks, another Atlanta Housewife. Known for her amazing one-liners and GIF-worthy facial expressions, Leaks parlayed her time as a Housewife into appearances on Glee, The New Normal, and Celebrity Apprentice.

At No. 2 is Teresa Guidice, from Real Housewives of New Jersey. While the Real Housewives franchise is no stranger to fights, Guidices table-flipping moment remains unparalleled in the shows drama-filled history. This Housewife made even more headlines when she was sentenced to prison for bankruptcy fraud.

And at No. 1 is Real Housewives of New York Citys Bethenny Frankel. Frankel began her run on the show as a struggling entrepreneur, and she started a Skinnygirl empire and got her own spinoff, even her own talk show. The straight-talking Frankel is one of the most unique and memorable Housewives to come out of the series.

Watch: Bethenny Frankel Confronted About Her Porno on RHONY

Read more from Yahoo TV:

Tell us what you think! Hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram or leave your comments below. And check out our host, Khail Anonymous, on Twitter.
Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on this website.

Two new studies out today found that patients may not be prescribed the best possible dosages of common heart medications.

The first study, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, examined newer blood thinners such as Eliquis and Zarelto and found that about one in six patients isn't getting the right dose, which could increase their risk of serious complications, such as bleeding. And a second study, published in the journal Hypertension, suggests that many patients taking medication for high blood pressure could be taking much lower dosages of multiple drugs instead, with fewer side effects.

If you are taking any of these prescriptions, you should talk to your doctor to make sure you are getting the best dose for you, advises Marvin M. Lipman, M.D., Consumer Reports chief medical adviser.

Heres what you need to know about the new findings.

Blood Thinners: Getting the Right Dose

Millions of Americans take a blood-thinners such as apixaban (Eliquis), rivaroxaban (Xarelto), or dabigatran (Pradaxa) for atrial fibrillation, a heart condition that causes an irregular and rapid heart rate and which can quadruple the risk of stroke. These newer drugs have all been shown to be as effective as warfarin (Coumadin), an older blood-thinning medication, with fewer side effects.

But the new study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, which was led by researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and looked at almost 15,000 patients on these newer drugs, found that 16 percent of them received the wrong dosepotentially undermining the medications effectiveness and increasing the possibility of life-threatening complications.

The medications are currently available in two dosages: a standard dosage and a lower dosage for patients with kidney problems (about 10 percent of patients with atrial fibrillation also have severe kidney disease). Yet 43 percent of patients with kidney problems received the standard dose, increasing their risk of major bleeding, while about 13 percent of patients without kidney disease received the less effective lower dose.

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Neither group saw any benefit: The overdosed group didnt reduce their risk of stroke any further, while the underdosed group didnt have any reduction in bleeding risks, says Jonathan Halperin, M.D., professor of cardiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York.

So why are doctors prescribing incorrect doses? Its a combination of both extra caution and, at times, carelessness, study authors say.

If a physician has an 85-year-old patient come in with atrial fibrillation, they are often reluctant to treat her with a full dose, says study author Peter Noseworthy, M.D., adding that a full dose of apixaban (Eliquis) might be best in those cases. On the opposite end of the spectrum, a younger, seemingly healthy patient may come in and the physician will just write a prescription for a higher dose without even thinking about their kidney function.

Blood Thinners: What to Ask Your Doctor

If you or someone you care for takes one of these medications, ask your physician these questions.

What Is My Current Kidney Function?

Your doctor should check your kidney function once a year, and even more frequently if you already have kidney disease, says Noseworthy. That way, your dosage can be scaled up or down accordingly.

Why Are You Giving Me This Dose?

Knowing whether you have been prescribed the higher dose or the lower dose of your blood thinner is important. (If you take apixaban, the low dose is 2.5 mg and the high dose is 5 mg. If you take dabigatran, a high dose is 150 mg, and a low dose is 75 mg. If you take rivaroxaban, the high dose is 20 mg and the low dose is 15 mg.)

If you're on the high dose, make sure that your doctor has ruled out any kidney disease. But if youre on the low dose, be sure to ask whyyour doctor may be overly cautious. Sometimes its as simple as a doctor looking at a patient and saying, I dont like that bruise, so lets be cautious and prescribe a lower dose, says Halperin.

Can Any Other Drugs Im Taking Have an Impact on the Dose?

Antidepressants such as paroxetine (Paxil) and sertraline (Zoloft), antibiotics such as rifampin (Rifadin) or clarithromycin (Biaxin) or the anticonvulsant carbamazepine (Carbatrol) may all interact with blood thinners, so make sure your doctor knows everything you're taking. He or she may need to adjust your dose, or monitor you closely for side effects like bleeding.

Hypertension Meds: When Smaller Doses Are Better

Many people find blood pressure medications hard to tolerate, since side effects can include dry cough, stomach upset, dizziness, headache, and fatigue.

But the new study in the journal Hypertension suggests that smaller doses of multiple drugs work better and create fewer side effects than a large dose of a single drug.

When researchers analyzed results from over 42 studies of more than 20,000 people with high blood pressure, they found that combining two medications, each at a quarter dose, was just as effective as taking one blood pressure medication at a standard doseand taking four medications each at a quarter dose worked twice as well.

This study confirms what many of us already anecdotally knew in our own practices: that lower doses of multiple medications are often the way to go, because it seems to reduce side effects, especially in women, says Nieca Goldberg, M.D., medical director of NYU Langones Joan H. Tisch Center for Womens Health.

The reason the approach may be so effective, theorizes Goldberg, is because it works on all the different aspects of hypertension: For example, an ACE inhibitor like lisinopril (Prinivil, Zestril) relaxes blood vessels, while a diuretic such as HCTZ (Esidrix, Hydrodiuril, Microzide) gets rid of the extra salt and water in your body that can elevate your blood pressure.

Hypertension Meds: What to Ask Your Doctor

While 88 percent of patients who know they have high blood pressure are being treated with medications, only about one in three are able to gain control of their hypertension, according to the review.

If you cant seem to get your blood pressure under control, talk to your doctor about possibly combining at least two medications.

If people are doing fine with a single drug, then there is no need to change, says study author Anthony Rodgers, M.D., Ph.D., professor of medicine at the George Institute for Global Health in Newtown, Australia. But research shows that most people require more blood pressure lowering than what can be achieved with a single drug.

The one exception, warns Goldberg, is people with very high blood pressureof over 160/90. Their blood pressure is so elevated that they may need higher doses of medication, and the review didnt look at cases like that, she says.

Its also important to realize that drugs themselves arent a cure-all. Its not enough to just take your medications reliablyyou need to lose weight, exercise, and reduce salt as well, says Rodgers.





More from Consumer Reports:

Top pick tires for 2016

Best used cars for $25,000 and less

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Mountain Dew is about to make Team Dignitas, Splyce, and SK Gaming more x-treem (Mountain Dew)

Esports are still video games, after all.

One of the all-time classic video game sponsors has reared its head once again. According to a press release from Team Dignitas, Mountain Dew has signed a partnership deal with Splyce, SK Gaming, and Team Dignitas.

We are excited to expand our support of esports through these partnerships with three world-class teams, said Mountain Dew global senior marketing director Manos Spanos in the announcement. Industry-first partnerships and authentic integrations that align with core Mountain Dew values and resonate with gamers and DEW Nation will continue to inspire us as a business.

This isnt Mountain Dew and parent company PepsiCos first foray into esports. Last year, Mountain Dew and the ESL partnered to create an amateur tournament in the Mountain Dew League, the winners of which qualified for spots in the ESL EPEA Pro League.

Mountain Dew has a long history in the more general video game space. On top of being the most stereotyped gamer beverage, the soda manufacturer has had advertising deals in place for everything from Halo to Call of Duty.

In other partnership news, OpTic Gaming has entered an exclusive streaming deal with Twitch, joining the likes of TSM, Cloud9, and Virtus.pro. For more, make sure to stay right here on Yahoo Esports.

Follow Taylor Cocke on Twitter @taylorcocke.
Women comfort each other as they look at flowers in London Women comfort each other as they look at flowers laid near the scene of Saturdays terrorist attack, ahead of a minutes silence, on June 6, 2017 in London, England. (Photo: Carl Court/Getty Images)

Police on Tuesday identified the third attacker in the weekend terror assault in London amid mounting anger, two days before an election, over how the jihadist killers had apparently escaped surveillance.

With flags at half-mast, the nation fell silent at 11:00am (1000 GMT) to remember the seven killed and dozens injured on Saturday night  a mourning ritual now grimly familiar after two previous terror attacks in less than three months.

Police identified the third attacker as Youssef Zaghba, a 22-year-old Italian of Moroccan descent, a day after naming his accomplices as Khuram Shazad Butt, 27, a Pakistan-born Briton, and Rachid Redouane, 30, a self-described Moroccan-Libyan dual national. (AFP)

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(Bloomberg) -- Former President Donald Trump urged the District of Columbias highest local court to adopt his argument that he was acting in the interests of the American people when he made allegedly defamatory remarks while denying a rape claim by New York author E. Jean Carroll.Most Read from BloombergMusks First Email to Twitter Staff Ends Remote WorkSam Bankman-Frieds $16 Billion Fortune Is Eviscerated in DaysUS Inflation Slows More Than Forecast, Gives Fed Downshift RoomFTX Warns of Ban
Sawin Osman, a high school student who was born and raised in Chicago, told Yahoo News that she and her friends were harassed Monday night while eating at a Mexican restaurant in Hickory Hills, Ill. They were at Pepes restaurant on Monday night for Iftar, the evening meal after their Ramadan fast.

Another customer, an unidentified middle-aged man, noticed the five girls religious headscarves and made a rude comment alluding to one friends weight and to their religion, according to 17-year-old Osman.

One of the girls used her smartphone to shoot video of the encounter, and Yahoo News spotted it on social media. Osman agreed to be identified in order to speak out against the inflammatory comments.

We were walking past him on our way out of the restaurant. He yelled, That girl could break a camels back, Osman recalled. We stopped and said, Excuse me, sir, what did you just say?

You can go and beat it. If you dont like this country, leave, the man said.

Its our home too. What do you mean leave? Osman said.

According to Osman, the man said that the entire exchange wasnt a big deal. I just said shes a big one. Whats the problem? Yeah, anything else?

Another friend told the man that hes disgusting, prompting him to get out of his seat.

It looked like he was going to get physical, so we all started to walk, she said.

As the girls were leaving, he screamed, F***ing goddamn, camel-jacking mother f***ing c***s.

A Pepes employee at the location told Yahoo News that they have been told about the video, which does not depict staff doing anything amiss. (Neither a location manager nor a company rep was immediately available for comment.)

Osmans mother, Catherine Bronson, is a professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Notre Dame and her stepfather, Sean Anthony, is a professor of Islamic Studies at Ohio State University. They have a bi-religious family.

We live in a very charged climate. I think the furor at the presidential level has sort of exacerbated this feeling and given a platform for those who might not have spoken out so aggressively, Bronson said.

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Osman agrees. She said this incident shows that anti-Muslim bigotry is a huge problem in the U.S.

Its honestly very terrible and disgusting, especially the comment, If you dont like it, then just leave. I mean I was born here. I was raised here. Leave to where? she asked.

She said all of her friends at the restaurant that day are from Chicago.

Just because we have the headscarf on doesnt mean were not from here, Osman said.

Read more from Yahoo News:
Judge Reaches Decision In Katie

Couric Anti-Gun Documentary Debacle

By Beth Baumann. June 1st, 2017

Back in September, Katie Couric was facing defamation charges for her anti-gun documentary, Under the Gun. The documentary was cut in a way that made the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL) look as though they were unsure of their answers to Couric's questions.

The lawsuit arose from one particular part of the documentary, where Couric poses the following question:

"If there are no background checks how do you prevent -- I know you all are going to answer this, but I'm asking anyway -- if there are no background checks for gun purchasers, how do you prevent felons or terrorists from walking into say a licensed gun dealer and purchasing a gun?"

Her attorneys attempted to have the case thrown out but the lawsuit stuck.

A judge finally ruled in the case and found there were no harmful implications resulting in the editing. .......

So - Couric is off the hook apparently. That is surprising and disappointing too, because the majority of gun owners most certainly felt that the devious editing made for a false rendition of the interview. As always much is in the eye of the beholder, but comparing the edited version with the original, it had seemed that there was an effort to subvert the actual intent of the interviewed individuals. The "Under The Gun" presentation does demonstrate how selective editing can greatly alter impressions, detrementally.

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Several teenage Muslim girls were harassed and accosted by another customer at a Chicago-area Mexican restaurant. The older male patron told the girls that if they didnt like what he said to them, they should leave the country. The man then proceeded to call them camel-jacking and other expletives as the girls walked away from the confrontation.
Seoul (AFP) - North Korea on Sunday slammed the latest UN sanctions as "mean" and vowed to press ahead with its missile and nuclear weapons programmes.

The UN Security Council on Friday unanimously adopted a US-drafted resolution imposing new targeted sanctions on a handful of North Korean officials and entities, in response to a series of ballistic missile tests this year that are banned under UN resolutions.

The resolution put North Korea's suspected spy chief, 13 other Pyongyang officials and four entities on a sanctions blacklist, hitting them with a global travel ban and an assets freeze.

The North's foreign ministry "condemns and outrightly rejects the sanctions racket put forth by the United States and the UN Security Council to prevent the strengthening of our nuclear deterrence", a ministry spokesman said.

"(Washington) talked about the possibility of dialogue but it is nonsense to mention dialogue while laying out unfair preconditions and applying maximum pressure," the spokesman said in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency.

The statement said the latest resolution was said to have been put together by the US and China in the "back room".

It was Washington's "ultimate double standard" to ban other countries from nuclear or missile tests amid its own attempts to modernise the US arsenal.

The US military said last Tuesday that it "successfully intercepted an intercontinental ballistic missile target" in a test conducted amid concerns over the North's weapons program.

Concern over the North's weapons programme intensified after North Korea test-fired yet another ballistic missile last week, the latest in a series of launches in its quest to develop weapons capable of hitting the United States.

It was the third missile test by the nuclear-armed regime in less than three weeks.

The North says it needs nuclear weapons to forestall the threat of US attack.

It was "a fatal miscalculation" for the countries behind the sanctions resolution to think they could delay the North's nuclear forces, the statement said.

"They would squarely see that their mean and indiscreet act would go in just opposite direction to what they want for."
A report from the U.S. National Security Agency obtained by the Intercept says the Russian military executed a cyberattack on an American voting software supplier and sent phishing emails to more than 100 local election officials days before the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

The document, provided anonymously to the Intercept, is dated May 5 and gives a detailed look at U.S. intelligence agency insights into suspected attempts to interfere with the election  though it provides little in terms of connections between the Russian government and the Donald Trump campaign or whether it had an impact on the results of the election.

Read: Will Russia Hack Germany Elections? Putin Says 'Patriotic Hackers May Have Interfered In US Election

The report says the Russian General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate, known as the GRU, was behind the attempt to compromise election-related software and hardware, including private sector companies that manufacture devices to maintain and verify voter rolls.

The NSA says Russian actors attempted to use data obtained by its attacks on those companies to phish local government officials and organizations.

The report says the hackers first targeted an unnamed U.S. election software company by sending emails purporting to be from Google requesting employees verify their account credentials. In reality, doing so would hand over the accounts to the Russians.

With access to the internal systems of the voting software firm, the hackers were able to create fake documents that appeared valid and posed as employees of the compromised software firm.

Read: Megyn Kelly's Putin Interview: Russian President Says CIA Could Have Hacked US Presidential Election

The GRU set up a Gmail account designed to appear as though it belonged to the voting company and sent emails to local governments. Those messages contained a Microsoft Word document that acted as a front to hide malicious software that would install itself on the victims computer if the document was opened. The attack would have provided persistent access to the compromised computer and allowed the Russians to spy on user activity.

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The attack on local government was believed to have taken place on Oct. 31 or Nov. 1, just over a week before the U.S. presidential election. It targeted 122 email addresses associated with local government organizations

While the NSA document shows in great detail the efforts taken by Russian hackers to compromise U.S. election systems, the agency does not provide much by way of definitive conclusions about the attacks success.

The agencys report said it is unknown whether the phishing attack launched against local governments was successful and offers little insight into what effect hacking into the accounts of officials may have had on the election.

The NSA also does not draw any conclusions as to whether the Russian attack had any effect on the outcome of the presidential election.

Despite the lack of conclusive impact, the NSA report confidently states there were in fact attempts by the Russian government to interfere with the U.S. election, despite Russian President Vladimir Putins recent denial of any meddling on a state level.

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An official at an agency that manages foreclosed homes in Flint, Michigan, has resigned after a recording surfaced Sunday in which he blames the citys water crisis on n****rs who dont pay their bills.

Phil Stair resigned as sales manager of the Genesee County Land Bank, the banks executive director, Michele Wildman, told MLive on Monday.

Note: A version of the audio file posted online by Truth Against The Machine and a transcript appear in full and uncensored form below.

Local environmental activist Chelsea Lyons recorded Stair explaining in May why he thought Flint, a city mired in debt, switched from buying Detroits pretreated Lake Huron water to using Flint River water, which sparked the crisis that has left the city without safe drinking water for several years.

After the 2014 switch, the citys water plant failed to properly treat the more toxic water under orders from state officials, causing lead from old pipes to leach into city water.

But in his racist remarks, Stair traces the crisis to residents not paying their water bills:

Detroit was charging all its customers for the cost; they werent collecting from their residents. They werent shutting the water off, they were letting bills go forever, but they were charging everybody else, they covered them. Well, Flint has the same problems as Detroit, fucking niggers dont pay their bills, believe me, I deal with them. I dont want to call them niggers, shit, I have, shit, I just went to Myrtle Beach, 24 guys, and I was the only white guy. I got friends, I mean, theres trash and theres people that do this.  They just dont pay their bills. Well, Detroit didnt collect on their bills, so they charged everybody else, but Flint, Flint had to pay their bill to Detroit.

The comment comes about one minute into a 20-minute audio recording published by liberal news site Truth Against the Machine, where Lyons is a contributor.

Lyons met Stair when a friend tipped her off that he was at a bar alone, she told HuffPost. She made two separate recordings of Stair on May 26 and May 30 without his knowledge and without first informing him that she was a journalist, a prohibited practice at most news outlets.

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In a resignation letter obtained by MLive, Stair said he was deeply sorry for what he said in Lyons recording, which he described as his private opinion on the Flint water crisis and insensitive language.

I do not know how I can face my friends and co-workers, he wrote.

His allegation that unpaid bills caused the Flint water crisis drastically differs from most accounts. Politicians, activists and others have heaped blame on officials at every level of government for ignoring the crisis in its early stages as residents repeatedly raised concerns that their tap water had a funny smell, color and taste  and was making them sick.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) did not acknowledge the crisis until late in 2015, after experts found that there was a sharp increase in the number of children with elevated lead levels in their blood. Theres no safe exposure level for lead, a harmful neurotoxin that can affect brain development.

Stair also blamed Snyder for not stepping in earlier when Flint was negotiating its water service contract with brokeass Detroit.

Experts have called the crisis an example of environmental racism, saying it would have been handled differently if Flint werent a majority-black city where 40 percent of residents live below the poverty line. The disaster represented a complete failure of government rooted in systemic racism, Snyders Civil Rights Commission concluded in a damning report released in February.

Flint residents have had to pay some of the highest rates for drinking water in the country. The state gave residents discounts on water bills after acknowledging the emergency, but suspended the credits earlier this year  a decision that rankled locals who are paying for contaminated water.

A woman holds a sign criticizing water costs at a Flint City Council meeting in February. (Photo: Brittany Greeson/Washington Post/Getty Images)

Flint warned 8,000 homeowners last month that they could be hit with tax liens  legal claims against their property  if theyve fallen more than six months behind on their water bills. Genesee County could then foreclose on homes with liens and transfer their ownership to the Genesee County Land Bank. Flint City Council voted to place a one-year moratorium on the tax liens a couple weeks after the city started sending out notices.

The Land Bank plays a critical role in a city struggling with blight and abandonment, overseeing a major program to demolish vacant homes. In Lyons recordings, Stair denigrates the Flint residents he was supposed to serve, complaining about fucking deadbeats he claims are destroying neighborhoods.

The people are still the people, Stair said. They fuck the houses up, and they leave and then we tear em down; they just go somewhere else and just fuck those houses up.

U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, a Flint Democrat who has advocated for his constituents throughout the crisis, condemned Stairs comments on Twitter Sunday. Kildee founded the Land Bank in 2004, when he was Genesee Countys treasurer, and Stair says that Kildee hired him.

This behavior is awful and indefensible. Phil Stair should be fired or resign immediately. https://t.co/A7R6QjzlEP  Rep. Dan Kildee (@RepDanKildee) June 5, 2017

Lyons said she was shocked to hear Stairs remarks, but she also had criticism for the Land Bank, which owns thousands of empty homes in the city.

Theyre just sitting on them. Theyre laying in wait for the gentrification of Flint, she said. Theyve been actively pushing out poor people and people of color from the city.

Lyons was pleased with Stairs quick ouster, but called for an internal review of his past work and an independent investigation of the entire agency.

If hes the person deciding who can have property and where, then how many times has he displaced poor people or people of color, knowing that these are his true feelings? she asked.

Wildman, the banks executive director, apologized for her former employees remarks on Monday, according to Michigan Radio.

We are outraged by the offensive statements and committed to taking all steps necessary to rebuild public trust, she said.

This story has been updated with comment from Chelsea Lyons and Phil Stairs resignation letter.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
People march from the U.S. Capitol to the White House for the People's Climate Movement to protest President Donald Trump's environmental policies 29 April 2017: Astrid Riecken/Getty Images

Over a thousand mayors, businesses, investors, and academic institutions have signed a pact to continue fighting climate change in the US despite Donald Trumps withdrawal from the Paris Agreement.

Last week, Mr Trump pulled out of the Paris accord, stressing that it puts American workers at an economic disadvantage and that it is unfair for the US economy.

The We Are Still In initiative represents $6.2 trillion of the US economy - composed of bipartisan drivers of the real economy, Lou Leonard, World Wildlife Funds Senior Vice President of Climate Change and Energy, told The Independent.

Several business leaders including managers of multi-billion dollar pension funds, the CEO of Shell, and former Exxon Mobil CEO and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had urged Mr Trump to stay in the Paris accord.

Twenty Fortune 500 companies, including Apple, eBay, Gap Inc., Google, Intel, Microsoft, Nike, and several universities are among the signatories to the initiative as well.

It is a wide cross-section of the US, all coming together to say Mr Trumps decision is out of step with what is happening outside of Washington.

The signers all understand that the Paris Agreement is a blueprint for job creation, stability and global prosperity...to create jobs, spur innovation, promote trade and ensure American competitiveness, they said in a statement.

Mr Leonard said that though these cities would be able to combat climate change faster and more fully with the help of state and federal governments, the wide variety of partners in the initiative is important to note.

These new partners can do something creative to green their local economies, said Mr Leonard.

He explained that the reason the initiative is crucial is that decisions about transportation, ports - some large, international shipping hubs, urban planning, and land use are all made at the local government level.

These are the areas where changes need to be made to push the US to a zero carbon future, Mr Leonard said.

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Some mayors and companies that signed on are in states that have not committed to fighting climate change. Only 13 Republican and Democratic governors have done so thus far.

Mr Leonard said though that may be an issue, policies about sustainable agriculture, for instance, become less and less political at the local level.

For instance, he pointed to the number of mayors and actors representing the Mississippi River Valley, the breadbasket of America that runs through several Republican states, as evidence that local leaders understand climate changes economic impact better than most.

In addition to this initiative, 211 mayors from around the country have signed a similar pledge to create a clean energy economy, according to a statement from Mayors National Climate Agenda.

Cities represented include San Diego, California and Miami Beach, Florida, both contending with rising sea levels and coastal erosion.

Mayor of Detroit Mike Duggan also signed despite his citys reliance on the auto manufacturing industry. Detroit has been in an economic downturn for several years and Mr Duggan and others feel job re-training and clean energy programmes will play a role in an economic renaissance for the city.

During his address announcing the withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, Mr Trump cited the decline in the coal industry - which has actually been in decline since before the 1970s.

The head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Scott Pruitt said during a news conference that the goal of withdrawal was to export American clean coal and the innovation and technology used in the US natural gas energy to teach the world how the US does it better.

Mr Trump also said he was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh not Paris.

Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto responded via Twitter that his city will follow the guidelines of the Paris Agreement for our people, our economy & future.

While data on national carbon emissions and some large companies has been identified, local data is more scant. It is unclear at this point whether partners in these initiatives alone will be enough to meet the US targets of reducing carbon emissions 26 to 28 per cent below 2005 levels by the year 2025.

Quantifying the carbon emissions reductions pledges of these non-government and sub-national actors is the next phase, according to Mr Leonard.

Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, a United Nations Special Envoy on Cities and Climate, has sent a letter to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change saying that Americans are still committed to the Paris Agreement.

He also launched an effort with local governments and non-state actors to formally quantify the combined - and overlapping - emissions reduction pledges, which will be known as America's Pledge, and submit the report to the UN, Reuters reported.
Le Bon Marche, Pariss leading luxury department store, has made its way to the rest of the world: The stores new multibrand website launched on June 6, following much anticipation from fashion insiders and shoppers.

The site, called 24 Sevres and named after the department stores physical address, is a venture spearheaded by the powerhouse luxury conglomerate LVMH Moet Hennessy. But its not LVMHs first attempt to create a comprehensive e-commerce platform. The company first tried to compete with the likes of dominant players Net-a-Porter Yoox and Farfetch years ago with its now-defunct site eLuxury.

But this time is different, the company says. For one, the two men leading the charge  Ian Rogers, LVMHs chief digital officer, and Eric Goguey, 24 Sevres chief executive  are uniquely equipped to bring success to the new site, which was developed in 20 months. Rogers joined LVMH in 2015, after overseeing Apples acquisition of Beats; Goguey comes from Sephora, an LVMH-owned entity, which dominates beauty sales in stores and online.

Both men think theres one thing that will distinguish 24 Sevres from its competitors, easing worries that luxury shopping in stores wont translate to the digital world: customer service.

A look at some merchandise exclusive to the 24 Sevres capsule collection. (Photo Courtesy 24 Sevres)

E-commerce today is about a great customer service, about being really respectful of the customers time, Rogers told Yahoo Style. Its about paying with your time and service in terms of concierge. I think were at this moment where theres a critical mass of customers who want online shopping for a great experience.

Rogers says 24 Sevres will be distinct in three ways: First, their selection of products is unique (or, more accurately, coveted). 24 Sevres will, for the first time, host all LVMH brands on one platform, including household names like Louis Vuitton. About 150 brands  as well as a capsule collection exclusive to 24 Sevres coordinated with labels like Chloe, Givenchy, and Loewe  are now available on the site.

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Worth noting: Not all designer inventory as shown seems to available, at least not at launch. In a promotional image at the top of the website, a model contorts herself to model a Dior ribboned kitten heel from Maria Grazia Chiuris first show as creative director  yet the shoe itself (or any Dior shoe, for that matter) does not seem to not be listed for purchase on the site.

Photo: Screenshot from 24 Sevres site.

Other items popular with the Instagram set but difficult to find anywhere  like the ubiquitous Gucci double G  are no longer available on the new site.

Photo: Screenshot from 24 Sevres site.

Rogers also says the new site will bring a visual merchandising experience to customers, meaning the site will be more dynamic than a list of clothes on a webpage. Think: More like your Instagram feed, less like a static matrix of products.

As for the customer service, theres next-day delivery to most of the 70-plus countries that 24 Sevres ships to, click-and-collect in Paris, and video chatting with human (not computer-generated) stylists.

Its too early to know whether LVMHs second attempt at a comprehensive e-commerce site will be successful. This time, though, its on solid ground.

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.

Alexandra Mondalek is a writer for Yahoo Style + Beauty. Follow her on Twitter @amondalek.
Vice President Mike Pence at the 13th annual National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, June 6, 2017. (Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

Vice President Mike Pence addressed the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast Tuesday, using his speech to sell the crowd of religious leaders and devotees on the spiritual bona fides of the new administration.

Pence emphasized the need for religious freedom, both domestically and globally, and said the U.S. is dedicated to ensuring liberty for all faiths. America condemns the persecution of any faith, in any place, at any time, Pence said. And we will confront it with all of our might.

But the vice president spent a good part of his speech selling the crowd on Trumps commitment to religious issues.

While Pence was raised Catholic, he converted to evangelical Christianity in the 1990s and has been unabashed in speaking out about faith-based issues. The vice president has worked closely on policies related to religious freedom and abortion during this early period of the administration.

This includes an executive order Trump signed last month that he said would promote religious liberties by shielding religious organizations who take political stands from tax consequences and by asking federal agencies to consider loosening requirements that employers cover contraception in their insurance plans.

Many religious leaders, particularly evangelical Christians, have said they feel the executive order does not go far enough, however. Pence touted the policy Tuesday as an example of Trumps work on safeguarding religious liberty.

I can assure you this president believes that no American should have to violate their conscience to fully participate in American life, Pence said. And he has not just talked about it, he has taken action to protect men and women of faith in the public square.

Pences speech Tuesday, which called on attendees to be on Gods side, contrasted with the presidents speech before the larger National Prayer Breakfast in February.

President Trump at the National Prayer Breakfast, Feb. 2, 2017. (Photo: Carlos Barria/Reuters)

While Trump discussed the importance of religious freedom in that address, following the lead of every president since Dwight Eisenhower, he also touched on a series of more secular topics, including counterterrorism and immigration policy.

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Whereas President Obama used a variation of the word prayer 18 times in his 2016 address to the breakfast, Trump used it a mere 4 times. He also took the occasion to disparage the ratings of the NBC reality show The Apprentice, which he formerly hosted. After being introduced by Mark Burnett, who used to produce the program, the president joked that attendees should pray so that the shows ratings would go up.

Trump also praised Senate Chaplain Barry Black, the keynote speaker, by saying he should continue to serve in his position and the hell with it. The word hell would likely be considered a swear word by many in attendance.

Trump was raised in the Presbyterian church. But he has often expressed attitudes that are at odds with major tenets of Christianity, such as his admission, or boast, that he does not ask God for forgiveness.

I think if I do something wrong, I think, I just try and make it right. I dont bring God into that picture. I dont, Trump said in 2015.

Trump had an audience with Pope Francis last month, which Pence described as a rich discussion of global issues. Observers said the pope, who has publicly criticized Trumps plan to construct a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, looked uncomfortable meeting the president.

A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian, Francis said last year. Trump responded that the pontiffs remarks were disgraceful.

Some Catholics attending the prayer breakfast Tuesday did not seem bothered by Trumps religious record.

He has laid a series of promises that I think will be interesting to watch  will they be fulfilled, Patrick Fagan, director of the Marriage and Religion Research Initiative, said. I have no doubt he is going to try [to fulfill those]. By himself can the president do this, no. Can he run Congress? No.  But can he lead, yes.

While Fagan said he has had past concerns about Trumps temperament, he said he thinks Trumps policy proposals are strong. [Trump has] tremendous substance, and that is coming out, he said.

Lorraine Kuchmy, director of administration for the Livingston Group, said she believed in Trumps ability to live up to his promises on religious issues. His views are on the right path now, Kuchmy said, adding, I believe the Lord is doing something important with this man.

Others were more skeptical of Trump. While he was pleasantly surprised with Trumps selection of Neil Gorsuch for the U.S. Supreme Court, breakfast attendee Dan Krieger noted that Trumps record does create some concern.

I walked into this election cautiously optimistic, and theres still a lot of caution there, Krieger said. You look at his record, there is reason to be cautious, and there seems to be some turbulence over the first few months, but its a long four years.

Despite these concerns, Pence maintained that Trump would be listening to the Catholic community during his time in office.

American Catholics have an ally in President Donald Trump, he said.

Read more from Yahoo News:
NASHVILLE  The Predators returned to Smashville facing a two-games-to-none deficit in the Stanley Cup Final. Theyll leave it with a 2-2 series tie against the Pittsburgh Penguins, after their spirited 4-1 Game 4 victory on Monday night.

Pekka Rinne was frequently brilliant in making 23 saves, while the Nashville Predators received goals from Calle Jarnkrok, Freddie Gaudreau, Viktor Arvidsson and Filip Forsberg.

[Follow Puck Daddy on social media: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Tumblr]

Game 5 is Thursday night back in Pittsburgh.

Defensively, it was another gem for Nashville. The Predators penalty kill shut down the Penguins three power-play opportunities, and has now gone 15-for-16 against them. While Sidney Crosby hit the board with a goal, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel were both shut down with no points.

Matt Murray ended his two games in Nashville having given up eight goals on 58 shots.

The Predators opened the scoring as Jarnkrok tallied his second of the playoffs at 14:51:

Austin Watson had the initial shot that Murray turned aside, but Jarnkrok was there to tuck home the rebound.

The Penguins challenged the goal, believing that Craig Smith interfered with Murray on the save. But they lost the challenge, and the goal stood.

Sidney Crosby quickly got it back on a breakaway goal past Rinne just 1:06 later.

Crosbys eighth of the playoffs featured a gorgeous move that faked out Rinne, as well as a fortunate bounce off the iron and behind him.

The first period ended 1-1, but that deadlock only lasted 3 minutes and 45 seconds into the second period, as Gaudreau scored on a tight wraparound goal that the officials initially missed. It was confirmed on video review, his third of the Stanley Cup Final and second in two games.

Then the Rinne show was on.

The Predators goalie made several strong saves, including a fantastic three-save sequence that robbed Jake Guentzel.

At 13:08, it was Arvidsson with a breakaway backbreaker for the Predators:

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That was Mike Fisher, celebrating his birthday, making that diving pass to Arvidsson for the goal.

The Predators controlled play for the rest of the period, and entered the third with the lead. The win moved them to 9-0 when leading after two periods, while the Penguins dropped to 0-7 when trailing after two.

Forsberg iced the win with an empty netter, moments after Murray was pulled. It was his first point of the series.

The fans roared through the final buzzer, as they had roared all series. The reward for their efforts? The guaranteed Game 6 back in Nashville, and another chance to crank up the playoffs biggest party.



Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

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By Julie Steenhuysen (Reuters) - Puerto Rico on Monday declared that the 2016 Zika epidemic is over, saying transmission of the virus that can cause birth defects when pregnant women are exposed has fallen significantly. About 10 cases of the mosquito-borne disease have been reported in each four-week period since April 2017, down from more than 8,000 cases reported in a four-week period at the peak of the epidemic in August 2016, the Puerto Rico Health Department said in a statement. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, however, has not changed its travel advice, noting that pregnant women should not travel to Puerto Rico. "At this time, there are no plans to change CDC's travel recommendations for Puerto Rico. The agency is reviewing recent surveillance data and will update recommendations based on review of data," CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said in an emailed statement. On its website, the CDC cites public health reports saying that "mosquitoes in Puerto Rico are infected with Zika virus and are spreading it to people." CDC acting Director Dr. Anne Schuchat said in a statement that she is "pleased that the peak of the Zika outbreak in Puerto Rico has come to a close." However, she said, "We cannot let our guard down." Schuchat said CDC will continue to focus on protecting pregnant women and work closely with the Puerto Rican health department to support Zika surveillance and prevention efforts on the island, which is a U.S. territory. A major outbreak of Zika began in Brazil in 2015 and spread rapidly to dozens of countries. There is no treatment for Zika, but private companies and governments are working on a vaccine. In addition to Puerto Rico, the CDC warns there is a risk of Zika infection for travelers going to Mexico, Cuba, most of the Caribbean and South America, as well as parts of Africa and Southeast Asia. (http://bit.ly/2m50Lf7) Locally transmitted Zika cases have also been reported in Texas and Florida. (Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Jonathan Oatis)
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday rejected allegations that his country influenced last years U.S. presidential election, saying such an act wouldnt make sense and that he hadnt seen any direct proof of Russian interference that would have aided the election of Donald Trump.

In an interview with Megyn Kelly on NBCs Sunday Night, Putin fired back at assertions that Russia had meddled in the election, at times getting noticeably agitated with the line of questioning. At one point, he told Kelly that Russia didnt care who the American president was as the main political direction does not change.

Presidents come and go, and even the parties in power change, he said. Thats why, in the grand scheme of things, we dont care whos the head of the United States, we know more or less whats going to happen. And so, in this regard, even if we wanted to, it wouldnt make sense for us to interfere.

Putin to @megynkelly: "In the grand scheme of things, we don't care who's the head of the United States" https://t.co/oWSKbSkrAq  NBC News (@NBCNews) June 4, 2017

Putin repeatedly rejected claims that Russian hackers had acted to help Trump win the election  an assertion that has been substantiated by multiple U.S. intelligence agencies. Officials at those organizations have said Putin personally ordered an influence campaign in an intelligence report ordered by former President Barack Obama.

I havent seen, even once, any direct proof of Russian interference in the presidential election in the United States, Putin told Kelly.

One of the most vehement denials during the interview, however, came when Kelly asked about a slew of meetings between members of the Trump campaign and Russias ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak.

Michael Flynn, Trumps former national security adviser, was forced to resign after he mischaracterized a meeting he had had with Kislyak. In recent months, several other administration officials, including Attorney General Jeff Sessions and adviser Jared Kushner, have also come under increased scrutiny over their dealings with Kislyak.

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Putin denied that he had any knowledge of such encounters, first telling Kelly that there were no meetings and then clarifying that he had not been informed because there was nothing to even talk about.

Im being completely honest with you, Putin said. I dont know. The routine job of an ambassador  do you think that from all over the world, or from the United States, the ambassador reports to me every day who he meets with or what they discuss there? Thats complete nonsense.

There wasnt any kind of discussion about sanctions or anything else, he said. You created a sensation out of nothing.

The Russian president also declined to address reports that he was in possession of a secret dossier of compromising material on Trump, and said there was no special relationship between the two men.

There was a time when he used to come to Moscow, he said. But you know, I never met with him. We have a lot of Americans who visit us.

Also on HuffPost

President Donald Trump shakes hands with Russian Ambassador to the United States Sergei Kislyak during talks with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (not in picture) in the Oval Office at the White House.

President Donald Trump and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meet for talks in the Oval Office.

President Donald Trump shakes hands with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as they meet for talks in the Oval Office.

President Donald Trump and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meet for talks in the Oval Office.

President Donald Trump and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meet for talks in the Oval Office.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, President Donald Trump, and Russian Ambassador to the United States Sergei Kislyak talking during a meeting in the Oval Office.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, President Donald Trump, and Russian Ambassador to the United States Sergei Kislyak talking during a meeting in the Oval Office.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Re-polling in Bharatpur-19: Apex court stays EC decision

The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday stayed Saturdays Election Commission (EC) decision to conduct re-election in Ward 19 of Bharatpur Metropolitan City and asked the authorities concerned to maintain status quo on the decision until Sunday.
Sarajevo 1914, Doha 2017? We could be at a historic moment akin to the assassination of the heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which resulted in what became known as the Great War. This time, though, the possible clash is between a Saudi-United Arab Emirates force and Iran. Washington is going to have to act quickly to stop the march to war, rather than wait for the carnage to begin.

The nominal target of Saudi Arabia and the UAE is Qatar, which has long diverged from the Arab Gulf consensus over Iran. Riyadh and a growing list of Arab countries broke ties Monday with the gas-rich emirate, and Saudi Arabia announced that it had halted permission for Qatari overflights, closed the land border, and banned ships bound for Qatar transiting its waters. This is a casus belli by almost any definition. For perspective, the Six-Day War, which occurred 50 years ago this week, was prompted by Egypts closure of the Straits of Tiran, thus cutting off Israels access to the Red Sea.

In response, Iran reportedly announced it will allow Qatar to use three of its ports to collect the food imports on which the country is dependent  a gesture that Riyadh and Abu Dhabi will probably see as only confirming Dohas treacherous ties with Tehran.

There are at least two narratives for how we got here. If you believe the government of Qatar, the official Qatar News Agency was hacked on May 24 and a fake news story was transmitted quoting Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani as saying, There is no reason behind Arabs hostility to Iran. The allegedly false report reaffirmed Qatars support for the Muslim Brotherhood and its Palestinian offshoot, Hamas, as well as claiming Dohas relations with Israel were good.

The government-influenced media in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, meanwhile, adopted an alternative narrative, treating the news story as true and responding quickly with a burst of outrage. The emirs comments were endlessly repeated and, to the anger of Doha, internet access to Qatari media was blocked so that the official denial could not be read.

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There is a possibility that the initial hacking was orchestrated by Tehran, which was annoyed by the anti-Iran posture of the May 20-21 summit in Riyadh, when President Donald Trump met King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud Salman and representatives of dozens of Muslim states. On June 3, the Twitter account of Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa was hacked for several hours in an incident his government blamed on Shiite opposition activists, rather than pointing the finger at Iran. Irans motive would be to show Gulf disunity  as well as its irritation with Trumps endorsement of the GCC stance against Tehran.

For its part, Qatar sees itself as a victim of a plot by Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, which have had a traditionally antagonistic relationship with Doha despite the shared membership of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Riyadh views Qatar, which, like the kingdom, gives Wahhabi Islam a central role as a regional troublemaker. Doha, which allows women to drive and foreigners to drink alcohol, in turn blames the Saudis for giving Wahhabism a bad name. Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi despises Dohas support for the Muslim Brotherhood, which is banned in the UAE.

Although there was an awkward eight-month diplomatic hiatus in 2014, the root of todays trouble harkens back to 1995, when Emir Tamims father, Hamad, ousted his increasingly feckless and absent father from power in Doha. Saudi Arabia and the UAE regarded the family coup as a dangerous precedent to Gulf ruling families and plotted against Hamad. According to a diplomat resident in Doha at the time, the two neighbors organized several hundred tribesmen for a mission to murder Hamad, two of his brothers, as well as the ministers of foreign affairs and energy, and restore the old emir. The UAE even put attack helicopters and fighter aircraft on alert to support the attempt, which never actually happened because one of the tribesmen betrayed the plot hours before it was to take place.

With such events as background, any paranoia on the part of Emir Tamim may be justified. Over the weekend, a UAE newspaper reported that an opposition member of Qatars ruling al-Thani family, Sheikh Saud bin Nasser, intended to visit Doha to act as mediator.

With just 200,000 or so citizens, it can be hard to explain the importance of Qatar. Foreigners living there sometimes regard it with bemusement. The Doha skyline at night is dominated by often-empty though lit-up skyscrapers, one of them nicknamed, because of its shape, the pink condom. Yet, Qatar has the planets highest per capita income. After Iran, the emirate boasts the largest natural gas reserves in the world and is a huge exporter to markets stretching from Britain to Japan. It also is host to the giant al-Udeid Air Base, from which American aircraft flew combat operations during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and which is a command center for the U.S. campaign against the Islamic State.

For the 37-year-old Emir Tamim  who rules in the shadow of his father, who abdicated in his favor in 2013  the key priorities are probably to remain a good U.S. ally while not doing anything to annoy Iran. His countrys gas wealth is mostly in a huge offshore field shared with the Islamic Republic. So far, the Qatari drinking straw has taken more out of this hydrocarbon milkshake than Iran has.

Washington can play an important role in defusing this potentially explosive situation. U.S. officials may believe that Qatar was being less than evenhanded in its balancing act between the United States and Iran  but a drawn-out conflict between Riyadh and Doha, or a struggle that pushes Qatar into Tehrans arms, would benefit no one. In this respect, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is arguably well-placed. ExxonMobil, where he was CEO before joining the U.S. government, is the biggest foreign player in Qatars energy sector, so he presumably knows the main decision-makers well.

Riyadh and the UAE also seem to be establishing their bona fides as alternative sites for the U.S. forces now at al-Udeid. Their credentials are not as good as they might argue. In 2003, Saudi Arabia pushed U.S. forces out of Prince Sultan Air Base, as Riyadh tried to cope with its own Islamic extremism in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. Abu Dhabi already hosts U.S. tanker and reconnaissance aircraft, but it would take time to establish a fully equipped command center to replace the facility at al-Udeid.

The confrontation marks a test for Trumps young administration. It was only weeks ago when at the photo-op in Riyadh, Emirati Crown Prince Muhammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan shouldered aside Emir Tamim so he could be at the U.S. presidents right hand. Now, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are trying to do the same thing on the international stage. Of all the possible Middle East crises, Trumps advisors probably never mentioned this one.

Photo credit: FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP/Getty Images
Reality Winner

Reality Winner is making headlines for being the first person the Trump administration has charged with leaking classified information.

Who is she?

Texas-raised Reality Winner, 25, is an intelligence contractor with Pluribus International Corporation, which provides services to the National Security Agency (NSA). She began working at the companys location in Georgia starting in February and holds top secret clearance.

She has served as a linguist for the US Air Force and speaks Pashto, Farsi and Dari, her mother told CNN. Titus Nichols, her court-appointed attorney, also told CNN that outside of work she works as a yoga instructor. She's just a normal person.

What did she leak?

The Justice Department has charged Ms Winner with removing classified material from a government facility and mailing it to a news outlet. According to the agency, Ms Winner has admitted to FBI agents that she intentionally did this, knowing that the information was classified.

In the US, an individual facing criminal charges is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at later criminal proceedings.

While court documents filed in the case do not identify the outlet or describe the type of information leaked, the details of the case appear to correspond to information included in an Intercept article.

The article uses an NSA intelligence report to detail Russian attempts to hack US voting systems before the 2016 presidential election. The Intercept said the documents were submitted anonymously.

Why did she leak it?

Not sure. Posting under the pseudonym Sara Winners, Ms Winner often criticised Donald Trump on social media. She tweeted Well. People suck. #ElectionNight after it became apparent that Mr Trump would win the presidential race, as well as rebuked him for his order in January restricting travel from six predominantly Muslim countries. The account also liked tweets by Edward Snowden and WikiLeaks.

She's never ever given me any kind of indication that she was in favour of that at all, her mother said regarding Ms Winners stance on leaking. I don't know how to explain it.

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What happened to her?

The FBI arrested Ms Winner on 3 June at her home in Georgia.

What punishment is she facing?

Ms Winner could face up to 10 years in prison if she is convicted of leaking the confidential information.
Riyadh (AFP) - Saudi Arabia on Monday shut the local office of Qatar's Al-Jazeera global news channel after the kingdom and other Arab states severed ties with the emirate.

"The Ministry of Information closed the office of the Al-Jazeera channel and withdrew the licence it was granted," the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

It accused the channel of promoting "terrorist groups" and supporting rebels in Yemen, after Riyadh and some of its allies including Egypt cut diplomatic relations earlier Monday over Qatar's alleged support for groups including the Muslim brotherhood.

Separately, beIn Sports, a subsidiary satellite network of Al-Jazeera, went offline in the neighbouring United Arab Emirates, said an official in the UAE which was also among those to cut ties with Qatar.

"We are getting a lot of calls regarding this... (the channels) are currently off air in the UAE," said an official at the DU telecommunications company, without elaborating as to why.

Cairo has accused Al-Jazeera of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood which it blames for violence after Egypt's military ousted the movement from power in 2013.

Three Al-Jazeera journalists, including a Canadian and an Australian, were detained in Egypt between 2013 and 2015, triggering international protests.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said the President's tweets should be treated as official statements: Win McNamee/Getty Images

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer has said that Donald Trump's tweets should be "considered official statements" by the US President.

Mr Trump's tweets, even deleted ones, are saved as part of the country's official record that goes to the National Archives and Records Administration. Former President Obama's Twitter account has also be archived.

Recently, senior White House aide Kellyanne Conway criticised the media for having this obsession with covering everything he says on Twitter and very little of what of he does as President."

Mr Spicer said in his news briefing that Mr Trump is his own "most effective representative of his agenda."

Twitter "gives him the opportunity to speak to the American people...the same people critiquing him now," did so during the election, Mr Spicer noted.

Mr Spicer said it turned out to be "a very effective tool".

Earlier this week, Mr Trump taunted the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan in the wake of the London Bridge attack and praised Saudi Arabia for cutting ties with Qatar over funding terror groups.

The President is also reportedly planning to live-tweet the Senate Intelligence Committee testimony of former FBI Director James Comey, who Mr Trump sacked on 9 May.
With Adam Rawnsley and Elias Groll

Raqqa fight starts. After months of hard fighting while pushing south toward the Islamic States home base of Raqqa, U.S.-backed Syrian Arab and Kurdish forces have finally kicked off their assault on the city, U.S. military officials said on Tuesday.

The International Coalition and our partner forces are steadily dismantling the physical caliphate of ISIS, said Lt. Gen. Steve Townsend, commander of the U.S.-led coalition battling ISIS . Once ISIS is defeated in both Mosul and Raqqah, there will still be a lot of hard fighting ahead, but this Coalition is strong and committed to the complete annihilation of ISIS in both Iraq and Syria.

The Syrian Democratic Forces  made up of Kurdish YPG militias and Arab fighters  have encouraged civilians to flee the city to try and avoid a situation like Mosul, where Iraqi officials asked civilians to stay, leading to heavy civilian casualties.

What about the Kurds? The U.S. only recently began supplying arms and equipment to the YPG contingent, angering Turkey which considers the group to be a terrorist organization. The Kurds have emerged as the most reliable fighting force in Syria however, and have promised to turn Raqqa over to local governance and security forces after the city falls.

In a statement, the U.S. Central Command said the U.S. coalition hit Raqqah with 24 air strikes on Monday, hitting over a dozen groups of fighters, destroying boats, a house rigged with explosives, and a weapons storage facility. The fight for Raqqa is hardly the endgame for the war in Syria. Iranian-backed militias in both Syria and Iraq are rushing to cut off some U.S.-backed rebels from moving to join the fight, as FPs Dan De Luce and Paul McLeary recently reported, setting up the possibility of conflict between Washington and Tehran.

Coalition blues. The fight kicks off as key members of the anti-ISIS coalition are splintering. Six Arab countries suddenly cut diplomatic relations with Qatar on Monday, accusing the small Gulf state of backing militant groups including the Islamic State and al Qaeda, a move that could potentially complicate the U.S.-led coalition. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain Egypt, Yemen, Libyas interim government, and the United Arab Emirates expelled diplomats, closed borders, and instituted a travel ban on flights to and from the country. Kuwait and Oman are the only Gulf Cooperation Council members retaining ties. FPs Emily Tamkin and Robbie Gramer have more.

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There are over 10,000 U.S. military personnel at the Al Udeid air base, which boasts the Gulf regions largest airfield and is a critical hub for the war in Iraq and Syria. U.S. officials insisted that their operations wont be impacted by the diplomatic incident, and activities at the base will continue as normal.

Germany v. Turkey. On Monday, German officials said they were pulling their 250 troops and four Tornado surveillance planes out of the Turkish Incirlik air base, as part of a growing rift between the two countries. The German aircraft provide reconnaissance over Iraq and Syria.

Turkey has refused to allow German politicians to visit German forces at the base Incirlik after the two have experienced a series of diplomatic rows over the Armenian genocide, the Gulen movement, and other issues. U.S. officials say that they dont expect the loss of the German planes to have a major impact on the overall war effort.

Welcome to the club! Sorry for the shove. Montenegro became the 29th member of NATO on Monday, and Montenegrin Prime Minister Dusko Markovic came to town for a State Department ceremony to mark the historic occasion. After the ceremony, Markovic visited the White House to meet with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, but President Donald Trump skipped the meeting.

Trump, youll recall, shoved Markovic out of his way in an odd encounter in Brussels last month during the presidents petulant visit with Washingtons NATO allies. Markovic told Pence that his country aims to meet the NATO target of spending 2 percent of its GDP on defense by 2024.

Moscow isnt thrilled by the news, however. Russias Foreign Ministry said in the light of the hostile course chosen by the Montenegrin authorities, the Russian side reserves the right to take retaliatory measures on a reciprocal basis. In politics, just as in physics, for every action there is an opposite reaction.

Welcome to SitRep. Send any tips, thoughts or national security events to paul.mcleary@foreignpolicy.com or via Twitter: @paulmcleary or @arawnsley.

Fallout. Newly-elected South Korean President Moon Jae-in has suspended Deputy Minister for Defense Policy Wee Seung Ho, accusing him of concealing the fact that the U.S. had shipped an additional four launchers for the controversial Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system. The AP reports that Moon says the South Korean Defense Ministry didnt brief him on the transfer last month. Moon campaigned on his opposition to the THAAD deployment, but reportedly sent an emissary to the White House to reassure national security advisor Gen. H.R. McMaster that he did not plan to withdraw the system.

Hack attack. Russian military intelligence hackers targeted the computer systems of an American voting software maker and hit more than 100 American election officials with spearphishing emails, according to an NSA report obtained by the Intercept. The report provides a window into Russian hacking operations in the run-up to the 2016 election and raises questions about the scope of the campaign. American officials maintain that Russian meddling had no impact on vote totals, but the NSA report indicates Russian hacking may have targeted voting infrastructure to a broader degree than previously understood.

Burned. An old but novel trick may have inadvertently helped the Intercept blow its source to the federal government. An FBI affidavit says that the feds were able to determine that Reality Lee Winner was the source of an NSA document describing Russian hacking attempts against U.S. software companies that manage voter rolls after reporters at the news outlet shared a printed copy of the document with the NSA before publication, helping them narrow down the pool of suspects to one of six people. But as Erratasec writes, Intercept reporters also failed to notice that the document they shared with the NSA and later published online also contained a series of microdots which spell out the date the document was printed and the serial number of the printer used.

London. British media have identified three of the attackers involved in Saturdays terrorist attack that killed seven people in London. The BBC reports that the three men are Khuram Butt, Rachid Radouane, and Youssef Zaghba. Butt had appeared in an earlier Channel 4 documentary, The Jihadis Next Door, about jailed British Islamic State supporter Anjem Choudary. Butt argues with police in the film over complaints that he and others were flying an Islamic State flag.

Tweeter-in-chief. Trump continued his attack on London Mayor Sadiq Khan in the wake of Saturdays terrorist attack, tweeting Pathetic excuse by London Mayor Sadiq Khan who had to think fast on his no reason to be alarmed statement. MSM is working hard to sell it! Khan had urged Londoners not to be alarmed by the increased police presence following the attack, which Trump misconstrued as a call to shrug off the threat of terrorism. In response to Trumps repeated attacks, Khan argued for a cancellation of Trumps forthcoming state visit to the U.K., saying I dont think we should roll out the red carpet for him. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, while defending Khans calls for calm, says that the visit will still take place nonetheless.

Resignation. The Trump administrations climate change policy has claimed its first casualty in the form of acting U.S. Ambassador to China David Rank. CNN reports that Rank resigned his post in protest of Trumps decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, in which 148 countries agreed to voluntarily limit their carbon emissions. The State Department would not acknowledge or comment on the motivation behind Ranks departure, saying only that he made a personal decision and that We appreciate his years of dedicated service to the State Department.

Tit for tat. Early on Tuesday Russias Defense Ministry says it sent an Su-27 fighter jet to intercept a U.S. B-52 bomber over the Baltic Sea. Russian aircraft and their NATO counterparts have come into closer proximity since Russias invasion and annexation of Crimea, sometimes uncomfortably so. The Atlantic alliance reported that it intercepted Russian aircraft in the Baltic 110 times in 2016.

Photo Credit: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images
Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill in a photoshoot for Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Photo: Vanity Fair).

When director Colin Trevorrow begins production on Star Wars Episode IX, hell be facing a devastating obstacle: the loss of Carrie Fisher, who died from a heart attack shortly after she finished filming Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (in theaters Dec. 15). In a conversation with Cinemablend about his new film The Book of Henry (in theaters June 16), Trevorrow talked briefly about how he was approaching a Star Wars film without Princess Leia.

She was a major character, thats not a secret. She really was, said the Jurassic World director, confirming what producer Kathleen Kennedy told Vanity Fair about Fishers planned role in Episode IX. And it was extremely sad for all of us, mostly just because she was so loved by the Star Wars family and everyone that worked with her. (Trevorrow himself did not have the opportunity to meet Fisher before she passed away in December 2016.)

He went on explain, in vague terms, how the new film would deal with her absence. I feel like our options are limited mostly by ourselves, in that there is only certain things that we are willing to do, Trevorrow told Cinemablend. But I can guarantee it will be handled with love and respect, and all of the soul that Carrie Fisher deserves.

As Cinemablend speculates, it sounds like Trevorrow is denouncing the idea of turning Leia into a CG character (much like Peter Cushings resurrected character General Tarkin in Rogue One). Kennedy, too, has been adamant that this wont happen, telling Vanity Fair We dont have any intention of beginning a trend of re-creating actors who are gone. And while Fishers brother Todd has said that Lucasfilm has his permission to use existing footage of Fisher in the new film, Kennedy told Good Morning America that there were no plans to bring her back for Episode IX. In other words, Trevorrows film will have to conclude Leias storyline without Leia  a conundrum that Lucasfilms brain trust is still trying to solve. May the Force be with them.

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Oscar Isaac recalls being slapped 27 times by Carrie Fisher while shooting Episode VIII:





Read more from Yahoo Movies:
Stacey has never lived in a big city before, but now that she's in Los Angeles she wants to look her very best. She has come to The Doctors, who are going to show her and all women how they can look and feel great.

The single 44-year-old recently relocated from Alabama and is hoping to meet a special someone. She is in the dating scene, but at times feels self-conscious about the wrinkles and lines on her face. She tells The Doctors that improved skin would help to improve her self-confidence. She explains that she uses about 4 to 5 products on her face, but that she's not seeing a change. She is also concerned about the cost of using so many products.

She joins plastic surgeon Dr. Andrew Ordon and dermatologist Dr. Sonia Batra, who explain that is it not about how many products you use, but what is important is the science behind the product. She says that if Stacey uses products clinically proven to work, that her routine can be very simple.

First, Dr. Ordon and Dr. Batra discuss what may be affecting Stacey's skin, noting that stress can lead to more lines and wrinkles. Dr. Ordon suggests a facial massage in order to alleviate some stress and it can also help with blood flow to the face, which can plump the skin and help drive toxins out of cells so nutrients can get in. This adds vitality to dull skin.

Dr. Batra also suggests enjoying some chamomile tea to relax. After drinking the tea, she says to chill the tea bags in the refrigerator for 5 to 15 minutes and then apply the bags to your eyes to help with puffiness.

Sleep is also vital for healthy skin, and Dr. Ordon tells Stacey to always turn off all her devices 1 hour before bed. He also recommends using a silk pillowcase to reduce facial creases and to sleep on your back to help with facial wrinkles.

Dr. Batra says she loves a serum as they easily absorb and penetrate deeply into the skin. She recommends No7 Protect & Perfect Intense Advanced Serum, which has been clinically proven to reduce the appearance of lines and wrinkles in just 4 weeks. Its also under $30 dollars and available at Target.

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Doctors Product Shot

Results regarding the serum come from a study conducted by No7.

Click here to shop No7 directly.

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BEIRUT (Reuters) - Two Syrian rebels and a war monitor said a Syrian military plane had come down about 50 km east of Damascus on Monday in rebel-held territory near a frontline with government-held land. "We have brought down a Syrian jet in Tel Dakwa area in rural Damascus and we are searching for the pilot," Saad al Haj, spokesman for Western backed Jaish Osoud al Sharqiya rebel group, told Reuters. Osoud al Sharqiya is one of the main groups fighting in the southeast Syrian desert, known as the Badia. Pictures of what appeared to be the human remains of the pilot have been shared on opposition social media sites alongside pictures of aircraft wreckage said to be that of the warplane. Another rebel official, Said Seif from the Western-vetted Ahmed Abdo Martyrs group that operates in the area, said the plane came down in an area 15 kms east of Bir Qasab between Tal Dakwa and Dumair airport. Seif said rebels hit the aircraft with heavy, anti-aircraft machine guns which had been delivered to them in recent weeks by the United States and its allies to fend off a new push into southeast Syria by the government and allied Iran-backed militias. The Syrian military could not be reached for comment. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said a plane was shot down by a rebel group in the area but it could not confirm if the pilot was dead or alive. Reuters could not independently confirm reports of the downed plane. (Reporting by Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman; Writing by Lisa Barrington in Beirut, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
You are putting boys at risk of having a distracting working environment and saying, your clothing is more important than their education (Photos: Getty Images)

A high school recently shared a note warning female students that dressing provocatively can lead to a distracting working environment  and people arent happy about it.

You gotta be shitting me. This note was posted in the hallways of Breton High School. THOTwtf does that mean?! A post shared by Tony Sowan (@uncle_tomahawk) on Jun 5, 2017 at 12:29pm PDT

The memo was posted in hallways at Breton High School in Alberta, Canada, and read:

When you wear little to no clothing and dress provocatively because its too hot out or because you think its attractive, you are putting boys at risk of having a distracting working environment and saying, your clothing is more important than their education. Instead of dressing like a THOT, value the male education and dress conservatively.

The use of the term THOT is what parents and students are particularly upset about. The acronym, according to Urban Dictionary, stands for that ho over there.

One parent told Global News that two male students wrote the controversial note in response to another note posted to the bathroom mirror, which stated:

When you interrupt a girls school day to force her to change her clothes, or send her home because her shorts are too short or her bra straps are too visible, you are telling her that making sure boys have a distraction free environment is more important than her education. Instead of shaming girls for their bodies teach boys that girls are not sexual objects.

Photo: Instagram

High school principal Lara Jollymore confirmed the legitimacy of the notes and sent a subsequent missive home to parents regarding school dress codes. According to Global Calgary, that note stated, There are some female students who have posted their opinions about how they feel that they should be able to wear whatever clothes they wish at school, because they have the right to, and that ladies should not be objectified by gentlemen because it is wrong.

She continued, The gentlemen have responded by posting their opinions about how the school is a professional learning environment, and that ladies should respect that by wearing clothes that meet the dress code, and do not distract them, because even though it is not appropriate for gentlemen to objectify ladies, when ladies wear extremely provocative clothing, they can be distracted.

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She reportedly said that the inappropriate acronym in the boyss post will be addressed and students must be respectful when expressing their opinions since the school is a safe environment to deal with controversial issues. Jollymore also made it clear that the opinions expressed were those of students, not staff.

Breton High School dress code says shorts and skirts must exceed the length of arms and the inseam of shorts must be the minimum of one hand length. Straps for shirts must be three fingers wide for both male and female students and bra straps have to be covered. Students also have to cover up cleavage and navels and pants must be pulled up so that boxers arent exposed. Any images or wording on clothing have to be appropriate for a school environment  and no hats allowed.

Any students not following these procedures will be required to change their clothing or will be sent home, the policy states.

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FAGNANO (Italy) (AFP) - Youssef Zaghba, one of three authors of Saturday's deadly attack in London, was intercepted last year en route to Syria and flagged to Britain as a possible jihadist, Italian authorities said Tuesday.

Zaghba, a 22-year-old with dual Moroccan-Italian nationality, was briefly detained after being stopped at the airport in Bologna, central Italy in March 2016.

Italian prosecutors were unable to bring charges against him for links to international terrorism and he was set free, a police spokesman told AFP.

Italy notified Britain and Morocco of his status as a potential Islamist radical.

But he never showed up on Britain's radar as someone capable of involvement in an attack like Saturday's, in which seven people were killed.

The three attackers smashed a van into pedestrians on London Bridge before going on a stabbing spree which ended with them being shot dead by police.

London's Metropolitan Police said Zaghba had not been on their radar before Saturday, despite the Italian warning. He was not a "police or (intelligence agency) MI5 subject of interest," a spokesman said.

The mayor of Valsamoggia, a municipality near Bologna, said Zaghba was the son of an Italian mother, Valeria Collina, and a Moroccan father, Mohamed Zaghba, who had separated 18 months ago.

The son had been registered at an address in the village of Castello di Serravalle since 2004, as an Italian living overseas.

"In fact he never lived here," said the mayor, Daniele Ruscigno. "Only the mother lived here. She'd converted to Islam when she got married and neighbours say she wore a veil."

Neighbours told AFP the mother had moved back to the village, one of five that make up Valsamoggia, 18 months ago, living on the ground floor of a two-storey house in a leafy setting.

She owned the flat and her upstairs neighbour said she was "a very nice women, who never caused any trouble.

"I was flabbergasted when I heard what had happened," said Giulio Bortolini, 70.

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- Italian passport -

Zaghba had lived mainly in Morocco but had recently spent time working in Britain, most recently at a London restaurant.

He was intercepted at Bologna airport last year as he was about to board a plane for Turkey with security officials alerted by the fact that he was travelling with only a small backpack, his passport and a one-way ticket to Istanbul.

Italy's anti-terrorist police unit DIGOS believe he was trying to join Islamic State jihadists in Syria.

Police reportedly found IS propaganda videos on his cellphone, but after an investigation, they failed to find sufficient evidence of links to terrorism to justify prosecuting him.

Potentially crucially, a judge ordered that his computer be returned to him before its hard drive could be fully examined for further evidence of Islamist links.

As a holder of an Italian passport Zaghba was not liable for expulsion under the kind of administrative order Italy routinely uses against suspected Islamist militants from Morocco and Tunisia.

The Italian passport also meant he could easily travel to and from Britain.

The British and Moroccan authorities were notified of Zaghba's status by DIGOS. But he would have been among dozens of similar subjects notified to Italy's partners around the same time, so would not necessarily have stood out as a particular threat.

- 'No proof was terrorist' -

"When he was stopped at the airport, he told the security agent that he wanted to be a terrorist, but then he withdrew that," said Bologna prosecutor Giuseppe Amato.

"His computer was seized but the court that reviewed the authorisation ordered it be handed back on the grounds there was no supporting evidence for the existence of a crime. So we were unable to fully examine it.

"He was notified to London as a possible suspect. In 18 months, he spent ten days in Italy and was always monitored by the Bologna DIGOS.

"We did everything we could but there was not sufficient basis to prove he was a terrorist, he was a suspect based on types of behaviour."

Zaghba was born in Fez, Morocco, in January 1995. He was reportedly estranged from his father and only saw his mother on his rare trips to Italy.

She was said to have told police last year that he had asked her for money to travel to Rome before he left on his attempted trip to Syria.
Chandan Kumar Mandal is the environment and migration reporter for The Kathmandu Post, covering labour migration and governance, as well as climate change, natural disasters, and wildlife.
By Andrew Chung WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled that church-affiliated hospital systems do not have to comply with a federal law governing employee pensions, overturning lower court decisions that could have cost the hospitals billions of dollars. The court ruled 8-0 that church-affiliated organizations are exempt from the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, a 1974 law that forces private employers to follow rules aimed at protecting pension plan participants. The ruling was a victory for New Jersey-based Saint Peter's Healthcare System, Illinois-based Advocate Health Care Network and California-based Dignity Health, which had faced separate employee lawsuits accusing them of wrongly claiming a religious exemption under ERISA. Federal agencies had long interpreted the law as exempting not just church plans but also those of church-affiliated organizations. The employees challenged that view, in effect accusing the hospital systems of being big businesses posing as church organizations in order to avoid minimum funding and reporting requirements under ERISA. The three hospital systems maintained that their religious affiliation made them exempt from ERISA. St. Peters is affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church. Dignity operates both Catholic and non-Catholic hospitals. Advocate is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Writing for the court, Justice Elena Kagan said the law's religious exemption applies to plans whether they were established by churches themselves or organizations affiliated with the churches. Justice Sonia Sotomayor agreed with the ruling based on the text of the law. But, in a separate opinion, she wrote that she was "troubled" with the outcome, noting that some church-affiliated organizations operate for-profit subsidiaries, earn billions of dollars in revenues and compete with companies that must comply with ERISA. Sotomayor suggested that the U.S. Congress take action, adding that "scores of employees - who work for organizations that look and operate much like secular businesses - potentially might be denied ERISA's protections." The ruling is the latest in which the justices endorsed the idea that certain businesses deserve wider latitude because of religious considerations. In 2014, the justices sided with Hobby Lobby, a retailer owned by conservative Christians, that objected to a federal requirement that it pay for insurance coverage for women's birth control, saying that violated a U.S. law protecting religious freedom. Three separate regional federal appeals courts had ruled against Saint Peter's, Advocate and Dignity in separate cases, refusing to dismiss employees' lawsuits against them. Hundreds of hospitals and hospital systems have claimed the exemption since 1980, when Congress amended ERISA to extend what is known as the "church plan" exemption, originally only for churches, more broadly to certain religiously affiliated entities. The plaintiffs were seeking retroactive penalties for past violations of ERISA, which the hospitals said could add up to hundreds of millions or billions of dollars. Justice Neil Gorsuch, who joined the court after the arguments were presented in the case, did not participate in Monday's decision. (Reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham)
Unnamed sources said David Rank had resigned as he could not support Donald Trumps decision last week to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement

Donald Trumps decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement drew anger and condemnation from world leaders and heads of industry. Photograph: David Goldman/AP

The most senior career diplomat at the US embassy in China has stepped down, amid reports that he opposes the Trump administrations decision to quit the Paris agreement to fight climate change.

David Rank, a 27-year veteran state department officer, was appointed to serve as charge daffaires in Beijing in January last year.

A state department spokeswoman confirmed Ranks departure but said she was unable to confirm reports that he resigned as he felt unable to deliver a formal notification to China of the US decision last week to quit the agreement.

He has retired from the foreign service, said Anna Richey-Allen, a spokeswoman for the departments East Asia bureau. Mr Rank has made a personal decision. We appreciate his years of dedicated service to the state department.

Iowa governor Terry Branstad, Donald Trumps pick as the next US ambassador to Beijing, is expected to take up the post later this month.

A tweet from the China expert John Pomfret quoted unnamed sources as saying that Rank had resigned as he could not support Trumps decision last week to withdraw from the Paris agreement.

David Rank, no.2 @USEmbassyBJ, has resigned, sources say. He couldn't back Trump on climate. Rank had 27yr career including @USEmbassyKabul  John Pomfret  (@JEPomfret) June 5, 2017

In another tweet, Pomfret said Rank called a town hall meeting to announce his decision to embassy staff and explained that he could not deliver a diplomatic note informing the Chinese government of the US decision.

A senior US official confirmed the account given in the tweets but added that after Rank announced his intention to retire on Monday in Beijing, he was told by the state department to leave his post immediately. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.



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Rank, a career foreign service officer who took over the post of deputy chief of mission in Beijing in January 2016, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Jonathan Fritz, the embassys economics councillor, would serve as charge in his place, Richey-Allen said.

Trumps announcement last Thursday that he would withdraw the United States from the Paris climate accord, saying the agreement would undermine the US economy and cost jobs, drew anger and condemnation from world leaders and heads of industry.
Trista Sutter is soaking up family time  and love  after her vacation to Croatia took an unexpected turn and she suffered a violent seizure.

The Bachelorette star, 44, was on vacation with hubby, Ryan Sutter, and their two children when, while on a shuttle bus touring a national park last Thursday, she collapsed on her 8-year-old daughter Blakesleys chest and turned blue. Trista was rushed to a local hospital to be treated for a seizure, which came unexpectedly and without a definitive cause, according to Ryan. Needless to say, it was scary for the whole family, but they are once again enjoying their trip  which they took in honor of Ryans mothers 70th birthday  but with a new outlook on life.

On Friday, Trista shared a photo from her hospital bed, telling the whole traumatic story.

But the majority of her post was about her inspiring new outlook on life. When wondering, Why me? as she lay in her hospital bed, she realized, Why not me? Im human. I have an expiration date. The former reality TV star, who was the original Bachelorette, went on to vow that from then on shed try my best to live this life to the fullest. And she urged her fans to tell the people you love how you feel and live with grateful enthusiasm  and she did that herself with a loving tribute to her everything, Ryan, whom she met on The Bachelorette and married in 2003.

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After the dust settled, Ryan, 42, posted his own sweet words to Trista. Along a photo of her taking photos off a boat after her seizure, he wrote, Ive had this picture to post for a few days. I just havent been sure what to say?  It was taken one day after my wife, unexpectedly and without a definitive cause, seized violently in front of her family on a shuttle bus full of strangers. In almost 17 years as a firefighter, my experience has trained me to address the immediate emergency. However, little in my 42 years of life prepared me for the confusion and contemplation that remains after the tide of immediacy has settled.

He continued, What has helped is the outpouring of kindness received from our friends, family and even those that weve never personally met. Without a doubt, you have been instrumental in the healing process and a humbling source of strength for @tristasutter and I. So, with that message, I post this simple picture . Its my wife  at her best- capturing life as she always has, though now through a more meaningful lens

Despite the dramatic turn events, the family, which also includes 9-year-old Max, seems to really be enjoying themselves during the days since Tristas hospitalization. Here they are touring Old Town Dubrovnik:

And here are some more photos from their boat adventure, including one of Trista and her knight in shining armor Ryan:

My knight in shining armor.  #loveofmylife #grateful A post shared by Trista Sutter (@tristasutter) on Jun 5, 2017 at 2:29pm PDT

Emerging from a little time under da sea . . Used @tripadvisor to find @openwatercroatia to find a sweet ship wreck! I love when things workout!!! #croatiarules #underwaterrules #naturerules A post shared by Ryan Sutter (@ryansutter) on Jun 2, 2017 at 9:22am PDT

And they previously shared these:

Skipping rocks at sunset ????#croatia2017 #europeanvacation #schoolsoutforsummer #happy70thgmaB A post shared by Trista Sutter (@tristasutter) on May 30, 2017 at 12:32pm PDT

Grandma . #happybirthday #surprise #croatia A post shared by Ryan Sutter (@ryansutter) on May 30, 2017 at 12:36pm PDT

And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Roald Dahl #feelingblessed #todaytaughtmealot #croatia2017 A post shared by Trista Sutter (@tristasutter) on Jun 1, 2017 at 12:16pm PDT

May the rest of their trip be smooth sailing.





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We shouldnt be passive onlookers to Trumps pantomime presidency any longer. Its time to look through the theatrics to understand what he is doing

Trump effectively lower our expectations of what presidential communication should look like. Photograph: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

How long can we keep watching this endless car crash that is Donald Trumps presidency? The world has pressing problems to solve, from climate change to global terrorism, but instead of contributing resources and wisdom from the United States, Trump relentlessly gets in the way of solutions and exacerbates problems, all the while turning our shared tragedies into his own spectacles.

We shouldnt be passive onlookers to Trumps pantomime presidency any longer. Its time we learn how to read Trump more judiciously, if only to learn how to deal with him better.

Take Trumps obtuse reaction to the heinous terrorist attacks on the London Bridge. Only this American president would hear the words of capitulation in London mayor Sadiq Khans reasonable advice, made during an interview, that Londoners should not be alarmed by an increased and armed police presence on the streets following this terrorist attack.

Misconstruing Khans statement, Trump attacked Khan in a tweet posted hours after Saturday nights attack. At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is no reason to be alarmed! Trump wrote. Once it became clear his attempt to slander the mayor was obviously failing, Trump then doubled down again on Monday morning, tweeting: 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!

Trumps outsize animosity to Khan may stem from rank bigotry  Khan is Muslim, after all  or be due to Khans criticism of Trumps then proposed Muslim ban last year. Either way, who really cares anymore? Reasonable people should not. Instead, reasonable people should see through Trumps Twitter theatrics to discover a rather pitiful method of leadership.

By focusing less on Trumps personal reasons for his behavior and more on the political motivations for his actions, we can easily discern something crucial. The mounting evidence since 20 January shows that Trumps notion of leadership revolves around creating a politics of unreasonably low expectations so that any measure of near adult behavior by the man will be seen as remarkable, or even presidential, while his hopes abound that the normal methods of judging legislators will fade from view.

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His churlish use of Twitter is a case in point. The public consumes Trumps Twitter timeline as if it offers access straight through the weird hair and directly into Trumps brain. But Trumps tweets are not merely 140-character missives of questionable spelling and intelligence. Whether we like it or not, they are also official pronouncements of the president of the United States. And as such Trumps tweets  in form and content  effectively lower our expectations of what presidential communication should both look like and contain.

Theres more. Trumps own statements so often contradict his own stated policy goals that his administrations motto might as well be Yes, we cant! Following the London Bridge attack, Trump also posted a series of nakedly opportunistic tweets relaying his desire to implement his proposed travel ban from several Muslim-majority countries, a policy which has been put on hold by the courts because of the blatant religious animus behind the proposal. People, the lawyers and the courts can call it whatever they want, but I am calling it what we need and what it is, a TRAVEL BAN! he wrote in one tweet. The Justice Dept. should ask for an expedited hearing of the watered down Travel Ban before the Supreme Court - & seek much tougher version! read another.

Lawyers are already feasting on Trumps words as evidence to challenge the administrations legal arguments regarding the travel ban, and Trumps tweets could very likely undermine his own case in front of the courts. Some pundits will see the posts as indications of Trumps shortsighted political impulses, but another possibility exists. Trump deliberately seeks to torpedo his own political proposals so that his failures will appear as evidence of how much he is an outsider to very system which he is now supposed to lead. The world be damned. Hes all that counts.

Trumps style is turning out to be less postmodern fascism and more old-school narcissism. He will clearly sacrifice the rest of us, starting with the Muslims, in his tireless campaign to put himself always at the crumbling center of things. They say youll never cure a narcissistic, all you can do is ignore him. If only we could.
President Donald Trump took to Twitter Monday to again criticize London Mayor Sadiq Khan for how he responded to Saturday's terror attacks in London. Trump had already attacked Kahn once on Twitter only hours after seven people were killed in a terror plot that involved using a truck to run people over on London Bridge and a subsequent knife attack at a nearby market.

Pathetic excuse by London Mayor Sadiq Khan who had to think fast on his "no reason to be alarmed" statement. MSM is working hard to sell it!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017

At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is "no reason to be alarmed!"  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2017

Trumps twitter attacks take out of context a quote the mayor said about how Londoners shouldnt be concerned about seeing an increased security presence. Khan, however, isnt the first foreign leader to feel Trumps insults.

Read: Trump's Plan For Air Travel Allows Airlines and Wall Street to Take Over The Skies

1. Chancellor Angela Merkel and Germany:

In May, Trump insulted Merkel and all of Germany because of their trade policy. The Germans are bad, very bad. See the millions of cars they sell in the U.S., terrible. We will stop this, said Trump in an interview with German Magazine Der Spiegel.

2. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO):

At the end of his first foreign trip in May, which saw Trump travel through Europe and the Middle East, Trump scolded European leaders at a NATO meeting in a speech. NATO members must finally contribute their fair share and meet their financial obligations  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, said Trump. In the past Trump has called NATO an obsolete organization.

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3. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto:

In January, Trump escalated his feud with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto over which country will pay for his proposed border wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, and a canceled visit by Nieto. Most illegal immigration is coming from our southern border. Ive said many times that the American people will not pay for the wall. And Ive made that clear to the government of Mexico, Trump said in remarks to congressional Republicans during their annual retreat. To that end, the president of Mexico and myself have agreed to cancel our planned meeting scheduled for next week. Unless Mexico is going to treat the United States fairly, with respect, such a meeting would be fruitless and I want to go a different route. We have no choice.

4. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Trumbull:

In his first phone call with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Trumbull in January, Trump got upset with the leader over a deal Trumbull worked out with former President Barack Obama. The deal would send one thousand, two hundred and fifty refugees to the United States from an Australian detention center. Trump called it the worst deal ever.

Read: English Twitter Reacts to Trump's Comments on London Mayor Sadiq Khan

5. Hand Games:

Trumps insults arent always in tweets and remarks, sometimes they are physical. Despite praising the leader later, Donald Trump shook Prime Minister Shinzo Abes hand for a full 19 seconds in an awkward exchange. Merkel didnt get the pleasure of a handshake when she first met Trump, despite the call to do so by assembled press photographers. French President picked up on Trumps handshake games and reversed some of Trumps power tricks back on him when they first met.

The world leader who might best know to stay out of Trumps way though, is Montenegro Prime Minister Dusko Markovic.

Did Trump just shove another NATO leader to be in the front of the group? pic.twitter.com/bL1r2auELd  Steve Kopack (@SteveKopack) May 25, 2017

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Washington (AFP) - President Donald Trump seized on the London terror attack to demand the US ban on travelers from some Muslim countries be reinstated Monday, sparking a diplomatic row with Britain and jeopardizing his legal defense of the measure in the process.

In the wake of Saturday's deadly attack, Trump renewed calls for a travel crackdown, while attacking London's Muslim mayor, the media, Democrats, judges and opponents who accuse him of playing the politics of fear.

Trump has made combatting jihadists a central plank of his politics, using deliberately inflammatory rhetoric and attacking the "political correctness" of those advocating a nuanced approach.

The "special relationship" with Britain became the latest casualty of that hardline stance Monday.

With the seven victims of Saturday's attack not yet buried, Trump repeatedly criticized London Mayor Sadiq Khan, whom he accused of playing down the terror threat.

Khan had warned Londoners that an increased police presence in the wake of the attacks was nothing to worry about.

Trump misconstrued that statement, and went on to accuse Khan of making up a "pathetic excuse" for his remarks.

"We must stop being politically correct and get down to the business of security for our people. If we don't get smart it will only get worse," Trump said.

Privately, British officials -- many of whom call London home -- were incandescent with rage.

- 'Feud and division' -

Prime Minister Theresa May, who is under growing pressure to denounce Trump ahead of Thursday's election, came to Khan's defense.

"I think Sadiq Khan is doing a good job and it's wrong to say anything else -- he's doing a good job," she said, despite the pair being from opposite political parties.

May had already faced pressure to criticize Trump or even withdraw his invitation for a state visit after he pulled out of a global climate deal and edged away from collective security arrangements under NATO.

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Khan, London's first Muslim mayor told British media he had "better and more important things to focus on" than responding to Trump's tweets.

"Some people thrive on feud and division. We are not going to let Donald Trump divide our communities," he later added.

- 'Unacceptable' attack or media 'spin'? -

In the United States, many veteran diplomats and officials decried Trump's remarks.

"To my friends in the UK: I apologize for this," said Ben Rhodes, a former national security aide to Barack Obama.

New York Mayor Bill De Blasio said Khan was "doing an extraordinary job supporting Londoners in a time of pain. President Trump's attack on him is unacceptable."

The White House later tried to play down Trump's tweets.

"I don't see that the president is picking a fight with the mayor of London at all," said spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

She accused the media of putting "spin" on the issue.

"I think the point is, is there is a reason to be alarmed. We have constant attacks going on, not just there, but across the globe, and we have to start putting national security and global security at an all-time high," she said.

- In the Supreme Court's hands -

Trump also found himself in hot water over his tough-talking tweets defending his ban on travelers from several Muslim countries, which is currently stalled in the federal courts.

The White House has struggled to prevent the measures from being permanently struck down, insisting it is not a "ban" and does not target Muslims -- which would almost certainly be unconstitutional.

Trump did not mince words.

"People, the lawyers and the courts can call it whatever they want, but I am calling it what we need and what it is, a TRAVEL BAN!" he tweeted.

"In any event we are EXTREME VETTING people coming into the US in order to help keep our country safe. The courts are slow and political!" he said, attacking the judiciary in a way that is rare in American politics.

The husband of senior Trump aide Kellyanne Conway was among those who warned those remarks may pose legal problems for the administration at the Supreme Court.

"These tweets may make some ppl feel better," George Conway said on Twitter, but "certainly won't help" get five votes on the Supreme Court.

In a rare move on Friday, the Supreme Court expedited consideration of the case, ordering the American Civil Liberties Union -- which represents the plaintiffs -- to respond by June 12 to the Trump administration's petition for court consideration.

Once it receives the response, the high court could quickly rule on whether to take up the case.

Trump called Monday for a "much tougher version" of his travel ban and an "expedited" hearing for the measure before the Supreme Court.

Trump issued his initial travel ban by executive order in January, but that measure -- which banned entry to nationals from seven countries for 90 days and suspended the nation's refugee program for 120 days -- was quickly halted by the courts.

He then issued a second version, but that too was put on ice.

Watch news, TV and more Yahoo View, available on iOS and Android.
U.S. tech titans are joining an effort by more than 1,000 U.S. governors, mayors, investors, universities, and companies to commit to meeting the targets of the Paris Climate Agreement.

Tech firms, including Apple, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, are banding together following President Trump's controversial decision on June 1 to withdraw the U.S. from the historic climate change treaty.

Social media giants Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat also joined the effort. Noticeably absent were Oracle, IBM, and all the major telecommunications providers.

SEE ALSO: U.S. mayors and governors defy Trump, will stick to Paris agreement anyway

The new campaign, called "We Are Still In," formally debuted on Monday after it was quietly announced last week.

"We Are Still In" represents the most serious attempt yet by local officials, business executives, and private-sector leaders to buck the Trump administration's decision, which sent political shockwaves around the world.

Participants vowed to meet the Paris agreement's target of limiting global warming to "well below" 2 degrees Celsius, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, above preindustrial levels by 2100. They also pledged to accelerate the transition to renewable energy.

President Trump announcing his decision to withdraw from the historic climate accord, June 1, 2017.

Image: GETTY IMAGES

"In the U.S., it is local and state governments, along with businesses, that are primarily responsible for the dramatic decrease in greenhouse gas emissions in recent years," the group wrote in an open letter to the international community.

"Actions by each group will multiply and accelerate in the years ahead, no matter what policies Washington may adopt," they wrote.

The new coalition includes dozens of university and college leaders, including the chancellors of six University of California campuses, the president of New York University, plus schools from many states in between the coasts. Nineteen attorneys general joined the group, including New York AG Eric Schneiderman and Massachusetts AG Maura Healy, both of whom are investigating Exxon Mobil for allegedly deceiving investors on the company's climate risks.

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19 AGs are joining the states, cities, & businesses pledging #WeAreStillIn to the #ParisAgreement. If Washington wont lead, we will. pic.twitter.com/ttk6Bv7AnR  Eric Schneiderman (@AGSchneiderman) June 5, 2017

Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor and a U.N. Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change, is coordinating the effort. He's expected to deliver the statement to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the body that oversees global climate negotiations, on Monday afternoon.

Bloomberg has said that efforts by cities, states, and companies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions might ultimately be enough to meet America's current commitment under the Paris treaty. Former President Obama pledged to reduce the country's emissions by 26 to 28 percent by 2025, from their levels in 2005.

"American society remains committed to achieving the emission reductions we pledged to make in Paris in 2015," Bloomberg said in a statement.

The coalition intends to submit a "Societal Nationally Determined Contribution" to the U.N., which will be called "America's Pledge" and account for the climate-fighting efforts of U.S. cities, states, businesses, and other subnational actors.

The "leaf" on the logo of Apple store turns green to welcome the World Earth Day on April 20, 2016.

Image: VCG/Getty Images

It would be rare, if not unprecedented, for a coalition like this to formally join a U.N. treaty meant for nations to sign.

Christiana Figueres, a former top U.N. climate official who helped broker the Paris treaty, told the New York Times there is currently no formal mechanism for entities that aren't countries to fully participate in the Paris accord.

Patricia Espinosa, who succeeded Figueres in the top U.N. climate job, said the organization applauded the U.S. coalition's move.

"The UNFCCC welcomes the determination and commitment from such a wealth and array of cities, states, businesses and other groups in the United States to fast forward climate action and emissions reductions in support of the Paris Climate Change Agreement," she said in a statement.

"We Are Still In" is the latest in a string of related efforts that have cropped up in the days since Trump's Paris announcement.

Thirteen governors representing both political parties have joined the newly created United States Climate Alliance, which commits states to upholding the global warming targets under the Paris Agreement.

In addition, more than 200 mayors (and counting) have pledged to intensify their local climate efforts to meet the Paris Agreement's aspirational goal to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, above preindustrial levels through 2100.

That more stringent temperature target is a high priority for low-lying developing nations that are worried about sea level rise.

Mashable reporter Kerry Flynn contributed to this story.
Qatars Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani meets with President Trump in Saudi Arabia. (Photo: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

WASHINGTON  In a head-spinning shift that could affect the war on ISIS, President Trump on Wednesday accused Qatar of funding extremism and mused that the oil-rich U.S. allys growing diplomatic isolation might mark the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism.

Trumps comments on Twitter marked a sharp reversal from the White Houses pledge just one day earlier to deescalate a feud in which Saudi Arabia and three other Arab countries have formally cut diplomatic ties with Qatar and frozen travel to and from the oil-rich nation, accusing it of financing extremists and supporting Saudi Arabias regional rival, Iran. Qatar has rejected what it called false and baseless claims.

The Tuesday tweets were also a major shift from Trumps own warm remarks from his first foreign trip, when he sat down during with the emir of Qatar. The small coastal country on the Arabian Peninsula hosts the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East.

One of the things that we will discuss is the purchase of lots of beautiful military equipment, because nobody makes it like the United States, Trump said at the May 21 meeting. And for us, that means jobs and it also means, frankly, great security back here, which we want.

On Tuesday, Trump pivoted away from that conciliatory tone, lining up the United States behind Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in their escalating feud with Qatar.

So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding  extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism! Trump said in two tweets. He did not address Washingtons own diplomatic relations with Doha.

It was unclear what impact, if any, the presidents remarks would have on the military campaign against the so-called Islamic State. Qatar hosts the Al Udeid air base, which coordinates air power over Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, among other countries. The facility is also home to some 10,000 U.S. military personnel.

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Qatar has long supported Islamists in the Middle East, like the Muslim Brotherhood and some fighters in Syria. In 2013, the Taliban opened an office in Qatar as part of a U.S.-welcomed effort to work out a political settlement in Afghanistan.

President Trump takes his seat before his speech to the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)

Trump unveiled his new position two days before former FBI Director James Comey is to testify before Congress as part of an investigation into alleged ties between the presidents 2016 campaign and Russia. The U.S. intelligence community has accused Moscow of meddling in the election.

On Monday, before Trumps tweets, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson predicted that the rift between Qatar and its regional neighbors would not affect the war on ISIS. They also offered U.S. help to resolve the dispute diplomatically.

In regards to the implications for the counter-ISIS fight, I am positive there will be no implications coming out of this dramatic situation at all, and I say that based on the commitment that each of these nations that you just referred to have made to this fight, Mattis said.

Said Tillerson, We certainly would encourage the parties to sit down together and address these differences, and if theres any role that we can play in terms of helping them address those, we think it is important that the GCC remain unified. He was referring to the Gulf Cooperation Council, through which the countries involved cooperate on military issues.

I do not expect that this will have any significant impact, if any impact at all, on the unified fight against terrorism in the region or globally, Tillerson added.

At the White House, deputy press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters on Monday that Trump is committed to continuing to have conversations with all of the people involved in that process, with all of those countries.

And, she said, We want to continue to deescalate that. And at this point, were continuing to work with each of those partners.

Read more from Yahoo News:
President Donald Trump has reportedly become increasingly dissatisfied with Attorney General Jeff Sessions over the past few months, blaming him for the White House's blocked travel ban against people from predominantly Muslim countries.

The president's growing discontent with the Department of Justice was evident in a series of Monday morning tweets where he blamed the department for producing a watered down, politically correct version of the ban, which was blocked by the courts.

Read: Will Attorney General Jeff Sessions Be Impeached If Found Guilty Of Perjury?

From his Twitter posts, Trump clearly indicated he preferred the original travel ban executive order he signed in January, which barred visitors from selected Muslim-majority nations and refugees worldwide from entering the U.S.

He revised that order and announced a second version of the travel ban order in March in hopes of passing the legal challenges that thwarted the first order after multiple federal courts struck down Trump's first travel ban, the New York Times reported.

The second version was also blocked by federal courts and last week, the Justice Department, headed by Sessions appealed to the Supreme Court.

In a press briefing by White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Sanders on Monday, when she was asked about Trump's tweets on the travel ban, she said: "He (Donald Trump) cares that we call it national security and that we take steps to protect the people of this country. It's real simple.

"Everybody wants to get into the labels and the semantics of it, but the bottom line is hes trying to protect the citizens of this country. The danger is extremely clear. The law is very clear. And the need for this executive order is very clear. And the Presidents priority in protecting the people is very clear."

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Trump's unhappiness with Sessions has been building for months when the attorney general decided to recuse himself from the investigation into Russian interference in last year's presidential election, the Times reported citing anonymous people close to Trump. Trump reportedly thinks Sessions' recusal eventually led to the appointment of a special counsel who took over the investigation.

Trump's critics said the president was using the ban for religious discrimination. Sen. Ben Cardin said Trump's latest words attacking his own Justice Department revealed his true desire to use the ban to discriminate on religious grounds.

"It clearly shows his intent," the Maryland Democrat told CNN: "His lawyers try to justify it by saying it wasn't a travel ban, but it was extreme vetting. The President made that clear. It is a travel ban."

Meanwhile, Sebastian Gorka, a White House national security aide, told CNN Monday the travel ban was essential to protecting the U.S., "The fact is, it's been the same since the beginning, from the first executive order to the second executive order. It's one thing, Chris: It's about protecting Americans."

Related Articles
Ankara (AFP) - Turkey will maintain a ban on visits by German politicians to a key airbase used for raids against the Islamic State group in Syria, the foreign minister said Monday.

The Incirlik base in southern Turkey has been at the centre of a dispute between the NATO allies since Ankara blocked a visit last month by German parliamentarians.

"Right now it is possible to visit the NATO base in Konya (in central Turkey), not Incirlik," Mevlut Cavusoglu said at a news conference with his German counterpart Sigmar Gabriel in Ankara.

Germany has 250 military personnel stationed at Incirlik flying Tornado surveillance missions over Syria and refuelling flights for partner nations battling IS jihadists.

At the height of the row, Germany warned it could move the personnel to another location in the region, most likely Jordan.

Gabriel said that he regretted the Turkish decision, adding that Ankara must understand "for domestic political reasons we will then need to transfer our soldiers."

But he added there was not yet any decision or a concrete plan for the relocation of the German troops from Incirlik.

Turkey justified preventing the German parliamentary group from visiting the base by accusing Berlin of having offered political asylum to Turkish nationals who took part in the July 2016 attempted coup.

- 'Conditions not ripe'-

Cavusoglu said Monday that Turkey had no problem with Germany, which is a major trade partner, adding: "If Germany takes one step forward toward us, we will always take two steps further."

But he said that some facts could not be ignored, adding that more than 400 Turkish diplomatic or official passport holders had sought asylum in Germany.

"We would not like to see members of FETO take shelter in friendly country Germany," he said, referring to a movement led by US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen, blamed by Ankara for orchestrating the failed coup.

Cavusoglu hinted that visits to Incirlik could be possible in the future if joint steps were taken, without elaborating. "Conditions are not ripe right now to visit Incirlik," he said.

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Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim cancelled a planned meeting with Gabriel because of scheduling reasons, an official from the Turkish premier's office said.

"The meeting could not take place time-wise," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

But Gabriel was due to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Relations between Turkey and Germany have been tense since last July's failed coup but deteriorated over a referendum campaign this year to expand Erdogan's powers.

Ties were strained further after Turkish authorities imprisoned a German-Turkish journalist with Die Welt, Deniz Yucel, on terror charges.

Cavusoglu said that the accusations against Yucel were "not about journalism but terror," and that the "independent judiciary" was leading the investigation in the Yucel case.

Amid worsening relations, Erdogan has repeatedly accused German Chancellor Angela Merkel of "hiding terrorists" in Germany and claimed that Berlin was not responding to 4,500 dossiers sent by Ankara on terror suspects.

Turkey is an important country for Berlin, in part because of the roughly three million ethnic Turks in Germany after a "guest worker" programme in the 1960s and 1970s.

burs-fo/js
Compulsory Bengali language in curriculum riles Darjeeling folks

Nepali speaking locals in Darjeeling, India are protesting against the West Bengal State government's decision to make Bengali language compulsory in secondary level education all over the state.
Hazima (Syria) (AFP) - US-backed fighters broke into the city of Raqa on Tuesday as they launched a final assault to drive the Islamic State group from its de facto Syrian capital.

The attack on the northern city at the heart of IS's Syrian territory has been seven months in the making and is backed by air support, military advisers and weapons deliveries from the US-led coalition.

Seized by the jihadists in early 2014, Raqa became notorious as a hub for IS's operations in Syria, Iraq and beyond.

The city has been the scene of some of the group's worst atrocities, including gruesome executions, public displays of bodies and the trafficking of women.

It was one of the twin pivots of IS's so-called "caliphate," with Mosul in neighbouring Iraq -- where US-backed forces are also bearing down on the jihadists.

After months sealing off access routes to the city from the east, north and west, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces on Tuesday entered the city limits for the first time.

"Our forces entered the city of Raqa from the eastern district of Al-Meshleb," SDF commander Rojda Felat said, adding clashes were also raging on the city's northern outskirts.

"They are fighting street battles inside Raqa now, and we have experience in urban warfare."

In fighting further south, the coalition said it "destroyed" a unit of pro-regime forces as they advanced near Al-Tanf, where coalition commandos have been training and advising anti-IS forces.

Syrian state news agency Sana quoted military sources saying

"Warplanes belonging to the so-called international coalition attacked one of our military positions on the road to al-Tanf... killing a number of people and causing some material damage," reported Syrian state news agency Sana, quoting military sources.

- 'Decisive blow' -

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said clashes in Al-Meshleb had forced IS jihadists to withdraw from more than half of the district.

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The SDF was also trying to push into Raqa's northwestern district of Al-Andalus, the monitor said, as fighting continued to the north, east and west of the city.

The advance in Al-Meshleb was backed by heavy air strikes by the US-led coalition, the Observatory said.

The coalition began its air campaign against IS in Iraq in August 2014, expanding its operations to Syria the following month.

The coalition appears keen to expel IS from its last major urban bastions before the "caliphate" turns three years old later this month.

Defeating IS in Raqa would "deliver a decisive blow to the idea of ISIS as a physical caliphate", said coalition commander Lieutenant General Steve Townsend.

Warning the fight would be "long and difficult," Townsend framed the offensive as part of a greater struggle against IS, which has claimed attacks in many countries including last month's deadly bombing in Manchester.

"We all saw the heinous attack in Manchester," he said. "ISIS threatens all our nations, not just Iraq and Syria, but in our homelands as well."

The SDF launched its operation to take Raqa -- dubbed "Wrath of the Euphrates" -- in November.

It then scored a series of victories in the wider province, including capturing the strategic town of Tabqa and its adjacent dam in May.

On Tuesday, SDF spokesman Talal Sello made the long-awaited announcement that the battle for Raqa itself had begun.

"We declare today the start of the great battle to liberate the city of Raqa, the so-called capital of terrorism and terrorists," Sello told reporters in the village of Hazima, north of the city.

"With the international coalition's warplanes and the state-of-the-art weapons they provided to us, we will seize Raqa from Daesh," Sello told AFP, using an Arabic acronym for IS.

- Concerns for civilians -

Sello urged civilians inside Raqa city to keep away from IS positions and from the front lines.

The United Nations said it was concerned for the safety of more than 400,000 men, women and children in Raqa province who may be caught up in the violence.

As the SDF has drawn closer to the city, reports of civilian casualties in coalition air strikes have swelled.

On Monday, the Observatory said a coalition bombing raid killed 21 civilians as they tried to escape Raqa by dinghy on the Euphrates River.

The same route leading out of the city's southern districts has been used by IS fighters, it said.

An estimated 300,000 civilians were believed to have been living under IS rule in Raqa, including 80,000 displaced from other parts of Syria.

Thousands have fled in recent months to other parts of the province or to makeshift camps in territory newly captured by the SDF.

On Tuesday, the International Rescue Committee said it was "deeply concerned for the safety of civilians in Raqa" after a drop in numbers fleeing the city in the past week.

This "may indicate ISIS intends to use the 200,000 people still trapped in the city as human shields," the aid group said, using another acronym for IS.

It also urged the "utmost care" to prevent civilian casualties after "a worrying number of civilians killed from coalition airstrikes across Raqa in recent months".

More than 320,000 people have been killed since civil war erupted in Syria in 2011 with anti-government protests.

Also Tuesday, Syrian regime forces advanced into Raqa province for the first time in a year, seizing two villages from IS, the Observatory and a military source said.
President Donald Trump yesterday justified pulling the United States out of the Paris climate accord largely, he said, because it would hurt the United States economy.

"As of today, the United States will cease all implementation of the nonbinding Paris accord and the draconian financial and economic burdens the agreement imposes on our country," Trump said at yesterday's (June 1) news conference.

But the idea that the Paris Agreement will harm the economy is nonsensical, said Jonathan Koomey, a lecturer in Earth Systems at the School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences at Stanford University. For one, the agreed-upon emissions cuts are nonbinding; the only legal obligation is that the United States report its carbon emissions. So if the required cuts are too damaging to the economy, the United States is free to revise its emissions goals, he said.

"You can't have nonbinding standards that are draconian," Koomey told Live Science.

Beyond that, most economic analyses suggest that environmental regulations may actually boost the economy, both because they spur innovation and because they prevent harm, Koomey said. [Trump Pulls Out of the Paris Climate Deal: 5 Likely Effects]

Harm reduction

In his speech, Trump cited statistics from a coal-industry-funded think tank, called the National Economic Research Associates, which claimed that the burdens from the nonbinding climate agreement would cost about $2.7 million in total jobs lost by 2025. He claimed it would cut production in the paper industry by 12 percent, the cement industry by 23 percent, the iron and steel industry by 38 percent, and the coal industry by 86 percent. He also cited a $3 billion pledge the United States made to help developing countries reduce their carbon emissions. (The annual United States budget is $3.8 trillion, meaning the pledge amounts to less than 0.1 percent of yearly expenditures.)

The idea that environmental regulation hurts the economy is not a new one, Koomey said. With almost any new regulation, entrenched interests say the costs will harm the economy and eliminate jobs.

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"In virtually every case that's been false," Koomey said.

The reason is simple: Environmental pollution costs money, reduces productivity and kills people, so reducing it typically has financial benefits for society. For instance, because carbon dioxide acts as a lung irritant,, fully implementing the Clean Power Plan set up by President Barack Obama would lead to about 3,500 fewer deaths by 2020, according to a 2015 study in the journal Nature Climate Change. A peer-reviewed study conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2001 found that the Clean Air Act, which was passed in 1990, prevented 160,000 premature deaths in 1990, 130,000 heart attacks, 86,000 emergency-room visits and 13 million lost days of work due to the negative health consequences of air pollution. The benefit-to-cost ratio, according to the EPA, was 30 to 1. [5 Ways Climate Change Will Affect Your Health]

"Environmental pollution costs society money and it kills people," Koomey said. "So if you fix that problem, then society is better off."

That's not even addressing the trillions of dollars that will be spent if climate change leads to some combination of coastal flooding, droughts, water shortages, heat waves, crop loss, famine and war, he added. According to a 2015 study by Citigroup, negative effects from climate change could total $44 trillion if the United States fails to shift to more renewable energy sources.

Innovation and wealth creation

However, environmental regulations and climate change goals don't just prevent harms and lead to job loss from more polluting endeavors, they also fuel innovation and new technologies, which directly grow the economy and produce new jobs, Koomey said.

As new regulations or incentives come on board, companies find ways to meet improved standards in the most cost-effective way possible. Thus, cleaner technologies get cheaper and become a bigger portion of the environment.

For instance, the cost of solar energy has plummeted 80 percent in the last five years, while wind technology has dropped in cost by two-thirds over the same period, and are now often cheaper than more-polluting energy sources, Koomey said. That is largely thanks to natural efficiencies that come with scaling up manufacturing levels. Technical innovations  such as the use of carbon-fiber blades rather than metal blades in wind turbines, the elimination of extra gears, and computers that use sophisticated modeling to best harness and release energy from wind and solar power plants  have also played a role, he said.

"We're substituting smarts for parts, we're substituting better materials and figuring out more clever ways to do the same tasks," Koomey said.

Improved energy storage has progressively increased the fraction of energy that can be reliably pulled from renewable sources such as wind and solar, without causing energy shortages and brownouts, he said. For instance, energy companies are now using old, abandoned coal mines to generate hydroelectric power during the day by pouring water deep into mines, then pumping it out at night, when the energy grid has much lower power demands, he said.

"People complained about wind and solar technology 30,40 years ago and said if you put even a few percent of that on our grid it will destabilize it, and that turned out to be nonsense," Koomey said.

Now, utility systems can easily use 30 to 40 percent renewable energy without causing any interruptions in power supplied. With regulations in place, that same cycle of innovation is likely to proceed for years.

OF course, a major source of carbon emissions comes from cars, and electric vehicles have not taken off in the same way as solar and wind power have. However, China has already mandated that a certain fraction of its cars must be electric by 2025, and because it's such a huge market, any major car companies will need to develop attractive electric vehicles for this market if they want to compete, Koomey said. By relaxing fuel-efficiency standards and removing momentum for producing electric cars, Trump's policies will only encourage U.S.-based car manufacturers to lag behind, he said.

All of these new technologies create jobs and products that grow the economy, Koomey said. A report by the Rocky Mountain Institute, a clean-energy think tank, estimates that "decarbonizing" the economy will add $5 trillion to the economy. A 2016 study, funded by former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, billionaire and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and hedge-fund manager Thomas Steyer, found that reducing carbon emissions by 80 percent by 2100 would actually save money, because the increased investment in renewable energy would be more than offset by reduced costs associated with fossil fuels.

People who oppose climate regulations "are looking at this exactly wrong. They think this is somehow this great burden." But entrepreneur Richard Branson "has called the climate problem the single greatest wealth creation opportunity in human history," Koomey said.

Originally published on Live Science.

Editor's Recommendations
A U.S. government contractor with top security clearance, Reality Leigh Winner, appeared in federal district court Monday for allegedly leaking top-secret material from a government facility to a news outlet.

Winner, a 25-year-old National Security Agency contractor, was arrested Saturday at her house in Augusta, Ga., and is being charged with gathering, transmitting or losing defense information for the leak, according to a Justice Department press release.

She allegedly sent a news outlet a top-secret report from May, according to a search warrant affidavit. While the Justice Department did not name the news outlet or identify the leaked document, the Intercept published a June 5 report about Russian intelligence efforts to hack voting software and more than 100 local election officials in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Winner was charged shortly after.

Winners attorney, Titus Thomas Nichols, did not respond to a request for comment from Yahoo News, and he declined to confirm to the Associated Press whether Winner is accused of leaking the information to the Intercept. The online news outlet stated it does not know the identity of its source but did not dispute NBC News report that Winner allegedly sent one of the Intercepts reporters the document.



The NSA contractor told FBI agents that she knew the document contained classified intelligence and that she printed the report, according to the affidavit. Winner also admitted that she removed the document from the U.S. government facility and sent it to a news outlet from Augusta, Ga., with the knowledge that the news outlet was not authorized to possess or receive the document, the affidavit says.

Winner has held a top-secret clearance as a contractor with Pluribus International Corporation at a government facility in Georgia since mid-February, when she began working there, according to the Justice Department.

The Texas native served in the Air Force in Columbia, Md., as a linguist and speaks Pashto, Farsi and Dari, her mother, Billie Winner-Davis, told CNN. Her mother described her as an animal lover and athlete, and she told the Daily Beast that in a Sunday call Winner asked her mother to help relocate her pets. (CNN identified her mother simply as Billie Winner.)

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Winner-Davis told the Daily Beast that her daughter never spoke about her work and that she did not know the specifics of her daughters job.

Despite Winners silence about her work as a contractor, she is very passionate about her beliefs but has not been politically active, Winner-Davis said.

Shes never, ever given me any kind of indication that she was in favor of [leaks] at all, Winner-Davis said.

But Winners reported Twitter account has railed against President Trump, advocated for action against climate change and expressed her support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

Winner-Davis told the Daily Beast that the allegations against Winner were vague and that the family did not know to what or whom the classified information related.

Winner has no criminal history, her lawyer told the Associated Press. Winner has a hearing Thursday to determine whether she can seek bond, Winner-Davis said.

The leaked document is classified as top secret, meaning its unauthorized disclosure could reasonably result in exceptionally grave damage to the national security, the affidavit says.

The unnamed news outlet had contacted the government agency regarding the document and provided a copy to the agency, the affidavit says. After the agency discovered that the document had been printed, it discovered that Winner was one of six individuals who had printed the report, and that of the six she was the only individual who had contacted the news outlet, authorities said.

If convicted, Winner faces up to 10 years in prison for the leak.

WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange expressed his support of Winner in a tweet Monday, writing, She is a young women accused of courage in trying to help us know.

Reality Leigh Winner, 25, a federal contractor charged by the U.S. Department of Justice for sending classified material to a news organization, poses in a picture posted to her Instagram account. (Photo: Reality Winner/Social Media via Reuters)

Read more from Yahoo News:
Gap, the iconic American brand, might be on its way back to being the go-to clothing line for denim, khakis, and white T-shirts. The brand released a new short video  directed by fashion veteran and the new editor in chief of British Vogue, Edward Enninful  celebrating American optimism.

For the video, Enninful, a stylist who has always pushed for more diversity in the fashion industry, selected a group of individuals whom he has worked with, championed, and admired  people he feels embody American culture today.

I love the optimistic American style that Gap celebrates and the simplicity of the basic white T-shirt that allows you to be yourself, Enninful said in a statement. Growing up, I loved the imagery I saw from America, as it celebrated being the land of the free and home of the brave. This project is about authenticity and people living their truths.

The cast includes actress Prinyanka Chopra, rapper Wiz Khalifa, model Christie Brinkley, actress Yara Shahidi, as well as model-activists Adwoa Aboah, Maria Borges, Alek Wek, and many more. The infectious video has the cast singing along to Boney Ms Sunny and busting their own moves while dressed in a classic Gap white T-shirt and denim.

When asked what gap she would like to see filled, Chopra said in a statement: The most important one for me is empowering women. Women need to be given an opportunity to stand on their feet and do the best they can for themselves.

Read more from Yahoo Beauty + Style:

 The Top 5 Favorite Denim Brands in the Fashion Industry

 Every College Accepted Her: Black-ish Star Yara Shahidi Is Hollywoods Most Stylish History Nerd

 Bella Hadid Wore the See-Through Dior Dress All the Celebs Are Obsessed With

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.
Given that no one seems to know what President Trump thinks about the reality of human-caused climate change, perhaps we can agree that it's about time that he received a briefing on the subject.

Normally this would fall to his science advisor, or someone from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, or perhaps the head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or even the NASA administrator.

However, he hasn't appointed anyone to those positions... So, it's up to me to get this on his desk.

SEE ALSO: Trump flips the middle finger to the world, your future

In putting this together, I had to constantly remind myself that the briefing can't be just any old document. Recent news reports have revealed that Trump consumes his intelligence information the way an eighth-grader researches assignments on Wikipedia.

He's a fan of short bullet points and an abundance of maps and charts, rather than dense text and pesky nuance or ambiguity. He also apparently likes it when the daily brief, or "PDB," as intel pros call it, refers to himself.

As Director of National Intelligence and presidential briefer Dan Coats put it to the Washington Post recently, "Sometimes... pictures do say a thousand words."

So, here's the President's Daily Brief on climate change, presented in the way that Trump prefers it: bullets and charts, and a few references to DJT himself:

CLIMATE CHANGE PDB/June 5, 2017

*****TOP SECRET/PLEASE DON'T TELL RUSSIA/SERIOUSLY THIS TIME****

1. Global warming is real.

It has not stopped or significantly slowed. It's not an artifact of bad data, either, and it's not part of a continually changing, natural climate cycle. Anyone who says, "the climate is always changing," without making clear that current developments are new, concerning, and very real, is not being honest.

Also, anyone who tells you there are more jobs to be generated in the coal industry than solar power is straight up lying.

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Now here's the BEST chart!

This one shows how temperatures have trended since 1880, which is when instrument records began.

Temperature departures from average, showing 2016 was the hottest year on record.

Image: bob al-greene/mashable/nasa

Perhaps a video is more your thing... here's the BEST global warming video.

This shows 136 years of global warming in just 30 seconds.

2. It's our fault.

Global warming is mainly caused by the burning fossil fuels like coal and oil for energy. Land use change like cutting down forests also plays a role.

There are natural causes of climate change, but they're not the main reason why the Earth is warming right now.

Stop shaking your head, I'm serious about this. It just ain't natural. I wish it were. Most scientists wish it were.

The level of carbon dioxide  which the Supreme Court and the Environmental Protection Agency have labeled as a "pollutant"  in the Earth's atmosphere is the highest it has been in all of human history.

CO2 levels during the past 800,000 years, with current level indicated.

Image: scripps institution of oceanography/mashable

Here's a chart showing how current levels of carbon dioxide compares to the amount throughout all of human history and even further back in time, to 800,000 years ago. The ups and downs in past periods represent natural occurrences, whereas the current spike is due to human activity, according to scientists.

As the National Climate Assessment (and many, many others) found, "natural drivers of climate cannot explain the recent observed warming. Over the last five decades, natural factors (solar forcing and volcanoes) alone would actually have led to a slight cooling."

That was a lot of text, DJT, so here's a FABULOUS way of saying the same thing:

Observed global average changes (black line), model simulations using only changes in natural factors, and model simulations with the addition of human-induced emissions (blue).

Image: national climate assessment

Isn't this a pretty chart? It has blue and black and red on it. It's about the oceans.

Change in upper ocean heat content, showing how the oceans are warming rapidly.

Image: noaa

It's not just the air that's heating up either. The fingerprints of climate change can be found throughout the climate system, including in the oceans, which are absorbing the vast majority of extra heat.

Here's the PERFECT graphic for you. It's known as the "climate spiral" and it shows the increase in global temperatures from 1850 to 2016. Isn't this the most beautiful piece of cake... I mean, the most beautiful climate graphic ever?

Image: ed hawkins

3. Scientists agree on this.

Several studies have focused on how many climate scientists agree or disagree that global warming is mainly human-caused.

It turns out that at least 97 percent of climate studies examined agreed that human activities are the main cause of global warming since the industrial revolution. This is what people mean when they refer to the "scientific consensus" on global warming.

Head's up, POTUS: The people who work for you tend to fall among the 3 percent who don't recognize this consensus, including Scott Pruitt at the EPA, Rick Perry at the Energy Department, Sonny Perdue at Agriculture, and numerous White House advisors.

But hey, maybe that's a coincidence?

4. It is already having damaging impacts.

Climate change is already causing longer-lasting, more intense heat waves, an increase in the proportion of heavy downpours compared to gentler rainstorms, and sea level rise that's inundating coastal areas worldwide.

Sea ice is thinning and melting, clearing the way for a seasonally ice-free Arctic Ocean. Land ice is also melting at increasing rates in Greenland and Antarctica, which is, in turn, raising sea levels. The ocean is turning more acidic. Species and diseases are on the move.

These problems and more aren't going away.

Surface inundation projection for 7 feet of sea level rise.

Image: climate central

Your properties are not immune to sea level rise, either. For example, here is what Mar-a-Lago may look like with 7 feet of sea level rise  which is at the upper end of projections for this century.

Even the military is concerned about global warming, since it could bring greater instability to already stressed regions, such as the Middle East. It also may imperil U.S. facilities, with more frequent flood events at Navy and coastal Air Force bases, for example.

Here's THE MOST AWESOME animation of sea ice trends.

Image: zack labe

5. It will only get worse, unless you act.

It's up to us to decide how much the planet will warm, and therefore how high the seas will get, in coming years.

The Paris Agreement, which you just tossed aside, would help limit global warming but wouldn't entirely solve the problem. It might cause the country to incur some costs at the outset, as we switch to more renewable energy sources, but it would ultimately save money since global warming has its own costs.

A 2014 study by a bipartisan group of business executives and former political leaders found that extreme heat and sea level rise will threaten human health and put up to $3.5 billion of U.S. property in jeopardy by 2030, with even more severe and expensive impacts to come after that.

Here's the MOST BEAUTIFUL climate chart you've ever seen, showing where the climate was headed before Paris, where it's going with the current Paris goals, and where it needs to go to meet the agreement's temperature target.

Global warming projections under business as usual path compared to Paris Agreement commitments before the U.S. announcement.

Image: climate interactive

6. Weather is not climate.

Climate and weather are different. Weather is comprised of day-to-day atmospheric events. Climate is the average of those events.

Weather is variable, chaotic-even, and difficult to forecast. Climate trends are controlled by larger forces, like greenhouse gases or changes in Earth's orbit.

Therefore, it's actually easier to project climate change on longer timescales compared to long-term weather forecasts.

*****TOP SECRET/PLEASE DON'T TELL RUSSIA/SERIOUSLY THIS TIME*****
Target Dress

Last month, Melania Trump made headlines for wearing a jacket that cost more than most Americans make in a year. Ivanka Trump seems to be trying a different approach to first family fashion.

On Monday, the first daughter was spotted leaving her home in Washington, DC wearing a $35 dress from Target, the Daily Mail reported.

The dress, part of Victoria Beckham's Target collaboration, is actually on clearance on Target's website for just $17.50.

 Monday Blues!  (June 5, 2017) A post shared by Ivanka Trump Updates 40k (@ivankaupdates) on Jun 5, 2017 at 9:12am PDT on

Jun 5, 2017 at 9:12am PDT

Wearing a Target dress that most people can buy for less than $20 could be seen as an effort to come off as relatable to the American public.

The same tactic was adopted by Michelle Obama, who made headlines for wearing clothing from Target and other reasonably-priced brands like J. Crew.

After President Trump signed his original travel ban executive order in January, Ivanka shared a photo of herself in a $5,000 silver gown. She was quickly accused of being "tone-deaf" for posting the glamorous photo at a time when refugees were being detained at airports as a result of the executive order.

But one branding expert told Business Insider that Ivanka's fashion decision could have been purposeful ploy to distance herself from her family.

"The dress picture says 'I don't necessarily want to be associated or aligned with the Trump administration,'" Eric Schiffer, CEO of Reputation Management Consultants, told Business Insider. "It shows that she is doing things that are asynchronistic, or not connected to Trump's actions."

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Last week, President Trump announced that the US would withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, despite reported pressure from Ivanka to remain in the deal.

NOW WATCH: This is what 'The Most Interesting Man in the World' is really like



More From Business Insider
Apple (AAPL) this week unveiled its first smart speaker, HomePod. The device is aimed squarely at rival Amazon (AMZN), which released its Echo three years ago.

The smart home speaker, as a category, appears to be taking off.

Google jumped in with Google Home, released six months ago. Microsoft (MSFT) is getting in with a Harman Kardon speaker called Invoke, which it announced last month. Each of these devices is also a showcase for each companys voice assistant technology: HomePod is powered by Siri; Echo runs on Alexa; Google Home is powered by Google Assistant (its very Google to avoid a cute human name); Invoke will use Microsofts voice tech Cortana.

But for the time being, Amazon is miles ahead in this raceand not just because it was first out of the gate.

The Amazon Echo portfolio of products is definitely the one to beat right now, says Adam Wright, research analyst at IDC. Amazon has leapt ahead of the competition once again with the launch of its latest addition to the portfolio.

He means the Echo Show, coming on June 29, which looks nothing like the rest of the Echos: its a standing rectangle with a video touchscreen. It more closely resembles a portable DVD player, if you remember those relics.

The Echo Show has not gotten a ton of press attention, but insiders are impressed with its 7-inch color screen and its 5-megapixel camera. Adding a visual experience to the speaker, Wright says, affords Amazon a lead over Google for now. Inside Higher Ed predicts the Echo Show will revolutionize higher education.

Amazon currently controls more than 70% of the voice-enabled speaker business, eMarketer estimates.

L-R: Amazon Echo; Google Home; Apple HomePod. (images via Amazon, AP Photo, Apple)

Google Home does offer an impressive conversational experience. And it could further this edge, Wright says, with the expected continued incorporation of Google Assistant with new features (like hands-free phone calls) and with other Google devices, like Lens. But Amazon was first to the space and is iterating so fast with Echo that its daunting to compete.

Story continues

And now theres Apple. Its speaker comes along three years after Amazons, six months after Googles, and is almost three times as expensive ($349) than either of those ($179 and $109, respectively). As Mizuho Securities wrote in a new research note after Apples Worldwide Developers Conference keynote on Monday, HomePods pricing is at a premium to competing offerings. Thats an understatement. And HomePod isnt just competing with those, but also with high-end wireless speakers like Sonos and Jawbone Jambox. Its unclear, Wright says, whether Apple can compete well in this space.

Indeed, tech media as well as some analysts have criticized Apple for its late entry, accusing the company, once known for its innovations, as being a copycat now. HomePod even looks a lot like Google Home.

But this race is in its early days. The market for voice-activated home assistant devices is still in its infancy, Wright says. Former Apple analyst Gene Munster, now a partner at Loup Ventures, told Fox Business the same on Monday: Theyre about two years late, but I would also point out that this market hasnt even started.

Amazon and Google dont typically break out sales of their individual devices, but Mizuho estimated that Amazon sold 8.6 million Echos last year, and predicts Echo revenue could balloon to $11 billion by 2020. RBC predicts 60 million units by 2020.

If only 10 million units of smart home speakers have sold, thats small potatoes. Munster pointed out that it takes 500 million units to really consider a category mainstream.

In other words, Apple has ample time.



Daniel Roberts covers tech at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter at @readDanwrite.

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Veggie farming raises rural living standards

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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.

Vote

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By Shabibah Nakirigya

The Democratic Party has listed what it describes as priorities for the 2017/ 2018 financial year budget due to be read on Thursday.

The party president Nobert Mao has told a news conference that the government needs to prioritise and increase investment in financing, production and value addition if they want the country to reach the middle income status by 2020.

Last week parliament revealed that government will lose Shs18b that was irregularly used for the payment of salary arrears and increment for teachers and head teachers and the recruitment of health workers by districts in the financial year 2015/16.

An inquiry by Parliaments Budget Committee revealed that money was reallocated by government agencies on the orders of the Secretary to the Treasury, Keith Muhakanizi, but the reallocations breached the Public Finance Management Act.

Mao has also urged Ugandans to embrace Islamic banking as one of the avenues that can help the country.
By Ruth Anderah

The High court in Kampala has given the Attorney General and Bank of Uganda only 15 days to file a written defence explaining why they never restrained youths from the Rich gang team from burying businessman Ivan Ssemwanga with money, yet this unlawful action was done in the presence of the Uganda police Force.

The summons follow a civil suit filed by a one Robert Senfuka, a concerned citizen who has petitioned court this Morning seeking orders that the body of Ssemwanga be exhumed to establish the actual amount of money in his grave before its brought back into circulation.

Ssenfuka contends that the throwing of Ugandas legal tender into a grave is wastage of tax payers money since the said money is printed using resources collected from citizens for purposes of trade.

He further adds that money is a public good and not a property of the holder to be abused in any manner that he /She wishes.

Through his lawyers of Wameli and company advocates, Ssenfuka says he has filed this case in public interest since such actions have a negative impact on trade.

He seeks a declaration that court should order police pay punitive damages for neglecting duty and an order permanently restraining any person from destroying the legal tender.

This is the second time Bank of Uganda is being sued for failing in its mandate to protect the legal tender, the first one being last week when another concerned citizen Abey Mgugu went to court accusing the central Bank of not taking legal action against the Rich gang team for throwing money into Ssemwangas grave.

Ssenfukas case in which he also sues a one Lubega Bahati whom he claims to have personally seen throwing money in Ssemwangas grave has been allocated to justice Stephen Musota whereas Mgugus application is to be heard by Justice Margret Oguli Oumo.
By Benjamin Jumbe

The speaker of parliament Rebecca Kadaga has given assurance that passing of the Local Content Bill into law is to be fast tracked.

The Speaker made the remarks at the 10th Eastern Region Trade Fair organised by the Uganda Manufacturers Association at the Mbale Municipal Stadium where she said this is aimed at ensuring that local industries are protected.

Kadaga said that some provisions of this law were inserted in the petroleum laws but the persons concerned ignored it however adding that with the new law, there will be restrictions on what can be imported.

Kadaga said local content should be a priority in Uganda as it is in other countries.

Kasanda North Mp Patrick Nsamba in February was granted leave of Parliament to introduce a Private Members Bill titled The Local Content Bill, 2017.

It seeks among other things to provide for the establishment of a national Local Content Committee, the maximization of value-addition and job creation through the use of local expertise.
SCHOOL OF SACRED WARRIORSHIPIn Support of the Global White Lion Protection Trust (WLT)There will be two trips this yearMarch 29th -April 6th 2018October 8th  16th 2017PAY DEPOSIT OctoberPAY DEPOSIT MarchPAY REMAINING BALANCEPAY EXCURSION PACKAGEDAY 1,  Arrival at Tsau: White Lion TerritoriesWelcome to the heart of the White Lions Sacred Territory known as Tsau, originating from the ancient Bushman word incantation  Starlion.The group will be met at Eastgate Airport, Hoedspruit and transported to the White Lion sacred heritage lands. Please note: if you will be traveling prior to in South Africa, please be sure to meet at Eastgate Airport no later than 1pm.During and after lunch, a short but important introductory program and intention setting prepares the group for an uplifting experience in the Heart of the White Lions Sacred Territory. Linda and Jason will share personal anecdotes and discuss the projects undertaken by the Global White Lion Protection Trust as well as the discovery of the genetic marker that makes the White Lions unique.The group has a chance to settle in prior to heading out on an open vehicle game drive to be introduced to the Royal Prides.In the evening guests will enjoy a traditional meal around the fire and can retire early in preparation for the key events of important days ahead.DAY 2,  Sacred WarriorshipA dawn departure to track the illusive White Lions in their natural kingdom starts the day.After breakfast Andrew discusses Sacred Warriorship and how it is witnessed in action through the LionHearted leadership, implemented by the WLT, in this challenging but highly successful project.Linda introduces the group to the technology of love in preparation for camp unicorn 2animal communication techniques with the White Lions and shamanic techniques for receiving messages from the White Lions in meditation and dream time.A delicious homemade lunch, prepared by Shangaan chef Elanani is followed by a siesta and deep relaxation integrating time, place and purpose before the group heads out to commune with the majestic White Lions.The day draws to a close with a screening of the National Geographic documentary which gives information on the project as well as Linda and Jasons battle to save the White Lions of the Timbavati.DAY 3,  7 laws of Sacred LeadershipEarly morning lion tracking should leave the group in high spirits for the remainder of the day.During the morning Andrew will present his vision of the laws of Sacred Leadership taken from the major mystical traditions and his own experience as the architect of Sacred Activism.After lunch, Andrew leads the group in the essential heart practices for the Sacred Warrior, and how these apply to the 12 Laws of LionHearted leadership.The LionHeart : That condition of Fearlessness inspired by Love. How to reawaken it. Embody it. Live it. How to equip and empower yourself through the LionHeart to change your world.DAY 4,  Cultural ExcursionThe group joins in a day of cultural activities with visits to local Shangaan schools, the orphan centre, a local creche or the Elders Weavers, all supported by the Global White Lion Protection Trust. As honoured guests, share their rich culture and White Lion heritage with traditional displays and lively celebration. Donations to these facilities are gratefully accepted and recommended at R100 per guest per destination.kruger national parkThis fun filled day culminates with an invitation from Chief Harmony Khosa (principal guide) and Matimba (his brother); nephews of Maria Khosa, Lion Queen of the Timbavati; to visit their ancestral home. Enjoy a delicious traditional dinner, with warrior dancing around the fire drumming up the excitement of the heart and soul of Africa in the presence of the Ancestors of these sacred lands. The Global White Lion Protection Trust will gladly add this charge to your donation breakdown and make payment on your behalf to the Village.Take advantage of a rare opportunity for authentic bone divination given by the traditional healers of the Khosa village. We recommend a donation of R350 for personal and R500 for group divinations, inclusive of an interpreter, payable directly to the healer.DAY 5,  Day of SilenceA tranquil day of silence is broken at sunset at the Npenvu Treehouse overlooking White Lion sacred territories.DAY 6,  Kruger National ParkThe Kruger National Park is South Africas most famous wildlife conservation area. This 2 million hectare reserve borders Mozambique and is situated an hours drive from Tsau. A unique opportunity todrive, in an open safari vehicle with professional guides, through elephant, giraffe, zebra and antelope populated savannah grasslands, dotted by rivers where crocodile and hippo may emerge to sun themselves. Whatever you may see is a blessing from the great creative force that is Mother Nature. Do not be limited by expectations of viewing the so called Big Five, any encounter with creatures in their natural eco-system is a profound privilege. As King of Kings, the Lion is a true apex predator, or capstone species, at the tip of the pyramid of life and governs all other creatures, great or small, in these wilderness lands.Packed lunch is provided at a spectacular site overlooking the Lebombo Mountains to Mozambique.Wrap up this unforgettable day back at Camp Unicorn with tranquil evening discussions incorporating everyones personal connections with Nature.*** Note ***  due to this excursion starting before dawn and ending after dark there is no lion monitoring on a Kruger Park excursion dayDAY 7,  Crystal Star LionAfter a healthy breakfast, following dawn communion with the White Lions, guests spend the day in reflection and gentle journeying into the Inner Worlds.A sumptuous picnic lunch will be hosted by Linda under the Giant Wild Fig. This is followed by White Lion Meditation, led by Linda, which takes the group on a journey of enlightenment and empowerment, sharing White Lion techniques to help integrate the principles and qualities of these most radiant of animals into personal lives. Tuning in to these qualities helps achieve greater self-fulfillment, self-healing, leadership potential and effective decision-making.Evening lion monitoring follows a walk to the site of the Crystal Star Lion monolith.DAY 8,  Dragon MountainsAfter a brief but very powerful leadership activation of the LionHearted law of unlocking your unique gift, participants set out on a liberating excursion into the Drakensburg (Dragon) Mountains, a massive tectonic plate which links with the East African Rift Valley.The days drive follows the golden leyline of the Nilotic Meridian, a spectacular panoramic route along the ridge of the Drakensburg Mountains. Taken by pilgrims in search of gold, this route was also the path of the great elephant migrations. The Blyde River Canyon, the worlds third largest canyon, is situated on the cusp of the Kruger to Canyons biosphere, which has been declared by the United Nations as one of the worlds prime biosphere regions. Your journey will include amazing sites such as Gods Window and the Ancient Stone Altar.Enjoy lunch at Graskop and explore the vibrant indigenous craft markets. A day to select gifts for loved ones; express your God given gifts; and celebrate Mother Natures gifts and blessings.DAY 9,  DepartureDawn brings the final chance to visit the sacred White Lions in their endemic habitat.After breakfast the journey concludes with intention setting and vision holding in the serene beauty of this environment, connecting the group to their LionHearted natures and a higher purpose. Before last goodbyes are said, the group rounds up for a ceremony of thanksgiving with final prayers for the White Lions and the birth of a new world. You are able to depart on your onward journey knowing that you have established a strong connection with Tsau and that you carry the Spirit of the Sacred White Lions of Timbavati with you always.Note space is limited to 12 participants. Airfare is not included. Double Occupancy only.** Please note **Due to the sensitive nature of the scientific re-introduction of a critically endangered animal, this project is not open to the general public, but the WLT is pleased to showcase its aims and objectives to special interest groups, likely to become long-term supporters and donors of this exceptional ground-breaking project.This itinerary is not set in stone, and may change depending on the weather, the people and most important of all, the animals.Please observe that there are strict safety and security protocols in respect of the reintroduction of the White Lions. Our scientific monitoring vehicles do not intrude on the White Lions space, and we ensure that we keep our voices as low as possible when approaching them in the wild. The contact with the White Lions is a non-photographic experience and we avoid taking cameras, zooms or spotlights and other hi-tech devices into their environment and instead enter into the magic of their natural existence and share its timeless beauty.Magnificent photographic studies of the White Lions and other mementos are available. 100% of proceeds go directly to the protection of the White Lions in their natural habitat.A sample menu of meals provided can be viewed hereWhy this project needs our LionHearted supportWhite Lions are exceptionally rare. They have been almost completely eradicated from the wild: artificially removed from their natural system and sold into zoos and circuses around the world since their rst appearance in the wild in the 1930s. The result of a rare Genetic Marker discovered through the collaborative scientific research led by the WLT, White Lions have been brutally sped-bred and held White Lion Protection Trustin captivity to be killed by the notorious canned hunting industry. Against great odds, the WLT has initiated a world-first re-introduction program, and has successfully re-introduced three prides of high genetic integrity back into the wild that are surviving self-sufficiently. Currently, there are less than 10 White Lions in their endemic habitat, most of which are in the protected area of some 4400 acres created by the WLT in the heart of their ancestral heritage lands. The WLT is a non-prot scientic and community conservation organization dedicated to saving this magnificent animal, with 85-90% of all donations allocated to ensuring the survival of the White Lions, and supporting the up-liftment of an indigenous community.TestimonialsA Life changing experience, a huge part of me was dormant and got awakened during my time in Timbavati, I am more whole, more me than Ive ever beenI understood or rather EXPERIENCED how nature is in constant communication with us, the white lions showed me what I needed to see, no doubt about that.Andrew Harveys company was a treasure, he is so intelligent with an amazing sense of humor, helped me find deeper truths about myself effortlessly and lightly, all with genuine care and warmth. Linda Tuckers presence and humanness was a gift and an inspiration. I am so glad I attended that amazing workshop and met the amazing people who were part of it , and would strongly urge whomever feels called to do it to just go ahead and jump in.- Mahafrom Planet earth.Camp Unicorn proved to be a monastery in and for nature. Like novices in the Middle Ages, one goes through the gates and portals that define an enclosure in the desert from which, unencumbered, one turns heart and mind towards the rare white lions, the Kings of Kings  solar animals whose forceful presence, elegance and power invite to reconfigure ones own place in the hierarchy of life manifestations. Humble intelligence, serene empathy then become the tools for formatting mans understanding of the macrocosmic forces reflected in the microcosm one embodies. The quest of these monastic ascetic few days was supported with grace and loving kindness both by Linda Tucker and Andrew Harvey so that my stay in Timbavati turned into a rewarding experience in personal and universal truths as offered by Nature.- Andris Barblan, GenevaAmazing trip to the white lions and their homelands! These magnificent beings are clearly avatars  an opportunity for an encounter with the divine! Take advantage of the opportunity! J. SklarHaving read Linda Tuckers 2 books on the White Lions and having taken Andrew Harveys course, Path to Christ Consciousness for the past 9 months, I was delighted to sign up for this amazing retreat. Africa has always felt like home to me even though I live in Canada.This particular retreat was one of the most profound spiritual journeys of my life so far. The power of the White Lions and the messages they shared, being on the sacred land itself, the exquisitely competent and inspirational facilitation of Linda and Andrew as we dove deep into our own being, all contributed to this amazing experience. Spending time at Camp Unicorn, sleeping in round huts with straw roofs, eating the most delicious local food and visiting people of the villages as well as an amazing day at Kruger Game Park, seeing more local animals than I could have imagined added to the awe and wonder of our time together.When I returned home, those who knew me, recognized the depth of my encounters in Timbavati by the glow in me and around me. I will carry the treasures that were unearthed for me on this retreat in my heart and soul forever. I am deeply grateful to ALL for this opportunity.In the spirit of Ubuntu- Susan Beayni 2013 Andrew Harvey. All rights reserved.:)
The Tri-County Chapter #1386 of NARFE (National Association of Active and Retired Federal Employees) is scheduled to meet at Pizones Restaurant, 202 Superior Avenue, Tomah, Wis., Thursday, June 15, 2017. Lunch is available at 11:30 a.m. The meeting starts at approximately 12 p.m. Our guest speaker will be Ms. Tammy Huese. Her topic will be the Feed My Family Mobile Pack. All members, their guests and interested active and retired federal employees are welcome.
Sharon Chavolla, mother, grandmother, Franciscan and lover of Creation, died May 24, 2017, at home in La Crosse. She was 73.

Sharons gentle nature and strong heart radiates through her children, grandchildren, family and all who knew her, just as it did during her time on earth.

Sharons life work was abundant and diverse, rooted in the simple power of reverent relationship. She loved and served the Latino immigrant community as an interpreter and vocal supporter. For 14 years, she massaged and brought comfort to the Franciscan sisters living at Villa St. Joseph. Through her practice, Wellspring of Peace Massage, she used Maya Abdominal Massage and other therapeutic techniques to bring health and relief to countless people, and worked closely with the Amish community. In all of these relationships, Sharon brought a deeply healing presence.

This healing presence extended beyond human relationships. Sharon was known for her deep awareness of plants. She knew how to help them along, and how they in turn help people. Like St. Francis, Sharon helped us see that our relationship with Creation is intimate and sacred.

All who knew Sharon knew her children and grandchildren were central to her experience. Born Oct. 25, 1943, in Wallawalla, Wash., Sharon joined the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration Aug. 12, 1962, then left the community in 1973, and raised a family in Michoacan, Mexico, where she lived for 15 years. She rejoined the FSPA as an affiliate in 1989, and returned to the United States in 1999.

A lifelong Catholic, her devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe was palpable in Sharons own motherly presence in the world. Whenever telling stories about her family, her eyes shone. Her commitment to and love for her children and grandchildren was obviously boundless, and no doubt remains so.

She is survived by her children, Jaime Chavolla, Hugo Chavolla, Joel Chavolla and Eileen Wynos; and Eileens husband, Chad Wynos; her grandchildren, Leo and Obi Chavolla, and Kari and Sasha Wynos; her husband, Jaime Chavolla; and her pets, Herman and Trixie.

Sharon is preceded in death by her father, Hugh McEwen; mother, Georgia Love; stepfather, Leo Love; and pets, Daisy and Emma Lou.

A celebration of Sharons life will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 15, at San Damiano Chapel at Viterbo University.

Sharon, our prayers are with you.
According to President Donald Trump, one reason he pulled out of the Paris Climate Accord was because other countries were laughing at the United States. Now that he has pulled out, other countries are laughing at Trump (not at the United States). Unfortunately, this is not a laughing matter; global warming caused by humans burning fossil fuels is real, not a hoax.

U.S. Department of Energy statistics show that more than 3 million Americans work in clean-energy jobs. This is more than twice the number who work in fossil fuel generation. And 470,000 work in the solar and wind industries, which is almost three times more than work in the coal industry. The country's fastest-growing job is wind turbine technician. The solar industry is creating jobs at a rate 17 times faster than the rest of the U. S. economy. Trump should be promoting the clean-energy economy, not doing his best to derail it.
Assembly Republicans on Tuesday unveiled a sweeping spending plan for Wisconsin schools that authors say will put more money into classrooms than what Gov. Scott Walker has proposed in his two-year state budget.

But minutes before it was rolled out, Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, rejected the proposal, saying the Senate Republicans are sticking with Walkers proposal to add $649 million in new funding.

Tuesdays tensions signal the two houses may not come to an agreement before Thursday, the day Fitzgerald set for the Legislatures Joint Finance Committee to resume writing a 2017-19 budget or else hed consider asking Senate Republicans to craft their own.

The Assembly package that was endorsed today is simply not the direction that this budget is headed, Fitzgerald said Tuesday.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, fired back by saying he didnt understand why Fitzgerald would blast a proposal he hasnt seen and why he would just be a rubber stamp for Walker.

There is absolutely no reason to make threats, Vos said about the idea of both houses crafting their budgets.

Meanwhile, finance committee co-chairman Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette, said budget negotiations likely wont resume until the two caucuses find common ground on education spending.

Walker, speaking to reporters in Wisconsin Dells, said because the Assembly Republicans plan reduces his new spending and doesnt reduce property taxes below 2014 levels, it goes at odds with what our top two priorities are.

So my hope is, in the end well get a budget thats closer to where were at, Walker said.

The Assembly Republicans plan would lower property taxes about $10 on a median-priced home from todays levels and about $121 under 2010 levels. But it doesnt meet the 2014 level that Walker has required to gain his signature.

Nygren said the most important piece of the plan is giving school districts that spend less per student than the state average the ability to raise property taxes  about $92.2 million worth of property tax increases.

Such districts would be allowed to raise $9,800 per student under the plan.

This proposal is addressing a significant challenge, and that is equity in school funding, he told reporters.

He said it levels the playing field between districts that were spending at a low rate when state lawmakers imposed caps on how much districts could raise property taxes in 1993 and districts that were spending at a higher rate then.

Nygren also said fewer referendums would be sought under the Assembly Republicans plan. He said 55 percent of low-spending districts went to referendum since 2011.

The plan also adds $30 million more for the states general funding mechanism for schools than what Walker has proposed. By cutting the states school levy tax credit, more money will be spent in classrooms than what Walker has proposed, Vos said.

Walker has been touring the state promoting $649 million in new funding and the Assembly Republicans plan would decrease that amount by about $70 million.

Senate Republicans say any decrease would be tough for public school officials and advocates to support.

Minutes after the plan was released Tuesday the Wisconsin Association of School Boards issued a statement citing concerns with the decrease but supported its overall goal.

The Assembly Republicans also proposed getting rid of Walkers requirement in his state budget proposal to tie the new funding to whether a district is requiring its staff to pay at least 12 percent toward health care costs.

The plan also would allow students to enroll in private voucher schools if they were put on waiting lists in the last school year because of enrollments caps, and adds state funding for the statewide program.

A position would be created to administer the states three voucher programs under the plan, too.

The Department of Public Instruction also would be required to decrease the number of licenses teachers must get to be in classrooms  a proposal State Superintendent Tony Evers has supported.

Deadlocked, for now

The plans release comes as budget negotiations have deteriorated and a planned Tuesday meeting of the finance committee to settle portions of the budget was canceled.

Disagreements have already led to an impasse among both houses and with Walker over the states next transportation budget, and Walkers proposal for the state to self-insure state workers has been rejected by leaders of his own party.

Vos said Tuesday that he hopes the Senate will back off from outright rejection.

Im willing to negotiate at any time, any place, anywhere, as long as people of good will get together and dont draw hard lines in the sand before theyve even heard the other persons ideas, Vos said. He said he isnt concerned about the states July 1 deadline to get the budget complete. Current spending levels continue if a new state budget is not passed by that date.

Im not going to check the brain at the door and give up the principles our caucus stands for (for that deadline), Vos said.

Senate Republicans met Tuesday after Fitzgerald rejected the Assemblys plan.

State Journal reporter Mark Sommerhauser contributed to this report.
Live Nation/PR NewswireU2 has expanded their 30th anniversary The Joshua Tree tour into the fall. The newly added U.S. dates will fun from September 3 in Detroit to September 22 in San Diego.

Tickets will go on sale to the general public beginning Monday, June 12, but if you're a U2.com subscriber, you'll receive access to a pre-sale starting this Thursday, June 8. All ticket info is available at U2.com.

Along with the U.S. dates, U2 has also added an October 3 show in Mexico City, as well as a batch of South American dates. Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds will provide support for the Mexico and South American dates. The special guest for the U.S. dates will be announced shortly.

U2 is currently traveling North America on the summer leg of The Joshua Tree tour, which continues this Wednesday, June 7 in Pittsburgh. On Friday, the Irish rockers will headline the Bonnaroo festival in Manchester, Tennessee.

Last week, U2 released a 30th anniversary reissue of The Joshua Tree that includes a variety of live performances, rarities, B-sides and newly remixed tracks.

Here are U2's newly added U.S. tour dates:

9/3 -- Detroit, MI, Ford Field

9/5 -- Buffalo, NY, New Era Field

9/8 -- Minneapolis, MN, US Bank Stadium

9/10 -- Indianapolis, IN, Lucas Oil Stadium

9/12 -- Kansas City, MO, Arrowhead Stadium

9/16 -- St. Louis, MO, The Dome At America's Center

9/22 -- San Diego, CA, Qualcomm Stadium

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
A popular UW-Madison outreach initiative will cut back programs that help disadvantaged students in the suburbs of Milwaukee and Madison prepare for college, while ramping up services for students within Wisconsins two largest cities, campus officials said Monday.

The result, administrators say, will be a Precollege Enrichment Opportunity Program for Learning Excellence, or PEOPLE program, that better supports students.

The revamp comes one year after a critical evaluation found the initiative was falling short of several goals.

Milwaukee students will be the biggest beneficiaries of the changes. They will be able to join the program earlier and will have access to new after-school tutoring sites UW-Madison plans to launch in the city.

But the shift means students from school districts in Sun Prairie, Verona, Middleton, Waukesha, Kenosha and Racine wont have access to PEOPLE starting this fall.

We were pulled thin, said Patrick Sims, a PEOPLE administrator and UW-Madisons vice provost for diversity and climate. We felt we needed to more focus, more tailor, our approach.

PEOPLE will also spin off its services in the Menominee Indian School District into a new program officials are still developing, Sims said.

About 850 low-income and minority students are taking part in PEOPLEs pre-college initiatives, including summer programs in which participants live in UW-Madison dorms to help prepare them for life on campus. Those who are admitted to the flagship campus get full tuition scholarships.

A 2016 evaluation of the PEOPLE program criticized its lack of central organization and the lagging graduation rates of its students once they got to UW-Madison.

The evaluation noted the program offered varying levels of services to students in different school districts around the state. Although PEOPLE was founded in 1999 as a college pipeline for children in Milwaukee, the earliest those students could start taking part in the program was the summer before their sophomore years in high school; students in Madison could join as early as elementary school.

And while PEOPLE is one of several programs in Sims office that recruit minority students in an effort to make UW-Madison more diverse, the evaluation found less than half of its participants wound up enrolling there. UW-Madison spends between $3.5 and $4 million on PEOPLE each year.

Under the program changes announced Monday, which Sims described as a reset that standardizes services, all participants will start PEOPLE at the same time  during eighth grade. That change, which will take effect in fall 2018, is meant to help students make a more seamless transition to high school, Sims said.

The program will also focus more on preparing students to attend UW-Madison or other University of Wisconsin System institutions.

Despite the reduced number of sites, UW-Madison officials said PEOPLE will take in more participants from Madison and Milwaukee under the changes, potentially increasing its enrollment to 1,000 students in the pre-college program.

Students from suburban districts who are already enrolled in PEOPLE wont be affected by the changes, officials said. They will be grandfathered into the programs scholarship and support services. There are 81 PEOPLE participants from the three Dane County districts that will no longer have access to the program.

Although PEOPLE will not take new participants from those districts, UW officials said students still will have access to other pre-college programs.

Laura Love, director of secondary education in the Middleton-Cross Plains School District, said she understood why PEOPLE administrators wanted to go back to their core mission of helping Madison and Milwaukee students.

Still, Love said, It certainly is always a loss when a program like the PEOPLE program is no longer available to our families.

Gail Ford, assistant director of pre-college programs at PEOPLE, said it would have cost about $900,000 to provide the kinds of ramped-up services PEOPLE is bringing to Milwaukee in all of the suburban districts, at a time when the programs funding has been flat amid budget cuts around UW-Madison.
OVERTON  Last year, Kaven Raastad had trouble controlling his temper and was often paying visits to the principals office.

But this year, he made a dramatic turn for the better.

The now-Overton eighth-grader, who has autism and attention deficit hyperactive disorder, learned to control his temper, took on more responsibilities at school and home, found ways to cope with stress and never paid a visit to the principals office, except to be signed off to move on to the eighth grade. The transformation all began when Kaven met a small golden retriever named Bailey.

During sixth grade, Kaven was placed in situations in which he had difficulty coping, including losing his grandmother and a large load of homework.

It was very stressful. I think the reason why this year has been different is because Bailey has been helping us, many kids including me, get through more stressful times, Kaven said.

When Overton Public Schools resource specialist Beth Sloan knew she was going to be getting a golden retriever puppy, she was immediately interested in bringing the puppy to the school as a comfort dog for the students. She began researching and gathering information on comfort dogs and brought the idea to Superintendent Mark Aten.

He really thought about it, and, of course, I wasnt going to give up. I kept printing out documentation on how beneficial it was, Sloan said.

Sloan saw more evidence of the effectiveness of comfort dogs after attending the State Autism Conference last year and speaking to counselors at Grand Island middle schools where comfort dogs are used. Soon after that, Aten approved Bailey as a comfort dog for the school.

He was very supportive and has been extremely supportive since the day it started. Its just gone super, super well, Sloan said.

When Kaven met Bailey, the pair connected right away.

It seemed the first few weeks I just got attached to her.  She is very well-behaved, really good. She sometimes jumps, but thats only when she gets really excited, Kaven said.

Bailey became a registered therapy dog in January after she turned 1 year old. She is also a Canine Good Citizen in an American Kennel Club advanced obedience program.

Bailey attends school every day with Sloan, and the students are responsible for helping take care of her.

We take her outside, usually to that yard back over there. It also helps us with our responsibilities because Miss Sloan usually fills up the food bowl, but we usually fill up the water bowl. I usually do that sometimes, Kaven said.

Along with giving the students a sense of responsibility, Bailey is there to provide comfort to students when they are stressed or anxious. When Kaven was recently taking a test and began to get frustrated, Bailey was there to provide him comfort.

Just her presence there just brings a lot of stress down, you know? She makes you feel better about what is going on in the situation, he said.

While Bailey may have the many tendencies of a puppy, such as chewing on sandals, she seems to know exactly when she is needed. As Kaven talked about his anxiety and his need to be alone, Bailey was immediately at his side, licking his face and snuggling in his lap.

I know that she is just trying to show her love. She just enjoys being a pet, and she wants to give back the favor of you petting her all the time, he explained about Baileys affection.

Kaven has also learned to control his temper when he is around Bailey. Hes learned that if he gets loud or angry with Bailey, she gets scared. Its helped him keep his voice calm when he is angry, Sloan said.

Bailey helps Kaven when he is frustrated or stressed, but he has also been there for her in stressful situations.

We brought her (to a pep rally). She certainly didnt like the loud music, but I helped her get through that a lot. I just sat there on the floor and just petted her and said it was OK. She has been a lot better with loud noises since then, Kaven said.

The change in Kaven is obvious to his teachers and his family.

Kaven has done a very, very good job this year compared to last year. Hes completely different. He likes school. He is more engaged in school, Aten said.

Hes a totally different kid than even what he was just last year, Kavens mom, Emmy Raastad, said.

Kavens social skills have also improved because of his involvement in Circle of Friends, a group that helps autistic students socialize with their peers through peer-mediated intervention. Kaven interacts more with his classmates, and he also participated in the groups November event helping Kearney Target shoppers get their groceries to their cars.

That is probably one of the first times I saw Kaven actually go up to somebody and say, Can I help you out with your groceries? Sloan said.

Now that school is out for the summer, Sloan plans to bring Bailey to Overton to see Kaven this summer. Kaven and his mother also plan to volunteer at the Central Nebraska Humane Society in Grand Island.

Kaven may not get to see Bailey and Sloan as often this summer, but he knows its not long before school is back in session and Baily will be by his side again.

Its only three months, he said.
In their first joint appearance abroad, Americas top diplomat and its Pentagon chief offered public reassurances to a longstanding ally at odds with President Donald Trumps abandonment of the Paris climate agreement.

With Defense Secretary Jim Mattis at his side, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told a news conference yesterday that Trump is interested in perhaps a new construct of an agreement, signaling that Trump believes the climate change issue is still important and that he wants to stay engaged on the issue.

Hes not walking away from it, Tillerson said. Hes simply walking away from what he felt was an agreement that did not serve the American people well.

Julie Bishop, the Australian foreign minister, deflected any suggestion of a loss of confidence in U.S. leadership, saying, We have a similar world view, we have shared values and shared interests in other areas.

Tillerson also took a swipe at China, criticizing what he called its militarization of disputed islets and reefs in the South China Sea and suggesting that Beijing has failed to persuade North Korea to ends it nuclear weapons program.

China is a significant economic and trading power, and we desire a productive relationship, he said. But we cannot allow China to use its economic power to buy its way out of other problems, whether its militarizing islands in the South China Sea or failure to put appropriate pressure on North Korea. They must recognize that with a role as a growing economic and trading power come security responsibilities as well.

A reporter asked Tillerson to reconcile the administrations emphasis on strengthening alliances in Asia and elsewhere with what some perceive as isolationism in Trumps rejection of multilateral trade agreements, criticisms of NATO and abandonment of the Paris climate deal.

Thats why were here, Tillerson said. Thats why we traveled here. Thats why we engaged with our counterparts, adding, So I hope the fact that were here, demonstrates that it certainly is not this administrations view or intention to somehow put at arms length the important partners and allies in the world.

Mattis called Australia a beacon of hope for people and the world.

Even as the U.S. and Australian officials were meeting behind closed doors, news broke of a growing political rift among key American allies in the Persian Gulf.

Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates all announced they would withdraw their diplomatic staff from Qatar over that countrys support for Islamist groups and its relations with Iran. Qatar is home to a U.S. military base that is central to the coordination of its air campaigns in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.

I think what were witnessing is a growing list of irritants in the region that have been there for some time, and obviously they have now bubbled up to level that countries decided they needed to take action in an effort to have those differences addressed, Tillerson said, noting that he had just heard news of this development. We certainly would encourage the parties to sit down together and address these differences.

Tillerson said he did not believe this would have any impact on the fight against Islamic extremism.

Mattis was even more emphatic on the point.

I am confident there will be no implications coming out of this diplomatic situation at all, Mattis said.

In earlier remarks at the start of their talks, Mattis pledged unity with longtime ally Australia in fighting Islamic extremists who seek to intimidate the West.

We are united, as I said, in our resolve, even against an enemy that thinks by hurting us they can scare us, Mattis said. Well, we dont scare.

The meeting, held annually, touched on a range of subjects including defeating the Islamic State, stabilizing Afghanistan and dealing with North Koreas nuclear threats.

Tillerson stressed the enduring U.S.-Australian alliance and said it will prevail in this common fight we share against the most heinous of actions weve seen most recently in London yet again. He did not elaborate on the London attack.

Police say three men drove a van over London Bridge on Saturday and struck pedestrians before crashing the vehicle outside a pub. The attackers, wielding blades and knives, ran to a well-known fruit and vegetable market and there they stabbed people in several different restaurants. Seven people were killed and at least 48 were hospitalized. Police fired 50 bullets to stop the violence, killing the three attackers and wounding one member of the public.

In her opening remarks, Bishop said countering terrorism would be high on the meetings agenda.

The global terrorist threat is ever evolving, weve seen brutal attacks in a number of European cities, weve thwarted attacks here in Australia, and so we want to discuss with you, the links back into the Middle East, the role were playing with you in Iraq and Syria and also Afghanistan, Bishop said. We are united in our resolve to defeat ISIS, the Islamic State terrorist organization and its ilk. Robert Burns, Sydney, AP
A senior Portuguese official says he encountered very serious shortages of food and medical care in Venezuela during a recent fact-finding visit to the country.

Jose Luis Carneiro, the Portuguese Secretary of State for Communities Abroad, says the government is providing aid to needy Portuguese immigrants living in Venezuela and is ready to increase its support.

More than 50,000 Portuguese live in Venezuela, which is in the grip of a political and economic crisis. Many of them went there from Portugals Madeira Islands and have lived in the Latin American country for decades.

Carneiro told Lisbon radio station Renascenca yesterday that needy Portuguese returning to Portugal will also qualify for support. The recent return of several thousand Portuguese to Madeira has placed a strain on public resources.
Smoke rises early Friday from the Resorts World Manila complex

Local authorities plan to enhance casino security following an attack on a Manila casino hotel. A meeting was held on Sunday between the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ), the Judiciary Police (PJ), and representatives of the gaming operators to discuss how to enhance casino security work, and how all sectors should react to severe safety incidents.

The meeting occurred after Fridays attack on Resorts World Manila where 37 patrons and employees died. Most of the casualties were due to smoke inhalation, as the victims tried to hide in one of the casinos VIP rooms on the second floor. The attacker was a heavily indebted Filipino gambling addict who set fire to gaming tables in an attempt to steal money from the casino, according to police.

According to a statement issued by the PJ, during the meeting, the police asked casinos to increase security personnel and equipment for security checks, and enhance their communication with the PJ in cases of emergency. The DICJ pledged to strengthen and improve its inspection work.

On the sidelines of an event yesterday, the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lionel Leong, commented on the meetings outcome. Everyone agreed that performing a good safety job has a direct influence over Macaus development into a World Tourism and Leisure Center, he said. Whether its the safety of tourists, of Macau residents, or of on-duty people, our levels of concern are high, Leong noted.

The secretary claimed that the government is paying close attention to safety conditions in casinos, and pointed out that if the government needs to allocate more resources to ensure safety, it will do so.

Leong also commented on the gross gaming revenue (GGR) for May, which reached MOP22.74 billion (USD2.83 billion), up by 23.7 percent year-on-year and 12.8 percent compared with the previous month, marking the 10th consecutive month of growth.

The secretary noted that the increase does not mean that the adjustment period of Macaus gaming sector has came to an end, as Mays revenue is still the lowest when compared to the May of 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014.

Even if Macaus economy, including the gaming sector, has entered a stable condition and is heading in a good direction, I think it is not just about the gaming industry, said Leong, who stated that Macaus recent GDP saw an increase of more than 10 percent year-on-year, although, as he noted, the gaming sector only increased by approximately 10 percent, while other tourism sectors grew by more than 20 percent.

We can infer from these figures that the structure of Macaus economic growth is changing, said Leong, adding that in the past, we could see that the gaming sector showed a strong driving ability, but now several numbers reflect that we have improved in different aspects.

The secretary noted that Macaus economic situation can be seen more clearly if it is perceived from all different aspects, not just the gaming sector. JZ
JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon, who in December agreed to exit a minority-owned Chinese investment-banking joint venture, said the U.S. bank is seeking to find a new structure that would eventually give it full control.

My longer-term dream is that we have, we own, 100 percent of something, Dimon, 61, said yesterday in an interview with Bloomberg Televisions Stephen Engle in Beijing. The CEO said hell be patient in negotiations with Chinese regulators. The process is complicated, so we respect that and we tell them what wed like and hope itll happen.

JPMorgan moved to sell its stake in JPMorgan First Capital Securities late last year after six years in the venture. Its partner, First Capital Securities Co., was to buy out JPMorgan from its one-third stake for 307 million yuan (USD44 million at the time), the Chinese firm said in December.

Since UBS Group AG and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. established Chinese joint ventures more than a decade ago, foreign banks have struggled to challenge local players. One competitive disadvantage is that Chinese rules limit them to minority stakes, reducing their sway over key decisions.

China has made huge progress on market reforms, Dimon said, adding that he would like to increase his firms businesses in the nation. The firms businesses in China include corporate banking and stakes in a fund manager and in a commodities futures joint venture, according to the banks China website.

JPMorgan said in February that it won approval to underwrite corporate bond sales in Chinas interbank market.

The issue of control contributed to JPMorgans decision to sell its stake in the First Capital venture, whose business included equity and debt underwriting and mergers advisory.

Joint ventures by nature have sloppy corporate governance, Dimon said. Any new venture structure would have to allow JPMorgan a certain amount of management control, he said. Chinas government in November said its committed to letting overseas banks own bigger stakes in securities and fund-management joint ventures in the country. The rule limiting offshore ownership to 49 percent will gradually be relaxed, the Ministry of Finance said at the time, adding that foreign investors participation can boost the industrys competitiveness and global influence.

Dimon said his bank would consider setting up a business in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, without providing more specifics. The Shanghai FTZ is studying allowing foreign investments in financial institutions to exceed current caps, Zheng Yang, the citys financial services office director, said in June last year, without giving a timetable for any changes.

As Chinas leaders remain on track with financial and trade reforms, Dimon said he sees full yuan convertibility in the next five to 10 years.

Twenty years from now, they will house 35 percent of the Fortune 3000 and we should go for that, Dimon said. Theyve made huge progress in reforms, financial reforms, market reforms.

When asked if he intended to stay on Donald Trumps business advisory council after the U.S. president announced his intention to pull his country out of the Paris climate pact, Dimon said: I am an American patriot and I want to help the president of the United States, adding that he didnt want to overreact to the issue.

On Friday, Dimon said he absolutely disagreed with Trumps administration on the issue, but said there was a responsibility to engage elected officials to work constructively and advocate for policies that improve peoples lives and protect our environment.

Trumps call on Paris prompted Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger and Tesla Inc. founder Elon Musk to withdraw from a presidential jobs panel. Bloomberg
Police in southern Italy are under fire for allowing one of Italys most-wanted mob bosses to greet his fans after his arrest and let them kiss his hand.

Police arrested Giuseppe Giorgi last Friday in a bunker inside his home in San Luca, the base of some of the most notorious clans of the Calabrian Ndrangheta mob.

A video shown on Sky TG24 showed police jumping for joy after the arrest. But another showed them letting an un-cuffed Giorgi greet well-wishers outside his home as they escorted him out. One reached out for Giorgis hand and kissed it to show respect.

Italian magistrate Federico Cafiero de Raho says police couldnt have foreseen the gesture and insisted the arrest was a sign of police strength even amid such tribal rites.
After the UnionPay mobile QuickPass QR code payment was launched on May 27 in mainland China, UnionPay International announced yesterday that it has extended this service to Hong Kong and Singapore.

The first merchants providing this service are three stores of Colourmix at Causeway Bay, Hong Kong and two stores of BreadTalk in VivoCity and Marina Bay Financial Centre, Singapore. Next, UnionPay mobile QuickPass QR code payment will be introduced to travel destinations favored by Chinese tourists, including Thailand, Indonesia and Australia.

According to a press release, UnionPay mobile QuickPass supports NFC contactless payment with UnionPay chip cards, smartphones and wearable devices. Outside mainland China, mobile QuickPass is now accepted at approximately 500,000 POS terminals across Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Canada, Russia and the UAE. Customers can pay easily by tapping mobile phones. The newly launched QR code payment is a significant supplement to NFC payment.

We are accelerating the rollout of various mobile QuickPass products and services outside mainland China so that we can bring faster, more convenient and secure payment options for our customers. Cai Jianbo, CEO of UnionPay International said. We choose to launch UnionPay QR code payment first in daily spend merchants to meet the diverse tourist payment needs resulting from the Chinese tourists preference shift from group tours to free-and-independent traveling.
U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry said yesterday that he hopes China will step forward to be a real leader on climate issues, while refuting criticism that the United States is backing down.

President Donald Trumps decision last week to pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate agreement has sparked speculation that he is creating a leadership void that China could fill.

Perry, in Tokyo en route to a meeting of energy ministers in Beijing, said: I hope China will step in and attempt to take the mantle away. It would be a good challenge for them.

But he prefaced that remark by saying the United States is not backing down from its role as a leader in cleaning up the climate.

Earlier, Energy Secretary Rick Perry told his Japanese counterpart, Hiroshige Seko, that the U.S. commitment to the environment is unchanged, according to Kazushige Tanaka, a Japanese industry ministry official who was at their meeting.

Perry said that the United States, as it has led the effort in tackling carbon reduction and clean coal technology, will continue to be a leader in developing clean energy and its technology.

He agreed with Seko on Japan-U.S. cooperation in clean energy and the environment, as well as nuclear energy and the cleanup of the Fukushima nuclear power plant, which was damaged by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

If youre a millennial, and you care about the environment of where you live locally and of the world, then you need to be for nuclear energy, Perry said. Zero emissions.

He said that laboratories overseen by the U.S. Energy Department are researching ways to harness nuclear power, from small modular reactors to fusion.

Perry visited the Fukushima nuclear complex Sunday and offered U.S. help to decommission the plant, which is expected to take decades.

We offer continued support, expertise, companies that have history of dealing with cleanups and technology available, as well as the Department of Energy, he said. AP
Chinas scramble to curb pollution has made it the world leader in renewable energy development, yet increasing amounts of that green power have gone unused as the country struggles to integrate wind and solar farms into an outdated and balkanized electricity network dominated by coal.

The problem threatens to slow Chinas progress in clearing its air and controlling the greenhouse gas emissions that make it the top contributor to climate change. It also could hamper any desire among Chinese leaders to fill the leadership gap left by President Donald Trumps move to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate accord.

As energy ministers from around the globe gather in Beijing this week to promote renewables, Chinas difficulty maximizing its green resources reflects the challenges they face over how best to transition to cleaner electricity.

They installed too much too fast, said Qiao Liming, China director for the Global Wind Energy Council. A real market should allow electricity to flow between two provinces. That is currently lacking in China, she said.

Thousands of new wind turbines and solar panels were installed in Chinas remote provinces over the past several years as the countrys leaders sought to alleviate choking urban smog without slowing economic expansion. China now has more renewable power capacity than any other nation.

Two nagging problems have dampened that success, however, according to industry representatives and outside observers: Chinas sprawling power grid has been unable to handle the influx of new electricity from wind and solar, while some provincial officials have retained a preference for coal.

In western Chinas Gansu province, 43 percent of energy from wind went unused in 2016, a phenomenon known in the energy industry as curtailment. In the neighboring Xinjiang region, the curtailment figure was 38 percent and in northeast Chinas Jilin province it was 30 percent. The nationwide figure, 17 percent, was described by Qiaos organization as shockingly high after increasing for several years in a row.

The problem has shown some signs of improvement this year, according to the China Electricity Council. Power demand in general increased in the first quarter, giving a boost to renewables after the economy regained momentum from 2016s slowdown.

However, experts say wasted energy will continue to be a drag on Chinese renewable power potential until the countrys electrical grid is modernized and provincial officials end their preference for coal, which provides almost two-thirds of the countrys energy.

The problem is worst in winter, when many coal plants provide electricity for the power grid and send out excess heat to keep homes and businesses warm.

Thats led provincial officials to keep coal plants running  and to reject available wind-generated electricity  despite pressure from the central government to use more renewables, said Lu Xi, a professor at Tsinghua Universitys School of Environment in Beijing.

On paper they express quite clear attitudes to promote renewables, but in reality they promote coal interests, said Frank Yu, a renewables specialist with the consulting firm Wood Mackenzie.

To help address the issue, Chinas National Energy Administration has pushed for more wind turbines to be installed closer to Beijing and coastal cities, where demand is highest. That should allow renewable energy to bypass part of the dated transmission system thats been blamed for impeding its use. It also would give more populated provinces a greater stake in making sure renewables get used.

In a separate effort, at this weeks energy ministers meeting in Beijing, Chinese officials are expected to launch a campaign to make its power supply system more flexible. The goal is to create a power grid that can more easily absorb the highs and lows associated with weather-dependent wind and solar electricity, said Christian Zinglersen, the head of the Clean Energy Ministerial, which is hosting the meeting.

Still, the problem of electricity going unused could get worse before it gets better, said Liutong Zhang, a senior manager with the Lantau Group, a Hong Kong-based energy consulting firm. More solar and wind is planned in Chinese provinces that already have more power-generating capacity than they use. Additional coal plants also are slated to come online, Zhang said.

Chinas difficulties, while more pronounced than in other countries, are not unique. Western countries have experienced their own renewable struggles as utilities tried to integrate weather-dependent wind and solar power into electricity grids built around coal plants, which are more polluting but also more reliable.

But over the next two decades, events in developing nations including China and India are expected to play a magnified role in addressing climate change.

Developing nations with aggressive wind and solar deployments do face and will face these same challenges, said Edward Cunningham, director of China programs at Harvard Universitys Kennedy School of Government.

The United States, meanwhile, appears headed for a diminished presence as Trump and fellow Republicans back away from the climate policies of former President Barack Obama.

Almost all of the increased electricity demand in coming years is expected to come from developing nations, according to projections from the International Energy Administration.

China alone will account for about half the total.

Chinas struggles to maximize its use of renewables wont necessarily prevent it from meeting international emissions targets that aim to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels. But it will make it much more expensive unlessChina is able to adapt its power supply system while its still in development, Zinglersen said. Matthew Brown, Beijing, AP
I will greatly miss my day-to-day association with Board members, employees, our program participants, and the many others I have worked with over the years in the course of my employment here, Bodden wrote in his resignation letter. There is no better group of people, nor a more worthy mission, than here. In working with all the incredible individuals associated with MVRS, perhaps most especially our participants, I have certainly received much more in return than I have been able to give.
ARCO  The stark, otherworldly landscape of Idahos vast lava desert is the focus of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers symposium June 22-24 at the Center for Advanced Energy Studies, with field trips to the Idaho National Laboratory on June 22 and to Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve on June 24.

Two June 24 field trips will be offered, one by retired park geologist and education specialist Douglass Owen in the main visitor area of Craters of the Moon, and the other by Idaho State University professor emeritus Scott Hughes to Kings Bowl Lava Field with an emphasis on current NASA research in the area.
TWIN FALLS  Most studies of sexual assault have found it is a very common and under-reported crime. Going on statistical averages, about 130,000 women in Idaho have likely been the victims of an attempted or completed sexual assault.

Thats four Bronco stadiums if you think of it that way, said state Rep. Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise.

Wintrow has sponsored legislation for the past two sessions to improve the way sexual assault kits are tested and retained in Idaho. The bill that passed in 2016 set guidelines on how quickly rape kits have to be tested and also established a first-in-the-nation statewide tracking system where victims can follow where in the process their kits are, while the one that passed this year and takes effect July 1 would require kits to be kept for 55 years in most cases.

Monday, she was in Twin Falls to visit with Chief Craig Kingsbury and his staff, to review the implementation of the new law and learn more about the changes Kingsbury has been trying to make to better serve sexual assault victims. Kingsbury was a strong supporter of the bill that passed this year, testifying in favor of it at the Legislature, and as chief in Nampa not long before coming to Twin Falls he made some changes to the way rape kits were handled there in response to concerns about low testing rates. Wintrow plans to visit police departments elsewhere in the state, but she came to Twin Falls first at Kingsburys invitation.

Kingsbury said the new law wouldnt result in any immediate changes in how the department does business.

We have already started abiding by the new law, he said.

Kingsburys focus has been on creating a culture at the department of beginning by believing, as Sgt. Chuck Garner put it, to provide support to sexual assault victims and avoid re-traumatizing them.

We want to be empathetic, Garner said. Even if we cant give someone a remedy through the criminal justice process ... (we) want them to know we care.

Police officers, said Lt. John Wilson, are trained to look at a crime for the perspective of gathering evidence and whether they can build a prosecutable case. Thinking about it in terms of what we can do to help this victim can require a change in thinking, he said.

Part of this, Kingsbury said, is making sure everyone involved in the process approaches each call with the attitude of believing the victim. Changes in body language, he said, can send a message as to whether you believe someones story or take it seriously. Part of it is making sure sexual assault victims get the counselling and services they need. Part of it is avoiding re-victimizing them by forcing them to repeat their story as few times as possible. Part of it, Kingsbury said, is just repeating the slogan until it becomes ingrained.

Kingsbury said the City Council has been supportive of his efforts. One step they took last year was adding money to the citys budget to hire a victim services coordinator.

I believe weve lacking here at the city level for victims, said Victim Services Coordinator Kim Burkhalter. Its my job to make sure they feel safe coming here and can talk to law enforcement openly without being re-victimized.

Wintrow isnt done looking for ways to improve how Idaho handles sexual assault cases. A couple of weeks ago, she started looking into a case in northern Idaho where a woman was apparently erroneously billed $400 to get her sexual assault kit tested.

Current rules, Wintrow said, require the cost of testing a kit to be billed to insurance if it is readily available. Wintrow doesnt believe a sexual assault victim should ever be billed for getting a kit tested, and that while there are some changes to the ISPs protocols that could address the issue partially, the billing procedure is a bigger question. She said she wants to put together a working group to study the question and figure out what recommendations could realistically be put forth to the Legislature.

Thats a criminal justice procedure, she said. At the very least, the state should figure out how to do that.
TWIN FALLS  Planners for a new agricultural research center in the Magic Valley are milking every opportunity to create one of the worlds premiere research facilities.

This is the largest and best research dairy facility in the United States, Michael Parrella, dean of the University of Idahos College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, told the Times-News recently. Could be in the world. ... Its something we can hang our hat on, that were going to do better than anybody else.

Before coming to Idaho, Parrella was the chairman of the Department of Entomology and Nematology and associate dean of agricultural sciences at the University of California, Davis, which is home to an agricultural research center of its own, the California Institute of Food and Agricultural Research. He would head the Magic Valley facility if it comes to fruition.

One thing that would make a center here unique, Parrella said, is that it would be big enough for its research to be applicable to the scale of the dairy industry in Idaho. Parrella said the planned center here would be on about 1,000 acres with 2,000 cows, contrasting it with the Dairy Teaching and Research Facility at Davis, which has about 100 cows.

Gov. C.L. Butch Otter first floated the idea of a dairy research center in the Magic Valley a decade ago, but it was shelved due to the recession. This year, though, state lawmakers approved the first $10 million in funding for the Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment, or CAFE. The plan is for the educational institutions and industry groups involved to come up with $10 million per group, or $20 million total, this year, after which the state would allocate another $5 million in 2018.

While a site hasnt been picked yet, Parrella said that, ideally it would be placed within 20 to 25 miles of the College of Southern Idahos campus. UI is taking the lead, but the idea is that other schools in the area and state  CSI, Idaho State University, Brigham Young University-Idaho, Boise State University  would be involved. Parrella said BYU-Idaho has expressed particular interest so far, since it would like a dairy facility for its students.

We look at it as a regional facility, he said.

The feasibility study on the project is already done, and Parrella said they concluded buying some land and building a new dairy would make more sense than retrofitting an existing one. And the vision for the facility has gotten bigger. It was originally pictured as just being part of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, but Parrella wants to involve other departments, such as UIs colleges of Natural Resources and of Business and Economics.

I think theres an opportunity for the whole campus to be engaged from an educational perspective, he said.

The primary focus would still be dairy, but Parrella also wants to make agronomics (study of plants and land use), forage and food processing part of the CAFEs mission, noting the latter would tie in with the dairy processors in the area. Parrella said he wants it to be a farm to fork facility in terms of what it studies and teaches. Some research focuses, he said, would likely include water and nutrient management and ways to minimize the dairy industrys environmental footprint.

Parrella hopes the CAFE will become a place where students in the Magic Valley can get a bachelors degree without leaving the area.

Thats an issue with recruiting undergraduate students, he said.

Parrella said the university has been working on fundraising to make sure the money is in place in time. Some of the money will come from selling the former Caine Veterinary Teaching Center in Caldwell later this year. Parrella said he expects the CAFEs construction to start in 2019.

We have to have a path forward and we think were getting there, he said.

Parrella is also looking to improve the colleges existing programs. Last year, UI launched a project to make improvements to Rock Creek Ranch near Hailey and graze some cows from UIs Nancy M. Cummings Research, Extension and Education Center on the property.

Parrella said this would afford opportunities to investigate questions such as the impact of grazing on endangered species and fire risk and how to manage land for public access as well. Improving UIs livestock research, he said, is important since livestock make up a significant percentage of the states agriculture but the current research focus is mostly on plants.

Parrella also wants to upgrade the existing research and extension centers, and do a better job with faculty retention by providing more support for the half of the colleges faculty that works off of the Moscow campus, replacing aging equipment at the research and extension centers and by making pay more competitive with the other universities with which UI competes. Parrella said he wants to move toward a pay scale that rewards professors for performance, looking at factors such as undergraduate student retention, how much research money they bring in and teaching hours put in outside of classes.
JEROME  Students and employees at Heritage Academy in Jerome will get training starting this fall on ways to help prevent suicide and bullying.

Its among 10 Idaho schools to receive a $2,400 grant from the Idaho Department of Education, in partnership with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.

Money will be used for training over two years to implement Sources of Health, a mental health wellness program. It helps middle and high schoolers cultivate a set of strengths research shows can be helpful for coping with lifes challenges.

It teaches students what they need to know about themselves and life, because everybody is going to have a tough time emotionally at some point, said Jennifer Dickey, program director for the Idaho Lives Project.

And theres a need.

Nearly 20 percent of Idaho youth at public schools in 2015 reported seriously considering suicide, according to the Suicide Prevention Action Network of Idaho.

About 10 percent reported making one or more attempts.

Idaho ranked fifth in the nation in 2015 for the highest suicide rate  57 percent higher than the nationwide average.

And the rural nature of the state sometimes hinders families from accessing mental health services.

Sources of Strength was launched in 1998 in North Dakota in partnership with rural communities and tribal groups. Since then, it has expanded to other states and it has been in Idaho for four years.

Its not just another club or community service organization, Dickey said, but a chance for students to learn resilience skills they can carry into their adult lives.

It isnt that we can avoid stress or emotional crises, she said. We need to figure out how we can get through times like that.

In total, 49 Idaho schools have already received grants, including Minidoka County middle and high schools, Burley Junior High School, Cassia Junior/Senior High School, Declo High School and Silver Creek High School in Hailey.

Heritage Academy superintendent Christine Ivie wasnt available to comment by phone Monday.

But in an email to the Times-News, she wrote she has observed successes at other schools through Sources of Strength.

We are excited to be part of the new cohort for Sources of Strength, Ivie said. Our goal is to help our students become successful, resilient individuals. Sources of Strength allows them to develop strong interpersonal skills, healthy relationships and positive coping skills to help them in school, career opportunities and life.

In February, the public charter school gave its students a 10-question Adverse Childhood Experience survey. It drew criticism from some parents and community members, who said questions were inappropriate for young students.

But administrators say the survey was useful and found 70 percent of students scored a three or higher  meaning theyve experienced at least three stressful life situations such as sexual abuse, witnessing domestic violence or going without meals.

Heritage Academy will receive training on the Sources of Strength from the Idaho Lives Project.

School employees will learn about youth suicide data, warning signs and how to intervene. Youth leaders will be trained on how to recognize their sources of strength and provide help for their peers.

Then, the school will implement activities and programs  referred to as campaigns  to teach other students and the community about how to cultivate those strengths.

One example of a campaign is a thankfulness challenge. Students are encouraged to find something to be thankful for three times a day for 21 days.

The Sources of Strength program also encourages students to do something if they hear a classmate say theyre considering suicide.

Its very much about learning when its correct and OK to go get someone else and get an adult, Dickey said.

Burley Junior High just finished its second year of the program. Even though it wont receive more grant money, school leaders plan to keep the effort going.

The eight strengths include healthy activities, family support and positive friends.

The most important one is mentors, school counselor Liza Castaneda said, meaning students should have a trusted adult to come and talk to.

Theres also a focus on generosity  how students can draw strength from helping others, she said.

Burley Junior High usually picks one strength to focus on each month, and offers two or three activities around it.

It can be something as simple as sending a note and candy to students with a reminder about the strength of the month, Castaneda said.

Shed like to get the program out into the community more and partner with a local hospital system. Shes also interested in eventually holding a Sources of Strength week at the school.

Sources of Strength began in Idaho as a result of a $1.29 million federal grant through the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act. The three-year effort aimed at helping 10 to 24-year-olds.

The federal grant wasnt available again. Instead, state legislators appropriated nearly $1 million for suicide prevention efforts.

This fall, 20 schools applied for funding to implement the Sources of Strength program.

Factors behind the grant decisions included why the school needs the program, why its a good fit and whether the school could sustain it.

As more schools continue to adopt the initiative, theres a bigger picture in mind. Dickey said: The goal is to eventually get all Idaho schools trained on Sources of Strength.
TWIN FALLS  Two Magic Valley students will receive a 2017 Governors Cup Scholarship to help them pay for college.

Recent high school graduates Kathryn Frostenson from Jerome High School and Zebediah Miller from Twin Falls High School were selected.

In the fall, Frostenson plans to attend the University of Idaho and Miller plans to attend Boise State University.

In total, 38 Idaho students will receive a $3,000 yearly scholarship, which can be used at Idaho colleges and universities, the governors office announced last week.

The scholarship is renewable for up to four years  or two to three years for professional-technical programs.

More than 1,000 students applied this year for scholarships. The scholarship funds board of directors chose recipients based on factors such as community service, academic achievement and leadership.
TWIN FALLS  The lawyer for the family of a 5-year-old who was sexually abused by three boys at a local apartment complex a year ago said June 6 his clients were unhappy with the outcome of the case.

Mark Guerry told the Idaho Statesman his clients are not satisfied with the final result of these proceedings. However, he said he couldnt go into more detail due to an order from 5th District Magistrate Judge Thomas Borresen sealing the case and ordering the lawyers involved not to talk about it.

Twin Falls County Prosecuting Attorney Grant Loebs announced a plea deal in the case in April. At the time, Guerry said the family agreed to the plea bargains, but they were not fully satisfied with the outcome of these cases or the prosecuting attorney.

Loebs said Tuesday he couldnt say anything new about the case or any scheduled proceedings. He declined to even confirm the boys had been sentenced.

The judge has made it very clear that no comments about that can be made by anybody involved, Loebs said.

Guerry ran against Loebs in the 2016 Republican primary and was reprimanded last month by the Idaho State Bar for, during the campaign, accusing District Judge Richard Bevan of helping Loebs cover up several drunken driving arrests. Loebs and Bevan denied this, and the State Bar said Guerrys allegations were unfounded.

Guerry stopped communicating with the Times-News shortly after the paper broke the allegations.

Two of the boys involved in the Fawnbrook assault, aged 10 and 14, are from Eritrea, and one, age 7, is from Iraq. Loebs announced in April that one boy pleaded guilty to felony exploitation of a child and misdemeanor battery, while a second pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting felony lewd conduct and aiding and abetting misdemeanor battery. The third pleaded guilty to a charge of accessory to the commission of a felony.

Many of the initial reports on the case falsely said the boys were Syrian and contained disturbing details that police and prosecutors have said were not accurate. The attack happened months after a push to close down the College of Southern Idaho Refugee Center failed to garner enough signatures for a ballot initiative and at a time when the influx of refugees from the Middle East into Europe had made the issue a topic of international debate. Limiting refugee resettlement and Muslim entry into the country, in particular banning Syrian refugees, was a frequent campaign message of now-President Donald Trump. City officials and others connected to the case received a number of death threats from the far-right.

The case brought months of national and even international news attention to Twin Falls, receiving extensive coverage from anti-Muslim and anti-refugee media, many of whom accused police, prosecutors, the City Council, local media and others of trying to cover up what happened. Juvenile cases are generally sealed, which limited what public officials could say about the case. Brigitte Gabriel, head of Act for America, came to Twin Falls to speak shortly after the attack, and Breitbart sent a reporter to Twin Falls to cover the case and refugee resettlement more generally.

Most recently, InfoWars founder Alex Jones had to apologize and retract some statements he had made linking the attack to Chobani after the yogurt maker sued him. The suit came just as the City Council passed a neighborly community resolution that was brought on largely by the debate over refugee resettlement, although the resolution doesnt mention refugees specifically.
JEROME  A Hailey man was ejected when his motorcycle and a motorhome crashed near the Flying J truck stop in Jerome.

James Dawson, 72, was riding a 2008 Harley Davidson motorcycle northbound on US-93 when Arthur Smith, 76, of Seaside, Ore. driving a 2002 Jamboree motorhome, pulled out of a parking lot turning onto the southbound lanes. The vehicles crashed and Dawson was ejected.

The Idaho State Police investigated the injury-crash at 11:15 a.m. Tuesday on US-93 at milepost 53.5. Dawson was wearing a helmet and was transported by air ambulance to St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise. Smith and his passenger, Pati Smith, 78, of Seaside, Ore. were wearing seat belts and were not transported.

The southbound lanes were blocked for approximately two and a half hours while crews worked to clear the scene. The crash is under investigation by the Idaho State Police with assistance at the scene by the Jerome County Sheriffs Office.
US investigators believe Russian hackers breached Qatar's state news agency and planted a fake news report that contributed to a crisis among the US' closest Gulf allies, according to US officials briefed on the investigation.

The FBI recently sent a team of investigators to Doha to help the Qatari government investigate the alleged hacking incident, Qatari and US government officials say.

Intelligence gathered by the US security agencies indicates that Russian hackers were behind the intrusion first reported by the Qatari government two weeks ago, US officials say. Qatar hosts one of the largest US military bases in the region.

The alleged involvement of Russian hackers intensifies concerns by US intelligence and law enforcement agencies that Russia continues to try some of the same cyber-hacking measures on US allies that intelligence agencies believe it used to meddle in the 2016 elections.

US officials say the Russian goal appears to be to cause rifts among the US and its allies. In recent months, suspected Russian cyber activities, including the use of fake news stories, have turned up amid elections in France, Germany and other countries.

It's not yet clear whether the US has tracked the hackers in the Qatar incident to Russian criminal organizations or to the Russian security services blamed for the US election hacks. One official noted that based on past intelligence, "not much happens in that country without the blessing of the government."

The FBI and CIA declined to comment. A spokeswoman for the Qatari embassy in Washington said the investigation is ongoing and its results would be released publicly soon.

The Qatari government has said a May 23 news report on its Qatar News Agency attributed false remarks to the nation's ruler that appeared friendly to Iran and Israel and questioned whether President Donald Trump would last in office.

Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al-Thani told CNN the FBI has confirmed the hack and the planting of fake news.

"Whatever has been thrown as an accusation is all based on misinformation and we think that the entire crisis being based on misinformation," the foreign minister told CNN's Becky Anderson. "Because it was started based on fabricated news, being wedged and being inserted in our national news agency which was hacked and proved by the FBI."

Sheikh Saif Bin Ahmed Al-Thani, director of the Qatari Government Communications Office, confirmed that Qatar's Ministry of Interior is working with the FBI and the United Kingdom's National Crime Agency on the ongoing hacking investigation of the Qatar News Agency.

"The Ministry of Interior will reveal the findings of the investigation when completed," he told CNN.

Partly in reaction to the false news report, Qatar's neighbors, led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have cut off economic and political ties, causing a broader crisis.

The report came at a time of escalating tension over accusations Qatar was financing terrorism.

On Tuesday, Trump tweeted criticism of Qatar that mirrors that of the Saudis and others in the region who have long objected to Qatar's foreign policy. He did not address the false news report.

"So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off," Trump said in a series of tweets. "They said they would take a hard line on funding extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!"

In his tweet, Trump voiced support for the regional blockade of Qatar and cited Qatar's funding of terrorist groups. The Qataris have rejected the terror-funding accusations.

Hours after Trump's tweets, the US State Department said Qatar had made progress on stemming the funding of terrorists but that there was more work to be done.

US and European authorities have complained for years about funding for extremists from Saudi Arabia and other nations in the Gulf region. Fifteen of the 19 9/11 hijackers were Saudi citizens.

Last year during a visit to Saudi Arabia, Obama administration officials raised the issue of Saudi funding to build mosques in Europe and Africa that are helping to spread an ultra-conservative strain of Islam.

US intelligence has long been concerned with what they say is the Russian government's ability to plant fake news in otherwise credible streams, according to US officials.

That concern has surfaced in recent months in congressional briefings by former FBI Director James Comey.

Comey told lawmakers that one reason he decided to bypass his Justice Department bosses in announcing no charges in the probe of Hillary Clinton's private email server was the concern about an apparent fake piece of Russian intelligence. The intelligence suggested the Russians had an email that indicated former Attorney General Loretta Lynch had assured Democrats she wouldn't let the Clinton probe lead to charges.

The FBI came to believe the email was fake, but still feared the Russians could release it to undermine the Justice Department's role in the probe.

CNN's Alireza Hajihosseini contributed to this report.
A day after a massive suicide blast that left at least 90 dead, angry residents of Kabul were counting the cost of another brutal attack on their city -- and asking how it was allowed to happen.

The bombing, which struck Kabul's diplomatic quarter during rush hour on Wednesday morning, came just a few days into Ramadan, a time when Muslim families come together to observe the holy month.

Instead, relatives were burying the dead and tending the wounds of the 461 confirmed injured.

Most of the wounded were taken to the city's three major hospitals, where emergency wards remain packed with those caught up in the massive blast. As doctors worked around the clock, hospitals sent out urgent calls for more blood to treat many with critical injuries.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, which saw a waste water truck crammed with explosives detonated in one of the busiest streets in the city.

By Thursday morning, Afghan security forces had cordoned off streets hundreds of meters from the site, and workers were busy filling in the crater left by the blast, as large trucks loaded with barrels of tar drove into the area. Meanwhile, traffic around the secure zone had returned to its usual, snarled state.

Around the blast site, damaged structures could be seen with their windows blown out, and even concrete blast walls had been sent tumbling by the powerful explosion. An Afghan official on the scene told CNN that German and American forensics teams were at the scene gathering evidence.

Near a security checkpoint, about 40 protesters chanted anti-ISIS slogans and called for "death" to the Taliban.

Protest organizer Kanishka Nasiry showed CNN a baby's shoe that he said he found on the street by the blast site. He lamented that the world pays less attention to what happens in Afghanistan than elsewhere, even though innocent civilians die here too.

Afghans point finger at Pakistan

Afghanistan's intelligence service, the National Directorate of Security, issued a statement attributing blame to the Haqqani Network, a Taliban-affiliated group in Pakistan. It alleged the group had received help from ISI, the Pakistani intelligence service.

However, Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Nafees Zakaria rejected what he called "baseless allegations," saying the "accusatory approach is unhelpful towards efforts for peace."

Zakaria insisted that "Pakistan has highest stakes in peace and stability in Afghanistan," and said it was "disappointing that some elements, who have no interest in peace in Afghanistan and want to damage Afghan-Pakistan relations, have been maligning Pakistan for their own agenda."

The Haqqani Network has not responded to the accusation from Afghanistan's intelligence service, nor claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Taliban have denied responsibility for the blast, and ISIS has remained silent on the issue.

As the nation grieved, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani extended his "deepest condolences" in a live televised address. "It was a brutal act which has caused our countrymen grief during the holy month of Ramadan," he said.

Reporting from Kabul on Thursday, CNN's Muhammad Lila said people were angry that so much money was spent by so many countries to safeguard Afghanistan's security and yet the attack still couldn't be stopped.

"The fact that this can happen in the country's capital, that a truck filled with so many explosives could just drive up and detonate. There's a lot of anger right now directed at officials," he said.

Security issues

CNN Security Analyst Rick Francona said it was "not surprising" that the Haqqani Network was being blamed, having previously demonstrated its ability to carry out attacks of similar scale.

"What is surprising is the ability to get this far into a secured area. They didn't quite reach the gates of the green zone, but they got very close," said Francona.

"Not just the US, NATO has put billions of dollars into training and reorganizing the Afghan army ... I think we're seeing the results of the failure of that effort."

Afghanistan's ambassador to the UK, Said Tayeb Jawad, told CNN's Clarissa Ward that the country's security agencies had intercepted "many similar attacks," including one a few days ago.

"The indications are that (Wednesday's attack) was carried out by terrorists outside Afghanistan. Definitely the logistical work that is needed is not possible unless they get the financial and logistical support in Pakistan," Jawad said.

"We are trying to do everything possible to reach out to Pakistan to make them understand that supporting terrorist groups is not going to benefit Afghanistan or Pakistan. So far our effort has not been fruitful," he added.

CNN International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson said the Haqqani Network, which operates across a lawless area extending from near Khost in southeastern Afghanistan into Pakistan, is widely understood to be funded by ISI, although Pakistan denies this.

The network is ostensibly part of the Afghan Taliban but was the only group that didn't pledge full allegiance to late Taliban leader Mullah Omar, he said. It's the most militant part of the Taliban although its interests are not so much ideological as financial, such as smuggling across the border, or concerned with maintaining power.

Some of the biggest attacks in the past have been the work of the group, now headed by a second generation of jihadi leaders from the Haqqani family, he said.

Embassies, companies hit

Wednesday's devastating explosion happened close to Western embassies, government institutions and various residencies of high-ranking officials.

Eleven US citizens, assigned to the US Embassy as contractors, were injured in the explosion while at Camp Eggers, a US facility across the street from the German Embassy. Nine Afghan security personnel working for the United States were killed.

The BBC said driver Mohammed Nazir had died in the blast. Four BBC journalists were injured, but their injuries are not thought to be life-threatening, according to a BBC World Service statement.

TOLO news employee Aziz Navin, 22, was killed on his way to work, the news agency reported.

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said the bombing was in the "immediate vicinity" of its embassy. The French and Canadian embassies were also damaged in the attack, as were the offices of broadcaster 1TV Afghanistan.

CNN's Laura Smith-Spark and Sophia Saifi contributed to this report. Journalist Aleem Agha contributed reporting from Kabul.
An arrest photo from 2010 of John Robert Neumann Jr. (Seminole County Sheriff's Office)(ORLANDO, Fla.) -- After a "disgruntled" ex-employee returned to his former workplace near Orlando, Florida, shooting and killing five people, the company said it is "heartbroken," calling the attack "unspeakable."



The suspect, 45-year-old John Robert Neumann Jr., shot and killed himself after allegedly shooting his former co-workers at Fiamma Monday in what the sheriff described as "likely a workplace violence incident." Most victims were shot in the head and some were shot multiple times, according to Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings.



Fiamma, which is part of an Italian company that manufactures awnings and accessories for RVs, said in a statement, "The Company is heartbroken following the unspeakable attack upon our loved ones and employees. In these dark hours we ask for thoughts and prayers for all the victims of this tragedy and their families."



Neumann was allegedly "singling out" victims, Demings said. When Neumann encountered a young woman who was a temporary employee, he allegedly pointed the gun at her and told her to get out of the business, Demings said. It appears Neumann reloaded at least once during the shooting spree, Demings added.



Eight people inside the business survived, Demings said.



Neumann, a U.S. Army veteran who was discharged honorably in 1999, was a "disgruntled" former employee who was fired from Fiamma in April, said Demings.



The deadly shooting came three years after the suspect was involved in another workplace violence incident there.



In May 2014, authorities responded to Fiamma after an employee -- who was not one of the five people killed on Monday -- accused Neumann of hitting him on the back of the head and knocking him to the ground, according to the incident report.



The victim told police that Neumann "told him not to call the police or tell the boss or he may take his money," the incident report said. The victim said Neumann also "tried to choke him with the strap to his book bag."



In the incident report, police noted that the victim "initially stated he approached John [Neumann] and he was punched several times. He then changed saying he approached John [Neumann] and when John [Neumann] went toward him aggressively he began to run and John [Neumann] hit him on the back of the head."



The victim, who police said did not appear to have any injuries, told authorities that "he had problems in the past with John [Neumann] but thought they were resolved." Neumann left the scene before police arrived and was not interviewed, police noted.



Demings said no charges were filed at that time.



The victims of Monday's shooting were identified as Robert Snyder, 69; Brenda Montanez-Crespo, 44; Kevin Clark, 53; Jeffrey Roberts, 57; and Kevin Lawson, 46.



Shelley Adams told ABC News that her sister, a Fiamma employee, saw someone lying on the floor as she walked out of the bathroom. She was "just hysterically crying," Adams said of her sister, who called her on the phone. "She kept saying, 'My boss is dead.'"



Next week marks the one-year anniversary of the June 12, 2016, mass shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando that killed 49 people.



Florida Gov. Rick Scott said in a statement, "Over the past year, the Orlando community has been challenged like never before."



"I ask all Floridians to pray for the families impacted by this senseless act of violence," Scott said.

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
A Humvee screams into the field clinic a few kilometers from western Mosul's current front line. A teenage girl is carried out, listless. An elderly man is in complete shock, unable to utter a word, and is helped towards a bed. A woman struggling to breathe is quickly given oxygen.
The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is preparing to launch an assault on the Islamic States capital in Syria and its political official, Rezan Hiddo, hinted that it could begin as early as Tuesday after stating on Monday that it will come within hours. It seems as if heavy motorized artillery will be used in the battle as militants of the rebel group have been repairing the bridges across the Euphrates River in preparation for the assault.

Raqqa serves as the de facto capital of the extremist group in Syria and it is deemed as the most important city after Mosul in Iraq. Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently, an activist group, reported that the city was on artillery fire for more than two hours on Monday. Hiddo stated they attacked the city from three directions without going into details.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has reported that there have been casualties as civilians trying to flee the clashes were killed by a U.S-led coalition airstrike. At least 21 people have been killed. SDF is backed by the coalition and its offensives enjoy the aerial support of the warplanes.

Syrias conflict erupted in March 2011 with widespread protests against the regime, but it has since morphed into a multi-front war that has left 320,000 people dead. Numerous efforts to end the hostilities between the warring parties have not been fruitful.

However, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency reported that President Putin of Russia discussed with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to make the implementation of the de-escalation zones memorandum in Syria effective. A statement released by Kremlin stated that the telephone discussion was part of continued efforts to reach a solution in the war torn country. Meanwhile, the Astana talks that led to the determination of the de-escalation zones is expected to kick-off its fifth round next week.
U.N Secretary General Antonio Guterres in a released statement underlined that the 1967 Six-Day war resulted in Israels occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza and the Syrian Golan and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and Syrians. He lamented Israels occupation has imposed a heavy humanitarian and development burden on the Palestinian people and its perpetuation makes Palestinian aspiration of statehood to remain a dream while Israels desire for peace, security and regional recognition remains unattainable.

The Six-Day War had immensely affected Israels relationship with the Arab World as well as increase the amount of territory under the control of the Jewish State. Speaking at a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the war, Prime Minister Netanyahu said Israels seeks a real peace with its neighbors; a peace that will last generations but Israel will continue to maintain security control over all the territory west of the Jordan (river) with or without an agreement.

Secretary General Antonio Guterres highlighted that the occupation has compelled generations of Palestinians to live as refugees in abject poverty which has fuelled recurring cycles of violence and retribution. He said that an end to the occupation and reaching a two-state agreement in direct negotiations on the basis of relevant UN resolutions, agreements and international law could end the 50 year old situation and described it as the only way to lay the foundations for enduring peace that would answer the desires of the two parties.

Netanyahu stressed that the foundation for peace is for the Palestinians to recognize Israel as the national home of the Jewish people as he pointed out that their refusal is what prevents achieving it.

Guterres recalled that Israel was founded on 14 May 1948 and the world still awaits the advent of an independent Palestinian state.
As the diplomatic row between Qatar and other Arab States attracts global attention, Turkey has added its voice to the crisis urging the concerned states to solve their differences amicably as it expressed sadness over the incident. In a statement released by Ibrahim Kalin, Spokesman of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ankara called on members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to solve their problems through negotiation, dialogue and communication. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates and the Tobruk-based government in Libya have all severed diplomatic ties with the Qatar and some of them have introduced aerial, land and sea blockades to and from Qatar. Ankara reminded the GCC of the strategic alliance which could be affected by the diplomatic rift and it has already begun efforts to end it.

Sudan also expressed its willingness to warm the ties between Doha and the other countries. Its foreign ministry stated that it is deeply concerned about this unfortunate development between brotherly Arab states close to the hearts of the Sudanese people.

Other world powers are exercising refrain especially the U.S which has military bases in some of the countries engaged in the row. Kuwait and Oman are also the two Gulf States that have taken a neutral stance while pushing for an end to the crisis.

Maj. Adrian J.T. Rankine-Galloway of the U.S. militarys Central Command says U.S has no plans to change our posture in Qatar while encouraging its partners to reduce tensions and work towards common solutions that enable regional security. U.S Secretary of state Rex Tillerson thinks that the row is a growing list of disbelief in the countries for some time, and theyve bubbled up to take action in order to have those differences addressed.
Chicken will be the best-positioned protein due to its low price position in times of pressure on consumer spending power but rises in production costs and the long-term impact of COVID-19 threaten to disrupt the sector, according to Rabobank.
Leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Sunday agreed to allow Morocco become member of the regional body pending final and official decision to be made in Togo, December this year.

Leaders of the 15 countries making up the organization in the Liberian capital Monrovia instructed the ECOWAS commission to study the implication of Moroccos membership in line with provisions of the organizations founding treaty and present the findings to the next ordinary session to take place in Lome, the capital of Togo in December later this year.

A final communique of the Monrovia meeting states that the heads of State have agreed in principle to accept Moroccos membership given the strong and multidimensional cooperation ties between the North Africa country and the countries of the region.

The heads of state have also invited the Moroccan King to attend the Lome meeting.

King Mohamed VI cancelled his participation in the Monrovia meeting over the controversial presence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was invited by Liberia.

The Moroccan foreign ministry indicated that King Mohammed VI does not want his first appearance at the ECOWAS summit to take place in a context of tension and controversy, and wants to avoid any confusion.
Infectious Diseases Expert Wins Stockton Kimball Award

Thomas Russo, MD

story by dirk hoffman

In presenting the award, Suzanne G. Laychock, PhD, senior associate dean for faculty affairs and facilities, noted Russo has been a valued university citizen for many years, contributing to teaching in medical and dental school courses and medical student and fellows training, and extensive service to the profession, SUNY, university, school, department and community. Toms career exemplifies excellence in its broadest sense, she said.

Interested in Infectious Diseases at Outset of Career

Russo, who holds a secondary appointment in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, became interested in infectious disease and research early in his career. After earning his undergraduate degree from Tufts University and his medical degree from McGill University, he completed a clinical and research fellowship in infectious diseases at Harvard Medical School and Tufts-New England Medical Center. Following his fellowship, Russo was a senior staff fellow at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Laboratory of Clinical Investigation for five years before being appointed at UB in 1994. Russo has been honored at UB with the SUNY Inventor Award, and as a Top 100 Principal Investigator, and as a visionary inventor for his technology related to the use of microorganisms as controls for assay specificity and detection. In 2012, he received the UB Exceptional Scholar Sustained Achievement Award. Russo has served as a staff physician at the Buffalo VA Medical Center since 1998 and has served as a reviewer for merit grants from the VA, as well as a reviewer on several National Institutes of Health (NIH) study sections, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Empire Clinical Research Investigator Program, and for the Institut Pasteur.

Focus on Pathogenesis, Vaccine and Drug Development

Laychock noted that throughout his career, Russos research focus has been on pathogenesis and vaccine and drug development against extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (E. coli), Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii), and a new pathotype of Klebsiella pneumoniae. Among his many research highlights: He holds a patent on his identification of a vaccine candidate from an extraintestinal isolate of E. coli.

His work led to a proposal for a new inclusive designation for extraintestinal pathogenic isolates of E. coli (ExPEC).



Russos group identified a new iron-regulated virulence gene, ireA, in ExPEC. He and his colleagues also identified a potential vaccine candidate in one of the receptors found in ExPEC, and soon after identified other prospects for vaccine development.

He pursued investigations into the capsule polysaccharide from A. baumannii, a gram-negative bacterium often associated with nosocomial hospital-acquired infections, as a therapeutic target with immunization potential. He and his group also identified dihydroorotase dehydrogenase as a potential drug target for A. baumannii.

In 2015, Russo and his colleagues published a review of the important complexities of the antivirulence target paradigm and proposed a novel resistance-avoiding approach for treating infections.

Research Funded by NIH and VA Merit Review Grants

Russo has published 88 peer-reviewed papers and 33 book chapters, including his many chapters in the heralded Harrisons Principles of Internal Medicine. He is currently principal investigator on an NIH grant for development of a diagnostic test for hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae, and he is a co-principal investigator for an NIH-supported project to develop a high-throughput assay for inhibitors of aerobactin production in hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae. He has in the past been funded for many years by the NIH and VA Merit review grants. Russo is vice chair of finance for the Department of Medicine and is the outgoing president of Faculty Council, the governing body of the medical school.

Award Honors Former Medical School Dean


From Miami Herald news partner WLRN public radio:

They called themselves the "coconut caravan."

The Upper Keys Action Network, or UKAN was formed after the 2016 election as a way for people in the Keys to stay politically engaged. This week, 10 women from UKAN drove an estimated 300 coconuts to Republican U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo's Miami office.

The women and many others had painted the coconuts with messages like "Save ACA [the Affordable Care Act]," "country over party," and "Climate change is real."

It's all to call on the congressman, whose district includes the Keys, to hold an in-person town hall in the Keys.

"The overall message is Hey, come to the Keys. Come meet with us. Come hear what your constituents have to say,' says Lindsey Crews, an organizer with UKAN who helped coordinate the coconut project. She says this isn't the first time coconuts have been used to send a political message.

Curbelo is in Washington DC, so he wasn't there to receive the coconuts in person.

"Carlos meets with constituents in-person in both Miami and the Keys during district work periods... and he held a tele-townhall for constituents in May," said Joanna Rodriguez, a spokesperson for Curbelo. She said that tele-townhall reached thousands, but the women of UKAN say they'd like to have the opportunity to ask questions face-to-face.

Listen to the radio story here.

Photo credit: Holly Pretsky, WLRN
President Donald Trump threw his weight behind a proposal to privatize the nations air traffic control system on Monday, and a White House adviser called the multi-billion dollar effort low-hanging fruit that can get through Congress quickly.

Florida Sen. Bill Nelson doesnt see it that way.

Nelson, up for reelection in 2018, is the top Democrat on the Senate committee which oversees the Federal Aviation Administration. He fought for years against proposals to hand the nations air traffic control system over to a private non-profit, which he argues will hurt smaller airports and recreational flights.

The safety of the flying public should not be for sale, Nelson said Monday. Handing air traffic control over to a private entity partly governed by the airlines is both a risk and liability we cant afford to take.

Nelsons opposition has been successful for years, as Democrats and Republicans from rural states fretted about privatizations effect on small airports and recreational aviation. A privatization bill proposed by House Transportation chairman Bill Shuster, R-Pa., didnt even make it to the House floor last Congress.

But President Trump, with Shuster at his side, pitched air traffic control privatization as a win for consumers on Monday, putting pressure on congressional Republicans to get on board.

For too many years, our country has tolerated unacceptable delays at the airport, long wait times on the tarmac and a slowing of commerce and travel that costs us billions and billions of dollars in lost hours and lost dollars themselves, Trump said at a White House speech touting the plan.

Read more here.
@alextdaugherty

Miami businessman Scott Fuhrman, who jumped into politics last year and took on longtime Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, announced Tuesday that hes suspending his campaign for Ros-Lehtinens open congressional seat in 2018.

Fuhrman said a lack of support from donors was the primary reason behind his decision.

Running these campaigns costs an exorbitant amount of money, its really insane, Fuhrman told the Miami Herald. I spent over a million dollars of my own money in 2016 and this year. I couldnt really get the support among the Democratic donor community without having to put in a huge amount of my own money in the race.

Politico first reported Fuhrmans decision on Tuesday morning.

I really want to see a good representative in that seat, Fuhrman said, adding that he plans to support state Rep. David Richardson, D-Miami Beach, in the Democratic primary. Richardson hasnt officially announced hes in, but is seriously considering a run.

I do think hes the best candidate among a crowded field, Fuhrman said. There are a lot of political opportunists seeking the path of least resistance. Where were they in 2016? I dont want to throw stones at anyone in particular but I do think theres some who wouldnt take that tough vote in Congress.

Fuhrman was the first Democrat to announce that he would challenge Ros-Lehtinen in 2018, before Ros-Lehtinen announced in April that she will retire from Congress. In the wake of the announcement, a slew of Democrats jumped in the race, further complicating Fuhrmans path to the Democratic nomination.

Read more here.
Floridas online elections databases and voting systems remained secure in 2016, a spokesperson for Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner said Tuesday, despite what appears to be confirmation that a phishing email was sent to state elections offices and news reports indicate that federal officials believe the Russians were behind it.

"The Florida Department of State participated in an informational call with the FBI related to elections security at the end of September 2016, said Sarah Revell, spokesperson for the agency that oversees Florida's elections system. "But there was no indication of a Florida-specific issue."

She denied there were any successful hacking attempts from the phishing emails investigated by the National Security Administration. The investigation was first reported by The Intercept, an online national security news outlet that said it obtained a copy of the NSAs classified intelligence report, dated May 5.

"There are multiple safeguards in place to protect against elections fraud and prevent any possible hacking attempts from being successful,'' Revell said. "The Florida Voter Registration System (FVRS) database is secure and we have no indication that any unauthorized access occurred. Steps taken to secure databases include implementing software, hardware and firewalls to protect information."

In Florida, voter registration data and the software used to count votes are on two separate electronic systems, as Seminole County Supervisor of Elections Mike Ertel emphasized on his Facebook page.

Important: Even if the bad guys would have accessed our local registration files (which they didnt), those files are in no way connected to vote counting, Ertel wrote on Facebook. Ive said it hundreds of times: You cant hack paper. Seminole County votes on trusted paper ballots.

Revell noted that because all voting in Florida is done on paper ballots, there is an opportunity to double-check the final vote with the original record.

"The only exception in law permits voters with disabilities to vote on accessible equipment that meetings voting system accessibility requirements to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act,'' she said. "Additionally, voting machines are not connected to the internet."

READ MORE: At least 2 Florida counties targeted by Russian hacking attempt
State Rep. David Richardson, the Miami Beach Democrat and retired forensic auditor who has used his expertise to uncover financial abuse in the state prison system, will run for Congress in the Miami-based seat being vacated by U.S. Rep.Ileana Ros-Lehtinen who announced her retirement last month.

"I'm ready for it,'' Richardson said in an exclusive interview with the Herald/Times Tallahassee bureau. "The most important thing is that anyone working Washington has got to work in a bi-partisan way and, for the last five years, I've demonstrated I've been able to get things done in the minority."

Richardson, 60, entered a race that is already crowded with both Democrats and Republicans. He was first elected to the House In 2012. He starts with a strong base as his Democratic state House district is enclosed entirely within Congressional District 27, is 60 percent Hispanic and leans Democratic.

"Ileana Ros-Lehtinen because of her tenure has been amazing and exceptional with constituent services,'' he said. "I really believe she could have won in 2018."

National Democrats consider the seat, which favor Clinton over Trump by 20 percentage points, a favorable pickup opportunity. Already announced are state Sen. Jose Javier Rodriguez, Miami Beach commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez, University of Miami academic adviser Michael Hepburn and Mark Anthony Person.

Republican candidates who have announced former school board member and Miami-Dade mayoral candidate Raquel Regalado and Miami-Dade County commissioner Bruno Barreiro will run, and Maria Peiro, who unsuccessfully challenged Ros-Lehtinen in last years primary.

Richardson said he has been considered a run for Congress for some time but expected Ros-Lehtinen to retire in 2020. Her unexpected announcement that she will retire in 2018 after 35 years in office, accelerated his timeline.

Miami businessman Scott Fuhrman, the first Democrat to announce a challenge to Ros-Lehtinen before her resignated, announced Tuesday that hes suspending his campaign. Richardson, who is spending Tuesday in D.C. meeting with pollsters and party strategists, said he has hired Eric Johnson, who managed Fuhrman's campaign, to be his campaign consultant.

"I've been looking at the seat for a couple of years but had decided I wasn't going to run against her,'' he said. "It's not going to be a cakewalk. I've spent a lot of time studying the race and weighing my options. I think this is the best way to serve folks in the State of Florida right now."

Read more: Ileana Ros-Lehtinen to retire from Congress

Richardson ran for office after he retired as a forensic auditor. Drawing on a 30-year career unraveling corporate corruption and financial malfeasance, he turned his expertise into examining the financial records, policies and allegations of abuse in the state's troubled corrections system.

He investigated brutal test of heart hazing rituals used by prison gangs to extort money from young newcomers in return for protection and forced policy changes. He has learned how gangs avoid corrections officers, create lookouts and decoys, and rely on poorly designed prison spaces to exploit blind spots and prey on their victims.

He uncovered what he considers ground zero for officer-on-inmate violence at Sumter Correctional Institution. He dug out details about how new arrivals were routinely punched, or choked, or hit or slapped by an officer as they arrived on the prison bus, validating reports that elements of the states prison culture were failing to police their own.

Read more: A fix-it Miami lawmaker goes into prisons, talks to inmates ... but avoids 1 question

In the last year, he spent more than 700 hours interviewing 300 inmates at dozens of facilities across the state, Richardson discovered that the bifurcated oversight worked to the advantage of the private prison companies and to the disadvantage of taxpayers.

He revealed evidence of officer-on-inmate violence at youthful offender facilities, uncovered how gangs evaded officers, caught officers withholding food from inmates, and persuaded the Department of Corrections to close down Lancaster Correctional Institution, a youthful offender prison. He uncovered horrific conditions at Columbia Correctional, where toilets wouldnt flush, showers didnt work, a heating system didnt heat and deafening sounds came from an exhaust fan.

And he has forced two investigations in Gadsden Correctional, where he discovered women housed lived for months without hot water or heat, faced flooded bathrooms daily and endured water rations when the septic tanks were jammed with food waste.

READ MORE: Private prison deprived inmates of heat and hot water for months, lawmaker finds

"I can't wait to get started looking at the federal prisons,'' Richardson said.
@amysherman1

Miami-Dade State Attorney Kathy Fernandez Rundle recently huddled with some political consultants to talk about running for statewide office in 2018.

Fernandez Rundle is mostly interested in the possibility of running for governor but didn't rule out running for attorney general, said State Rep. Joe Geller, an Aventura Democrat who organized the meeting at her home Memorial Day weekend. While multiple Democrats have filed to run for governor, no well-known Democrat has announced a bid for attorney general. Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler, a Democrat, is considering running for Attorney General. (Gov. Rick Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi, both Republicans, are term limited.)

Political consultants at the meeting included Craig Smith, who consulted for Hillary Clinton's campaign in Florida and was political director during Bill Clinton's White House and Eric Johnson who worked on U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy's campaigns.

Fernandez Rundle had no timeline for making a decision, Geller said.

Fernandez Rundle was first elected state attorney in 1993 and has since won re-election multiple times. She was the first Cuban-American state attorney in Florida.

In May, protesters packed a Miami-Dade Democratic Party meeting to criticize Fernandez Rundle's decision not to charge any correctional officers in the death of an inmate who collapsed in the shower for 90 minutes. Darren Rainey, a 50-year-old who was mentally ill, was locked in the shower in June 2012 after smearing himself with feces as the Dade Correctional Institution.

Fernandez Rundle defended herself for about a half hour and pointed to a finding by a medical examiner who concluded that Rainey's injuries were not burns but skin slippage that occurred after death due to decomposition.
@ByKristenMClark

Two Republicans and one Democrat qualified by a Tuesday deadline to run in a special election this year that will determine who will replace Miami Republican Jose Felix Diaz in the Florida House.

The primary contest between Republicans Jose Mallea and Daniel Anthony Perez will be held July 25. The winner of that race will face off against Democratic newcomer Gabriela Mayaudon in the special general election on Sept. 26.

Those are the same dates when a special election for the District 40 Senate seat will also be held. Sen. Frank Artiles resignation in April from that seat  after an offensive and racist tirade against two senators  created a game of dominoes in Miami politics. Diaz resigned his District 116 House seat last month to run for Artiles seat, which sparked the need for the additional special election.

More here on the candidates who qualified in the House District 116 race.

Photo credit: AP
@PatriciaMazzei

A Coral Gables voter said he has filed a complaint against state Rep. Daisy Baez, accusing the Democrat of violating a Florida requirement that lawmakers live in the districts they represent.

Christian Rodriguez asked House Speaker Richard Corcoran and the Florida Commission on Ethics to investigate Baezs residency, according to a copy of the complaint obtained by the Miami Herald. The complaint, dated May 29, was received by the ethics commission; it did not comply with House complaint rules, House spokesman Fred Piccolo said Wednesday. Enforcing residency requirements is up to each legislative chamber.

Baez is ineligible to represent the district in the Florida House of Representatives and should be removed immediately upon a finding that she either never established her permanent residency within House District 114 or she relinquished her permanent residency, the complaint says.

Rodriguez, a registered Republican who lives in District 112, said in an email to the Herald he did not consult with the GOP before filing his complaint, though he did seek legal advice from a lawyer he did not name.

Rep. Baezs actions and flagrant disregard for the law are just one more example of why voters like myself have a dim view of elected officials and believe that the political process is broken, Rodriguez said.

More here.

Photo credit: Scott Keeler, Tampa Bay Times
@MichaelAuslen

A large, Republican-controlled swing state is suing drug companies, claiming they played an outsized role in the opioid epidemic.

Its Ohio.

The lawsuit, filed last week by Ohios Republican Attorney General Mike DeWine, claims that several drug companies misled doctors and patients through their advertising, ignoring some of the dangers of addiction and overdose. It follows similar suits in Mississippi, West Virginia, New York, California and Illinois, according to the New York Times.

But in Florida, where opioids like heroin and fentanyl played a role in 3,896 deaths in 2015, officials have been far from up-front about whether they plan to litigate the opioid epidemic in a courtroom.

Attorney General Pam Bondis office was vague in response to questions from the Times/Herald last week.

We can neither confirm nor deny any similar investigations at this time, a spokeswoman, Kylie Mason, wrote in an email, responding to whether Bondi has considered taking similar action to Ohio or would support doing so.

Bondi, a member of President Donald Trumps Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission, has been vocal on the subject of the opioid crisis. So has DeWine, though he is not on the commission.

Gov. Rick Scotts office said in a statement that the governors staff has not reviewed Ohios lawsuit. This came several hours after the Times/Herald inquiry.

However, spokeswoman Kerri Wyland noted that the governor is committed to fighting the opioid crisis by working with other levels of government. In May, Scott declared a state of emergency over the epidemic after seeking solutions from local officials and public health experts, though years after it started claiming the lives of Floridians.

Ohios lawsuit includes some of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the country.

Photo: Florida Gov. Rick Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi announce a statewide tour of workshops over the opioid epidemic in the state Capitol. (Michael Auslen | Times/Herald)
The Florida Senate is urging the House restore $100 million of the $200 million in cuts to hospitals, revise the K-12 proposal the House has drafted and override the veto of millions in cuts to university budgets.

In a memo issued by Senate President Joe Negron on Tuesday, Senate leaders said they are drafting legislation to restore some of the cuts agreed to with the House when they crafted the final $83 billion budget. Download MEMO re Legislation for 2017 Special Session A 2017 06 06

Senate Appropriations Chair Jack Latvala is filing legislation to add $215 million to the FEFP student funding formula, using $72 million in state funds ($66 million recurring; $6 million non-recurring) and $143 million RLE increase (new construction only), the memo said.

Latvala will also produce a Senate version of the economic development bill that "will include a requirement that DEO return to the state funds (approximately $107 million) held in escrow outside the state treasury to the SEED Trust Fund, which has been a bipartisan priority of the Senate for many years."

Sen. Anitere Flores is filing legislation to restore $100 million to Floridas hospitals which were cut $200 million in the original budget.

The cuts leave hospitals short more than $500 million because of the loss of federal Medicaid matching money. By restoring $100 million, hospitals could get about another $250 million in subsidized payments.

"There was an acknowledgement that the Legislature and the governor didn't quite get the budget right,'' said Sen. Anitere Flores, R-Miami, the Senate chair of the health appropriations committee, who will sponsor the legislation. "We said we need to come back and take a second stab" at the budget.

Negron said the money will come from reserves.

"This is consistent with the Senates earlier action during 2017 Regular Session to reduce the anticipated $250 million general revenue cut to $200 million,'' he said in the memo. "Once approved, our Working Capital Reserve Account would remain over $1.2 billion and our total reserves would exceed $3.2 billion."

He said he also expects the Senate to "consider a proposal to override the veto of some university and higher education funding that represent major priorities of Senators." He did not specify which vetoes will be reconsidered.

"There was an acknowledgement that the Legislature and the governor didn't quite get the budget right,'' said Flores, R-Miami, the Senate chair of the health appropriations committee. "We're saying we should also come back and fix other unfinished business of the people."

Flores' bill will also move the Senate closer to where it was on hospital funding and and reflects one of the Senate's priorities, she said. She acknowledged the proposals must get support from the House.

"This is not a deal by any stretch of the imagination. Just like the first go-round wasn't a deal, this isn't either,'' she said.
@MichaelAuslen and @ByKristenMClark

When lawmakers open a special session Wednesday afternoon, theyll be under a tight, three-day time limit to increase education spending and create a new economic development program for the governor.

The deal was inked behind closed doors last week by Gov. Rick Scott, House Speaker Richard Corcoran and Senate President Joe Negron in an effort to settle disagreements over the state budget. But the framework is already starting to show cracks brought on by a rocky relationship between the chambers, tight deadlines to reach agreement and the spectre of a controversial education bill passed last month that hovers over their proceedings.

What was discussed and referred to as a deal was really just an outline, said Sen. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, a close Negron ally. The legislative process has to take place in a special session, just as it does in a regular session.

Fail to reach agreement, particularly on education spending, and lawmakers could find themselves back in Tallahassee before months end.

The proclamation that Scott signed to bring the Legislature back this Wednesday through Friday at a likely cost of about $190,000 calls on them to do three things:

 Increase base spending for K-12 education. Lawmakers have promised to do so by $100 per student over the current year, whereas the budget they passed in May did so by just $24.

 Create a new economic development fund under Scotts Department of Economic Opportunity, a replacement for the economic incentive work that has been done by Enterprise Florida in the past.

 Fund the states tourism marketing arm, Visit Florida, which they tried to gut earlier this year.

But a fourth issue that isnt even on the agenda this week is playing an outsized role and threatens to derail the session: The sweeping education bill (HB 7069) that Corcoran championed, negotiated in private and passed in the final hours of the regular legislative session last month.

Among its effects, the 274-page bill would route more taxpayer dollars to charter schools and make it easier for them to expand in Florida, especially in areas served by traditional public schools that fail year after year.

Even after raising concerns about the bill, which would cost $419 million if signed into law, some senators voted for it to ensure a delicate budget agreement between the House and Senate succeeded.

Sen. Anitere Flores, R-Miami, acknowledged that some senators opposed to the bill may have voted for it thinking that Scott would veto it, though Flores said she was not one of them. Sen. Gary Farmer, D-Lighthouse Point, also said he has heard senators say they had been assured a veto.

The odds of changing HB 7069 this week are almost zero. Two-thirds of both the House and Senate would have to agree to do so.

But angst over the education bill could seep into other areas of the session, particularly in the Senate, where Republican lawmakers are less likely to fall in line with a deal agreed to by leadership and Democrats control 15 of 39 seats.

Lets put it this way, said Senate Appropriations Chairman Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, a close ally of Scott who has been critical of House pushback against the governors job incentives and of HB 7069. I think weve made it clear that were putting the issues up for a vote in the Senate and we need (20) votes to pass it.

Latvala plans to file his own economic development bill  a competing proposal to language the House filed. That gives lawmakers just three days to iron out the differences.

Can they do it?

Well just have to wait and see, he said.

Members of the House are more optimistic that the session will be smooth sailing.

"I think both chambers have worked well together to this point and I think we'll continue to work well this week, Corcoran said.

Rep. Clay Ingram, R-Pensacola, says the time away from Tallahassee has hopefully calmed the rancor between the chambers.

My hope is that maybe there's less politics now that everything has been refined to a few points of contention, said Ingram, a Corcoran ally, who said of the brokered compromise between the speaker and governor: It seems like a win for everybody.

Democrats, meanwhile continue to bemoan being left out of negotiations, particularly in the House. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Coral Springs, who first heard about the special session via Twitter, said he still isnt sure about the details of proposals lawmakers will be asked to approve.

We were not included, not involved, not counseled, he said.

Photo: Senate Appropriations Chairman Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater. (Scott Keeler | Tampa Bay Times)

- Times/Herald staff writers Steve Bousquet and Mary Ellen Klas contributed to this report.
Through the trees about two miles up Grant Creek Road, a stripe of dark red colors the forest, a combination of fire retardant and burned needles from last summers Colorado Gulch fire.

When the fire took off, it was late afternoon and the wind was screaming, Grant Creek Neighborhood Council member Bert Lindler said. It was amazing.

Firefighters evacuated 25 homes. One fifth-wheel trailer that was being used as a residence was destroyed.

But it could have been a lot worse.

Forest Service aircraft happened to be parked at Missoula International Airport when the fire broke out, potentially saving dozens of homes from the fast-moving fire, according to Department of Natural Resources Fire Information Officer Jordan Koppen.

Because in reality, very few people in Grant Creek were prepared for a fire.

Fir tree branches grew onto their decks, where firewood was piled up underneath. Juniper bushes surrounded every other home, a waiting tinderbox of dry needles. Wood shingles covered more than a few roofs in the area.

I cant believe I still see wood shake up here, Koppen said, pointing out a roof from the window of his truck recently. Youre just asking for it.

Thats a huge risk.

Koppens spending his spring putting hundreds of miles on that truck, as he patrols his jurisdiction from Butte to Condon to Missoula trying to educate people in the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) on the best ways to prevent a wildfire from destroying their homes.

In Grant Creek, the lower third of which is in city limits, homeowner-initiated prevention efforts are lackadaisical at best: the dovetailing efforts of Lindler and Koppen still failing to garner much change.

Koppens goal is to fill in a map that he pulled up on his smartphone.

On the map are hundreds of little blank circles, representing Grant Creek homes. In the place of six circles are a couple of red triangles and orange or blue dots.

Those are the only homes Koppens been able to survey this year for wildfire hazards. The red triangles (which represent the highest-risk homes) he marked from the roadside, without touring the yard.

The higher the risk, the lower the likelihood that firefighters will spend any time trying to save that home if a wildfire is bearing down.

If your neighbors house is way more prepared than yours, we might go protect theirs first, he said.

***

This home-by-home assessment, which provides crucial information to fire crews in the heat of the fight, has never been done in Grant Creek before.

Recently, Koppen assessed a home in the Colorado Gulch neighborhood, about three miles up the drainage, where the 2016 fire and a 2014 fire burned.

Karissma Rufe and her 2-year-old son Joe walked Koppen around the outside of the house, where he immediately began pointing out all they were doing right (most of it) and wrong.

The good:

gravel laid around the house instead of bark chips,

most of the trees near the home limbed,

nothing burnable stashed under the porch,

and very few tree limbs or bushes pushed up against the house or deck

The bad:

A smaller fir tree sat uncomfortably close to the house. Koppen recommended cutting it down, or at least chopping off lower limbs.

A large juniper bush sat right against a wooden railing that connected to the house. Really, Koppen recommended uprooting any and all juniper bushes, even those farther from the house.

Some wooden porch furniture, which didnt worry Koppen too much, but he said: Id throw these off first if there was a fire coming.

Most of Koppens firsthand knowledge of the wildland-urban interface came from the Roaring Lion Fire in Hamilton last summer that destroyed 16 homes.

He said 14 of those burned down from low-intensity fire, which wouldnt have bothered a well-prepared home, but caught piles of pine needles or firewood and soon engulfed whole homes.

If that sort of blaze got into a neighborhood as comparatively tightly packed as Grant Creek, it will force fire crews to make tough decisions on which homes to try and save.

And there will never be enough firefighters to save every home, Koppen said.

But as much as Koppen does try and spread the word about fire hazard mitigation, he still drives up through Seeley Lake and Grant Creek and sees piles of wood or untrimmed trees he stopped to talk to homeowners about weeks ago.

It is a little frustrating when I see they haven't done anything yet, Koppen said. Theres only so much I can do.

Its hard in Montana to force people to do something.

***

For most rural Montanans, hazard mitigation is simply a good idea, but not legally required. And none of the many Grant Creek homeowners' associations (HOAs) require fire mitigation tactics, Lindler said, making Koppen more of a persuader, not an enforcer.

But there have been successful fire mitigation tactics in the Grant Creek drainage, even by HOAs.

About 400 acres of thinned Lolo National Forest land is adjacent to 750 thinned National Wildlife Federation and 10 acres of homeowners' assocation lands, which run into Grant Creek backyards.

The forests were thinned from about 2005 to 2009, Lindler, whos also a volunteer NWF caretaker, said.

They should be rethinned every decade or so, though this area may have to wait closer to 20 years.

People still need to wake up, Koppen said. They have a false sense of security when we do these fuel reductions.

On a short drive up Grant Creek Road, thick, dense undergrowth came right up to the roads edge, gathering around power lines (failures of which caused the last two fires in Grant Creek) and fenced yards.

Farther up, the road narrowed for a small bridge, barely wide enough for Koppens pickup.

Were not coming in here, is what that means, he said, fire crews writing off the one-road-in, one-road-out canyon.

When the fire is below you, and you have no vehicle to go out the top, thats a bad situation, Lindler added.

The beauty of living in Grant Creek is we have some open spaces, some forests, some wildlife, Lindler said. But all the residents need to work for when a fire comes. And a fire is going to come.
A Denver man is facing a felony charge of attempted deliberate homicide after allegedly sticking a gun into the ribs of another man and trying to pull the trigger during a late-night altercation in May.

Michael James Vance, 24, appeared in Missoula County Justice Court on Monday. He is also charged with felony assault with a weapon for a March incident in which he allegedly stabbed a different man in the face with a broken bottle outside a bar late at night.

According to charging documents, on May 26 just after midnight, Missoula City Police officers responded to the Bodega Bar on Ryman Street for a report of a man with a gun. Officers interviewed a bouncer, who said he asked Vance to take his backpack out of the bar because its against house rules. Vance allegedly became upset, poured two beers on the bar and asked for his money back or he would contact his lawyer.

Vance tried to push the bouncer, who then tackled him and threw him out. About 10 minutes later, according to the documents, Vance returned smoking a cigarette, according to the bouncer, and said something like I got something for you, bi---.

Vance allegedly had a gun in his right hand and put the muzzle in the bouncers upper left rib area. As the bouncer reached for the gun, he also reported seeing Vance trying to pull the trigger. As the bouncer was grabbing the gun, he took out his own knife and stabbed Vance on his left abdomen and pushed him away, according to court documents.

The incident was captured on surveillance video.

Officers found Vance in a car leaving the parking garage. He had blood on his shirt and a wound in his abdomen. He had an active warrant for his arrest for the previous charge of assault with a weapon, and was taken to the hospital to be treated.

Court documents say the other stabbing involving Vance happened on March 12. Officers had observed a man in a red shirt and bandanna at several downtown locations who seemed very agitated.

At the end of the night, officers got a report that a man matching that description had been waving a knife around. Officers went to look for Vance when another man flagged them down and reported that he had been stabbed in the face with a broken bottle by a man who he described as a rapper dude.

Officers located Vance in a downtown alley, but when Vance saw police, he allegedly ducked behind a parked car. However, officers arrested him and Vance told him he had a knife in his pocket. Vance allegedly began talking without prompting, saying some guy had come at him. Vance later admitted to hitting the man in the face with a broken beer bottle.

Officers later interviewed the victim, who said he confronted Vance about breaking bottles and that a fight ensued. The victim confirmed that he was stabbed in the face with a broken bottle and needed 13 stitches.

Vance is being held on $75,000 bond.

He is also being charged with a felony failure to appear charge for not showing up to court to face the charges related to the March incident.
Montana farmers and ranchers know the climate is changing.

As evidence, Montana State University Adjunct Professor Timothy Seipel presented a survey Monday that showed 83.5 percent of farmers questioned see climate change as a problem.

Despite that acknowledgement, about 43 percent of 424 farmers and ranchers around Montana surveyed by members of Climate Research Assessment in Montana and the Northern Great Plains did not believe climate change was caused by humans, Seipel said. The 36 percent who did believe human activities spurred on climate change were all likely to be more liberal. The more conservative a person in the survey was, the more likely they were to believe climate change wasn't happening, despite what has been perceived by farmers across the state, Seipel said.

Seipel summed up the deeper point of the entire forum, hosted at the University Center Theater by the University of Montana Climate Change Studies Program and the Montana National Wildlife Federation.

"We need to depoliticize the causes of climate change," Seipel said.

The forum was planned months before last week's announcement from President Donald Trump that the United States would be pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement. While the scientists at the forum tried to keep their presentations focused on the evidence of climate change and the potential effects that increased temperatures and carbon emissions could have on the state, the president's decision was brought up early by Nobel Laureate Steve Running.

In the hour before Running gave his presentation at the conference, he came across an open letter to parties to the Paris Agreement from U.S. state, local, and business leaders.

"I've never seen anything like this in my lifetime," said Running, the UM Regents Professor of Ecology.

Running shared a Nobel Peace Prize with members of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a body that produces objective, scientific reports on climate change and its political and economic impacts.

If changes aren't made, Montana's temperatures are expected to rise 12 degrees over the next 30 years, which could turn Montana into a ghost town, Running said.

What could make a significant difference in carbon emissions all over the world is if people would stop burning coal, Running said. Already China is canceling large coal plant projects and India is as well, investing instead in solar panels, Running said.

"Coal is a public health menace," Running said.

But towns in Montana are tied to the doomed coal industry, Running said. One of his first research projects in the 1980s was on the town of Colstrip. With a wider economy, maybe it would be easier to shift the industry, but there are still jobs in cleaning up the coal plants and other industries.

"Most of the people there probably have marketable skills, they do have potential," Running said.

But Running said he isn't interested in convincing people of that. The people Running is trying to reach are the one-third of the voting public who shrug at the idea of global warming and don't see it as a global emergency, Running said.

So education and a more scientifically literate public are goals for people like Alisa Wade, a UM geosciences conservation scientist and spatial ecologist. Wade has taught the university's Introduction to Climate Change class it and students told her it was good to understand the science behind their beliefs  and have better arguments for their parents, she said.

"I really did like the idea of being focused on the science behind climate change," Wade said.

Climate change is such a complex theory, which opens it up for people to be misinformed about what is going on, Wade said. Scientists try to explain what is happening, with all the caveats they are trained to include, Wade said. Then people take that information and find its flaws.

"People want to pick it apart," Wade said. "But they don't want to come back to us after they've picked apart, and talk to us and dig deeper into the issues."

Yes, the earth has temperature cycles, but scientists for the most part understand those temperature cycles and can point to the causes, Wade said.

Based on the best scientific data available, carbon emissions are reason there are projected to be more days over 90 degrees in Montana and fewer with freezing temperatures over the next 30 years, Wade said.

The effects will be seen in longer fire seasons, which will cause more carbon emissions, Wade said.

Another effect  a reduction in the population of Montana's snowshoe hares, said Steve Mills, UM associate vice president of research for global change and sustainability. The hares need to change their coats from white to brown when the snowpack melts, but because the melts are happening much earlier than in the past, many of the hares are still white when they should already have changed colors.

And, the effect can be seen on the farm of Matt Bell's grandfather. Bell was one of about 100 people who attended the forum and who lined up to ask more questions after it was done. Bell's grandfather has a farm on the Fort Belknap Reservation and has had difficulty in past seasons fighting the increasing number of weeds cropping up.

"At some of the higher temperatures the models are projecting, society as it works now will not be feasible," Wade said. "If the models are correct, and we continue on the business as usual path, we're to see the highest of the hots neat the end of this century. If that happens, the world will look undeniably different."
HELENA  Montana lawmakers are voting on whether to overturn Gov. Steve Bullock's vetoes on 10 bills after the legislative session adjourned in April.

If they do, it will be a rare feat. Overriding a governor's veto requires approval of two-thirds of both the House and the Senate, and it hasn't been done since 1999.

The vetoed bills include three measures on health care, such as requiring more pricing transparency for patients and restricting the state health department from shifting Medicaid funds to other programs. The others cover various issues such as extending coal leases on state lands and revising public safety officer standards.

Bullock vetoed 56 bills passed this legislative session. The 10 that are subject to override votes are those that were approved by two-thirds of the lawmakers who voted for them on the floor, according to Jeffrey Hindoien, Secretary of State Corey Stapleton's chief legal counsel and deputy chief of staff.

"The Secretary of State is required to conduct a poll of the legislators for any bill vetoed post-adjournment that was approved by two-thirds of the members present, and that process is automatic," Hindoien said.

The polls are being conducted by mail, and each has a deadline for lawmakers to return their votes to Stapleton's office between June 14 and June 30.
HELENA  In a heated hearing before the Public Service Commission on Monday, taxicab companies from around the state protested an application by the ride-sharing service Lyft to operate here, citing issues they have with Uber, another such service already working in Montana.

In a protest led by Carrie Pintor, who runs Amazing Taxi in Livingston, several cab company owners argued that ride-sharing services cannot guarantee insurance coverage for drivers and passengers. Pintor also said because Montana is a low-population state, she believes the potential for riders and drivers to form relationships and just arrange rides directly is high.

Pintor said taxis can't survive long under the current system. "It's going to be sad when they run the taxis out of business. (Ride-sharing) is for yuppies and upper-class who can afford the price gouging," she said.

The objections to Lyft's application spilled over into complaints about the way Uber operates and frustrations with the relatively new law to allow ride-sharing services in the state. But Public Service Commission Chair Brad Johnson tried to curb that line of discussion, saying the hearing held Monday was narrowly focused only to Lyft's application.

Pintor argued that it's the commission's job to protect the safety of Montanans, and that hearing information about Uber's operations should be included because it speaks to the overall nature of ride-sharing companies.

"It's just damning you can't even talk about this stuff," Pintor said after the hearing. "They were smothering me. The narrow scope doesn't fulfill the PSC's job of protecting the public."

Early in the hearing, Pintor questioned how Lyft's insurance coverage operates and about what happens if a driver loses coverage when passing through areas with no cellphone service.

Drivers initiate a higher level of their commercial insurance when they indicate (using an application on their smartphone) that they have a passenger in the car. That insurance coverage drops to a lower level when the trip ends. Pintor said she worried that a loss of cellphone service could end a ride and therefore the higher insurance coverage, but a representative for Lyft said that coverage doesn't end until the last passenger departs, regardless of cell coverage.

The actions of Uber drivers operating outside the confines of what's allowed by a state law passed in 2015 also came under question briefly before Johnson said that another carrier's actions weren't relevant to Lyft's application. Pintor questioned Vance Vanderpan, who runs Greater Valley Taxi out of Belgrade, who said he'd seen several Uber drivers lined up at the Bozeman airport waiting for passengers.

Ride-sharing services aren't supposed to queue up to pick up passengers on airport property without having a ride already arranged through the app. Emails between compliance specialists and taxi operators show that one check of the Bozeman airport in February found that out of nine Uber drivers waiting, two did not have apps open on their phones.

There are two compliance specialists who check into issues with ride-sharing companies as well as monitor railroads, said commission spokesman Chris Puyear. Commission records show in the last year there have been 23 taxi or charter company complaints compared to approximately four Uber-related complaints, Puyear said.

Johnson kept rebuking testimony that focused on Uber's operations, saying that the hearing was to determine if Lyft's application showed they would meet the requirements of operating in Montana, which include providing insurance and having safe drivers.

At one point Commissioner Bob Lake suggested that if taxi companies want to change the law, the place to do that is the Legislature, not the commission.

"Would it be fair to take complaints toward another ride share and tar another applicant that hasn't even operated in Montana yet but is simply trying to come in under the same criteria that Uber did? That has to be our total focus, under fairness, to treat every applicant the same."

You can stare at me all you want, Pintor said at one point in the meeting, looking at Johnson. The good old boy network has given me the glare.

***

It's clear that taxi operators are still frustrated with the passage of a law in 2015 that paved the way for ride-sharing companies to operate in the state of Montana. A large amount of frustration was leveled at Commissioner Travis Kavulla, who has been supportive of the services.

Pintor, Vanderpan and Michael Spreadbury, who operates a car service in Helena, have filed a lawsuit against Kavulla, the commission, Gov. Steve Bullock and the Department of Labor and Industry over Uber's operations and the damage they say it has caused their businesses. An earlier, similar suit was dismissed.

Taxi companies have said the change has hurt their operations by opening the door to drivers that don't have to jump through as many hoops as they did when they set up their companies years ago. Vanderpan said his business has dropped significantly and Pintor at one point shut down.

Taxi companies also say they can't refuse rides, while ride-sharing services can be selective and employ surge pricing when demand is high.

"What does grandma do when she wants a ride?" Vanderpan asked. "She doesn't have a smartphone. What about the people without credit cards?"

The commission has until Sept. 5 to make a decision, but an attorney for the commissioners said Monday they would like to make a decision before then. Pintor and attorneys for Lyft have until July to file briefs and closing statements.
Scott Pruitt, as head of the Environmental Protection Agency, led an assault on the foundations of American institutions.

Pruitt fired 12 scientists from a major EPA scientific review board. This is not a staffing choice, its a replacement of the scientific approach with an economy-above-all approach. Pruitt claims he wants the scientific advisory board to understand impacts of regulations. However, this choice says that economic gains for companies like Exxon Mobil, the richest company in the history of the world, can be prioritized over scientific oversight ensuring public health in cities like Missoula.

Although Missoula consistently ranks near worst in U.S. air quality, the Clean Air Act has enabled a consistent improvement in air quality. Pruitt insists that Missoulians would be better off with "scientists" who understand impacts of regulation.

As a student of environmental public health and a Missoulian, I do not look forward to Pruitts continual politicization of public health. Legally, we have rights to a certain degree of human health that is dependent upon issues that should, in my opinion, be more closely observed by those who understand our changing environmental climate, not those who are devoted to maintaining their own political climate.

Isabel Langlois,

Missoula
Well, it looks like we might have a loose canon in Congress now and I'm afraid he might be an embarrassment to Montana.
The Greg Gianforte debacle has brought out the worst in our state, citizens and media. Montana is now seen as hoodlums and fools by a torn nation that has become a worldwide laughingstock after electing a belligerent buffoon president.

Its demoralizing to read online comments defending Gianforte. Justification for his thuggish behavior boils down to David Holmess attitude: Kick some lying liberal fake news ass! I love it!

The liberal fake news reporter, Ben Jacobs of The Guardian, legitimately requested Gianfortes reaction to the Republican healthcare Congressional Budget Office score, earning him a vicious physical and verbal assault. Is this the new Christian conservative role model?

The First Amendment is under assault, not just one reporter. Trust in the fourth estate is rapidly eroding. My trust was seriously damaged when Lee Enterprises endorsed a thin-skinned candidate whose only achievement was to get rich and donate money to right-wing hate groups. KECIs refusal to report the misdemeanor assault charge didnt help.

The ragged remnants of our free press is constantly condemned by a despot whaling fake news! which is being mindlessly mimicked by his followers. If these media assaults are successful, well surely lose everything that made us great, if we havent already.

Wanda LaCroix,

Arlee
Police reports

TWO MALES FIGHTING

A prisoner from the Butte Prerelease Center is in jail after a Sunday evening skirmish near the center on Broadway Street. Police responded to a 6 p.m. call of two males fighting. They arrested Chance Crowder, 29, who is serving time for robbery out of Missoula County, on a felony aggravated assault charge. Crowder allegedly punched another pre-releaser, knocking him to the ground. The victim was taken to the hospital with a possible skull fracture. Details on his condition were not available. Undersheriff George Skuletich said Monday Crowder was still in jail and that a possible probation violation charge also could be levied.

SUNDAY MORNING QUARRELS

Zachary Canada, 35, of Butte faces a felony possession of dangerous drugs charge, a misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia, and two misdemeanor partner or family member assault charges following an incident Sunday morning. Police first responded about 8:30 a.m. to a residence on the 800 block of West Park Street on a domestic violence call. Canada had fled by the time they got there, and the victim did not want to press charges, Skuletich said. A second domestic violence call came in around noon on the 300 block of West Gold concerning the same couple; this time Canada was arrested. While being booked into the Butte jail, authorities found pills that appeared to be morphine, for which Canada did not have a prescription.

BIG FIGHT INSTIGATOR

A "large disturbance" at Broadway and Wyoming around 12:30 a.m. Sunday resulted in the arrest of James Sullivan, 52, of Butte for misdemeanor disorderly conduct. Police were told Sullivan was the instigator of a fight involving several people.
In 2014, a group of people in Butte came together over three extensive meetings to discuss homelessness in the county and the region. Triggering these sessions, which lasted about 10 hours overall, were shifts in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funding priorities, inconsistent approaches to homelessness due to various leadership and staffing changes at the local agency level, increased pressure by the community to better address the impact of homelessness, an increased need to more effectively address mental illness and substance abuse among the homeless, and a desire to consider a new HUD model called Rapid Rehousing.

Today, this group of people and others remain hard at work to address the issue of homelessness, which looks different today in Butte than it did three years ago. Since then, the federal government has all but stopped funding transitional housing and is now funding the Rapid Rehousing model; this process has moved people from temporary housing into permanent solutions (in Butte, transitional housing formerly was located at Homeward Bound on North Main Street). And the Butte Rescue Mission has been shuttered since the countys fire marshal recently deemed its facility to be unsafe.

The group of people working on homelessness is called the Continuum of Care Coalition (CoC) and is co-chaired by Margie Seccomb, chief executive officer of Action Inc., and Revonda Stordahl, executive director of the Public Housing Authority of Butte (PHAB). Its mission is focused on provision of permanent, supportive housing to those in need.

Since the Rescue Missions closure, some core members of the CoC went to work on establishing a temporary food distribution program, sustained by St. James Healthcare; Action Inc.; PHAB; the Knights of Columbus; the Butte Food Bank; Community, Counseling and Correctional Services Inc.; and volunteers Bernie McCarthy, Sister Mary Jo McDonald, and D.J. Savage. In May, 795 males and 268 females were served meals with 267 receiving a second plate of food for a total of 1,330 plates of food. These numbers include 74 children and 338 senior citizens. Of those served, 260 people were first-time participants in the program while 151 relayed that they were employed.

In the midst of food distribution, some core CoC members recently attended training on how to prevent homelessness from occurring and how to coordinate a homeless individuals entry into services if homelessness does occur.

This diversion/coordinated entry system is now the focus of the CoC, which will present at its July 7 meeting (9 a.m., Emma Park Neighborhood Center) how this evidence-based system is working nationally to eradicate homelessness. The CoC will be asked to formally adopt this system as its approach to homelessness, which Seccomb calls a powerful tool for communities to end homelessness, and it starts to create less of a need for emergency shelter. The CoC will then present information on the new system to Butte-Silver Bow Chief Executive Dave Palmer and the Council of Commissioners.

Though CoC members believe Butte and the region still need an emergency shelter  perhaps scattered, secured micro-housing  the diversion part of the new system attempts to work with individuals who are imminently homeless by diverting from whatever situation is causing that imminence. A group of about five case managers, representing various agencies and access to other services, would work with the individual (or family), engaging them to take an active role in problem-solving and finding solutions.

At the latest monthly CoC meeting last week, Steve Fournier, an Action Inc. case manager more often referred to as a miracle worker, estimated that 25 to 30 people in Butte are truly living on the streets under bridges and in tents. He said that about one-third of that population inquires routinely about housing, with the balance of people requesting no assistance. Cassie OLeary, another Action Inc. staffer, said that those working directly with the homeless population have established a list that includes the names of homeless people, including those asking for no assistance (this is so that everyone, including those asking for no help, can be tracked and assisted if and when they do ask).

Seccomb said that, as the CoC makes its new plan, it can assume that many more people in the community are imminently homeless, living with family or friends, or couch-surfing. (Homeless numbers discussed last week by the CoC did not include people sleeping in the Uptown post office lobby, a situation that prompted postal officials to shorten hours at that location. Many professionals doing community outreach say several people sleeping in the postal lobby have homes. Several other CoC members said individuals in Uptown Butte have been sleeping in doorways, alleys, and other areas for years and such recent activity is not necessarily a direct result of the Rescue Mission closure.)

The CoC had already designed a coordinated entry system prior to the Rescue Mission closing, and it was put to the test in the aftermath of the closure, Seccomb said. And it passed the test. With the exception of one couple, all Rescue Mission residents were, depending on their preference, bused for free to homeless shelters elsewhere in the state or housed.

Under the new system, the professionals outreaching to homeless individuals and those at risk for homelessness will work with their common lists and confidentially share information, matching resources to individual needs, with each individual given a vulnerability score and with special populations (those with mental or physical health issues, families, children, and veterans) prioritized for rapid rehousing and permanent housing.

These programs are working nationally, so the CoC assumes they will work in Butte as well.

Imagine Butte without homelessness. Today, thats the CoCs mission, a worthy, worthy cause.
HELENA  Republican congressman-elect Greg Gianforte has filed an extension to push back the date he must appear in Gallatin County Justice Court on misdemeanor assault charges stemming from an election-eve altercation with a reporter.

The court document said "the parties are currently exploring a settlement'' of the case and that the extension was not opposed by the state.

Gianforte has asked for another two weeks, and a specific court date has not been set.

"There's no appearance tomorrow morning," County Attorney Marty Lambert said Tuesday. "We're still looking for a date."

Gianforte's deadline to make an appearance on misdemeanor assault charges was originally Wednesday morning. Justice Court Judge Rick West has not yet ruled on the motion.

Bozeman technology entrepreneur Gianforte was cited for misdemeanor assault, punishable by up to six months in jail and a $500 fine, for an alleged attack on Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs at a campaign event on May 24, about 24 hours before Gianforte was elected to the U.S. House.

An audio recording from the altercation details Jacobs trying to ask Gianforte a question about a health care bill, then a scuffle, followed by Jacobs saying Gianforte body-slammed him and broke his glasses. Gianforte can be heard yelling Get the hell out.

Jacobs description of what happened was confirmed by accounts of others in the room, including a reporter for Fox News who saw the altercation.

But just after it happened, the Gianforte campaign sent out a press release saying Jacobs grabbed Gianfortes wrist and pushed both men to the ground, and made a point of calling Jacobs a liberal journalist with aggressive behavior.

Gianforte refused repeatedly in an interview with MTN Friday to say why his campaign released what appears to be a false statement about the altercation.

Gianforte defeated Democrat Rob Quist last month in the race to fill Montanas lone U.S. House seat, vacated when Ryan Zinke became Secretary of the Interior.

On Friday Gianforte's attorneys, William Mercer with Holland and Hart law firm in Billings, and Todd Whipple, with Whipple Law Offices in Bozeman, received a set of documents containing confidential criminal justice information. Mercer was the U.S. Attorney for Montana for eight years.

That set of documents includes the citation, a 17-page case summary report, 16 pages of reports from three detectives, three pages of medical records, a sketch of the place where the altercation occurred, the arrest report, copies of media coverage, 14 more pages of handwritten notes from various sources, three pages of names and addresses of witnesses, the violent crime victim notice of rights forms, five pages of teletype history records and a release form and 40 pages of records from Bozeman Deaconess Hospital.

Gianforte also on Friday filed to run for re-election in 2018, according to Federal Election Commission records.

Mercer, who was U.S. Attorney here from 2001-2009, was a nominee of former President George W. Bush to be associate attorney general, and served as acting associate attorney general briefly before returning to his Montana post. His time as U.S. Attorney for the state was not without controversy. In 2005 U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy said Mercer was living in Washington D.C. and violated federal law by not spending enough time in Montana.

In 2007, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester called for Mercer to resign after he changed language in the Patriot Act legislation that would alter residency requirements, according to the Washington Post.
Instead of an X, four new trees in front of East Middle School on the Flat mark the spot where the Northern Hemispheres 46th parallel runs through Butte.

Students in Tony Hoffmans seventh-grade geography class joined Butte Urban Forest Board members Charlie OLeary, Phil Cammack, and Bruce Schlaebitz on Monday in planting two Montana ash and two flowering linden hawthorn trees in their new home.

There are a few other trees in front of the school, but none along the sidewalk on the northeast side. There are far more than there were a century ago, Hoffman told his students, saying the entire area was barren from smelters and mine work and dirty air.

A hundred years ago, you probably wouldnt have seen any trees here, he said before students helped lift the trees into their new digs. There wasnt a lot of grass here, either.

Earlier, the class got on Google Earth, zoomed in on Butte and East Middle School, and confirmed that the 46th parallel indeed runs just along the front sidewalk of the school.

The circle of latitude is 46 degrees from the Earths equatorial plane. It marks a small part of the border between Washington state and Oregon and also runs through Idaho, North Dakota, Minnesota, Michigans Upper Peninsula, and Maine.

On the west side of Butte, it runs just past the KXLF building and the Bonanza Freeze on Montana Street. It is the only major city in Montana that has a parallel running through it, OLeary said.

Its other host countries include Canada, France, Switzerland, Ukraine, Russia, and China.

The 49th parallel  3 degrees to the north  has much more fame to its name, since it marks 2,175 miles of the border between the U.S. and Canada. It is why the top of Montana curves inward slightly from west to east.

Hoffmans students have been studying geography all year, including its ties to location, movement, place, region, and its interactions between people and their environment. The group will take its finals on Tuesday  the last day of this school year.

So it was nice to get out of the classroom Monday and spend a little time on the clock outdoors planting trees.

This is a nice little break for them, Hoffman said, adding that they were an excellent group of students and one of his best ever, despite being antsy the past two weeks as the final bell got closer.

They also learned a lot from OLeary, Cammack, and Schlaebitz, who have volunteered sweat equity and time in planting trees all around Butte.

Butte has done an excellent job planting trees along its streets, boulevards, and parks, OLeary said.

With a little care in the beginning, students should be able to check back years from now and see their work still branching out.
The Montana Department of Transportations decision recently to put together a working group on aviation beacons was the right action, however overdue.

Ideally, the departments Aeronautics Division would have taken steps to gather public input before letting any of the beacons go dark. Hopefully, the outcry earned by their initial lack of transparency will serve as a lasting lesson on the need for government leaders to better involve the public in future decisions.

The beacons are part of a historic system no longer used in any state but Montana. They cost money to repair and operate, and perhaps that money could be put to better use. On the other hand, the additional aid they provide in helping pilots safely navigate mountain passes at night, in addition to their historic value, might prove worth the price.

In either case, the Aeronautics Division ought to make the call at the end of a thoroughly transparent study and comment process, not the beginning.

Unfortunately, two years ago, the division instead opted not to replace the states 17 beacons as they began to burn out. Then, after meeting with some pilots the following year, they decided to allow all but three beacons to go dark, and estimated that doing so would save about $30,000 a year.

This year, following heavy criticism  mostly from private pilots, but also historic preservationists and others  the division finally announced a working group to study the beacons more closely and issue recommendations on their continued use.

The national beacon system was largely established in the 1930s. Just 30 years later, dramatically improved flight technology led many to question whether the systems were still needed. Eventually, some 50 years ago, the Federal Aviation Administration decided that such beacons were no longer needed for the most part, and the states began to phase out their use.

Montana, however, still counts 17 beacons stretching across part of the state. At night, they cast a light to help those pilots who are flying by sight. These tend to be hobby pilots in smaller planes.

These pilots pay an aviation fuel tax that supports the state Aeronautics division. They should certainly have a say in how the division spends its money. Its unfortunate that many of them felt ignored by the state agency most involved in their occupation.

They turned to state legislators and Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney to arrange a meeting with Aeronautics division leadership, and to hash out an agreement to form a working group and hold public hearings. Perhaps before the end of the year the group will be ready to announce its recommendations as to the beacons future.

In the meantime, the beacons will be left alone. Also in the meantime, the Montana Historical Society will continue its work to list the states beacon system on the National Register of Historic Places. The beacon on MacDonald Pass is already registered.

The state Aeronautics Division is a small, two-bureau entity charged with promoting airport and airway safety. It helps maintain airports and infrastructure, including visual and electronic navigational facilities and flying aids.

Even if a particular course of action seems like a no-brainer, no government entity should ever proceed without involving those affected by their actions.

Public outreach is not something any state agency can simply skip. Its incumbent on government officials in even the smallest departments to do their research, identify stakeholders and take pains to involve as many members of the public as possible, to the greatest extent possible. And they must also actually listen to the feedback they receive and respond to it, rather than merely defending their original decision.

Only then will they be doing their part to uphold the American system of government that is, as described in the Gettysburg Address, of the people, by the people, for the people.

-- The Missoulian
Normally I wouldn't bore anyone with my family travel plans, but please indulge me when I mention that my wife and I are returning to Nice, France. Our accommodations will be at the same seaside spot where we were last summer when an apparently ISIS-inspired madman drove his truck through the nighttime crowds on the busy beachfront 30 or so yards away. Eighty-six died a horrible death at the hands of this pathetic maniac; over 430 were injured. A few readers might remember that we both immediately began covering the story for our respective news organizations. We confronted the horror of widespread bloody carnage, and the nightmarish screams that were everywhere that night.

I mention all that because since then we've had several terror attacks, one just a few days ago in and around London Bridge. As it happens, we have scheduled a separate trip to London later this year. We have no intention of changing that plan either. Those who conduct these grisly acts, and sponsor or encourage them, are trying to sow fear. That's obvious. To the extent that they have rational thoughts, they want to frighten all of us into avoiding the areas where the onslaughts took place, and in a larger sense, into trembling at the thought of going out anywhere and risking exposure. We cannot allow ourselves to be intimidated. That's why the two of us refuse to be scared away. We passionately reject their pathetic intimidation. Otherwise, we would let the terrorists win.

They also get a victory when their actions set off mindless reactions from our officeholders and the demagogic wannabes who respond by advocating oppressive laws and, in the case of our current president, concocting idiotic plans sold as protection when they're really just politics. Smarmy politics at that. His idiotic wall along the Mexican border fits that profile, almost as much as his Muslim travel ban, which was so badly planned and executed that it was quickly put on hold in several courts. It's finally reached the Supreme Court, where if the law and the Constitution mean anything to them, the justices will emphatically dispatch with the ban once and for all.

The president doesn't seem to think much of the law and the Constitution. In his various Twitter spurts, which often provide the full depth of his thinking, he has questioned the rights of "so-called judges" to interfere with his policies. His tweets are rarely boring, but always boorish. His first reaction to the latest London atrocity was a study in petulance: "We need to be smart, vigilant and tough. We need the courts to give us back our rights. We need the Travel Ban as an extra level of safety!" The critical sniping at his bad taste began immediately, so a few minutes later he sent out a more appropriate, "Whatever the United States can do to help out in London and the U.K., we will be there -- WE ARE WITH YOU. GOD BLESS!" Better late than never -- "never" being when he expressed Twitter concern over the two men who were stabbed to death and one wounded a few days earlier. They had stepped in to prevent a man on a transit in Portland, Oregon, from screaming epithets against two frightened young Muslim women. Not a word on the @realdonaldtrump account, site of his personal missives. He did call the violence "unacceptable" on his @POTUS address, the one maintained by staff.

Fast-forward again to London, where he did return to the personal account: "Do you notice we are not having a gun debate right now? That's because they used knives and a truck." It's fair to say that his personal tweets are rarely tactful, always tacky.

So Linda and I will be emphatically returning to the scene of these crimes against humanity, in spite of them and in spite of Donald Trump's absurd policies, which are themselves shameful offences for all of us who consider ourselves proud Americans.

(c) 2017 Bob Franken

Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
MUSCATINE  After helping lead Muscatine County Community Services for over 13 years, Kathie Anderson-Noel is now prepared to direct the department on her own.

The Board of Supervisors appointed Anderson-Noel to Director of Community Services at its Monday meeting, and accepted the resignation of Michael Johannsen, who led the department for 37 years.

Johannsen will retire after his last day on June 30. Anderson-Noel said that gives her less than a month to continue benefiting from Johannsen's leadership, but she is up for the challenge.

"Mike (Johannsen) has a really good way of working with different groups of people and bringing people together for a common goal," Anderson-Noel said. "If anything, I can strive to continue that work."

Anderson-Noel grew up in Keokuk before graduating from the University of Iowa. She previously served as Director of Louisa County Community Services, before moving to Muscatine.

In Muscatine County, Anderson-Noel worked as a case management coordinator for several years before being appointed Assistant Director of Community Services.

"I've had good training here and Mike has been a good mentor," she said. "I have the perspective of working for a smaller county and a mid-sized county like Muscatine, and I've had opportunities to do some things at the state level, as well."

She has also worked with Aligned Impact Muscatine, to help residents obtain degrees and employment, and has been involved in rewriting state rules for case management services.

But, Anderson-Noel said she has to prepare for several new changes in the coming year. For instance, Muscatine's case management program will soon be taken out of the county's control. AmeriHealth, one of three insurance companies that took over Iowa's Medicaid program last year, will absorb case management work.

"It's tough, because we've been doing case management here since the late 1980s," she said. "It's a program people know locally, and have been able to get help working with people they've known for years."

Anderson-Noel said Muscatine County will be able to retain some clients, through its Trust Services Program, which helps residents pay for utilities, rent and food.

She said changes to case management, plus the regionalization of mental health in Iowa, will make her job challenging in the coming months.

"The thing about this type of work is you've always got constant changes and challenges to work through, in addition to the challenging work of helping individuals who are in trouble or in need," she said.

Anderson-Noel said the job is always worth it, with opportunities to help vulnerable residents and to work with area organizations.

"Muscatine is a unique community because there are so many resources here," she said. "There's a lot of different groups I've had the opportunity to work with over the years, and there's a lot of cooperation between groups here."

Anderson-Noel said Muscatine County Community Services has had stable leadership over the years, with its previous director Kenny Duncan serving almost two decades, and Johannsen serving nearly four decades.

She hopes to maintain the department's steady leadership and continue developing strong relationships in the community.
MUSCATINE  The Greater Muscatine Chamber of Commerce and Industry will discuss the impact of downtown construction on local businesses with the city this week, said chamber president Greg Jenkins.

In a May 19 story, the Journal reported that some downtown businesses had seen a decline in foot traffic because theres less parking around 2nd Street. Downtown shop owners said that people who work or live downtown used to park near the riverfront before construction began. Since the Mississippi Drive project began, access to that lot is not closed and people who work or live downtown now occupy parking spots around 2nd Street.

Jenkins said he is aware of these difficulties, though he had not received direct complaints from downtown business owners. He asked people who work and live downtown to respect the shops and the need for those (parking) spaces to be open so that people can come and shop.

He said he will discuss options to address the parking shortage with city officials. He also encouraged business owners to call the city if their loading zone is blocked or when cars around their store remain in one parking spot for too long.

There are (city) people who are not only looking at the parking meters but also looking at how spaces are being used and how long theyre in the spaces, he said.

Jenkins also encouraged residents of Muscatine to be mindful of occupying the downtown parking spots.

It is important that everybody respects that those parking spaces that are downtown need to be left open whenever possible so shoppers can get into those stores, he said.

Construction on the $8 million project began on Monday, May 8, closing the section of Mississippi Drive from Sycamore to Pine streets until Aug. 31. On June 1, the city expanded closures to Broadway Street because of rising river levels.

In the meantime, Jenkins said, the Chamber will continue to market downtown Muscatine by publicizing upcoming events such as Second Saturday and the 4th of July fireworks. He said the Chamber will discuss plans for Second Saturday, set to begin on June 10 in that area.

Fourth of July fireworks, he said, will be held at the riverfront as always, but the only entry will be through Cedar Street.

People have to be patient and theyll have to be peaceful with one another, Jenkins said. It will be challenging for traffic to get in and out of the riverfront and theres only limited parking there, but it will be open for the Fourth of July.

He encouraged people to keep their eye on the future saying that despite the challenges, the Mississippi Drive construction project will benefit business owners and the city in the long run.

I hope that people of Muscatine will continue to come and shop downtown, he said. There is parking available in the downtown area, there are good shops, there are good places to eat, its a nice place to visit and I hope that visitors from out of town will come to shop and eat in our local downtown.
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 []
Eduardo Munoz Alvarez-Pool/Getty Images(NORRISTOWN, Pa.) -- Jurors in Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial in Norristown, Pennsylvania, were told by prosecutors on Monday that accuser Andrea Constand became "completely paralyzed, frozen, lifeless" after the famed comedian allegedly gave her pills in 2004 at his Pennsylvania home.



"The muscle strength in her body slipped slowly away, along with her consciousness. Total control of her body lost," Assistant Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Kristen Feden argued.



"This is a case about a man, this man, who used his power and his fame and his previously-practiced method of placing a young, trusting woman in an unconscious state, so that he could sexually pleasure himself, so that she couldnt say no," she continued.



According to Constand, Cosby drugged her and molested her at his home in Pennsylvania in 2004; Cosby has said that he gave Constand a Benadryl and that their sexual encounter was consensual.



In 2015, Cosby was charged with felony aggravated indecent assault shortly before the statute of limitations on Constand's claim expired. He has pleaded not guilty. Feden said this case "is about whether Andrea Constand had the ability to consent, and the answer is no.



Cosby's defense attorney Brian McMonagle emphatically told the jury that Constand was never incapacitated" during her encounters with the comedian, and that she had been untruthful time and time and time again" with local law enforcement.



McMonagle referred to what he called police's "exhaustive investigation," which initially ended with former District Attorney Bruce Castor's decision not to prosecute. He also pointed out that it took Constand a year to come forward with her claims.



"The only thing that is worse [than sexual assault] is the false accusation of sexual assaulta false accusation of sexual assault  its an attack on human dignity, its an attack on human dignity. It can destroy a man," he added. "She was never incapacitated."



Kelly Johnson, who testified on behalf of the prosecution, told the court that Cosby gave her a large white pill and sexually assaulted her in 1996, when she was an assistant to Bill Cosbys agent.



There was a little back and forth -- with him telling me that I needed to relax ... and I said, What is it? And he wouldnt tell me what it is, and he said, Trust me would I ever give you anything to hurt you?" Johnson said, adding she later felt like she was underwater. The next thing Johnson said she remembered was waking up in the bedroom.



During her cross examination by the defense, Johnson acknowledged that she never reported the incident to authorities because she was concerned for her job.



"I was humiliated and embarrassed. I was very afraid because I have a secret about the greatest celebrity in the world at that time," she said. "And it was just  me  my word against his."



Constand, her mother and a forensic toxicologist will also testify at the trial.



Cosby arrived at court around 9 a.m., walking arm-in-arm with his legal team and former "Cosby Show" co-star Keshia Knight Pulliam, who played Cosby's daughter Rudy Huxtable on the hit show.



This is the first time that Cosby, 79, has been charged with a crime, though in recent years, he has been accused by more than 50 women of drugging and/or sexual misconduct. The prosecution petitioned to have several accusers testify on Constand's behalf, but the judge presiding over the case would only allow one to take the stand. That woman, identified as Victim No. 6, has claimed in court documents that she met Cosby in 1990 when she was working as an assistant to his personal appearance agent. Victim No. 6 claims that six years later, when she was 29 and he was 58, Cosby invited her to lunch at a Los Angeles hotel, where he gave her a pill with wine to relax. Afterward, she claims she lost consciousness, only to awake to find him sexually assaulting her in a bed. Through his representatives, Cosby has repeatedly denied all allegations of wrongdoing.



Cosby has not spoken at length about the Constand case, though last month, he told Sirius XM radio host Michael Smerconish that he did not expect to testify during the trial. He also said that race may have played a role in the accusations made against him.



"I can't say anything, but there are certain things that I look at, and I apply to the situation, and there are so many tentacles," he said. "So many different -- 'nefarious' is a great word. I just truly believe that some of it may very well be that."



Cosby's attorneys also broached the subject of race with regard to jury selection. The defense successfully petitioned to have potential jurors chosen from Allegheny County, rather than Montgomery County, in the name of diversity. They also believed that Cosby would have a better chance at a fair trial if the jury came from outside Montgomery County.



Ultimately, seven men and five women -- two of whom are black -- were selected to serve on the jury. The Associated Press noted that the jury is 17 percent black, whereas in Allegheny County, the black community is just 13 percent of the total population.



The defense complained during proceedings that the prosecution was trying to keep black people from the jury after attorneys nixed two black women from serving. However, the judge ruled that there were other, valid reasons to reject them.



"It's a terrific jury made up of people of all demographics," Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said outside the courthouse after jury selection concluded. "We're past this nonsense about the optics and things."



Cosby's attorney, McMonagle, did not speak to reporters at that time.



If Cosby is convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison and a $25,000 fine.

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
State House Director of Digital Innovations, Dennis Itumbi, has finally weighed in on the snub given to Nasa leader Raila Odinga during the Madaraka Day celebrations in Nyeri.

It was widely expected that Raila would be given a chance to address the residents and the country, that being a national event, but Jubilee leaders failed to even acknowledge his presence.

Read: POLL: Was it Right To Snub Raila in Nyeri

The consensus was that Raila should have at minimum received a mention. But Itumbi does not think so.

Weighing in on Twitter, Itumbi said that when Uhuru was an opposition leader, he never received any recognition when he attended public functions.

The organizers were also accused of forgetting that Madaraka Day is a national event and instead making it a Kikuyu Jubilee event. Itumbi also came to the defense.
Boniface Mwangis political journey is gathering pace in his bid to get into parliament in August.

The Starehe Parlaimentary aspirant, with the help of his staunch supporters, has raised over Sh700,000 in three days towards his campaign kitty.

The activist said the Sh732,666 will be used to purchase campaign materials, media and communication.

Kenyans, were changing our politics. In just 3 days youve raised over 700k! Send me to bunge. Make the change happen. Keep contributing #JoinBonnie1MillionChallenge #StareheNiBonnie Mwangis post read.

Mr Mwangi is hoping to raise Sh10 Million.

This is the second fundraising Boniface is having since he declared his bid under the Ukweli party. Since March Kenyans have donated over Kes 3.2 million shillings towards his campaign.

Last Friday, he was cleared by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to vie for the parliamentary seat in the August 8 polls.

He will be vying for the seat against city businessman Steve Mbogo (ODM) and musician Charles Kanyi aka Jaguar (Jubilee).
The son of veteran media personality Fred Obachi Machoka wed the love his life in Cancun, Mexico.

The groom, Santos, became husband to Carla McQueen, at a beautiful beach wedding attended by close friends and family, including Uncle Fred Obachi.

Taking to social media, the Citizen TVs Roga Roga show host expressed his delight at the extraordinary visit to the beautifulCancun.

He wrote: An ordinary visit to Cancun Mexico should be fun, but an extraordinary one like the one we made, is just beyond description!

He also congratulated the newlyweds and thanked Royal Media Services for granting him enough days to watch his son mark an important milestone in his life.

Friends, please allow me to use this platform to convey my heartfelt congratulations to my loving son, Santos for finding the love of his life, Carla McQueen to share a future with. May the Almighty God light your path now and ALWAYS.

To Royal Media Management and specifically Citizen-fm/Citizen TV, thank you for affording me enough number of days leave to attend the wedding, he added.

The pics:
Jubilee has been accused many times for not committing to fight corruption.

For the last 4 years, the perception has been that corruption cases have increased, with accusations going as high as the Deputy President himself. We have seen confirmed scandals in the Ministry of Health and NYS, plus other rumoured scandals in the SGR, Eurobond etc.

Faced with constant criticism over the way his government was handling corruption, President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2015 suspended several cabinet ministers accused of involving themselves.

The news was received well then, but were yet to see any concrete action taken to prosecute the accused and recover the money.

Leading the onslaught on Jubilee over corruption has been opposition leader Raila Odinga and the entire Nasa brigade. Alongside the high cost of living, corruption has become a pet subject in Nasa rallies.

Joho, himself battling corruption allegations in Mombasa, has been keen to call the Jubilee leaders thieves. Sisi wapwani huita mwizi, mwizi.. has been one of his favourite lines these past weeks.

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Raila Odinga, himself mentioned in at least 5 corruption scandals in the past, has also not minced his words.

Musalia Mudavadi, mentioned in Goldberg and Cemetery scandal, is also quite vocal during the rallies.

While Jubilee has been accused of doing very little to fight the vice in government, we must remember that more ministers have been sacked than any other government.

But Lo and behold!

One of the CSs sent home for this exact vice Nasa is telling us only they can fight, has found a new home in Nasa.

Charity Ngilu received the full embrace of Nasa this weekend when she joined them at Bukhungu Stadium in Kakamega.

Musalia Mudavadi even tweeted about it.

Just a hunch, but does this explain why 70% of Kenyans feel the country is headed in the wrong direction according to Ipsos, but still majority would rather retain the current leadership?

Watch Ngilus speech.
NEW YORK  A crackdown on illegal immigration under President Donald Trump has driven some poor people to take a drastic step: opt out of federal food assistance because they are fearful of deportation, activists and immigrants say.

People who are not legal residents of the U.S. are not eligible to take part in what is formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

But many poor families include a mix of non-legal residents and legal ones, such as children who have citizenship because they were born in the U.S. In those cases, it is often an adult who is not a legal resident who submits the application.

Some now feel that is too dangerous under a president who has made immigration enforcement a priority. Throughout the U.S., there are accounts of people resisting efforts of nonprofit organizations to sign them up for food stamps, letting benefits lapse or withdrawing from the program because of the perceived risk.

"They don't want to put their name and address on a form for a government public benefit out of fear that they'll be sought out and asked to leave," said Teresa Smith, executive director of Catholic Charities of Orange County, California.

The food stamp program provides monthly payments, typically about $125 per eligible household member, to poor families to buy essential staples. Going without can be an extreme decision, advocates say.

"This means less food in the table, fewer meals in houses where the kids have rights because they are U.S. citizens," said Andrew Hammond, an attorney for Chicago's Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law.

It is not possible to determine the extent of the phenomenon. The number of food stamp recipients has declined as the U.S. recovers from the Great Recession and people could drop out for various reasons.

A 52-year-old woman interviewed in New York City, a Mexican in the country illegally, told The Associated Press she was motivated in January to drop a benefit that was supporting her teenage daughter, a U.S. citizen, purely because she was afraid of being in the food stamp system, which requires applicants to state their immigration status.

"I had been told that it's OK to apply for food stamps. But, for the moment, I don't want to take any risks," said the woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of her immigration status and was introduced to AP through an organization that helps immigrants, the Mexican Coalition of the South Bronx.

"I need it but I have peace of mind because my case is closed," said the woman, who makes $8.50 an hour cleaning houses and lives in small apartment on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

A Honduran immigrant and single mother with one child in Silver Spring, Maryland, decided not to renew the food stamps she received when they expired in January. "We fear deportation," said the 29-year-old immigrant, who also spoke on condition of anonymity and was introduced to AP through a local nonprofit. She normally earns about $350 per week answering phones at a travel agency but has been working extra hours cleaning homes to make up for the loss of about $150 per month in food stamps.

Mark Krikorian, a well-known advocate for reducing immigration to the U.S., said their situation reflects the fact that many people who come to the country lack the skills to earn enough money here. "It is an attempted moral blackmail to say 'If you Americans don't give me your money, I can't stay here and feed my children,'" he said. "Well, it's your choice. No one made you sneak into the United States."

About 3.9 million citizen children living with noncitizen parents received food stamps in the 2015 fiscal year, the most recent available data, according to the Department of Agriculture, which administers the food stamp program.

The Department of Agriculture says a lower percentage of noncitizens who qualify for the program known as SNAP have historically used the benefit than citizens because of an incorrect perception that it could affect their immigration status or hurt their chances of becoming a U.S. citizen.

"It is important for non-citizens to know they will not be deported, denied entry to the country, or denied permanent status because they apply for or receive SNAP benefits," the agency says on its website.

Driving the most recent fears about the program is an increase in immigration enforcement.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested nearly 40 percent more people suspected of being in the country illegally in the first 100 days under Trump than in the same period a year earlier. The agency said nearly 75 percent of them had been convicted of criminal offenses but "non-criminal arrests" were up by more than 150 percent.

Immigrant advocates see the aversion to food stamps as a reflection of a climate of fear that drives people in the country illegally deeper underground, which in some cases also makes them reluctant to report crimes.

"We should care if people are afraid to interact with institutions that all of us rely on for our health and well-being," said Tanya Broder, senior attorney at the National Immigration Law Center.
ST. HELENA  It was a flawlessly executed caper, a police log entry for the ages and, for one St. Helena couple, an unforgettably romantic memory.

The victim of the crime was Brian Cramer of St. Helena Lock & Safe. The culprit, as he soberly recounted to Police Officer Justin Tharp, was Tasha Lynn Nicholas.

The stolen property: his heart.

I had no idea what he was doing, Nicholas said, recalling her shock as Cramer got down on his knee in the lobby of the St. Helena Police Department, offered her an engagement ring, and asked her to marry him.

Cramer had convinced Nicholas to accompany him to the police department to report a theft, but he wouldnt tell her what had been stolen. Cramer saw the police department as the perfect place to propose, because their relationship started there 12 years ago when he took her there to file a restraining order against her ex-boyfriend (theyre now on good terms).

Thats where the crime first occurred, Cramer said last week as he and Nicholas stood outside the police department.

At 1:45 p.m. on Monday, May 29, the couple arrived at the police station and Cramer told dispatcher Socorro DeLuna he needed to report a theft. Tharp came out into the lobby to take the report, and Cramer told him to get out his notebook, which he did.

Cramer went on to describe the value of the stolen property (irreplaceable, priceless) and the ongoing nature of the crime (12 years and counting). He said he was careful to word it so that he was just asking for Tharps professional advice, not filing a false police report.

Tharp caught on about a minute and a half into Cramers spiel. I saw him shaking and I was like, oh OK, I get it.

I saw Brian was shaking and I was like, what the heck is going on? Nicholas said. And I saw the officers face turning red.

As Cramer was winding up to the big moment, Nicholas asked, Whats happening? and Tharp replied, Hes going to propose to you.

Sure enough, Cramer identified Nicholas as the thief whod stolen his heart. When he asked her to marry him and held out the ring, he was so nervous that he held it upside down, so Tharp had to reach over and flip it right-side-up. Nicholas said yes anyway.

Cramer had actually given her a ring before, but shed lost track of it and he thought this was the right time to renew their commitment with a new ring. They havent set a date.

Im already married to him in my heart, Nicholas said.

Tharp said being involved in a marriage proposal was a first in my career, and praised Cramer for his unique idea.

Tharp insisted on entering the incident into the police log, and he gave DeLuna the perfect line to end the entry, ordering that the couple live happily ever after.
Citing months of on-the-job sexual harassment, a woman is suing not only the manager whom she says harassed her but also the company that didnt do anything about it, according to a lawsuit filed in Napa County Superior Court last month.

The 41-year-old married Solano County woman, Luuanna Banks, says that her boss at Acorn Paper Products in American Canyon made crude comments to her and sexually harassed her during the entire three months she worked there, then, in an act of retaliation, wrongfully fired her.

Her alleged harasser is Ron Valtierra, wine packaging manager at Acorn Paper Products and Banks immediate supervisor between July and October 2016. Acorn Paper Products, a division of Oak Paper Products Company Inc., is a supplier of packaging materials.

David L. Weissberg, Acorn Paper Products CEO, said that the company is not allowed to comment on pending litigation. Valtierra also declined to comment, saying he would refer the request to his lawyers.

Right when Banks began working as a customer service representative at the sales office and distribution warehouse on Dodd Court, Valtierra got her phone number from her resume and began texting her excessively, and invited her to his house several times, according to the suit.

Banks says that she experienced harassment practically daily with Valtierra making comments about and leering at her breasts and butt. The suit alleges that when she would excuse herself to go to the restroom, he would say Can I watch? and when she returned hed say I couldve watched.

Valtierra made sexually charged comments to Banks, grunted when she walked by and would drop something intentionally and ask her to pick it up two to three times a week despite knowing she always refused, according to the lawsuit. The suit alleges that Valtierra would tell her that he wasnt wearing underwear, that he would do private things while looking at the photo of her on her business card and even offered to buy Banks a sex toy if she would use it in front of him.

His conduct was scary and intimidating, Banks said in her complaint of employment discrimination.

Banks began dressing down, bringing sweaters to work and became suspicious that Valtierra may have put a camera in the bathroom, according to the suit.

Banks reported Valtierras behavior to another supervisor, but no investigation was made into the allegations nor was any action taken to protect her from him, according to the suit. Eventually, the suit alleges, after Banks repeatedly declined Valtierras advances and asked him to stop, she was fired.

Im shocked at what appears to have been Oak Paper Products deliberate refusal to investigate or take immediate corrective action to protect their employee Luuanna Banks from enduring daily sexual harassment and shockingly abusive behavior by her supervisor at their American Canyon facility, said Banks attorney, John D. Winer of Winer, McKenna & Burritt, LLP out of Oakland.

It is incomprehensible to me that Oak Paper Products upper management would continue to protect this serial predator despite warnings from co-workers and even a female supervisor.

Banks is seeking various damages, attorneys fees, suit costs and a trial by jury.

A case management conference is scheduled for Oct. 18 in Napa County Superior Court.
A 58-year-old Central Valley man was arrested last week after driving from his home in Visalia to the Bay Area with the alleged intent to kill his doctors, Palo Alto police said today.

The case that led to the arrest of Yue Chen started last Wednesday morning when Palo Alto police received a call from Visalia police about a man who may be driving to the Bay Area to murder three of his doctors after becoming upset about his medical condition and treatment.

Visalia police had contacted multiple police departments in the Bay Area that had jurisdiction over the work and home locations of the doctors, and also put out a bulletin statewide for law enforcement agencies o be on the lookout for the suspect.

At 7:48 p.m. Wednesday, Palo Alto police received a call from the California Highway Patrol after officers had located and stopped the suspect, identified as Chen, on U.S. Highway 101 and Hellyer Avenue in San Jose, police said.

Chen was driving a rental car, a red 2017 Nissan Rogue, and had two loaded semi-automatic handguns with high-capacity magazines inside the vehicle within reach of him, according to police.

Officers arrested Chen without incident and took him to a hospital for treatment related to his medical condition. He was later booked into Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of attempted murder and illegal carrying of a loaded firearm, police said.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Palo Alto police at (650) 329-2413. Tips can also be emailed anonymously to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voicemail to (650) 383-8984.
Questions have begun to swirl about the capabilities of Britain's security agencies after community members said they had reported at least one of the suspected London attackers to the police.

After police raided a housing complex in Barking, east London, and made several arrests, residents recognized a familiar face among the three dead attackers and one said she had reported his behavior to police.

Barking resident Erica Gasperri said she went to the police after she saw a man, believed to be the attacker, teaching the local children about Islam.

"All of a sudden we saw this individual speaking to the kids ... showing them how to pray. He was standing over there, I could see them from my window," Gasperri told CNN's Melissa Bell.

Gasperri said that she confronted the man and complained that little was done after she reported him to the police.

Residents at the complex said that the man in question was quiet and kept to himself.

People in the area said the man had joined a mosque nearby after he had an argument with the community at another and abruptly left.

British authorities here have so far refused either to confirm or deny the man's identity, but have said they have identified all three attackers and will name them in due course.

The BBC's Asian Network interviewed a man who said he knew one of the attackers and had reported him to the police. It was not clear if he was speaking about the same man Gasperri knew.

"We spoke about a particular attack that happened and, like most radicals, he had a justification for anything - everything and anything.

"And that day I realized that I need to contact the authorities," he said, without giving his name.

He said that the police had not taken action.

"I did my bit ... but the authorities didn't do their bit."

Police 'completely overwhelmed'

The accusations were made as Prime Minister Theresa May came under fire for slashing some 20,000 police posts across the country is a money-saving exercise.

May was Home Secretary and oversaw security at the time the Conservative government made the cuts to the police force.

The police have been praised for their quick response to Saturday's attack, storming bars and restaurants in Borough Market to keep members of the public safe.

But Britain's most senior police officer, Cressida Dick, said that as the threat to the country's security changes, police resourcing and strategy should be revised.

The Soufan Group, a security intelligence consultancy, said that security services in the UK were facing "a threat matrix that, like in other European countries such as France and Germany, completely overwhelms their ability to effectively assess and prioritize threats."

"With as many as 3,000 or more individuals considered serious threats -- and thousands more at various other levels of concern -- the UK's intelligence and security organizations are struggling to keep up with a problem that shows no sign of abating."

The Soufan Group's Stephen White, who worked as a senior UK police officer for 26 years, explained that weighing up which reports to respond to was a complex task for the police.

"It does look like tips should have been followed, but if they have to respond every time a member of the community waves a black flag or expresses radical view, we have to ask, do they have the resources to put everyone under surveillance?"

"The Issue here is that there seems to have been more than one piece of information reported to police, so we will need to wait and see what happened with that information. Was it not acted on? Was there a proportionate judgement? Was it not taken seriously enough? It is complex, and there are a lot of questions to answer."

CNN's Sandi Sidhu contributed to this report.
St. Helenas Boy Scout of America Troop One held an open house on Friday and Saturday and judging the enthusiasm from those who showed up at the Scout Hall, theres going to be a lot of fun in store for those who join.

Each visiting boy was greeted by a scout dressed in traditional khaki uniform who acted as a guide through the activities. The boys were shown through the old buildings memorabilia and given opportunities to try a number of typical scout activities while parents spoke with Scoutmaster Jon Dodge.

Dodge talked about the history of Scout Hall with one parent, showing a number of historical documents including one scoutmaster application dating from 1920  just years after the Boy Scouts of America was founded in 1910. The troop was originally sponsored by St. Helenas Grace Episcopal Church, Dodge said, but today is a supported by the St. Helena Rotary. Dodge said the Boy Scouts use the downstairs while Girl Scouts use the upstairs.

Tristan Rose-Stockwell, 10, said he was seriously thinking of joining. He and Brandon Burgess (age 11) were already busy checking out the displays, the plaques, and the photo poster of all the Scout badges they could earn. Then they quickly learned how to tie an official square knot when they were suddenly drawn to the smell of burning wood. And popping popcorn.

Following the scent out back into the parking lot they discovered a sawed-in-two metal drum that was being used as an outdoor fire pit. Two eagle scouts had set up a folding table and were preparing food. Another scout was gingerly tossing logs into the flames. A fourth was shaking an antique, hand-held corn popper over the fire.

The two younger boys mouths began to water. They clearly wanted to join in the fun. How could they help?

Meanwhile parents, too, had moved to the parking lot, socializing with one another and reminiscing about their own scouting experiences. Marne Burgess said she was encouraged by the enthusiasm  and the self-motivation  she was seeing in Brandon.

Steve was in scouts for a while, she said of her husband. Brandon really wants to join. He came to a meeting last Wednesday. In fact, none of the new boys seemed to be holding back.

Of course, at first glance all this swirling activity around the fire seemed to be somewhat disorganized. So for the parents, this was to be the true test of their fortitude and trust in the supervision of their children.

The mothers were watching with hawk-eyed vigilance for that potential calamity that was sure to occur. After all, there was that billowing hot wood fire in the fire pit, an ancient hand-held metal popcorn poppers being pried opened by tender young fingers, and a very sharp-looking axe embedded in a nearby stump. And scouts were cutting up meat on the table to make into a special treat.

But there were no warning shouts from anyone, no screams of pain from searing flesh, no OMG nor panicked Wait!

Instead there was the simple banter and laughter among the older boys as the younger ones watched with eye-popping respect at the scouts skills. The older boys just quietly directed the younger ones what needed to be done, and how to be careful doing it.

Scoutmaster Dodge looked on placidly, sometimes suggesting a tip or two for the scouts in action and his gaze never seemed to falter. These boys were clearly finely tuned and trained.

Dodge himself is an avid camper, and his son Oliver had achieved the rank of Eagle Scout many years previously. There were many hiking and camping adventures he could recall with Oliver. Thats really what Scouting is about after all, he said.

These days Oliver still works in the valley as a vineyard manager, and though he lives down in Napa, the older Dodge said hes hoping that his grandson, Britton, will join Troop One, too. It was still too soon to tell, Dodge said. Maybe if he knows some of his own friends up here are joining.

Later the fluidity of the scene morphed again into indoor activities as the older scouts led the new boys to benches and began demonstrating how to use a set of metal stamping dies to create patterns in pieces of leather. It only took a moment before the new kids were trying their hand at hitting the dies with a hammer. Their concentration levels were very intense, but their newly acquired boyish banter seemed to strengthen the camaraderie.

St. Helenas Troop One is looking for new scouts to join. No previous experience necessary, starting with boys age 11. The scouts meet at 7 p.m., every Wednesday at Scout Hall, 1530 Railroad Ave. next to the Fire Department. For more information call Dodge, 889-1826.
(Natural News) President Trumps decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Accord has thrown the world into a blazing furnace full of weeping and gnashing of teethor the political world, at least, has been thrown into a fiery tizzy.

(Article by Joey Clark republished from Theantimedia.org)

Former President Barack Obama broke his silence, saying, in part, that with this decision the Trump administration joins a small handful of nations that reject the future.

Former Secretary of State John Kerry lambasted Trumps decision as an ignorant, cynical appeal to an anti-science, special-interest faction, as well as saying, This choice will rightly be remembered as one of the most shameful any president has made.

And the list goes on and on and on.

To hear these people talk, apparently, the human race can only progress into the future and create new industries and technologies if we are flogged into it begrudgingly by our wise government and corporate leaders.

Are we really ready to presume what human society will look like several decades from now? Are we seriously expected to believe that government action is the only way to tackle the problem of climate change? If we fail to use the heavy hand of government to brave the future, why should we assume the human race will fail to innovate and adapt to complex challenges on its own?

Imagine, if you will, a world where you cannot turn to governments to solve problems such as climate change.

How would you achieve your righteous ends? Would you simply do nothing if you could not turn to government?

I ask because too often, noble goals serve as a Trojan horse for political control.

Governments often present us with grand solutions as gifts for our real and perceived problems, but once inside the gates, they proceed to saddle our communities with a slew of regulations, mandates, taxes, diktats, quotas, subsidies, penalties and the like. The cursed gift of government, it seems, is always a central plan that conflates voluntary cooperation, collective action, and even community itselfwith centralized political control.

But we do not need the trappings of central planning to solve our collective problems. Society can run itself, thank you very much; it needs no single creator or director.

Society already has great gifts for solving complex human issuesindividual liberty, initiative, and ingenuity, along with the free and open exchange of goods and ideasand we need not sacrifice these liberal benefactors of the modern world to dream impossible dreams and fight unbeatable foes. The greatest achievements of the human race have not come from government committees and accords, but from intrepid yet everyday individuals working in concert to tackle the unknown and implacable through innovation and persuasion.

Yet, rather than allowing people to freely choose and coordinate their own plans in our common struggle against nature, too many people first brand other people as the problem. Too many would rather rely on commanding and controlling others to fix humanitys wicked problems than freely solve the problem themselves. Too many conflate the governments failure to act as society signaling we are resigned to do nothingthus, the weeping and gnashing of teeth over Donald Trumps recent decision.

I find all the hysterics and tears of hubris laughable. This mindset deserves to be mocked for its lack of imagination and obsequious acceptance of corporate cronyism and global governance as the only path to the future; it deserves to be mocked for claiming the singular appearance of doing something (without much effect) is better than actually tackling the problem from many different directions; it deserves to be mocked even on environmental activist grounds as a list of empty promises and half-measures, as a perversion of the cause, just as a free trader may mock NAFTA or an anti-war activist may mock Barack Obama receiving the Nobel Peace Prize; and it deserves to be mocked for how little it respects the ability of average people to change their station and adapt to the changing world on their own without the pretentious prodding of government leaders.

Im willing to bet the existence of the entire human race that without the Paris Climate Accord, we will rise to meet the challenge of climate change successfully. Further, if we would shrink government generallyi.e. give average people the freedom to think and trade as they wish in the energy sector or any other industrythen by the accords own target year of 2100, the market (which is simply free people trading and producing as they wish based on their own enlightenment) will have reduced carbon emissions and given us new technologies beyond the wildest dreams of those now bemoaning the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord.

In fact, the U.S. clean energy sector has grown leaps and bounds in only the last few years despite the lack of a robust central plan. Coal is already giving way to cleaner forms of energy and will continue to do so no matter what Donald Trump promises the miners of West Virginia. And the fact that there is this burgeoning clean energy industry does not mean we should engage in crony capitalism and wealth redistribution between nations to prime the pump. Picking winners and losers in the clean energy sector is just as bad as doing so in any other sector (including the fossil fuels industry.). Must we really kowtow to corporations and their client states by granting them government privileges and sweetheart deals to create new technologies they already have enough incentive to create anyway?

No, if we wish to solve the climate change problem, I suggest we try, first and foremost, to create products and services that will actually make peoples lives better immediately rather than imposing immense costs upfront with no clear time horizon wherein we reap the benefits. Just as one need not convince people of evolution before they take vaccines or life-saving drugs, theres no need to convince people of the science of climate change if you can sell them a better, cheaper, cleaner, and more practical way to power their lives. Shaming, lecturing, and trying to control peoples behavior through the political process for unclear results and opaque benefits is not serving this cause well, as sound as the science and as noble as the cause may be.

Ironically enough, Trumps withdrawal from the Paris accord may very well usher in a new era of initiative absent the federal government. After Trumps decision, many industry leaders, mayors, and governors pledged to pursue solutions to climate change absent the federal government. As the CEO of General Electric Jeff Immelt tweeted, Climate change is real. Industry must now lead and not depend on government.

Thats the spirit, Jeff, but my only question is: what the hell have you been waiting for?

Industry and the people of the United States should have been saying this long ago. Its time to stop looking to central governments and global committeeswhether the issue is climate change or poverty or education or whateverto make our world a better place.

The time for us to pursue the future ourselves is long overdue, and it would be a shame to sell ourselves and the future short because were too busy bickering over political power.

Read more at: Theantimedia.org
Sunday, June 04, 2017 by: Bridgette Wilcox Tags: male circumcision , male genital mutilation This article may contain statements that reflect the opinion of the author

(Natural News) As widespread and common as it is, not many people think to question the practice of circumcision, even when it is being performed on newborn babies. However, attitudes to the practice are slowly changing, with one mother from Nottingham, England even suing a doctor for circumcising her infant son without any parental consent. The high profile case stands to pave the way for campaigners who claim that circumcision is a form of male genital mutilation, and that they were wrongfully subjected to it as children.

Dr. Balvinder Mehat of Nottinghams Bakersfield Medical Center allegedly performed the procedure on the baby before his 26-year old mother picked him up later in the day, a report on DailyMail.co.uk said. The report did not clarify why the baby was with the doctor in the first place.

The mother reported that she could see that her son was in pain when he was returned to her.

He was screaming and crying, but trying to comfort him just disturbed the wound and made it worse. I could not believe what they had done to him, she said in the report. He has been mutilated and suffered permanent damage.

The mother has claimed assault, with the representation of respected human rights lawyer Saimo Chahal. This mother clearly did not consent to her son undergoing the circumcision procedure, which could constitute a criminal offense, Chahal said. While some people with religious beliefs see circumcision as normal, there are others who see it as an unnecessary assault which can be physically and psychologically harmful.

The mother is being supported by members of several groups that are campaigning against circumcision, among them David Smith from the organization Genital Autonomy. Smith said: Were hoping the case will open the floodgates for other complaints and a clarification that circumcision of non-consenting children is a human rights abuse.

Male circumcision has been a controversial topic in recent years as debates over its ethical implications rage on. Notably, in 2013, representatives from the six Nordic countries of Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, Finland, Norway, and Greenland decided that circumcision, particularly in newborns, goes against the UN Convention of thee Rights of the Child. The representatives have said that circumcision should not be done until the child can decide for himself, a report on VICE.com said.

Circumcision, which involves the removal of foreskin from the penis, is often performed in newborn babies. In many cases, the procedure is tied to religious rituals, particularly among those who follow Judaism and Islam.

While it is a common medical procedure, there have been cases of circumcision causing severe medical repercussions such as brain damage, amputation, and even death. In 2013, a nurse from Manchester was found guilty of manslaughter after she performed a circumcision that led to the death of a three-week old baby. The nurse, Grace Ebun Adeleye, used a pair of scissors, forceps, and olive oil to circumcise the baby, ManchesterEveningNews.co.uk reported. She was reportedly hired by the childs parents and paid 100 British Pounds to perform the procedure. Adeleye served 21 months in prison and a two-year suspension. She was also stripped of her license to practice nursing and midwifery in the United Kingdom.

In another case, a nine-year old boy from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia lost his penis after two botched circumcisions in a week. The first circumcision procedure, performed in a clinic, led to the head of the boys penis being completely severed, TheStar.com.my reported. He was then brought to another hospital for reattachment, which regrettably failed, leaving his penis to blacken. The doctors then had to amputate the boys penis.

It is so unfortunate that this had happened to the poorboy, said lawyer P. Uthayakumar. He is so young, he doesnt know what has happened.

Learn more about mens health on Medicine.news.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

VICE.com

ManchestEreveningNews.co.uk

TheStar.com.my
(Natural News) Just when you thought the medical industry couldnt become anymore sick and depraved, they do something insane to prove you wrong. A new startup, known as Ambrosia, has pioneered some earth-shattering new trials on a very terrifying new technology: Using the blood of young people to heal the old.

Their research has shown that transfusing older individuals with the blood of young adults can help to reduce the risk of diseases such as dementia, cancer and heart disease. As the Daily Mail notes, It is similar to that of former North Korean dictator Kim Il-Sung who was said to take blood from people in their twenties to try to live to 100.

Apparently, the finding has breathed new life into the myth that young blood can reverse the signs of aging from the inside-out.

The founder of the San Franciso-based company, Jesse Karmazin, reportedly told New Scientist, I dont want to say the word panacea, but theres something about teenagers. Whatever is in young blood is causing changes that appear to make the ageing process reverse.

If that isnt cryptic enough for you, Karmazin and the rest of the Ambrosia team have been taking blood from people as young as just 16 years old, and offering transfusion to older adults (some as young as 35). A total of 70 people participated in receiving the blood transfusions  and as is the nature of corrupt pharma companies, Ambrosia charged these participants a whopping $8,000 for the chance to take part in their vampire-inspired study.

As Karmazin explains, while he would like to conduct a placebo-controlled trial, people are not likely to be willing to shell out thousands for a sugar pill. But the lack of a placebo control group in their most recent trial has left the company open to all sorts of criticism. After all, placebo-controlled studies are part of the gold-standard for producing legitimate scientific evidence.

This is, in part, because of the placebo effect, which is known to be able to affect the bodys biochemistry. Its quite possible that many of the benefits purported by this study may be attributed to this fact. As University of Londons Arne Akbar explains, There is no telling what may be down to the placebo effect.

In addition to the issues with the actual studys design, there are some serious ethical questions revolving around this study. For example, where will the line be drawn? If, as Karmazin says, the plasma of the young is paramount to reversing the aging process, the ramifications of such a notion could be quite severe. Will young people suddenly find themselves at risk of having their blood forcibly taken from them? Who knows.

Karmazin seems rather nonchalant about the other implications involved, such as that there is basically never not a need for plasma donations for actual medical purposes (and not just to inject into perfectly healthy 35 year-olds, as they did in the study). As Science reports, Karmazin says hes filling a void, suggesting that most companies wouldnt be interested in developing human plasma as an antiaging treatment. Its this extremely abundant therapeutic thats just sitting in blood banks, he insists.

Apparently, despite his lofty education as a medical school student at Stamford, Karmazin has forgotten that many people rely on plasma for medical treatments. Plasma is used in the treatment of people with clotting disorders, immunological diseases, during surgeries and also in the treatment of people in critical care, such as burn victims. Clearly, it is not just sitting in blood banks, as Karmazin alleges.

Between his attitude towards plasma, and his obscene $8,000 fee for participating in his research, there are plenty of reasons to question Karmazins ethics and motives. Is he just as corrupt as the rest of the industry?

Sources:

DailyMail.co.uk

NewScientist.com

ScienceMag.org
(Natural News) Evergreen State College is apparently a safe space for liberal snowflakes who dont want to do their homework.

The Olympia, Washington-based school has been embroiled in a controversy for several days as hundreds of students demonstrated against alleged racism and a what they consider an unwelcoming environment on campus. To say things are out of control on the campus  located about 50 miles southwest of Seattle  is a massive understatement, as Natural News previously outlined.

In the most recent development, a phoned-in credible threat has authorities on high alert causing the cancellation of all classes and other campus activities yesterday and today. As of this writing, the campus is still closed.

The situation on campus began spiraling out of control around the time when biology Prof. Bret Weinstein, who describes himself to FNCs Tucker Carlson as a committed progressive (see video clip below), objected in an email to a so-called day of absence in which white people were to remove themselves from campus.

In a Wall Street Journal Op-Ed, Weinstein asserted that his college has slipped into madness and anarchy after he was confronted by an angry mob of 50 students in his classroom on May 23 and was accused of being a racist because he challenged the day of absence. He chronicled how the campus police chief ominously tipped him off that angry students were searching vehicles  most likely looking for him  and that cops couldnt protect him on orders from the college president.

In his essay, Weinstein explained that he supports the traditional day of absence at Evergreen in which minorities voluntarily absent themselves from campus to demonstrate their importance to the schools operations, but disagreed with a group or coalition encouraging another group to go away.

On a college campus, ones right to speakor to bemust never be based on skin color, Weinstein asserted.

In a disturbing, if not sad, series of videos posted to YouTube, angry left-wing students at the publicly funded liberal arts school have demanded the professors firing among a litany of other grievances, as Campus Reform explains:

Videos from Evergreen have since continued to leak, painting a chaotic portrait of campus in which protesters try to bully administrators into kowtowing to their demands, and in one case even tell the schools president, George Bridges, to shut the f**k up.

The president of the college, George Bridges, has not given in to all the mobs demands  Weinstein still has his job (for now)  but at one juncture, Bridges did agree to send an email to the Evergreen faculty excusing the student protesters who were occupying his office from their homework deadlines and other projects. Watch the cringe-worthy video below.

In a lengthy statement which comes across pretty much as terms of surrender, Bridges seems to cave to virtually all the protesters demands, including mandating annual sensitivity training for the entire campus workforce and hiring a full-time affirmative action officer. Three targets of student ire  Weinstein, another faculty member, and a campus cop  are subject to an investigation for alleged discrimination, the statement adds.

Bridges also indicated that no disciplinary action is being sought against the demonstrators.

A Republican state representative has introduced a bill that would strip taxpayer funding from Evergreen State College and has asked the state Human Rights Commission to investigate any civil rights violations that may have occurred there. Washington is a deep blue state, however, so it is unlikely that the legislation will get anywhere.

At the risk of stating the obvious, prior to the overflowing of political correctness anyway, college is or was supposed to be a place where all ideas are up for debate, and people of all backgrounds mix together rather than separate. (RELATED: Read more about left-wing extremism at Fascism.news.)

As Natural News founder Mike Adams recently wrote about campus chaos in general, The weak-willed administrators need to be replaced with mature adults who can stand their ground against young crybullies and whiny snowflakes whose only skill in life seems to be crying and bullying everybody around them until they get what they want.

Sources:

CampusReform.org

PJMedia.com

WSJ.com

SeattleTimes.com

CooperPointJournal.com
(Natural News) Its shocking to think that in some parts of the world GMO food and alcohol are legal, yet raw milk  a natural, nutritious food consumed by humans around the globe for centuries  is illegal. In recent years, raw milk has received a bad reputation due to several cases of foodborne illnesses.

Though extra care is needed when handling raw milk, why is it that they ban raw milk while modern, conventional agricultural systems linked to a host of illnesses have not resulted in the banning of these Frankenfoods? There is only one answer to that question: We are being controlled by the government and powerful monopolies that put profits before people.

Since raw milk cannot easily be commercialized or distributed, the dairy industry doesnt want to see its popularity grow any further. Raw milk is usually produced by small family farms. Can you see why Big Dairy has been fighting to make this natural product illegal? They cant get a piece of the pie. For years, the dairy industry has sent out highly paid lobbyists to twist the arms of money-greedy policy makers to unjustly terrorize family farms that are successful addressing the increased demand for unprocessed, fresh milk.

An increasing number of people want to know where their food comes from and how its produced. Thats something we at Natural News can only applaud. Yet the dairy industry, backed up by the government, seem to be on a different page.

Canadian farmer fights for raw milk

Since 1981, the sale of raw milk has been banned by the Canadian government out of fear of possible Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria contaminations. Ontario has taken it a step further by restricting people from giving away raw milk for free. Outlawing raw milk, however, hasnt stopped one farmer from providing this age-old nutritious food to the people.

According to Modern Farmer, raw milk outlaw Michael Schmidt has been in and out the Canadian Province Court of Ontario over the past couple of decades. His crime? The production and distribution of raw, unpasteurized milk. Given the fact that raw milk is illegal in Canada, Schmidts co-op has been operating without a license, thus violating the Canadian Milk Act. For nearly 25 years, Schmidt has been fighting to keep the raw milk flowing freely.

Though Schmidt wants to see raw milk legalized, hes not even fighting for the outright legalization of raw milk in Canada. He just wants to give the people the freedom to make their own informed decisions with their own cow.

Its a total police state when it comes to raw milk here because theres absolutely no leniency on any level, he told Modern Farmer. They are saying its the most dangerous substance you can think of and should never be allowed. Theres not even a proper scientific debate about it. Its all on an emotional, fear-based level.

In one of the latest court battles, Schmidt took up his claims against the Crown. Any day now, an Ontario judge could rule a permanent injunction against Schmidts co-op, prohibiting both the sale and purchase of raw milk, Food Safety News reported. If the judge rules against his case, then the distribution and probably the consumption of raw milk will be seen as a criminal act.

If Schmidt loses this case, all legal and court costs, totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars, could immediately fall upon him and his co-op members. Payments by others will not be permitted, Food Safety News noted.

Mark McAfee, the owner of Organic Pastures in California, where sales of organic milk are legal at retail locations, said, sometimes it takes a big ugly incident to make enough ugly news to create change. (Related: Track news headlines about food freedom at FoodFreedom.news.)

Lets us hope that after 25 years of constant fighting with the nanny state, Schmidt will be able to bring raw milk to the people legally.

Sources:

FoodSafetyNews.com

ModernFarmer.com
(Natural News) When you choose to interfere with nature, you should be prepared for results that are far from natural. Thats the message of a new study out of the Columbia University Medical Center, where researchers are warning scientists that the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology results in unintended mutations that could go undetected.

As a relatively new technology, there are a lot of unknowns when it comes to gene editing. Known for being precise, efficient, and quick, the CRISPR-Cas9 method has shown some promise. For example, scientists have used it to edit HIV out of some living organisms and modify mosquitoes to get rid of malaria.

However, this is far from a perfect science, and now a study published in the journal Nature Methods shows that it can cause unintended mutations in genomes. This is particularly concerning when you consider the fact that clinical trials of using CRISPR on humans are already underway in places like China.

Researchers urge scientists to use caution

Columbia University Medical Centers Stephen Tsang, who co-authored the study, urged the scientific community to consider the possible hazards of off-target mutations. In the study, his team sequenced mice genomes that had previously been subjected to the CRISPR technology in order to cure blindness. They found 1,500 single-nucleotide mutations and more than 100 bigger deletions and insertions when they examined the genomes of two of the subjects in depth.

The scientists are pressing for a more accurate way to check for mutations, insertions and deletions in genomes, such as using whole-genome sequencing rather than depending on computer algorithms alone. Computer algorithms did not detect any of the mutations that were discovered in the study, which is startling.

Study co-author Alexander Bassuk of the University of Iowa concurred, saying that the predictive algorithms work well when CRISPR is used on tissues or cells in a dish, but it has serious shortcomings when used on living animals. With this method, a computer model is used to predict where mutations might occur, and then only those areas are checked in depth to see if any unintended changes took place in the genetic code.

Concerns about future applications of CRISPR

The technology has been particularly popular in China, where the government and some corporations are making huge investments in CRISPR. In fact, Chinese scientists say they were the first to make a type of wheat that is resistant to a fungal disease. They also claim to have created more muscular dogs and leaner pigs. What they often fail to mention, however, is the fact that 30 of the 32 pigs they subjected to the technique died prematurely, showing that even the simplest of genetic tweaks can have a big impact on the animal throughout its lifetime.

While few people would argue with the importance of finding a way to cure cancer, not all uses of CRISPR are ethical. For example, the Chinese scientists who found a way to make dogs more muscular, jump higher and run faster are considering using the technology to benefit the military and police by creating stronger dog breeds. If that happens, its only a matter of time before they start using it to alter human DNA to create better police officers and soldiers.

Other scientists are eyeing the use of the technology to bring back extinct species, with one team of researchers saying they could use it to bring the woolly mammoth back from extinction in the next two years. A Harvard University research team wants to create a hybrid elephant/mammoth embryo with a view to saving the endangered Asian elephant from extinction. Could the reemergence of dinosaurs be right around the corner?

Sources:

Futurism.com

NaturalNews.com

Futurism.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) The chilling rise of neo-Marxist extremism across America is evident in everything from violent street protests against hate speech to hostile takeovers of college campuses by feral radicals demanding equality. This new-breed fascist element increasingly demands that anything it doesnt like should be silenced with aggressive force. But if you read between the lines of a new study published in the journal Cognitive Science, such madness is merely the fetid and inevitable consequence of mass cultural brainwashing.

For their study, researchers from Kyoto University in Japan examined how individuals perceive the world around them, discovering that personal experiences differ widely depending on how a person is raised or what he experiences throughout his life. Cultural variances tend to color the lens of human understanding quite differently for each individual person, in other words  what one person is exposed to throughout his developmental years compared to another will uniquely shape the way that both of them view reality as they enter into adulthood.

Western cultural norms versus Eastern ones are another common variable that impacts how people think and function. Westerners tend more towards analyzing objects independently of context, while Easterners lean in favor of a more holistic view of things. Even the way people see physical objects or perceive simple lines drawn on a piece of paper can vary depending on their cultural views, which extrapolated in terms of current events says a whole lot about why the more fascist elements of modern society see things the way they do.

There are university professors, for instance, who see racism underneath every rock, even when it doesnt exist. There are students who hold up signs in protest of things that arent actually happening, and when questioned about that fact lash out in anger rather than with facts. This gross inability to discern reality from ones own personal delusions is a prolific disease nowadays, feeding the extremist faux-liberal ideologies that are ripping apart society at the seams.

College campuses are becoming hotbeds of faux-liberal mental illness and extreme fascism

Take what happened recently at Orange Coast College (OCC) in California as an example of this. A horde of angry neoliberal extremists decided to storm the campus administration building in protest of the colleges neutrality on political groups  mainly the fact that the school allows the College Republicans group to simply exist. These homegrown domestic terrorists pushed OCCs president to actually remove the group from campus, and a professor by the name of Jessica Alabi actually said she would stand up and do this herself if the school refused.

Another professor at OCC by the name of Olga Perez Stable Cox made the news several months prior when she declared before her class that the election of Donald Trump as president was an act of terrorism. An anonymous student filmed the incident, which quickly went viral. But rather than punish the teacher for essentially insulting the students in her class that voted for Trump, the school offered to honor her as Faculty Member of the Year.

Cox received so much negative attention from the general public outside of her campus that she actually removed her picture from OCCs faculty page website and replaced it with a stock photo of the school.

Rather than beat the conservative students with better ideas, they simply want to stomp them out of existence, writes Tom Knighton for PJMedia.com about the hypocrisy of the intolerant Left. Perhaps, deep down, they know they simply cannot win debates with the conservative students if theres a free flow of ideas. So they want to stop the flow.

Sources:

ScienceDaily.com

PJMedia.com

CampusReform.org

BlacklistedNews.com
(Natural News) Left-wing extremists who run the vast majority of Americas college campuses dont have to actually address problems of hate or bias at their institutions, they just have to declare that they are addressing those problems, implement a couple of feel-good policies, and thats it: Problem solved.

Only, such problems arent solved like that, of course, but to their sycophantic, brainwashed supporters, thats not the issue.

Declaring something will be done is good enough. (Related: Read Absurd Online Posts Reveal How Humanity Is Devolving Into A Species Of Hopeless Morons.)

Thats what is taking place on the campus of the University of Maryland following the pre-graduation stabbing death of an African-American student who was visiting from Bowie State, 2nd Lt. Richard Collins III, who had just been commissioned into the U.S. Army a few days before he was stabbed in the chest and killed by suspect Sean Christopher Urbanski, a white student at U of M.

According to reports, Collins  who was set to graduate May 23  was visiting friends at the College Park campus. He was with two friends near a bus stop around 3 a.m. when the three of them heard Urbanski screaming at them and watched as he approached.

Witnesses state that Urbanski said, Step left, step left if you know whats best for you. When Collins refused, Urbanski allegedly stabbed him once in the chest.

Early reports claim that Urbanski may be a member of a Facebook group called Alt-Reich: Nation, where members disparage blacks and others, and of course, that kind of hate is different from, say, anti-white hate spewed by Black Lives Matter on Facebook.

But I digress. In the wake of the murder, University of Maryland President Wallace Loh told students that they must let authorities (which include the FBI, because this could be a hate crime  and thats fair to suggest) do their work with due diligence.

However, he added in remarks to the press, we must do more. What does more look like?

So far it looks like a series of empty policy pronouncements that include spending more money and empowering students as well as faculty to sort of become an anti-hate/bias task force that no doubt will at some point be empowered to decide, on their own, what does and does not constitute race-based bias and hatred.

You see where this is going  right?

Lets look at, and evaluate, what Loh has proposed thus far:

 The establishment of a hate-bias and campus safety task force  composed of faulty, staff, students and alumni  to review relevant policies and procedures. That task forces will then submit a report with recommendations and guidelines.

So, are we to assume that the University of Maryland doesnt already have policies in place prohibiting the demonstration of hate and the practice of bias  based on any number of factors including, given the context of this crime, race? Of course we cant assume that. So we have to assume that its somehow not strong or not clear enoughright? How will this task force strengthen the existing policy  will they add, and we really, really mean it at the end? Will that be in bold letters so students are completely convinced the University means business?

 The creation of a rapid response team  composed of faculty, staff and students  to provide support for victims of hate-bias incidents.

Whoa. Isnt this unconstitutional or, at the very least, against our founding principles of assuming that suspects are innocent until proven guilty? How can a response team exist to rapidly provide support for victims of hate-bias incidents without proof that an actual hate-bias incident occurred? Didnt Loh just tell students they needed to give investigators time to figure out what happened and why?

Or is just assuming a hate-bias incident occurred based on the race/ethnicity of those involved good enough? (Related: Read Texas A&M Celebrates A Racist, Genocidal Murder Advocate Because Of The Color Of His Skin.)

 Allocating $100,000 in supplemental funds to the Office of Diversity and Inclusion for supporting diversity and inclusion efforts.

What? Can you say slush fund? What else is the office to be tasked with that it needs another 100 grand in funding?

 Production of an annual report on all campus hate-bias incidents.

To what end? Whats the point? Easy; this will be used to show how much more often people of color are biased against than whites. Want to bet?

We want a culture that rejects hate and forges a more perfect union in our nations rich multicultural and multiethnic diversity, said Loh.

Fine. But doesnt U of M already strive for this? How is another annual report, $100,000 and a task force that will pre-judge (bias alert!) certain actions going to strengthen current efforts? And why do these efforts seem to always be in support of minorities, rather than all students?

Read more at CampusInsanity.com.

J.D. Heyes is a senior writer for NaturalNews.com and NewsTarget.com, as well as editor of The National Sentinel.

Sources include:

WTOP.com

FrontPageMag.com
Last week, I wrote an essay about why there werent more women atheists, citing statistics that set the number of men who disclose themselves as atheists at 68% and women at 32%. I post my blog to a number of atheist Facebook groups each week. I have never received so many comments in the two years I have been doing this. The comments ranged from agreements with the reasons I stated in the essay: being part of a community, having church as a safety net, and issues with leadership and speaking out. There were also comments proposing that womens brains were different, women dont admit they are atheists, women are still subjugated in many societies, women in the US have it better than men, to men are just more loud-mouthed. Therefore, I decided to share some excerpts from my book,, to show real life experiences of what women experienced when they did try to leave religion. At the end of this essay, there are links to two other posts that have a few other excerpts if you are interested. The book itself is available here
Summer brings a much slower pace to campus, with time to enjoy amenities like Lullwater Preserve and the SAAC pool that you might be too busy to take advantage of during the busy run-up to the semester's end.

June's calendar also includes a variety of special events, including lectures, exhibits and a celebration of melons and squashes at the Summer Farmers Market.

Here are 10 things to do this month:

1. Walk, run or picnic in Lullwater Preserve.

Lullwater Preserve, which includes the Emory president's home, offers a variety of paved and unpaved trails, woods, lawns, Candler Lake, a suspension bridge and much more  perfect for exercising or just relaxing with a picnic or good book. Curious about how far youre walking or running? Emorys Faculty Staff Assistance Program offers a map with the lengths of several routes. Lullwater is open during daylight hours.

2. Get support for work-life issues through live online talks.

Emory's WorkLife Resource Center hosts a series of free online talks to help employees find support and resources for family issues; if you are unable to listen live, talks are recorded and sent to everyone who has registered for them. This month's offerings include the following, all beginning at 1 p.m.:

June 8: Parenting Your Teen: Recognize At Risk Behaviors

Parenting Your Teen: Recognize At Risk Behaviors June 14: Financial Wellness: Preventing Identity Theft

Financial Wellness: Preventing Identity Theft June 20: Parenting Your Child with Special Needs: Resilience

Parenting Your Child with Special Needs: Resilience June 21: Caregivers Network: Caring for a Loved One with Alzheimer's or Dementia & Brain Health Tips for You

3. Go swimming in the SAAC pool.

The aquatic center at the Student Activity & Academic Center on Clairmont Campus features an Olympic-sized pool, teaching pool, kiddie pool and diving well. SAAC offers discounted annual and summer memberships for faculty and staff, as well as 14-visit guest passes that average to less than $9 per visit. The daily walk-up rate is $10.

4. Explore faith issues with Candler School of Theology faculty.

Each summer, Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church  located by Emory's main gate  hosts a summer lecture series featuring faculty from the university's Candler School of Theology. This year's theme is "Theology of Hymns: Songs that Shape Us." Lectures take place on Sunday mornings through Aug. 27 from 9:45-10:45 a.m. in the Ward Fellowship Hall. Remaining June events include:

June 11: Brent Strawn, Songs of Scripture

Brent Strawn, Songs of Scripture June 18: Eric Nelson, From Psalm to Hymn

Eric Nelson, From Psalm to Hymn June 25:Bishop Larry Goodpaster, The Church's One Foundation

5. Learn all you need to know about Canvas.

Canvas is Emory's new learning management system, replacing Blackboard. If you haven't learned how to use the new system, don't delay: This summer is the last semester that Blackboard will be supported at Emory, and all Blackboard courses, organizations and other materials will be unavailable after Aug. 31. Luckily, Emory's Libraries and Information Technology has been hosting a variety of free online and in-person trainings to make sure users are up to speed on Canvas. Offerings in June include Canvas 101 sessions, courses on migrating courses from Blackboard to Canvas, and a special two-week Canvas Online Bootcamp that kicks off June 14.

6. Find peace and perspective through Mindfulness 101.

Curious about how mindfulness meditation works? In this 30-minute webinar from Emory Human Resources, youll learn how mindfulness can help you slow down in the midst of daily pressures. Join the online class on June 15 (12:30 p.m.), June 19 (10:30 a.m.) or June 27 (12 p.m.) to discover how this practice can benefit you emotionally, mentally and physically, and experience a mindfulness meditation exercise that you can continue to practice in just a few minutes on your own.

7. View poignant photos from the early days of AIDS, then meet the photographer.

Riveting images of people living with HIV/AIDS in the 1980s, taken by Atlanta-area photographer Billy Howard, are the basis of an exhibit opening June 15 in Woodruff Library's Level 3 Corridor Gallery. Billy Howards Epitaphs for the Living features 17 photographs, each showing a person with HIV/AIDS  or their loved one  and a handwritten message from that person about living with the disease. A conversation with Howard is set for June 22 at 6:30 p.m. in the Jones Room in Woodruff Library.

8. Get to know the Bard through "Everyman's Guide to Loving Shakespeare."

Emory's Emeritus College, an association of retired faculty and administrative staff, hosts Jeffrey Watkins, CEO and artistic director of the Atlanta Shakespeare Company, for June 19 lunch colloquium exploring The Keys to the Kingdom: An Everymans Guide to Loving Shakespeare. Watkins will present five keys to understanding Shakespeare in performance, ranging from the role of the audience to Shakespeare's dirty jokes. Register in advance for the lunch and discussion, set for 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Luce Center, room 130. Cost is $7.

9. Celebrate seasonal fruits and vegetables at the Summer Farmers Market.

Emory's popular campus farmers market offers special themed events in the summer. On June 6, come out to the Cox Hall Bridge from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for Peach Fest; on June 20 at the same time, enjoy a market focused on seasonal melons and squashes. There are also plenty of other local, organic and healthy options to purchase, many costing less than $10.

10. Enjoy Grillin' & Chillin' at Emory Point.

This one is above our usual $10 price point, but it's good food for a good cause. Grillin & Chillin  Emory Points signature foodie fundraising series  returns this summer with top Atlanta-area chefs and mixologists giving their time to serve up more fabulous food and delicious drinks to raise funds for local nonprofits. This month's events are June 8 and June 22. Located on Clifton Road, Emory Point is a mixed-use development created in partnership between Emory University, Cousins Properties and Gables Residential. Tickets are $25 with advance online purchase.
Ghani said over 300 persons were also injured in the bombing last Wednesday when a truck packed with explosives blew up at an entrance to a fortified area of the city that includes foreign embassies and government buildings.

"We were not the only targets, the entire diplomatic community was the target of this attack," Ghani told foreign diplomats gathered an international peace conference in Kabul.

Over 20 countries and international organisations, including the US, Russia, China, the United Nations, NATO and the EU were participating in the conference titled "Kabul Process" that kicked off on Tuesday, Efe news reported.

Although, the Islamic State claimed the attack, Afghan intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security (NDS) blamed the Taliban-allied Haqqani network for the bombing.

The agency also accused Pakistan's spy agency ISI of helping the terror group plan the attack, a charge Islamabad has denied.

Official estimates had earlier put the toll at 90 with over 460 persons injured in the attack.

--IANS soni/vt

( 201 Words)

2017-06-06-15:36:19 (IANS)
Addressing a peace conference attended by 23 countries, the European Union, the UN and Nato, Ghani asked: "What will it take to convince Pakistan that a stable Afghanistan helps them and helps our region?"

Pakistan and Afghanistan have long accused each other of turning a blind eye to militants operating along their porous border, and both forces exchanged fire over a border dispute last month, Dawn reported.

Despite strained bilateral relations, Pakistan is attending the multinational conference. The two-member Pakistani delegation is headed by Additional Secretary UN and Economic Cooperation Tasneem Aslam.

Ghani also warned the Taliban to embrace peace or "face consequences".

"We are offering a chance for peace but this is not an open-ended offer. Time is running out... This is the last chance, take it or face consequences.

"If Taliban wants to join peace talks, the Afghan government will allow them to open an office, but this is their last chance," Ghani said.

--IANS mr/

( 187 Words)

2017-06-06-16:36:26 (IANS)
Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba was on Tuesday elected the new Prime Minister of Nepal -- 12 years after he was removed from the post by the then King Gyanendra Shah. Deuba, 71, received wide political support, apart from the main opposition, Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist, during voting. His victory was certain after none of the political parties fielded a candidate against him. On May 24, the then Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' had announced his resignation, in keeping with his agreement with the Nepali Congress, which had propped up his coalition government since last August. --IANS giri/tsb/dg ( 108 Words) 2017-06-06-18:52:23 (IANS)
The East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW), a Ramsar site that nurtures the world's largest wastewater-fed aqua culture system and is also the city's natural cleansing system, is under threat, said an expert. The sprawling 12,500 hectares (18 lakh cottahs) wetlands also saves the authorities a whopping Rs 5 billion in a year in sewage treatment costs. But one of the major concerns, is the shift from traditional vocations, including fishery, to modern options such as a salaried job, says urban economist Mahalaya Chatterjee. "If the EKW fails to provide the natural treatment service, Kolkata will lose nearly Rs 5 billion a year. The wetland treats waste from the city and has saved on the cost of building and maintaining a conventional treatment plant," said Chatterjee, Director, Centre for Urban Economic Studies, Department of Economics, Calcutta University. She said to retain the low-cost option of sewage treatment the "dominance of sewage-fed fishery is of strategic importance". "There is an extreme shift from traditional vocations such as fishery, agriculture, animal husbandry to modern businesses, professional work, including salaried jobs. Traditional vocations are becoming less rewarding," Chatterjee said here on Monday at a workshop organised by IIT Kharagpur and Indiana University of Pennsylvania. The wetlands encompass nearly 254 sewage-fed fisheries distributed across the districts of South and North 24 Parganas. It provides about 150 tonnes of fresh vegetables daily as well as some 10,500 tonnes of table fish per year. The latter provides livelihood to about 50,000 people directly and as many again indirectly. The key push factors for vocation switch are obstructed wastewater flow due to encroachment and other reasons, siltation in sewage-fed fish ponds, over-dredging of wastewater canals affecting the natural gradient and the changing signature of bio-chemical components in sewage water, said Chatterjee. She said with increased options of modern vocations, better availability of formal education, increased awareness and formal training (skill), conventional livelihood sources are losing out on the draw. Besides, there is the pull to have increased connectivity to Kolkata via flyover or roads. If development of the posh satellite township Salt Lake City in the north-eastern fringes of the city reclaimed a part of the wetlands in 1960s, then almost two decades later, construction of Eastern Metropolitan Bypass, which enhanced the connectivity of the area with the city, made the wetland more accessible and made it an attractive site for real estate speculation. The West Bengal government now plans to build a Rs 600-crore flyover, connecting the airport to Science City, which requires construction of some pillars over the wetlands, for which 10-12 cottahs will be used. The state government has promised compensatory digging of a 25-cottah lake in the adjacent area. --IANS sgh/ssp/amit/rn ( 456 Words) 2017-06-06-19:44:16 (IANS)
Allegations over the use of "abusive language and obscene remarks" against officials of a government regulatory body on a 'Whatsapp' group landed 13 commercial pilots employed with leading domestic airlines in trouble on Tuesday. According to Delhi Police, the civil aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) filed a complaint against 34 pilots, of whom 13 were summoned for examining the veracity of allegations. "We have received a complaint by DGCA and are examining the matter. No arrest has been made yet," Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Chinmoy Biswal said adding that the questioning took place on Tuesday afternoon. The 13 pilots, some of whom belonged to airlines like Jet Airways, IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir, were let off after questioning. However, their mobile phones were being examined by a team of IT experts. Apart from the original complaint, the DGCA is said to have also submitted to the officers at Lodhi Road police station a "screen shot" of the usage of objectionable, obscene language. "The text used in the message was highly objectionable, unpardonable and obscene language was used against family members of DGCA officials," a senior DGCA official said. "Unconditional apology has come from respective airline managements." On their part, the airlines which employ these pilots have said that they are fully cooperating with the police over the examination of charges. "We are looking into the charges and extending full cooperation to DGCA in this matter. Basis the findings of our internal enquiry, we will take appropriate action," a spokesperson for IndiGo said. Jet Airways said: "The airline is extending its full cooperation to the authorities. "Jet Airways will take appropriate measures, where necessary, as per the company policy and in compliance with local law," a spokesperson for the airline said. --IANS sp-rv/dg ( 310 Words) 2017-06-06-20:34:10 (IANS)
A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader was shot dead by his two friends during a heated argument in Agra's Mehra Naharganj village on late Monday night. Samar and Sudhir, the convicts, were later surrounded by angry villagers. However, when the police arrived at the spot, the angry villagers started beating them too when they were trying to save the convicts from the public thrashing. The villagers later burned the Police Response Vehicle (PRV). "Victim Verma and his two friends were having a heated argument, which led to the killing of Verma. As soon as we got information, a PRV with an inspector was deployed. Upon arrival, the inspector saw that brothers Sudhir and Samar were being beaten up by the public. The Inspector tried to save them, but the public got agitated and started thrashing him too," Ashok Muth Jain, Inspector General, Agra zone, said. Jain further said that Sudhir later succumbed to his injuries and Samar is absconding. The police, however, could not confirm the exact cause of argument and subsequent death. Jain said the matter is being investigated. (ANI)
The Maharashtra bandh announced by farmers is making lives difficult and causing rise in prices due to shortage of stock. Mamata, a housewife, said that vegetables which used to cost Rs. 40-50 per Kg, are now coming for Rs. 80-100 per kg and that this is pinching her pocket. "The vegetables have got expensive. Things which used to cost Rs. 40-50 per kg, are now coming for Rs. 80-100 per kg. The rise in price of vegetables is affecting our monthly budget," she added. Similar sentiments were echoed by another local Manju, who said that the strike is making the lives of commoners difficult. "We are extremelyy tensed. The condition is very bad. There is no stock and everything is so costly. The high prices are digging a hole in our pockets," she added. The vendors are also crying foul as the shortage is causing a price rise which is resulting in low sales. Ram, a vendor in the Dadri vegetable market, urged the Devendra Fadnavis Government to sort out the farmers' issue so that the incumbent strike can end. "There is shortage of vegetables. The farmers are on strike and it is resulting in shortage. And because of the high prices the customers are not buying vegetables. We are not able to earn. We request the government to chalk out measures to end this strike," he added. Expressing similar opinion, another vendor Rakesh said, "We don't have stock and because of this we are losing customers. We are facing a lot of problems." The strike has been called by a section of farmer leaders who are unhappy with the decision of the Kisan Kranti Morcha calling off their agitation after a meeting with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis last Friday. Many protesters are claiming that the leaders who met Fadnavis had left the state's farmers in the lurch for personal gains, a new leadership has emerged, which is now planning to take the agitation forward. (ANI)
The students took to the streets and denounced the operation which three decades ago caused major unrest in Punjab.

The students also carried placards reading "Never forget 6 June 1984."

With today being the 33rd anniversary of Operation Blue star, tight security arrangements have been made in several parts of Punjab, including Amritsar.

As many as 15 companies of paramilitary forces, including the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and RAF were deployed in different parts of the state after several radical outfits announced that they would observe the anniversary of the military operation.

Operation Bluestar refers to the operation mounted by the Indian Army on June 3, 1984 to flush out Sikh extremists holed up within the Golden Temple in Amritsar. (ANI)
Mumbai [India], June 6 (ANI-Businesswire India): New Holland Agriculture, one of the world's leading agriculture equipment brands, delivered the first 230-hp tractor in India to Antony Lara Enviro Solution Pvt Ltd recently. The award-winning T7070, from the New Holland exclusive Blue Power range, will be part of a project in Greater Mumbai which aims to cut the city's greenhouse gas emissions by improving solid waste treatment. The T7070 will operate a compost windrow turner, a large machine which aerates biodegradable waste. The New Holland T7070 Blue Power contributes to solid waste management project Antony Lara is a waste management company, currently working on the project for processing and disposal of 4,000 tons of waste per day for a period of 25 years. Antony Lara has developed a scientific and economical method for handling the solid waste and to generate energy in parallel. This solid waste management project will reduce direct dumping of solid waste in the dumping grounds and in turn the emission of greenhouse gases. It will also enable production of by-products which can be used for power generation and heat recovery, horticulture or farming, thereby promoting sustainable waste management in the city. Sustainability is at the core of New Holland's values and this initiative complements the Brand's Clean Energy Leader strategy, launched ten years ago to increase farming efficiency and sustainability. Promoting the use of renewable fuels, low emissions, fuel efficient technologies, and sustainable agriculture, this strategy has led to New Holland's involvement in biomass projects globally. The T7070 tractor is powered by an FPT Industrial NEF engine and features New Holland's award-winning Auto Command transmission, both designed for high efficiency and productivity. The tractor's task, operating the large compost windrow turner, requires high PTO power. The T7070's 'Engine Power Management' feature will play a key role in meeting this. EPM measures the load placed on the driveline, especially during PTO work, and increases engine power when necessary to meet user demand. This technology allows the T7070's output to be increased by up to 27 hp, to more than 250 hp. The infinite working speeds of the T7070's Auto CommandTM transmission are ideal for the requirements of the aeration process. The transmission's special PTO mode (there are also Auto, Cruise and Manual modes) ensures that engine and transmission always work harmoniously together for optimum efficiency. All the tractor's working parameters can be monitored by the operator on the touchscreen IntelliViewTM IV display. The tractor also features a spacious, air conditioned cabin with best-in-class operator comfort for long working hours. New Holland Agriculture is proud to be part of this environmentally-friendly initiative and anticipates providing more technical solutions from its product range to other, similar projects in India. (ANI-Businesswire India)
The militants - Shibormi Suchen and Da E Miki Shadong surrendered yesterday before Superintendent of Police in-charge East Khasi Hills district, Davies Marak.

Police said the militants cross-over to India from their hideouts in Bangladesh to surrender.

However, they did not deposit any arms or ammunition. UNI RRK KK

-- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0212-923175.Xml
Unidentified criminals looted nearly Rs. 5lakh from a petrol pump employee at Muradih village under Bhore policestation area in the district late last night.Police said here today that three motorcycle borne outlaws looted Rs.4.86 lakh from the petrol pump employee Dharamendra Baitha and firedat him when he resisted their move. The employee had been rushed toGorakhpur in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh for better treatment.Police said that outlaws made good their escape after committing thecrime taking the advantage of noisy scene at a marriage function nearthe petrol pump. An FIR had been lodged against unidentified criminalson the statement of petrol pump owner.A massive manhunt is on to nab criminals.UNI XC DH KK -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0212-923338.Xml
At least six commuters were today wounded when using upwards escalatorstarted rolling reversal at the Kavi Subhas Metro Railway station in south Kolkata, officials and eye witnesses said. This happened around around 1030 hours, considered the peak time in the Metro Railway-Kolkata, major carrier of this metropolis. Panic struck among the commuters. Sources said the injury of the six commuters was minor. Official sources could not explained actually what happened saying it was a technical snag and theengineers were called upon for check up. The escalator since then stopped working.UNI PC AKM 1324 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0213-923392.Xml
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday described the Bimstec regional bloc that binds India and its subcontinental neighbours with Thailand as one of the fastest growing regions in the world. "Ever since its inception in 1997, Bimstec, representing one-fifth of humanity, has striven to bring benefits of development to its people. Today, we have one of the fastest growth rates of any region. We have made considerable progress, although much more needs to be done," Modi said in a message on the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the bloc. The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec) comprises Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The main objective of Bimstec is technical and economic cooperation among south Asian and southeast Asian countries along the rim of the Bay of Bengal. With the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) virtually rendered ineffective as a bloc, largely due to non-cooperation on the part of Pakistan in a number of areas, India has been giving more importance to Bimstec in recent times. In his message, Modi referred to the BRICS-Bimstec Outreach Summit hosted by India in Goa last year and said: "Our collective resolve to impart fresh momentum to Bimstec has provided hope and optimism. Bimstec not only connects south and southeast Asia, but also the ecologies of the great Himalayas and the Bay of Bengal." He said that the Bimstec countries, with shared values, histories, ways of life, and destinies that are interlinked, represent a common space for peace and development. "For lndia, it is a natural platform to fulfill our key foreign policy priorities of Neighbourhood First and Act East," the Prime Minister said. "I am happy to note that we are implementing the robust agenda that we agreed on in Goa, to achieve greater connectivity, trade, people-to-people contacts, and sustainable use of resources." Modi also thanked Nepal, the current Chair of Bimstec, for its leadership, and Bangladesh, for hosting the Bimstec Secretariat in Dhaka. --IANS ab/vt ( 345 Words) 2017-06-06-16:22:15 (IANS)
Police were on the look out of a person, who posing himself as a Kolkata Municipal Corporation worker has cheated a number of people of nearly Rs 32 lakh by assuring them employment in several KMC departments at Gayeshpur municipal corporation under Kalyani police station area here. Police here today said the accused, Bijoy Majumder, was found to have issued fake appointment letters of various corporation departments and received the said amount from the people. When the job aspirants found the letters fake and demanded the return of money from the accused, the lattertries to wash his hands off. A case was filed with Kalyani police station on June 1, 2017 in this regard. The accused had been absconding since long and a massive manhunt launched to nab him. UNI XC-AKM SJC -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0213-923638.Xml
Uttar Pradesh has turned into a desired destination for the Central government in launching several IT schemes to generate jobs and enhance IT exports. The state is set to get 8,400 seats BPO besides 100 of the government district hospitals will be connected with e-hospitals. A meeting to this effect was held between Union Information Technology Minister Ravishanker Prasad and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath here today. Later briefing reporters at a joint press conference here, Mr Prasad said the digital progress of the country goes through UP and hence the state is the most desired destination for the Centre. The Union Minister said the Centre has decided to set up BPO at smaller cities and hence of the total 48,000 seats in the country, 8,400 is given to UP. "Of the 1,900 seats allotted so far through tendering in UP, the cities like Ghazipur, Unnao, Bareilly, Allahabad and Lucknow get the new BPO centres," he said, adding Mr Adityanath has reserved 1,500 BPO seats for the backward Bundelkhand region to be set up at Chatrakoot and Jhansi while 1,500 seats would be given to the cities of eastern UP," Mr Prasad said. He also announced that in Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, International fame TCS would be setting up a 1,000 seat BPO with giving priority to the women. "Within six-month time, 100 district hospitals of UP would be connected by e-hospital when the patients would get all the benefits of telemedicine," the Union Minister said. While the UP government will provide the computers and other infrastructures, the Centre would provide all the training for the purpose. Though admitting that the previous Akhilesh Yadav government in UP was not cooperative with the Modi government at the Centre for setting up IT hub in the state, he said during the past three years of the BJP rule in the country, Noida and Greater Noida had set up 32 mobile companies. He also announced that tomorrow, he would launch the new unit of the Samsung Mobile unit in Noida which will produce 10 crore mobiles a year. Mr Adityanath in a address said the new industrial policy of the state would be announced the day his government completes 100 day in the office. "We are much interested in attracting big investments in UP so that people get jobs," he said while ruled out the opposition charges that law and order situation is not good in UP." Rule of law prevails in the state and you cannot expect any good from the opposition ,who had always took the state backwards during their past 15 years rule," he added.UNI MB SW 1707 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0101-923808.Xml
In order to minimise the pending litigation of the government, the Uttar Pradesh government today announced to review the pending cases at the priority level. Union Law Minister Ravishanker Prasad, who held a meeting with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath here today to review the huge pending cases of the government, decided that the government litigation would be minimised. "It has been decided that the UP government would review all the 7.5 lakh cases pending for the past 10 years of the government and will expedite it," Mr Prasad said. Talking to reporters, the Union minister said that Mr Adityanath has directed all ministers and officials of the departments to review all the government litigation and which ever can be solved through mutual understanding can be withdrawn immediately. "We want that the government litigation to be expedited at the earliest and people should not suffer for its delay," he said. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister made it clear that his government in the state is for the people and they will take all the decisions which could benefit the people at last. He added that rule of law would prevail in the state and every individual would get justice. However, the Union Minister, who was critical on the act of the opposition parties, asked the opposition parties to' take a rest' for the time being and let the Yogi government work.UNI MB SW 1711 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0101-923818.Xml
This vessel, inducted into the Indian Navy in February, is a sister vessel of Indian Navy's first sailing vessel INSV Mhadei.

"Tarini has begun a new chapter in the history of ocean sailing by Indian women, wherein the first Indian all-woman crew of IN would endeavour to circumnavigate the globe in August 2017," the statement said.

"Tarini aims to promote a spirit of adventure and camaraderie amongst the young Naval personnel in the years ahead."

INSV Tarini is 55 feet in length and built in India in line with the 'Make in India' initiative of the Indian Navy at Aquarius Shipyard Pvt Ltd at Divar, Goa.

The boat has been built to a stock design by Van de Stadt of the Netherlands.

The hull is made of wooden core fiberglass sandwich construction for a better performance than aluminum and steel and the vessel carries a suite of six sails.

The mast of the boat is 25 metres tall and has been custom built by Southern Spars, Cape Town, for sailing in extreme conditions.

The Vessel is skippered by Lt Commander Vartika Joshi, a naval architect, and the all-woman naval officers crew comprises Lt Commander Pratibha Jamwal, Lieutenants P. Swathi, Vijaya Devi, Payal Gupta and B. Aishwarya.

The all-woman team has already sailed INSV Mhadei to Visakhapatnam from Goa for the International Fleet Review 2016 and thereafter to Mauritius and back.

Following that, they sailed the boat on a grueling voyage to Cape Town in December 2016.

--IANS ao/vd/vt

( 299 Words)

2017-06-06-18:58:16 (IANS)
Union Health Minister J P Nadda today launched the 'Skills for Life, Save a Life' initiative' that aims at upscaling the quantity and quality of trained professionals in the healthcare system through initiating various courses targeting specific competencies for healthcare professionals as well as for general public.Referring to India's demographic dividend as more than 65 per cent of its youth were below 35 years of age, he said ''the Government is determined to seize this opportunity by providing adequate skills and employability to the youth for a strong foundation for continued and sustainable growth.'' Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Faggan Singh Kulaste, Minister of State for Health & Family Welfare, C K Mishra, Secretary (Health & Family Welfare) and Dr Henk Bekedam, WHO Representative to India were also present. Addressing the function, Mr Nadda said skilling the youth enhances the employability and skilled India will help the nation reap rich dividends. ''This shall reduce the gap between expectations of employment of the youth and the actual job they get,'' he added. The Minister pointed out that skill enhances economy of the country, too by reducing the gap between demand and supply of trained and skilled manpower in every field. ''The potential for skilled healthcare workers and professionals is immense in the country. Such courses ensure that the health sector gets the adequate skilled health workers.'' He informed that the curriculum had been designed by National Institute of Health and Family Welfare (NIHFW) and AIIMS, Delhi. Pointing out that in India 1,324 road accidents occur daily and a life is lost every 4 minutes and measures taken in the first 10 minutes can save a life. Thus, the Ministry was initiating its 'Skill a Life, Save a Life' programme by launching First Responder course for professionals as well as general public, to be conducted in Central and State government training institutes from July in each district of the country, to empower citizens to be able to provide first aid in case of an emergency. MORE UNI SD SW SB 1853 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0005-924034.Xml
Delhi BJP today accused the Aam Aadmi Party of allegedly having links with terrorist Gurdayal Singh, arrested by the Punjab police two days ago. Addressing a press conference here, Delhi BJP vice-president Rajiv Babbar said, ''Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has always supported people who want to destroy India. When last year, the separatists connected with Kashmir staged a demonstration at the Jawahar Lal Nehru University Mr Kejriwal directly supported them and also questioned the surgical strike by the Army on Pakistan, which was a morale booster for the anti-national elements." Delhi BJP spokesperson Tajinder Pal Bagga said, ''From the initial days of politics, Mr Kejriwal encouraged separatism. On the one hand, he openly fielded Jarnail Singh, a supporter of Khalistan, in the Assembly elections to Punjab, on the other he recommended the release of a dreaded terrorist Prof Bhullar to President Pranab Mukherjee, during his 49 days rule in 2013.''Mr Bagga demanded clarification from the Chief Minister and his party's stand on the elements involved in terrorism and separatism in Punjab & Kashmir. "Since, the formation of Aam Aadmi Party, Mr Kejriwal has either kept silent on terrorism and separatism or supported such elements due to which the people want an explanation from him on this issue," he said.Mr Babbar added that they will meet Delhi Lt Governor Anil Baijal tomorrow to present documents and photos proving that AAP is involved with terrorist elements. He said that if the Chief Minister is involved then he should be removed from the post and legal action taken against him. UNI SHS/AR SWSB 1811 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0092-923937.Xml
A day after Opposition parties lashed out at the Central Bureau of Investigation for conducting searches at residence of NDTV's founder Prannoy Roy, the investigative agency today clarified that searches have been carried out based on search warrants issued by competent court. "Searches were carried out at the premises of the promoters and their offices based on search warrants issued by the competent court. CBI has not conducted any search of registered office of NDTV, media studio, news room or premises connected with media operations. It fully respects the freedom of press and is committed to the free functioning of news operations," the investigative agency said in a statement. The CBI has registered the case based on the complaint of a share holder of ICICI bank and NDTV after carrying out due diligence, it stated. The CBI said, "Denigrating the allegations at this stage of investigation and wrongly accusing the agency of acting under pressure is uncalled for and an attempt to malign the image of the CBI. The investigation is being conducted as per the due process of law and under the jurisdiction of the Court of law. The result of investigation will be filed before the competent Court of law based on the evidence adduced during investigation." "It has been mentioned in the statement of of the news channel that NDTV and its promoters have never defaulted on any loan. The allegations under investigation are not regarding the default in loan repayment; but relate to the wrongful gain of Rs 48 crore to the promoters Prannoy Roy, Radhika Roy, M/s RRPR Holdings Pvt Ltd and a corresponding wrongful loss to the ICICI bank arising from their collusion and criminal conspiracy," it added. Asked about the jurisdiction of the agency by stating that ICICI is a private bank, the CBI said, "It is clarified that the Supreme Court in the case of Ramesh Gelli vs CBI of 2016, that the provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 are applicable to the officials of private banks. Therefore, CBI has jurisdiction to take up investigation of the cases of private banks." In the statement, the agency also urged all concerned to exercise restraint and to cooperate with the investigation. "CBI is committed to carrying out the investigation expeditiously and in accordance with the due process of law. CBI reiterates its commitment to the motto -- Industry, Impartiality and Integrity." Yesterday, the agency had registered a case against Roy, his wife Radhika and a private company for allegedly causing losses to a ICICI Bank and conducted searches at four places. UNI DS SW SB 1903 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0177-924038.Xml
US President Donald Trump will not block James Comey, former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), from testifying before Congress over the Russia probe, the White House said on Monday. "In order to facilitate a swift and thorough examination of the fact sought by the Senate Intelligence Committee, President Trump will not assert executive privilege regarding James Comey's scheduled testimony," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told a daily press briefing. Comey, who was fired by Trump in May, is scheduled to testify in a hearing before the Senate on Thursday. He is expected to be asked about details surrounding his dismissal and the onging FBI probe into the alleged collusion between the Russian government and members of Trump campaign, Xinhua reported. According to previous court rulings, the US president has the power to resist certain subpoenas and other interventions by the legislative and judicial branches to access information and personnel relating to the executive branch. "The president's power to assert executive privilege is well established," Sanders said at the briefing. Comey has been the epicentre of much of Washington's political drama since last year's presidential election, when he twice opened probes into Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's improper handling of classified emails, which Hillary said partly contributed to her defeat. After revelations of a possible collusion between Trump's campaign and the Russian government came to light after his ascension to the White House, Comey was reportedly asked by Trump to drop the investigation into the matter, in particular regarding former Presidential National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. The former FBI chief has reportedly wrote in a memo that Trump asked him to shut down the FBI's probe into Flynn, who is also one of Trump's top aides during the campaign. The Trump administration fired Comey in early May, citing his handling of the Clinton email investigation during the 2016 U.S. elections. But Trump himself has repeatedly said that the Russia probe was on his mind when he removed Comey. Thursday's hearing will be the first time for Comey to make public remarks on the issues, which will have significant implications, including possibly prompting the US Congress to launch a investigation into possible Russian links in the White House. --IANS qd/ ( 380 Words) 2017-06-06-06:22:19 (IANS)
"Mr. Rank made a personal decision. We appreciate his years of dedicated service to the State Department," CNN quoted a senior State Department official, as saying.

However, it is being reported that Rank called it quits after Trump decided to pull out of the climate deal, CNN quoted sources.

Rank was serving in China when President Xi Jinping and former U.S. president Barrack Obama jointly declared their commitment to the Paris agreement.

Rank served in several senior positions within the State Department. He was the director of the office of Afghanistan affairs and a senior advisor to the special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Earlier, China had said that it would commit to the treaty after Trump pulled out of the accord.

Trump had blamed India of extracting "billions and billions and billions" of dollars in foreign aid from the developed world to sign up for the climate accord.

Trump said, according to the Paris climate deal terms, China would be allowed to set up many coal plants, and India would be allowed to double its coal production by 2020, but not the U.S. (ANI)
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for ending of Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories since 1967 and urged the international community for negotiating a two-state solution to resolve the conflict between the two Middle Eastern neighbours. "Ending the occupation that began in 1967 and achieving a negotiated two-state outcome is the only way to lay the foundations for enduring peace that meets Israeli security needs and Palestinian aspirations for statehood and sovereignty," Xinhua quoted Guterres statement released on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the start of the Arab-Israeli Six Day War. Guterres said, "Today marks 50 years since the start of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, which resulted in Israel's occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza and the Syrian Golan and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and Syrians." Guterres said resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will remove a driver of violent extremism and terrorism in the Middle East and open the doors to cooperation, security, prosperity and human rights for all. He called on both sides to return to direct negotiations to resolve all final status issues on the basis of relevant UN resolutions, agreements and international law. "This occupation has imposed a heavy humanitarian and development burden on the Palestinian people. Among them are generation after generation of Palestinians who have been compelled to grow-up and live in ever more crowded refugee camps, many in abject poverty, and with little or no prospect of a better life for their children," he charged. The "occupation", claimed Guterres, "has fuelled recurring cycles of violence and retribution. Its perpetuation is sending an unmistakable message to generations of Palestinians that their dream of statehood is destined to remain just that, a dream; and to Israelis that their desire for peace, security and regional recognition remains unattainable." On May 2, both Palestine and Israel has agreed to reactivate the joint economic committee and expand its power in the West Bank, a Palestinian government spokesperson said. Yousef Al-Mahmoud, the Palestinian government spokesperson said in a press release that the agreement was signed in a rare meeting between Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and the Israeli minister of finance Moshe Kahlon in Ramallah.(ANI)
Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin reiterated Turkey's sadness over the incident, and said it stood ready help if needed.

Erdogan is actively involved in the process by conducting bilateral phone calls with several heads of states, including Islamic and western countries.

Earlier on Monday, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Yemen cut links with Qatar, in the worst rift in years among major states in the Arab world.

Anadolu news agency quoted Kalin, as saying, "The members of the GCC, with whom Turkey is in a strategic business alliance should solve their problems through negotiation, dialogue, and communication."

Erdogan made phone calls to Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, and King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, presidential sources said.

Riyadh has accused Qatar of backing terrorism and extremism, while Bahrain has charged Qatar with interfering in it internal affairs.

Saudi Arabia had decided to sever diplomatic and consular relations with Qatar "proceeding from the exercise of its sovereign right guaranteed by international law and the protection of national security from the dangers of terrorism and extremism."

Saudi Arabia said the move was necessary to protect the kingdom from what it described as terrorism and extremism.

Bahrain's foreign affairs ministry issued a statement that it would withdraw its diplomatic mission from Doha within 48 hours and that all Qatari diplomats should leave Bahrain within the same period.(ANI)
The Dawn quoted the statement issued by CEO Nayyar Hayat that Pakistan International Airlines had directed that special flights be arranged for the pilgrims.

During Ramadan, Pakistani pilgrims who were travelling to Saudi Arabia for Umrah via Qatar were stranded in Doha after several countries including Saudi Arabia, UAE and Egypt cut diplomatic ties with Qatar.

Hayat has asked the Doha manager to coordinate with the Pakistanis stranded in Qatar. PIA officials in Doha have also been directed to contact the Pakistani embassy in Doha.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain ended diplomatic relations and all land sea and air contacts with fellow Gulf Arab state Qatar over allegations that the latter is encouraging terrorism and extremism.

Riyadh accused Qatar of backing terrorism and extremism, while Bahrain charged Qatar with interfering in it internal affairs, according to a report published by The Guardian.

Saudi Arabia had decided to sever diplomatic and consular relations with Qatar "proceeding from the exercise of its sovereign right guaranteed by international law and the protection of national security from the dangers of terrorism and extremism," the report said.(ANI)
The Joint Investigation Team (JIT), which has been tasked with probing the family of Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for their offshore properties has received the records of the Hudaibya Paper Mills. The JIT has said that it would place its latest report on the matter before the Supreme Court of Pakistan on June 7. Abid Hussain, Executive Director of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) handed over the Hudaibya Paper Mills records to the JIT, the Dawn has reported. Meanwhile, a letter by Qatar's former prime minister, Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jaber Al-Thani was also examined by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) probing the prime minister's family's financial dealings abroad. The prime minister's legal team has so far produced two letters from the Qatari prince in a bid to establish a money trail of the London properties. The Hudabaya Paper Mills case looks at money laundering allegations against the prime minister's family, and the records handed over to the JIT includes a confessional statement recorded by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in 2000, in which he had 'confessed' to laundering Rs1.2 billion and opening fake bank accounts at the behest of the Sharif family. Mr Dar had later retracted the statement claiming that it had been extracted under duress. Pakistan's retired President General Pervez Musharraf had implicated the Sharif family in three corruption cases including the Hudaibya Paper Mills which was allegedly used as a cover for money laundering during the late 1990s. The case came to the forefront when a five-judge bench, headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, took up the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf's plea seeking Mr Dar's disqualification as finance minister on charges of facilitating the Sharif family in allegedly laundering Rs1.2 billion. The SECP had already provided the investigation team the annual returns, financial reports of the Hudaibya Paper Mills, details of its authorised and paid-up capital each year, and details of shareholders as well as owners and directors. In November last year, the Sharif family revealed that the four London apartments were purchased through offshore investments involving a member of the Qatari royal family. A letter written by the Qatari prince claimed that the London properties were purchased from the proceeds of their real estate businesses in which the prime minister's father, Mian Muhammad Sharif, had invested 12 million dirhams in 1980.(ANI)
Delivering his opening speech at the Kabul Process Conference here today, Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani made a scathing attack on Islamabad, saying his country is suffering from an "undeclared war of aggression from Pakistan." He said Taliban-sponsored terrorism is creating a platform that brings terrorists from all over the region to Afghanistan. Ghani asked Pakistani representatives: "What will it take to convince Pakistan that a stable Afghanistan helps them and helps our region?""Our problem, our challenge, is that we cannot figure out what it is that Pakistan wants," Tolo News quoted Ghani, as saying. Extending an olive branch to the Taliban, Ghani said if the group is prepared to join peace negotiations, he will allow them to open an office. However, this was their last chance, Ghani warned. Ghani said,"Afghanistan has been on the frontline of terrorism in the world and his government was committed to fighting terrorism but that it wants to build strong political and economic ties with all neighboring countries." Senior Pakistan foreign ministry officials are representing Pakistan at an international conference, 'Kabul Process', aimed at finding a political solution to the lingering conflict in Afghanistan. Additional Secretary Tasnim Aslam and the director general Afghanistan, Iran and Central Asia at the Foreign Office are attending the conference. Ghani pointed out to delegates attending the meeting that 75,000 Afghans were killed or wounded in 2015 and 2016.He also said that in the past two years, 11,000 foreign fighters have come in to Afghanistan to fight for Daesh.Delegates from 23 nations and the European Union, the United Nations and NATO are attending the two day meeting to discuss the current Afghan situation. The initiative has been taken by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani as his administration is facing a daunting challenge to stabilise the country in the face of growing threats posed by the Afghan Taliban as well as Da'ish. This conference comes after the Ministry of Interior (MoI) said the explosives used in Wednesday's deadly truck bombing near Kabul's Zanbaq Square were from Pakistan. "Pakistan is the key planner of this incident like in the past, but our security team is investigating the incident and these investigations have not been completed," said MoI spokesman Najib Danish. According to the MoI, Pakistan's spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) supplied the Haqqani network with explosives to conduct the bombing in Kabul that killed over 100 people.(ANI)
At least three persons, including two children were, killed after a Bugti refugee camp was attacked in Spin Boldak region of Afghanistan. The Baloch Republican Party alleged that Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) attacked the camp in Kandahar province. Eight persons, including women, were injured in the attack. According to the Baloch Republican Party, the ISI has carried out multiple attacks against the followers of Nawab Brahumdagh Bugti, who migrated there after assassination of his granndfather Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti. (ANI)
It emerged that he was arrested last year trying to get into Syria, yet was still able to get into Britain, BBC reported.

Reports in the Italian media said Zaghba was stopped in Italy's Bologna city. His mother is Italian and still lives there.

Pakistan-born Khuram Butt (27) and Rachid Radouane (30) -- reportedly of Moroccan-Libyan descent -- were the other two attackers. Both lived in east London.

Meanwhile, another victim was named as Australian Kirsty Boden, who her family said, ran towards London Bridge in an effort to help people during the attack.

Seven people were killed and 48 injured in the attack on Saturday night.

NHS England said 36 people remained in hospital, with 18 in a critical condition.

Butt and his two accomplices drove a hired van into pedestrians on London Bridge before stabbing people in the area around Borough Market.

All three men were shot dead by police within eight minutes of receiving a 999 call.

Butt had featured in a Channel 4 documentary The Jihadis Next Door, broadcast last year.

Radouane was a chef who also used the name Rachid Elkhdar and police said he claimed to be Moroccan-Libyan.

All 12 people arrested on Sunday after the London attack were released without charge.

On Tuesday, counter-terror officers were searching a property in Ilford, east London. But no arrests were made, police said.

--IANS soni/dg

( 253 Words)

2017-06-06-16:54:27 (IANS)
Reacting to the alleged incursion by the People's Liberation Army helicopters, the Defence Ministry said media reports "do not match the facts".

"The Chinese Army carried out routine training activities on the side of the Sino-Indian border control line. Media reports do not match the facts," it said.

Meanwhile, the Chinese Foreign Ministry called for peace and stability along the border. "I think we should communicate and coordinate with each other through the border consultation mechanism to uphold peace and stability across the border," said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying.

"I want to reiterate that China and India have disputes on their border. Chinese patrol guards have also conducted patrols," she added.

On Monday, China defended the incursion, saying Beijing could patrol in the disputed area.

Describing the flight by the choppers as "unacceptable", India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said that New Delhi will take up the matter with Beijing.

The two Chinese military choppers were sighted hovering over Barahoti in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district on Saturday.

Since March this year, there have been four such incursions into Indian airspace.

Barahoti was designated as disputed area by both China and India in 1958.

It was agreed that neither side would send troops into the area, which is a sloping pasture.

--IANS gsh/vd/sac

( 261 Words)

2017-06-06-16:56:30 (IANS)
A team of excavators in Bulgaria has resumed a search for fossils of an ape-like creature which may be the oldest-known direct ancestor of man and whose discovery has challenged the central hypothesis that humankind originated in Africa.The Graecopithecus freybergi, who lived 7.2 million years ago, is known only from a lower jawbone, unearthed in 1944 in Greece, and an isolated tooth, found in 2009 near the Bulgarian town of Chirpan, where excavations have now restarted."It would be great to find a whole skeleton but a thigh would also help us a lot," Professor Nikolai Spassov, head of Bulgaria's National Museum of Natural History, told Reuters.The scientific consensus long has been that humanity's ape-like ancestors, known as hominins, originated in Africa. Until now, the oldest-known hominin was Sahelanthropus, which lived 6-7 million years ago in Chad.But Spassov hopes new fossils will back up the theory that hominins originated in the Eastern Mediterranean."They have most probably migrated to Africa due to climate change," he said.Surrounded by dangerous predators in a savannah-type environment, life would have been hard for a Graecopithecus freybergi. A male would have weighed around 40 kg and a female around 30 kg, Spassov said.Scientists in Greece are also expected to resume the search for remains of the hominin, and excavation work will begin in neighbouring Macedonia in September. REUTERS SW 1520 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0101-923578.Xml
Justice minister Francois Bayrou said on Tuesday France should end tax breaks on property deals granted to nations including Qatar, a day after several Arab countries severed ties with the Gulf Arab state.Former president Nicolas Sarkozy in 2008 granted Qatari investors exemptions from taxes on profits from the sale of properties in France. Qatar's royal family has since built up a portfolio of assets ranging from a Champs-Elysees shopping mall to the Lido cabaret."Under the responsibility of Nicolas Sarkozy, France gave Qatar an incredible tax advantage," Bayrou told BFM television."Can this situation continue? I don't think so. I think it's very important that in France we have tax fairness."During this year's election campaign, now-President Emmanuel Macron said he wanted to end Qatar's tax concessions.Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain on Monday cut ties with Qatar, which denounced the move as based on lies about it supporting Islamist militants."I will be extremely demanding with regard to Qatar and Saudi Arabia in terms of foreign affairs and to have full transparency in the role they play in the financing or actions that they could lead with regard terrorist groups that are our enemies," Macron said during the election campaign.France's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, who was the architect of sales of Rafale fighter jets to Qatar in 2015, was to meet his Saudi counterpart on Tuesday. REUTERS SW 1547 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0101-923632.Xml
- Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is in talks to bring back Pakistani passengers of Qatar Airlines stranded in Doha after Saudi Arabia and four other Arab countries cut off ties with Qatar, an official said on Tuesday.The Pakistani passengers were supposed to fly to Saudi Arabia via Doha to perform Umrah, a religious ritual, at Mecca."There are two options for PIA. Either take them from Doha to Jeddah, and for that we will be needing Saudi government permission. Or the second is to bring them back to Pakistan and take them to Saudi Arabia," Mashhood Tajwar, spokesman for the national carrier, told Reuters.Saudi Arabia is leading a clampdown on Qatar, accusing the tiny emirate of supporting pro-Iranian Islamist militants.Air travel across the Gulf and beyond faces major disruption following Monday's move by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain to sever ties with Qatar.Tajwar said the number of stranded Pakistani passengers was not clear because they were customers of Qatar Airways, but PIA was in contact with the Pakistani embassy in Doha to get details.Saudi Arabia on Monday banned Qatari airlines from its airspace, while Abu Dhabi's state-owned Etihad Airways and Dubai's Emirates Airline said they would suspend all flights to and from Doha from Tuesday until further notice.Qatar is home to global airline Qatar Airways and many airports in the Gulf region are major hubs for international connecting flights. Qatar's main Hamad International Airport, for example, served about 9.8 million passengers from January to March, according to its website.REUTERS SW 1719 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0101-923831.Xml
The Sukhoi-27 fighter jet today intercepted and escorted a US B-52 bomber, which was flying along Russia's border over the Baltic Sea, the Defence Ministry said."On June 6 Russia's airspace monitoring means at 10:00 hrs Moscow time identified an air target flying along Russia's state border over the international waters of the Baltic Sea. A Sukhoi-27 fighter jet of the Baltic Sea Fleet's air defence force was dispatched to intercept the target," Tass news agency reported quoting a statement."The crew of Russia's Sukhoi-27 jet approached the aircraft staying at a safe distance, identified it as a US strategic bomber B-52 and escorted it for some time," the Defence Ministry said.UNI XC SW 1732 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0101-923859.Xml
Four Indians and a Pakistani national have pleaded guilty to charges for their role in a massive telephone impersonation fraud and money laundering scheme in the US perpetrated by India-based call centres, the US Department of Justice said. Indian nationals Rajubhai Patel (32), Viraj Patel (33), Dilipkumar Ambal Patel (53) and Pakistani Fahad Ali (25) each pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy before US District Court Judge David Hittner of the southern district of Texas. Indian national Hardik Patel, 31, pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy before the same court on June 2. Sentencing dates were pending for all five defendants, the Department of Justice said on Monday. Based on the statements in his June 2 guilty plea, beginning in August 2012, Hardik owned and managed the day-to-day operations of an India-based scam call centre before leaving for the US. While in India, Hardik communicated extensively via email, text, and other means with various India-based co-defendants to operate the scheme and exchange scripts used in the scheme. He also used to coordinate the processing of payments from scammed victims, obtain and exchange lead lists used by callers to target US victims and exchange spreadsheets containing the personal identifying information of US persons misappropriated by the scammers to register reloadable cards used in the scheme. Hardik also managed worker payroll and kept detailed records of profits and expenses for various associated scam call centres. He continued to communicate with India-based co-defendants about the scheme and assist with the conspiracy after he moved to the US. According to his June 6 guilty plea, Rajubhai Patel operated as a runner and assisted a co-defendant in managing the activities of a crew of other runners, based primarily out of Illinois, who liquidated victim funds in various locales in the US for conspirators from India-based call centres. Viraj Patel first became involved in the conspiracy between April and September 2013, prior to entering the US, when he worked at and assisted with overseeing the operations of a call centre in India engaging in scam activity at the behest of a co-defendant. Dilipkumar A. Patel operated as a runner in and around Southern California, along with other co-defendants based in the region. Fahad Ali worked as a member of a crew of runners operating in the Chicago, Illinois area, the Southern District of Texas and elsewhere throughout the country. Ali admitted that he first served as a driver for an Illinois-based co-defendant engaging in activities in furtherance of the conspiracy. Till date, 56 other individuals and five India-based call centres have been charged for their roles in the fraud and money laundering scheme in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Texas on October 19, 2016. --IANS soni/dg ( 467 Words) 2017-06-06-20:22:20 (IANS)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-05 13:37:50|Editor: xuxin

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SEOUL, June 5 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's unification ministry said Monday that the country had resued four fishermen of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) drifting in east waters last week.

Unification ministry spokesman Lee Duk-haeng told a press briefing that one DPRK fisherman was rescued last Friday aboard a vessel drifting in waters off the east coast.

Another three DPRK fishermen, which were drifting into the east waters on Saturday on board another ship, were rescued by the South Korean coast guard.

The spokesman said the four sailors were being investigated by the South Korean government, noting that action will be taken in accordance with their free will following the investigation.

On May 31, six DPRK sailors were sent back to their home country after being rescued by the South Korean coast guard.

South Korea had repatriated rescued DPRK fishermen after confirming their intention not to defect their country.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-05 19:36:58|Editor: Zhou Xin

Photo taken on June 5, 2017 shows Police and emergency services close to the scene of a hostage situation in Melbourne, Australia. Two people are dead, and three police officers have been shot in a violent siege in Melbourne late Monday. (Xinhua/Gui Qing)

SYDNEY, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Two people were killed and three police officers injured in a violent siege in Australia's Melbourne late Monday.

Police are investigating possible terrorist links to the attack, after reports emerged that the gunman had called a local media station and claimed to have been inspired by the Islamic State terrorist group.

Police say the man barricaded himself in the building in the suburb of Brighton for nearly two hours with a woman hostage, after they were called to the scene and discovered the body of a man who had reportedly been shot dead by the assailant.

The gunman was shot dead by the police, after he made an attempt to escape the Bay St residence, opening fire at the authorities on scene as he was gunned down.

Early reports suggested that there was an explosion at the scene, but according to Victorian Deputy Police Commissioner Andrew Crisp, authorities at the scene now say the loud bangs were the result of sustained gunfire.

The Premier of Victoria, Daniel Andrews expressed his concern at the tragic events, and tweeted his support.

"Victoria Police sacrifice so much to keep us safe. They've shown that again tonight. Thoughts are with those injured and their colleagues," Andrews said.

A witness, Will Reid, told local media that the siege situation was frightening.

"I hung around for a while and I heard gunshots, about 10 shots, and we got told it was a hostage situation," Reid said.

"We got pushed back into the Coles (supermarket) and got told to not move,"

"It was frightening, you wouldn't expect that in Brighton at all," he added.

Of the three male police officers who were shot by the yet to be identified assailant, two have been taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries, while the other was treated at the scene.

Police are continuing their investigation.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 04:17:38|Editor: ying

Chen Siqing (L, front), president of Bank of China, attends the opening ceremony of the Bank of China Luanda branch in Luanda, Angola, June 5, 2017. Bank of China opened its Luanda branch in the capital city of Angola on Monday. The branch, the first Chinese bank in Angola, starts banking operations on June 6. (Xinhua/Wu Changwei)

WINDHOEK, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Bank of China opened its Luanda branch in the capital city of Angola on Monday.

The branch, the first Chinese bank in Angola, will start banking operations on June 6.

Chen Siqing, president of Bank of China, as well as some 300 representatives from the Chinese and Angola political, business and financial circle attended the ceremony.

The Bank of China Luanda branch will mainly focus on company businesses and will expand deposit, loan, remittance, international settlement, trade financing, financial markets and other services. It will also actively carry out Angola cross-border financing business to enterprises and customers.

Chen said the two countries have the common aspiration for development and a solid foundation for win-win cooperation. In 2016, bilateral trade volume reached 15.6 billion U.S. dollars between China and Angola.

"The establishment of the Luanda branch will effectively promote bilateral economic and trade exchanges, and effectively promote bilateral cooperation agreement. When the Luanda branch of the Bank of China is established, it will focus on undertaking social responsibility and give full play to group strategy, cross-border service advantages and to provide information consultation for bilateral business matchmaking, business promotion, customer support and risk prevention package service." Chen said.

Meanwhile, the bank will actively serve Chinese enterprises to invest in Angola, support Angola enterprises to develop the Chinese market and put efforts to play a role of bridge for the strategic cooperation.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 05:03:06|Editor: ZD

Chinese and Italian police officers patrol at Piazza di Spagna of Rome, Italy, on June 5, 2017. A joint policing project between China and Italy was presented Monday in Rome's historic Piazza di Spagna. A group of 10 uniformed Chinese officers will be patrolling busy tourist areas in Rome, Florence, Naples, and Milan jointly with their Italian colleagues for the next 20 days. (Xinhua/Jin Yu)

ROME, June 5 (Xinhua) -- A joint policing project between China and Italy was presented Monday in Rome's historic Piazza di Spagna.

A group of 10 uniformed Chinese officers, both men and women, will be patrolling busy tourist areas in Rome, Florence, Naples, and Milan jointly with their Italian colleagues for the next 20 days.

The Chinese police officers will be unarmed, mostly on foot, and have received Italian language training before coming to Italy.

"Both the Italian and the Chinese sides believe this initiative to be very useful," Deputy Police Chief Antonino Cufalo told reporters at the foot of the Spanish Steps rising from the center of the piazza.

"It is one of the most positive channels through which to develop international cooperation," said the senior officer, adding that the project is based on "visibility".

"We are certain that for the Chinese present in Italy, as for Italians present in China, the fact of being able to see friendly uniforms is very important," Cufalo said of the joint patrol project that was first launched last year on an experimental basis.

The idea is to make Chinese tourists feel safer and more at ease. This seemed to be the case for a couple from Jiangsu Province, Li Dong and his wife Luo Weiqi, both 30, who were visiting Rome for the first time.

The couple now residing in Shanghai had been in the Italian capital for eight days, and were heading home on Tuesday.

Asked what they think of the joint policing project, Li said "We think it's a great idea, because Rome and Italy are very, very strange for us."

"The language and the culture are very strange for us, so we need help," Li, a construction project manager, told Xinhua.

A policewoman from the Shanghai Public Security Bureau who is a part of the joint Italy-China patrol agreed. "The Chinese tourists were very surprised to see us here," 32-year-old Yang Yujie told Xinhua.

"Some asked us if they could take photos together with us, while others asked for directions," said Yang, who said her "passion for the uniform" led her to become a policewoman eight years ago.

"I arrived yesterday," she said. "It is my first time in Italy and in Roma -- it's a very beautiful and cultural city and country," she added.

This is not the first time Italy has engaged in joint patrols with other countries, but it is a first for China in Europe, Cufalo said.

Italy has carried out joint patrols with Croatia, Poland, and Spain in the past. However, it is the first time China has engaged in such a project with a European country, according to Cufalo.

The joint police patrols will be on hand to help Chinese citizens and travelers in Italy through June 25.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 05:13:15|Editor: yan

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DUBLIN, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Irish police were investigating the background of one of the London Bridge attackers after documentation showed he had spent some time in Ireland, public broadcaster RTE reported on Monday.

Rachid Redouane has been named by British police as one of the three men who carried out the attacks, which killed seven victims and injured dozens more in the London Bridge area on Saturday night.

British police said the 30-year-old man is of Moroccan and Libyan descent.

RTE reported Redouane was identified after a documentation check in Britain found he had lived in south Dublin for some time.

An identity card, issued by Irish immigration authorities, was found after he was shot dead, it said.

He married a British woman in Ireland in 2011 before moving back to Britain, according to RTE.

Under European Union treaties, Ireland grants working visas to people outside the EU who are in a relationship with an EU citizen, which appears to have been the case in this instance.

RTE also said the couple returned to Ireland for a short time in 2016 before separating.

But RTE quoted police sources as saying that the man was not previously known to police and had not come to their attention in relation to any crime or security issues.

Ireland has condemned the London terror attacks, describing the attacks as "sheer madness". Ireland said it will continue to work closely with Britain on security matters and prevention as far as possible.

Currently, the threat assessment level in Ireland is moderate, meaning an attack is possible but unlikely.
MINSK, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission has begun its work in Belarus, the IMF office in Belarus told local media on Monday.

The local IMF office said that IMF experts will discuss with the representatives of the state authorities the economic situation in Belarus and will conduct preparatory work ahead of the annual IMF mission on Article IV, which is expected in October.

Belarus is discussing with the IMF the possibility of implementing a three-year cooperation program that will be supported by a loan of 3 billion U.S. dollars.

The IMF calls on the Belarusian authorities to implement a comprehensive reform strategy for state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in order to increase their productivity and efficiency, as well as to reduce financial risk.

The IMF also recommends Belarus to continue its work on strengthening the budget framework and pursue prudent monetary and credit policies to maintain macroeconomic and financial stability.

The IMF mission will be working in Belarus from June 5 to 12.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 06:54:11|Editor: Zhou Xin

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UNITED NATIONS, June 5 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for ending of Israel's occupation since 1967 and achieving a negotiated two-state solution to resolve the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

Monday marks 50 years of the start of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, which resulted in Israel's occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza and the Syrian Golan.

"Ending the occupation that began in 1967 and achieving a negotiated two-state outcome is the only way to lay the foundations for enduring peace that meets Israeli security needs and Palestinian aspirations for statehood and sovereignty," said Guterres in a statement.

Guterres said resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will remove a driver of violent extremism and terrorism in the Middle East and open the doors to cooperation, security, prosperity and human rights for all.

He called on both sides to return to direct negotiations to resolve all final status issues on the basis of relevant UN resolutions, agreements and international law.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 07:24:44|Editor: Zhou Xin

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SAN FRANCISCO, June 5 (Xinhua) -- New research suggests patients nearing the end of their lives because of a "life-limiting illness" may not feel medically abandoned if their doctor wants to take them off drugs that control their cholesterol.

Jon Furuno, an associate professor in the Oregon State University (OSU)/Oregon Health & Science University College of Pharmacy, joined collaborators from around the United States in a study that included nearly 300 patients whose average age was 72 and whose life expectancy was one to 12 months.

With a life-limiting condition such as cancer or heart disease, the patients, as participants in a clinical trial to determine the safety and benefit of discontinuing statin therapy, gave responses to a nine-item questionnaire designed to quantify potential benefits and concerns.

Fifty-eight percent of them were cancer patients, 8 percent had cardiovascular disease, and 30 percent had some other life-limiting diagnosis.

Statins are a class of drugs that work by blocking the liver enzyme responsible for cholesterol production, thus reducing the buildup of plaque on artery walls that can lead to a stroke or heart attack.

The drugs are highly effective but not without side effects for some patients, the most common being muscle pain that ranges from mild to severe.

"We know these patients are on a lot of medications," Furuno said. "There's a lot of concern that patients will feel like doctors are giving up on them if they start to discontinue some of their medications, that there's something comforting about continuing to take their medications, and this gives us some indication of what patients feel about the risks and benefits of deprescribing."

As results of the study, published in the monthly Journal of Palliative Medicine, less than 5 percent of participants expressed concern that deprescribing statins indicated being abandoned by their doctor, and many could see benefits of going off their statin, including spending less on medications (63 percent); the potential for being able to stop taking other meds also (34 percent); and having a better overall quality of life (25 percent).

And cardiovascular patients were particularly likely to envision quality-of-life benefits arising from statin discontinuation.

"As a patient's prognosis changes and we think they have a relatively short lifespan left, it really requires risk/benefit re-examination of everything we're doing for them, medications and everything else. There may still be benefits, but have the benefits changed or has the risk/benefit ratio changed?" Furuno said in a news release from OSU.

He acknowledged that "this group is likely not completely representative of all people, because they might be foreseeing some benefits to stopping that other people hadn't considered."

Nevertheless, Furuno and his collaborators believe that the findings are important because little is known about the best way to manage chronic medications for patients with a life-limiting condition.
File photo taken on April 22, 2016 shows then United States Secretary of State John Kerry(C) signing Paris Agreement at the United Nations headquarters in New York. U.S. President Donald Trump announced U.S. withdrawal from Paris Agreement on climate change on June 1, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

WASHINGTON, June 4 (Xinhua) -- Former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday questioned U.S. President Donald Trump's sincerity to negotiate a better version of the Paris Agreement.

"Everybody knows he isn't going to do that because he doesn't believe in it. Because if he did believe in it, you wouldn't pull out of Paris (Agreement)," said Kerry in an interview with NBC.

"America has unilaterally ceded global leadership on this issue, which, for years, even Republican presidents, George H.W. Bush, you know, pushed in this direction," he added.

Trump on Thursday announced his decision to pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement on climate change, arguing that the international accord poses a threat to the U.S. economy.

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a speech at the White House in Washington D.C., capital of the United States, on June 1, 2017. Trump said that he has decided to pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement, a landmark global pact to fight climate change. (Xinhua/Mike Theiler)

Despite his decision to leave the deal, Trump would stick to the four-year-long withdrawal process stipulated by the agreement, which means that the U.S. withdrawal won't take effect till November 2020, about two months away from the end of his first term.

Trump also said the United States would begin negotiations to re-enter the Paris Agreement or make a new deal.

However, he indicated that re-entry may not be a top priority for his administration.

"If we can, great. If we can't, that's fine," said Trump, adding that the new agreement must ensure "fair" treatment to the United States, its businesses, its workers, and its taxpayers.

"There is a significant risk that the administration has underestimated the complexity of global climate negotiations," David Livingston, associate fellow in Carnegie Endowment for International Peace's Energy and Climate Program, told Xinhua in an email.

"The Paris Agreement was, practically speaking, more than a decade in the making," Livingston added.

Since the 1990s, the international community has been engaging in forging collective actions on climate change.

The Paris Agreement of climate change, agreed on by almost every country in the world in 2015 after lengthy negotiations, aims to tackle global warming by cutting greenhouse gas emissions and sets a global target of keeping the rise in the average temperature no higher than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 07:54:50|Editor: Mengjie

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WASHINGTON, June 5 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday moved to privatize the U.S. air traffic control system, as part of a larger scheme to improve the country's infrastructure.

"I'm proposing new principles to Congress for air traffic control reform, making flights quicker, safer and more reliable," Trump said in a statement.

In the plan Trump forwarded to Congress, he said "the administration supports moving the Federal Aviation Agency's Air Traffic Control operations into a new non-governmental entity ... to keep pace with the accelerating rate of the change in the aviation industry."

The proposal outlined criteria that the new entity must meet to oversee U.S. air traffic control, including safety, national security, AND cybersecurity.

Trump lamented the current conditions of the traffic control system, saying it is "ancient, broken, antiquated, horrible system that doesn't work" and that "the previous administration spent over seven billion U.S. dollars trying to upgrade the system, and totally failed."

"In this environment, bureaucratic efforts are unlikely to succeed," Trump said in a letter to Congress, adding that "a new not-for-profit air traffic control entity that will leverage private capital" is needed.

The plan has drawn appraises from former transportation secretaries, who lauded the move as the "right solution for the 21st century."

"The United States is falling ever further behind other countries, such as Canada, that have separated their systems from government constraints, President Trump's proposal is the right solution for the 21st century," Former Transportation Secretary James Burnley said.

However, opponents caution that the proposal, which would require congressional approval, will give too much power to the aviation industries.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 08:25:20|Editor: Hou Qiang

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COLOMBO, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena on Monday appreciated the assistance by a Chinese rescue team in providing relief and aid to thousands of flood affected families in the country.

Sirisena was on an inspection tour in the areas affected by the recent floods and landslides in the Kalutara district when he met with the Chinese 'Blue Sky Rescue Team' who are currently on ground, assisting Sri Lankan troops in conducting cleaning operations and providing medical aid.

Sirisena visited the tents put up by the Chinese team and inquired on the progress of the relief situation. He appreciated the work of the team.

Sirisena last week thanked China for its strong support in assisting Sri Lanka during this hour of need and appreciated the aid provided.

Last week three Chinese naval ships and a Chinese charter flight arrived in the country with humanitarian aid estimated at 2.2 million U.S. dollars for the affected victims.

So far at least 224 people have been killed and over 600,000 affected by the worst flooding and landslides to hit the country since 2003.

Over 100,000 people who were displaced are now returning home after troops and rescue teams have cleaned towns and villages which were inundated.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 08:35:29|Editor: Hou Qiang

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by Will Koulouris

SYDNEY, June 6 (Xinhua) -- China has played a pivotal role in addressing world challenges, from climate change to economic difficulties, a former Australian government official has said.

Wayne Swan, who served as both the Deputy Prime Minister and Federal Treasurer in the Rudd and Gillard governments, spoke to Xinhua recently and said there are many challenges, economic and otherwise, that are facing China, and the rest of the world.

"The biggest one is climate change," Swan said.

"The other really big challenge is to maintain momentum in global growth, and whilst the Chinese economy is successfully making its transition from investment driven growth to consumer driven growth, everyone needs sustained lift across the developed world to further maintain, and further extend, global growth."

China has played a pivotal role in facing these challenges, according to the former leader, who said that the ratification of the climate treaty in Paris by China, was a "welcome" and crucial decision to ensure that environmental conservation is at the forefront of Chinese policy, and thus setting a global example.

This commitment to the environment has been demonstrated by China just this week, with inspection teams across the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region examining over 300 companies, which led to China's Ministry of Environmental Protection ordering local officials to shut down those who are in breach of the environmental standards on Monday.

While setting a strong example in relation to environmental issues, China has also been at the forefront of economic guidance in the Asia-Pacific, and Swan said that this is very encouraging.

"The constructive attitudes that were shown at the Paris accords, and active participation in international financial institutions, including new ones that China has been instrumental in establishing, is important." Swan said.

Institutions such as the New Development Bank, and the Asian Investment Infrastructure Bank, which according to David Thomas, a leading global finance expert and President of the Australia China SME Association, are examples of China's emergence as a global leader.

Thomas said recently that as part of China's membership in the BRICS partnership of nations, these institutions that have been formed with their guidance have been critical to the ongoing success of the Asia-Pacific region, and operate independently from the more traditional, or established global entities.

However, Swan believes that more needs to be done within this emerging region, and suggested that more attention needs to be directed towards the Asia-Pacific by the rest of the Western world, as the region is a hub for future global development and growth.

"My perspective on South East Asia is we need to develop the developing countries and work together with the Asia-Pacific," Swan said.

"In total the Asia Pacific is close to the majority of GDP of the world, and it is where the great bulk of where the future population growth is going to come."

"Therefore solving the structural economic challenges we find in our economies is a very important thing to do if you want to see rising living standards across the world," he added.

In terms of the future of the global policy framework and coordination, Swan outlined the ways in which he hopes that the focus could be shifted towards outcomes that benefitted the majority of people around the globe, rather than a privileged few.

"I would love to see the G20 step up to the plate and tackle head on the issues of inclusive growth and deal more actively with the policy reforms required to put an end to increasingly unequal distribution of wealth and income within countries," Swan said.

"I think we've seen when we ignore the distributional impacts of globalisation, it is at our peril."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 09:35:54|Editor: Zhou Xin

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ALGIERS, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Algerian Foreign Minister Abdelkader Messahel said Monday that the countries of the region have to maintain continuous coordination to face together challenges when he held talks with visiting Egyptian and Tunisian counterparts.

"The situation in Libya and the importance of permanent coordination at the level of Libya's neighboring countries, particularly Algeria, Egypt and Tunisia, were on the agenda of the talks," Messahel told the press about his meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry.

"We have discussed the situation in the region, amid emerging threats such as terrorism, organized crime and illegal migration," Messahel added.

The Egyptian foreign minister said his talks with Messahel dealt with "ways and means to boost and reinforce bilateral relations in all fields," specifying that the situation in Libya was at the core of the talks.

Other regional issues were also discussed, especially counter- terrorism, the Palestinian issue and the situation in Syria and Yemen, said Shoukry.

The talks were held ahead of a tripartite meeting of the three ministers to discuss the situation in Libya following recent security deterioration, which began Monday through Tuesday in the Algerian capital city.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 09:46:03|Editor: Zhou Xin

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WASHINGTON, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The White House said Monday that the United States was committed to de-escalating tensions in the Gulf after some Arab countries decided to sever ties with Qatar.

"The President is committed to continuing to have conversations with all of the people involved in that process, with all of those countries," said White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders here at a briefing. "We want to continue to de-escalate that."

Meanwhile, speaking at a press conference in Australia, U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis on Monday sought to downplay the impact of the diplomatic rift in the Middle East on the campaign against the Islamic State (IS).

"I am positive there will be no implications coming out of this dramatic situation at all," said Mattis.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt said earlier on Monday that they decided to cut off diplomatic relations with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism. Qatar has rejected the accusations, calling them "unjustified" and "baseless."

Libya, Yemen and the Maldives also severed ties with Qatar on the same day.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 09:46:04|Editor: Zhou Xin

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by Matt Goss

MELBOURNE, June 6 (Xinhua) -- An incident in Melbourne which left two people dead is being treated as an act of terror, police confirmed on Tuesday.

Graham Ashton, Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police, said that officers would investigate if Yacqub Khayre, 29, was trying to lure police into a deadly ambush on Monday night when he shot an apartment worker dead and took a woman hostage.

Khayre was killed by police on Monday night after a prolonged siege which began when officers discovered the body of a man, in the foyer of an apartment building in Brighton, 11 kilometers south-east of Melbourne.

Shortly after the discovery of the body, a woman called emergency services saying she was being held hostage by Khayre, prompting a specialist police operation.

Khayre emerged from the apartment building around 6:00 p.m. and started shooting at police, injuring three officers, before he was killed.

Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the incident on Tuesday, saying Khayre was "one of its soldiers."

However, Ashton said that the evidence indicated that Khayre had planned and coordinated the attack on his own.

"(Khayre) has a long criminal history with us, but also from what we're piecing together comments he made related to IS and Al Qaeda certainly for us to put this in the terrorism category," Ashton told reporters in Melbourne on Tuesday.

"We don't yet know if this was something he was really planning or whether it was just an ad hoc decision that he's made just to go off tap like this."

Ashton confirmed that the man had been let out of prison, where he was serving time for violent offences, on parole in November 2016.

"He has recently done some jail time, he got out late last year and has been on parole at the time of this offending last night," he said.

"This person wasn't someone around which we had major concerns at this time, and we had nothing to suggest (he was planning) what he did suddenly decide to do."

A man who called a Melbourne television station's newsroom claiming to be Khayre as the siege was ongoing said "this is for IS and this is for al-Qaeda."

Ashton said police had not yet confirmed the source of the call but that it would form part of a larger investigation into the series of events.

Malcolm Turnbull, Australia's Prime Minister, said that he was shocked by the events.

"This terrorist attack by a known criminal, a man who was only recently released on parole, is a shocking, cowardly crime," Turnbull said on Tuesday.

"It is a terrorist attack and it underlines the need for us to be constantly vigilant, never to be deterred, always defiant, in the face of Islamist terrorism."

Victoria Police confirmed on Tuesday that all three officers hurt in the incident were expected to make full recoveries.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 10:32:00|Editor: Zhou Xin

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By Feng Yingqiu

YANGON, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar government is working towards the adoption of a national climate change policy, expecting to announce the launch of the policy soon.

The policy, formulated in collaboration with civil society, private sector and experts from across all sectors, will be launched along with a new national climate change strategy and action plan, President U Htin Kyaw disclosed at a ceremony celebrating the World Environment Day in Nay Pyi Taw on Monday.

The president encouraged Myanmar people to appreciate and help preserve the beauty of the country, one of the most ecologically diverse countries in Asia, urging people to take forward the call of the theme of the World Environment Day to connect with the nature.

World Environment Day is a United Nations-led annual event since 1972, aimed at bringing awareness to the destructive effects of natural resources extraction pollution and the need to protect biodiversity.

Myanmar is blessed with impressive landscapes that extend from the snow-capped mountains in the north to the southern coastal region of Tanintharyi. The variety of Myanmar's ecosystem is cherishable.

The country's terrains are home to over 18,000 species of plants, some 1,100 species of birds and almost 300 species of mammals. Of them, 61 species of plants and 44 species of mammals are globally classified as endangered or critically endangered species.

The species of Golden Deer and six species of bird in the global endangered species list can only be found in Myanmar.

Myanmar, a signatory to the Paris Climate Change Agreement, has voiced commitment to preserving and protecting the environment which includes combating the effects of global warming.

The government is working to conserve and protect its precious forest land, natural parks and wildlife sanctuaries.

However, Myanmar's many natural forests are being depleted at a rapid rate with air quality and fresh water resources being threatened.

In recent times, the country has experienced an unprecedented increase in temperature and extreme weather events more than ever before.

Some major storms struck the country in 2008 and as recently as a week ago, towns and villages in western Rakhine state were impacted by the powerful cyclone Mora.

Up to present, communities in Myanmar are still recovering from the impact of cyclone Nargis, the worst natural disaster in the country's history which occurred nearly a decade ago.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 10:37:03|Editor: Zhou Xin

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UNITED NATIONS, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Top United Nations officials Monday urged coordinated global action to protect the planet when an international conference on the health of the world's oceans and seas opened here.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned governments that unless they overcome short-term territorial and resource interests, the state of the oceans will continue to deteriorate, when he addressed his first major UN conference since taking office.

UN Ocean Conference opened Monday morning with a traditional Fijian ceremony at the UN General Assembly.

"Improving the health of our oceans is a test for multilateralism, and we cannot afford to fail," the secretary-general said.

"We must jointly address the problems of governance that have held us back," he said, calling for a new strategic vision of how to govern the oceans and marine resources.

One of the main challenges, he said, is to end the "artificial dichotomy" between jobs and healthy oceans. "The conservation and sustainable use of marine resources are two sides of the same coin," he noted.

The UN chief called for strong political leadership and new partnerships, based on the existing legal framework, and concrete steps, such as expanding marine protected areas and reducing plastic waste pollution.

Among other specific actions, Guterres urged governments to allocate their promised funding for the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris agreement on climate change and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, as well as to improve data collection and share their best experience.

The United Nations is working to build partnerships with governments, the private sector, civil society and others to support those goals, and is also working with international financial institutions to allocate resources, he added.

"The time has come for us to correct our wrongful ways," President of the UN General Assembly Peter Thomson told thousands of participants including heads of state and government, business people, actors, and ocean and marine life advocates.

Thomson spoke out against "inexcusable" actions such as dumping plastic into the oceans and destroying marine life through acidification and deoxygenation.

"We are here on behalf of humanity to restore sustainability, balance and respect to our relationship with our primal mother, the source of life, the Ocean," he said.

Also speaking at the opening was Wu Hongbo, the secretary-general of the Ocean Conference, who said that without oceans and seas, there would be no life on the planet.

Wu, who is working as UN under-secretary-general for economic and social affairs, also noted that everyone must work together to achieve the goals of the conference.

The Ocean Conference, which runs through Friday, focuses on the targets outlined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

In particular among the Sustainable Development Goals, Goal 14 highlights the need to conserve and sustainably use oceans, seas and marine resources to benefit present and future generations.

The Ocean Conference will work on a political call to action, a segment on partnership dialogues and voluntary commitments. Hundreds of commitments were registered by the time the conference opened.

The conference is expected to leave a call for action backed by UN member countries, and approve a document already negotiated here in previous months, the organizers of the conference said.
Google Maps(WASHINGTON) -- Police in suburban Maryland are investigating the double murder of two teenagers who were set to graduate high school Tuesday, but were found shot dead Monday night.



After Montgomery County police officers responded Monday night to a report of the sounds of shots being fired, they found the teens inside a car parked on a residential street in Montgomery Village, about 23 miles north of Washington, D.C., Montgomery County police said.



The victims, identified as Shadi Adi Najjar, 17, and Artem Ziberov, 18, both sustained gunshot wounds and died at the scene, police said.



They were set to graduate from Northwest High School in Germantown on Tuesday.



"For those of you who knew Artem and Shadi, we ask that you remember and celebrate them," Northwest High School Principal Jimmy DAndrea said in a statement ahead of the ceremony. "They were both excellent students who had a positive impact on those around them, and they will be greatly missed."



A moment of silence was held at this afternoon's graduation.



At the ceremony, D'Andrea told the crowd that Najjar, who took higher-level courses including upper-level calculus, "was a natural learner who had a genuine interest in knowing and understanding."



"Any assignment completed was well done," D'Andrea said, "and he enjoyed learning most when he felt challenged."



He was also "incredibly kind and personable" and "always leaned over to help a classmate when they were struggling," D'Andrea said.



Ziberov, who planned to attend the University of Maryland, had a "dry sense of humor" "paired with a truly kind spirit," D'Andrea said.



He was a member of the National Honor Society and had earned over 260 hours of community service, D'Andrea said.



Ziberov was tri-lingual and was working on learning Japanese as a fourth language, D'Andrea said. He wanted to pursue a career in international relations, D'Andrea said.



The principal said he would deliver the teenagers' diplomas to their parents later this week.



Meanwhile, authorities "worked through the night" investigating the teens' murders, the police said. Crime Solvers of Montgomery County is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for any information that leads to an arrest.



Anyone with information is asked to call the police at 240-773-5070.



This isn't the first time a high school senior was killed close to their graduation date this spring.



In May in Irving, Texas, 18-year-old Ledajrick Cox was shot dead hours after his graduation.



And in May in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 18-year-old Bryant Lee was shot dead days before his graduation.





Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 10:56:48|Editor: Hou Qiang

Photo take on June 6, 2017 shows the returned Giant Panda named "Hai Bang" at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province. Three giant pandas born and raised in Japan arrived in Chengdu in southwest China on Monday night, where they will begin a new life, and, hopefully, have offspring. (Xinhua/Xue Yubin)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 11:17:20|Editor: Zhou Xin

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YANGON, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar's government has returned some 2,580 hectares of land in Yangon confiscated from farmers and other landholders by the previous government, official media reported Tuesday.

The restored land were among the 3,717 hectares taken over from farmers by various government agencies.

After investigation, the Yangon Region Land Confiscation Review Committee decided that the confiscated lands under 1,905 cases should given back to the original owners.

According to the committee, most of the confiscated land was taken by the Ministry of Defense and the Department of Human Settlement and Housing Development in the previous government tenure.

Meanwhile, up to mid-last year, the Mandalay regional government had also returned some 12,960 hectares out of 14,175 hectares' confiscated land in the northern region, while some similar land in Ayeyawaddy region and Nay Pyi Taw Council area were also transferred back to the farmers.

More than one month after taking office, the new government voiced commitment to the speedy resolution of farmland confiscation issue and for the prompt return of abandoned land to their lawful owners.

Vice President U Henry Van Thio, who chairs the Central Review Committee on Confiscated Farmland, then described farmland as crucial properties for farmers in an agricultural country, pledging justice in returning the confiscated land.

During the tenure of the former government, private companies and government departments were allowed to confiscate land, including farmland, under the pretext of urbanization and industrialization.

However, land dispute was brought about between the government, landowners and investors over ownership.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 11:22:23|Editor: Zhou Xin

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HAVANA, June 5 (Xinhua) -- A Vietnamese military delegation headed by Defence Minister General Ngo Xuan Lich paid an official three-day visit in Havana Monday, said a report from the Cuban News Agency.

General Ngo and his entourage paid tribute to heroes of the Cuban War of Independence, General Antonio Maceo and his aide-de-camp Captain Francisco Gomez Toro, in a ceremony chaired by Cuba's first defence deputy minister General Alvaro Lopez Miera.

The Vietnamese official expressed his satisfaction at visiting Cuba and thanked the leaders of the two countries for promoting the friendship and brotherhood.

Ngo stressed that the Vietnamese people will always remember when Commander-in-Chief Fidel Castro said that Cubans are disposed to give their own blood for Vietnam.

"That phrase was a very high stimulus for our people to continue our struggle against our enemies," he added.

Castro visited North Vietnam in 1973 as a show of support for the Communist government during its war with the United States while Cuba also sent doctors and engineers to help their comrades.

The minister remarked that his trip to Cuba was to strengthen defence ties, especially in the implementation of the two countries' 2017-2019 bilateral agreement.

Ngo's agenda also included talks with Cuba's top military officials, touring army units, and a lecture at the Maximo Gomez Academy, the highest training center for the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 11:27:25|Editor: Zhou Xin

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RIO DE JANEIRO, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's President Michel Temer received on Monday an interrogation of 84 questions from federal police, as part of an investigation against him for supposed corruption.

He now has 24 hours to send his responses in writing.

According to the G1 news portal, Temer's defense team was surprised to receive the questions, after the Supreme Court authorized the procedure last week.

However, Justice Edson Fachin, who approved the written interrogation, said Temer was not obliged to answer to them all.

The questions address the confession made by Joesley Batista, owner of the JBS meatpacking group, to prosecutors, including the presentation of a tape in which Temer can seemingly be heard approving bribes for former House Speaker Eduardo Cunha.

Temer has rejected all accusations against him and has refused to step down, despite growing political opposition, including by former allies.

The police sent the questions to Temer one day before the country's top electoral court opens a hearing into supposed irregularities during the 2014 electoral campaign.

Temer, who stood as the running mate of impeached former president Dilma Rousseff, is accused of receiving illegal campaign funding from the Petrobras corruption ring.

If the judges conclude this illegal financing was received, they could invalidate Rousseff and Temer's electoral victory and remove the president from office.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 11:32:29|Editor: Hou Qiang

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HANOI, June 6 (Xinhua) -- The Vietnamese government has decided to continue waiving visas for citizens of Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain in one year starting on July 1, Vietnams tourism watchdog said on Tuesday.

Earlier, Vietnam waived visas for people from the five European countries in one year from July 2015, and extended this policy for another year, said the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.

Vietnam hosted nearly 5.3 million international arrivals in the first five months of this year, up 29.6 percent against the same period last year. Specifically, the country received 873,400 European visitors, up 23.7 percent.

In the five-month period, Vietnam welcomed 126,400 visitors from Britain, 123,600 from France, and 94,200 from Germany, posting year-on-year rises of 12.7 percent, 10.1 percent and 17.4 percent, respectively, said the administration.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 11:57:40|Editor: Hou Qiang

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SYDNEY, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Passengers had to leap from a plane onto the tarmac on Tuesday morning, when it was evacuated after a threatening note was found during the flight from Sydney to the town of Albury.

The note discovered in the bathroom of the 68-seater turboprop, Virgin VA1174 flight, said there was a bomb on the aircraft, according to local media reports.

New South Wales State Police however, informed Xinhua that there was no sign and any explosives onboard the plane and said they believe the incident was merely a "prank."

Police also stated that one man has been taken into custody and is assisting police with their inquiries.

It's believed cabin crew "ripped off" the doors from the inside, after the plane landed and instructed people on board to "leave your luggage. Get out and run, run, run!" one passenger told the Australian Associated Press.

No passengers were reported as injured after making the 1.2 meter jump from the aircraft and police emphasized "all of the occupants were secured and safe with in five minutes of it landing."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 12:07:43|Editor: Hou Qiang

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KATHMANDU, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Nepali stakeholders have expressed concerns over the situation of Nepali workers employed in the Gulf nations after countries including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar on Monday.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE were the three countries taking the largest number of Nepali migrant workers in fiscal year 2015-16, according to Department of Foreign Employment of Nepal. A total of 320,360 Nepalis reached these three countries for employment while a total of 3,146 reached Bahrain in fiscal year 2015-16.

Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was monitoring the situation following the diplomatic stand-off among Gulf nations.

"We have instructed Nepali embassies in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Egypt to assess situation for Nepali migrant workers," Bharat Raj Paudyal, spokesperson of MoFA told Xinhua on Monday.

According to Nepali recruiting agencies which send Nepali migrant workers to Gulf nations, Qatari companies which have presence in other Gulf nations and have employed Nepalis there might be in trouble.

"Question has arisen over what happens to Nepalis working in branches of Qatari companies in other countries which severed ties with Qatar," Rohan Gurung, general secretary of Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies, told Xinhua on Monday.

Given the suspensions of flights between the two sides, Nepalis cannot travel to Qatar through for example, UAE with airlines like Emirate Airlines, Fly Dubai and Air Arabia cancelling flights to Qatar.

"Until Qatar Airlines and Himalayan Airlines which have direct air connectivity with Doha increase number of flights, movement of Nepali migrant workers to Qatar may come down," said Gurung.

However, Nepal's Ministry of Labor and Employment said that it is yet to assess impact of diplomatic stand-off between Qatar and other Gulf countries on the Nepali migrant workers.

"We have not seen much impact immediately because there are not many Nepalis who have to travel from one country to another for employment," said Govindamani Bhurtel, spokesperson of the ministry.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 13:03:03|Editor: Zhou Xin

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NEW DELHI, June 6 (Xinhua) -- At least five people were killed and a few others injured Tuesday after an overloaded truck collided with a car in western Indian state of Rajasthan, police said.

The mishap took place near the Chomu House circle area of Jaipur, the capital city of Rajasthan.

"In an accident that took place here today five people were killed and few others were injured," a police official said. "The bodies have been retrieved from the spot and injured taken to hospital."

Officials said the truck loaded with salt fell on the ill-fated car and crushed it under its weight.

Police said they have removed the mangled car and the truck from the accident site and were trying to clear the road by removing salt bags.

A case has been registered into the accident and investigations ordered.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 13:33:15|Editor: Zhou Xin

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NEW DELHI, June 6 (Xinhua) -- A senior leader of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has quit over the central government's recent ban on the sale of cattle for slaughter.

Bachu Marak, the BJP leader from the northeastern state of Meghalaya, had planned to hold a "beer and beef party" to mark three years of the government, but resigned over the new cattle trade rules.

"I quit and resign from the party for dishonouring my culture and traditional practices. Imposition of BJP's non-secular ideology on us is not acceptable," he said in resignation letter.

Beef is the traditional food in many northeastern states.

He is the second leader from Meghalaya to quit the party over cattle trade rules.

Last week, another senior leader of the state, Bernard Marak, resigned from the party over the cattle rules.

Two Indian states, Kerala in the south and West Bengal in the east, have already refused to implement the central government's ban.

The Indian Environment Ministry had last month imposed the ban, saying that cattle for slaughter will have to be bought from farmers directly.

The regulation was meant to protect "animals from cruelty and not to regulate the existing trade in cattle for slaughter houses", the ministry said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 13:43:19|Editor: Zhou Xin

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PHNOM PENH, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Lao authorities have released 11 Cambodian illegal workers, including a woman, after an intervention from the Cambodian Embassy to Laos, a Cambodian spokesman said on Tuesday.

"The 11 Cambodian laborers, had been trafficked by a ringleader to Laos by boat on April 20, 2017 and were arrested by Lao authorities in Sainyabuli Province on May 26, 2017," Foreign Ministry spokesman Chum Sounry said in a statement.

He added that the Lao authorities agreed to free the group after the Cambodian Embassy to Laos had negotiated with the Laos Public Security Ministry's Immigration Department.

According to the spokesman, the Embassy had repatriated them to Cambodia by bus already.

Cambodia shares about 533 km of border with Laos to the north and northeast.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 13:48:20|Editor: Zhou Xin

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HANOI,June 6 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's five biggest cities have been allowed to auction motorized vehicles' number plates on a trial basis, which will bring a large sum of money to the state budget, the Vietnamese Traffic Police Department said on Tuesday.

Hanoi capital city, northern Hai Phong city, central Da Nang city, southern Can Tho city and Ho Chi Minh City will auction number plates which either have repetitive numbers such as 99.999 and 11.111 or coincide with celebration days or birthdays.

To have number plates considered to be beautiful such as 13.579 and 55.555, or thought to bring luck to owners such as 88.888 or 68.686, local people have to pay additional fees.

The starting price of automobile number plates slated for auctions will be at least 10 times higher than normal fees, and that of motorbike number plate at least five times higher, an official from the department under the Ministry of Public Security told Xinhua.

The normal fees currently stand at 150,000-20 million Vietnamese dong (6.6-885 U.S. dollars) per automobile, and 50,000-4 million Vietnamese dong (2.2-177 U.S. dollars), depending mainly on the type and value of vehicles and on the location of owners.

If auctions of beautiful and lucky number plates run smoothly, tens of thousands of billions of Vietnamese dong (hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars) will be added to the state budget, the official said, adding that other number plates will be selected at random as usual.

At present, without auctions, wealthy or influential people often give or receive bribes for the issuance of beautiful or luck number plates.

By the end of last year, Vietnam had over 2.5 million automobiles, including 1.3 million cars with nine seats or fewer, according to the Ministry of Transport.

As of late February 2017, Vietnam had 45 million motorbikes, according to statistics from motorbike producers and traders in the country.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 13:58:24|Editor: Mengjie

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NANNING, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Police in southern China have busted a workshop manufacturing methamphetamine hidden in a chicken farm, seizing 20 suspects, authorities said Tuesday.

More than 200 police officers from southern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region raided the drug factory in Gusi, a remote mountain village in Nanning, Guangxi's capital, on May 31, according to Nanning public security bureau.

They confiscated more than 560 kilograms of methamphetamine, commonly known as ice, and over 140 kg of chloroephedrine, an in-process material for making methamphetamine, drug-making equipment and over 860,000 yuan (about 127,000 U.S. dolloars), the bureau said.

Guangxi police obtained information early March that a man surnamed Liang might be producing drugs in a suburb of Nanning. After a three-month investigation, a large drugs ring covering Guangxi, Guangdong and Fujian provinces was uncovered.

The ring was well organized with each gang member assigned a particular role. They were relatives or fellow-villagers of Liang.

Further investigation is ongoing.

Between January to May, Nanning police have arrested 263 drug suspects, seized more than 2,200 kg drugs, 89 times more than that in the same period last year.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 14:58:55|Editor: Hou Qiang

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XI'AN, June 6 (Xinhua) -- An ongoing expo has highlighted development in China's western areas following the country's Belt and Road Initiative.

"I secured another big deal," said Lyu Zhihui, excited at inking a contract worth more than 1 million yuan (147,100 U.S. dollars) at the 2017 Silk Road International Expo in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province. "I just did not expect our products to be so popular."

Lyu's client is Rajesh Kazi Shrestha, president of the Nepal Chamber of Commerce. At last year's expo, the two sides signed deals worth more than 4 million yuan.

"These products made by Lyu's company are of high quality and delicate designs, and are quite popular in our country," Shrestha said. "That's why we continue to buy from them."

Lyu's company makes outdoor sportswear and is located in Shaanxi's Baihe County, a place known for mountains of rocks and grinding poverty. But now, as China implements the Belt and Road Initiative, areas like Baihe are jumping on the Silk Road bandwagon, witnessing rising foreign trade.

Last year, Lyu's company earned a combined revenue of more than 6 million yuan thanks to sales in India, Nepal and Iran.

Riding on this success, Lyu plans to expand the company's production this year to meet rising demand.

"Our county also wants to sell local specialties to foreign countries," Lyu said.

Countless businessmen like Lyu are seeking opportunities at this year's expo, with the priority on cooperation in investment, trade, tourism, education and more. Delegates from western areas such as Yunnan, Sichuan, Chongqing and Gansu are exhibiting advanced industries and specialties.

Shaanxi, for example, is generating buzz in energy chemical engineering, modern agriculture and logistics.

"Energy chemical engineering, for instance, is a pillar industry in Shaanxi, and has entered a high-end stage," said Tang Yugang, deputy head of the provincial commerce department. "We are willing to work with international companies on this."

Meanwhile, many foreign businesses are also at the expo looking for possible partnerships. During a conference at the expo, representatives from more than 20 Serbian companies showed up, hoping to ink deals in energy, food processing and tourism, among others.

The expo is a chance for Serbia to introduce Chinese people to its traditional culture, tourism resources and products, according to Rasim Ljajic, deputy prime minister of Serbia. Rasim said that the Belt and Road Initiative would help Serbia find more opportunities in China.

The expo is the epitome of a much broader picture. Currently, many foreign enterprises are coming to China's west for investment.

In Chongqing, robot-making giants such as Germany's Kuka, Switzerland's ABB Group, and Japan's Fanuc have all set up branches.

In Sichuan, a total of 935 investing companies from along the Belt and Road had been established by the end of 2016, with foreign capital exceeding 7 billion U.S. dollars.

"China's west is an important area for a new round of opening up," said Qian Keming, China's vice minister of commerce. "Provinces and cities should deepen their economic exchanges with neighboring countries to contribute to the development of the Belt and Road Initiative."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 15:34:10|Editor: ying

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CANBERRA, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Australia and China will continue to work together to fight the scourge of illicit drugs, Australia's justice minister said on Tuesday, after both nations agreed to extend a joint agency cooperation program until January 2018.

Announcing the extension of the Taskforce Blaze partnership between Australian Federal Police (APF) and the Chinese National Narcotics Control Commission, Australian Justice Minister Michael Keenan said the taskforce had been responsible for the seizure of tonnes of illicit drugs worth billions of dollars.

"Taskforce Blaze is the first ever joint agency taskforce of its kind in the world, and Australia remains the only country to have such crime fighting cooperation with China," Keenan said.

Since its inception in November 2015, the taskforce has proven to be one of the single most effective ways of stopping illicit drugs, including methamphetamine (known as ice), from hitting Australian streets, said Keenan.

In 18 months, 10.5 tons of illicit drugs and precursors, worth more than 5 billion Australian dollars (3.74 billion U.S. dollars) have been seized, that's an average of more than half a ton of drugs and millions of street deals every month, he added.

Keenan said that illicit drugs remained one of the biggest scourges on Australian society, with the drugs affecting not only those who take them, but their families and friends as well.

"The work of Taskforce Blaze is saving lives. Just one hit of an illicit drug can take a life, destroy a family and devastate a community," he said.

The minister added that the program's success would continue, issuing a warning to drug traffickers in both nations that authorities would find them.

"The extension of Taskforce Blaze should serve as a warning to the criminals who peddle in the misery of drugs: we will stop you," Keenan said.

"Under the new agreement, the scope will continue to focus on expanding investigations into multinational drug smuggling organizations," he said.

"Organized crime knows no borders and is clearly a transnational threat shared by our countries and our region," Keenan added.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 15:49:19|Editor: Lu Hui

Photo taken on June 5, 2017 shows the Embassy of Qatar in Cairo, Egypt. Egypt announced on Monday the cut of diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing the Gulf Arab state of supporting "terrorist" organizations, according to a Foreign Ministry statement. (Xinhua/Meng Tao)

BEIJING, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Arabia and its allies have severed diplomatic ties with Qatar in an escalation of power struggle in the Middle East which endangers the region's political balance and hinders global efforts to end conflicts in the region.

Observers said cracks in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that dominates regional affairs after 2011 may lead to more intense struggle between Shiite and Sunni powers and weaken counter-terrorism operations.

SEVERED TIES

Egypt, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Yemen and the Maldives followed Saudi Arabia on Monday to broke off ties with Qatar. Riyadh accused it of supporting extremism and destabilizing the region, accusations denied by Qatar.

Qatar has for years played as a mediator and power broker for regional disputes. The gas-rich country backed the Muslim Brotherhood, interacted with Iran, and held channels with Hamas and extremist groups like al-Qaida, a policy that sometimes angered its neighbor but was generally accepted by the Arab world and its western allies.

Although Qatar stood firmly with Saudi Arabia on major regional issues, such as the civil wars in Syria and Yemen, the two countries differed on stance with Iran, and were competing for the leading role in the Arab world.

In 2014, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain recalled ambassadors to Qatar, accusing it of endangering security and stability in the GCC countries. Relations between Qatar and other Gulf countries eased later after mediation efforts.

However, Qatar's official news agency posted an alleged speech of Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani at a military graduation ceremony last month, which described Hamas as "the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people," and called Iran "a big power in the stabilization of the region."

Doha later denied the speech, saying the agency was hacked and posted false statements.

Qatar has been interacted with Iran for a long time and ignored the anti-Iran alliance after U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to Riyadh, and "finally it pays the price for its shaky foreign policy," said Nurhan Al-Sheikh, a professor of political science at Cairo University.

DIVIDED GCC

Established in 1981, the GCC comprising six rich Arab countries, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, the UAE and Qatar, with its headquarters in the Saudi capital of Riyadh.

As traditional powers like Egypt and Syria were dragged into turmoil and civil war in 2011, and Iraq struggled with reforms after the U.S. invasion in 2003, the GCC in fact dominated regional affairs involving Arab countries in recent years and rallied against Iran in Yemen and Syria.

Observers said in the past six years, Qatar has been competing with Saudi Arabia for the leading role in the Arab world.

Qatar hopes that it could become a broker between the Gulf countries and Iran, advocating improved relations with Tehran, which is resented by Saudi Arabia, said Sun Degang, deputy director of the Middle East Studies Institute at Shanghai International Studies University.

It also supported the Muslim Brotherhood, an organization with broad influence in several countries. Its candidate Mohamed Morsi won Egypt's presidential election in 2012 but was toppled by the Egyptian military backed by Saudi Arabia one year later. The Muslim Brotherhood was declared a terrorist organization by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain in 2015, but its leaders still take shelter in Qatar.

With the world's third largest natural gas reserves, Qatar hopes to compete with Saudi Arabia to assume the leading role on regional issues, which sparks dispute with its neighbor, Sun said.

Observers said this diplomatic crisis will weaken the GCC's influence and foreign countries may take the advantage to further intervene in the Arab world's affairs as a result.

SPILLED CRISIS

After announcement of severing ties with Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain on Monday demanded Qatari nationals leave their countries in 48 hours and closed airspace and ports to Qatar.

Moreover, Saudi Arabia also closed its borders with Qatar, effectively blocking food and other exports to its neighbor.

Observers said those moves almost equal to comprehensive sanctions which may put huge pressure on Qatar.

If Qatar maintains its relations with Iran, the United States is likely to withdraw its troops in the country, Nurhan Al-Sheikh said, adding that Qatar, with a population of only 300,000 and vulnerable industries, cannot stand to the isolation of other Arab countries.

Qatar hosts the largest U.S. airbase in the region, which is crucial to its national defense.

Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani on Tuesday called for "a dialogue of openness and honesty" to resolve the crisis, and denied accusations of supporting extremism.

On Monday, Qatar was ejected from the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. And on the same day, the Shiite Houthi group, which with support of Iran has been fighting a war against the coalition since March 2015, denied access to a UN envoy in charge of mediating efforts to the Yemeni capital of Sanaa.

The GCC split will further strengthen Iran's role in the region, and intensify the political struggle in Iraq and Syria as world powers are battling for a leading role in reshaping the political arrangement after the Islamic State was defeated, said Yu Guoqing, a researcher at the Institute of West Asian and African Studies of Chinese Academy of Social Science.

No one can ignore the role and influence of the alliance of Russia and Iran in post-IS era in Syria and Iraq, and now more time is needed to observe how the alliance of Saudi Arabia and the United States can recover from this crisis, Yu said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 15:54:23|Editor: xuxin

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HAVANA, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Sun-scorched Cuba is looking to harness solar energy to reduce its reliance on pricey imported fossil fuels and further develop renewable energy.

"On the day we can export solar energy, we'll become millionaires," Havana resident Norma Lopez says cheerfully, during one typical hot, sunny day in the nation's capital.

Sweating from the heat, Lopez, who is retired and is in her 70s, feels surprised to learn that it is possible to turn the sun's rays into exportable energy. Moreover, Cuba has made it a priority to generate more energy from the sun.

Several weeks ago, Cuba's electric company, Union Electrica de Cuba, announced it was building four photovoltaic parks in the western province of Matanzas, where another nine are also planned.

The Matanzas project is part of a large government program to develop renewable energy sources and wean the country off fossil fuels. The goal is to generate 24 percent of Cuba's energy from renewable sources by 2030.

On this Caribbean island, solar radiation can reach about 5 kilowatts per square meter per day, or 1,852 KW a year, a rate considered good by experts.

The government plans to build a total of 59 solar parks, 33 of which are to be completed this year, Jesus Lacera Linde, executive secretary of the Project Board in Cuba's Ministry of Construction (Mincons), told state daily Granma earlier this year.

The 33 plants, which will be linked to the national electric energy grid, will supply up to half of what a conventional electricity plant can generate.

Once going into operation, the plants will mark "notable progress in the exploitation of solar energy, one of the country's most promising sources of renewable energy and an essential objective in the goal to change the energy matrix," Granma said.

Cuba currently produces 45,000 barrels of oil per day and more than 3 million cubic meters of gas, both almost entirely used to generate electricity.

Those resources supply approximately half of the country's energy needs, and the other half is supplied by Venezuela through a very flexible deal.

Fossil fuel imports are costly for cash-strapped Cuba, as President Raul Castro noted in a speech to lawmakers in December. "The price hangs over our economy like the sword of Damocles," he said.

"We must speed up the development of renewable energy sources, which today represents only 4.65 percent of electricity generation," said Castro, adding "that is one of the strategic sectors where we must decidedly bolster foreign investment."

With an ambitious program already underway, Cuba may in the near future see solar power as a common source of energy but not a surprising novelty.
Source: Xinhuanet| 2017-06-06 16:08:06|Editor: Liangyu

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BEIJING, June 5 (Xinhuanet) -- The 2017 Silk Road International Exposition will bring Serbia a full range of opportunities due to communications between China and Serbia, Serbian Vice Prime Minister Rasim LJAJIC said Saturday.

He made the remarks during an exclusive interview with Xinhuanet as the event's Guest Country of Honor.

Leading a high-powered delegation, which includes entrepreneurs from more than 20 Serbian enterprises, Rasim LJAJIC deemed this exposition as a precious opportunity to introduce Serbias traditional culture, rich tourism, cultural resources as well as economic and trade products to China.

He also pinned high hope for pragmatic cooperation between the two countries, spanning from corporate collaboration, to cooperation of people from all walks of life.

The cooperation between China and Serbia has been booming and energetic, Rasim LJAJIC said.

Chinese companies are undertaking some major transportation and infrastructure projects in Serbia, together with Serbian enterprises, including power plants, roads, railways and so forth, he introduced.

We look forward to seeing more cooperative projects signed, and put into place in the future to inject impetus to the development of China-Serbia relations, Rasim LJAJIC said.

The exposition, held in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, from Saturday to Wednesday, aims to push forward the economic and trade cooperation of countries along the Belt and Road.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 16:04:27|Editor: ying

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HARBIN, June 6 (Xinhua) -- A cargo train carrying 123 China-made Volvo cars set off from Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province for Belgium on Monday, marking the start of the new China-Europe train service.

The shipment to Zeebrugge Port in Belgium also marked the first time that China has exported complete vehicles to Western Europe.

A one-way trip takes 18 days via the 9,832 km-long route, passing through Russia, Belarus, Poland and Germany along the way.

Meng Qingwen, general manager of the HAO International Logistics Co. Ltd., which operates the logistics transport, said the train service was tailor-made for Volvo's Daqing factory.

Meng said trains will run once a week on the line initially, and the number of weekly round trips may reach four to five by the end of this year, depending on the company's export needs to Europe.

The first shipment on the new line carried Volvo's flagship model, the S90L.

Volvo Car Group has moved production of its S90 models from Sweden to the Daqing plant, which has been a key part of its strategy to make China a global manufacturing and export hub. The factory in China also produced the country's first car exports to the United States in 2015.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 16:14:30|Editor: ying

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by Carina Lopez, Wu Hao

MEXICO CITY, June 5 (Xinhua) -- China's Hakka artists captivated thousands of local people with exotic musical performances in central Mexico, before a four-day exhibition of Chinese intangible cultural heritage was wrapped up here on Sunday.

Festivities kicked off in the city of Tlalnepantla in the central State of Mexico with a series of musical performances that began on Thursday and continued through Sunday. The cultural events are also part of the celebrations marking the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Mexico.

The artistic performances featured a 25-member troupe from Meizhou in China's southern Guangdong province, showcasing traditional songs and dances of China's ethnic Hakka people.

While Tlalnepantla is located just north of Mexico City, few cultural events travel outside the capital, remaining inaccessible to communities in other parts of the country, said Abraham Trejo, head of Tlalnepantla's office of international affairs and sister cities.

"The residents of the State of Mexico come to these events full of curiosity and anticipation, appreciating the unique performance without having to travel to the other side of the world," Trejo told Xinhua.

Such cultural events build a bond between the peoples of China and Mexico, and at the same time underline China's efforts to preserve its rich cultural heritage, Trejo said.

One of China's greatest cultural treasures is the traditional "mountain song" of the Hakka people, sung in their own dialect, which represent the Hakka's oral history and literature.

Hakka songs, one of China's best-known folk music traditions, "are numerous and colorful, sound harmonious and sweet, and ... rely on musical resources to express human emotion," Yang Yuanling, deputy director of Meizhou City's Center for Preservation of Hakka Songs, told a press conference.

During the conference, Yang invited the audience to learn a bit about the traditional singing style, and several people joined her on the stage.

Fellow artist Li Huanxia, who specializes in playing Qingyi, the most important female role in Peking opera, said she was happy to be in Mexico to perform fragments of Guangdong Han opera, whose history dates back to more than 300 years ago.

Han opera, most popular in regions of China where the Hakka dialect is spoken as well as in some regions of southeast Asia that are home to Hakka communities, was included in China's second list of intangible cultural heritage in 2008.

Li invited the spectators to take a closer look at the elaborate costumes worn by opera performers and practiced a few traditional gestures and postures used to convey emotion, as a group of young Mexicans on the stage attempted to imitate her moves.

"When listening to a Hakka song, you can feel very much at peace as the voice reaches your insides, leaving behind problems and focusing only on hearing the sound," local resident Pedro Pena Corona said.

But what most caught his attention was the way in which China is succeeding in preserving its traditions and pass them on from generation to generation.

"Both cultures (Mexican and Chinese) are very tenacious and persevering, as the conservation of their traditions shows," said Pena.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 16:34:39|Editor: xuxin

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WINDHOEK, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Delegates of an African conference in solidarity with Cuba on Monday called on the United States to lift its over 50-year economic blockade against Cuba.

"We applaud the positive development in this respect and we commend the U.S. government and Cuba for their efforts towards normalizing of ties," said Namibian President Hage Geingob, officially opening the fifth Continental Africa Conference in Solidarity with Cuba here on Monday.

"However, there is still much ground left to cover to ensure the complete lifting of the blockage against Cuba," said Geingob.

According to Geingob, the conference will lead to the development of the common African strategy in terms of support to Cuba.

The delegates also called for the return of the Guantanamo Bay, which is presently under U.S. control, to Cuba.

Namibian delegate Andimba Toivo Ya Toivo, who serves as the patron of the Namibia-Cuba Friendship Association, said that even though former U.S. President Barack Obama normalized relations between Cuba and the United States following over 50 years of frozen diplomatic ties, this ought to be followed by complete blockade removal.

"Historically, Cuba assisted African countries in the fight against foreign domination. Through this patriotic support, Cuban people have shown us the meaning of solidarity, hence (we should show) our support for Cuba," said Ya Toivo.

Cuba and the United States reestablished diplomatic relations in 2015 after more than 50 years of political enmity, but the Washington-imposed embargo is still in place.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will review his predecessor Obama's policy towards Cuba but has not made any new announcements so far regarding this issue.

According to Balogun-Arogun James from Nigeria, the conference reaffirms the cultural and historical relations between Cuba and Africa.

"We have come together to jointly have a common voice as to the way forward," said James.

Imani Na Umoja, a delegate from Guinea-Bissau, said "When Africa called, Cuba answered, now that Cuba has called, Africa should answer."

During the conference which takes place on June 5-7, the delegates are expected to prepare a declaration in support of the lifting of the blockade of Cuba by the U.S. government.

The African conference of solidarity with Cuba was previously hosted in South Africa in 1995, Ghana in 1997, Angola in 2010 and Ethiopia in 2012.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 17:14:58|Editor: ying

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BEIJING, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Song Miqiu, suspected to have masterminded multiple pyramid schemes involving at least 600 million yuan (88.2 million U.S. dollars), was escorted back to China Tuesday.

A statement by the Ministry of Public Security said a work team from the ministry returned the suspect from Indonesia with the assistance of local police and the Chinese embassy.

Chinese police started the investigation of Song in December 2013. The investigation found that since November 2012, the suspect, under the fake name "Zhang Jian," had conspired with others and carried out pyramid scheme activities involving 600 million yuan before fleeing abroad.

The police have sent personnel abroad in several raid operations and an Interpol red notice was issued in March last year.

However, Song escaped by offering bribes to local people and faking ID documents, according to the ministry statement.

He stayed in several Southeast Asian countries and during his time as a fugitive, he continued to direct others to conduct pyramid scheme fraud, swindling people in China out of money, the ministry alleged.

Chinese police have launched an intense crackdown on relevant violations this year and have caught numerous major suspects. The ministry also contacted police in countries such as Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia to hunt down Song.

Last month, upon learning of Song's possible whereabouts, the ministry sent a work team to Indonesia and assisted local police in the arrest, the statement said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 17:15:00|Editor: ying

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MANILA, June 6 (Xinhua) -- The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has appealed to the Philippine military and the militants clashing in the southern Philippine Marawi city to spare the civilians, the agency said on Tuesday.

The ICRC said civilian lives were at stake as the number of casualties continued to grow.

"We are extremely concerned about the residents who could not leave their homes because of the fighting, and also those who are being reportedly held against their will," Pascal Porchet, head of the delegation of the ICRC in the Philippines said, adding the agency was "deeply worried about reports of civilians being killed."

"We urge all those involved in the fighting to protect civilian lives, and are hopeful that those held against their will are being treated humanely and will be released," Porchet said.

He said the aid agency "stands ready to serve as a neutral intermediary to evacuate civilians caught between the fighting,"

The ICRC said around 200,000 people have fled the hostilities in Marawi City, seeking safety in evacuation centers or with relatives. "The need for food, clean water, health care and sanitation is going as authorities try to cope with the sudden influx of evacuees," the ICRC said.

The ICRC, with the Philippine Red Cross, has been on the ground since the fighting broke out May 23, providing relief items to thousands of displaced families, and enhanced their access to clean water and health care.

"Together with the Philippine Red Cross, the ICRC has distributed 10,000 displaced people, provided an equal number of people with access to clean water, and enhanced the capacity of the six local health facilities to provide basic health care to thousands of people though the donation of medical supplies," the ICRC said.

Porchet said the agency has started conducting full assessment of the conditions of displaced people in hard-to-reach evacuations centers to give the agency a better picture of the humanitarian needs.

"We hope to also assess the western and eastern parts of Lanao Lake once the security situation allows us to do so," referring to the villages around the besiege city of more than 200,000 people.

The ICRC said limited food and clean water supply, as well as access to sanitation facilities, remain to be the most urgent humanitarian needs in evacuation centers.

The agency also expressed concern that some of the evacuation centers in nearby Iligan City are underserved due to the surge in the number of displaced people and limited personnel. In fact, it said some areas on the west and east side of Lake Lanao are not served at all.

The ICRC has been actively supporting authorities in the management of dead bodies. It has donated 160 body bags, as well as gloves and masks, to help the authorities with the proper retrieval of the bodies.

The ICRC has also been negotiating for safe access to trapped civilians in Marawi by engaging in a constant dialogue with all parties to the conflict.

However, it said the current security situation does not yet allow the ICRC to bring them all to safety. It has, however, transported nearly 600 people from Marawi City to the Saguiaran evacuation center or even as far as Iligan.

The military has been battling the IS-lnked militants since May 23 in Marawi City in Lanao del Sur province, forcing thousands of the residents to flee.

The military said on Tuesday there are still an estimated 500 civilians trapped in the city.

Much of the city's center has been destroyed as airstrikes continue to flush out about 100 militants, including foreign IS cadres.

The military said the militants want to establish a "wilayat" or caliphate of IS in Lanao del Sur.

The ongoing clashes in the city forced Duterte to place the entire Mindanao region under martial law.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 17:50:08|Editor: xuxin

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ULAN BATOR, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Mongolian Foreign Minister Tsend Munkh-Orgil said on Monday that Mongolia would be able to implement the structural reforms it has agreed to undergo with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), according to Nikkei Asian Review website.

"I am confident that the resources and money that will be lent to the Mongolian government will be used effectively to overcome the temporary economic problems," Munkh-Orgil said on the sidelines of the International Conference on The Future of Asia in Tokyo.

The resource-rich country has benefited from a commodities boom over the last 15 years or so. But a subsequent commodity price slump, investment outflows and slowing demand in key export markets have hit Mongolia's economy hard.

Last month, the IMF approved a three-year, 434-million-U.S. dollar loan for Mongolia as part of a wider 5.5 billion-dollar aid package which is also supported by Japan, South Korea, China, the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank.

The agreement was reached after the IMF admitted that Mongolia had met some of its demands, including raising taxes and cutting spending.

Some observers, however, questioned the ability of the Mongolian government to carry through the painful structural reforms needed to put the economy back on track.

But Munkh-Orgil said the reforms were inevitable. "With or without the IMF, we know that we must undertake these reforms. We have expanded fiscally -- a lot. We have stretched ourselves on [the] budget. We have reached unsustainable levels of government debt," he said.

The government is trying to respond through fiscal consolidation, and by bringing the budget under control, the minister said.

Mongolia aims to reduce the budget deficit, currently equivalent to 17 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), to 10.2 percent by the end of this year. It aims to have a budget deficit equal to around 2 percent of the GDP by 2022.

"For the next several decades, the mining sector will continue to be the central linchpin of the Mongolian economy," Munkh-Orgil said, "But at the same time, mining is a very capricious animal. (The) fortunes and misfortunes of the mining sector can go up and down unexpectedly."

Mongolia is ready to diversify its economy, which currently relies on minerals for 90 percent of its export revenue, he said.

"We need to bring in more products, (put) more industries in play," the foreign minister said, "We need to engage the public and businesses in other areas that employ more people and bring more export revenues, like agriculture and tourism."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 17:55:11|Editor: xuxin

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BEIRUT, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Lebanese Internal Security Forces (ISF) said Tuesday that it destroyed a network and arrested two suspected Daesh (IS) members in north of Lebanon that oversees the movement of militants from Lebanon into the neighboring country Syria.

The ISF said in a statement that the members of the cell reside in the northern border town of Wadi Khaled and acted in coordination with group's cadre in its de facto capital in Syria, Raqqa.

The two suspects were identified as 22-year-old Aa.Aa and 32-year-old Aa.H.

The statement added that "Aa.Aa confessed that in a recent attempt to move to Syria, he communicated last month with a Daesh member in the neighboring country, and on May 8, he went to Idlib to supposedly continue to Hama, then Raqqa."

"However, due to the intensity of the battles near Raqqa and the lack of a safe road, Aa.Aa decided to return to Lebanon," the statement added.

The ISF pointed that Aa.H. had previously fought in al-Hosn al-Gharbi, north of the Lebanese border, and helped Aa.Aa and others communicate with his sister's son M.H, who is wanted and is fighting battles in Raqqa, in order to facilitate their move to Syria.

Both detainees confessed that the funding for their move to Syria came from an unknown person living in Europe.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 17:55:16|Editor: ying

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BEIJING, June 6 (Xinhua) -- China welcomes Japan to cooperate more under the framework of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Tuesday.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday that Japan was ready to cooperate with China's Belt and Road Initiative under certain conditions.

Speaking at a forum in Tokyo on Asia's future, Abe said those conditions would include "harmony with a free and fair Trans-Pacific economic zone." ( "We have noticed the relevant remarks," spokesperson Hua Chunying said,noting the Belt and Road Initiative could be a new platform for cooperation and development between China and Japan.

"In the process of the Belt and Road construction, China is committed to promoting a fair, reasonable and transparent international economic, trade and investment system," Hua said, noting that China and many countries had reached agreements to carry cooperation in various fields. "The Belt and Road Initiative, which is an important international public good, as well as an open and inclusive development platform, is beneficial to all countries worldwide, including Japan."

He added that he hoped that the Japanese side could put their will to improve bilateral ties into action.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 18:00:20|Editor: ying

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Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with visiting California Governor Jerry Brown of United States at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, June 6, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

BEIJING, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday called on California to play a bigger role in promoting exchanges and cooperation between China and the United States.

He said he hoped California could continue to promote bilateral exchanges between localities and contribute more to China-U.S. cooperation in areas including technology, innovation and green development.

Xi made the remarks in his meeting with visiting California Governor Jerry Brown at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Brown said California was willing to join the construction of Belt and Road, and was looking forward to a stronger cooperative relationship with China in trade, investment, clean technology and environmental protection.

Xi welcomed California to join the Belt and Road Initiative.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 18:00:21|Editor: xuxin

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ADDIS ABABA, June 6 (Xinhua) -- The block on mobile internet and social media will continue until 12th grade preparatory exams are finished this Thursday.

The statement on Tuesday was made by Negeri Lencho, Ethiopia Government Communication minister who said the blockage was in response to concerns that sinister rumors about exam leaks will affect the preparation of students.

Internet users in Ethiopia have been facing difficultly accessing the web starting from May 30.

"We know the inconveniences but it's not our desire to do this, we just have to protect the interest of students as a right thinking, accountable government does," says Lencho.

In May 2016, a leak of examination papers led to cancellations of the original exam, with another version only held more a month later.

Pointing to that cancellation of exams last year which cost the government millions of dollars, Lencho said part of the internet blockage is also protecting Ethiopian government investment on education.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 18:00:23|Editor: xuxin

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DAVAO CITY, Philippines, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Philippine authorities early on Tuesday arrested the parents of Maute brothers, the leaders of an Islamic State-affiliate group who are fighting with government security forces in the southern Philippines.

Cayamora Maute, his wife Farhana and two other relatives were apprehended at a military checkpoint in Davao City, said Davao City police chief Alexander Tagum.

The couple and two in-laws were onboard a black van when stopped by soldiers manning a roadblock in Sirawan village, Toril district, some 20 km south of the city.

Tagum, the police official, said Mr. Maute, who wore a mask in an apparent attempt to conceal his identity as pictures of him, his wife and other relatives tagged as terrorists have been circulated, was identified after being held by soldiers.

The group's driver was briefly held.

Abdullah and Omar, the two Maute brothers founded an armed group that occupied the Muslim city Marawi of 200, 000 people from late May, triggering an ongoing fighting that prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to place the southern region under martial law.

The clashes, which saw Maute gunmen planting IS flags, burning buildings and taking hostages, has left over 170 people dead and most of the city's population displaced.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 18:05:30|Editor: xuxin

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MANILA, June 6 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine government said Tuesday it is temporarily suspending the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to Qatar after some Arab states cut diplomatic ties with the country.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello said the decision will allow the government to assess the situation.

"This suspension is for the welfare and protection of our OFWs," Bello said.

There are around 250,000 OFWs in Qatar.

Bello said he also ordered the augmentation team composed of five Philippine Overseas Labor Office officers and staff to Qatar and other involved Middle East countries to assess the situation and monitor the condition of the Filipinos there.

"We need to study first the situation. For now, the protection of our migrant workers comes first. The duration of suspension of deployment will depend on the assessment of the situation with close coordination with the Department of Foreign Affairs," he said.

He assured the OFWs not to worry as the Philippines still maintains "good diplomatic relations" with Qatar.

President Rodrigo Duterte visited Qatar in April.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Maldives, Yemen and Libya broke off relations with Qatar on accusation that it is supporting terrorist groups. Qatar, however, said the allegation was baseless.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 18:25:37|Editor: xuxin

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BEIRUT, June 6 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) Commander General Joseph L. Votel on Tuesday visited Lebanon to meet with Lebanese Armed Forces and government leaders to discuss key security issues.

The U.S. embassy in Lebanon said in a statement that "General Votel will reaffirm the U.S. government's commitment to the Lebanese-American partnership to counter the threat of terrorism and support the Lebanese Armed Forces in their role as the sole defender of Lebanon."
Angolan Vice President Manuel Domingos Vicente (R) meets with visiting Chinese State Councilor Wang Yong (L) in Luanda, Angola, on June 5, 2017. (Xinhua/Wu Changwei)

LUANDA, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Angolan Vice President Manuel Domingos Vicente has expressed his country's readiness to enhance cooperation with China in various fields.

The vice president made the remarks on Monday while meeting with visiting Chinese State Councilor Wang Yong.

Angola and China, as each other's strategic partner, have achieved great results through mutually beneficial cooperation in recent years, Vicente said, adding that the Angolan side will work with China to further increase political mutual trust and take the bilateral strategic partnership to a new level.

The Chinese state councilor said Angola has been China's important strategic partner in Africa, and China is happy to see the achievements made in the country in recent years.

Wang said China will work with the Angolan side to implement the important consensuses reached by leaders of the two nations as well as outcomes of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit held in Johannesburg so as to enhance mutually-beneficial cooperation and bring more benefits to peoples of the two countries.

Reiterating China's African policy featuring sincerity, real results, affinity and good faith, and a policy of upholding justice and pursuing shared interests, Wang said that China will actively develop bilateral friendly relations with Angola, continue to encourage Chinese enterprises to invest in the country, and enhance cooperation in sectors such as energy, finance and infrastructure.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 18:45:52|Editor: ying

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JINAN, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Searchers on Tuesday pulled two more bodies out of debris, bringing the death toll to 10 in the explosion at a petrochemical company in eastern China's Shandong Province Monday morning.

Their identities are being confirmed by police, according to the emergency rescue headquarters.

Nine others were injured after a liquefied gas tanker exploded around 1 a.m. Monday, causing the fire in the loading area of Linyi Jinyu Petrochemical Company in the city's Lingang Economic Development Area.

The fire was put out at 4 p.m. Monday and the injured are not in critical condition.

Police have detained the owner of the company.

An investigation is under way.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 18:55:56|Editor: xuxin

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GENEVA, June 6 (Xinhua) -- The UN Migration Agency IOM said Tuesday that it plans to provide 3,700 shelter repair kits, 5,000 non-food relief item kits and 250 temporary shelters to assist the worst flood-affected areas in Sri Lanka.

IOM said it would seek funding from the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund, and the intervention would help an estimated 74,750 people.

Heavy flooding, landslides and flash floods have affected some 684,000 people in south and central Sri Lanka. The flooding, which is believed to be the worst in over a decade, has left at least 212 people dead and 79 missing.

IOM initial rapid assessments conducted last week in some district or Sri Lanka showed that homes and villages swept away by the flood waters and mud slides.

IOM cited Sri Lanka's Disaster Management Centre figure as saying that over 2,500 houses were destroyed and nearly 15,900 houses damaged.

"These numbers could rise as data from damage assessments is compiled in the coming weeks," IOM said in a statement issued Tuesday.

According to the UN agency, nearly 22,000 people are still sheltering in some 200 over-crowded "safe sites," including schools, temples and churches.

Especially in those landslide-affected areas, people currently staying in evacuation centres or with relatives and friends are unlikely to be able to return to their homes in the short term, IOM said.

"People will need shelter and other non-food relief items (when they leave the sites) and we will need to ensure that aid is distributed at the location most useful and appropriate for each affected family," said IOM Sri Lanka Chief of Mission Giuseppe Crocetti.

Earlier on June 2, the UN Humanitarian Country Team launched an Emergency Response Plan seeking 22.7 million U.S. dollars to address the critical life-saving and protection needs of 374,000 people in seven districts, targeting four priority sectors, including shelter, food, health and water and sanitation.

The IOM said it is already supporting the Sri Lanka government and humanitarian agencies with displacement tracking maps generated from its monitoring system updates.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 19:01:05|Editor: xuxin

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GENEVA, June 6 (Xinhua) -- The UN Migration Agency IOM reported Tuesday morning that 110 migrants, all of African nationalities, including 40 women and three children, were rescued in the waters off Zliten, Libya by the Libyan Coast Guard on Monday.

The UN agency said that so far in 2017, a total of 8,293 migrants have been rescued off the Libyan coast and 236 bodies have been retrieved.

The latest figure from the IOM showed that 71,418 migrants and refugees have entered Europe by sea in 2017 through to June 4, with nearly 85 percent arriving in Italy and the remainder arriving in Greece, Cyprus, and Spain.

A total of 1,650 migrants and refugees died at sea attempting the crossing during this period, IOM said.

This compares with 206,790 arrivals and 2,512 deaths across the region in the same period last year.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 19:06:07|Editor: xuxin

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WELLINGTON, June 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday visited New Zealand amid protests by New Zealanders on U.S. withdrawal from Paris climate agreement.

Tillerson reaffirmed the strong relationship between the United States and New Zealand during his first visit to this country.

After meeting with the U.S. top diplomat, New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English said Tillerson had reassured him of the U.S.' ongoing engagement in economic and security spheres in the Asia-Pacific.

Tillerson's arrival was greeted by New Zealand protesters braving bad weather to gather at the parliament to send a message of disapproval to the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement.

English said that they discussed New Zealand's disagreement with the U.S. decision to withdraw from the Paris deal.

Tillerson defended President Donald Trump's stance that the decision was based on the U.S. interest.

Tillerson said the U.S. valued the ongoing defense relationship with New Zealand, which was seen in the deployment to train Iraqi forces in the Middle East.

On London terror attacks over the weekend, he said that contributions by nations towards counter-terrorism were very important, as the tragic events in London showed.

The United States has asked its partners to increase their contributions in Afghanistan, including an extra two personnel from New Zealand.

Asked about Trump's unpredictability on Twitter, Tillerson said that the U.S. president "has his own unique way of communication with the American people and the world."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 19:11:12|Editor: xuxin

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BEIJING, June 6 (Xinhua) -- The Islamic State militant group (IS) is fighting on every battlefield against those trying to defeat it, both on the ground and on social media.

Its use of social media has drawn world attention after it said "a security unit of Islamic State fighters carried out the London attacks," on the messaging app Telegram.

Like many other terrorist groups, the IS is enthusiastic about using social media to make propaganda for its successes and recruit new jihadists.

However, IS activities took a vital turn in September 2015 when its official media outlets took to Telegram, an encrypted messaging service and platform for hosting information-sharing channels.

The IS moved to Telegram after a long-range conflict with Twitter, which regularly suspended IS accounts, and some attempts on less popular platforms from which it was also removed.

Its move to Telegram did not go unnoticed and the IS went underground in August 2016 after its official accounts got repeatedly shut down.

But IS media operatives set up many separate channels which simply mirrored feeds of the official channel and simultaneously stream material produced by the IS's central media operation, including its self-proclaimed news agency Amaq.

The mirror channels, named the Nashir News Agency, have been repeatedly shut down as well.

To cope with such a situation, their administrators use a stealthy approach by setting up a user or channel and allow it to build up a huge following before suddenly switching it to the easily recognizable IS mirror brand.

Some channels, whose promotion on popular social media platforms is prohibited, are designed to maintain a lower profile to avoid suspension.

This allows them to attract a multitude of followers but the channels are usually expelled before the total number of followers exceeds 1,000.

Such numbers suffice to get the IS's message out for distribution by online supporters.

Telegram does not allow comprehensive searches of public content, which means that the number of pro-jihad users cannot be accurately gauged.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 19:11:15|Editor: xuxin

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ADDIS ABABA, June 6 (Xinhua) -- More than 50,000 undocumented Ethiopians living in Saudi Arabia have taken travel documents in order to return to Ethiopia, 74.4 percent of whom are women and children.

The statement was made on Tuesday by Government Communication Affairs Office Minister Negeri Lencho.

The undocumented Ethiopians are returning ahead of the expiry of a three-month amnesty in late July issued by Saudi Arabia whereby illegal foreign residents are given the chance for voluntary repatriation.

The Middle East's largest economy Saudi Arabia is on an indigenization drive to help its 29 million citizens be employed in the workforce currently dominated by millions of legal and illegal foreign citizens.

However Lencho acknowledged the Ethiopian government is yet to receive a positive response from Saudi authorities on its request for its national air carrier Ethiopian Airlines to increase flight intervals to Saudi cities from the current once a week.

There are no reliable figures on the number of undocumented Ethiopians in Saudi Arabia but some estimates put it well over 400,000.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 19:11:17|Editor: ying

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HANGZHOU, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Over 5 billion fry were released into China's waters on Tuesday, as the country marked national fish releasing day.

More than 1 million fry of important economic species such as silver fish and bighead carp were released into Qiandao Lake in east China's Zhejiang Province.

Zhang Chuanqiang, deputy head of Chun'an County, where the lake is located said silver fish and bighead carp eat 30 to 40 kilograms of algae to grow by one kilogram. That removes nitrogen and phosphorus from the water, curbing eutrophication and blue algal blooms and improving water quality.

The lake covers 573 square kilometers, and is home to 114 known fish species, with an economic value of over 4 billion yuan (600 million U.S. dollars).

In Fuzhou City of east China's Fujian Province, some 150 million fry were released, including silver carp, grass carp and Japanese eel.

Yu Kangzhen, Vice Minister of Agriculture, said releasing fish fry on a large scale can improve water quality and help the recovery of fishery resources.

Since 2011, the country has spent around 4 billion yuan releasing more than 120 billion fish fry.

It is estimated that some 64.5 percent of the fish caught in inland waters are from the releases. For every one yuan spent on fry, 8.85 yuan of fish can be caught as a result.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 19:16:20|Editor: xuxin

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ALGIERS, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Algeria on Tuesday called on Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt and Yemen to pursue dialogue as a regional diplomatic crisis escalated.

"Algeria is following the deterioration of relations between some Gulf countries and its impact on the unity and solidarity of the Arab world," read a statement of the Foreign Ministry.

"Algeria urges all concerned countries to pursue dialogue as a single way to settle their differences and uphold the principle of good neighborliness, non-interference in the internal affairs of States, and respect for national sovereignty under any circumstance," specified the source.

While considering that the current crisis is temporary, Algeria noted that "wisdom and reservation will certainly prevail in the end, given that the real challenges hindering the solidarity and unity of the Arab region are multiple factors, including terrorism."

Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Yemen, Egypt and Libya on Monday announced cutting diplomatic ties with Qatar over national security concerns, while Qatar said the move is unjustified.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 19:31:28|Editor: xuxin

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COLOMBO, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ravi Karunanayake left for India on Tuesday where he will have talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A media spokesman for Karunanayake said the top diplomat is scheduled to hold talks with Modi and other Indian officials before returning to Sri Lanka.

This is his first overseas visit since being appointed the foreign minister recently.

Local media reported earlier that Karunanayake had met Chinese Ambassador Yi Xianliang on Monday and thanked him for the assistance given by China following devastating floods and landslides.

India and China were among the first countries to respond to the disaster by sending ships and a plane loaded with urgent supplies.

So far at least 224 people have been killed and over 600,000 affected by the worst flooding and landslides to hit the country since 2003.

Over 100,000 people who were displaced are now returning home after troops and rescue teams have cleaned towns and villages which were inundated.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 19:36:31|Editor: xuxin

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MANDERA, Kenya, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Unknown gunmen on Tuesday shot dead one person and injured another in Mandera country near the Somalia border.

Mandera County Commissioner Fredrick Shisia said the shooting from unknown assailants happened along Mandera El Wak road at about 8 am where the woman died instantly.

The attackers targeted the vehicle belonging to a local political aspirant Mohamed Abdi who was not in the convoy of the two cars headed to El Wak town.

Barey Mohamed Abdi was shot on the abdomen and is nursing serious bullet injuries at the county referral hospital.

Shisia said the attackers had a specific target as they let the first vehicle to pass as they sprayed bullets on the second one from a close range.

Area security agents have launched investigations in the latest incident which comes amid a surge in roadside terror attacks in the restive country.

Shisia said Banisa, Mandera North and Mandera East sub counties have been classified as political hotspot areas.

The government administrator said the government has put up stringent measures to curb electoral violence in the hotspot areas and the entire county.

In the recent past, there have been numerous attacks involving landmines, grenades, or other explosive devices in northeast Kenya.

Most of these attacks occurred in northeastern Kenya, mainly in Dadaab, Wajir, Garissa, and Mandera counties as well as along the Kenyan coast.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 19:36:32|Editor: xuxin

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LONDON, June 6 (Xinhua) -- The third terrorist involved in the weekend attack on London Bridge was named Tuesday in Italian media.

Reports have given his name as Moroccan-born Italian Youssef Zaghba.

Media in Italy claim Zaghba was stopped by the authorities in Bologna last year when he was en route to Syria.

The Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera said in a report that the Italian intelligence services reported Youssef's movements to their British counterparts.

British police have also identified the third attacker as Youssef Zaghba, but said the 22-year-old was not subject of M15 (Britain's security agency) interest.

London Metropolitan Police Monday released the names of the other two terrorists, Pakistan-born Khuram Butt, 27, and Rachid Radouane, 30, who were both from the Barking area of London.

All the three men confronted and shot dead by armed officers within eight minutes of the first call as the trio mowed people down on London Bridge before slashing people with knives in a frenzied attack on civilians. Their carnage left seven people dead and 48 injured.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 19:36:35|Editor: ying

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LUSAKA, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Immigration authorities in Zambia on Tuesday released all the 31 Chinese nationals who were detained over the weekend.

The Chinese nationals, working for copper smelting Chinese companies on the Copperbelt province, were detained by police for suspected illegal purchase of copper tailing raw materials.

However, Zambia authorities have failed to provide strong proof of their crimes, and released the Chinese nationals after talks with the Chinese Embassy officials.

The Chinese nationals are expected to be flown back to China after their release, sources told Xinhua.

On Monday, China lodged solemn representations to Zambia following the detaining of its nationals.

While stating that China does not defend illegal actions, the Chinese Foreign Ministry expressed concern over "selective" law-enforcement against its citizens overseas.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 19:41:39|Editor: ying

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NAIROBI, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Kenya is set to host the third edition of China Week Kenya from June 29 to July 1, organizers said on Tuesday.

MIE Events International Events Director Michelle Meyrick told a media briefing in Nairobi that the three-day event will be a business to business trade show featuring Chinese manufacturing companies looking to connect with local and regional firms in Africa.

"It will be an opportunity for the local community to develop direct trading links with high-end Chinese product manufacturers," Meyrick said.

She noted that the event will provide a trade environment that will be conducive to creating stronger ties between Chinese companies and the local business community looking to source for products and services from China.

According to the organizers, there will be 450 exhibitors from a range of industries including building construction, lighting, consumer electronics, auto parts, furniture, textiles, stationary and jewelry.

In 2016, the event brought together 400 exhibitors and over 16,500 visitors. Similar events will also be held in Ghana, South Africa, and Ethiopia.

Meyrick said that the exhibition is the only comprehensive China-focused trade event to be hosted in East Africa.

MIE Events Managing Director David Wang said that Kenya is the most developed economy in Eastern Africa and also the economic, commercial and logistic hub of the entire region.

"Sino-Kenya cooperation in various fields has gained momentum over the years, and it is the very reason why we are holding the China Trade Week in Nairobi for the third time," Wang said.

He noted that the exhibition will provide an opportunity for Kenyan entrepreneurs to grow strong business partnerships with Chinese companies and also benefit from the industrial capacity and wealth of knowledge from China.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 19:56:55|Editor: xuxin

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OSLO, June 6 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) has decided that Norway, a non-EU country, shall receive special treatment in the negotiations on Britain's exit from the EU, newspaper Aftenposten reported Tuesday.

"We will be kept up to date and we can give suggestions, but we are not directly involved in the negotiations," said Frank Bakke-Jensen, Norwegian minister of EEA (the European Economic Area) and EU affairs.

European Council guidelines state that "Third-country partners (especially EEA) and international organizations will be updated as needed by the EU negotiator about the progress in negotiations with the UK."

Norway and the other two European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries, namely Liechtenstein and Iceland, through the EEA Agreement, belong to the internal market.

The 30 countries, including 27 EU countries and three EFTA countries, will remain an area of free flow of labor, goods, capital and services.

As Iceland and Liechtenstein are so small, it is in fact Norway that gets the big advantages, Aftenposten reported.

When EU's main negotiator Michel Barnier visited Norway in the winter, he concluded that the EEA countries should be close to the process, but Bakke-Jensen believes Norway has received more than Barnier had promised.

"Actually, we got more than we originally had been promised," Bakke-Jensen said.

The EU has also concluded that Norway can, if desirable, join the transitional arrangements agreed between Britain and the EU.

Svein Roald Hansen, Norwegian Labor Party's EU political spokesman and representative in Norwegian parliament Storting, told Aftenposten that it "seemed natural for the EEA countries to receive this special treatment."

An agreement between the EU and Britain shall be in place in March 2019.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 20:01:59|Editor: ying

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Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with visiting California Governor Jerry Brown of United States at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, June 6, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

BEIJING, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping Tuesday called on California to play a bigger role in promoting exchange and cooperation between China and the United States.

He said he hoped California could continue to promote bilateral exchanges between localities and contribute more to China-U.S. cooperation in areas including technology, innovation and green development.

Xi made the remarks in his meeting with visiting California Governor Jerry Brown at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

"Since the two countries established diplomatic ties, China-U.S. relations have weathered various tests and always moved forward, bringing huge benefits to both peoples," Xi said. "Bilateral relations also contributed a lot to peace, stability and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region and the world."

China pursues a path of peaceful, open and green development, he said, calling on the two sides to enhance communication and expand cooperation to push forward the sound and stable development of bilateral ties.

Xi said local-level exchanges and cooperation were an important pillar of China-U.S. relations, hoping that the two sides could make local-level exchanges and cooperation into a new engine for the growth of bilateral relations.

He welcomed California to join the Belt and Road Initiative.

Brown said California valued the traditional friendship with China and committed itself to dialogue and cooperation with Chinese local governments.

Voicing appreciation of Xi's speech at the World Economic Forum annual meeting at Davos in January, Brown said California was willing to join the construction of the Belt and Road and was looking forward to a stronger cooperative relationship with China in trade, investment, clean technology and environmental protection.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 20:07:03|Editor: ying

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BEIJING, June 6 (Xinhua) -- The Agricultural Development Bank of China (ADBC), the country's major policy bank, plans to lend 1.3 trillion yuan (188 billion U.S. dollars) by the end of 2020, for key agricultural projects and to industries that help with poverty reduction.

Bao Jianan, vice president of the bank, told a meeting on poverty reduction on Tuesday that the loans will be available for major agricultural producers and speciality industries.

To eradicate poverty by 2020, China must lift 10 million people out of poverty every year through developing industry, transfer of employment, relocation and social security coverage.

The ADBC has stipulated that poverty reduction loans should be no less than 60 percent of its total credit. By the end of 2016, outstanding loans totaled 901 billion yuan.

Established in 1994, the ADBC is responsible for funding projects related to growth and agriculture.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 20:07:04|Editor: xuxin

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GENEVA, June 6 (Xinhua) -- The UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday opened its 35th regular session at its headquarters here, stressing that a "constructive atmosphere" was crucial for the smooth functioning of the council and made it possible to have a frank dialogue with dignity.

The council's president, Joaquin Alexander Maza Martelli, opened the session reminding that the UN Human Rights Council would follow up on all cases of reprisals brought to its attention.

Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez addressed the opening ceremony and noted that it was fundamental that all countries recognized, supported and participated in the council to ensure peaceful coexistence.

However, he added that coexistence was currently threatened by situations of injustice, increased individualism and competition for goods and privileges.

He thus called for freedom and democracy, and the use of politics as a social practice through which public affairs could be addressed.

Vazquez also reminded that the cost of achieving human rights for people today could not be at the expense of the rights of future generations.

Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said during Tuesday's opening session that members of the council, as well as candidates for future membership, had a particular responsibility to cooperate with the council's mechanisms.

The UN Human Rights Council's 35th session will be held in Geneva from June 6 to 23.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 20:52:26|Editor: xuxin

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PARIS, June 6 (Xinhua) -- French investigators raided headquarter of a medical insurance group in western France as part of an inquiry into allegedly corruption charges against Gerard Ferrand, minister for territorial planning, a regional newspaper reported Tuesday.

Last Thursday, police searched offices of Mutuelle de Bretagne that Ferrand has managed for the 1998-2012 period and seized documents to seek for evidence on suspected financial dealings of the minister, Le Telegramme reported.

Ferrand and other individuals involved in the affair would be questioned this week, it added.

The raid came after public prosecutor in Brest opened on June 1 a preliminary inquiry into Ferrand's management of the insurance group.

Earlier press reports claimed that Ferrand struck rental deal with a company owned by his partner.

Previously a Socialist, Ferrand was the first politician who quit the political mainstream to support President Emmanuel Macron's bid, before becoming the head of his presidential campaign.

The corruption charges linked with one of his ministers, is likely to taint Macron's plan for new anti-graft legislation with which he wants to impose new ethics in public life after fraud scandals overshadowed France's 2017 presidency campaign.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 21:17:33|Editor: ying

He Ping (R), editor-in-chief of China's Xinhua News Agency, meets with managing director of Russia Today (RT) Alexey Nikolov in Beijing, capital of China, June 6, 2017. Nikolov are in Beijing to attend the BRICS Media Forum, scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

BEIJING, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Editor-in-chief of Xinhua News Agency, He Ping, met with managing director of Russia Today (RT) Alexey Nikolov and president and CEO of Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) Mahesh Daga, here on Tuesday respectively.

Nikolov and Daga are in Beijing to attend the BRICS Media Forum, scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.

He said the forum aims to consolidate the cooperation platform for media organizations of BRICS countries, namely, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, and create sound media environment for the Ninth BRICS Summit in September in Xiamen, Fujian Province.

He voiced his hope the forum would facilitate closer cooperation, strengthen voices of BRICS and emerging economies, and promote the building of more just and reasonable world media order.

Nikolov said RT expects to enhance cooperation with Xinhua, and share experience in improving their global communication capabilities.

Daga said the IANS hopes to share experience with Xinhua to jointly address challenges brought about by changes in the media.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 21:27:41|Editor: ying

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SHANGHAI, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Shanghai customs announced Tuesday that they had seized two suitcases made from over 10 kg of cocaine.

Listed among "high-risk passengers involved in drugs" in a database, a woman from Southeast Asia was spotted at Shanghai Pudong International Airport while flying from a South American country, said a Shanghai customs official.

X-ray machine showed her luggage looked darker in color, and the suitcases were heavier than ordinary ones after being emptied, said the official.

The suitcases tested positive during a fast drug test, and were later found to made from 10.2 kg of cocaine.

The event occurred in February, but was disclosed Tuesday ahead of International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, which falls on June 26. It is the only drug-made-suitcase case ever reported in China.

According to Chinese law, anyone convicted of trafficking 50 grams of cocaine or more will be given a mandatory death sentence.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 21:27:43|Editor: ying

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QINGDAO, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong on Tuesday called on Asian media to expand cooperation.

Liu was speaking at the opening ceremony of the 2017 Asia Media Summit in Qingdao in east China's Shandong Province.

The media play an irreplaceable role in advancing economic and social development, promoting cross-cultural exchange and safeguarding world peace and security, Liu said. There has been an increasing demand for closer media cooperation in the current world of great changes, said Liu.

Liu expressed hope that various media in Asia should uphold peaceful cooperation, openness and tolerance, and learning from each other; respect different development paths in different countries and cultural diversity.

They should also increase their sense of social responsibility, contribute to social progress and improve people-to-people exchanges, Liu said.

She called on Asian media to improve bilateral or multilateral dialogue mechanism, expand cooperation and help boost the development level and influence of media outlets in the developing countries.

The summit was attended by more than 450 representatives from 48 countries and seven international organizations.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 21:47:57|Editor: ying

Candidates of the national college entrance exam check for exam rooms distributions in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui Province, June 6, 2017. A total of 9.4 million Chinese high school students will sit the 2017 national college entrance examination, known as the Gaokao, due to kick off Wednesday, the Ministry of Education said. (Xinhua/Zhang Duan)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 21:32:48|Editor: xuxin

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by Ronald Ssekandi, Yuan Qing

KAMPALA, June 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord must be a wake-up call for Africa to source alternative measures to mitigate climate changes effects in the face of reduced financing, an expert here has said.

Although Africa contributes little to the world's greenhouse gas emissions, it bears the brunt of the adverse effects of climate change. Already some countries like Nigeria, Somalia and South Sudan are facing a famine that is partly created as a result of climate change. Some 20 million people including those in Yemen, which is out of Africa, are at risk of starving to death, according to figures by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization.

Sabastiano Rwengabo, a research fellow at Advocates Coalition For Development and Environment, a think tank based in Uganda, told Xinhua in an interview on Monday that as the U.S. closes the financing tap, new strategies that are not dependent on finances must be developed.

Under the Paris accords, developed countries were to contribute to a 100 billion U.S. dollar annual fund for developing countries by 2020.

The United Nation's Environment Program in its report in 2016 said the costing of adapting to climate change in developing countries could range between 140 billion dollars and 300 billion dollars per year in 2030, and between 280 billion dollars and 500 billion dollars per year in 2050.

Rwengabo argued that with competing global challenges like immigration and fighting terrorism, financing climate change adaptation and mitigation measures may dwindle.

He said governments need to encourage farmers to store some food in case they have a bumper harvest. This will be helpful in times when there is crop failure and reduced food supplies as a result of harsh climate change effects.

He urged governments to encourage farmers to irrigate their crops using the readily available technologies in a bid to avoid a possible food crisis. He said if this is not done there is likely to be continued food insecurity, climate refugees and new conflicts.

As African countries urbanize, Rwengabo argued that they should have environmental policies. He said a lot of time is wasted in traffic jams in many cities which would be spent elsewhere gainfully. He said this calls for a proper transport system which will also reduce the emissions from motor vehicles.

He said as African countries rush to industrialize, they must urge investors to use eco-friendly technologies that would reduce the greenhouse gas emissions.

"Africa should say the industries, the technology and skills you transfer here should meet the following climate change conditions. This way you don't bring in carbon emitting industries," he said.

Rwengabo argued that the world should not allow the Paris Accord to collapse noting that if the accord crumbled, the world would be doomed especially Africa, which has already started bearing the brunt of adverse climate change effects.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 21:57:55|Editor: xuxin

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BELGRADE, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Annual Meeting of the Representatives of Defense and Security Committees from South East European (SEE) parliaments started in Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Sarajevo, on Tuesday.

Focusing on the contemporary security challenges in the Southeastern European region, the meeting will also discuss parliamentary procedures, challenges and oversight mechanisms in the field of defense and security.

The meeting, jointly organized by Centre for Security Cooperation (RACVIAC), and the Joint Commission for Defense and Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina, gathered around 30 parliamentarians and 20 state officials and defense experts from SEE countries.

Supported by the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces, OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Headquarters Sarajevo, the meeting aims to give a broad introduction on the mechanism and practices of the regional parliamentary defense and security committees.

RACVIAC Director Haydar Berk said at the opening of the event that although basic security or risk assessments in SEE region are along the lines of general assessments in Europe, "the level of risks, vulnerabilities, potential threats differ given the strategic location and characteristics of the region".

Noting that "we live in a more complicated environment," Berk said that "terrorism is a scourge of our times targeting our values," and that there could be no justification for terrorism.

"International community needs to work together against any form of terrorism and any terrorist organization, without exception. No single country can deal with the risks and challenges to security by itself. Therefore, cooperation and concerted efforts among all actors are of vital importance," Berk concluded.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 22:02:58|Editor: Hou Qiang

President of the Nepali Congress Sher Bahadur Deuba addresses before the election at the parliament in Kathmandu, Nepal, June 6, 2017. Sher Bahadur Deuba was elected as the 40th prime minister of Nepal on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Sunil Sharma)

KATHMANDU, June 6 (Xinhua) -- President of the Nepali Congress Sher Bahadur Deuba was elected as the 40th prime minister of Nepal on Tuesday.

Deuba was elected as the head of the government of Nepal through parliament voting.

"I announce that respected member Sher Bahadur Deuba has been elected to the post of Nepal's prime minister," House Speaker Onsari Gharti told the Parliament to loud cheers.

Deuba, 70, secured 388 votes to become the prime minister when 558 parliamentarians cast ballots in the prime minister election. 170 parliamentarians voted against him. Deuba was the sole candidate in the election.

The veteran leader will be administered the oath of office and secrecy by President Bidhya Devi Bhandari at her official residence Sheetalnibas on Wednesday.

The election came after Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal resigned from the post on May 24.

Deuba was elected chairman of the Nepali Congress party through Nepali Congress General Convention in 2016.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 22:03:00|Editor: xuxin

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MOSCOW, June 6 (Xinhua) -- The contract for the delivery of modern Russian Su-35 fighter jets to Indonesia has been agreed upon, the Russian state-owned industrial and defense conglomerate Rostec said Tuesday.

"The contract for the delivery of the Su-35 to Indonesia has been agreed upon and it will be signed this year," TASS news agency quoted Viktor Kladov, Rostec's director for international cooperation and regional policy, as saying.

The value of the contract and the expected time of delivery were not mentioned.

RIA Novosti news agency reported that Russia was interested in Indonesia's natural rubber and palm oil in exchange for the aircraft.

Earlier, Indonesian media reported that the country intended to buy 10 Su-35 aircraft from Russia to replace its aging U.S.-made F-5E Tiger II fleet.

The Su-35 single-seat twin-engine multi-purpose fighter was developed by Russia's Sukhoi aircraft manufacturer between 2003 and 2008 as a heavily-modernized version of the Su-27 fighter.

The Indonesian Air Force has previously purchased Russian-made Su-27 and Su-30 fighters.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 22:08:03|Editor: xuxin

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ROME, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Italian police said Tuesday they had arrested 15 Italian and Tunisian nationals that had been smuggling illegal immigrants from Tunisia to Italy's Sicily.

The crime ring was led by "dangerous Tunisian previous offenders" with Italian accomplices in "a subordinate position," police said in a statement.

They transported anyone who was able to pay, including terrorism suspects and serious crime suspects on the run from Tunisian police, according to the police.

Italian police said the arrested suspects were in the process of planning the transportation of several dangerous individuals, one of whom feared arrest by Tunisian police and deportation by Italian authorities on terrorism charges.

The crime ring engaged in "lucrative trafficking" between Tunisia and the Sicilian coast using high-speed inflatable boats with skippers capable of making the crossing in under four hours, according to police.

The people being transported to Italy paid between 2,000 and 3,000 euros (2,253 and 3,380 U.S. dollars) per person. Each trip could generate 40,000 euros in profits for the crime ring, police said.

The skipper was paid 5,000 euros and the navigator, 3,000 euros.

Once they reached Sicilian beaches, the migrants were met by what police described as a "shuttle service to the organization's logistical bases" where they were fed and given fresh clothes before moving on to their destination of choice.

Investigators were able to track the planning and execution of five such crossings, and also documented and thwarted additional trips that would have brought over 100,000 euros into the crime ring's coffers, according to the police statement.

The money collected in Tunisia was brought to Italy to "supply" the promoters of the crime ring.

The crime ring would have been able to carry out at least two crossings a week from Tunisia to Italy over the coming summer, police said.

Police said that one such landing on the Sicilian coast involved intercepting 14 illegal migrants and seizing 100 kg of contraband cigarettes.

The contraband cigarette racket was worth 17,000 euros per 100 kg, police said. The cigarettes were sold at markets in the Sicilian cities of Palermo and Trapani at three euros a pack.

Charges include transnational criminal conspiracy to commit human trafficking and cigarette smuggling.

Police also seized 10 vehicles and two vessels.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 22:08:04|Editor: xuxin

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MOSUL, Iraq, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi paramilitary Hashd Shaabi units on Tuesday extended grip near the Iraqi-Syrian border in west of Mosul and recaptured 17 villages and three housing complexes from Islamic State (IS) militants, the units said in a statement.

The predominantly Shiite Hashd Shaabi units, backed by the army's helicopter gunships, liberated the villages and the housing complexes, which located in southwest of the newly freed town of Baaj, some 20 km east of the Syrian border, the statement said.

Baaj itself is located in the rugged sprawling area in south of Sinjar mountain range in northeastern Iraq.

During the day, the paramilitary units and the army helicopter gunships killed some 47 IS militants and destroyed their defensive lines in west of Baaj and the areas adjacent to the border line with Syria, the statement said.

The units also evacuated more than 200 families from the battlefields to safer areas and provide food and drinking water for the families, according to the statement.

The operation near the border is part of a major offensive designed to secure the border areas with neighboring Syria and cut off IS supply routes between Mosul and the Syrian city of Raqqa, the de-facto capital of the IS self-declared caliphate.

On May 29, the units made their first arrival at the Iraqi-Syrian border after they freed the town of al-Qahtaniyah, some 18 km east of the Syrian border.

The operations near the Syrian border came as Iraqi security forces, backed by the anti-IS international coalition, were simultaneously conducting a major offensive to dislodge IS militants from their major stronghold in western Mosul.

Mosul, 400 km north of Baghdad, has been under IS control since June 2014, when government forces abandoned their weapons and fled, enabling IS militants to control parts of Iraq's northern and western regions.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 22:13:06|Editor: xuxin

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TOKYO, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc agreed on Tuesday to bring the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement into force at an early date during talks in Tokyo.

According to a joint statement released after the talks, both leaders reaffirmed that free and fair trade and investment are an important driver for the global economy and decided to work together in promoting open and free trade and investment against the backdrop of mounting anti-globalization and protectionism in the world.

The two countries vowed to cooperate in the discussion among TPP members to bring the agreement into force expeditiously, according to the statement.

Phuc is on a five-day visit to Japan starting Sunday. The two countries signed a number of frameworks between their ministries, local authorities and businesses.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 22:13:08|Editor: xuxin

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GARISSA, Kenya, June 6 (Xinhua) -- At least four people were killed after their vehicle ran over an improvised explosive device in Garissa County along the border with Somalia on Tuesday, a government official confirmed.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 22:23:16|Editor: xuxin

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GARISSA, Kenya, June 6 (Xinhua) -- At least four people were killed after their vehicle ran over an improvised explosive device in Garissa County along the border with Somalia on Tuesday, a government official confirmed.

Dadaab local government official Harun Kamau said among the deceased in the incident which took place along Dadaab-Kulan road included a driver and a humanitarian worker.

"All I can say for now is that a vehicle belonging to ADESO (Africa Development Solutions) which was travelling from Dadaab to Doble ran over an improvised explosive device. We have four casualties. We have sent a team on the ground to check the situation," Kamau told Xinhua.

The latest incident came a few hours after a woman was shot dead in neighbouring Mandera county while a team of security officers escaped unhurt as they hunted down a group of Al-Shabaab militants who had planted land mines in Wajir County on Monday evening.

According to security officers, a number of dangerous terrorists have sneaked into the country from Somalia and are now behind the attacks.

Officers responsible for counter-terrorism operations have said given what is happening in Europe and parts of Asia, Kenyans should expect more attacks.

Inspector-General of police Joseph Boinnet said they are working hard to contain the situation.

"Though many terror plots have been thwarted, there have been unfortunate incidents in the country in which Al-Shabaab elements sneaked in and attacked innocent Kenyans. Security agents remain vigilant and are on hunt for the terrorists who attempt to sneak into our country," he said on Tuesday.

"There is a risk of local operatives of attempting to stage copycat attacks we are seeing in other parts of the world. In this respect we have heightened vigilance on our part, and appeal to the public to be watchful for any suspicious activity," Boinett added.

Another official working at the National Counter Terrorism Centre said a number of issues are now contributing to the attacks and warned of more such incident.

"The reality which many refuse to face is that there is no intelligence solution to the jihadist problem which now exists in the region which possess large populations of angry people, a certain percentage of whom are truly radical," said the official.

He said Kenya's intelligence and policing operation devoted to counter-terrorism is efficient and skilled, yet utterly dwarfed by the scope of the threat.

About 30 people including 20 police officers have been killed in explosive attacks in Lamu and parts of northern Kenya in the past month.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 22:28:18|Editor: yan

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by Alessandra Cardone

ROME, June 6 (Xinhua) -- The Italian government has arranged companies to vie for buying the troubled steel giant ILVA.

The Am Investco Italy consortium led by ArcelorMittal SA and Marcegaglia Group had won a tender offer to buy ILVA, with the deal being backed by the Italian Ministry of Economic Development.

According to the deal, Am Investco offered 1.8 billion euros (2.03 billion U.S. dollars) for loss-making ILVA, which is considered the biggest steel plant in Europe in terms of output capacity.

The joint venture created by world's largest steelmaker ArcelorMittal SA and Italian Marcegaglia won the bid over a rival offer by consortium AcciaItalia (Steel Italy) led by Indian Jindal South West (JSW) Group.

In addition to the purchase price, the winning consortium committed to invest some 2.4 billion euros, of which 1.25 billions were in innovative technologies.

The remaining resources (1.15 billion euros) would be destined "to reach the best environmental performances in terms of air emissions and water treatment," according to a statement by Marcegaglia Group.

In terms of employment, Am Investco's plan foresees cutting the 14,220 current jobs down to 9,407 by 2018, and to 8,480 by 2023, the economic development ministry said.

Currently, some 4,100 people receive redundancy payment, and ILVA workers have staged strikes in the plants in Taranto and Genoa in recent days to protest against the significant job losses forecast by both bids submitted by the rival consortia.

Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni will meet Italy's three major steel worker unions to discuss the plan in details later this week, according to Ansa news agency.

The tender's result came quite expected, since the three special commissioners in charge of ILVA had already selected Am Investco's offer over the rival one in late May.

On Monday, Minister of Economic Development Carlo Calenda signed a decree to ratify their decision. The winning bid would foresee a 10-million-euro investment to set up a research and development center in Taranto, according to details unveiled by Marcegaglia Group in March.

It also committed to an annual output of 6 million tons of finished products by 2018, and until after the environmental recovery plan will be completed. The production would return to ILVA's authorized full capacity of 8 million tons by 2024, according to the economic development ministry.

The company produced 5.8 million tons in 2016, according to official figures.

The intervention to clean up ILVA's polluted site will need investments worth 1.13 billion euros, and would be finished by 2023.

Italian judicial authorities ordered the seizure of ILVA in 2012, due to the allegations of heavy pollution and impact on the public health in Taranto.

Then, the Italian government put ILVA and its main subsidiaries under extraordinary administration regime in 2013, and entrusted its management to a board of special commissioners in order to try to sell the polluting company in January 2015. (1 euro = 1.23 U.S. dollars)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 22:33:22|Editor: yan

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MOMBASA, Kenya, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Al least six patients died in the coastal city of Mombasa as nurse's countrywide strike entered its second day on Tuesday.

Mombasa Health Chief Officer Khadija Shikely said three patients died at the emergency wing at the Coast General Hospital while the other three died in the wards.

Shikely said the hospital has so far discharged patients to ease the congestion at the hospital.

"Three of those who died were critically ill patients admitted at the wards and required close supervision which was not available due to few nurses at the hospital," said Shikely.

The strike has paralyzed services at the maternity wing, pediatric ward among other crucial services at the hospital. The patients said they were issued with discharge note and ordered to leave the hospital. Other patients were turned way.

Shikely said they will hire low service nurses to assist in controlling the situation and avoid loss of lives. On Monday, nurses at the hospital joined their colleagues in the countrywide strike.

Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) Secretary for Mombasa county Peter Maroko said the situation is expected to get worse and will affect all public hospitals in the county if the government will not intervene.

The union officials say they will not attend to patients and the strike has nothing to do with county government because it is a national issue.

"We advise that patients seek alternative hospitals because we would not wish them to be admitted and they are not being attended to," Maroko.

"The government has failed to honour a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the KNUN and we will not resume work until the government implements the CBA," said Maroko

On Monday, Council Governors Chairperson Josephat Nanok said a draft CBA that proposes 403 million U.S. dollars in the return-to-work formula had already been concluded.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 22:58:40|Editor: yan

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by Zhang Jianhua

VIENTIANE, June 6 (Xinhua) -- As the Belt and Road Initiative has advanced, the Laos-China Bank (LCNB) has been providing practical services to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Laos solve their financing problems and injecting vitality into the development of Lao enterprises.

The LCNB was established in 2014 as a joint venture bank between Fudian Bank of China's Yunnan and Banque Pour Le Commerce Exterieur Lao (BCEL).

In terms of banking services, for large-scale projects invested by China in Laos, the LCNB has launched the "supply chain financing products." Meanwhile, for SME projects of the World Bank in Laos, the LCNB has also launched a special loan service for SMEs, LCNB Managing Director Deng Yu told Xinhua recently in Vientiane.

Despite the presence of over 40 commercial banks in Laos, their products and services are simple, especially financing business where capital is poured mostly to big enterprises, leaving a "hole" of SME services in the financial market.

The LCNB has placed itself in the area of financial service for local SMEs to fill the "hole" and open a new path of business.

According to statistics by the Lao Ministry of Planning and Investment, as of the end of 2016, China invested in 764 projects in Laos, covering various fields including mining, agriculture, energy, handicrafts and tourism, among others.

From these projects, as many as 552 of them are 100 percent Chinese-invested and 212 are China-Laos joint ventures. China has become the biggest foreign investor in Laos.

It has been reported that some of the suppliers and subcontractors involved in China's investment projects in Laos could not get credit support from large banks and, to a certain extent, this has affected the progress of Chinese investment projects.

The LCNB subsequently provided a variety of financial services to enterprises which have good credit, stable purchase channels and payment sources, without requiring a credit rating and collateral security like traditional banks, thus efficiently solving financial problems for SMEs.

For the construction of the Saysettha Comprehensive Development Zone in Vientiane, the provision of a timely loan from LCNB for the LJ construction company in Laos, a contractor of the project, had helped the company complete construction of roads, water supply and drainage system before rainy season, contributing to improving the appearance of Vientiane.

At the same time, the LCNB has also actively participated in the World Bank's financing projects on promoting the development of SMEs in Laos.

In August 2014, the World Bank and the Lao government signed an agreement on supporting financing for SMEs in Laos, which would provide 20 million U.S. dollars of preferential funds for Lao banks, and provide long-term financing services through commercial banks to qualified SMEs in Laos. Through bidding, after evaluation by the World Bank and Lao Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the LCNB has become an agent bank of the project.

Through intensive investigation of the enterprise's situation, the LCNB has recommended to the World Bank the Lao MKE Electronics company, the agent of China's Huawei mobile phone in Laos, making MKE company the first enterprise to obtain an SME loan from LCNB, which helped promptly solve the company's capital shortage situation.

In addition, the LCNB has also helped THIVA company, which makes traditional Lao clothes, shawls and other silk products, to obtain SME project funding to overcome difficulties in business.

As of Dec. 2016, within the WB SME financing framework, LCNB had accumulatively approved nine loans for SMEs with a total loan amount of over 11 billion Lao kip (some 1.35 million U.S. dollars). The loans involved SMEs in the sectors of trade, construction, handicrafts, among others, and has provided strong support for the development of a number of local SMEs.

Under the guidance of the Belt and Road Initiative, the LCNB has taken a strategy to help local SMEs solve their financing difficulties, becoming a solid bridge for economic and trade exchanges between China and Laos.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 22:58:43|Editor: yan

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MANILA, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the military on Tuesday to "crush" and "pulverize" terror groups in the southern Philippines.

"I am ordering you to crush and pulverize the enemy. When I say crush them you have to destroy everything including lives," Duterte said in a speech before the troops in Carmen town in North Cotabato province.

Duterte reiterated that he has no plan of negotiating with the militants operating in the country to establish a caliphate on Mindanao island. "There will be no peace talks," he said.

On May 23, heavily-armed militants attacked Marawi, a city of about 200,000 people, when the military was searching for a leader of Abu Sayyaf hidden in the city.

The troops launched a counter-offensive that resulted in a series of clashes.

The military said there are still an estimated 500 civilians trapped in the city.

Much of the city's center has been destroyed as airstrikes continued to flush out about 100 militants, including foreign IS cadres.

Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon is reportedly working with the Maute group to establish a "wilayat" or caliphate of IS in Lanao del Sur.

The ongoing clashes in the city forced Duterte to place the entire Mindanao region under martial law.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 23:13:59|Editor: yan

Candidates of the national college entrance exam review lessons on a special train which will take them to exam site in Alihe Township from Dayangshu Township of Oroqen Autonomous Banner, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, June 5, 2017. Over 600 students took the special train to attend this year's national college entrance examination, known as the Gaokao, due to kick off on June 7. (Xinhua/Wang Song)

BEIJING, June 6 (Xinhua) -- When China's national college entrance exam, gaokao, resumed in 1977, Huang Liang, breadwinner of his family, quit his job.

He was in his dormitory in a factory in southwest China's Chongqing when he heard the news through a loudspeaker.

The 32-year-old father took the exam in the bitter winter of that year and was admitted to Chongqing Normal University, one of 273,000 lucky people to get letters of college acceptance. With 5.7 million sitting the exam that year, the enrollment rate was less than 5 percent.

For the past 40 years, the exam has been decisive in determining who would find a well-paid job and successful career.

Gaokao was disrupted by the Cultural Revolution (1966-76) and its reintroduction by then leader Deng Xiaoping was a clear signal that times had changed. For over 40 years, the fierce but fair competition has been almost the only way for students from poor, rural areas to change their lives.

On Wednesday, 9.4 million students will take the world's largest exam in pursuit of their own dreams and join the drive for national rejuvenation, the Chinese Dream.

The restoration of gaokao changed the lives of tens of millions of people like Huang. And the country soon began reform and opening-up, which led directly to decades of growth.

From 1977 to 2016, 120 million Chinese enrolled in universities. "The average number of years in education for our labor force increased from 5.7 to 11.9," said Dai Jiagan, deputy director of the Chinese Society of Education.

"Without gaokao, we could not have reached our current phase of development. The fate of gaokao has been closely related to that of the country and the people."

In the first three years after the restoration of gaokao, more than 900,000 university students became backbone professionals in different walks of life in the country.

"This group of people were a key driving force in reform and opening-up," said Liu Haifeng, head of the school of education at Xiamen University in east China's Fujian Province.

"Despite its weak points such as the heavy burden on students, gaokao is a test that fits China's overall conditions and is a fair start for all."

"The successes of the past 30-odd years have a lot to do with the gaokao system," Liu added.

Cheng Fangping, a professor in history of education at Renmin University of China, agrees. He regards the normalization of China's higher education system as epoch-making, with an inspirational impact on reform, culture, science, thinking and law.

The building of discipline, the fostering of talent and the vision that has driven economic development, were all strengthened through gaokao, said Cheng.

Cooperation between colleges and industry and the emergence of university-centered development zones have all played their parts in the country's economic rise.

From 2011 to 2015, universities churned out nearly 20 million professionals, firing up high-tech and emerging industries. Vocational schools send nearly 10 million technical graduates out into the job market each year.

China has almost 3,000 higher-learning institutions. Of 9.4 million Chinese who sit the exam on Wednesday, around 4 million of them will be given the chance to continue their education. By 2020, 50 percent of gaokao entrants will find places at college.

Special dispensation is now guaranteed for under-privileged students and those with special needs, including those with disabilities. The system now better serves innovation-driven development and encourages creativity.

The exam, however, is not without its critics, mostly for overemphasis on grades and students being obliged to choose between science and liberal arts at an early stage.

China plans to overhaul its college entrance exam and university enrollment system by 2020, to improve fairness and transparency. In east China's Shanghai and Zhejiang Province, pilot reforms are under way in this regard.

Students from central and western parts of the country are now guaranteed more places in college, and there is a push to enroll more students from rural areas.

Gaokao continues to play its key role in enabling the nation to eradicate poverty by 2020 and pursue sustainable growth driven by innovation and consumption.

Sun Pishu, chairman of China's cloud computing and big data provider Inspur Group, went to university in 1978. After graduation, he worked in an electronics plant, the predecessor of Inspur. Ten years later, he developed the country's first small server. Currently, Inspur, based in east China's Shandong Province, supplies IT products and services for 108 countries and regions

"I was part of the second batch of students after the gaokao resumption. I was driven to serve the country and full of energy," said Sun.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 23:14:00|Editor: yan

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JAKARTA, June 6 (Xinhua) -- The anti-terror squad of Indonesian national police has arrested a man with connection to the two perpetrators of the suicide bombings in the country's capital last month that killed five people.

Kiki alias Ahong or Iqbal with initial MI was captured in Pandeglang village of Bandung district in West Java province, national police spokesman Brigadier General Rikwanto said on Tuesday.

"MI was arrested because he used to gather and give sermon to the two perpetrators of suicide bombings in the capital," Rikwanto disclosed in the police headquarters.

MI was captured along with Abu Tsabit alias FS in the district, the spokesman said.

"FS was nabbed because he had frequently attended the sessions of sermon given by MI," he added.

Both Iqbal and Tsabit are alleged suspects in the deadly attack at a bus stop in East Jakarta, said Rikwanto.

During the raid in MI's houses, the anti-terror squad seized a weapon, devices and materials for assembling bombs, he added.

The suicide attacks at a bus stop in East Jakarta killed three policemen and the two bombers, and injured 11 others, according to police.

The IS group was linked with the attack, the police has said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 23:34:06|Editor: yan

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By Eric J. Lyman

ROME, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Italy's economy is showing new signs of life with a GDP growth of 0.4 percent in the first quarter, but experts warned national debt still could be a major hurdle for the economic revival.

The country's National Statistics Institute, ISTAT, released the 0.4 percent growth earlier this month. The growth would be modest in many countries, but for Italy it counts as good news. It matches the highest quarterly growth figures for any quarter over the last five years and it resulted in an upward adjustment for full-year estimated to 1.2 percent from 1.1 percent previously.

If that happens, it'll be the strongest annual growth rate since topping 2 percent in 2011.

ISTAT said the growth figures were pushed by domestic demand for products, another sign of economic health. Unemployment rates are inching downward -- the latest figure was 11.1 percent, the best since 2012 -- with consumer confidence trending higher.

"The economic growth figures are a good, good sign," Stefania Tomasini, an economist who monitors the Italian economy for the Prometeia consultancy, told Xinhua.

"Obviously, there are still structural problems that have to be addressed, and the weight of the national debt is too high. But these growth signals are good news in and of themselves, and they will mean even more if the more robust growth continues."

Prometeia will not revisit its economic growth estimates for Italy until July, but Tomasini said she would "not be surprised" if the year-end growth rate is 1.3 or even 1.4 percent.

Surpassing the 1.1-percent growth forecast for the year is important because that is the figure the government is using this year for estimating tax revenue and expenditures. Every tick above that level makes it easier for the government to pay down debt and meet other obligations.

Debt is key. Italy's debt is now worth 2.2 trillion euros (2.5 trillion U.S. dollars), or 132.6 percent of the country's gross domestic product. That is the third highest level of debt in GDP terms, and the cost of servicing that debt is the largest signal expenditure for the Italian state.

"Sustained economic growth is almost impossible when a country's national debt is more than 120 or 130 percent of GDP," Javier Noriega, chief economist with Hildebrandt and Ferrar, said in an interview.

But Italy's debt to GDP ratio could be ready to start trending downward. Stronger economic growth changes the GDP portion of the calculations, and more economic activity results in more tax revenue, which can change the other part.

Minister of Finance Pier Carlo Padoan told the Euroepan Union last week Italy's budget deficit would drop by 0.3 percent by the end of next year, and the Bank of Italy said it was possible the government's debt could drop below 100 percent of GDP within 10 years. The last time Italy's national debt was smaller than its GDP was in the 1980s.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 23:39:08|Editor: yan

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BERLIN, June 6 (Xinhua) -- A 41-year-old Afghan man, who stabbed and killed a 5-year-old boy at a refugee center in Munich on Saturday, had previously been charged with arson and was imprisoned in 2008 after his deportation was denied, German newspaper Abendzeitung reported on Tuesday.

At the time of the attack on the 5-year-old boy, the perpetrator was electronically tagged and under supervision.

On Saturday, the man fatally injured the young boy by putting a knife to his throat and went after the mother of the child at a refugee center. The police subsequently shot him at the scene of the crime.

The federal government of Upper Palatinate, Bavaria, reported that the city of Munich had previously tried to deport the attacker after he set fire to an apartment he and his wife occupied in 2008. The man reportedly started the fire to avenge his cousin and restore his family name.

The city of Munich failed to deport the man because he successfully proved that he would become a target in his native Afghanistan due to his recent conversion to Christianity. The man instead carried out a six-year prison term and was released in 2015.

The police reported on Monday that the perpetrator was involved in an argument which had erupted in the refugee center, but the reasons for the attack are still not clear.

The Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann told radio station Bayerischer Rundfunk that this tragic event should mean a "new way of dealing with such cases." He also added that the German people should not have to "live with the danger of crossing such criminals."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 23:44:14|Editor: yan

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NICOSIA, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Cyprus, located along the ancient Silk Road, can play an important role as a stepping stone at the crossroads of Asia, Europe and Africa in the implementation of the 21st century Maritime Silk Road, said China's ambassador to Cyprus Huang Xingyuan on Tuesday.

The ambassador was talking at a thematic seminar of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Comprised of the land-based Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, the Belt and Road Initiative aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe, Africa and beyond.

China, the biggest developing nation in the world, and Cyprus, one of the smallest countries of Europe and the world, are a unique example of cooperation in both the political and economic sectors.

Huang stressed that there is a huge potential for Cyprus and China to build on this potential, strengthen coordination of development plans and share common interests under the Belt and Road Initiative.

Ambassador Huang called for hard work to expand and upgrade bilateral trade to double current trade volume and exceed 1 billion U.S. dollars within the next two years by implementing preferential policies.

He spoke in more general terms of global trade by advocating economic globalization, improving global governance, advocating free trade, and seeking mutual benefit and common development.

The Ambassador spoke against misinterpreting the meaning of market economy, setting up trade and investment barriers, and covertly implementing trade protectionism, especially "by the relevant stakeholders in Europe".

In relation to Cyprus, he said that both Chinese products and Cypriot products have their distinctive features, adding that both sides should take the opportunity of implementing preferential policies to achieve that target.

He suggested that towards this end people-to-people exchanges should be strengthened and mutual understanding be promoted.

Ambassador Huang suggested realizing direct flights as soon as possible, streamlining Cypriot visa procedures for Chinese citizens and communication between thing tanks, media and young people becoming more frequent.
Soldiers stand guard in front of Notre Dame in Paris, France, Dec. 30, 2015, as France tightened the security ahead of the New Year celebrations. (Xinhua/Li Genxing)

PARIS, June 6 (Xinhua) -- A man armed with a hammer attacked a policeman on Tuesday outside Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris before being shot and wounded, local news channel BFMTV reported.

At 16h30 local time (14h30 GMT), an unidentified man targeted police outside Notre Dame cathedral and threatened them with a hammer. He slightly injured an officer in the head before a second serviceman responded by opening fire, according to the report.

The assailant was injured in his thorax and was hospitalized, it added.

On its tweeter account, Paris police called public to stay away and avoid the zone.

Police had evacuated the square while 900 people remained inside the cathedral, one of Europe's most visited sites, the report added.

Anti-terrorism section of Paris prosecutor office launched an investigation into the incident whose motives remained unknown.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 23:49:17|Editor: An

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ASTANA, June 6 (Xinhua) -- A TV program featuring Silk Road stories that is co-sponsored by China and Kazakhstan was launched here Tuesday.

The program, named "The Silk Road Theater," was jointly organized by China's State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television and Kazakhstan's Khabar television station.

According to a TV and film program exchange cooperation agreement signed by the two sides, Khabar is going to broadcast two documentaries that have been translated into the local language.

Also on Tuesday, a special edition of a Russian-language magazine was issued in Astana.

The journal focuses on showing readers the development of friendly relations between China and Kazakhstan and accomplishments in their all-round cooperation.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is going to pay a state visit to Kazakhstan to attend the 17th meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Council of Heads of State and the opening ceremony of the World Expo in Astana from June 7 to 10.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 23:49:19|Editor: yan

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PARIS, June 6 (Xinhua) -- A fresh survey released on Tuesday predicted French President Emmanuel Macron's party "Republic On the Move (LREM)" on track to comfortably win the two-round parliamentary competition set to kick off on Sunday.

An Ipsos Sopra-Steria poll found that the novice centrist movement would emerge as the largest party with 385 to 415 seats out of the 577 seats in the lower house of parliament.

Centrist and conservative parties would win about 105 to 125 seats, followed by the Socialist Party whose candidates were set to come out ahead in up to 35 constituencies.

As for the far-right party National Front (FN), it would gain 15 to 25 seats, the pollster's data showed.

In the legislative election's first round on June 11, LREM candidates were projected to lead the vote with 29.5 percent. The Republicans and the FN which each want to form a strong opposition, were at 23 percent and 17 percent. The Socialists and their allies trailed behind with 8.5 percent of the vote.

The survey also found that 68 percent of 2,103 respondents said they were sure of their choice. Those supporting candidates of the centrist movement rose to 75 percent, up by four percentage points from figures released at the end of May.

According to the foreign ministry's data, in 10 out of 11 foreign constituencies, LREM came first after French nationals living abroad cast their ballots on June 3 and 4.

Of the LREM's 428 candidates, 214 are women.

Half of the contenders who joined the LREM party for the June legislative election are from civil society and have never held an elected post.

An absolute majority in the National Assembly is 289 seats.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 23:49:20|Editor: An

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BEIJING, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev hoped cooperation between the two countries will help rejuvenate the ancient Silk Road.

They expressed so in inscriptions in a picture album on the two countries' scenery and cooperation under China-proposed Silk Road Economic Belt and Kazakhstan's Bright Road new economic plan.

Noting this year marks the 25th anniversary of diplomatic ties and the first Chinese Year of Tourism in Kazakhstan, Xi said the picture album showed the two countries' wonderful natural landscape and mutual friendship to the world.

The album of around 200 pictures taken by photographers from both sides was launched Tuesday in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan.

As important countries along the ancient Silk Road, China and Kazakhstan have made significant contributions to cultural exchanges, Xi said.

The two have witnessed close high-level visits, strengthened political mutual trust, and comprehensive advancement in pragmatic cooperation in the last 25 years.

In 2016, the two signed a plan to synergize the Silk Road Economic Belt and the Bright Road.

Xi said the two countries have cooperated actively under the Belt and Road Initiative and this will bring new vitality to the ancient Silk Road.

Quoting a Kazakh saying which describes people at the age of 25 are as vigorous as fire, Xi called on both sides to further cooperation and make joint efforts for a brighter future.

For Nazarbayev's part, he stressed the significance of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the Bright Road, saying they will regenerate the "old while great" ancient Silk Road of commercial exchange.

He said that the 2017 Chinese Year of Tourism in Kazakhstan will enhance mutual understanding and friendship between the two peoples.

The album, specially made to revive the Silk Road, will demonstrate the two countries' remarkable achievements, he said.

The album was co-published by the China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration's China Pictorial and Kazinform International News Agency.

From June 7 to 10, Xi will pay a state visit to Kazakhstan, attend the 17th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the opening ceremony of the World Expo in Astana.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 23:54:23|Editor: yan

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TEHRAN, June 6 (Xinhua) -- A collision of two subway trains in Iran's capital Tehran on Tuesday led to the injury of at least 25 passengers, reported the official IRNA news agency.

The accident occurred when a moving train hit another train in the back at a train stop in western Tehran.

Hassan Abbasi, an official with Tehran's Emergency Center told IRNA that no deaths were caused by the accident but that seven injured people were transferred to a hospital.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 23:54:24|Editor: An

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President of Xinhua News Agency Cai Mingzhao (R) meets with Director General of Russia's Tass news agency Sergey Mikhaylov in Beijing, capital of China, June 6, 2017. Mikhaylov is in Beijing to attend the BRICS Media Forum, scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

BEIJING, June 6 (Xinhua) -- President of Xinhua News Agency Cai Mingzhao met with director general of Russia's Tass news agency Sergey Mikhaylov here on Tuesday, agreeing to enhance ties.

Cai welcomed Mikhaylov to the BRICS Media Forum scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday in Beijing, saying he hoped the forum would help create favorable atmosphere for the upcoming BRICS Summit.

China, which took over the BRICS presidency this year, will host the Ninth BRICS Summit in September in Xiamen, Fujian Province.

Xinhua appreciates Tass's support for the BRICS Media Forum and related activities, according to Cai.

Hailing bilateral close relationship, Cai stressed that Xinhua is willing to enhance coordination with Tass to contribute more to China-Russia ties.

Mikhaylov said that he is very glad to attend the BRICS Media Forum and is looking forward to greater achievements of Tass-Xinhua cooperation.

The BRICS Media Forum, proposed by Xinhua and jointly organized by mainstream media groups of BRICS countries, will be attended by the leaders of 25 media groups from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Attendees will discuss topics including multimedia innovation for media development, as well as media outlets social responsibility.

During the forum, there will be a BRICS Media Joint Photo Exhibition to show the development and cooperation achievements of BRICS.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-06 23:54:26|Editor: yan

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GENEVA, June 6 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to health, Dainius Puras, called for a "sea change" in mental health care around the world on Tuesday.

After presenting his latest report to the UN Human Rights Council here on Tuesday, he said that where mental health systems existed, they were segregated from other forms of health care and based on outdated practices that violated human rights.

"We need little short of a revolution in mental health care to end decades of neglect, abuse and violence," Puras said.

He called on states to move away from traditional practices and thinking, and toward a long overdue shift to a rights-based approach.

According to the UN expert, the current mental health policies and services are in a crisis of power imbalances.

He explained that progress was being hindered by huge imbalances in the systems currently used in policymaking, service provision, medical education and research.

"There is now unequivocal evidence of the failures of a system that relies too heavily on the biomedical model of mental health services, including the front-line and excessive use of psychotropic medicines, and yet these models persist," Puras said.

"This pattern occurs in countries across the national income spectrum. It represents a failure to integrate evidence and the voices of those most affected into policy, and a failure to respect, protect and fulfill the right to health," he added.

In his report just presented to the UN human rights council, Puras warned that power and decision-making in mental health were concentrated in the hands of "biomedical gatekeepers," particularly those representing biological psychiatry.

These gatekeepers, he said, maintain this power by adhering to two outdated concepts: that people experiencing mental distress and diagnosed with "mental disorders" are dangerous, and that biomedical interventions are medically necessary in many cases.

"These concepts perpetuate stigma and discrimination, as well as the practices of coercion that remain widely accepted in mental health systems today," he stressed, adding that it was crucial now to assess the root causes of failure and to chart a way forward, reaching consensus on the best way to do this.

"Paternalistic and excessively medicalized concepts must give way to participatory, psychosocial care and support in the community," he noted.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-07 00:39:52|Editor: yan

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LAGOS, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria has begun processes for promoting a proper channel for navigation and irrigation on the River Niger, the country's Minister of Water Resources said Tuesday.

Suleiman Adamu said the project would be executed in partnership with the Hungarian government to seek ways to introduce river training toward protecting the river banks and flood plains.

He said although the huge infrastructure project would take time, the ministry had commenced negotiations with the Hungarian experts.

Measuring 4,280 kilometers with a basin that is spread over 2.2 million square kilometers, the River Niger whose origin is in Faranah region in southeast Conakry, passes through African countries including Guinea, Mali, Niger, Benin and Nigeria where it pours into the Atlantic Ocean.

Adamu said the ministry would seek funding for the project in partnership with the private sector and stressed that Nigeria ought to have proper areas for irrigation without being devastated by flooding.

In 2012, Nigeria suffered heavy loss to flood that affected 30 states, leaving some 366 people died and 2.1 million others displaced.

The flood, termed the worst in 40 years, affected an estimated 7.1 million people and caused losses worth billions of U.S. dollars, according to National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-07 00:49:59|Editor: yan

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VILNIUS, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Lithuanian parliament (Seimas) adopted a new labor code for the country on Tuesday on new types of employment contracts, and changes in determining the time of employees' annual leave among other updated provisions.

If Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite does not veto the new legislation, it should come into force as of July 1.

The parliament's decision marks the end of the heavily debated legislation.

"We adopted a balanced labor code which has been agreed among the social partners and which provides more flexible labor relations," Tomas Tomilinas, a lawmaker from the ruling Lithuanian Peasants and Greens Union, was quoted as saying by the local media.

He added that now it is up to businesses and employers to "do everything that is possible in order to reduce emigration and increase wages".

Compared to the previous labor code, the new legislation provides for new types of employment such as contracts for project work, apprenticeships or temporary jobs.

According to the new regulation, employees are entitled to 20 working days of paid annual leave rather than the 28 calendar days leave provided under the current legislation.

It also puts a 60-hour cap on the working week, including extra jobs and overtime hours.

The updated legislation makes it easier to fire employees with a so-called fast dismissal clause that allows an employer to dismiss an employee by giving him notice only three days beforehand.

However, in regular circumstances under the code, an employer may dismiss an employee after giving them one month's notice, if the person has been working more than one year, or two weeks before, if the person has been working less than a year.

The country's former prime minister, Social Democratic Party Member of Parliament (MP) Algirdas Butkevicius, who presented the updated labor code in the previous Seimas, said that the adoption of the new legislation should transform into "one of the largest reforms in the modern history of Lithuania".

However, he noted that Lithuania badly lagged in this area and the reform was overdue as the amendments to the labor code were submitted to the parliament in February 2015 and finally adopted only in June 2017.

Ausrine Armonaite, a lawmaker from the Liberals Movement, said the new labor code was important in order to give more clarity both to employers and employees.

"Nevertheless, the fact that the provisions, which should come in force as of July, are being discussed in June, is scandalous as there is too little time to get prepared for the new regulations in the area of labor relations," Armonaite underlined.

Andrius Kubilius, former prime minister and representative of the parliamentary opposition conservative party Homeland UnionLithuanian Christian Democrats, said he did not see major changes in the updated legislation.

"I believe even the authors don't know who fixed what and where; jobs are being created by investors, I did not hear how many jobs this (new labor code) would encourage to create," Kubilius was quoted as saying by local media.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-07 00:55:02|Editor: yan

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BEIJING, June 6 (Xinhua) -- The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee on Tuesday decided to posthumously honor late official Liao Junbo as an "outstanding CPC member."

A statement of the CPC central leadership noted that Liao, vice mayor of Nanping City in Fujian Province, had worked wholeheartedly to lead local cadres and people in poverty-relief work, showing his loyalty to the Party and selfless devotion to duty.

Liao died at the age of 48 in a traffic accident while heading to a meeting on March 18.

On March 31, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, praised Liao for his excellent service, calling on Party members and officials to learn from him.

Liao had also served as Party chief of Fujian's Zhenghe County, where he pushed forward economic development that eventually helped more than 30,000 people shake off poverty within less than four years.

In 2015, Liao was honored as one of some 100 model Party chiefs at the county level by the CPC Central Committee.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-07 01:00:09|Editor: yan

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BEIRUT, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon on Tuesday foiled a terror bombing attempt in Beirut's southern suburbs, the National News Agency (NNA) reported.

Lebanon's Minister of Interior and Municipalities Nouhad Mashnouk said during meeting with UK Ambassador to Lebanon Hugo Shorter that "thanks to the key coordination between the General Security and the Information Branch of the Internal Security Forces (ISF) we managed to foil a terrorist bombing that was to target the southern suburbs of Beirut."

"This is an evidence of the high professionalism of the Lebanese security services and the paramount importance of cooperation and coordination among the various security services" he stressed.

The southern suburbs of Beirut are the stronghold of the Shiite militant party of Hezbollah who is fighting the extremist groups in neighboring Syria alongside the Syrian legitimate forces.

On another hand, Mashnouk said that the Ministry's various departments are proceeding with their preparations for the forthcoming legislative elections, awaiting the final formula of the new election law and the Parliament's setting of the election's date.

He stressed that the setting of election's date will be determined by the House of Parliament.

Mashnouk offered condolences to Shorter on the fallen victims of the recent London terror attack.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-07 01:05:12|Editor: yan

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BELGRADE, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Stronger cooperation in the Western Balkans can "unlock region's economic potential" and improve prospects of individual countries on their European integration path, German State Secretary of the Federal Foreign Office Markus Ederer said on Tuesday.

Addressing a regional conference here, Ederer praised Serbia's active role within the Berlin process (enlargement diplomatic initiative from 2014) and its resoluteness to initiate the initiative, together with the European Commission.

"This will be the central topic of the next Western Balkans summit in Trieste (Italy)," Ederer said, highlighting the establishment of the Regional Youth Cooperation Office of the Western Balkans that promotes the spirit of reconciliation and cooperation between the youth in the region as a good example of cooperation.

"We need to unlock the economic potential for the market of over 20 million people. Serbia was very much behind this proposal. It is the biggest country and as a market it still has advantages of branching out to its neighbors. It will not only increase the people to people exchange, but we believe it will also prepare economies of the region for integration into European markets," Ederer said.

He explained that regional economic cooperation is not a substitute for joining EU, but more of a catalyst.

Ederer earlier met Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who thanked German state leadership for supporting Serbia's EU path and the stability in the region.

Ederer also met Serbian Foreign Minister and Acting Prime Minister Ivica Dacic who stressed Serbia was Germany's most important partner in the region.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-07 01:45:44|Editor: yan

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MADRID, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Worries about corruption in Spain continue to rise, according to the monthly investigation into public opinion published by the Spanish Center for Sociological Investigations (CIS) on Tuesday.

A total of 54 percent of the 2,479 people interviewed by the CIS from May 1- 9 said corruption was a major worry for them, marking a 12.3 percent increase from the previous study.

Several corruption cases have been in the news of late in Spain. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy from the governing People's Party (PP) will become the first PM to appear as a witness at corruption trial when he gives evidence at the Gurtel trial in late July.

However, despite the recent improvements in the Spanish economy, unemployment remains the main worry for Spaniards, with 71.3 percent of those questioned mentioning it.

Other worries are the general performance of the Spanish economy (21.1 percent), Healthcare (9.6 percent) and education (8.8 percent).

Meanwhile, only 3.5 percent of Spaniards consider immigration to be a problem, while only 1.9 percent said they are worried by the threat of international terrorism.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-07 01:55:47|Editor: yan

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BAGHDAD, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Tuesday regretted the recent crisis between Saudi Arabia and its allies against Qatar, and vowed to cooperate with any state to defeat Islamic State (IS) militants.

"We regret the differences that swept the region recently," Abadi said at a press conference after his weekly cabinet meeting.

Abadi referred to the crisis between some Arab nations and Qatar, when the Saudi Arabia and its allies severed diplomatic ties with Qatar in an escalation of power struggle in the Middle East, which observers believe that it created serious crack in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

The states of the Middle-East region have realized that no state is far from terrorism, saying, "Iraq is ready to cooperate with ant state wants to eradicate terrorism," Abadi told reporters at the televised press conference.

"Terrorism does not target a particular party or sect, but it seeks to target life in all its forms," Abadi said.

Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Yemen, Egypt and Libya on Monday announced cutting diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing the Gulf state of supporting and financing "terrorism" as well as interfering in their internal affairs. Qatar denies the accusations.

Meanwhile, Abadi also said that the Iraqi government will not allow any Iraqi force to cross the Syrian border to fight the Islamic State (IS) militants in the neighboring country.

"We are now taking control of the Iraqi-Syrian border. Iraq does not want to enter into a conflict within the Syrian territory," Abadi added, rejecting some media reports that said the predominantly Shiite Hashd Shaabi units could enter Syria to support the Syrian government forces against the Syrian rebels.

The paramilitary units are conducting a major offensive designed to secure the border areas with neighboring Syria and cut off IS supply routes between Mosul and the Syrian city of Raqqa, the de-facto capital of the IS self-declared caliphate.

On May 29, the units made their first arrival at the Iraqi-Syrian border and continued clearing dozens of villages in the rugged sprawling area between Iraq's northern province of Nineveh and its western province of Anbar.

The operations near the Syrian border came as Iraqi security forces, backed by the anti-IS international coalition, were simultaneously conducting a major offensive to dislodge IS militants from their remaining redoubt in the western side of Mosul.
Cast member Gal Gadot poses at the premiere of "Wonder Woman" in Los Angeles, California U.S., May 25, 2017. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

AMMAN, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Jordan has not allowed the screening of newly released "Wonder Woman" film in the Kingdom and warned any cinema halls from screening it before a decision is taken.

In a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, this week, Jordan Media Commission director Mohammad Quteishat said the commission had received the film and will review its scenes to check if it complies with local standards and legislation.

"Cinemas that screen the film before the commission approves it will be closed, as this would be considered a violation of the law," he said.

Several campaigns were launched online in Jordan calling for boycotting the film and banning its screening in Jordan as the leading actress, Gal Gadot, is an Israeli citizen who was enlisted in the Israeli army for two years after high school as part of Israel's conscription.

The movie's plot revolves around Wonder Woman, who is informed by an American pilot about the conflicts outside of her isolated island home, subsequently leaving the island to fight in wars with the male fighters.

"If we watch the movie, this means we will support this Israeli actor...I am against this movie and I call for banning it in Jordan as well as in the rest of the Arab world," Mohammad Ali, part of the online campaign to boycott the movie, told Xinhua.

The Anti-Normalisation Commission in Jordan issued a statement this week, calling for not watching the film and banning it in Jordan.

In Jordan, which was the second Arab country to sign a peace deal with Israel in 1994, there are active online and offline movements and forces that lobby against having normal ties with Israel in light of its aggression against the Palestinians and the continued occupation.

The movie was banned from being screened in Lebanon last week, following a campaign dubbed "Campaign to Boycott Supporters of Israel in Lebanon."

According to reports, Gal Gadot had previously stated that her military background had helped her to get the role in the "Fast and the Furious" movie which made her world-famous.

In July 2014, Gadot had posted a picture with her daughter on her social media accounts about the Israeli-Palestinian conflicts on Gaza, supporting the Israeli Defense Army, which caused controversy.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-07 02:05:58|Editor: yan

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by Ronald Njoroge

NAIROBI, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's Chinese-built Standard Gauge Railways (SGR) is likely to boost the economy, a trade lobby said on Tuesday.

James Mureu, Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) Acting National Vice Chairman, told Xinhua that the 480-km SGR that runs from Nairobi to the port of Mombasa will ease movement of cargo and people among the two key towns.

"We are expecting the SGR to boost the economy through improved overall efficiency of the country," Mureu said during a media briefing on the upcoming China Expo Week.

Mureu said that railways are cheapest way of moving bulky cargo over long distances.

"So with the operationalization of the SGR, the cost of logistics in the country should come down drastically," he said.

The 3.6-billion-U.S.-dollar SGR was 90 percent financed by China's Exim Bank and started operation on May 31.

According to the KNCCI, the Nairobi-Mombasa transport corridor is the most important transport route in the country.

"It handles the bulk of imports and exports into the country. So by reducing transport cost and travel times, Kenya is likely to increase its competitiveness," he added.

Mureu, who is also the KNCCI Mombasa County Branch Chairman, said the SGR is the biggest manifestation of the Sino-Kenya relations.

"It shows that bilateral relations are based on a win-win foundation for the betterment of the citizens of the two nations," he said.

The trade lobby plans to urge its members to explore more trade opportunities with China. "We should diversify the number of products we export to China," Mureu said.
A Russian Su-35 is displayed during the MAKS-2013 international aviation and space show in the city of Zhukovsky near Moscow, Russia, Aug. 27, 2013. (Xinhua/Jia Yuchen)

MOSCOW, June 6 (Xinhua) -- The contract for the delivery of modern Russian Su-35 fighter jets to Indonesia has been agreed upon, the Russian state-owned industrial and defense conglomerate Rostec said Tuesday.

"The contract for the delivery of the Su-35 to Indonesia has been agreed upon and it will be signed this year," TASS news agency quoted Viktor Kladov, Rostec's director for international cooperation and regional policy, as saying.

The value of the contract and the expected time of delivery were not mentioned.

RIA Novosti news agency reported that Russia was interested in Indonesia's natural rubber and palm oil in exchange for the aircraft.

Earlier, Indonesian media reported that the country intended to buy 10 Su-35 aircraft from Russia to replace its aging U.S.-made F-5E Tiger II fleet.

The Su-35 single-seat twin-engine multi-purpose fighter was developed by Russia's Sukhoi aircraft manufacturer between 2003 and 2008 as a heavily-modernized version of the Su-27 fighter.

The Indonesian Air Force has previously purchased Russian-made Su-27 and Su-30 fighters.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with Mongolian Prime Minister Jargaltulga Erdenebat at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, May 12, 2017. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)

ULAN BATOR, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Mongolian Foreign Minister Tsend Munkh-Orgil said on Monday that Mongolia would be able to implement the structural reforms it has agreed to undergo with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), according to Nikkei Asian Review website.

"I am confident that the resources and money that will be lent to the Mongolian government will be used effectively to overcome the temporary economic problems," Munkh-Orgil said on the sidelines of the International Conference on The Future of Asia in Tokyo.

The resource-rich country has benefited from a commodities boom over the last 15 years or so. But a subsequent commodity price slump, investment outflows and slowing demand in key export markets have hit Mongolia's economy hard.

Last month, the IMF approved a three-year, 434-million-U.S. dollar loan for Mongolia as part of a wider 5.5 billion-dollar aid package which is also supported by Japan, South Korea, China, the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank.

The agreement was reached after the IMF admitted that Mongolia had met some of its demands, including raising taxes and cutting spending.

Some observers, however, questioned the ability of the Mongolian government to carry through the painful structural reforms needed to put the economy back on track.

But Munkh-Orgil said the reforms were inevitable. "With or without the IMF, we know that we must undertake these reforms. We have expanded fiscally -- a lot. We have stretched ourselves on [the] budget. We have reached unsustainable levels of government debt," he said.

The government is trying to respond through fiscal consolidation, and by bringing the budget under control, the minister said.

Mongolia aims to reduce the budget deficit, currently equivalent to 17 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), to 10.2 percent by the end of this year. It aims to have a budget deficit equal to around 2 percent of the GDP by 2022.

"For the next several decades, the mining sector will continue to be the central linchpin of the Mongolian economy," Munkh-Orgil said, "But at the same time, mining is a very capricious animal. (The) fortunes and misfortunes of the mining sector can go up and down unexpectedly."

Mongolia is ready to diversify its economy, which currently relies on minerals for 90 percent of its export revenue, he said.

"We need to bring in more products, (put) more industries in play," the foreign minister said, "We need to engage the public and businesses in other areas that employ more people and bring more export revenues, like agriculture and tourism."
"Save Our Ocean" exhibition opens during the Ocean Conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York, June 5, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

UNITED NATIONS, June 6 (Xinhua) -- The world's Ocean takes center stage this month with new exhibitions now on display at United Nations Headquarters and across the five boroughs of New York City.

The exhibitions were launched by the Office of the President of the UN General Assembly to coincide with the United Nations Ocean Conference, taking place on June 5-9 in New York, the office said Tuesday.

Participants include the Co-Presidents of the Conference, Sweden and Fiji, the United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, private sector partners, and Project Zero.

The Ocean covers an astonishing 70 percent of the planet's surface. Its abundance, temperature, chemistry, currents and teeming variety of life drive global systems that make the Earth habitable for humanity.

Peter Thomson, President of the General Assembly, highlighted the significance of the dilemma planet Earth faces: "In these challenging times, there are few phenomena of greater importance to the sustainability of our species on this planet than the health of the Ocean and the ominous threat of climate change."

"Presented to draw attention to the challenges we face in the conservation and sustainably use the Ocean and marine resources for development, the exhibitions highlight how partnerships, technology, community-inspired action, and public participation offer innovative solutions to preserve the majesty of the Ocean, and invite us to consider how we can collectively act to stop its terrible decline," said the office.

The exhibition explores a rebirth of traditional navigation and sailing techniques around the southern Pacific; the plague of marine litter; the beauty of the world's underwater biodiversity; stories of resilience and community action; and the devastation "ghost-nets" cause to marine life, through sculptures by Indigenous Australian artists, according to the office.

"This ambitious exhibition celebrates the creativity and dynamism of contemporary Indigenous cultures and highlights the important role that Indigenous artists and communities play in protecting coastal environments," said Gillian Bird, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Australia to the UN.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-07 05:47:41|Editor: yan

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DAMASCUS, June 6 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian army confirmed that U.S.-led airstrike struck Syrian military unit near the Iraqi borders on Tuesday.

In a statement released late on Tuesday, the Syrian army said the warplanes of the U.S.-led anti-terror coalition struck a Syrian military position near Tanf border crossing with Iraq, leaving a number of "martyrs" and other losses.

The airstrike struck the military position in the Shaimeh area near Tanf in the eastern countryside of Homs province in central Syria.

"This aggression comes once again to stress the supportive role of terrorism by the forces which claim otherwise, and at the time when the Syrian army is making progress against the terrorist group of the Islamic State organization," the military statement said.

The statement warned of the risks of such escalation and its reverberations, urging the U.S.-led coalition to curb such acts.

It stressed the Syrian army's resolve and determination to carry on with fighting the terrorist groups on all Syrian territory.

The strike is the second to hit a Syrian military unit near Tanf, where the U.S. and Britain have military bases.

On May 18, the U.S. air force struck a convoy of pro-government fighters advancing in the desert near the Tanf border crossing with Iraq.

At the time, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said America's role in Syria's conflict was unchanged, after the strikes.

"No. We are not increasing our role in the Syrian civil war. But we will defend our troops," Mattis said, when asked about the first strikes.

This comes as the Syrian army unleashed a wide-scale offensive in the Syrian desert dubbed the Great Dawn to secure a triangle of border areas between Iraq, Syria and Jordan.

In the process, the army must advance to Tanf, where the Western allies have bases and local rebels they are backing.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-07 05:57:50|Editor: yan

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WASHINGTON, June 6 (Xinhua) -- The U.S.-led coalition forces on Tuesday conducted a strike against pro-government forces in Syria that advanced inside the de-confliction zone in the southern part of the country, according to U.S. military.

"Despite previous warnings, pro-regime forces entered the agreed-upon de-confliction zone with a tank, artillery, anti-aircraft weapons, armed technical vehicles and more than 60 soldiers posing a threat to Coalition and partner forces based at the At Tanf Garrison," U.S. Central Command said in a statement.

The coalition issued several warnings via the de-confliction line prior to destroying two artillery pieces, an anti-aircraft weapon, and damaging a tank, the statement added.

Earlier Tuesday, the Syrian army confirmed that the U.S.-led airstrike struck Syrian military unit near the Iraqi borders.

The Syrian army said the warplanes of the U.S.-led coalition struck a Syrian military position near Tanf border crossing with Iraq, leaving a number of "martyrs" and other losses.

"This aggression comes once again to stress the supportive role of terrorism by the forces which claim otherwise, and at the time when the Syrian army is making progress against the terrorist group of the Islamic State organization," the army said.

The coalition forces emphasized that they do not seek to fight pro-government forces in Syria but remain "ready to defend themselves if pro-regime forces refuse to vacate the de-confliction zone," U.S. Central Command said.

"The Coalition calls on all parties in southern Syria to focus their efforts on the defeat of ISIS, which is our common enemy and the greatest threat to regional and worldwide peace and security," said the U.S. military statement.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-07 05:57:52|Editor: yan

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LONDON, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Ambassador to Britain on Tuesday urged his country and Britain to promote film and TV exchanges to step up the bilateral cultural communication.

Liu Xiaoming made the comments at the London Ceremony of 2017 China-UK Film and TV Conference, where he said the film and TV exchanges between China and Britain have become a new highlight of China-UK cooperation.

"The rich cultural resources of China and Britain could be leveraged to step up the development of our creative industries," he told the audience.

The senior official also said that enhanced cultural exchanges will build a new bridge of communication between cultures.

"China-UK relationship is now at its best time in history, as evidenced by the ever-vibrant cooperation in all fields," he said. "The creative industries, the film and TV industry in particular, are fast becoming a new growth point in China-UK cooperation."

Liu called on the two sides to seize the historic opportunities, improve the mechanisms of cooperation and build new platforms.

"We should match up our strengths for win-win results," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-07 06:02:55|Editor: yan

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MINSK, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Belarusian Agriculture and Food Minister Leonid Zayats said on Tuesday that broiler farms in Belarus plan to pass certification to supply products to the Chinese market.

The minister told reporters at the international agricultural expo Belagro 2017 that the Chinese market is one of the most promising for the supply of Belarusian agricultural products.

Zayats said that Belarus had strengthened its supplies to China. The official informed that on June 16, experts from the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of China will conduct inspections in Belarus for the accreditation of local meat processing enterprises.

The minister noted that in July it is going to sign an agreement that gives the right to Belarusian companies to supply beef to the Chinese market. He also recalled that 34 dairy enterprises are already certified to supply milk to the Chinese market.

Belarus actively diversifies the supply of its agricultural products, Zayats concluded.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-07 06:07:59|Editor: Liu

The file photo shows that U.S. President Donald Trump applauds after delivering a speech at the White House in Washington D.C., capital of the United States, on June 1, 2017. (Xinhua/Mike Theiler)

by Matthew Rusling

WASHINGTON, June 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump is ramping up calls for a controversial travel ban from a handful of countries where terrorism runs rampant after the terrorist attack in London, but he faces a tough legal battle in U.S. courts.

Over the weekend, Islamist terrorists carried out an attack on a crowded shopping area in London, by using a van to plow through throngs of tourists and locals on London Bridge. Several men then jumped out of the van and went on a rampage, stabbing people with knives.

The incident, which left seven dead and four dozen injured, came just two weeks after a terrorist bomb killed nearly two dozen people at a concert in Manchester.

The attacks come at a time when radical Islam is spreading through the West, Southeast Asia and elsewhere.

In a series of posts on social media on Monday, which went on into the evening hours, Trump said "I am calling it what we need and what it is, a TRAVEL BAN."

The ban would slap a temporary ban on travel to the United States on citizens from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. In a barrage of social media posts, Trump called for a much tougher version of the proposed law.

But Trump's travel ban is controversial, and the courts are trying to block it on grounds, they say, that it is unconstitutional.

A battle between the White House and the courts has ensued, and remains unclear who will win. The case is likely to end up in the Supreme Court, although it remains unclear when that will be.

LEGAL EXPERTS AND PUBLIC OPINION

Many Americans do not favor the ban, despite the support from Trump's base.

"Most Americans are not keen on the travel ban, so Trump's push on this front helps him with his base, but almost no one else," Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Darrell West told Xinhua.

"Legal experts think his executive order is unconstitutional," West said.

Indeed, some experts said there is a disconnect between Trump's anti-terrorism policies and the actual threat.

"Trump will use every terrorist attack to argue the United States needs to get tougher on border enforcement. But many of these attacks were not by foreign, but domestic terrorists. So stronger border enforcement will not help with residents who have become radicalized," West said.

Critics of the courts' decision to block the law on legal grounds contend that U.S. national security is not meant to be decided by courts, but rather is the jurisdiction of Congress and the White House.

Many critics of the courts in the last couple of decades have accused judges of using their powerful positions for social and political activism, instead of carrying out their sacred duty to uphold the law.

Some supporters of the travel ban noted that the terrorists who carried out the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in the U.S. were carried out by radicals from countries not on Trump's ban list.

That includes Saudi Arabia, a U.S. regional ally and the home country of now deceased terror mastermind Osama bin Laden, as well as most of the 9/11 hijackers.

"Virtually all U.S. Muslim allies in the Mideast are exempt from Trump's travel ban, and have their own problems with Islamic extremists," Wayne White, former deputy director of the State Department's Middle East Intelligence Office, told Xinhua.

"The lavish Saudi welcome for Trump showed their keen desire to preserve solid U.S. ties," White said of Trump's recent trip to visit its ally.

RADICAL IDEOLOGY

Critics also note that Trump did not address, during his visit to Saudi Arabia, what they say is the Saudis spreading radical Islamist ideology worldwide.

But others note that the Saudis are a major source of intelligence for the United States, and as such are an important ally.

"Regardless of the dim view many Americans have of the Saudis, the kingdom's security forces crack down severely on domestic extremism and cooperate closely with the U.S. in sharing intelligence," White said.

Experts say the real problem is the radical Islamist ideology pervading the world through the Internet is the main problem. Getting rid of the ideology is key to defeating terrorists, experts contend. But that is easier said than done.

No truly effective way has been found by the West to fight the extremist ideology, White noted.

"Yet, the Saudis themselves have been involved for over 15 years in some of the most successful efforts in schools and prisons to separate their strict brand of faith from extremist violence," White said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-07 06:18:01|Editor: yan

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ANKARA, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday disapproval of the sanctions imposed on Qatar following that diplomatic relations between several Arab countries and Qatar deteriorated.

"I want to clearly say that we disapprove the sanctions on Qatar," Erdogan was quoted by the state-run Anadolu Agency as saying.

"These developments, coming at a time when we need solidarity and cooperation more than ever, are no good for any country in the region," he noted in a fasting breaking iftar dinner organized by the ruling Justice and Development Party in the capital Ankara.

On the same day,the Turkish president continued his efforts in order to ease tensions after decisions by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt, Yemen, Libya and the Maldives to cut diplomatic ties with Qatar over claims of the latter's "terrorism support."

According to presidential sources, Erdogan has held phone calls with several leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron, Jordan's King Abdullah II and Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

The Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Monday Ankara hopes that the countries create a solution through dialogue and calm. "The Turkish government is continuing its work at every level," he added.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-07 06:33:04|Editor: yan

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NEW YORK, June 6 (Xinhua) -- China Eastern Airlines Tuesday signed a global strategic cooperation framework agreement with the law firm Baker McKenzie, in a bid to further expand its operations overseas.

Under the agreement, Baker McKenzie will continue providing legal counsel and services to China Eastern as the latter carries out its internationalization strategy, said Tang Bing, deputy general manager of China Eastern Airlines.

Tang said the company faces challenges and risks doing businesses overseas and being able to understand business ethics, principals, regulations and laws of other countries is essential for the company's success.

Jim Colihan, managing partner of Baker McKenzie's New York office, said Baker McKenzie is honored to partner with one of the world's leading airlines.

The law firm has a China team that includes partners, associates and professionals from 77 offices in 47 countries, according to Colihan. The team focuses on helping Chinese companies from all industries and sectors navigate the legal regulatory and cultural landscape around the world.

"While we continue to face political and regulatory uncertainties in the U.S. and around the world, we see opportunities for leading Chinese companies to grow and innovate outside their home markets," said Colihan.

He added that Baker Mckenzie's recent report with Rhodium Group saw a surge of Chinese foreign direct investment in North America and Europe, and such surge was highlighted by continued influence of globalization and rapid development for China's economy.

China Eastern Airlines is one of China's three flagship carriers, with a fleet of over 600 aircraft. Its revenue reached 15 billion U.S. dollars last year, 40 percent of which came from the international market.

By 2020, China Eastern expects to reach a fleet size of 822, and 150 million of passenger turnover, according to Tang.
Chamber: Dont celebrate too soon

This significant find unlocks approximately two trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas, which when monetised by 2020 - 2021, is likely to translate into major social benefits to the people. While the prospects are quite favourable, with improvements in our gas supply, it is sobering to note that the recent discoveries do not signal the immediate end to the revenue-generating challenge our country is currently experiencing, the chamber said in a press release.

Urging that TT does not, lose sight of our larger national goals and objectives towards a transformed and diversified economy, the Chamber yesterday said while BPTTs find will undoubtedly foster foreign direct investment in the upstream, We must work determinedly towards change in the downstream sectors and industries. Be it in business, government or the labour movement, the chamber cautioned that TT can, at times, become preoccupied with short-term successes that provide mere transitory relief.

(We are) of the firm view that on this occasion and going forward, nothing must distract us from our long-term commitment to a transformed economy.

There is a great deal more to be done...

At all costs, we must avoid being lulled into complacency or sidetracked by short-term successes, the Chamber stated.
First Citizens accepts computer science interns

This 12 week program is geared towards driving innovation within the organization as well as providing an opportunity for more holistic training for the students. We have invested in each of you, we take our business seriously and we take you seriously, was the main take-away from the interns orientation at which several of the Groups top-level managers introduced the team to their respective business units, and entrusted them with the responsibility of designing solutions for their strategic goals.

While the interns will be mentored by a special First Citizens team Dr Permanand Mohan and a small team out of the UWI Department of Computing & Information Technology will work alongside First Citizens ICT staff in supervising the student-interns projects. Cohort 1 has been accepted into the First Citizens family which demonstrates the Group continued commitment to youth development and education.
ABCNews.com(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump has set his sights on Qatar -- a key ally in the fight against ISIS and the location of a massive U.S. military presence -- in a series of tweets Tuesday and praised the move from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen to severe ties with the small Arab country.



On Twitter, Trump said it's "so good" to see his visit to Saudi Arabia, the first leg of his foreign trip last month, and his participation in the Arab Islamic-U.S. summit that included 50 Muslim countries is "already paying off."



"During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!" Trump tweeted Tuesday morning.



The five Arab countries have long-decried Qatar's relationship with the Shiite-led country Iran and support for regional terror groups including Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood  a claim that Trump seemed to endorse. Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said those are "unfounded allegations," according to an English translation of its website.

"Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!" Trump posted.

During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017

So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding...  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017

...extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017

Press secretary Sean Spicer would not answer during Tuesday's press briefing whether the president actively encouraged the Arab nations' isolation of Qatar or if anyone in the Trump administration spoke to the Saudis before they announced cutting ties to Qatar.



"This issues is not new. There's been tension among Qatar's neighbors for quite some time. And the situation was notified thorough proper diplomatic channels," Spicer said during Tuesday's press briefing.



Spicer also said the United States continues to be in "close communication with all the parties to resolve the issues and restore cooperation."



"The U.S. still wants to see this issue de-escalated and resolved immediately keeping with the principles that the president laid out in terms of defeating terror financing and extremism," Spicer said.



While Trump appears to be praising Saudi Arabia and the four other countries for its blockade against Qatar, Trump ignores the military ties the U.S. has to Qatar.



Qatar is a key U.S. ally in the fight against ISIS and the U.S. military base in Qatar is one of the largest in the Middle East, with over 11,000 U.S. and coalition service members deployed there and 100 aircraft.



A military plane serving the campaign against ISIS takes off or lands at the Al Udeid air base approximately every ten minutes, according to the U.S. Air Force.



Trump has also met with the Emir of Qatar Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani in the capital of Saudi Arabia while on his foreign trip last month.



We are friends. Weve been friends now for a long time indirectly, haven't we? Our relationship is extremely good," Trump said following his meeting with then of U.S-Qatar relations. "We have some serious discussions right now going on. One of the things that we will discuss is the purchase of lots of beautiful military equipment because nobody makes it like the United States."



Trump and the Emir of Qatar also spoke on the phone in February in which the two leaders "reaffirmed the close defense cooperation between our two countries and committed to strengthen efforts to defeat violent terrorists," according to a readout from the White House.



In an interview with BBC News, the Qatari foreign minister Mohammad Bin Abdul Rahman Al-Thani said his country is the victim of collective punishment from the other countries and that there's no evidence to support Trump's tweets pointing the finger at Qatar on Tuesday.



Trump's tweets on Tuesday morning accusing Qatar of funding terrorism and siding with Saudi Arabia come as Trump has been strengthening diplomatic ties with the Saudis.



On the first day of his foreign trip last month, Trump arrived in Saudi Arabia to a lavish welcome and left having signed a $110 billion arms deal with the Arab nation.



It was also revealed in filings disclosed by the Justice Department that the Trump International Hotel accepted $270,000 from Saudi Arabia, which a spokesperson for the Trump organization said would be donated at the end of the year.



While Qatar has been accused of funding terrorism organizations, so has Saudi Arabia. The Saudi government has been accused of backing extremists including a strict sect of Islam known as Wahhabism.

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Woman in court for guns in barrel

Hafeisha Dillon, 28, of Globe Theatre Lane, San Juan appeared before Senior Magistrate Nanette Forde-John in the Port of Spain Magistrates Court yesterday, on a charge that on May 31, at the Piarco Bond area of Piarco Air Services in El Socorro, she imported prohibited goods, namely 19 firearms, contrary to Section 213 of the Customs Act.

She was not called upon to enter a plea as the charge was laid indictably.

Attorney for the Customs and Excise Division Harricharran Cassie asked the magistrate to consider the nature of the items and set a substantial bail with conditions that Dillon surrender her passport and report to the police station in her district. In his application for bail, Dillons attorney Devvon Williams who appeared with attorney Kelston Pope, submitted that his client was previously on a bond which has since expired and is a geriatric nurse at a private home in Saddle Vale, Santa Cruz. He said she lives with her mother and family in San Juan and asked that reasonable bail be set since it would take some time for the prosecution to get the necessary analysis reports.

He also questioned the strength of the evidence and asked her to not put too much weight on the nature of the items allegedly seized.

In granting bail, Magistrate Forde- John ordered Dillon to surrender her passport and report to the San Juan Police Station every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. She will return to court on July 3.

At yesterdays hearing, the exhibits, contained in a large blue plastic barrel, were brought to court. In all there were two assault rifles, two shot guns and 15 pistols and handguns.

The barrel also contained a quantity of Boost Nutritional drinks, a large Purina Dog Chow bag and two large all purpose flour bags. It is alleged that the barrel originated from Canada.
Man, 21, held for siblings shooting

According to reports, at about 10 am on Saturday, officers led by Senior Superintendent Macdonald Jacob and ASP Mervyn Edwards along with Sgt Grant, Debier and others, cordoned off the Maloney Housing Estate and detained the 21-year-old and seized a .45 Colt Beretta which was found on him.

Police told Newsday yesterday they have reason to believe the gun seized may have been used in the shooting of the brother and sister on Friday night. The same team of officers also seized another pistol during the exercise but no one was held in connection with that seizure.

On Friday, at about 9.05 pm, the siblings were at Building Seven in the company of their mother Leander Alexander, on a stairwell of the apartment complex, when Liam was shot in the left hand and Laell on her right hand.

Police believe the shooter was firing at a rival gang member and the brother and sister were caught in the corssfire.

Yesterday, the siblings remained warded at thre Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex and were listed as being in stable condition.
Forrester granted leave

In his substantive claim, Singh said because of the discriminatory practices at his workplace, he has missed numerous opportunities to act as in a higher position because his degree in Resource, Recreation and Tourism was not recognised and did not constitute a Bachelor of Science in Forestry.

He said in April 2015, his complaint was acknowledged by Ombudsman Lynette Stevenson, SC, and he was promised a response but never received one and this prompted him to file the FOIA request. Singh said he was informed by the Ombudsman that her office was not a public authority subject to the FOIA.

He filed a judicial review claim in May 2016 which was dismissed by Justice Andre des Vignes in March of this year.

Singh appealed and the judges ruling was reversed by a majority decision in the appeal court. Singhs attorney, former attorney general Anand Ramlogan argued before Justices of Appeal Allan Mendonca, Nolan Bereaux and Peter Rajkumar that the Office of the Ombudsman was set up by the Constitution and financed by tax payers with public funds. He said the Office of the Ombudsman had an important rule and function as it provided an avenue for the average citizen to seek redress for injustice caused by faults in public administration.

He said the law provided that elected Members of Parliament could refer aggrieved constituents to the Ombudsman for assistance and the issue of whether the Ombudsman was governed by the FOIA was an important issue that should be determined in the public interest.

In their majority ruling, delivered by Justice Rajkumar, the court agreed that it was one of public interest and reversed the order of the high court, granting permission to Singh to pursue his judicial review claim. Also appearing for Singh were attorneys Jayanti Lutchmedial, Douglas Bayley instructed by Alana Rambaran.

The Ombudsman was represented by Elton Prescott,SC, and Rikki Harnanan.
US$50,000 in a barrel

According to reports, Customs officers were yesterday conducting routine checks at the port, when they noticed a particular barrel had an unusually large amount of alcohol in it. When the customs officers checked further they made the discovery.

Police were immediately alerted and Port of Spain Division officers responded.

The money was handed over to the police who placed the cash in a steel vault.

While police are still trying to find out who may have brought the cash into the country, investigators believe the barrel may have originated from either Miami or New York.

Last week, firearms including the AR-15 Assault Rifle and ammunition were found in barrels at a bond warehouse in El Socorro.

Investigations are ongoing.
Bullet to the chest

When he reached the John John flyover, Serette was shot in the chest. Police and emergency services were immediately called. Officers of the Highway Patrol and the Northern Division responded and Serette was taken to the Port of Spain General Hospital, where he remains warded in a critical condition.

Police believe criminals in possession of either a sniper rifle or a high-powered weapon such as an AK-47 or AR-15 were testing its reach and fired shots at random at passing vehicles, with a bullet unerringly finding Serettes chest inside a moving vehicle.

Investigations are ongoing
YoU CAN RUN, BUT CANT HIDE

The JSC yesterday examined the operations of the embattled EFCL, the executing arm of the Ministry of Education, which is now the subject of an investigation into alleged corrupt activities.

As you could see here, the committee (JSC) is almost fully staffed.

We only have one member who is overseas and you have members of Parliament who are holding serious senior positions including myself, Small told the sitting. And yet we have made the time to be here. But somehow Christopher Braithwaite, Anthony Bisnath, Jeffery Francis, Indu Sharma, Dean Burgen and Steve Samlalsingh (EFCL officials) could not be here.

Lets see who turns up at their appointment this afternoon (yesterday) at 2 oclock (with Education Minister Anthony Garcia) because it will just cement in our minds that they have decided to try to put things in place to stymie the work of this committee. It is their plan, they could run but they cant hide! And I am putting to the only board member who is here that this committee will be having a subsequent hearing at which we will demand that every available board member attend. We will not be tolerating this level of disrespect! Small was referring to a meeting of the Public Administration and Appropriation Committee, yesterday afternoon, at which the absent EFCL officials also were expected to appear before to respond to questions about the operations of the Ministry of Sport as regards the recent $92,000 expenditure by line minister Darryl Smith. (See Page 8A)

ONLY ONE SHOWED UP Small said in the absence of Arnold Piggott, who resigned as EFCL chairman just days ago, the companys vice-chairman Richard Vasquez and other board members should have attended the sitting to address pertinent matters relating to its operations. His reprimand came amidst reports of alleged corruption in the tendering processes and award of contracts at the company.

Following Arnold Piggotts resignation as chairman, the board now comprises deputy chairman Vasquez and members Anthony Bisnath, Jeffery Francis, Indu Sharma, Christopher Braithwaite, Clyde Permell, Dean Burgen and Steven Samlalsingh. But during yesterdays meeting only Permell, a former TTUTA President and another member were present.

A visibly upset Small said the situation was unacceptable. Today (yesterday), we have one member of staff from the EFCL and I think he has indicated that one other staff member is here, he told the sitting.

The committee was informed only this morning that officially, the chairman of the company has decided to move on and that also the vice-chairman has found it fit to not be present.

He has personal reasons in a situation where the chairman has demitted office. I think a reasonable person would have expected that at least the vice-chairman would have found it necessary to be here.

However, it seems the vice-chairman has something more pressing to do than account to the people of Trinidad and Tobago. And this committee takes serious umbrage to that. Small, an independent senator, argued that when one accepts an appointment, one also must accept the responsibility. If you aint take the responsibility, there are options available to you to do something else, he said. Small then listed the names of six members who did not attend the sitting

DISRESPECT TO CITIZENS These persons are members of the board of EFCL, he said.

They would have all been aware of this meeting being scheduled, yet somehow, miraculously, no one is able to be here today to answer to this committee other than Mr Permell.

The committee takes this as a significant sign of disrespect and it will not be tolerated. It will absolutely not be tolerated. Referring to the Senates Standing Orders 102, sections 12 and 13, Small said the committee has the power to summon people to its sittings. And I want people to be aware of how serious this committee is in doing it work.... Section 13 A allows for the committee to issue a summons which will be delivered by the Marshal of the Parliament to ensure that the persons turn up, he said.

This is an option available to the committee and given the gross disrespect demonstrated for the committee this morning by the other members of the board, it is under active consideration. Small wondered if the absent EFCL officials would have turned up at the Public Administration and Appropriation Committee meeting.

It is unfortunate that it is in the public domain that the members of the board have been summoned to a meeting elsewhere. So, it is very interesting that they could not turn up here this (yesterday) morning only to find themselves in another place this (yesterday) afternoon, he said.

That will only deepen the disrespect.

They are thumbing their noses at the people of Trinidad and Tobago and this committee is extremely dissatisfied that they would have thought better given the current situation with the company, that some of those parties would have turned up here to explain and give a full accounting of what is going on with the company.
Moves to halt judges swearing in

Up to late last night, attorneys for former UNC Senator Devant Maharaj, President Carmona, the Judicial and Legal Service Commission (JLSC) and the Law Association were presenting their arguments before High Court judge Frank Seepersad, on an emergency injunction which was being sought by Maharaj to restrain Carmona from making the appointments today at Presidents House.

Justice Seepersad, presiding in Tobago, was expected to deliver his ruling during the pre-dawn hours today. The judge was presiding in the Tobago High Court and the hearing was done via video conferencing with lawyers presenting their arguments at the Hall of Justice in Port of Spain.

The imbroglio in the Judiciary over recent judicial appointments took a new turn yesterday when Maharajs lawyers approached the high court with the emergency injunction which also sought to prohibit the JLSC from giving any advice on appointments of new judicial officers.

Former attorney general Anand Ramlogan, SC, who leads a team of attorneys for Maharaj, which include Gerald Ramdeen, Jayanti Lutchmedial and Douglas Bayley, yesterday wrote to the President asking him to hold his hand on making todays appointments.

The attorneys gave Carmona up to 2 pm to defer todays swearing in. Having not received a response, they filed the emergency application late yesterday.

Just before midday yesterday, the Office of the President issued a statement indicating Carmona was to swear in two new Puisne judges in accordance with advice of the JLSC by virtue of Section 104(1) of the Constitution.

Sources identified the new judges as former deputy DPP Kathy Ann Waterman-Latchoo and former Solicitor General of the Cayman Islands, Jacqueline Wilson, who is a Trinidadian.

Waterman-Latchoo was most recently a judge in St Vincent and the Grenadines. Over the last two months there has been disquiet over the recent appointments of former chief magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar and senior magistrate Avason Quinlan-Williams.

Both were appointed on April 12, but two weeks later, Ayers-Caesar resigned after it was revealed she left 53 cases unresolved before taking up her judgeship.

Ayers-Caesar has not publicly spoken on the issue but her attorney Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, SC, said, Something is expected to take place soon. He did not elaborate.

PROTECT THE CONSTITUTION In their letter to Carmona, Maharajs attorneys made it clear their objections were not criticisms on the merit or suitability of the proposed judges but is rooted in the absolute need to protect the Constitution from being violated and the need to uphold the rule of law, so judicial appointments can be made by a process that is sanctioned and supported by the Constitution.

They suggested the appointments be deferred until after the hearing and determination of Maharajs lawsuit which is listed to be heard on June 14 in the San Fernando High Court. The lawyers also advised that while the process of the appointment of two new judges would have started sometime ago, they said it would have been done at a time when the JLSC was improperly constituted.

As you are aware the JLSC has conceded that was improperly constituted in that it comprised four members (including two retired judges) when the Constitution imposes a minimum requirement of at least five members, the letter to Carmona advised.

It is therefore obvious the process undertaken by the JLSC that would have led to advice to His Excellency or the appointment of these judges would have occurred during the tenure of an improperly and unconstitutional JLSC with four members as opposed to the required minimum of five members that was acting outside the framework of the Constitution as supreme law, the letter said.

Respect for the rule of law and the Constitution therefore demands that His Excellency defer these proposed judicial appointments until the Supreme Court pronounces on the validity of the action and conduct of the JLSC.

If it is found that the JLSC was illegally and improperly constituted then the appointments of these judges can be seen as an unfortunate and unacceptable attempt to steal a march on the Constitution and the Court using Section 36 of the Interpretation Act as a shield for the illegal conduct of the JLSC, the letter further advised.

CASE AGAINST JLSC Maharaj in his substantive lawsuit is challenging the constitutionality and legality of the JLSC and the presence of two retired judges - Roger Hamel-Smith and Humphrey Stollmeyer - as members.

In particular, he contends that the Stollmeyer cannot be lawfully serve as a member since section 110(3)(b) targeted members of the legal profession who were legal practitioners and one who is still a practitioner and not retired judges.

According to Maharajs claim the Constitution does not permit more than one retired judge on the JLSC. The other members of the JLSC include Chief Justice Ivor Archie - as chairman - head of the Public Service Commission Maureen Manchouk and Senior Counsel Ernest Koylass, who was appointed one day after Maharajs lawyers issued a pre action protocol letter questioning the legality of Hamel-Smiths and Stollmeyers appointments as members.

Less than a week ago, the Law Association passed a motion of no confidence against Chief Justice Archie, calling on him to step down from his position. Similar motions were passed against the other members of the JLSC, excluding Koylass, arising out of the developments involving Ayers-Caesar and her selection as a High Court judge.
Prove wealth or forfeit it

Speaking yesterday at a Caribbean Fraud conference at the Radisson Hotel in Port-of-Spain. He said Government views an anti-fraud package of legislation is an ode to common sense and the Al Capone approach, adding that Capone did not go down for murder but for tax evasion. The package of legislation includes civil asset forfeiture if you cannot explain your wealth to a court of law you will lose it .

That means the unemployed person with 25 gold chains, two BMWs, Facebook images, who is 28 and living in the lap of luxury but who cant account for an hours work during the day, will get a knock on the door from the authorities. They will say, dear sir I noticed you have a large mansion .

Could you please provide evidence as to how you acquired it. Please dont give it to me, give it to a court please, Al-Rawi said .

He said that under the proceeds of crime legislation, $250,000 can be seized but only after conviction which could take 17 years .

He said this package of legislation will include a completely renovated system for land registration that features making not registering a deed a criminal offence, subject to jail and penalty .

He said that currently, the late registration of a deed has a fine of $2,500 so you can unwind a trust 20 years later, and I get away scot free. He said all documentation must be registered and elimination of the ability to unwind a trust .

The allegations of people who have properties in their names just got crushed because if they dont disclose it, its gone. He said the package of Anti- Fraud legislation will be laid in September .

He called on people to think what it would be like if people are held accountable for their actions and you do not have to grease a hand to get things done. Global Forensic Institute Director Jerome Chambers in his opening comments reported the statistic that five per cent of all revenue is lost due to fraud as on average it takes 18 months before the fraud is discovered .

Al-Rawi in his address said the real problem is the distance between allegations of fraud and criminality and conviction is impossibly large. The root cause of criminality in our country is fraud. On the five per cent statistic he reported that roughly 10,000 cars are licensed per month - the series of plates. He said there is an allegation that officials at Licencing Authority asked citizens to pay $500 to accelerate licensing of cars .

And thats a small request right? Most people in buying a $200,000 car, a $100,000 car, some people a million dollar car whats $500? Take $500 multiply by 10,000 multiply by 12 and somebody in the Licensing Authority has a $60 million enterprise based on fraud. He added: Small change equals big corruption. He said they would be renovating licensing authority and introduce Radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags for vehicles .
Call to Muslims, back up fasting with good behaviour

Once again the month of Ramadan has arrived .

Muslims across the globe have looked forward to this and rejoice at the coming of the month for the following reasons: the God consciousness (Taqwa) of Muslims is raised; more people become involved with acts of worship that they were not involved in before; the mosques are filled at night for the extra prayers and the giving of charity is increased .

As President of Takaaful TT, my appeal to all Muslims is that we remember that the most important thing is to keep the fast for Allahs pleasure and to observe the fast as prescribed .

It is not only staying away from food, drink and conjugal relations, but added to those three your behavior in general is important, Ali said in a press release .

The Prophet (upon whom be peace), Ali said, is reported to have said, Know that if you fast but continue to tell lies, cheat and abuse others, then Allah is not in need of you starving yourself. So as you keep the fast back it up with good behaviour. Perform the obligatory prayers, pray for Guidance and Forgiveness, spare some time to visit the sick and try to mend broken family relationships .

Those who can afford may donate to the Societys Waqf Fund (Charitable Trust) .

Ramadan is a means for Muslims to gain Taqwa which is very important for us in this life, in preparation for the good life in the Hereafter .

Allah tells us in the Quran Ch. 49:13, The most honored in the sight of Allah, are those with Taqwa. With Taqwa we will not go wrong, and we will always want to practise what is righteous, Ali stated in his release .
TT Minister searched by airline security

The Ministry was responding to media reports of an incident in which Webster-Roy was searched immediately prior to boarding an international flight on Friday last.

The reports allege that the search was conducted by Jamaican immigration authorities notwithstanding their having been aware of the Ministers official status.

Jamaicas Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Kamina Johnson Smith, in speaking on the matter said, Our initial enquiries indicate that a search took place, but that it was conducted by a private security company retained by the international airline on which the Minister and her delegation were travelling.

Furthermore, we are advised that such searches are generally undertaken by the airline under international conventions, and are based on random computer selection for additional security screening. The Minister continued, While we regret the Ministers distress, our enquiries so far reveal that Diplomats and Ministers of other countries, as well as current and former Ministers of Jamaica across political administrations, have in fact undergone this additional screening process, notwithstanding their status. She said The Government is however taking the matter seriously.

Even as we await a promised formal letter from my counterpart in Trinidad and Tobago, we are making further enquiries regarding the legal framework supporting such searches, as well as the specific circumstances of last Fridays incident.

We will write to the airline to make a formal request in this regard. Minister Johnson Smith assured the public that the Jamaican Government wants all visitors to Jamaica, including colleague dignitaries from foreign and CARICOM countries, to be comfortable in their travel to and from Jamaica, notwithstanding any security protocols.

She also stated that it was important to highlight that even at this stage of enquiries, it was quite clear that the search was in no way related to the issue of free movement under the CSME, nor was it related to the Ministers nationality. In closing, Minister Johnson Smith said she has informally asked, through the Minister of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs of Trinidad and Tobago, that her personal empathy be conveyed to Minister Webster-Roy, for any distress caused by the airlines security screening process.
Gopeesingh forgets hes no longer minister

Garcia said this in response to heavy criticism from Gopeesingh over alleged discrepancies at the Education Facilities Company Ltd (EFCL) culminating in Gopeesinghs call for Garcia to resign.

On June 2, Arnold Piggott tendered his resignation as EFCL chairman. This as both Finance Minister Colm Imbert and Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi confirmed that an investigations has been launched into claims of wrongdoing at the EFCL. Following Piggotts resignation, Gopeesingh called for the entire EFCL board to quit.
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says he hopes that China's "One Belt, One Road" economic initiative will be realized along the lines of international rules.

Abe made the remark while addressing political and business leaders from other Asian nations at a conference in Tokyo on Monday.

Abe said the initiative has potential to connect East and West as well as the diverse regions found in between.

He added that he hopes the initiative will come into harmony with the free and fair trans-Pacific economic zone and contribute to the peace and prosperity of the region and the world.

Abe said he would cooperate in China's effort from this point of view.

He also said he has not given up on the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal despite the US decision to leave the pact.

Jun 06 (ANNnewsCH) - aaccaeaaaaaaaaaaYYcaaaaaeaaaaaaacsaaSaaaaaaaeaaaaaYa
The US Defense Department says 2 aircraft carriers deployed in the Sea of Japan have now left, but that it will continue to monitor moves by North Korea.

A Pentagon official told NHK on Monday that the USS Carl Vinson and USS Ronald Reagan withdrew after completing a 3-day drill last week.

The rare deployment of 2 carriers in waters close to the Korean Peninsula came amid tensions over North Korea's nuclear program and repeated missile launches.

The official said the Carl Vinson is now returning to its home port in San Diego, California.

The Navy has dispatched the USS Nimitz to the Western Pacific to continue monitoring developments on the Korean Peninsula and in the South China Sea.

Jun 06 () - aaaaacacYaaaaaaaaaeZaaaaaaaaaacaaSaaaaaa
Morocco was elected vice-Chair of the UN Oceans Conference, held on June 5-9 in New York with the participation of 120 countries.

Morocco was unanimously elected by the 193 UN member states as vice-chair of the high-level UN Conference on oceans that aims at reversing the decline in the health of oceans through garnering support for solutions and active engagement.

Morocco is represented in the event by a delegation led by agriculture and fisheries minister Aziz Akhannouch as well as President of the UN Climate Summit COP22, Salaheddine Mezouar and Ambassador Omar Hilale, Moroccos permanent representative to the UN.

The Conference, which was announced during COP22 last November in Marrakech, will identify ways and means to support the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14.

The event will wrap up with the adoption by consensus of a concise, focused, intergovernmentally agreed declaration in the form of a Call for Action to support the implementation of Goal 14 and a report containing the co-chairs summaries of the partnership dialogues, as well as a list of voluntary commitments for the implementation of Goal 14, to be announced at the Conference.
Morocco said that it is following the developments in the rift between Qatar and six Arab countries -Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Libya, and Yemen which severed their relations with Qatar on Monday over its alleged support of terrorism.

Morocco is closely following the unfolding of events in the Gulf countries and the Moroccan diplomacy, known for restraint and wisdom, is in contact with all countries to understand what happened, Moroccos Foreign Minister, Nasser Bourita told the local press.

Despite geographic distance, Morocco maintains strong ties with GCC countries, notably Saudi Arabia and the UAE. In April 2016, a GCC-Morocco summit stressed the importance of the strategic partnership binding the two parties. The event was reflective of the Gulf countries endeavor to ensure the political and military support of Morocco, while Morocco was more concerned about ensuring the GCC political support on the Sahara issue and maintaining the flow of Gulf financial aid and investments.

In 2012, four Gulf states  Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE  agreed to provide aid worth a total $5 billion to Morocco in the period 2012-2017 to build up its infrastructure, strengthen its economy and foster tourism.

Therefore, the best policy response for Morocco to the GCC rift is to maintain neutrality and seek mediation between its close allies in the Gulf.

The state-run Kuwait News Agency reported that its ruler, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, spoke with Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, on Monday evening and urged him to give a chance to efforts that could ease tensions. The call came after a senior Saudi royal arrived in Kuwait with a message from the Saudi king.

Turkey also offered its mediation to defuse the diplomatic tension between Qatar and its neighbors and Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu urged for dialogue to solve the crisis.

There could be problems between the countries but dialogue must prevail under all circumstances, Cavusoglu told reporters, adding Ankara was ready to do its best to help resolve the dispute.

Iran and Iraq have joined Turkey to discuss the tension. The Head of Irans Expediency Discernment Council, Mohsen Rezai announced Monday that politicians from the three countries would be meeting in the Iraqi capital to ponder over the crisis. Iran, Turkey and Iraq will meet in Baghdad to invite the Islamic Conference (OIC) to resolve the issue of Qatar, Rezai said on his official Twitter account.

Saudi Arabia has closed its borders with Qatar and ended land, sea, and air contact with its neighbor, a move that will have severe impacts on Dohas economy.

The six Arab nations also suspended Qatar from the military coalition that is fighting in Yemens civil war against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.

Saudi Arabia Monday pressed ahead to close Doha-based Al Jazeeras office in Riyadh, saying the channel constitutes a threat to national security due to its support of terrorist groups.
Qatar airways has announced it is canceling all its flights to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt as of Tuesday after these countries along with Saudi Arabia banned Qatari aircrafts from using their air spaces.

The airline has been caught in the diplomatic row between Qatar and its neighbors, which accuse the gas-rich Gulf State of threatening their internal security.

Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Egypt followed by Yemen, and Maldives Saturday cut their ties with Qatar and asked Qatari nationals to leave their territories within two weeks.

The Qatari carrier said on its website passengers holding a confirmed Qatar Airways ticket to any of the four countries between June 5 and July 6 can rebook their flights up to 30 days after their current departure date, Reuters reports.

The company however assured its passengers that its offices in boycotting countries will continue to operate as normal.

Saudi, Emirati, Bahraini, and Egyptian airlines have also suspended indefinitely their flights to Doha.

Emirates, Etihad on Saturday announced they were cancelling flights to the Qatari capital. Egypts Egypt Air, flydubai and Bahrains Gulf Air on Monday followed suit.
The US embassy in Cairo Monday instructed its staff to avoid religious sites outside Cairo as attacks against Coptic Christians multiply.

The embassy said on its website that risk for possible additional attacks is still high.

Terrorists have attacked targets associated with the Christian community in Egypt. Incidents have occurred in both urban and isolated settings. Additional attacks may be possible, the message said.

Until further notice, personnel assigned to the US Mission in Egypt are prohibited from visiting religious sites outside greater Cairo. US citizens residing in or visiting Egypt should take prudent steps to enhance their personal security, it said.

The ban came more than a week after masked gunmen assaulted a group of Coptic Christians traveling to a monastery in the Minya province, south of Cairo, killing at least 29 people and wounding 24.

The Islamic State group (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack.

Cairo blamed terror groups in Eastern Libya for the attack. President al-Sisi instructed aerial raids against the camps where the gunmen were reportedly trained.

Coptic Christians have been targeted by a series of attacks outside and inside the Egyptian capital. Attacks hit the Christian population in December and early April killing dozens of people.
Northwest Reverb - Reflections by James Bash and others about classical music in the Pacific Northwest and beyond
I am not a sheep, I have my own mind

I have had enough of being told what and how to think

Whilst we are still allowed the remnants of free speech,

I will speak out.



I also reserve the right to discuss less controversial matters should I feel the urge.
Photo: reezlie/Instagram A selfie Reality Winner posted on Instagram in April.

President Trump has reportedly taken to blaming Attorney General Jeff Sessions for many of his self-inflicted problems, but the Justice Departments latest move may change his tune (at least temporarily). Administration officials have complained for months that the only White House scandal Americans should be focused on is the never-ending stream of leaks to the press, and now Trumps Justice Department has brought its first criminal leak case.

On Monday evening, the Intercept published what appears to be a May 5 intelligence report from the National Security Agency that describes two cyberattacks carried out by Russian government hackers against employees of a company that provides technical support to state voting agencies, which occurred shortly before the 2016 election. (The Intercepts Sam Biddle noted, Theres nothing in the NSA report indicating the actual voting machines or vote tabulations were compromised  though this certainly opens up a whole new dimension in the ongoing investigation into Russias election meddling and potential contact with the Trump campaign.)

About an hour after the report was published, the Justice Department announced that 25-year-old Reality Leigh Winner, a government contractor, has been charged with taking classified material from a government facility and mailing it to a news outlet. Heres what we know about the case so far.

Winner's Arrest

Winner is a contractor with Pluribus International Corporation, working in a U.S. government facility in Georgia, according to the criminal complaint. Shes been working in that location since mid-February and had top-secret clearance.

The Intercept is not named in the complaint, but it says the government became aware of the breach when a news outlet reached out to an unnamed government agency about an upcoming story in late May. According to the search warrant affidavit, a reporter tried to verify the document with a government contractor with whom he had a previous relationship. The reporter texted photos of the report on May 24, saying he received it in the mail, and it was postmarked Augusta, Georgia. The contractor initially told the reporter the document appeared to be fake, but they reported the interaction to the government agency anyway. The reporter later informed the contractor that an official at the agency had verified the documents.

Investigators noted that the pages were creased, which suggested they were printed out, then carried out of a secure facility and sent to the media outlet. An internal probe determined only six people had printed the document, including Winner. The employees desk computers were searched, and investigators found Winner was the only one who had email contact with the news outlet in question.

Just a reminder, colour printers spy on you. This one embedded the exact time a US government employee printed a subsequently leaked doc. https://t.co/wDYfpGl1vy  the musk stick appreciator (@flashman) June 6, 2017

The email contact described in the search warrant affidavit has nothing to do with the document. It says Winner used her private Gmail address to request a podcast transcript, and the news outlet responded to confirm her subscription.

As we reported in the story, the NSA document was provided to us anonymously, Vivian Siu, the Intercepts director of communications, told CNN. The Intercept has no knowledge of the identity of the source, Siu said.

FBI agents arrested Winner at her home on Saturday, June 3. The complaint says that as agents were searching her home, Winner admitted to intentionally printing out the classified report, taking it out of the facility, and mailing it to an online news outlet a few days later.

Exceptional law enforcement efforts allowed us quickly to identify and arrest the defendant, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said in a statement. Releasing classified material without authorization threatens our nations security and undermines public faith in government. People who are trusted with classified information and pledge to protect it must be held accountable when they violate that obligation.

The Charges Against Winner

Winner was charged under the Espionage Act and faces up to ten years in prison for leaking classified information. According to the New York Times, conventional leak cases usually result in prison terms of one to three years. Electronic data has made it easier to trace leaks, and the Obama administration prosecuted nine or ten leak-related cases, which is double the number of cases brought by all previous administrations.

Winner appeared in court on Monday but has yet to enter a plea. Her court-appointed attorney, Titus Nichols, said she remains in jail pending a detention hearing set for Thursday in Augusta. He expects the government will want to keep her behind bars until the trial, but he said she should be released. She has no criminal history; its not as if shes a threat to anyone, he said.

Winner's Background

Winners mother, Billie Winner-Davis, spoke to several news outlets. She told The Guardian that her daughter was born in Texas in 1991 and raised in the small suburb of Kingsville, which is about 40 miles from Corpus Christi. She has one sister who is studying for a PhD in pharmacology.

Winner was an active-duty member of the Air Force from January 2013 until she began working for Pluribus International in February. Her mother said she worked as a linguist for the Air Force and speaks Farsi, Dari, and Pashto.

Winner-Davis seemed confused by the charges and unsure of what to make of her daughters alleged actions. She said when Winner called her family on Sunday she asked for help relocating her cat and dog, but didnt say much about her situation. Winner-Davis described her daughters mood as touch and go.



I think shes trying to be brave for me, Winner-Davis said. I dont think shes seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.

Winner's Politics

Winner-Davis told the Daily Beast that her daughter is very passionate about her views but wasnt very politically active.

I never thought this would be something she would do, Winner-Davis said. I mean, she has expressed to me that she is not a fan of Trump  but shes not someone who would go and riot or picket.

She said Winner did not discuss her job, and never expressed support for other famous leakers like Edward Snowden. Shes never ever given me any kind of indication that she was in favor of that at all, her mother said. I dont know how to explain it.

However, on her social-media accounts, Winner did make it very clear that she was unhappy with the White Houses current occupant. On Election Night, she tweeted under the name Sara Winners Well. People Suck. She made frequent use of the #notmypresident hashtag and shared various left-leaning tweets.

congrats #TTP, I couldn't even address the new potus with half of the civility you displayed, hope it works out for you all https://t.co/swVSpEX6YE  Sara Winners (@Reezlie) November 11, 2016

Winner discussed politics on Facebook as well, between posts about her pets and her rigorous workout routine. On a positive note, this Tuesday when we become the United States of the Russian Federation, Olympic lifting will be the national sport, she joked a day before the election.

Reaction to Winner's Arrest

By Tuesday morning, Winners Facebook page was riddled with abusive remarks, with commenters calling her traitor and far worse.

Winners attorney, Titus Nichols, said, Shes just been caught in the middle of something bigger than her.

Alleged NSA whistleblower Reality Leigh Winner must be supported. She is a young women accused of courage in trying to help us know. pic.twitter.com/B4aIdt7qz6  Defend Assange Campaign (@DefendAssange) June 6, 2017

Virginia senator Tim Kaine, who was Hillary Clintons running mate, said on CNN that people who leak classified information should be prosecuted, but Americans also need to know more about Russias election meddling.

Somebody who leaks documents against laws has got to suffer the consequences Kaine said. But the American public is also entitled to know the degree to which Russia invaded the election to take the election away from American voters.

ACLU attorney Patrick Toomey put Winners alleged leak in a more positive light. Leaks to journalists occur every day, as they have for decades, and are a vital source of information for the public in our democracy, he told the Huffington Post. It would be deeply troubling if this prosecution marked the beginning of a draconian crackdown on leaks to the press by the Trump administration.
Youssef Zaghba. Photo: Metropolitan Police

I am going to be a terrorist, Youssef Zaghba allegedly told authorities in 2016, after he was stopped in an attempt to travel to Syria. The 22-year-old Zaghba is the third suspect in the London attack, U.K. officials confirmed Tuesday.

Authorities previously identified 27-year-old Khuram Shazad Butt and 30-year-old Rachid Redouane as the two other men who rammed a van into pedestrians on London Bridge on Saturday night, and then jumped out and began stabbing patrons in the crowded Borough Market. Together, Zaghba, Butt, and Redouane allegedy killed seven people and wounded dozens before they were fatally shot by police. ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Butt (left) and Redouane (right). Photo: Metropolitan Police

Zaghba, the youngest of the three alleged attackers, is an Italian national born to an Italian mom and Moroccan dad. He had most recently been working as a waiter in East London. Officials say he not been a subject of interest to either British police or MI5, the domestic intelligence agency. But European law-enforcement officials were reportedly aware of his radicalization, reports the Guardian, and had alerted their counterparts in the U.K. after he moved to London. Italian media say officials stopped Zagbha in the Bologna airport in March 2016; he had planned to fly to Istanbul and then apparently make the trek to Syria to team up with ISIS; a search of his phone revealed jihadist propaganda. Zagbha was questioned but released, though intelligence officials apparently flagged him to MI5 at that time.

Of the other two attackers, British officials say only one  Butt  was on law enforcements radar, though he was not under suspicion of actively planning an attack. But he apparently was also on the radar of many in his own neighborhood. At least one resident had called the anti-terror hotline to report Butt, saying he had been trying to radicalize the local kids in a park. He also appeared in a Channel 4 TV documentary called The Jihadis Next Door, where he openly espoused allegiance to ISIS.

Prime Minister Theresa May has vowed that things need to change after Britain suffered its third terrorist attack in as many months, as officials try to piece together the events leading up to the attack. Raids in East London, where the attackers lived, yielded 12 arrests, but all have since been released  with the exception of a 27-year-old male who was taken into custody on Tuesday.
Trumps pointing at Sessions again, but as someone to take the blame for the travel-ban mess. Photo: Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images

We have it on considerable authority that Donald Trump demands unconditional loyalty from subordinates. It is partially why hes been so slow in filling positions in his administration: The Boss cant have any of the many Republicans who said less than positive things about him before he rose to the presidential nomination. His penchant for loyalty has also got him into very hot water in the James Comey affair, if you credit Comeys claim that Trump asked him for a highly inappropriate pledge of loyalty despite his knowledge that the ostensibly independent FBI director was investigating possible links between the Trump campaign and Russians trying to interfere in the 2016 elections.

Now theres nothing inherently wrong with valuing loyalty (so long as the person asked to be loyal does not have, as Comey did, a sworn duty to be loyal to the law and the Constitution, not the president). But loyalty as the bond between a leader and the led only works if it is reciprocal. And there are growing signs that Trump has problems displaying loyalty to his people, if they are more convenient as scapegoats for his problems or failures.

This is hardly a novel insight. As the Washington Posts Philip Rucker observed last month in examining the White Houses handling of the Comey firing, Trumps struggle with accepting personal responsibility when things go wrong frequently overpowers any sense of loyalty he may feel:

Trump has been stewing all week, aggrieved by sharp media scrutiny of his decision to fire Comey and of his and his aides ever-shifting explanations, and has been quick to blame his staff, according to several people who have spoken with him 

White House aides have felt bewildered and alarmed by how Trump arrives at his decisions  often on impulse and emotion and sometimes by rejecting the counsel of those around him  and how he then communicates those decisions to his personnel and the public. Trump is in some ways like a pilot opting to fly a plane through heavy turbulence then blaming the flight attendants when the passengers get jittery.

Its beginning to sink in among Trumps loyal staff that, as the Posts James Hohmann put it, loyalty is a one-way street for Donald Trump.

If there were any doubts about that proposition, they may largely be removed by more recent reports  made more credible by very public presidential tweets  that Trump is seething with resentment at Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Heres how the New York Times explained the backstory to Trumps anger at the Justice Departments handling of the travel-ban litigation:

In private, the presidents exasperation has been even sharper. He has intermittently fumed for months over Mr. Sessionss decision to recuse himself from the investigation into Russian meddling in last years election, according to people close to Mr. Trump who insisted on anonymity to describe internal conversations. In Mr. Trumps view, they said, it was that recusal that eventually led to the appointment of a special counsel who took over the investigation.

And now that anger is spilling over into fury at Sessionss handling of a revised travel ban the president himself signed, to replace a clumsily drafted version that his own staff wrote that immediately got into legal hot water that has yet to subside. It is so thinly veiled that Sean Spicer refused to tell the media on Tuesday that Trump still had confidence in Sessions:

White House won't say if President Trump has confidence in Attorney General Jeff Sessions https://t.co/T1l1Rhm3eE

https://t.co/Se1aAo7PSu  The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) June 6, 2017

As former solicitor general Walter Dellinger told the Times: I believe it is unprecedented for a president to publicly chastise his own Justice Department.

But this isnt just any old Justice Department or any old attorney general: Trump owes an awful lot to Jeff Sessions, who was for a very long time his only Senate supporter, and who contributed as much as anyone to the bundle of views roughly known as Trumpism. If there is anyone to whom Donald Trump owes gratitude, and hence loyalty, it is Sessions.

Examining the presidents attacks on the Justice Department, Ezra Klein thinks the problem is less about Sessions than about Trumps ambivalent understanding of how government works:

Trump ran for office posing as a savvy corporate executive who would manage the government like a business. But since winning the presidency, he has proven alienated and confused by the government he runs. He criticizes it in public in ways that make clear he doesnt understand how to manage it in private. Harry Truman famously had a sign on his desk saying, The buck stops here. Trump isnt sure where the buck stops, or how to find it, or even whom to ask about it. He doesnt run the government so much as fight with it.

But Klein also reports a somewhat darker assessment from high-level Clinton- and Obama-administration staffer Ron Klain:

Trump sees the Trump administration as himself, his Twitter account, Jared and Ivanka, and a few close staffers at the White House, says Ron Klain, who served as chief of staff to Vice Presidents Joe Biden and Al Gore.

From that perspective, Trump may view his good friend Jeff Sessions as having failed to tame his corner of the government, and thus no longer his good friend.

If so, it is a very bad sign for everyone else in Trumpland. Their loyalty to the president will apparently include taking the rap for his mistakes or the things he cannot control. And the scope of scapegoating required is likely to be pretty broad, considering that Trump once made the astonishing confession that he had never done anything in his life that required forgiveness from the Almighty.

Should the pattern continue, it will put all that loyalty to Trump to the ultimate test. And if begins to unravel, the leaks and signs of disarray we see now will only metastasize.
Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

So Comey Week in Washington has taken a new turn with the disclosure by the Intercept of a National Security Agency report documenting a sophisticated Russian military intelligence operation before the 2016 election aimed at compromising state and local election infrastructure systems. The document has been subsequently verified as legitimate by CBS News.

Theres more smoke than fire in the report, which mainly establishes that the Russians were making an effort to gain access to voter-registration database information  though thats a big deal given the impact of voter-registration information on access to the ballot. But it also opened up the possibility the hackers got access to vote-counting machinery as well, particularly in states with electronic voting machines (which happen to include Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, two of the three states that decided the presidential election).

More important, the report could change the scope of the various investigations by Congress, the FBI, and special prosecutor Bob Mueller of alleged Russian interference in the 2016 elections and possible Trump campaign collusion with that interference. Up until now, weve mostly been focused on Russian (or Trumps/Russian) efforts to change the external political dynamics of the election, such as WikiLeaks slow-drip release of Podesta emails, and social-media promotion of pro-Trump and anti-Clinton memes. Now were talking about direct interference with the integrity of the election that made Trump president. And if that is even close to being established, then the possibility of Trump campaign collusion in such interference takes on a whole new dimension of horrific malfeasance, and potential high crimes and misdemeanors.

If nothing else, the leaked NSA report will amp up media interest in NSA director Mike Rogerss appearance before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday, the day before former FBI director James Comeys much-discussed testimony to the same committee. There has already been speculation that Rogers will drop a bombshell; the leaked report could be a preview, though it should be noted an NSA contractor  with the unlikely name of Reality Leigh Winner  has already been arrested for what could well be a leak to the Intercept.

Whether it turns out to be Comey Week or Rogers Week or something else entirely, the story of the 2016 election keeps getting more unfriendly to its presidential victor. It would be ironic if the 45th president turned out to be a stone loser in the slow unveiling of what actually happened.
London mayor Sadiq Khan, the latest target of Trumps unjustified Twitter ire. Photo: Jack Taylor/Getty Images

President Trump responded to Saturdays terror attack in London, which left seven people dead, by falsely claiming that the citys mayor, Sadiq Khan, said there was no reason to be alarmed. Khans spokesperson initially said that the mayor would not respond, as he has more important things to do.

Then, on Sunday, Trump doubled down on the attack, in what may be the worst tweet of his presidency. Though there is video that shows Khan was saying people shouldnt be alarmed by the heightened police presence around the city, Trump said that was just a pathetic excuse.

During an interview on Britains Channel 4 News on Monday evening, Khan found a moment to respond to Trump. He suggested the incident is yet another reason that Trump should not be honored with a state visit to the U.K.

I dont think we should roll out the red carpet to the president of the USA in the circumstances where his policies go against everything we stand for, he said. When you have a special relationship it is no different from when you have got a close mate. You stand with them in times of adversity but you call them out when they are wrong. There are many things about which Donald Trump is wrong.

Trumps initial attack drew criticism from a number of British politicians, and it prompted the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the acting U.S. ambassador in London, Lewis Lukens, to offer their support for Khan.

I commend the strong leadership of the @MayorofLondon as he leads the city forward after this heinous attack.  LLukens 3/3 https://t.co/p4dDZuCpyO  U.S. Embassy London (@USAinUK) June 4, 2017

Prime Minister Theresa May praised Khan as well, saying, I think Sadiq is doing an excellent job. However, May declined to directly criticize Trumps comments, and the British government has rejected calls to cancel Trumps state visit.

After May extended the invitation during her trip to the White House in January, more than 1.85 million people signed a petition saying Trump should not be welcomed with a full state visit because it would cause embarrassment to Her Majesty the Queen. Khan was among those protesting the visit, saying at the time that Trumps immigration ban was cruel.

The British government responded to the petition by saying that while it recognizes the strong views expressed, it believes the president of the United States should be extended the full courtesy of a state visit. The trip is set to take place sometime later this year.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson reiterated on Tuesday that the visit is happening, even though Trump is pressing a false attack on Londons mayor in a time of tragedy.

The invitation has been issued and accepted and I see no reason to change that but as far as what Sadiq Khan has said about the reassurances hes offered the people of London, I think he was entirely right to speak in the way he did, said Johnson.

I dont wish to enter into a row between those two individuals who are I think are probably perfectly able to stick up for themselves, he added.
The Nevada legislature has approved a bill to let anyone in the state buy into the Medicaid program. Photo: E. Hughes/Getty Images

The U.S. health-care system is, to put it mildly, in a state of flux. The complex system of near-universal access to public and private health insurance created by the Affordable Care Act is being threatened internally by declining insurer participation and externally by the slow-motion riot of Republican plans to repeal and replace it. Within and beyond the Obamacare repeal effort, the Trump administration and congressional Republicans are seeking massive cutbacks in Medicaid funding, partially through a permanent per-capita cap on federal allocations to the states. The CHIP program, a sort of Medicaid supplementary program covering children and run by the states, is up for reauthorization. And in several states, including California and New York, serious initiatives are underway to go in an entirely different direction, with state-run single-payer systems that would in theory replace all existing public and private insurance with a universal insurance plan modeled on Medicare.

In the midst of all this activity theres a new idea percolating up in Nevada: letting anyone without health insurance buy into the states Medicaid program. This would include people who qualify for Obamacare tax credits, which could be used to pay for the buy-in; in effect, that would make Medicaid a public option  a phrase you might remember from Obamacare deliberations, when it was a Medicare buy-in  for individual insurance purchasers. Because of Medicaids low reimbursement rates for doctors and other health-care providers (significantly lower than Medicare), it should provide an economical alternative to private insurance, though at the cost of narrower provider options (a significant number of physicians do not accept Medicaid patients). Medicaid also has a broad range of benefits, with no co-pays or deductibles.

A bill to create this new Medicaid buy-in has cleared the legislature, and is awaiting action by Republican governor Brian Sandoval. It is unclear what he will do, though it is noteworthy that he has long been a staunch supporter of the expanded Medicaid program the Affordable Care Act created. Since the legislation leaves a lot of crucial details  e.g., the pricing of the buy-in and the possibility of cost-sharing measures like co-pays or deductibles  to future state regulation, Sandoval may be in a position to shape the proposal to his own liking. Nevada would also need to secure a waiver from the federal Department of Health and Human Services to implement the buy-in; initial indications are that the feds might not have a problem with it so long as it has no impact on federal Medicaid spending in Nevada.

What makes the idea particularly appealing at the moment is that it might be compatible with any of the most likely trajectories of federal health-care policy. A Medicaid buy-in could function quite well under the current Obamacare system  again, as a sort of public option that could be offered alongside private policies on the individual insurance exchanges. But it could also survive a Medicaid per-capita cap or a rollback of the ACAs Medicaid expansion, since presumably the new enrollees would pay for their own coverage while benefitting from Medicaids low costs.

In theory you might expect private insurers to fight a Medicaid buy-in tooth and nail, just as they successfully fought a public option, and also a Medicare buy-in (for people over 55), in the original Affordable Care Act debate. But the vast majority of current Nevada Medicaid beneficiaries are in managed-care plans operated under contract by private insurers, who might view a buy-in as simply a way to get a large number of new customers who might otherwise be uninsured.

Its also worth noting that during the ACA debate both the Medicare buy-in idea and the more general concept of a public option were quite popular, especially among progressives. So it might also have some bipartisan support. Its chief sponsor in the Democratic-controlled Nevada legislature is Democrat Michael Sprinkle.

So could a Medicaid buy-in offer other states a way out of the problems created by Obamacares reliance on unstable private insurance markets and Trumpcares crackdown on federal spending? Possibly, though as Sarah Kiliff points out in a Vox overview of the Nevada proposal, it is important to understand that Medicaid already varies a lot from state to state:

[T]his variation is an opportunity for states that want to experiment with the public program by tacking on a buy-in option. If Nevadas bill does become law, it will show other states how such a program might work  and if it works well, liberal states may be inclined to mimic the idea.



But the variation also makes it difficult to see Nevada serving as the start of a national public option. Yale Universitys Jacob Hacker argues that while this option might work in a single state, trying to use Medicaid as the model for a national public option would mean people in different states would get significantly different coverage.

Assuming Sandoval or the Trump administration dont kill the Nevada proposal outright, the big question will be the buy-ins pricing. If its competitive with current offerings, it could become a pretty big  and good deal. And if nothing else, it will draw attention to the bargain Medicaid provides for beneficiaries and taxpayers alike.
Where are we? Photo-Illustration: Daily Intelligencer; Photo: Ligon/Arc Science Simulations/Getty Images/Science Source

Its time to stop asking whether the Trump administration believes in U.S. global leadership as weve known it since World War II. The answer is clear now. It doesnt.

Its also time to stop hoping that the officials around Trump can prop up international institutions as fast as he assaults them. Cabinet secretaries and career diplomats may be soothing Americans, but they arent fooling foreigners.

No, President Trump and his enablers are ushering us into a new, post-American stage of global relations, at the speed of Twitter. Increasingly, Washington is viewed by other nations a problem to be managed rather than a leader to be sought. World leaders are building new relationships  and jockeying for the space weve left behind  as fast as they can, while the U.S. trashes its relations and fights over the last election at home. On security, politics, and economics, no one is waiting for the grown-ups, the midterms, or Vice-President Pence.

Consider our closest ally, the United Kingdom. The country has suffered two grievous terror attacks in the last two weeks. Its sitting prime minister is one of few world leaders with whom the Trump White House enjoyed cordial relations  so much so that the White House floated the idea of a Trump visit after the most recent London attacks. The British government was having none of it though. Trump and his team had both undercut Prime Minister Mays short-term political prospects and run over some of the two countries most basic shared interests. When Trump raced to Twitter to exploit the London attacks for domestic political points even before basic facts were clear  including twisting the words of the popular (and Muslim) mayor of London  he demonstrated why the ruling Conservative Party thinks of him as a loose cannon whose presence might send British voters into the arms of the Labour Party when the country votes on Thursday. Theres also the awkward matter of Nigel Farage, the former head of the right-wing U.K. Independence Party, whos been named as a person of interest in the FBIs investigation of TrumpRussia 2016 campaign contacts. U.K. conservatives are quietly picking up former UKIP voters  and dont need the embarrassment of the connection being spotlighted. Suddenly America is that kind of country though  an ally to keep at a wary, and often awkward, distance.

On security, politics, and economics, no one is waiting for the grown-ups, the midterms, or Vice-President Pence.

Hanging over the whole election is the stark new reality that the next British government will have to contend with. Washington broke confidentiality agreements and enraged U.K. law enforcement with leaks after the Manchester attacks. And Trumps refusal to reaffirm NATOs core principle  an attack on one is an attack on all  leaves the U.K. badly exposed between a Europe it has left and a U.S. it can no longer count on.

Other key European allies have also started treating us in ways that would have been unthinkable until last year. The French and German publics are so angry at Trump that leaders are mocking him to rile up their supporters. French president Emmanuel Macron and his government are trolling the U.S. daily in (English-language) social media ahead of Frances parliamentary election  in which his party has surged to an unexpectedly strong lead in polling. German premier Angela Merkel, who once looked to be in trouble in German elections this fall, is riding high as she soberly tells the German public that the days they could depend on others outside Europe are over.

Campaign insults may be forgotten, but the follow-up actions to build relationships and institutions that dont depend on Washington  and downgrade those that do  will be harder to reverse. American businesses want U.S.-EU agreements that harmonize environmental and health regulations, which saves them money  but after Trump left the popular Paris accord those will be harder to come by. The general chill in relations is likely to mean a decline in European support for any potential U.S. military actions. That means more deployments for American service members, and more of the bill footed by American taxpayers. It may also mean less European willingness to host and help pay for the U.S. military bases that support Middle East operations. In the long term, the perception that Europes interests are different are likely to lead toward exactly the opposite of Trumps call for Europe to spend more money on NATO. Instead, we may see moves toward security institutions based on the EU  where the U.S. is out of the loop  instead of NATO.

Outside Europe, countries that we are used to thinking of as partners  and perhaps junior partners  are stepping up to fill space the U.S. is vacating. China has amped up its rhetoric about being a global climate leader  rolling out a new partnership with the European Union and lecturing about international responsibility to manage global warming, in tones were more used to hearing from Washington, not directed at it. You cant open a foreign-policy journal without finding an article on One Belt One Road, Chinas regional economic plan which it is touting as a vehicle for foreign investment and integration  a stirring contrast to the U.S. pullout from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (even if there is less to One Belt than meets the eye). And as Beijing offers diplomatic and economic carrots, it has kept up its shows of force in maritime territories it disputes with U.S. partners and allies. China is building its own leadership on its own terms, thank you very much.

So is India. President Trump had scarcely left Europe when Indian prime minister Modi arrived for a four-country tour, including trade talks and pledges to strengthen the global order with Germany and  on the heels of Trumps Paris climate-deal pullout  work together on the environment with Frances Macron. At the same time, Indian defense officials were at a regional meeting pledging assistance to Vietnams military. Memories of Indian reluctance to commit on climate, and its discomfort at Washingtons role supporting Vietnam and other Southeast Asian powers, were fading fast  as fast as any expectation that Washington would take the lead again soon, on either front.

Heather Hurlburt (@natsecHeather) has held foreign-policy positions in Congress, the White House, and State Department.
David Rank at the Dujiangyan base of the China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Pandas on March 24, 2017.

President Trumps decision last week to withdraw from the Paris climate accord was met with widespread condemnation, and two top CEOs  Teslas Elon Musk and Disneys Robert Iger  resigned from White House advisory councils in protest.

Now the United States top diplomat in China, charge daffaires officer David Rank, has joined them. The acting U.S. ambassador to China said on Monday that he is resigning from his post in Beijing over Trumps plan to ditch the climate agreement. According to NBC News, Rank said in a speech to embassy staff that over the weekend he was asked to do something supporting a policy that as a parent, patriot and a Christian he could not do.

A State Department spokesperson confirmed that Rank is retiring, saying, Mr. Rank has made a personal decision. We appreciate his years of dedicated service to the State Department.

Rank joined the State Department in 1990 and has served in Greece, Mauritius, Taiwan, Shanghai, and Afghanistan. He assumed his current position in January 2016, and was acting as ambassador until Trumps nominee, Iowa governor Terry Branstad, is confirmed by Congress. Hes expected to take up the post later this last month.

The American public is more aligned with Rank than President Trump. A new ABC News/Washington Post poll found Americans oppose Trumps decision to withdraw from the Paris accord by 59 to 28 percent. Thats similar to the findings of a poll conducted in January, but since then the percentage who say they are in strong opposition to backing out of the climate deal rose 7 percent.
Privatizer-in-chief. Photo: Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images

During his campaign, Donald Trump promised to spend $1 trillion on an infrastructure program that he likened to those of the New Deal era. When Hillary Clinton called for $275 billion in infrastructure investment, the Republican nominee vowed to spend at least twice that sum.

Last month, the White House released a budget that allocated $200 billion for spurring public-private partnerships in infrastructure investment  while cutting $144 billion from direct public spending on infrastructure.

The president has yet to release the full details of his new vision for repairing Americas crumbling roads and bridges. But a report from the New York Times on Saturday suggested that Trumps new plan for federal infrastructure spending is to reduce it:

President Trump will lay out a vision this coming week for sharply curtailing the federal governments funding of the nations infrastructure and calling upon states, cities and corporations to shoulder most of the cost of rebuilding roads, bridges, railways and waterways.

On the first day of Infrastructure Week (which is, apparently, a monthly event), Trump unveiled the first pillar of his new plan: the privatization of Americas air traffic control system.

At present, the Federal Aviation Administrations system oversees 50,000 flights per day, and is regarded as one of the safest in the world. However, the FAA has been slow to transition from its radar-based system to a more modern, GPS-based one, despite the latters potential for enabling quicker routes. The FAA maintains that it has been working diligently to modernize its system, but these efforts have been hobbled by Congresss failure to supply consistent funding.

On Monday, Trump argued that public-sector red tape and inefficiency were responsible for the FAAs backwardness. Thus, the president proposed outsourcing air traffic control to a self-financing, nonprofit organization that would be funded via user fees, instead of taxes.

The government would still regulate this private company for safety purposes, and over 30,000 FAA employees would retain their jobs, union, and similar benefits after being reassigned to the quasi-private sector.

The proposal enjoys strong support from the major airlines. In reporter David Dayens view, that fact is a testament to the measures flaws:

The plan did not originate with Trump. It actually comes from the airline industry, and its biggest champion in Congress, House Transportation Committee chair Bill Shuster, is literally sleeping with an airline industry lobbyist. Its no worry because the lobbyist doesnt lobby my office, Shuster reassured reporters in 2015. I would think she doesnt need to.



 You can also see the influence of the airline industry in how the new system would be funded. Gone would be taxes on airline passengers. In their place would be fees on aircraft  The Big Four airlines have more ability to absorb these costs than start-up competitors or regional carriers that serve smaller cities. Lifting passenger fees would simply give the dominant carriers more legroom (unlike their passengers) to increase their own fees, either through higher fares or endless add-ons for another inch of space or a snack box or carry-on baggage or a pillow. Delta, actually an opponent of privatization, confirmed this in a study last year, showing that travelers would pay 20-29 percent higher costs if the U.S. shifted air traffic control from the FAA. And because of the Big Fours extreme volume, they can pass on user fee costs in a way the competition cannot.

Regardless, Democrats are unenthused. There was a time when one could have imagined Trump using his infrastructure ambitions to court bipartisan support  or else, to drive a wedge between Team Blues pragmatists and its stalwart resisters. But now that Trumps infrastructure plan appears to consist of schemes for privatizing public resources  and helping Saudi Arabia invest in American toll roads  theres little dissension in the Democratic ranks.

Two quick points: 1) This is literally the opposite of an infrastructure plan. 2) It's dead on arrival. https://t.co/n8IQ4YrhQw  Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) June 5, 2017

The entire focus of the Presidents infrastructure proposal is on privatization, which sounds like a nice word but when you scratch beneath the surface it means much less construction and far fewer jobs, particularly in rural areas, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Monday. It means Trump tolls from one end of America to the other, and huge profits for financiers who, when they put up the money, want to be repaid by the average driver, worker and citizen.
Deal or no deal? Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

The signature triumph of President Trumps trip to the Middle East was the sale of $110 billion of weapons to a totalitarian, Islamist government that funds terrorism, arrests women for driving, and is deliberately engineering a famine in the regions poorest country.

Headlines hailed the arms deal as a testament to Trumps deal-making skills  and to those of his son-in-law. Liberal pundits grudgingly conceded that the presidents trip to the Middle East succeeded on its own terms. Sword dances commenced; orbs were touched.

But like so many other episodes of this reality-TV presidency, Trumps big sale was a stage-managed stunt. As the Brookings Institutions Bruce Reidel writes:

Ive spoken to contacts in the defense business and on the Hill, and all of them say the same thing: There is no $110 billion deal. Instead, there are a bunch of letters of interest or intent, but not contracts. Many are offers that the defense industry thinks the Saudis will be interested in someday. So far nothing has been notified to the Senate for review. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the arms sales wing of the Pentagon, calls them intended sales. None of the deals identified so far are new, all began in the Obama administration.



 Moreover, its unlikely that the Saudis could pay for a $110 billion deal any longer, due to low oil prices and the two-plus years old war in Yemen. President Obama sold the kingdom $112 billion in weapons over eight years, most of which was a single, huge deal in 2012 negotiated by then-Secretary of Defense Bob Gates  With the fall in oil prices, the Saudis have struggled to meet their payments since.

Trumps been mounting a Potemkin presidency from day one. The president spent his first weeks in office rebranding various corporations months-old expansion plans as deals he personally brokered, and signing executive orders that toothlessly reiterated his campaign promises for crowds of flashing cameras.

But his stunts do seem to be growing more audacious. It takes no small amount of chutzpah to present a list of prospective weapons sales put together by the Obama administration as a landmark agreement that will create many thousands, if not many millions, of jobs.

And thats not all Trump says he brought back from his trip to Riyadh. The president also claims that he convinced the Gulf monarchies to stop funding radical sects of Islam.

During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017

So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding...  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017

...extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017

The idea that Qatar is singularly responsible for financing the spread of intolerant forms of Islam is laughable. Last year, Trump derided the Saudis as the worlds biggest funders of terrorism. And for once, his mindless hyperbole wasnt wholly off base. The Saudis openly export their brand of hateful, literalist Islam across the Middle East, through a network of Wahhabi religious schools.

After visiting countries throughout the Islamic world, the State Departments former envoy to Muslim communities, Farah Pandith, wrote last year, If the Saudis do not cease what they are doing, there must be diplomatic, cultural and economic consequences.

The Saudis have not ceased what they were doing. Instead, according to Brookings, theyve done this:



Saudi Arabia has orchestrated a campaign to isolate Qatar. This weekend Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt broke relations with Qatar. Saudi allies like the Maldives and Yemen jumped on the bandwagon. Saudi Arabia has closed its land border with Qatar.



This is not the first such spat but it may be the most dangerous. The Saudis and their allies are eager to punish Qatar for supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, for hosting Al-Jazeera, and keeping ties with Iran. Rather than a united front to contain Iran, the Riyadh summits outcome is exacerbating sectarian and political tensions in the region.

Meanwhile, Trump is taking his false-advertising game to the next level on the home front. On Monday, the president kicked off infrastructure week with a signing ceremony  not for an actual piece of legislation, or even a toothless executive order, but merely for a White House memo:

At an East Room event that was choreographed like the elaborate ceremonies for enacting major legislation, Mr. Trump signed a memo and letter to Congress outlining his principles for overhauling the nations air traffic control system. He handed out pens to lawmakers who had been invited to attend, and reveled in several rounds of applause. But Mr. Trumps announcement did not have any binding effect.

The Trump presidency is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying our nations tragicomic decline.
An army of one. Photo: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Suppose they gave a war room and nobody came? The Trump White House is about to find out.

Two weeks ago, the Trump administration began putting together an in-house, rapid-response team of top-shelf legal and crisis communications talent. As the Russia investigation continued kicking up bad headlines, this war room would vigorously defend Trump in the court of public opinion  while preventing him from saying anything that might hurt him in a different kind of court.

It would be motley crew of white-shoe lawyers and feral dogs. Among the latter would be Corey Lewandowski, the former campaign manager who had too little respect for women, the press, and his subordinates to make it in an enterprise run by Donald Trump. David Bossie, legendary slayer of Clintons and campaign finance laws, would also be throwing punches. And their team would be kept on a (long) leash by some of the top legal minds in the country  maybe Paul Clement and Mark Filip of Kirkland & Ellis, or Ted Olson, winner of Bush v. Gore.

The necessity of such mercenaries became plain last week, when James Comey agreed to publicly testify about Trumps attempts to interfere with his investigations. Now, 48 hours before the former FBI director spills the beans to the Senate Intelligence Committee  and to the viewers of every major broadcast network  Trumps warriors are surely practicing their battle formations.

Or they would be. If any had decided to enlist. As Axioss Mike Allen reports:

With CNNs clock already counting down to fired FBI Director Jim Comeys testimony on Thursday morning, wheres the White House war room?  Im told that the inside-outside machinery, as envisioned by aides who frantically planned it while Trump finished his overseas trip, may never exist. Top Republicans say the White House has been unable to lure some of the legal and rapid-response talent they had been counting on.



 Reasons include some power lawyers reluctance to work with/for lead Trump lawyer Marc Kasowitz; resistance by Kasowitz to more cooks in his kitchen; and lack of confidence that Trump would stick to advice. Some prospects worry about possible personal legal bills, and are skeptical Trump can right the ship.

Politico offers a somewhat different narrative:

The president decided that Bossie and Lewandowski would be more valuable on the outside than on the inside fighting back against the Russia narrative specifically, said a person with knowledge of the conversations  The presidents senior aides  and the president himself  were never able to reach an agreement on how a war room would function and who Bossie and Lewandowski would report to inside the White House.

But the idea that Trump couldnt find willing soldiers is buttressed by recent history, common sense, and a report from Yahoo News Michael Isikoff.

First, lets talk history: Trump gave his communications team an hours notice of his decision to fire the FBI director who was leading an investigation into his campaign. That team promptly cobbled together a narrative that minimized the relevance of said investigation, and Trump literally signed on to the story: namely, that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had pushed for Comeys ouster, due to the FBIs mishandling of the Clinton email investigation.

Then, Trump went on national television and said Rosenstein was irrelevant, and that he personally decided to fire Comey while reflecting on his disgust for the investigation into his campaign  a statement that (arguably) constituted a confession to obstruction of justice. The president also tried to intimidate Comey into silence by threatening to release secret recordings of their conversations  a tweet that functioned as an open invitation for subpoenas and, reportedly, as inspiration for many of Comeys friends to start talking to reporters.

Trump proceeded to chastise his communications team for their incompetence.

And the president did all of this while knowing that he had asked the FBI director, point blank, to drop an investigation into his former national security adviser. Once Team Comey leaked word of that request, it didnt take long for a special prosecutor to be appointed, and, thus, for a large swath of the White House staff to be saddled with the cost of securing legal advice.

Who would want to run crisis communications for such a boss?

On Monday, the president published a series of tweets that directly undermined the White Houses messaging strategy  and legal case  for his embattled executive order restricting immigration from the Muslim world. Adding insult to injury, the tweets criticized the Justice Department for releasing a revised, politically correct version of that executive order  as though Trump, himself, had not signed the rule.

Who would want to provide legal services for such a client?

The answer to both these questions is virtually no one. Last week, George Conway (husband to Kellyanne) withdrew his name from consideration for a post in the Justice Departments Civil Division. Conway appeared to find validation for that decision in Mondays tweets.

These tweets may make some ppl feel better, but they certainly won't help OSG get 5 votes in SCOTUS, which is what actually matters. Sad. https://t.co/zVhcyfm8Hr  George Conway (@gtconway3d) June 5, 2017

Late last month, Deputy Treasury Secretary nominee Jim Donovan also backed out, after suddenly realizing that a White House gig would require him to spend less time with his family. The primary reason why Reince Priebus remains chief of staff, according to reports, is that nobody wants his job.

Given its inability to attract talent to some of the most (traditionally) desirable, full-time posts in the U.S. government, it shouldnt be surprising that the White House has struggled to find worthwhile freelancers. As Isikoff reports:

Top lawyers with at least four major law firms rebuffed White House overtures to represent President Trump in the Russia investigations, in part over concerns that the president would be unwilling to listen to their advice, according to five sources familiar with discussions about the matter.



The concerns were, The guy wont pay and he wont listen, said one lawyer close to the White House who is familiar with some of the discussions between the firms and the administration, as well as deliberations within the firms themselves.



Other factors, the lawyer said, were that it would kill recruitment for the firms to be publicly associated with representing the polarizing president and jeopardize the firms relationships with other clients.



Another lawyer briefed on some of the discussions agreed that the firms were worried about the reputational risk of representing the president. One issue that arose, this lawyer said, was Do I want to be associated with this president and his policies? In addition, the lawyer said, there were concerns that if they took on the case, whos in charge? and would he listen?

This all bodes poorly for Trumps prospects of containing the fallout from Thursdays testimony. But it also bodes poorly for our countrys prospects of escaping the next four years with minimal scarring. The president has only named candidates for 117 of his administrations top 559 positions. America has entered hurricane season without a FEMA director, and a period of heightened terrorism in Western Europe with no permanent head of the FBI.

So long as Trump remains ensconced in the Oval Office, his human-resources crisis will be our own.
Authorities in Saudi Arabia have detained prominent womens rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul, Amnesty International first reported Monday. The 27-year-old Hathloul has openly criticized and challenged Saudi Arabias female driving ban, and was arrested and held for 73 days in 2014 after trying to drive from the United Arab Emirates into Saudi Arabia. The specific reasons for her most recent arrest are not clear.

Officials stopped Hathloul at King Fahd International Airport in the Saudi city of Dammam, and she is now reportedly headed to Riyadh, the capital, for questioning. Amnesty International says authorities have not granted Hathloul access to an attorney, or allowed her to contact her family. The human-rights organization says they believe Hathloul has been targeted for her activism.

Hathlouls arrest comes a little more than two weeks after President Donald Trump made Saudi Arabia the first stop on his inaugural foreign trip. Though Trump criticized Saudi Arabia when he was a candidate (they kill women and treat women horribly), as president he cozied up to the Saudi regime, and quite notably did not mention the conservative governments deep record of human rights abuses, including the persecution of women.

First Daughter Ivanka, who also traveled to Riyadh, did host a female empowerment roundtable with Saudi businesswomen and other professionals; however, activists  including Hathloul  criticized the outreach as hollow, and dismissed it as a missed opportunity to actually call out the unequal treatment of women. Its not about Ivanka speaking at the meeting, Hathloul told the Washington Post at the time, but is it actually useful for these women from Saudi Arabia to speak as well? Is their contribution in such events helpful to us Saudi women in general, not princesses or business owners or rich women? Does it actually help us? I doubt it.
Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Today marks the start of Apples annual Worldwide Developers Conference in California. If youre a true Apple fan or Tim Cookphile, chances are you probably tuned into the hours-long livestream to get the latest on Apples new operating systems, Siri-enabled home speaker, and hints about a forthcoming iPhone update. If youre not a true fan, or just had something better to do for several hours on Monday afternoon, weve rounded up the top-ten things you missed at todays big event. Though its hard to re-create the joy that is Tim Cook saying the word badass.

1. You can now binge-watch Man in the High Castle on your Apple TV.

Kicking off the announcements, Apple CEO Tim Cook told the WWDC crowd  to ample applause  that the company is partnering with Amazon for its TV app. Amazon Prime Video (Cook mentioned Amazons Transparent as one of the deals many offerings) will be available on Apple TV later this year. (No formal release date yet.)

2. Apple Watches are getting a face-lift.

The company introduced three new watch faces today. The first, Siri Face, uses machine learning to provide the wearer with useful information, like pulling up passes from the wallet app for events, offering traffic reports for a daily commute, or showing photos from the same date the previous year. For more aesthetic-based changes, Apple has a new kaleidoscope face option and a suite of three characters  Woody, Jessie, and Buzz  from Toy Story.

A look at some new face options for Apple Watch.

3. The new operating system is fully baked.

Related Stories 11 Things You Should Know From Googles Big Event Today

Apples latest operating system will be called macOS High Sierra  pause for giggles  and will roll out worldwide later this fall. (Public beta is coming later this month.) Software VP Craig Federighi hyped the new system for its speed and ability to store applications in significantly less space than its predecessor could. High Sierra will also offer updated photo-editing tools, and use machine learning to better sort and organize your images.

4. Say good-bye to auto-playing videos.

Safari, Apples web browser, will stop videos from automatically playing when you open a web page, offering a serene browsing experience. Instead, youll have the option to play the video, if you so choose (giving you ample time to put in headphones or turn the volume down). Safari is also getting a new feature called intelligent tracking prevention, which Federighi says will keep your browsing history your own.

5. The badass iMac Pro is coming soon.

Retailing for $4,999, the newest member of Apples iMac family, the iMac Pro, will be available in December, and promises to be the most powerful Mac ever. Itll have a 5K display, options for up to an 18-core Xeon processor, and comes exclusively in space gray.

Photo: Apple

6. Apple is stepping into Venmo territory with personal payments.

Apple Pay will support peer-to-peer payments under iOS 11, Apples forthcoming operating system. Users can send money, via a debit card, to a friends Apple Pay cash card. From there, that money can be used to pay other people, or be deposited from the cash card to a bank account. The new feature will be available as an app in Messages for easier access. Messages will auto-populate the app as an option in conversations where transactions are being discussed. Like using Apple Pay at a store, youll need to use Touch ID to complete a payment.

Seems easy enough, though its unclear if Apple will charge a fee for this new service.

7. Siri learns some new languages; Live Photos feel more like Vines; and Apple really wants you to stop texting and driving.

With iOS 11, Apples built-in AI can now translate sentences from English into several languages, including Chinese and Spanish. Live Photos  the moving pictures Apple introduced back in 2015  are getting a few new editing options, including a looping one that seems highly reminiscent of our dearly departed Vine. The operating system can also detect when someone is driving a car, and will offer a Do Not Disturb While Driving mode that will disable notifications and auto-respond, letting people know the user is, well, driving.

8. Your control center and App Store are going to look a little different.

The new control center in iOS 11.

The lock screen and notification center are combined in iOS 11, and the control center  the panel you swipe up from the bottom of your screen to toggle on Wi-Fi or the flashlight  has been totally redesigned. Now, your controls all live in one panel, and there even appears to be a designated button for turning cellular on and off, independent of Wi-Fi or airplane mode. The Apple App Store is also getting a makeover, with a designated tab just for games.

9. The iPad is becoming a better laptop substitute with iOS 11.

New features for iPad on iOS 11 include a vanishing app dock that looks very similar to the one found on the MacBook, and a Files app that will make it easier to keep track of documents between devices and third-party apps like Drop Box and Google Drive. Now, iPad users can view multiple apps at once, and will be able to drag and drop  images, URLs, sentences  between apps. Apple also announced some hardware news: The iPad Pro is going to be available in a 10.5-inch model starting at $649, and shipping as early as next week.

10. And finally  the HomePods are coming.

Apples Echo competitor, the HomePod, will ship in December. It is priced at $349 (significantly more expensive than Google or Amazons product) and available in white and space gray. The device has six microphones  all the better to hear you say Hey, Siri with  and is designed to analyze the space around it and adjust the sound accordingly. In addition to being a robotic DJ, the Siri-enabled speaker will be able to tell you the weather, talk about stocks, and report the news.


Photo: reezlie/Instagram Alleged leaker Reality Leigh Winner.

How, exactly, did the FBI zero in on alleged NSA leaker Reality Leigh Winner? Winner, a contractor for the NSA, was quietly arrested on Sunday and charged with leaking top secret documents. According to the Justice Department, she confessed to printing out classified information while authorities were searching her home and vehicle. Those documents are now confirmed to be the same documents published by the Intercept on Monday afternoon about a Russian cyberattack on U.S. voting machines and officials. About an hour after the Intercept published the story, the Justice Department revealed to the press that it already had Winner in custody, and would be prosecuting her under the Espionage Act. It was an effective bit of showmanship.

The Intercept, for obvious reasons, is saying very little. A statement posted to the site describes the claims made in the government search affidavit and the criminal complaint as unproven assertions and speculation designed to serve the governments agenda and as such warrant skepticism. Naturally, any specific details revealed by the publication could be used to build a case against its sources.

The understandable silence from the Intercept, combined with the fragmented details provided by the court documents, has led to a significant amount of back and forth on Twitter on how much culpability the Intercept has in Winners arrest  whether the Intercepts bad opsec led to the government charging Winner, or if Winners own missteps led to her arrest. The discussion is more than just a journalistic pissing match: Not only does the sites reputation as a safe place for anonymous leaks hang in the balance, but journalists and their sources at all publications are nervous about the capabilities of a Trump administration that has declared war on leakers everywhere.

If you go strictly by whats contained in the FBIs search affidavit, there were three important pieces of circumstantial evidence that led the Feds to Winner.

The first is that Winner had previous contact with the Intercept. Its important to note here that  contra the assumptions of many on Twitter  her contact had nothing to do with the story, and occurred months before she even allegedly accessed the report that was leaked. She emailed the site on March 30 from her private Gmail account, asking for a transcript of a podcast. She emailed the site again on March 31, confirming subscription to the service, (likely one of the Intercepts newsletters).

The second is that on May 24, a reporter from the Intercept reached out to an unnamed government contractor, trying to determine the validity of the leak. During the exchange, the Intercept revealed that the leak had been mailed with a postmark of Augusta, Georgia, where Winner lives. (Checking with other sources about the validity of a leak is not necessarily bad opsec; revealing specific information about the leak almost certainly is  though its also probably more common than journalists would like to admit.) The contractor told the Intercept that they believed the leak to be fake; when the Intercept returned on June 1, saying that the leaks authenticity had been confirmed, the original anonymous government contractor turned around and alerted the NSA to the matter  including the key detail that the document had been mailed from Augusta.

The third, and most glaring, is that the Intercept provided a copy of the report itself to the NSA on May 30. Its unclear if the Intercept gave the NSA a scanned copy of the printed material it had received, or a retyped or otherwise altered version, but the NSA then turned the report over to the FBI for further investigation. According to the FBIs affidavit, Feds noticed that pages of the intelligence reporting appeared folded and/or creased, thus alerting them that the information had been printed. Per the affidavit, the government then found that only six people had printed that report, and Winner had no reason to do so  the report was outside of her job duties.

The crease has been bandied about in the press, but theres good reason to believe that the Feds had a more sophisticated way of figuring out that the document had been printed out. The Intercepts PDF of the document also contains tracking dots, barely visible yellow dots available on printed pages that allow anyone to determine the serial number, model date, and date and time of printed material. You can see these for yourself: Just screenshot the top-left corner of any page of the PDF and invert the colors in an image-editing tool. The dots should become immediately apparent. The tracking dots on the documents from the Intercept show a print date of May 9 at 6:20 from a printer with model number 54, serial number 29535218. (The last page of the PDF has a different set of tracking dots  its unclear why.)

So I wrote up a blogpost explaining out secret dots printers put on documents outed NSA leaker Reality Winner.https://t.co/dEyDVmAYDF  Rob Graham (@ErrataRob) June 6, 2017

If this is the copy that the Intercept also provided to the NSA, then the government likely knew enough to determine which employee had used that specific printer at that specific time  no need to see creases at all. In fact, the crease may be pretext to avoid mentioning tracking dots (or another forensic method) used to determine that the document was printed  a prosecutorial technique known as parallel construction that avoids revealing how evidence on a case was actually gathered.

The problem with apportioning blame in this case is that we dont know if the Intercept handed over to the NSA the original copy of the report that theyd received  which would have been a grave security error  or if it was a photocopy or reprint that nonetheless betrayed some evidence.

And its important to note that the FBI and NSA didnt need to know that the pages had even been printed. All material classified top secret (the highest security rating a document can receive) are stored in a massive government intranet known as the Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System, or JWICS. As detailed by New York Magazine contributer Yashar Ali on Twitter, this system logs everyone who accesses top secret documents, as well as what they do with them. Even if the Intercept had verified the document without alerting the NSA, and then paraphrased the entire report, after it published its story, the government would have quickly moved to determine who had accessed the document  and Winner would have, eventually, come under the same scrutiny.

Nonetheless, its clear that there were serious mistakes made by both the Intercept and its leaker. Its quite reasonable for the Intercept to seek confirmation that the document in question was real with third-party sources, and eventually the NSA. But revealing the Augusta, Georgia, postmark to the third-party source clearly helped the government build its case. Providing a copy of the report seems to have, in some way, added to the governments pile of evidence. And the decision to publish the PDF with the tracker dots unobscured  especially considering the Intercept likely had no knowledge that Winner was the leaker, and she was already in custody  is a baffling unforced error from a site that hinges on being a secure place to send documents.

Assuming Winner is the leaker, too, she made a mistake in contacting the Intercept at work  though given that it happened months before she allegedly sent the report, its hard to blame her. Still, Winner, as a contractor for the NSA and an Air Force veteran with top secret clearance, would have known as well as anyone that her traffic would be logged, and would also likely have known that accessing top secret documents  even without printing them out  would have thrown up red flags in the aftermath of a leak.

Its worth reiterating that the FBI has a strong incentive to cast the Intercept as incompetent handlers of sources. Theres a decent chance that the case was built against Winner in a completely different way  one that didnt rely on mistakes by the journalists at all  and this particular parallel construction of the case is being put forward to cast aspersions on one of the most notorious investigative outfits online. But theres no escaping that the mistakes made by the Intercept and Winner  small as they may have been  were enough to get a search warrant and indictment signed. If theres any consolation for leakers and the journalists they rely on, its that the affidavit provides an object lesson in protecting sources.
When I turned 21, a friend of my grandmothers took me out for an official drink. She ordered us each a Bacardi on the rocks, with a twist of lime and extra ice. When the bartender put the drinks in front of us, the first thing she did was pull the double drink straws out of her glass. I never want to see you drinking out of one of these, she instructed me. I mentally bookmarked that lesson in cool, and have since been in the habit of requesting no straw whenever Im presented with a mixed drink. My aversion to straws has been cemented by their environmental impact: Its been reported that Americans use half a billion straws a day (enough straws to fill up Yankee Stadium), much of which ends up in the ocean.

While cocktail straws were easy for me to give up, iced-coffee straws posed more of a problem. Ordering my La Colombe without a lid or a straw is a dangerous and potentially very spilly proposition. While poking around on Amazon one day, I found a solution: Greens Steels metal straws. I opted for a four-pack  it comes with two straight and two curved straws, as well as a brush for cleaning. I brought them to the office with me the day after they arrived, and immediately gave one to my office coffee buddy  who agrees that the straw is magnificent.

I keep these in my tote bag (if you are worried about them getting dirty, I suggest a pencil pouch), and whip them out whenever Im at a coffee shop. Once at Starbucks, a talkative barista commented on my straw. Hey, Im with you, he told me. Youd hate to work here. You see how wasteful people are from behind this counter. Ill be gifting them to all of my friends for World Oceans Day on June 8.
isn't liam's album already done? and he's released a single from it?



as much as i Do Not Want, my vote is for him

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Got another song back that I've written the other day. Can't wait for you guys to hear .... album coming along nicely !  Louis Tomlinson (@Louis_Tomlinson) 5 June 2017





I think he's said in some interview that he has 30 songs, but still needs to narrow them down to an album. So he's my guess as well, but who knows? If Louis can make a solo album then anything is possible.

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He doesn't have a put together album. We might not see it for a while. He said he might just release a bunch of singles first vs doing a single or two then an album release a couple months later. Niall might actually beat him. He at least knows it will be out in the fall.

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I don't get this guy. It's like he wants to fail or something. I get you have anxiety dude but you can't bail on all your performances.

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I don't understand why he's even in the business. Quitting One Direction mid-tour because of anxiety and personal problems is understandable. Other musicians have quit the industry abruptly too. But he just bailed on the band to do his solo thing. How is that better if he has this crippling anxiety?

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is he actually getting treatment? he should.



but this is because of the album.

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That sounds like an excuse tbh

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yeah, i don't get why he bothers booking performances? just release music without doing shows. small artists probably couldn't do that and sustain a career but he's gonna make money just because he's zayn.

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as he toured at all besides his few promo performances??

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he needs to pick a different career or work behind the scenes to pay back all the money that his label is wasting on him.

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That's a wrap

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man anxiety sucks



if this career is taking this much toll on him where he has to constantly postpone shows then maybe rethink ur career sis :/ maybe write, produce, sing on demos??

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"they've been postponed again due to slow production on his album." Anxiety sucks!

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u know we dont read

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that could just be a cover for anxiety tho

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does he even get treatment?

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I still believe he can come back and release another album full of boring ass music and people will eat it up like they did the first one.

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People ate up the first one? TBH I thought Gigi was the only person who liked it

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Read the replies to this comment.

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You're ugly

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stawp, m.o.m was a solid debut album with a lot of good songs.

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Yes.. im sure the die hard ztans will keep buying and streaming his 2nd mediocre album as well...

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Excuse u?

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that album was solid and not boring. bye.

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i feel like thats a shitty reason to cancel shows. Stuff like that takes time and money tbh

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This is definetely about his anxiety, I understand, I have it myself, and it's taking me 12 years to graduate from college cause I just couldn't attend classes, just the thought of it gave me panic attacks.



I think one of two, or he will be treated and eventualy start performing again or he will figure out that being a performer it's not for him, he can still work behind the scenes and stuff but maybe be in front of a crowd takes too much out of him.

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IDK enough about the production side of things, but is it normal for an album to be pushed back and production schedules changing as much?



Hopefully this isn't a cover for his anxiety struggles and he has gotten support since.

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It is a cover. Zayn's my fave..... but his denial is irking me. Either get help or stop all this shit. All these damn cancellations is not a good look. He too busy trying to show how cool he is instead of seeking the help he so desperately needs.



Edited at 2017-06-06 01:47 pm (UTC)

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Same. Old me was laughing at Niall in 1D saying he would have no success. Oh the shame.

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how is he the underdog when he was always a popular member tho lol, or is it because he isn't very talented? because if we follow that logic, you'd be rooting for Louis.

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The venue is too big too, I don't know why his team didn't change/cancel it before. He said he wanted to start with small venues in his book, I hope works out for him.

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Mte. I somewhat blame his team for even putting this out there. He needs to start small.

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Liam's solo stuff is currently disappointing, I hope there's better quality tracks somewhere. Also, has he always been annoying in interviews or is this a new thing? I can't believe I like Niall more lol.

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I think he has always had a problem with rambling on and getting carried away. It just didn't matter much cause there was always someone else, mostly Louis, to take over or turn it into a joke.

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Why is there another post about this up top?

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there's a glitch in the matrix

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It is huge, audacious, ambitious, and the word transform does not do it justice, Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Khalid Al-Falih said of the Crown Princes Vision 2030 economic revitalization plan during the 2017 World Economic Forum meeting in Switzerland.

Oil revenues have dominated Riyadhs revenues for decades now, but the bleak future of demand for the fossil fuel necessitates a swift economic shake-up with room for professionals outside of the energy sector.

Saudi Aramcos planned 2018 initial public offering will fund this shift. A sale of just five percent of the state-run oil companys shares will generate an estimated $100 billion that will be used to create the institutions necessary to support new industries. The Saudi economy of 2030 will dig into in to its natural resource-mongering roots by ramping up mining projects, while developing a larger financial sector in a new service-based economy.

Will the existing Saudi workforce, dependent on government welfare and subsidy programs, be agile enough to adjust to the KSA envisioned by the royal family?

Demographics research shows that 70 percent of Saudi citizens are under the age of 25, studying in an educational system inadequate for the modern world. Islamic studies dominate K-12 education, taking time away from STEM subjects. By the time students reach university-level math and science courses, theyre previous schoolingmarred with spates of rote-memorizationhas not helped them to develop a complete analytical toolbox.

In the past, Saudi Arabia has been able to cover up these human resource gaps by importing skilled labor from South Asia, the United States, and Europe. By 2014, a full-third of the KSAs residents held foreign passports.

The countrys strong legacy of supporting expat labor has attracted illegal workers as well. New reports from the Saudi Press Agency show 345,089 illegal immigrants left the country in April and May during the Kingdoms amnesty campaign, which allowed unauthorized residents to voluntarily leave without facing legal consequences. Another month remains before the campaign ends and authorities begin enforcing strict deportation laws. Related: Partitioning Syria: Oil, Gas And Peace

The Vision 2030 plan lays out a blueprint for the Saudization of the economy in both private and public sectors. An estimated 70,000 authorized expat workers will be kicked out of positions in Riyadhs bureaucracy by 2020 in order to create jobs for the massive new generation that will soon be coming of age.

Labor Minister Ali bin Nasser al-Ghafis believes implementation of the job nationalization policy is urgent for the continued growth and stability of the Kingdom. His department regularly meets with private-sector players to encourage the replacement of foreign workers with their Saudi counterparts.

The Saudization we seek is a productive one, seeking to increase employment opportunities for male and female citizens in the private sector, boost their capacity and efficiency, and re-qualify them, if needed, in order to enable them to work and the country to rely on them as the most important pillars of construction and development, he said. At the same time, this will help the country reduce dependence on foreign labor.

But hiring domestically requires the presence of desired skills in the domestic labor market, and the current gender-segregation does little to guarantee that. Luckily, Vision 2030 includes education reform. Education Minister Ahmed Al-Issa gave a speech about 21st century skills and teacher training at UNESCO last year, but those buzzwords do little to describe concrete achievement goals for students and the steps needed to transform entrenched instruction techniques.

Riyadh plans to increase participation in the nations vocational training programs from 104,000 enrollments to 950,000 by 2020, and the government has made some progress on this front. Siemens signed an agreement last month to run a German-style mechatronics program in the Kingdom.

Siemens has a proven track record in exporting and adapting this vocational education approach in several countries, and our courses are constantly being updated in a way that prepares young people for the challenges of digitalization, the head of the companys Saudi Arabia branch said.

Firing expat workers is the easy part. Building a whole workforce, virtually from scratch, will be a much steeper uphill climb.

By Zainab Calcuttawala for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Although crude oil theft has long been the subject of intense media attention in Nigeria, the downstream theft of hydrocarbons has remained under the radar. Despite this, downstream hydrocarbon theft is big business in Nigeria, Africas largest oil producer. In 2015, the petroleum sector accounted for approximately 51 percent of the federal governments income and more than 90 percent of export earnings. According U.S. Department of Commerce data published in February 2017, it also accounted for between 10-12 percent of Nigerias GDP.

As global oil prices rose above $100 a barrel in the early 2000s, the theft of oil became a very lucrative business. Furthermore, due to a conspicuous lack of youth employment in the region, many of the Niger Delta indigenes (particularly young men) have turned to the illicit hydrocarbon trade (i.e. small-scale tapping of crude oil, petroleum theft / smuggling and artisanal refining) as a source of income.

Additionally, resentment towards foreign oil companies  which have accrued billions in profits from oil production in the Niger Delta  and extensive environmental damage caused by oil spills has created a symbiotic relationship between oil thieves and local communities, which has only served to proliferate the issue.

This 2-part series of reports on downstream oil theft in Nigeria is based on findings originating from in-depth research conducted by Shadow Governance analysts in the Spring and Summer of 2016; and ongoing monitoring.

Key Trends

Nigerian hydrocarbon theft has traditionally fallen into five main categories: small-scale theft and illegal local refining; large-scale illegal bunkering in the field; theft at export terminals; theft from fuel trucks; and, piracy and oil tanker hijackings.

Although the former category is pervasive, it almost exclusively involves low-level criminal elements and accounts for a minor percentage of the overall problem. The latter categories, however, are significant issues and involve more technical sophistication and sophisticated networks comprised of facilitators, local elites, militant groups, oil company workers, as well as military and political officials.

According to a Chatham House report published in September 2013  and still relevant - the three key types of hydrocarbons theft are not mutually exclusive: as cooperation on the ground evolves, the lines between domestic and international oil rings grow increasingly blurred.

Large-Scale Bunkering & Tapping (Industrial Level)

The most frequently utilised method of hydrocarbon theft has been the tapping of oil pipelines or wellheads. Referred to as hot tapping or pressure tapping, this method of theft involves accessing a high-pressure operational pipeline and diverting a percentage of the flow of oil. Accordingly, the flow is largely uninterrupted and the pipeline remains fully functional, meaning that the theft goes undetected.

Oil infrastructure located onshore, or in the Niger Deltas swamps and shallow waters  where oil pipelines crisscross the region in a grid-like pattern linking the regions 22 petroleum storage depots and 4 refineries  is most frequently targeted in these tapping operations. This type of activity was originally identified by academics in 2008, and discussed in an African Security Review article. As a percentage of this hot tapping takes place underwater, it is largely hidden from company inspectors.

Once the tap is secured, the product (oil or premium motor spirit) is pumped onto waiting barges and boats (a process known as bunkering) in return for money, guns and narcotics. Some 75 percent of stolen oil is then transported to coastal tankers or international mother ships at night to export the product regionally or globally While the remaining 25 percent is refined in one of the myriad of artisanal refineries scattered across the regions network of rivers, streams, canals and creeks  spread over 70,000 square kilometres.

While the term bunkering describes the process of loading oil onto a ship, it has become synonymous with oil theft. Most illegal bunkering occurs in Bayelsa, Rivers and Delta States, where international oil companies operate and run onshore export terminals.

Given the complexity of hot tapping, detailed technical advice is sought from company insiders or former employees who can also provide critical information on security patrols and inspection schedules. Oil worker complicity in hydrocarbons theft reportedly reached its peak during the height of Niger Delta militancy in the mid-2000s. Former IOC employees who joined the ranks of illicit networks operating in the Delta have actively provided detailed knowledge of vulnerable pipelines and possess the expertise needed to lay taps effectively.

It is also alleged that oil workers with positions in pipeline control rooms are paid to lower the pressure in pipelines so that they will not explode when taps are placed. According to local sources, control room operators are paid approximately $4,500 for reducing pipeline pressure or informing illicit networks when pressure will be reduced for routine maintenance operations.

Cold tapping is also a frequently employed mechanism by illicit networks to pilfer crude oil. In this instance, the illicit actors will blow up a section of pipeline, putting it out of commission for several weeks. During this time, an illegal underground tap will be installed, which will divert a continuous supply of oil to the criminals own storage facilities. As the supply is constant, when the pipeline is fixed the oil company will not detect any fluctuation in pressure in the main pipeline, and the flow will be able to continue unabated.

Related: Can Canadian Crude Compete In Asia?

Small-Scale Bunkering & Tapping

In this instance, local networks with limited expertise and technical ability tap into pipelines and other onshore oil infrastructure (i.e. wellheads and manifolds). A large majority of the stolen oil is crudely refined in local refineries (firewood distilleries) located in mangrove areas using relatively basic processes. It is estimated that this form of oil theft amounts for no more than 30,000 bpd.

As noted in the 2013 Chatham House report, this refined product can then be sold on the streets as fuel, or blended with other refined products such as petrol and diesel (i.e. bush diesel). While security personnel destroy hundreds of these firewood distilleries annually, the set-up costs are so low and returns are so high that illegal refiners are able to rebuild their facilities in a matter of weeks. Local youth gangs also steal refined products intended for domestic use or for sale in local market. In some instances, they will smuggle these products into neighbouring states (i.e. Cameroon and Benin) in small containers for quick resale.

Theft at Export Terminals (Refinery Onward)

Aside from tapping, there have also been numerous allegations of oil and premium motor spirit (petrol) disappearing from the countrys onshore export terminals, tank farms, and refinery storage tanks  many of which are operated by IOCs.

In this white collar oil theft scenario, excess oil products are transferred into tankers beyond the licenced amount via the manipulation of meters and the forging of bills of lading and other corporate documents.

However, the extent to which oil is stolen at export terminals has been subject to some debate. Some observers claim that controls and security around the terminals are too tight to allow for significant losses, as tankers are reportedly subject to checks from at least seven separate government agencies before they are permitted to load oil. Measurement and vessel-clearance practices at terminals also appear similarly vigorous.

Conversely, others believe that the magnitude of the problem may be understated. For several years, oil companies have based their total production figures on unconfirmed volume estimates, using dipsticks to make volume calculations. This method of calculation is easily susceptible to manipulation (e.g. illegal bunkering). Furthermore, some oil workers claim that companies have been reluctant to adopt more precise methods, such as metering, due to the very fact that the old system can be manipulated. Oil companies, in collusion with top government officials and politicians, are therefore free to engage in unauthorised lifting or lifting in excess of approved quantities of crude oil and petroleum products from the nations export terminals.

Theft from Transport Vehicles

Another method in which refined fuel is stolen, is by simply targeting the vehicles in which the fuel is being transported across the country.

There are two main methods by which fuel can be diverted from trucks. Firstly, tanker drivers can divert a proportion of their load and sell it for a reduced price on the black market. Secondly, criminal groups can hijack trucks  with or without the collusion of the driver  and resell the fuel.

It would appear that the majority of hijackings occur in Lagos, Ogun, Kwara and Oyo States, with the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway being a frequent venue for the targeting of fuel tankers. Notably, as Nigerias fuel crisis continues, hijackings are only set to increase in order to meet the nationwide demand for fuel.

Piracy & Oil Tanker Hijacking

In recent years, piracy in the Gulf of Guinea has become prolific, with evidence indicating that illicit activity in the Gulf has overtaken that witnessed in the Horn of Africa, Somalias Gulf of Aden and the South China Sea.

While pirates operating in the Gulf of Aden and Somalia predominantly engage in kidnap for ransom activities, those operating in the West have also turned to hijacking tankers carrying hydrocarbons. In the latter instance, a tanker will be commandeered, its tracking devices disabled, and its cargo syphoned off onto a smaller ship in an isolated location and sold on the black market.

However, since 2015, attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf of Guinea have fallen drastically. This is likely due to the global drop in commodity prices as well as a significantly increased naval presence in the region.

Since coming to power in May 2015, President Muhammadu Buhari has initiated a crackdown on hydrocarbon theft in the hopes of increasing investor confidence in the embattled nation. Additionally, continued low oil prices are discouraging the hijacking of fuel tankers and oil theft, as the activity is now far less profitable, and illicit networks have slowly abandoned these operations and have migrated to kidnap for ransom activities like their Somali counterparts.

So while attacks on oil tankers are declining, the Gulf has witnessed an uptick in kidnap for ransom operations as hijackers seek to diversify their revenue sources. Furthermore, it is important to note that as oil prices continue to rise  potentially reaching more than $60 per barrel in 2017  pirates may turn back to the lucrative sector of oil tanker hijacking.

Related: OPEC Cuts Send Russias Oil Heartland Into Decline

Conclusion

The illicit hydrocarbons trade is largely motivated by socio-economic issues in the Niger Delta. To effectively combat these illicit activities, the root of the issue must be addressed  notably the regions poverty, lack of employment opportunities and basic infrastructure needs  issues that have been exacerbated by widespread corruption.

Decades of poor governance and high levels of corruption in Nigeria have fostered an ideal environment in which the large-scale theft of crude oil is facilitated with relative ease. The associated lack of political will to pursue good governance has also encouraged opportunism, and opened Nigerias foremost natural resource industry to extreme exploitation.

Although President Buhari was elected on a strong anti-corruption platform, and vowed to clean up the oil sector, he continues to face a monumental task  juggling both endemic government and industry corruption and oil thefts. He appears to be attempting to fulfil his campaign promises of fighting corruption, but decades of poor governance and entrenched corruption in both the government and the oil industry will not disappear overnight.

By Shadow Governance Intel for Oilprice.com

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The 9-month extension to the OPEC deal has had a surprisingly negative impact on oil prices, which headed downward once again at the start of the week due to the ending of Qatars diplomatic ties with fellow GCC members.

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 OPEC production cuts have been working--at least as far as OPEC revenues are concerned.

 IEA estimates the cartel has been earning an extra $75 million per day compared to the previous year despite cutting production from 33.3 million barrels per day to 31.9 million barrels per day currently.

 The cuts have, however, done little to trim global inventories which remain well above normal levels.

Market Movers

 ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) has signed a production sharing contract with the state of Equatorial Guinea for a deepwater block that the energy minister has labeled the crown jewel of properties it plan to sign this year (read: a gusher).

 Helix Energy (NYSE:HLX) shares ratchet higher after Cowen serves up an upgrade due to an attractive risk-reward profile based on attractive EBITDA and net asset value.

 Tesoro (NYSE:TSO) climbs to 3-month high after Deutsche Bank upgrade due to heavily discounted shares relative to peers based on sum of parts valuation.



Tuesday June 6, 2017

In a seemingly contrarian move, oil prices have fallen 5 percent since OPEC member states agreed to a 9-month extension on production cuts. And as Libya ramps up production, the U.S. pulls out of the Paris Climate Agreement and Qatar is excluded from the GCC, the market is awash with bearish news.

Market jitters after Arab nations severe ties with Qatar. The U.S. oil and gas markets all slipped lower-- near the 2017 low of $46--after Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, Libya and the Maldives severed diplomatic ties with Doha over allegations of meddling with their internal affairs and supporting several terrorist groups. There are widespread fears that Qatar might retaliate by disrupting the latest oil production deal. That, however, remains to be seen because Qatar ships just 618k bbl/day, or ~2 percent of OPEC output. Qatar though is the world's largest exporter of liquified natural gas, shipping one-third of global LNG supply. The dispute has so far not caused any disruptions in the region's energy sector since Qatar's gas supplies are still going through the 3.2B cf/day Dolphin pipeline, a joint venture between Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY), Total (NYSE:TOT), and UAE state-owned Mubadala.

Related: Aramco Aims To Take Over The Offshore Rig Market

OPEC extension met with indifference. In a seemingly bizarre move, oil prices plunged as much as 4 percent after OPEC and non-OPEC members, including Russia, agreed to extend the current oil production cuts through March 2018. The price action though is not as strange as it first looks. OPEC is merely interested in keeping a floor under prices and appears satisfied with current production levels which have yielded a considerable revenue improvement for cartel members. The market, however, was looking for deeper cuts so as to bring down inventory levels and offer solid ground for a sustained recovery.

U.S. rig count rises for record 20th week in a row. U.S. rig count climbed for the 20th consecutive week, a record for the industry, according to the latest weekly survey by Baker Hughes. Oil rigs increased by 11 to 733 while gas rigs fell by 3 to 182. That's more than double last year's comparable readings of 325 and 82 active oil and gas rigs, respectively. There are growing fears that increasing U.S. output will frustrate efforts by OPEC to lower global inventory levels.

Libya's high output presents another quandary for OPEC. The U.S. is, however, not the only country that OPEC has to contend with in its efforts to control production. Libya, an OPEC member itself, has been ramping up oil exports, and could hit 1 million barrels per day in a matter of weeks. Sustained production at that level will offset at least one-third of OPEC cuts, implying that it might take considerably longer than the targeted nine months to bring down inventories to acceptable levels. With some luck, the country's decaying infrastructure and fragile peace might prove enough to limit its ability to continue beefing up production.

Oil hit by the U.S.' withdrawal from Paris Agreement. Oil prices slipped 2 percent after president Donald Trump's decision that the U.S. ceases being a signatory of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. Trump argued that the Paris Agreement would negatively impact the U.S. economy over the long-term and limit the ability of American companies to remain competitive in world markets. The President offered to renegotiate terms of the initial agreement, but was quickly turned down by other signatories. Now the markets are reacting to fears that the U.S.' withdrawal could trigger even more drilling. The U.S. oil industry exported 1.3 million barrels of crude per day to the world market last week, and at this rate could soon nullify the 1.8 million barrels per day reduction that OPEC and Russia agreed to make to daily production. Related: Can Canadian Crude Compete In Asia?

Saudi's Aramco not coming to America? The flotation of the much-hyped Saudi Aramco's IPO-ARMO.SE might not be coming to America, after all. A legal firm has advised the oil-rich state that a New York listing carries the greatest litigation risk, even as investment bankers and corporate lawyers continue salivating on prospects of the mammoth deal. The Saudis though might end up favoring a listing on the London Stock Exchange if U.K. regulators give Aramco fast-track entry to the FTSE 100. To do so they would have to overlook the fact that the state-owned company is only willing to sell a mere 5 percent slice of itself to the public, way short of the 25 percent requirement by the English bourse for a premium listing. The IPO is estimated by analysts to be worth $2 trillion, easily the biggest IPO of all time.

BHP reviewing sale of critical shale assets. Under pressure from activist investor Elliott Management, BHP is now engaging in talks with competitors over sale of parts of its U.S. shale business. The activist hedge fund has proposed an independent review of BHP's $22.5 billion petroleum division as well as a spinoff of all U.S. oil and gas assets.

Indonesia keen to rejoin OPEC. Tired of playing renegade, Indonesia is now seeking to rejoin OPEC and has already sent a letter to the organization as confirmed by the country's Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry spokesman. Indonesia was kicked out of OPEC in December after it refused to accede to the proposed production cuts.

By Tom Kool for Oilprice.com

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As pockets of geopolitical tension leave the crude market neither shaken nor stirred, hark, today we dig into some of these hotspots to see what their energy flows look like, and how they could be impacted:

Fears have been stoked in recent days about the impact to U.S. imports of Venezuelan crude amid possible sanctions being applied on Venezuela's energy sector. While this can't be ruled out, it seems highly (highly highly) unlikely, given the reliance of the U.S. on Venezuelan crude deliveries.

Venezuelan flows to the U.S. this year are averaging just over 700,000 bpd. This is down by about 6 percent versus last year. The vast majority of these flows head to U.S. Gulf Coast refiners, with deliveries to nineteen different destinations so far this year, with the leading beneficiaries being refineries run by Valero, Phillips 66, Chevron and, not surprisingly, Citgo.

Two destinations on the Atlantic Coast have received Venezuelan barrels this year: PBF's Delaware City refinery, and Axeon SP's Paulsboro Asphalt refinery. No Venezuelan crude has been delivered to the West Coast since December. Some 74 percent of Venezuelan deliveries go to six refineries:

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From one geopolitical hot potato to another, this article on CNBC yesterday is powered by our ClipperData, showing Qatari exports of crude and condensate. While Qatar may be one of the smallest oil producers in OPEC, it still exports more than one million barrels per day of crude and condensates combined. Related: Oil Markets On Edge As Arab States Cut Ties With Qatar

The implications of Qatar exiting from the OPEC production cut deal would be minimal, given their commitment to cut by 30,000 bpd - or by 2.5 percent. Their exports to leading destinations are also likely to be unaffected. Asia is overwhelmingly the biggest beneficiary of Qatari crude and condensate flows, with Japan the leading destination over the last year and a half, swiftly followed by South Korea.

That said, Qatar sends both condensate and LNG exports into UAE, as well as natural gas via the Dolphin pipeline. The cutting of diplomatic ties by UAE with Qatar may have significant ramifications for these flows.

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While Qatar may be a smaller player when it comes to OPEC, it is the biggest player of them all in terms of LNG. It is the world's largest LNG exporter, with flows predominantly heading to Asia:

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Switching gears, the charts below highlight global wind and solar capacity additions over the last decade. Capacity is ten-fold what it was a decade ago. While falling costs have played their part, the key driver behind their growth have been policy decisions and government support: the IEA estimates that $750 billion in economic incentives have been provided to renewables over the past decade. Related: Worst Hurricane Season In A Decade Threatens Gulf Coast Production

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Finally, in yesterday's feature on NPR's Texas Standard we discussed offshore drilling, and how lower costs are enabling a rebound in activity. The interview and article are here, while here are five takeaways:

--Offshore costs are dropping, according to Wood MacKenzie - down from $75/bbl in 2014 to potentially $50/bbl next year

--This is not just due to improving efficiencies, but cost-cutting by service companies

--Rental rates for drilling rigs have been cut in half since 2014, amid a lack of demand

--Offshore projects are shifting focus, copying a blue-print of U.S. shale - focused on being cost efficient rather than on maximizing output

--Offshore costs are still much higher than onshore projects.... but the gap is closing

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The electric vehicle revolution and the rapid adoption of solar and wind technology will break the worlds dependence on fossil fuels. For many countries, that will dramatically improve energy security, by reducing overreliance on volatile and unstable oil producing nations, particularly in the Middle East.

However, the switch to clean technology could swap out one geopolitical vulnerability for another. A new report looks at the geopolitics of renewable energy and concludes that the clean tech revolution will bring many new supply chain vulnerabilities just as they solve old geopolitical dependencies.

The report from Harvards Kennedy School of Government, the Columbia Center on Global Energy Policy, and the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs finds multiple geopolitical problems that will crop up from the spread of renewable energy.

First, the raw materials used to build solar panels and batteries for electric vehicles are often concentrated in very few  and sometimes unstable  countries. For example, more than half of the worlds cobalt is mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Lithium, as of now, is found mostly in the Lithium Triangle of Argentina, Bolivia and Chile, although more lithium mines are opening up in Nevada in the U.S.

Also, nearly all of the worlds rare earth minerals are produced in China, and China and Russia control more than half of the worlds known reserves of rare earth minerals. This presents the possibility of a cartel forming, not unlike OPEC, to control the trade and pricing of rare earths.

Related: Oil Prices Rise As Texas Braces For Hurricane Harvey Landfall

Second, the area of finance and technology presents complications, which are more difficult to untangle. For instance, there will be fights over technology transfer, patents, anti-dumping, and the like. Developing and developed countries will clash over access to finance. Large pools of capital, such as sovereign wealth funds or state-owned companies, could dictate where and how money is spent. The effects of the clean energy revolution on the global flow of capital is still in its early stages.

Perhaps the most obvious geopolitical consequence of the switch to renewable energy is the possibility of a new resource curse that could emerge from the sale of raw materials and rare earths, creating new problems for new countries. Congo could see an influx of capital because of the demand for things like cobalt. While the country might welcome the windfall, it could also further fuel corruption and instability.

But an even grimmer scenario awaits the petro-states of yesteryear, which could become increasingly unstable as revenues dry up. What will happen in Saudi Arabia, for instance, if oil demand peaks and falls, taking oil prices down with it? Some argue that Saudi Arabia is already starting to see the writing on the wall, having declined to prop up oil prices back in 2014 in favor of a strategy of all-out production. If you have 100 years worth of oil reserves, then 25 years looks like a very short time frame, Martijn Rats, a Morgan Stanley oil analyst, told Bloomberg in an interview earlier this year.

Needless to say, Saudi Arabia has since backtracked on that market share strategy, as oil prices plunged to painfully low levels. But the partial IPO of Saudi Aramco, the implementation of new taxes, and major planned investments in non-oil activities are all part of an effort to pivot away from oil.

Saudi Arabia has blown through hundreds of billions of dollars of foreign exchange and has also turned to debt markets to plug budgetary holes. Expect more of that as the clean energy future unfolds and eats into oil demand. For weaker countries, acute destabilization is not out of the cards. There are a lot of complex reasons for Venezuelas current implosion, but low oil prices is certainly one of them.

Of course, there will be a lot of benefits to the clean energy transition. Leaving aside the obvious upside in regards to climate change  which has been discussed at length elsewhere  the economic benefits of switching to clean energy be overwhelmingly positive for most countries, the Harvard report says, although it adds that the benefits will be unequally distributed. New jobs, innovation, cheaper energy or access to energy in places that havent had it before  the benefits are too long to list here.

Related: Venezuelas Oil Fire Sale To Benefit Russia, China

To take one specific that highlights the complexity of the clean energy revolution, building out renewable energy will necessitate the transformation of electric grids, which might lead to greater interconnections across borders, reducing the incentive for conflict. The flip side of that is the proliferation of off-grid or micro-grid solutions could free countries up to pursue a more bellicose, or at least independent, path. The authors cite the case of the European Unions dependence on Russia for natural gas. If the EU broke that dependence with renewable energy, it would have been more open to harsher sanctions targeting Russias gas sector. In the future, the increasing self-reliance on home-grown distributed renewable energy could whittle away at the economic, energy, and infrastructure ties that bind nations together.

All of that is to say that the main takeaway is that the transition to cleaner energy is more or less inevitable, and while the benefits of doing so will be monumental, they also carry risks that many policymakers have yet to consider.

By Nick Cunningham, Oilprice.com

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As artificial intelligence becomes ever more attainable and tech start-ups continue to divide and multiply, traditional oilfield research and development is going the way of the buffalo. Drilling is still an inexact and complex process, with high costs of labor and environmental damages. In the wake of the past years oil slump, energy industries are looking for ways to increase profits while making oil production easier and cheaper.

Though alternative energies continue to make gains, its still more cost efficient to drill and pump oil than to turn to renewables. But big oil is looking for ways to make it even cheaper, more efficient and with a smaller impact to the environment. In order to do this, theyre turning to tech.

Stabilizing profitability and margins is a major drive for big oil, pushing them away from traditional methods and toward innovation. In the near future, technologies like IIoT, artificial intelligence and wearables will cut operating costs, increase production efficiency, and refine asset management.

In todays oil markets, simply increasing or decreasing pumping can no longer sufficiently control or compensate for variability in crude prices. This is where tech start-ups with attractively cost-efficient models come into play. Some of the major players include California-based Seven Lakes, Ground Metrics and Tachyus Corp, and Canadian start-ups DarkVision Technologies Inc. and Raptor Rig.

Related: 4 Wildly Different Oil Price Scenarios For 2020

Seven Lakes initially developed their electromagnetic technology to detect explosives for the military, but their product is now being used to help accurately locate subterranean deposits of oil, gas and minerals and collect data from within wells. They measure tank capacity, pressure readings, choke sizes and more, allowing workers access to instantaneous and actionable numbers, minimizing downtime and production loss. This year the company was the recipient of the 2017 CIO 100, an annual award celebrating companies that exemplify the highest level of operational and strategic excellence in information technology. So far, Seven Lakes has helped their clients in the energy industry optimize more than 100,000 wells across the U.S.

Ground Metrics also has its fair share of accomplishments and accolades. Last month the company won international patents for their core sensor and source system, giving them a big leg up in the burgeoning oil tech industry thanks to their new eligibility to make direct bids with a number of major oil companies. The companys sensor systems create resistivity data for oil, gas, and mining clients by taking images of entire fields, something never before possible. The scope allows operators to dramatically improve efficiency and production. Looking forward, Ground Metrics is currently working on the ability to instrument entire oilfields.

Theres a downside, however, to all this innovation. As energy industries become more and more efficient with the use of innovative technologies, the workforce shrinks as manpower becomes obsolete. For example, thanks to the New Jersey-based tech company Honeywell, companies are now using cloud technologies and mobile devices that allow for remote monitoring of oil fields, getting rid of the time-consuming and labor-intensive work of driving out to a field to check on equipment. On the ground, more automated drilling rigs could cut the number of work hours needed to finish a well by more than 30 percent according to an estimate by oilfield services company Schlumberger.

Related: Aramco Aims To Take Over The Offshore Rig Market

Despite these changes, oil jobs are actually making a comeback this year, as crude prices stabilize and the oil industry gets back to its feet. Just this week U.S. oil producers constructed eight new drilling rigs in fields stretching across West Texas, Colorado and North Dakota. This surge in drilling is bringing workers back into the oil patch after being laid off during the oil bust, when 1 in 3 oil field workers were left jobless in Texas. The comeback in U.S. drilling has revived more than 15,000 jobs just within rig crews. While these numbers are promising, however, its likely they wont last.

Thanks to oilfield innovations, the job opportunities and profiles will likely change drastically in the coming years. Demand will grow for more educated, higher-skilled workers to operate these new technologies, but automation is sure to be a blow to the hundreds of thousands of blue-collar workers employed by oil and gas. Many are likely to find themselves jobless once again, just as they were getting back to work.

By Haley Zaremba for Oilprice.com

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A sudden diplomatic crisis broke out in the Persian Gulf on June 5, as a coalition of countries moved to isolate Qatar, the tiny oil and gas-rich emirate. In a joint statement Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt announced they would halt air, land and sea travel to and from Qatar, with Riyadh going so far as to ban Qatari aircraft from using Saudi air space as of June 6.

The Arab countries have suspended diplomatic relations with Qatar and ordered Qatari diplomats to leave. Qatar has also been ejected from the Saudi-led coalition operating in Yemen. Shares on the Qatari exchange tumbled at the news, dropping 8 percent amid fears that the countrys economic growth is slowing down.

The official justification was Qatars support for terrorism, including ISIS, but analysts point to regional tensions and growing divisions within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) as the real reasons for the sudden split.

Of all the Gulf States, Qatar has perhaps the closest relationship to Iran, a country which Saudi Arabia considers its chief regional antagonist and which most of the Gulf considers a threat to regional security. Qatar and Iran cooperate somewhat over sharing the massive North Field/South Pars natural gas field, from which Qatar draws most of its natural gas exports and thus its immense wealth.

Then, there is Qatars long-in-the-making push for a bigger regional footprint. The tiny country became immensely wealth in the 1990s and early 2000s, and attempted to translate that wealth into soft power through overseas investments, media (including the Al-Jazeera network) and diplomacy. Qatar has for some time considered itself a mediator for some of the Middle Easts most enduring disputes. Related: Saudi Arabias New Deal With The US: Averting Implosion?

While it hosts a large US air force base and considers its security closely linked to the American presence in the Gulf, Qatar often positions itself as occupying a diplomatic middle-ground. Qatari money has funded anti-regime groups which were active during the Arab Spring and Doha backed the Muslim Brotherhood government in Egypt. Despite its place in the GCC, Qatar has attempted to craft for itself an independent foreign policy. According to one regional expert, the sudden challenge by other Arab nations is an attempt to bring Qatar to heel.

Tensions began rising noticeably in the aftermath of US President Donald Trumps visit to Saudi Arabia in May, which was interpreted by many as a strong endorsement of Saudi regional leadership. Analysts are speculating that Saudi Arabia and the UAE are attempting to bring U.S. thinking in line with their own. There is already noticeable alignment in the outlook of the Trump Administration, which considers Iran to be a major threat, with that of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.

Shortly after Trumps visit, Saudi and UAE media began launching verbal attacks on Qatar, including accusations that an alleged phone call from Qatari leader Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was an attempt to strengthen relations between the two countries.

Then there are accusations that Emir Tamim, during a military graduation ceremony on May 23, referred to Iran as a big power in the stabilization of the region.

Qatar claims hackers broke into the states official web sites, posting positive comments about Iran and Israel, which most Arab countries continue to officially oppose. Those present at the May 23 ceremony insist that the Emir made no speech whatsoever. While Doha claimed the comments were fake and were swiftly deleted, their appearance provided a pretext for action by the Saudis and their allies to isolate Qatar. Related: Worst Hurricane Season In A Decade Threatens Gulf Coast Production

Its unclear what the impact of this move will be. While Qatar is one of the worlds leading exporters of natural gas, its oil output is small and it has already agreed to adhere to the OPEC production cut extension. Markets bounced up a little at the news of trouble in the Gulf, but the change was likely a tremor, not an earthquake.

Qatar has already assured Japan, one of its largest customers, that the diplomatic feud will not affect shipments of Qatari LNG. Qatar supplies the UAE with natural gas through a pipeline, and despite the tensions between the two countries there is little chance the UAE will reject Qatari gas, which is needed to meet electricity demand during the summer months.

However, if tensions between the GCC members continue, it could have an impact on the regions stability and the security of the Straits of Hormuz, through which thirty percent of the worlds tradeable oil passes each day.

By Gregory Brew for Oilprice.com

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Since Cheniere sent Americas first LNG cargo abroad in early 2016, U.S. gas exports have reached buyers in Latin America, Europe, Asia, and even the Middle East. The shale gas boom allowed the U.S. to send cargoes overseas, easing some of the domestic glut, with exports hitting a new monthly record in May.

Last month, 18 cargoes departed from Sabine Passso far the only LNG export facility in the U.S.totaling approximately 61 Bcf, a new monthly record, the EIA said in its Natural Gas Weekly Update for the week ending May 31.

Americas LNG has reached the world fastest-growing LNG import market, Asia, and markets in the Middle East. In a few days, cargoes from Sabine Pass will call at Rotterdam for a first Northwest Europe destination, and to Polanda first delivery to a country in Central and Eastern Europe, where Russias Gazprom reigns supreme.

Since February 2016, U.S. LNG cargoes were delivered to 20 countries, including to China, Japan, South Korea, and India. Middle Eastern buyers were Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, and the UAEnot a negligible development given the fact that neighboring Qatar is the worlds largest LNG exporter. The ongoing diplomatic crisis between several Arab statesled by Saudi Arabiaand Qatar is currently not expected to directly impact Qatars LNG trade, although the UAE may have to buy LNG from suppliers other than Qatar, analysts reckon.

U.S. LNG supplies are broadening their global reach, with an LNG tanker out of Sabine Pass scheduled to call at Rotterdam on June 7. Also this month, Polish Oil & Gas Company (PGNiG) will welcome in the first half of June the first delivery of LNG from a U.S. supplierCheniere Energyto Poland.

In the medium to longer term, U.S. LNG is expected to reach more markets and send more gas overseas, as four LNG export facilities currently under construction are expected to be completed by 2021. The United States is expected to become a net exporter of natural gas on an average annual basis by 2018, driven by declining pipeline imports, growing pipeline exports, and increasing LNG exports, the EIA said earlier this year. Combined, the four facilities under construction plus Sabine Pass are expected to have an operational export capacity of 9.2 billion cubic feet per day.

Sabine Pass also continues to expand, with trains 4 and 5 currently under construction.

As of May 1, 2017, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved 7 export U.S. terminals that are currently under construction, plus another 4 approved not under construction yet. Related: The Unlikely Alliance Between Russia And Saudi Arabia

Just last week, the U.S. Department of Energy approved a long-term application to export LNG from the first offshore project, Delfin LNG, LLC. Exports in the amount of 1.8 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas are approved from Delfins proposed offshore Louisiana floating LNG terminal in the Gulf of Mexico.

The Delfin project would further position the United States to become the predominant LNG supplier to the rest of the world, the Department of Energy said.

In terms of export destinations, the U.S. and China agreed last month that Companies from China may proceed at any time to negotiate all types of contractual arrangement with U.S. LNG exporters, including long-term contracts, subject to the commercial considerations of the parties, the U.S. Department of Commerce said.

Commenting on the deal, Massimo Di-Odoardo, Head of Global Gas and LNG research at Wood Mackenzie, said:

The agreement connects the US, the fastest growing LNG supplier, with China, the largest LNG growth market.

U.S. LNG sales in China accounted for 7 percent of Chinas total LNG imports in March 2017, Di-Odoardo noted.

In the longer term, the deal paves the way for a second wave of investment in US LNG. Developers will now be able to target Chinese buyers directly, potentially supporting project financing. It could also support direct Chinese investment into liquefaction and upstream developments on US soil, he said.

The agreement piles pressure on competing suppliers, including new LNG projects in Australia, East Africa, and Canada, as well as new pipe and LNG projects from Russia, WoodMac noted. In addition, the U.S.-China direct negotiation deal undermines the niche that Shell, BP, and Total have found in acting as the brokers between U.S. LNG exports and Chinas imports, according to the energy consultancy.

With the upcoming additional capacity, U.S. LNG has the potential to upend global LNG trade flows.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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More draws predicted for late 2017, 2018

The oil market rebalancing is in progress, even if it is slower than expected, according to releases by Societe Generale and RBC Capital Markets.

When OPEC first agreed to cut production in November, analysts were hoping that six months of reduced production would be enough to rebalance the oil market and draw down inventories.

However, according to Societe Generale OECD crude and product stocks at the end of April were 56 MM barrels higher than at the end of December. OPEC was essentially forced to continue cuts, which were agreed to in late May.

Societe Generale reports that if cut compliance is maintained, oil stocks will begin to decrease in the rest of the year. Global oil demand is projected to grow by 1.3 MMBOPD this year and in 2018. This increased demand, combined with decreased output from OPEC, means that the implied drawdown is 0.6 MMBOPD in 2017 and 0.5 MMBOPD in 2018.

Both years will see most drawdowns in the second half of the year.

(Click to enlarge) Related: Can Canadian Crude Compete In Asia?

According to RBC, inventories are already decreasing, though it may not be obvious. Total OECD oil stocks are about 280 MMBO higher than the five-year average currently. However, this is primarily due to the U.S. American stocks account for nearly 70 percent of the excess in storage currently. This situation has led RBC to predict that the U.S. will be the last major region to rebalance. However, RBC does anticipate that stocks will eventually balance out, probably in mid-2018.

(Click to enlarge)

Both firms have decreased their predicted oil prices as a result of the slow drawdown on global inventories. Societe Generale expects WTI to average $53.80 in 2017 and $57.50 in 2018. RBC sees similar WTI prices, predicting $53/bbl in 2017 and $59/bbl in 2018.

After this, prices will rise over the next few years to $75/bbl, as the need for investment in major projects requires increased pricing, according to Societe Generales analysis.

By Oil And Gas 360

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The La Cira Infantas oil field in Colombia has returned to production after protesters shut it off in May in response to legislative changes concerning the oil industry. The return to production will give Ecopetrol more than 35,000 bpd in output, after protests forced the shuttering of 667 wells.

The resuming of operations at the La Cira Infantas followed an agreement between Ecopetrols management and the protesters to revise the working practices that sparked the latters anger. These resulted from the passing of a decree banning oil companies from using illegal third parties to hire oilfield workers. The two-week blockade of the field cost Ecopetrol the loss of 4.7 percent of its average daily output.

This was not the first protest of this kind: in fact, over the last few years, shut-ins and blockades have contributed significantly to Ecopetrols production decline. As of the first quarter of 2017, the company produced an average 712,000 bpd, with the La Cira Infantas field accounting for 22,500 bpd. It is the only Ecopetrol field where production is growing, Platts notes, by 17 percent over the first three months of this year and set for further growth as oil recovery methods improve.

Ecopetrol at the end of May took over the Recetor field, adding 4,500 bpd to daily output, after its contract with the previous operator, Equion Energia, expired. Recetor is a mature field, which started producing back in 1989 and has since yielded 83.1 million barrels of oil. Peak output was 34,000 bpd, reached in the early 2000s. Production has been declining since.

Ecopetrols overall production has also been declining on the back of lower oil prices and militant attacks on oil infrastructure. Last year, thanks to the combined effect of low oil prices and militant attacks, Colombias production fell to 885,000 bpd, from over 1 million bpd in the previous year. Investments in production growth were also down, and some wells were shuttered as they became uneconomical in the new price environment.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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Venezuela is starving its own refinery to send Mesa 30 crude to Cuba and Curacao, according to a new report by Reuters.

The 187,000-barrel Puerto la Cruz facility in Venezuela is currently operating at 16 percent capacityor 29,500 bpd of gasoline and residual fuelsdue to massive shortages of raw materials. PDVSA, the state-run oil and gas company, announced in March that it had resumed shipments to Cuba after an eight-month hiatus.

Mesa 30 is traditionally used to dilute heavy oil extracted from the Orinoco Belt, which is used in several processing facilities in Venezuela. Falling oil outputdue to a government bankrupted by three years of low oil priceshas left refineries lacking funds to complete scheduled maintaining.

"Diverting crude is one of the causes of the refinery's status, but there is also lack of maintenance," Jose Bodas, a union leader at Puerto la Cruz, told Reuters. Last month, he warned the government about the dramatic reduction in refining activity. This time around, he is adding spare parts to his wish list of necessary supplies.

The Isla refinery in Curacao suffered a fire two weeks ago. Now the 335,000-bpd facility struggles to restore output due to the serious damage.

Related: OPEC Cuts Send Russias Oil Heartland Into Decline

"Isla is putting its thermal cracker unit in service to be used for crude distillation... so it can process 40 percent of the crude bound for the crude distillation unit number 3," the refinery said earlier this week.

President Nicholas Maduros regime has faced months of protests due to import cuts that have left the country without day-to-day supplies and medical goods. Washington is studying options for imposing sanctions against Venezuelas energy sector as a way of pressuring the South American countrys government to step down. No decision has been made yet, two sources from the Trump administration told Reuters yesterday.

By Zainab Calcuttawala for Oilprice.com

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By James Buchal

In an Open Letter, former Republicans John Boylston and Patrick DeKlotz falsely attack Republican leaders for failing to address hateful actions and rhetoric. They go further and falsely accuse me as Chairman of the Multnomah County Republican Party of inviting armed mobs to Portland to protect his rallies. What discerning readers should deduce from this article is that these individuals are, at best, useful idiots parroting the grossly-false narratives of the Left.

The most dangerous false narrative of the Left is, in the words of Black Lives Matter spokesman Greg McKelvey, that patriotism has become synonymous with bigotry. The Lefts hysterical fearmongering generated large crowds on Sunday, June 4th to disparage Trump supporters as Nazis, bigots and white supremacists. I attended that rally and the only arguable evidence of any racists I saw were individuals carrying a sign diversity = white genocide who were promptly kicked out of the rally.

The rally leader called for a moment of silence for the brave heroes who had stepped forward to defend the women on the MAX train last week. The crowd itself responded with a great affirmation when asked whether these men were heroes. Though you will find few local media reports of it, speaker after speaker, including me, spoke up for what Messrs. Boylston an DeKlotz claim to want: the decency and the courage to stand up for equality, tolerance, love, and living together peacefully.

The Oath Keepers and Three Percenters providing security for the rally are not racist organizations. The most superficial investigation will confirm that their organizational principles, publicly stated on their websites, include the command that members may not advocate discrimination, violence, or hatred toward any person based upon their race, nationality, creed, or color.

Reasonable minds can differ on the need for such security, but Messrs. Boylston and DeKlotz are not responsible for ordinary Republicans subject to death threats and threats of being dragged out of Portland parades by Leftist mobs. It is utterly dishonest to raise the specter of armed mobs just because little old ladies manning our booths at Portland Street Fairs may feel safer having security sitting with them. Nor are Messrs. Boylston and DeKlotz responsible for the security of rally attendees outnumbered 10-1 on three sides by hostile crowds, in a context where it was not clear whether the City would protect them.

The real armed mobs, typically dressed in black and concealing their identities, are those organizing to attack the rallies of their opponents. The real hate and violence that was on display in Portland on June 4th was from the Leftwhich is why most of those arrested were from the Antifa crowd in Chapman Square. The real danger is not the fascism of the Right, but the fascism of the Left. There may be some Right-wing protesters who are itching for a fight with Antifa, but they are not driven an ideology of violence like Antifa is; they are just ordinary Americans who have had enough.

The Lefts attempt to redefine patriots and core supporters of conservative principles as bigots, and to disparage the Constitution itself as the product of white privilege, is one of the most dangerous developments in American history. It threatens the continued existence of our unique American experiment with inalienable rights and limited government.

Repeating the foul slander that Jeremy Christian was a participant at [prior] rallies, when in fact those present recognized he was mentally ill and disowned him as having anything to do with them, shows a purpose to advance the Leftist narrative, not conservative government. If a political narrative is to be attached to the murders, it should be one of Democratic policy failure, this time in the mental health systems in Oregon, among the worst in the Nation. Blaming patriots for the murderers actions is abhorrent.

And Based Stickman and Based Spartan were not rally sponsors, though the former did speak. To lament their violent acts against people protesting their hate-filled rallies is to be morally blind to both the nature of the rallies and the context: Leftist thugs invading someone elses event because they dont agree with them. Violence of this sort is a pox on society, and should not be condoned, much less celebrated, but it only serves the Leftist agenda to posit a false moral equivalence between the two sides.

In short, the Open Letter is an unreasonable and counterproductive attempt to divide the conservative community. I hope it has the opposite effect.

James Buchal is the Chairman of the Multnomah County Republican Party. He has run for Attorney General and Congress as a Republican.
President Trumps Environmental Agenda: An Insiders Perspective with Myron Ebell

Last week, President Trump pulled the U.S. out of the controversial Paris climate agreement. In response, Cascade President and CEO John A. Charles, Jr. commented in a statement:

The central problem with the accord was that the alleged benefits were speculative, long-term, and global; yet the costs to Americans would be real, immediate and local. It was a terrible deal for American taxpayers who would have been required to send many billions of dollars to an international green slush fund, with no accountability.

The Paris accord was always a triumph of symbolism over substance.

The man who predicted that President Trump would withdraw from the Paris accord will be in Portland THIS Friday, June 9!

Join Cascade Policy Institute in welcoming President Trumps Presidential Transition advisor Myron Ebell for a special lunch event.

President Trumps administration has begun to implement a long list of campaign promises on energy, climate, and environmental policyincluding pulling out of the Paris climate agreement.

Myron Ebell will speak at Cascade Policy Institutes June 9 luncheon event in Portland. He will discuss how the Presidents deregulatory agenda is proceeding and its prospects for getting the economy going again after a decade of stagnation. Doors open at 11:30, but the program itself begins at noon. For full information and to reserve your tickets, click here. Reservations are absolutely required in advance.

Founded in 1991, Cascade Policy Institute is Oregons premier policy research center. Cascades mission is to explore and promote public policy alternatives that foster individual liberty, personal responsibility, and economic opportunity.
SECP submitted records of Hudaibya Paper Mills to JIT

ISLAMABAD: The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has submitted records of the Hudaibya Paper Mills to the joint investigation team (JIT) probing allegations of money laundering by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs family.



The JIT also examined a written statement from Qatars former prime minister, Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani, which he had sent in response to a letter from the JIT sent to him earlier this month.



The sources said that Abid Hussain, SECPs executive director and head of the department of corporate supervision departmentcompany law division & professional development department, had handed over the Hudaibya Paper Mills records to the JIT.



The paper mills case looks at money laundering allegations against the prime ministers family, and the records handed over to the JIT includes a confessional statement recorded by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar in 2000, in which he had confessed to laundering Rs1.2 billion and opening fake bank accounts at the behest of the Sharif family. Mr Dar had later retracted the statement claiming that it had been extracted under duress.



Following the October 1999 military coup, retired General Pervez Musharraf had implicated PM Sharifs family in three corruption references including the Hudaibya Paper Mills case. However in 2014, an accountability court had quashed the reference.



The case came to the forefront when a five-judge bench, headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa, took up the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insafs plea seeking Mr Dars disqualification as finance minister on charges of facilitating the Sharif family in allegedly laundering Rs1.2bn.



The sources in the JIT said the SECP had provided the investigation team the annual returns, financial reports of the Hudaibya Paper Mills, details of its authorised and paid-up capital each year, and details of shareholders as well as owners and directors.



They said the SECP had also provided original reports of audited accounts of each fiscal year, reports on the financial health of the paper mills, details of taxes deposited with the exchequer and details of various transactions.



The JIT had earlier obtained from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) investigation reports, certified copies of the Hudaibya Paper Mills case and attested order sheets of the accountability court as well as copies of proceedings of the Lahore High Court (LHC), the sources said, adding that the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) had also shared details related to the Hudaibya Paper Mills.



The JIT on Monday also examined a reply from Qatari ex-PM Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al-Thani. The JIT had written letters to the Qatari prince on May 19 and May 27, requesting his availability to record a statement in connection with the Panama Papers probe.



The prime ministers legal team had produced two letters from the Qatari prince in a bid to establish a money trail of the London properties.



In November last year, the Sharif family revealed that the four London apartments were purchased through offshore investments involving a member of the Qatari royal family. A letter written by the Qatari prince claimed that the London properties were purchased from the proceeds of their real estate businesses in which the prime ministers father, Mian Muhammad Sharif, had invested 12 million dirhams in 1980.



In a recent communication with the JIT, Sheikh Hamad stated that he owned the contents of his previous letter, the sources said.



During the hearing of objections raised by the prime ministers son regarding two JIT members, the apex court had remarked that if the Qatari prince did not testify or own his earlier letters, the investigation team could discard the evidence.



The JIT had also examined legal aspects of Sheikh Hamads reply, the sources said, adding that the investigation team had examined the possibilities of recording his statement through a video link, dispatching a team abroad or discarding the statement as a last resort.



The sources further said that the JIT would place this matter before the apex court during the hearing to examine the JITs fortnightly progress report on June 7.
From Greg Swank, 12-4-2 You are about to read a list of 45 goals that found their way down the halls of our great Capitol back in 1963. As...
There is a surprising story that is flying under the radar in almost all of the reporting on the United States' trade with China in April 2017. To see what we mean, here is are some key excerpts from a recent news report following the U.S. Census Bureau's reporting of its foreign trade balance data for the month (emphasis ours):

The U.S. trade deficit widened more than expected in April amid a surge in cellphone imports, suggesting trade could be a drag on economic growth in the second quarter.... Exports to China increased 2.2 percent, but the value of goods shipped to Mexico and Canada dropped 10.3 percent and 9.0 percent, respectively. Exports to Germany tumbled 13.3 percent.... Imports of goods and services increased 0.8 percent to $238.6 billion. Cellphone imports jumped $1.8 billion, accounting for the bulk of the increase in consumer goods imports. Imports of industrial supplies, however, fell $1.5 billion, with crude oil imports declining $1.9 billion. The country imported 229 million barrels of oil in April, the smallest amount since October 2016. Imports of goods from China jumped 9.6 percent. Imports from Germany fell 4.1 percent. The politically sensitive U.S.-China trade deficit increased 12.4 percent to $27.6 billion in April, while the trade gap with Germany rose 4.3 percent to $5.5 billion.

We selected these particular excerpts because we want to focus in on two aspects of the reporting.

The trade balance between the U.S. and China.

Oil imports and exports.

If you read the article in full, you would never know that U.S. exports to China increased in April 2017 by 20.8% over their April 2016 level, which is faster that the 13.6% year over year rate of growth for China's exports to the U.S.

Despite the U.S.' faster rate of export growth, the U.S.-China trade deficit widened because the base value of the goods and services that China exports to the U.S. is nearly four times as large as the value of what the U.S. exports to China. If however the U.S. can continue to grow its exports to China at a faster rate than it grows its imports, that gap will narrow.

That brings us to oil, which has recently become a major export product for the U.S. economy, where China is becoming a very large consumer. [If you're reading this article on a site that republishes our RSS news feed, please either click here to access a static copy of the interactive image showing the volume of oil exported from the U.S. to China in each month from January 1993 through March 2017 below, or just click through to the version of the article that appears our site.]

If you go back to the article we quoted at the beginning of this analysis, since it only discusses U.S. oil imports without any mention of U.S. oil exports, you might never know that that increased U.S. exports of oil to China accounted for 43% of the $1.2 billion year over year increase in the value of the U.S.' total exports to that nation for April 2017.

And that's the hidden story in U.S.-China trade. In becoming a major oil-exporting nation over the last year, the U.S. has the means to significantly shrink its trade deficit with China, thanks to that nation's growing appetite as the world's largest consumer of petroleum and other hydrocarbon products, where oil has the potential to replace soybeans as the U.S.' top export product to China.

That new trade can also provide a more direct indication of the relative health of China's economy, which we'll explore in greater detail in the future.

Data Sources

U.S. Census Bureau. Trade in Goods with China. Accessed 5 June 2017.

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. China / U.S. Foreign Exchange Rate. G.5 Foreign Exchange Rates. Accessed 5 June 2017.

Energy Information Administration. U.S. Exports to China of Crude Oil and Petroleum Products (Thousand Barrels). [Online Database]. Accessed 5 June 2017.
Legislation Democratic congressional candidate Patrick Nelson is touting to establish a Medicare for All national health care plan now has 112 co-sponsors, all Democrats, including 14 New York House Democrats.

So quietly, a majority of Democrats are signing on to single-payer health care, Nelson said at a campaign forum at Crandall Public Library on Saturday, discussing HR 676, legislation Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., introduced Jan. 24.

The legislation most recently was referred

Day one, I will sign on to HR 676 if I am elected, said Nelson, who is seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro, in 2018.

The proposed legislation, which has no Republican co-sponsors, would restructure the federal Medicare program, currently for the elderly and disabled, to be open to all residents of the United States and its territories.

Patients would have a choice of providers, but for-profit hospitals and health care facilities would be prohibited from participating.

The plan would be paid by:

Redirecting federal funding for health care programs such as Medicare and Medicaid;

Increasing personal income taxes on the top 5 percent of wage earners;

Instituting an excise tax on payroll and self-employment income;

Instituting a tax on unearned income such as savings account and bond interest, alimony payments and stock dividends;

Instituting a tax on stock and bond transactions.

Nelson said it is not perfect legislation, but is a good step toward reforming the health care system.

In your expectations, we need to understand that we are never going to stop reforming health care, he said. Its a constant reforming process.

Nelson said the legislation includes funding to help displaced health insurance industry workers get new careers.
QUEENSBURY  Alexander West will find out Monday afternoon how long he will spend in state prison for the boat crash that killed a girl on Lake George and the attempted coverup that followed.

West, 25, of Lake George, was found guilty May 8 of eight charges in the July 25 crash that killed 8-year-old Charlotte McCue, a jury convicting him of second-degree manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, leaving the scene of an accident and lesser counts.

The jury found after a three-week trial that West was impaired by alcohol when he drove his fathers boat into one being driven by Charlottes grandfather, killing Charlotte and seriously hurting her mother.

The crash happened after West and friends spent the day at an all-day lake party known as Log Bay Day, drinking and using drugs. The crash has led to efforts to end the annual party.

Wests counsel had claimed he was not impaired and that he was not to blame for the night-time collision near Cramer Point. He left the scene and abandoned his boat at a motel to the south, and turned himself in about 11 hours after the crash.

Under state law, West faces a minimum of 1 to 3 years in state prison, and a maximum of 7-1/3 to 22 years if sentences for felony charges are imposed consecutively by Warren County Judge John Hall.

Warren County District Attorney Kate Hogan has said her office will seek the maximum term and ask for consecutive sentences.

Victims impact statements from Charlottes family are anticipated. The McCues are California residents who were in Lake George for summer vacation.

West is being held in Warren County Jail pending sentencing, and will have to serve the minimum portion of the sentence before becoming eligible for parole. That means he would have to serve at least 7-1/3 years if sentenced to the maximum, but his release at that point would be up to the state Board of Parole, with input from the victims and their relatives.

The hearing is to begin at 3 p.m. in Warren County Court. The proceeding is open to the public.
FORT EDWARD  A Cambridge man who was arrested in December for threatening to shoot Child Protective Services caseworkers was sentenced Friday in Washington County Court to 60 days in jail and 5 years in probation.

Claude J. Boisvert, 45, pleaded guilty to making a terroristic threat, a felony, in connection with his arrest during a CPS investigation related to his family.

He was arrested days after he made verbal threats to caseworkers with Washington County Child Protective Services and Northeast Parent & Child Society.

Boisvert also reportedly told caseworkers he had "notched" trees near his driveway so they would fall across the driveway and prevent them from leaving, according to the Washington County Sheriff's Office.

He will have to serve at least 40 days before becoming eligible for release, and then will spend 5 years on probation under the sentence imposed by Washington County Judge Kelly McKeighan.
LAKE GEORGE  Two foreign students got a cold welcome to the village last week when they were stranded overnight at a park.

They arrived on a bus from New York City at 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 30. They had flown from overseas to work in the area this summer, as do hundreds of other foreign students.

Most of them are met at the bus station by their landlord or employer  usually the landlord, said Mayor Robert Blais. But on this occasion, no one was there.

The students walked around the closed and dark downtown, searching for help. An employee of the Bank Cafe tried to give them directions to their boarding house, but the students did not understand English well enough to follow the directions.

Eventually, they sat on a bench in Shepard Park all night, Blais said.

In the morning, a park attendant found them and got them to their boarding house.

The kids didnt know where they were, Blais said.

They had the name of their boarding house and their employer, but with no map, they couldnt find their way.

After the incident, Blais directed the village workers who check parking meters to also meet each bus. The parking attendants work until 11 p.m., so they are in the area when the last bus arrives at 9:30 p.m.

We gave them maps of the village and highlighted the most common places they stay, Blais said. Theres been no problems since. There has been a couple of times where students had to be directed.

Bank Cafe owner Jane Schmidt was pleased by the new resolution to help students. Shes seen many stranded students at the bus stop across from her business.

Thats not unusual. These kids come off the bus all the time and no one greets them, she said.

In one case, a boy lost his job in Lake George, so his sponsoring agency sent him to a new job in Schroon Lake. He had no idea how to get there, so she ended up driving him there.

The students usually have cellphones and have a phone number for their sponsor, but that doesnt help in an immediate crisis, Blais said.

Students pay agencies to be their sponsor for their visa. Usually, the sponsor also helps match them with a job and housing, meets them at the airport when they arrive in the United States and runs an orientation before sending them by bus to their workplace.

The sponsor will say, Call us, but theyre in New York City or Connecticut. So that doesnt always work, Blais said.

He did not know who the students were working for or who their landlord was, but he is working with a regional group to tighten rules for landlords.

The town of Lake George requires landlords to get a license to run a boarding house. The village and Bolton will consider adopting a similar license application, they decided at a Student Connection board meeting Monday.

The application requires landlords to provide an emergency contact, including phone number, proof of homeowners insurance and a list of tenants that must be updated within five days of any changes. Landlords must also submit to inspections to determine whether the bedrooms meet state code in terms of size, ventilation, smoke detectors, access to bathrooms and water and other rules.

The three municipalities also want to enforce more thoroughly the rules that are already on the books, including minimum square footage per tenant and fire safety inspections.

Some students have rented rooms in which two students were expected to share one bed, Queensbury Town Board member Brian Clements said. That didnt happen in Queensbury, but Clements was part of the discussion because Queensbury has a seat on the Student Connection board.

They have some areas where its two to a bed; its really disgusting, Clements said.

But he noted that students often dont report the problems, and sometimes the students willingly share a bed.

If a student moves in with a friend, thats something thats hard to control, he said.

Making matters more complicated is that each municipality has a different legal definition for boarding houses.

But that may change. The town and village leaders want to develop a united front, Clements said.
GRANVILLE  Residents in the school district will head to the polls on June 20 for a special election to determine the winner of the final seat on the school board, after two candidates finished tied following a recount.

J. Murray McHugh received 263 votes on the night of the May 16 election, which gave him a one-vote lead over Philip Berke to win the third three-year seat on the school board. Suzanne McEachron and Susan Perry received 308 and 286 votes, respectively, to win the other two seats.

The district on May 31 announced that one ballot for Berke was not counted by the machine, but upon review, it was clear who the voters choice was. This caused a tie between McHugh and Berke. A run-off election will be held from noon to 8 p.m. in the high school gymnasium.

Interim Superintendent Mark Doody said because the vote was so close, the district conducted a recount on the night of the May 16 election.

We noticed a discrepancy in what the machine tally was and what we counted, he said.

On one ballot, the voter had circled one of the candidates but not darkened in the circle, so it was not read by the optical scan voting machines, according to Doody.

The district followed the advice of its lawyer, Doody said.

Board President Audrey Hicks said school officials initially were told by their lawyer the district cannot override the results of the voting machine. But the lawyer found one case where the result of the voting machine was overridden.

Doody said the education commissioner ruled in that case that the ballot should be counted if the intent of the voter is clear.

The lawyer did further research after the boards May 22 meeting, and on May 30, board members unanimously agreed to hold a run-off election.

We had the option to just leave the results the way they were, but we chose to do what was a fair thing, Hicks said.

The district had to contact each candidate before deciding to hold the revote, according to Hicks.

There was absolutely no effort to hide anything, she said.

Hicks urged people to come out and vote in the special election.

The voting for this ninth seat on the board is as important as voting for any other seat, she said.

Applications for absentee ballots are available on Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Completed applications must be received by the district clerk at least 7 days before the election if the ballot is to be mailed or the day before the election, if the voter is picking it up. Completed ballots must be returned to the district clerk no later than 5 p.m. on June 20.

Another Washington County school district, Whitehall, also is having a run-off contest that day. Michelle Redmond and Roxanne Waters tied with 140 votes each for a two-year seat.
CAMBRIDGE  In 10 years, the Mary McClellan Foundation has awarded more than $1.2 million to address local health care needs.

In response to applications submitted in 2016, the foundation gave out $155,756.92 in grant funding.

The Mary McClellan Foundation is already inviting grant applications for 2017 from organizations that address health or wellness needs of residents previously served by the Mary McClellan Hospital. Nonprofit organizations are eligible for grant support.

Organizations interested in applying for grants in 2017 will need to show how they are addressing the health or wellness needs of residents in at least one of the following Southern Washington County townships: Cambridge, Easton, Greenwich, Jackson, Salem, or White Creek, or the Town of Hoosick in Rensselaer County.

Grants will range in size up to $20,000 per grant, per year. Organizations interested in obtaining applications or information can go to the website at www.marymcclellanfoundation.org. Applications are due by Sept. 11.

Here is a list of awards from the 2016 application process:

$27,625 to the Cambridge Valley Rescue Squad to replace LIFEPAK 12 defibrillators and to purchase a Power Stretcher.

$20,000 to the Parsons Child & Family Center to help implement an innovative Behavioral Health Center at Cambridge Central School.

$19,151 to the Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation at Hoosick Falls to purchase vital sign monitors, mechanical lifts, over-bed tables, and Roho wheelchair cushions.

$6,032 to the Easton-Greenwich Rescue Squad for the purchase of turnout jackets, AED Training Systems, an LSCU 4 Suction Unit, and Mifi Routers.

$20,000 to the Glens Falls Hospital for doctor recruitment and retention in the Greenwich Regional Medical Center (for the 2nd consecutive year).

$24,689.42 to the Glens Falls Hospital for the purchase of (2) electrocardiogram machines to be used in the Cambridge Family Health Center.

$11,000 to the Retired & Senior Volunteer Program of Warren and Washington Counties (RSVP) to partially support the medical transportation program in Southern Washington County.

$9,009.50 to the Salem Rescue Squad to purchase Thomas EMS Pediatric Packs, portable suction units, stethoscopes, and a laptop for training purposes. The pediatric pouches

$18,250 to Community, Work & Independence, Inc. (CWI) to purchase and further implement their electronic health records system.
QUEENSBURY  The town may join an effort to reduce carbon emissions by making promises to meet the U.S. standards under the Paris climate accord.

I think there is interest on the board, Supervisor John Strough said after a resident asked the Town Board on Monday to consider becoming a local leader in the effort.

In the wake of President Donald Trumps pullout from the agreement, many cities and states are offering to reduce carbon emissions enough to make up for the loss of support from the federal government.

Resident Lisa Adamson asked the Town Board to join the effort.

I consider climate change to be an emergency of catastrophic proportions, she said.

She asked Queensbury to get involved. The town could organize a committee of regional officials, including business owners, an environmental specialist and representatives from city planning and transit, she said.

The committee would create a list of actions already taken to reduce carbon emissions, as well as a list of actions that local officials are willing to take. Those items would be placed on a schedule to be done over time.

The list would be included in the efforts of other cities and states to contribute to the commitment made in the Paris Accord, she said.

Strough said he would work on forming a committee.

He noted that the town is also considering becoming a Clean Energy Community.

Already, the town has solar panels on six of its buildings. The board may build a charging station for electric cars as part of becoming a Clean Energy Community. The board is also weighing the creation of a unified solar permit, which could make it easier for residents and businesses to get solar, and training code inspectors on how to handle solar construction.

The town must complete at least four tasks to qualify for the designation, and then it would be eligible for a $100,000 grant from NYSERDA. That grant could be used to buy two electric cars.

It would be ideal to have the cars for code enforcement, since they are driven regularly and tend to go in and out of Town Hall on short trips throughout the town, Strough said.
The probation officers in Warren and Washington counties got high marks in a recent survey about their efforts to help judges sentence offenders.

Their pre-sentence reports  and, in Warren County, pre-plea reports  are finished far more quickly than in most counties in the state.

Washington County was fastest, with the average report taking 30 days. In cases where a judge needed a speedier report, officers delivered in two to three weeks  the fastest reported in the entire state.

A county judge started the survey by emailing all of his colleagues to find out how long it took to prepare a pre-sentence report. The time varied significantly by county, with several judges reporting that the average was 12 weeks.

Having a much shorter wait time locally saves money, said Washington County District Attorney Tony Jordan. He presented the survey at a recent county Public Safety Committee meeting.

If it were eight weeks, thats another 30 days the person is sitting in our jail. So its a direct savings to our county, he said.

The speed also gets inmates into treatment faster, he said. Programs include drug rehabilitation and anger management.

We dont have programs in our jail, he said. If they are here for another 30 days, 60 days, thats time they are not in those programs.

Theres no secret to the speed, said Probation Department Director Anthony White.

We work hard at getting it done, he said. Thats priority: Get those reports done quickly. We realize, especially when you have defendants incarcerated, the cost to taxpayers can be quite a bit.

The reports are complex. Officers outline each persons history, including a psychological report, medical history, criminal record, and socioeconomic background. Reports also look at their treatment needs, previous treatments, and what has worked or not worked in the past. Reports consider extenuating circumstances that could warrant a lesser sentence or a harsher sentence and include recommendations from the probation officers.

In Warren County, officers do something a bit different. It takes them five to six weeks, slightly longer than in Washington County, but Warren County Judge John Hall Jr. doesnt mind the wait.

I am in the fortunate and unique position of having a Probation Department that will prepare pre-plea investigation reports, he said.

Most counties prepare pre-sentence reports, after the person pleads guilty or is convicted. Warren Countys reports are received before inmates plead guilty.

By having the reports early in the case, I can determine whether, say, drug or mental health treatment would prevent future crimes and protect both the defendant and the community. Early intervention is essential to success and to arranging for treatment, which can take several weeks, Hall said in an email. Equally importantly, I have an informed judgment when a plea bargain offer is too lenient or otherwise inappropriate so I can veto the proposal before the guilty plea is entered.

He called the reports accurate and insightful.

In other counties, judges werent as pleased by their reports. Some judges said reports were often late or were filed at the last minute.

The survey showed that Washington Countys 30-day rate was quite unusual. In several other counties, including Cortland, Madison, Sullivan and Rockland, inmates waited an average of 10 to 12 weeks.

Also, in some counties, prisoners who would be released to probation after sentencing had to wait twice as long as those who were being sent to state prison.

In Westchester County, probation officers finished pre-sentence reports within five weeks for county jail inmates being sent to state prison. But the inmates who would be released to probation had to wait eight weeks for their pre-sentence reports. Those who were not in jail but being sentenced waited an average of 12 weeks.












In a bid for world domination, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is deliberately flooding Europe with Muslims to Islamicize the continent, former defense minister Moshe Yaalon charged.

Erdogan is intentionally Islamicizing Europe. People are ignoring it. Its deliberate Islamization, he told The Times of Israel.





In a far-reaching interview, the former minister and ex-IDF chief of staff also addressed Donald Trumps initiative to broker Israeli-Palestinian peace, urging the US president to not even try to reach a final status agreement between the two sides.





Today, three different streams of Islamic extremism aspire to global hegemony, said Yaalon, who announced he will compete for the Israel premiership in the next elections. Iranian Shiite Islam, the Sunni Islamic caliphate and the Muslim Brotherhood, led by Erdogan.

The Turkish president for years allowed jihadists from across the world to come to Syria and Iraq and return to their countries as skilled fighters, the former minister charged. He cited the Greek defense minister as complaining to him last year about Turkey promoting illegal immigration to his country from Arab and Muslim states. The Greek official told Yaalon about a young Moroccan, who on his way to Germany, arrived in Greece on a rubber boat after having flown to Turkey. Apparently, the man had paid only $50 for the ticket from Marrakech to Istanbul.





That was a subsidized flight. Who subsidized it? Theyre being pushed to Europe, Yaalon said. The authorities in Athens gave Turkish intelligence a list of 1,224 Turks who were being smuggled to Europe, but Ankara denied any involvement, Yaalon cited the Greek minister as saying.





Erdogan is acting like a leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and he wants to Islamicize Europe, Yaalon said. So when the Europeans demanded he stop this stream [of refugees], what did he ask them? To allow Turks to go to Europe without visas. And what did he tell Turks living in Europe three weeks ago? To increase their birth rates ! Thats the Islamization of Europe.





In a rally in March, for instance, Erdogan urged his compatriots in Europe to have not just three but five children. In addition, Turkey is funding mosques and Islamic cultural centers all over Europe, especially in the Balkans, the former defense minister said. He wants hegemony also in Europe.

Yaalon  who had a falling out with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last year, after which he quit the government and the Knesset  said the new US administration appears to be much closer to Israels position than that of Barack Obama.





Yaalon  who said former US secretary of State John Kerry was messianic and obsessive due to his belief he could broker an Israeli-Palestinian peace  was careful not to criticize Trump or his team. But he also did not hide his opinion that any attempt to broker Israeli-Palestinian peace was bound to fail  even if it was done by Trump. If someone in the White House believes that he can bring about a permanent agreement, thats a guaranteed recipe for failure, said Yaalon, who grew in the Labor movement but in the 1990s became more hawkish and eventually joined the Likud party.

























Breitbart Jerusalem Editor-in-Chief Aaron Klein lambasted the unadulterated anti-Israel bias of the fake news media on Sunday during the Israel Day Concert in Central Park, saying, The time has come for Israel to troll the world with the truth  because the fake news media wont do that.





Attendees braved the at times pouring rain to hear Klein, former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton, Israels U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, Consul General of Israel in New York Dani Dayan, President of the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) Morton Klein, and others discuss their vision for Israel and the world. Sundays Israel Day concert was the 23rd annual event and took place shortly after thousands of people participated in the annual Israel Day Parade.





I have to say the worst part of my job is actually to be associated, on any level, with the rest of the news media; the totally fake news media, Klein told the audience. He added, I think some members of the fake news media will at some point be listening to this, so let me just give them a little 101 on Israel: First of all, what is it with this fake news term East Jerusalem? What is it? It doesnt exist. There is no such city as East Jerusalem. There is one city, its called Jerusalem.

Klein previously reported that the term East Jerusalem is largely utilized to claim that Israel is occupying East Jerusalem and that the city section should become part of a future Palestinian state. He has noted that Jews maintained a historic presence in Jerusalem, including in the eastern sections, until they were forced to leave the Old City en masse in 1948. Jordan illegally occupied and annexed the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem from 1948 until Israel captured the lands in a defensive war in 1967.





Klein continued, Another fake news term that Im really getting sick of is peace partner. Mahmoud Abbas is the partner for peace were being told repeatedly left and right. Did you hear his speech three weeks ago when he was at the White House and he pretty much lied to Donald Trumps face and said that he, Mahmoud Abbas, was educating children and grandchildren and Palestinians in general, in peace? Klein went through just a few examples of how non-peaceful the Palestinians are. He pointed out that several days before, Breitbart Jerusalem published numerous articles about anti-Israel incitement in official Palestinian Authority media outlets. Abbas also rejected a request by the Trump administration, and repeated calls by lawmakers in the past, to end  pay-for-slay payments that reward Palestinian terrorists and their families with money for carrying out crimes against Israelis.

The Palestinian Authority has reportedly paid these terrorists and their families $1.12 billion (NIS 4 billion) over the past four years. The day before Trumps meeting with Abbas in D.C., a television show broadcast on official Palestinian Authority TV interviewed a hero terrorist and called for a return to the days of the Intifada and violence against Israelis. Klein asserted that only Israel will guarantee the rights of all religions to access and pray at their holy sites.





















WND asked 125 members of Congress to weigh in on the unsolved murder , but not a single U.S. representative has agreed to address the case. Rich, 27, worked as the voter expansion data director at the DNC for two years. He had just accepted a job with Hillary Clintons presidential campaign before he was murdered in Washington, D.C., on July 10, 2016, near his apartment in an affluent neighborhood. He was shot twice in the back, and his wallet, credit cards, watch and phone were left in his possession. Still, the Metropolitan Police Department has described it as a botched robbery. Richs story has been largely ignored by establishment media. Those who have called attention to the suspicious circumstances surrounding the murder have been branded conspiracy theorists, including Fox News host Sean Hannity.





The head of a private investigative team in Washington, D.C., insists that Metropolitan Police Department officials have been instructed by Mayor Muriel Bowser to withhold evidence pertaining to Richs case from the public and obstruct the investigation for political purposes. The police have shut down all full operations, Jack Burkman, head of the Profiling Project investigative team, told WND. The police are not cooperating with us or anyone, which is sad. This has become a very systematic and deliberate effort by the D.C. police and the mayor to end the Seth Rich investigation. In a statement to WND, the MPD disputed Burkmans allegations, declaring the department will not entertain conspiracy theories and does not engage with conspiracy theorists.

As WND reported , a manager at Lous City Bar, the last known location where Rich was seen before his murder, claims police never interviewed the bars staff or requested evidence, such as footage from security cameras. And police never questioned Richs DNC co-workers.









Burkman, who is offering a $105,000 reward for anyone with information about Richs murderer(s), revealed that a burglar broke into an FBI vehicle and stole weapons  including a .40 caliber Glock-22 handgun and a Rock River Arms Rifle  hours before Rich was shot multiple times just two miles north of the weapons theft. Burkman has filed a lawsuit suing the MPD for ballistics reports that would indicate whether the two crimes are in any way connected. The text of Burkmans lawsuit, filed May 31 in the District of Columbia Superior Court, can be read here





Rod Wheeler, a private investigator hired by the family, said that there was evidence Seth Rich had contacted WikiLeaks and that law enforcement were covering this up. MSM is not covering this murder, instead pushing it to the side, so it is now up to us. The facts do not add up, law enforcement stopped covering the crime, and now it is time for us to fight for justice. Seth Rich deserves this.




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iStock/Thinkstock(BEIJING) -- The No. 2 official at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing has resigned his post over President Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord, ABC News has confirmed, making him the latest senior diplomat to express dissent or retire unexpectedly under the Trump administration.



David Rank was the charge d'affaires in Beijing, leading the embassy while Trump's pick, former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, who was confirmed last month, prepares for his post. He told colleagues and staff that he could not continue to serve, including his responsibility to formally notify China of the withdrawal.



A State Department official confirmed Rank's departure but wouldn't comment on the circumstances.



"Mr. Rank made a personal decision. We appreciate his years of dedicated service to the State Department," the official told ABC News.



The news of Rank's resignation follows a dust-up over some tweets from the charge d'affaires at the U.S. Embassy in London. Lewis Lukens is the top U.S. diplomat in the U.K. because the Trump administration has not yet nominated an ambassador. On Sunday, he tweeted his support for London Mayor Sadiq Khan and his condolences after the terror attack there.



That's standard procedure in the aftermath of an attack but it stood in sharp contrast to Trump's bashing Khan for his response to the attack. The disparity drew accolades and jeers from opponents and supporters of the president, respectively.



Earlier in May, U.S. Ambassador to Qatar Dana Shell Smith ruffled feathers as well when she tweeted that it was "increasingly difficult to wake up overseas to news from home, knowing I will spend today explaining our democracy and institutions."



Smith would not publicly comment on the tweet, but she stood by it in a second message: "Diplomats explain & defend our political system.Can be tough when partisan acrimony so high, but there is still no greater country."



What's unusual is having career foreign service officers, who are tasked with implementing U.S. foreign policy for administrations of either party, regardless of their politics, speak out so publicly. That's partly a sign of the times -- the age of Twitter diplomacy and personal social media -- but also a sign of growing dissent in the ranks.



Indeed, the State Department does have an official, private channel for this very purpose, so diplomats can send dissent cables when they strongly oppose a particular policy.



ABC News was first to report that the dissent channel was used in January to express opposition to Trump's original travel ban executive order. That cable was signed by over 1,000 employees around the globe.



In the past couple of months, a new form of dissent has emerged, too: retirement. A handful of senior diplomats with years of experience have retired, even as many top roles at the State Department remain unfilled by the Trump administration.



Among those is the top U.S. diplomat for the Middle East, acting assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern affairs and former ambassador to Iraq Stu Jones, who is leaving with his decades of experience in Middle Eastern policy at a time when the challenges to the region and the confusion about America's agenda are both great.



Jones went viral last week for his lengthy, thoughtful pause during a State Department briefing, quiet for nearly 20 seconds as he contemplated a question of why the U.S. criticizes Iran about democracy, but not Saudi Arabia.



Jones joins other career folks like Dan Fried, the longest-serving diplomat who retired at the end of February and delivered a firm rebuke of Trump's "America First" policy in a retirement speech, his words republished across the internet.



"For those of you remaining in government service, I say this: Serve your nation and this administration as you serve all administrations: with loyalty, dedication and courage," he said. "And as you serve, you will, as I did, always remember your oath to the Constitution."

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Finding Peace of Mind: Discover These Five Places in Europe to Unwind
MUSCATINE  Gregs Thomopulos has spent the last 50 years traveling the world and leading engineering projects in 35 countries for Stanley Consultants; now, he's ready to see the world from a new perspective.

Thomopulos retired last week as chairman of the board. While he spent most of his career circling the globe, Thomopulos said he looks forward to traveling for pleasure during retirement.

"Most of my travels in the past years were related to business," he said. "But the good news is I have many, many friends in many of these countries as a result of working with them."

One place Thomopulos hopes to visit again is Nigeria, where he was born the son of a Greek father and Nigerian mother. Thomopulos said at that time, Stanley Consultants had an office in Nigeria, which encouraged him to study engineering in the United States.

After graduating from the University of Kansas in 1965, 23-year-old Thomopulos joined Stanley Consultants in Muscatine as an engineering intern. He went on to earn his master's degree from the University of California at Berkeley, and then returned to Muscatine to work full-time.

"So I came back with all my worldly possessions packed in my VW Beetle," Thomopulos said, recalling the summer of 1967.

Thomopulos said he quickly had the urge to return to West Africa, and was able to do so by working at Stanley Consultant's offices in Nigeria and Liberia, where he was a manager for nearly a decade.

Thomopulos returned to Muscatine in the late 1970s, when he took charge of the company's international division, managing projects in more than 35 countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and the Caribbean. He was elected president of the firm in 1987, and chairman of the board in 2007.

He said of all the infrastructure, energy and environmental projects he has worked on, Thomopulos is proudest of Stanley Consultant's work in Kuwait and Iraq.

Following the Gulf War in 1991, the company worked to assess bomb damage to the Air Force base in Kuwait. The successful project led to the opportunity to lead reconstruction projects for seven years during the Iraq War.

"Our company was always in the forefront of designing facilities and infrastructure that have been damaged because of conflicts in the world," he said. "I'm so very proud of our members who always rose to the challenge of helping our clients in these conditions."

Thomopulos said he has seen many changes over the past half-century, in the engineering industry, and in world relations in general.

"I've been back to Nigeria many times," he said. "But we closed our offices in Nigeria and Liberia because of the economy, and civil wars in those countries, so we have no offices in Africa right now."

Thomopulos said while Stanley Consultants used to rely heavily on work developing coal-powered plants, it now works on more renewable energy projects, such as solar and wind. He also has seen more engineering projects move to public-private partnerships.

But, Thomopulos said one thing has not changed at Stanley Consultants: board members' dedication to their work and company.

"Many, many others in my company have devoted entire careers here," he said. "We have a great company with great people, and that's why we've been able to stay in business over 100 years."

Thomopulos also serves on several nonprofit boards, including the Board of Goodwill Industries of Southeast Iowa, the University of Iowa Foundation Board, the University of Kansas Endowment Association Board and the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure.

And while Thomopulos looks forward to volunteering more, traveling with his wife and spending time with his grandchildren, he felt happy Monday, on his first official day of retirement, simply sitting at home, drinking his coffee.

Thomopulos will remain on the Stanley Consultants board as chairman emeritus. Gayle Roberts has been named the new chairman of the board.
With many unknowns still present, the city of Bettendorf is taking a wait-and-see approach to how it will handle the sale and use of fireworks within its boundaries.

The sale of fireworks in Iowa became legal June 1 after former Gov. Terry Branstad signed a bill into law last month.

While cities and counties cannot prevent the sale of fireworks, they have the ability to control their use through a complete ban or by either permitting or modifying use stipulated in state statute.

City Attorney Kristine Stone said the city had elected to only modify its definition of fireworks and penalties in its ordinance, leaving its use consistent with what is defined by the state.

"We are essentially deferring to the state statute for those timelines," Stone said.

State Code defines two time periods for the use of fireworks as June 1 through July 8 and Dec. 10 through Jan. 3. Use of fireworks at any other time is prohibited.

State law permits usage from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. during those time periods with the exception of expanded hours to 11 p.m. on July 4 and the weekends before and after the holiday.

Expanded hours also apply between 9 a.m. Dec. 31 and 12:30 a.m. Jan. 1 and between 9 a.m. and 11 p.m. on the weekends before and after New Year's Eve.

Police Chief Phil Redington said internal communications among the city departments found it was best to see how the first period goes before making any changes.

"Amongst ourselves, meaning the police and fire department and city attorney, this first year is to see how things go," Redington said. "Based on the first year, the idea is to make recommendations on the second phase in December and January."

City Administrator Decker Ploehn said the city has been in consultation with the city of Davenport and Scott County officials about having a uniform ordinance.

Ploehn said in order to receive a commercial permit, businesses wishing to sell fireworks need to apply through the state fire marshal, which is currently working through its administrative rules.

"If someone came into our office with an application to put a permit in, we're going to require to see their state permit before moving through our selling process or commission process," Ploehn said. "That's currently inundating the state fire marshal. It's our perspective that they need to be qualified by the state before they can be qualified by us."

Although the City Council will vote on the ordinance at Tuesday's meeting, the timelines permitted by the state did not sit well with some of the aldermen.

Alderman Frank Baden, at large, said the state passed a law that it is not ready to implement and called the fireworks usage windows excessive.

Baden said he could live with allowing use for four to five days, but not a month long period.

From the calls he received thus far, Baden said the vast majority were against the new law and with a number of veterans in the area, he expressed concerns over worsening post traumatic stress disorder.

"I've got to be honest with you and I couldn't vote for this the way it's written," Baden said.

Ploehn said there were still a lot of unknowns and questions to ask the state, which is why staff has recommended not deviating from the statute.

"Our perspective is the state created it and the state should fix it, not have us fix it," Ploehn said.
A committee reviewing Iowa's Democratic presidential caucuses is recommending that people who can't make it to a caucus site still be allowed to cast a vote.

The move is aimed at widening participation in the leadoff event to the presidential nominating process.

The committee was formed in the aftermath of the historically close 2016 Democratic caucuses, when Hillary Clinton narrowly defeated Sen. Bernie Sanders. After the caucuses, several complaints about the process arose. Afterward, then-Iowa Democratic Party Chair Andy McGuire appointed the committee.

The state party hasn't taken any action on the recommendation. A report has been presented to the party, but an official there said that it likely wouldn't be taken up until September.

The report also comes amid the Democratic National Committee's own deliberations over the primary process through the Unity Reform Commission it created last year. Members of that commission most recently met last month.

The Iowa committee's report contains several suggestions, but the recommendation that would allow Iowans to take part in a caucus without actually showing up at a specific place would be a significant change.

Critics of the caucuses have long complained about low participation, particularly compared with primaries. But Iowa's political leaders, in both parties, have always been careful to structure the caucuses so they are distinct from a primary. New Hampshire is the first primary state in the nation, and it has aggressively guarded that spot.

"We think we threaded this needle," said Dave Nagle, the former congressman who chaired the panel.

The report recommends that the party create a "non-present participation" process that would allow people to take part in the caucuses after showing need, such as having a work shift that conflicts with the time of the caucuses, having a child care issue or being homebound. Each county would have a precinct that includes those people who weren't present.

The report also recommends the state party study integrating the precincts into apportioning delegates, but it also noted it would be "as part of a broader study of delegate math formulas, with an emphasis on making the delegate apportionment more reflective of caucus-night participation."

The report did not specifically make recommendations on whether to change how the Democrats determine who wins the caucuses. Unlike the Republican Party, which uses a straw poll, the Iowa Democratic Party has a process that utilizes a complex mathematical formula to allocate "state delegate equivalents" to candidates running for president.

It also did not make a recommendation on whether vote totals that go into determining how delegate equivalents are allocated should be released. The Sanders camp, in particular, called for that after the 2016 caucuses.

The report did suggest better technology to update voter registration lists in order to eliminate lines on caucus night and finding a way to locate adequate buildings for the caucuses.

Recent caucuses, notably in 2008 and 2016, the two highest-attended Democratic caucuses in history, drew complaints about overcrowding at some caucus sites.

The report also suggested creating a nonprofit that could raise money for the caucuses. The state parties allocate money for the caucuses, but as committee members have noted, it's volunteers in both parties who run the hundreds of caucus sites across the state.

David Oman, a longtime Republican figure in the state who appeared before the committee, said the GOP is interested in the idea of a nonprofit and discussions will take place this summer.

"We'll see where that goes," he said.
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley accused the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on Tuesday of providing misleading information about wait times at VA facilities in Iowa City and Des Moines, where he said there is a "massive" backlog.

Grassley, R-Iowa, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, said hundreds of Iowa veterans have been waiting for appointments for more than 90 days, even as he said the department assured his office there were none waiting that long.

"Had the Committee not obtained the actual numbers independently from a whistleblower, we would not have known the truth," Grassley said in a letter last week to VA Secretary David Shulkin.

The senator said he had been trying for months to get data on wait times at VA facilities in Iowa City and Des Moines. In an April letter to the VA, which was released Tuesday, Grassley said the information from the whistleblower showed that, as of mid-February in Iowa City, 537 veterans had been waiting between 91 and 180 days for a "clinical appointment," and 539 had been waiting between 181 days and a year and 232 between one and two years. He called such wait times "completely unacceptable."

In an email Tuesday, the Iowa City VA said there is a distinction between "consults" and appointments for medical care. It provided data that said the average wait time for an established patient for an appointment in the Iowa City system is 4.89 days and 8.37 days for a new patient. As for consults, which the VA described as an internal process, it said more than 8,000 are generated each month in the Iowa City system and, as of Tuesday, there were 335 "open consults" between 91 and 180 days, 119 between 181 days and a year and 20 between a year and two years.

"We welcome the opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to Veteran patients and showcase data relevant to wait times and care quality, and have continued to provide the latest and most accurate data as requested," said the email from Jamie Johnson, acting public affairs officer.

In a May 26 letter from Shulkin to Grassley, which the senator's office also released on Tuesday, the VA secretary said he thinks "this was a case of misunderstanding between VA and Committee staff."

Grassley rejected the idea there was a miscommunication. He said that he is seeking a breakdown of "every type of appointment" that hasn't been fulfilled within 30 days.

Wait times at VA facilities have been especially controversial since news reports three years ago highlighted problems at VA facilities, most notably in Phoenix. The controversy led to VA Secretary Eric Shinseki stepping down. Also, Congress passed legislation that widens the ability of veterans in some circumstances to get care at private facilities.

Just last week, Shulkin told Fox News that wait times were getting better around the country. He also said the VA had been transparent about wait times, "so there's no hiding these problems." He said the department is focused on fixing problems where they persist.
The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Quad-Cities, 3707 Eastern Ave., Davenport, will host a rummage sale 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Items will not be pre-sold or put on hold. For more information, call the office at 563-359-0816.

Items will include clean, well-organized housewares, appliances, working electronic equipment, furniture, collectibles and antiques, jewelry, children's clothes, toys, books and much more at reasonable prices.

Proceeds benefit the congregation's general fund to help the congregation in its mission for social justice, community good, environmentalism and the individual search for meaning.
Some things are certain about Davenport Fire Department: They cherish the old things, like their retired firefighters. They believe in keeping everything red. They save the old department memorabilia and will soon dedicate a cornerstone of the helmets and equipment and hide it with orders not to open for 100 years. Most important, theyve saved their 116-year-old Central Fire Station.

It all came together Tuesday morning at the 35th annual breakfast of retired firefighters at Central when they knocked off flap jacks and scrambled eggs in the shiny new $15 million station. Fifty retirees admired the station, its new equipment and its fire poles and bedrooms. The talk was a lot of Now back in my days and memories of the big fires (St. Elizabeths) and little fires and lives saved.

The new station adjoins the old Central Station that has been so fully restored that it harkens back to the days when horses pulled Amoskeag pumpers to fires. During a past year of remodeling, flakes of hay would drift from rafters, memories of the days when man and beast shared the building. The wide Central staircase is like new again; doors are arched in the way of long ago. The retirees agree that the old station looks remarkably new.

The breakfast for retirees was a time to reminisce, when all men on a shift slept in one big dorm and the mass snoring was a noisy cacophony. Now, in the new station, each firefighter has his or her own little bedroom. The first woman Davenport firefighter, Sharon Iossi, called for changes. She led the way. Seven women are now on the Davenport department, and an eighth is to be hired today.

Firefighters are strong and live long, said Lynn Washburn, Davenports female chief. "Its a grand, worthy career where promotions are part of the job, and hours and pay are good. And there are few careers where saving lives are expected every day that you are working."

Among other dictums, she insists that everything be red. That includes all the firetrucks.

None of this white or yellow or green stuff, the chief said.
My boyfriend was in the Navy and came home for a 30-day leave at the time of the Normandy invasion. I graduated from high school May 18. It wa
When I was a kid in Montana, I fished Poor Mans Creek near Lincoln in the Rockies. I spent many summers on that creek and knew where the best holes where. Id like to encourage you to go to some of the spots in our community for fishing for information.

Try these good fishing spots here in our community.

Do you read the local newspaper? If you are reading this obviously you do. The local paper is a very good way to get information. Check out the Calendar of events in this edition. As a Chamber we want to thank the Butte County Post for their help in getting our Chamber and community events and information out.

Do you have a radio? The Chamber does community and Chamber announcements on two radio stations in our area. Monday and Tuesday on KDSJ 980 am out of Deadwood and Tuesday and Thursdays on the Country Twins in Belle Fourche and Sundance, Wyo. KBFS 1450 AM KYDT 103.1 FM. Im grateful to our sponsors of these radio spots that give us a chance to advertise the events of our community.

Do you have an electronic device to access the Internet?

The Chamber of Commerce here in Belle Fourche maintains a community calendar on our web site. Go to www.bellefourchechamber.org From our web page go to Events--then Community Calendar of Events. There you will see events listed. Click on an event and it will give you the main event with an indication to see more details. A drop box will appear that gives you more information.

We try to keep up on events in the city, county and area but also only have a part time person working on this and many other things as well. If you have an event to list PLEASE call the Chamber and we will be glad to get it on our events calendar.

We also have a Facebook page by which we try to boost Chamber events as well as other member and community service events and activities in the area. You can get there from the bottom of our web site page by clicking on the face book logo F and your computer will do the rest.

Do you check out what is new? Starting this summer the Belle Fourche Chamber of Commerce is publishing the Quad State Commerce magazine. The first edition is at the printers now and should be ready by the middle of the month. This 44 page magazine is our effort to promote commerce here in the Quad State Region. This magazine has articles we hope will be of interest to our target audience as well as business advertising and a list of Chamber members. Be watching for copies of this or stop at the Chamber and pick one up.

Do you stop at Visitor Centers? The Chamber is working with the Tri State Museum and Visitors Center to get the Belle Fourche magazine to visitor centers in Wyoming, Montana, and the eastern part of the South Dakota. Kayla Kinard, our city council rep from ward three, was kind enough to take them with her for distribution in the eastern part of the state last week. Thankyou, Kayla. Elsie and Kristine from the Country Twins have carried them to Montana and Wyoming.

Have you ever heard this quote?

Give a Man a Fish, and You Feed Him for a Day. Teach a Man To Fish, and You Feed Him for a Life Time.

The Chamber of Commerce wants to encourage you to go fishing!
CRAZY HORSE  South Dakota Public Broadcasting will presents a free, 30-minute preview screening of The Vietnam War, the new 10-part, 18-hour documentary film series directed by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick on Saturday, June 10, at 4 p.m., at the Crazy Horse Memorial.

In addition to the screening, author and Vietnam combat veteran Major Ed Eagle Man McGaa, USMC (Ret.) will share his experiences from the war.

The screening is free and open to the public. Visitors who tell memorial admission reps they are there for the screening get in free 3:30 - 5 p.m. A reception for veterans and their families follows.
A man charged in a deadly beating on Pine Ridge in 2015 has been made a scapegoat of the real instigators, a federal jury was told Monday.

It was the first day of trial for Calmer Cottier, 25, charged with second-degree murder in the death of Ferris Brings Plenty, 30. Cottier is also facing counts of conspiracy to commit assault and solicitation to commit a crime of violence.

Cottier is the only one among the cases six defendants to go to trial; the others have already pleaded guilty and been sentenced.

The three men convicted of second-degree murder  Steven Steele, Terry Goings III and Jerome Warrior  have all implicated Cottier in the crime that occurred in the early hours of July 12, 2015.

In the statement of facts the men provided as part of their plea deals, they said Cottier incited the group to go to the home of Brings Plentys mother to fight a man with whom Cottier had earlier exchanged derogatory gang words.

They did not find the man they sought, Aaron Little Bear. Rather, they stumbled upon Brings Plenty sleeping in a tent in his mothers backyard.

Cottier, the men said, initiated the attack by throwing a cinder block at Brings Plenty when he came out of the tent. The others also assaulted Brings Plenty by kicking him in the head and face once he fell to the ground, hitting him with a bat, beating him with a stick in the head and torso, and striking him with a machete in the back of the head.

The group left Brings Plenty lying and dying in his backyard, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathryn Rich told jurors during the trials opening statements.

The prosecutor said Cottier started the sequence of events that culminated in the death, and he has admitted to the FBI being present at the scene and assaulting Brings Plenty.

The defense attorney, meanwhile, said Cottiers co-defendants blamed him for the attack because he was an outsider.

Calmer was the only one who lived in Rapid City, his attorney Nate Nelson said. He was the only one who left the reservation.

It was in fact Steele and Goings who had exchanged derogatory gang words with Little Bear, and Jerome Warrior who got the men riled up to defend their gangs honor, Nelson told the court. Cottier, he said, belonged to the same gang as Little Bear, so it would not make sense for him to be involved in the fight.

Calmer didnt want to go there and fight. He wanted to go there and watch, Nelson said. Cottier was also the one who put a stop to the assault, the lawyer said, though he admitted the defendant was involved in a man-to-man, one-on-one fight with Brings Plenty before the others jumped in.

The trial, before Chief Judge Jeffrey Viken, is scheduled to run through Friday at the Rapid City federal courthouse.

Among the witnesses to be called is one of Cottiers co-defendants, who is expected to give testimony that diverges from his statement of facts, said Rich. She said the witness, who was not identified in court, might expose himself to perjury charges.

Cottier is detained at the Pennington County Jail. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. Steele and Goings were both sentenced to 17 years, and Warrior to 14 years.
A judge has dismissed a lawsuit from a South Dakota-based tribe that sought $200 million from the U.S. government for the diversion of Missouri River water.

The Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, which has a reservation along the east bank of the river in central South Dakota, filed the lawsuit last June in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington.

The tribes reservation was established in 1863. During the 1950s and '60s, the government built dams on the river that inundated 15,000 acres of the reservation.

Since then, the government has allowed the tribe to use water from the river but has also allowed nontribal entities to use the water for flood control, power generation and other purposes.

The tribe contended that water rights were inherent in the establishment of the reservation, and the government was therefore illegally allowing other users to take the tribe's water without payment. The tribe sought not only $200 million as compensation but also a formal measurement of its water rights, which have never been quantified.

In a written opinion and order filed Thursday, Senior Judge Robert Hodges Jr. said the tribe failed to clear a legal threshold by showing how it was harmed.

Defendant has withdrawn or diverted water from the Missouri River for flood control, and its diversion has provided benefit to others in the area, Hodges wrote, "but plaintiff has not alleged that such uses have reduced the amount of water available to the Crow Creek Sioux."

Hodges said further proceedings in the case would be a waste of resources for both parties, but he also proposed a scenario in which the tribe could claim rights to a greater amount of water.

If plaintiff had applied for and been granted the authority to sell its water, for example, or had proposed other uses, Hodges wrote, it might be entitled to sufficient water for those purposes in addition to its own."

But, he added, The Tribe has not shown that it has a need for the water other than for its own consumption, or that the water it obtains ... is insufficient for its intended pursuits.

Neither the tribe nor its Texas-based attorney immediately responded to messages Monday from the Journal.
PIERRE  South Dakota has released its state plan for education required under the Every Student Succeeds Act. The release kicks off a 30-day comment period in which members of the public are invited to weigh in on the proposed plan.

Development of the plan follows a year of conversations with stakeholders across the state, including students, parents, teachers, school administrators, school board members, legislators, tribal representatives and representatives from higher education.

South Dakota was in a solid position when ESSA passed, said Secretary of Education Melody Schopp. For nearly five years, we have been focused on preparing students to leave the K-12 system college, career and life ready. Passage of ESSA provided us the opportunity to assess our system and look for flexibilities within the new federal law that would support our state priorities for educating students.

While the plan must address major federal requirements, it also affords states the opportunity to showcase its own state priorities. Under the proposal, South Dakota plans to pursue several innovative ideas for supporting student growth, which will be reflected in the way its school accountability system is structured. For example:

 At the high school level, South Dakota will expand its accountability indicator related to college and career readiness. This means schools would receive recognition for providing opportunities for students (e.g., dual credit courses, Advanced Placement courses and exams, and career and technical education courses), in addition to measuring performance on the ACT or Smarter Balanced test.

 South Dakota will look to emphasize the importance of a positive school climate by developing an accountability indicator around the idea of safe and healthy schools. This indicator would apply to elementary and middle schools.

 South Dakota will look to explore options for allowing schools to assess students not based on the strict structure of grade levels, but rather at their level of learning.

 South Dakota will pursue the use of pilot schools to immerse students in engaging academic and work-based experiences that are directly connected to a students end goals.

We took our time in developing this plan  with the driving idea of doing what is right for South Dakota students, Schopp said. We look forward to receiving additional input on the proposal.

Since passage of ESSA in December 2015, the department has engaged with more than 50 groups to discuss and gather feedback on ESSA-related education topics. These conversations, as well as the recommendations of four work groups, helped to form the basis of the proposed plan. Governor Dennis Daugaard will review and provide input into the plan as well, prior to its submission to the U.S. Department of Education in September.

To access the plan and to provide public comment, visit doe.sd.gov and click on the Every Student Succeeds Act box.
Bashkirias authorities join dispute between Rosneft and Sistema

MOSCOW, June 6 (RAPSI) - The Commercial Court of the Republic of Bashkortostan has joined local authorities to the lawsuit filed by Russias oil giant Rosneft against AFK Sistema holding company, RIA Novosti reported Tuesday.

The Ministry of Land and Property Regulations was named as co-plaintiff in the dispute.

AFK Sistema earlier objected to involvement of Bashkirias authorities into the case.

In late May, Rosneft increased its damage claim in the suit against Sistema from 106.6 billion ($1.9 billion) to 170.6 billion rubles ($3 billion at the current exchange rate). The plaintiff revised the claim damage upwards taking into account currency fluctuations, according to a companys representative.

Press service of Rosneft earlier said that the lawusit is connected with alleged siphoning of assets. Actions of AFK Sistema allegedly led to decrease of assets at this sum.

According to AFK Sistema, the plaintiffs demands are illegal and groundless.

Bashneft was controlled by the government of Russias Bashkortostan region until 2003, when a major stake was sold to companies affiliated with Ural Rakhimov, son of the former head of Bashkortostan Murtaza Rakhimov.

The company was privatized in 2009, when Russian oil-to-telecoms conglomerate Sistema gained control of it.

A court in Moscow ruled that Bashneft had been privatized in violation of law. The Prosecutor General's Office brought a suit to return a 71.6 percent stake in Bashneft to the government. The Moscow Commercial Court ruled on October 30, 2014, in favor of the Prosecutor General's Office.
Moscow court extends detention of ex-FSB officer in bribery case

MOSCOW, June 6 (RAPSI, Yevgeniya Sokolova)  The Moscow District Military Court has extended detention of Vlad Novikov, former officer of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), who stands charged with taking a 5-million-ruble bribe (about $88,100 at the current exchange rate) until July 6, attorney Dagir Khasavov told RAPSI on Tuesday.

Earlier, investigators have registered a 10-million-ruble (about $176,300 at the current exchange rate) civil lawsuit filed by a victim in this case, Turkish construction firm Esta Constructions lawyer Valerian Kochergin. He seeks 5 million rubles ($77,000) in compensation for property damage and 5 million rubles in moral damages.

As previously reported, Novikov and Karen Krayukhin, an officer still in FSB service, have been arrested on suspicion of taking a bribe from the Turkish construction firm Esta Construction. Later, they have been charged with a large-scale fraud against foreign legal entity.

Investigators claim that Esta Construction has been fined over 37 million rubles ($570,000) for violation of migration legislation. The companys lawyer in order to avoid payment of the fine asked the defendants for help in the termination of the case for 5 million rubles ($77,000).

Khasavov, however, told RAPSI that money was transferred from Kochergin to Krayukhin as return of a debt.

Esta Construction is a contracting company established by Bahattin Demirbilek in Moscow in 2006 and operating as a general contractor and project designer in international construction market, the firms website says.
Russian collector demands $286,000 from acquitted art expert Basner

ST. PETERSBURG, June 6 (RAPSI, Mikhail Telekhov) - Art collector Andrey Vasilyev has filed a lawsuit seeking to recover 16.2 million rubles ($286,000) from Russian art expert Yelena Basner, who has earlier been acquitted of fraud, for value appraisal of a painting, RAPSI reported from the Dzerzhinsky District Court in St. Petersburg.

The hearing of the lawsuit has been set for June 20.

Basner, a former employee of the Bukowskis Auction House as well as the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, was investigated over a painting, In restaurant, attributed to Boris Grigoryev, a well-known Russian artist of the first half of the 20th century. The painting, which was allegedly examined by Basner in 2009 and sold for $250,000, was proven to be a fake in 2011.

She was arrested on January 31, 2014. She was charged with large-scale fraud. On February 5, 2014, she was placed under house arrest. In January 2015, a court in St. Petersburg released Basner from the house arrest.

According to investigators, in the summer of 2009 Mikhail Aranson, who is now wanted by police, in collaboration with unknown co-conspirators invited Basner to the criminal conspiracy of selling the fake painting. Investigators allege that Basner made up a sham story about the paintings history and found the buyer, a publisher Leonid Shumakov. He, convinced of the paintings authenticity, proposed his close friend, St. Petersburg art collector Andrei Vasilyev, to buy the painting.

Eventually, Vasilyev bought the fake painting for 180,000 (11.5 million rubles at the current exchange rate), whereas its real price was 12,000 rubles (188).

Prosecutors have asked the court to sentence Basner to 4 years in prison, impose a fine of 500,000 rubles ($7,700) on her and order to pay the collector 16.5 million rubles ($291,000) in compensation. However, Basner was found not guilty on May 17, 2016. The St. Petersburg City Court upheld her acquittal on August 11.

Vasilyev in his lawsuit claims that Basner was a seller of the painting.

Her defense lawyers in turn insist that the seller is Shumakov. Vasilyev made the deal with the publisher. Basner has exercised mediation functions and was not a party of the transaction, according to her attorneys.
St. Petersburg Church of Scientology raided by FSB

ST. PETERSBURG, June 6 (RAPSI, Mikhail Telekhov)  Searches are being conducted in the Church of Scientology in St. Petersburg, the Federal Security Services (FSB) local directorate told RAPSI on Tuesday.

According to the FSB press service, the organization is raided as part of investigation into illegal business operations, incitement of hatred and enmity, and organization of an extremist community.

Several key defendants in the case have been arrested. A court will choose a measure of restriction for them soon, the statement reads.

Dianetics and Scientology are a set of religious and philosophical ideas and practices that were put forth by L. Ron Hubbard in the US in the early 1950s.

The scientific community never recognized it as science.

A resolution passed in 1996 by the State Duma, the lower house of Russias parliament, classified the Church of Scientology as a destructive religious organization.

The Moscow Regional Court ruled in 2012 that some of Hubbards books be included on the Federal List of Extremist Literature and prohibited from distribution in Russia.
America must return to conservative principles of less government,reduced taxes, less spending and a balanced budget! Cut,cap and balance!
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Guwahati : A local court in Assam's Dhemaji district on Monday had sent 55 persons including the president of Nikhil Bharat Bangali Udbastu Samanvay Samiti (NIBBUSS) Subodh Biswas to 10-day judicial custody in connection with the ransack of a All Assam Students Union (AASU) office in Dhemaji district.

The court sent them to the judicial custody and asked the concerned authorities to produce them before the court on June 15 next.

On the other hand, the Dhemaji police had submitted a 42-page charge sheet before the court and accusing 55 persons including Subodh Biswas, Subhas Biswas, NIBBUSS's Assam unit president Sahadev Das, general secretary Benimadhab Ray.

Police also accusing 14 persons in arms act in the charge sheet in connection with the AASU office attack on Mach 6.

Earlier, police had arrested a senior IPS officer N Rajamarthandan, who had provided the investigation information of the AASU office attack to the general secretary of NIBBUSS through RTI, whereas the CID organization was exempted from the RTI Act following the Assam government order issued in 2006.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
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TAGS presents around $23mn South African production to over 120 companies in Nov 2022 The reopening of factories in India post-Diwali was generally delayed by 2 weeks in response to sluggish market conditions. The challenges that faced the market in the lead-up to the Diwali holiday remain unchanged. Global economies are still facing...

Zim boosts gold output Zimbabwes gold output rose 34,1% in the first 10 months of the year to 29,5 tonnes as operations normalise following two years of COVID-19 restrictions. Newsday reports, citing figures from Fidelity Printers and Refiners (FPR), that the...

The 1st stage of the auction of natural diamonds for small and medium-sized enterprises held in Yakutsk The display of jewelry diamonds weighing from 2 to 10 carats as part of an auction for Russian small and medium-sized enterprises ended on November 8 in Yakutsk. The second stage is the show in Moscow, then the winner of the auction will be determined...

2022 US holiday sales estimated to grow amid concerns about inflation The US National Retail Federation (NRF) says it expects holiday retail sales will grow 6%8% over last years record holiday season, but the organization also says that consumers will spend cautiously amid a high-inflation and high...
Intro

Greetings! I am a political scientist , specializing in International Relations , my research and teaching focus on ethnic conflict and civil-military relations . I watch way too much TV, and I like movies as well so I tend to write about both and find IR stuff in pop culture. I rant alot about American politics and sometimes about Canadian politics. I like to take ideas I once learned a long time ago and apply them to whatever strikes my fancy.


In this June 4, 2015, file photo, a cyclist participating in the AIDS/LifeCycle bike ride wears a red dress through the Lompoc leg of the 550-mile ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles. This year's event will include a stop in Santa Maria on Wednesday and in Lompoc on Thursday.
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Sandy Collora first made a name for himself when his fan film Batman: Dead End was released way back in 2003. Since then, Collora has worked mostly on his own, self-producing impressive independent genre fare including the sci-fi film Hunter Prey and now the creature feature Shallow Water.

Shallow Water clocks in at a whopping 18 minutes, which seems to fly in the face of the popular sentiment that shorter is always better for films distributed online. While I'm not sure the content supports the lengthy run time, I do recommend saving this one to play on a big screen when you have the time to spare as it features some stunning jungle cinematography and practical effects work that will please fans of classic monster fare like Humanoids fFom the Deep.

Synopsis: A group of adventurers arrive at a fabled fishing spot in Mexico only to realize that they are being hunted by a creature that lurks in the dark, shallow waters and that help will not be arriving any time soon.
 "Kinds of Punishment" | Main | A timely call for "Reorganizing the Federal Clemency Process" 

On the heels of big talk in summer 2013 from then-Attorney General Eric Holder about criminal justice reforms, some pundits (as noted here) were quick to suggest that momentum for major federal sentencing reform might be unstoppable. Ever the political pessimist, I was then quite hopeful but still not all that optimistic that Congress would find a way to enact some sweeping federal statutory sentencing reforms before too long.

But fast forward four years to the coming summer 2017, and there no seems to be very little reason to be hopeful or optimistic about anything getting done in this space anytime soon. This new Marshall Project feature article by Justin George highlights that this is not only a story of a new Prez and Attorney General with different criminal justice priorities, but also a story of reform voices on the left and right coming to battle each other in ways that may ensure there in no path forward. The article is headlined "Can This Marriage Be Saved?: Left and right came together on criminal justice reform. Then Trump happened." Here are a few notable excerpts:

John Malcolm [is] a legal scholar at the Heritage Foundation, the influential conservative think tank [and] a member of an unlikely alliance that hopes to end Americas status as the worlds most prolific jailer: liberals who find the criminal justice system racist, inequitable, and inhumane are joining forces with conservatives  such as Malcolm  who find it wasteful, harmful to families, and heavy-handed. Last year, reformers on both sides agreed to support a proposed law that would relax mandatory minimum sentences, giving federal judges somewhat more discretion in sentencing and helping low-level offenders avoid prison time. It was a modest proposal, compared to the size of the problem, but the bill attracted a rare amount of bipartisan support in Washington.

Despite that support, however, the measure failed to pass Congress. Some Republicans wanted the law to include a provision on mens rea reform, which would expand the category of crimes in which a defendants criminal intent is a factor in determining guilt. Democrats, convinced that such a provision would make it harder for prosecutors to go after corporate crime, resisted. The bill stalled, then diedand so did some of the spirit of common cause. Last year, as the contentious presidential election neared its conclusion, the alliance started to come undone.

Liberal members of the coalition, such as Jesselyn McCurdy, a lobbyist for the American Civil Liberties Union, say that the reform bill failed because obstructionist Republicans didnt want to give President Obama anything he could claim as a bipartisan achievement on the verge of the election. But, as Malcolm sees it, it was Democrats, confident that Hillary Clinton would be president and that the Republican grip on Congress would be loosened, who decided that they no longer needed to compromise. Peoples positions became hardened, Malcolm said. Conservatives, he added, also bristled at the anti-police rhetoric of the Black Lives Matter movement and at the lefts emphasis on the racial disparities of the criminal justice system.... Groups from the right and left still meet regularly on criminal justice issues, including at a monthly work luncheon that Malcolm hosts, at the Heritage Foundation. But momentum has been hard to regain. Hurt feelings are impacting meaningful discussion, Malcolm said. For the right, the criticism of the left is Your messaging stinks, and you dont make it easy to pass stuff, because you make this difficult for conservatives to sign on to,  Kevin Ring, the president of Families Against Mandatory Minimums, said. And, for the left, the criticism of the right was You didn't try that hard. ...

But [Senator Mike] Lee, who still believes that a reform bill can get through Congress, said he is not so sure Sessions will be an impediment. Jeff Sessions is in a different role now  hes no longer a lawmaker, Lee said. Ive had conversations with people in the White House and elsewhere in the administration in which Ive explained to them this could be a really good bipartisan win, a nice bipartisan moment, and Ive been working with the administration to figure out what level of comfort they have with it and what we need to do in order to move forward. (The Department of Justice said that Sessions was not available for comment, and the White House did not respond to requests to interview Kushner for this story.)...

But the only notable criminal justice measures showing signs of life in the House so far this year would only create more opportunities to put people in prison or to hand out longer sentences, such as a measure expanding the powers of federal probation officers to arrest anyone who interferes with their work. Given this inhospitable climate, Ring, of Families Against Mandatory Minimums, said that perhaps the best course for reformers is to hope for benign neglect from the Trump administration and to focus on repairing the damage done to the alliance by the emotional fallout of 2016. Maybe, he said, this is time for us to put our head down and start winning hearts and minds.
 Deputy AG Rosenstein suggests rising crime justifies prosecutorial shift from Holder Memo to Sessions Memo | Main | "Kinds of Punishment" 

The San Francisco Chronicle has this new article about the new issues the California Supreme Court is facing concerning the state's old death penalty problems. The piece is headlined "State high court ruling on death penalty could restart executions<" and here are excerpts:

The California Supreme Court hears many high-stakes cases on issues such as individual rights, taxes, and the lawmaking powers of the state and its voters. But it has seldom confronted a case with such potentially dramatic consequences as Tuesdays hearing on the Proposition 66 death-penalty initiative.

If the court  traditionally deferential to the will of the voters  upholds the central provisions of Prop. 66, it will open the door to the resumption of executions in a state that last put a prisoner to death in January 2006. Nearly 750 condemned inmates inhabit the nations largest Death Row, and about 20 have run out of appeals to their conviction and sentence.

Prop. 66 also seeks to speed up future executions, in part by requiring the states high court to decide all death-penalty appeals within five years of sentencing  more than twice its current pace. If the court upholds that requirement, one of the most hotly contested in the case, it may have to reconfigure itself as a tribunal that gives priority to capital cases over all other types of criminal and civil law disputes in the nations most populous state.

California has long been what one expert calls a "symbolic death penalty state," one of 12 that has capital punishment on the books but has not executed anyone in more than a decade. Prodded by voters and lawsuits, the nation's most populous state may now roll back toward allowing executions, though observers are split on how quickly they will resume, if at all.

The justices could reject the deadlines while upholding other Prop. 66 provisions aimed at shortening the death-penalty process, such as limiting prisoners appeals and requiring more lawyers to accept capital cases. But opponents say the proposed timetables for court action are the heart of an initiative that seeks to hamstring judicial authority over state law.

Neither lawmakers nor voters can force the courts to prioritize a certain type of case at the expense of all other types of cases, said Christina Von der Ahe Rayburn, a lawyer in the suit to overturn Prop. 66. The requirement to move death cases to the front of the line, she said, would impair the courts inherent function of giving fair and equal treatment to (all) litigants.

Not so, said Kent Scheidegger, legal director of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation and an author of Prop. 66. He said the measure would actually relieve the state Supreme Court of some of its current death-penalty workload by transferring some hearings to trial courts. It sets a five-year deadline that he says the court could meet if it eliminated needless delays. If our side wins, we can get back to having a death penalty that actually works and really see some executions being carried out, probably before the end of this year, said Scheidegger, who will argue in defense of the measure along with Attorney General Xavier Becerras office at the hearing in Los Angeles.

Rayburn said an unrelated federal court case would probably delay any executions in California by at least six months, even if Prop. 66 were upheld. If the court overturns most or all of the initiative, executions will remain on hold for a year or longer as challenges to proposed new lethal-injection procedures work their way through state and federal courts....

Prop. 66 passed with 51 percent of the vote on the same November ballot in which a rival measure to repeal the death penalty in California was rejected by about seven percentage points, nearly twice the margin of defeat for a similar measure in 2012. While the votes were close, the message seemed clear: Californians want the death-penalty law enforced. But the far-reaching provisions of Prop. 66, which received little attention during the campaign, have evidently raised concerns among the justices, who put the measure on hold while they consider a lawsuit seeking to overturn it....

Another provision of the measure seeks to expand the pool of defense lawyers by requiring attorneys to take capital cases if they already accept court appointments to represent defendants in other criminal cases. Supporters say the change would ease the shortage of available lawyers, one of the chief reasons appeals take so long. Opponents say it would put condemned inmates fates in the hands of unqualified lawyers and prompt many lawyers to refuse future assignments.

Prop. 66 would also speed up the states switch from three-drug executions, in use from 1996 to 2006, to lethal injections of a single barbiturate. Gov. Jerry Browns administration proposed procedures for one-drug executions last year in settlement of a lawsuit by relatives of murder victims. Prison officials are still reviewing those procedures under a long-standing law that requires them to consider public comments. The commenters have included organizations that say the proposed drugs are untested in executions and the procedures are unreliable....

Two of the courts seven justices, Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye and Justice Ming Chin, have removed themselves from the case because they are members of the states Judicial Council.... Their replacements are two randomly selected appeals court justices, Andrea Hoch of the Sacramento court, an appointee of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Raymond Ikola, appointed to the court in Santa Ana by Gov. Gray Davis.
While some are going to argue that Americans are generally forgiving and everyone except OJ Simpson can ultimately have a comeback, fans and non-fans remain upset about Kathy Griffin's controversial photoshoot with photographer Tyler Shields depicting the bloodied, decapitated head of President Trump. And while Griffin, 56, will probably have to take some time rebuilding her career, which depends in part on a rigorous schedule of live appearances, a handful of those appearances that were on the calendar for the next several months have already been canceled, with at least one venue claiming they could not plan for adequate security in light of this controversy.

That venue, as the LA Times reports, is the Veterans' Hall in Grass Valley, California, and the Grass Valley Center for the Arts, which booked the event, issued a statement saying, "We wholeheartedly support free speech, but in light of this situation, our first priority must be public safety, and we feel it is in the best interest of the community we serve to cancel this event."

Meanwhile, the St. George Theatre on Staten Island in New York City said, "Ms. Griffin's recent actions have severely inhibited our ability to fulfill our mission as a non-profit theatre serving the Staten Island community."

Also, as the LAT notes, Senator Al Franken issued a statement telling Griffin "it would be best" if Griffin did not make a planned appearance at his book party on July 7 at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills.

Napa's Uptown Theatre had two shows scheduled with Griffin in mid-June, and KRON 4 reports that those have been canceled as well. The announcement on their Facebook page came with no further explanation, the theater said, "Ticket holders will receive a full refund at place of purchase." The post from Friday has garnered over 1,000 comments both praising and condemning the cancelation.

The appearance by Griffin the day before the Napa gig, on June 16, in Grass Valley was canceled, according Center for the Arts spokesperson Julie Baker, was canceled after a Nevada-based conservative group called The Deplorables planned a significant protest if the event went on. Baker tells The Union newspaper, "Unfortunately, due to recent actions for which [Griffin] has publicly apologized, we have received hundreds of angry and threatening emails and phone calls, including threats to the Vets Hall building and our community."

TMZ further reports that Griffin's entire current tour, dubbed "Celebrity Run-Ins," has now been canceled, with Napa's Uptown Theatre being the last to cancel, following Griffin's public apology last week. Shows have also been scrapped at the Route 66 Casino in Albuquerque, and the State Theatre in New Jersey.

Meanwhile, Alec Baldwin, who has had his share of public controversies over the years, came to Griffin's defense on Friday, via Twitter. Referring to a 1998 Conan O'Brien appearance in which he joked about stoning Rep. Henry Hyde to death and killing the wives and children of Republicans during the Clinton impeachment hearings, and was chastised by Republicans. "No 1 believes u meant 2 threaten Trump. Trump is such a senile idiot, all he has is Twitter fights," Baldwin wrote. "Ignore him. Like the leaders of all the other countries in the world. Ignore him."

1- Dear Kathy Griffin,



Kathy....baby...I've been there.

The whole Henry Hyde thing w Conan, where we bring out an oxygen mask at the end?  AlecBaldwin (@AlecBaldwin) June 3, 2017 2- a joke. That's what I thought. That's what we intended. No one walked out of the studio and said, "No! We're serious!"

No one.  AlecBaldwin (@AlecBaldwin) June 3, 2017 3- but all your gutless, weasels in the GOP insisted that I actually threatened Hyde. They played the victim beautifully.  AlecBaldwin (@AlecBaldwin) June 3, 2017 4- Kathy...fuck them. Fuck them all. No 1 believes u meant 2 threaten Trump. Trump is such a senile idiot, all he has is Twitter fights.  AlecBaldwin (@AlecBaldwin) June 3, 2017 5- ignore him. Like the leaders of all the other countries in the world. Ignore him.  AlecBaldwin (@AlecBaldwin) June 3, 2017

Similarly, Jim Carrey weighed in last week via Entertainment Tonight, saying that "Comedians are the last line of defense" against Trump.

Related: CNN Drops Kathy Griffin From NYE Program After 'Offensive' Trump Photo

Local Politicos React To Trump's Firing Of James Comey
31-year-old Alex Honnold climbed Yosemite's 3,000-foot granite wall El Capitan without one rope and without one piece of safety equipment. It's called "free soloing" and completing this feat at this location is a really big deal.

Gushes National Geographic, "It's hard to overstate the physical and mental difficulties of a free solo ascent of the peak, which is considered by many to be the epicenter of the rock climbing world. It is a vertical expanse stretching more than a half mile up  higher than the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. From the meadow at the foot of El Capitan, climbers on the peak's upper reaches are practically invisible to the naked eye."

Previously, we've covered Honnold's climbs in Yosemite, including an effort with Google Maps to map the climb in 2015, and the time he scaled SF's Palace of Fine Arts in 2014. And in January 2015, two climbers, Kevin Jorgeson and Tommy Caldwell, free-climbed El Capitan's Dawn Wall, but with the use of safety ropes to catch falls.

While lots of local news outlets covered Honnold's climb (here's SFGate and KRON 4) NatGeo (that's fun to say) has a gorgeous inside look at the whole process as the journey was filmed for a NatGeo documentary. Here's how it all went down  or rather, up:

Honnold's been training for this for 20 years. He uses a specially equipped van as his basecamp and does all sorts of special exercises and mental training to prepare himself for "free soloing," which again means this guy was hanging from the side of El Capitan by his fingertips, a little bag of chalk, and sticky soled climbing shoes.

Honnold selected the famed 30-section Freerider route, which is THE route for anyone climbing the cliff face. He practiced and practiced, mapped out every move in his head, and then on Saturday, this dude rolled out of bed in his van, ate some chia seeds, et al, and at 5:32 a.m., started climbing El Capitan grab at a time.

3 hours, 56 minutes later, Honnold changed climbing history. And lived.

"Years ago, when I first mentally mapped out what it would mean to free solo Freerider, there were half a dozen of pitches where I was like, 'Oh that's a scary move and that's a really scary sequence, and that little slab, and that traverse.' There were so many little sections where I thought Ughh  cringe.' But in the years since, I've pushed my comfort zone and made it bigger and bigger until these objectives that seemed totally crazy eventually fell within the realm of the possible," Honnold explained to NatGeo.

The Chronicle reports that Honnold grew up in Sacramento and now lives in Las Vegas. Despite both hometowns, the young climber will probably forever been known by his historic climb in Yosemite.

"I was probably the happiest I've ever been," Honnold told the Associated Press of reaching the top. "It's something that I thought about for so long and dreamed about and worked so hard for. I mean, it's pretty satisfying."

Related: Video: Scroll Your Way Up Yosemite's El Capitan With Google Street View
The owner of the Petaluma-based Rancho Obi-Wan, a museum housing what's said to be the world's largest collection of Star Wars memorabilia, claims that he was robbed over the last couple of years of over 100 rare and important pieces, some of which have been resold to other collectors. As The Hollywood Reporter explains, the thief was a friend of the owner, and it was only after another collector purchased one of the allegedly stolen, rare items that the thefts came to light.

Rancho Obi-wan, which offers public tours, is the personal Star Wars memorabilia and action figure collection of Steve Sansweet, a former head of fan relations for LucasFilm. Sansweet announced the news about the theft, and of the arrest of the alleged thief, in a blog post, saying that the arrest occurred in March and that the alleged thief is out on bail  and is a fellow collector and dealer of Star Wars merchandise based in Georgia.

As The Hollywood Reporter notes, "Sansweet became aware of the thefts when an ultra rare Boba Fett figure was purchased by a friend who is also a major collector, who then made Sansweet aware of his purchase. [And] Sansweet is urging anyone who may have bought a rare piece that was too good to be true to contact him as it may be a stolen item."

Sansweet writes, "I have known [the suspect] for many years, considered him a good and trusted friend, and played host to him at my home numerous times. I, and the staff at Rancho Obi-Wan, are devastated that he is the alleged perpetrator of the thefts."

Meanwhile, Star Wars actors Mark Hamill and Peter Mayhew have voiced their thoughts on Twitter.

Any tips on suspected stolen items can be sent to [email protected].
Its not like San Francisco has a shortage of 50th anniversary commemorations of the 1967 Summer of Love squat-in, with a "Summer of Love Experience" exhibit underway at the deYoung, a Summer of Love nude parade last month, and an exceptionally groovy-looking psychedelic light projection show lending some Conservatory of Flower-power starting June 21. But the marquee-free Summer of Love concert in Golden Gate Park has had a bad trip, being denied a permit by Rec and Parks in February for a concert that would have been his past weekend, then getting denied again on appeal a week later. Though Rec and Parks had shown some recent receptiveness to the concert, offering the more far-out date of August 27 as a possibility, the Examiner reports that the Rec and Parks has once again denied a permit for the concert. With no other dates available, this whole effort now appears to have gone up in smoke.

The exchanges between event promoter Boots Hughston and SF Rec and Parks have been particularly acrimonious, and this permit denial was no different. The city department was particularly incensed that the event website claimed that permits had been approved, that tens of thousands of posters and flyers were already printed up, and that conditions the park requested of Hughston were not met. You have not made progress on those important elements and the event is not yet close to being approved, Rec and Parks permit manager Diane Rea told Hughston in a letter obtained by the Chronicle. Rather than put the park and public at risk, we must deny the permit.

According to emails obtained by the Examiner, Rec and Parks was also exasperated with Hughstons hand-drawn map submitted for the event. (The drawn map, obtained by the Examiner, is depicted alongside a 420 event map produced for by a vendor from that event for comparison purposes). Hughstons map identifies very little infrastructure, including one area marked as fense.

Google search results for the concert still show the event as scheduled (with two conflicting dates!), but a visit to the 50thSummerOfLove.com website contains a Love-lorn update. Sanctuary City says NO to the Summer of Love 50th Anniversary Concert, the website currently says. City of San Francisco (6/3/2017) says no to our Summer of Love 50th Anniversary concert denying a second permit application accusing us of advertising the concert without permission. Other grounds for denial include the use of volunteers and refusing to use a production manager handpicked by their permits department, a pretext to privatization and cultural cootion [sic] of this event.



While its a downer that the concert in the park likely wont happen, it may be a blessing for the neighborhood. This thing had all the poorly planned makings of a landlubbed Fyre Festival in Golden Gate Park. Though our summer of endless Summer of Love homages grooves onward, hell no, we wont be able to go to the big free 50th anniversary concert in Golden Gate Park.



Related: Richmond Mayor Desperately Wants To Locate Important Landmark In LSD History
The second man arrested and charged in connection with the Ghost Ship fire on Monday after master tenant Derick Ion Almena was a name that had not been mentioned often in the media surrounding the tragedy. Max Ohr, 27, whose real name is Max Harris, was arrested in Los Angeles County and will be returning to Oakland to face 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter alongside Almena in an arraignment in the coming days or weeks. And now details are emerging from the District Attorney's Office investigation as to why Harris is being held equally responsible for the 36 fire deaths as Almena.

As we knew from the morning of December 3 when the names of the dead and missing began to be tallied, Almena was not present at the warehouse the night of the electronic music showcase when the fire broke out. Possibly as a condition of their ongoing custody of their children, Almena and wife Micah Allison took their three kids to a hotel room that night  they briefly lost custody of them to Allison's parents the previous year for unclear reasons, but allowing them to be present for late-night parties in the Ghost Ship space was obviously no longer a good idea.

As CBS 5 now reports, Max Ohr "described himself as Almenas second-in-command and said he would collect rent when Almena was away," and it was Harris who was serving as doorman and ersatz event producer the night of the fire. Harris is alleged to have rented the upstairs space to the record label hosting the party that night, and according to the DA's charging documents, "Harris prepared the warehouse for the event that day. [And] In the course of his preparation, Harris blocked off an area of the second floor that included a second stairwell, which effectively reduced the upstairs guests to a single point of escape." That single point was the much talked about makeshift staircase made out of wood pallets.

Harris was mentioned in some early accounts from survivors of the fire and identified as a hero of sorts, attempting to rush in with fire extinguishers, and standing by the front door yelling "The door is this way" as survivors crawled through the interior labyrinth filled with dark smoke. "It chased people to the door," Harris said at the time to the East Bay Times. "It was terrifying. It was the most hellish thing I've ever seen... After two minutes, no one else came out."

As the East Bay Times reports, Harris was considered by Almena to be his "creative director," who not only collected rent but also mediated disputes among tenants and acted as intermediary with the landlord, Chor Ng, and her children who managed the property. He also allegedly aided Almena in making various unpermitted alterations two the building structure.

The exact cause of the fire, as Deputy District Attorney Teresa Drenick said at Monday's press conference, is expected to remain as "undetermined" due to the incineration of most of the evidence, however investigators have pointed to electrical wires that were bringing power into the building from an adjacent building, where a small transformer caught fire in a crawl space about one year prior. Previous tenants complained of the smell of burning wires and of frequent sparks and hazards from the makeshift wiring  something the landlords allegedly were aware of because they split the utility bill between the warehouse and the auto body shop next door.

The East Bay Times spoke to a couple of law experts who endorsed Alameda County DA Nancy O'Malley's decision to prosecute the tenants and not the landlord  at least for now.

Stanford Law professor Robert Weisberg says O'Malley could have even sought second-degree murder, but that these charges against Almena and Harris were "inevitable." As for others potentially liable, like the landlord, Weisberg tells the East Bay Times, "One might infer that some peripheral actors are getting a chance to cut deals to testify against the major actors."

Criminal defense attorney Dan Horowitz tells the paper that prioritizing the tenants, who arguably bore more direct responsibility, was wise. "The property owner could have been charged but the jury may have hung on that defendant and it wouldve put a cloud over a very good case against the other defendants."

Previously: Ghost Ship Proprietor And Second Tenant Charged With Manslaughter In Deadly Oakland Fire
Every week, the Shepherd Express will serve as a clearinghouse for any and all activities in the greater Milwaukee area that peacefully push back against discriminatory, reactionary or authoritarian actions and policies of the Trump administration and other activities that seek to thwart social justice. We will publicize and promote actions, demonstrations, planning meetings, teach-ins, party-building meetings, drinking/discussion get-togethers or any other actions that are directed toward fighting back to preserve our liberal democratic system.

Saturday, June 10

Peace Action Wisconsin: Stand for Peace, noon-1 p.m. @ Corner of Port Washington Road and Silver Spring Drive

Every Saturday, from noon-1 p.m., concerned citizens join with Peace Action Wisconsin to protest war. Signs will be provided for those who need them. Protesters are encouraged to stick around for conversation and coffee afterwards.

Sunday, June 11

Transforming Justice, 10:30 a.m.-noon @ Plymouth Church Milwaukee (2717 E. Hampshire Ave.)

The policing and imprisonment of people of color has become a central component of struggles over racism and inequality in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and across the nation, says this events Facebook page. A team of UW-Milwaukee trans-disciplinary scholars and students will present a video and discussion on the perspectives of young people from marginalized neighborhoods in Milwaukee.

Milwaukee Rally for Unity and Pride, 11-11:45 a.m. @ U.S. Federal Court House (517 E. Wisconsin Ave.)

The LGBTQ Resource Center at Marquette University, Milwaukee LGBT Community Center and Diverse & Resilient, Cream City Foundation and PrideFest Milwaukee are hosting a rally in solidarity with The Equality March for Unity and Pride in Washington D.C., and sister marches and rallies around the country. The event aims to support, uplift and bring attention to those in our communities who are targeted due to immigration status, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, skin color, religion and disability.

Milwaukee Area Science Advocates Kickoff Event, 4-7:30 p.m. @ Anodyne Coffee Roasting Co. (224 W. Bruce St.)

This kickoff event will feature live music from King Courteen, food trucks, science demonstrations and a panel of speakers including: Dr. Mark D. Schwartz, distinguished professor of climatology at UW-Milwaukee; Melissa Tashjian, founder at Compost Crusader; Hillary Olson, vice president of audience and community engagement at Milwaukee Public Museum; Dr. Thalia M. Williams, community engagement coordinator at Zilber School of Public Health, UWM.

Protest at Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner Town Hall, 6-8 p.m. @ Brookfield City Clerk of Court (2100 N. Calhoun Road, Brookfield)

Indivisible Tosa is organizing a protest outside of Congressman Jim Sensenbrenners town hall calling on him to hold Donald Trump accountable for his attacks on our democracy.

Friends of the Shepherd Help support Milwaukee's locally owned free weekly newspaper. LEARN MORE

Wednesday, June 14

Refuel the Resistance, 5-8 p.m. @ Bounce Milwaukee (2801 S. Fifth Court)

Every Wednesday, Bounce Milwaukee offers a space to organize, as well as a free drink to anyone who brings evidence of resistance in the past week, including protest signs, an email to an elected official or a selfie at the capital.

To submit to this column, please send a brief description of your action, including date and time, to savingourdemocracy@shepex.com. Together, we can fight to minimize the damage that this administration has planned for our great country.
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NORTH SIOUX CITY, S.D. -- Pulse LLC will be host an open house to mark its three-year anniversary and the opening of its new office 5 p.m., Wednesday at 663 N. Derby Lane, Suite C, in North Sioux City, South Dakota.

Pulse was established in 2014 by Founder & Creative Lead Becca Feauto, who originally housed the office on Historic Fourth Street in Sioux City.

As the business grew, Pulse moved the office to North Derby Lane in North Sioux City. Pulse is located on the same property as Spaces Interior Design and Swedean & Co.

In addition to Pulses open house, Spaces Interior Design and Swedean & Co. also will be hosting open house celebrations on the same day. A ribbon cutting by the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce will be held at Swedean & Co. at 4:30 p.m. prior to a ribbon cutting at Pulse at 5:00 p.m. Pizza from 1000 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria, other food options and drinks will be served to those in attendance from 4:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

Under the guidance of Feauto, Pulse has worked with clients such as 1000 Degrees Neapolitan Pizzeria, the Diocese of Sioux City, Trinity Electric, Sunnybrook Dental and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Siouxland. The company has an extensive portfolio with services such as website design, content development, photography and graphic design.
SIOUX CITY | The Sioux City Council on Monday voted to begin the eminent domain process to acquire a portion of land for a future trail project.

The city is continuing in the meantime to work with the property owner to come to an agreement for purchase of easements and acquisition of property at 817 Bruner Ave. for future trail construction near the Big Sioux River.

According to city documents, the city requires three temporary construction easements totaling 5,576 square feet, a permanent easement of 9,991 square feet and an 8,976-square-foot portion to be acquired in fee title. The city has offered the property owner, Brad Lepper, $16,420 for the land.

Lepper told the council Monday that he was not completely in agreement as to the value the city had placed on the land. He said he had two buildable lots that would not be able to be developed under the current plan. But he was willing to work with the city and even donate another portion of land to the east, he said.

"We sure don't want to stand in the way of the project's completion," Lepper said.

He said after the meeting that he and the city are close and he hopes they can come to agreement. City staff expressed a similar desire to settle an agreement.

The council had originally planned to take a similar vote regarding another parcel of land at 1725 1/2 Nash St., but the property owner agreed to the sale after Monday's agenda was posted.

Community development operations manager Jeff Hanson said the last time the city used eminent domain was in relation to the Jackson Street reconstruction project, when the city in July 2016 acquired a portion of the Family Dollar's property for a traffic signal.

USS Sioux City

In other action Monday, the City Council approved a $50,000 contribution to the USS Sioux City Commissioning Committee. The committee is tasked with planning and raising money for the ship's commissioning, which will take place next summer in Annapolis, Maryland.

The committee hopes to raise $800,000 to $1 million.

Development agreement

The council also approved a development agreement with logistics company Monterey Management LLC for land purchased in the city's Bridgeport West Industrial Park.

The company will receive 9.52 acres for $325,000 to develop a 3,200-square-foot logistics facility, a 19,000-square-foot bio-security facility, a 6,400 maintenance facility and an 8,000-square-foot convenience store -- a total investment of $11.7 million.

The company would offer fuel, wash bays and other services to trucks entering and exiting the Seaboard Triumph Foods pork plant, according to city documents.

Sewer rate hike

The council also approved the final reading of a 3 percent sewer rate increase. The rate increase will go into effect July 1 of this year.
SIOUX CITY -- Construction on the final phase of the North Lewis Boulevard Water Main Project is set to start Wednesday, according to the City of Sioux City Engineering Division.

The final phase runs from 11th Street on the north end, to approximately First Street on the south end. Traffic control will consist of several intermittent lane closures of Highway 75/North Lewis Boulevard.

Construction will start at First Street, heading north to Third Street and last approximately one month. Following the completion of this work, construction will begin on the north end and head south toward Third Street. Traffic detour routes will be posted for all side street closures. This portion is anticipated to be completed in November 2017.

City officials are advising that motorists reduce speed, drive cautiously and obey all traffic control signs and barricades with regard to this closure.
SIOUX CITY | A developer's plans to build a $20 million Courtyard by Marriott hotel downtown next to the Sioux City Convention Center received the City Council's stamp of approval Monday.

On a 4-1 vote, the City Council approved development, management and parking rental agreements for the hotel project, with Mayor Bob Scott casting the lone dissenting vote.

Scott said he believes the subsidy the Convention Center receives each year far outweighs its benefits.

"I'm going to vote no and then hope this (hotel) is abundantly successful," he said.

The decision followed more than an hour of discussion among council members and about a half-dozen members of the public, who brought a combination of support, questions and suggestions for the project.

Much of the discussion surrounded how the hotel -- to be built on land currently used for convention parking and by those attending movies at the Promenade Cinema across the street -- would affect people's parking options.

Under the agreements passed Monday, the city will construct a new 140-space parking deck behind the hotel, of which the bottom level would be only accessible to hotel guests and the top level would be open to the public at regular parking rates.

"The one complaint I have from elderly people is, 'I'm not going to movies downtown once this is built,'" Scott said. "We (older people) don't walk down five flights of steps to go to movies. ... It's a death-knell to that area."

Scott said the city needs to consciously make the other area ramps, which cater more to the streets west of that area, more accessible to the Convention Center and Promenade Cinema area. He suggested adding an elevator.

Councilman Alex Watters agreed that making the city's other nearby ramps more accessible to the area is needed.

"I want to make sure we're making it as attractive as possible for people to utilize both ramps," he said.

Driven by parking concerns, some residents suggested other locations for the project. Resident Dick Salem said he wanted to see a potential relocation that would keep parking free in the area and allow for future expansion of the Convention Center.

"If you could use the money and the money for the ramps, which we don't need, to bring in a national franchise group like Kinseth to remodel the Howard Johnson, ... you don't have to build a new ramp, you don't have to build a connection to the skywalk, you've saved the parking, and everybody is happy," Salem said.

City manager Bob Padmore said a previous nationwide search a couple years ago found no developers willing to renovate the Howard Johnson hotel.

"We were told it would need to be in excess of $20 million to go into that," he said.

In a statement Monday, the Taxpayers Research Council, a local watchdog group that has opposed the city's plans for the hotel since early on in the process, said that it was disappointed by the city's decision but hopes it considers Scott's parking concerns.

"Moving forward, we hope the Council takes the parking concerns raised by Mayor Scott and several other citizens including another elevator in the Virginia Street ramp to allow for a more accessible route to the theater," said the statement, written by executive director Taylor Goodvin.

Monday's vote will set in motion an official closing on the land, which economic development director Marty Dougherty said the city hopes to have in place by Aug. 1. The construction process, anticipated to take more than a year, could begin yet in 2017.

Developer Bruce Kinseth told the council he believes the hotel and the company's management of the Convention Center will result in a lower city subsidy and higher revenues for area businesses.

"Eighty-five percent of hotel patrons go out to eat every night," he said. "I guarantee people in hotels like to go out to dinner, they spend money on gas -- they do all sorts of stuff. They might even go down to the casino."

The proposed hotel would be connected to the venue via a "pre-function space." The city will also, under current plans, renovate one of the Convention Center's galleries into a ballroom. The city will partially pay for its portion of the project using future sales and hotel taxes from the state.

The new hotel is a vital portion of Sioux City's application for $14 million in future hotel and sales taxes from the Iowa Economic Development Authority's Reinvestment District program. The city will begin collecting the state's portion of hotel and sales taxes from new construction within the district for a 20-year period once the hotel is completed.

The district also includes a proposed equestrian center at the former site of Sioux City's John Morrell plant and Ho-Chunk Inc.'s commercial and residential holdings along Virginia Street.
ELK POINT, S.D. | Two differing stories will confront jurors hearing Beef Products Inc.'s $1.9 billion defamation lawsuit against ABC, they were told Monday.

On one hand, the network, led by senior national correspondent Jim Avila's reporting, engaged in a conscious attack on the beef company by continually referring to its signature product, Lean Finely Textured Beef, as "pink slime" through a series of stories that the network knew contained false information, BPI's attorney Dan Webb said.

"ABC simply did not have its facts straight when it started airing this series," Webb told the jury during an opening statement that lasted nearly two hours.

On the other hand, ABC lawyer Dane Butswinkas said, was the story of a company that had kept the process behind its meat product secret for years and had continually failed until recently to gain federal regulators' coveted approval that would enable LFTB to be mixed and sold in ground beef.

"The evidence will show the other side of the story is one BPI did not want told," Butswinkas said in his opening statement, also nearly two hours long. "The secret ingredient is secrecy."

BPI sued ABC and Avila in Union County Circuit Court in September 2012, contending that a series of 14 stories and broadcasts about LFTB in March and April of that year continually referred to the product as "pink slime" and caused a backlash against the product, costing the Dakota Dunes-based business millions of dollars in sales and leading to the closure of three of its four plants.

BPI's $1.9 billion claim results from $700 million in lost profits and $1.2 billion in lost business value, Webb said. If BPI wins at trial, its $1.9 billion claim could be tripled to $5.7 billion under provisions of South Dakota's Agricultural Food Product Disparagement Act. The company will also ask the jury to award it punitive damages in an amount Webb said he would divulge at the trial's conclusion.

More than 100 people -- lawyers, media and onlookers -- nearly filled the courtroom on the opening day of what's expected to be an eight-week trial. Webb said BPI will prove that ABC's reporting disparaged LFTB, repeatedly and erroneously implying LFTB was not meat, was not safe, had little nutritional value and that BPI had used improper conduct such as bribery to gain U.S. Department of Agriculture approval of the product.

Most damaging, Webb said, was ABC's continual reference to LFTB as "pink slime," using the term more than 350 times during 131 broadcast reports, online stories and Facebook and Twitter posts. The series of stories Webb continually called "media attacks" often referred to the product as "filler," "salvage" and "scrap" once used only for dog food and cooking oil.

"What ABC tried to do is basically rename our product," Webb said.

Webb said that BPI's sales of LFTB dipped from 5 million pounds per week to 1.3 million pounds per week within two weeks of ABC's first story.

The "pink slime" name was coined by a former U.S. Department of Agriculture official in 2002, a fact Webb admitted.

Butswinkas told jurors the term had been widely used in the media and by critics for years before ABC's stories on LFTB. In fact, he said, a public relations firm hired by BPI found that the term had been used 3,817 times in the media and on social media sites before ABC ran any of its stories. A Pulitzer Prize-winning story by The New York Times in 2009 used many of the same terms, including "pink slime," BPI has objected to in ABC's reports, Butswinkas said.

"ABC did not report facts that hadn't been reported before," he said.

He backed up the reporting of Avila, whom he called an "old-school, bulldog journalist," by telling jurors more than 40 sources were used in the stories, and BPI and USDA officials never agreed to comment on camera, despite numerous requests from network reporters and producers.

To win its case, BPI must prove that ABC and Avila not only made false statements, but knew the information was false or made the statements with "reckless disregard" for the truth. BPI also must prove that ABC's stories interfered with BPI's business relationships with its customers.

Butswinkas said BPI's three biggest customers -- McDonald's, Burger King and Taco Bell -- had discontinued the use of LFTB in the months prior to ABC's first story because they had their own concerns about the product. Jack in the Box, Waffle House, White Castle and two grocery chains soon followed -- before ABC's story ran. Consumers were becoming concerned about the product's quality.

"BPI's product didn't hold up to the light of many, evidence will show," Butswinkas said.

Before Monday's session ended, BPI called its first witness, Ran Kivetz, a Columbia University marketing professor who studies consumer behavior. He was retained by BPI lawyers to analyze marketing-related issues related to ABC's coverage of LFTB.

Kivetz gave an overview of his findings that ABC's coverage of LFTB, which reached tens of millions of viewers and readers on television and online, contained multiple negative references and implied that the product was not beef, was not safe and had no nutritional value.

Jurors were shown a video of ABC's initial story, and Kivetz was detailing an analysis of it when the trial was concluded for the day.

Testimony will resume at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Maas assaulted his mother on May 12 at her Sioux City home after she refused to go with him to pick up another person. After she offered him money for a cab, he hit her repeatedly in the face and tried to strangle her.
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OMAHA | A South Sioux City woman has been sentenced to more than four years in federal prison on a firearms charge related to drug distribution.

Martha Tapia, 38, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Omaha in January to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug crime.

She was sentenced Monday to 50 months in prison on the gun charge and was sentenced to time already spent in custody on the meth distribution charge.

According to court documents, Tapia and Jose Sandoval possessed and sold more than 50 grams of meth from April 1, 2016, through May 9, 2016. Each of them was carrying a firearm at the time, according to an indictment filed in the case.

Sandoval, 47, of South Sioux City, has pleaded guilty to identical charges and awaits sentencing in July.
"We are there and we are committed" was the regular retort of Secretary of State Dean Rusk during the war in Vietnam.

Whatever you may think of our decision to go in, Rusk was saying, if we walk away, the United States loses the first war in its history, with all that means for Southeast Asia and America's position in the world.

We face a similar moment of decision.

Last Wednesday, a truck bomb exploded near the diplomatic quarter of Kabul, killing 90 and wounding 460. So terrible was the atrocity that the Taliban denied complicity. It is believed to have been the work of the Haqqani network.

This "horrific and shameful attack demonstrates these terrorists' complete disregard for human life and their nihilistic opposition to the dream of a peaceful future for Afghanistan," said Hugo Llordens, a U.S. diplomat in Kabul.

The message the truck bombers sent to the Afghan people? Not even in the heart of this capital can your government keep civilian workers and its own employees safe.

Message to America: After investing hundreds of billions and 2,000 U.S. lives in the 15 years since 9/11, we are further from victory than we have ever been.

President Obama, believing Afghanistan was the right war, and Iraq the wrong war, ramped up the U.S. presence in 2011 to 100,000 troops. His plan: Cripple the Taliban, train the Afghan army and security forces, stabilize the government, and withdraw American forces by the end of his second term.

Obama fell short, leaving President Trump with 8,500 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, and Kabul's control more tenuous than ever. The Taliban hold more territory and are active in more provinces than they have been since being driven from power in 2001. And Afghan forces are suffering casualties at the highest rate of the war.

Stated starkly, the war in Afghanistan is slowly being lost.

Indeed, Trump has inherited what seems to be an unwinnable war, if he is not prepared to send a new U.S. army to block the Taliban from taking power. And it is hard to believe that the American people would approve of any large reintroduction of U.S. forces.

The U.S. commander there, Gen. John Nicholson, has requested at least 3,000 more U.S. troops to train the Afghan army and stabilize the country while seeking a negotiated end to the war.

Trump's conundrum: 3,000 or 5,000 more U.S. troops can at best help the Afghan security forces sustain the present stalemate.

But if we could not defeat the Taliban with 100,000 U.S. troops in country in 2011, we are not going to defeat a stronger Taliban with a U.S. force one-seventh of that size. And if a guerrilla army does not lose, it wins.

Yet it is hard to see how Trump can refuse to send more troops. If he says we have invested enough blood and treasure, the handwriting will be on the wall. Reports that both Russia and Iran are already talking to the Taliban suggest that they see a Taliban takeover as inevitable.

Should Trump announce any timetable for withdrawal, it would send shock waves through the Afghan government, army and society.

Any awareness that their great superpower ally was departing, now or soon, or refusing to invest more after 15 years, would be a psychological blow from which President Ashraf Ghani's government might not recover.

What would a Taliban victory mean?

The Afghan people, especially those who cast their lot with us, could undergo something like what befell the South Vietnamese and Cambodians in 1975. It would be a defeat for us almost as far-reaching as was the defeat for the Soviet Union, when the Red Army was forced to pull out after a decade of war in the 1980s.

For the USSR, that Afghan defeat proved a near-fatal blow.

And if we pulled up stakes and departed, the exodus from Afghanistan would be huge and we would face a moral crisis of how many refugees we would accept, and how many we would leave behind to their fate.

Fifteen years ago, some of us argued that an attempt to remake Afghanistan and Iraq in our image was utopian folly, almost certain, given the history and culture of the entire region, to fail.

Yet we plunged in.

In 2001, it was Afghanistan. In 2003, we invaded and occupied Iraq. Then we attacked Libya and ousted Gadhafi. Then we intervened in Syria. Then we backed the Saudi war to crush the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Given the trillions sunk and lost, and the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, dead, how have we benefited ourselves, or these peoples?

As Rusk said, "We are there and we are committed."

And the inevitable departure of the United States from the Middle East, which is coming, just as the British, French and Soviet empires had to depart, will likely do lasting damage to the American soul.
SPIRIT LAKE, Iowa | The Superior 71 Drive-In Theater north of Spirit Lake isn't boasting, necessarily, in linking its name to an adjective that might describe the movie-going experience you may have.

Rather, Superior, is the name of the township in which this 9-year-old drive-in rises on 10 acres of former crop ground. The site is two miles west of the town of Superior, Iowa, not far from Spirit Lake.

"We began looking for land in 2005," says owner/operator Gaylord Kemp, who hails from about 20 miles away in tiny Alpha, Minnesota. "We looked for land around Jackson and Fairmont, Minnesota, and at several sites along Highway 9 near Spirit Lake. We also tried areas around Estherville."

Kemp and his wife, Pam, finally settled on 10 acres in Superior Township, just east of Highway 71 north of Spirit Lake. When conducting their search, land was often selling for $2,500 to $3,000 per acre.

"Actually, at that time it wasn't a bad price," he says. "Just after the land got re-zoned to be used as a drive-in theater, land prices skyrocketed. A farm around Terril, Iowa, the day we closed on this property went for $10,000 per acre."

Kemp then went to work on developing the former farm tract. He found a 55-foot by 90-foot outdoor movie screen in Estherville. The steel screen was erected in 1979. It now sits in 83 yards of concrete. The viewing area spans 40 feet by 90 feet.

"We built the drive-in during the spring of 2008 and we struggled," Kemp recalls. "It was a very wet spring. We had it built by Labor Day of that year and opened for a few weeks in 2008."

The first shows: "What Happens in Vegas" and "Space Chimp."

Superior 71 Drive-In can handle 366 vehicles parking atop some 900 loads of crushed rock that make up the parking lot, or the movie viewing area. Movie-goers tune their FM radio to 99.9 on the dial to hear the movie. Kemp estimates there are 300 or so drive-in theaters in the United States these days and most, if not all, use sound on an FM transmitter.

A two-story building was erected to handle the projection booth (upper level) and the restrooms/concession stand (lower level). The Kemps employ up to 15 people during peak summer season, June through August. Movies begin showing on Friday and Saturday nights in mid-April before transitioning to shows seven nights per week after Memorial Day.

While the formal parking area is limited to 366 vehicles, Kemp says he can host 500 to 600 cars, parking the excess on grassy areas if those areas are dry and conducive to traffic.

"Since our screen is big enough, you can see a movie 600 feet from the screen," he says.

Gaylord and Pam Kemp worked for more than 30 years at Ag-Co, a manufacturing enterprise in Jackson, Minnesota. Two years ago, Gaylord retired and began directing his energies full-time to the drive-in theater, an enterprise he'd thought about starting ever since he was a boy.

"I practically spent my last 54 years thinking of building a drive-in," he says. "Even as a little kid, my dad and grandparents or aunts and uncles would take us to drive-in theaters. I remember walking across the lot at the old Gay Theater in Worthington, Minnesota, with my hands outstretched way over my head. I'd watch cars come in and see people sitting around excited about being at a movie on a warm summer night."

As a boy, he says, he can remember seeing movies at drive-in theaters in Worthington and Fairmont, in Minnesota; and at Estherville, Spirit Lake, Milford and Spencer, in Iowa.

"I met my wife in the 1970s and we spent lots of time at drive-ins," he says. "But those theaters were hit hard by VCRs. We began losing our drive-in theaters around here."

After seeing all of them close near Jackson, Kemp vowed to resurrect the big outdoor screen.

For the first seven seasons or so, Gaylord Kemp kept working at Ag-Co while running the theater. He's now doing it full time, spending his summer mornings cleaning up the parking lot and his summer evenings jump-starting cars whose batteries die while the movie plays.

"Oh, I'll have to jump-start anywhere from five to 20 cars some night and that's no problem at all," he says. "There are some days where I'll jump-start three or four cars before the first movie begins. I can get people going in a minute."

Pam staffs the concession stand, as do other family members and employees.

Ticket prices, he adds, have remained constant with $8 tickets for those 13 and over, $4 tickets for ages 5-12 and free for those younger than than age 5. Each evening features two films, with the first starting at sundown. In the heat of the summer, he notes, the second movie might not end until 1 a.m.

Kemp attempts to show first-run movies.

"We've not raised concession or ticket prices all these years," he concludes. "And in the last two years, gas prices were down and our patrons began finding out about us through Iowa and Minnesota. We had our best year in 2016, and turned a profit."

Making a ton of money isn't foremost to this owner. Offering a "superior" movie-going experience tops his list.

"It's a perfect retirement business," Gaylord Kemp says. "The drive-in creates an atmosphere everyone enjoys. What kind of job can you work at where people come in and they're all happy because they can relax and watch a movie?"
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.
(EDGE) The mayor of San Luis Obispo, California said the LGBT Pride flag that hung outside her home was burned last Thursday, June 1 - the first day of LGBT Pride Month. Police are investigating the incident as a possible hate crime, The San Luis Obispo Tribune reports.

"When I left my home in the morning, I saw something right in front of my house," Mayor Heidi Harmon told the newspaper last week. "Someone had taken my rainbow flag and burned it."

The rainbow flag wasn't the only thing destroyed in the incident. Harmon said a yard sign with a "super positive" message was cut up.

San Luis Obispo Police Chief Deanna Cantrell said the incident will be reported to the U.S. Department of Justice, which is required by law.

After the incident, police advised Harmon to cancel a press conference last week, where she intended to condemn President Donald Trump's decision to pull the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement. Nevertheless, she told the Tribune she will not "let fear keep me from doing (the work of being mayor)."

She added the vandalism goes against the city's recently approved ordinance "deeming San Luis Obispo as a welcoming and inclusive city."

"This is not that dissimilar to burning a cross on someone's yard," Harmon told the newspaper, adding someone made the effort to "meticulously burn a symbol of civil rights."

She said police have yet to determine if the LGBT Pride flag was burned with intention or a random act of violence.

"There's a level of concern," she said. "That's on my mind as you can imagine, and also the minds of my family members."

She told the Tribune she is disturbed that in 2017 anti-LGBTQ sentiment "is not only still happening but it seems to be ramping up."

Harmon also took to Facebook to discuss the incident. Find her post below.
(EDGE) The "crimes against humanity" case against anti-LGBT hate group leader Scott Lively for his part in the formation of Uganda's "kill the gays" law was dropped in federal district court on Monday. According to Equality Case Files, the court granted a summary judgement in Lively's favor, based on lack of jurisdiction.

The plaintiff in the case, Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), was seeking monetary damages under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS). But, according to the Memorandum and Order issued by the court, it was determined that "ATS provides no jurisdiction over a claim for injuries -- however grievous - - occurring entirely in a foreign country such as Uganda."

Although Lively was able to walk away scot-free from the landmark case, the court did note that his actions were in violation of international law.

"Anyone reading this memorandum should make no mistake," the memorandum and order states. "The question before the court is not whether Defendant's actions in aiding and abetting efforts to demonize, intimidate, and injure LGBTI people in Uganda constitute violations of international law. They do."

Lively was represented in court by the anti-LGBT hate group Liberty Counsel.

As head of the Massachusetts-based anti-LGBT hate group Abiding Truth Ministries, Lively made high-profile visits to Uganda where he met with legislators and government officials before the passage of the African nation's "Kill the Gays" bill. The law, which downgraded the punishment of homosexuality from death to life in prison, was eventually thrown out in court on a technicality.
KELT-9b NASA

A newly discovered Jupiter-like world is so hot, its being vaporized by its own star.



With a dayside temperature of more than 7,800 degrees Fahrenheit (4,600 Kelvin), KELT-9b is a planet that is hotter than most stars. But its blue A-type star, called KELT-9, is even hotter  in fact, it is probably unraveling the planet through evaporation.

This is the hottest gas giant planet that has ever been discovered, said Scott Gaudi, astronomy professor at The Ohio State University in Columbus, who led a study on the topic. He worked on this study while on sabbatical at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California. The unusual planet is described in the journal Nature and at a presentation at the American Astronomical Society summer meeting this week in Austin, Texas.

KELT-9b is 2.8 times more massive than Jupiter, but only half as dense. Scientists would expect the planet to have a smaller radius, but the extreme radiation from its host star has caused the planets atmosphere to puff up like a balloon.

Because the planet is tidally locked to its star  as the moon is to Earth  one side of the planet is always facing toward the star, and one side is in perpetual darkness. Molecules such as water, carbon dioxide and methane cant form on the dayside because it is bombarded by too much ultraviolet radiation. The properties of the nightside are still mysterious  molecules may be able to form there, but probably only temporarily.

Its a planet by any of the typical definitions of mass, but its atmosphere is almost certainly unlike any other planet weve ever seen just because of the temperature of its dayside, Gaudi said.

The KELT-9 star is only 300 million years old, which is young in star time. It is more than twice as large, and nearly twice as hot, as our sun. Given that the planets atmosphere is constantly blasted with high levels of ultraviolet radiation, the planet may even be shedding a tail of evaporated planetary material like a comet.

KELT-9 radiates so much ultraviolet radiation that it may completely evaporate the planet, said Keivan Stassun, a professor of physics and astronomy at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, who directed the study with Gaudi.

But this scenario assumes the star doesnt grow to engulf the planet first.

KELT-9 will swell to become a red giant star in a few hundred million years, said Stassun. The long-term prospects for life, or real estate for that matter, on KELT-9b are not looking good.

The planet is also unusual in that it orbits perpendicular to the spin axis of the star. That would be analogous to the planet orbiting perpendicular to the plane of our solar system. One year on this planet is less than two days.

KELT-9b is nowhere close to habitable, but Gaudi said theres a good reason to study worlds that are unlivable in the extreme.

As has been highlighted by the recent discoveries from the MEarth collaboration, the planet around Proxima Centauri, and the astonishing system discovered around TRAPPIST-1, the astronomical community is clearly focused on finding Earthlike planets around small, cooler stars like our sun. They are easy targets and theres a lot that can be learned about potentially habitable planets orbiting very low-mass stars in general. On the other hand, because KELT-9bs host star is bigger and hotter than the sun, it complements those efforts and provides a kind of touchstone for understanding how planetary systems form around hot, massive stars, Gaudi said.

The KELT-9b planet was found using one of the two telescopes called KELT, or Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope. In late May and early June 2016, astronomers using the KELT-North telescope at Winer Observatory in Arizona noticed a tiny drop in the stars brightness  only about half of one percent  which indicated that a planet may have passed in front of the star. The brightness dipped once every 1.5 days, which means the planet completes a yearly circuit around its star every 1.5 days.

Subsequent observations confirmed the signal to be due to a planet, and revealed it to be what astronomers call a hot Jupiter  the kind of planet the KELT telescopes are designed to spot.

Astronomers at Ohio State, Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and Vanderbilt jointly operate two KELTs (one each in the northern and southern hemispheres) to fill a large gap in the available technologies for finding exoplanets. Other telescopes are designed to look at very faint stars in much smaller sections of the sky, and at very high resolution. The KELTs, in contrast, look at millions of very bright stars at once, over broad sections of sky, and at low resolution.

This discovery is a testament to the discovery power of small telescopes, and the ability of citizen scientists to directly contribute to cutting-edge scientific research, said Joshua Pepper, astronomer and assistant professor of physics at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, who built the two KELT telescopes.

The astronomers hope to take a closer look at KELT-9b with other telescopes  including NASAs Spitzer and Hubble space telescopes, and eventually the James Webb Space Telescope, which is scheduled to launch in 2018. Observations with Hubble would enable them to see if the planet really does have a cometary tail, and allow them to determine how much longer that planet will survive its current hellish condition.

Thanks to this planets star-like heat, it is an exceptional target to observe at all wavelengths, from ultraviolet to infrared, in both transit and eclipse. Such observations will allow us to get as complete a view of its atmosphere as is possible for a planet outside our solar system, said Knicole Colon, paper co-author who was based at NASA Ames Research Center in Californias Silicon Valley during the time of this study.

The study was largely funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) through an NSF CAREER Grant, NSF PAARE Grant and an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. Additional support came from NASA via the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Exoplanet Exploration Program; the Harvard Future Faculty Leaders Postdoctoral Fellowship; Theodore Dunham, Jr., Grant from the Fund for Astronomical Research; and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.

For more information about exoplanets, visit: https://exoplanets.nasa.gov
NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 2 June 2017 - Two Expedition 51 Crew Members Return. NASA

After spending 196 days in space, Expedition 51 crew members Oleg Novitskiy of Roscosmos and Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency) landed their Soyuz MS-03 spacecraft in Kazakhstan at approximately 10:10 a.m. EDT. Russian recovery teams are helping the crew exit the Soyuz vehicle and adjust to gravity after their stay in space.

The duo arrived at the International Space Station on Nov.19, 2016, along with NASAs Peggy Whitson, who will remain on the space station and return home with NASAs Jack Fischer and Roscosmos Fyodor Yurchikhin. That landing is targeted for September.

At the time of undocking, Expedition 52 began aboard the station under Yurchikhins command. Along with Whitson and Fischer of NASA, the three-person crew will operate the station until the arrival of three new crew members. Randy Bresnik of NASA, Sergey Ryazanskiy of Roscosmos, and Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli of ESA are scheduled to launch July 28 from Baikonur, Kazakhstan.

On-Orbit Status Report

SpaceX (SpX)-11 Launch Delay: Yesterdays planned SpX-11 launch was scrubbed due to weather. Launch is now planned for tomorrow, Saturday, June 3 at 4:07pm CDT with capture and berthing on Monday, June 5th at 6:00am CDT. The vehicle will deliver 3,900 pounds of research experiments, food, crew provisions and exercise equipment. Unberth is currently planned for July 2.

49 Soyuz (49S) Undock: 49S, with Thomas Pesquet and Oleg Novitskiy onboard, undocked today at 5:45am CDT and landed in Kazakhstan at 9:10am CDT. The ISS will be in 3-crew operations until the arrival of 51S on July 28.

Orbital 7 (OA-7) Unberth: Due to the delay of SpX-11 launch on Thursday, SpX-11 is planned to berth to the ISS on Monday instead of Sunday. This delay allows OA-7 to unberth on Sunday, June 4 at 8:10am. In preparation, the crew completed a Robotics On-Board Trainer (RoBOT) session to practice 3 release runs.

Human Research Program: With assistance from an operator, blood samples were taken from a 50S crewmember and stowed at ambient temperature for return on 49S. This sample will support the functional Immune investigation which analyzes blood and saliva samples to determine the changes taking place in crewmembers immune systems during flight. Results are expected to provide new insight into the possible health risks of long-duration space travel.

JAXA Protein Crystal Growth (PCG): The crew removed PCG canister bags from the Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF) and canisters from the Protein Crystallization Research Facility (PCRF) in the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) and handed them over to a Russian crewmember for return on 49S. High quality protein crystals were produced in the microgravity environment on the ISS for about 6 weeks from samples provided by Russian and Japanese researchers from universities, national research institutes, and the private sector. The results of this experiment may contribute to the development of drugs for multidrug-resistant bacteria, Alzheimers disease, muscular dystrophy and periodontitis. They will also aid in the development of a blood substitute and biosensor.

Mobile Servicing System (MSS) Operations: Robotics Ground Controllers powered up the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) which was maneuvered to capture the Cygnus Power Video Grapple Fixture (PVGF). SSRMS will stay grappled to Cygnus until Sunday when Cygnus will be unberthed and released.

Todays Planned Activities

All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.

Nitrogen Oxygen Recharge System (NORS) Nitrogen Setup and Initiation.

Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) Recycle Tank Drain

Comm Config for Soyuz 733 Undocking and Descent

Check acommunication from Soyuz via RSA2-S/G2

WHC Urine Receptacle (UR) and Insert Filter (IF) Remove and Replace

Downlink photo of the ??-?? and Soyuz 733 [CA] hatch cover

Soyuz 733 Activation

Disconnecting ??-153? TV Camera from MRM1 TV System

Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) Recycle Tank Drain Part 2

Gathering and Connecting Crew Onboard Support Kit (????) Equipment for MPEG2 TV coverage Removal of Quick Release Screw Clamps (???) and Hatch Closure from MRM1

Multi-purpose Small Payload Rack (MSPR) /Group Combustion Module (GCM) Component Activation

On MCC GO Removal of Quick-Release Screw Clamps from MRM1 side, MRM1-Soyuz 733 interface video

On MCC Go Soyuz-MRM1 Hatch Closure. TV coverage of Hatch Closure

TV coverage Soyuz 733-MRM1 Hatch Closure

Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (RGN) WSTA Fill

On MCC Go Soyuz 733  MRM1 Hatch Leak Check

Long Duration Sorbent Testbed Status Check.

On MCC Go Removal of Quick Release Screw Clamps (???) and Hatch Closure (???) Video Downlink from MRM1 (as necessary)

Internal Audio Subsystem (IAS) Crew Quarter (CQ) Audio Cable Configuration

Crew Onboard Support System (????) Hardware Deactivation and Closing Applications on CP SSC

Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (RGN) WSTA Fill

Connecting TV Camera ??-153? to MRM1 TV System

USOS Window Shutter Close

Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (RGN) WSTA Fill

On-board Training (OBT) Cygnus Robotics Onboard Trainer (ROBoT) Release Session

Monitoring Soyuz undocking, photos of Soyuz 733 docking assembly

Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) Recycle Tank Fill Part 3

Inventory Management System (IMS) Conference

Ghost camera setup in Cupola

Regenerative Environmental Control and Life Support System (RGN) WSTA Fill

On MCC Go Reconfiguring MRM1-SOYUZ PEV to CLOSED position

On-board Training (OBT) Cygnus Review

ISTOCHNIK-M Preparation For Measurements.

ISTOCHNIK-M. Activation of Soyuz 733 Telemetry Recording Mode

ISTOCHNIK-M Closeout Ops

Reminder Rodent Research Thermal Consideration

ISS HAM Radio Power Up

???? normal configuration after T?K landing

Completed Task List Items

None

Ground Activities

All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.

49S undock operations

Cygnus RoBOT training session

Three-Day Look Ahead:

Saturday, 06/03: SpX-11 launch, Cygnus egress/N1 vestibule demate/CPA install

Sunday, 06/04: OA-7 unberth/release

Monday, 06/05: SpX-11 capture/berthing/vestibule outfitting

QUICK ISS Status  Environmental Control Group:

Component  Status

Elektron  On

Vozdukh  Manual

[???] 1  SM Air Conditioner System (SKV1)  Off

[???] 2  SM Air Conditioner System (SKV2)  Off

Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab  Standby

Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3  Operate

Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab  Manual

Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3  Operate

Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA)  Process

Urine Processing Assembly (UPA)  Process

Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab  Full up

Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3  Off
NASA Space Station On-Orbit Status 5 June 2017 - SpaceX Dragon Berthed. NASA

A little over two hours after it was captured by Expedition 52 Flight Engineers Jack Fischer and Peggy Whitson, the unpiloted SpaceX Dragon cargo craft was attached to the Earth-facing side of the Harmony module of the International Space Station.

Ground controllers at Mission Control, Houston reported that Dragon was bolted into place at 12:07 p.m. EDT as the station flew 258 statute miles over central Kazakhstan.

Earlier, the Dragon was grappled by Fischer and Whitson using the Canadarm2 robotic arm at 9:52 a.m. EDT at the completion of a flawless two-day journey for the resupply vehicle following its launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida on Saturday.

The station crew expects to open Dragons hatch later today to begin transferring time-critical scientific experiments. Dragon will remain attached to the complex until July 2, when it will be detached from Harmony and robotically released for its deorbit back into the Earths atmosphere and a parachute-assisted splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

On-Orbit Status Report

SpaceX (SpX)-11 Launch and Berth: SpX-11 launched on Saturday, June 3 at 4:07pm CDT. Capture occurred today at 9:00am CDT followed by berthing at ~11:30m CDT. The crew completed successful pressurization and leak checks, removed Control Panel Assemblies and configured the Dragon vestibule for ingress which is scheduled tomorrow. Robotics ground controllers will translate the Mobile Transporter from Work Site (WS) 4 to WS6 and unstow Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM) in preparation for Dragon trunk unloading tomorrow.

Rodent Research (RR) Transfer Review: Following capture and berthing of SpX-11, the crew prepared for transfer of the mice from Dragon planned for this Wednesday. They reviewed Big Picture words, presentations, videos and reference material and procedures for transferring the animals from the transporter to their habitat. Following the review they completed a conference with ground teams.

Orbital 7 (OA-7) Unberth: OA-7 unberthed from the ISS on Sunday, June 4 at 6:05am CDT with release at 8:10am CDT. The delay of SpX-11 launch on Thursday allowed OA-7 to unberth Sunday. Following departure, Cygnus is supporting two NASA payloads  SAFFIRE III and NRCSD-E prior to re-entry on June 11.

Light Microscopy Module (LMM) Biophysics 3: Yesterday the crew removed Biophysics-3 Plate 1 and placed it into a MERLIN. Investigators will use the results from LMM Biophysics 3 to examine the movement of single protein molecules in microgravity. This investigation is expected to add to scientists understanding of the physical processes that enable high-quality crystals to grow in space where Earths gravity does not interfere with their formation.

Cycle Ergometer with Vibration Isolation and Stabilization (CEVIS) Troubleshooting: Over the weekend the crew performed additional CEVIS troubleshooting utilizing spare cables to check out both control panels. Neither control panel functioned with either cable. The crew returned CEVIS to the temporary configuration using the Contingency Control Panel (CCP) and the spare cable. When using the CCP, the crew must manually dial the resistance and record their exercise information. A spare ergometer, control panel and 2 power cables are scheduled for launch on SpX-12. An additional ground cable and CCP are also being refurbished for flight.

Mobile Servicing System (MSS) Operations: Robotics Ground Controllers used the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) to maneuver the Dragon to and install it on the Node-2 Nadir Active Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM). They then supported the inspection of the Dragon Passive CBM sealing surface. Ground Controllers then captured and bolted Dragon to the ISS. The MSS was subsequently configured to a nominal operations configuration.

Todays Planned Activities

All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.

Hard discs inventory for photo and video recording

Greetings Video Recording

Preparation of Reports for Roscosmos Web Site and Social Media

URAGAN. Observation and photography

ECON-M. Observation and Photography

Preparation for installation of access point of Bel Air in SM.

USOS Window Shutter Close

Closing Window Shutters ?6,8,9,12,13,14 SM.

Crew Command Panel (CCP) Cable Route and Checkout

Repair of hatch suspension [???-??(SM)] in FGB and other suspensions inspection

NanoRacks Module-9 OBT

MERLIN 5 Desiccant Replace

EDV separation with [??].

Photo/TV Ghost Camera in Cupola on SSC power recording

??? maintenance

Robotics Workstation (RWS) Dragon Configuration

Dragon R Bar Approach

EDV separation with [??] Closeout ops

Kurs-P SM cables reconnection from MRM-2 [???] to DC-1 [???].

Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) Dragon Capture

Cleaning SM Port Crew Cabin

Monthly Routine Maintenance of Central Post Laptop. (RS2) Laptop Log-File Downlink.

Laptop RS1 and RS2 activations/deactivations

Node 2 to Dragon Pressurization and Leak Check Equipment Pregather

WORF Monthly Laptop Connect

Cold Stowage Double Cold bag Unpack Review

Robotic Workstation (RWS) High Definition (HD) Monitor Deactivation

Ghost camera teardown in Cupola

Photo TV High Definition (HD) Cygnus Video Setup

Installation of cable 17? 29? 8229?-770 in SM

Rodent Research Transfer Review

Rodent Research Crew Conference

Delta file prep

Crew Command Panel (CCP) Cable Deroute

Node 2 to Dragon Pressurization and Leak Check

Dragon Vestibule Outfitting

Node 2 Nadir Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM) Controller Panel Assembly (CPA) Removal

Completed Task List Items

CEVIS Control Panel Troubleshooting (Completed GMT 154/155)

Atmospheric Control System (ACS) Nitrogen Oxygen Recharge System (NORS) N2 Transfer (Completed GMT 154)

Portable Pulmonary Function System (PPFS) Relocate (Completed GMT 154)

Reentry Device Activation and Deployment for OA-7 (Completed GMT 154)

Stowage Consolidation for SpX-11 (Completed GMT 154)

Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Long Life Battery (LLB) Charging (Completed GMT 154)

Dragon Rendezvous and Proximity Operations Program (RPOP) Setup and Checkout (Completed GMT 155)

AED Inspection (Completed GMT 155)

Photograph Failed Prophonics Earwear (Completed GMT 155)

Ground Activities

All activities were completed unless otherwise noted.

Dragon Approach and Rendezvous Support

MT translate from WS4 to WS6

Three-Day Look Ahead:

Tuesday, 06/06: Dragon ingress, camera setup in N2 for Rodent Research ops, Rodent Research transfer, NanoRacks Platform 1 config for ops

Wednesday, 06/07: Fine Motor Skills, Protein Crystal Growth sample prep, Sprint PFS setup, NanoRacks Module 52 start, Rodent Research transporter stow

Thursday, 06/08: Sprint, Rodent Research ops

QUICK ISS Status  Environmental Control Group:

Component  Status

Elektron  On

Vozdukh  Manual

[???] 1  SM Air Conditioner System (SKV1)  Off

[???] 2  SM Air Conditioner System (SKV2)  Off

Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab  Standby

Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3  Operate

Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab  Manual

Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3  Operate

Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA)  Process

Urine Processing Assembly (UPA)  Process

Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab  Full up

Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3  Off


Cafe remodels are a fact of lifeprovided your cafe has been around long enough to need one.

Age isnt an issue for the Intelligentsia Coffee bar inside Chicagos historic Monadnock Building. The siteonce the worlds largest commercial office buildingis located in Chicagos South Loop area, and began construction in 1891 before undergoing an extensive interior renovation in 1938. Monadnock is today an icon among the citys beloved historic buildings, part of an urban cultural identity that makes Chicago one of the most important architectural cities in the world. (And one of the sturdiest; walls supporting the north part of Monadnock are six feet thick!)

Intelligentsia has had a cafe in a street-level retail space at Monadnock since 2003. Now here in 2017, the space has undergone a stunning remodel overseen by Wheeler Kearns Architects and Intelligentsia. Wheeler Kearns leads on the project were Daniel Wicke and Calli Verkamp, and the space was built by Builtech General Contracting. The remodels overall effect is a duality of sorts, at once contemporary and evocative of yesteryear, looking forward and backward in the same present motion.

The historic Monadnock Building has been owned since 1979 by faithful preservationist William S. Donnell, who reviewed schematic as well as construction documents and was very supportive of the renovation, says Matthew Rose, Intelligentsias Chicago Regional Sales Manager. [Intelligentsias] presence here tells people that the Monadnock Building is a place where things are done right, Donnell tells Sprudge. His restoration work at Monadnock is profiled here by scholar and author Donald L. Miller, whose City of the Century: The Epic of Chicago and The Making of America is a masterwork on Chicago architectural and cultural history.

Intelligentsia Monadnocks original cafe design was modeled on Adolf Loos iconic Cafe Museum in Vienna, coupled with the service style and functional character of Italian espresso bar culture. Wheeler Kearns and Intelligentsia were faced with a sensitive and difficult task: to update and refresh the cafe experience, while respectfully maintaining the spaces place and history on the ground floor of one of Chicagos most architecturally important and historic public buildings.

Rose offered us the following quote from Millers study on the Monadnock Building, as an example of the ethos that helped drive this restoration project:

We have found that everything in the building is quality-oriented, based on practicality and durability, Donnell says, and much of it is elegant. And Donnell likes to remind people that one of the main reasons the facade is plain is because Brooks felt that protruding decorations would collect dirt and attract pigeons, making the building difficult to maintain.

Much of the refreshed spaces inspiration draws from elements already found in the building. For example, the cafes bar wrap plays off the buildings door pulls and trim, while antique mirrors that reflect pendant lights are captured from the buildings pre-war design moment.

Remodeled countertops were cut by metalsmith Virgil Robinson, and designed to withstand a high-moisture cafe environment while evoking the cafes history. We chose materials very considerate of high-use and longevity, says Rose, such as laminate and 1/4 plate stainless steel, specified in pale grays and browns and heavily patinated respectively, in order to stand the test of time while resonating with the 1893 structure. Even the ceilings have been remodeled, swaddled in a French-made fabric insulation that helps dim and soften the cafes ambient noise.

Fabric insulation is all well and good, but what about the coffee? Intelligentsias original Monadnock bar featured a prominent focus on hand-brewed coffee, even hosting occasional siphon bar demos, and this tradition has continued in the remodeled space, where multiple hand-poured coffees will be offered daily, along with more recent innovations like sparkling Kilogram Tea on draft, plus a La Marzocco Strada espresso machine, grinders by Mahlkonig, a Marco Uber Boiler hot water tap, scales by Acaia, kettles by Hario, and more. But in a nod to the timeswhile retaining its retro bonafidesIntelli has also added a massive, impressive Grindmaster Barista Series Urn batch brewer, whose design feels flown in wholesale from the grand cafe and ballroom coffee services of the 20th century. A similar brewer once occupied space at this cafe but has been out of service for the last several years, in favor of an all-by-hand filter coffee program.

History works in phases, and third wave coffee history can feel breathlessly compressed. For Intelligentsia, this cafe remains a symbol of where the brand was in 2003, long before the idea of progressive coffee bars in cultural important buildings was anything close to commonplace. The brand has grown and changed since thenIntelligentsia was acquired by Peets/JAB Holdings in late 2015making longstanding projects like their cafe at Monadnock all the more important for the people charged with their stewardship.

Monadnock is both an icon for Chicago as a building that pioneered modern skyscrapers and 20th-century architecture, and is an icon for Intelligentsia, Rose tells Sprudge. This space has propelled us forward to not only where we are now, but how we hope to continue in the future. But the truth is that the future isnt written yet. Timeless buildings like Monadnock span generations, and are bigger than any single owner, any firm or brand. Being part of something bigger than yourself demands humility, and the daily business of existing in a space like this places you not as a cafe owner, not as a barista, but as a historical actor, part of a daisy chain of urban life that stretches back centuries.

This cafe doesnt belong to Intelligentsia, just as the Monadnock Building does not belong to any one tenant or visitor. It belongs to Chicago now.

Jordan Michelman is a co-founder and editor at Sprudge Media Network. Read more Jordan Michelman on Sprudge.

All photos by Andrew Klass for Intelligentsia. Photos appear courtesy of Intelligentsia.
Grand River Raceway hosted its eighth annual Local Biz Night on June 5, and the Arrived Late put a smile on the faces of the staff in attendance from Motion Electrical Contracting Ltd.

The popular event saw more than 60 people from 16 local businesses matched with a horse in race seven. Motion Electrical Contracting Ltd. was paired with the eventual winner Arrived Late. The Fergus, ON company received a trophy to display in their workplace, plus and a staff party for 20 at Grand River Raceway.

Bob McClure piloted the post time favourite to a one-and-a-half length victory in 1:57.1. It was the pacers 17th career win and fifth this year. Craig Gilmour trains Arrived Late for owners Brett Wright of Hamilton and Connor Wright of Dundas.

Local Biz Night is a joint-effort between the raceway, the OLG Slots at Grand River Raceway and the Centre Wellington Chamber Of Commerce.

Click here for photos from the event.

Twomacsonemach took home top honours in the $11,000 Preferred 2 for horse and gelding pacers. Bob McClure rolled the Richard Moreau to the lead and after whacking out fractions of :28.2, :58 and 1:26.2 the gelding scooted home in :28.3 to win by half a length over race favourite Don Mcwhite in 1:55. Third prize went to They Call Me Gordy.

Sent off at odds of 6-1, the four-year-old son of Mach Three-Grace And Harv won for the fourth time this season and for the 12th time in his career. The winner of $94,405 is owned by Gerrie Tucker of Montreal, QC and Majs NY Inc of Woodbury, NY.

Grande Seelster wired up the foes he faced in the $7,500 Preferred 3 for horse and gelding pacers. Again it was Bob McClure chopping out splits of :28.3, :58.4 and 1:27.1 before getting his charge to step home in :28.3 to win by 3-1/4 lengths over Lets Wait And See in 1:55.4. Taking home the show dough was Who Doesnt.

Trainer Bryan Lawrence co-owns the nine-year-old son of Camluck-Glendale Kim with Stuart Lawrence and Smurk Inc. It was the fifth win of the year for the 35-time winner. His share of the loot lifted his lifetime earnings to $314,006.

Racing continues at Grand River Raceway on Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights at 6:30 p.m.

(With files from Grand River Raceway)

To view results for Monday's card of harness racing, click the following link: Monday Results  Grand River Raceway.
The connections of 25 three-year-old pacers have entered their charges to contest the $50,000 Pepsi North America Cup eliminations, which will be the focal point of this Saturday evenings (June 10) live program at Mohawk Racetrack.

Saturdays NA Cup elims have been carded as Race 3 (8:10 p.m.), Race 8 (9:50 p.m.) and Race 9 (10:10 p.m.). The entry total of 25 is the largest number of entries received for the Pepsi North America Cup since 2010 (30). Mohawks Saturday card will kick off with a first-race post time of 7:30 p.m.

The top three finishers from each of Saturdays elims  plus one fourth-place finisher, drawn by lot  will advance to the $1 million Pepsi North America Cup final, which will be contested on Saturday, June 17 at Mohawk, located in Campbellville, Ont.

Many of the colts and gelding that have been entered to contest the NA Cup elims prepped over Mohawk last weekend in the Somebeachsomewhere Stakes. For a complete recap of the Somebeachsomewhere Stakes, which includes race replays, click here.

The first of the NA Cup elims will feature the horse that many consider the favourite to capture the Cup  the Somebeachsomewhere colt Downbytheseaside (PP4, David Miller), who is heading into the elims as a force to be reckoned with. Trained by Brian Brown and driven by David Miller, the accomplished bay has won 11 of his 16 career starts and has always hit the board (including three show and two place finishes). The career winner of more than $833,000 in purses has come out of the gate in fantastic form this year, as he is a perfect three for three and is fresh off of a sweep of the Art Rooney Pace at Yonkers Raceway, which took place late last month. Downbytheseaside is owned by Country Club Acres Inc. (Findlay, OH), Joe Sbrocco, (Brecksville, OH), Richard Lombardo (Solon, OH) and Diamond Creek Racing (Wellsville, PA).

The second elim will be headlined by another top colt that many believe has what it takes to win it all  the Ray Schnittker-trained and Tim Tetrick-driven Somebeachsomewhere colt Huntsville (PP2, Tim Tetrick). Huntsville is heading into the NA Cup eliminations in fine form. The winner of nine of 14 career starts last went postward on June 1 at Harrahs Philadelphia during Pennsylvania Sire Stakes action. With Tetrick at the helm, the duo left from Post 7, whacked out all the speed (:26.3, :54.2 and 1:21.4) and capped off the performance with a :27.1 final frame. The win time was 1:49 and the margin of victory was more than seven lengths. Schnittker (of Middletown, NY) and Charles Iannazzo (Tappan, NY) bred the colt, and the duo co-owns along with Ted Gewertz (New York, NY) and Steven Arnold (Purchase, NY). Huntsville has won two of his three starts thus far this season.

On paper, the third elim looks like it could be a real dogfight, as Macs Jackpot, Hurricane Beach and Fear The Dragon are all slated to mix it up.

The Jim Campbell-trained and David Miller-driven Macs Jackpot (PP1, David Miller) stepped up and showed that he was an NA Cup contender last week in the Somebeachsomewhere Stakes. The gelding shrugged off his Post 9 start, raced hard from the back of the pack through solid fractions, and closed hard in the lane to get up for a neck victory in 1:51.4. The bay son of Somebeachsomewhere is a homebred of his New York, NY-based owner, Jeffrey Snyder.

After having been lightly raced at two, and having worked his way up through the conditioned ranks this season, the Luc Blais-trained Hurricane Beach (PP2, Louis-Philippe Roy) was strong last weekend in his division of the Somebeachsomewhere Stakes. Driver Louis-Philippe Roy sent the gelded bay to the lead from Post 9, and the son of Somebeachsomewhere cut all the fractions en-route to a four-length, 1:50.3 victory. Hurricane Beach, who was a $230,000 purchase, is owned by the Determination stable of Montreal, Que.

Its safe to say that Dragon Again colt Fear The Dragon (PP7, David Miller) will have some of his rivals looking over their shoulders on Saturday, as the fleet-footed bay has won nine of his 15 career starts and has never missed the board. Trained by Brian Brown and driven by David Miller, Fear The Dragon has not lost a race since last October. He has been a perfect four for four thus far in 2017, and the last three of his wins have come against Pennsylvania Sire Stakes competition. Fear The Dragon, who is owned by Emerald Highlands Farm (Mount Vernon, OH), looks to be in fine form heading into the NA Cup elims, as he has posted back to back 1:49.1 wins.

For free, printable program pages for Mohawks Saturday card, courtesy of TrackIT, click here.

To view the harness racing entries for Saturday at Mohawk, click the following link: Saturday Entries  Mohawk Racetrack.

Elimination 1 (Race 3)

(Post  Horse  Driver  Trainer)

1. Lawrencetown Beach (Paul MacDonell  Paul MacDonell)

2. Ideal Wheel (Louis Philippe Roy  Casie Coleman)

3. Western Hill (Doug McNair  Tony Alagna)

4. Downbytheseaside (David Miller  Brian Brown)

5. Some Attitude (Tim Tetrick  Bob McIntosh)

6. Eddard Hanover (Matt Kakaley  Ron Burke)

7. Sports Column (Chris Christoforou  Blake MacIntosh)

8. Stealth Bomber (Brett Miller  Tony OSullivan)

Elimination 2 (Race 8)

(Post  Horse  Driver  Trainer)

1. Arsenal Seelster (Jonathan Drury  Colin Johnson)

2. Huntsville (Tim Tetrick  Ray Schnittker)

3. Beckhams Z Tam (Ricky Macomber Jr.  Jamie Macomber)

4. Classic Pro (Trevor Henry  Dr. Ian Moore)

5. Ozone Blue Chip (Brett Miller  Ron Coyne)

6. Normandy Beach (Yannick Gingras  Ron Burke)

7. Beyond Delight (Sylvain Filion  Tony OSullivan)

8. Miso Fast (Matt Kakaley  Ron Burke)

9. Richard Hill (Doug McNair  Richard Moreau)

Elimination 3 (Race 9)

(Post  Horse  Driver  Trainer)

1. Macs Jackpot (Tim Tetrick  Jim Campbell)

2. Hurricane Beach (Louis Philippe Roy  Luc Blais)

3. Filibuster Hanover (Matt Kakaley  Ron Burke)

4. McMach (Paul MacDonell  Bob McIntosh)

5. Darlings Dragon (Donald Dupont  Marie Dupont)

6. Ocean Colony (Yannick Gingras  Jimmy Takter)

7. Fear The Dragon (David Miller  Brian Brown)

8. Streakavana (Sylvain Filion  Scott McEneny)
The Ontario Equestrian Federation and Equine Guelph are pleased to announce yet another level of partnership in order to help address the needs of the horse industry.

The OEF Member Equine Research Fund is a revolution in helping horses for life by funding ground-breaking research. The unique annual program brings members into the fold in a program that stands to further best practices in equine healthcare. $1.50 per OEF membership fee is being paid to Equine Guelph to fund research. It is less than a cup of coffee, but collectively the funding adds up and can really make a difference in the lives of horses.

The Ontario Equestrian Federation is pleased to report over $23,000 has been raised so far in this new initiative, "And that number should be approximately $33,000 by the end of the year, based on our membership targets for 2017," remarked Tracey McCague-McElrea, OEF executive director. "When we all work together and maximize the resources we have available, it is amazing what we can do as a community. I applaud our members for embracing this initiative." The OEF is committed to horse welfare as well as providing support for over 22,000 members of the equine community in Ontario.



OEF Executive Director Tracey McCague with Equine Guelph Director Gayle Ecker (Photo courtesy Brandon Hall)

Ontario Veterinary College Dean Jeffrey Wichtel says, "The new OEF Member Equine Research Fund will provide stimulus to drive research that stands to improve the overall health and well-being of horses." Equine Guelph has been disseminating research findings, in the form of lay summaries, and making this information available to all facets of the equine industry since its inception in 2003.

"OEF has been a proud supporter in the past of research conducted at the University of Guelph," says Dr. Jeff Thomason, co-chair of the Equine Guelph research committee. "The OEF contribution will be applied to the next round of research funding, but 2 recently funded projects illustrate the range of possible and practical uses for that contribution."

OVC researcher, Dr. Alex zur Linden is creating 3-D print outs of equine joints for training vets to use ultrasound to safely guide the needle in joint injections. In the Ontario Agricultural College, Dr. Katrina Merkies is investigating the effects of steaming or soaking hay for horses. Merkies will be studying effects including feeding behaviour and impact on nutrient density.

"I commend the Ontario Equestrian Federation on their initiative in developing this successful funding program to support Equine Guelph's horse health programs and hope that the example they have set encourages other Provincial Sport Organizations and Breed Associations to take up the challenge and do the same," says Al Patterson, Equine Guelph Advisory Council co-chair.

"Equine Guelph thanks the OEF and its members for their contributions," says Gayle Ecker, director of Equine Guelph. "The equine community is bound together by common beliefs and aims when it comes to taking the best possible care of our horses. We welcome all horse associations to consider a similar membership program to become involved in the funding equine research which helps horses for life".

(Equine Guelph)
SAT-7 PARS Doubles its Potential Audience as it Launches on New Satellite

Contact: Ty Mays 770-256-8710EASTON, Md., June 6, 2017 / Standard Newswire / -- Persian Christian TV-channel SAT-7 PARS is now live on Yahsat, which is one of the most viewed satellite platforms in Iran. Yahsat has attracted an estimated 10 million viewing households in the country.Photo: Persian Christian TV-channel SAT-7 PARS is now live on Yahsat, which is one of the most viewed satellite platforms in Iran. Yahsat has attracted an estimated 10 million viewing households in the country."This has been our dream for several years, as Yahsat is an increasingly popular satellite with Iranians and will enable us to interact with a whole new audience in Iran and other parts of Central Asia," says SAT-7 PARS Senior Manager Panayiotis Keenan.Increasing SAT-7 PARS' audienceYahsat has attracted an estimated 10 million TV households in Iran out of the 20 million homes with access to satellite TV, and has rapidly become one of the most prevalent satellites for Farsi speakers.Yahsat provides a focused, high-power beam specifically on Iran and Afghanistan  one that requires a much smaller, cheaper and less-conspicuous dish than would typically be required for other satellites. Furthermore, because of the quality and variety of Farsi-speaking channels that Yahsat offers, they have established themselves as the increasingly popular choice for families to point their dish at.The only Christian channel"By broadcasting on Yahsat, we have a whole new viewership; industry data indicates that it probably doubles the number of potential viewers for SAT-7 PARS in Iran," explained SAT-7 Founder and CEO, Dr. Terence Ascott."In addition, there are no other Christian channels on this satellite, and so this is actually quite a unique and special opportunity for us."Moving to Yahsat will also allow the channel to provide a better-quality picture, and even upgrade to High Definition (HD) in the future. The addition of Yahsat also doubles the number of hours of Farsi SAT-7 PARS can broadcast each day, opening the window for broadcasting many new types of programs."At the moment, we are mirroring the same schedule that we have on our channel on the Hotbird satellite, but our eventual plan is to have a different schedule for Yahsat," shares Keenan. The different schedules will allow more choice for the viewers that have the capability to watch SAT-7 PARS on both the Yahsat and Hotbird satellites.SAT-7 ethos and characterSAT-7 PARS has been broadcasting for 10 years on the Hotbird satellite to a wide audience in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, the rest of the Middle East and also Europe - as well as online to Farsi-speakers living around the world.SAT-7's positive, politically and culturally sensitive Christian programming has won the trust of many in the region, and this is believed to be the main reason that it could now broadcast on Yahsat. SAT-7 PARS will also contribute to the expanding range of choices for the viewers of Yahsat.Launched in 1996, with its international headquarters in Cyprus, SAT-7 broadcasts Christian satellite television to an audience of at least 21 million people in the Middle East and North Africa. SAT-7 broadcasts in Arabic, Farsi and Turkish languages on four channels.
Calling All Children to Pray: North Korean Children Need to Meet Jesus

Contact: Rachel Hamel, Corporate Communications Manager,636-456-4321 ext 1177WARRENTON, Mo., June 6, 2017 / Standard Newswire / -- Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) is calling on Christians worldwide, especially children, to pray that God will throw open the doors of North Korea to Good News Clubs (GNCs). Good News Clubs are illegal in North Korea; however, CEF has a strategy in place and is ready to enter the country with ministry when the doors open.Children are meeting Jesus in over 74,000 Good News Clubs around the world, being discipled in the Word of God and getting connected with churches. But it is illegal to share the Gospel in North Korea. Pray that God will make a way for boys and girls in North Korea to learn about Jesus through Good News Club. One day Good News Clubs will be meeting in North Korea and all glory will go to God. How encouraging it will be when children around the globe see how God answered their prayers for GNCs in this country!The eyes of the world are on North Korea. "God has given me a strong burden to mobilize millions of boys and girls around the world to pray for the children in North Korea," says Reese Kauffman, president of CEF. These children need, "to be able to attend a Good News Club and hear about Jesus." Children in Ghana, Senegal, Cuba, USA, and all over the World are fervently praying for the children of North Korea. Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 19:14). God will make a way for boys and girls in North Korea to learn about Jesus through Good News Club.Digital resources to encourage children in your church with the urgent call to pray for the children of North Korea are available upon request. For more information about Good News Club visit www.goodnewsclub.com Child Evangelism Fellowship is an international, nonprofit, Christian ministry that has been teaching the Bible to children since 1937. CEF has 400 offices in the USA and is organized in most nations of the world, with over 3,400 paid staff and hundreds of thousands of volunteers. In its last ministry year, CEF ministered to over 20 million children in its face-to-face teaching ministries.
My crystal ball CB said that the war in Ukraine will end by March 2023. Why? - Ukraine does not want to continue fighting, as most of thei...
IANS

Apple on Monday launched a bunch of refinements on all its four platforms -- tvOS, watchOS, macOS and iOS -- at this year's annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) with iOS 11, watchOS 4 and updates to its Mac line of desktops and notebooks.

The event started with Apple CEO welcoming the audience at the 15th WWDC in San Jose, the heart of Silicon Valley where Apple is building its new campus.

Before making the announcements, Cook said that this year "it is going to be the best and biggest WWDC ever."

Cook also praised the Apple developer community which has 16 million registered developers and added three million last year.

He announced that Amazon's video app will come to Apple's TV streaming box later this year. The app will let users stream all the Amazon original hits.

Soon after the announcement, Amazon tweeted, "You asked (a lot). We listened. Amazon Prime Video is coming to the TV App and all Apple TVs this year."

Apple also announced that watchOS 4, the next version of its smartwatch platform, will be arriving in September. It includes new features for watch faces, such as complications updating based on time of day or location and a new Siri-based watch face.

The Siri watch face uses machine learning to determine what information is most useful to you at a given point in time.

Other new watch faces include a kaleidoscope and new characters such as Woody, Jesse, and Buzz from the Toy Story movie franchise.

WatchOS 4 will also bring updates to the watch's fitness tracking, including a new user interface for the workout app and new integrations with gym equipment manufacturers.

Apple said that watch wearers will be able to link their devices with the gym equipment through NFC.

Next up in tech is Apple's new version of macOS is called High Sierra which is launched with new Safari browser.

Apple said that it is the fastest browser ever with features like autoplay blocking, intelligent tracking prevention that uses machine learning to block irritating content.

Apple also brought file system and virtual reality (VR) to High Sierra.

The tech titan also announced updates to its entire MacBook line giving its laptops more powerful specifications in the form of the latest Intel chips.

MacBook Pros will be shipped with Intel's Kaby Lake processors and faster SSDs. The company also launched a new configuration of the 13-inch MacBook Pro without a Touch Bar that starts at a cheaper $1,299.

The newly updated MacBook laptops are now available.

Apple also showed a sneak peek into a new all-in-one desktop called the iMac Pro.

Called as "the most powerful Mac ever, the new product will be available from December starting at $4,999.

The new machine will come with an 8-core Xeon processor, with configurations that scale up to an 18-core Xeon processor and an all-new AMD Radeon Vega graphics GPU, up to 16 GB of VRAM and up to 4 TB for SSD storage.

Cook also launched iOS 11 with over 10 new features. He said that iOS 10 had nearly 96 per cent satisfaction with 86 per cent iPhone users installing the update as compared to only seven per cent Android users who installed Android Nougat - the latest version of Google's operating system.

The new iOS will now synchronise messages across iOS and macOS automatically. If a user erases a message on your iPhone or iPad, that will be reflected on the Mac as well.

Apple also made improvements to Siri including making the assistant's voice sound more natural when responding to users.

Siri will now be able to perform translations in various languages including English, Chinese, French, German, Italian and Spanish.
PTI

China has successfully tested a solid-fuel variable flow Ramjet engine which could enhance the real combat ability of the country's stealth aircraft and boost firing range of missiles, official media reported today. A team from No. 4 research institute affiliated with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) disclosed on May 31 that it has successfully conducted two flight tests with the Ramjet engine, state-run Global Times reported.

The solid-fuel Ramjet engine is a member of the Ramjet engine family, which has the advantage of low-cost, high-power, and high controllability with compact size, the report said.The team said the new Ramjet engine is ready for further engineering application, paving the way for China's next generations of hypersonic missiles it quoted Science and Technology Daily as reporting. It is hardly accessible in the world as it demands sophisticated and highly difficult research on technology.

The new engine can remarkably increase the firing range and mobility for air-to-air missiles and anti-ship missiles equipped with China's stealth aircraft including the J20 jet fighters, Song Zhongping, a military expert who used to serve in the PLA Rocket Force, told the Global Times.The engine will enable the J20 fighters to fire from greater range and the missiles to fly faster at a

The engine will enable the J20 fighters to fire from greater range and the missiles to fly faster at a hypersonic speed, which will increase their combat ability, Song said. It is a milestone in the field of engine research, which has been a bottleneck for China for quite a while, Li Jie, a based military expert, said.

Once the engine achieves miniaturisation, it will very likely enable China's air-to-air missiles to strike targets up to 300 km at a speed faster than March 5, Song said, adding that the engine can be applied to China's latest missiles including PL12 missiles.

A lot of research needs to be done in the future to achieve that. For example, China should also conduct research on building up a super range detection network to support such a long-range strike, and the precision guiding system should be capable of processing information at super high speeds, Wang Ya'nan, chief editor of the Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told the Global Times.At present, such an engine will be mainly used on missiles, as for the manned aircraft, there is still a long way to go, since the thrust of such engines

At present, such an engine will be mainly used on missiles, as for the manned aircraft, there is still a long way to go, since the thrust of such engines is still not enough for that, Song said.Cruise missiles and experimental aircraft including drones can also adopt such technology to realise high-speed travel within the atmosphere, Wang said.
IANS

Allegations over the use of "abusive language and obscene remarks" against officials of a government regulatory body on a 'Whatsapp' group landed 13 commercial pilots employed with leading domestic airlines in trouble on Tuesday. According to Delhi Police, the civil aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) filed a complaint against 34 pilots, of whom 13 were summoned for examining the veracity of allegations.

"We have received a complaint by DGCA and are examining the matter. No arrest has been made yet," Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Chinmoy Biswal said adding that the questioning took place on Tuesday afternoon. The 13 pilots, some of whom belonged to airlines like Jet Airways, IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir, were let off after questioning. However, their mobile phones were being examined by a team of IT experts.

Apart from the original complaint, the DGCA is said to have also submitted to the officers at Lodhi Road police station a "screen shot" of the usage of objectionable, obscene language. "The text used in the message was highly objectionable, unpardonable and obscene language was used against family members of DGCA officials," a senior DGCA official said. "Unconditional apology has come from respective airline managements."

On their part, the airlines which employ these pilots have said that they are fully cooperating with the police over the examination of charges. "We are looking into the charges and extending full cooperation to DGCA in this matter. Basis the findings of our internal enquiry, we will take appropriate action," a spokesperson for IndiGo said. Jet Airways said: "The airline is extending its full cooperation to the authorities. "Jet Airways will take appropriate measures, where necessary, as per the company policy and in compliance with local law," a spokesperson for the airline said.
IANS

The Karnataka government on Monday said it is contemplating legal aid to information technology sector employees in the state after they called for action to stop "illegal" layoffs in this crucial service industry.

"Some members of the employees' associations met me today (Monday). I assured them of all help. I advised them to bring all representatives of IT employees associations to the next meeting to discuss their problems," Information and Technology Minister Priyank M. Kharge said.

The Forum for IT Employees members met the Minister at Vikasa Soudha here and appealed to him to intervene to stop, what they called, "illegal layoffs by IT companies". The forum claimed 56,000 layoffs across the country. "I told them I need to talk with all stakeholders before taking a decision. I will talk to the employers as well as staff representatives. I cannot take a decision without holding talks with all stakeholders," the Minister said.

He said he advised the Forum for IT Employees to help the state government understand their problems. "The state government has no legal power to intervene in this matter but that doesn't stop the government from looking at options to mitigate IT employees' problems," Kharge said.

Rajesh Natarajan of the Forum for IT Employees Bengaluru Chapter said they had submitted a petition seeking reconsideration of the state government's decision to exempt IT companies from the purview of labour laws and bring IT companies under the Industrial Disputes Act. "We urged him to take steps to prevent arbitrary layoffs by IT companies. Around 56,000 IT sector employees have lost their jobs across the country," Natarajan said.

He said the Minister has not fixed any time for the next meeting. "We will prepare a list of our demands and submit to him in the next meeting," he said.
tech2 News Staff

Chinese mobile phone giant Xiaomi, is in the works to expand its offline business after Manu Jain, VP Xiaomi, announced the company's plans to open 100 retail stores in India. The first of these stores opened in Bengaluru and was met with tremendous success on the very first day. The offline outlet called as Mi Home is already established in a number of stores in China and other south Asian countries.

The company has planned to open retail stores in the cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai. Xiaomi also has plans to increase the number of service centres to 500 from 225.

The Chinese firm had forayed into India through the online route, which contributes over 90 percent of its sales in India. Xiaomi has now become the top most player in the online market with an immense share at 41 percent and a 14.2 percent share in the overall market in the first quarter of 2017. They have also crossed $1 billion in revenue over the past one year. The bulk of Xiaomis profits come from their flagship series of Redmi phones.

The company had setup its second manufacturing plant in India and would be open to setting up more facilities if the demand for its products continues.
Lenovo announced the launch of its extensive 2017 Think product line powered by 7th Generation Intel Core i7 Processors. The new 2017 range of ThinkPads, ThinkCentres and TIOs comes with significant technology breakthroughs making it an unparalleled portfolio of business machines.

Rahul Agarwal, Managing Director & CEO, Lenovo India said, The Think brand in essence has continuously and constantly redefined the boundaries of business PCs. These machines have always been synonymous with toughness, reliability, and performance. Over the years, with changing business needs and increased need for mobility as well as security, these machines have evolved to provide a more rounded offering without losing their core value proposition. With the new Intel processor coupled with our legendary Think product attributes, this latest range is equipped to meet the critical and evolving business requirements.

Building on Lenovo Thinks legendary attributes the technological upgrades of this new range solves some of the pertinent problems that enterprise PC users face. One of the biggest enterprise asks from a PC is data security, where Think has always been an industry leader. But the changing business dynamics seek a lot more than that from a PC. Today, a PC not only has to be sturdy, but also thinner and lighter, without compromising on screen resolution, sound quality and the visual experience. Most importantly the PC has to deliver superlative performance. With the inclusion of the latest 7th Generation Intel Core i7 Processors the performance of this latest range of enterprise machines sets an all new industry benchmark.

Lenovos latest 2017 range reinforces the companys endeavour to consistently innovate and address dynamic requirements of customers. Some of the key technology innovations include: Lenovo Smartbeep Technology for troubleshooting identification; new antenna design with engineered Wi-Fi and WWAN; infrared camera for facial recognition with Windows Hello for secure log-in; Fingerprint reader with Dedicated Chip; Low Temperature Solder (LTS) manufacturing process for improved system reliability and a lower emission footprint; low blue Light technology to prevent eye fatigue; a new wave keyboard for the best Tablet mode experience and protection from smudges; Windows Signature Image for assured speed and performance among others.

ThinkPad X1 Carbon  15 hours of battery life for extended time away  Starting at INR. 1, 23,000

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ThinkPad X270  Ultralight and great battery life  Starting at INR. 89,600

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ThinkPad L470  Great performance and legendary reliability  Starting at INR. 67,900

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ThinkPad T470  Rugged design and solid-state storage  Starting at INR. 88,600

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Easy to use, deploy, and service, this robust laptop has cutting-edge technology

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Dedicated to the Restoration of Progressive Democracy
Ex-CJ Latifur Rahman passes away

Former Chief Justice and former Chief Adviser of Caretaker Government Latifur Rahman died of old age complications at a hospital in the capital early Tuesday.



He was 81.



He breathed his last at Samorita Hospital, said BNP chairperson's media wing member Shairul Kabir Khan.



He left behind his wife and three daughters and many well wishers.



BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia and its Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir have expressed deep sorrows at the demise of the former Chief Adviser.



They expressed their condolences in separate messages, said Shairul Kabir Khan.



Latifur Rahman was born in Jessore on 1 March 1936.



In 1979, he became the Justice as temporary basis in the High Court Division in Bangladesh.



In 1981, he became the permanent Justice in the same court division.



On 15 January 1991, he became the Justice of Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. Later, he became the Chief Justice on 1 January 2000. He retired on 28 February 2001.



He was the chief adviser of the 2001 (15 July 2001 to 10 October 2001) caretaker government that oversaw the eighth parliamentary election in Bangladesh. -- Dhaka, June 6 (UNB)
Creating awareness on protecting planet stressed

Staff Reporter, Kishoreganj :

Kishoreganj District Administration arranged a colourful rally, discussion, postering and documentary flim making the World Enviroment Day on Monday.

A discussion on connecting people to nature held at local collectorate conference room on Monday morning.

Deputy Commissioner Md. Azimuddin Biswas attended as chief guest while ADC (General) & Deputy Secretary Torafder Md. Akhter Jamil in the chair.

It was addressed among others by ADC (Education & ICT) Golam Md. Bhuiyan, Sadar UNO Abdullah-al-Masud, Principal Professor Md. Rafiqul Islam Khan, Sanak Convenor Saiful Haque Mollah Dulu, CAB President Alam Sarowar Tito, Hindu Kallan Trusti Lipu Roy, Freedom Fighter Unit Deputy Commander Md. Abdul Mannan and Ganatantree Party District President Advocate Dholon Bhomik. A colourfull rally brought out in the town marking the day.

Gouripur( Mymensingh) Correspondent says: The World environment day was observed in Gouripur upazila of Mymensingh district in a befitting manner on Monday.

The theme is of the day was "Connecting People to Nature- in the city and on the land, from the poles to the equator".

To observe the day, Upazila Administration organised a rally in the town . The rally led by Margina Akter, UNO of Gouripur upazila was brought out from Gouripur Upazila Office premises and terminated at the same place after parading the main roads of the town.

BSS from Rajshahi reports: Speakers at a discussion here on Monday called for creating awareness about wildlife and importance of protecting environment from further degradation for the sake of survival of all the living beings.

They viewed that the environment has been facing a serious threat due to various natural and manmade calamities posing identical threat to the planet Earth.

The Department of Environment (DoE) and District Administration jointly organized the discussion at Shilpakala Academy auditorium in observance of the World Environment Day-2017. "Connecting People to Nature" was the main theme of the day.

Commissioner of Rajshahi Division Noor-Ur-Rahman and Additional Commissioner Aminul Islam addressed the discussion as chief and special guests respectively with Helal Mahmud Sharif, Deputy Commissioner of Rajshahi, in the chair.

Additional Commissioner of Rajshahi Metropolitan Police Sarder Tamij Uddin Ahmed and Additional Deputy Inspector General of Police Masudur Rahman Bhuiyan also spoke.

Chief Guest Noor-Ur-Rahman said emphasis should be given on providing positive incentives for the reduction of emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and enhancing biodiversity conservation as well as promoting sustainable development goals of the region.

He called for creating awareness among all concerned including the younger generations and massive tree plantation to prevent environmental degradation that severely threatens existence of the whole planet, its habitation and civilization.

School, college and university level students need to acquire proper knowledge about the importance of biodiversity, natural resource conservation and climate change issues so that they can contribute to this field.

Importance should be given on capacity building to address climate change in the region with special reference to conservation of drought tolerant species.

BSS from Rangpur says: Massive tree plantation could play a key role to reduce environmental degradation being caused by the changing climate threatening life and livelihood on this planet, its habitation and civilisation.

The opinion came on Monay at a discussion jointly organised by the district administration and Department of Environment (DoE) at Town Hall auditorium to observe the World Environmental Day- 2017 here with the theme of 'Connecting people to nature.'

Elaborate programmes, including rallies, painting competitions for children on environment, distribution of saplings, tree plantation, distribution of prizes and cultural functions, were chalked out in observance of the day.

A huge rally, participated by government and NGO officials, environmentalists, students, teachers, politicians, professionals, civil society members, community leaders and elite, was brought out in the city streets.

Divisional Commissioner Kazi Hassan Ahmed formally inaugurated observance of the day by releasing balloon and attended the discussion as the chief guest.

Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Wahiduzzaman presided over the discussion.

Additional Deputy Inspector General of Police for Rangpur Range Bashir Ahmed, Acting President of district Awami League (AL) Mamtaz Uddin Ahmed, General Secretary of city AL Tushar Kanti Mandal, Additional Police Super Fazle Elahi, addressed as special guests.

In his welcome speech, Akhteruzzaman Tuku narrated the ongoing environmental degradation being caused by climate change due to global warming and steps taken by the government to cope with the situation.

Mamtaz Uddin Ahmed laid importance on reducing emission of industrial smokes, release of poisonous wastes, indiscriminate felling of trees and ensuring better water and waste management to reduce environmental degradation for a safer planet.

BSS from Khulna reports: Different organization here observed on Monday the World Environment Day-2017 in befitting manner with the theme 'Connecting people to nature'.

Marking the day, a discussion meeting with a slogan 'I am with nature' held at the conference room of the deputy commissioner (DC) of Khulna with DC Amin UL Ahsan in the chair. Jointly organised by the Directorate of Environment (DoE), Divisional and District administration of Khulna, Khulna divisional commissioner Md. Abdus Samad addresed the meeting as the chief guest while chairman of Khulna Zila Parishad Sheikh Harun-ur-Rashid,addressed as special guest.

Professor of Environment Science Discipline of Khulna University(KU) Professor Dr. Dilip Kumar Dutta and Professor S M Tariqul Islam of Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET) attended as main discussant while director of the Directorate of Environment(DoE) Md. Habibul Haque delivered the welcome speech. The speakers called upon the meeting that every citizen should become aware in preventing environmental degradation to save the human civilisation on the earth from unthinkable catastrophes. Narrating the severe consequences of environmental degradation being caused by climate change due to global warming, the speakers called upon all to work together.

BSS from Gaibandha, adds: The World Environment Day-2017 was observed in the district as elsewhere in the country and the globe on Monday with a call to make contributions to the preservation of environment and biodiversity.

This year's theme of the day is: Connecting People to the Nature.

Marking the day, a discussion meeting organized by district administration was held at the auditorium of Zila Shilpakala Academy (ZSA) at 10 am.

Deputy Commissioner (DC) Goutam Chandra Pal addressed the function as the chief guest and additional superintendent of police M. Moynul Hossain, and Mayor of Gaibandha Municipality Advocate Shah Masud Jahangir Kabir Milon were present as special guests. Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Muhammad Mizanur Rahman presided over the function.

The meeting was also addressed, among others, by deputy director of local government section M. Shafiqul Islam, district livestock officer Dr. Abdul Latif Khan, assistant coordinator of SKS Foundation Ashrful Alam, students Avijit Roy and Nahida Sarker Nipa and journalist Sarker M. Shahiduzzaman while assistant commissioner M. Musabbiurl Islam was the moderator.

The survival of all animals and biodiversity is dependent on nature but rapid industrialization and urbanization along with increasing population cause severe damages to the environment and biodiversity, the speakers said. Due to global warming following the climate change, polar ice is melting fast that is contributing to sea level rise which may force the coastal area people leave their dwelling places and relocate their habitation, they added.

DC Goutam Chandra Pal said the government is very much sincere to protect environment, biodiversity and wildlife as it has already taken efficient laws related to environmental issues to control all kinds of pollutions and adverse effects of climate change.

The government has enacted the Bangladesh Biodiversity Act 2017 laying emphasis on protecting biodiversity and sustainable use of its elements, the DC said adding that effective measures had been taken to prevent river pollution and protecting the navigability of the rivers.




Afghan leader issues ultimatum to Taliban as bombing toll tops 150

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani A stands for the national anthem during an international peace conference at the Presidential Palace in Kabul on Tuesday.

AFP, Kabul :

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani issued an ultimatum to the Taliban Tuesday, warning them to embrace peace or "face consequences" after announcing that the death toll from last week's devastating truck bombing had passed 150.

Ghani has come under mounting criticism over the bombing, the deadliest in Kabul since 2001, with protests and deadly street clashes roiling the Afghan capital as people incensed by spiralling insecurity call for his government's resignation.

The president made a strong plea for peace at an international conference on Afghanistan attended by around two dozen countries, which was held under tight security as armoured vehicles patrolled the streets and fighter jets roared over the capital.

"We are offering a chance for peace but this is not an open-ended offer," Ghani said.

"Time is running out... this is the last chance: take it or face consequences."

The conference, labelled the "Kabul Process", aims to build international support for ways to restore security in Afghanistan. Ghani offered the Taliban the opportunity to open a representative office, adding that he was flexible about the location of future talks.

The insurgents responded to the conference by firing a rocket at what they claimed was NATO's headquarters. It landed inside the Indian ambassador's residence and no one was hurt.

Kabul has been on edge since the massive truck bomb last Wednesday ripped through the city's highly fortified diplomatic quarter, home to the presidential palace and a host of foreign embassies.

The death toll has jumped to more than 150 people, while over 300 wounded were brought to hospitals, many with burns and amputations, Ghani told the conference.

"We are a nation of survivors. Terrorists can shed our blood but they cannot break our will," he said.

Previously officials had put the number of dead at 90. Ghani did not explain the dramatic jump but Afghan authorities are well known for initially playing down casualty figures. Four more people were killed Friday when hundreds of protesters incensed by the bombing clashed with police, prompting officials to force them back with live rounds fired in the air, tear gas and water cannon.

The protesters, holding a sit-in for a fifth day Tuesday near the bombing site, have demanded the resignation of security chiefs including national security adviser Hanif Atmar.

The attacks have worsened tensions between rival ethnic groups and raised the prospect of a political crisis.

Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani, who heads the mainly ethnic Tajik Jamiat political group, also called for Atmar's dismissal on Monday. But Ghani, an ethnic Pashtun, firmly rejected the demand.
India shows off space prowess with launch of mega-rocket

AFP, New Delhi :

India Monday successfully launched its most powerful home-produced rocket, another milestone for its indigenous space programme which one day hopes to put a human into orbit.

The 43-metre (140-foot) rocket hurtled into a clear sky at 5:28 pm (1158 GMT) from the southern island of Sriharikota, one of two sites used by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to launch satellites.

Scientists hugged each other and cheered as the 640-tonne rocket lifted off.

"The GSLV - MKIII D1/GSAT-19 mission takes India closer to the next generation launch vehicle and satellite capability," Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on his Twitter account.

The rocket boasts a powerful engine that has been developed in India over many years. Programme managers hope to reduce reliance on European engines that have propelled some of India's spacecraft in the past. The GSLV Mk III rocket carried a satellite weighing more than three tonnes into a high orbit above Earth, a landmark achievement as India had struggled to match the heavier payloads of other space giants.

"They just launched the most powerful engine in India. It is a cryogenic engine, which took them 20 years to develop. Some engineers have spent their life working on this," Mathieu Weiss, a representative in India for France's space agency CNES, told AFP.
NHRC's fact-finding body formed

Staff Reporter :

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Tuesday formed three-member fact-finding committee over the arson attack at three avillages of Langadu Upazila in Rangamati.

Banchita Chakma, honorary member of NHRC, was made head of the committee and Gazi Salauddin, Deputy Director, and Sajjadur Rahman, assistant director of NHRC, members.

The committee has been asked to submit report within four working days.

A septuagenarian woman was reportedly burnt to death as about 300 houses of ethnic minority people were set on fire allegedly by Bengali settlers at three villages of Langadu upazila in Rangamati on June 2.

The attack came after the body of a local Juba League leader was recovered at Char Kilometre of Khagrachhari on June 1. District Juba League president Akbar Hossain Chowdhury, also the Rangamati Municipality Mayor, led the demonstration, witnesses said.

The police on June 2 filed a case against about 400 people naming 15 for the arson.


Bring Rangamati arson attackers to justice: AI

The Amnesty International, a human rights watchdog, has urged the Bangladesh government to bring to justice those responsible for the arson attacks on three hill villages in Langadu upazila of Rangamari district.

The AI made the call in a report published on its website on Monday.

It also urged the government to investigate the vicious mob attack on indigenous people in Langadu upazila of the district, and initiate a thorough, impartial and independent investigation into the attacks and make the result of this investigation public and ensure that those suspected to be responsible are prosecuted in fair and transparent trials, without resorting to the death penalty.

The AI also called for taking effective steps to prevent the recurrence of any such attacks and other measures to ensure protection of members of indigenous people and ensure that the right to freedom of peaceful assembly is respected, and that security forces do not use excessive force against protesters. According to the AI website post, "Bangladeshi authorities must bring to justice those responsible for a vicious mob attack on Indigenous Peoples in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), which left hundreds of homes torched and at least one person dead. Amnesty International is also deeply concerned about reports that soldiers used excessive force against peaceful protesters who have called for justice."

On Thursday, Nurul Islam Nayan, organising secretary of upazila Jubo League who used to carry passengers on his bike in exchange for money, was found dead alongside a road in Dighinala upazila.

Following the incident, Bangalee settlers went on a rampage while heading towards a graveyard along with Nayan's body for burial from the upazila headquarters on Friday.

They set fire to over 100 houses in the upazila headquarters and several villages, including Manikjorchhara and Tintila, he said, adding that four people were injured in the arson attacks.

Police on Friday night filed a case against 15 named and around 400 unnamed people.


Country has no unfit water vessels

Staff Reporter :

There is no unfit and unregistered river vessel in the country, Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan told the Parliament on Tuesday.

"While the Department of Shipping issues fitness certificates and the BIWTA provides route permit and set timetable to the owners of water vessels, there is no scope to ply unfit and unregistered water vessels," he said while replying to a starred question from Begum Umme Razia Kajal (women seat-43).

He, however, said some unregistered sand laden and passenger lighter-water vessels ply in different remote areas of the country.

"Considering people's interest, the government is not going to take any action to to stop plying of such unregistered lighter-water vessels right now. But these vessels will be brought to book immediately," he said.

Replying to another question from ruling party lawmaker Golam Dastagir Gazi, Shajahan Khan said a total of 10,700 different kinds of registered water vessels are now plying across the country.

According to a BIETA source, two-thirds of the water vessels plying on different river routes across the country do not have registration while many of them are operating without fitness certificates.

Professor Shamsul Hoque, a BUET teacher and Transportation and Safety expert said the minister's such statement in the parliament will encourage the owners to ply unfit and unregistered water vessels.

"If the water vessels, which don't have registration and fitness, ply during Eid- vacation will put the passengers at great risk. Besides, this time Eid will be celebrated during the full monsoon," he said.

He also demanded of the government to go for tough action against the movement of unfit river vessels ahead of the holy Eid-ul-Fitr to avert accidents on the river routes.

"Instead of giving such statement, the government will have to take adequate measures to stop plying of unfit vessels, especially the passenger launches, to avert accident on river routes," he said.

Meanwhile, the National Committee to Protect Shipping, Roads and Railways (NCPSRR) placed a 10-point recommendation to keep the journey safe and smooth on waterways for homebound people ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr.

The committee, in a letter to the Shipping Secretary, conveyed the recommendations that include strengthening mobile-court drives for safe and smooth journey.

It suggested the authorities concerned to take immediate steps to halt the movement of all types of launches having faulty designs, unregistered and the vessels which are not surveyed to verify their fitness.

The committee sought stern actions through conducting regular drives against drivers, masters and owners who will violate rules.

It also suggested formation of adequate number of mobile courts and stopping the issuance of survey certificates to the date-expired launches 15 days ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr.

The committee urged the authorities to set up CCTVs in all launch terminals with adequate security forces to ensure safety for homebound passengers.

At least 20,508 people were killed in 2,572 accidents and movable assets equivalent to Tk 3,417.20 crore destroyed in waterway accidents in the last 50 years across the country.
UK also wants participatory polls in BD

Special Correspondent :

The UK High Commissioner in Dhaka Allison Blake has suggested a participatory election to choose members of the upcoming 11th parliament.

The British envoy expressed her views about Bangladesh's national polls during a meeting with Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda at Nirbachan Bhaban in the city's Agargaon area on Tuesday.

Three other members of the British delegation that met the CEC included Head of Political Section at the British High Commission Adrian Jones. The meeting lasted for one hour.

Earlier on May 31, US Ambassador in Dhaka Marcia Bloom Barnicat, who met the CEC, also came up with the similar call for an inclusive and participatory national election due in 2019.

During the meeting, the US envoy and the CEC agreed to this point that there should not be February 15 or January 5 type election in Bangladesh anymore.

"The UK wants to see an inclusive and participatory parliamentary election in Bangladesh in which the members of the 11th parliament will be elected," Allison Blake told the CEC.

In reply, the CEC said his objective is also the same. "We're working hard to create a level playing field where all political parties could take part in the election. We want to make the election acceptable to the local and foreign observers," he said.

After attending the meeting, Allison Blake told newsmen that the UK delegation did not meet CEC as anyone's representative. "We've come here to discuss some important issues. We've come here to express our thanks to them who are working to ensure an inclusive and participatory election. The meeting is fruitful," the envoy stated.

She also said that they had discussed the roadmap, which was announced by the CEC a few days ago.

Secretary of Election Commission Mohammad Abdullah, who was also present at the meeting, said that the draft roadmap will be finalised by this month. "The major challenge of the Election Commission is to ensure participation of all parties in the election."

According to the officials, the CEC is scheduled to meet UNDP Country Director in Bangladesh on June 11 and its country representative on June 20.

Nurul Huda had held a meeting with Indian High Commissioner Harsh Vardhan Shringla on May 18. He also sat with Swedish Ambassador in Dhaka Johan Frisell and Norwegian Ambassador Sidsel Bleken on March 12.

Meanwhile, the EC is taking preparations to hold dialogues with registered political parties -at least in two spells-to finalise its various important decisions, including the usage of electronic voting machine (EVM) in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

As per its roadmap, the EC will initiate its first phase of such talks in August next to have their opinions over the use of EVM or digital voting machine (DVM) in the polls.

Besides, the EC will also discuss reform in electoral laws and delimitation of parliamentary constituencies


BD to install security checking machines

Staff Reporter :

Bangladesh has started the process to import security scanning machine as per desire of the EU security regulation for excluding its name from high-risk countries for air cargo, sources said.

"The explosive security scanning machine will be installed within two months. During this period, the EU will allow BD's cargo if it is checked by trained dog squad," an official, who attended a meeting with EU Ambassador to Bangladesh Pierre Mayaudon, told The New Nation on Tuesday.

Pierre Mayaudon had a meeting with Chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) Air Vice-Marshal Ehsanul Gani Chowdhury on Monday. During the meeting they discussed measures to ensure three security measures that Bangladesh urgently needs to resume the direct cargo services.

The measures include Explosives Detection Systems (EDS), Explosive Trace Detection (ETD) and hundred percent scanning of cargo with deployment of the dog squad. As the EU nations put the country's name in a list of high-risk countries from June 1, the International Airlines Group (IAG) issued a notice to customers asking to add $0.10 security charge per kg or Tk 9 per kg for cargo originating from Bangladesh.

According to the sources, the red-category tag means less freighter capacity entering the EU countries as well as delayed transit time of two to three days due to additional screening of shipments. Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Rashed Khan Menon on Tuesday also said the European Union has enlisted Bangladesh as a 'high-risk' country for operating cargo services by air and sea to its member countries.

He, however, said they did not impose any embargo on the cargo operation services or issued any letter to the government of Bangladesh in this regard.

Menon came up with the disclosure while talking to journalists at his office in the capital.

He said EU Ambassador Pierre Mayaudon had a meeting with chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (Caab) Air Vice-Marshal Ehsanul Gani Chowdhury on Monday and they discussed measures to ensure three security measures that Bangladesh needs to resume the direct cargo services. The measures, he said, include Explosives Detection Systems (EDS), Explosive trace detection (ETD) and hundred percent scanning of cargo, including employing the dog squad.

"We've already bought EDS machines. A team will visit the USA on June 19 to inspect the systems. It'll be installed by the end of July or in the first week of August," he said.

"Installing ETD will take some time but we've introduced the hundred per cent scanning system. We've also been using the dog squad of Rab and BGB in this regard," he added.

By the time, Bangladesh will have to use a third country to scan cargo to be sent to the EU countries, Menon added.

In response to a question, Menon said this ban is not on Biman services but on Bangladesh as a whole.

Replying to another question, the minister said Bangladesh will not take any position over severing ties with Qatar by seven Gulf countries.

FBCCI President Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin told reporters last night that to overcome the ban decision businesses will work with the government by improving security checking of air cargos. BGMEA President Siddiqur Rahman told The New Nation last night that there is no doubt that export will be affected following the ban as a good number of garment products go to the EU countries.

He, however, said the government has taken various initiates to overcome the situation and hope a good shine for exporters.
Widespread graft in wheat procurement

Farmers deprived, political touts, traders reap benefit

Reza Mahmud :

The government's food grains procurement drive across the country may not serve the purpose this season because of widespread corruption by a section of officials engaged in the procurement of wheat.

These officials are allegedly buying wheat from traders and political leaders instead of farmers under the plan to buy 1,00000 tonnes of wheat.

The procurement drive began on April 18, under which 16 lakh tonnes of food grain are supposed to be purchased directly from the growers. Besides 1 lakh tonnes of wheat, 8 lakh tonnes of paddy and 7 lakh tonnes of rice would be purchased from the growers as per the procurement plan.

"The officials are to buy wheat from farmers. But when we go to the office with wheat, they humiliate us. They even drive us out of the government depot showing a lame excuse that our wheat is not buyable. But they buy sub-standard and wet wheat from traders and influential political leaders," said Akidul Alam, a farmer from a village in Boalmari upazila of Faridpur district.

The farmers of Boalmari held a human chain under the banner of Upazila Krishak League at the WAPDA intersection of the upazila town protesting such illegal acts of the officials.

Former upazila chairman Abdur Rahman Bashar, former upazila Awami League president Golam Sarwar Mridha and upazila Krishak League General Secretary Akramuzzaman Mridha spoke at the human chain programme.

The farmers and leaders said the upazila food officer, Rezaul Karim, is involved in corruption in collecting wheat.

They alleged that the food officer buys wheat from traders and leaders after taking extra Tk 200 for the purchase of 40-kg of wheat and Tk 5000 per tonne.

When contacted, Rezaul Karim denied outright the allegation saying that it was 'politically motivated'.

"Some leaders wanted to sell wheat to the LSD but failed. Because we collected the grains directly from the farmers," Karim told The New Nation.

Many farmers have alleged that the influential political leaders and businessmen are not only defying the rules but denying their rights.

According to the food ministry directive, maximum 3 tonnes of wheat could be collected from a farmer.

These influential leaders and businessmen do not go by this rule and sell trucks of wheat exceeding the limits, the farmers complained.

The same allegation came from the neighbouring upazila Alfadanga in the district of Faridpur. An additional amount of Tk 180 is being realized against the purchase of 40-kg wheat and Tk 4,500 for a tonne of the item, according to some farmers.

The Upazila Chairman, Jalal Uddin Ahmed, warned the upazila food officer to stop wheat purchase from traders instead of farmers. But it is alleged that the officer concerned did not pay heed to this warning.

According to the food ministry, the wheat procurement will continue till June 30 this year. The government fixed the procurement rate of wheat at Tk 28 a kg, whereas the item is now selling at Tk 20 a kg in the local market, making room for a quick buck for the political leaders who sell wheat to the government depots.

Our correspondents from other districts also reported such malpractices.

In Panchbibi upazila of Jaipurhat district, the farmers alleged of huge irregularities in wheat procurement.

Farmers of nearby villages said the purchase started from April 29 to collect 3, 98, 000 kgs of wheat from the upazila. But the officials completed buying 2, 50, 000 tonnes of wheat within two days from the businessmen and political leaders depriving the bonafide farmers.

They alleged that the food officer held secret meetings with the businessmen and fixed the graft amount Tk1400 for the purchase of a tone of wheat.

"I went to the LSD office to sell my wheat with my farmers subsidy card. But the officer said they completed buying. They deprived us," said farmer Mobarak Ali from Gopalpur village. Farmer Asit Kumar from Naoda and Biswajit from Panchbibi made similar allegations.

The Food Officer, Obaidul Islam, however, denied the allegations.

Such allegations also came from Gangni upazila in Meherpur district and elsewhere in the country.

The farmers in different areas said the wheat is selling in open market at Tk 20-21 per kg. Most farmers feel encouraged after hearing the government plans to collect wheat at Tk 28 per kg. But in most places across the country the bonafide farmers did not get the chance to sell their produces. The businessmen and influential persons took the chance and became beneficiaries.
Flash-flood hits Moulvibazar

1 lakh people marooned : Dam over river Manu cracks

About one hundred villages of Moulvibazar Upazila were inundated by flash-flood due to heavy rain. This photo was taken on Tuesday.

Staff Reporter :

About one lakh people of 100 villages in three upazilas of Moulvibazar district are now trapped in flood water which caused following incessant rain coupled with onrush of water from the hills for the last few days.



The water from river upstream in India has flooded the villages of Kulaura, Rajnagar and Kamalganj upazilas. The fresh flash flood has also damaged flood protection embankments in the district with deteriorating the situation day by day.



Reports coming from Moulvibazar said that a huge number of people are now facing acutae shortage of food and pure drinking water.



All kinds of establishments in 60 villages in Kulaura upazila, including schools, madrasas, mosques, temples, crops land and fish farms went under water.



Moreover, some 40 villages in Kamalganj upazila went under water due to Dhalai river erosion at several places.



The flood-hit people are passing the days under the open sky amid dire need of foods, water and medicine.

The bridge constructed on the Manu rive is now at risk due to the flood water.



In Kulaura upazila, flood protection embankment at Tilagaon union became vulnerable due to the lack of repair and maintenance by the Water Development Board (WDB), said Nazmul Haq Salim, chairman of the union.



Contacted, Muklesur Rahman, assistant engineer of WDB in Moulvibazar, said heavy rain over the last few days has caused the Manu and Dhalai rivers to flow above their danger levels at several places on Monday.



Several cracks have developed in a flood control embankment on river Manu at Chatlapur, Tagarpur, Kamarchak, Bhangerhat points, threatening to inundate a number of villages any time.



Moreover, hundreds of people of Miarpara and Khandaker villages under Tilagaon union in Kulaura upazila have been working to stop Manu river erosion, said Md Abdul Malik, chairman of the union.


New EU restriction of air cargo flight shall undermine exports

THE European Union (EU) has imposed ban on direct air cargo flight from Bangladesh to any of its destination from June 1 in a list of 12 high risk countries citing terrorism related security reasons that such cargo flight may entail. EU Ambassador in Dhaka Pierre Mayaudon informed the EU decision to Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) at a meeting on Monday in the city leaving the government and the industry in particular in total shock. He said airlifting of cargo would remain suspended until Bangladesh government engages bomb detection dogs and equipment at Shahjalal International Airport.



The other option may be, as the envoy said, such cargo may be re-screening at a third international airport for security clearance but industry leaders fear it will just add new cost of shipment to lose export competitiveness to others. The fact is that our government is not quite concerned about our export competitiveness because it is repeatedly increasing the cost of gas and electricity and such other tax on business to enormously add to cost of doing business. The country's export earnings witnessed a big dip last year and the recession continues when the new EU restrictions are not only poised to bring new setback to our exports but to add to other challenges.



Bangladesh has just overcome similar ban on direct air cargo flight last year by Australia, Britain and Germany. That time those countries had raised concern about poor security arrangement at Dhaka airport after the bloody terrorist attack at a Gulshan Restaurant. Since then the cargo screening at Dhaka airport has significantly improved and those governments have also removed the ban. Meanwhile, the government has also installed high tech bomb screening devices at the airport, besides hiring the service of a British firm to improve the system.



But it appears that when some existing security concerns were being resolved, European countries are taking other issues involving similar safety concern to take back every effort of our exporters to a new level of uncertainty What appears quite unacceptable is that they are unilaterally imposing such conditions without least consultation with Bangladesh government as valid partner of a global trading system They buy at low cost from Bangladesh and yet behaving like masters breaking normal rules of global business. Bangladesh exported $18.68 billion worth commodities to the EU in 2015-16. EU accounted for over 60 percent of garment export receipts last year.



The European envoy has said EU will send its security team for inspection when Dhaka will introduce necessary security equipment at the airport. Moreover, Bangladesh will have to get clearance certificate from the International Civil Aviation Organisation on successful setting up of explosive detection system. It just makes thing complex and costly to keep our business competitive in global market.



It is true that Western countries are facing new terrorist challenges, like the one in London early this week and such others in other UK cities and European capitals. So it is not unusual for them to be cautious. But we have also to accept our share of the blame. The government is quiet enthusiastic to find terrorism in the country and placing all sorts of restrictions on restaurants, hotels and movements to show it is fighting terrorism. So others may reasonably think Bangladesh is a terrorist country. In our view the government has to show efficiency of earning confidence of the international community.






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BENTON  Details are limited in the investigation of Sundays bomb threat against Franklin Hospital, but Benton police say the wheels of justice are moving.

Mike Andrews, investigator for the Benton Police, said his department is working with the Illinois State Police as well as the FBI, who are specifically on board to assess whether the threat was terror-related.

Right now, Andrews said he and his team are working to find the origin of the call and to get an idea of who made it. He said as far as he knows, and unfortunately for them, calls to the hospital are not recorded.

We dont have a description other than it was described as a male voice, Andrews said. Andrews gave a broad idea of what the caller said in the threat.

Basically, Hey, theres a bomb in the building. I suggest you get out, basically is what we was told that the caller said, Andrews explained.

While there is no video of the suspect and no recording of the call, as far as Andrews knows, he said that does not mean there is no evidence to be had.

This is still very much a crime where technology plays a role like it does in almost everything we do today. You are hard pressed not to do something that doesnt leave a trail in the technology world, he said.

Andrews said it is always the hope to find the suspect, but in this particular case, he said he wants it to be known that people making such threats, even if they are a joke, are not able to hide from the law. He said he hopes this will set an example that people committing these crimes can be found and will be punished.

According to initial reports Sunday night, there were two threatening calls made to the hospital  one at 5:13 p.m. and one at 5:16 p.m.  and evacuation of the hospital and the nearby Helia Healthcare senior living center began almost immediately. Shane Cockrum, fire chief for the Benton Fire Department, said after the all-clear was given about 9:30 p.m. by the Secretary of State Police bomb squad, staff, residents and patients of both facilities were moved back in.

Andrews said while there certainly were bomb squads closer than Springfield, the Secretary of State Police was the only one available to come to Benton on Sunday.

Television dramas give an impression that criminal investigations are fast; Andrews said in real life, crimes are not typically solved in 45 minutes plus commercial breaks. He said this, coupled with silence from the department, can make people assume no work is being done, but he said this is far from the truth.

Every time we get something, we cant tell, Andrews said, adding that while they would love to be popular on social media, ultimately their job is to provide prosecutors with a case that will stay in court.

Andrews said they play the long game.

The wheels of justice definitely turn. Sometimes they turn slowly, but they definitely turn, Andrews said.
Three Trail of Tears sites in Southern Illinois sites were added May 8 to the National Register of Historic Places.

They are Campground Cumberland Church cemetery, at 50 Tunnel Lane in rural Anna; Hamburg Hill, also in Union County, located in Shawnee National Forest; and Bridges Tavern and Store site, on private property, in Johnson County.

Mark Wagner, director of the Center for Archaeological Investigations at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, wrote the nomination for the three sites and said all three sites are associated with Trail of Tears as it passed through Southern Illinois.

Sandra Boaz of Anna, president of Illinois Trail of Tears Association, said a lot of people in Southern Illinois have Cherokee heritage because of the Trail of Tears.

It amazes me and saddens me how many local people do not know or care about the trail of tears," Boaz said. "These are national historic sites."

What is the Trail of Tears? In 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act, which gave the federal gove

Wagner explained that some Cherokee lived in the area before the Trail of Tears, but historical documentation exists that also says the sites were part of the Trail of Tears.

I am the sixth generation of my family to belong to Campground Church," Boaz said. "It was started by my ancestors. Ive always known it was connected to the Trail of Tears from family history and church history."

According to a sign at the cemetery, Campground Cemetery began as a family cemetery of George Hileman, who lived in the area in 1834. Two of his sons died in 1838 and were buried on the field out from the house.

The Cherokee arrived in the winter of 1838-39 during their forced journey to the west. The sign reads that it is unknown how many died while camping on the Hilemans' land and neighboring properties, but family history said they were buried by the Hileman children.

There is an open space in the center of the cemetery where the Cherokee are believed to be buried, Wagner said.

The cemetery itself was previously listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The open space was added to the list.

Harvey Henson, a geology professor at SIU Carbondale, used ground sensing to determine that human remains are buried at the site. Wagner said a lot of historical information proved the Cherokee stopped at that location.

The Bridges Tavern has a building that was called the Wayside Store, a store that was in business when the Cherokee camped in Union County.

We had to go through courthouse record and prove there was a store there and that this was the store, Wagner said.

The site around the store was excavated to prove it existed as a store in the right time period.

Everything has proven it indeed was a store and they indeed bought supplies there, Wagner said.

The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the nations historic places worthy of preservation. The register listed more than 90,000 properties representing 1.4 million individual resources (buildings, sites, districts, structures or objects). Almost every county in the U.S. has at least one place listed.

Hamburg Hill was a massive road cut, and it is still there, Wagner said.

The cemetery and store sites had to be approved by Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, then they send the nomination on to the federal government. Because Hamburg Hill is located on federal land, Wagner said the process is a little different. Its nomination goes to the federal government.

Boaz said Illinois Trail of Tears Association has not received certificates for the sites.

For more information about the Trail of Tears in Southern Illinois, visit Trail of Tears Association, Illinois Chapter on Facebook.
In 1830, President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act, which gave the federal government authority to swap fertile, native-held land east of the Mississippi River for land in the west, in what was called Indian Colonization Zone, in present-day Oklahoma.

In 1831, the Choctaw were driven from their land and forced to make the journey on foot. The march was difficult, and many Choctaw died. One Choctaw leader called the journey a trail of tears and death in a newspaper article. The Creeks followed in 1836, with much the same results.

Cherokee were divided. Some wanted to stay and fight. Other agreed to leave for money and other concessions. In 1835, the Treaty of New Echota, negotiated by a few questionable representatives of the tribe, traded their land for $5 million.

By 1838, only 2,000 Cherokees had left their homeland for Indian Territory. President Martin Van Buren sent 7,000 troops to speed up the relocation. They marched more than 1,200 miles to their new homes. Along the trail, illness and disease were epidemic.

They reached Southern Illinois in the winter of 1838. The Cherokee Nation estimates that 4,000 members died along the trail. The journey is called the trail where they cried by the Cherokee, and Trail of Tears by the general public.

More deaths occurred across Southern Illinois than anywhere else because of the bizarre, frigid winter we had. No other cemetery than Campground has been built around Cherokee graves, said Sandra Boaz, president of Illinois Trail of Tears Association.

Boaz said a lot of people in Southern Illinois have Cherokee heritage because of the Trail of Tears.

It amazes me and saddens me how many local people do not know or care about the trail of tears. These are national historic sites, Boaz said.

 Marilyn Halstead
Local lawmakers expect to discuss merging Orangeburg Countys school districts when they return to Columbia on Tuesday.

Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter, D-Orangeburg, said she has been pleasantly surprised with the amount of support for consolidation, based on the calls and emails she has received from constituents.

The opposition is always the most vocal, she said. That should not be confused with support.

Cobb-Hunter said, I fully expect consolidation to pass.

The House and Senate reconvene today to finish up work on the state budget.

That allows the local delegation to resume work on the consolidation bill, which would combine Orangeburg Countys three school districts into one named the Orangeburg County School District effective July 1, 2019.

The bill was originally introduced by Sens. John Matthews, D-Bowman, and Brad Hutto, D-Orangeburg.

It has passed the Senate and received two of three required readings in the House. The House has to give the bill one more reading and the two bodies have to reconcile the differences in their bills.

The Senate bill states that the new, consolidated school district will be governed by a nine-member school board. The bill divides the county into nine single-member districts.

The House changed the bill to have the board members come from seven single-member districts, with the lines following Orangeburg County Councils district lines. Two other members would be elected at-large.

Rep. Jerry Govan, D-Orangeburg, said he would like to see the plan changed back to the Senates nine single-member districts.

Govan said an at-large system to select board members violates the principle of one person, one vote.

The local delegation held a public hearing last month to hear from constituents on the matter.

Hutto said based on the feedback from the parents, he wants to make sure the transition team has some parental involvement.

The bill calls for an Orangeburg Consolidation Transition Committee of 13 members to help with the change to one school district.

Cobb-Hunter said, I want to see some qualifications added to that board. She wants to see that the board is not full of political appointees.

Hutto added that there should also be people involved that have a background in education and finance.

Govan agreed on the need for greater diversity on the panel.

He said he wants to see that it indeed takes into account whats needed to improve academic achievement for all the students.

We moved through this thing very quickly, so were just trying to make adjustments on the fly and, unfortunately, it doesnt look like were going to have as much time as wed like, Govan added.

He said he wants to ensure that this transition into the single-member format will benefit children as opposed to not just being about money.

In 1996, lawmakers approved consolidating the countys eight school districts into three. Thats the same year power began to flow from the SCE&G power plant in Cope, which cost more than $400 million to build.

The county is now also preparing for a new Chinese tire manufacturer that could invest up to $1 billion.

Hutto said, The issues are not related.

He added that it will be a benefit to have the county on a consistent tax base.

If the House passes the consolidation bill, it will be sent to the Senate to either concur or not concur with the Houses amendments.

Matthews and Hutto have not yet seen the amendments made to the bill but said based on previous conversations, the changes should be favorable to them.

I think the consolidation bill has an excellent chance of passing, Matthews said.

If the Senate does not concur, it will be sent to a conference committee for further discussion between the House and Senate sides.

If the changes are accepted, it will be sent to the governor. Matthews expects the legislation to be signed off within a few days.
Orangeburg

County

Sheriffs Office

Deputies placed a Holly Hill man into emergency protective custody after a traffic stop led them to a more serious problem on Monday afternoon, according to a sheriffs office incident report.

A deputy was patrolling an area on Bass Drive in Santee when he spotted an oncoming vehicle driving in the wrong lane of traffic, the report said.

The deputy swerved to avoid the vehicle and then quickly turned around and initiated a traffic stop.

The deputy knew something was amiss from the moment the driver rolled down his window.

The deputy noted that he smelled the obvious odor of something rotting. He called Orangeburg County EMS to the scene.

In the meantime, the deputy also radioed for dispatchers to send another deputy to the mans residence to see if anyone was there.

Santee Fire Service workers assisted until EMS arrived and noticed that the drivers blood pressure was low and that the mans feet were swollen.

Maggots were on a wound on the mans right foot, the incident report states.

EMS told deputies that theyve made contact with the man in the past due to him swerving in the roadway and having a medical event.

Based on the living conditions deputies observed at the mans residence, his medical condition and advanced age, deputies placed the man in emergency protective custody.

A deputy was unable to reach the mans family.
Branchville resident Dylan Dantzler and his closest friends spent Sunday night outside of Cicis in anticipation of the restaurant's grand opening Monday.

"We got here at 9:30 p.m. last night (Sunday)," the 17-year-old said.

He was the first in the line of about 150 people who gathered outside the Chestnut Street restaurant before its opening. He arrived early to be one of the first 100 customers, who will receive a free buffet or large pizza once a month for a year.

"This was a new experience. It was great!" he said.

Dantzler said he spent the night playing cards and talking.

"We might have had a one- or two-minute nap," he said.

Welcome to Cicis!

The trademark shout-out to customers entering the restaurant and the smell of pizza filled the air as the first customers squeezed through the doorway.

The Cicis is located at the former Rosalias Mexican restaurant on Chestnut Street near the Prince of Orange Mall.

Orangeburg resident Chance Clark, 18, arrived at the restaurant around midnight.

"My friends were out here and they told me about it," the 18-year-old said. "When we came out, we just played Uno and stuff. It was cool."

"Stuff like this doesn't usually happen in Orangeburg," Clark said. Hes camped out for Black Friday before, but his Cicis experience was more peaceful.

"I made some new friends, he said.

Buford Dibble of Orangeburg also arrived around 9:30 p.m.

"It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience," the 17-year-old said. "How often do you get to come out here and just wait?"

Orangeburg resident Tyshawn Jones says free pizza brought him out.

"I love pizza," the 18-year-old said. "I sat in my car a little bit. I got a good spot. I am excited about it. It is worth it."

Franchisee Ricky Patel said he brought in the restaurant because I think Orangeburg really needs this.

"I think it is good for Orangeburg to grow."

The 4,100-square-foot restaurant will be open Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Cicis is known for its buffet-style restaurant, salad bar, wings and desserts.

The restaurant has a variety of pizzas, from the traditional tastes of pepperoni, cheese and meat lovers to more nontraditional toppings such as macaroni and cheese and barbecue pork. Pizzas are also made to order.

The restaurant is also known for its dessert pizzas such as apple and Bavarian, as well as brownies and cinnamon rolls.

The restaurant also has a 350-square-foot game room.

The restaurant will seat about 100 inside and 30 outside. It will be nonsmoking. The restaurant is expected to employ between 35 and 40 people.

The Cicis will be the first one in The T&D Region.

Orangeburg County Chamber of Commerce President Melinda Jackson said the new restaurant will appeal to young people.

"I think the youth is our key," she said. "If you have a happy youth, you have a growing community. Everybody loves pizza."

Jackson praised the transformation of the restaurant.

"It is very clean," Jackson said. "I think this will be a real success."

In addition to the Cicis, Patel also is a franchisee of a number of the Subways in the Orangeburg area as well as Sweet Frog frozen yogurt in the Grove Park Shopping Village.

"I love Orangeburg and this is one of the biggest ones (restaurants) I was able to bring," he said.

The Chestnut Street building has been vacant for about four years.

The building was originally constructed to house Red Lobster, which arrived in Orangeburg in 1994. Red Lobster closed after five years.

The building was later home to Rosalias, which moved to downtown Orangeburg.

According to Cicis website, there are 11 restaurants in the state.

The opening of the restaurant in Orangeburg is a part of Cicis "Build the Brand" growth initiative. It plans to double the number of restaurants in the next ten years.

The Texas-based restaurant, which was founded in 1985, has 431 locations in 32 states.
President Donald Trump recently removed the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, heralded by many as a major win for global climate action. The Paris Climate Agreement, signed during the Obama administration, attempted to include the entire world and managed to amass 195 signatories.

Given that international climate negotiations are notoriously difficult, that can only be evidence of two things: either the Paris agreement was a truly monumental agreement in which the entire world came together to respond effectively to a global problem or it was so toothless that nobody bothered to object. All things considered, it was probably the latter.

The agreement itself contains very few direct requirements, instead relying on nations to interpret independently and work toward various ill-defined goals. This problem led James Henson, the father of global awareness of climate change and an ex-NASA scientist, to condemn the agreement as a fraud. It lacks any enforcement mechanism, instead relying on nations voluntarily to reduce emissions.

Assuming that countries will voluntarily subject themselves to emissions reductions brings into question the need for an international agreement in the first place. Why else would Exxon, Shell, Peabody and other fossil fuel companies traditionally hated by the environmental movement defend the accord? The excitement of many Paris agreement supporters following these statements exposes their naivete.

People worldwide lauded the accord for including 195 countries, but the inclusion of so much of the developing and undeveloped world may have neutered the agreement. Including undeveloped nations in a global climate agreement presents a double bind. Either the outcome will stymie much-needed and fossil fuel-dependent development, or the agreement will not do much at all.

The Paris Agreement, again, took the latter approach by failing to make meaningful change. The agreements already vague and unenforceable requirements for developed countries are even more diluted for lower income countries. Interest in the agreement among many low-income countries likely stems from the $100 billion earmarked for payouts to assist in adaptation and mitigation.

Yet even the source of these funds are up in the air, with international public pledges still well beneath the agreed-upon amount. If the money does materialize, the agreement fails to outline any monitoring to make sure funds are used appropriately or a mechanism for their transmission. If mitigating emissions is really the only goal, that money would probably be more effectually spent where sizeable emissions are actually occurring  the developed world.

Including the entire world in climate agreements is unnecessary and, as illustrated above, is likely to reduce their effectiveness. If an international agreement does prove useful for addressing climate change, a better agreement would place responsibility for carbon emissions squarely in the lap of those who emitted them: large, developed countries.

The United States and European Union alone are responsible for more than 50 percent of emissions since 1850. Thus, theres no reason to complicate negotiations with a worldwide agreement, nor to add to the developing worlds biggest challenge of tackling poverty. If less developed nations are considered at all, it should be to carve out room for their emissions to grow as they develop.

The Trump administrations decision to leave the Paris agreement may have ramifications such as straining diplomatic relationships, but the claim that Trump is undoing the ultimate solution to global climate change cannot be justified by a plain reading of the agreements text. Hand-wringing over the United States exit fails to recognize that the Paris agreement is more of a symbolic vanity project for world diplomats than an actionable plan for addressing climate issues.
WASHINGTON -- With his backward policies and his tiresome antics, President Donald Trump seems to be trying his best to do something that ought to be impossible: Make the U.S. presidency irrelevant to world progress.

Climate change offers one example. Trump tried hard to build suspense for Thursday's announcement about whether he would honor or trash the landmark Paris accord; doubtless he'd rather have attention focused on greenhouse gases than on the snowballing Russia investigations. At this point, however, I have to wonder what difference the decision to leave the agreement actually makes.

Trump's pro-coal program of deregulation -- a quixotic attempt to revive an industry being strangled by global market forces, not politicians -- and his boosterish advocacy of oil and gas mean the U.S. has little chance of meeting its Paris emissions targets anyway. The real-world impact of Trump's choice is more diplomatic than environmental.

More important are his domestic policies. And even if Trump succeeds in weakening federal fuel economy standards, automakers will be unable to ignore California's tougher requirements, which are also imposed by 12 other states -- comprising more than a third of the U.S. vehicle market. The administration can seek to override the California standards, but such a move would lead to a lengthy court battle. George W. Bush filed such a challenge in 2007 but California sued, and the case was still pending when Barack Obama took office in 2009 and abandoned it.

The only other nations that have rejected the Paris pact are Syria and Nicaragua -- not the kind of company the United States usually keeps. The rest of the world is going about the business of making big investments in clean-energy technology. The next breakthrough in solar power is likely to be made in China or Germany, not here.

Energy policy is just one area where Trump is encouraging the rest of the world to go on without us. Much more urgently, Trump has called into question the U.S. commitment to the trans-Atlantic alliance, which for seven decades has been the world's most important guarantor of peace and engine of prosperity.

Following Trump's first overseas trip as president, which included NATO and G-7 summit meetings, German Chancellor Angela Merkel declared that Europe "really must take our fate into our own hands." She said the time when the continent could rely on others, meaning the United States, was "over to a certain extent."

Merkel is a cautious politician who carefully measures her words. There have been many times over the years when Europe and the United States were not on the same page, but this moment feels different. Trump has raised doubts about the relationship in a way none of his predecessors did even at moments of sharp disagreement.

Trump scolded European leaders for not spending more on defense, saying that they have failed to meet their "financial obligations" and that the status quo is "unfair to American taxpayers." He failed to offer an unconditional guarantee of European security. In private talks, he harshly complained about Germany's trade surplus with the United States.

Britain's "Brexit" vote and Trump's "America first" rhetoric appear to have ironically brought the continental members of the European Union closer together. Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the other nations in the bloc have the wherewithal to provide for their own defense -- and surely will do so if they don't believe they can rely on the United States. Someone tell me how this would make the world safer.

Part of the problem is that the Europeans see Trump as going out of his way to forge a friendlier and more cooperative relationship with Russian strongman Vladimir Putin, whom EU members such as Poland and the Baltic States rightly consider a threat.

Trump got a warmer welcome, and did less to give offense, during the Middle East leg of the trip. The speech in which he sought to address the Muslim world could have been better but also could have been worse, given his previous antipathy toward the 1.6 billion followers of Islam.

But Trump has given responsibility for forging peace between Israelis and Palestinians to a total amateur, his son-in-law Jared Kushner. The president declines to adopt the customary U.S. stance in favor of democracy and human rights, instead offering autocratic leaders such as Saudi Arabia's King Salman and Egypt's Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi his uncritical embrace. Such realpolitik has come back to haunt the United States in the past, and it will again.

Trump is abdicating all moral power. The world has no choice but to move on.
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By Trend





The severance of diplomatic relations between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, as well as other OPEC countries, will not affect implementation of the OPEC+ agreement to reduce oil production, said Andrey Polishchuk, analyst at the Russian subsidiary of Raiffeisen Bank.

Qatar is not a major oil producer. It produces only about 600,000 barrels per day. For comparison, Saudi Arabia produces more than 10 million barrels per day. So everything depends more on Saudi Arabia here. Saudi Arabia was the initiator of extending the agreement. And I think it will not change its plans, he told Trend.

Bahrain earlier broke off diplomatic relations with Qatar. According to Bahrains official statement, it happened due to Qatars intervention in Bahrains internal affairs. Afterwards, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Yemen, Libya and Maldives also severed diplomatic relations with Qatar.

The analyst pointed out that severing diplomatic relations with Qatar by those countries will surely affect the OPEC activities, but not in terms of compliance with the terms of the agreement to cut oil production.

He noted that judging by the fact that the agreement to curtail oil production was complied with well enough in the previous six months, there should not be problems with its implementation in the next nine months as well.

If the deal is complied with in the next nine months, one can expect certain recovery in prices due to the growth in demand, according to him.

Now, the global oil demand is rapidly growing and I think that this growth rate will be maintained for years to come, Polishchuk said. The growth in demand should partially remove the surplus of oil from the market. Thus, the balance of supply and demand in the market must be found approximately in the first half of 2018.

Meanwhile, the analyst said that the oil prices are unlikely to grow above $60 per barrel.

Speaking of the prospects of another OPEC deal extension in nine months, he noted that this will not be necessary if some balance is found by that time.

OPEC and non-OPEC countries held a meeting in Vienna May 25 to make a final decision on extension of the oil output cut deal reached in 2016. The oil producers agreed to extend oil output cuts for nine months. Azerbaijan also supported the decision.

In December 2016, OPEC and non-OPEC producers reached their first deal since 2001 to curtail oil output jointly and ease a global glut after more than two years of low prices. That time, OPEC agreed to slash the output by 1.2 million barrels per day from Jan. 1, while non-OPEC oil producers such as Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Russia, Sudan, and South Sudan agreed to reduce output by 558,000 barrels per day starting from Jan. 1 for six months, extendable for another six months.

On May 25, it was agreed to extend the production adjustments for a further period of nine months, with effect from July 1, 2017.
By Azernews





By Laman Ismayilova

A book entitled Anthology of poems of Azerbaijan and Colombia was presented during a meeting between Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov and his Colombian counterpart Maria Angela Holguin in Bogota.

The book was published jointly by the Translation Centre under the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan and the Colombian Embassy in Baku.

"The publication of this collection will make a great contribution to the development of relations between Colombia and Azerbaijan. Such initiatives in the field of literature play a significant role in strengthening mutual understanding and friendly relations. Along with the works of Colombian authors, the book features poems of the great Azerbaijani poets such as Nizami Ganjavi and Imadeddin Nasimi, as well as contemporary Azerbaijani writers", said the Colombian minister.

Sharing his thoughts about the book, Elmar Mammadyarov said this book will contribute to the development of bilateral relations.

The book will be presented in Baku on June 13.
The OSCE is expected to monitor the border of Azerbaijan and Armenia on June 7, Azerbaijans Defense Ministry reported on June 6.

The monitoring will be held under the mandate of the OSCE chairperson-in-office personal representative in Azerbaijans Alibayli village of Tovuz district.

On the Azerbaijani side, the monitoring will be held by field assistants of the OSCE chairperson-in-office personal representative Mikhail Olaru and Simon Tiller.

On the Armenian side, the monitoring will be carried out by field assistants of the OSCE chairperson-in-office personal representative Gennady Petrica and Martin Schuster.

Azerbaijan and Armenia for over two decades have been locked in conflict, which emerged over Armenian territorial claims. Since the 1990s war, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions. The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal, but they have not been enforced to this day.




Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed an order to provide funding to improve water supply for irrigation and drinking in 136 residential areas across the country, Azertac reported.

Under the presidential order, 10.5 million manats is allocated from the Presidential Contingency Fund to Azerbaijan Irrigation and Water Industry Company.

The funds will be directed for digging 150 sub-artesian wells to improve irrigation of cultivable lands and supply of drinking water for nearly 375,000 people in 136 residential areas in 36 cities and districts.

Earlier it was reported that the provision of 270 villages with modular wastewater treatment plants should be completed in 2017.

The construction of these treatment plants in 170 villages will be provided through the Azersu OJSC and in other 100 villages through the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources.
By Azernews





By Kamila Aliyeva

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the situation around Qatar during a telephone talk, the Kremlin's press service.

The telephone conversation took place on the initiative of the Turkish side.

"The two presidents discussed the developments around Qatar and called on all interested countries to engage in dialogue with a view to reaching a compromise for the sake of preserving peace and stability in the Persian Gulf area," the message said.

They emphasized that the grave crisis in the Middle East requires well-orchestrated efforts and close coordination of the international community in fighting the terrorist threat, according to the press service.

At the same time, separate issues of the bilateral cooperation have been discussed.

The presidents pointed out the successful work on full restoration of the Russian-Turkish trade and economic ties as well as the implementation of the Turkish Stream gas pipeline project.

The UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen announced about breaking their diplomatic relations with Qatar over Dohas support for the Muslim Brotherhood, and also its ties with Iran.
By Trend





The trade turnover between Iran and China has reached $31 billion, of which $14.82 billion was Irans export, Chinas ambassador to Tehran Pang Sen said during a conference on June 6, held in Tehran.

He added that during 2016, China increased oil import from Iran by 17 percent to 31.3 million tons, Trends correspondent reported from event.

He added that Chinses companies increased investment in Iran by 45.14 percent to $630 million during last year.

China sectored its top partner for Iran for 8th consecutive year, Pang Sen said, adding that military equipment trade also is increasing between the two sides.

Chinese ambassador said that his country supports Irans joining to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

He also said that China issued visa for 100,000 Iranians during last year.




A modern terminal building at Duqm airport in Oman, which began operations three years ago, will be ready to receive around 500,000 passengers per annum by January next year, said a report, citing a top official.



Leading Indian engineering and construction firm Larsen & Toubro (L&T) is building the terminal and other related facilities at the airport.



Besides the new hi-tech terminal building, the airport will also have a cargo building, fire-fighting building and several other support facilities.



The greenfield airport, which started early operations with five weekly flights between Muscat and Duqm, will have facilities such as two air bridges, four remote aircraft stands, a 4-km-long runway and two link taxi ways, reported The Times of Oman.



In fact, the airfield infrastructure was completed at Duqm International Airport some years ago and the airport presently uses a temporary terminal, remarked Lee Chee Khian, chief executive officer of Special Economic Zone Authority at Duqm (Sezad).



According to him, the passenger traffic between Muscat and Duqm is very good. The majority of passengers travelling on the route are employees working in Duqm or those who travel for project-related work.



The Duqm airport will serve as a new gateway into a region with significant economic, industrial and commercial potential, said Khian.



The development of regional airports, which also include Sohar and Ras Al Hadd, are part of a major government initiative to build airport infrastructure to meet the increasing travel demand of tourists, businessmen and local community, he added.-TradeArabia News Service
The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention has issued a circular to all medical facilities and hospitals to withdraw Brilinta 90 mg batch number JB504 by AstraZeneca with immediate effect because of wrong packaging.



The medicine, which is used in patients with heart attack and stroke, has been withdrawn because the package contains another drug called Zurampic (Lesinurad) 200mg tablet, also manufactured by AstraZeneca.



Dr Amin Hussein Al Amiri, assistant undersecretary for Public Health Policy and Licensing Sector of the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention, and chairman of the Supreme National Drug Registration, stated that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning that the manufacturer has voluntarily withdrawn this batch of the product.



He said that incorrect doses of Zurampic may lead to renal failure, while sudden discontinuation of Brilinta may increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. He added that Brilinta has been approved by the FDA for the prevention of preventing blood clotting to reduce incidents of cardiovascular death and heart attacks in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS).



The UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention is in contact with international pharmaceutical agencies to circulate any warning, he added.



Dr Al Amiri clarified that Zurampic is not registered in the Ministrys Drug Department; however, to ensure the safety of patients, it has been decided to issue the circular and take the necessary action.



Dr Al Amiri emphasized that the Ministry is in regular contact with the FDA and the medicine authorities of Europe and Australia. He said that if any warning is issued regarding any drug, the Ministry immediately takes action and issues a circular to all concerned health authorities to remove these products and destroy them, ensuring health and safety of the community.



The Ministry of Health and Prevention has requested the public to inform the ministry any side effects from a drug.  TradeArabia News Service
Cerner Middle East & Africa, a leading provider of intelligent solutions for the healthcare industry, has announced the appointment of two additional general managers - Adrian Dey and Michael Schelper - to strengthen its client engagement model in the Middle East region.



Dey has been named the new general manager for Qatar, while Schelper is the chief operating officer for the Middle East & Africa region. He will also take on the additional role of general manager for the UAE and Kuwait.



The move comes at a time when Cerner Middle East & Africa has established a strong presence in the region and is working with client organizations to support a focus on population health management, said the company in a statement.



Dey has more than 18 years of experience in IT managed services, with a primary focus on client relationships, transition, transformation, and service delivery.



Before joining Cerner Middle East & Africa, he had held leadership positions with Electronic Data Systems, Hewlett Packard and Injazat Data Systems (a Mubadala company).



Deys new appointment is in support of the plans of Qatars Ministry of Public Health and other leaders in the country. He will be responsible for advancing Cerners government-level relationships with providers and suppliers to help facilitate improved health outcomes.



Welcoming Dey intop the fold, Mike Pomerance, VP and managing director, said: "He will be a key member of our management team, identifying opportunities to collaborate more closely with the ministry and our existing client organizations to fulfill their strategic vision."



I am confident that Dey will lead Cerner on the next phase of our journey in Qatar, he added.



On Schelper, Pomerance said he joined Cerner in 2009 and has had various regional leadership roles, including in business development, sales, consulting, mergers and acquisitions and operations.



As the chief operating officer for Cerner Middle East & Africa the past two years, Schelper has led the company's core business operations including quality, performance management and new market entries. In his new role, he will oversee strategic client alignment and development with clients to shape the future of health care.



Schelpers focus will be to support the UAE and Kuwait governments to achieve a world-class, seamlessly integrated health care system that manages the population, one person at a time.



He has proven to be both a dynamic leader and accomplished at strategy execution. Under his leadership, well continue working with Cerners client organizations to enhance the health care experience for patients and caregivers, said Pomerance.



Over the past 26 years, Cerner has collaborated with leading health care organizations in the Middle East to create integrated health care systems designed to help improve the patients experience with the person at the center of care.



This highlights the regions vision to create a healthy population by having a health care system whose services are accessible to the entire community.



Dey and Schelper join Ali Slimani and Bachir Awad as Cerner Middle East & Africa general managers.



Slimani joined Cerner in 2005 and has had client-facing and implementation roles. As a general manager, Slimani manages all facets of the Cerner business development relationship with health care organizations to facilitate making the vision of these prospective clients a reality.



Awad joined Cerner in 2006 and has worked in different leadership capacities around the globe. In his current role, he oversees strategic collaborations with the UAEs Ministry of Health and Prevention, Al Jalila Childrens Specialty Hospital and the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company.



The alignment between Cerner and its clients helps accelerate the use and adoption of health IT with the goal to improve the health and well-being of the UAE population.-TradeArabia News Service
RAK Ceramics, one of the largest ceramics brands in the world, said it has partnered with the School of Architecture, Art and Design at the American University in Dubai (AUD) for an exciting design project.



A specialist in ceramic and gres porcelain wall and floor tiles, tableware, sanitary ware and faucets, RAK Ceramics boasts a capacity to produce 110 million sq m of tiles, five million pieces of sanitary ware, 24 million pieces of porcelain tableware and 600,000 pieces of faucets per year at its 17 state-of-the-art plants across the UAE, India, Bangladesh and Iran.



Founded in 1995, AUD is a private, non-sectarian institution of higher learning and now has over 100 nationalities represented in the student body.



This collaboration will see each student design a collection of porcelain tiles for RAK Ceramics inspired by the company's new brand proposition Room for Imagination.



The design project is titled Create Icons. Build Marvels and students have been given a brief to develop a collection of porcelain tiles for floors and wall cladding.



The collection is to be inspired by the Mediterranean region blended with Arabian influences to furnish contemporary-styled interiors. The porcelain tiles will express the essence of Middle Eastern countries and offer a range of wall and floor solutions for residential and commercial projects. A winning design will be selected by an expert judging panel from RAK Ceramics.



On the tie-up, group CEO Abdallah Massaad said: "We are excited to be partnering with AUD on this fantastic project and look forward to seeing the different types of designs the students will create. Innovation is at the heart of our philosophy and we have continuously led the way in terms of product development, using a wide range of technologies at our state-of-the-art manufacturing plants."



"At RAK Ceramics, we seek to promote creativity and innovation by working with schools and educational institutions to empower the next generation of designers, and as an industry expert we believe in nurturing, supporting and celebrating talent. We hope the students find this partnership beneficial and look forward to choosing the winning design," he stated.



The judging panel will include Ohannes Tomassian, vice-president of UAE sales operations, Carol Mansour, the manager of Dubai showroom and Andrea Mensitieri, vice-president of marketing and product development.-TradeArabia News Service




AM Investco, a joint venture led by ArcelorMittal, the world's largest producer of steel, along with top Italian steel company Marcegaglia, has won approval from the Italian authorities to take over the country's largest steel company Ilva, said a report.



The victory for AM Investco Italy, majority owned by ArcelorMittal (85 per cent) and Marcegaglia (15 per cent), came after days of protests by trade unions that on Monday struck in Genoa, and on Thursday in Taranto, as the industrial plan foresees a sharp downsizing of the staff, reported Platts, S&P Global, a leading independent provider of information and benchmark prices for the commodities and energy markets.



However, the government said AM Investco had pledged to improve proposals to employ around 10,000 workers, it added.



"An exclusive negotiation phase will be held between the special commissioners and the successful tenderer, with the possibility to improve the binding tender, said the government statement.



In these negotiations the commissioners will aim, among other things, to increase the numbers to be employed, to establish a research center at the Taranto steelworks, and to identify and pursue the most sustainable and efficient technological solutions with the least environmental impact including the introduction of DRI.



According to the official government statement AM has expressed willingness to reduce the time for the realization of environmental investments at Taranto, to assess the economic sustainability of DRI ironmaking, and not to modify its plans in the event of any constraints imposed by anti-trust authorities.



The governments decision came regardless the fact that over the weekend the rival joint venture Acciai Italia  involving JSW Steel and Delfin (the holding company of businessman Del Vecchio)  increased its bid to around 1.85 billion ($2.08 billion) and, in order to have the unions on their side, added that it would "immediately" hire 9,800 employees.



It also extended this offer to September 30. An extension that could still play an important role in case of withdrawal of AM in case of antitrust problems, sources told Platts.



On Monday late afternoon before the decree went out, JSW and Delfin wrote another letter to the government saying that the offer of Acciai Italia was "the only one that would have allowed the closing of the operation and the award of the company in the quickest time" not only as the unions were keen to agree with their terms but also as "for sure they don't have antitrust problems".



The JV asked also the attorney general for an opinion on antitrust matters.



In the meantime the government also managed to get back from Switzerland the so called Riva treasury  the 1.2 billion seized from Ilvas former owners, the Riva family, which now will be used by Ilva to do the upgrades necessary to meet environmental standards.



Ilva was placed under court administration in 2013 after magistrates seized the assets belonging to the Riva family, amid allegations that toxic emissions were causing high rates of cancer, it said.



The government took over administration of the business in 2015 to try to save jobs and clean up the hot end of the integrated steelworks in Taranto. In 2016 the government put Ilva on sale via an international tender, stated the Platts report.

AM Investco and Acciai Italia submitted binding offers to financial advisor Rothschild on March 6, in what became the most heated M&A bid of the year in the steel industry, it added.
The Indian Space Research Organization (Isro) launched its heaviest rocket the GSLV MK IIIto put the GSAT-19 communications satellite into orbit, in a demonstration of its capability to hurl next-generation satellites into orbit and carry astronauts into outer space.

The rocket lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Andhra Pradeshs Sriharikota at 5.28 pm. The rocket has the capability to carry a payload as heavy as 4,000 kg and put in into the Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit. It can also carry a 10,000 kg payload and put in into the Low Earth Orbit, reported PTI.

The launch marks another success for Indias space agency that has made record-setting launches during the past year, it stated.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated ISRO on todays launch success. Congratulations to the dedicated scientists of ISRO for the successful launch of GSLV  MKIII D1/GSAT-19 mission, PM Modi tweeted.

Kudos came from President Pranab Mukherjee as well. He tweeted: Heartiest congratulations to ISRO on the historic launch of GSLV-Mk III. GSLV-Mk III is the heaviest rocket ever made by India and is capable of carrying the heaviest satellites made till date. The nation is proud of this significant achievement.

A jubilant Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman A S Kiran Kumar said it is a historic day and the the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark-III (MkIII D-1) has successfully demonstrated its capabilities with the injection of GSAT-19 into the desired orbit.

"It is a great success in the first maiden attempt and GSLV MkIII has successfully put in orbit GSAT-19 which is a next generation satellite," stated Kumar.I wish to congratulate the entire team which has relentlessly worked each day for todays launch from 2002, he added.

ISRO has plans to use the rocket for manned missions in the future. The rocket is a three-stage launch vehicle which has two solid motor strap-ons, a liquid propellant core stage and a cryogenic stage. The rocket is 43.39 metre in height which is roughly the height of a 12-storey building.

Todays GSLV mission is significant for India as ISRO had been depending on foreign launchers for orbiting communication satellites weighing more than 2,300 kgs.

The GSLV MkIII-D1 is capable of lifting payloads or satellites weighing upto 4,000 kgs into the GTO and 10,000kgs into the Low Earth Orbit. It was a textbook launch as every stage of the three-stage GSLV MkIII with indegeneous cryogenic engine performed well.
Trend Micro, a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, has announced the appointment of Noura Hassan as the country manager for Trend Micro Egypt with immediate effect.



Hassan joins Trend Micro at a time when cybersecurity is a major concern for IT managers and decision makers in Egypt. She brings a wealth of in-depth experience to her new post, with more than 14 years of regional, and local experience in the IT industry, said a company statement.



Noura Hassan joins a very strong and dedicated Trend Micro team, already boasting a robust market presence in Egypt, commented Ihab Moawad, VP Mediterranean, Mid. East, Africa, Russia & CIS. I am pleased to have someone with her experience, who I know will further ensure continued success for Trend Micro in this important and strategic market.  TradeArabia News Service


Oman's Duqm, an upcoming industrial and transshipment hub, has attracted around $11 billion in investment for various projects, which include a major refinery and a series of industrial ventures by Chinese investors, a top official at the Special Economic Zone Authority Duqm (Sezad) was quoted as saying.



The major projects, which are in different stages of planning and implementation, include a 230,000 barrels per day-capacity refinery, a methanol-to-olefin project, a coal-fired power project, an automobile unit, a project for manufacturing solar panels, a five-star hotel, a desalination plant and a sabacic acid unit, said the Times of Oman report.



Lee Chee Khian, chief executive officer of Sezad, revealed that they are also looking at some more projects, including a pharmaceutical company from India.



At a later stage, we will have a high-end electronic industry (in Duqm). We are in discussion with a medical devices firm (in India). A few Indian companies are also interested in setting up pharmaceutical projects in Duqm, he said.



The official further added that all these projects will help the government's objective to make Duqm a transshipment hub.



The proposed methanol-to-olefin factory plans to produce two major petrochemicals - methanol and olefin - using natural gas as feedstock at Duqm.



The project, which has an envisaged capacity of 10 million tonnes per year, is planned by Chinese petrochemicals corporation Mingyuan Holdings Group Co.



Among the major industrial ventures, the total cost for building the refinery is estimated at $7 billion, while the expected capital expenditure for a methanol-to olefin project is some $2.3 billion.
Four international consortiums have submitted bids to Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) for the 200 MW Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plant being developed as part of the fourth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.

The lowest international bid presented to Dewa was for 9.45 cents per kilowatt hour (kW/h), said senior officials who opened the bids today (June 6) at Dewa head office.

The Dubai utility is working to build the biggest CSP project in the world based on the independent power producer (IPP) model. The 200 MW CSP plant will be operational by April 2021, with other CSP projects eventually generating a total of 1,000 MW by 2030.

Last October Dewa had invited energy companies to send expressions of interest (EOI) for the 200 MW solar CSP plant. By the month-end, 30 international solar IPP players had sent EOIs.

The request for proposals (RFP) was released to qualified bidders in January and the last date for submission of the tender was May.

Our achievements support the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 launched by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to provide seven per cent of Dubais total power output from clean energy by 2020, 25 per cent by 2030, and 75 per cent by 2050, said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, the managing director and CEO of Dewa.



This will transform Dubai into a global hub for clean energy and a green economy. The UAEs focus on renewable energy generation has led to a drop in prices worldwide and has lowered the price of solar and wind power bids in Europe and the Middle East," noted Al Tayer.



The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is the biggest single-site solar park in the world that is based on the IPP model. It will generate 1,000 MW by 2020 and 5,000 MW by 2030. The 13 MW photovoltaic first phase became operational in 2013," he stated.

"The 200 MW photovoltaic second phase of the solar park was launched in March 2017. The 800 MW photovoltaic third phase will be operational by 2020, and the 200 MW CSP fourth phase will be operational by 2021, he added.  TradeArabia News Service
Practical livestock evacuation workshop

A FEMA emergency management institute training exercise, co-hosted by UW Extension, is 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., on June 14, 2017, at UW Casper, room 420, 125 College Dr. The seminar includes FEMA-certified exercises for emergency responders and POST credits are pending. Learn how counties can respond to a need for livestock evacuation in the face of wildfires, floods, blizzards and other disasters. Emergency responders, producers, volunteers, veterinarians and others are encouraged to work with each other to enhance local plans. Register by June 9 at eventbrite.com or call Scott Cotton at 235-9400, Scotton1@uwyo.edu.

Buddhists meet

David Vaughn is a Buddhist living in Casper who finds himself feeling more and more isolated and wishing that he had someone to share his Buddhist interests with. But there are no Buddhist temples here; no place for people who wish to share stories of Dharma or Karma, no place to learn and exchange meditational techniques, no place to meet people of like minds for friendship, conversation, companionship, or even romantic interest.

So Vaughn has decided to take matters into his own hands and do something about it. He proposes to establish a Casper Buddhist Fellowship, and set up a common meeting place where the Buddhists of Casper can congregate at regular intervals to practice our Buddhist customs; where Buddhists can go to and feel safe, mingle with other Buddhists, and experience all of those most wonderful things that the Buddhist religion has to offer.

Vaughn invites all who are interested to contact him at davidvaughn991@yahoo.com so that a dialogue might begin.

Saturday watercolor sessions

The schedule for the Saturday Morning Watercolor Sessions from 10 a.m. to noon for June at Art 321 is below. These are coordinated by Ellen Black, 265-6783. $10 per session. June 10, Oriental Painting, Claudette Mowery; June 17, practice session; June 24, Big Brush Landscape.

Vendors for Caspar Collins Day

Fort Caspar Museum is looking for craft and food vendors for Caspar Collins Day 2017 which will be held on Saturday, July 22. Join us as we commemorate the city of Caspers namesake on the 152nd anniversary of the Battle of Platte Bridge.

This family-friendly event will include living history demonstrations, games, and hands-on activities. We will also have an area for contemporary craft vendors, non-profits, and food concessions near the fort activities.

The cost for a space (10- by 10 feet) is $30 for vendors and free for nonprofits. The vendor application deadline is July 19, 2017. For an application form or questions, please contact Anne Holman by phone, 235-8462 or by email at aholman@casperwy.gov. Forms may also be downloaded from our website: www.fortcasparwyoming.com.

Caspar Collins Day will be held on the grounds of Fort Caspar Museum from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 22, 2017, rain or shine. Admission is free, and all are welcome.

Bag book sale June 10

Stop by the Public Library during Nic Fest 2017 and grab yourself a bag of books! The Friends will hold a Bag Sale from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., on Saturday, June 10. Bags of books are $3 if you use a Friends bag or $5 if you bring you own bag. The sale includes used books at great prices, in all genres and for all age groups. Other items for sale include movies, music, puzzles, and magazines. The Friends accept cash, local checks, and PayPal, as well as credit and debit cards.

Deer Creek Days craft fair

Crafters wanted for the Deer Creek Days Craft Fair in Glenrock Aug. 4-6. For more information, including fees, call 436-5652 or email info@glenrockchamber.org.

Dementia caregiver support

Wyoming Dementia Care offers five Alzheimers Caregiver Support groups each month. Caregivers of those with dementia-related illnesses and the loved ones they care for are welcome at any of the group sessions. Professional staff from Intermountain Home Companions will be on hand to offer separate activities and snacks for those who need care. There is no charge for Wyoming Dementia Cares support groups or for the respite care provided during the approximately one-hour sessions.

The morning support group sessions meet on the first and third Thursday of each month at 10 a.m. at Central Wyoming Senior Services, 1831 E. Fourth St. The afternoon support groups meet at 1 p.m. on the second Tuesday of each month at Life Care Center of Casper, 4041 S. Poplar. The evening groups meet on the second and fourth Wednesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. at Meadow Wind Assisted Living, 3955 E. 12th St.

For information, email wyodementia@casperseniorcenter.com or call Dani Guerttman at 265-4678.

Family continues suicide support

Good Grief, Support will continue at 5:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month at the 12-24 Club, 500 S. Wolcott, by request of attendees. Anyone who is grieving a suicide or death or considering suicide is encouraged to attend. Attendance, as well as the content, will be strictly confidential. The Fresh Start Cafe will be open, and you can eat during the meetings. This meeting place was offered by Dan Cantine of the 12-24 Club. You need not be a member to attend. For more information, email jlh35@hotmailcom.

New depression group begins

J.R.s Hunt for Life is offering See it Clearly, a free peer support group for people suffering from depression and other mental conditions that lead to suicidal thoughts and actions. The group is led by like-minded peers wishing to offer support. Anonymity and confidentiality is offered to all attending. Meetings are at 6:45 p.m. on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month at 500 South Wolcott in the conference room on the second floor, (12-24 Club). Those who have considered or attempted taking their life or are struggling are welcome. For more information, email jlh35@hotmailcom.

Parkinsons exercise

Rocky Mountain Therapy is offering a Parkinsons exercise program. Join us from noon to 1 p.m. Thursdays at Rocky Mountain Therapy, 2546 E. Second St., Building 500. These classes are open to anyone with Parkinsons or caring for someone with Parkinsons.

Thursdays class is tailored for the individual with more advanced Parkinsons and focuses on improving endurance, safety and managing symptoms. We are open to all ages and can tailor the class to meet varying exercise needs. The cost of the class is $5. To RSVP, call 577-5204 and ask for Jerri or Shannon.

Celebrate Recovery every Friday

Celebrate Recovery meets at 5:30 p.m. every Friday at Highland Park Community Church, just south of Elkhorn Valley Rehabilitation Hospital on East Second Street. A family meal starts the evening, followed by praise and worship. At 7 p.m., theres either a lesson from Celebrate Recoverys planned curriculum or a testimony by a person who has found recovery through Christ. Then, people go to gender-specific small groups until 8:30 p.m., when dessert and fellowship conclude the evening. Child care is available at no cost. For more information, contact Chris at 265-4073.

Here and Now: Dementia-focused monthly art class

Classes are every third Tuesday of the month from 1 to 3 p.m. There is no charge. Here and Now is a program made possible through a collaboration between Wyoming Dementia Care and the Nicolaysen Art Museum. It is designed to provide a supportive environment for people with dementia and Alzheimers and their loved ones.

To register, contact Dani with Wyoming Dementia Care 265-4678, ext. 106, or at wyodementia@casperseniorcenter.com or Zhanna Gallegos at 235-5247 or at zgallegos@thenic.org.
Helping Others

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.

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.

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.

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.
As the summer tourism season gets underway, Yellowstone National Park officials are figuring out how to deal with the ever-increasing visitation that stresses personnel and facilities, clogs roadways and sometimes results in tourists taking unnecessary and even illegal risks like getting too close to a 2,000-pound bison or a steaming hot thermal feature.

Were trying to look at this very comprehensively, said park superintendent Dan Wenk.

To do that, the park hired Ryan Atwell, a social scientist, in late 2015. Atwell is still putting together data from tourist surveys and comments from park staff to provide Yellowstone officials with enough information to back up a decision, whatever that may be.

One proposal that has long been suggested is busing tourists to ease traffic on park roadways, but thats complicated by the large size of the park and its numerous entrances. People may come in from the North Entrance at Gardiner, Montana, and leave via the South Entrance near Jackson.

Ive not been quiet about saying limits on visitation are possible, Wenk said, but I cant say anything until we have the data.

Popular place

Last year Yellowstone played host to more than 4.25 million visitors, another record year. That number was up almost 4 percent from 2015 and was more than 21 percent higher than in 2014.

Part of the reason for the increase may have been the National Park Services 100th anniversary and national and international media attention focused on Yellowstone, including the entire May 2015 issue of National Geographic Magazine. Even without that limelight this year, park officials are preparing for tourist numbers to climb again, noting that for many visitors Yellowstone is a bucket list trip.

Despite so many people in the park, there are still plenty of places where travelers can avoid the hubbub, often by walking down a trail.

Some places are hit really hard, while many other areas in the park are pristine and unused, said Jennifer Carpenter, chief of the Yellowstone Center for Resources.

So crowding problems are not spread equally across the parks 2.2 million acres.

Its such a complex issue in Yellowstone because its such a big park, Carpenter added.

She noted that 84 percent of visitors surveyed said that even with more than 4.2 million people visiting the park, they still enjoyed their experience. But Jody Lyle, chief of the Office of Strategic Communications, pointed out that more than half of visitors said crowding and traffic affected their trip in some way.

For every complex problem, theres a simple solution thats wrong, Wenk said. A lot of people say put in a transportation system, but how do we pay for it?

Education

Park officials used to believe that many of the problems rangers and interpreters had with tourists were because those people hadnt read the brochures they were handed at the entrances. That newspaper contains warnings like the proper distances to stay from certain wildlife. Or maybe the travelers simply ignored signs warning them to stay on boardwalks in thermal areas. So it was long believed more education was key, but that viewpoint may be changing slightly.

Wenk said in portions of the visitor survey hes looked at, some people said they knew they werent supposed to pose for a selfie next to an elk but decided to risk it anyway.

I dont know how to deal with that, he said. I thought we had an information problem.

Last summer the park experimented with making violations more public, hoping that word of the violations and fines would spread and discourage other visitors from taking unnecessary risks, Lyle said. There was no way to judge if the publicity worked, but anecdotally she said it seemed to get some groups to respond.

Park newbies

Part of the problem is that about 84 percent of the visitors to the park every year are coming for the first time, according to park data. International visitors hail from as close as Canada to as far as Asia and Europe, with 12 languages spoken.

The language barrier is there but perhaps not as big a problem as we thought, Wenk said.

Park officials have been proactive and contacted tour bus companies, whose traffic has steadily increased as the number of tourists from China has risen, to try and advise folks about rules and regulations before they even get to the park.

The park also hired rangers who spoke Mandarin, added seasonal employees to help with traffic jams and installed porta-potties to ease lines at bathrooms. The entry hours were expanded and Wenk empowered staff working in the different districts of the park to take action they thought would help.

But even if it could throw more personnel at the problem, which the park said it doesnt have money for, then Yellowstone runs into another obstacle. Residents living in nearby towns are now taking advantage of companies like Airbnb to rent out their apartments or homes to tourists. That has meant less housing available for seasonal workers. Yellowstone employs about 800 to 850 people in the summer.

Its the resource

All of the talk about traffic gridlock and human jams ignores one of the fundamental facts about Yellowstone management: that preservation of the unique resource and its wild inhabitants is the primary concern. Without either, the visitors who spend more than $524 million in communities near the park and support about 8,100 area jobs would evaporate. The cumulative impact of Yellowstone on the local economy has been estimated at $680 million.

That economic impact is only there if we continue to protect that place, Wenk said.

So when tourism bumps up against the resource, the park will rule in favor of the resource, Wenk indicated.

As we look to the future, preservation has to be the key value we consider as we address increasing visitation, Wenk noted in a press release about the parks economic impact. Protecting the park also protects the regional tourism economy.

Critics have questioned the parks dedication to that ideal, as infrastructure like new lodges, cell towers and increased infrastructure such as sewer plants are built. Theres also concern from groups like Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility questioning the increasing commercialization of parks to raise money. Wenk said such funding is a necessity.

We need to be increasingly reliant on earned revenue, he said.

Last budget year, the park received about $35 million in appropriations from the Department of the Interior, he said, but it costs about $90 million a year to run the park. So the rest of Yellowstones budget is paid for by things like utility reimbursements, franchise fees, visitor fees for everything from camping to entry, as well as donations from corporations like the camera company Canon.

Difficult issues

As maintenance backlogs swell in parks like Yellowstone, concern about more tourists, fewer employees and less money to maintain and operate the park may seem like much bigger problems than the few tourists who get burned, gored, injured or even killed while visiting Yellowstone.

After all, there has always been unacceptable behavior inside the park. The main difference now is that almost everyone is carrying a small camera or video recorder in their cellphones. Nowadays its more likely that the bad deeds will be posted on the internet where millions of people can see it.

So theres no research smoking gun that says: This is the reason we need to do X, Carpenter said. Where do we take action and what do we do?

The complicated issues are never far from Wenks mind.

My first thought when I wake up in the morning is: How do I not screw this up? he said.
He has his own blog, is one of 13 children, loves to cook and worked for awhile in Glenrock, filling underground coal mine cavities.

Now, the Most Rev. Steven R. Biegler, or Bishop Steven, as he prefers, is the spiritual shepherd of Wyomings more than 54,000 Catholics.

A solemn Mass of Ordination and Installation was held Monday afternoon in front of a capacity crowd at the Cheyenne Civic Center. Among those in attendance were almost 90 members of his immediate family, including his mother, Mary Biegler, of Timber Lake, South Dakota.

I count the immediate family as my mother, siblings and their spouses, their children and their children, and we were expecting 96, but a few couldnt make it, so it was close to 90, and then there were first cousins and other relatives that came, so it was well over 100, Biegler said Tuesday afternoon.

Asked his mothers reaction to the day, he said, Her main reaction was, You know, our family has been so blessed. She looks at it through that lens and sees it as part of the Lords work with me, and I look at it that way as well.

Since the day in March that he was announced as the dioceses next bishop, Biegler has said that he did not choose this.

The Lords heart was always set on the Father, and that means even family has to come second to that, he said. I didnt want to say yes to priesthood, I didnt want to say yes to be a bishop, but Im excited to trust the Father.

Asked if he had a plan for the first 30 days or 100 days, he laughed and said, The first thing is to listen. Listen to the priests. Ive really been listening to them over the last three months. Listen and learn and know where people have been and whats going on in their journey now.

Biegler succeeds Archbishop Paul Etienne, who was named Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Anchorage, Alaska, in October.

Etienne and The Most Rev. Robert D. Gruss, Bishop of Rapid City, were co-ordaining bishops at Mondays event. Except for time in Rome, Biegler served all of his priesthood in the Diocese of Rapid City, most recently as pastor of the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

The Most Rev. Samuel J. Aquila, Archbishop of Denver, of which Cheyenne is a part, was the principal ordaining bishop.

I think I counted 16 bishops, three archbishops, three cardinals and dozens and dozens of priests, said Cyndy Novotny, principal of St. Anthonys Tri-Parish School in Casper. She was among a large contingent of attendees from Casper, including a team of her staff that coordinated and produced the live stream of the Mass.

Well, it was amazing, Novotny said. That is definitely an overused word, but it was. What a privilege to be there, to be part of that experience, representing the school. It was just amazing.

Novotny said there were two goosebump moments for her at the event.

The first was listening to Cardinal Blase Cupich, Cardinal Archbishop of Chicago, deliver the homily, in which he said, Unity is a non-negotiable goal of a bishops ministry.

The second was when Bishop Steven took the Apostolic Mandate, the document that officially names him a bishop, left the stage and walked through the Civic Center crowd, showing the Latin writing on vellum and bearing the signature of Pope Francis, which simply said, Francis.

He was beaming from ear to ear and the people were all standing and applauding, Novotny said. That was a moment.

The Civic Center has a pretty intimate feel to it, and that was an amazing experience for the people of Wyoming to be able to witness that, Novotny said.

The Mass was celebrated in both English and Spanish, and the offertory gifts were presented by representatives of the ethnic and linguistic diversity of the diocese, according to the event program, including a Native American child dressed in a formal dancing dress.

Biegler, 58, was appointed by Pope Francis in March after Wyoming Catholics waited an unusually short time of just five and a half months for a new bishop to be named. He becomes the ninth bishop of the Diocese of Wyoming, which encompasses all 97,548 square miles of the state.

The diocese was established on Aug. 2, 1887, by Pope Leo XIII and today has 37 parishes and 35 missions, 67 active and retired priests and 36 permanent deacons.

The first official visit by Bishop Steven to Casper is expected later this month, on June 23, when he will celebrate Mass and dedicate a 17-foot statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus at Our Lady of Fatima Church.

He will live in Cheyenne and his home parish is St. Marys Cathedral, where the cathedra, or bishops chair, resides. Anyone interested can visit his blog at bishopsteven.dioceseofcheyenne.org.
I may have to do what to receive my high school diploma?

Pass a U.S. citizenship exam. The Civics Education Initiative is hoping state legislatures will require high school students in all 50 states to pass the exam in order to graduate. Some states, such as Arizona, have already passed such a law.

But my high school made me take American history courses, and I got straight As.

Great for you, but many studies show that many Americans are pathetically ignorant of basic facts about their government and its unique history.

If it becomes a requirement for high school graduation, how will this citizenship test work?

Youll have to pass a test on 100 basic facts of U. S. history and civics taken from the United States Citizenship Civics Test  the test all immigrants applying for U.S. citizenship must pass. Youll have to answer at least 60 percent of the questions correctly to pass.

Can you help me prepare for these questions, sir?

Sure, young fellow. What is the Declaration of Independence?

It is an amazing document, sir. Thomas Jefferson wrote to King George III, telling him to stuff it. The Declaration said that all men are created equal, that the power of government comes from the people, that people can change the government if they dont like it, and that individuals have unalienable rights, among them life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

OK, why were the colonists so upset with the Brits that they declared independence?

Well, sir, this was because of the Stamp Act, the high taxes imposed on every piece of paper they used. This taxation without representation infuriated the colonists and motivated their desire for independence.

Fascinating. I didnt know that, either, young fellow. OK, what was the Constitutional Convention?

Sir, this took place in Philadelphia during the summer of 1787, when 55 delegates from 13 colonies drafted the U.S. Constitution. It established a republic, which grants power to the people, who vote for officials to represent them. The Constitution divided government power among three branches  legislative, judicial and executive  to ensure checks and balances.

Hey, that was some good thinking. What does the judicial branch do?

Its job is to review and explain the laws and resolve disputes between parties. Most importantly, it is supposed to objectively determine if a law is in accord with the U.S. Constitution.

OK, what is the First Amendment?

It is from the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the Constitution that were designed to protect individual rights. The First Amendment protects freedom of speech, religion and assembly, the right to petition the government, and freedom of the press. It is essential to the survival of a democracy that the press be objective and that it works hard to root out corruption.

I had no idea that amendment had so much stuff going on. What is the rule of law?

Thats an important one, sir. In America, everyone must follow the law, including leaders and government employees. No one should ever be above the law in America.

OK, name two or more ways that Americans can participate in their republic.

Americans should participate in their republic if they want it to survive. Americans should vote. They should contact elected officials and say what they think about the issues. They should write letters to the editor. And why not consider running for elected office themselves?

Young fellow, you know more about American civics than most people. Its too bad all Americans arent required to pass the citizenship exam every now and then to understand basic facts about our government and its unique history.

Perhaps so, sir, but that would be unconstitutional.
We've collected a few front pages from newspapers.com to give you a look at some June 6 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.
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PHOENIX  Gov. Doug Ducey on Monday declared a state of emergency on opioid overdoses, a measure designed to get the state more information to determine what to do next  including whether to follow the lead of two other states that have sued drug manufacturers.

Christina Corieri, the governors health policy advisor, said doctors prescribed  and pharmacies ordered and dispensed  more than 431 million opioid pills in Arizona last year. Thats more than 60 pills a year for every man, woman and child in the state.

Yet Dr. Cara Christ, the state health chief, said the powerful painkiller should be prescribed in most circumstances for short-term, acute episodes of no more than three days. And that is in cases like having a broken arm or recovering from surgery.

And you should be able to transition to a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory, like acetaminophen or ibuprofen, she said.

Christ said some of the burden to prevent dependence relies on the patients when a doctor prescribes an opiate. Some of that is to ensure the drug wont interact with other prescriptions in ways that could be fatal.

And theres more.

You want to make sure you know what should I look out for, what symptoms should I look out for, and what should my family be aware of, Christ said, including having a dosage of naloxone available to counter an overdose.

But that still leaves the question of whether opioids are being overprescribed  and whether any of the blame rests with the manufacturers.

Thats the contention of officials in Mississippi and Ohio who both have filed suit. They accuse five specific manufacturers of misleading doctors about the dangers of their products.

These drug manufacturers led prescribers to believe that opioids were not addictive, that addiction was an easy thing to overcome, or that addiction could actually be treated by taking even more opioids, said Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine in filing suit last month.

They knew they were wrong but they did it anyway, DeWine said in a press release. Despite all evidence to the contrary about the addictive nature of these pain medications, they are doing precious little to take responsibility for their actions and tell the public the truth.

Gubernatorial press aide Daniel Scarpinato was noncommittal about whether Arizona intends to follow suit.

Yes, we are looking at all the potential policies on this, he said. But that doesnt necessarily have to include litigation.

At the very least, Scarpinato said his boss wants more information about who is dying from opioid overdoses  an average of two Arizonans a day  and, more to the point, where they are getting the drugs.

When weve got numbers of this degree and an increase of this degree, you need to know more, Scarpinato explained. Because we want to make sure that whatever policies were putting forward actually get to the heart of the issue.

Christ said her agency gets some limited information from death certificates. The health department also gets discharge information from hospitals. But that comes in only once every six months.

The emergency declaration allows Christ to quickly adopt rules that would require daily reporting.

At the very least, she said that will allow her agency and law enforcement to focus on areas of the state where a problem is emerging. But it will also ultimately provide a clearer picture of who is dying of overdoses and how they got their drugs.

And Corieri said even in cases of people dying from illegal drugs like heroin, there is a definite link with legal prescriptions.

We know from studies nationwide that four out of five heroin users started by using prescription opiates, she said.

The emergency declaration appears to be part of a bid by the Ducey administration to raise awareness of the issue.

It comes less than a week after his health department put out statistics showing 790 people died in 2016 of opioid-related overdoses. That compares with 454 in 2012.

Of that total, 482 were from prescription drugs, versus 362 four years earlier. The balance are heroin overdoses.

And then theres that figure a 481 million pills prescribed to Arizonans last year.

We believe its a problem, said Scarpinato.

We want to attack this on every front possible, he continued. The governor absolutely believes that when you have that number of pills and opioids in this state and when youre seeing these numbers and when youre seeing these deaths, this is an issue we cannot ignore and we will not ignore.
State Sen. Steve Farley is betting that Arizona doesnt want another round of Gov. Doug Duceys politics and policies.

The public-artist- turned-politician formally threw his hat into the 2018 governors race Monday, roughly six months after he formed a campaign committee to run for governor.

The Tucson Democrat quickly set his sights on his would-be rival, listing what he says are bad policies Ducey has ushered in since taking office in 2015.

Over time, everything I saw coming out of the governors office demonstrated the wrong priorities time and time and time again, he said.

Top of the list is the expansion of school vouchers under Ducey to allow children to attend private schools, pulling millions out of public education.

Ninety-five percent of Arizona kids go to public school, so its harming all our schools, Farley said.

Priorities like those, he said, are designed solely to elevate Duceys political profile on the national stage.

We need somebody whos going to govern Arizona for Arizona who doesnt really have any interest at all in national office, he said.

Elected to the state House in 2006, Farley said he wants to eliminate up to $3 billion in tax cuts to businesses and redirect funding to K-12 education.

He is quick to offer the example of eliminating the tax break for buying personal jets, but to add billions of dollars back into state coffers would require substantial tax reforms.

We can find $2 billion from sales-tax loopholes, he said. There is $37 billion to choose from.

Farley also said he will fight against any cuts in Medicaid, signaling he is aware that some of his colleagues across the aisle might be willing to cut coverage as a part of federal health-care reform.

Believing Democrats will pick up seats during next years midterm election, Farley said voters wont be willing to back candidates whod consider drastic cuts in Medicaid.

Ultimately, folks are not ready to vote for somebody who says you should punish people for being poor, he said.

Farley knows he faces a numbers problem, as Democrats trail Republicans and independents regarding party registration in the state. Current figures have 1.2 million registered Republicans, 1.2 million registered independents and 1.1 million registered Democrats.

A state senator since 2013, Farley said he had high hopes for Ducey when he was first elected.

He was talking about wanting to work across the partisan divide, and I was like yeah, thats exactly what Im about  allies to get together to get this stuff done.

But, he said, partisan lines were drawn shortly after Ducey took office. Ducey hasnt announced his re-election plans, but he already has formed a campaign committee.

Farley faces competition within his party for the nomination.

In April, Arizona State University professor David Garcia announced he was a candidate for governor and would seek the Democratic nomination. Garcia may be best-known as a candidate for state school superintendent in 2014, where he lost to Republican Diane Douglas.

Noah Dyer, another Democratic candidate, might be best-known for publishing details of his sex life on his campaign website, under the title scandal and controversy.

All three have put educational reform as a top priority.
Q & A about the vaccine

The Star asked veterinary experts from the University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine to weigh in on questions dog owners might have about the leptospirosis vaccine.

Here are the answers from faculty member Jane Sykes and infectious disease fellow Julie Lemetayer.

1. Some information circulating online says dogs and livestock that get the leptospirosis vaccine can then shed the disease in their urine. Is that true?

This is false. ... The bacterins in the vaccines used have been completely inactivated (killed) and therefore cannot be shed and do not represent a danger for the dogs or owners.

2. Should dog owners in a city where there's been a leptospirosis cluster automatically vaccinate their dogs? If not, why?

Yes, owners should vaccinate their dogs for leptospirosis. Dogs are quite susceptible to the disease and leptospirosis is often fatal or can cause high morbidity in dogs. Costs of treatment can be very high. Prolonged hospitalization (often more than a week) is common and some dogs need to receive hemodialysis to recover, which many owners cannot afford. The vaccine, on the other hand, is well tolerated with a low risk of reaction rates, less than one half of one percent.

3. Is there anything else the public should know about the vaccine?

Vaccination for leptospirosis appears to significantly decrease the risk of contracting the disease. Typically dogs that we see now with leptospirosis are unvaccinated dogs, and this includes small-breed dogs from urban backyard environments.

It is also important to also decrease the risk of contracting the disease via other methods of prevention. These include decreasing access to potential sources of infection, such as outdoor water sources, and minimizing exposure to wildlife through fencing and rodent control.
CAIRO - Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, the internationally recognized government of Yemen, Libya and Maldives severed their ties with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of supporting "terrorism" and financing "groups" linked to Iran, opening up the worst rift in years among some of the most powerful states in the Arab world.

China hopes the countries involved will solve the dispute through dialogue and consultation, maintain unity and promote regional peace and stability, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Monday.

The Kremlin said on Monday that it is in Russia's interest to have a "stable and peaceful" situation in the Gulf, adding it also hopes that the diplomatic row will not affect "the common determination and resolve" in the joint fight against "international terrorism".

Announcing the decision on Monday to cut diplomatic relations with Qatar, Saudi Arabia also accused its fellow Gulf Arab state of interfering in its internal affairs.

Riyadh was also cutting land, air and sea contact with Doha, media reports said.

Bahrain accused Qatar of backing terrorism and interfering in its internal affairs, according to a statement carried by its official news agency.

The UAE said it will "sever relations with Qatar, including diplomatic relations, and the country's diplomatic mission has a grace period of 48 hours to leave the country".

The UAE has taken these steps "as a result of the failure of the Qatari authorities" to stop funding "terrorist organizations ... especially the Muslim Brotherhood", it said.

The Muslim Brotherhood, which has been outlawed in Egypt, is labeled a terrorist organization in the UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

The UAE and Qatar are both members of the six-country Gulf Cooperation Council, to which Saudi Arabia and Bahrain also belong. Founded in 1981, the GCC is a leading political and economic block in the Arab world.

Egypt also announced its decision to cut diplomatic ties with Qatar on Monday.

Egypt severed diplomatic ties with Qatar on accusations of supporting terrorist organizations, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said.

The statement added Qatar is sheltering the leaders of the Brotherhood who have targeted the security and safety of Egypt by conducting terrorist attacks.

Ties between Egypt and Qatar have been deteriorating since the ouster of the Egyptian Islamist-affiliated leader Mohammed Morsi in 2013 after mass protests against his rule.

China Daily - Xinhua - Reuters - AP

(China Daily 06/06/2017 page1)
Help India!

Thiruvananthapuram, (IANS): The CBI raids on NDTV networks co-founder Prannoy Roys premises is reminiscent of the Emergency days, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Tuesday.

In a statement issued here, Vijayan said the CBI raids at the residences of Prannoy Roy and his wife Radhika Roy were a ploy by the Narendra Modi government to silence and scare those against the Centre.

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The central government is using the enforcement agencies and the CBI to wreak vengeance and it reminds me of what happened during the Emergency days. This is a clear example of trying to gag the media and all should come out against this high-handedness, he said.

The CBI on Monday conducted raids on Prannoy Roys houses in Delhi and Mussoorie over an alleged bank loan default.

Radhika Roy is the sister of CPI-M politburo member Brinda Karat.
They have existed before the name serial killer was created

There have always been serial killers since as far back as the 20th century but they were not called such at the time. Serial murders have been and will continue to be documented throughout history. I am sure the whole world has heard about Jack the Ripper out of the UK. But what about the less known serial killers those that followed after or before and Jack The Rippers trail of bodies that ended with his sudden disappearance? Everyone has their own theories about what happened and why he stopped killing suddenly.

Herman Webster Mudgett, born on May 1861 in Gilmanton, New Hampshire was also known as The Beast Of Chicago and H.H. Holmes; he is documented as one of the very first serial killers. After taking over a Pharmacy he created a home maze full of traps eventually named The Murder Castle for which he ensnared many of the population during 1983, until he was eventually caught and hung.

Have Criminologists discovered how to revel serial killers to the world?

Freude has said the up bring of a child has something to do with who/what a child will become when they grow up. Nature vs Nurture is about how their early childhoods and how it affect their future. It is important to note that there are early warning signs to pay attention to.

Anti-Social behavior - if a child is social and suddenly becomes despondent. Arson -starting fires at a young age most serial killers start with arson. Harming animals - the biggest warning sign to look for are children who torture and kill small animals for pleasure. Child abuse or neglect could help transform a normal happy child into a possible killer.

Voyeurism - some kids at a young age have fetishes. Shiftlessness- though they are smart most can't keep a job or work at unskilled labor. Researchers have scanned the minds of people prone to these traits and discovered that there was a drop in the connectivity of the amygdala and the frontal cortex. After scanning the brain of rapists and killers they discovered that the lack of empathy and remorse actually shows low levels in the brain.

I have heard that damage to the frontal lobe causes impulse control issues.

Morbid Fascinations

Criminologists have discovered key traits that most serial murderers have in common. I have always been fascinated with serial killers and why they kill. That question has even influenced my decision to write a series of books called Emptiness Vol 1. The first book to the series is called Tainted Innocence that comes out July 26th of 2017. The first book tells the story of a 13-year-old boy who grows up in an abusive home with a depressed mother. As a result of this, he lashes out with due to his dark urges. The boy 'Logan' searches for answers throughout his life trying to discover why he kills. He asks himself what makes him want to and he searches for answers in others like himself.

The Emptiness book series is from the boys perspective. You can't help but wonder what possessed men like H.H. Holmes to make a murder house or others commit murder? There are many theories that people have developed over the years; some say there are genes in the body that can make humans more prone to kill others. Researchers are still looking for genetic clues even now. There has been so much attention in movies, books, and news. How can one not be fascinated by them?
The Gulf crisis is escalating as Egypt closed its airspace to Qatari planes, with Bahrain and Saudi Arabia following suit on Tuesday. Egypt said it was halting flights to Qatar until further notice. Qatar is being frozen out by its Middle Eastern neighbours which include Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Yemen and the Maldives who have stated that they are indefinitely severing ties with Qatar, according to CNN.

Severe travel disruption will hit Doha airport and airlines disrupted include Etihad Airways, Emirates and Qatar Airways.

If Qatar cannot use the airspace above Egypt, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, this could mean increased ticket prices as flights to Africa and North America will have to make long detours around these areas. All transport links by sea, land and air to Qatar have been shut by the UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Qatari diplomats were expelled from the UAE and Egypt.

Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, the Foreign Minister, told Al Jazeera that Qatar would "still have access to the world through international sea lanes and international airspace". The Foreign Minister refused to speculate on the agenda behind the ban. "Regarding the reasons for this escalation, honestly, we don't know if there were real reasons for this crisis".

According to an AP report, around 15 Qatar Airways flights had travelled via Somalia's airspace on Monday, much higher than usual.

Qatar accused of financing terrorism

The reasons for the severing of ties with Qatar by the other Middle Eastern countries has been simmering for some time. Qatar is accused of supporting terrorism in the Gulf Region.

Wealthy Qataris are believed to have made large donations to fundamentalist groups with claims that the government has given weapons and money to Syrian jihadists.

Qatar is a small country which has the highest per capita income in the world due to its gas and oil deposits. Fears over food shortages grew as residents started to stockpile produce.

AFP news agency said there were long queues at shops. Social media images circulated of empty supermarket shelves, with reports of shops running out of water.

Dependence on imports

Qatar imports practically all of its food, receiving 99% of its food from outside, according to Theodore Karasik, an adviser with Gulf State Analytics. Other countries offered their help in the growing crisis. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is said to be "actively involved" in trying to untangle the diplomatic row between Qatar and its neighbours.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Bahram Ghasemi stated on the ministry's website that a "clear and explicit dialogue" was needed. A resolution to the dispute was needed as it threatened the interests of everyone in the Gulf region.
Yes, we know, blink and you may have missed it. We are all one day away from the most important General Election in our lifetime. More important than either the Romans or Normans invading us and certainly of far more importance to us all than King Alfred burning those cakes - only it wasn't was it?

What went wrong?

To say that this whole sorry election campaign has been smoking - like the cakes - would have been to get it all wrong, it was barely as tepid as a baby's bathwater, with lackluster performances on all sides. The Conservatives must be in shock, what seemed like a sure thing seven weeks ago, is no better than a return to the same point they are at now.

Certainly no one saw the Labour resurgance, - despite Dianne Abbotts best efforts - and Jeremy Corbyn's leap forward in the polls, which now makes the two partys neck and neck, with no time to reverse that.

Hung Parliament?

No matter the outcome of the election, no one is going to be happy. If Ms May wins it will certainly not be with - if the polls are correct - the majority vote she was intending. If Mr Corbyn wins he will have beaten the bookmakers by all the odds possible. If we thought we were in for major changes with the Brexit negotiations looming, well, we 'ain't seen nothing yet'. If no one wins then sit down with a good gin and tonic and watch the fun begin. There will be an unholly scramble to set up alliances, with the crown of thorns going to the highest bidder.

It will be a no-win situation, with the Lib-Dems - provided their feted reassurgence proves tangible - and the SNP caught in the middle dictating the terms. Top of the agenda for Ms Sturgeon is independence; and she will sell her countrys soul to whomsoever gives her a chance of attaining it; freedom as she see's it at any price.

It is doubtful if the Welsh vote will make little difference as will the Green Party, and if UKIP live to fight another day then they will be extremley lucky to at least achieve that, the way they have been performing.

What will be?

World politics has pulled many surprises in the past twelve months, not the least of them being that the UK is very soon to be out of Europe - deal or no deal - and that America has a stand-up comedian as President.

Polls are invariably wrong, people say one thing and then vote the other way. Intent is only what it says on the tin, with the only thing that we can be certain of, is that come the early hours of Friday morning there will be a new government. Who that is, well, who can tell?
The media has not scrutinised a celebrity for a Crime theyve been accused of this much since OJ Simpson was accused of double homicide and took off in his white Bronco. The difference here, of course, is that comedy legend Bill Cosbys accusations affect more than two victims. In fact, hes been accused of raping or otherwise sexually assaulting over sixty women at different points throughout his career.

Its taken over a year to go to trial

Cosby was first accused back in 2015, and its taken more than a year and a half for one of his charges to finally get to trial, despite his best efforts to dismiss or put off the highly-publicised claims.

This was the only criminal case ever put against Cosby, but its a pretty big one.

In this trial, taking place at a court in Pennsylvania (Cosby hails from Philadelphia), the I Spy star will be faced by just one of his accusers, Andrea Constand, who alleges he raped her in 2004. However, the prosecution is expected to bring in other accusers to support their case with testimonies.

LA firm Greenberg Gluskers Pierce ODonnell believes that Cosbys trial for sexual assault allegations will be remembered as the celebrity criminal trial of the new 21st century, saying that the comedian is far more luminous than the Juice. OJ had previously found himself in hot water for other troubles, but before these allegations, Cosby was a national treasure, a beloved icon, and a revered pioneer for Black Americans.

Cosby already convicted in court of public opinion

ODonnell makes the point that Cosby doesnt really stand a chance, since he has already been convicted of this crime and many others in the court of public opinion, whereas an actual court of law where convictions are made and all arguments are heard and facts and evidence are taken into consideration is the only court that counts.

Cosby is facing down the barrel of a potential ten-year prison sentence, during which he will almost certainly die since hes 79 years old, if the court finds him guilty of the crimes hes been accused of.

Keshia Knight Pulliam, best known as Cosbys screen daughter Rudy Huxtable, has attended the trail today.

The trial is expected to last two weeks

Cosbys trial is expected to last two weeks, and he isnt expected to appear as a witness in his own defence hearing. Later this week, Constand will be testifying, and this will be the first time she has publicly told her side of the story that happened at Cosbys mansion over a decade ago.

She wont be the only Cosby accuser to take the stand, but only 13 of the more than sixty accusers have been sought out by the prosecution, and only one of those 13 has been allowed to testify by the judge, Steven ONeill. The legal system works in mysterious ways to make things easier for rapists.
In the official trailer of game of thrones Season 7, fans saw Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) being shrouded by anger while talking to Petyr Littlefinger Baelish (Aidan Gillen). By the looks of it, it seems one of the Stark kids is about to turn her back on her brother, Jon Snow (Kit Harington), for not giving her credits when she saved him in the Battle of the Bastards.

In an interview with Yahoo Style Singapore, the 21-year-old star talked about how her character and how Sansa will become the evil villain that everyone never expects. In fact, she even likened her role to Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) who will do everything to protect her family even if it means she has to kill.

Sansa turning into a big bad

"I can totally see her becoming a Cersei, Sophie Turner told the publication. Just like the Mad Queen, she is now seeing her character being driven mad by the threats against her family. "They're both so family-obsessed and family-orientated, she added.

They will both do anything for the people they love and with that, she now understands the Protector of the Realm why she does the terrible things that she does as she is afraid to lose the people that she loves.

Sansa has now changed from being the naive, innocent girl, and often second best to a powerful leader. She is now seeking revenge on the people who have done wrong and betrayed her family. "She'll stop at nothing to protect them, Sophie Turner warned.

If protecting their name means she has to be a heartless and brutal killer in Game of Thrones Season 7, then she is ready to be the evil lady that no one has seen yet. In fact, the X-Men: Apocalypse star even thinks that Sansas transformation doesnt really matter to her character as she strongly believes it is really meant to be that way.

Will Sansa die in Game of Thrones Season 7?

Moreover, Sophie Turner also talked about the relationship of Sansa and Jon Snow at the end of Game of Thrones Season 6.

The English actress narrated that her character felt frustrated as she worked hard to convince her brother of the right battle plan, but he just wouldnt listen to her.

Although she tried her best to save him, he was the one who had been hailed as the King of the North. She also felt offended that he didn't say a thing about her saving him.

And now that she is up for revenge, Sophie Turner is now afraid for Sansa to have the same fate like the other Stark kids who have met their demise. Even though she feels proud that her character's storyline is now developing, shes afraid that she has reached her peak. Does she die now? So who knows  maybe she does," she said.
Of all the stories to come out of the 2016 presidential election, it's been the scandal between Russia and Donald Trump that has garnered the most attention. As the pressure continues to mount on the White House, Trump has decided to deflect blame onto his political opponents.

Trump on Twitter

When Donald Trump first announced he was running for president, many wondered what impact his history as a businessman would have on his administration. As time went on, Trump refused to release his tax returns, leading to increased speculation over what he might be hiding in his financial history.

Rumors of a potential relationship with Russia heated up, as the former host of "The Apprentice" praised President Vladimir Putin on a routine basis during his campaign. With Trump associates and advisers being caught communicating with Russian officials, as well as having their financial links to the Kremlin exposed, Trump denied any wrongdoing. Since his election, reports have confirmed that Russia not only hacked into the Democratic National Committee, but did so with the goal of harming Hillary Clinton in the process. As the House Select Committee continues to investigate what impact Russia had on the election, Trump is still pushing back, which was evident during a May 7 Twitter rant.

When will the Fake Media ask about the Dems dealings with Russia & why the DNC wouldn't allow the FBI to check their server or investigate?  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 7, 2017

Taking to his Twitter account on Sunday morning, Donald Trump decided to accuse democrats, without evidence, of working with Russia.

"When will the Fake Media ask about the Dems dealings with Russia & why the DNC wouldn't allow the FBI to check their server or investigate?" Trump tweeted out.

Trump: "When will the Fake Media ask about the Dems dealings with Russia"? https://t.co/Nu0tRZRigt pic.twitter.com/SW1960jvQl  The Hill (@thehill) May 7, 2017

This isn't the first time that Donald Trump has made allegations without supplying proof to back up his claim.

Earlier this year, in an attempt to shift the focus away from his alleged ties to Russia, the billionaire real estate mogul accused former President Barack Obama of wiretapping his offices in Trump Tower during the election. Obama has denied the charges against him, and further investigation has showed that Trump's allegations don't hold up to the facts.

Moving forward

After less than four months in the White House, Donald Trump is facing heavy backlash over a variety of issues. With the scandal of Russia growing by the day, Trump appears to be doing his best to distract the American people with daily Twitter rants, attacks on his political opponents and the "fake news" media, all while his approval rating sinks to just 40 percent.
Seven people were killed and dozens more left injured after three terrorists took part in multiple acts of terror in and around the London Bridge on Saturday night. As many around the world offered their thoughts and prayers, Donald Trump decided to take a different route.

Trump on London

After attacks in Westminster and Manchester earlier this year, a third terrorist attack rocked the United Kingdom on Saturday. It started when a truck plowed through a crowd of people on the London Bridge, as the attacker exited his vehicle and started stabbing those around him.

Two other incidents occurred not far from the bridge, with at least one being linked back to the initial incident. British Prime Minister Teresa May confirmed the authorities conclusion that the act was terrorism, saying, "enough is enough" while warning against a potential copycat. The three suspects have since been killed after a shootout with police, with the death toll currently at seven. The Mayor Of London, Sadiq Kahn, condemned the attacked in a statement, referring to them as a "deliberate and cowardly attack on Londoners and visitors." In response, Donald Trump decided to give his thoughts on what took place, misquoting the London Mayor in the process during a series of June 4 tweets.

At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is "no reason to be alarmed!"  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2017

Taking to his Twitter account on Sunday morning, Donald Trump railed against Sadiq Kahn, while mocking those who push for Gun Control. "At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is 'no reason to be alarmed!'" Trump tweeted, despite The Guardian reporting that the mayor never made those remarks.

Do you notice we are not having a gun debate right now? That's because they used knives and a truck!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2017

We must stop being politically correct and get down to the business of security for our people. If we don't get smart it will only get worse  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2017

In a follow-up tweet, Donald Trump pointed out that the attackers used a truck and knives to carry out their act of terror, in an apparent trolling over the gun control debate.

"Do you notice we are not having a gun debate right now?" Trump rhetorically asked, while noting, "That's because they used knives and a truck!" In a third tweet on the matter, the former host of "The Apprentice" warned against future attacks due an increase in political correctness. "We must stop being politically correct and get down to the business of security for our people," he wrote, warning, "If we don't get smart it will only get worse."

Witnesses to the London terror attacks say some people fought back, throwing bottles and chairs at attackers https://t.co/JHvzkvyy3I pic.twitter.com/YQ7hH1aHrH  CBS News (@CBSNews) June 4, 2017

Trump's double down

Donald Trump's Sunday tweets come after two others were sent out the night before.

In one social media post on Saturday night, Trump offered London a helping hand, but also took the time to promote his controversial travel ban. Trump faced instant backlash from critics due to his tweets, with his supporters cheering him on as the partisan divide in the United States continued.
Members of the media were briefed by Sarah Huckabee Sanders instead of Sean Spicer on Monday. In fact. the principal deputy White House press secretary struggled to make sense while answering some questions from the press. At one point, she was asked to explain about Donald Trump's tweet, asserting that his proposed policy to block tourists from six Muslim-dominated countries is considered a "travel ban" despite the fact that the administration's lawyers have insisted otherwise.

That's right, we need a TRAVEL BAN for certain DANGEROUS countries, not some politically correct term that won't help us protect our people!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017

Sanders said the president's primary concern is national security and protection of his people, and not how people label his proposed travel ban.

When asked to explain Trump's request to the Department of Justice to scrap the revised version of his policy and reconsider the first one, which was also blocked by the Supreme Court, the principal deputy reiterated her previous statement that the US president's top concern is the welfare of the Americans, and not to be "politically correct."

Where is Sean Spicer?

Sanders was extra cautious when she answered questions about Spicer's nonappearance. She said the White House press secretary is currently doing "a little bit of extra duty" which explains his absence for the Monday press briefing. The deputy insisted that it is part of her job to fill in whenever the press secretary is not available.

She added that Spicer's slate has been packed since Mike Dubke resigned as the communications director last week. When Sanders was asked if she is taking over his post as the press secretary, the deputy denied that she was promoted and clarified that she is only filling in for the day.

White House shake-up

Earlier reports claimed the POTUS has not been happy about Spicer's performance over the past couple of months.

Similarly, the press secretary has been indifferent in his previous press briefings, refusing to answer questions from the media and redirecting them to the State Department or Trump's personal attorney for answers.

Spicer was even absent during Trump's meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican after his participation at the G7 summit in Sicily, Italy.

These incidents and more have left so many questions about Spicer's place at the White House, specifically after the POTUS announced his plan to reshuffle his staff members.

Is Spicer leaving his press secretary post? Do we have a new Communications Director? All these questions are left unanswered as Trump's administration has yet to give an update on the planned White House shake-up.
Not long after at least three Islamic terrorists attacked London on Saturday night, First Daughter and presidential adviser Ivanka Trump decided to comment on the incident. Within minutes of sending out her message, Ivanka was hit with a onslaught of criticism on social media.

Ivanka on London

Late Saturday night on the London Bridge, a van plowed through a crowd of innocent pedestrians. At least seven people have been confirmed as dead, with many others left injured. In addition, two other incidents took place in the area, with the attackers using a knife to stab people at a nearby restaurant.

Three suspects have since been compromised after a stand off with police, with eight others being arrested at a flat in east London that was owned by one of the deceased attackers. Only vague details have been released about who was behind the act of terror, with the Islamic State (ISIS) claiming credit. Donald Trump was quick to tweet his thoughts, but was instantly hit with criticism for turning the tragedy into an excuse to promote his travel ban, while also insulting the mayor of London and mocking political correctness and gun control. While the president was using Twitter to express his views on the issue, Ivanka Trump did the same, but was also hit with backlash, as seen in a series of replies on June 4.

Praying for the people of London. We stand in solidarity with our friends from the U.K. You are in our thoughts and prayers. #londonbridge  Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) June 4, 2017

Taking to Twitter on Saturday to express her sympathy for London was Ivanka Trump. "Praying for the people of London. We stand in solidarity with our friends from the U.K.

You are in our thoughts and prayers," Ivanka tweeted. The first daughter's message was one that is too often found after a terrorist attack, complete with generic "thoughts and prayers" and "solidarity" phrases which didn't go over well with critics.

ISIS has claimed responsibility for the London attack that killed seven people and injured 48 on Saturday. https://t.co/pRZ8YN865r  NPR (@NPR) June 4, 2017

Twitter reacts

In the aftermath of Ivanka Trump's tweet about the London Bridge attack, social media critics didn't hold back their thoughts.

"Trying to humanize yourself again Ivanka? Start by telling @realDonaldTrump to properly serve & support the American people," one Twitter user wrote.

Pray for America, we are under siege from Russian spies and corruption. Well ask your husband, he knows  dory lift (@liftdoryup2) June 4, 2017

More empty words from Ivanka Trump pic.twitter.com/jbR2hHjku9  Patrick Karlsson (@Patrickesque) June 4, 2017

Trying to humanize yourself again Ivanka? Start by telling @realDonaldTrump to properly serve & support the American people.  Lina Record (@RecordLina) June 4, 2017

"Can you teach your father how to react humanely to tragedy?" another social media user asked. "Sadly we were NOT in your fathers first thoughts as his 1st tweet response to terror in our capital was to justify his Muslim ban," another tweet read.

1. Sadly we were NOT in your fathers first thoughts as his 1st tweet response to terror in our capital was to justify his Muslim ban.  Jen Stanley (Fecitt) (@JFecitt) June 4, 2017

You have so little credibility at this point that your "prayers" are as meaningless as your champagne popsicles.  Gena (@spazzdog) June 4, 2017

Easy guys. She's just another PR puppet. While u guys r arguing about her she's not thinking about u. Promise  Rachel Langston (@static_rachel) June 4, 2017

"Pray for America, we are under siege from Russian spies and corruption. Well ask your husband, he knows," an additional tweet noted. The backlash continued to follow Ivanka Trump's tweet, as the partisan divide in the United States and opposition to the Trump family doesn't look to be ending anytime soon.
A leak of a National Security Agency document given to The Intercept confirmed a hack on one U.S. voting software supplier days before the November election. The Cyber Attack sent to over 100 local election officials spear-phishing emails, according to the report dated May 6, 2017.

Over the weekend, Russian President Vladimir Putin did not discount the possibility that some Russians may have meddled in the U.S. 2016 Election. But he denied it was sanctioned by the government. He said it may have been the work of a patriotic Russian.

Russian military intelligence

The report debunked Putins claim that Russian intelligence agencies are not involved in hacking. It attributed the cyber attack to the Russian General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate or GRU. The GRU tried to obtain information on elections-related software and hardware solutions. After it got the data, the agency launched the spear-phishing campaign that revolved around voter registration.

There was no conclusion by the NSA if the meddling affected the result of the U.S. election. While the extent of what the hacking accomplished is unknown, the incident showed how vulnerable some elements of the voting system are to cyber attacks.

Florida company

According to the New York Daily News, the Russian hackers pretended to be from VR Systems, a Florida-based company.

Its EViD software is used for election management tasks such as checking if a voter is registered in eight states. These are California, Illinois, New York, Virginia, Florida, Indiana, North Carolina, and West Virginia.

VR Systems does not sell the machines used in voting. The phishing emails that pretended to have originated from VR Systems had malicious Microsoft Word documents that will give up control of a computers functions and persist through access to deliver more malware, according to NSA.

NSA contractor in hot water

However, the one who leaked the NSA document, a 25-year-old federal contractor, is in trouble for providing a copy of the report to The Intercept. The New York Post reported that the contractor was charged on Monday for leaking the top-secret NSA document.

Reality Leigh Winner, a 25-year-old contractor of NSA, appeared in court on Monday to face removing and mailing classified materials to a news outlet charges.

She was arrested over the weekend at her house in Augusta. Winner is a contractor at Pluribus International Corp.

Rod J. Rosenstein, deputy attorney general, said in a statement that Winners release of classified material without authorization threatens national security and undermines public faith in government. If people trusted with classified information and had pledged to protect it breach their obligation, they must be held accountable.
All is set for the June 8 testimony of fired FBI Director James Comey with the Senate Intelligence Committee. The White House said on Monday that U.S. President Donald Trump will not prevent Comey from giving his testimony on Thursday.

Last week, White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway said she is not sure if the president will use executive privilege to block Comey from testifying. The New York Daily News reported that Trump weighed using the privilege to prevent Comey from giving details about their personal conversations. However, the presidents team decided against using the privilege.

Well-established executive privilege

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a White House spokeswoman, said despite the presidents power to invoke Executive Privilege being well-established, Trump decided against using the power. She said the billionaire wanted a swift and thorough examination of the facts related to the firing of Comey and the directors investigation into Trump campaigns link with Russian officials, Associated Press reported.

Trump insisted before that he fired Comey because of the way the FBI director handled the Hillary Clinton private email server issue. However, Comey said he was fired by the president because he refused to stop the investigation on Michael Flynn, the former National Security adviser of Trump.

Flynn is one of the members of the Trump campaign staff who served as his link to Russian officials accused of hacking the election in favor of Trump.

First public comments from Comey

All eyes are expected to be on Comey on Thursday as the fired director makes his first public comments since he was fired by Trump in May. The White House did consider blocking his testimony because it might touch on national security issues.

But likely because of the growing public perception that the White House is using its wide powers to prevent Congress from investigating Trumps links with Russian officials, the officials decided against it.

They fear that if Trump uses his executive privilege, it will only worsen the risk of allowing Comey to testify freely.

Legal experts added that the president weakened his ability to assert using the executive privilege because he had talked about his dealings with Comey in interviews and on Twitter.

The push for the president to allow Comey to testify has bipartisan support. Missouri Republican Sen. Roy Blunt, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said on Sunday that Trump will be better served if all the information about Comeys firing will be out.
Earlier this week, Republicans in the House of Representatives voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare. As Donald Trump and company celebrate, millions of Americans are not pleased, including actor George Takei.

Takei on Trump

Repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act has been the number one goal of the Republican Party ever since former President Barack Obama signed the bill into law back in January 2009. For the better part of eight years, congressional Republicans have done everything in their power to eliminate Obamacare as the law of the land, including voting to repeal the bill over 60 times during Obama's time in office.

Throughout the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump vowed to get rid of Obamacare as soon as possible. Trump and the GOP failed to get on the same page earlier this year on the issue of health care, with the House Freedom Caucus refusing to support the bill. However, earlier this week the Republicans passed "Trumpcare" through the House resulting in massive backlash from Democrats and liberals. As seen on his Twitter account on May 6, George Takei decided to sound off on the issue.

It feels like the world now treats us like Trump is a pre-existing condition.  George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) May 7, 2017

Taking to his personal Twitter feed on Saturday, George Takei decided to send out several tweets targeting Donald Trump.

"It feels like the world now treats us like Trump is a pre-existing condition," Takei tweeted out.

Many of our reps in Washington are standing up against this immoral healthcare bill. The resistance will be tweeted. https://t.co/LfNXqVHgno  George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) May 6, 2017

While re-tweeting a comment from Democratic Rep.

John Lewis, George Takei added a message of his own. "Many of our reps in Washington are standing up against this immoral healthcare bill," Takei wrote, before adding, "The resistance will be tweeted." Takei then shared an article about Bernie Sanders' recent criticisms of Donald Trump, while noting, "Yup, that pretty much sums it up!" before using the hashtag "FellTheBern." Takei has taken an active roll on social media, amping up his attacks on the president and the GOP since the start of the election.

While Trump and Hollywood haven't been on the same page, Takei continues to be one of the most vocal opponents of the president.

Moving forward

As Republicans look to move forward in replacing Obamacare with an alternative of their own, Donald Trump and the GOP are facing increased backlash as critics continue to point to the question marks surrounding the bill in question. The billionaire real estate mogul has shown increased frustration over the issue, lashing out on Twitter, while Americans have fired back to his social media messages on a routine basis.
Trevor Noah opened up in an interview with The Breakfast Club Rumor Report this week to talk about the day his mother was shot in the head. People tend to forget that those who make us laugh have dark places in their lives, just like the rest of us.

While Trevor Noah the comedian has people in stitches over his take on Trumps "Covfefe" tweet, inside there must surely be a place that haunts the humorist we have grown to love. In his interview, the day his mom was shot was discussed.

Trevor Noah deals with his mother being shot

Noah received a phone call from his brother, who told him his mother was in the hospital because she had gotten shot through the back of her head.

Trevor's mother was very lucky to survive. To make things worse, the shooter was Trevor Noah's stepfather. What's more, he was also out to shoot Trevor himself.

The 2009 incident was one of the reasons Trevor left his home in South Africa to try his luck in Los Angeles. So how does a comedian deal with the trauma of his mother being a victim of violent domestic crime? Well, it appears with more diplomacy than your average person, and that he credits to his mother.

Noah related how initially, "all I felt was rage," but his mother said to him, "don't hate him for doing this." She told him to "rather pity him." Her feeling was that her would-be murderer "was a victim in his own way as the world had "thrust upon him an ideal of masculinity that he had subscribed to."

The Noah family found strength after the shooting

Admittedly Trevor did not understand that.

He questioned how his mother could say that somehow his step-father was a victim. Trevor said that she admitted "what he had done was wrong," but "who am I to judge. He will meet his maker." Hatred, after all, is something dark and difficult that the hater has to carry.

Trevor admits it took a while for him to understand his mother's viewpoint, but in time he came to realize that the person who tries to harm you should be held accountable, but by letting the hatred go, you are "letting yourself go from that feeling that holds you or ties you to that idea or that person."

Noah feels that his family and "the way" they "became stronger" influenced the way that he chose to live his life and the experience is something that continues to influence the way he perceives his reality.

Listen to the Trevor Noah interview below

There is always something laugh at with Trevor Noah

Six years after that shooting, Trevor Noah became the host of The Daily Show. Noah would succeed Jon Stewart as host of the show on Comedy Central. Across the world, people laugh with Trevor, and right now, we are in stitches over the "Covfefe" take by Trevor.

Watch it below and laugh, then remember that there truly is always a lighter side to life. Who knows that better than Trevor Noah the comedian son of a survivor of violent crime?
BERLINChinese Premier Li Keqiang's visit to Germany will push forward bilateral economic and trade cooperation, said commercial counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Germany.

"Economic and trade cooperation has always been the ballast of China-Germany relations. Premier Li's visit to Germany has made fruitful achievements in the economic and trade fields and will push forward Sino-German economic and trade cooperation," Wang Weidong told Xinhua in a recent interview during Li's two-day fruitful official visit to Germany.

Li's visit came as globalization is threatened by rising trade protectionism, Wang said, stressing that both China and Germany have made it clear that they would jointly promote trade liberalization and investment facilitation, support an early conclusion of the EU-China investment agreement and improve China-EU free trade cooperation.

Wang hopes that Germany would continue to play a positive role in urging the EU to make good on its promise to support the principles of the World Trade Organization and the EU's fulfillment of Article 15 of the Protocol on China's Accession to the WTO, as well as to stop using the "surrogate country" or similar approaches in anti-dumping investigations against China.

"China and Germany should shape innovation together to build a new engine for the development of bilateral relations," Wang stressed.

On the future of China-Germany economic and trade cooperation, Wang believed that bilateral trade would bring new growth opportunities via the Belt and Road Initiative and cross-border e-commerce.

The Belt and Road Initiative, proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2013, comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, with an aim to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient Silk Road routes.

"To explore third markets together will become another new trend for the two countries. Small and medium-sized enterprises will also share more international cooperation dividends," Wang said.

Wang pointed out that a platform should be set up to encourage local cooperation and to demonstrate the integrative innovation of large and medium-sized enterprises.

As the United States announced its withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, China and Germany should convey to the international community a firm position on addressing climate change, Wang said.

"China and Germany have great potential for trade cooperation," Wang stressed, adding that "Chinese and German entrepreneurs should seize the opportunity to share the fruits of cooperation."

"At this important moment when the current world situation is undergoing great changes, Premier Li Keqiang's visit will surely play an important role in promoting exchanges and deepening cooperation between China and Germany," Wang said.
Chinese scientists and enterprises should collaborate with Silicon Valley in major areas, especially in basic science research, for the benefit of mankind, said Zheng Xinli, a noted Chinese economist.

Collaboration between the two sides will be conducive to breakthroughs in fundamental research, which requires a tremendous amount of talent, materials and funding, said Zheng at the US-China New Economic Policies Conference held on Saturday in Burlingame, California.

"Significant breakthroughs are being made in such areas as quantum communication, life sciences and new materials. In some areas China enjoys advantages. It's doing just as well as Silicon Valley," said Zheng, vice-chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, and former senior advisor to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

Last year, China launched the world's first quantum communication satellite. In the nuclear power arena, China is leading in the technology that will influence the energy crisis and climate change.

Compared to the US, China lacks innovative universities and the capability of training innovative students, which is the "shortest plank" (of a wooden bucket) for China, according to Zheng.

"China does not have well-developed venture capital and private equity systems. Monopoly profits lead state-owned enterprises to have little incentive for innovation," he said. "Most of the innovation happens with privately owned enterprises - two-thirds of the patents were filed by the private companies."

To learn from Silicon Valley's innovative experience and system will be a challenge for China to make reforms and progress in technology, he said.

Zheng also told the conference that China has two "bay areas" - the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area and the Shanghai-Hangzhou Bay Area. Just like the San Francisco Bay Area, home to Silicon Valley, the two bay areas in China are expected to contribute to the country's scientific and technological research as well as economic development.

The San Francisco Bay Area provides a favorable environment for innovation and entrepreneurship, but the two bay areas in China are facing several problems that need to be addressed.

Urban-rural isolation and high housing prices are among the major problems that impede scientific and technological progress and healthy competition, said Zheng.

"The two bay areas in China should learn from the San Francisco Bay Area," he said.

liazhu@chinadailyusa.com
Xi at summit this week expanding Shanghai Cooperation Organization

India and Pakistan will be accepted as members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization this week at a summit to be attended by President Xi Jinping in Astana, Kazakhstan. The move will make the SCO one of the biggest regional organizations, covering about half of the world's population.

Analysts said that while the increase in members may bring a bigger variety of voices in the organization, any disagreements can be resolved through communication and consultation.

The two new countries will go through official procedures to become members during the 17th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO, Assistant Foreign Minister Li Huilai said at a news conference on Monday.

Xi will make a state visit to Kazakhstan at the invitation of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev from Wednesday to Saturday. He will attend the SCO summit and the opening ceremony of Astana Expo 2017.

India and Pakistans' accession to the SCO will increase the organization's global impact and representative nature, Li said, adding that the cooperation potential and scope of the organization will be increased.

By accepting the two countries, the SCO will expand its geographical coverage to South Asia. It will account for three-fifths of the area of Eurasia, he added.

The SCO launched accession procedures for India and Pakistan in July 2015 at the Ufa summit in Russia. At the SCO's Tashkent summit in Uzbekistan in June 2016, SCO members signed the memorandum on the obligations for India and Pakistan to obtain membership in the SCO.

China will have the rotating presidency of the SCO next year. Xi will talk with other leaders at the summit about making the SCO stronger and a bigger contributor to global peace and stability, Li said.

During Xi's visit, China and Kazakhstan will sign cooperation documents in such areas as production capacity, investment, finance and trade, Li said. The two presidents will speak on a video conference call on Eurasia cross-border transportation, talking to people such as port workers in East China, he added.

Kazakhstan has played a leading role in jointly building the Belt and Road, and with China has agreed on 51 projects of production capacity, with a total investment of $27 billion, Li said.

Xing Guangcheng, a senior researcher of Russian and Central Asian studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that the incoming members of the SCO will bring more energy to the organization and increase its influence.

"Any expansion in an organization can be a double-edged sword," he said, adding that SCO members may have different interpretations of the organization and different voices may emerge in the future.

Wu Hongwei, another Central Asian studies researcher at CASS, said SCO members can cultivate cooperative potential in economics, culture and education, and reach consensus through more dialogue.
Russian president denies he has 'any relationship' with counterpart Trump

Russian President Vladimir Putin talks with NBC in St. Petersburg on Saturday. Alexei Druzhinin / Kremlin Via Ap

WASHINGTON - Russian President Vladimir Putin said claims about Russian involvement in US elections are untrue, adding that the United States actively interferes with elections in other countries.

And he is dismissing as "a load of nonsense" the idea that Russia has damaging information on US President Donald Trump.

"I never met with him. We have a lot of Americans who visit us," Putin said in an interview with NBC's Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly. He added: "Do you think we're gathering compromising information on all of them right now or something? Have you all lost your senses?"

US intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia meddled in the presidential election to hurt the bid of Democrat Hillary Clinton. Trump himself has been dogged by questions about any business dealings with Russia he said he has none as well as reports of a Russian dossier of damaging personal information.

"Well, this is just another load of nonsense," Putin said. "Where would we get this information from? Why, did we have some special relationship with him? We didn't have any relationship at all."

Putin again denied any Russian involvement in the US presidential election and any knowledge of Russian contacts with the Trump campaign. A special counsel appointed by the Justice Department and congressional committees are investigating.

Former FBI director James Comey, whom Trump fired after allegedly asking him to drop an investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn and his Russian contacts, is scheduled to testify on Thursday before the Senate's intelligence committee.

In the NBC interview, Putin was asked about reports of Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner's attempt to set up a secret communications channel with Russia. Putin said he knew nothing about it and that he had not discussed with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak any meeting with Kushner.

"Had there been anything significant he would have reported it to the minister. The minister would have reported it to me," Putin said. "There weren't even any reports. There's nothing to even talk about. There wasn't even any kind of specific discussion about sanctions or anything else. For me, this is just amazing. You created a sensation out of nothing."

Putin suggested that skilled hackers anywhere, including the US, could shift the blame for hacking onto Russia. He also alleged that Washington actively interferes with electoral campaigns of other countries.

"Put your finger anywhere on a map of the world, and everywhere you will hear complaints that American officials are interfering in internal electoral processes," he said.

As far as the findings of US intelligence agencies, Putin said, "They have been misled."

AP - Reuters
Although this came out a month ago, it only last night reached my eyes: Judaism Shines Through All They Do: Ginsburg, Sandberg, Barenblat. Written by Haley Codron, this opinion piece ran last month in the Orlando Sentinel, and it puts me in some truly humbling company.

As May is Jewish American Heritage Month, I want to honor three women whose Judaism shines through all they do: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg and Velveteen Rabbi blogger Rachel Barenblat. As I contemplate the leadership of Ginsburg, Sandberg and Barenblat, Im reminded of advice from my parents. They told me what to discuss  or not to discuss  at dinner tables: politics, religion and money. A part of me understands where my parents were coming from; the three topics are flashpoints. But there has to be an element of picking sides. Which is precisely why the three women make a difference  a positive difference, and have influenced me and countless people around the world...

Codron writes about Ruth Bader Ginsburg (one of the most extraordinary women alive today, in my estimation), Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg (whose book Option B I've been intending to read), and me. I'm honored to be in their company.

You can read the whole piece here: Judaism Shines Through All They Do: Ginsburg, Sandberg, Barenblat.
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HA NOI  Green buildings are expected to set a new trend in the wave of the fourth industrial revolution, said Nguyen Thai Hung, deputy secretary of the Viet Nam Automation Association.

Addressing a press conference held in Ha Noi last week to discuss the BMAM & GBR Expo Asia 2017, Hung said that green buildings ensured safety for people, as well as investment efficiency for real estate developers.

Picking on the trend, the BMAM & GBR Expo Asia 2017  the 10th International Exhibition and Conference on Building Maintenance and Facilities Management  will be held in Thailand for the Asia market on September 20.

The three-day event will open the doors towards a wide range of products for the management of building, factory and town, security, fire and safety, as well as plant and machine maintenance, work space management, pest management and all other professional services under one roof.

It is held alongside GBR Expo Asia 2017  the 7th International Exhibition and Conference on Green Building and Retrofits for the Asia Market. GBR Expo Asia 2017 features the latest update on green building trends, issues and knowledge, along with a panel discussion among industry players, making it attractive to developers and the building and construction industry. Various case studies and presentations will also be presented by industry speakers  local and international  with varied expertise and achievements.

The expo has launched a new campaign Unlock the ASEAN FM and Green Building Potential," targeting Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar and Viet Nam for the purpose of bringing in buyers (government and association) from these countries.

o Dung from the IMPACT Official Representatives in Viet Nam, the expos organiser, said the event would help Vietnamese construction firms to pick up the new trend in the fourth industrial revolution to better integrate into the world.

In addition, it would be a good opportunity for local companies to exchange experiences with others while seeking business co-operation.  VNS
HA NOI  Panasonic Vietnam was honoured with National Environment Award 2017 by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) for its contribution towards environmental protection in Viet Nam on Sunday.

In more than 10 years of operations in Viet Nam, this is the second time that Panasonics practical contributions towards environmental education of the young, environmental protection in the community and production of eco-friendly products have been recognised by the country.

Since 2011, Panasonic Vietnam has been conducting a series of eco-learning programmes for around 13,000 students, in the co-operation with the MONRE, UNESCO, WWF and hundreds of schools across the nation.

Through its annual tree-planting programme For a Green Vietnam, organised together with local communities, Panasonic employees have planted around 70,000 trees across four provinces.

Masahiro Yamamoto, director of corporate planning and brand promotion, Panasonic Vietnam, said Since starting business in Viet Nam, Panasonic has focused on environmental protection and sustainable green development. We have constantly improved our technology to make efficient use of materials, save energy and create eco-friendly products.

Panasonic employees are trained to become active nucleus in environmental education and communication activities in the community through the companys Eco Relay, Eco Learning and Earth Hour programmes, Yamamoto said.
HA NOI  Two Japanese expressway companies will transfer their technology and management capacity in transport infrastructure to Viet Nams Foundation Engineering and Underground Construction Joint Stock Company (FECON).

The move is part of a strategic co-operation agreement on investment and development of transport infrastructure projects in Viet Nam signed between representatives of Japanese companies East Nippon Expressway Company (NEXCO) and Expressway International Company Limited (JEXWAY), and leaders of FECON and its subsidiary FECON Infrastructure JSC (FCI) in Tokyo today.

The signing ceremony was witnessed by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe at the investment promotion forum during Phucs visit to Japan from June 4 to June 8.

Under the agreement, NEXCO and JEXWAY will also connect FECON with other Japanese investors and partners, as well as create opportunities for investment in transport infrastructure in other countries in the region.

In the first phase of co-operation, the two Japanese companies will buy 20 per cent stake owned by FECON in its BOT (build-operate-transfer) project that includes a bypass road on National Highway No 1 at Phu Ly town and reinforcement works at Km215+775-Km235+885 of the northern province of Ha Nam.

NEXCO and JEXWAY will take part in managing and operating the project, as well as applying their experience and advanced management technology to this project.

The two Japanese companies are the first foreign businesses participating in the BOT transport sector in Viet Nam.

Miyaike, chairman and CEO of NEXCO, said the signing of the agreement and purchase of the stake marked the start of partnership co-operation with Vietnamese potential companies, such as FECON and FCI, as well as its official participation in a project in Viet Nam.

Miyaike also committed that NEXCO would co-operate with FECON to conduct researches on expressway projects in the country.

Pham Viet Khoa, chairman of FECON, said the participation of NEXCO and JEXWAY in Phu Ly bypass road project would make a great contribution to its success and bring about Japans scientific operation and exploitation method to Viet Nam.

The Phu Ly bypass road project was kicked off in 2014 and completed in 2016. The 43-km project had more than VN2.04 trillion (US$89.6 million) investment through a joint venture among FECON, Cotec Construction Joint-Stock Company (Coteccons) and Civil Engineering Construction Corporation 1 (Cienco 1) with ownership of 40 per cent, 35 per cent and 25 per cent, respectively.  VNS
Ca Mau Fertiliser Plant with annual capacity of 800,000 tonnes located at Ca Mau Gas-Electricity-Fertiliser industrial cluster in Khanh An commune of the southern province of Ca Maus U Minh district.  VNA/VNS Photo Huy Hung

Viet Nam News The fifth plenary meeting of the 12th Communist Party of Viet Nam Central Committee in May issued an important resolution that acknowledges the greater contribution of the private economy to the countrys socio-economic growth.

It asserts the role of the private economy as an important driving force of the socialist-oriented market economy.

After 30 years of oi moi (renovation process launched in 1986), one of the most remarkable achievements of Viet Nams economic reforms is the emergence of a dynamic private sector.

However, this has not been a smooth process. It has been complicated and rough. The complications are reflected in how the terms used have evolved, from the so-called multi-sectoral commodity economy and market mechanism under State management to socialist-oriented market economy.

Before oi moi, Viet Nam was essentially a centrally-planned economy in which the Government administered supply of physical inputs and outputs and the economy recognized only State and collective ownership of means of production. There was basically no business autonomy.

For the private sector, the year 1986 marked the beginning of an irreversible change in ideology, following which the Government pushed forward a mixed market economy model with a multiple ownership structure.

In the early 1990s, Viet Nam adopted a radical and comprehensive reform package aimed at stabilizing and opening the economy, and enhancing freedom of choice for economic units and competition. For the first time, the Government demonstrated its support for development of the domestic private sector.

The year 2000 was the next important turning-point for private sector development. The introduction of the Enterprise Law significantly reduced administrative burdens for business registration, resulting in a dramatic increase in the number of registered private businesses.

Since then, the private sector has been growing strongly, accounting for 39-40 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). It is noteworthy that the private sector also became a major source of employment, absorbing about 85 per cent of the 1.3-1.4 million new labour market entrants each year.

We can now see the image of a dynamic and prominent private sector with a large number of entrepreneurs covering three to four generations, struggling to succeed, as well as a powerful start-up movement. In 2016, the country saw a record number of newly-established enterprises, over 110,000, bringing the total number of private enterprises to 610,000.

So the main factors in the development of the private sector are State acknowledgment of its role, private property ownership and business autonomy, as well as the Governments support policies.

The new Resolution endorsing it as a prerequisite for national growth reaffirms the Governments commitment to providing a solid momentum for the private sector to grow in a sustainable manner.

Strong numbers, weak growth

Viet Nam currently has around 610,000 private firms, but a majority of the registered enterprises are micro-sized with 70 per cent of them employing less than 10 workers and having a registered capital of below VN5 billion (US$220,300).

The number of big companies has been growing, but they are yet to demonstrate their leadership in innovation and driving growth.

Another concern is the downsizing trend among private enterprises, which has prevented productivity gains through economies of scale, specialization and innovation. Many small household businesses have refused to register as formal enterprises, citing bureaucratic and regulatory problems, concerns over the security of property rights and high transaction costs.

Private companies have a prominent position in several industrial clusters, like textiles and garments, footwear and others. But it is notable that the overall structure of the private sector is not balanced, with over 80 per cent concentrating on trade and services sectors with low productivity and low value-added products and services. The number of private firms in manufacturing and processing is small.

It can also be seen that private enterprises have been facing many difficulties in doing business, with the rate of loss-making and bankrupt companies at a high average of 45 per cent in the 2007-2015 period.

The Viet Nam 2035 Report shows that the productivity and competitiveness of Vietnamese private sector are decreasing. Vietnamese firms are engaged in the global/regional production network but with weak positions in the global/regional value chains.

All of these facts suggest that there has been a lot of obstacles for private businesses to grow and eventually make it to the top.

The impediments

The low quality growth of the private sector can be attributed to many factors, including weak property rights, uneven playing field, distortions in factor markets, difficult access to production factors, as well as high transaction costs.

Legally, the greatest weakness is probably the framework responsible for ensuring private property rights and securing free and fair competition. Weak enforcement of land-use and intellectual property rights has impeded the emergence of large and competitive private firms.

The fact that the State-owned enterprises dominate many industries and enjoy preferential treatment through cozy relationships with government officials is also reducing business opportunities for private companies.

The unfair business environment is also shown in inadequate access to land, capital, information, infrastructure and labour for the private sector, raising transaction cost, which is arguably very high, given the unofficial costs caused by red-tape.

Meanwhile, the competition authority has not done its job well due to rather weak power and independence.

Matters are not helped by the weak capacity of private firms in terms of legal and market savvy, development vision and networking, not to mention weak corporate governance and culture.

The right path

Economists and entrepreneurs have discussed and proposed several initiatives and measures to the Government to spur sustainable growth of the private economy along with equitisation and reform of State-owned enterprises. But this is a long process which needs both consistent effort from private firms and consistent support from the Government.

Stronger institutional reforms are needed to move forward, relaxing bureaucratic scrutiny on doing business, while securing fair competition by improving access to land, capital, information and other production factors for private firms.

In the context of Viet Nam integrating deeper into the global market, the establishment of strong industrial clusters (IC) so that the private sector has a site to do business will help boost productivity of Vietnamese firms while promoting exports and encouraging innovation.

The Government should identify already existing clusters and potential seeds and avoid institutional complexity. It should consider the development of supporting industries and local SMEs an important component of IC policy.

For promoting innovation, the Government has issued policies and established funds to support research and development (R&D), but the efficiency and spillover effect have been limited.

Looking at the experience from South Korea and Japan, where SMEs have a leading position in R&D activity, the Government can offer direct and indirect financial support, including tax relief for hi-tech firms and providing funds to firms with good track records.

ASEAN and Viet Nam have a strategy to improve the business environment for SMEs to become more competitive, innovative and dynamic. This is based on eight policy dimensions. Viet Nam has an average position on SME Policy Index compared to other ASEAN members, which means there is a lot of room for development.

We have to think of private business as ours and take ownership accordingly. It is vital for our economy. Having a dynamic and competitive private sector is a solid guarantee for Viet Nams development and prosperity. Its success will depend on how we bring into reality the right institutions and support policies.

* Vo Tri Thanh is a senior economist at the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) and a member of the National Financial and Monetary Policy Advisory Council. A doctorate holder in economics from the Australian National University, Thanh mainly undertakes research and provides consultation on issues related to macroeconomic policies, trade liberalisation and international economic integration. Other areas of interest include institutional reforms and financial systems. He authors Viet Nam Newss new column, Analysts Pick, which will run on the first Tuesday of every month.

Vo Tri Thanh
A view of Beni Suef Power Plant.  Photo Siemens

Viet Nam News

CAIRO  The land that hosts the only surviving wonder of the ancient world, the Cheops Pyramid, is seeing a modern, massive marvel unfold.

A mega power project being built at a rapid pace will soon supply enough electricity to meet the needs of 45 million people and help Egypt effect more than $1 billion in fuel savings a year.

These impressive figures are being presented by project officials who also say that it will help build local talent and capacity that will serve the nations energy sector for years to come.

The project, comprising three power plants, is being implemented by German powerhouse Siemens in what seems to be a tearing hurry.

General Manager of the megapower project in Egypt, Thierry Toupin, talks with Vietnamese reporters.  VNS Photo Ngan Binh

Just 18 months after the company won its single biggest order ever to expand power supply in the country, it has set a new global benchmark for the execution of fast-track power projects.

In this short period of time, Siemens and its local partners, Orascom Construction and Elsewedy Electric, have made great progress towards boosting Egypts power generation capacity by 45 per cent, adding 4.8 gigawatts (GW) to the national grid.

Under the 8 billion euro (nearly US$9 billion) mega project, the three natural gas-fired combined cycle power plants will have a total capacity of 14.4 GW.

At a press conference held in Cairo last month, journalists from nearly 20 countries in the world heard that the first phase of the project has been completed.

The promised goal of bringing 4.4 GW of new capacity to the grid was exceeded, with 4.8 GW already connected to the grid. The surplus capacity of 400 megawatts is sufficient to supply more than one million Egyptians with electricity.

The new power plants, Burullus (200km north of Cairo), Beni Suef (110km south) and New Capital (64km east), are expected to provide electricity to urban, rural and remote areas; and help reduce the outages and electricity cuts that hamper industrial production. And all this is expected to happen by the end of 2018.

The three power plants will be powered by 24 Siemens H-Class gas turbines, selected for their high output and efficiency. These turbines are expected to boost fuel consumption efficiency by around 60 per cent, enabling $1.3 billion in fuel savings on an annual basis, compared to installed power capacity.

When completed, the power plants will be the biggest gas fired combined-cycle power stations in the world.

Massive works

Construction work on the megaproject has been undertaken on a massive scale. More than 1.6 million tonnes of material, including 960,000 tonnes of concrete and 48,000 tonnes of rebar steel are being handled by more than 20,000 workers.

Major excavation work has been carried out to prepare the site of the Beni Suef power plant. This involved removing around 1,750,000 cubic metre of rocks, equivalent to the volume of the smaller Giza pyramid.

Emad Ghaly, CEO Siemens Egypt, told Vietnamese journalists that construction was going on 24/7 at the Beni Suef site to achieve our next milestone that we want : one combined-cycled power plant to be conected to the grid before the end of this calendar year.

He said there were around 6,000 engineers and workers on the site working in complete harmony. And the biggest challenge as you can see around here is how to coordinate all these work in parallel and to really achieve our milestones as agreed with our clients.

The scale of work was reemphasized by the General Manager of the megaproject, Thierry Toupin.

This is a unique project in Siemens history, so the whole company, starting from CEO Joe Kaeser, is fully committed to making it a success, he said.

Workforce for the future

The company sees its work also as a commitment to developing a highly-skilled Egyptian workforce for the future, and has entered into a strategic alliance agreement with Germanys Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) to support occupational training in Egypt.

Egypt Siemens CEO Emad Ghaly at the Beni Suef construction site.  VNS Photo Ngan Binh

As part of this agreement, Siemens will join forces with the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, on behalf of BMZ, to establish and operate a joint training centre and strengthen a selected Egyptian public vocational training institute.

In effect, Siemens is supporting the training of a local workforce of more than 5,500 talented individuals in the next four years.

Toupin said that the highly comprehensive training programme is good for the people of Egypt and a contribution by Siemens to the nations sustainable development.

This concept can be adapted to any other country after ascertaining that countrys specific needs, he added, when asked about the projects relevance for Viet Nam.

Toupin also said that the selection process for the engineers to be trained was very strict. To choose 600 candidates, 25,000 CVs were screened and the aspirants put through a strict selection process.

Our objective is to have all the plants operated 100 per cent by Egyptians, he added.

Construction of the new training centre will begin this year, in the Ain Sokhna area. When completed, the 2,000sq.m facility will serve 5,500 selected technicians and engineers over four years.

Earlier, speaking at the inauguration of the first phase of megaproject, Siemens President and CEO Joe Kaeser said: When strong partners wholeheartedly agree on a goal and give their best to reach that goal, amazing things happen.--VNS
HA NOI  Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc pledged enhanced efforts to improve the business climate to attract more Japanese investment, aiming to birth a new era in economic co-operation between the two countries.

Phuc was speaking on Monday at an investment promotion forum held in Tokyo, Japan as part of his official visit to Japan from Sunday to Thursday, which drew the participation of 1,600 firms, including 200 from Viet Nam.

At the event, businesses from both sides signed investment agreements worth US$22 billion.

Phuc expressed hope that there would be a new wave of investment from Japan to Viet Nam.

He vowed efforts to enhance the competitiveness of the Vietnamese economy and hasten institutional reform to give opportunities to all economic sectors.

"We also commit to continuing to complete investment policies to ensure consistency, openness, transparency, predictability and convenience for investors," he emphasised.

Phuc said that there were opportunities to invest in Viet Nam for foreigners, given the countrys political, social and macro-economic stability as well as the Governments efforts to create a favourable investment environment together with a dynamic economy.

Viet Nam is encouraging mergers and acquisitions combined with the privatisation of State-owned enterprises in areas such as transport, infrastructure, food, agriculture, telecommunications, trade, services, tourism and construction. This is a huge opportunity for Japanese investors to become strategic partners of Vietnamese firms in sectors with rich growth potential, Phuc stressed.

Viet Nam is focusing on improving legal frameworks and facilitating public-private partnerships in infrastructure development with flexible capital contribution ratios and mechanisms, Phuc said at the conference.

Phuc said that Viet Nam is also boosting start-ups and links to the global start-up ecosystem.

Viet Nam welcomes Japanese investments which encourage technology transfer, enhance brand value, financial capacity and corporate finance as well as promote engagement into the global supply chain, he added.

We expect Japanese investment funds and corporations to expand in Viet Nam and pour capital into new projects in prioritised areas like infrastructure development, logistics, aviation services, healthcare, education, science and technology, biology, high-tech agriculture and part supplying industries.

I believe that the close relationship between Viet Nam and Japan will be the foundation for the development and prosperity of the two countries, Phuc stressed.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe lauded the Vietnamese Governments efforts to improve the investment climate for Japanese investors, adding that Japan and Viet Nam work together to support Japanese investors in Viet Nam through improving infrastructure, the investment environment and human resource training.

After the conference, Phuc met with Japanese investors.

Earlier, the Prime Minister attended a roundtable with leading Japanese corporations in high technology, electronics, petrol and oil, finance and banking, trade and retail such as Canon, Panasonic, Nipro Corporation, Taisei Corp, Tokyo Gas, Idemitsu, Taiyo Nippon Sanso, Hitachi Zosen, Aeon, Fast Retail and Mitsubishi UFJ Leasing.

Phuc said that ideas from Japanese firms at the event would help the country devise measures to remove difficulties for firms and policies for economic development.

Phuc also urged Japanese firms to hasten the progress of their projects in Viet Nam.

In the morning, Phuc met with representatives of major Japanese enterprises and funds in Tokyo.

Speaking at the working session, Phucs said it was a good time for Japanese enterprises to invest in Viet Nam as the two countries had reached high-level agreements on boosting co-operation.

He said that Japan was the top supplier of official development assistance, the third largest source of tourist arrivals and the fourth largest trade partner of Viet Nam, and bilateral co-operative potential between the two remains huge. - VNS
HA NOI  Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc called for Japanese investments in high technology-based, environment-friendly and human development projects at a working session with 60 Japanese information technology (IT) companies on Tuesday.

Phuc is on a five-day official visit to Japan until Thursday.

Phuc said that Viet Nam would give priority to investments in information infrastructure, digital connectivity, national database system and IT human resource development.

"The 4.0 industrial revolution is changing the face of the world, the way we live, work and grow," Phuc said. In line with this new trend, Viet Nam is transforming its focus to high value-added sectors, which use advanced technologies and high-quality labour, to drive its economic growth.

Viet Nam has enormous growth potential in many sectors, including agriculture, IT, tourism and human development, according to the Prime Minister.

IT is booming in Viet Nam. Statistics show that in 2015, Viet Nam was in the top 10 countries of the Asia-Pacific region and top 30 of the world in software outsourcing. In 2016, export values of mobile phones, computers and their parts made in Viet nam touched more than US$55 billion.

Viet Nam is also among the top ASEAN countries in mobile application with around 60 per cent of the population under 35, and the capacity to learn new technologies easily and 52 per cent using internet.

The country is also planning to become one of the worlds leading software and digital content outsourcing providers with high-quality human resource.

Japanese firms at the working session said that they would hasten efforts to invest in Viet Nam and contribute to promoting the bilateral co-operation between the two countries.

A representative from Japans IHI Corporation proposed that Viet Nam should improve its legal framework for public-private partnership (PPP) to create favourable conditions for foreign investors.

A representative from Yamato, which showed intent to invest in delivery service in Viet Nam, said Viet Nam should revise its regulations on capping foreign investments in several sectors, such as transport (which is currently capped at 49 per cent).

Phuc, who was listening to the contributing ideas from the Japanese firms, vowed to create favourable conditions for foreign investors, expressing hope that the Japanese firms would continue to invest in Viet Nam.  VNS
HA NOI  State-owned commercial joint stock banks will be allowed to keep dividends which are supposed to be paid to the State budget so that they can increase their charter capital, State Bank of Viet Nams (SBV) Governor Le Minh Hung was quoted as saying.

In a recently released report on State ownership in enterprises, the Politburo said this decision is aimed at improving the financial capacity of State-owned banks, Hung told Thoi bao ngan hang (Banking Times).

The State currently holds stakes in Agribank, BIDV, Vietinbank, Vietcombank, Construction Bank, Ocean Bank and GP Bank.

Till now, banks have not been allowed to keep their dividends. Representatives of State capital at State-owned banks often require to vote for dividend payout to be in cash at the banks annual general meetings (AGM) so that the State receives money from dividends.

In 2015, for example, the finance ministry received VN2.7 trillion (US$120.96 million) in dividends from BIDV as the State held 95.28 per cent of BIDVs charter capital.

In the 2017 AGM season, Vietcombank, VietinBank and BIDV have so far made dividend payments in cash following the demand of majority shareholders, including the finance ministry, at 7-8 per cent.

The Politburos allowance will help banks increase their capital to meet the requirements of Basel II, which is due to take effect in Viet Nam this September, as part of a pilot programme in 10 banks. The remaining banks will follow two years later.

To meet Basel II requirements, banks have been trying to increase capital, but it has been tough. This year, 16 banks announced plans to increase capital by a total of around VN37 trillion.

Analysts said that despite their efforts, banks would find it difficult to increase their capital as bad debts remain the greatest hurdle, making investors apprehensive of putting their money in banks.

The Politburos report said the State would continue holding capital in Agribank, BIDV, Vietinbank and Vietcombank, with a controlling stake of not less than 65 per cent. This is an important factor in strengthening their potential and playing a dominant role in regulating the operations of the State-owned commercial banks, the Poliburo said.  VNS
BA RIA  VUNG TAU  Government officials urged businesses to achieve sustainable development goals and come up with practical plans at a seminar about environmental protection held yesterday in Vung Tau City.

Hosted by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), the seminar was organised following a series of events that celebrated 2017 World Environment Day (June 5), with the theme Connecting People to Nature.

Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Nguyen Linh Ngoc said that environmental degradation was on the rise, posing a direct threat to Viet Nams development achievements.

The seminar seeks to revise and improve existing environmental laws, together with relevant documents, Ngoc said, adding that he encouraged enterprises to exchange ideas and take more responsibility in pursuing sustainable business.

VCCIs director Vo Tan Thanh said that sustainability takes into account social, economic and environmental factors.

We havent paid sufficient attention on preserving the environment but have focused on other factors. The recent effects of climate change and extreme weather events have required us to make immediate changes to our development model, he added.

In addition to changes in policies, the seminar discussed water pollution control, environmental impact assessment and hazardous waste management, among other topics.

A total of 67 industrial parks and 532 industrial clusters in Viet Nam do not have a quality wastewater treatment system. Together with more than 5,000 craft villages that live on outdated technologies, they have directly affected public health, Ngoc said.

He added that similar seminars would be held in the time to come to help officials stay up to date with business enterprises and draft effective policies for them to achieve sustainable development goals.

On the same day, the Viet Nam Environment Administration (VEA) and Vinamilk Corporation held a tree-planting ceremony as part of the A Million Trees for Viet Nam project.

It was attended by the president of the Viet Nam Womens Union Nguyen Thi Thu Ha, deputy minister of Natural Resources and Environment Nguyen Linh Ngoc and chief of the Progamme Partnership Office at UNICEF Viet Nam Marianne Oehlers, among others.

Another seminar to raise awareness about health risks from outdoor burning activities was also held.  VNS
HA NOI  Some 5,000 craft villages across the country have been seriously polluting the environment and threatening the health of residents in surrounding areas.

According to data issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, only 4.1 per cent of craft villages use wastewater treatment systems.

In Ha Noi alone, 1,350 craft villages discharge up to 156,000 cubic metres of wastewater directly into the environment each day.

For example, four craft villages of Duong Lieu, Cat Que, Minh Khai, and Son ong in Hoai uc District were found to be releasing about 8,200 cubic metres of wastewater into the environment daily.

Nguyen Thi Hien, a resident living in Duong Lieu Commune said she and other residents had to suffer bad smells from craft villages wastewater, especially during hot weather.

Its terrible, she said.

Some craft villages processing farm produce in the districts of Thanh Oai and Bac Tu Liem also discharge about 7,000 cubic metres of wastewater daily.

In Hai Duong Province - home to 66 craft villages, wastewater produced by the Phu Loc wine-producing craft village and the Tong Buong rice-paper producing craft village was pumped directly into the provinces canals.

As a result, statistics from the provincial Natural Resources and Environment Department showed that the concentration of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) - the amount of oxygen needed in water, was 12-15 times higher than permitted, the concentration of total suspended solids (TSS) was 2-3 times higher than permitted, and the concentration of ammonia was 12-16 times higher than permitted.

Causes and solutions

Ngo Duy Hieu, deputy head of Ha Nois National Assembly delegation said authorised agencies have failed to deal with violations related to craft village pollution. Therefore they were partly blamed for the ongoing problems.

Poor co-operation between local residents and authorised agencies in discovering and handling violations also exacerbated the situation, he said.

Additionally, funds for reversing the pollution as well as raising awareness among village workers about the protection of water resources were still limited, he added.

In the short-term, Ha Noi has piloted a model to build centralised wastewater treatment systems in craft villages in districts of Chuong My, Hoai uc and Quoc Oai.

Tran Thi Phuong Hoa, chairwoman of Ha Noi Womens Union said city administration should conduct assessments of the effectiveness of this model.

It was also advised to make a list of craft villages that were heavy polluters, and then allocating funds to fix the problem soon, she said.

Vice chairman of the Peoples Committee of Gia Lam District, Nguyen Ngoc Thuan - the district where Bat Trang Craft Village located, suggested authorised agencies strengthen punishments to bring the situation under control.

In the long-term, Ha Nois administration has approved a project, worth VN1.35 trillion (US$59.4 million) in an attempt to end pollution caused by 1,350 craft villages in the city by 2030.

In the meantime, Hai Duong administration has consulted experts and relevant agencies to come up with solutions.

Senior water expert ao Trong Tu said at first authorities should focus on educating people about the importance of water resources.

So that public awareness of water resource protection will be improved soon, he said.

Tu also asked policy-makers to issue policies that encourage private enterprises to invest in wastewater treatment systems as a potential solution for the situation. VNS
NEW DELHI  Arundhati Roys eagerly-awaited second novel goes on sale today, two decades after her prize-winning debut The God of Small Things propelled her to global fame and launched her career as an outspoken critic of injustice in her native India.

Roy became the first Indian woman to win the prestigious Booker Prize with her 1997 work, which sold around 8 million copies and turned the young author into a star of the literary world.

In the years that followed, she turned to non-fiction writing, taking on issues ranging from poverty and globalisation to the conflict in Kashmir in essays that were often highly critical of Indias ruling class.

Her campaigning earned her the wrath of many in the Indian establishment and has clearly influenced her latest novel The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, which she has said took 10 years to produce.

Publisher Penguin says it takes the reader "from the cramped neighbourhoods of Old Delhi into the burgeoning new metropolis" and on to the troubled Kashmir Valley and the jungles of central India, wracked by a long-running Maoist rebellion.

"There was this huge sense of urgency when I was writing the political essays, each time you wanted to blow a space open, on any issue," Roy said.

"But fiction takes its time and is layered... It is not just a human rights report about how many people have been killed and where. How do you describe the psychosis of what is going on? Except through fiction."

Roy was lauded at home when she became the first resident Indian to win the Booker for her novel about twins growing up in the southern state of Kerala. Previous Indian winners had lived outside the country.

The Times of India in an editorial titled Novel Indian quoted a "prophecy" by James Joyce  "The East shall wake the West awake/And ye shall have night for morn"  which it said "seems to be coming true".

Roy recalled in a recent BBC interview how she was suddenly on the cover of every magazine  until she spoke out against Indias nuclear tests a year later.

"Not that I had a say in it, but I was being marketed as this new product of the global India," she said.

"And then suddenly the government did these nuclear tests... And I wrote this essay condemning the tests, and at that point the fairy princess was kicked off her pedestal in a minute."  AFP
TOKYO  Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc yesterday emphasised the key role of Asia in globalisation, naming three key measures for the region to tackle major challenges.

He made the statement while delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the 23rd International Conference on the Future of Asia in Tokyo.

"History shows that whether we support or oppose globalisation, it remains an inevitable trend," PM Phuc said.

"It is not merely an economic process but also reflects the desire of humankind to reach further, pursue well-being and conquer challenges."

The three measures that he mentioned include maintaining a peaceful and stable environment in the context of structural changes in the region, boosting green, sustainable and inclusive economic growth and optimising resources and promoting the role of international institutions.

He emphasised that while vision will decide modes of thinking, methods of action and co-operation among nations will build a peaceful and prosperous Asia. He detailed Viet Nams achievements during the 30-year renewal period, affirming the countrys determination to build an incorruptible Government that serves people and businesses.

He told participants that Viet Nam will strive to create development opportunities through strengthening international integration and participating in global management structures, create a favourable environment for the private sector, balance economic growth policies and effective management of resources and increase the quality of human resources for the industrial revolution 4.0.

The PM also lauded the contributions made by Japan to socio-economic development and poverty reduction in many Asian countries, as well as the partnership between Viet Nam and Japan.

During his dialogue with participants, he discussed the role of the ASEAN Economic Community, environmental pollution challenges in Viet Nam, the countrys development and the countrys involvement in bilateral and multilateral trade agreements.

He said Viet Nam has free trade agreements with 12 nations and is currently negotiating four others.

He emphasised that the country would continue working with the 11 remaining countries to implement the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a major regional trade deal from which the US recently withdrew.

He said that Viet Nam has a sustainable development strategy, with environmental protection a top priority.

As a country seriously affected by climate change, Viet Nam will work with other countries to implement commitments made in the Paris agreement, of which Viet Nam is a signatory, he said.

The International Conference on the Future of Asia is an annual event held by Nikkei  one of the biggest communications groups in the region.

Under the theme Globalism at a crossroads  Asias next move, this years event focuses on factors affecting the future of Asia, including protectionism and populism, relations among major nations and world order change and the development of ASEAN, China, and South Africa.

Viet Nam- Japan ties

Viet Nam treasures its partnership with Japan, considering it a priority in the countrys foreign relations, stated Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

He made the remark at a meeting with Tadamori Oshima, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan, in Tokyo yesterday.

Phuc expressed his delight at the growth of the Viet Nam  Japan intensive strategic partnership and close co-operation between the two parliaments.

Lauding Tadamori Oshimas visit to Viet Nam in late May, he asked the Japanese House of Representatives to increase exchanges with the Viet Nam National Assembly in making laws and promoting their friendship parliamentary groups in boosting bilateral ties.

He suggested the two bodies work together at regional and international forums, including the 2018 Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum hosted by Viet Nam.

The PM requested the Japanese lower house to back Viet Nam and ASEANs stance on the East Sea issue.

He also suggested the body support the Japanese Governments official development assistance for Viet Nam to develop infrastructure projects, improve workforce quality and tackle climate change.

Tadamori Oshima said he values Japans co-operation with Viet Nam and wants to support the relationship.

He agreed to boost mutual trust and understanding through exchanges between committees and young parliamentarians.

He stressed that the House of Representatives of Japan and JapanViet Nam Friendship Parliamentary Group are willing to work with the Vietnamese side in the celebration of 45-years of relations between the two countries.

Health co-operation

International Medical Development JSC of Viet Nams TH Group will work with Japans International Total Engineering Corporation (ITEC) to build a high-tech health care complex in Ha Noi.

A memorandum of understanding to this effect was signed in Tokyo yesterday during Prime Minister Phucs ongoing visit to Japan.

Established in 1981, ITEC is the first health service management consulting firm in Japan which aims to tackle the drastic changes taking place in Japanese healthcare.

ITEC President Johtaro Seki said the group will help its Vietnamese partner access cutting-edge medical solutions, adding that the complex is designed to become a five-star general hospital with leading doctors from countries with developed medicine and nurses trained in Japan.

TH Group Chairwoman Thai Huong said the 40-ha complex will offer medical prevention, treatment and rehabilitation services.

The Vietnamese and Japanese health sectors have signed a number of co-operation agreements on universal health coverage, new communicable disease prevention, human resources development and health equipment, among others.

Under the Viet Nam-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement, since 2012, Japan has helped train many Vietnamese nurses.  VNS
HA NOI  Viet Nam strongly condemns terrorist acts in any form and holds that such deeds must be met with strict punishments, Spokesperson for the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry Le Thi Thu Hang said.

Hang made the statement yesterday in response to the terrorist attack that took place in London on June 3.

We would like to offer our condolences for these losses to the Government of the United Kingdom, people and families of the victims, she said.

At least seven people were killed and 48 injured after three attackers drove a van into crowds on London Bridge and then went on a stabbing rampage in nearby Borough Market, the UK has confirmed.  VNS
HA NOI  Measures to ensure food safety were a hot debate topic in the National Assembly yesterday, as NA deputies spent the whole day reviewing the implementation of food safety laws and regulations from 2011-2016.

A report released by the National Assembly Steering Committee shows food safety violations have remained a grave issue over the past years, despite increasing inspections by authorised agencies.

According to the report, among the 3.35 million food producing and trading facilities/eateries inspected across the country in the five-year period, more than 678,000 establishments, or 20.2 per cent, were found to commit violations.

The period saw an average of more than 5,000 people suffering from food poisoning per year, while seven types of foodborne diseases, resulting in more than 4 million cases and 123 fatalities, were recorded. The consumption of unsafe food constituted a reason for the rapidly rising number of cancer patients, which kills about 70,000 people per year.

The report points out that State management to ensure safety of vegetables, fresh meat, animal produce and livestock slaughter remains weak. Authorised agencies still fall short of monitoring the process of food processing and sales, making it hard to control safety standards. Some officials failed to perform their tasks properly, because of irresoluteness or corruption.

As the first deputy to voice opinions after listening to the report, Nguyen Hoang Mai, from Tien Giang Province, said the number was just "the tip of the iceberg", citing an even more alarming figure.

"I am sure that there must be millions of diarrhea cases every year. It is not recorded, because people often seek self-treatment at home instead of going to the hospital," Mai said, adding that many people are growing vegetables or raising livestock for food as a self-protection measure, whereas many others are "leaving their health and life for luck and fate."

He proposed to add safe production as a new obligatory criterion for a locality to be recognised as a new-style rural area, as well as part of the regulations in each village.

He also suggested setting up a food safety hotline so that people can easily report food safety violations.

Deputy Nguyen Manh Cuong from Quang Binh concurred, stressing that the people are the best supervisors and should be given good conditions to report such violations.

At the moment, they do not know where to do so, while the reporting procedure is complicated and the mechanism to protect whistleblowers is not effective, he said.

Self-poisoning

Deputy Pham Trong Nhan from Binh Duong noted that numerous hazardous chemicals or banned substances used in food processing are still available in the market without control.

He said an average of 100,000 tonnes of pesticides and other crop protection chemicals, the use of which repeatedly raises public concern, are imported to Viet Nam every year, while an unmeasurable amount is still illegally imported.

"Is it exaggerated to say that we are self-poisoning?," he asked.

While strongly calling for responsibility and good will from food producers for the sake of public health and the "existence and peril of the nation", Nhan also insisted on the need to toughen the law to treat production and trade of unsafe food as a crime.

Under current laws, most food safety violations are only subject to administrative fines.

Deputies also lamented the overlapping role of the three ministries involved in the issue, which are Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Industry and Trade, making it hard to monitor legal implementation on the issue.

They stressed the need to establish a unified State body to monitor food safety-related issues to improve the situation.  VNS
HA NOI  In a move to relieve traffic pressure and environment pollution, Ha Noi is considering banning motorbikes entirely by 2030, as well as other measures like fee collection in rush hours and stricter regulations of app-based ride hailing services.

Authorities are seeking public opinions on a resolution under development named Enhanced management of vehicles and reduction of pollution in 2017-2020 period, with a vision towards 2030, which will be submitted to the municipal Peoples Council for consideration soon.

Per the resolution, in 2017-2020, the city will take stock of all motorbikes and develop an emissions standard which will be used to remove outdated bikes that fall short of environmental standards.

In 2025-2029, the city will pilot banning motorbikes in certain hours and days, on some streets or in the urban centre, moving towards a total ban by 2030, with electric bikes not exempt from the ban.

Simultaneously, the city will develop public transportation, which includes long-term plans like urban system, bus rapid transit system and other buses.

According to Ngo Anh Tu, Director of the Science Research and Training Centre, under the municipal Department of Transport, one of the parties developing the resolution, the ban on motorbikes will be imposed in urban districts, regardless of whether the bikes are from outside or inside the city.

The ban will surely have impacts on peoples ways of life, so public opinions are still being sought, he said.

A synchronized network will be put in place, to ensure that every citizen can access public transport in a 500m radius from where they live or work, the draft resolution reads.

Heated debates

Aviation economics professor Luong Hoai Nam, a frequent commenter on social issues, is a fervent proponent of the motorbike ban.

According to Nam, the 12 to 13-year roadmap towards 2030 should provide ample time for the city to develop its public transport system, which will help cut the need for private vehicles. Also, the period is long enough to settle problems arising from the ban, including career change support for people whose livelihood depends entirely on motorbikes and mass purchasing of outdated motorbikes, he added.

However, Nam rejected the authoritys choice for public transport.

He said previously, the city wrongly put high expectations on mass rapid transit (MRT)  urban public transit system using underground or elevated trains  since the systems coverage is limited and will not be able to meet the demands of millions of people deprived of vehicles.

The primary mode of public transport, Nam said, should be buses, developed in tandem with mini buses, tramlines, traditional taxis, increasingly popular third-party ride-hailing services like Uber and Grab, school buses and employee shuttle buses.

Each of the components in this network will support and complement each other, lessening the dependency on private vehicles.

The money that would go into developing 10km of MRT should be reserved for buying 10,000 buses  both the conventional and the mini version, that is much more practical, Nam said.

Many cities in China have already banned motorbikes while forgoing a MRT system, as has Myanmars capital Yangon, he added.

Regarding the group most likely to be harmed by a ban, small-scale vendors, Nam opined that transportation of goods using motorbikes would gradually have to move to mini trucks. Agricultural produce from rural areas or other provinces must be brought to wholesale markets and delivered throughout the city via trucks.

On the other side of the debate, Professor Nguyen Xuan Thuy, former Director of Transportation Publisher, told Thanh Nien (Youth) newspaper that traffic in Viet Nams cities should not be blamed on motorbikes alone.

In Ha Noi, public transportation can only handle 8-10 per cent of public demand and at the current rate of development, in 13 years, the rate will only reach about 20-22 per cent.

When motorbikes are banned, what will 80 per cent of the population do? Thuy asked.

Thuy also mentioned Yangon, saying that when city authorities decided to ban motorbikes in 2003, the city quickly became flooded with old cars, while pollution and traffic congestion remained problems.

To curb congestion, limits must be enforced on both motorbikes and cars, he said, adding these measures can only be done when public transportation meets 30-40 per cent of demand.

Ha Noi is considering ways to alleviate traffic jams during rush hours by restricting car access to certain streets, implementing odd-even hour vehicle ban schemes, or more drastically, a city-wide adjustment of work and school hours. Economic measures are also on the table, including fee collection in rush hours, progressive rates for street parking (the longer a car is parked the higher the hourly fee) especially in downtown areas.

According to the draft legislation, Ha Noi will not resort to administrative measures to curb the increase in cars. However, a quota scheme will be used for taxis  both traditional ones and new services like Uber and Grab  calculated based on current traffic infrastructure and capacity.

Nguyen Van Thanh, Chairman of the Viet Nam Automobile Transportation Assocation, said the original aim of Uber or Grab was to put leisure cars or motorbikes to use, under a sharing economy model. However, the number of these app-based taxis has risen dramatically, with ride-hailing taxis estimated to double the number of traditional ones, in addition, many people bought cars to join the industry.

Thanh expressed his scepticism at quotas, saying that a quota scheme might lead to more corruption, since there will likely be under-the-table transactions for higher quotas.

When the conventional and app-based ride-hailing services have their clashes, the market will decide which should prevail, when the number of taxis reaches a saturation point, then taxi drivers will have to adjust, Thanh said.

Ensuring transparency in income and tax declarations is the key task in regards to Uber and Grab, Thanh added, ensuring the rights of drivers, who, according to Uber, are not employees, but contractors, and therefore may not be entitled to rights under employment law.

 VNS
Gia Loc

HCM CITY  More public-private partnerships (PPPs) are needed in the private healthcare sector as public hospitals and clinics cannot meet the demand across the country, experts have said.

More than 170 hospitals and 30,000 health clinics and other health establishments are privately run, with nearly 15 per cent of the countrys total hospital beds, a Ministry of Health report released last year said.

The proportion of patients visiting private health facilities was only 6-7 per cent.

Other countries in Asia have a higher ratio of private hospital beds, with Indonesia having 37 per cent of its beds in private facilities and Thailand 24 per cent, Professor Pham Manh Hung, chairman of the Viet Nam Social Medical Association, said on the associations website.

Dr Vo Xuan Son, director of EXSON International Clinic in HCM City, said that private health facilities had not developed well because the Government had not issued many preferential policies or benefits for them.

Son said some private hospitals had invested a great deal in their facilities, but this had contributed to higher hospital fees. As a result, some of them have closed.

An Khang International General Hospital had to close because its turnover could not cover expenditures for medicine, human resources and other fees related to operations.

To attract patients, many private health facilities have signed contracts to admit insured patients with social insurance. In these cases, insured patients visited private health facilities and paid lower fees.

By 2020, more than 90 per cent of its population is expected to have health insurance.

However, Son said that it was difficult to sign contracts with the Social Insurance Agency.

The regulation on allowing doctors of public hospitals to work at private health facilities after official working hours has not led to favourable conditions for private facilities, he added.

In many other countries, a doctor can work at two or more hospitals during official working hours, Son said.

Truong Vinh Long, general director at Hoa Lam International Hospital Co.Ltd, said: It is a waste of human resources in the health sector.

Investment in the health sector has higher risks than in other sectors. For instance, a fault in production can be acceptable except the health sector. But a high price has to be paid in the health sector for mistakes, Long said.

Investors must look at the long term and reduce inessential expenditures to maintain operation in the first few years, he said.

Solutions

Long said that the PPPs were the key to develop private health facilities as they typically have modern facilities and professional governance.

Public health facilities have advantages such as a brand name, doctors with high qualifications, and a large number of patients, he added.

Private and public health facilities can work together and take advantage of their respective strengths, he said.

The Government has issued policies and decrees for PPPs, but the regulations need to be more specific in how to carry out the PPPs, he added.

Private health facilities should develop in fields where public hospitals have not specialised, he said.

At a meeting held early this year reviewing the health sector, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc urged speedier development of the private sector, particularly because of limited state funds.  VNS
HA NOI  Children and elderly people were hospitalised in their droves over last weekend in Ha Noi as temperatures reached a historic peak.

Two people have reportedly died because of the heat so far. A 70-year old woman was found dead after she stopped her motorbike on Xa an street at 10am yesterday. Earlier, on Saturday, a man in Le Phap Village in ong Anh District was also found dead after hours sitting under a tree to avoid the heat and sunlight.

Some 3,200-3,500 children were taken to the Department of Medical Examination of the Viet Nam National Hospital of Pediatrics per day for examinations, an increase of 10-15 per cent compared to normal, said Dr Tran Minh ien, the hospitals deputy director. Most of them had virus-related fevers, diarrhoea and respiratory diseases.

Doctor Nguyen Thu Huong, head of the Thanh Nhan Hospitals Department of Pediatrics said the number of children admitted to the hospital doubled during the weekend. Most of them were suffering from rhinitis, tonsillitis, bronchitis and pneumonia.

Some 30 children were admitted to the hospital within the first day of the hot spell due to high fevers. Its difficult to cool them down since the temperature is high, she said.

Several children were only taken to the hospital when their parents were no longer able to reduce their body heat, Huong said. Many were only hospitalised when seizures occurred, she said.

The number of young patients increased by 5-7 per cent at the Saint Paul Hospital during the weekend due to heat shock and respiratory infections, leading to pneumonia and high fever, said its deputy director Nguyen Van Thuong.

The number of elderly patients also rose at the Viet Nam National Geriatric Hospital, with an average of 300 patients coming to the hospital for medical examinations per day, Lao ong (Labour) newspaper reported. The most common diseases were respiratory diseases and cerebrovascular accidents, according to the newspaper.

There are some 200 types of virus-related diseases that occur in the summer. Most are harmless, except for chickenpox and dengue fever, according to medical research.

Children and elderly people are most vulnerable to the harsh summer heat, said doctor Thuong from Saint Paul Hospital. They should drink a lot of water, consume enough nutrients and a lot of fruit to improve their immune systems, he added.

Citizens should avoid going out from 10am to 4pm because the ultraviolet rays are the strongest during this time and can cause severe damages to the eyes, skin, and immune system, he said.

The capital city experienced the first heat wave of the summer over the past days. The highest temperature was recorded at Ha ong District at 42 degrees Celsius on Saturday, breaking records from the past 45 years, according to experts.

Le Thanh Hai, deputy director of the National Centre for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting, said that six hot spells are expected to hit the north of the country in June and July, three for each month, each lasting 3-7 days.

However, it is unlikely that temperatures will reach this peak again, he said.  VNS
HA NOI  An insurance card holder in HCM City has returned VN9 million (US$396) to the Heath Insurance Fund for misusing health insurance, according to HCM Citys Social Insurance Agency (SIA).

The 47-year-old man who resides in HCM Citys District 8 had visited several hospitals in the city for health examination and treatment.

After checking patients data on the health insurance medical information system, the citys agency found that he had visited hospitals 319 times between the end of June last year and the middle of January this year.

Specifically, on October 13 last year, he was examined at four hospitals in the city, namely HCM City Hospital of Traditional Medicine, District 1 Hospital, District 3 Hospital and Tan Binh District Hospital.

Luu Thi Thanh Huyen, deputy head of the city Social Insurance Agency said as soon as the incident was detected, the agency made contact with the patient.

After questioning by agency staff, the man agreed to return VN9 million for misusing the insurance fund and committed to not abusing the service again, she said.

Under the Health Insurance Law, violators face fines of VN500,000 to VN40 million ($22-$1,760), and even imprisonment, for misusing health insurance.  VNS
KABUL  Kabul will host a multinational peace conference on Afghanistan on Tuesday, as the capital reels from a wave of bombings and clashes last week that left more than 100 people dead and hundreds wounded.

Much of Kabul remains on lockdown ahead of the conference, labelled the "Kabul Process", with tighter than usual security including more armed checkpoints and armoured vehicles patrolling the streets.

Representatives of around two dozen countries will attend the meeting, which aims to build international support on ways to restore security in the conflict-torn country, the government said on Monday.

"The Kabul Process is meant to reach a consensus with the region and the world for peace in Afghanistan," said presidential spokesman Shah Hussain Murtazawi.

Kabul has been on edge since a truck bombing last Wednesday in the highly fortified diplomatic quarter killed at least 90 people and wounded hundreds, the deadliest attack in the city since 2001.

The dead included at least 31 staff and business partners of Roshan, Afghanistans leading telecom provider, with their main office in Kabul heavily damaged and nationwide operations disrupted.

Four more people were killed Friday when hundreds of protesters incensed by the bombing clashed with police, prompting officials to beat them back with live rounds in the air, tear gas and water cannon.

The protesters, holding a sit-in for a fourth day Monday near the bombing site, have demanded the resignation of Afghanistans security chiefs, including national security advisor Hanif Atmar.

The attacks have exacerbated tensions between rival ethnic groups and raised the prospect of a political crisis.

Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani, who heads the mainly Tajik Jamiat political group, also called for Atmars dismissal on Monday. But President Ashraf Ghani, an ethnic Pashtun, firmly rejected the demand.

Frontline

Rabbani survived an attack at the funeral of one of the protesters on Saturday where suicide bombers tore through a row of mourners. He blamed "terrorists within the system" for the blasts, suggesting it was an inside job.

The government has accused the Taliban-allied Haqqani Network of Wednesdays bombing and said the funeral was targeted by bombers trained at a religious seminary in Pakistan.

Previous international efforts to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table have failed, but diplomats in Kabul hailed Tuesdays conference as a stepping stone to peace.

"The launch of the Kabul Process tomorrow is an important marker for each and every country in the region to show its true support for Afghanistans aspirations for peace," said Dominic Jermey, the British ambassador to Kabul.

"This includes taking steps to tackle the challenges posed by terrorist networks and to prevent terrorists receiving support, whether from states or individuals."

The conference will be attended by a host of nations, including the United States, India, China and regional nemesis Pakistan, which Afghanistan has long blamed for sponsoring the resurgent Taliban.

The tense week of violence during the holy fasting month of Ramadan has left hospitals in Kabul overwhelmed, with many running beyond capacity to treat the injured.

The Italian-run Emergency hospital, seen as a medical lifeline, has voiced fears for the safety of its staff with protesters camped close to the facility.

"With the unfortunate events... in Kabul, our hospital has been put on the frontline," Emergency said in a statement.

"To continue our work we are asking only one thing: Security around our hospital and not to be targeted intentionally."  AFP
A man speaks on the phone outside the Bank of China head office building in Beijing, China, March 30, 2016. [Photo/VCG]

WINDHOEK - Bank of China opened its Luanda branch in the capital city of Angola on Monday.

The branch, the first Chinese bank in Angola, will start banking operations on June 6.

Chen Siqing, president of Bank of China, as well as some 300 representatives from the Chinese and Angola political, business and financial circle attended the ceremony.

The Bank of China Luanda branch will mainly focus on company businesses and will expand deposit, loan, remittance, international settlement, trade financing, financial markets and other services. It will also actively carry out Angola cross-border financing business to enterprises and customers.

Chen said the two countries have the common aspiration for development and a solid foundation for win-win cooperation. In 2016, bilateral trade volume reached $15.6 billion between China and Angola.

"The establishment of the Luanda branch will effectively promote bilateral economic and trade exchanges, and effectively promote bilateral cooperation agreement. When the Luanda branch of the Bank of China is established, it will focus on undertaking social responsibility and give full play to group strategy, cross-border service advantages and to provide information consultation for bilateral business matchmaking, business promotion, customer support and risk prevention package service." Chen said.

Meanwhile, the bank will actively serve Chinese enterprises to invest in Angola, support Angola enterprises to develop the Chinese market and put efforts to play a role of bridge for the strategic cooperation.
ORLANDO  A US Army veteran who had been fired in April from his job at a Florida company opened fire on Monday at the Orlando business, killing five people before taking his own life, authorities said.

Four people were killed at the scene, while a fifth died at the hospital, Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings told reporters. Seven people survived the ordeal.

The business, Fiamma, makes awnings and other accessories for recreational vehicles.

Demings said the incident was being treated as a "workplace violence incident" and did not appear to have any links to terror.

The 45-year-old shooter, identified by police as Army veteran John Robert Neumann Jr, had a semiautomatic handgun and two knives in his possession. All of the dead were former co-workers.

Shelley Adams, a resident of the area, told local media her sister worked at the firm and had been in the bathroom when she heard shooting.

"She came out and saw a man on the floor," Adams said.

The woman then called her sister on the telephone and kept saying, "My boss is dead. My boss is dead," Adams said.

The assailant had allegedly beaten up another employee at the business in 2014, but no charges were filed, the sheriff told reporters.

"It is a sad day for us here once again in Orange County," Demings said.

A year ago, Orlando  a hub of Floridas resort industry popular with tourists  was the scene of a mass shooting in a gay nightclub that left 49 people dead and dozens more wounded.

The gunman in that attack, Omar Mateen, had declared allegiance to the Islamic State group shortly before going on his killing spree.

"I ask all Floridians to pray for the families impacted by this senseless act of violence," Florida Governor Rick Scott said in a statement.

Neumann, who had no known family and was living alone at the time of the attack, was an ex-soldier who had been honorably discharged from the US Army in 1999.

The reason for his dismissal from Fiamma, where he had worked for years, was not immediately known.

Police said he had walked into the offices through a back door as his former colleagues were arriving for work at around 8:00am (1200 GMT) on Monday and opened fire, reloading his gun at least once.  AFP
WATERLOO  Changes in how the state determines when a person has been formally arrested could mean charges against a Waterloo man who was shot by police in 2015 will remain on track.

Jovan Darnell Webb, 29, of Illinois, was shot by Waterloo officers after he allegedly almost struck an officer with his vehicle when police were attempting to stop him in the New World bar parking lot off of Broadway and Riehl streets on April 5, 2015.

When he arrived at UnityPoint-Allen Hospital, Webb was ordered out of his car at gunpoint and handcuffed. He was treated while being guarded by an officer for several hours, and his clothing was seized and vehicle towed. In July 2015, he filed an excessive force lawsuit, and in August 2015, the Iowa Attorney Generals Office ruled the shooting was justified.

It wasnt until November 2015, some 229 days later, that Webb was taken into custody for assault on a peace officer, interference and carrying weapons in connection with the incident that sparked the police shooting.

Last month, defense attorney Robert Montgomery asked for the court to dismiss the criminal charges, claiming authorities had missed a deadline. He argued Webb was technically arrested when he was handcuffed and detained in April 2015, and the charges violate the states speedy indictment rules, which require formal charges be filed within 45 days of an arrest.

On May 25, while Montgomerys motion was pending, the Iowa Supreme Court, in an unrelated case from Black Hawk County, ruled an arrest isnt complete until a defendant is brought before a court. Therefore, the speedy indictment rule doesnt begin to apply until then, according to the Iowa Supreme Courts ruling.

The same day the Iowa Supreme Court opinion was posted, prosecutors asked the court to throw out the defenses dismissal motion and cited the opinion.

Police were called to break up a disturbance outside New World around closing time April 5, 2015. While patrons were leaving, a plainclothes officer attempted to stop Webbs vehicle and ran after it as it was driving through the parking lot.

Authorities allege Webb drove at Officer Steven Bose, who was in uniform and standing where the lot exits to Broadway Street. Bose dove out of the way, and Officers Mark Nissan and Thomas Frein thought Bose was being dragged by the car and fired at the vehicle, according to the Iowa Department of Public Safety, which investigated the shooting.

Bullets struck Webbs chest, abdomen and an arm, and he continued driving until he reached the hospital. Investigators found a .22-caliber revolver in his vehicle, records state.
BOONE  One honeymoon is not yet over.

Another is just beginning.

These are heady times for Republicans in Iowa, with their party in complete lawmaking control at both the federal and state levels.

Their GOPs new president, Donald Trump, has delivered a conservative justice to the U.S. Supreme Court and rescinded some of the regulations implemented under the previous, Democratic administration.

Their newly structured Iowa Statehouse delivered significant changes to state laws regarding abortion and public employee collective bargaining. And their new governor, Kim Reynolds, has taken the reins from her predecessor and gets a running start at next years election.

Thousands of Iowa Republicans gathered at big-ticket fundraisers on consecutive days this past weekend. Conversations with dozens of the attendees revealed they are optimistic about their new governor and GOP majority in the Iowa Legislature, and they remain ardently supportive of Trump.

The Republican Party is in a very good place, Martin Graber, who lives in Fort Madison and chairs the Lee County Republicans, said at one of the events.

About 1,300 people attended a black-tie-optional celebration of Reynolds recent swearing-in on Friday evening at a hotel ballroom in Des Moines East Village. The next afternoon, under a blazing sun at the Central Iowa Expo near Boone, another thousand-plus showed up at GOP U.S. Sen. Joni Ernsts third annual Roast and Ride fundraiser, which included a visit from Vice President Mike Pence.

At both events, Iowa Republicans stated unwavering support for the party.

Although large crowds flooded the Iowa Capitol at times during this years session to express dissatisfaction with some of those Republican-led changes  particularly regarding collective bargaining  Republican voters at the weekend events said they remain supportive of the partys agenda.

Trumps young tenure has at times been rocky and his approval rating in national public opinion polls is low, but Iowa Republicans remain in the presidents corner.

If you go back and look at what he promised he was going to do, hes doing that, in my opinion. Hes being obviously hampered just a little bit by some of the establishment in Washington, said Graber, who attended the Roast and Ride wearing a red, white and blue shirt. When its all said and done, I think he will deal with the American people and get done what needs to get done.

Big support

for Trump-Pence

The support for Trump and Pence was palpable at the Roast and Ride. Pence, a motorcycle rider, did not participate on the 49-mile ride, the proceeds from which benefited a veterans charity, but he did hop on a Harley to make a short ride and entrance to the event stage.

Trump-Pence T-shirts were everywhere, and interviews with many attendees yielded few cross words for the administration.

Trumps approval rating average to start the week was nearly 15 points under water: His average approval rating in major public opinion polls was 39.7 percent and his disapproval rating 54.4 percent.

But at those events in Iowa over the weekend, Trumps popularity remained as high as Saturdays scorching temperatures.

When I heard (Pence) was coming, thats when I bought my ticket, said Cathy Clark of Grimes, wearing her Trump-Pence T-shirt. I want to see them keep moving forward, if we can, with some of the things that Trump wants to do. I just love it. ... Im really impressed with what theyre doing.

Clark said immigration policy was a key motivator in her 2016 vote for Trump, and she hopes the federal courts clear the way for Trump to implement his executive order restricting travel from several Muslim-majority countries. Trump says the travel ban is needed to prevent terrorists from entering the U.S.; opponents say it equates to a religious ban.

I would like to see the courts decide that its OK to keep those people out of those five countries, Clark said. Im glad that theyre sending people back. Why do we want murderers and rapists here? Why? I dont understand that, why people are so upset about that. I want to keep my grandkids safe and my son and my kids.

Clark said she also would like to see Trump and the Republican Congress tackle tax reform.

My biggest thing is that they take hordes of money out of my check every month, she said. And I would just, I would love to see a 15 percent tax or something that theyre not just gouging some people.

But before the federal government can cut taxes, it must repeal the health care policies implemented under Democratic President Barack Obama, said Rod Ballard of Grimes.

It must have been sweet music to Ballards ears, then, when moments later, Pence spent a good chunk of his address encouraging the GOP Congress to complete a health care reform bill and send it to the president.

The governments got no damn business being in the health insurance business, Ballard said. Were not saying take the safety net away, which is what the left-wing media wants people that are uneducated people to believe.

Draining the swamp

Trump has not yet been able to deliver on the travel ban, health care reform or the wall along the southern border to curtail illegal immigrants from Mexico, but that is more Congress fault  both Democrats and Republicans  than Trumps, people at the Roast and Ride said.

Hes running into problems with the Democrats being obstructionists. I guess they dont have the country at heart. I guess they really dont care about us. Thats why we voted the way we did. Thats why Trumps where hes at, to drain the swamp, said Leonard Wallace of Des Moines. He just needs to clean house and drain the swamp.

Wallace said he still supports the agenda Trump laid out on the campaign trail.

Everything on the laundry list that President Trump said, thats why we voted for him, he said. Theres so much that needs to be done, and he had the list. So lets go for it.

Even Trumps budget, which has been criticized for its dramatic spending reductions, was met with approval at the Roast and Ride.

Wearing his red Make America Great Again hat, Charles Betz, a self-described Libertarian from Tama, said because his biggest concern is the national debt, he approves of Trumps budget proposal. In fact, Betz said he was surprised to see spending increases in any department; military spending received a boost under Trumps proposal.

The budget thing that came out last week was some pretty drastic cuts, Betz said. But my biggest issue the last few years has been our obscene debt, $20 trillion. Somebodys got to do something, and I think its going to have to be something drastic. So Im in support of (Trumps budget) even though some of them are pretty extreme.

Republican state lawmakers did not have the same trouble as their congressional counterparts. This years session of the Iowa Legislature produced significant conservative reforms, some of which were met with public backlash that manifested itself at Capitol protests and intense public forums.

But Republicans at the pair of fundraisers said they approve of the GOP-led changes.

And they were unblinking in their confidence in Reynolds, the new governor who served as former Gov. Terry Branstads lieutenant since 2011.

I think shes going to do a great job, said Dan Shields of Johnston. I really am very confident. No qualms whatsoever about her capabilities.

Trump was scheduled to hold a rally on Thursday in Cedar Rapids, but that event was postponed. Trumps campaign team said the president will return to Iowa at a date to be determined in mid-June.

When he does, if this past weekend is an indicator, Trump can expect a welcoming crowd.
DES MOINES  The states child welfare system went under the microscope Monday.

A joint legislative committee met to examine the Department of Human Services process for removing foster children from homes and the workload of social workers who handle such cases.

The review comes after the October death of Natalie Finn of West Des Moines and the May death of Sabrina Ray of Perry. The 16-year-old girls, who were both adopted from state care, were found dead in their homes.

Sabrina died from severe malnutrition, weighing 56 pounds at the time of her death. Finn also died of starvation. The parents in both cases await trial on multiple charges.

For more than six hours, legislators questioned DHS officials, as well as county attorneys, law enforcement officials and a district judge.

They touched on everything from staffing levels and funding to how allegations of child abuse are addressed.

Child safety is a crucial role for all of us. As a parent, my children and all of Iowas children deserve the opportunity for a safe childhood and optimistic future, said Sen Michael Breitbach, R-Strawberry Point.

Legislators were concerned about low staffing levels and high caseloads as well as how foster parents are recruited and trained.

Here are some numbers that show why the Iowas current system to prevent child abuse is stressed beyond its capacity, said Sen. Matt McCoy, D-Des Moines. There are 1,135 fewer people working for DHS today than when Gov. Branstad/Reynolds assumed office in 2010. Last year, 37,840 children and adults were assessed for abuse.

Thirty-six percent of all assessments yielded a finding of abuse indicating a need for child welfare case management. Just 182 Iowa social workers do on-site assessments for abuse and 56 Iowa counties have no assigned child investigators who actually live in that county.

DHS officials said Iowa thoroughly reviews all foster parents. The states goal is to keep children safely in their homes. In cases of abuse or neglect, children are placed with relatives before foster case.

Care plans are put into place and home assessments are conducted through a third-party human services agency.

For the kids that reside in foster care in the state of Iowa, 99.7 percent of the time are free from any kind of maltreatment  99.7 percent. Is it 100 percent? It obviously is not, said Wendy Rickman, division administrator of adult children and family services at DHS.

... But when were talking about whether the system is functional or not  cases like this, which we are so concerned about  create a crisis in the child welfare system.

Meanwhile, the state Monday announced it has hired an outside organization to conduct a review of the child welfare system. The Child Welfare Policy and Practice Group, an Alabama-based not-for-profit group, will be paid $39,550 for six visits over the coming months to look at challenges and offer solutions.

CWG worked in Iowa for several years beginning in 2000 on system evaluation and staff training. It also participated in an evaluation of child safety in Iowa following a childs death during that period.

But several Democratic legislators said they dont believe working with CWG goes far enough.

The review comes as the departments longtime director, Charles Palmer, announced plans to retire this month.

During her weekly news conference Monday, Gov. Kim Reynolds said her administration will re-evaluate the states child protection efforts.

No child should have to endure the abuse that those two children endured. Its unconscionable, she said. We have an obligation to review this process and see if the adequate process is in place, and thats what well do. That is what the Legislature is doing this morning, that is what this office will continue to do.

The governor stressed Iowa has great foster parents out there taking care of children by doing it right.
WATERLOO  City leaders pulled the plug on plans to require security cameras in many Waterloo retail stores.

City Council members voted unanimously Monday to reject an ordinance that would have expanded in-store video surveillance systems  now required in convenience and liquor stores  to a much larger mix of businesses.

The ordinance, modeled after a similar program in Cedar Rapids, drew increasing opposition from business owners concerned about the cost of installing the cameras.

Councilmen Jerome Amos Jr., Ron Welper, Pat Morrissey and Tom Powers had all supported the ordinance during a May 22 consideration but flipped their votes this week to join Tom Lind, Steve Schmitt and Bruce Jacobs in voting it down.

I really appreciate the concept of what were trying to do here, but there seems to be much confusion as to who should have it and who shouldnt and what it costs and doesnt cost, Welper said.

Powers said he supported the efforts of the police department in meeting with business owners to put the ordinance together but conceded the measure needed a fresh look later on.

I am aware of a lot of miscommunication, misrepresentation, misperceptions that are out there, he said.

The Waterloo Police Department pushed for in-store cameras to help solve crimes in and around stores. The ordinance also was designed to upgrade technology requirements for existing systems.

The proposed ordinance would have added banks and credit unions, carry-out restaurants, coin dealers, payday lenders, firearm dealers, cellular phone dealers, money transmission services, pawn brokers, pharmacies, scrap metal dealers and second-hand goods dealers to the list of businesses needing cameras.

Lind, who supported the first reading of the ordinance, said he was overwhelmingly encouraged by constituents to turn it down.

The ordinance before us puts another unnecessary financial burden on our taxpayers and is designed to solve a problem that doesnt widely exist, Lind said. The crime and shootings occurring in town are happening right in our own neighborhoods, not at our local Dairy Queen.

Mayor Quentin Hart said he was open to hearing new ideas if someone wanted to continue looking at a similar ordinance.

There was a considerable amount of time spent trying to get at least to this point, Hart said. I think the intentions were honorable, trying to find different ways to aid the PD in the work that needs to be done within our community.
Around Midland and around the world, loving and leading all people to deeper life in Jesus Christ.
By West Kentucky Star Staff Jun. 02, 2017 | 11:10 AM | SALEM, KY

After two off-duty Kentucky State Troopers helped rescue a dog trapped inside a tree Thursday in Livingston County, the story went worldwide over the weekend.

Rocco's rescue story -- retold below -- quickly jumped from local news sources like West Kentucky Star across the state to WHAS-TV and the Lexington Herald Leader. Almost simultaneously it was repeated in Nashville, Boston, Florida, Des Moines, and Seattle, then received network coverage by CBS.



Within 24 hours, the tale was an international viral sensation, when it was picked up by major European information outlets like The Daily Sun in London, the Belfast Telegraph, Australia's news.com and the New Zealand Herald.





Original Story:



KSP Sergeant Michael Williams and Trooper Gerick Sullivan were mowing a cemetery in Salem when they heard the barks of a dog coming from a wooded area. After several minutes of looking, the troopers found a dachshund, later identified as Rocco, trapped inside the trunk of a tree.

The dog had gotten inside the tree through a nearby groundhog hole and was unable to get out.

The troopers summoned the help of the Salem Fire Department after their attempts to free the dog were unsuccessful. Salem Firefighter Daniel Newcomb cut part of the tree, allowing for the dog to be freed safely.

Rocco was then returned to his owner. The opening in the tree was made larger, should Rocco or another dog find themselves inside the tree again.
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First:

Boza is doing great, we have finally found the medicines that work, but do not make a zombie dog from him. At the end of June, Boza gets his left eye operated on. He will have a shunt put in to drain the excess fluids. Finally getting somewhere. The left eye is a lost cause for sight

The right eye is doing great and we are saving sight in it. He will never see good, but he can now chase  (golubi) or pigeons and they love to come right up to him and see if he wants to share any food 

Good birds

Second:

This Sunday we will leave for the Tiny Russian Village

We will stay two weeks and will shut the village home down for the winter, plant white lilacs, let Boza run and play, allow me to energize, let Svetochka have a vacation and try to get the cars body work and extra engine stuff done. Our mechanic is in the Big Village. All in two weeks, oh my!

Third:

[contentcards url=http://www.mgavm.ru/]

This is Bozas main doggy hospital, university and all around any animal care place. Huge place and wonderful. Full of international students and more so with local students from Russia. It is interesting to see lots of British black students. It should make you think why they come all the way to Russia to learn to be a veterinarian?

Basic information about the academy: Just for your tidbit of information



Full name: Federal State Budget Educational Institution of Higher Education Moscow State Academy of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnology  MBA named after K.I. Scriabin Short name: FGBOU VG MSAVMiB  MVA them. K.I. Scriabin The Academy is one of the oldest universities in Russia, founded in 1919 in Moscow. Location location (legal address): 109472, Moscow, ul. Academician Scriabin, house 23

Actual address: 109472 , Moscow, ul. Academician Scriabin, house 23

Contact phone numbers

8 (495) 377-91-17  reception of the rector

8 (495) 377-93-32  admission committee

8 (495) 377-92-88  receptionist of the pro-rector for academic work

8 (495) 372-43-85  the center of pre-university training

8 (495) 377-89-36  department for work with foreign students

8 (495) 377-92-24  veterinary center

E-mail: rector@mgavm.ru

Mode / schedule of work The work schedule is from 9.00 to 18.00 (13.00-14.00 break) with a five-day working week. The mode of work of the faculty is from 9.00 to 17.12 with a five-day working week.

Yerevan Branch Office National Agrarian University of Armenia

Address 0009, Republic of Armenia, Yerevan, Str. Teryan 74

Contact phone numbers

Reception (+37410) 52-45-41,

Office (+37410) 58-19-12

Website www.anau.am

Email info@anau.am

Founder of the educational organization Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation Head: Tkachev Alexander Nikolaevich Legal address: 107139, Moscow, Orlikov Pereulok, 1/11 Contact phone numbers

8 (495) 607-80-00  phone of reference service

8 (495) 607-83-62  fax

Email info@mcx.ru

Website www.mcx.ru

Working hours:

Working time 9:00  18:00

They care for any and all animals. From kitties to horses (Did not see any elephants though! But I am sure I saw bears!)

Fourth: America the Land of the Free and of course always the Truth!



[contentcards url=http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-06-05/nsa-leaker-called-trump-piece-shit-fan-bernie-sanders]

As reported earlier, Reality Leigh Winner is the 25-year-old woman who stole Top secret documents from the National Security Agency and leaked them to The Intercept, confirming that the Russian military intelligence GRU was behind an attempt to hack more than 100 local election officials.

Oh my! How convenient.

Fifth: (and in honor of the endless chaos!)

Ta-ra-ra Boomdeay

Have a nice day everyone

WtR
Chilean architect Samuel Bravo has been announced as the winner of the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD) 2017 Wheelwright Prize with his propelling research theme "Projectless: Architecture of Informal Settlements", will be supported with a $100,000 travel grant to investigate informal settlements on the proposed regions. The Wheelwright Prize is one the most prestigious prizes of the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD) to support contemporary architecture in much more practical efforts over in-depth analyses with specific focus.

Selected among other three assertive finalists including Lucia Cella, Andjela Karabasevic and Farzin Lotfi-Jam, Bravo will investigate traditional architectures and informal settlements, revisiting the subject of "architecture without architects" as articulated by architect and social historian Bernard Rudofsky in the landmark 1964 Museum of Modern Art exhibition.

Ani Nii Shobo, Ucayali, Peru, 2009 - 2014. Image courtesy of Samuel Bravo

Bravo's travel itinerary will start from proposed sites in South America, Asia and will end up in Africa - he will develop practical strategies to integrate vernacular, collective practices with the modern architectural project.

Samuel Bravo holds his graduation degree from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile in 2009 and he leads his own practice Samuel Bravo in Chile. He developed several community projects and residential buildings in Chile and Peru including Ani Nii Shobo in Ucayali, Peru - a healing center and nature reserve based on the traditional medicine of the Shipibo people, Melimoyu Cabin in Melimoyu Bay, Aysen, Chile - a small wooden shelter to meet the necessities to inhabitants and Chiloe House in Chiloe Island - a newly-completed project is composed of a prismatic and a polyhedron volume that acts as a solid shell due to the convergence of edges.

Melimoyu Cabin, Melimoyu Bay, Aysen, Chile, 2012. Image courtesy of Samuel Bravo

"Bravos Wheelwright proposal Projectless begins by acknowledging that formal architecture addresses a minority of the worlds population, while the vast majority live in informally built dwellings. Rudofsky characterized the projects in his 1964 exhibition as "not produced by the specialist but by the spontaneous and continuing activity of a whole people with a common heritage, acting under a community of experience", as noted the Wheelwright Prize.

"Bravo extends this notion to his study of the traditions and methods that enable formal architecture to operate "within the paradigm of projectless environments," sensitive to the potential "cultural frictions" associated with restructuring problematic settlements."

According to the Wheelwright Prize, the Bravos travels will begin in the Amazon basin, home to 400 ethnic groups including some still-isolated tribes, and continue to the Amazon flatlands, where he will visit dozens of settlements, large and small, from Peru to Colombia to Brazil.

The architect will observe pristine settlements as well as those that are pressured by the forces of development, resource extraction, and migration. He will continue to Africa, where urban centers (such as Lagos, Nigeria) are experiencing extreme population growth. In Asia, he plans to visit Bangladesh, Nepal, and India, where he has identified a range of case studies, from traditional villages to global slums.

Chiloe House, Chiloe Big Island, Chile, 2016 - 2017. Image courtesy of Samuel Bravo

"Samuel Bravo is a sophisticated designer and a mature thinker, qualities that make him an ideal candidate for the Wheelwright Prize. His work on its own is striking, and the participatory design-build process he has refined over time is additionally compelling. In resurrecting ideas about so-called non-pedigreed architecture and expanding the scope of his research and practice internationally, Bravos project opens up new and exciting paths for the next generation of architects," said Mohsen Mostafavi, juror and Dean of Harvard GSD.

"Samuel Bravos proposal relates to the current architectural desire for self-reflective practice with social impact, and a spate of exhibitions and publications about designing for expanded audiences and publics," added juror K. Michael Hays, Eliot Noyes Professor of Architectural Theory and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at Harvard GSD.

"But what makes Bravos work and research proposal stand out is his particularly strong articulation of design as a response to a host of complex issues, from the experiential qualities of building materials to the systems of their extraction and distribution, from preserving craft to allowing for sustainable development, from promoting autonomy with regards to local labor to planning for urban connectivity. Bravos intelligence and rigor cut through multiple layers architectural concerns," detailed Hays.

Nii Juinti - a flexible shell for a home and school in Ucayali, Peru, 2013 - 2014. Image courtesy of Samuel Bravo

Celebrating its fifth year, the Harvard GSD's Wheelwright Prize is an open international competition supporting travel-based research initiatives proposed by extraordinary early-career architects. The Wheelwright Prize jury included Gordon Gill, FAIA, Mariana Ibanez - an associate professor at Harvard GSD, Gia Wolff - the first winner of the relaunched Wheelwright Prize 2013 with Mohsen Mostafavi and K. Michael Hays, standing Wheelwright Prize Jury Members.

In 2016, Anna Puigjaner won the Wheelwright Prize with her project "Kitchenless City: Architectural Systems for Social Welfare" and she visited dozens of sites in Senegal, Malaysia, Thailand, Mexico, with Canada, Russia, Japan, Peru, and elsewhere on her forthcoming itinerary.

At the end of their studies, Wheelwright Prize winners are invited to present their findings at Harvard GSD. All the links to their presentations are found on the Wheelwright Prize and Harvard GSD websites.

Top image courtesy of the Wheelwright Prize

> via The Wheelwright Prize
Jun 5, 2017 | By David

When it comes to developing new things for us to eat and new ways to eat them, 3D printing technology has certainly been on the menu for a while now. 3DSystems Foodjet, the first 3D food printer, was launched back in 2014; pastry extruders are available as optional extras for a number of desktop 3D printers; and weve reported before on efforts by a team at Columbia to develop a 3D printer that can also cook your food. At the less nutritious but still tasty and fun end of the spectrum, a platform called Pixsweet is now offering users the chance to design their own 3D printed popsicles.

Pixsweet was founded by Finnish 3D printing expert Janne Kyttanen, whose 3D printing resume covers everything from fashion to design. His company, Freedom of Creation, procuces all kinds of exclusive 3D printed items, from jewellery to footwear to furniture.

After Freedom of Creation was acquired by 3D Systems, Kyttanen moved to L.A. and set up What The Future Venture Capital with Dutch investor Eduard Zanen. This start-up / investment firm aimed to identify new business ideas, with a particular focus on the most cutting-edge technologies like 3D printing and virtual reality, and create them as quickly as possible. Pixsweet, which was launched last year, has been one of the companys success stories.

The platform is straightforward to use, making use of 3D design software and 3D printing technology without demanding any level of expertise from users. All they have to do is upload a photo on the site, and it will be converted into a 3D image, ready to be printed. Any photo will do, and the customer will get their 3D printed popsicle delivered to them in whatever flavour they choose. There is also a huge range of cute stock popsicles available, from unicorns to palm trees to hearts.

Of course, the 3D printers used by Pixsweet don't actually print ice. Instead, they print an inverted version of the chosen design in plastic, which functions as both a mold and the popsicle's packaging. Liquid is then squirted into the packaging before being sealed inside. Once customers receive their package, they can freeze their popsicle at home.

The service is currently only available in California, but thanks in part to Kyttanens fashion industry connections and social media savvy, Pixsweet has already had some impressive exposure. It recently produced some bespoke lickable treats for L.A. Fashion Week, with popsicles in the shape of handbags and shoes. Blogger Perez Hilton is also visible on the site's homepage, posing with a couple of popsicles modelled after his own face.

The services offer to 3D print any image that is uploaded does come with some caveats, however. The direct, user-generated production that it offers is still subject to the same restrictions that a conventional manufacturing process would be. This means that trademarks and copyrights are still protected, as are publicity rights.

The website specifically states that it wont 3D print an image thats already established without explicit permission from whoever owns the rights to it, so if you want to lick the face of Ryan Gosling, Scarlett Johansson, or Rick Moranis, make sure they sign off on you using their likeness first.

A 3D printed ice pop is currently available from Pixsweet for just $5, or you can grab a pack of 8 for $19.99. If the service does expand beyond its Californian origins, its not an exaggeration to say that this could change the face of confectionery forever.

Posted in 3D Printing Application

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Jun 6, 2017 | By Benedict

Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a robotic system that uses 3D scanning to intelligently stack and balance irregularly shaped objects. The robot could someday be used to build habitats on Mars.

(Image: Gizmodo)

Considering all the amazing things that robots can do, building one that stacks rocks hardly seems like the best use of a roboticists time. But thats exactly what researchers at ETH Zurich have done, in the hope that such a rock-stacking robot could someday be used to build useful structures like walls and even buildings.

At the 2017 International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) in Singapore last week, researchers from ETH Zurich presented a paper detailing their unusual robotic system, which is currently capable of 3D scanning irregularly shaped objects, picking them up, and stacking them vertically.

The researchers say such robots could eventually be used to build breakwaters, to clear up rubble after a buildings demolition, or to construct giant stone walls to defend against extreme weather. The robotic system could even be implemented on Mars to build habitats for human settlers using local materials.

Stacking rocks might not seem like such an impressive feat, but making a robot perform the task is harder than you might think. Thats because figuring out which potential configurations of uneven objects will balance and which will topple requires a great deal of information, most of which we glean with our eyes.

Accordingly, this robot uses eyes (of a sort) to determine the shape and size of the individual objects it needs to stack. These eyes, however, are actually a 3D scanner and a camera.

The point cloud and mesh model of the objects geometric shape [are] acquired with an ATOS Core high precision scanner, the researchers explain in their paper. A separate RGB-D depth camera mounted on the robot arm then keeps an eye on the individual objects as the arm moves them around.

When the robotic system has collected 3D data about each irregular object, it can create a virtual environment containing digital representations of the objects. This environment allows the system to simulate how each object should be oriented and positioned so that it will balance on top of the previously placed object.

Then, in the real world, a robotic arm attempts to carry out the virtual simulations on the real objects.

In practice, the robots three-fingered arm occasionally causes the tower of objects to topple, after which it will recognize the failure of the attempt before trying another configuration. The researchers say the robot has been able to stack as many as six rocks in a vertical tower.

Ultimately, this unusual robotic system could prove advantageous over more traditional construction robots, which are only designed to place evenly shaped objects like bricks. But the researchers arent finished: they now hope to develop a more advanced system that can work with unidentified or partially identified objects, and which can build other structures, including arches and walls.

The authors of the research paper were Fadri Furrer, Martin Wermelinger, Hironori Yoshida, Fabio Gramazio, Matthias Kohler, Roland Siegwart, and Marco Hutter.

Posted in 3D Scanning

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Jun 6, 2017 | By Benedict

Stratasys subsidiary Solidscape, a specialist in high-precision wax pattern 3D printers, has unveiled its new S300 series of 3D printers. The machines are targeted at jewelry manufacturers, service bureaus, and investment casting companies.

3D printing giant Stratasys likes to cover all bases. From additive manufacturing factories of the future to simple 3D printed foot orthotics, the Minnesota-headquartered company demonstrates an interest in virtually every nook and cranny of the 3D printing industry.

Its therefore no surprise that Stratasys has its own 3D printed wax pattern specialist, Solidscape, which is responsible for developing 3D printers specifically for jewelry makers. The subsidiarys 3D printers are also used by industrial customers for specific applications.

As part of its overall mission to provide unrivaled jewelry 3D printing solutions to its customers, Solidscape has this week lifted the lid on its new line of jewelry-specific 3D printers, the S300 series, as well two new 3D printing materials.

The growing global demand for high-end custom jewelry we see requires professional tools that can produce any design without limits, said Fabio Esposito, Solidscape President. The new S300 Series printers and materials offer jewelers unique 3D printing accuracy, precision, and reliability.

Solidscape says its new 3D printers, the S350 and S370, utilize a re-engineered material delivery system, temperature control system, and doubly sized tank capacity to deliver overall reliability for jewelry makers. Both printers use Solidscapes Smooth Curvature Printing (SCP) technology, a combination of precision drop-on-demand jetting and meticulous milling, which purportedly delivers the industrys highest accuracy, unmatched at 6 m resolution, as well as a smooth surface finish.

The Stratasys subsidiary has also released two new 3D printing materials compatible with its new line of 3D printers, as well as existing machines. One of the materials, a castable material named Midas, provides a clean burnout with no thermal expansion, and is suitable for metal casting with materials including platinum as well as room-temperature vulcanizing (RTV) molding.

This 3D printing material works alongside Melt-J, a non-toxic dissolvable support material that eliminates the need to create or remove support structures, making the entire printing process more efficient.

These new materials have purportedly been designed to work with existing manufacturing and casting processes, removing the need for special burn-out schedules or equipment.

For every profession out there, having the right tools is extremely important, commented Hagop Matossian of Bostonian Jewelers and Manufacturers, a Solidscape customer. Solidscape machines are worth their weight in gold.

Posted in 3D Printer

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Margo wrote at 6/8/2017 11:34:48 PM:And the price?




Jerry Saltz at New York Magazine:

A great work of art from 1875 never seen in any museum, almost never seen at all, and all but lost to history, sat radioactive on the wall of a small gallery at the recent Frieze New York art fair. A simple depiction in prismatic hues  pencil and lustrous color  somehow expressed a thousand anxieties, lost freedom, emotions secreted away, omens of anger, empty worlds, tears, and the life of a captive. We see a canary yellow locomotive pulling a decorated red coal car and an invisible payload moving in an 1875 landscape of fields of corn, front yards, wooden fences, towns, buildings, and tracks, all running through the back of Americas memory. This is the end of the journey of 72 Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Kiowa prisoners of war found guilty without trial and all taken south and east away from their native lands of eastern Colorado, western Kansas, northern New Mexico, Oklahoma, and the Texas panhandle. Removed from a region that once teemed with herds of wild horses and bison and the traditional Plains way of life, they were piled on horse carts, ships, and train and brought to a prison camp at Fort Marion in St. Augustine, Florida.

The artist is Bears Heart, one of the 72 prisoners on that fateful forgotten train. Once the captives reached Fort Marion they were subjected to rigorous military discipline and forced labor. However, to please visiting tourists the prisoners were also encouraged to draw. Thus, like prisoners everywhere, these artists found coded ways to depict their captivity.

more here.
Stuart Walton in Aeon:

One wants to break free of the past, Theodor Adorno, one of the Frankfurt Schools leading luminaries, wrote in an essay in 1959. Rightly, because nothing at all can live in its shadow, and because there will be no end to the terror as long as guilt and violence are repaid with guilt and violence; wrongly, because the past that one would like to evade is still very much alive. In an age when the meanings of the past and the functions they are called upon to serve are so hotly contested, Adornos insight reminds us, in a typically double-edged way, that humanity is both composed of and trapped inside its history. This view of history underpinned the work of the boldest and bravest philosophers of the past century: the first generation of the Frankfurt School. Their arguments lacked for nothing in theoretical aspiration, and have scarcely begun to be assimilated, even today.

A key point of disputation for this generation of thinkers arose from the notion that society, in its progress from barbarism to civilisation according to the narrative of the European Enlightenment, had been increasingly founded on the principle of reason. Where mythology once held sway, the rationalistic sciences now reigned supreme. Among the Frankfurt Schools most provocative contentions was that Western civilisation had unwittingly executed a reversal of this narrative. The heroic phase of the 18th-century Enlightenment purported to have freed humankind of antique superstition and the demons of the irrational, but the horrors of the 20th century gave the lie to that triumphalism. Far from humane liberation, 20th-century Europeans had plunged into decades of savage barbarism. Why? The Frankfurt School theorists argued that universal rationality had been raised to the status of an idol. At the heart of this was what they called instrumental reason, the mechanism by which everything in human affairs was ground up.

More here.
Aberdeen man recovering after crashing vehicle into house

The driver of a van was injured and taken to the hospital after driving through a field and crashing into a house.


Investor Update and R&D Tax Rebate

Brisbane, June 6, 2017 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Anatara Lifesciences ( ASX:ANR ) is pleased to provide investors with an update on recent progress.



Highlights



- Company receives $840,000 Research & Development (R&D) tax refund

- Evaluation work with Zoetis on Detach(R) advancing

- Preparation for Australian launch of Detach(R) in train

- Planning for Asia & China well advanced

- Positive outlook for European Detach(R) registration as European Medicines Agency (EMA) rules no Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) for core component in Anatara's lead product, Detach(R)

- Human applications progressing - research collaboration awarded Science and Industry Endowment Fund (SIEF) STEM+Business fellowship grant



R&D Tax Incentive Receipt



Anatara has received a refund of $839,686 from the Australian Tax Office under the Federal Government's Research and Development (R&D) Tax Incentive. This refund is from Anatara's 2015-16 research activities and reflects a year of increased spending while the Company was preparing its application to the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) for the marketing approval of Detach(R) in Australia. The receipt of these funds has further strengthened Anatara's balance sheet.



The R&D tax rebate remains an important source of non-dilutive funding for Anatara.



Plans well progressed for launch of Detach(R) into global pig market



Anatara has made substantial progress in preparation for Detach(R) market entry across the world's various pig markets. The Company continues to support the Zoetis evaluation, whilst preparing for direct market launch in Australia. Anatara has strengthened its understanding of the potential for Detach(R) in Asia, and has been buoyed by the EMA's "no MRL required" recommendation, reconfirming the product's strong safety profile.



Zoetis Evaluation Trials



Following the exclusive Option Agreement signed with Zoetis in January 2016, the evaluation of Detach(R) continues under close collaboration; with Anatara remaining actively engaged in the investigation of the utility of the product in multiple livestock species.



Australian Plans to Launch Detach(R)



Anatara is well advanced with its plans to launch Detach(R) in Australia, in readiness for APVMA marketing approval. The Company continues to conduct market research prior to product approval, and has sufficient Detach(R) available for launch. Key stakeholder feedback has been positive.



Key Asian Markets



Significant progress has been made on mapping the regulatory route to launch Detach(R) into key Asian pork producing countries, including China. These key markets represent a significant proportion of the world's pork industry, and Anatara or a commercial partner, will be ideally positioned to access these markets.



EMA Rules No Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) for key component in Detach(R)



Following an extensive review process, Anatara is pleased to announce it has received confirmation from the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Veterinary Use, that the active ingredient in Detach(R) is a non-toxic substance that can safely be used as a therapeutic in pigs. This part of the registration process is known as establishing a "Maximum Residue Limit (MRL)" for food-producing animals.



Obtaining a no MRL status is a significant outcome for Anatara as it confirms the safety of the product when compared to antibiotics and ensures there will be no withholding period for Detach(R).



Anatara CEO & Chairman, Dr Mel Bridges said "We are delighted with the EMA's no MRL finding. Along with the formal target animal safety study we completed last year, this is further affirmation of the strong safety profile we've observed with Detach(R) to date. Providing the market with a non-antibiotic alternative to control diarrhoea will offer farmers a way of delivering both healthy pigs and healthier pork products to consumers."



Human Applications - STEM+Business Fellowship Program Grant



Anatara has opened a fully equipped laboratory in Melbourne, focussed on advancing the development of human therapeutics for key gastrointestinal disorders ("gut health").



In support of this development program, Anatara in conjunction with La Trobe's Institute for Molecular Science (LIMS), has been awarded grant funding of $315,000 under the Science and Industry Endowment Fund's (SIEF) STEM+ Business Fellowship Program. This program supports collaborations between Australian research organisations and SME's to work together on technical projects that improve the SME's competitive advantage.



A Research Fellow has been appointed to work with Anatara and LIMS scientists to develop novel, advanced manufacturing processes for the biologically active components within Detach(R). The project will further support the development of the current veterinary and human product pipeline which is focused on developing specific bromelain proteases for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases in humans and animals.



Key Investor Message



Dr Bridges added, "The Anatara team is laser focussed on delivering commercial outcomes through application of the Company's technology in both the pork industry, and in human health. More than ever, the world is looking for safe and effective solutions to gut health".





About Anatara Lifesciences Limited





Anatara Lifesciences Limited (ASX:ANR) is developing and commercialising innovative, evidence-based products for gastrointestinal health where there is significant unmet need. Anatara is a life sciences company with expertise in developing products for animal and human health. Anatara is focused on building a pipeline of human gastrointestinal health products. Underlying this product development program is our commitment to delivering real outcomes for patients and strong value for our shareholders. For more information, please visit www.anataralifesciences.com.


New Drill Targets at Silica Hill East, Commonwealth Project

Perth, June 6, 2017 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Compelling new drill targets have been now identified along the eastern, upper contact of the Silica Hill Rhyolite at Impact Minerals Limited's ( ASX:IPT ) 100% owned Commonwealth Project, 100km north of Orange, New South Wales.



Until now, Impact's exploration has been mostly focussed at the Main Shaft-Commonwealth South- Silica Hill Prospects up to one kilometre away on the lower, western contact of the Silica Hill Rhyolite and the underlying thinner Commonwealth Rhyolite (see Figures 1 and 2 in the link below). Here, Impact has discovered high grade gold-silver-base metal mineralisation interpreted to be part of a so-called "gold-rich Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide (VMS) system" with strong similarities to the Eskay Creek deposit in Canada (>4 million ounces of gold and 150 million ounces of silver; see announcement 9 May 2015).



However, certain features within these rhyolites and the associated mineralisation suggest that the area explored to date could be part of a much larger and very prospective high grade "feeder zone" that extends for one kilometre north east through the Silica Hill Rhyolite up to its eastern upper contact with overlying volcanic rocks (see Figures 1 and 3 in the link below).



In addition, the position where the interpreted feeder zone intersects the upper contact is an excellent conceptual target for further gold-rich VMS mineralisation (see Figure 3 in the link below) and the following geophysical and soil geochemical anomalies support this interpretation and have provided specific drill targets close to or at this location:



1. A barium and other pathfinder metal-in-soil anomaly that extends for at least 800 metres north-south along the contact and which forms the southern end of a recently recognised 5 kilometre long unexplored trend identified in regional geochemical data (see Figure 1 in the link below and see announcement 31 May 2017).



2. A very strong IP chargeability anomaly extending for some distance into the rocks overlying the Silica Hill Rhyolite (see Figure 2 in the link below). This anomaly is the strongest and largest IP chargeability anomaly identified so far in the Commonwealth Project. Such anomalies may be caused by disseminated sulphides.



3. A moderate IP conductivity anomaly of similar magnitude and strength to that related to the massive sulphide mineralisation at Main Shaft (see Figure 2 in the link below for location and announcement dated 25 May 2017 for details on the conductivity anomaly at Main Shaft and also at Main Shaft North).



The results of a soil geochemistry survey over the chargeability and conductivity anomalies are awaited. However the last soil sample from available data shows increasing gold over the prospective contact (see Figure 2 in the link below).



Evidence for a Feeder Zone



The features that suggest the possible presence of a feeder zone include the following, all of which are seen associated with feeder zones at Eskay Creek:



1. a strong gold-silver-barium-in soil anomaly that extends for one kilometre north east from the high grade gold-silver mineralisation discovered at Silica Hill towards the upper contact. This anomaly has not been drilled.



2. a very well developed alteration mineral assemblage that shows very clear timing relationships of early silica-pyrite-K feldspar progressively overprinted by sericite and then chlorite. At Eskay Creek chlorite specifically occurs in feeder zones and veins within rhyolite (see Figure 3 in the link below).



3. The highest-grade gold and silver veins discovered by Impact at Silica Hill have extensive chlorite within them and in the surrounding host rock e.g. 0.9 metres at 23 g/t gold and 1,100 g/t silver and 1 metre at 12.2 g/t gold and 680 g/t silver in CMIPT 046; (see Figure 3 in the link below and announcement 22 February 2017).



All of this evidence, which is based on detailed research and development completed by Impact over the past few years, supports the feeder zone model and these concepts will be further tested in the upcoming drill programme.



TIMING OF DRILL PROGRAMME



In a series of recent announcements Impact has identified a significant number of follow up drill targets in and around the general Commonwealth-Silica Hill area. In particular targets have been identified at:



Main Shaft: a prominent conductor has been identified at depth below the massive sulphide (see announcement dated 25 May 2017).



Main Shaft North: a prominent conductor with coincident copper-lead-zinc-in-soil anomalies located 200 metres north of Main Shaft (see Figure 1 in the link below and see announcement dated 25 May 2017).



Silica Hill: extensive and strong IP chargeability anomalies with coincident strong gold-silver-in-soil anomalies covering about one square kilometre (see Figure 1 in the link below and see announcement 9 May 2017).



Silica Hill East: several prominent conductors, very strong IP chargeability anomalies and extensive soil geochemistry anomalies of pathfinder metals as well as gold and silver (this announcement).



All of these targets have the potential to significantly expand the high grade gold-silver-zinc-lead-copper resources already defined which stand at an Inferred Resource of 720,000 tonnes at 2.8 g/t gold, 48 g/t silver, 1.5% zinc and 0.6% lead (4.5 g/t gold equivalent for 110,000 gold equivalent ounces).



Within this resource is a massive sulphide lens about 50 metres by 50 metres by about 8 metres thick in size which has an Inferred Resource of 145,000 tonnes at 4.5 g/t gold, 142 g/t silver, 4.8% zinc, 1.7% lead and 0.2% copper (10 g/t gold equivalent for 47,000 gold equivalent ounces; see announcement 19 February 2015).



A significant drill programme to test these new anomalies and also at Welcome Jack will commence on the completion of the Share Purchase Plan which is currently underway.



Under the Share Purchase Plan and related Shortfall Offer, existing Shareholders on the Company's register of Shareholders as of Wednesday, 10 May 2017 can subscribe for new fully paid ordinary shares in the Company at an issue price of $0.018 each, with three free attaching options exercisable at $0.04 each, on or before 15 June 2020 (Free Attaching Options) for every two New Shares issued.



Further details are in the announcement dated 11 May 2017 and all shareholders are encouraged to participate.



To view tables, figures and links of the announcements, please visit:

http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/2QHY9XQ1





About Impact Minerals Limited





Impact Minerals Limited (ASX:IPT) is an exploration company listed on the ASX in November 2006. The Company manages extensive tenement holdings (>2,000 km2) within Australia featuring significant potential for high-grade mineral deposits of gold, silver, lead, zinc, copper, nickel and PGM's. The Directors of the Company have extensive experience in mineral exploration and a strong history of exploration success, business development and corporate management. Impact Minerals intends to build wealth for its shareholders through a vigorous campaign of project generation and evaluation with a view towards profitable mining operations.
Aviation engineering and maintenance software provider, Commsoft, announced that its MRO IT system, OASES, has been chosen by new Lithuanian-based operator, Grand Cru Airlines.





Designed by engineers for engineers, OASES is structured in a modular format and Grand Cru has selected the Core, Airworthiness, Planning, Materials and Line Maintenance modules.



Grand Cru is EASA AOC and PART 145 certificate holder, providing dry lease and aircraft management solutions in fast-growing, emerging markets. It will be using OASES to support its two Boeing 737-300 airliners and an Airbus A320-231.



The contract with Commsoft also covers the fleet of four Boeing 737-400 aircraft operated by GetJet Airlines, ACMI/Wet Lease and aircraft charter provider, based in Lithuania.



The OASES system in use will be operated through Commsofts private cloud service.



Commsofts Managing Director, Nick Godwin, commented: Were delighted by Grand Crus decision. This is the third OASES contract that weve signed with a Lithuanian customer. It is also the eighth new OASES contract out of eleven that have already been signed in 2017 covering the aviation engineering activities of fourteen direct customers in twelve different countries.
Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani gave the final investment approval for the Indian conglomerates controversy-hit 21.7 billion dollars coal mine project in Australia which had hit several roadblocks over environmental concerns.

I am proud to announce the project has Final Investment Decision (FID) approval which marks the official start of one of the largest single Infrastructure  and job creating  developments in Australias recent history, Adani said.

This is an historic day for Adani, a historic day for regional Queensland, and a historic day for the Indian investment in Australia, he said.

The announcement comes just days after the Adani Group agreed to pay royalties on coal produced from its project after it struck an agreement with the Queensland government to help the controversy-hit project move forward.

This is the largest single investment by an Indian corporation in Australia, and I believe others will follow with investments and trade deals, the Adani Group Chairman said.

We have been challenged by activists in the courts, in inner city streets, and even outside banks that have not even been approached to finance the project. We are still facing activists. But we are committed to this project, Adani said, adding that the group is committed to Queensland and to addressing energy poverty in India.

Adani said the Carmichael projects will generate 10,000 direct and indirect jobs, with pre-construction works starting in the September Quarter 2017.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk today officially opened Adanis Regional Headquarters (RHQ) in Townsville from where the company will oversee the construction and operations of the project.

The regional headquarters will also accommodate Adanis Remote Operations Centre, the first time that such a centre has been set up in an Australian regional city.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was represented at the ceremony by the Federal Minister for Northern Australia and Resources, Senator Matt Canavan.

Adani Australia Head of Country and Chief Executive Jeyakumar Janakaraj said the company has already invested 3.3 billion dollars in the project, including buying the bulk coal handling port of Abbot Point.

Adani also signed letters of award for design, construction, operations, supply of materials and professional services.

The Carmichael project has been facing opposition from environmentalists and indigenous groups. The Indian energy giant has for more than five years battled the opposition to any expansion of the Abbot Point port, saying it will cut into the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.
Thanks to Laura Hayes for this summary:



Pertinent details:

Hearing regarding a "safe" level of glyphosate for Californians next Wed., 6/7, from 1:30-5:00pm, at CA's EPA Headquarters Bldg., in the Byron Sher Auditorium. 1001 I St. (that is an uppercase i in I St.), Sacramento, CA 95814. Phone # is 916-322-2068

There is no "safe" level of glyphosate. It has been shown to cause cancer cells to grow and proliferate at the smallest of measurable levels. It has also been shown to be tumorigenic/carcinogenic, in addition to causing other serious health issues.

Please arrive as early as possible (12:00 would be great!) to begin standing in line to secure a seat for the hearing. Doors will supposedly open at 12:30pm for seating.

If you would like to make a public comment, you will have 3-5 min. Your comment can also be a brief 30-second "elevator speech". If you plan to make a public comment, please print out 4 copies and bring with you.

Please bring a written comment to submit in any event, and also submit it online via the website or emailed to Esther (info below on flyer).

emailed to Esther (info below on flyer). If you live out of state, you can still submit a written comment! What is adopted as a "safe" level of glyphosate here in CA (remember, there is no such thing as a safe level of this poison) might be adopted in your state next!





Signs will not be allowed to be displayed in the hearing room (there will be a place to set them down in the auditorium during the hearing), but can be used afterward for the press conference.

Water can be brought into the hearing room.

There will be a brief press conference afterward, so if you can stay until 6:00, that would be excellent.

Please share this email with all of your contacts. Let's pack the house and make our vehement opposition to this poison known!
Aiken, SC (29801)

Today

Cloudy with periods of light rain. High 66F. Winds NE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

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Assyrians Fight Back in Al-Hasakah: ISIS Repelled Outside the City

The newly formed Assyrian resistance force "Qawat Al-Hamayeh Al-Jazeeri" (Gozarto Protection Forces) from the city of Al-Qamishli have joined their allies from the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), Qawat Al-Sootooro (Assyrian militia), Al-Ba'ath Battalions, and the National Defense Forces (NDF) in defense of the provincial capital from the swarming militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS). On Tuesday morning, the militants from ISIS continued their offensive at the village of Al-Dawouidyah, where they were able to take control of the southern perimeter of this area after the latter surprised the Syrian Armed Forces last night with a fierce assault on the village's defenses. Despite the success ISIS attained on Monday night, the arrival of reinforcements from the Gozarto Protection Forces paid dividends for the embattled Syrian Armed Forces, as the hundreds of soldiers from the Al-Qamishli District helped drive back the terrorist group (ISIS) from the Al-Adhath Central Prison and the Asphalt Factory for the second time in 24 hours. With the Asphalt Factory and the Al-Adhath Central Prison under their control, the Syrian Armed Forces turned their attention to the village of Rad Shaqra, where they were able to take complete control of this area after a series of violent clashes with the enemy combatants from ISIS. The militants from ISIS are still 6.5km from the provincial capital of Al-Hasakah; however, they remain on the outskirts of the city, despite the fierce resistance they have encountered from the Syrian Armed Forces inside the city.
MASkargo has launched five-times-a-week Airbus A330-200F express freighter services from its home hub at Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu and Kuching, with growing e-commerce and courier demand between East and West Malaysia a key element in the decision.

"As the Asian cross-border e-commerce is booming, MASkargo is poised to tap into this market given the world-class warehouse facilities we operate and our vast belly and freighter network," said Ahmad Luqman Mohd Azmi, MASkargo chief executive. He described the launch of the new service as timely, given the carriers intention to position Kuala Lumpur International Airport as an e-commerce hub in the region.

The airline also highlighted the worlds first Digital Free Trade Zone, being developed in Kuala Lumpur. Speaking at the launch in March, Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Raza observed: Malaysians have embraced the internet economy and e-commerce in a big way. We are now leading the e-commerce market in the region generating revenue of $2.3bn in 2015.

"With the launch of the worlds first Digital Free Trade Zone, Malaysia will serve as a regional e-fulfilment centre, and also become the regional hub for SMEs, marketplaces and monobrands.

MASkargos new express services are scheduled to depart early in the morning, allowing shipments to arrive and be processed before noon. The inaugural flights to Kota Kinabalu and Kuching each carried 30 tonnes of express cargo.

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When Tim Strauss met the Air Canada Cargo team in Montreal for the first time, he was greeted by a sea of people wearing Aloha shirts, lei garlands, shorts and grass skirts. All that was missing was the theme tune from Hawaii Five-0.

Says Strauss: If you want to talk about a warm welcome, I dont know that you could have done anything more to break the ice. They were willing to be silly and I was delighted.

If they had given me a moose head I might have been expecting it, but it was a little surfboard.

Strauss joins Air Canada from Hawaiian Air Cargo where, in a little less than five years, he saw cargo as a percentage of total airline revenue increase from 1.7% to nearly 4%, compared with a US carrier average of 2%.

His tangible legacy is a fleet of three ATR-72s, set to arrive in Hawaii by the end of this summer, whose primary role will be to fly cargo on inter-island routes.

Cargojet freighters

Strauss takes over from Lise-Marie Turpin who has retired as vice president, Air Canada Cargo. Turpin was presented with the Air Cargo News 2017 Hall of Fame award in April, recognising her work at Air Canada, most recently signing the innovative freighter deal with Cargojet, and her contribution as the chair of IATAs influential cargo committee (see interview in the last issue).

Says Strauss of Turpin and of his new role: Our thought processes are very similar, as is our approach to how we do business and how we treat people. Ive been here only a week but I feel at home, and I sense that there is a lot of good that can be done.

Strauss, who perceives a golden period for North American carriers, says: Cargo can be and should be a major contributor, particularly for an international wide-bodied carrier. In tough times everybody pulls back and, as they get healthy again, cargo is not always the first thing thought of by the passenger airline, but it certainly has a significant contribution margin.

Lise-Marie and her team have done a phenomenal job, and I think that Air Canadas executive team recognise that cargo is a growing and important piece of the business.

In 2016, cargo revenues of C$512m increased by C$6m or 1.1% from 2015, reflecting traffic growth of 15% largely offset by a yield decline of 12.1%. Traffic increases were recorded in all markets on higher capacity.

Wealth of experience

Strauss brings a wealth of air cargo experience, starting with Purolator Courier in the US and several senior roles at Emery Worldwide, where he was vice president of operations: Emery had the major hub in Dayton, Ohio, and 13 satellite hubs around the US which were mostly trucking operations, but they all tied together.

From there he joined Northwest Airlines as vice president of global operations for cargo when the carrier was interested in the express model and operated 18 Boeing 747 freighters across the Pacific.

The idea was to take the express model of your cargo carriers and transplant it in Northwest, which we did, successfully.

Adds Strauss: We increased the connectivity, with better loading times. We focused on all those process things that increase speed and velocity. It was also great fun.

He became vice president of sales for Europe and Asia at Northwest, where 80% of the business was Asia focused.

He moved to Delta, prior to it buying Northwest Airlines, in charge of global operations. Delta had acquired the Northwest freighter fleet of B747-100Fs and -200Fs, at the end of their productive working life. Delta continued the process of shedding the freighters.

Strauss then took a series of air cargo consultancy roles, one example seeing him work with industry stalwart Des Vertannes at IATA and another in a study commissioned by investment bankers.

Hawaiian made an approach and Strauss took on the cargo job which, despite it not being an airfreight giant, had a lot of potential.

Percentage of cargo

He continues: When you try to compare yourself with a very large industry and you are in a small airline, you have to look around and ask: what is the right metric?

We settled on the percentage of cargo revenue in the overall company because that told us whether we were growing as fast as our airline, and whether the other guys were growing as fast as their airline.

When I started, we were at the lowest percentage of revenue, at about 1.7%, and when I left we were just under 4% of revenue. No other US airline was above 2%, except United and Hawaiian.

We more than doubled the revenue of the cargo division, taking advantage of some natural highlights that continue to be there for Hawaiian as a mid-Pacific transit destination.

Hawaiian focused on high-value fresh foods, most of which has to be imported by ocean freight from the US west coast.

Says Strauss: We were able to grow very rapidly, at a time when the industry was actually contracting, but we were growing at 30% a year.

Hawaiian was an anomaly in the industry and had a couple of core things that we did extremely well and which allowed us to grow our share with existing customers and to introduce a number of new customers into the system, including Federal Express.

Fred Smiths mantra on our own metal and never to touch a passenger airline network was changing, due to a customer switch from a one or two-day delivery to four days, and Hawaiian benefited.

That switch, to a deferred basis using passenger airline hubs, saw an upswing in FedExs use of supplemental services on certain trade lanes: So we got it to Hawaii and they took it the rest of the way, says Strauss.

Hawaiian is buying the ATR-72s to leverage the inter-island advantage for palletised airfreight  machinery and heavier goods  against a non-existent road network and the slower vessel speed by sea.

So, what of his task at Air Canada Cargo? Lise-Marie is second to none and has built a great organisation and a successful airline cargo department.

The people here are extraordinarily bright and they have been aimed at the right things and have the right tools. They know what the job is and they are passionate about it, and have a lot of good will.

Strauss adds: I am new enough that, for the next few months, I am going to listen and learn from what has worked well here and what could be added to with experience from other locations. Air Canada has engaged in some freighter activity and that is a natural for me.

At the time of the interview, Strauss was to meet the management at overnight freighter operator Cargojet, with whom Air Canada Cargo launched its dedicated freighter service in June 2016, deploying Cargojet B767-300Fs on routes serving key markets before adding further flights in October. Flights currently operate between Toronto and Atlanta, Dallas, Bogota, Lima, Mexico City and Frankfurt.

Dreamliner bellyhold

These freighters feed into Air Canadas bellyholds. Meanwhile, the airline is adding seven new long-haul flights this year, operating mostly with B787 Dreamliners, but also B767 routes, the latter operated by Air Canadas leisure subsidiary, Rouge.

Says Strauss: Last year, cargo grew quickly and significantly, and the ability to keep up with this growth and to understand its impact was taxed. We have learned from that, and now we know a little bit better how to approach the new routes that continue to come along.

He adds: There are great opportunities for growth, using the aircraft very creatively. The operation is stressing some systems at Air Canada Cargo because the volume increase has been very rapid and some hubs require new processes, and perhaps some capital investment, to take them to the next level.

That is an area where I have overseen considerable hub or terminal construction in my career and I have a natural affinity for the industrial and technical engineering side.

He adds: When I was with Emery Worldwide, the Dayton hub capacity at that time was 3m lbs, roughly 1.5m kilos, and we were growing rapidly.

We doubled the output of the capacity to 6m lbs a night within a 3.5 hour window.

Northwests hub at Narita was another milestone for Strauss: The Narita facility was quite large and it needed to be, because Japan was our number one base of operations. At that time, Northwest was flying DHL material from Asia into its US Cincinnati hub, and it needed an on-airport base at Narita.

We figured out a clever way to take what was a very constrained space and built a DHL hub sort facility inside of our own building, going up and up and up, instead of spreading out or with a mezzanine type operation usually seen in a hub.

Plans are in the works for Air Canada Cargo to update its Toronto hub: It is at the investigatory stage of industrial engineering, layout and the technical pieces. The IT is now very different to what it was 20 years ago, and there are terrific opportunities to utilise data and analytics in the planning stage of the hub construction, as well as for operation process improvements or customer relations.

Strauss understands that the Montreal and Vancouver hubs are in pretty good shape and that Toronto requires his more immediate attention.

Pharmaceuticals and e-commerce are on the radar too. Air Canada Cargo handles sizeable pharma volumes and Strauss wants to grow the business, recognising that the airline has to keep pace with the changing regulatory environment, but also in tandem with airport partnerships.

There is an opportunity for us to work with the airports in Canada and to look at system-wide or terminal-wide changes that might be beneficial to a wider air cargo community as well: good for the airport and for the community.

He cites Miami airport, a major pharma hub, where there is a mix of facilities owned by individual airlines and some owned by the airport authority, with the latter rented by airlines or forwarders. Such a profile allows a wider spread of air cargo stakeholders to expand quickly.

He adds: It is just a matter of whether the local government or the provincial government sees air cargo as an important component in the pharma world, which is good for the whole community, or whether we take all that on ourselves.

Community co-operation

Either way we will build what we need to, but there is always an opportunity for co-operation, for the betterment of the industry as a whole and the community as a whole.

He hails e-commerce as the biggest opportunity in front of the air cargo industry, but admits: In truth, I dont think that we all quite understand what that opportunity looks like yet, because I dont think that we understand who all the players are and how quickly it is growing. Also, e-commerce is morphing.

I think that e-commerce requires a little bit of learning but at the same time you have to jump in and participate in it. Obviously, for many airlines, Air Canada included, it means working with the country or foreign postal services who in most parts of the world are the predominant player in the e-commerce business.

Influential Amazon

And then there is Amazon: In the US and Canada our friends at Amazon are changing the business environment, and so they are an important component. They will influence or, in some cases, force others to think about their business model.

That is really interesting because it is going to change the dynamics between airlines and other elements of the supply chain, including the forwarder and the shipper, and the big distributors such as Amazon.

Those relationships are all dynamic right now and it is a key to the future. Amazon is doing its thing with dedicated aircraft, running from distribution centre (DC) to DC for the purpose of pick-up and delivery.

Whether it will stay at that level or move to the next step is hard to say.

Of his business philosophy, Strauss states: Relationships and service are the two big things. We have enough of the right products at Air Canada but you cannot differentiate yourself very readily on products alone, but you really can on relationships, both with your staff and with your customers.

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Last Friday a car from Hebron collided head-on with an armored bus on Route 60. The Arab driver was killed immediately and his wife sustained a serious head injury. Their nine-month-old son, Yaman, survived with only minor injuries. He was taken to the emergency room of Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem.

Accustomed to being nursed by his mother, the baby refused to drink milk from a bottle. For seven hours, he was starving and continuously crying. His aunts stood by helplessly, unable to comfort their little nephew.

Then they asked pediatric nurse Ula Ostrowski-Zak if she could find someone who might nurse the baby. A nursing mother, Ula did not hesitate. I suggested that I do it myself, she said.

For her entire shift in the pediatric emergency room, Ula Ostrowski-Zak, an Israeli Jew, nursed the Arab baby from Hebron.

"His aunts were surprised that a Jew agreed to nurse him but I told them that every mother would do it."

"I fed him five times," she said. "His aunts embraced me and thanked me. They were really surprised as theyd thought no Jewish woman would agree to nurse a Palestinian baby they did not know."

Then they began to worry who would nurse the baby after Ula went home at the end of her shift. Again the nurse came up with a wonderful idea. She posted a message to the La Leche League online group of nursing mothers. Even Ula was astounded by their overwhelming response.

"Within two hours I received more than a thousand likes and responses from women who volunteered to help and were willing to travel even from Haifa to nurse this baby, said Ula.

The baby's mother remains in serious condition. After little Yaman is released from the hospital, he will stay with his grandparents in Hebron, where one of his aunts will be his wet-nurse.

This story of a mothers compassion is reminiscent of an incident that occurred when a Jewish woman nursed a Roman baby in ancient Israel. Though the time and situation were different, the enmity between two peoples was tragically similar.

In the year 135 CE, 80 years after the destruction of the Second Temple when the Romans ruled over Israel, a baby named Yehuda was born. His brave parents defied the Roman ban on circumcision and performed the mitzvah of bris milah on their son on the eighth day after his birth.

The news of their courageous yet defiant act reached the Roman governor who ordered the couple to appear with their baby at the palace.

A Roman woman, who also had an infant son, realized the danger awaiting the Jewish couple. Feeling compassion for them, she offered to temporarily switch her baby Antoninus with their son Yehuda. When the Jewish couple and the baby were called in, the Roman governor saw the baby was not circumcised and allowed them to return home.

The infant Antoninus had the merit to be nursed by Yehudas mother while waiting to see the Roman governor. The milk Antoninus ingested from this holy source inspired him to eventually study Torah secretly with his close friend Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi, the Prince. He was affectionately called Rebbe  our teacher, since he compiled the Mishna and became the teacher of Israel.

The Talmud relates that Antoninus had a secret cave leading from his palace in Tiberius to Yehuda Hanasis home. Some say he eventually converted to Judaism. Others say that he was an enlightened, compassionate Roman ruler to the Jewish people who enjoyed unprecedented peace during this difficult period of history.

No one can predict what may happen to little Yaman from Hebron. When he grows old enough to understand, will his family tell him that he had been nursed by the compassion of a Jewish woman? And that a thousand other women were touched by his story and offered to help him?

Yaman may never become an Antoninus but hopefully he will be positively affected by the kindness shown towards him as an infant.
June 6, 2017

The crisis involving Saudi Arabia and its allies against Qatar has caught the attention of Iranian media, with many outlets considering the crisis an opportunity for Iran's struggling economy while also warning the government not to take any sides in the "war among sheikhs."

The first reaction in Iran came from President Hassan Rouhani's deputy chief of staff for political affairs Hamid Aboutalebi, who almost took Qatar's side. The rift and collapse of the [Saudi-led Arab] coalition are the results of the sword dance [of US President Donald Trump and Saudi rulers] in Riyadh.  The age of playing the role of Big Brother is over.  The age of sanctions is over, too, and cutting diplomatic ties, closing borders, blockading countries, expelling members from the coalition  are not the way out of the crisis, tweeted Aboutalebi June 5. Meanwhile, Bahram Ghassemi, the spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry, took a neutral stance, saying June 5, "The solution to differences among regional countries, including the current dispute between Qatar and its  neighboring states, is possible only through political and peaceful methods as well as transparent and explicit dialogue among the involved parties."

Under the title "The tribal offensive of the Saudis and their partners against Qatar," hard-line Vatan-e-Emrooz wrote June 6, "Qatar has suddenly become isolated by its [four] neighboring countries. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the [United Arab] Emirates and Bahrain cut their diplomatic ties with Qatar under the pretext of Qatar's support for terrorism, interfering in the internal affairs of Arab countries, threatening [Arab countries'] national security and harboring extremists."

Mentioning Trump's recent trip to Saudi Arabia, conservative Kayhan wrote that the plan for an "Arab NATO" has been torn apart. "The story started when the Qatari emir supported Iran and Lebanese [group] Hezbollah. This raised the eyebrows of the House of Saud, and it even threatened Doha with a coup.  Saudi Arabia made a strange decision and cut its ties with one of the countries of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council [GCC]. This measure means the cancellation of the Arab NATO plan [devised by the] House of Saud and America, and practically the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council has faced a major [internal] crisis," Kayhan argued June 6.

Moreover, state-run newspaper Iran wrote June 6, Around two weeks ago, when US President Donald Trump went to Riyadh as the head of the White House, perhaps many international observers had realized that a strange and behind-the-scenes agreement had been reached, but few may have assumed that this behind-the-scenes agreement would lead to the isolation, surrounding and sanctioning of Qatar.  The tensions have heightened to a degree that may lead to the collapse of the Persian [GCC] and may [result in] Qatar and Oman leaving the [GCC] and establishing a parallel council.

Comparing the Qatari crisis with the outrage over the attack on the Saudi Embassy in Tehran in early 2016, Reformist Shargh Daily wrote, "This issue was designed and led by Saudi Arabia. It is like the same measures that Saudi Arabia took following the attack on [the embassy of] Saudi Arabia in Tehran. On the heels of this event [the embassy attack], Saudi Arabia persuaded a group of Arab and African countries to cut ties [with Iran]. On the one hand, bribery, and on the other hand, playing the role of godfather and other tricks, provided Saudi Arabia [with the ability] to do this.

The Reformist daily also encouraged the government to take advantage of the situation and enhance economic ties with Qatar. "The small but wealthy country of Qatar has come under siege. Currently, all the waterways and airspace is closed on Qatar and the only remaining way for Qatar is Iran," wrote Shargh.

Moreover, Reformist Etemaad daily urged the government to increase the volume of its trade with Qatar. "Following the decision of big Arab countries to cut ties with Qatar, it seems that the situation is ready for Qatar to enter a new phase of increasing its cooperation with Iran. Iran and Qatar already have a diplomatic relationship and embassies in the [respective] countries, and approximately 30,000 Iranians live in Qatar.  Under the new circumstances, the relationship between the two countries will be different. The [time is right for the establishment of] ties that can fill the void of the countries that don't want to have trading ties with this small Arab country anymore," wrote Etemaad June 6.

Meanwhile, some Iranian analysts and former diplomats have demanded that the government not take Qatar's side. Qassem Mohebali, the former head of the Middle East desk in Iran's Foreign Ministry, said June 5, "Qatar has been a part of [a] plan and game [that] have endangered Iran's security and interests in Syria and Iraq.  Qatar is not an innocent country, and we shouldn't take Qatar's side. We should note that Qatar supports terrorism."

Mohebali added, "It is unlikely that Iran [will] step into the crisis. This measure is not logical, as it may accelerate the [process of both sides] resolving the issues [which is not in Iran's best interests].  However, Iran is ready to solve the disagreements if Qatar or the other sides [are willing]."
June 6, 2017

On May 29, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's convoy pulled up beside the home of Itzik Danino, the mayor of Ofakim and a prominent member of the Likud Party. Dozens of party activists were waiting inside. They had been invited for a private meeting with the prime minister. The mood was excellent, the refreshments were abundant and the people in attendance were treated warmly by Netanyahu. They left feeling flattered, even though nothing of significance was said there.

Netanyahu paid a visit to the town on the country's southern periphery that day to launch a local construction project, together with Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, but he also used the opportunity for some political "maintenance." He has been doing that a lot recently in other cities in the periphery, which are considered traditional Likud bastions, among them Lod, Givat Shmuel, Beit Shemesh and Acre. These events usually take place in private homes, and attendance is generally limited. All of this is intended to give the guests the feeling that they just had a personal meeting with the prime minister. At Netanyahu's request, his schedule in the coming weeks will be determined in part by visits of this kind.

Anyone who has followed Netanyahu's three decades of political activity in the Likud will know that there are very long periods in which he invests next to nothing in such meetings with Likud activists. This usually changes when there are elections, primaries or other important political tests on the horizon. That's what makes this round of visits to Likud strongholds particularly interesting.

Why does he need this now, when he is in one of the best political periods of his career and when no one in the political arena in general and the Likud in particular is even capable of challenging his leadership?

According to a senior Likud member, Netanyahu is staking out his territory for anyone who wants to take it over from him, whether from within the party or outside of it. Within the party, this is mainly former Minister Gideon Saar, who has announced his intention to run for the party leadership position after the Netanyahu era comes to an end. Saar has plenty of time available, so he is crisscrossing the country. According to the same source, Netanyahu simply enjoys proving to Saar who the boss in the party really is.

Netanyahus increased activity in the periphery towns is also intended to prevent the loss of votes to Yesh Atid Chairman Yair Lapid and to Kahlon. Both men have been active in efforts to win the support of Likud voters identified with the moderate right, and they pay frequent visits to Likud Party strongholds.

Netanyahu arrives at these activists meetings with an aura of international respectability, especially since his outstanding relationship with President Donald Trump was documented and broadcast to every home in Israel during the presidential visit on May 22-23. He knows that this has the same powerful effect on Likud supporters as his speeches in perfect English, so he fills his Facebook page with photos and video posts of his official travels around the world.

Netanyahu is not only investing efforts into strengthening himself in the field. He has recently increased the number of political meetings he has held with members of the Knesset and other senior party members. Everyone who meets with him is impressed by his high spirits and by his intention to remain in power for many years to come. According to Netanyahu, the next election should take place as scheduled, or in other words, more than two years from now.

Netanyahu's good mood can be attributed to several factors. These include the drawing out of the criminal investigation into his activities, which has not yet led to an indictment, Trump's successful visit and recent polls, which show an increase in support for the Likud and the concurrent weakening of Lapid and HaBayit HaYehudi Chairman Naftali Bennett. Lapid is thought to have the best chance to defeat the Likud in the next election, while Bennett regards himself as a candidate to replace Netanyahu as leader of the right.

Unlike most of Netanyahu's coalition, which relays a sense of tranquility and stability, Bennett is deemed a problem. The relationship between Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman is on track again, and they are rather close. His big conflict with Kahlon has subsided, at least for now, while Shas leader Aryeh Deri is busy with a police investigation of his own, so he has no reason to bring down the government.

Paradoxically, the election of Trump, the preferred candidate of the Israeli right, had a deleterious effect on the political standing of the HaBayit HaYehudi chairman. He began by celebrating the departure of President Barack Obama and then hailed the rise of Trump as if he was the messiah. Later, however, Bennett discovered that the reality is much more complex than it seems. Right now, Bennett's situation is fragile. While he was elected on April 27 by a large majority to lead his party into the next election, as far as the far right is concerned, he is failing to provide the outcomes they want. The settlers claim that Netanyahu is not building enough in the settlements, not to mention the disappointment by Trump's decision not to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem.

While Netanyahu is benefiting from his excellent relationship with Trump, Bennett is caught in a trap. If he speaks out against Trump, who is considered friendly to Israel, Bennett will be seen as having damaged Israel's relationship with its most important ally. On the other hand, he has been unable to provide his electorate with enough achievements, even though he plays a major role in the most right-wing Israeli government of all times. That's why Bennett has been choosing his words carefully for now, while the leaders of the settler movement  chief among them Yossi Dagan, the chairman of the Samaria Regional Council (the settlements umbrella organization) and one of the most powerful members of the Likud  have attacked Netanyahu for failing to build in the West Bank, even hinting that this could have political ramifications.

Netanyahu believes that in the next few weeks, Trump's staff will lay out a working paper on how to move forward with negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. At that point, the "deal" that Trump put together to end the conflict will be revealed officially. Netanyahu has no plans to be the one rejecting this deal, so he is expected to cooperate. This will be a very sensitive period for his government, since the settlers will demand that Bennett put the brakes on the negotiations. It is quite conceivable that this will lead to a serious coalition crisis.

So far, Netanyahu has proved able to skip between the raindrops. The Likud reacted with uncharacteristic silence to Trump's decision not to move the embassy to Jerusalem. When the Knesset goes on its summer recess at the end of July, the big winner of this session will be the prime minister  even if just a few months ago, with the start of the criminal investigation against him, it looked like he was approaching the end of his political career.
June 6, 2017

Jordan is intensifying diplomatic efforts to help forge an agreement between the United States and Russia to establish a safe or de-escalation zone in southern Syria. Jordan hopes to prevent the vast Syrian Badia area, which extends along Jordans northern borders with Syria, from turning into a battlefield involving US-led coalition forces and rebel allies on the one hand, and regime and Iran-backed militias on the other.

Jordanian and US sources have confirmed that US and Russian officials met in Amman sometime late May. The meeting in Jordan was one part where the United States and Russia, Israel and Jordan can work together to have [a] de-escalation zone in the south of Syria, one US source, who requested anonymity, told Al-Monitor.

Local newspapers reported May 30 that Jordan is participating in the talks to determine the nature of the safe zone and the composition of the forces that will be deployed. The reports said that Jordan would agree to any force stationed on its northern border except for Islamic State (IS) fighters or militia forces supported by Iran. They noted that a new round of talks will resume soon.

Russia, Turkey and Iran agreed May 4 in Astana to create four de-escalation zones in Syria, including one in southern Syria. The United States was not part of the agreement, but its participation in the Amman talks signals its eagerness to be part of an understanding with Moscow to set up security arrangements in southern Syria, primarily to protect Jordanian and Israeli interests. The United States, along with other Western nations, maintains military presence at al-Tanf base in southeast Syria close to the borders with Iraq and Jordan. The base is used to train and supply US-backed rebel groups, collectively known as the New Syrian Army, which is comprised mainly of local tribes in the Badia region.

Al-Tanf is located on the Damascus-Baghdad highway and therein lies its strategic value for the United States, the Damascus regime and Iran. On May 18, coalition planes hit a pro-Syrian government convoy after firing warning shots and when Russia failed to dissuade those troops from moving into the de-conflicted area near al-Tanf. Following that incident, the United States imposed a 55-kilometer (34-mile) safe zone around the base and boosted its combat power.

Still, Syrian government forces and allied militias have taken a town about 50 kilometers from al-Tanf in late May, while Russia reported May 21 that it has placed paratroopers in the Suwayda province in southern Syria to take the role of advising the Syrian government troops in the area. On May 29, Irans Foreign Ministry announced that Tehran was ready to dispatch troops to Syria to monitor compliance with the May 4 agreement with Russia and Turkey to create four de-escalation zones in Syria.

For Jordan, the stability of southern Syria, which borders Jordan, is a top national security goal. Having denied Syrian allegations that it was part of a US plan to invade southern Syria, Jordan's Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mahmoud Freihat reiterated June 1 that the Jordanian army will not have any presence inside Syria. But Jordan wants Washington and Moscow to agree to make southern Syria free of Iran-backed militias as well as IS militants. The United States is reported to have insisted that it wants the area from Quneitra, on the Syrian-Israeli border, through Suwayda to al-Tanf free of Iran-backed militias such as Hezbollah and the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, with only symbolic regime presence on the border crossing with Jordan.

For Iran and Bashar al-Assads regime, the US-Jordanian demand is problematic at best. Tehran has been accused by Jordan and the United States of attempting to create a land corridor that extends from Iran, via Iraq and Syria, to Lebanon. Al-Tanf is crucial for the Iranian plans. For Damascus, there are fears that a US military presence in northeastern Syria could extend to the south once IS militants are driven out of Raqqa.

The border triangle around al-Tanf is quickly becoming a potential conflagration point. On June 2, reports spoke of an infiltration by the Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), comprised mostly of Iraqi Shiites, into Syrian territory near Hasakah. The PMU is believed to be trying to reach the strategically important Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor in eastern Syria, which is still controlled by IS. From Deir ez-Zor, the PMU can then link up with Syrian government forces and move to the Abu Kamal border crossing with Iraq and control the northern part of Syrias Badia area. That area has become a point of tension recently between the US-led coalition and Iranian-backed militias.

Amid these fast-developing events on the ground, the Amman trilateral talks assume additional importance. Political analyst Oraib al-Rantawi believes that the talks will succeed in reaching an agreement that essentially satisfies both Moscow and Washington. He wrote in Ad-Dustour daily May 31 that Russia has now accepted US presence in al-Tanf and will agree to the demand that southern Syria be free of IS and Iran-backed militias. In return, Russia wants the Syrian army to raise its flag over the border crossing with Jordan and extend its control of Daraa province.

On June 2, it was reported that the Syrian army had dispatched a sizeable force toward Daraa, the old part that is under the control of rebels who are part of Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, formerly al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra. This appears to be in accordance with the trilateral Amman talks, but Rantawi cautioned in another piece in Ad-Dustour on June 4 a major offensive in Daraa could also be an attempt by Damascus and Tehran to sabotage a Russian-American agreement.

Political commentator Mohammad Abu Rumman is optimistic about the outcome of US-Russian talks on southern Syria. He wrote in Al-Ghad daily May 30 that creating a safe zone that extends from Quneitra in the west to al-Tanf in the east is good news for Jordan. It fulfills our strategic objectives including the return of Syrian refugees, reopening our borders with Syria, removing the terrorist threat from our northern borders and reviving plans for reconstruction in southern Syria, he noted. He added that the real challenge to this understanding lies with Iran and the regime. On the other hand, such an understanding raises fears that it will be the first step toward the partition of Syria, Abu Rumman wrote.

His fears were echoed by Russian President Vladimir Putin May 30, who, while praising the de-escalation zones, expressed hope that these zones do not become a prototype for the future territorial division in Syria.
June 6, 2017

What is censored more often in Lebanon: sex or politics? It depends on the timing, according to the Virtual Museum of Censorship, an online database tracking banned and censored material since Lebanese independence in 1943.

Having become familiar with some of the material, Gino Raidy, the vice president of MARCH, the nongovernmental organization (NGO) behind the museum, told Al-Monitor, Different trends could  be observed according to the decades. In the 1940s, it mostly involved mentioning Israel.

Raidy said, In the 1950s-1960s, sexual explicitness was tolerated, but not political discussions. In the early 2000s, there was strong opposition to heavy metal. People would be arrested in the streets for wearing a heavy metal band T-shirt as many thought it was satanic. What stood to be censored became clearer after the Syrian army left in 2005, mostly focusing on sectarian and politics-related material. Nowadays, we note that LGBT art and events are getting targeted more and more.

The virtual museum aims to identify not only what has been banned and censored, but also the reasons behind it, in an effort to present the big picture when it comes to limits on freedom of expression in Lebanon. The database launched on May 24, with an event at Phoenicia University, in Mazraat al-Daoudiyeh, in the south. An exhibition of panels and blackboards with words and names of individuals redacted to symbolize information omitted through censorship was followed by a discussion among free speech experts and activists. Participants included lawyer Hussein el-Achi, photojournalist Hussein Baydoun, author and activist Joumana Haddad, journalist and activist Luna Safwan and graffiti artist Omar Kabbani.

In 2013 in Beirut, MARCH had organized Censorship in Lebanon, An Uncensored Look, a panel discussion on freedom of expression. Looking ahead, the team hopes to organize others in Tripoli after the end of Ramadan and maybe in the Bekaa Valley.

We believe that getting out of Beirut is important not only to inform people about censorship but also to have more discussions, address a different crowd living in rural areas and see what they think about the issue, said Raidy, who is also a blogger. Virtually, anyone can see what cultural material has been banned and censored, as well as what journalists and activists have been through when it comes to the expression of certain issues. We also invite people to submit entries if they hear about something new.

Control over every cultural product in Lebanon is based on a law or decree, as detailed in Censorship in Lebanon: Law and Practice, a 2010 study by Nizar Saghieh, Rana Saghieh and Nayla Geagea, who are lawyers and members of The Legal Agenda, an NGO that follows socio-legal developments in Lebanon and the broader Middle East.

Censorship of films in Lebanon is based on four very vague principles: respect for public morals, respect for the reputation or status of state authorities, respect for the sensitivities of the public and avoiding sectarian or religious incitement, and resisting calls that are unfavorable to the interests of Lebanon, Ghida Frangieh, a lawyer with The Legal Agenda, told Al-Monitor. If the General Security, which is a security agency, wants to ban a film, it must refer it to an administrative committee, which reviews the film and gives its recommendation to the Ministry of Interior, which will make the final decision. The procedure is not transparent, and most of the time, the reason why a film is censored or banned is not given.

To this, Raidy added, From the data we collected, the two main organizations asking General Security for censorship are first the Catholic Information Center and then Dar al-Fatwa, the leading Sunni religious institution in the country.

For example, in Nadine Labakis film Where Do We Go Now (2012), a scene with a priest and a sheikh speaking to the public through the local mosques loudspeaker was cut. More recently, a Druze cleric's apparition was masked by a black dot in Philippe Aractingis 2017 film Listen /Ismaii. Both decisions were supposedly based on concerns of sectarian incitement.

The Boycott Bureau for Israel also made sure that the name of Steven Spielberg, who has donated money in Israel, would be removed from posters and films, although we can watch them. This was silly, Raidy said. They also asked that Wonder Woman be banned because the lead actress is Israeli.

Two filmmakers recently challenged censorship decisions before the State Council: Danielle Arbid, for her film Beirut Hotel (2011), and Reine Mitri, for the banning of her documentary In This Land Lay Graves of Mine (2015), about people displaced during the Lebanese civil war. Arbid lost her challenge, with the State Council deciding that censorship was justified because the film attacked the reputation of the authorities in regard to the investigation of Prime Minister Rafik Hariris assassination in 2005. The censors had disapproved of a scene that referenced a USB memory stick with documents on it about Hariri's death.

The State Council even ruled that General Security can exercise prior censorship of film plots itself, which is a very broad interpretation of the law and an infringement on freedom of expression, Frangieh said. But it hasnt yet ruled on Mitris film, and we hope that the ban will be overturned in the end. Giving a voice to the victims of displacement during the civil war cannot be viewed as inciting sectarian tensions. It is very important for a Lebanese artist to have access to her or his main audience in Lebanon.

According to Raidy, the social impact of censorship in Lebanon is clear. People arent allowed to speak about very important and unsolved things, he said.

About the taboo on discussing the war and displaced people, he said, This is reality. It is silly to forbid people to talk about it. Plus, the country is very proud of its freedom of speech, and maybe it is not as bad as in the other countries, but not as good as it could be.

Raidy also warned against the dangers of self-censorship, stating, Journalists just dont investigate anymore for fear of getting in trouble. Even local film distributors dont procure a film that could be a problem for the General Security.

Indeed, many things must remain unsaid in a country that is proud of its liberty.
June 6, 2017

The Syrian Kurdish militia and its Arab allies known as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) formally announced the start of the fight to liberate Raqqa, the self-declared capital of the Islamic State, just as another Kurdish group declared it was escalating its war against Turkey.

The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK) declared today in an incendiary statement that just as Turkey had launched a ruthless war against the Kurdish people, it too would be more ruthless than ever before against the Turkish state. TAK, which murdered numerous civilians in a string of previous attacks, vowed to target Turkeys already buckling tourism industry, igniting the fires of hell in Turkish cities. The statement read, We call our brave Kurdish girls and boys to take part in this war of revenge, this struggle for honor.

Should TAK act on its threats, it will give the government further justification to continue its state of emergency slapped on in the aftermath of the failed July coup. It may also further complicate Turkeys troubled relations with the United States, as TAK acts as the urban wing of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the militant group that has been fighting for Kurdish self-rule inside Turkey since 1984. The PKK is in turn closely linked to the Peoples Protection Units (YPG), the Syrian Kurdish militia that is the United States top ally in the fight against IS.

Turkey insists the three groups are all branches of the same terror tree and is furious that the United States ignored its warnings against directly arming the YPG for the Raqqa campaign. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim voiced Turkish anger again today, telling the parliament that Turkey had warned the United States against the risks of "eradicating one terror group with another terror group." Yildirim said, "To support terror groups does not behoove our alliance."

Coming just days after the Pentagon began distributing weapons to the YPG, the TAK threats could easily be construed by Turkey as proof that US support for the Syrian Kurds emboldens the PKK.

It will not have helped that top PKK leader Bese Hozat told reporters, It's time to overthrow the fascist AKP. She was referring to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans ruling Justice and Development Party. Hozat also dismissed speculation of the possible resumption of peace talks between imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan and the Turkish government that were frozen in 2015. Alluding to the jailing of thousands of Kurdish lawmakers, mayors and activists and ongoing Turkish military operations in the mainly Kurdish southeast region, Hozat said, Discussing peace in these circumstances is equivalent to surrender.

So far the United States has tuned out Turkish complaints about the YPG and will likely continue to do so until the operation to capture Raqqa is completed. That may not be anytime soon.

Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, the Baghdad-based US general in charge of Operation Inherent Resolve, said today that the Raqqa offensive would be long and difficult. Administration officials speaking on condition of strict anonymity to Al-Monitor have acknowledged their repeated demands, last conveyed in December through third parties, for the PKK leadership to declare a cease-fire have borne no fruit. They also concede that PKK attacks inside Turkey, especially when they result in civilian casualties, put pressure on their relations with the YPG, even though the official US line is that the two groups are separate.

Meanwhile, the United States has pledged to increase military and intelligence cooperation with Turkey against the PKK, breezily signaling a continuation of its cynical policy of supporting one arm of the Ocalan-inspired movement while working against another.
June 6, 2017

Shortly after US President Donald Trump delivered his historic address to the US-Arab-Islamic Summit in Riyadh, seeking to align Washingtons traditional Arab allies against Iran and its regional agenda, a new Middle East crisis erupted. The rift between Qatar and its Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) partners threatens to have far-reaching geopolitical implications.

On June 5, the governments of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Egypt and Yemen severed diplomatic ties with Qatar over allegations that Doha is supporting terrorism and embracing Iran and its regional agenda. The bloc, which harbors long-standing grievances against Doha over its ideological and financial support for various regional Islamist groups, including providing shelter to Hamas and Taliban officials, announced that Qatari diplomats would be expelled. Saudi, Emirati and Bahraini airlines piled on, announcing that all flights to and from Qatar would be canceled, with immediate ramifications for the thousands of Qatari pilgrims observing hajj in Mecca during the holy month of Ramadan. Qatar Airlines was also blocked from entering Saudi, Emirati and Bahraini airspace as the diplomatic crisis deepened throughout June 5. As Qatars only land border is with Saudi Arabia, rumors are swirling of impending GCC sanctions against Qatar. The threat of a potential shutdown of goods flowing into the emirate, including food and basic supplies, has sent thousands of panicked residents to the supermarkets.

The latest chapter in Qatars torturous relationship with its GCC allies began when the official Qatar News Agency quoted Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani as saying in an address to a graduation ceremony for new army recruits that Doha faced tensions with the Trump administration and acknowledged that Iran is an Islamic power.

The reporting, which Qatari officials outright denied and characterized as an unprecedented security breach caused by hackers, claimed the emir said, There is no wisdom in harboring hostility toward Iran. The emir also supposedly addressed the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and strategic relations with Iran and made favorable comments about the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

Why now?

For Qatar, supporting regional Islamist groups has enabled it to carve out an independent foreign policy by moving out of the shadow of its mighty neighbor, Saudi Arabia. But in 2014, once Egypts Muslim Brotherhood government was deposed by its military, which Doha had generously bankrolled, coupled with Qatars support for Hamas and various Syrian Islamist groups that had failed to turn initial battlefield victories against the embattled regime of President Bashar al-Assad into strategic gains, Qatar quickly found itself marginalized, culminating in the eruption of the eight-month GCC-Qatar crisis of 2014. At the time, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain also withdrew their ambassadors from Doha.

Nonetheless, Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah successfully managed to broker a truce in the high-profile GCC dispute, but only after Doha began changing its foreign policy. These changes came shortly after the 2013 abdication of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani in favor of his son, Qatars present ruler. During Tamims tenure, he has taken concrete steps to reduce Qatars support for regional Islamist groups, begging the question: Why are the old battles and long-standing grievances resurfacing now?

Possibilities

In the event that Qatars explanation that Tamims recently reported statement was indeed fake news created by hackers with hostile intentions, multiple scenarios should be considered.

If the hacking can be attributed to Iran as part of its effort to divide the GCC immediately after Trumps address, during which he called for a unified regional approach toward isolating Tehran, it seems highly unlikely that the GCC would choose to subsequently escalate tensions with Doha by severing diplomatic relations as opposed issuing a swift statement of Arab unity, which it ultimately did once the 2014 row with Qatar was settled. If Iran was indeed behind the hack, it has succeeded beyond expectations with its quest to divide the GCC, as the rapidly unfolding Qatar crisis is arguably the most significant crisis in the Persian Gulf since the Gulf War of 1990.

A second possibility is that the hacking was done by either Riyadh or Abu Dhabi over their long-standing grievances over Qatars initial support for 2011's various Arab Spring movements, which in their eyes have not only worsened instability and chaos across the Middle East at the price of widespread death and destruction, but enabled Irans rise as a regional power.

If either Riyadh or Abu Dhabi was behind a fabricated Tamim statement, it is also plausible that Qatar retaliated by orchestrating the leak of the emails of UAEs ambassador to Washington, Yousef Al-Otaiba, that exposed discussions with various neoconservative organizations centering on Dohas support for Hamas and other extremist groups.

Qatar, meanwhile, has requested the assistance of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation to investigate.

Adding to the complexity is the recent call by various American foreign policy players and prominent members of Washingtons think-tank community to remove the United States al-Udeid air base from Qatar over Dohas alleged support for extremism.

Some have even suggested that the US air base, from which the US-led coalition to defeat the Islamic State carries out operations, should be relocated to the UAE, driving Qatari paranoia that the UAE is leading an attack against it in Washington with potentially devastating implications. These dynamics have triggered numerous conspiracy theories floating on Twitter and throughout the blogosphere, including that there is somehow an Israel connection.

Another possibility, of course, is that Tamims statement was accurately reported and given the regional turmoil, Qatars independent foreign policy can no longer be tolerated as it could bring turmoil to the GCC.

Given the ferocity of the diplomatic escalations coupled with the potential of punitive economic measures against Doha, the Qatar crisis is unlikely to subside soon. In another worrying sign, whatever happened, the new cyber dimension adds another alarming element to the unfolding GCC crisis, underscoring how unpredictable and dangerous this conflict has become.

If anything, it could be argued that Trumps uncompromising rhetoric against extremism and Iran in particular have emboldened Dohas regional rivals to settle scores that date all the way back to the eruption of the Arab Spring.
June 5, 2017

Does singing after dark pose a threat to public safety? The Ankara governors office thinks so. On May 26, it announced a comprehensive ban on protesting after dark that covers everything from singing folk songs and chanting in public to making news announcements and participating in any kind of assembly.

The announcement said that with the holy month of Ramadan underway, along with the arrival of spring weather, many people are drawn outside in the evenings, and singing and other such activity "disturbs our citizens, disrupts public order and security, increases the risk of terrorist organizations attacking [and] bombing communities, and makes it difficult for security forces to intervene in these events."

Since a widely contested referendum in April that granted President Recep Tayyip Erdogan unprecedented power, Ankara has increasingly become a hotbed of discontent.

Bans on folk songs strike a nerve with Turks and have a bitter history in the country. Folk songs were banned from radio programs in Turkey from 1934 to 1936 with the goal of making Turkish music more Western. The ban backfired when people all around the country started listening to foreign radio stations.

Turkey's political system has indeed suffered from different ebbs and flows of cultural prohibitions for decades. In the mid-1980s, after a 1980 military coup, two prominent actors produced a cabaret theater show called "Yasaklar" ("Prohibitions") that ridiculed myriad social and cultural bans. Their underlying message was, Turkey is a 'free' society and the government does not intrude on your private life  however, here are the bans you must obey.

The Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in the early 2000s with the promise of banning all the bans. However, the number of AKP-era bans is reaching a scary tipping point with the prolonged emergency law that was imposed after a failed coup almost a year ago. It is quite ironic that the AKP has now started reintroducing the bans of an era it supposedly disdained.

The more people keep quiet and try to function with these confounding rules over their heads, the more complex and intrusive the restrictions have become over the years. Right now, for example, a recent regulation bans all goats and sheep from entering olive groves, yet if the government sees fit, any olive grove can be confiscated for mining and other industries. Years of reckless policies have produced not only useless bans for the public but also caused environmental disasters for the locals.

It is quite telling that on May 28, Erdogan attended a pro-AKP nongovernmental organization gathering where he vehemently complained about the AKPs shortcomings in the fields of culture and societal leadership. Indeed, despite having all political and financial means needed, it is fair to say the AKP has utterly failed in the arts arena.

Prominent Islamist columnists for years have been complaining about the lack of cultural efforts. AKP elites regularly warn the public against widespread moral decay in Muslim young people. The Religious Affairs Directorates budget for 2016 indicates how deep these concerns are: For a program to prevent the decay of morals," the directorate reserved 2.5 million Turkish liras ($710,000). It allotted 11 million Turkish liras ($3.1 million) to generate programs that would help produce Islamic information in accordance with science. The AKPs struggle to Islamize Turkish society, a process of cultural cleansing as the party has proposed it, is producing a generation disconnected from Western values and alien to Islamic ones as well. This realization is causing a deep panic among Islamist elites.

Yet one wonders, with the official mindset of relentless control of citizens' personal lives, how can any government agency develop a cultural breakthrough and good morals? One of the reasons for the AKPs failure is that social and cultural activities need a free market of ideas to flourish.

Erdogan keeps repeating his sardonic question, When did we [AKP government] ever interfere in your personal life choices? There are too many instances to cite! So why is the AKP generating ridiculous bans and engaging in petty legislation  enacted as emergency decrees  for regulating matters such as laser hair removal?

Timur Kuran, an economics and political science professor and Gorter family professor of Islamic studies at Duke University, provided crucial insights to this question.

For many years, Erdogan and his team promised that they would not do to non-AKP people what Kemalists had done to the pious. They would be fairer. They would provide freedoms to their followers without taking away freedoms from others," Kuran said.

All this has changed now. AKP officials are engaging in social engineering, partly to force their beliefs on others, partly as revenge and partly to score points by getting into the news." As just one example, he pointed to "out-of-the-blue" restrictions on alcohol consumption enacted June 1.

"I think, just as CHP [Republican People's Party] officials in the 1930s went to extremes on their own just to be noticed as loyal secularists, so today ambitious bureaucrats are announcing policies worthy of a post on Zaytung [a Turkish version of the satire website The Onion] just to be noticed. By this logic, the sillier the better. Prohibiting singing during Ramadan nights in summer is as silly as it can get. But it does catch attention. Erdogan himself sets the pattern through juvenile, out-of-the-blue policies of his own. His impulsive decree changing all arenas into stadiums will one day go into history books as an example of the Erdogan eras surreal character.

Kuran also had a warning about the implications of such erratic decisions. AKP has lost popular support, and these types of policies are not helping. This means that to stay in power, the AKP will need to rely increasingly on violence, polarization and manufactured conflicts with foreign powers.

Populist leaders who lose their popularity quickly have been known to act in desperation and issue arbitrary orders in all aspects of life. What are the immediate consequences of these unnecessary and erratic decrees on society? First, people lose respect for the leader. Next, as justifying such acts becomes more difficult, oppression increases on anyone who dares to question these orders.

There is an element of desperation. Seeing that power is gradually slipping out of their hands, and that they are losing legitimacy, [such leaders also] feel compelled to create easy problems that are solvable immediately, proving their competence, said Kuran.

On May 31, the fourth anniversary of the Gezi protests, Erdogan asked opposition groups that dared to commemorate the event: What was done to you that you have to engage in a civil rights and liberties struggle? This indicates he still doesn't accept any allegation that the government is intruding on citizens' personal lives  politically, culturally or socially. He added that the battle against the Gezi mindset will continue.

In the meantime, Ankara protesters (after the two academics on a hunger strike were arrested) still continue their peaceful resistance while facing daily police brutality. Police have now started to use plastic bullets against protesters. Yet the protesters are still in good spirits. After the Ankara governor banned singing in public, the group posted on Facebook their whispered songs and subdued dances.

What awaits Turkey? There is not much room for optimism. Protesters have adapted by singing without much volume, but if a dance ban follows, they might have trouble finding a way to dance without movement.
June 6, 2017

The political earthquake in the Gulf took Turkey by surprise, even as many observers argued that the crisis was foreseeable. Ankara finds itself caught in the middle of another bewildering regional dispute not of its making but likely to have negative implications for it.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was quick to work the phones to try to defuse the crisis. Among those he talked to were Russian President Vladimir Putin, Saudi Arabias King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, and the emirs of Qatar and Kuwait.

"The importance of regional peace and stability was underlined in the talks, as well as the importance of focusing on the path of diplomacy and dialogue to lower the current tension," a presidential source later told the press.

His efforts are expected to bear few results, though, given the animosity toward Qatar among the countries that have fallen in line behind Saudi Arabia and Egypt and appear determined to politically and economically isolate Qatar on the grounds that it aids Islamic terrorism and leans toward Iran.

The development has made things difficult for Erdogans Sunni supporters, who are generally opposed to predominantly Shiite Iran and keen on seeing Turkish-Saudi Arabian ties develop, but not at the expense of Qatar or of groups like the Muslim Brotherhood, which Riyadh and Cairo consider a terrorist organization.

Being essentially anti-American, these Sunni supporters also see Washingtons hand in this development, as it came shortly after President Donald Trumps visit to Saudi Arabia. The shot of Trump with Salman and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi over a glowing sphere depicting the world during the inauguration ceremony for the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology in Riyadh was not taken well in Ankara.

Turkey's first dilemma is that it has excellent political and economic ties with Qatar, a country with which it shares common views on issues like the Syrian crisis or support for the Muslim Brotherhood, while also trying to develop strategic ties with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries.

Qatar was one of the few regional countries to reach out to Erdogan as his international isolation grew. Ankara has insisted on policies that are out of touch with the realities governing the Middle East. Turkey and Qatar have also been developing military ties since December 2015, when it was announced that Turkey would establish a military base in Qatar. A small Turkish military contingent is currently stationed in that country. Turkey ranks seventh in terms of Qatars foreign investments and has taken on construction contracts valued at over $14 billion in the country. Meanwhile, Turkish exports to Qatar are valued at over $400 million.

Turkeys second problem is that the Saudi Arabia-led alliance against Qatar includes not just Egypt but also Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Yemen, Libya and the Maldives, all of which form an anti-Iranian Sunni bloc. Turkey also has tense relations with Iran due to fundamental differences over Syria and Iraq, but Ankara and Tehran have pragmatically steered away from major crises.

Both countries are part of the Russian-led Astana Process working to resolve the Syrian crisis. Iran is also a major trading partner and a vital source of energy for Turkey.

The official Saudi Press Agency has reported that Riyadh expects its allies to start immediate legal procedures  to implement the same procedure as soon as possible against Qatar. Ankara will have to tread delicately on the middle ground.

Erdogan's spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, said in a written statement, "The members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, with whom Turkey is in a strategic business alliance, should solve their problems through negotiation, dialogue and communication." Kalin noted that Erdogan would do what he could to help resolve the matter.

The third major problem for Ankara is the fact that the alliance against Qatar is also an alliance against the Muslim Brotherhood, seen by Riyadh and Cairo as a terrorist organization. Erdogan, his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its Islamist support base, however, consider the Brotherhood to be a kindred organization, and it remains a contentious issue not just with Egypt and Saudi Arabia, but also with the UAE. Ties between Ankara and the UAE, which has accused Turkey in the past of supporting radical Islamic groups, also remain tense, even though the sides are trying to overcome their differences. Diplomatic sources indicate that Ankara has also been lobbying Washington with a degree of success to prevent it from declaring the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization.

Most Turkish analysts say Turkey has little to do with this dispute and should remain neutral for its own sake. Yasar Yakis, a former foreign minister and AKP deputy, declared in a statement to Hurriyet that Turkey is already seriously isolated in foreign policy and said that taking sides would only increase this isolation.

Retired ambassador Uluc Ozulker, in his own statement to Hurriyet, maintained that the dispute between Saudi Arabia and Iran is essentially a sectarian one and warned that Turkey should not take sides. We will suffer serious harm if we do, Ozulker said.

Verda Ozer, a foreign policy analyst for Hurriyet, argued that there is a perception among many regional countries that Turkey inclines toward Qatar. If not managed well, this connection could also leave Turkey facing charges from the West and the Gulf region of supporting terrorism.

Pro-government analysts, on the other hand, see a conspiracy against Qatar and claim Turkey is next in line to be victimized. Ufuk Ulutas, who heads the foreign policy department at the government-sponsored Political Economic and Social Research Foundation, claimed that efforts will be made to force Turkey into taking a side. Ulutas declared in an article for Aksam, The fact that they will want to apply pressure on Turkey after Qatar shows that Turkey will have problems with the countries involved in the coming period.

This dispute has shown again that the Middle East is a far more complex place than either Erdogan or former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu  the architect of much of Turkeys failed regional policies  seem to have believed. It has also shown that Arab countries will never consider Turkey part of the Arab world, even if it is predominantly Islamic. For example, reports indicate that Qatar is leaning toward Kuwait as mediator in this crisis, rather than Turkey.

Political commentator Murat Yetkin summed it up for Hurriyet, saying, There is benefit for Turkey in continuing not to touch the Qatar crisis with its bare hands, but using diplomatic tongs instead.
June 4, 2017

Hale, a physician in her 40s, met her husband, the financial director of an international company, on the internet. Shed die rather than admit it.

I just tell people that I met him when he came in as a patient, said Hale (not her real name), unaware that in many cultures dating a patient would raise more eyebrows than meeting through online dating sites.

Not in Turkey, Eren Erkalkan, the CEO of Siberalem, Turkeys largest online dating website, told Al-Monitor. We have many thank you letters by people who have met and married through us. But very few of them want to make it public.

Reading the local newspapers, a Turkey-watcher would think that Turks are spoiled for choice when it comes to methods of finding a spouse. Marriage programs, despite tighter controls and a partial ban that is yet to be implemented, continue to be broadcast on almost all of the TV channels. Politicians include matchmaking in their campaign speeches, and the Ministry of Family and Social Affairs helps couples obtain a marriage loan, free of interest, with most state banks. Only a week ago, the Army Aviation Command prosecutors indictment quoted by daily Hurriyet on June 2 claimed that US-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulens organization had a catalog of suitable wives for male members to choose from. Add to this the long-standing tradition of arranged marriages in Turkey  the way more than half of the Turks marry, according to a 2013 report by the Ministry of Family and Social Affairs, which also says in 8.9% of these cases the person who will marry is not consulted. One would think that everyone, from the president down, wants to ensure that Turks do not stay single too long.

But few of the matchmakers in the 80-million strong country can claim to reach as many people as Siberalem, at the service of keyboard-happy Turks, since the start of the millennium. There are 18 million profiles registered in our database, Erkalkan said. But we think some people have double or multiple profiles. The number of active users  people who have been logging in over the last 12 months  are between 700,000 and 1 million.

Given that Turkeys population above 18 is around 55 million, does that mean that one out of every five Turks has used Siberalem, for dating or for marriage, one time or other? It certainly proves that there is a wide usage and that the people who log in are the same people who pass by on the street, sit in the same cinema theater and work at the same office, Erkalkan replied. That's why I think the attitude toward online dating is bound to change.

Online romances in Turkey started in the 2000s, mainly through ICQ. Despite rumors that it was a Mossad invention to monitor what the world was talking about, ICQ has been widely used and abused by the Turks in their encounters with the opposite sex. Stories of romance-turned-swindling have found their way to the newspaper headlines, particularly one that involved a university dean who loaned 135,000 Turkish lira (roughly $38,000) to a woman he encountered and got engaged to on the net but never met face to face. His fiancee told him that she was a model and needed money for her cancer treatment. The highly publicized court case revealed that she had used the same trick several times, using as bait an attractive photo of a famous Turkish model, Yuksel Ak, whom the unworldly professor did not recognize.

There is always this perception that people are not who they say they are on the internet, Erkalkan admitted. But it is neither rational nor sustainable to present an alternative persona if what you are looking for is companionship.

He also stressed that he has a support team working around the clock. We want our users to feel safe. We have guidelines that teach people how to use Siberalem, including on protecting their privacy. Our team is there to help them if they feel threatened, insulted or when their privacy is invaded while they are using Siberalem, he said, adding that there had been a large percentage of complaints in that direction.

Siberalem asks its users to create a detailed profile that includes weight, height, monthly income, marital status, expectations in a relationship, and favorite writers, poets and composers. It charges a fee for men but no fee for women. Despite that, on a Saturday afternoon, the number of men online is four times as many as women.

The polarization in Turkish society  between the secularists and the conservatives, and between the fierce republicans and the liberals  are widely clear in the profiles as well as the statements by the users. If I see that the man sending me a wink has said in his profile that his favorite poet is Nurullah Genc [a poet much admired by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other AKP intelligentsia], I block him right away, said Asli (not her real name), 30, who works in a social democrat publication house. Nicknames also give you an idea. I would dismiss 'Suleiman, the Magnificent' as one of the avid Ottomanists and 'goodhuman' as a conservative.

Siberalems conservative sister, Gonulden Sevenler, is an online marriage site for a more conservative audience that focuses on marriage only, rather than dating. The site refers to the sacredness of marriage and strongly warns users from using it for any other means. It is far from being the only one.

Asli, a regular user of Siberalem, laughed when asked whether she would consider another method, such as marriage programs. These are reality shows, she said. About 12 people sit through the same program for an average of six weeks, and very few of them get married. I have more of a chance of being discovered by the film industry than finding a spouse in such a program. Besides, I do not know whether they will be able to continue.

On April 30, Turkey banned some TV dating programs in a cryptic decree. "In radio and television broadcasting services, shows where people are introduced and/or brought together to find friends  cannot be made," said the Official Gazette, the state publication in which official decrees are announced. The decision has been in the pipeline for a long time, as Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said in March that these programs conflicted with Turkey's faith and culture. But Turkeys broadcast watchdog, the Radio and Television Supreme Council, is still pondering on a set of rules to implement the decision as the shows rage on.
MARK ALMOND

By Kelly Poe | kpoe@al.com

The biggest employers in Alabama counties range from universities, to the Department of Defense, to prisons, to school systems. We compiled the largest employer in every county in Alabama.

Unfortunately, there's no perfect way to gather this data - there's no central source. Most of the data in this story come from the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama's Advantage Alabama site, and most of its information comes from local economic development groups. A few counties didn't have data on the site, so we reached out to local chambers of commerce and economic development groups. In all but one case we got at least an estimate on employment numbers (Sorry, Perry County).

Some notable trends: school systems are a common large employer, and not just for more rural counties. Shelby County's largest employer is the school system, and it's also Alabama's most affluent county by per capita income. Despite total manufacturing employment having drastically declined since a decade ago, manufacturers of everything from kitchen cabinets to car parts remain the top employers in many rural counties.

Here are the top employers in every Alabama county.

(The Birmingham News/ Mark Almond)

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Trisha Powell Crain | tcrain@al.com

Autauga County

Employer: Autauga County Board of Education

Number of employees: 1,100

Industry: Education

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Baldwin County Public Schools

Baldwin County

Employer: Baldwin County Board of Education

Number of employees: 3,851

Industry: Education

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JULIE BENNETT

Barbour County

Employer: Keystone Foods

Number of employees: 1,250

Industry: Poultry processing

(File photo - not Keystone Foods)

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MARK ALMOND

Bibb County

Employer: Burkes Mechanical

Number of employees: 750

Industry: Industrial contractor

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LINDA STELTER

Blount County

Employer: Blount County Board of Education

Number of employees: 900

Industry: Education

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JULIE BENNETT

Bullock County

Employer: Wayne Farms

Number of employees: 980

Industry: Poultry Processing

(File photo - not Wayne Farms)

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Kelly Poe | kpoe@al.com

Butler County

Employer: Hwashin America Corporation

Number of employees: 750

Industry: Auto manufacturing

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Calhoun County

Employer: Anniston Army Depot

Number of employees: 4,100

Industry: Defense

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Courtesy Chambers County Schools

Chambers County

Employer: Chambers County Schools

Number of employees: 490

Industry: Education

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Kelly Poe | kpoe@al.com

Cherokee County

Employer: KTH Leesburg Products LLC

Number of employees: 508

Industry: Auto manufacturing

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Morgan Anderson

Chilton County

Employer: Adient

Number of employees: 850

Industry: Auto manufacturing

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Choctaw County

Employer: Georgia Pacific Naheola Mill

Number of employees: 800

Industry: Paper manufacturing

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MICHAEL PALMER

Clarke County

Employer: Boise Casacade Corporation

Number of employees: 570

Industry: Paper manufacturing

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Charles Nesbitt

Clay County

Employer: Wellborn Cabinets

Number of employees: 1,200

Industry: Cabinets

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Cleburne County

Employer: L.E. Bell Construction

Number of employees: 525

Industry: Pipeline construction

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JULIE BENNETT

Coffee County

Employer: Wayne Farms

Number of employees: 1,200

Industry: Poultry processing

(File photo - not Wayne Farms)

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Joe Songer | jsonger@al.com

Colbert County

Employer: North American Lighting

Number of employees: 1,437

Industry: Auto Manufacturing

(File photo - not North American Lighting)

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William Thornton | wthornton@al.com

Conecuh County

Employer: GUYOUNG TECH

Number of employees: 450

Industry: Auto manufacturing

(File photo - Guyoung is a Hyundai supplier, but this is not a photo of Guyoung Tech)

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Kelly Poe | kpoe@al.com

Coosa County

Employer: Madix

Number of employees: 330

Industry: Shelving

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Covington County

Employer: Shaw Industries

Number of employees: 1,082

Industry: Carpet

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Kelly Poe | kpoe@al.com

Crenshaw County

Employer: Smart Alabama LLC

Number of employees: 745

Industry: Auto Manufacturing

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CHRISTINE PRICHARD

Cullman County

Employer: Cullman County Schools

Number of employees: 1,241

Industry: Education

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Contributed photo/L-3

Dale County

Employer: Army Fleet Support

Number of employees: 3,284

Industry: Aviation maintenance

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Dallas County

Employer: International Paper Company

Number of employees: 768

Industry: Paper manufacturing

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Ivana Hrynkiw | ihrynkiw@al.com

Dekalb County

Employer: DeKalb County School System

Number of employees: 1,009

Industry: Education

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Elmore County

Employer: Board of Education

Number of employees: 1,300

Industry: Education

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Julie Bennett

Escambia County

Employer: Wind Creek Casino and Hotel

Number of employees: 1,056

Industry: Hospitality

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William Thornton / wthornton@al.com

Etowah County

Employer: Goodyear

Number of employees: 1,500

Industry: Tire Manufacturing

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Fayette County

Employer: Fayette Medical Center

Number of employees: 315

Industry: Healthcare

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JULIE BENNETT

Franklin County

Employer: Pilgrim's

Number of employees: 1,140

Industry: Poultry processing

(File photo - not Pilgrim's)

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Kelly Poe | kpoe@al.com

Geneva County

Employer: Reliable Products

Number of employees: 550

Industry: HVAC manufacturing

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Heather Charles

Greene County

Employer: WestRock Company

Number of employees: 200

Industry: Paper Boxes

(File/Heather Charles/Chicago Trib une/MCT - not WestRock Company)

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Patrick Sison

Hale County

Employer: Golden Peanut Company

Number of employees: 140

Industry: Peanuts

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Henry County

Employer: Henry County Schools

Number of employees: 310 full-time equivalents

Industry: Education

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Kelly Poe | kpoe@al.com

Houston County

Employer: Southeast Alabama Medical Center

Number of employees: 2,113

Industry: Healthcare

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Jackson County

Employer: Maples Industries

Number of employees: 1,862

Industry: Rugs

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Lucy Berry | lberry@al.com

Jefferson County

Employer: UAB

Number of employees: 23,000

Industry: Education and healthcare

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Lamar County

Employer: NACCO Materials Handling Group

Number of employees: 570

Industry: Fork lift manufacturing

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Lauderdale County

Employer: ECM Hospitals

Number of employees: 1,222

Industry: Healthcare

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Haley Laurence | hlaurence@al.com

Lawrence County

Employer: Lawrence County School System

Number of employees: 630

Industry: Education

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Dawn Kent Azok dazok@al.com

Lee County

Employer: Auburn University

Number of employees: 5,500

Industry: Education

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Bob Gathany | bgathany@al.com

Limestone County

Employer: TVA

Number of employees: 1,500

Industry: Nuclear Power

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Lowndes County

Employer: SABIC

Number of employees: 315

Industry: Plastics

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Macon County

Employer: Halla Climate Systems Alabama

Number of employees: 650

Industry: Auto manufacturing

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Al.com

Madison County

Employer: Redstone Arsenal

Number of employees: 35,000

Industry: Defense

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Marengo County

Employer: Rock Tenn Company

Number of employees: 512

Industry: Paper manufacturing

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Marion County

Employer: Door Components LLC/ Kith Kitchens

Number of employees: 550

Industry: Cabinet doors

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JULIE BENNETT

Marshall County

Employer: AlaTrade Foods

Number of employees: 1,275

Industry: Poultry processing

(File photo - not AlaTrade Foods)

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Mike Brantley

Mobile County

Employer: Mobile County Public School System

Number of employees: 7,500

Industry: Education

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Monroe County

Employer: Georgia Pacific - Alabama River Cellulose

Number of employees: 479

Industry: Fluff pulp

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Montgomery County

Employer: Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base

Number of employees: 12,280

Industry: Defense

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Morgan County

Employer: Decatur-Morgan Hospital

Number of employees: 1,365

Industry: Healthcare

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Perry County

Employer: Perry County

Number of employees: Unable to confirm

Industry: Government

Perry County Chamber of Commerce cites the county as the largest employer, but was unable to provide an estimate of employment by press time.

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Kelly Poe | kpoe@al.com

Pickens County

Employer: FCI Aliceville

Number of employees: 350

Industry: Corrections

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Pike County

Employer: Troy University

Number of employees: 1,662

Industry: Education

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Beverly Taylor

Randolph County

Employer: Mohawk Industries

Number of employees: 375

Industry: Carpet

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Russell County

Employer: Phenix City Board of Education

Number of employees: 983

Industry: Education

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St. Clair County

Employer: St. Clair County Board of Education

Number of employees: 965

Industry: Education

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Chelsea High School

Shelby County

Employer: Shelby County Board of Education

Number of employees: 2,491

Industry: Education

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Sumter County

Employer: McElroy Truck Lines

Number of employees: 750

Industry: Trucking

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Joe Songer | jsonger@al.com

Talladega County

Employer: Honda of Alabama

Number of employees: 5,000

Industry: Auto manufacturing

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Tallapoosa County

Employer: SL Alabama

Number of employees: 845

Industry: Automotive plastics

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Tuscaloosa County

Employer: The University of Alabama

Number of employees: 11,988

Industry: Education

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Walker County

Employer: Walker County Board of Education

Number of employees: 1,000

Industry: Education

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Washington County

Employer: BASF

Number of employees: 400

Industry: Chemical

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Wilcox County

Employer: International Paper Company

Number of employees: 500

Industry: Paper

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William Thornton | wthornton@al.com

Winston County

Employer: Kith Kitchen

Number of employees: 501

Industry: Cabinets

(File photo - not Kith Kitchen)
Matt Vizcaino practically grew up in his parents' pizza parlor, where, as a teenager, he started out busing tables and eventually worked his way up to managing the restaurant.

Now, the 25-year-old Vizcaino has a pizza place of his own.

The younger Vizcaino opened a second location of his parents' Tortugas Homemade Pizza on May 31 near Regions Field in downtown Birmingham.

"It's been a long journey," Vizcaino said in an interview with AL.com. "It's taken over two years to get here. I spent 12 hours a day for many weeks over the past few months working on getting this place built. When I saw that first pizza come out of the oven, I almost had tears in my eyes."

His father and mother, Carlos and Carol Vizcaino, opened the original Tortugas in 1999 at 2801 John Hawkins Parkway in Hoover. The pizzeria, which specializes in deep-dish, Chicago-style pies, was named the best in Birmingham in a 2004 contest sponsored by the Birmingham News, and it has been featured on the Alabama Tourism Department's bucket list of "100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama Before You Die."

Not one to mess with success, Matt Vizcaino said about the only thing he's changed at his place is the phone number.

"The brand helps," he said. "That's one of the things we discussed early on, was how we were going to name it and brand it. And we felt strongly that keeping the Tortugas Pizza moniker was very important -- and keeping things the same as they are in Hoover, the way my parents have done it.

"The menu is exactly the same," he added. "I took it from Hoover and copied it and added our phone number to it."

The new Tortugas is at 1304 Second Ave. South, just around the corner from Good People Brewing Company, across the street from University House apartments, and a deep foul ball from Regions Field.

"With the ballpark and having the brewery next door, we just felt right here," Vizcaino said. "There are a bunch of apartments that have popped up, so we felt like it's a good population center."

The Tortugas menu features 10- and 12-inched stuffed, deep-dish pizzas with such ingredients as Italian sausage, pepperoni, bacon, chicken, meatballs, anchovies, olives, pineapple, spinach, bell peppers, jalapenos, mushrooms and onions. Thin-crust pizzas are also available, as well as both deep-dish and thin-crust pizza by the slice.

Some of the specialty combination pizzas include the Carne Special (Italian sausage, pepperoni, bacon and Canadian bacon), Traditional (Italian sausage, green bell peppers, mushrooms, garlic and onions), Pizza Mexicana (house-made salsa, beef, black olives and mozzarella and cheddar cheeses), and Wrigleyville (smoked sausage, Italian sausage, green bell peppers and onion).

The menu also includes subs, salads and lasagna.

The deep-dish pizza at Tortugas Homemade Pizza has been featured on the Alabama Tourism Department's list of "100 Dishes to Eat in Alabama Before You Die." (Birmingham News file/Hal Yeager)

Keeping it all in the family

Vizcaino's father is a native of Ecuador and his mother grew up in Birmingham, and they met while working at Edwardo's Natural Pizza in Chicago, where Carlos Vizcaino mastered the art of making stuffed pizza. After 12 years at Edwardo's, he and his wife opened their own place, Papapia's, in the Chicago suburb of Mundelein, Ill. In 1999, they moved to Birmingham to be near Carol's family and opened Tortugas Homemade Pizza that September.

"I've had a pizza-filled life," Matt Vizcaino said. "Ever since I was little, I've been around pizza."

Matt Vizcaino, who was 6 when he moved here from Chicago, started working at his parents' restaurant when he was 14.

"I started off busing (tables), and then I gradually got into more stuff," he said. "Even though they are my parents, I still had to conform to the rules of child labor. I had to get a permission slip from my school to be able to work. But I've been with them for 11 years."

After graduating from Hoover High School, Vizcaino attended Auburn University on an academic scholarship. After changing majors a few times, though, he decided college wasn't for him.

"I realized that I really like being in the service industry," he said. "I really like making food for people, getting to talk to people every day.

"That's my biggest thing -- seeing different faces and seeing the look on people's faces when they try Chicago-style pizza for the first time. Straight out of the oven, a whole pie comes out and they're just in awe.

"My parents suggested that I open up my own store, and it kind of just blossomed from there," he added. "After a few months of brainstorming ideas and figuring out where to go, all of the cards fell into this."

Like the original Tortugas, the new pizzeria is decorated with World Series pennants, framed newspaper front pages and other memorabilia celebrating the Vizcainos' beloved Chicago Cubs, including a framed Cubs jersey with the name Vizcaino stitched on the back.

"We have a friend who is a season-ticket holder at Wrigley Field, so he brings us the (promotional) giveaways, flags and stuff," Vizcaino said. "Last year I was able to go up a good bit, but I don't think I'm going to be able to go this year. I probably went to six games last year, including a World Series game."

Keeping it all in the family, the younger Vizcaino's uncle -- his father's brother, Jack Vizcaino -- is a partner in the new restaurant.

"He's been a dentist for many years, so this is new to him." Matt Vizcaino said. "So I'm in the process of training him. I've got to say it's been a great experience for me training my uncle to work. It's given me a refresher on everything."

For now, Tortugas is open for lunch only, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. In about another week, Vizcaino said, the restaurant will remain open through dinner five nights a week. Regular hours will be 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays.

The restaurant does not deliver but does offer catering, Vizcaino said.

Tortugas Homemade Pizza is at 1304 Second Ave. South in Birmingham. The phone number is 205-730-9249. For a menu and more information, go here.
Investigators are seeking the public's help for information involving last week's shooting death of a panhandler at Interstate 59 in Ensley.

Birmingham police released surveillance photos believed to be used in the May 29th slaying of Jeremy Thompson.

Thompson, 30, was shot multiple times. Birmingham's West Precinct officers responded about 7:30 p.m. to Interstate 59 and Avenue I, and arrived to find the victim - later identified as Thompson - lying on his stomach with multiple gunshot wounds. Sgt. Bryan Shelton said the officers recognized the man as a possible vagrant who solicits money from motorists exiting the interstate.

Thompson was pronounced dead on the scene by Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service medics at 7:44 p.m. Shelton at the time said the investigation so far shows Thompson may have been arguing with the occupants of a vehicle at that location. Detectives believe that after the argument, the victim walked away and the suspects drove off.

However, he said, the suspects' vehicle returned. At that point, one of the suspects opened fire on the Thompson, hitting him multiple times. The suspects fled the scene.

Authorities said investigators suspect both vehicles, which were occupied by multiple individuals, had an altercation with the victim. Only one car, the black Nissan 2008-2014, returned and opened fire on the victim.

"Our investigators have made progress in this case, help from the public would be beneficial in sharpening our focus," Shelton said Tuesday.

Thompson's uncle and brother spoke with AL.com following the killing.

Bobby Thompson said his nephew wasn't homeless. "He chose to be out in the streets,'' despite pleading from his loved ones,'' he said.

Jeremy Thompson grew up in the McDonald Chapel community, and had a small daughter whom he loved dearly. "He said that she was all he had,'' his uncle said. "He thanked the Lord for her every day."

His uncle said Jeremy Thompson got involved in drugs, and was trying to break free from the cycle. Court records show Thompson had been arrested a couple of times on minor drug charges, and Bobby Thompson said his nephew wanted to do better. "He didn't mean to be out there like he was, he just got some bad breaks,'' he said. "He was in the state of mind where he knew he wanted to get off that mess. You can't just leave it alone, you have to do a lot of praying."

The victim's brother agreed. "I have worried about him countless nights, lost many hours of sleep since he developed an addiction problem and distanced himself from his family,'' Blake Thompson said. "No matter how bad his addiction was, you could still see the huge heart he possessed."

Jeremy Thompson was particularly close to his grandmother, and lived with her off and on. "He helped my mother so much,'' Bobby Thompson said. "He was a big-hearted guy."

Bobby Thompson said he saw his nephew a few weeks ago at the intersection where he was killed.He said he never asked anyone for money, but instead just held a sign and accepted donations.

Family members had that in mind when they saw news reports Monday night about the killing. "My brother called our mother and said, 'I've got a bad feeling Mom,''' Bobby Thompson said

"No family should have gotten the phone call that we received. It was inhumane and it was probably over $20,'' Blake Thompson said. "I will miss all the talks we had hunting and fishing. I will miss his smile, his laugh, and most of all I will miss him telling me he loves me."

Anyone with information is asked to call Birmingham homicide Det. Harris at 205-297-8459 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777. Crime Stoppers offers a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction. Tipsters to Crime Stoppers can remain anonymous.
A Birmingham police sergeant is biting mad after he bit into a 1-inch bolt in his Arby's Classic Roast Beef sandwich.

Sgt. Patrick Cosby said he doesn't know if the bolt was intentionally placed there because he is a police officer - there have been similar incidents around the country in what officers feel is a continuing anti-police sentiment - or whether it was a machine malfunction, which Arby's officials claim.

But either way, he said, it's unacceptable.

"I don't know how you make a sandwich with a bolt that large in it and not be intentional,'' Crosby told AL.com. "I can't wrap my head around that."

Christopher Fuller, a senior vice president for communications with Arby's Restaurant Group Inc., provided this statement on the incident: "We take this matter very seriously and conducted an immediate investigation. After reviewing video footage from our kitchen speaking with our team members, we are confident no one was targeted in this instance. We have a long-standing tradition of supporting our men and women in uniform, and we are currently working with the guest to resolve the matter."

The incident happened Thursday, June 1, while Cosby was working late on the department's Operation Eagle crime-fighting effort. He went through the drive-thru at Arby's on Seventh Avenue South in downtown Birmingham, where he ordered the Classic Roast Beef meal.

Cosby was in uniform and driving his city car, which also is equipped with police lights. The employee in the drive-thru greeted him with a "Hey Officer." "They clearly know I'm a police officer,'' he said.

He was first handed his drink, and then his bag of food, which he took back to police headquarters. "I took the first bite into the sandwich, I mashed down on something really hard,'' he said. "I pulled back and spit it out and looked into the sandwich. There's a massive bolt laying there. I'm kind of in shock."

"I'm playing this out in my head,'' he said. "I wondered if it was intentionally done."

Cosby took pictures, which he sent to his wife. He then went back to the restaurant, and asked for a manager. He pulled out the sandwich and showed her what he had. "She's kind of thrown by it,'' he said.

The manager went into the back and told the employees in the kitchen and told them what had happened and that they needed to determine where it had come from and what was going on. "She came back, and I said, 'I would like to think that it was not intentional, but I don't know,''' Cosby said, adding that he got his money back.

Meanwhile, his wife posted the photo on Facebook with a warning to other area law enforcement officers, and contacted the Arby's customer complaint hotline. She said she spoke with a representative who told her it was was one of the worst complaints she had taken, and that someone from the national cooperate office would be in touch.

They heard nothing on Friday, and then on Saturday Cosby received a call from a regional supervisor who told him that they didn't believe the bolt was intentionally put in the sandwich, but instead had fallen into it from a malfunctioning meat cutter. Employees slice and weigh the meat when making each individual sandwich.

Next, Cosby said, he heard from a company vice president who was apologetic. "He said until they investigate it, they won't know what happened but he also said from what he understood, the bolt came off of a cutter,'' he said.

"I said, 'Well OK, let's entertain that for a moment. Either somebody intentionally placed the bolt there or there's been gross negligence in using a cutter you know is faulty,''' Cosby said. "Obviously he was very disturbed by it."

Cosby filed a report with the Birmingham Police Department, and contacted the FDA, which instructed him to contact the Jefferson County Health Department. Cosby said the agency visited the restaurant on Monday.

He said the Health Department was also told the bolt in the sandwich was the result of a faulty cutter with which the restaurant has had previous problems. "They're alleging it's not intentional, but I don't see how that makes it on to a sandwich,'' Cosby said. "I just know that 100 percent of the people who have seen the picture, many who have been in the restaurant business for 30 years, say there's no way it's not intentional."

A police officer in Ohio was hospitalized last year after biting into a sandwich with shards of glass. In multiple incidents throughout the country, police officers have claimed they were denied service because of their profession.

"I feel like it was intentional. What are the chances it was an officer that got the 1 -inch bolt in his sandwich?'' Cosby said. "If I were making a sandwich at home, I'd know if a 1-inch bolt was in there. They're not owning up to it."
Former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore took his campaign for the U.S. Senate to a receptive gathering of Republicans tonight at a restaurant in Wetumpka.

Moore told the Republican Club of Central Alabama that the nation needs to get back to following the Constitution. He repeated some of the message he gave when he announced his candidacy in April.

"I do share Trump's vision to make America great again," Moore said. "We can make America great again. But before we make her great, we must make her good again. And the only way to make her good again is to go back to the Constitution and to the God which is the basis of that Constitution."

Moore said the nation has serious problems but that government is not necessarily the answer to some, saying that government power should be rightly limited.

"What is reserved to the people?" Moore asked. "Anybody know? What power does no government have? Neither the federal or the state? We need to learn what those powers are."

Moore is battling a crowded field for the Republican nomination to fill the seat that Jeff Sessions left to become U.S. attorney general. The field includes the current holder of the seat, Sen. Luther Strange, who was appointed by former Gov. Robert Bentley in February. Moore did not mention his opponents by name tonight.

Last year, the Alabama Court of the Judiciary suspended Moore for the remainder of his term as chief justice. The court found Moore violated judicial ethics because of an administrative order telling probate judges they still had to follow Alabama's ban on same-sex marriage after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage.

Moore said the administrative order was a status update on an Alabama case and not meant as a call to defy federal courts. He appealed the Court of the Judiciary's decision but it was upheld by a special Alabama Supreme Court.

Moore resigned as chief justice to pursue the Senate seat.

Asked tonight if he considered himself a front-runner, Moore said that can't be known until the votes are counted.

"I think I do bring something different," Moore said.

Moore called for the immediate repeal of the Affordable Care Act.

Moore said one key task for the campaign is to make voters aware there is a special election. The primary will be Aug. 15. The runoff, if necessary, will be Sept. 26 and the general election is Dec. 12.

Democrats in the race, according to the state Democratic Party website, include Doug Jones, a former U.S. attorney who is now in private practice; Michael Hansen, executive director of the environmental advocacy group Gasp; Jason Fisher of Orange Beach, a marketing company executive; Will Boyd of Florence; Vann Caldwell of Talladega; Robert Kennedy Jr. of Mobile; Brian McGee of Valley; and Charles Nana of Hoover.
A home invasion in Adger earlier this month was carried out by the couple's adopted son and two of his friends, authorities said today.

Two of the suspects are in custody, and a third is sought. They have been identified as: Jamie Lee Meadows, 30, of Adger; Roy Scott Jones, 28, of Adger; and Jamie Christopher Cowherd, 30, of Hueytown.

Meadows is the adopted son of the victims.

The break-in happened at 4:30 a.m. May 19 in the 2300 block of Mud Creek Road. The homeowner told investigators he and his wife were asleep when four masked men forced their way through their back door of the residence, said Jefferson County sheriff's Chief Deputy Randy Christian. Authorities later determined there were only three intruders.

The gunmen forced the victims to the floor. They stole guns, jewelry and prescription medication. They then fled the scene.

Christian said investigators learned that, shortly after the burglary, one of the victim's credit cards had been used at a convenience store on Academy Drive in Bessemer. They obtained video surveillance from the store which showed one of the suspects using the card.

Detectives identified the suspect as Cowherd and learned that he and Meadows had been stopped by Hueytown police. They were both arrested for outstanding warrants. Meadows was in custody at the Hueytown City Jail and Cowherd been transferred to the Tuscaloosa Count Jail. Detectives questioned both men.

Christian said the investigation showed that Meadows enlisted the help of two associates, Cowherd and Jones, to assist in staging the home invasion so they could steal from his parents. Meadows initially told detectives that he was forced by the other two to show them where his parents lived and that he did not participate in the burglary. He later admitted to taking part in the crime.

All three suspects wore masks and Meadows did not speak to prevent him from being identified by his parents. The stolen property has not yet been recovered.

Meadows is charged with first-degree burglary, first-degree robbery, first-degree theft of property and third-degree theft of property. He is in the Jefferson County Jail with bond set at $285,000.

Jones is charged with first-degree burglary, first-degree robbery, second-degree assault, first degree theft of property, second-degree theft of property and fraudulent use of a credit card. He remains at large.

Cowherd is charged with first-degree burglary, first-degree robbery, second-degree assault, first-degree theft of property and second-degree theft of property. He is the Tuscaloosa County Jail on unrelated charges. He will be transferred to Jefferson County upon his release.

"It's kind of hard to accept that someone could do this to good folks that had taken him in. I guess that's what drugs will do to your mind,'' Christian said. " At least I hope that's the case. Our detectives ave worked hard on this case along with the Metro Area Crime Center and did an outstanding job of wrapping it up quickly."

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Roy Scott Jones is asked to call the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office at 205-325-1450 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.
St. Clair County District Attorney Richard Minor said Monday night he will run for a seat on the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals next year.

Minor, 48, has served as St. Clair County's top prosecutor since voters first elected him in 2004.

Overall, Minor said he's in his 24th year as a prosecutor, including time as an assistant attorney general under former state AGs Jeff Sessions and Bill Pryor. He was an intern for Sessions when Sessions was U.S. attorney in Mobile.

Three seats on the five-seat court of criminal appeals are up for election next year. Minor, a Republican, said he has not decided which of the three races he will enter. All five seats are held by Republicans.

Minor said it's important to have a judge on the court who has prosecuted cases. He described the judge's role as "looking at the facts of the case, applying the law as it's written, not as how we want it to be, how we perceive it to be but actually the words that are written on the piece of paper. And applying that statute under the principles of the U.S. Constitution."

Minor announced his candidacy Monday night at a meeting of the Republican Club of Central Alabama in Wetumpka, where U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore spoke.

Monday was a key day for candidate announcements because it was the first day candidates could raise money for next year's elections. The primaries are June 5, 2018.
The Attorney General's Office is seeking almost $2,000 from a Shelby County woman, who is charged with faking terminal cancer and fraudulently receiving $38,000 in donations.

Jennifer Flynn Cataldo, 37, is charged with two counts of first-degree theft of property. An investigation showed Cataldo used two online fundraising campaigns through GoFundMe to receive more than $38,000 from donors wanting to help her with medical bills and a family vacation to Disney World. Cataldo claimed she had terminal cancer and had been battling the disease for nearly seven years.

AG Steven Marshall and Deputy AG Brittney Bucak filed a civil suit last week against Cataldo, seeking the $1,987.43 Cataldo has in her USAmeriBank account. The bank, located in Alabaster, is where Cataldo transferred the $38,000 she received in GoFundMe donations, documents show.

The state has already executed search warrants at the bank and frozen Cataldo's account, but is asking the court to allow the AG's Office to seize the money and have it used as restitution for the victims.

Documents show the money is the "fruit of the criminal offense."

The Alabama Attorney General's Office began a joint investigation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation into Cataldo's online fundraising on April 13, and she was arrested in May. After her arrest, Cataldo gave a full confession of faking the illness and setting up the fundraising accounts, court records show.

She is being held in the Shelby County Jail on $100,000 bond. She is set to appear in court Thursday at 8:30 a.m. for a preliminary hearing.

A spokesperson for GoFundMe previously said donors to Cataldo's fundraising campaign will get their money back.

"...in the rare case that GoFundMe, law enforcement or a user finds campaigns are misused, donors will get their money back," GoFundMe spokesperson Bobby Whithorne stated. "With that said, there are unfortunate and rare instances where people create campaigns with the intention to take advantage of others' generosity."
A wrongful death lawsuit was recently filed on behalf of family members of a toddler and a 55-year-old man killed in a crash involving a tractor-trailer that occurred in Macon County in March.

The Montgomery-based Beasley Allen Law Firm filed a lawsuit on May 31 in Macon County against Wooden Products Transportation Corp., a Montgomery-based freight shipping and trucking company, and Ryder Truck Rental.

Angel Zaragoza, 16 months of Hapeville, Ga., and Roberto Linares, 55, of Montgomery were killed in a three-vehicle crash on March 10 on Interstate 85 in Macon County.

Alabama state troopers said a 2011 Freightliner tractor-trailer struck a 2001 Toyota Sienna, which then caused the Toyota to hit a 2014 Ford Focus.

The fatal victims were passengers in the 2001 Toyota Sienna. Linares wasn't wearing a seat belt, but the toddler was in a child-restraint seat.

Bertha Zaragoza, who was driving the Toyota van, and passengers Juana Sambrano and Iluminda Linares-Zaragoza were injured in the crash.

The lawsuit alleges traffic in front of the Toyota had slowed down due to another traffic crash. A state trooper was at the scene of that crash.

The driver of the Toyota slowed her speed to around 25 to 30 miles per hour, according to lawsuit

The complaint alleges the tractor-trailer, driven by Wooden Products/Ryder employee Ronnie Slayton, failed to observe the slowed and stopping traffic, slamming into the Toyota Sienna van at a speed of approximately 70 miles per hour.

"This tragic crash was entirely preventable," Beasley Allen attorney Michael J. Crow said in a statement. "The defendants had a duty to exercise reasonable care in the operation of the truck, including paying attention to traffic and driving a reasonable distance from other vehicles to allow for stopping."

Efforts to reach Wooden Products were immediately unsuccessful.
Today marks the 73rd anniversary of D-Day, one of the most historic battles of World War II.

On June 6, 1944, more than 160,000 Allied troops - about half of them Americans - landed on a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified coastline in Normandy, France as part of an assault on Nazi forces. At the time, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower said the U.S. and its allies would "accept nothing less than full victory."

The resources put towards the effort were massive. More than 5,000 ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, which successfully gave the Allies a foothold in Continental Europe as it continued the march against the forces of Adolph Hitler. The invasion was one of the largest amphibious military assaults in history.

The cost of victory was high, with more than 9,000 American, British and Canadian soldiers killed or wounded. Some 2,000 U.S. soldiers were killed at the battle of Omaha Beach alone.

The sacrifice of those men was recognized earlier this week at ceremonies held at Sainte-Mere Eglise, France.

"There are moments in a nation's history when its future course is decided by a chosen few who walked bravely into the valley of the shadow of death," Army Gen. Curtis M. Scaparrotti said during a wreath-laying ceremony yesterday. "In such moments, young men and women pledge their lives so that their nation can live."

D-Day marked the beginning of the Battle of Normandy, which lasted from June to August 1944 and resulted in the liberation of Western Europe. Almost a year after the Battle - on May 8, 1945 - the Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany.
Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill is offering assurances the state's voter registration system wasn't compromised by overseas hackers as new reports indicate foreign interference during last year's presidential election may have been more widespread than first believed.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Merrill said he felt it "was important to reassure Alabamians that the systems we utilize have not been compromised."



"My team and I maintain constant communication with all of our electronic elections software and hardware vendors. While it is important to acknowledge that cyber attacks can happen to anyone we believe a well-prepared system and alert team members can prevent major compromises in citizens private data," Merrill said.

Merrill said the state's vendor, Election Systems and Software, confirmed there was no compromise of the state's electronic voter registration system.

Yesterday, the FBI announced the arrest of a federal contractor in Georgia for allegedly providing a confidential memo to an online news site. The classified National Security Agency memo, quoted on The Intercept, detailed efforts by Russian military intelligence to infiltrate at least one U.S. voting software supplier in the days leading up to the November 2016 presidential election.

According to the memo, the hacking occurred in August 2016 in an effort to obtain information on election-related hardware and software. The goal, NSA said, was to launch a voter registration-themed email phishing campaign targeting U.S. government organizations.
As Senior Advisor, presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner holds an unprecedented spot in the Trump White House. Years before, however, the husband of Trump's oldest daughter Ivanka played another key role, this time as the leading defender of his father after he was sent to a federal prison in Alabama.

Charles Kushner, now 63, is the New Jersey-born son of Holocaust survivors. A law school graduate, the elder Kushner helped his father grow their New Jersey real estate company in the 1980s, eventually forming Kushner Companies and adding properties in New York City.

Charles Kushner

Kushner's business continued to grow throughout the '90s and early 2000s, until 2004 when he ran afoul of election laws. Kushner was fined more than $500,000 by the Federal Election Commission for contributing to political campaigns in the name of his partnership despite lacking authorization to do so. Now on the federal radar, the U.S. Attorney's Office of the District of New Jersey - headed by current governor and former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie - began investigating Kushner's political activities.

Jared Kushner - then an undergraduate at Harvard University - saw his name improperly put on some $90,000 of his father's donations as well. He stood by his father during the investigation, however, and afterwards when Charles Kushner pleaded guilty to 18 counts of making illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion and witness tampering. The last charge involved a particularly nasty incident where Charles Kushner send his sister Esther a tape showing her husband William Schulder with a prostitute hired by Kushner to discredit his brother-in-law, who was cooperating with federal authorities.

Charles Kushner was sentenced to two years in prison and sent to the Federal Prison Camp in Montgomery. His son, according to the Washington Post, flew to Alabama to visit his father almost every weekend, publicly insisting his father had been unfairly prosecuted.

The minimum-security prison camp, populated by as many as 800 white collar criminals, is located next to Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery. Maxwell is one of only two military installations in the country to house a prison, with the other being Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.

In later interviews, Kushner said the most difficult part of being in the Montgomery facility was being away from his family.

"I'm an adaptable person, so living in a bunk bed was not a great sacrifice; living out of a locker was not a great sacrifice; having one pair of pants was not a sacrifice," he said in 2007. "The biggest hardship that I experienced was being separated from my wife and children and my grandchildren. They'd visit me once a week."

Kushner wasn't the prison's first or last high-profile inmate.

In the early 1980s, New York nightlife kings Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager spent a year behind bars there after being convicted of tax evasion in connection to their Studio 54 disco. In 2014, former Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. arrived at the Montgomery prison to serve out his sentence for wire and mail fraud. Jeffrey Skilling, the high-profile former CEO of Enron, is being housed at the federal prison on charges related to securities fraud and conspiracy. He's set to be released in 2019.

Charles Kushner was released from the prison camp in April 2006 after serving 14 months. He spent out the rest of his term at a halfway house in New Jersey before being released in August 2006, three years before Jared Kushner wed Ivanka Trump and a decade before Donald Trump would win the presidency.

After prison, Charles Kushner returned to his real estate development firm, amassing a fortune worth about $1.8 billion. The family had traditionally supported Democratic candidates but he gave $100,000 to Donald Trump's presidential campaign and hosted a reception for him at his New Jersey mansion.

There are reminders of Alabama that later joined Charles Kushner back north. Avram Lebor and Richard Goettlich - both of whom were imprisoned with Kushner - now work for the family's real estate company. Lebor, who served a seven-year sentence for a mortgage scheme, is Kushner's direction of acquisition; Goettlich serves as a leasing consultant. In 1998, Goettlich was sentenced to 10 years for securities fraud, money laundering and tax evasion.

Kushner's company said the two were hired under it hired as part of its second-chance program, which offers employment for felons.
A new report has found that immigrants contributed $3 billion to the Birmingham metro area's GDP in 2014.

Foreign-born people also constituted outsize percentages of the metro area's employed workforce, ranks of business owners and population of people with advanced degrees, according to the study.

Many immigrants across Alabama and the nation are currently gripped by fear as President Donald Trump has repeatedly derided foreign-born populations and worked to implement anti-immigration policies.

But the study released by the city of Birmingham and the Partnership for a New American Economy Action Fund - known simply as New American Economy - lays out a counter-narrative that depicts immigrants as an economic boon for the Birmingham area and the state that reflects broader national trends.

"[Immigrants] are stimulating the economy, helping to keep people employed, increasing consumer spending and growing the tax base," Kate Brick, director of state and local initiatives at New American Economy, said in a telephone interview Monday.

"Immigrants are key to the city's economic growth and to its vibrancy and its success. I think that helps counteract this misconception that immigrants are taking jobs."

According to the report, there are 39,982 immigrants in the Birmingham metro area who paid a total of $213.2 million in federal taxes, and $73.8 million in state and local taxes in 2014, and were left with $821.9 million in remaining spending power.

While immigrants made up 3.5 percent of the metro area's population, they accounted for 5.2 percent of its employed labor force.

There were 2,665 self-employed immigrants in the Birmingham metro area in 2014, and they earned $19.2 million in business income, the study said.

The 2,665 immigrants in the Birmingham metro area who were self-employed in 2014 generated $19.2 million in business income. Entrepreneurs made up 11.2 percent of the foreign-born population in 2014, vs. 7.8 percent of the U.S.-born population, according to the report.

And at 11.7 percent, the proportion of Birmingham metro area immigrants with advanced degrees was higher than the rate of residents born in the U.S with advanced degrees, the report found.

"We knew the immigrant community made important contributions to our community and this report confirms that. Birmingham is a changing 21st Century City and New Americans are important to our future," Birmingham Mayor William Bell said in a statement.

"We look forward to working together to incorporate the talents and cultural contributions of all people as Birmingham continues to flourish."

While much of what the study reveals about immigrants in the Birmingham metro area and across Alabama tracks loosely to national trends, the state saw its overall immigrant population decline by 11.2 percent between 2009 and 2014, while most other states have seen increases, according to another recent New American Economy study.

Brick said that "while we can't draw any direct conclusions," Alabama approved the stringent anti-immigration law H.B. 56 in 2011, a fact that Brick said the fund found "interesting."
The morning of June 6, 1944 marked the largest amphibious military assault the world had ever seen. More than 160,000 American, British and Canadian troops battled their way along a 50-mile stretch of beach in Normandy, France to give the Allies a foothold in Nazi-occupied western Europe and a path to victory in World War II.

The day has become famous for its nickname, "D-Day," though few people are aware of what the "D" stands for. According to the U.S. Army, its meaning is surprisingly simple, though not immune from debate.

"Disagreements between military historians and etymologists (people who study the history and meaning of words) about the meaning of D-Day abound," the Army said in its explanation of the phrase.

Here's one often-repeated explanation of its origin from Stephen Ambrose's "D Day: June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II," written in 1995:

"Time magazine reported on June 12, 1944 that as far as the Army can determine, the first use of "D" for day, "H" for hour was in Field Order No. 8 of the First Army A.E.F. issued on Sept. 20, 1918, which read "The First Army will attack at H-Hour on D-Day..."

In other words, "D" in D-Day merely stands for 'Day." The Army said the coded designation was used for the day of any important invasion or military operation. For military planners, the days before and after a D-Day were indicating using plus or minus signs, meaning D-4 represents four days before a D-Day, etc.

U.S. Commander Gen. David Eisenhower later clarified its meaning, writing in 1964 that "any amphibious operation has a departed date; therefore, the shortened term D-Day is used."

That's why military historians will tell you the Normandy invasion was just one of several D-Days of World War II. Every amphibious assault - including those in the Pacific, North Africa, Sicily and Italy- had its own D-Day, the Army said.
A federal contractor with top secret security clearance faces charges of leaking classified information to a news outlet,

Reality Leigh Winner, 25, a contractor with Pluribus International Corp. in Georgia, is charged with removing classified material from a government facility and mailing it to an online news outlet. Winner was arrested by the FBI at her home in Augusta, Georgia on Saturday.

"Releasing classified material without authorization threatens our nation's security and undermines public faith in government. People who are trusted with classified information and pledge to protect it must be held accountable when they violate that obligation," said Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein.

Pluribus is a Virginia-based company that provides program management for the federal government, including the Department of Defense and national security agencies. The company has 22 locations nationwide, including Huntsville's Redstone Arsenal and Georgia's Fort Gordon.

According to reports, the document leaked by Winner is the same one cited in an article published Monday by The Intercept. The National Security Agency document - which the site said was provided anonymously - is dated May 5, 2017 and details claims Russian military intelligence executed a cyber-attack on at least one U.S. voting software supplier and send phishing emails to elected officials in the days leading up to the November presidential election.

According to Justice Department documents, Winner was employed by Pluribus since February. Around May 9, she allegedly printed and removed the document and then sent it to the news site. When questioned by the FBI "Winner admitted intentionally identifying and printing the classified intelligence reporting at issue despite not having a "need to know," the complaint alleges.

Winner, a former Air Force linguist, faces up to 10 years in prison for leaking classified information. A detention hearing for Winner is set for Thursday.
A Russian fighter jet intercepted a U.S. B-52 bomber over the Baltic Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry told Russian media outlets Tuesday.

Russian media quoted the ministry as saying that the Russian Su-27 was "dispatched to intercept the target" and "approached the aircraft staying at a safe distance, identified it as a U.S. strategic bomber B-52 and escorted it for some time."

The B-52, according to the ministry, was over international waters and flying near "Russia's state borders."

A spokesman for the U.S. European Command did not respond to request for comment.

Several B-52s, along with a contingent of maintenance troops arrived in the United Kingdom in recent days to participate in a series of NATO exercises happening this summer. Sabre Strike, one of the multinational exercises, began last month and will take place in Poland, Latvia and Lithuania during the coming weeks.

B-52 bombers first entered service in the 1950s and will fly long into the 21st century as the workhorse of the Air Force's bomber fleet. The hulking eight-engine aircraft are capable of holding 70,000 pounds of munitions and have been upgraded in past decades to drop everything from sea mines to nuclear-tipped cruise missiles. A detachment of the planes are currently participating in the air war against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Last month, a Russian aircraft came within 20 feet of a U.S. surveillance plane over the Baltic Sea in an incident the Pentagon called "routine." Additionally, U.S. aircraft intercepted a number of Russian bombers near the coast of Alaska in May.

NATO jets intercepted Russian aircraft more than 100 times near the Baltic States in 2016, according to data provided by the Lithuania Defense Ministry to a regional news agency. After Russia annexed Crimea and sent troops into eastern Ukraine in 2014, the number of NATO intercepts peaked at 160 in 2015.
Selecting a major is an important step for any college student. One of the most critical things to consider is selecting the best university for what you want to study.

Niche, a real estate ranking site, looked at that topic recently when it ranked the best Alabama universities for 15 different majors. You can see how the rankings were established here.

Here's what they found:

Art - University of Alabama

Biology - University of Alabama Birmingham

Business - University of Alabama

Chemistry - University of Alabama

Communications - University of Alabama

Computer Science - University of Alabama

Design - Auburn University

Education - Auburn University

Engineering - Auburn University

English - Auburn University

Nursing - Auburn University

Psychology - Auburn University

Welcome to Tuesday's Wake Up Call. Let's see what's going on:

Navy to launch ship named for Gabby Giffords

The U.S. Navy is readying to launch the warship Gabrielle Giffords in honor of the former Arizona Congresswoman.

The 418-foot vessel will be commissioned June 10 in Galveston, Texas. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Vice President Joe Biden are expected to attend the commissioning ceremony.

In 2011, a gunman shot Giffords in the head and killed six people during a campaign stop. In 2012, she resigned her Congressional seat and has championed gun safety legislation.

The ship is the first time a U.S. Navy vessel has been named after a living woman since the cutter Harriet Lane was named for the niece of then-president James Buchanan in 1857.

Bed bugs shut down city hall

A Maine man took out his anger on city hall recently, dumping a cup of about 100 bedbugs on the counter of a municipal office.

The unidentified man was upset about being ejected from his apartment and came to Augusta City Hall to complain. When he didn't like the answer he received, he dumped the insects on a counter. The incident led to the closure of the building for a day as exterminators were called in to kill the bed bugs.

Officials said they are trying to determine if charges will be filed against the man.

Duggars sues over leaked molestation info

Five members of the Duggar family - the mega-sized clan made famous by their reality television show - have filed suit against the city of Springdale, Arkansas, its police and In Touch magazine for releasing investigative reports about the family's molestation controversy.

Josh Duggar said he was told in 2006 discussions he had with police about the molestation of his sisters would never be released since he had not been charged with a crime. Those documents were later leaked to In Touch magazine. Josh Duggar's sisters, Jill, Jessa, Jinger and Joy, said the release caused them great personal harm.

Until tomorrow.
President Trump is growing increasingly discontented with Attorney General Jeff Sessions and blames him for some of his administration's missteps, a new report claims.

The New York Times reported Trump is upset at the former Alabama Senator's decision to recuse himself from the investigation into Russian interference with last year's election. A special counsel is now investigating ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.

The president also blames Sessions for the ongoing delays related to his proposed immigration crackdown, the report claims.

On Monday, Trump's frustration spilled out with a series of tweets in which the president took aim at the Justice Department for not aggressively defending his proposed travel ban that would limit immigration from a handful of predominately Muslim countries. A federal court ruled the measure is unconstitutional.

"The Justice Dept. should have stayed with the original Travel Ban, not the watered down, politically correct version they submitted to (Supreme Court,)" the president Tweeted Monday. "The Justice Dept. should ask for an expedited hearing of the watered-down Travel Ban before the Supreme Court and seek a much tougher version!"

Sessions was the first U.S. Senator endorsing Trump's presidential bid and made frequent stops with him along the campaign trail. He also played a major role in crafting the administration's hard-line immigration policies.
A man from Daphne, Alabama suffered severe face injuries after he was bitten by a dog on a Delta Airlines flight leaving Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta on Sunday (June 4) night.

According to AJC.com, the victim, Marlin Termaine Jackson of Daphne was on the flight headed to San Diego, California, when a passenger's emotional support animal bit him during the boarding process.

Officials from Delta Airlines said the flight was delayed as Jackson and the other passenger identified as, Ronald Kevin Mundy Jr. of Mills River, N.C., with his dog were escorted off the plane.

Jackson was transported to a local hospital and is currently listed in stable condition, but has severe injury to his face due to multiple dog bites.

A police report listed Mundy Jr., as a military service member with the U.S. Marine Corps. He told authorities that the dog, a chocolate lab pointer mix, was issued to him for support.

According to the Delta Airlines website the company complies with the Air Carrier Access Act. It allows customers traveling with emotional support animals or psychiatric service animals to travel without charge with the following conditions:

Title, address, license number** and jurisdiction (state/country it was issued), phone number, and signature of mental health professional.

The passenger has a mental health related disability recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual - 4th Edition.

That the passenger needs the emotional support or psychiatric service animal as an accommodation for air travel and/or for activity at the passenger's destination.

That the person listed in the letter is under the care of the assessing physician or mental health professional.

The website also states that a kennel is not required for emotional support animals if they are fully trained and meet the same requirements as a service animal.
Map of Alabama in 1848

This question comes from reader Lanier Chew and was the top vote getter among our readers. Were answering it as part of Ask Alabama. Submit your question here.

Here it is: Why does the Alabama state line not include the Florida Panhandle to Pensacola or Destin?

By

Staring at a map, one has to wonder why Alabama's border makes that strange jag across the top of the Florida Panhandle instead of continuing down to the Gulf. The answer, once you've cut through the oddly complicated bit of history surrounding the creation of the state, is a simple one: Alabama lost out on its rightful share of Florida's Panhandle because our founding fathers decided to take something that didn't belong to them.



The Louisiana Purchase plays a prominent role in this tale, as do our third, fourth, and fifth presidents  Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe, respectively  and Napoleon Bonaparte. This will take a bit of explaining, for back in the Revolutionary War era, ownership of parts of Alabama passed through a lot of hands, including French, Spanish, British and American. The top of the state was traded and fought over separately from the bottom of the state, and often, the pieces of what we now think of as Alabama were owned by different countries, and even other states.



In his book from 1918, "The West Florida Controversy, 1798-1813; a study in American diplomacy," Isaac Joslin Cox contends that the 90-year fight over control of the Alabama Gulf Coast and the Panhandle played an outsized role in international relations. The name "West Florida" comes from the brief period when the British ruled Florida, after snatching it away from Spain. At the time, West Florida actually included most of Alabama. But more on that in a minute. First, a word from Cox on the importance of this small piece of land.



"The significant part of West Florida was, therefore, merely a strip of the Gulf coast possessing little intrinsic value, but rendered temporarily important through international rivalry. It had even greater claims to distinction," Cox writes. "Its creation, development, occupancy, and division determined the destiny of the whole region of which it was a part. It afforded at once an epitome and a prophecy of territorial expansion in the Southwest."

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Ben Raines | braines@al.com

West Florida

The tale of how we got cheated out of the Panhandle actually begins long before the birth of the United States, in the early 1700s. At the time, the French controlled the territory then known as la Louisiane Francaise, which included all of present day Mississippi and Alabama, and much of the Midwest. Meanwhile, the Spanish controlled La Florida. The two colonial superpowers spent years squabbling over ownership of Mobile Bay, which served as de facto border between their colonies.



Then, in 1719, the French commander of New Orleans and the Spanish commander in Pensacola reached an accord, setting an informal boundary between the colonies along the Perdido River, which is located about halfway between Pensacola Bay and Mobile Bay. Remember this accord, as it will come up again later. (Incidentally, the Perdido river actually forms the modern border between Florida and Alabama today, but it wouldn't if it weren't for the shenanigans of the afore mentioned founding fathers.)



Things were pretty well settled for the next 50 years or so, with France owning the Louisiana territory and Spain owning Florida, right up until the French and Indian War in the 1760s. In the treaty to end the war, France lost all of its American holdings, which were split between the British and the Spanish. Ultimately, the Spanish took control of the Louisiana territory land west of the Mississippi, while, the British took control of Florida, and all the Louisiana territory land east of the Mississippi River, notably the area that we know as Mississippi and Alabama. Documents from the time describe this land as "the left side" of the river.

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British holdings before the war

The treaty that ended the French and Indian War states the French gave "His Britannic Majesty, the river and port of Mobile and everything which he possesses or ought to possess on the left side of the river Mississippi, except the town of new Orleans and the island in which it is situated."



The British then set about creating new colonies from these pieces of war booty. They split Florida in two, creating East Florida and West Florida. And they took much of what is now modern-day Alabama and attached it to West Florida. West Florida ultimately stretched from around Birmingham to the Apalachicola River.



Then came the Revolutionary War, which, of course, the British lost. In addition to losing the 13 colonies, Britain also lost control of West Florida to Spain, whose soldiers attacked from Louisiana. Spain regained control of Florida in 1783. The location of the border between Spanish West Florida and the surrounding U.S. territory quickly became a point of contention between the two countries.

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Ben Raines | braines@al.com

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Ben Raines | braines@al.com

Meanwhile, Napoleon worked out a secret deal with Spain that saw Louisiana returned to the French in 1802, but only the portion west of the Mississippi River. Even as Spain and France were finalizing that transfer, the wheels were in motion for the Louisiana Purchase, which would be completed within a year. It is interesting to note that the shifting ownership of these huge pieces of what would become America were part of larger calculations among the colonial superpowers of Spain, France and Britain.



For instance, Napoleon, who was busily conquering Europe in 1803, needed some cash to finance his military march and prepare for war with Britain. Hence the sale of France's newly reacquired portion of the Louisiana territory. Initially, President Jefferson authorized the U.S. ambassador to spend as much as $10 million to purchase just New Orleans from the French, to ensure that U.S. exports from states bordering the Mississippi River had access to a port. Napoleon's offer of the entire Louisiana Purchase for just $15 million was a wholly unexpected bargain, but one which the U.S. jumped on. Part of Napoleon's calculation in offering to sell his nation's entire North American holdings at fire sale prices was that doubling the size of the United States would hobble both Britain and Spain. Both countries would then share contentious boundaries with the U.S. along the edges of the Louisiana Purchase land.

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Louisiana Purchase Treaty

The most contentious of those boundary disputes was the one with Spain's West Florida. Spain had long claimed ownership of all the land east of the Mississippi River as part of West Florida, just as the British did when they ruled West Florida. Those borders had been in place for nearly 40 years. And when Spain gave Louisiana back to the French, the deal specifically excluded any land east of the Mississippi.



For Thomas Jefferson and his advisors, including future presidents James Madison and James Monroe, this was an untenable situation, as it would be impossible to defend the vital port of New Orleans with the Spanish sitting in forts just across the river.



So Jefferson and his gang of future presidents hatched a plan -- a plan that involved that old, informal dividing line created in 1719 by the French and Spanish commanders to end the squabble over Mobile Bay.





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Map of the south circa 1806

The year after the Louisiana Purchase had been completed, the U.S. simply announced that West Florida up to that old Perdido River dividing line had been included in the Louisiana Purchase. This was patently absurd. The map above, created in 1806, clearly shows Spanish West Florida extending all the way to the Mississippi. Nevertheless, an act of congress called the Mobile Act was passed in 1804 to that effect, formally stating that all the Spanish land up to the Perdido River belonged to the United States.



Naturally Spain objected. Spain had ruled Louisiana for 40 years prior to returning it to the French. In all of that time, the border of the territory had been the Mississippi River. The border had been fixed there since the British took control of Mississippi and Alabama after the French and Indian War. The U.S. was claiming land that had never been France's to sell. Napoleon even played a minor role in this dispute, refusing to back the American. Instead, ever the opportunist, he sided with the Spanish, this time to hamper America's growth.



The dispute over West Florida simmered for about a decade, until the United States sent troops in to occupy the area up to the Perdido River. That was in 1810. Though Spain still objected to the land grab, Alabama became a state in 1819, including the portion of West Florida stolen from Spain.



After that, Spain sort of lost interest in Florida. Just two years later, in 1821, Spain surrendered the rest of Florida to the U.S. But the die was cast. Alabama's borders were already fixed in place. What was left of West Florida was lumped together with East Florida and Florida entered the union as a state in 1845.

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My grandparent's motel in Panama City

In his excellent book, The Rise and Decline of the Redneck Riviera, Harvey Jackson details the final change to the borders of Alabama and Florida, a change that came in the late 1950s. Part of using the Perdido River as the dividing line between states meant that Perdido Pass, the spot where the river and its bay drained into the Gulf, had always been considered the border. That changed when Alabama and Florida agreed to build the first bridge over the pass. Initially, it was to be a joint project, with both states paying half. But an engineering study showed that Perdido Pass had moved three miles to the west since Florida became a state, meaning that Florida had essentially gained three miles of Alabama's coastline.



The case went to court, and ultimately Alabama won back its three miles of beach and the state line was relocated three miles east. But that meant the bridge over the pass would be entirely Alabama's to pay for. So, basically for the price of a bridge, Alabama expanded its coastal territory for the first time since 1819 and claimed a tiny portion of Florida's panhandle.



Ironically, if Alabama had waited just two more years before becoming a state, it is likely that all of West Florida would have been added to Alabama, and the state's share of the Gulf coastline would extend all the way to Apalachicola.



Put another way, if it weren't for the chicanery of greedy politicians, Alabama might be the sole owner of all the Redneck Riviera's best beaches.

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Ask Alabama

Reckon by AL.com wants to help you investigate and find the answer to that question that's always bugged you about Alabama. Maybe you've always wondered why they call the Capitol Building's location "Goat Hill" or what happened to Birmingham's steel industry? Or maybe you're interested in why NASA chose to build rockets in Alabama or why you have to pay taxes on groceries. Or you're curious how many people are in prison for nonviolent drug offenses. We're here to help you find those answers.

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Got a question? Ask it here

ASK YOUR QUESTION HERE

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When it comes to economic statistics, things couldn't be any rosier for new Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey as she continues mulling a possible run for the office in 2018.

Unemployment is at its lowest level since before the recession nine years ago. The state is touting 2 million wage and salaried people employed, another first since 2008.

"It's good news," said Ivey during a speech Tuesday at the Governor's Labor Management Conference luncheon at the Perdido Beach Resort in Orange Beach.

"But it's not good enough," she added.

Among Ivey's top concerns, she said, is that too many people in Alabama's workforce are considered "underemployed," or are working part-time or for fewer hours than they desire.

"We've got to find a way to put people back to work," Ivey said. "My goal is that any Alabamian that wants to work, finds a job. I want a job for someone that meets their skill set and pays well."

At 4.3 percent, the U.S. unemployment rate is at its lowest level since 2001. For Alabama, an unemployment rate of 5.4 percent represents a sharp decline since 2008. The state was one of only 10 in the U.S. to see an unemployment rate drop between March and April.

But according to a United Health Foundation's assessment, Alabama's underemployment rate is around 11.2 percent -- more than the national average 10.4 percent, but still its best number since 2009.

Ivey said that community colleges play a role in matching workers with the right jobs. She also cited a recent Alabama Department of Labor analysis that lists a host of high-demand professions through 2024. These include, among others, software and app designers, registered nurses and computer systems analysts.

"Our people must be ready for those opportunities. They are coming," Ivey said.

She continued, "Alabama has low taxes, low regulations, we are constitutionally protected right-to-work state and we have highly skilled workers. We have what it takes to be a success in Alabama."

Minimum wage

Bren Riley, president of the Alabama AFL-CIO, said that one thing missing is an increased minimum wage. Alabama is one of six states in which its Legislature has not acted to increase its minimum wage above the federally mandated minimum of $7.25 an hour.

Riley said he takes exception to federal Census data that shows Alabama's median household income at $44,765 (which is lower than the national average of $55,775 in 2015).

"We don't know that is real accurate," Riley said. "We are afraid there are too many people still making $7.25 an hour."

Riley said he's been disappointed in the Legislature's actions in "snuffing out the minimum wage" proposal in Birmingham, where city officials endorsed increasing the wage to $10.10 an hour in 2016.

The Legislature, behind a Republican super-majority, prevented the city of Birmingham from increasing its minimum wage and set off a round of heated debate and protests over a group of mostly white lawmakers preventing majority-black cities from establishing its own wage standard.

There was little, if any, minimum wage debate in the Legislature during this past session. One of the bills introduced, HB26, would have tied a minimum wage increase to the Consumer Price Index starting in 2020. It didn't go anywhere.

Ivey, speaking later to reporters, reaffirmed her position in that workers need to get the "training they need" to move away from minimum wage jobs.

"Minimum wage is designed to be a minimum wage with the purpose of working yourself so you can get a better education or learn more skills or advance your skill set," Ivey said. "The more you can do, the better off you will be."

'Improve business climate'

Ivey's appearance during the conference coincided with the day that her office announced the signing for three pieces of legislation that she claims "improves Alabama's business climate."

The new laws include a provision to protect small business licensed in one municipality or county from being forced to buy a business license in a second location.

Another new law clarifies workers' compensation law and makes it easier for small businesses to comply with the law.

A third law, which Ivey endorsed, protects franchise parent companies from lawsuits initiated against the organization's franchisees, "thereby allowing for the expansion of franchise opportunities in Alabama," according to the governor's press office.

"From day one, my quest has been to ensure the world knows Alabama is open for business," Ivey said in a statement announcing her signing of the three new laws. "By removing burdensome regulations on small businesses, we are sending that signal loud and clear."

2018 run

Ivey, meanwhile, avoided making any public announcement about whether she'll run for governor in 2018.

"My job right now is focusing on governing," Ivey told reporters. "We have a few more months (before we have to) do anything else about campaigning. I'm trying not to mix the two right now and keep the ship of the state floating steadily."

Among those who have declared their interest in running are Jefferson County Commissioner David Carrington, Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, Public Service Commissioner Chairwoman Twinkle Cavanaugh, Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture and Industries John McMillan and Birmingham businessman Josh Jones. Stacey Lee George, also of Birmingham, has filed paperwork for a run.

And on Monday, Scott Dawson, a youth pastor, made a splashy entry into the race by announcing his intent to run during an appearance on "The Rick & Bubba Show." The show's host, Rick Burgess, announced he will support Dawson's run.

Ivey said she wasn't concerned.

"I'm just focused on doing the people's business right now," she said.
Mobile's water board voted Monday to more than double the rate it's charging a Spanish Fort utility, meaning some Eastern Shore customers could be facing a rate hike a few months down the road.

The increase, and the conflict over it, touches on the larger issue of the Eastern Shore's explosive population growth and the infrastructure required to sustain it.

On Monday, Mobile Area Water and Sewer System board members considered delaying their vote for a month, to allow discussion of questions raised by Shawn Alves, an attorney representing the Spanish Fort Water System. But with a majority apparently convinced that the delay was pointless, the board approved the increase unanimously.

MAWSS previously had a fee structure that set a single price scale for all wholesale arrangements with other water companies, with the price depending on the quantity used. The change sets a separate flat rate for Spanish Fort.

Barbara Shaw, public affair manager for MAWSS, said that the service had given notice of the rate change in April and had provided 30 days of public notice as well. The change, which will take effect in October, raises the wholesale rate paid by Spanish Fort from $1.56 to $3.75 per 1,000 gallons.

The change was sparked by a water main break that occurred on New Year's Day. That required an emergency temporary repair, followed by a short-term bypass that cost about $350,000. The permanent replacement project, now under way, that will cost about $3.1 million. And that permanent repair doesn't address other issues with the main that carries Mobile water across the Causeway.

Following the New Year's Day break, Mobile and Spanish Fort officials said that the Spanish Fort system buys about 30 percent of its water from Mobile, at a cost of about $400,000 per year - which would jump to nearly $1 million at the new rate. MAWSS officials have said they hope to serve a growing need across the Bay.

Terry Evans, supervisor of the Spanish Fort system, said in January that the Causeway break that cut off Mobile water had stretched the limits of his system. If it had happened in the summer, when demands are higher, service might have been affected, he said.

"It's a long-term relationship we're trying to build," MAWSS Assistant Director Doug Cote told the board in January, as he discussed repair options. To win that business, he said, MAWSS had to show it can be a reliable supplier over the long term despite the challenges.

Shaw said after Monday's vote that the rate increase "will help recover the cost of the repair to the water line on the Causeway and reflect a more realistic cost of providing service to Spanish Fort. ... This increase was recommended to recover the true cost of providing water to Spanish Fort. It is part of a larger Cost of Service Study that is being done by Stantec for MAWSS. Our Board believes that MAWSS customers in the rest of our system should not subsidize the cost of a line that benefits a single customer."

Alves expressed frustration that he hadn't been able to get financial information from MAWSS that had been used in making the decision. He said he believes that contracts between MAWSS and the Spanish Fort system don't allow MAWSS to bill its customer for capital improvements.

"They own the line, they repair the line, they pay for those repairs," he said. "They're trying to shift their contractual obligations onto us."

As the MAWSS board discussed the possibility of postponing its vote until July, MAWSS Director Charles Hyland suggested that system administrators likely could provide more information for Alves to review. Alves said after the vote that he'd still like to receive the information to study as the Spanish Fort system considers its options.

It might not have many.

"Spanish Fort has to have the water it acquires from MAWSS," he said. "It does not have other suppliers."

He said the Spanish Fort system has had a good relationship with MAWSS - and over the years has made substantial investments of its own in the Causeway connection, which goes back to the year 2000.

While he still has questions, he said, there's little doubt that if it stands, it will impact Spanish Fort customers.

"Any cost that we incur as a result of this will have to be passed along to the customer," Alves predicted.
What appeared to be the bizarre story from an Elmore County Jail inmate led to the arrest of a man who allegedly strangled a woman and dumped her body in a well.

David Helms, 41, was charged Monday with murder in the death of 59-year-old Jane Huddleston. The woman's body was found after 9:30 a.m. in a 6-foot well, which was on the victim's property located in the 7900 block of Highway 14 near Tallassee. Elmore County Sheriff Bill Franklin said Helms and Huddleston were living together, but were not in a relationship.

At 8 a.m., an inmate told authorities that another inmate, who turned out to be Helms, confessed to strangling a woman and placing her body in a well. Helms was jailed Friday for shoplifting from Walmart and was recently released.

Franklin, who went to school with the victim, called Huddleston's husband and asked if he had heard from Huddleston lately. The husband, who no longer lives with the victim, said no. After attempting to contact Huddleston without success, the victim's husband asked Franklin to do a welfare check.

Franklin said he has been to Huddleston' s property before for several drug-related offenses, particularly dealing with narcotics. When police arrived at her home, he spotted Helms and asked him where Huddleston was located.

Franklin said Helms told authorities he hasn't seen Huddleston since Saturday. At that point, another male came out of the home. Franklin recognized the second male from previous drug-related encounters.

As Helms was talking to other investigators, the second male told Franklin the same story the inmate told authorities earlier: that Helms got in an argument with Huddleston, strangled her and threw her in the well.

Authorities took both Helms and the other male to the sheriff's office to make their statements. During this time, investigators went to the well. Franklin said he smelled something about five feet away from the well.

"I knew that wasn't good," Franklin said. "Sure enough, I looked down and I could see the body of a submerged female face down in the water."

After the body was recovered from the well, authorities noticed what looked like a dog collar around Huddleston's neck. Her body was taken to Alabama Department of Forensics for an autopsy. Franklin said he is not sure if the collar was used to choke the victim. The body was taken to forensics to determine an accurate cause of death.

"Whether the dog leash was used to chock her or drag her, we don't know," Franklin said. "We are hoping forensics will shed some light on that."

A search warrant was issued to investigate the home. Franklin did not disclose what investigators found during the search. Authorities are still trying to put together a proper timeline of Huddleston's death. Authorities contacted the victim's daughter who said no one in the family has spoken Huddleston since Thursday.

Franklin also said Helms was placed in jail on the shoplifting charge on Friday. About an hour after Friday's arrest, Helms tried unsuccessfully to escape a room by breaking a window. He received additional charges of second-degree criminal mischief and attempt to escape for that incident.

Now he is back in jail, but this time for murder. His bond will be set by a judge Tuesday morning.

Franklin said the victim was addicted to narcotics and that it was sad to see someone he knew for almost 40 years dead.

"The common thread here is narcotics," Franklin said. "That's the thread in all this. If you eliminate that from the equation, we don't have this happening."
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By John Archibald | jarchibald@al.com

Democracy. That lofty institution in which the will of the people speaks as solidly as a big stick, in which voters carefully choose leaders who will represent them in the weighty matters of state.

Oh wait. This is Alabama.

Where its easier to find an elected official in a bail bondsmans office than in the office to which he or she is elected.

Cause aint nobody elected anymore.

Case in point:

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The governor

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Gov. Kay Ivey is not the elected governor. She was, of course, duly elected lieutenant governor, a position with the prime responsibility of waiting around to see if anything happened to the real governor. Which, as luck would have it, it did. Former Gov. Robert Bentley pleaded guilty to a fraction of his misdeeds  a couple of misdemeanors -- and stepped away from the office in April.

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Chief justice, Alabama Supreme Court

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Chief Supreme Court Chief Justice Lyn Stuart is not the elected chief justice. Nope. She was elected as a member of the Supreme Court, but was elevated to chief justice after Roy Moore was booted out of office for the second time. He was suspended for the rest of his term for failure to abide by a federal court order. He did not like a federal judges order on same sex marriage, so he told probate judges it was wrong. He is now running for U.S. senator.

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Associate justice, Alabama Supreme Court

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Nope. Alabama Supreme Court Justice Will Sellers was not elected to the Supreme Court. He was, until late last month, a Balch & Bingham lawyer. And while that may be close to supreme power in Alabama, it is not an elected position. Unelected Gov. Ivey named unelected pal Sellers to the supreme court when Stuart took her unelected chief justice position.

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U.S. Senator

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You got it. U.S. Sen. Luther Strange is not the duly elected junior senator from Alabama. He was, in fact, elected Alabama attorney general, but was appointed to the senate job by ex-Gov. Bentley after ex-Sen. Jeff Sessions was appointed U.S. attorney general. Whew. It is hard to follow. Just like the way Strange came to office pledging to clean up Montgomery, but went to Bentley  who he was supposed to be investigating -- and instead cleaned up in Washington.

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Alabama Attorney General

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Attorney General Steve Marshall is not the elected Alabama attorney general. Nope. He was the elected district attorney of Marshall County until Strange took his strange trip to D.C. Bentley  who was being investigated by the attorney generals office -- appointed Marshall to take over. It didnt do him any good though. The AGs office negotiated the governors departure.

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The lieutenant governor

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I repeat myself, but elected Lt. Gov. Ivey dropped the Lt and assumed the mantle of full bird governor. But the lieutenant governor position is not really considered mission critical, so itll go unfilled until the 2018 election. If something were to happen to the unelected governor, the position of governor would go to the president pro tempore of the senate, Del Marsh.

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Todd J. Van Emst

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And thats just the turmoil at the top. Alabama politics is a game of whack-a-mole. You have to wait to see who pops up before you know whos there. Alabamas old House Speaker, Mike Hubbard, is awaiting jail time  and appealing -- after being convicted on ethics charges. He was replaced by Speaker Mac McCutcheon, who was duly elected by his peers, but only after Hubbard was out of the way.

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House Speaker Mac McCutcheon

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What mean for Alabama that so many of the states top offices are filled by happenstance rather than voters?

Nothing. Because Hell, they cant do worse.

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Robert Bentley's mug shot and booking information on two misdemeanor charges on April 10, 2017. (Paul Beaudry/pbeaudry@al.com)
Amanda Scott

By Amanda Scott, a native of Mobile and a government major at Georgetown University

Last week a 13-year-old boy in Trussville took his own life after battling with depression and anxiety. Jay Griffin, a seventh grader at Trussville Middle School, was transgender.



Jay's mother, Erin Georgia, said she began realizing her son was born in the wrong body half way through the sixth grade. "There was a transition from long hair, and he started dressing differently," she told AL.com in an interview.



Jay was an advocate for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community and volunteered at the Magic City Acceptance Center in Birmingham, a group dedicated to providing "a safe, supportive and affirming space for LBGTQ youth, young adults and their allies." In lieu of sending flowers, Jay's parents asked family and friends to donate to the Magic City Acceptance Center in his honor.



As Jay was struggling to express his own gender identity, he was unable to find the support he needed in his hometown of Trussville. "He didn't feel validated or accepted in our community,'' his mother Erin said.

"You really need a safe space of allies and advocates and people that are like you. That's where they hear their true voices. There are no local community safe spaces that I know of, and we've looked. That was part of Jay's struggle."

Although I did not know Jay or his family, I grieved over him after reading about his suicide. Ten years ago, I was a 13 year old girl in Alabama coming to terms with the fact that I was bisexual. I realized I was attracted to other girls when I was as young as six years old, but I denied it to myself and hid it from my family and friends for years.



I could have been Jay and taken my own life, or I could have been Nick Hawkins, the bisexual boy who was murdered last year. But fortunately I survived and will turn 24 years old next month, and I have an obligation to speak up for those children and teens in Alabama who are struggling right now.



But if I speak up then I must tell the truth. And the truth is that the blood of Jay and other LGBTQ youth who took their own lives is on the hands of Alabama. The pervasive transphobia and homophobia in Alabama is partly to blame for their deaths.



A young transgender boy or bisexual girl growing up in Alabama hears one message and that is they're abnormal, immoral and a second-class citizen.



When Alabama State Senator Phil Williams, R-Rainbow City, introduces a bill restricting the rights of transgender people to access public bathrooms---Senate Bill 1---it sends the message to transgender teens like Jay that they aren't allowed in public.

When Sen. Williams cites concerns over "the potential for crimes like voyeurism, exhibitionism, molestation, and assault and battery in bathrooms" to support his bill, it wrongly makes transgender people out to be sexual predators when, in fact, transgender people are more likely to be harassed and assaulted in bathrooms.



When Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signs into law a bill that allows adoption agencies to refuse to place children into same-sex homes based on the agency's "religious beliefs"---House Bill 24--- it sends the message to LGBTQ teens that they can't dream of having a family some day.



When the Obama administration moved to protect transgender students from discrimination in public schools after states had failed to act, Alabama was quick to sue to block the order, and in doing so showed that the state doesn't care about the well being of its LGBTQ youth.



Hateful messages like these from Alabama have a real impact on the mental health of transgender teens in the state. It hurts these vulnerable youth who already have higher rates of depression, self-harm and suicide than their cisgender peers.



According to the Trevor Project, a 24-hour, toll-free confidential suicide hotline for LGBTQ youth, reports show that nearly 40 percent of transgender adults reported having made a suicide attempt and 92 percent of respondents reported having attempted suicide before the age of 25.

Studies have linked high suicide rates in LGBTQ youth to public policies restricting bathroom access and criminalizing same-sex marriage. A 2016 article published in the Journal of Homosexuality linked the high suicide rates of transgender teens with the rise of bathroom restrictions in public schools. In contrast, a 2017 article published in JAMA Pediatrics showed that the legalization of same-sex marriage led to lower rates of suicide by LGBTQ youth.

Although we can't bring Jay back, we can prevent the deaths of future LGBTQ youth in Alabama. And that's what he would have wanted us to do.



We can call on our elected officials to protect LGBTQ youth from discrimination, to promote anti-bullying campaigns in schools, and to invest in mental health resources for young people. Dozens of other states have already done this and it's led to better outcomes for LGBTQ youth and their families.



We can start by changing the transphobic and homophobic rhetoric in Alabama when talking about issues impacting the LGBTQ community. Transgender teens like Jay aren't sexual predators or mentally disturbed. They're just kids who are coming of age and need to be supported through their journey by the adults in their lives.



Jay's mother was right. "When it comes down to it, our children just need to be loved and accepted," she said.
The SNP will remain the largest party, but it could lose up to a dozen seats to a Scottish Conservative Party.

Glasgow, Scotland  As the UK electorate prepares to go to the polls on June 8 for the countrys second general election in two years, Britains politicians are readying themselves for yet another unexpected turn of events.

In a nation that unexpectedly voted to quit the European Union in last years in/out EU referendum, the election campaign has seen Britains current prime minister Theresa May lose ground to UK Labour Party opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn.

While British Conservative Party leader May, who has said she called the snap election to strengthen her hand in Brexit negotiations, still looks on course to remain as UK premier, in the febrile atmosphere of Brexit Britain there are few political certainties.

As has been the case for a decade, intrigue continues to surround the electoral trajectory of Scotland, which somewhat narrowly rejected independence in the constituent countrys 2014 independence referendum and which voted by 62 to 38 percent to remain in the EU in the June 2016 plebiscite.

READ MORE: How will Scotland vote in the UK general election?

Indeed, ever since the pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP) secured victory in the 2007 Scottish Parliament election, constitutional matters have dominated Scottish political life. Today, and after SNP victories in the 2011 and 2016 Scottish Parliament elections, some 40 to 50 percent of Scots remain supportive of Scottish statehood.

Yet, despite the partys success in Scotland, this weeks UK general election is threatening to strike a blow to the SNPs dominance. After stunningly capturing 56 out of Scotlands 59 Westminster seats in the UKs 2015 general election  up from just six seats five years before  the SNP is facing a battle from a party that has failed to win more than one Scottish Westminster seat since 2001  the pro-union Scottish Conservatives.

Its the rise of the Conservatives and how much the SNP will slip  thats the big story in Scotland, said Simon Pia, a former Scottish Labour press adviser, speaking to Al Jazeera. Will the Conservatives do as well as polls suggest in Scotland, and what will be the position of the SNP after the election  and how weakened will they be?

T he root of everything is fear

Polls indicate that, while the SNP will remain the largest party in Scotland after June 8, it could lose up to a dozen seats to a resurgent Scottish Conservative Party, which has been appealing to Scots heavily disgruntled with the prospect of a second Scottish independence poll.

At the root of everything is a fear that another independence referendum can only make the Brexit process more difficult, or make the SNP day job impossible to deliver by Ian Duncan, Conservative Party

SNP leader and Scotlands first minister Nicola Sturgeon won a vote in the Scottish Parliament in March, which called for Scots to be given another chance to vote for sovereignty in light of a British Brexit vote that will see Scotland taken out of the EU against its popular will.

However, Conservatives in Scotland  who maintain that few Scots want another divisive referendum  are spying gains in Scotlands rural areas  along the Scotland-England border and in Scotlands north-east. Conservative Ian Duncan, who is looking to topple a leading SNP MP in the seat of Perth and North Perthshire, told Al Jazeera that his partys unabashed anti-independence message, which has drowned out the pro-union voices of Scottish Labour and the Liberal Democrats, is resonating on the doorsteps.

So, too, said Duncan, are accusations that the SNP has taken their eye off the day job at the Scottish Parliament in pursuit of independence.

At the root of everything is a fear that another independence referendum can only  [make] the Brexit process more difficult, or make the SNP day job impossible to deliver, or simply that the people had their chance [for independence] and didnt want it, so lets move on, said Duncan, a current member of the European Parliament.

With Scottish Labour  which lost a catastrophic 40 seats to the SNP in 2015 to leave it with just a solitary seat in Scotlands capital, Edinburgh  also looking to challenge for second place, the SNP appears unlikely to hold on to its 56 constituencies. Indeed, while British Labour leader Corbyn has somewhat closed the gap on Mays Conservatives UK-wide, Labour in Scotland, once the party of choice for Scots, has also appeared to have enjoyed a so-called Corbyn bounce and could go on to stage some kind of recovery.

So, despite forecasts suggesting that the Nationalists will emerge with anything between 40 and 50 seats after the election, its opponents insist that any drop in SNP support should be taken as a loss of appetite for independence itself.

WATCH: UK medias obsession with Jeremy Corbyn (25:00)

2015 was a supernatural exception

Prolific SNP blogger James Kelly disagrees. He said that the contention of the anti-independence parties is that they will have secured some sort of mandate if they take perhaps one-quarter of the seats between them, leaving the SNP with three-quarters, which is ludicrous.

Theres no great mystery as to why the SNPs vote share has dropped a little since 2015, continued Kelly, the author of the Scot goes Pop! blog. In most Westminster elections, the London-based broadcast media becomes preoccupied with the Labour v Conservative battle, which makes it hard for the SNP to get a look-in.

He added: 2015 was a supernatural exception with the SNP moving to the centre of the campaign because of paranoia south of the border over the influence they might enjoy, but normal service has been resumed on this occasion.

Should the Scottish Conservatives go on to take seats off the SNP  and high-profile seats too  their ability to remain a significant presence in Scotland, at a Westminster level, say experts, would depend on whether they could translate their anti-independence message to a show of long-term support for a Conservative Party that, for many Scots, remains a toxic political brand. Professor James Mitchell stated that while the Conservatives were getting the unionist vote, the messaging was about the union and not about Conservative policies.

I think that is limiting their appeal, said the Edinburgh University academic. It may mean that the support they win is transient because theyve got to somehow move beyond from just talking about [their opposition] to another independence referendum. They are still a long, long, long way off to coming close to governing Scotland at the Scottish Parliament.

That said, with Conservatives in Scotland almost certain to secure some SNP seats this week, no Nationalist majority appears too big. Scots Conservative Duncan, who is fighting to overturn a 9,641 SNP majority in rural Perthshire, has his eye firmly fixed on delivering an upset.

Im under no illusions about the mountain Im climbing, he said. But as I tell people, the Perthshire mountains are the best.

Follow Alasdair Soussi on Twitter: @AlasdairSoussi
Figures show that Israel has been allowing Jewish ultra-nationalists to visit the Al-Aqsa compound in record numbers.

Palestinian leaders have denounced new construction projects they say will further tighten Israels grip on occupied East Jerusalem and its holy places, including the incendiary site of Al-Aqsa mosque.

The most elaborate plan is for a cable car intended to bring thousands of visitors an hour to the Western Wall and its Jewish prayer plaza immediately below al-Haram al-Sharif, a compound containing Al-Aqsa and the golden-topped Dome of the Rock.

The $56m project was unveiled at a meeting of the Israeli cabinet in tunnels below the al-Haram al-Sharif. It is the first time the cabinet has met in Jerusalems Old City, which Israel annexed in violation of international law.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the meeting in the provocative location late last month to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Israels illegal occupation of East Jerusalem.

READ MORE: Take a tour of West Jerusalems Palestinian history

Palestinians, meanwhile, have expressed mounting concern that Netanyahus stated intention to strengthen Jerusalem conceals a policy of driving out Palestinians and seizing control over the Al-Aqsa compound. Israel claims two ancient Jewish temples are built under the mosque.

Israel by Khalil

that al-Aqsa is no longer yours. We can enter and we can do as we please there.]

At the weekend, Jibril Rajoub, a senior official in the Palestinian Authority, told Israeli TV that Netanyahus government had to stop treating the site as though it were under Israeli sovereignty. If you want to create an explosion just say its ours, its ours, he said.

However, in the same programme, he suggested the PA might agree to Israeli sovereignty over the Western Wall. The PA appealed last week to the United Nations Security Council to take action to protect Jerusalem from what it called Israeli attempts to Judaise the city.

Officials believe Israel is seeking to foil any future peace-making efforts by preventing East Jerusalem from ever becoming the capital of a Palestinian state.





Donald Trump, the US president, who visited East Jerusalem as part of a visit to the region late last month, has promised he will soon unveil the ultimate deal to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Last Thursday he signed a waiver, delaying moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, on the grounds it would harm prospects for such a deal.

In addition to the cable car, Netanyahus government announced a $14m lift and underground passageway to ease access for disabled and elderly people to the Western Wall, a retaining wall of the Al-Aqsa compound and a Jewish holy site.

Longer term, Israel hopes to build a subterranean station, connecting the site by express train from Tel Aviv. Netanyahu told his ministers the various projects would strengthen the Jewish peoples connection to the city.

These latest moves follow figures showing that Israeli authorities have been allowing Jewish ultra-nationalists to visit the Al-Aqsa compound in record numbers.

Palestinians have long complained that Jewish extremists are being allowed to pray at the site, in contravention of agreements, and that they pose a danger because many support destroying Al-Aqsa and building a Jewish temple in its place.

Last month, the United Nations cultural body, UNESCO, passed a resolution reaffirming that East Jerusalem was occupied, and that illegal practices by Israel were threatening historical and cultural sites there.

Step by step, Israel is finding ways to take over Al-Aqsa, said Khalil Tufakji, a Palestinian geographer in Jerusalem and director of the Arab Studies Societys mapping department, which monitors settler activity.

He told Al Jazeera: Israel is sending a message to the Palestinians and to Jordan [whose officials formally oversee the site] that Al-Aqsa is no longer yours. We can enter and we can do as we please there.

READ MORE: Israel shuts down Arab primary school in East Jerusalem

The cable car, due for completion in four years, is supposed to transport some 3,000 visitors an hour from West Jerusalem to an entrance in the Old City walls next to Al-Aqsa. The cable car will pass directly over Palestinian homes in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Silwan.

Yariv Levin, the tourism minister, called it revolutionary project that would serve as an exceptional tourist attraction. Yonatan Mizrachi, who heads Emek Shaveh, a group of archaeologists that oppose the misuse of tourism and archaeology, warned that the cable car would also connect to a controversial tourism site in Silwan run by an Israeli settler organisation, Elad.

The City of David complex, close to Al-Aqsa, has taken over a large area of Silwan, damaged surrounding Palestinian homes with underground excavations, and encouraged large numbers of settlers to move into the area, backed by armed guards.





This is yet another element in an Israeli policy of divorcing the Old City from its Palestinian hinterland, making it seem exclusively Jewish to visitors, he told Al Jazeera. It is all about changing the Old Citys character irreversibly.

The cable car project, initially championed by Jerusalems mayor, Nir Barkat, was scrapped two years ago after the French firm due to construct it pulled out, following warnings from the French foreign ministry of the likely diplomatic fallout.

Israels efforts to bring larger numbers of Jews into the Old City were highlighted last week with a new government-sponsored programme of ceremonies at the Western Wall.

A group of 300 students from the US, Britain and France became the first to pledge allegiance to the Jewish people at the spot, echoing a loyalty oath conducted at the Wall by newly drafted Israeli soldiers. At the ceremony, the students vowed to forge a covenant with Jerusalem.

At the same cabinet meeting at which the cable car and lift were approved, noted Tufakji, plans were announced to apply budgetary pressures to Palestinian schools in East Jerusalem to force them to switch to the Israeli curriculum.

That has alarmed Palestinian leaders, who say the curriculum  overseen by education minister Naftali Bennett, a settler leader  erases Palestinian connections to Jerusalem and teaches only Zionist history.

Israel taking control of the Palestinian schools is very dangerous, Tufakji said. They want to change the thinking of the children, to educate them that Israel has a natural right to Jerusalem.

That was the message from Netanyahu, too, on May 24, when Israel celebrated Jerusalem Day, an annual show of force by the Israeli right in East Jerusalem.

Tens of thousands of ultra-nationalists marched through Palestinian neighbourhoods, close to Al-Aqsa, forcing residents into hiding and traders to shut shops.

In an address to mark the occasion, Netanyahu said East Jerusalem had been desolate and neglected before Israel occupied it. He added that the Al-Aqsa mosque compound  or what he called Temple Mount  would always remain under Israeli sovereignty.

Under pressure from Israel, Jerusalems Islamic authorities have been forced to allow access to the mosque compound for settlers and ultra-nationalist Jews, backed by Israeli police.

Israeli figures show some 1,000 Jews entered the compound on Jerusalem Day, the largest number in a single day in decades. That followed the largest-ever annual number of visits by settlers, at nearly 15,000, in 2016.

READ MORE: Jabal Mukaber faces Israels collective punishment

Sheikh Azzam Khatib Tamimi, head of the Waqf, an Islamic authority in charge of Al-Aqsa, protested in an interview last week with the Haaretz daily that the Jewish visitors dont come innocently as tourists. They are extremists  Their purpose is to foment conflict.

He added that they had the blessing of Israeli officials. The government isnt preventing extremists from performing ceremonies [praying] here. The police encourage them.

In April, during the Passover holiday, settlers were permitted by police for the first time to sacrifice a lamb close to Al-Aqsa, to them, part of a ceremony associated with building a Jewish temple where Al-Aqsa stands.

By contrast, Tamimi pointed out, Waqf officials were regularly banned from entering the compound and Islamic groups associated with Al-Aqsa had been outlawed by Israel. The vast majority of Palestinians can no longer reach the site because of Israeli movement restrictions in the West Bank and Gaza.





Tufakji said Israel was increasingly treating outlying areas of East Jerusalem  located outside the wall Israel built through the city more than a decade ago and heavily populated with Palestinians  as no longer part of Jerusalem.

Israel is frightened by the fact that East Jerusalem continues to have a Palestinian majority, he said. The goal is to shrink the city so that the 140,000 Palestinians who live beyond the wall no longer count.

He added that Israel had seized control of 87 percent of East Jerusalems land. A master plan for 2050 includes building an airport, railway and increasing the connections between the Western Wall and the main Jewish settler colony in the Old City.

The projects unveiled by Netanyahu come in the wake of Trumps visit to the Western Wall late last month. Trump became the first sitting US president to enter occupied East Jerusalem.

The Israeli prime minister exploited the visit to undermine last months UNESCO resolution, saying: I told Trump that his visit to the Western Wall dispels all of [the] UNESCO lies.

Netanyahu is due to take part in a video link on Wednesday this week between the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem and the US Congress to mark Israels occupation of East Jerusalem. Trump or Vice-President Mike Pence are expected to participate.

Israeli officials have been advising that the event should be interpreted as tacit approval from the White House of Israels annexation of East Jerusalem exactly 50 years ago.

On Monday, the US Senate voted 90-0 in favour of resolution celebrating what it termed the reunification the citys western and eastern sections in 1967.

Mizrachi said: Israel has reached the point where it believes it can treat the Old City and surrounding Palestinian neighbourhoods as part of Israel, without international criticism.

READ MORE: US embassy relocation to Jerusalem a war crime

Over the weekend, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the occupation, Haaretz published an account of what took place immediately after the capture of Jerusalems Old City. It recounted that army generals quickly and secretly demolished more than 100 Palestinian homes to create the current broad Jewish prayer plaza in front of the Western Wall.

Many thousand more Palestinians were also expelled from their homes nearby in the Old City to create its Jewish Quarter.

Uzi Narkiss, the army commander in charge of the area, warned his officials: Best to do it and not ask questions.
A breakdown of the diplomatic crisis and what it has meant for the region.

Three years since four Arab countries imposed a blockade on Qatar, little progress has been made towards a resolution.

Here we answer your questions about the ongoing crisis.

How did it all start?

Fake news. On May 23, Qatar woke up to news of a hack attributing false statements to the emir of Qatar.

The fake news was aired on several UAE and Saudi-owned networks in the Gulf, sparking a diplomatic breakdown.

The incident came just two days after President Donald Trump met Gulf Arab leaders in Riyadh.

On May 24, authorities in Saudi Arabia and the UAE also blocked Al Jazeeras website.

Diplomatic relations. On June 5 early morning, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt issued statements announcing the severing of diplomatic relations with Qatar.

Saudi Arabia then shut its land borders with Qatar, and together with three other countries imposed a land, sea, and air embargo on Qatar.

On June 7, Jordan also announced that it would scale back its diplomatic ties with Qatar and shut down the Al Jazeera bureau in Amman.

Why did these countries cut ties with Qatar?

The four countries have claimed that Qatar works to support terrorism, maintains cordial relations with Iran and meddles in the internal affairs of their countries.

What was Qatars response?

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Qatar responded to the initial announcements by saying that there was no legitimate justification for the actions taken by the four countries to sever diplomatic relations. It added that the decision was a violation of its sovereignty and that it would work to ensure that it would not affect the citizens and residents of Qatar.

Throughout, Qatar has strongly rejected the accusations levelled against it, viewing the campaign as an attempt to impose custodianship over the tiny nation.

Both the emir of Qatar and the countrys foreign minister have reiterated that Qatar is willing to negotiate with the boycotting countries, and have welcomed calls from international leaders for the parties to sit down around a table.

The countries who imposed the blockade on the state of Qatar interfere in the internal affairs of many countries, and accuse all those who oppose them domestically and abroad with terrorism. By doing so, they are inflicting damage on the war on terror, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said in a speech to the UN General Assembly in September. We have refused to yield to dictations by pressure and siege.

READ MORE: Who is Qatars emir?

What are the roots of this conflict?

There was a previous diplomatic rift in 2014 between Qatar and other Gulf countries. Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain pulled out their diplomats, claiming that Qatar supported armed groups. However, the border remained open and Qataris were not expelled.

Tensions with Qatar have generally revolved around its alleged support for political Islamic movements, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, as well as complaints about the Al Jazeera Media Network, which is based in Doha.

These tensions were possibly exacerbated by the Arab Spring in 2011, when Saudi Arabia and Qatar were seen as backing different sides.

On June 7, the Saudi foreign minister said that Qatar must cease its support of groups such as Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.

We want to see Qatar implement the promises it made a few years back with regard to its support of extremist groups, to its hostile media and interference in affairs of other countries, Saudi Arabias Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told reporters in Paris in June.

What did the cutting of ties entail?

The severing of ties as a diplomatic concept usually entails a recall of diplomatic representatives and the closing of diplomatic missions by the country that is taking the step. The country initiating the move can also ask the diplomatic representatives of the other party to leave their country. This is usually utilised by governments at times of serious complications in relations between states.

OPINION: The GCC will ride out the storm

In the case of the current Gulf crisis, several other dimensions have been added. Bahrain and Egypt both gave Qatari embassies 48 hours to implement their respective departure orders, while recalling their own diplomats and charge daffaires.

The UAE and Saudi Arabia gave Qatari citizens who were residents in or visiting the UAE two weeks to depart and ordered their citizens in Qatar to return.

Saudi Arabia went further, withdrawing Qatari troops from the Saudi-led war in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt have also closed land, air and sea passage to all vessels and vehicles coming from or going to Qatar.

The blockade has disrupted business, education and transport links among Qatar and its neighbours, while also tearing apart families whose members held different passports. By mid-September, Qatars National Human Rights Committee had received 3,346 complaints, 620 of which were from families affected by the measures.





Which countries severed ties with Qatar?

Four countries have imposed a land, sea and air blockade on Qatar:

Bahrain

UAE

Saudi Arabia

Egypt

Saudi Arabia had also called on brotherly countries to cut their diplomatic relations with Qatar. Five countries followed suit:

Yemen

Eastern government of Libya

Maldives

Mauritania

Comoros

Senegal had also cut relations with Qatar but later returned its ambassador to Qatar.

The following four countries did not cut diplomatic relations with Qatar but have downgraded them:

Jordan

Djibouti

Chad

Niger

Despite the 13 countries who have cut or severed relations with Qatar, there are over 89 diplomatic missions still open and operating in Qatar, and 34 countries that maintain their diplomatic relations via a regional accredited embassy.

Correction: An earlier version of this graphic incorrectly stated that Eritrea severed ties with Qatar. Eritrea denies this. pic.twitter.com/3qkTdN4tqP  Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) June 29, 2017

Is Israel involved?

At the beginning of the crisis, Israel Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said the split between the Gulf countries opens possibilities for cooperation in the battle against terrorism as it shows that even in the Arab states they understand that the danger is not Zionism, but terrorism.

In an interview with Sputniks news agency on December 4, Qatars Ambassador to Moscow Fahad bin Mohammed Al Attiyah said that Israel is the primary beneficiary of the Gulf crisis.

How is the Trump administration involved?

The GCC rift followed US President Donald Trumps visit to Saudi Arabia in May, where he met leaders of the Arab world. The night before Trumps visit, the former US defence secretary, Robert Gates, offered a scathing assault on Qatar, criticising its support for Islamists.

The speech was delivered at a high-profile Washington conference, where Gates said: Tell Qatar to choose sides or we will change the nature of the relationship, to include downscaling the base.

After the dispute, the White House stated that Trump wanted to help sort out the diplomatic rift.

Is the GCC going to survive?

Kuwaits emir has been mediating between the GCC countries involved in the current dispute. According to Giorgio Cafiero of Gulf State Analytics, a geopolitical risk consultancy based in Washington, both Kuwaitis and Omanis believe that an escalation of the conflict could be detrimental to the future of the GCC.

Who is mediating the crisis?

Kuwaits emir has been an active mediator from the beginning of the crisis, travelling from one Gulf capital to the next in an attempt to bridge the gap between the blockading countries and Qatar.

Several world leaders have called for the parties to this dispute to begin a process of negotiations in order to end the stalemate. Diplomatic efforts have abounded, including by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and French President Emmanuel Macron, who has appointed a special envoy to address the crisis.

What are the economic consequences for Qatar?

With Qatars estimated $335bn of assets in its sovereign wealth fund, along with its newly expanded port that allows it to continue exporting natural gas and importing sea goods, the small Gulf nation appears poised to weather the sanctions.

Due to their heavy reliance on oil and gas exports, the GCC states maintain weak trade and investment ties with each other, limiting the economic effects of their dispute.

Are flight routes affected?

Qatar Airways flights initially had to take an easterly route to fly only over airspace that was open to them.

However, in August, the International Civil Aviation Organization approved some new routes for Qatar Airways that would allow it to cut through Emirati and Bahraini airspace. This was based on an application presented by Qatar to the international aviation body.

According to Alan Peaford, editor-in-chief of Aerospace Magazine, Qatar Airways flight routes would be the most disrupted if Gulf airspaces were closed off. He noted that there were two main air routes in and out of Qatar  over Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, with the latter controlling most of the Gulf airspace. The real problem would be if airspace closes. Not just for Qatar Airways passengers, but also for cargo, like food and fresh fruit that is flown into the country.
Saudi-led severance of diplomatic ties with Qatar tests unity among GCC members as leaders call for dialogue.

Deep in the Gulf waters between Qatar and Iran lies the worlds largest gas field, a 9,700-sq-km expanse that holds at least 43 trillion cubic metres of gas reserves.

Qatars southern portion is known as North Field, while Irans slice to the north is called South Pars. The two countries share exploration rights in the area, and it is one of many ties that bind them.

But Dohas relationship with Tehran has been put to a new test on Monday, after Irans regional rival Saudi Arabia led four other countries in cutting diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing its fellow Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member of undermining security in the region by siding with Iran, among other actions.

Saudi also urged all brotherly countries and companies to follow its lead in isolating Qatar, a call that GCC members Kuwait and Oman have so far sidestepped.

Saudi Arabia has claimed that Qatar is supporting Iranian-backed terrorist groups in the Saudi province of Qatif and in Bahrain, accusations that Doha called a campaign of lies that have reached the point of complete fabrication.

Whats behind the diplomatic breakdown in the Gulf?

Riyadh also said authorities in Doha have supported the Iran-backed Houthi armed group in Yemen. This despite Qatars deployment of an estimated 1,000 troops to support the two-year Saudi-led campaign there.

In an editorial published on Monday, The National newspaper owned by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) government also denounced Qatars false friendship citing the close ties between Doha and Tehran.

Irans actions in the Middle East have cost Dohas Arab neighbours blood and treasure, the editorial said, adding the regime across the Arabian Gulf is no friend to Doha.

Al Jazeera senior political analyst Marwan Bishara, however, said the accusation does not hold water, noting Abu Dhabi also maintains diplomatic relations with Tehran.

And yet it prefers to sever its relationship with Qatar, rather than with Iran, he said.

In a separate statement, the Qatari Cabinet said the measures taken by the five countries against Doha were unjustified.

The aim is clear and it is to impose guardianship on the state. This by itself is a violation of its [Qatars] sovereignty as a state.

Independent foreign policy

Souzan Krdli, a Tehran-based Gulf analyst, said more than demanding Dohas allegiance, Saudi and the UAE want to rein Qatar in and make it another Bahrain if you will in terms of foreign policy.

Saudi and the UAE have always been troubled with Qatars outreach and ambitious diplomacy, she told Al Jazeera.

Krdli, who previously worked at Qatar University, said Dohas relationship with Tehran reflects the countrys attempt since 1995 to carve a policy that is independent of its neighbours.

This independence was an objective in itself, as well as a means to secure sovereignty in the face of its larger neighbours, primarily Saudi with whom Qatar has had territorial disputes as recent as 1992, she said.

The continuation of this independent foreign policy means banking on the economic and diplomatic ties Qatar has forged through investment, natural gas export, diplomacy and mediation.

In the middle of the current rift with Saudi, Krdli said Qatar is also obliged to maintain a middle position with Iran because of its shared gas exploration in the Gulf.

Krdli also noted, unlike previous disputes, when Qatar took immediate conciliatory actions to Saudi and the UAE, Doha is taking a more defiant stand this time.

Along with the decision by Saudi to cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, Riyadh has also decided to block air, sea and land transport links.

There have been reports of trucks carrying food shipments from Saudi Arabia being blocked at the Qatari border.

Mediation not escalation

Sadegh Ghorbani, Tehran-based journalist covering foreign policy, told Al Jazeera the regional tension is not welcome by Iran.

However, it is clear that a rift in the GCC can be beneficial to Iran, he said. Saudi Arabia is a lifeline for Qatar in terms of trade. We must wait and see whether Iran and Turkey can fill the void.

Already, Iran has offered food shipments to Qatar. Reza Nourani, chairman of Irans union of agricultural exporters, said such transfers can reach Doha in 12 hours.





Earlier, Irans foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi called for a clear and explicit dialogue among the feuding parties, saying tensions would only threaten the interests of everyone in the region.

His statement reflected the social media posts of Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif who wrote, Neighbours are permanent; Geography cant be changed. Coercion is never the solution. Dialogue [sic] is imperative, especially during blessed Ramadan.

Mahjoob Zweiri, a Middle East expert at Qatar University, told Al Jazeeras Folly Bah Thibault that third party mediation is necessary to resolve the crisis immediately.

He said Saudi Arabia and its allies cannot leave Qatar without any other options by forcing it to choose sides.

This is a scenario that will not lead to a solution. If this goes on, this will empower Iran in the region. I dont think Riyadh wants this, Zweiri, a doctorate graduate from the University of Tehran, said.

I think if there is no mediation, if there is no third party intervening, I think we could see more escalation in this crisis.
The party that wins the small Midlands town has won the general election in seven of the last eight contests.

Nuneaton, UK  In Nuneatons town centre, a butcher operating out of a converted truck uses a loudspeaker system to sell the best beef joints in the Midlands.

Not far away, rows of market stalls manned by bored vendors sell wares as diverse as dresses and flashing fidget spinners.

The scene is quaint, relaxed, and typical of a medium-sized town in central England. But on June 8, politicians, journalists and pollsters will keep a keen eye on Nuneaton to see which way it votes.

A representation of Britain

The town, located in Warwickshire County, is considered one of the bellwether constituencies in British politics. Since 1983, with the exception of one election, the party that has won Nuneaton has won the general election.

The incumbent Member of Parliament Marcus Jones belongs to the Conservative party, and if he were to lose his seat, nerves would be fraying in the ruling party headquarters on Thursday night.

But Nuneatons bellwether status is not without its sceptics in the town.

Its the media making a big deal out of it, said one man on the status. Nobody here cares, he added, before rushing away without giving his name.

Nevertheless, lifelong Nuneaton resident Muhammad Aswat offered an explanation.

I think [Nuneaton] is a representation of Britain as a whole, the 28-year-old told Al Jazeera, describing the towns demographic make-up.

You have students, migrants, a lot of middle-class homeowners, and a strong working class population, which reflects the overall population of the country.

When it comes to demographic statistics for Nuneaton, the town makes a good case for being the most average constituency in the UK.

In terms of its ethnic make-up, around 90 percent of its population is white, close to the overall UK average, and Asians make up six percent.

Voting Labour: Looking after the poor

Opinions in the town centre are no substitute for more scientific polling but the sentiments do reflect the divisions seen elsewhere in the country.

Riaz, who works at a store selling video games and considers himself more of a Liberal Democrat, told Al Jazeera he would be voting for Jeremy Corbyns Labour party.

Its a tactical vote for Labour but in terms of Corbyn, I do believe his policies are definitely good for my future  Im a working father with three girls and I work a minimum wage job.

Its hard enough to get by without any hope for the future  Corbyns promise of a minimum wage of 10 pounds ($12.90) does appeal to me.

His policies mean the poor are looked after and the disadvantaged in society are listened to.

When asked if he knew any Conservatives that Al Jazeera could speak to, Riaz turned to his colleagues who emphatically shook their heads.

Theyre all lefties, he said, adding, theyre all voting for Labour.

Voting Conservative: A vote for Brexit

But that sentiment is far from universal.

Across the street, Glyn Lilley, who has run a stall selling knitting supplies for the past 47 years, told Al Jazeera he would be voting for British Prime Minister Theresa Mays Conservatives because only they can guarantee the hard Brexit he wants.

I voted heavily for Brexit and Im going to follow that thought through, Lilley, who is in his late-60s, told Al Jazeera.

Labour isnt going for Brexit, theyre saying they are but theres only a minority of Tories [Conservatives] who are remoaners, but theres a majority of Labour, which are remoaners, he added, using a derisive term for those who supported the campaign to remain in the European Union and want the outcome of last years referendum to be reversed or softened.

The Conservative margin over Labour in the city stands at nearly 5,000, and when May called the election in April, there was little suggestion that majority was at risk.

Back then, the Conservative lead over Labour was as high as 25 percent and May looked set to pick up a majority in the hundreds.

Can Labour win Nuneaton  and the election?

That lead has slowly dwindled to between three and eight percent depending on the polling company and methodology used, with momentum in Corbyns sails as the campaign enters its last few days before the vote.

While May still remains the frontrunner, more and more seats seem winnable from Labours perspective.

In an Ipsos-Mori poll published on June 2, the Conservatives were ahead of Labour by 45 points to 40 in a poll of likely voters, but behind when the likelihood of respondents voting was not factored, with Labour leading 43 to 40.

Corbyns challenge, therefore, will be to convince those leaning towards Labour, but not likely to vote to turn up at the polls.

At a shopping centre in Nuneaton, Katherine a recently qualified teacher told Al Jazeera she was apolitical but felt obliged to partake in the upcoming vote.

Im swaying towards Labour but its more about what I dont like about the Conservatives thats pushing me towards them, she said.

I dont like their plans to privatise the NHS and Im a teacher so the education cuts Ive experienced put me off and, yes, Im definitely going to vote.
Flights to and from Qatar remain disrupted by the diplomatic spat between the country and its neighbours.

Flights departing and arriving at the Qatari capital of Doha continue to be disrupted by the diplomatic rift between Qatar and its Gulf neighbours. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt all closed their airspace to Qatar Airways flights on June 5, 2017. Since then, Qatar Airways has resumed flights over the reopened international airspace over Bahrain and the UAE.

READ MORE: Qatar diplomatic crisis: All the latest updates

Iranian airspace now supports major air-traffic flow for many destinations within the Middle East. Since the blockade, Qatar Airways has opened several new routes including direct flights to Dublin, Nice, Skopje, Sohar and Prague.
On why the socialist mayor of Paris joined forces with the far-right to attack the small Nyansapo Festival.

Over the past week, France has been engulfed in a scandal over a festival organised by black feminists that was allegedly going to be forbidden to whites.

The controversy was instigated by the National Front (NP), the extreme right-wing party led by Marine Le Pen. On May 26, Wallerand de Saint-Just, NP treasurer who also is an elected official of the city of Paris, challenged the Socialist Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, to explain why the city was putting on an event promoting a concept that is blatantly racist and anti-republican.

The International League against Racism and Antisemitism (LICRA), an anti-racist organisation close to the French government, also joined in on the condemnation of the festival and claimed that Rosa Parks would be turning in her grave, referring to the American civil rights icon. The fight against racism has become an alibi for identity isolationism, the organisation said.

READ MORE: Rokhaya Diallo: France sees itself as a white country

On May 28, Hidalgo responded to the controversy on Twitter and firmly condemned the organisation of an event, prohibited to white people. I am asking for this festival to be banned, the mayor said, adding that she also reserved the right to prosecute the organisers for discrimination.

The event that triggered this storm was the Nyansapo Festival, organised by the Afro-feminist collective Mwasi. The festival is scheduled to take place on July 28-30 in Paris and contrary to what its detractors assert, it is going to be open to all.

The white identity is so central to France that any event that brings white dominance into question swiftly triggers a solidarity that breaks down partisan political divides. by

However, some non-mixed workshops reserved solely for black women, will also be set up as part of the festival. These workshops will provide a safe space for black women to have private conversations among themselves. It is true that these workshops will not welcome whites, but they will also not welcome people of Arab, Asian or Roma origin and will not even open their doors to black men.

It is understandable why the extreme right, in its racist logic, tries to sabotage a festival organised by black women by outrageously focusing on the unfair treatment of whites.

However, it is hard to understand how a defamatory campaign by a nationalist party could find such an echo among left-wing politicians and institutions working to eliminate racism. How can they form an unlikely alliance with the far-right and parrot the false accusations coming from these groups?

The answer is simple: the miracle of white supremacy. The white identity is so central to France that any event that brings white dominance into question swiftly triggers a solidarity that breaks down partisan political divides.

Throughout history and all over the world, non-mixing has been an indispensable tool for bringing subordinate groups together by allowing them to discuss their conditions and develop strategies to build their emancipation in complete safety.

Would we blame trade unionists for not inviting their employers to their meetings? Would we force women who are victims of rape to welcome men into theirs? Certainly not.

READ MORE: Sister of rape victim Theo: Police consider us rats

Moreover, the city of Paris already hosts several non-mixed, womens associations such as the House of the women of Paris, without any polemic or controversy.

The history of French feminism is built on the idea of non-mixing. In the 1970s, the Womens Liberation Movement (MLF), inspired by American black movements, chose gender-based non-mixing as its mode of political organisation.

In 1970, the MLF stated We have arrived at the necessity of non-mixing. We realised that, like all other oppressed groups, it is up to us to take charge of our own liberation. Thanks to these meetings, French women had the opportunity to enunciate their priority demands and they gained the right to abortion, among other things.

Political scientist Francoise Verges, who took part in these meetings, remembers the numerous attacks that they faced at the time, but she believes that the controversy surrounding the Nyansapo Festival is still a first: Never before has an anti-racist organisation or a left-wing elected representative sought to use the law to prohibit [these meetings]  This is the first time that an organisation that calls itself anti-racist and a left-wing politician trust the fachosphere.

According to the academic, the reasoning behind this unprecedented trust is unequivocal: The left-wing politician and the so-called anti-racist organisation are reacting this way because [the festival is for] black women.

They are not disturbed by the non-mixed nature of the event; they are disturbed because this non-mixing is practised by black women.

In France, black women are subject to multiple types of discrimination every day and they often struggle to be recognised as French citizens. Non-mixed meetings allow them to interact with each other freely. In these meetings, they get a chance to be removed from the gaze of the dominant ones, who tend to monopolise discussions and ask questions or offer comments that slow down the conversation.

Black women must be allowed to come together without being forced to justify their actions to people who do not face similar oppressions. They must be free to express their anger and resentment without the fear of vexing others.

In our country, black women are invisible in the public sphere. The few who dare to venture there are frequently exposed to outrageous insults, such as the former minister of justice, Christiane Taubira, who has been compared to an ape on several occasions.

Why should black women open up one of the few spheres dedicated to them to please people who already have wide access to the public sphere?

LICRA and other critics of the Nyansapo Festival have drawn a parallel between the non-mixing nature of the festival and the practice of apartheid. This is an odious comparison, because the festival does not propose a separatist society project, but instead it aims to provide black women with a space where they can temporarily escape from the clutches of oppression and breathe freely. This does not deprive any other group of their rights and it can in no way be compared to a state-sponsored regime, which is based on establishing a racial hierarchy and officially depriving parts of a population of goods and services.

READ MORE: Race in the US: Herstory

We think we are in the best position to grasp the weapons of our own emancipation, say the feminists of Mwasi. History has proved this so many times before, those directly affected by exclusion are the ones most qualified to lead their own liberation.

France is struggling to embrace its multicultural face. Officially, it does not recognise ethnic, religious, linguistic or cultural minorities. In this context, daring to identify as a black woman is an unbearable subversion. In France, minorities that are trying to achieve autonomy are labeled communitarian. They are accused of threatening national cohesion and the republican French universalist ideal.

This ideal, however, is belied every single day by the massive discrimination that affects the non-white members of the French population, whether as they struggle to find employment or as they face police violence.

In 2014, Anne Hidalgo presented herself, without any embarrassment, as the mayor of Paris who would head the twenty white candidates that ran under the Socialist Partys ticket to become the mayors of Parisian districts. There was not a single Arab, Black or Asian person to represent the inhabitants of one of the most multicultural cities in Europe. Just like the ones that govern other French circles of power  economic, media and political  the white communitarianism of the municipality of Paris under Hidalgo was never questioned.

To overcome systemic racism in France and in other Western democracies, it is not the minority survival initiatives that should be combatted, but the centrality of white domination.

Rokhaya Diallo, French journalist, writer and filmmaker, is widely recognised for her work in favour of racial, gender and religious equality. She is a BET-France host and has produced and/or directed documentaries, TV and radio programs.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
Egypts positions on Qatar and Al Jazeera have nothing to do with terrorism and everything to do with autocracy.

In a move that is sure to have far-reaching consequences, three Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries  Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain  and Egypt announced on Monday that they would sever diplomatic ties with Qatar. The acting countries, who were later joined by a few of their regional partners, didnt leave their motivations to the imagination. The collective decision was explicitly billed as part of these nations broader fight against terrorism; the Saudi Arabia-led axis accuses Qatar of supporting terrorist groups.





Given that it is not a GCC country, Egypts inclusion on this short list of nations may, at first glance, be perplexing. But a statement by the Saudi Arabian Press Agency (SPA) offers important insights into Egypts motivations for wanting to isolate Qatar. SPA said that Qatar embraces various terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at destabilising the region, including the Muslim Brotherhood group, Daesh (ISIS), and Al-Qaeda, promoting the ethics and plans of these groups through its media.

Ill leave aside the suggestion that the Qatari government has embraced the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) and al-Qaeda  it hasnt  and focus instead on the statements references to Qatari media and the Muslim Brotherhood. Insofar as Egypt is concerned, these are the two most important aspects of Mondays diplomatic decree.

The Qatari media alluded to in the statement is an obvious reference to Al Jazeera, Qatars most important, powerful, and well-known media outlet, a network that has long been considered a thorn in the side of autocratic Arab governments, including the current Egyptian administration, which has taken issue with the networks coverage of Egyptian affairs.

READ MORE: Al Jazeera condemns arrest of its journalist in Egypt

The statements reference to the Muslim Brotherhood is equally important. The Brotherhood briefly governed Egypt (in 2012 and 2013) following the countrys 2011 Arab Spring protests, which led to the overthrow of dictator Hosni Mubarak. Context is important to understanding the Egyptian governments displeasure with both the Qatari government and Al Jazeera.

Egypts current government, led by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, came to power on the heels of a summer 2013 military intervention. The Egyptian military, led at the time by Sisi, billed its intervention as a glorious revolution, a response to a popular demand to save Egypts true citizens from the terrorist group that had hijacked Egypts revolution. But, while the Egyptian military considers itself to be the saviour of the Egyptian people, political scientists and mainstream international news outlets have consistently labelled the military intervention a coup, much to Sisis chagrin. [The Sisi government went so far as to propose legislation criminalising use of the coup label to describe the militarys intervention.]

To the Egyptian government's dismay, Al Jazeera has offered up intense coverage of the rights violations, as well as of some of the Sisi administration's political failures. by

What happened after the coup that overthrew Egypts first-ever democratically elected president, the Brotherhoods Mohamed Morsi, is also critical to understanding the present political rift. Sisi moved to carry out an intense campaign to eliminate both the Brotherhood and all forms of political opposition from Egyptian society.

To a great extent, he has been successful. Sisi has consolidated power; and human rights groups and political scientists contend that Sisi is responsible for the worst human rights violations in modern Egyptian history, including large-scale massacres of unarmed protesters, mass death sentences, draconian legislation, and mass arrests  including of Al Jazeera (and other) journalists  among other acts of repression.

To the Egyptian governments dismay, Al Jazeera has offered up intense coverage of the rights violations, as well as of some of the Sisi administrations political failures. The Sisi government has said that Al Jazeeras critical coverage constitutes a pro-Brotherhood position. But this is a problematic conclusion to draw. Al Jazeeras coverage of Egypt has been similar in tone to the New York Times, the Guardian, CNN, and the BBC, all of whom, incidentally, have been accused in Egypt of being pro-Brotherhood. As far as the Egyptian government is concerned, anything short of labelling the 2013 intervention a revolution and labelling the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organisation, constitutes treachery.

It is important to note that the current Egyptian governments displeasure with Al Jazeera and Qatar runs deep, and did not begin in 2013. The Sisi regime is part and parcel of Egypts deep state, a mere extension of the Mubarak regime, which was no fan of Al Jazeera. Like many of their autocratic partners in the Arab region, Sisi and the rest of Egypts military brass opposed Al Jazeeras coverage of the 2010-2011 Arab Spring protest movements that led to the ousters of Egypts Mubarak, Tunisias Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, and Libyas Muammar Gaddafi. Given the fact that Al Jazeera is a Qatari government-owned network, it is not difficult to see why Egypt  and its allies in the Saudi-led axis  take issue with Qatar.

READ MORE: Qatar: No justification for cutting diplomatic ties

It is also important to point out that, while the Brotherhood is a deeply flawed socioreligious movement badly in need of reform (and also in disarray, given that many of its members have been killed or arrested), it is not a terrorist organisation. The Brotherhood is the most studied Islamist group in the world. I am pretty well acquainted with the academic literature, and I am not aware of a single scholar who considers the Brotherhood to be similar to al-Qaeda or ISIL (which, incidentally, has denounced the MB as apostates).

The Saudi-led axis position that the Muslim Brotherhood is ISIL-like is more about the Brotherhoods political prowess than it is about violent extremism. After Ben Ali and Mubarak fell quickly in Tunisia and Egypt, respectively, autocratic Arab governments were terrified that the Brotherhood, possibly the most popular political movement in the region, could sweep into power. The UAE and Saudi Arabia largely financed Egypts coup and have been strong supporters of Sisis campaign to bury the Brotherhood.

Dr. Mohamad Elmasry is an Associate Professor of Media and Cultural Studies at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communications at the University of North Alabama.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
Now that the US has abandoned the Paris Agreement, the burden on the global climate justice movement is markedly bigger.

Donald Trumps announcement on June 1 that the US would abandon the Paris Climate Agreement elicited widespread condemnation from world, state and local leaders, big businesses and civil society.

The accord, reached in 2015, is a landmark collective international effort to avert looming climate catastrophe. Every country but Nicaraguaand Syria signed on, the former declining because the agreement did not go far enough. Trumps move is a lamentable setback for curbing carbon emissions, which is critical to ensuring a habitable planet for future generations.





The announcement was classic Trump: nationalistic, factually questionable and deeply aggrieved. Trump rolled out his decision in a speech focused on reclaiming sovereignty and protecting American economic interests, and giving little attention to the deleterious effects of climate change that he once claimed were a hoax. His justifications for doing so were false, misleading or misguided. Instead of advancing US interests, backing out of the agreement exacts a range of political and environmental costs: it will hurt Americas global standing, harm the economy, undermine security and hamper climate change mitigation efforts at a time when they need to be intensified.

Trumps claim that he would get a better deal reflects his purely transactional worldview and his corresponding disdain for statecraft. He blithely presumes that he can simply demand a redo on an international accord it took the global community years to hammer out, using his unparalleled negotiating skills to extract more favourable terms. That misconception either underscores how little he understands of the agreement or reflects his intentional misrepresentation of its terms. Because commitments under the agreement are voluntary, Trump can change Washingtons targets unilaterally and without penalty.

READ MORE: The Paris climate agreement and why it matters

Besides, other nations are disinclined to renegotiate, so walking away makes little strategic sense, especially now. Instead, as Tess Bridgeman argues, giving away our seat at the table for free  while key implementation rules are still being negotiated and before any eventual withdrawal could legally take effect -does not free us but rather ties our hands as a nation. The loss of US credibility and goodwill will, however, hamper international cooperation in other critical areas.

Washington's abdication of responsibility has galvanised business leaders, cities and states to commit to meeting the US' emission goals with renewed vigor. by

Trump railed against the accords unfairness, claiming that China and India will get away with increasing coal production while the US is bound by limiting its own. But each state sets its own targets and is not dictated to by others. Besides, China has been cancelling coal plants, and the US coal industry has been on the decline, and unlikely to rebound to the benefit of the workers Trump claims to be protecting. In contrast, renewable energy jobs are on the rise.

Trumps allegiances have always been clear. Even before the announcement, Trumps evisceration of climate protections was already well under way. He has moved to gut Obamas signature Clean Power Plan and auto emissions standards and vowed to dismantle other environmental regulations, and appointed men with ties to the fossil fuel industry and climate skeptics to his cabinet, including the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, whose funding he wants to slash, along with cuts to United Nations climate programmes.

The brokered climate agreement reflected a carefully crafted compromise that many felt did not go far or fast enough to avoid catastrophe. Despite its shortcomings, the accord projected a strength of purpose by affirming the consensus that reducing carbon emissions must be tackled collectively and urgently. But Trump has railed against multilateralism under the banner of America First, taking counsel from adviser Steve Bannon and other virulent nationalists. I was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh, not Paris, Trump intoned. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh, which voted for Hillary Clinton by more than 75 percent, committed to upholding the spirit of the accord.

OPINION: The case for collaborating on climate change

Nowhere was Trumps rejection of global community more evident than his exaggeration of the nations contribution to the Green Climate Fund and misapprehension of its intent. The fund was designed to help developing countries that are vulnerable to the most immediate and severe climate impacts, had the least to do with creating them and possess the fewest resources to adapt and curb their own emissions. Trump claimed the fund would cost Americans billions and billions and billions of dollars while some other countries would pay nothing. In fact, the US contributions are set at $3bn, one third of which has already been paid. That figure is less per capita than many other countries are paying. As the The New York Times pointed out, The United States  has contributed more than any other country to the atmospheric carbon dioxide that is scorching the planet.





With his travel ban on hold, Obamacare repeal facing an uncertain future, and the probe into Russian election meddling and collusion creating an ongoing distraction, Trump desperately needed a win. But withdrawing may provide a hollow and fleeting victory. A recent survey by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication found that nearly 70 percent of Americans want the US to continue its participation in the climate deal, including 47 percent of Trump voters, while fewer than a third want the US to withdraw. In the days after the announcement, Trumps approval rating dipped five points, to a new low of 36 percent.

Some observers worry that Trumps move will dampen enthusiasm for urgently needed action, and sow mistrust and disunity. If the worlds second largest carbon emitter can disengage with global efforts, they fear, others will follow suit. But so far, Washingtons abdication of responsibility has galvanised business leaders, cities and states to commit to meeting the US emission goals with renewed vigour. And other countries will step up to fill the leadership void.

The climate agreement never represented a panacea, and it faces other challenges besides Trumps intransigence. But it does provide a powerful tool for civil society to demand responsible leadership. As writer and activist Naomi Klein observes, it was always the task for the global climate justice movement  to try to hold governments to the strong spirit, rather than the weak letter, of the agreement. That burden just got considerably bigger.

Lauren Carasik is a clinical professor of law and the Director of the International Human Rights Clinic at Western New England University School of Law. She has provided legal support for the water protectors.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
Antonio Guterres says one recent study warns discarded plastic rubbish could outweigh fish by 2050 if nothing is done.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres opened the first-ever UN conference on oceans with a warning that the seas are under threat as never before with one recent study warning discarded plastic rubbish could outweigh fish by 2050 if nothing is done.

The UN chief told presidents, ministers, diplomats and environmental activists from nearly 200 countries on Monday that oceans  the lifeblood of our planet  are being severely damaged by pollution, overfishing, and the effects of climate change as well as refuse.

The five-day conference, which began on World Environment Day, is the first major event to focus on climate since President Donald Trump announced last Thursday that the United States will withdraw from the landmark 2015 Paris Climate Agreement  a decision criticised by Bolivias President Evo Morales and other speakers.





Guterres said the aim of the conference is to turn the tide and solve the problems that we created.

He said competing interests over territory and natural resources have blocked progress for far too long in cleaning up and restoring to health the worlds oceans, which cover two-thirds of the planet.

We must put aside short-term national gain to prevent long-term global catastrophe, Guterres said. Conserving our oceans and using them sustainably is preserving life itself.

General Assembly President Peter Thomson, a Fijian diplomat, said: the time has come for us to correct our wrongful ways.

We have unleashed a plague of plastic upon the ocean that is defiling nature in so many tragic ways, he said. It is inexcusable that humanity tips the equivalent of a large garbage truck of plastic into the ocean every minute of every day.

Thomson also warned that illegal and destructive fishing practices and harmful subsidies for fisheries are driving our fish stocks to tipping points of collapse. And he said increasing human-caused carbon emissions are not only driving climate change but causing rising sea levels by warming the oceans and making them more acidic with less oxygen, which harms marine life.

WATCH: The quest to save the worlds coral reefs

Thomson said the conference probably represents the best opportunity ever to reverse the cycle of decline that human activity has brought upon the ocean, and to spur action to meet the UN goal for 2030 to conserve and manage the oceans resources.

The conference asked governments, UN bodies, and civil society groups to make voluntary commitments to take action to improve the health of the oceans. So far, more than 730 commitments have been received, most on managing protected areas, according to conference spokesman Damian Cardona.

At the end of the conference on Friday, nearly 200 countries will issue a Call for Action addressing marine issues that Cardona said have already been agreed.





It will urge nations to implement long-term and robust measures to reduce the use of plastics, including plastic bags, and counteract the sea-level rise that threatens many island nations as well as rising ocean temperatures and increasing ocean acidity.

Micronesias President Peter Christian said Pacific islanders are concerned the ocean has been left to heal itself after being used as a dumping ground for industrial waste, a weapons testing ground, and being polluted by humans on shores and ships at sea.

Stressing the importance of all countries being part of the Paris agreement, Christian said in an apparent reference to Trumps decision: While some may continue to deny mans culpability for the damaging effects of climate change on islands and islanders  no man, no island, no village and no nation can deny that trash in our oceans is of mans own doing.

And for this, man must clean up his mess, he said.

Bolivias Morales was more forthright, telling the conference that the government of the United States, one of the worlds main polluters, decided to leave the Paris agreement, denying science, turning your backs on multilateralism, and attempting to deny a future to upcoming generations.

This has made it the main threat to Mother Earth and life itself, Morales said.
Residents of Gaza express concern over Qatars rift with some Arab states that could affect aid to impoverished region.

Aid groups and residents of the Gaza Strip have expressed concern over Qatars rift with several Arab countries, which could affect aid to the impoverished region.

Jan Egeland, secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council said on Tuesday that Qatar has been very important as an investor in Gaza and as a contributor to infrastructure projects there.

He added this might now not easily continue.

Qatar is among the biggest contributors of aid to Palestinian territory.

READ MORE: UN envoy blasts electricity cuts in Gaza

Qatari support comes in the form of humanitarian projects to improve the lives of the two million people of Gaza, which has been under an Israeli-Egyptian blockade.

It has built a housing complex for thousands of families, paved major roads across Gaza, built a hospital and funded the reconstruction of hundreds of houses that were destroyed or damaged during a 50-day war with Israel in 2014.

Now with a crisis looming between Qatar and its Arab neighbours, residents in Gaza expect worse to come.





If this happens though, and Qatar does withdraw its support, it will severely effect the people of Gaza, especially because Qatar is a huge financier of reconstruction projects after the war and charity work, Ahmed Rezeq, 25, an entrepreneur told Al Jazeera.

He said that eventually, the people in Gaza will pay the price because of the conflict.

Sara Thabit Dogmash, 23, a researcher at the Palestinian Center for Democracy and Conflict Resolution, meanwhile told Al Jazeera that she is confident Qatar will continue to support the residents of Gaza.

Its the richest nation in the world, its economically and politically strong, there is no domestic opposition. Qatar supports countries and people all over the Arab world.

With additional reporting by Dylan Collins.
Dozens of Qatar Airways flights grounded as four nations close airspace, triggering fears for future of Gulf aviation.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt have closed their airspace to Qatari aircraft on Tuesday amid a deepening diplomatic row, forcing Qatars flag carrier to re-route its flights over Iran, Turkey and Oman.

The decision by the four Arab nations to sever diplomatic ties and cut off sea and air links with Qatar has caused major disruptions to air travel across the Gulf and raised fears for the future of aviation in the region  home to several of the worlds major long-haul carriers.

The countries that launched the measures against Qatar have accused it of supporting terrorism, a claim Qatar has called unjustified.

READ MORE: Qatar diplomatic crisis  All the latest updates

More than 70 flights were grounded across the region on Tuesday, according to data from scheduling firm OAG. A majority of the flights belong to Qatar Airways.





Other airlines affected include Dubais Emirates, Abu Dhabis Etihad Airways, Saudi Arabias Saudia, and Bahrains Gulf Air, which have all cancelled flights to and from Doha.

Alexandre de Juniac, the director general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has expressed concern over the blockade and called for more openness.

We would like borders to be reopened, the sooner the better, he told reporters at the groups annual meeting in the Mexican city of Cancun on Monday. Aviation is globalisation at its very best.

Grounded

The departure terminal at Dohas Hamad International Airport was virtually deserted early on Tuesday. More than 30 flights were shown as cancelled on airport television screens.

Qatar Airways, in a statement on its website, said passengers holding a confirmed ticket to any of the four Arab nations between June 5 and July 6 are permitted to rebook their flights up to 30 days after their current departure date.

The airline said its offices would continue to operate as normal in affected countries.

Saudi Arabias General Authority of Civil Aviation, however, revoked the airlines license on Tuesday and ordered its offices to be closed within 48 hours.

Qatar Airways could not be reached for comment.

Meanwhile, many of the airlines passengers were complaining online of delays in rebooking and obtaining refunds.

Analysts said the altered routes for Qatar Airways flights will lead to longer flying time, lowering demand, thus affecting the airlines profits.

An image posted online by flight tracking group Flightradar24 showed the restricted routes Qatar Airways flights were taking because of the blockade. The aircraft were being forced to take a single flight path in out of Doha.

Many of Qatar Airways flights to southern Europe and Africa pass through Saudi Arabia. Flights to Europe will most likely be rerouted through Iran and Turkey, Flightradar24 said. Flights to Africa may route via Iran and Oman and then south.

Few winners

The CAPA Centre for Aviation in Melbourne, Australia, in a report on Monday, said the Gulf diplomatic crisis has dealt a blow to public confidence in aviation and may have a far-reaching impact on the regions airlines.

There can be few winners, the group said, adding that the crisis has already created wider uncertainty for Gulf aviation and passengers whose bookings are months away.

The row between Gulf states is a fresh challenge for the regions airlines at a time when US President Donald Trump is trying to restrict the travel of passengers to the US from some Muslim-majority countries.

READ MORE: Qatar says Kuwait trying to solve diplomatic rift

US authorities have also banned the use of most electronic devices on board aircraft from some Gulf countries.

Amidst growing security concerns and the existing laptop ban, passengers are unlikely to dig in to the reason for this ban. Gulf aviation becomes less attractive for all, CAPA said.

IATAs De Juniac meanwhile said profits and passengers have fallen sharply in the Middle East in recent months.

There is growing evidence that the ban on large electronic devices in the cabin and the uncertainty created around possible US travel bans is taking a toll on some key routes, he said.
Bodies of murdered Iraqis lay in streets after ISIL shooting, an apparent bid to prevent civilians fleeing, UN says.

Fighters from the ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, also known as ISIS) group have killed more than 160 people in one day last week to prevent them from fleeing western Mosul, according to the United Nations.

The agency on Tuesday accused ISIL of carrying out the attack in the groups last stronghold, where a coalition of troops is working to flush out the fighters.

The brutality of Daesh [ISIL] and other terrorist groups seemingly knows no bounds, said Zeid bin Raad al-Hussein, the UNs human rights chief.

Yesterday, my staff reported to me that bodies of murdered Iraqi men, women and children still lay on the streets of the al-Shira neighbourhood of western Mosul, after at least 163 people were shot and killed by Daesh to prevent them from fleeing.





Hussein made the comments in his opening address to the UN Human Rights Council.

His spokesman, Rupert Colville, told the AFP news agency that the killings were believed to have taken place on June 1.

In late May, Iraqi forces launched a broad assault on parts of Mosul, closing in on the remaining pockets of territory held by ISIL.

Aid groups had expressed their concerns over the safety of hundreds of thousands of civilians at risk of being caught in the crossfire.

On Monday, UNICEF warned that 100,000 children were still in ISIL-held areas, living under extremely dangerous conditions.

Peter Hawkins, UNICEFs representative in Iraq, said the agency is receiving alarming reports of civilians being killed, including children, with some caught in the crossfire while trying to flee.

Separately, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Monday that at least 26 bodies of blindfolded and handcuffed men were found in government-controlled areas and around the city since the operation started.

READ MORE: UN envoy: Liberation of Mosul from ISIL is imminent

Local armed forces told foreign journalists that 15 men were extrajudicially killed by government forces who were holding them on suspicion of being affiliated with ISIL, the rights group said.

HRW said that in the remaining cases reported by local and international sources, the sites of the apparent executions  all in government-held territory  raise concerns about government responsibility for the killings.

Last month, Stephen OBrien, the UN under-secretary for humanitarian affairs, said the organisation had deep concern for hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped behind ISIL lines.

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, OBrien said.

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 eastern half of Mosul was declared liberated in January and the push for the citys western section, separated from the east by the Tigris River, began the following month.

Almost 10,000 people fled from Mosuls northwest and the Old City every day last week, according to UN estimates.

More than 750,000 people have been displaced from the city since October.
Amman, which also closed the local office of Al Jazeera TV channel, said decision was made to ensure regional stability.

Jordan has announced it is scaling back its diplomatic ties with Qatar and that it will close the Amman office of Doha-based Al Jazeera TV channel.

Jordanian government spokesman Mohammed Momani said in a statement that the decision was made to ensure regional stability, coordinate the policies of Arab countries and end the crises in our region.

READ MORE: Trump weighs in on Qatar rift with Gulf neighbours

Tuesdays decision came a day after Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain cut ties with Qatar.

The four nations alleged that Qatar harbours extremists and backs Saudi Arabias regional rival, Iran. Qatar has denied the allegations.

Saudi Arabia is a key financial backer of Jordan.
As diplomatic crisis hits the Gulf, Kuwait urges Qatar to calm tensions with allies and refrain from escalating dispute.

Kuwaits Emir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, arrived home after a short visit to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday during which he held talks with the Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz on ways to defuse an escalating crisis between Arab countries and Qatar.

No details were given on the talks.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain cut diplomatic relations with Qatar on Monday in a coordinated move, accusing the peninsula of supporting terrorists and Iran.





Yemens internationally recognised government also cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of working with its enemies in the Iran-aligned Houthi movement, state news agency Saba reported.

The Maldives and Libyas out-of-mandate Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni later joined the Arab nations in saying they too would cut ties.

Sanctions include shutting down transport links, including closing borders, airspace and maritime territories, which led to fears of supply shortages.

In an interview on Monday with Al Jazeera, Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said Kuwaits ruler, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, had asked Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Qatars ruling emir, to hold off on giving a speech about the crisis late on Tuesday night.

He received a call from the emir of Kuwait asking him to postpone it in order to give time to solve the crisis, Sheikh Mohammed said.

READ MORE: Qatar diplomatic crisis  All the latest updates

Sheikh Sabah called on Qatars ruler to focus on easing tension and advised against making decisions that could escalate the situation, Kuwait state news agency Kuna said.

Still, the Qatari foreign minister struck a defiant tone, saying his nation rejected those trying to impose their will or intervene in its internal affairs.

Kuwait, Oman fear escalation

Analyst Giorgio Cafiero of Gulf State Analytics, a geopolitical risk consultancy based in Washington, DC, told Al Jazeera: I think the Kuwaitis as well as Omanis  fear the prospects of these tensions escalating in ways which could undermine the interest of all six members of the GCC.

There are many analysts who believe that a potential break-up of the GCC has to be considered right now.

He added that if tension escalates, some have warned of a military confrontation.

If these countries fail to resolve their issues and such tensions reaches new heights, we have to be very open to the possibility of these six Arab countries no longer being able to unite under the banner of one council, said Cafiero.

READ MORE: Qatar diplomatic crisis  How it affects air travel

The dispute between Qatar and the Arab countries escalated after a recent hack of Qatars state-run news agency. It has spiralled since.

As it cut ties on Monday, Saudi Arabia charged that Qatar was embracing various terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at destabilising the region, including the Muslim Brotherhood, al-Qaeda, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) and armed groups supported by Iran in the kingdoms restive east.

Egypts Foreign Ministry accused Qatar of taking an antagonist approach towards Cairo and said all attempts to stop it from supporting terrorist groups failed.

Qatar denied the allegations, with a Foreign Ministry statement describing them as baseless on Monday.

The group issuing sanctions on Doha is clearly the imposition of guardianship over Qatar, which is in itself a violation of its sovereignty, and is rejected outright, the statement said.

The move came just two weeks after US President Donald Trump visited Saudi Arabia and vowed to improve ties with both Riyadh and Cairo to combat terrorism and contain Iran.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the move was rooted in long-standing differences and urged the parties to resolve them.









It is true that the current US administration is adopting to have a bit more Saudi position distant from Qatari position, Richard Weitz, a senior fellow and director of the Center for Political-Military Analysis at Hudson Institute, told Al Jazeera

But I still think that the US military contacts can play a good role to help resolve, perhaps, some of the difference, since US military particular want an end to this dispute because of the difficulties to find a space and terrorism cooperation and so on.

The Gulf countries ordered their citizens out of Qatar and gave Qataris abroad 14 days to return home to their peninsular nation, whose only land border is with Saudi Arabia. The countries also said they would eject Qatars diplomats.

READ MORE: Timeline of GCC, Egyptian discord with Qatar

The nations also said they planned to cut air and sea traffic. Trucks carrying food had begun lining up on the Saudi side of the border, apparently stranded. The Qatar Stock Exchange fell more than seven percent in trading Monday.

Qatar Airways, one of the regions major long-haul carriers, has suspended all flights to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain until further notice.

On its website, the carrier said the suspension of its flights would take effect Tuesday and customers are being offered a refund.

The route between Doha and Dubai is popular among business travellers and both are major transit hubs for travellers between Asia and Europe.
A Palestinian citizen of Israel was shot dead by a private security guard in the town of Kafr Qasim late on Monday night amid clashes between residents and the security forces.

The man was identified as Mohammed Taha, 21, a local resident who had joined hundreds to protest against the police in the Palestinian-majority town in Israel.

Violence broke out in Kafr Qasim after the police attempted to detain a local resident, according to Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.

When the man resisted arrest, a number of residents threw stones at the arresting officers who eventually detained the suspect, the spokesperson added.

READ MORE: Israel approves plans to tighten grip on East Jerusalem

When residents later attacked the police station, a private security guard opened fire towards the demonstrators, claimed the Israeli police. The security guard had opened fire as a result of a life-threatening situation Rosenfeld stated.

Taha was taken to a local hospital in a serious condition and later died of his injuries. His funeral is expected to be held in Kafr Qasim later on Tuesday.

His father Mahmoud told Israeli media outlet Ynet that his son was murdered. He said that his son did not pose a danger at all. If he did, they should have shot him in the leg, not three times in the head.

The Higher Arab Monitoring Committee declared that it held the Israeli police responsible for the violence in Kafr Qasim and announced that a general strike would be held in the Palestinian communities of Israel on Wednesday in response to the shooting.





The committee also called for street demonstrations at intersections near major Palestinian towns on Thursday, as well as a mass demonstration in Kafr Qasim on Saturday to protest against the killing.

Ayman Odeh, leader of the Joint Arab List in the Israeli Knesset, visited Kafr Qasim early on Tuesday and criticised police action in Palestinian communities.

I am in Kafr Qasim with residents who couldnt tolerate this disfigured reality any more, where their blood is being shed in vain, he said, as reported by Maan news agency. Instead of keeping order and security in Arab towns, they [the police] open fire at the residents of Kafr Qasim.

The Higher Arab Monitoring Committee also criticised Israeli police for failing to tackle crime in Palestinian towns in Israel.

Beginning on Sunday, residents of the town had kept their children from attending school in protest over a lack of policing in the town, amid a number of recent murders there. Last Thursday, two men were killed in the town and the police have yet to make any arrests in the case.

Residents have established local security committees in an attempt to bring order to the town but the police do not support the initiative.
Manila fears problems such as food shortages could affect Filipino workers in Qatar should the diplomatic row worsen.

The Philippines has halted the deployment of workers to Qatar because of the possible ripple effects of several Arab powers breaking off diplomatic ties with Doha, officials said.

Silvestre Bello, the Philippines labour chief, said on Tuesday that Manila was taking precautions as it fears that problems such as food shortages could affect tens of thousands of Filipinos in Qatar should the crisis worsen.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain had severed relations with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of supporting terrorism and Iran. Qatar said the move was unjustified.

The four Arab nations also cut off sea and air links with Qatar, which relies on imports from its neighbours.

We are foreseeing a possible problem in Qatar, Bello said at a news conference.

READ MORE: Qatar diplomatic crisis  All the latest updates

For example, we know for a fact that Qatar does not produce its own food. If anything happens that they run out of food and food riots will take place, definitely our OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers)  will be the first victims, he said.

Thats why we really need to make preparatory measures to meet a possible exigency.





Bello said there were 141,000 documented Filipino workers in Qatar as of last year, but the total number could surpass 200,000 if those without proper documents are counted.

There is no plan yet to repatriate Filipino workers in Qatar, he said.

The ban will also affect individuals whose papers have been approved or are scheduled to depart for Qatar, according to Bello.

The Qatari Cabinet said in a statement on Monday that Qatar has taken all necessary measures to ensure normal life and there is no need to panic or stock up essential items.

Import of goods and movement of people will not be affected as all channels of import other than those from the Gulf states, which severed ties with Qatar, will continue to work as before, it said.

Marine and air spaces will remain open for import and movement. We have taken all necessary precautions to ensure normal life, the statement said.

READ MORE: Qatar  No justification for cutting diplomatic ties

Foreign workers make up around 1.6 million of Qatars 2.5 million population.

Egypt, which is among the seven countries that cut relations with Doha, has some 350,000 citizens working in Qatar, according to Mohammed al-Iraqi, the spokesman of the Egyptian community in Doha.

Many Egyptians are anxious about Cairos decision, he told the Reuters news agency on Monday.

Egyptians are scared. They have jobs and a stable life here with their families. There is a state of panic, he said.

Qatar has ordered citizens of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain to leave the country, but is yet to take similar action against Egyptians.

Other countries that have major populations of workers in Qatar include India, Nepal, and Bangladesh.
Italian officials claim they passed on concerns about Youssef Zaghba to British intelligence officials last year.

British police on Tuesday named the third London Bridge attacker as an Italian national of Moroccan descent, and Italian officials said they had passed on their concerns about him to British intelligence officials last year.

UK police said that 22-year-old Youssef Zaghba lived in east London and had not been considered to be a person of interest to either police or the intelligence services  meaning they had no reason to think he was violent or planning an attack.

The other two attackers were named on Monday as Khuram Shazad Butt and Rachid Redouane.

The three, who were wearing fake suicide vests, were shot dead late on Saturday after ramming a van into pedestrians on London Bridge and then slashing and stabbing people in nearby Borough Market.

Seven people were killed during the attack and dozens more were wounded.

A Canadian and a Frenchman were among the dead in Saturdays attack and citizens of other nations were among the 48 injured, including Australia, Bulgaria, France, Greece and New Zealand. Eighteen are still in critical condition in hospital, according to health authorities.

READ MORE: British police name two London attackers

The third attacker, Youssef Zaghba, was born in Fez in 1995 to a Moroccan father and an Italian mother, reported Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

Zaghba was stopped at Bolognas airport in March 2016 as he tried to make his way to Syria via Turkey.





An Italian interior ministry official told the Associated Press that British and Moroccan intelligence and law-enforcement authorities were informed that Zaghba had been flagged as someone who was a risk  but no other details were released.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to discuss details of the case.

Italian news reports said authorities sequestered Zaghbas mobile phone and passport when he was stopped at the airport, but that he successfully got them back after a court determined there wasnt enough evidence to charge him with any terrorism-related crime.

Italy has expelled more than 40 people in the past two years who were suspected of radicalisation activities but for whom there was insufficient evidence to bring formal charges. Zaghbas Italian citizenship prevented such an expulsion, Italian daily La Repubblica said.

Zaghba was reportedly working in a London restaurant around the time of the attack and had not been seen in Italy since 2016.

The other attackers

Zaghbas two accomplices in the attack were identified by police on Monday.

Londons Metropolitan Police said one attacker was Khuram Shazad Butt, aged 27. Butt was previously known to police and the domestic spy agency MI5, and was a British citizen who had been born in Pakistan, the police said.

However, there was no intelligence to suggest that this attack was being planned and the investigation had been prioritised accordingly, police said on Monday, without providing details on why Butt had come to the attention of law enforcement.

Butt had notably featured in a Channel 4 TV documentary entitled The Jihadis Next Door and, according to the British media, numerous people alarmed by his views had gone to the authorities.

The second attacker was named as Rachid Redouane, aged 30, who also went by the identity Rachid Elkhdar and was not known to police. Redouane had claimed to be Moroccan and Libyan.

READ MORE: Evil, evil people  Panic and horror at London Bridge

Police on Tuesday carried out a new search in an east London suburb near the home of two of the London Bridge attackers. The search in Ilford, just north of Barking, is seeking to determine whether the group had accomplices.

Police on Tuesday also arrested a 27-year-old man in Barking on suspicion of violating the Terrorism Act and a residence there was being searched.

London police have said 12 other people from Barking held since the attack have been freed.

The London attack follows the May 22 suicide bombing at the Manchester Arena by suicide bomber Salman Abedi, a 22-year-old Briton of Libyan origin who killed 22 people and wounded dozens.

Police have said that Abedi had also been known to security services but not under investigation at the time of the attack.

May under pressure

Prime Minister Theresa May is under pressure as the opposition has raised questions over the third terrorist attack in three months and the governments security strategy as a general election looms.

May, who is leading her Conservative Party into a national election on Thursday, held the portfolio in charge of security as home secretary for six years before replacing David Cameron as prime minister in July 2016.

May has vowed to crack down on extremist content online, warning the public: We cannot and must not pretend that things can continue as they are.

Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn, when asked by ITV television if he backed calls for May to resign, said: Indeed I would.

Between 2009 and 2016, the number of police officers fell by almost 20,000, or around 14 percent, according to the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies think-tank.

Corbyn has pledged to hire thousands of officers for neighbourhood duties, arguing that a grassroots approach would curb crime and radicalisation.

After a brief pause, election campaigning resumed on Monday.
Rights groups denounce comments after US congressman called for a war against Islamic horror after deadly attack.

A US congressman has called for a war against Islamic horror in response to the attacks in London over the weekend that claimed the lives of seven and wounded 48.

Clay Higgins, Republican representative of Louisianas third congressional district and volunteer law enforcement officer, said in a social media post on Sunday the free world  all of Christendom  is at war with radicalized Islamic suspect[s]. He finished the post with Kill them all.

The comments caused concern with many advocacy groups calling on Monday for Higgins to measure his words.

Congressman Higgins comments on social media do nothing but fan the flames of anti-Muslim rhetoric, which have reached a fever pitch following the 2016 election, Heidi Beirich, director of Southern Poverty Law Centers Intelligence Project, which monitors hate groups in the US, told Al Jazeera via email.





Words have consequences and, in a time where hate crimes against Muslims are up 67 percent, our elected officials need to be issuing statements of unity and not vilification, she said.

Al Jazeera contacted the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a nationwide grassroots civil rights advocacy organisation for comment on Higgins statement.

CAIRs government affairs director Robert McCaw said he wanted clarification on whom exactly Higgins believes Christendom is at war. Is he referring to criminal terrorist groups  or is he including all Muslims in that statement?

McCaw echoed Beirichs concern that these comments can be dangerous as the US is living in a climate of hate. A white supremacist killed two men and wounded another who were defending two Muslim teenagers just last week, he noted.

The remarks reference an attack in Portland at the end of May. White supremacist Jeremy Joseph Christian, 35, allegedly stabbed three men who defended two female Muslims ages 16 and 17 while on public transportation.

Christian considers himself a defender of free speech and has been seen at rallies in support of President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly attempted to institute a travel ban on six predominately Muslim nations.

McCaw said CAIR plans to send Higgins a letter regarding these concerns.

The post was met controversy not only from advocacy groups, but also Higgins constituents.

Kayla Cooley of Lake Charles, Louisiana, called the remarks unacceptable  I do not support this racist, terrorist rhetoric, she said. Others supported the congressmans remarks.

Higgins office did not immediately respond to Al Jazeeras request for comment.
Qatars Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani spoke to Al Jazeera after several Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states and other nations severed diplomatic ties. Here are Sheikh Mohammeds responses:

Al Jazeera: What are the reasons for this crisis?

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani: We expressed our regrets and surprise over the escalations against Qatar. We dont know if there were real reasons behind this crisis or hidden ones that we dont know about.

If there were real reasons for this crises, it could have been discussed at the GCC meeting that took place a few weeks ago, but nothing has been said or discussed at all. Also, nothing was said during the American-Islamic-Arab summit in Riyadh. So there was nothing said at these events and we had no indication that the crisis was about to erupt.

So this shows that the [Saudi and UAE-funded media] media fabricated news against Qatar and made up lies about it. This media campaign took place only after the hacking incident. The massive media campaign against Qatar that insulted Qatar and its leaders was unprecedented by GCC standards. We in Qatar did not slide down into this road. We dealt with it with patience and wisdom.





Al Jazeera: Emir Sheikh Tamim was to give a speech tonight, but delayed it. Why?

Sheikh Mohammed: Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani was about to give a speech addressing the people of Qatar tonight, but he received a call from the emir of Kuwait asking him to postpone it in order to give time to solve the crisis. The emir of Kuwait was instrumental in resolving the crisis that took place in 2014.

The steps taken against Qatar were unprecedented and were one-sided. We in Qatar did not take any steps in kind or similar to it, we believe any issue could be solved through discussion and mutual respect.

I received and made calls with many brotherly and friendly foreign ministers who supported the efforts to solve this crisis. There are several wars in the Arab world. There are crises in Syria, Libya, and Yemen, and we find it rather strange that the GCC has decided to attack Qatar at this particular time.

This brings about real questions about the future of the GCC nations, which are basically one people who share the same language and have extensive family ties among its peoples. That said, however, we reject that some in the GCC are trying to impose their will on Qatar or intervene in its internal affairs. This is rejected. But overall, we think there is a big question mark on this GCC.

Al Jazeera: How will this crisis affect ordinary life in Qatar?

Sheikh Mohammed: There have been several crises that took place in Qatar. There was the 1996 change of government and the 2014 crisis between the GCC nations and Qatar. Yet we overcame it. Qatar will depend on itself to provide its citizens and residents normal life. We have programmes that will ensure the continuity of life and the major building projects as normal.

Qatar has been subjected to a media defamation campaign. The talk about economic hardship in Qatar as a result of the current crises is inaccurate. We are only affected in terms of our land borders with Saudi Arabia. Other than that, we are not affected since we still have access to the world through international sea lanes and international airspace.

Al Jazeera: How will relations with the United States be affected by this?

Sheikh Mohammed: Qatar has been subjected to a massive campaign against it in the West, especially from an ambassador of one country in the GCC, which is a violation of its charter. The campaign against Qatar accusing it of terrorism comes from marginal institutions.

Our relations with the US are made through official institutions and are strong. Qatar-US relations are not made by marginal groups, rather by the official US government institutions. We have a strategic partnership with the US, we are strong partners in the fight against terrorism, and towards peace in the Middle East.
As diplomatic crisis hits the Gulf, Kuwait urges Qatar to calm tensions with allies and refrain from escalating dispute.

Kuwait is trying to mediate a regional crisis in which Arab countries have cut diplomatic ties with Qatar and moved to isolate the energy-rich, travel-hub nation from the outside world, Qatars foreign minister said.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed diplomatic relations with Qatar on Monday in a coordinated move, accusing the peninsula of supporting terrorists and Iran.





Yemens internationally recognised government also cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of working with its enemies in the Iran-aligned Houthi movement, state news agency Saba reported.

The Maldives and Libyas out-of-mandate Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni later joined the Arab nations in saying they too would cut ties.

Sanctions include shutting down transport links, including closing borders, airspace and maritime territories, which led to fears of supply shortages.

In an interview on Monday with Al Jazeera, Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said Kuwaits ruler, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, had asked Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Qatars ruling emir, to hold off on giving a speech about the crisis late on Tuesday night.

He received a call from the emir of Kuwait asking him to postpone it in order to give time to solve the crisis, Sheikh Mohammed said.

READ MORE: Qatar diplomatic crisis  All the latest updates

Sheikh Sabah called on Qatars ruler to focus on easing tension and advised against making decisions that could escalate the situation, Kuwait state news agency Kuna said.

Still, the Qatari foreign minister struck a defiant tone, saying his nation rejected those trying to impose their will or intervene in its internal affairs.

Kuwait, Oman fear escalation

Analyst Giorgio Cafiero of Gulf State Analytics, a geopolitical risk consultancy based in Washington, DC, told Al Jazeera: I think the Kuwaitis as well as Omanis  fear the prospects of these tensions escalating in ways which could undermine the interest of all six members of the GCC.

There are many analysts who believe that a potential break-up of the GCC has to be considered right now.

He added that if tension escalates, some have warned of a military confrontation.

If these countries fail to resolve their issues and such tensions reaches new heights, we have to be very open to the possibility of these six Arab countries no longer being able to unite under the banner of one council, said Cafiero.

READ MORE: Qatar diplomatic crisis  How it affects air travel

The dispute between Qatar and the Arab countries escalated after a recent hack of Qatars state-run news agency. It has spiralled since.

As it cut ties on Monday, Saudi Arabia charged that Qatar was embracing various terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at destabilising the region, including the Muslim Brotherhood, al-Qaeda, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) and armed groups supported by Iran in the kingdoms restive east.

Egypts Foreign Ministry accused Qatar of taking an antagonist approach towards Cairo and said all attempts to stop it from supporting terrorist groups failed.

Qatar denied the allegations, with a Foreign Ministry statement describing them as baseless on Monday.

The group issuing sanctions on Doha is clearly the imposition of guardianship over Qatar, which is in itself a violation of its sovereignty, and is rejected outright, the statement said.

The move came just two weeks after US President Donald Trump visited Saudi Arabia and vowed to improve ties with both Riyadh and Cairo to combat terrorism and contain Iran.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the move was rooted in long-standing differences and urged the parties to resolve them.









It is true that the current US administration is adopting to have a bit more Saudi position distant from Qatari position, Richard Weitz, a senior fellow and director of the Center for Political-Military Analysis at Hudson Institute, told Al Jazeera

But I still think that the US military contacts can play a good role to help resolve perhaps some of the difference, since US military particular want an end to this dispute because of the difficulties to find a space and terrorism cooperation and so on.

The Gulf countries ordered their citizens out of Qatar and gave Qataris abroad 14 days to return home to their peninsular nation, whose only land border is with Saudi Arabia. The countries also said they would eject Qatars diplomats.

READ MORE: Timeline of GCC, Egyptian discord with Qatar

The nations also said they planned to cut air and sea traffic. Trucks carrying food had begun lining up on the Saudi side of the border, apparently stranded. The Qatar Stock Exchange fell more than seven percent in trading Monday.

Qatar Airways, one of the regions major long-haul carriers, has suspended all flights to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain until further notice.

On its website, the carrier said the suspension of its flights would take effect Tuesday and customers are being offered a refund.

The route between Doha, Qatar and Dubai is popular among business travellers and both are major transit hubs for travellers between Asia and Europe.
US-backed rebels push for ISILs de facto capital in Syria as government forces pound the southern city of Deraa.

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have begun a battle to capture Raqqa, ISILs de facto capital in Syria, launching attacks from the east, west and north of the city.





In a phone interview with Reuters news agency from Syria on Tuesday, SDF spokesman Talal Silo said the operation started on Monday and the fighting would be fierce because ISIL will die to defend their so-called capital.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group captured the city from rebel groups in 2014 and has since used it as their home base.

The coalition has a big role in the success of the operations. In addition to warplanes, there are coalition forces working side by side with the Syrian Democratic Forces, Silo said.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the SDF attacked the eastern edge of Raqqa and a military base on the northern outskirts of the city on Tuesday.

READ MORE: Civilian death toll rises in Syrias Raqqa

The attack on the al-Mashlab district and on the Division 17 base around 1km to the north of the city centre followed heavy overnight air raids, the observatory said.

The SDF has been working to encircle Raqqa since November in an offensive backed by the US-led coalition that is also fighting ISIL in Iraq, where the group is on the brink of defeat in the city of Mosul.

The US-led coalition has said 3,000 to 4,000 ISIL fighters are thought to be holed up in Raqqa city, where they have erected defences against the anticipated assault.

The US said on Tuesday it had started distributing arms to the YPG to help take Raqqa, part of a plan that has angered NATO-ally Turkey, which is worried by growing Kurdish influence in northern Syria.

Turkeys Prime Minister Binali Yildirim warned on Tuesday that the country will retaliate immediately if operations in Raqqa presents a threat to Turkey.

Coalition air strikes

The observatory reported that the death toll of suspected US-led coalition air attacks that allegedly targeted boats carrying people who tried to flee the fighting in Raqqa city on Monday has risen to 21 civilians.

Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently, an activist group in Raqqa, said people attempted to flee after previous coalition air raids targeted the old and new bridge areas near Raqqa city.

After the two bridges were bombed most of the civilians started to use the boats to cross from the city side to the countryside.     (@Raqqa_SL) June 5, 2017

During the month of May, at least 980 civilians were killed across the country, including 87 people living in the de-escalation zones, the Observatory said in a report released on June 1.

Deraa offensive

Elsewhere in Syria, at least 11 people were killed and 16 others wounded in government air raids on the southern Deraa province, the Observatory said.





Government warplanes struck Tafas town in the northwestern suburbs of Deraa city on Monday.

Deraa, the city where the Syrian war began in March 2011 with anti-government protests, is part of the four de-escalation zones agreed on earlier this month during ceasefire talks in Astana, Kazakhstan.

The agreement was signed on May 6 by Iran, Russia and Turkey.

The Observatory also said that at least 22 barrel bombs were dropped by government helicopters on the Deraa al-Balad neighbourhood while 35 surface-to-surface missiles were launched by government forces on Monday.

In the past 48 hours, at least 110 air attacks have targeted Deraa, the Observatory added.

Last week, rebels attacked government positions in the Manshiyeh neighbourhood in Deraa city.

At least 31 rebel fighters and government forces were killed in the recent fighting.

Syrias state news agency SANA reported on Monday that at least seven civilians were killed in rocket attacks by the rebels in a Deraa suburb just 4km east of Deraa city.
US President Donald Trump throws his weight behind efforts to isolate Qatar over claims it supports extremism.

US President Donald Trump has weighed in on the ongoing diplomatic dispute with Qatar and neighbouring Gulf countries led by Saudi Arabia, saying his trip to the Middle East is already paying off.

In a series of posts on Twitter on Tuesday, Trump referenced Qatar when he said leaders of the Middle East have stated that they would take a hard line on funding extremism.

During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar  look! Trump said.

So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding

extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!

During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar  look!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017

The Qatari government had no immediate response to Trumps tweet.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon said it is grateful to Qatar for support of US military presence and enduring commitment to regional security.

Qatar and Saudi along with five other countries are currently locked in a diplomatic dispute over Dohas role in the region.

Conflicting US message

Al Jazeeras Patty Culhane, reporting from Washington, DC, said the latest post of Trump only complicates efforts to defuse the situation.





I can tell you from the defence department perspective, from the secretary of state perspective, they dont want this [dispute] to continue.

They want the sides to de-escalate. This couple of tweets does exactly the opposite, Culhane said.

Trumps latest statement shows he is not in line with people in his own administration, she added.

Just because the president tweets something it does not mean that it is changing the foreign policy. That may sound strange, but thats where we are at in this new era of social media.

Yes, but only on Twitter, so it doesnt count until/unless confirmed by Sarah Huckabee Sanders. https://t.co/YDloPsXhj0  David Frum (@davidfrum) June 6, 2017

On Monday, Dana Shell Smith, US ambassador to Qatar, posted an embassy statement saying the US supports Qatars efforts in combating terrorism financing, and appreciates its role in coalition against ISIL.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had also issued a statement encouraging the parties involved in the Gulf dispute to sit down and address their differences.

On May 21, Trump met with Qatars Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani in Saudi Arabia.

During the meeting, Al Jazeeras Culhane reported, the US leader bragged about how much military equipment the US sold to Qatar.

If you believe that they are the sole funder of extremism, it seems unlikely that you would want to supply them weapons, she said.

In 2015, the US sold an estimated $17bn worth of arms to Qatar, representing 42.5 percent of total US arms sales that year.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan defended Qatar after several countries severed diplomatic ties with it, saying he personally would have intervened if accusations that the tiny Gulf emirate supports terrorism were true.

Erdogan stood by Qatar on Tuesday, saying he intends to develop ties with the embattled Gulf state hit by sanctions from Saudi Arabia and its allies.

Let me say at the outset that we do not think the sanctions against Qatar are good, Erdogan said in a speech in Ankara.





Turkey will continue and will develop our ties with Qatar, as with all our friends who have supported us in the most difficult moments, he added in reference to last years failed coup.

Turkey has close ties with Qatar but also has good relations with the other Gulf states, especially Saudi Arabia.

Erdogan was careful not to criticise Riyadh, calling on the member nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council to resolve their differences through dialogue.

Efforts to isolate Qatar  will not solve any problem, said Erdogan, praising Dohas cool-headedness and constructive approach.

Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates severed diplomatic ties and transport links with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of supporting extremism.

Presenting Qatar as a supporter of terrorism is a serious accusation, the Turkish leader said. I know [Qatars leaders] well and if that had been the case, I would have been the first head of state to confront them.
New round of leaked emails show repeated criticism of then presidential candidate Trump by UAE ambassador to the US.

The latest round of leaked emails of the United Arab Emirates ambassador to the United States reveal repeated criticism by the diplomat of US President Donald Trump.

The Huffington Post, the US media outlet that received the latest series of emails, said they showed Yousef al-Otaiba denigrating Trump and others in communications with officials close to then President Barack Obama.

The Huffington Post said one of the emails showed Otaiba corresponding with Rob Malley, Obamas chief adviser on the Middle East, on election night.

You got room for me in Abu Dhabi? Malley wrote to Otaiba.

This isnt funny, the UAE ambassador responded. How/why is this happen. On what planet can Trump be a president.

READ MORE: Hackers leak emails from UAE ambassador to US

In another exchange from 2016 with Judith Miller, a right-wing US commentator who reportedly sent Otaiba a series of tweets from a Saudi whistle-blower that criticised Emirati Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE diplomat said the 7 minutes I spent reading this was the equivalent of watching 7 minutes of Donald Trump. A waste of my time.

The latest email leak comes after US media reported on Saturday that emails, released by a group called GlobalLeaks  not affiliated with the software developer, GlobaLeaks  showed clear collaboration between Otaiba and a pro-Israel think-tank in an attempt to discredit Qatar.

Otaiba is a well-known figure in US national security circles  he has been called the most charming man in Washington  and has participated in Pentagon strategy meetings at the invitation of defence officials.

Al Jazeeras Shihab Rattansi said those behind the leak told Huffington post that their intention is to reveal the two-faced nature of Emirati foreign policy.

He added that from these emails it would appear that the ambassador to Washington doesnt have a very high opinion of Trump.

READ MORE: All the latest updates on the Qatar diplomatic crisis

Huffington Post reporter Akbar Ahmed told Al Jazeera the emails certainly shows a high level of UAE scepticism over Qatar.

Ahmed added that the emails also reveal that the prime focus of UAE officials in public is Iran or the Muslim Brotherhood, but it seems that a prime focus of these messages has been about neighbouring state Qatar.

He said this showed the UAEs influence, their access and the kind of agenda theyre pushing.

US and UAE officials have not commented on the recent leak.

On Monday, the UAE, along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, Yemen and the Maldives cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar, a move Qatars foreign ministry called unjustified and based on claims and allegations that have no basis in fact.

The dispute between Qatar and the Gulfs Arab countries escalated after a recent hack of Qatars state-run news agency. It has spiralled since.

READ MORE: Qatar  Decision to cut ties violates our sovereignty

Following the hack, comments falsely attributed to Qatars emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, were published.

Qatars government categorically denied the comments.

There are international laws governing such crimes, especially the cyberattack. [The hackers] will be prosecuted according to the law, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatars foreign minister, said on Wednesday.

UAE-based Sky News Arabia and Al Arabiya kept running the discredited story, despite the Qatari denials.
As summer begins, people across the UK are gearing up for the general election.

The long-held belief is that a rainy election day puts people off venturing outdoors and heading to the polling station. If that is the case, then turnout could be poor for the general election this Thursday, with rain and also blustery winds in the forecast.

Most of central and northern Great Britain will see rain spreading up from the south throughout the day, with blustery winds making things feel more unpleasant for areas across the west. Cities such as Cardiff, Bristol, and even Birmingham in the Midlands will see some very strong winds throughout the day.

If the theory that Labour voters are less likely to head out on bad weather days is true, then this will please the Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May more than Labour opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn.

The belief that Labour voters venture out in fewer numbers is borne out by opinion polls which show Conservative voters may be more likely to go out and vote whatever the weather, and a bit of wind and rain wont deter them.

A dry day with sunshine traditionally means a higher turnout overall, so more Labour voters could be among the total.

IN PICTURES: Enjoying summer in Europe or keeping cool in South Asia

When people think back to the Labour landslide of 1997, they remember a warm, spring day. Turnout was high that day, at 71 percent.

There is good reason to believe there will be a link between good weather and good voter turnout, as it is much nicer being out in dry, sunny weather. But in reality, there is little evidence to show it is true.

Political commentator Anthony Howard told the BBC that rain in the evening is always thought to be disadvantageous to Labour, because conventional wisdom says that their voters tend to go to the polls between teatime and 10pm.

There is probably something in it, because in the older industrial working-class areas, people voted on their way home from work and the middle-class tended to go out in the morning or lunchtime, said Howard.

Its probably less relevant these days, but I think there is still a grain of truth in it.

Back in 1964 it wasnt the weather that was the main concern for Labours Howard Wilson, but a television show due to be broadcast that night.

Howard Wilson went to enormous lengths to get BBC Director General Hugh Green to move Steptoe and Son because he thought, probably wisely, that the 9pm air time would be devastating for Labour, said Howard.

Howard Wilson won that election.

TV viewing habits have changed greatly since 1964, but the weather is something we cannot change. Lets hope voters pay attention to the forecast and plan accordingly, so we see a high turnout at the polls this Thursday  whatever the weather.
Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, UN envoy to Yemen, has been rejected and accused of bias by Houthi fighters.

Houthi fighters and their allies in Yemen have rejected the UN Special Envoy to the country, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed as a peace negotiator, accusing him of bias.

The head of the rebel-installed Supreme Political Council, Saleh al-Samad, said the UN envoy would no longer be allowed entry to the Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen.

There will be no more contact with Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed and he is not welcome here.

Samad added that Ahmed was not desirable in efforts to resolve the conflict in Yemen, and if the UN chose another envoy, he should respect the peoples will.

Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdul-Salam said the UN envoy had abandoned his neutrality and did not respect UN resolutions.

However, he gave no further details and did not say which resolutions he was referring to.

READ MORE: Who benefits from a weak and divided Yemen?

Slow peace process

Ahmed, a Mauritanian diplomat was appointed as UN envoy to Yemen after his predecessor Jamal Benomar resigned in 2015.

Benomar had come under criticism from some in the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia as his efforts to broker peace showed little success.





The Houthis want to negotiate with an enforcer or someone with authority rather than a mediator, Hakim Almasmari, Editor-in-Chief of Yemen Post told Al Jazeera via email.

The Houthis decision comes almost two weeks after the UN urged local authorities in Sanaa to investigate a grave attack on Ahmeds convoy by demonstrators who were calling for an end to the blockade on the Sanaa airport, during his three-day visit to Sanaa.

He had been trying to broker a ceasefire for the holy month of Ramadan that began on May 27.

Yemen has been torn apart by conflict since 2014 when Houthi fighters allied with troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh captured large expanses of the impoverished Arabian peninsula country.

A Saudi-led coalition began an air campaign in March 2015 to restore the internationally recognised government that fled the country after Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa.

According to the UN, more than 7,000 people have been killed and nearly 37,000 wounded in Yemen since the anti-Houthi coalition began its campaign last year.

The ongoing conflict has pushed the country to the brink of famine and taken a toll on health facilities.

A solution for Yemen must happen before it is too late. The Yemen war and epidemic has the potential to spread outside its borders quicker than many might expect, Almasmari said.

Last week, Ahmed told the UN Security Council that serious negotiations on first steps to a cessation of hostilities in Yemen had been slow and the key parties were reluctant to discuss the concessions needed for peace.

The Security Council reiterated its backing for the UN envoy after the briefing.

Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed could not be reached immediately for comment.




When UF alumnus and England native Scott Henshall heard the news of a deadly attack in London on Saturday night, he immediately reached for his phone to message his brother.

Although he was safe in a Birmingham club about 2 1/2 hours away from London, Henshall feared for his 27-year-old brother who works near Canon Street  about three blocks from London Bridge, where three knife-wielding assailants had just driven their white van through crowds of pedestrians, according to The New York Times.

By morning, he finally got word that his brother was OK.

I was worried for some time, but I remembered him saying he was going to stay in that night  so I tried not to think too much of it, Henshall, who graduated from UF in April with a bachelors degree in economics, wrote in an email.

Saturday night marked Englands third major terrorist attack in the past three months. After the three men crashed their van into a bus stop, they went on foot into Borough Market, a crowded nightspot near London Bridge, and stabbed multiple people, according to the Times.

At least seven people were killed and dozens more wounded, 21 of whom remain in critical condition, according to the Times.

Henshall said he was in London himself Monday while interviewing for jobs. After fulfilling his dream of attending college in America, Henshall said he wont allow terrorism to affect his plans of getting a job in a big city in his home country.

I know England will be fine, the 21-year-old said. (We) came out stronger after the 2007 attacks, and I know we can come out stronger after this.

There are 47 UF students currently studying abroad in London, UF spokesperson Janine Sikes said. All are safe and accounted for.

UF marketing junior Lizzie Connor said recent terror attacks have impacted London in

two major ways: guns and police presence.

Last Summer, during her semester abroad as part of the UF in London program, the 20-year-old said she hardly ever saw guns on the streets.

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But this summer, when she returned to Englands capital city for a 10-day vacation, she said she saw more police patrolling with guns.

Theres definitely more police presence and military presence, especially in areas that are more tourist-driven, she said.

Connor also said the fear of future attacks wont affect her plans of possibly returning to London for work after graduation.

This summer, its news of attacks in England that has her taken back. Last Summer, while she was thousands of miles away studying in London, Connor said it was the news of the Pulse nightclub shooting in her own hometown, Orlando, that shook her.

At the end of the day, it can pretty much happen anywhere, she said.

Contact David Hoffman at dhoffman@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter: @hoffdavid123.
After noticing a group of bats living in a gazebo at a local park, a city employee decided to build them a new home.

John Weber, the citys parks operations manager, decided the new bat house would be a good assignment for Gainesville resident Connor Honeycutt, who was looking for a project to complete during his Eagle Scout training.

With the help of his dad and an assistant parks operations manager, Honeycutt built a 15-foot bat house to serve as a daytime shelter for about 200 bats at Possum Creek Park, located at 4009 NW 53rd Ave.

The materials and construction of the structure cost a little more than $200. The house, which was built out of fibrous wood, was installed in the park in April.

Honeycutt got to design the house himself, Weber said. It was his vision.

Weber said the City of Gainesville Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department has discussed installing additional bat houses in local parks as a way of attracting more citizens.

Having the bat house at the park is another attraction parkgoers can experience when the sun starts to set, he said.

Weber said the bat house was built to provide a suitable home for the local bat population.

The bats will help control mosquitos and provide a unique experience for those who visit the park, he said.

Across from Lake Alice at UF, two bat houses serve as home to more than 100,000 bats, according to the Florida Wildlife Extension website.

Whenever I have visitors, I love to take them to the bat house, said Carolina Fernandez, a UF English senior. I cant wait to visit the new bat house.

The 15-foot structure will house about 200 bats.

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In case you missed it, our naive commander in chief chose to make the U.S. one of three countries in the world not aligned with the Paris climate agreement.

The 31-page accord was crafted in December 2015 to encourage nations to prevent drastic climate change and keep our planet out of harms way. Its main goal is for countries to work together to keep global average temperatures from rising 2 degrees Celsius. It warns that if the planet were to warm beyond 2 degrees, we will risk dangerously high seas, changes in weather patterns, and food and water crises.

Anyone with a third-grade-level education is aware of the undeniable fact that climate change is real and poses an alarmingly real threat to our planet. As President Donald Trump announced last week that the U.S. would soon withdraw from the agreement, the nation and world went into another Trump-induced frenzy.

After the initial upset, we had time to assess the true implications of our presidents decision. What we learned over the past several days is the U.S. departure from the agreement probably wont change too much. Firstly, the accord itself was not very strict. Had America stayed in the accord, there is no saying we would have made any real effort to go green, just that we would publicly acknowledge there was a problem.

Furthermore, many states, companies and individuals have been making an effort on their own to reduce, reuse and recycle in an attempt to prevent the effects of climate change. In fact, Trumps announcement has actually created a spike in these efforts.

Since 2005, Wells Fargo has spent $5 billion on a financing program for green businesses, solar and wind energy projects. Crayola has declared its favorite color as green by using renewable energy, reducing waste and protecting the rainforests. Around the world, major car companies like Audi and Toyota have created cars with the ability to run on battery power, allowing drivers to forgo or lessen their usage of fossil fuels.

Americans have chosen to buy these products, as well as many others, in a personal effort to keep the planet in tip-top shape.

Green efforts have been happening independently for years, but with the U.S. leaving the agreement, people now feel even more inclined to put their best foot forward when it comes to helping the planet.

The city of St. Petersburg has become the first in Florida to officially commit to using 100-percent clean renewable energy. Other world leaders have released statements declaring their devotion to make our planet great again, giving Americans solace in knowing other nations will not dwindle in their efforts to keep the planet safe. America is but one nation, and we forget that without us, there are still plenty of other powerful nations who are making smarter choices than we are right now.

We believe that after the U.S. officially leaves the agreement, the world will be in no more danger than it is right now. The largest impact this decision will have is the way America is perceived internationally. To speak candidly, it is embarrassing that we are one of three nations to reject the agreement. Under Trumps rash decisions, America is losing respect and falling as a world leader. Instead of leading the world in conservation and acting as a role model for less wealthy and powerful nations, we are a laughing stalk and a flight risk. We can only hope these other nations are able to make up for our shortcomings and keep the planet in line.

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President Donald Trump withdrew from the Paris climate agreement last week in a move that set the U.S. apart from nearly every country in the world. The left responded with its usual rage and hysteria. Fareed Zakaria declared that the withdrawal was the single most irresponsible act that this president has taken and that the United States resigned as the leader of the free world. Many others echoed his claims. Statements like these mirror the lefts typical hyperbole when any political move doesnt reflect the liberal agenda, especially on the ever sensitive issue of climate change.

Fortunately for Americans, Trump was well aware of the multiple shortcomings of the agreement before he took office and actively campaigned against it, which makes the recent hand-wringing somewhat disingenuous. The only legitimate criticism of this decision was voiced long before Trump took office. Since the agreement was reached in September 2016, climate activists have advocated for it to be confirmed by the Senate and made an international treaty, and thus not undone should a Republican be voted into office. If former President Barack Obama were as serious about climate change as he claimed, he would have followed these climate activists advice. Instead, he elected to deprive the Republican-majority Senate of the opportunity to reject the agreement, gambling on the outcome of the 2016 election. His bad bet gave Trump the ability to cancel the agreement with no more than the same fountain pen by which Obama accepted it. Notwithstanding the lefts attempt to make an issue over it, the agreement had no popular mandate and nothing to make it a lasting part of Obamas ever dwindling legacy.

While the Paris climate agreement had its own legislative shortcomings, its substance is even worse. The agreement would largely have been a symbolic measure; each country involved was only willing to acknowledge the issue of climate change but not actually do anything about it. Current predictions for the agreement show it would do almost nothing to change average global temperatures. If all 178 signatories to this 14-year nudum pactum (which means bare or naked promises in Latin) abide by all of the voluntary measures (which would be a first in world history) for the next century, the UN climate prediction model estimates the global temperature would be decreased by only .3 degrees Fahrenheit. Not only are the returns infinitesimal compared to what climate activists desire (usually 2 degrees Celsius), but the agreement will cost the world an estimated $1-2 trillion a year according to the Stanford University Energy Modeling Forum. While the deal itself would have obviously been costly and ineffective, none of these reasons are the principal reason Trump cited for withdrawing.

Trump, with his America First policy, recognized that the objectives of the agreement would be achieved largely at the expense of U.S. interests. All 178 countries in the agreement were able to set their own goals for reducing carbon emissions, one of which will not begin until the agreement is close to expiration (China) and one which relies on $2.5 trillion in U.S. aid (India), according to Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt. At the same time, the U.S., which had already made double digit carbon dioxide reductions over the last decade, would have to further reduce carbon emissions by 26 to 28 percent, an extremely costly venture that would only accelerate the death of the coal industry, one of Trumps most loyal constituencies. These patently unequal terms raise the question of why anyone would agree to a deal so counter to U.S. interests.

Thankfully, Trump was unwilling to bind our country to such an unfavorable deal and withdrew the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement before it could weaken our economy. Going beyond his campaign rhetoric, Trump has offered to renegotiate the agreements terms to combat climate change without unfairly burdening Americans. His greatest obstacle is a Democratic Party unwilling to work with him on or agree with him about anything.

Jack Story is a UF graduate. His column appears on Tuesdays.
Both the railroads and the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way  Employes Division say the extension will help all parties make the best decision on how to proceed with the outstanding tentative labor agreements.
On his recent visit to Alaska, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke began laying the groundwork to open the 3% of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge contained in Area 1002 to oil development. He ordered a new assessment of the area's potential oil reserves.

The most recent comprehensive study by the United States Geological Survey was completed in 1998, and its mean estimate of recoverable reserves in Area 1002 was 7.7 BBO (billion barrels of oil). At $45 a barrel, that's $346 billion. Most of this oil lies in the western portion, near the terminus of the Trans Alaska Pipeline at Prudhoe Bay.

Development of Area 1002 alone would fill the Alaska pipeline, currently running at 25% of capacity, for a minimum of 10-15 years. Additional development of the National Petroleum Reserve, Alaska could add as much or more. And recall that this USGS survey is 19 years old. The new, revised numbers could be eye-popping.

The impact of this development on the state of Alaska would rival that of Prudhoe Bay itself. Revenue to the state would soar. Instead of raiding its Permanent Fund, Alaska could add billions to its principal. Employment would rise, and property values would recover. It would be a boon to Alaska and its people.

But isn't the world awash in crude? The shale revolution shows no sign of slowing down, and Russia and Saudi Arabia are cutting production in a bid to stabilize prices. Who needs Alaska oil?

As Secretary Zinke said in Anchorage, the United States seeks not energy independence, but energy dominance. This can be achieved by using American oil as a tool of foreign policy, as it has been for a hundred years.

Our most important ally in the Pacific is Japan, with a navy inferior only to our own. We have a strategic interest in ensuring Japan a stable and secure energy supply. This can be accomplished by selling it the oil from ANWR Area 1002 and NPR-A.

It's 3,600 miles from the Alaska pipeline's terminus at Valdez to Yokohama, a bit more than the trip to Los Angeles. More important than distance is security of passage. The seas between Alaska and Japan are under the total control of the United States Navy and its allies.

There are no bottlenecks like the Strait of Hormuz, or the Strait of Malacca, through which most of Japan's energy imports must currently navigate. Because it needs security of supply above all else, Japan would leap at the chance to import more Alaskan oil.

The greatest geopolitical challenge for America in the 21st century will be China. In containing China, Japan is the indispensable nation. Tied to one another by Alaska oil, the bond between the United States and Japan will be unbreakable. This is in the highest national security interest of the United States.

And it is why the time is right to open ANWR. Legislation to accomplish this can be done in a budget reconciliation bill, as was done in 1996. But President Clinton vetoed the bill, and no serious effort has been made to open ANWR since.

Unlike the giant State of Alaska-owned field at Prudhoe Bay, all of ANWR is federal land, and if oil is found there, it will prove a bonanza for the United States Treasury. Revenues from oil development could put a significant dent in the federal deficit. Thus, it clearly qualifies for inclusion in a budget reconciliation bill. The votes of only 50 senators, plus Vice President Pence, are needed for passage.

Republican Senator John McCain, a previous opponent of opening ANWR, is a defense hawk, Navy veteran, and strong supporter of our alliance with Japan. For national security reasons, he may now take a different position.

Two other "soft" Senate Republicans are Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine. Murkowski is an ardent supporter of opening ANWR, as are the vast majority of the people of Alaska. Perhaps Murkowski can use her close relationship with Collins to convince her on the merits.

Democrat Senator Joe Manchin is no environmentalist, and a friend of the working man. The development of Area 1002 would create tens of thousands of jobs and make a dent in our trade deficit. For these and national security reasons, there may be other Democrat votes available as well.

The arguments against opening Area 1002 are rubbish. Environmentalists call it the Serengeti of the North. But it is almost devoid of life, as it is the most difficult environment on the planet.

In 1984, as an Alaska state senator, I was given a tour of ANWR, and I was astonished that there was any controversy over its development. It is the most godforsaken place on Earth.

The more oil the United States produces, the more powerful it becomes. We used the oil weapon, to great effect, in both World Wars. Now that we're acting as though we believe in our own self-interest, we can again use our vast oil wealth in pursuit of our foreign policy interests.

This is why President Trump will open ANWR.

Fritz Pettyjohn is a former Alaska state senator and House minority leader. He blogs at ReaganProject.com.
As the financial and media capital of the free world, the New York metropolitan area has long attracted terrorists, from the anarchists who struck Wall Street with a horse-drawn cart bomb in 1920 to the jihadists responsible for 9/11. But increasingly it appears that terrorists are attracting New York, or at least its elected officials.

Starting at the top, Governor Andrew Cuomo last December commuted the sentence of Judith Clark, a member of the terrorist Weather Underground Organization (WUO) serving a 75-year sentence for her role in the murder of a Brinks armored car guard and two police officers. At her trial, Clark described herself as a freedom fighter and claimed that the Weather Underground was a liberating force. Cuomo seems to have fallen for her claim. After meeting with Clark last year, the governor expressed admiration for her exceptional strides in self-development and gushed like a fanboy about getting a sense of her soul.

Clarks parole board unanimously disagreed and ruled that freeing her would be incompatible with the welfare of society. But the commutation means that she will continue to come up for parole and will likely be freed before her term expires.

Further down the hierarchy are New York City mayor Bill de Blasio and Melissa Mark-Viverito, speaker of the City Council. These two have been trying to outflank each other from the left for years. De Blasio worked for the Sandinistas in the 1980s and honeymooned (illegally) in Cuba in 1994. Mark-Viverito once posted an image of herself photoshopped to look like Che Guevara when running for office.

All New York politicians were presented with an opportunity to differentiate themselves when Barack Obama commuted the sentence of another terrorist who targeted New York: Oscar Lopez Rivera, cofounder and leader of the Puerto Rican separatist Armed Forces of National Liberation (FALN). In the 1970s and 1980s, Riveras FALN conducted over 100 bombings in the U.S. (many in New York City). In 1981 he was captured, tried, and sentenced to 70 years in prison for seditious conspiracy and other terrorism charges.

Rivera is an unrepentant killer. In 1999 Bill Clinton commuted the sentences of 14 FALN terrorists, offering them release on the condition that they renounce violence. Rivera refused and stayed in jail.

After Obama freed Rivera, it was entirely predictable and natural for politicians like Raul Castro and Nicholas Maduro to congratulate him and sing his praises, but not for New York politicians.

Cuomo stayed quiet at first, perhaps stung by unexpected opposition to his Judith Clark commutation. But not de Blasio and Mark-Viverito. Mark-Viverito flew to Puerto Rico to be present when her idol was released from house arrest. She and de Blasio then arranged for Rivera to march in the citys Puerto Rican Day parade on June 11. Adding salt to the wounds, they arranged for Rivera to be honored as a National Freedom Hero by the city he once terrorized.

Cuomo was on board at first, indicating that my inclination would be to march, but early opposition to the very bad idea spooked him, so he balked, absurdly claiming on May 18 that he that had just heard about it, didnt know the facts of the situation and was going to look at the situation.

Opposition grew quickly, with NYC Police Commissioner James ONeill and every police union imaginable refusing to march. When the governor of Puerto Rico, Ricardo Rosello, called for all of the sponsors and anyone to avoid supporting this endeavor, many listened: AT&T, Coca-Cola, Corona, JetBlue, WNBC, Telemundo, Unavision. Even the New York Yankees want nothing to do with this mess.

On June 1, a defiant Rivera wrote an op-ed complaining of misinformation about who I am and what I stand for. Rivera wrote that he will march in the parade not as your honoree, but as a humble Puerto Rican and grandfather.

By June 2, Cuomo had seen enough to make his decision, announcing Im not going to march in any parade that honors a terrorist  Im not going to do it. Had he said so at first, it might have been believable. Timing is everything.

So the parade will go on, as Mark-Viverito put it, to recognize and uplift the legacy of Oscar Lopez Rivera. But the fact that politicians entrusted to protect us from todays terrorists are so prone to romanticize yesterdays terrorists should be deeply concerning to all New Yorkers.

A.J. Caschetta is a Shillman-Ginsburg fellow at the Middle East Forum and a senior lecturer at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
On March 23, 1983, President Ronald Reagan announced his Star Wars initiative (the realname was the Strategic Defense Initiative). The goal was to defend the U.S. from a first-strike attack. Fast forward to 2017, and the U.S. still remains way behind in deploying technology to protect us from nuclear missile attacks.

North Korea has threatened to launch a nuclear weapon at the United States. Fox News reported on May 24, 2017 that if left unchecked -- it is inevitable that North Korea will develop a nuclear device that has intercontinental capabilities. Only a ground-based defense system can protect America from this type of attack on our homeland.

This week, the Trump administration rolled out a budget that increases funding for defense programs to implement a national missile-defense strategy. Defense One reported on May 23, 2017, that Donald Trumps first defense-budget request contains large increases for weapons intended to shoot down North Korean missiles or even attack them on their launchers. Congress will make the decisions on what recommendations they take or reject from the Trump administrations budget, and it is important that they use the money effectively and efficiently to defend the continenetal United States.

Now is the perfect time for Congress to create a solid foreign policy strategy to protect America from missile attacks and right the wrongs of the Obama administration, which obstructed the development of new technology through slow-walking the process. As a result, bureaucrats in Obamas Pentagon were slow and inefficient in getting ground-based defenses deployed. President Trump can fix the bureaucracy problem by allowing contractors to do their job without bureaucrats slowing up the process and creating an atmosphere that leads to technology never being effectively deployed.

In truth, there is only one defense technology made in America that can protect the United States from a North Korean nuclear missile or a missile from another rogue nation. According to a recent study produced by the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS), one superior technology is the GMD (Ground-based Midcourse Defense), produced by Boeing. There are other innovations that are more suited to be placed overseas to protect against attacks on foreign lands like the THAAD and AEGIS systems, but to protect the homeland, the ground-based systems are designed to protect American cities from attack in a safe manner. Some non-ground based systems grab headlines, but the GMD technology is the system that is designed protect the United States from attack in the most effective and efficient manner.

Ground-based technologies are superior because they can intercept ballistic warheads approaching the U.S. from any direction. Given the threat that Kim Jong Un has made public, it would make sense for Washington to focus on funding the ground-based program. The United States faces emerging threats from Iran if the nuclear deal is violated. Additionally, a non-state actor like ISIS could try to launch an attack from abroad at the United States. Dont forget that China and Russia have the capacity to launch an attack via ballistic missiles as well.

To really protect America, our nation needs to invest in technologies that could save the lives of millions of Americans. Right now, we are largely defenseless if North Korea or another bad actor decides to launch an attack on us.

Think about this hypothetical: North Korea engages in a surprise launch of missiles and they get past some of the early defense systems that destroy missiles in their launchers or destroy them when they are in the process of accelerating into the atmosphere. One of the only Pentagon programs that could stop an intercontinental ballistic missile warhead once it is launched and flying is the GMD system. No other current missile program is as capable of that level of defense.

Another benefit of this GMD technology is that it is the only one of its type in the world that can strike enemy missiles in the outer atmosphere, preventing any health effects of a nuclear weapon from reaching the U.S. This is important because if you use a system that detonates a nuclear warhead in the atmosphere of the planet, the health and welfare of the same people you are trying to protect may be in danger.

The time is now to invest in ground-based missile defenses to defend our country from foreign aggressors who have publicly vowed to destroy us. Congress can use the Trump budget submission to help fix the problem while fixing the bureaucracy problem at the Pentagon.
From our file named "Duh." The Alabama Department of Human Resources says 13 counties that reinitiated a work requirement for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the food stamp program, saw an 85% drop in recipients.

The counties had been exempt from the work requirement due to high levels of unemployment. But with the economy recovering, the state of Alabama restarted the work requirement on January 1 this year, which resulted in the massive drop in SNAP participants.

AL.Com:

During the economic downturn of 2011-2013, several states  including Alabama  waived the SNAP work requirements in response to high unemployment. It was reinstituted for 54 counties on Jan. 1, 2016 and for the remaining 13 on Jan. 1, 2017. As of April 2017, the highest jobless rate among the 13 previously excluded counties was in Wilcox County, which reported a state-high unemployment rate of 11.7 percent, down more than 11 percentage points from the county's jobless rate for the same month of 2011. Ending the exemption has dramatically cut the number of SNAP recipients in the counties. As of Jan. 1, 2017, there were 13,663 able-bodied adults without dependents receiving food stamps statewide. That number dropped to 7,483 by May 1, 2017. Among the 13 counties, there were 5,538 adults ages 18-50 without dependents receiving food stamps as of Jan. 1, 2017. That number dropped to 831  a decline of about 85 percent  by May 1, 2017. "Based on the trend, the number of (able-bodied adults without dependents) recipients for SNAP benefits is expected to continue to decline statewide and in the formerly 13 exempted counties," according to Alabama DHR spokesperson John Hardy. Statewide, the number of able-bodied adults receiving food stamps has fallen by almost 35,000 people since Jan. 1, 2016. Each recipient receives about $126 a month in benefits. Nationwide, there are about 44 million people receiving SNAP benefits at a cost of about $71 billion. The Trump administration has vowed to cut the food stamp rolls over the next decade, including ensuring that able-bodied adults recipients are working.

During the Obama administration, the number of SNAP participants nearly doubled  as did the SNAP budget. Certainly, the economic downturn was at least partly to blame for that. But the real culprit in the explosion of SNAP recipients had to do with a radical change in philosophy by the president  a result of his efforts to "transform" America.

As it was originally constituted back in the 1960s, the food stamp program was supposed to help the desperately poor. Gradually, over the years, eligibility requirements were expanded to help Americans who lived at or below the poverty line.

But President Obama turned the SNAP program into a benefit for the middle class. Millions of American families who were previously ineligible for the program received benefits when the federal government told states they could relax rules related to income levels and work requirements.

I have no doubt that some middle-class Americans struggle to put food on the table  especially those who live paycheck to paycheck and find themselves at the end of the month making tough decisions about whether to buy food or some other necessity like medicine. But the sad fact is, many SNAP recipients are either ignorant of or pay little attention to how they spend SNAP food dollars every month. Small changes in the way they shop for food as well as what they eat would go a long way to stretching their food budget to where they wouldn't need the benefit or could make do with a lot less.

Do the Alabama numbers tell us something profound about work and the necessity of government benefits? I have no doubt that they do. It is human nature to take a government benefit being offered with no strings attached. Commonsense eligibility requirements for all programs designed to help the poor would no doubt save tens of billions of dollars and, in the process, shrink the size of government.
If you poll the strongest supporters of Israel and ask them who the most crucial U.S. Cabinet secretary is, most will probably select either the secretary of defense or the secretary of state. The secretary of Agriculture would likely be last on the list.

In the short term, this may be correct. America's own defense and military cooperation with Israel are the most urgent priorities. Yet there is a case to be made that if one is concerned about the long-term health of both America and Israel, Secretary Perdue should be first on the list.

Here's why the agriculture secretary is so crucial. We all know that hardworking rural American families provide the physical sustenance for the nation. And physical sustenance is more than just food. As an example, the rural-based forest products industry is larger than the automobile manufacturing industry and is in the top ten employment sectors in 45 of 50 states.

As important as the nation's physical sustenance is, so is much of the nation's moral sustenance. Vibrant rural American communities generally support traditional values of family, honesty, and hard work. These are the American cornerstones. Rural children enlist in the military to protect America in disproportionate numbers to the rest of the nation. And the same hardworking families who support these values almost always support Israel, as do their representatives in Congress.

Many analysts are predicting the end of rural America. Academics have graphs showing the increasing trend of urbanization. One prediction shows 90% of Americans living in "mega-regions" within the next two decades. Most states are not part of these regions. Some in the environmental community actually are working toward a "wild America" concept, whereby humans will live in the cities, and the rest of the nation will be the playground where animals will roam and people will visit as if on safari. In fact, a bill (the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act) has been introduced to head five states in the northwest in just that direction.

The congressional districts with the largest unequivocal and unwavering support for Israel are districts with no large metropolitan areas  e.g., Colorado's Fifth District, represented by Doug Lamborn, and West Virginia's Second District, represented by Alex Mooney. Strong support for Israel is most often found outside the mega-regions.

In circulating through the crowd at the inauguration, I met people from all over the country. I met an auto parts dealer, a logging trucker, an organic vegetable farmer, and several others, all from small towns. They were thrilled to be in D.C. that day to show their support. They talked to me about their hardworking values and also about their support for Israel.

Secretary Perdue has the opportunity to reverse the demographic trend by strengthening America's rural communities. Those who support traditional American values and Israel would be wise to make sure the secretary is able to make the needed regulatory changes and has the resources to support a vibrant rural America. For the long-term success of America and Israel, Mr. Perdue may be America's most crucial Cabinet member.
It was supposed to be a joyful event for Ms. Yang Shuping, a student from China and newly minted graduate from the University of Maryland. But her young life was turned upside-down when she gave a speech at U.M.'s graduation ceremony on May 21.

In her speech, she praised the fresh air and freedom of speech in the U.S. and contrasted it with her experiences growing up in China: wearing a mask to fight air pollution and passively accepting government-authenticated "truth." After spending four years at UM, she learned that "[f]reedom is oxygen[.] ... Democracy and free speech should not be taken for granted. Democracy and freedom are the fresh air that is worth fighting for."

The video of her speech went viral in China and immediately caused a backlash. Many Chinese netizens called her a "traitor" who was sucking up to Westerners at the expense of belittling her motherland. Many demanded that she apologize. Her home address was posted online, and some Chinese threatened her not to return to China. Powerful state media such as Xinhua News did a special report about air pollution in Kunming, Ms. Yang's home town, trying to discredit her. Even the Chinese government stepped in, with the spokesperson of China's foreign ministry stating that all Chinese should be responsible in their public statements.

Here in the U.S., the Chinese Students and Scholars' Association at U.M. quickly put out a "proud of China" video campaign. Through media interviews and social media postings, many Chinese students in the U.S. shared their fellow citizens' views that Ms. Yang was unpatriotic and she embarrassed herself and her motherland by speaking ill of her country in front of a "biased western crowd." Some Chinese students spoke out to support Ms. Yang, but it seems their rational reaction was drowned out by criticism.

While the cyber-bullying and harsh reaction from China actually proved Ms. Yang's point that there's a lack of freedom of speech in China, I found it more worrisome that some Chinese students in the U.S. joined their fellow citizens' condemnation. Many Chinese students opted for studying in the U.S. for reasons similar to Ms. Yang: escaping air pollution, escaping the grueling gaokao  a three-day national college entrance exam that will determine one's fate forever  seeking academic freedom, or serving as their family's overseas guardian of their wealth that was transferred from China. Many of them choose to live and work in the U.S. after graduation because they believe that the U.S. offers much better opportunities. Many of them end up becoming legal immigrants or even naturalized U.S. citizens.

Yet, contrary to their own life choices, some Chinese students believe they're in the U.S. to represent China, and therefore, their uttermost patriotic duty is to defend China no matter what, even if any negative news about China is true. Some Chinese Students and Scholars Associations on U.S. campuses almost become extensions of Chinese government propaganda. A case in point: The Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) at the University of California, San Diego immediately denounced the university's choice of the Dalai Lama as this year's commencement speaker. The CSSA even sought guidance from the Chinese consulate in Los Angeles. Later, the CSSA issued a statement, saying it would be "firm in boycotting any action taking any form, with unclear motives, that denigrate and belittle Chinese history, that recklessly disseminate provocative and extremely politically hostile discourse, in turn affecting the international image of China." What the CSSA at UCSD didn't realize is that contrary to their belief, it's their action, not the university's decision, that negatively affects China's image. It shows that Chinese citizens do not have the freedom to choose even when they're 7,000 miles away from China.

It seems that some Chinese students fail to make the connection that Ms. Yang was able to make: that the things that attracted them to come and stay in the U.S.  the sweet fresh air they breathe, the academic freedom they enjoy, the better life choices they have, the protection of property they seek  all these, and, to a larger extent, America's enviable wealth and power, are not the result of any government mandate, but the result of the recognition and protection of human freedom and individual rights enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.

China has made great strides in improving people's standard of living in the last thirty years. But the measurement of the greatness of a nation is not how much money people have, but how free people are. If some of these Chinese students were truly patriotic, they wouldn't shut down anyone, including their fellow student's free speech. They wouldn't simply accept Chinese government-sanctioned "truth" without applying critical thinking. They wouldn't self-censor their thoughts before they speak. Instead, they would join in Ms. Yang's declaration that "democracy and freedom are the fresh air that is worth fighting for."
Many readers on this site are probably aware that I am not a fan of Donald Trump. On the other hand, I think I can say with certainty that if thousands of religious fanatics were planning, funding, or sympathizing with murderous attacks against my fellow citizens, my gut response would not be to recommend an immediate travel ban against the president of the United States.

The one area in which I have been most understanding of Trump's appeal from the get-go is his blunt rhetoric about Muslim extremism. Though the issue is complicated, I have even expressed sympathy with his campaign position of a moratorium on all travel to the U.S. from Muslim nations. Whether practical or not, the idea has an undeniable emotional resonance for anyone who is not burying his head in the sand with regard to the nature and goals of Islamic fanaticism.

The logic of a ban on Muslim immigration and travel was spelled out in a syllogism of blood yet again on June 3, as England was hit with its second major terrorist attack in two weeks. And yet part of that nation's tough-talking capitulation to the global caliphate in the face of the latest attack consisted of the mayor of London demanding that a travel ban be issued  no, not against people with ties to Islamic radicals, but against Donald Trump.

"I don't think we should roll out the red carpet to the president of the USA in the circumstances where his policies go against everything we stand for," said Sunni Muslim Mayor Sadiq Khan, in a statement that left some ambiguity about whom he meant by "we." Was he speaking primarily as mayor of London, or as a prominent British Muslim? The last time I checked, Great Britain did not (yet) officially "stand for" the Islamic radicalization of its youth, the precipitous alteration of its demography in favor of Islam as the majority religious practice, or the passive acceptance of semi-regular religious-motivated mass killings in the names of "diversity" and "tolerance."

For what it's worth, genuine tolerance is indeed a modern pluralistic political virtue, and a necessary one. But when Milton and Locke were making their cases for religious tolerance, their precise intention was to quell or moderate religious fanaticism, not to aggrandize and protect it. Tolerance, as a social good, means specifically the refusal to accept violent hatred spewed in the name of faith, within the context of a modern political community.

England's government, and by implication the majority of its voting public, has shifted to a very different, almost diametrically opposed, understanding of tolerance, according to which tolerance means "learning to live with" a certain amount of violent religious fanaticism in one's midst, in the names of progressivism, multiculturalism, and kumbaya.

And so, even after his own city has been assailed by sincere and fanatical representatives of his own faith, Mayor Khan's instinct is not to condemn the fanatical strain of his faith, or to express shame on behalf of the moderate practitioners of his faith, but rather to demand that the American president be officially branded intolerant for his condemnation of the killers and their religious ilk.

In the face of yet another reminder of the suicidal results of his city's and nation's distorted tolerance of, and apologies for, fanaticism in their mosques, their neighborhoods, and their popular "culture," the mayor does not call for harsh action against radicalizing imams who sell their intolerant, anti-Western root rot in London on a daily basis, but rather wishes to ban a popular critic of such radicalism from setting foot in his country.

The sinking of a once very noble ship of state continues with no sign of rescue in sight.

Daren Jonescu writes about politics, philosophy, education, and the decline of civilization at http://darenjonescu.com.
After weeks of promising to march in the annual Puerto Rican Day parade despite the fact that the person being honored is a convicted terrorist bomber, New York mayor Bill de Blasio now says he would have backed out and not participated.

His announcement comes after the terrorist, FALN bomber Oscar Lopez Rivera, declined the invitation to be honored.

New York Daily News:

After weeks of promising to march in the Puerto Rican Day Parade even if it honored Oscar Lopez Rivera, Mayor de Blasio insisted Monday that he was simply being "diplomatic" in public. Lopez Rivera declined the honor of "National Freedom Hero" last week  and now de Blasio says he'd told the parade committee that if the FALN leader remained an honoree, he wouldn't have been part of the parade. "I made clear to them that I was uncomfortable with the situation, and I wanted them to resolve it, and really believed they could resolve it," de Blasio said at a press conference in Queens. "But if it wasn't resolved, I wasn't going to (be) comfortable being a part of it." That certainly wasn't what de Blasio said publicly when asked repeatedly, at length, about Lopez Rivera. "Sometimes to get something done you hold your tongue in public," he said. But de Blasio hadn't exactly kept his lips zipped  he spoke at length about the parade, insisting he'd march even as others like Gov. Cuomo and Police Commissioner James O'Neill vowed to stay away, deeming Lopez Rivera a "terrorist." "I have made my views known to the parade committee. You guys had asked me different questions, I had been, diplomatic let's say, in the answering of those questions because I believed the parade committee was seriously trying to grapple with the issue and I wanted to give them some space to do it," de Blasio said today. "I'm very happy that Mr. Lopez Rivera has declined the honor," he continued. "I don't think it should have been offered to him. I think it's good that he declined it because it was entirely distracting to the issue at hand which is Puerto Rico."

In the annals of political double-talk, de Blasio's statement ranks right up there.

It's nice that de Blasio could be so "diplomatic" when discussing his participation in a parade honoring a convicted terrorist. We wouldn't want him to be "undiplomatic" and do the right thing by declining the invitation immediately and without reservation.

Just whom does de Blasio think he would be "offending" if he wasn't "diplomatic"? Most Puerto Ricans have disavowed Rivera's tactics and his actions, although he is admired for being a patriot. President Obama's pandering clemency of Rivera was to be expected, given his radical views, but it's a mystery why de Blasio would have risked embracing Rivera's notoriety.

If nothing else, de Blasio's blatant pandering shows the futility of trying to please ethnic and racial minorities, regardless of the circumstances. In four referenda on the subject of Puerto Rican independence, a majority have always voted to remain with the U.S. Another referendum is set for this coming Sunday, where, once again, Puerto Ricans are expected to solidly reject independence for the island.

In the end, de Blasio's pandering was unnecessary and embarrassing.
Another "known wolf" terrorist, this time in Melbourne, Australia, as a man well known to police as a violent extremist, took a prostitute hostage after killing her bodyguard. The man, Yacqub Khayre, held off police for two hours before coming out of an apartment building firing a shotgun. He was immediately gunned down by police after slightly wounding two officers.

Khayre had been acquitted in 2010 of planning a suicide attack on an Australian military base. He was later sent to prison on an assault charge and was paroled last December 8. The GPS monitoring device he was supposed to wear was disabled  a fact the police did not realize until the hostage standoff began.

ABC News:

Khayre, a Somali refugee, has an extensive and violent criminal record. He was sentenced in 2012 to 5 ? years in prison on convictions including aggravated burglary after beating a woman in her home. He was initially denied parole after serving a minimum three years but was released on Dec. 8, Deputy Police Commissioner Shane Patton said. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said he would speak with state leaders Friday about changing state laws so that dangerous criminals are not released from prison early on parole. "There have been too many cases of people on parole committing violent offenses of this kind," Turnbull told reporters. Police said Khayre booked an appointment on Monday with an escort in an apartment building in Brighton and arrived carrying a sawed-off shotgun, sparking a 2-hour siege. Police were called after neighbors heard the shotgun discharge as Khayre killed a Chinese-born Australian man employed by the escort agency in the lobby. Khayre then called police to say he had a hostage in an apartment and made threats to her if police intervened. They tried to negotiate with him before Khayre walked out of the building firing the shotgun. One police officer was shot in the neck and ear and two officers suffered wounds to their hands, but none of the wounds was life-threatening, Ashton said. The woman, a 36-year-old Columbian [sic: ABC must mean 'Colombian' ed.] national, was bound during her ordeal and had been "very significantly traumatized," Patton said. But she had not been physically harmed. Khayre spoke about al-Qaida in phone calls to police and to Seven Network television, and Ashton said the gunman may have plotted to lure police into an ambush. But it was too early to know if the gunman set out to target police or "seized the opportunity he thought was presented to him," Ashton said. Ashton said there was nothing to link the violence with a van and knife attacks in London in which three assailants killed seven people. Police did not regard the Islamic State group's claim of responsibility for the Melbourne violence as evidence that it was planned.

Just who is it that authorities in Western countries are watching if not known violent extremists? Why do the people they place a low priority on as far as keeping track of their whereabouts and what they might be up to end up killing innocent people?

Why is it a "surprise" when it happens?

The exact same situation existed in Great Britain. At least one of the London terrorists was well known to authorities for violent tendencies and extremist views. It seems that every "known wolf" terrorist  including the Tsarnaev brothers in the U.S., whom the FBI were well aware of  is somehow able to evade close scrutiny until he ends up on the evening news having murdered innocents.

This is not an argument to watch everybody. But clearly, the monitoring system currently in place is horribly deficient, and before we can get a handle on these isolated terror attacks, the system is going to have to change.
A New York Post article on the London Bridge terrorist attack points to the results of an unarmed police force and a disarmed populace:

A rookie London transit cop was stabbed in the face while bravely fighting off the London Bridge terrorists with only his baton  and a baker beat back one of the fiends with a bread basket, authorities and the chef said Sunday.

Such heroic acts in the face of mortal danger "were among several to emerge Sunday in the wake of the deadly onslaught," the Post notes. Thesun.co.uk adds the poignant account of a barman "launching bar stools, bottles and glasses" at knife-wielding assailants in the midst of the carnage.

So the terrorists are armed with all manner of bombs and guns; box-cutters; and, in recent attacks, trucks and knives. London police, including the severely wounded rookie transit cop, are armed with, for the most part, batons and bravery. British citizens are armed with...bread baskets.

Various news accounts have reported that it took eight minutes for armed police to arrive at London Bridge and kill the three terrorists involved at the scene. On the one hand, the armed police rapid response team is "rightly being heralded for the speed, courage and effectiveness of its members in ending a terrorist atrocity." On the other hand, the police already patrolling the area were apparently unarmed, like most London police officers, as nbcnews.com observes:

Last year  when Brits watched terrorists strike France, Germany and Belgium  London's police chief warned it was a case of "when, not if" the U.K. joined that list. And yet more than 90 percent of the capital's police officers carry out their daily duties without a gun. Most rely on other tools to keep their city safe: canisters of mace, handcuffs, batons and occasionally stun-guns. This is no accident. The Metropolitan Police, which covers most of London, was founded in 1829 on the principle of "policing by consent" rather than by force. Giving everyday police officers guns sends the wrong message to communities, so this thinking goes, and can actually cause more problems than it solves.

Such thinking is explained by one British police commissioner:

The British policing way ... is that we're part of the public. A firearm ... puts a barrier between people and the police.

How about a barrier between police and terrorists? According to an account posted in the wake of the weekend attacks, there may be as many as 23,000 "potential UK-based terrorists on the radar of the British security services."

Further complicating the arming of British police officers is the fact that all British police shootings are referred to an outside agency, the Independent Police Complaints Commission, for investigation, with the result that many British police officers are fearful of "being dragged through years of lengthy investigations in the unlikely event they have to use their weapon," having "seen what happens to their colleagues who have had to use lethal force to protect the public."

Even after an increase last year in the number of armed officers in London by 600, to a total of 2,800, less than 10 percent of London's police officers carry a gun on "their daily duties," relying instead on armed rapid response teams for worst-case terrorism events.

By way of comparison, the New York City Police Department alone has some 36,000 armed police officers.

As would be expected from a liberal news outlet, nbcnews.com also notes that "it's easier for police to remain unarmed if civilians do the same." Fewer than four out of 100 people in Great Britain owns a firearm, according to NBC, while "there is more than one gun per person" in the U.S.

Coincidentally, the day before Saturday's U.K. terrorism attack, the NRA posted an article about gun ownership in Essex County, England, which is adjacent to, and northeast of, the greater London area:

Earlier this week, the UK's Basildon Standard reported that Essex County, England has roughly 69,000 registered firearms that are owned by approximately 22,000 certified gun owners. Essex is home to about 1.74 million residents. Given these figures, approximately 1.26 percent of Essex's population owns firearms.

The Standard's article questions whether those 69,000 firearms are "far too many" and quotes a local resident who says, "For me, any amount of guns above zero is too many."

Stringent gun laws in the U.K., including a ban on privately owned handguns, among other things, apparently aren't enough for some U.K. authorities. Therein lies a lesson for gun owners in the U.S., with the NRA article observing that the British government's "ceaseless calls for further gun control [are] instructive, as it demonstrates that there is no point at which gun control supporters will conclude their attack on gun ownership."

The American approach to self-defense is the antithesis to that of the U.K., with Paul Bedard at washingtonexaminer.com observing that recent terror attacks "are pushing gun sales into record territory just months after predictions that the election of a pro-gun president would end the rush."

Bedard quotes a North Carolina gun store source:

We are continuing to see brisk sales of self-defense and concealed carry firearms. We're also continuing to see new gun buyers. ... People are nervous about their safety, and rightly so. It's a dangerous world we live in and American citizens know that we're not immune to terrorist attacks. They're taking the necessary steps to defend themselves. Frankly, the most recent terrorist attack in London underscores the importance of an armed populace.

Megan G. Oprea, writing at thefederalist.com on "politicians downplaying terrorism," notes that our politicians "know that their weak platitudes can't stop terrorism, and so do the people."

That's why Americans don't rely on bread baskets for self-defense.
Breitbart is claimed to have fired reporter Katie McHugh after she tweeted the following:

"There would be no deadly terror attacks in the U.K. if Muslims didn't live there. #LondonBridge," Ms. McHugh wrote in a tweet still pinned to the top of her timeline.

Breitbart did not come out and say, "Hey, we fired Katie for this tweet," but Katie maintains that this is why she was let go.

McHugh herself confirmed she was out, tweeting, "Breitbart News fired me for telling the truth about Islam and Muslim immigration[.]" McHugh's comments prompted outrage from a number of her own colleagues. Breitbart employees who spoke to CNN Sunday characterized McHugh's remarks as "appalling," "terrible," and "dumb." [McHugh, talking about herself in the third person, said] Breitbart News fired an editor for speaking frankly about Islam and Muslim immigration. If there were no Muslims in London, there would be no Muslim terror attacks, period.

Katie's statement about Muslim terror attacks, while blunt, is absolutely true. On the one hand, if there were no Muslims in the U.K., 99% of terrorism would be eliminated.

What Breitbart probably found uncomfortable about this statement is that it implies that all Muslims are terrorists.

All Muslims are not terrorists.

However, a small percentage of Muslims definitely are terrorists, and an alarming percentage of Muslims sympathize with terrorists. Forgive me for repeating things you probably already know:

1) Forty percent of Muslims want sharia law in the U.K. Sharia is not terrorism per se, but it is a repressive rule that oppresses women and non-Muslims.

2) Twenty-five percent of Muslims expressed sympathy for 7/7 terrorist bombers.

3) Twenty-seven percent of British Muslims do not support the deportation of Islamic extremists preaching violence and hate.

4) Twenty-five percent of British Muslims disagree that a Muslim has an obligation to report terrorists to police.

5) Forty-five percent of British Muslims agree that clerics preaching violence against the West represent "mainstream Islam."

6) One in four young Muslims in Britain (and 1 in 5 overall) said they sympathize with those who fight for ISIS.

7) Two in three Muslims in Britain would not report terror plots to police.

And these were just the individuals willing to admit it to pollsters. The real numbers of Islamist supporters is probably higher.

So the problem is not simply the undeniably deadly fraction of 1% who kill; it is also their larger support group, a substantial percentage of the Muslim population. For every terrorist attack you hear about, there are hundreds of less reported incidents of Muslims beating up people, of Muslims committing violent crimes. The Muslims have their own "no go" zones that police do not venture into, but Muslims do venture out of them. That's why many Jewish people are fleeing the United Kingdom  because they don't feel safe anymore.

In light of that, Katie's comments are entirely reasonable. As enlightened people, we cringe at the idea of painting with a broad brush and labeling an entire people. I for one have encountered individual Muslims who are very nice people. But some significant portion of the Muslim population in England, as in other Western countries, is part of the problem.

Breitbart probably feared that its British operations would be in jeopardy if Katie had not been fired, that it would be banned like Michael Savage. If Katie had written a more nuanced message, writing what I have above, perhaps it would have been different (or perhaps not). But until more and more of us talk about the problem in the Muslim community, the problem will only get worse, and it's sad that Breitbart of all sources would kowtow to this sort of political correctness. It's little better than watching the prime minister of Great Britain talk about the need to better patrol Facebook pages and "confront extremism" without talking about the elephant in the room.

Ed Straker is the senior writer at NewsMachete.com.
New York Times public editor Liz Spayd's tenure ended on Friday, June 2  along with the post of public editor. The Times' reported elimination of the public editor position in a June 1 article accompanies news that buyouts had been offered to "newsroom employees"  mainly for editors, but reporters could also apply. The buyout offer was announced in a memo that reportedly  and ominously  warned of layoffs if there were not enough buyout volunteers.

The memo explained the purpose of the buyout as follows: "Our goal is to significantly shift the balance of editor to reporters at the Times, giving us more on-the-ground journalists developing original work than ever before[.]" (Apparently, salaries for reporters are somewhat lower than compensation for editors.)

The story went on to report a recent 18-percent drop in print ad revenue "in the most recent quarter causing an overall decline in advertising revenue of 7 percent." The story quickly noted "the second straight quarter of record-breaking subscriber growth, with 276,00 new digital-only subscriptions," bringing to 2.2 million the number of such subscriptions. In the preceding paragraph, the article claimed a "net gain of 308,000 digital-only subscriptions in the most recent quarter, the largest number for any quarter in [Times] history." How does the 276,000 figure correlate to the 308,000? Well, one thing is certain: we can't ask the public editor to help with the answer.

Was Liz Spayd too naive in her April 23 column supporting the hiring of Bret Stephens as a Times columnist? Did she go too far in seeing the Stephens hire as indication that Times employment is not limited to persons holding "liberal orthodoxy of thought"? Ms. Spayd also suggested that "[t]he Times and other news media" are oblivious "to a swelling despair in Middle America." She continued: "Now, as the 100-day mark of the Trump administration approaches, it's time to ask: Is the Times following through on its promise to put an outstretched hand toward Red America? And, just as crucially, are readers ready for it?"

Ms. Spayd acknowledged that the hiring of former Wall Street Journal columnist Bret Stephens as a Times columnist "produced a fiery revolt among readers and left-leaning critics." She continued, "The Stephens episode touches the third rail of a debate surfacing as The Times looks to include a wider range of views, not just on the Opinion pages but in its news columns."

Either Spayd was fooling herself or the publisher and his executive editor decided they could no longer abide such naivete. Yes, Stephens is "conservative," but he is a staunch #NeverTrump conservative. (Perhaps the Wall Street Journal was insufficiently anti-Trump for Stephens.) The Times would never give space to anyone who threatened to blot the pages of The Gray Lady with pro-Trump opinion.

The Times is certainly no longer a great newspaper. Indeed, it can no longer be considered a newspaper in the sense of 20th-century journalistic tradition. The New York Times has been transformed into a major propaganda organ for the Democratic Party and the cause of authoritarian leftism, which now oppose outcomes of presidential elections when Democrats lose. And so, the nation is presently in the grip of a Democrat-leftist campaign to overturn the results of the 2016 presidential election by hook and by crook, by deceit, by disinformation, by deception, because the "wrong" candidate was elected by the voters. And the left and its intelligence allies claim that the Russians are undermining our democracy!

Of what use is a public editor to deal with complaints about the vicious partisanship that emanates from every section of the Times, when such vicious partisanship has become the raison d'etre of a publisher who has traduced the tradition of journalistic objectivity that once was thought to be sacrosanct at the Times? To imagine a public editor at the New York Times today, one might as well imagine a public editor at Pravda in the days of the former Soviet Union.
In the great Indian epic of Ramayana, penned several thousand years ago, author Valmiki speaks of a bridge over the ocean connecting India and Sri Lanka. The epic poem, that stretches for nearly 24,000 verses, narrates the life of the divine prince Rama and his struggle to rescue his abducted wife Sita from the demon king Ravana, the ruler of Sri Lanka.

Rama, the crown prince, was forced to relinquish his right to the throne and go into exile for fourteen years. During his stay in the forest, his wife Sita was abducted by the evil demon king Ravana and taken to Sri Lanka. Rama organized an army consisting of monkeys and led them to Sri Lanka, where a lengthy war broke out. In the end, Ravana was defeated, and Rama returned home with his wife to be crowned king.

In the story, when Ramas army reaches the ocean across which lies the island of Sri Lanka, the apes construct a floating bridge across the sea by writing the name of Rama on the stones and tossing them into the water. According to the legend, the stones didnt sink because they had Rama's name written on them. Ramas army then used the bridge to cross the sea towards Sri Lanka.

If you look at satellite photos of this region today, you will notice a faint hint of a connecting strip between the two countries. This so called Rama's Bridge or Rama Setu, also known as Adams Bridge, is a long, twisting stretch of shoal and sandbank connecting the Indian island of Rameswaram, off the southeastern coast of Tamil Nadu, to Mannar Island, off the northwestern coast of Sri Lanka. The bridge is about 50 km long. Much of it is under water today, but centuries ago, it formed an intermittent, but otherwise solid, connecting link between India and Sri Lanka. The causeway existed as late as the 15th century and was passable on foot, as per records kept at the Rameswaram temple, until it was flooded in a storm.

The existence of the bridge has been known in India as well as Sri Lanka since ages, as evident from the legend perpetuated by the ancient epic of Ramayana. For as long as anybody could remember, the sea separating the two countries has been called Sethusamudram meaning "Sea of the Bridge". The 9th century Persian geographer, Ibn Khordadbeh, mentioned the bridge in his Book of Roads and Kingdoms, referring to it is Set Bandhai or "Bridge of the Sea". The name Adams Bridge is an early-19th-century British invention a reference to an Abrahamic myth that Adam used the bridge to cross from Sri Lanka to India.

Ramas army of monkeys building the stone bridge to Sri Lanka.

Many orthodox Hindus consider the existence of the bridge to be an unshakable proof of Ramayana itself, and the stories described in it. Pseudo-scientists, conspiracy theorist, and theologians believe that the bridge was actually built by Rama and his army of monkeys. When a NASA photograph of the region showing a meandering causeway disappearing into the distance was released in 2002, online conspiracy theorists went off on a wild goose chase trying to prove it was a man-made structure.

Although geologists have repeatedly tried to debunk the myth, there is still a diverse range of opinion and confusion about the nature and origin of this structure. There are some half a dozen different theories that attempt to explain the structure. One attributes it to continuous sand deposition and the natural process of sedimentation leading to the formation of a chain of barrier islands, while another suggest that the bridge may be an old shoreline, implying that the two landmasses of India and Sri Lanka were once connected. Studies have variously described the structure as a chain of shoals, coral reefs, a ridge formed in the region owing to thinning of the earth's crust, a double tombolo, a sand spit, or barrier islands.

Things got a little heated when the Government of India proposed dredging through Rama's Bridge in order to create a shipping route in the shallow straits between India and Sri Lanka. Right now, ships trying to move between India's west and east coasts have to go around Sri Lanka. A long deepwater channel connecting the Palk Strait with the Gulf of Mannar would cut over 400 km off the voyage saving both time and money. But ultra-right wing Hindu organizations strongly opposed the project saying that the bridge is a religious monument and should not be destroyed.

The project is currently on hold, but for more coherent reasons. Environmentalists say that dredging a channel would destroy corals, while also harming the fishing reserve in the area, throwing the ecology in the region off balance. Besides, the sandbank provides natural protection against tsunami waves traveling from the east to the west coast and vice versa. The government is now considering an alternate route that doesnt involve destroying Rama's Bridge.

A carved stone relief at Prambanan Temple, on the island of Java in Indonesia, shows monkeys helping Rama by bringing stones for building the bridge. Photo credit: Margery H. Freeman

Aerial view of Adam's Bridge, taken while flying over Sri Lanka looking west. Photo credit: PlaneMad/Wikimedia

Landsat 7 Imagery of Adam's Bridge. Photo credit: NASA

Sources: Wikipedia / Srilanka.travel / Ian Chadwick
Vladimir Putin is playing things by the book: this book

Is Vladimir Putin following a book, namely The Foundations of Geopolitics: The Geopolitical Future of Russia by Aleksandr Dugin, aka Putins Brain. You can read it on Wikipedia:

The book declares that the battle for the world rule of [ethnic] Russians has not ended and Russia remains the staging area of a new anti-bourgeois, anti-American revolution. The Eurasian Empire will be constructed on the fundamental principle of the common enemy: the rejection of Atlanticism, strategic control of the USA, and the refusal to allow liberal values to dominate us.

The United Kingdom should be cut off from Europe.

Ukraine should be annexed by Russia because Ukraine as a state has no geopolitical meaning, no particular cultural import or universal significance, no geographic uniqueness, no ethnic exclusiveness, its certain territorial ambitions represents an enormous danger for all of Eurasia and, without resolving the Ukrainian problem, it is in general senseless to speak about continental politics.

The book stresses the continental Russian-Islamic alliance which lies at the foundation of anti-Atlanticist strategy. The alliance is based on the traditional character of Russian and Islamic civilization.

Russia should use its special services within the borders of the United States to fuel instability and separatism, for instance, provoke Afro-American racists. Russia should introduce geopolitical disorder into internal American activity, encouraging all kinds of separatism and ethnic, social and racial conflicts, actively supporting all dissident movements  extremist, racist, and sectarian groups, thus destabilizing internal political processes in the U.S. It would also make sense simultaneously to support isolationist tendencies in American politics.

Spotter: Kottke

Anorak

Posted: 6th, June 2017 | In: Books, Politicians Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
(ANSA) - Rome, June 6 - Immediately after he was arrested at Bologna airport in March 2016, Italian authorities put the name of the third London terror attacker, Youssef Zaghba, on the international intelligence circuit, sources said Tuesday.

An investigation established that he was not dangerous enough to be arrested, they said.

But his name, like that of dozens of others, was flagged in the circuit because he was deemed at risk of radicalisation.

London's Metropolitan Police told Italian authorities of Zaghba's involvement in Saturday's attack at and near London Bridge that killed seven people, sources said.

Since then there has been a continual exchange of information between British and Italian authorities, with the support of the whole anti-terrorism apparatus.

Born in Fez, Morocco, in January 1995, Youssef Zaghba is the son of a Moroccan naturalised Italian and an Italian woman who converted to Islam.

He grew up in Morocco where he stayed until he was 20.

Zaghba was on the roll of Italians resident abroad (AIRE) of the town of Valsamoggia near Bologna, Mayor Daniele Ruscigno said.

"The family was resident in a hamlet at Castello di Serravalle. They were in Morocco for many years and the young man can only have returned while travelling between Morocco, where he lived, and London," the mayor said.

"He never actually lived here".

Ruscigno said "the only member of the family who lived here was the mother, who had not been seen for a while. She too lived abroad for some time. We had received no information on the son precisely because he lived abroad." Zaghba's father is said to be in Morocco.

After his arrest in March 2016, when he was trying to leave for Turkey, Zaghba came back to Bologna twice, for two or three days at a time, to visit his mother, police said.

He was being monitored by Italian police and intelligence, sources said.

The mother, 68, was convinced her son was working in London, and did not know about any other initiatives on his part, sources said.

The mother was quizzed yesterday, when she said she was worried because her son had not been in touch with her, sources said. When he was stopped at Bologna airport, the woman begged police not to let him leave because she was worried about "strange" talk from him.


(ANSA) - Rome, June 6 - Immediately after he was arrested at Bologna airport in March 2016, Italian authorities put the name of the third London terror attacker, Youssef Zaghba, on the international intelligence circuit, sources said Tuesday.

An investigation established that he was not dangerous enough to be arrested, they said.

But his name, like that of dozens of others, was flagged in the circuit because he was deemed at risk of radicalisation.

London's Metropolitan Police told Italian authorities of Zaghba's involvement in Saturday's attack at and near London Bridge that killed seven people, sources said.

Since then there has been a continual exchange of information between British and Italian authorities, with the support of the whole anti-terrorism apparatus.

Born in Fez, Morocco, in January 1995, Youssef Zaghba is the son of a Moroccan naturalised Italian and an Italian woman who converted to Islam.

He grew up in Morocco where he stayed until he was 20.

Zaghba was on the roll of Italians resident abroad (AIRE) of the town of Valsamoggia near Bologna, Mayor Daniele Ruscigno said.

"The family was resident in a hamlet at Castello di Serravalle. They were in Morocco for many years and the young man can only have returned while travelling between Morocco, where he lived, and London," the mayor said.

"He never actually lived here".

Ruscigno said "the only member of the family who lived here was the mother, who had not been seen for a while. She too lived abroad for some time. We had received no information on the son precisely because he lived abroad." Zaghba's father is said to be in Morocco.

After his arrest in March 2016, when he was trying to leave for Turkey, Zaghba came back to Bologna twice, for two or three days at a time, to visit his mother, police said.

He was being monitored by Italian police and intelligence, sources said.

The mother, 68, was convinced her son was working in London, and did not know about any other initiatives on his part, sources said.

The mother was quizzed yesterday, when she said she was worried because her son had not been in touch with her, sources said. When he was stopped at Bologna airport, the woman begged police not to let him leave because she was worried about "strange" talk from him.

Zaghba had been "technically" resident in Italy for about a year when he helped the other two carry out the London attack, sources said.

His aunt by marriage Franca Lambertini said he was a "good lad, who didn't talk much".

Anti-immigrant Northern League leader Matteo Salvini said "one of the London terrorists was Italian, they confiscated his cellphone where there were hymns to ISIS and Holy War but a judge didn't deem him dangerous enough so he went to London and did what he did".


(ANSA) - Bologna, June 6 - The third terrorist involved in Saturday's attack in London has been identified as Youssef Zaghba, an Italian-Moroccan. Zaghba was held at Bologna airport in March 2016 as he was about to take a flight to Istanbul. He had only a small backpack, a passport and a one-way ticket, suspicious circumstances that led to him being stopped. The man's mother, who reportedly still lives in the province of Bologna, was contacted. At the time, terror prosecutor Valter Giovannini was alerted and intervened to stop the young man embarking. Police seized his passport, cellphone and PC at his home where a search was made but no "particular elements" emerged apart from some religious documents, downloaded from extremist sites. The young man, who missed the flight, was then released. After the episode in Bologna Zaghba was monitored by Italian intelligence and was said to have spent short periods of time in Italy, visiting friends and family. For much of the time he travelled between Morocco and the UK. After the Bologna arrest Italian intelligence services sent a note to British ones.

Immediately after he was arrested at Bologna airport in March 2016, Italian authorities put the name of Zaghba, on the international intelligence circuit, sources said Tuesday.

An investigation established that he was not dangerous enough to be arrested, they said.

But his name, like that of dozens of others, was flagged in the circuit because he was deemed at risk of radicalisation.

London's Metropolitan Police told Italian authorities of Zaghba's involvement in Saturday's attack at and near London Bridge that killed seven people, sources said.

Since then there has been a continual exchange of information between British and Italian authorities, with the support of the whole anti-terrorism apparatus.

Born in Fez, Morocco, in January 1995, Youssef Zaghba is the son of a Moroccan naturalised Italian and an Italian woman who converted to Islam.

He grew up in Morocco where he stayed until he was 20.

Zaghba was on the roll of Italians resident abroad (AIRE) of the town of Valsamoggia near Bologna, Mayor Daniele Ruscigno said.

"The family was resident in a hamlet at Castello di Serravalle. They were in Morocco for many years and the young man can only have returned while travelling between Morocco, where he lived, and London," the mayor said.

"He never actually lived here".

Ruscigno said "the only member of the family who lived here was the mother, who had not been seen for a while. She too lived abroad for some time. We had received no information on the son precisely because he lived abroad." Zaghba's father is said to be in Morocco.

After his arrest in March 2016, when he was trying to leave for Turkey, Zaghba came back to Bologna twice, for two or three days at a time, to visit his mother, police said.

He was being monitored by Italian police and intelligence, sources said.

The mother, 68, was convinced her son was working in London, and did not know about any other initiatives on his part, sources said.

The mother was quizzed yesterday, when she said she was worried because her son had not been in touch with her, sources said. When he was stopped at Bologna airport, the woman begged police not to let him leave because she was worried about "strange" talk from him.
(ANSA) - Rome, June 6 - Immediately after he was arrested at Bologna airport in March 2016, Italian authorities put the name of the third London terror attacker, Youssef Zaghba, on the international intelligence circuit, sources said Tuesday.

An investigation established that he was not dangerous enough to be arrested, they said.

But his name, like that of dozens of others, was flagged in the circuit because he was deemed at risk of radicalisation.

London's Metropolitan Police told Italian authorities of Zaghba's involvement in Saturday's attack at and near London Bridge that killed seven people, sources said.

Since then there has been a continual exchange of information between British and Italian authorities, with the support of the whole anti-terrorism apparatus.

Born in Fez, Morocco, in January 1995, Youssef Zaghba is the son of a Moroccan naturalised Italian and an Italian woman who converted to Islam.

He grew up in Morocco where he stayed until he was 20.

Zaghba was on the roll of Italians resident abroad (AIRE) of the town of Valsamoggia near Bologna, Mayor Daniele Ruscigno said.

"The family was resident in a hamlet at Castello di Serravalle. They were in Morocco for many years and the young man can only have returned while travelling between Morocco, where he lived, and London," the mayor said.

"He never actually lived here".

Ruscigno said "the only member of the family who lived here was the mother, who had not been seen for a while. She too lived abroad for some time. We had received no information on the son precisely because he lived abroad." Zaghba's father is said to be in Morocco.

After his arrest in March 2016, when he was trying to leave for Turkey, Zaghba came back to Bologna twice, for two or three days at a time, to visit his mother, police said.

He was being monitored by Italian police and intelligence, sources said.

The mother, 68, was convinced her son was working in London, and did not know about any other initiatives on his part, sources said.

The mother was quizzed yesterday, when she said she was worried because her son had not been in touch with her, sources said. When he was stopped at Bologna airport, the woman begged police not to let him leave because she was worried about "strange" talk from him.

Zaghba had been "technically" resident in Italy for about a year when he helped the other two carry out the London attack, sources said.

His aunt by marriage Franca Lambertini said he was a "good lad, who didn't talk much".


GENEVA - In total 71,418 migrants and refugees have arrived in Europe by sea since the start of the year and 1,650 people are known to have died during the crossing, according to he latest International Organisation for Migration (IOM) figures (updated to June 4) released on Tuesday.



Approximately 85% of arrivals (60,388) were registered in Italy and the rest in Greece (7,443), Cyprus and Spain. This compares to 206,790 arrivals (of which 156,782 in Greece) and 2,512 deaths in the same period last year.






NAPLES - Greek tragedies with a contemporary twist will star at the ''Pompeii Theatrum Mundi'', the first edition of a four-year-project kicking off on June 22 at the Grand Theater of the archaeological site.

The project was created in cooperation with the theater Teatro Stabile in Naples and the Archeological park in Pompeii and will bring to the Grand Theater the first cycle of ancient dramaturgy with five great performances through July 23.

Massimo Osanna, the director general of the archaeological park of Pompeii said that ''since 2014 the scenes of the Grand Theater have been handed back to the international public, where the event of Naples' Teatro Stabile becomes part of the setting in a natural way. In celebrating and letting the public experience the unique and sacred nature of these sights, Pompeii once again becomes a laboratory of art and culture, a world stage open to tradition and innovation''.

Texts by Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Seneca ''will be represented - explained Luca Fusco, director of the Teatro Stabile in Naples - in the place where they were likely represented in Roman times. A place that is not neutral but with a strong character and fascination, an element of theatrical narration''.

Events kick off on June 22 with Aeschylus' Oresteia and eye Africa with six performances on June 30-July 6. The first is the diptych directed by Massimo Luconi ''Prometheus by Sophocles'' with Senegalese musicians and an installation on the stage by a Senegalese artist. ''Antigone. An African story'' is in French, by Senegalese director Jean Anouilh, which sets it in contemporary Africa.

The performance ends a three-year-long project in Senegal including laboratories to form young Senegalese artists in theater. Six professional actors from Senegal will be joined by non-professional actors residing in Italy for the choir. The cycle continues with The Bacchae by Euripides and Phaedra (Seneca).
Morocco refuses to consign Syrians to Algerian delegation Refugee families stuck on border for two months

(ANSAmed) - ALGIERS, JUNE 6 - Morocco has refused to consign 42 families of Syrian refugees stuck on the border with Algeria to an international delegation, Algerian media reported on Tuesday.



The families have been living in allegedy "catastrophic" humanitarian conditions in Figuig, some 550 km from the capital Rabat, for around two months. The Moroccan authorities refused to hand them over to a diplomatic delegation led by Algeria and accompanied by representatives of the Red Crescent, Red Cross and UNHCR. It is not known whether the families have now been moved to another part of the country or have left Figuig voluntarily. (the photo, taken in 2015, shows a group of Moroccans in Rabat paying homage to the Syrian toddler Aylan Kurdi, who drowned in Turkey). (ANSAmed).




Syria: Sana and NGOs, 12 killed in coalition's raid on Raqqa

(ANSAmed) - BEIRUT, JUNE 6 - A reported 12 civilians have been killed in air raids carried out by the US-led coalition against ISIS on Raqqa, a stronghold of the ' Islamic State' in northern Syria, according to Syrian government agency Sana and UK-based monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human rights, which is close to the oppositions.



The air bombing and artillery campaign intensified over the past few days to help Kurdish-Syrian forces, led by the local wing of the PKK, advance towards Raqqa, which is surrounded on three sides. Last Friday, according to Sana, dozens of people were killed in the Coalition's air raids. The reports cannot be independently verified on the ground. (ANSAmed).




BEIRUT - Kurdish-Syrian militias have entered the urban part of Raqqa, anti-ISIS activists in contact with family members who have remained in the city under Kurdish siege on three sides, have told ANSA.

According to the sources, the Syrian wing of the PKK supported by the US is advancing in the district of Mashlab towards the industrial city and the ancient walls of Raqqa enclosing the historic center.

The sources said that Kurdish forces will advance much more slowly in the densely populated urban areas, compared to progress registered since last November and carried out in scarcely populated rural areas.

The Euphrates river is south of the Kurdish offensive, preventing jihadists and civilians from fleeing. Bridges over the Euphrates were bombed and destroyed by the anti-ISIS US-led coalition over the past few months.

In the meantime, an air raid carried out by the US-led coalition on a school hosting displaced people in eastern Raqqa, an ISIS stronghold in northern Syria, caused an unspecified number of civilian victims, sources told ANSA on Tuesday.



The strike on the school hosting displaced people occurred in the eastern Mashlab district, targeted since this morning by an offensive of Kurdish-Syrian militias supported by the US. The report cannot be independently verified on the ground.






Turkey: 47 arrest warrants in 2 ministries over 'Gulen ties' Police op ongoing against suspects who used 'putschist app'

(ANSAmed) - ISTANBUL, JUNE 6 - Prosecutors in Ankara have issued 47 new arrest warrants against government employees accused of ties with the alleged network of exiled imam Fethullah Gulen accused by Ankara of being behind last July's failed coup.



Suspects include 30 employees of the education ministry and 17 of the transport and communication ministry. They are accused of using Bylock, a messenger app for smart phones which, according to investigators, was employed by members of the organization to exchange encrypted information. Police operations are ongoing to try to arrest them. (ANSAmed).




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
The costume drama featuring this moment, a film called Matilda after the dancer, is not due out until October. Yet the release of trailers of that scene, and a few others depicting the torrid affair that follows, was enough to ignite a firestorm. The opposing sides are an artistic community determined to fend off any hint of Soviet-style censorship and a religious nationalist faction that sees the film as an insult to Nicholas II (the crown prince in question)  and therefore, since the last tsar is now a saint in the Russian Orthodox Church, an insult to the faithful, which is a crime in Russia.
The outgoing director of the Tate, Nicholas Serota, the director of the British Museum, Hartwig Fischer, and the new director of the V&A, Tristram Hunt, a former Labour Party shadow minister, are all concerned that these institutions will find it harder to retain and recruit expert staff from across Europe, potentially damaging their world-class status.
By Bradley Dunseith

As Myanmar continues to liberalize its regulatory landscape, new opportunities are emerging for cross-border trade. Myanmar borders India and China  the worlds most populous countries  and is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Political reforms in Myanmar has spurred world powers to lift trade sanctions against the South East Asian nation formerly called Burma.

Import and export operations in Myanmar have become easier and more profitable. In the financial year (FY) 2016-17 (ending 31 March) private players have exported US$4.8 billion and by sea and US$3.2 billion over land; private players have imported US$1.3 billion by sea and US$2.8 billion over land. In this article we explain best practices for importing into and exporting out of Myanmar. As Myanmar continues to undergo economic reforms, we advise all businesses to monitor new and upcoming legislations closely.

RELATED: Pre-Investment and Market Entry Advisory from Dezan Shira & Associates

Registering as an exporter or importer

The procedure for registering as an exporter or importer in Myanmar follows the same trajectory, though the respective licences are different.

To either export or import goods from Myanmar, a company must register itself with the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA). Fortunately for overseas companies, the DICA recently created a digital single clearance window for registration called the One Stop Service (OSS). Companies can register themselves with the DICA for up to five years.

Once registered with the DICA, a company must then register themselves with Myanmars Department of Trade (under the Ministry of Commerce). Registrations with the Department of Trade are limited to three year periods and cost Kyat 50,000 (US$36.50) per year. All exporters and importers are also required to join the Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

There are four types of entities which may apply for export licences:

Limited Companies;

Joint Venture Corporations;

Co-operatives (registered under the Co-operative Societies Law)

Foreign firms registered under the Myanmar Investment Law, 2016

The Myanmar Special Companies Act, 1950, permits foreign companies to be registered in the country as limited companies or in a joint venture. Otherwise, foreign firms may apply for permission to register as importers or exporters under the Myanmar Investment Law, 2016.

Necessary Documents for Importers and Exporters

The vast majority of imported and exported commodities require a licence in Myanmar. Certain commodities require additional documentation (i.e. that a product conforms to technical standards) and sometimes even permission from certain ministries. Importing live animals, for instance, requires approval from the Ministry of Commerce.

It is the responsibility of the importer or exporter to ensure that all commodities being brought in or out of Myanmar have the necessary documents and are correctly processed based on the World Customs Organizations 8-digit Harmonized System (HS). An exhaustive list of commodities and their necessary documents and HS codes can be found on Myanmars Trade Portal.

To import goods into Myanmar, a company must provide an import declaration form called CUSDEC1 Import Declaration Form as well as the CUSDEC4 Customs Valuation Form. Importers require these additional documents:

Import Licence;

Invoice;

Bill of lading, air consignment note, or truck note;

Cargo release order;

Terminal handling report;

Packing list;

Technical standard and health certificate (when required) and;

Recommendation from concerned ministry (when required).

The importer must present these documents to customs officials when imported goods arrive in Myanmar.

To export goods from Myanmar, a company must provide an export declaration form called CUSDEC2 as well as the CUSDEC4 Customs Valuation Form. Exporters require these additional documents:

Export license;

Invoice;

Bill of lading;

Packing list;

Sales contract;

Shipping instructions;

Letter of credit or general Remittance or Exemption Certificate;

Sample of goods;

Fumigation certificate (when required);

Phytosanitary certificate (when required)

Recommendation from concerned ministry (when required).

The exporter must present these documents to customs officials before exported goods leave Myanmar.

Tariffs and Taxes

Tariffs

Myanmar calculates tariffs on imported items based on (1) the classification of the imported goods; (2) the valuation of the imported goods and; (3) the origin of the imported goods.

Tariffs on imported goods in Myanmar range from 0 to 40 percent. The tariffs on agricultural imports averages at 8.7 percent and 5.1 percent on non-agricultural goods.

The Myanmar governments Trade Portal (mentioned above) provides an in depth list of commodity-specific tariffs.

Myanmar is a member of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and has thus committed to the Common Effective Preferential Tariff Scheme (CEPT). CEPT aims to reduce import tariffs on 100 percent of the total tariff lines by 2018. A country of origin (COO) document may be necessary to avail reduced tariffs under specific FTAs.

Commodities exported out of Myanmar do not incur tariff charges.

Special Goods Tax

In April, 2016, the Myanmar government enacted a special goods tax (SGT) to replace commercial taxes on imported and exported goods. The SGT covers goods considered either luxurious, injurious to health, or harmful to the environment such as precious gems, cigarettes, and diesel. Customs officials tax imported goods which fall under the SGT between 5 percent and 80 percent with an additional 5 percent commercial tax.

Only five exported items fall under the radar of the SGT: natural gas, taxed at 8 percent; wood logs and wood cuttings taxed at 5 percent; raw jade, taxed at 15 percent; other raw gemstones, taxed at 10 percent; and finished goods and jewelry made of precious gems, tax at 5 percent.

As of June, 2013, Myanmar charges a 2 percent income tax on all imported and exported goods. Customs officials consider this tax an advanced payment of an importers or exporters income tax.

Importers and exporters should diligently monitor any changes in Myanmars FTAs and trade regulations as the regulatory landscape is changing rapidly.

Special Economic Zones

In 2014, Myanmar revised its legislation to encourage foreign direct investment (FDI) through special economic zones (SEZs). Under the Special Economic Zone Law, 2014, businesses operating in SEZs can take advantage of a five year tax exemption on custom duties on approved exported goods.

The 2014 Law also exempts businesses operating in SEZs from customs duties and taxes when importing material and equipment which services their own production. This includes:

Raw material;

Machinery and spare parts;

Construction materials and motor vehicles for building a factory, warehouse, or office and;

Trading goods and materials necessary in wholesale trading.

Myanmar currently has three SEZs in Dawei, Kyaukphyu, and Thilawa. The government continues to improve infrastructure and logistics in all three regional SEZs.

Import and export procedures in Myanmars changing regulatory landscape

Myanmar has made leaps in the liberalization of its economy: setting up SEZs and easing its regulations on FDI. But, logistic, infrastructural, and regulatory impediments to trade still remain. According to the World Banks Ease of Doing Business 2017 report it takes exporters 144 hours and US$432 to export goods out of Myanmar and 232 hours and US$457 to import goods into the country. The Myanmar government is making strides to improve this. A Japanese designed, automated customs management system has been implemented in Myanmars SEZs with long-term goals of transforming the automated system into a single window for all import and export procedures.

As the Myanmar government attempts to improve its business climate, rules governing import and export procedures will continue to change. New rules are not always publicly announced and businesses should closely follow all new developments. Local experts at Dezan Shira & Associates possess years of experience supporting the establishment and growth of businesses across ASEAN, and are well situated to guide companies through Myanmars confusing and rapidly changing regulatory landscape.

About Us Asia Briefing, a subsidiary of China, India, Indonesia, Russia, the Silk Road & Vietnam. For editorial matters please contact us here and for a complimentary subscription to our products, please click ASEAN Briefing is published by, a subsidiary of Dezan Shira & Associates . We produce material for foreign investors throughout Asia, includingthe. For editorial matters please contact usand for a complimentary subscription to our products, please click here Dezan Shira & Associates provide business intelligence, due diligence, legal, tax and advisory services throughout the ASEAN and Asia. We maintain offices in Singapore, as well as Hanoi & Ho Chi Minh City, and maintain Alliance offices in Bangkok, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Manila as well as throughout China, South-East Asia, India and Russia. For assistance with ASEAN investments into any of the featured countries, please contact us at provide business intelligence, due diligence, legal, tax and advisory services throughout the ASEAN and Asia. We maintain offices in Singapore, as well as Hanoi & Ho Chi Minh City, and maintain Alliance offices in Bangkok, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Manila as well as throughout China, South-East Asia, India and Russia. For assistance with ASEAN investments into any of the featured countries, please contact us at asean@dezshira.com or visit us at www.dezshira.com

Dezan Shira & Associates Brochure

Dezan Shira & Associates is a pan-Asia, multi-disciplinary professional services firm, providing legal, tax and operational advisory to international corporate investors. Operational throughout China, ASEAN and India, our mission is to guide foreign companies through Asias complex regulatory environment and assist them with all aspects of establishing, maintaining and growing their business operations in the region. This brochure provides an overview of the services and expertise Dezan Shira & Associates can provide.

An Introduction to Doing Business in ASEAN 2017

An Introduction to Doing Business in ASEAN 2017 introduces the fundamentals of investing in the 10-nation ASEAN bloc, concentrating on economics, trade, corporate establishment, and taxation. We also include the latest development news for each country, with the intent to provide an executive assessment of the varying component parts of ASEAN, assessing each member state and providing the most up-to-date economic and demographic data on each.

Payroll Processing and Compliance in Singapore

In this issue of ASEAN Briefing, we discuss payroll processing and reporting in Singapore as well as analyze the options available for foreign companies looking to centralize their ASEAN payroll processes.We begin by discussing the various regulations that impact salary computation, and tax and social security calculation in Singapore. We then explore the potential for Singapore to emerge as a premier payroll processing center in ASEAN. Finally we consider the benefits of outsourcing payroll  both Singapore-based and ASEAN-wide  to a reliable third-party payroll processing provider.


Through Darkness to Light: Seeking Freedom on...

PLEASE NOTE!

Due to the March 23, 2020 NM DOH Public Health Order, These Event Listings Are Not Accurate!

All non-essential businesses are closed, public gatherings are prohibited!

(One day some of these events will be rescheduled or will resume, but they are not happening now!)
The couple spent family time in the past week by taking the kids to movies and a dinner.

Kids Hrehaan and Hridaan seem to be playing cupid in getting their parents Hrithik Roshan and Susanne Khan together again.

The couple spent family time in the past week by taking the kids to movies and a dinner. Then over the weekend, Hrithik Roshan and Susanne Khan went for a dinner with friends. It was for the first time without their kids in tow. And post dinner they drove off together in Hrithiks car. Sources now say that the estranged couple is trying to give love a second chance.

Hrithik and Susanne have been very close since childhood. They got married soon after Hrithiks superhit debut film Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai. Hrithik once mentioned that it was Susannes belief that made him become an actor even though doctors had given up on his chronic back problem. They said he would be unable to do things like dancing and fighting which are a must to be an actor.

Well, thanks to the kids, Hrithik and Susanne have been spending a lot of time together. Maybe, just maybe, they will all live happily ever after. We have our fingers crossed.

Sanskriti Media
The action-thriller set in Afghanistan is a story about child suicide bombers. Sanjay Dutt will be playing a father.

After wrapping up the shoot of his comeback project Bhoomi, Sanjay Dutt was in the news for Torbaaz. However, he announced the making of Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster 3.

Later, there were speculations that Torbaaz was postponed, but the director Girish Malik reveals they were scheduled to shoot the film in winter.

Since we wanted to film in the winters, across the globe, we have locked the locations accordingly. It's a movie, which is high on VFX. We are mounting the film on an epic scale, says Girish.

He further added, Torbaaz is a universal story so apart from the Bollywood release, we are finalising some big deals with the US team for a global release.

The action-thriller set in Afghanistan is a story about child suicide bombers. Sanjay Dutt will be playing a father to a young child.
A representative informed that Smith, who went on to manage the career of wife Ann-Margret, died on Sunday.

Washington D.C.: Roger Smith of popular 1950s-'60s ABC private eye series '77 Sunset Strip' has taken his last breath at the age of 84, after ending his acting career in his 30s, due to a debilitating illness.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, a representative informed that Smith, who went on to manage the career of wife Ann-Margret, died on Sunday. However no cause of death was announced.

In '77 Sunset Strip,' the late actor portrayed Jeff Spencer, one-half of a breezy detective pair, who solved crimes and chased women, while working out of their ultra-hip offices on the Sunset Strip. Efrem Zimbalist Jr. played his partner, Stu Bailey.

Smith's career in front of the camera, however, was cut short by medical issues. He left '77 Sunset Strip' in 1963 after five seasons, when a blood clot was discovered in his brain. Surgery successfully corrected the problem and Smith was able to resume performing, but in 1965, Smith was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, which causes extreme weakness.
Internet services have been suspended in the western parts of the state such as Indore, Ujjain and Dewas, as well.

One of the injured in the alleged police firing. (Photo: Twitter | ANI)

Bhopal: Five people were killed as police allegedly opened fire at a farmers protest in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday, where they were demanding higher rates for their produce and loan waivers, according to reports. Curfew has been imposed in sensitive areas.

Violence broke out on Tuesday during a farmers' protest in Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh following which curfew was today clamped in Pipalya Mandi area and prohibitory orders imposed in other parts of the district, officials said.

Also read: Mandsaur violence: MP CM order probe into firing on farmers

Three farmers were killed after police opened fire on violent protesters in Bhai Parshnath area but Mandsaur Collector SK Singh denied it.

"Curfew has been clamped in Pipalya Mandi police station area and in the rest of the district section 144 of CrPC has been imposed," Singh told PTI over phone.

When asked about reports of death of three farmers, Singh said he does not have any such information.

Farmers in western Madhya Pradesh are protesting since June 1 demanding minimum support price for their farm produce, among other things.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan yesterday said his government is taking all necessary steps to address the issues of the agitating farmers.

A price stabilisation fund of Rs 1,000 crore would be set up to purchase the farm produce at the minimum support price (MSP), he had said.
Nitish also launched a veiled attack on the Opposition leaders for tarnishing the image of the state.

Patna: The state government is planning to probe the performance of schools after 65 per cent students failed in board examination this year.

Officials said that the education department was also planning to launch a massive crackdown on schools and colleges where most of the students failed in their board examination.

Even Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, who spoke for the first time on the issue of deteriorating education system in Bihar, said the education department is taking adequate measures to improve the quality of education in Bihar.

He also launched a veiled attack on the Opposition leaders for tarnishing the image of the state.

There are few Biharis who are involved in tarnishing the image of the state, there is a system to deal with such kind of issues. It is wrong to say that the government is sitting idle and not doing anything.
The Indian army has been retaliating strongly to the violations by the Pakistani Army.

The DGMOs of India and Pakistan discussed the situation along the Line of Control, which has witnessed increasing incidents of ceasefire violations by Pakistan. (FIle photo: PTI)

New Delhi: Indian Armys Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Lt Gen AK Bhatt on Monday told his Pakistani counterpart that any attempt by the Pakistan military to resort to unprovoked firings along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir and abet infiltrators, would be met with appropriate retaliatory actions.

In their telephonic conversation, the two army commanders discussed the situation along the Line of Control, which has witnessed increasing incidents of ceasefire violations by Pakistan in the last couple of months.

DGMO Indian Army conveyed his commitment of ensuring peace and tranquillity which is contingent on Pak Armys intentions and actions. If Pakistan Army continues to abet infiltrations and cause trans-LC firings, Indian Army will take appropriate retaliatory actions, the Army said in a statement, sharing details of the conversation between Mr Bhatt and his Pakistani counterpart, Maj Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza.

The statement added that Lt. Gen. Bhatt highlighted cases of escalations of tension by the Pakistan Army during the conversation. On the issue raised by DGMO Pak Army regarding civilian killings, DGMO Indian Army conveyed that the Indian Army is a professional Army and will not harm civilians in any manner, the Indian Army said. The request for the conversation was made by the Pakistan DGMO, the statement added.

In the past few weeks, the LoC has witnessed fierce hostility between India and Pakistan, with the Pakistani army resorting to unprovoked ceasefire violations with a view to providing covering fire to enable terrorists to infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir.

The Indian army has been retaliating strongly to the violations by the Pakistani Army. Last week, Pakistan had summoned the Indian Deputy High Commissioner in Isalamabad to raise the issue of ceasefire violations.
The statement came even as Beijing asserted that membership bids for the NSG have become more complicated.

New Delhi/Beijing: India will raise the recent incursions by Chinese military helicopters into Indian airspace over Chamoli district in Uttarakhand, with the country, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said on Monday.

She added that on the issue of Indias entry into the NSG amid Chinese opposition, countries friendly with China, such as Russia, should speak to Beijing on the issue of allowing entry of New Delhi. The statement came even as Beijing asserted that membership bids for the NSG have become more complicated.

Meanwhile, PM Narendra Modi is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit at Astana, Kazakhstan on June 8-9. On Indias non-participation at the recent One Belt One Road (OBOR) conference in Beijing, Ms Swaraj also felt China would be forced rethink the OBOR after other people (countries) at the conference expressed concerns over sovereignty issues, something that she said made her feel happy.

On being asked whether India would raise the issue of incursions by Chinese military helicopters over Uttarakhand in Beijing through its diplomats there, Ms Swaraj indicated that all diplomatic options were open. We will raise the issue with China 101 per cent, she said.

On Chinese objections to Indias entry to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), Ms Swaraj said Indias friends like Russia should also speak to the Chinese over the matter. We have always engaged with China and we are doing it for NSG as well. And (it is being done) not only by us, but even nations friendly to us as well as enjoying good relations with China, who feel that India should get an NSG membership, Ms. Swaraj said.

Citing the example of Russia, she said it feels that India should be a part of both the NSG and the UN Security Council (UNSC). So we feel, since Russia and China share good relations, it should talk to China. We are not asking them to put pressure on China, but use its good offices. Our effort is to convince China on the issue and also involve nations friendly with both the countries, the minister added.

On Chinas objection on inclusion of non-NPT countries, she said France was a non-NPT country when it was admitted into the NSG.

According to reports from Beijing, China meanwhile asserted that Indias membership bid in the NSG has become more complicated under the new circumstances and again ruled out backing New Delhis entry in the grouping, saying there should be non-discriminatory solution applicable to all non-NPT signatory countries. According to reports, the NSG, which will be holding its next plenary in Switzerland soon, goes by consensus approach on the admission of new members.

About the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) it is a new issue under the new circumstances and it is more complicated than the previously imagined, Chinas Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Li Huilai told a media briefing in Beijing. He, however, did not elaborate what the new circumstances and complications were. China supports the NSG to have consultation for reaching non-discriminatory and universally applicable solution, applicable to all members of the NSG, he was quoted as saying. Asked about the chances of Indias admission into the grouping during this months plenary session expected to take place in the Swiss capital Berne, Li said, Chinas position on the non-NPT members participation in the NSG has not changed.

Ms. Swaraj meanwhile said China has been maintaining that its opposition is not India-specific. She said only Indias credentials should be examined on NSG entry and not the criteria for admission since Indias non-proliferation record had already been verified in 2008 (before the Indo-US nuclear deal). She expressed confidence that India would eventually be successful in gaining entry into the NSG.

Ms. Swaraj also reiterated Indias concerns over the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that passed through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) which is Indian territory. She said that even before China had conceptualised OBOR, India was already working on several connectivity projects in the neighbourhood.
Modi made a strong pitch for rising above the administrative mechanisms of earlier centuries.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday asked top officials of his government to identify and work towards concrete goals to be achieved by 2022  the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Independence.

At a meeting with all secretaries of the government of India, Mr Modi made a strong pitch for rising above the administrative mechanisms of earlier centuries.

He asked them to work beyond the silos of their respective ministries for the development of the country.

The PM said that some of the best results in the last three years had been achieved when the entire government machinery worked in unison for schemes like financial inclusion (Jan Dhan Yojana) and Universal Immunisation (Mission Indradhanush).

On Swachch Abhiyan, Mr Modi said that biggest groundswell of support has come from the people, and that is driving change at the administrative level.

The Prime Minister said the advent of Goods and Services Tax from July marks a turning point in the countrys history, and asked the secretaries to proactively prepare for this transformation, to ensure a smooth transition.
The FIR said that a loss of Rs 48 crore was caused to ICICI bank and consequent gain by RRPR.

The residence of founder and executive chairman of NDTV, Prannoy Roy, where the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted raids in connection with a case in which it was alleged that Roy and his wife, Radhika had caused loss to a bank, in New Delhi. (Photo: AP)

New Delhi: The CBI on Monday conducted searches at the premises of NDTV founder Prannoy Roy and his wife Radhika Roy at the national capital and in Dehradun for allegedly concealing a share transaction from the SEBI, regulator for the securities market in India, and causing a loss of Rs 48 crore to a private bank.

Immediately after the searches, the private television news channel issued a statement and called CBI raids on the premises of its owners a political attack, adding it was the governments attempt to silence the media.

The CBI spokesperson strongly denied the witch-hunt allegations levelled by NDTV and said the agency was following procedures laid in the law.

Information and broadcasting minister M.Venkaiah Naidu said there was no political interference in the CBI raids on Mr Roys properties and the law was taking its course. If somebody does something wrong simply because they belong to the media, you cannot expect the government to keep quiet, Mr Naidu told reporters.

Sources in the CBI said the agency had registered a case against RRPR Holding pvt limited, Prannoy Roy, his wife Radhika and unidentified officials of ICICI Bank of criminal conspiracy, cheating and corruption.

RRPR Holdings had allegedly taken a loan of Rs 500 crore from India Bulls Private Limited to purchase 20 per cent shares of NDTV from the public. The agency alleged that RRPR Holdings took a loan of Rs 375 crore at the rate of 19 per cent per annum from ICICI Bank to repay the borrowing from India Bulls.

The promoters of NDTV pledged their entire shareholding in NDTV as a collateral to ICICI for this loan. This pledging of shares was not reported to the SEBI, stock exchanges and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, said the FIR registered by the CBI. Such concealment was allegedly done as a creation of more than 61 per cent voting capital, which was in violation of section 19 (2) of the Banking Regulation Act. It should not be more than 30 per cent, said the FIR. An interest waiver of 10 per cent was given by ICICI.

The FIR said that a loss of Rs 48 crore was caused to ICICI bank and consequent gain by RRPR. The searches took place at two locations in Delhi and one each in Dehradun and Mussoorie.

Meanwhile, the NDTV in a statement issued after the searches, said, This morning, the CBI stepped up the concerted harassment of NDTV and its promoters based on the same old endless false accusations. It said NDTV and its promoters would fight tirelessly against this witch-hunt by multiple agencies. We will not succumb to these attempts to blatantly undermine democracy and free speech in India. We have one message to those who are trying to destroy the institutions of India and everything it stands for: We will fight for our country and overcome these forces, it said. The Congress also condemned the CBI raids on NDTV founder and termed it as an attack on the freedom of the press. Senior Congress spokesperson Ajay Maken said the Congress strongly condemned the action and said the Central government that it should not try to hound the media.

The Editors Guild of India expressed its concern over the raids conducted by the CBI on the offices of NDTV and its promoters. Entry of the police and other agencies into the media offices is a serious matter. NDTV, in various statements, has denied any wrong doing and termed the raids as stepping up the concerted harassment of the news channel and an attempt to undermine democracy and free speech and silence the media. While the Editors Guild maintains that no individuals or institution is above the law, the Guild condemns any attempt to muzzle the media and calls upon the CBI to follow the due process of law and ensure there is no interference in the free functioning of news operations, said the Editors Guild in a statement issued on Monday.
Meanwhile, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Director General Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar visited Kashmir on Tuesday.

Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore

Jaipur: Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore on Tuesday said the situation in Kashmir is under control and that the Army is working independently to tackle any situation.

"The people are seeing, what the media is reporting. The situation in Kashmir is under control and the Army is totally independent and functioning accordingly," he said.

Meanwhile, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Director General Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar visited Kashmir today.

He interacted with 45 Battalion CRPF Sumbal, Cheetahs of 45 and 44th Battalion.

He lauded the army, while stating that the Bandipora encounter was successful.

"We succeeded in saving our camps. The Jammu and Kashmir Police also helped us. We have reviewed the Amarnath Yatra too," he added.

Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police SP Vaid said the Bandipora encounter was a live example of coordinated work.

At least four militants were killed in retaliatory firing by 45 Battalion CRPF and the Jammu and Kashmir Police (JKP) at Sumbal in Bandipora district yesterday.

The militants were reportedly attempting a suicide attack on the CRPF camp.
US President Trump had withdrawn the US from the landmark Paris climate accord.

New Delhi: External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj has repudiated US President Donald Trumps statement that India has extracted promises of billions of dollars in return for signing the Paris agreement on climate, saying there was no greed and no fear on the part of India when it came to signing the agreement.

What President Trump spoke is not the reality, Ms Swaraj said. She said that there had been no reduction in engagement with the US under the Trump administration, adding that the Indo-US relationship is one of mutual benefit.

She described the US as a major defence partner of India. Government sources said that President Trumps harsh references to India would not affect PM Narendra Modis forthcoming visit to the United States that could take place in the last week of June. The dates for the visit are being worked out, sources said.

Last week, US President Trump had withdrawn the US from the landmark Paris climate accord, saying that the Paris climate deal unfairly benefits countries like India and China, and that India makes its participation contingent on receiving billions and billions and billions of dollars in foreign aid from developed countries.

She said that it was part of the Indian ethos to revere nature and that rivers, forests and mountains continue to be worshipped and revere in this country.

It is not the reality what President Trump said. The signing of the Paris agreement (on climate) by India was under no pressure, or greed or fear. It was because of our commitment to the environment, Ms Swaraj said at a press conference to mark three years of completion of the NDA governments current term in office.

She said that it was part of the Indian ethos to revere nature and that rivers, forests and mountains continue to be worshipped and revere in this country.

Ms Swaraj also said that PM Narendra Modi had so far spoken thrice to US President Trump, while she and the NSA have been in touch with their counterparts in the US.

She said that there was no reduction so far in the H-1B visas issued by the US, but admitted that there were concerns that it could be reduced. She said some decisions were not possible in the US by executive orders, and these required legislative actions as well. The minister said that India was in touch with members of the US Congress as well as the Trump administration on the issue.
Bachu's resignation comes four days after West Garo Hills district president Bernard Marak made an exit from the party on the same issue.

Tura (Meghalaya): The North Garo Hills district BJP president, Bachu Marak, has resigned from the party over the Centre's ban on the sale of cattle in markets for slaughter.

Bachu's resignation comes four days after West Garo Hills district president Bernard Marak made an exit from the party on the same issue.

"I cannot compromise on the sentiments of the Garos. As a Garo, it is my responsibility to protect the interest of my community. Beef eating is part of our culture and tradition. Imposition of BJP's non-secular ideology on us is not acceptable," Bachu said after resigning from the party on Monday night.

He has submitted his resignation to state party president Shibun Lyngdoh.

Bachu had proposed a 'bitchi' (rice beer) and beef party in the Garo Hills on his Facebook page recently to mark the Modi government's three years in office and had attracted party leadership's criticism.

BJP national spokesperson Nalin Kohli had warned of stringent action against Bachu.

Later, announcing his resignation from the party in another Facebook post, he said, "My Tradition and Cultures is (sic) my first priority and Party at Last. Why is beef

Everytime the issue, why not pig, chicken, goat and other animals."

Bernard Marak, who had resigned from the party, is organising a beef party at the Eden Bari locality of Tura on June 10 and Bachu is expected to participate in the event.

"I will attend the beef party in Tura to register our voice against such moves of the BJP," he said.
Top Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, P Chidambaram, Ambika Soni, Janardan Dwiwedi and other CWC members were present during the meeting.

New Delhi: The Congress Working Committee chaired by party president Sonia Gandhi met here today to discuss the current political situation and the upcoming presidential poll.

The highest decision-making body of the party met at the residence of Sonia Gandhi and was attended by party vice-president Rahul Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Top Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, P Chidambaram, Ambika Soni, Janardan Dwiwedi and other CWC members were present during the meeting.

The leaders are likely to discuss the current political situation in the country and the issue of forging a larger opposition unity.

Senior members of the CWC are likely to discuss the raging issue of cow vigilantism and also the economic situation, party sources said.

They said the CWC is expected to ratify the schedule for organisational polls. According to the schedule, the next Congress president has to be elected by October 15.

The CWC is meeting at a time when the Congress is seeking to unite opposition parties ahead of the presidential election.

It wants a broad coalition of opposition parties in place ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to take on the BJP. The BJP and its allies have gained in strength since the Modi government was formed in May 2014.

The CWC members had in November unanimously expressed "strong sentiment" for Rahul's elevation for the first time and may take it further.

At the November-7 meeting, all members, including former prime minister Manmohan Singh and senior leader A K Antony, had made a strong pitch for Rahul to take over the reins of the party.

The Congress president has created a record by being at the helm of the 130-year-old organisation for nearly two decades since late Sitaram Kesri's ouster by the CWC in early 1998.

Rahul was appointed party vice president in January 2013 at the Congress's brainstorming session in Jaipur.
He also addressed a booth-level party workers meeting in an effort to establishing direct contact with the people.

Bengaluru (K'taka): Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday ate lunch at a Dalit party worker's home.

"I am more than happy today. I actually want to thank our president Amit Shah ji, it was because of him that we visited our karyakartas home. I felt that I had come to my own house. The love and affection I have received today I cannot describe. I felt that I have come to my own sister's home," he told the media after lunch.

Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's commitment to bring a better future in this country, Goyal said the Centre would bring change without differentiating among people.

"Together we are going to make India a super power in the world," he added.

Earlier last month, BJP president Amit Shah held a door-to-door campaign in a remote village of Gujarat's Chhota Udaipur district and had lunch with a tribal family.

He also addressed a booth-level party workers meeting in an effort to establishing direct contact with the people.

Earlier in April, Shah had lunch at the house of a tribal family at Dakkhin Katiajote village in Naxalbari area of West Bengal.
The CWC on Tuesday approved the schedule for internal elections under which the party has to complete the exercise by October 15.

New Delhi: Sonia Gandhi may step down from the Congress presidentship, paving the way for Rahul Gandhi's possible elevation when the party holds its internal elections by October 15.

The Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party's highest decision-making body, on Tuesday approved the schedule for internal elections under which the party has to complete the exercise by October 15.

In her speech at the CWC meeting, Sonia Gandhi exhorted party men to strengthen the organisation and complete the organisational polls with "speed and sincerity".

"We must strengthen our organisation. The ongoing organisational elections must be completed with the utmost speed and sincerity," she said at the meeting, ahead of the CWC approving the poll schedule.

Asked whether the issue of elevation of Rahul Gandhi was discussed at the meeting, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad replied in the negative.

"The schedule for organisational elections has been cleared by the CWC," Azad said, adding that Rahul's elevation was not specifically discussed.

The CWC members had in the last meeting in November unanimously expressed "strong sentiment" for Rahul's elevation for the first time and may take it further.

At the November 7 meeting, all members, including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and senior leader AK Antony, had made a strong pitch for Rahul to take over the reins of the party.

The Congress President has created a record by being at the helm of the 130-year-old organisation for nearly two decades since late Sitaram Kesri's ouster by the CWC in early 1998.

Rahul was appointed party vice president in January 2013 at Congress's brainstorming session in Jaipur.
The world will celebrate the third International Day of Yoga on June 21.

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will join yoga guru Baba Ramdev here in a yoga practice session on Wednesday before the upcoming 'Yoga Diwas' or International Day of Yoga which is to be held on June 21.

According to reports, Naik, Yogi Adityanath and Baba Ramdev will perform various yogic postures or asanas together at the Raj Bhavan or the governor's official residence.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Yogi Adityanath are expected to participate in the International Yoga Day event to be held in Lucknow on June 21 along with 50,000 other yoga practitioners.

State Chief Secretary Rahul Bhatnagar, a joint secretary of Ministry of AYUSH and other officials recently took part in a preparatory meeting for the event that is to be held under the auspices of the Centre and the state government.

Senior citizens, aanganwadi workers and around 500 divyangs are expected to participate in the International Day of Yoga celebrations. Participants will be given bottles of mineral water and monogramed T-shirts to highlight the event and its significance.

Urging the nation to make Yoga an essential part of their lives to remain stress free, Prime Minister Modi in his radio address 'Mann ki Baat' had said last month that Yoga is the only thing that has the potential of uniting the world.

"June 21 has become one of the known dates across the world. The entire world celebrates International Day of Yoga. In a very short span of time, the message of yoga has spread to every corner of the world. Yoga is integrating the world today. Through yoga, India as a whole has successfully started connecting the world," the Prime Minister said in his 32nd ' Mann Ki Baat' address on May 28.

The world will celebrate the third International Day of Yoga on June 21.

It has been celebrated annually since its inception in 2015. An International Day for Yoga was declared unanimously by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on December 11, 2014.
The doctors examined the patient and observed that he was having speech problems and was experiencing episodes of paranoid thinking.

Herbal tea "could have played a determinant role in the onset" of the man's symptoms (Photo: AFP)

London: A 25-year-old man in Italy has developed psychosis - a condition where the patient loses touch with reality - after regularly drinking a herbal tea, according to doctors who warn against consuming certain herbs without prescription.

The patient's condition improved after he received treatment for psychosis, doctors wrote in the report published in the Journal of Medical Case Reports. The man was brought to AUSL Modena hospital in Italy by his friends, who told the doctors that he had been acting strangely for some days.

The doctors examined the patient and observed that he was having speech problems and was experiencing episodes of paranoid thinking and delusions. They diagnosed him with schizophreniform disorder - a type of mental disorder that involves psychosis.

They gave him antipsychotic medications, and two weeks after his admission, his condition improved, 'Live Science' reported.

During his follow-up treatment, it emerged that three months prior to his psychotic episode, the man had started feeling weak and exhausted and had severe stomach pain.

He eventually saw a doctor, who determined that the man had numerous stomach erosions and an infection of Helicobacter pylori - a type of bacteria known to cause stomach ulcers.

However, instead of taking the medication that the doctor prescribed to treat those symptoms, the man decided to self- medicate with tea made with St John's wort - a herb known to have therapeutic properties.

He had been drinking four cups of the tea per day until he was admitted to the hospital for his psychotic episode.

It is impossible to determine with certainty whether the tea caused the man's psychotic episode, the doctors wrote.

However, the herbal tea "could have played a determinant role in the onset" of the man's symptoms, they wrote.

"St John's wort (Hypericum perforatum) has been known for centuries for its therapeutic properties, and its efficacy as an antidepressant has been confirmed by a growing body of evidence," doctors said.

But the herb's "availability without prescription, as an over-the-counter medication, raises some concern regarding its clinical management and unsupervised administration to individuals with" mental health risks, they said.
The incident happened on June 2 when the girl's mother had gone to her brother's home leaving her 17-year-old daughter behind.

New Delhi: A 32-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly molesting his minor daughter while he was drunk in southwest Delhi's Palam, police said.

The incident happened on June 2 when the girl's mother had gone to her brother's home leaving her 17-year-old daughter behind, they added.

Her father returned late in the night and allegedly molested her but when she raised an alarm, he fled.

The next day when he returned, he was thrashed by the locals and the girl's uncle and handed over to police, said a senior police officer.

It has come to light that he had molested his daughter a couple of times in the past too, he added.

The accused was unemployed and addicted to liquor.

His wife and and her brother worked to meet the house expenses. The minor is a student of Class XI in a local school.
Post recent terror attacks, Khan told Londoners there was no reason to be alarmed about an increased police presence in the coming days.

Washington: US President Donald Trump renewed his criticism of London Mayor Sadiq Khan on Monday, in a second such condemnation in less than 48 hours since a terror attack in the British capital.

Trump accused Khan -- Londons first Muslim mayor -- of offering a pathetic excuse for comments that Trump earlier misconstrued about policing in response to Saturdays attack, which left seven people dead.

Khan had told Londoners there was no reason to be alarmed about an increased police presence in the coming days.

Trump has leapt on the London attacks as evidence of the need for hardline security measures in the United States, including a ban on travellers from Muslim countries.

Trumps comments caused outrage among British officials, many of whom call London home.

British Prime Minister Theresa May was among those who came to Khans defence.

I think Sadiq Khan is doing a good job and its wrong to say anything else -- hes doing a good job, she told a press conference on Monday.

Khans staff said he was too busy to respond to Trumps tweets.
The White House has also said it would not invoke executive privilege to prevent James Comey from testifying.'

Washington: Former FBI Director James Comey has told the Senate intelligence committee he would not be constrained in discussing his conversations with President Donald Trump.

Senior United States Senator from North Carolina Richard Burr said he's spoken several times to Comey, who can be expected to talk in detail about his conversations with Trump when he testifies openly on Thursday before the committee.

He, however, is expected to abstain from discussing the ongoing federal Russia investigation, a Senate intelligence committee source said.

This development comes after Comey's discussions with Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller, who is leading the agency's probe into Trumps campaigning ties with Russia.

Burr though has said he has not yet spoken to Mueller about Comey's expected testimony.

Burr also said that former White House national security advisor Michael Flynn, a focus of the Russia probe, had turned over some of the documents to the Senate intelligence committee in response to a subpoena they issued in May.

The White House has also said it would not invoke executive privilege to prevent Comey from testifying.
The B-52 according to the ministry was over international waters and flying near 'Russia's state borders'.

Washington: A Russian fighter jet intercepted a US B-52 bomber over the Baltic Sea, the Russian Defense Ministry told Russian media outlets Tuesday.

Russian media quoted the ministry as saying that the Russian Su-27 was "dispatched to intercept the target" and "approached the aircraft staying at a safe distance, identified it as a US strategic bomber B-52 and escorted it for some time."

The B-52, according to the ministry, was over international waters and flying near "Russia's state borders." A spokesman for the US European Command did not respond to request for comment.

Several B-52s, along with a contingent of maintenance troops arrived in the United Kingdom in recent days to participate in a series of NATO exercises happening this summer. Sabre Strike, one of the multinational exercises, began last month and will take place in Poland, Latvia and Lithuania during the coming weeks.

B-52 bombers first entered service in the 1950s and will fly long into the 21st century as the workhorse of the Air Force's bomber fleet.

The hulking eight-engine aircraft are capable of holding 70,000 pounds of munitions and have been upgraded in past decades to drop everything from sea mines to nuclear-tipped cruise missiles.

A detachment of the planes are currently participating in the air war against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Last month, a Russian aircraft came within 20 feet of a US surveillance plane over the Baltic Sea in an incident the Pentagon called "routine." Additionally, US aircraft intercepted a number of Russian bombers near the coast of Alaska in May.

NATO jets intercepted Russian aircraft more than 100 times near the Baltic States in 2016, according to data provided by the Lithuania Defense Ministry to a regional news agency.

After Russia annexed Crimea and sent troops into eastern Ukraine in 2014, the number of NATO intercepts peaked at 160 in 2015.
The weapons, including machine guns capable of firing thousands of rounds a minute, were handed over.

Philippines Marine Major General Emmanuel Salamat receives an M4 rifle with grenade launcher from US Army Colonel Ernest Lee on Monday. (Photo:AP)

Manila: The United States on Monday gave the Philippines hundreds of machine guns, pistols and grenade launchers, which a local commander said would be used against Islamist militants battling troops in a southern city.

The weapons, including machine guns capable of firing thousands of rounds a minute, were handed over at a ceremony in Manila that highlighted a decade-old American counter-terrorism assistance programme to the Philippines worth about $150 million.

This equipment will enhance the (Philippines Marines) counterterrorism capabilities, and help protect (troops) actively engaged in counterterrorism operations in the southern Philippines, a US Embassy statement said.
British officials said that Khuram Shahzad Butt, one of the 4 attackers who launched a van and knife attack in central London.

7 people were killed and 49 injured when the trio rammed a van into pedestrians on London Bridge before stabbing revelers in bars in the nearby Borough Market. (Photo: AP)

London: A 27-year-old Pakistan-born British national, who was shot dead by police after the London attack, was a brainwashed follower of a banned extremist group and known to intelligence agencies, media reports said on Tuesday.

British officials confirmed that Khuram Shahzad Butt, one of the three attackers who launched a van and knife attack in central London Saturday night, was a member of the al- Muhajiroun extremist group with links to the jailed preacher Anjem Choudary.

He was born in Pakistan but brought up in the UK and was known to police and had been investigated in 2015.

The Metropolitan Police have defended a decision to downgrade an inquiry into Butt, saying they did not have any evidence of a plot. They said Butt was known to police and MI5 in 2015, but there had been no evidence of a plot.

Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Mark Rowley said an investigation into Butt began in 2015, but "there was no intelligence to suggest that this attack was being planned and the investigation had been prioritised accordingly".

The inquiry was "prioritised in the lower echelons of our investigative work", Rowley was quoted as saying by the BBC. Asked if that had been a poor decision, Rowley said he had seen nothing yet to suggest it. The two other perpetrators were not known to security services.

Police today identified the third attacker as Youssef Zaghba, a 22-year-old Italian of Moroccan descent, a day after naming his accomplices as Butt and Rachid Redouane, 30, a self-described Moroccan-Libyan dual national.

Butt had appeared in a Channel 4 documentary, The Jihadis Next Door, and had been reported to the anti-terrorism hotline for extremism. Butt was linked to al-Muhajiroun, the banned extremist group whose leader, Choudary, was jailed last year for encouraging support for Islamic State.

Butt, who lived in Barking in east London, appeared several times in a 2016 Channel 4 documentary called "The Jihadis Next Door," which profiled a group of individuals linked to al-Muhajiroun in the United Kingdom.

At one point in the documentary, he can be seen helping unfurl a black banner in Regent's Park after a radical preacher promised it would fly one day over 10 Downing Street, the headquarters of the Government of the United Kingdom.

Transport for London has confirmed that Butt worked as trainee customer services assistant for six months last year. One colleague, quoted by the Guardian, claimed that as part of the training programme he was headquartered at London Bridge station and also worked at Westminster and Canada Water stations. CNN reported that Butt went by the name "Abz" or "Abu Zaitun".

At the time of the attack, Butt worked as a receptionist at a fitness center in Ilford, a friend from the gym said. The gym is described as a mixed martial arts gym on its website. Butt told the friend he had stopped attending al- Muhajiroun meetings some time ago.

Al-Muhajiroun has been linked to half of all terror plots by British nationals in the United Kingdom and overseas over the last two decades, according to research published in 2015 by Raffaello Pantucci, a terrorism analyst at the Royal United Services Institute.

Several followers of the group joined ISIS in Syria including Abu Rumaysah and Abu Rahin Aziz, a Luton, England, resident killed in a US drone strike in Raqqa, Syria, in July 2015.

Al-Muhajiroun's longtime UK leader Anjem Choudary was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison in 2016 for calling on Muslims in the United Kingdom to support ISIS. The identification of Butt as one of the attackers raised many questions about what British authorities knew about him and when.

Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, said that after confronting Anjem Choudary for his support for terrorism near the Houses of Parliament a day after Lee Rigby's killing he was called a "traitor" by the future London attacker, Butt.

"Many of us in the British Muslim community have been demanding action against these extremists to no avail. I am not surprised that Khuram Butt carried out the terrorist attack and there are serious questions for the authorities," Shafiq stated.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan in an interview reiterated his view that the invitation to Donald Trump was 'premature'.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan speaks to the media as he joined London Ambulance workers in observing a minute's silence at the London Ambulance Service headquarters at Waterloo, central London, in honour of the London Bridge terror attack victims. (Photo: AP)

London: The British government on Tuesday stood by an invitation for US President Donald Trump to make a state visit to the UK as London Mayor Sadiq Khan under attack from the White House said the offer should be scrapped.

"The invitation has been issued and accepted and I see no reason to change that," Foreign Minister Boris Johnson told BBC radio. Prime Minister Theresa May, asked by The Sun newspaper whether the controversial trip would go ahead, answered "Yes." But Khan, in an interview with AFP, reiterated his view that the invitation was "premature". "State visits are given to world leaders who have had distinguished service, who have a track record," he said.

"In the circumstances where Donald Trump as president had a Muslim ban, had changed the policies of the USA, the longstanding policies around refugees, in the circumstances where many British people disagree with many of Donald Trump's policies, we shouldn't be having a state visit," he said. Khan said the United States and Britain were "close allies" and they should continue to work closely together.

"But one of the things about a special relationship, it's like having a best friend you stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them in times of adversity but you call them out when they're wrong, and you tell them when they are wrong. And I think on many, many things, Donald Trump is wrong," he said.

State visits are considered top-level events typically honouring visitors with banquets, speeches to lawmakers and business chiefs and an audience with Queen Elizabeth II.

May made the invitation to Trump just seven days after he took office, a decision that prompted accusations that Britain, its global influence set to be weakened by Brexit, was kowtowing to the new US leader.

By contrast, May's predecessor David Cameron gave the invitation to the president Barack Obama more than a year into his administration.

More than 1.8 million people have signed an online petition saying Trump should not make the state visit as it "could cause embarrassment" to the monarch. In other comments, May and Johnson both defended Khan for his reassurances to Londoners after the attacks.

Trump, in a series of tweets, lashed Khan's handling of the Saturday night terror attack, mocking the mayor for telling the public there was "no reason to be alarmed" over armed police on the streets.

The US president then dismissed criticism that he had taken Khan's remarks out of context, accusing Khan of coming up with a "pathetic excuse" to defend himself. "I think Donald Trump is wrong in what he said about Sadiq Khan in the aftermath of the London Bridge attack," May said at a press conference on the campaign trail ahead of Thursday's election.

Johnson said separately "He is entirely right to say what he said to reassure people of his city about the presence of armed officers on the streets."
This terrorist attack by a known criminal a man who was only recently released on parole is a shocking, cowardly crime', said PM Turnbull.

Melbourne: Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on Tuesday police were treating a deadly siege in the city of Melbourne as an "act of terrorism" after a claim by the Islamic State group that one of its fighters was the gunman responsible.

Police shot dead the gunman, Yacqub Khayre, who they said had a long criminal history,on Monday after he killed a man in the foyer of an apartment block in Melbourne, Australia's second-largest city, and held a woman hostage inside.

Senior officials confirmed that Khayre had been acquitted of a plot to attack a Sydney army base in 2009 and was on parole for a violent home invasion at the time of Monday's siege.

"This terrorist attack by a known criminal, a man who was only recently released on parole, is a shocking, cowardly crime," Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told reporters in the capital, Canberra.

"It is a terrorist attack and it underlines the need for us to be constantly vigilant, never to be deterred, always defiant, in the face of Islamist terrorism," he said.

Police also said they were investigating the siege as act of terrorism after Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack via its Amaq news agency. They identified Khayre as a 29-year-old Australian of Somali heritage.

Amaq said the attack was launched because of Australia's membership of a US -led coalition fighting against the militants in Syria and Iraq.

Police said they were investigating whether Khayre had any established links with the group.

Victoria state Police Commissioner Graham Ashton said earlier Khayre had arranged to meet a female escort at a block of serviced apartments in the beachside Melbourne suburb of Brighton on Monday.

After shooting and killing a staff member when he arrived, Khayre then held the woman hostage for several hours before he burst out of the building and engaged police in a firefight, during which he was killed.

The woman was unhurt but three police officers suffered gunshot wounds that were not life-threatening, Ashton said.

Police are investigating whether Khayre tried to lure police into an ambush. Australia has not increased its terror threat level and police said they were not looking for any other suspects.

A spokeswoman for Vixen Collective, an organization representing sex workers, said she did not believe escorts were specifically targeted given Islamic State had recently encouraged readers of its magazine to lure people via various means, including fake classified ads.

Turnbull questioned why Khayre was not behind bars after a string of offences.

He first came to the attention of counter-terrorism police in 2009, when he was one of five men accused of plotting an attack on Sydney's Holsworthy Army base to kill soldiers. Three of the men were convicted, while Khayre and the fifth man were acquitted.

The Victorian Supreme Court was told during that case that Khayre had been a worshipper at a Melbourne mosque and at a nearby prayer hall regarded by police as an "incubator" of extremist ideology.

Prosecutors unsuccessfully argued that Khayre traveled to Somalia to obtain a fatwa, or religious ruling, in support of the Sydney plot.

Court documents show Khayre migrated as a child with his family to Australia through a Kenyan refugee camp. He was recognized as a refugee under Australia's humanitarian migration program and later became a citizen, police said.

"There is no place in Australia for such cowardly violence," the Somali Australian Council of Australia said in a statement.

Forensic investigators were at Khayre's family home in Melbourne's suburban Roxborough Park, according to a Reuters witness. Police said they were also conducting "reassurance patrols" to calm the neighborhood.

He was jailed in 2012 over a violent burglary in Melbourne, where he was found to have repeatedly struck a woman and her father. Khayre was given a five-and-a-half year prison term, according to court documents. He was granted parole in December.

Tightening of parole conditions is now likely to form a centerpiece of the next meeting between Turnbull and the state government leaders on Friday.

Australia, a staunch ally of the United States, has been on heightened alert for attacks by home-grown militants returning from fighting in the Middle East, or their supporters, since 2014.

In December 2014, a gunman killed one hostage during a 17-hour siege at a popular Sydney cafe. Another hostage was killed by fragments of a bullet fired by police who stormed the cafe and killed the gunman.

The Melbourne siege has sparked debate about immigration and travel policies. Far-right leader Pauline Hanson said she would support a travel ban like the one US President Donald Trump is trying to introduce.

"(Turnbull should) look seriously at instituting a moratorium on immigration of Muslims to Australia or, at the very least, greater stringency in vetting those wishing to come to our country," said Hanson.
by Emiliana Saptaningsih

The coming edition will be held from 30 July to 6 August in Jogyakarta, archdiocese of Semarang. It will be an opportunity for young people to renew and deepen their faith in the context of multicultural Asia, and for the Indonesia Church to share its experience. One participant, Michael Irwanto Fame, is "convinced that this event will give us, the youth of Indonesia, strength and enthusiasm to face God's mission and bear witness to the Gospel.

Denpasar (AsiaNews)  Asian Youth Day (AYD) is an event that takes place every three years and draws young Catholics from all member countries of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC). For 27-year-old Michael Irwanto Fame (pictured 2), This is an event that happens once in a lifetime.

Speaking to AsiaNews, the parish youth group leader at Holy Spirit Cathedral in Denpasar, Bali, said I am grateful to be able to take part in Asian Youth Day. I hope this event will allow me to deepen and strengthen my faith in order to share more with other youth here in the Denpasar diocese. I am convinced that this event will give us, the youth of Indonesia, strength and enthusiasm to face God's mission and bear witness to the Gospel in a youthful way.

This meeting seeks to promote a culture of solidarity among young Asian Catholics and build deep awareness of their responsibilities in the Church and in society. AYD experience allows young people to participate in developing and planning their future spiritual life in an Asian context.

The coming edition will be the seventh and is set to take place from 30 July to 6 August in Jogyakarta, in the archdiocese of Semarang, on the Indonesian island of Java. The theme of this year's event is Joyful Asian Youth! Living the Gospel in Multicultural Asia, by "speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God (Acts 2:11).

The theme was chosen on the realisation that the Church is based on Asian culture and is part of it, that I can bring the hope, happiness and joy of the Gospel to the poor, the suffering, the afflicted and the marginalised. It is by definition multicultural, sharing values to create a better, decent, open, balanced and dignified life. Such values are based on the nature of human beings as created by God, and on their nature as social beings.

The 7th AYD is meant to offer young Catholics in Asia an opportunity to renew and deepen their faith as disciples of Jesus, witnessing the joy of God's love in the context of multicultural Asia. It will present and share the testimony of faith of the local Church of Indonesia in the context of its socio-cultural-religious diversity and care for creation. It will promote young peoples involvement in the Church's evangelising mission so that they can share the values of the Kingdom of God as joyful witnesses in interreligious dialogue and social outreach.

Michael and other young people from Holy Spirit parish in Denpasar will attend the AYD as delegates. The Denpasar diocese will be represented by a total of 30 young people.

Speaking enthusiastically about his experience as a young Indonesian Catholic, Michael said: "In my opinion, the Christian faith is Gods greatest gift. Having faith in Jesus is everything for me. He is the reference point of my life and I follow him with conviction and courage. I am inspired by His life and His actions.

Yet, Despite all the good things Jesus did, people of his time treated him unjustly and ignored his goodness and love." Bearing witness to the Catholic faith means following Christs example. "Many times, people ignore my good deeds or intentions. Yet I must be strong, persevere in my vocation as a young Catholic, and not give up doing good things, even though people may disregard me."
Scotland Yard has released the names and photos of two of the London Bridge attackers. Prayers by imams in Makkah against Shias, Christians and Jews make Sunni Muslims in London, Paris or Berlin carry out extreme actions. North African Sunnis bless the attacks. For a young Muslim, Sunnism brainwashes.

London (AsiaNews)  Scotland Yard has released the names and photos of two of the men who carried out Saturdays terror attack in London. They are Khuram Butt, 27, married with children, who lived for many years in Barking, London, and Rachid Redouane, 30, also of Barking.

Butt is thought to have led the cell that carried out the attack. He appears in a Channel 4 documentary on Islamic extremism in the United Kingdom unfurling an Islamic State flag at Regent's Park. In the video aired last year, he is seen with two Islamic preachers known to law enforcement.

British counter-terrorism police chief Mark Rowley confirmed that Butt was known to security services, but there was no evidence he was planning attacks. In the same documentary, Butt is seen talking with the police patrolling the public park.

Radicalisation and the way it occurs are at the centre of a political debate in United Kingdom. Politicians are questioning British foreign policy, its alliances with Saudi Arabia, and Gulf states funding for mosques and preachers.

"It's no wonder when you hear the imam of Makkah praying against Shias, Christians, Jews, said Kamel Abderrahmani, a young Muslim student.

Their words make Sunni Muslims in Britain, France or Germany take action and Sunni Muslims in North Africa bless the attack, at first with discretion and then in an increasingly convinced and open way."

Unfortunately, "the hatred that continues to grow is fuelled by apocryphal texts and various Machiavellian interpretations of the Quran."

The latter "represents peace," Abderrahmani added, "but unfortunately it has been transformed into a book of war; indeed, into a bible of hate."
A significant test before the 2018 general election. About 7 million Cambodians vote, 89.52% of registered voters. Just over 51% of the popular vote went to Prime Minister Hun Sen Cpp; About 46% to Kem Sokha's Cnrp. Final official results will not be announced until June 25th. The election campaign marked by frequent warnings and government threats.

Phnom Penh (AsiaNews / Rfa) - Cambodia's ruling and opposition parties both claim victory in municipal elections held at the weekend, at least 20 days in advance of the official count of the highest electoral body in the country.

The ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP), won in 22 provinces, while the main opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party (Cnrp), won in the two major cities Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, and in the province of Kompong Cham according to Fresh News, a news agency with links to the government.

Just over 7 million Cambodians, 89.52% of registered voters, voted in the municipal council elections, a record in what analysts point to as a significant test before the general election of 2018.

Preliminary results released by political parties indicate that little more than 51% of popular vote went to Prime Minister Hun Sen's CPP, while about 46% to Kem Sokha's CNRP. The CPP won 1163 of the 1646 communal councils, while CNRP won 482. A seat finally went to the Khmer National United Party, one of the ten other small parties that participated in the vote on June 4.

The National Election Commission (NEC) said the final official results will not be announced until June 25, but preliminary results will be published between June 11 and 12 next.

The 14-day electoral campaign, which began on May 20, took place with relative calm, but was marked by the frequent warnings from Hun Sen. The chief of the executive, in government for almost 32 years, had warned that an Opposition victory in the just-concluded elections would have thrown Cambodia into chaos, instability and war.
Following the example of Jesus, the language of Christians must be truthful. "The language of hypocrisy is the language of deceit, it is the same language that the snake uses with Eve, it is the same." It begins with adulation and then destroys people and "is capable of killing a community."

Vatican City (AsiaNews)  Pope Francis urged people to be on their guard from hypocrisy which "hurts the Church. Speaking at Mass at Santa Marta on Tuesday morning he said hypocrisy "is not the language of Jesus," it is not the language for Christians. A hypocrite is capable of killing a community.

Commenting on the Gospel passage of render unto Cesare that which is Caesars the Pope stated that, following the example of Jesus, the language of Christians must be truthful and warned of the temptations of hypocrisy and adultery, emphasizing how often Jesus calls the doctors of the law "hypocrites." They are hypocrites because "they see something but they think of another, as the very etymology of the word indicates."

These doctors of the law "speak, judge", but think of something else. This is hypocrisy. "And hypocrisy is not the language of Jesus. Hypocrisy is not the language of Christians. A Christian cannot be hypocritical and a hypocrite is not Christian. This is so clear. This is the adjective that Jesus uses most with these people: hypocritical. Let's see what they are doing. The hypocrite is always an adulterer, either in greater or lesser tone, but an adulterer nonetheless. " In fact, they seek to infuriate Jesus. "The hypocrites always begin with adulation." Francis noted that adulation begins with not telling the truth of exaggerating it until it becomes a vanity." He recalled the case of a priest, who drank in all of the adoration he received it his weakness."

Adulation, he said, begins "with bad intent". It is the case of the doctors of the law, in the passage of today's Gospel, who test Jesus, starting with adulation and then asking a question to make him fall into a trap: "It is right to pay to Caesar, it's right?". "The hypocrite is two faced. But Jesus knowing their hypocrisy, clearly says, 'Because you want to test me, bring me some money, I want to see it.' Always Jesus responds to the hypocrites and the ideologists with reality. The reality is this, everything else is either hypocrisy or ideology. But this is the reality: bring me some money. And he shows the reality, he responds with that wisdom of the Lord: render unto Cesare that which is Caesars - and that which is God to God'. "

The third aspect, the Pope added, "The language of hypocrisy is the language of deceit, it is the same language that the snake uses with Eve, it is the same." It begins with adulation and then destroys people and "is capable of killing a community. " "When there are hypocrites in a community there is a great danger there, there is a very bad danger." The Lord Jesus said to us, "When you speak let your yes mean yes and your no, no. Exaggeration comes from evil. "

"How badly hypocrisy hurts the Church," the Pope said, and warned "those Christians who fall into this sinful attitude, kill." "The hypocrite is capable of killing a community. He's gently talking, he's badly judging a person. The hypocrite is a killer. Let's remember this: it begins with adulation, it only responds to reality. They do not come with these stories, the reality is this, as with ideology, this is reality. And in the end it is the same language as the devil who sows that perfidious language in the communities to destroy them. We ask the Lord to guard us so as not to fall into this vice of hypocrisy. Let the Lord give us this grace: 'Lord, that I may not be hypocritical, that I may know the truth, and if I cannot say it, be silent, but never a hypocrite".
Mashal Khan never uttered an offensive word against the prophet, according to an investigation ordered by the Supreme Court. The young mans murder was planned a month before his death to punish him for denouncing corruption. Since 1990, at least 65 people have been killed by religious vigilantes.

Peshawar (AsiaNews)  Mashal Khan, a student who was lynched for blasphemy, never uttered an offensive word towards the prophet, this according to the official joint report by Pakistani police and intelligence agencies.

The Supreme Court had ordered the probe to shed light on one of the most violent episodes in the history of modern Pakistan.

The report notes that the death of Mardan University student was the result of a plot orchestrated by faculty members and student rivals who wanted to punish him for daring to complain about widespread corruption.

Relieved by the conclusions, Mashal's father, Muhammad Iqbal, said that the findings had vindicated his son. "This proves my son was not a blasphemer," he said.

On 13 April (Good Thursday), the 23-year-old student was stripped, beaten, and killed. After he died, a mob desecrated his body with kicks, punches and sticks.

Khan's death has caused an outrage across the country, especially after the video of the lynching was posted online. The images show an unprecedented viciousness, based only on blasphemy allegations.

In reality, No direct or indirect evidence supporting blasphemy allegations against Mashal Khan (or his friends) Abdullah and Zubair was received," the 308-page report says. The two other men were able to flee.

The killing was instigated by members of Khan's own Pakhtun Students Federation, who felt threatened by his growing prominence as a critic of rising fees and alleged corruption at the university, as well as by the institution's staff.

The police report noted that the attack was planned a month before. It also found that, after the murder, some faculty members pressured students to support the unfounded blasphemy charges. In total, 57 people, including 12 university employees, now face charges.

In Pakistan, blasphemy is punished with the death penalty and the mere suspicion of offending the prophet can trigger the reaction of the most radical Muslims. At least 65 people have been murdered by vigilantes over blasphemy allegations since 1990.

Unfortunately, blasphemy charges have been used all too frequently to settle even smaller scores, [but] So great is the emotional wave around a blasphemy case that it often results in riots, making an honest inquiry next to impossible, says an editorial in The Dawn, Pakistans largest English language daily newspaper.

The latter goes on to say that Some of those involved have since reportedly expressed their regret at being overtaken by emotion, but these shows of remorse apart, the real lessons must be learnt by the government. The authorities must see and acknowledge the evidence which says that prompt tackling by officials present of blasphemy accusations can help prevent situations where mobs are found to be violating the law.
According to WHO, almost 74,000 cases of cholera have been reported with more than 600 dead (40 per cent children). Up to 300,000 people are at risk. Every ten minutes a child under five dies. Health facilities are on the verge of collapse. Bishop Hinder calls for prayer and silent help for Christians and Muslims. It's hard to bring aid, but keep attention must be kept alive.

Abu Dhabi (AsiaNews)  The situation in some parts of Yemen is "disastrous", although it is not possible at present to draw a full picture of the situation because "it is hard to go there and have credible information" based on facts unfiltered by propaganda, said Mgr Paul Hinder, apostolic vicar of southern Arabia (UAE, Oman and Yemen).

"Compared to other conflicts that seem more interesting to the media, Yemen is a forgotten nation that needs greater attention, said the prelate who spoke to AsiaNews about the acute humanitarian emergency in the Arab country, devastated by almost 30 months of bloody war.

None of the parties involved in the war can be said to be "innocent", noted Mgr Hinder. "Violations" are perpetrated on both sides. In the end, it is the civilian population that pays the price, often forgotten and abandoned to itself, forced to face a "cholera emergency" as well.

Many powers are involved  including Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United States  fighting in Yemen via proxies. None of them, however, "have an interest in being cast in bad light" and for this reason, a veil of silence seems to fall upon on the conflict far too often.

UN humanitarian chief Stephen O'Brien is among those sounding the alarm. Yemen, he said, is facing "total social, economic and institutional collapse". Yemenis suffering was no coincidence, he added, but rather the fault of those involved and inaction by world powers.

What is worse, neither side has been willing to compromise, and "the call for peace . . . is still falling on deaf ears," noted UN envoy for Yemen, Ismael Ould Cheikh Ahmed.

Since January 2015, Yemen has been fought over in a bloody civil war pitting the countrys predominantly Sunni leadership, led by former President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, backed by Saudi Arabia, and Shia Houthi rebels, close to Iran and Lebanons Hezbollah.

In March 2015, a Saudi-led Arab coalition began carrying out air strikes against the rebels, which the United Nations criticised because of the civilian casualties they provoked, including children.

So far, more than 8,000 people have died, more than 44,000 injured and 3 million displaced. Almost 19 million people (out of a population of 24 million) are in need of humanitarian assistance to varying degrees.

The conflict has brought almost seven million people to the brink of starvation. A child under the age of five dies every ten minutes, and more than 55 per cent of the country's medical and health facilities have become unusable.

Making matters worse, cholera has broken out in recent weeks, reaching the level of a real emergency. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), almost 74,000 suspected cases have been reported since early April, with at least 605 dead, 40 per cent of whom are children.

If nothing is done, cholera cases could quadruple in the next month to 300,000, half of them children, with hospitals unable to meet demand.

"For Yemen, said Mgr Hinder, I feel a silent sorrow that embraces both Muslims, who are 99 per cent of the population, as well as Christians, almost all foreigners, who have remained for a variety of reasons. Certainly, the conditions vary depending on the area of the country, but the difficulties and the sufferings touch everyone."

"I continue to pray for the people without special proclamations or announcements, the prelate added. My prayers are not only personal, but embrace the whole community. Recently, during a visit to an Abu Dhabi parish, I shared my intentions with the faithful, asking them to pray for peace in Yemen."

Some people and organisations have "offered financial and material aid, but distribution remains a problem," the apostolic vicar explained. For now, we collect the offerings, waiting to see how we can deliver them and "relieve at least some of the sufferings.

We are ready to help, but the climate is difficult, and we have to move carefully. The Church continues "its silent help through prayer, waiting for developments, including political ones after Qatar was excluded from the Arab coalition. The important thing is to not forget, to keep attention alive, and continue our spiritual mission of memory through prayer." (DS)
The bishop disappeared after being called for a meeting with the Office for Religious Affairs. Bishop Shao is recognized by the Vatican, but not by the government. The bishop's mother, 90, asks to be able to see her son. Catholics in Wenzhou ask for prayers for their shepherd, so he may be "strong" in faith and witness. In the past some underground bishops were killed while in police hands.

Wenzhou (AsiaNews) - There is still no news of Msgr. Peter Shao Zhumin, Ordinary Bishop of Wenzhou (Zhejiang). The diocese's faithful are very concerned, and with them also the bishop's mother, a 90-year-old woman who has already asked several times to see her son.

Msgr. Shao, 54, disappeared last May 18, after being invited at 9 am to the office for religious affairs in the city. His whereabouts remain unknown. On May 22, he made a request to his co-workers to have wine for the celebration of Mass, but since then nothing has been heard.

Priests and faithful say they do not know where he is and the authorities will tell them nothing.

A message sent to AsiaNews by a member of the faithful asks for "prayers to God to guide him to have a strong faith and a clear witness."

Msgr. Shao had been kidnapped already in April, a few days ahead of Easter, perhaps to prevent him from commemorating the rites of Holy Week with the faithful and his priests.

Bishop Shao is a member of the underground community and as a bishop is not recognized by the government. The Holy See, however, confirmed him as ordinary bishop of the diocese, after the death of his predecessor, Msgr. Vincenzo Zhu Weifang, on September 7th.

It is most likely that his forced disappearance aims to persuade the prelate to enroll in the Patriotic Association (PA), the party body that wants to build an independent Church, which is "inconsistent with Catholic doctrine "as Benedict XVI affirms in his 2007 Letter to Chinese Catholics, a position confirmed by Pope Francis.

In talks between China and the Holy See on episcopal appointments, the PA demands that all bishops be enrolled in the PA and that bishops who refuse to enroll be excluded as they are "unreliable".

In the past years, unofficial bishops, seized by the police, were returned to their family after being tortured. These include are Msgr. Giuseppe Fan Xueyan of Baoding (killed in 1992); Msgr. Giovanni Gao Kexian of Yantai (died in 2004); Msgr. John Han Dingxian (died in 2007)

Msgr Peter Shao Zhumin, is a bishop since 2007. The Wenzhou diocese has a past of strong divisions between the official and underground Christian communities. It is estimated that there are about 120,000 faithful in the official community and over 80,000 in the underground one. The priests are equally divided between the two branches and are around 50 in all. In recent years, the Holy See has sought to reconcile the communities by nominating Msgr. Zhu (now deceased) as Ordinary Bishop and Msgr. Shao as bishop with right of succession. But, according to the faithful, who also love and respect Msgr. Shao, "the local government does everything it can to keep us divided." Bishop Shao has often been imprisoned because of his faith. Even ahead of the funeral of his predecessor, he was kidnapped and unable to preside at the rite.
For the past two years we have heard about the case against Springfield, Massachusetts Pastor an anti-LGBT activist and the crimes against humanity lawsuit brought against him by Ugandan human rights activists. Lively and his virulent views about homosexuality at a 2009 anti-gay conference in Uganda is widely believed to have played a role in the drafting of Ugandas notorious kill the gays bill. and was accused of collaborating with Ugandan officials to institute the death penalty for homosexuals.

Today the lawsuit was dismissed because based on lack of jurisdiction.

SMUG v. Lively (Sexual Minorities Ugandas suit against Scott Lively) Court grants summary judgment in favor of Defendant Scott Lively, based on lack of jurisdiction. Memorandum and Order linked below Plaintiff has filed this lawsuit under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS), 28 U.S.C.  1350, seeking monetary damages and injunctive relief based on Defendants crimes against humanity. Defendant now seeks summary judgment in his favor arguing that, on the facts of record, the ATS provides no jurisdiction over a claim for injuries  however grievous   occurring entirely in a foreign country such as Uganda. Because the court has concluded that Defendants .jurisdictional argument is correct, the motion will be allowed. Anyone reading this memorandum should make no mistake. The question before the court is not whether Defendants actions in aiding and abetting efforts to demonize, intimidate, and injure LGBTI people in Uganda constitute violations of international law. They do. The much narrower and more technical question posed by Defendants motion is whether the limited actions taken by Defendant on American soil in pursuit of his odious campaign are sufficient to give this court jurisdiction over Plaintiffs claims. Since they are not sufficient, summary judgment is appropriate for this, and only this, reason. In conclusion:

For the foregoing reasons, Defendants motion for summary judgment (Dkt. No. 248) based on lack of jurisdiction is hereby ALLOWED. As noted, the court will decline to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the two purely state .law claims. As to them, the motion for summary judgment is ALLOWED, without prejudice to re-filing in state court if Plaintiff desires. The clerk will enter judgment of dismissal. This case may now be closed. It is so ordered.

Lively is president of Abiding Truth Ministries a recognized LGBT hate group and is director of Redemption Gate Mission Society, both currently based in Springfield, Mass.

In His Own Words

Because no matter what, [homosexuality] is still abnormal, wrong, harmful and perverse.

 Eugene Register-Guard, Nov. 1, 1992

There is no question that homosexuality figures prominently in the history of the Holocaust.  The first years of terrorism against the Jews were carried out by the homosexuals of the SA.

 The Pink Swastika, 1996

It is not mere coincidence that the emperors of Rome in its horrific final days were homosexual; that Adolf Hitlers inner circle were mostly homosexual; and that nearly all of the most prolific serial killers in U.S. history were homosexual. It is not mere coincidence that Americas cultural decline parallels the rise of gay rights.

 Agents of the Death Agenda, May 1996 edition of Life Advocate magazine, quoted in Northwest Update, Coalition for Human Dignity, June 1996.

Homosexuality is thus biologically (and to varying degrees morally) equivalent to pedophilia, sado-masochism, bestiality and many other forms of deviant behavior.

 Deciphering Gay Word-Speak and Language of Confusion, May 2002

Homosexuality is a personality disorder that involves various, often dangerous sexual addictions and aggressive, anti-social impulses.

 Letter to the Russian People, 2007

The gay movement is an evil institution [whose] goal is to defeat the marriage-based society and replace it with a culture of sexual promiscuity in which theres no restrictions on sexual conduct except the principle of mutual choice.

 Conference in Kampala, Uganda, March 2009

We need to bring back public discussion of AIDS as a gay disease, pederasty as [sic] major subculture of male homosexuality, mental health problems and domestic violence as major problems associated with lesbianism, the increasing recruitment of children into a homosexual identity through experimentation with gay sex, etc.  all the truths we stopped telling because the other side screamed so loudly about them.

 WorldNetDaily, September 2012

According to Lively, Putin is the worlds last hope, and other nations should follow in his footsteps by implementing more anti-LGBT laws.

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THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW to delight, enlighten & help plan your day, from the team at TBC Media
IMC S.A. (the Company) will hold its extraordinary general meeting of shareholders (the EGM) on Tuesday, 4 July 2017 at 11:30 a.m. CET at the registered office of the Company with the following agenda:



The EGM will have the following agenda:



1. Acknowledgment of the report on conflicts of interest prepared by the board of directors of the Company;



2. Approval of a management incentive plan of the Company pursuant to which certain members of the management team of Chernihivska IMC, the Ukrainian subsidiary of the Company (the "Participants") will be entitled to subscribe over a 3-year period new shares in the Company representing (in aggregate) up to 6% of the current share capital of the Company (the "MIP");



3. Delegation of powers to the board of directors to implement the above management incentive plan, in particular without being limited to the power to appoint the Participants in consultation with the compensation committee of the Company and to issue the new shares to the Participants within the framework of the authorized share capital (the "Delegation of Powers");



4. Miscellaneous.



The EGM is formally convened 30 days before the meeting date by _i_ the publication of the convening notice in a Luxembourg nationwide newspaper and on the on the Luxembourg Official Gazette _Memorial C, Recueil des Societes et Associations_ and _ii_ the dissemination of the convening notice on a EU-wide basis through appropriate media in accordance with the applicable Luxembourg legal provisions such as the Luxembourg law of 24 May 2011 on shareholders' rights in listed companies, the Luxembourg law of 10 August 1915 on commercial companies, the Luxembourg law of 11 January 2008 on transparency requirements and the Luxembourg law of 9 May 2006 on market abuse.

The convening notice shall be made available on the Company's website, from the date of the publication above-mentioned to the date of the EGM _included_, at the following address http://www.imcagro.com.ua.



Notice to shareholders - need to register for participation



Each shareholder wishing to exercise its rights to attend and vote at the EGM should send to the Company a Form of Participation to confirm its participation at the EGM no later than Tuesday, 20 June 2017, 11:59 p.m. CET.



The rights to vote at the EGM are determined in accordance with and at the record date (the "Record Date"), which is set on Tuesday, 20 June 2017, 24:00 a.m. (midnight) CET. Only shareholders who confirmed their participation to the Company on due time will be authorized to participate and vote at the EGM (the "Authorized Shareholder(s)").



The Form of Participation shall be returned in original by the shareholder to the Company's registered offices address which is IMC S.A., Attn: Christian Tailleur, 26-28, rue Edward Steichen, L-2540 Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg or by email to Christian.tailleur@lu.totalserve.eu.



In addition to the Form of Participation, each shareholder who holds its shares in the Company through the facilities of the Polish National Deposit of Securities (the "KDPW") or Clearstream Banking S.A. (as the case may be) shall request an original depositary certificate (the "Shareholder's Certificate") from the broker or custodian bank who is a participant of the KDPW or Clearstream Banking S.A. (as the case may be) and who maintains the securities account for such shareholder evidencing its amount of shares held at the Record Date.



The Shareholder's Certificate (original or copy) must be sent by the shareholder to the Company no later than Tuesday, 27 June 2017, 6:00 p.m. CET.



Vote by proxy

Shareholders who have complied with the notification and registration provisions set forth above, can give voting instructions to any other person (natural or legal) by no later than Monday, 3 July 2017 at 11:30 a.m. CET via the Proxy Voting Form and Instructions, duly completed for each resolution of the EGM, signed and sent to the Company in written form by mail to the registered offices address of the Company which is IMC S.A., Attn: Christian Tailleur, 26-28, rue Edward Steichen, L-2540 Luxembourg or by email to Christian.tailleur@lu.totalserve.eu.

One person may represent several or even all shareholders.



Vote by correspondence

The shareholders of the Company can also participate at the EGM by correspondence by using the Proxy Voting Form and Instructions.



Right to have additional items in the agenda of the EGM and file draft resolutions of the EGM



In accordance with the Luxembourg Act of 24 May 2011 on shareholders rights in listed companies, as amended, shareholders holding individually or collectively at least five per cent (5%) of the issued share capital of the Company have the right to add items to the agenda of the EGM and to file draft resolutions of the EGM in relation with the existing or new items to the agenda of the EGM.



These rights shall be exercised upon written requests of the shareholders (which needs to be an Authorized Shareholder) submitted to the Company by postal services at the registered offices address of the Company which is IMC S.A., Attn: Christian Tailleur, 26-28, rue Edward Steichen, L-2540 Luxembourg or by email to Christian.tailleur@lu.totalserve.eu.



The requests shall be accompanied by the evidence that (i) the shareholder is an Authorized Shareholder, (ii) a justification or a draft resolution to be adopted at the EGM and (iii) the electronic or mailing address at which the Company can acknowledge receipt of these requests.



The requests from the shareholders shall be received by the Company at the latest on Monday, 12 June 2017, 11:30 a.m. CET. The Company will acknowledge the receipt of such requests within forty eight (48) hours upon receipt.



The Company will publish an updated agenda at the latest on Monday, 19 June 2017.



Further questions



The shareholders of the Company may address all queries with respect to the EGM, such as but not limited to, the request to be provided with the documents to be tabled at the EGM and/or a draft of the resolutions of the EGM, by mail to the registered offices address of the Company which is IMC S.A., Attn: Christian Tailleur, 26-28, rue Edward Steichen, L-2540 Luxembourg or by email to Christian.tailleur@lu.totalserve.eu.



The shareholders of the Company may visit the Companys website at http://www.imcagro.com.ua/en/investor-relations/egm for any further information, such as but not limited to:



- this convening notice;

- the documents to be provided to the EGM;

- a draft of the resolutions of the EGM;

- the Proxy Voting Form and Instructions;

- the Form of Participation; and

- Important information for participating to the EGM.



Legal basis: Paragraph 39.1.1 of the Regulation of the Minister of Finance dated 19 October 2005 on ongoing and periodic information to be published by issuers of securities (Journal of Laws of 2005, No 209, item 1744, as amended).


The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office is investigating the death of a 6-month-old child.

6-month-old found dead in bed

Found with his head stuck between the mattress and the headboard

Boy's father put him down for nap in his bed, instead of crib

According to authorities, the 6-month-old Anthony Ford was found dead just before 1 p.m. Monday at a home on 51st Avenue North in unincorporated St. Petersburg.

Deputies said the boy was found with his head stuck between the mattress and the headboard.

The boy's father put him down for a nap in his bed, instead of the baby's crib, authorities said. About an hour and a half later, one of the baby's siblings found him unresponsive.

The boy's mother was not home at the the time.

An autopsy will determine the exact manner and cause of death.
A hit-and-run spree over the weekend left seven cars smashed up and a New Port Richey man under arrest.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 43-year-old Lon Brown crashed into five different cars early Sunday while driving from 22nd Avenue North to the Howard Frankland Bridge.

Lon Brown, 43, charged with carjacking, grand theft, DUI, hit-and-run

FHP says he hit seven vehicles, including one on Veterans Expressway

He is also accused of hitting woman with pipe before stealing her car



Troopers said he then hit a sixth car near Exit 39.

Tampa police investigated that incident and said when the owner of that car got out to exchange information, Brown hit her in the head with a pipe and stole her car.

Brown continued onto the Veterans Expressway, where he crashed for the seventh time that night, troopers said.

Cristina Pante said she was in her fiances truck on the way home from dinner when Brown rear ended them on the Expressway.

"It was raining really hard, and all of the sudden we just heard a really bad boom and our car went sideways," Pante said.

The couple, along with two other passengers, made it out safely. Pante said they then ran over to the other car to see if the driver was OK.

"By the time we got there, the gentleman was out of the vehicle and in handcuffs," Pante said.

Brown is charged with carjacking with a weapon, grand theft of a motor vehicle, several counts of hit-and-run and DUI.




Governor Rick Scott signed Florida's $82.4 billion budget.

But he vetoed nearly 400 projects totaling about $12 billion.

A lot of that money is cut from education. It could particularly have an impact on Polk State College's Lake Wales campus. The school's operating budget is looking at a veto that will cut $3 million.

Cuts would force the shut down of the campus. But campus officials are doing their best to fight a potential closure.

This week, the school posted the contact information of local lawmakers so students, staff and local residents could reach out to them and let them know they want funding restored ahead of this week's special session.

"We are making progress, we are moving the needle," said Polk State College President Dr. Eileen Holden. "And then we have this blow with the stroke of the governor's pen at the approval of the legislature $3 million was wiped out of our base budget."

Holden added she was disgusted by the governor vetoing millions of dollars to state colleges across Florida.

Lake Wales city commissioner Robin Gibson said the cuts would be devastating for college-going residents.

"The destination for most of these kids going to college has been wiped out," Gibson said. "I can't describe to you how, how, difficult that is for this community.

"It's astounding. Why would anything like this happen? Where are our priorities?"

Some of the Lake Wales campus students are equally concerned, stressing that the nearest classrooms to them would then be in Lakeland or Winter Haven - making it likely that some would have to quit school altogether.

"It's a great help and a great asset to people that normally wouldn't get exposure or get the opportunity to go to college," said student Marcus Walker of the Lake Wales campus.

Dr. Holden is pleading with residents, school staff and students to contact lawmakers before it's too late.

"These are working class men and women who need this center in Lake Wales to get a better job and have a better quality of life," Holden said. "It's as simple as that and it should never, ever be under attack by anyone."

Polk State isn't the only school being impacted. St. Petersburg College stands to lose about $1.8 million in funding. SPC officials say they would be forced to reduce classes and student support measures like tutoring and advising.

Legislators return to Tallahassee Wednesday to start the special session.
The search for answers continues after a disgruntled employee shot and killed five former coworkers at an Orange County RV-accessory business on Monday.

The gunman, 45-year-old John Neumann Jr., shot and killed himself before deputies responded to Fiamma on Forsyth Road.

Neumann has had past nonviolent run-ins with the law, including a DUI arrest and possession of marijuana, but no one expected him to kill five former coworkers.

You never know what people are capable of. These people... I just dont know why anybody would hurt them, said Todd Bluewater, who rented the back portion of the Fiamma building for his business.

Neumann was fired from his job in April.

This individual lives alone, has no family here in the area, Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said.

Monday evening, deputies spent several hours searching his mobile home in Lake of the Woods Mobile Home Park off U.S. 17-92 in Seminole County, leaving with bags of possible evidence.

Neumann's neighbors described him as being a quiet man who mostly kept to himself.

I only talked to him in passing really. I saw him around, (and said) Hey, whats up? and it was nothing really more than that, David Alter said.

"I'd see him riding his bicycle sometimes, and I'd walk by and he'd say, 'What up?' and I'd say, 'What up,' but that's it," said Wayne Dobbs, another neighbor.

Other neighbors who described themselves as friends of Neumann said the U.S. Army veteran had been "down" lately after losing his job at Fiamma. He was honorably discharged from the Army in 1999.

He was involved in a workplace incident three years ago at Fiamma, accused of beating up another employee, but no charges were filed.
Fifty years ago, a Texas family bought a resort that would become the iconic Schlitterbahn.

The story of Schlitterbahn's creation started with the Henry family when founders Bob and Billye Henry bought Landa Resort in New Braunfels in 1966. For the next 10 years, the family realized their resort guests were most attracted to the water slides they installed.

FUN FACTS: 35 facts about Schlitterbahn you likely didn't know about before

In response to the water slide demand guests expressed, the owners continued to develop new rides and slides for guests to enjoy. Then by 1979, the Henry's opened Schlitterbahn - which is the combination of the German words for slippery (schlitter) and road (bahn).

At the beginning, the resort the Henrys bought was 15 acres and 32 cabins, which grew to 40 acres and over 100 units in the first 10 years. The constant improvement of the park's attractions has been a staple in the Henry family and continues today.

"We lived at the camp so we literally lived the business," said Gary Henry, the eldest son of Bob and Billye Henry. "My mother would answer the reservation line at night and if there was any problem, we would go and fix it. It was a way of life. It was what we did."

The 2017 Schlitterbahn New Braunfels guests enjoy is over 70 acres containing 51 attractions.

Click through the gallery above to see the vintage photos of the Landa Resort and Schlitterbahn in their early years and continue clicking to see photos and facts of what we know as Schlitterbahn now.

SUMMER IN WINTER: Schlitterbahn is loving this warm weather in the winter

Last season the Schlitterbahn family was devastated after a 10-year-old boy suffered a fatal neck injury in August 2016 while riding the Verruckt slide, the world's former highest slide in the world reaching a staggering 168 feet high.

"It was a devastating event and devastating to the staff that ran that ride and the park in general,' Gary Henry said. "Our focus is on safety  every day  the way we open the park and check to see everything is operating properly. We don't only rely on our safety, but we also rely on others coming in to double check after us."

Henry says the Schlitterbahn brand is going to continue testing, revisiting and improving all of their attractions to continuously ensure the safety of their customers and employees.

"Whether it's the parking lots or the restrooms or the rides, every aspect has to be looked at to ensure it is as safe as possible," Henry said.

Ed Hubbard has been going to Schlitterbahn New Braunfels for the past 25 years with his entire family each Memorial Day weekend. He says thanks to Schlitterbahn, there is something for every family member to do and no one is bored. He credits Schlitterbahn as the reason why his kids know their extended family.

"There's one particular time that repeats itself every Memorial Day. During the day, everyone goes their own way, but every night around 6:30 and 7 we all meet up for dinner and a prayer circle," Hubbard said. "So it is really the only time of the year when our whole family is together in such an important moment.

"There's no place like Schlitterbahn. No other place would compare."
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A 31-year-old man who died earlier this year contracted flesh-eating bacteria while swimming in the Gulf of Mexico with a freshly inked tattoo, according to a new report.

The gruesome details of the man's death are documented in a BMJ case report published May 27, 2017, which chronicles how the bacteria slowly ate away the flesh on the man's leg in the weeks preceding his death.

According to the report, authored by Nicholas Henderson, the man went swimming in the Gulf of Mexico five days after getting a tattoo of hands clasped in prayer and a cross on his right calf.

RELATED: Family: Texas man battles to keep leg after flesh-eating bacteria in Port Aransas causes infection

Three days later, the area around the new tattoo appeared irritated and red, and officials suspect vibrio vulnificus, a bacterial microorganism, entered the man's body through his calf tattoo and festered in his body.

According to a University of Michigan report, those with new tattoos should avoid any kind of swimming until the ink has healed.

Tattoos are considered open wounds and are susceptible to infection.

Experts concluded that a combination of seawater exposure the the still-fresh tattoo and alcoholic cirrhosis, a liver disease that develops from drinking too much alcohol, contributed to the severity of the bacterial infection, according to the report.

READ MORE: What you need to know about 'flesh-eating' infections caused by bacteria in Texas waters

Two hours after being admitted into the hospital, officials noted a purple patch was progressing on the man's right hip and dark purple bubbles began appearing on the man's leg as well.

After weeks of treatment, the man died due to cirrhosis, renal failure and necrotic skin lesions, according to the report.

kbradshaw@express-news.net

Twitter: @kbrad5
A study presented at the 2016 Annual PostGraduate Assembly in Anesthesiology, Dec. 9 through Dec. 13 in New York City, examined salary data across 15 medical specialties, Anesthesiology News reports.

Lead study author and Centre County-based Pennsylvania State University researcher Julia Caldwell, MD, and colleagues conducted the research.

Here's what you should know.

1. The national median salary across all specialties is $80,000 lower for all women.

2. Fields with high levels of female participation have lower salaries for women than those specialties with low levels of participation

3. Dr. Caldwell said over 30-year careers, men earn approximately $5 million more than woman. Men are also four times more likely to become a department chair.

4. Anesthesiology is the only specialty with average or high female participation rates. Female anesthesiologists' mean salary was $428,208 which is higher than the median $333,163 across the female participation group.
Carle, an Illinois-based nonprofit healthcare provider, is beginning construction on an ASC in Champaign, Ill., this summer, according to Smile Politely.

Here are three quick facts:

1. Carle plans to build two medical office buildings next to the ASC if the nonprofit organization receives certificate of need approval.

2. Carle is expanding its footprint in Champaign with plans to also build retail and office buildings.

3. Through the additions, Carle aims to increase economic development in Champaign.
Don Dadds, vice president of revenue cycle services for Peoria, Ill.-based OSF HealthCare, has more than 10 years of physician office and hospital revenue cycle management experience.

At OSF HealthCare, Mr. Dadds also spent more than five years doing merger and acquisition work for the 11-hospital system. He is a former licensed nursing home administrator for the health system.

Mr. Dadds recently answered questions from Becker's Hospital Review about his greatest challenges as a revenue cycle leader and how he would improve the revenue cycle process.

Note: Responses have been lightly edited for clarity.

Question: What's your favorite part about being a revenue cycle leader for a healthcare system?



Don Dadds: The opportunity to contribute to a positive patient experience and contribute to the financial support of our organization to build for the future.



Question: What is the biggest challenge you're facing as a revenue cycle leader?



DD: The state of Illinois provides many unique issues including the lack of a state budget for multiple years. Our Medicaid population has grown over the past several years and this area is a big challenge for us currently. Also, the ever-changing landscape to meet, payer needs and federal regulations requires us to be more creative, flexible and agile to meet our system's financial needs.



Question: What is one of your goals this year?



DD: To develop tools that will better allow us to monitor the patient experience and how what we modify in revenue cycle impacts the patient encounter. Also to further develop a fully-integrated revenue cycle within our organization.



Question: What is one thing you'd do to improve the revenue cycle process?



DD: To make the process of patients understanding their coverage easier and more straightforward for them. In the ever-changing world of payer and employer plan coverage, as well as traditional Medicaid and managed Medicaid, the complexities are challenging enough for those who work in revenue cycle but even more so for our patients. It impacts how they register, how to explain coverage clearly, what services are covered, what is in-network, what the appropriate copay or deductible amounts are. Unfortunately, patients can get caught in the middle as a result of the many options and complexities available and can end up with an unexpected out-of-pocket charge if they don't know what to expect. To be able to have our patients with a clear understanding of coverage before they need care would positively impact the patient experience as well as our overall revenue cycle.
Healthcare information technology promises to speed workflows, improve data access and better the patient experience  yet many clinicians find it does just the opposite, increasing their documentation burden with little to no payoff in terms of clinical decision-making and patient care.

The EHR is a tool for data collection more than data analysis, meaning it can transform the clinician's desktop workstation into a ball and chain of documentation. Physicians, weighted by the sheer volume of data, may be glued to a screen trying to sift through and discern real-time, actionable information, rendering them ineffective in caring for the patient in front of them. In practice, clinicians struggle to provide quality care because of the distractions caused by the demands of documentation.

"Clinicians may have very little time with their patients. They don't have time to spend sorting through all of the data that may be available to them when all of it is flagged as important. Clinicians struggle with knowing which data is credible, which data is accurate and most up-to-date. When the data comes from many different sources, it's difficult to see the entire picture without spending a lot of time sorting, searching and validating the data," Kim Lewis, RN, BSN, global clinical solutions manager at Lenovo Health, told Becker's in an interview.

It doesn't have to be this way. Ms. Lewis shared four tips for alignment between IT solutions and what physicians need at the point of care.

1. Alleviate tech-based burdens with endpoint solutions. Some workflow burdens can be eased with secure mobile endpoint solutions and cloud technology. "Mobile technology in settings of care allow for clinicians to be able to spend more time with patients," Ms. Lewis said. Mobile devices, such as tablets, ensure clinicians "don't have a huge device in front of them and are actually able to interact with their patients," she said. They also enable real-time documentation and communication, so a clinician can receive up-to-the-minute lab results, notifications, and communications from other members of the care team without having to sit down and log in to an alternate workstation or device.

2. Don't ditch desktop PCs just yet. Even as mobile device use increases, desktop PCs remain a mainstay in most healthcare organizations. This is because mobile devices come with their own workflow challenges, such as battery life and connectivity, Ms. Lewis noted. Screens may not be large enough or vendor apps may not be optimized for mobile use, she said. Additionally, it's difficult to scroll through and tab through fields without a keyboard and mouse. For the most part, mobile devices are currently used as supplemental tools to desktop computers in healthcare organizations.

However, technology solutions are not one-size-fits-all. Faced with several device options, clinicians may still find a desktop workstation simply more efficient. "I think it's safe to say every clinician has their own preference and ideal workflow, and there are benefits and challenges to using both," Ms. Lewis said.

3. Give clinicians the time and space to have their say. IT departments should set up lines of communication with clinicians to better understand how to align IT solutions with the complex and varied demands coming from the provider side. "The No. 1 issue in all organizations, regardless of their function, is communication. Most organizations know better than to purchase lots of hardware and software without getting feedback from the end-users," Ms. Lewis said.

She recommended hospitals host a tech fair, giving clinicians a chance to voice their concerns and preferences when there are decisions to be made between different devices. A hospital she worked in even brought vendors to demo various solutions, and invited clinicians to test them and provide feedback. This gives the people involved in patient care, struggling with the workflow changes and demands a chance to digest change, Ms. Lewis said, and an outlet to productively voice their opinions and concerns.

4. Choose partners wisely. Technology plays a huge role in clinician satisfaction and retention, yet many hospitals may feel strapped when it comes to fulfilling IT demands. The good news is hospitals do not have to go it alone, according to Ms. Lewis. Many hospitals are choosing to partner with IT-as-a-Service providers who can manage everything from configuration to support. This allows staff to focus on strategy and patient care rather than installing devices. "ITaaS is a great option for providers that need IT support and may not have the resources to staffonsite," Ms. Lewis said. "It streamlines device management and maximizes dollars for other costs, while eliminating the burden of IT management on tech staff."

However, she advises hospitals looking for ITaaS to carefully evaluate partners based on trust, hardware and software expertise, and working relationships with EHR vendors  a signal third-party services will work smoothly with an organization's IT system. Most importantly, Ms. Lewis advised hospitals to look for companies that empathize with patients and providers, and demonstrate that understanding in their offerings. "It's very important tech companies are thinking about who the end customer is when they are developing technology, because downtimes, trouble with connectivity, battery life, compatibility and function directly impact patient's lives. And, health organizations need to feel that their technology partners understand the impact any challenges have on the care they provide," Ms. Lewis said.

Lenovo Health is supporting a three-day innovation summit in partnership with Becker's Healthcare, from June 6-8. You can sign up for the summit here.
PLEASE NOTE!

Due to the March 23, 2020 NM DOH Public Health Order, These Event Listings Are Not Accurate!

All non-essential businesses are closed, public gatherings are prohibited!

(One day some of these events will be rescheduled or will resume, but they are not happening now!)
This fall, Duplin County (N.C.) Schools will provide students with visit virtual physician visits through a partnership with Greenville, N.C.-based East Carolina University, North Carolina Health News reports.

With the help of school nurses, ECU staff will offer students remote primary care check-ups, mental health screenings and nutrition consultations. Physicians and teachers alike hope the district's telemedicine clinic will improve student attendance as well as help to prevent chronic conditions like diabetes, according to North Carolina Health News.

This year marks ECU's second year of a four-year U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration grant, which funds the project. The first year was spent setting up equipment and training ECU and Duplin County school staff.

More articles on health IT:

OptimizeRx, Glenwood Systems to launch financial messaging EHR

For organizational guidance  A compass or a GPS?

71% of physicians would spend more time using tech if EHRs could yield unique patient insights
The North Dakota Department of Human Services is notifying 2,452 Medicaid beneficiaries and guardians of a privacy breach after officials discovered protected health information in a local dumpster, according to an emailed news release the department shared with Becker's Hospital Review.

Here are five things to know.

1. A resident called the department May 10 after finding 2015 Medicaid claim resolution worksheets in a Bismarck, N.D., dumpster.

2. The department immediately recovered the worksheets and launched an investigation. The investigation revealed one employee had improperly discarded the documents May 8. Officials said there was no malicious intent and the department used appropriate disciplinary action, according to the news release.

3. The documents included PHI such as Medicaid recipients' names, dates of birth, Medicaid ID numbers and diagnosis codes, among other information. The documents did not contain Social Security numbers, addresses or individual financial information. The incident did not affect Expansion or Children's Health Insurance Program participants.

4. There was "no evidence that any confidential information [had] been used improperly or further disclosed," according to the news release. "Because the documents were recovered, the department believes the risk of re-disclosure of information to other unauthorized individuals is low."

5. The department is reviewing its information security policies and procedures to prevent future privacy incidents, according to the news release. It will also offer affected Medicaid recipients one year of free credit and identity theft monitoring.

Click here to view the patient notification.
David Phillips, the CEO of Los Angeles-based NKP Medical Marketing, was arrested in April and accused of asking an alleged drug dealer to kill one of Mr. Phillips' former business associates, according to the Los Angeles Times.

A federal criminal complaint filed in Louisiana alleges Mr. Phillips told an suspected drug dealer over the phone that he would forgive a $30,000 debt related to a failed "marijuana venture" if the drug dealer could carry out a "hit" on a former business associate. Homeland security investigators in New Orleans heard part of the conversation last year while listening to phone calls made by the drug dealer, who is suspected of trafficking methamphetamine in Los Angeles, according to the report.

Federal authorities have not released the name of the suspected meth trafficker, who is now cooperating with prosecutors, or the would-be victim of the murder-for-hire plot.

Court records show Mr. Phillips was arrested April 25 after the drug dealer gave him a staged photo portraying the victim with a gunshot wound to the head, according to the report.

Mr. Phillips pleaded not guilty on Thursday, and his next court appearance is slated for July. His attorney Glen Jonas told the Los Angeles Times Mr. Phillips has not broken the law.

"The purported victim is a disgruntled former employee," Mr. Jonas told the Los Angeles Times. "That's it, and frankly, his importance to my client, was minimal."

NKP Medical Marketing describes itself as "a leader in online marketing for cosmetic surgery practices and general surgery practices," according to the report.

More articles on legal and regulatory issues:

8 latest healthcare industry lawsuits, settlements

More Delnor Hospital nurses join lawsuit against county over hostage situation

EHR vendor, executives to pay $155M for allegedly misrepresenting software's capabilities
A 57-year-old man, whose identity has not been released, was charged June 1 with felony disorderly conduct after making a bomb threat at Presence Mercy Medical Center in Aurora, Ill., according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Police said the man told a hospital security guard he had a bomb in his backpack. Although the security guard did not find the man's threat to be credible because the man was intoxicated and had previously complained about wait times at the hospital, hospital security still escorted the man out of the hospital and then contacted police, according to the report.

There was no evidence of explosives found when the Kane County Bomb Squad later searched the man's backpack.

Police said the man was charged with disorderly conduct and was admitted to Presence Mercy Medical Center for a psychological evaluation, according to the report.

More articles on legal and regulatory issues:

CEO of medical marketing firm arrested for plotting death of former associate

Supreme Court exempts church-affiliated hospitals from federal pension law: 5 things to know

Hospitalist group settles billing fraud case for $4.2M
Insurance regulators nationwide are offering filing deadline extensions and other flexibilities to incentivize health insurers to remain in the 2018 ACA exchanges, according to The Hill.

Uncertainty surrounding the future of the ACA's cost-sharing reductions  which compensate payers for subsidizing costs for lower-income individuals  and the future of the health law are forcing insurers to consider their ACA exchange participation. Payers have until June 21 to file plans with the federal government to operate on the exchanges.

Here are four things to know about some state regulators' actions.

1. John Franchini, insurance superintendent for New Mexico, told The Hill, "instead of being rigid on timelines, the type of pricing I'm going to want, I'm being more open about this." He added, "I'm trying to be more flexible to give them confidence that if things change, we as regulators will be flexible with them."

2. In California and several other states, insurance regulators are allowing payers to file two rounds of premium requests. The first considers the continuation of the ACA's CSRs, and the second considers the discontinuation of the CSRs.

3. Mike Kreidler, Washington state's insurance commissioner, told The Hill he may be interested in creating a reinsurance program, similar to Alaska. In addition, Mr. Kreidler said he is considering proposing a tax relief for insurers selling plans in rural counties, as well as requiring insurers to offer plans in rural and urban areas.

4. Tennessee Insurance Commissioner Julie Mix McPeak worked with Chattanooga-based BlueCross Blue Shield of Tennessee to draw the insurer back to the state's individual market after Louisville, Ky.-based Humana declared its exit from the 2018 exchange. Ms. McPeak told BCBST it could leave the market "in the event of any post-bid changes that destabilize the market," The Hill reports.
Poughkeepsie, N.Y.-based MidHudson Regional Hospital welcomed orthopedic surgeon Yigal Samocha, MD, to the medical staff, according to a Hudson Valley News Network report.

Here are five things to know:

1. Dr. Samocha joined the hospital as a member of the Westchester Medial Center Health Network and will dedicate his practice to spine care.

2. Before joining MidHudson Regional, Dr. Samocha spent six years in private practice in Houston.

3. MidHudson Regional offers continuum of care services for orthopedic injuries and disorders, including back and neck pain.

4. Dr. Samocha earned his medical degree at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas and completed his residency at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, N.Y. He also completed a fellowship at Texas Back Institute in Plano.

5. He is in the process of helping to develop a spine center that will serve Dutchess and surrounding counties.
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Meanwhile, Tesco, which is already NI's largest supermarket, has increased its market share from 34.5% to 34.8%. It has around 50 stores here. (Rui Vieira/PA)

Lidl is once again growing its share of Northern Ireland's grocery market, new figures have shown.

The German supermarket giant saw its market share rising from 5.1% to 5.4%, for the 52 weeks to May 21, according to Kantar Worldpanel.

The company now has 38 stores here. It is currently planning to open a new supermarket as part of The Junction retail park in Antrim and is moving to a new location at Connswater retail park in east Belfast.

Meanwhile, Tesco, which is already NI's largest supermarket, has increased its market share from 34.5% to 34.8%. It has around 50 stores here.

But Sainsbury's and Asda's shares in the market were down. Both had shares of 17.6% last year, which in Sainsbury's case was now down to 17.3%, while Asda's portion was now 17.4%.

In the Republic, SuperValu remains the largest supermarket, while Tesco moved back up into second place.

Kantar Worldpanel director David Berry said: "Growth has been driven by households buying extra items, with the average shopping basket increasing in size.

"Retailers' own brands continue to lead the way, growing sales by 3.8% and accounting for 54% of grocery purchasing.

"Among the retailers, SuperValu remains in the top spot with a clear 0.5 percentage point lead over Tesco in second place."
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Margaret Canning Opinion Conservatives have gone back to traditional territory with a mini-budget that just might cost the party the next election

Many of the measures in Kwasi Kwartengs first big statement as Chancellor had been trailed in advance  changes to stamp duty, the cancellation of both the rise in National Insurance and the rise in corporation tax, and bringing forward a cut in the basic rate of income tax to 19 pence.
Comedian Sara Pascoe will be appearing at this year's Belfast Book Festival.

The Belfast Book Festival returns for its seventh year this week, boasting a huge programme of events over ten days for literature lovers.

Based at the Crescent Arts Centre in east Belfast, the Festival will host discussions from both local and international authors, covering all genres of books.

Here are eight of the top events from this year's programme.

1. Attack of the Fifty Foot Women - Catherine Mayer, Saturday, June 10

Former editor at large of TIME Magazine and co-founder of the Womens Equality Party, Catherine Mayer will be discussing her new book and how "gender equality can save the world".

The author will be sharing her stories about researching the book and revealing how she noticed that many people found it hard to envisage a gender-equal world.

Where: Crescent Arts Centre

Time: 6pm

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Price: 5 - 7

2. The Life of a Painter - John Lavery (Written and performed by Conor Maguire) Sunday, June 11

This one-man show has been adapted for stage by Conor Maguire from John Laverys 1940 Autobiography, The Life of a Painter.

It tells the story of how John Lavery came from humble beginnings to go on to live in the higher echelons of society.

Having taught Churchill to paint, and counting lords, ladies, politicians and royalty among his friends, Lavery became a critical player at the time when the Irish treaty was being signed.

Where: Crescent Arts Centre

Time: 2pm & 8pm

Price: 5 - 7

3. What Would Beyonce Do? - Luisa Omielan with Sarah Firby, Wednesday, June 14

Comedian and author Luisa Omielan will be discussing her hilarious memoirs as well as answering the one mantra every person needs in their life: What Would Beyonce Do?

Where: Crescent Arts Centre

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Time: 8pm

Price: 8 - 10

4. Animal - Sara Pascoe with Sarah Firby, Thursday, June 15

Comedian Sara Pascoe will be discussing her debut book Animal, which explores theories of how the female body evolved alongside cultural analysis and personal experience.

The book provides a fascinating insight into the forces that mould and affect modern women - and its packed full of jokes too.

Sara is best known for her appearances on Live at The Apollo, Mock the Week, QI, Room 101, Never Mind the Buzzcocks and 8 out of 10 Cats.

Where: Black Box (16+)

Time: 8pm

Price: 10 - 12

5. Louis de Bernieres, Friday, June 16

Author of the bestselling book, Captain Corellis Mandolin, Louis De Bernieres joins the Belfast Book Festival to talk about about his latest novel Blue Dog - the prequel inspired by the adaptation of its predecessor Red Dog, to the big screen.

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The prolific author will also touch on his recently published novel, the critically acclaimed The Dust That Falls From Dreams, as well as look at his latest collection of poetry Of Love and Desire.

Where: Crescent Arts Centre

Time: 6.30pm

Price: 6 - 8

6. Polari Literary Salon, Friday, June 16

Londons award-winning LGBT literary salon Polari has been showcasing the best in established and emerging LGBT literary talent since 2007.

Curated and hosted by author Paul Burston, Polari features a mixture of visiting and local guests including Belfast author Paul McVeigh, performing their own unique work.

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Polari began in the upstairs room of a bar in Soho. Events are now held monthly at the Southbank Centre and feature the best in established and emerging LGBT literary talent.

Where: Sunflower Bar

Time: 8pm

Price: 6 - 8

7. Another Day In The Death Of America - Gary Younge in conversation with Elizabeth Nelson Gorman, Friday, June 16

On 23 November 2013, 10 children were shot dead in the US. None made the national news. It was just another day in the death of America, where on average 7 children and teens are killed by guns daily.

Editor-at-large at The Guardian, Gary Younge picked this day at random, searched for their families and told their stories. What emerges is a sobering, searing, portrait of youth and guns in contemporary America.

Where: Crescent Arts Centre

Time: 7pm

Price: 6 - 8

8. The Strange Death of Europe - Douglas Murray with Daniel Jewsbury, Friday, June 16

The Strange Death of Europe is a highly personal account of a continent and culture caught in the act of suicide.

Declining birth-rates, mass immigration and cultivated self-distrust and self-hatred have come together to make Europeans unable to argue for themselves and incapable of resisting their own comprehensive change as a society.

Told from this first-hand perspective, and backed with impressive research and evidence, the book addresses the disappointing failure of multiculturalism, Angela Merkels U-turn on migration, the lack of repatriation and the Western fixation on guilt

Where: Crescent Arts Centre

Time: 8pm

Time: 8 - 10
Brexit will undoubtedly have an impact on the border with the Republic of Ireland

There is only one issue worth discussing in this election, yet it isn't getting much attention. What kind of border do we want London to negotiate in the Brexit talks, soft, hard or special? The unionists have already thrown in the towel, apparently accepting that since it was a British referendum, Northern Ireland's 56% Remain vote is trumped by the UK's 52% pro-Brexit.

The nationalists are equally determined to resist any return to the customs regime of the past; they want a special arrangement for our special geographical and political circumstances. No border, no end to north-south connections.

The election will decide who will lead the retreat from Europe and, for all the slippage, few believe that Theresa May will not have a manageable majority, with or without unionist support. Jeremy Corbyn's record on Ireland is so dubious and uninformed, he might never be trusted.

So, the battle is on to win the maximum influence in London and Brussels, yet there is little hard evidence for the parties, or the voters, to go on, as to the future shape of the Irish border.

Almost the only fact to emerge, from a source in the Irish revenue body is that some 8% of lorries crossing the border would have to be inspected, causing delay and expense to major companies like Coca Cola, whose raw materials and finished products routinely cross the border.

So great are the unprecedented problems of Brexit that no one can predict how long present arrangements will last, or even if a final deal will receive parliamentary approval.

Yet, if the UK is leaving the EU, a tariff boundary must be set, either like the Norway-Sweden border, with some 20 customs crossings, or special status for the island of Ireland.

The latter would mean no change here, with free passage for people and goods, but a new border would have to be agreed at ports of entry to Britain.

To say this would be controversial is a gross understatement. Not only would the British have to accept different treatment for a subsidised part of their unitary state, but Brussels would have to approve such a unique arrangement.

Dublin would, but what about the 26 other EU members? Would they be sufficiently moved by fears for the Irish peace process?

Most importantly, what about the reaction of the unionists? Would they accept such a deviation, even if it was economically advantageous, or would they oppose it tooth and nail?

If Scotland were heading for independence, would that alter the arithmetic?

It is impossible to answer these questions before negotiations begin, but one certainty is that a hard border would be unacceptable to a section of the Northern Ireland population.

Enough who cross the border regularly could make it unworkable, whatever technology could be employed to lessen the inconvenience.

To illustrate the impossibility, a fisherman tells me that all he would need to become a people smuggler between Leitrim and Fermanagh would be an outboard engine for his boat.

Because of adverse unionist reaction, the British and Irish governments are unlikely to go for an all-Ireland solution now, but it would be surprising if Dublin were not considering all possibilities, in view of their dependence on trade with Britain.

While most unionists are resigned to Brexit, border and all, most nationalists will continue to press for special status, and eventually a border poll.

As Remainers say, the Leavers would never have given up if they had lost the vote, so why should they?

Such radical ideas should be at the heart of the election debate, given the effect of a renewed political and economic border across the island to the basis of the Good Friday Agreement.

While preservation of the Union is central to unionists, nationalists equally cling to the lifeline of an open border and the possibility of a united Ireland, inside Europe.

In an uncertain world, with the UK heading for a go-it-alone future and Northern Ireland's nationalist vote rising relentlessly, everyone should be keeping all their options open.
Elections in Northern Ireland have often been held under the shadow of violence. This is the first time that one has been overshadowed by killings that have nothing to do with us.

Naturally, the worrying security situation across the water was the subject of the first question.

Sinn Fein's Michelle O'Neill, immediately agreed what was happening in English cities was terrible, so it was, insisting that she was totally against "extreme terrorism".

Presumably this was to distinguish it in her own mind from what she regards as the much nicer terrorism of the IRA; but O'Neill didn't even try to explain what made one bomb different from another.

She simply said we "don't need to draw comparison".

It was an oddly lacklustre answer considering that she must have known the question would arise and been prepped accordingly.

Nigel Dodds, who was standing in for his party leader Arlene Foster whilst she was in France for a First World War commemoration, had a message for Michelle: "Stop eulogising terrorists!"

He liked the phrase so much that he used it four times in a row.

Dodds had certainly eaten his Weetabix. He was passionate, loud, involved in every debate, providing an effective reminder that he's been doing this sort of thing for years.

The old trooper knows how to get a message across - in this case that the Union which really matters is the one with the UK, not Europe.

The only thing stopping him from being the most aggressive person in the room was Naomi Long of the Alliance Party.

She was remarkably bellicose for the leader of Ulster's most studiously inoffensive party.

Normally, Alliance spokespersons are like mild mannered Geography teachers calming down a rowdy class. Naomi was right in the middle of the ruck, throwing punches.

Dodds had a message for her too, namely that she was "not a unionist". They had a few run ins during the hour, but then these two actually have a stake in this poll, as they're standing to be MPs. That jibe was clearly pitched at voters in East Belfast, where Long's fighting to take back the seat from his party colleague.

The dominance of local politics was obvious too from SDLP leader Colum Eastwood, who repeatedly took aim at Sinn Fein for not taking its seats at Westminster.

This is a party desperate not to allow its dwindling tally of seats to fall into the greedy hands of republicans.

Eastwood was fizzing with restless energy, like a young prize fighter who wanted to be in the ring, but kept being sent back into the corner. He could hardly stand still, and even said at one point that the SDLP was the most pro-EU party "in these islands". Any watching Liberal Democrats must have been furious. They're still fighting to thwart Brexit. Colum's accepted it will happen, he just wants a border poll afterwards so he can get back in the EU as quickly as possible.

Curiously, no one had a pop at Arlene Foster for not showing up for this debate, but then it was an odd debate in many ways, not least because O'Neill was so quiet. Dodds flew feet first into every issue, but she seemed content to tick off a few bogey words ("Nama, RHI, dark money") to keep the republican faithful happy.

The positions on the UTV set were drawn at random, but by the end it felt fitting that the draw had put the new Ulster Unionists leader, Robin Swann, in the centre, because that seemed to be the position he wanted to occupy politically as well as physically.

He spoke with calm sense, if without great charisma, and his ultimate message was that voters wanted "Northern Ireland politicians sorting out Northern Ireland problems."

Whether they still wanted that after watching this debate is another matter altogether.
Naomi Long has insisted that she has no health concerns after filming was stopped during a UTV leaders' debate when she felt faint yesterday.

The Alliance leader said that the sudden death of party councillor, Mervyn Jones, had taken a heavy toll on her over the last few days.

Mrs Long said that she had no "health issues" and was looking forward to taking part in tonight's BBC Northern Ireland party leaders' debate.

The Alliance leader felt faint and had to sit down during the hour-long programme.

But she quickly rallied, took a glass of water and the programme taping resumed after less than 15 minutes.

She told the Belfast Telegraph: "I haven't been sleeping well over the last few nights since the sudden death of Councillor Mervyn Jones.

"I was at City Hall for the inauguration of Nuala McAllister as Lord Mayor on Thursday night when I heard about Mervyn's death. I had to take out our councillors one by one and break the news to them.

"Mervyn and I were friends for over 20 years and I have been naturally very upset since he died."

But she also quipped: "I felt it was better sitting down before I fell down.

"I felt alright once I sat down and had a drink of water."

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Mr Jones (66), who was a Belfast city councillor for 26 years and also served as the party's treasurer, will be buried today.

Mrs Long said that she "felt briefly faint" during the UTV debate and "that was exacerbated by the heat of the studio lights".

She added: "I took 10 minutes to sit down, have a glass of water, and I felt fine and returned to the debate.

"I have no health issues and look forward to joining other party leaders in Tuesday night's BBC debate."

It was during a number of heated exchanges over Brexit that Mrs Long suddenly stopped speaking, leaned over and put her hand to her mouth.

At one point it appeared she was having difficulty catching her breath.

A UTV staffer rushed forward across the election platform with a chair. Mrs Long sat down and was given a glass of water.

But she soon returned to the rostrum, with the glass of water close to her for the rest of the broadcast.

Last Thursday an Alliance party member discovered Mr Jones' body when they went to the former party treasurer's home after the 66-year-old failed to turn up for a council meeting.

Mr Jones represented the Pottinger Ward from 1985 until 2001 and then the Victoria Ward, now known as Ormiston, from 2005 until the present.
Sinn Fein Stormont leader Michelle O'Neill came under fire again last night for failing to criticise IRA violence - after condemning the terrorist attacks in London and Manchester.

But DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds also faced tough questions after the UDA-linked Ulster Political Research Group (UPRG) endorsed one of his party's candidates, Emma Little Pengelly in South Belfast.

The exchanges came during the first of two televised party debates within 24 hours shown on UTV, and to be followed by a live BBC debate tonight.

Mr Dodds stood in for his party leader Arlene Foster, but Mrs O'Neill was joined by the other three main leaders - Colum Eastwood of the SDLP, Robin Swann for the Ulster Unionists and Alliance leader Naomi Long.

The five senior representatives traded blows on Brexit, a border poll, and the prospects for the Stormont Executive being re-established following inter-party talks stated to take place after the general election.

After opening statements, the programme opened with a discussion of the London atrocity but the focus quickly switched back to Northern Ireland.

Mr Swann welcomed Sinn Fein's condemnation of the two terror attacks in England but said: "I wish they would do the same for previous bombings."

And he later added: "All terrorism is wrong, whether now or 20 years ago."

Mrs O'Neill said it was unfortunate that parties should use the Manchester and London incidents to score political points off others. "They are different conflicts. We don't need to draw comparisons between them," she said.

The two recent attacks had been "wholly wrong" she said, and there was a need to examine extremism from an international perspective.

Mrs Long said: "It didn't take long for the focus to move to the normal mudslinging in Northern Ireland. I think most people will find that pretty tasteless."

Mrs O'Neill also said Mr Dodds had questions to answer in relation to the endorsement of his party by the UPRG, which provides political advice to the UDA. Mr Dodds replied: "For the leader of the republican movement in Northern Ireland, who has eulogised IRA murders, to lecture other people is an absolute disgrace."

The DUP Westminster leader said his party had been consistent and unequivocal about its attitude to violence throughout its entire existence. Mrs Long interjected: "Yet not rejecting the endorsement of paramilitaries."

Sinn Fein also came under attack for its abstentionist policy which Mrs O'Neill insisted would not change.

SDLP leader Mr Eastwood said: "Sinn Fein want you to vote for them, but they won't go to vote for you."

Mr Swann said Sinn Fein could not be effective in Parliament because they do not take their seats.

And Mr Dodds said a vote for Sinn Fein "helps the Tory party" because they are not present.

Mrs O'Neill said the presence of the province's MPs had failed to halt Brexit and the triggering of Article 51 which began the process of exiting the European Union.

In turn, Mrs Long said if people voted for the DUP "they get the Tories" because Mr Dodds' party always supported the Conservatives. "Not on welfare," Mr Dodds said.

And Mrs Long came back "about 70% of the time" to which Mr Dodds replied: "So it's not all the time."

In relation to the return of devolved government, Mr Swann said he was "desperately scared" that Northern Ireland is "looking into an abyss".

Mrs O'Neill said the DUP had made the task of reaching an agreement more difficult by putting a number of new tests into its manifesto. The document released last week insisted any deal with Sinn Fein would be judged against 'five core tests'.

These include full consistency with Northern Ireland remaining a "full and integral part" of the UK and it would also have to be "fully compatible with British citizenship and resulting in better government than a return to direct rule".

Mr Dodds insisted his party had set out no new "red lines".

Mrs O'Neill said Sinn Fein was being reasonable asking for previous agreements including an Irish Language Act to be implemented.
Sinn Fein has been accused of publishing misleading figures in an election leaflet in a knife-edge constituency.

Mairtin O Muilleoir is standing in South Belfast, where rival nationalist Dr Alasdair McDonnell of the SDLP is the former MP.

The seat is one of the most hotly contested in the general election, with Dr McDonnell vulnerable after taking his seat in the House of Commons with the lowest share of the vote in 2015 - just 24.5%.

However, Sinn Fein's claim that it is in the best position to unseat the former SDLP leader has come under fire.

Mr O Muilleoir published a bar chart showing Sinn Fein's 17.7% share of first preference votes in the March Assembly election in South Belfast.

It was placed beside the DUP's share - 20.8%.

Below the graph was the slogan 'Vote for the only progressive candidate who can win' alongside a photo of Mr O Muilleoir.

What the leaflet fails to mention is that Sinn Fein was a lowly fourth in terms of first preference votes.

The SDLP had a 19.4% share and Alliance had 17.4%.

Dr McDonnell later tweeted his own bar chart showing the vote share of the top four parties in March.

SDLP MLA Claire Hanna said: "It's ironic that a party running on a 'respect and integrity' mantra is treating the electorate like idiots.

"With a grasp of numbers this poor it is probably not surprising that Mairtin O Muilleoir failed to produce a budget as Finance Minister.

"In 2015, 2016 and 2017 Sinn Fein finished fourth in South Belfast and no amount of fake news can distract from the fact that this is a two-horse race between the pro-European Alasdair McDonnell and the Ukip and UPRG endorsed Brexiteer Emma Little Pengelly."

Alliance's South Belfast candidate Paula Bradshaw said: "I think the electorate are wise enough to know who the main contenders are so we're not worried at all.

"The electorate are aware it will be a tight race - but Sinn Fein are rarely mentioned in that race.

"I think they're underestimating the intellect of the electorate. The electorate know who the main progressive party are in South Belfast."

It is the second leaflet produced for former Belfast Lord Mayor Mr O Muilleoir that has been criticised in this election campaign.

A previous piece of literature claimed: "Since 2005 Sinn Fein's vote in South Belfast has doubled. The SDLP's has halved."

Sinn Fein's vote has indeed grown - from the 2,882 garnered by Alex Maskey in 2015 to the 5,402 Mr O Muilleoir took in 2015 - although it hasn't quite doubled.

However, Dr McDonnell's vote has not halved - it dropped from 10,339 (32.3%) in 2005 to 9,560 (24.5%) in 2015. The represents a fall of just 7.8% in vote share - nowhere near the 50% claimed by Sinn Fein.

Sinn Fein did not respond to requests for comment. The DUP declined to comment.
The car was driven directly at officers causing damage and minor injuries.

A number of police officers have been injured after a stolen car was driven directly at their vehicle in Belfast.

It happened in the Albert Street area in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Just before 3am police received a report that a black Audi A1 was being driven erratically in Albert Street. The car had been previously stolen in a creeper-style burglary in the Enniskeen Avenue area of Newtownabbey.

When police arrived at the scene, the car was driven directly at them causing damage and minor injuries to a number of officers.

Sergeant David Mahood said: "The driver of the Audi made off on foot and was pursued by police, but managed to escape.

We are appealing to anyone who has information that could help our investigation to contact police on the non-emergency number 101, quoting reference 90 of 6/6/17.

Alternatively, 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."
A night out turned into chaotic horror for one Londonderry woman as she witnessed a woman being stabbed in a restaurant targeted by the three terrorists who killed seven people in London last Saturday.

Amy Webster (26) was with her boyfriend Ryan Davis in a restaurant in Borough Market, unaware of the carnage left in the wake of the attack on London Bridge.

The couple came face to face with evil as the three Isis members entered the restaurant wielding a large machete-like knife.

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, Amy who now lives in London where she works as a scientist, described how one woman was stabbed close to where she and her partner Ryan were seated at the front of the restaurant.

"We were in the Mexican restaurant next to Borough Market and had only been there for about 10 minutes when someone came in and stabbed a girl," she recalled.

"I didn't see the faces of the men but Ryan my partner did briefly, they had a long knife about a foot long and were wielding it.

"People inside the restaurant just reacted so quickly, they started throwing chairs at them (the terrorists) to get them out and they left.

"The staff reacted really quickly, getting the three men out of the restaurant then barricading the doors before most people even realised what was happening.

"We were locked inside the restaurant for two hours but we had no idea what was happening outside.

"We thought it was all over and we were getting ready to leave when we heard the gunfire outside which made everyone panic.

"That was the police but we didn't know what was going on because we couldn't see so we were inside thinking the worst."

Trapped inside but safe Amy, Ryan and the others had no idea what was happening outside the shutters so when the officers began to rescue them, they were initially too frightened to let them in.

Amy continued: "They started shouting at us to put our hands up and keep them up and then get out which we did.

"We walked past other bars that had been attacked as well and there was blood on the ground where we were walking.

"We had to walk around the perimeter of the market, still being shouted at, it was chaotic but we are so, so thankful that we got out."
Arlene Foster said her party did not seek endorsement from any paramilitary organisation

Democratic Unionist leader Arlene Foster has said her party fundamentally rejects the endorsement of anyone involved in paramilitarism.

Mrs Foster's comments came amid calls for the DUP to clarify its response to the backing of a body representing loyalist paramilitaries.

Sinn Fein and the Alliance Party had demanded that Mrs Foster distance herself from the public support of the Loyalist Communities Council (LCC), an umbrella group linked to the three main loyalist paramilitary groups - the UDA, UVF and Red Hand Commando.

The LCC issued a statement on Monday urging voters to back DUP and Ulster Unionist candidates in four battleground constituencies.

The council also heavily criticised the cross-community Alliance Party, and warned unionists not to vote for it, claiming that would drive a "nail into the coffin of the Union".

In response, UUP leader Robin Swann said he did not want the backing of organisations still involved in paramilitarism.

The call for clarity from the DUP came after two senior members gave somewhat different answers when pressed on whether they rejected the LCC backing.

While Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said he rejected the endorsement, Simon Hamilton stopped short of specifically rebuffing the council's statement, insisting the body had done good work to move paramilitaries away from violence.

On Tuesday night, Mrs Foster said: "I am aware, of course, of the LCC statement. We did not seek that statement, we did not seek endorsement from any paramilitary organisation and indeed I fundamentally reject an endorsement from anyone that's involved with paramilitarism or criminality."

Mrs Foster said there were people in the LCC " trying their best" to move loyalists away from their past. She said she would support those efforts.

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"I am certainly not going to walk away from loyalist communities in Northern Ireland, " she told UTV.

Last week, a UDA-linked paramilitary feud claimed its latest victim when Carrickfergus man Colin Horner, 35, was shot dead in a supermarket car park in Bangor, Co Down.

Prior to the LCC statement, last week a newspaper produced by the Ulster Political Research Group, which is politically aligned with the UDA, publicly endorsed the DUP's candidate in south Belfast, Emma Pengelly.
A farmer has recalled the moment he discovered a body lying in a derelict house on his land in Aghalee.

The farmer told Belfast Crown Court he found the man's remains lying face-down in the empty property in February 1998.

The witness was giving evidence at the trial of 48-year old Gary Martin Marshall, from The Beeches in Portadown. The defendant is charged with aiding and abetting the kidnapping of Lurgan man Kevin Conway.

Mr Conway was taken from his home on the Kilwilkie estate on the afternoon of February 17th, 1998. His remains were discovered by a farmer in the derelict house the following day. His hands had been tied behind his back and he was shot in the back of the head.

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The farmer told the Diplock non-jury trial that he and his brother had been spreading fertiliser on his land at Rock Lane when he noticed the door of a derelict building on his property was ajar. He revealed that the door had been nailed shut the previous October due to issues with young people drinking in the empty property.

He told Judge Geoffrey Miller QC that after noticing the door was ajar, he approached the building and pushed the door open.

He said: "I pushed the door open and stepped in and saw the body, and I just immediately turned and came back out again."

When asked by Crown prosecutor Terence Mooney QC to describe what he saw, the farmer said he saw a body "lying flat on the deck." And asked whether he believed this person to be alive or dead, the witness replied: "I assumed he was dead."

He also said he noticed the deceased was wearing a red shirt or jumper and what appeared to be slippers on his feet.

Following the discovery, the farmer said: "I came out and got on the tractor, went down to the phone box and phoned the police."

He said that police arrived within minutes of him making the 999 call. He also said that after finding the body, he "couldn't face" ever going into the empty property again.

The trial has already heard that Mr Conway was taken from his Deeney Drive home on the afternoon of February 17, 1998 while his wife was collecting two of their children from school. She came home to find their three-month old daughter on her own and her husband missing.

Marshall, who at the time of the abduction and subsequent murder of Mr Conway was living on the same estate, denied aiding and abetting the kidnapping. He has been charged with supplying the car which was used to transport Mr Conway from his home to the murder scene at Aghalee - a charge he denies.

At hearing.
An image of a young woman being attacked with a knife to promote a play for a Co Armagh festival has attracted criticism in the wake of the London terror attack.

Days after seven people were killed and dozens injured when three attackers mowed down pedestrians and stabbed multiple people using 12-inch knives, the picture was circulated to advertise the Shakespearean play Macbeth.

It shows an actor holding the large blade to another actor's neck and was issued by Belfast-based publicist Joseph Nawaz.

The play is part of the Moira Calling Festival, taking place in the town on September 8.

Amateur drama group The Bright Umbrella Drama Company is performing the Shakespeare play.

Lagan Valley MP Jeffrey Donaldson, however said PR companies should be more "sensitive" towards victims and families.

"This image involves a depiction of someone being attacked with a knife and whilst this may have been a genuine mistake and indeed it may have been planned to be released some time ago, I would encourage PR companies to be mindful of the current situation and the sensitivities around victims and families who have lost loved ones in these terrible terrorist acts."

"Perhaps they should desist from issuing images that could cause upset."

A caption which accompanied the image describes how the "Shakespearean skulduggery sleeked assassins" includes Tanja Jennings and Ben Smith as they surprise Aimee McGoldrick, who plays Banquo, during rehearsals of Macbeth.

Three terrorists were shot dead by police minutes after the attack in London's popular Borough Market on Saturday night.
The trial of an Orangeman who drove into a crowd of protesting nationalists over a banned loyalist parade has heard from police on the ground, including two officer officers who were also injured.

While some officers described hearing the red Nissan Pulsar car of 63-year-old John Alexander Aughey rev, and then saw it "rise up" as it drove over 16-year-old Phoebe Clawson, another talked of it "ploughing into people" and with "people diving out of the way".

Aughey, from Brae Hill Park, Belfast, denies a total of six charges, including dangerous driving causing grievous bodily injury to the teenager, and assaulting police on July 13, 2015 at the north Belfast flashpoint of the Ardoyne shops.

The jury of eight women and four men heard that as police attempted to stop Aughey's car, one of two officers also injured almost ended up under the Nissan himself.

The constable said he was attempting to save Ms Clawson when he was struck and felt his legs being taken from "under" him.

The chief inspector, the 'Bronze Commander' in charge of the 200-plus police on duty that day, said that "up until the tipping point" of the car driving into crowd, there was a similar number of protesters "spread along the shop fronts in a peaceful manner". The commander said he noticed the red Nissan and was walking towards it with "half a dozen" other officers when he "saw it accelerate" having made a "very, very quick U-turn into what would be a parking bay populated by a number of people".

He said he saw "people going over the bonnet" of the car, one a young female.

"I observed her being hit and going up on the bonnet of the car ... it appeared to slow and she fell down and the car drove over her," said the chief inspector.

He added that as the car did so, he saw it "rise up".

He said his immediate reaction to what was a "very shocking incident," lasting just 20 to 30 seconds, was "to stop the car and to stop the crowd surging forward".

One of the injured policemen, who later had to have surgery on his right knee, said after seeing someone kick the rear offside of the Pulsar, and then a bottle being thrown at the vehicle, he and a colleague "went forward to assist the driver .... to speak to the driver and give him some assistance".

He said as they did so, the car began to make a U-turn and slow down, and they initially thought it was going to stop, but then "moved on ... to accelerate, particularly into the crowd ... into the parking bay".

The constable added that as the car did so, he "saw a girl being carried on the bonnet of the car" and he began "shouting and signalling, waving my arms, for the driver to stop".

Although the car hit him in the knee, the officer said he moved to stop a colleague "falling under the car as well".

He then moved around to the driver's window, hitting the window, slapping it and shouting: "Stop the car, stop the car, there's a girl under the vehicle."

His colleague, also struck in the right leg by the car, said he was trying to stop Ms Clawson from "going under the car".

He said that the car had seemed to have revved and then "the vehicle went up and over" the teenager.

The officer said that when he himself was struck, it "took the legs from under me".

However, he managed to keep upright and began banging on the car window to get the driver to stop "because of the female on the floor".

A sergeant on duty with his inspector said as they approached the Nissan it appeared to reverse towards them.

His inspector was shouting at the driver to stop when it "ploughed into people on the footpath", describing it as a "massive commotion with people diving out of the way".

He added that while not realising it "was a child", he saw someone "going up in the air and then slipping off the bonnet", before they managed to get the car to stop, preventing the back wheel from "going over the child".

His inspector said that as he shouted twice for the driver to stop, the car "accelerated hard to the right and into the crowd", and "impacted with at least a number of people in the crowd".

When the car was stopped, and Aughey was taken out of the vehicle, the inspector said he instructed one of his officers to arrest the Orangeman and charge him with dangerous driving, causing grievous bodily injury.

Later in cross-examination by defence QC Greg Berry, the officers accepted that "tensions" in the area had been high, although there was no violence between the crowds and police.

Some also agreed they had witnessed several incidents involving other vehicles travelling along the Crumlin Road that evening.

They also agreed that someone from the crowd attacked Aughey's car, and that a bottle was thrown at the vehicle, and that after the incident there was a "change in the attitude of the crowd".

When asked of one officer if he was in "fear for the safety" of Aughey, he replied: "Oh yes, definitely", before adding that he "thought the crowd were coming down to do him some harm".

At hearing.
There were "no mechanical defects" with a car driven by an Orangeman that collided with a group of pedestrians at a north Belfast interface, a court has heard.

A forensic scientist from the Road Traffic Collision Unit was giving evidence at the trial of John Alexander Aughey, who is accused of driving into a crowd close to the Ardoyne shops fronts following a band parade in July 15.

The 63-year old has been charged with, and denies, six offences arising from the incident, including dangerous driving causing grievous bodily injury to a teenage girl who became trapped under the accused's Nissan Pulsar.

The jury also heard from several police officers at the scene of the collision - one of whom said he signalled and shouted at Aughey to stop as he was "very very concerned" for the trapped girl's safety.

The same officer also told Belfast Crown Court he felt three people in the crowd had "considerable influence" over the rest of those gathered at the shop fronts.

The jury has already been shown footage of Aughey's Nissan striking the group following an Orange parade on Monday July 13, 2015. Tensions at the interface were heightened on the evening in question after a Parade Commission's determination banned an Orange lodge and flute band from returning past the nationalist Ardoyne shop fronts area.

The car struck the crowd as Aughey, from Brae Hill Park in Belfast, attempted to do a U-turn on the Crumlin Road.

His car was examined the following month, with a forensic scientist revealing on Tuesday that no defect was found that would have contributed to the incident.

The forensic scientist said that after viewing CCTV footage and stills from the incident, injured teen Phoebe Clawson was thrown into the bonnet before landing in front of the vehicle. He said she was then dragged or rolled about four meters whilst underneath the vehicle, while Aughey exited his vehicle 23 seconds after it came to rest.

The jury of eight women and four men also heard from police officers at the scene.

One officer who was performing public service duties that evening told the court how just before the collision, he saw a bottle thrown by someone in the crowd strike the car, while a second person kicked out at the vehicle at a set of traffic lights.

The constable said that after observing the car attempting to make a u-turn, he went to approach the Nissan as he didn't know what the driver's intention was. The officer said he drew his baton and signalled for the motorist to stop.

Saying the car travelled on and "pushed persons out of its way", the officer said he saw a young female going over the bonnet. He said he again signalled and shouted for the driver to stop, telling the court: "I knew that the young girl was under the car and I had serious serious concerns about her wellbeing. It was a very uncomfortable time.

"I was very much focused on the driver of the vehicle and the vehicle's engine revs, which were increasing." He also said at one point he believed he was going to be run over.

Under cross-examination from Greg Berry QC, the barrister representing Aughey, when he was asked whether the crowd was jeering and shouting, the officer said: "I was aware of three people controlling the crowd."

When asked who these three were, the officer said: "A lady whom I don't know, and prominent figures from within the Ardoyne community." He described these community figures as "Mr Copeland and another chap who I know goes by the nickname of Dee."

The officer said these three "certainly had considerable influence over the crowd."

At hearing.
Central London is at an all-time low in the rankings

Cities in the UK are now the cheapest they have been for expatriates to live in for at least a decade thanks to the pound's plunge since the Brexit vote, a survey has shown.

The latest global Cost of Living rankings by ECA International reveal that British cities have fallen dramatically by up to 68 places and out of the top 100 globally.

It marks their lowest ever recorded ranking in the 10 years the survey has been running, as the Brexit-battered pound makes everyday items more affordable for overseas people coming to live in the UK.

Central London is also at an all-time low in the rankings, at 132, down from 65 last year.

The UK's capital now sits just above Addis Ababa in the global rankings and has been overtaken by Rio de Janeiro, ranked 88th, Bangkok in 116th place and Dublin at number 120.

The bi-annual report by ECA weighs up the cost of living in over 460 locations across the world, comparing the cost of a basket of like-for-like consumer goods and services commonly purchased by international assignees.

The survey is designed to help businesses and governments to ensure their employees' spending power is maintained when they are sent on international assignments.

Steven Kilfedder, ECA's production manager, said: "Thanks to the weakened pound UK businesses are paying more to send staff to work overseas, but it is cheaper to bring staff to the UK.

"UK locations have seen the most dramatic decline in Europe this year and the fifth largest decline in the world - behind cities in Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Egypt and Ghana in Africa," he added.

Edinburgh has fallen to 165th position, Cardiff is now ranked at 175 and Belfast has dropped to 186 in the ranking.

The pound has plummeted since Britain voted to quit the European Union as confidence in the country's economic prowess has evaporated.

Expatriates who live and work in the UK tend to get a lift when sterling suffers because they benefit from a more favourable currency translation.

On the flipside, the weak pound has pushed up the cost of living for Britons, making it more expensive for them to afford everyday items.

The costliest city in the world for expats was found to be Luanda in Angola, according to the ECA.

The report found the cost of goods there - which was already high due to poor infrastructure and high oil-fuelled demand - spiralled even higher this year due to the over-valuation of the Angolan kwanza.

Hong Kong, Zurich, Geneva and Basel completed the "top five" most expensive cities list.

The relative decline of the euro between surveys has seen most eurozone locations fall in the global rankings, with French, Dutch and German destinations among those dropping most in the past year.

Berlin has seen the most significant decline in mainland Europe, falling by 28 places to 122nd.

However, all UK cities have dropped below Paris, Berlin and Brussels in the rankings, Mr Kilfedder said.
A community has been left in shock after a Co Tyrone minister was found dead at the bottom of his stairs at the age of 47.

The Rev Roy Campbell of Clogher and Glenhoy Presbyterian Church was discovered yesterday morning by a family member. Tributes have been paid to Rev Campbell, whose cause of death is not yet known.

He is survived by his wife and their two young children.

The clerk of the Tyrone Presbytery, the Rev Robert Herron, said: "The news of Roy's unexpected death has left many of us who knew him with a sense of shock.

"On behalf of the Presbytery I would like to convey to Roy's wife Tonya, his son Gershom, daughter Joanna, and the wider family circle our deepest sympathy and heartfelt condolences on this tragic news, and to the members of Clogher and Glenhoy, the congregation he has served since 2006."

A close friend of the late Rev Campbell, the Rev Robert Herron, told the Belfast Telegraph: "Roy was a very good colleague, and a friend to many local ministers, particularly young ministers.

"He was a hard-working minister who was very well-liked. He was in charge quite a while and he was a person who brought great stability.

"His early death is a tragedy for his wife, young children and the wider family, and for the church family at large."

Councillor Wills Robinson, a DUP member representing Clogher Valley, grew up in the congregation of Clogher and Glenhoy, and paid tribute to Rev Campbell.

"He was very popular in the whole area, and a member of the board of governors of Fivemiletown College," he said.

"He had had a full-time role looking after the congregation, and also with his role in education. He was minister in his church for over 10 years, and made a big contribution.

"He was a dedicated family man with two young children and he was a devoted carer to his wife, who is disabled. He was well thought of in the district and a very good man. His death is a big loss to his church and to the wider community."

Rev Campbell was licensed in his home congregation of Badoney and Corrick, near Pomeroy, in 2004, and served as assistant minister in Terrace Row, Coleraine.

His present church was his first charge as a minister. He was a former moderator of the Tyrone Presbytery.
Sinn Fein's Michelle O'Neill and Democratic Unionist Nigel Dodds repeatedly clashed over terrorist links during a heated televised election debate.

Mr Dodds called Ms O'Neill a "disgrace" for "eulogising IRA terrorism", while she hit back by accusing the DUP of accepting endorsement from the loyalist paramilitary group, the UDA.

The tone of the UTV general election debate between Northern Ireland's five main parties on Monday night drew criticism from UUP leader Robin Swann who sounded concern about the slim prospects of the return of powersharing at Stormont due to the "antagonistic" state of relations between the two largest parties.

Alliance leader Naomi Long and SDLP leader Colum Eastwood also criticised the political "squabbling" during a discussion about the recent terror attacks in Manchester and London.

When asked for their views on how to tackle international terrorism following the attacks Mr Swann turned the attention on Sinn Fein.

He said: "While I welcome Sinn Fein's ability to condemn these bombs I wish they'd do the same for the previous bombs."

Ms O'Neill hit back saying it was very unfortunate Mr Swann was using "something so atrocious to score political points".

She then added: "It's rich when unionism talk about links back to the IRA when the DUP accept endorsement from the UDA."

Ms O'Neill was referring to the endorsement of Mr Dodds and fellow DUP candidate Emma Little Pengelly in a UDA-linked Loyalist magazine.

In response Mr Dodds said: "For the leader of the republican movement, who goes around eulogising IRA murderers, to lecture other people is an absolute disgrace."

This was a reference to Ms O'Neill's attendance at a commemoration for eight IRA terrorists killed by the SAS at Loughgall.

Mrs Long criticised the parties for their "tasteless mudslinging", while Mr Eastwood said they should be "embarrassed"

"(The question) is not about here. It is about what has happened over the last number of weeks to innocent children, innocent people going about their daily lives," said Mr Eastwood.

He added: "Look at what the people of Manchester did. They unified. That is the response that is required."

The parties have just three weeks after the General Election to form an executive.

When asked about the prospect of the return of powersharing Ms O'Neill accused the DUP of "wanting to hold us back".

She added: "I'm a progressive leader. I want to drive society forward. I want to heal wounds of the past."

Before she could finish she was interrupted several times by Mr Dodds saying: "Stop eulogising terrorists."

Mr Swann said he was "really worried" by "the antagonism being created between the two major parties at this time".

"We have three weeks after this election and I think the demonstration we have seen here tonight epitomises our problem," he added.

Mrs Long warned of "very, very deep divides between the parties".

She added that the public "don't care about squabbles" between parties, they care about their GP surgeries and their children getting into schools.
The IT shutdown which left 75,000 bank holiday travellers stranded may have been caused by human error, British Airways boss Willie Walsh has suggested (Steve Parsons/PA)

The IT shutdown which left 75,000 bank holiday travellers stranded may have been caused by human error, airline boss Willie Walsh has suggested.

Mr Walsh, chief executive of BA owner International Airlines Group (IAG), said the actions of an engineer who disconnected and then reconnected a power supply to the data centre in "an uncontrolled and uncommanded fashion" may be central to a newly-ordered independent investigation.

Mr Walsh, who is at the International Air Transport Association global summit in Mexico, reported in The Guardian, said: "You could cause a mistake to disconnect the power, it's difficult for me to understand how you can mistakenly reconnect the power."

He said "physical damage to the servers and distribution panels" was caused which made it difficult for BA to quickly overcome the power outage.

Mr Walsh suggested in The Guardian this "in itself was a problem that we could have overcome probably in a couple of hours, I don't think it would have led to any cancellations".

Of the fed-up passengers who complained they had been left to queue before leaving Heathrow Airport, he said: "I wouldn't suggest for one minute we got communications right at BA, we didn't."

The carrier was unable to resume a full schedule until the following Tuesday.

Mr Walsh defended cost-cutting measures.

BA was accused of greed after the GMB union suggested the issue could have been prevented if the airline had not cut "hundreds of dedicated and loyal" IT staff and contracted the work to India last year.
Khuram Shazad Butt (left) and Rachid Redouane who has been named as two of the men shot dead by police following the terrorist attack on London Bridge and Borough Market. PA

A group of 130 imams and religious leaders have refused to perform the traditional Islamic funeral prayer for the London Bridge attackers.

The leaders said they would not carry out the ritual that is normally performed for every Muslim, regardless of their actions.

In a statement on social media, the group said: Consequently, and in light of other such ethical principles which are quintessential to Islam, we will not perform the traditional Islamic funeral prayer over the perpetrators and we also urge fellow imams and religious authorities to withdraw such a privilege.

The statement added: This is because such indefensible actions are completely at odds with the lofty teachings of Islam.

Religious leaders of all backgrounds have condemned the attack which killed seven and injured 47 on Saturday evening when three men rammed a rental van into pedestrians then randomly stabbed revellers in bars and restaurants near Borough Market.

A panel of speakers at the East London Mosque said they would work to combat extremists twisted narrative and their perversion of religion.

Once again we come together, to stand united against those who try to divide us, said the chairman of East London Mosque and London Muslim Centre, Muhammad Habibur-Rahman.

The cold-blooded murder of innocent people in London on Saturday evening will not succeed in driving us apart.

I have a clear message to those who perpetrate terrorism: you are against the very core teaching of Islam and of our Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.

Your misguidance will lead you to destruction, and God willing you will utterly fail in your evil aims.

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 Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close A man stands kneels near flowers laid at Potters Fields Park in London on June 5, 2017, after a vigil to commemorate the victims of the terror attack on London Bridge and at Borough Market that killed seven people on June 3. AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images A man stands near flowers layed at Potters Fields Park in London on June 5, 2017, after a vigil to commemorate the victims of the terror attack on London Bridge and at Borough Market that killed seven people on June 3. London police made a fresh round of arrests on June 5 after the country's third terror attack in less than three months as Prime Minister Theresa May came under mounting pressure over security three days ahead of elections. The aftermath of June 3 night's rampage, which left seven dead and dozens wounded, dominated the campaign trail. / AFP PHOTO / Chris J RatcliffeCHRIS J RATCLIFFE/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Pupils from Eden Girls' School in Waltham Forest take part in a vigil for the victims of the London Bridge terror attacks, in Potters Fields Park on June 5, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) Getty Images Flowers near London Bridge following Saturday's terrorist attack. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday June 5, 2017. See PA story POLICE Bridge. Photo credit should read: Yui Mok/PA Wire PA Abdul Qayum, Chief Imam of East London Mosque, speaking during a press conference at East London Mosque and London Muslim Centre in Whitechapel, east London, following Saturday's terrorist attack. PA PA (left to right) Fareed Rehman, Usman Saifi and Imam Zishan Ahmed at a vigil in Potters Fields Park, central London in honour of the London Bridge terror attack victims. PA PA A commuter looks at some of the floral tributes on London Bridge after it was reopened following the June 3rd terror attack on June 5, 2017 in London, England. Seven people were killed and at least 48 injured in terror attacks on London Bridge and Borough Market. Three attackers were shot dead by armed police. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) Getty Images An armed police officer is seen on London Bridge after it was reopened following the June 3rd terror attack on June 5, 2017 in London, England. Seven people were killed and at least 48 injured in terror attacks on London Bridge and Borough Market. Three attackers were shot dead by armed police. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) Getty Images A man lays flowers on London Bridge after it was reopened following the June 3rd terror attack on June 5, 2017 in London, England. Seven people were killed and at least 48 injured in terror attacks on London Bridge and Borough Market. Three attackers were shot dead by armed police. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) Getty Images Police forensic officers on London Bridge following last night's terrorist incident. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Sunday June 4, 2017. See PA story POLICE Bridge. Photo credit should read: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire PA LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 04: A police officer looks at floral tributes near the scene of last night's terrorist attack on June 4, 2017 in London, England. Police continue to cordon off an area after responding to terrorist attacks on London Bridge and Borough Market where 7 people were killed and at least 48 injured last night. Three attackers were shot dead by armed police. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images) Getty Images A woman reacts after asking a Police officer to lay flowers near London Bridge in London on June 4, 2017, as a tribute to the victims of the June 3 terror attack. Seven people were killed in a terror attack on Saturday by three assailants on London Bridge and in the bustling Borough Market nightlife district, the chief of London's police force said on Sunday. / AFP PHOTO / Daniel LEAL-OLIVASDANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Armed police officers with police dogs patrol outside The Shard tower and London Bridge railway station in London on June 4, 2017, as police continue their investigations following the June 3 terror attack. Seven people were killed in a terror attack on Saturday by three assailants on London Bridge and in the bustling Borough Market nightlife district, the chief of London's police force said on Sunday. / AFP PHOTO / NIKLAS HALLE'NNIKLAS HALLE'N/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Police vehicles block the acccess to London Bridge in London on June 4, 2017, as police continue their investigations following the June 3 terror attack. Seven people were killed in a terror attack on Saturday by three assailants on London Bridge and in the bustling Borough Market nightlife district, the chief of London's police force said on Sunday. / AFP PHOTO / Daniel LEAL-OLIVASDANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Armed police officers patrol outside The Shard tower and London Bridge railway station in London on June 4, 2017, as police continue their investigations following the June 3 terror attack. Seven people were killed in a terror attack on Saturday by three assailants on London Bridge and in the bustling Borough Market nightlife district, the chief of London's police force said on Sunday. / AFP PHOTO / NIKLAS HALLE'NNIKLAS HALLE'N/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 04: Armed Police are seen at London Bridge near the scene of last night's terrorist attack on June 4, 2017 in London, England. Police continue to cordon off an area after responding to terrorist attacks on London Bridge and Borough Market where 6 people were killed and at least 48 injured last night. Three attackers were shot dead by armed police. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images) Getty Images Police forensic officers work on London Bridge in London on June 4, 2017, as police continue their investigations following the June 3 terror attack. Seven people were killed in a terror attack on Saturday by three assailants on London Bridge and in the bustling Borough Market nightlife district, the chief of London's police force said on Sunday. / AFP PHOTO / Daniel LEAL-OLIVASDANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 04: Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May addresses the media as she makes a statement, following a COBRA meeting in response to last night's London terror attack, at 10 Downing Street on June 4, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) Getty Images Emergency personnel on London Bridge as police deal with an incident (Yui Mok/PA) PA Wire/PA Images Armed police are on the scene on London Bridge after an incident (Dominic Lipinski/PA) PA Wire/PA Images People run down Borough High Street to flee (Dominic Lipinski/PA) PA Wire/PA Images Police officers on Borough High Street as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge. Photo: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire PA A paramedic rushes to the scene as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge. Photo: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire PA Police are responding to three incidents in the capital (Yui Mok/PA) A helicopter lands on London Bridge as police are responding to three incidents in the capital, amid reports that a vehicle collided with pedestrians on London Bridge, Scotland Yard said. Photo: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire PA Emergency personnel tend to the wounded on London Bridge. Photo: Yui Mok/PA Wire PA Armed police are on Borough High Street after an incident around London Bridge (Dominic Lipinski/PA) PA Wire/PA Images Armed police on St Thomas Street, London, near the scene of last night's terrorist incident at Borough Market. Photo credit should read: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire PA PA Wire/PA Images PA Wire/PA Images AP/PA Images PA Wire/PA Images Armed police outside Borough Market, London, near the scene of last night's terrorist incident. Photo: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp A man stands kneels near flowers laid at Potters Fields Park in London on June 5, 2017, after a vigil to commemorate the victims of the terror attack on London Bridge and at Borough Market that killed seven people on June 3. AFP/Getty Images

We stand apart from you and your corruption of the religion of Islam. Terrorism has no faith.

The sentiment was echoed by Theresa May on Sunday morning, who said the terrorists were perverting the truth of Islam.

She declared that enough was enough and pledged to reform legislation around internet activity. The Prime Minister also said there should be embarrassing conversations about Muslim communities in the UK that have failed to integrate, but did not specify further detail, despite of many Muslim leaders condemning the attacks.

Expand Close Abdul Qayum, Chief Imam of East London Mosque, speaking during a press conference at East London Mosque and London Muslim Centre in Whitechapel, east London, following Saturday's terrorist attack. PA PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Abdul Qayum, Chief Imam of East London Mosque, speaking during a press conference at East London Mosque and London Muslim Centre in Whitechapel, east London, following Saturday's terrorist attack. PA

Police have named two of the attackers as Khuram Shazad Butt and Rachid Redouane.

IMAMS STAND UP TO THE TERRORISTS Over 130 Imams & Religious Leaders from diverse backgrounds refuse to perform the... Posted by The Muslim Council of Britain on Monday, June 5, 2017
Armed police outside Borough Market, London, near the scene of last night's terrorist incident. Photo: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire

Armed police on St Thomas Street, London, near the scene of last night's terrorist incident at Borough Market. Photo credit should read: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire

Armed police are on Borough High Street after an incident around London Bridge (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

A helicopter lands on London Bridge as police are responding to three incidents in the capital, amid reports that a vehicle collided with pedestrians on London Bridge, Scotland Yard said. Photo: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire

Police are responding to three incidents in the capital (Yui Mok/PA)

A paramedic rushes to the scene as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge. Photo: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire

Police officers on Borough High Street as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge. Photo: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire

Armed police are on the scene on London Bridge after an incident (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

Emergency personnel on London Bridge as police deal with an incident (Yui Mok/PA)

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 04: Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May addresses the media as she makes a statement, following a COBRA meeting in response to last night's London terror attack, at 10 Downing Street on June 4, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

Police forensic officers work on London Bridge in London on June 4, 2017, as police continue their investigations following the June 3 terror attack. Seven people were killed in a terror attack on Saturday by three assailants on London Bridge and in the bustling Borough Market nightlife district, the chief of London's police force said on Sunday. / AFP PHOTO / Daniel LEAL-OLIVASDANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 04: Armed Police are seen at London Bridge near the scene of last night's terrorist attack on June 4, 2017 in London, England. Police continue to cordon off an area after responding to terrorist attacks on London Bridge and Borough Market where 6 people were killed and at least 48 injured last night. Three attackers were shot dead by armed police. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Armed police officers patrol outside The Shard tower and London Bridge railway station in London on June 4, 2017, as police continue their investigations following the June 3 terror attack. Seven people were killed in a terror attack on Saturday by three assailants on London Bridge and in the bustling Borough Market nightlife district, the chief of London's police force said on Sunday. / AFP PHOTO / NIKLAS HALLE'NNIKLAS HALLE'N/AFP/Getty Images

Police vehicles block the acccess to London Bridge in London on June 4, 2017, as police continue their investigations following the June 3 terror attack. Seven people were killed in a terror attack on Saturday by three assailants on London Bridge and in the bustling Borough Market nightlife district, the chief of London's police force said on Sunday. / AFP PHOTO / Daniel LEAL-OLIVASDANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images

Armed police officers with police dogs patrol outside The Shard tower and London Bridge railway station in London on June 4, 2017, as police continue their investigations following the June 3 terror attack. Seven people were killed in a terror attack on Saturday by three assailants on London Bridge and in the bustling Borough Market nightlife district, the chief of London's police force said on Sunday. / AFP PHOTO / NIKLAS HALLE'NNIKLAS HALLE'N/AFP/Getty Images

A woman reacts after asking a Police officer to lay flowers near London Bridge in London on June 4, 2017, as a tribute to the victims of the June 3 terror attack. Seven people were killed in a terror attack on Saturday by three assailants on London Bridge and in the bustling Borough Market nightlife district, the chief of London's police force said on Sunday. / AFP PHOTO / Daniel LEAL-OLIVASDANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 04: A police officer looks at floral tributes near the scene of last night's terrorist attack on June 4, 2017 in London, England. Police continue to cordon off an area after responding to terrorist attacks on London Bridge and Borough Market where 7 people were killed and at least 48 injured last night. Three attackers were shot dead by armed police. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Police forensic officers on London Bridge following last night's terrorist incident. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Sunday June 4, 2017. See PA story POLICE Bridge. Photo credit should read: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire

A man lays flowers on London Bridge after it was reopened following the June 3rd terror attack on June 5, 2017 in London, England. Seven people were killed and at least 48 injured in terror attacks on London Bridge and Borough Market. Three attackers were shot dead by armed police. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

An armed police officer is seen on London Bridge after it was reopened following the June 3rd terror attack on June 5, 2017 in London, England. Seven people were killed and at least 48 injured in terror attacks on London Bridge and Borough Market. Three attackers were shot dead by armed police. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

A commuter looks at some of the floral tributes on London Bridge after it was reopened following the June 3rd terror attack on June 5, 2017 in London, England. Seven people were killed and at least 48 injured in terror attacks on London Bridge and Borough Market. Three attackers were shot dead by armed police. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

(left to right) Fareed Rehman, Usman Saifi and Imam Zishan Ahmed at a vigil in Potters Fields Park, central London in honour of the London Bridge terror attack victims. PA

Abdul Qayum, Chief Imam of East London Mosque, speaking during a press conference at East London Mosque and London Muslim Centre in Whitechapel, east London, following Saturday's terrorist attack. PA

Flowers near London Bridge following Saturday's terrorist attack. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday June 5, 2017. See PA story POLICE Bridge. Photo credit should read: Yui Mok/PA Wire

Pupils from Eden Girls' School in Waltham Forest take part in a vigil for the victims of the London Bridge terror attacks, in Potters Fields Park on June 5, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

A man stands near flowers layed at Potters Fields Park in London on June 5, 2017, after a vigil to commemorate the victims of the terror attack on London Bridge and at Borough Market that killed seven people on June 3. London police made a fresh round of arrests on June 5 after the country's third terror attack in less than three months as Prime Minister Theresa May came under mounting pressure over security three days ahead of elections. The aftermath of June 3 night's rampage, which left seven dead and dozens wounded, dominated the campaign trail. / AFP PHOTO / Chris J RatcliffeCHRIS J RATCLIFFE/AFP/Getty Images

A man stands kneels near flowers laid at Potters Fields Park in London on June 5, 2017, after a vigil to commemorate the victims of the terror attack on London Bridge and at Borough Market that killed seven people on June 3. AFP/Getty Images

Two of the London Bridge terrorists have been named by Scotland Yard as Khuram Shazad Butt and Rachid Redouane.

Butt, a 27-year-old British citizen born in Pakistan, and Redouane, who claimed to be Moroccan-Libyan, both lived in Barking, east London.

Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said Butt was known to the security services, but there was no evidence of "attack planning" by him.

Mr Rowley said: "While formal identification is yet to take place, detectives believe they know the identity of the attackers.

"They believe two of the men are Khuram Shazad Butt and Rachid Redouane, both from Barking, east London.

"All three men were confronted and shot dead by armed officers within eight minutes of the first call.

"Inquiries are ongoing to confirm the identity of their accomplice," Mr Rowley added.

Expand Close Khuram Shazad Butt (left) and Rachid Redouane who has been named as two of the men shot dead by police following the terrorist attack on London Bridge and Borough Market. PA PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Khuram Shazad Butt (left) and Rachid Redouane who has been named as two of the men shot dead by police following the terrorist attack on London Bridge and Borough Market. PA

Redouane, 30, also used the name Rachid Elkhdar, claiming to be six years younger.

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Butt was known to the police and MI5, and a member of public had reported him to an anti-terror hotline.

The investigation into Butt was started in 2015, "however, there was no intelligence to suggest that this attack was being planned and the investigation had been prioritised accordingly", Mr Rowley said.

He added: "Work is ongoing to understand more about them, their connections and whether they were assisted or supported by anyone else."

It is not yet known how the two men named knew each other.

Of the seven women and five men arrested since the attack a man and a woman have subsequently been released.

Referring to Butt, Mr Rowley said one of the three was part of an investigation "prioritised in the lower echelons of our investigative work".

Detectives would like to hear from anyone with information about the men, particularly places they may have frequented and their movements in the days and hours before the attack.
One of the London terror attackers may have used Northern Ireland to enter the UK after it emerged he was living in the Republic as recently as October.

Rachid Redouane (30) was a pastry chef who moved to Dublin in 2016 along with his wife Charisse O'Leary (38), who is originally from the UK.

They have an 18-month-old daughter together. Security sources believe the terror attacker lived in an apartment block in Rathmines, Co Dublin with his family over a period of time.

Redouane and Ms O'Leary married in the Republic in 2012, before moving to the UK. They returned to Ireland in 2016 before leaving again last October.

A source added that their marriage appeared genuine, and not for financial gain or to secure residency in this jurisdiction.

Redouane also used the name Rachid Elkhdar, claiming to be six years younger, while authorities say he is of Moroccan and Libyan descent. His accomplice, Khuram Shazad Butt (27), a 27-year-old British citizen born in Pakistan, was known to British intelligence.

The terrorists were officially named by UK authorities last night, while the third perpetrator has yet to be officially named.

In total seven people were killed while a further 48 were injured in the attack, for which terror group Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility.

The attackers were shot dead within eight minutes of the first police call-out.

Following the atrocity London Metropolitan Police officers discovered an Irish identity document on Redouane.

This card was issued by the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) and is given to non-EU nationals, permitting them to reside in the Republic for a certain period of time.

Concerns have now been raised that Redouane used the border with Northern Ireland as a backdoor to enter the UK before planning and carrying out the terror attack.

He did not come to the attention of gardai in relation to criminal or terrorist-related activities during his time in the Republic, and there is no evidence yet to suggest he was radicalised there.

Charisse O'Leary was arrested as part of the investigation into the London Bridge terror attack.

She had recently changed her profile picture on her social media account to show support with the victims of the Manchester terror attack on May 22.

Despite living here just nine months before Saturday night's terror attack, the Taoiseach Enda Kenny has stated that Redouane was not placed under surveillance by garda security and intelligence.

Gardai were last night continuing to carry out background checks on Redouane to determine who he was in contact with while in the Republic. They are also attempting to establish his activities while in the State. An Irish security source described the killer as having "extensive immigration history related to the UK". Meanwhile, all 12 people arrested in relation to the London Bridge attack have been released without charge.

Police raided two addresses in east London on Sunday, in the wake of the van and knife rampage in which seven people were killed and 48 injured.

Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said Butt was known to the security services, but there was no evidence of "attack planning" by him.

The two killers both lived in Barking, east London, while police are working to identify the third accomplice. Butt was known to the police and MI5, and a member of public had reported him to an anti-terror hotline. He is also alleged to have been an associate of radical hate preacher Anjem Choudary.

The investigation into Butt began in 2015, Mr Rowley said, adding: "However, there was no intelligence to suggest that this attack was being planned and the investigation had been prioritised accordingly."
A combination of pictures released by the British Metropolitan Police Service in London on June 6, 2017 shows (L-R) Youssef Zaghba, Khuram Shazad Butt and Rachid Redouane believed by police to be the three attackers in the June 3 terror attack on London Bridge.

The third London Bridge terrorist has been named as Youssef Zaghba, an Italian national of Moroccan descent.

Scotland Yard confirmed the identity of the 22-year-old, from east London, and said he was not a police or MI5 "subject of interest", despite Italian media reports suggesting he was.

The news came as detectives arrested another suspect at an address in Barking, east London. The 27-year-old was held under the Terrorism Act shortly after 8am on Tuesday.

According to the Corriere della Sera newspaper Zaghba's Italian mother lives in Bologna in the north of the country.

The paper said Zaghba was born in Fez in Morocco and had seasonal work in a London restaurant. It reported that he was stopped by Italian police in March 2016 at Bologna's airport trying to fly to Turkey and then on to Syria.

Italian intelligence officials reportedly communicated this to their UK counterparts.

The name was confirmed as MI5 and police faced questions after it emerged another of the three perpetrators, Khuram Shazad Butt, 27, had been investigated two years before the atrocity.

Pakistani-born British citizen Butt and Rachid Redouane, who claimed to be Moroccan-Libyan, were named on Monday night as two of the terrorists who launched a murderous rampage around London Bridge and Borough Market on Saturday night.

Redouane (30) was a pastry chef who moved to Dublin in 2016 along with his wife Charisse O'Leary (38), who is originally from the UK.

They have an 18-month-old daughter together. Security sources believe the terror attacker lived in an apartment block in Rathmines, Co Dublin with his family over a period of time.

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 Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close A man stands kneels near flowers laid at Potters Fields Park in London on June 5, 2017, after a vigil to commemorate the victims of the terror attack on London Bridge and at Borough Market that killed seven people on June 3. AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images A man stands near flowers layed at Potters Fields Park in London on June 5, 2017, after a vigil to commemorate the victims of the terror attack on London Bridge and at Borough Market that killed seven people on June 3. London police made a fresh round of arrests on June 5 after the country's third terror attack in less than three months as Prime Minister Theresa May came under mounting pressure over security three days ahead of elections. The aftermath of June 3 night's rampage, which left seven dead and dozens wounded, dominated the campaign trail. / AFP PHOTO / Chris J RatcliffeCHRIS J RATCLIFFE/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Pupils from Eden Girls' School in Waltham Forest take part in a vigil for the victims of the London Bridge terror attacks, in Potters Fields Park on June 5, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) Getty Images Flowers near London Bridge following Saturday's terrorist attack. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday June 5, 2017. See PA story POLICE Bridge. Photo credit should read: Yui Mok/PA Wire PA Abdul Qayum, Chief Imam of East London Mosque, speaking during a press conference at East London Mosque and London Muslim Centre in Whitechapel, east London, following Saturday's terrorist attack. PA PA (left to right) Fareed Rehman, Usman Saifi and Imam Zishan Ahmed at a vigil in Potters Fields Park, central London in honour of the London Bridge terror attack victims. PA PA A commuter looks at some of the floral tributes on London Bridge after it was reopened following the June 3rd terror attack on June 5, 2017 in London, England. Seven people were killed and at least 48 injured in terror attacks on London Bridge and Borough Market. Three attackers were shot dead by armed police. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) Getty Images An armed police officer is seen on London Bridge after it was reopened following the June 3rd terror attack on June 5, 2017 in London, England. Seven people were killed and at least 48 injured in terror attacks on London Bridge and Borough Market. Three attackers were shot dead by armed police. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) Getty Images A man lays flowers on London Bridge after it was reopened following the June 3rd terror attack on June 5, 2017 in London, England. Seven people were killed and at least 48 injured in terror attacks on London Bridge and Borough Market. Three attackers were shot dead by armed police. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) Getty Images Police forensic officers on London Bridge following last night's terrorist incident. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Sunday June 4, 2017. See PA story POLICE Bridge. Photo credit should read: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire PA LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 04: A police officer looks at floral tributes near the scene of last night's terrorist attack on June 4, 2017 in London, England. Police continue to cordon off an area after responding to terrorist attacks on London Bridge and Borough Market where 7 people were killed and at least 48 injured last night. Three attackers were shot dead by armed police. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images) Getty Images A woman reacts after asking a Police officer to lay flowers near London Bridge in London on June 4, 2017, as a tribute to the victims of the June 3 terror attack. Seven people were killed in a terror attack on Saturday by three assailants on London Bridge and in the bustling Borough Market nightlife district, the chief of London's police force said on Sunday. / AFP PHOTO / Daniel LEAL-OLIVASDANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Armed police officers with police dogs patrol outside The Shard tower and London Bridge railway station in London on June 4, 2017, as police continue their investigations following the June 3 terror attack. Seven people were killed in a terror attack on Saturday by three assailants on London Bridge and in the bustling Borough Market nightlife district, the chief of London's police force said on Sunday. / AFP PHOTO / NIKLAS HALLE'NNIKLAS HALLE'N/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Police vehicles block the acccess to London Bridge in London on June 4, 2017, as police continue their investigations following the June 3 terror attack. Seven people were killed in a terror attack on Saturday by three assailants on London Bridge and in the bustling Borough Market nightlife district, the chief of London's police force said on Sunday. / AFP PHOTO / Daniel LEAL-OLIVASDANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images Armed police officers patrol outside The Shard tower and London Bridge railway station in London on June 4, 2017, as police continue their investigations following the June 3 terror attack. Seven people were killed in a terror attack on Saturday by three assailants on London Bridge and in the bustling Borough Market nightlife district, the chief of London's police force said on Sunday. / AFP PHOTO / NIKLAS HALLE'NNIKLAS HALLE'N/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 04: Armed Police are seen at London Bridge near the scene of last night's terrorist attack on June 4, 2017 in London, England. Police continue to cordon off an area after responding to terrorist attacks on London Bridge and Borough Market where 6 people were killed and at least 48 injured last night. Three attackers were shot dead by armed police. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images) Getty Images Police forensic officers work on London Bridge in London on June 4, 2017, as police continue their investigations following the June 3 terror attack. Seven people were killed in a terror attack on Saturday by three assailants on London Bridge and in the bustling Borough Market nightlife district, the chief of London's police force said on Sunday. / AFP PHOTO / Daniel LEAL-OLIVASDANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP/Getty Images AFP/Getty Images LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 04: Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May addresses the media as she makes a statement, following a COBRA meeting in response to last night's London terror attack, at 10 Downing Street on June 4, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) Getty Images Emergency personnel on London Bridge as police deal with an incident (Yui Mok/PA) PA Wire/PA Images Armed police are on the scene on London Bridge after an incident (Dominic Lipinski/PA) PA Wire/PA Images People run down Borough High Street to flee (Dominic Lipinski/PA) PA Wire/PA Images Police officers on Borough High Street as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge. Photo: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire PA A paramedic rushes to the scene as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge. Photo: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire PA Police are responding to three incidents in the capital (Yui Mok/PA) A helicopter lands on London Bridge as police are responding to three incidents in the capital, amid reports that a vehicle collided with pedestrians on London Bridge, Scotland Yard said. Photo: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire PA Emergency personnel tend to the wounded on London Bridge. Photo: Yui Mok/PA Wire PA Armed police are on Borough High Street after an incident around London Bridge (Dominic Lipinski/PA) PA Wire/PA Images Armed police on St Thomas Street, London, near the scene of last night's terrorist incident at Borough Market. Photo credit should read: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire PA PA Wire/PA Images PA Wire/PA Images AP/PA Images PA Wire/PA Images Armed police outside Borough Market, London, near the scene of last night's terrorist incident. Photo: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp A man stands kneels near flowers laid at Potters Fields Park in London on June 5, 2017, after a vigil to commemorate the victims of the terror attack on London Bridge and at Borough Market that killed seven people on June 3. AFP/Getty Images

Redouane and Ms O'Leary married in the Republic in 2012, before moving to the UK. They returned to Ireland in 2016 before leaving again last October.

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Seven victims were killed and dozens injured in the spree, which ended when armed police shot dead the perpetrators just eight minutes after the first emergency call.

On Tuesday the Metropolitan Police's counter-terrorism command released the name and photograph of the third attacker.

Scotland Yard said: "While formal identification is yet to take place, detectives believe he is 22-year-old Youssef Zaghba, from east London.

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 Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Ariana Grande (left) and Miley Cyrus (right) performing during the One Love Manchester benefit concert for the victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/PA Wire) PA Liam Gallagher (left) and Chris Martin (right) performing during the One Love Manchester benefit concert for the victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack at Emirates Old Trafford, Greater Manchester. PA Liam Gallagher (left) and Chris Martin (right) performing during the One Love Manchester benefit concert for the victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack at Emirates Old Trafford, Greater Manchester. PA Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester tribute gig in aid of victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/PA Wire) PA Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester tribute gig in aid of victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/PA Wire) PA Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester tribute gig in aid of victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/PA Wire) PA Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester tribute gig in aid of victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/Getty) Dave Hogan for One Love Manchest Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester tribute gig in aid of victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/PA Wire) PA Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester tribute gig in aid of victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/PA Wire) PA Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester tribute gig in aid of victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/PA Wire) Dave Hogan for One Love Manchest Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester tribute gig in aid of victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/PA Wire) PA Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester tribute gig in aid of victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/PA Wire) AFP/Getty Images Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester tribute gig in aid of victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/PA Wire) AFP/Getty Images Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester tribute gig in aid of victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/PA Wire) AFP/Getty Images Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester tribute gig in aid of victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/PA Wire) Dave Hogan for One Love Manchest Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester tribute gig in aid of victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/PA Wire) Dave Hogan for One Love Manchest Robbie Williams performs on stage on June 4, 2017 in Manchester, England. Dave Hogan for One Love Manchest Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester tribute gig in aid of victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/PA Wire) Dave Hogan for One Love Manchest Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester tribute gig in aid of victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/Getty) Dave Hogan for One Love Manchest Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester tribute gig in aid of victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/Getty) Dave Hogan for One Love Manchest Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester tribute gig in aid of victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/Getty) Dave Hogan for One Love Manchest Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester tribute gig in aid of victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/Getty) Dave Hogan for One Love Manchest Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester tribute gig in aid of victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/Getty) Dave Hogan for One Love Manchest Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester tribute gig in aid of victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/Getty) Dave Hogan for One Love Manchest Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester tribute gig in aid of victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/PA) PA Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester tribute gig in aid of victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/Getty) Getty Images Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester tribute gig in aid of victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/Getty) Getty Images Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester tribute gig in aid of victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/Getty) Getty Images Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester tribute gig in aid of victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/Getty) Getty Images Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester tribute gig in aid of victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/PA) PA Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester tribute gig in aid of victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/Getty) Dave Hogan for One Love Manchest Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester tribute gig in aid of victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/PA) PA Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester tribute gig in aid of victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/PA) PA Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester tribute gig in aid of victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/PA) PA Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester tribute gig in aid of victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/PA) PA Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester tribute gig in aid of victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/PA) PA Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester tribute gig in aid of victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/PA) PA Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester tribute gig in aid of victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/Getty) AFP/Getty Images Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester tribute gig in aid of victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/Getty) Dave Hogan for One Love Manchest Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester tribute gig in aid of victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/Getty) Dave Hogan for One Love Manchest Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester tribute gig in aid of victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/Getty) Dave Hogan for One Love Manchest Ariana Grande's One Love Manchester tribute gig in aid of victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/Getty) Dave Hogan for One Love Manchest / Facebook

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Whatsapp Ariana Grande (left) and Miley Cyrus (right) performing during the One Love Manchester benefit concert for the victims of the Manchester Arena terror attack. (Dave Hogan for One Love Manchester/PA Wire)

"The deceased's family have been informed. He is believed to be an Italian national of Moroccan descent. He was not a police or MI5 subject of interest."

The latest arrest takes the total number held as part of the investigation to 13. Twelve have been released without charge.

A search warrant is being executed at an address in Barking, the Met said.

Earlier on Tuesday officers entered and searched an address in Ilford. Nobody has been detained at that location.
US President Donald Trump will not assert executive privilege to try to block testimony by sacked FBI director James Comey, the White House has confirmed.

Spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the president's power to invoke privilege is "well-established".

But she said Mr Trump will not take that step in order to ensure a "swift and thorough examination of the facts" related to Mr Comey's sacking and the multiple investigations into Russia's election meddling.

Mr Comey is scheduled to testify on Capitol Hill on Thursday.

Mr Comey's appearance before the Senate intelligence committee will mark his first public comments since he was abruptly sacked by the president last month.

White House officials had weighed trying to block Mr Comey by arguing that his discussions with the president pertained to national security and that there was an expectation of privacy.

However, officials ultimately concluded that the optics of taking that step would be worse than the risk of letting the former FBI director testify freely.

Legal experts have also said that the president is likely to have undermined his ability to assert executive privilege by publicly discussing his dealings with Mr Comey in tweets and interviews.

Legislators in both parties have urged Mr Trump to allow Mr Comey to testify publicly. On Sunday, Senator Roy Blunt, a Missouri Republican and a member of the intelligence committee, said the president would be "better served by getting all this information out".

"Sooner rather than later, let's find out what happened and bring this to a conclusion," Mr Blunt told Fox News.

''You don't do that I think by invoking executive privilege on a conversation you had apparently with nobody else in the room."

Mr Comey's associates have alleged that Mr Trump asked the FBI director if he could drop an investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn and his Russian contacts. The White House has denied the president made that request.

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Baylor University's Institute for Studies of Religion found that 55 percent of people in the U.S. believe in angels. "A lot of times when people hear about angels, they think about these cartoon figures with wings, halos and harps. I don't think that's the idea. I think the idea is that we live in a spiritual reality and these are spiritual beings that God's created and we call them angels," Rodney Stark, a Director for Studies of Religion at Baylor University explained. In the Bible, there were specific reasons angels appeared. In Genesis 22:11-12, an angel warned Abraham to not kill his son Isaac. Judges 13:13-14 revealed that Manoah and his wife were informed by an angel that they would have a son. In Luke 1:8-19, Zacharias was notified that he was going to have a son by the angel Gabriel. In Luke 1:26-38, Mary was given an angelic message about giving birth to the Savior of the World. Paul experienced an angel guiding him at sea. It makes sense that angels would connect with us today, just as they did in Biblical times. Here are 5 stories of encounters with guardian angels.

Victoria Sarvadi Victoria Savadi died in the ICU and remained in a coma after organ failure. She felt that she was falling off a roof of a building and that the free-falling was like being on a grid of time measurement unique to her. Dr. Frank Oski Dr. Frank Oski was on his rounds at the hospital and the day was nothing out of the ordinary. Then he saw an angel appear as bright as the sun in a dying patients room. The angel said that life is an endless cycle of improvements and that humans are not perfect yet. "She said that most people have this secret revealed to them when they die, but that handicapped children often know this and endure their problems without complaining because they know that their burdens will pass. Some of these children have even been given the challenge of teaching the rest of us how to love, Oski wrote about the experience in a major pediatric journal. He added that he is not looking to convince people of the experience. But does ask people to have an open mind. Dr. Ron Phillip Charisma Magazine reported that another doctor had a wild experience. During a drive home, Dr. Ron Phillip experienced turbulent weather and his car hit a snow embankment. He cried out to God to help him. Jimmy Jones This story will give you chills. During one of the largest tornados breakouts in American history, delivery driver Jimmy Jones got out of his truck and ran for cover. When he made it to the top of the underpass someone was already there, CBN reported. When I got up under there I see this fella sitting on this blanket. I was scared out of my mind. And I run up and got right in his face, I said, Sir, weve got to take cover. Theres a tornado. And he looked at me and he stood up and it was like everything slowed down at that point. He said, Is that right?" If that doesn't give you the chills, what ensued was more hair-raising. The paramedics said there was no one else at the scene and the guy probably got sucked up by the tornado. Jones responded by telling them "He was there. I saw him. I know what I saw. Rose Benvenuto

Rose Benvenuto swerved to avoid hitting a dog and ended up in a severe accident. Only my guardian angel could have saved me from such an accident, she told ABC. The then 58-year-old Rose was lucky to be alive. Upon looking at the mangled wreckage, first responders were shocked to come to the scene and find the driver still alive and with hardly a scratch. Bewildered by the angel that they saw taken from the wreckage, they took another look. The negatives also showed an image of the same angel. The woman involved in the accident firmly believes that it was indeed her guardian angel watching over her.

We can't explain everything in life and encounters with guardian angels are one of those things. For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways, Psalm 91:11 said. God does send His messengers to protect us and to inform. What are your angel stories?

Corine Gatti-Santillo is a freelance digital journalist, editor, and content producer. She is also the The Christian Post Voices Editor. She is also a former editor at Beliefnet.com.
In our busy, modern lives, we can expect a lot of ourselves: to be more peaceful, less stressed, more attentive, better listeners, more organized, healthier eaters, and the list goes on. How can we possibly do it all as life roars in and takes us away from a peaceful place? We can even wind up feeling more guilty or being harder on ourselves for the areas where we do not live up to our own expectations.

The good news is that being kinder to yourself is not difficult and does not have to be a distant land that you rarely visit. Instead, you can intentionally choose to return to your heart space in easy ways by implementing one  or all  of these simple kindness practices.

Analyze your relationships.

Who do you need to forgive in your life? Where are you holding onto anger, resentment, envy, or judgments towards another? Who has let you down - and you can't seem to let go?

Hooponopono, an ancient Polynesian prayer, can assist with healing differences between you and another as it focuses on forgiveness, compassion, and inner peace. This simple ritual has been practiced across various South Pacific cultures for decades to reconcile family disputes and to move past anger and resentment. In more modern times, this prayer was used by Dr. Hew Len to heal mentally ill criminals in a Hawaiian state hospital.

Simply repeat these four lines aloud, or quietly to yourself, for each person that you wish to forgive or release with love.

Whenever that person comes to mind, simply say these four phrases:

Im sorry.

Please forgive me.

Thank you.

I love you.

It may be hard to do at first, but stick with it. It gets easier with practice. With repetition, you will feel a shift in yourself and the perspective that you are holding on to about that person because you are intentionally clearing away what is over and allowing it to be complete. This is freeing!

And when you are upset with yourself for any reason, or perhaps harboring a regret of some kind, say this prayer as a blessing to yourself, too. Sit with yourself in kindness and it will change your self-talk. As you practice this more regularly, you will also feel your inner talk changing to be more compassionate, too.

Create a mediation practice.

When you meditate, include humanity, the earth, nature, animals, and every person on the globe in your meditations. Simply hold the intention to willingly assist in any way possible to create more support, peace, and love now. Allow the energy of love to flow where it needs to with supreme trust.

This visualization practice can elevate your personal feelings of connection to the globe and compassion for all living beings on the planet now. Meditation with kindness can soften and open what is ready to bloom. As you focus on this experience, it will shift your inner world and you will feel the energy more strongly within yourself, too.

Slow down and be present.

Be willing to slow down and recognize the people in your life. Attempt to really see them as individuals doing the best they can in their life. Acknowledge the garbage truck driver, UPS delivery person, and bank teller. Honk less in traffic. Thank your postal delivery person for their work. Smile at the cashier.

Be present in your life with the people you come in contact with on a daily basis. Meaningful eye contact, acknowledgements, and a genuine smile can do wonders for the hearts of all involved. For as much as we look at our phones these days, really making a personal connection with another could be just what improves their day  and yours.

Send energy from your heart chakra.

Put a reminder on your phone to stop moving at some point in your day and send out energy from your heart chakra. You can simply sit at your desk, stand in a store line or elevator, or sit in your car. Breathe deeply into your diaphragm and hold it for three seconds. Then slowly exhale. Envision beams of Light emitting from your heart space: effortlessly, peacefully, and joyfully. Feel a warmth in your chest and heart. Allow the Light to flow as it needs to without directing it. Feel it coming back to you with force. Then return to exactly where you are and continue to go about your day, knowing you have contributed more love to the world.

Put your hand on your heart.

Another easy way to practice simple kindness involves placing your hand on your heart, which is good for our physical selves, too. When you bring your attention to your heart, you are tuning in to your heart beat, your pulse, and your breathing. You are connecting with the natural rhythm of life that is running through you multiple times a minute.

This amazing system we call our body is able to operate on its own in magnificent ways  yet how often do we stop to recognize it, appreciate it, and honor it for all it does for us on a daily basis? Take a quick moment to simply bless your heart and the wondrous system that allows us to be here in our human body suits now.

Affirm yourself.

Affirmations are conscious thoughts that support what you want to create and experience in your life. Say aloud, right now, as you read these words:

I choose love in every area of my life now.

I am love now.

I am love now and I share this Love with the world now.

I send the highest possible expressions of Love to myself and the world now.

Continue to do this on a regular basis and youll notice changes in your life. You will focus more on what brings you joy, peace, and love, and be willing to allow anything else to fade away.

As you develop a deeper well of love and kindness within yourself, and to yourself, you will see ripple effects in other areas of your life as well. Becoming more mindful of your inner thoughts and how you speak to yourself is a powerful place that can often be lighter. Our self-talk should be uplifting, positive, and the voice of an inner best friend that validates who you are and your choices.

While you continue to find more peace, eliminate stress, and know yourself on a deeper level, remember that your heart is fully supporting you every step of the way. If you can take a moment now to be kinder to yourself, you will have improved the world at the same time.

Molly McCord, M.A., is a bestselling author of ten books, intuitive business coach, astrologer, radio show host, and modern spiritual teacher with over 25 years of spiritual study. Often referred to as a Consciousness Catalyst, you can find more on her website, www.ConsciousCoolChic.com.
Swati Sharma quit her job soon after her older daughter was born six years ago because of long working hours and lack of suitable childcare facilities.

Using a work-from-home facility, Swati Sharma worked for a few months after her baby was born six years ago but quit when her company withdrew the option.

They wanted people to come to work every day, it became very difficult, she said, pointing out that child care facilities near her home in New Delhi did not have high standards.

Stories of women leaving jobs are common: An estimated 20 million Indian women have dropped out of the workforce over the last decade, both in sprawling cities and the vast countryside where fewer women now work on farms.

Its a staggering number that researchers are trying to decode.

Indian economy is robust

Despite Indias buoyant economy, female employment has fallen dramatically over the last decade. Only 27 percent of women are in the workforce compared to about 40 percent in the mid-1990s. That is less than many lower-income countries like neighboring Bangladesh or other emerging economies like Brazil.

A World Bank study released recently says India needs to reverse the declining rates of women in the labor market to push growth.

The study said three of every five prime working age Indian women (26-45 years old) are not economically active.

Higher incomes play role

But not all the reasons are negative. An era of high growth has increased household incomes and propelled millions of families into the middle and upper-middle class. The relative household affluence has given many women the option to drop out of the workforce.

In the lower-income strata, better incomes for farm and construction labor also resulted in many poor families in rural areas educating girls. As a result, the number of those between 15 and 25 years in school and college has doubled to 30 percent.

Many of these young women who were working before perhaps out of necessity are now in school and building up their human capital, said Frederico Gil Sander, senior economist at the World Bank in New Delhi.

More jobs needed for the well-educated

However not all women stay at home because there is a dearth of suitable opportunities.

If you survey women, many of the women they want to work, but the fact is that not enough jobs are being created that women can take up, Sander said.

Garima Verma, who relocated from New Delhi to Jaipur, says there are fewer job opportunities for women in smaller towns compared with the large cities. (Anjana Pasricha/VOA)

In an urbanizing country, while large cities offer regular jobs in services and manufacturing, similar avenues are not available in smaller towns.

Garima Verma, 32, for example, quit her job a year ago because she wanted a break. But some months later she moved from New Delhi to Jaipur and says finding a suitable job in a smaller city has not been easy.

Lesser (opportunities) I would say as compared to metros definitely, she said.

Indian workplaces can be unfriendly to women

But even in booming urban centers, women often find it hard to stay the course, partly because most Indian companies have rigid work structures and reliable child care facilities are few and far between.

Sairee Chahal, founder of SHEROES, a portal for women job seekers, said in an era of global competition, extended work hours have become the norm at most workplaces. And patriarchal attitudes in a conservative society do not help.

Firms are very unwelcoming around the need for flexibility, maternity is still considered a challenge. And while women have made it to the workplace, men have not picked up stuff at home and that continues to burden women at home, Chahal said.

A need for more high tech jobs

The low participation of women in the workforce is especially surprising in a country where a large number of college graduates are women  women like Garima Verma and Swati Sharma, who both have college degrees.

Even highly educated women are not working and this is in a way a form of a brain drain, Sander said. Only 34 percent of women with either a diploma or college degree are working.

Pointing out that this includes a large number of women graduates in science and technology, the World Bank said India needs to create opportunities to tap this human capital.

Swati Sharma, for example, would like to return to work once her 6-month-old baby is a little older, but with working conditions in companies too challenging, she is taking a course so that she can teach the only option left for me, she said.

The World Bank said the key to closing the gender gap is to create more jobs, especially regular salaried jobs that are flexible and can be safely accessed by women.

But that is unlikely to happen anytime soon, warns human resources professional Chahal, and reversing the declining trend poses many challenges.

We do have women who are educated  basically all set and nowhere to go, all set and no doors opening for you, she said.

Reported by Voice of America (VOA), a sister entity of BenarNews.
Southeast Asian governments are struggling to determine how many Islamic State-linked foreign militants are in the southern Philippines, a year after IS leaders urged followers who could not travel to Syria or Iraq to go to Mindanao island instead.

Philippine military officials have identified people from six other countries among more than 120 suspected extremists who have been killed in the southern city of Marawi as ferocious battles with government forces entered a third week.

The fallen foreign combatants who were fighting alongside Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) gunmen backed by members of the Maute gang included citizens of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore as well as Chechnya, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, the Philippine military said.

Speaking at an international security conference in Singapore over the weekend, Indonesian Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu said he had been advised that 1,200 ISIS are in the Philippines, around 40 from Indonesia.

Philippine Defense Undersecretary Ricardo David said he was not aware of that figure, as he responded to Ryacudus comment at the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual regional security forum hosted by Singapore.

I really dont know, my figure is about 250 to 400, a lot less, he told reporters at the conference attended by officials from 39 countries.

The fighting in Marawi broke out May 23 after Isnilon Hapilon, an Abu Sayyaf commander recognized as the leader of ISs branch in the Philippines, was spotted in the city.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law in the south of his country after the militants took control of large parts of Marawi, marking the first time that IS-linked groups had claimed territory outside of Syria and Iraq. Efforts by the Philippine military to wrest the largely deserted Marawi from militants holed up there have taken longer than expected.

The groups recent siege of Marawi City  attests to their potential to turn Mindanao into an ISIS wilayat (province) for Southeast Asian militants, Singapores Ministry of Home Affairs said in a report assessing the terrorism threat in Southeast Asia. It was released earlier this month and referred to IS by another acronym.

Marawi a game changer

IS recruiting efforts have focused on increasing the extremist groups strength in the Philippines, said Sidney Jones, director of the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC), a Jakarta-based think-tank.

Whats clear is that for the last year, there has been a steady stream of exhortations over Telegram from Indonesians in Syria and from ISIS-supporters in Indonesia that the Philippines was the place to go. As it became harder and harder to cross the Turkish border into Syria, the message on social media changed from join us in Syria, to look to the struggle closer to home, Jones told BenarNews.

So ironically, while Western governments like the U.S. and Australia have seen the biggest danger coming from foreign fighters coming from Syria and Iraq to the Philippines, in fact the bigger threat was from would-be fighters in the region who had never set foot in the Middle East, she added.

In June 2016, IS released a propaganda video showing a Filipino, an Indonesian and a Malaysian appearing together to urge Muslims to fight in Syria or the Philippines.

If you cannot go to [Syria], join up and go to the Philippines, Malaysian IS figure Rafi Udin said in the 20-minute video.

He also urged IS supporters at home to use any means to kill non-Muslims and non-believers wherever you meet them. In the video, the three men carried out what appeared to be the beheading of three prisoners who were kneeling in front of them, hands bound, in orange jumpsuits.

Rommel Banlaoi, who heads the Manila-based Philippine Institute for Peace, Violence and Terrorism Research, said governments in the region need to evolve in their efforts to counter extremist groups.

The Marawi situation is a game changer in Philippine counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism efforts. The battle in Marawi has demonstrated the complex nexus of local armed resistance and international terrorism, he told BenarNews.

The aftermath of the Marawi crisis will not automatically conclude the armed conflict as threat groups facing government forces have the resilient ability to evolve and adapt to the current and emerging situation, he added.

Malaysia, Indonesia track combatants

In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysias police chief said that a handful of militants from his country were involved in the fighting in Marawi.

Based on intelligence and news, there are five Malaysians in Marawi city. Three have been killed and we are, at the moment, certifying the number of Malaysians in Marawi, Police Inspector-General Khalid Abu Bakar told BenarNews.

In Jakarta, Indonesian police spokesman Setyo Wasisto said some 38 Indonesians had gone to the southern Philippines within the past year, but not all were linked to the siege in Marawi.

Four people have been killed in Marawi and 22 are still in the southern Philippines. We do not know their condition yet, he told BenarNews on Friday, without identifying the four who were killed. A dozen were waiting to be deported after being arrested by Philippine security, he added.

Nasir Abbas, a terrorism analyst and a former member of the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist group, said the number of Indonesians in the Philippines was likely higher than the governments projection.

I think the number could be more than 80 people because the southern Philippines has always been a military training center in Southeast Asia, he told BenarNews. Radical groups in Indonesia have had close ties with the groups in the Philippines, he said.

Another terrorism analyst told BenarNews the number could be even higher.

The cells that support IS in Indonesia have a close relationship with Filipino terrorists, said Al Chaidar, a terrorism analyst from the Malikussaleh University in Aceh province.

Joint patrols

Mindanao lies near the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah, where local authorities warned in January that IS-linked extremist cells were planning to use Sabah as a transit point for sending fighters into the southern Philippines.

In recent days, the Malaysian armed forces have deploying assets to Sabah, including patrols boats, to safeguard areas identified as vulnerable to entries from the southern Philippines.

The seas separating the southern Philippines from Malaysian and Indonesian Borneo have also been rife since 2016 with acts of piracy and maritime kidnappings of sailors from commercial ships by Abu Sayyaf-linked gunmen. Since last year, the three neighboring countries have vowed to launch joint patrols aimed at protecting shipping from similar attacks, but the patrols have been delayed repeatedly.

At the Shangri-La Dialogue conference, Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein announced that these long-awaited joint patrols were nearly ready to begin.

Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia will launch joint sea patrols in the waters of Mindanao this month to resist any threats from the Daesh militant group who wants to establish a caliphate in Southeast Asia, he told BenarNews on Monday, using another name for IS.

Joint patrols in the waters bordering the three countries will begin on June 19 but air patrols will commence soon after that.

Officials from the Philippines and Indonesia did not immediately reply to BenarNews' requests for confirmation of that date.

Felipe Villamor in Manila, Hata Wahari in Kuala Lumpur and Rina Chadijah in Jakarta contributed to this report.
Philippine Sen. Antonio Trillanes, one of two lawmakers who brought a complaint against President Rodrigo Duterte before the International Criminal Court, is shown during a senate hearing in Manila, Sept. 15, 2016.

Two Philippine opposition politicians on Tuesday brought a complaint before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Netherlands against President Rodrigo Duterte over thousands of killings allegedly carried out during his administrations war on drugs.

Sen. Antonio Trillanes and Rep. Gary Alejano filed their 45-page supplemental complaint with the ICCs prosecutor in The Hague more than two weeks after the Philippine chief executive challenged them to take their allegations of mass murder to the U.N.-run tribunal.

Their filing adds to a case already filed by Jude Sabio, a Filipino lawyer who earlier charged Duterte with committing mass murder or extra-judicial executions constituting crimes against humanity.

The case of crimes against humanity against Duterte is very solid. He repeatedly, explicitly and clearly pronounced a national policy of killing drug suspects and the (police) executed it, Trillanes said in a statement.

Their complaint includes a list of killings that transpired after Sabio filed his case on April 24 against Duterte including relevant incidents which prove that the killings happening around the country are being done systematically.

Trillanes argued that the killings were carried out in the guise of legitimate police operations, or through police-backed, vigilante-style executions.

Alejano said they had no other recourse but to file with the ICC after Congress swiftly threw out an impeachment complaint he had brought against Duterte earlier this year. Alejano said this proved that our government is unwilling and unable to prosecute the perpetrators of the crimes.

Therefore, there is still a continuing veil of impunity which enables the carrying out of state-sponsored killings. It is in this regard that we are calling on the ICC to intervene and conduct preliminary examination of the situation in the country in order to prevent further extra-judicial killings and render justice in the country, Alejano said.

Last month, Duterte dared his political foes to take their complaint of mass murder to the ICC, arguing his critics were being taken for a ride a thousand times over if they believed he had ordered the killings.

Describing Alejanos impeachment complaint as lacking in substance, the 292-member House of Representatives, controlled by Dutertes allies, dismissed it.

This effectively gave the 72-year-old leader enough time to consolidate support from allies because congress is allowed to tackle only one impeachment case within a year.

Thousands of alleged addicts and drug peddlers have been killed since Duterte became president last year. The police admit to having killed at least 2,700 people in anti-narcotics raids.

But police said they were investigating about 5,700 drug-related deaths, including ones blamed on vigilantes. The police insist that vigilante-killings could be attributed to warring gangs trying to purge their ranks.
Rescue team members signal to trapped civilians to come out into the open amid buildings destroyed by bombs from Philippine fighter jets during clashes with extremists in the southern city of Marawi, June 4, 2017.

Updated at 9:04 a.m. ET on 2017-06-07

Philippine troops said Tuesday they had recovered 52.2 million pesos (more than U.S. $1 million) in cash left behind by Islamic State-inspired militants after house-to-house combat in the southern city of Marawi.

Marines recovered the bundles of banknotes and a machine gun hastily abandoned by the extremists, in a sign that the gunmen aided by foreign fighters have been weakened after two weeks of battles that saw Philippine forces drop bombs onto rebel positions, regional military commander Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez said.

Soldiers turned over the money to the authorities on Monday, Galvez said.

Galvez said government forces slowly advanced to safely extricate hundreds of civilians believed to be still trapped in areas controlled by gunmen with the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and the Maute gang, whose members have sworn allegiance to Islamic State (IS).

We will persevere in taking steps to minimize the hardships of our people in Marawi when they come back home, Galvez said. Our soldiers are committed to make all possible actions to free all trapped civilians in Marawi even at risk of their own lives.

The militants have been fleeing Marawi with some posing as civilians who pass through a strict military cordon, he said.

Most of them have fled and blend with civilians as evacuees. They left their weapons in houses where they are hiding, he said, referring to the gunmen. This is an indication that they are already weak.

On Tuesday morning, police said they had arrested the father of the Maute brothers, leaders of the Maute gang that has engaged in gun battles with government troops since May 23 in Marawi.

Davao City police chief Alexander Tagum said Cayamora Maute was arrested with his wife, son-in-law and daughter-in-law while aboard a van at a checkpoint in the southern city of Davao, President Rodrigo Dutertes hometown.

Cayamora tried to conceal his identity by wearing a face mask and sporting a clean-cut image, which drew suspicion from the authorities, Tagum said.

He described Cayamora as the first Maute member in the gallery of terrorists who is also a suspected Maute leader.

Militants flying black IS flags tore through Marawi two weeks ago, burning business establishments, a hospital and other buildings after a joint police and military team was sent to arrest Abu Sayyaf chief Isnilon Hapilon, the acknowledged local IS leader.

But they were surprised to encounter a large group of fighters backed by the Maute gang and fighters from Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, among other foreign extremists. The militants also seized a Filipino Catholic priest and about 200 Filipino civilians.

Duterte promptly placed the entire southern region of Mindanao under martial law, giving the military extraordinary powers to bring back peace and order.

The gunmen managed to take over the city proper, where they have been holding out against the troops. At the weekend, they agreed to a short humanitarian corridor and dozens of civilians were rescued, some unable to walk and others in bad medical condition.

US gives more than 600 weapons

More than 180 people have died in the fighting, a large number of whom were militants, according to Philippine officials. Thirty-nine soldiers and policemen and 24 civilians were also slain, including a group of soldiers accidentally killed by a Philippine government airstrike.

On Monday, President Duterte offered huge bounties for any information leading to the arrest of Hapilon and two Maute brothers leading the fight.

The United States, the Philippines close ally for more than half a century, is aiding in the fight by providing the Filipino forces with additional military hardware. On Monday, it delivered more than 600 weapons, including machine guns, pistols and grenade launchers.

This equipment will enhance the (Philippine Marines') counter terrorism capabilities, and help protect (soldiers) actively engaged in counter terrorism operations in the southern Philippines, a U.S. Embassy statement said.

U.S. troops have also been helping Filipino soldiers by giving them technical assistance, said military spokesman Lt. Col. Joar Herrera.

Some of them visited here for technical assistance, Herrera told reporters in Marawi, but declined to elaborate. But American assistance against the Abu Sayyaf was previously confined to gathering intelligence information through surveillance.

We have a cooperation in terms of training, he said. That's all that we're doing.

According to Sidney Jones, director of the Jakarta-based Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict, the Philippine government for several years in the first decade of this century, had ceded leadership for the battle against the ASG to the U.S. Special Forces.

And what did that accomplish? The supposed crown jewel of U.S. counter-insurgency efforts had zero impact in weakening Abu Sayyaf, Jones told BenarNews in an interview this week. This was supposed to be the crown jewel of American efforts, yet ASG just moved out to Jolo and then regrouped and eventually moved back to Basilan.

I suppose it all comes down to the fact that the central government has never really challenged the Mindanao-based warlords but has rather seen them as important political allies; when a few of them went over to ISIS, the government had no appropriate tools to challenge them, she added, referring to IS by another acronym.

Dennis Santos in Davao City contributed to this story.

An earlier version of this story misspelled the name of Cayamora Maute.




Moncks Corner, SC (29461)

Today

Windy with showers and thunderstorms likely. Potential for heavy rainfall. High around 70F. Winds E at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms likely. Potential for heavy rainfall. Low 68F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%.
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For Immediate Release, June 6, 2017 Contact: Randi Spivak, (310) 779-4894, rspivak@biologicaldiversity.org Bernhardt Moves One Step Closer to Confirmation to Top Interior Position WASHINGTON The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources today voted to approve the nomination of energy lobbyist David Bernhardt to be Interior Department deputy secretary, despite his years of working to enrich corporations at the expense of the environment. The Senate committee just greased the skids for another one of Trump's corporate puppets, said Randi Spivak, the Center for Biological Diversity's public lands program director. Bernhardt is a consummate insider who will turn America's public lands into an industrial zone for fracking, mining and drilling, harming wildlife and waters to benefit billionaire corporate polluters. Bernhardt has a history of fighting for destructive industries and against federal protections for imperiled species and Americans' public lands and waters. He represented big agriculture, oil and gas, and mining companies. If confirmed by the full Senate, he will oversee the agencies that decide whether to allow mining, fossil fuel and other extractive projects on public lands. Bernhardt lobbied on behalf of Cobalt International Energy, a company under federal investigation, in favor of bills that would have expanded offshore oil and gas drilling in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the largest environmental disaster in the nation's history. Bernhardt's lobbying firm has a significant financial stake in the Cadiz project, which would pump groundwater from beneath California's fragile desert and sell it to Southern California urban water agencies. Pumping would dry up the springs that feed Mojave National Preserve and Mojave Trails National Monument and harm bighorn sheep, bobcats and other wildlife. His lobbying firm could gain millions of dollars in additional stock if the Interior Department approves the permits necessary for Cadiz to move forward.



A vote for Bernhardt is a vote for the Koch brothers and big industry and a vote against public lands, people and health, Spivak said. Americans and wildlife deserve better. The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.3 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.
Starting your day with a cup of mushroom coffee can give a much-needed twist to your daily regimen. Many speak of its benefits, and some even prefer it to regular coffee. But given its unique
Through this appointment, Zuellig Pharma Cambodia will reinforce its position as a driver of compliance across Asia

Proud to announce that Zuellig Pharma Cambodia was elected the Vice-Chairman of the Cambodia Healthcare committee last month. Hosted by the European Chamber of Commerce, the committee compromises of key healthcare stakeholders, manufacturers and distributors, committed to improving access to healthcare in Cambodia.



Through this appointment, Zuellig Pharma Cambodia will reinforce its position as a driver of compliance across Asia.



Zuellig Pharma Cambodia General Manager, Jean-Gaetan Guillemaud said this first-time appointment is an exciting opportunity to be an active enforcer of ethical practices. Our first priority is to create an open and transparent line of communication with other Cambodia healthcare stakeholders, to collaborate together and ensure patient safety, a pledge which is in the DNA of our company, as well as all our employees here in Cambodia.

The first board meeting took place on 26 May, with the intention of tackling urgent issues such as prevention of counterfeits and illegal imports in the country. Patient safety is a key area that we want to focus on, we have been active players of the Healthcare Committee for years and this appointment is an opportunity to shift gears and build on previous efforts, he added.



First on the list for the new committee is the submission of a White Book by September to the Ministry of Health. We will work closely together with the Cambodia Counterfeit Committee and EU Ambassador to include pioneering ideas and initiatives in the White Book. An example would be simplification of regulatory processes, to ensure innovative drugs can reach patients as early as possible.
Adesaa Wellness has recently launched a program offering an amalgamation of the best of ancient Indian traditions  Yoga, Meditation and Naturopathy.

A Mumbai based wellness startup, Adesaa Wellness Private Limited, has raised an undisclosed amount of funding from angel investors.

Adesaa Wellness has recently launched a program offering an amalgamation of the best of ancient Indian traditions  Yoga, Meditation and Naturopathy. It intends to provide some of the finest wellness retreat programs for physical, spiritual, and mental rejuvenation. It aims to spread the light of Indias ancient yoga globally to integrate body, mind and soul.

Samidha Rasaikar, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Adesaa Wellness Private Limited stated that this investment gives additional resources to support Adesaas expansion plan, which will be used to accelerate the marketing efforts as well as employment generation. The expansion plans are very exciting for the investors as they foresee a huge potential for this business model. Adesaa is going to democratise healthy living providing some of the finest retreat programs and create employment to hundreds of yoga teachers and nutritionists.

Adesaa is focusing its efforts in niches where it has special expertise and guidance from Yoga Pandit Shri Gopinath Bhimaji Kedar, who has been practicing advanced level of Astanga yoga over 18 years.

The Yoga and wellness segment has boomed into one of the most revenue generating businesses with a USD 3.2 trillion industry. While India is currently measured at INR 490 billion and it is estimated to rise by 20 per cent in the next five years.
The 10th CRM team visited 16 States/UTs, including 9 High Focus States including 3 North-Eastern States, 5 Non- High Focus States and 2 UTs

Tenth Common Review Mission (CRM) report of the National Health Mission was recently released by J P Nadda, Union Health Minister.

Speaking at the function Nadda Said, Strong healthcare systems are required to be put in place and time-bound and structured disease elimination plans need to be developed. Ensuring quality of healthcare in public and private sector is our key priority. However, new challenges demand we make innovative strategies and encourage new ideas and innovations and take advantage of them so that nobody is left untouched of our services.

Healthcare service delivery has improved in terms of quality and content of care, as evidenced by increased footfalls, for not just institutional delivery but also for outpatients and inpatients. Several new initiatives have been launched in the last three years, targeted towards expanding access and reducing costs, as the Ministry moves along the path to universal health care., he added

Assuring full support to the states, he also urged the states to come forward with their proposals for rolling out innovative programmes for delivery of services. The Health Minister informed that under the universal screening of common NCDs program, everyone above the age of 30 years will be screened in the 100 districts of the country in the first phase.

Addressing the participants, Faggan Singh Kulatste, Minister of State (Health & Family Welfare) said NHM has led to improved health outcomes and health indicators due to strengthened system of healthcare delivery. National Health Mission continues to play an important role in strengthening public health systems at state and sub district levels



Speaking at the function, Anupriya Patel, Minister of State (Health & Family Welfare), said, CRM is an important mechanism for review of NHM as it helps in conducting intense interaction at the ground for review of processes and quality. She urged the states for developing innovative strategies for universal health coverage and highlighted the key findings of the CRM report.



C.K. Mishra, Secretary (Health & Family Welfare) stated, The inputs of CRM are very important to make the analyses the driving force for improvement of NHM. CRM provides the platform for critical analyses which is very unique to NHM. It assesses the quality parameters of the programme and gives us details about the returns on the investment.

The 10th CRM team visited 16 States/UTs, including 9 High Focus States including 3 North-Eastern States, 5 Non- High Focus States and 2 UTs.
Lewis said on Monday that the National Consumer Tribunal had ruled in its favour in the matter involving the furniture retailer and National Credit Regulator regarding club fees and extended warranties.

The ruling comes less than a week after the regulator accused Mr Price of falling foul of the sections of the National Credit Act. The clothing retailer has dismissed the allegations.

The latest announcement helped lift Lewis's share price by more than 5% to R35.42 in the afternoon. Mr Price held its gains on the JSE in line with other retailers.

The tribunal found that the National Credit Act does not prevent credit providers from offering the services of a club to consumers, provided these services are not part of the "cost of credit", according to Lewis.

It was found that the club fees charged by Lewis did not form part of the cost of credit of any credit agreement between Lewis and its customers.

In May, the tribunal ordered the owner of clothing chains Edgars and Jet, Edcon, to refund club fees included in its credit agreements.

Source: BDpro
When Lawrence MacDougall stepped into the position of Tiger Brands CEO in March last year, a lot was expected of him. But the veteran of 39 years in the fast moving consumer goods market has delivered - and then some.

Current market conditions have demanded all the expertise MacDougall can muster. "I have experienced conditions as tough in other countries, but never in SA," says MacDougall.

In its six months to March, SA's largest food group defied the odds, lifting revenue 7% to R16.4bn and headline EPS (HEPS) 9.5%, excluding one-off abnormal items and a combined 36% fall in contributions from associates Oceana and Chilean group Empresas Carozzi. "Tiger has just delivered an exceptionally good result," says Denker Capital's Ricco Friedrich. "You would think it is operating in another country. Compared with its peers, Tiger has cleaned up."

Friedrich points in particular to Tiger's largest rival, Pioneer Food Group, which he says "made a mess with its maize procurement". Pioneer found itself locked into maize futures contracts that were bought when the maize price was sky high. It was hedging against a feared drought-induced maize shortage that never came. With drought fears over, the maize price fell to levels last seen in early 2015.

Pioneer paid a heavy price, with its HEPS in the six months to March plummeting 56%. This brought to an end a brilliant growth run since Phil Roux became CEO in 2013 and prompted him to describe 2016 as a "year from hell".

For good reason, it seems, Tiger does not play in the futures game, says MacDougall. But it did participate in a game of another sort in its latest six months, playing the fine balance between pricing and volume.

It paid off for Tiger, which lifted prices by an average of 12% at the cost of a 4% fall in volumes in its SA operations. The end result: a 15% rise in operating income to R2bn.

"We played our portfolio well," says MacDougall. "Our diversified basket of products played to our strengths." It is a formidable basket. Of its 41-brand line-up, 13 brands are number one in their categories: Albany, Fatti's & Moni's, Tastic, Jungle Oats, Koo, All Gold, Crosse & Blackwell, Black Cat, Doom, Purity, Enterprise, Maynards and Beacon.

In the latest six months, the group's groceries division achieved particularly good results, upping operating income 32% to R310m. Even more impressive was the home, personal and baby care division, where operating income soared 71% to R336m.

But Tiger did not have it all its own way in the reporting period. Its export and international division took a hit that left operating income down 25% year on year, at R194m. Tiger hit particularly strong headwinds in three of its key export markets: Nigeria, Angola and Mozambique. Currency shortages and huge currency value falls combined to create damage.

However, there are positive signs that conditions are improving, particularly in Angola and Mozambique, says MacDougall. "In Angola we are able to leverage off a good trading relationship with Shoprite."

The export and international division is also home to Deli Foods in Nigeria and Chococam in Cameroon, the two remnants of the African empire cobbled together by MacDougall's predecessor, Peter Matlare.

Nigeria's second-largest flour-milling firm, Dangote Flour Mills, has been sold off. Tiger bought a 65.7% stake in the firm in October 2012 for R1.5bn. After taking losses and write-offs of more than R5bn, the firm was sold back to Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote's group for a token US1 in December 2015.

A 51% stake in East African Group of Ethiopia is also gone, with that deal closed in April. And a 51% stake in Kenyan firm Haco is in the process of being sold. Chococam and Deli Foods will remain on board says MacDougall, who, perhaps surprisingly, does not rule out future acquisitions in Africa.

But, for now, the focus is certainly going to remain on extracting greater efficiency and profitability from operations in SA. MacDougall, just getting into his stride, spelt out the path Tiger will follow in a strategic review released in May. Summing up, the review noted: "The future operating model will refocus on the consumer, reignite innovation and leverage our scale."

Says 36One Investment Management analyst Daniel Isaacs: "With MacDougall at Tiger, the party is over for its competitors."

He is referring to the less-than-optimal attention paid to SA operations on Matlare's watch, which opened the door for competitors to grab market share from Tiger.

One area that is being addressed in earnest is marketing. Though marketing spend is still modest at about 2.5% of net sales, MacDougall says: "We are becoming far more efficient and professional with our marketing spend." Tiger is also aggressively slashing costs. It has done well so far, trimming costs by R708m since 2014, with R136m cut in the latest six months.

However, MacDougall wants far more in his drive to lift group operating margin by 100-150 basis points by 2022.

A key part of his strategy is the introduction of zero-based budgeting (ZBB), which breaks from tradition by requiring the preparation of a fresh budget every year without reference to the previous year's base. ZBB is used with great success by many global corporates, including US confectionery giant Mondelez International, the company MacDougall left to join Tiger.

MacDougall is upbeat on prospects: "I am feeling good about Tiger. It is a fantastic company with great brands and a strong management team."

With Tiger trading on a solid 18 p:e, it seems the market agrees. But it has not given up on Pioneer. Recognising that Pioneer's futures woes will soon be over, it is affording it a normalised p:e of about 17.

Roux will want to regain the strong growth momentum Pioneer lost in the past half-year. It sets the scene for a battle between Tiger and Pioneer, both led by determined and highly skilled CEOs.

Source: Financial Mail
The High Court in Pretoria has granted an order brought by the DA and EFF that prevents Brian Molefe from reporting for work at Eskom while his Labour Court matter is pending.

Molefe approached the Labour Court in Johannesburg on an urgent basis to have his dismissal from the state power utility declared unlawful and void.

This was after the board rescinded his reappointment as group CE, as directed by Public Enterprise Minister Lynne Brown.

The High Court order granted on Tuesday, 6 June 2017, states that Molefe will not try to enter Eskom's head office or any Eskom sites for the purpose of performing his duties and that he is not required to perform any duties.

The High Court postponed the DA's urgent application to review Molefe's reappointment as Eskom CEO, pending his labour court bid to be reinstated.

If Molefe's Labour Court matter is successful, the opposition party will set down its application.

Source: Business Day
Telkom shareholders will receive a 56% higher dividend for the year to end-March 2017 than in the prior year, the telecommunications group said in its results yesterday, 5 June 2017.

 Jakub Jirsak via 123RF

Telkom declared a final dividend of R2.91, taking its total for the year to R4.22. In 2016, Telkom paid no interim dividend, just a final dividend of R2.70.

Telkom's fixed-line network shrank by 8.2% to 2.95-million and its average annual revenue per fixed lined by 9.8% to R4,266.

The phone company managed to offset the decline in its traditional business with 44.6% growth in mobile broadband subscribers to 2.6-million.

The group's overall revenue grew 9.8% to R40.97bn, as a 4.7% decline in traditional fixed-line voice revenue to R14.59bn was compensated for with 21.7% growth in mobile voice revenue to R1bn.

After-tax profit

After-tax profit grew 66% to R3.85bn, boosted by the prior year's retrenchment drive, which cut Telkom's employee expenses by 13% to R10.6bn.

Computer group BCX contributed a full year's revenue and profit in Telkom's 2017 financial year versus seven months in its 2016 financial year.

"BCX remains a key growth platform for the group. The integration of our enterprise business with BCX is complete and a new brand, BCX, was launched," Telkom CEO Sipho Maseko said in the results statement.
Egypt said it will suspend air links with Qatar from Tuesday, 6 June 2017, after it and other Arab states cut diplomatic ties with the Gulf emirate and accused it of supporting extremism.

 khunaspix via 123RF

The decision to "halt all flights between Egypt and Qatar" would take effect from 4am GMT on Tuesday and continue "until further notice", the aviation ministry said.

The statement, which was issued on Monday, added that Qatari planes would be unable to cross Egyptian airspace or land on its territory.

Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen and the Maldives on Monday joined Saudi Arabia and Egypt in severing ties with Qatar, and six airlines from the UAE and Saudi Arabia suspended flights to and from the gas-rich emirate.

EgyptAir followed suit, announcing in a statement "the suspension of flights linking Cairo to Doha, from Tuesday, until further notice".

Source: AFP
While in Abuja recently, I read that Nigerian airline Med-View was on the list of carriers that had been banned from flying over European airspace.

 Thanapol Kuptanisakorn via 123RF

I mentioned it to my driver as we approached the airport. He was astonished. I explained the ban was related to safety issues. Is that all, he asked. "Med-View has never crashed."

This is a country where people know a few things about air crashes, with the worst rankings globally in this regard.

Air Zimbabwe was also included on 2017's EU Air Safety List of carriers that may not enter its airspace. It is not likely to be flying as far as Europe soon, though.

Dire financial situation

Its dire financial situation means that it is now concentrating on local and regional flights. And it suspended flights to the UK after one of its aircraft was impounded over unpaid debts in 2012.

Airlines from a dozen other African countries are on the list, including all airlines registered in Angola (except for national carrier Taag, which can fly into Europe with some restrictions), Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Sudan, Sierra Leone and Gabon (with the exception of two airlines that operate under restrictions).

Africa's performance with regard to air safety, although improving, has fallen well short of global standards over the years. This is in spite of many efforts by various actors to improve the situation.

The AU, for example, initiated the Abuja Declaration for Aviation Safety in 2012 in recognition of the need to improve safety. It set a goal for African airlines to meet world-class safety levels by 2015.

Critical elements

Critical elements of the initiative included all African carriers completing the operational safety audit of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the establishment of independent civil aviation authorities in member states and the implementation of safety oversight systems.

But by the target date, only 30 airlines had completed the safety audit and only 11 of those did so after the declaration was signed.

There are many other initiatives that aim to improve aviation safety and efficiency in Africa. For example, the EU's ban on airlines entering European airspace is just one element of its work in aviation. The European Aviation Safety Agency works with aviation authorities across Africa to improve their air safety.

Bans lifted

When airlines show improvements, the EU ban is lifted. Earlier in 2017, airlines from Mozambique and Benin were removed from the list. In 2016, all airlines certified in Zambia were unbanned along with Air Madagascar.

According to IATA, in 2016, sub-Saharan Africa had its best performance in the past decade with zero passenger fatalities and jet hull losses.

Pan-African airlines, including Kenya Airways, SAA, Ethiopian and Royal Air Maroc, have fared consistently well in IATA's rankings. But the organisation has said there is still a long way to go and is urging African governments to accelerate the implementation of safety standards and recommended practices.

For African aviation to play its proper role in benefiting local and regional economies, airlines and airports need to have globally aligned regulation, decent infrastructure and lower costs.

Even when in place, not always enforced

Even where the regulations are in place, they are not always enforced or are inconsistently applied; corruption undermines safety and enables the airlines to cut corners.

Poor infrastructure and inefficient systems at airports add to the often negative experience of flying around the continent.

Despite a proliferation of airlines, air transport in Africa accounts for only 3% of total world traffic.

This is a huge untapped market but one that is being held back by a lack of political will to develop an efficient, competitive and cost-effective sector that is a critical underpinning for a modernising Africa.

Source: BDpro
DETROIT, US: The iconic Jeep brand is the cornerstone of Fiat Chrysler's strategy to bolster its position in the global auto industry, but the brand's US sales have hit a pothole.

FCA chief Sergio Marchionne has mused about spinning off the Jeep just as he spun off Ferrari to raise additional capital, but instead, the Italian-American automaker is counting on a steady expansion of Jeep sales in the years to come.

But after a long period of steady growth, Jeep's US sales dropped 18% in May and have fallen 13% so far this year.

Temporary setback

Todd Goyer, Jeep spokesman, said the setback is temporary.

"It is due to a deliberate reduction in fleet sales, and the transition from the previous Compass and Patriot (models) to the ramp-up of the all-new Compass," he said in an email.

In addition, he noted that "Global Jeep sales are up six percent in 2017 through May."

Even as it ramps up production at a plant in Mexico, the model changes cited by Goyer have forced FCA to halt Jeep production temporarily at plants in Belvidere, Illinois and Toledo, Ohio and the transition will not be completed until late this year.

While sales of vehicles such as the popular Jeep Grand Cherokee remain robust, climbing 11% in May, other factors could be hobbling Jeep's expansion plans, analysts said.

"Fiat Chrysler vehicles have consistently ranked at or near the bottom of a number of product quality charts," said Michelle Krebs, an analyst with Autotrader.

"Unable to turn it around"

And the company "seems unable to turn it around while competitors race ahead with improvements," she said, which could be putting the brakes on sales.

Meanwhile, the competition is increasing and putting more pressure on the brand. Just this week, Honda began building its Acura MDX, a direct competitor of the Grand Cherokee at a second plant in Ohio to keep up with demand.

Karl Brauer, executive publisher of Kelley Blue Book, noted that Jeep has "been cashing in on" the American craze for SUVs from the beginning, while other brands are still rolling out new models to take advantage of the insatiable demand.

"That makes it easier for those brands to grow while Jeep has nowhere to go but down, especially while two (Jeep) compact models are phased out while a single one comes in to replace it," Brauer said.

Challenging Jeep

John Murphy, an analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, noted that European carmakers Volkswagen AG, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, are introducing new luxury utility vehicles, challenging Jeep in a segment where it had been dominant.

Mike Manley, the FCA executive responsible for the Jeep brand, said in an interview earlier this year that the brand will still post a "modest" sales increase this year as it continues to expand into new markets in Asia.

In China, where sales of Jeep vehicles increased by 131% in 2016, Manley said he expects another big increase since Jeep will have three different vehicles available for Chinese customers.

Jeep will have the capacity to build 350,000 units in China and could build more as demand increases, he said.

Jeep also began building vehicles in India for the first time on 1 June 2017. The new Ranjangaon facility will build right-hand drive versions of the new Compass for the Indian market and other right-hand drive markets, the sole export facility those vehicles.

"We sold nearly one million vehicles in NAFTA last year," Manley said, but the growth outside North America continues to lift the brand's sales totals.

Source: AFP
Fears of non-payment, rising credit costs and a number of projects being put on hold are some of the perceived threats leading contractors to consider terminating contracts with state-owned entities.

 Ivan Kruk via 123RF

The real impact of South Africas junk status on government-led projects is widely exaggerated, says Nikita Lalla, partner at Dentons SA, a global law firm that advises on a wide range matters including infrastructure, disputes, energy, natural resources, private equity, and project finance.

Lalla says whilst the cost of borrowing and raising other forms of credit may have increased due to increased beta factors, this will not have an impact on a sponsors ability to fulfil its contractual obligations.

While I agree that investment coming into South Africa will be significantly impacted by our countrys new status, the money the South African government has allocated to infrastructure and energy projects isnt going to disappear. There are also contracts in place to ensure that contractors on these projects receive timeous payments, says Lalla.

Infrastructure and energy projects wont just disappear

According to National Treasury, energy expenditure by government is expected to total R180.7bn over the next three years and there are countless other large-scale infrastructure projects, such as the Gautrain Commuter Expansion, the Johannesburg-Durban High-Speed Rail Link and the Gauteng Freeway Improvement: Phase II Bulk Distribution System, for example, that are all underway.

Contractors shouldnt have a knee-jerk reaction to the junk status analysis being published in the media and terminate current contracts due to fear of non-payment because infrastructure and energy projects are part of the countrys long-term development plans and strategies, says Lalla.

Government allocates funds at the start of the project and many of the projects will take many years, even decades, to complete. A good example of this is our countrys nuclear strategy, which has recently been in the media after energy minister Mmamoloko Kubayi announced that government will be renegotiating its inter-governmental agreements with vendors.

South Africas nuclear plans arent being put on hold indefinitely; the purchasing and acquisition processes are simply being restarted, says Lalla.

Payment disputes can be prevented by drawing up proper contracts

While non-payment is rarely an issue on these types of projects, there are instances where payment disputes arise. These disputes are generally due to inconsistencies in claims that need to be resolved, but even under these circumstances, contracts and processes are in place to help contractors proceed with work in a cash neutral position as soon as possible.

The two main contracts that are used for these types of projects are the NEC and FIDIC contracts. Under the NEC engineering and construction contracts, employers are obliged to make payment within four weeks. Finalising a dispute under the FIDIC suite of contracts may take longer due to the number of stakeholders involved in the arbitration process, but relevant parties will generally push to resolve the dispute as quickly as possible, explains Lalla.

Our advice to contractors is to avoid terminating contracts. Engage in mediation, pursue an amicable solution, and research ways to fast track your dispute. There are many long-term infrastructure projects in South Africas pipeline and its financially beneficial for contractors to continue working on these projects and follow the right channels if a payment dispute arises, concludes Lalla.
The Vision 2030 Summit will address all issues relating to the national development plan (NDP) and aims to build the community of South Africans joining the country's leaders, both in government and the private sector, driving economic acceleration and transformation.

Mayor cllr. Mzwandile Masina

The NDP continues to anchor, reflect, and underpin nationwide commitment to ending poverty and inequality through improving the lives of the poor and marginalised in society.

Speakers

Deputy minister in the presidency, Buti Kgwaridi Manamela and executive mayor of the city of Ekurhuleni, counsellor Mzwandile Masina, have confirmed their attendance to speak at the upcoming Vision 2030 Summit, being hosted from 21-22 June 2017 at Birchwood Hotel, Johannesburg. Manamela will speak on how South Africa is committed to aligning itself with the 2030 agenda for sustainable development goals (SDGs), which comprise a set of 17 SDGs to end poverty, fight inequality and injustice, as well as tackle climate change by 2030.

Masinas speech will see him sharing his views on what more business, government and civil society can do, to achieve the goals of the NDP by the year 2030.

Says CEO of Topco Media, Ralf Fletcher: I invite all fellow business leaders, both in the private and public sector, to join them in making history. This is where youll see how the NDP affects you and your business.

Minister in the presidency, Jeff Radebe, who delivered the Vision 2030 Summits keynote address last year, said, "One of the challenges that government has faced is a lack of communication around its activities, especially as it relates to the NDP. It is in this spirit of improving our communication that we welcome the return of this summit.

Download the Vision 2030 Summit programme.
An additional $19.3 million in humanitarian assistance to Africa will provide emergency food, healthcare, water and sanitation to people in South Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Nigeria and Kenya, the Australian Government has announced.

Pascal Piguet via 123RF

The Australian Government will provide further assistance to the millions of people across Africa forced from their homes, with more than 10 million estimated to be on the verge of starvation due to ongoing conflict and widespread drought.

An additional $19.3 million in support will provide emergency food, healthcare, water and sanitation to people in South Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Nigeria and Kenya.

This new funding will bring Australias contribution towards the international response to conflict, drought and famine in Africa to approximately $68 million, since July 2016. This new package of assistance supplements Australias regular funding to United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund and humanitarian organisations

More than 5.8 million people in South Sudan are in need of assistance due to conflict and acute food shortages. Australia will provide support through the International Committee of the Red Cross and the South Sudan Humanitarian Fund to help meet the food, health and protection needs of these people.

Australias funding to Uganda and Ethiopia will help these countries work with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to meet the humanitarian needs of more than 800,000 South Sudanese refugees and others fleeing conflict in the region. The funding will also support longer term education and livelihood opportunities for refugees and their host communities.

Australias assistance will also help the World Food Programme and Red Cross meet the needs of over 7 million people at risk of starvation in northeast Nigeria due to ongoing conflict and drought, including 1.4 million acutely malnourished children.

In Kenya, Australias funding through UNICEF will help to address the food and water needs of more than 2.7 million people who are affected by drought and have fled conflict in neighbouring countries.
Around 15 men in coats entered Nu Armeins house after 3am on June 4. The men allegedly attacked the head of 100-households from Ywar Thit Kay Village with an axe before dragging him out of the house, according to a Border Guard Police official.

The victims brother reportedly tried to interfere and stop the attackers, but was knifed by the assailants.

The body of Nu Armein was found near an embankment in Tha Yay Kon Baung Village at 10am. State media said that his body was recovered near a prawn farm south of Ywar Thit Kay Village.

The village administrator informed officials at the Ma Gyi Chaung border outpost and the Alel Tan Kyaw border outpost. Police arrived around 7am to investigate the incident.

The victims brother was given medical treatment for his knife wound.

The new insurgent group, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, has been accused of leading attacks on local residents who cooperate with government officials.

However, ARSA has repeatedly taken to social media to deny the allegations, attesting that it does not target any civilians.

Translated by Thida Linn

Edited by Laignee Barron
The jailbreak at the Kawkareik Township Police Station occurred between 9pm and 10pm, with the inmates escaping through the roof, according to the police.

Once suspect has been re-arrested. The other six remain at-large.

U Min Ko Khine, the state parliamentarian representing Kawkareik townships Constituency 2, blamed the authorities for failing to ensure the security of the jail house.

This is due to the negligence, he said. These incidents have happened not just in our township but in other townships as well.

In a separate incident, just days earlier, a group of armed assailants attacked police who were transferring a suspect on trial for drug charges. The men attacked police on May 29 along the Hpa-an-Kawkareik Road and abducted the woman.

[The police] need to take more precautions instead of slacking off, said Saw Soe Naing Win, from the Karen Development Network.

But another MP called for the public to cooperate with, rather than denigrate the police.

Security should be increased now. [The security] depends on the strength of the police officers. Its no wonder the public is feeling worried. But worrying wont solve the issue. The responsibility doesnt lie on only the police. Such issues may decrease if there is public cooperation, said Daw Nan Than Than Lwin, a Pyithu Hluttaw MP from Hpa-an.

Translated by Thida Linn

Edited by Laignee Barron
Significance Of Bhauma Pradosh Vrat Faith Mysticism oi-Staff

As per the Hindu religion, the thirteenth day of every fortnight is celebrated as Pradosh. Pradosh, or the evening time of a day, is the favourite time of Lord Shiva. Observing the Pradosh Vrat is sure to help earn Lord Shiva's blessings. It is said that the Pradosh Vrat is an important way to earn Lord Shiva's blessings in Kali Yuga.

When the Pradosha falls on a Monday, it is called the Soma Pradosha. When it falls on a Tuesday, it is known as Bhauma Pradosha and when it falls on a Saturday, it is called the Shani Pradosha.

Bhauma Pradosh falls on this day, i.e., 6th June, Tuesday. It is a Shukla Paksha Pradosha, which means that it falls on the bright fortnight of the month.

Timings of the Bhauma Pradosha pooja: 7:12 PM to 9:15 PM.

The Pooja Vidhi

People who wish to keep the Bhauma Pradosh Vrat must take bath early in the morning and perform a pooja to Lord Shiva. Goddess Parvati is also worshipped along with Lord Shiva. Bel leaves, rice, flowers, fruits, betel leaves, areca nuts, lit lamps, camphor, etc., are offered to Lord Shiva.

One must visit the nearest temple of Lord Shiva before consuming food and performing the worship in the evening for best results.

This Vrat is sure to please Lord Shiva. You shall be blessed with Moksha after death on performing the Pradosh Vrat. The life you shall lead will be happy, comfortable and free of any kind of sicknesses.

The Pradosha Vrat Katha

Listening to the Pradosha Vrat Katha after the worship of the Lord is considered to be very auspicious. You may consume the prasad of the pooja after the completion of the Pradosha vrat katha.

According to the Skanda Purana, The person who religiously performs the Pradosha Vrat will never have to suffer from the want of money for the next 100 births.

The Pradosha Vrat Katha is as follows:

Once upon a time, there lived a Brahmin lady. The lady was widowed and had a son. One day, the woman and her son went out to beg for alms. As they were passing by a river, they chanced upon a little boy who was alone and abandoned.

The kind lady took the boy with her and raised him as her son. They always suffered from the lack of money, but whatever she had was equally divided among her son and the boy that she had raised as her own.

One day, the woman and her sons had the good fortune to visit a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. There, she met the great sage Shandilya. The woman told him about the miseries that she and her sons had to go through. The sage looked at the boy who was raised by the woman and told them that this boy was the son of the King of Vidharbha and was called Dharmagupta.

His mother had been taken due to some kind of an ailment and his father was murdered by people who had usurped his kingdom. The sage advised them to perform the Pradosha Vrat and told them they shall be blessed by Lord Shiva. The woman and her sons preformed the Vrat as prescribed by the sage.

One day, both the boys chanced upon a group of Gandharva Kanyas playing in the river. The Brahmin boy returned from the site immediately; but Dharmagupta stayed. He started chatting with a Gandharva Kanya by the name of Anshumati.

They fell deeply in love. Anshumati was the daughter of the King of Gandharvas. Anshumati took Dharmagupta to meet her father. The king of Gandharvas knew that Dharmagupta was the rightful prince of Vidharbha and let his daughter marry him.

After the marriage, Dharmagupta took the army of Gandharvas and took back his kingdom from the usurpers. Dharmagupta, Anshumati, the Brahmin widow and her son, all lived happily thereafter.

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T-72 monument in its production place, Nizhny Tagil. A file photo.

MINSK (TASS-DEFENCE): The first modernised T-72B3M main battle tanks have entered service with the Belarusian army, Belarusian VoenTV TV company reported.



"Today the combat vehicles have been solemnly handed over to the personnel of the 969th Tank Reserve Base," the report said.



The event was attended by Belarusian Defence Minister Lieutenant-General Andrei Ravkov, representatives of the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces, as well as the Russian delegation from the Uralvagonzavod Research and Production Corporation.



According to the TV channel, the upgraded T-72B3Ms are equipped with a more powerful 1,130-hp engine and an improved armament mix. Among other changes made to the vehicle are its armour reinforced with side screens of the hull with a removable modular armour kit.



"The new guided weapon system guarantees a high probability of destroying the target at the halt and on the move to a range of up to five kilometers, while the addition of an automatic target tracker has simplified the gunners job when firing from the move and against moving targets," the military noted.



Also, the tank has received a new 125-mm gun with longer barrel life, a new VHF radio station R-168-25U-2 Akveduk, new fire-fighting equipment and a new Belarusian-made multi-channel gunner sight Sosna-U.



In addition, the vehicle is equipped with a digital ballistic computer with a set of environmental sensors. "It automates data preparation for firing and significantly improves the accuracy of fire," the report said.



Earlier it was reported that the Russian Ministry of Defence continues upgrading the T-72B3 tanks to the T-72B3M configuration.



The vehicle received a new sighting system with a digital display, as well as a rear view TV camera. Changes were also made to the tank's armour, which was reinforced with side screens including the Relikt explosive reactive armor (ERA) modules, add-on slat armour, as well as new ERA modules in a "soft" case.



In 2006, the Relikt system with the 4S23 ERA tiles was adopted by the Russian Armed Forces and appeared on the T-72B, T-80BV, T-90MS tanks and BMPT vehicle.



In comparison with the Kontakt-5, the Relikt ERA system was distinguished by a much higher maintainability achieved through modular design, in addition to significantly higher protective characteristics. So, the front protection is made as a single module, which can be easily replaced in the field in the case of damage.



The use of a new explosive in the 4S23 made it possible to increase the efficiency and reliability of the ERA system against APFSDS projectiles, including low-speed ones, against which the Kontakt-5 operated unstably. Its effectiveness against tandem HEAT warheads has also been significantly increased through the optimized design of the built-in ERA and the use of the new 4S23 tile.




China's J-20 stealth fighter. The new ramjet engine will enable the J-20 fighters to fire from greater range, according to a military expert.

BEIJING (PTI): China has successfully tested a solid-fuel variable flow ramjet engine which could enhance the real combat ability of the country's stealth aircraft and boost firing range of missiles, official media reported Tuesday.



A team from No. 4 research institute affiliated with the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) disclosed on May 31 that it has successfully conducted two flight tests with the ramjet engine, state-run Global Times reported.



The solid-fuel ramjet engine is a member of the ramjet engine family, which has the advantage of low cost, high power, and high controllability with compact size, the report said.



The team said the new ramjet engine is ready for further engineering application, paving the way for China's next generations of hypersonic missiles, it quoted Science and Technology Daily as reporting. It is hardly accessible in the world as it demands sophisticated and highly difficult research on technology.



The new engine can remarkably increase the firing range and mobility for air-to-air missiles and anti-ship missiles equipped with China's stealth aircraft including the J20 jet fighters, Song Zhongping, a military expert who used to serve in the PLA Rocket Force, told the Global Times.



The engine will enable the J20 fighters to fire from greater range and the missiles to fly faster at a hypersonic speed, which will increase their combat ability, Song said.



It is a milestone in the field of engine research, which has been a bottleneck for China for quite a while, Li Jie, a Beijing-based military expert, said.



Once the engine achieves miniaturisation, it will very likely enable China's air-to-air missiles to strike targets up to 300 km at a speed faster than March 5, Song said, adding that the engine can be applied to China's latest missiles including PL12 missiles.



A lot of research needs to be done in the future to achieve that. For example, China should also conduct research on building up a super range detection network to support such a long-range strike, and the precision guiding system should be capable of processing information at super high speeds, Wang Ya'nan, chief editor of the Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told the Global Times.



At present, such an engine will be mainly used on missiles, as for the manned aircraft, there is still a long way to go, since the thrust of such engines are still not enough for that, Song said.



Cruise missiles and experimental aircraft including drones can also adopt such technology to realise high-speed travel within the atmosphere, Wang said.




ISRO's heaviest rocket GSLV Mk-III, carrying communication satellite GSAT-19, takes off from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on Monday. A PTI Photo

SRIHARIKOTA (PTI): India on Monday scripted history as it successfully launched its most powerful and heaviest geostationary rocket carrying advanced communication satellite GSAT-19 from the Sriharikota spaceport in Andhra Pradesh.



On its maiden development flight, the 43.43 metre tall three-stage GSLV MkIII-D1, expected to be the choice of India for taking humans into space in future, lifted off at 1728 hours IST from the second launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, about 125 km from Chennai.



Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark-III (MkIII D-1) injected the 3,136-kg GSAT-19, the heaviest satellite to be launched from the country yet, into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit about 16 minutes later.



It was a textbook launch as every stage of the three-stage GSLV MkIII with indigenous cryogenic engine, performed without any flaw after the powerful rocket blasted off at the end of 25-and-half hour countdown that began on Sunday evening, leaving plumes of smoke and soared into sky.



Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientists broke into thunderous applause as the complex mission was declared a success, brightening chances of India increasing its share in the commercial launch market.



GSLV MkIII can orbit payloads or satellites weighing up to 4,000 kgs into the GTO and 10,000 kgs into Low Earth Orbit.



A beaming ISRO Chairman A S Kiran Kumar termed it as "a historic day" and said the GSLV MkIII D-1 has successfully demonstrated its capabilities with the injection of GSAT-19 into the desired orbit.



"It is a great success in the maiden attempt and GSLV MkIII has successfully put in orbit GSAT-19 which is a next generation satellite."



"I wish to congratulate the entire team which has relentlessly worked each day for today's launch from 2002," he said.



President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress President Sonia Gandhi hailed the successful launch of GSLV MkIII-D1 and GSAT-19.



Mukherjee said the nation was proud of ISRO's achievement while Modi said the mission took India closer to next generation satellite capability.



"Congratulations to the dedicated scientists of ISRO for the successful launch of GSLV MKIII D1/GSAT-19 mission," the prime minister tweeted soon after.



Kiran Kumar said Modi called him and congratulated each member of the ISRO team for the successful mission.



GSAT-19, which will augment India's communication resources, was released into GTO, some seconds ahead of the appointed time.



Billed as a potential gamechanger satellite, GSAT-19 was equivalent to having a constellation of 6-7 of the older variety of communication satellites in space.



It carries Ka/Ku-band high throughput communication transponders and is the heaviest satellite to be built and launched from the country.



Monday's GSLV mission is significant for India as ISRO had been depending on foreign launchers for launching communication satellites weighing more than 2,300 kgs. The latest success caps more than a decade of untiring efforts by ISRO which had to overcome several hurdles in cracking the complex cryogenic technology and developing its own C-25 engine, which was used in GSLV MkIII D1.



With a lift-off weigh of 640 tons, GSLV MkIII vehicle, which is powered by two solid motor strap-ons (S200), a liquid propellant core stage (L110) and cryogenic stage (C25), has been designed for carrying heavier four tons class satellites.



GSLV MkIII, which is expected to be the vehicle to carry Indian astronauts in future, also came in for wholesome praise from ISRO scientists who gave it names ranging from "Baahubali" to "obedient boy" to "giant."



"Proud to say ISRO has given birth to a Baahubali," said Tapan Misra, Director, Space Applications Centre (SAC) of ISRO, indicating its enormous power.




ISRO's GSLV heavylift rocket during its lift off at Sriharikota spaceport on Monday.

SRIHARIKOTA (PTI): Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will work on launching vehicles with "electric propulsion system" so that large satellites can be sent into space by the agency, its Chairman A S Kiran Kumar said on Monday.



"Till today, we had the capability to launch 2.2 tonne satellites and in today's GSLV-MKIII D1 launch, we successfully used electric propulsion system," he told reporters.



Asked whether ISRO would make use of the European spaceport at French Guiana, he said for the next GSAT satellite, weighing about 3.3 tonnes and scheduled for launch on June 28, and another satellite weighing 5.8 tonnes would be done from there.



For launching heavier satellites, ISRO had to depend on facilities from abroad and the space agency had launched 3,404 kg communication satellite GSAT-18 from French Guiana.



"For the next launch which is on June 28, we are actually getting it done from Ariane. It is about 3.3 tonnes but after that we also have 5.8-tonne satellite for which also, we will be going to French Guiana," he said.



"We have a six-tonne satellite in principle. It is possible to be realised using electric propulsion. So we have already started using electric propulsion system. (Even) GSAT-19 (launched on Monday) carries an electric propulsion system. So, we have successfully tested that," he said.



Asked how the mood was when the cryogenic upper stage was firing during Monday's launch of GSLV MkIII carrying GSAT-19, he said it was "upbeat" as the scientists undertook several round of tests.



"The mood was upbeat. In December 2014 we tested our first S200 solid motor and L110 liquid engine. We did make certain modifications. As far as cryogenic engine was concerned, more than 199 tests have been done since December 2014.



All these tests have been done without any mishap or failure.



This also boosted our confidence," he said.



About the immediate task for ISRO, Kumar said "it is to improve the launch vehicles of PSLV, at least two launches of GSLV Mark II per year and one more Mark III within a year".



Asked when GSAT19 would reach the intended orbit, he said, "Right now what is achieved is a geostationary transfer orbit. That means, it is about perigee of 170 kms and apogee of 39,500 kms. What we will do is a series of manoeuvres using the propulsion of the satellite in the coming days. Typically it takes two to three weeks."



On the status of inter-planetary mission, Kumar said the space agency had two approved missions - "Aditya" and "Chandrayaan II."



"The launch of "Chandrayaan II" will be in the first quarter of next year and with regard to "Aditya", we are planning to launch it sometime in 2018-'19," he said.



To a query as to whether the market size of ISRO increased with Monday's heavy satellite launch, Kumar said "definitely with every successful launch, credibility of the system goes up. Customers will have greater confidence".




The Ka-52 Alligator is a next-generation reconnaissance and combat helicopter designed to destroy tanks, armoured and non-armoured ground targets, and enemy troops and helicopters both on the front line and in tactical reserves. Photo: Russian Helicopters.

ARSENIEV, PRIMORSKY KRAI (TASS-DEFENCE): Russia's Ministry of Defence (MoD) will get 14 Ka-52 helicopters with 50 such helocraft to be delivered by 2020, Deputy Defence Minister Yuri Borisov said.



"This year we are to take the delivery of 14 Ka-52s under the State defence order (Gosoboronzakaz). The actual contract should be accomplished, (it envisions the delivery of) 50 helocraft by 2020," Borisov said during his visit to the Progress aviation plant.



The official pointed out that it was necessary to check the readiness of the enterprise to accomplish the orders under the new state armament program for 2018-2025 that was sent to Russia's government for approval.



According to Borisov, the Ka-52 Alligator combat-reconnaissance helicopters may be upgraded with regard for their usage in Syria. "We have several requests following the practical work in Syria, we have discussed the modernisation issues with the developers of the main components in order to increase the effectiveness of the helicopter," the official said.



Borisov said that the Ka-52 had shown an excellent performance in Syria. "The works with the new Vikhr guided missile have been conducted and the results are positive in terms of effectiveness. However, the perfection has no limits; therefore, we have the requests regarding the improving of the accuracy range. We have discussed these issues with the industry and have planned the ways of solution," he pointed out.



Russia's MoD would consider the acquisition of the newest Ka-62 utility helicopters, Borisov said. "If this aircraft flies and shows good flight performance, it will find its place. We will consider (the issue)," the official added.




Su-35 multi-role fighter aircraft. Photo: Sukhoi.

KOMSOMOLSK-NA-AMURE (TASS-DEFENCE): In 2017, the Su-35S fighters will be refined with regard for the combat usage in Syria, Russia's Deputy Defence Minister Yuri Borisov said.



"The planes of this year will be refined with due account for the Syrian experience and drawbacks. We may even delay the acceptance of the aircraft in service before the confirmation of the troubled issues correction," Borisov said during his visit to the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aviation Plant named after Yuri Gagarin (KnAAZ).



The official said that previously the rubbish from the runway had slipped into the air intakes of the aircraft during take-offs and landings; there had been also problems with the canopy and the screens.



However, the aforementioned drawbacks were fixed during the combat usage. According to Borisov, an agreement to deliver the aircraft at an annual rate of 10 items through 2020 was signed with the plant.



"According to the reports of our pilots who work in Syria, it is one of the best aircraft in terms of flight specifications, armament suite and air-launched weapons range. The plane is unmatched in the modern combat, they believe. This is why the potential foreign customers are increasing their interest in the aircraft," Borisov added.



The Su-35S is a deeply upgraded super-manoeuvre multi-role fighter jet of the 4th++ generation developed with the application of the 5th-generation technologies.



The Su-35S features a new avionics suite that is based on a digital information-management system, a new radar with a long range of aerial targets detection and an increased number of simultaneously tracked and engaged targets and engines of enhanced power output with thrust vector control.


Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 06/06/2017 (1983 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A public hearing on a proposed south-end subdivision filled the gallery in Brandon City Council chambers Monday night, with many Kelsey Bay residents coming to speak in opposition to the plan.

As Deb Walker told council, they are not against the development overall, but they are opposed to the new emergency access being planned off Kelsey Bay.

The emergency access kind of takes away from our street, Walker said. Weve got kids that are playing on the street all the time, and people walking their dogs  We have no guarantees that a year from now, this thing isnt going to turn into an actual thoroughfare instead of just an emergency access.

Jillian Austin/The Brandon Sun Kelsey Bay resident Deb Walker speaks to Brandon City Council on Monday during a public hearing on a proposed subdivision in Brandon's south end. The Woods development proposes a secondary emergency access off Kelsey Bay, which many area residents are opposed to.

Kelsey Bay residents presented a petition to city council, garnering nearly 30 signatures. The bay has a total of 37 homes.

Debbie Folk said the general consensus from the neighbourhood is that they feel it is unfair to disrupt an already settled, established neighbourhood to make way for a new development.

Folk said one of the concerns is that the access would create more foot traffic, and potentially lead to more crime. Parking is already an issue on the bay, and Folk said this will likely eliminate some spots.

Ive been here 13 years. I was the third home in here and in all that time, there has never been any kind of issues at all, Folk said. I just dont understand why  disrupting our neighbourhood has to be his solution.

Lori-Jane Carr said she would like to see other options investigated.

What would it take not to have an emergency access? she asked. I get the feeling that this is the only solution, nobody is looking for an alternate solution.

The 5.65-acre development, called The Woods, is a proposed 198-unit project. It would be located between 18th Street and Tracey Street, south of Sycamore Drive. Of the 198 units, 176 would be apartments in four, four-storey apartment buildings. There would be 22 townhouse units.

The Brandon Evergreen Developments plan has changed significantly since it was first approved in 2014. The original plan was to develop 440 units on two properties  21 Willowcrest Ave. and 1640 Sycamore Dr.

The land transfer between Brandon Evergreen Developments and Kingsway Kort (1640 Sycamore Dr.) was unsuccessful, so the developer came up with a new plan just for the one property at 21 Willowcrest Ave.

A non-negotiable addition to the revised plan, as per Brandon Fire and Emergency Services requirements, is the addition of a secondary emergency access point to the development.

This would only be used in case of emergency, and gated when not in use. The developer determined the only feasible option would be via Kelsey Bay.

Since last months council meeting, developer Aaron Dubois held an open house to speak with residents, and he previously told council he personally dropped off information letters about the proposed plan to residents in the area of Kelsey Bay, Lyndale Drive, Orchard Way, Aspen Drive and Birchwood Drive back in February.

We followed everything that the city requested, Dubois said last month. Regarding the letter to residents, he added it shows emergency access and it was handed out two and a half months ago, and I have not been contacted by anybody.

Residents complained there were inconsistencies in communication, and a lack of effort initially in making the proposed plan clear to the neighbourhood.

As of press time, city council had not yet voted on the motion.

 jaustin@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @jillianaustin
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 06/06/2017 (1983 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

While greeting people as they passed by the Brandon Walmarts Vision Centre in February of last year, manager Jan Ross came upon a mother whod stopped dead in her tracks.

Believing her infant daughter was having a seizure in her stroller, the mother called out for help.

Ross took immediate action, crediting her mom instinct with having taken over.

Tim Smith/The Brandon Sun Jan Ross recently received the Walmart International Associate of the Year award for saving an infant's life near the Vision Centre at the Walmart in the Corral Centre in 2016.

Her first step was to pull off the youngsters clothes. Bundled tightly in winter gear, Ross believed the infant was overheating.

While her winter clothing was being removed, the baby stopped breathing and appeared to be drowning in her own drool, Ross said.

The Good Samaritan flipped the babys face down and patted her back, resulting in some grasping for breath, shortly after which paramedics arrived to take over the situation.

With her good deed done, Ross walked back into the Vision Centre in disbelief as to what had taken place.

Shaking with adrenalin, she went into a back room for a quick cry, and then continued on with her day thinking the ordeal was over with.

Instead, her quick action was reported to Walmarts head office, which proceeded to recognize her as national Associate of the Year during a ceremony in Toronto this February.

This award was followed by Ross being named the companys International Associate of the Year during a ceremony at the Walmart shareholders meeting in Fayetteville, Ark., last week.

Rosss quick thinking and leadership in a moment of crisis was well worthy of this years prestigious distinction, said AnnMarie Mercer, Walmart Canadas vice-president of human resources.

It comes back to her as an individual, she said. Jan is very active in her community and is seen as a go-to person within the store. Shes highly respected by her peers and her colleagues.

While excited to have been given these travel experiences and commendations, Ross said she just did what she believed she had to do.

Things could have gone really wrong, the 19-year Walmart employee said, adding that while others didnt seem to know what to do in that situation, she was able to draw from her first aid training and jump into action.

On this front, she said that anyone who deals with the public in any capacity should take some form of first aid training, even if they dont keep their certification up to date.

Ross said that she never learned the babys name  but about a week after the incident, an associate at the centre spotted the mother, who reported that the youngster was doing fine.

 tclarke@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @TylerClarkeMB
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 06/06/2017 (1983 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A high school teacher in Russell is facing criminal charges for allegedly assaulting a student.

The teacher, who is listed as a senior years teacher on the Major Pratt School website, was charged last Friday with two counts of assaulting a minor. He is considered innocent until proven guilty.

The charges stem from an incident that occurred on school grounds in April. RCMP were informed on April 6, according to a police spokesperson.

Last week, the 50-year-old teacher was arrested and has been released from custody. He is expected to appear in court at a later date.

When reached by phone Monday, the accused declined to comment.

Park West School Division Supt./CEO Stephen David said, in response to questioning, it is the divisions protocol to not speak publicly on personnel matters.

David confirmed the teacher has been on leave since the incident occurred. He would not say if the teacher is being paid during his absence.

Details regarding the alleged assault remain unclear at this point. The Brandon Sun has decided to withhold the name of the accused until more information about the case is known.

 ifroese@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @ianfroese
Vogue Williams has called for the mass internment of extremists in the wake of the recent terrorist attacks in the UK.

The Irish model addressed the subject in her recent column for the Sunday World titled, 'Internment camps are a grim necessity'.

The piece has since received a huge amount of negative backlash online.

Vogue Williams has called for mass internment of Muslims, lads. pic.twitter.com/JtsCk1nKiU  Elvis Bunuelo (@Mr_Considerate) June 4, 2017

The 31-year-old believes that the 3,000 extremists currently living in the UK should be locked up, even though similar actions with IRA members in Northern Ireland didnt work.

I know it didnt work with the internment of IRA members in Northern Ireland when 2,000 alleged paramilitaries were held without trial in makeshift camps.

She also said that she fully agrees with the ban of British jihadis from returning to the UK.

"Powers to ban British jihadis from returning to the UK have been used for the first time and I fully agree with that.

"Anyone who leaves Britain and Ireland to fight alongside ISIS can stay out. I don't care what age or what their circumstances are."

She referenced Muslim former police chief Tarique Ghaffur and his proposal to create an internment camps for radical extremists.

She said: "This is something that should be decided by the people, but I certainly agree with it" reasoning that "the only way to stop these senseless attacks is to put any potential threats away.

"In today's case the terrorists cannot be negotiated with."

People have since taken to Twitter to slam the article.

Don't assume Vogue Williams is stupid. Do her the credit of finding her views totalitarian, oppressive and genuinely sinister. pic.twitter.com/i3Wz5tVvfR  Donald Clarke (@DonaldClarke63) June 5, 2017

Happy to be proven wrong: maybe Vogue Williams has a PhD in Security & Defence, but until then I don't think she's qualified to offer advice https://t.co/mTkmrDq6jO  Una Clarke (@UnaClarke) June 5, 2017

Somewhere between "Donald Trump is president" and "Vogue Williams says bring back internment" I think my mind gave up questioning things  Carl Kinsella (@TVsCarlKinsella) June 5, 2017
The National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU) has accused government and management in Iarnrod Eireann of playing Russian roulette with transport policy.

Unions were responding to reports the company has said pay increases could not be given to staff given because of severe financial difficulties.

The company has said it has accumulated losses of 159m.

In a statement NBRU general secretary Dermot OLeary suggested successive Governments had forced Iarnrod Eireann to preach the poor mouth to its own staff, who through two cost-cutting programmes ... have contributed to the success story that now has the Company reporting passenger numbers back at Celtic Tiger levels."

Mr O'Leary went on to suggest this is in direct contradiction with the so-called insolvency threat being peddled by Irish Rail management to workers.

"What we are actually witnessing here is a systematic attack on State-owned public transport Companies and workers.

"The recent Bus Eireann dispute clearly demonstrated that an agenda exists within Government circles, to drag the CIE Companies and their workforce through a series of industrial disputes in order to feed a pro-privatisation agenda

He concluded: "It is long since passed time that those who provide support for this government cried halt to this Russian roulette transport policy, before we are forced into a summer and autumn of chaos across our railways.
Twenty new jobs have been announced for Dublin by digital health company, HealthBeacon.

The roles will include IT jobs, software developers, project management and customer service executives.

The announcement was made by HealthBeacon's CEO Jim Joyce and Taoiseach Enda Kenny last night, during his two-day trip to Chicago.

The new jobs support the launch of HealthBeacon's technology expansion into North America with new offices in Boston and Montreal.
A prestigious space event is bringing Dr Buzz Aldrin to Cork this summer.

The International Space University (ISU) is hosting its 30th Space Studies Program (SSP17) at Cork Institute of Technology (C.I.T) from June 26 to August 25.

The intense nine week programme will attract 320 international space professionals from 26 countries, including five astronauts, who will examine all aspects of space and its related enterprises; from Engineering, Science, and Applications to Law, Business, Humanities, and Human Performance in outer space.

More than 50 public events will take place across Cork city and county and throughout Ireland to raise awareness of the opportunities and challenges which our exploration of the Universe offers us.

Chancellor of the ISU, Apollo 11 Astronaut and one of the first humans to walk on the moon, Dr Buzz Aldrin will open the 2017 Space Studies Program in Cork on Monday June 26 at an invitation-only ceremony.

Dr Aldrin said: This extensive programme will raise public awareness of the benefits, challenges and inspiration of Space Exploration and other space endeavours. Im looking forward to my time in Cork and hope to experience many of the exciting events while there.

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin to open the 2017 Space Studies Program here in Cork on 26th June 2017.#CIT #SSP17#BuzzAldrin #OurSpaceOurTime pic.twitter.com/3WUT8aeBOF  Paul F (@paul8f) June 5, 2017

Buzz Aldrins public lecture will take place on Tuesday June 27 at 8pm at C.I.T. and tickets are free. They will be available from 12:00 noon tomorrow.

Dr Niall Smith, Head of Research at C.I.T, said that they feel exceptionally honoured that Dr Aldrin has agreed to attend this unique event.

"He was an integral part of the most pioneering space programmes of their time having participated in both the Gemini and Apollo series of missions. He has continued his lifelong association with space in academia and in space engineering and is an ongoing inspiration to all of us," he said.

Tickets to these events are free and will be available from Wednesday June 7 on a first come first served basis here. Other events that are being run in association with CIT Blackrock Castle Observatory and Cork County Libraries are available to book on www.bco.ie/events/ and www.corkcoco.ie/Library

For more see www.ssp17.ie
Full flight operations have resumed after a section of Terminal 1 in Dublin Airport was evacuated earlier this morning.

Authorities at the airport ordered the evacuation of Pier 3 after a "small fire" was reported.
Montenegro's prime minister has said he has no hard feelings about US President Donald Trump pushing past him at the Nato summit in Brussels last month.

In a scene that went viral on the internet, Mr Trump appeared to shove Prime Minister Dusko Markovic to get to the front of the group as Nato leaders entered the alliance's new headquarters building in the Belgian capital.
A journalist badly injured in the London Bridge attack has told how he was stabbed in the neck after standing his ground to protect a friend from the knife-wielding terrorists.

Sunday Express business editor Geoff Ho was left in intensive care after deciding to "face the attackers down" when they burst into the Black & Blue restaurant at Borough Market.

In a vivid account released today, he told how he stood up to Khuram Shazad Butt, Youssef Zaghba and Rachid Redouane, minutes after helping a lone bouncer fight off two men in an separate incident outside the Southwark Tavern, having just left the nearby Wheatsheaf pub.

Mr Ho said: "I went the five doors down the street to Black & Blue. Within two minutes of my leaving the Southwark Tavern and posting 'not on my watch' on Facebook, the terrorist attackers arrived at the restaurant.

"Most of my friends and the staff hid under tables but my one of my friends was frozen behind me. I knew I had to face the attackers down, they were armed and I had the best chance of delaying them until the police arrived or they'd get everyone.

"I had to shield my friends and the people there. Then I noticed they had what looked like suicide vests on. I tried to slow them, they attacked. It happened so quickly.

"The bastard in the Arsenal shirt came at me first. I think I got a hit in on one of them, but either he or his accomplice got me with a shot to the throat.

"They got my friend who was behind me with a minor stab wound in the face and hands and ran off. I picked up my friend and bundled him into the store room.

"I called the police and within moments they arrived. I gave the police descriptions of the three and we were evacuated."

Mr Ho said he had been told by doctors that he would make a full recovery from his injuries, adding: "Also, I want to make it clear that many of my friends are Muslim.

"The people who attacked me were not representative of Islam. I stand in solidarity with my Muslim brothers and sisters."

He urged people to donate to a fund for the British Red Cross and London Air Ambulance here.
Manchester Arena suicide bomber Salman Abedi may have stored items used to assemble the device in a Nissan Micra, police in England have said.

Greater Manchester Police said "significant evidence" was found in the white car, which has an "R" registration plate and was seized from Devell House in Rusholme on Friday.

The force issued photos of the car and a red and black holdall and appealed for anyone who recognised either to come forward.

Detective Chief Superintendent Russ Jackson said police were continuing to track the movements Abedi made in the days leading up to the May 22 attack, which killed 22 people, including seven children.

He said: "Our investigation has also revealed that Abedi made repeated trips to and from this car between 18 and 22 May 2017 and we believe he was taking items from the car to help assemble the device.

"The car was sold by a previous keeper on 13 April 2017.

Photo issued by Greater Manchester Police of a white Nissan Micra released as part of the investigation into Salman Abedi in the days before the Manchester attack.

''Abedi left the country on 15 April and it is vital that we understand what happened to this car during these few days between 13 and 15 April.

"We need to know who was in the car and where the car went. You may have seen the car and not realised at the time but it could have stopped at a newsagents or a supermarket - did you see the car and its occupants during these dates?"

Mr Jackson said it was "vital" officers exhausted all lines of enquiry to establish how other people were involved in planning the attack.

He added: "We also appeal to anyone who knew Abedi or his close associates to come forward. Did you notice anything suspicious about him or people he associated with? This information could be vital in piecing together what happened."

The police appeal came as a ninth person was released after being arrested in connection with the attack.

The 20-year-old man had been arrested in Cheetham Hill on May 27.

Suicide bomber Abedi's brother Ismail, 23, was released on Monday evening.

Photo issued by Greater Manchester Police of a holdall released as part of the investigation into Salman Abedi in the days before the Manchester attack.

He was arrested in the street in Chorlton on Tuesday May 23, the day after the terror attack on Manchester Arena, which killed 22 people, including seven children.

On Tuesday, a police officer outside Ismail Abedi's flat in nearby Whalley Range told reporters that the property was still "an active crime scene".

Nine men remain in custody for questioning in connection with the attack.

Two of Salman Abedi's cousins, Isaac Forjani, 24, and Abz Forjani, 21, both from Fallowfield, were among those released last week.

A third cousin, aged 18, is still being questioned.

Salman Abedi, 22, whose family are of Libyan origin, died after detonating an improvised explosive device as people began leaving a show by US singer Ariana Grande.

His father, Ramadan Abedi, was arrested in Tripoli on May 24, along with Salman's younger brother Hashim, 20, who Libyan security forces said were "aware of all the details" of the attack.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the atrocity.
The ACT government will crack down on the misuse of mobility parking permits, a sign of a broader clampdown on the exploitation of vulnerable Canberrans.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr announced in Tuesday's budget the government would bump up the penalty for people found to be misusing a permit to park in disability spots and flagged tighter monitoring of the concession.

There are a raft of measures in the ACT budget to stop the exploitation of people with a disability.

"There is a lot of anecdotal evidence these permits are not being used appropriately and that they are being traded and passed around and there are people who really shouldn't be utilising those permits who are doing so," Mr Barr said.

"Part of our work here is to ensure there's greater compliance around the issuing of those permits because I think we'd all agree ensuring integrity around the use of those permits in limited disabled parking spots should be of concern to the community, is of concern to the community and the government will be be responding. If you are using a disability park and you're not entitled to, you are breaking the law."
The vast majority of funding to deliver the ACT Government's signature election pledge - a major $500 million expansion at Canberra Hospital - will not eventuate until at least 2020, budget documents show.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr released the budget on Tuesday, with many health-related announcements mooted before the tabling of the official documents in the legislative assembly.

A plan of Labor's promised expansion of the Canberra Hospital, with a new "SPIRE Centre" at the Kitchener Street end of the campus, and a new emergency department, with the current emergency department dedicated to maternity and children.

But the budget shows most of the funding for the government's $500 million new Surgical Procedures, Interventional Radiology and Emergency (SPIRE) centre at Canberra Hospital was pushed beyond the budget's forward estimates.

The budget papers show the government will spend $3 million in 2017-18 and a further $3 million in 2018-19 on planning and design works, with $30 million to start capital works in 2019-20 and $200 million for more capital works in 2020-21.
Red Hill resident Paul McGlew wanted one thing from the ACT budget: funding certainty for Woden Seniors.

But while the Phillip organisation did not receive a mention in the budget papers released on Tuesday there were other measures that earned Mr McGlew's tick of approval.

Red Hill resident and Woden Seniors president Paul McGlew. Credit:Sitthixay Ditthavong

More than $53.5 million has been budgeted over the next term of government to put together the business case and procure services to bring the tram from Civic to Woden.

Mr McGlew said he carried some reservations about how the project would be funded and said he was unsure how well utilised it would be by Canberra seniors.
Madeline Lester, who has died aged 68, made an exceptional contribution to the design profession, academia and design practice in Australia and internationally.

Although it is now an established field, the interior design profession is relatively young with the first professional interior designers only emerging in the early to mid-1900s. As president of IFI (International Federation of Interior Architects/ Designers) from 2005-07, Madeline attained the highest office possible for a practitioner in her field. She was the first (and to date the only) Australian to hold this position.

Madeline Lester: a true international ambassador.

Madeline joined the IFI board in 2002 and was IFI president-elect (2003-05), IFI president (2005-07), and IFI immediate past-president (2007-09). Her involvement as an IFI board member and senior office-bearer can be identified as the most significant contribution of any individual to the internationalisation of the interior design profession in Australia.

Madeline was an exemplary and generous role model for all interior designers. On many occasions, she personally funded young designers to travel to national and international design events and conferences, and also personally funded Australian designers to speak at international design conferences to ensure that Australian design is represented in important international forums.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has raised "grave questions" about why Yacqub Khayre, the gunman responsible for Monday night's deadly siege in Melbourne, was on parole despite a known record of violence and extremism.

Mr Turnbull said he had raised the issue with Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and flagged it would be a "high priority" at a COAG meeting of federal and state leaders scheduled for this Friday.

"How was this man on parole? He had a long record of violence. A very long record of violence. He had been charged with a terrorist offence some years ago and had been acquitted. He was known to have connections, at least in the past, with violent extremism," Mr Turnbull said on Tuesday morning.
Labor leader Bill Shorten has been forced to back Labor senator Sam Dastyari following fresh revelations about his links to and lobbying for an influential Chinese donor to the Australian Labor Party.

Mr Shorten faced a barrage of questions about Senator Dastyari on Tuesday after a joint Fairfax Media/Four Corners investigation raised new questions about Senator Dastyari and his office lobbying the Department of Immigration on behalf of Chinese businessman Huang Xiangmo, who had applied for Australian citizenship.

Senator Dastyari's appearance at a joint press conference with Mr Huang on June 17, 2016, at which he contradicted ALP policy on the South-China Sea dispute - a day after Mr Huang withdrew a promised $400,000 donation because of comments on the issue from Labor defence spokesman Stephen Conroy - has also come under fresh scrutiny.

There is no suggestion Senator Dastyari knew directly of the threat to the $400,000 donation, but his appearance at that press conference was instrumental in forcing him to quit the Labor front bench last September, as was the fact that he had asked a donor to pay a legal bill for him. He was quickly returned to a junior front bench role this year.
The brother of slain crime figure Hamad Assaad armed himself with a gun at the urging of someone in his dead sibling's "entourage" because he feared he might be next.

Police raided Tarek Assaad's home in November, weeks after his younger brother Hamad was shot dead in the driveway of his Georges Hall home.

Tarek Assaad, brother of dead crime figure Hamad Assaad, arrives at the Burwood Local Court on Tuesday. Credit:Daniel Munoz

Assaad, 32, lived a few doors down from his 29-year-old brother and turned up minutes after the shooting on October 25 to find him lying in a pool of blood.

In a bid to curb retaliation to the crime figure's murder, police rolled out a string of firearm prohibition order (FPO) searches.
Two men charged over the shooting death of a father-of-three at a Buddhist temple in Sydney's west will remain behind bars.

Qin Wu, 37, was killed when police allege he intervened in a fight between his friend and a group of at least three men in Guildford in February.

Ian Fan arrives at Burwood Local Court on Tuesday. Credit:Daniel Munoz

Mr Wu was shot in the chest at the Kennedy Street property. Another man was also shot in the confrontation but police believe it may have been caused by his own gun by accident.

In April police revealed the house at the time of the shooting had been converted into a Buddhist temple.
Ipswich's long-serving mayor Paul Pisasale has resigned, citing his battle with multiple sclerosis as the reason, one day after the state's crime and corruption watchdog raided the council office.

Dressed in pyjamas and a dressing gown, Mr Pisasale made the announcement at St Andrew's Hospital in Ipswich.

"Now it's my time to look after my health," he told reporters.

Within hours of his announcement, the Crime and Corruption Commission released a statement confirming it had executed a search at Ipswich City Council on Monday.
The parents of a toddler who died from life-threatening burns have briefly appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court charged with torture and murder.

Nicole Betty Moore, 23, and Shane David Stokes, 30, are accused of killing Maddilyn-Rose Stokes, who would have turned three this month.

Maddilyn-Rose died in hospital on May 26 after paramedics found her unconscious at her family's Northgate townhouse.

Police have earlier said the little girl had burns stretching from her lower back to her feet from allegedly being placed in a hot bath a few days earlier.
Slain policeman Brett Forte's wife had reportedly spent months supporting the ex-grilfriend of the man who killed her husband.

The woman, who can't be named, spoke to News Corp ahead of Senior Constable Brett Forte's special police farewell, expected to be the largest funeral ever seen in the Toowoomba area.

She said Senior Constable Susan Forte was her domestic violence liaison officer, supporting her after cop killer Rick Maddison allegedly pointed a gun at himself, then at her while she was holding her young child at her home in March.

"She emailed me daily: 'You will get there, you can do this, we will find him, don't worry'," she said, describing the shooting as a "tragic coincidence".
Clinton Pryor's gait is light, almost buoyant as he walks.

Trucks and cars roar past his slight figure on the shoulder of the highway. A treasured walking stick  decorated with the Aboriginal colours of people, sun and earth  taps the ground at each step.

Clinton Pryor is walking from Perth to Canberra. Credit:Joe Armao

Over the past nine months Pryor's feet have carried him almost 4800 kilometres as he traverses this vast continent.

From Perth, through Western Australia, the Northern Territory and South Australia, to Wurundjeri land, and Melbourne, on Tuesday.
Every terrorist fits somewhere on the spectrum between calculating-but-evil and mentally ill.

The early indications have been that Yacqub Khayre, the young man who took a sex worker hostage, shot an employee of a serviced apartment block in Brighton, then emerged firing at police, must have been at the "calculatingly evil" end of the scale.

He had been involved in a terror plot once before  a threat to go on a shooting spree at Sydney's Holsworthy army base in 2009  and, this time, he gave what seemed to be an explicit warning to a Channel Seven worker, "this is for IS and this is for al-Qaeda".

It's these words, this history, that has seen Khayre labelled "terrorist" rather than "drug-addled criminal".
A magistrate granted him bail, but within months he was charged with armed robbery, after stabbing a man twice in the leg when he refused to hand over a wallet and mobile phone. Police searched the Roxburgh Park home on Tuesday morning. Credit:Jason South At the time, a judge expressed concerns about Khayre's drug and alcohol abuse and his "failure to take advantage of the assistance that has been granted to you whilst you were on bail", according to court documents. Khayre was handed a fully suspended sentence, but was charged eight months later with burglary. He again avoided a custodial sentence, and was released on an adjourned undertaking. Police at the house where Khayre is believed to have lived with his mother and brothers. Credit:Jason South

Police believe Khayre became radicalised in about 2008, after attending a Preston mosque along with other men charged in relation to a 2009 plot to storm Sydney's Holsworthy Barracks and kill as many soldiers as possible. A key figure in that planned attack, Somali refugee Saney Aweys, took Khayre under his wing and sent him to Somalia to train with terrorist organisation al-Shabaab. Neighbours heard a helicopter overhead as police raided the house. Credit:Jason South The then 22-year-old flew to Singapore first, and then on to Doha, and Kenya. Khayre spoke regularly to Aweys, who was later jailed over his role in the terrorist plot. He spoke of the "culture shock" on arriving back in Somalia, and struggled to operate his mobile phone.

On April 26, 2009, Khayre told Aweys that his new name would be Abu Abdirahman. But Aweys worried that Khayre posed a threat to their secret plan, telling a Somali contact he was: "a risk to you, us and the whole thing", according to transcripts of telephone intercepts. On June 28, 2009, Khayre fled from the training camp in Somalia. They heard from him in Nairobi the next day, when he asked for money to come home. After he arrived back in Australia on July 14, doubts about Khayre grew. Aweys said he thought he was a liar and word spread that Khayre "ran away from the brothers" in Somalia. Following his acquittal and release from prison in late 2010, Khayre again started using methamphetamine.

A legal source, who met Khayre on several occasions, expressed concern he was never considered for a deradicalisation program. "It was an opportunity missed. He had plenty of problems, mostly the drugs, but he seemed like a young guy who was easily led. And he could have been led in another direction," the source said. They also claimed he was also deeply traumatised by his 16-month stint in a maximum security prison. In 2011, Khayre was sentenced to almost four months in prison over firearms charges, including being a prohibited person found in possession of a gun and bail breaches. Again under the influence of ice, Khayre was involved in a violent home invasion in Dallas, where he repeatedly bashed a young woman who interrupted him as he ransacked the house. He also head-butted the woman's father, before he was overpowered and arrested.

At the 2012 trial, a judge noted his total estrangement from family and friends. "There was no family at court to support you. You have had few visits, only from one sibling, but no other contact with family or community members. I am told that they have washed their hands of you," said County Court Judge Felicity Hampel in 2012. He was sentenced to more than three years prison over the home invasion, and granted parole in December 2016. The family's Roxburgh Park home, where Khayre lived as a teenager, is owned by Dr Hussein Haraco, the secretary of the Somali Australian Council of Victoria, which has run a program to fight the radicalisation of youths since 2015. Dr Haraco said Khayre was too old to be involved in the program, and that despite his criminal history, the Brighton attack had come as a shock.

"I know the mother very well, not Khayre actually, but I know the mother very well and she's a very good person. I contacted her before. She's a very strong woman who raised the children without their father," Dr Haraco said. Dr Haraco said Khayre had little contact with the community but that he was aware of his criminal past.. "We never thought that [Khayre] will do something like this and say that 'I'm doing this with Al-qaeda or ISIS'," he said. Dr Haraco said he was concerned about the safety of the family and other members of the Somali community in the wake of the attack. Be the first to know. Sign up for our breaking news alert
The woman charged with the stabbing murder of her 13-month-old daughter kept her head bowed and said nothing during a short court appearance a day after the little girl's death.

Umal Sharif Abdurahman, 28, appeared briefly in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday, after police found the baby's body in a family home in Fordham Road in Reservoir on Monday.

Police leaving the home in Reservoir on Monday. Credit:Luis Ascui

Ms Abdurahman is charged with one count of murder and appeared in court on Monday afternoon, when a detective said the woman had telephoned her husband on Monday morning and told him: "I have done something to the baby."

On Tuesday, Ms Abdurahman returned to court wearing a white head covering and appeared calm as magistrate Timothy Bourke read her file.
Australian nurse Kirsty Boden was killed in the London Bridge terror attack, her family has confirmed.

In a statement released on Tuesday night, her family said the 28-year-old was running to help victims of the stabbing and van attack when she was fatally injured.

Releasing a photo of their smiling daughter holding sunflowers, Kirsty's family said she was "loved and adored by her family, friends and boyfriend".

"She was the most outgoing, kind and generous person who loved to help people," they said.
Washington: The US Department of Justice on Monday charged a federal contractor with sending classified material to a news organisation that sources identified to Reuters as The Intercept, marking one of the first concrete efforts by the Trump administration to crack down on leaks to the media.

Reality Leigh Winner, 25, was charged with removing classified material from a government facility located in Georgia. She was arrested on June 3, the Justice Department said.

The charges were announced less than an hour after The Intercept published a top-secret document from the US National Security Agency that described Russian efforts to launch cyber attacks on at least one US voting software supplier and send "spear-phising" emails, or targeted emails that try to trick a recipient into clicking on a malicious link to steal data, to more than 100 local election officials days before the presidential election last November.

The Intercept's reporting reveals new details behind the conclusion of US intelligence agencies that Russian intelligence services were seeking to infiltrate state voter registration systems as part of a broader effort to interfere in the election, discredit Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and help then Republican candidate Donald Trump win the election.
Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop has confirmed that two Australians died when terrorists launched an attack in the heart of London over the weekend.

Ms Bishop said she was deeply saddened to announce the deaths of two young Australian women, after they were both "attacked savagely" in London on Saturday night, local time.

Ms Bishop said government officials were working with British authorities to confirm the identities of the victims, before formally releasing their names.

The family of South Australian nurse Kirsty Boden has already paid tribute to the 28-year-old, saying she was running to help victims of the stabbing and van attack on London Bridge and Borough Market when she was killed.
Latest News Sydney records highest auction clearance rate in six months Almost 70% of properties sold in first week of November

ScotPac opens new broker portal System aimed at speeding up approvals

Ex-Century 21 CEO James Green has been appointed as the general manager of one nationwide fintechs home loans division.The fintech Rate Comparison is owned by lead generation specialist Alternative Media with Green taking up the position around four weeks ago.Green told Australian Broker he had always had an eye on the fintech space and had decided to make the jump because of where the market was heading.People want convenience. People want speed of transaction. I want to provide that, he said. Its an exciting new frontier and I feel that if you dont get involved, people get left behind.Furthermore with fintech simplifying how consumers interact with brokers, the trusted adviser model is dying.The home loan distribution model is becoming more and more transactional. While quality of advice will always be in demand, technology will continue to disrupt the home loan process. The benefits gained from convenience are gaining market share over the traditional broking model.One priority since starting at Rate Comparison is to expand the broker team to 20 in the next six months. Green has already grown the team from three to six in his first four weeks and is sending out feelers for more.Were looking to hire a number of brokers to service loans as a third party mortgage brokerage. When a potential borrower is on the website, a broker is going to contact that customer right then and there.Rate Comparison will work with aggregator eChoice which is providing backend technology to connect brokers to lenders.Green has also spent the past few weeks examining how Alternative Media generates its leads and what the quality is like.The only way I could do that was to put on a headset, plug into the dialer and start taking leads. What I discovered was very exciting. The lead quality was better than what I was receiving from real estate agents. We have a great business opportunity here.While expanding the broker team, Green will also introduce a new distribution model offering a salary and a dual commission model. Brokers can take advantage of this while continuing to operate their existing business, he said. For leads generated by Rate Comparison, brokers can then make the call on behalf of the fintech.We are not seeking to attract brokers so we benefit from the clients they self-source. We are confident in the clients we generate for the broker. Therefore, we are willing to regard the self-generated business line as an incremental business line for the broker and as such pay the broker above market commission rates for any self-generated loans.Green started as a broker in 1992 and later helped Mark Bouris grow the Wizard business from six people to 150 branches between 1996 and 2001. He then moved to GE and Allco Finance Group before being hired as the general manager at Oxygen. Prior to joining Rate Comparison, Green was CEO of home loans at 21 Century.
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The brother of a Brooklyn man convicted of murdering an eight-year-old boy was found bound in duct tape and dead in a basement closet at his family home late last week.

Tzvi Aron, 29, was found by another brother, Yerachmiel Aron, shortly before 3 pm on Friday inside the Kensington home on E. Second Street between Avenue C and Courtelyou Road.

The cause of Arons death is unknown, according to a police spokesman, who said the the medical examiners autopsy will determine how the investigation continues.

The medical examiner is still studying Arons cause of death, said a spokeswoman who declined to say when the findings would be made public.

Tzvi Arons brother Levi Aron kidnapped Leiby Kletzky on his way home from Yeshiva school in Borough Park in July 2011. An enormous manhunt followed, with more than 5,000 Orthodox Jewish volunteers from across the Tri-State area joining the search. Levi confessed to killing Kletzky after police uncovered security footage that showed the boy entering the mans car, and was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree kidnapping and murder charges at his 2012 trial.
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.
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...
Stitchers season 3 gets off to an entertaining start with the premiere, in which the team is facing a couple of problems: Kirsten is still trapped in her memory, and once they get her out, theyre all facing reassignment (except for Kirsten, of course).

But a stitch in Out of the Shadows allows for Kirsten to not only try to get what she wants (her team staying where they are) but also for someone to send her a message.

The 10 Sexiest Female TV Characters of Summer 2017 >>>

Kirstens Team Helps Her

Its been 74 hours, and even without the mission clock, we can tell thats the case by how Cameron looks. They decide to reboot the entire lab in hopes that it will bounce Kirsten, but it doesnt work.

Blair refuses to let Linus call out to see how his fathers doing after his surgery, but he knows somethings not right. Its the bond between parent and child, Maggie (whose son is recovering in Germany at an Army Medical Center) explains. Its like entanglement.

And that gets Linus thinking. They just have to figure out how to disentangle their quantum computer from Stingers and find out what the trigger is that Stinger used to entangle Kirsten. Its possible that Ivy could help, so they need Fisher, whos under guard in an interrogation room, to tell them what the NSA asked her.

When hes brought in, hes cuffed and a bit bruised. I wasnt being cooperative, Fisher explains before assuring the others, You should see the other guy. (And hes right. The other guy is brought out of the lab on a stretcher.) Its only after he promises Blair he wont break any more of [his] guards that hes uncuffed.

Since the NSA didnt ask Ivy the right questions, its up to Linus to do just that. Yes, Ivy knows how entanglement triggers work, but first she wants to know what its about. Kirsten, Linus tells her. But he gets something more important from her (at least to him): her smart watch to call to find out about his father. Sadly, he finds out he died two days ago and the funeral was the day before.

The new plan is to hijack the hijacked signal; Cameron hijacks Kirstens mother and manipulates it to force a disentanglement and get Kirsten to bounce. That means making Kirsten think that its her mother yelling at her to leave, that she doesnt want her there, that Kirsten ruined her life, until Kirsten makes the bounce.

Once shes out, she turns to Cameron for comfort, but once he admits what he did, she slaps him before passing out.

And Then Kirsten Helps Her Team

After sleeping for nearly 18 hours, Kirsten wakes up to find Ivy (whos now in the know about their fathers tech) in her house. The rest of her team has been arrested by the one who looks like a sci-fi villain (aka Blair), her sister tells her.

Kirsten confronts Blair, but hes already thinking about an upcoming meeting with his boss, Admiral Decker, and the future  a future that will see Kirsten working with a new team and her old team reassigned. Yes, he knows where Kirstens mother is, and he promises her that shes safe. The NSA needs her that way. See, Project Grasshopper, the goal of which was to accelerate the evolution of the human brain (which, ultimately, could mean the end of conflict, war, poverty and all that bad stuff if world leaders knew what other leaders were thinking), wasnt a complete failure.

The lab accident involving her mother when Kirsten was 8 accelerated Jacquelines brain, and it evolved in ways that were more complex than they understand. After theyve perfected the stitching tech, they can stitch into her living, evolved brain, map it completely and understand her completely. The cases are training missions. If Kirsten stays with the program, she can save her mother.

Kirsten then brings Ivy with her back to the lab, and they find Tim still there, 3D printing spare parts for the new team before his relocation. Thanks to Linus still having Ivys smart watch, they track the others to an NSA facility, and all Kirsten has to do is use 3D-printed fingerprints and a badge saying shes another agent, Nora Dublin (currently in Cairo), to get in and get them out with a fake prison transfer. Theres a minor hiccup when the fingerprints dont seem to be working, but once Kirsten cleans the scanner, shes good.

To her surprise, however, the teams just hanging out in a room. Camerons even cooking. They are, after all, just being relocated. Or, at least, thats the old plan. Kirstens new plan is to get them out of there, find her mother and use that knowledge as leverage to force Blair to let them continue working together. It almost works too, until another guard finds the guard they left tied up (and with Camerons crepe) in the detention room.

Cameron does get a chance to apologize for what he did, and while Kirsten is grateful that he got her out, shes now stuck remembering her mother that way. She was [real] to me, she explains.

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This Stitch is  and Gets  Personal

The team is only briefly detained again before Blair summons them back to the lab. His son was killed in a hit-and-run, and he wants Kirsten to stitch. Though Maggie agrees, Kirsten refuses, as does Linus. After all, Blair didnt care when it was Linus family who died and when he missed his fathers funeral. Thats why theyre better than he is, Maggie explains.

Kirsten does stitch into Blairs son, and after seeing Blair reading to him at age 8 and then arguing about a girl (the last time he saw him), she sees the death memory. Her father hit him, to send her a message: Blair wants to kill your mother. Do not trust him. When she bounces, she claims she didnt see anything, but Blair doesnt buy it and threatens to shoot Camille. And so Kirsten tells him what she saw and what her father said, leading to Blair declaring that hes going to find Daniel Stinger and kill him.

Touch me again and Ill rip out your rib cage and wear it like a vest, Camille warns Blair, but hes already planning to ship them all off (again). And when Kirsten protests, he reminds her that he can still take Ivy away.

But what Blair doesnt know is that stitching into Nathans brain gave her something on his father: a photo that showed him with his boss and her father. She once again poses as Nora Dublin to meet with the Admiral and threatens to go public with her knowledge of the Stitchers program. What does she want? Her team back, with Maggie in charge, and to never see Blair again. Oh, and shes looking for someone  her mother  and she knows that he knows where she is.

Everything Makes Sense When  Wait, What?!

Kirsten finds out that Nina left Cameron a note saying goodbye after she waited three days for him. But hes okay because he realized he wasnt in love with her. How long would you have waited for me when I was trapped in my memory? Kirsten asks. Forever, he tells her. Everything makes sense when Im with you, she says before kissing him.

But wait! She pulls back to ask what he meant when he said You cant help me if youre stuck in here when he hijacked her mother, and he tells her he never said that. So who did? she wonders.

Are you happy that Cameron and Kirsten are finally together on Stitchers? Should Kirsten be worried about Blair since her father killed his son? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Stitchers season 3 airs Mondays at 9/8c on Freeform. Want more news? Like BuddyTVs Facebook page.

(Image courtesy of Freeform)
NBG partners businesses are continuing to show growth with new branches and showrooms opening throughout the UK through.

NBG partners are typically local businesses that are looking to expand and grow through acquisition, new branch openings, or diversification into different sectors. The group has a combined turnover in excess of 850 million with branches spread across the UK, from the Channel Islands to the north of Scotland.

Oxfordshire-based Blanchford Builders Suppliers has added a fourth depot to its network with the opening of a new branch in Bicester. The new site is based on the companys key criteria of having enough space to hold significant stock while being close enough to the existing branches in Oxford, Princes Risborough and Wallingford to create a cooperative network.

NBG member Connect Plumbing Supplies is expanding its network with a new branch in Brentwood, Essex, to add to its existing outlets in Rayleigh, Laindon and South Woodham Ferrers. Connect offers local plumbers a full range of plumbing and heating supplies, with a service based on expert staff and excellent customer service.

Coastal has expanded its Suffolk branch network to three with the opening of a new satellite depot on Dock Lane in Woodbridge, based equidistant from its two existing branches in Ipswich and Leiston. The branch, which carries a full range of light and heavyside products plus plumbing supplies and tools, has been designed to target smaller, pick up orders though the branch while additionally operating a delivery service.
NJ Weedman got a license to sell NJ legal weed. He almost said no.
The board of directors of Adani Power on Tuesday approved the transfer of its Mundra (Kutch) power plant to a separate subsidiary, Adani Power (Mundra) Ltd, through a slump sale (slump sale is a transfer of a whole or part of business concern as a going concern).
Alstom Transport India Limited, which has a significant local presence, plans to tap Central and Southeast Asian markets and ship half of its exports in 8-10 years from its manufacturing units across India.
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As the multi-nation boycott of Qatar comes into force, there are some based in India that have invested money in the country over the last two years. German software maker Itelligence's domestic arm Itelligence India and Interglobe Aviation are among the firms that have been investing in the country.
Two UK-based investors have acquired a significant minority stake in Heathwalk Advisors, which owns fintech platform .com, for an undisclosed amount. Healthwalk is based in London and India and the deal involves structured investments across geographies.
Indias move to be austere when it comes to its drinking habits seems to be driving liquor up against a wall. After seeing its slowest growth in over a decade in 2016-17, the new financial year appears not to hold much promise for the country's liquor majors.
The Karnataka government on Monday said it is contemplating legal aid to information technology sector employees in the state after they called for action to stop "illegal" layoffs in this crucial service .

"Some members of the employees' associations met me today (Monday). I assured them of all help. I advised them to bring all representatives of IT employees associations to the next meeting to discuss their problems," Information and Technology Minister Piryank Kharge said.

The Forum for IT Employees members met the Minister at Vikasa Soudha here and appealed to him to intervene to stop, what they called, "illegal layoffs by IT companies". The forum claimed 56,000 layoffs across the country.

"I told them I need to talk with all stakeholders before taking a decision. I will talk to the employers as well as staff representatives. I cannot take a decision without holding talks with all stakeholders," the Minister said.

He said he advised the Forum for IT Employees to help the state government understand their problems.

"The state government has no legal power to intervene in this matter but that doesn't stop the government from looking at options to mitigate IT employees' problems," Kharge said.

Rajesh Natarajan of the Forum for IT Employees Bengaluru Chapter said they had submitted a petition seeking reconsideration of the state government's decision to exempt IT from the purview of labour laws and bring IT under the Industrial Disputes Act.

"We urged hiim to take steps to prevent arbitrary layoffs by IT . Around 56,000 IT sector employees have lost their jobs across the country," Natarajan said.

He said the Minister has not fixed any time for the next meeting.

"We will prepare a list of our demands and submit to him in the next meeting," he said.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has advised the operators to launch at least one data pack with single payment that has exclusive data benefits and a validity of 365 days.
In an escalation of differences in the ruling AIADMK (Amma), its Deputy General Secretary today questioned the diktat of Chief Minister K Palaniswami's camp that he keep away from party work.

Finance Minister D Jayakumar, representing the Palaniswami camp, which had revolted against Dhinakaran and jailed party chief V K Sasikala in April, asked the deputy chief to keep away from the party affairs.

However, Dhinakaran, who has come out on bail in the EC bribery case last week, shot back asking who gave them the authority and said only the party general secretary had the powers to remove office-bearers.

Jayakumar was reacting to Dhinakaran's assertion last week that he will continue party work, in contrast to his announcement in April after the revolt by the ministers that he would keep away from the party.

It was the party's unanimous view to hold on to its stand of having no dealings with Dhinakaran, Sasikala and their associates, he told reporters in Chennai.

Earlier, Dhinakaran, called on Sasikala, serving term in the disproportionate assets case, at the Parappana Agrahara prison in Bengaluru.

"Dhinakaran today met Sasikala at our prison. However, I do not have any information about what transpired between the two leaders," a Parapanna Agrahara prison official told PTI.

A close associate of Dhinakaran, however, said the leader discussed the current developments within the party with Sasikala.

Before proceeding to meet her, Dhinakaran in Hosur, bordering Karnataka, repeated his earlier claim that the ministers had revolted against him out of some fears.

On his return from Bengaluru, he said that Sasikala asked him to wait for two months to see if the ministers could facilitate a patch-up as assured by them with the rebel group led by O Panneerselvam.

Jayakumar said Dhinakaran should stick to the assurance he had made in April to keep away from party.

"We are firm, and we are clear. We have no truck with him, we are not dependent on him," he said.

He said Dhinakaran, Sasikala or their associates were not "in the background. He (Dhinakaran) should stick to his stand that he will keep away from party," Jayakumar said.

Hitting back, Dhinakaran asked "I dont know who gave the authority (to ask him to keep off) to those 20-30 ministers." He mocked at Jayakumar for taking up "sky-high" powers of the party general secretary.

He said only the party general secretary had the power to remove office-bearers. Since she was imprsioned, the next in command (deputy general secretary) was he and he has the powers to do so.

Jayakumar, flanked by ministers including K A Sengottaiyan, said top party functionaries and ministers held deliberations following Dhinakaran's repeated assertions to continue party work after he returned from a Delhi prison.

Questing Jayakumar and other ministers, Dhinakaran said by two months, Sasikala told him that both factions would come forward to work under the "general secretary," if they realised the "true situation" and when their "fear" faded.

"I have accepted it and decided to wait for two months," he said, adding Sasikala had told him what to do just in case things did not fall in place by sixty days.

Dhinakaran said when the ministers in April had announced that they were "keeping him out of party," it was said by them that only then it would help the patch-up bid.

The leader, who was arrested by CBI for his alleged attempt to bribe Election officials to get the AIADMK symbol, said he agreed to keep off to help the ministers work for a merger.

"Even after 45 days there is no development. Everyday they (both factions led by K Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam) are attacking each other in the media and causing set back to the party and the government," he said.

He reiterated that the ministers were acting out of fear, adding only time will tell what those fears were.

Jayakumar, however, said, "We (Chief Minister and Ministers) are leading Amma (Jayalalithaa) government without anybody being in the background and there is no doubt about it," he said.

Though he affirmed that "no party leader will meet Dhinakaran," some ruling party MLAs were seen with him during his Bengaluru visit.
Zakir Musa, a former Hizbul Mujahideen commander and a radical militant leader who recently joined Al Qaeda, released a 4-minute audio clip on Monday urging Indian Muslims to stand up against oppression and launch jihad against (cow protectors). Musas message is being circulated on social media platforms.
prices have surged by over 14 per cent in the last one week due to lower availability of animals for slaughtering amid government's order to ban on their sale.
The residence of founder and executive chairman of NDTV, Prannoy Roy, where the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted raids in connection with a case in which it was alleged that Roy and his wife, Radhika had caused loss to a bank, in New
Ten Jet Airways pilots who were taken off duty for wrongly addressing a Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) official have been detained by Delhi police for making obscene remarks.
India on Monday scored a double success, launching its latest - and heaviest so far - communication satellite GSAT-19 with its brand new and heaviest rocket - the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark III (GSLV-Mk III) with a cryogenic engine, which performed ably on its maiden flight.

The GSLV-Mk III rocket, on its first developmental flight, slung the 3,136 kg communication satellite in a geosynchronous transfer orbit from where it would be taken up to its final geostationary orbit.

"It is a historic day.. both the GSLV Mk-III and the GSAT-19 launch have been successful.. we are looking forward to its (GSAT-19) operations," Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman A. S. Kiran Kumar said.

"This month there are lot of activities. On June 23, there will be a PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) and on June 28, a GSAT-17 satellite launch," he added.

He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had congratulated the Isro team.

Heres all you need to know about the launch:

1. While Indian space scientists named the 640-tonnes rocket "fat boy", the Telugu media nicknamed it "Bahubali", as like the hero in the massively successful film lifts a heavy Lingam, it carried the heaviest satellite by an Indian rocket.

2. Precisely at 5.28 pm, the rocket began its ascent towards space from the second launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) at the Sriharikota spaceport here and just over 16 minutes into its flight, slung the GSAT-19 at its intended orbit at an altitude of 179 km.

3. The GSAT-19, as per the Isro, is a multi-beam satellite that carries Ka and Ku band forward and return link transponders and geostationary radiation spectrometer (GRASP) to monitor and study the nature of charged particles and the influence of space radiation on satellites and their electronic components.

4. The satellite, which has a lifespan of 10 years, also features certain advanced spacecraft technologies including miniaturised heat pipe, a fibre optic gyro, micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) accelerometer, Ku-band TTC transponder, as well an indigenous lithium-ion battery.

5. The GSLV-Mk III is a three stage/engine rocket. The core of first stage is fired with solid fuel and its two motors by liquid fuel. The second is liquid fuel and the third is the cryogenic engine.

6. "The rocket's design carrying capacity is four tonnes. The payload will be gradually increased in future flights," Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre Director K. Sivan had told IANS.

7. The Indian space agency had flown a similar rocket without the cryogenic engine but with 3.7-tonne payload in 2014 mainly to test its structural stability and aerodynamics.

8. Interestingly, GSLV-Mk III at around 43 metres is slightly shorter than Mk-II version that is around 49 metres tall. Isro officials told IANS that due to the increase in the diameters of various stages, the height got reduced despite a drastic increase in the weight - from around 415 ton of GSLV-Mk II to 640 ton in GSLV-Mk III.

"The new rocket may be slightly short but has more punch power," said an Isro official.

9. India presently has two rockets -- the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle and GSLV-Mk II -- with a lift-off mass of 415 tonnes and a carrying capacity of 2.5 tonnes.

10. India puts foreign satellites into orbit for a fee using its lighter PSLV. However the weight of third party satellites is not much.

11. Revenue for launching satellites depends on the satellite's weight - higher the weight, higher the revenue.

12. The GSLV-Mk III, when its graduates from its development flight status to operational status, may look at flying heavier foreign satellites.

13. Indian space agency officials said the new rocket would save the country foreign exchange as it can launch the country's communication satellites instead of going to a foreign space agency for launch services.

14. The GSAT-18 satellite launched in 2016 using Arianespace's rocket weighed 3,404 kg which is well within the GSLV-Mk III's capacity. However, India may not become a serious player in the global communication satellite launch market.

15. Industry sources said globally the trend is the weight of communication satellites is going up while the weight of earth observation satellites has come down. A major portion of communication satellites that are sent up now weigh around six tonnes and above.
Opening date of online registration gateway June 2, 2017 Closing date of online registration gateway June 16, 2017 Tentative date for online aptitude test June 24, 2017

Federal Bank is looking out for aspirants to team up as officers in scale I grade and clerks. Interested and eligible candidates can apply online only through the banks website. Last date to apply for the same is June 16, 2017.Touted as one of Indias leading private sector banks , issued a notification on June 2, 2017 announcing the recruitment drive. The bank has however not disclosed the number of candidates it intends on appointing in the positions.

Eligibility criteria

Category Application fees SC/ST 250 General/ Others 500

Category Application fees SC/ST 350 General/ Others 700

Name of the test Number of questions Maximum marks Time Verbal ability - English language 30 30 Composite time of 90 minutes for all the tests together Logical aptitude - reasoning 30 30 Quantitative / numerical ability 30 30 General, socio-economic and banking awareness 25 25 Marketing / sales aptitude 20 20 Digital banking 15 15 Total 150 150

Name of the test Number of questions Maximum marks Time Verbal ability - English language 20 20 Composite time of 60 minutes for all the tests together Logical aptitude - reasoning 20 20 Quantitative / numerical ability 20 20 General, socio-economic and banking awareness 10 10 Computer awareness 10 10 Digital banking 10 10 Total 90 90

Candidates interested in the officer posts should either have post graduation in any discipline with minimum 60% marks from any recognized university or other institutions established by an act of parliament or deemed as university. The degree should be completed during academic year 2016-17 in regular mode.The candidate should also have obtained minimum 60% marks in SSC or equivalent exam, 60% marks in plus 2 or equivalent exam and 60% marks in graduation. To be eligible for the post of officer, the candidate should not exceed 26 years as on June 1, 2017 and should be born on or after June 1, 1991.For clerk position, interested candidates should be graduate with minimum 55% marks for Science discipline and minimum 50% marks for other streams during academic year 2016-17 in regular mode from any recognized university or institutions.The candidates should have obtained minimum 60% marks in SSC or equivalent exam and 60% marks in plus 2 or equivalent exam. They should not exceed 24 years as on June 1, 2017 to be eligible for the post of clerk. The candidate should be born on or after June 1, 1993.According the notification, candidates applying for either post should have cleared all papers of the qualifying examination as on the date of process conducted by the bank.Applicants currently residing in Gujarat, Goa, Haryana, Karnataka, Orissa, Punjab or Tamil Nadu need to submit domicile certificate. There is no relaxations in age for any categories (OBC, SC and ST).Eligible candidates have to apply online through the banks website only and in English. No other means / mode of application is acceptable. Step-by-step guide on how to submit applications:1. Log on to banks official website www.federalbank.co.in 2. Click on the Careers tab3. Under the Current Openings tab, click Apply Online under Recruitment process for the post of Officers & Clerks4. Fill in the relevant details as sought in the online application form5. Save the Document6. Modify details, if required, and click on Submit only after verifying and ensuring that the photograph, signature uploaded and other details filled are correct7. Uploading photograph & signature as per the required specification8. Click on Submit button to complete the online application9. Proceed to the online payment gateway.10. Make the necessary payments as applicableCall letter can be downloaded from the Banks website prior to the date of online aptitude test. Bank may send communications with regard to the selection process & final interview to the registered e-mail ID / mobile number. In case, a candidate does not have a valid personal e-mail ID / own mobile number, he/ she should create his/ her e-mail ID and mobile number before applying online.The fees can only be paid online through the payment gateway, using a Master / Visa Debit or Credit card, Net Banking. The payment towards recruitment application fees has to be made before June 16, 2017, i.e. the date of closure of online registration gateway. On successful completion of the transaction through the payment gateway, the online application form will be generated with the payment details.Non-refundable fees for clerksNon-refundable fees for officersCandidates will be shortlisted based on online aptitude test, group discussion (GD) and personal interview (PI). The online aptitude test will be followed by a psychometric questionnaire for a maximum duration of 15 minutes. The process will be conducted in various centers depending upon the number of candidates. Only the candidates shortlisted in the online aptitude test will be called for the second phase of selection process consisting of GD and PI.The online aptitude test pattern for the recruitment of officer consists of six sections:The online aptitude test pattern for the recruitment of clerk consists of six sectionsThere will be negative marks at the rate of 0.25 for wrong answers. The qualifying criteria will be decided by the bank as per its selection / recruitment policy.Candidate who joins the bank as officer in scale I will be offered the following pay scale Rs 23,700 to Rs 42,020. Dearness allowance (DA), House Rent Allowance (HRA), City Compensatory Allowance (CCA) will be paid as per rules of the bank. Medical aid, hospitalisation scheme, leave fare concession, retirement benefits and other perquisites will be admissible as per banks rules. The present compensation for the post of officer on a cost to company basis posted at Cochin is Rs 8.04 lakh (approximately) on an annual basis and the approximate monthly take home pay is Rs 43,000 (approximately).Candidates who join as clerks will be offered the following pay scale Rs 11,765 to Rs 31,540. DA, HRA, CCA will be paid as per rules of the bank in force from time to time depending upon the place of posting. Medical aid, hospitalisation scheme, leave fare concession, retirement benefits and other perquisites will be admissible as per banks rules. The present compensation for the post of clerk posted at Cochin is Rs 3.61 lakh on an annual basis and the approximate monthly take home pay is Rs 21,000.Candidates selected as officers will be on probation for a period of 2 years and will required to execute a service agreement upon joining the bank undertaking to serve the bank for 2 years or to pay the Bank a sum of Rs. 50000 in case the candidate leaves the Bank before completion of the service period.Shortlisted clerks will be on probation for a period of 6 months and will have to execute a service agreement upon joining the bank undertaking to serve the bank for 2 years or pay the bank a sum of Rs 30, 000 in case the candidate leaves the bank before completion of the service period.Headquartered at Aluva, Kochi, Kerala, Federal Bank, as on March 31, 2016, has 1252 branches spread across 24 Indian states. It also has a 1516 strong ATM network across the country. The bank has recently opened representative offices in UAE. According to official statement, the bank clocked its highest-ever quarterly operating profit at Rs 549 crore for the quarter and year ended as on March 31, 2017.
Services at some private and government hospitals in Delhi were hit on Tuesday, as the have gone on a strike to protest against the atrocities faced by doctors.
The Joint Working Group constituted by the government under the has suggested a complete overhaul of administrative departments in Uttar Pradesh, to ensure greater convergence and effective implementation of the programmes.
Fliers from India will now spend an additional half hour on their flights to Doha, with the worsening crisis in the Persian Gulf prompting carriers to skip airspace over the UAE.
India on Monday rejected US President Donald Trump's comments that it had linked its accession to the Paris climate control accord to receiving foreign aid and said it was committed to protecting the environment on its own.
Nearly sealing the goods and services tax (GST) implementation from July 1, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the preparedness, asking that high attention be given to cyber security in the enabling information technology (IT) systems.
To get a sense of some of the developments about Qatar look at this piece of statistic plus a bit of news. According to the US Energy Information Administration, production of shale oil in USA is expected to reach 5.4 million barrels a day in June, its highest level in more than a year. The recovery outpaces estimates for every most month since August last year. The piece of news is the fast expanding relationship of Qatar with India.

Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal. They do not reflect the view/s of Business Standard.
In a fresh attempt to bar Chinese solar panel makers from flooding the Indian market at an ultra-low price, the domestic companies approached the Directorate General of Anti-Dumping (DGAD), requesting an imposition of a duty on importers.

The application has been filed against China, Malaysia and Taiwan. The domestic industry via the Indian Solar Manufacturers Association (ISMA) pleaded that as the imports led to considerable damage to the indigenous sector; a retrospective duty should be imposed.

Business Standard recently reported that among other measures, anti-dumping is one of the attempts to filter out low-quality solar imports in the country.

This is the third attempt by the Indian panel makers to approach the DGAD for anti-dumping duty. The domestic industry has alleged that around 80 per cent of the market has been taken away by imports.

The first case was filed in 2012 against the US, European Union, China, Malaysia and Taiwan. The case ran for two years saw solar cell makers, allied electronics industry and even glass makers asking for protection against the import of .

The domestic industry had alleged imports consume 60 per cent of the market.

While DGAD finalised duties from $0.48 per unit to $0.81 per unit on solar cells imported from the above mentioned countries, the ministry of finance did not impose the same and let the duty lapse in May last year.

In 2014, the makers filed a complaint with Directorate General of Anti-Dumping (DGAD) under the ministry of commerce and Directorate General of Safeguards (DGS) under the ministry of finance. The ministry of commerce in 2014 identified a dumping margin range of 50-60 per cent from the US and around 100-110 per cent by China, the largest exporter of solar cells worldwide.

But the very next year the minister for new and renewable energy Piyush Goyal assured the domestic industry of enough business opportunity requesting them to drop the case. The NDA government has revised the National Solar Mission targets by five fold to 1 lakh Mw by 2022.

However, in just a year, the domestic players are back in the dock asking for investigation, considering the aggravated situation of imports and consequent injury to the domestic industry, said the application.

Cheap Chinese panels have made their way into India since the beginning of the National Solar Mission in 2010. The price of panels have crashed to 32 cents per kWh from 50 cents per kWh in three years, owing to global over-capacity and almost dumping by China, as alleged by domestic solar panel makers, time and again.

Currently, 10 per cent capacity in each of the tender issued by the central government for solar power project is kept for domestic content sourcing. Earlier it was 50 per cent and was brought down after the first appeal made by the US in the WTO in 2014. Apart from this, major PSUs such as National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) and Coal India have committed to build solar power generation capacity from domestic content.

Currently, the installed capacity of Indian solar cell manufacturing is around 1386 MW and module is close to 2500 MW. Less than 20 per cent of manufacturing capacity is operational due to low demand. Of the total solar power generating capacity, more than 75 per cent is built on imported cells from China, 15 per cent from the US and the balance by domestic players. India's current solar power installed capacity is 10,000 MW.

More than Rs 85,000 crore worth of investments in the country have been lying dormant due to the influx of such Chinese imports and the resulting self-inflicting loss making industry which is being created, said a PwC analysis.
At least five farmers were shot dead in the Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday when a nearly fortnight-long farmer agitation in the state turned violent.
Telecom operators, which are facing severe financial pressure, have the ear of the government. According to sources in the industry, Telecom Minister Manoj Sinhas office has written to telcos seeking to meet the owners or promoters to discuss the various representations they made to the government on the industrys financial health.
Odisha has set the ball rolling to achieve the targeted Rs 20,000 crore annually in the next five years by initiating the process to prepare a road map and action plan.
Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey, MoS HRD visited Tezpur University

The Minister of State for Human Resource Development Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey today visited Tezpur University and interacted with faculty and students. He also visited the major faculties of the University and took stock of academic and other activities carried out by the students, research scholars and faculty members of the University.The Minister expressed satisfaction over the holistic approach of the University in the development of students, particularly, in inculcating a sense of responsibility in them towards the society at large.

He also appreciated the Universitys exemplary initiatives in keeping the campus green and clean. The Minister particularly mentioned the national and international recognitions such as the Best University" Award 2016 of the Visitor (President of India) and the 34th Rank in the Times Higher Education World Young University Ranking 2017. The minister especially hoped that the University would be one of the top counted universities of the world in the near future. The outreach programmes of the University would go a long way as examples of meaningful contributions of educational institutions towards the development of the country", the Minister said. The officials of the University brought to the notice of the Minister of the acute shortage of fund received by the University to which the Minister assured that he would take up the matter to UGC for consideration.
India is committed to transform the energy landscape of the country with significant clean energy share, said Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Science & Technology, Environment, Forest & Climate Change and Earth Sciences in his greeting speech on the occasion of Launch Ceremony of Mission Innovation Challenge on Smart Grids in Beijing today. Grid integration, stability and robustness are the foremost issues which need to be addressed for increasing the share of clean energy. The Minister congratulated all the Mission Innovation participant countries, who have come forward and decided to work together to take on this challenge collectively, engaging and involving, stake holders from industries, utilities, scientific institutions and research laboratories. .

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Dr. Harshvardhan said that under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, India has mounted initiative to promote global actions for clean energy. President of France and Prime Minister of India in the presence of UN Secretary General launched International Solar Alliance (ISA) in November 2015 to provide dedicated platform for cooperation among solar resource rich countries beween Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn. Government of India has committed to a corpus fund of more than US $ 25 million besides providing space and secretariat expenses for initial 5 years. 31 countries have already joined ISA. .

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India was also one of the three countries, which took initiative in sowing the seed of Mission Innovation. These initial efforts culminated into 20 countries joining in November 2015 to launch Mission Innovation. All the MI countries bring significant research prowess and resources in this global endeavour. Community of Mission Innovation has now enlarged to 23 countries and includes European Union. .

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The laudable objectives of Mission Innovation needed instruments to realise the loftier goals. The Minister complimented sub-group on Action and Joint Research, who developed innovation challenges to convert these global calls into action. Innovation challenges cover entire spectrum of research, development and demonstration right from early stage research need assessment to technology demonstration. The spectrum of innovation challenges demonstrates the leading themes on which R&D need to be focussed for affordable innovation. .

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He expressed his happiness that innovation challenge on smart grids has developed its work programme smartly right from the early stage. This is the first MI team to organise the deep dive workshop. Development of the work plan as well as organisation of this workshop was done jointly by 3 leading research institutions and co-leads from each of the lead countries namely China, Italy and India. All the 20 participating countries have made significant contributions in terms of development of the status reports and identification of research and development priorities. International agencies such as IEA, IRENA, ISGAN, WEF etc. have further strengthened the programme . .

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Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, Indias plan of setting up 175 GW renewable power capacity by the end of 2022 is fully matched with tremendous progress on the ground. During the last year alone, the capacity addition of solar energy was more than the cumulative capacities set up till 2015 and our renewable energy capacity has leapfrogged to more than 52 GW. By 2030, non fossil energy sources will make up 40 percent of installed capacity. .

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India has vibrant national R&D infrastructure with R&D institutions, several universities, technical institutions, public sector undertakings and industries conducting research funded by Ministry of Power, Renewable Energy and Science & Technology. India has funded around US $ 50 million towards national as well as bilateral programmes with Netherlands, UK and US. India has also launched initiatives for renewable forecasting and scheduling, storage technologies, wide area grid measurement, demand response pilots etc. Monitoring, protection and control of grids, forecasting of generation and loads, seamless two way grid operations, systems for large data management, robust and secure communication technologies, devices and components for better functionality ,demand side management and storage, etc are important issues for larger as well as micro grids. .

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The Minister shared Indias report on research, development and demonstration on smart grids to further activities of this challenge and informed that India recently organised 1st MI India workshop of more than 40 top experts in the country representing all stakeholders at IIT- Delhi to identify R&D priorities for collaboration under Mission Innovation. He announced MI-India Funding Opportunity Announcement on these R&D priorities with an investment of US$5 million by Government of India. .

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He expressed hope that the collective endeavours would enable to realise the vision of an affordable, reliable future smart grids powered by decentralised energy sources which will be robust and suitable in diverse geographic conditions and would be able to develop technological solutions to make world a cleaner place. .

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The Union Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh inaugurated the 2-day National Level Conference on Capacity Building of SDRFs-2017" here today. The conference is being organised by National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). The conference aims to develop synergies between the responses of National & State Disaster Response Forces (SDRFs) and to highlight way ahead to strengthen the response capabilities of SDRFs. .

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Speaking on the occasion, Shri Rajnath Singh said that disaster has no geographical and physical boundaries, so we must think beyond boundaries for effective management of disasters. The places which were considered secured till now, are also facing threat of disasters due to increasing population and urbanisation, he added. The Minister said that the primary responsibility to deal with disasters lies with the states, so the States should be prepared in advance to mitigate the risk related to disasters and take the necessary action. He emphasized on the need of strengthening SDRFs by specialized training and equipping with latest gadgets and tools, improving bilateral and regional cooperation among states so that States can help each other at the time of disaster. He emphasised that some states have prepared roadmap for the next ten to fifteen years in this regard, but all states will have to progress with equal pace, if India has to be disaster resilient as a nation. He also appealed to the States to modify and implement the best practices of other states in tackling disasters. He said that the risks arising out of development shall also be taken into account and focus should not only be on mitigating the effects of disasters. .

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Shri Rajnath Singh said that our focus has shifted from disaster management to disaster resilience. He said that the funds allocated to State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) have increased from Rs 33,581 crore during 2010-15 to Rs 61,220 crore during the period 2015-20, thereby registering an increase of 82%. He also said that 2 additional NDRF battalions have been raised in Varanasi and Arunachal Pradesh to strengthen its infrastructure. He said that the assistance given under NDRF has been increased from Rs 3,461 crore in 2014-15 to Rs 11,441 crore in 2016-17, in case of severe disaster where there is insufficient fund under SDRF. He said that under National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project (NCRMP), Phase II, an additional assistance of Rs 2,361 crore was sanctioned for six states in July 2015. .

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Addressing the gathering, Dr. P. K. Mishra, Additional Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, said that it is for the first time in the last few years that, such a national level conference is being organised with the participation of most of the States. He said that NDRF is not like any other force in the country, as it undertakes many exercises like mock drill, capacity building, community awareness programs, school safety programme, etc. He said that the focus of NDRF is on three aspects, namely, specialized training for search and rescue, capacity building of other agencies and preparedness. Dr. P. K. Mishra said that preparedness is as important as responding to disasters. He said that unless the community is well prepared to deal with different kind of disasters, the response will not be that effective. .

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During his address, Shri R K Pachnanda, DG, NDRF, said that India being a very large country is vulnerable to many disasters such as 58.6% of area is prone to earthquakes, 12% of area is prone to floods and the coastlines are prone to cyclones. He said that NDRF has saved the lives of more than 5 lakh people and also sensitized and trained more than 50 lakh people. He said that the efforts of NDRF have been appreciated not only in India, but also abroad. He emphasised to strengthen the capabilities of SDRF by providing specialized training and equipping with latest disaster managements equipment. .

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As a special initiative for boosting the confidence and skills of the Students, NDRF conducted various mock drills and school safety programmes during last one month in all Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan Schools of Delhi & NCR and other parts of the country. Under this campaign, Inter- School, School Safety Mock Drill competition, and Inter School Open Essay competition on How will I respond in case of an earthquake" were organized. Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS), Sadar Bazar, Delhi Cantt. was the winner of Inter School Safety Mock Drill Competition. Ms. Sneha of KVS, AGCR Colony, Karkardooma, Delhi and Ms. Aditi Patel of KVS, Nariana, Delhi Cantt. were the winner of Open Essay Competition in Junior and Senior level. The winners were given prizes by the Union Home Minister. .

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A film The Incredibles was also shown during the conference, to showcase the operations carried out by NDRF personnel during disasters like earthquake, floods, etc. .

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National Disaster Management Authority, Member Secretary, Shri R.K. Jain, Directors General of Police of All States/UTs, Relief Commissioners and representatives from National Disaster Management Authority, Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services, India Meteorological Department, National Institute of Disaster Management, State Disaster Management Authorities and State Disaster Response Forces were also present on the occasion. .

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The Union Minister of Finance, Defence and Corporate Affairs Shri Arun Jaitley left today on a four-day official visit to Paris, France to participate in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Meetings among others. The Finance Minister will arrive in Paris today evening and tomorrow, he will deliver the Key Note address at OECD Meeting. Later the Finance Minister Shri Jaitley will participate in the Panel Discussion on the topic of Stocktaking on Globalisation". Other participants in the Panel Discussion include Mr. Angel Gurria, Secretary General, OECD, Mr. Anders Samuelsen, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, Mr. Steven Ciobo, Minister of Trade of Australia as well as the Finance Ministers of UK and Sweden. Thereafter, the Finance Minister Shri Jaitley will participate in Luncheon Session on The Challenges of Globalisation and the OECD". In the evening, the Finance Minister will hold a bilateral meeting with Mr. Angel Gurria, Secretary General, OECD.Later the Finance Minister Shri Jaitley will participate in the OECD Forum on Cashless Society and Fintech. In the evening, the Finance Minister will hold a bilateral meeting with the Foreign Minister of Denmark Mr. Anders Samuelsen. Thereafter, the Finance Minister will participate in the Signing Ceremony for BEPS Convention and will make a Statement on the occasion of Signing Ceremony. Thereafter, the Finance Minister will hold a bilateral meeting with the Finland Minister of Foreign Trade & Development, Mr. Kai Mykk?nen. The Finance Minister will also participate in Ministerial Dinner hosted by HE, Mr. Lars Lokke Rasmussen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Denmark. .

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On Thursday, 8th June, 2017 the Union Minister of Finance, Defence and Corporate Affairs Shri Arun Jaitley will call on his French counterpart and Minister of Defence, Ms. Sylvie Goulard. Afterwards, the Financial Minister will also meet the President of MEDEF (Mouvement des Entreprises de France), Mr. Pierre Gattaz. The Finance Minister will also make a statement at the Conference on Business opportunities between the African Tech System and the Global Tech World. In the afternoon, the Finance Minister Shri Jaitley will address the Investors Roundtable Session co-organised by CII and BNP Paribas. .

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On Friday, 9th June, 2017 the Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley will call on the French Minister of Economy, Mr. Mr Bruno Le Maire. In the evening, the Finance Minister will leave for back home and will arrive in the national capital on the morning of Saturday, 10th June, 2016. .

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Afghan President Ashraf Ghani issued an ultimatum to the Taliban on Tuesday, warning them to embrace peace or "face consequences" after announcing that the death toll from last week's truck bombing had passed 150.

Ghani has come under mounting public criticism for spiralling insecurity, with a wave of protests and deadly street clashes roiling the Afghan capital as people incensed by the violence call for his government's resignation.

The president made a strong plea for security at an peace conference on Afghanistan attended by around two dozen countries.

Armoured vehicles patrolled the streets as part of tight security and fighter jets roared over the capital.

"We are offering a chance for peace but this is not an open-ended offer," Ghani said.

"Time is running out... This is the last chance: take it or face consequences."



The conference, labelled the "Kabul Process", aims to build support for peace. There was no immediate reaction from the Taliban to Ghani's comments.

Kabul has been on edge since the massive truck bomb last Wednesday ripped through the city's highly fortified diplomatic quarter, home to the presidential palace and a host of foreign embassies.

The death toll from the devastating attack has jumped to more than 150 people, while over 300 wounded were brought to hospitals, many with burns and amputations, Ghani told the conference.

Previously officials had put the number of dead at 90. Ghani did not immediately explain the much higher figure.

Four more people were killed Friday when hundreds of protesters incensed by the bombing clashed with police, prompting officials to force them back with live rounds fired in the air, tear gas and water cannon.

The protesters, holding a sit-in for a fifth day Tuesday near the bombing site, have demanded the resignation of Afghanistan's security chiefs, including national security adviser Hanif Atmar.

The attacks have worsened tensions between rival ethnic groups and raised the prospect of a political crisis.

Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani, who heads the mainly Tajik Jamiat political group, also called for Atmar's dismissal on Monday. But Ghani, an ethnic Pashtun, firmly rejected the demand.

Rabbani survived an attack at the funeral of one of the protesters on Saturday where suicide bombers tore through a row of mourners and killed seven more people.

He blamed "terrorists within the system" for the funeral blasts, suggesting they were an inside job.

The government has accused the Taliban-allied Haqqani Network of carrying out Wednesday's attack, and said the funeral was targeted by bombers trained at a religious seminary in Pakistan.

Previous efforts to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table have failed, but diplomats in Kabul hailed Tuesday's conference as a stepping stone to peace.
With the India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) failing to reach a conclusion for a decade now, changed geopolitical circumstances could infuse a sense urgency in striking the deal. Brexit and trade protectionist policies of the US are beginning to play in favour on the deal, according to top representatives of the European Union Parliament in charge of relations with India.
When access to the messaging app was interrupted in Russia on June 3, for the second time in less than a week, some worried that the app had been blocked by state authorities. Telegram has been under pressure from Roskomnadzor, the state censor, to comply with a law requiring online services to turn over user data and register with the government for many months.
President Donald Trump threw his weight behind the Saudi-led diplomatic isolation of Qatar, calling it just punishment for the countrys financial support for Islamic extremists and taking sides in a dispute among key US allies in the Persian Gulf.
Chinese foreigners are forcing in southwest Madagascar to sell their land for a mere 7 ariary (less than US $0.01) per square meter. Thats according to news from TV Plus Madagascar, as reported by journalists Ivon Mahandrisoa and Angelo Ranaivoarisoa on May 24, 2017. A similar land deal in Kenya in 2008 was priced at about US $0.05 per square meter for a total of 40,000 hectares. (The cost of a loaf of white bread is 1,481.85 Ariary).
Alphabets Google, Microsoft and Facebook are among dozens of that pledged their support for policies combating climate change following President Donald Trumps decision to withdraw from the Paris accord.
Kuwait's ruler will travel to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, hoping to heal a damaging rift between Qatar and powerful Arab states over the former's alleged support of Islamist militants and of political and religious rival Iran. Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah al- Ahmad Al-Sabah left for Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for talks aimed at resolving a diplomatic crisis between Qatar and other Arab nations.
A man was shot and injured after he reportedly attacked a police officer with a hammer at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Tuesday.

Police warned people to stay away from the French landmark, on the Ile de Cite island on the River Seine, via Twitter message.

The officer was injured during the assault and the attacker was shot by his colleagues, The Sun reported.

The area in front of the Cathedral was sealed off, with French TV reporting that tourists were fleeing the scene.

A journalist with channel Europe 1 said an attacker lunged at an officer with a hammer.

Texan tourist Amanda Beasley said: "Just witnessed a shooting on the square in front of the Notre Dame.

"We ran for cover and were able to escape unharmed. We are all safe. One attacker was shot and the police are still trying to locate ."
Its no secret that President Trump prefers tweeting over talking to the public  particularly when nearly everyone else in the country is fast asleep. Monday mornings are bad enough for everyone; pity the administration lawyers and aides who woke up today to find that their boss had undone months of their efforts to get his executive order barring travel to the United States from a number of Muslim-majority countries through the Supreme Court.
A 27-year-old Pakistan-born British national, who was shot dead by police after the London attack, was a brainwashed follower of a banned extremist group and known to intelligence agencies, media reports said on Tuesday.

British officials confirmed that Khuram Shahzad Butt, one of the three attackers who launched a van and knife attack in central London Saturday night, was a member of the al-Muhajiroun extremist group with links to the jailed preacher Anjem Choudary.

He was born in Pakistan but brought up in the UK and was known to police and had been investigated in 2015.

The Metropolitan Police have defended a decision to downgrade an inquiry into Butt, saying they did not have any evidence of a plot.

They said Butt was known to police and MI5 in 2015, but there had been no evidence of a plot.

Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Mark Rowley said an investigation into Butt began in 2015, but "there was no intelligence to suggest that this attack was being planned and the investigation had been prioritised accordingly".

The inquiry was "prioritised in the lower echelons of our investigative work", Rowley was quoted as saying by the BBC.

Asked if that had been a poor decision, Rowley said he had seen nothing yet to suggest it.

The two other perpetrators were not known to security services.

Police today identified the third attacker as Youssef Zaghba, a 22-year-old Italian of Moroccan descent, a day after naming his accomplices as Butt and Rachid Redouane, 30, a self-described Moroccan-Libyan dual national.

Butt had appeared in a Channel 4 documentary, The Jihadis Next Door, and had been reported to the anti-terrorism hotline for extremism.

Butt was linked to al-Muhajiroun, the banned extremist group whose leader, Choudary, was jailed last year for encouraging support for Islamic State.

Butt, who lived in Barking in east London, appeared several times in a 2016 Channel 4 documentary called "The Jihadis Next Door," which profiled a group of individuals linked to al-Muhajiroun in the United Kingdom.

At one point in the documentary, he can be seen helping unfurl a black banner in Regent's Park after a radical preacher promised it would fly one day over 10 Downing Street, the headquarters of the Government of the United Kingdom.

Transport for London has confirmed that Butt worked as trainee customer services assistant for six months last year.

One colleague, quoted by the Guardian, claimed that as part of the training programme he was headquartered at London Bridge station and also worked at Westminster and Canada Water stations.

CNN reported that Butt went by the name "Abz" or "Abu Zaitun".

At the time of the attack, Butt worked as a receptionist at a fitness centre in Ilford, a friend from the gym said.

The gym is described as a mixed martial arts gym on its website. Butt told the friend he had stopped attending al- Muhajiroun meetings some time ago.

Al-Muhajiroun has been linked to half of all terror plots by British nationals in the United Kingdom and overseas over the last two decades, according to research published in 2015 by Raffaello Pantucci, a terrorism analyst at the Royal United Services Institute.

Several followers of the group joined ISIS in Syria including Abu Rumaysah and Abu Rahin Aziz, a Luton, England, resident killed in a US drone strike in Raqqa, Syria, in July 2015.

Al-Muhajiroun's longtime UK leader Anjem Choudary was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison in 2016 for calling on Muslims in the United Kingdom to support ISIS.

The identification of Butt as one of the attackers raised many questions about what British authorities knew about him and when.

Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, said that after confronting Anjem Choudary for his support for terrorism near the Houses of Parliament a day after Lee Rigby's killing he was called a "traitor" by the future London attacker, Butt.

"Many of us in the British Muslim community have been demanding action against these extremists to no avail. I am not surprised that Khuram Butt carried out the terrorist attack and there are serious questions for the authorities," Shafiq stated.
Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani admitted the motion for a two-hour discussion and directed the Foreign Office to send their representatives to answer questions posed by members of the House. He also directed the Senate secretariat to send notices to the attorney-general. The secretariat will fix a date for discussion during the ongoing session.



The Express Tribune said Sirajul Haq, an opposition member from the Jamaat-e-Islami, tabled the motion for a discussion and squarely blamed the government for not properly presenting its case, and thereby allowing India's point of view to be accepted by the Court of Justice (ICJ). He said that even the Pakistan Foreign Office did not know how to handle the case.



Earlier, in a parliamentary panel meeting of May 23, the committee had expressed outright dissatisfaction over Pakistan's legal strategy in dealing with the Jadhav case at the ICJ.



It said the government's "lack of preparation" had resulted in allowing New Delhi to get a provisional stay order against the military court's verdict, the paper quoted sources as saying.



Pakistan raised the confession statement of Jadhav as a base of its argument and accused India of using the ICJ for its political theatrics. India termed that the confession of Jadhav was forcibly taken by the military while in captivity and he was tried by a military court in Pakistan.



Amjad Shoaib, an ex-ISI official and a retired Lieutenant General of the Pakistan Army, has acknowledged India's claim that Kulbhushan Jadhav was captured from Iran.



Pakistan claimed that Jadhav was taken into custody in Balochistan in March 2016 while India has repeatedly maintained that Jadhav was on business trip to Iran and Pakistan had captured him from there and planted a false case against him.

Jadhav,a former Indian Navy officer, was given the death sentence by a military court in Pakistan on April 10 for alleged "espionage and subversive activities".
US President Donald Trump made two West Asian countries his first foreign destinations as president. In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, he participated in three summit meetings  a bilateral with the Saudi ruler, King Salman bin Abdulaziz; a meeting with the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC); and a third meeting with the leaders of the Islamic world, described as the Arab-Islamic-US Summit. From Riyadh, he went to Israel where he visited Jerusalem and the West Bank.
A January 2017 Pew survey showed that Americans rate as the top priority for the Trump administration and Congress. They put the issue ahead of the economy, education, jobs and health care costs.
The third suspect arrested over a deadly attack in central London was Youssef Zaghba, 22, a dual Italian-Moroccan citizen, Italian media reported today.

British police have confirmed the identity of two of the three attackers but had been retaining the name of the third while investigations into possible accomplices and contacts continued.

Italy's main newspapers said Zaghba's mother was from Bologna and his father was Moroccan.
On the campaign trail, President Trumps children rolled through dozens of small towns across the country, revelling in the adoration of the crowds. But they were less enamoured of the budget-friendly hotels along the way, an assortment of run-of-the-mill offerings that were barely distinguishable from one another.
President Trumps much-anticipated decision to exit the Paris Agreement on climate change strikes another blow against the current multilateral order by his administration and reinforces its America First stance toward the world.
Delivering his opening speech at the Kabul Process Conference here today, Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani made a scathing attack on Islamabad, saying his country is suffering from an "undeclared war of aggression from Pakistan."

He said Taliban-sponsored terrorism is creating a platform that brings terrorists from all over the region to Afghanistan.

Ghani asked Pakistani representatives: "What will it take to convince Pakistan that a stable Afghanistan helps them and helps our region?""Our problem, our challenge, is that we cannot figure out what it is that Pakistan wants," Tolo News quoted Ghani, as saying.

Extending an olive branch to the Taliban, Ghani said if the group is prepared to join peace negotiations, he will allow them to open an office. However, this was their last chance, Ghani warned.

Ghani said,"Afghanistan has been on the frontline of terrorism in the and his government was committed to fighting terrorism but that it wants to build strong political and economic ties with all neighboring countries."

Senior Pakistan foreign ministry officials are representing Pakistan at an international conference, 'Kabul Process', aimed at finding a political solution to the lingering conflict in Afghanistan. Additional Secretary Tasnim Aslam and the director general Afghanistan, Iran and Central Asia at the Foreign Office are attending the conference.

Ghani pointed out to delegates attending the meeting that 75,000 Afghans were killed or wounded in 2015 and 2016.He also said that in the past two years, 11,000 foreign fighters have come in to Afghanistan to fight for Daesh.Delegates from 23 nations and the European Union, the United Nations and NATO are attending the two day meeting to discuss the current Afghan situation.

The initiative has been taken by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani as his administration is facing a daunting challenge to stabilise the country in the face of growing threats posed by the Afghan Taliban as well as Da'ish.

This conference comes after the Ministry of Interior (MoI) said the explosives used in Wednesday's deadly truck bombing near Kabul's Zanbaq Square were from Pakistan.

"Pakistan is the key planner of this incident like in the past, but our security team is investigating the incident and these investigations have not been completed," said MoI spokesman Najib Danish.

According to the MoI, Pakistan's spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) supplied the Haqqani network with explosives to conduct the bombing in Kabul that killed over 100 people.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Office of the National Security Council (ONSC) has outrightly rejected the demand of the Jamiat-e-Islami for the removal of Mohammad Hanif Atmar- National Security Adviser of President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, emphasizing that such demands are political in nature and not entirely related to security incidents.

The Jamiat-e-Islami party of Afghanistan led by the acting foreign minister Salahuddib Rabbani and Balkh governor Ata Mohammad Noor had demanded the removal of top security officials, including National Security Adviser Mohamad Hanif Atmar.

Addressing a press conference in Kabul today, Rabbani said the recent attacks in Kabul and other key provinces show that the security institutions have failed to ensure security for the Afghan people.

President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has ordered an investigation regarding the violent incidents during the rallies in Kabul but decisions will be taken once the probes conclude, Khaam Press quoted ONSC spokesman Qadir Shah, as saying.

However, the National Security Adviser is not having any legal or executive authority or responsibilities, as is clear from his designation.

Qadir termed the Jamiat-e-Islami's arguments for Atmar's removal as political and said that only security institutions have executive authority.

Rabbani claimed that certain circles within the government have links with the insurgent groups as he pointed towards the violent incidents during the protests in Kabul on Friday and the recent suspicious attacks in Kabul city.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The All India Sikh Students Federation on Tuesday carried out a march in the wake of 33rd anniversary of operation blue star.

The students took to the streets and denounced the operation which three decades ago caused major unrest in Punjab.

The students also carried placards reading "Never forget 6 June 1984."

With today being the 33rd anniversary of Operation Blue star, tight security arrangements have been made in several parts of Punjab, including Amritsar.

As many as 15 companies of paramilitary forces, including the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and RAF were deployed in different parts of the state after several radical outfits announced that they would observe the anniversary of the military operation.

Operation Bluestar refers to the operation mounted by the Indian Army on June 3, 1984 to flush out Sikh extremists holed up within the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Slamming Bengali scholar Partha Chatterjee for comparing the human shield controversy with the Jallianwala Bagh barbarism of General Dyer, Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday asserted that drawing such parallels is simply 'atrocious'.

Speaking at the press conference in Mumbai, Naidu said, "Chatterjee is only trying to find fault in the Indian Army which is doing a great job to protect the unity, integrity and security of the country. They only want to condemn the army but never want to come in support of it. Comparing Major Gogoi's incident and then General Rawat's observation to General Dyer is total atrocious and height of perversion."

Further lashing out at the scholar, the Union Minister said people like Chatterjee can only ridicule and not do anything.

"These people have sympathy for the stone pelters but don't have sympathy for the ones who leave their family and serve the country," Naidu added.

However, despite facing flak for his article, Chatterjee stated that he stands firm with his comparison of General Rawat with Dyer who was responsible for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre in Amritsar.

"I have made my arguments as clearly and precisely as I could in my article. If I need to clarify or change anything then I will write again. I stand by what I wrote. I am not seeking any publicity," Chatterjee told ANI.

Chatterjee in his article wrote that Kashmir is witnessing its 'General Dyer' moment.

This article by Chatterjee came after General Rawat extended support for Major Leetul Gogoi over the human shield controversy in Kashmir.

"There are chilling similarities between the justifications advanced for the actions of the British Indian army in Punjab in 1919 and those being offered today in defence of the acts of the Indian army in Kashmir," Chatterjee wrote in his article.

The Army Chief had come to the rescue of Major Gogoi over the human shield issue and said such 'innovative' ways are required to counter the dirty war underway in Kashmir.

Major Gogoi was in the spotlight after a video shot during the April 9 Srinagar Lok Sabha by-polls, posted on the social media, showed a man tied on the bonnet of an Army jeep in Jammu and Kashmir's Badgam.

The video went viral and sparked a major controversy, with one faction condemning the Army's action while the other commended their ingenuity.
Flood victims in Bangladesh's Moulvibazar may be forced to starve as they are yet to receive relief materials after flash floods in April have destroyed embankments and roads, leaving more than 100,000 people marooned without sufficient food and drinking water. Meanwhile, the floods show no sign of improvement Monu River continues to flow 90 cm above the danger level.

More than 1,400 hectares of Boro paddy fields in the district has been destroyed during the floods and hundreds of thousands of families have been badly affected.

Many victims from Kamalganj, Rajnagar and Kulaura upazilas have taken refuge in educational institutions and embankments that are still intact. They are yet to receive relief materials.

Moulvibazar district administration has said that 40 tonnes of rice and Tk115,000 have been allocated for seven upazilas on Monday afternoon.

In Rajnagar, 50 villages were flooded in two unions after the dyke on the Monu River was breached at four points. At least 30,000 villagers have been marooned in Kamarchak and Tengra unions.

More than 20,000 residents of his union had been affected directly,Dhaka Tribune quoted Kamarchak union's Chairman Najmul Haq, as saying.

Hundreds of families took refuge in unused buildings, schools or moved to their relatives' houses after their villages were inundated on early Sunday night.

Rajnagar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Mohammad Shariful Islam said relief would be distributed on Tuesday.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An exchange of fire took place between police and Naxals in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district yesterday.

The skirmish took place on Monday late evening on the forested hills between Kunna and Jongeras villages.

Reportedly, around 4-5 Naxals were killed in an exchange fire with the police.

During search, IED making materials, three detonators and naxal literature were recovered.

Sukma Superintendent of Police Abhishek Meena confirmed the report.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
China's government has rejected a U.S. State Department call to release the three activists detained while investigating a Chinese company that produced shoes for Ivanka Trump and other brands.

On Monday, Alicia Edwards, a deputy State Department spokeswoman, said that such labour activists can help American companies find abuses in the factories that make their products or parts, reports the New York Times.

"We urge China to release them immediately and otherwise afford them the judicial and fair trial protections to which they are entitled," she said.

According to the Guardian, the three activists were preparing to issue a report accusing factories that make shoes for the daughter of US president Donald Trump of a host of violations including paying below China's legal minimum wage, managers verbally abusing workers and "violations of women's rights".

According to the report, one of the activists, Hua Haifeng, was detained by police on suspicion of "illegal use of monitoring equipment" and two others, Li Zhao and Su Heng, have gone missing and are presumed to be in police custody.

Earlier Hua Chunying, spokeswoman for China's ministry of foreign affairs, said that the men working with China Labor Watch had been accused of using secret recording devices to disrupt normal commercial operations and would be dealt with under Chinese law.

Meanwhile, Ivanka Trump's brand has declined to comment on the allegations or the arrests. She stepped back from day-to-day management of the company when she took on a White House role as advisor to her father - President Donald Trump, but retains ownership.

Marc Fisher, which produces shoes for Ivanka Trump and other brands, has said it is looking into the allegations.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Tiptoeing around its intrusion of Indian air space in Barahoti region of Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, China said its border troops conduct regular patrols there adding the two sides should coordinate over the same.

The assertion comes after Indian External Affairs Minister Swaraj said that India will take up with Beijing the violation of its airspace by two People's Liberation Army (PLA) choppers.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said Tuesday, "I want to stress once again that China and India have territorial dispute over the middle section of the boundary. The Chinese border troops conduct regular patrols there."

"We have border-related mechanisms, therefore when problems arise, the two sides should communicate and coordinate through the existing mechanisms and jointly uphold peace and tranquility of the border areas," she added.

Two helicopters of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China hovered over Chamoli district on Saturday, triggering India's concerns about the PLA's fourth such incursion into Indian airspace since March this year.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The member of 'Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam' on Tuesday organised a beef festival to protest against Centre's ban on sale of cattle for slaughter.

Biryani was served to the people in this festival with beef chukka (a semi gravy and beef cutlets).

Opposing the ban imposed by the Centre, the beef lovers gathered here said that beef is their part of their daily meal and nobody has the right to decide what to eat and what not to.

Earlier on June 1, the students at the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT- Madras) staged a protest against the Central Government's notification banning the sale of cattle for slaughter.

With the police deployed in front of the IIT campus, the students protested at the main gate and raised slogans against the Centre's controversial notification.

Around 50 students on May 28th took part in a 'beef fest' as a mark of protest against the new rule.

Later, R. Sooraj, a PhD student of aerospace engineering at the college, who was also part of the ' beef fest', was allegedly attacked by a few students from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).

Sooraj, who is a member of the Ambedkar Periyar Study Circle (APSC), was injured in his right eye and was hospitalized.

On May 27, Students' Federation of India (SFI) staged similar protest in Kerala by eating beef outside University College, Trivandrum.

Similar fest was also organised at different locations across Kerala.

However, reiterating the Government's stand of its order on ban on sale of cattle for slaughter, Union Minister for Science and Technology Dr. Harshvardhan said the rules have not been formed to change or control anybody's food habits, nor will it affect the slaughter business.

"We have clearly mentioned that the rules under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act have not been formed to change or control anybody's food habits, nor affect slaughter business. Despite of this, if people have misconception about it, we have asked suggestions that have been submitted and will be contemplated upon. It is not a prestige issue for us," he told ANI.

There has been a wide opposition of the Central Government's order, with many states openly denying accepting the notification.

Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Harsh Vardhan had 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.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Delhi court on Tuesday granted bail to Hawala operators Lalit Kumar, Nathu Singh in the case involving alleged bribery of Election Commission officials for ownership of the AIADMK's two-leaves symbol.

Last week, the Tis Hazari court granted bail to T.T.V. Dinakaran and his aide Mallikarjun in the same case on personal bond of Rs. five lakh. However, they had to surrender their passports.

The Delhi Police had earlier opposed alleged middleman Sukesh Chandrashekhar's bail plea, following which the court had reserved its order.

The Delhi Police claimed that Sukesh had many cases pending against him.

The police also asserted that more arrests are likely to be made in the case soon.

Earlier on April 25, a Delhi court extended the alleged middleman's police custody till April 28, hours after Dinakaran accepted that he met Chandrashekhar in his bribery dealing with the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Dinakaran initially refused to have known Sukesh. He later accepted meeting him when Sukesh himself gave the details of his meeting with the former.

Dinakaran, who is accused of trying to bribe an Election Commission official in a bid to retain the 'two leaves' symbol of the AIADMK, however, maintained that he did not pay any money to Sukesh.

Searches were also conducted at Sukesh's Kochi residence to trace the amount paid to him.

Details of calls made and received and messages sent and received were also being sought.

Earlier on April 23, Dinakaran was cross examined along with his 'friend' Mallikarjuna and P.A. Janardhanan, sources state.

They were quizzed about the money trail of the alleged bribe. Also, the matter of Dinakaran staying over with Mallikarjuna for around 10 days after an FIR was filed against him was also brought up during the interrogation.

On April 22, Dinakaran was given a set of questions by the Delhi Police in connection with the case.

The questionnaire included queries about the money trail, his association with Chandrashekhar, the middleman alleged to have struck deal for Rs. 50 crore to help Dinakaran's AIADMK faction keep the 'two leaves' poll symbol, how many times he met Sukesh and whether any meeting with the Election Commission officials took place or not etc.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Hitting out at the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government over the farmers' protest in Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday accused the Centre of being at war with the nation's farmers.

Taking to social media, Gandhi said, "This Govt is at war with the farmers of our country."

This Govt is at war with the farmers of our country#Mandsaur#MadhyaPradeshhttps://t.co/HQsjluDUPg  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) June 6, 2017

"BJP ?? ???? ?????? ??? ??? ?????? ?? ????? ?????????? ?? ???? ????? ???" he said in a series of tweet.

At least three farmers were killed and several others were injured in a firing by security forces in Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur today, as farmers intensified their agitation demanding fair price and loan waiver.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has ordered a judicial enquiry into the matter.

Internet services in Mandsaur, Ratlam and Ujjain remain suspended following the farmers' protests, and a curfew has also reportedly been imposed.

The farmers in the central state are demanding remunerative prices for their produce and a loan waiver. They are also demanding that they should be given Rs 50 per litre of milk bought from them as they spend Rs 37 per litre.

The killing of the farmers came hours after Mandsaur collector Swatantra Kumar Singh claimed all was well in the district and that the situation was under control.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
B2B exhibition that that connects the apparel retail industry of India, the Garment Show of India was inaugurated by BJP President Delhi Manoj Tiwari at Pragati Maidan Hall Number 7.

Well-known retail chains like Will Lifestyle ITC, V mart, V2, Unik Bazar and brands like Kaira, Cactus, Fashion Factory, the press and other media will showcase their collection till June 6th. More than 100 exhibitors, comprising leading brands and manufacturers and retailers of a variety of products will participate from Delhi, Noida, Jaipur, Mumbai, Bangalore, Ludhiana, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and others.

"The idea is to bridge the gap between buyers and sellers; our exhibition has manufacturers/brands that can offer quality, fashion and competitive prices and match up with the requirements of retailers, retail chains, e-commerce companies and distributors," said Organiser Garment Show of India, Gagan Marwah.

Shiv Naresh, one of the most reliable players in sportswear; Brand Kaira from Hyderabad that makes attractive ladies wear; Babeez from Mumbai, a brand for kids and infants; Indira Hosiery Mills from Ludhiana; Cactus from Bangalore that makes innovative denims; Dotted Jeans, a high fashion brand for all type of denims; Tinted, Royal Wood, Mac Mount and several other companies are participating in the exhibition.

"'Make in India,' the slogan of our PM is also the theme of this exhibition Garment Show of India. As everyone says, 'Roti, Kapdaa aur Makaan' are the three basic necessities of India. Kapdaa, or Clothing is certainly a basic necessity, however, it also adds fashion, uniqueness and motivation to our lives," said Manoj Tiwari.

Since GST is a hot topic today, a wide-ranging discussion on the issue was also conducted on Day 1 of the show. Retailers and manufacturers expressed their concern over 12 percent GST rates on ready- made garments and its impact which has been affecting market sentiments for many months now.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Terming the sidelining of Qatar by Gulf nations as 'the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism', U.S. President Donald Trump gloated about his recent visit to the Middle east, which according to him paved the way for this move.

Seemingly unfazed over the accusations that held him responsible for the ongoing 'Gulf crisis', the President appeared to be bragging in a series of tweets.

"So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding..."

So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding...  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017

"..extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!"

...extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017

"During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!".

During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017

Recently, six Arab countries including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, as well as the Western-recognised governments of Yemen and Libya, abruptly cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, after accusing it of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, Islamist political movement that allegedly supports pro-Iran militias, and funding terror activities.

The Middle Eastern countries were later joined by the Indian Ocean island nation of The Maldives.

Following the crisis, Iranian officials accused the U.S. of setting the scene for the escalating Gulf diplomatic crisis during President Donald Trump's recent trip to the Saudi Arabia.

Two weeks ago, on his first foreign visit, Trump met the rulers of several Middle Eastern countries to discuss measures to limit Iran's power in the region, a gathering which he had hoped "may someday be remembered as the beginning of peace in the Middle East."

He also announced $110 billion-worth of weapons sales to Saudi Arabia.

The present tension in the Gulf started right after Trump left the region. Tensions surged between countries closer to Saudi Arabia (such as Bahrain, and Egypt) and others, such Qatar, with ties to Iran.

Earlier, a Saudi press agency statement said the move was necessary because of "grave violations being committed by the authorities in Doha over the past years in secret and public," including giving shelter to various terrorist groups, some of them backed by Iran.

Qatar has maintained its diplomatic clout in part by being the home of U.S. Central Command and the U.S's largest air base in the region and hosting branches of prestigious Western universities.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
It seems that U.S. President Donald Trump is not dismayed over being held responsible for the ongoing 'Gulf crisis', instead he is taking credit for the same.

Seemingly unfazed over the accusations, the President tweeted, "During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!".

During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017

Recently, six Arab countries including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, as well as the Western-recognised governments of Yemen and Libya, abruptly cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, after accusing it of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, Islamist political movement that allegedly supports pro-Iran militias, and funding terror activities.

The Middle Eastern countries were later joined by the Indian Ocean island nation of The Maldives.

Following the crisis, Iranian officials accused the U.S. of setting the scene for the escalating Gulf diplomatic crisis during President Donald Trump's recent trip to the Saudi Arabia.

Two weeks ago, on his first foreign visit, Trump met the rulers of several Middle Eastern countries to discuss measures to limit Iran's power in the region, a gathering which he had hoped "may someday be remembered as the beginning of peace in the Middle East."

He also announced $110 billion-worth of weapons sales to Saudi Arabia.

The present tension in the Gulf started right after Trump left the region. Tensions surged between countries closer to Saudi Arabia (such as Bahrain, and Egypt) and others, such Qatar, with ties to Iran.

Earlier, a Saudi press agency statement said the move was necessary because of "grave violations being committed by the authorities in Doha over the past years in secret and public," including giving shelter to various terrorist groups, some of them backed by Iran.

Qatar has maintained its diplomatic clout in part by being the home of U.S. Central Command and the U.S's largest air base in the region and hosting branches of prestigious Western universities.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Hillary Clinton has slammed United States President Donald Trump over his recent tweets on London terror attack and for misconstruing London Mayor Sadiq Khan's remarks post the attack.

"This is not a time to lash out, to incite fear, or to use tragedy and terror for political gain," CNN quoted Clinton, as saying, on Monday.

Referring to Trump's tweet criticising London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Hilary said, "It's a time for steady, determined leadership -- like we are seeing from local authorities in London, including the Mayor of London."

Trump launched an attack on the London Mayor, while apparently misconstruing a statement made by him post the incident.

Trump had tweeted, "At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is "no reason to be alarmed!"

This was in reference to Khan's statement that there was no cause for alarm. It's being touted that he was referring specifically to "a visible increase in police activity on the streets of London in the wake of the attack."

"Londoners will see an increased police presence today and over the course of the next few days. There's no reason to be alarmed," Khan had said.

Trump later branded Khan's statement on the terror attack as a 'pathetic excuse'.

"Pathetic excuse by London Mayor Sadiq Khan who had to think fast on his "no reason to be alarmed" statement. MSM is working hard to sell it!"Trump tweeted.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In the aftermath of the London terror attack, United States President Donald Trump has retorted, once again, to the U.S. courts for blocking his attempted travel ban against people from six Muslim-majority countries.

"People, the lawyers and the courts can call it whatever they want, but I am calling it what we need and what it is, a TRAVEL BAN!" the President tweeted.

His comments drew the ire of legal experts, including a supreme court lawyer representing Hawaii against the White House and George Conway, husband of Trump's aide Kellyanne Conway and an attorney who has been considered for senior federal posts, the Guardian reported.

Neil Katyal, a supreme court lawyer, tweeted in response to Trump, "It's kinda odd to have the defendant in Hawaii v Trump acting as our co-counsel. We don't need the help but will take it!"

The White House appealed to the Supreme Court after Trump's executive order restricting entry to the U.S. from Iran, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, Libya and Syria was blocked by federal courts in Maryland and Hawaii.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Marvel Tea's new TVC, starring Kareena Kapoor Khan has been shot in London, across some of the most iconic landmarks, such as Trafalgar Square Fountain, St. James Park, and Tower Bridge.

The TVC begins with the actress sipping a piping hot cup of Marvel Tea, looking refreshed and vibrant. Every spot presented in the TVC holds a special meaning as she walks by herself, smiling and smelling the flowers, enjoying her time alone. The shots are interspersed with the process of a cup of Marvel Yellow Tea being prepared.

Commenting on the new campaign, R.C. Jain, chairman and managing director of Marvel Group, said, "Marvel Tea is known as one of India's top five brands. We thought of having a celebrity for our campaign who is as royal as Marvel Tea. I believe that no one can match up to Kareena's royal and beautiful look and hence we decided to launch our new campaign with the beautiful and talented actor."

Speaking about the association with Marvel Tea, Kareena, Brand Ambassador, said, "I am privileged to associate with Marvel Tea, as they have always focused on providing a product which exceeds in quality and taste. The brand association with Marvel Tea is very special, as it offers a taste than is unparalleled, which is why it has made a rightful place in the Indian beverage market. I am truly excited and look forward to a long association with Marvel Tea."

R.C. Jain further added, "This campaign is a true amalgamation of two very important personalities i.e. Marvel Tea and Kareena Kapoor Khan. With "Har Lamha Naya ho jaye" campaign we want to entice the audience with the great taste of Marvel Tea-Yellow. Apart from a 45 second television commercial, viewers on the digital platform will get to watch a making of the film which will be exclusive to social media and will go live soon."

The campaign is created by a team of globally acknowledged creative minds, including Mick Coulter, the Director of Photography who is Oscar-nominated and has previously worked on Hollywood movies like Sense and Sensibility, Notting Hill and Love Actually.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
With the Communist Party of India (Marxist) continuing to train guns on the Indian Army Chief over the human shield controversy in the Valley, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came down heavily on the former saying the Left has become a 'mouthpiece' for China and Pakistan.

BJP leader G.V.L Narasimha Rao's strongly worded comment came after the CPI (M) remark that Army Chief General Bipin Rawat was 'reflecting the views of the Narendra Modi government' when it came to dealing with the Kashmir issue.

"Attacking the armed forces is actually an anti- act and today the CPI (M) and the Congress are culpable of this heinous crime. I think its time for them to resist themselves from acting in this manner, or else people of this country will teach a lesson to all political parties that are not standing with the army but standing with separatist, army, terrorist, stone pelters and your inimical hostile neighbor. They have degenerated into China-Pakistan mouthpiece. And this is what they stand for," Rao told ANI.

"At a time when the armed forces are fighting a very difficult battle, they have brought the situation under control in a large part of the Valley. Rather than standing up with your armed forces, which are doing a brilliant job of ensuring internal security, sovereignty and unity, you have political parties like CPI, CPM, Congress pandering to the separatists elements and speaking the voice of Pakistan," he added.

The CPI (M) in its mouthpiece 'People Democracy' said the remarks made in an interview by the Army Chief Bipin Rawat about dealing with civilian protestors in Kashmir exemplifies all that is wrong with the way the Modi Government is dealing with the situation there.

"Gen. Rawat stated in the interview that: "In fact, I wish these people instead of throwing stones at us, were firing weapons at us, then I would have been happy. Then I could do what I (want to do)"," the article added.

The party in its mouthpiece alleged that General Rawat also defended the wrongful action of Major Nitin Gogoi who had tied a civilian in front of a jeep to act as a human shield and drove his convoy through a number of villages.

"The army chief had given a commendation to the officer even while an enquiry into the action was being held. Gen. Rawat justified the serious violation committed by Major Gogoi in the following words: "This is a proxy war ....It is played in a dirty way....That is where innovation comes. You fight a dirty war with innovation"," it added.

The mouthpiece said the way Farooq Ahmad Dar, who had gone to vote in the Srinagar by-poll, was caught and tied to a jeep as a deterrent to stone pelters was a shocking incident.

"The army chief of staff, by commending this act, has let down the high professional standards of the army. Some former serving generals of the army have decried the use of the civilian as a human shield. They have correctly pointed out that the army cannot treat its own people in such a manner," it further said.

It alleged that General Rawat makes no distinction between young protestors throwing stones and armed militants.

"He had, on an earlier occasion, warned that the army would treat all those who do not support army operations or obstruct them during encounters as "overground workers of terrorists". To taunt protestors to take up arms, so that the army could deal with them appropriately is a needless provocation and displays an attitude which is unbecoming of a senior army officer," the mouthpiece added.

The mouthpiece said that General Rawat is reflecting the views of the Modi Government which seeks to suppress the people of Kashmir, who are voicing their political protest, through the sole reliance on use of force.

"Not only the people of Kashmir but the army itself will suffer irreparable damage due to the government's blind adherence to the use of coercive force against the civilian population," it further said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Meghalaya Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Bachu Marak on Tuesday resigned over the Centre's cattle slaughter rule.

Bachu's resignation from the party comes four days after West Garo Hills district president Bernard Mark made an exit from the party on the issue of beef ban.

"I cannot compromise on the sentiments of the Garos. As a Garo it is my responsibility to protect the interest of my community. Beef eating is part of our culture and tradition. The BJP's non-secular ideology to impose on us is not acceptable. I resigned from BJP as they are dishonouring my culture. This is an anti-Christian party," said Bachu.

He has submitted his resignation letter to state party president Shibun Lyngdoh.

Bachu had proposed a bitchi (rice beer) - beef party in Garo hills on Facebook recently to mark Modi Government's three years in office and had attracted party leader's criticism.

Former BJP leader Bernard, who had resigned from the party is organising a beef party at Eden bari locality of Tura on June 10 and Bachu is also going to participate in the event.

"I would attend the beef party in Tura to register our voice against such move of the BJP", he said.

Meanwhile, BJP Meghalaya incharge Nalin Kohli said, "Welcome it since action against him was in process. Marak had been working against party in the state.

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The Congress on Tuesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Government of using the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to control the media after the agency searched offices and residences of NDTV co-founder Prannoy Roy over allegations of causing loss to a private bank.

"I think this CBI move is an overdrive by the government in its excitement to control the media. I think this will have very serious repercussions in the media world," Congress leader Tom Vadakkan told ANI.

He further said that the move displayed "bad timing" and "lack of vision" on part of the government, adding that the CBI's intervention was unnecessary as the issue could have sorted out by bank officials.

"The bank officials said that payments have been coming regularly and there have been no indications of any attempt to flee the country. We have had situations where people have flown out of this country with huge payments due," Vadakkan added.

The CBI registered a case against Roy, his wife Radhika Roy, a private company and others for causing an alleged loss of Rs. 48 crore to a ICICI bank.

In 2008, the ICICI Bank gave NDTV a loan of Rs. 366 crore on personal guarantees of the Roys who pledged the company's shares that were valued more than the prevailing price at the Bombay Stock Exchange.

According to CBI sources, a case was registered for causing an alleged loss of Rs. 48 crore to the ICICI bank.

The CBI said that searches are being conducted today at four places including Delhi and Dehradun.

The NDTV has, meanwhile, vowed to fight against the 'witch-hunt by multiple agencies'.

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The Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a charge sheet in connection with the seizure of Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) earlier on June 2 before the Court of Special Judge, Kolkata.

It charged two arrested accused persons namely-- Habibur Rahaman and Fakirul Sk under Sections 120B, 489B and 489C of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 for their involvement in smuggling and circulation of Fake Indian Currency Notes across India with a view to damage the monetary stability of India.

The case is related to the seizure of new Fake Indian Currency Notes of Rs. 2000/- denomination having a total face value of Rs. 3,90,000/- (Three Lakhs Ninety Thousands) on March 6 in front of the Hotel Shine, Station Road, Jhalijhalia, Malda under the limits of Police StationEnglish Bazar of Malda district made by a team of the NIA with the assistance of the local Police from the exclusive possession of the duo.

Initially a case was registered on the basis of a complaint lodged by the NIA team.

Following recovery of huge quantity of new Fake Indian Currency Notes of Rs. 2000/- denomination, the Ministry of Home Affairs (Government of India) directed the NIA to take up the investigation under section 6(5) read with section 8 of the NIA Act, 2008 and accordingly, the NIA re-registered the FIR on March 28.

The arrested accused persons admitted during the examination that they procured the seized FICNs from their counterpart in Bangladesh namely one Daku Sekh, who stated to have positioned himself across International Border Security Fence (IBSF) on Bangladesh side and had thrown/passed on the consignment of FICNs over the Indo-Bangladesh International Border Security Fence (IBSF).

They (accused Habibur Rahaman and Fakirul Sk) positioned themselves on the Indian side, hadreceived the consignment for further supply to another recipient at Malda Town Railway Station with intent to circulate in India when they were intercepted by a NIA team.

On the day of incidence i.e on March 6, they used one Motor Cycle owned by Fakirul Sekh, which was seized from the place of occurrence, as a conveyance for carrying the FICNs.

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Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Bhupendra Singh on Tuesday said that police had not fired on farmers protesting for raising prices for their produce, adding that the state government has not imposed any curfew suspended internet services in the region.

"There was no firing from police,will look into the farmer's death," Singh told ANI.

Earlier, reports emerged that two farmers had died and four others were injured after police started firing in during farmer's protest in Mandsaur.

The Internet was also reportedly suspended in Mandsaur, Ratlam and Ujjain during the protest.

Protestors were demanding higher prices for their produce, including onions and dal.

They also wanted their loans to be waived as was being done in the BJP ruled states of Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.

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Following the demolition of Rajiv Gandhi's bust in Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, a livid Congress on Tuesday threatened a nation-wide protest if the state government did not take swift action soon.

"Even though Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was in the area, Rajiv Gandhi's statue was vandalized. We were also assured by the state authorities that within 48 hours the attackers will be arrested and a new statue will be put in place," Congress spokesperson Raj Babbar said after meeting UP Governor Ram Naik.

Further lashing out at the state administration, Babbar said that 48 hours have passed since the crime and no action has been taken so far.

"Even after we complained about the incident to the state administration, they did not start any enquiry until 48 hours. Vandalizing the statue is being done in a series across the state and action should be taken on it," he added.

Babbar further warned the UP administration that if strict action is not taken then Congress will take up a protest all over India.

"If the administration will not keep its word then this protest will take a huge shape in UP and we will take this across the nation. Adityanath has expressed his concern over the incident and I will meet him tomorrow," the Congress leader said.

The Congress yesterday demanded a probe by the state government into the demolition of the bust.

"We strongly condemn the act of damaging of the statue of Late Rajiv Gandhi statue in Mirzapur. This act has hurt the sentiments of millions and millions of people and Congressmen across the country because of their love and respect for the great leader. The State Government should immediately conduct an inquiry into the incident in a time bound manner so as to punish the guilty". General Secretary, Congress Committee, Ghulam Nabi Azad said in a statement.

Continuing to berate the Yogi Adityanath-led state government, Azad further said that anti-social elements have become 'blatantly active' in last few months due to the inaction of the state government which has resulted in deterioration of law and order in Uttar Pradesh.

"The culprits had also left a message below the damaged statue - "Humari sarkar hai, usey Pakistan bhej diya gaya (This is our government, he has been sent to Pakistan)," the statement added.

The incident took place a day after the Congress landed in a controversy when a map of India in a 15-page booklet distributed during state party in-charge Ghulam Nabi Azad's visit to Lucknow referred to a part of Kashmir as 'Indian-Occupied Kashmir'.

An FIR has been lodged against unidentified persons in Katra police station on the basis of a complaint by city Congress president Abdul Wahid.

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A Russian fighter jet intercepted a U.S. bomber over the Baltic Sea in international waters on Tuesday.

According to a statement from the Russian Defense Ministry that was published on state news agency TASS, "On June 6, Russia's airspace monitoring identified an air target flying along Russia's state border over the international waters of the Baltic Sea. A Sukhoi-27 fighter jet of the Baltic Sea Fleet's air defense force was dispatched to intercept the target."

A Russian Air Force flight demonstration team perform with their SU-27 jet fighters over St. Petersburg, Russia.

"The crew of Sukhoi-27 jet approached the aircraft staying at a safe distance, identified it as a U.S. strategic bomber B-52 and escorted it for some time," it added.

The Pentagon also confirmed that the intercept occurred.

"A U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress flying a routine mission in support of multiple planned exercises in international airspace over the Baltic Sea was intercepted by a Russian SU-27," a statement from Lt. Col. Michelle L. Baldanza, a U.S. Army Defense Department spokeswoman, said, as reported by CNN.

"The crew involved is still supporting the exercise. There are a number of intercepts that take place on a regular basis. The vast majority are conducted in a safe manner," the statement added.

The U.S. Air Force, earlier this month, deployed B-52 bombers and 800 airmen to the United Kingdom in support of joint exercises with the NATO allies and partners, expected to primarily take place specifically in the Baltic Sea, the Arctic and along Russia's border with several NATO partners.

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A Russian fighter jet, Sukhoi Su-27, intercepted an American B-52 bomber along the Russian border over the Baltic Sea.

Sputnik news quoted the Russian Defense Ministry as saying, that it scrambled a Su-27 air superiority fighter over the Baltics on Tuesday to intercept and escort a US B-52 strategic bomber that approached its borders.

"The crew of the Russian Su-27, in approaching the aerial object at a safe distance, identified it as a US B-52 strategic bomber and escorted it," the ministry said in a statement.

The statement added that the incident over the neutral waters of the Baltic Sea took place at 07:00 GMT.

The Su-27, which serves as part of the Russian Navy's Baltic Fleet air defence patrol, returned to its airfield after carrying out the operation.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has led a vigil of hundreds of Londoners in rememberance of those who died following Saturday night's terror attack in the capital.

While addressing a multi-cultural audience, Khan said London would never be 'broken by terrorism' and that terrorism would be defeated.

"We stand together tonight to honour the memories of the innocent lives lost and people injured in the barbaric attack on our city. London stands in defiance against this cowardly attack and our city and our people and our values and our way of live," he said.

"As the mayor of London I want to send a clear message to the sick and evil extremists who commit this hideous crimes; we will defeat you. You will not win. And as a proud and patriotic British Muslim I say this: you do not commit these disgusting acts in my name. Your perverse ideology has nothing to do with the true values of Islam and you will never succeed is dividing our city."

'We send our love to the victims' families and all those injures and we thank our courageous emergency services and the brace Londoners who risked their lives. You are the best of us. Our city is filled with great sorrow and anger tonight but also great resolve and determination. Because our unity and love will always be stronger then the hate of the extremists," he added.

Flanked by Amber Rudd and Diane Abbott, Khan also accused United States President Donald Trump of seeking to divide communities in Britain after he took to the social media to criticise his leadership in the wake of the attack.

"Some people thrive on feud and division. We are not going to let Donald Trump divide our communities," The Independent quoted Khan, as saying, while he addressed the media at the Tower Bridge last night.

"I just haven't got time to respond to tweets from Donald Trump. Honestly I've got better and more important things to focus on," he added.

Khan has reportedly also said Trump was wrong about "many things" and that his state visit to the U.K. should not go ahead.

Khan received support from many, including Prime Minister Theresa May.

"I think Sadiq Khan is doing a good job and it's wrong to say anything else - he's doing a good job," she said at a press conference.

Trump had earlier criticised Khan over the statement given by him and said he was being "politically correct".

Khan had earlier condemned the attack and said there was no reason for people to be alarmed by the sight of Armed police officers, Trump said. "At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is 'no reason to be alarmed!'"

Meanwhile, the United States Conference of Mayors, which represents 1,400 communities of more than 30,000 people, issued a statement of solidarity.

"The United States Conference of Mayors stands today united with Mayor Sadiq Khan of London and the people of London. We send condolences to family and loved ones of those dead and injured," the group said.

"We send praise and absolute respect for the police officers who responded with eight minutes to kill all three of the London Bridge terrorist murderers," it added.

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Sher Bahadur Deuba, Chairman of Nepali Congress has been elected as 4oth Prime Minister of Nepal. This is the fourth time that Deuba, 72 has become the Prime Minister of the country.

He will take the oath of office on Wednesday.

Deuba was elected to the post on Tuesday, that had fallen vacant following the resignation of Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal two weeks ago. Deuba, was the lone candidate for the post secured 388 votes out of 558 votes polled. Altogether 35 absented, in the House which has an effective strength of 593.

Deuba, president of Nepali Congress, largest party in the Nepal Parliament, will be heading a multi-party coalition, with the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Centre as the second largest constituent after Nepali Congress.

He will be the 10th Prime Minister in as many years, in a country that has seen 25 governments since 1991, and ten in the past ten years of political transition.

It is the 4th time and first time after Nepal was declared a republic nation, Deuba has succeeded to be the Prime Minister of Nepal. Previously, Deuba has served as Prime Minister of Nepal in 1995, 2001 and 2004.

Nepali Congress' candidate Deuba got support from Maoist Center, Nepal Loktantrik Forum, Rastriya Janata Party, Rastriya Prajatantra Party, Sanghiya Samajbadi Forum and other minor parties.

Nepali Congress and Maoist Center had signed a 3 point agreement with the Rastriya Janata Party promising to address their demands.

The agitating forces, which unified last year with this agreement, will now go for the local polls scheduled on 28 June.

Deuba was the sole candidate who contested for the post of Nepal Prime Minister held on Tuesday.

The opposition CPN- UML (Communist Party of Nepal- Unified Marxist Leninist) did not came forward in the electoral race but stood against NC Chief.

The Prime Ministerial election was scheduled on Sunday but was obstructed by the opposition UML over the issue of vote counting of Bharatpur.

Nepal has been facing political dissolution and rift for long time. It is the 19th government formed in Nepal in 18 years.

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United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for ending of Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories since 1967 and urged the international community for negotiating a two-state solution to resolve the conflict between the two Middle Eastern neighbours.

"Ending the occupation that began in 1967 and achieving a negotiated two-state outcome is the only way to lay the foundations for enduring peace that meets Israeli security needs and Palestinian aspirations for statehood and sovereignty," Xinhua quoted Guterres statement released on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the start of the Arab-Israeli Six Day War.

Guterres said, "Today marks 50 years since the start of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, which resulted in Israel's occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza and the Syrian Golan and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and Syrians."

Guterres said resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will remove a driver of violent extremism and terrorism in the Middle East and open the doors to cooperation, security, prosperity and human rights for all.

He called on both sides to return to direct negotiations to resolve all final status issues on the basis of relevant UN resolutions, agreements and international law.

"This occupation has imposed a heavy humanitarian and development burden on the Palestinian people. Among them are generation after generation of Palestinians who have been compelled to grow-up and live in ever more crowded refugee camps, many in abject poverty, and with little or no prospect of a better life for their children," he charged.

The "occupation", claimed Guterres, "has fuelled recurring cycles of violence and retribution. Its perpetuation is sending an unmistakable message to generations of Palestinians that their dream of statehood is destined to remain just that, a dream; and to Israelis that their desire for peace, security and regional recognition remains unattainable."

On May 2, both Palestine and Israel has agreed to reactivate the joint economic committee and expand its power in the West Bank, a Palestinian government spokesperson said.

Yousef Al-Mahmoud, the Palestinian government spokesperson said in a press release that the agreement was signed in a rare meeting between Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and the Israeli minister of finance Moshe Kahlon in Ramallah.

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After 17 years of starting the pre-production, Terry Gilliam has finally wrapped the principal photography of 'The Man Who Killed Don Quixote'.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the movie inspired by Miguel De Cervantes' literary classic 'Don Quixot' has been shooting on location across Spain and Portugal.

The movie tells the story of a deluded old man, convinced he is the famed horse-riding hero and who mistakes an advertising executive for his trusty squire, Sancho Panza.

Previously, unsuccessful attempts to make the film saw names such as Johnny Depp, Ewan McGregor, Robert Duvall, Jack O'Connell and John Hurt attached.

However, the movie now stars Adam Driver, Jonathan Pryce, Stellan Skarsgard and Olga Kurylenko.

"Don Quixote is a dreamer, an idealist and a romantic, determined not to accept the limitations of reality, marching on regardless of setbacks, as we have done.

We've been at it so long that the idea of actually finishing shooting this 'clandestine' film, is pretty surreal. Any sensible person would have given up years ago but sometimes pig-headed dreamers win in the end, so thank you to all of the ill paid fantasists and believers who have joined to make this longstanding dream a reality," shared Gilliam.

In Cannes, just a year after the project was first unveiled to the market, French sales banner Alfama labeled the film "illegal" with its CEO Paulo Branco saying that Gilliam had been working behind his back and that he - actually - owned rights to the film.

The film's producers also issued a statement regarding this issue, saying that the claims were "preposterous" and that they had been forced to sue him in four countries.

"Senor Branco is tilting at windmills. He has no rights whatsoever in Don Quixote," they added.

According to the release announcing the production wrap, 'The Man Who Killed Don Quixote' is being produced by Gerardo Herrero, Mariela Besuievsky, Amy Gilliam, Tornasol Films, Kinology, Recorded Picture Company, Entre Chien et Loup and Ukbar Filmes in association with Alacran Pictures, and with the participation of TVE, Movistar +, Eurimages and Wallimage. Kinology is handling worldwide sales.

Amazon Studios has acquired distribution rights for the US, Canada and the U.K., and Telemunchen for Germany and Austria.

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U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has said that President Donald Trump believes in climate change and that humans have a role in it even as she answered a central question in the wake of his decision to withdraw the country from the Paris climate accord.

"President Trump believes the climate is changing and he believes pollutants are part of the equation," CNN quoted Haley, as saying.

When asked why the U.S. pulled out of the climate agreement, Haley blamed former president Barack Obama for agreeing to regulations that were "too onerous," too strict and ultimately unachievable.

"Just because the U.S. got out of a club doesn't mean we aren't going to care about the environment," she added.

"The regulations from the Paris agreement were disadvantaging our companies. I knew that as a governor. The jobs were not attainable as long as we lived under those regulations. It was not possible to meet the goals had we attempted to," she said, adding that "withdrawing from the Paris agreement won't change the country's commitment to curbing climate change."

Haley told CNN that Trump would always have America's best interests at heart, including what he does with regard to protecting the environment.

Earlier, Trump avoided using the words "climate change" in the 2,000-word speech he gave announcing the U.S. would pull out from the Paris climate accord.

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In the wake of the ensuing feud between London Mayor Sadiq Khan with United States President Donald Trump, the United States Conference of Mayors has issued a statement offering its suppport to the former.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors, whose membership includes the more that 1,400 U.S. cities with populations of 30,000 or more, said it "stands united" with Khan.

"He has risen above this crisis of death and destruction, as mayors continue to do, to alleviate fear, to bring comfort to his people of London and to give support to the first responders who continue to protect, defend and provide emergency care to his people of London," the statement said.

"Thank you, Mayor Khan, for your leadership during this crisis," it added.

Trump, a day before, launched an attack on the London Mayor, while apparently misconstruing a statement made by him post the incident.

Trump had tweeted, "At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is "no reason to be alarmed!"

This was in reference to Khan's statement that there was no cause for alarm. It's being touted that he was referring specifically to "a visible increase in police activity on the streets of London in the wake of the attack."

"Londoners will see an increased police presence today and over the course of the next few days. There's no reason to be alarmed," he had said.

Trump's tweets were criticised by a number of British politicians.

A spokesman for Khan called Trump's tweet "ill-informed."

"The Mayor is busy working with the police, emergency services, and the government to coordinate the response to this horrific and cowardly terrorist attack and provide leadership and reassurance to Londoners and visitors to our city," the spokesman said.

"He has more important things to do than respond to Donald Trump's ill-informed tweet that deliberately takes out of context his remarks urging Londoners not to be alarmed when they saw more police - including armed officers - on the streets."

The White House on Monday denied suggestions from U.S. reporters that Trump "picked a fight" with Khan "because he was Muslim".

"I think that to suggest something like that is utterly ridiculous," deputy White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters.

Meanwhile, Khan led a vigil of hundreds of Londoners in rememberance of those who died following Saturday night's terror attack in the capital.

While addressing a multi-cultural audience, Khan said London would never be 'broken by terrorism' and that terrorism would be defeated.

"We stand together tonight to honour the memories of the innocent lives lost and people injured in the barbaric attack on our city. London stands in defiance against this cowardly attack and our city and our people and our values and our way of live," he said.

"As the mayor of London I want to send a clear message to the sick and evil extremists who commit this hideous crimes; we will defeat you. You will not win. And as a proud and patriotic British Muslim I say this: you do not commit these disgusting acts in my name. Your perverse ideology has nothing to do with the true values of Islam and you will never succeed is dividing our city."

'We send our love to the victims' families and all those injures and we thank our courageous emergency services and the brace Londoners who risked their lives. You are the best of us. Our city is filled with great sorrow and anger tonight but also great resolve and determination. Because our unity and love will always be stronger then the hate of the extremists," he added.

Flanked by Amber Rudd and Diane Abbott, Khan also accused United States President Donald Trump of seeking to divide communities in Britain after he took to the social media to criticise his leadership in the wake of the attack.

"Some people thrive on feud and division. We are not going to let Donald Trump divide our communities," The Independent quoted Khan, as saying, while he addressed the media at the Tower Bridge last night.

"I just haven't got time to respond to tweets from Donald Trump. Honestly I've got better and more important things to focus on," he added.

Khan has reportedly also said Trump was wrong about "many things" and that his state visit to the U.K. should not go ahead.

Khan received support from many, including Prime Minister Theresa May.

"I think Sadiq Khan is doing a good job and it's wrong to say anything else - he's doing a good job," she said at a press conference.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said that United States pulling out of Paris climate accord had come as a shock for India.

He hoped that Washington will rethink its decision.

While inaugurating a two-day level conference on 'Capacity Building of State Disaster Response Force-2017', Singh said it was cause of concern for India and the world community if a country thinks only about its own interests.

"U.S. President's statements on Paris climate accord were shocking. I hope USA will rethink over this decision. It has to be seen in what circumstances the U.S. President made the statement on the Paris accord," he added.

United States President Donald Trump had claimed that India signed the Paris climate agreement to get "billions and billions and billions of dollars in foreign aid", which earned him criticisms from India.

However, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj rejected Trump's comment and asserted that India has signed Paris climate pact not because of pressure from any country or due to the lure of money.

Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 agreement to cut emissions saying it undermined the country's economy, cost US jobs, and put it at a disadvantage to other nations.

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The United States has called upon China to release three activists detained for investigating conditions at factories manufacturing shoes under the brand name of U.S. President's daughter Ivanka Trump.

On Monday, Alicia Edwards, a deputy State Department spokeswoman, said that such labor activists can help American companies find abuses in the factories that make their products or parts, reports the New York Times.

"We urge China to release them immediately and otherwise afford them the judicial and fair trial protections to which they are entitled," she said.

According to the Guardian, the three activists were preparing to issue a report accusing factories that make shoes for the daughter of US president Donald Trump of a host of violations including paying below China's legal minimum wage, managers verbally abusing workers and "violations of women's rights".

According to the report, one of the activists, Hua Haifeng, was detained by police on suspicion of "illegal use of monitoring equipment" and two others, Li Zhao and Su Heng, have gone missing and are presumed to be in police custody.

Meanwhile, Chinese officials on Tuesday dismissed the calls to release the activists as at a daily news briefing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said it was an internal Chinese matter.

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Of Rs 1.05 per share

Bharat Electronics announced that the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on 29 May 2017, inter alia, have recommended the final dividend of Rs 1.05 per equity Share (i.e. 105%) , subject to the approval of the shareholders.

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Reported sales nil

Net profit of California Software Company declined 98.36% to Rs 0.12 crore in the quarter ended March 2017 as against Rs 7.31 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2016. There were no Sales reported in the quarter ended March 2017 and during the previous quarter ended March 2016.

For the full year,net profit reported to Rs 1.75 crore in the year ended March 2017 as against net loss of Rs 1.17 crore during the previous year ended March 2016. There were no Sales reported in the year ended March 2017 and during the previous year ended March 2016.

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Indian banks' exposure to troubled telecom companies is not large enough to pose a systemic threat, but defaults could add to problems at banks with weak balance sheets, says Fitch Ratings. The banking sector is already struggling with significant asset quality issues and is likely to require hefty capital injections from the government over the next couple of years.

The credit profiles of Indian telcos are under pressure from fierce competition stemming from the entry into the market of Reliance Jio last year and rising capex required for the roll-out of 4G services. Some companies could find it difficult to service their debt and we have the sector on a negative outlook.

Pressure is most severe at Reliance Communications (Rcom), which we downgraded last week to 'CCC' to reflect the real possibility of some kind of default. The company's EBITDA declined by 30% in the financial year to end-March 2017 and its earning are unlikely to be sufficient to cover interest costs and capex over the coming year. Liquidity was also poor, with cash and equivalents of INR14 billion (USD220 million) well short of covering short-term debt of INR109 billion. Rcom's total debt is around USD7 billion, a significant portion of which is owed to state-owned banks.

Debt servicing could also become at a problem at Aircel and Tata Telecom. Aircel is in the process of merging its wireless operation with Rcom, but the combined entity will still have limited pricing power and high leverage that will constrain its ability to strengthen its network position. We expect both companies to remain under pressure. Meanwhile, media reports suggest Videocon India's lenders have already implemented a corrective action plan that could involve loan restructuring or forced asset sales.

Indian banks already have significant asset quality issues that could be made worse by stress in the telco sector.

However, total debt owed by telcos to banks is only INR913 billion (USD14 billion), accounting for just 1.4% of all bank loans, according to the Reserve Bank of India. Exposure to other troubled sectors is much larger. Lending to iron and steel companies, for example, accounts for 4.7% of total lending. The power sector accounts for 8.7% and the road sector for 2.7%.

Moreover, not all telcos face financial difficulties. Market leader, Bharti Airtel, is likely to meet repayments comfortably on the over USD1 billion that it owes to banks. Vodafone and Idea Cellular are in the process of merging their operations, which will give the new entity a market-leading share. Idea's balance sheet is stretched, but the combined company is unlikely to experience serious problems in servicing its debt. Meanwhile, the risk of Tata Telecom missing payments is mitigated by the potential for its parent company, the Tata Group, to inject equity into its subsidiary. State-owned telcos, BSNL and MTNL, are likely to be in weaker positions, but almost all their debt is owed to the government.

Loans to telcos are also generally backed by spectrum assets, which should provide a better chance of recovery than, for example, a steel factory operating below capacity or a power plant that lacks a power purchase agreement. That said, the sale of spectrum assets might take longer than banks expect and not fetch full value, given that the top-three telcos now have sufficient spectrum to run their operations for the medium term.

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Grasim Industries will be watched. The company said that the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), bench at Ahmedabad, approved of the merger of Aditya Birla Nuvo (ABNL) and Grasim Industries to be followed by the listing of Aditya Birla Financial Services (ABFSL). The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 5 June 2017.

State Bank of India (SBI) has reportedly raised Rs 15000 crore from domestic and foreign institutional investors through qualified institutional placement (QIP) of shares. The IPO closed today, 6 June 2017, morning and is believed to have received demand in excess of Rs 20000 crore, media reported.

SBI announced after market hours yesterday, 5 June 2017, that the meeting of the committee of directors will be held on Thursday, 8 June 2017, to consider and approve the issue price for the equity shares under the QIP. The floor price of the QIP was fixed at Rs 287.58 each for a face value of Re 1 each. The bank said in a statement that it may offer a discount of not more than 5% to the floor price.

Wipro issued clarification to the stock exchanges regarding media news item titled "Wipro promoters in early stage of evaluating sale of part or whole business. The company said that the news article is baseless and malicious. There is no truth to these unsubstantiated rumors, it added. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 5 June 2017.

Cadila Healthcare announced after market hours yesterday, 5 June 2017, that its formulations manufacturing facility at Baddi has received an Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA). This receipt of EIR indicates the successful closure of the inspection points (483s) raised based on the inspection carried out between 21 February 2017 to 1 March 2017.

The board of Adani Power will meet later today, 6 June 2017, to consider slump sale of its mundra power generating business undertaking to its subsidiary company, namely, Adani Power (Mundra).

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Fifteen persons were arrested from Bengaluru on Tuesday and demonetised currency totalling Rs 5.75 crore was seized from them, police said on Tuesday.

This followed the search of a car parked in front of a hotel at Basavanagudi on a tip, Deputy Commissioner of Police S.D. Sharanappa told reporters here.

The three persons were arrested on charges of trying to exchange scrapped currency totalling Rs 2.15 crore, he said.

A car, a two-wheeler and two mobile phones were seized from Iqbal Mohammad, 40, S. Rajesh, 30, and Ravindranath, 44, all from Bengaluru.

Later, P. Sadashiva, 38, and E. Harsha, 40, were arrested on the PES College Main Road along with old notes totalling Rs 1.12 crore. Two mobile phones were seized from them.

Two persons were caught in Gandhi Bazaar while trying to exchange Rs 50 lakh in scrapped notes. A sport utility vehicle and two mobile phones were seized from J. Suresh, 32, and R. Raghunandan, 32.

Four persons were held in Subramanyapura area with demonetised notes totalling Rs 98 lakh. They are C.H. Bharath, 21, K. Srinivas, 50, both from Bengaluru; S.R. Srinivasamurthy, 48, and M.R. Chandre Gowda, 31, from Chikballapur district.

Bengaluru residents V. Murali, 39, G. Balaji, 36, Shafiq Ahmed, 39, and M. Manjunath, 25, were arrested and Rs 1 crore in scrapped notes were seized from them apart from a car.

All the 15 have been booked under the Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Act, 2017.

Similar seizures of scrapped notes and arrests were made in the city earlier too.

On March 23, two men were arrested with demonetised notes totalling Rs 1.28 crore. On March 28, four men were arrested with old notes totalling Rs 4.98 crore.

On April 2, 14 men were arrested with demonetised notes adding up to Rs 9.1 crore. On April 15, former corporator V. Nagaraj's residence and office were raided and demonetised notes totalling Rs 14.8 crore were seized.

On April 29, seven persons were arrested with Rs 96.9 lakh in scrapped currency. And on June 5, five persons were held with Rs 2.50 crore in old notes.

--IANS

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Eight policemen in Jharkhand were injured in a clash with villagers on Tuesday in Gumla district.

The clash took place when a team of police reached Asnitetar village to rescue a family held hostage by the villagers. The family was accused of practicing witchcraft.

When the police team tried to rescue the family members, the villagers clashed with the police personnel. They pelted stones in which eight policemen were injured.

The injured policemen have been admitted to hospital.

Later, another police team was dispatched and the situation was brought under control. Police have detained three persons including a woman.

--IANS

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Bharti Airtel has got approval from the Competition Commission of India for its proposed merger with Telenor (India), the company said in a regulatory filing.

The company has already received approval of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), BSE and National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE) for the proposed merger with Telenor (India).

Airtel had earlier announced (on February 23, 2017) that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Telenor South Asia Investments. As part of the scheme, Airtel will acquire Telenor India's running operations in seven circles - Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh (East), Uttar Pradesh (West) and Assam.

"These circles represent a high population concentration and therefore offer a high potential for growth. The proposed acquisition will include transfer of all of Telenor India's assets and customers, further augmenting Airtel's overall customer base and network," the company said in a statement.

"It will also enable Airtel to further bolster its strong spectrum foot-print in these seven circles, with the addition of 43.4 MHz spectrum in the 1,800 MHz band," it added.

During the acquisition announcement the deal was estimated to be in the range of Rs 1,800 crore-Rs 2,000 crore by industry sources.

--IANS

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Criticism of Army Chief General Bipin Rawat's "dirty war" comments continued on Tuesday, with the CPI-M accusing the General of reflecting the government's view and adding that the Army would suffer "irreparable damage" because of this.

Academician Partha Chatterjee, who wrote an article comparing the Army Chief with General Dyer also defended his comment, and said he had nothing to add to it.

An editorial published in the Communist party of India-Marxist's mouthpiece People's Democracy, which has former CPI-M General Secretary Prakash Karat as its Editor, said the Army Chief by commending Major Leetul Gogoi's action of using a civilian as a human shield "has let down the high professional standards in the Army".

"Unfortunately, the army chief is reflecting the views of the Modi government which seeks to suppress the people of Kashmir, who are voicing their political protest, through the sole reliance on use of force. Not only the people of Kashmir but the army itself will suffer irreparable damage due to the government's blind adherence to the use of coercive force against the civilian population," the editorial said.

The editorial added that General Rawat made no distinction between young protesters throwing stones and armed militants.

"He had, on an earlier occasion, warned that the army would treat all those who do not support army operations or obstruct them during encounters as 'overground workers of terrorists'," it said.

Political theorist and historian Partha Chatterjee, who compared General Rawat with General Dyer who had ordered firing at a crowd gathered in Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar on April 13, 1919 in Amritsar killing scores, defended his comment.

"Whatever I wanted to say, I have made my arguments clearly and as precisely as I could in my article. I have nothing more to add to it or explain," Chatterjee said.

A video, shot on April 9 during the Srinagar by-polls held amid violent incidents, showed a man, later identified as Farooq Ahmad Dar, being tied to the bonnet of an army jeep with a placard in Badgam of Jammu and Kashmir.

An Army Chief's Commendation was awarded to the Major Leetul Gogoi, the officer who took the action, even as the final report of an enquiry constituted by the Army in the incident is yet to come.

Gen Rawat had in a recent interview defended Major Gogoi's action, calling the situation in Kashmir a "dirty war".

--IANS

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Popular writer Anand Neelakantan, Odia poet Haraprasad Das and author Paramita Satpathy were on Tuesday announced winners of the Kalinga Literary Awards.

Tje Kalinga International Literary Award, Kalinga Literary Youth Award and Kalinga Karubaki Award will be conferred upon Neelakantan, Das and Satpathy respectively.

Around 200 celebrities from the world of literature, cinema, media and politics will assemble at the Kalinga Literary Festival from June 10 to 12 in Bhubaneswar to deliberate on the theme 'Literature for Peace and Harmony'.

The fourth edition of Kalinga Literary Festival this year will be inaugurated by Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, while Minister of State for HRD Mahendra Nath Pandey will be the guest of honour and chief keynote speaker.

--IANS

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The BJP on Tuesday accused the Congress of making "baseless" allegations and said the Congress Working Committee meeting should have "worried" about party Vice President Rahul Gandhi rather than attacking the Modi government.

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra sought to make a point-by-point rebuttal of the allegations made by the Congress after the CWC meeting on Tuesday. He said the Modi government was working for the welfare of all sections while the Congress party worked for the "welfare of one family".

Patra said the Congress should not worry about the work done by the Modi government as people were happy as reflected in the results of various elections.

Responding to Congress allegations of fear and tension in the society, Patra raked up the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and said it had "instilled a sense of fear in every citizen".

He also referred to the Emergency imposed by the Indira Gandhi government.

Responding to Congress allegations over unemployment, he said that youth of the country were happy with the Modi government.

"There is only one youth whose future is in jeopardy. Everyone knows who he is," he said.

"The CWC should have worried about Rahul Gandhi," he added.

Patra said he was surprised that the CWC had time to discuss about the BJP and the performance of the Modi government but did not discuss "falling fortunes" of the Congress party.

"The Congress party should have discussed whether there is any working hand left in Congress," Patra said.

He referred to Congress leader P. Chidambaram's comments on Jammu and Kashmir and said he had sought to drag the army into the political arena.

--IANS

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Passengers on board an Australia flight leapt out onto the tarmac on Tuesday when a Sydney-Albury flight was evacuated following a threat note.

The note, discovered in the bathroom of the 68-seater turboprop, Virgin VA1174 flight, said there was a bomb on the aircraft, Xinhua news agency reported citing local media reports.

New South Wales State Police, however, told Xinhua there was no sign of any explosive on board the plane and said they believed the incident was merely a "prank".

Police also said a man has been taken into custody.

It is believed the cabin crew "ripped off" the doors from the inside, after the plane landed and instructed people on board to "leave your luggage. Get out and run, run, run!" one passenger told the Australian Associated Press.

No passenger was reported injured after they jumped from the aircraft. Police emphasised "all of the occupants were secured and safe within five minutes of its landing".

--IANS

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Brazilian President Michel Temer has received 84 questions from the federal police, as part of an investigation against him for alleged corruption.

Temer, who received the questions on Monday, has 24 hours to respond to them in writing, Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday.

According to the G1 news portal, Temer's defence team was surprised to receive the questions, after the Supreme Court authorised the procedure last week.

However, Justice Edson Fachin, who approved the written interrogation, said Temer was not obliged to answer them all.

The questions address the confession made by Joesley Batista, owner of the JBS meat-packing group, to prosecutors, including the presentation of a tape in which Temer can seemingly be heard approving bribes for former House Speaker Eduardo Cunha.

Temer has rejected all accusations against him and refused to step down, despite growing political opposition, including by former allies.

Police sent the questions to Temer a day before the country's top electoral court opens a hearing into supposed irregularities during the 2014 electoral campaign.

Temer, who stood as the running mate of impeached former President Dilma Rousseff, is accused of receiving illegal campaign funding from the Petrobras corruption ring.

If the judges conclude this illegal financing was received, they could invalidate Rousseff and Temer's electoral victory and remove the President from office.

--IANS

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Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba was on Tuesday elected the new Prime Minister of Nepal -- returning to the post 12 years after he was removed from the post by then King Gyanendra.

Immediately after his election, he said his priorities would be holding the local elections and the constitution's implementation. On foreign policy, he said he will maintain good relations with both India and China.

He had, while presenting his candidacy, said he will honestly work for implementation of the new constitution, and will brace his political acumen to address the grievances of the Madhesis and other outstanding political issues.

Seventy-year-old Deuba, who was elected for his fourth stint as Premier exactly a week short of his 71st birthday, received wide political support during the voting in parliament. Of the total 593 voters, 388 voted in his favour as opposed to 170 votes against -- the main opposition Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxists-Leninists), as expected, cast their votes against him.

Two Madhes-based political parties also extended their support after reaching an agreement with him and outgoing PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda', but ruled out joining the government.

Deuba's victory was a foregone conclusion as none of the political parties fielded a candidate against him.

On May 24, then Prime Minister Prachanda had announced his resignation, in keeping with his agreement with the Nepali Congress, which had propped up his coalition government since last August. The two parties had agreed that their respective leaders would lead the government on a rotational basis where Prachanda would take the first nine months and the remaining nine would be of Deuba.

Deuba, who will be the 40th Prime Minister of Nepal, faces a huge domestic political challenge but foreign policy is more settled as his predecessor had almost brought relations with India and China almost back on track.

He will occupy the post for another nine months in a period considered a much challenging phase.

Apart from holding the second and final phase of local elections on June 28, Deuba's other immediate priorities are to take confidence of the Madhesi parties in the constitution implementation process, bringing them on board in the local elections and holding other two elections -- provincial and parliamentary -- later this year.

Born in a simple family, Deuba, who hails from the country's far west, is a well-respected leader for his participation in the struggle for restoring democracy in Nepal.

He was, however, criticised for surrendering democracy twice to the royal palace which removed him most unceremoniously in 2007, labelling him "incompetent", after the Maoists joined the political mainstream.

A long time member of world socialist movement, Deuba has strong political connection to India and the West and exploited several opportunities as PM in the past from these two blocs.

Earlier, speaking in favour of Deuba, Prachanda said: "As the nation needs advanced political agreement to complete some historic tasks and keeping political and moral ground intact, as per the understanding reached with Nepali Congress, I am supporting the candidacy of Deuba."

"Support by the outgoing PM to another incoming Prime Minister is probably a rare incident in world's history," he added.

In his statement prior to the election, CPN(UML) Chairman -- and a former Premier -- K.P. Sharma Oli stated that all sides came to an understanding for pursuing the second phase of local elections with the first phase having been completed on May 14 and for meeting the goal of holding the provincial and parliamentary elections later this year.

--IANS

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The police in southern China have busted a workshop manufacturing methamphetamine hidden in a chicken farm and arrested 20 suspects, authorities said on Tuesday.

More than 200 police officers raided the factory in Gusi, a remote mountain village in Nanning, on May 31, according to Nanning public security bureau.

They confiscated more than 560 kg of methamphetamine, commonly known as ice, and over 140 kg of chloroephedrine, an in-process material for making methamphetamine, drug-making equipment and around $127,000, they said.

Guangxi police obtained information early in March that a man named Liang might be producing drugs in a suburb of Nanning.

After a three-month probe, a large drug racket covering Guangxi, Guangdong and Fujian provinces was uncovered.

The drug ring was well organised. The members were either relatives or fellow-villagers of Liang.

Between January to May, Nanning police have arrested 263 drug suspects, seized more than 2,200 kg drugs, 89 times more than it seized in the same period last year.

Further investigation is on, police said.

--IANS

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Hundreds of Class 12 students who failed to clear the Bihar board exams continued their protest for the seventh consecutive day in Patna on Tuesday demanding their answer sheets be checked again and action taken against top officials, police said.

More than eight lakh of the over 12 lakh students, who appeared for the Class 12 exams conducted by the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB), failed this year. The results were declared last week.

The angry students, led by the CPI student wing AISF, staged a protest outside the Bihar Inter Council office. They later tried to march towards Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's official residence in the high security zone, but were stopped by the police personnel.

A group of protesting students also clashed with the cops. However, the police resorted to baton-charge to disperse the protesters but failed. They later arrested over a dozen protesting students.

"We want re-examination for all and action against the BSEB chairman," a protesting student said.

A police official said the students raised slogans against the Chief Minister, Bihar Minister Ashok Choudhary and BSEB chairman Anand Kishore over the poor results.

In a repeat of last year's events, the BSEB on Friday cancelled the result of Class 12 topper in the Arts stream Ganesh Kumar and arrested him for committing forgery among other charges.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has assured the failed students can apply online for re-evaluation or verification of their answer sheets and these results will be out within a month. He also promised the BSEB will hold compartmental exams soon.

--IANS

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In a shocking incident of honour killing, a pregnant woman was burnt alive by her family members for marrying a Dalit man, a police official said here on Tuesday.

"The incident took place on Saturday evening. Police arrested two persons on Saturday and two more on Sunday. Four more persons are absconding," Deputy Superintendent of Police, Vijayapura, Prabhu Gowda K. Patil, said.

The police have identified the victim as Banu Begum.

The victim's brother Akbar Mohammed Sab Attar, 20; mother Ramzan Bi, 65; sister Dawan Bi alias Salma, 35, and brother-in-law Gilan Daknee, 40, have been arrested.

The incident took place at Gundanakala village in Talikote police limits. Talikote is 83 km from Vijayapura in North Karnataka and 483 km from Bengaluru.

According to police, Banu Begum, 21, was in love with Sayabanna Sharanappa Konnur, 24, of the same village.

"The couple eloped to Goa and got married when their parents did not give their consent to their relationship. They returned on June 3 expecting their parents will accept them," Patil said.

The police said Banu's parents forced her to lodge a complaint against Sayabanna at the Talikote Police Station, alleging that he sexually assaulted her but she refused to oblige.

"Both eloped to Goa in January 2017 and returned to Gundanakala village recently. Banu's parents attacked Sayabanna. He came to the police station to seek protection. Banu's parents set her ablaze before Sayabanna reached home with the police," the Deputy Superintendent of Police said.

A case has been registered at the Talikote Police Station against the accused under various Sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Scheduled Caste and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

"We produced the accused in Vijayapura District Court on Monday. They have been remanded to judicial custody," Patil said.

"We have formed a special team to nab the (remaining) accused," he added.

--IANS

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Hundreds of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) supporters led by party chief Bimal Gurung waved black flags and burnt effigy of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as they brought out a protest rally in Darjeeling district demanding the state government come up with a written circular about not making Bengali compulsory in the hills.

Slogans like "Didi go back" were heard from the rally, held a day after Banerjee accused the GJM-run Gorkhaland Territorial Administration - the development body in the north Bengal hills - of "spreading falsehood" about "imposition" of Bengali language.

Stating that the people of the hills are with them, Gurung claimed their party members would resign from the semi-autonomous administrative body soon and fight for the cause of the separate state of Gorkhaland.

"The people of the hills are still with the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha. We are unitedly fighting for Gorkhaland.

"Within the next 15-20 days, our board members will resign from the GTA and fight for the cause of Gorkhaland. We will also take forward our protest against the recent dispute on the language issue," he said.

The GJM leader hinted that the situation can become more hostile in the coming days.

"Let alone bandh (shutdown) in the hills, anything can happen here in the present situation. Nothing can be said in this regard," he warned.

On the other hand, the Trinamool Congress activists took out a rally in adjoining Kurseong district demanding arrests of the culprits in the murder of Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League chief Madan Tamang in 2010.

Tamang, a prominent hill leader opposed to the GJM, was stabbed to death in broad daylight in Darjeeling on May 21, 2010 while he was preparing for a public rally.

Senior GJM leaders including Gurung have been charged in the case. Gurung however, was given bail by the Calcutta High Court.

Banerjee on Monday viciously attacked the GJM claiming they are spreading lies about government's new three language policy and trying to create a divide between Bengali and Nepali communities in the hills. She also vowed to take action against the GTA board members if a special audit ordered by her government revealed that money had been misused.

The demand for Gorkhaland - to be carved out of the northern Bengal hills - was first raised by the Gorkha National Liberation Front in the 1980s. The GJM took centre stage from around 2008, by nudging out the GNLF. The movement has left many dead over the past three decades, besides affecting the region's economy based on tea, timber and tourism.

--IANS

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Two-wheeler maker Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Pvt Ltd is targeting 20 per cent growth to touch six million units this fiscal, said a company official. It also inaugurated its new zonal office in Coimbatore on Tuesday.

"This year we are aiming 6 million units with 20 per cent growth over the large existing base. Undoubtedly, our aggressive plans for key states, including Tamil Nadu, will play an important role in contributing to this growth of Honda in India," Minoru Kato, President and CEO, was quoted as saying in a statement.

The firm said the opening of its new zonal office is a step towards regional consolidation. Coimbatore is around 500 km from Chennai.

The company said it is the number one selling two-wheeler brand in Tamil Nadu.

Kato said the Indian operations was the topmost contributor to Honda's global two wheeler sales.

--IANS

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"We were in a festive mood just after the celebrations for the Bengali new year. All preparations were made to harvest our crops but the sudden heavy rainfall and flash flood destroyed everything," says Shafikul Islam, a farmer from Tahirpur Sadar in Sunamganj district, north-eastern Bangladesh. "The flood from Meghalaya (in India) submerged our farmlands, breaking the embankments. We lost everything."

Islam's lament is depressingly familiar in the bowl-shaped wetlands -- called haors -- in north-eastern Bangladesh, where thousands of farmers like him lose their crops to severe flooding whenever it rains heavily in the southern reaches of Meghalaya. Known as the wettest region of India, Meghalaya ("abode of clouds" in Sanskrit) receives, on average, 120 cm of rainfall per year. Whenever it rains there, people living around the haors in Bangladesh are apprehensive.

But this year's flash flood was different says Istiak Sobhan, environmental specialist at the World Bank in Bangladesh. Usually the region experiences flash floods in mid-May when farmers have already harvested their spring crops, he said. But this year the region was submerged by a sudden flash flood in April, destroying the harvest.

The valleys of Meghalaya on the north of the ridge bordering Bangladesh do not escape unscathed from the rains. The incessant rains that flooded the haors at the end of April also led to a flash flood in Meghalaya's south-west Garo Hills district, submerging houses and agricultural land, and causing damage to roads and fish ponds. In East Garo Hills, residents reported that the Simsang river was flowing close to the danger mark. Other rivers were also in spate.

Although the damage in Meghalaya was not very high, the loss to haor farmers in Bangladesh has been extensive. In Netrokona district alone, around 73,070 hectares of paddy fields were submerged. "This paddy would have produced at least 281,320 tonnes of rice, the current market value of which is nearly $1.2 million," Bilash Chandra Pal, the Netrokona district agricultural officer, told the media.

The early flash flood also destroyed the spring Boro rice crop in more than 200,000 hectares of haor land in the Sunamganj, Sylhet, Moulvibazar, Netrokona and Kishoreganj districts.

Boro is the major paddy crop in Bangladesh, accounting for 19 of 34 million tonnes of annual production in the country, according to the Department of Agriculture Extension. The damage to two million tonnes of rice will cause the country to suffer for the rest of the year, and its impact has already been noticed following a hike in the prices of staple foods in the market, says agricultural economist Quazi Shahabuddin.

The Bangladesh government is planning to buy 600,000 tonnes of rice from international markets, including India and Thailand. "We have already sought international tender to procure 100,000 tonnes of rice, even though we have not procured rice from the international market for the last six years," says Mohammad Badrul Hasan, Director General of Bangladesh's Department of Food.

In addition to the loss of a good harvest, farmers and fishermen in the affected region complained of fish dying due to water contamination. At least 300,000 farmers were severely affected, which also created an acute shortage of fodder, forcing distress sales of farm animals.

Duck farming is one of the major sources of livelihood in the haor region, but birds are dying due to the toxic gases and polluted water from rotten rice. People are leaving their homes and are forecasting a severe crisis of food and lack of livelihood in the area. The government has already banned fishing in a number of haors, which is a wetland ecosystem recognised by the Ramsar Convention.

Aziz Mia, a duck farmer who lives in Bishwambarpur, told thethirdpole.net <http://thethirdpole.net> that he had never seen such a flood in his life. He lost all 150 of his ducks and is now thinking of migrating to Sylhet city (Jalalabad) to look for work.

Towards the end of March, the rainfall in Sylhet, which is south of Meghalaya and across the border, was four times more than in the same days last year, according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department. Rainfall was above normal from March 1 to May 10 this year in the north-east region of India, according to India Meteorological Department.

Although the role of climate change in flash floods such as these is yet to be firmly established, pre-monsoon rainfall and its intensity may increase in the future, according to a recent study by the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET).

There is a need to prepare for the erratic monsoon rainfall, says A.K.M. Saiful Islam, professor at the university's Institute of Water and Flood Management and lead author of the study. But the annual damage to the haor region cannot be tackled by Bangladesh alone. Both India and Bangladesh need to exchange information on potential floods.

(In arrangement with thethirdpole.net. Views expressed are those of thethirdpole.net. Feedback at information@thethirdpole.net)

--IANS

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India is providing a $71.40 million line of credit (LoC) to Cote d'Ivoire to finance the upgrading of four military hospitals in Abidjan, Korhogo, Bouake and Daloa regions.

Under the LoC, the Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) will reimburse 100 per cent of contract value to Indian exporters, upfront upon shipment of goods. The LoC will be used for sourcing of goods and services from India.

An agreement was signed by Exim Bank's Managing Director David Rasquinha and Ivorian Minister of Planning and Development Niale Kaba.

Exim Bank said with the signing of the agreement, it has so far extended six LoCs worth $207.70 million to Cote d'Ivoire.

This has helped finance the export of agricultural machinery and equipment, agricultural processing plants, buses and spare parts, and services for projects in areas such as rural electrification and transmission lines.

Others areas covered include construction of power sub-stations, fisheries development and the setting up of a Biotechnology and an Information Technology Park in the country.

India imports from Cote d'Ivoire cashew, manganese ore, cotton, wood, scrap metals and rubber. Cote d'Ivoire is the second largest exporter of cashew in the world.

India's main exports are cereals (rice), pharmaceutical products, machinery, articles of iron, chemicals, plastics, rubber products and vehicles.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Indian basket of crude oils closed below the psychologically important $50-a-barrel mark on Monday as geopolitical tensions in the West Asia raised market concerns.

Crude prices continued on their downward spiral following the Opec cartel's decision last month to extend output cuts.

According to the latest official data, the Indian basket, comprising 73 per cent sour-grade Dubai and Oman crudes, and the balance in sweet-grade Brent, closed trade on Monday at $48.58 for a barrel of 159 litres. It had previously closed lower on Friday at $48.53.

The US West Texas Intermediate for July delivery lost $0.26 to settle at $47.40 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Monday, while Brent crude for August delivery erased 48 cents to close at $49.47 a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing the Gulf state of supporting and financing "terrorism" as well as of interfering in their internal affairs.

The decision of a number of Arab countries to sever diplomatic relations with gas-rich Qatar would impose a strict regional isolation on Doha, and raised concerns about a global deal reached last month to reduce oil production in order to check the fall in prices resulting from a global supply glut.

The 13-nation Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) late in May agreed in Vienna to extend for nine months the output cut agreement put in place for six months effective from January 1. The extension of the accord, which was to expire in June, would effectively lower the Opec's production by 1.8 million barrels per day.

Earlier last month, Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed on the need to prolong the current agreement on oil production cuts.

In early December, oil producers outside Opec, led by Russia, agreed to reduce output by 558,000 barrels per day (bpd). This decision came in the wake of Opec's November 30 decision to cut output by 1.2 million bpd for six months effective from January 1.

The Opec basket of 13 crude oils closed trade on Monday at $47.37 a barrel.

In December, it was the first time since 2001 that Opec and some of its rivals had reached a deal to jointly reduce output to tackle the global oil glut.

had earlier fallen by more than 50 per cent in less than two years, from levels of over $120 a barrel.

While the Opec and non-Opec producers agreed to extend until March 2018 their ongoing oil output cuts, India has reached an understanding with the global oil cartel to establish a joint working group to serve as a forum for "producer-consumer dialogue" to address mutual concerns.

Indian Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan was present in Vienna at the time of the Opec meeting on May 25 that agreed to extend the ouptput cuts, and led the Indian side at the India-Opec Dialogue earlier that week.

"I believe the purpose of setting up this institutional dialogue is to exactly serve this, and to have a dialogue between Opec as a producer and India as a consumer, to sensitise each other's concerns and to better understand our perspectives," he said at the meeting.

In the talks with Opec Secretary General Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, the Indian minister told Opec to address concerns of major buyers like India at a time when there were multiple options in a situation of supply glut caused by US shale oil.

Making their fortnightly revision in fuel prices on June 1, state-run oil marketing companies in India raised the price of petrol by Rs 1.23 per litre, and of diesel by 89 paise, excluding state levies. Petrol in Delhi currently costs Rs 66.91 a litre, while diesel costs Rs 55.94.
Braving the rough sea, Indian Coast Guard Ship Rajkiran on Monday saved the lives of six people who were clinging to a sinking boat, about nine nautical miles from Paradip lighthouse in Odisha, a statement said.

The coast guard ship was on a routine patrolling duty and sighted the partially-sunken boat at about 2.30 p.m., a Coast Guard release said.

"Six persons were seen clinging to the sinking boat and they had no other means of survival. Despite the rough sea, which not only makes such rescue difficult but also requires adept handling by the ship's crew, ICGS Rajkiran proceeded to rescue the survivors," the release said.

The rescued members were provided with first aid and food onboard.

The survivors informed that the boat belonged to Odisha and one of the crew members was missing.

"IG K.S. Sheoran, the Coast Guard Regional Commander (NE) has said that ICGS Rajkiran would continue to patrol the area in search of the missing member and hand over the survivors to Paradip," the release added.

--IANS

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An Indian origin charitable organization, Tulsi Chanrai Foundation (TCF), has provided public healthcare to over three million disadvantaged children and adults in Nigeria.

TCF achieved the feat in the past two decades through its three key programmes: Mission for Vision, Mission for Primary Health and Mission for Water.

TCF, which started operations in 1994, is the charity wing of the Chanrai family which set up the first Indian company in Nigeria in 1923. The company has since become one of the most successful and respected business houses in the country.

The TCF report for 2015-16 said the Chanrai family has businesses in the areas of trade, manufacturing, agriculture and finance and currently employs about 30,000 people in Nigeria. It is one of the largest employer of local staff among the private sector in Nigeria.

The Nigerian government has accorded TCF the status of an International NGO.

Since its inception, the TCF report said, more than 100,000 eye surgeries had been performed in Nigeria, restoring vision to the poor.

Also, over 1.5 million mothers and children have been provided access to basic healthcare services.

In the same period, 4,384 hand pumps and 85 solar and electric bore holes have been rehabilitated to provide potable water to 1.95 million people.

"When Nigeria is battling internally with acute insurgency and economic recession for a protracted period, TCF remain committed in extending its services unabated and assist the needy across the country," the report said.

In 2015-16, the TCF said, it undertook several other projects including setting up the G.K. Chanrai Memorial Hospital in Zaria Kaduna.

From April 15, 2015 to March 16 last year, a total of 195,317 people were treated and 83,050 infants immunized.

The report said its Mission for Vision programme aimed to reduce avoidable blindness, predominantly cataract, among the rural poor of Nigeria by providing high quality ophthalmic surgeries for free.

"As a result, a large number of underprivileged people in and around Katsina, Kebbi and Cross River states have been able to avail of high quality eye treatment for cataract and glaucoma at no cost."

--IANS

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Iraqi paramilitary Hashd Shaabi units on Monday recaptured nine villages from Islamic State (IS) militants near the Iraqi-Syrian border.

The Hashd Shaabi units, backed by the army's helicopter gunships, liberated nine villages scattered in west of the newly freed town of Baaj, some 20km east of the Syrian border, Xinhua reported.

Baaj is located in the rugged sprawling area in south of the town of Sinjar, some 100km west of Mosul.

During the day, the paramilitary units killed some 37 IS militants and the gunships destroyed four suicide car bombs trying to stop the advance of the units, the statement said, adding that the forces destroyed several IS headquarters and posts outside and inside the town.

The units also seized a T-72 tank and three heavy machine guns, along with different kinds of weapons and ammunition.

The operation near the border is part of a major offensive designed to secure the border areas with neighboring Syria and cut off IS supply routes between Mosul and the Syrian city of Raqqa, the de-facto capital of the IS self-declared caliphate.

On May 29, the units made their first arrival at the Iraqi-Syrian border after they freed the town of al-Qahtaniyah, some 18 km east of the Syrian border.

The operations near the Syrian border came as Iraqi security forces, backed by the anti-IS international coalition, were simultaneously conducting a major offensive to dislodge IS militants from their major stronghold in western Mosul.

Mosul, 400 km north of Baghdad, has been under IS control since June 2014, when government forces abandoned their weapons and fled, enabling IS militants to control parts of Iraq's northern and western regions.

--IANS

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Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Tuesday regretted the recent crisis between Saudi Arabia and its allies against Qatar, and vowed to cooperate with any state to defeat the Islamic State militants.

"We regret the differences that swept the region recently," Abadi, was quoted by Xinhua news agency after his weekly cabinet meeting.

Abadi referred to the crisis between some Arab nations and Qatar, when the Saudi Arabia and its allies severed diplomatic ties with Qatar in an escalation of power struggle in the Middle East, which observers believe that it created serious crack in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

The states of the Middle-East region have realized that no state is far from terrorism, saying, "Iraq is ready to cooperate with ant state wants to eradicate terrorism," Abadi told reporters at the televised press conference.

"Terrorism does not target a particular party or sect, but it seeks to target life in all its forms," Abadi said.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Yemen, Egypt and Libya on Monday announced cutting diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing the Gulf state of supporting and financing "terrorism" as well as interfering in their internal affairs. Qatar denies the accusations.

Meanwhile, Abadi also said that the Iraqi government will not allow any Iraqi force to cross the Syrian border to fight the Islamic State militants in the neighbouring country.

"We are now taking control of the Iraqi-Syrian border. Iraq does not want to enter into a conflict within the Syrian territory," Abadi added, rejecting some media reports that said the predominantly Shiite Hashd Shaabi units could enter Syria to support the Syrian government forces against the Syrian rebels.

The paramilitary units are conducting a major offensive designed to secure the border areas with neighbouring Syria and cut off IS supply routes between Mosul and the Syrian city of Raqqa, the de-facto capital of the IS declared caliphate.

On May 29, the units made their first arrival at the Iraqi-Syrian border and continued clearing dozens of villages in the rugged sprawling area between Iraq's northern province of Nineveh and its western province of Anbar.

The operations near the Syrian border came as Iraqi security forces, backed by the anti-IS international coalition, were simultaneously conducting a major offensive to dislodge IS militants from their remaining redoubt in the western side of Mosul.

--IANS

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Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday left on a four-day official visit to Paris to participate in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) meetings and hold bilateral talks.

"The Finance Minister will arrive in Paris on Tuesday evening and on Wednesday, he will deliver the keynote address at OECD meeting," the Finance Ministry said here in a statement.

"Later, Jaitley will participate in a panel discussion on 'Stocktaking on Globalisation'. Other participants in the panel discussion include OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Denmark Anders Samuelsen, Minister of Trade of Australia Steven Ciobo as well as Finance Ministers of the UK and Sweden," the statement said.

Jaitley will then join the luncheon session on "The Challenges of Globalisation and the OECD", and will also hold a bilateral meeting with OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria.

Later, he will participate in the OECD Forum on "Cashless Society and Fintech", and hold a bilateral meeting with Denmark Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen.

"Thereafter, the Finance Minister will participate in the signing ceremony for Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Convention and will make a statement there. Thereafter, he will hold a bilateral meeting with Finland Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Kai Mykkanen," the ministry statement said.

Jaitley is scheduled to attend a ministerial dinner hosted by Lars Lokke Rasmussen, the Prime Minister of Denmark.

On June 8, Jaitley will call on his French counterpart and Minister of Defence Sylvie Goulard. Afterwards, he will meet Pierre Gattaz, President of Mouvement des Entreprises de France, the largest employer federation in France.

"The Finance Minister will also make a statement at the conference on business opportunities between the African Tech System and the Global Tech World. Later, he will address the Investors Roundtable Session co-organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and global banking major BNP Paribas," it said.

On June 9, Jaitley will call on French Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire. In the evening, he will leave for India and arrive in the national capital on the morning of June 10.

--IANS

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Kuwait has offered to mediate in the crisis between Qatar and its estranged Arab neighbours, a media report said on Tuesday.

The Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah, asked his Qatari counterpart, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to exercise self-control and refrain from taking steps which could worsen the situation, the Kuwaiti news agency Kuna reported.

Following the telephonic conversation, Al Thani decided to postpone the speech he had planned to give to the Qatari people following the diplomatic crisis, Efe news reported.

This was to give the Kuwait Emir the time to make contacts with the parties of the conflict and try to contain the damage, a Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry statement said.

Following the diplomatic crisis, Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani met his Omani counterpart Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah.

Oman, which has not joined the diplomatic boycott, has mediated in other times in regional conflicts such as the war in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain announced on Monday they had cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, whom they accuse of supporting terrorism and undermining stability in the region. Libya and the Maldives followed suit.

--IANS

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The Congress on Tuesday accused the Modi government of "crushing voices of dissent" and attacked it over its performance in the last three years, calling it a "hero on TV and zero on the ground".

Briefing reporters after a meeting of the Congress Working Committee, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said the government had failed to fulfill its promises to various sections, including the youth and farmers.

He alleged that government machinery was being used to "silence voices of dissent".

"Whether it is political parties, print or electronic media, the government does not respect voice of dissent. It seems it does not respect democracy," Azad said.

The meeting of CWC, which is the highest decision-making body of the Congress, was chaired by Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

Azad, who was accompanied by Congress leaders Mukul Wasnik, A.K. Antony and P. Chidambaram, said the government may celebrate its three years and congratulate itself on television, but its performance has been disappointing.

"This is a government of slogans and publicity. It is hero on TV and zero on the ground," Azad said.

He said there was an atmosphere of fear among the Dalits, Scheduled Tribes, minorities and weaker sections.

"Even the which does not toe the government line, how it has been dealt with, we saw yesterday," Azad said.

He was referring to CBI searches on Monday at the house of NDTV network's co-founder Prannoy Roy for allegedly causing financial losses to a private bank.

"Yesterday, we were seeing shamelessness. People have vanished with thousands of crores of bank money, what happened in Rs 50 crore that the government got rattled?" Azad said.

The CBI had registered a case against Roy, his wife Radhika, a private company and conducted searches at his south Delhi residence and his house in Dehradun for "loss of Rs 48 crore to ICICI Bank".

Azad alleged that women did not feel safe in the country. He said BJP leaders had talked of generating two crore employment opportunities every year, but youth were actually losing jobs.

He said farmers had been promised minimum support price that was 50 per cent over the input cost.

"The promises have proved to be false," he said, adding that a large number of farmers commit suicide every year in the country.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Room-sharing between mother and the baby beyond the first four months is associated with less sleep and unsafe sleeping practices, new research has found.

Researchers in the US found that babies who shared a room at four months were more likely to have a blanket, pillow or other unapproved object that could increase chances of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), the sudden unexplained death of a child less than one year of age.

"Waiting too long (for room separation) can have negative effects on sleep quality for both parents and infants in both the short and long term," said Ian Paul, Professor of Pediatrics at Penn State College of Medicine, Pennsylvania, US.

"Inadequate infant sleep can lead to obesity, poor sleep later in life and can negatively affect parents," Paul added.

In the study, researchers used data they had collected from the INSIGHT study which included 279 mothers, who gave birth at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, and their babies.

At four months, children who slept independently in their own room averaged 45 minutes longer stretches of continuous sleep than those who shared a room with a parent.

At nine months, the gap widened to one hour and 40 minutes, according to the findings published in the journal Pediatrics.

Additionally, babies who shared a room were more likely to be moved into their parent's bed overnight at both four and nine months old.

The findings challenge the American Academy of Pediatrics' (AAP) recommendations for parents to keep babies in the same room with them to sleep for the first year to prevent sudden infant death syndrome.

"Our findings showing poorer sleep-related outcomes and more unsafe sleep practices for babies who room-share beyond early infancy suggest that the AAP should reconsider and revise the recommendation pending evidence to support it," Paul said.

--IANS

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Keralities in Qatar on Tuesday said there is no emergency situation in the country after seven Gulf countries snapped diplomatic ties with it on Monday.

"There is no situation of emergency as such here. The social media is twisting things, and maybe that led to a rush in the supermarkets here," C.V.M. Vanimel, a social activist from Kerala, said, speaking to the media here from Doha.

"The cabinet meeting held yesterday (Monday) made it very clear that there be no reason for any panic as food items will be made available," said Vanimel.

"Given our understanding of things, hectic diplomatic efforts are currently on to ease the situation."

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, Libya, the UAE and the Maldives on Monday severed diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terror groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood. Qatar, however, denied the allegations.

"The media should not go overboard as it creates a panic," Vanimel said.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have also closed their borders preventing any movement by road, to and from Qatar. Also, their airlines have decided to stop flight operations to Qatar.

Passengers who arrived from Doha at Kochi and Kozhikode airports on Tuesday morning said "as things stand, there are no issues there (in Qatar)". They, however, expressed concern over the operation of flights.

Kerala Local Bodies Minister K.T. Jaleel told the media here on Tuesday that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has already written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking for his immediate intervention to see that Indians are taken care of.

"When schools are closed there and if foreign airlines are not operating, there would be problems. Air India should ensure operation of more flights. The already high price of air tickets during summer rush could shoot up even higher," said Jaleel.

With other Middle East airlines stopping their services, Qatar Airways and Air India are operating services to and from three Kerala airports, and if additional flights are not run and present embargo against Qatar is not lifted, things could go haywire, a worried officials said.

The banks and foreign exchange outlets have been directed not to exchange money for Qatari Riyal, said an airline source.

According to a study report, there are around 1.5 lakh Keralites in Qatar.

Around 4.82 million Indians live in the Gulf, including 630,000 in Qatar.

--IANS

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If you had experienced the "indestructible" a decade ago, you must have waited for it after a long hiatus once the news broke of its resurrection.

The nostalgia associated with -- born in the year 2000 with a dark blue body which saw an entire generation grew up loving the device -- is something the new Nokia seller HMD Global (that acquired the rights to use the Nokia brand for 10 years from Microsoft) sensed and has now brought it back to life.

Priced at Rs 3310, the feature phone is here to compete in a completely new Indian market which is inundated with cheaper Chinese smartphones as well as several feature phones.

Will the mix of nostalgia and tech help live up to expectations?

Let's find out.

The company has given the device a jazzy, modern look by symmetrically placing camera, call button and power button, thus wrapping the squarish function key.

Available in four stunning colours, the plastic body device has two SIM slots and a MicroSD card slot (32GB).

Lighter and slimmer than the original device, Nokia 3310 runs on "Series 30+" operating system and has a basic user interface.

The phone has a curved glass casing over the 2.4-inch screen and has 2G support with no Wi-Fi connectivity. However, the Nokia Slam feature allows you to connect to other Nokia phones and Android phones.

If you ask us what is the best feature, we will say battery.

With 1,200mAh battery, the device offers 22 hours of talk time and has up to a month's standby time!

So if your smartphone is dead and you don't have a powerbank or a charging point near you, Nokia 3310 will help you reach out to the world in case of an emergency.

Unlike smartphones, a feature phone needs to be charged once every few weeks if not used and does not take much time to come back to life.

For us, the battery lasted for more than two days with regular use.

Another interesting feature is the "Snake" game; the snake is fatter and hungrier than it was in the earlier device.

The device has the trial versions of two games -- Asphalt 6: Adrenaline and Diamond Twister -- pre-installed.

Apart from that, you can use 2G internet to browse and even scroll through Facebook with the Messenger capabilities built-in.

There is not much to expect from the 2MP rear camera that shoots average photos. The flash accompanying the camera works better as a torch.

What does not work?

The low-light camera performance is better than no performance at all. The flash cannot be used when one is recording video.

Conclusion: In the feature phone market, Nokia 3310 has a chance when it comes to brand recall and nostalgia. It is not a high-end device but a basic one to connect you with the world.

It will not be a bad idea to make it your second phone if you don't want various digital platforms to disturb your peace and only wish to connect with near and dear ones -- with Nokia 3310 once again back in your pocket.
Oil prices settled lower on Monday as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East raised market concerns.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing the Gulf state of supporting and financing "terrorism" as well as interfering in their internal affairs.

The decision of a number of Arab countries to sever diplomatic relations with gas-rich Qatar would impose a strict regional isolation on Doha and raised concerns about a global deal to reduce oil production, Xinhua quoted analysts as saying.

The West Texas Intermediate for July delivery lost $0.26 to settle at $47.40 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for August delivery erased 0.48 dollar to close at $49.47 a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A small incident has flared up into a communal clash in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar, leaving one dead and another critically injured, the police said on Tuesday.

The clash late on Monday night was triggered by a spat earlier in the afternoon between two men in Naseerpur village when one was going to offer prayers and the other splashed some water on him.

By late evening both sides came face-to-face and opened fire at each other. A father and son were shot at and injured.

The son, Aakash, was rushed to Meerut in a critical condition where he died from his injuries. Brajlal, the other injured person, was said to be in a critical condition.

Earlier on Monday, just before the clashes broke out, a village panchayat had almost sorted out the matter. However, the fragile peace was shattered by nightfall.

The situation took an ugly turn and a communal colour, an official said.

Heavy police reinforcements have been rushed to the village to contain the violence from spreading.

--IANS

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Geneva, June 6 (IANS/AKI) Libyan coastguard picked up 110 African migrants, including 40 women and three children, the United Nations migration agency said on Tuesday.

The migrants were plucked from the sea off the coastal city of Zliten in northeast Libya, the International Organisation for Migration said.

Following the rescue mission, the migrants were taken to Al Khums detention centre, IOM said.

A total of 8,293 migrants have been rescued off Libya's coast this year as of June 4, and 236 corpses have been recovered, IOM said.

The great majority (85 per cent) of the 71,418 migrants who reached Europe this year till June 4 arrived in Italy, amid a surge in crossings via the perilous Central Mediterranean route from Libya, according to IOM.

Although migrants deaths in the Mediterranean this year till June 4 stood at 1,650 - 862 fewer than in 2016 - the proportion of people who perished almost doubled from last year, when 2,512 died and 206,790 reached Europe.

The Libyan coastguard, which has received offshore training from European nations including Britain, has been accused of shooting and beating refugees and causing hundreds to drown, and of attacking international rescue ships.

Rights groups have also highlighted the plight of migrants held in detention centres in chaos-wracked Libya, which lacks an asylum system, where the rule of law is absent and allegations of torture, rape and killings are rife.

The European Union has pledged tens of millions of euros for authorities in Libya in a push to stop the Mediterranean crossings, a policy that could fuel horrific abuse of migrants, US-based Refugees International warned last week in a report.

--IANS/AKI

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Actress Parul Yadav began shooting for Kannada film "Butterfly", a remake of Vikas Bahl's "Queen", on Monday on the occasion of her birthday.

"It's the most overwhelming feeling that I get to start this very important film of my career on my birthday. It has been a wonderful journey so far, but I am really looking forward to this new chapter that will unfold in my life," Parul said in a statement.

She believes this year is going to be very special for her.

Directed by Ramesh Arvind, the film stars Parul in the title role, originally essayed by Kangana Ranaut.

The film also stars Amy Jackson in the role played by Lisa Haydon in the original movie.

Last seen on screen in Kannada film "Jessie", Parul has two more projects in the language in kitty.

--IANS

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Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will operate special flights to Doha to bring back Pakistani pilgrims stranded there, a day after several countries including Saudi Arabia and the UAE cut diplomatic ties with Qatar.

PIA Chief Financial Officer Nayyar Hayat had directed that special flights be arranged for the stranded pilgrims, Dawn newspaper reported on Tuesday.

During Ramadan, Pakistani pilgrims who were travelling to Saudi Arabia for Umrah via Qatar were stranded in Doha after seven countries severed diplomatic ties with Qatar for supporting terrorism and extremism.

Saudi Arabia and its allies closed all land sea and air contacts with Qatar.

Hayat asked the country manager of PIA to coordinate with the Pakistanis stuck in Qatar. PIA officials in Doha were directed to contact the Pakistani Embassy.

Qatar called the decision "unjustified and based on slander".

--IANS

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The All India Management Association (AIMA) will hold a special session to mark its diamond jubilee on July 7, and President Pranab Mukherjee will attend it, an official statement said.

The event will be held in Rashtrapati Bhavan.

AIMA is the apex body for management in the country. It provides various services in testing, distance education, skill development, training, research, publications and management development programmes.

--IANS

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Nepal has expressed concerns over the situation of its workers employed in the Gulf nations after seven countries, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt and Libya, cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates took the largest number of Nepali migrant workers in the year 2015-16, the Department of Foreign Employment of Nepal said.

A total of 320,360 Nepalis reached these three countries for employment while a total of 3,146 reached Bahrain in 2015-16, Xinhua news agency reported.

Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said it was monitoring the situation following the diplomatic stand-off among Gulf nations.

"We have instructed Nepali embassies in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Egypt to assess situation for Nepali migrant workers," MoFA spokesman Bharat Raj Paudyal said.

Rohan Gurung, General Secretary of Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies, said: "Question has arisen over what happens to Nepalis working in branches of Qatari companies in other countries which severed ties with Qatar."

He also said that until Qatar Airlines and Himalayan Airlines which have direct air connectivity with Doha increase number of flights, movement of Nepali migrant workers to Qatar may come down.

However, Nepal's Ministry of Labour and Employment said that it is yet to assess impact of diplomatic stand-off between Qatar and other Gulf countries on the Nepali migrant workers.

"We have not seen much impact immediately because there are not many Nepalis who have to travel from one country to another for employment," said Govindamani Bhurtel, spokesperson of the Ministry.

--IANS

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Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said he hoped that the United States will rethink about its decision to withdraw from the Paris climate change accord.

He further said that he was shocked over President Donald Trump's charge that India signed the Paris agreement to get "billions and billions and billions" of dollars from developed nations.

On Thursday, Trump announced the US's withdrawal from the Paris climate deal by calling it "draconian". In his comments on the occasion, he particularly targeted India.

"There are no political or administrative boundaries of disaster. To protect the environmental from imbalance, the international community needs to be on the same plane. Sometime, if any country thinks of its own interest only and gives out the message that the whole world is not united on the issue, it's a matter of concern," Rajnath Singh said at a conference on 'Capacity Building of State Disaster Response Forces'.

"I don't know in which circumstances he gave the statement but I hope that the US will rethink the issue," the Minister said.

Rajnath Singh's remarks came a day after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj rubbished President Trump's charge and said that to accuse India of signing the agreement because it was pressurised by some countries or out of greed for foreign aid is completely baseless and unfortunate.

--IANS

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A three-day textile exhibition will be held at Gandhinagar in Gujarat from June 30, a senior official of the Union Ministry of Textiles said here on Tuesday.

"The exhibition -- Textiles India 2017 -- will showcase India's strength in textiles and apparel value chain from fibre to fashion. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the exhibition," Joint Secretary of Union Ministry of Textiles Puneet Agarwal told reporters.

The exhibition will cover the textile industry, comprising display of products from manufacturers, exporters and other stakeholders.

"There will be round-table conferences, fashion show, and theme pavilions of partner states Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and Maharashtra with focus on Gujarat," Agarwal said.

According to him, the exhibition will be spread across an area of 1,25,000 square metre. Over 1,000 exhibitors are expected to participate in the exhibition. Around 30 countries are expected to showcase their products and over 2,500 international buyers from 60 countries are likely to visit the exhibition.

"Seven international conferences, 24 round-table conferences, country and state sessions, business to business, business to government and government to government meetings will be held during the three-day exhibition," he said.

--IANS

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(One of the most anticipated novels of 2017, "The Ministry of Utmost Happiness" will hit the bookstands across India on Tuesday, June 6. The novel comes 20 years after the author's "The God of Small Things", which won the Booker Prize in 1997 and was a bestseller in more than 30 languages worldwide.)

The first time she made her way past the crowd -- the sellers of ittars and amulets, the custodians of pilgrims' shoes, the cripples, the beggars, the homeless, the goats being fattened for slaughter on Eid and the knot of quiet, elderly eunuchs who had taken up residence under a tarpaulin outside the shrine - and entered the tiny red chamber, Jahanara Begum became calm. The street sounds grew faint and seemed to come from far away. She sat in a corner with her baby asleep on her lap, watching people, Muslim as well as Hindu, come in ones and twos, and tie red threads, red bangles and chits of paper to the grille around the tomb, beseeching Sarmad to bless them. It was only after she noticed a translucent old man with dry, papery skin and a wispy beard of spun light sitting in a corner, rocking back and forth, weeping silently as though his heart was broken, that Jahanara Begum allowed her own tears to fall. This is my son, Aftab, she whispered to Hazrat Sarmad. I've brought him here to you. Look after him. And teach me how to love him.

Hazrat Sarmad did.

For the first few years of Aftab's life, Jahanara Begum's secret remained safe. While she waited for his girl-part to heal, she kept him close and was fiercely protective of him. Even after her younger son, Saqib, was born she would not allow Aftab to stray very far from her on his own. It was not seen as unusual behaviour for a woman who had waited so long and so anxiously for a son.

When Aftab was five he began to attend the Urdu-Hindi madrassa for boys in Chooriwali Gali (the bangle-seller's lane). Within a year he could recite a good part of the Quran in Arabic, although it wasn't clear how much of it he understood - that was true of all the other children too. Aftab was a better than average student, but even from the time he was very young it became clear that his real gift was music. He had a sweet, true singing voice and could pick up a tune after hearing it just once. His parents decided to send him to Ustad Hameed Khan, an outstanding young musician who taught Hindustani classical music to groups of children in his cramped quarters in Chandni Mahal. Little Aftab never missed a single class. By the time he was nine he could sing a good twenty minutes of bada khayal in Raag Yaman, Durga and Bhairav and make his voice skim shyly off the flat rekhab in Raag Pooriya Dhanashree like a stone skipping over the surface of a lake. He could sing Chaiti and Thumri with the accomplishment and poise of a Lucknow courtesan. At first people were amused and even encouraging, but soon the snick ering and teasing from other children began: He's a She. He's not a He or a She. He's a He and a She. She He, He She Hee! Hee! Hee!

When the teasing became unbearable Aftab stopped going to his music classes. But Ustad Hameed, who doted on him, offered to teach him separately, on his own. So the music classes continued, but Aftab refused to go to school any more. By then Jahanara Begum's hopes had more or less faded. There was no sign of healing anywhere on the horizon. She had managed to put off his circumcision for some years with a series of inventive excuses. But young Saqib was waiting in line for his, and she knew she had run out of time. Eventually she did what she had to. She mustered her courage and told her husband, breaking down and weeping with grief as well as relief that she finally had someone else to share her nightmare with.

Her husband, Mulaqat Ali, was a hakim, a doctor of herbal medicine, and a lover of Urdu and Persian poetry. All his life he had worked for the family of another hakim - Hakim Abdul Majid, who founded a popular brand of sherbet called Rooh Afza (Persian for 'Elixir of the Soul'). Rooh Afza, made of khurfa seeds (purslane), grapes, oranges, watermelon, mint, carrots, a touch of spinach, khus khus, lotus, two kinds of lilies and a distillate of damask roses, was meant to be a tonic. But people found that two tablespoons of the sparkling ruby-coloured syrup in a glass of cold milk or even just plain water not only tasted delicious, but was also an effective defence against Delhi's scorching summers and the strange fevers that blew in on desert winds. Soon what had started out as medicine became the most popular summer drink in the region. Rooh Afza became a prosperous enterprise and a household name. For forty years it ruled the market, sending its produce from its headquarters in the old city as far south as Hyderabad and as far west as Afghanistan. Then came Partition. God's carotid burst open on the new bor der between India and Pakistan and a million people died of hatred. Neighbours turned on each other as though they'd never known each other, never been to each other's weddings, never sung each other's songs. The walled city broke open. Old families fled (Muslim). New ones arrived (Hindu) and settled around the city walls. Rooh Afza had a serious setback, but soon re covered and opened a branch in Pakistan. A quarter of a century later, after the holocaust in East Pakistan, it opened another branch in the brand-new country of Bangladesh. But eventually, the Elixir of the Soul that had survived wars and the bloody birth of three new countries, was, like most things in the world, trumped by Coca-Cola.

Although Mulaqat Ali was a trusted and valued employee of Hakim Abdul Majid, the salary he earned was not enough to make ends meet. So outside his working hours he saw patients at his home. Jahanara Begum supplemented the family income with what she earned from the white cotton Gandhi caps she made and supplied in bulk to Hindu shopkeepers in Chandni Chowk.

(Extracted from "The Ministry of Utmost Happiness" by Arundhati Roy, with permission from Penguin India.)

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The third of the three London Bridge attackers was on Tuesday named as Youssef Zaghba, a 22-year-old Italian national of Moroccan descent, who was on Italy's list of persons at risk after being held last year while on his way to Syria.

Zaghba had an Italian passport and his mother's name is Valeria, informed sources told Italian media Adnkronos, reports Efe.

Zaghba was shot dead by police along with two other accomplies after Saturday's deadly rampage in which seven people were killed and 48 were injured.

British police said on Tuesday they believed Zaghba to be the third attacker, that he was an Italian national of Moroccan descent and that his family had been informed.

"He was not a police or M15 subject of interest," the statement said.

At the time of the London Bridge attacks, Zaghba had been working in a London restaurant and was in touch with his mother.

There were conflicting reports on the mother's whereabouts, with some sources saying she was in Bologna in Italy and others claiming she was in Casablanca, Morocco.

Zaghba's parents reportedly lived in Morocco but then separated and his mother settled in Bologna. Zaghba spent a lot of time with relatives in East London but visited his mother several times in Bologna.

When Zaghba was stopped at the city's Marconi airport in March 2016, he had told his mother he was going to Rome.

At the time of his arrest, Zaghba was travelling with just a backpack and his passport was impounded. His mobile phone was also confiscated and was found to contain religious videos and images but no violent jihadist images.

He was, however, charged with international terrorism and recorded on intelligence files as a suspected foreign fighter.

Although the charge was later withdrawn, he remained on file as "a person at risk", Italian daily Corriere della Sera reported.

Italy's intelligence services had reported Zaghba and his frequent movements to Moroccan and British authorities, Corriere reported.

Zaghba's fellow attackers were named as Pakistan-born British citizen Khuram Butt, 27, and Rachid Redouane, 30, a Moroccan-Libyan pastry chef who had an Irish wife.

All 12 people arrested on Sunday after the attack have now been released without charge while a 27-year-old man was held in Barking near London on Tuesday in connection with the investigation, police said.

The Islamic State jihadist group claimed Saturday's attack in which Zaghba, Butt and Redouane drove a hired van into pedestrians on London Bridge at around 10 p.m. before stabbing people in the area around the nearby Borough Market.

Zaghba, Butt and Redouane were all shot dead by police at the scene within eight minutes of receiving an emergency call.

--IANS

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US President Donald Trump has claimed credit for the pressure being placed on Qatar by Gulf neighbours who accuse it of supporting terrorism in the region.

He said his recent visit to Saudi Arabia was "already paying off" and the development might mark the "beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism," BBC reported.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, Yemen, Libya's eastern-based government and the Maldives have all cut diplomatic and other ties with Qatar.

Qatar strongly denies the allegations.

Trump's recent speech in the capital Riyadh, in which he blamed Iran for instability in the Middle East and urged Muslim countries to take the lead in combating radicalisation, is seen as likely to have emboldened Gulf allies to act against Qatar.

"During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!" Trump tweeted on Tuesday.

He later tweeted: "So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding... extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!"

Qatar is home to the biggest US military air base in the Middle East, with about 8,000 personnel based at al-Udeid.

The official statement from White House spokesman Sean Spicer said the US was in communication with all parties "to resolve issues and restore co-operation".

"The US still wants to see this issue de-escalated and resolved immediately, in keeping with the principles that the president laid out in terms of defeating terror financing and extremism," he said.

In the same week as Mr Trump's Riyadh speech, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE blocked Qatari news sites, including Al Jazeera.

On Monday, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE gave Qatari nationals two weeks to leave, banned their own citizens from travelling to Qatar, and cut all transport links.

Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said on Tuesday that the economic measures should persuade Qatar to change its policies and behave "like a normal country".

Speaking in Paris, he called on Qatar's rulers to end their support for the Muslim Brotherhood, the Palestinian militant group Hamas and what he called "hostile media".

"We believe that common sense and logic and will convince Qatar to take the right steps," he said.

The emir of Kuwait - one of the Gulf countries not involved in the dispute - travelled to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday in an attempt to mediate. He later left after a "brotherly visit" but there was no word on the outcome of the talks.

Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al-Thani told Al Jazeera that his country would not retaliate but was unhappy with regional rivals "trying to impose their will on Qatar or intervene in its internal affairs".

He told the BBC that Qatar was well prepared to withstand a "blockade", but also complained that the people of Qatar were the victims of "collective punishment" by other countries.

The Foreign Minister said his government had told President Trump during his Middle-East trip that there was no evidence that Qatar was supporting radical Islamists, adding that the claims were based on "fabricated evidence and lies".

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Two car thieves who tried to run over two police officers here in the early hours of Tuesday were arrested after a chase, Delhi Police said.

A Maruti Swift car and tools used in stealing cars were seized from accused Javed and Shahnawaz of Meerut in Uttar Pradesh, Deputy Commissioner of Police Ishwar Singh said.

Two police officers on patrol noticed four persons roaming under suspicious circumstances in a south Delhi area. When accosted, they tried to run over the policemen while escaping the spot.

However, they were cornered near Pandara Road in south Delhi. While two of them were arrested, their two accomplices escaped.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Four Indians and a Pakistani national have pleaded guilty to charges for their role in a massive telephone impersonation fraud and money laundering scheme in the US perpetrated by India-based call centres, the US Department of Justice said.

Indian nationals Rajubhai Patel (32), Viraj Patel (33), Dilipkumar Ambal Patel (53) and Pakistani Fahad Ali (25) each pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy before US District Court Judge David Hittner of the southern district of Texas.

Indian national Hardik Patel, 31, pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy before the same court on June 2.

Sentencing dates were pending for all five defendants, the Department of Justice said on Monday.

Based on the statements in his June 2 guilty plea, beginning in August 2012, Hardik owned and managed the day-to-day operations of an India-based scam call centre before leaving for the US.

While in India, Hardik communicated extensively via email, text, and other means with various India-based co-defendants to operate the scheme and exchange scripts used in the scheme.

He also used to coordinate the processing of payments from scammed victims, obtain and exchange lead lists used by callers to target US victims and exchange spreadsheets containing the personal identifying information of US persons misappropriated by the scammers to register reloadable cards used in the scheme.

Hardik also managed worker payroll and kept detailed records of profits and expenses for various associated scam call centres. He continued to communicate with India-based co-defendants about the scheme and assist with the conspiracy after he moved to the US.

According to his June 6 guilty plea, Rajubhai Patel operated as a runner and assisted a co-defendant in managing the activities of a crew of other runners, based primarily out of Illinois, who liquidated victim funds in various locales in the US for conspirators from India-based call centres.

Viraj Patel first became involved in the conspiracy between April and September 2013, prior to entering the US, when he worked at and assisted with overseeing the operations of a call centre in India engaging in scam activity at the behest of a co-defendant.

Dilipkumar A. Patel operated as a runner in and around Southern California, along with other co-defendants based in the region.

Fahad Ali worked as a member of a crew of runners operating in the Chicago, Illinois area, the Southern District of Texas and elsewhere throughout the country.

Ali admitted that he first served as a driver for an Illinois-based co-defendant engaging in activities in furtherance of the conspiracy.

Till date, 56 other individuals and five India-based call centres have been charged for their roles in the fraud and money laundering scheme in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Texas on October 19, 2016.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A US nuclear-powered submarine docked at the South Korean port city of Busan on Tuesday in what might be another display of American military power amid heightened tension on the Korean peninsula.

A South Korean military official, however, told Yonhap news agency that the submarine has docked in Busan to rest its 130 crew members and replenish supplies.

The official also added that the US submarine has no plans to participate in any joint manoeuvres with South Korea, Efe news reported.

The USS Cheyenne, whose home port is Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, weighs 6,900 tonnes and is 110 metres long.

Last week, US nuclear aircraft carriers Carl Vinson and Ronald Reagan had also carried out manoeuvres in waters close to North Korea, in a deployment that was interpreted as a warning to the growing nuclear and missile threats by Pyongyang.

North Korea's repeated nuclear tests led Washington to toughen its rhetoric, including hinting at the possibility of preemptive strikes if Pyongyang does not abandon its nuclear and missile programme.

The USS Cheyenne, which has participated in various military operations, including Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, is equipped with Harpoon anti-ship missiles and Tomahawk cruise missiles that have a range of 3,100 km.

--IANS

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Allegations over the use of "abusive language and obscene remarks" against officials of a government regulatory body on a 'Whatsapp' group landed 13 commercial pilots employed with leading domestic airlines in trouble on Tuesday.

According to Delhi Police, the civil aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) filed a complaint against 34 pilots, of whom 13 were summoned for examining the veracity of allegations.

"We have received a complaint by DGCA and are examining the matter. No arrest has been made yet," Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Chinmoy Biswal said adding that the questioning took place on Tuesday afternoon.

The 13 pilots, some of whom belonged to airlines like Jet Airways, IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir, were let off after questioning. However, their mobile phones were being examined by a team of IT experts.

Apart from the original complaint, the DGCA is said to have also submitted to the officers at Lodhi Road police station a "screen shot" of the usage of objectionable, obscene language.

"The text used in the message was highly objectionable, unpardonable and obscene language was used against family members of DGCA officials," a senior DGCA official said.

"Unconditional apology has come from respective airline managements."

On their part, the airlines which employ these pilots have said that they are fully cooperating with the police over the examination of charges.

"We are looking into the charges and extending full cooperation to DGCA in this matter. Basis the findings of our internal enquiry, we will take appropriate action," a spokesperson for IndiGo said.

Jet Airways said: "The airline is extending its full cooperation to the authorities."

"Jet Airways will take appropriate measures, where necessary, as per the company policy and in compliance with local law," a spokesperson for the airline said.
Apple on Monday introduced a music speaker, its first hardware since Apple Watch was rolled out two years ago, at this year's annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC).

To be "smart," the latest product in Apple's portfolio, known as HomePod, comes with a A8 microprocessor chip, the same power engine in the company's flagship iPhone smartphone and iPad tablet computer.

To be available on the market in December this year, the compact wireless speaker has some identical functions offered by similar products made by other companies, such as Amazon Echo, but promises to produce sound with higher quality, Xinhua reported.

HomePod is deemed a more expensive competitor of Echo, which was released two years ago.

Meanwhile, at a San Jose venue in Northern California, Apple's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tim Cook opened the Worldwide Developers Conference, or WWDC, with announcement that Prime Video, a video streaming service that is operated by Amazon.com, will be integrated into Apple TV, a digital media player and microconsole.

In addition, Cook said Apple, headquartered in Cupertino, Northern California, now has 16 million registered software developers worldwide for its consumer electronics, including smartphone known as iPhone, and 3 million of them were added last year.

He claimed this year's WWDC is the largest of the kind for the technology company.

At the event, a parade of executives unveiled updates to Apple's hardware, software and mobile applications, or apps, including iMac desktop computer, MacBook laptop machine, iPad, Apple Watch, iOS software operating system and App Store.

The company said its App Store has so far paid out $70 billion to developers, of which 30 per cent was made last year.

--IANS

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A 21-year-old man was murdered for allegedly opposing a person using drugs in a public toilet here on Tuesday evening, a police officer said.

The deceased, Rahul, 21, is from Mundka village of Nangloi and he along with his mother used to work at a public toilet about 500 metre from Nangloi Metro Station.

"On Tuesday evening, a person came to use the toilet. Rahul's mother found that he was using drugs in the toilet and opposed it," a police officer told IANS.

Meanwhile, Rahul also arrived and opposed the person from using the toilet.

"The guy left the toilet, but he along with two others came back at around 4.30 p.m and stabbed Rahul," the officer said.

At 9.30 p.m on Tuesday, more than 50 people had gathered at the Nangloi Police Station demanding police to arrest the accused.

Rahul's cousin Amit complained: "My little brother has been killed and no one here (police station) is listening to us."

--IANS

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Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, through initiatives such as the in Kolkata last year, is trying to encourage business in her state. Reviving entrepreneurship, scarce in Bengal today relative to the countrys west and south, will be critical in this context.
Showcase or show-cause? Last month, capital market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) issued show-cause notices to the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in a case pertaining to unfair access. has been probing the algorithmic-trading practices and policies of the NSE for almost two years now and is likely to make a decision soon. The case might have been on Chairman Ajay Tyagis (pictured) mind as he was delivering a speech during an event at Gift City in Gandhinagar. Gift City provides us the opportunity to show-cause Indias competitiveness in financial markets, he said, using the word show-cause when he likely intended to use showcase.
The Congress Working Committee chaired by party president Sonia Gandhi met here on Tuesday to discuss the current political situation and the upcoming presidential poll.

The highest decision-making body of the party met at the residence of Sonia Gandhi and was attended by party vice- president Rahul Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Top Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, P Chidambaram, Ambika Soni, Janardan Dwiwedi and other CWC members were present during the meeting.

The leaders are likely to discuss the current political situation in the country and the issue of forging a larger opposition unity.

Senior members of the CWC are likely to discuss the raging issue of cow vigilantism and also the economic situation, party sources said.

They said the CWC is expected to ratify the schedule for organisational polls. According to the schedule, the next Congress president has to be elected by October 15.

The CWC is meeting at a time when the Congress is seeking to unite opposition parties ahead of the presidential election.

It wants a broad coalition of opposition parties in place ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to take on the BJP. The BJP and its allies have gained in strength since the Modi government was formed in May 2014.

The CWC members had in November unanimously expressed "strong sentiment" for Rahul's elevation for the first time and may take it further.

At the November-7 meeting, all members, including former prime minister Manmohan Singh and senior leader A K Antony, had made a strong pitch for Rahul to take over the reins of the party.

The Congress president has created a record by being at the helm of the 130-year-old organisation for nearly two decades since late Sitaram Kesri's ouster by the CWC in early 1998.

Rahul was appointed party vice president in January 2013 at the Congress's brainstorming session in Jaipur.
Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi is likely to be elevated as party chief at the culmination of party's organisatonal polls in October, party sources said on Tuesday.

They said Congress President may step down ahead of Rahul's likely elevation.

The party on Tuesday released a schedule for the organisational elections which entail election of Congress President by October 15.

The schedule was released after a meeting of Congress Working Committee (CWC), the highest decision-making body of the party.

The Congress had deferred the organisational elections after Sonia Gandhi's five-year term as party chief ended in 2015.

became party chief in 1998 and is the longest-serving party President.

There have been demands from within the party that Rahul Gandhi, who became its Vice-President in 2013, should take over party reigns from his mother .

But the Congress faced a series of electoral reverses after its debacle in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, in which Rahul Gandhi was the party's lead campaigner.

Even as the party has faced mounting electoral challenges, its poor electoral run has led to repeated speculation about the timing of Rahul Gandhi's elevation.

Party sources said Rahul Gandhi's likely elevation will mark a generational change as it prepares for the the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

The likely elevation will be weeks before the assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat where the Congress faces tough challenge from the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The sources said the likely elevation at the end of organisational elections will also fit in with Rahul Gandhi's emphasis on fostering internal democracy in the party. Sonia Gandhi has also been dealing with some health issues of late.

In her remarks at the CWC meeting here, Sonia Gandhi said the ongoing organisational elections must be completed with utmost speed and sincerity.

According to the election schedule, Congress membership drive has be completed by May 15 and election of presidents of booth committees by August 20.

Elections of block Congress chiefs, members of District Congress Committees and members of Pradesh Congress Committees has to be concluded by September 4.

The elections of President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Executive panel of District Congress Committees has to be completed by September 15 and that of these posts in the Pradesh Congresss Committees (PCC) by October 15.

Elections of All India Congress Committee members by the respective PCCs and of the Congress President also has to be concluded by October 15.

According to the schedule, members of the CWC will be elected by AICC members at the party plenary, for which dates will be decided later.
The political uncertainty in the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) has taken a new turn with 25 MLAs and few other leaders having a separate meeting with the party deputy general secretary T T V . This comes a day after the senior ministers in the state expressed their allegiance to Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, stating that they will keep and his relatives away from the party.

The split between the three factions  a faction led by former Chief Minister O Panneerselvam which demands party general secretary V K Sasikala and family to be ousted from the party, a faction led by Chief Minister Palaniswami that says and his relatives will be kept away from the party and the faction led by Dinakaran  is increasing with this. The Dinakaran faction argues that Dinakaran is still the deputy general secretary of the party, though he has earlier said that he will keep himself away from party activities.
After an extensive investigation, two persons who allegedly murdered a man early this year and were absconding have been arrested, police said.

The arrested Yogender alias Rinku and Rohit Kumar alias Sunny had shot Ravi Thapa on January 9 this year, said Romil Baaniya, DCP, South East District.

Ravi succumbed to injuries in hospital the next day.

"On June 5, accused Yogender alias Rinku was arrested based on a tip-off and later he led us to Rohit who was also arrested," said the officer.

The weapon used for the offence as well as the vehicle has also been recovered.

During interrogation, Yogender's elder brother Bijender, who is presently in Tihar Jail in a murder case, was assaulted by a person called Birju Nepali in the jail, the officer said.

"With an aim to take revenge, Birju Nepali's brother-in- law Ravi Thapa was shot at," the officer said.

Yogender is already involved in an attempt to murder case.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Chinese investor has sought police help in Pakistan claiming that he and another businessman were thrashed by his Pakistani business partner over a sour hotel deal here.

Liu Xiao Long, in his application to the interior ministry, has alleged that Ishtiaq Ali thrashed him and another Chinese man on Sunday in Islamabad's F-7 sector.

Liu claimed that he had entered into a deal with Ali and they set up a hotel. He paid Rs one million as security deposit to his Pakistani partner.

However, when the business did not succeed as per the expectations, Ali got furious, he said.

He said Ali was constantly pestering him with demand to pay money as part of his share, which he could not as the business was slow despite his sincere efforts.

Liu said Ali on Sunday came with a group of men and beat him up. They also assaulted a Chinese businessman Liu-Weixing staying in their hotel.

Ali allegedly threw Long out of the premises and refused to pay back the security deposit.

Police have lodged an FIR in this connection.

Chinese are coming in big numbers to Pakistan to reap the benefit of business opportunities offered by USD 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

The ambitious CPEC project will link the Pakistani city of Gwadar to China's Xinjiang via a vast network of highways and railways.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Nearly 20 kg of Ganja allegedly meant to be smuggled to Sri Lanka, was seized today near Mandapam in this district, police said.

Those who brought the narcotic substance had abandoned it near the coast and fled the scene, they said.

Acting on a tip-off, customs officials reached the spot and confiscated the ganja worth Rs 10 lakhs, in the illegal market, and are on the look out for the culprits.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Three persons were killed and two others injured today as violence broke out during an ongoing farmers' agitation in Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh, prompting the authorities to clamp curfew in the trouble-hit area.

Some eyewitnesses alleged that the victims suffered bullet wounds but district authorities denied that there was any firing by police on the protesters, who went on a rampage.

A magisterial inquiry has been ordered into the deaths, Mandsaur Collector S K Singh told PTI, adding that police categorically told him that they didn't fire at the protesters.

The deceased were identified as Kanhaiyalal Patidar, Bablu Patidar and Prem Singh Patidar,



Curfew has been imposed in Pipalya Mandi police station area of the district where the incident took place, while prohibitory orders restricting movement under section 144 of CrPC have been imposed in rest of the district.

"Police have told me that neither did they fire nor did they have any orders to fire," Singh added.

Farmers in western Madhya Pradesh are protesting since June 1, demanding higher minimum support prices among other things.

In-camera autopsy of bodies was going on and the cause of death will be known after it, the collector said, adding that families of the deceased will get financial aid.

According to eyewitnesses, protesting farmers torched vehicles and indulged in stone pelting in Parshvanath area under Pipaliya Mandi police station limits.

Meanwhile, the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Ajay Singh, demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, it is a shameful incident for a chief minister who claims to be a farmer's son.

"All the claims of the chief minister have proved false so far. Now the government is using bullets to suppress farmers' voice. Chouhan should resign immediately," the Congress leader said.

The main opposition pary also constituted a committee of MLAs to investigate the Mandsaur firing incident. Singh and state Congress chief Arun Yadav would visit Mandsaur tomorrow.

Senior Congress leader and MP Jyotiraditya Scindia also condemned the incident. The BJP government dealt with the agitation through bullets instead of talks, he said.

"This is a black day in the history of state. It is shameful that the state government is crushing farmers' agitation. Farmers' demands are genuine," Scindia added.

Trouble was reported from many parts of western Madhya Pradesh as farmers' stir continued for the sixth day today.

In Indore, police used lathi charge following stone- pelting during a march by farmers.

A police officer said that people taking part in the march started throwing stones at the police near Devi Ahilyabai Fruits and Vegetable Market, which led to lathicharge.

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At least four persons were killed and three others injured after their ferry boat overturned in eastern China's Anhui province, officials said today.

The boat, carrying 39 farmers on board, overturned on a river in Mengji Township of Huoqiu County yesterday.

The three injured are now in stable condition. The other 32 people have been saved. The county dispatched more than 400 people to participate in the rescue operation, state-run Xinhua agency reported.

The driver of the boat, surnamed Wang, has been taken into police custody, the report said.

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All 10 people still being held as part of the investigation into the terror attack in London have been released without charge, police has said.

"All of the people arrested on Sunday, 4 June, as part of this investigation have now been released without charge," London's Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

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A young Arab Israeli man was killed during clashes in central Israel after protesters attempted to storm a police station, police said today.

The death late yesterday in the Arab city of Kafr Qassem followed the arrest of a wanted man in a roadside inspection, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.

Residents tried to prevent the arrest by throwing stones at police but forces managed to take the suspect to a station.

During the night, rioting erupted, Rosenfeld said in a statement.

"Masked residents attacked the local police station and as a result of a life-threatening situation, a private security guard fired shots.

"A short while after, a local resident (taken) to hospital in serious condition died."



The man was identified as Mohammed Taha, 21.

Taha's father Mahmud alleged his son was killed in "cold blood" and argued that he had been part of a peaceful march.

"He was hit by three bullets to the head," he told AFP. "If he was posing a danger, it was possible to shoot him in the legs without killing him."



Adel Budeir, a lawyer who said he was at the scene, also alleged Taha was murdered.

"I tried to approach the police post and I said to the youths to let me through," he said.

"When I was a few metres from the police post, a guard opened a backdoor, fired and closed the door again. Mohammed Taha was not posing a danger at that time. It was the guard who was a danger."



Ayman Odeh, head of the predominately Arab Joint List alliance in the Israeli parliament, alleged: "The police would have never killed a Jewish protester."



Arab Israeli officials also called for a general strike and protests later in the week over the incident.

Kafr Qassem is home to around 20,000 residents, most of them Arabs, and is close to the so-called Green Line separating Israel from the occupied West Bank.

In 1956, Israeli forces killed 47 people while enforcing a curfew in the area. In 2014, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin described that event as a "terrible crime".

Arab Israelis are descendants of Palestinians who remained on their land after the 1948 creation of Israel. They have full Israeli citizenship but have long complained of discrimination.

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Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has issued a series of instructions to Kaziranga National Park, Golaghat and Nagaon district administrations to ensure safety and security to the animals in the Park during the coming monsoon season.

Chairing a high level meeting at Kohora Range of the Kaziranga National Park today, Chief Minister Sonowal directed the Park authorities as well as deputy commissioners and superintendents of police of the two districts to ensure safety of the animals during the monsoon.

Sonowal reviewed the progress of construction of the highlands in the World Heritage Site and asked the Park authority to complete them on a war footing for the animals to take shelter during floods.

Reviewing the anti-poaching measures that the Park authority has taken up, he asked it to ensure fool-proof measures for the supply of animal food and medicines which would be required during the floods.

Sonowal advocated a synergistic approach among the park authority, district administrations and villagers living along the fringe area of the rhino habitat to create a shield against poachers who might sneak into the Park area taking advantage of surging waters.

He also took stock of the facilities provided to the forest guards and other employees of Kaziranga National Park.

In the meeting the Park director apprised the chief minister of the steps that have been planned to protect animals during the floods.

Deputy commissioners and superintendents of police of Nagaon and Golaghat districts also briefed Sonowal of their plans to foil poachers and their cohorts.

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Australian police today confirmed that a shooting and hostage situation in Melbourne which killed two people, including the gunman, was an act of "terrorism", after the Islamic State claimed responsibility.

The gunman identified as Yacqub Khayre was shot dead yesterday following a stand-off with police which lasted for more than an hour at serviced apartments on Bay Street in Brighton, 11km south-east of Melbourne's central business district.

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said Khayre, was known to police and had a long criminal history.

Khayre was charged and acquitted by a jury over a plot to attack the Holsworthy Army barracks in Sydney in 2009.

Three of his co-accused were found guilty of planning the terrorist attack for Australia's military involvement action in the Middle East.

Ashton was quoted as saying by the ABC that the siege was being treated as a "terrorism incident".

"He has a long criminal history with us, but also from what we're piecing together comments he made related to Islamic State and Al-Qaeda certainly for us put this in the terrorism category," he said, adding that, Khayre was released on parole in November last year.

"He has recently done some jail time, he got out late last year and has been on parole at the time of this offending last night," he said.

"This person wasn't someone around which we had major concerns at this time, and we had nothing to suggest (he was planning) what he did suddenly decide to do."



ABC had reported that the Islamic state claimed responsibility for the siege through a published statement via Amaq agency which is affiliated to the terror group.

It said the attack in Melbourne was carried out by one of its "soldiers".

"The attack in Melbourne, Australia was carried out by a soldier of the Islamic State in response to the call for targeting the subjects of the coalition states," the statement said.

Last night, Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Andrew Crisp said police were also probing reports of a phone call made to the Channel 7 newsroom by someone referring to the Islamic State.

"That's all part of the investigation at this point in time as to who made that phone call, but we will certainly be working with Channel 7 in relation to that phone call," he said.

The siege began after emergency services responded to reports of an explosion at the apartment building at 4pm in the evening.

Police discovered the body of a man with gunshot wounds in the foyer.

Ashton confirmed the man worked at the apartment building, and said he was "at the wrong place, at the wrong time".

Dozens of gunshots rang out just after 6 PM in Bay Street with crowds of people fleeing and taking refuge in a nearby supermarket.

Three police officers were shot by the gunman during the shoot-out. A woman, in her 20s who was held hostage by Khayre was rescued.

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A Bahrain court today sentenced two men to death for a deadly attack on a police patrol in a Shiite town outside the capital Manama, a judicial source said.

Three other defendants were sentenced to life in prison and nine stripped of their citizenship in connection with the deadly attack last year on a police patrol in the village of Karbabad, the source told AFP, requesting anonymity as he was not authorised to brief the press.

The attack on April 16 last year resulted in the death of the driver and the injury of two officers, the source said.

Bahrain has been rocked by sporadic unrest since March 2011, when security forces brutally crushed an Arab Spring- inspired uprising demanding an elected government in the Sunni-ruled kingdom.

Hundreds of mainly Shiite protestors have since been arrested and a string of high-profile religious and secular leaders jailed or stripped of their citizenship.

Authorities accuse protestors of forming "terrorist cells" aiming to destabilise the country, and have pointed to Iran as inciting unrest in the archipelago. Tehran has denied involvement.

Despite the state crackdown on political dissent, protesters continue to rally, frequently clashing with police in Shiite villages outside the capital.

Foreign press access is severely restricted in the kingdom, which is located between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and is home to the US Fifth Fleet.

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The CBSE today denied in the Madras High Court that vernacular question papers for NEET 2017 for admission to MBBS and BDS courses were easier than the papers in English.

In its counter affidavit to petitions seeking cancellation of the National Eligibility-cum Entrance Test held recently citing alleged non-uniformity in the exam, the CBSE rejected the contention that question papers in vernacular languages such as Gujarati were easier compared to English.

In an interim order on the petitions, Justice M V Muralidharan had on May 24 stayed the publication of the NEET results and directed officials of the Medical Council of India, the CBSE director and the Union health ministry to file their counter affidavits.

The petitioners have alleged that uniform question papers were not given. In Tamil Nadu, a different set of questions was given to those who opted for English and Tamil, they said claiming that the one in Tamil was easier.

Seeking vacation of the stay, the CBSE counter said the question papers had been set -- at easy average and tough levels -- and they had been moderated by the experts and the issue of one question being tougher than the other did not arise.

It was only experts who decided on the difficulty level of the question papers.

The counter said 90.75 per cent of the students had written the examination in English and only 9.25 per cent of the students had written in vernacular languages.

It also said question papers were prepared in vernacular language to ensure that there was no leakage. In case of leakage, it would be enough if re-examination was held only for 1.05 lakh students. In some cases, not even 0.03 per cent of the candidates opted for vernacular language.

Besides, the scheme of NEET examination was a single eligibility-cum-entrance test and not a single question paper test, the counter said.

The stay of publication of results would jeopardise the interests of lakhs of students.

There was already delay in the publication of results and it should not be delayed further, the counter said.

Hence, the court should vacate the stay and enable students join the course.

The court had yesterday sought the English translation of Gujarati, Hindi and Marathi question papers of the NEET.

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Hitting back at the CPI(M), the BJP today accused it of being a "mouthpiece" of Pakistan and China, alleging that the party and "perverse" intellectuals were standing not with the armed forces but with separatists, stone pelters and terrorists.

"Instead of standing with the armed forces, the CPI(M) and the perverse intellectuals are standing with separatists, stone pelters and terrorists.

"In reality, the CPI(M) has now become a China and Pak mouthpiece. Those who are targeting the Army chief are 'Jaichands' sucking up to hostile neighbours and backstabbing India," BJP spokesperson G V L Narsimha Rao said.

The CPI(M) had today criticised Army Chief Bipin Rawat for defending the use of a "human shield" in Kashmir, saying his comments reflected the views of the Modi government, which seeks to "suppress" the people there.

The Left party said the Army and Kashmiris would suffer "irreparable damage" because of the government's "blind" adherence to the use of force against civilians in the Valley.

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Violence broke out today during a farmers' protest in Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh following which curfew was today clamped in Pipalya Mandi area and prohibitory orders imposed in other parts of the district, officials said.

According to unconfirmed reports, two farmers were killed after police open fired on violent protesters in Bhai Parshnath area but Mandsaur Collector S K Singh denied it.

"Curfew has been clamped in Pipalya Mandi police station area and in the rest of the district section 144 of CrPC has been imposed," Singh told PTI over phone.

When asked about reports of death of two farmers, Singh said he does not have any such information.

Farmers in western Madhya Pradesh are protesting since June 1 demanding minimum support price for their farm produce, among other things.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan yesterday said his government is taking all necessary steps to address the issues of the agitating farmers.

A price stabilisation fund of Rs 1,000 crore would be set up to purchase the farm produce at the minimum support price (MSP), he had said.

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A Delhi-based blogger was arrested from here for allegedly demanding Rs 2 crore from an industrialist to remove a defamatory article from his website, the police said today.

Blogger Jaydeep Ghosh had written an article about industrialist Jaidev Shroff who heads the firm United Phosphorous Ltd.

He was arrested from the company's office in suburban Khar recently with Rs 60 lakh in his possession, the police said.

Ghosh had extorted Rs 60 lakh, which was to be the first instalment, in order to get the article off the website and also to stop publishing of at least 300 more such write-ups, senior inspector of Kherwadi Police Station Rajendra Patil told PTI.

Ghosh was booked on charges relating to extortion, criminal intimidation and criminal conspiracy.

Upon his arrest, he was produced before a court here which sent him to judicial custody.

Shroff is the estranged husband of socialite Poonam Bhagat and is locked in a legal fight with her, the police said.

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Sher Bahadur Deuba, a veteran politician known for his close ties with India, was today overwhelmingly elected the prime minister of Nepal for the fourth time, taking over the reigns of the country at a time the Himalayan nation navigates through a political turmoil.

Deuba, the president of Nepal's oldest party, the Nepali Congress, was elected the 40th prime minister of the country's young democracy, following a voting in the parliament, during which he secured 388 votes out of a total of 558 votes cast. He was the only contender in the election.

The 70-year-old succeeds Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda', who last month resigned to honour a power-sharing deal.

Deuba is likely to form a small Cabinet tomorrow which will be expanded in a few days and some of the Madhesi parties are also likely to join the coalition.

He takes over at a crucial time in the politics of Nepal, which is holding the first local-level polls in 20 years, but one that is being resisted by Madhesi people. The inhabitants of the southern Terai region who share cultural ties with Indians have been demanding more political representation.

Deuba, who was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University in 2016, is said to enjoy the confidence of prominent Indian leaders, and that could potentially aid him in arresting the growing disenchantment among the Madhesi community.

He played a key role in amending Nepal's new Constitution promulgated in September 2015 to address the demands of Madhes-based political parties. Deuba also played a key role in bringing the parties on board for the second phase of local-level elections, now scheduled for June 28.

Deuba, who has been elected to the parliament from far- western Dadeldhura district, has promised to amend the new Constitution to fulfil the demands of the Madhesi people.

During Deuba's previous term as prime minister in 1996, Nepal and India signed the historic Mahakali Treaty for shared utilisation of the waters of the river by the same name.

Deuba served as the prime minister from 1995 to 1997, from 2001 to 2002, and from 2004 to 2005.

Nepal's then king Gyanendra Shah took power through a coup detat in October 2002 and removed Deuba from the post. But he had to restore him in 2004 after weeks of street protests. Deuba was again removed from power by the king in 2005, when he was also imprisoned on charges of corruption.

Addressing the parliament before the voting today, Deuba said he would accord priority to complete the local polls and conduct provincial and parliamentary elections by March next year.

He said he would also prioritise the amendment of the Constitution to address the demands of Madhesi people. "My other priorities will be economic reforms and rapid development of the country and for that I would focus on developing infrastructure such as electricity, transportation and irrigation," he said.

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In a rare move, aviation watchdog DGCA has filed a police complaint against 34 pilots of Jet Airways, IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir for allegedly posting "obscene" messages on a WhatsApp group against its officials.

Acting on the complaint, Delhi police today questioned 13 pilots.

It is rare for the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to file police complaint against pilots and in this instance, regulatory officials said some of the messages put out in a WhatsApp group were "really obscene".

DGCA Director General B S Bhullar confirmed that the regulator has filed the complaint against 34 pilots of Jet Airways, IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir.

"DGCA has filed complaint (against the pilots) for making obscene remarks against DGCA officials on social media. Any action on that is for the police," Bhullar told PTI.

On whether any disciplinary action would be initiated against the pilots, Bhullar said it was up to the airlines to decide on whether to take action or not.

Sources said some of the "obscene messages" on the WhatsApp group were also put out on the social media.

A DGCA official said some pilots from Jet Airways, IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir created a WhatsApp group and some content shared on it was "offensive and abusive".

The official also said that unconditional apology has come from the airlines' managements.

Earlier in the day, many of the pilots, including ten from Jet Airways, were questioned at the Lodhi Colony police station here.

"The pilots have been called in for questioning on the basis of a complaint by the DGCA. They have been called in for an inquiry," a senior police official said.

Thirteen pilots have been questioned, the official added.

A Jet Airways spokesperson said that a few of its cockpit crew were called to record their statements by local authorities in response to a complaint and the airline is extending its full cooperation to the authorities.

"The matter is under investigation and we are therefore unable to comment further. Jet Airways will take appropriate measures where necessary, as per the company policy and in compliance with local law," the spokesperson said.

An IndiGo spokesperson said appropriate action would be taken after an internal enquiry into the matter.

"We are looking into the charges and extending full cooperation to the DGCA in this matter. Basis the findings of our internal enquiry, we will take appropriate action," he said.

A SpiceJet spokesperson said no pilot of the airline has written any derogatory or obscene message against any DGCA official or made any comments on the draft DGCA CAR.

"One of our pilots had just forwarded some WhatsApp messages to a few friends and colleagues," he added.

GoAir said that "only one" of its pilots has been named in the complaint and the issue was "closed" now after the airline filed an unconditional apology along with the other three private carriers.

Last month, the regulator proposed norms that would require notice period of one year for captains and six months for co-pilots.

This draft Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) has been opposed by most of the pilots' groupings.

Meanwhile, as many as 10 pilots of the Jet Airways were kept out of flying duties for quoting incorrectly the designation of a senior DGCA official in a communique.

A communication, sent to the aviation watchdog opposing the proposal to increase the notice period for pilots to one year, in which the DGCA official's designation was written incorrectly, had backfired with an 'arbitrary' regulatory action against them, sources had said on Monday.

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A special court here today declared as proclaimed offenders drug lord Vicky Goswami and his partner and former Bollywood actor Mamta Kulkarni in the multi-crore ephedrine haul case and directed attachment of their properties.

"It is pronounced and declared that accused Vicky Goswami and Mamta Kulkarni are proclaimed offenders. The immovable properties belonging to the accused be attached," special Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) court judge H M Patwardhan said in the order.

Following the order, special public prosecutor Shishir Hiray told PTI, "Now, the law-enforcing agencies have to act and the police have to file the compliance report within 30 days about execution of order. It also gives power to police to attach the properties of the accused."



"The order also empowers police to issue warrant against the accused on the last known address of accused," he said.

The court fixed the next date for hearing in the matter on July 10.

Last month, the prosecution had sought initiating the process of declaring Mamta and Vicky as proclaimed offenders.

The prosecution had told the court that since the investigation team had exhausted all its legal provisions and even served the warrants, the only remedy left was proclamation from the court.

Thane police had raided Avon Lifesciences in Solapur last year and seized around 18.5 tonne of ephedrine worth Rs 2,000 crore.

According to police, ephedrine was being diverted from Avon Lifesciences to a Kenya-based drug cartel headed by Goswami where it was used to make party-drug Methamphetamine.

The police have arrested over a dozen people in the case.

As per the case history, the Thane police had arrested a Nigerian national in April last year and recovered ephedrine from him.

Following his interrogation, police arrested some other accused and eventually led them to Avon Lifesciences in Solapur, where they recovered 18.5 tonnes of ephedrine.

The police then arrested the senior production manager of the unit. Further interrogation revealed that Goswami was one of the top operatives of the racket. The police also suspect the role of two Kenya-based druglords- Bakhtash and Ibrahim Akasha- in the case.

Ephedrine, the sale of which is banned in India, is popularly used overseas to treat asthma and bronchitis. Its abuse is known to cause euphoria, hypertension and nausea. It is also used to produce the popular narcotic methamphetamine.

According to police, Goswami, the son of a retired police officer from Gujarat, began as a bootlegger in the 1980s in Gujarat. He then began smuggling mandrax.

He fled to Mumbai while on bail after his arrest in a drug bust. Over the last two decades, he expanded his network to Dubai and Africa, police had said.

Mamta had starred in hit films like "Karan Arjun" and "Baazi" in the 1990s.

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Carrying 200 laptops in the bellyhold of an aircraft is dangerous and violates all safety norms, the global airlines' body IATA has said on the ban on carriage of personal electronic devices (PEDs) on board by passengers.

"We don't deny the threat. There is a real threat (from PEDs). But the ban is not effective," IATA Director General and CEO Alexandre de Juniac told PTI in an interview here.

He said the confidence of the public and the airline industry "has been rattled by inconsistencies in how some states have responded to concerns over the potential for explosives to be concealed in large portable electronic devices".

But carrying 200 laptops in the bellyhold of an aircraft "is dangerous and against all safety regulations", de Juniac said quoting a top executive of an airline who pointed this out at a panel discussion during the three-day World Air Transport Summit going on here.

However, "we must trust that valid intelligence underpinned the UK and the US decisions to ban large PEDs on flights from some African and Middle Eastern airports. But, the measures themselves test the confidence of the industry and the public. We need to get security right.

"There is a clear duty for governments to make sure that the measures are logical, effective and efficient. That is not the case with the current PED ban. And it must change," the chief of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in response to questions.

He said greater collaboration was needed among all governments and the airline industry stakeholders to keep flying secure by adopting a standardised global approach to check aviation security risks while minimising disruption to passengers.

"Aviation is a target for terrorists' intent on destroying the freedom that is at the heart of our business. Information sharing among governments and with the industry is the key to staying a step ahead of emerging threats.

"We have the same goals-to keep passengers and crew safe. So it only makes sense that we work together as closely as possible," de Juniac said.

The summit, being attended by over 1,000 representatives of airlines, airports and other stakeholders, unanimously adopted a resolution highlighting the importance of UN Security Council Resolution 2309, which calls governments to meet their responsibility to keep citizens secure while travelling by air.

It also reaffirmed the industry's strong support for the development of the Global Aviation Security Plan (GASeP) by the UN body, International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

"GASeP must be a pragmatic and nimble framework for all parties involved in aviation security to work together. No single entity has all the answers. By combining our strengths more efficiently, the security of passengers and crew will be better served," said de Juniac.

The resolution urges the governments to engage the industry in early dialogue when faced with a security threat to ensure that workable and effective response measures are developed that can be implemented efficiently to maximise passenger safety and minimise disruption.

The airlines also asked the governments to work in partnership with each other and with airlines, airports and other aviation security stakeholders to develop effective, long-term, security measures that effectively counter threats to aviation.

Asking the governments to take greater accountability for the implementation of ICAO standards and security measures, the resolution calls for fast-tracking of the GASeP roadmap into National Civil Aviation Security Programs as soon as possible.

The IATA called upon governments to adopt alternatives to the current ban.

"In the short-term, these include more intense screening at the gate and skills training. In the medium-term, faster and more advanced explosive detection technology is the solution to evolving bomb threats. But painfully slow certification processes must be accelerated so that we can actually use it," said de Juniac.

He said "it's clear that the long-term solution to mitigating PED threats is better screening technology. But without far greater government investment and support to accelerate development and certification of this new technology, its potential will not be realised."



Such steps "highlight the reason why we need better information sharing and better coordination to achieve risk mitigation measures that maximise the protection of passengers and crew while minimising unnecessary disruption," de Juniac said.

The IATA has already opposed the ban on carrying of laptops and said it was done without consulting the aviation industry.

The resolution also recognised the important role of industry in helping governments to keep flying secure.

It committed the airlines to implement prescribed security standards and recommended practices to the highest level, support governments in the development and implementation of additional security measures when required to protect air transport, besides implementing the industry- driven aviation security initiatives such as Smart Security, Passenger Name Record (PNR) /Advance Passenger Information (API).

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The Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) today took out procession in the hill during the visit of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleging that the state government was trying to impose Bengali in schools in Darjeeling hills.

GJM supporters led by the party chief Bimal Gurung took out the procession and shouted slogan like "Go back Mamata".

Trinamool Congress alleged that the GJM activists have torn the pictures of Banerjee and posters of the party.

Mamata Banerjee who was on the street, was seen greeting the hill people and the tourists.

TMC supporters organised a procession in Kurseong demanding arrest of the GJM chief Bimal Gurung in Madan Tamang murder case.

The Chief Minister yesterday told a meeting in Mirik that she never said that Bengali will be compulsory in the Hills and described the GJM propaganda as a "big lie".

She had stated that her government had given recognition to Nepali language. Public service examination could also be taken in Nepali now, she had said.

Banerjee had said, "GTA (Gorkhaland Territorial Administration) elections are coming. They do not have any issue. So they are trying to drive a wedge between Nepali and Bengali".

In the recent municipal election in the hill, GJM had lost the civic body in Mirik, to TMC. The GJM had, however, won in Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong.

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The Goa government today withdrew an application challenging the dropping of serious charges slapped against two Christian priests for attacking a group of special branch policemen.

Public prosecutor Subhash Desai submitted before south Goa district judge Edgar Fernandes that the state government is withdrawing the application which had challenged the decision of the lower court to drop charges of attempt to murder and grievous injury against all the accused.

A group of 22 people headed by two priests -- Fr Romanova Gonsalves and Fr Lucio Dias -- were charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code for assaulting the group of policemen near a church in south Goa's Velim village in 2012.

The policemen attached to the special branch including sub-inspector Kapil Naik along with head constable Krishnanand Rane and Kuldeep Desai were assaulted outside Velim Church on February 26, 2012.

Judicial Magistrate in Margao Ram Prabhudesai had dropped charges of attempt to murder and grievous hurt against the group including both the priests in November 2016.

The state government had then challenged the order before the district court which came up for hearing today.

Now the case would continue to be tried before the judicial magistrate of Margao as various charges related to rioting, obstructing government servant from discharging duties and others continue to be pressed against the group.

"I am thankful to the state government for dropping charges of attempt to murder and causing grievous injuries pressed against us.

"We hope to get the acquittal in the case," said Fr Gonsalves while talking to reporters today.

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The Congress today launched a scathing attack on the Modi government, alleging that there was a brazen campaign to straitjacket the country into a regressive and narrow-minded world view.

Chairing a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, the party's highest decision-making body, Sonia asked partymen to be ready for 2019 elections to protect the essence and idea of India, which this government is seeking to "extinguish".

Apart from taking stock of the political situation in the country, the CWC discussed the upcoming presidential and vice presidential elections. It also approved the schedule for organisational elections.

With the meeting taking place in the backdrop of raging debates over contentious issues like cattle slaughter, the Congress chief alleged that "divisive issues are being whipped up and there is an assault on livelihood and food habits of those who follow different tenets and beliefs".

She said, "Where there was economic potential, there is stagnation. Where there was rich diversity, there is a brazen campaign to straitjacket the whole country into a regressive and narrow-minded world view."



Emphasising that the current crisis in Jammu and Kashmir is due to the "colossal failure" of the government, she said the "insensitive" handling of the situation by both the state and central governments are systematically alienating and antogonising the local people, especially the youth.

"A divisive agenda is being followed which has undone years of goodwill and progress," she said.

On the party's failure to form governments in Goa and Manipur despite winning the highest number of seats in the assembly elections, she said "we cannot let this happen again" and asked partymen to help strengthen the organisation.

The meeting, which was attended by top party leaders including party vice president Rahul Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh, slammed the NDA dispensation, saying it is only a government of "slogans and publicity" that seeks to become a "hero on television alone, but is zero on the ground".

Asserting that whether it is the politicians, the institutions, students, civil society or the media, Sonia said there was growing intolerance and active persecution of divergent voices in blatant disregard of the law of the land.

The party president said it is a matter of grave concern that there has been a rise in lynch mobs and alleged that there existed a close ideological affinity between these mobs and the ruling establishment.

After the meeting, Rahul Gandhi tweeted, "Discussed vital political issues including crisis in J&K, Government's mishandling of the economy, Presidential polls as well as Congress organisational elections."



Referring to CBI searches at the premises of NDTV founder Prannoy Roy, senior party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said, "Yesterday, we were seeing shamelessness.

"While people have vanished with thousands of crore, why is the government so rattled by a Rs-50 crore matter?"



He accused the government of misusing the official machinery to crush voices of dissent and fix political rivals, in an apparent reference to recent raids by investigation agencies like the CBI and the ED against opposition leaders.

Azad alleged women did not feel safe in the country any more and the youth instead of getting new jobs, were losing them.

"This government has misused official machinery like never before. Even dictatorial regimes across the world may not have gone to that extent to misuse official agencies...It seems this government does not believe in democracy at all," he told reporters.

Alleging that the government is using the power of the state to stifle voices that express different thoughts and ideas, or speak out for alternative policies and philosophies, Sonia said, "Worst of all, women, Dalits, adivasis, minorities and other oppressed people are facing perilous times."



She also attacked the Modi government, saying there is a systematic attempt to blunt tools of accountability, undermine the judiciary and suppress dissent.

"Cronies and individuals close to the establishment have either seen dramatic increase in wealth and influence in the last three years, or have escaped the wrath of the law and managed to flee the country," she said, in an apparent reference to Vijay Mallya and Lalit Modi.

During the meeting, ex-PM Singh expressed serious concern over the slowdown of the country's growth and said it is mainly because of demonetisation that has impacted job creation.

He also said that the economy is running on just one engine of public spending.

Senior Congress leaders A K Antony, P Chidambaram, Ahmed Patel, Ambika Soni, Janardan Dwivedi and Digvijay Singh were among those who attended the CWC meet.

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The Centre is likely to release its rules on a no-fly list for unruly passengers by June 20, Union minister Jayant Sinha said on Tuesday.

The ministry of civil aviation had last month issued its draft rules for a no-fly list and invited stakeholders' comments within the next 30 days. It had mooted a ban on flying from three months upto an indefinite period for unruly passengers.

"The deadline (for comments) has passed, and we have received many suggestions. June 20 is our target date for issuing the final Civil Aviation Requirement," Minister of State for Civil Aviation Sinha told reporters on the sidelines of an event.

He added that the ministry is currently evaluating the suggestions and taking the advice of the DGCA on the matter.

The government has recommended three levels of unruly behaviour, each with a corresponding duration of flying ban of three months, six months and two years or more without limit.

The draft is an amendment to the existing Civil Aviation Requirement, a set of rules on unruly and disruptive passengers.

The move to revise the existing rules came in the wake of Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad assaulting an Air India staffer with a slipper for not being able to fly business class in an all-economy flight in March.
The Environment ministry has given its final approval to Ambardi lion safari at the Gir National Park in Dhari taluka of Gujarat's Amreli district, a senior state forest department official said.

The ministry had earlier given an in-principle nod to the project, which aims to reduce the tourist rush in western part of the Gir National Park.

However, some representations by people opposed to the project and objections raised by Central Zoo Authority (CZA) delayed its final approval, the official said.

"A committee headed by additional director general of wildlife of the Union ministry of environment and forest met yesterday where final approval was given to the project after a clearance was given by the CZA," G K Sinha, principal chief conservator of forest (wildlife), said.

"We had submitted our last compliance report in February this year (in response to CZA queries and representations made by people opposed to the project)," he said.

"The safari will now be open for public as the required infrastructure is already in place. There will be three lions for public viewing along with herbivorous animals in 387 hectare of fenced area," Sinha said.

The lion safari at Ambardi will be on the lines of Devaliya Safari Park in Junagadh district, he said adding that it will be helpful in reducing the pressure of tourists on western part of Gir National Park.

"We need to shift tourists' attention to the eastern part of Gir National Park due to increasing pressure on the western part," he said.

The project was ready but got delayed due to objections made by a section of people who claimed that it will adversely affect the lions, he added.

Even after the case in Gujarat High Court went in favour of the state forest department, people opposed to the project and continued to make representations before the Central government, delaying it further, Sinha said.

According to the last census carried out by the state forest department in 2015, Gujarat is home to 523 Asiatic lions in Gir forest and other areas in Junagadh, Gir Somnath, Amreli and Bhavnagar districts.

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Gurgaon police on Wednesday released sketches of the three accused in a case of gang rape of a woman and murder of her infant daughter.

After failing to recover any concrete evidence and clues of the three accused who gang-raped the 23-year-old woman and killed her baby daughter on May 29, Gurgaon police released the sketches of the suspects and appealed to the public for their identification.

Since the crime occurred in a moving auto-rickshaw, the police has questioned over 50 auto drivers plying in the IMT, Manesar area and detained some of them for interrogation to ascertain the auto and accused persons.

It has become a challenge for the Gurgaon police to nab the criminals after three back-to-back cases of molestation and gang-rape since last month. The accused left the victim after raping her for four hours. She then went to the spot where they had earlier thrown her nine-month-old daughter and picked her up in the middle of road and went to a hospital.

The doctors declared the infant dead but still she did not believe it and travelled with the dead child to a hospital in Delhi and later returned to M G Road metro station.

Gurgaon police commissioner Sandeep Khirwar admitted that the victim had travelled with her dead child in the metro the day after the incident and police learnt about the crime only after the victim's husband approached them.

"Her husband and Gurgaon police received the victim from M G Road metro station after she returned from hospital in Delhi. Following that, police conducted post-mortem of the infant," Khirwar said. It has been alleged that as the victim belongs to a poor family, the police tried to suppress her statement.

The police also reportedly did not register an FIR of gang rape initially but later included the charge five days after the incident.

The police constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to nab the culprits. The SIT has taken the victim to all possible locations to identify the crime scene and sequence of events. The woman and her daughter had left home in Bas Khusla village after an altercation with her husband and neighbours on the night of May 29.

She was on her way to her parental house at Khandsa village when she was first given a lift in a truck. The truck driver also molested her but as she put up strong resistance, he dropped her off on NH 8.

As the victim was alone, the three accused in the auto offered her a lift and then gang-raped her. The accused also threw her infant daughter from the vehicle to avoid attention after she started crying.
India today signed an agreement with Sri Lanka to provide USD 318 million as line of credit to develop the island nation's railway sector, officials said.

The agreement was signed by RHS Samaratunga, Secretary, Ministry of Finance and Mass media, and David Rasquinha, Managing Director of India's Export-Import Bank in Colombo.

During his first visit to Sri Lanka as prime minister in 2015, Narendra Modi had declared a line of credit of USD 318 million for the development of Sri Lanka's railway sector.

That visit, the first standalone bilateral visit by an Indian prime minister since 1987, had come in the backdrop of increasing Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean nation.

China has been investing heavily in Sri Lanka, developing mainly ports that could potentially be used as a base for its navy, though Beijing says the investments are part of its Belt and Road Initiative that aims to link it with Europe and Africa via the Indian Ocean.

India has provided four lines of credit to Sri Lanka to develop its railway sector, amounting to USD 966 million.

These credit facilities have been utilised to improve the southern and northern railway lines and for the procurement of rolling stocks for the Sri Lanka Railways.

Sri Lanka's Ministry of Transport has said improving passenger transportation facilities is urgently required to attract passengers towards railways which is cost-effective.

India has been Sri Lanka's major development partner in the South Asian region for more than 40 years. Over the past years Indian foreign direct investment in Sri Lanka has expanded considerably.

Presently Indian development assistance mainly focuses on improvement of infrastructure, livelihood development, education, healthcare, and capacity building.

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A senior RSS functionary said today that attempts by invaders to destroy religion in India by demolishing temples throughout history failed as people found new ways to reinvent it through the performing arts.

"When outsiders saw India and its temples, they thought that they could destroy our religion by demolishing them. They thought that our religion is in these temples only.

"Each time a temple was demolished people came together and got artistes to build more temples. They could only destroy temples, but not the emotions connected to it in the hearts of the people," said Krishna Gopal, RSS joint general secretary.

The RSS leader was speaking at a function co-organised by the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library and Sanskar Bharati, the culture arm of the Sangh here.

Gopal, speaking on the topic - 'Bharatiya Darshan in the visual and performing arts' - said "while we have a number of gods and their temples, the spirit behind all of them were the same".

"The emotions behind temples are all the same, only the artistes use their imagination and make them look different. When the temples were demolished again and again, people said, it doesn't matter if they break temples, we will sing devotional songs. Let the mandir be, they thought, let it go. Our spirit, our religion is with us, what is there in a building, they thought," said the RSS leader.

He further stated that in times of crisis and emergencies in the country, it was the performing arts that kept the emotions alive in the hearts of people.

"When there is a crisis or an emergency, art take its own course. It finds new ways to express emotions. Why do we need big temples, when we can have our gods at our homes? That is why during the 12th-18th century, we saw the prevalence of bhajans and kirtans, which was the new form of arts that came forth at that time and is being perpetuated till date," he added.

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Jadavpur University authorities today constituted a committee to restrict entry of outsiders and ensure academic atmosphere is maintained in the campus.

The committee has four Deans, representatives from students unions and Registrar Pradip Ghosh, a senior university official told PTI after attending a meeting.

To a question that the varsity authorities will issue any identity cards for visitors to the university, the official said "This issue did not come up."



An anti-drug rally comprising students, teachers and non-teaching staff, is proposed to be taken out in the campus in July to spread awareness among students and to show JU has always been on the forefront in such campaign, one of the participating JU teachers at the meeting, said.

The committee, which will examine allegations of drug abuse at the campus among other issues, will draft guidelines within a week, the teacher said.

The panel also has representatives from SFI, AIDSO, TMCP and other student unions from both Arts and Engineering faculties as well as members of JUTA and All Bengal University Teachers' Association (ABUTA) - JU unit, the university official said.

Registrar Ghosh told reporters after the meeting that "There was no acrimony in the meeting and we arrived at a consensus."



Vice-Chancellor Prof Suranjan Das refused to comment on the deliberations saying "This is our internal issue."



Convenor of ABUTA-JU, Goutam Maity, said "The meeting decided on forming a student-teacher squad which will be moving around the campus and sensitising students for acting against any unlawful activity within the campus."



DSO general secretary, JU, Pijush Guha said "We have submitted a memorandum to the VC alleging there has been consumption of drug and liquor in the campus for years and he patiently heard all sides, but did not comment."



General Secretary of AFSU-JU Debraj Debnath, said "The committee will consist of all stakeholders to maintain the academic excellence of JU and we will coordinate with the authorities.

"We had also urged the VC to keep elected JU student representatives in future meetings," he said.

To a question on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee making comments about entry of outsiders in JU campus at a recent administrative meeting, both JUTA and SFI representatives said "The issue came up, but there was not much discussion on it.

A TMCP representative, however, said the issue was discussed threadbare and the committee will examine it.

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The Kashmir Editors Guild (KEG) today strongly condemned the searches carried out by the CBI at NDTV founder Prannoy Roy's residence, saying it was a "muscular manifestation" of muzzling the independent media.

The guild, in a statement, said the raids indicate that there was a sort of emergency being imposed without making it public.

"The strong-arm tactic being used to force media take the official line is in no way going to help democracy as it violates the basics of guarantees to media that the Constitution enshrines," it added.

"The KEG condemns the raids being carried out on NDTV and sees it as yet another muscular manifestation of muzzling the independent media," it said.

The guild said it wanted the leadership of the county to reconsider such "extremely undemocratic measures to force an official narrative".

The guild also hit out at various Delhi-based channels for their "bid to be uncharitable towards the media in Kashmir.

"The KEG reiterates the fact that Kashmir media is one of the most professional media in south Asia as it paid a heavy cost for honestly and objectively reporting the conflict over two decades," it added.

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Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah al- Ahmad Al-Sabah left for Saudi Arabia today for talks aimed at resolving a diplomatic crisis between Qatar and other Arab nations.

The official KUNA agency said the emir left for the western port city of Jeddah at the head of a high-level delegation including the foreign and information ministers.

The emir was aiming to mediate in the dispute between Qatar and its Gulf neighbours led by Saudi Arabia, lawmakers in Kuwait City said earlier.

"We pray to God to help him succeed in achieving Gulf unity," veteran MP Ali al-Deqbasi said during a parliamentary session.

The Kuwaiti ruler played a pivotal role in mediating a compromise in a 2014 diplomatic dispute between Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Gulf states.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt and Yemen yesterday cut diplomatic ties with fellow Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member state Qatar.

Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, has delayed a speech planned for broadcast on Al-Jazeera at the request of the Kuwaiti ruler, the Qatari foreign minister said.

Sheikh Sabah has urged his Qatari counterpart "to exercise restraint" and "give efforts aimed at containing tensions between brothers a chance," said the Kuwaiti agency KUNA.

Kuwait, also a GCC member, did not join its neighbours in severing ties with Qatar.

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Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah al- Ahmad Al-Sabah will travel to Saudi Arabia tomorrow for talks aimed at resolving a diplomatic crisis between Qatar and other Arab nations, lawmakers said.

"Today, the emir embarks on a trip to Saudi Arabia," veteran MP Ali al-Deqbasi said during a parliamentary session.

"We pray to God to help him succeed in achieving Gulf unity.

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An Italian prosecutor said today that Youssef Zaghba, the third man who carried out last weekend's deadly attack in London, was notified to Britain as a "possible suspect" back in March 2016.

Bologna prosecutor Giuseppe Amato said the warning had been transmitted after Zaghba was intercepted at the city's airport trying to board a plane for Turkey, en route for Syria. British police had earlier said the 22-year-old had not been on their radar prior to Saturday's attack.

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Youssef Zaghba, one of the three assailants of Saturday's deadly attack in London, was intercepted last year en route to Syria and flagged to Britain as a possible jihadist, Italian authorities said on Wednesday.

Zaghba, a 22-year-old with dual Moroccan-Italian nationality, was briefly detained after being stopped at the airport in Bologna, central Italy in March 2016.

Italian prosecutors were unable to bring charges against him for links to terrorism and he was set free, a police spokesman told AFP. Italy notified Britain and Morocco of his status as a potential Islamist radical.

But he never showed up on Britain's radar as someone capable of involvement in the attack on London Bridge, in which seven people were killed. The three attackers smashed a van into pedestrians on London Bridge before going on a stabbing spree which ended with them being shot dead by police.

London's Metropolitan Police said Zaghba had not been on their radar before Saturday, despite the Italian warning. He was not a "police or (intelligence agency) MI5 subject of interest," a spokesman said.

The mayor of Valsamoggia, a municipality near Bologna, said Zaghba was the son of an Italian mother, Valeria Collina, and a Moroccan father, Mohamed Zaghba, who had separated 18 months ago. Zaghba had been registered at an address in the village of Castello di Serravalle since 2004, as an Italian living overseas.

"In fact he never lived here," said the mayor, Daniele Ruscigno. "Only the mother lived here. She'd converted to Islam when she got married and neighbours say she wore a veil."

Neighbours told AFP the mother had moved back to the village, one of five that make up Valsamoggia, 18 months ago, living on the ground floor of a two-storey house in a leafy setting.
French President Emmanuel Macron called for unity among Gulf states today, saying he was ready to back "all initiatives to encourage calm".

Macron spoke by phone with Qatari leader Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and restated the "importance of preserving stability in the region". He also reaffirmed France's readiness to stay in contact with all parties involved, the president's office said in a statement.

Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates severed diplomatic ties and transport links with Qatar yesterday, accusing it of supporting extremism.

US President Donald Trump threw his weight behind the effort spearheaded by Riyadh, despite Qatar's role in hosting US military operations in the fight against Islamic State (IS) extremism.

The Gulf states "said they would take a hard line on funding... Extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!" Trump said on Twitter.

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With Delhi struggling to check dengue and chikungunia diseases, the National Green Tribunal has expressed unhappiness over government buildings in the city like Haryana Bhawan becoming a breeding ground for mosquitoes and directed cleaning of its premises.

The green panel said it is really a matter of surprise that such a prominent building like Haryana Bhawan has not been cleaned and is causing a great health hazard and adverse impact on environment.

"We direct the Resident Commissioner of Haryana to ensure that the entire Bhawan is mosquitoes free and waste deposits are not to be kept in any part of the building. This should be done immediately," the bench said.

Earlier, the NGT had said that rickety old buses lying abandoned at Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) depots here were a breeding ground for mosquitoes, leading to a rise in dengue and chikungunya cases.

The NGT had earlier said vector-borne diseases such as dengue and chikungunya had started spreading in the city and the steps taken by the authorities to contain the menace were a "mere formality".

The bench had then appointed 12 local commissioners to inspect different spots in the city under each municipal corporation and report to it about the problems on the ground.

The tribunal had also hit out at the Delhi government, civic bodies and other public authorities for making "unbelievable" claims and "vague statements" regarding steps taken to tackle dengue, chikungunya and other diseases.

It had said the right to a clean and decent environment and public health was a fundamental right and financial limitations should not come in the way of providing good health and environment to the people.

The bench was hearing a petition by a former scientist of the Central Pollution Control Board, Mahendra Pandey, for issuance of directions and setting up of committees to implement "precautionary, preventive and curative actions" to ensure that the residents of Delhi were not exposed to disease.

The plea had also sought direction to authorities not to undertake outdoor thermal fogging to control dengue, alleging it caused air pollution.

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After ruling at historic highs for consecutive sessions, the market on Tuesday paused to catch some breath, with both the and the Nifty50 coming down from their record highs as investors maintained cautious stance ahead of the outcome of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) policy meet.

Continuing their dream bull run, though briefly, into the third session on Tuesday, the Sensex hit another intra-day record of 31,430.32 in early trade and the Nifty breached the psychological 9,700-level for the first time, before retreating. The Nifty opened at a new high of 9,704.25 and gained further ground to hit a new high of 9,709.30.

But the market's record-setting spree short-lived and the 30-share Sensex shed almost 119 points to end at 31,191, while the Nifty slumped nearly 38 points to finish at 9,637.

Some level of circumspection ahead of Wednesday's RBI policy review outcome resulted in profit-booking.

Also, market participants holding their bets ahead of the UK general elections and the European Central Bank (ECB) meeting added to the overall weak sentiment. Besides, the trading came under pressure tracking the gulf diplomatic crisis following the Arab countries' decisions led by Saudi Arabia to sever all ties with the tiny-yet- wealthy peninsular nation of Qatar over Islamist support. "Strong monsoon onset and RBI meet underpinned helping Nifty to 9,700 but weak Asian cues and rising tensions in the middle east kept risk appetite under check.







With GST deadline looming, focus is now on the executional issues, and the preparedness of firms to meet the roll-out deadline, Geojit Financial Services Chief Market Strategist Anand James said.

The market sentiment took a short-term reversal in the absence of any meaningful fresh domestic triggers and also concerns of stretched valuation.

However, bucking the broader market trend, information technology services majors Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys and Wipro gained as much as 3.70 per cent on good amount of buying activity after recent sell-offs, which kept the Sensex fall under check.
Actress Mischa Barton has emerged victorious in the sex tape lawsuit that involved her and ex-boyfriend Jon Zacharias.

According to the 31-year-old actress' lawyer, Lisa Bloom, the "revenge porn" case has ended in a victory for "The O C" star, reported Variety.

In March, reports said that a sex tape involving Barton went viral on porn outlets. The actress retaliated when she filed a lawsuit against Zacharias, one of the alleged peddlers of the tape.

Barton and Bloom appeared in Los Angeles Superior Court yesterday and reached a settlement with Zacharias, under which he agreed not to distribute any of the images and to turn them over to the actress, as per CBS Los Angeles.

"Today we have won an important agreement, which permanently blocks the dissemination of these images. All explicit photos and videos of Mischa must be handed over to me immediately.

"Her ex must stay 100 yards away from her today, tomorrow, and forever. And the court will retain jurisdiction over the case in case we need further enforcement," Bloom said in a statement to People.

As per the papers filed in the court, Barton had alleged that Zacharias recorded them while they were having sex and even photographed her in the nude without her knowledge.

The suit added that Zacharias was trying to sell the tapes for USD 500,000.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet this week on the sidelines of in Astana, amid growing differences between the two countries over a host of issues including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and NSG.

Efforts were on through diplomatic channels to arrange a meeting between the two leaders, informed sources told PTI here.

The summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) being held on June 8-9 in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, is special for India as it would be formally admitted into the China dominated six-nation grouping along with Pakistan.

Till now China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are the group's full members. Afghanistan, Belarus, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan have observer status.

The admission of India and Pakistan will enlarge the group's footprints for the first time to South Asia from Central Asia.

Chinese officials say that Beijing attaches importance to the Modi-Xi meeting as this would be the first this year and taking place after India boycotted the high-profile Belt and Road Forum held here last month in which 29 world leaders took part.

India abstained from the summit to highlight its concerns over the USD 50 billion CPEC which is part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and passes through Gilgit and Baltistan in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

China is vocal about its stand to block India's admission into the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) besides moves to list JeM leader Masood Azhar as terrorist by the UN.

After Astana, Modi and Xi are also expected to cross paths at the G20 summit to be held next month in Hamburg, Germany followed by Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) summit to be held in Xiamen, China in September.

Their Astana meeting would be followed by lengthy process of high level consultative meetings between BRICS countries starting with the foreign ministers this month.

Minister of State for External Affairs Gen V K Singh was expected to attend the BRICS Foreign Ministers meeting to be held here on June 18-19.

It will also be followed by a meeting of the National Security Advisors on July 27-28 here. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, who is also India's Special Representative for the Sino-India border talks, was expected to attend the meeting.

This is the first time that the BRICS Foreign Ministers meet is being held far ahead of September summit following suggestion from the host country, China.

Finance Minister of the BRICS countries are also due to meet.

While the outcome of these meetings cannot be judged, they provide numerous platforms for leaders and officials of India and China to discuss a way out their differences and step up cooperation, officials said.
A 14-year-old son of a Naval surgeon died after a termite-infested tree fell on him at Navy Nagar in Colaba in south Mumbai today, police said.

The incident occurred at Somnath Vatika in Nofra (Naval Officers Residential Area) in afternoon when Rahul Madanmohan was headed to meet his school friends.

As he was walking, the flame tree suddenly collapsed on him, police said.

Rahul suffered serious injuries in the incident, police said, adding that he was rushed to the Naval hospital INS Ashwini with the help of Navy Police, but was declared dead before admission by doctors there.

Rahul's father Vipankumar Madanmohan works as a Colonel (Medical Surgeon) in same hospital, they said, adding that Rahul's body was handed over to his family members after postmortem.

A case of accidental death has been registered by police.

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CBI raids on the residence of NDTV founder Prannoy Roy drew widespread criticism from political parties and press bodies today, with the chief ministers of Kerala and West Bengal describing the searches as an attempt to muzzle the media.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called yesterday's action a "disturbing trend" while her Kerala counterpart, Pinarayi Vijayan, said it sought to "threaten" a critical media.

Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said the raids reflected "shamelessness".

He said, "Yesterday, we were seeing shamelessness. While people have vanished with thousands of crores (of rupees), why is the government so rattled by a Rs-50 crore matter?"



In Thiruvananthapuram, Vijayan said the searches were "an attempt to threaten the media which criticises the functioning of the Central government headed by Narendra Modi".

Banerjee tweeted she was "shocked" at the raids. "He (Roy) is highly respected and reputed. Disturbing trend," she said.

Calling it a "serious matter", the CPI said the action reflected the Narendra Modi government's plan to curb the freedom of expression.

"The party expresses its deep concern over the raids...A part of the Modi government's plan to curb freedom of expression," it said in a statement.

A number of media bodies also condemned the raids.

The All India Newspaper Editors' Conference said it was "clearly a case of am attack on the freedom of the press", while the Press Club of India (PCI) in Delhi expressed its "grave" concern.

"While we maintain that all individuals and every institution have to abide by the law of the land, we condemn any attempt to either intimidate the media or put curbs on its freedom," PCI president Gautam Lahiri said.

The Indian Women's Press Corps (IWPC) here alleged that the law of the land should not be applied "selectively", nor should it be "used as an instrument to harass anyone including the media".

The Kashmir Editors Guild described it as a "muscular manifestation".

A group of intellectuals under the banner of SAHMAT, a platform for artistes, academics and others, condemned the raids as "totally unwarranted" and said they were an "intimidatory" tactic.

"By attacking the media, the present government is undermining the freedom of the press, so essential for a democratic polity," it said.

In the Himachal Pradesh capital of Shimla, citizens expressed their solidarity with NDTV at a protest in front of a statue of Mahatama Gandhi at the Ridge.

The protesters, who gathered under the banner of Citizens of Shimla, were led by CPI(M) leaders Sanjay Chauhan and Tikender Singh Panwar.

Deputy Advocate General Anoop Rattan said the action was an attempt to stop the media from questioning the actions of the BJP leadership.

The CBI converted a private complaint against the NDTV into an FIR and carried out searches on the premises of its founders Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy, and their company RRPR Pvt Limited, yesterday.

NDTV in a statement said the channel and its promoters would fight tirelessly against this "witch-hunt" by multiple agencies.

"We will not succumb to these attempts to blatantly undermine democracy and free speech in India. We have one message to those who are trying to destroy the institutions of India and everything it stands for: we will fight for our country and overcome these forces," the NDTV said.

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The CBI today examined complainant Sanjay Dutt in connection with alleged irregularities in the foreclosure of a bank loan by NDTV from ICICI Bank which resulted in a purported loss of Rs 48 crore to the bank.

The agency has filed an FIR on the basis of a complaint from Dutt which it had received on April 28 this year and had carried out searches at the premises of NDTV promoters Prannoy Roy and his wife Radhika Roy.

Dutt was called today to give his statement and other details about the case.

"The complainant was examined today. Relevant documents related to the loan and further details of correspondence have been sought from the ICICI Bank," a CBI spokesperson said.

Sources said names of ICICI Bank officials who were concerned with the sanction of the loan have also been asked from the bank.

The loan of Rs 375 crore (disbursed Rs 350 crore) was sanctioned in 2008 and was repaid within 10 months by NDTV.

The agency has said that the repayment was done by reducing the rate of interest from 19 per cent per annum to nine per cent per annum which caused a loss of Rs 48 crore to the bank.

The searches which sent ripples in the media fraternity saw criticism from Editors' Guild of India, SAHMAT and various political parties which termed the move as muzzling of the press.

"Entry of police and other agencies into the media offices is a serious matter," the Editors' Guild statement had said after the raids yesterday.

Press Club of India and All India Newspaper Editors' Conference also condemned the CBI raids on NDTV.

The CBI defended its move saying it respects freedom of the press and it did not search the studio or newsroom of NDTV.

Its searches were limited to residential premises of the promoters of NDTV, it said.

In an unusually lengthy statement, the agency said it has not conducted any search on the registered office of NDTV, media studio, newsroom or premises connected with media operations.

"CBI fully respects the freedom of the press and is committed to the free functioning of operations," it said and clarified that the allegations under investigation are not regarding the default in loan repayment.

The allegations "relate to the wrongful gain of Rs 48 crore to the promoters -- Prannoy Roy, Radhika Roy, RRPR Holdings Pvt Ltd and a corresponding wrongful loss to the ICICI Bank arising from their collusion and criminal conspiracy," the CBI said.

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Nepal is failing to enforce laws designed to protect migrant workers from being charged exorbitant fees that leave them crippled by debt and trapped in jobs overseas, Amnesty International said today.

More than 400,000 migrants workers leave Nepal every year for work abroad, mostly in the Gulf and Malaysia. Their remittances back home make up nearly 30 per cent of the impoverished country's GDP.

The government in 2015 banned employment agencies from charging job seekers the cost of the plane ticket and work visa, shifting the burden to the employer, and capped agent fees at 10,000 Nepali rupees (USD 96).

But in its new report "Turning People into Profits", Amnesty said it failed to find a single worker who had not been forced to cover these costs.

"It is abundantly clear that the "Free Visa, Free Ticket" policy is not being implemented or enforced properly," said James Lynch, Deputy Director of Amnesty International's Global Issues programme.

"Despite some bright ideas, a lack of political will combined with bureaucratic inertia means that businesses are still effectively free to exploit migrants."



Amnesty interviewed 127 migrant workers who said they were forced to pay an average USD 1,346 to agents for jobs abroad. Many said they were often deceived about the nature of the work they were being offered.

Ram Sundar Yadav said his employer in Malaysia locked him in a room for 15 days when he refused to perform duties outside his contract.

"He said that unless I did as he asked he would not return my passport or give me food. He said he would jail me," Yadav said.

The 27-year-old managed to return home after nine months with the help of the Nepali government, but could not repay the USD 1,552 loan he took to travel abroad.

"The attitude of recruiters is about buying and selling people. And our people end up being abused, because the government does not prevent them from being traded like cattle," said Suresh, another worker interviewed for the report.

Amnesty said more than 2,000 cases were filed by migrant workers against recruitment agencies in Nepal last year, but only four have so far been refered for prosecution.

The Nepali government needed to better enforce measures to stop recruitment agencies from "making quick money off the back of poor people's futures", Lynch said.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today told Israeli settlers marking 50 years since the Six-Day War he would keep building across the occupied West Bank and that no one would be "uprooted from his home".

It was unclear if Netanyahu was suggesting no settlements would be dismantled in any peace deal with the Palestinians, which would mark a significant change and raise further doubts over future possibilities of a two-state solution.

A spokesman for Netanyahu did not respond to a request for further explanation.

Netanyahu was speaking in parliament at a special session marking 50 years since the 1967 Six-Day War, when Israel's occupation of the West Bank began, to an audience of lawmakers and invited settler leaders.

"Everyone has the right to live in his home and nobody will be uprooted from his home," Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu has said he still supports a two-state solution, but peace advocates allege his actions show otherwise.

Proposals for future peace deals with the Palestinians typically involve land swaps, with far-flung settlements evacuated and larger settlement blocs remaining under Israeli control.

His comments came as Netanyahu faced heavy criticism from settler leaders who accuse him of failing to advance settlement projects.

The settlers, pillars of support for Netanyahu's right- wing government, are still smarting over the February demolition of the Amona rogue settlement outpost in the West Bank.

Settler leaders this week accused Netanyahu of a de facto construction freeze after reports emerged of moves to advance plans for some 2,500 settler homes instead of a far larger number they were expecting.

He spoke today of a plan to rehouse Amona evacuees at a new site in the West Bank, which Israeli settlement watchdog Peace Now says would be the first new government-approved settlement in about 25 years.

Construction in recent years has involved expanding existing settlements in the West Bank, with many countries warning it is gradually eating away at any chance of a two- state solution with the Palestinians.

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The NIA has filed a charge sheet in a court here against two men for their alleged involvement in smuggling from Bangladesh fake Rs 2,000 currency notes having face value of Rs 3.9 lakh.

Two accused -- Habibur Rahaman and Fakirul Sk alias Akash alias Fakirul Seikh -- both residents of Malda, have been charged with smuggling and circulation of fake currency notes across the country with a view to damage the monetary stability of India, the NIA said in a release issued today.

The case is related to the seizure of new Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) of Rs 2000 denomination, having a total face value of Rs 3.9 lakh, on March 6 this year, in front of the Hotel Shine, Station Road, Jhalijhalia, Malda from the exclusive possession of Habibur and Fakirul, it said.

Both the accused were arrested, and following the investigation, the charge sheet was filed on June 2, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said.

Initially a case was registered at English Bazar police station of Malda district.

Following recovery of huge quantity of FICN of Rs 2,000 denomination, the Ministry of Home Affairs directed the NIA to take up the investigation. The agency registered the case on March 28, 2017.

The accused admitted during the examination that they procured the seized FICNs from their counterpart in Bangladesh namely one Daku Sekh, the NIA said.

He had passed on the consignment of FICNs over the Indo-Bangladesh International Border Security Fence and they (accused Habibur and Fakirul) positioned themselves on the Indian side.

The duo had received the consignment for further supply to another recipient at Malda town railway Station with intent to circulate in India when they were intercepted by a NIA team, it said.

On March 6, they used a motor cycle owned by Fakirul, which was seized from the place of occurrence, as conveyance for carrying the FICNs, the agency said.

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The BJP on Tuesday termed as "false and malicious untruth" reports that it wants to impose a as another party leader in the state quit protesting the Centre's controversial notification on cattle.

The party said any such decision is for the state government to take.

Nalin Kohli, who is Meghalaya in-charge for the BJP, blamed the Congress for spreading this "malicious untruth" and accused it of communalising the political agenda in the state going to polls next year.

The North Garo Hills district BJP president, Bachu Marak, had yesterday resigned from the party over the Centre's ban on the sale of cattle in markets for slaughter.

"I cannot compromise on the sentiments of the Garos. As a Garo, it is my responsibility to protect the interest of my community. Beef eating is part of our culture and tradition. Imposition of BJP's non-secular ideology on us is not acceptable," Bachu said after the resignation.

Kohli said the party "welcomed" his resignation as it was going to take disciplinary action against him as he and some others were working to sabotage its prospects.

Consumption of beef is common in much of the north eastern states and the saffron party, whose many leaders are vocal against beef-eating, has been accused by its rivals of working to impose a ban in the region as well.

"The dirty tricks department of the Congress is trying to communalise the agenda with a false and malicious untruth that the BJP wants to impose a beef ban on the state of Meghalya.

"Nothing is farther from the truth since under our constitutional scheme, the central government cannot encroach on the area of what a state government has to decide," Kohli said.

The BJP's single point agenda for Meghalaya is Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas' and it is gearing up to contest the assembly elections on this positive agenda of development, he said.

It will also expose "rampant corruption, unfulfilled promises and lack of development" under the Congress government of Mukul Sangma, he said.

He accused the Congress of running away from a debate on its performance.
Numaligarh Refinery Limited has started despatch of wax in liquid form which will result in energy saving.

The first consignment was ceremonially flagged off from Numaligarh Refinery Marketing Terminal by Director(Technical) B J Phukan on June 3 last to Kharagpur in West Bengal, an official release said here today.

Dispatch of wax in liquid form would result in energy savings associated with its solidification at the refinery end and liquefaction of the same at the user's end.

Though dispatch of liquid wax in international trade is not uncommon, such efforts on the part of a domestic inland refinery is unique, the release said.

The 50,000 metric tonnes wax plant was commissioned in March 2015 at a cost of Rs 676 crore is the country's largest wax producing unit with indigenous technology developed by IIP Dehradun, EIL and NRL.

Since the commissioning of the wax plant, NRL has emerged as the largest manufacturer and marketer of wax in the country, it said.

The company continues with its wax export with recent exports to the South American nation of Chile and the neighbouring countries of Bangladesh and China.

Export of solid wax to Bangladesh is continuing at a constant pace with repeat orders being placed on NRL.

Export of solid wax to China assumes importance since the country has so far been one of the largest exporters of wax in the world with India being one of the largest importers of Chinese wax, the release said.

After commissioning of NRL's wax , imports from China have gradually come down by 80 per cent, it added.

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Pakistan is still a sanctuary for the Taliban and the Haqqani network and more of a threat than an ally, a top US think tank has said, while asserting that the Trump administration should make it clear to Islamabad that it will face sanctions if it continues to support them.

"Afghanistan is currently doing badly both in the fighting and in its civilian politics, governance, and poverty. Pakistan is still a sanctuary for the Taliban and Haqqani network and more of a threat than an ally," the Center for Strategic and Studies (CSIS) said in a report released yesterday.

Authored by Anthony H Cordesman, CSIS's Arleigh A Burke, Chair in Strategy, the report said there has to be a better strategy and a better approach to both the military and civil dimensions of the war to provide a reason to stay.

"No commitment should be open ended. The Afghans have to do far more, and do it far better, to justify each future year of US commitment," the report said.

"The United States should make it clear to Pakistan that it faces a total end to aid, and the imposition of sanctions, if it continues to support the Taliban and tolerate the Haqqani network," it said.

Russia should be told that any end to US sanctions will depend on it not supporting the Taliban, and the Unites States should reach out to China to make it clear that Chinese cooperation in dealing with Afghanistan and Pakistan can serve both Chinese and American interests, the report said.

CSIS said the US should make it totally clear that it will conduct a public annual review of its commitments to Afghanistan and the Afghan performance.

"It should make it clear that it can and will leave in the face of Afghan failure. If necessary, the United States should make good on such a threat," it said.

"It should send a clear message to all 'partner states' that they must meet reasonable standards of performance. The United States should never bully its allies, but it also should not be bullied -- or let nations slip into the kind of overdependence that ultimately undermines rather than aids them," the CSIS said.
Sleuths of the Anti Corruption Bureau in neighbouring Baran district of Rajasthan today arrested a panchayat clerk for allegedly taking a bribe of Rs 23,000 in Kishanganj village.

Ram Lal Kumar has demanded the bribe from a farmer for sanctioning subsidy amount under a special scheme of the state government for constructing stone walls and erecting fencing around the agriculture land, Neeraj Gupta, Baran cirle incharge of the ACB, said.

The farmer Chothmal Meena complained to the ACB on May 29, stating that the clerk demanded a bribe of Rs 23,000 from him.

A trap was laid and Kumar was caught while taking the bribe from Meena, Gupta said.

He said the accused clerk would be produced before the ACB court in Kota tomorrow.

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Pakistan International Airlines will send special flights to bring back hundreds of Pakistani pilgrims stranded in Doha, a day after Saudi Arabia and other Arab powers severed diplomatic ties with Qatar.

According to a statement issued yesterday, PIA CEO Nayyar Hayat has asked the airline's Qatar manager to coordinate with the Pakistanis stranded in the country.

Hayat has directed that special flights will be arranged for the pilgrims, the Dawn newspaper reported.

Pakistan's national carrier PIA's officials in Doha have also been directed to contact the Pakistani embassy in Doha.

Pakistani pilgrims who were travelling to Saudi Arabia for Umrah via Qatar were stranded in Doha after several countries including Saudi Arabia, UAE and Egypt cut diplomatic ties with Qatar that is home to a major US military base, accusing it of supporting terrorist groups and backing Iran.

It is being reported that hundreds of Pakistanis are stranded at the Doha airport.

Yesterday, Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates began withdrawing their diplomatic staff from Qatar and regional airlines announced they would suspend service to its capital, Doha.

The unprecedented measures against Doha include ordering Qatari citizens to leave within 14 days and banning citizens of the three Gulf states from travelling to Qatar.

The exact number of those left in Doha due to travel ban on Qatar is not known. The decision has plunged Qatar into chaos and ignited the biggest diplomatic crisis in the Gulf since the 1991 war against Iraq.

Qatar has criticised the move as a "violation of its sovereignty.

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All the four legislators belonging to the opposition AIADMK (Amma) today surrendered their family ration cards in the Assembly during zero hour expressing their willingness to opt out of 'freebies.'



AIADMK (Amma) legislature wing leader A Anbalagan announced that his party legislators did not want to enjoy any of the freebies the government was offering as it should be restricted to the needy and poorer sections.

He said government should also ensure that the benefits of welfare schemes including the 20 kg free rice scheme operated every month and it should be restricted to the poorer sections.

Anbalagan, Vayyapuri Manikandan, A Baskar and K A U Asana surrendered the cards to the Speaker.

Welcoming their gesture, Chief Minister V Narayanasamy said the purpose of the freebies was to enable the poorer sections enjoy the benefits of welfare schemes.

He said he had already appealed to the affluent sections, industrialists, officials, elected representatives and those paying income tax to voluntarily opt out of the freebies so that the money saved thereby would be used for various programmes.

Welfare Minister M Kandasamy said government was hard-pressed for funds to operate various welfare schemes. Hence freebies should be available only for the needy and the money saved would be of help to strengthen the coffers, he said.

Kandasamy said ruling Congress legislators too had decided to opt out of the freebies.

Kandasamy later told PTI that ten out of the 15 Congress legislators surrendered their cards after the day's session was over.

Among those who surrendered the cards included the Speaker, Deputy Speaker and also Ministers, he said.

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The peak power demand in the national capital shot up to an all time high of 6,526 MW today, with many areas facing outages due to local faults as the heatwave condition continued in the city.

The soaring temperature has put pressure on power demand which rose to 6,526 MW at 3.31 pm, the highest ever recorded level in Delhi, the figures provided by the Power department said.

Yesterday, the peak power demand was recoded at 6,361 MW, the second highest in this summer season.

With mercury hovering over 44 degrees Celsius mark for the past two days, the peak power demand rose to record levels and also led to outages in many parts of the city due to local faults.

Scheduled power cuts by the distribution companies (discoms) BSES and Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL) also added to people's miseries in the sweltering heat.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today directed the government officials to report the unscheduled power cuts to him on daily basis.

He also directed the discoms to increase the capacity of their call centres for satisfactory disposal of consumer's complaints.

Residents in many parts of the city, including Sangam Vihar, Uttam Nagar, Najafgarh, Dwarka, Seelampur, Chandni Chowk, Laxmi Nagar, Narela, Jahangirpuri and Burari complained about sporadic power cuts ranging from one to two hours in their areas.

The discom officials said that due to extreme heat and round-the-clock demand for power, including at night, the electricity network does not get sufficient time to cool down, leading to local faults at times.

The problem is further complicated by "unprecedented" load in areas prone to power pilferage leading to trippings and burn out of distribution equipment, they said.

The hot summer months this year have pushed the peak power demands to record levels, with April registering the highest ever demand for the month at 5,685 MW which was 18 per cent more than the peak power demand of 4,797 MW in the same month last year, a BSES official said.

In March, the peak power demand in the city crossed the 4,000 MW mark for the first time ever, he added.

The discoms had expected that the peak demand will cross the 6,500 MW level in view of severe summer season, predicted this year by the Meteorological department.

Arrangements such as long power purchasing agreements (PPAs) and banking arrangements with other states besides strengthening distribution network have been put in place for ensuring uninterrupted supply, he said.

Similar arrangements were also made by the other power discom, TPDDL, to meet the increased demand.

"Adequate arrangements of up to 2,000 MW, along with contingency plans, are in place to ensure regular supply in our area of distribution," CEO and MD of TPDDL, Praveer Sinha said.

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More than 100 persons, belonging to various organisations, were arrested today when they attempted to lay siege to the district headquarters of ruling AIADMK, seeking immediate release of a person, who was detained under Goondas Act, in Chennai, police said.

Tirumurugan Gandhi and a few others were detained on May 17,when they were going to pay homage to Sri Lankan Tamils killed during the final phase of the war.

The protest was spearheaded by Aadi Tamilar Peravai.

Police prevented the activists from staging a sit-in before the AIADMK headquarters and arrested them, the sources said.

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US President Donald Trump on Tuesday supported the actions of four Arab countries to cut off diplomatic relationship with Qatar, saying his visit to the Middle East is "paying off" to end the "horror of terrorism".

Led by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and United Arab Emirates have blamed Qatar for "financing, adopting and sheltering extremists", and alleged that it supports terrorist groups ranging from the Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamic State to the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

"During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!" Trump tweeted.

During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017

"So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding, extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar," he said.

So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding...  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017

"Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!" Trump said.

Trump last month visited Saudi Arabia during which he addressed leaders of 50 Muslim countries including Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Members of the Gulf Cooperation Countries signed a memorandum of understanding with the US to make it illegal in their countries for raising funds for terrorist and extremist organisations.

Trump also slammed the mainstream American media.

"Sorry folks, but if I would have relied on the Fake News of CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, washpost or nytimes, I would have had ZERO chance winning WH," he said in yet another tweet.

Sorry folks, but if I would have relied on the Fake News of CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, washpost or nytimes, I would have had ZERO chance winning WH  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017

"The FAKE MSM is working so hard trying to get me not to use Social Media. They hate that I can get the honest and unfiltered message out," he wrote.

The FAKE MSM is working so hard trying to get me not to use Social Media. They hate that I can get the honest and unfiltered message out.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017

A day earlier, the White House had said that Trump is committed to have conversations with all of the people involved in that process, with all of those countries.

"We want to continue to deescalate that. And at this point, we're continuing to work with each of those partners," the White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters.
With some Gulf countries imposing airspace restrictions on flights to and from Doha, Union Minister Jayant Sinha today said the government is working with airlines on how best to handle the flight operations, including emergency landings.

In a major face-off in the Gulf region, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and some other countries have cut ties with Qatar, accusing the latter of extending support to extremists.

The development has impacted flight operations in the region with airspace restrictions in place and the UAE imposing curbs on flights to and from Doha using its airspace.

Sinha, who is the Minister of State for Civil Aviation, said at this stage, the government is working with airlines on what are the best routes given the situation in the Middle East and also "what (can be) the emergency landing airports (in the region)".

"We are working with our airlines as well as other international airlines to see how best we can handle flight operations," he said on the sidelines of an event here.

Noting that there is inconvenience for all passengers flying to that region, Sinha said, "Our hope is that things will settle down soon".

Jet Airways, Air India Express and IndiGo are now operating flights to Qatar's capital Doha through Pakistan and Iran airspace following restrictions imposed by the UAE.

With the new route, travel time would increase due to longer flight duration and operational costs would also spike as more fuel is used.

As many as seven countries -- Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Yemen, Libya's eastern-based government and the Maldives -- have severed diplomatic ties with Qatar.

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A mysterious rock-like object, which appears to have fallen from the sky, in an open field near Bhankhrora area on the outskirts of the city caused panic among locals.

The dark grey coloured object appears to be a meteorite and weighs around four kg. A few other pieces of the rock-like object were also found, police said.

"Locals spotted the object in the morning and informed us. It seems the object fell at a great speed as it has created a small crater on the ground in Mukundpura village," SHO of Bhankhrora Police Station Hemendra Sharma told PTI.

He said the Geological Survey of India and Forensic Science Laboratory officials have been informed about it.

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A group of intellectuals under the banner of SAHMAT have condemned as "totally unwarranted" the CBI raids on the television channel NDTV and termed it as "an intimidatory tactic".

The group maintained that all due procedures should be followed in cases of private complaints.

It said it is of opinion that searches even without a preliminary enquiry, as stated by the NDTV, is nothing but an "intimidatory tactic".

"By attacking the media, the present government is undermining freedom of the press, so essential for a democratic polity," it said.

SAHMAT is a trust formed in the memory noted Communist leader and dramatist Safdar Hashmi, killed by a mob for staging a play in support of labour rights.

In a surprise move, the CBI converted a private complaint against the NDTV into an FIR and had carried out searches on the premises of its founders Pranoy Roy and Radhika Roy, and their company RRPR Pvt Limited.

The probe agency's move came in criticism from all quarters but it defended the move claiming it had followed due procedure.

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Heavy security was deployed outside the CPI(M) headquarters here, anticipating protests by cow-vigilante groups against Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who is in the national capital for the two-day politburo meeting of the party.

Vijayan has drawn the ire of right-wing organisations for his criticism of the Centre's notification banning sale and purchase of cattle at animal markets for slaughter.

According to a senior police officer, security personnel, including those from paramilitary forces, were deployed outside AK Gopalan Bhavan, the CPI(M) headquarters, as a precautionary measure.

The police had received information that some people might try to create a ruckus outside the CPI(M) office, protesting the recent beef fests in Kerala and the chief minister's views on the issue, the officer said, adding that the area around the office, along Bhai Veer Singh Marg, had been heavily barricaded.

The Left party, however, had not asked for an additional security deployment ahead of the meeting which got underway today.

Beef fests were recently held in Kerala and Tamil Nadu to protest the Centre's decision to ban the sale and purchase of cattle at the animal markets for the purpose of slaughter.

Some Youth Congress activists had even butchered a calf in full public view in Kerala as a mark of protest, drawing criticism from various quarters.

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The Senate today confirmed President Donald Trump's pick to be the CIA's top lawyer.

The bipartisan vote for Courtney Simmons Elwood, a former Supreme Court clerk and lawyer in President George W. Bush's administration, was 67-33.

During her confirmation hearing in April, Elwood was questioned about the CIA's former program to harshly interrogate terror suspects. She reassured lawmakers who worry Trump will want to resurrect the program that doing so would take a change in US law.

She also faced questions about surveillance programs, the use of contractors and the Senate intelligence committee's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Elwood has pledged to give the committee all the materials it needs for that investigation - as consistent with the law.

Senator Tom Cotton, R-Ark, spoke in Elwood's defense during brief Senate debate today.

"The general counsel of the CIA will help Director (Mike) Pompeo navigate the many twists and turns of the thorny legal terrain as our intelligence community defends our country against a wide range of threats: terrorism; cyberwarfare; and good, old-fashioned espionage," Cotton said. "We need people of the highest caliber serving at our national-security agencies. And there is broad agreement that Courtney Elwood fits the bill."



Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., had urged his colleagues to vote against the nomination. He pointed out that during her confirmation hearing, Elwood said she had read the 500-page unclassified summary of the Senate report on the CIA interrogation program. But she said it was not sufficient for her to conclude whether the CIA's interrogation techniques violated the law.

Elwood pledged to read the entire classified report, but the CIA has returned its copy of the full report to the committee at the behest of Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., chairman of the Senate intelligence committee.

"This nominee told members of our committee that she had not yet studied whether the CIA's torture techniques were legal," Wyden said in a speech on the Senate floor today morning. "She told us that she would read the report and now the report is gone.

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Union minister Jayant Sinha today proposed an air connectivity scheme on the lines of the UDAN scheme to connect smaller towns across the BIMSTEC region.

He also added that such a move will have to be supplemented by an agreement such as the Open Sky Agreement that India has with other SAARC nations as well countries located beyond a 5,000-km radius from New Delhi, allowing unlimited number of flights to six metro airports.

Minister of State for Civil Aviation Sinha was speaking at a curtain raiser to mark the 20th anniversary of BIMSTEC or Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation. The grouping includes Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal.

"It is worth considering whether we can work with countries that are in the BIMSTEC to see whether we can create a policy package that will enable us to connect smaller towns across the entire BIMSTEC region," Sinha said.

He added that no formal talks on the matter had taken place with any of the BIMSTEC nations and this was merely an "an informal suggestion" being floated for debate and discussion.

Sinha also said that in order to execute such a scheme India will have to enter into an agreement with various countries to provide financial aid.

"We can sign an MoU with different countries to be able to provide support for an UDAN-type scheme across the BIMSTEC community. Of course, we will have to couple that with something like an Open Sky Agreement so that airlines can fly freely," Sinha told reporters.

The Centre's Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) scheme aims to boost air connectivity to tier-2 and tier-3 cities and make flying affordable for the masses by capping airfares at Rs 2,500 per hour.

The first flight under the scheme was launched on Delhi- Shimla route in April after as many as five airlines won 128 routes as part of a bidding process.

The government provides selected airline operators a subsidy to keep the fares low for passengers.

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Congress president Sonia Gandhi today blamed the Centre and the PDP-BJP government in Jammu and Kashmir for the current unrest in the border state, accusing them of "colossal failure" and "systematically alienating" the local population in the Valley.

The fresh offensive by the Congress against the BJP over the crisis in Kashmir came even as former chief minister Omar Abdullah alleged that the Centre's "unfortunate failure" to reach out and build bridges of reconciliation and peace with the youth in the Valley has created a political vacuum.

Emphasising that the current crisis in J and K was due to the "colossal failure" of the government, Gandhi said the "insensitive" handling of the situation by both the state and central governments is systematically alienating and antagonising local population, especially the youth.

"A divisive agenda is being followed which has undone years of goodwill and progress," she told a meeting of the Congress Working Committee(CWC) in New Delhi.

Addressing a youth convention of National Conference party in Srinagar, Omar said the youth of the state are being suffocated by the "repressive" policies of the PDP-BJP government while the looming uncertainty has created a sense of despair and hopelessness among them.

"The Central government's unfortunate failure to reach out and build bridges of reconciliation and peace with our youth has created a political vacuum," he said.

"The youth of the state are being suffocated by the policies of the present government. The looming uncertainty in the state coupled with the confrontational approach of the PDP-BJP government has created a sense of despair and hopelessness among the youth," he claimed.

Referring to the unrest in the Valley, Omar said that in this grim atmosphere, the youth is being robbed of their right to dream of a dignified and prosperous future.

He said the youth is feeling cheated as promises made to them were either broken or unapologetically abandoned.

"The same promises were then bartered without any inhibitions for personal and familial political empowerment of a few people while our hardworking, honest and sincere young men and women were let down and left to the mercy of uncertainty and turmoil," he said.

Due to this treachery, the trust deficit has been further widened to an extent where scepticism on the ground far overshadows the utility of any rhetoric the Government has to offer, the NC working president added.

Separately, the CPI(M) criticised army chief Gen.Bipin Rawat over his recent remarks defending use of human shield in Kashmir Valley, saying the comments reflected the views of the Modi government which "seeks to suppress" locals.

It claimed that the army and Kashmiris will suffer "irreparable damage" due to the government's "blind" adherence to the use of "coercive" force against civilians in the Valley.

"Unfortunately, the army chief is reflecting the views of the Modi government which seeks to suppress the people of Kashmir, who are voicing their political protest, through the sole reliance on use of force," former CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat said.

Karat made the remarks in an editorial in the latest issue of party mouthpiece 'People's Democracy'.

"Not only the people of Kashmir but the army itself will suffer irreparable damage due to the government's blind adherence to the use of coercive force against the civilian population," he added.

Speaking to PTI last week, Gen.Rawat had said that it would have been easier for the armed forces to deal with the protesters in the Valley had they fired weapons instead of hurling stones at the security personnel.

Rawat had also defended the actions of Maj.Leetul Gogoi, who had used a local Farooq Ahmad Dar, as a human shield.

Karat observed that Gen.Rawat allegedly made no distinction between young protestors throwing stones and armed militants.

"To taunt protestors to take up arms, so that the army could deal with them appropriately is a needless provocation and displays an attitude which is unbecoming of a senior army officer," he added.

Karat further said the army chief's remarks exemplify "all that is with the way the Modi government is dealing with the situation there."



"The army chief of staff, by commending this act, has let down the high professional standards of the army," the Marxist leader added.

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External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today held talks with her Sri Lankan counterpart Ravi Karunanayake and discussed a number of key issues besides exploring ways to further ramp up bilateral ties.

Earlier, Karunanayake called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Prime Minister recalled his productive and memorable visit to Sri Lanka on occasion of the International Vesak Day last month.

"Prime Minister further conveyed condolences on the loss of lives and destruction caused by the recent floods and landslides in Sri Lanka. He reaffirmed India's readiness to continue assisting Sri Lanka in this regard," the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement.

On his part, Karunanayake thanked Modi for India's quick assistance in the aftermath of the recent floods and landslides.

"He conveyed the commitment of the Government of Sri Lanka to continue strengthening the close partnership with India," the MEA said.

In their meeting, both Swaraj and Karunanayake deliberated upon a number of key issues besides reviewing the overall bilateral ties, officials said.

"IndiaSriLanka relations continue to expand in all areas of coop'n. EAM @SushmaSwaraj meets Foreign Min Ravi Karunanayake of Sri Lanka today," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Gopal Baglay tweeted.

Both India and Sri Lanka have been holding a series of meetings in the last few months to resolve the vexed fishermen issue. The issue is known to have figured in the talks.

India has been maintaining that it was looking at getting into the root of the problem and find a permanent solution to the issue.

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Manoj Sinha is likely to meet promoters of service providers on June 22-23 to take stock of the current crisis in the sector.

" has called for a meeting of promoters on June 22 and 23, 2017," an industry source told PTI.

The meeting will take place after inter-ministerial group finishes its meetings with telecom operators by June 17.

According to sources, the inter-ministerial group (IMG), created to work on resolving financial woes of the telecom sector, has called Reliance Communications, Tata Teleservices, Aircel and Sistema Shyam Teleservices for a meeting on June 12.

The major players -- Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, Vodafone and Idea -- have been asked for a meeting on June 15 by the panel.

The panel has asked telecom firms to provide their total annual revenue, operational expenses, net profit, market share, return on investments, return of capital deployed, debt liability from both domestic and foreign lenders, spectrum liability, equity infusion etc for financial years 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17 before June 12.

As per industry estimates, total debt for the sector is at around Rs 4.5 lakh crore, while revenues are around half of this. RCom has not been able to pay its lenders and has seven months to make repayments. Vodafone and Idea Cellular have entered into agreement to merge their businesses in India due to low margin and highly competitive environment.
Police has arrested three men for allegedly robbing a brand new Honda Jazz car at gunpoint in south Delhi's Fatehpur Beri last week.

The robbery took place on June 2 near the Dagar farmhouse in Chandanhaulla area here.

Shakul, employed as a driver with a car dealer in Faridabad, told police that he along with his younger brother Rashid had brought brought six new Honda Jazz cars to Delhi from Rajasthan in a trailer truck, police said.

The duo unloaded the cars at a distance and were driving the cars into a godown at Dagar farmhouse.

Two motorcycle-borne assailants accosted them and the pillion rider, wearing a mask, got into a tiff with Rashid claiming that the car driven by him had hit their two-wheeler, they said.

As Shakul tried to intervene, the pillion took out a firearm and threatened to shoot. They asked for the car keys and one of them fled with the car while the other rode away on the motorcycle, police said.

"The complainant told that vehicles being transported from factory to warehouse do not contain more than 2 to 3 litres of fuel. We started enquiring from fuel stations in the vicinity," DCP (South) Ishwar Singh said.

During the investigation, police procured CCTV footage of a suspect who was seen purchasing five litres of petrol from one of the petrol stations in the vicinity.

Suspecting him to one of the robber, police examined the CCTV footage identified him as Azam (22). He was then detained for questioning, he said.

Based on the information given by Azam police arrested Sundar Tanwar (23) and their accomplice Veer Singh (27) from different locations in Haryana, the DCP said.

The stolen car was also recovered, Singh said.

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The death toll from a devastating truck bomb in Kabul's diplomatic quarter last week has jumped to more than 150 people, President Ghani told an international peace conference in the capital today.

"Over 150 innocent Afghan sons and daughters were killed and more than 300 wounded were brought to hospitals with burns and amputations," Ghani said. Previously officials had put the number of killed at 90.

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US President Donald Trump's statement withdrawing from the Paris climate deal sent the message that America's own concerns were paramount and was a "shock" for India and the world community, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said here today.

Singh, who was inaugurating the two-day national conference on 'Capacity Building of State Disaster Response Force (SDRF)-2017', added that the US would "definitely" have a re-think on the issue.

"The international community should get onboard so that the environmental balance is not destroyed," he said.

The US president's recent statement about the Paris deal sent the message that the world community was not one and that a country was only concerned about its own environment, the minister said.

It was to be seen in what circumstances the US made such a statement, he added. For "people like us (India) and the international community, this has come as a shock."



"I am sure that the US will definitely re-think on this," he stated.

Announcing the US withdrawal from the Paris deal on June 1, Trump had claimed that India had made its participation in the agreement "contingent on receiving billions and billions and billions dollars in foreign aid".

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had rejected Trump's comment yesterday and said India signed the Paris climate pact not because of pressure from any country or due to the lure of money.

"Our signature in the pact was not because of greed, it was not because of fear. We signed it due to our commitment to protecting the environment... India will continue to be part of it irrespective of whether the US remains in it or not," Swaraj had told reporters.

Moving on from the climate deal, Rajnath Singh said state governments should raise their own State Disaster Response Funds (SDRFs) to make the country "disaster resilient".

He expressed his concern over many states not having their own independent disaster response forces.

Only 20 states and three union territories had raised their SDRFs, the minister said. "I will be happy to see all of them having such units to make themselves and the country strong and self-reliant to combat disasters."



"The initiative for disaster risk reduction should be escalated by everyone...Whatever technology guidance and help is expected from the Centre, we will do it," he said.

Singh painted a scenario where multiple states face the wrath of disaster at one time. Hence, all states and other government and non-government agencies should have bilateral and multilateral cooperation amongst themselves, he stressed.

"We have to shift our focus from disaster management to being disaster resilient."



The home minister said the Union government has also increased allocation under SDRF from Rs 30,581 crore during 2010-15 to Rs 61,220 crore for 2015-2020.

Two new battalions of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been created. They are based in Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and in Arunachal Pradesh, he said.

NDRF Director General R K Pachnanda, who also addressed the gathering, said the two-day conference was aimed at preparing SDRFs as "first responders" in an event when they are hit by a disaster.

"We have sensitised about 50 lakh people in the country against disasters and I can assure the country that the NDRF is for you, with you, always and everytime," the DG said.

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US President Donald Trump will host President Juan Carlos Varela of Panama at the White House on June 19, according to an official announcement.

Both the leaders are expected discuss ways to reinforce the strong ties between the two countries and shared priorities in the fight against transnational organised crime, illegal migration, and illicit substances, a statement from the White House said yesterday.

They will also discuss the economic partnership and ways to counter democratic backsliding in Venezuela, it added.

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Donald Trump will not use presidential powers to prevent ex-FBI director James Comey from testifying to Congress later this week, the White House has said.

"The President's power to assert executive privilege is well-established. However, in order to facilitate a swift and thorough examination of the facts sought by the Senate Intelligence Committee, President Trump will not assert executive privilege regarding James Comey's scheduled testimony," the White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said in a statement.

Comey, according to media reports, has noted that Trump had asked him to stop FBI investigations against former National Security Advisor, Lt Gen H R McMaster.

Trump fired Comey early last month as the FBI was investigating possible collusion between Trump's campaign and Russia to tilt the election in the Republican's favour.

Comey is expected to be questioned about the circumstances of his firing and allegations that Trump has tried to stifle the agency's Russia investigation and divert attention to intelligence leaks that have hurt his administration.

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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has strongly condemned the terrorist attacks in London, saying perpetrators of the "unjustifiable violence" must be quickly brought to justice.

"The Secretary-General expresses his solidarity with the people and the Government of the United Kingdom as they fight terrorism and violent extremism," said a statement by a UN spokesperson, which denounced the deadly incidents.

He also expressed Guterres' condolences to the families of the victims and wished the injured for a swift recovery.

Seven people were killed and dozens more injured when a van sped across London Bridge on June 3, ramming numerous pedestrians.

After the van came to a halt, the attackers stabbed several people in the capital's Borough Market, a crowded weekend gathering spot. The three assailants were later shot by the police.

This is the third deadly incident in the UK that authorities have attributed to terrorists in as many months, following a deadly attack near the Houses of Parliament in March, and nearly two weeks after a suicide bombing outside an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester.

"This is a struggle in many parts of the globe that compels the international community to join up efforts to bring to justice those who use such inhuman tactics while also protecting and promoting the fundamental values, rights and principles that terrorists so fervently seek to undermine," the statement concluded.

Police in London named two of the three suspects in the van and knife attack near London Bridge. They identified 27- year-old Khuram Shazad Butt, a British citizen born in Pakistan and Rachid Redouane who had claimed both Libyan and Moroccan nationality.

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US envoy Nikki Haley today urged the United Nations Human Rights Council to throw out abusive regimes and end its "anti-Israel bias", warning its credibility was at risk.

Haley did not explicitly threaten to quit the body if Washington's concerns were not addressed, a prospect that first emerged in February in a leaked letter by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

But in a speech in Geneva, she said "the United States is looking carefully at this council, and our participation in it.

"Being a member of this council is a privilege, and no country who is a human rights violator should be allowed a seat at the table", Haley added.

US concerns about the UN rights body pre-date President Donald Trump's election.

Washington has long denounced the agenda item dedicated exclusively to criticising Israel's treatment of the Palestinians.

It has also raised concerns about a nomination process that often sees prominent rights abusers elected to one of the council's 47 rotating seats.

While Haley has escalated those criticisms since becoming Washington's UN ambassador, her today's speech was mild compared to past remarks, including an assault she levelled in a June 2 Washington Post op-ed.

Writing in the Post, she asked "whether the Human Rights Council actually supports human rights or is merely a showcase for dictatorships that use their membership to whitewash brutality".

She argued that a system allowing regional blocs to nominate members which were then rubber-stamped by the General Assembly had turned the council into "a haven for dictators". Specifically, she singled out Cuba and Venezuela.

Haley doubled down on attacking Venezuela today, urging Caracas to "voluntarily step down from its seat... Until it can get its own house in order."



The country is reeling from two months of anti-government protests that have left dozens dead.

Turning to Israel, Haley reiterated US concerns over unfair treatment of the Jewish state.

It "is essential that this council address its chronic anti-Israel bias, if it is to have any credibility", she said.

Israel is the only country with a dedicated rights council agenda item -- known as Item 7.

Israel and its allies have repeatedly chastised the council for allowing majority-Muslim states to pass a steady stream of resolutions each session denouncing abuses against the Palestinians.

Haley said today the US had identified "some areas for significant strengthening" of the council and praised past resolutions that gave "hope to people who are fighting for justice".

She would outline a set of specific reform proposals later Tuesday in a speech at the Graduate Institute in Geneva, she added.

The head of Human Rights Watch's Geneva office, John Fisher, agreed with Haley that a reformed membership process would make the body stronger.

"All states from all regions should work together to end back-room deals on closed voting slates," he said in a statement. "It's the best way to keep serial rights abusers off the council.

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A move is afoot to replace textbooks meant for Uttar Pradesh Secondary Education Board students with the ones published by the NCERT, following a direction to this effect from the Yogi Adityanath government in the state, a senior official said here today.

"We received a communication in May from Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma, who also holds the secondary education portfolio, with the direction to introduce NCERT books into our curriculum," Additional Secretary (Administration), UP Board, Shiv Lal told PTI.

He said the changes, which will bring the curriculum of UP Board at par with the CBSE, "are likely to come into force with the academic year 2018-19.

"This implies that those writing their Class X and Class XII exams in 2019 will comprise the first batch of students to be facing their tests under the new system."



Only subjects like Krishi (agriculture) for both High School and Intermediate Vyavsayik (business studies) for Intermediate will not have NCERT books since there is a considerable difference between the UP Board and the CBSE when it comes to syllabuses for these subjects, he said.

"The process will be set in motion soon with meetings of our committees on textbooks and curriculum.

"The proposed changes will thereafter be vetted at a meeting of the Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad (secondary education council), which would be presided over by the Director, Secondary Education. Thereafter, the draft proposal will be sent to the government for approval," Lal said.

Millions of students appear for Class X and Class XII exams conducted by the UP Board every year.

Last year, 32.6 lakh students had appeared for their high school exams while the number for Intermediate was 29.2 lakh.

Results for the current academic year (2016-17) will be declared on June 9.

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The Uttar Pradesh government is taking a number of steps such as promotion micro-irrigation system to deal with water shortage in the state, a minister said today.

Owing to shortage of water, the state government has decided to promote micro-irrigation system, UP irrigation minister Dharm Pal Singh told reporters here.

"Instructions have been issued for cleaning ponds prior to rainy season to pave the way for bulk storage of water," Singh said.

Besides, cleaning of canals is on and efforts would be made to get the land of irrigation department vacated from unauthorised encroachment, he added.

E-tendering system has been introduced for eliminating corruption in the department, he disclosed.

He also claimed that renovation of the ghats was in full swing in Mathura.

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US tech giants, government leaders, investors, universities, and companies have agreed to fight global warming by reducing carbon emissions and honour the Paris Agreement on climate change, days after President Trump announced his decision to withdraw from the landmark deal.

Various companies like Apple, Google, Facebook, Intel and Microsoft are among the hundreds of businesses that declared their intention to continue working toward reducing carbon emissions.

The firms who were noticeably absent were Oracle, IBM, and all the major telecommunications providers.

"In the absence of leadership from Washington, states, cities, colleges and universities and businesses representing a sizeable percentage of the US economy will pursue ambitious climate goals, working together to take forceful action and to ensure that the US remains a global leader in reducing emissions," the coalition, which now consists of more than 1,000 entities, said in a statement yesterday.

The US joined the Paris agreement in 2015. Nearly 200 countries are part of the accord and have agreed to fight global warming by reducing carbon emissions. Scientists anticipate climate change could push the Earth to dangerous temperatures much sooner with US retreat from the pledge because the country burns so much energy.

The coalition, calling itself "We are still in," includes leaders from nine states, 125 cities, 902 businesses and investors, and 183 colleges and universities. The effort is led by philanthropist and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

"In the absence of a supportive federal coordinating role, these actors will more closely coordinate their own recarbonisation actions," Bloomberg wrote in a letter to the United Nations secretary-general.

"Collectively, they will redouble their efforts to ensure that the US achieves the carbon emissions reductions it pledged under the Paris Agreement."



Trump's withdrawal from the pact drew swift condemnation from several tech giants last week, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, who said he spoke with Trump earlier in the week in an effort to persuade him not to withdraw from the pact.

In addition to Cook, the CEOs of Google, Facebook, Microsoft, HP, Intel and Tesla also asked Trump to stay in the agreement. Elon Musk, founder of Tesla and SpaceX, made good on his threat to leave several of the president's advisory councils if the president pulled the US out of the climate deal.

Cities and states across the US, governors and over 200 mayors have vowed to keep fighting climate change and adopt clean energy technologies, despite President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the country from the Paris Climate Agreement.

"We Are Still In" represents the most serious attempt yet by local officials, business executives, and private-sector leaders to buck the Trump administration's decision, which sent political shockwaves around the world.

Participants vowed to meet the Paris agreement's target of limiting global warming to "well below" 2 degrees Celsius, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, above preindustrial levels by 2100. They also pledged to accelerate the transition to renewable energy.

"In the US, it is local and state governments, along with businesses, that are primarily responsible for the dramatic decrease in greenhouse gas emissions in recent years," the group wrote in an open letter to the international community.

"Actions by each group will multiply and accelerate in the years ahead, no matter what policies Washington may adopt," they wrote.

The new coalition includes dozens of university and college leaders, including the chancellors of six University of California campuses, the president of New York University, plus schools from many states in between the coasts.

Nineteen attorneys general joined the group, including New York AG Eric Schneiderman and Massachusetts AG Maura Healy, both of whom are investigating Exxon Mobil for allegedly deceiving investors on the company's climate risks



The coalition intends to submit a "Societal Nationally Determined Contribution" to the UN, which will be called "America's Pledge" and account for the climate-fighting efforts of US cities, states, businesses, and other subnational actors.

It would be rare, if not unprecedented, for a coalition like this to formally join a UN treaty meant for nations to sign.

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The United States has urged the United Nations to establish a special investigation into the murder of two UN experts who had been gathering evidence of mass graves in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

US Ambassador Nikki Haley, in Geneva for meetings of the UN Human Rights Council, also said a separate formal commission of inquiry should be set up to report on human rights violations in Kasai province.

A 16-year-old student and a 30-year-old man went on trial yesterday for the murder in Kasai of American Michael Sharp and Swedish-Chilean Zaida Catalan two months ago.

The United Nations has questioned the Kinshasa government's handling of the probe that led to the arrest of the two suspects, saying it was hastily done.

"After the tragic deaths of Michael Sharp and Zaida Catalan, they and their families deserve justice," Haley said in a statement.

"We owe it to their legacy to end the human rights abuses being carried out by armed groups and the DRC government against the Congolese people."



Haley called on countries to support the US push for a special investigation set up by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and a commission of inquiry "into these horrific acts."



Last week, a coalition of 262 Congolese and nine international rights groups including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International urged the Geneva-based rights council to set up the inquiry on the Kasai violence.

The region has seen a major spike in violence since September when government forces killed tribal chief and militia leader Kamwina Nsapu who had rebelled against President Joseph Kabila.

The unrest has claimed more than 400 lives and forced more than 1.2 million from their homes, according to UN figures. Unconfirmed local statistics put the number of dead as high as 3,000.

The UN has also reported finding 40 mass graves, which Sharp and Catalan were investigating when they were abducted and killed.

The rights council has set up similar commissions of inquiry to collect information on atrocities committed in Syria and North Korea.

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made a plea for national unity in a speech to thousands of supporters celebrating his win in France's presidential election.

"We will not give into fear, we will not give into division," the 39-year-old centrist said.

He also reached out to the millions who voted for his vanquished far-right rival Marine Le Pen, pledging to bring them back from the "extremes".

"They voted out of anger, distress and sometimes conviction. I respect them," he told the flag-waving crowd.

"I will do everything I can over the next five years to ensure that people no longer have any reason to vote for extremes."



Macron also made a gesture to left-wing and right-wing voters who backed him to block a Le Pen presidency, despite not supporting his programme.

"I also want to address the people who voted for me without sharing our ideas. I know it is not a blank cheque," said Macron.

And to the French people, he said: "I will protect you against threats. I will bring you together because I want us to be unified.
War can inverse many realities. For Syrian artist Abdalla Al Omari, that's the leitmotif of not just his life but also his art.

Five years ago, when Syria was on the brink of civil war, Omari left his homeland to take refuge in an asylum in Brussels. Driven by the anguish of displacement, he turned to his art to make an incisive political statement, portraying some of the world's most powerful leaders as refugees.

The artist's imagination found shape in the solo exhibition titled "The Vulnerability Series", featuring fictionalised portraits of leaders like US President Donald Trump and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in moments of despair.

It was an inversion of propaganda art, a paradox that conversely underscored the truth of war and bloodshed.

"As the series developed, I started empathising with these characters that we are used to seeing as ultimately powerful. In actual, these leaders show no vulnerability and as a result it is difficult to connect to these people on a human level," says the 31-year-old.

In a video clipping sent to PTI, the Brussels-based artist says he was intrigued by the romantic idea of vulnerability and the impact it could generate.

As he developed the series, eventually arriving at the 'paradoxical nature' of empathy, his aim shifted from expressing anger to the more vivid desire to disarm his figures, to picture them outside of their positions of power.

"I wanted to take away their power, not to serve my own pain but to give back those leaders the humanity and to the audience to see the work and decide what the power of vulnerability can achieve.

"It gives us the expression that moments of absolute powerlessness can also give you... Absolute powers when you find people empathise with your personal story," he says.

In his work, Omari tends to eliminate all suggestions of strength, charisma and righteousness. Setting aside the hallmarks of autocratic visuals, he depicts them as vulnerable civilians.

In "The Mediterranean", for instance, Omari paints Bashar al-Assad as a distraught refugee partially submerged in water, surrounded by a ravaging sea and an overcast sky.

Similarly, in "Donald", the artist depicts the US president in a t-shirt along with a backpack and carrying a girl child in his arms. In the portrait, Trump is holding a picture with a vivid expression of despair on his face.

According to Omari, vulnerability is a more powerful weapon that guns and bullets. He says it is a human gift which we all should celebrate.

"I have been totally convinced that vulnerability is the strongest weapon humans have. Way more powerful than guns and bullets. My message for world leaders is to see the works and see themselves... To think and maybe feel as well.

"What does it mean to be vulnerable, a refugee displaced, besieged and someone who is facing injustice. They might relate to it at least when they see the series," he says.

Launching his career in Damascus shortly after the outbreak of the conflict in Syria, Omari has been showcasing experiences of civilians, particularly children, who are caught in the crossfire of war in his paintings.

The artist says his current series is driven by the idea of propaganda art. He has particularly made use of propagandist images like one sees on political posters billboards while showcasing a political culture.

"Propaganda art is very much connected to the primitive forms of propaganda which have been there since 500 BC. It has been working side by side with potential rising powers through history, praising the powerful, parties and governments in the political scene.

"I have sought to use the same approach in my series to show a totally different alternative of these popular leaders, bringing them very far from what the classical propaganda would imagine them like," he says.

Omari also comments on the unfair role of media in depicting the Syrian crisis. The artist says through his series he wants to establish that art is not only for the elite.

"The Syrian crisis depicted through media is extremely unfair. When you only talk about the quantity of people but ignore each and every person affected, it seems unfair.

"I think when we will listen to these people we will have a different approach to the story of refugees. We just need a romantic approach to understand what we are as human beings and think about the universe more than countries and religions. Then we might have a better world," he says.

"The Vulnerability Series" exhibition continues at Dubai's Ayyam Gallery till July 6.

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Scientists have for the first time demonstrated that it is possible to covertly siphon sensitive files, passwords or other critical data from any common router.

Researchers at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) in Israel demonstrated how functionality light-emitting diodes (LEDs) can be silently overridden by malware they developed (code named "xLED"), which infects firmware in the device.

Once the xLED malware infects the network device, it gains full control of the LEDs that flash to indicate status.

Network devices such as routers and local area network switches typically include activity and status LEDs used to monitor traffic activity, alerts and provide status.

"Sensitive data can be encoded and sent via the LED light pulses in various ways," said Mordechai Guri, head of research and development at the BGU Cyber Security Research Center (CSRC).

"An attacker with access to a remote or local camera, or with a light sensor hidden in the room, can record the LED's activity and decode the signals," said Guri.

"Unlike network traffic that is heavily monitored and controlled by firewalls, this covert channel is currently not monitored," said Guri.

"As a result, it enables attackers to leak data while evading firewalls, air-gaps (computers not hooked up to the internet) and other data-leakage prevention methods," he said.

The xLED malware can programme the LEDs to flash at very fast speeds - more than 1,000 flickers per second for each LED.

Since a typical router or network switch includes six or more status LEDs, the transmission rate can be multiplied significantly to as much as thousands of bits per second.

As a result, a significant amount of highly sensitive information can be encoded and leaked over the fast LED signals, which can be received and recorded by a remote camera or light sensor.

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Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today said the youth of the state are being suffocated by the repressive policies of the PDP-BJP government and the looming uncertainty has created a sense of despair and hopelessness among them.

"The Central government's unfortunate failure to reach out and build bridges of reconciliation and peace with our youth has created a political vacuum," he said while addressing a youth convention of National Conference party here.

"The youth of the state are being suffocated by the policies of the present government. The looming uncertainty in the state coupled with the confrontational approach of the PDP-BJP government has created a sense of despair and hopelessness among the youth," he claimed.

Referring to the unrest in the Valley, Omar said that in this grim atmosphere, the youth is being robbed of their right to dream of a dignified and prosperous future.

He said the youth is feeling cheated as promises made to them were either broken or unapologetically abandoned.

"The same promises were then bartered without any inhibitions for personal and familial political empowerment of a few people while our hardworking, honest and sincere young men and women were let down and left to the mercy of uncertainty and turmoil," he said.

Due to this treachery, the trust deficit has been further widened to an extent where scepticism on the ground far overshadows the utility of any rhetoric the Government has to offer, the NC working president said.

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"We are studying the situation and preparing to be able to take all possible directions," Janaillac told journalists in a briefing during an annual airline industry meeting in Mexico.

KLM CEO Pieter Elbers said new technology that allows airlines greater control of how fares and products are displayed was changing the landscape.

"This enables us to take different steps and have a different relationship" with global distribution systems, he said, declining to comment on details of contracts with the providers.

Janaillac also reiterated previous comments that the market outlook was positive in terms of long-haul bookings and unit revenues but cautioned that demand was fragile.

He said attacks in Britain had not yet affected demand for Air France-KLM flights, but it could suffer if restrictions on laptops in plane cabins are extended to flights from Europe to the United States.

"It will create major problems in terms of costs and delays," he said, "and it will also deter traffic and travel from Europe to the United States."

(Reporting by Victoria Bryan; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

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By Elvira Pollina

MILAN (Reuters) - In the shadow of Italy's banking crisis, a much smaller financial emergency is unfolding in the tiny nation of San Marino, a wealthy enclave of 34,000 people perched on the picturesque slopes of the Apennines mountains.

The central bank of San Marino, a former tax haven landlocked inside central Italy, plans to inject liquidity into its ailing lenders, a first step toward overhauling them and finding new equity capital, said a source close to the matter.

The banks are burdened with 1.8 billion euros ($2 billion) in gross bad loans, a drop in the ocean compared with those of Italy's troubled banks but equal to 113 percent of San Marino's annual gross domestic product - enough to threaten its economy.

The republic, which opted out of joining the new Italian state in the 19th century, is less than 15 km (9 miles) from one end to the other. Nevertheless, it has no fewer than six banks, a legacy of its days as a discreet place where foreigners, especially Italians, parked their savings.

Like Italy, it is still slowly emerging from a deep recession caused by the global financial crisis a decade ago and has already bailed out some banks once in that time.

Secretary of state for finance Simone Celli told that this time the government would create a "bad bank" to house and manage bad loans attributable to San Marino residents. These accounted for almost half of total bad loans, he added.

Celli did not say how the banks' capital needs might be met.

However, the source told that the central bank aims to raise up to 150 million euros this month for the planned liquidity operation, ensuring the banks have stable funding while they and authorities work on finding a longer-term solution to the bad-debt problem.

The central bank could use some of its own securities to free up the funds required for the liquidity operation.

"The central bank is working to find a total of between 100 and 150 million euros to inject into the banking system to ensure necessary liquidity," said the source, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.

The source described the liquidity as a kind of first-aid measure, pending a restructuring of the banking sector.

It was not clear how many of the six banks would be involved in the liquidity operation.

AVOIDING A BAIL-IN?

San Marino needs to move fast. It uses the euro and, although not part of the European Union, it follows the rules of the common currency. By September 2018, it is expected to adopt the EU's controversial directive on state bailouts, which requires private investors in banks to suffer losses before any public funds are provided.

Known as a bail-in, this inflicts losses on shareholders, bondholders and possibly even some very large depositors. In San Marino, the biggest bank investors include the government itself and community-based banking foundations that re-invest their dividends in social, cultural and charitable activities.

A review this year of the six banks revealed they need about 260 million euros in capital, equal to a fifth of gross domestic product, in order to deal with their bad loans, the source said.

That estimate, based on San Marino's own prudential regulations, shoots up to 490 million euros when new global rules set by the Basel Committee of banking supervisors are applied, the source added. The larger estimate is roughly equal to San Marino's annual budget expenditure.

Last week, the central bank's credit and savings committee resolved to "adopt all available measures to guarantee the interests of savers, depositors and investors", according to a statement posted on the central bank's web site.

"The government is working to avoid a bail-in," Celli said.

Most depositors and investors are residents of San Marino or Italy. Its days as an international tax haven ended several years ago, following the 2008-2009 financial crisis.

San Marino central bank chief Wafik Grais, a former World Bank official, declined to comment to .

The San Marino state is already the major shareholder of local lender Cassa di Risparmio, which alone accounts for around half of the banking sector and has received various forms of public aid totalling 220 million euros since 2013.

On Friday, credit ratings agency Fitch downgraded San Marino to BBB minus, with a stable outlook. It said the banking situation called for a significant public recapitalisation.

($1 = 0.8875 euros)

(Editing by Mark Bendeich and David Stamp)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
ROME (Reuters) - The Italian government supports a joint bid by ArcelorMittal and Marcegaglia group for the polluted Ilva steel plant in southern Italy, the Industry Ministry said on Monday.

Industry Minister Carlo Calenda has signed a decree backing the 1.8 billion euro ($2 billion) offer from the world's largest steelmaker and Marcegaglia for Europe's biggest steel plant by output capacity, the ministry said in a statement.

Italy has been trying to sell Ilva, which is near the port city of Taranto, since 2015 when the state took full control of the plant in a bid to clean up the polluted site and save thousands of jobs in an economically depressed area.

The commissioners running Ilva said last month the ArcelorMittal consortium had won the bidding but unions opposed the thousands of layoffs involved in its plan. A rival consortium led by India's JSW Steel raised its offer.

Under the plan presented by the ArcelorMittal consortium, called Am Investco Italy, Ilva's total workforce, which includes two smaller bases in northern Italy, will be cut from more than 14,000 to eventually reach 8,480 by 2024, the ministry said.

Up to 4,100 of those to be laid off will be eligible for state unemployment support. Am Investco has said it was open to trying to reduce the number of job losses in the near term, the ministry said.

The next step in the sale process involves the environment ministry examining Am Investco's plans for cleaning up the site. Once the ministry issues its decree, expected during autumn this year, the deal must be approved by the European Union.

Steel production will remain at 6 million tonnes a year during the clean-up of the site, which magistrates sequestered in 2012 amid allegations its emissions were causing abnormally high cancer rates.

ArcelorMittal chief executive Lakshmi Mittal said in a statement that the company "will work with all interested parties to guarantee Ilva, its workers and the regions where it operates a better, more stable and sustainable future."

By 2024, Am Investco aims to have boosted output to the full 8 million tonnes Ilva is authorised to produce, the statement said, using three of Ilva's original five furnaces. The plan also includes a pledge to invest about 2.4 billion euros in technology and environmental improvements.

($1 = 0.8887 euros)

(Reporting by Isla Binnie; editing by David Clarke and Grant McCool)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Getting your hands on a bottle Bira 91 White in any of the 7 cities it is available in India, is a matter of luck. Such is the fan following of the two-year-old craft beer that it even after production was more than doubled last year, it goes out of stock in most places within hours.

Buoyed by the success of the white, and to a lesser extent the Blonde, Bira91's other product in the market, 36 year old Ankur Jain, the founder director of B9 beverages, last month launched two more products, a wheat based strong beer Bira91 Strong aimed at taking the battle to the Kingfishers and Tuborgs of the world, and a low calorie beer Bira91 light for those who wish to avoid the notorious beer belly. On a hot summer afternoon, Jain speaks to BT's Sumant Banerji at his funky Connaught Place office about his vision to not only capture the beer market in India, but take it global.



BT: Bira is known for its premium frothy light beers. What made you launch a Bira Strong?

Jain: The logic behind strong was not just that it is the biggest market in the country, but also that the consumer that picks up a strong beer in India does so on the basis of how high the alcohol content is. We wanted to add the element of taste to that mass market. Bira strong is completely different from what everybody else is doing in the market. It is a wheat beer.

BT: Is it a departure from what you have been doing-graduating from the high growth yet niche craft beer category to the mass market segment where you will compete with the big boys of the market like Kingfisher, Tuborg or Fosters?

Jain: We always wanted to take on the big boys in the market. But at the end of the day it is really about the consumer and what he likes. So what we figured out with the premium consumer is equally applicable in my view to the mass market consumer too. We feel there is a big gap in the market for beers that are taste oriented in the strong beer category.

BT: So it is a result of a number of blind tasting sessions in the market?

Jain: It is based on a mix of research and intuition. We felt this is what the consumer will gravitate towards.

BT: How do you achieve scale because that is a challenge for any start-up?

Jain: We are looking for acceptance in the first quarter. If we find that then the world opens up for us and we can build on that. With the strong, we are expanding into 15 cities in the first quarter and the light version into four cities in the same time frame. So with the strong beer, we are starting with 7 cities that we are already present in and ending with 15. We do plan to be available pan-India but probably not this year but end of next year.

BT: Where do you stand today?

Jain: Last year we sold about 5 lakh cases. This year, like I mentioned, we are targeting sales of 20 lakh cases, which is a four-fold increase. We don't have a fixed break up for which beer will sell how much. But right now, Bira White is the largest selling beer for us. It is a 2:1 ratio between White and Blonde. I would assume Bira strong will have similar sales to that of the blonde. And the low-calorie beer will be niche. So at the end of the year, our existing portfolio-White and Blonde-will probably account for 60-65 per cent of our sales while the new beers would account for the rest with the strong out selling the low-calorie version.

BT: How do you avoid a repeat of last year when there was an acute demand-supply mismatch and consumers were left high and dry especially for Bira 91 White?

Jain: We have learnt our lesson and now know how to plan ahead of time. Our projection for sales in 20 lakh cases this year on a production capacity of 45 lakh cases. Unless we are a victim of our own success and beat our own estimates by two to three times-which is the kind of situation that happened last year, we should be able to serve our customers well. If we end up repeating that mistake, then basically it would mean we would have to re-look at our production capacities and be even more aggressive.

BT: Most premium craft beer brands enjoy a premium pricing and hold on to that price as a differentiator. But you did just the opposite.

Jain: We did reduce prices in 2015, as we were initially importing the beers from Belgium. When we started brewing them in India we passed on the benefit to the market and cut the prices. We want to give a product that is well designed, tastes good, and at a pricing which is accessible. We do not want to be a luxury brand but an accessible Indian brand.

BT: Your strong beer customer will typically be very different from your existing consumers.

Jain: Strong category has a very wide profile of consumers, from a 19-20-year-old college going kid to a 50-55-year-old. My consumer is someone who is open to new brands. Somebody who has a young mindset and it is not about the age. From an identity standpoint, the competitors in the strong category today is like a pack of 'beedi' to a pack of cigarettes for a Bira Strong.

BT: Which is your biggest market in India and how do you plan to expand production?

Jain : The biggest market for beer in India is Maharashtra. We are there in Bombay, Thane and Pune. But we are going bigger in the state this year. We are building our new brewery, which would be our second in the country, in Nagpur. It would be open in another 2 weeks. The other one is the one that is operational in Indore. Another one in Karnataka is in the plans but it is a greenfield facility which would be operational only sometime in 2018.

BT: What was the rationale behind venturing into the US market? Are you importing beer from Belgium there like you initially used to in India?

Jain: Our ambition is to become the first global brand from India. In that ambition, New York City was the first city we got into because it gives us international validation. We will be adding Boston and New Jersey to the list in July. It is the toughest market in the world for craft beer. We are shipping the beer straight from India.



BT: How much do you sell through bars and restaurants versus liquor vends across the country?

Jain : Last year. Around 70 per cent of our sales came through bars and restaurants which should become 50 per cent this year. Going forward, I think bars and restaurants should contribute 35 per cent of our sales while a majority should come from liquor vends and shops.



BT: What is your current market share?

Jain: We have a 2-3 per cent market share in the overall beer market in India. But we are a premium beer brand-a 330 ml bottle costs over Rs 80-and we are a strong no. 1 or no. 2 in premium category across the country. In fact in bars and restaurants, we are two times bigger than any of our competitors-Kingfisher Ultra, Budweiser, Heineken, Carlsberg etc.

BT: How many new beers would you bring into the market in future and how do you decide which beer to launch?

Jain: Our intent is to bring in at least 1 new beer every year. This year we have added two. There are gaps in the market that are very obvious to even an objective consumer. For example, there is no low-calorie beer available in India so a consumer who loves to have a beer but is health conscious does not have a choice. So with our low-calorie beer, which actually has less than 100 calories per bottle, we are targeting people like him.



BT: There are so many stories in the country on liquor mafia in states controlling the distribution and retail of liquor and not allowing newer players to enter. As you seek to move beyond the metros and tier I cities how would you counter that?

Jain: It used to be a challenge about 10 years ago. The consumer today is so evolved that a shop cannot stock only 3-4 types of beers. Even tier II and III town markets have seen a lot of evolution. Earlier there were a number of small regional brands that used to dominate these markets. A few years ago for example, if you walked into a shop in a small city in Rajasthan, all that you would get was a Godfather or a Golden Eagle for beer. Now, the consumer would not be happy with those brands and would go to the next shop where he would get a Kingfisher or a Tuborg. So this way, the other shop loses business and the voice of the consumer prevails. The consumer defines what gets stocked and so these regional players have all died ceding market share to a Kingfisher or a Tuborg.
Long-term Bollywood actor Anupam Kher will be casted as the former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh based on a memoir by policy analyst and Singh's media advisor Sanjaya Baru. The book titled 'The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh' Sanjoy pens his critical take on Singh's first term as PM in office between 2004-2008.

The first look of the movie will be unveiled on Wednesday and is set to hit the screens in December 2018. National award-winning director Hansal Mehta has written the screenplay which will be directed by Vijay Ratnakar Gutte, marking his Bollywood debut.

Producer Sunil Bohra says that casting of other characters is still underway and called the film a political drama. The movie will draw a spotlight on the inside workings of the PMO under Singh's reign.

Enthusiastic about playing the role of Singh, Anupam Kher told the Economic Times, "Acting the role of anyone in contemporary history is extremely challenging, as comparisons are bound to be instant and inevitable. But as I have always revelled in challenges, right from my first film Saaransh, I look forward to the experience of portraying PM Manmohan Singh."

Baru who worked as the media advisor of Manmohan Singh suggests in his book that Congress president Sonia Gandhi had more authority than Singh in the functioning of the government.

The book had also created controversy for highlighting Manmohan Singh's handling of corruption under his government. "Dr Singh's general attitude towards corruption in public life, which adopted through his career in government, seemed to me to be that he would himself maintain the highest standards of probity in public life, but would not impose this on others," Baru wrote in his book.
The diplomatic rift between the Gulf countries with Qatar has widened. United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Bahrain severed diplomatic relations with Qatar on Monday accusing the nation of supporting terrorists.

Yemen also cut ties with Qatar, alleging it of working with its enemies. Maldives and Libya have also joined the Arab nations' coordinated move.

On Monday, Saudi Arabia said that Qatar was embracing "various terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at destabilizing the region," including the ISIS.

Saudi Arabia also banned Qatari airlines from its airspace, while Abu Dhabi's state-owned Etihad Airways and Dubai's Emirates Airline said they would suspend all flights to and from Doha from Tuesday morning until further notice.

Meanwhile, taking stock of the situation, India's Minister of External Affairs, Sushma Swaraj, said India didn't foresee any problems for its own relations in the Gulf as it was "an internal matter of GCC (Gulf Coordination Council)".

But she also expressed her concern for 6.5 lakh Indians, who are now stuck in the crisis. She said, "Our only concern is about Indians there. We are trying to find out if any Indians are stuck there". "They (Gulf nations) have done this before, we hope things will get better soon," she said.

The foreign minister's concern is reflective of the diplomatic balance that India has to maintain, especially at a time when PM Modi is looking to strengthen the economic and security ties with the Arab states.

6.5 lakh Indian nationals living in Qatar

Around 6,50,000 Indian nationals are living and working in Qatar, according to the latest data available. The figures outnumber native Qataris by almost 2:1. Of the estimated 6.5 lakh Indians now in Qatar, around three lakh are from the Southern state.

Worried about the situation, Kerala Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, on Monday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing 'deep concern' for the safety of 6.5 lakh Indians living in Qatar of which, he said, more than half belonged to his state.

He wrote, "In the context of the developing geo-political situation in the Middle East today. As you are aware millions of Indians are working in countries in the Middle East and therefore the geo-political developments in the region has raised deep concerns among the people in the state since each family has at least one family member or a relative in the region".



Flights to Qatar may get longer, costlier

The travel time for flights between India and Doha will most likely increase with countries like Saudi Arabia and Bahrain closing their airspace for flights from Qatar. There have been no drastic changes to flight schedules, but ticket prices may shoot up due to uncertainty in the region.

Qatar is home to global airline Qatar Airways and many airports in the Gulf region are major hubs for international connecting flights. Qatar's main Hamad International Airport served around 9.8 million passengers in January-March.

A Times of India report quoted that Qatar Airways is one of the most popular airlines for Indians travelling abroad. Last year, it was at the sixth spot in terms of standalone airlines flying people in and out of India. Over 21 lakh people to and from India flew QA in 2016, with around 80 per cent of them transiting via Doha.

Food Shortage

The economic impact of the severed ties, analysts feel might lead to food crisis in one of the richest countries in the world. After the announcement by the four Arab nations that they would cut air, sea and land links with Qatar, images spread on social media of empty supermarket shelves in the country. People are already stocking up the food items in the event of shortages.
Apple Inc will have to invest and create jobs in India in exchange of the tax exemptions it seeks to expand operations in the country. India will consent to Apple's demands on a quid pro quo basis, a Bloomberg report quoted the authorities looking after the matter.

However, no government official confirmed the development, the report said.

The Cupertino tech giant started making iPhone SE at its Taiwanese contract manufacturer Wistron's plant in Bengaluru towards the end of May this year under the aegis of 'Make in India'. Modi government has been pushing its flagship foreign investment programme tooth and nail with the motive of creating jobs and increasing investment in the economy.

Apple wants to bring its component manufacturers to India to make parts and export finished phones and is seeking tax concessions on import of key components for 15 years to expand business. The Finance Ministry had turned down these demands back then.

ALSO READ: Apple selling 'Made in India' iPhones on trial basis

Ravi Shankar Prasad, the federal minister for Electronics and IT had disclosed last month that government officials were in touch with Apple and other mobile phone manufacturers for expanding facilities and setting up new plants.

While any company specific benefits might not be doled out to Apple, government may look into developing the sector as a whole to promote manufacturing in it and create jobs.

The maker of iPhones and iPads shipped 2.5 million devices to India last year, making it the best in terms of revenue. However, vendors ranked it only 10th in the December quarter, the report quoted Counterpoint Research.

While Apple's main manufacturing partner Foxconn Technology has expressed plans to assemble phones in the India for brands like Chinese handset maker Xiaomi, it assembles majority of the iPhones in China, the report said. Xiaomi began making its first smartphones in India in the middle of 2015.

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Private lender ICICI Bank and Canada's Fairfax Financial Holdings will pare their stakes in joint venture insurer ICICI Lombard General Insurance planned initial public offering (IPO) of shares, the insurer said on Monday.

The board of the bank has cleared the sale of its stake in joint-venture firm ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Ltd through an Initial Public Offer.

"The board of directors of the bank today approved the sale of a part of its shareholding in ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Ltd (Company) in an initial public offering (IPO) by the Company," ICICI Bank said in a regulatory filing.

With this, ICICI Lombard is all set to become the first private sector general insurer in the country to go public. Fairfax, led by Canadian billionaire Prem Watsa, will own 22.1 percent of the insurer after its planned sale of a 12.2 percent stake in ICICI Lombard to an affiliate of Warburg Pincus and two other investors is completed.

Fairfax's stake sales valued ICICI Lombard at Rs 20,300 crore. The selling of stake is subject to requisite approvals and market conditions, the lender said.

"The size and other details of the offer would be determined in due course," ICICI Bank said. ICICI Lombard, formed in 2001, is a joint venture between country's largest private sector ICICI Bank and Prem Watsa-run Fairfax Financial Holdings with a valuation of Rs 20,300 crore.
Aiming to raise Rs 15,000 crore, the State Bank of India (SBI) launched the country's largest qualified institutional placement (QIP) on Monday at a floor price of Rs 287.58 per equity share. The bank may offer a discount of not more than 5 per cent on the floor price. SBI, India's largest lender, is raising equity capital in the current financial year to strengthen its capital base.

QIPs are a bull market product and have gradually run out of favour over the past two years due to dwindling investor appetite. The total amount raised through this programme continuously slipped since 2014/15. According to Prime Database, Rs 28,429 crore was raised through 44 QIPs in the financial 2014/15. But this came down to Rs 19,358 crore, raised through 20 QIPs in 2015/16, and further declined to Rs 13,671 crore in 2016/17. In the current financial year (as on May 30, 2017), Rs 7,298 crore has been raised through five QIPs.

Keeping in mind the SBI's estimated issue size, the total amount to be raised through this process in 2017/18 (till date) is expected to reach a two-year high at around Rs 22,298 crore.

An issue of such magnitude will definitely change the pace of QIP, which has been on a slow growth trajectory since 2014/15. According to Pranav Haldea, Managing Director of Prime Database, "QIPs are an instrument used by companies to raise capital for their expansion and diversification, which has slowed over the past two-three years. This is subsequently reflected in the subdued growth of QIPs." Most of the QIPs in the last quarter were floated by banks, with a little participation from manufacturing and services companies, points out Haldea.

SBI rewrote its own record of the largest QIP issue worth Rs 8,000 crore, floated in 2014. Interestingly, the top 10 QIPs over a decade were mostly issued by banks and financial companies.

SBI is not alone. Many other public sector banks are expected to raise money via QIPs during 2017/18. Close to 30 per cent of the upcoming QIPs announced this fiscal belong to banking and other financial services sector. This capital-raising programme will be primarily driven by public sector banks who are now under pressure to enhance their capital base in a bid to meet the Basel III regulatory capital stipulation. This QIP rush does not necessarily point towards turnaround, but could be an encouraging trend for some manufacturing and service firms who are keen to raise capital via this route.

ALSO READ: Kotak Mahindra Bank sees big growth opportunity in stressed assets





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The historic Wellsville Tabernacle. will be open for the first time in 10 years for the Wellsville Founders Days Celebration.

WELLSVILLE  A first-of-its kind medieval festival is coming to Wellsville on June 21, transforming the city square and the <a href=https://www.facebook.com/wednesdaysinwellsville/>Wednesdays in Wellsville Farmer & Craft Market</a> into <a href=https://whistlersfaire.blogspot.com/>The Whistlers Faire</a>. Hosted within the weekly market, The Whistlers Faire is being coordinated as a fundraiser to help repair the historic Wellsville Tabernacle. The events <a href=https://stonesoupcookoff.blogspot.com/>Stone Soup Cook Off</a> will likewise benefit participating culinary arts students, providing winners with cash scholarships.

Cache Valley really doesnt have anything like this, where it is all about history and heritage at the same time as fantasy and fairy tale and children and imaginationand where the real meets the unreal, said Rachel Martin, coordinator of The Whistlers Faire. And so we really wanted to do that at the same time as we are building up and reopening a large gathering center for the people at the south end of our valley. At the same time, it saves a beautiful piece of our valleys heritage.

Martin said the goal of the very special event is to raise funds to be applied toward replacement of a twisted roof support beam that has prevented the 115-year-old Tabernacle from being open for public use. She said The Whistlers Faire will become an annual tradition for the buildings continued benefit.

Public festivities take place from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. and include a Kings Treasure Hunt, blarney storytellers, a costume contest and a community feast. With ingredients provided by local food-based businesses and farmers, contestants in the Stone Soup Cook Off will begin crafting the best soups possible at 12:30 p.m., earning bonus points for salads and desserts. Feasting begins at 5:30 p.m., with scholarship winners being chosen by a judging panel and popular vote.

As the feasting happens, the <a href=https://whistlersfaire.blogspot.com/p/magicians-purse.html>Magicians Purse magic competition</a> will be keeping the royal court and feasters entertained as magicians show off their skills to the formal judges panel and all the court to prove who should keep the jesters crown for the next yearas well as his gold pouch, said Martin. All of the winners will be announced by the royal court at about 8 p.m., at which time everyone is encouraged to enjoy their treasures and loot until we meet again at next years Whistlers Faire.

Organizers of The Whistlers Faire are currently welcoming vendors, sponsors and contestants. What Martin calls a hiccup with the events website resulted in the accidental loss of registration information last week, and Martin asks anyone with interest to revisit the website, <a href=https://whistlersfaire.blogspot.com/>whistlersfaire.blogspot.com</a>, and confirm participation in the Stone Soup Cook Off, purchase meal tickets and learn more about all of the additional opportunities and activities available.

As a mother, as I started doing this and we started dreaming our fun pie-in-the-sky, I just wanted to see a lot of fun come to life for the kids as well as exploring their heritage, and fairy tales are one of the very best ways I know to do that, said Martin. So what better way to do it than bring that to life, as well as support the <a href=https://www.facebook.com/Wellsville-Foundation-Inc-180354002047509/>Wellsville Foundation</a>?
| BY Ricki Green |

The Australian Catholic University (ACU) has launched its new brand campaign Impact through Empathy, developed in partnership with brand consultancy Push Collective.

At the heart of this new campaign and identity is the guiding principle of creating Impact through Empathy. Empathy is profoundly relevant in todays polarised society and has long been cited as a critical skill for effective leadership.

Says Erminio Putignano, managing director of Push Collective: ACUs focus of creating Impact through Empathy signals a confident new direction for the university  one that celebrates both the universitys founding values and its aspiration to academic excellence.

We wanted to convey the Catholic ethos of the university through a narrative that has universal appeal and projects a compelling idea of leadership for people of all backgrounds and religious beliefs.

The new brand strategy has been brought to life through a distinctive visual and verbal identity, featured for the first time in a multi-channel Open Day campaign, also by Push Collective. It showcases a selection of ACU alumnis success stories and the deep positive impact they have achieved in their endeavours.

As part of the project, Push Collective embarked on extensive market research and stakeholder consultation, discussing the role of higher education and views on Catholicism in our society. It became clear that there was an important role for a university that equips people to make a difference through empathetic leadership.

Says Kathy Vozella, director of marketing and external relations, ACU: This work represents a significant evolution for the ACU brand. Its a coming-of-age strategy for the university and its centred on an idea that has a relevance thats truly universal and urgent in todays world. It has been embraced by the whole of the University and will deeply influence our staff and student experience, research and courses in the years to come.
| BY Ricki Green |

Brisbane-based digital marketing and advertising agency Khemistry has today announced the appointment of Mark Gregory as group account director.

Gregory will lead the agencys team of creative, digital and content specialists, overseeing the strategy, execution and outcomes of campaigns.

Khemistry managing partner Andy Fyffe said Gregorys experience, knowledge and professional approach to client management made him an ideal fit for the role.

Says Fyffe: As our agency continues to grow, we are committed to investing in the best talent possible and we couldnt be more excited to welcome Mark to the team.

Every employee brings something new to the table and were looking forward to seeing Mark use his wealth of local and international experience to deliver outstanding results for our clients.

Gregory has earned a reputation as a skilled brand, digital and one-to-one specialist, having worked at Havas Worldwide in London, M&C Saatchi in Melbourne, BMF in Sydney and BCM, SapientNitro and GPY&R in Brisbane.

Some of Gregorys most recent clients include Tatts Lotteries, RACQ, Bond University, Rays Outdoors and Tourism and Events Queensland. He has spearheaded campaigns such as the Lotto brand re-launch, Instant Scratch-Its brand re-launch, Powerball Dream Gift Activation and the launch of RACQ Pet Insurance.

Says Gregory: Im incredibly excited to be joining Khemistry and cant wait to work with such a bright and accomplished team.

Khemistry has produced some incredible campaigns over the years and Im confident this role will give me plenty of opportunities to learn and grow as a professional.

My focus as group account director will be delivering innovative and effective campaigns, as well as strengthening client relationships, supporting ongoing client growth and overseeing everyday account performance.
| BY Ricki Green |

Mental health charity Spur Projects is pleased to announce ex Ogilvy Brisbane managing director Russ Vine has joined them in launching Spur:Labs, a profit-for-purpose social consulting service that aims to help clients be more innovative with their behavioural change campaigns, social marketing, and corporate social responsibility.

Vine recently exited from the role of MD at Ogilvy Brisbane, an agency that had previously been operating as JuniorCru and which he had headed up for the past seven years. His role with Spur:Labs will be business development advisor.

Says Vine: Ive helped to deliver some of Australias largest and most successful social marketing campaigns in the past four or five years but have always admired the kind of data driven, tech enabled edge Spur Projects brings to its work.

When I discovered the plan to form Spur:Labs and offer third-party clients a chance for their own campaigns to benefit in a similar fashion, I had to get involved.

I think the Spur approach is very much the future for social marketing and would benefit hugely any organisation that wishes to deliver genuine social impact.

Lee Crockford, founder and managing director, Spur Projects, will take on the role of creative director for Spur:Labs and points out the new agency will offer clients a chance to make a difference at two levels simultaneously.

Says Crockford: The solutions we create for clients will not only help them engage their target audiences in a far more innovative and effective manner, revenue from Spur:Labs will be used to fund Spur Projects charitable work.

Every client who works with us will not only achieve their own social impact goals, they will also be helping to fund our cutting-edge work in male suicide prevention.

The new offering has profit for purpose baked into its DNA.

Says William Stubbs, technical director: We got along with Russ like a house party on fire, but it was the fact he was equally passionate about the profit-for-purpose concept that had us thinking  this could be something really special, really unique. We believe the world needs something like Spur:Labs.

Spur Projects  brain child of social entrepreneurs Crockford, Stubbs, and a number of volunteers from the Australian start up community  have been behind a raft of high profile and highly innovative suicide prevention initiatives.

These include maiden venture, Soften The Fck Up, designed to engage young Australian males, and How is the World Feeling?, the worlds largest mental health survey which received more than 59,000 submissions from over 100 countries.
| BY Ricki Green |

J. Walter Thompson, Melbourne has brought to life the Aussie Italian Nonna with an undeniable passion for Italian food in a new, far reaching campaign for Leggos.

Aimed at getting Italian food back on the table, the new brand platform entitled Have you Eaten? showcases the wit, charm and unconventional logic of a Calabrian matriarch who stars throughout a range of executions. The call to action of Have you eaten? is not only part of the Aussie-Italian vernacular but opens up a world of possibilities for the brand moving forward.

It is the first campaign developed by J. Walter Thompson after winning the Simplot account in a competitive pitch last year. It comprises four TVCs, OOH, Radio, plus activation with retailers to bring Nonna to life in store.

Says Tom Peek, senior brand manager, Leggos: We are really excited to see the campaign come to life. Nonna represents the best of Leggos authentic Aussie Italian cooking, a belief that great food starts with quality ingredients, her passion for life and love, and a cheeky sense of humour in everything she does. We cant wait for Australia to meet Nonna and have their love affair for Italian food re-ignited by sharing in her warmth and passion for great Italian cooking.

Director Alyssa McClelland cast far and wide for the starring Nonna, starting her story in the 30-second launch TVC where she shares her philosophy about life and food. This will be followed by another 30 second TVC, where Nonna dances in her kitchen as she cooks with Leggos  lost in the moment and revealing all the love and passion that goes into Italian cooking. The remaining 15-second spots are built around specific Leggos products, yet continue to provide insights into Nonnas life and world view.

Says Jess Lilley and Jim Walsh, creative directors, J. Walter Thompson: The creative team was thrilled when Alyssa came on board to direct this campaign. Her ability to make genuine, loveable characters leap off the screen and into your lounge is second to none, with a fantastic combination of warmth, originality and humour.

Says Suzanne Harman, GM marketing, Simplot: In the short amount time we have worked with J. Walter Thompson, they have become trusted partners in our brands at Simplot. The Leggos campaign is the first work from our partnership and we look forward to re-igniting Australians passion for Italian cooking with Leggos.

Client: Simplot

Agency: J. Walter Thompson, Melbourne

Production Company: Finch

Director: Alyssa McClelland

Music: Level 2 / Electric Dreams

Media: Initiative

Executive Creative Director: Kieran Antill

Creative Directors: Jess Lilley & Jim Walsh

Art Director: Monica Placella

Copy Writer: Katie Moore

Senior Planner: Brigitte Bayard

Group Account Director: Jessica Johnson

Senior Account Manager: Lizzie Barclay
| BY Ricki Green |

Dentsu Mitchell has announced the retirement of Ron Phillips (right) from Dentsu Mitchell after over 12 years service on the Victorian Government and Nissan business. For the past 11 years Phillips has held the role of group client service director on the Victorian Government business.

Phillips joined Dentsu Mitchell (then Mitchell and Partners) in 2005 to manage the Nissan account after spending 31 years with the Clemenger BBDO network.

Says Phillips: After 12 years with the group and 11 years of service on Victorian Government media communications it is time for a change of pace. I have been fortunate and privileged to work with many great clients as well as terrific media industry colleagues and most importantly a talented and dedicated team at Dentsu Mitchell and the broader Dentsu Aegis Network. I have thoroughly enjoyed the challenges, as well as the rewarding times of working across such a diverse client, from bushfires and floods to Melbournes great arts and events as well as TAC, VRGF and Visit Victoria to name a few. I am particularly proud of working closely with RMIT to create a framework of industry engagement and assisting with the development of the next generation of media and communications professionals. I leave Dentsu Mitchell at a time when the Victorian Government team under John Thompsons leadership has never been stronger and I wish all of my Dentsu Aegis Network colleagues all the very best for the future.

Says John Thompson (above, left), managing director, Victorian Government Services at Dentsu Mitchell: For the past 11 years I have worked with Ron either as a client or as a colleague here at Dentsu Mitchell on the Victorian Government business. Ron remains one of the best people I have ever worked with in my career and I wish Ron, Jill and their family all the very best for the future.

Ron will remain connected to the agency working with Dentsu Mitchell on some of our pro-bono clients and across our involvement with RMIT and the Sexton Award.

At the same time as saying goodbye to one of its most loyal and long-term senior leaders, Dentsu Mitchell has also announced the promotion of Sylvia Pickering (centre) to the role of group client service director to lead the Victorian Government team at Dentsu Mitchell.

Pickering joined the Dentsu Aegis Network in 2010 at emitch, the digital media agency of the group that later merged into the Dentsu Mitchell brand.

Since then, Pickering played a key role in the establishment of AMNET, the programmatic agency for Dentsu Aegis Network. In 2012, Pickering joined Dentsu Mitchell as digital director where she developed a digitally-led strategy for a number of key clients. For the last year Pickering has played a key role on the Victorian Government in her role as client service director.

Pickering has been part of Dentsu Mitchells high potential talent program and will now join the Melbourne management team as part of her group client business director role.

Says Pickering: I feel both excited and privileged to be taking on this role, and to be taking over from someone of Rons calibre. The Victorian Government never fails to provide you with exciting and challenging work, be it in the behavioural change space or encouraging Victorians to go out and experience what our state has to offer. I look forward to working even more closely with the Victorian Government, as well as the large, dynamic Government team here at Dentsu Mitchell.

Says Adrian Roeling, national managing director at Dentsu Mitchell: Ron has been a great leader in our business over many years, and is a true gentleman. His hard work and dedication were an important part of our growth and we thank him for it. At the same time, we are very pleased to promote internally for this critical role, and we congratulate Sylvia on her promotion.
| BY Lynchy |

BBDO Singapore has been appointed to lead the strategy and development of AIA Groups Brand Ambassador programme in Asia-Pacific.

Within this remit, BBDO Singapore will support the creation of a global campaign featuring the companys newly appointed Global Brand Ambassador, David Beckham.

AIA is the largest publicly listed pan-Asian Life Insurance group, with business in 18 markets across Asia Pacific. In his newly created role, Beckham will support AIA achieve its goal of helping people in the Asia-Pacific region live longer, healthier, better lives.

Jean-Paul Burge, CEO & Chairman, BBDO Asia (pictured) said, We are delighted that AIA has given our Singapore team this opportunity. It is a fantastic brand with some great people and exciting plans for the future. We very much look forward to being part of that journey.
| BY Lynchy |

Havas Singapore has promoted Andrew Hook, the current ECD of Singapore operations, to the role of Chief Creative Officer. In his new role, Hook (pictured left) will be responsible for the creative output of Havas Singapore and will continue to work across new and existing clients.

Hooks creative leadership has been integral to the transformation of the agency over the past two years. In 2016, Havas Singapore won 11 large new businesses including local and regional work for Netflix, Porsche, CIMB Bank and SMU.

Commenting on the promotion, Andrea Conyard, CEO of Havas Singapore, said, Andrew has played a critical role in shaping the creative culture of Havas Singapore and our recent account wins and awards are a testimony to his leadership. His commitment to creative excellence and his collaborative spirit will prove to be invaluable as we evolve our unique Havas Village model in Singapore.

Awards.

On his promotion, Hook said, It has been an incredible journey at Havas so far. I have been truly blessed to be surrounded by a bunch of dedicated and passionate people right across the agency. The team brings a huge amount of heart to the job every day of the week. And I am humbled that the leadership team has put their faith in me to help lead the Havas family in the next chapter.
Students in years 7 and 11 will begin receiving tablet computers from the government in the next financial year. The $4 million set aside for the program in 2017-18 will also be used to develop programs that ensure the devices are used to their full capacity.
He also put aside $2.1 million for the city's first citizen's jury, although a topic has yet to be set for it to tackle. Barr, upset last year by the shouting over Grocon's bid to develop Manuka Oval and the threat of an equally vociferous campaign against development at West Basin, said the era was over of "just turning up to a public meeting and being the loudest voice" and so dominating public debate. Instead, he will seek the views of Canberrans en masse and will trial a citizen's jury.
The CareFlight spokesman said Canberrans' money benefits the ACT because it funds the charity's "MediSim" training in the southern NSW and ACT region. The training's 2017 schedule shows the course, which helps emergency service volunteers quickly respond to trauma, does not run in the ACT. The spokesman said NSW sessions have included participants from Canberra but did not provide attendance numbers. An Emergency Service Agency ACT spokesman said there was no organisational link between its service and CareFlight.
He told the jury he had done some renovation work for Mr Eliadis at Club77 in Fyshwick in early 2014, and he had invited his son to come along and help paint. After about two weeks the father said he stopped working there because payment wasn't forthcoming.
Ms Atkinson believes that the properties were targeted so that it would be easier for people to break into them. But ACT Police say that a motive has yet to be established and they can't speculate.
Millennial Moms Review: 2022 Acura MDX is pretty close to the perfect family car

I dont know if perfect is attainable, especially considering weve got the world of options when it comes to modern vehicles. Were spoiled and, as such, we have very specific needs and wants. Driving-wise, the 2022 Acura MDX is one of my favourite ...
Our Promise: Welcome to Care2, the world's largest community for good. Here, you'll find over 45 million like-minded people working towards progress, kindness, and lasting impact.

Care2 Stands Against: bigots, racists, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here.

Care2 Stands With: humanitarians, animal lovers, feminists, rabble-rousers, nature-buffs, creatives, the naturally curious, and people who really love to do the right thing.

You are our people. You Care. We Care2.
The SSC Junior Engineer (Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, Quantity Surveying and Contract) Examination 2016 (Tier-I) results has been published by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) today.

When was SSC Junior Engineer Tier I Exam Held?

Staff Selection Commission held the Junior Engineer (Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, Quantity Surveying & Contract) Examination, 2016 from 1st March to 4th March 2017. It was held online through computer test.

The list of the candidates who qualified the SSC paper-1 and paper-2 for Junior Engineer exam 2016 is is available on SSC official website.

Number of candidates registered for SSC Junior Engineer Tier I Exam 2016

The number of candidates registered for SSC Junior Engineer Tier I Exam 2016 are 3,39,379.

1,33,983 candidates appeared in Civil

90,321 candidates appeared in Electrical category

1,15,075 candidates appeared in mechanical category

As per official information, the schedule for Descriptive Paper (Tier-II) of SSC Junior Engineers Examination 2016 will be available on concerned Regional Office's website shortly. The answer keys for the Junior Engineer Recruitment 2016 was released on April this year.

Official Notification

"Marks of the qualified/non-qualified candidates and Final Answer Keys along with the Question Paper(s) in a standard format will be hosted shortly on the Commission's website," read a notification.

SSC MTS Paper Leak: Seven Accused Arrested from Uttar Pradesh

How to check SSC Junior Engineer Tier I Exam Results 2016?

In order to check SSC Junior Engineer 2016 Tier I Exam Results 2016, follow the steps given here:

Log on to the official website of the SSC, ssc.nic.in

Click on the link results link

Click on JE heading in the pop up window

Click on the results link given adjacent to "JUNIOR ENGINEERS (CIVIL, MECHANICAL, ELECTRICAL, Q.S. & C.) EXAM., 2016 - LIST OF THE CANDIDATES QUALIFIED IN PAPER-1 FOR APPEARING IN PAPER-2 ( CIVIL )"

Check your name in the PDF file that opens

Save it to your computer and take a print out for future reference

Also Read: SSC CHSL Tier I Results 2017 Announced: Check Now!
The marks list for the recommended candidates into the civil services 2016 has been released by the UPSC. K R Nandini who has topped the exam has got 55.3 per cent marks, revealing the toughness of the exam.

The results of the UPSC civil services 2016 were released last week and 1099 candidates were selected to be commissioned in various services. Candidates can now check the marks list below or in the UPSC official website. To check the results of the UPSC civil services 2016 exam, click here

The total marks in the exam is 2025. K R Nandhini has secured 1,120 marks (927 in main and 193 in interview) out of the total of 2,025. She is an officer of Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise). The second and third ranks were secured by Anmol Sher Singh Bedi and Gopalakrishna Ronanki respectively. Bedi scored 1,105 marks and Ronanki got 1,101 marks.

Category wise candidates:

Number of candidates registered : 11.36 lakhs

Total selected candidates : 1099

General category : 500

OBC category : 347

SC : 63

ST : 89

UPSC Civil Services 2016 Marks List

Last year Tina Dabi topped with 1,063 marks (52.49 per cent) in UPSC civil services examination 2015.

"The marks of the successful candidates show the tough standard followed by the commission in selecting the country's bureaucrats," said a senior official in the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), nodal authority for the UPSC.

About UPSC

The Civil Services, also known as the UPSC exam is considered one of the toughest and prestigious competitive exams in India with success rate of just 0.1%. The examination is conducted to recruit officers for three types of services namely, All India Services, Central Services and State Services.

UPSC Recruitment Process Begins for EPFO: Apply Before June 23
China ushered in a tough new cyber security law on Thursday, following years of fierce debate around the controversial legislation that many foreign business groups fear will hit their ability to operate in the country.

The law, passed by Chinas rubber-stamp parliament in November, requires local and overseas firms to submit to security checks and store user data within the country.

Chinas top cyber authority said on Wednesday it was not targeting foreign firms with the new law, after over 50 overseas companies and business groups lobbied against the legislation that includes stringent data storage and surveillance requirements.

The purpose is to safeguard (Chinas) national cyberspace sovereignty and national security rather than to restrict foreign enterprises, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) said in a statement on its website.

The law has sparked fierce push-back by firms and lobby groups who say vague wording of the regulations leaves foreign firms vulnerable to abstract interpretations of the rules.

Earlier this month Reuters reported the CAC met foreign business groups in a closed-door meeting to try to allay these fears, including an 18-month phase-in period for aspects of the regulations, according to attendees.

According to a revised draft of the rules, seen by Reuters, a phase-in period until the end of 2018 would relate to measures affecting cross-border data transfers, which has been one of the most contentious elements of the new law.

The CAC notice on Wednesday made no mention of a phase-in period. It added the law is not designed to hinder international trade or the flow of data across the Chinese border.

Questions Remain

Firms and lobby groups say the late changes to the law, while positive, leave most of the original legislation intact and remain broad. The laws impact will therefore depend on how Beijing enforces it.

Much will depend on how the measures are implemented, the U.S.-China Business Council said in a note to members last month after the CAC meeting.

On top of internationally common standards, such as requiring user consent before moving data beyond country borders, Chinas new cyber law also mandates companies store all data within China and pass security reviews.

This fits Chinas ethos of cyber sovereignty  the idea that states should be permitted to govern and monitor their own cyberspace, controlling incoming and outgoing data flows.

China maintains a strict censorship regime, banning access to foreign news outlets, search engines and social media including Google and Facebook.
Ford executive chairman Bill Ford said that federal and state officials will have to tackle the thorny issues regarding the ethics of autonomous vehicles, before they hit the U.S. market.



Ford also said that developing the hardware and software for a self-driving car is going to be easy compared to deciding what the vehicle should do in the event of a life-or-death situation, according to Detroit News.

The difficult piece is going to be all the enabling things around it. Things like ethics, things like regulations, Ford said during an appearance at The Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C.

Ethics in the vehicle itself, i.e. does the vehicle make the decision to save you, the occupant, or to save 10 pedestrians if the right thing might be to hurt you the occupant, he added. Those all have to be thought through and no one manufacturer is going to be able to program in one ethical equation that is different than the others. I mean, that would be chaos. And imagine the fun the trial lawyers would have with that too.

The company plans to build its first fully autonomous vehicle for use in ride-hailing or ride-sharing services by 2021. Ford said that the company will look very different in the next five to 10 years, if they meet their self-driving car deadline.

We should be less capital intensive, less cyclical, much closer to the customer, and help cities sort out their issues, he said. We will be making vehicles. Its something we do and we do well. But into those vehicles  will be going lots of software, lots of connectivity.  I think well always be making vehicles. But how they behave, how they interact and who is in them may all be different.

PHOTO GALLERY
Toyotas luxury brand Lexus are bringing their most advanced product, the LC coupe, to the Australian market.



Its priced by Lexus at a whopping AUD $190,000 (USD $141,362) for both the V8 and Hybrid. In other words, the LC will cost Aussies over 50 per cent more than what Americans pay for the luxury coupe at US$92,000 and US$96,510 respectively for the two versions.

All LCs come with standard features such as full LED lighting, 21-inch wheels wrapped in run-flat Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires, flush door handles and a glass panoramic sunroof.

The two-zone climate control, large color head-up display, semi-line leather upholstery, infotainment system with a 10.3-inch display, sat-nav, enhanced voice recognition, bespoke Mark Levinson sound system, and others, will welcome users once they open the door.

No matter what version of the Lexus LC one selects, they will get a wide range of driver assistance technologies such as adaptive cruise control, Pre-Collision Safety, Lane Keep Assist, Sway Warning, Blind Spot Monitor, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, reversing camera and automatic high beam.

Powering the new Lexus coupe is a 5.0-liter V8 that makes 471 horses and 540Nm (398lb-ft) , while the 500h hybrid delivers a combined output of 354hp and 348Nm (257lb-ft) of torque.

Customers can make both versions of the LC sportier by opting for the Lexus Dynamic Handling that adds technologies such as four-wheel steering, variable gear ratio, active rear spoiler that deploys automatically at 80km/h (50mph), carbon fiber roof that replaces the glass roof, and a limited-slip differential on the 500h (standard on the V8), among others. This pack retails from AUD $15,000 (USD $11,160).

PHOTO GALLERY
Fans have been clamoring for a new Supra and Toyota is finally answering them thanks to a partnership with BMW. Unfortunately, a new report is indicating enthusiasts might be a little dismayed with the end result.



Citing insider sources, Autocar is reporting the Supras hybrid powertrain could necessitate the use of an automatic transmission. This wouldnt please purists, but manual transmissions are becoming increasingly rare and the take rate on cars that do offer them is pretty low in the United States.

If the Supra is offered exclusively with an automatic transmission, it will reportedly be the same one as the BMW Z4. However, rumors suggest the gearbox would come with its own unique ratios.

Toyota has been tight-lipped about that cars powertrain but the magazine reports the Supra will use a BMW-sourced gasoline engine, a couple of electric motors, and supercapacitors to store energy. The latter technology will be borrowed from the TS030 Hybrid and give the Supra a bit of a racing pedigree.

The car will reportedly arrive sometime next year which seems possible as BMW is expected to preview the Z4 with a concept at the Pebble Beach Concourse dElegance. The production model is set to debut in late 2018 so its likely the Supra will also debut around the same time.

Photo Credits: CarPix for CarScoops

Photo Gallery
Bron and animation in Canada

Bron has studios in Burnaby (near Vancouver) and Duncan, British Columbia, as well as a third location in London, Ontario. After being founded in 2010, Bron Studios has gone on to produce mostly live-action projects, including films Birth of a Nation and Fences. Meanwhile, its animation division has delivered three specials under the Mighty Mighty Monsters banner and is finishing work on its first animated feature, Henchmen.

Canadian-born Pearn, who gained significant experience in United States studios, told Cartoon Brew he is amazed at the transformation of the Canadian animation industry, including at studios like Bron. When I first came back to work in British Columbia, Pearn said, I was with Sony and I was shocked at how international my crew was. And I think that, to me, is the key to growing a really stable industry  getting a lot of ideas from around the world.

Whats interesting about our country is that it seems like its splintering off into a lot of specialties, added Pearn. Youve got a lot of vfx and some tv here in Vancouver, a lot of tv in Toronto, and then Montreal is pretty much all features and video games. Depending on where you want to live and what kind of climate you want, you can emigrate to Canada and do pretty well.

What is The Willoughbys?

Lois Lowrys book, The Willoughbys, centers on a family with old ideas in a modern city, where two selfish parents raise four children. Our take, said Pearn, is that these four kids are raised by books and the newest book in the house was written in 1901. So they have got a lot of old-fashioned ideas.

One day an orphan is left at the gate of this family  a modern baby who does not do things the old way. The second that this chaos hits their lives, everything changes, said Pearn. So their parents make them get rid of their baby and on that journey, they come up with the idea that being an orphan is actually better than their situation and their lives would improve if they became orphans. So they decide to orphan themselves. And upon orphaning themselves by getting rid of their parents  and theres a comedy twist to that  they get a big collision with the modern world. And they suddenly realize that orphaning in the modern world isnt what its cracked up to be in books.

Pearn and his co-director Evans are keen to make The Willoughbys a coming-of-age story, something in a similar vein to The Goonies and Stand By Me. These are movies from the 80s when I grew up, but instead of the kids running away, they make their parents run away, said Evans.

Production approach

Bron is not disclosing a release date for The Willoughbys right now, but recently announced that additional signed talent includes Maya Rudolph, Terry Crews, Martin Short, Jane Krakowski, and Sean Cullen. They also mentioned that pre-production is well underway in modelling, previs, animation, and rig development, as well as early look development.

Pearn has been on The Willoughbys for about a year and a half. Partnering with Evans, the two have been leading a major design phase, incorporating early art by Pete Oswald (production designer on Angry Birds) and character designs from Craig Kellman (Hotel Transylvania 2, Sausage Party). Sausage Party production designer Kyle McQueen is also on board.

The directors are approaching the work via a divide and conquer method, says Evans. We have a short timeline that were working inside of; its very intense. In the day we might split off into different rooms. We try and get as much forward momentum on the film in one day as we possibly can. I think having the two of us is really allowing us to do that.

Pearn and Evans both mentioned that the film does not have a large budget (Bron told Cartoon Brew that funding of The Willoughbys is a hybrid of private and public investment) but the filmmakers still wanted to make bold choices with character designs and with the final animation look. Interestingly, this is leaning towards a stop-motion feel.

We have to make something that fits into the market that doesnt feel like Pixar and Dreamworks, said Pearn. And one that has its own tone and has its own sense of itself. So we really looked at a lot of the stop-motion projects of the world. The Pearce Sisters [directed by Luis Cook at Aardman] was also one that was super influential early on. And I really loved the Buddy the Elf special [Elf: Buddys Musical Christmas] that Craig Kellman did the character designs for, which has all those characters with the stop-motion look.

Animation is planned to commence some time this summer. We had a screening about two months ago and were in our second push in animatics, said Pearn. In terms of the production cycle, its a bit different than what Im used to coming from the big $100 million battleship projects, where theres always a money tap and theres more time. But its sort of exciting that we get to move fast and its sort of a hybrid between the feature experience and the tv experience, which Im really, really enjoying.
Shooting Salazar

The transformation of Bardem began during filming, which took place on the Gold Coast in Australia. The actor wore tracking markers and had his hair tied back  it would be fully replaced with cg simulated hair. He was then subject to hours of meticulous prosthetic application carried out by Odd Studio, including specific crack-like markings. In order to enable a gaping hold in the side of his face, a bluescreen patch was included in the makeup effects design which MPC would fill in later.

On set, Bardem and the other undead crew performed their scenes with a slow motion lag kind of behavior as if they were underwater, explained Ledda. This would take place in partial costumes, occasionally with some gray-colored pieces or tracking pieces, which MPC would augment in post.

That performance became the basis of MPCs take-over into digital. But first the studio had to engage in roto-animation of Bardem and the other actors to track and match their behaviors and movement. Once we had these characters roto-animated we then applied our digital costumes on top which had damaged and burnt areas and lots of rips, said Ledda. And then our technical animators took over and they applied these cloth sims and hair simulation to give it this kind of underwater feel.

Handling hair

When it came time to add Salazars cg hair, Ledda notes that MPC initially had two challenges. One was that any simulation had to match Bardems actual on-set movements  which in general were real-time  while the other was that the hair would need to look like it was underwater, which generally makes things appear slowed down. The solution would have to be one that looked correct but could be altered as needed from shot to shot.

After a number of tests, MPC devised an approach that let artists produce a physically correct hair simulation, following grooming with their proprietary hair tool Furtility, while also allowing for creative control. This control came in the form of posing the hair in certain frames. If we wanted a specific chunk of hair over his nose or some sort of hair rolling back, we could actually pose that and then have our simulation take that into account and be gently dragged towards certain keyframes, almost as if there was a sort of field or current that kind of leads it towards these kind of keyframes, said Ledda.

The groom itself for Salazar was made up of fine hair, damaged hair, and a number of dreadlocks. The dreads had to behave differently for their underwater look than the fine hair, but everything was also intertwined and tangled, with many, many knots.

Another interesting challenge was maintaining continuity. Ledda notes that animators are used to working in beats. They usually work on maybe three or four shots at the same time, so we can actually see how a character works across a cut. But because this was more technical animation, it wasnt so beat-oriented.

The difference here, said Ledda, was that we had to run all these hair simulations across multiple shots, because if the hair is screen left in the previous shot, obviously it has to be in the same place in the following shot. Its quite tricky when youre simulating hair because you can end up with many cuts. To run a simulation across say 20 shots and making sure it all feels coherent was definitely a big challenge.
Photo: Facebook

A rising Okanagan Lake is deterring tourists from spending in Peachland, and business owners say misperceptions about the state of flooding in the town are threatening to deal a near-fatal blow.

While one section of Beach Avenue is closed due to flooding, Peachland's downtown core remains open, a fact local business owners say many don't seem to realize.

That misperception, along with a spring already hit by rain and flooding woes, could spell disaster for the town's tourist-dependent businesses.

For more on the situation, read the full story on Castanet's business news website, Okanagan Edge.
Photo: Contributed Rendering of twin six storey rental apartments destined for 175 Kinney Ave.

More than one-in-three tenants in the City of Penticton are paying more for rent than they can afford, according to an extensive housing needs study hitting councillors desks this week.

The 130-page report prepared by an outside consultant with a budget of $50,000 was commissioned by the city to act as a foundation for housing policy decisions moving forward.

The document paints a dire picture for the citys rental market, with 35.7 per cent of renters spending more than 30 per cent of their before-tax income on shelter. 30 per cent is widely accepted as the upper limit a person can reasonably afford.

There is unmet need for housing of retail and other service sector employees earning relatively low wages, the report states Often such employees cannot find housing that is considered affordable on their incomes if they can find housing at all.

Some employers will own housing units and rent them directly to employees. Other employers cannot or will not offer that option and suffer from personnel shortages, the report continues.

The assessment also points to motels in the city, which flip to rental units in the winter months. That instability of the local rental market creates a difficult investment climate for the development of rental housing.

Penticton added just 125 private row and apartment rental units during 2011 - 2016 and 42 units during 2006 - 2016.

Because of that, the report states it is not surprising that the percentage of renters in unaffordable or unsuitable housing has climbed from 28 to 37 per cent between 2006 and 2011. The study uses data from the 2011 census, but may be updated with 2016 data once it is released later this year.

The report concludes that the community needs to build about 134 housing units every year just to keep up with growth, and makes a series of recommendations.

The city is being urged to consider regulations such as a density bonus for developers and rental loss prevention programs. An Affordable Housing Reserve Fund is also floated, which could provide grants for the development of affordable housing in the city.

At the higher end of the cost spectrum, it could partner with the province and provide land for affordable housing projects.
Photo: Contributed

A Penticton man with around 60 previous criminal convictions will be spending another eight months behind bars after being sentenced on Monday.

Lawrence Jordan Brown, 27, pleaded guilty to a series of charges in connection to a shoplifting incident, the theft of a car, breach of probation and failure to appear.

Brown was implicated in the theft of a motor vehicle on Nov. 23, 2016, admitting to the offence once caught.

He was released on a promise to appear on Dec. 14, 2016, but was arrested less than a week later, when police caught him downtown Penticton drunk with a bottle of tequila in his possession, in violation of his probation order.

He was released the next day, on Dec. 22, with a curfew and promise to appear.

On Jan. 2, 2017, police visited his home at 2 a.m. for a curfew check, but nobody was home. He then failed to appear in court as promised on Jan. 6. And again, on Jan. 31, police conducted another curfew check, but Brown was nowhere to be found.

Brown was eventually arrested in the Dennys parking lot on Feb. 9, 2017. The circumstances surrounding that arrest, and the RCMPs allegations that Brown tried to fight off police officers with a hatchet will go to trial at a later date.

He also pleaded guilty to a shoplifting incident in Dec. 2015, that saw him get caught stealing about $13 worth of merchandise from the Penticton Wholesale Club.

You have a number of factors in your background that are not shared by ordinary Canadians, judge Gregory Koturbash told Brown, before outlining his troubled upbringing.

The court heard that Brown dropped out of school at age 11 and began abusing drugs and alcohol. His mother was not interested in raising him, according to Koturbash.

Brown suffered an accident involving scissors at age six which cost him his eye, and the judge indicated that had it not been for parental neglect and a lack of medical care following the accident, his eye could have been saved.

Before dropping out of school, Brown experienced overt racism over his aboriginal heritage. At one point a teacher erected a large cardboard box/barrier around him to segregate him from the rest of the class. He was sexually abused, and during his youth, his mother stabbed his father.

Although there has been no diagnoses, defence lawyer Norm Yates raised the likelihood that Brown suffers from fetal alcohol syndrome.

As a result, the crown prosecutor said Brown has been involved with the law since 15.

Im a bit at a loss of what to do with you, Koturbash told Brown, adding that they have tried it all to get him back on track, including restorative justice programs.

Taking his upbring into account, Koturbash said public safety is paramount in any sentencing and that there is no automatic discount because you are first nations or aboriginal heritage.

Brown, who held his head in his hands for most of the sentencing, told the court he takes responsibility for his actions and is hoping to make this his last stay behind bars.

Koturbash ended up accepting the crown's suggested sentence or 434 days, minus credit for time served, with a term of 18 months probation.
Photo: Randy Millis

RCMP in Kelowna travelled the province to gather enough evidence to make an arrest in a West Kelowna crime spree.

David Daniel Huck has been charged in connection with a March 26 arson at 1191 Peak Point Dr. and an armed robbery at Antler Creek Outfitters, March 28.

A vehicle, found torched later that day, is one the owner of the store said suspects used in their getaway.

Police say an investigation launched into the two events took officers throughout the Southeast District, Lower Mainland, Chilliwack and Prince George.

"RCMP investigators have since recovered two firearms in Prince George, allegedly stolen during the Antler Creek Outfitters robbery," said Cpl. Jesse O'Donaghey.

Huck, 25, from Kamloops, was arrested Friday. He was taken into custody in the Kamloops area, and returned to Kelowna where he was held in custody over the weekend.

Huck has been charged with intentionally or recklessly causing damage by fire, robbery, and intent to commit an indictable offence with his face masked.

Police have determined a second suspect, identified through the course of the investigation, is deceased.
Photo: UBCO

More than 1,650 students will graduate from UBC Okanagan this week.

Six convocation ceremonies will be held Thursday and Friday in the various disciplines.

During the two days, UBC will confer 33 doctoral degrees, 148 master degrees, 1,465 undergraduate degrees and an honorary degree to Canadian artist Alex Janvier.

The number of graduates has more than tripled since 2006, when UBC Okanagans first graduating class of 468 crossed the stage.

Deputy vice-chancellor and principal Deborah Buszard said: "Members of this, our twelfth, graduating class have already shown themselves to be accomplished change-makers and innovators on campus and in the community.... They are extraordinarily talented and I have no doubt they will be a force for positive change wherever they go."

Thursday at 8:30 a.m., degrees will be handed out in: biochemistry and molecular biology, biology, chemistry, Earth and environmental sciences, ecology and evolutionary biology, environmental chemistry, environmental sciences, freshwater sciences, general studies (science), interdisciplinary studies (sciences), microbiology, and zoology.

At 11 a.m., grads in the following programs will take the stage: anthropology, computer science, economics, gender and womens studies, general studies (arts), geography, history, indigenous studies, interdisciplinary studies (BSAS  arts), international relations, mathematics, physics, and statistics.

At 1:30 p.m.: art history, creative writing, cultural studies, English, French, interdisciplinary performance, interdisciplinary studies (FCCS), philosophy, PPE, political science, psychology, sociology, Spanish, and visual arts.

At 4 p.m.: civil engineering, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering.

Friday at 8:30 a.m.: education, interdisciplinary studies, and management.

At 11 a.m.: human kinetics, interdisciplinary studies, nursing, and social work.
Photo: Sheldon Louis The Syilx mural in Vernon has been defaced.

UPDATE: 4:35 p.m.

The defacement of a mural in Vernon honouring the Okanagan Nation has been labeled vile and hateful by the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre for Holocaust Studies, a human rights organization aimed at countering racism and anti-semitism.

The mural on the outside of AJ's Pets & Things on 31st Avenue has been marred by a number of black markings, including a swastika and a Hitler-type moustache drawn on the face of an indigenous woman.

Canadian Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center strongly condemns vile and hateful graffiti of this nature. The usage of Nazi imagery is racist and antisemitic in nature and reminds us all of the atrocities committed by the German Nazis and their accomplices in the Holocaust, said Avi Benlolo, the centre's president. We deplore hateful rhetoric and messaging and call for compassion, tolerance and friendship amongst all Canadians.

Well-known mural artist Michelle Loughery worked with a number of others, including Sheldon Louis, an established artist and member of the Okanagan Nation, on the Syilx mural project in 2001.

It's quite shocking to me when I see a swastika on any mural, said Loughery. It was on the woman's face....It is a very disrespectful act to our First Nations people. It's terrible.

Louis, who posted photos of the damaged mural on Facebook, refused to call the defacement a racist act.

At this time, I really can't comment on the individual or individuals intent, said Louis. I see it as a lack of understanding and a lack of respect towards arts and culture in the community.

"It's hard for any First Nations person to face that sort of thing," Louis admitted. "We definitely have a history of facing those sorts of behaviours."

But the artist added that at this point in my life, it's not about anger but what we can do to educate.

UPDATE: 9:15 a.m.

A graffiti removal company that has worked on other murals damaged by vandals has been hired by the Downtown Vernon Association to remove the graffiti on the mural, Hailey Rilkoff, DVA spokesperson.

"The DVA has also been in contact with Michelle Loughry to coordinate the repairs to the mural once the graffiti has been removed," said Rilkoff. "We're hoping to have the graffiti removed and repaired as soon as possible but need to ensure the removal is carried out properly so as not to do more damage."

ORIGINAL STORY: 5 a.m.

One of Vernon's colourful murals has been defaced, with a swastika and Hitler-type moustache drawn on the face of an indigenous woman.

This is not the first time someone has defaced a mural in Vernon and this is not the first time someone has defaced the Syilx mural, said Okanagan artist Sheldon Louis, who posted photos on Facebook of the damage. This is disheartening and frustrating that people would feel the need or the urge to vandalize a piece of artwork.

Louis and mural artist Michelle Loughery worked with others on that specific artwork which adorns the outside of AJ's Pets & Things on 31st Avenue.

This mural project was created years ago by one of my mentors to give at risk youth of all cultural backgrounds the opportunity to create art within the community, to help build life skills, to show the community members the youth artists' talents, to engage the local community as youth ambassadors and to show the youth that there can be bridges built between the generations through art....To see how people treat the work that Michelle Loughery, the youth of the time, and myself had done to honour our Syilx community and our people is upsetting.

Louis said he would also like to have a conversation with the person who tagged the painting with the moniker, Cody Balls, to help this young person find a better direction.

Meanwhile Loughery said work to repair the mural would be done as soon as possible.

We will get this cleaned up and, perhaps, the person who defaced it found, said Loughery on Facebook. Nothing like a hot day scrubbing to set their brain right on disrespect. This is a vital and very important part of art in this community.
Photo: OFTF This crushed vehicle was hauled from the bush on Postill Lake Road.

More than 110,000 pounds of junk illegally dumped in Central Okanagan forests are back where they should be - the city landfill.

The Okanagan Forest Task Force has spent several weekends over the past 10 months, hauling out scrap metal, nails, garbage and pollutants left behind by 'selfish people,' who use the woods as their own personal garbage dump.

The total to date, 111,000 pounds.

"I feel sheer disgust," said organizer Kane Blake.

"That number is crazy in just 10 months. A lot of the sites we go to are constant dumping spots. People don't seem to get it, or care."

Blake says all identifying items found in the trash are provided to police and government officials, but says it's time to start publicly shaming those who have documentation in the mess.

We will do it now. People need to be made an example of for people to change. We didn't want to do it, but nothing is changing. If we catch someone dumping on one of our cameras, it will be on the news. It is time to grow up, said Blake.

The OFTF will also be working with local politicians to advocate for tougher laws when it comes to illegal dumping.

We want the law to be that if your personal info is found in the garbage, you are held responsible, said Blake.

What we have is not working.

This past weekend, 40 volunteers were on Postill Lake Road for what they describe as "one of the group's biggest clean-ups yet."

Nearly 23,000 pounds of junk was reclaimed, including nearly 16,000 pounds of scrap metal and almost 7,000 pounds of garbage.

I hear from people all over and yet I hear nothing from our own government. They have not reached out to help us funding wise, or offered to see how they can help, said Blake.

The government needs to step up. What will happen if we pull the plug on this? We need funding. How much wear and tear am I going to put on my own equipment without seeing a dime of help before I call it quits and go broke?
Photo: Alexis MacMillan Several swimmers take to Okanagan Lake for the blueseventy Open Water Swim Clinic.

Despite a high lake level and lakefront flooding, organizers of the Across The Lake Swim say the event is still a go.

The 69th annual swim, which takes competitors across Okanagan lake just north of the William R. Bennett Bridge, takes place Saturday, July 15.

We are watching conditions closely. The lake height doesn't affect swimming much as it's still water, just a little deeper. The beaches are always filled with debris this time of year and there is very little debris floating in the lake says race director Peter Rudd.

We do use support boats and paddlers during our two events later in the summer, but these boats will not create any harmful wakes as they always go very slowly to not affect the swimmers

The water temperature is actually slightly warmer than average for the start of the open water swimming season here in Kelowna. Also, by the time of our first event on July 15, lake levels are expected to decrease. So, the current conditions dont really affect our events or clinics.

The swim is the largest, and longest running open-water swim in Canada. About 1,200 swimmers are expected to take part.

Another 300 swimmers will compete in the Rattlesnake Island swim Aug. 5.

While Emergency Operations Centre personnel have been asking residents, and tourists, to take part in non-wake activities on the lake, Rudd says non-wake events such as swimming are a welcome relief as the temperature rises.

He adds registrations are nearly sold out for the Across The Lake Swim, "which is good news for our local businesses and sponsors who welcome many out-of-town swimmers and supporters."
Photo: Denise Egan Flood waters at Kinsmen Park in Kelowna.

There's a small piece of good news for those fighting the daily battle against flood waters along Okanagan Lake.

Latest figures show the level of the lake has taken a slight dip over the past 24 hours.

The lake level, as of 5:25 Tuesday morning, sits at 343.240 metres above sea level.

The level Monday morning was 343.246 metres above sea level.

While the lake has lowered slightly, officials with the Central Okanagan Emergency Operations Centre are still bracing for levels as high as 343.50 metres.

About 30 per cent of the snowpack remains at high elevations. That snow feeds directly into Mission Creek, and eventually, Okanagan Lake.

Rain is also forecast for the latter half of the week. Rain is expected to reach the Okanagan by Thursday, and hang around for the weekend.

Accumulation of between five and 10 millimetres is possible each of the four days.

Officials ask residents to check their flood barriers, and adjust higher if necessary.

An additional half million sandbags are expected to arrive today.

All evacuation alerts remain in place
Photo: Castanet Staff

As Okanagan Lake continues to rise, we've added a new tool to illustrate the scope of the flooding crisis.

Using Environment Canada data, our in-house tech gurus have built a graph that pulls in daily lake-level readings as shows the lake's dramatic climb since May 1.

The graph shows the lake at just over 342.10 metres above sea level on May 1, passing through "full pool" at 342.48 metres on May 11 and closing in on the previous historic flood level of 343.28 metres set in 1948.

The data is updated daily at 5:30 a.m. and shows the more than one-metre rise in the lake's level.

Check back daily for the latest numbers and more flooding news from around the Okanagan.
Photo: Denise Egan A flood measurment stick floats in the water on June 5.

UPDATE: 11:30 a.m.

The City of Kelowna has closed the City Park tunnel, path and roadway due to high water levels.

The pathway along Hot Sands Beach and the tunnel access beneath William R. Bennett Bridge linking City Park to the beach at Lake Avenue are closed.

Signage has been posted asking pedestrians and cyclists to use pathways on the south side of Highway 97.

"The area will reopen once water volumes and flood levels subside," said the city in a statement.

Sections of roads and parking lots are also closed at City Park due to ground water.

City Park will have reduced hours and will now close at dusk instead of 11 p.m.

ORIGINAL: 11 a.m.

Kelowna streets could be shut down in coming weeks as ground water is expected to seep to the surface.

Okanagan Lake is continuing its rise, and Mission Creek is flowing at 30 to 35 cubic metres per second, causing the water table to come to surface in some neighbourhoods.

Rain is forecast beginning Thursday and may persist through the weekend, which could see creek flows increase again, the Emergency Operations Centre said in a statement Tuesday.

Okanagan Lake is expected to fluctuate, but that doesn't mean flooding has decreased or is complete.

Residents are being reminded to monitor basements and crawlspaces in low-lying areas.

A section of Water Street flooded after storm drains overflowed June 1, and it's expected to happen again when pumps are stopped for service.

Mike Murrell, the City of Kelowna's utilities network maintenance supervisor, said residents should continue to protect their properties, but be mindful of how much water they are pumping out.

Concerns were raised over Mission Creek overflowing a property on Truswell Road, and crews worked quickly on Monday to restore flood-protection barriers.
Photo: The Canadian Press

The federal government says new pilot-project results suggest roadside testing devices can be successfully used to detect drug-impaired driving.

Police officers from seven jurisdictions across Canada collected over 1,140 saliva samples using two kinds of devices between mid-December and early March.

Public Safety Canada says officers reported the screening devices were easy to use in various weather, temperature and lighting conditions.

The test results are the latest development in the federal plan to legalize recreational marijuana use.

Under recently introduced legislation, police would be able to demand a saliva sample from a driver if they reasonably suspected the person had drugs in their body.

Should the saliva test lead police to believe an offence has been committed, they could order an examination by an evaluating officer or the taking of a blood sample.
Photo: The Canadian Press Vial contains two milligrams of fentanyl - enough to kill a human.

New national figures released by public health officials show an estimated 2,458 people died in Canada from opioid-related overdoses in 2016.

The data from the Public Health Agency of Canada suggests the West is feeling the brunt of the impact.

The agency says data from Quebec is not currently available.

The numbers were released by the agency on behalf of a federal, provincial and territorial advisory committee on the opioid overdose epidemic.

The committee, created in December 2016, is chaired by Canada's interim chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam and Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia's chief public health officer.

Health Canada says opioids affect the part of the brain that controls breathing and taking more pills than the body can handle can cause breathing to slow, contributing to unconsciousness and death.
Photo: The Canadian Press Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland is congratulated by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday.

Canadians need to spend billions on "hard power" military capability because they can't rely on the U.S. or others for protection, says Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland.

In the House of Commons Tuesday, Freeland didn't mention Donald Trump by name, but made an unabashed pitch for the international rules-based order that the U.S. president's America First policy is attacking.

The speech is meant to foreshadow the release of Wednesday's defence policy review, which is expected to make the case for billions in new military spending.

"To put it plainly: Canadian diplomacy and development sometimes require the backing of hard power," Freeland said. "Principled use of force, together with our allies and governed by international law, is part of our history and must be part of our future."

She said Canada doesn't need an inward looking "Canada First" foreign policy, but given that the U.S. is now questioning the worth of its global leadership, it is more important than ever for Canada to plot its own course.

Freeland's emphasis on military power is a tougher expression of the country's international interests than Canadians are used to hearing.

She said that notwithstanding the "incredibly good relationship" with the U.S., Canada cannot just rely on American military protection.

"To rely solely on the U.S. security umbrella would make us a client state," she said. "Such a dependence would not be in Canada's interest."
Photo: Contributed

The country's largest national park could be declared to be in danger by the UN's World Heritage Committee if Canada doesn't meet new deadlines next year to prove it is taking action to protect the park from development.

In March, the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization gave Canada 17 recommendations to help improve the status of Wood Buffalo National Park in Northern Alberta.

Now it has set a deadline of February 2018 for Canada to show its plan to meet those recommendations and another deadline of December 2018 to show progress on that plan.

UNESCO experts, who visited the park last fall at the behest of First Nations, agreed with them that the park's ecosystem was in jeopardy because of oil sands development, hydro dam construction and climate change impacts in the region.

In a draft decision issued June 2, the World Heritage Committee expressed pleasure that Canada is taking most of the recommendations seriously but was dismayed that approval of the Site C dam project in British Columbia  which could affect water flows in the Peace Athabasca Delta within the park  won't be revisited.

The park was designated as a world heritage site in 1983; only a handful of UNESCO sites have ever been designated "in danger," mainly because of government breakdown and war.
Photo: The Canadian Press Shelter House in Thunder Bay, Ont.

An Ontario man who was homeless for years has donated $10,000 to a shelter that supported him after receiving compensation from a residential school settlement.

The act of kindness has triggered a slew of donations for Shelter House in Thunder Bay, Ont., which had to close an outreach program on April 1 after it ran out of funds for the operation.

That program, known as Street Outreach Services, or SOS, involved two staffers driving around and checking on the city's homeless, intoxicated and others at risk on the streets, and taking them to hospitals, detox facilities and shelters, said Alexandra Calderon, a development officer at Shelter House.

A van used to run the program was operated 12 hours a day from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. and helped alleviate the strain on the city's emergency services, she said.

A few weeks ago, a First Nations man who had used the shelter and the outreach program extensively walked into Calderon's office and said he wanted to give back, she recalled.

"My first reaction was 'I'm sure you need this money more and you should take it and keep it for yourself,'" Calderon said. "He said, 'No, no, I want to make sure my friends are safe and the SOS is out there so that if they need help, or a ride, they can get one.'"

Both Calderon and the man, who wishes to remain anonymous, then broke into tears.

"He was so proud to do it," Calderon said. "It's such a moving donation because it comes from somebody who has nothing."
Photo: CTV

A school bus driver is facing drunk driving charges after a bus hit a tree in Red Deer, Alta.

RCMP say it happened Monday afternoon in the Vanier Woods neighbourhood.

A witness told police the bus collided with a tree and a sign, then continued driving through the neighbourhood for a short distance before stopping.

EMS assessed the driver and the children and said there were no injuries.

Children between the ages of five and 12 were on the bus.

Shelly Joy Kolodychuk, who is 42 and from Red Deer, is to appear in court on July 12 on several charges, including impaired driving and dangerous driving.
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All images DSR Adria Sport / F18 Croatia , click images for slideshow , full album here. Some shots above look like some Game of Thrones / Vikings landscapes, special place to sail without a doubt. Third edition of the Murter Challenge, a great effort by local F18 sailor Drasko Andric to put this year Raid in place, which had visitors from experienced raid sailor like Martin Joehr who has participated at many top events around the World; Archipelago Raid, Texel, St Barts among others.

Having his view on the Murter Challenge in Croatia can provide an excellent perspective of the event.





3rd Murter Challenge 2017  Kornati Raid F18 CROATIA

by Martin Joehr, SUI 797

On Monday after a 14 hour drive from Zurich to Jezera Village on the Island of Murter, we started to realize in what a beautyfull place this race is located.

The next day we were warmly welcomed by Drasko from DSR Adria Sport, while we rigged up our C2, the sun felt nice and the wind was promising. In the afternoon I sailed for the first time in Croatien waters, the gusty Bora was lively sometimes hard banging, but we checked out the playground of the Croatien F18 sailors a bit closer.

We met the first Croatien F18 team on a Wild Cat, my boat did not feel slow, nice comparison, it is just overwhelming blasting thru turquoise blue flat water in this picturesque bays. In the evening we had Dinner with Drasko in a lovely Restaurant with a great view to the Kornati, a first idea where the race is about to be. Next day we practised with the Wild Cat, my boat set up was good I did not have to change settings up and downwind we were faster, in the later afternoon we met a Austrian C2 going downwind it was hard to come close, these guys are fast that was my first impression.

On Friday we first sailed to Pirovac and then crossed over the Murter sea to round the Dajina Vela island we had a local thermal wind called Maestral like the day beforenice. In the evening registration and skipermeeting, yes we go for a long distance race, Yeah.

Two Hobie Tiger and a SL 17 prepared there boats to be ready on Saturday morning. Nine o clock we should be ready to hit the water, it is cloudy and the wind is on and off. 4 more SL showed up at the starting line. We started the first Leg at about 11:00 and sail a short distance to lighthouse Prisnjak, I had a bad start and I did not catch the wind patches that good, I finished 5th.

Before the start of the second leg a storm hit us and we sailed close to Zminjak to hold on a mooring and take the mainsail down. The weather cleared up and we started the 2nd Leg at about 13:30. This start was a downwindstart I started close to the lighthouse leeward, 6nm towards the passage always under good pressure of a northwesterly brise. Comming into the passage as the first boat the wind shifted and died a tricky windsituation. It payed off to stay at left when a westerly turning back to a 12-15 Kn northwesterly.

The Austrian boat all the way on the rigth lost quiet a bit and Drasko on the Tiger had probable already a 10 minute gap on us. Going upwind for the next 10 Nm tack after tack in this gorgeous scenery under sunny sky it is just incredible nice.

The Tiger and the Austrians could close the gap a little, Drasko managed to finish 2nd. Approximately 2 nm further nordwest in Sipnate bay, we put our boats on moorings in front of the Campsite and Guesthouse. Everything was well organized our bags and tents came along with the race committee boats, and Vid was a perfect host in his small paradise in the middle of the Kornati. After changing clothes and putting the tent up I enjoyed the fine dinner, plenty of salad, grilled fish and potato such a nice bunch of people to be with. The ones with no tent could sleep in a bed inside the house, in the morning after breakfast we packed our stuff together and at 11:00 we were ready for the skipermeeting, 2 legs are planed. The weatherforecast predicted Bora for later on. So we sayed goodbye to Vid and made our boats ready to sail to the starting area after the passage Proversa Mala. Again we had a downwind start between the island Glamoc and the island Zut there was not much pressure from northwest, I started leeward of the Austrians and tried to pass them windward, thats why we both went far too much windward at the beginning. After gybing I found myself on 4th position. Drasko was already far ahead we managed to sail in 3rd and later in 2nd position. The Austrian guys found good wind on both sides and took over half a mile before the finish, at this time Drasko crossed the line first. It was an exciting fight between 2nd and 3rd, finally I was about 5 meter behind the Austrians C2. While we were waiting for the rest of the fleet and the start for the last leg, some strong gusts came in and suddenly Bora was here. This start was on a reach and we flown over the line. Drasko in front of us pulling up the spi, we did the same but both had to take it down again when the wind got stronger and no longer a good course was possible. Drasko on the Tiger went ahead little by little, I was probably a littlebit conservative a little bit afraid of the next hammer gust. Honestly, it was a hell of a ride! Long reaching leg with 23kts of Bora! Towards the finish we sailed upwind and the Wild Cat team came closer but we still had a comfortable lead over them crossing the line 2nd behind Drasko who saild full throttlecool dude man. To sail back to Jezera village was a joy 15 to 18 Kn of wind blue sky and flat water in the bay. We took our boat out on the rather tricky slip by gusty shifty wind, rinsed it with fresh water and changed for dinner at the Jezera Village restaurant. Everyone was hungry and the salad buffet and the soup with meat peas and potato was delicious and plenty. I loved talking about the race with the others, about their problems, and hightlights in a realy friendly atmosphere at the beautyfull spot on Murter island. Pricegiving ceremony was held at DSR Adria Sport Base in a familiar circle with many new friends. I never expected to become 2nd in the 3rd Murter Challenge 2017.

Fortunately we planed to stay one more day and then leaving on Tuesday morning. The other teams packed their boats together and said goodbye hopefully I see them soon again, we had a great time.

A special thanks goes to Drasko who organized this event and a big thank you goes especially to all the helpers and the race committee. On the next day when we went out it was just perfect weather and the usual thermic wind maestral 12 to 15 Kn was on, we sailed southeast between the island Duzac and Kakan crossed back to Murter island and tacked up to Prisnjak to enter the Croatien F18 playground once more, last time passing Murter and Betina. We had 7 days sailing of its best, I dont think it could be better. This is the best start into the new season so far, I only can recommend. I think it would be great if I am one of the choosen ten boats next year again!


Cemex and CBMI sign contract for Solid line

06 June 2017

Cemex Philippines has signed a contract with CBMI for the construction of a new kiln production line in the Philippines.



The contract involves the design and engineering works of a new 1.5Mta integrated production line at Cemexs Solid Cement plant in Rizal. The scope of the order spans raw material crushing right through to packaging and dispatch and covers engineering, equipment supply, civil work, erection, training and commissioning.



It is the first cooperation between CBMI and Cemex.

Published under
The Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park will host a living history program at Point Park on Saturday, June 24, about the 31st Iowa Infantry and their participation in the Iowa state elections just before the Battle of Lookout Mountain.



"War often represents the failure of political institutions to resolve crisis. However, despite the raging Civil War, the democratic processes in the United States often continued. Soldiers were responsible for winning the war on the battlefield, but also at the ballot box, as the soldier vote was instrumental to the Union war effort. Join us as we explore one Union regiments participation in the phases of soldier-citizenship in the fall of 1863," officials said.

The program schedule is:



9:30 a.m.  Mail Call Program

10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.  Bullets: Company Drill and Firing Demonstrations

11:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 3:30 p.m.  Ballots: The 31st Iowa and the 1863 Gubernatorial Election



On Sunday morning, June 25, living historians will be present to interact with visitors about life and morning experiences in an army camp. Additionally, there will be ranger-guided tours throughout the weekend at 11 a.m., 2 p.m., and 4 p.m.

Admission to Point Park is $5 per adult, ages 16 and over; children, ages 15 and under are free.



For more information about programs at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, contact the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center at 706-866-9241, the Lookout Mountain Battlefield Visitor Center at 423-821-7786, or visit the parks website at www.nps.gov/chch.
The Tennessee Supreme Court and 53 members of the 101st Airborne Division and 5thSpecial Forces Group, stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, celebrated the Supreme Courts Revised Military spouse Rule (Rule 7), which permits attorney spouses of those in the military to obtain temporary law licenses to practice in Tennessee while their active-duty spouse is stationed in Tennessee at a military installation.

Brigadier General Todd Royar, Deputy Commanding General of the 101st Airborne Division and members of the 5th Special Forces Group were welcomed by Secretary of State Tre Hargett. Mr. Hargett is the son of Major General Gus Hargett. The group toured the State Capitol and experienced the Bicentennial Mall along with the architect and visionary for the Mall, Kem Hinton. Major General Andrew Poppas, Commanding General of the 101st Airborne Division, was attending D Day commemoration in Normandy, France.

Following the Courts official arguments, all five justices participated in the ceremony to recognize four recently admitted attorneys to the Tennessee Bar through the revised Military Spouse Rule. Chief Justice Jeff Bivins opened the ceremony by discussing the meaningful sacrifices made by military and their military spouses.

Our country has approximately 650,000 active duty military spouses and the unemployment rate within this group currently stands at approximately 20 percent, he said. By comparison, the national unemployment rate provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics has remained between 4.4 and 4.8 percent in 2017.

Chief Justice Bivins noted that economic conditions often require both spouses to work; particularly in military families, yet that can be very difficult when military service requires a family to move to a new location every two to three years. He underscored the Courts desire to assist and support Tennessees military spouses and their individual families as well as our men and women in uniform.

Justice Connie Clark gave an overview of the history and impact of the Military Spouse Rule change noting that not only did the Court receive comments from several Bar organizations, but also from more than 100 Tennessee attorneys who are military veterans. Commenters provided factual information to support the change including the fact that 79 percent have moved across state lines in the preceding five years making it nearly impossible for attorney spouses-95 percent of whom are women-to fulfill individual state requirements for reciprocity or comity admission.

This inability to obtain admission in the new state results in a potential income loss of $33,745 per year, said Justice Clark.

Under the revised Military Spouse Rule, attorney spouses are not required to take the Bar exam again if they previously passed the exam in another state. The attorney spouses may be admitted as long as they are licensed in another state and meet Tennessees appropriate ethical requirements.

Justice Holly Kirby recognized the four new admittees including Joanna Brake Ragon, her Supreme Court law clerk. The other three admittees are Tessa Allen Linde, Maria Stephanie Quimson Campbell, and Joseph Michael Kendrick.

Chief Justice Jeff Bivins recognized several individuals who were instrumental in the process, including Josie Beets, President, Military Spouse JD Network, Judge George Paine, Jack Turner, of Jack B. Turner & Associates, Willy Stern, Chair of the Legion Fund Advisory Board, and Martha Boyd, Shareholder at Baker Donelson Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC.

During the recognition event, Judge Paine, on behalf of the Legion Fund, and to show the gratitude of the 5th Special Services Group at Ft. Campbell, presented each justice with a gladius, a gift reserved for members of the Green Beret upon retirement. Learn more about Tennessees Military Spouse Rule, Supreme Court Rule 7.
In 2011, Apple became the first company to place artificial intelligence in the pockets of millions of consumers when the firm's co-founder Steve Jobs launched the voice assistant Siri on the iPhone.

Eight years later, the technology giant is struggling to find its voice in AI.

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Analysts say the question of whether Apple can succeed in building great artificial intelligence products is as fundamental to the company's next decade as the iPhone was to its previous one. But the tech giant faces a formidable dilemma because the nature of artificial intelligence pushes Apple far out of its comfort zone in sleekly-designed hardware and services.

AI programming demands a level of data collection and mining that is at odds with Apple's rigorous approach to privacy, as well as its positioning as a company that doesn't profile consumers. Moreover, Apple's longstanding penchant for secrecy has made the company less desirable in the eyes of potential star recruits, who hail from the country's top computer science departments and are attracted to companies that publish research.

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"Artificial intelligence is not in Apple's DNA," said venture capitalist and Apple analyst Steve Munster. "They understand that in the future, every company is going to become an AI company, and they are in a particularly tough spot."

At Apple's annual developer's conference on Monday  the same event where Jobs introduced Siri  the company's efforts to become an AI powerhouse were on display as executives launched a new standalone smart speaker and touted features meant to boost Siri's chops and to power AI applications on Apple products.

"Machine learning"  an AI buzzword that describes a form of ultra-fast, complex computer data analysis and statistical modeling  was repeated throughout the 2.5 hour presentation, delivered to an audience of roughly 6,000 developers here. Siri will now use machine learning to predict the times of a morning commute  or scan the travel news as you are reading it on the company's Safari browser and then suggest related activities, such as booking a reservation.

She will use machine learning to talk with you and help you sort through music through a new $349 home automation device, HomePod. She will automatically organize your photos into albums, like "2nd Anniversary," without you giving her any context about the pictures. There was even a new software toolkit, CoreML, that will allow for faster processing of large amounts of data collected during machine learning applications. (It's six times faster than Google's rival AI processor, an executive quipped).

But Monday's announcements come as other technology companies have released similar innovations and have already spent billions on the burgeoning AI arms race. Many are placing their bets on artificial intelligence, ranging from software that one day may be smart enough to chat back and forth like a human, or computer vision that identifies real-world objects so well it can power the first fully-functioning self-driving car.

That has put Apple in the disadvantaged position of trying to lead in an area where it has fallen behind  and where the effort cuts against the core aspects of the company's secretive culture.

"This is a substantial shift for Apple," said Daniel Gross, a former executive who focused on artificial intelligence. "The internal focus is on building great products, not publishing papers."

Ten years after launching the iPhone, Apple is on the hunt for another blockbuster product that can take its place. Sales of the iPhone propelled Apple to become the most valuable company in the world and still account for more than half of the company's revenues, which were $215.6 billion in 2016. But last year, purchases of the company's iconic smartphone dropped for the first time, suggesting that the market for high-end smartphones is finally saturated.

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"The difference between last year's iPhone and this year's iPhone is going to be much smaller than the difference between the first and second iterations of the iPhone. ... So that s-curve is starting to flatten out," said Benedict Evans, a mobile expert and partner at the Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, using an industry term for exponential increases in innovation. "Then you have the next transformative technology, that isn't here yet."

Apple did not respond to repeated requests for interviews and comment.

Apple's launch of HomePod, which will go for sale for $349 later this year, comes several years after Amazon and Google released their own automation devices, the Echo and the Google Home, which send consumers' spoken queries back to their servers in California for analysis. Google, Tesla, Uber, and others have been testing self-driving vehicles on public roadways for several years; Apple received its first permit to begin testing just two months ago. Before Monday's updates, the Siri assistant was still mostly a glorified web search that could tell the occasional pre-programmed joke.

Now Apple is racing to catch up. Last October, the company hired Russ Salakhutdinov, a Carnegie Mellon professor whose expertise is in an area of artificial intelligence known as "deep" or "unsupervised" learning, a complex branch of machine learning in which computers are trained to replicate the way the brain's neurons fire when they recognize objects or speech. Salakhutdinov is a protege of Geoffrey Hinton, perhaps the world's top researcher in this area. Like Salakhutdinov, who divides his time between Carnegie Mellon and Apple, Hinton divides his time between Google and the University of Toronto.

Building ties to academic superstars not only helps to improve products, but becomes a key recruiting tool, said Richard Zemel, director of the Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence and a professor specializing in machine learning at the University of Toronto.

"You used to not see people with Apple name badges at conferences, and now you do," Zemel said.

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In December, Apple presented and published its first academic paper in artificial intelligence at an industry conference. Another paper has been accepted to a prestigious computer vision conference and will be published in July, Salakhutdinov said in an interview. Salakhutdinov said he was not authorized to discuss his work at Apple in any detail.

Zemel, who told Bloomberg two years ago that Apple was "off the scale" in terms of secrecy, and that such secrecy was keeping them out of loop on major developments in the field, now said that the Cupertino giant was "making some changes."

"But it's going to take some work," he added.

Researchers at elite universities said in interviews that Apple was still not the top choice for their computer science graduates  Google, Facebook, and Amazon were by far the top picks  but that the company was moving up in the rankings.

Apple's forays into AI have also been slower than its peers because it's been reluctant to embrace the data-mining practices of rivals Google and Facebook, experts said. The company has spent considerable resources building additional layers of privacy when it did so. Unlike Google and Facebook, which are primarily advertising companies that collect massive amounts of intimate data to profile their users, Apple believes in limiting the amount of user data it collects. At a previous developer's conference, executives bragged that the company did not build user profiles. Tim Cook has positioned the company as the anti-Google.

But that stance against data collection becomes a problem if you are building artificial intelligence, researchers say. A home device must collect and analyze people's speech in order to improve the way the device can speak to humans, for example. For Siri to be smart, she needs to collect and interpret data from other applications, such as your calendar, your restaurant reservations, and, now, your browsing.

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Last year, as Apple began to embrace artificial intelligence on the iPhone, the company undertook a large privacy protection project. The project took an academic concept called differential privacy and applied it to AI applications on the iPhone. Differential privacy works by inserting noise  or bad information  into good data in order to confuse outsiders who might try to hone in on an individual's records. For example, in order for Apple software to group the photos of your dog into a single album, it needs to collect many photos of your dogs.

Apple collects those images, but not before encrypting the data in them and then scrambling that data with other data, so that if anyone tried to recover the original data set they wouldn't know what was tied to a single user, the company claims. This technique is considered a stronger privacy protection than other methods, such as using mathematical formulas to render user profiles anonymous.

Apple's focus on privacy may have slowed the company down in terms of building some products, Gross said, but the trade-off would be consumer trust. "Apple is dousing itself with an extra piece of really hard science, and doing so to try and preserve your privacy," he said. "I think Google and Facebook will have to answer to world where a similar product that is offered is more privacy-preserving."

Munster pointed out that no tech company has a huge lead on artificial intelligence yet. "The bad news is that Apple is behind," he said. "The good news is that if we look at how AI is going to impact the world, it's still early days  there is plenty of time to catch up."
Beleaguered retailer Target Corp. is counting on the Chicago area to help trigger its revival and rescue the company.

Under attack from giants Amazon and Walmart, Target is fighting back by opening a raft of mini-stores in area neighborhoods. Each is no larger than 40,000 square feet, compared with Target's 175,000-square-foot superstores.

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By 2018 the chain is expected to have at least 10 mini-stores, about 7 percent of the company's expected 130 small-store network, operating throughout select Chicago-area neighborhoods and more densely populated suburbs.

While this slimmer shopping concept won't single-handedly defeat the competition, the approach is an essential component of Target's multibillion-dollar about-face. That effort also includes sharpening its online strategy, refurbishing many of its huge stores and, Target management hopes, greatly improving earnings.

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Full disclosure: I am a sucker for a good business comeback story and, right now, Target's plan is just unfolding. Household names Apple, Starbucks and Netflix suffered serious rough patches and went on to thrive, so maybe Minneapolis-based Target will do the same even in an era when many renowned retailers  think Macy's or Sears  are reeling.

"It is too early to call Target's turnaround strategy successful, but we believe it's a directionally correct strategy," John Brick, a Morningstar equity analyst, said in an email to me.

The Chicago market is at the vanguard of Target's line of attack.

Right now, Target's self-described "small-format" stores are up and running in Chicago's Loop, Streeterville, Lincoln Park and Hyde Park neighborhoods. Later this year, four more will open  in Oak Park and Skokie and two in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood. For 2018, downtown Evanston and Rogers Park will get tiny Targets.

These stores are tucked into densely populated communities with nearby apartments, condos, public transportation hubs, downtown centers or universities.

They are trimmed-down versions of Target's flagship superstores, offering abridged versions of the mainstay lines of apparel, food and beverages, office supplies, housewares, hardware and electronics.

I recently visited the Streeterville Target, which opened in late 2015, and it looked well-stocked and determined to meet the immediate needs of city dwellers and millennials, especially those pressed for time.

Flanked by an adjoining CVS store and a Starbucks cafe, this smaller Target has a respectable assortment of household and personal items on display throughout its one-floor, street-level storefront. There was even a decent array of affordable wines.

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The sales and checkout crews were friendly and helpful.

Yet on the weekday when I visited, some of the store's casual clothing was strewed about, which made the apparel section look more like an open-air bazaar and not a neat, upscale marketer.

That's something Target management will need to keep an eye on and correct.

Aside from catering to walk-in traffic, the smaller outlets are designed to double as neighborhood pickup sites for Target's online customers.

When it comes to digital, Target is a laggard that needs to get going if it's going to be an online power, not a pretender.

Last year it rang up only $3 billion in domestic online sales, compared with $16 billion for Walmart and $55 billion for Amazon, according to Morningstar.

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Can Target return to the glory days of selling cheap, cheerful and chic products?

I'd say yes.

One significant reason is the Target brand still enjoys a lot of customer goodwill.

Targets Streeterville store is an example of the small-format, urban-oriented outlets the company hopes will help boost its fortunes. (Phil Velasquez/Chicago Tribune )

The same was true of Apple, Starbucks and Netflix, which have all been through periods of widespread customer unhappiness and corporate retrenchment. These companies came though the downturns because consumers were open to giving them another chance.

My impression is that shoppers are frustrated with Target's spotty merchandising performance, especially when it comes to selling groceries, but they haven't completely rejected or given up on the retailer.

Whatever happens, Chicago-area shoppers are going to play an important role in Target's future.

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roreed@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @reedtribbiz
Microbreweries like Evanston's Sketchbook Brewing Co. are adding taprooms, creating a new revenue stream and a way for brewers to cultivate a following for their beers. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune) (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune)

Thirsty commuters stepped off the train in Evanston on a recent Friday evening and made a beeline for Sketchbook Brewing, a cozy 25-seat taproom that opened last year. Some bought beer to lug home; other loyal denizens bellied up to the bar.

Welcome to the taproom boom.

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The amount of beer downed at breweries continues to rise, even as sales growth in the craft beer industry is finally slowing down. Increasingly, small brewers are using taprooms  often no-frills venues with minimal to no food offerings  to build demand locally and drive profits. Instead of overextending themselves in a crowded retail landscape or jockeying for tap handles in bars, these small brewers are biding their time, telling their stories and selling their own beer directly to consumers.

This industry shift has come at the expense of stores and neighborhood bars, some say. But it's also given new life to microbreweries grasping for a competitive edge.

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"When you talk about what sells, right now it's local. That's what people want and what people identify with," said Shawn Decker, co-founder of Sketchbook Brewing.

Since 2010, the amount of on-premise beer consumption at breweries in the U.S.  including both taprooms and brewpubs  has more than quadrupled, from about 448,500 barrels to about 2 million barrels last year, according to data from the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau.

It's difficult to gauge the exact growth of taprooms, in Chicago and beyond, in part because market research firms like IRI and Nielsen don't track on-premise brewery sales. Chicago taprooms are regulated but not tracked as a distinct category by the city and state in Illinois.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 17 Doug Wilson, left, and Bill Conron drink at the Kings & Convicts Brewing Co. taproom June 3, 2017, in Highwood. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune)

But a recent analysis by the Brewers Association, a craft beer industry group, shows that microbreweries with taprooms have both outnumbered brewpubs in the U.S. and are also outpacing microbreweries without taprooms. A key difference, as defined by the Brewers Association: Brewpubs have restaurants; taprooms don't.

Taprooms have grown partly because states have eased regulation allowing small breweries to sell directly to consumers, said Bart Watson, economist with the Brewers Association. And they're also just logistically easier to operate than a brewpub with a full kitchen, he said.

"It's another stage in the evolution of craft beer in the U.S.," said Jim Koch, elder statesman of the craft beer industry and founder of Boston Beer Co., known for its Samuel Adams beers.

Today, there are more than 5,200 craft brewers in the U.S., a number that has more than doubled since 2012. There are more than 30,000 varieties of craft beer, Koch said. The competition for shelf space has forced brewers to rethink the model for success.

"There's clearly not room (in stores) for 30,000 beers. ... But there's room for more places to drink great beer," Koch said.

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The trend toward on-premise consumption at breweries has hurt stores and neighborhood bars, said Bob Myers, president of the Associated Beer Distributors of Illinois, a trade group representing wholesalers.

"You're seeing a lot of neighborhood bars slowly dying. ... Every beer poured at a taproom is a beer not sold by us or at retail," Myers said.

Co-founder Brendan Watters talks about his beer and the taproom that serves it at Kings & Convicts Brewing Co. on June 3, 2017, in Highwood. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune) (Chicago Tribune)

That said, Myers also acknowledged that taprooms can sometimes help grow demand for new brands also sold in stores or at bars.

Some veteran Chicago craft brewers are just now joining the party.

Metropolitan Brewing, which has been selling its German-style beers since 2009, will open its first taproom later this summer as part of its new brewery at 3057 N. Rockwell St. in the Avondale neighborhood.

The 22,000-square-foot facility, including a 2,200-square-foot taproom, will replace Metropolitan's 4,500-square-foot brewery in Ravenswood, said Tracy Hurst, co-founder.

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The brewery expansion and taproom will immediately boost volume and sales, increasing production from about 4,000 barrels a year to an estimated 7,500 barrels, Hurst said. The taproom will also mean more profit: Cash receipts on a barrel of beer sold directly to consumers at the taproom are triple that of a barrel sold at a bar or a store, she said.

And finally, after building a following for years, Metropolitan will be able to engage with its fans in a more personal way, Hurst said.

"I think it will feel like home," she said.

As the taproom craze has raged on, the big boys have taken note. And for large brewers not considered craft by the industry definition, taprooms can provide a useful way to reaffirm local roots and experiment with smaller-batch beers.

One local example: Anheuser Busch-owned Goose Island opened its West Town taproom in 2015 and is in the process of renovating its original Clybourn Avenue brewpub opened in 1988.

For smaller brewers, taprooms can be essential to survival.

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Before Sketchbook opened its taproom in Evanston, which is about 600 square feet, it sold growlers and howlers through its community-supported brewery model, in which people pay a monthly fee for their allotment of beer. It also self-distributed beer to some stores and bars, Decker said.

"We would never have survived in our old model. Not really. The way we survived is nobody got paid," Decker said.

But Sketchbook did succeed in building a local following that first year and a half. And now  thanks in large part to its taproom  the business is growing, profitable and in the process of partnering with a wholesaler to expand its limited retail presence in the months to come, Decker said.

The taproom bubble appears a long way from bursting. Just last month, Kings & Convicts Brewing opened its brewery and taproom in suburban Highwood, which CEO Brendan Watters called the "unsanitized North Shore."

"Highwood's got some character, and it's got some characters," quipped Watters, a native Australian.

At only 400 square feet, the Kings & Convicts taproom is even smaller than Sketchbook's and has fewer decorative flourishes. But for the fledgling brewery, it's enough to make an introduction to those curious enough to stop in for a taste.

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And what better place to tell a story than over a beer?

"A taproom is much more than a place where people come and drink," Watters said. "We want you to get the true essence of who we are."

gtrotter@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @GregTrotterTrib
A federal judge in Illinois has hit satellite TV provider Dish Network with $280 million in penalties for violating "Do Not Call" telemarketing rules in an 8-year-old case.

The ruling, issued Monday by the U.S. District Court in Springfield, found Dish liable for millions of telephone sales calls to consumers prohibited by Federal Trade Commission and state regulations.

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The Department of Justice and four states  Illinois, California, North Carolina and Ohio  filed the case against Dish in 2009, which came to trial last year. The complaint alleged that Dish and its telemarketing vendors repeatedly contacted consumers on the National Do Not Call Registry and made telemarketing robocalls without consent.

"The outcome of this case shows companies will pay a hefty price for violating consumers' privacy with unwanted calls," Maureen Ohlhausen, acting FTC chairwoman, said in a news release.

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The civil penalty award includes $168 million for the federal government, a record in a Do Not Call case, according to the FTC.

The balance is to be paid to the four states, including $17.4 million to Illinois.

The ruling also requires Dish to refrain from making prerecorded sales calls without consent, to hire a telemarketing compliance expert, and to retain and make available for inspection all telemarketing compliance materials for 10 years.

The 2003 Do Not Call law empowered the FTC to create a national registry for consumers to opt out of unsolicited telemarketing calls. In its ruling, the court said Dish caused "millions and millions" of violations of that law, while "steadfastly" denying any responsibility.

Dish said in a statement issued Tuesday that it planned to appeal the judgment and questioned the size of the award.

"Dish respectfully disagrees with the decision by the Court and will appeal the ruling at the appropriate time," the company said.

"The penalties awarded in this case radically and unjustly exceed, by orders of magnitude, those found in the settlements in similar actions."

The court ruling said the award equals 20 percent of Dish's annual 2016 profits and was reduced to reflect "some efforts" made by Dish to avoid violations after the suit was filed.

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Dish Network, which has about 13.5 million pay-TV subscribers, said in its statement Tuesday that it takes telemarketing laws seriously.

"Dish has long taken its compliance with telemarketing laws seriously, has and will continue to maintain rigorous telemarketing compliance policies and procedures, and has topped multiple independent customer service surveys along the way," the company said.

rchannick@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @RobertChannick
Lake Forest High School graduates toss their caps Saturday afternoon during their graduation ceremony, held at the school. (Michael Schmidt / Michael Schmidt/Pioneer Press )

Of the class of 2017, 98 percent will attend college in the fall, according to Jennifer Gleason, college resource coordinator for the high school. Approximately $7.5 million in college scholarship money was awarded to graduates, including three appointments to the United States Naval Academy and United States Air Force Academy, four ROTC scholarships and three scholarships from the Chick Evans Scholarship Foundation, Gleason said.

Among the graduates are six National Merit Scholarship finalists and 144 Illinois State Scholars, she said.

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Principal Chala Holland and Superintendent Michael Simeck spoke at the ceremony, along with senior class President Colin Lynch,student council president Lauren Abbattista, valedictorian Matthew LeMay and salutatorian Roy Anderson III.

Lake Forest High School graduates clap during a speech Saturday afternoon during their graduation ceremony at the school. (Michael Schmidt / Michael Schmidt/Pioneer Press )

Leading graduates to their seats are Paige LeClercq (left) and Anthony Abbattista on Saturday afternoon at Lake Forest High School. (Michael Schmidt / Michael Schmidt/Pioneer Press )

mlawton@pioneerlocal.com

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The Family Visitation Center of Lake County in Mundelein provides supervised child-custody visitation and monitored exchange services for families with a history of abuse, according to officials at A Safe Place. ( A Safe Place / News-Sun )

The Lake County Law and Judicial Committee on Tuesday will consider a new agreement with the local nonprofit A Safe Place to continue operating a center in Mundelein providing a safe location for estranged parents to visit and exchange custody of their children.

The $160,000 agreement, funded by a $6 filing fee on civil court cases, would decrease the program's budget by $20,000 from the previous year because the county isn't collecting as many fees, said Pat Davenport, executive director of A Safe Place.

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"That means less exchanges, less visits," Davenport said. "But the demand is still there, unfortunately."

Zion-based A Safe Place operates the Family Visitation Center of Lake County on North Lake Street (Route 45) in Mundelein, which provides supervised visitation and monitored exchange services for families with a history of abuse, according to A Safe Place's website. The majority of the cases the center handles are court-mandated, Davenport said.

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A Safe Place bills itself on its website as, "The sole provider of services exclusively addressing domestic violence in Lake County."

The Family Visitation Center of Lake County opened in 2010 after the county received a federal grant two years earlier from the Justice Department's Office on Violence Against Women, county documents show. The grant funds ran out in 2015, which has made funding the center more difficult in recent years, Davenport said.

Seventy-five percent of the children served at the Family Visitation Center come due to domestic violence, Davenport said, and 25 percent are there because of child abuse or sexual assault.

Before the center opened, "Children were being dropped off at McDonald's, for example," Davenport said, for custody exchanges  and sometimes they were left there. Other times, custody exchanges were happening at local police departments.

"You need to have that neutral site, and the ability to have that exchange as safely as possible," Davenport said.

Typically, a parent visits the center and turns his or her child over to the staff. The other parent arrives about 15 minutes later, using a separate entrance and waiting area, and the child is then turned over to the second parent.

"It's a non-threatening and comfortable place for custody exchange," said Lake County Board Member Mary Ross Cunningham, the acting chair of the Law and Judicial Committee. "It's very important for the family."

Lake County Board Chairman Aaron Lawlor added that the facility  on Route 45 near its intersection with Route 176  has good access to public transit and creates "a nice environment for a visit between a parent and a child."

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"It's really been a successful program," Lawlor said.

State law allows counties to charge between $1 and $8 on civil court filings to fund neutral custody exchange sites. In a 2000 law, the Illinois General Assembly wrote that child custody matters frequently involve "seemingly minor disputes between individuals that escalate into major social and legal problems without the intervention of neutral parties."

"These problems often result in emotional damage to the children involved and create an extra burden for the courts; there are compelling reasons for providing neutral sites for parents to exchange the physical custody of a child for purposes of visitation," the legislature wrote.

Cunningham lauded the role A Safe Place has played in operating the center.

"They've done a great job for our community," she said.

lhammill@tribpub.com

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A woman walks past the bread section Wednesday at the new Whole Foods in Lincoln Park. (Anthony Souffle, Chicago Tribune)

The Whole Foods Market at Fullerton and Sheffield opened Wednesday with the usual hoopla (very, very long braided bread was used for their traditional bread breaking ceremony in lieu of old-style ribbon-cutting). And when customers finally headed through the doors, they found a supermarket with a neighborhood feel in its salute to DePaul University (royal blue and scarlet color accents), the five quinoa salads on the food bar, the street-side walk-up coffee window, and the Fullerton Red Line stop (including a Fullerton Stop Pale Ale from Begyle Brewery in Chicago).

"We're a community store. That's the mission," says Whole Foods' spokeswoman Allison Phelps.

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"We designed the store after getting feedback from the community, understanding the current food trends, understanding who the customer is going to be," added David Schwartz, regional vice president of Whole Foods, explaining how the team met with community groups to understand what they were looking for. "This is not going to look like the Streeterville store or the West Loop store."

The 29,600 square-foot store is on two levels with to-go items and fresh produce (with more specialty juices on display than anyone can drink in a year) on the first floor. The second floor has a good array of grocery items and the Red Star Bar, where brews ($2 for bottled) and wine are served along with a decent bar menu of plates (cheese, charcuterie, pickle), sandwiches (named for area streets, e.g. Belden, Webster, Kenmore, Racine) and pizza.

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The DePaul/Fullerton Red Line stop store, 959 W. Fullerton Ave., is the latest in a series of face-lifts  make that major surgery  that Whole Foods is performing on seven Chicago area stores it acquired when Dominick's stores closed in December 2013. A Streeterville store opened at 255 E. Grand Ave. in late January. Next up, with an opening scheduled in March, is the store located at Halsted and Madison in Greektown.

Here are a few nuggets from the visit:

A Cuban-inspired taqueria? "The students' palates are more adventurous," says Phelps, of the tacos apparent adaptability to a variety of cuisines (just Google: Korean tacos). So tacos, burritos and bowls can be fashioned from mojo pork, jackfruit and the shredded beef dish called ropa vieja.

Keen on quinoa: Organic quinoa, California quinoa, Tex-Mex quinoa, apple-almond quinoa, quinoa with cilantro and lime, all for scooping at the prepared food bar.

Roots rock: Taro, ginger, yucca, turmeric, jicama, you name it, they've got it. And potatoes too, by the way, as well as three kinds of kale plus dandelion greens (in red and green).

Reach out and touch: Touch screens in the prepared food area allow customers to order pizza, sandwiches and tacos.

Salad bar: Organic edamame, roasted garlic cloves, kale avocado salad, guajillo vegetables and a detox salad (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, parsley, kelp granules, etc.).

Eat. Watch. Do. Weekly What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. >

Red Star Bar: Rotating eight draft beers plus bottled beers. A small menu includes chicken quesadilla and barbecued shrimp flatbread. Among the sandwiches: The Sheffield: ham, bacon, beer cheese spread and caramelized onions on a pretzel roll.

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Upstairs cafe area (where Red Star Bar is located): Bright with windows overlooking the Fullerton-Sheffield intersection.

Reading matters: Books include "Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans" and "Home Brew: Beyond the Basics."

Don't drink? They have cocktail scented candles: old fashioned, dark and stormy, sazerac.

Good and clean: Ethically Engineered bar soap called "The Chicago Flag Bar" and DePaul-labeled soy candles from the nonprofit Bright Endeavors.

jhevrdejs@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @judytrib
Chance The Rapper performs onstage during the 2017 Governors Ball Music Festival - Day 1 at Randall's Island on June 2, 2017 in New York City. (Noam Galai / Getty Images)

Chance the Rapper surprised the folks at NPR with an impromptu Tiny Desk Concert on Monday, throwing the office into a bit of a frenzy.

Employees and interns alike were buzzing on Twitter, posting videos of people rushing down the stairs in the packed stairwell to catch the show after it was announced over the PA system.

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Chance performed three songs, including a Stevie Wonder cover - as tweeted by NPR's Aditi Bhandari - and read a poem.

The rapper seemed to be in such good spirits that he stopped to eat a donut off of an employee's desk, co-host of the NPR Politics podcast Scott Detrow tweeted.

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NPR's All Things Considered host Bob Boilen posted on Instagram that the concert will be online in about a week.

Fresh-off his weekend headlining set at New York's Governors Ball, Chance stopped by the Washington-based offices after performing at Jiffy Lube Live in Washington, D.C. Sunday night.

Chance is also slated to headline a slew of other summer festivals including Lollapalooza.

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Watch the latest movie trailers.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 122 Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, anger management student, in "Dark Phoenix." The film, the latest in the "X-Men" franchise, costars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jessica Chastain. Read the review. (Twentieth Century Fox)
Ninety-nine years ago, in France's Belleau Wood, American soldiers launched their first large-scale battle in "the War to End All Wars." By month's end, after nearly 10,000 men died, the U.S. won that fight, but not before the German general Erich Ludendorff had unleashed not only machine guns, but also nerve gas.

Flash-forward a century, to last April in President Bashar al-Assad's Syria, and the world's eyes are horrified when scores of civilians die in a sarin-gas attack on the town of Khan Sheikhoun. If you saw the recent images out of Syria, as gassed children were hosed down as they gasped for life, then it is difficult to watch the new "Wonder Woman" and not be struck by a long constant in the cruel fog of war.

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In director Patty Jenkins' film, in an affecting scene that sets up the third act, the Amazon warrior rides into the Belgium town that she had just saved. Where she had been hailed as a hero by the warm people of Veld, there now hangs a fog of orange gas that has wiped them out - the result of Gen. Ludendorff's fresh attack fired off from a nearby castle.

We experience the scene through Wonder Woman's shock and sorrow and rage - and it is not hard to relate to her visceral reaction.

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"My mother keeps talking about that," Jenkins tells The Washington Post. "She's like: 'It's so prescient - what the movie is showing is what is actually going on right now.' "

While making the film, of course, she had no idea that the Syrian video images would be so very much with us right now.

"So much of what has happened now (there) wasn't happening cumulatively as much as it has been recently," Jenkins says of the coincidental timing. "It's shocking. It came so naturally to our World War I (setting). The fact that it keeps happening is horrifying."

World War I, given its bitter toll of stalemated trench warfare, increasingly became a race to create chemical weapons, from tear gas to chlorine gas to the especially deadly phosgene and diphosgene gases, which were launched within artillery shells.

What Wonder Woman comes upon is a mustard gas - yellow-brown in real life, but a saturated orange in the film. She wades into the fog physically unharmed because she is a goddess, but since she has only recently experienced the depths of man's inhumanity to man (and children), she comes away with different wounds.

"It's a very important story beat - Patty wants the audience to experience emotionally what the character is going through," says Matthew Jensen, the film's director of photography. "I think ultimately, we always knew that we had to stay with Diana's experience."

Jensen says showing a colored gas also allowed the filmmakers to imply the fatal toll without literally representing an "uneasy mix" of violence.

"We had to adhere to a PG-13 rating, so we had to be very judicious with images of death," he says. "And there was a moral responsibility that we felt. You can suggest so much more than by showing something directly. ... Because you can show everything now doesn't mean that you should.

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(As for showing the stark gas itself, Jensen says: "We knew this scene was going to take place at dusk - it was going to have a somber and cool look - but then you have this complementary orange ... which we thought would be a very powerful image.")

What Jenkins is also trying to depict in these scenes, from a very personal place, is the moral fog of war.

"My father, interestingly, he became a fighter pilot and he did everything he could because of World War II," says the director, noting how his "pure vision" of right and wrong in the wake of that war influenced his decision to enter the Air Force in the '60s.

"When I was a kid, he was in Vietnam dropping bombs on villagers because those were his orders," Jenkins says of her father, who would be awarded a Silver Star. "And later, he was deeply conflicted about what had become of him. He wanted to be a hero. He had wanted to save the world. How was he now this person?"

Ultimately, Jenkins roots her movie not in the sweeping pageantry of military victory, but rather in the burden of a singular mission.

"This movie isn't about being a hero," the director says. "It's about the reality of how difficult and how hard (fighting) is to do. And so I try to bring the kind of weight and romance of the fighter pilot I grew up around, and having seen the struggles that they went through for being just men who couldn't save the world."

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Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 122 Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, anger management student, in "Dark Phoenix." The film, the latest in the "X-Men" franchise, costars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jessica Chastain. Read the review. (Twentieth Century Fox)
Stacy Keach as Ernest Hemingway in "Pamplona" at the Goodman Theatre on May 19, 2017. (Liz Lauren / Goodman Theatre)

The actor Stacy Keach suffered a mild heart attack during the opening night performance of Jim McGrath's "Pamplona," Goodman Theatre artistic director Robert Falls told the Tribune on Tuesday.

That May 30 performance, attended by critics, friends of the theater and board members, was canceled mid-performance after the actor, now 76, appeared unwell, ill at ease and demonstrably unable to perform the text as written.

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Falls said he was speaking on behalf of, and with the permission of, Keach, who is remaining in Chicago with his wife for the near future.

Falls also said that when he went to to see the actor following the worrisome opening night, he was sitting up in his hospital room with a script for "Pamplona," the solo play about Earnest Hemingway, in his hand.

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"The first thing Stacy said was 'when are we rescheduling?'" Falls said. "I told him we'd figure that out. But first he had to have some rest."

Keach, Falls said, is expected to be released from hospital Tuesday and to make a full recovery.

Keach remains a busy TV and film actor, so the most likely slot for the Goodman to re-stage "Pamplona," Falls said, would be in 2018.

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Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 126 Woody introduces the gang to a homemade spork toy with self-esteem issues in "Toy Story 4." Read the review. (Pixar / AP)
The Dark Overlord is back: The hacker who previously leaked almost the entire 5th season of Netflix's "Orange Is the New Black" targeted ABC with a new leak Sunday night, apparently releasing eight episodes of the network's still-unaired show "Steve Harvey's Funderdome" on The Pirate Bay.

"Time to play another round," the hacker wrote in a note accompanying the release. "We're following through on our threats as we always do." The Dark Overlord first threatened to target Disney-owned ABC this past Friday.

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"If you prefer your meat bloody, we're serving it bloody as can be," the note continued. "We're bringing another piece from the world of unaired mainstream media content."

"Steve Harvey's Funderdome" is scheduled to premiere on ABC on June 11. The show, which is an MGM Television production that counts Mark Burnett as one of its executive producers, has two entrepreneurs pitching their ideas to a studio audience. Said audience gets to vote on the winner, who then receives seed funding for their business.

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Variety wasn't immediately able to verify the authenticity of the leak. However, details on The Pirate Bay show that the upload consisted of a total of eight video files, with names suggesting that the files are the first eight episodes of the show.

Disney representatives didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

It's still unclear who the The Dark Overlord actually is, or whether it is even a single person or a group of hackers. We do know that The Dark Overlord has been hacking and then blackmailing companies for a couple of months now. However, until recently, Hollywood wasn't actually a target of the hacker. Instead, he primarily targeted clinics and medical businesses.

All of that changed when The Dark Overlord was able to break into the network of Larson Studios, a Hollywood-based audio post-production company, late last year. The hacker stole a number of shows and movies from multiple studios during that incident, and initially threatened the post-production vendor directly, demanding ransom payments to not release any of the bounty.

When that failed, The Dark Overlord began to target studios directly, which led to the release of ten "Orange Is the New Black" episodes in late April. A list of shows and movies allegedly stolen by The Dark Overlord included around three dozen titles from multiple studios, including CBS, Fox and NBC. The list also named "Steve Harvey's Funderdome" as one of the affected ABC shows.

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Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 122 Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, anger management student, in "Dark Phoenix." The film, the latest in the "X-Men" franchise, costars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jessica Chastain. Read the review. (Twentieth Century Fox)
The Harvard Crimson, the schools student newspaper, reported that the university revoked admission offers to at least 10 prospective freshmen over offensive online messages. ( Charles Krupa/AP )

Today's episode of "What were they thinking?" features horny bourgeois teens no longer attending Harvard.

At least 10 prospective students had their admissions offers yanked by the Ivy League school, according to The Harvard Crimson, after they shared Facebook memes that targeted minority groups and mocked sexual assault, the Holocaust and deaths of children.

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The students had formed a messaging group called "Harvard memes for horny bourgeois teens" last December, which Harvard administrators discovered. Admissions office employees emailed the students posting the memes, the Crimson reports, asking them to disclose their involvement.

"The Admissions Committee was disappointed to learn that several students in a private group chat for the Class of 2021 were sending messages that contained offensive messages and graphics," reads a copy of the admissions office's email obtained by the Crimson. "As we understand you were among the members contributing such material to this chat, we are asking that you submit a statement by tomorrow at noon to explain your contributions and actions for discussion with the Admissions Committee."

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About a week later, the Crimson reports, at least 10 students received letters saying their offers of admission were withdrawn.

Most of us, by now, are well aware that universities and employers keep tabs on our online personas.

Thirty-five percent of college admissions officers said they check applicants' social media profiles, according to a recent Kaplan Test Prep survey. Of those who checked social media profiles, 42 percent said the findings negatively impacted their views on applicants.

Kaplan's survey also found that 25 percent of admissions officers who used social media to help make decisions did so "often."

So what gives? Are these statistics not making their way to teens? Or are they simply not sinking in?

I checked in with education consultant Ana Homayoun, author of the upcoming "Social Media Wellness: Helping Teens and Tweens Thrive in an Unbalanced Digital World" (Corwin).

Homayoun said parents and teens are both aware that social media footprints have real consequences, but our conversations about them have been fear-based, rather than instructive.

"So much of the last decade of social media education has been around scaring kids, 'Don't do this or you won't get into college,'" she said. "All that really does is send them underground."

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Better to help them understand that their online and real-life identities are one and the same, she said, and help them think hard about the values they hold dear when shaping those identities.

"Kids often go online and feel like they have this secondary experience  maybe they try on different personalities, different viewpoints, see what kind of response they get," Homayoun said. "Especially if they're using apps or groups where their real name isn't being used."

Try to engage kids in frequent conversations, Homayoun said, about how they can shut down inappropriate comments, or at least disengage from them  just as they should in real life.

"Most adults can recall a time when they somehow felt excluded in their younger years," Homayoun writes in "Social Media Wellness." "Many can also recall how they did something that was ill-advised or, for lack of a better word, dumb. Social media use didn't cause these feelings or decisions, but it's easy to see how social media expands and amplifies such feelings to near-overwhelming levels while creating a long 'paper' trail that can radically alter the long-term consequences of bad choices."

Those memories, embarrassing as they may be, can offer important context when we're talking to our kids about their behavior and identity.

And don't be afraid to offer some hard-and-fast boundaries. In a blog post accompanying last year's Kaplan survey, the site urges students to keep in mind one simple question: "Would I say this on television?"

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Social media is, after all, a broadcast of sorts.

hstevens@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @heidistevens13

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I'm a single mom, and I have an adopted child from Ethiopia who is almost 10 years old. When we left Ethiopia, I had to change his name so that my name was his middle name, in accordance with Ethiopian law.

I just renewed his passport and changed his name so that my name was no longer on it. But we are flying to Entebbe, Uganda, in December on Ethiopian Airlines, and his tickets still have my name as his middle name.

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So now I have round-trip tickets from San Francisco to Entebbe, but my son's ticket still says "Lisa" while his passport doesn't. I've asked Ethiopian Airlines to change the tickets, but it wants $300. Can you help me?

 Lisa Coris, San Francisco

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A: Lisa, you're a hero for adopting an Ethiopian orphan  and as a single mom, no less. I can understand why you would want to change your son's name. Our customs and laws are different, and when you showed me all the paperwork, I noticed that he actually had two middle names, which was a little awkward.

By now, you probably know that the time to change your name is before you buy your tickets. Brides and grooms-to-be, take note: Airlines love to collect a name-change fee or charge you for a brand-new ticket when you need to fix a ticket like this. The actual name change doesn't cost your airline $300 in labor, but in the airline world, there's so little that makes sense anymore.

Still, your circumstances were special. You were just trying to fix something that Ethiopian law had forced you to do, but that didn't really resonate with your American value system. Adopting a child is also a noble thing, and it felt a little bit like you were being punished for simply trying to make the world a better place.

Ethiopian Airlines is not difficult to reach. It lists its contacts by department on its own website.

I think a brief, polite appeal to the airline would have yielded a desired result. So why didn't it? Based on what I see, you probably were a little too brief in your explanation of what went wrong. Most travelers offer too much detail, but in your case, you could have written a more thorough explanation of what you needed.

In the end, I think the airline probably would have let your son on the plane with his new passport. While some airlines pay close attention to the full name, the reservations systems can't always fit the entire, full name on the ticket, so they may be abbreviated or overlooked entirely. I think you were correct to make sure the names matched, though. You don't want to be left with a worthless ticket.

I contacted Ethiopian Airlines on your behalf. It waived your $300 change fee.

Christopher Elliott is the ombudsman for National Geographic Traveler magazine and the author of "How to Be the World's Smartest Traveler." You can read more travel tips on his blog, elliott.org, or email him at chris@elliott.org.

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Growing in. With growing pains. That summarizes the state of The 606, Chicago's signature rails-to-trails project, two years after its much-ballyhooed opening.

The "growing in" involves The 606's nicely maturing, but not yet magical, landscape of 224 species of trees, shrubs, grasses, vines, bulbs and forbs (a forb, for you nonbotanists out there, is a herbaceous flowering plant other than a grass).

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The "growing pains" are The 606's unintended consequences: Rising rents and a wave of development threaten to force out some of the very middle- and working-class people to whom the elevated park was supposed to deliver much-needed open space. The tensions have pushed advocates to search for ways that future park plans can incorporate affordable housing and avoid displacement.

"In the past, parks were perceived exclusively as a net good," said Adrian Benepe, director of city park development at the Trust for Public Land, the San Francisco-based nonprofit that joined with the city of Chicago and the Chicago Park District to bring The 606 into being. "Now you do have some pushback. You have people saying: 'It's a net good until it displaces me.' And then it's a net bad."

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The 606, a former freight line whose 2.7-mile-long Bloomingdale Trail wends its way through the Bucktown, Wicker Park, Humboldt Park and Logan Square neighborhoods, is one of Mayor Rahm Emanuel's most visible public works and part of a trend, epitomized by New York's High Line, of turning outdated infrastructure into elevated parks.

Like the urbane downtown riverwalk, the $95 million project is part park and part transportation route  a sliver of land meant for walking, jogging and biking as well as sitting, socializing and contemplating. But unlike the riverwalk, the plant-heavy trail through the North and Northwest sides did not emerge camera-ready. Landscape architecture never does.

When a new building opens, "it will never look that good again," said Matthew Urbanski, a principal at Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, the Brooklyn-based firm that designed The 606. "The day of the opening of a landscape, it will never look worse  unless it's abused."

When The 606, which is named for Chicago's ZIP Code prefix, opened on the carefully selected day of June 6, 2015, it was almost embarrassingly bare. Trees and wooded plants had yet to grow. Sedges and prairie grasses hadn't been planted. Some spots had more pavement than plantings. "The 606: Is that all there is?" asked Crain's Chicago Business.

The picture looks very different today. Trees and shrubs are growing. Grasses are spreading. A pleasing variety of textures and colors combines with a consistent palette of soothing green. The amount of enclosure is increasing, courtesy of trembling aspens, thin oaks and smoke trees that pop up from the planter boxes on the trail's expansive Humboldt Boulevard overlook.

As good as these moments are, The 606 still lacks the overall magic we expect from the Van Valkenburgh firm, which designed Maggie Daley Park and is the landscape architect for the forthcoming Obama Presidential Center.

Some areas along the trail didn't get mesh fencing, allowing people and dogs to trample fragile grasses. Dirt patches blight the sides of the spiraling Exelon Observatory on the trail's west end. It clearly will take time for The 606 to fulfill its promise as a kind of plant gallery  a botanical array that unfolds as bikers, skateboarders, joggers and others pass by.

"You really should give a landscape five years before you get to discerning whether you like it or not," Urbanski said. "I think it will get better with age."

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Nonetheless, it is already clear that The 606 is popular. It drew 1.3 million visitors last year, according to Vivian Garcia, the Chicago Park District's 606 manager. Cyclists and people on foot have managed to coexist on The 606, whose trail is just 14 feet wide. Walkers and joggers tend to stick to the blue rubberized paths on the trail's flanks. People unfamiliar with bike path etiquette have learned to move out of the way when an approaching cyclist yells, "On your left!" When the trail opened, "a lot of people from the community did not know what that means," Garcia said.

But The 606 also has become a flashpoint for controversy as developers tear down modest homes and apartment buildings alongside it and replace them with luxury apartments and expensive single-family homes.

On May 24, a bill co-sponsored by Aldermen Proco "Joe" Moreno, 1st, Roberto Maldonado, 26th, and Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, 35th, was introduced in the City Council that would increase the demolition fee for residential properties near The 606 and charge a deconversion fee when multiple-unit buildings are turned into single-family homes.

According to Raymond Valadez, Moreno's chief of staff, the ordinance would apply to areas four blocks north and south of the trail, and from Western Avenue to Kostner Avenue, which is several blocks west of the trail.

Benepe, of the Trust for Public Land, said it's unfair to single out parks as the lone cause of displacement. For The 606, he said, the nonprofit convened a "working group in the neighborhood anticipating this exact issue," but it was powerless to build affordable housing in tandem with the trail. That's what the trust seeks to do as it spurs the creation of future urban parks.

Benepe cited a proposed development in Bozeman, Mont., where the trust plans to build affordable housing next to a large park. Yet such a model would be difficult to replicate in Chicago, with its high land values.

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As The 606 shows, it is not enough to address the simple question of geographic equity  whether people live within a 10-minute walk of a quality park. A new park invariably changes real estate dynamics. The big question is whether park advocates and public officials should intervene  beforehand  on behalf of those who are likely to be displaced.

"As benign as a park sounds, a park can have unintended consequences," Benepe said. "We need to anticipate those."

bkamin@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @BlairKamin
Tribune columnist John Kass says there is a disturbing trend on American college campuses: students of the hard left angrily devour their terrified, older liberal professors. (Ted S. Warren / AP)

What should we call the disturbing trend on American college campuses with students of the hard left angrily devouring their terrified and older liberal professors?

No, they don't eat human flesh, but students of the hard left are devouring just the same, shutting down free speech and free inquiry, and targeting liberal professors for silencing and revenge for offering up liberal notions of equality.

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We've seen it at Yale with two liberal professors denounced as racists, shamed and driven off for daring to tell students there may be more important things to worry about than vetting Halloween costumes through the lens of racial identity politics.

And we see it now at Evergreen State College, a left leaning school where Bret Weinstein, a professor of biology, is under siege for daring to suggest that racism, even when practiced by minorities, is no virtue.

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You can't truly study a thing until you call it what it is. So what to call it? Many haven't had the time, preoccupied instead with the low-hanging fruit of President Donald Trump's ridiculous Twitter account.

I get it. Headline: Trump Tweets Stupid Things. His foolish social media tantrums reinforce his narcissism. They undercut his administration's policies.

The man is in the White House as a consequence of Republican establishment collapse and betrayal of its base years ago.

But with all those ripe, idiotic presidential figs falling into pundits' hands, journalism has been somewhat distracted from the Democratic tension on college campuses.

What happened to the Republicans years agoa collapse of the middle ground  is now happening to the Democrats, and it bears watching too.

So what shall we call it?

We might find the answer in the remarks of Robespierre, a student of the use of fear and the mob. But who reads European history anymore?

As the academy moves inexorably leftward, few conservatives remain on college campuses. Conservative professors may be such an endangered species that there's probably no sport in chasing them across the quad.

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But it has become clear even to a few prominent liberal writers that liberal professors have become the targets of the hard left.

It looks like meat's back on the menu, boys and girls.

So again, what do we call this phenomenon?

Professor Weinstein is a biologist. His politics are liberal. And biology offers us an answer:

Matriphagy, the devouring of the mother by their young.

I suppose I could call it patriphagy, the devouring of the father, but I don't want to be denounced as some kind of science denier. Biology is clear in stubbornly insisting that despite our modern politics, the mother gives birth.

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Matriphagy is a rare occurrence found among certain spiders and the caecilian, a blind, legless amphibian that lives underground.

Some spiders, for example, give birth, and later deposit food sacks around the web for their young to eat. But when these sacks are gone, something else must be done.

The young must eat, and develop necessary predatory behavior in order to survive. And nature provides an answer.

The mother spider stimulates the young by thrumming on her web. She triggers them. And once triggered, they sink their fangs into her and begin to feed.

Even as I type this I can hear it now, the cries of anger about my sins of micro or macro aggression, perhaps yelled through those black masks worn by the young fascists of the left, for daring to compare them to ravenous spider babies.

Professor Weinstein is a self-described liberal who held close to a liberal idea, best expressed by the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He had a dream, remember? He dreamed that one day, people would be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. These days, it's the conservatives who support this idea as the left moves further into race- and gender-based identity politics.

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But Professor Weinstein incurred the wrath of the leftist mob by opposing a new take on the so-called Day of Absence at Evergreen State.

In the past, minorities made themselves absent from campus to highlight racial discrimination, hence the Day of Absence. Weinstein supported this.

What he would not support was a new demand of the angry left, to compel white students to leave campus grounds.

"On a college campus, one's right to speak  or to be  must never be based on skin color," he wrote in a private email to a colleague that was made public and incited hatred against him.

In it, he highlighted the differences between the original Day of Absence and the new racial component.

"The first is a forceful call to consciousness which is, of course, crippling to the logic of oppression. The second is a show of force, and an act of oppression in and of itself."

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That makes great sense. But he's now been denounced by some faculty members scrambling to get ahead of the young mob on the left. And campus police suggested he leave school grounds, at least for a day or two, because they could not protect him from his students.

The liberal as heretic, pursued and denounced by the angry children of the liberal ideal.

It may not be as thrilling as those cringeworthy presidential tweets. But it's out there.

It is not the first such episode. And it won't be the last.

Listen to "The Chicago Way" podcast at http://wgnradio.com/category/wgn-plus/thechicagoway/.

jskass@chicagotribune.com
The Rookery Building is one of the local buildings being considered for submission to UNESCOs World Heritage List. ( Heather Stone/Chicago Tribune )

A group of Chicago buildings that played an essential role in the development of the steel-framed skyscraper and the modern city has taken a first step on the long and difficult road toward a spot on a United Nations ' list of the world's most significant cultural and natural sites.

Among the "Early Chicago Skyscrapers," as the group is being called, are such official city landmarks as Burnham & Root's Rookery Building at 209 S. LaSalle St. and Holabird & Roche's Marquette Building at 140 S. Dearborn St.

Federal officials have named the buildings to a list of properties they could some day nominate to the UNESCO World Heritage List. The Chicago chapter of the American Institute of Architects, one of 10 local organizations that backed the initiative, announced the development Tuesday.

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Established in 1978 and now incorporating more than 1,000 sites, the World Heritage List recognizes places that are said to possess "outstanding universal value." Placement on the list can attract funds for much-needed restoration work or can help lure tourists. Tourists are already drawn to Chicago to see the transition that occurred during the 1880s when a series of technological innovations, most notably interior skeletons of steel, allowed office buildings to rise to once-unthinkable heights.

"We're presenting this as a technical innovation which created a new form of building that was instrumental in creating the modern city," said Phyllis Ellin, a Chicago-based National Park Service historian and a former commissioner on the Commission on Chicago Landmarks.

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"There were early skyscraper buildings in other cities than Chicago," Ellin added. "What Chicago has is a cluster of them that can be seen in relation to each other and the Loop. You can see the geographical context and constraints that contributed to this new form."

While city officials hailed the development, it will take years for the buildings to win placement on the coveted heritage list  if they get there at all.

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Last year, 10 Frank Lloyd Wright-designed buildings, including the Robie House in Chicago and Unity Temple in Oak Park, didn't make the cut when UNESCO's World Heritage Committee placed 21 sites on the heritage list.

"The committee asked us to go back and make changes," Ellin said, referring to the Wright nomination.

Along with the Wright-designed structures, the Chicago buildings are now on a so-called "tentative list" of properties that the U.S. Interior Department could nominate to be evaluated by the International Council on Monuments and Sites. The World Heritage Committee has the final say on which properties make the list.

The former Carson, Pirie, Scott & Co. store at 1 S. State St. now houses a Target store. (Phil Velasquez / Chicago Tribune)

Besides the Rookery and the Marquette buildings, the Chicago structures include the Auditorium Building, 430 S. Michigan Ave.; the Monadnock Building, 53 W. Jackson Blvd.; the former Ludington Building, 1104 S. Wabash Ave.; the former Old Colony Building, 407 S. Dearborn St.; the former Carson, Pirie, Scott & Co. store, 1 S. State St.; the former Second Leiter Building, 403 S. State; and the Fisher Building, 343 S. Dearborn.

Acknowledging that some of the buildings, like the Rookery and the Auditorium, are not skyscrapers, Ellin said the title for the group is a work in progress. "'Early skyscraper technology' may be a more accurate summary," she said, noting that the buildings on the list could change and that others could be added in the future.

bkamin@chicagotribune.com

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Gizzell Ford's heartbreaking death at 8 at the hands of her grandmother was particularly memorable because the straight-A student had kept a written diary of her final months.

Excerpts made public at Helen Ford's trial showed that Gizzell's mood took a much darker turn as the summer break of 2013 progressed and the abuse worsened.

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"I hate this life because now I'm in super big trouble," she wrote July 11, two days before her strangled, badly beaten body was found clad only in a pair of torn green underwear in the family's apartment.

On Wednesday, Helen Ford is scheduled to be sentenced by the same Cook County judge who found the granddaughter's 2013 murder "exceptionally brutal." Ford faces up to natural life in prison for the first-degree murder of Gizzell, who had been looking forward to starting fourth grade.

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"This murder was torture. That child suffered a slow and agonizing death," Judge Evelyn Clay said in March while delivering her guilty verdict. "That little body looked like it had been pulverized from head to toe. ... Her treatment (of Gizzell) was evil."

Prosecutors say the 70-pound girl, nicknamed "Gizzy," had been beaten from head to toe by a 275-pound grandmother who sometimes wore a belt around her neck that she used for punishment.

In addition to the journal entries, prosecutors played cellphone videos showing Ford and Gizzell's father berating her for breaking rules as the terrified girl was forced to stand  a sock or rag stuffed in her mouth. She was tied to her father's bed for days, denied food and water, and once punished for trying to sneak a drink from the toilet, according to testimony.

The father, Andre Ford, who had long been bedridden with chronic scleroderma, was also charged in Gizzell's murder, but he died in Cook County Jail of an apparent heart attack in August 2014 while awaiting trial.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 11 Family members of Gizzell Ford, Angela Mendez, left, and Frandes Mercado, leave the Leighton Criminal Court Building on June 7, 2017, in Chicago. Helen Ford was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of her 8-year-old granddaughter Gizzell. (Erin Hooley / Chicago Tribune)

According to court records, Helen Ford told court officials following her conviction that she had no history of mental health treatment or illegal drug use and had not been abused as a child. She also denied any gang affiliations.

With a 10th-grade education, Ford said she had worked at Walmart for a decade until she was injured on the job and then fired in 2011, according to the records. She had been unemployed since.

She told court officials she lived with her son and three grandchildren for seven years in a two-bedroom apartment in the South Austin neighborhood on Chicago's West Side and that they had converted the living room into a third bedroom, the records show.

She said her morning routine included getting the grandchildren fed and to school while bathing her bedridden son. She said paramedics had to move her son down stairs for him to be transported each day by a Medicare van to the hospital. She said she would accompany him there and sit with him while he underwent dialysis. She said she would leave to pick up the kids from school and often returned with them to the hospital to spend time with their father.

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The rest of the day she said she would try to find time to cook, clean and help the children with their homework, the records show.

Helen Ford was convicted of first-degree murder in the beating death of her granddaughter Gizzell Ford. (Cook County sheriff's office)

Ford, who said she attended St. Martin De Porres Church for more than a decade, told investigators that her relationship with her children  she also had a grown daughter  and grandchildren "was always very good."

Prosecutors, though, painted a starkly different picture during Ford's trial.

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Even before Gizzell was strangled, she was dying of kidney failure because her grandmother and father deprived her of water and food for days, prosecutors alleged.

Prosecutors also said that they believe an open, maggot-infested wound found on the back of Gizzell's head was caused by her head rubbing on a metal pole when she was tied to her father's bed. She was kept there as a virtual prisoner after school ended in June until her death less than a month later, prosecutors said.

A timeline of Gizzell Ford's short life. (Chicago Tribune)

The wounds to Gizzell's face were so severe that a Chicago police forensic investigator with 30 years on the job wept as she described them at trial  a highly unusual display of emotion from a seasoned crime scene professional testifying at the Leighton Criminal Court Building.

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Gizzell's death marked yet another indictment of the state's beleaguered and chronically underfunded child welfare system that has operated under a federal consent decree for decades.

An investigator for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services had visited the home a month before Gizzell's slaying, and a child-abuse doctor who examined Gizzell found a suspicious injury weeks before her death but did not report any suspected abuse, a Tribune investigation found.

mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @crepeau
Prosecutors in the 2013 killing of honors student Hadiya Pendletoncan put on evidence at trial about both defendants' alleged gang ties, a Cook County judge ruled Tuesday.

Judge Nicholas Ford ruled that the alleged gang activity of co-defendants Micheail Ward and Kenneth Williams was "highly relevant" to the high-profile case. Prosecutors allege that both were members of the SUWU faction of the Gangster Disciples.

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In addition, a Chicago police sergeant will be allowed to testify as a gang expert, Ford said.

The 15-year-old sophomore and drum majorette was killed in January 2013 just a week after she had performed at festivities for President Barack Obama's second inauguration.

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She and a group of students were taking shelter from rain in Harsh Park after final exams at King College Prep High School when Ward got out of a car driven by Williams and allegedly opened fire. The park, a hangout of the rival 4-6 Terror gang faction, is about a mile from the Obamas' home in the South Side's Kenwood neighborhood.

Hadiya was fatally struck in the back, and two other students were wounded. None of the victims belonged to a gang, prosecutors have said.

Hadiya's death made national headlines as a symbol of Chicago's pervasive gang and gun violence.

Ward and Williams were arrested 11 days after the shooting while on their way to a strip club in suburban Harvey.

Ward allegedly confessed to police that he had felt pressured by Williams, a higher-ranking SUWU, to open fire into the park.

Prosecutors argued Tuesday that evidence of the gang activity of Williams and Ward and the ongoing rivalry between SUWU and 4-6 Terror were key to their case.

Kenneth Williams, left, and Michael Ward, right, are charged in connection with the fatal shooting of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton. (Chicago Police Department)

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In a written response, attorneys for Ward argued that his alleged gang ties were not relevant and said police pushed a gang narrative without hard evidence.

"This is Chicago after all. A shooting in a park must mean gangs," said the defense motion, dripping with sarcasm.

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Williams' attorney, Matthew McQuaid, disputed prosecutors' assertion that Williams was a gang member.

"Kenneth Williams didn't do anything here, so we dispute all of it," he said.

No trial date has been set for case, which is more than 4 years old.

mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @crepeau
On Tuesday afternoon, a judge denied bail for a convicted felon on parole for battery in the shooting of a Chicago police officer over the weekend.



Dashonn Maggette, 32, was charged with the attempted murder of a Chicago police officer after a weekend scuffle that turned into a shooting in East Chatham neighborhood, officials said.

During Tuesday's hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building, Cook County Judge Donald Panarese Jr.denied bail for Maggette, who remained hospitalized.



Maggette, from the 7700 block of South Prairie Avenue, was in critical condition at Stroger Hospital with gunshot wounds to his right arm and body from the conflict Saturday night, according to police.

He was also charged with two counts of aggravated battery with one the discharge of a firearm at a police officer and the other causing bodily harm to a police officer, police said.

On Saturday at about 11:10 p.m., two officers part of the Summer Mobile Unit were driving near the 8100 block of South Maryland Avenue when they spotted Maggette drinking alcohol on a public sidewalk, police said. When the officers approached Maggette, he ran into an apartment located in the same block, according to prosecutors.



As Maggette ran up multiple flights of stairs, two officers chased him. When Maggette reached the top he could not find an exit, so he ran back down toward the officers, prosecutors said.

As Maggette approched, one officer saw his hand "in front of his waistband,'' which contained a 9mm handgun belonging to him, Asst. State's Atty. Joseph Carlson said in court.

When the officer tried to disarm Maggette, Maggette took his gun and shot the officer in the hand, officials said.

The other officer, who was not injured, fired three shots at Maggette hitting him in his arm and body, according to Carlson.

Maggette then jumped on the back of the officer who shot him and tried to tackle him in the building's vestibule, Carlson said.



Maggette ran out of the building where the uninjured officer chased him down a block and into another building before the officer was able to hold him until more officers got there, prosecutors said.

The injured officer was immediately taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn for surgery because the bones in his hands shattered, officials said. The wounded officer, whose name has not been released, has a stabilized condition, but police said they expect more surgeries in the future.

As customary for all officer-involved shootings, The Independent Police Review Authority is investigating the weekend shooting, and the officers will be placed on administrative duty for 30 days.

Chicago Tribune reporter Megan Crepeau contributed to this report.
Ronald Godby, 53, of Mount Prospect, a Northwestern University police lieutenant, is facing child pornography charges in Cook County, according to court records and officials. He has been charged with manufacturing and possessing child pornography, as well as grooming, the records say. (Mount Prospect Police Department)

A former Northwestern University police officer was sentenced to four years in prison Tuesday for taking pornographic photographs of two underage girls.

Ronald Godby, 54, of Mount Prospect, will also be required to register for life as a sex offender. The sentence was handed down after the former Prospect High School volunteer pleaded guilty last month to the manufacture and possession of child pornography.

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Godby, who was fired from his job as a lieutenant at the campus police department following his arrest last year, ran a photography business out of his home and was accused of photographing the two girls in lewd poses that revealed their vaginal areas.

Some of the photos were taken when one of the girls was 13; others were shot later when the same girl was 17, officials said. The other victim was 17 at the time and had known Godby since she was 6, Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Julie Nikolaevskaya said.

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Godby also communicated with the girls through social media and once texted a photo of a penis to one of the girls, prosecutors said.

Prior to his arrest, Godby frequently photographed performing arts for Prospect High School and received a distinguished service award from Arlington Heights-based Township High School District 214 in 2013.

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But prosecutors say Godby used his business to lure the girls to his home studio, as well as to secluded outdoor locations, prosecutors said.

Godby was taken into custody immediately after Tuesday's sentencing in Rolling Meadows branch court. He declined to address the court when Judge Richard Schwind asked if the defendant had anything to say.

Godby's attorney, Ernest DiBenedetto, said his client is a good person who went through a difficult time and made several bad decisions.

"It's a tragic case," DiBenedetto said. "He had a great life and he did a lot of good for people."

Godby accepted responsibility for his actions and cooperated with authorities, DiBenedetto said.

Godby was arrested after a high school teacher learned about the photographs of one of the girls, officials said. Mount Prospect police then searched Godby's computers at home and work and found photographs of the second victim, prosecutors said.

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George Houde is a freelance reporter.
Chicago police are searching for a man who tried to lure a 14-year-old girl Monday afternoon while she was walking home on the Northwest Side, according to news release.

About 5:30 p.m., the girl was walking in the 4200 block of North Cicero Avenue after getting off of a bus when a man began following her while asking her questions. The man asked her for her phone number and invited her to his home, according to the release.

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The girl went into a nearby McDonald's where she called her mother and an aunt who called police. While the girl was inside the fast food restaurant, the man stayed outside and gestured for the girl to come out, police said.

The girl had previously seen the man at least twice last year.

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He is described as a white man who is about 25 to 30 years old. He is 5 foot 6 inches tall, weighs 140 pounds and has black hair. He was last seen wearing a Cubs hat, a white t-shirt and blue sweatpants.

Anyone with information about the man is asked to call Area North Detectives at (312) 744-8200.
Two dozen children and teachers are being treated after an outbreak of scabies at a day care and preschool in the Back of the Yards neighborhood on the South Side.



The Chicago Commons Paulo Friere Center has about 150 kids, and at least 14 of them have been diagnosed with scabies, school officials said. Ten teachers also have been infected.



Scabies is caused by mites that burrow into the skin, causing itchy, red bumps or a rash. It usually spreads by skin-to-skin contact.



Children who attend the school are 7 weeks to 5 years old. Most of the infected kids are between the ages of 3 and 5.



School officials say they learned of a possible scabies outbreak May 18.



"That same day, letters were sent home to the parents outlining that their child could possibly have been exposed to scabies, what to look for and as soon as symptoms presented to send their child to the doctor," said Sarah Frick, a senior vice president at the school.



On May 30, another round of kids were diagnosed. But the school says no children have shown any new symptoms since last week.



"Anything like lice, chickenpox, scabies, when you're in a setting where there's a lot of children, lots of hands touching the same objects these types of things do occur," Frick said.



School officials said they have vigorously cleaned everything, including playground equipment, and have helped parents find doctors.



Health officials have not recommended closing the school since the condition is not life-threatening. Children who have been diagnosed can return to school 24 hours after getting treatment.
Chicago police on Tuesday morning said they continue to search for a woman missing since early Sunday.

Magda Saez, 30, was last seen about 8:40 a.m. walking east in the 600 block of West Chicago Avenue in the Goose Island neighborhood of the Near North Side, officials said.

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She was last seen wearing a light blue tank top, black yoga pants and black shoes. She was carrying a red Lululemon bag. Saez also has a tribal symbol tattooed on her right shoulder and the words "Happiness best when shared," on her upper thigh.

She may be in need of help, police said.

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Conctact the central detective division at 312-747-8380 or dial 911 if seen or located.
The state's pre-eminent labor organization endorsed J.B. Pritzker on Tuesday, solidifying his status as the early front-runner in a crowded and increasingly bitter race for the 2018 Democratic governor nomination.

The unusually early move by the Illinois AFL-CIO, coming nine months before the March primary election, is a significant political boost for Pritzker, a billionaire entrepreneur and investor who has vowed to self-fund his campaign and spend to elect Democratic House and Senate candidates. The union backing gives him much-needed boots on the ground.

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At the same time, the endorsement denies badly needed financial resources to Pritzker's Democratic rivals, including businessman Chris Kennedy, state Sen. Daniel Biss, Northwest Side Ald. Ameya Pawar, Madison County regional schools Superintendent Bob Daiber and a new entrant in the race, state Rep. Scott Drury of Highwood.

The labor group's executive board met in Springfield behind closed doors for five hours Tuesday and talked to the candidates.

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Pritzker appeared "very at ease, very comfortable talking to labor, and he was quizzed pretty hard on different questions, and he came back with all outstanding good answers and I just think he's been working it and working it hard," Illinois AFL-CIO President Michael Carrigan said.

The decision to act so early was motivated by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner's efforts to weaken union rights, he added.

"There were a few who raised comments that this is the earliest we have ever done it, but we all agreed on one thing, that Gov. Rauner is not leading this state forward and he needed to go, and I think that propelled the early endorsement discussion for J.B.," Carrigan said.

In a statement, Pritzker vowed to stand up for collective bargaining and other union issues, saying labor would "be a partner" and "will always have a seat at the table."

"The AFL-CIO and the working families it represents deserve a real leader in Springfield who will always stand with them to get our state back on track," Pritzker said. "I look forward to being that governor for Illinois working families."

Organized labor has put added emphasis on electing Democrats in the 2018 contests for governor and the General Assembly following Rauner's so-far unsuccessful efforts to curtail collective bargaining rights for public employee unions and push to end the payment of prevailing union wages on public works projects.

Kennedy contended the AFL-CIO endorsement wasn't about union members but "about Springfield establishment insiders who cut deals and circumvented the normal endorsement process," his campaign said in a statement.

Kennedy, who is part of the iconic Democratic Massachusetts political family but has sought to portray himself as an outsider in the governor's race, will "take his message of radical change directly to members of the AFL-CIO and the people of Illinois because they should determine who the Democratic nominee is  not political insiders who are cutting deals behind closed doors," campaign spokeswoman Liz Utrup said.

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Biss, the state senator, said working people "deserve better than being told they have to support a billionaire whose family fortune was enriched by anti-union behavior." Pawar, the 47th Ward alderman, said he has a record of supporting labor initiatives and "endorsements or non-endorsements won't change that."

Pritzker's endorsement did not come without some internal divisions. It was engineered by trade labor unions, which make up the bulk of the AFL-CIO's board and which endorsed Pritzker early last month. Those unions are allied with House Speaker Michael Madigan, who also chairs the state Democratic Party.

Pritzker's vow to use his own money for the campaign would free up union dollars for Madigan  Rauner's chief political nemesis  to try to keep control of the House. But the other contenders for governor say Democrats shouldn't back a candidate merely because of money and the ability to counter former private equity specialist Rauner dollar-for-dollar.

Even before the AFL-CIO's decision, the Rauner-funded Illinois Republican Party sought to continue trying to link Pritzker to Madigan.

"It's clear that this is an attempt by Mike Madigan to coalesce Chicago machine support behind his preferred candidate, J.B. Pritzker. Madigan knows Pritzker is a fellow crooked insider who will raise taxes and support his Chicago agenda," state GOP spokesman Steven Yaffe said in a statement.

Carrigan dismissed suggestions that Madigan orchestrated the endorsement.

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"I didn't really hear that in the meeting today. I heard a lot of discussion focused on (Pritzker's) questionnaire and how he answered and how he talked about helping other candidates," Carrigan said. "The speaker is the chairman of the Democratic Party of Illinois, he has certainly been around a long time, but I didn't not feel any, you know, hard force from him."

Heading into the meeting in Springfield, three unions that have the most direct contact with state government and the governor's office  the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the Illinois Federation of Teachers and the Service Employees International Union  were pushing to delay any endorsement.

Representatives of those unions argued there is a standard vetting procedure to evaluate candidates that had yet to get in gear and expressed concern about making an endorsement early while the Democratic primary race has yet to totally unfold.

Adding to some of the concerns was a Chicago Tribune-published story last week that disclosed conversations between Pritzker and then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich that were caught on FBI recordings in November 2008 as part of the corruption investigation that led to Blagojevich's imprisonment.

The recordings reveal Pritzker asking Blagojevich to appoint him state treasurer should the office become open. In one conversation, Blagojevich sought a campaign donation, with Pritzker replying he didn't "think we should even talk about it," but also saying at one point, "I hear ya."

In addition, officials in some unions have privately criticized Pritzker, an heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune, over labor problems at the hotel chain. Pritzker has said he has no management role in the business.

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The early Pritzker endorsement stands in contrast to the 2010 contest for the Democratic governor nomination. The state AFL-CIO decided in December 2009 not to endorse either Gov. Pat Quinn or his rival, then-state Comptroller Dan Hynes.

In the 2004 contest for the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination, the labor organization issued an endorsement that January, backing Hynes over the eventual winner who went on to become president, Barack Obama.

The endorsement in the 2018 governor's race came hours after the contest saw a new entrant, Drury, who was first elected to the House in 2012. Drury, a former federal prosecutor from Lake County, has taken votes contrary to union positions in the past.

Drury has touted his independence from Madigan, including refusing to vote to keep him as speaker. When Madigan doled out gift clocks to his members in January marking his record tenure as speaker, Drury grumbled that he did not receive one.

In making his announcement, Drury took a shot at Pritzker by noting he did not inherit "billions of dollars" and that "money cannot buy character or judgment."

"While my colleagues at the U.S. attorney's office and I were fighting to rid Illinois of public corruption, the current presumptive frontrunner was cozying up to corrupt Gov. Blagojevich for an appointment," Drury said in a statement. "That type of small thinking is the polar opposite of what Illinois needs right now."

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Campaign finance reports on file with the state Board of Elections show Drury had nearly $285,000 in his political fund at the end of March and has raised $6,600 since.

Monique Garcia reported from Springfield.

rap30@aol.com

mcgarcia@chicagotribune.com
Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Google are among hundreds of U.S. businesses joining an effort to support the Paris climate agreement as part of a public campaign announced Monday. Dubbed "We Are Still In," the launch of the initiative comes just days after President Donald Trump said the United States would withdraw from the international accord, stunning much of the world and breaking with a broad host of industry executives who supported the deal.

The campaign's participants, which also include hundreds of investors, universities, local officials and state governments, have pledged to support the Paris accord and "pursue ambitious climate goals," according to an open letter the campaign released.

The group also took aim at Trump, saying his decision "damages the world's ability to avoid the most dangerous and costly effects of climate change." The business leaders and officials described Trump's move as "out of step with what is happening in the United States."

The campaign on climate is the latest example of some of the biggest players in Silicon Valley opposing Trump's key policies. The president's travel ban and ongoing litigation surrounding his immigration orders have also sparked widespread condemnation from the tech industry.

After the president revealed last week that he intends to exit the agreement, several high-profile business leaders said they would end their advisory roles with Trump, in protest. Tesla and SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk and Disney chief executive Robert Iger said last week that they would no longer serve on the president's economic advisory council. Executives from Facebook, Apple, Microsoft and Google also swiftly criticized Trump's decision after his announcement.

Dozens of states last week said they would forge ahead with their climate policies and their aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in response to the president's move. New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, D, also unveiled the largest renewable energy investment by any state, a $1.65 billion plan to support renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Trump administration officials said Tuesday that President Trump was not "taking sides" in the deepening dispute among its key counterterrorism partners in the Persian Gulf, despite a morning of presidential Twitter posts congratulating Saudi Arabia - and himself - for cracking down on Qatar for alleged terrorism financing.

"During my recent trip to the Middle East, I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology," Trump tweeted. "Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!"

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"So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off," he continued. "They said they would take a hard line on funding extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar."

During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017

So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding...  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017

...extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017

On Monday, several of Qatar's gulf neighbors - Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain - were joined by Egypt and smaller nations in severing diplomatic ties with Qatar, ordering its diplomats and citizens to leave and threatening deeply intertwined regional trade links and air routes.

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The eruption appeared motivated by years-long regional disputes rather than any recent disagreement or action. It followed a late-May visit in which Trump, while calling on the Arab and Muslim worlds to unite against the terrorist threat, heaped praise on Saudi Arabia as the regional leader.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, in New Zealand, called for dialogue among the neighbors. At the State Department, spokeswoman Heather Nauert said that "we recognize that Qatar continues to make efforts to stop the financing of terrorist groups, including prosecuting suspected financiers, freezing assets, introducing stringent controls into its banking system. They have made progress . . . but we recognize there is more work to be done."

"Let's move off this social-media thing," Nauert said of numerous questions about Trump's tweets, "because there are a lot of other important things that we need to discuss."

A senior administration official said: "We're not taking sides. If we are taking sides, we are taking the side of unity and cooperation" against terrorism. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive diplomatic issue.

Nauert and the senior official said the United States had been notified of Saudi Arabia's intention to break relations, shortly before it was announced Monday. But "I don't think the U.S. government has perfect clarity on what triggered that," the official said. "We know there have been issues between them."

The Pentagon, whose air operations for the Middle East are headquartered at a massive air base in Qatar where at least 10,000 U.S. service members are stationed, opted for balance and calming words.

"We recognize that there are differing views in the region that have gotten us to this point," it said in a statement. "United States and the Coalition are grateful to the Qataris for their longstanding support of our presence and their enduring commitment to regional security. We have no plans to change our posture in Qatar."

The statement said that restrictions Qatar's gulf neighbors have imposed on Qatari movements in and out of the region "have not impacted our air operations," including missions in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.

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Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, shook his head in a Capitol hallway when shown Trump's tweets on a reporter's cellphone. "Each of these countries are people that are important to our country," he said. "Our general policy as America has been to work with each of them."

"We do have a base there that we operate out of that's very important," he said of Qatar.

During last month's visit to Saudi Arabia, where he delivered a speech to dozens of leaders from Muslim-majority nations gathered for the occasion, Trump met personally with Qatari emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad al-Thani. "We are friends. We've been friends now for a long time. . . . Our relationship is extremely good," Trump said at the beginning of the closed-door meeting. "One of the things we will discuss is the [Qatari] purchase of lots of beautiful military equipment."

The senior administration official said that Trump addressed U.S. concerns in private with the Qatari leader.

In New Zealand on Tuesday, Tillerson emphasized that all countries in the gulf region "have their own challenges to live up to that commitment to terminate support for terrorism, extremism, however it manifests itself anywhere in the world. And I would say that's true of all the GCC countries; they have their own work to do in that regard."

The GCC is the Gulf Cooperation Council, whose six members - Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar - signed a communique with Trump pledging to continue their joint fight against terrorism. The visit also culminated in what the administration said was $110 billion in arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

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Small but influential Qatar has long been at odds with some of its regional neighbors over its support for the Muslim Brotherhood, which is seen by Saudi Arabia and other nations as a threat to the network of ruling monarchs and others across the region.

Qatar, the world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, also flexed its political influence by using its energy wealth to become a key patron of groups such as Hamas in the Gaza Strip and, in the mid-1990s, to launch the Al Jazeera media network, which has wide reach through the Arab-speaking world.

U.S. officials who monitor terrorist funding have said that gulf governments have made significant strides in ending official support for terrorist groups, although some money still flows from individuals, primarily in Kuwait and to a lesser extent from Qatar.

Saudi Arabia also has come under scrutiny for indirectly backing militant networks through groups promoting the Saudis' strict Wahhabi interpretation of Islam.

Gerd Nonneman, a professor of international relations at the Doha campus of Georgetown University, one of a number of U.S. universities with branches in the Qatari capital, said the dispute was fueled by "irritation" in Saudi Arabia and the UAE "with Qatar's independence of mind in foreign policy, including its support for the Arab Spring movements."

Qatar's backing for the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist organizations, Nonneman said in an email, has been driven by "a pragmatic calculation that these movements had considerable social traction and would likely become an important part of the post-Arab Spring era." Qatar, he noted, "also refused to join the campaign to fully isolate Iran . . . even while it furiously disagreed with Iran's policies in Syria."

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The desire to isolate Iran, in addition to the fight against terrorist groups such as the Islamic State, has brought the Trump administration closer to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The administration has considered designating the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group, although it was dissuaded from immediate action by other Arab leaders, including King Abdullah in Jordan, one of several countries in which Brotherhood political parties have significant support.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, speaking Tuesday in Paris, mentioned Qatar's support for Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, saying that it "has to choose whether it must move in one direction or the other," according to Reuters.

In the wake of Monday's events, Kuwait took the lead in trying to broker a dialogue. The country's emir, Sabah Ahmed al-Sabah, headed to Saudi Arabia for talks with King Salman.

But there were signs that the feud was dividing the region beyond the gulf. Jordan, a close ally of Saudi Arabia, announced it was downgrading its diplomatic relations with Qatar and canceling the license of the local Al Jazeera office, according to the foreign ministry.

In Turkey, which has tried to mediate the dispute, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the Saudi-led actions against Qatar. "These developments, coming at a time when we need solidarity and cooperation more than ever, are no good for any country in the region," he said in remarks quoted by the semiofficial Anadolu news agency.

Qatari officials pushed back forcefully at the terrorism accusations and portrayed themselves as victims of a Saudi-led conspiracy. In a letter to U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Qatar's U.N. ambassador, Alya Ahmed al-Thani, said her country had been "a target of campaigns of fabricated accusations" and a "hidden agenda to cause harm to our country."

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She referred to recently leaked emails allegedly written to the UAE's U.S. ambassador, Yousef al-Otaiba, which appear to show Otaiba trying to garner support in Washington for an anti-Qatar coalition.

Fahim reported from Istanbul and Raghavan from Cairo. Mike DeBonis in Washington contributed to this report.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions puts on his glasses while testifying before the Senate intelligence committee on the FBI's investigation into the Trump administration and its possible collusion with Russia during the presidential campaign June 13, 2017. (Michael Reynolds / EPA)

WASHINGTON  Attorney General Jeff Sessions offered to resign at one point in recent months after his relationship with President Donald Trump grew increasingly tense, according to two people close to the White House.

The strain between the two began after Sessions recused himself in March from the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Sessions announced his recusal shortly after he became attorney general and a day after The Washington Post revealed that he had twice met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the campaign and did not disclose that fact to the Senate Judiciary Committee during his January confirmation hearing.

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Trump learned of the attorney general's decision shortly before Sessions announced it at a news conference. The president's anger has lingered for months, according to the people close to the White House, who said Trump blames Sessions's recusal as a factor that prompted the decision last month by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to appoint a special counsel, Robert Mueller, to oversee the expanding Russian investigation.

Trump has also grown frustrated with the way his travel ban has been stalled in federal courts, the people added.

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It is unclear when Sessions offered to resign, and Trump refused the offer. The moment was brief and Sessions made the suggestion after weeks of Trump's disgruntlement and tense private meetings, according to the two people close to the White House who requested anonymity to speak candidly. Trump made clear to Sessions that while he did not like Sessions' decision to recuse himself, these people said, he still had faith in his attorney general.

Sessions' offer to resign was first reported by ABC News. Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores, who was with Sessions in Atlanta Tuesday, declined to comment.

Still, tensions linger. On Monday, Trump derided the revised travel ban and criticized his own Justice Department's handling of the controversial case. In a series of tweets, Trump called the new ban "politically correct," and said the Justice Department should seek a "much tougher version."

Attorney General Jeff Sessions speaks at the National Law Enforcement Training on Child Exploitation meeting in Atlanta on June 6, 2017. (Erik S. Lesser / EPA)

Before his recusal from the Russia investigation, Sessions and Trump had a strong bond. Sessions was the first senator to endorse Trump early in the presidential campaign last year when few Republican lawmakers supported the candidate.

Trump and Sessions share a similar world view on key issues, including crime and immigration. In the Senate, Sessions crusaded for a hard-line stance on immigration and continues to speak out about arresting and prosecuting illegal immigrants as he travels across the country.

Trump spoke of rising crime in his inaugural address and vowed to end the "American carnage." Sessions has made a tough crackdown on crime his top priority, reversing the Obama administration's charging policy and directing his federal prosecutors to pursue the most severe penalties possible, including mandatory minimum sentences, in a step toward a return to the war on drugs of the 1980s and 1990s.
President Trump leaves after announcing the Air Traffic Control Reform Initiative in the East Room at the White House in Washington, DC, on June 5, 2017. (Nicholas Kamm / AFP/Getty Images)

President Donald Trump is accusing Senate Democrats of slow-walking his nominees, but his blame is misplaced. It's the president who is lagging behind his predecessors in naming candidates for key government posts during his first five months in the office.

Trump has so far nominated 110 people for 559 positions, fewer nominations than each of the last four presidents, according to the nonpartisan Partnership for Public Service. By comparison, Democrat Barack Obama had selected 252 nominees by early June 2009.

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Thirty-six percent of Trump's nominees have been confirmed, compared with 59 percent Obama, the group's data show, suggesting that Trump indeed has had fewer nominees confirmed.

But blaming the Democrats in this case ignores the reality that Trump's fellow Republicans control the Senate, where nominations are confirmed. They run the committees and schedule, and changes in Senate rules engineered by Democrats in 2013 require only a simple majority to confirm nominees.

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As part of a Monday morning tweetstorm, Trump wrote that Democrats "are taking forever" to confirm his nominees, including ambassadors. "They are nothing but OBSTRUCTIONISTS! Want approvals," he tweeted.

.@foxandfriends Dems are taking forever to approve my people, including Ambassadors. They are nothing but OBSTRUCTIONISTS! Want approvals.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017

Democrats fired back. "If the president is looking for someone to blame on the slow pace of confirmations, he needs only to look in the mirror," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, said only five would-be ambassadors are awaiting action out of dozens of slots to be filled.

"Your lack of nominations is the problem," Cardin tweeted in response to Trump's accusation.

#FakeNews. Your lack of nominations is the problem. There are only 5 political ambassadors pending. All in process. 1 ready for a floor vote https://t.co/ppakz86VmK  Senator Ben Cardin (@SenatorCardin) June 5, 2017

Trump has said, for example, that he would nominate New York Jets owner Woody Johnson as ambassador to Britain but has yet to do so.

In the case of Callista Gingrich, Trump's pick to be ambassador to the Vatican, the administration has yet to submit all the required paperwork. Without it, the Republican-led Foreign Relations Committee can't schedule a confirmation hearing. Gingrich, the wife of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, was nominated by Trump on May 25.

The committee only has Callista Gingrich's FBI background investigation. Her file is missing a committee questionnaire to be filled out by the nominee, financial disclosure forms and certifications regarding any potential conflicts.

"The president should get off Twitter and lead his team in sending more ambassadors and other crucial nominees to the Senate," said Sean Bartlett, Cardin's spokesman. "We're ready to do our job, but he needs to do his first. That's how the process works."

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There are 188 ambassadorial positions. Roughly a third of the slots are filled by political appointees and the rest by career foreign service officers. Trump has made 11 ambassador appointments and five have been confirmed by the Senate, according to the American Foreign Service Association, which tracks such appointments.

Among Trump's nominees who have been approved by the Senate are Nikki Haley, ambassador to the United Nations; Terry Branstad, ambassador to China; and David Friedman, ambassador to Israel.

By this time in Republican George W. Bush's presidency, he had submitted 202 nominees and 127 had been confirmed, according to the Partnership for Public Service. Democrat President Bill Clinton had nominated 207, with 161 confirmations. Republican President George H.W. Bush had nominated 155 and had secured 94 confirmations.
Beginning in the 1940s, Luella Trinrud worked in an Evanston factory that churned out canisters of one of the most innovative toys of its time.

Employed on an assembly line, Trinrud helped put together the Tinkertoy Construction Set manufactured by the Toy Tinker Co., which was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in New York in 1998.

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"They were wonderful toys that the kids just loved," said her son, Charles.

The construction set came with a variety of wooden and plastic parts that included rods and round hubs with holes that could all be connected to make stationary and movable objects.

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"Luella was what we called our 'Blade Girl' because she was great at creating the blades that were used to make windmills and airplanes," said Hank Fjallberg, a former plant manager at Toy Tinker, now retired. "Because of her and her co-workers, we'd roll out about 360 canisters a day, which was pretty good for back then."

The toys were often referred to as the "Thousand Wonder Toy" because of the endless array of shapes children would conjure while tinkering with them.

Trinrud, 107, died May 23 in an assisted living facility in Franklin, Tenn., where she moved two years ago to be closer to family members. She previously lived in Huntley and before that was a longtime resident of Evanston.

Trinrud liked how the toys she created inspired and encouraged kids to use their imaginations.

"Connecting to make something much bigger and more exciting than the huge pile of disconnected parts  I think that's the way it was with Luella," said Timothy Brown, the pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Evanston, where Trinrud attended services for more than seven decades. "The product she produced was not unlike the trajectory of her 107 years of lifeconnections were key."

Born Luella Lee in Wisconsin, Trinrud was the daughter of Norwegian immigrants. She and her eight siblings grew up on a farm, where family members said she came to appreciate the simple life.

In an interview with the Williamson Herald in Tennessee published last year, Trinrud recalled a childhood friend whose dress was ripped off after it got caught on a ladder while the two played on a silo.

"Her mother had to make her a new dress," Trinrud told the newspaper. "It was a simple life, but a lot of fun."

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In 1930, she married Irv Trinrud, a mail carrier, with whom she had three children. The couple moved to Evanston in the early 1940s.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 86 Dick Orkin, an award-winning radio advertising creator for close to a half-century who was perhaps best known for his syndicated Chickenman spoof, which aired on Chicago stations, died on Dec. 24 in California. He was 84. Read more. (Handout)

Despite having never driven a car, Trinrud continued to live independently long after her husband died in 1989, up until she was 99. For years she also was a member of a sewing circle at Trinity Lutheran Church that stitched together quilts donated to hundreds of disadvantaged families around the world.

"She was a caring person, who found something constructive to do every day of her life," her son said.

Other survivors include two daughters, Lois Amack and Betty Babb; six grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren; and eight great-great grandchildren.

Services were held.

Joan Giangrasse Kates is a freelance reporter.
The alienation that lacerated London Bridge Saturday night has been a long time festering, at least a quarter-century, when I first became aware of it.

In 1989, book-burnings in Britain against the novel "The Satanic Verses" led to the fatwa, or death sentence, against its author, Salman Rushdie, forcing him into hiding for a decade. Then, in 1991, more Muslim protests broke out against the British government's support for the U.S.-led first Gulf War to reverse the seizure of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein.

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Suddenly, the British discovered that a large and undigested population of disaffected Muslims lived in the heart of England.

The center of both protests was Bradford, a textile city in the Midlands. I was the Tribune's London bureau chief at the time, and I drove north to Bradford to have a look.

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What I found was a depressed old mill town, down on its luck, a city of about 500,000 that included 50,000 Muslims who were so isolated from the city around them that they might as well have been living in a walled ghetto.

Most of Bradford's Muslims came from two towns in the Mirpur district of northern Pakistan.

The first came in the early '60s to work in the textile mills and, in the way of migrants everywhere, phoned home to tell friends and relatives that jobs existed in this English town. Because they came from a British Commonwealth country, the British took them in, and then forgot about them.

By 1991, the community was in its second or third generation. Many of the young people were British-born, but they still felt like immigrants, with shallow roots in what was, after all, their home country.

The Bradford Muslims remained poor and inbred. The textile industry was declining. Most important, the community centered on the Victor Street mosque, where the imam, Ahmed Maqsood, preached the fundamentalist Wahhabist doctrine, a reactionary Sunni creed with roots in Saudi Arabia.

Discriminated against in Bradford and shut off from the wider community, the Bradford Muslims, and especially their youth, took their reality and their religion from the mosque.

Into this tight and cohesive community, outside voices barely intruded.

I found that the elders, the original immigrants, carefully proclaimed loyalty to the British and tried to see both sides of the Kuwaiti issue. But their sons backed Hussein fully and felt that, if American and British troops acted anywhere, they should take Kashmir from India and give it to Pakistan. Mostly, they protested the presence of coalition troops in Saudi Arabia, which they saw as a desecration of sacred soil. It was an attitude shared, as we know now, by Osama bin Laden.

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What I was hearing were the first signs of the radicalization of younger Muslims born and raised in the West. Their parents were glad to be in Bradford. The sons, alienated from the society around them, absorbed hatred wrapped in fundamentalism.

The same thing was going on elsewhere in Europe. In London, we lived in the East End, a largely immigrant part of the city where the British lager louts amused themselves with regular "Paki-bashing," as they called it. The police permitted this and often joined in.

On the continent, in France or Belgium or the Netherlands, the same pattern held. The countries admitted the immigrants but then parked them in isolated communities, making no attempt to integrate them into the lives of their new homelands. Sometimes this was justified as a preservation of cultural heritages. Mostly, it was a new apartheid, with despised newcomers deliberately left out of sight and out of mind.

The first generation took it and smiled. The second generation rebelled. Almost all the European terrorism in recent years has been committed by these later generations, locally born, citizens of their countries but not participants in them.

For all the cruelty and roughness of the American immigration experience, I've often felt we do a better job than the Europeans. We ride roughshod over native cultures, insisting that the new immigrants become Americans. It may be forced integration, but it works.

Back in London, I described my Bradford experience to Bernard Ingham, longtime press secretary for former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The trouble with Britain, I told him, was that it wasn't a melting pot. Ingham just shook his jowls in disagreement.

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"What do you mean, we're not a melting pot?" he huffed. "We're a positive home for stray dogs."

That pretty much summed it up. Immigrants, especially Muslims, were to be allowed in but cooped in urban ghettos, but otherwise ignored.

That was a generation ago. The angry teenagers I talked with in Bradford are now the middle-aged fathers of an even younger generation, raised to rebel. Occasionally, some of them slip out of England to fight jihad in the Middle East or ram a white van across the London Bridge, mowing down anyone in their path.

Richard C. Longworth, the Tribune's former chief European correspondent, is a distinguished fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
"It's an unbelievably complex subject," President Donald Trump said in February, discussing the Republican plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act. "Nobody knew health care could be so complicated." It was a typically absurd proclamation for the president, who more recently bragged about how quickly he mastered "everything there was to know about health care."

As complicated as health care is, the case against Trump's health-care bill is simple. Trump promised to provide "insurance for everybody"; the American Health Care Act passed by the House last month would cause 23 million Americans to lose their coverage. Trump promised not to cut Medicaid; the AHCA would slash more than $800 billion from the program. Trump promised to protect people with preexisting conditions; the AHCA would allow discrimination against such patients. As National Nurses United Executive Director RoseAnn DeMoro put it, Republicans are essentially proposing "a 21st Century version of 'Lord of the Flies.'"

For Democrats, opposing Trump's plan, which a measly 8 percent of Americans support in its current form, is a no-brainer. But with health care emerging as the American people's top concern, according to recent polls, Democrats would be wise to seize the moment, go on the offensive and rally around a bold alternative to the Republican Party's backward vision. It's time for progressives and Democrats to unite behind Medicare for all.

Under a Medicare-for-all, single-payer system, the United States would join virtually every other Western country in recognizing health care as a fundamental right and providing insurance for every citizen. It would reduce the burden on employers, which bear the brunt of the cost of insurance today, and it would bring down overall health-care costs because Medicare is more efficient than for-profit private insurance. It would be paid for with tax hikes on the wealthiest Americans, including a financial transactions tax that would curb risky high-frequency trading.

Contrary to how it is often portrayed, this is not some left-wing fantasy but an idea with widespread across-the-aisle support. An April survey from the Economist/YouGov showed that 60 percent of Americans support "expanding Medicare to provide health insurance to every American," including a majority of independents and nearly half of self-identified Republicans. Likewise, a Gallup poll conducted last month found that a majority of Americans would like to see a single-payer system implemented. (Given how deeply Medicare is woven into the fabric of our society, I prefer the term "Medicare for all" over the wonky "single-payer.")

This is not to say that Democrats should stop defending the Affordable Care Act, which is more popular now that it is being threatened than ever before. The law was clearly a major step forward, as evidenced by the 20 million Americans who gained coverage because of it. But the most compelling argument for the Affordable Care Act was always that it was just that: not the final destination but a step in the right direction. "For me, this legislation represents progress toward universal health care for all Americans," Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., a longtime supporter of Medicare for all, said when it passed in 2010. "It is a beginning  and an important one."

Today, with Republicans fighting to put universal coverage further out of reach, more progressives and Democrats are recognizing that now is the moment to push Medicare for all. A bill introduced by Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., in the House has 112 co-sponsors, representing a solid majority of the Democratic caucus, up from just over 60 in the last Congress. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who made Medicare for all a central plank of his presidential campaign platform, is preparing to introduce a bill in the Senate. And last week, supporters of Medicare for all scored a big victory when the California Senate advanced a state-level single-payer bill that DeMoro hailed as a "moral model" for the country.

Looking ahead to 2018, strong progressive candidates are already making universal coverage part of their pitch to voters. In Iowa, nurse and union leader Cathy Glasson has launched a gubernatorial bid with a promise to provide "universal healthcare to cover every Iowan." And in Maryland, former NAACP president Ben Jealous, who endorsed Sanders in 2016, is running for governor, pledging to "ensure that every citizen" in the state is covered.

It will take smart organizing and tireless work to make it a reality, but Medicare for all is an idea whose time has come. With organizations such as Our Revolution, National Nurses United and the Working Families Party leading the fight, though, the movement for Medicare for all is gaining momentum every day.

During the floor debate over the Affordable Care Act, Sanders declared, "The day will come, although I recognize it is not today, when the Congress ... will finally proclaim that health care is a right of all people and not just a privilege." He was right then, and he's right now. But it won't happen until progressives drive the debate to the point that Medicare for all is seen not as impossible, but inevitable.
On Monday, President Donald Trump angrily lashed out at the Justice Department for defending the weaker second version of his immigration ban. This was odd, because Trump himself signed the executive order promulgating that revised version, which was ostensibly designed to address the court's concerns about the first  objections the White House itself said it hoped to address.

But it turns out Trump's anger at the Justice Department has a deeper source: rage at Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The New York Times reports on what's at the root of it:

"He has intermittently fumed for months over Mr. Sessions's decision to recuse himself from the investigation into Russian meddling in last year's election, according to people close to Mr. Trump who insisted on anonymity to describe internal conversations. In Mr. Trump's view, they said, it was that recusal that eventually led to the appointment of a special counsel who took over the investigation."

Trump appears worryingly unable to contemplate his own role in bringing about the special counsel. The firing of FBI Director James Comey led to reports that Trump allegedly demanded Comey's loyalty and to Trump's admission that he fired Comey over the Russia probe. This revealed the Justice Department's memo providing Trump his initial rationale for the firing (Comey's handling of the Hillary Clinton probe) was bogus. Which led to the special counsel.

Beyond this, though, note this: Trump's seething anger at Sessions is disconcertingly similar to the anger that led him to fire Comey. As the Times previously reported, Trump privately "burned" as he watched Comey testify to Congress about Russia's efforts to tip the election to Trump, and was "particularly irked" when Comey conceded his own intervention, via a letter about Clinton's emails, may have influenced the outcome, which Trump "took to demean his own role in history." The Post added that Trump was "infuriated" at the FBI's failure to investigate and stop leaks, which have led to news accounts detailing what the Russia probe was finding.

Both Comey and Sessions enraged Trump because in some manner or other, they failed to show a level of loyalty to Trump that would have trumped (as it were) legitimate processes. Comey kept publicly validating the Russia investigation (which Trump dismisses as nothing but Fake News) and would not make it disappear by stopping leaks about it. Sessions recused himself to display (nominal) independence, which Trump somehow interpreted as a lapse into weakness that led to the special counsel, further affirming the probe's weightiness.

Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a professor of history at New York University who writes extensively on authoritarianism and Italian fascism, told me that a discernible trait of autocratic rulers is "frustration" with the "inability to make others do their bidding" and with "institutional and bureaucratic procedures and checks and balances."

"Trump doesn't respect democratic procedure and finds it to be something that gets in his way," Ben-Ghiat said. "The blaming of others is very typical of autocrats, because they have difficulty listening to a reality that doesn't coincide with their version of it. It's part of the authoritarian temperament to blame others when things aren't working."

Trump expects independent officials "to behave according to personal loyalty, as opposed to following the rules," added Timothy Snyder, a history professor at Yale University who wrote "On Tyranny," a book of lessons from the 20th century. "For Trump, that is how the world is supposed to work. Trump doesn't understand that in the world there might truly be laws and rules that constrain a leader."

Snyder noted that authoritarian tendencies often go hand in hand with impatience at such constraints. "You have to have morality and a set of institutions that escape the normal balance of administrative practice," Snyder said. "You have to be able to lie all the time. You have to have people around you who tell you how wonderful you are all the time. You have to have institutions which don't follow the law and instead follow some kind of law of loyalty."

It seems obvious that early worries about an unbound authoritarian Trump  fears that our institutions would not hold up or that Trump would bulldoze them  now look overblown. But nonetheless, echoes of these traits do appear present. The nonstop lying appears designed to obliterate shared agreement on the legitimate institutional role of the news media in holding Trump accountable to some semblance of shared truth and reality. Many of those lies exaggerate the significance of his electoral victory: There's the claim that Trump would have won the popular vote if not for millions of illegal voters; the buffoonish efforts to inflate his inaugural crowd sizes; and the assertion that Barack Obama wiretapped his phones, showing that he, too, had been illicitly targeted during the election.

Trump's underlings must constantly find ever-more-creative ways of propping up those lies: A "vote fraud" commission; press secretary Sean Spicer's assaults on the media for minimizing Trump's crowd sizes; the internal hunt for "evidence" of the Obama wiretap; and so forth. But the Russia probe persists. It plainly nags at Trump because he believes it undercuts his legitimacy. Sessions and Comey have both failed to make it go away. He is reportedly raging about it, and even fired Comey over it. And Comey hasn't even told his side of the story in public yet.

Washington Post
I'm a part of the political middle, and I think my kind is going extinct.



In the interest of full disclosure, I am a registered Democrat and am left-of-center, though not too far left. I've always considered myself moderate, pragmatic and not swayed by pure ideology.



I attended a relatively liberal university where I was routinely disturbed and even disgusted by the statements of some of my "progressive" peers. Those same peers thought I was a neocon because I didn't vote for the Green Party candidate. I felt like ripping down signs posted around campus that said "Support the insurgency in Fallujah" during the height of the Iraq war. I cringed at the students who gathered around U.S. military recruiters at a job fair and shouted them down any time an interested student approached them.



I'm the most conservative member of my immediate family. Republican friends generally think I'm a bleeding heart, and many liberal friends think I'm a conservative. I've always taken a little bit of pride in the fact that the hard core on both sides of the aisle rejected my political beliefs.



Recently, I attended a small get-together with family and some people I had never met before. When I was introduced to another partygoer, I was presented by my name, my relationship to the host and as a "left-winger." I immediately objected to this categorization because I'm not by any definition left wing.



When questioned about the presidential election, I revealed I had voted for Hillary Clinton. I was then asked if I supported Kathy Griffin's recent ill-advised foray into mock decapitation. I answered a question with a question, and asked whether he supported Richard Spencer and the alt-right movement. We tried to find common ground, and we all got out of the conversation unscathed, but it was a microcosm of the polarization Americans have come to expect out of our country's new political Weltanschauung.



These days, it's common for us to demonize our political opponents and to define them by the fringes of their parties. We all need to do a better job of condemning those within our ranks who are helping to destroy the American moderate.



I'll start by denouncing Kathy Griffin for her tasteless and offensive "joke." We not only need denounce it, but also avoid the temptation to draw parallels between racist memes spread about President Barack Obama. Pretending to hold a sitting president's severed head is abhorrent, period.



By the same token, supporters of President Donald Trump have to stop responding to criticisms of him by simply stating that Hillary Clinton or Obama were worse. This doesn't require any critical thought or introspection and serves only to prompt all sides of an argument to retreat into their comfortably entrenched preconceived beliefs.



I also wholly condemn the students at Evergreen State College in Washington who asked all white students and faculty not to come to the campus for a day, as part of an annual "day of absence" tradition. This doesn't further the cause of social justice, it's an act of overt racism.



Similarly, there are the students at universities across the country who are protesting and rioting to keep rabble-rousers like Ann Coulter and Richard Spencer from being allowed to speak. It's important to distinguish protesting their beliefs from those who protest their right to speak those beliefs. The former are as American as apple pie. The latter are enemies of freedom of speech, and just as odious to me as those who vandalized a bumper sticker on my wife's vehicle in the days after the election, or the person who stole a sign out of our yard that simply expressed support for our neighbors, no matter their background.



I'm not naive enough to believe that the polarization of American opinion that has been building for decades will change anytime soon. But I do call on the principled among us to put country and reason above party, whether you're a Democrat or Republican. Condemn the extremists in your own ranks, think critically about your position without just thinking about how evil your opponent is and acknowledge that extremism and ultra-polarization are harmful to the very fabric of our government and society.



If some of us can start to build on those ideas, we'll go a long way toward reviving an important and seemingly forgotten political group: pragmatic moderates.

Tribune Content Agency



Dylan Whitehead is an insurance professional in Richardson, Texas. He wrote this for The Dallas Morning News. Readers may email him at Dylan.Whitehead@gmail.com.
Residential segregation in Chicago has never been an accident. The corollary of this bitter truth is that today, intentional efforts by citizens and elected leaders to transcend our citys segregation will not be free of contention, least of all when the deep fault lines of race and class are touched by a civic discussion. In this ongoing conversation, Emanuels recent words that anti-affordable housing activists need to be heard functions as an acquittal of racial animus, masquerading as a white-washed call for process.

I commend Ald. John Arena for his leadership and vision. The community process that he implemented was both rigorous and thoughtful. Hundreds of neighborhood residents attended informational meetings and some of them were contentious. Whats right is not always popular, and whats popular is not always right. Arena is demonstrating both care and leadership for his community. To call for more time and space to honor the tired historic forces seeking to retrench segregation is to dishonor the future we are collectively reaching for.

Fifty-one years ago, around the same time that Martin Luther King Jr. marched for open housing in Marquette Park, a parallel march for open housing occurred in Jefferson Park, equally met with bricks and violence.

What is different today on the Northwest Side is that amidst the resurgence of prejudice and hateful energy by some factions in Jefferson Park, there is also an energetic movement growing among anti-racist, largely white, homeowners, who are as committed to opening their community to new neighbors, as others are to keeping it closed.

King prophesied, The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice. If this is true, it is made so only through the intentional acts of everyday citizens and courageous elected leaders who take stands where they can  especially in their own communities and within the policy-making spheres they can reach  to bend that arc in the direction it must go.

 Jesus Chuy Garcia, commissioner, Cook County Board
After having elected a president who openly promised to "bomb the s--- out of ISIS," it sounds almost quaint to talk about the extreme rhetoric of television comedians.

Yet, here we are sounding more shocked than ever over recent excesses by Bill Maher, Kathy Griffin and Stephen Colbert.

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If extreme rhetoric has become more normalized in the era of President Donald Trump, how much should we blame Trump? Just asking.

Comedians and other commentators need to beware of Anti-Trump Derangement Disorder. It's a lot like the syndrome that gripped liberals in the era of George W. Bush and conservatives under Barack Obama. In each case, raging fury over the sitting president drove critics to irrational extremes. Last month, Colbert said in a rant that the president fellates Vladimir Putin.

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For that he received a combination of laughs, groans and angry complaints to the Federal Communications Commission that the joke was homophobic. The FCC decided not to penalize Colbert for the joke, which was broadcast with the offending word bleeped out anyway.

Comedian Kathy Griffin was not as lucky. She posed for a photo last week while holding a bloody Trump mask by the hair, producing an image as gruesome as an Islamic State execution video. It backfired, making President Trump and his family look sympathetic, even to his usual critics. Griffin apologized but lost bookings, including CNN's "New Year's Eve Live," the high-profile co-host slot she's held since 2007.

Bill Maher opened a different can of worms with his use of the N-word on his show "Real Time" on HBO. While interviewing Republican Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska about his new book, "The Vanishing American Adult," Maher said, "I've got to get to Nebraska more."

Sasse cheerfully invited Maher to come out to the Cornhusker State and "work in the fields with us."

"Work in the fields?" said Maher, noticing an opportunity to insert a punch line that he could not pass up, "Senator, I'm a house n-----."

Yes, he went there. Now Maher probably wishes he had been bleeped like Colbert.

Having been a guest panelist years ago on "Real Time" and on his earlier ABC show "Politically Incorrect," I thought Maher knew better. If there is anything black Americans have tried to maintain social control over, it is the N-word. Many let him know it on Twitter.

"Please, @HBO," tweeted Chicago's Chance the Rapper. "Do Not Air Another Episode of Real Time with Bill Maher."

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DeRay Mckesson, a Baltimore-based leader in the Black Lives Matter movement, tweeted, "But really, @BillMaher has got to go. There are no explanations that make this acceptable."

The black-oriented website The Root tweeted, "Bill Maher is a white habitual line-stepper, and his show needs to be canceled after this latest stunt."

Although I am disappointed to see artists and activists who make good use of free speech themselves eagerly seek to muzzle others, I am not surprised by their rage. Everyone needs to pick their battles wisely, but this was one that Maher brought on himself.

So why did he have it? If anything, I think Maher, who has many black friends, may ironically have become too confident in his cross-racial knowledge. One of his longest and best friends, for example, is Chris "Kid" Reid of the 1990s hip-hop duo Kid N' Play, who also helps produce the HBO show.

"What people of color like about Bill (Maher) is his honesty," Reid told a New York magazine reporter in 2012. "Black people can smell fear in white people. They're like bloodhounds. When Bill and I hang out, and there are people of color around, they gravitate to him."

I have seen Maher show that easy comfort level backstage. But it also may have created a perception problem for him. In the heat of the moment on his recent show, he may have forgotten that he's still white.

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Another friend of Maher's, Atlanta-based rapper, actor and activist Killer Mike, who has been a guest on Maher's show, offered a more streetwise remedy:

"I would have punched Bill in his stomach and said, 'You sound stupid,'" he told reporters for TMZ. "And we would have smoked a joint afterward. Because  that's what you do when your white friend  gets a little too comfortable and says (the N-word)."

Indeed, aside from the violence he suggests, Killer Mike sounds like a wise friend. To mangle an old saying, late-night comedians on HBO can be obscene but not absurd, even when they're in the business of offending people.

Clarence Page, a member of the Tribune Editorial Board, blogs at www.chicagotribune.com/pagespage.

cpage@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @cptime
Police are looking for a man suspected of robbing a St. Charles bank at gunpoint Tuesday afternoon.

St. Charles police officers were dispatched at 12:37 p.m. Tuesday for an armed robbery at Harris Bank on the 300 block of South Randall Road, according to a news release from Deputy Chief Dave Kintz.

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While both customers and employees were inside the bank, a man went in, displayed a black handgun and demanded money, ultimately getting away with an undisclosed amount of cash, police said.

In one surveillance photo police released Tuesday afternoon, a male figure wearing a royal blue baseball cap stands in between the bank doors and a teller's counter, holding a gun in his right hand and pointing it to the camera's left. A teller is sitting behind the counter, while another person is standing to the gunman's left. Another photo shows the suspect outside the building's front vestibule, his face covered by a blue bandana with a white pattern.

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Police described the suspect as male, about 5 feet 6 inches tall with a thin build.

No injuries were reported and Kintz said in an email that no customers were robbed. Kintz said he'd been unable to get a solid count of how many people were inside and couldn't yet confirm information about any get-away vehicle.

The bank did not have any of its own security officers working, he said.

The local police department is working with the FBI, which also responded to the scene and is the lead agency on the case, police said.

BMO Harris Bank spokesman Patrick O'Herlihy said in an email that he could confirm an "attempted robbery" took place Tuesday afternoon at the St. Charles location.

"All customers and employees are safe," O'Herlihy said.

No customer information was compromised, he said. The branch was closed for the rest of the day Tuesday, but should reopen Wednesday morning, O'Herlihy said, referring any other questions to local authorities.

Police are asking anyone with information to call the FBI Chicago Office at 312-421-6700 or St. Charles Police investigators at 630-377-4435.

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hleone@tribpub.com

Twitter @hannahmleone
Burr Ridge resident Len Ruzak was recently honored by the Hinsdale Rotary Club for his role in initiating and developing the Burr Ridge Veterans Memorial and the village's annual Armed Forces Day Celebration.

Q: What got you started working on behalf of veterans?

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A: I had five brothers who were all in the service. Plus, during the Korean War, I was with the Army Signal Corps in Japan. My work on behalf of veterans is a small token of my appreciation to them.

Q: What was the best parts of the Veterans Memorial project?

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A: Accomplishing something so important for our military veterans.

Q: What was the worst part?

A: Getting people together and getting enough volunteers to do all of the work. We had a lot of different groups of volunteers.

Q: How long have you lived in Burr Ridge?

A: I have been in Burr Ridge since before it was Burr Ridge. We moved here in 1950. There was a lot of open land then. Burr Ridge was unincorporated. There were no streets.

Q: Where did you grow up?

In Chicago, on the South Side.

Q: Family?

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A: Married, with two kids

Q: What did you want to be growing up?

A: I didn't even think about. In our neighborhood, when you were old enough you went to work at Western Electric.

Q: Who would play you in a movie about your life?

A: I've never given that any thought.

Q: Favorite charity?

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A: I do a lot on behalf of veterans.

Q: Thing on your bucket list?

A: Stay healthy. Keep moving and keep exercising.

Q: What hobbies do you have?

A: Gardening and dancing.

Q: What's your favorite local restaurant?

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A: Cooper's Hawk. I love their steaks and we are in the Wine Club.

Q: How about a favorite store?

A: Menards. They have everything.

Q: What's a fact people don't know about you?

A: I've gotten sentimental. As for other facts, people pretty much know all that I do.

Q: What words of wisdom do you have?

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A: Be kind to people.

Shout Out is a weekly feature in which we get to know and introduce our readers to their fellow community members and local visitors throughout suburban Chicago. Check out more online at ChicagoTribune.com/ShoutOut.

Kevin Beese is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Two days after she was sexually assaulted in 1999, a Lisle woman twice picked her alleged attacker's photo from books of mug shots, but it would take 15 years for the suspect to be arrested and charged.

The 63-year-old victim twice identified Roberto Noyola as her attacker from previous booking photos, a retired police detective testified Tuesday as Noyola's trial on sexual assault charges began in DuPage County court.

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Noyola, 41, is accused of breaking into the woman's Fender Road apartment Feb. 7, 1999, and assaulting her. Authorities say he then left the area and spent the next years in Mexico and Texas.

His DNA was entered into the national database following an arrest in Texas. That returned a match from unidentified DNA in the Lisle assault, officials said.

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Daniel Fitzgerald, a now-retired Lisle detective, said police brought the woman to the station two days after the attack and asked her to review booking photos. After leafing through binders for about 20 minutes, the woman looked at a photo and her features contorted into a terrified expression, Fitzgerald said.

A short time later, as she continued to look through the photos, she again identified a man as her alleged attacker. Both photos the victim picked out were of Noyola, taken after previous arrests in 1997, Fitzgerald testified.

After the DNA hit, Lisle police went to Texas and brought Noyola back to Illinois. He was charged in 2014. His alleged victim was still alive at the time, but she died a few months later.

Authorities say Noyola later confessed to the attack.

Noyola, whose last name in earlier court documents was given as Noyola-Espinal, is acting as his own attorney in the bench trial before Judge Robert Miller. He chose to not make an opening statement or question the initial witnesses in the trial, which is expected to conclude Friday.
A Homer Glen man faces a charge of aggravated animal cruelty for attempting to kill his 10-year-old German Shepherd with an ax after the dog bit his son, authorities said.

Charles Kazukauskas was arrested Friday for the May 22 incident and posted $7,500 bail.

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The man allegedly took the dog to his garage after it bit his 6-year-old son, according to authorities. The man then attempted to kill the dog with an ax but realized he was unable to do so and left the injured dog in the garage for more than eight hours until he took it to a veterinarian the next morning asking to have it euthanized, Will County sheriff's office spokeswoman Kathy Hoffmeyer said.

The veterinarian contacted police, who spoke with Kazukauskas. He told investigators the dog, named Sherman, bit his 6-year-old son in the face sometime between midnight and 2 a.m., Hoffmeyer said. The 6-year-old was taken to Silver Cross Hospital and was treated for his injuries.

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Kazukauskas told deputies his dog normally sleeps downstairs but must have jumped the gate and came up into his bedroom. He and his wife were sleeping when their son came into the room. They were awakened by his son screaming and the dog growling, Hoffmeyer said. The boy was bleeding from the forehead from the bite.

Investigators learned Kazukauskas allegedly struck the dog with an ax three times. The dog suffered a large head wound and a large, deep laceration to the side, Hoffmeyer said.

Kazukauskas, who said the dog bit another one of his children 11/2 years ago, told deputies he went online to search for a 24-hour veterinary clinic but couldn't find one, so he waited until one opened later in the morning, Hoffmeyer said.

Deputies learned the dog suffered a large head wound and a large, deep laceration to the side, Hoffmeyer said.

Kazukauskas is scheduled to appear before a Will County judge on June 12.

Hoffmeyer said the Department of Children and Family Services also was contacted in connection with the incident.

Alicia Fabbre is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
Kathy Griffin holding the decapitated head of the president pretty much sums up a what it means to be a liberal. Just be full of hate and promote blatant violence and death for those you disagree with you.

Bridgeview

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It's so amazing listening to Democrat J.B. Prizker on television blaming Gov. Bruce Rauner for budget crisis in Illinois. How much more blind you can be? Illinois has been run by liberal progressive Democrats since Mike Madigan has been in office. That's been back on 1980's. Liberal progressive Democrats have put Illinois into bankruptcy. Democrats keep on raising our taxes. How can they be for the people?

God forbid an attack occurs on U.S. soil how many would be lining up to blame President Donald Trump for not doing anything to stop it.

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J.K.

More and more talk about privatizing our infrastructure makes me nervous. Look at what we are paying in Chicago for parking and the cost increase for the Indiana Toll Road too much of a chance for the middle class to be putting more money in the pockets of the 1%. Either they will raise prices or cry bankruptcy, walk away and leave us with a mess. I don't want some private company owning our streets, our water, our airways or anything else that currently belongs to the public. It could be the end of freedom as we know it.

Chicago

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Students at Kipling Elementary School in Deerfield recently jumped rope and raised money in the process.

Similar activities went on at Wilmot and Walden elementary schools earlier in the year.

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All three District 109 schools participated in the American Heart Association's Jump Rope for Heart program with Kipling raising $36,245 in less than four weeks. The effort, which ended June 2, raised money and awareness for heart health.

Kipling's effort placed it fifth among Illinois' participating schools, according to physical education teacher Brad Greenberg.

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Wilmot raised $26,992,49 in January and Walden collected $7,000 in March, according to school officials. Those totals gave District 109 schools a collective haul of $70,237.40.

Jump Rope for Heart is designed to empower students to improve their own hearts and help others with heart health issues, according to a statement from the American Heart Association. Along with heart healthy habits, they learn the value of community service.

Students at Kipling look at the program as a lifesaver rather than a fundraiser. That is how Ryan Geake, a Kipling fifth grader expressed his concept of the program.

"It's fun jumping rope and we're saving lives at the same time," Geake said.

"It's exciting to help others and we're saving lives," Jemima Anderson added.

Greenberg said when the students learned from a representative of the American Heart Association every $50 raised saves a life their perspective changed. From that time on, he said they were thinking in terms of lives.

"They stopped looking at it as a way to raise money but how many lives they were saving," Greenberg said. "Learning that number really got them going."

Sam Tallidis, a physical education teacher at Wilmont, said in an email the ability to equate money raised with lives saved made an impression on students there as well.

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"My students were really impacted when they were able to equate their donations with actual human lives being saved," Tallidis said in the email.

Kipling students organized a bake sale while others communicated with friends and family through email and social media. Owen Collins, a Kipling third grader, raised $1,425.

"I'm happy and cheerful I helped save lives," Collins said. "I emailed my dad's company and they sent $1,000. I emailed people in my (extended) family and they sent $5, $10 or $25. I got the idea to send an email because I only see everyone once in a while and there were no holidays coming up."

Though Collins used modern technology to communicate his efforts, he said when he was done, he sent donors handwritten notes letting them know how their money was helping people.

Maya Silverman, another Kipling fifth grade student, said she and other classmates organized a bake sale to raise money. She said they collected $330.87.

"We were looking for ways to raise money," Silverman said. "We baked different sweets and put them on trays."

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Greenberg said he likes the program because of the way it mixes heart healthy physical fitness with community service. He said the program also awards prizes depending on individual effort.

"It gets the heart going and it's a lifelong activity," Greenberg said. "We were looking for a project and this was a really good way. It gets them active in the community through something happening in PE class."

At Wilmot, Tallidis said last year's effort of $24,692 placed the school 64th nationally out of more than 24,000 schools. This year's national standing for any of the schools is not yet known. He got the idea because he was a participant in his elementary school days with a teacher who made an impact on him.

"My physical education teacher made a huge deal to us on how important it was to be a heart hero and raise money for people with sick hearts," Tallidis said in the email. "I love being able to provide that same motivation for all my students at Wilmot and to be able to get involved with the local community to make such a positive difference in people's lives."

Steve Sadin is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Elgin Mayor Dave Kaptain is one of more than 210 U.S. mayors who have signed a letter stating that they will uphold the terms of the Paris climate accords. (Mike Danahey/Courier-News )

Elgin Mayor Dave Kaptain is one of more than 210 mayors in the United States who have signed a letter stating that they will uphold the terms of the Paris climate accords, a pact meant to curb human impact on climate change.

"I was one of the first 11 mayors to sign the letter," Kaptain said. "All it is is my statement. It doesn't commit the city to anything, but commits me. There is no obligation on the part of the city."

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Last week, President Donald Trump left the Paris climate accords, meaning the United States joined Syria and Nicaragua as the only nations in the world not to sign the pact. Nicaraguan leaders have said they did not sign the agreement because it isn't tough enough, while Syria is in the midst of a protracted civil war.

President Barack Obama took executive action in September 2016 to enter the U.S. into the agreement. As such, Trump can void the agreement without going before Congress. Under the terms of the agreement, opting out will not take effect for almost four years, until after the next presidential election.

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Trump said he pulled out of the voluntary agreement to save American jobs from being shipped overseas. Trump also said the pact puts the United States at the mercy of foreign powers.

In his speech last Thursday, Trump said he was leaving the pact to help the people of Pittsburgh, not Paris.

Pittsburgh's mayor, Bill Peduto, also is among those who have signed the letter, along with the mayors of Boston, New York, Los Angeles and Houston. In Illinois, in addition to Kaptain, the mayors of Chicago, Evanston, Highland Park and Savanna have signed the letter.

The climate agreement would "undermine our economy, hamstring our workers, weaken our sovereignty ... and put us at a permanent disadvantage to the other countries of the world," Trump said. "It is time to exit the Paris accord."

"President Trump said he wanted to create jobs in the coal industry," Kaptain said. "We don't have any coal or oil jobs in Elgin, but for gas stations. We do have companies involved with wind and solar energy, though."

Kaptain said moves such as Trump's pulling out of the accord, along with the Trump administration's tariff on Canadian lumber and possible tariff on imported aluminum, could end up hurting, not helping, the economy.

"Part of my job is protecting local businesses," Kaptain said. "Elgin has been among the leaders in the Chicago area in new home construction, and the lumber tariff can stall that building."

The letter Kaptain signed states those involved will intensify their efforts to meet each cities' current climate goals, work together to create a clean-energy economy and "build and strengthen relationships around the world to protect the planet from devastating climate risks."

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Those signing the letter are part of the Mayors National Climate Action Agenda, which states it is "a network of 223 U.S. mayors, representing over 57 million Americans in red states and blue states , working together to strengthen local efforts for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and supporting efforts for binding federal and global-level policy making."

Kaptain said he became a member of the group about 5 years ago.

"Elgin has a sustainability commission and a sustainability plan, so joining seemed to go hand in hand with that," Kaptain said.

Green moves such as switching to LED lighting not only are good for the environment, but are good for the bottom line, saving Elgin money, Kaptain said.

City Communications Specialist Molly Center also serves as the manager's office liaison to Elgin's Sustainability Commission. She noted that in 2012 the City Council approved a resolution voicing concern for addressing climate change.

Two years ago, Elgin passed an ordinance making it easier for homeowners and businesses to have solar and wind energy, Center said. The city also is part of the Fox Valley Sustainability Network, which takes a regional approach to environmental issues, she said.

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Chicago Tribune contributed

mdanahey@tribpub.com
Sleepy Hollow trustee Tom Merkel (left) called for the resignation of Village President Stephan Pickett and Village Attorney Mark Schuster Monday. At right is Village Clerk Norine Olson. (Erin Sauder/The Courier-News )

A Sleepy Hollow trustee called for the resignation of Village President Stephan Pickett and Village Attorney Mark Schuster Monday in connection with a battle over executive session minutes related to discussion over a cell tower.

Tom Merkel, a former trustee who was elected back to the board in April, asked that executive sessions in March and September 2016 be investigated on the basis of what was discussed in connection with a 125-foot cell tower on village-owned property and who attended.

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"As you may know, I am not in favor of the cell tower," Merkel said at Monday's meeting. "I think it is the biggest mistake our village has ever made. It is not consistent with the rural nature of our village. It will forever scar the beauty of our quaint village. The money it will generate does not justify its construction."

On March 24, Merkel, who was not yet a trustee, said he filed a Freedom of Information Act request asking for all records related to the cell tower. He received a response from the village April 7 tendering 2,298 pages of public records. He said 681 other pages were withheld.

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When Merkel was sworn in May 9, he asked to review the withheld records as well as listen to the executive session tapes and see copies of cell tower records.

He said his request was denied, and he called for the resignations because of that denial.

Neither Pickett nor Schuster responded to Merkel's statements during the meeting.

After Monday's meeting, Pickett declined comment.

Schuster said he would respond "if the board asks me to. No one asked me to," he said.

Erin Sauder is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
Evanston will honor the terms of the Paris climate agreement, the mayor has said, after the United States exited the landmark accord drawn up to combat global warming.

"There's no finish line when it comes to protecting the environment. As mayor, I'm committed to continuous action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in our city, encourage energy efficiency, and work toward a sustainable future for all," Mayor Steve Hagerty said in a statement released Friday.

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Hagerty said he has received many comments from residents on the issue after President Donald Trump on Thursday pulled out of the global pact.

"This particular issue is resonating," Hagerty said.

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The Paris climate accord was signed by former President Barack Obama in 2015, along with other nations except Syria and Nicaragua.

Trump said the agreement gave the U.S. a "permanent disadvantage" and would essentially put the country's natural resources "under lock and key" as reasons for his decision to pull out.

As part of the pact, the United States had pledged to reduce greenhouse gases by 26 to 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025. Hagerty said Evanston would join with a consortium of other cities to abide by those terms, even if the nation is not officially participating.

In his written statement, Hagerty cited Evanston's history of environmental stewardship, along with community outcry, as reasons to continue with the terms outlined by the Paris agreement.

Since 2006, when Evanston City Council voted to join the Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, the city has put two climate action plans in place. Evanston has been named a U.S. Earth Hour City Capital and received a 4-star rating as a sustainable city, among other recognitions, Hagerty wrote.

In 2013, Evanston met the commitment it made in the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Agreement of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 13 percent "relative to 2005 baseline levels," according to the statement.

The 2014 Evanston Livability Plan details efforts to reduce Evanston's greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent under 2005 levels by 2016, and is now evaluating the success of those efforts, according to the statement.

Evanston also is part of the global Compact of Mayors, a group of "648 city leaders representing 486 million people worldwide dedicated to reducing greenhouse gas emissions," the mayor said in the statement.

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Finally, Hagerty said he is a member of the Mayors National Climate Action Agenda, a group of 92 U.S. mayors working to reduce greenhouse gases. Hagerty joined with those mayors to "uphold the commitments included in the Paris Agreement," he wrote.

gbookwalter@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @GenevieveBook

gbookwalter@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @GenevieveBook
The person driving a party bus early Saturday morning when a 27-year-old man fell out of the vehicle and died did not have the proper license to be transporting passengers, according to Illinois State Police.

Libertyville resident James Larsen fell out of the door of the party bus as it traveled north on I-294 at Lake Cook Road near Deerfield early Saturday morning. After he fell out, Larsen was hit by a black SUV traveling on the right side of the bus that did not stop after the collision, police said.

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He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.

The driver of the bus, Basem Askar, 49, of Chicago, was cited for not carrying a valid medical card and for not having a passenger endorsement on his commercial driver's license, Illinois State Police Master Sgt. Jason Bradley said.

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Askar could not be reached for comment.

Commercial drivers are required to carry medical cards indicating they've seen a physician within the past year to certify they're healthy enough to operate a commercial vehicle, Bradley said. A passenger endorsement is needed for commercial drivers to legally transport people, he said.

Larsen was trying to turn up the volume on the bus radio when he stumbled and fell onto the bus's glass door, according to initial reports. The weight was enough force to open the door, with Larsen falling onto the roadway below, police said.

The party bus involved in the accident is owned by Select Limousine Service, Inc., police said. The company is owned by Chicago resident Gabriel Tataru, according to Illinois Secretary of State records.

An attorney for Tataru, Zuhair Nubani, said the 2012 Freightliner limo was last inspected "a few weeks ago."

"It did pass inspection by a government agency," Nubani said Tuesday. He said he did not know what agency inspected the bus.

When asked how someone could have fallen out of the bus, Nubani said he didn't believe the company was at fault in the tragedy.

"How the freak accident happened, I don't know," he said.

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Nubani said he didn't know of any rules the company gives to bus passengers, but he said riders should know it's safer to remain seated.

Nubani said he wasn't aware of the citations issued to the driver. He also did not know whether the driver was an employee of Tataru's company.

There are no safety belt requirements for passengers traveling in the back of a limousine or party bus, police said.

Dave Druker, a spokesman for the Illinois Secretary of State's Office, said Select Limousine Service is listed as "not in good standing" with the state agency. He said the reason for the classification is that the business did not file an annual report with the office.

The state's Department of Revenue placed a hold on the filing, which prevents the business from submitting their report to the office, Druker said.

If the business does not file their annual report by Aug. 1, "their company would be dissolved by the secretary of state so they would not be able to do business in Illinois," Druker said.

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Nubani said he wasn't aware the company was listed as not in good standing with the state.

Bradley said the accident is still under investigation and investigators are working to determine whether there was anything functionally wrong with the bus.

He said police are still searching for the SUV involved in the crash and investigators hope a bumper recovered at the scene of the accident will lead them to the vehicle and the driver.

Kimberly Larsen, James Larsen's mother, said her son went out to a birthday celebration with a friend he met while working at Uline, a shipping supplies and packing company.

Larsen said her son left his car at Gurnee Mills in order to be able to have a few drinks with friends yet still travel safely.

"I don't know how a door on a bus opens when you're in transit, that's not right. It shouldn't happen that way," she said.

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Lee V. Gaines is a freelance reporter. Chicago Tribune reporter Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas contributed.
A man accused of sexually attacking a Naperville hotel housekeeper has been charged with felony criminal sexual abuse, authorities said.

Nien Siu, 26, of Indianapolis, was staying at Extended Stay America, 1827 Centre Point Drive, according to a news release from DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin and Naperville Police Chief Robert Marshall.

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The maid entered Siu's vacant room to clean about 2:30 p.m. Sunday when Siu "returned to the room, locked the door behind him and sexually abused the woman," the release said. The housekeeper fled and reported the alleged attack to her superiors, who contacted police.

Police officers found Siu in the hotel room Monday and took him into custody, the release said. In addition to criminal sexual abuse, he was also charged with misdemeanor battery.

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Berlin called the alleged assault "very disturbing. The victim in this case is a woman just trying to make an honest living and should not have to worry about being sexually abused while at work."

An examination of online records indicated Siu has no criminal record.

Officials at Extended Stay America's corporate headquarters in Charlotte, N.C., did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Siu is being held in the DuPage County jail in lieu of $300,000 bail. His next court appearance is scheduled for June 26.

wbird@tribpub.com
About 42 percent of the $99.5 million Niles budget that trustees recently approved is marked for village employees' salaries and benefits, with the town's deficit and sales tax revenue are down for fiscal year 2018, according to village documents.

The village board passed the spending plan at its May 23 meeting with no comment from officials.

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The village's fiscal year runs May 1 to April 30, according to village documents.

The budget document also shows that "services and charges," like fees, contracts and debt expenses, make up about 22 percent of the budget.

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Goals for FY18 include analyzing operations to look for cost savings, developing intergovernmental relationships with other towns to save tax dollars where possible, continuing to fund pensions and capital improvements, maintaining reserves to stave off funding threats from the state's budget impasse and looking for ways to diversify the village's revenue stream, according to the budget document.

Key purchases planned for the upcoming year include restoration of the village's Leaning Tower structure and pursuing a spot for the tower on the national registry, adopting an arts and culture master plan and adding new bike route markings, among other projects, according to village documents.

Budget details include a significant drop in the deficit, from over $2 million in fiscal year 2017 to $535,161 for FY18, according to village budget documents.

Meanwhile, sales tax revenue, Niles' largest revenue source which makes up 56 percent of the villages' general fund, or $26.6 million, is expected to be up by $553,318 from last year, the documents indicate.

The general fund is Niles' main operating fund from which expenses like employee salaries and benefits, capital improvements, new equipment and contracted expenses  like legal or consulting fees, are paid.

Property taxes make up the second largest revenue source in the general fund, or 7 percent. The 2018 budget sees a projected revenue jump following a 3.9 percent tax increase approved by the Village Board for 2016, which will show up for the first time in this year's village revenue, according to budget documents.

Property taxes pay for about 50 percent of the village's pension contributions, among other allocations, records show.

gbookwalter@chicagotribune.com

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Twitter @GenevieveBook

gbookwalter@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @GenevieveBook
Niles trustees authorized the village to pay out just under $100,000 in a workers' compensation settlement with a former employee, village records show.

The case still has to go before the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission before the settlement becomes final, officials said.

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According to information listed on the commission's website, former village employee Christopher J. Colletti and the village reached a settlement over an accident that occurred Feb. 5, 2014.

The website indicates that Colletti's injuries were to his neck and "upper extremities," without providing further details about the incident.

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The case was filed June 3, 2014, according to the the commission's website.

Following Village Board approval at the April 25 meeting, the village will pay Colletti just over $99,228.

Daniel Egan, a lawyer for the village who handles workers' compensation cases, said he expects the settlement to be approved. That's usually the case once a settlement like this reaches the commission, he said, "but not always."

"They'll likely approve it, but they may have some questions or some issues," he said.

Egan said Colletti was a long-time public service employee for Niles who was involved in an accident with a car while he was driving a truck.

Since the commission has not yet signed off on the settlement and because there is other litigation still pending, Egan said, he declined to offer more details about the case.

Colletti could not be reached for comment.

According to Egan, the separate litigation involves a claim that the driver of the car who hit Colletti was underinsured.

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The workers' compensation settlement documents were to be submitted to the state commission by Colletti, but there will be no hearing on a case such as this, Egan said.

Generally speaking, he said, the commission decides on these settlements during its off days when cases are not being heard.

This settlement is scheduled to be reviewed by the commission June 21, according to the commission website.

misaacs@pioneerlocal.com

Twitter: SKReview_Mike
St. Norbert Catholic Church's narthex is set for a remodeling in a future phase of a project at the Northbrook church. Shown here is a rendering. (Domenella Architects )

St. Norbert Catholic Church is planning to embark on a small building project later this year to add restrooms, an elevator and other amenities to bring the Northbrook church into compliance with federal accessibility regulations.

The project needs approvals from the Northbrook Village Board, but those are likely to be granted, the board's building and zoning committee chairman said during a recent public review of the preliminary plans.

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"They want to do this just so people with handicaps can go to church. Is that right?" Trustee James Karagianis asked on May 23. "I don't see any problem with it."

The project is happening now because of funds raised during the four-year-old Archdiocese of Chicago's $350 million "To Teach Who Christ Is" campaign, in which parishioners in Northbrook and elsewhere raised money for local needs and the archdiocese, according to Moira Cary, director of finance and operations for St. Norbert.

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Those funds also have covered, she said, new air-conditioning chillers for the church at 1809 Walters Ave. In the future, they'll cover replacement of the steps up to the church, and remodeling of the narthex and the baptismal font area, she said.

As the project heads to the Northbrook Plan Commission for public hearings, Karagianis and other trustees only saw one possible issue. The addition needs a zoning code variation so that it can protrude to within three feet five inches of the Spruce Street-side property line, instead of the required 40 feet in its Institutional Building district.

But officials said the building predates the code and currently extends to about 11 and a half feet from the property line.

A public hearing has not yet been scheduled.

ileavitt@pioneerlocal.com

Twitter @IrvLeavitt
Muhammad Zeeshan told a Northbrook committee that if he cuts off one of the main limbs of a protected American linden tree in his backyard, the tree will die. (Irv Leavitt / Pioneer Press )

A Northbrook committee recently recommended that one man be allowed to cut down five protected "landmark trees" to build a house and a swimming pool, while recommending denying another man permission to remove a protected tree he said provides shade for mosquitoes to breed.

The first man, Ross Freeman, will have to pay more than $12,000 to solve his construction-space problems and build his pool, and Muhammad A. Zeeshan, the second man, has been promised $3,500 from the village to help him drain his yard and cut down the mosquito population. Village officials also said Zeeshan has already cut down 17 of the 18 trees in his backyard.

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The tree recommendations came in a Northbrook Village Board Public Works Committee session scheduled to handle the two tree protection and preservation ordinance appeals.

Zeeshan, of the 2000 block of Illinois Road, had asked in 2015, and again a few months ago, to cut down a 20-inch-thick American linden tree that stands in the center of his backyard. He was rejected two years ago, and advised to trim, but not cut down, the tree, estimated to be nearly 100 years old. Otherwise, he would have to pay $3,000 $150 per inch  to take it down. He wanted to cut it down and have the fee waived.

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"I cannot allow my child to play in the backyard because of the mosquitoes," Zeeshan told committee members at a recent session. He said he wants to cut down the tree for more sunlight, and to regrade the whole yard for drainage.

"I'm willing to do whatever can be done, but the tree company says that trimming the tree will basically kill the tree," he said.

Village arborist Mark Cacioppo agreed that cutting off one or two of the tree's three big limbs would be likely to kill it, but said that smaller branches could be trimmed to get more light into the yard. Neighbors' trees could be cut back, too, officials said.

Other Northbrook staff members offered to include Zeeshan's house on the 50-50 drainage program, with the village paying $3,500 to help build a trench drain that would allow water from his yard to drain into village property beyond his back fence.

Zeeshan said that his backyard flooding problems had been caused by the village giving permits to two adjoining homes, in 1952 and 1967, long before he moved in, to build garages and raise the grade of their properties.

In Freeman's case, before he walked into the committee meeting, he had already been allowed to remove a 28-inch bur oak suspected to be more than 100 years old, because it was within the almost 23,000 square-foot legal "build-able area" of his 30,000 square foot lot on the 3800 block of Sunset Lane. Another four bur oaks that are 9, 20, 20 and 21 inches thick that are in side yards will also be allowed to come down, plus a 12-inch swamp white oak.

Freedman's landscape designer, arborist and contractor said that they'd done all they could to plan the construction to get around those trees, and other trees that are expected to survive.

"We're doing our best to keep as many trees as possible," Freeman said.

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"Most of the people who put in swimming pools clear-cut the trees," Trustee Bob Israel, committee chairman, said later. "If you want a pool like that, you want to work on your tan."

But several big trees will be left in the backyard, he said.

"They did a very nice job of working the pool into the back yard without cutting down trees," Israel said. "(Zeeshan) had come in about a year and a half ago, and requested basically to clear-cut his backyard, and we allowed him to cut down the majority of the trees in the back. He cut down 17 of the 18 trees in the backyard.

"We suggested ways to make his backyard wonderful, but he insisted that the only way to make the backyard wonderful is to cut down the (linden) tree."

Zeeshan had said that he needed to take down the linden to regrade the backyard for drainage. After that, he would plant trees in two rows along the back fence of his property to make up for all the removed trees  three for those cut previously, and seven for the linden. The new trees would, however, interfere in letting the water drain out of the yard, officials said.

Committee members recommended that he be allowed, at least temporarily, to waive planting the three trees, if he does the drainage work without cutting down the linden, which Cacioppo said is unnecessary. And if he has the linden trimmed, and the problems still persist, he can return for another appeal, Israel said.

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The agreement is scheduled for a June 27 vote by the full Northbrook Village Board.

ileavitt@pioneerlocal.com

Twitter @IrvLeavitt
Altiro Latin Fusion will fill the former Eriks Deli space at 107 N. Oak Park Ave., seen June 5. Owner and Executive Chef Roberto Avila, who has two other Altiro locations in the Chicago area, said he hopes to open in July. (Caitlin Mullen / Pioneer Press )

The owner of a Latin fusion restaurant set to fill the former Erik's Deli space on Oak Park Avenue hopes to open for business this summer.

Altiro Latin Fusion, which will open at 107 N. Oak Park Ave., will offer lunch, dinner and brunch on weekends, using locally sourced meats and produce, said owner and executive chef Roberto Avila.

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"If everything is good, we'll open the first or second week of July," Avila said.

The owner of Erik's Deli, which has closed, could not be reached for comment regarding the eatery's future.

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It's the third Altiro location for Avila, and his fourth restaurant: Avila, who hails from Mexico City, opened Altiro in Geneva in 2013; a second location in Roscoe Village in Chicago followed in 2015. Avila's Mexican restaurant, Al Chulo, opened last year in West Chicago.

Avila connected with Erik's Deli owner Ajay Bhatia after Bhatia dined at Altiro's Geneva location; Avila said he enjoyed the concept. Avila said he's partnering with Bhatia in opening the Oak Park location; attempts to reach Bhatia were unsuccessful.

Avila said Altiro's menu has a Mexican basis with Italian, Spanish and Latin American influences. Dishes like ravioli with serrano pesto, and alfredo sauce made with chile de arbol peppers blend various ethnic cuisines. Avila said he puts his own twist on menu items like guacamoles and ceviches.

"We have different items within all the spaces," Avila said. "We're working with a lot of passion and love."

A bar is being built within the 2,600-square-foot space in the spot where the salad bar once was, and Avila's wife, Erika, is outfitting the restaurant with modern yet rustic decor. Altiro is known for its fresh fruit cocktails, and will serve beer and wine along with tequila, mezcal and other liquors, Avila said.

Menu pricing is still being determined, he said, but will be competitive with other restaurants in the area.

Opening another location in Oak Park appealed to Avila due to the village's proximity to public transportation and the activity within the Hemingway District.

"I like the competition. I don't want it to be just me," Avila said.

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Viktor Schrader, economic development manager for the Oak Park Economic Development Corporation, said he's heard good things about Altiro's other locations and thinks the restaurant's offerings, with its focus on Latin food and seafood, will be unique.

"It seems really interesting," Schrader said. "I think we're maintaining a nice diversity in what we're offering."

Altiro Latin Fusion, 107 N. Oak Park Ave. in Oak Park, will be open from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 4-10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 4-11 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. and 4-11 p.m. Saturday, and 9 a.m.-2 p.m. and 4-9 p.m. Sunday. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/altirolatinfusion.

Caitlin Mullen is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
One year ago, Pat Clifford began hosting a weekly comedy show at Hamburger Mary's in Oak Park, each Thursday at 8 p.m.

On June 1, Clifford joined fellow comics and community supporters in celebrating the Oak Park Comedy Club's first anniversary.

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Special guests included Vik Pandya, who opened for Michelle Wolf of "The Daily Show," and headliner Joel Boyd.

Maddie Makely attends school in Ohio after graduating from Oak Park and River Forest High School. Makely said she enjoys the energy at Hamburger Mary's and has attended four or five comedy shows when she's home from school.

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"There's always a great crowd.  It's been a pretty packed house every single time," Makely said.

Each show includes standup comedy, sketches and improvisation, and Makely said she has a favorite.

"The improv skits always capture my attention," Makely said, adding, "there are so many different acts and so many different skits that there's something in there for everyone."

Rachel Fisher works as a server at Hamburger Mary's. She said that the crowds have grown for the weekly comedy show. Many audience members order dinner before or during the show.

"At first, it took time for the word to get out. The past few months, it's been more full tables than empty," Fisher said.

Fisher said she noticed many people return for another comedy show.

"There are a lot of regulars. The comics keep bringing enough fresh acts," Fisher said.

And some decide to come back to Hamburger Mary's for another weekly event, such as charity Bingo on Tuesdays.

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"It's definitely good for business; not just [on] Thursdays," Fisher said.

Clifford recalls the crowds starting to grow in December 2016, saying how the show exceeded even his own expectations.

"We thought it'd be maybe a two-month thing.  We eventually got to December about six months in and started packing the house," Clifford said.

Clifford's father, who is also named Pat Clifford, said that each comedian continues to improve their skills.

Like his son, Clifford said that there were many unknowns when the Oak Park Comedy Club began in 2016, adding, "I didn't know where it would go. It was just a group of Pat's friends and acquaintances from Second City."

He said that his son's comedy reaches a wide section of the local community. He said he has attended many of the performances, and is proud of all his son has accomplished.

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Pandya said that the support of the crowd also helps him as he tries out new material. At Hamburger Mary's, "everyone remembered who I was.  It's good to have that feedback as a comic," Pandya said.

As the crowds and the laughs continue to grow, so do the goals.

"I want people to know that this is the only show in Oak Park with the spectacular amount of talent we bring in every week," Clifford said of his show.

"Our goal is to become a staple in Oak Park, where people  go to see comedy-club level [talent] in a unique space," Pandya said.

Clifford says that visitors to one of his shows can find the same level of talent in Oak Park as in the city of Chicago.

"You get city talent in a suburban location," Clifford said.

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Rachel K. Hindery is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Students and staff at Maine Township District 207 will be moving to a hybrid block schedule in the 2018-19 school year following a decision by the district's board of education Monday night.

The decision was made after representatives from the district's teachers union, the Maine Teachers Association, and about a half-dozen teachers, as well as current students and recent graduates of District 207 schools, spoke out against the proposed schedule change. All board members present voted in favor of the change. Board member Jin Lee was absent from the meeting.

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Under the new schedule, students will follow an eight-period day, three days per week. On Mondays and Fridays, each class will last 50 minutes, with classes on Thursdays clocking in at 44 minutes. On Wednesdays and Tuesdays, students will have only four class periods, in addition to "individual enrichment," and each class will last 90 minutes.

Per the new schedule format, each class will meet four days a week instead of five. School will also begin slightly later  at 8 a.m. instead of 7:45 a.m.  every day with the exception of Thursdays, when school will start at 8:45 a.m.

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Students at Maine South, Maine West and Maine East currently follow a nine-period schedule that begins with a morning "flap" class at 7:25 a.m. Flap classes are eliminated in the new schedule format, but students can take advantage of additional support time before and after school, according to the district.

During the public comment portion of Monday's meeting at the Maine South library, the co-vice president of the MTA, Julia Heyden, told the board that classes that are currently a period and a half long, which includes all science courses, will see a reduction in class time. Additionally, she said, absences will be more stressful for students under the new schedule, especially if they miss school on a Tuesday or Wednesday.

Heyden said the MTA opposed the schedule change "due to the lack of clear information on how the schedule will be implemented, what individual enrichment time will look like for students, how the enrichment will be managed and what the impact of several different schedules in one week will have on our students."

District 207 Superintendent Ken Wallace said the schedule change will allow the district to better serve students to improve post-high school outcomes. He said the new schedule allows for more time to aid students in identifying potential career paths and lay the groundwork for college and career plans.

Additionally, he said, the schedule will also reduce the number of days substitutes are needed by including more time for professional development during the school day.

He said the new schedule will save the district money that otherwise would be spent on substitutes "and (teachers) will have one of the most innovative adult learning programs in America and this schedule will facilitate that in a way the current nine-period day doesn't."

"There's a big cost savings to the district with going with this," said board member Linda Coyle.

Coyle, who said she was undecided up until the vote, also pointed to the later school start time as a benefit.

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The students who spoke out against the schedule change said they did so because they were concerned about the loss of electives.

Grace Murphy, who graduated from Maine South last year, said participating in drama courses helped her immensely during her high school career.

"Drama allowed me to breathe during the day," she said. "It was the one class where I didn't have to worry about tests, quizzes or AP scores."

"It pains me if this schedule is passed that so many students won't have the opportunity I did to take elective courses," she said.

Wallace, however, said the the new schedule format will allow more students to take elective classes. When student schedule requests were entered into the new hybrid system, 700 students who could not take electives within the nine-period schedule were able to do so under the new schedule, he said.

Board President Carla Owen said she appreciated the response from teachers, parents and students with regard to the schedule change. She also said that delaying the decision on the change, which the board was originally slated to vote on last year, "provided a good opportunity for more information to come out."

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She said she's convinced the schedule change will benefit students.

MTA Co-Vice President Jen Sarashinsky told the board prior to the vote on the change that the district's teachers would respect whatever decision was made.

She said they ask only that the district "respect us in our request to be a part of the implementation process."

Lee V. Gaines is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Lake County Sheriff's Department officers managed to safely disarm a suspect without any shots fired after a car chase turned into a foot chase on Friday in Gary, according to a release.

An officer was "conducting routine patrol" in the area of Ridge Road and Clark road at 12:46 p.m. on Friday when he saw a gray Toyota Camry driving west at 55 mph in a 30 mph zone, according to Mark Back, sheriff's department spokesman, in the release.

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When the officer stopped the driver in the 3600 block of Clark Road, the driver initially gave a fake name, but he was identified through records as Kevin Ursery, 21, of Gary, Back said. There was also a 17-year-old juvenile passenger in the Camry, according to the release.

Ursery fled the scene north on Clark Road, turning east on 19th Avenue, and officers initiated a pursuit, according to Back. The Camry "veered off the roadway multiple times," going through laws and a ditch, the release states.

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Ursey slowed down on Hendricks Street, and officers saw a clear plastic bag, which was later found to contain marijuana, thrown from the car, according to Back. Ursery then got out of the car, which was still in motion, along the 1700 block of Hendrick Street and fled on foot as the Camry crashed into a parked car, Back said. The juvenile was taken into custody without incident, the release states.

Officers ordered Ursery to stop several times as they chased him on foot along Jennings Street, and when Ursery refused, they warned he would be tased, the release states. An officer used his department-issued Taser, "which caused Ursery to briefly stop running," according to the release.

"At this time, officers observed Ursery reach into his waist line, remove a handgun, and begin to turn in the direction of the pursuing officers," according to Back. "Officers were able to gain control of Ursery's arms and Ursery threw the handgun away from his body. No shots were fired."

The officers placed Ursery under arrest and collected the 9 mm Glock Model 19, the release states. Ursery was booked in the Lake County Jail, and the juvenile was released to an adult relative, according to Back.

Officers found $1,145 on Ursery, along with 10 Xanax pills and about 16 gross grams of marijuana on Ursery and in the car, the release states.

Ursery faces multiple charges from the incident, including carrying a handgun without a license, two counts of resisting law enforcement, possession of a controlled substance, dealing in marijuana, posession of marijuana, reckless driving, leaving the scene of an accident, and false informing, according to Lake County court records. Ursery's first court hearing had not been scheduled as of Monday afternoon, records show.

Police departments across Northwest Indiana have policies in place to dictate the circumstances where officers should pursue suspects, and the Post-Tribune reviewed those documents to see how a department trains its officers to know when to chase a suspect.

Lake County Sheriff's Department's policy states that "officers will be allowed to initiate a pursuit only when the law violator clearly exhibits an intention to avoid arrest by using a vehicle to flee," but that "the immediate apprehension of the violator is never more important than the safety of the innocent motorist or the police officer."

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The department's officers may start a pursuit for a "serious felony" in which "the officer has reasonable grounds to believe that such actions could result or have resulted in death or serious bodily injury," according to the policy.

Porter County Sheriff David Reynolds said that pursuing a suspect in a chase is one of the toughest decisions an officer and a police supervisor can make.

An officer has to consider traffic, pedestrians, squad car condition, seriousness of the alleged crime and time of day, among other factors, a review of the police department policies found.

"Officers must continually question whether the seriousness of the crime justifies continuing the pursuit," according to Lake County Sheriff's policy.

rejacobs@post-trib.com

Twitter @ruthyjacobs
A Chicago woman who experienced car trouble is facing several charges after the Indiana State Police stopped to help her Sunday afternoon, authorities said in a press release.

A state trooper found Diamond Merrell, 19, in a 2003 Dodge Durango on the fog line of the inside shoulder of Interstate 65 south, past Crown Point at about noon, according to a state police press release. She was slumped over the wheel and blocking traffic, so the officer pushed the car into the median, police said in the release.

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The officer detected a strong marijuana smell, so he called for backup, according to the release. Merrell got out of the car when the second trooper arrived and became "uncooperative"  at one point wrapping her arms around the window pillars to resist, police said in the release. She kicked one of the troopers in the chest and injured another trooper's hand before they restrained her, police said.

The trooper who suffered a hand injury received medical treatment at a hospital, the release said.

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Merrell was charged with battery causing injury, a Class 6 Felony; resisting causing injury, a Class 6 Felony; possession of marijuana and minor possession of alcohol, according to the release. She wasn't injured, police said.

In a telephone call, Merrell disputed the police account of what happened. She said she was not read her Miranda rights and disputed the charges police said are pending against her.

"I do have injuries, I have hospital documentation that I have injuries," Merrell said.
I've witnessed my share of situations unfold on stage while writing about theater during 25 years as a journalist.

Last week marked a first for me and many others while at the opening night of a world premiere play unveiled at Goodman Theatre in Chicago.

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"Pamplona," a one-man, 90-minute play about the later years of writer Ernest Hemingway, starred TV and film star Stacy Keach.

The show's run started May 19 with preview performances, but Keach, 75, had trouble remembering his lines and stage directions during the May 30 opening night. About an hour into the performance, the show was halted mid-scene, with a microphone announcement, and the actor was asked to leave the stage. Director Robert Falls addressed the audience and explained Keach had been feeling ill earlier in the day, but wanted to proceed rather than disappoint the audience.

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Then the May 31 and Thursday performances were canceled. Friday, Goodman Theatre reps announced the remainder of the run, which had been extended to June 25, was being canceled, saying, "According to Keach's family, doctors treating the stage and screen star have advised a period of rest and recuperation."

On Tuesday, Goodman Theatre artistic director Robert Falls told the Chicago Tribune that Keach suffered a mild heart attack during that performance of "Pamplona."

The thought of standing before an audience and not being able to remember lines is frightening. In public speaking courses I teach at Valparaiso University and Purdue University Northwest, our textbook states that "speaking in front of other ranks as the number one fear, as gathered from polls and surveys, and public speaking even outranks the fear of death itself."

This fear is all the more reason I marvel at actor Mike Nussbaum, who is 94 and starring as Albert Einstein, never missing a beat nor a breath while giving a mesmerizing performance in the world premiere run of "Relativity," written by Mark St. Germain and directed by BJ Jones at Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie, Ill. It has been extended with performances through June 25.

This 90-minute play is comprised of an intimate cast of just three roles. Nussbaum stars opposite Ann Whitney, playing Helen Dukas, who was the devoted housekeeper and secretary for the famed scientist, and later was named in his will as executor of his estate. The third member of cast is Katherine Keberlein, a Valparaiso High School graduate playing the role of a reporter eager to interview Einstein to reveal his most guarded secrets, especially the revelation that in 1902 the scientist and his wife, Mileva, Einstein had a baby daughter who, after 1904, never was seen nor mentioned.

There is much revealed during this tale, set in the 1940s during the celebrity scientist's later years serving on the faculty at Princeton University. There are references to Einstein's Jewish faith and the notable names of that time who were known to have anti-Jewish sentiments.

The play gives a thorough examination of the human qualities of Einstein and his interactions with those nearest to him prior to his death at age 76 in 1955. Facts such as his habit of not wearing socks or that he was the father of several children, yet never embraced the role of fatherhood, as well as nods to his very active love life and many affairs, are just some of the insights audiences gain from this fascinating visit with one of the icons of our time.

Nussbaum ranks as an icon of our time. "Relativity" marks his 15th appearance at Northlight Theatre. Nussbaum has worked as an actor in Chicago for more than 60 years. The Actors Equity Association also deems him to be the oldest actor still working on stage. Nussbaum was the first artistic director at Northlight Theatre, which was founded in 1975 at The Evanston Theatre.

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The creative team for "Relativity" includes Jack Magaw's scenic design, JR Lederle's lighting design, Rachel Laritz's costume design, Andrew Hansen's sound design and Stephan Mazurek's projection design.

Nussbaum has earned a well-deserved reputation as a stage great comfortable in the role of playing history's great men. St. German also wrote "Freud's Last Session," about mindful Dr. Sigmund Freud, which ran for two years off broadway and starred Nussbaum as Dr. Freud for the Chicago run.

Tickets for "Relativity" are $30 to $81, with student tickets $15. Call 847-673-6300 or go to www.northlight.org.

Philip Potempa is a journalist, author and the director of marketing at Theatre at the Center.

pmpotempa@comhs.org
An East Chicago-born U.S. District Judge who became a campaign target of Donald Trump last year advised students to embrace challenges, value their diversity and work to serve others.

The Hon. Gonzalo Curiel told Bishop Noll Institute's graduating class on Friday that his early exposure to diverse friends and rigorous education helped prepare him for numerous challenges he later faced as a judge.

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He is a 1971 Bishop Noll graduate who has maintained close ties to the school for several years.

"The Calumet Region represents the best of America," Curiel told the school's roughly 125 graduates. "It's a melting pot made up of people from all over the world.

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"It was in a community where I had Greek friends, I had Polish friends, I had Puerto Rican friends, I had African-American friends. We were all the same. None of us were better than each other.

"And that's the aim of the American dream, to bring all of us together. To give equal opportunity so that we can stand together. We can raise our familes and become better."

Curiel was introduced by Gregory Vega, now a U.S. Attorney in Southern California, who noted they were born in the same hospital and grew up near each other, but only met as 14-year-old freshmen at Bishop Noll.

"Under the glare of such public scrutiny, Judge Curiel conducted himself with class, strength and courage," Vega said. "Those values "were instilled in him here at Bishop Noll Institute."

In April, Curiel was assigned the case of Juan Manuel Montes, 23, whose attorneys say could be the first known person deported by the Trump administration who had qualified for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The government has issued nearly 800,000 DACA permits since President Barack Obama introduced the program in 2012 and nearly 700,000 renewals, according to the Associated Press.

Montes sued in April for access to records on his deportation.

The lawsuit came less than a month after Curiel approved a $25 million settlement in a case alleging the now-defunct Trump University misled customers.

Trump repeatedly criticized Curiel during the campaign for his rulings in the Trump University case, insinuating that his Mexican heritage exposed a bias in the case because of Trump's tough line on illegal immigration.

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"You are primed and ready to make a difference in this world of ours," Curiel told students on Friday. "Carry on and focus at the job at hand."

"There will be people that taunt you or disrespect you for how you look or where you are from, or where your parents are from," he said. "Pray for them. Don't let them get in your head."

In November, Curiel quietly visited BNI to attend Thanksgiving mass and speak with students where he gave a similar message.

"I'm grateful for the chance to have attended this school, most notably to have grown up in this community, this community which is so rich and diverse," according to the transcript later posted online and confirmed by the diocese.

"There are not a lot of places in the world where you can look around and see such diversity as we have here, and I count that as a blessing," he said. "I've learned so much and it's helped me to be able to respect everyone I come across and realize that at the end of the day, we are all just human beings and that ultimately, our goals are to serve each other."

Information from the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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mcolias@post-trib.com

Twitter @meredithcolias
A Valparaiso man died and his wife was seriously injured after a Union Township car crash Monday afternoon that closed U.S. 30 for more than two hours.

Juan G. Sotojirau, 83, was pronounced dead at Porter Regional Hospital, and his wife, Lilliam Soto, was transferred from Porter Regional Hospital to South Bend Memorial Hospital by helicopter with life-threatening internal injuries, according to Sgt. Jamie Erow, public information officer with the Porter County Sheriff's Department.

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The collision occurred about 1:45 p.m. Monday at the intersection of U.S. 30 and County Road 375W, west of Valparaiso. U.S. 30 re-opened at 4:10 p.m. after the crash, Erow said in a release.

An initial investigation at the scene showed a green 2014 Chevy Cruze was traveling east on U.S. 30, approaching the county road, when Erow said a beige four-door Buick driven by Sotojirau pulled out in front of the Cruze.

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Sotojirau was unresponsive at the scene and medics tended to him before he was transported to Porter Regional Hospital, Erow said.

The Chevy Cruze driver was not injured in the crash and alcohol is not believed to be involved, she said.

The Union Township Fire Department, Porter County Accident Reconstruction and Porter County EMS assisted with the investigation. Assisting at the scene were Indiana State Police, the Indiana Department of Transportation, and Porter County Central Communications.

Amy Lavalley is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
I was dismayed by the recent inflammatory Op-Ed from Indiana's new Attorney General Curtis Hill regarding marijuana reform laws. His portrait of "money-hungry profiteerswith dollar signs in their eyes" lining up at the doors of the Indiana legislature sounds like a firebrand sermon preaching hell-fire and brimstone.

Having submitted marijuana reform legislation, and monitored every proposal that has been filed, I have some experience in what is in the legislature. Although there is a lot of citizen interest, most of the lobbyists roll their eyes at the thought of marijuana legalization in Indiana.

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But that is not the end of the story. The AG's editorial cautions us against "flirting" with any reforms. Indiana's prosecutors have most vehemently opposed any reform actions, sometimes resorting to what can only be described as self-serving deceit.

Marijuana reform is simple, even if one does not support legalization.

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We should stop putting our kids in jail, or giving them criminal records, for possession of a substance that is legal in many other places. Current laws make it impossible for someone convicted of a drug crime as a teenager to find a job once they have completed school. We penalize our youth for their lifetime for being busted in high school.

The "gateway" drug theory is simply not even a valid argument. Marijuana is not heroin. Mr. Hill's "citations" regarding addiction, impaired driving, and crime are misleading at best, and totally fail to give the real conclusions of those studies.

It is true, we have an opioid problem in our society. A huge part of it is attributable to prescription drugs, and the situation is not relevant to marijuana reform. Further, and to the contrary, much research shows that marijuana may be used to help addicts "come down" from more serious drugs.

Now that some states have allowed for it, medical research is blossoming and supporting the cause for medicinal marijuana. Double-blind laboratory studies have proven positive effects in epilepsy, and more research is being done all the time. Research should be encouraged at our state medical institutions, but that too is illegal. Something that could be alleviated through reform laws.

Finally, and we know this as a nation, prohibition of a substance that is accepted by such a huge portion of society has never worked. I could have written an entire Op-Ed on this subject alone.

This year the General Assembly took a step forward in medical options for Hoosiers by legalizing cannabidiol oil for certain epileptic children. I hope the members of the General Assembly continue down the path of options, and not the fear-mongering coming from our Attorney General.

Sen. Tallian represents Senate District 4 which encompasses portions of northern Porter County as well as portions of Michigan, Coolspring and New Durham townships in LaPorte County.
David Skender of Hoffman Estates has lunch at the new Yu's Mandarin restaurant at 4 E. Phillips Road, Vernon Hills, during his lunch break. (Rick Kambic / Pioneer Press)

Yu's Mandarin in Vernon Hills is finally open after two years of construction, and the restaurants owners say the community was anxiously waiting at the door.

Xuan Hong, the restaurant's owner, said he and his wife, Pei, struggled with several setbacks in construction and were pleased to finally have a "soft opening" on March 15. However, the community had different plans, he said.

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"The first month was crazy. Restaurant owners don't say this very often, but it was a little too busy," Hong said. "We weren't at full staff. We didn't do any advertising about our opening at all."

Located at 4 E. Philips Road, Hong said the building is 5,700 square feet and seats 180 people, plus another 30 people on a new patio.

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Hong said the restaurant faced service issues due to the crowds and referenced comments left on the online review site Yelp.

"It's touching, and a good sign that so many people were ready and waiting for us," Hong said. "But those comments were right, we didn't have enough people and the service wasn't so good. That's not who we are, though."

Hong owns two other Yu's Mandarin restaurants, one in Westmont and another in Schaumburg. He said staff was temporarily shuffled so Vernon Hills wouldn't have too many new hires.

The Vernon Hills location was Silk Mandarin Restaurant for 23 years, and Hong said his family used to frequent it. He said they considered buying the restaurant in 2012, before two other men purchased it and renamed it Silk Asian Tavern.

But Silk Asian Tavern went out of business in July 2013 and sat empty until Hong bought the building and received approval from Vernon Hills in March 2015.

"We always knew Vernon Hills was a big business city, similar to Schaumburg," Hong said. "There are lots of big companies around, other nearby attractions, and professionals and their families living in town."

Before receiving his permits in 2015, Hong told Vernon Hills village trustees that the roof was leaking and needed to be replaced. That was only the beginning, he said.

Throughout the two years, his construction team kept discovering new problems. He said they weren't experienced with some of the work, which further delayed efforts, but he stuck with them. The building got new pluming, new booths, major electrical replacements. Several walls also had to go.

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"It's practically a whole new building," Hong said.

David Skender said he lives in Hoffman Estates and visits the Schaumburg restaurant often, but his work as a medical courier takes him all over the area. He said the new Vernon Hills location is a must whenever he's sent into Lake County.

"I kept waiting for this place to open," Skender said. "The owners are so nice, they always remember me. And the chefs put plenty on your plate with good variety of tastes among the dishes."

Skender said some of the more authentic restaurants make their food too spicy and he gives up half way through.

"At Yu's, you can get the kick without ruining the meal," Skender said.

Nearby was Jiahao Liu and his family. Liu, a Long Grove resident and recent Stevenson High School graduate, jokingly agreed with Skender.

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"The food is pretty Americanized," Liu said. "It's still good quality food, the prices are friendly, and the decor is pretty authentic."

Hong said Saturdays are still the busiest days, and kung pao fish and Mongolian beef are among the most popular dishes so far. He said the restaurant has a machine that makes homemade noodles, and that's part of what his restaurants are known for.

rkambic@pioneerlocal.com

Twitter @Rick_Kambic
Students file into the field house as the ceremony begins. (Jon Langham/Pioneer Press )

About 960 seniors graduated from Lyons Township High School Sunday, and took with them a message to venture outside their comfort zones.

The nearly hour-long commencement ceremony at the north campus field house included the class of 2017 presenting a gift of three podiums, emblazoned with the school district's seal.

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"There were a lot of thank yous by everyone in attendance," said Jennifer Bialobok, a spokesperson for Lyons Township High School District 204.

The graduates have bright futures to look forward to as they embark on their next steps. Bialobok said 96 percent of them are going to college. They are headed to 188 different schools in 37 different states and in Canada, Croatia and Mexico.

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Class members also were selected to receive $57 million in grants, awards and scholarships and accepted $18 million. The amount they were chosen to receive was higher than the 2016 total of $54 million, Bialobok said.

The commencement speakers included board President Thomas Cushing, superintendent Timothy Kilrea, Class President Abigail Vulich of Western Springs and Student Council President Haley Gorman of Western Springs.

Student Avery Denning of Western Springs delivered a meditation and Timothy Rediehs of Western Springs was the honors orator.

As they plan their lives ahead, Bialobok said Rediehs advised his fellow graduates to step out of their comfort zones so they can grow. He told them not to take the comfortable path just because it's the easy path.

amannion@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @triblocalam
Pueblo County girls volleyball compete at state

The Pueblo County girls volleyball team competed against Cheyenne Mountain in round one of the Class 4A state finals at the Denver Coliseum on Nov. 10, 2022.
By Jake Liddle

Chinas State Administration of Taxation (SAT) has released new requirements for collecting VAT fapiao, which are special tax invoices.

The policy, which will come into effect on July 1, 2017, will change the type of information taxpayers need to provide when obtaining a general VAT fapiao. It also specifies measures fapiao issuers (service providers) need to take to be compliant.

Both taxpayers and vendors should study the new general fapiao rules to understand how it affects business as usual:



Service providers need to sync their internal systems with the SATs VAT control system to ensure that there are no errors made when issuing fapiao after July 1.

Taxpayers need to review the new rules to understand how their employers and service providers will treat fapiao; the new rules increase accountability for taxpayers.

Employers should task their human resources and finance teams to inform employees about the reform and develop new standard operating procedures for the reimbursement of business expenses.

RELATED: Evaluating Chinas VAT Reform

The fapiao reform

Under the current system, taxpayers are only required to supply their companys full listed name in Chinese in order for suppliers to issue a valid fapiao.

When the new law comes into effect on July 1, the following items are required when requesting fapiao:

Fapiao issued without the above information will not be seen as a valid tax payment receipt. This means that it cannot be used as a means to deduct from corporate income tax (CIT), or VAT (in cases where taxpayers are engaging in labor dispatch, HR outsourcing, or tourism services, where the taxpayer chooses to pay VAT on the difference between revenue and expense fees).

Fapiao issuers will be required to link their service systems with the SATs VAT control system, meaning that all fapiao issued will only be valid if the data is coherent in both systems. Issuers with discrepancies will need make due amendments to their service systems.

The nature of the fapiao

The law introduces more stringent rules relating to nature of expenditure specified on fapiao: it stipulates that fapiao issuers are now required to specify the actual purpose of expenditure, and not to accord with that requested by customers.

Service providers will now need to specify the purpose of the product when issuing VAT fapiao, rather than asking the customer for thier input on the nature of the fapiao. Taxpayers, in turn, will need ensure that they match the specific purpose of the VAT fapiao for the expense that they would like to claim. As an example, taxpayers will need to use fapiao issued for accomodation to claim accomodation expense, rather than using fapiao issued for food expenses for accomodation expense.

This new measure is ultimately designed to put an end to some grey practices: it will become more difficult for taxpayers to request issuers to falsely write on fapiao issued for other purposes.

RELATED: Audit and Financial Services from Dezan Shira & Associates

Validity of new and old fapiao

Taxpayers will need to retain both the special VAT fapiao deductible and invoice copies, which are issued together, for validity. Authorities will not treat any special fapiao as valid if it has not verified and filed in a VAT return within 360 days of its issuance. This applies to fapiao issued after July 1.

For fapiao issued before July 1, it will be non-deductible if it is not verified within 180 days upon issuance. In either case, taxpayers must submit their fapiao to the internal finance department at least 30 days ahead of the expiration date to reclaim an expense.

Increased transparency for VAT collection

The new law makes for more transparent VAT collection, and forms part of Chinas broader effort to reform its taxation system.

After the successful implementation of the 2016 VAT reform , issuance of special fapiao was standardized. However, that of general fapiao was not so uniform: in some cases, fapiao issuers would only require the full company name to issue a fapiao, while others would insist on varying amounts of the required information.

This change in requirements ultimately means more effort will be required by taxpayers and service providers. For individual taxpayers, checking the consistency of fapiao contents after issuance can ensure smooth reimbursement of business costs.



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Giant pandas Yang Bang and Hai Bang at the Adventure World amusement park in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture, Japan, June 4, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

Three giant pandas born and raised in Japan arrived in Chengdu in southwest China on Monday night, where they will begin a new life, and, hopefully, have offspring.

The panda twins and their younger sister had been living at Adventure World in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture.

The male-female twins, called Hai Bang and Yang Bang, were born on August 11, 2010, while their younger sister You Bang was born on August 10, 2012. The names are translated from Japanese names to Chinese, said Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, their new home.

The three pandas will return to the base on Tuesday. They will undergo a month-long quarantine and orientation period before meeting the public.

"They are expected to adapt to changes in food, environment, language, and even the taste of bamboo. We will perform health checks on the pandas," said Yang Zhi, a disease prevention expert with the base.

In 1994, the Chengdu base and the Japanese park started a panda breeding research program. Over the years, 15 pandas have been bred. Among them, eight have returned to China.

Cubs born to pandas that are "on loan" from China must be returned to China after they reach sexual maturity or when the cooperative agreement ends
PLA attack helicopter [File photo by Chen Boyuan/China.org.cn]

The Chinese Ministry of National Defense (MOD) denied late on June 5 that one People's Liberation Army (PLA) helicopter violated Indian airspace.

The MOD made the statement in response to Indian media allegations. A report on the Hindu dated June 3 read that "a Chinese helicopter has violated Indian air space in the Barahoti area of Chamoli district along the India-China border in Uttrakhand on Sunday."

But the MOD clarified, saying that the report was "inconsistent with the facts," adding that Chinese troops were conducting training on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control along the China-India border.
U.S. President Donald Trump announces to pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement, a landmark global pact to fight climate change, during a speech at the White House in Washington D.C., capital of the United States June 1, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

"I am departing presidential councils. Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world." - @elonmusk Elon Musk, White House Advisory Council for U.S. President Donald Trump

After his Saudi Arabia and Israel visits, President Donald Trump was busy in Brussels, in Sicily and at the Vatican. The main activity was the separate meetings with EU, NATO and fellow G7 leaders. Among them, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was the key participant and important American ally from Europe.

She was mostly with Donald Trump during the diplomatic maneuvers. Besides official G7 meetings, the leaders also organized informal meetings to convince Donald Trump to remain in the Paris global climate deal.

Merkel played a crucial role using other channels, even talking to Ivanka Trump. However, after the G7 Summit she disclosed, "very difficult, not to say very dissatisfying, was the entire conversation on the subject of climate change." She also touchingly remarked that it was all G6, and, if adding the EU, all G7 in favor of the U.S. remaining in the Paris deal.

When Merkel was busy in welcoming Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in Berlin, before the China-EU Summit in Brussels, she was shocked to hear that Trump had really decided to exit the Paris Agreement. In fact, Trump not only challenged the Paris Agreement but also insulted its decision makers indirectly.

He said, "The Paris climate accord is simply the latest example of Washington entering into an agreement that disadvantages the U.S., to the exclusive benefit of other countriesit could cost America as much as 2.7 million lost jobs by 2025, according to the National Research Association."

Trump's trouble was reducing America's greenhouse gas emissions by 26-28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025, as required. However, he neglected to mention that America is the second largest country (at 15 percent) accountable for carbon emissions. That's why the Paris Agreement was signed by America together with 195 countries and ratified by 147 countries including the U.S.

Therefore, Trump's decision not only damages America's image in the world, it also violates international jurisprudence in seeking to save the planet for generations to come.

On Trump's argument of wanting to protect job, the Financial Express, on June 2, wrote that studies funded by the solar industry show more Americans now work building, installing, and maintaining solar panels than are employed by coal companies, and even if coal output increased, that might not lead to more jobs, thanks to increased automation.

If we take a single instance from U.S. presidential advisor Elon Musk, Tesla is at the forefront of the clean energy revolution building popular electric vehicles, solar roofs and battery packs to integrate energy consumption in the United States.

Research by "The Yale Program on Climate Change Communication" at the time of last year's presidential election shows that nearly 70 percent of the Americans were in favor of the Paris Agreement. That's a strong message for Trump who insists he is fulfilling the people's mandate.

International agreements like the Paris accord don't always lead to nations meeting their commitments, of course. For instance, the Copenhagen Fund 2009 that was supposed to offer $30 billion as compensation to LDC's for 2010-2012 and the Rio Fund of $100 billion did not receive all the promised pledged cash. The Paris Agreement was indeed the only hope to save the planet.

As former President Barack Obama remarked after Trump's declaration to withdraw, "The nations that remain in the Paris Agreement will be the nations that reap the benefits in jobs and industries created. I believe the USA should be at the front of the pack."

Fortunately, politicians at state and city level are pledging to fulfill the American commitments made in Paris.

And, contrary to what he says, Trump is simply not listening to the voices of businesses like Silicon Valley titans, 3M, Cargill, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, investors, City Mayors, not to mention his own close advisor Ivanka Trump, his Secretary of State and his Secretary of Defense.

Instead he's only listening to what The Guardian (online June 2, 2017) termed the "Big Oil Darlings" who contribute heavily to political campaigns like his own.

American scientists observe that, if the U.S. does not meet its commitments to curb emissions of greenhouse gases, in a worst case scenario, "3 billion tonnes of additional carbon dioxide will be released in the air each year."

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts that sea levels will rise as much as three feet in Miami by 2060. By the end of the century, some 934,000 existing Florida properties are at the risk of being submerged, including ones owned by Trump himself.

Dr. Bishnu Hari Nepal is a Theorist and Practitioner in International Relations, Peace, Conflict, Security and Development Studies.

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn
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David Rank, Charge d'Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in China, has stepped down, a U.S. State Department official confirmed to Xinhua on Monday.

The resignation of the top career diplomat at the U.S. embassy in China was reportedly a response to U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement on climate change.

"Mr. Rank made a personal decision. We appreciate his years of dedicated service to the State Department," the State Department official told Xinhua.

According to the official website of U.S. Embassy & Consulates in China, Rank joined the State Department in 1990, and had also served as the Director of the State Department's Office of Afghanistan Affairs and as a Senior Advisor to the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

From 2011 to 2012, Dave was the Political Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Trump announced on Thursday that he had decided to pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement, a landmark global pact to fight climate change.

Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement fulfilled a campaign promise, but was soon met with widespread discord both at home and abroad.
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A senior Chinese diplomat said on Monday that President Xi Jinping's visit to Kazakhstan this week will help advance bilateral ties and the development of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

From June 7 to 10, Xi will pay a state visit to Kazakhstan, attend the 17th meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State and the opening ceremony of the World Expo in Astana.

Assistant Foreign Minister Li Huilai said at a press conference that the visit is Xi's first visit abroad since the Belt and Road Forum on International Cooperation held in mid-May and one of China's major diplomatic activities for Kazakhstan and Eurasia this year.

"The visit will help further improve the relationship between China and Kazakhstan as well as Eurasian countries and forge ahead the healthy and stable development of the SCO," Li said.

As China's neighbor and a comprehensive strategic partner, Kazakhstan is an important partner on the Belt and Road Initiative and international production capacity cooperation, he said.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Kazakhstan. Describing bilateral ties as "at the best in history," Li said this is Xi's third visit to the central Asian country and the 16th meeting with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

He said the two presidents will exchange views on bilateral ties, alignment of development strategies and cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative.

They will also sign and issue a joint statement, participate in a video link event on cross-border transportation and witness the signing of a series of deals in the areas of the economy and trade, finance and water conservation, said Li.

Xi's presence at the opening ceremony of Astana World Expo, which bears the theme "future energy," not only shows China's full support to Kazakhstan, but also the importance China attaches to new energy, he said.

On the development of the SCO, Li said that with the accession of India and Pakistan, the SCO will cover three-fifths of the Eurasian continent with nearly half the world population, which would make the regional organization the biggest in terms of area and population in the world and further improve its potential for cooperation and representation.

China said last week that India and Pakistan will complete the process of joining the SCO during the Astana summit, the first time for the SCO to expand membership since its founding in 2001.

The SCO now covers China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The accession procedures for India and Pakistan started in 2015.

Li said China will assume the SCO rotating presidency after the Astana summit and will host a summit in 2018.

China will continue to uphold the "Shanghai spirit" of equal treatment, win-win cooperation and open and inclusive attitudes and advance cooperation in various fields, which will help the development of the SCO benefiting its members and making greater contribution to regional peace and stability, he said.
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Jean-Yves Le Drian, French minister for Europe and Foreign affairs, announced on Monday in London that a French citizen had been killed and two missing in the London attack on Saturday which left seven dead and as many as 48 injured.

"One dead (French citizen), two missing and eight blessed including four in serious condition," confirmed the top diplomat to the press in London.

Le Drain expressed solidarity with Britain, "France stands alongside Britain," adding that "we should take joint measures with Britain" to fight terrorism.

A van hit pedestrians on London Bridge at around 10 p.m. on Saturday. Three men then got out and stabbed people in nearby Borough Market.The attackers were shot dead by eight officers who fired 50 bullets. The IS group has claimed responsibility for the attack, British media reported Sunday, while an investigation is under way.

According to British Prime Minister Theresa May, it was the third act of deadly terrorism in Britain since March, with two attacks in London and one on the Manchester Arena two weeks ago.
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U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday doubled down on his criticism of London mayor's reaction after a couple of deadly attacks killed at least seven and injured dozens more.

In one of a series of tweets on Monday morning, Trump bashed London Mayor Sadiq Khan for "pathetic excuse," saying the mayor had to "think fast on his 'no reason to be alarmed' statement."

After the deadly attacks on Saturday, Khan said in an interview with BBC that while the "threat level remains at severe," Londoners need not to be alarmed by an increased police presence in London.

In a move that appeared to mischaracterize Khan's remarks, Trump accused Khan, the first Muslim mayor of London, for his remarks on BBC on twitter.

"At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is 'no reason to be alarmed."

However, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders on Monday said Trump was not "picking a fight with the mayor of London at all."

Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday came to Khan's defense, praising him for doing a "good job."

"And it's wrong to say anything else. He's doing a good job," said May, without directly criticizing Trump.

After Trump's attack on Khan on Sunday, Lewis Lukens, the acting U.S. ambassador to the UK, praised Khan on twitter for his "strong leadership" after the attack.

Also, the U.S. Conference of Mayors sent a message of support to Khan and Londoners, praising Khan for his leadership.

"He (Khan) has risen above this crisis of death and destruction, as mayors continue to do, to alleviate fear, to bring comfort to his people and to give support to the first responders who continue to protect, defend and provide emergency care to his people of London," said the statement.
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A Chinese police officer and an Italian police officer patrol at Piazza di Spagna of Rome, Italy, on June 5, 2017. A joint policing project between China and Italy was presented Monday in Rome's historic Piazza di Spagna. A group of 10 uniformed Chinese officers will be patrolling busy tourist areas in Rome, Florence, Naples, and Milan jointly with their Italian colleagues for the next 20 days. [Photo/Xinhua]

A joint policing project between China and Italy was presented Monday in Rome's historic Piazza di Spagna.

A group of 10 uniformed Chinese officers, both men and women, will be patrolling busy tourist areas in Rome, Florence, Naples, and Milan jointly with their Italian colleagues for the next 20 days.

The Chinese police officers will be unarmed, mostly on foot, and have received Italian language training before coming to Italy.

"Both the Italian and the Chinese sides believe this initiative to be very useful," Deputy Police Chief Antonino Cufalo told reporters at the foot of the Spanish Steps rising from the center of the piazza.

"It is one of the most positive channels through which to develop international cooperation," said the senior officer, adding that the project is based on "visibility".

"We are certain that for the Chinese present in Italy, as for Italians present in China, the fact of being able to see friendly uniforms is very important," Cufalo said of the joint patrol project that was first launched last year on an experimental basis.

The idea is to make Chinese tourists feel safer and more at ease. This seemed to be the case for a couple from Jiangsu Province, Li Dong and his wife Luo Weiqi, both 30, who were visiting Rome for the first time.

The couple now residing in Shanghai had been in the Italian capital for eight days, and were heading home on Tuesday.

Asked what they think of the joint policing project, Li said "We think it's a great idea, because Rome and Italy are very, very strange for us."

"The language and the culture are very strange for us, so we need help," Li, a construction project manager, told Xinhua.

A policewoman from the Shanghai Public Security Bureau who is a part of the joint Italy-China patrol agreed. "The Chinese tourists were very surprised to see us here," 32-year-old Yang Yujie told Xinhua.

"Some asked us if they could take photos together with us, while others asked for directions," said Yang, who said her "passion for the uniform" led her to become a policewoman eight years ago.

"I arrived yesterday," she said. "It is my first time in Italy and in Roma -- it's a very beautiful and cultural city and country," she added.

This is not the first time Italy has engaged in joint patrols with other countries, but it is a first for China in Europe, Cufalo said.

Italy has carried out joint patrols with Croatia, Poland, and Spain in the past. However, it is the first time China has engaged in such a project with a European country, according to Cufalo.

The joint police patrols will be on hand to help Chinese citizens and travelers in Italy through June 25.
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The decision of a number of Arab countries to sever diplomatic relations with gas-rich Qatar would impose a strict regional isolation on Doha, Egyptian political experts said on Monday.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt cut on Monday diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing the Gulf state of supporting and financing "terrorism" as well as interfering in their internal affairs.

Later on the day, Yemen, the Maldives and Libya's eastern-based government also decided to sever diplomatic relations with Qatar.

"These steps have been taken after all mediation efforts made in the Arab-Islamic-American Summit last month have failed," Egypt's former assistant foreign minister, Hussein Hariedy, told Xinhua.

He said that severing ties with Qatar came after Doha determined to continue pursuing the same policies that support terrorism and are based on interference in the internal affairs of other countries.

"Apparently, Qatar had no desire to amend its policies which led these countries to sever ties with it," Hariedy.

In a statement, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said Egypt decided to cut diplomatic ties with Qatar in light of the Gulf Arab state's persistence to take a path against Egypt, and the failure of any attempts to prevent it from supporting terrorist organizations, topped by the Muslim Brotherhood.

It added that Qatar is sheltering leaders of the Brotherhood who targeted security and safety of Egypt by conducting terrorist operations.

The statement attributed cutting ties with Qatar to the state's promotion of extremist thoughts of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, its support for terrorist operations in Sinai, as well as its intervention in Egypt's internal affairs in a way that threatens its national security.

The statement said Egypt would close all the air and marine spaces, ports for all the Qatari transportation means to preserve Egypt's national security.

Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE took similar decisions by closing all land, sea, and air contacts with the fellow Gulf country.

In 2014, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain withdrew their ambassadors from Qatar to protest its support for the Muslim Brotherhood, a group that is labeled a terrorist organization in the three countries.

"The recent decisions to sever relations will isolate Qatar within the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Arab League as well," Ambassador Hariedy pointed out. "This will no doubt cost Qatar a lot."

These measures will intensify the isolation not only on the ruling regime but also on the people of Qatar, he revealed. "Qatar imports most foodstuff from Saudi Arabia, the only country Qatar shares borders with."

Qataris have business and connections in other Gulf states and the recent crisis will "for sure affect all of their trade as well as the deeply rooted family relations," he explained.

Meanwhile, Dr. Mohammad Kamal, a professor of political science at Cairo University, hailed the decision to sever diplomatic relations with Qatar as a "good step" and a beginning to impose "isolation" on Doha, adding that Qatar must revise its policy both within the GCC and in the wider Arab world.

Qatar should review its cooperation with terrorism, its support, funding as well as hosting of terrorist elements on its soil, in addition to a review of its role with regard to Iran, which is in sharp contrast to Gulf policies and policies, Kamal said.

The expert said that Egypt's decision to join Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain gave the issue an Arab dimension and a greater weight, and encouraged other countries to join and take similar steps.

"The ball is now in Qatar's court...the Gulf States and Egypt are waiting for Qatar's reaction and the steps it should take to regain their trust," Kamal said.
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KATHMANDU, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Nepali stakeholders have expressed concerns over the situation of Nepali workers employed in the Gulf nations after countries including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar on Monday.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE were the three countries taking the largest number of Nepali migrant workers in fiscal year 2015-16, according to Department of Foreign Employment of Nepal. A total of 320,360 Nepalis reached these three countries for employment while a total of 3,146 reached Bahrain in fiscal year 2015-16.

Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was monitoring the situation following the diplomatic stand-off among Gulf nations.

"We have instructed Nepali embassies in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Egypt to assess situation for Nepali migrant workers," Bharat Raj Paudyal, spokesperson of MoFA told Xinhua on Monday.

According to Nepali recruiting agencies which send Nepali migrant workers to Gulf nations, Qatari companies which have presence in other Gulf nations and have employed Nepalis there might be in trouble.

"Question has arisen over what happens to Nepalis working in branches of Qatari companies in other countries which severed ties with Qatar," Rohan Gurung, general secretary of Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies, told Xinhua on Monday.

Given the suspensions of flights between the two sides, Nepalis cannot travel to Qatar through for example, UAE with airlines like Emirate Airlines, Fly Dubai and Air Arabia cancelling flights to Qatar.

"Until Qatar Airlines and Himalayan Airlines which have direct air connectivity with Doha increase number of flights, movement of Nepali migrant workers to Qatar may come down," said Gurung.

However, Nepal's Ministry of Labor and Employment said that it is yet to assess impact of diplomatic stand-off between Qatar and other Gulf countries on the Nepali migrant workers.

"We have not seen much impact immediately because there are not many Nepalis who have to travel from one country to another for employment," said Govindamani Bhurtel, spokesperson of the ministry.
In recent years, the annual summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has grabbed increasing global attention due to its growing influence in regional affairs.

The upcoming meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan, will be no exception as it is expected to give the green light to Pakistan and India becoming members of the organization alongside the founders China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and see the adoption of a convention on anti-extremism.

These crucial steps will further consolidate the organizational and institutional framework of the organization, enabling it to more effectively respond to the challenges confronting the region and the world at large.

Sixteen years ago in Shanghai, the six countries rallied for the first time to address the "three evil forces" of terrorism, separatism, and extremism and usher in a better security environment. Since then, the SCO has adopted a series of mechanisms to curtail the penetration of the three evil forces into its member states and helped prevent the unrest in West Asia spreading into Central Asia.

Security collaboration and economic cooperation are the "two wheels" of the bloc, with enhanced security coordination to combat terrorism and maintain stability helping to drive the members' economic cooperation.

The rampancy of extremism and frequent terrorist attacks across the world call for greater international consensus and more international collaboration to combat both the symptoms and root causes of the disease.

As a bloc that is increasingly looked upon as a defender of regional peace and stability, the SCO's planned expansion and convention on anti-extremism show it is willing to shoulder this responsibility and step up its efforts to fight all forms of the three evil forces.

With the accession of India and Pakistan, the SCO will cover three-fifths of the Eurasian continent and nearly half the world's population, which will not only make it more representative but also give it a stronger voice in forging international cooperation to defeat terrorism.

As President Xi Jinping has pointed it out, the SCO members have created a new model of international security relations, partnership instead of alliance, because they have embraced the principles of mutual trust, reciprocity, equality, consultation, respect for diversity and common development.

After the Astana summit, China will take over the SCO rotating presidency and Beijing is drawing up a work plan covering six major fields, politics, economy, security, humanities, foreign relations and mechanism building, so as to promote even greater solidarity among its members.
Liu Xiaoming, China's ambassador to the United Kingdom, is urging Britain's young business leaders to become champions of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Speaking at the Young Icebreakers Ninth Anniversary dinner in London on Friday, Liu said the Belt and Road Initiative was an "international consensus" and "a new platform and a new highlight of China-UK cooperation".

He noted that "the significance of the initiative is sometimes not fully understood" in Britain and explained that he has regularly written articles and given speeches on the subject in a bid to answer questions and clear up misunderstandings.

"I want the British public to understand the Belt and Road Initiative, and join in to support this initiative," said the ambassador.

Liu said he hoped his speech would encourage the largely young British-Chinese entrepreneurs and executives who are members of the Young Icebreakers to join him in spreading the word about the Belt and Road Initiative.

"In building the Belt and Road, the UK and China have every reason to join hands. The UK has experience, knowledge and creativity. China has a unique growth model, technology and market capability. This would be East meeting West in a perfect match of our respective strengths."

Liu also highlighted the achievements made at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, which was held in Beijing last month and attracted a huge turnout of world leaders.

"I want to use the acronym of the Belt and Road ForumBRFto describe the progress: B for blueprint, R for resonance, and F for fruit," he said. "First, the Belt and Road Forum drew up a blueprint for cooperation. It was a forward-looking summit. Second, the Belt and Road Forum created resonance among participants. It was a consensus-building summit."

And third, Liu added, the forum in Beijing was a summit with fruitful outcomes that all could share.

Many business leaders at the annual dinner shared Liu's vision for developing UK-China relations.

Gerry Grimstone, chairman of Standard Life and deputy chairman of Barclays, said: "The Belt and Road is a great gift from China to the world because, when the initiative is successful, it will open up trade opportunities right across the world and Britain would surely benefit from that."

David Stringer-Lamarre, managing director of Fortis Consulting London, highlighted the strengths and relationships between China and the UK that will allow "proper discourse", so all parties can be part of a win-win relationship.

The Young Icebreakers is a network of young British and Chinese business figures that aims to boost ties between China and the UK, to share ideas and boost awareness.
WINDHOEK - Bank of China opened its Luanda branch in the capital city of Angola on Monday.

The branch, the first Chinese bank in Angola, will start banking operations on June 6.

Chen Siqing, president of Bank of China, as well as some 300 representatives from the Chinese and Angola political, business and financial circle attended the ceremony.

The Bank of China Luanda branch will mainly focus on company businesses and will expand deposit, loan, remittance, international settlement, trade financing, financial markets and other services. It will also actively carry out Angola cross-border financing business to enterprises and customers.

Chen said the two countries have the common aspiration for development and a solid foundation for win-win cooperation. In 2016, bilateral trade volume reached $15.6 billion between China and Angola.

"The establishment of the Luanda branch will effectively promote bilateral economic and trade exchanges, and effectively promote bilateral cooperation agreement. When the Luanda branch of the Bank of China is established, it will focus on undertaking social responsibility and give full play to group strategy, cross-border service advantages and to provide information consultation for bilateral business matchmaking, business promotion, customer support and risk prevention package service." Chen said.

Meanwhile, the bank will actively serve Chinese enterprises to invest in Angola, support Angola enterprises to develop the Chinese market and put efforts to play a role of bridge for the strategic cooperation.
A child has fun on a trampoline at Sanxian Square in Rongcheng county, Xiongan New Area. [Photo/China Daily]

State-owned enterprises, startups and institutions will help transform Xiongan New Area into an economic success story by bringing in new talent to the region

Bringing in the right mix of talent will be crucial for the expansion of the Xiongan New Area in North China's Hebei province.

Since the area was designated an economic zone, State-owned enterprises, or SOEs, startups and institutions have expressed growing interest in moving there.

"The planned Xiongan New Area is of national significance and needs to bring in first-rate talent to start innovative business and construct the economic zone," said Yuan Tongli, former Party chief of the preparatory committee of Xiongan.

The province has already attracted Beijing-based Peking University, one of the most prestigious educational institutions in China.

The university plans to establish a first-class medical center in the new zone.

Training will be offered in the health sector, while educational resources will also be pumped into the region, according to details released at a meeting attended by bilateral officials recently.

"Talent should be the most important resource Xiongan should have from the very beginning of its development," Xie Xiao'ou and Xie Qiushi wrote in a commentary in the Hebei Daily.

Peking University will work alongside relevant government departments in Baoding, Hebei province, to help develop public-private partnership projects in opening up the region.

Entrepreneurs chat in a mobile business vehicle in Rongcheng, Xiongan New Area. [Photo/China Daily]

The university's famed Guanghua School of Management will set up a training center to bolster management studies and techniques.

"Peking University will provide talent support in the process of planning and building of Xiongan," said Zhao Kezhi, Party chief of Hebei.

Xiongan New Area aims to attract a wide-range of businesses and institutions, involved in scientific research, financial operations, corporate headquarters and administrative agencies, a business blueprint for the region has revealed.

More than 30 central SOEs in the field of transportation and telecommunications are likely to pursue economic opportunities in Xiongan, according to a website for the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, the country's top SOE regulator.

They include China Shipbuilding Industry Corp, one of the country's two largest State-owned shipbuilders. CSIC has been relocating parts of its core businesses to Baoding.

Other SOEs moving there are China Telecommunications Corp, China Eastern Airlines, China National Machinery Industry Corp and China Energy Engineering Corp Ltd.

They have all held management meetings to discuss development plans in the new area.

"Once hospitals, branches of universities and scientific research institutions are established here and State-owned enterprises move into the area, they will attract a resourceful talent pool, as well as more workers to Xiongan," said Nie Huihua, vice-president of the National Academy of Development and Strategy at Renmin University of China.

Cao Xiaolong is just the sort of entrepreneur Xiongan is looking for.

He is the manager of innovative startup company, Tianjin Techvan Technology Co Ltd, in neighboring Tianjin and would considers relocating to Xiongan.

"But my staff don't want to go there yet because they worry about their daily lives," said Cao. "They are concerned about public services in a new area at this early stage.

"Even if I abandon my old staff and go there alone, I don't think I would be able to recruit the same level of talent I would need to keep the business going."

His company is involved in research and development in industrial robots, and smart devices used in solar energy such as photovoltaic technology.

He employs eight staff and all are graduates from prestigious universities in Beijing and Tianjin.

Every one of his workers is keen to live in an environment with quality resources.

"My interest in moving to Xiongan has increased since universities such as Peking University and companies like China Shipping Industry Corporation have made the move to develop Xiongan," Cao said.

With key universities moving in, major companies will follow. And then, once the infrastructure is in place to bring in the brightest and the best, Xiongan New Area is expected to take off as a major economic region.

"We will transfer some quality educational resources to Xiongan, especially those leading-edge disciplines," said Hao Ping, Party chief at Peking University.

The institution already has a tremendous pool of talent and the planned medical center in the new zone will specialize in integrated teaching, scientific research and medical services.

It is this sort of massive transfer of expertise that is exciting local businesses.

Zhang Huan, who works in the wine industry in Baoding, was delighted to hear that Peking University will play a leading role in the Xiongan project. "I had always planned to pursue an on-the-job graduate course at a leading university after graduation in 2012," said Zhang.

But until now she had struggled to find the right course and the right university in Baoding.

"Hopefully, I will get the opportunity this time to study at Peking University after it establishes branches in Xiongan, which is about 30 kilometers from Baoding," said Zhang. "I am looking forward to that."
An Aerial view of Rongcheng in Xiongan. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Private and public ventures will help transform infrastructure projects and public services in Xiongan New Area, Hebei province.

Within the next 20 years, infrastructure investment is estimated to top 4 trillion yuan ($583 billion), Gao Ting, head of China strategy at UBS Securities Co, told the Huaxia Times.

The amount is eye-watering and illustrates the virtues of PPP.

Yang Yongheng, vice-director of the Center for Public-Private Partnership at Tsinghua University, called it an excellent way of funding by taking the strain off public sector financing.

"Public-Private Partnership has become a supplementary strategy for governments, especially local governments, to raise funds for infrastructures projects," said Yang.

"The introduction of the PPP model in Xiongan will establish a sustainable investment and financing system for the public good. This will alleviate greatly the pressure on government funds," he added.

Initially, Xiongan's infrastructure plan will cover 100 square kilometers.

This will expand to 200 square kilometers before eventually occupying 2,000 square kilometers or the size of Shenzhen in Guangdong province, according to the government.

"This plan of development will enable the public sector to harness the expertise and efficiencies of the private sector," Yang said.

Reducing government debt for a project of this size and scale also makes sense.

As for private companies, they are used to sharing financial costs through risk management and competitive procurement practices.

"We will look at new management models in the area, deepen reform of the administrative system and explore investment and financing," He Lifeng, minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, told Xinhua News Agency in early April.

"This will establish long-term stable investment and attract social capital to participate in the construction of the new area."

PPP appears to be the preferred option in dealing with major infrastructure development in China.

More than 12,000 PPP projects had been registered by the end of the first quarter of 2016 with a total investment of 15 trillion yuan, data from the China Public-Private Partnerships Center in the Ministry of Finance revealed.

"It is an innovative model under which companies and local authorities participate in the delivery of public infrastructure and services," said Yang.

Xue Lan, dean of the School of Public Policy and Management at Tsinghua University, highlighted the biggest advantage of PPP when he said it radically improved management efficiency in public service sectors.

"Working with governments, private companies, or individuals who provide investment, can franchise related fields," Xue said.

"For governments, cooperation will reduce the burden of maintenance, and increase supply efficiency of public products and services. This happens by introducing advanced technology," he added.

Still, Yang warned that the PPP model has certain flaws, despite being pushed by central and local governments.

Disputes can flair up between the public and private sectors and this can delay key projects.

"The PPP projects, which are suitable in municipal infrastructure, transport and logistics, water and sewage, should combine closely with the need of Xiongan development," Yang said.
Major Chinese construction companies are looking to expand into upscale international infrastructure projects.

Xin Xiuming, vice-chairman of the China International Contractors Association, or CICA, expected leading players in the sector to not only finance and build major developments but run them as well.

This trend was highlighted by Wang Yu, deputy chief economist of the China Three Gorges Corp in Beijing, when he talked about the group's plans to develop hydropower plants in Guinea in West Africa.

"Because of our technologies and management skills, Guinea has entrusted us to operate and manage the Kaleta Hydropower Station," said Wang.

"We also provided equity for the Souapiti Station through a public-private partnership, which eased the financial pressure on the Guinean government."

China Three Gorges Corp will explore further joint projects to develop the Konkoure River, which starts in Guinea and flows into the Atlantic Ocean.

Wang revealed the company's long-term strategy in Africa at last week's International Infrastructure and Construction Forum, which was co-hosted by the CICA and the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute.

The two-day event attracted more than 1,700 officials, financial institution executives and business leaders from 63 economies to discuss sustainable infrastructure.

During the past few years, major global companies have been offering a "one stop solution" for international engineering projects.

This involved incorporating technology, planning, investment, construction and then operation into their business models.

Wang Xu, deputy general manager of China Export and Credit Insurance Corp, expected the trend to continue.

"Chinese enterprises have gradually matured when involved in international projects," said Wang Xu. "In future, they will continue to move up the high-end industrial value chain as they become more familiar with global markets."

Data from CICA showed contracts for overseas engineering and construction projects hit $244 billion last year, up 16.2 percent from 2015.

And according to the Asia Development Bank, infrastructure projects for the Belt and Road Initiative will top $8 trillion by 2020.

"But there is still a significant gap between the money required and the money available to fund these infrastructure projects," said Dennis Wong, a partner of Clyde & Co, an international legal firm.

As a result, a growing number of governments are considering PPP, a partnership between public and private financing.
A startup entrepreneur tests a robot at an innovation center in Langfang, Hebei province. [Photo/Xinhua]

The regional development gap among Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province is shrinking, a key report has disclosed.

In a far-reaching survey, more than 60 percent of the 1,200 people questioned felt integrated transports links, such as rail, road and air, had made significant progress since 2005-15, and brought the regions closer together.

Along with the survey, detailed government data are contained in the Index Report for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Integrated Development, published by a think tank under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences on Monday.

"This is the first substantial research into the integrated development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei," said Zhao Jianying, director of China Social Sciences Press, the publisher of the report. "This helps to assess its development status."

In 2014, President Xi Jinping proposed plans to integrate development between Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province.

A year later, the Outline Plan of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Integrated Development was approved by the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

Part of the report shows the three regions have seen rapid development between 2005-15 in fields such as innovation and environment issues.

"The research is more scientific than other reports because we have combined statistics with a subjective questionnaire survey," said Huang Qunhui, director of the Institute of Industrial Economics under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the think tank involved in the report.

Green development has increased between 2005-15 in the three regions, the report revealed.

But residents were still suffering from pollution, according to the survey.

About 59 percent of those polled believe air quality in the areas is not improving but deteriorating.

Up to 65 percent say pollution controls are not effective enough, the report showed.

More than 90 percent also believed that moving Beijing's manufacturing sector out of the capital was the correct decision.

Around 68 percent are also convinced Beijing's high-quality educational resources are lacking in Tianjin and Hebei.

In addition, State-owned central enterprises have struggled to keep up with integrated development plans in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, data highlighted.
A researcher works on catalyst for coal-to-liquids technology at a research institute in Beijing. [Photo/Xinhua]

The listed units of Shenhua, Guodian halt trading in shares

China's largest coal miner and a coal-fired power giant are reported to be in merger discussions, as their listed units halted share trading on Monday.

China Shenhua Energy Co said in a filing on Sunday to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that it was informed by parent companyChina's largest coal miner Shenhua Group Corporationof "significant matter containing substantial uncertainty which is subject to the approval of the relevant authorities".

On the same day, Guodian Technology and Environment Group, the listed unit of China Guodian Corp, one of the nation's largest coal-fired power generators, issued a similar statement, saying it was informed of the "proposed planning of a significant event".

It is believed the two energy giants are in merger discussions despite neither of them responding to requests for comment.

A merger of the energy giants would see the creation of a bigger and more competitive State-owned enterprise in the global market, said Zhou Dadi, a senior researcher at the China Energy Research Society.

Wu Qi, an analyst from the commercial bank research center at the research institute of Hengfeng Bank, said that the merger of a power generator and a coal miner is a win-win solution that takes advantage of both sides.

Economies participating in the Belt and Road Initiative see massive shortages in power generation and supply, and the merger will help the Chinese company better penetrate foreign markets, Wu said.

China has vowed to further cut its industrial overcapacity to accelerate restructuring of the nation's huge SOE sector.

Peng Huagang, deputy secretary-general of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, said last week at a news conference that the government plans to focus on the restructuring of the coal, power, heavy equipment manufacturing and steel sectors, and explore overseas asset integration.

China is also considering merging two of its nuclear power giants, as the Shanghai-listed units of China National Nuclear Corp and China Nuclear Engineering Corp Group said earlier in March that a strategic reorganization of the companies is underway.

China's 102 centrally administered SOEs made a combined profit of 825 billion yuan ($121.44 billion) during the first four months of 2017, up 24.8 percent year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Finance.

Lin Boqiang, head of the China Institute for Energy Policy Studies at Xiamen University, warned that in addition to increased competitiveness in the international market, there might also be excessive concentration that damages domestic market competition.

It might not have a substantial impact on turning the energy companies' losses into gains, he said.
Visitors tour Antarctica in January. According to Tuniu, a travel website, in the past Spring Festival, about 10 Chinese visitors, who are mostly from Shanghai, booked tours to the continent. [Photo/China Daily]

Despite a sluggish world economy, the expanding group of wealthy Chinese, especially millennials, is showing a bigger appetite for luxury travel, adding a bit to the members' spirit of adventure.

According to The Chinese Luxury Traveler 2017 Reportjointly released on Monday by Shanghai-based Hurun Re-search Institute, which observes the rich, and International Luxury Travel Market Asiathe average upscale traveler spent 380,000 yuan ($55,855) on family travel last year, 220,000 yuan of which was devoted to shopping, up 57 percent year-on-year.

This seventh report released by the two organizations covers wealthy travelers from 12 Chinese cities. The survey polled 334 affluent Chinese with an average personal wealth of 22 million yuan.

In terms of accommodation budgets, the younger generation, who were born in the 1980s, had a budget 3,325 yuan higher than others, up 7 percent from 2015.

However, private short-stay rentals, like those provided through Airbnb, had not won equal favor among wealthy Chinese tourists. When asked if they would consider such service, 28 percent of those surveyed said no and 10 percent said it was highly unlikely.

Another 31 percent showed a neutral attitude. The lack of top-tier services at the private residences is the main reason for the luxury travelers' indifference.

Adventure travel will be the theme in the next three years, according to the survey, with around-the-world travel, polar expeditions and outdoor adventures the most popular. The generation born in the 1980s shows greater interest in these areas. About 36 percent of these young, wealthy tourists plan to visit Africa in 2017, up from the 23 percent in 2016. Meanwhile, 32 percent of them expect to fly to polar areas this year, up from the 17 percent a year earlier.

According to HHTravel, a luxury travel brand under China's largest online travel agency Ctrip, the number of consumers interested in polar trips with an average personal wealth of at least 10 million yuan has grown since 2014. Meanwhile, travel packages which include hunting in Africa promises room for growth among wealthy Chinese.

Andy Edwards, global director of brand and marketing communications of travel booking firm Agoda, also agreed that wealthy Chinese travelers seek adventurous, undiscovered destinations rather than going to common recreational resorts.

"As these high-end travelers become increasingly independent in terms of wealth, cost considerations weigh less heavily and they are able to travel more freely to the places they favor the most," said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of Hurun Research Institute.

"These choices are highly significant, as they often set the trend for future waves of tourism, with these high-end pioneers setting the benchmark," he said.
A senior lawmaker has made it clear that China's debt is under control.

But Wu Xiaoling, deputy director of the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee of the National People's Congress, said it was urgent to address the red ink being built up by the companies.

Wu Xiaoling, deputy director of the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee of the NPC. [Photo provided to China Daily]

"The government is pushing forward with the reduction of overcapacity, destocking and deleveraging, but it does not mean that we will decrease the leverage ratio to zero," said Wu, who is also the dean of the PBC School of Finance at Tsinghua University.

Overall debt in the economy is acceptable and described by Wu as "moderate".

"The overall leverage ratio is moderate and controllable," she said. "But its structure should be adjusted immediately as Chinese enterprises' leverage ratio is too high to improve economic efficiency."

The debt-to-asset ratio of major industrial companies was 56.2 percent by the end of March, down 0.7 of a percentage point compared with the same period last year.

According to Wu, asset management companies should be encouraged to take part in helping debt reorganization at companies.

"Mergers and acquisitions can optimize enterprise structures," said Wu.

Zhu Ning, a finance professor at Tsinghua University, said the technology, high-end manufacturing and healthcare industries were popular in the mergers and acquisitions sector.

"There are also a lot of M&A opportunities in fields related to State-owned enterprise reform," added Zhu.

Chen Yulu, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, said at the weekend that the central bank will make sure financial institutions support the real economy while boosting direct financing and cutting funding costs.
An aircraft is ready to take off in Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport. [Photo/VCG]

Zhengzhou, the capital of Central China's Henan province, will become the headquarters of a joint venture that runs a new low-cost carrier in a few years, official sources said.

AirAsia Berhad has signed a memorandum of understanding with China Everbright Group and Henan province to establish AirAsia (China), a joint venture to operate a new low-budget carrier in China, said Kathleen Tanpresident of North Asia with AirAsia.

Zhengzhou is still short of budget airlines, and AirAsia's low-budget carrier will complement the city's transportation capabilities comprising the existing high-speed railway, highway and aviation, according to Tan.

"We chose Zhengzhou as our base due to its strategic location and its importance as a logistics hub. As China's gateway to Europe, Zhengzhou sits at the center of a vast rail, highway and air transport network that forms the linchpin of China's development plans for its central and western regions. With President Xi Jinping's vision for the Belt and Road Initiative, Zhengzhou is set to become even more important, not least as the heart of low-cost air travel in North Asia," said AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes during the deal signing ceremony in May.

Tan said there are huge opportunities in China's low-cost aviation market.

Currently, budget airlines account for only 8 percent of Chinese aviation, while the figure in Southeast Asia is about 42 percent.

With the opening of China's airspace, low-cost aviation is expected to account for between 20 percent and 30 percent of China's aviation industry by 2030, and the sector will maintain an annual growth rate of 12 percent, said a report from CIConsulting.

The Chinese joint venture would be the final piece in AirAsia's expansion puzzle.

Since 2001, the group has built its presence in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, India and Japan, with China closing the loop on all major territories in the Asia-Pacific region, said Fernandes.

Tan also noted that more digital-based services will be added by AirAsia to provide passengers with more tailor-made services and products.

Since the launch of its first flight to Chinese mainland in April 2005, AirAsia was the first international low-cost airlines operating in the Chinese mainland. To date, the Malaysia-based low-cost carrier is operating 448 flights to 19 Chinese cities, including Hong Kong, Macao and Taipei.
Two visitors at the stand of Midea Group, a home appliance maker in China, during an industry expo held in Berlin, Germany. [Photo/Xinhua]

Investment in technology-based services and high-end product trade, such as cloud platform systems, smart manufacturing pilots and demonstration projects, and sensors and industrial automation goods, is set to account for an even greater proportion of Sino-German bilateral trade, said officials and experts.

Chinese investment in Germany has no longer been heavily concentrated in regular manufacturing and greenfield sectors in the past few years. It has started to be targeted at more high-tech companies for acquisitions, such as leading robotics manufacturer Kuka AG, which received a takeover offer from Chinese consumer products company Midea Group in 2016.

Feng Yaoxiang, spokesman for the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade in Beijing, said Chinese companies are eager to have the most modern technologies.

"With the advent of Industry 4.0, launched in Germany in 2013, we will see new playersespecially from the internet fieldentering the manufacturing sector, where they will change the customer-supplier relationship in both China and Germany," said Feng.

Bilateral investment remains robust. China pumped more than $2.95 billion into Germany in 2016, a 258.6-percent increase year-on-year, while Germany invested in 392 projects in China with an investment volume of $2.71 billion.

"The dramatic surge in Chinese outbound investment last year triggered a noticeable rise in protectionism, such as the blocking of a Chinese consortium's attempt to acquire German chip maker Aixtron SE," said Terence Foo, co-managing partner for China at London-based law firm Clifford Chance.

To protect their own interests, France, Germany and Italy requested the European Commission to give them the right to veto high-tech takeovers in February.

"Some lessons certainly can be learnt from the deals which were successfully completed in 2016. Midea completed its acquisition of Kuka. The Chinese company won over the sellers by offering commitments to allow Kuka to operate independently, to preserve jobs and the current management and keep its public listing," said Foo.

In the same year, a consortium of Chinese investors successfully acquired Osram's lamp business. Although the German government was initially hesitant about approving the deal, it was persuaded that it did not involve sensitive technologies. The buyers also promised to continue using the Osram brand.

Joe Kaeser, chief executive officer of Siemens AG, said China is making progress on the path to becoming an advanced and competitive economy, but it will take time for these changes to have an impact. Patience and consistency will be required, as well as continuous reforms along the way.

"As the United States has been pressing both China and Germany to appreciate their currency exchange rates to maintain competitiveness in manufacturing, both countries have been keen to upgrade the content of their partnership, especially in services and high-end product trade," said Xue Rongjiu, deputy director of the Beijing-based China Society for WTO Studies.

Germany is China's biggest trade partner in Europe. Trade between the two countries totaled $151.29 billion in 2016, accounting for one-third of the total volume between China and the European Union.
Jacimovic Andjela, an international student from Xi'an Jiaotong University, poses in front of a photo featuring Chinese words New Silk Road. The photo was taken in Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province, on June 3. [Photo by Yang Yang/ chinadaily.com.cn]

Jacimovic Andjela, a Serbia student studying at the Xi'an Jiaotong University, first learnt about China from Chinese companies investing in her home nation, which prompted her to dream of studying in China.

"China has been developing so fast the past few years, and there are so many Chinese companies in Serbia. I often heard about China from them and was fascinated about it. I would like to know how China was able to develop so fast, and so I decided to study MBA here," she said.

Jacimovic said she had always dreamt of studying economy, and chose to come to China due to its great business cooperation potential with Serbia after Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed the Belt and Road Initiative.

"We all know about Beijing and Shanghai, but when I searched about universities I found out Xi'an was the capital of 13 dynasties, with a great political and economic importance in Chinese history," she said.

"That's why I decided to come to Xi'an Jiaotong University."

So far, Jacimovic has been in Xi'an for about eight months, and has found the ancient city has an amazing history and a lot of modern technologies. As an example, Jacimovic said she would recommend her friends to visit her favorite spot in Xi'an-Dayanta, Qujiang district, where people are able to travel through time while experiencing modern life.

"China is an amazing country and if you don't visit you cannot understand it," she said.

"Now I am here, I have learnt a lot about cultural differences of doing business in China and Serbia.

"If you want to run successful business you need to know the culture of your business partner."

Jacimovic said one of her biggest culture shocks she has experienced, while living in China, has been the difference in business arrangements and agreements.

"In China, you cannot expect Chinese businessmen say 'yes' or 'no' immediately after a meeting. They won't promise anything, only knowing you for a short while, but will say 'maybe'," she said.

"In Serbia, however, if you agree with something after a meeting, they will say 'it's a deal', which means they agree or promise."

In addition, Chinese people look for long-term business relations, from five to ten years or even longer, while Serbian businessmen are more likely to have a business plan of one or two-years, said Jacimovic. She added there was still a lot more to find about Chinese culture and the rule of doing business in the nation.

People-to-people connectivity has also been an important part of the Belt and Road Initiative, with participating countries pulling every effort to build the educational Silk Road and the health Silk Road. Every year, the Chinese government provides 10,000 government scholarships to countries participating in the Initiative, according to President Xi, who spoke at the opening ceremony of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in May.

Jacimovic who received a scholarship to study in China, will be one of the international students who benefit from the educational programs of the initiative. In addition to tuition fee, as well as accommodation and health insurance, Jacimovic will also receive 3000 yuan each month for her to spend. Jacimovic was one of three students who won this scholarship this year, and about five to six students have received similar scholarships in previous years at the University John Naisbitt in Belgrade, Serbia, Jacimovic said.

"About 30 to 40 international students are studying at the Xi'an Jiaotong University's School of Management, and the total number of international students in the whole university is predicted to be 200," she said.

"I can feel Serbia students' interests in studying in China are growing because of the amount of people inquiring about it."

After being a Silk Road journalist at the 2017 Silk Road Expo, Jacimovic has further identified many new business opportunities between the two nations. She has dreamt of following the Silk Road spirit at the start of the Silk Road in Xi'an, and stimulates business communications between China and Serbia.

"I wish my international experience and knowledge I am gaining here on master studies in Xi'an will bring a huge contribution to future cooperation between Serbia and China," she said.

"I also hope I will have an opportunity to make better connections between our two cultures by being an ambassador of my culture to Chinese people and vice versa."
XI'AN  An ongoing expo has highlighted development in China's western areas following the country's Belt and Road Initiative.

"I secured another big deal," said Lyu Zhihui, excited at inking a contract worth more than 1 million yuan ($147,100) at the 2017 Silk Road International Expo in Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province. "I just did not expect our products to be so popular."

Lyu's client is Rajesh Kazi Shrestha, president of the Nepal Chamber of Commerce. At last year's expo, the two sides signed deals worth more than 4 million yuan.

"These products made by Lyu's company are of high quality and delicate designs, and are quite popular in our country," Shrestha said. "That's why we continue to buy from them."

Lyu's company makes outdoor sportswear and is located in Shaanxi's Baihe county, a place known for mountains of rocks and grinding poverty. But now, as China implements the Belt and Road Initiative, areas like Baihe are jumping on the Silk Road bandwagon, witnessing rising foreign trade.

Last year, Lyu's company earned a combined revenue of more than 6 million yuan thanks to sales in India, Nepal and Iran.

Riding on this success, Lyu plans to expand the company's production this year to meet rising demand.

"Our county also wants to sell local specialties to foreign countries," Lyu said.

Countless businessmen like Lyu are seeking opportunities at this year's expo, with the priority on cooperation in investment, trade, tourism, education and more. Delegates from western areas such as Yunnan, Sichuan, Chongqing and Gansu are exhibiting advanced industries and specialties.

Shaanxi, for example, is generating buzz in energy chemical engineering, modern agriculture and logistics.

"Energy chemical engineering, for instance, is a pillar industry in Shaanxi, and has entered a high-end stage," said Tang Yugang, deputy head of the provincial commerce department. "We are willing to work with international companies on this."

Meanwhile, many foreign businesses are also at the expo looking for possible partnerships. During a conference at the expo, representatives from more than 20 Serbian companies showed up, hoping to ink deals in energy, food processing and tourism, among others.

The expo is a chance for Serbia to introduce Chinese people to its traditional culture, tourism resources and products, according to Rasim Ljajic, deputy prime minister of Serbia. Rasim said that the Belt and Road Initiative would help Serbia find more opportunities in China.

The expo is the epitome of a much broader picture. Currently, many foreign enterprises are coming to China's west for investment.

In Chongqing, robot-making giants such as Germany's Kuka, Switzerland's ABB Group, and Japan's Fanuc have all set up branches.

In Sichuan, a total of 935 investing companies from along the Belt and Road had been established by the end of 2016, with foreign capital exceeding $7 billion.

"China's west is an important area for a new round of opening up," said Qian Keming, China's vice minister of commerce. "Provinces and cities should deepen their economic exchanges with neighboring countries to contribute to the development of the Belt and Road Initiative."
HARBIN  A cargo train carrying 123 China-made Volvo cars set off from Daqing city, Heilongjiang province for Belgium on Monday, marking the start of the new China-Europe train service.

The shipment to Zeebrugge Port in Belgium also marked the first time that China has exported complete vehicles to Western Europe.

A one-way trip takes 18 days via the 9,832 kilometers-long route, passing through Russia, Belarus, Poland and Germany along the way.

Meng Qingwen, general manager of the HAO International Logistics Co Ltd, which operates the logistics transport, said the train service was tailor-made for Volvo's Daqing factory.

Meng said trains will run once a week on the line initially, and the number of weekly round trips may reach four to five by the end of this year, depending on the company's export needs to Europe.

The first shipment on the new line carried Volvo's flagship model, the S90L.

Volvo Car Group has moved production of its S90 models from Sweden to the Daqing plant, which has been a key part of its strategy to make China a global manufacturing and export hub. The factory in China also produced the country's first car exports to the United States in 2015.
China will expand the use of the renminbi in countries and regions related to the Belt and Road Initiative by improving cross-border payment and settlement facilities for the currency, a People's Bank of China official said on Tuesday.

Yin Yong, deputy governor of the central bank, said at the CIC Forum 2017 in Beijing that there is potential for the Chinese currency to play a greater role in Belt and Road economies. CIC is the China Investment Corp, a sovereign wealth fund that manages part of China's foreign exchange reserves.

"There are more than 50 Belt and Road economies where the proportion of renminbi usage in cross-border transactions is lower than 5 percent, and there is potential for huge improvement," Yin said.

The renminbi has been more widely accepted by the countries and regions related to the Belt and Road Initiative after the currency was included in the International Monetary Fund's special drawing rights basket, he said. The basket is a set of supplementary foreign exchange reserve assets.

"People in these countries and regions want to use the currency in trade and investment. Some Belt and Road countries and regions are also setting up offshore renminbi financial centers," Yin said.

"The People's Bank of China will continue to improve the renminbi cross-border payment framework and make the renminbi play an important role in pricing, settlement, investment, financing and trade," he added. The currency's internationalization will be a medium- to long-term process backed by China's strong economy, he said.

Jiang Yang, vice-chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, said at the forum that the commission will encourage qualified Belt and Road economies to issue panda bonds  yuan-denominated debt sold by foreign issuers in China.

In March, aluminum producer Rusal became the first Russian company to issue a set of panda bonds worth 1 billion renminbi ($147.14 million).

"We will also steadily expand the two-way opening-up of the capital market," Jiang said.

CIC also is using the Belt and Road to find deals and take part in infrastructure construction.

Tu Guangshao, president of China Investment Corp, said at the forum that promoting Belt and Road construction provides golden opportunities for cooperation in international industrial capacity and equipment manufacturing.

"Belt and Road construction requires a lot of investment and creates good opportunities for cross-border investment, so CIC will seize the opportunity to expand deal sources in a market-oriented and sustainable way," Tu said.

Tu said CIC is looking for deals with a "China perspective" that have a link to the Chinese market, given that the nation has a huge market and strong industrial advantages.

Qi Bin, CIC executive vice-president, said China's huge market of 1.3 billion consumers is an important driving force for the nation's economic development and is contributing to the whole world.

Qi added that it is a trend for Chinese companies including CIC to seek opportunities related to the Belt and Road Initiative when considering cross-border investments.

Contact the writers at caixiao@chinadaily.com.cn
The shadow of an attendee sits on a podium wall during a Lenovo Group Ltd news conference in Hong Kong, China, May 26, 2016. [Photo/VCG ]

Chinese leading PC giant Lenovo Group Ltd will step up its efforts to develop artificial intelligence (AI) to boost its existing business as well as create new growth engine.

The move is Lenovo's latest effort to revive its PC, smartphone and other hardware businesses through AI as it is faces mounting competition from HP Inc, Asustek Computer Inc, Acer Corp, among others.

"AI has two important functions. The first is to use AI to add service to the existing equipment, which is like adding a pair of wings. The second is to create innovative AI equipment," said Rui Yong, chief technology officer of Lenovo.

Rui said that Lenovo always planned to turn from "device only" into "device+cloud" and that AI plays an indispensable role in the process.

Earlier this year, Lenovo announced that it plans to pour $1.2 billion into the research and development of AI, the internet of things and big data over the next four years.

The investment plan came as Lenovo surrendered the title of the world' largest PC maker to HP in the first quarter of 2017, marking the first loss since 2013, according to a report by IDC. In the first quarter, Lenovo accounted for 20.4 percent of the world PC market while HP had 21.8 percent share in terms of PC shipments.

To revive growth Lenovo last week announced cooperation with Tsinghua University, China's top university, and Ing Dan Group, China's e-commerce platform of electronic components, to encourage young staff and university students from the three places to start a business.

The announcement came in a ceremony of Lenovo Dream Lab, an innovative incubator that provides funds and services to these people to realize their innovative ideas and create pioneering products.

Among these products, some AI equipment, such as speech and semantic recognition device, are included. The device will take advantage of AI to help people translate from Chinese to English, Thai and other languages that Chinese tourists often use when travelling.
CAPE CANAVERAL - For the first time, the International Space Station (ISS) houses an experiment independently designed by China.

Space cooperation between the United States and China has been a taboo until now. However, the Chinese commercial science project is on board the orbiting outpost on Monday morning in what could be the forerunner of a larger US-China space cooperation agenda.

Commercial partnership

No commercial Chinese payload has ever flown to the ISS before. However, SpaceX made history with its Dragon spacecraft in a resupply mission.

The spacecraft lifted off on the US space firm's Falcon 9 rocket on Saturday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and was captured by the space station's robotic arm on Monday morning.

Among its almost 2,700-kg supplies to the International Space Station, a 3.5-kg scientific payload designed by the Beijing Institute of Technology will be used to investigate how space radiation and microgravity cause gene mutation.

The project will focus on mutations to genes encoding antibodies, parts of the immune system that identify foreign objects, according to the research team. "The results will answer some very important and fundamental questions on life sciences," Deng Yulin, who leads the Chinese research, told Xinhua.

This is not the first Chinese experiment on the ISS, but "this is the first time an ISS experiment has been independently designed and fabricated in China," Deng said.

NanoRacks, a Houston-based company that offers services for the commercial utilization of the space station, has signed an agreement in 2015 with the Beijing Institute of Technology to fly the first China-designed experiment to the ISS.

Under the agreement, NanoRacks offers the service to deliver the Chinese science project to the US side of the space station and astronauts there will conduct experiments twice using NanoRacks' device in about 20 days. Deng told Xinhua that NanoRacks offered his team "very favorable terms".

New pathway

"Commercial is a pathway that is good for opening new doors. It has no symbolism, no 'flags' it is based on requirements and it can be structured to meet the concerns of all parties. I believe commercial is the pathway forward for greater cooperation with Chinese companies and educational organizations," Jeffrey Manber, CEO of NanoRacks, told Xinhua in an email.

Many space-policy experts said they viewed the agreement as a significant step in shaping possible future joint work by the two space-faring nations.

"This is an aerospace business in Florida, but it also means a new international partnership with the Chinese university and research institute," Tony Gannon, director of business development at Space Florida, told Xinhua.

"It shows growing trends what we call commercial space, while not by just federal agencies and government sending up science, but indeed universities and commercial partnerships also are seeking answers using micro gravity as a method to discover the truth of science and indeed further mankind's efforts in research," Gannon said.

Obeying laws

Over the past few years, a US law, known as the Wolf amendment, has prohibited NASA and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) from cooperating with China on space activities.

In the 2011 United States federal budget, US Republican Congressman Frank Wolf inserted a clause prohibiting NASA and the OSTP from any joint scientific activity with China for the remainder of the 2011 fiscal year.

Wolf retired in January 2015, but the law is still in effect today.

However, the NanoRacks deal is a commercial arrangement, which is considered legal. The company "worked hard to understand first why there is a reluctance on the part of some in America to work with the Chinese and to meet those objections, rather than fight those objections," Manber said.

"We kept all this in mind in moving forward. We received cooperation from the White House and from Congress and from members of both political parties," he said.

"NASA complied with all legal requirements to notify the Congress of this activity, and all of the ISS partners approved the inclusion of the experiment," NASA spokesperson Kathryn Hambleton told Xinhua in an email.

Scientists' vision

There are more and more organizations and people who do wish to broaden relations with China in civil and commercial projects.

"There has been no official cooperation in the space field between China and the US for a long time, so I hope this project enables us to explore cooperation methods between the two space powers," Deng said.

Leroy Chiao, a former Chinese-American NASA astronaut and ISS commander, also highlighted the significance of the Chinese project. "I think this is a good step forward," Chiao said, "I have always believed that cooperation is the best way forward for both the United States and China, particularly using civil space exploration as an avenue."

"I believe that in the areas of civil and commercial there can be more cooperation, just as there is on the earth," Manber said.

The CEO does not believe in cooperation "for the sake of symbolism." "Let's figure out ways to work together where we both gain while taking into account all parties legitimate technology, IP and security concerns, just was we do in commercial partnerships in mature markets."

In Fact, given that the rest of the world is working with China in space, the Wolf amendment is becoming the lone holdout.

"We have to open this door, and we will do our part for the state of Florida to make space accessible to all international clients, researchers and institutes," Gannon said.

Good reputation

Chinese scientists and researchers "have proved themselves to be true scientists," said Gannon, who hopes in the future more and more people can take advantage of the unique environment of the ISS.

The Beijing Institute of Technology's School of Life Science often publishes its results in Western scientific journals and interacts with the international research communities and multiple US universities.

"It (the university) is a good example. It's really an important research and the team have done a great job," Mary Murphy, senior internal payloads manager of NanoRacks, told Xinhua, calling the cooperation between the two sides "a new model that can be followed in the future."

Gannon echoed the idea, saying the cooperation testifies to a growing trend of commercial space cooperation, undertaken not by government bodies but by universities and commercial partnerships. "(The experiment) seeks answers using micro gravity as a method to discover the truth of science and indeed further mankind's efforts in research."
Students of Maotanchang High School leave the town of Maotanchang in Anhui province on June 5 on 28 buses headed for a nearby city to take the national college entrance examination, known as gaokao, which starts on June 7. More than 10,000 parents and residents wave goodbye to the students, wishing them good luck on the all-important exams.[Photo/VCG]
Design allows aircraft to be used as a trainer or for combat, its maker says

A modified Mountain Eagle, a trainer for fighter jet pilots, rolls out in Anshun, Guizhou province, on Monday. YUE SHUHUA/CHINA DAILY

A domestic aircraft manufacturer rolled out its first plane for export, a trainer for fighter jet pilots, on Monday in Anshun, Guizhou province.

The aircrafta modified Mountain Eagle, based on the earlier JJ-7 trainer jetwas developed by Guizhou Aviation Industry Group, a subsidiary of Beijing-based Aviation Industry Corp of China.

The Mountain Eagle was first put into use in China in 2010 after making its first flight in 2003. The version that was rolled out on Monday has been modified with export in mind.

Hu Jianxing, chief designer for Guizhou Aviation, said the company has adjusted some features of the Mountain Eagle, including its weapons system and seats, to make it more adaptable for combat scenarios.

It can be used to train fighter pilots in peacetime and be equipped with various types of missiles for use as a fighter in wartime, said Wang Wenfei, the company's president. All spare parts and components for the aircraft are made in China.

Wang said the basic design has held up well for 14 years. It's easy and safe to operate, he said, adding that countries with high trust for China are willing to buy the modified version because of its performance and cost-effectiveness.

The Mountain Eagle can be used for training pilots at various skill levels. A supersonic aircraft, it can engage in both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions, the company said in a statement.

The company didn't disclose which countries have ordered the aircraft, but said it won its first export contract in January 2016.

The rollout of the new Mountain Eagle is a first important step forward for exports. A number of assessments, including experiments and test flights, still need to be done, said AVIC Deputy General Manager Chen Yuanxian at the launch ceremony.

"I hope Guizhou Aviation Industry Group can make every effort to continue their work on exporting the aircraft and make sure they hand high quality products to clients on time," he said.

Primary research on the Mountain Eagle began in the 1990s, and development officially began in 2001.

The plane showed up at the China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai, the only international aerospace trade show in China endorsed by the Chinese central government, in 2006 and 2016.
Giant pandas Yang Bang and Hai Bang at the Adventure World amusement park in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture, Japan, June 4, 2017.[Photo/Xinhua]

Three giant pandas that returned from Japan will meet visitors after a monthlong quarantine is completed at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Sichuan province.

Two experienced keepers will care for Hai Bang, Yang Bang and You Bang in their new residence opposite the main office building of the base, said information officer Chen Cheng.

The panda residence is in the base's old animal hospital, which has no other panda inhabitants, she said.

To help the trio adapt, a Japanese keeper will stay at the base for several days. The keeper brought some water and bamboo from Japan, as the pandas were accustomed to it.

"Their Japanese food might be slightly different from that in the base," Chen said.

Zhang Hemin, executive director of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda in Wenchuan county, Sichuan, said pandas born overseas should have no problem with their new Chinese home, as the species has a marked ability to adapt to new environments.

The three pandas were born at the Adventure World amusement park in Shirahama, Wakayama prefecture, Japan, in 2010 and 2012. Hai Bang, a male, and Yang Bang, a female, are twins. Their mother, Liang Bang, now lives in Japan; she was born in 2000.

"One major reason for their return is that they have reached a sexually mature age and need partners," Chen said.

Back in 1994, with the approval of China's central government, the base began collaborating on panda research and breeding with Adventure World. Fifteen panda cubs have been born in the park. Eight of them were previously sent to the Chengdu base, Chen said.

Under an agreement for global giant panda preservation, pandas born overseas belong to China and must be returned to the country after they turn 2.

Chen declined to comment on why the three pandas born in Japan had their stay extended for such a long time.

Before their departure from Japan, a grand send-off ceremony was held at Adventure World, and around 1,200 Japanese fans said goodbye.
The official who is widely expected to become the country's new environmental minister highlighted China's continuous efforts in combating pollution in the air, water and soil at an international summit on Monday, World Environment Day.

Li Ganjie, 53, made his debut at the opening of the International Summit of New Environmental Protection Technology in Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province.

Li was named Party chief of the Ministry of Environmental Protection on Wednesday, after his predecessor, Chen Jining, became Beijing's acting mayor. The Party post would make him a likely choice for the ministerial role.

Li highlighted the latest data from the ministry showing improvements, with 338 cities reporting an increase in days with good air quality and blue skies last year.

In those cities in 2016, 78.8 percent of the days had air quality better than the national standard, an average increase of 2.1 percentage points over 2015, the annual China Environmental Statement released on Monday showed.

Air quality is considered good when the index measuring various pollutants stands at 100 or less.

Seventy-four major cities that have been monitored and assessed using stricter air quality standards since 2013 also showed improvement. An average of 74.2 percent of days in 2016 had good air quality, 13.7 percentage points higher than the level in 2013, according to the annual statement.

"The concentration of PM2.5 was lowered by 30 percent last year compared with the level in 2013," Li said. Fine particulate matter classified as PM2.5, with diameter of 2.5 microns, is particularly hazardous to human health.

But Li also conceded that there is a conflict between environmental protection and economic growth, and in many regions, the emission of pollutants is approaching or has exceeded the ability of the environment to disperse or otherwise mitigate its effects.

The ministry and the Jiangsu provincial government are jointly hosting the summit, which runs through Tuesday.

Li worked in the ministry for about 16 years and was vice-minister of environmental protection between 2008 and October, when he was named deputy Party chief of Hebei province.

An appointment as minister usually requires approval from the National People's Congress, the top legislative body. The next meeting of the body's standing committee is scheduled for late this month.

Chen's new post as acting Beijing mayor also has attracted attention, given the air pollution and other environmental issues that the capital faces.

"In the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, tackling the pollution, especially air pollution, has become the priority, beyond other issues like traffic congestion, which could make it a priority for the new mayor as well as the new environment minister," said Ye Tanglin, a researcher in regional integration at the Capital University of Economics and Business.

The government has set a goal to lower the average PM2.5 concentration to 60 micrograms per cubic meter by the end of 2017 in Beijing. Last year, it was 73, making it a challenging goal, according to environment experts and the ministry.

Water pollution and water shortages in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region also will pose challenges for the new environmental minister, Ye said.

Dong Zhanfeng, deputy head of environmental policy department at the Chinese Academy for Environmental Planning, the ministry's think tank, said the severe water pollution, especially in the-Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, is a reality.

Dong said the ministry could do more in this regard, and more regional cooperation is needed to tackle pollution in bodies of water like the Haihe River, which runs through the region.
Scientists in Shanghai have discovered that a mutation at a specific location in a gene - mainly active in male reproductive cells - leads to male infertility. And they've figured out how it works, which is likely to bring new insights into treatment.

The scientists discovered that infertility results when a key step in the development of sperm cells is obstructed by the mutation at a domain called "D-box" on the gene Hiwi. Their findings were published recently on the website of the scientific journal Cell, which is based in the United States.

Before a sperm cell matures, the histones in genomic DNA must transform into another form automatically, so that the genetic materials from the male are stored in the sperm head in a safer and more condensed way, explained Liu Mofang, the lead researcher on the team at the Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, a branch of the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences.

"But the mutation hindered the transformation from taking place during the late stages of sperm formation, which results in a drastic decrease in the number of sperm, abnormal structure of the sperm head and sperm viability loss," Liu said.

There are many types of gene mutations that appear to correlate with human male infertility. However, only a handful of such mutations have been scientifically proved to result in infertility, Liu said.

In their lab experiments, the researchers successfully overrode the obstruction by inserting a certain part of a protein into the sperm cell of mice with the mutation.

"The sperm will thus restore normal structure and activity," Liu said.

According to one scientific reviewer of the research, "The observation of human Hiwi mutations in azoospermia is extremely exciting and provides a clear context for disease relevance".

Wang Jian, deputy director of the Shanghai Institute of Planned Parenthood Research, said it's widely acknowledged in medical circles that problems in males are a factor in half the infertility cases around the world.

"A low number of sperm, low activity of sperm and malformation of sperm are important reasons that cause male infertility, but the strategies for diagnosis and treatment are quite limited so far," Wang said. "This discovery will provide a potential solution for certain types of human male infertility."

Liu said the mutation is either acquired from the male subject's mother or happens for unknown reasons before he is born.

"If a mother carries the mutation, she is able to give birth, because the mutation doesn't affect women's fertility. But if she gives birth to a boy, he stands a 50-percent chance of inheriting the mutation from his mother," she said.

A test for the mutation could be included in voluntary premarital health checks through blood testing in the future, Liu said.
Elderly residents enjoy an afternoon playing with puzzles at the Jiangjiaqiao respite care center in Hongkou district, Shanghai.[Photo by Jiang Diwen / For China Daily]

Community support system gives families looking after elderly or infirm relatives a chance to take a break. Zhou Wenting in Shanghai reports.

Feng Zhifang had to make many sacrifices when she began caring for her 87-year-old mother full time. For years, she missed out on vacations, time with her friends, and, as a Christian, even struggled to make it to church on Sundays.

Then, two years ago, her prayers for relief were answered.

A new nursing home in her community in Shanghai started to offer short-term respite care, which meant Feng could place her mother, who has mobility issues, in the hands of trained nurses while she took a well-earned break.

"Last month, I placed my mother in a home so I could attend my son's university graduation ceremony in Australia," said Feng, 60, a retired middle school teacher. "It's very convenient, as the traditional homes don't accept residents for just a few days."

As part of efforts to support the growing number of families caring for elderly or disabled relatives, the Shanghai government has opened 79 respite care centers since 2015.

Residents can use the facilities for just a few hours or for up to three months, with prices ranging from 35 yuan ($5) for basic day care services, such as assisted showers, to 160 yuan a night for a bed and three meals a day. The homes are all managed by organizations or companies that specialize in care services.

Beds are also open to people recovering from surgery who would prefer to convalesce closer to home than at a hospital.

"Many of the homes are fully booked due to the sheer weight of demand," said Zhang Haixiang, deputy director of civil affairs for Jing'an, the city district with the highest percentage of senior residents. "When the families go on vacation or if a caregiver falls ill, these facilities can take over."

The city aims to have at least one respite care center in every community by the end of this year, according to the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau.

"I like the description that the local government uses, 'Such care homes are where a bowl of soup brought from home is still warm'," said Feng's mother, Liu Cuilin. "I'm still in the community, so I don't feel lonely."

Age-old problem

Shanghai ranks No 1 domestically for many things - the length of its subway system, for example, or the performance of its students in international math tests. Yet the city also has an unwanted title: the oldest population in China.

The city has 4.58 million residents age 60 or older, according to the latest data from the civil affairs bureau, accounting for more than 31 percent of the city's population (nationally, the proportion is 16.7 percent). That number is forecast to reach 5.3 million by 2020.

Meanwhile, the average life expectancy in Shanghai was "more than 83" last year, the bureau said, far higher than the national average of 76.3 in 2015, and almost equal to Japan, where the average life expectancy is 83.7, the highest in the world.

In addition, although families have gotten smaller, the preference among seniors to spend their twilight years in their own home has not, which is piling the pressure on their children, particularly those without siblings.

With a potential social care crisis on the horizon, the Shanghai authorities saw a solution in repurposing public-owned properties in or around residential communities to offer affordable respite care.

Each has 10 to 40 beds, and priority is given to residents who are entirely dependent or from low-income families.

"These establishments have so far proved popular among the elderly and their children," Zhang said. "Seniors can enjoy professional services without the need to leave their community, and it's convenient for relatives to visit."

He added that he hoped the care centers would gradually remove resistance to the idea of nursing homes among the elderly.

Home comforts

Some seniors don't even need to leave their home to access nursing services, such as those living around the central Jing'an Temple.

In 2014, before the respite care center project started, the Jing'an district authorities selected 100 seniors to receive 100 hours of free in-home services, ranging from nursing care and therapeutic massages to haircuts and housekeeping.

"The elderly need care, not just beds. So for those who can't or won't go to care homes, we go to them," said Fang Pei'er, director of the home-based care services center near Jing'an Temple.

He cited a Chinese idiom that "few dutiful children stand at the bedside of a parent with chronic diseases", and added, "We want children who act as caregivers to be able to take a break, which we feel will ensure the devotion to their parents is sustainable."

Cheng Shanfen, 67, is among the residents who have benefited from the policy. She cares for her 97-year-old mother, who has been bedridden since 2010, and receives little help. Her husband died three decades ago, her sister lives in the suburbs and her brother is seriously ill.

"When my son got married four years ago, I told him not to start a family soon because I don't have any spare time to baby-sit," she said.

The biggest headache was bathing her mother, she said, "as I can't do it alone and it's torture for my mother and I to travel to the public bath". So, Cheng used her 100 free hours to book a nursing assistant for an hour each day to wash her mother in a special inflatable bathtub.

"I now have more confidence that there will be more services that cater to the real needs of citizens as we grow older," she said.
Huang Zushen (left) with his tutor, Professor Chen Tingxiang, in Chen's office at Sichuan University in Chengdu, Sichuan province.[Photo provided To China Daily]

Most people who obtain doctorates do so to advance their career - but that was not the case for one student at Sichuan University.

Huang Zushen, a 74-year-old United States citizen, became a doctoral candidate in the history department at the university's School of History and Culture four years ago.

With the guidance of his tutor, Professor Chen Tingxiang, Huang wrote his dissertation on the development of China's Air Force, from the Chinese Nationalist Air Force in the 1930s to the Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force in the 1950s.

"He defended his dissertation successfully, with the five-member committee voting unanimously to pass it," said Chen, adding that Huang is the oldest doctoral student in the university's 121-year history.

Li Yujie, a professor of history at Chongqing Normal University and one of the five committee members, said the historical data in Huang's dissertation was unique.

The Chinese Nationalist Air Force came into being in the 1930s. It was almost wiped out during the Japanese invasion during the same period, leading to the Kuomintang rebuilding the Air Force with US assistance.

"Nobody has systematically studied the history. The historical data about US assistance in the rebuilding of the Air Force are in Taiwan and the US. Huang has an advantage in accessing it because of his background and English proficiency," Chen said.

Huang, whose father was a pilot in the Air Force, was born in Chengdu in 1943. He attended a primary school of the Air Force in Dujiangyan, Sichuan, before moving to Taiwan at age 6.

"Many of my relatives were pilots in the Air Force. I lived in residential quarters belonging to the Air Force and attended an Air Force school in Taiwan. I would have been a pilot if it were not for my inability to handle the operating lever of the aircraft," he said.

At 31, Huang, who had emigrated to the US, started a clothing company and became a wealthy businessman.

When he retired from his company seven years ago, he wanted to pursue doctoral studies.

Yin Bo, deputy head of Sichuan University's Institute of Ancient Books, said, "When we had dinner four years ago, he told me his plan, so I introduced him to Chen, a famous scholar of modern Chinese history."

Typically, it takes a student three years to complete a doctoral program, but unlike young students eager to finish their degrees so they can find employment, Huang was able to devote more time to his research.

Chen, who is seven years younger than Huang, said: "In his first year, he lived in an apartment in a building for overseas students at Sichuan University, attending classes for doctoral candidates. In his second and third years, he researched historical data in the US and Taiwan. In his fourth year, he completed his 352-page dissertation, which was more than 200,000 Chinese characters."

When they met for the first time, Chen was afraid a busy study schedule would be too much for a student of Huang's age.

"In order to illustrate he was physically capable, Huang showed off his kung fu skills. He never skipped classes and would sit on the front row in the classroom. He was a role model for other students and the example he set helped boost the attendance rates in class," Chen said.

Huang's children were concerned about his safety as he was well-known on campus for being a multimillionaire. They asked him several times to give up his studies, but he refused.

Huang, who can speak the Sichuan dialect, got along well with his fellow students.

He would refer to students of his grandchildren's age as brother and sister, in the same way young students referred to each other.

"Young students would call him Big Brother Huang," said Chen Fuzhou, a doctoral candidate in the history department.

"He would take walks, visit the secondhand bookstore and dine with young students, and he always wanted to foot the bill when he dined with others," he added.
Han Chao (right), an official from Lyuzhai township in Linquan county, Anhui province, visits a poverty stricken resident in the village he administrates. Zhu Lixin / China Daily

Township official's desire to help the poor uncovered need for greater authenticity of statistics

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.

On May 8, at a regular Monday morning meeting of township officials and village cadres to discuss poverty relief efforts in Lyuzhai, one of the most undeveloped townships in Anhui province's poverty-stricken Linquan county, it was announced that one official had been taking the law into her own hands.

The authorities said an investigation had found that a female official from the township government had failed to list one particular household in Gaoyan village for poverty relief programs because of a personal conflict she had with the family.

Township governments are the lowest level of government in China's political system, with officials often being local residents who have personal relationships with villagers.

In addition to their daily work for the township government, each official is responsible for the administration of one of the 11 local villages.

Though village affairs often depend on the village cadres, a township official who is responsible for a village often plays a key role, according to Han Chao, deputy Party chief of Lyuzhai.

Punishment for the official found to have abused her position included criticism in front of the nearly 100 attendees of the meeting, while her rule violation will remain on her record for a year, preventing her from gaining promotion or rewards during that period.

"The poverty relief process for a household may last for years, but it is strictly required that all poverty stricken households are listed for the campaign, as part of China's drive to eliminate poverty by 2020," said Han, who is responsible for the administration of Chenxiaozhai village.

He said one problem he has encountered is villagers who are not poor seeking to be recognized as poverty stricken households to take advantage of subsidies and favorable policies.

Han became Lyuzhai's deputy Party chief and responsible for Chenxiaozhai in November 2014, when cadres reported that the village had 215 poverty stricken households, or 903 poor villagers.

"I doubted the accuracy of the figures," said Han, who spent the first months after his appointment paying door-to-door visits to the households that claimed to be poor, finding that some of them were not in poverty.

A household often includes several family members, although a single adult can also be classed as a household in some cases, according to the household registration system, or hukou.

"Family members may not necessarily live together," Han said. "Some younger family members are married and living independently from their elderly parents, without having updated their household registration records."

In such cases, the young, married family members should be excluded from poverty relief measures.

"Elderly parents may live in poor conditions and lack a source of income, while their married children live wealthier lives elsewhere," Han said.

In the two years after Han began investigating, authorities from Linquan conducted a campaign to check the authenticity of poverty relief statistics.

"As a result, 157 households, or 668 people, were deleted from the list, while 101 new households, or 264 people, were added," Han said.

Last year, 90 households were lifted out of poverty, but the village still has 68 poverty stricken families.
An apparent rise in sales of fake sex medicines is the result of increasing demand and more purchases from online shops and small businesses, prosecutors in Shanghai said on Monday.

Sexual arousal drugs accounted for 86 percent of all cases handled by prosecutors in Shanghai during a three-year campaign from 2014 to 2016 against bogus medicines, according to the Shanghai People's Procuratorate.

Prosecutors handled a total of about 300 cases related to fake drugs in the three years, involving about 150 criminal suspects.

"The rise of cases involving fake or illegal sexual arousal drugs was eye-catching," said Gong Peihua, deputy chief procurator of the Shanghai People's Procuratorate, at a media briefing.

Li Ping, head of the department of investigatory supervision at the procuratorate, said: "On one hand, a growing number of people may want to try such products. On the other, law enforcement authorities have received quite a few complaints in this field, so we've taken more vigorous enforcement measures."

Prosecutors said the internet and small brick-and-mortar stores that sell sex products are the main channels for distribution of counterfeit drugs that promise to boost sexual performance.

"Some pills use a combination of medicinal powder and ordinary flour, and are quite cheap," Li said. "Long-term use of such drugs may harm people's health."

Li said some people may feel embarrassed to go to drug stores to buy such medicines, so they shop online or sneak in to small shops selling sex products at night.

Prosecutors from Shanghai Jing'an district looked into a case in which three suspects opened an online store and sold male impotence drug counterfeits last year. Police found nearly 20,000 pills in a 10-square-meter storehouse.

One suspect, surnamed Zhao, said each box of pills cost between 3 yuan ($0.40) to 25 yuan when purchased through illegal channels. They are sold at nearly 100 yuan per box. The three men were arrested on suspicion of selling fake medicine.

Sales of illegal weight-reducing medicines and cosmetic injections at beauty salons were also notable. The number of such cases jumped from only one in 2014 to 13 in 2015 and 10 last year, Li said.
Workers lay track for the Korla-Golmud Railway in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region on Saturday. Que Hure / For China Daily

Workers started laying tracks on Saturday for a 1,213-kilometer railway linking the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region with neighboring Qinghai province.

The railway, which will connect Korla in Xinjiang and Golmud in Qinghai, is the third rail artery linking the region with neighboring provinces, and the first direct rail link between Xinjiang and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Golmud is a major city on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, which connects Lhasa, capital of the Tibet autonomous region, with Xining, the capital of Qinghai. The new line will offer a much shorter connection between Lhasa and Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang.

Currently, the total rail distance between the two cities is about 4,000 kilometers, including a detour to Lanzhou, capital of Gansu province. The new line will cut the journey by more than 1,000 km.

The line will cut travel time between Golmud and Korla from 26 hours to 12 hours. The rails will carry passengers, traveling at a speed of 120 km per hour, as well as freight.

About 708 km of the new line are in Xinjiang. Some parts of the railway need to be built in high-altitude areas and places with little human activity, which have posed difficulties during construction, said Huang Kejun, the railway project manager.

His team plans to complete the laying of 291 km of track this year.

Construction of the this railway began in 2014 and has proceeded faster than planned. The project is scheduled to take five years, at a cost of 37.6 billion yuan ($5.53 billion). Its Qinghai section will begin operations by the end of next year.

Xinjiang already has two railways connecting the region with other parts of China. One links Urumqi with Lanzhou; the other connects Ejin Banner in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region with Hami in eastern Xinjiang.

Xinhua contributed to this story.
Huang Xiaoru is happy. She won a painting award in a competition and has gone to several events organized by her primary school.

The 8-year-old and her younger brother attend Wanxiu Primary School in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, after migrating with their parents several years ago from a rural area.

"Our class has 54 pupils, 44 of whom are children like Huang," said Chen Jinling, head teacher of Huang's class.

Instead of leaving children behind in their home villages to be cared for by aging grandparents, more Chinese migrant workers are taking them along to cities, where they can find better care and education.

China has around 14 million children who live with migrant parents in cities, and 9 million "left-behind" children who remain in rural areas.

In recent years, the Chinese government has urged public schools to simplify their qualification requirements and recruit as many children of migrant workers as possible to ensure the children get an education.

However, because of limited capacity, public schools in cities cannot absorb all the children of migrant workers.

"Ten years ago when we brought our eldest daughter here, she could not enter a public school, as we only had a rural household registration," said Tang Haiyan, a female migrant worker in Nanning.

Things are easier now: Tang's second daughter attends a public primary school in the city.

"Parents who have the right documents for residency and work are able to enroll their children," said Lei Youheng, headmaster of a primary school in Nanning.

The central government has allocated an urban-rural compulsory education fund that will benefit millions of children of migrant workers in cities. They will get free textbooks and exemptions from school fees. Living subsidies will be offered to boarding students whose families have financial difficulty.

However, gaps still remain. Cities trying to control population growth have pushed policies based on factors such as parents' jobs, educational background and property ownership, according to Qin Hongyu, a researcher at the 21st Century Education Research Institute, a nonprofit organization.

"The score indexes are favorable for advantaged groups but unfair to rural migrant workers' children in getting equal access to education," he said.

Zhang Mei, a university researcher who has lived in Beijing for nearly 20 years, said: "When the supply is not increased, newcomers and grassroots locals have to compete for education resources."

Tan Ping, 16, is not interested in continuing at a public school in Beijing. He wants to find a job to support the family.

His father and mother are migrant workers. His mother has a kidney illness, and his two younger brothers rely on social aid to attend a private school.

Like Tan, many children of migrant workers lack a comfortable environment to continue learning after school, usually living with their parents and siblings in shabby, crowded houses, a factor leading to poor academic results.

A university survey tracking 1,866 students in 50 junior middle schools for migrant workers' children in Beijing found that only 39 percent of students continued their education into senior middle school and only 6 percent entered a university.

A sense of isolation is another challenge. The circles of friends of such children are often other migrant workers.

"Policy barriers can be removed overnight, but psychological gaps will take two to three generations to overcome," said Li Tao, founder of a Beijing-based organization devoted to improving the lives of migrant workers and their children.

Xinhua
By Tian Xuefei in Mohe, Heilongjiang and Zhou Huiying in Harbin | China Daily | Updated: 2017-06-06 07:11

Officers from the Beiji border police station patrol using a horse-drawn sleigh on the frozen Heilong River, which defines the border of China and Russia, to prevent tourists and local fishermen from crossing by mistake. Chu Fuchao / For China Daily

The Beiji border police station in Heilongjiang province - China's northernmost police station - was honored as a model unit by the State Council and the Central Military Commission in May.

Fourteen border officers patrol the area, helping residents and a growing number of tourists who visit its scenic attractions.

Zhang Chunmao, a 26-year-old border officer, has been at the Beiji police station for two and a half years.

"I came from a northern city, Hulunbuir, but it's much colder here than my hometown," Zhang said. "We have the longest border of all the border police stations in Heilongjiang and we have heavy border management tasks."

At the end of 2015, when he heard that a map detailing the condition of residents in Beiji would be updated, he got an idea.

"The original maps were all two-dimensional, and I wondered whether it would be more interesting visually to make a 3-Done," Zhang said.

Majoring in urban planning in college, Zhang was familiar with computers and applied his skills. To make the map accurate, he walked through all the streets in Beiji and took more than 500 photos. He also visited every family in the village.

"I could only sketch and put the information into the computer after work," Zhang said. "I quite often stayed up all night."

After several months of hard work, the first 3-D map of Beiji was put into service and is now continuously updated. On this map it's easy to identify terrain features, traffic, houses and information about residents.

"My next goal is to make a map of the whole jurisdiction of our station," Zhang said.

The station covers three villages - Beiji, Luoguhe and Beihong - that are scattered over an area of 2,380 square kilometers. They have a combined population of 3,457 and a 173 km border with Russia that's delineated by the Heilong River.

Zhang Zhan, another officer who is 28, fell in love with Beiji after becoming an officer one year ago.

"People here are kindhearted and hospitable," he said. "And what makes me feel quite proud is that they trust me completely."

Besides ensuring the safety of residents, he uses his knowledge of civil engineering to help them renovate their houses.

In recent years, the village has attracted more tourists, and Zhang has provided lots of effective suggestions to increase villagers' incomes.

"I ran a small convenience store that didn't earn much," said resident Tang Yan. "Sometimes I had to go fishing to support my family.

"When Zhang Zhan learned that my grandmother is Russian, he advised me to enlarge my store and sell Russian goods."

The change brought Tang additional income of 10,000 yuan ($1,460) a year, which makes a big difference for a family with two young children.

"The boom in tourism has greatly motivated the villagers," Zhang said. "They often talked with me about the current popular souvenirs and we discussed how to develop our own souvenirs to earn more money."

His wish is to turn Beihong into a brand to welcome the sprouting tourism industry.
Chinese and Italian police officers jointly patrol in Rome, Italy, June 5, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING - Ten Chinese police officers began joint patrols in four Italian cities Monday, according to a statement from the Chinese Ministry of Public Security.

Four groups of Chinese police officers will join their Italian counterparts for patrols in the cities of Rome, Milan, Florence and Naples from June 5 to 25.

The 20-day program also includes a Chinese-language police hotline where calls are answered by Chinese police officers, who will help Italian police with security issues concerning Chinese tourists, the statement said.

China sent four police officers to Rome and Milan to conduct joint patrols in May 2016. This year, Florence and Naples, both popular destinations for Chinese tourists, were added and six additional officers were sent.

This is the latest program aimed at protecting the interests of Chinese tourists overseas, and will help expand and deepen the Sino-Italian law enforcement cooperation, the statement added.

From April 24 to May 7, four Italian officers and their Chinese counterparts conducted joint patrols at tourist areas in Beijing and Shanghai, the first foreign police officers to carry out joint patrols in China.

According to government statistics, more than 800,000 Chinese and Italian tourists traveled between the two countries in 2016.
NANNING - Police in southern China have busted a workshop manufacturing methamphetamine hidden in a chicken farm, seizing 20 suspects, authorities said Tuesday.

More than 200 police officers from southern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region raided the drug factory in Gusi, a remote mountain village in Nanning, Guangxi's capital, on May 31, according to Nanning public security bureau.

They confiscated more than 560 kilograms of methamphetamine, commonly known as ice, and over 140 kg of chloroephedrine, an in-process material for making methamphetamine, drug-making equipment and over 860,000 yuan (about 127,000 U.S. dolloars), the bureau said.

Guangxi police obtained information early March that a man surnamed Liang might be producing drugs in a suburb of Nanning. After a three-month investigation, a large drugs ring covering Guangxi, Guangdong and Fujian provinces was uncovered.

The ring was well organized with each gang member assigned a particular role. They were relatives or fellow-villagers of Liang.

Further investigation is ongoing.

Between January to May, Nanning police have arrested 263 drug suspects, seized more than 2,200 kg drugs, 89 times more than that in the same period last year.
BEIJING - A total of 9.4 million Chinese high school students will sit the 2017 national college entrance examination, known as the Gaokao, due to kick off Wednesday, the Ministry of Education said.

Some 3.72 million of these students are expected to enroll in undergraduate degrees following the examination, an increase of nearly 10,000 compared to 2016, according to the 2017 enrollment plan issued by the ministry.

The ministry has instructed local education departments to prepare for the upcoming exam, which generally lasts for two days, with some highly competitive regions adding a third day.

Emergency plans should be in place for extreme weather conditions, natural disasters and disease outbreaks that could occur during the exams, the ministry said.

Other measures include heat control and noise abatement in and around examination venues to create an optimal environment for students.

A report released by China Education Online, www.eol.cn, showed that the number of students taking the exam has declined from its peak of 10.5 million in 2008, and has remained stable at around 9.4 million since 2014.

The number is expected to remain steady or drop slightly in the future, due to various factors including a decrease in the school-aged population, the report said.
Chinese astronauts Yang Liwei (first from right) and Liu Yang (second from right) at an Aerospace Objects Exhibition at the National Museum of China in Beijing on April 24, 2017. [Photo by Jiang Dong/China Daily]



China will select the third batch of astronauts this year for its manned space exploration plan, according to Yang Liwei, deputy director of the China Manned Space Engineering Office and China's first astronaut to go into space.

"The new batch will have 10 to 12 astronauts, including around two females," Yang said on May 16 in an interview with China Youth Daily.

China has already completed the first two steps in the three-step process: sending manned spacecraft into space; carrying out extravehicular activities and docking moves and establishing space labs. The third step is to establish long-term manned space station.

After Tianzhou 1 cargo spacecraft docked with Tiangong II space lab, refueling and resupplying it in April, China completed the experiments and tests on the manned space lab missions, Yang said.

During the third step to build the space station, more scientific experiments will be carried out, requiring astronauts to have more expertise, Yang said.

"Astronauts in the first batch were required to have bachelor's degrees and pilots' license. But now, new astronauts will focus on the engineering side. They should have master's degrees to work as engineers and researchers," Yang said.

New astronauts might face lower physical standards set for past astronauts in selection and training, but they should have more stable mental endurance, allowing them to work in a small place with heavy work for a long period, Yang said. The checks on chronic disease will be stricter.

"People who have suffered fractures have no chance. The appendicitis surgery might be tolerable, but any surgery on the chest is unacceptable. The nearsighted people also have no chance because the extreme pressure while entering the space will easily cause retinal detachment," Yang said.

Yang added that according to an initial plan, China might choose new astronauts every four years depending on the missions and training situations.

China will launch Long March 5B carrier rocket into space in 2019, and after that, the rocket will help carry the core module of China's space station into space. Shenzhou XII and Shenzhou XIII spacecrafts will be launched soon after that.

But the crew of Shenzhou XII will consist of astronauts from the first and second batches, Yang said.

China has selected astronauts in two batches, 14 in 1990s and seven in 2010.
The 18th group of Chinese medical aid workers sent to Sierra Leone are preparing to return after more than a year on assignment, according to Changsha Evening News.

When the nine-strong team from Hunan province arrived at the China-Sierra Leone Friendship Hospital in February last year, their aim was to help it become the best in West Africa.

"Such a task is easier said than done," said Teng Chaoyu, leader of the team and dean of the hospital, which is in the western town of Jui.

He said when the team arrived, there was only one local doctor on staff, the institute had a critical shortage of medicine, the dormitory was dirty, and there was a lack of potable water. The team has worked hard to improve conditions, he added.

Qiu Yu, a medic from Hunan Children's Hospital, has treated about 5,000 infants and children over the past year.

One of the children he saved is a 7-year-old boy who was originally admitted to a children's hospital in Sierra Leone with a fever and cramps. A British doctor from Doctors Without Borders had incorrectly diagnosed the boy with viral meningitis, and the treatment provided was ineffective.

However, Qiu found a small wound on the sole of the child's foot and was told by the boy's uncle he had stood on a nail. He was able to correctly diagnose tetanus and provide a detailed treatment plan.

Two weeks later, the boy had recovered and was discharged from the hospital.

The Hunan team have also helped improve the knowledge of local workers at the China-Sierra Leone Friendship Hospital.

There are only two registered anesthetists in Sierra Leone, so all anesthesia work is done by the hospital's nurses.

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime," said Zou Zhihong, an anesthetist from Changsha Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, repeating an old maxim.

He has spent much of his time in Sierra Leone teaching about anesthesia and, like all the medics from Hunan, learned English to help train African health professionals.

On May 9, the Chinese team visited a Creole community to offer free checkups and provide health education, treating 314 patients.
A robot made by a company in the Chengdu Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone will take the math test of the national college entrance examination, commonly known as gaokao, on Wednesday afternoon.

AI-MATHS will sit for the math test after 5 pm, when the test for students in different parts of the country is over, according to Lin Hui, chief executive officer of the company Zhunxingyunxue Technology of Chengdu, which developed the robot.

There is a national, unified paper version of the math test. But different provinces can offer their own versions for students in their provinces, ignoring the unified version.

His company will try to get the national, unified paper version and several other versions, such as the version for students in Beijing, said Lin, adding that AI-MATHS will finish several versions within two hours.

If AI-MATHS is familiar with the questions, it will finish a version within about 20 minutes. If it meets with difficult questions, it will skip them first and return after finishing the easy questions. It will manage to work out the difficult questions or just fail when the test time is over, he said.

AI-MATHS is an artificial intelligence program developed at Tsinghua University in 2014 with cutting-edge technologies of big data, artificial intelligence and natural language recognition.

To the developer of AI-MATHS, the math test it will sit for on Wednesday afternoon is a test of the robot's ability.

The Ministry of Science and Technology has announced a plan to develop gaokao robots. Under the plan, by 2020, artificial intelligence robots will be smart enough to gain admission to leading universities through the entrance exam, Xinhua said.




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Government officials from Heilongjiang province and Russia at the press conference, Beijing, June 5. [Photo by Li Hongrui/provided to Chinaculture.org]

Government officials from Heilongjiang province and Russia have announced the start date for the 8th Sino-Russia Cultural Fair.

The information of the fair, which will be held for five days from June 22, was made known at a news conference at the Russian embassy in Beijing on June 5, and the event will be held by Heihe city in Heilongjiang and Russia's Amur Oblast administrative center, Blagoveshchensk.

As an implication of the Belt and Road Initiative, the fair will further be held simultaneously in the two countries. The 2017 event will highlight cultural travel in 33 activities across seven categories, which will include fairs, high-level forums and art performances. The cultural travel focus at the fair was designed to combine culture and travel, while informing the public about the natural beauty and cultural history of Heihe.

Painters from China and Russia will also have a joint sketch at the event, under the theme of River of Friendship. The China Ethnic Song and Dance Ensemble, along with a Russian folk dance ensemble, will further perform during the gala at the opening ceremony of the fair.

The 8th Sino-Russia Cultural Fair will feature many exhibitions of Russian craftworks, along with Chinese and Russian paintings, and art works from university students of the two countries. Up to 20 countries and regions, as well as 50 enterprises, are expected to attend the occasion.

One of China's National Intangible Cultural Heritages, the Oroqen ethnic group's festival to worship God of Fire, will also be displayed at the event. The performance will enable visitors to experience the Oroqen people's horse racing, fencing and wrestling in person.

At the press conference, held on June 5, Mayor of Heihe Xie Baolu expressed his love for the city, as well as his determination to promote the cultural fair to strengthen the friendship between the two nations.

"June 5 marks the coming of Grain in Ear, one of the 24 solar terms in Chinese culture," he said.

"The term signifies a busy time for farmers to sow and harvest. We are having this press conference for the cultural fair on this day, wishing the cultural fair could be fruitful to Chinese and Russian people."
Poster for the French drama, The Beginning of Love [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"Sometimes an idea just shows up in an elegant yet late way. And no one could imagine that the drama was born out of an almost naive fear of losing contact with others," says Pascal Rambert, director of the French drama, The Beginning of Love.

In June 2016, its prequel, The Ending of Love, began to tour China with a brand new Chinese version.

One night that month, the director sat with cast members on one of the terraces at the Nanluogu Lane. And he told others that he was reluctant to be parted from them when the tour ended.

"I think we should keep working together. So, why don't we produce The Beginning of Love afterwards?" the 55-year-old man asks.

The idea came true when they met with each other in Dali, Southwest China's Yunnan province, several months later and began rehearsals at the Dali Art Factory.

From June 2 to June 4, the cast and crew returned to Beijing and performed the 75-minute drama, The Beginning of Love, at the Pengaho Theater.

"I wrote the script in August 2000 in Paris. And the work was based on my life story, thus there was no hiding in it. Everything is real except the car crash at the end of the story. I even did not make any names for the characters, as they can be our names," Rambert says.

"The only thing that I did in my creation was listen to the missing part in my heart and wrote them down. And every each day I was having a silent conversation with my beloved one," the director says, "With all the louvers closed in my room during daylight, I pushed myself hard on writing. What I have been saying is such a special moment, when love is new and we wish it to last forever."
A porcelain piece is among the works by Wang Xuyuan at a recent show during the 40th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting in Beijing. [Photo provided to China Daily]

His lines are simple and symbolic but the colors are abundant. It is difficult to categorize his work because it looks like a combination of painting, calligraphy and architecture.

This is hanshu, which translates as "Han people's calligraphy".

A former urban designer who helped nurture Shanghai's Lujiazui to become a world-class financial center in the 1990s, Wang Xuyuan, a 60-year Shanghai native, prefers "big pictures".

During the 40th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting, which was held in Beijing in late May, Wang showcased about 30 of his paperwork and porcelain pieces at the conference venue to portray the breathtaking landscapes of Antarctica.

For example, a painting showing icebergs was created using the Chinese character shan (mountain), while paintings of penguins were abstract expressions of the Chinese characters qi'e (penguin). Other works represented ice caves and auroras.

He attributes his art to a visit to the Shanghai-based Polar Research Institute of China five years ago.

"I was immediately hooked by the animals and scenery shown in pictures and videos," says Wang. "For me, Antarctica felt like a dream.

"Research in Antarctica needs to go beyond professionals. The public deserves to know more, and artists can be the bridge."
Chinese artist Wang Luyan is presenting his paintings at the Bridging Asia-Europe exhibition. [Photo provided to China Daily]

An ongoing exhibition in Beijing brings together artists from China and Europe. Lin Qi reports.

Three artists featured at the Bridging Asia-Europe exhibition seriesWang Luyan from China, Gianni Dessi from Italy and Alois Mosbacher from Austriashow how some artists who grew up in a less-globalized world still managed to develop individual styles and reshape the landscape of contemporary art.

Bridging Asia-Europe, launched by The Parkview Museum in Beijing, is a series of exhibitions to encourage communication between Asian and European artists. The first show, now underway through Sept 17, teams up Wang, Dessi and Mosbacher, whose artworks are part of collections of George Wong, the museum's founder and an entrepreneur from Hong Kong.

Through their paintings and installations, the three artists demonstrate distinctive approaches to topics in today's world, such as openness, freedom, traditions and respect.

The series will include exhibitions by other artists as well.

Lorand Hegyi, the current exhibition's Hungarian curator, says the three artists were all born in the early 1950s, a period when the world was divided into two "antagonistic hemispheres".

"Their generation witnessed many critical events of the Cold War. When the three artists became active in the 1980s, they staged (works) on the platform of multicultural globalization."
Flavors of Indonesia: William Wongso's Culinary Wonders wins the Gourmand International's 2017 best cookbook award in Yantai, Shandong province. Photos provided to China Daily

China hosts the Gourmand International awards for the fifth time, honoring books, chefs, TV hosts and more. Mike Peters reports in Yantai, Shandong.

William Wongso seems like a chef in a war zone. Peppered with the pops and splatters of boiling coconut milk, however, Wongso is unfazed and relaxed.

"You need high-fat coconut milk to cook down for this," he says to a cooking assistant pulled from the crowd, who is trying to dodge the searing drops. "You want it to caramelize while the meat is cooking. And no, the fire is not too high.

"Good coconut cream will explode like a volcano, or a lover, when the heat from the oil is right," he grins as the air fills with the scents of fresh lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, fresh turmeric and a flotilla of other spices bobbing in the bubbling broth.

Everyone nods sagely. After all, who's going to argue with the winner of Gourmand International's 2017 best cookbook award?

Meeting in Yantai in Shandong province the night before, the culinary society had crowned Flavors of Indonesia: William Wongso's Culinary Wonders ($29.95, Bab Publishing Indonesia, available on Amazon) and bestowed dozens of other awards on cookbooks, chefs and TV presenters.

"This event started as a joke at the Frankfurt Book Fair," says a smiling Gourmand International founder Edouard Cointreau. "We wanted place where we could drink Champagne with the foodie crowd at the fair."
Guizhou promotes tourism at UN headquarters ( chinadaily.com.cn ) Updated: 2017-06-06

Guizhou province launched a tourism promotion at the United Nations headquarters in New York on June 2, showcasing its fascinating natural and cultural heritage.

The promotion event witnessed many memoranda of understanding signed between the Guizhou Tourism Development Commission and some tourism industry associations of the United States.

A picture exhibition showcases Guizhou provinces fascinating natural and cultural heritage at the United Nations headquarters in New York on June 2. [Photo by Li Muzi/Xinhua]

Located on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, Guizhou is known as a "Mountain Kingdom". A total of 54,600 tourists from the United States visited Guizhou in 2016, a 32.2 percent increase from 2015, according to Lu Yongzheng, vice-governor of Guizhou province.

"Tourism can act as a bridge between China and the United States," said Lu. He expressed his hope that the event could deepen cooperation between the two sides.

Lu Yongzheng, vice-governor of Guizhou province, outlines the history, culture and economic strength of Guizhou province in New York on June 2. [Photo by Li Muzi/Xinhua]

Mayor of New York City Bill de Blasio said that the event provided a chance to discover more about the heritage and attractions of one of China's most beautiful regions.

De Blasio also commended the efforts to foster cross-cultural exchange, promote international trade and tourism and reinforce bonds between New York and China.
In his keynote speech at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation on May 14, President Xi Jinping said "we should build the Belt and Road into a road of innovation". Xi mentioned "innovation" 15 times in his speech, which clearly showed the difference between the Belt and Road Initiative and other similar initiatives.

First, the initiative doesn't focus only on trade area construction, it also aims to improve infrastructure for better connectivity, policy coordination, and exchange of goods and services. In this regard, the initiative transcends the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

TPP negotiations were once strongly opposed by the Japanese people, and caused panic in the Vietnamese footwear industry, which saw it as a harbinger of destruction. In contrast, China's initiative seeks coordination and cooperation among not only economies but also cultures.

Second, innovation reflects inclusiveness. The Barack Obama-led US administration imposed strict conditions on TPP negotiators, and kept China out of the negotiation. Despite that, China said on many occasions that it was open to the idea of TPP and any other regional cooperation initiatives provided they were inclusive.

On the other hand, the United States has not been included in the RCEP negotiations because it does not have free trade relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. However, China welcomes all interested economies to join the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. The Philippines attended the opening ceremony of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in Beijing in January 2016, and played the role of an intention creator.

Third, innovation also reflects China's role as the architect of a mutually beneficial and inclusive economic initiative. But instead of setting the agenda for the initiative, China acts more like an organizer, bringing all the partners together on a platform, where they can list the topics of discussion and share their ideas, and thus jointly decide the agenda on the basis of equality.

And fourth, the initiative's negotiations are outcome-oriented, while consultations emphasize process-oriented choice. The failure of one round of negotiations may signify a waste of time, effort and money. Consultations, however, put less pressure on the participants, and introduce them to a network where dialogues act as stimulants and lead to innovation.

But innovation is difficult to achieve, especially since ASEAN has already drawn up a "Master Plan for Connectivity", that is, physical, institutional and people-to-people connectivity. To improve connectivity between China and ASEAN member states, Beijing should not only help ASEAN to implement its master plan, but also go beyond the plan to strengthen interconnectivity.

Neither China's economic power nor its political importance is reflected in the small say it enjoys in international organizations. So it should also focus on institution building as part of the Belt and Road Initiative to have greater say in global institutions.

How to explain its ideas to the rest of the world and remove the misunderstandings some countries have about its initiative and other programs remain a challenge for China. But since high-level institutions, to a large extent, are founded on the basis of concrete rules rather than absolutist ideas, China has enough reasons to believe a bright future awaits the Belt and Road Initiative, provided its problems are timely identified and solved.

The author is a research fellow at the Hainan Provincial Party School.
LUO JIE/CHINA DAILY

China's cyber security law came into effect on June 1, just a few weeks after the ransomware virus Wannacry hit computers across the world. Designed to safeguard China's cyberspace sovereignty and security, the law, contrary to what some foreign observers say, is not about limiting the flow of information or hampering international trade, the cyber security watchdog said recently.

The new law, adopted by the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, in November, will better shield key information infrastructure and citizens' personal information against hackers and data thieves.

The new law says information and important data in key fields should be especially protected. "Sensitive" infrastructure, from public telecommunications services to the financial sector, must be carefully protected for the sake of citizens, who would suffer unnecessary losses if their personal information is leaked due to technological faults or stolen by data thieves. The 2010 cyberattack on the Natanz uranium enrichment plant in central Iran that disrupted the construction is a case in point.

Another highlight of China's cyber security law is the ban on online service providers collecting users' personal information irrelevant to the service, because some of them sell it to make money illegally. It is universally agreed that citizens' personal information should be lawfully obtained with their consent and in accordance with relevant laws. China has decided to improve its laws by following this global practice.

Online service providers, on the one hand, are allowed to build their own database to store customers' information, as long as it is legally collected. On the other hand, they have the legal obligation to protect the information they collect from leaking.

In the era of digital economy, customers' online and offline traces, from their shopping preferences to how they commute, can be of great value to service providers. But such data exploitation must not come at the cost of citizens' privacy, which specific provisions of the cyber security law vow to protect.

In particular, the law attaches equal importance to the ownership and use of data assets, by putting citizens' individual rights before property rights. It stipulates that those who violate the provisions and infringe on personal information face hefty fines, reflecting the country's determination to safeguard human rights and adjust to the digital age.

China's cyber security laws and rules are in tandem with internationally acknowledged "codes of conduct" to counter cyberattacks and aimed at preventing potential cyber wars.

It is hoped that the United Nations will work on an international treaty on cyber security and has called on willing members to help realize it. In theory, the treaty is supposed to ban one state from using the internet to target other sovereign states, prohibit terrorists from disseminating radical literature and organizing terror attacks online, and urge all signatories to rein in online viruses. Security authorities are obligated to compensate victims of cyber crimes in other countries if their mishandling of digital data is to blame for the crimes. Besides, a supervision organ under the UN should be authorized to manage the issuance of domains.

The author is a professor of law at Wuhan-based Zhongnan University of Economics and Law.
During China's decades-long engagement on the global stage, the ruling rhetoric from the West is that Beijing is welcomed because of its growing economic clout. But the condition is that it should not only shoulder its due share of global responsibility but also obey international rules and commitments.

In the dynamically evolving multilateral world, such conditions equally apply to the West itself. The United States' withdrawal from the Paris Climate Change Agreement has highlighted the necessity of such a call.

But the European Union is not an exception when talking about responding to global rules.

Events during the China-EU leaders' meeting on June 1-2 in Brussels showcased China's timely wake-up reminder for the West: with growing damages brought by so-called reverse globalization, obeying the established rules and sticking to commitments already made are key to defending global stability.

On Thursday night, when visiting Premier Li Keqiang had an informal dinner discussion with European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to set tone for the next day's meeting, they debated EU commitment to the World Trade Organization rules and disruption caused by US withdrawal from the Paris Climate Change Agreement.

Roughly the same time after their dinner European time, President Donald Trump announced his country will pull out of the hard-won global climate deal governing the earth's carbon emission in the years after 2020.

The explosive topic, together with other heavy agenda items on bilateral and international affairs, meant the meeting between Li and European leaders lasted for three more hours on Friday. At the press conference, Tusk labelled it the most "promising, fruitful" meeting since 1998 when the first was held.

Checking the results announced by both sides, Tusk's conclusion made sense, although a lot of obvious differences between China and the EU remain. Both sides have shown tremendous determination to deepen and explore cooperation, ranging from anti-terrorism, education, investment, 5G technology to tourism.

Though there wasn't a joint declaration, China and the EU strongly pledged to honor their climate commitment in spite of Trump's backtracking from Barack Obama's pledges to cope with global warming.

Politicians, opinion leaders and businesses within the European Union have strongly condemned Trump's decision to quit the widely-accepted global consensus on climate.

Many had even said such consensus achieved in 2015 showed timely global solidarity, indicating the global players still have courage to compromise over a collective deal.

So it is understandable if the rest of the world decried Trump's short-sighted wrong decision.

Of course, this is not the first time the United States has done this. It did not ratify the Kyoto Protocol, the first milestone climate agreement signed within a United Nations framework.

Apart from climate agreements, the United States has not yet honored its commitment made when China joined the World Trade Organization more than 15 years ago.

During his visit to Germany, Belgium and the European Union headquarters from Wednesday to Friday, Li repeatedly requested the European politicians to keep their promises over WTO protocols instead of the EU calculating the anti-dumping tariffs of China's exports to the EU, the cost standards in China should be considered.

That was the due commitment the European Union made when China joined the World Trade Organization in the beginning of this century. Sadly, most of the Western powers had not lived up to it though up to 100 countries worldwide had already delivered.

The EU has a very close economic and trade interdependency with China, and it has long advocated rule-based free trade. China wants the EU to set an example by meaning what it said.

Certainly, China is defending its own interests. But China's insistence has gone far beyond its own interests. This is because if the EU delivers its commitment, the message is clear: in a fragile world, the EU is firmly on course to obey the global rules.

This would be concrete evidence of fighting against the reverse of globalization, which will show that the EU differs from the US.

The author is deputy chief of China Daily European Bureau. fujing@chinadaily.com.cn
A FEMALE PASSENGER slapped the face of an airport employee in Tianhe Airport of Wuhan, Central China's Hubei province, on Thursday, when the female employee refused to allow her to check in for an Air France flight because she was late. Beijing News comments:

The incident was actually settled after Zhang was detained by the police for 10 days according to the Security Administration Punishment Act. However, Air France then blacklisted Zhang, and the airport's management has decided to apply to the Civil Aviation Administration of China to blacklist her as well. If approved, Zhang would not even be able to take a domestic flight.

The airport's punishment bid certainly goes too far. Once on the CAAC's blacklist, she will most likely to be banned by all airlines in China. This punishment would be too heavy and unfair, and is suspected of infringing upon Zhang's rights and interests as consumer.

Zhang has already been punished according to the law for her misconduct, which she immediately regretted and apologized for as soon as she calmed down. The CAAC, as a public service provider, must consider the ban request prudently. Otherwise, passengers will be left in a vulnerable position, and have no chance to defend themselves in the face of the industry's own "law", even if they have borne the legal consequences for any bad behavior.

Also, the airport is wrong in exposing in their news releases that Zhang has a doctorate from a prestigious university in Wuhan.

Zhang's personal background, which is by no means related to her misdeeds, has become a focus for many people who want to pour their hostility toward the elite and for those wanting to vent their anger on an educated female.

Is the ensuing harassment of Zhang and her family part of the penalty she deserves?

When the airports misbehave, who turns up to punish them and for how long will they be made to pay the price? This is the question.
A ceremony to honor the victims of the Nanjing Massacre is held at the memorial hall in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, on Dec 13, 2016. [Photo/IC]

Toshio Motoya, president of Tokyo-based land developer and operator of APA Group, is again playing his favorite game of manipulating historical evidence through a new book, which hit bookstores on Friday. In his latest book, The Real History of Japan: Japan Pride, Motoya continues to deny that Japanese troops were responsible for the Nanjing Massacre in 1937-38. He even goes further to blame Chinese soldiers for the looting and killings.

His previous book, The Real History of Japan: Theoretical Modern History II, says the Nanjing Massacre is "fabricated" history. Motoya's books, along with other right-wing literature, are provided for free in the rooms of APA's 400-plus hotels in Japan, which infuriated Chinese people, especially those visiting Japan, early this year. In protest, China and the Republic of Korea pulled their athletes out of the APA hotels during the Asian Winter Games in Hokkaido in February.

On Friday, Motoya said he would not remove his books from the group's hotels when Tokyo hosts the Olympic Games in 2020. Such historical revisionism shows how rightwing forces eager to whitewash Japan's war crimes are becoming emboldened with the tacit help of hawkish Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Neither has the Japanese government nor the country's media and public condemned Motoya's books. In fact, the conservative newspaper Sankei Shimbun praised the Abe administration for "neither pressuring APA nor urging self-restraint".

During World War II, Japan and Germany were the aggressors and part of the Axis. In 1945 they shared defeat and occupation. But the two countries have dealt with their war history very differently. Nazi symbols and sympathizers trigger crackdowns in Germany. As recently as last year, an 87-year-old German woman was sentenced to 10 months in prison for denying the Holocaust.

Germany has potent anti-Nazi laws. German counterintelligence officers are investigating 280 cases of pro-Nazi personnel in the armed forces, according to German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle. And 18 members of the German armed forces were dismissed for their extremist views between 2012 and 2016.

In his book, Germany: Memories of a Nation, Neil MacGregor, British historian and former director of the British Museum, says that for all of us some memories are so painful, so shameful, that we will suppress them, and the act of recovering those leads to disorientation and distress.

"Many of the huge questions surrounding the Holocaust, and the role in it of so many Germans as perpetrators, went until the 1990s not just unanswered, but unasked. It gives a very sharp edge to the decision by the German government over the last decades to force remembering by researching archives, by introducing vigorous programs of public education, and by the building of monuments like the Holocaust Memorial," MacGregor says. "In this also can be said that German monuments are not like those in other lands," he adds. "I know of no other country in the world that at the heart of its national capital erects monuments to its own shame."

In contrast, every year on Aug 15  the anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II in 1945  right-wingers are free to march in Imperial Japanese Army uniforms at Yasukuni Shrine, where a museum presents the revisionist depiction of Japan's "Pacific war" with its narrative of liberating Asian peoples from Western colonialism and downplays Japanese aggression and war crimes. The shrine also honors 14 Class-A Japanese war criminals.

Chinese research shows more than 300,000 Chinese people were butchered in Nanjing in a six-week spree of killing, rape and destruction by the Japanese army that began in December 1937. and scholars across the world have no doubt the heinous war crimes were committed by the Japanese troops.

Motoya's attempt to deny the Nanjing Massacre is thus an affront to not only the survivors of the massacre but also people at large.

Germany's approach toward its Nazi past has earned it the admiration of countries around the world. And by fabricating his country's war history, Motoya can't build Japan's pride.

The author is China Daily Tokyo bureau chief.
WASHINGTON -- US Police said on Monday that five people have been killed in a workplace shooting incident in Orlando, Florida.

"Four dead at scene of business. One victim died at hospital. Shooter killed himself. Suspect 45 years old. Disgruntled former employee," the Orange County Sheriff's Office said on its twitter, ruling out the possibility of a terrorist attack.

The shooting occurred in an industrial area with multiple warehouses.

"The shooter was carrying a gun and an knife. He was fired from this business. The individual shot former co-workers," it said.

The police received a call at 8:03 am (1203 GMT) from a local business, reporting an active shooter, and they arrived two minutes later, finding four dead at the scene, a statement said.

"This is sad for once again for us in Orange County. Our hearts go out to the victims," Sheriff Jerry Demings told a press briefing.

The identity of the shooter is expected to be released soon after relatives are notified, the police said, adding that the incident posed no harm to the business.
Zambia agreed on Monday to release 31 Chinese nationals it was detaining in the African country after Beijing's diplomatic efforts to help repatriate the individuals it claims were held through selective enforcement.

According to Red Star News, a Chinese online publication, Chinese embassy staffers said Zambia agreed to release the Chinese detainees after China's Ambassador to Zambia Yang Youming work-ed with Steven Kampyongo, the Zambian home affairs minister.

"Zambia agreed to release all the 31 Chinese nationals, and the Zambian government won't prosecute them. But all 31 have to leave Zambia today, with no exceptions," the report said.

The 31 Chinese have not been expelled and can return to Zambia in the future, it said, adding that the information still needs to be confirmed.

Zambia detained the Chinese nationals working for a Chinese company and accused them of illegal mining in the country's copper belt. But the authorities failed to provide strong proof of their crimes, the Foreign Ministry has said.

"The government has always asked Chinese companies and citizens to respect the laws of the countries where they operate and does not shield illegal action," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular news briefing on Monday.

"But China opposes selective law-enforcement actions against its citizens," she said.

She said the Chinese embassy sent a working group to urge Zambia to improve treatment of the detained.

Lin Songtian, the ministry's director-general of the Department of African Affairs, told a senior Zambian diplomat on Sunday that China understands and supports actions against illegal mining. However, Zambia had failed to provide strong proof of criminal activity by the 31 workers and held a pregnant woman and two malaria patients, Lin said.

China hoped Zambia would handle the incident according to the law appropriately and release the workers, Lin said.

The Zambian diplomat said his country cherishes its relations with China and will closely cooperate with China to properly handle the case.

He Wenping, a researcher at the Institute of West Asian and African Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said China has long assisted and supported Zambia and laid a solid foundation for a good working relationship between the two nations.

"For example, Beijing financed and built the Tazara Railway in the 1970s, which gave countries including Zambia access to a seaport" in Tanzania, she said.

Civil disputes in the mining industry are a new phenomenon between the two nations and they must be handled properly, she said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin talks with NBC in St. Petersburg on Saturday. Alexei Druzhinin / Kremlin Via Ap

Russian president denies he has 'any relationship' with counterpart Trump

WASHINGTON - Russian President Vladimir Putin said claims about Russian involvement in US elections are untrue, adding that the United States actively interferes with elections in other countries.

And he is dismissing as "a load of nonsense" the idea that Russia has damaging information on US President Donald Trump.

"I never met with him. We have a lot of Americans who visit us," Putin said in an interview with NBC's Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly. He added: "Do you think we're gathering compromising information on all of them right now or something? Have you all lost your senses?"

US intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia meddled in the presidential election to hurt the bid of Democrat Hillary Clinton. Trump himself has been dogged by questions about any business dealings with Russia he said he has none as well as reports of a Russian dossier of damaging personal information.

"Well, this is just another load of nonsense," Putin said. "Where would we get this information from? Why, did we have some special relationship with him? We didn't have any relationship at all."

Putin again denied any Russian involvement in the US presidential election and any knowledge of Russian contacts with the Trump campaign. A special counsel appointed by the Justice Department and congressional committees are investigating.

Former FBI director James Comey, whom Trump fired after allegedly asking him to drop an investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn and his Russian contacts, is scheduled to testify on Thursday before the Senate's intelligence committee.

In the NBC interview, Putin was asked about reports of Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner's attempt to set up a secret communications channel with Russia. Putin said he knew nothing about it and that he had not discussed with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak any meeting with Kushner.

"Had there been anything significant he would have reported it to the minister. The minister would have reported it to me," Putin said. "There weren't even any reports. There's nothing to even talk about. There wasn't even any kind of specific discussion about sanctions or anything else. For me, this is just amazing. You created a sensation out of nothing."

Putin suggested that skilled hackers anywhere, including the US, could shift the blame for hacking onto Russia. He also alleged that Washington actively interferes with electoral campaigns of other countries.

"Put your finger anywhere on a map of the world, and everywhere you will hear complaints that American officials are interfering in internal electoral processes," he said.

As far as the findings of US intelligence agencies, Putin said, "They have been misled."

AP - Reuters
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May looks on during a general election campaign visit to a tool factory in Kelso, Scotland June 5, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

LONDON - British Prime Minister Theresa May's lead over the opposition Labour Party ahead of Thursday's national election has narrowed to just 1 percentage point, according to a poll by Survation for ITV television on Monday.

The poll was conducted on Friday and Saturday, before an attack in London by Islamist militants that killed seven people and injured 48.

In the previous Survation poll for ITV, published a week ago, the Conservatives had a lead of six points. But a separate Survation poll, published on Saturday for the Mail on Sunday newspaper, also gave the Conservatives a one-point lead.

Survation said its latest poll put support for May's Conservative Party at 41.5 percent compared with 40.4 percent for Labour, a result which if replicated in the election would put in jeopardy the Conservatives' majority in parliament.

Opinion polls by other leading polling firms have given wider leads for the Conservatives in recent days, ranging as high as 11 and 12 points.

Monday's Survation/ITV poll was based on interviews with 1,103 people.
Photo taken on June 5, 2017 shows the Embassy of Qatar in Manama, Bahrain. Bahrain announced Monday it cut ties with Qatar, accusing the country of disturbing its security and stability, according to the Bahrain News Agency. [Photo/Xinhua]

CAIRO - Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, the internationally recognized government of Yemen, Libya and Maldives severed their ties with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of supporting "terrorism" and financing "groups" linked to Iran, opening up the worst rift in years among some of the most powerful states in the Arab world.

China hopes the countries involved will solve the dispute through dialogue and consultation, maintain unity and promote regional peace and stability, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Monday.

The Kremlin said on Monday that it is in Russia's interest to have a "stable and peaceful" situation in the Gulf, adding it also hopes that the diplomatic row will not affect "the common determination and resolve" in the joint fight against "international terrorism".

Announcing the decision on Monday to cut diplomatic relations with Qatar, Saudi Arabia also accused its fellow Gulf Arab state of interfering in its internal affairs.

Riyadh was also cutting land, air and sea contact with Doha, media reports said.

Bahrain accused Qatar of backing terrorism and interfering in its internal affairs, according to a statement carried by its official news agency.

The UAE said it will "sever relations with Qatar, including diplomatic relations, and the country's diplomatic mission has a grace period of 48 hours to leave the country".

The UAE has taken these steps "as a result of the failure of the Qatari authorities" to stop funding "terrorist organizations ... especially the Muslim Brotherhood", it said.

The Muslim Brotherhood, which has been outlawed in Egypt, is labeled a terrorist organization in the UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

The UAE and Qatar are both members of the six-country Gulf Cooperation Council, to which Saudi Arabia and Bahrain also belong. Founded in 1981, the GCC is a leading political and economic block in the Arab world.

Egypt also announced its decision to cut diplomatic ties with Qatar on Monday.

Egypt severed diplomatic ties with Qatar on accusations of supporting terrorist organizations, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said.

The statement added Qatar is sheltering the leaders of the Brotherhood who have targeted the security and safety of Egypt by conducting terrorist attacks.

Ties between Egypt and Qatar have been deteriorating since the ouster of the Egyptian Islamist-affiliated leader Mohammed Morsi in 2013 after mass protests against his rule.
Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings speaks to the media near the scene of a fatal workplace shooting in Orlando, Florida, U.S. June 5, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

A man who had been fired in April from his job at an awnings factory near Orlando, Florida, returned to his old workplace on Monday and fatally shot five people he had targeted, before killing himself, a county sheriff said.

John Robert Neumann Jr., a 45-year-old US Army veteran, was armed with a semi-automatic handgun and hunting knife when he entered a business called Fiamma, which describes itself as one of the world's largest manufacturers of awnings for recreational vehicles.

Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings described Neumann as a disgruntled ex-employee but said it was not clear why he was fired or what prompted his actions. He was not linked to any militant organizations, the sheriff told reporters.

Most of the victims were shot in the head, some multiple times, he said.

"He was certainly singling out the individuals that he shot," said Demings, who earlier described the shooting as "likely a workplace violence incident."

The victims included Robert Snyder, 69, who was chief of the Fiamma site, said Todd Bluewater, owner of a neighboring business. Also killed were Brenda Montanez-Crespo, 44; Kevin Clark, 53; Jeffrey Roberts, 57; and Kevin Lawson, 46, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

It appeared the shooter was targeting managers, Bluewater told Reuters by phone.
Few prizes can beat the Nobel for generosity.

The Global Challenges Prize, giving $5 million to its winner, is one of them.

The prize, given by the Global Challenges Foundation, is seeking creative solutions for global catastrophic risks, such as climate change, weapons of mass destruction and extreme poverty.

Malini Mehra speaks at United Nations Biodiversity Convention in Cancun, Mexico in this Dec 2016 file photo. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Malini Mehra, the Sweden-based non-profit foundation's ambassador who was promoting the prize in her latest trip to Beijing, expects a lot from the candidates. The ideal winner should be a true global citizen who keeps a close eye on global concerns and is also bold and fearless while addressing those concerns.

More than 18,000 people from 180 countries across the world have expressed interest, according to Mehra. Despite the seemingly wide interest, only 211 entries were received, meaning roughly one percent of those interested actually submitted their ideas.

Two entries are from China, in contrast to 12 from its neighboring country, India.

The application period closes at the end of September.

Though quantity doesn't always guarantee quality, the small pool of candidates still shows a lack of public concern on global affairs.

It's not the general public to blame. Social problems within the border already demand prime attention; global issues, though some of them are catastrophic, can only come in second.

Take China, for example. Health-threatening air pollution, a tough job market, rising living expenses in cities and rocketing home prices, to name just a few, are already worrisome.

If you live in India, the shocking violence against women and air pollution in big cities like Delhi frequently make news headlines.

Europe is once again shadowed by terror fears after deadly attacks in Manchester and London.

The United States is preoccupied by the chaos in White House.

Then there's war-torn Syria.

As everyone is concerned about his or her own living, one might ask: Is it still possible that a globally-minded candidate will come up with an offbeat yet genuine idea and eventually win?

According to Mehra, it is. But she wants more than picking out the winner.

"The objective is not just to award prize-winning entries. The objective is to raise global awareness on big issues and to start to get engaged in dialogues with key sections of society, " she said.

She's a firm believer in collective wisdom. In all of her international career spanning 30 years, she has been pushing people from all sectors to work together.

"Resolving these questions, nobody has the answers. The government doesn't have the answers. The businesses don't have the answers. The NGOs don't. People have to start to work together, " she said. "Everybody is on the learning curve."

The prize-winning idea must show that different groups of people can work together, she insisted.

A globalist

If "globalist" sounds too pedantic, Mehra lives up to the word's definition.

She talked about Beijing like anything but a business traveler.

She'd confront you when you complain about your hobbling taxi trip: Why don't you take the subway?

She'd add the point that the city's subway system, which can be intimidatingly complicated for foreign tourists, is already handy to her.

She'd learn China's history as a multi-ethnical nation in the National Museum and conclude that China, not only the United States, also is a melting pot.

She'd roam the streets to see only two or three foreign faces and then give a well-developed analysis of China's immigration policy.

She'd nod for the Chinese capital city's battle against another ailment, air pollution.

She'd take heed of the rise of creative industry in Beijing as "many international bands come to play for a Chinese audience."

She didn't just stop over during business trips, which she has made many times to China since 1995. She spends time here. She observes. She talks to people. She thinks. She adapts. She gets to know the city, its heart and soul.

She closely followed the Belt and Road Initiative Forum that was held in Beijing on May 14-15 and studied President Xi Jinping's speech, especially the investment plans in the speech.

Which is why she pins her hope on China, which, according to her, can "exert leadership" in the climate change issue.

"So China can say, instead of renewable energy and sustainable technology should be used as the source of capital, China can say these must be used. So move from should to must."

She was right. US President Donald Trump has announced plans to pull out of the Paris climate accord, but Chinese Premier Li Keqiang reaffirmed China's stance of sticking to the accord during his trip to Brussels.

By honoring the pledge, China has to cut emissions and shift investments from fossil fuel-related industries to the clean energy sector.

When you first meet her, you would be awed about her familiarity with China and its capital city. But as you learn more about her you would find that she sees other cities around the world with the same discerning eyes.

New York, Barcelona, and of course her favorite, London, which she "could talk about for hours and hours."

She attributed it to her career of working for international organizations, including the United Nations, which has taken her to most parts of the world.

But not all the Indian women, many of whom are fighting with one of the most discriminating societies in the world, have such an opportunity.

She is an exception.
David Rank, the charge d'affaires of the US Embassy in Beijing in a June 29, 2016 file photo.[Photo/china.com.cn]

WASHINGTON - David Rank, the charge d'affaires of the US Embassy in Beijing, has left the State Department over the Trump administration's decision to quit the 2015 Paris agreement to fight climate change, a senior US official said on Monday.

A State Department spokeswoman confirmed Rank's departure, but said she was unable to verify Twitter posts that said he resigned as he felt unable to deliver a formal notification to China of the US decision last week to quit the agreement.

"He has retired from the foreign service," said Anna Richey-Allen, a spokeswoman for the department's East Asia Bureau. "Mr Rank has made a personal decision. We appreciate his years of dedicated service to the State Department."

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, US President Donald Trump's pick as the next US ambassador to Beijing, is expected to take up the post later this month.

On June 1, the US State Department accepted the resignation of its top personnel officer, who had been among its few remaining senior Obama administration political appointees, another US official said.

Arnold Chacon had served as the director general of the foreign service and director of human resources.

The official said Chacon had tendered his resignation when Trump was inaugurated on Jan 20, along with all presidential appointees, who serve at the pleasure of the president and secretary of state.

The acceptance of Chacon's resignation was first reported by the DiploPundit website.

It was not immediately clear whether he would be offered another post at the department.

Other than Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, his deputy John Sullivan and Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Tom Shannon, the third-ranking US diplomat, most of the State Department's senior posts are currently vacant or filled by acting officials.

Jonathan Fritz, the embassy's economics councilor, would serve as charge in his place, Richey-Allen said.

Rank had been with the department for 27 years and served as the political councilor at the US Embassy in Afghanistan from 2011 to 2012.

Trump's announcement on Thursday that he would withdraw the United States from the Paris climate accord, saying the agreement would undermine the US economy and cost jobs, drew anger and condemnation from world leaders and heads of industry.

Reuters
Visitors play the artist-designed Sing for Hope pianos on Monday on the plaza at 28 Liberty Street, New York. Sixty pianos will be in place in parks and public spaces across all five boroughs through June 25. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY

New York -- Sixty artist-designed pianos are waiting for the public to hit some high notes around New York City this summer.

On Monday, the non-profit organization Sing for Hope once again began filling New York City's parks and public spaces with pianos designed by artists such as Robert Flack, Kate McKinnon, Billy the Artist, the Broadway casts of Aladdin, Beautiful, Cats, Chicago and many more.

Jon Batiste, the bandleader for CBS' "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, headlined Monday afternoon's performance at 28 Liberty Plaza in the unveiling event. He led 60 pianists in playing Bach's Prelude in C together.

"We love art; we love music; this is art for all,"said pianist Batiste after the performance.

Celebrating the 10th anniversary of Sing for Hope, it is also the sixth year it is billing itself as the "largest annual public art project in the US.

"We started Sing for Hope with the core belief that the arts should be accessible to all. Now, more than ever, we believe that the arts can truly transform and uplift not only individuals but entire communities,"said Sing for Hope Co-Founder Monica Yunus.

"We can't wait to not only bring these playable masterpieces to all five boroughs for three weeks this June, but to also bring our mission full circle by giving the next generation of artists the opportunity to bloom,"Yunus said.

Following the conclusion of the art installation on June 25, the pianos will be given permanent homes in New York City public schools.

This partnership with the New York City Department of Education benefits an estimated 15,000 schoolchildren.

A Chinese company offered generous help for the project.

Fosun Group has donated a full 34,000-square-foot floor at 28 Liberty, a landmarked, iconic office tower in Lower Manhattan, to serve as a communal studio for the artists designing the pianos.

"It is an honor to support Sing For Hope for a second year as it fulfills its mission to provide arts resources and programming to underserved neighborhoods in New York City,"said Wei Bo, chief executive representative of Fosun Group in the US and vice-president of Fosun Property Holdings.

"For two years, theoretically, we have donated a couple of million dollars to this project,"said Thomas Costanzo, senior vice-president and director of leasing for Fosun Property Holdings. "It's a wonderful way to give back to the community and to show our passion for the arts and music.

CHINA DAILY
Two of the men shot dead by police following the attack on London Bridge and Borough Market on Saturday are seen in this undated combination image of two photographs, received in London via the Metropolitan Police in London on June 5, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

LONDON - British police and security services had previously investigated one of the Islamist militants who carried out Saturday's attack in London, but with resources scarce, he was not deemed enough of a threat to warrant close monitoring, police said on Monday.

The news raises questions about the police's judgment and increases pressure on Prime Minister Theresa May, who three days before a national election is facing criticism for overseeing cuts to police during her years as interior minister.

In Britain's third Islamist attack in as many months, three men on Saturday rammed a van into pedestrians on London Bridge before running into the Borough Market area, where they slit throats and stabbed people indiscriminately. Seven people were killed and dozens wounded.

All three attackers were shot dead by police, who made at least a dozen arrests in east London on Sunday and carried out further raids on Monday.

Police on Monday named two of the attackers and said they were trying to identify the third. One, 27-year-old Khuram Shazad Butt, was a British citizen born in Pakistan who had already been investigated by police and Britain's domestic spy agency MI5.

"However, there was no intelligence to suggest that this attack was being planned, and the investigation had been prioritised accordingly," police said.

Another attacker, 30-year-old Rachid Redouane, went by the alias Rachid Elkhdar and claimed to be Moroccan or Libyan, police said. He and Butt lived in the same area of east London.
White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders holds the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, DC, US June 5, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

WASHINGTON -- The White House said Monday that the United States was committed to de-escalating tensions in the Gulf after some Arab countries decided to sever ties with Qatar.

"The President is committed to continuing to have conversations with all of the people involved in that process, with all of those countries," said White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders here at a briefing. "We want to continue to de-escalate that."

Meanwhile, speaking at a press conference in Australia, US Defense Secretary James Mattis on Monday sought to downplay the impact of the diplomatic rift in the Middle East on the campaign against the Islamic State (IS).

"I am positive there will be no implications coming out of this dramatic situation at all," said Mattis.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt said earlier on Monday that they decided to cut off diplomatic relations with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism. Qatar has rejected the accusations, calling them "unjustified" and "baseless."

Libya, Yemen and the Maldives also severed ties with Qatar on the same day.
President Xi Jinping meets with his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev during the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing. [Photo/Xinhua]

Xi said that China is willing to strengthen strategic coordination and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation with Kazakhstan.
Toshio Motoya [Photo scrolled by CNTV]

Tokyo-based hotel and real estate developer APA Group has once again come under fire over a historically inaccurate book by the group's CEO, Toshio Motoya. At the launch of the new book on June 2, Motoya said he would not remove copies of the book from his hotels during the Tokyo Olympics.

In the book, titled "The Real History of Japan: Japan Pride," Motoya says the "so-called Nanjing Massacre story" is "fabricated," and blames looting and killings in the city on soldiers with the Chinese army, the Japan Times reported on June 3. A copy of the book is placed in every room at the company's APA Hotels.

Books denying Japan's history of aggression including the 1937 Nanking Massacre and the forced recruitment of "comfort women" before and during World War II are on display in a hotel room of an APA hotel. [Photo/Xinhua]

"The Japanese army merely exposed and put to death plainclothes soldiers who abandoned their uniforms, stole the garments of regular citizens, and were hiding in the refugee zone with weapons and ammunition," Motoya writes in the book, which has been printed in both English and Japanese.

In the book, Motoya says Japan must grow strong without staining its reputation, which is why he denies the occurrence of the Nanjing Massacre and the forced recruitment of "comfort women." He also expresses strong concern about the situation in the East China Sea and South China Sea, emphasizing that only a Japan-US alliance can confront China.
Chinese police officers and Italian police officers talk with tourists at Piazza di Spagna of Rome, Italy, on June 5, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING - Ten Chinese police officers began joint patrols in four Italian cities Monday, according to a statement from the Chinese Ministry of Public Security.

Four groups of Chinese police officers will join their Italian counterparts for patrols in the cities of Rome, Milan, Florence and Naples from June 5 to 25.

The 20-day program also includes a Chinese-language police hotline where calls are answered by Chinese police officers, who will help Italian police with security issues concerning Chinese tourists, the statement said.

China sent four police officers to Rome and Milan to conduct joint patrols in May 2016. This year, Florence and Naples, both popular destinations for Chinese tourists, were added and six additional officers were sent.

This is the latest program aimed at protecting the interests of Chinese tourists overseas, and will help expand and deepen the Sino-Italian law enforcement cooperation, the statement added.

From April 24 to May 7, four Italian officers and their Chinese counterparts conducted joint patrols at tourist areas in Beijing and Shanghai, the first foreign police officers to carry out joint patrols in China.

According to government statistics, more than 800,000 Chinese and Italian tourists traveled between the two countries in 2016.
ROME - The third Islamist militant who carried out an attack on Saturday in London that killed seven people was a Moroccan-Italian called Youssef Zaghba, an Italian intelligence source said on Tuesday.

Zaghba's mother lives in the northern Italian city of Bologna and he had broken off relations with his Moroccan father, the source said, confirming a report on the website of newspaper Corriere della Sera.

Corriere wrote that Zaghba was stopped at Bologna airport in 2016 when he was trying to fly to Syria via Turkey, and that Italian authorities had tipped off Britain about his movements. He was born in the Moroccan city of Fez in 1995.

London police, who have identified the two other attackers as Khuram Shazad Butt and Rachid Redouane, said they were not naming the third attacker yet.

"We are making inquiries and when we are able to confirm the name we will," a spokesman said.

In Britain's third Islamist attack in as many months, three men on Saturday rammed a van into pedestrians on London Bridge before running into the Borough Market area, where they slit throats and stabbed people indiscriminately.

After a period living together in Morocco, Zaghba's parents separated and the mother returned to Italy, Corriere wrote.

Zaghba visited her at her home near Bologna several times and in March 2016, after being stopped at Bologna airport, he was investigated for possible international terrorist activity but released, according to the newspaper.

However, Italy put him on a list of people considered "at risk," and informed both British and Moroccan authorities of his movements, the paper said.

At the time of the attack he was working in a London restaurant and continued to have contacts with his mother in Italy, which he visited last year, Corriere wrote.

Reuters
NAIROBI - Kenya is set to host the third edition of China Week Kenya from June 29 to July 1, organizers said on Tuesday.

MIE Events International Events Director Michelle Meyrick told a media briefing in Nairobi that the three-day event will be a business to business trade show featuring Chinese manufacturing companies looking to connect with local and regional firms in Africa.

"It will be an opportunity for the local community to develop direct trading links with high-end Chinese product manufacturers," Meyrick said.

She noted that the event will provide a trade environment that will be conducive to creating stronger ties between Chinese companies and the local business community looking to source for products and services from China.

According to the organizers, there will be 450 exhibitors from a range of industries including building construction, lighting, consumer electronics, auto parts, furniture, textiles, stationary and jewelry.

In 2016, the event brought together 400 exhibitors and over 16,500 visitors. Similar events will also be held in Ghana, South Africa, and Ethiopia.

Meyrick said that the exhibition is the only comprehensive China-focused trade event to be hosted in East Africa.

MIE Events Managing Director David Wang said that Kenya is the most developed economy in Eastern Africa and also the economic, commercial and logistic hub of the entire region.

"Sino-Kenya cooperation in various fields has gained momentum over the years, and it is the very reason why we are holding the China Trade Week in Nairobi for the third time," Wang said.

He noted that the exhibition will provide an opportunity for Kenyan entrepreneurs to grow strong business partnerships with Chinese companies and also benefit from the industrial capacity and wealth of knowledge from China.
London police have named the third member of the gang who killed seven people on Saturday.

Italian national Youssef Zaghba, 22, identified by Italian and British law enforcement bodies as the third man shot dead by police officers during the attack on London Bridge and Borough Market is seen on right with the other two men named, Khuram Shazad Butt on left and Rachid Redouane, in an undated image handed out by the Metropolitan Police, June 6, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

Youssef Zaghba, 22, an Italian with a Moroccan father and Italian mother, had been stopped from travelling to Syria in 2016 and charged with terrorism offences by Italian police which were later dropped, according to local media reports.

Police named Khuran Butt, 27 and Rachid Redouane, 30, as the other two members of the gang on Monday. Italian media reported that Italian police informed their UK counterparts of Zaghbas background. British authorities would have been entitled to deny the Italian entry into the country.

The reports about Zaghba could put further pressure on British Prime Minister Theresa May after she was forced to defend her record of reducing spending on security and reducing police numbers. Butt was also well known to police as a member of a high profile group of Islamists who had also appeared on a television documentary.

Police in London continued to gather information about the killers and possible accomplices. They released 12 people who were detained on Sunday but a 13th person was arrested on Tuesday in east London.

So far only three victims have been named: Kirsty Boden and Christine Archibald, from Canada, and Londoner James McMullan. Eighteen people remain in hospital critical care.
President Xi Jinping meets with California Governor Jerry Brown of the United States at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday. Xi encouraged the state to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative. WU ZHIYI / CHINA DAILY

Innovation, green development cited as key areas ripe for cooperation

President Xi Jinping spoke with California Governor Jerry Brown on Tuesday and encouraged the state, the most populous in the United States, to contribute more to China-US cooperation in key areas.

Brown is in Beijing to attend a Clean Energy Ministerial meeting, the first international meeting of its kind since US President Donald Trump pulled out of the Paris Agreement on climate change last week.

Xi said China is committed to the path of peaceful, open and green development.

He expects states of the US and Chinese provinces to strengthen the synergy of development strategies, produce more highlights in cooperation and make local exchanges and cooperation a new growth point in ties between the two nations.

The president encouraged California, a state that he said "bears great economic and social impact in the US", to make more contributions in promoting China-US cooperation in fields like technology, innovation and green development.

He also welcomed California to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative.

Brown told Xi his state cherishes its traditional friendship with China.

He said California's government speaks highly of and will actively participate in the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative.

The state also expects to deepen cooperation with China in fields including trade, investment, clean energy, low-carbon technology, environmental protection and civilian exchanges, he said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Brown, speaking at the eighth Clean Energy Ministerial meeting, said that the threat of climate change could be more dangerous than that of fascism during World War II.

The governor told the Associated Press on the sidelines of the forum that Trump's decision to pull the US out of the Paris climate accord will prove temporary because of the urgency of the issue.

China, Europe and US states will for now fill the gap that was left by the US federal government's move to abdicate leadership on the issue, he said.

China announced last week it will continue to implement the commitment of the Paris climate deal and "move toward the 2030 goal step-by-step, steadfastly".

Tao Wenzhao, a researcher in US studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said, "China has always been serious on promises it made".

"Besides, cutting emissions has been an irreversible international trend, though there might be some temporary setbacks," Tao said.

The California government and the Ministry of Science and Technology inked an agreement on Tuesday for greater collaboration on countering climate change, according to AP.

Brown signed similar agreements in the past several days with leaders in Jiangsu and Sichuan provinces, the report said.

President Xi Jinping meets with California Governor Jerry Brown of the United States at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Tuesday. Xi encouraged the state to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative.
Chinese hypersonic glide vehicle

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The United States plans to spend more on advanced systems that defends against the growing threat from Russian and Chinese hypersonic missiles.



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The U.S. leads the world in developing hypersonic missiles or hypersonic glide vehicles (HGVs) but only recently started pouring in more money to defend against similar weapons being developed by Russia and China.



The Russian version is the Yu-71, a maneuvering HGV that can accelerate to speeds between Mach 7 and Mach 12. Russia claims Yu-71's maneuverability will allow it to overcome any existing or prospective U.S. anti-missile defense.



Russia military analysts surmise that if Russia can develop a Yu-71 into a Mach 12 boost and glide HGV, state-of-the-art U.S. anti-missile defense systems will be impotent against it.



Russian sources said tests of Project 4202, of which Yu-71 is a part, are being carried out using obsolete RS-18B Stiletto ICBMs that boost the HGVs in flight.



Once Project 4202 becomes operational, it will arm the RS-28 Sarmat as and future versions of this ICBM. These improved Sarmats are expected to appear from 2020 through 2025. Russia plans to first produce 20 Yu-71s.



The Chinese version is the WU-14, now called DF-ZF. This HGV has been flight-tested by the Chinese seven times from January 2014 to April 2016. Six of these tests are known to have been successful.



China seems to prefer using the DF-ZF as a precision-strike weapon on its ballistic missiles to penetrate the sophisticated layered air defenses of U.S. Navy carrier strike groups. DF-ZF, however, can also be nuclear armed.



Reports say the DF-ZF might be capable of speeds between Mach 5 (6,100 km/h) and Mach 10 (12,400 km/h). Experts say the DF-ZF is dangerous since it will almost be impossible to intercept by conventional missile defense systems that track incoming objects using satellite sensors and ground and sea radar.



An HGV travels above Mach 5.0 (6,174 km/h) to Mach 10 (12,348 km/h) or 1,715 m/s to 3,430 m/s.



Admiral Harry Harris, Commander, United States Pacific Command (USPACOM), worries about the threat hypersonic weapons or HGVs pose to U.S. Navy warships that might have only minutes to respond to an HGV attack.



"I'm concerned about Chinese and Russian hypersonic weapons development, and I expressed those concerns in the right places," said Adm. Harris.



"What we can do is to develop our own hypersonic weapons and improve our defenses against theirs," he said.



It was revealed the U.S. is developing systems to counter HGVs.



The administration in its fiscal 2018 budget submission to Congress last month requested $75 million for "hypersonic defense" as part of $7.9 billion overall funding plan for missile defenses.



"These weapons present an entirely new capability we must counter as they are specifically designed to exploit the gaps and the seams in our existing missile defense architecture, thus defeating the systems we currently have in place," said Rep. Trent Franks, a member of the House Armed Services Committee.



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TagsUnited States, hypersonic glide vehicles, HGVs, hypersonic missiles, Yu-71, DF-ZF, U.S. Navy, Admiral Harry Harris
Engaging culture is a concept that pervades the modern Christian music industry. This past Saturday, several artists attempted to convey the Christian message of Christs love through their rap. Good Fruit and RE:NEW ministries collaborated to organize the "Fearless" concert. A couple hundred young students, who were predominantly Asian, attended the event.

MC Jin, NAK, AMP, Mickey Cho, and Gowe performed at Newsong Church in Irvine, California as part of their Fearless tour, with artist Hillary Jane opening for them. DJ Descry supplied the majority of the beats and music throughout the concert.

In an interview, Chung Lee of AMP explained the theme of fearlessness in his own career. There are stereotypical barriers to get into the arts; people inside the church might believe that we need to compromise in order to become successful in the arts, he said.

All artists take a risk in pursuing their passions  To live out any calling from the Lord, you have to be fearless.

MC Jin stressed authenticity in the Christian walk. I hope I can love them the way God called me to. Love is most evident when its inconvenient, Jin said about the audience.

NAK was the first on stage. The majority of the audience, teenagers and young adults, gathered around the center stage as the artist performed. His songs were about the grace of God and about having an identity based in the omnipresence of God. His glasses came off mid-performance, but he continued to jump around the stage and finished his performance.

After NAK, Mickey Cho came onto the stage with loud applause from the audience. Cho emphasized the fearlessness that comes with having an identity in Christ, and that fear is cast out in love. I believe God is raising up a generation who will live for His kingdom, Cho said.

Cho ended his performance by addressing a serious problem in human rights around the world. His last song, Not for Sale, was about sex trafficking. He kept repeating, Her life is worth more than that, as the crowd followed after him. He hopes to see sex trafficking end in his lifetime.

Gowe was next on stage. His songs were on a more personal level and exhibited practical applications of Christs love in life. I was told that if you were blessed with a gift, the most selfish thing you can do is pretend it doesn't exist, Gowe said during the concert. The artist then shared his own search for a future wife and his commitment to purity and waiting. We live in a culture of instant gratification, so the concept of waiting for a future spouse is a little unusual," he said.

He also shared an intimate song in which he raps about his biological mother, whom he has never met. At the age of 18 Gowe found out he was adopted. The song expresses forgiveness and love that Gowe has for his mother who gave him up for adoption when he was a baby.

AMP then took the stage. The group of three gets its name from the desire to amplify Christ. Their songs involved a more familiar worship style and the crowd sang along to their songs. Chung even shared the gospel in the middle of their performance set. I will live to make you known across the earth, sang AMP in one of their songs.

The last performer was MC Jin. Perhaps the most famous of the performers, Jin was welcomed with a multitude of applause. Before the performance, Jin told Christianity Daily, Its a tricky thing to engage culture. I want my music to be organic, but effective. I am coming into what that means.

MC Jins songs ranged from being explicitly about God to other personal songs. This tour is about one thing: worship. We just worship in a different way, Jin said while on stage. We want you here, we want you near, we welcome you with open arms," were the lyrics to one of Jins songs. He then performed a song that was dedicated to his two-year-old son, whom Jin was excited to see back at home after the concert. In the middle of his set, Jin had a freestyle session in which he asked for four different words from the audience and rapped about all of them in an improvised performance--while spinning in a chair.

The night ended with all the performers participating in one final song, encouraging the audience to be bold and fearless in Christ's love.
More than 170 have been killed, including Christians, in fighting between the Filipino government and extremist militants that have allied themselves with the Islamic State (IS) in a majority-Muslim island in the Philippines, since May 23, according to reports.

Instability and violence in the island of Mindanao, and particularly the city of Marawi, began when the extremist group, known as the Maute group, tried to capture a militant leader in the Philippines who is affiliated with the Islamic State, according to BBC News. Violence ensued when the Maute groups attempt failed, and the group has been taking hostages, freeing prisoners, and carrying out attacks since.

In late May, the Maute group, which itself has also pledged allegiance to ISIS, is reported to have taken dozens of hostages from a church, and on May 23, eight Christians were shot and killed for refusing to recite the shahada, the creed of the Islamic faith, according to Morning Star News.

A video that was released on May 30 showed that the Maute group kidnapped a Catholic vicar-general, Rev. Teresito Chito Suganob, who appeared in the video pleading the government to stop bombing the city. Reports say that 13 other members of the St. Marys Cathedral were kidnapped along with Suganob.

Mr. President [Rodrigo Duterte], we are in the midst of this war  We are asking for your help to please give what they are asking for, to withdraw forces away from Lanao del Sur and Marawi City, and to stop the air attacks, and to stop the cannons, Suganob was quoted as saying in the video by Morning Star News.

Since May 23, Duterte began enforcing martial law in the island of Mindanao.

Sidney Jones, director of the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict in Jakarta, Indonesia, wrote in a New York Times op-ed that the government must become more strategic in fighting the growing extremist militancy in Mindanao.

The Duterte administrations response to Islamist extremism so far has been to try to crush it militarily, Jones wrote. But too often strong-arm tactics only breed more fighters  and fighters with a desire for revenge. The Philippine government must instead come up with a comprehensive strategy to fix the social, economic and political problems that have led Islamic State ideologues to exert so much appeal in Mindanao.

We are very concerned about the lives of hostages (among them a priest and 15 Catholics ) since we do not know what their fate may be, Edwin de la Pena, the Bishop of Marawi, told Fides Catholic news agency in an early June report.

Now there are ongoing contacts and militants threaten to decapitate Fr. Chito. The hostages are their guarantee of survival. We hope that the militants decide to release them safe and sound, he said.

According to reports, hundreds of thousands have fled the island since the violence broke out. However, BBC News reported on June 4 that some 2,000 are estimated to still be trapped in the city.
On D-Day, small and large worked together. Each did the task they were best suited for. Together they won the day.

If youre a pastor who feels like your voice is being ignored because your church is small, youre in good company. One of the unsung heroes of World War II faced a similar problem.

Andrew Jackson Higgins was a New Orleans boat builder who saw the importance of something very small that no one else saw.

If youre a pastor who feels like your voice is being ignored because your church is small, youre in good company.

Because of Higgins foresight, his hard work and, quite frankly, his stubborn persistence to push back against the very people who couldnt see how much they needed his help, he literally helped save the world.

This is his story.

The Greatest Generation

There are a handful of hinge moments in world history. Days on which everything changes for good or for ill.

June 6, 1944 was one of those moments. On that day hung the balance of power in World War II  and the fate of the world. And it was that day, more than any other, that earned that generation the right to be known as The Greatest Generation.

One of the mostly unknown heroes of D-Day was a man who never set foot on a Normandy beach, never commanded a single troop and never wore a uniform.

Andrew Jackson Higgins: The Man Who Won the War for Us

Stephen Ambrose, in his wonderful book, D-Day: The Climactic Battle of World War II, relates a conversation he had with Dwight Eisenhower in 1964. Ambrose was about to travel to New Orleans, so Ike asked Ambrose if hed met Andrew Higgins.

Ambrose said he hadnt met Higgins, who had recently passed away. Thats too bad, Eisenhower responded. He is the man who won the war for us.

Ambrose was stunned to hear so high a praise from such a source, so Eisenhower explained that Higgins was the man responsible for designing and building the LCVP, the small landing boats that brought the troops onto the beaches on D-Day. If Higgins hadnt had the foresight to see the need for them, then design and build them, Eisenhower told Ambrose, the whole strategy of the war would have been different.

And whats even more amazing is that Higgins did it all without any request from the military  in fact he did so by pushing against the wishes of the US Navy.

He Saw What Others Couldnt See

According to Ambroses painstaking research, in WWII the Navy was only interested in larger vessels like destroyers and battleships. They had no interest in smaller vessels, especially not the LCVPs that Higgins had in mind.

If youve ever seen a D-Day movie, you know what an LCVP is. Theyre the small landing vessels with flat bottoms and high sides, that ushered the troops up to the beach, then dropped their flat bows into the water to let the troops exit straight ahead, into horrifying barrages of gunfire.

The Navy didnt want LCVPs, which later became known to soldiers and the world as Higgins Boats, because their small size and flat bottoms meant they couldnt navigate across the English Channel.

But Higgins saw what the Navy couldnt see. That, after crossing the channel, the larger ships would not be able to get troops close enough to the shore. Higgins was a hothead, so even when the Navy finally relented and saw the need for smaller landing craft, they didnt want anything to do with Higgins or his boat design. The Navy was determined to design their own landing craft.

But Higgins had an idea, and he insisted on seeing it through. For over two years, he pushed and prodded until the Navy reluctantly allowed his design to be entered into the contract bidding. When they saw his design, the contest was over. Higgins design was superior in every way.

Immediately, Higgins converted all his assembly lines into building LCVPs. At one time he employed over 30,000 men and women of all races. Almost unheard of in the deep south of that era.

We Cant Afford to Leave Anyone Out

The amount of resources, both human and mechanical, that went into the D-Day battle is staggering.

But, as far as boats were concerned, the counts were simple to understand. The smaller the vessel, the more of them that were needed.

The smaller the vessel, the more of them that were needed.

The assault on the beaches of Normandy involved dozens of battleships, scores of destroyers, and thousands of Higgins Boats. The larger vessels transported personnel and equipment across the English Channel under the cover of darkness. Then, as tens of thousands of troops boarded thousands of Higgins Boats, the destroyers and battleships barraged the coastline from a distance to prepare it for the landing troops.

So which vessels could the Allied forces have done without? Did they really need all those Higgins Boats? After all, they couldnt even get themselves across the English Channel  they had to be carried aboard larger cargo ships. Or maybe the battleships were unnecessary? After all, they were so large they had to anchor a mile or more off shore.

The answer is obvious. We need everyone.

If the vessel is smaller, we need more of them  and we need the strength of the larger vessels to support them.

If the vessel is larger, they may not be able to do many of the up-close tasks, so they rely on the work of the lighter, more agile vessels.

Its Not About Bigger or Smaller  Its About Bigger AND Smaller

I hope the parallels to the church from this true-life parable are obvious.

No member of the body of Christ is unnecessary.

We need everyone working hard and functioning at their best in a spirit of mutual cooperation to reach this generation for Jesus.

Big churches cant do it alone. There are too many smaller places in the world where they just wont fit.

Small churches cant get there by themselves either. There are often huge tasks that need the immediate deployment of massive numbers of people and resources under unified leadership.

We dont need fewer big churches or fewer small churches. We need more healthy, active, passionate churches of all sizes, working together.

We dont need fewer big churches or fewer small churches. We need more healthy, active, passionate churches of all sizes, working together.

Youre Not As Alone As You Feel

One of the stories Ambrose tells about D-Day is how the troops on the beach, who underwent a hell on earth that none of us can fathom, had no idea about the help they were receiving from battleships and destroyers who sat offshore.

While young men pushed forward inch-by-bloody-inch on the beach, the larger offshore ships were lofting a barrage of weaponry over their heads, destroying inland German fortifications. When the boots-on-the-beach troops finally did push past the initial, massive defenses, they found very little resistance inland because of how their compatriots on the larger, offshore ships had paved the way for them.

On D-Day, small and large worked together. Each did the task they were best suited for. Together they won the day. And because of their cooperation that day, they won the war and assured our freedom.

Meanwhile, one man named Andrew Jackson Higgins was listening to the radio from thousands of miles away in New Orleans for news of the D-Day assault. He had also done what he was called to do. Even when no one else could see it.

If youre a small church pastor, pilot your Higgins Boat well. With Gods help, face the onslaught. At times it may mean bucking the odds. At other times you may be receiving help youre not even aware of yet.

But dont give up. We cant do it without you.

Copyright  2017 by the author or Christianity Today.

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The US Supreme Court unanimously affirmed today that religiously affiliated organizationsincluding hospitals, schools, and daycaresare exempt from the US Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).

The ruling on a trio of Christian hospital lawsuits overturns three regional federal appeals courts, each of which ruled against the hospitals. It also saves the health care systems from having to pay out billions to employees, and will impact dozens of similar cases waiting in courts across the country.

From the beginning, ERISA has defined a church plan as a plan established and maintained  for its employees  by a church, wrote Justice Elena Kagan for the court. (Recent Supreme Court addition Justice Neil Gorsuch, who was on the court when arguments were heard, did not participate in the decision.)

A plan maintained by a principal-purpose organization qualifies as a church plan, regardless of who established ...

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Judicial Watch Asks Court to Force State Department to Refer Action on Clinton Emails to State Department Trump Administration Defending Obama/Clinton Email Scandal Contact: Jill Farrell, Judicial Watch , 202-646-5188 WASHINGTON, June 5, 2017 / Christian Newswire / -- Judicial Watch announced today that it filed a motion in opposition to the Tillerson State Department's motion to dismiss a lawsuit challenging its failure to take any action to recover emails of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other employees unlawfully removed from the agency (Judicial Watch, Inc. v. Rex Tillerson (No. 1:15-cv-00785)). The lawsuit seeks to force State Department compliance with the Federal Records Act (FRA). The Trump administration continues to object to taking this strong action to recover Clinton's emails. On April 30, 2015, Judicial Watch sued former Secretary John Kerry after the State Department failed to take action on a letter sent to Kerry "notifying him of the unlawful removal of the Clinton emails and requesting that he initiate enforcement action pursuant to the [Federal Records Act]," including working through the Attorney General to recover the emails. After initially being dismissed by the district court, Judicial Watch's lawsuit was revived on appeal by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on December 27, 2016. While at the State Department, Clinton conducted official government business using an unsecure email server and email accounts. MORE

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home World Christian sanitary worker in Pakistan dies after doctors refuse to touch his 'unclean' body

A Christian sewer worker, who fell unconscious while cleaning a manhole in Umerkot, Pakistan, died at the hospital after doctors, who were fasting for Ramadan, refused to treat him until his body was washed.

Irfan Maseeh, along with three other sanitary workers, were taken to Civil Hospital Umerkot for treatment after they fell unconscious while cleaning a manhole on Chorr Road.

According to DNA India, family members pleaded with the hospital staff to treat Irfan, but the doctor at the facility refused to touch his body because he was fasting.

"Dr Yousuf said he would not touch Irfan's dirty body until it was cleaned. I cleaned his body, after which an oxygen pump was sent for Irfan, but that was empty," said Irfan's brother, Pervaiz.

He said that Irfan fainted after inhaling poisonous gases that were trapped inside the manhole when he attempted to clean it on Thursday.

"My brother died during the process of cleansing the filth from his body," Pervaiz told Dawn. He contended that his brother could have been saved if he had been given treatment in a timely manner.

After Irfan passed away in the government hospital, the three other sanitary workers were referred to Hyderabad and then to Karachi for medical treatment.

Umerkot Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Usman Bajwa said that the workers fell unconscious because were not provided with safety equipment.

Irfan's family alleged that the doctors' negligent response to an emergency situation and the lack of proper facilities at the hospital resulted in his death.

Members of the Christian community in Umerkot, along with some workers at the local municipality, gathered outside the local press club to protest against the local administration and hospital for refusing treatment to Irfan.

The demonstration lasted for 10 hours with assurances that an investigation will be conducted against the municipal authorities and doctors. Sanitary workers who joined the protests accused the municipal committee's non-cadre officers Khalid Punjabi and Behari Lal of compelling Irfan and the others of working without safety gear.

The police stated that the main accused, Dr. Jaam Kunbhar, had been arrested and raids have been conducted to arrest two other doctors, who were identified as Dr. Yousuf and Dr. Allah Dad Rathore. Kunbhar had claimed that Irfan had passed away even before he reached the hospital.

Umerkot police had registered a First Incident Report (FIR) against six suspects, including the three doctors, on behalf of Irfan's father, Nazeer Maseeh.
The week OPEC agreed to extend oil-production cuts for another nine months, U.S. crude exports hit a new record.

The amount of oil U.S. exporters sent abroad climbed to 1.3 million barrels a day late last month, according to Energy Department data.

By comparison, 24 countries including Saudi Arabia and Russia made a pact in late May to keep 1.8 million barrels a day off the market through the first quarter of next year.

Related: Oil prices tank as OPEC deal disappoints market

The surge in U.S. exports began in January, the first month of OPEC's cuts. Oil exports climbed to 834,000 barrels a day in March, up from 442,000 barrels a day in December. The bulk of the nation's oil, extracted from dense rock that drillers once believed was inaccessible, have been shipped to competitive import markets in Asia.

It's one of the reasons oil prices have languished around $50 a barrel in recent months.

"The market is still awash in oil, and it's waiting to see more concrete signs of global oil inventories declining," said Andy Lipow, an oil market analyst in Houston. "While we've seen U.S. oil inventories decline, the market is still not convinced we're seeing that trend worldwide."

Related: The nation's crude glut continues to sink

U.S. oil prices sank on Tuesday to $47.21 a barrel, down 19 cents, as traders worried about tensions between key OPEC producer Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The Kingdom and its allies cut diplomatic ties to Qatar after Qatar signaled support for Iran.
Two proprietors of the Ghost Ship warehouse in Oakland, where 36 people died in a fire in December, were arrested Monday and charged with felony involuntary manslaughter related to the inferno.

Master tenant Derick Almena and the art spaces creative director, Max Harris, knowingly created a fire trap ... then filled that area with human beings and now face the consequences of their actions, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy OMalley said Monday in announcing the arrests and charges.

Paying guests were faced with a nearly impossible labyrinth to get out of the building, OMalley said, calling Almena and Harris reckless.

Each defendant faces 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter and up to 39 years in prison, prosecutors said. Almena, 47, was arrested in Lake County, and Harris, 27, who uses the name Max Ohr, was arrested in Los Angeles County.

Almena appeared in Lake County Superior Court Monday, and his bail was set at $1,080,000. He was later booked into Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, according to the Alameda County Sheriffs Office. Harris was booked into Los Angeles County jail with bail also set at $1,080,000.

Authorities on Monday also revealed that the exact cause of the fire will remain unknown because of severe fire damage to the two-story building at 1301 31st Ave. in the Fruitvale district.

The arrests mark the end of a six-month investigation that began the night of Dec. 2, when a fire erupted at the artist collective during an unpermitted electronic music event that was open to the public. Most of the victims were trapped on the second floor as a wall of smoke and flames engulfed the buildings maze-like escape routes. All of the victims died from smoke inhalation.

Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf commended OMalley for filing criminal charges.

I applaud the charges filed today ... because they send a clear message: You wont get away with making a profit by cramming people into dangerous spaces or failing to maintain safe living conditions, Schaaf said.

Attorneys for Almena said they would vigorously defend their client.

We believe that these charges represent no less than a miscarriage of justice, said Jeffrey Krasnoff, Kyndra Miller and Tony Serra, in a statement. We are confident that this attempt to make a scapegoat of our client will fail.

Efforts to reach an attorney for Harris were unsuccessful.

Almena  the eccentric patriarch of the underground artist collective  lived in the warehouse with his wife and children. None of them was home on the night of the fire.

According to the charging documents filed by OMalleys office, Almena promoted the upstairs space as a venue for music and social events, with up to 100 people allowed to attend inside this unsafe and unpermitted warehouse.

The documents say Harris acknowledged he had allowed the Dec. 2 party to take place and prepared the second floor for the music event, blocking off access to one of the two stairwells, which left only one escape route.

In addition, the documents say that Almena and Harris allowed up to 25 people to live in the building for two years but lied to law enforcement officers investigating the fire, telling them that no one lived in the warehouse.

As the leaseholder, Almena was responsible under the California Fire Code for installing fire-suppression systems, smoke alarms, exit signs and sprinklers when he allowed people to live in the building, prosecutors said. However, he failed to take these safety steps, they said.

He also failed to seek a zoning variance from light industrial to live-work, violating city and state codes, the documents allege.

Prosecutors said Almena also encouraged his tenants  who paid $350 to $1,400 in rent  to use unconventional materials to create their living spaces. Those included tapestries, pianos, RV trailers, wooden sculptures and other ramshackle and highly flammable materials, also a violation of city and state codes, documents say.

A friend, Aaron Marin, who has known Almena for years and escaped from the Ghost Ship fire by jumping out of a second-floor window, had mixed feelings about the arrest.

I know for a fact he didnt intentionally want his place and all his stuff to burn and those people to die, Marin said. But its a matter of being accountable for the lives.

Those who know Almena had conflicting views of him, with some describing him as a loving artist and father and others calling him a slumlord.

During the investigation, authorities conducted dozens of witness interviews, pored through 6,000 pages from relevant documents, issued 12 search warrants and examined 300 pieces of evidence.

Investigators and attorneys conducted an intensive legal analysis to determine who could be charged in the case, said Teresa Drenick, a spokeswoman for OMalley.

During Mondays news conference, Drenick limited questions to technical issues related to the charges and declined to say whether additional arrests will be made.

Manslaughter charges stemming from fatal non-arson fires are rare.

In 2003, 100 people were killed at the Station nightclub in Rhode Island, when pyrotechnics set off a massive blaze during a show by 80s metal band Great White. A grand jury indicted two brothers who owned the nightclub, along with the band manager who started the fireworks, on involuntary manslaughter charges.

Great Whites manager, Daniel Biechele, pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to four years in prison. Defendants Michael Derderian and Jeffrey Derderian were sentenced to four years in prison and three years of probation respectively.

News of the criminal charges in the Ghost Ship case brought some relief to friends and families of the victims.

I was appalled at how many people knew how unsafe this was, and for many years, said Wendy Dixon-Magree, 61, of Aurora, Ohio. Her nephew, Billy Dixon, was killed in the fire. You never want to see anybody get sued or charged with a crime, but, yes, maybe it needed to be done. It was a horrible accident, and they knew how dangerous it was.

In Oakland, David Bernbaum, 37, whose brother Jonathan and several friends died in the fire, said, I talked to my parents; we all feel pretty similarly. We all have a lot of anger at Derick for all of this.

That said, we know that this isnt something that is going to bring anybody back.

One victim injured in the Ghost Ship blaze remains hospitalized with a serious respiratory condition, OMalley said.

Several families have filed civil lawsuits against Almena, Harris and the buildings owner, Chor Ng, and other promoters and performers at the event. They have also sued Pacific Gas and Electric Co., saying the utility supplied power to the doomed artist space with blatant disregard for the safety of the people in the building.

While there is no official cause of the blaze, investigators had narrowed the origin of the fire to a shared kitchen in the back of the buildings first floor. Agents with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives had looked into the buildings electrical system, a tangle of extension cords weaving around the warehouses rickety rooms.

All of the buildings power came from a single source: a transformer box inside a neighboring auto body shop, attorneys for the victims families said in court papers.

The families have also filed separate legal claims  precursors to lawsuits against government entities  against the city of Oakland, Alameda County and the state of California.

In the two years before the Ghost Ship fire, police were repeatedly called to parties at the warehouse. But despite the calls and numerous complaints from neighbors, then-fire chief Teresa Deloach Reed raised brows when she said in the days after the fire that her department had no idea there were people living or having parties at the Ghost Ship.

She retired on May 5 amid criticism over her management of the department and inspection procedures.

San Francisco Chronicle staff writer Jill Tucker contributed to this report.

Evan Sernoffsky, Kimberly Veklerov and Peter Fimrite are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com, kveklerov@sfchronicle.com, pfimrite@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky, @KVeklerov, @pfimrite

Previous coverage of Ghost Ship blaze

Online: To see all of The Chronicles coverage of Decembers deadly inferno in Oakland, go to www.sfchronicle.com/oakland-fire/
May 26

An officer observed a suspicious vehicle with paper tags that showed no record in the state database. A traffic stop was conducted and through investigation it was discovered that the driver provided officers with a false name and date of birth to prevent them from locating a felony warrant issued for his arrest.

At 4:03 p.m., an officer was dispatched to a residence in the 6000 block of Kirby in reference to a trespasser in the back yard of the property. Upon the officer's arrival and further investigation, the suspect was arrested and charged for burglary of a habitation.

May 27

At 1:13 am, an officer was dispatched to the 2800 block of Bissonnet in regards to a suspicious person. Upon further investigation, the subject was located and found intoxicated. The subject was arrested for public intoxication.

An officer observed a subject hiding behind the bushes in the 5300 block of Belmont. Officer made contact with the individual and upon checking his ID for warrants located outstanding warrants with the City of Houston. The subject was taken into custody and turned over to Houston Police.

At 8:17 pm, a Police Officer was dispatched to Katy Freeway to meet with a Police Officer from the City of Hedwig Village Police Department, who had in custody an individual with outstanding warrants from the City of West University Place. The Police Officer placed the individual in custody and transported him to the West University Place jail.

May 28

Officers were dispatched to the 2700 block of Centenary in regards to an assault.

May 29

An officer was dispatched to 11800 block of Wilcrest Dr. to meet a deputy with the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office in order to obtain custody of a suspect who currently has warrants with The City of West University Place. The suspect was taken into custody and transported to the city jail without incident.

An officer observed a vehicle with an expired registration traveling south bound in the 6400 Block of Belmont. A traffic stop was conducted and the officer could smell a strong odor of marijuana coming from inside the vehicle. The driver appeared to be under the influence of marijuana or some other substance that diminishes mental and physical capacities. The driver was taken into custody and charged with the possession of a controlled substance.

May 30

An officer was dispatched to the 6200 block of Community in regards to a Minor Accident / Failure to Stop and Give Information call.

At 10:03pm, an Officer observed a vehicle traveling northbound in the 6000 block of Buffalo Speedway with expired temporary tags. The Officer conducted a traffic stop in the 3100 block of Nottingham. After further investigation, the driver was found to have outstanding warrants with Houston Police Department and was arrested for Possession of Marijuana.

May 31

At 5:15 p.m., an officer was dispatched to a residence in the 4200 block of Swarthmore to see the reportee in regard to a theft incident.

June 2

An officer observed a vehicle driving on Weslayan with no lights. The vehicle was stopped and upon further investigation both occupants of the vehicle were found to be intoxicated. The driver was arrested and charged with Driving While Intoxicated and the passenger was arrested and charged with Public Intoxication.

Officers were dispatched to the 5300 block of Kirby in regards to a criminal mischief that had just occurred.
GALVESTON  Contractors dismantling the nuclear barge Sturgis in Galveston have removed 98 percent of the radioactive material and transported it safely to a disposal site in West Texas, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Tuesday.

Workers for Malin International Ship Repair and Drydock were successful in removing most of the radioactive material before the onset of the 2017 hurricane season, which began June 1, said Brenda Barber, project manager for the Corps of Engineers Baltimore District.

Fear of radioactive contamination roused opposition in Galveston to having its harbor chosen for the decommissioning of the Sturgis. The city council initially threatened a lawsuit, but backed down on the advice of counsel and environmental experts.

Work on dismantling the Sturgis began in 2015 and is in its final stages. Barber said the largest radioactive parts, including the reactor pressure vessel, were removed over the last six weeks.

About 850,000 pounds of radioactive waste was transported without incident by rail to a Waste Control Specialists disposal site in Andrews County, about 25 miles north of Midland, Barber said.

"No evidence of radioactive material, lead or increased radiation exposure from the Sturgis has been documented outside of the reactor containment area to date," she said.

About 600,000 pounds of non-radioactive lead has been removed from the vessel and recycled, Barber said.

The remaining contaminated items will be removed over the next few months. After all of the radioactive material has been removed, workers will conduct a survey to allow the remaining parts of the Sturgis to be sent to a shipyard and turned into scrap.

The Sturgis arrived in Galveston in 2015 after a 2,000-mile journey from Joint Base Langley in Eustis, Va., near Newport News, where it had been mothballed as part of the James River Reserve Fleet since 1976. The Sturgis was originally the World War II Liberty Ship Charles H. Cugle. In 1963, it was chosen to become a nuclear reactor and its propulsion system was ripped out and replaced with a 350-ton containment spheroid.

From 1968 to 1976 it provided power to the Panama Canal Zone, then its radioactive fuel was removed and it became part of the reserve fleet.

Galveston was one of four possible ports where the corps determined the Sturgis could be scrubbed of its radioactive waste as well as health-threatening asbestos and lead. The agency awarded a $34.66 million contract to Woodlands-based CB&I Federal Services, and the contractor chose Galveston over Baltimore, Hampton Roads, Va.; and Charleston, S.C.
Bellaire Town Center is about to get a major upgrade, nearly doubling the available square footage.

Located at the corner of South Rice and Bellaire Boulevard, the plans call for the center to go form its current 39,000 square feet to a 72,000-square-foot center on two levels.

"We are pleased to re-develop Bellaire Town Center into a mixed-use center that will draw new and exciting retailers and restaurants to one of Houston's premier neighborhoods," said Charlie Shears, co-founder and managing partner at SDI Realty, in a news release.

The two-story center will feature a ground-level restaurant, retail space, service and boutique office space. Construction of the first building in Phase 1 is slated for completion by January 2018, with the second and third buildings in Phase 2 anticipated by the Fall of 2018.

Tenants of the new center will benefit from numerous monument signage opportunities on one of Houston's main east-west thoroughfares and 265 parking spaces. Tenants of the center will also benefit from additional traffic visiting HEB's new store opening in Fall 2017, located just 0.2 miles away.

"We envision a great opportunity for the restaurant and business community of Bellaire to prosper in a new and improved Bellaire Town Center," said Ken Delery, co-founding partner of SDI Realty Advisors. "And, we are eager to bring these visions to life."

For more information about available retail and office space for lease in SDI Realty's Bellaire Town Center, visit www.edge-re.com or contact Lauren Heimann at (713) 900-3026.
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Jake Rodriguez, a second grader at West University Elementary School, received a surprise visit from Cadence Bank executives as a winner in the Lemonade Day Houston Cadence Bank Best Business Contest. His lemonade stand - Jake's La Bomba Limonada - netted more than $140 on Lemonade Day, and by submitting his results to the Best Business Contest, Jake won a random drawing for a Target gift card and Cadence backpack full of goodies. Each year, Lemonade Day Houston empowers thousands of youth to become the business leaders, social advocates, community volunteers and forward-thinking citizens of tomorrow. Pictured are James Rodriguez with his son, Jake, and Patrick Pacheco, EVP, Trust Executive for Cadence Bank.
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New Travis

principal named

At its May meeting, the Lamar Consolidated Independent School District trustees approved the hiring of a new leader for one of its campuses.

Jearine Jordan is the new principal for Travis Elementary. She is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and has her master's from the University of Houston.

Prior to coming to Lamar CISD, Jordan worked in Houston Independent School District as an assistant principal, instructional coordinator and teacher.

GRHS facilitator receives award

George Ranch High School's Rebecca Mobley is one of only four public school employees to receive the Colin Powell Award.

The Colin Powell Award is awarded annually by Our Community Salutes-Fort Bend, a local, non-profit organization created to recognize and honor graduating high school students (and their parents) who plan to enlist in the armed services after graduation.

The Colin Powell Award, named after the retired U.S. Army general, former Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is a public service award presented to high school guidance counselors, principals, teachers, or other staff members in recognition of their providing guidance, counseling and mentoring to students.

Candidates for the Colin Powell Award are nominated by area military recruiters. Air Force Staff Sergeant Denise McHaney nominated Mobley, who is College and Career Facilitator at George Ranch HS.

"Our Military Recruiters could not do their jobs without help and support from the schools," said Lucy Bremond, chairperson of the Colin Powell Award Selection Committee. "We had a difficult job this year as all the nominees were outstanding as counselors and mentors whose service, compassion, and commitment sets an example for all of us. We honor these winners because they are educators who understand that it is not about getting a diploma, and it's not about getting a job. It is about having opportunities for life."

Hubenak wins battle of books

Twenty-two schools. Thirty-eight teams. Two-hundred-and-forty students. Twenty books. Fourteen questions in "sudden death overtime."

One winner.

Hubenak Elementary School's Team Two emerged victorious in Lamar CISD's annual Battle of the Bluebonnet Books. Teams compete to see who can identify the most quotes from the 20 Bluebonnet Books from the current year's list.

Team Two outlasted last year's champ, Hubenak Team One.

The Texas Bluebonnet Award Program is a statewide program for students in grades 3-6. Texas librarians nominate 20 new books each year from different genres to be on the Bluebonnet list.

Its purpose is to promote free-choice reading and expose students to a variety of quality literature. The goal of the "Battle" program is to improve student engagement in reading, while challenging students to read rigorous texts within a variety of genres.

The Lamar Educational Awards Foundation sponsored the Battle, paying for transportation and lunch for the teams. This year's Battle was held May 17 at Fulshear High School.
Houston Chronicle reporter Gabrielle Banks was thrown out of a federal courtroom Tuesday as a death row inmate convicted of killing an off-duty Houston police officer took the witness stand in his attempt to overthrow his conviction.

Chuong Duong Tong, 40, who has been on Texas Death Row for nearly 20 years, is asking a federal court to intervene in his capital murder conviction in the death of off-duty Houston police officer Coung Huy "Tony" Trinh, 25.

The officer was working as a clerk in his family's convenience store on Westerland when Tong came in to rob it in 1997, prosecutors contended.

Senior U.S. District Judge Nancy Atlas ordered the courtroom sealed - effectively evicting Banks and anyone else there other than parties to the case - about noon Tuesday, after testimony by a former informant in the case.

A court document filed Friday notes that "sensitive hearing material" was expected to be presented during the case and would lead to closure of the courtroom.

The Chronicle formally objected to the closure, noting that courtroom testimony is expected to be presented in public. The judge rejected the objection.

The testimony came during a hearing presenting evidence about Tong's contention that Harris County prosecutors withheld evidence from the defense during his trial that could have been used to help him fight the charges.

The hearing got under way Tuesday morning and included testimony from Stephen Gerard Mayeros, who testified in the 1998 capital murder trial that he was in a holding cell with Tong in the Harris County jail.

Mayeros testified that he provided evidence to prosecutors after being told that his own criminal case could be handled favorably if he provided evidence.
A former Groesbeck Independent School District sixth grade teacher was arrested and charged with possession of methamphetamine, according to the Temple Daily Telegram.

Stephanie Alfano, 49, was found sleeping and seemed to be under the influence of a substance in a white 2005 Nissan on what would have been her final day to teach at Groesbeck Middle School, according to police.
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Harris County took the fight over its controversial bail system to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, even as county officials scrambled to plan the imminent release of dozens of misdemeanor defendants held behind bars who cannot afford to post cash bail.

A federal appeals court ruling earlier Tuesday had greenlighted the release of hundreds of poor inmates held in the Harris County Jail on misdemeanor charges ahead of their trials, and Sheriff Ed Gonzalez prepared for the release of as many as 177 people starting Wednesday morning.

But in an emergency filing late Tuesday with the nation's highest court, Harris County asked for another halt to the ruling by Chief U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal.

The county's request went to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who handles appeals requests from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Thomas can either rule on the matter himself or take it to the full court, according to the county attorney's office.

"In the absence of a stay, the district court's order that Harris County  the third-largest jurisdiction in the nation  immediately release without sufficient surety untold numbers of potentially dangerous arrestees is certain to cause irreparable harm," the county's appeal states.

READ MORE: Federal judge rules that Harris County bail system is unconstitutional

Two civil rights groups - Texas Fair Defense Project and Civil Rights Corps - and local law firm Susman Godfrey filed the lawsuit last year on behalf of Maranda ODonnell, a single mother who was held for two days on a charge of driving without a valid license because she couldn't afford the $2,500 bail. Similar lawsuits filed on behalf of two other people were merged into the case in August.

An attorney for the inmates, Neal Manne with Susman Godfrey, declined to answer questions about how they would respond to the county's emergency motion, saying they would not argue their case in the media.

The appeal to the Supreme Court came at the end of a whirlwind day for the county in a closely watched case targeting a bail system in which poor people accused of low-level misdemeanors frequently are kept in jail because they can't afford to post cash bail while awaiting trial.

On Tuesday morning, a three-judge panel from the 5th Circuit Court determined that Rosenthal's ruling would remain in effect until the case goes to trial. The ruling set in motion the release of up to 177 misdemeanor detainees, who do not have money to pay cash bail and who do not have other restrictions such as mental health evaluations or federal detainers.

The inmates affected by the ruling account for about 2 percent of the total jail population of 8,800, sheriff's officials said.

The county will comply with Rosenthal's order until the U.S. Supreme Court weighs in.

"We know we all have to follow the order of a federal district court," said Robert Soard, the first assistant county attorney. "We're working with both the sheriff and pretrial services, and we're going to try to accomplish that as seamlessly as we can."

The sheriff's office expected to begin releasing qualified inmates early Wednesday.

"It doesn't mean that 177 people will walk out," said Jason Spencer, spokesman for the sheriff. "That would be the absolute highest number. In all likelihood it will be less than that."

READ MORE: At least one judge sees the flaws in the current bail system, opinion columnist writes

About 10 detention officers representing the two jail facilities and the processing center met with command staff Tuesday afternoon for a debriefing on how the release would take place.

Rosenthal's ruling calls for the release on personal bonds for low-level misdemeanor defendants who do not have money to pay cash bail. John Martin, a major with the sheriff's office, said jail staff will meet with inmates and ask about their ability to make bail.

Rosenthal's order also requires new procedures for releasing newly arrested people who don't have the resources to pay cash bond. Rosenthal said officials have 24 hours from the moment of arrest to determine whether a person's ability to post bond.

Spencer said the sheriff and his staff feel ready.

"This is a new process," he said. "We believe we're in a good position. We've already laid the groundwork for it. We're going to have to work out any kinks that arise."

The county had argued that Rosenthal erred in her 193-page ruling earlier this year, which found the county's cash bail system was unconstitutional, and continued to make that argument in its emergency appeal to the Supreme Court Tuesday. That request seeks a new delay for Rosenthal's order.

At the same time, the county will continue appealing the full order, which they argue releases potentially dangerous inmates and eliminates judicial discretion.

Josh Blackman, a civil law expert at South Texas College of Law-Houston who is not involved in the case, said the county must comply with Rosenthal's ruling regardless of an appeal to the Supreme Court.

Blackman and another independent expert  David Coale, a partner with the Dallas law firm Lynn Pinker Cox and Hurst  said the 5th Circuit judges who issued the ruling were a "representative cross-section" of the full court, with two Republican appointees and one Obama appointee.

The judges' decision Tuesday suggests the county may face an uphill battle as the underlying appeal continues, the experts said.

"It's not a guarantee that the county's going to lose, by any means, but it is a cautionary note for the county, that the court may perceive some legal flaws," Coale said.

"It's not saying how they're going to rule on the merits," Blackman said, "but it's a big signal."

Gabrielle Banks contributed to this report.
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Birth control pills delivered? There's an app for that.

Texas-based company Nurx launched a mobile application on Monday that provides contraceptives to insured and non-insured clients. The app is free to the insured public. Those paying out of pocket can select a program that starts at $15 monthly. As a promotion, Nurx is giving away two free months with the code "TEXAS."

Those who upload and register with Nurx will choose a brand, have a doctor review the order and write a prescription, and the contraceptive will be delivered within three to five days, a spokesperson for the company explains. Some orders may take longer, depending on the contraceptive brand and manufacturer.

TEXAS: Lawmakers make few moves to address pregnancy deaths

The company, citing a report from Guttmacher Institute, explained that in 2010, 54 percent of women had unplanned pregnancies. According to the study, that cost taxpayers $2.9 billion.

"Research shows that the easier and more affordable birth control is, the more women will use it," Co-founder and CEO Hans Gangeskar said in a prepared statement.

"Women should not have to jump through unnecessary hoops just to access birth control," Medical Director Jessica Knox said.

Texas is considered a "contraceptive desert," which is defined as a state with a ratio of 1 clinic to every 1,000 women seeking publicly funded contraceptives. Texas is considered the state with the highest rate of pregnancy-related deaths in the U.S.
The former president of the Fort Worth chapter of the Bandidos motorcycle gang is now on trial in the suspected murder of a rival gang member.

Jury selection began Monday in Tarrant County. Because of Baker's high-profile status, additional precautions are being taken, including pat-downs and heightened security, NBC-DFW reports.
AUSTIN  Gov. Greg Abbott is expected on Tuesday to announce his decision on whether to call a special session of the Legislature to address business that was unfinished during the regular session that ended last week.

No topic was officially announced in the Monday notice of the event. But Abbott hinted at a possible topic during a Monday night speech in Belton.

"Our goal is to solve your challenges, to solve your problems," Abbott said at a Bell County Republican dinner. "I think there is one challenge, one problem, that many Texans face that went unsolved. It's complex, but it needs to be addressed, and that is the incredible rise in property taxes in this state."

He continued: "There has to be a solution, but it seems like at least a starting place  and maybe the best way to solve it  is for those who pay the property taxes  let them have a say on what those property taxes will be. Give them a vote on their own property taxes."

During the just-ended legislative session, Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick had been pushing for legislation that would create automatic rollback elections when local property taxes rise by a certain amount. The Senate passed such a bill early in the session, but the House excluded the automatic rollback election measure in its version of property tax reform.

Abbott aides said the governor will hold a 2:30 p.m. press conference Tuesday where he likely will announce his decision about a special session that various conservative and hard-right Republican groups have demanded since the Legislature adjourned last week without addressing all their priority issues.

Those demands for action on a bathroom bill and property tax reform, issues that more moderate Republicans and some House leaders are disinclined to address at all, come at a time when Abbott is caught between warring factions of the GOP that have different visions for Texas' future.

Political observers have cautioned that is Abbott aligns himself with either side, he could lose the support of the other and possibly complicate his announced reelection campaign.

Abbott earlier said he might call the Legislature back to extend the life of the Texas Medical Board and several related regulatory agencies. A law guaranteeing their continuation failed to pass during the regular legislative session that ended a week ago.

One scenario being discussed among legislators: No special session at all right now.

Under the scenario, Abbott is looking for a way to continue operating the Medical Board, perhaps through his office, until the Legislature returns for a regular session in 2019. He will offer to consider a special session on property-tax reform or a bathroom bill if legislative leaders can some up with a consensus bill that will pass.

Abbott aides would not comment on the scenario.

Lt. Gov, Dan Patrick, a grassroots movement Republican who appeals to far-right Republicans, has suggested that Abbott should a call a special session to pass a bathroom bill and property-tax reforms.

Abbott has said he supports some version of both issues, but mostly stayed out of the legislative squabbling between Republican factions while the regular session was still in progress. He has expressed chagrin that the Legislature did not finish its work before the regular session ended.

The governor is the only state official who can call the Legislature into a special session, for which he will determine what topics will be addressed. While those special sessions last only 30 days, Abbott can call as many as he likes.

Last week, aides hinted that he was not n a rush to call the Legislature back into a special session. The next regular 140-day session begins in January 2019.
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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Canadian Immigration Questions and Answers with Attorney David Cohen CIC News Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif

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Every month, Attorney David Cohen will answer a few general Canadian immigration questions submitted by our readers. These questions cover immigration programs, eligibility, processing, language requirements, investing in Canada, landing, admissibility, studying in Canada, working in Canada, and much more. Here are this months questions and answers.

1. I have a Portuguese passport, but Im a permanent resident of Canada. Im going to Portugal for two weeks. Do I need anything to come back to Canada, like a visa?

Permanent residents of Canada must carry and present their valid Permanent Resident (PR) card or Permanent Resident Travel Document (PRTD) when boarding a flight to Canada, or travelling to Canada on any other commercial carrier. Permanent residents who do not carry their PR card or PRTD may not be able to board their flight, train, bus, or boat to Canada.

It is the permanent residents responsibility to ensure that his or her PR card is still valid when he or she returns to Canada, and to apply for a new PR card when his or her current card expires. Permanent residents do not need to apply for a visa (such as a Temporary Resident Visa) or electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) before travelling to Canada.

2. For international students and graduates in Canada, is Express Entry the only way to go when it comes to permanent immigration, or are there other potential options?

The Express Entry immigration selection system is popular among international graduates who studied in Canada, who benefit within the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) on account of their Canadian education, for which they may obtain additional points. Indeed, since these additional points were first introduced to the system last November, the number and share of former international students being invited to apply for permanent residence through Express Entry has risen significantly.

That being said, Express Entry is not necessarily the only option for these individuals. Canadas provinces and territories have the facility to welcome former international students as new permanent residents, particularly those who studied in the given province or territory, through the Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs). Many provinces have dedicated PNP streams for students and graduates, while other streams may assign points to these individuals, as the case may be.

In addition to Express Entry and the PNPs, international students and graduates in the province of Quebec may apply to the Programme de lexperience Quebecoise, or PEQ, otherwise known as the Quebec Experience Class.

In summary, there are many immigration options for international students and graduates in Canada. For a full overview, click here.

3. I am travelling abroad while my application for permanent residence is being processed. If I receive my request for a medical while I am away, will I be able to do it with an approved doctor overseas, or will I have to return to my home country and have the medical performed there?

Panel Physicians (PP) are available in most countries, and you and your family, if applicable, may take the medical examination wherever Panel Physicians are located and available.

 2017 CICNews All Rights Reserved
New Delhi, June: Popular writer Anand Neelakatan, Odeva poet Harapprasad Das, writer Parameet Satpati Tuesday announced the winners of the Kalinga Sahitya Awards. Tje Kalinga International Literary Award, Kalinga Literary Youth Award and Kalinga Karubaki Award will be conferred upon Neelakantan, Das and Satpathy respectively.



Around 200 celebrities from the world of literature, cinema, media and politics will assemble at the Kalinga Literary Festival from June 10 to 12 in Bhubaneswar to deliberate on the theme 'Literature for Peace and Harmony'. The fourth edition of this year's Literary Festival was opened by Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of State for Human Resource Development Mahendra Nath Pandey said that the guest will be the guest and the key keynote speaker.
On the one hand, Dasari Narayana Rao directing the Mahabharata hopes to bring the story to a massive scale. Work has also begun. But that did not finish the job. On the other hand Rajamouli also dreams of 'Mahabharata'. But the film is going to take another eight years. Shahrukh Khan also expressed desire to make 'Mahabharata' a film. But Mohanlal is the hero of Mahabharata in Malayalam with a billion big budget. But after the announcement of the announcement the doubts about the film have been released.



There are various speculations in the media that the film is not a workout. There is no information about B.R.Shetty, who claims to be the producer of this film. But B.R.Shetty set out to Kerala in this speculation. Together with Mohan Lal, he has been entrusted with his fans. Kerala Mohan Lal Fans Association delegates were also honored with BR Shetty and Mohanlal. B.R.Shetty, the businessman, confirmed the project of the millennium. So, like Kamal R. Khan, the film is not about doing the comedy.
BNM anunta concurs pentru postul vacant de expert principal, pe durata determinata, responsabil de elaborarea/actualizarea cerintelor metodologice de reglementare a procesului de raportare la BNM
As more bots handle claims and perform underwriting tasks, should human employees be concerned? Industry experts say theres no need to worry.

Insurers in the U.S. and overseas are exploring the use of chatbots in their operations. According to Dawn Mortimer, assistant vice president, IoT/Telematics Claims Product Management for Verisk Insurance Solutions, insurers are looking to adopt artificial intelligence more and more, with bots doing some of the decision-making.

Geicos new mobile virtual assistant, Kate, can answer questions about policy coverages and offer billing information. SPIXII sells motor insurance policies via a chatbot in a few European Union countries. Lemonade offers two chatbots, Maya underwrites policies while Jim handles contents claims.

Were seeing a lot of insurers really asking us to help make sense of the technology and find the application to the insurance value chain, said John Cammarata, vice president of development at PointSource, a design and development firm headquartered in North Carolina that focuses on digital transformation. They hear a lot and see a lot around chatbots, but they dont necessarily know how to apply that technology.

The company aids insurers by either working with them through an eight-step digital transformation framework or by helping with just a few of the steps. Some of the stages of the digital transformation framework include strategy, architecture, experience, process and culture transformation deployment.

Typically, insurers will leverage vendors and outsource the technology. Cammarata suggests insurers look to competitors to see how they are using bots. He said insurers are encouraged to examine patterns within their insurance value chains where chatbots could be used, such as quick quote pattern for sales and distribution, providing a natural language interface to answer policy questions and for processing payments.

Most of the interest is coming from personal lines insurers, Cammarata said. Homeowners insurers are especially interested in virtual assistant patterns, because their current digital experience is not meeting their customer expectations. He said a chatbot could walk a customer through policy questions all the way to policy issuance.

Claims Application

In claims, insurers are considering bots from first notice of loss through payment. PointSource works with insurers to examine issues that may occur during the process to try and resolve them. In claims, the company is working with insurers to evaluate all of the hand-offs and steps that occur during the claims process. Cammarata said that of the insurers hes worked with, 60 percent of the calls they receive relate to the status of a claim.

They just simply want to knowthe status and if they should be doing anything, he said.

Cammarata said chatbots can be leveraged to increase employee productivity, answering questions so the human adjuster can concentrate on more complex matters.

In a March 2017 blog, Donald Light, the director of Celents North American P/C Practice, highlighted a few ways adjuster bots could be utilized to process auto claims.

Bots could connect to the electronic control units (ECUs) in connected cars and transmit information after an accident to an insurer. The ECUs monitor diagnostics of virtually every major system in a car, he said. Some manufacturers are already installing cell phone modems in cars, he added. This allows instant communication between a bot and the car.

It can open a line of communication with the driver directly. If theres an indication that airbags have been deployed, it can notify police and/or medical assistance, he said. In addition, an initial repair estimate and contact with a direct repair program could be initiated.

He said the bot could communicate with the policyholder or claimant via a video that is made specifically for the event. It could provide necessary information on the claim and provide information for an auto repair facility.

Light said its likely that once adjuster bots handle auto claims, property claims will soon follow.

Though bots may increase claim closures boosting department efficiency, Light doesnt see an army of bots replacing human adjusters anytime soon. He sees bots handling first notice of loss claims, while adjusters will still be needed to handle injury claims. In addition, he said, the information contained within an ECU could be ambiguous or rendered useless due to a crash requiring a human adjuster to step in to handle the claim.

There is also the possibility that an ECU wouldnt pick up information on a low impact collision causing minor bodywork damage, he said. In the case of the video, the policyholder or claimant may opt out, choosing instead to speak to a human adjuster.

Some issues Light foresees in the use of adjuster bots includes whether they can deliver the correct information and conduct assessments as good or better than a human adjuster can.

Cammarata said top insurer concerns relating to chatbots center on legacy systems, cost and lack of knowledge on user expectations which can vary by demographic.

Consumers are searching for an experience that gives them access to information when they want it, how they want to interact and kind of on their own terms and timeframe, said Cammarata.

PointSource uses moderated or remote user focus groups in specific demographics to help insurers understand their expectations, he said.

As insurers look to adopt bots for a variety of processes, theyll need to allay current employee fears.

I know some carriers and some claims peopleare worried that these bots are going to take over and theres not going to bea need for them, said Mortimer. I totally disagree with that perspective. These bots takesimple claims off the hands of the human adjusters, so they can focus on the claims that need their attention.
AKRON, Ohio -- The Summit County Medical Examiner's Office has identified a 1-year-old boy who died days after he overdosed on an opioid.

Tymaine Thompson overdosed Thursday at a home on Gale Street, police said. Emergency crews revived him with naloxone, an overdose reversal drug, and took him to Akron Children's Hospital for treatment.

The boy died Sunday night, the medical examiner's office said.

The medical examiner's office is awaiting the results of toxicology tests and has not yet determined the official cause of death. No lethal injuries were seen during an autopsy, the medical examiner's office said Tuesday in a news release.

The boy's mother ran away from the home following the overdose, police said. She was later arrested on an unrelated warrant out of Portage County.

Investigators have not announced any charges related to the boy's overdose.

The boy's 9-year-old sibling called 911 after the boy overdosed, police said. The sibling told a police dispatcher that his brother was not breathing.

Summit County Children Services took custody of the boy and his two siblings following the incident.

At least three Akron children have overdosed on opioids in the past three months.

On March 6, a 2-year-old child likely ingested or came into contact with an opiate before he overdosed, police said. On March 14, a 6-year-old girl became dizzy and appeared to have a seizure while she was in the shower at a house on Popham Street near Winston Street, police said.

Both of those children were revived and survived, police said.

If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Tuesday's crime and courts comments section.

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AVON LAKE, Ohio - Of approximately 350 businesses in Avon Lake, 97 were awarded grants for business growth under the city's Job Growth Incentive Program. According to Ted Esborn, the city's new economic development director, the companies earned the awards as their income taxes paid to the city increased, representing payroll growth.

Mayor Greg Zilka and councilman Dan Bucci welcomed six of the businesses to an award ceremony at Avon Lake City Hall on May 26.

"Dan Bucci sponsored the legislation that started the program in 2012," said Esborn. "What was needed was a simple way to reward local businesses for their growth."

Esborn said any business that has increased their payroll from the year before receives a grant from the city equal to 25% of the increase. Grants begin at $25 and can reach as much as $100,000. This year, said Esborn, more than $160,000 was awarded.

"This is my first year administering the program. It is very unique in its scope," said Esborn.

Going forward, Esborn said it is hoped the purpose of the program to incentivize businesses will motivate more businesses to strive for sustained growth in Avon Lake and result in renewed legislation for the program.

"2017 is the last tax year that was authorized in the original legislation," said Esborn, "which means we will be evaluating the program in the coming months to determine what changes to make if the legislation is renewed."

There is no need to apply for the grants, Esborn noted. "It is automatic," he said. "We take income tax information and apply it to the criteria spelled out in the ordinance.

Included in the criteria, according to Esborn, is a requirement that the business must be operating in a structure that would be considered a "business space," meaning that home-based businesses cannot qualify for the grant.

For more information on the grants and the criteria, contact Ted Esborn at Avon Lake City Hall at 440-933-6141 or tesborn@avonlake.org.
BAY VILLAGE, Ohio - The Bay Village Police Department is seeking a $30,000 grant from the state of Ohio to help offset the costs of the Amy Mihaljevic investigation, a case that continues to baffle law enforcement after 28 years.

The department applied for the grant with the Ohio's Office of Criminal Justice Services which, among other things, provides money to law enforcement agencies throughout the state.

If granted, the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant would help offset the cost of manpower to review the case, organize the case files and digitize it into a searchable database, Bay Village Police Chief Mark Spaetzli said.

The money would also will pay for FBI Special Agent Phi Torsney to continue working on the case, he said.

"The idea is to get it all digitized so we can have a case file where we get a tip or a lead and we can use a search engine instead of hand searching," Spaetzel said. "We're a small department, we're 23 full-time sworn officers. We don't have the time or the money to sift through the file."

Spaetzel could not say how much money the department has poured into the case since Mihaljevic went missing in October 1989 or a breakdown of the costs, but noted that tens of thousands of man hours has gone into the case.

"It's a case that was never put on the shelf and let go," he said. "We still get tips on a monthly basis. There's always something going on with it. It's an important case to the community and obviously, the family."

The department has not received any promising leads in the case in recent months.

Police believe Mihaljevic talked on the phone with the abductor prior to her disappearance. He called her home and said that she should buy a present for her mother who got a promotion at work. He persuaded Amy to meet him at Bay Square Shopping Center on Oct. 27. She last spoke to her mother about 3:30 p.m. that day.

Amy was missing when her mother got home that evening. Her body was found four months later along a road in Ashland County.

A homemade curtain was shown during a 2016 news conference in which investigators believed it might have clues to finding Amy's killer.

If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Tuesday's crime and courts comments section.

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BROADVIEW HEIGHTS, Ohio - The city will likely ask voters in November to approve a property tax increase that would help pay for operations in the expanded recreation center.

The tax increase would generate about $456,700 a year over 15 years, said Paula Horner, the city's parks and recreation director. In 2017, the total parks and recreation budget is $1.5 million.

The tax would cost the owner of a $100,000 home $24.50 annually but it would not go into effect until 2019, which is when the expanded center is scheduled to open.

The .7-mill levy would closely resemble a .4-mill levy that voters rejected by 120 votes in November 2015. On that same ballot, residents approved a bond issue that will pay for construction of rec center additions, along with a police-levy renewal.

Mayor Sam Alai said the three issues on the November 2015 ballot might have overwhelmed voters with too many money requests. However, the need for more operating money hasn't gone away - the city will have to hire additional workers to help run the larger center and will face higher utility bills, he said.

On Monday, City Council took the first of two steps to place the tax increase on the November ballot. Council asked Cuyahoga County to verify the city's total property tax value and confirm how much the levy would generate.

In 2014, the city polled 700 residents and found that many would pay for recreation additions. Now, the Leo H. Bender Community Center on Broadview Road contains one gym and an indoor swimming pool, along with municipal offices and a senior center.

The city plans to add gym space and build a new indoor pool. The additions would about double the size of recreational facilities within the community center, from 50,000 square feet to 100,000 square feet, Horner said. Construction is scheduled to begin in July.

Under the bond issue voters approved in November 2015, the city will borrow $15 million upfront and property owners will repay the debt over 25 years. It will cost the owner of a $100,000 home about $50 a year.

The levy that voters rejected in November 2015 reportedly would have cost the owner of a $100,000 home another $14 annually - compared to $24.50 under the latest proposal - over 15 years.

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BROADVIEW HEIGHTS, Ohio - On Monday night, City Council unanimously passed a resolution denouncing hateful, intolerant and intimidating behavior.

The resolution came three weeks after it was proposed by Unite Against Hate, a new Akron-area grassroots organization, and one week after the idea first went before council.

"It's a really great thing when a community publicly stands up for the right thing," said Richfield resident Kathy Hayes, who started Unite Against Hate in January with her husband Chris Hayes.

Unite Against Hate was formed as a reaction to news reports of vandalism at Jewish cemeteries, attacks on gays and other violence against minorities and minority institutions throughout the country, group leaders said.

Council President Robert Boldt said he had discussed the resolution's wording with all council members. He said council received one call about the resolution - a resident asked whether it is a law. Boldt said no.

"This is a public statement representing the sentiment of this council and administration," Boldt said Monday. "That is all."

The resolution's language is similar to that of anti-hate resolutions recently passed in Richfield and Richfield Township. Unite Against Hate had also lobbied for anti-hate resolutions in those communities.

The Broadview Heights resolution states that diversity "is a source of strength and opportunity," and that the city is home to various religious institutions, many of which are minority-based. It says the city "chooses to be a leader in promoting human rights and social justice, public safety and social well-being."

"We join the efforts across the community, country and globe to oppose hate violence by strongly asserting that every person has the right to go about his or her business without fear of intimidation or harassment, regardless of religious affiliation, ethnicity, race, immigration status, gender or sexual identity," the resolution says.

"The people of the city of Broadview Heights will stand together in opposing manifestations of hate and acts of intolerance committed against those who live, work or visit in this community," the resolution states.

Hayes said Unite Against Hate is still hoping that legislators in Bath, Cuyahoga Falls and Akron will pass anti-hate resolutions. Meanwhile, the group is partnering with International Institute of Akron - which helps settle refugees in the Akron area - to provide welcome baskets for refugees.

Unite Against Hate is also asking Ohio officials to issue an anti-hate proclamation. Hayes said the group is working with Gov. John Kasich's office on establishing a hate-crime hotline, like one in Massachusetts.

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CLEVELAND, Ohio - Inmates in Cleveland's jail and House of Correction will stay in better facilities, receive job training and other services and have access to MetroHealth System doctors once Cuyahoga County takes over the city's jail operations.

Cleveland and county officials on Tuesday provided details of the culmination of years of discussions to merge jail operations.

"This enhances regional cooperation and eliminates overlapping government functions," said County Executive Armond Budish on the steps of City Hall. "It will save Cleveland millions each year and will add no cost to the county."

City Council on Monday voted to approve the deal. Cuyahoga County Council will see legislation at its June 13 meeting. The agreement includes buying the Justice Center building that houses the city jail and police headquarters for $9.25 million.

Here's what you need to know:

Why did the city agree to turn over operations to the county?

The deal will save the city up to $5 million a year.

Merging jail operations has long been discussed -- most recently in 2014. The city and the county each operate lockup facilities in the Justice Center complex.

Legislation was introduced in the city and county but stalled as both sides continued to negotiate the amount the city would pay the county per day per inmate and sparred over the city's request that the county continue to operate the deteriorating city jail. The proposal at that time was $85 a day.

How and when will the transfer occur?

The county will take over city jail operations in 90 days. The total transition is expected to take 270 days.

About 160 inmates in the city jail and House of Correction will be transferred to county facilities.

The county jail has 2,100 beds. In addition, the county has dedicated the 175-bed Euclid Jail as a comprehensive program center for male inmates. The county in 2016 established comprehensive reentry services where inmates can learn culinary and other skills before they are released.

Under the deal, those inmates and programs will move to the 170-bed Bedford Heights Jail, which is currently vacant. The county will lease that building for $1 a year.

The Euclid Jail will house women, who will be offered similar programs.

What will the county's duties be?

The county will take over booking, fingerprinting, photographing, DNA testing, lodging, medical and psychological care, meals, delivery to court and the transport and confinement of any individuals sentenced by Cleveland Municipal Court judges.

What will happen to the city jail and House of Correction?

The jail will close. The House of Correction in Highland Hills will likely be sold, city officials said.

What will happen to police headquarters?

The city will lease the headquarters from the county until it moves to a new building. The city is seeking bids for a new location, Mayor Frank Jackson said. City officials said the headquarters size could be about 160,000 square feet, about 100,000 square feet less than the current building, which is too large.

The county will spend $3 million to $4 million to renovate the headquarters. About 300 county employees who work in the leased Marion Building on West 3rd Street will relocate to the former headquarters. The probation department, drug lab, court workers and other departments are in the Marion Building.

What about the old Third District police headquarters?

Cleveland police still use the building on Payne Avenue between East 18th Street and East 21st Street that once was headquarters for the Third District. The Third District now is housed in a new building on Chester Avenue.

Could it be converted into police headquarters?

Jackson spokesman Dan Williams said that hasn't been discussed at this point, but added that nothing has been ruled out, either.

Whether that site plays into discussions down the road remains to be seen. For now, the city intends to collect bids for the headquarters space, Williams said.

What about parking?

The county will acquire 200 parking spaces under the headquarters. County employees will use those spaces, freeing up 200 spaces in the county-owned public Huntington Park Garage.

What will it cost Cleveland?

The city will pay the county $5.2 million during the transition period between when the county takes over operations in 90 days and when it begins officially housing the prisoners within 270 days.

Then the city will pay the county $99 a day to house the prisoners.

How will the county pay for the building and other costs?

It will cost the county a total of $14.4 million - for the city building, relocating employees from the Marion Building and renovating the headquarters, Budish said.

The county may sell bonds or borrow from its reserve.

However, Budish said the county expects $1 million a year in parking revenue from the Huntington Garage and will save $1.2 million a year by not having to lease the Marion Building.

It may also lease some space in the the former headquarters.

How many city inmates will the county oversee?

The city currently has an average of 160 prisoners daily at the jail and House of Correction. In 2014 Cleveland housed about 265 prisoners per day.

That number is significantly lower due to Cleveland Municipal Court now charging or releasing suspects within 36 hours and changes to the bond schedules that allow arrested suspects to be released on their own recognizance.

What about the city's jail employees?

The city employs about 86 corrections officers. The county is committed to hire them to fill vacancies. The officers could also be hired by the Sheriff's Department.

What about the future of the Justice Center?

When the county buys the jail (which is on 1.6 acres) for $9.25 million it will own the entire Justice Center complex.

The county is currently studying the future of the 40-year-old building, which is on prime downtown land.

"If we ever decide to move out of the Justice Center, this enhances our efforts because we will have full site control," Budish said.

What are plans for the future?

Budish said the county hopes to offer regional jail services to every city in the county. He said several are in discussions with the county, but the county wanted to finalize the deal with Cleveland first.

Officials are continuing to work on centralized booking as well.

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The U.S. International Trade Commission has started an investigation into the probable effect of providing duty-free treatment to currently dutiable U.S. imported goods from Canada and Mexico.



The U.S. International Trade Commission has started an investigation into the probable effects of providing duty-free treatment to currently dutiable U.S. imported goods from Canada and Mexico.

The ITC will consider these imports as applied to the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule, including U.S. commitments in the World Trade Organization.

The commission will also assess the probable economic effect of eliminating tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico of certain agricultural products on U.S. industries producing those same products.

A public hearing related to the investigation will be held at the ITCs Washington headquarters on June 20, and written submissions are due to the agency by June 26. The ITC plans to deliver its report, which will be confidential, to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on Aug. 26.

President Donald Trumps administration last month sent a letter to Congress signaling its intent to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), a three-member deal with Canada and Mexico.

Robert Lighthizer, the White Houses head of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, said the administration hopes to renegotiate and modernize the deal, rather than scrap it altogether.
The countrys supportive relationship with Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood has caused six Middle Eastern countries to restrict airspace and ban trade and border crossing to and from Qatar.



Several Middle Eastern countries have severed diplomatic ties with Qatar this week, causing concerns over freight disruptions in the region.

Saudia Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Egypt, Yemen and Libya have broken off ties with Qatar due to its continued support of Muslim Brotherhood and its relationship with Iran.

Because the move has caused airspace to be restricted in an around the country, the three major Gulf airlines, particularly Qatar Airways, will be affected, reported The Loadstar. The result is likely to be longer flight times and higher fuel costs for Qatar Airways.

One unnamed forwarder told The Loadstar the news was pretty major for transshipment freight. We cannot use Emirates or Etihad for any business terminating at Doha, and we wont be able to use Qatar for the other countries.

Other major Middle Eastern airlines such as Emirates, Eithad, Gulf Airways and Air Arabia have posted statements concerning the news, saying all flights to and from Doha would be suspended from June 6. However, they noted, all other flights to the rest of the Middle East will operate as normal.

But the disruption is not limited to just air cargo and passenger service.

On the ocean side, Inchcape Shipping Services (ISS) says the Saudi Arabia Port Authorities have confirmed that no vessels will be allowed in or out of Qatar, regardless of vessel flag or owner nationality. Furthermore, vessels already in port and destined for Qatar will not receive port clearance.

The Ports and Maritime Affairs office at the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications for Bahrain has said all Bahrain Ports and territorial waters will remain suspended for marine navigation from and to the State of Qatar, also effective June 6.

However, ISS noted the Suez Canal Authority has advised that there are no restrictions on flying the Qatari flag through the Suez Canal is it is an international water passage.

Liquified natural gas (LNG) shipping will likely be hit the hardest, as Qatar is the largest producer of LNG. Bunkering bans at Fujairah have led analyst Court Smith of the international ship brokerage and advisory firm MJLF to say the bunkering ban also stands to pinch the crude oil and product tanker market as Qatar exports about 490,000 barrels per day of crude oil. Qatar is also the site of new condensate production out of its Ras Laffan facility, as reported by TradeWinds.

As of Tuesday morning, the Qatar Stock Exchange had plunged 10 percent on the news.

According to The Loadstar, Qatar is reliant on both the UAE and Saudi Arabia for its imports, as roughly half of its food is sourced in the Middle East, primarily from the UAE. The UAE accounts for some $2.76 billion of its imports, and is Qatars fifth biggest import country, said The Loadstar.


U.S. tech giants Google , Apple , Microsoft , Amazon and Facebook are the five most valuable global brands, according to rankings released on Tuesday by WPP and Kantar Millward Brown.

The BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands ranking saw Google retain its top spot with a brand value of more than $245 billion. Amazon rose three places to number four after achieving the highest dollar value growth. The online retailer increased by $40.3 billion to $139.3 billion. Other brands making the top ten included AT&T, Visa, Tencent, IBM and McDonald's.

"Strong brands continue to deliver value for the companies that own them, regardless of economic, political and category disruption," Peter Walshe, global BrandZ director at Kantar Millward Brown, said in a statement.



"The BrandZ Global Top 100 is now dominated by the internet giants  brands that have operated on a global stage since day one, and which are built on powerful, innovative technology platforms," Walshe added. "This has enabled them to transcend regional and sector boundaries and grow their value at an unprecedented rate."
A fierce spat between Qatar and leading Arab nations could see Doha shift closer to Turkey and Iran in a move that could alter Middle Eastern politics.

Seven countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Bahrain, severed diplomatic ties with with the energy-rich monarchy on Monday, accusing it of backing Tehran and Islamist groups such as the non-violent Muslim Brotherhood. Qatar has said it does not support terrorism, adding that the diplomatic rift was based on "baseless fabricated claims."

Doha now faces an acute economic plight as it relies on Gulf neighbors for 80 percent of food imports, according to Reuters.

To mitigate its economic isolation, Qatar will look for other friends, explained Amin Saikal, director of the Center for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Australian National University. "It can accelerate its relationship with Turkey and Iran, who have already said they are happy to help to compensate for the boycott."

Ankara was ready to help resolve the dispute, said Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, while Iranian officials have offered to send food to Qatar by sea.

"Doha would have to clearly shift its foreign policy position and alliances ... Pressure by the Arab alliance could convince the (Qatari) leadership to seek closer relations with Iran and Turkey," Eurasia analysts echoed in a Monday note.

"As a result, Qatar could leave the Gulf Cooperation Council altogether."

The majority of Arab governments have long viewed Iran as an adversary and in 2016, Doha recalled its ambassador to the Persian nation amid a major rift between Riyadh and Tehran. But recent months have seen Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani go against Riyadh's wishes by warming up to Tehran  in a conversation with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani last week, Al-Thani said he wanted bilateral liaisons to be stronger than ever.
Small business investor and turnaround king Marcus Lemonis returns to CNBC's "The Profit," airing Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET, with some counter-intuitive insights for a struggling family business.

On this week's episode, Lemonis visits SWIM by Chuck Handy, a family-run swimwear business focused on plus-size customers. Founded in 2010, the company is losing money and can't afford additional inventory.

As he identifies crucial issues to be addressed, Lemonis zeroes in on the company's manufacturing process.

Currently, SWIM is having their apparel manufactured in China, at a cost of $15 per swimsuit. Lemonis encourages the family to switch to an American manufacturer, where suits will cost closer to $18 each to produce.
David Rank, the charge d'affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, has left the State Department over the Trump administration's decision to quit the 2015 Paris agreement to fight climate change, a senior U.S. official said on Monday.

A State Department spokeswoman confirmed Rank's departure, but said she was unable to verify Twitter posts that said he resigned as he felt unable to deliver a formal notification to China of the U.S. decision last week to quit the agreement.

"He has retired from the foreign service," said Anna Richey-Allen, a spokeswoman for the department's East Asia Bureau. "Mr. Rank has made a personal decision. We appreciate his years of dedicated service to the State Department."

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, President Donald Trump's pick as the next U.S. ambassador to Beijing, is expected to take up the post later this month.

A tweet from China expert John Pomfret quoted unnamed sources as saying that Rank had resigned as he could not support Trump's decision last week to withdraw from the Paris agreement.

Another tweet from Pomfret said Rank called a town hall meeting to announce his decision to embassy staff and explained that he could not deliver a diplomatic note informing the Chinese government of the U.S. decision.

A senior U.S. official confirmed the account given in the tweets but added that after Rank announced his intention to retire on Monday in Beijing, he was told by the State Department to leave his post immediately. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.

On June 1, the U.S. State Department accepted the resignation of its top personnel officer, who had been among its few remaining senior Obama administration political appointees, another U.S. official said.

Arnold Chacon had served as the director general of the foreign service and director of human resources.

The official said Chacon had tendered his resignation when Trump was inaugurated on Jan. 20, along with all presidential appointees, who serve at the pleasure of the president and secretary of state.

The acceptance of Chacon's resignation was first reported by the DiploPundit website.

It was not immediately clear whether he would be offered another post at the department.

Other than Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, his deputy John Sullivan and Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Tom Shannon, the third-ranking U.S. diplomat, most of the State Department's senior posts are currently vacant or filled by acting officials.

Chacon and Rank, a career foreign service officer who took over the post of deputy chief of mission in Beijing in January 2016, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Jonathan Fritz, the embassy's economics councilor, would serve as charge in his place, Richey-Allen said.

Rank had been with the department for 27 years and served as the political councilor at the U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan from 2011 to 2012.

Trump's announcement on Thursday that he would withdraw the United States from the Paris climate accord, saying the agreement would undermine the U.S. economy and cost jobs, drew anger and condemnation from world leaders and heads of industry.
Dockworker labor strikes are scheduled to take place every other hour on Monday, Wednesday and Friday this week, and could continue into next week as well.



Spanish port workers have called for more strikes this week to protest against potential job losses in the wake of the Spanish ports reform, which was passed through parliament in mid-May, according to a report from Reuters news service.

The ports reform aims to crack down on closed-shop hiring in a heavy unionized sector, placing the existing labor system at Spanish ports in accordance with European Union regulations.

Dockers have decided to stop working every other hour on Monday, Wednesday and Friday this week.

Some container shipping companies have rerouted cargo due to the strikes. Alternative destinations for shipping companies include Portugal, Morocco and Malta.

In addition, five further days of industrial action have been called for next week.

Maersk Line released information on measures various terminals in Spain will be taking due to these strikes.


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A big Obamacare shoe just dropped in Ohio. Health insurer Anthem said Tuesday it will effectively exit its Obamacare individual plan business in Ohio, leaving potentially 18 counties in the Buckeye State with no insurer selling plans in 2018. Anthem, which sells Obamacare plans in 14 states this year, left open the door to dropping out of other states next year. The company this year sold individual health plans in all 88 counties in Ohio, the only Obamacare insurer to cover the whole state. But next year, Anthem said, it will sell just a single plan in Pike County, and that will only be available outside of the Obamacare federal marketplace, HealthCare.gov. There are 10,500 current Anthem customers in the 18 counties who are currently not expected to have an Obamacare plan available as a result of Anthem's planned exit, which was revealed a day after the deadline for filing proposed rates in Ohio for next year. The company, in explaining what it called "a difficult decision," pointed to continued "volatility" in the individual health plan market, as well as to uncertainty about whether President Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress will continue paying insurers reimbursements for key Obamacare subsidies that reduce low-income customers' out-of-pocket health costs. The company also blamed the restoration of a tax on insurers. "An increasing lack of overall predictability simply does not provide a sustainable path forward to provide affordable plan choices for consumers," said Anthem. "As the Individual marketplace continues to evolve, Anthem will continue to advocate solutions that will stabilize the market to allow us to return to a more robust presence in the future," the company said.

Getty Images

"We participated in [Obamacare] exchanges in all of our 14 states this year," an Anthem spokeswoman said. "Regulations and deadlines for making the decisions regarding our participation vary by state and we intend to continue our dialog with regulators in our markets until that time." The Ohio Department of Insurance said there were 17 companies selling Obamacare plans in the state through the federal marketplace HealthCare.gov in 2016. That dropped to just 11 companies this year. Anthem currently is the only Obamacare insurer in the state's 20 counties that have just one insurer. The insurance department said that based on preliminary rate filings for 2018 Anthem's pullback across the state will leave at least 18 counties with no Obamacare insurer next year. "For the past few years, we have seen a weakening in the federal insurance marketplace as a number of companies have withdrawn from the exchange," said Chris Brock, a spokesman for the state's insurance department. "We have always argued the private insurance market is the most severely impacted by the federal law and that is where congressional action is needed to restore stability." "The Department of Insurance is looking for options to help the approximately 10,500 Ohioans in counties where there may not be an exchange plan when this takes effect in 2018," Brock said. Anthem will continue selling small-group and large-group health plans in Ohio, which currently cover about 3.4 million people.

Gus Ruelas | Reuters
Australia is reviewing its espionage laws and banning foreign political donations over concerns that China is buying influence by using rich businessmen to funnel millions of dollars in donations to political parties. "

Just as modern China was based on an assertion of national sovereignty, so China should always respect the sovereignty of other nations, including, of course, our own," Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told reporters on Tuesday.

Many other western nations, including the US and UK, prohibit foreign political donations, and Washington has expressed concern both over Chinese meddling in Australian politics and the role of a wealthy diaspora in Beijing's drive to project soft power overseas.

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Mr Turnbull's comments follow an investigation by Fairfax Media and Australian broadcaster ABC detailing A$6.7m in donations to the Liberal and Labor parties made by billionaires Huang Xiangmo and Chau Chak Wing. The report alleged that ASIO, Australia's intelligence agency, had warned both parties in 2015 about accepting the pair's donations because they had links to China's Communist party. It also said that the warnings had not been heeded.

Mr Huang, founder of Shenzhen-based property group Yuhu Group, was at the centre of a scandal last year that toppled Labor party senator Sam Dastyari when it emerged the politician had accepted thousands of dollars in donations from Yuhu and used them to pay for travel and legal bills.

In interviews with Chinese media, Mr Dastyari had publicly called for Australia to respect China's territorial claims in the South China Sea  a position contrary to that of his party.

After the scandal Mr Huang resigned as chairman of the Australia China Relations Institute, a think-tank he co-founded that is linked to University of Technology Sydney. Acri has been criticised by some academics who allege its pro-China stance is part of a $10bn global propaganda push by Beijing.

The Fairfax/ABC investigation alleged that Mr Dastyari had intervened on behalf of Mr Huang with Australia's department of immigration over the businessman's application for citizenship and that Mr Huang's application had been stalled by ASIO.

Mr Dastyari said on Monday his office had dealt with 200 immigration and citizenship matters from many different nationalities since he became a senator. "This is part of my job," he added.

Mr Huang remains president of the Australian Council for the Promotion of Peaceful Reunification of China, which critics allege is linked to the Chinese Communist party and backs Chinese policy on issues such as territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

The investigation alleged that Mr Huang had reneged on a pledge to donate A$400,000 to Labor in June 2016 when the party's defence spokesman called for Australia to undertake freedom of navigation operations in the contested waters.

Mr Huang moved to Australia in 2011. Since then he, his family, his company and Yuhu staff have donated to both the Liberal and Labor parties. He has been photographed with politicians including Mr Turnbull.

John Fitzgerald, professor at Swinburne University of Technology, said all the available evidence pointed to an attempt by the businessmen to influence Australian politics in a manner that supported Chinese policy goals.

"Australians resent foreign interference in their electoral processes from any foreign source  America, Russia, China  as it can skew political outcomes and undermine faith in electoral systems," he said.

Mr Huang told the Financial Times it was regrettable that people who did not know him were choosing to question his motives and undermine his reputation based on dubious assertions and innuendo.

"While some seek to reinforce negative stereotypes about Chinese involvement in Australia, I am committed to more positive pursuits, such as investment, philanthropy and building stronger community relations," he said in a statement.

The investigation also details donations by Dr Chau, who chairs the Kingold Group, a conglomerate with interests in property, education and finance based in Guangzhou.

Dr Chau, who has received Australian citizenship, has donated A$25m to UTS to fund scholarships and a new building for its business school.

A spokesman for Dr Chau did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Check out which companies are making headlines before the bell:

General Motors  Shareholders will vote today on a proposal by investor David Einhorn to create two different classes of GM stock, one focusing on growth, the other on dividends. The annual meeting will also see a vote for company directors, with Einhorn's Greenlight Capital having nominated three board candidates.

HD Supply Holdings  The industrial distributor earned an adjusted 63 cents per share for its latest quarter, three cents a share below estimates. Revenue beat forecasts. Separately, the company announced a deal to sell its Waterworks business to Clayton, Dubilier & Rice for $2.5 billion in cash. Waterworks is a distributor of water, sewer, and storm prevention products.

Lands' End  The apparel retailer lost 24 cents per share for its latest quarter, two cents a share wider than expected. Revenue also missed forecasts. Same-store sales rose 2.1 percent during the quarter, which the company pointed to as an encouraging sign.

Michaels Cos.  The arts and crafts retailer missed estimates by a penny a share, with quarterly earnings of 38 cents per share. Revenue was also shy of estimates as comparable-store sales fell 1.2 percent. The company said that although it's pleased with current trends, a weakened Canadian dollar will impact its full-year results.

G-III Apparel  The parent of apparel brands like DKNY, Wilsons Leather, and Calvin Klein lost 18 cents per share for its latest quarter, but that was less than half the 40-cent-a-share loss anticipated by analysts. Revenue beat estimates and the company raised its full-year forecast. G-III said it continues to make progress in cutting costs and that its strong brand portfolio is performing well in a challenging environment.

Thor Industries  The recreational vehicle maker earned $2.02 per share for its latest quarter, beating consensus estimates of $1.89 a share. Revenue also topped forecasts, and Thor said economic conditions remain favorable for continued industry growth.

Acorda Therapeutics  The drugmaker reported significantly positive results in a trial involving a new drug for Parkinson's disease. Acorda plans to file a new drug application in the U.S. by the end of the second quarter.

Royal Bank of Scotland  A majority of claimants has reportedly accepted a proposed settlement in a lawsuit accusing the bank of misleading investors during a $16 billion capital raise during the financial crisis in 2008. Reuters reports that the settlement comes after days of intense talks delayed the start of a trial, which would now be avoided.

Microchip Technology  The company raised its first-quarter guidance for both sales and profits, based on improved strength in its business and in industry conditions. The electronic components maker did say that it is adding capacity amid increased demand but that it could take a year for inventories and lead times to return to more normal levels.

BlackBerry  BlackBerry is downplaying news that automaker Toyota is moving to rival software for its vehicle consoles. BlackBerry said its focus is shifting to the fast-growing autonomous driving market.

Perrigo  Chief Executive Officer John Hendrickson is planning to retire. No timetable was given, but Hendrickson said he would stay on until a replacement was found, and then for an additional 60-day transition period. Hendrickson became the drugmaker's CEO last April after Joseph Papa left to take the top spot at Valeant Pharmaceuticals .

Tesla  Tesla will resume selling rooftop solar panels in Nevada, 18 months after halting sales in that state. That comes after lawmakers reinstated an abandoned policy that required utilities to purchase excess electric power from customers.

Dish Network  The satellite TV provider was ordered by a judge to pay $280 million in penalties to the federal government and four states in an eight-year-old lawsuit involving telemarketing robocalls.

Casey's General Stores  Casey's reported quarterly profit of 76 cents per share, short of consensus estimates. The convenience store operator also gave a lower-than-expected forecast for the full year, although it did also announce a dividend increase.

Paccar  Paccar was upgraded to "buy" from "neutral" at UBS, with the firm also increasing its price target for the truck maker's stock to $75 from $66. UBS cites more positive conditions in the trucking market.

Green Dot  Green Dot is working with Apple on the Apple Pay cash card announced yesterday at Apple's WWDC event, according to a Recode report. Green Dot is a provider of prepaid payment cards.
After publicly rebuking and suing the maker of Craftsman tools last month, Sears Monday updated Chairman and CEO Eddie Lampert's May 15 blog post with a notice that said the matter was resolved.

"The matter has been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of both parties and we look forward to continuing our relationship with One World," the statement read.

Neither company was available immediately for comment. Further details of the new agreement were not made public.

On Tuesday, Business Insider reported that Lampert's blog post had been updated.

One World Technologies, a China-based subsidiary of Techtronic Industries, was the focal point of Lampert's accusations in his original post. He wrote that the vendor was attempting to "take advantage of negative rumors about Sears." Lampert alleged that One World was an example of a company trying to cut a deal "that is unilaterally in their interest."
European markets closed lower on Tuesday as investors erred on the side of caution ahead of the U.K. general election and European Central Bank meeting later in the week.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended down 0.67 percent with most sectors and major bourses in negative territory. Health care was among the worst performing sectors following news that a clinical trial from Roche resulted in only a modest benefit for women with a specific type of disease. Roche shares slipped over 5.5 percent.

Banco Popular was once again among the worst performing stock as its shares tumbled more than 6 percent on Tuesday. Barclays said it had cut its price target on the Spanish lender, which has struggled to convince investors since reports emerged last week that it will have to be wound down if it doesn't find a buyer.

More broadly, banking stocks ended down by around 0.6 percent as investors do not expect the ECB to change its monetary policy stance on Thursday. Italian banks were lower, with BPM down over 1.5 percent. According to Reuters, the central bank of San Marino, a microstate in Italy, plans to inject money into its ailing lenders which have 1.8 billion euros ($2 billion) in gross bad loans.



Meanwhile, in the U.S., the Dow Jones industrial average and broader S&P 500 both continued under pressure as geopolitical uncertainties weighed on sentiment.
Israel is paying renewed attention to Africa over the last few years, not only as a diplomatic arena and an area of cooperation on security but also as an increasingly important market for its companies, with an emphasis on high-tech.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended the West African economic community summit in Liberia over the weekend, less than a year after he toured East Africa, and he's due to attend another summit in Togo before the end of the year.

While Netanyahu has said that he hopes improved relations with Africa will prop up Israel's diplomatic position at international forums such as the United Nations, that effort seems to be supported by, and go hand in hand with, an economic drive. In Liberia, Israeli solar power company Energiya Global announced a $20 million investment in a new solar field to supply electricity.

Netanyahu last September also attended a special "Israeli technology and innovation for Africa" event at the UN in New York at which Israeli high-tech companies stalled out their wares in front of heads of states and other representatives.

Africa is expected to account for 50 percent of the world's population growth through 2050, currently has the fastest growing middle class and saw an explosive 58 percent mobile broadband growth rate from 2015 to 2016, according to 2016 a PwC report entitled, Disrupting Africa: Riding the wave of the digital revolution.

Among the Israeli companies presenting in New York last year were life sciences firm MobileODT, which makes devices and networked solutions that allow medical diagnostics using mobile phones and Water-gen, which makes devices that literally make clean drinking water from the air. MobileODT is currently active in Africa while Water-gen sees great opportunities, with 40 percent of the population of sub-Saharan Africa living in water scarce environments.

MobileODT's CEO and founder, Ariel Beery is enthusiastic about bringing his products to Africa. It started with largely aid-based projects, supported by the hospital systems his company does business with in the US and by local Rotary clubs and Save the Children but now he markets directly to African countries.

"I think there is an amazing range of opportunity, despite the fact that the market moves still a little bit slower than Western and Northern markets, the African continent is an exceptional place for companies to grow in," says Beery. One of the continent's advantages is that it is able to "leapfrog" to new technology because older, more established, and more expensive, systems are often not in place.

In Africa, MobileODT currently sells a device it calls EVA, for enhanced visual assessment, that in combination with a mobile phone can be used by non-expert medical staff to detect either cervical cancer or oral cancer or can be used for sexual assault documentation. It sends the information to centralized servers and follows up on the patient's progress.

"With a technology such ours, which is small, affordable and significantly more powerful than existing medical devices because of its connectivity and ability for collaboration and database management and machine-learning, while the United States is an interested market and we're able to sell pretty regularly there, in Africa the potential to impact is so much more significant," says Beery.

Water-gen also has big plans for Africa once it starts mass production of its devices to make water from the air later this year. Executive chairman Maxim Pasik says that his company is currently talking to African partners to start selling the devices on the continent. He sees opportunities both in the form of aid projects and selling to governments.

"The most important is through government projects. The people don't have a lot of money but the governments still needs to provide water to drink because drinking water means stability for the country," says Pasik. He also sees a big role for the UN and the World Bank in helping to bring clean drinking water to African populations.

His company's products are ideal for Africa, he says because they can be installed anywhere, can run even on solar energy and are cheap in use. "We created a system that is affordable for Africa and the rest of the developing world. Energy consumption is very low, it's around 300 watts per liter of clean drinking water. And the quality of the water, it's the cleanest water you can have. There's zero chance of having bacteria inside."

He's convinced his product can help prevent millions of deaths from unhealthy drinking water and says that the company went out of its way to make it affordable, also in acquisition. Yet at the UN meeting last year in New York, people weren't easily convinced, he says.

"I think the people in New York didn't understand the potential for it, because it's new," says Pasik. He says he gets a lot of strange looks when he tells people that he's making water out of air. He hopes to get more involvement from NGO's. "They need to understand this is the solution for drinking water."

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JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon wants Congress to enact tax reform, and it sounds like he's not as patient about it as some of his fellow business leaders.

The head of the nation's No. 1 bank by assets and chair of the Business Roundtable implored Washington lawmakers Tuesday to get to work on easing the nation's tax burden.

"We have to do this," Dimon said during a teleconference with reporters. "It's been hurting our country for a long time. It's time to fix it."'

President Donald Trump wants to slash taxes, particularly the U.S. corporate levy that is the highest in the world. However, his pro-growth proposals have gotten little traction from a Congress busy trying to enact a new national health-care plan and probing scandals inside the White House.

Dimon spoke as the Roundtable released a survey showing that CEO confidence is at its highest level in three years.

Much of that optimism, though, is predicated on getting an agenda through Congress that also includes lowered regulatory barriers and more spending on the nation's ailing infrastructure. Should signs arise that the economic plans, and particularly tax reform, aren't likely to be addressed soon, that could tamp down sentiment in a hurry.
Tax reform is hot this year, and rightly so. Mending an outdated tax system is an important political and policy objective. I am optimistic that Republican lawmakers will be successful, but no matter the scale or scope of this effort, it will not be the last big tax bill. Because tax reform is a perpetual effort, it is not too early to start considering post-tax-reform tax reform ideas.

One worthy candidate for the next tax reform effort is a cut in the most distortionary taxes in exchange for a tax on carbon emissions, combined with permanent carbon deregulation of the energy sector. Such a reform package  conservative in design  has the potential to boost U.S. economic growth in the long run.

In conservative policy circles, a carbon tax is controversial at best. But conservative voters  and groups that Republicans would like to see vote conservative  are increasingly interested in policies to mitigate the real risk of climate change. More importantly, pro-growth fiscal reforms will be critical for the well-being of future generations. With these realities in mind, here are the three key components of a deregulatory carbon tax reform:

Roll back burdensome carbon-related regulations. As conservatives well know, command-and-control regulations can be inefficient and restrain our economy. Many existing regulations aimed at reducing carbon emissions are textbook examples of this.There should be a definitive legislative rollback of these regulations for the simple reason that they do not work well. The motivation is not disregard for the environment or climate, but distrust in the regulatory state as an efficient instrument. Let a carbon tax do well what regulations do poorly. A transparent carbon tax would reduce emissions in a more efficient manner than any strategy developed by bureaucrats in Washington. Consumers would respond to a uniform price on carbon emissions by using less energy, and producers by developing technologies to reduce the carbon intensity of the energy that is consumed. Undeniably, a carbon tax would raise the price of certain consumer goods, including electricity and gasoline. That is a reality that should not be denied, or avoided. It is, in fact, the policy's intent. The tax on these goods would make explicit a cost otherwise not recognized. Finance a large, pro-growth tax cut . In addition to achieving a market-driven reduction in emissions, a carbon tax would generate revenue that could be used to offset the cost of eliminating other taxes that impose greater harm on the economy. Deciding which taxes to cut or eliminate will depend in part on the success of the current tax reform effort, but there is mounting evidence that a reduction in the corporate income tax would have a meaningful impact on capital stock and ultimately on workers' wages. Turning carbon tax revenues into universal welfare payments, as some have suggested, would not promote long-run economic growth.

Traditionally, conservatives abhor any new tax out of fear that new sources of revenue will increase the size of government. Some also believe that a carbon tax is a solution in search of a problem. I believe that the popularity of these objections is fading. In addition to the growing number of young voters who want lawmakers to be more engaged in environmental stewardship, there is a growing recognition that our country's long-run fiscal imbalance requires pro-growth reforms that do not worsen the deficit.

In support of these trends, conservative leaders from policy, academic, business, and political spheres recently launched the Alliance for Market Solutions (AMS) to promote dialogue on the benefits of a revenue-neutral carbon tax paired with a regulatory rollback.

To start, AMS published Carbon Tax Policy: A Conservative Dialogue on Pro-Growth Opportunities, a book intended for conservative readers willing to consider the trade-offs, design choices, and opportunities of such a reform.

Some of the domestic challenges our country will face in the coming years are explicitly off the table. This may include carbon pollution, if the President's recent decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement is any indication. But ultimately these challenges must be addressed. Conservatives should work to ensure that the eventual solutions are market-based strategies to encourage consumers and innovators alike to pursue socially optimal outcomes.

Commentary by Alex Brill, a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and the editor of the new book Carbon Tax Policy: A Conservative Dialogue on Pro-Growth Opportunities. Follow him on Twitter @ AlexBrill_DC.

For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion onTwitter.
Lidl hasn't even opened its doors yet in the U.S., and the German grocery chain is already proving how it will pose a threat to many established retailers  including those outside of the supermarket space.



On Monday, Lidl announced a fashion collaboration with celebrity designer Heidi Klum. You read that correctly  fashion collaboration.



Klum's collection of clothes, designed exclusively for Lidl, will be available at the chain's U.S. stores, which are set to begin opening this month, the company said.



The collection will provide "high-end, yet affordable fashion," which will be "accessible for everyone," the company explained.



In the grocery aisles, Lidl is already celebrated in Germany for its competitively low prices. Now the chain appears to be making forays into a space that big-box players such as Wal-Mart and Target are still trying to master  selling customers a little bit of everything. It's starting with clothes and groceries.



"Lidl is known for making quality products at affordable prices and I'm proud to partner with them on this fashion collaboration," Klum said in a statement. "I had so much fun designing the pieces in this collection and can't wait for you to see it."



"It's a smart move by Lidl," said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData. "It raises the profile of the chain, especially for non-food and fashion. It also underpins Lidl's value position, which is focused on quality products at low prices. This is especially helpful in the U.S. at a time when Lidl is early in its development."

Lidl also said Monday it will hold "Lidl Fashion Weeks" in its stores throughout the year to feature its exclusive fashion collections.

Saunders said the moves are "a continuation of the trend of fashion becoming more democratic and accessible. The lines between the traditional luxury and premium segments are becoming increasingly blurred."



Lidl's first U.S. stores will open June 15, across North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. The chain has said it will add another 80 stores along the East Coast by the middle of 2018.



Lidl currently operates 10,000 stores across 27 European countries. Its U.S. headquarters are in Arlington, Virginia.



Lidl boasts that 90 percent of the products sold in its stores will be private-label brands, and its locations will have bakeries at the entrances.



Thus far, Lidl has been compared most closely  as Americans try to understand the business better  with discount grocer Aldi, which is also based in Germany.
Mexican Economy Secretary Ildefonso Guajardo told CNBC on Tuesday an accusation that the country is being used as a backdoor for Chinese imports into the United States "is not a right one."

Earlier this year, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross accused Mexico of taking advantage of NAFTA rules, saying, "Mexico's trade deficit with China is approximately equal to their trade surplus to us. It's not an accident."

"The rules of origin in NAFTA need some tightening," Ross added. "Rules of origin are what let material outside of NAFTA to come in and benefit from all the taxes and tariff reductions within NAFTA."

In an appearance on "Squawk Box," Guajardo said Ross is incorrect, and that no additional actions need to be taken.

"Forty percent of our exports to the U.S. are cars. And when you look at cars, the Chinese content in any type of cars being traded with American is less than 3 percent," he said. "When you analyze the U.S. deficit vis-a-vis China and the Mexican deficit vis-a-vis China, basically we're importing the same things and those are things that have not been produced in North America for the last 25 years."

Guajardo spoke ahead of a series of meetings in Washington on Tuesday between the U.S. and Mexican companies to discuss bilateral cooperation and trade. Guajardo is also expected to see Ross.

Last month, President Donald Trump formally launched his effort to renegotiate NAFTA with Canada and Mexico to try to win better terms for U.S. workers. Guajardo was upbeat about the new talks.

"We feel very positive that there are good planning grounds to get a renewed NAFTA, an improved NAFTA, " he said, adding that the country is prepared for alternatives.
More than 20 employees have been fired from Uber as part of an internal investigation, a company spokesperson told CNBC, after a former employee alleged gender bias and sexual harassment within the start-up.

In an explosive blog post earlier this year, former Uber engineer Susan Fowler alleged the company failed to act on sexual harassment and gender discrimination complaints. CEO Travis Kalanick called for an urgent investigation into the claims.

Now, San Francisco-based Uber's 14,000 employees have been given an assessment of the probe led by law firm Perkins Coie.

The firm examined 215 claims at Uber, and took no action in 100 instances, a spokesperson said. Not all these claims involved sexual harassment  they also included retaliation, discrimination and other issues. The 20-plus terminations also were based on a variety of claims, according to the spokesperson.

Separately, a source told CNBC that the firings included employees at all levels, including high-level employees. But Kalanick was not in attendance when the firings were announced, as he is with family in Fresno, California, the wake of a tragic accident and death in the family.

A separate investigation is being led by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. An executive summary of the report from Holder will be discussed at the all-hands meeting next Tuesday, a spokesperson told CNBC.

Kalanick has not seen Holder's report, a source said.

Bloomberg's Eric Newcomer was the first to report the news of the firings on Twitter. Perkins Coie did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

View the tweet here

Fowler tweeted immediately after the release of the news, citing Uber insiders like Arianna Huffington and Liane Hornsey, head of human resources at the start-up, who had said the company did not have systemic problems with sexism.

Arianna and Liane to press: there is no systemic sexual harassment, just Susan. External lawyers: there are 215 cases of sexual harassment.

Sexual harassment has not been the only complaint about Uber's leadership. The company also has been criticized for its political ties in recent months, as well as run-ins with drivers and conflicts with regulators.

Kalanick has reportedly made a series of high-profile hires and may still be looking for a chief operating officer amid the fallout.

 CNBC's Deirdre Bosa contributed to this report.
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A number of Arab states have severed ties with Qatar accusing it of supporting terrorism but this puts the United States in a tough spot. The U.S. has located one of its largest air base operations in the desert outside the Qatari capital of Doha which is home to close to 11,000 U.S. military personnel. However, with the recent visit of U.S. President Donald Trump to the Middle East, ties with Saudi Arabia have strengthened. The Al Udeid U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) military base in Qatar was set up in 2003 after it was moved from the Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. The base, which boasts a long runway of 12,500 feet, is an important facility for the U.S. as it can accommodate up to 120 aircrafts . The base in Qatar serves as logistics, command and basing hubs for the U.S. CENTCOM area of operations, including Iraq and Afghanistan.

"There is a danger that if the West were to get involved in this then it will be a great deal of meddling," Simon Mabon, lecturer in international relations of the Middle East at Lancaster University, told CNBC Monday. "This (GCC) is an autonomous body albeit a body that has increasingly over the past decade or so been increasingly reliant upon security and I think in the past week or so, with President Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia we thought there was this greater unity between the GCC states and between the West, particularly the U.S. and the GCC."

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Trump's focus on Saudi Arabia

Mabon further explains that Trump during his visit focused his attention on Saudi Arabia and the UAE perhaps ignoring Qatar suggesting Trump's policies are directed towards the two countries at the expense of Qatar and other weaker states in the region. But the current standoff between GCC nations and Qatar has put the U.S. in a tough spot for a number of reasons. During a press conference on Monday in Sydney, U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson offered U.S. support in brokering a solution between the feuding nations. "I think what we're witnessing is a growing list of some irritants in the region that have been there for some time, and obviously they have now bubbled up to a level that some countries have decided they needed to take action in an effort to have those interests addressed," Tillerson said according to local Australian media. "We'd certainly encourage those parties to sit down together and address these differences."

Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump during a reception ceremony in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 20, 2017. Bandar Algaloud | Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court | Reuters

A number of analysts have said that the U.S. is trying everything possible to bring peace to the region since it relies heavily on these nations including Qatar, in its fight against the Islamic State.

Will Arab rift hurt U.S. operations?

Earlier this week, the Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson told media that a diplomatic split between Qatar and other Arab nations won't affect the war against the Islamic State and other U.S. operations. The U.S. military also lauded Qatar for its "enduring commitment to regional security" and said U.S. flights out of Al-Udeid airbase in Qatar were unaffected by the Gulf diplomatic crisis. "We've seen no impact to our operations and all flights continue as planned," Lieutenant-Colonel Damien Pickart, a spokesman for US Air Forces Central Command, told Reuters.

Getty Images

"The United States and the [anti-Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, US-led] coalition are grateful to the Qataris for their long-standing support of our presence and their enduring commitment to regional security." The U.S. military's Central Command also said that it has "no plans to change our posture in Qatar".

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Rising tensions in the region

On Monday, Saudi Arabia, along with the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Libya, Bahrain and Maldives (the only non-Arab nation) severed their ties with Qatar. Gulf Arab states and Egypt have long resented Qatar's support for Islamists, especially the Egyptian-based Muslim brotherhood , which they regard as a dangerous political enemy. The coordinated move, with the Maldives and Libya's eastern-based government joining in later, created a dramatic rift among the Arab nations, many of which are in OPEC. Announcing the closure of transport ties with Qatar, the three Gulf States gave Qatari visitors and residents two weeks to leave. Qatar was also expelled from the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen. "There has been a long standing tension between the Qataris and the other GCC members particularly the Saudis and the UAE," Mabon explained.

Sean Gallup | Getty Images

He further added that this tension stems from two reasons - first, the Qatari support for Islamists across the region with whom many states have had a complicated relationship. "I have been talking predominantly about the Muslim brotherhood and Hamas, the Palestinian movement based in Gaza. So I think the Saudis and the UAEs are worried that Qatar was providing a platform for these groups."

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President Donald Trump again undercut officials in his own administration on Tuesday by blasting out a series of tweets that cheered Arab states isolating Qatar  and possibly encouraged them to keep up their pressure in the process. On Monday, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut diplomatic ties and transportation links with Qatar, a fellow member of OPEC. The nations have long criticized Qatar's support for Islamist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood.

If he's willing to publicly align himself with the Saudi and Emirati position, I don't see how we have a diplomatic off ramp in the near term. Helima Croft head of commodities research, RBC Capital Markets

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"If he's willing to publicly align himself with the Saudi and Emirati position, I don't see how we have a diplomatic off-ramp in the near term," she told CNBC. "I think the Qataris want an off-ramp, but if you're the Saudis, are you going to back off your maximalist demands at this point?" Those demands likely will include dropping support for the Muslim Brotherhood  a Sunni Islamist group that was elected to power in Egypt after the Arab Spring, then forced out by a military coup  and potentially muzzling Al Jazeera, the Qatari news agency that has been a thorn in Gulf powers' side, Croft said. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer contradicted the president's sentiment on Tuesday by saying Trump was "very heartened" by his "constructive conversation" with the emir of Qatar two weeks ago. Spicer said the emir had shown commitment to joining a new U.S.-Saudi initiative to disrupt terror financing.

Sharpening tensions
Donald Cameron of Lochiel statue in front of the Church of Scotland at Fort William

The divide between supporters of independence and unionism in Scotland is providing the Conservative Party with an electoral boost but some warn it could fan the flames of religious rivalry.

On June 8, the U.K. wide general election takes place with a Conservative win predicted in most polls, but it is the party's resurgence in Scotland that has taken many by surprise.

Robin McAlpine, the director of the left-of-center think tank Common Weal, said the Scottish Conservative Party leader, Ruth Davidson, has successfully cultivated a unionist vote that appeals to many Scots of a Protestant faith.

But he added that the strategy could be risky.

"Sectarianism is a beast that you think you might be able to tame. But you can't.

"My guess is Ruth Davidson doesn't know what sectarianism looks like and Scotland won't thank whoever brings this back," he said in a call to CNBC.

McAlpine said the Conservative Party in Scotland had reframed the debate as not being left versus right but about whether Scotland should be independent and they had "very successfully" become the biggest unionist vote.

The West of Scotland, in particular, has long wrestled with a sectarian divide between Catholic and Protestant religious faith.

McAlpine said encouraging Protestants who typically support union with England to vote based on their religious persuasion, could bring back violence associated with the past.
High-profile physicist Stephen Hawking is voting for the left-wing Labour party on Thursday even though he doesn't think it will win the U.K.'s General Election.

"I'm voting Labour because another five years of Conservative government would be a disaster for the NHS (National Health Service), the police and other public services," Hawking said after meeting his local lawmaker Daniel Zeichner on Monday, according to a report in Cambridge News.

However, the professor said last week that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has not managed to explain his views clearly and that the left-wing party would lose the election, and as a result Corbyn should resign.
Rep. Jeb Hensarling said Tuesday he still believes the GOP's health-care bill can pave the way for tax reform, but he acknowledged it also could work the other way.

"We're going to get tax reform done. The only question is is it going to be good, better or best," said the Republican chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.

"It goes to the quality of how robust this tax package will be. It can be done without passing the health-care package," Hensarling said on CNBC's "Squawk Box."

Republicans have been trying to get their Obamacare repeal and replacement bill done before tackling an overhaul of the nation's tax code because the health-care measure contains tax cuts that would give tax writers a head start.

While the measure passed the House nearly a month ago, it's running into resistance in the Senate. But Hensarling remains positive. "I've got to be an optimist. I have this job. I've got a reason to crawl into a fetal position and weep every day," he joked.

Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, a fellow Texan, is leading the House effort on reducing corporate and individual taxes and simplifying the code under the banner "A Better Way Forward on Tax Reform."

The House plans also contains a controversial border adjustment provision to tax imports in hopes of raising $1 trillion in revenue to help pay for lowering the corporate rate to 20 percent.

Hensarling said he talked to Brady over the weekend and remains optimistic. "[But] at a bare minimum," he continued, "I think you're going to see a reduction in corporate tax rates [and] a significant stab at simplification."

The Trump administration has outlined its own broad plan that would cut tax rates for businesses and streamline the tax system for individuals.

The White House hopes to get health care passed before the August recess, clearing the way for tax reform before the end of the year.

 Reuters contributed to this report.
Tesla shares could keep rising beyond recent all-time highs, despite long-term concerns about the company, according to Pacific Crest analyst Brad Erickson.



Tesla is a "near-term phenomenon," Erickson said Tuesday on CNBC's "Power Lunch," and investors seem to be far more concerned with the future than with fundamentals for several months or more.

Tesla will hold its annual shareholder meeting on Tuesday, and investors will be looking for an update on the Model 3 sedan production timeline, which is expected to begin in July.

Erickson said in a note sent Tuesday that Tesla could rise as high as $439, even though he maintains a hold rating on the stock and says the company's fundamentals give reason for longer-term skepticism.
David H. Rank, Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy Beijing, speaks during the celebration for Bao Bao moving into new home at the Dujiangyan base of the China Conservation and Research Center for Giant Pandas on March 24, 2017 in Chengdu, China.

America's top diplomat in China has resigned over President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the United States from a landmark climate change treaty, two sources told NBC News Monday.

Charge d'affaires David Rank was set to be replaced by former Iowa Gov. Terry Brandstad, who was confirmed as ambassador to China on May 22 but hadn't yet arrived to the post.

Rank, citing the Paris climate agreement, announced the resignation during a town hall meeting on Monday with embassy employees.

More from NBC News:

Nurse killed in London Bridge terror attack 'ran towards danger'

White House prepares for James Comey's testimony, but without a 'war room'

London Bridge Attack: What triggered spate of U.K. terrorist incidents?

In his speech to embassy staff, Rank explained his resignation saying he was asked to do something in support of a policy this past weekend that as a "parent, patriot and a Christian" he simply could not do in good conscience.

Former Amb. Dan Feldman, who most recently served as the special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan at the U.S. Department of State, and was Ranks' supervisor for almost five years described him as a "quintessentially professional foreign service officer," calling him "thoughtful, calm, judicious, non-political" and the kind of person "you want representing the U.S. government abroad."

Feldman, who was a political appointee in the Obama administration, lamented the loss of Rank  and others like him  from the State Department, saying the administration was "losing incredibly gifted officers at a moment when the U.S. needed them more than any other time in recent history."

A State Department spokesperson confirmed Rank's departure to NBC News, but said he was "retiring," adding: "Mr. Rank has made a personal decision. We appreciate his years of dedicated service to the State Department."

Rank was a respected foreign service officer who joined the State Department in 1990. He served in Greece, Mauritius, Taiwan, Shanghai and Afghanistan, and spoke Mandarin Chinese, French, Dari (Afghan Persian) and Greek.

"Dave Rank is the best America has to offer," Scott Mulhauser, the former chief of staff at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, told NBC News. "There is a reason he's received ever-tougher postings from presidents and secretaries on all sides of the political spectrum  he's as savvy as they come, remains cool in crises, has impeccable judgement and always puts his country first. He is one of the finest officers and one of the most impressive people I've ever met."

Trump announced his decision Thursday to leave the Paris climate treaty, which was negotiated in 2015, took effect last November and seeks to prevent the earth's temperature from rising more than 3.6 degrees Farenheit  an increase that scientists warn could trigger devastating impacts.

Nearly 200 countries signed on to the non-binding accord. Only the United States, Syria and Nicaragua (which didn't think the agreement went far enough, environmentally) did not.

Trump claims the treaty was negotiated poorly and puts the United States at an economic disadvantage. "We will start to negotiate and we will see if we can make a deal that's fair," he said.
President Donald Trump announces the Air Traffic Control Reform Initiative in the East Room at the White House in Washington, DC, on June 5, 2017. Nicholas Kamm | AFP | Getty Images

On two questions over the past week, President Donald Trump illuminated aspects of his character so different from his White House predecessors that Americans have been slow to fully appreciate them. The first question, arising from the administration's withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement, was whether the president believes climate change is a genuine problem or a hoax as he previously claimed. Behind the White House refusal to answer was a simple reality: On issues of public policy, Trump does not have beliefs in any conventional sense. The second question was why Trump, after terror attacks in London, would use Twitter to attack that city's mayor and complicate the legal defense of his executive order on travel involving six majority-Muslim countries. The answer: In lieu of beliefs on policy, Trump has impulses  and feels compelled to express them whether they advance his larger goals or not.

Changing positions, again and again

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Elizabeth Spiers, former editor of a newspaper owned by Jared Kushner, recently recounted an episode that paints the same portrait. The president's son-in-law, Spiers said, told her Trump didn't believe his "birther" attacks on President Barack Obama, but added "he just knows Republicans are stupid, and they'll buy it." The White House press secretary himself suggested a similar explanation for candidate Trump's Obama-era claims that the government falsified unemployment statistics. After an encouraging report this March, my colleague Eamon Javers asked whether Trump still disbelieved the data. "I talked to the president prior to this and he said to quote him very clearly," Sean Spicer said with a smile. "They may have been phony in the past, but it's very real now." The same reasoning can explain Trump's reticence on climate change. Once he wooed conservatives by claiming the problem is a Chinese hoax; disavowing that claim now could alienate core supporters. Yet repeating it would expose the president to further embarrassment on the world stage. He hasn't.

Four recurring behavioral impulses

At the same time, Trump displays consistent behavioral impulses that, for better or worse, he won't or can't restrain. One is wielding grievances to seek every scrap of advantage from interactions with others. In business, he squeezed small subcontractors over work invoices; as president, he complains that NATO members, trade partners and signatories to the Paris climate accord bilk the United States.

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A second is resentment toward financial or political "elites." In business, that propelled his move from Queens to Manhattan's glitzy real estate market. In the campaign, it fueled denunciations of "politically correct" adversaries that cemented his bond with white working-class voters. A third is his instinct for racial solidarity. As president of Trump Management, he was accused by the federal government for excluding blacks from company properties; he called the charges "ridiculous" but settled the government's lawsuit. As a candidate, he complained that the Mexican ancestry of the federal judge overseeing his Trump University fraud case precluded a fair trial. In the name of preventing terrorism, he called for banning Muslims from entering the country. A fourth impulse is his professed determination to retaliate against adversaries of any kind  trying to hit harder than they had ever hit him.

Attacking the mayor London after a massacre

Those impulses merged to produce the president's tweetstorm on Monday following the London terror attacks. Trump accused his own Justice Department of making a bad deal in revising the initial executive order on the entry of people from certain Muslim countries. He mocked the "politically-correct" aversion to calling the order a "travel ban"  capitalizing the words for emphasis. He attacked London Mayor Sadiq Khan, a Muslim who had previously criticized him, even as the mayor was coping with terrorism. The president did so by misrepresenting the mayor's attempt to calm Londoners.

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U.S. President Donald Trump, wading into the worst split between powerful Arab states in decades, said on Tuesday his trip to the Middle East was "already paying off" with leaders there taking a hard new line in accusing Qatar of funding of militant groups.

His blunt remarks cast the anti-Islamist speech he gave at a Riyadh summit in May as the inspiration for a decision by leading Arab powers to sever ties and transport links to Qatar in protest at what they say is its support for terrorism.

In fact, U.S. officials were blindsided by Saudi Arabia's decision to sever diplomatic ties with Qatar in a coordinated move with Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, current and former officials in Washington told Reuters.



"So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!" Trump on Twitter.

The comments -- Trump's first about the rift between Qatar and major Arab nations over its alleged support of Iran and Islamist groups -- emerged at a delicate moment in the crisis as the leader of Kuwait was to meet in Saudi Arabia to try to mediate the dispute.

Qatar vehemently denies the accusations against it, calling them baseless. Ordinary Qataris, however, were to be found crowding into supermarkets to stock up on goods against the crisis.

Trump said, in apparent reference to top Gulf Arab powers Saudi Arabia and the UAE, that leaders he met on his trip had warned him Qatar was funding "radical ideology" after he had demanded they take action to stop financing militants.

It was not immediately clear what effect Trump's high profile intervention in the crisis would have.

U.S. officials had said on Monday that the United States would quietly try to calm the waters between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, arguing that the small Gulf state was too important to U.S. military and diplomatic interests to be isolated.

Qatar hosts 8,000 U.S. military personnel at al Udeid, the largest U.S. air base in the Middle East and a staging ground for U.S.-led strikes on the Islamic State militant group that has seized parts of Syria and Iraq.

There are also deep financial and business links between the two based on Qatar's leading world role in gas.
Even some of President Donald Trump's allies have urged him to stop tweeting about legal issues, but that may not stop the president from sounding off on Thursday.

Trump may tweet while former FBI Director James Comey testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday, The Washington Post's Robert Costa reported Tuesday.

Trump "does not plan to put down Twitter" and "may live tweet if he feels the need to respond" to the testimony, according to Costa, who cited two White House sources.

Costa tweet: I'm told by two WH sources that Pres. Trump does not plan to put down Twitter on Thursday. May live tweet if he feels the need to respond.

Comey will likely be grilled about reports that Trump attempted to influence an FBI probe into ex-national security advisor Michael Flynn. Comey's statements could prompt the famously defensive Trump to tweet in response.

Asked by reporters Tuesday what message he had for Comey, Trump said "I wish him luck."

Press secretary Sean Spicer did not say whether Trump would watch Comey's testimony live, says he is going to have a "very busy day."

Trump on Tuesday defended his use of Twitter to put out impromptu statements, saying it helps him get out an "honest and unfiltered message." He claimed that large news outlets  which he regularly labels the "fake" mainstream media  did not want him to use social media.

The FAKE MSM is working so hard trying to get me not to use Social Media. They hate that I can get the honest and unfiltered message out.

Trump's lawyers and some of his advisors have tried to rein in his Twitter activity because his tweets sometimes contradict other administration statements or even undercut its legal arguments. The latest instance of the latter came Monday, when Trump fired off a series of tweets attacking his Justice Department for submitting a " watered down " version of his "travel ban" for review by the Supreme Court.

Prominent lawyer and Trump supporter George Conway argued Monday that Trump's tweets can "seriously undermine" his agenda and that his backers need to "reinforce" that.

On Thursday, Comey will speak to an open hearing of the Senate Intelligence Committee followed by a closed session. The hearing is part of the panel's probe into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election and possible ties between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin.

Trump fired Comey as the then-FBI director was leading an investigation into those possible links.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request to comment on this story.
It was a former industrial site, covering 5 acres along the Milwaukee River's west bank, just north of downtown.

That riverfront location made the parcel a great spot for development: a medium-security prison.

That was the thinking in 1983, when the state bought the former Trostel tannery site on Commerce St., about a block upriver from Pleasant St. More than 30 years later, it's the home to Trostel Square, a condo and apartment community that is among a series of developments that have transformed the riverfront from the North Ave. bridge to Milwaukee's harbor.

"The river has meant a lot to people, and to business and commerce," said developer Gary Grunau. His projects include the transformation of the former Schlitz brewery into Schlitz Park, a business park between the river and King Drive that has lately undergone a revival.

Just how much the river has meant can be seen in a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel analysis of Milwaukee's riverfront property values.

While there have been new developments along the Milwaukee River in other southeastern Wisconsin communities, most notably Grafton and West Bend, most of the activity over the past 15 years has occurred along a stretch of the river in and near downtown Milwaukee, where public walkways run along most of the banks.

The total fair market value of riverfront properties between North Ave. and the Milwaukee harbor increased by nearly 150% from 2001 through 2013, according to a review of city assessment records. That added more than $520 million in value, with more than half of that amount coming from condos.

During the same period, the total value of all Milwaukee properties increased by 44%.

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Menomonee River development includes Harley-Davidson museum, Reed Street Yards

While the Milwaukee River has drawn most of the city's riverfront development, a large stretch of the Menomonee River  from near Miller Park to where it converges with the Milwaukee River south of downtown  also has seen a lot of activity.

Developers and investors have been attracted by a cleaner river tied to new public improvements  including the RiverWalk, pedestrian bridges, streets and green space. That's helped spur additional downtown development, especially as more residents create demand for restaurants, stores and other retail businesses.

While new housing continues to be developed throughout downtown, the river remains a key driver of investment.

"They don't make any more waterfront property," said Ryan Schultz, who is developing apartments overlooking the river. "Obviously, there's a shortage that creates a demand."

Schultz owns HSI Properties LLC, which plans to demolish a vacant industrial building at 1887 N. Water St., downriver from the Humboldt Ave. bridge, and replace it with the four-story River Pointe building.

River Pointe would have 87 apartments, with monthly rents of about $1,225 for a 700-square-foot unit. The building would include underground parking and an outdoor swimming pool.

Across from that site, and upriver on the west bank, Kendal Group Ltd., led by Ken Miller, is razing two warehouses along N. Riverboat Road, between N. Humboldt Ave. and N. Weil St., to make way for Walker's Landing.

That $19.5 million development will feature 113 apartments in two buildings of up to five stories.

Young people and 'empty-nesters' flock

Riverfront development booms downtown The total fair market value of riverfront properties between North Ave. and the Milwaukee harbor increased by nearly 150% from 2001 through 2013, according to a review of city assessment records. That added more than $520 million in new value, with more than half of that amount coming from condos. During the same period, the total value of all Milwaukee properties increased by 44%. Here is a look at the current value. Source: City of Milwaukee Assessor's office, Journal Sentinel analysis

Much of what's happening along the downtown riverfront is the result of a younger generation that wants to live, work and play in urban areas.

"They're putting down roots here," said developer Stewart Wangard.

Those new residents also include "empty-nesters."

Jan Fellah lived in New Berlin for more than 25 years before moving to Beerline B Apartments, on the river's west bank just north of the Pleasant St. bridge.

Her scenery now includes sleek rowing shells gliding past the apartment building. And Fellah enjoys taking her dog for a walk on the RiverWalk, especially when the weather is nice.

"I absolutely love it down here," Fellah said. "I wouldn't move back to the suburbs."

Jim Fricke and his wife, Debra Miller, have owned a condo on Commerce St., just north of the Milwaukee Rowing Club boathouse, for nearly 10 years. They moved to Milwaukee from Seattle after Fricke was hired at the Harley-Davidson Museum, where he is curatorial director.

The views, which include wildlife, are part of the attraction, Fricke said.

"Looking out on a river instead of a street obviously has some appeal," he said.

On a recent sunny spring afternoon, the activity included people kayaking on the river, while others strolled along the RiverWalk.

The location also is convenient to their jobs, including Miller's administrative position at the Milwaukee Public Museum. And the RiverWalk's role as a public gathering spot has helped them develop friendships with other nearby residents.

"It's a great neighborhood," Fricke said.

RiverWalk boosted condos

It seems obvious that developers would want to build on sites near the Milwaukee River.

But it hasn't always been that way.

For decades, downtown office buildings turned their backs to the river. Apartment high-rises that were developed downtown  such as Juneau Village in the 1960s and Yankee Hill in the '80s  boasted only about their views of Lake Michigan.

For most of Milwaukee's history, much of the riverfront construction was industrial  including such notoriously dirty businesses as tanneries. Long before pollution control laws took effect, the river served as a sewer.

But water quality has improved since more stringent water pollution regulations began taking effect in the 1970s. Another big help was the 1997 removal of the North Ave. dam, which allowed the current to flow faster and generate more oxygen.

Also, the construction of the RiverWalk helped draw development.

The idea of public walkways along downtown's riverfront originated in Mayor Henry Maier's administration. It was pushed by Maier's successor, John O. Norquist, after he was elected in 1988.

In 1991, Grunau and others formed the Milwaukee RiverWalk District.

Two years later, Norquist and the Common Council approved spending around $10 million on filling in many of the gaps within the RiverWalk from Clybourn St. to Highland Ave. on the east bank, and Clybourn to Pleasant St. on the west bank. A pedestrian bridge at Highland was included.

About 20% of the funding was collected from commercial property owners within the RiverWalk business improvement district, with the rest coming from the city.

That central portion of the RiverWalk was built just as developers in the mid-'90s were tapping into rising demand for downtown apartments and condos. Housing was built facing the river, along with restaurants and other businesses.

Norquist expanded the RiverWalk into the Historic Third Ward and north of Schlitz Park. Additional segments, funded by a mix of city and private dollars, have been added during Mayor Tom Barrett's tenure.

Today, there are still gaps. But Milwaukee's RiverWalk runs almost 2 miles between the harbor and Humboldt Ave. And each new riverfront development, such as the 2007 completion of Manpower's headquarters in Schlitz Park, brings another RiverWalk segment.

Along with new buildings, older commercial properties have gained new life through the RiverWalk.

They include CityCenter, two adjoined buildings at 735 N. Water St. Owner Compass Properties LLC converted one of the properties, a long-vacant office building, into a new home for Gold's Gym, which opened in 2011.

The gym and CityCenter's Tazinos restaurant create "an energy that you can't duplicate" at the building, said Sheldon Oppermann, Compass vice president.

No guarantees of success

To be sure, just because a development is on the river doesn't guarantee its success.

Photo Gallery Boats tie up along the Milwaukee River as a band plays in Pere Marquette Park. Photo Gallery: Development transforms Milwaukee riverfront

Peter Renner has developed condo buildings in the Historic Third Ward and Walker's Point neighborhoods that promptly sold all their units.

But Renner said he has drastically cut rents to find tenants for the street-level commercial space at Harbor Front and Hansen's Landing, Renner's neighboring condo buildings overlooking the river on Erie St., south of Polk St.

The problem is a lack of nearby parking for customers of the businesses, including two restaurants, Renner said.

But many riverfront buildings have filled both their residential and commercial space.

One of the biggest riverfront developers is Mandel Group Inc., led by Barry Mandel.

The firm's condo and apartment communities along the Milwaukee River include a planned apartment development combined with an Adventure Rock indoor climbing facility, atop a bluff just south of North Ave.; RiverCrest condos, upriver from Humboldt Ave.; Trostel Square; The North End, an apartment and retail development that is proceeding with a third phase at the former Pfister & Vogel tannery site, on the east bank at Pleasant St.; Marine Terminal Lofts, with condos and commercial space in the Historic Third Ward, at Milwaukee and Erie streets; and the planned Domus apartments, just downriver from the Marine Terminal building.

Trostel Square was the first of those projects. It began with what Mandel called a simple strategy.

"We were going to buy as much riverfront and lakefront land as we possibly could," Mandel said.

Prison proposal dropped

The former Trostel tannery site was available after the state dropped the prison proposal when it ran into loud opposition from Grunau, city officials and homeowners in the nearby Brewers Hill neighborhood.

"It was ridiculous," Grunau said about the prison plan, from then-Gov. Tony Earl.

The state in 1992 took a $1 million loss to sell the site back to the tannery, after it agreed to raze the buildings and do an environmental cleanup.

A few years later, the Norquist administration obtained Common Council permission to pay for rebuilding Commerce St., which runs past the Trostel site and other vacant riverfront properties, to help encourage new housing.

Mandel met with Daniel Solomon, a San Francisco planner hired by the city to help create a conceptual master plan for Commerce St. and the nearby properties. He and Solomon walked the area from Pleasant St. to North Ave.

"After taking that walk, I realized what kind of potential it had," Mandel said.

In 1999, word leaked out that Mandel was considering a development at the Trostel site. The following year, Mandel broke ground on Trostel Square after obtaining a $700,000 state grant to help complete the site's environmental cleanup.

Other condo and apartment developments were built along the river. Higher-end rental units became more popular after the 2007 burst of the housing bubble and the subsequent recession.

Even during the recession, and slow economic recovery, riverfront investment and development have continued.

In 2012, Wangard Partners Inc. bought 2.7 acres overlooking the Milwaukee River at N. Water and E. Brady streets. The firm plans to develop 150 to 175 apartments, along with commercial space on the site, which includes the former Habhegger Wheel and Axle buildings.

Wangard has showed the site to a restaurant operator who is considering opening a business within the future development. The strength of the location, overlooking the river near both downtown and Brady St., wasn't lost on the prospective tenant.

"They immediately got it," Wangard said. "It's a natural gathering spot."

Wangard, who plans to file a detailed proposal with city officials, said his firm has been studying the site for years.

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It was owned by investment groups led by developers Boris Gokhman and Walter Shukh, who lost it through foreclosure to AnchorBank. Wangard heard the property was going to become available and agreed to buy it even before the bank had taken possession of the land.

The bank had four other offers.

"We assured them we could close quickly," Wangard said. "And we did."

Kevin Crowe of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.

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The nominee to serve as one of President Donald Trump's top economic advisors believes the White House's ambitious GDP growth goal is achievable.

But the changes it will take to get there go well beyond chopping tax rates, economist Kevin Hassett said Tuesday.

During a hearing before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on his nomination to serve as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, Hassett said, "it's absolutely possible to return to a place where you can get 3 percent growth." He highlighted three key factors: boosting labor force growth, capital investment and technological efficiency.

"We're going to have to get those three things moving," Hassett said.

If confirmed to the job, Hassett would become one of the top economic advisors to a president who has pushed economic growth as his top priority but has faced many questions about how realistic his goals are. The Trump administration is seeking sustained 3 percent GDP growth over time, driven by cutting tax rates on businesses and individuals and slashing regulations on businesses.

The U.S. economy grew only 1.6 percent in 2016.

Trump's pledges to crack down on immigration have led to concerns about the potential for labor force growth, especially as the U.S. population ages. Immigrants to the U.S. "have been an important source of growth," and labor inputs would have to be taken into account when considering immigration policy, Hassett said.

"If there were more workers, we would have more output," he said in response to a question from Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada.

Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio also pressed Hassett on whether 3 percent growth would require real tax reform, rather than only cutting tax rates. Hassett said it is a "fair assessment" that true tax reform would be better.

Tax reform would mean eliminating loopholes or provisions that benefit some taxpayers in conjunction with lowering tax rates.
Eric Danziger, CEO of Trump Hotels, left, joins Eric Trump, center, and Donald Trump Jr., both of whom are executive Vice Presidents of The Trump Organization, as the trio poses for a photograph during an event for Scion Hotels, Monday, June 5, 2017, in New York.

And while the Trump Organization and its business partner say the down-market move is not about politics, the president's business is inherently viewed through that lens: The chain will make its debut in little-known towns in Mississippi, a state in the heart of Trump country that favored him over Hillary Clinton by a margin of 18 percentage points. The organization's business partner in Mississippi is a family-owned hotel company whose co-owner met Mr. Trump at a campaign event last summer and donated to his campaign.

On Monday, the Trump Organization announced plans for a new three-star hotel chain with a patriotic flair, echoing President Trump 's campaign slogan about putting America first and reflecting the organization's promise to enter into new deals only in the United States. The intention is to differentiate the chain, called American Idea, by featuring artifacts of American culture in the hotels, such as an old Coca-Cola machine in the lobby or American-made sundries in the rooms.

On the campaign trail, President Trump's children rolled through dozens of small towns across the country, reveling in the adoration of the crowds. But they were less enamored of the budget-friendly hotels along the way, an assortment of run-of-the-mill offerings that were barely distinguishable from one another.

This new chain is an unlikely venture for a company commonly associated with luxury accommodations in upscale locations, and it indicates that the Trumps see dollar signs in the vast support the campaign received from conservative areas well beyond major cities. The first hotels are expected to come online quickly because they will involve rebranding existing properties like Holiday Inns and Comfort Inns.

Eric Danziger, the chief executive of the Trump Organization's hotels division, said in an interview that the company had planned a hotel expansion for nearly two years, apart from the Trump campaign. During the campaign, the Trump children would report back about the thousands of supporters attending rallies and what they saw as a chance to build a line of hotels standing out from the cookie-cutter options in midsize and small cities.

"I said, 'That's brilliant,'" Mr. Danziger recalled. "The reality is we should have something in those kinds of locations."

Mr. Danziger, a longtime hotel executive who previously led Wyndham Hotels , said the first American Idea hotels would open in the Mississippi Delta, but he rejected the idea that the electoral map of 2016 would become a blueprint for picking future locations. Mr. Trump sometimes hands out a version of the map to White House visitors, showing blue dots in and around major cities (indicating support for Mrs. Clinton) and wide stretches of red (signaling votes for Mr. Trump) nearly everywhere else.

"There is no political thought to it," Mr. Danziger said regarding the new chain, and he added that there could be "many hundreds" of American Idea hotels in both red and blue counties and states. The counties in Mississippi that will get the first hotels tilted toward Mrs. Clinton, for instance.

Even before Mr. Trump took office in January, ethics experts and political opponents criticized his refusal to divest from the far-flung business. Mr. Trump handed over control of the Trump Organization to his eldest sons, Eric and Donald Jr., and other executives, and he agreed to forgo new deals abroad and donate profits from foreign governments to the Treasury. But Mr. Trump remains financially invested in the family business.

All of the Trump hotel properties are facing heightened scrutiny for their actions, particularly with foreign governments. The Daily Caller, citing disclosures filed with the Justice Department, reported on Sunday that the Saudi Arabian government, through a lobbying firm, had paid $270,000 to the Trump hotel in Washington.

The firm, Qorvis MSLGroup, had been working on behalf of the Saudis to push back on legislation that exposes countries to lawsuits stemming from the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The payments  recorded from Oct. 1, 2016, to March 31, 2017  were for lodging, catering and parking, the forms showed.

The new hotels will have no overt connection to Mr. Trump  his name will not appear anywhere, Mr. Danziger said.

The American Idea chain is the latest expansion of the Trump hotel empire, coming just months after Mr. Danziger unveiled plans for a four-star brand known as Scion. The Trumps will not own the new hotels under either brand but instead license them to business partners (who must pay royalties and other fees). The Trumps plan to manage the day-to-day operations of the Scion hotels but leave that task to their partners at the American Idea properties.

Trump executives had hinted that a three-star hotel chain was in the works in recent interviews, and in April 2016 they filed for a trademark on the American Idea name.

At Trump Tower on Monday evening, Mr. Danziger and Mr. Trump's eldest sons announced that their partner in Mississippi would be an Indian-American family that through its company, Chawla Hotels, owns 17 hotels in the region. Those hotels are currently branded by well-known chains; the plan is to convert at least three of them to the American Idea line, Mr. Danziger said.

American Idea will compete with nearly 20,000 other hotels in the so-called midscale and upper-midscale business, according to STR, a hotel data and analytics specialist. In Mississippi, there are about 250 such properties, and that, according to hotel experts, leaves room for new players.

"There's always room for new brands," Jan A. deRoos, a professor of hotel finance and real estate at Cornell University, said, noting that Hilton had recently opened a more-affordable brand called Tru.

As for the Trumps joining the three-star market, Professor deRoos said: "This completely opens up the world to them. The brand evolution is great. But as a president, he needs to separate himself from this."

Chawla Hotels will also be a partner in a Scion property being built in Cleveland, Miss., making it the first Scion location to be publicly announced. The boutique development is expected to include a restaurant and meeting space near a music museum. Mr. Danziger said he expected to announce four additional Scion hotels in the next couple of months, including one in Dallas.

Such a deal in Dallas would come after the Trump Organization cut ties with another potential Dallas business partner, who had attracted scrutiny for connections to Russia, Kazakhstan and at least two dozen other countries. The Trump Organization's outside ethics adviser, Bobby Burchfield, had raised questions about the potential sources of financing, according to a person briefed on the process who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations.

Mr. Burchfield has granted approval for the Trumps to proceed with Chawla Hotels as a partner, Mr. Danziger said.

During the presidential campaign, the Chawlas became acquainted with the Trumps after Suresh Chawla, who runs the hotel business with his brother, wrote a letter that appeared in several local newspapers in the fall of 2015. It described how their father was inspired by Mr. Trump more than 25 years earlier when he sought advice about financing a hotel project. Suresh Chawla recalled how their father, a convenience store owner, had cold-called Mr. Trump's office in New York to ask for a $425,000 loan.

Mr. Trump returned the call, the story goes. And while he did not offer a loan  Mr. Trump supposedly called the deal "small-fry"  he instructed the elder Mr. Chawla to explore less conventional sources of funding and said he admired his immigrant story.

Eventually, Mr. Trump met Suresh Chawla during a campaign visit last summer in Jackson, Miss. Mr. Chawla told The Mississippi Business Journal that Mr. Trump had encouraged him to "think grand" with one of his projects.

In his letter to the editor, Mr. Chawla wrote that he did not support Mr. Trump's campaign, and he later revealed that early on he preferred Mrs. Clinton or Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida. But he eventually donated a total of $50,000 to Mr. Trump's campaign and party. (He had previously contributed to other causes, including Republicans, and he once hosted Barack Obama, then a senator, at one of his hotels, he said.)

After the vice-presidential debate in October, Mr. Chawla wrote another letter to the editor, to The Greenwood Commonwealth, criticizing the newspaper's coverage, which he said tilted toward Democrats. He concluded his critique with a question: "How pathetic is media bias?"

Months later, the Trumps contacted Mr. Chawla about possibly becoming partners with him and his brother, Dinesh Chawla. When Mr. Danziger heard the family's story, he called Mr. Chawla and briefed him on the new brand, he said.

"It would be the most amazing thing on the planet," Mr. Danziger recalled telling him, "if you were the first one."

In an interview, Suresh Chawla said the announcement was "extremely surreal; my father should be here."

Watch: Plans for Trump's first resort in Asia
President Donald Trump reportedly pitched putting solar panels on his proposed wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, according to Politico and Axios.

During a Tuesday meeting with Republican lawmakers, the president proposed the "idea that the wall could be covered in solar panels and the electricity generated used to pay for the cost," according to Axios, the online news outlet.

It is not clear whether Republicans will push for that feature.

The border wall was a key part of Trump's campaign pledge to crack down on immigration to the U.S. The White House has struggled to secure the funding it wants for the project, as Democrats and some Republicans have questioned why it is necessary.

Watch: Virtual border wall could become a reality
The U.K. government should reassess its invitation to U.S. President Donald Trump for a state visit later this year, according to London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

"I don't think we should roll out the red carpet to the president of the U.S.A. in the circumstances where his policies go against everything we stand for," Khan told U.K. broadcaster Channel 4 on Monday evening.

"When you have a special relationship it is no different from when you have got a close mate. You stand with them in times of adversity but you call them out when they are wrong. There are many things about which Donald Trump is wrong," he said.

On Tuesday morning he reiterated his stance, telling the BBC that "there are so many things Donald Trump is wrong about, and in those circumstances I'm not in favour of a state visit."

Tweet 1

Khan's comments came after Trump criticized the mayor's reaction to Saturday's London attack. Trump said on Twitter: "At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is 'no reason to be alarmed'." Khan responded saying the president had taken his comments out of context. The mayor had said: "Londoners will see an increased police presence today and over the course of the next few days. There's no reason to be alarmed."

In a second tweet, Trump said: "Pathetic excuse by London Mayor Sadiq Khan who had to think fast on his 'no reason to be alarmed' statement."

Tweet 2

U.K. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was quick in saying that the invitation to the U.S. had been issued and accepted. "I see no reason to rescind it," he said Monday, according to Reuters.

However, Johnson, the previous mayor of London, added that Khan was right in reassuring citizens about the presence of armed officers.
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May reacts as she speaks at an election campaign event at Pride Park Stadium on June 1, 2017 in Derby, United Kingdom. Stefan Wermuth - WPA Pool | Getty Images

U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May would only have herself to blame if an awful election campaign results in embarrassment, political analysts have told CNBC. While a vast majority of observers still expect May to emerge victorious on Thursday, a Survation poll published last weekend placed the prime minister's ruling right-wing Conservative Party ahead by just a single percentage point. This has forced investors to consider a vast range of possible election outcomes. "May's reputation at the start of the campaign was high. Her ruling Conservative Party enjoyed a lead of more than 20 percentage points over the opposition Labour Party. Calling an election appeared to be a masterstroke," said Mujtaba Rahman, the Europe director of the Eurasia Group, a political risk consultancy. "(However), her presidential campaign means that May has no one to blame but herself," Rahman added.

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When May "reluctantly" called the June 8 snap election seven weeks ago, the Conservatives boasted a seemingly unassailable lead over the left-wing Labour. However, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has since soared into contention, putting May's election gamble in doubt with just two days to go. May has come under intense scrutiny over security concerns in the wake of the London Bridge attacks at the weekend, in which seven people died. Corbyn argued that May had "presided" over significant cuts to police numbers over the past seven years and as a result, he backed calls for the prime minister to resign on Monday. While May has since defended her record on security during her time as Home secretary, a former key advisor to David Cameron, Steve Hilton, has urged the Conservative leader to step down with less than 72 hours before the vote.

'Embarrassment' for May more likely than not?

Kallum Pickering, senior U.K. economist at Berenberg, predicted that while the Conservatives still have a 65 percent chance of winning the election, it now appears more likely than not that May would be "embarrassed" by the result. "Of the 65 percent probability we put on a Conservative win, we see a 30 percent chance they win with a lower majority, a 25 percent chance of a hung parliament and a 10 percent chance of a Labour majority," Pickering said in an email to CNBC. Britain's prime minister called the election, despite repeatedly saying she would not do so, in an attempt to secure a strong mandate during Brexit negotiations and, presumably, to increase the 17-seat lead that she has in the House of Commons. In the event of a hung parliament, in which no party would have a clear majority, the U.K. would be thrown into a political deadlock with less than two weeks before formal Brexit talks are due to begin on June 19. "She didn't need to (call the election), and it looks now as though she has been faulty in her judgment and that's something which will count against her in the polls," David Marsh, managing director and co-founder at OMFIF, told CNBC on Monday.

May is 'disintegrating in front of the public'

Kate Green | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
British Prime Minister Theresa May campaigning ahead of the 2017 General Election. Matt Cardy | Getty Images

Incumbent U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May's ability to deliver a Brexit that benefited the U.K. was up for debate at a meeting of major business players at Canary Wharf Tuesday. "I'm even more a backer of Brexit now than I was (pre-referendum)," Matthew Elliott, former CEO of the Vote Leave campaign and senior political adviser at Shore Capital, told CNBC at the Federal Election: What the City Hopes to See event. Elliott supported May's now infamous coinage that "no deal is better than a bad deal" as an initial negotiating position and said that it was important that the U.K. had "several deals signature-ready for the moment at which we leave (the EU.)" He also explained that May's strategy in calling the snap election was sound, ideally giving herself a full five year term in which to police a transition period following the U.K.'s divorce from the EU and push through free trade agreements. "I'm confident that there will be a win-win situation," he said.

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May as a Brexit negotiator was a stumbling block as far as Roland Rudd, chairman of Open Britain and Finsbury, was concerned. He spoke to CNBC of his concern that "the Prime Minister (has) identified the European Union leaders as the enemy, and that they'll see her as the enemy," which he implied was not conducive to successful talks. Rudd accused May of only providing scant detail on Brexit negotiations, despite painting Thursday's vote as being solely about the divorce, and said that it was "clearly wrong" that no deal was better than a bad deal. Straddling both sides of the argument was John Mills, chairman of Labour Leave and JML. "I've always thought that Britain had a poor deal out of our membership (with the EU)" he said.

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For Mills, there was an "easy answer" to an optimal Brexit: "For the UK to come out of the single market, out of the European Economic Area, out of the customs union, and then to negotiate a free trade deal with the EU-27." Rudd and Mills were not singing from the same hymn sheet on Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's potential to be the next prime minister. Rudd said that he was "very critical" of Corbyn for "having facilitated Brexit and for having such a lackluster campaign during (the run up to) our referendum." He backed Labour Brexit spokesperson Keir Starmer, who would otherwise lead negotiations, as being "very able." Should Starmer be leading the charge in Brussels, Rudd said that he "would almost certainly expect us to stay in the single market."

watch now
The sun sets over Shields Lake in Minnesota. The state is one of ten new members of the U.S. Climate Alliance.

Less than a week after President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, an alliance committed to upholding the accord has welcomed ten new members.

The U.S. Climate Alliance was formed by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, California Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr., and Washington State Governor Jay Inslee.

On Monday, it was announced that Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia had all joined, making the group 13 strong.

"We welcome these 10 new members and look forward to collaborating and maintaining the momentum in the global effort to protect our planet, while jumpstarting the clean energy economy," Cuomo said.

On June 1, Trump announced the U.S. would withdraw from the Paris Agreement and commence negotiations to re-enter or renegotiate a new accord. "This agreement is less about the climate and more about other countries gaining a financial advantage over the United States," he said at the time.



The decision has not gone down well with world leaders, environmental organizations and some business figures.

For its part, the U.S. Climate Alliance says its members will push ahead with achieving the U.S. goal of cutting emissions by 26 to 28 percent by 2025 compared to 2005 levels, as well as meeting or exceeding the federal Clean Power Plan's targets.

In a series of statements, the governors of the new members were keen to stress their commitment to the environment.



"As the first state in the Trump era to take executive action to limit carbon emissions and create clean energy jobs, Virginia is proud to join the Climate Alliance," Terry McAuliffe, Governor of Virginia, said.



"President Trump's announcement to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement does not speak for the states and cities that are committed to fighting climate change and paving the way for a new energy economy," he added.



"If the federal government insists on abdicating leadership on this issue, it will be up to the American people to step forward - and in Virginia we are doing just that."
Warby Parker is already well known for its effort to get consumers to spend less on fashionable eyeglasses  a typical pair of frames costs no more than $100 with prescription lenses. And it's made the leap from e-commerce to brick-and-mortar retail. Now Warby Parker, valued at more than $1 billion, is becoming a vertically integrated company: fast, cost-efficient manufacturing supporting a website experience that blends into brick-and-mortar retail.

Manufacturing is the last piece in a three-pronged effort to extend from design to distribution, cutting out the eyewear middleman. The company's new Sloatsburg, New York, factory, called the Optical Lab, integrates lens-finishing and assembly.

Although the frames are made elsewhere in the world, the Lab is designed to cut lenses and fit them to frames, a critical step because every pair of eyewear is by design a custom product. Warby Parker, which previously worked exclusively with third-party optical labs, says the factory lets the seven-year-old company deliver the finished glasses faster and at lower cost.

The New York City-based start-up returned to the CNBC Disruptor 50 list in 2017.

Read More FULL LIST: 2017 DISRUPTOR 50

"The Warby Parker model or strategy is to be vertically integrated," said co-founder and CEO Neil Blumenthal. "It's how we're able to sell a $500 product at $95 dollars. We design the frames ourselves; we produce them using the best materials out there; now we're able to insert the lenses ourselves and ship direct to customers, [which] enables us to cut out the middleman."
After the huge Target breach of 2013, you'd have thought retail companies would have figured out how to protect their cash register systems from malware that attempts to steal customers' data.

Then came Home Depot. Then Neiman Marcus. Then Wendy's. In the past few months, Chipotle, Arby's and Kmart were all hit. Why are these attacks still happening?

Time and money, say experts. It takes time for companies to rebuild point of sale systems more securely and shift from magnetic stripe credit and debit cards to more secure chip cards. They need money to hire tech staff to secure those networks, money to buy software to do the securing and money to buy new, encrypted point-of-sale machines.

More from USA Today:

5 ways to test your computer's security

Ransomware-as-a-service  yes, that's a thing

Running Windows? How to protect against the big ransomware attack

"It's expensive and complicated to get systems to up the point they're really hardened against these kinds of attacks," said John Miller, manager of threat intelligence for FireEye, a large cybersecurity company.

Proportionally, attacks on point-of-sale systems (as modern cash register systems are called) are down, according to the 2017 Data Breach Investigations Report by Verizon. This year they've made up just 6.7 percent of overall breaches tracked by the company, down from a high of 45.4 percent in 2011.

Even so, there are still lots of these thefts, in which criminals insert malicious software into a company's point-of-sale (POS) system. The malware surreptitiously records credit and debit card information when customers swipe them through payment terminals. It later sends the card information to the thieves, who sell it on the Internet underground, known as the dark web.
On the surface, it's perfectly accurate to say the stunning rift between Saudi Arabia and Qatar is all about Iran as the Saudis have become obsessed with stemming Iran's growing power and influence in the Middle East.

But digging a little deeper, it also looks a lot like the singling out of the Qataris at this specific moment has something to do with another country entirely: Israel.

Perhaps there are still some casual followers of Middle East politics who have missed the many reports over the last year or so that have announced the growing evidence of Saudi-Israeli cooperation on security issues. This is mostly the result of the Iran nuclear deal pushed by the Obama administration. Because that nuclear deal happened in what felt like slow motion, Israel and Saudi Arabia had time to plan their response and organize several best- and worst-case scenarios. The Times of London in 2013 first reported the news of serious Israeli-Saudi cooperation that even included a deal to allow the Israelis to use Saudi airspace to launch an attack on Iranian nuclear sites.

How does Israel figure in this decision by the Saudis to cut off Qatar? It's the logical conclusion after the Saudis said in an explanation of the move to isolate Qatar that they feel Qatar is supporting terrorist causes and is becoming too much in league with Iran.

Qatar openly supports Hamas, which regularly carries out terror attacks on Israelis and Jews  both in Israel and in other nations and territories.

But in the days leading up to the announcement of the Saudi-Qatari diplomatic freeze, reports began surfacing in the Israeli and Arab press that Riyadh was pushing Qatar to end its relationship with Hamas. And the Saudis are well aware that if Qatar cuts off Hamas, Hamas probably wouldn't survive.

Qatar's refusal to do so immediately may have been the last straw for the Saudis who have been emboldened to at least appear to step up their anti-terror efforts after President Donald Trump's visit to Riyadh last month. And the Saudis are also more emboldened to threaten Iran and any of Tehran's pet causes now that the Trump team has made it abundantly clear that it approves the growing Arab state coalition against the Iranians.

And President Trump's trip couldn't have been more of a public endorsement of the growing cooperation between the Saudis and the Israelis too. Note that Saudi Arabia and Israel were his only two stops on his Middle East trip, even though Egypt remains the largest Arab recipient of U.S. aid and its population positively dwarfs Saudi Arabia's. President Trump believes, along with many others, that Saudi Arabia is calling the shots in the Sunni Arab world now and he wants its work with Israel to continue.

And thus, Saudi Arabia's decision to pressure Qatar on its support for Hamas coming so soon after the Trump visit doesn't seem like a coincidence. Hamas has one real enemy, and that's Israel. So Saudi efforts to freeze Qatari terror funding for Hamas has only one real beneficiary -- Israel.

Critics who point out that the Saudis have been direct and indirect backers of different terrorist groups in the region have a right to be a little cautious about celebrating this news as some sort of sign of a true turning point. President Trump speculated as much in a tweet Tuesday, and frankly he seems to be getting ahead of himself here:

But the Saudi decision to cut off Qatar does seem like the most solid evidence yet that its decision to create a real and more comprehensive relationship with Israel is real at least for now. And by Middle Eastern historical standards, that is a huge deal.

Commentary by Jake Novak, CNBC.com senior columnist. Follow him on Twitter @jakejakeny.

For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter.
Runescape Menaphos: The Golden City Impressions

Runescape Menaphos: The Golden City is a huge change for the long running game as it's a switch to doing large scale expansions. This first effort is actually crazy with just how large of a landmass is present and the distinct style of the area. It's basically Runescape meets ancient Egypt, or at least its own version of it. Within Menaphos you can find everything one would desire from the area including open sands with creatures; pyramids, gods and lots of ancient tombs. I was lucky to be given a special tour of this area over an hour session and will be going over details I was given along with some thoughts on it.



There's an overall story that spans four main quests with each of them being 75-90 minutes in length. Think of them like an Indiana Jones adventure with an epic story that's certain to not be forgettable. These core quests also continue a number of story lines that were previously left on cliff-hangers and should please many long time fans. These are supplemented by city quests which are randomly generating segments around the main town. These ones are more traditional to MMOs and should help add some extra content within the new world. Think of them as just busy quests were you help out citizens with things or tackle quick little problems that are present within the city. I also personally suggest visiting the grand library as it's magical and filled with lore that the community has helped generate, it's a special connection for the fans. Aside from the story based elements, Jagex has taken great care in post-game content as well with their dungeon tombs.







These Slayer Dungeons are end game content which only allows the most tough of Runescape players to enter them. With that, the Slayer level cap has been raised to 120 as it's one of the most popular and demanded skills for an increase. This will assist with the procedurally generated catacombs that players will explore. These rock places are filled with deadly enemies, treasure and monsters to tackle. We were given a brief tour showing a glance at some of the puzzles and areas that were filled with enemies. It was seriously dense with monsters. There was also a sense of spooky themes with how dark it was and there were many skulls lining the walls. The puzzle based ones were also deadly in another fashion by having a strict time being in effect and it'll be interesting to see how players will tackle those challenges.



I'm now going to shift back to the general theme of Menaphos and some more interesting aspects about it. First off, there are a ton of cats chilling around and magic carpets to ride. The main city looks lively even without the dense populous that's sure to line the streets and it's supposed to feel like a hub area. Menaphos is open to Members with no additional cost to them and there are plans to allow the regular free to players tour as well on occasion during events. The place holds many secrets that we were only teased and told specifically of the magic that Sundials possess. It really does look like an exciting package within what's a very long running game.



They've taken an area that's been sitting there for a long time and turned it into a magical expansion. You'll deal with gods, corruption and many dangerous threats while you journey across this land. It's going to be a thrilling ride as you work up your reputation with various factions and ultimately conclude the story aspects. I thought it looked great, especially since I haven't visited in a few years and if you'd like more details you should check out my incredible interview with David Osborne, Lead Designer for Runescape.



Our Runescape Menaphos: The Golden City Interview

View our Runescape Hub


An air traffic controller at the Opa-locka airport in Opa-locka, Florida. Getty Images

President Donald Trump announced his plan to privatize the air traffic controllers system, which would essentially hand over operations of the airways from the federal government to a nonprofit corporation. During an event Monday at the White House, Trump boasted that privatizing control of the nation's skyways will speed up modernization of the air traffic system, which has been slow to switch from radar to more precise  and efficient  GPS technology. "It's a broken, antiquated, horrible system," Trump said Monday to a group of airline executives. More from Vox:

Has anyone told Donald Trump that he runs the government?

The mystery of the 2016 election was its normalcy

Nevada's legislature just passed a radical plan to let anybody sign up for Medicaid The nation's largest air carriers have been lobbying for such a change for years, but Republicans in Congress have failed to get enough support to pass a bill. Democrats have been resistant in handing over control of the airways to big businesses. Trump's interest gives renewed momentum to the idea. His plan is reportedly based on a bill introduced last year by Rep. Bill Shuster, a Republican from Pennsylvania. Trump says the plan would save taxpayers from funding air traffic operations and would be paid with "no tax money" at all. But the structure of the nonprofit corporation would give board members (mostly airline industry representatives and workers), broad leeway in raising prices on consumers to cover the cost of air traffic services. According to the Congressional Budget Office, such a plan (based on an analysis of Shuster's bill) would actually increase spending on air traffic services to speed up modernization efforts. It's very likely that under Trump's plan, consumers will continue footing most of the bill for these operations, which will now be more expensive. "Sooner or later air passengers will bear the burden of this expensive new entity in the form of more expensive air fare," wrote Andrew Langer, the president of the Institute for Liberty, a small libertarian think tank, in an op-ed in The Hill newspaper.

Who ends up paying

The Federal Aviation Administration currently employs about 14,000 highly trained air traffic controllers who monitor and direct airline traffic across the United States, making sure that one plane doesn't crash into another. Right now, consumers pay most of the cost through a 7.5 percent excise tax on airline tickets. That money goes to the federal Airport and Airway Trust Fund, which pays the salaries of air traffic controllers and their operations as part of the Federal Aviation Administration. At the beginning of fiscal year 2017, that trust fund had $14.7 billion dollars. Under Trump's plan, the FAA would no longer control air traffic, and would no longer tax travelers to pay for this service. Instead, it would hand over the system to a nonprofit corporation. Yet the new company is not exactly a private corporation. According to the Congressional Budget Office, which analyzed Shuster's bill, it would be a quasi-governmental agency, kind of like Fannie Mae or Amtrak. "It would effectively act as an agent of the federal government in carrying out a regulatory function," wrote Theresa Gullo, a budget analyst. Under Shuster's bill, oversight of the air traffic systems would be given to a 13-member board, made up mostly of commercial airline representatives and workers. They would then raise money to pay for air traffic control services by charging user fees and selling corporate bonds to investors. The corporation would charge airlines and other companies the fee, which they could easily pass on to consumers by raising the cost of airline tickets. Budget analysts believe that privatizing the system would actually cost more money. Shuster's bill, which inspired Trump's plan, would raise mandatory spending by $89 billion and increase the deficit by $19.8 billion over the next 10 years, according to a Congressional Budget Office analysis. This is largely from the added cost of the needed equipment and technology to speed up the modernization process.

The controversy
A newly discovered 1786 New Jersey copper is the third example confirmed of the variety and has rich patination that is the result of lying undisturbed for two centuries in the ground. It sold for $14,100 at Stacks Bowers Galleries recent Baltimore auction.

The broad label of Colonial issues encompasses multiple major types and most peoples introduction to this area comes through the Red Book, which lists major varieties, like this corroded yet still desirable New Jersey copper.

Before the first U.S. coins were struck for widespread circulation at the Philadelphia Mint in 1793, a wide variety of coins circulated in America including a mix of foreign coins and Colonial and Confederation issues. The broad label of Colonial issues encompasses multiple major types and most peoples introduction to this area comes through A Guide Book of United States Coins  the Red Book  which lists major varieties. Specialists have gone into exhaustive detail in each of these areas, and the coins arent always pretty. Here are three that were offered by Stacks Bowers Galleries at the Whitman Baltimore Expo that show that these historically important issues dont have to be attractive to be very expensive.

Here's one of the ugly Colonial rarities we profile in this weeks Market Analysis:

The Lot:

1786 New Jersey Copper, Curved Plow Beam, Bridle, ground find

The Price:

$14,100

The Story:

The New Jersey General Assembly authorized the production of 3 million coppers to be completed within two years. Today these New Jersey coppers are a well-researched area with hundreds of distinct varieties. The exhaustive 2013 American Numismatic Society publication New Jersey State Coppers updated Edward Mariss 1881 reference to the series and brought new attention to the series.

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This 1786 New Jersey copper is the third known example of the Maris 18-L variety, which was represented by a single example until 2011 when a second was offered on eBay. The subject coin was found in Passaic County, N.J., by metal detectorist Peter McGinty in 2016. McGinty posted photos of his find to the Colonial Coin Collectors Club online forum to confirm an attribution.

SS Central America reveals thousands of new findings, celebrating the house organ: Another column in the June 19 Coin World expounds on some intriguing half dollar varieties.

The Stacks Bowers Galleries cataloger wrote, It would not surprise us if this coin was lost to the ground shortly after it was minted, given the abundant sharpness of the devices despite the corroded surfaces; it had traveled no more than 20 or 30 miles from its place of manufacture when it fell to the ground, only to be rediscovered 230 [years] later. The rarity brought $14,100 on March 29.
After he had recruited a few workers to carry the boxes he walked to Pultulal village, about two kilometres out of town, where he initially set up camp.

Speaking with a thick accent, he said he would be going bush and returning in a month to rejoin Sorengana.

Around 1955, a Mr W Brandt disembarked at Aitape from MV Sorengana with a large number of empty boxes.

I WAS watching TV the other night when I caught the name of entomologist William Brandt, which hit me as does one of those blasts from the past.

TheI Pultulal village people told me he never slept. The Hurricane kerosene lantern on the table burned all night and Brandt would catch any insect that was attracted to its light. They thought he must be crazy.

He continued doing this on a trek that took him all the way through the mountains to Lumi and back to catch the Sorengana .

Upon his return to Aitape, I asked him if I could have a look at his insects and he had collected thousands of them. An odd guy, perhaps, and I wonder if he was my television Brandt.

Anyway, I dug out this related story from an old Sydney Morning Herald dated Wednesday 1 December, 1954.

M Jacoulet Meets Meeki Roths A butterfly named Meeki Roths brought a delighted smile to the face of M Paul Jacoulet, a visiting French artist yesterday. M Jacoulet was inspecting the butterfly collection of Sir Edward Hallstrom,the Sydney manufacturer and philanthropist. The Meeki Roths comes from Bougainville in the Solomons. M Jacoulet, famous as a designer of Japanese prints,is himself a butterfly collector of note. He has 200,000 specimens, and he hopes to get more in Australia and New Guinea. When he saw the Meeki Roths specimen, he said: "it is the first time I see that. I see it only in books before." M Jacoulet was accompanied by his South Korean butterfly hunter and spreader, Louis Rah, who has worked with him for 18 years. Sir Edward's own curator, Finnish-born Willie Brandt, was also present. He has spent more than four years catching, spreading, mounting and classifying Sir Edward's collection. M Jacoulet questioned Mr Brandt about his proposed New Guinea visit. But Mr Brandt said: "Nobody in New Guinea is interested in catching butterflies. "You could contact government officials, but perhaps they are not in the same places where I saw them. They move around a lot. "You go for 10 days and get a few butterflies. You should go for three years and then you get some. 'The missionaries try to help by getting the natives to catch butterflies, but the natives bring the butterflies back broken, or with finger marks on their wings." Mr Brandt has discovered more than 100 species of butterflies in New Guinea which have not yet been named. The collection he has gathered for Sir Edward is regarded as one of the finest collections of New Guinea butterflies in the world. As M Jacoulet left Sir Edward Hallstrom's home, he said: "I am so sad. I have seen such nice butterflies.

And another article:
Sir Mekere said the bank has irresponsibly financed the budget deficit (and) covered up and facilitated prime minister Peter ONeills waste and mismanagement.

In an incendiary statement he also accused the central bank of being at the centre of scandal after scandal".

SIR Mekere Morauta, Papua New Guineas former prime minister and a candidate at this months national election, has accused the Bank of PNG of effectively printing money to fund what he says is the wasteful spending of the ONeill government.

It has contributed to the growing mountain of public debt created by Mr ONeill  in other words the central bank has colluded in the imprudent financial activities of the ONeill government.

According to data in the banks most recent Quarterly Economic Bulletin, last year it loaned almost K2 billion to the government. In December alone, net lending to the government was K800 million.

The central bank has lent that money to the government because there is no appetite in the private sector to buy its debt instruments, said Sir Mekere.

The new data from the Bank of Papua New Guinea demonstrates clearly how the prime minister and his economic advisers, in particular Dr Jacob Weiss, have controlled and manipulated the central bank to the point where it has become an inanimate puppet.

Sir Mekere called on the central bank board to review and investigate the bank governors decisions and actions and, if warranted, recommend his dismissal.

The position of governor is subject to the leadership code, so the Ombudsman Commission should also investigate the governors compliance with the law and the banks objectives, he said.

One of the first things a new government should do is to institute an audit of the bank to restore its independence and take measures to protect it from future political interference, increase the oversight powers of the board and review the powers of the governor.

He said the bank had failed to carry out each and every one of (its) objectives and had been at the centre of scandal after scandal.

Sir Mekere said these scandals included the UBS loan, the improper purchase of mobile generators from Israel, and the Weiss family role in that, and the hijacking of old banknotes and their use in election corruption.

I dont understand the governors silence on the hijacked banknotes, he said.

In my time as governor, all obsolete notes were burnt in a furnace in the bank. Why were these notes shipped around the place? Was it designed for them to be hijacked? The police should investigate this serious matter.

The nation cannot afford a rogue central bank, with a wobbly head, blindly backing a rogue government."
Does Labours manifesto add up? Heres a ConHome series to investigate  named, of course, in homage to the Shadow Home Secretarys policing plan.

The Policy: Raise 19.4 billion through raising Corporation Tax

Lets return once again to the by now well-thumbed pages of Funding Britains Future, the special document Labour have released alongside their manifesto outlining their tax and spending intentions (at least, those they care about).

The Problem: Itd be a bad enough idea during Brexit, even withou

When the FT examined this policy, they also threw in the Oppositions (deeply regressive) tuition fee policies, presumably because the one is meant to pay for the latter. But questions of what this is meant to pay for, and whether its desirable, is really beside the point.

More serious is that this policy would likely not raise anything like the money its intended to. Worse, it would likely harm the economy and slow growth, reducing the job opportunities of the very generation Labours Great Leap Backwards in education funding is meant to help.

The obvious concern is that businesses will reduce investment in the UK as a result of a hike in Corporation Tax. Labour make some concession to this (apparently 19.4 billion is not the full tax receipts of the measure, on paper). But they leave out a couple of things.

First, Ireland. Both the chart in the FT piece and this Labour graphic circulating on Facebook show the UK still low-to-middling on corporate tax rates, even after the Oppositions increase. But neither include the Republic of Ireland, which is right next door and enjoys a headline corporate tax rate of just 12.5 per cent  thats half Labours eventual goal.

Of course there are other factors which drive international investment, but its hard to see Labour shifting things like labour market flexibility and wage levels in a direction likely to woo capital to these shores, especially during the uncertain period as we leave the EU.

(Indeed, another part of manifesto is full of plans for more unionisation, thrusting full rights on different sorts of staff to reduce employer and worker choice, a complete ban on zero-hours contracts, and reintroduce1970s-style sectoral collective bargaining.)

Labour may argue that their long-term investments will somehow balance this (assuming they ever raise enough cash to pay for them), but again the manifesto shouldnt fill us with confidence. Most of the new infrastructure fund looks to be tied up in big new passenger rail projects, a decidedly second-order issue for global competitiveness.

Worse, the university section runs to less than one page and is all about making things free, with nothing on driving up quality or helping steer would-be students towards economically valuable courses of study  the sort of changes actually likely to deliver long-term growth and employment prospects.
James Frayne is Director of communications agency Public First and author of Meet the People, a guide to moving public opinion. The focus of this column is Theresa Mays conservatism for ordinary working people.

Theresa May treads a difficult line on security. As Prime Minister, she must speak for the country  echoing public sorrow for the lost and damaged lives of the victims, and setting out a robust policy response from Government. Its vital politicians retain public consent for their approach to potentially divisive issues, and they must understand the public mood as they speak and form policy. So where does the public stand?

These days, analysing public opinion is complex because social media plays such a prominent role in public discourse. But as we know from both 2015s General Election and the EU Referendum, theres often a big gap between whats visible on social media and whats really in peoples hearts and minds. However, there are significant amounts of data available that allow us to piece together the public mood. From this we can draw several key conclusions.

First, it isnt possible to be too tough on terrorists. The public want and expect a brutal response to terrorists who operate on the streets of Britain or who threaten British lives from abroad. People think the death penalty should be reintroduced for convicted terrorists and they have traditionally supported the polices use of shoot-to-kill. They supported the killing of so-called Jihadi John in the US/UK drone strike in massive numbers. They also think those returning from Syria who are suspected of fighting for ISIS should have their passports removed.

Secondly, the public are prepared to extend significant powers to the intelligence services to track terrorists. People think they should be given practically any new powers they need and they have great confidence in their integrity and competence. This extends to the police but to a slightly lesser extent; there is some concern the police might misuse powers given to them. To the extent that they see it as a choice, the public put security far ahead of privacy in regards to intercepting electronic communications.

Thirdly, and crucially, while theyre clear on what should be done with actual terrorists, the public are unsure about what longer-term action to take to deal with extremism. They reject broadly-focused cultural policies targeted at Muslims: there was recently very little enthusiasm for Trumps proposed travel ban and little support for a ban on refugees arriving from places like Syria. While the public admits concern about the future role of Islam in the UK, people accept most Muslims are peaceful and report positive interactions with Muslims on a personal level.

This lack of clarity on what is obviously a complex policy challenge means that there is widespread sympathy (but not universal support) for withdrawal from the ECHR and a strong belief that human rights laws are being abused. There is also widespread support for a crackdown on extremist preachers using the web, but some doubt as to whether this will really solve the problem.

For politicians, all this in turn means three things. Firstly, that they must take no risks at all with security  ensuring that the police, intelligence agencies and military have all the resources they need and that they are deployed to use lethal force without hesitation. Secondly, that they should not worry that the public is shifting towards aggressive, populist cultural policies targeted at Muslims. They arent, and politicians dont need to pander to such demands. Thirdly, it means politicians must start talking about counter-extremism policies to the public at large. People want to know that the Government are actually doing things and they want to know what politicians think will work best. They are open-minded about policies Governments pursue, but they want to know something serious is being done.
Heres a take on what could happen in any reshuffle later this week.

It is not only not a prediction, it is not even a probability: it is simply one view of possibilities.

  

Philip Hammond, Chancellor of the Exchequer.

No change or out

Before the campaign began, it seemed unlikely that the Chancellor, though horribly mauled during the NICs Budget fiasco, would be moved  if only because it seemed unlikely that any other members of Mays top team would be either. And he may well still be in post after the reshuffle.

None the less, Team May has made sparing use of him during the campaign, and he has been dogged by questions about his future. A Chancellor who is not deployed against the most profligate Opposition in recent years is not a Chancellor who can be sure of keeping his job.

If the Prime Minister thinks he cant be of use at the Treasury, shes unlikely to think that he can be so elsewhere, and Hammond would anyway surely leave the Government rather than swallow a demotion. Finally, he has risen by brainpower, not popularity  and thus may be considered dispensable even if the Tory majority is small.

Possible replacements:

Amber Rudd, if May wants to appoint the first woman Chancellor (and perhaps find some cover for sacking some women lower down the Cabinet ranks).

Michael Fallon, if he has not somehow blotted his copybook over the top rate tax, would offer the required gravitas  and some free market balance to the Prime Ministers interventionist programme.

Damian Green who, as a longstanding friend and colleague of May, would represent a takeover by her team at the Treasury.

Greg Clark, a loyal servant of the leadership, and the thinker charged with devising and implementing the industrial strategy.

  

Boris Johnson, Foreign Secretary.

No change.

Johnson is as prone to freelancing than ever: consider his recent suggestion that the Government might go to war in Syria without a Commons vote. And his diplomatic push to oust Assad was stifled at birth.

But the logic of his appointment last summer still stands  namely, that the Prime Minister needs the razzmatazz, panache and reach of Vote Leaves figurehead to help sell any Brexit deal.

Nor can he airly be claimed to have been an under-performing Foreign Secretary to date: for example, he has worked hard to establish good relations with the Trump administration.

  

Amber Rudd, Home Secretary

No change or sideways

With Johnson, Green, Fallon and David Davis, Rudd has been a member of the core Conservative campaigning team during this election  standing in for May during the TV debate of the losers.

Since she has only been in the Home Office a year, it would be odd to uproot her just as she is bedding in, especially during a security crisis. It is possible to imagine her moving to the Treasury, but the transfer is still on balance unlikely.

Possible replacements:

Fallon.

Green (a former Home Office Minister under May).

Jeremy Hunt.

  

David Davis, Brexit Secretary

No change

Davis has topped his back-from-the-dead comeback to the Tory front bench by making himself indispensable to the Prime Minister.

As a former Europe Minister, he knows the run of the ropes. As a former Maastricht Whip, he is more of an establishment man than one might think. But as a convinced Brexiteer, he is also well placed to sell the inevitable compromises of any deal to the Leave lobby on the backbenchers.

He has knuckled down to the grinding workload of his new role, is loyal to May, and at the grand age of 68 no longer has leadership ambitions of his own. He has become the Number One man in the Government.

If there were to be change in his department, it would probably not consist of him leaving it but of someone else joining  perhaps Lord Hill, Britains former trade commissioner, who would add insider knowledge to the negotiating position.

  

Liam Fox, International Trade Secretary

No change

This judgement comes with just a moments hesitation, because of Foxs absence from the campaigning front line during this election. He is an old media hand, doesnt get rattled, and backed May during the leadership election  chairing her membership stage campaign launch in Birmingham.

So his relative quiet is something of a puzzle. But he has been working hard to create a new department out of scratch, and it would be strange first to set him in motion, only then to move or dismiss him less than a year later.

  

Michael Fallon, Defence Secretary

No change or up or sideways or out (full house)



Fallon was delighted to make the Cabinet in the first place, though at nearly 65 he might decide post-election that he has had enough. He would be the safest choice for the Treasury were May to move Hammond, and offer a free market counterweight to Team Mays interventionist ideas.

Possible replacements:

Hunt.

Justine Greening.

James Brokenshire, were he to follow the specialised route that sometimes takes Northern Ireland Secretaries to Defence.

And maybe Rory Stewart (now a senior Minister at DfID, and a former Defence Select Committee Chairman).

  

Liz Truss, Justice Secretary

Sideways or out

Is the Justice Secretary a victim of sexism, or the architect of her own troubles? Thats the question that Andrew Gimson posed on this site after she had run into trouble over the assault on judges by the Daily Mail as enemies of the peopleand a scathing assault on her by the Lord Chief Justice over the means of giving evidence in rape trials.

She has also come under fire for her decision to increase insurance premiums. It would be a bold decision indeed to put her in charge at Education, a department that she has previously served on, and about which she has reforming views. It is perhaps more likely that Truss, one of the few members of the Cabinet who didnt support Mays leadership candidature from the start, will be shuffled elsewhere or leave government altogether.

Possible replacements

Ben Gummer, a protege of Team May, who would bring a One Nation sensibility to the post.

Jeremy Wright, the Attorney General, if the Prime Minister concludes that she cant appoint a fourth non-lawyer in a row to the job.

Michael Gove  just, maybe.

  

Greg Clark, Business Industry

No change or up or sideways

The bright and personable Clark is the kind of Minister who prospers under any Tory leader. Since he is shaping the Industrial Strategy, a project close to Mays heart, he will probably stay put.

But he could go to the Treasury  see above. Or he might just be an emollient replacement for Hunt at Health.

Possible replacements:

Hunt.

Greg Hands, a bit of a long shot, but previously entitled to attend Cabinet as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and now a trade minister.

  

Justine Greening, Education Secretary.

Sideways or out.

Greening has not been noticeably enthused by the flagship policy of her department, new selective schools  though some grammar school supporters say that her scepticism about the project is exaggerated.

She was also left with the horrorshow problem of the school spending formula  one that was not solvable politically without the tranche of extra money that the manifesto has duly found.

Some accuse her of watering down the Gove reforms. Others say that parts of those reforms  particularly anything to do with testing  were too prescriptive, and unpopular with Tory MPs.

Possible replacements

Green (a former Shadow Education Secretary, who as a Kent MP, has grammar schools in his constituency).

Clark (another Kent MP).

Hunt.

Liz Truss (a former Minister in the department with a longstanding interest in schools)

Michael Gove  were May to crown rumours of his rehabilitation by actually bringing him back. Where better to send him than his old department, for which he has a passion?

  

Jeremy Hunt, Health Secretary.

Up or sideways or out

Hunt has been Health Secretary for six long years, and could decide to quit the Government, on the ground that enough is enough. Smooth, experienced and an unruffled custodian of his department during challenging times, Hunt could go almost anywhere  including to a great office of state if required.

The Admirals son could also move to Defence or to CCHQ as Chairman  were the Party believed to need a businessman to out it back into shape.

Possible replacements:

Green.

Clark.

Greening.

Ben Gummer (a former Minister at the department: it would be a big promotion).

  

Damian Green, Work and Pensions Secretary.

Up or sideways

As noted above, Green is an old Green ally; an able technocrat; a very experienced media hand; a pre-Cameroon Tory lefty and an arch-remainer whose career, ironically, has been rescued by last summers Leave vote. Green could go up the Treasury or Home Office or sideways to Health or just about anything.

Possible replacements:

Hunt.

Greening.

Gummer.

David Gauke, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, who has made the transition from Team Osborne to the May regime.

Karen Bradley (the Culture Secretary is an accountant and self-proclaimed numbers person).

  

Sajid Javid, Communities Secretary

No change or out

Javid is unreservedly dedicated to delivering more housing, with a real commitment to inter-generational justice. He also has a special interest in integration policy. These are two good reasons for keeping him in place.

None the less, he has been without a mentor since George Osborne left government, has wrestled with Number Ten over housing numbers, and had a torrid time over business rates. It would not be surprising were he to leave the government.

Possible replacements.

Brandon Lewis, the former CLG Minister, who has kept one eye on the department since.

Gavin Barwell, the Housing Minister  if he can hold his seat in Croydon Central.

Gummer.

Chris Grayling, Transport Secretary

No change or out

The Transport Secretary is at the more experienced end of the Cabinet, and thus looks nearer the end of his period as a member than the start. But he seems to be enjoying himself at his department, in which he has a real interest.

On balance, therefore, May is likely to leave the campaign manager of the leadership bid where he is. It would be ruthless to do otherwise. He is also one of the few Leavers in Cabinet: will she really want to deplete their number  especially if the Tory majority is small. But you never can tell.

Gauke.

Barwell.

Lewis.

Hands.

Matt Hancock, another Minister demoted from being able to attend Cabinet.

Jane Ellison  a competent, disciplined Minister of State, and probably the leading woman contender to enter Cabinet.

Karen Bradley, Culture Secretary

No change or up.

Bradley is a May loyalist and a Cabinet newcomer. The best course to take would be to let her settle into her newish role. But the numerate Bradley could also go to Work and Pensions.

Possible replacements

Hancock (currently serving at the department).

Ellison.

Stewart.

Gove (just possibly).

Andrea Leadsom, Environment Secretary

No change or out

There is no sign whatsoever that May really wants her former leadership rival in Cabinet, rather than feeling she has had to have her there.

Other than a thoughtful speech to the National Farmers Union, and a recent piece on ConHome, Leadsom has been allowed little political room to breathe. We can presume that if the Prime Minister returns with a comfortable majority, Leadsoms place round the Cabinet table will be under threat.

Possible replacements:

George Eustice, a stand-out Minister in the department with a thorough grip of the issues.

Stewart, a former Defra Minister.

Priti Patel, International Development Secretary

No change

Patel is doing a wonderful job, aided by some skilful political support at SpAd level, of distancing herself from her own department  which finds itself and the 0.7 per cent commitment constantly in the dock from the centre-right press. This might not be the most noble way of coping with its unpopularity with a big slice of the Tory family, but is is undoubtedly a skilful one. There is no reason whatsoever for May to to move her.

James Brokenshire, Northern Ireland Secretary

No change

Like Bradley, Brokenshire is another former Minister under May at the Home Office. The requirements of Brexit would probably keep him in the Northern Ireland even if he had not been there so briefly. There is just a very small chance that he could go to defence.

Possible replacement

Ben Wallace, the Security Minister.

David Lidington, Commons Leader

No change

There would be little point in appointing the popular and experienced Lidington to a post that suits him, only to move or dismiss him within less than year.

Gavin Williamson, Chief Whip

No change

Again, it would be curious to find a new Chief Whip, see him handle Commons Brexit business smoothly  and then subject the Whips Office to yet another upheaval.

Patrick McLoughlin, Party Chairman  and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster

Out

I am presuming that the Chairman will want to go out on a high, having helped to deliver the Prime Minister an increased majority.

Possible replacements:

Greening.

Hunt.

Ellison.

David Gauke

No change or up

The Chief Secretary coud go to Work and Pensions for reasons explained previously.

Possible replacement

Ellison.

Gummer.

Hancock.

Barwell.

And as a very long shot, Damian Hinds, the Employment Minister.

Ben Gummer, Paymaster General

No change or up

The main factor weighing against a promotion is that his peculiar function in Mays Government  a kind of merger of Oliver Letwin and Francis Maudes responsibilities under Cameron make him hard to move.

Possible replacement:

George Freeman, Chair of the Policy Board.

  

I am assuming that the Leader of the Lords and the Scottish and Welsh Secretaries stay in place  and on the questioablle assumption that there will be no major departmental restructuring,
Six Republican members of Congress from New York, nearly all of whom represent upstate districts, are on Gov. Andrew Cuomo's political hit list.

Cuomo held a rally in New York City Tuesday to launch the New York Fights Back initiative. The goal of the campaign is to unseat GOP representatives who voted for the American Health Care Act, a bill backed by President Donald Trump and House Republican leaders to dismantle the Affordable Care Act.

The targets are U.S. Reps. Chris Collins, John Faso, Tom Reed, Elise Stefanik, Claudia Tenney and Lee Zeldin.

Cuomo, who was joined by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, accused the six Reublicans of violating their oaths of office to represent their respective districts.

"These are political pawns to the ultraconservative puppet masters in Washington," he said.

The representatives are in districts already identified as 2018 targets by the House Democrats' campaign arm, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. The Democrats also want to unseat U.S. Rep. Dan Donovan, a Staten Island Republican, and U.S. Rep. John Katko, whose central New York district has slightly more Democrats than GOP voters.

Pelosi called New York "one of our most important battlegrounds" if Democrats are going to win back the House majority in 2018.

"There are eight Republican seats we can and must win in November 2018," she said. "Defeating them in 2018 means laying the foundation for victory right now."

There are questions about how Cuomo, who has been mentioned as a possible Democratic presidential candidate in 2020, will carry out this initiative. He has a large campaign war chest  as of January, he had nearly $22 million in the bank  and he'll have his own re-election to focus on next year.

An email went out to the New York State Democratic Committee's subscriber list after the rally urging recipients to sign up for the Fights Back campaign.

Meanwhile, Republicans are firing back at Cuomo's political effort. Chris Martin, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, criticized the governor.

"We're thrilled to see Andrew Cuomo bring his failed record to the campaign trail," Martin said. "Under Cuomo's liberal tax-and-spend agenda, New York remains one of the unfriendliest states for businesses  and Democratic House candidates will be forced to explain that to voters."

A campaign spokesperson for Stefanik, R-Willsboro, said the congresswoman, who was first elected in 2014, is focused on policy matters, not politics.

"Where she agrees with Governor Cuomo, on issues such as access to rural broadband and developing our North Country infrastructure, she will continue working with the administration," they said. "While partisan politicians choose to play politics, Congresswoman Stefanik is focused on delivering real results for each and every constituent in the 21st District."

The health care bill was a main motivator for Cuomo to launch this campaign, but he also raised other issues during the rally. Without naming him, he cited President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement  a move that was panned by Democrats and even some Republicans, including Stefanik, who believe the U.S. should've remained in the accord.

Cuomo also attacked Republican attempts to defund Planned Parenthood. He said if they're successful, the state will intervene and provide the necessary funding. And he questioned the Republican Party's commitment to the middle class. He accused them of "pandering for votes" when they pledged to help the middle class.

He touted his record as governor, including private sector job creation and investments in infrastructure.

"We are showing that it is the Democratic Party that represents the middle class and working families, and not just with words but with action," he said.
CORNWALL, Ontario  The Ontario Health Coalition is touring "Tommy" the bear across the province along with a message about the importance of public healthcare.

The bear is named after Tommy Douglas, the father of the Canadian Public Healthcare system. On Monday, June 5, Tommy was in Cornwall.

John Milne is one of the people who attended the demonstration in Cornwall at that corner of Pitt and Second streets, he warned that a lack of government support of the public healthcare system creates opportunity for a private sector attack on the institution.

We are governed by the CCAC (Community Care Access Centre) in this area and they are pushing private healthcare, he said. There is only one out patient re-hab centre in Ottawa for stroke victims in the Champlain LHIN (Local Health Integration Network). The government says that rehabilitation is the most important step towards recovery, then why do they not put enough funding towards it?

Cornwall City Councillor and Labour Council member Elaine MacDonald was at the demonstration holding signs and handing out information to passers by. MacDonald explained the importance of having a public system that was fair for everyone.

Everybody should be eligible for the same service, she said. In a two-tier healthcare system, public resources would be siphoned off.
ALEXANDRIA, Ontario  On Monday, June 05, 2017 at approximately 7:25 p.m. the Stormont Dundas and Glengarry (SD&G) Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), attended the Alexandria Hospital in response to a vehicle that attended the hospital, dropped off a male who was suffering from a life threatening injury and then fled.

The victim, a 29 year old male from Ottawa, was pronounced deceased shortly thereafter.

The suspect vehicle, a white Honda Odyssey with Quebec license plates, was located a short time later, and the two male occupants, ages 57 and 29, have been arrested and are currently in custody. No charges have been laid at this time.

Investigators are seeking any witnesses or information to this incident.

At this time, the name of the deceased is being withheld pending next of kin notification and a post mortem examination.

The investigation into this death is continuing by the SD&G OPP Crime Unit, under the direction of Detective Inspector Dan Nadeau of the OPP Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB).

Additional information will be released only as it becomes available.

Police are asking anyone with information to contact Detective Constable Daniel ROY at the SD&G detachment at 613-534-2223 during business hours or 24/7 at 1-888-310-1122.

If you wish to provide information anonymously you can call Seaway Valley Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). You can also submit your information online at www.crimestopperssdm.com Crime Stoppers does not subscribe to call display and you will remain anonymous. Being anonymous, you will not testify in court and your information may lead to a cash reward of up to $2,000.00.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo is setting his sights on unseating six New York House Republicans in 2018, but there's one notable name not on the list.

U.S. Rep. John Katko, who represents the 24th Congressional District in central New York, isn't on the list of members Cuomo is targeting with his New York Fights Back initiative in 2018.

The six members Cuomo has identified as his main targets in 2018  U.S. Reps. Chris Collins, John Faso, Tom Reed, Elise Stefanik, Claudia Tenney and Lee Zeldin  voted for the Republicans' health care bill.

There were other issues cited by Cuomo during the launch of his initiative Tuesday. But the health care bill and how it would affect New York loomed as the leading reason why he's taking aim at these six members.

"They said they would help their districts. They said they would help the struggling middle class," Cuomo said. "They're doing the exact opposite."

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who appeared with Cuomo at Tuesday's rally in New York City, mentioned that Democrats are aiming to defeat eight Republicans in New York. That aligns with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's list of targets, which includes the six mentioned by Cuomo and two others  Katko and U.S. Rep. Dan Donovan, a Staten Island Republican.

Pelosi said New York is an important battleground for Democrats in 2018.

But Cuomo's decision to not name Katko as a Fights Back initiative target raises questions, especially from Democrats who view the central New York congressman as vulnerable.

Katko was elected to Congress in 2014 and re-elected last year. In both races, he won by at least 20 points. Despite the margins, Democrats still hold a slight enrollment edge in the 24th Congressional District, which includes all of Cayuga, Onondaga and Wayne counties plus the western part of Oswego County.

Dana Balter, a member of the Onondaga County Democratic Committee and activist with the CNY Solidarity Coalition, is pleased that Cuomo is launching this initiative. But she questioned why Katko didn't make the cut.

"I, of course, think that Katko should be on that list and I'm disappointed that he's not," she said.

Katko's campaign declined to comment on Cuomo's political effort.

The state Democratic Party isn't ruling out adding Katko to the Fights Back list in the future. The initial group of Republicans is being targeted because of the health care vote. The party also committed to supporting a challenger who opposes Katko in next year's election.

And the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee reiterated its belief that Katko is vulnerable and one of the party's top targets in 2018.

"From refusing to hold town halls, to letting internet companies sell his constituents' data without their consent, to supporting U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord, Katko has spent months demonstrating he'll put President Trump and the Republican Party ahead of his own constituents," said Evan Lukaske, a DCCC spokesman.

As of Tuesday, no Democrats have publicly announced their candidacy to challenge Katko. One potential candidate is former Syracuse City Auditor Phil LaTessa, who has filed documents with the Federal Election Commission to form a campaign committee.
Uber, Lyft and other ride-sharing companies will be allowed to operate in upstate New York earlier than anticipated thanks to a bill signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo late Monday.

The legislation accelerates the implementation of ride-sharing in upstate. When ride-sharing was included in the 2017-18 state budget, the effective date was set for mid-July  after the Independence Day holiday.

Now, with the adoption of the measure, ride-sharing can begin as early as June 29.

Alix Anfang, an Uber spokesperson, said the company will launch its services in upstate cities prior to the Fourth of July.

"Thank you to Governor Cuomo, the state Senate and the Assembly for bringing reliable, affordable transportation options to the Empire State," Anfang said. "We can't wait to bring Uber to upstate and the suburbs were residents have been demanding it."

Before ride-sharing was permitted, upstate New York was one of the few places in the county where Uber, Lyft and other services weren't allowed to operate. Ride-sharing is already legal in New York City.

Under the ride-sharing provisions in the state budget, the state Department of Motor Vehicles will regulate operators. Counties and the four largest cities outside of New York City  Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Yonkers  will have the option of disallowing ride-sharing.

Drivers must submit to background checks. For rides, consumers will be assessed a 4 percent tax on each trip and an additional 2.5 percent surcharge that will be used to fund drivers' workers' compensation benefits.

State Sen. Jim Seward, a proponent of allowing ride-sharing in upstate New York, said it will provide economic, environmental and public safety benefits.

"Giving ride-sharing companies the green light 10 days early in time for the Fourth of July weekend, when tourism traffic and holiday celebrations will be at their peak, could be a true lifesaver," Seward, R-Milford, said.
AUBURN  A 450-pound flatulent anesthesiologist is the villain of John Avanzato's newest book, "The Gas Man Cometh."

A gastroenterologist named John Cesari is the hero, targeted by the odorous serial killer (no joke  he makes nurses faint in the first few pages). A reformed gangster from the Bronx, Cesari is a combination of James Bond, Mickey Spillane, David Addison (from "Moonlighting") and Avanzato himself  also a gastroenterologist from the Bronx.

Sitting in a conference room of Auburn Community Hospital last week, the 58-year-old doctor with the New York City accent can't stop smiling as he talks about his hero.

"His go-to methods," Avanzato said, "are not always appropriate, or politically correct. If we were in a book store, and you and I saw somebody shoplifting a book, you would either call the manager or get on your cell phone and call 911. Our hero would pick up a hard cover copy of Harry Potter and go beat the guy into submission because his go-to instinct is to settle it now, forcefully."

Avanzato laughs and slaps his hands on the table.

"The Gas Man Cometh" is Avanzato's fifth book published by KCM Publishing out of Manhattan. All of his stories feature Cesari, and Avanzato already has book six hammered out and ideas for new thrillers in the works. The doctor and author is filling a nearly lifelong dream, taking his imagination to paper and allowing others to come along for the ride.

Writing is not something he ever thought about doing professionally. Avanzato's medical career had always come first. He opened up his own practice in Geneva after moving from the Bronx in 1991. After more than two decades, Avanzato said it was time for a change. He's since opened up an office in Seneca Falls and has also worked at Auburn Community Hospital for the past year. In 2014, he published his first book, "Hostile Hospital."

"When I wrote the book, I didn't anticipate it being published," he said. "I wrote it because I had to do it. It was inside of me."

He began a writing routine, too, waking up at 4 a.m. and writing until about 7 a.m. Avanzato joked that sometimes he gets bed sores, sitting and writing for hours on end. When he'd finished the first book, he said he didn't know what to do with the pile of papers. He didn't know if it would make the cut.

After a long year of searching for an agent, he finally had a bite.

KCM Publishing focuses on digital and print-on-demand distribution, and while Avanzato said it won't get him rich, his books are selling. He's found his hero particularly resonates with a female audience, and he uses Facebook and Twitter to get feedback from readers, sometimes assisting him with future books.

But cut away the handsome hero, the crime, the romance and the action, Avanzato said, a message about healthcare remains.

What makes Avanzato's books different, he said, is all of his stories center around health care and patient advocacy. Cesari takes on doctors and hospital bureaucracy in all of his adventures while providing some education about the importance of colonoscopies and endoscopies.

Written in first person, Avanzato feels he can directly communicate with the reader through Cesari. He said first person creates more tension for the reader, making them feel like they're following someone around. It helps Avanzato, too. Those that know him, he added, tend to read Cesari as if they were hearing from Avanzato.

"It's just so natural for me to write like that because when I speak as a physician, I'm speaking," he said. "It's me speaking, and even my accent now, when I'm reading the books, you're going to think, 'I heard that guy.'"

The same voice continues into his latest thriller, and as Avanzato considers winding down his work in the medical field, it will likely continue for many more books to come.

"When you like what you're doing, it's not work," he said. "I'm having a ball."
Communist Party of Cuba

Strengthening ties to Australia

German Ferras is Director of the Asia-Pacific Section of the Department of international Relations of the Communist Party of Cuba. He recently visited Australia at the invitation of the Communist Party of Australia to strengthen the already well-established bonds between our two parties and to improve contact with other parties, trade unions and other organisations acting in solidarity with Cuba. In Adelaide, he took time out of his schedule to talk to Bob Briton from the Guardian.

German Ferras with Antonella of the Adelaide CPA Branch.

Bob Briton: Youve visited several centres in Australia. Whats the most common question that youve been asked about Cuba?

German Ferras: The most common question is whats happening in Cuba now?. What is our economic project after the 7th Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba? We answered all these questions and, of course, we transmitted the information that we discussed in our Congress. After the Congress, in our calculation, there was a project in which the most important consideration is human beings and continue with the old reforms of the Cuban Revolution  the public health, education, cultural, sport, social security and others.

And there is the principle for the continuation the idea of the revolution because its a different moment, because the revolution occurred in a different time and state of the world, and now the world has changed. So its important to develop our economy according to the new circumstances in the world.

BB: Do you find there is a good understanding in Australia of the relationship between Cuba and the United States with the so-called normalisation of relations between Cuba and the US?

GF: That was maybe the second question that people asked us. How is that process of normalisation of relationships between Cuba and USA going? As you know, we have established our diplomatic relations in July 2016 but the embargo continued, the occupation of Guantanamo Bay and the aggression against the Cuban Revolution continued.

We, of course, talked with American parties and pointed out that its important to finish with this policy to normalise our relations. We wont renounce our position, our friendship with other countries in Latin America and the world. The idea of the Cuban Revolution continues. We want close relationships with the USA and other countries, but our ideology and political stance will continue as ever.

BB: This question has two aspects. Are Cubans aware of the solidarity coming from countries like Australia? And do you think there is the same need as for solidarity as in the past between the people of Australia and Cuba?

GF: At the time of the revolution, solidarity was very important. In the beginning of the revolution we received solidarity from many countries, from many peoples. One of these countries was Australia. Australian people were coming to support the Cuban Revolution and, in Australia, there was very strong solidarity with Cuba.

When the five Cuban heroes were imprisoned in the United States there was very strong solidarity and, in this moment, the solidarity continues because all the different groups in solidarity with Cuba are very active. Our friends know that our fight continues. This may be for many years. If this embargo is kept in place, if the occupation of Guantanamo Bay continues, aggression against Cuban Revolution continues, of course the solidarity will solidify.

And, at the same time, our people have solidarity with other people in the world and we support the other social movements and revolutions in Latin America, in Africa, Asia and Oceania. If we have the possibility to help other people, we do it. For example, we educate, we help many people to know how to read and to write. One of the forms of solidarity is that there are many students from many countries in the world who study in Cuba.

For example, poor black people from the USA study in Cuba because in the US its very expensive to study and we come to their assistance. One of the ideas of Cuban Revolution is to help others if possible; if we can we help other countries and other people. We think that the solidarity goes in both directions. We receive solidarity and we give solidarity. The Australian people are the same.

BB: Could you tell me, whats the assessment of the Communist Party of Cuba  is the world more dangerous now with the new US administration or less dangerous?

GF: We think one man at the head of the White House wont change the policy, because it is the policy of an empire. The system decides who is the President of the United States. Maybe the policy changes marginally but the objective regarding the Cuban Revolution is the same.

The government and the people of the USA are two different things. The government wants to crush the Cuban Revolution many times but the way is wrong and our revolution continues. They decide to change the way to crush our revolution, but we know our people are ready for different forms of aggression and the different ways the USA uses to finish the Cuban Revolution.

Our people, particularly our young generation, will continue this idea of revolution and the ideas of our people  the solidarity, the humanism and we hope, we are sure that the revolution will continue. Of course, for the Party its very hard work because now theres a logical change in the generation. The historical generation that made the revolution, that helped in the conflict, are stepping aside. But the other generations in the Cuban Revolution need to continue the idea of the revolution. Its most important that we have our young people ready to continue with the revolution.

BB: Do you think that the new generation will be as revolutionary as the previous one?

GF: Fidel Castro said the new generation will be better because they are better prepared, steadier. When this new generation was born, the revolution was empowered and was doing many things for the Cuban people. And maybe the historical generation that made the revolution, maybe there were some people who had studied but more were people with only low-level education. But these men and these women participated in the revolution. The new generation has a high level of education and high political preparation, which is very important, and is ideologically supportive of our social system, our ideas, our ideology.

At this time, the enemy is the same, because people are ready to defend revolution against this enemy.

BB: Going back to international relations, how does Cuba view the situation in Latin America? Do you think the situation is dangerous or volatile for Cuba?

GF: The situation is dangerous for all the left-moderate forces in Latin America because there have been many changes in Latin America as many countries decided to change their situation. It wasnt the same for all countries. Many Latin American countries decided to change their situation and decided to work with the most progressive and democratic forces. Latin America was dominated by right-wing forces because of the conflict brought about by US policy in our region.

After that, imperialism decided to change the situation and became aggressive in different forms. For example, in Brazil, in Paraguay, the parliamentary decision was against the constitutional preference, Fernando Lugo in Paraguay and Michel Temer in Brazil. The close election in Argentina changed the president to the right-wing candidate Macri.

Now the Argentine people realise it was a wrong decision because Macri has been implementing neo-liberal policies continuously against his own people. The right is protesting in Venezuela and in other countries about Venezuela with the support of imperialism. They tried to change the situation and end the Bolivarian Revolution.

Of course, its a very dangerous situation but we know, and the people in our country now know, what the right direction is, what is in the peoples interests. Of course, its not easy in this moment for many of these countries but we are sure that our ideas will prevail.

BB: How do you see the future relations between our Party, other left and progressive people in Australia and the Communist Party of Cuba?

GF: I think the future is our future. We have started to increase our links between both parties, between other forces that want the best for the people. Historically the Communist Party of Australia is our friend and we have always supported the links between our parties.

We think its important for this visit to continue the exchange of experiences between both parties. Your party has experiences that are instructive to us, and our party can share our experiences with our friends here.

The meetings are very important because its been our fight for a long time. We know its not easy but its important that we know were acting in the same direction for the best of humanity.
Elian, son of Cuba

The rescue of Elian Gonzalez, the 5-year-old Cuban boy found floating near-death in a life jacket off the coast of Miami in 1999, was one of the biggest stories of the decade, and its impact is still being felt today. However, once the boy was returned to Cuba, the story quickly dropped from the news. President Bill Clinton and Attorney General Janet Reno became enemies of the Miami Cubans. Most people today know little of what became of that little frightened child who was snatched from the grips of his Miami relatives to be returned to his family in Cuba.

Cuban President Fidel Castro speaking to Elian.

A new documentary produced by the prolific filmmaker Alex Gibney bears the simple title Elian. It was screened recently at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. It is a poignant and profound journey through the troubled waters of US-Cuban relations and the dramatic events that followed Elian from the time his mother chose to take him with her on a raft to America. Elian Gonzalez became a major symbol of US-Cuban relations, pitting the rabid Miami anti-Castroites against Fidel and the entire country of Cuba who were fighting to return the boy to his father. He became a boy caught between two worlds.

But with Obamas recent visit to the island causing a temporary thaw in relations, Gibney and the directors took advantage and gained unprecedented access to Elian and his family. What they discovered was a very soft-spoken, unassuming but confident young man living a normal and active life. However, much to their obvious unspoken dismay, Elian has grown up to be a committed communist in total sync with his loving father. Both father and son held Fidel in the highest regard and became close friends with him before he died.

While Elian was held in Miami against his fathers wishes, he gained the love and support of the local anti-Castro Cubans, including his cousin Maurilesis who developed a close bond to the young troubled child she could identify with. The over half-century economic blockade of the island and resultant ideological differences have created the tragic displacement and splitting of families, many coming to the States under extreme conditions. There is much passion in the Cuban community, and Elians Cuban father, Miguel, still tears up when hearing of his sons ordeals. Its his brothers family in Miami who wouldnt return his son, and his divorced wife is the one who, without the fathers consent, chose to risk their sons life to get to American dry land.

The movies strength and attraction lie in showing what happened to the young man once he left American shores. Most of the American footage was seen endless times during the real ordeal. But with easy access to the Miami Cubans who played major roles in this drama, in addition to leading political figures and media personalities, the filmmakers were able to present both sides of the story in a fairly objective manner. This is a story of family and the challenges of reconciliation; between divided relatives and two nations working toward healing old wounds.

But time has changed the Cuban American community. They were outliers back then, as an overwhelming 75 percent of Americans wanted the boy returned to Cuba. Theyve gotten old, died off, and the younger Cuban-American generation and growing numbers of other Americans want to normalise relations.

Not surprisingly, though, the documentary goes only as far as expected in America  not recognising that Cuba is a sovereign nation rightfully choosing its own social system, and failing to accept the many accomplishments of Fidelista socialism. The anti-communist bias is prevalent throughout, with the filmmakers constantly using such terms as the Castro regime and hoping the younger generation will help lead Cuba to a democratic system.

In a discussion following the screening, Irish co-director Ross McDonnell and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Tim Golden seemed slightly at odds about their political analysis of Cuba, with McDonnell sounding more appeasing and fending off accusations that Elian might be brainwashed. By contrast, Golden suggested that although Elian appeared to be a true believer, he was living in a bubble! There was also a suggestion that Elians militancy was a little out of step with the younger generation in Cuba.

However, both directors felt this young communist understood his countrys history and the causes of the revolution, and could possibly run for office in the near future. They said it took awhile to get access to Elian, but then relations warmed and he became easily available. The directors also mentioned that both Elian and his father seemed to enjoy the film and felt it was balanced and fair.

Elian said he would have liked to see more pictures of him and his father together, stressing the importance his father has played in his life. I would say that he is not featured enough in the movie, with most video focusing on the events in Miami. But even that little bit makes this an important and entertaining documentary about one of the most famous 5-year-old boys in history.

Peoples World
NATO feels new turbulence

German Chancellor Angela Merkels election campaign speech over the weekend of May 27-28 confirmed that fractures have widened in the Western alliance of leading imperialist powers.

The times in which we could completely depend on others are on the way out, Chancellor Merkel

The G7 and NATO summits have exposed significant differences of emphasis and perhaps even of perspective between, in particular, the US, Germany, France and Britain.

First of all, we had US President Donald Trump in Brussels ticking off those NATO member states  including Germany, France, Italy and Turkey  that are failing to meet their 2014 commitment to spend at least 2 percent of their national GDP on the military.

Last year, NATO countries spent approximately 728 billion compared with Chinas 215bn and Russias relatively puny 55bn.

Even more alarmingly, in his Brussels speech, Trump failed to explicitly confirm his commitment to Article 5 of the NATO constitution, which obliges member states to come to the assistance of a fellow member under military attack.

This worried those right-wing governments in eastern Europe and the Baltic states who want US backing for their ongoing scaremongering among the electorate about non-existent Russian plans to invade their territory.

During his presidential election campaign, Trump suggested that NATO members that didnt pay their dues could not expect automatic assistance against aggression, while also referring to NATO as obsolete.

Since then, he has been pulled back into line by the US military-industrial complex, so Trump aides now insist that of course, the US president backs NATO and its doctrine of collective defence.

Other divisions within NATO include those over member state Turkeys authoritarian government, its role in Syria and its growing rapprochement with Russia; the extent to which NATO should involve itself as a body in combating terrorism and cyber-crime; and whether NATO missions such as that in Afghanistan should be replicated elsewhere outside Europe.

Then, at the G7 summit in Sicily, Trump refused to sign a communique supporting the Paris Accord on climate change, having claimed in the past that the concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make US manufacturing non-competitive.

He now tweets that he will decide some time this week whether or not to participate in the agreement at all.

Meanwhile, the drive by US ruling circles to prevent any Trump departure from their anti-Putin, anti-Assad line continues in the Congress, the Pentagon and the intelligence services.

Here in Europe, Chancellor Merkel declares after her experiences with Trump at the two recent summits that the times in which we could completely depend on others are on the way out.

She almost certainly had in mind Britains vote to leave the EU and the election of pro-EU Emmanuel Macron as French president when adding that we Europeans have to take our destiny into our own hands.

She shares the same vision with Macron and overbearing EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker of a thoroughly neo-liberal EU with its own integrated military structures, pursuing its own single common foreign policy.

While the trio would want to maintain alignment with NATO, as set out in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and its protocols, notably to contribute to the vitality of a renewed Atlantic Alliance, Merkel understands that a Trump presidency might make this very difficult.

With NATO and the EU now in a period of unprecedented turbulence, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyns proposal that Britain should follow an independent foreign policy based on co-operation, solidarity and the peaceful resolution of conflict wherever possible appears more attractive by the day.

Morning Star
Storage News

Datto Welcomes MSPs To DattoCon With Major Enhancements To Its Data Protection Technology

Joseph F. Kovar

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Data protection developer Datto on Tuesday introduced a significant expansion of its MSP-focused backup and recovery technology including the addition of flash storage-based appliances, better options for Office 365, and new networking capabilities, such as quality of service control.

The new offerings were unveiled at DattoCon, the company's annual partner conference held this week in Denver.

DattoCon has become North America's second-largest MSP-focused conference, with about 1,000 MSPs expected to attend, said Matt Richards, vice president of product marketing at Norwalk, Conn.-based Datto.

[Related: SMB Networking Land Grab: 10 Things You Need To Know About Datto's Acquisition of Open Mesh]

"Dato's primary channel is MSPs," Richards told CRN. "Everything we do is built up around them. Our portal and technology are all designed to help MSPs grow to scale while helping their customers grow their revenue."

Datto offers its MSPs three separate product lines, Richards said.

The first is a line of data protection software and appliances backed by the company's own 300-plus-TB cloud based in nine data centers worldwide to provide business continuity, Richards said. This provides business continuity by keeping copies of data on-premises and in the Datto cloud, he said.

The continuity line includes the Siris family, which does failover of applications when a server goes down to virtual machines running in the on-premises appliance for the fastest recovery, Richards said. It also includes the Alto family which spins up applications to run in the Datto cloud in a failover situation, he said.

The second is the company's managed networking line with routers, switches, and Wi-Fi equipment, Richards said. This line was enhanced in January with Datto's acquisition of Open Mesh, he said.

The third is SaaS protection to provide cloud backup for Office 365 and other cloud-based applications, Richards. "These applications have their own cloud backup, but if the applications fail, businesses have to handle recovery on their own," he said. "With our SaaS protection line, we take care of it."

New to Datto's continuity line is the Siris S3X4, a 4-TB all-flash desktop version of the data protection appliance which measures only 4.5 inches by 4.5 inches by 2 inches. The company also introduced a new Siris family, the Siris 3 X Professional line, of three 1U rack-mount models with 4 TBs, 8 TBs, or 12 TBs of capacity, Richards said.

On the Alto side, Datto introduced the Alto 3, a hybrid-flash-storage based appliance with double the performance and capacity of its existing Alto 2 line.

Adding all-flash storage to the Siris data protection appliances will be good news to customers who need to spin up virtual machines after a server goes down, said Patrick Murphy, president of Results Technology, a Lenexa, Kan.-based managed service provider and Datto channel partner.

The hard disk is great for data protection in many cases, but in many cases, customers, especially smaller customers, need the performance of flash, Murphy told CRN.

"Banks, for instance, need to spin up applications immediately after a failure," he said. "The less time to spin up the virtual machines, the more their data is available, and the better it is for their business."

On the SaaS protection line, Datto enhances its offerings with a new faster architecture for managing Office 365 data protection. With the increased performance, customers can do more backups of their Office 365 data, and do them more often, to the Datto cloud, thereby improving the granularity of the data recovery, Richards said.

The company also pre-announced its SaaS Protection Node, a new hardware appliance based on the new Intel Optane high-performance memory-based flash storage technology.

Richards said the new SaaS Protection Node is designed to act as an on-premises cloud for protection Office 365 data for customers such as financial institutions who need to know the physical location of their data.

"This is opposite the point of a traditional cloud, which is to move the data off-premises for protection," he said. "But it will be available for businesses who need that kind of protection."

The SaaS Protection Node will initially be available for Office 365, but a version for Google G Suite will also be available, he said.

Murphy said his customers have not yet taken advantage of Datto's SaaS protection offerings, but that might change with the introduction of the SaaS Protection Node.

"The SaaS Protection Node may change the conversation," Murphy said. "Some people are comfortable with backing up everything including their SaaS applications to a cloud. But some like to touch the data. Some customers feel safer if they can touch the data rather than backing up cloud data to another cloud."

On the networking side, Datto has significantly enhanced its DNA, or Datto Networking Appliance. The DNA, which was introduced early a year ago, is an appliance designed to protect data in transit between customers' data centers and MSPs' clouds. Among its most unique capabilities is a built-in modem that connects to a Verizon 4G LTE network to form a wireless backup in case internet access is lost.

New to the DNA is quality of service, Layer 7 Deep Packet Inspection, expanded VoIP support and cloud management capabilities. "Now customers can see what applications are using what bandwidth and throttle it, which is especially important for voice-over-IP," Richards said.

Datto is also enhancing its access points with mesh routing and the ability to work in temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius.

Datto's MSP partner portal is also being enhanced with a condensed view, which makes it easier for partners to drill into needed information even as their customer deployments increase in size, Richards said.

The company is also adding the ability to view their customer networks using mobile devices, and making it easier for MSPs to develop marketing campaigns to find new customers, he said.
Neri On HPE's Software Defined-Intelligent Edge Future

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Executive Vice President Antonio Neri, the principal architect of company's hybrid IT buildout, spoke with CRN ahead of HPE Discover about the company's software-defined data center strategy, and how HPE stacks up against Cisco and Dell EMC.

Neri, a 22-year HPE veteran who said he feels "liberated" by the structure of the new HPE, says the speed at which the company is moving has been particularly pronounced in the time to close acquisitions like the SimpliVity deal  start to finish in just four weeks -- and the Nimble dea -- start to finish in just five weeks,

Now is the time for HPE and its partners to execute, said Neri. "I always say no good deed goes unpunished," he said. "It is true. Before, we were part of a bigger organization, there were a lot of moving parts.  There is a saying, 'With power comes responsibility.' This is a very interesting time. Now we have a clear vision. We have a clear strategy. And we have an operating model that simplifies things for us to go execute."
LiveWorx: Partner Applications Live

PTC partners gathered at the company's LiveWorx conference in Boston to demonstrate how they are innovating with IoT and augmented reality.

At its conference, PTC added new features and manufacturing apps to its ThingWorx Internet of Things platform, aimed at better positioning its channel partners to sell into the industrial market. The next generation of ThingWorx is a more comprehensive offering for customers who want to quickly develop, deploy and extend industrial IoT applications, according to the company.

Partners showed how they are taking advantage of ThingWorx, along with PTC's other technologies, like its augmented reality Vuforia platform and its CAD software. Here are eight partners with the coolest applications at LiveWorx.
The Auburn Fire Department will host a St. Baldrick's head-shaving event beginning at 11:30 a.m. Sunday, June 11, at the Knights of Columbus in Auburn.

The goal for this year's event is to raise $50,000 for the St. Baldrick's Foundation, "to support the Foundations mission to fund research that will take childhood back from cancer," according to a press release.

More than 70 local volunteers have signed up to have their heads shaved this year. The head shaving will begin right at 11:30 a.m. and continue until 1:30 p.m.

For more information, visit the Auburn Firefighters at Knights of Columbus St. Baldricks event page at stbaldricks.org.
Early Monday morning in Bahrain, the country's Foreign Affairs Ministry said the nation has severed diplomatic ties with Qatar.

Within minutes of Bahrain's announcement, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, and Egypt followed suit. The diplomatic break between four of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states is being partially blamed on a security incident at Qatar News Agency (QNA). The alleged hack resulted in a fake news article that inflamed leaders in the region.

On May 24, the QNA website and social media channels published remarks attributed to Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the eighth emir of Qatar, and allegedly made by him during a military ceremony.

Qatar's Communications Office, in a statement, denied the story and announced that QNA had been hacked. However, local media reports painted a different picture - the damage was already done.

The article quoted Sheikh Tamim as stating relations with Israel were good, relations with Iran were strong, a suggestion that Donald Trump wouldn't remain in power for long, and that Iran was "a regional Islamic power that cannot be ignored"

A newscast later in the day contained ticker text at the bottom of the screen attributed to the Sheikh Tamim calling Hamas "the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people."

On Twitter, the alleged hack also included random messages attributed to Qatar's Foreign Minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani. Those posts, which were later deleted, accused other Gulf nations of plotting against Qatar, and as a result of such plots, diplomatic missions were going to be suspended.

The story behind the turmoil and social media posts didn't last for more than a day. Shortly after announcing the alleged hack, Qatar asked for and received assistance from the FBI in order to investigate the incident.

However, tensions between GCC members an Qatar continued to mount in the aftermath.

At around 07:00 a.m. local time on Monday, Bahrains Foreign Affairs Ministry said that its diplomatic mission would be withdrawn within 48-hours, and that Qatari citizens had two weeks to leave Bahrain. The announcement also said air and sea traffic between Qatar and Bahrain will be suspended.

In what appears to be a coordinated message with Bahrain, the UAE, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia also cut their diplomatic ties to Qatar, issuing formal announcements within minutes of each other.

In their statement, the UAE said they supported the other three nations and singled out "Qatars continued support, funding and hosting of terror groups" as one of the main causes for instability in the region.

While Qatar and the United States have always had strong bilateral relations, there have been a few diplomatic issues over the years, including one instance that came to light after the hacked John Podesta emails were published by Wikileaks.

"we need to use our diplomatic and more traditional intelligence assets to bring pressure on the governments of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which are providing clandestine financial and logistic support to ISIL and other radical Sunni groups in the region," an email to Podesta from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, said in part.

Qatar, in addition to hosting a major air base (al-Udeid), is also home to the world's third largest oil and natural gas reserves. It isn't clear how Monday's diplomatic meltdown will impact operations for the U.S. Central Command, which operates out of the air base.

Etihad Airlines, a major carrier in the UAE said that flights to Qatar would be suspended until further notice. Qatar Airways, at the time this post was written, hasn't made any official statements.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Qatar said the diplomatic break and the statements made by the others were "unjustified and are based on baseless and unfounded allegations."

Another hack that caused drama in the region recently happened on Twitter.

On June 3, someone supporting Shiite militants hacked the Twitter account of Bahrain's Foreign Minister, Khalid Al Khalifa. They used the account takeover to post propaganda before the control was recovered.

And yet another incident concerns the UAEs ambassador to the United States, Yousef Al-Otaiba. The ambassador had his email account compromised, and the person responsible leaked messages to the press.

In one of the messages, Qatar is discussed in connection to terror financing - a charge all four nations made when announcing the end to diplomatic relations on Monday. The leaked emails outline a connection between the UAE and the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), and a mutual goal of getting other nations to halt their investments in Iran.

Afterthoughts:

To my knowledge, this is the first time a security incident at a news agency has led to diplomatic problems. One has to wonder if the threat model (assuming they had one) developed by QNA included such potential.

The coming weeks will be interesting to say the least. The fake news debate will resurface for sure, but I'm willing to bet there will be attribution FUD too.

This isn't the first time Qatar has had diplomatic problems. In 2014, Bahrain, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia recalled ambassadors because Qatar backed Mohammed Morsi, who was Egyptian President at the time. Things cooled off about eight months later.

If your organization is hacked, could it trigger an international incident or diplomatic repercussions?

If so, and you can talk about it, I'd love to hear how you went about developing a threat model, and how your IR plan accounts for such situations. Because honestly, I don't think such a process would be easy. Developing threat models and response plans is hard enough without the pressure of the state relations weighing down on things.
BRIDGEPORT  Mayor Joe Ganim is joining other municipal leaders nationwide in committing to combat climate change with or without support from the federal government and President Donald Trump.

Trump, a Republican, is pulling the United States out of the nonbinding Paris climate accord negotiated by Democratic President Barack Obama that initially united all but two countries  Syria and Nicaragua  against global warming.

Ganim, his office said Tuesday, has signed on to a letter being circulated by the Compact of Mayors, established at the 2014 United Nations Climate Summit. Signatories pledge to remain actively engaged with the international community as part of the global effort to hold warming to under 2 (degrees) Celsius and to accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy that will benefit our security, prosperity and health.

Mayor Ganim is certainly committed to making Bridgeport a sustainable city and pursuing green initiatives, said Ganim aide Tom Gaudett, adding the mayor will soon issue his thoughts and goals for how his administration can further that mission.

It is a notable move given Ganims initial disinterest in the green initiatives he inherited from ex-Mayor Bill Finch and, despite being a Democrat, his reluctance to challenge the divisive Trump. The two did business in the 1990s when Trump, then just a celebrity real estate mogul, sought to build a casino in Bridgeport during Ganims first stint running the city.

But Av Harris, Ganims policy adviser, said when it comes to global warming, there is no question it exists and that Connecticuts largest city must play a role, particularly given Bridgeports location on Long Island Sound .

The South End, the University of Bridgeport, are at risk as the seas rise and there is a prevalence of superstorms and hurricanes, Harris said. Insurance rates will go up and that impacts the cost of doing business, of owning a home. ... The president can do what the president wants to, but we are committed as a city to living by the letter and spirit of the accords.

Still, Ganim has refrained from directly criticizing Trumps decision about Paris, unlike Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, who on Twitter called it an unforgivable surrender of American leadership on one of the most important issues of our time.

Joseph Gresko, a former Ganim aide turned the mayors special assistant for green energy, admitted his boss was kind of ambivalent about Finchs accomplishments but eventually grew to appreciate the benefits. Now Ganim, who wants to run for governor, is championing projects like the Finch-initiated thermal loop to bring heat from the trash-to-energy plant and other sources to downtown buildings. Ganim last week touted the project at a conference in Denmark.

Former Councilwoman Trish Swain supported many of Finchs environmental efforts and hoped Ganims turnabout is genuine.

Its important for the largest city in Connecticut to be a leader in the green movement, Swain said. It would be a shame to let that go aside  like a microcosm of whats happening in our country. Obama got us in the Paris talks and the next guy takes us out.
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Hes been a most unlikely face of one of the largest public works projects in the nation, often seen donning a hard hat as the New NY Bridge rises from the Hudson River.

But the year-long run of former Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch as the head of the agency in charge of the Tappan Zee Bridge replacement  seen as a curious appointment for mass transit-oriented politician  appears to be at a crossroads.

Finch has been the subject of growing speculation that he could be replaced as executive director of the New York State Thruway Authority and shifted to an environmental role in the administration of Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

The reshuffling by Cuomo, first reported by Politico New York, is the culmination of a year of unanswered questions as to how Finch scored one of the most visible infrastructure roles in the U.S. Cuomos transportation commissioner, Matthew Driscoll, has been identified as Finchs heir apparent by the publication.

A Thruway Authority spokeswoman declined to comment on the matter Tuesday.

Multiple requests for comment were left for Finch, who still resides in Bridgeport with his family. A request for comment was also left for Cuomos office, which raised eyebrows last June when it tapped Finch for the $175,000-a-year post.

It marked the return to the public sector for Finch, who lost his 2015 re-election bid to the citys once-imprisoned ex-mayor, Joe Ganim, a fellow Democrat. Known more for his green mantra as mayor of Connecticuts largest city, including an affinity for biking to work, Finch took over a highway network that extends from the Pennsylvania border to the Bronx in New York City.

Finchs close associates say that his skill set is more naturally aligned with an environmental role, especially now that Donald Trump has opted to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate accord.

I think with the federal governments refusal to honor the Paris agreement, it puts much more of the onus on the states to deliver for the environment, said Thomas McCarthy, Bridgeports city council president. Bill Finch is perfectly situated for that type of work and Im pretty sure Governor Cuomo will be a leader on it.

Finchs former mayoral spokesman, Brett Broesder, said Finch could be a key player on the environment for Cuomo.

In light of the governor taking a national leadership role in the Paris Climate Agreement debate, having Bill Finch -- a former mayor who is best known as a champion for creating green jobs and beating back climate change -- on your team is very helpful, Broesder said.

Since he appointment last June, Finch has split time between the city he led from 2007 to 2015 and an apartment in Rensselaer, N.Y., near the state capital of Albany. He transferred his voter registration and fishing license there. On social media, Finch often posts photos showing the progress of the Tappan Zee Bridge replacement, a $4 billion span that is expected to open in 2018.

In charge of a $2.1 billion annual budget, 2,312 full-time employees and 570 miles of roadway that he often characterized as a linear city, Finch is one of several former mayors with high-profile jobs in the Cuomo administration. Driscoll is the former Syracuse, N.Y., mayor. The New York State Canal Corp., which was once connected to the Thruway Authority and responsible for waterways such as the Erie Canal, is led by former Schnectady, N.Y., Mayor Brian Stratton.

Questions about Finchs future started to arise last week, when he was spotted at the Capitol in Hartford  not Albany. Finch was lobbying on behalf of a bill to make adoption records available to Connecticut residents born before 1983. Finch has long pressed the state to release the records to adoptees like himself, going back to his tenure as a state senator, when a bill he sponsored passed the Legislature but was vetoed by then-Gov. M. Jodi Rell.

nvigdor@hearstmediact.com; 203-625-4436; http://twitter.com/gettinviggy
Whether youre an expert looking to make some extra cash or are a full-time journalist or blogger, theres never been a better time to find freelance writing work. After all, businesses of all-sizes and in all industries are in need of quality content.

However, finding freelance work and connecting with legit clients that pay well can sometimes be a struggle - especially when youre just starting out.

Thats why weve put together this handy list of 101 places to find freelance writing job.

Freelance writing job boards and marketplaces are popular destinations for freelancers in all industries to find work. While these are excellent places to find work, competition can be tough.

This job board has been around since 2006. Writers can search for jobs based on date or pay range in a variety of categories. You can subscribe to feed readers like Feedly so that you never miss out on a gig. The site also produces content that shares tips on finances and productivity for freelance writers.

Related: Getting and Managing Clients for Your Freelance Writing Business

You can use this job board to find higher paying writing gigs, $50 or more to be exact. The exception is that you have to be student in the Freelance Bloggers Client Hunting Masterclass.

Here you can find daily freelance writing jobs, paid blogging jobs, and copywriting jobs. Besides the job board, this site is a great resource for writers who want to start promoting their services since its blog is full of marketing tips and tools for writers to utilize.

Related: 4 Ways to Find the Right Freelance Writer for Your Blog

Dont write-off Craigslist just yet. There are actually legit, and well-paying, writing jobs on here if you look. Just trust your gut when reading an ad. For example, if its full of typos, then you should be a little weary about that client.

You can make between $50 to $100 for writing invoicing and payments guides.

This is another microjob site where can find writing jobs, such as writing blog posts to translating documents, ranging from $5 to $35.

Related: The 15 Best Freelance Websites to Find Jobs

Fiverr is a popular freelance marketplace where you can find a variety of writing opportunities from blog posts to press releases to research to legal writing. On the downside, gigs dont usually pay much here - typically $5-$10.

FlexJobs is another popular marketplace where writers can find both full-time and part-time gigs in specific categories, such as gaming, financial or medical writing.

This micro job site allows clients to find writers for customized projects. Fourerr also bills itself as the ONLY Marketplace where you earn rewards as you buy, sell, and connect with our vibrant community.

This site pays $100 for list articles, depending on length or $30 to $150 for how-to articles, essays, and other content.

Freelanced is actually a freelancer social network where you can search for job and share your portfolio.

Related: How to Screen Freelance Writers

Freelancer claims that its the largest freelancing and crowdsourcing marketplace in the world. With over 24,060,770 employers and freelancers, its hard to dispute that claim.

Here you can find content jobs, editing jobs, blogger jobs, publishing jobs, telecommuting jobs, and flexible jobs. Also sign-up for their newsletter so that you can get the latest job openings. The site also has a blog containing valuable writing tips.

If youre a freelance writer residing in Canada, then you can use this site to find gigs, post your profile, and find expert advice on improving your freelance writing business.

This is one of the leading sites to find work from home jobs. When you find a writing job that interests you, just click Apply Now. Best of all? Its free.

Gigblasters is a microjob site where you search for writing gigs by date, popularity, rating, or price.

Theres no shortage of writing gigs on this site in a variety of categories. But, since more appear to be express gigs, expect to make only $5 per job.

Another freelance site where you can make $5, $10, or $20 for your services.

Yet another marketplace where writers can find jobs ranging from composing articles, translating documents into a different language, or proofreading.

Local, State, and the Federal government will contract writers for anything from composing proposals to reports for government agencies.

This is another site to land a writing gig, but theres also a blog, tools, and freelancer guide to help get your freelancer career up-and-running.

With more than 1.5 million members worldwide, you shouldnt have a problem finding a writing gig. Just know that you have pay Guru fees based on your membership status

A leading website to find and post jobs based on category or location.

Related: The 5 Skills You Need to Become a Successful Content Writer

Are you looking for a job in print, broadcast or digital media? Then look no further.

Here you can find a ton of creative copywriting gigs from high profile clients.

If you have a LinkedIn profile (and you really should), then this is the ideal place to network with a potential client. Remember, networking goes a long way in the freelance world.

Amazons marketplace is a great place to find jobs like ecommerce content writing, general articles, or lengthy instructional guides.

In the freelance section you can search for jobs from industries like TV, PR/marketing, magazine and book publishing, and social media.

This weekly e-newsletter provides a varied collection of freelance writing and editing jobs in all shapes and sizes with competitive pay rates.

Becoming a member can connect you with well-paying jobs from quality contents. In fact, you can get paid up-to $50 per article.

This job board is the brainchild of veteran freelance blogger Thomas Ewer that specializes in helping writers find blogging gigs. You do have to become a monthly member which will set you back $30.

Here you can create your own hourlies for writing. You can also respond to others so that you can ask for a down payment.

Related: Marketers: Here's How to Make Your Freelance Writers Fall in Love With

Created by Darren Rowse, this has become one of the main authority sites on blogging, so you can bet that any jobs listed here are only from quality employers who know the value in freelance writers.

RedCage isnt a job board or marketplace. Instead, they can monetize your existing web content their social activity. Its an option of you have your own blog. Plus, it could put your content in the eyes of a prospective client.

This site focuses mainly on editors and proofreaders searching for work.

Short Task is simply an online meeting place for workers and job providers. Since its smaller than most other marketplaces, you have a good shot of finding more quality gigs.

Simply Hired is another marketplace where you can search for jobs by category or location. You can sign-up for their email to receive daily updates.

Smashing Jobs is a freelance job board thats been hooking creatives up with high-profile clients since 2008.

Sologig is a jobs board for professionals, specifically in the IT and engineering industries.

If youre student looking for some extra cash, then this is the marketplace designed just for you.

While Task Army appears to be just another marketplace, it actually protects you and clients since payments are placed in escrow until the job has been approved.

Located in India, Taskr connects entrepreneurs with freelancers to help them get more work done.

This is more of a resource, and a quire good one at that, to help you get your freelance writing business started. You can write for the website too.

Related: The Freelancing Economy Has Seen Epic Growth

Probably the most well-known freelance marketplace where you can find gigs quickly. But, competition can be brutal.

While not extremely deep, there are some writing opportunities for freelancers from high-profile clients.

A website that lists online, virtual jobs. Sign Up to their newsletter to receive new job listings.

This site posts daily remote job listings. If there arent any writing jobs, theres also a list of other websites to find work.

Designed for clients looking to hire local and talented freelancers.

After applying, you can search for writing jobs in your respective field while receiving a competitive salary.

A wide-range of niche writing opportunities, such as blog posts, essays, magazines, and stories for video games.

Another resource dedicated to helping freelance writers find work, as well as tips on how to stay productive or how to make money selling your short stories.

This is a community comprised of award-winning freelancers. So you can be certain that only high profile clients are posting jobs here.

With this microjob site you can find a wide range of freelance writing services that go from $3 to $200.

Content Mills

If youre just starting out as a freelance writer, then you may want to consider writing for a content mill. Content mills hire a lot of writers to churn a ton of content. While this could lead to steady work, they dont dont pay as much as a high-profile or quality clients does.

This site hires people to write online content and are paid on the number of articles written. Compensation is based on the popularity of the page.

Here is a community of experienced content writers that are hired as either ghost or by-line writers. There is a fee for submitting content.

Related: 8 Great Time-Tracking Apps for Freelancers

This site focuses on creating content for a wide-range of industries. Since they handpick their writers for their clients possessing strong writing skills and a work ethic are a must.

This site looks for writers who are familiar with business and marketing.

This greeting card company is looking for poets and content that involves friendship and love.

Writers are hired to create ads for Google Adwords, Microsoft, retailers, and other companies. You can sign-up quickly with your social media account.

Cha Cha pays between $3 to $9 per hour for each answer.

After applying, youre matched with brands based on your experience and interests.

Brands looking to purchase existing content or order custom content in a variety of categories can find them here. Writers have to apply in order to join.

You can use Contently to build your portfolio, as well as apply for jobs in your niche.

You can use either the marketplace or get hired for custom writing gigs.

You can set your own rates while building personal relationships with clients.

This is a community where clients are looking for quality article writers.

After applying, you can attract clients by generating original content that is high quality and rich in keywords.

Damongo claims that its the #1 Website For Micro Jobs Online where writers can find gigs ranging from $5, $10, $20, and $50.

Youll have to write a sample and if its something that clients are interested, youll land a gig.

Here you can showcase your experience and pitch ideas to publishers from around the country.

If you have a degree in various academic disciplines you can make $21 a page for essays, research papers, term papers, or book reports.

Related: 7 Tips to Enhance Freelance Profitability

Here you can connect with 1,000s of clients looking for custom content.

This company takes care of finding customers, collecting the money, arranging the order and the keywords, and payments for you.

After joining for free, you can earn $20 per article.

This site can help you land writing gigs for articles, blog posts, press releases, cover letters, and eBooks.

Here you can find a variety of freelance writing jobs. Unlike other sites, you get paid upfront.

You can submit original content, find work, or locate a guest blog directory.

You can make anywhere from $15 to $50 for articles covering a variety of topics.

Once you join youre trained and tested so that youre matched with writing gigs that youre qualified for.

Another site where writers are hired to create tailor-made content.

This is a content-for-demand site that expects the article to be completed within 48 hours.

Related: Everything You Need to Know About Hiring a Freelancer

Writers are paid monthly for the articles that they write or edit.

This is site is geared more towards experienced writers. You can make around $20-$35.

You can find both freelance and in-house writing opportunities after submitting a sample.

Yet another network where youre matched with a client in need of fresh and unique content.

This site is looking for quality writers to create blog posts, eBooks, press releases, or social engagement to boost search engine rankings for clients.

You can connect with around 25,000 businesses searching for top notch written content.

After registering, and sending in a sample, you can get hired to write content in different categories.

Another site thats in need of writers in a variety of topics.

90. ZenContent (Now IZEA)

Another network where youre connected with global brands, publishers, and ecommerce companies who want custom content.

Everything In Between

Still cant find a writing job? Check out these niche sites that hire freelance writers.

If your 1,500 words/10 items minimum list-style article is accepted, youll get paid $100 via PayPal.

Owned and operated by SparkPeople, this site pays contributors between $25 and $90 for their expertise in parenting.

You can get paid anywhere from $35 to $50 per accepted article thats related to college life and funny things

Youll can make $100 for an article thats 8,000 words or less.

This division of Fantus Paper Products is looking for writers to compose greeting cards.

Since 1990 Glimmer Train has been on the lookout for new writers. You can make around $700 for first publication rights for accepted stories.

This website covers a variety of topics and is willing to negotiate rates with freelance writers.

This site pays $100 per accepted article thats more on the humorous side.

You dont need writing experience, but you should be familiar with money and saving. Pays between $30 and $150 per accepted article.

If you have experience with starting or maintaining a business you can get paid $50 per article for sharing your knowledge.

This is a quarterly devotional consisting exclusively of freelance writers who can make $20 per accepted 150-200 word article focused on meditation.

Final Words of Advice

While you can use sites like Upwork or Guru, especially when youre building your portfolio, you should try to avoid them if possible since they are marketplaces where clients are looking for the highest bids.

Focus primarily on niche sites that you either have experience or knowledge with so that you can connect with more high-profile clients. It may take longer to snag a job, but your patience will pay-off when the money starts rolling-in.

To help get you started, or step-up your current freelance game, check out our Freelancer Guide. It has everything you need to become a successful freelancer.

Related:

101 Places to Find Freelance Writing Jobs

7 Tips to Help You Stay on Task When You Work From Home

Employers Are Paying Freelancers Big Bucks for These 25 in-Demand Skills



Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
Dear Jacqueline,

I started a small company a couple of years ago and have never adopted a dress code. Honestly, Im an easy-going person and I didnt think it was necessary. That is, until one of my employees dressed inappropriately and a customer complained. As a result I now prohibit flip-flops, shorts and sleeveless shirts of any kind.

Summer is approaching and its extremely hot outside. Many of my employees want to be cool and comfortable and many of them don't like change. What should I do and how can I enforce this new dress code?

Best regards, Hot Under the Collar

Dear Hot,

Unfortunately, the word inappropriately is often subject to interpretation, and what is appropriate to one may not be appropriate to another. I sincerely doubt that the staffer in question maliciously or by intent set out to offend anyone by wearing his or her clothing, but was merely dressing in a fashion that was more comfortable than businesslike.

In this case, however, since one of your customers complained, you must take some sort of action. In an attempt to keep your reputation intact and make your customers happy, you are doing the right thing by implementing a dress code. Its better late than never.

If your employees work in an air conditioning setting, its easier to enforce a more professional dress code. However, if some of your employees work outside, or come in and out of the building frequently, you might get some pushback. Its normal that they want to be cool and comfortable, but that doesnt mean they should dress sloppy or unprofessional. After all, they are representing your company.

I'm not one to give legal advice, however according to lawyers.com, Employers have the legal right to establish dress and grooming codes for employees. They can require staff to wear uniforms, or clothing bearing a company logo or colors. These are legal options, as long as they do not discriminate.

An employer can also define a particular dress code employees must follow, either for safety or image reasons. If that code is not followed, the employer has the right to treat it as a disciplinary action. You have finally come to the realization that your company has certain image to uphold, no matter what the weather.

I recommend that you hold a meeting and talk to your co-workers about this new dress code. Explain your point of view and see if there is a compromise you can reach. Anymore, jackets are rarely required, however short-sleeved or three-quarter-length sleeved shirts might be more acceptable. If your employees can wear jeans and khaki pants, insist that they not be wrinkled or faded. Specify the type of shoes that are acceptable. Dont leave anything to chance.

Related: What's the Difference Between Business Casual and Smart Casual? A Handy Guide on How to Dress. (Infographic)

Allow each person to explain his or her point of view, and listen without judgment. You might be surprised at what you learn from the others viewpoint.

Im sure you want to please your customers, and want to present an image that is both professional and representative of your business standards and reputation. If your customers get upset by something one of your employees wears (or doesnt wear), then you must address this issue or risk losing your customer base. You might even receive unfavorable online reviews. Banning sleeveless shirts, flip-flops and shorts is not unreasonable.

Related: How to Set Your Office's Dress Code

Provide other comfortable, yet practical, options and make sure your staff knows that you value them and their comfort. Addressing their concerns is of paramount importance. Moving forward, if someone comes to work wearing inappropriate attire, pull them aside and discuss the matter in private. No one likes to be embarrassed in front of his or her peers.

Finally, you must model the correct behavior if you want your team to succeed. In other words, you must abide by the dress code too. No exceptions.

Related: How to Dress for a Business Meeting. Yes, Seriously. (Infographic)

If you have an entrepreneurial or business etiquette question, email Jacqueline Whitmore at Jackie@EtiquetteExpert.com.

Related:

Ask the Etiquette Expert: How to Enforce a Summertime Dress Code

Starbucks Baristas Can Now Have Purple Hair. Here Are 5 Other Quirky Company Dress Codes.

How to Do Business Casual With Exquisite Style



Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
WASHINGTON  The Interior Department has not accomplished much in its program to buy up marginal Indian lands and return them to tribes, despite spending two-thirds of a $1.9 billion fund for the program, a department official said recently.

Acting Deputy Interior Secretary James Cason told a House Natural Resources subcommittee that at its current pace, the government will run through the rest of the money from the so-called Cobell settlement before its scheduled 2022 expiration date with little to show for its efforts.

After expending a total of $1.3 billion to date, it is my view that Interior has not been successful in materially reducing fractional interests, Cason told the committee last week. In my mind we are almost back where we started eight years ago, just merely treading water.

Tribal officials said the money has made a significant dent in the problem of fractionated lands  Native American ownership of land that has been splintered over generations as it passed to increasingly larger groups of descendants, making it useless.

But they agree with Cason that there was never enough money to solve the problem, which earlier government estimates said could cost as much as $20 billion to fully resolve.

While Cason suggested options ranging from targeted spending of the remaining funds to creation of a revolving fund for land purchases, Democrats on the committee said the answer is simply to further fund the buy-back program.

We cant just stop meeting our responsibilities because the initial agreement didnt go far enough, said Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Tucson, in a prepared statement. We need to continue and expand the Buy-Back Program, fully fund it and continue working on long-term solutions to the fractionation issue.

The buy-back program was part of a $3.4 billion settlement of a class-action lawsuit brought by Elouise Cobell, a Blackfeet tribal member, who charged the government with decades of mismanaging tribal property that it was supposed to hold in trust for Native Americans.

The settlement included $1.5 billion in direct payments to class members and $1.9 billion for a Trust Land Consolidation fund to start a land buy-back program.

The buy-back program aims to buy fractionated parcels  some of which may have hundreds, even thousands, of owners  and return control of those lands to tribal governments for economic, environmental or other purposes as they see fit.

Cason said the government identified more than 100 locations with 11 million acres, but has only been able to focus on 39 of those sites. Since beginning buy-backs in 2013, it has paid landowners just under $1.2 billion to consolidate 696,894 interests over 2.1 million acres.

While Cason said that represents only a 14 percent decrease in the amount of fractionated lands, Democrats on the House subcommittee put the number closer to 23 percent.

Buy-backs have occurred in 13 states, including Arizona. An Interior Department report last fall said that as of September, it had paid more than $104 million to Navajos for 149,524 acres on the Navajo Nation; $51 million for 1,064 acres in the Gila River community; and more than $20 million for 194 acres on Salt River tribal lands.

John Dossett, general counsel for the National Congress of American Indians, said the purchases have put a significant dent in fractionated tribal lands. And Jared Touchin, a spokesman for the Navajo Nation Office of the Speaker, said the tribe has seen a significant amount of land restored under what he characterized as the most successful program among the tribes involved in the buy-back.

Nationwide, the department has spent from $7.50 to over $648,000 per acre, with an average price of $619, Cason said.

In my opinion, there is no reason we would ever spend that amount of money on a single acre of land, he said of the upper end of the range.

But while the government is running through the fund, he said, The rate of fractionation rapidly grows as more owners pass away.

Cason said the government could just spend the money down and end the program, but he hopes that with the last $600 million, Congress and the White House will be able to work together to create a solution to this problem.

One idea he floated was for a revolving fund that would let the department purchase and hold fractionated interests which would then be resold to individual Indians or tribal members.

The revenue collected would then be placed back into the land buy-back fund for future fractionated land purchases, so we would have the opportunity to leverage the money thats still available, he told the subcommittee.

Dosset noted that while he would like to see Cason consult with tribes rather than talk to Congress first, he understands Casons desire to maximize the benefit you get out of these funds that cover only 10 percent of what is needed to buy all the fractionated land in Indian Country. But he said Casons idea of the government buying and keeping land doesnt make sense.

Dossett suggested that if the buy-back is successful, Congress could revisit this and refund it in the future.

Grijalva said in his statement that a long-term solution is needed, but he rejected the idea of a revolving fund.

The idea behind the Cobell settlement was to make tribes whole, not write a few checks and call it a day, his statement said.
PHOENIX  Gov. Doug Ducey on Monday declared a state of emergency on opioid overdoses, a measure designed to get the state more information to determine what to do next  including whether to follow the lead of two other states which have sued drug manufacturers.

Christina Corieri, the governor's health policy advisor, said doctors prescribed  and pharmacies ordered and dispense  more than 431 million opioid pills in Arizona last year. That's more than 60 pills a year for every man, woman and child in the state.

Yet Dr. Cara Christ, the state health chief, said that the powerful painkiller should be prescribed in most circumstances for short-term, acute episodes of no more than three days. And that is in cases like having a broken arm or recovering from surgery.

And you should be able to transition to a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory, like acetaminophen or ibuprofen.

Christ said some of the burden to prevent dependence relies on the patients when a doctor prescribes an opiate. Some of that is to ensure that this drug won't interact with other prescriptions in ways that could be fatal.

And there's more.

You want to make sure you know what should I look out for, what symptoms should I look out for, and what should my family be aware of, Christ said, including having a dosage of naloxone available to counter an overdose.

But that still leaves the question of whether opioids are being overprescribed  and whether any of the blame rests with the manufacturers.

That's the contention of officials in Mississippi and Ohio who both have filed suit. They accuse five specific manufacturers of misleading doctors about the dangers of their products.

These drug manufacturers led prescribers to believe that opioids were not addictive, that addiction was an easy thing to overcome, or that addiction could actually be treated by taking even more opioids, said Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine in filing suit last month.

They knew they were wrong but they did it anyway, DeWine said in a press release. Despite all evidence to the contrary about the addictive nature of these pain medications, they are doing precious little to take responsibility for their actions and tell the public the truth.

Gubernatorial press aide Daniel Scarpinato was noncommittal about whether Arizona intends to follow suit.

Yes, we are looking at all the potential policies on this, he said. But that doesn't necessarily have to include litigation.

At the very least, Scarpinato said his boss wants more information about who is dying from opioid overdoses  an average of two Arizonans a day  and, more to the point, where they are getting the drugs.

When we've got numbers of this degree and an increase of this degree, you need to know more, Scarpinato explained. Because we want to make sure that whatever policies we're putting forward actually get to the heart of the issue.

Christ said her agency gets some limited information from death certificates. The health department also gets discharge information from hospitals. But that comes in only once every six months.

The emergency declaration allows Christ to quickly adopt rules that would require daily reporting.

At the very least, she said that will allow both her agency and law enforcement to focus on areas of the state where a problem is emerging. But it will also ultimately provide a clearer picture of who is dying of overdoses and how they got their drugs.

And Corieri said even in cases of people dying from illegal drugs like heroin, there is a definite link with legal prescriptions.

We know from studies nationwide that four out of five heroin users started by using prescription opiates, she said.

The emergency declaration appears to be part of a bid by the Ducey administration to raise awareness of the issue.

It comes less than a week after his health department put out statistics showing 790 people died in 2016 of opioid-related overdoses. That compares with 454 in 2012.

Of that total, 482 were from prescription drugs, versus 362 four years earlier. The balance is heroin overdoses.

And then there's that figure of 481 million pills prescribed to Arizonans last year.

We believe it's a problem, said Scarpinato.

We want to attack this on every front possible, he continued. The governor absolutely believes that when you have that number of pills and opioids in this state and when you're seeing these numbers and when you're seeing these deaths, this is an issue we cannot ignore and we will not ignore.

The Ohio lawsuit charges that the drug companies violated that state's consumer fraud laws by disseminating false and misleading statements about the risks and benefits of opioids. That includes marketing in medical journal advertising, and statements made by sales representatives.

DeWine, as that state's attorney general, wants an injunction to stop what he called continued deceptions and misrepresentations. He also wants money for consumers who paid for unnecessary opioid prescriptions for chronic pain.
Nearly 80 PA people have been charged for Jan. 6 riot. Three are dead.

news
Two other Arizona cities Friday spurned President Donald Trumps plan to pull the U.S. out of a global emissions compact, pledging they would hew to the emission goals laid out in the Paris accord.

Tucson and Phoenix joined Flagstaff in a letter that had been signed by 175 mayors  and counting  as of Friday evening, three times as many as had signed a day earlier.

We will intensify efforts to meet each of our cities current climate goals, push for new action to meet the 1.5 degrees Celsius target, and work together to create a 21st century clean energy economy, said the letter by the group, Climate Mayors. The world cannot wait  and neither will we.

The action comes months after city council members in Flagstaff, Mesa, Tucson, Surprise and Tempe signed an open letter from the National League of Cities in March urging the president not to pull out of the climate agreement.

In the National League of Cities letter in March, council members warned of what they call the destructive effects of climate change on municipal governments.

Extreme weather events such as heat waves, droughts, heavy downpours, floods and other storms, which have become more frequent and more severe, have brought renewed attention to the need for cities to anticipate, prepare for and adapt to their impacts, the letter said.

Officials from those cities, and from other cities and counties around the state, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday on the presidents announcement.

But in a statement Thursday from the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton  who heads the groups environment committee  praised the Paris climate deal as a step in the right direction.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors is a strong proponent of the need to address climate change and we support the Paris agreement, which positions the worlds nations, including the United States, to be energy independent, self-reliant, and resilient, Stanton said in the statement.
PHOENIX  Admittedly underfunded and less well known than the incumbent, Tucson Democrat Steve Farley announced Monday he intends to take on Doug Ducey for governor.

The current state senator, first elected to the legislature in 2006, said he believes the time is right for someone to challenge the policies of the current governor, policies he said have led to the severe shorting of education in Arizona. And Farley said he believes the needed dollars can be found by eliminating some of the $13.7 billion in sales tax exemptions.

Farley sidestepped questions by Capitol Media Services of what tax breaks he would eliminate. And some would clearly be unpopular, including the more than $400 million a year the state would collect if it reinstated a long-abandoned tax on food purchased at grocery stores for home consumption.

And then there's the question of taxing items when sold at the wholesale level to retailers, similar to the European value-added tax. While that would generate more than $4 billion, the added cost would be passed along to consumers.

But Farley is insistent that many of the exemptions are there solely because powerful special interests can hire lobbyists to create them.

That happened just this year when Ducey signed a budget that includes an exemption for those who buy incremental shares in a private jet from having to pay sales taxes on their purchases. Legislative staffers pegged the loss of revenues at anywhere from $470,000 to $2.2 million.

Farley said he's convinced there are other such special interest carve-outs in the tax code, even if each of them is small.

With $13.7 billion, there's a lot of nickels and dimes in the couch, he said. If you just found $2 billion of that $13.7 billion that you could get rid of without harming our general economy, you could decrease our (5.6 percent state) sales tax by a full cent and you could increase education spending by $1 billion a year.

While Farley is focusing on Ducey, his first hurdle is to win the Democratic primary. His main foe is David Garcia who narrowly lost the general election race in 2014 for state schools chief to Diane Douglas.

Garcia, like Farley, is focusing on what they say are shortcoming  and short-funding  of the state's education system. And Garcia is citing his extensive knowledge of education, having been a deputy superintendent of public instruction and currently an associate professor in the College of Education at Arizona State University.

But Farley said he has something that Garcia does not: legislative experience.

I understand how to actually put the policies into place, he said. I won't be a governor just learning on the job.

If Farley becomes the nominee he will go up against what is expected to be a well-funded incumbent.

In 2014, when the seat was open, Ducey's own campaign committee spent $7.9 million. And that doesn't include another $8.2 million spent on Ducey's behalf by outside groups, most of which do not disclose their donors.

That includes nearly $1.5 million alone from American Encore, successor to the Koch brothers financed Center to Protect Patient Rights.

I'm going to be raising money, I'm going to be competitive, Farley said. And he hopes to use any outside money spent on Ducey's behalf against him.

No one's going to outraise the Koch brothers because they're going to throw money at it, Farley said. In fact he contends that Ducey is now the new golden boy for the anti-regulatory brothers who he said may be grooming the incumbent for higher office.

Ducey has attended multiple retreats that the brothers put on with selected elected officials and other big donors. Last year, Ducey press aide Daniel Scarpinato said his boss likes attending the conference with advocates of limited government, innovation and the free enterprise system.

That's not what people want in Arizona, Farley said. We don't want a national golden boy burnishing his resume for the next edition on the national stage.

Money aside, Farley thinks the timing of the election  separate from the quadrennial presidential contest  works in his favor.

The last time we had a Democratic governor we had a Republican in the White House, he said, reminding people of the election in 2002 of Janet Napolitano.

And this guy is so much more polarizing than even George W. Bush was, Farley said.

Noah Dyer, vice president of marketing strategies at Phoenix-based On Advertising, also is in the hunt for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. But Dyer mainly has gained attention for self-disclosure of his personal life, including that he has had both deep and casual sexual experiences with all kinds of women and that he has sent and received intimate texts and pictures, and occasionally recorded video during sex.

Dyer said he wanted to put the issues out there ahead of the race to prevent them from becoming a distraction during the campaign.
When I was young, we used to worry about the power wielded globally by the Seven Sisters, the giant multi-national oil companies that controlled 85 per cent of the worlds petroleum reserves.

But their influence back then in the Seventies is dwarfed by that possessed by the technological behemoths of today, companies such as Facebook, Googles parent company Alphabet, and Apple.

The Seven Sisters dealt in petrol, an inanimate commodity. The tech companies deal in the most human activity of all, communication.

I am writing this column on a train and all around me I can see people on their tablets, laptops and phones.

They could do so much more to prevent  and to remove  the gruesome YouTube videos that glorify jihad (Pictured: Islamic preacher Abu Haleema speaks on youtube video titled - The New Mayor of London is a Kafir)

Atrocities

Of course, the digital revolution has brought great benefits, which is why we all make use of its products.

But the internet, and its applications  YouTube, Twitter, and secure messaging systems WhatsApp and Telegram  are the systems of choice for Islamist terrorist organisations to spread their vile propaganda and, as we have seen in three horrifying incidents in the past ten weeks, for home-grown jihadists to communicate with each other and encourage others to commit atrocities.

In the past, terrorists might have been radicalised in the mosque by so-called preachers of hate, but today its much more likely that they are being radicalised online.

Islamic State may be worse than medieval in its contempt for human life, but it is amongst the most modern in the world when it comes to exploiting all that the internet has to offer to brain-wash some people into committing barbaric acts of terrorism.

I am sure that the chief executives of the tech companies have the same view as the rest of us about Islamist terrorism. They are human too, and would suffer the same distress if it were their son or daughter injured or killed by a van driver shouting: This is for Allah! But it is an inescapable, unpalatable truth that these same chief executives are absolutely complicit in how the terrorists operate.

It is commonplace these days to see people on their tablets, laptops and phones

They could do so much more to prevent  and to remove  the gruesome YouTube videos that glorify jihad, and the online manuals that tell would-be terrorists exactly how to make an explosive device or urge them to weaponise vehicles and wreak destruction.

And they should be offering every assistant to the security agencies to gain access to encrypted messages from suspects in terrorism cases. They have been too pusillanimous to do the first, and have point-blank refused to do the second.

Despite this, the tech bosses continue to insist they are doing their best. In the past 48 hours, Google, Facebook, and Twitter have issued warm words about sharing the governments commitment to ensuring terrorists do not have a voice online, to quote a Google spokesman.

Propaganda

Yet ISIS has been pushing out videos in the last seven days inciting terrorists to take knives to innocent members of the public or crusaders as ISIS calls them (as if anyone today could bear any responsibility for the crusades which finished six centuries ago). Sermons by two preachers linked to one of the London Bridge terrorists, Khuram Butt, could still be viewed online yesterday.

An ISIS-linked media agency, which uses the app Telegram, called on would-be extremists to carry out even more attacks on members of the public in low-tech knife, gun and vehicle assaults during Ramadan.

The online giants claim they are investing millions in trying to prevent terrorist propaganda on their platforms. Maybe, but its a tiny amount compared with their turnover and value. Alphabet and Apple are worth $1,400 billion between them  more than the GDP of two of the most prosperous countries in the world, Saudi Arabia and Switzerland.

Two weeks ago, the Mail highlighted research that showed Facebook (worth $345-$350 billion) had just one moderator to check content for every 431,000 online users.

The former independent reviewer of terrorist legislation, Lord Carlile QC yesterday damned the tech companies for claiming that they were simply libraries  neutral holders of information generated by others.

Sir Martin Sorrell, head of the worlds biggest advertising agency, WPP, has criticised the same companies for saying they are just technology firms. They are right to attack them because the companies claims are mere exercises in handwashing, no more impressive today than when Pontius Pilate sought to evade his moral responsibility.

The former independent reviewer of terrorist legislation, Lord Carlile QC yesterday damned the tech companies for claiming that they were simply libraries

Newspapers and broadcasters are responsible for the content they carry, including online. So must the tech companies be made to accept a similar responsibility. The only way that can be achieved is by legislation  with the sanction of financial penalties. They would soon change their whole approach if they knew that any failure to do so was going to hit their bottom line.

The second serious reform that must take place is to allow intelligence agencies access to message services such as WhatsApp (owned by Facebook) when necessary. After Khalid Masood mowed down pedestrians and stabbed a policeman to death at Westminster in March, it emerged hed been active on WhatsApp just before his murderous assault began.

Yet the tech company could not, or would not, help the authorities read the message.

Back in 1999 when, as Home Secretary, I was putting together recommendations to bring intercept legislation into the start of the internet age, I proposed system of third-party escrow by which operators of encrypted systems would have to lodge the keys with a trusted third party, and that these could be accessed by the agencies, with a warrant, if and when national security made this vital.

But this was at a time when there was a lull in terrorist activity. My idea ran into such a barrage of opposition that I had to drop it. In the intervening 18 years the internet has become far more extensive and sophisticated than anyone imagined, and my proposal now needs to be revived.

WhatsApp says that only the users of its messages can see whats written  not even WhatsApp can do so. But thats not something which has happened through divine intervention. Its how they constructed the site. They can rewrite the software so the agencies can have access.

Does anyone who uses WhatsApp seriously argue that our privacy should trump detection and prevention of the kind of outrages weve seen in the past three months?

After Khalid Masood mowed down pedestrians and stabbed a policeman to death at Westminster in March, it emerged hed been active on WhatsApp just before

Cowardice

These measures  and more  would help us all stay safe, but they would be of the greatest help to British Muslims. I spent 36 years as MP for Blackburn, with one of Britains largest Muslim Asian heritage communities. My home is opposite a mosque.

Returning yesterday, I found real anger from Muslim friends about this jihadism. They detest it  and some worry about what their sons in particular may be doing and seeing online in their bedrooms.

The German Lutheran pastor Martin Niemoller wrote an oft-quoted poem about the cowardice of German intellectuals following the Nazis rise to power. Its closing lines are: Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out  Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me  and there was no one left to speak for me.

Of course, there is no comparison whatever, nor do I suggest one, between what happened in Germany and the situation facing us. But Niemollers message is a timeless one. Its about equivocation, evasion in the face of evil. Its time those at the top of tech giants understood that  and acted.
A mother from the Central Coast in New South Wales has hit back after other parents criticised her for allowing her five-year-old son to have his ears pierced.

Tegan Pett, 24, said her son Storme asked to have it done the day before so she sat down with him and explained the procedure in detail.

'It was easy to make the decision once I had explained the process. He still insisted so I let him,' Ms Pett told Daily Mail Australia.

A mother from the Central Coast in New South Wales has hit back after other parents criticised her for allowing her five-year-old son to have his ears pierced

'It was easy to make the decision once I had explained the process. He still insisted so I let him,' Ms Pett told Daily Mail Australia

'He was so excited. He chose his own earrings, told everyone he came across that he didn't even cry and that he was brave.'

But after posting about their experience on her online mother's group, Ms Pett received a mixed response.

'We got a lot of support, but also some neutral and some negative comments,' she said.

'Some were saying that my son would be perceived as a "bogan", "bad news" or a "thug".

'He was so excited. He chose his own earrings, told everyone he came across that he didn't even cry and that he was brave,' she said

But after posting about their experience on her online mother's group, Ms Pett received a mixed response

'I expected some backlash but didn't expect it to go the way it did.'

Ms Pett, who says it's important to encourage children to make their own decisions, believes the negativity wouldn't have occurred if Storme was a girl.

'If he was a girl, no one would have batted an eyelid which I think is so wrong for so many reasons,' she said.

Ms Pett hasn't let the negativity get her down and advises all mothers and their kids to ignore any judgement in the online environment.



Ms Pett, who says it's important to encourage children to make their own decisions, believes the negativity wouldn't have occurred if Storme was a girl

'If your kids are happy, fed and loved, then that is all that matters. Who cares about strangers opinions? They don't mean anything to you.' she said.

'Allow your kids to be who they are and don't control them, guide them.

'Make sure your kids know they can come to you and know that you won't judge them - the worst thing as a kid is feeling like you can't tell your parents anything.'

And her advice for Storme?

'Just ignore them,' she said.

'People's judgements say more about them than they do about you.'
From being a 'team player' to having 'initiative', job-seekers are well-rehearsed in how to make themselves sound like an attractive, well-rounded candidate.

But how would you fare if quizzed on how 'selfless' you are?

An entrepreneur has established a new recruitment website that vets would-be candidates - and employers - on how nice they are before allowing them to sign up, in a bid to promote happiness in the workplace.

Candidates hoping to sign up to Luke Cameron's nicestjobs.com can expect to be quizzed on everything from their extra-curricular activities to the last time they did a good deed, while firms must demonstrate sound employee benefits and corporate responsibility.

Pioneer: Entrepreneur Luke Cameron was dubbed the Nicest Man in Britain after he spent a year working with more than 40 different charities. He has now launched his own job website

Luke, from Cheltenham, who has been dubbed the 'Nicest Man in Britain', launched NicestJobs.com to make sure 'nice' candidates are being matched with 'nice' businesses.

Along with a team of professionals, Luke judges every potential employer and applicant against a 'niceness' criteria before allowing them to join the online community.

Employees are asked to demonstrate how they are passionate, engaged and give back to the community, while companies are quizzed on subjects including annual leave, employee benefits and corporate responsibility.

The result is a listing website where both sides can be confident they are being paired with someone that shares the same values - and help put an end to disappointment.

Leading the way: Marie Curie, Help For Heroes and the Great Western Air Ambulance Charity are among the companies that have been approved by Luke and the NicestJobs team

So, are YOU nice enough? Before joining the NicestJobs.com community, candidates are asked to answer the following question. Here, co-founder Luke Cameron reveals example answers to each - and explains what makes them so perfect... Tell us about your volunteering experience? I volunteer at my local Cancer Research UK Charity shop every week. Luke says: 'This sort of answer is perfect because it shows the candidate is reliable, committed and community focused.' What are your extra-curricular activities? I support and help my local charity in my spare time. I have fund-raised 3,000 to date by running a 5K this year and putting on a local bake sale. I also help and support my local community by working at the local hospice on my days off - making tea and having conversations with elderly people. Luke says: 'Having a candidate that goes above and beyond in their personal life shows drive, commitment and passion. If somebody is willing and able to do these sorts of extra-curricular actives, it shows how talented and motivated they can be in the right job.' What makes you passionate? I love animals and any chance I can get to work with or help animals is my passion. I have 2 dogs, whom I love dearly and donate every month to my local dogs home. Luke says: 'Passion is everything. I always say that if you find a job doing something you love, you never work a day in your life. By pairing the right employee with the right employer can change a business, because youll always get 110 per cent, because they love what they are doing.' How have you helped and supported people in the wider business (outside of your role)? One of my colleagues in a different department was having issues with understanding Excel. Being professionally excel trained I booked in a meeting to help her with her issues. We swiftly resolved them meaning that she was less stressed at work - making her more happy and productive. Luke says: 'This question goes to show someones integrity and commitment to others. Being a good team player is key to success in any job and it benefits both employers and employees. This question also makes the candidate think about how they help others, even at work.' Tell us a time when they selflessly helped others (outside of work)? I volunteer once a fortnight at a local hospice for a few hours. I make tea and have a chat with the elderly people so they feel less alone. It gives me great joy to listen to their life stories and brighten up their day. Luke says: 'This questions shows somebodies character. Its important to see how people are outside of a working environment and who they really are as a person. I always say that in an interview you should ask "who are you?" because then you get to see who the candidate is outside of the job.' Tell us about a good deed they have done I once bought a coffee for the lady stood behind me in a coffee shop - it was fantastic! Luke says: 'Im all about kindness, so for me, an act of kindness is the greatest indicator to somebodies "niceness".' Advertisement

Luke said: 'We wanted a way to help people find their dream job and go to work every morning happy. So we created a platform that allows only those people and employers that really care about their people.'

While many of the approved employers are in the charity sector, others are in events and sports. Companies listed include Marie Curie, Guide Dogs, VML London and Help for Heroes.

It is perhaps of little surprise that it was Luke who came up with the idea.

Dedicated: In 2015 Luke Cameron travelled the country to work with 45 different charities over 52 weeks. Above, Luke at the Birmingham Children's Hospital Charity

The entrepreneur first made headlines with the Good Deed Blog, through which he challenged himself to do a good deed every day in 2014.

He followed up the extraordinary feat in 2015 by travelling the country to help 45 different charities over 52 weeks.

Now Luke wants to take what he learned and use it to help others find a job they love.

He added: 'After travelling around the country and seeing the amazing work so many organisations do, I got a sense of how happy people were at work.'
Lady Lucan remains enveloped in deep shadow

Daylight does not penetrate the small mews house in Belgravia, central London, where Veronica, the Dowager Countess of Lucan lives.

A heavy blind shuts out the sunshine on the spring day when I visit. It has been closed, to deter snoopers, for almost 40 years. The pervading gloom in the sitting room is broken only by a shaft of light from the front door, which remains open a few inches as we talk.

But as I sit in daylight, Lady Lucan remains enveloped in deep shadow.

The room, too, is almost unchanged since her husband John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan, notoriously disappeared on the night of November 7, 1974, after bludgeoning to death 29-year-old Sandra Rivett, their childrens nanny, in the mistaken belief that she was his wife, then assaulting Lady Lucan herself.

You might imagine Lady Lucan would have wanted to expunge her husband from her memory, yet his portrait looms over us as we talk, while photos of the children hint at familial closeness.

But nothing is as it seems.

Lady Lucan, 79, is estranged from her daughters Frances, 52, and Camilla, 47, and son George, 50, as well as her sister Christina Shand Kydd (who was distantly related, by marriage, to Princess Diana). The bitter rift that divides them has persisted for almost four decades.

She has five grandchildren but has met none of them. Neither does she even know the identity of her eldest daughters husband.

Frances didnt tell me she was married, she says, without apparent concern, but she was, recently. I dont really know to whom, because I have no contact with them at all.

Christmas without their father: Lady Lucan with Frances, Camilla and George in 1974, weeks after Lord Lucan disappeared

The couple with George, who has publicly come out to protest his father's innocence

Camilla told me when she was engaged but I wasnt invited to her wedding [in September 1998]. I happened to be walking past the church in Eaton Square, on the way to Marks & Spencer to buy a cardigan, when a photographer spotted me, rushed over and said: Lady Lucan, its your daughters wedding!

I put my umbrella up and rushed home, but not before hed photographed me.

I wasnt hurt at all that I hadnt been invited. It just reaffirmed my belief that keeping away from my children was the safest thing to do.

Time has passed and my life has carried on in a quiet, untroubled manner. I cannot see any advantage in seeing them.

I dont think about my sister either. Shes no longer in my life.

Quite why Lady Lucan is so obdurately alienated from her closest family is among the abiding conundrums of the Lucan affair, which remains one of the most compelling and enduring mysteries of recent history.

Lady Lucan is both defined and imprisoned by a past she chooses not to escape. The two-bedroom mews cottage in which she lives  bought as a guest house during her ill-fated marriage  provided a temporary home for her husband when they separated after he lost a bitter battle for custody of their children.

Lady Lucan wants to set the record straight, and tell the inside story of their marriage

She moved into it three years after his disappearance. It is just a stones throw from the five-storey family home in Lower Belgrave Street where Sandra Rivett was killed.

The story in which the countess plays a central role continues to fascinate, perplex and give rise to myth and speculation.

Now, as she nears her 80th birthday, Lady Lucan is giving a rare interview following the serialisation in the Mail of a frank, unsparing book she has written about the mystery.

She told unflinchingly of her joyless marriage to Lucan, a professional gambler, describing her constant anxiety over the vast sums he lost at the gaming tables. She recounted, too, how driven by loneliness  her frequently absent husband was taciturn and remote  she sought solace in a platonic friendship with another man.

When Lucan found out and the man was warned off, she fell into a profound depression and was prescribed powerful anti-psychotic drugs, the dire side-effects of which convinced her, and her family, that she was losing her mind. Twice, she recalled, she was taken to psychiatric units against her will; and twice she escaped.

There is lacerating honesty, too, in her admission that she taunted her husband about his ineptitude as a lover (he tape-recorded their rows to use as evidence against her in a custody battle for their children) and in her confession that he beat her for his own sexual gratification.

Significantly, she has also given her most detailed account ever of events on the night of Sandra Rivetts death.

The consensus has always been that Lord Lucan, rather than a hired or unknown assailant, was her killer.

The inquest jury at a coroners court named Lord Lucan, in his absence, as the murderer of Mrs Rivett  making him the last person in Britain to be declared a murderer by an inquest jury (the procedure was later outlawed)  although he was never convicted in a criminal court.

Both his son George, a merchant banker, and younger daughter Camilla, a QC, have publicly made clear that their father should not therefore be assumed culpable. Lady Lucan is outraged by this.

Quite why Lady Lucan is so obdurately alienated from her closest family is among the abiding conundrums of the Lucan affair

The Earl of Lucan and Veronica Duncan after their marriage on November 28, 1963

You might imagine Lady Lucan would have wanted to expunge her husband from her memory, yet this portrait looms over us as we talk

She was in the house, watching TV in her bedroom, when Sandra Rivett was bludgeoned to death as she went downstairs to the unlit basement to make her employer a cup of tea.

The countess contends that she disturbed her husband after the fatal assault. He hit her four times with a length of bandaged metal piping before she grabbed his genitals. Then, after shed persuaded her husband to get her a glass of water, she fled to a nearby pub and raised the alarm.

She recalls: He told me, Ill go to Broadmoor for this.

George and Camilla were seven and three when it happened, and asleep in bed.

Lord Lucan was poised to forfeit everything he held dear when he fled the murder scene.

Already living apart from his family and on the brink of divorce, he had lost a ruinously costly and acrimonious battle for custody of the children and was mired in spiralling gambling debts.

He made his escape in a car hed borrowed, and his body has never been found.

Over the years, fantastical theories about his disappearance have placed him in the Australian outback; as a hippy drop-out in Goa; even fed to the tigers at his friend John Aspinalls zoo.

Although a High Court judge granted a death certificate last year, allowing George to inherit his title, this has provided neither resolution nor a conclusion to the mystery, whose complexities and permutations continue to baffle and frustrate even the most assiduous researcher.

The Lord bludgeoned to death 29-year-old Sandra Rivett (pictured), their childrens nanny, in the mistaken belief that she was his wife

However, Lady Lucan remains closer to the truth than anyone.

She believes that the note he left, with the poignant sentence, Please tell those that you know, that all I cared about was them (the children), was proof her husband intended suicide.

That night, he called at the home of friends in a Sussex village, before leaving in the early hours.

Explaining the events of that evening to them, he said that he had, by pure chance, happened on an attacker hitting his wife as he passed the family home.

His version of the story was that his wife had accused him of hiring a hitman to kill her, and this did not bode well for him.

His plan, he told them, was to lie doggo for a while.

Three days later, his borrowed car was found abandoned and blood-splattered  with a section of bandaged lead piping in the boot  at the cross-Channel port of Newhaven, East Sussex.

There has been no concrete clue to his whereabouts since. If still alive today, he would be 82.

But Lady Lucan believes: He got on a ferry and jumped off mid-Channel, and was chopped up by the propeller  which is why his body was never found.

She says that as a powerboat racer he had a detailed knowledge of propellers (she produces a letter in which he assesses the merits of various types), and would have known precisely where to jump so his remains were destroyed.

Twice, she recalled, she was taken to psychiatric units against her will; and twice she escaped

You may think a tragedy of such magnitude would unite any family. In fact, it fragmented the Lucans.

Whether or not she was a good mother is a question she evades.But she insists that her children were always well turned-out and advanced in their schooling. She resolutely denies that she was ever psychotic, though she concedes: I was pushed to the brink of madness. I was manipulated psychologically so I began to think I was mad.

My husband had a campaign to destroy me. I was a nuisance. He was an imposing character, an earl, and the doctors believed all he told them about me.

I, in turn, just accepted what the doctors said. I had injections (of anti-psychotics) and their side-effects were horrible. I had hallucinations, restlessness  I walked for miles and miles  and drug-induced Parkinsons disease.

Lucan requested that his brother-in-law Bill Shand Kydd and sister-in-law Christina looked after the children in his absence, and apparently the children, too, preferred this arrangement.

Lord Lucan pictured with his shot gun

When they were 12, 15 and 18, I received an affidavit from my son saying that it would be more congenial for them to live as part of their aunt and uncles family, their mother recalls. There was a [family court] hearing that I didnt attend. George was old enough to make the decision himself.

It was a shock, and the legal context made it more serious. And I didnt, frankly, like my sister and brother-in-law, which added to my distress.

Today, however, she seems surprisingly equable about the continued alienation from all those who should be dearest to her. A petite, elegant woman who looks far younger than her years, she measures her answers carefully.

Is she lonely? I dont feel so now, she says, although I was lonely in my marriage.

The fact she lives frugally on a scant old-age pension and her few savings is evident: the chocolate she offers with coffee is a supermarket brand, and, although staunchly Tory, she says she is horrified by plans to withdraw the winter fuel allowance from all but the poorest pensioners.

My heart sank when I heard I wouldnt be eligible for the 300 fuel payment when I turn 80.

The private doctors, the paid home-helps, the expensive holidays and meals out all belong to a distant past. Lady Lucan doesnt own a computer and has to use one at the local library, where she walks every morning. Its a wonderful resource and theyre always so helpful! she says.

She contends that she is in robust good health and takes no medication. Her days are spent quietly: she wakes early, breakfasts, and after her library visit returns home to do her washing and ironing while listening to LBC radio, before walking in nearby Green Park. Her friends from the old days are gone. All dead! she says.

I wonder if there have been romances. Oh yes, she says, but there is none now. There was love, but it faded. When you get older, that happens. I still see the man and were great friends, but were not in love. And no, Ive never considered marrying again.

She says she cant recall how many men shes had sexual relationships with  Although that could be misinterpreted! A rare smile lights up her face. I dont mean that Ive had thousands of lovers; just that sometimes you forget it ever happened.

During her marriage to Lord Lucan, she was faithful to him, and he to her, she says.

I ask why she criticises him in her book for his lack of sexual prowess. She replies: You do that when youre annoyed. Its a sensitive part of a man. Actually, we had perfectly reasonable sex.

When I question if she regrets ever meeting her husband, her reply is a surprise. I cant say that Im sorry I married him because I would not have had three beautiful children, would I?

I was never so happy in my life as when George was born.

It is a rare admission of vulnerability; a moment of self-exposure so poignant that I wonder if the bravado about caring little for her children masks an abiding sadness.

There has been no concrete clue to Lord Lucan's (pictured with Lady Annabel Birley) whereabouts since. If still alive today, he would be 82

She admits her biggest fear is of becoming sick and dependent.

I dont fear dying alone  not at all, she says. But I do fear dependency. Id find that very depressing. It would be horrible to feel you were a burden.

Your faculties start to fade when you reach 80, so Ive been thinking about my death. Id quite enjoy the rest of my life if I knew it was not going to end in something horrific. Ive given it some thought and I support the idea of assisted suicide.

To prove this is not a whim, she fishes out a placard printed with the slogan Give Me A Choice Over My Own Death. Indeed, she campaigns for assisted euthanasia and hopes herself to slip away peacefully before disease or dementia debilitate her.

Her resolve must have sharpened because there is no close family member she can turn to for support. So is there any hope of a rapprochement?

She considers the prospect and says carefully: A couple of years ago, George did invite me for tea at the Goring Hotel.

If hed suggested we meet at his flat, Id probably have said Yes, but I wouldnt want to go to a public place where wed be photographed or gossiped about.

Peoples actions tell you when you should protect yourself.

Yet it would be another tragedy for Lady Lucan if, through stubbornness, suspicion and her unwillingness to relinquish the grievances of her past, she denied herself now, in old age, the support of the son and daughters she fought so hard to keep with her in their childhood.

A Moment In Time, by the Countess of Lucan, to be published later this year.
A high-profile sex worker has hit out after claiming her Instagram account was wiped without any explanation this week.

Samantha X has questioned why she can't be on the social media site while Schapelle Corby, a convicted drug smuggler, is racking up thousands of followers.

The escort, whose real name is Amanda Goff, first made headlines in 2014 when she released her autobiography: 'Hooked: The Salacious Secrets of Samantha X'.

High-profile sex worker Samantha X (left) has questioned why she can't have an Instagram account when Schapelle Corby is racking up thousands of followers

The escort, whose real name is Amanda Goff, first made headlines in 2014 when she released her autobiography: 'Hooked: The Salacious Secrets of Samantha X'

Goff is the madam of her own escort agency, Samantha X Angels, and continues to see clients - charging $1,000 an hour and up to $5,000 for an overnight stay.

But when it came to her Instagram, Samantha said she kept her work behind closed bedroom doors.

The 43-year-old sex worker said her account, which had about 2,000 followers, included pictures of her dog, a visit to a fancy hotel, and a silly meme.

'Anyone who knows me and my work knows I do not post nude photos. I do not post raunchy stuff,' she wrote in an op-ed for The Daily Telegraph, titled 'Schapelle Corby can have an Instagram account, but not me, because Im a sex worker'.

'I am fairly conservative. I may be an escort, but I am camera-shy and I don't post anything rude.'

And yet, the mother-of-two said she was told her account was disabled because it was 'sexually suggestive' or 'contained nudity'.

The 43-year-old sex worker said her account, which had about 2,000 followers, included pictures of her dog, a visit to a fancy hotel, and a silly meme

And so she found it strange when she found out her account had been disabled and is now claiming she is facing discrimination that Corby has avoided

Goff believes the offending photo was one she and few friends took in her backyard on Mother's Day, in which she flashed her boobs under a thick jersey.

'There was a hint, and I mean a hint of nipple. I see more nudity on Bondi Beach,' Goff wrote.

But Goff said her whole account was wiped 'without warning', and she believes it was not because of her photos - but her occupation.

When Goff told fellow escorts what had happened, she found her story was one that was 'all too common'.

It was something that Goff found especially strange as she witnessed Corby's rising popularity on Instagram, where she has posted 24 photos in two weeks.

When Goff told fellow escorts what had happened to her Instagram account, she found her story was one that was 'all too common'

Goff said she had nothing against Corby, but found it hypocritical that convicted drug smugglers could be on the site and sex workers couldn't.

'Woe betide the woman who works in a perfectly legal industry, who pays her taxes, who doesn't have a criminal record, to accidentally flash a quarter of a nipple,' she wrote.

Goff then pointed to other industries who discriminate against her, including banks, loan companies, insurance agencies, and credit card facilities.

The sex worker said she finds her experience even more baffling when her own industry sees every client, no matter their who they may be or where they may work.

'If escorts judged, no man would ever be able to seek our services again. So why can't we get a bit of love back in return?' she asked.

But Goff won't be disappearing from the spotlight for long.

The sex worker will be releasing her second autobiography in September, and hinted in past interviews it will include stories about her prominent and wealthy clients.
For most people, a coffee break is a chance to unwind and maybe indulge in a slice of cake.

But for these dancing twin sisters, it is just another time to hone their skills.

Alina and Emilija Wellbrock, 24, were captured practising the splits on the kitchen counter as they enjoyed five minutes away from a photo shoot in a flat in Hamburg, Germany.

Scroll down for video

Stretching it out: Alina and Emilija Wellbrock, 24, show off their flexibility in the kitchen

Provocative: The twins, who are both professional dancers, strike a pose in racy stockings

Candid: The sisters, originally from Ukraine, take time out and relax on a bed in their leotards

Photographer Carsten Thun said the image was captured 'without planning', adding: 'Luckily I had my camera with me to capture these beautiful girls in the moment.'

Mr Thun, who often photographs dancers in unlikely settings, has taken a number of provocative pictures of the Wellbrock sisters demonstrating their flexibility and technique in around the house.

In one image the sisters are seen giggling as they hold up their legs in the kitchen, in another, one of the twins does the splits on the bedroom floor.

In another photograph, the dancers show off their lithe limbs as they strike a pose against the balcony door.

Teamwork: The sisters help each other stretch as they show off their skills in the kitchen

Dramatic: Showing off their lithe limbs, Alina and Emilija strike a pose against the balcony door

Honing her skills: One of the twins does the splits on the bedroom floor in another sexy shot

Alina and Emilija are originally from Ukraine but have lived in Germany for the last 14 years. The sisters attended stage school, where they trained in acting, singing and dancing.

They now work as professional dancers and are both believed to be auditioning for roles in a new production of Grease.

They also have a legion of fans on Instagram, where they each have more than 11,000 followers.
When he was filmed spontaneously leading a group of children in a dance at an emotional fundraising gig in memory of the victims of the Manchester terror attack, police officer Paul Taylor became a viral hit.

Now the parents of a little girl he danced to a Justin Bieber track with have publicly thanked the PC - for giving their daughter her smile back.

Myah Pearson, seven, and her best friend Tegan, were at Manchester Arena when suicide bomber Salman Abedi, 22, set off a nail bomb minutes after an Ariana Grande concert came to a close on May 22, but escaped unharmed.

The young girls later attended the One Love Manchester concert hosted by the pop star a fortnight on from the attack, where they danced hand in hand with PC Taylor in the crowd.

Myah's father, who told how the children have struggled to come to terms with what happened, said to Paul on This Morning: 'It was amazing to see the girls smile again. Thank you Paul for making it so special.'

Tegan (L) and Myah (R) were struggling to come to terms with the terror attacks but said they thoroughly enjoyed the moment in the crowds

PC Paul Taylor joined the studio via live video link so he could speak with the girls and their parents

The police officer appeared on today's show via video link, while Tegan, Myah and her family were in the studio.

Myah's mother Natasha described how on the night of the Manchester attack, after missing the blast by seconds, she had grabbed the girls and run from the arena.

She said of the impact it has had on her daughter: 'She's fine in the day, happy playing and keeping busy. As soon as it comes to bed time or quiet she gets very nervous, clingy and panicky.'

When pop star Ariana announced the charity gig, Natasha admitted she was apprehensive at the prospect of taking the girls to another concert, but wanted to 'get rid of the fear' that they felt.

Natasha and Mark Pearson were able to thank Pc Paul Taylor for making their daughter smile again after the harrowing events on May 22nd at the Ariana Grande concert

She explained that the moment, which spread like wildfire on social media, happened because her daughter wants to be a police officer when she's older.

The girls had just had their photo taken with PC Paul, and Myah said that they 'dragged him in' to the circle they were all dancing in.

'He was quite happy to oblige, he jumped in and just had fun with us,' added Natasha.

PC Paul Taylor, an officer with the Durham Constabulary, said to presenters Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield: 'I'm just glad it's brought a smile to people's faces, I had no idea the effect that it would have on people.

'I am just glad that [the girls] could go back to the concert And put a smile on their faces. It was my pleasure.'



Myah's mother revealed she wants to be a police officer when she grows up and took the opportunity to get a photo at the concert

Pc Paul Taylor, pictured, was one of around 50 Durham Police officers sent to assist colleagues at Greater Manchester Police

Pc Taylor was one of around 50 Durham Police officers sent to assist colleagues at Greater Manchester Police as part of the mutual aid arrangements between forces.

The officer, who is usually based in Darlington and has 20 years of service under his belt, got back home at 3.30am after working at the concert.

He said once the clip started to trend on social media, it did not take long for friends and family to recognise him. He said he had posed for a picture with the children who then asked him to dance with them.

Holly joked that now he was an online celebrity, he might be able to put his skills to good use on Strictly Come Dancing, to which he laughed that he was 'open to offers'.

Ariana Grande, Katy Perry, Coldplay and Niall Horan also performed for free to raise at least 2million toward the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund.

Twitter users were quick to praise the police officer, with many pointing to the gesture to once again praise the efforts of the emergency services

Ariana Grande was noticeably emotional as she performed for her adoring fans in at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground

On Durham Police's Facebook page, people were quick to praise him.

One person said he was a 'credit to his profession', while another commented 'This one clip on the tv made me night. Was such a lovely moment to watch! Well done to Paul!'

On Twitter, one user wrote: 'That policeman dancing with those kids has been the best part of the night, pure spirit of Manchester.'

Another added: 'That policeman dancing hand in hand with the crowd is actually the best thing, bloody love this country.'

The event went ahead despite another terror attack in London on Saturday night in which seven people were killed and nearly 50 injured.
She's best known for modelling, sizzling bikini snaps and being the girlfriend of Made In Chelsea Lothario Spencer Matthews.

And now Vogue Williams, 31, may be wishing she'd stuck to posing pouting after her calls for internment of Muslim terror suspects, prompted a furious backlash on Twitter.

The TV personality, who divides her time between London and Dublin, used her column in Ireland's Sunday World - published the day after the London Bridge attack - to call for suspects to be rounded up and held without trial to protect the public.

'This is something that should be decided by the people, but I certainly agree with it,' she said. 'The only way to stop these senseless attacks is to put any potential threats away.'

But people were not impressed by her contribution to the debate, telling her to stick to modelling and accusing her of huge ignorance of Irish history.

Internment was introduced in Northern Ireland in 1971 in an attempt to quell the rising violence, and over four years almost 2,000 alleged paramilitaries were held without trial in makeshift camps.

But it led to an upsurge in bloodshed as well as political protests, and was later abandoned.

Vogue Williams, 31, has caused outrage by calling for Muslim terror suspects to be rounded up and interned

The model and DJ used her Sunday World column to call for internment, saying there can be no negotiation with terror suspects

The ex-wife of Brian McFadden said she agreed with Muslim former police chief Tarique Ghaffur who recently told The Mail On Sunday that special centres should be set up to detain as many as 3,000 extremists.

She admitted that the policy had not worked with the internment of IRA suspects, but said that Islamic terrorists 'can't be negotiated with'.

Her comments appeared alongside a somewhat incongruous picture of Vogue in a bikini and an snap of her reality TV star boyfriend Spencer Matthews.

Readers were outraged with one advising her to read a history book, with one describing her as 'ineffably crude, stupid and pointless'.

Others took a more lighthearted approach with one suggesting that Ireland's new Taoiseach Leo Varadkar would appoint her to an anti-terrorism task force.

Another joked that they were waiting with bated breath for Kerry Katona's views on the issue.

Vogue was blasted for her views and advises to become more educated on history or stick to modelling instead of wading into the debate on terrorism

In her column, she also stated that she has 'no sympathy' for schoolgirls who have travelled to Syria to become jihadi brides and then want to return home.

'Anyone who leaves Britain and Ireland to fight alongside ISIS can stay out. I don't care what age or what their circumstances are,' she said.

It's not the first time Vogue has used her column to hold forth on the recent spate of terror attacks.

VOGUE: INTERNMENT CAMPS ARE A GRIM NECESSITY Last week I wrote about the horrific bombing in Manchester and my concerns about living in the UK. I also wondered what could be done to stop these terrorists. The Prime Minister Theresa May has said the government will create a Commission for Countering Extremism in the wake of the horrific attack. I'm not sure why this is only being put in place now because we have all been under threat for some time and although it's a positive step, it shouldn't have taken the lives of 22 people to make this happen. Powers to ban British jihadis from returning to the UK have been used for the first time and I fully agree with that." Anyone who leaves Britain and Ireland to fight alongside ISIS can stay out. I don't care what age or what their circumstances are." They have chosen their allegiance and while it may not have been what they expected, that's tough luck. This issue first came up when schoolgirls who had left to join the Islamic State decided they wanted to return. Young girls wanted to leave to become jihadi brides, but then saw the reality. I have no sympathy and I feel the same about them as I would any other terrorist - they can stay out. Another approach was suggested by a Muslim former police chief Tarique Ghaffur, who said thousands of radical extremists must be locked up in new internment camps to protect Britain. There are up to 3,000 extremists living in the UK, far too many to keep a close eye on. This is something that should be decided by the people, but I certainly agree with it. The only way to stop these senseless attacks is to put any potential threats away." I know it didn't work with the internment of IRA members in NOrthern Ireland when 2,000 alleged paramilitaries were held without trial in makeshift camps. But in today's case the terrorists cannot be negotiated with. The wnat to ruin the wetern world and the will stop at nothing to do this, so we need to have the same appraoch with them. Of the 3,000 extremists living in the UK, 400 fought for Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, MI5 has identified 23,000 jihadis in the UK in recent years, but of them 3,000 are still considered a threat. We can no longer sit around and do nothing. Advertisement

Last Sunday she said she no longer feels comfortable living in London in the wake of the Manchester attack.

'I live in London and quite frankly, I no longer feel safe in the UK. The question now is how do we stop this?' she said.

'I don't doubt that the government have an eye on people that are threats, but one always seems to slip through the net.'
Floating through the streets and gliding down the stairs, Tess Daly looks like she is walking on air in this gravity-defying photo shoot.

The Strictly Come Dancing presenter, 48, showed off her enviably long legs in flirty frocks and playful shorts as she took a starring role in an advertising campaign for a new range of tights by Scholl.

In one striking image, Tess flashes her million-dollar smile as she hovers above the ground while walking her dog in the park.

Shopping spree: Tess Daly is captured floating in mid-air in a stylish shot for a new campaign

Rising above: The TV presenter kicks out her leg as she glides through the London rain

Non-stop glamour: The mother-of-two glances over a menu while wearing an evening gown

In another, she is suspended over an elegant dining table, accentuating her slender figure in a dramatic midnight blue evening gown.

The images were captured by world-renowned photographer Esther Haase, who has shot for the likes of Vogue, Vanity Fair and Elle.

Each aims to convey a moment when women might find themselves putting extra pressure on their legs, leaving them feeling tired and sore.

Research by Scholl reveals British women spend an average of 4.2 hours on their feet every day but this can leave legs feeling tired and heavy.

The study also revealed that a quarter of women have avoided going for a walk because of tired legs, while nearly a fifth have missed out on a shopping trip and one in six have cancelled a night out.

Hectic schedule: Tess was photographed doing activities that keep busy women on their feet

Effortless: Tess' legs are kept supported and comfortable by her Scholl compression tights

Scholl Light Legs 20 Denier Compression Tights aim to give women the support and comfort they need to keep going on their feet from morning until night.

Commenting on the campaign, Tess said: 'As a busy working mum of two, I'm constantly trying to squeeze as much into each day as possible; whether it's the school run, feeding the family, work commitments or catching up with friends.

'I'm constantly on the go and most of my time is spent on my feet. For me, my secret wellbeing weapon to stay energised are Scholl Light Legs Tights - their compression technology makes my legs feel so light, giving me a boost all day long.'
Sweden's royal family is typically at the forefront of the country's National Day celebrations and this year its youngest members are leading the way.

The royal court has released adorable new portraits of Prince Oscar, 15 months, and Princess Estelle, five, to celebrate the national holiday with the latter looking delightful in traditional dress.

Estelle sported a blue and yellow dress embroidered with daisies, teamed with a wide collared white shirt and wore her hair in pigtail plaits.

Meanwhile, her mother Crown Princess Victoria, 39, has released a new set of official portraits to mark her upcoming 40th birthday.

The Swedish royal court has released an adorable portrait of Prince Oscar, 15 months, and Princess Estelle, five, to celebrate the country's National Day

Princess Estelle, five, wore traditional national dress - a blue and yellow frock embroidered with daisies

Crown Princess Victoria, 39, has also released a set of official portraits to mark her upcoming 40th birthday

The images show the future Queen of Sweden looking polished in a crisp white blouse and trousers.

Wearing her hair swept back in her trademark bun, the royal accentuated her features with a slick of black eyeliner and delicate blush.

Mother-of-two Victoria will celebrate her milestone birthday on 14 July, starting with a thanksgiving service in the Royal Chapel.

Guests will then mingle with the royal family during a reception, followed by a carriage procession.

The future Queen of Sweden looked chic in an all-white outfit for new portraits to mark her milestone birthday

The mother-of-two accentuated her features with just a hint of make-up for the portraits

The following evening, a concert will be held at Borgholms IP, as is traditional for the Princess' birthday.

Victoria will no doubt be joined by her husband Prince Daniel, 43, and members of the royal family including King Gustav and Queen Silvia, her sister Princess Madeleine and her brother Prince Carl Philip.

For now however, the royals are focusing on celebrations for National Day, held in honour of two historical events: on 6 June 1523, Gustav Vasa was elected king and, on the same date in 1809, the country adopted a new constitution. It became a public holiday in 2004.

The Crown Princess will celebrate her birthday next month with a thanksgiving service and concert

A smiling Princess Victoria, 39, is preparing for celebrations for her 40th on 14th July

Every year the King and Queen take part in a ceremony at Skansen, Stockholms open-air museum, where the yellow and blue Swedish flag is run up the mast, and children in traditional peasant costume present the royals with bouquets of summer flowers.

National Day also now recognises new Swedish citizens, welcoming them with special ceremonies held around the country.

Not normally known for being the most patriotic nation, National Day has been embraced over recent years, with some groups even pushing for the country to have a national dish, according to the countrys official website.
Eric and Lara Trump will become first time parents in September, but for now they are enjoying some one-on-one time together.

The couple was all smiles as they were photographed leaving Rue 57 restaurant in New York City on Monday evening after having dinner together.

Pregnant Lara, 33, covered her growing baby bump with a flowy top and a camouflage jacket, as she and Eric, 33, strolled through the streets with their Secret Service agents in two.

Date night: Lara Trump covered her baby bump in a flowy top as she and her husband Eric Trump enjoyed dinner at Rue 57 in New York City

The 33-year-old mom-to-be showed off her baby bump in a form-fitting dress last month while enjoying a day in Palm Beach, Florida, with her friend Viviana Freije

President Donald Trump's daughter-in-law paired her nude blouse with cropped chinos and studded, nude flats.

Lara, who wore her long blond hair in natural waves, accessorized her casual date night look with a pair of nude, studded flats and a Louis Vuitton tote bag.

Meanwhile, Eric looked dapper in a suit and white button down, opting to forgo a tie and leave the collar of his shirt open.

On Tuesday morning, Good Morning America aired and ABC News interview with Eric and his older brother Donald Trump Jr., which sees them taking on their father's critics.

The two dismissed the ongoing investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election, with Eric calling it 'the greatest hoax of all time'.

Denial: Eric and his brother Donald Trump Jr. dismissed the ongoing investigation of Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election in a new interview with ABC News

Hitting back: Eric called the investigation 'greatest hoax of all time', while Donald said it was a 'witch hunt'

'I was there throughout the campaign. We have no dealings in Russia. We have no projects in Russia,' he added. 'We have nothing to do with Russia.'

They also discussed the Trump Organization's latest project: budget-friendly hotels called American Idea.

'This is real American and to be able to go in there and cater to them as well I think that's a beautiful thing,' Eric said of the inception of the three-star hotel chain.

Donald and Eric took over management of the Trump Organization after their father became president, but they insist the expansion of mid-market hotel chain 'has nothing to do with politics'.

Working: Lara, who is in charge of the digital strategy for President Trump's 2020 re-election campaign, spoke at the North Carolina Republican Party State Convention on Saturday

Lunch date: Lara is pictured with Kellyanne Conway at the luncheon that took place in Wilmington, North Carolina

However, they have both been working diligently with the Republican National Committee before the 2018 midterm elections while also supporting their father's 2020 re-election campaign.

Donald, Eric, and Lara have already met with GOP leaders in Washington, D.C. last month to talk campaign strategy.

Lara has been put in charge of the president's digital campaign, and the North Carolina native returned to her home state to speak at a luncheon at the 2017 North Carolina GOP Convention on Saturday.

According to WHQR, Lara thanked the crowd of about 1,000 supporters, noting that the state helped lead her father-in-law to victory.

'Love being home': While in her home state, Lara visited her mother and her dog Buffy

Reunited: Eric and Lara struck a pose with her parents and her brother Kyle at Trump National Golf outside of Washington, D.C. last week

She went on to praise the Republican National Committees's unity in comparison to the Democratic National Committee, insisting they were ready for the upcoming elections.

'We work every day alongside the RNC, and we are so in tune with what the other one is doing,' she said.

'We are making sure that we have an incredibly strong party, that were geared up for 2018, that were geared up for 2020.

'And in case nobody looked around at the other side, they look pretty bad, guys. It does not look good for the DNC right now.'

Amid their campaign efforts, Lara and Eric are expecting their first child - a boy - in September.

Lara, who is about six months pregnant, enjoyed some time with her mother while she was home over the weekend before heading back to New York City.
Hugh Hefner's ex-wife Kimberly Conrad Hefner has recreated her 1988 Playboy cover  and the sultry shoot was all their son Cooper's idea.

Kimberly, 54, was one of seven Playboy Playmates who re-enacted their legendary magazine shoots, keeping with Hefner's idea that once you are Playmate, you're always a Playmate.

Cooper, the 25-year-old chief creative officer at Playboy Enterprises, revealed in a video shared on Instagram that the idea to have his mom star in the stunning photo series came to him on Mother's Day of all days.

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Simply stunning: Hugh Hefner's ex-wife Kimberly Conrad Hefner has recreated her 1988 Playboy cover (left) at the age of 54 (right)

Getting better with age: Kimberly, who was Playmate of the Year in 1989, stripped down to a black lace bra for the shoot

'We decided to re-shoot a bunch of our old covers,' he explains in the clip. 'I was sitting with my mom on Mother's Day and thought, "Hey mom, do you want the opportunity to re shoot your old cover?"

'A pretty unconventional Mother's Day present, but she said yes.'

The footage sees Kimberly modeling a button-down shirt and blazer that are left open, exposing her black lace bra.

The mother-of-two is posed holding the tie around her neck with a brimmed hat on her head.

Nearly identical: The model donned an open button-down, blazer, and tie, just like she did for the original shoot in 1988

Like it was yesterday: Kimberly proudly struck a pose for the shoot, which was her son Cooper's idea

Although the two identical cover shots were taken nearly 30 years apart, Kimberly looks just as stunning now in the men's-inspired getup as she did back then.

At the end of the clip, Cooper proudly gives his mother a hug; however, when he shared the footage on Instagram over the weekend, he admitted it 'made for an interesting Mother's Day'.

Of course, Cooper also had his fiancee, British actress Scarlett Byrne, pose for the magazine's March/April 2017 issue.

Kimberly, who is also mom to 27-year-old Marston Hefner, recreated her August 1988 cover, which was taken after she was chosen as Playboy's Playmate of the Month in January of that year.

Nearly a year later, Kimberly became Hefner's second wife and went on to be named the Playmate of the Year in 1989.

Too cute: Cooper, 25, gave his mom a hug while she was on set for the shoot

Unconventional gift! Cooper, who is the chief creative officer of Playboy Enterprises, revealed in an Instagram video that he asked his mom to be a part of the shoot on Mother's Day

Hefner and Kimberly married in July 1989 and went on to have their sons Marston (left) and Cooper (right). The family is pictured in 1998, the same year the couple separated

Hefner, who is now 91, temporarily gave up his bachelor image when he married Kimberly. However, his former wife said she was wrongly blamed for the Playboy Mansion's wild parties being toned down following their union.

'Hef and I started dating, got married, had kids, and the rest is history,' she told Playboy. 'There was a common misconception that I put the kibosh on the partying at the Mansion. It had nothing to do with me.

'The Playmates still came over, but it was nice to have them call and say, "Hi! Im coming up!" Let the office know. It was still wide open. It was still the ultimate restaurant and health club with a 24-hour membership. We never refused anyone, ever.

Loving son and grandson: Cooper paid tribute to his mother and grandmother on Mother's Day in May with these throwback photos

Smile for the camera: Cooper is pictured with his mom and grandmother in 2013

Happy couple: Cooper also had his fiancee, British actress Scarlett Byrne, pose for the magazine's March/April 2017 issue

'But its nice to know that theres going to be people in your house when youre coming downstairs in the morning. [Laughs] It was always an open door and open gate. It was just a different time, you know?'

Kimberly and Hefner separated nine years after they said 'I do' in July 1989, but they didn't officially divorce until 2010.

Hefner married his current wife Crystal Harris in 2012; he was also married to Mildred Williams from 1949 to 1959.

But the former Mrs. Hefner wasn't the only one who agreed to pay homage to her Playboy days.

Not alone: Kimberly was one of seven Playmates who recreated their iconic covers. Charlotte Kemp re-enacted her October 1983 cover (pictured)

Old friends: Charlotte, 56, struck a pose with Kimberly while on set

Far from shy: Cathy St. George stripped down to nothing to re-enact her racy October 1981 cover shot (left). Cathy (right) admitted she doesn't 'remember most of the eighties'

Charlotte Kemp, December Playmate 1982, recalled still being a virgin when she shot her first Playboy shoot.

The 56-year-old model proudly recreated her October 1983 cover, which sees her dabbing perfume between her breasts while wearing a black lace bra.

And Cathy St. George, August Playmate 1982, stripped down to nothing to re-enact her racy October 1981 cover shot, which sees her covering her nude body with a strategically place bow-tie and button down.

'I dont remember most of the eighties,' she admitted. 'If you lived it, you dont remember it.'

The women were joined by former Playmates Monique St. Pierre, Renee Tenison, Candace Collins, and Lisa Matthews, who all happily stripped down to re-enact their iconic cover shoots.
An obese mother has revealed how she lost seven stone after her boyfriend posted a photo of her in a swimsuit on Facebook.

Charlotte Burgess, 25, from Wigan, Greater Manchester, piled on the pounds while she was pregnant with her son, Harley, and at her heaviest, tipped the scales at 18st.

The size 22 nursing assistant was so ashamed of her body she refused to allow her boyfriend Danny Coates, 25, to see her naked and the couple did not have sex for months.

The turning point came when Danny shared a picture of her in a hot tub online. 'I saw there were bulges escaping from every direction,' Charlotte said. 'I started crying. He honestly hadn't thought it would worry me because he loved me the way I was.'

Mortified: Mother-of-one Charlotte Burgess was left 'in tears' when her boyfriend shared this photo of her in a hot tub on Facebook, saying her 'bulges were escaping in every direction'

Transformation: The nursing assistant dropped from 18st, left, to 11st, right, in just 10 months

Leading by example: Charlotte said she is teaching son Harley, pictured, healthy eating habits

Charlotte vowed to make a change and lost a staggering 7st in just 10 months. She now proudly shows off her 11st frame in size 10 clothes and said Danny can take 'all the pictures he likes'.

She said: 'I've never looked or felt better, and in building my self-esteem I have saved my relationship.'

Charlotte and railway worker Danny Coates got together in 2013. But when she became pregnant two years later she gained weight fast.

At four months' pregnant she had piled on 3st, weighing 16st 10lb.

Charlotte had to have her son Harley early as she was too obese for a full-term pregnancy.

She said: 'I was anxious because we have a history of miscarriage in the family. I told myself it was good to eat for two, but I was eating for four at least.'

Shedding the pounds: Nursing assistant Charlotte before, left, and during the weight loss

Confident: Charlotte now lets Danny, pictured with son Harley, take all the pictures he likes

Still working as a nursing assistant, and tired due to her pregnancy, she turned to sugary treats.

Charlotte said: 'I was too tired to cook after work so I always got a take-away and Danny would come home with a large bar of chocolate to make me smile.

'My midwife told me I was now clinically obese. I was ashamed but I just ate more to feel better.'

She added: 'My blood pressure and blood sugar was through the roof.'

With a BMI of 38.8 she soon suffered weight related complications.

Trim and toned: Charlotte can now slip her 11st frame into size 10 clothes, pictured

'I was advised to eat more healthily for the sake of me and the baby, but by four and a half months I had developed gestational diabetes. At my five-month scan the sonographer raised concerns about the size of the baby.

'I had to have additional scans to check on him every two weeks, and each time I felt like I was being frowned on for being so overweight.

'I was so ashamed but I was locked in a vicious circle of relying on food every time I felt down.'

Body beautiful: Charlotte strikes a pose

By 37 weeks  three weeks before her due date  Charlotte was 18st and her health was so poor due to complications it was decided, for safety, to induce the birth early.

'I was petrified and could never have forgiven myself if my binge eating had caused my baby harm in any way, she said. 'Thankfully Harley was born healthy, weighing 8lb.'

Tired from caring for a newborn Charlotte began relying on quick convenience foods and takeaways.

She says: 'I felt I was failing him and was too ashamed of my weight to attend a mother and baby group.'

She refused to undress in front of Danny and they did not have sex for five months after Harley's birth.

Charlotte continued: 'That's when Danny surprised me with a romantic mini-break in the Lake District to mark our three-year anniversary. He was so excited to tell me that the lodge even had its own hot tub.

'I was terrified at the thought of having to get my body out. I bought a huge black size 22 swimming costume with hold-it-all-in panels.'

Then, after a few glasses of wine, Charlotte ventured into the hot tub.

She recalled: 'I felt confident you couldn't see my body when he took the picture.

Dramatic change: Charlotte revealed how she lost 2st within the first five weeks of her plan

'But days later I was in for a shock when he posted it on Facebook, tagging me for friends and family to see.'

After being left in tears at the photo, Charlotte signed up with the Cambridge Weight Plan and quickly saw the pounds fall away.

She said: 'In five weeks I was 2st down. I knew it was so important to get Harley on healthy foods from the start so while I was steaming broccoli for me I was pureeing it for Harley. Finally I felt like a good mum leading by example.'

Charlotte added: 'I could have killed Danny when he tagged me but now I am glad he did. Now he can post all the pictures he likes.'
She's slowly gaining more and more sartorial confidence and Queen Mathilde stepped out in her trendiest outfit yet on Tuesday.

The Queen of Belgium was resplendent in a lilac dress as she arrived at the presentation of the Queen Elisabeth Competition Prize at the Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth in Waterloo, Belgium.

This year, the Queen Elisabeth Competition was devoted to the cello and the royal looked delighted to be part of proceedings.

Queen Mathilde was a vision in an intricate purple dress as she attended a musical presentation in Belgium on Tuesday

Following in the Duchess of Cambridge's footsteps, the 44-year-old accessorised her look with intricate pearl earrings.

The competition is an annual music contest, this year asking for cello players to put their musical talents forward.

This year is the first time the competition has asked for cello players with previous categories including singing and violin.

Finals for the competition started on Monday and concluded today with each evening seeing an audience hear two finalists perform at the Brussels Centre for Fine Arts.

First prize went to French cellist Victor Julien-Laferriere, who chatted away to the royal.

Queen Mathilde greets the winner of the first prize of the Queen Elisabeth Competition, French cellist Victor Julien-Laferriere during the presentation of the Queen Elisabeth Competition Prize at the Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth in Waterloo

Finals for the competition started on Monday and concluded today with each evening seeing an audience hear two finalists perform at the Brussels Centre for Fine Arts

The Queen Elisabeth Competition was devoted to the cello and the royal looked delighted to be part of proceedings

The Queen of Belgium cut an elegant figure in a stylish lilac dress and hat as she applauded the performers

Queen Mathilde acts as Honorary President of the Queen Elisabeth Competition.

The Queen of Belgium cut an elegant figure in a sleeveless emerald dress as she welcomed the jury for the Queen Elisabeth Competition to her home in Brussels last Tuesday.

The 44-year-old showcased her enviable figure with a waist-cinching belt and showcased her lengthy legs in a pair of nude heels.

Famous for her perfectly coiffed locks Mathilde certainly didn't let standards slip as she welcomed her guests today.

The mother-of-four added a touch of sophisticated bling to her ensemble in the form of statement earrings set with an elegant stone.

Mathilde kept her beauty look to a minimal this afternoon opting with a soft smoky eye and a slick of berry lipstick.

The Belgian royal showcased her enviable figure with a waist-cinching belt and flaunted her lengthy legs in a pair of nude heels last week

The Belgian royal was joined by her husband King Philippe, 57, who looked distinguished in an indigo suit for his visitor's arrival on Tuesday.

The couple were today welcoming the jury who will decide the winner of the Queen Elisabeth Competition 2017.

After greeting their guests the King and Queen posed for a commemorative photo with the judges.
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The Swedish capital of Stockholm was awash with colour on Tuesday as the royals stepped out in traditional dress to celebrate National Day.

Dressed in traditional folk costume an adorable Princess Estelle, five, was met by the applause of well-wishers as she paraded the streets in a traditional horse and cart on their way to Skansen.

She was accompanied by her mother Crown Princess Victoria who looked equally festive in the traditional blue and yellow ensemble, and her father Crown Prince Daniel in a suave blue suit.

The Swedish royals put on a festive display on Tuesday as they celebrated National Day. Pictured, left to right: Prince Daniel, Crown Princess Victoria, King Carl Gustaf, Queen Silvia, Prince Carl Philip, Princess Sofia of Sweden, Chris O'Neill, and Princess Madeleine

The royal couple joined other members of the royal family at the Royal Palace of Stockholm for the annual celebration where they posed for photos.

Also dressed in the embroidered pinafore of the country's national colours were Queen Silvia, Princess Sofia of and Princess Madeleine of Sweden, who were joined by their smartly dressed partners King Carl Gustaf, Prince Carl Philip, and Chris O'Neil.

Swedes celebrate their National Day on 6 June in honour of two historical events: on 6 June 1523, Gustav Vasa was elected king and, on the same date in 1809, the country adopted a new constitution. It became a public holiday in 2004.

Stealing the show was young Princess Estelle who was joined by her parents Victoria and Daniel on a traditional horse and cart as they paraded the streets of Stockholm

The family waved to well-wishers who lined the streets carrying the Swedish flag in celebration of the event

Every year the King and Queen take part in a ceremony at Skansen, Stockholms open-air museum, where the yellow and blue Swedish flag is run up the mast, and children in traditional peasant costume present the royal couple with bouquets of summer flowers.

National Day also now recognises new Swedish citizens, welcoming them with special ceremonies held around the country.

In celebration of the event the royal court has released adorable new portraits of Prince Oscar, 15 months, and Princess Estelle, five, to celebrate the national holiday with the latter looking delightful in traditional dress.

Children in traditional peasant costume present the royal couple with bouquets of summer flowers that Victoria seemed overjoyed to receive

Queen Silvia also appeared to be in high spirits as she and her husband King Carl Gustaf lead the way for the parade

Estelle sported a blue and yellow dress embroidered with daisies, teamed with a wide collared white shirt and wore her hair in pigtail plaits.

Meanwhile, her mother Crown Princess Victoria, 39, has released a new set of official portraits to mark her upcoming 40th birthday.

The images show the future Queen of Sweden looking polished in a crisp white blouse and trousers.

Wearing her hair swept back in her trademark bun, the royal accentuated her features with a slick of black eyeliner and delicate blush.

Swedes celebrate their National Day on 6 June in honour of two historical events: on 6 June 1523, Gustav Vasa was elected king and, on the same date in 1809, the country adopted a new constitution. Pictured: Victoria on her way to Skansen

Every year the King and Queen (pictured) take part in a ceremony at Skansen, Stockholms open-air museum, where the yellow and blue Swedish flag is run up the mast

While the female royals are expected to dress in the colours of the Swedish flags the male members of the family stick to classic suits for the event as seen with Prince Daniel here

The Swedish royal court has released an adorable portrait of Prince Oscar, 15 months, and Princess Estelle, five, to celebrate the country's National Day

Princess Estelle, five, wore traditional national dress - a blue and yellow frock embroidered with daisies

Crown Princess Victoria, 39, has also released a set of official portraits to mark her upcoming 40th birthday

Mother-of-two Victoria will celebrate her milestone birthday on 14 July, starting with a thanksgiving service in the Royal Chapel.

Guests will then mingle with the royal family during a reception, followed by a carriage procession.

The following evening, a concert will be held at Borgholms IP, as is traditional for the Princess' birthday.

Victoria will no doubt be joined by her husband Prince Daniel, 43, and members of the royal family including King Gustav and Queen Silvia, her sister Princess Madeleine and her brother Prince Carl Philip.

The future Queen of Sweden looked chic in an all-white outfit for new portraits to mark her milestone birthday

The mother-of-two accentuated her features with just a hint of make-up for the portraits

The Crown Princess will celebrate her birthday next month with a thanksgiving service and concert
For a father who hears the special words Its a girl, there are now more reasons than ever to crack open the champagne.

A study from Harvard Business School has found that a daughter wont just bring sugar and spice and all things nice into his life. Having a girl is also great for a mans career. It will make him a better husband  and even help him live longer.

In the run-up to Fathers Day, TANITH CAREY looks at how having a daughter changes a doting father . . .

A study from Harvard Business School has found that a daughter wont just bring sugar and spice and all things nice into his life

SOFTLY, SOFTLY  HELL FINALLY UNDERSTAND THE OPPOSITE SEX

Tired of trying to get your man to understand your feelings? Having a daughter could finally help him to see life from your point of view.

Whether its a boy or a girl, becoming a father reshapes a dads brain. When a mewling newborn is placed in their arms, men experience a sharp dip in their levels of the male hormone testosterone and a hike in the female bonding hormone oxytocin.

But that softening effect is prolonged and intensified if the little baby in his arms is a girl, as he spends more time talking to and trying to interpret the emotions of his daughters.

In a study last month, more than 50 fathers were given digital recording devices to track their interactions with their toddler sons and daughters.

Barack Obama, who has two daughters, Malia, 18, and Sasha, 15, said that his dinner time chats with his girls helped change his mind on same-sex marriage

When the conversations were analysed, it was found that dads with daughters spent about 60 per cent more time responding attentively to their girls than they did to boys.

They also spent five times as long singing and talking more openly about emotions such as sadness, according to the research in the journal Behavioural Neuroscience.

Psychotherapist Phillip Hodson explains: As a male, you have to learn a different script when you have a daughter. Girls push a different set of buttons in a man.

While fathers may get locked in physical power struggles with their boys, they have to learn to negotiate with daughters.

When a man becomes a father to a girl, he learns much more about what it means to be a woman, according to family psychologist Emma Citron.

A daughter teaches a man about what it means to be a girl in a way that a sibling, wife or mother doesnt, she says. Even if youre in a relationship with a woman, its not the same as having a vulnerable little girl who relies on you for everything.

With a son, a father might be more inclined to treat him like a mini-me. But when he has a daughter, a man has to step outside himself.

Hes got to change his perspective and outlook. It challenges him to step outside the male norms he has been brought up with.

RELAX, SHELL TAKE GOOD CARE OF YOU

You may feel that your teenage daughters moodiness and mind games are taking years off your life. But according to a study of parents in Poland, dads end up living longer if they have daughters.

According to research, published in the American Journal of Human Biology, a mans life expectancy increased by six months for every daughter he had, while having sons made no difference.

This was probably due to girls being more attentive carers in old age than boys.

Footballer David Beckham and his adorable daughter Harper in an Instagram post

According to a study of parents in Poland, dads end up living longer if they have daughters

Phillip Hodson says: It may be that having a daughter is a de-stressor or relaxant.

As target-driven as fathers tend to be with boys, having girls may give dads time to enjoy the moment, rather than seeing everything as a means to an end. So their hearts could come under less pressure.

Mums, however, lose around seven months for every son or daughter they have, because of the physical toll motherhood takes on them.

YOU'LL BE A MORE GENEROUS BOSS

If youre an employee hoping for a pay rise, youd better hope your boss has a daughter. Having a girl makes male executives less stingy than if they have sons.

The bad news is that all bosses tend to tighten their belts after becoming parents, according to a study in the journal Administrative Science Quarterly.

Researchers tracking the pay given out by male chief executives at more than 10,000 Danish firms found that they paid 70 less on average to their workers after becoming fathers.

This is probably because men unconsciously felt they needed to tighten their companys  and their own  purse-strings to provide for their own dependants first.

Bruce Willis with his daughters Rumer, Tallulah Belle and Scout Larue

If youre an employee hoping for a pay rise, youd better hope your boss has a daughter. Having a girl makes male executives less stingy than if they have sons

However, when the scientists looked more closely, they found that most of the cuts were made by fathers of boys.

Dads who had daughters didnt actually drop wages. Instead, they kept them level, possibly because having girls led them to develop more care-taking tendencies.

And if you are a woman looking for a new job, find yourself a boss who is a father to girls.

When CEOs have daughters, researchers have found that womens wages rise more in line with those of men.

If a male bosss first child is a girl, the gender pay gap closes by 2.8 per cent. If a second daughter comes along, it narrows a further 0.4 per cent. However, having boys didnt make any difference to the pay gap, according to the study by Aalborg University in Denmark.

When there are pay rises to be dished out, better-educated women have been found to benefit the most, probably because theyre the sort of women the male bosses want their own daughters to become.

Leadership psychologist Averil Leimon of White Water Women, which has researched how females are treated in top corporate environments, says that having a daughter can help men see where there has been inequality in the workplace in a way they didnt before. Having a daughter, and seeing life from her point of view, may help some men see what is invisible until then.

SHE COULD EVEN SWING YOUR VOTE

Think youre a dyed-in-the-wool Tory? If you become a dad to a daughter, you could find that your sympathies start swinging the other way.

According to research by the University of Warwick, dads who have girls are more likely to start voting for Left-wing parties almost as soon as their daughters are born.

The study, published in the Review of Economics and Statistics, was based on data from the British Household Panel. More than 10,000 people were interviewed to study their voting patterns before and after the birth of their children. On average, it was found that each daughter raised a mans likelihood of casting a Left-wing vote by more than two percentage points.

Will Smith andhis daughter Willow Smith at the LA Premiere of 'The Karate Kid' in 2010

Think youre a dyed-in-the-wool Tory? If you become a dad to a daughter, you could find that your sympathies start swinging the other way

Having sons did not have the same effect.

And women who had boys moved in the opposite direction and became more Right-wing.

The likely explanation is that, over time, dads of daughters may unconsciously become more sympathetic to paying higher taxes and increasing healthcare funding, which is traditionally a female voting tendency, according to Andrew Oswald, professor of economics and behavioural science, who co-authored the study.

He said: Its remarkable. We can detect a change in the first 12 months of a baby arriving in the house. If you started off moving toward the Lib Dems when your first daughter was born, you could be voting Labour by the time the next one comes along.

SHE'LL MAKE A FEMINIST OF YOU

Donald Trump is probably not the first person who springs to mind when you hear the word feminist.

But it was his daughter Ivanka who persuaded him to become the first Republican president to include paid parental leave as part of his 2018 budget.

His predecessor Barack Obama, who has two daughters, Malia, 18, and Sasha, 15, was also the first president to publicly describe himself as a feminist  and said that his dinner time chats with his girls helped change his mind on same-sex marriage.

Barack Obama, who has two daughters, Malia, 18, and Sasha, 15, was also the first president to publicly describe himself as a feminist

Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka (left) persuaded him to become the first Republican president to include paid parental leave as part of his 2018 budget

Psychologist Dr Cliff Arnall says men often become more protective when they have daughters: If a father sees another man being rude or disrespectful to a female worker, then its not a big jump for him to think That could happen to my daughter. Averil Leimon also says that fathers who have daughters often learn to become more comfortable dealing with women in a non-sexual way.

Fathers of daughters have to learn to sublimate their sexual responses to nubile teenage friends of daughters, to au pairs and so on, she explains.

Most of them succeed. So instead of seeing women as mothers or sexual partners, men start to see women more as human beings in their own right.

Such men are also probably more able to develop emotional literacy while interacting with daughters  and this may have a general knock-on effect in their dealings with other women. Though quite where this leaves President Trump after his comment in 1997 that his then 16-year-old daughter Ivanka was hot is uncertain.

HELL CHANGE THE WORLD

Men who have daughters are more likely to try to change the world for the better, according to research.

All of the last five male prime ministers were fathers of girls.

Dads become more caring at work, too, according to research by the University of Miami.

Companies run by executives with female children were found to spend 13.4 per cent more of their income on corporate social responsibility programmes.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan posted A Letter to Our Daughter in which they announced plans to give 34 billion to a new organisation to promote equal rights, improve education and move over to sustainable energy sources

Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates decided to set up the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation  four years after having his first daughter, Jennifer, in 1996

What better example is there than Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan who gave birth to their first child, a daughter, Maxima, in December 2015.

After she was born, they posted A Letter to Our Daughter in which they announced plans to give 34 billion to a new organisation to promote equal rights, improve education and move over to sustainable energy sources, telling her: Like all parents, we want you to grow up in a world better than ours today.

And Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates decided to set up the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation  four years after having his first daughter, Jennifer, in 1996.

DAUGHTERS WILL ENRICH HIS LIFE

Having girls doesnt just make you a nicer boss to work for. A study last month found it could also make you better off.

A survey of venture capitalist firms, which are traditionally male-dominated, found that when they were headed by senior partners with daughters, they had more gender-balanced workforces, increasing the number of women they hired by 24 per cent.

On top of that, they also saw investor returns rise by about 4 per cent.

Averil Leimon says: Its been proven over and over again that hiring more women is good for business and gets you better returns.

In my view, if you are a boss allowing yourself to be softened by a daughter, it also makes you a more evolved man.

. . . AND A BONUS FOR THE GIRLS

It used to be assumed that a mothers love was the most important factor in how a daughter turned out. But a growing body of research has found that fathers are just as important, if not more, to the future happiness and success of a girls relationships.

According to the Childrens Society, daughters of men who are more closely involved in raising the children develop better friendships with others, more empathy and more self-worth.

A growing body of research has found that fathers are just as important, if not more, to the future happiness and success of a girls relationships

They are also more likely to wait to lose their virginity until they are ready and not get involved in risky sexual behaviour, according to a study in the Journal Of Personality And Social Psychology.

Dr Angharad Rudkin, a child clinical psychologist at the University of Southampton, says: When it comes to measures of wellbeing, one that stands out for girls is whether they have good relationship with their dads.

If they feel they have their seal of approval, they take that forward into their lives and into healthier adult relationships.
In an age when the best way to generate demand for your food is to make it not just tasty but picture-perfect, it makes sense to help customers take the most Instagrammable food snaps possible.

So when Magnum opened its only ice cream store in the US late last month, they outfitted it with a drool-worthy ice cream bar where patrons can personalize their own treats  and ice-cream-bar-sized booths to offer the perfect backdrop for those #Magnum photos.

The genius move has clearly paid off: Instagram is already flooded with snaps of the shop's custom bars.

Nom nom! Magnum has just opened a pop-up store in New York City

Too pretty to eat: The shop lets customers make incredible personalized ice cream bars

Gotta try 'em all: With so many toppings  and three chocolate dips  to choose from, there are endless possibilities

The set-up: Magnum has also set up special social media boots to take perfect pictures

Snap away! The tiny booths are just big enough to fit a couple of bars

Magnum has similar 'Pleasure Stores' in Europe  there are permanent outposts in Rome, Venice, and Milan  but its brand new New York location is the only one in the US.

It's also only open for a limited time: Magnum has set up the pop-up shop for just the summer months, meaning customers will have to rush to the Meatpacking location before it closes up.

And they may want to stop by more than once. Unlike the Magnum offerings available at supermarkets, these stores sell special personalized pops for $8 apiece, allowing customers to pick what goes into (and on top of) their bars.

Shoppers start with a chocolate or vanilla ice cream bar base, and then choose one of three Belgian chocolate flavors to dip it in: milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or white chocolate.

Destination: The shop, which is in Manhattan's Meatpacking District, is the only Magnum store in the US

A limited time! A similar pop-up came to NYC in 2016, and this one is also only open for the summer

Bespoke treat: Unlike the Magnum bars that can be bought in supermarkets, these are totally customizable

Delicious: Customers can pick three toppings to decorate their bars with

Picture-perfect: There are lots of spots in the store to take pictures before eating, in addition to the special booths

The ice cream comes in vanilla or chocolate and can be dipped in milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or white chocolate. Another chocolate drizzle is also added over the toppings

Truly genius: The Instagram booths provide the perfect backdrop for a social media snap

Hot spot: The delicious pop-up has only been open for a matter of weeks but is already hugely popular

Two favorite toppings  for taste and pretty pops of color  are dried raspberry pieces and green mint chocolate chips

Gorgeous: Customers also love the edible rose petals and glittery gold sugar

Returning: The booths are are back after appearing in the pop-up last summer

Finally, the fun part: Customers pick three toppings from a full bar of pretty, tasty treats, and can decorate their ice cream with things like pink sea salt, dried raspberry pieces, coconut flakes, blue chocolate-covered sunflower seeds, orange chocolate crispy pearls, sprinkles, nuts, a variety of crushed cookies, and Fruity Pebbles cereal.

Particular crowd favorites include pretty edible rose petals, sparkly gold sugar, and mint chocolate chips.

Naturally, with such gorgeous and mouth-watering results, trendy Manhattanites and eager tourists have been quick to stage speedy photo-shoots  they do melt, after all  before taking a bite.

This is where the true genius of the store comes in: Whereas visitors of the store in Rome have to take their treats outside to shoot them over the cobblestone streets, and Venetians try to get in front of a canal for a snap before their gorgeous dessert melts, the New York spot has several small booths for shoppers to set up their ice cream in for a photo.

Line up! There's a long topping bar where customers pick what they want on their treat

What to pick? Toppings include nuts, cookie pieces, sprinkles, coconut, and pink sea salt

The toppings are pre-mixed and then sprinkled on the bar when it comes out of the dipping pot

Other toppings include blue chocolate-covered sunflower seeds, orange chocolate crispy pearls, and Fruity Pebbles cereal

Much like E!'s now-defunct award show 'mani cam', which offered a setting small enough for a star to show off her rings and nail polish, these booths are big enough to fit two to three ice cream bars.

Playing on the Meatpacking District vibe  which is industrial-turned-trendy  the insides of the booth look like pink, purple, and gold-painted metal construction materials.

And if the line for these booths has gotten too long during rush times, there are plenty of other pretty backdrops, including a wall decorated with gold balloons and a purple light-up sign that reads 'A day without pleasure is a day lost'

There is also a giant screen playing Cara Delevigne's new film campaign for Magnum, display cases filled with bags from Moschino's Magnum collaboration, and five larger-than-life rhinestone-bedecked Magnum bars paying homage to the New York City neighborhood.

Special attention: The store has also been decorated with a New York-centric theme

Blinged-out bars pay homage to things in the Meatpacking District, including the Highline (a park) and the Whitney Museum

Star-studded: There's also a large screen playing Cara Delevigne's new video campaign for Magnum
An Italian man was lucky to escape serious injury after a drinking glass he had shoved up his anus for pleasure shattered.

The unnamed patient, believed to be from Milan, told doctors he put the object up his bottom for 'sexual stimulation'.

But when he tried to remove the 8cm by 6cm drinking vessel, it broke and sharp pieces of glass were left scattered inside him.

He eventually sought medical help two days later when he became worried about his safety - despite being in no pain.

The unnamed patient, believed to be from Milan, told doctors he put the 6x8cm drinking glass up his bottom for 'sexual stimulation' (pictured: an X-ray taken before it was removed)

X-rays confirmed the presence of glass in his rectum, which appeared with the bottom-side facing up, experts wrote in BMJ Case Reports.

A history of cocaine abuse

OBJECTS EXPERTS SAY YOU SHOULDN'T PUT IN YOUR ANUS There are a range of sexual toys designed specifically for the anus of men and women available on the market. This is because the anus is much more sensitive and requires smoother objects to enter it for stimulation. All objects designed for anal sex also have a flared base which prevents it from ever getting sucked inside by the anus' very strong muscles. But people have long experimented with different objects in their anus, which risk their health. In an online forum, doctors say that anal masturbation with appropriate toys or fingers is fine, but other objects can tear tissue and even lead to a perforated colon. Other doctors warn of an anal sphincter injury leading to incontinence. Dr Michael Brady, medical director at Terrence Higgins Trust, said: 'Sex toys and other objects can be a safe and enjoyable part of a healthy sex life but its important to use common sense when choosing an object. 'Anything with sharp edges or made of glass can shatter and tear the internal lining, which can cause injury and infections, as well as giving viruses an easier route into the body. 'Anything that is inserted into the body should be smooth, non-fragile and easily retrievable.' Advertisement

The patient, who had a history of cocaine abuse, was then immediately transferred to the operating theatre.

Surgeons dilated his rectum, allowing for them to widen his passage to enable an examination device to enter.

Sharp fragments were then extracted, before the remainder of the glass was picked out using forceps.

Upon further inspection, the team at the 2IRCCS Policlinico San Donato Surgery found no other fragments of glass.

However, the patient did complain of abdominal pain, suggesting that not all of the fragments were removed.

But the doctors found no pieces were remaining.

Psychiatric help offered

The patient was offered psychiatric help following his incident, but he refused and was instead allowed home the next day.

He eventually returned to full health three months later.

Writing in the journal, the doctors said: 'A variety of objects impacted in the rectum have been described: bottles, sex toys, vegetables, etc.

'Generally, patients with rectal foreign bodies (RFB) try to retrieve the objects by themselves because of shame and embarrassment to seek medical care, but the majority fail in these attempts and eventually present to the emergency room.

'Management of these patients requires a respectful and non-condemnatory attitude on behalf of doctors and nurses.

'Prior to discharge, patients should be educated on the potential dangers of their habit.'
The inspiration for medical breakthroughs comes from many sources  and that includes things found in and around the kitchen.

Only last month came news of a gadget to help against deadly sepsis infections based on, of all things, a sieve.

Blood is pumped through the sepsis sieve, which filters it and uses magnetic particles to stick to bacteria and other particles that cause sepsis. The cleaned blood is then returned to the patient.

But this isnt the only kitchen-inspired medical aid, as we reveal . . .

CORKSCREW

No kitchen is without these, and nor are most operating theatres.

Corkscrew devices are used to remove bone in a hip replacement operation. The hip is a ball-and-socket joint and during surgery the damaged ball  also known as the femoral head  is replaced with a metal ball that is put into the hollow centre of the femur, or thighbone.

Corkscrew devices are used to remove bone in a hip replacement operation

The corkscrew-like device enables the surgeon to get a firm grip on the femoral head to remove it.

A corkscrew is also used in fractures where the femoral head is broken off and is otherwise hard to remove, says Greg Packer, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon at Spire Wellesley Hospital and Southend University Hospital. It makes getting the head out much easier.

He says they are helpful in other operations, too. During wrist replacements I use a much smaller corkscrew to remove the bones of the wrist. And in revision surgery [when an existing joint replacement is replaced], its quite common to insert a corkscrew into the implant you want to remove. They make removing devices from bony canals much easier.

EGG WHISK

A tiny high-speed egg whisk-like device can keep blood flowing round the body during surgery. It lets patients with weak hearts have an artery unblocked without risk of kidney failure or cardiac arrest.

The device is transported inside a long tube, through an incision in the groin. Its fed to the major blood vessel, the aorta, that runs from the heart to the abdomen.

A tiny high-speed egg whisk-like device can keep blood flowing round the body during surgery

Once in place near the heart, the device is unloaded from the long tube, the protective cage is opened and propeller arms unfolded.

When switched on it can achieve up to 12,000rpm. This helps push the blood around the body and transport blood to the kidneys.

We know the technology works, and it means we can lower the risk of carrying out surgery on patients with heart failure, says Dr Punit Ramrakha, a consultant cardiologist at Hammersmith Hospital.

CLING FILM

A hi-tech version of the kitchen wrap is used to help prevent adhesions forming after surgery.

Adhesions are tough bands of scar tissue that form around the incision and on nearby tissues and organs, potentially sticking them together. The most common problem this causes is chronic pain.

kitchen wrap is used to help prevent adhesions forming after surgery

The surgical cling film acts as a barrier to fibrin, a protein found in the blood, that is produced in large quantities following trauma such as surgery. While it helps healing, it also encourages the growth of fibrous scars.

Called REPEL-CV, the cling film material is approved for use in cardiac surgery.

It is put over the heart after surgery to prevent adhesions forming around it and dissolves in the body, usually after four weeks  by which time the extra production of fibrin has stopped and the incision site has healed.

According to a study of 144 heart surgery patients presented at the U.S. Society of Thoracic Surgeons meeting in 2008, more than 70 per cent were free of significant adhesions after having had the cling film covering, compared to less than 30 per cent of those who did not have the treatment.

Cling film is great, says Professor Raj Persad, a consultant uro-oncology surgeon at the North Bristol NHS Trust and Bristol Urology Associates.

We also use it to stick on the abdomen and make incisions through it so organisms on the skin dont penetrate the wound. It is also used in prosthetic surgery in orthopaedics and urology.

MICROWAVES

In the kitchen microwave ovens emit waves of electromagnetic radiation energy that are absorbed by water molecules, making them vibrate and generate heat.

The same principle applies to the use of microwaves in medicine, where they can be a less invasive alternative to surgery.

A device that emits microwaves is sometimes used to reduce an enlarged prostate gland.

A device that emits microwaves is sometimes used to reduce an enlarged prostate gland

The heat is targeted to destroy excess tissue that grows over time. Transurethral microwave therapy (TUMT), as it is called, can be performed as an outpatient procedure and reduces the increased need to go to the loo that occurs with an enlarged prostate.

Similar microwave devices are used in cancer patients to destroy malignant tissue in, for example, the breast, liver, lung and colon.

Microwave treatment is also used to treat excessive sweating. The patient is given a local anaesthetic and a hand-held device that emits microwave energy heats and shrinks, or destroys, sweat glands. An hour-long treatment led to an 82 per cent reduction in sweating, according to a study of 24 patients at Johns Hopkins University.

FOOD MIXERS

A food mixer-like device is being used in the treatment of burns. It spins blood at the hospital bedside to produce a gel that is put onto the burn. Growth factor proteins and other compounds from the spun blood trigger faster healing, so there is no need for painful and costly skin grafts.

Blood consists of a liquid, called plasma, and red and white blood cells and platelets. The platelets are crucial for clotting, but also contain growth factors which play a role in the healing of injuries.

A food mixer-like device is being used in the treatment of burns

In the new Magellan therapy, blood from a patients arm is put into a mixer  about the size of a kitchen mixer  which spins the blood for several minutes to isolate the plasma and the platelets.

This platelet-rich plasma is then delivered into a syringe ready for immediate use as a gel.

Mixers also mix bone cement used by orthopaedic surgeons.

CHEESE GRATER

So-called cheese grater reamers are used by orthopaedic surgeons to shape bones. In a hip joint replacement the grater may shape the cup-like socket into which the artificial joint will fit.

The hand-held device has a rotating semi-circular grater head to shape the bone.

Cheese grater reamers are very efficient, says Mr Packer. They are especially useful if the implant is to be put in without cement, as it has to fit precisely.

So-called cheese grater reamers are used by orthopaedic surgeons to shape bones

PICKLE FORK

Surgeons call the surgical devices with two blades that they use during operations to release scar tissue pickle forks, due to their close resemblance to the double-pronged kitchen implement.

They are used to tackle scar tissue that forms under the skin and gives it an uneven appearance  as happens with acne  so it can be successfully removed.

Pickle forks are also used in cellulite treatment to cut the fibrous cords under the skin that give it a lumpy appearance.

KITCHEN FOIL

FOIL can help patients with hypothermia, when the body temperature drops dangerously low.

Patients who have had a severe trauma are at risk of low body temperature and so may be given warm fluids intravenously.

However, the fluids can cool down as they pass through the tubes into the patient.

In a study reported in the Journal of Trauma and Injury two years ago, doctors experimented with wrapping the infusion line in aluminium foil, and it worked.

The use of warm fluids and blood components is essential to reduce the probability of hypothermia, reported doctors from Chosun University, South Korea.

This study showed the foil wrapped around the infusion line had an insulator effect  and can be used to avoid hypothermia.

SPOONS

Surgical grade teaspoons are used to scoop out tissue and clean wounds

Surgical grade teaspoons are used to scoop out tissue and clean wounds. Dentists sometimes use spoons to scrape a cavity prior to a filling.

The Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery has reported on the use of a dessert spoon to lift tissue in shoulder joint surgery and free trapped nerves.

Seven years ago, doctors from Ngwelezana Hospital, in South Africa, reported how they used a wooden spoon to prevent internal bleeding during heart surgery.
You may be bored, but do you have the healthy type of boredom? Or the type that may harm or even kill you?

Boredom is increasingly being linked to a range of health problems. And psychologists have come to believe there is more than one type  some suggest that there may be as many as five.

Emerging research shows experiencing the wrong sort of boredom can make us obese, self-destructive, and sexually impotent. It may also lead us to earlier death.

Boredom is increasingly being linked to a range of health problems

But the right type can foster positive traits such as creativity, resilience and happiness.

Oddly, it seems that the way to get healthily bored is to embrace tedium. But most of us would rather electrocute ourselves than suffer boredom, according to a study published in the journal Psychological Research last year.

Sixty-nine volunteers were placed in a lab environment where nothing happened for 15 minutes at a stretch. But the volunteers could use lab equipment to give themselves electric shocks.

The more bored they were, the more likely they were to give themselves shocks  increasingly intense ones at that, say the Maastricht University investigators.

More commonly, when bored, we are prone to gorge on fattening snacks, according to a study involving the universities of Kent and Southampton.

Psychologists asked 140 people to record their food intake and moods, and do lab tests to monitor their eating. They not only ate more calories when bored, but were most likely to eat junk food high in fats, carbs and protein, reported the journal Frontiers In Psychology, in 2015.

Being prone to boredom can also make men a flop in bed, according to German sexologists. A study of more than 1,000 men in relationships found those who scored high on boredom tests were likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction.

The problem was not primarily physical, says the 2015 report in the Journal of Sexual Medicine. The bored men showed a lack of imagination, and their erotic drives withered from tedium.

Worse still, people may find themselves truly bored to death, a long-running study of more than 7,500 civil servants showed. In the mid-Eighties, epidemiologists at University College London asked them to rate daily levels of boredom. In 1999, researchers followed up subsequent health records.

Those who had reported a great deal of boredom were more likely to die during follow-up than those not bored at all, says the report in the International Journal of Epidemiology in 2010. The difference was largely made up of deaths from heart attacks.

Being prone to boredom can also make men a flop in bed, according to German sexologists

It may not have been boredom itself that killed them. The researchers found the easily bored were more likely to smoke, binge-drink and take drugs. They also generally showed less intelligence  essentially, boredom leads the unimaginative to bad habits.

Yet there is an upside to being bored, depending on the type of boredom. A study led by Thomas Goetz, an educational scientist at the University of Konstanz, Germany, identified five types: indifferent, calibrating, searching, reactant and apathetic.

Writing in the journal Motivation and Emotion in 2013 Professor Goetz claimed that while we experience all kinds of boredom, and might switch between them, we each tend to specialise in one.

Reactant boredom is most harmful: this is characterised by intense negative feelings which make people restless, angry and stressed. Meanwhile, indifferent boredom could be beneficial. In this state we are not doing anything particularly satisfying, but feel calm, so can start daydreaming and thinking creatively.

Dr Sandi Mann, a psychologist at the University of Central Lancashire and a pioneering boredom researcher, agrees boredom can be beneficial. All emotions have a purpose, but anything in excess is bad. Boredom is similar to stress in this, she told Good Health.

When people are chronically bored long-term, it can have negative consequences. Students most prone to boredom are more likely to skip lessons. As adults, they are more likely to quit jobs.

Conversely, short-term boredom  what Dr Mann calls downtime  can provide an opportunity for us to develop inner resources to become more creative, she says.

In 2014, Dr Mann asked 80 volunteers to think creatively, inventing as many uses as possible for two polystyrene cups. Beforehand, half the group did a boring task: copying numbers from a phone book.

The study, in the Creativity Research Journal, found those who endured the dull task thought up many more uses for the cups.

Dr Mann, who never plays the radio in the car, believes trying to fend off boredom with electronic devices can actually make us more easily prone to becoming bored.

We become reliant on passive forms of stimulation and lose the ability to go off in our minds.

She has begun a campaign, Switch off to switch on, to encourage people to have one day a week off their devices.
Damaged discs are thought to be a major cause of back pain

A jab which contains a chemical that our body releases during strenuous exercise could help treat chronic back pain.

Researchers are injecting lactic acid, which causes the painful burning sensation in our muscles, into discs in the spine. (Damaged discs are thought to be a major cause of back pain.)

The theory is that lactic acid plumps up the damaged disc to make it stiffer, which means nerves are less likely to get trapped and cause pain.

Around 80 per cent of adults have back pain at some point and one in four cases is caused by disc problems.

The discs in the spine are small cushions between bones that work as shock absorbers and allow flexibility as they prevent the bones of the spine rubbing together.

Discs are made of an outer ring of tough connective tissue  mainly collagen  and a moist, gel-like middle.

From the age of 30, the outer hard casing becomes stiff and more likely to crack, and the gel-like inner section starts to lose some of its water content.

As the discs degenerate they provide less cushioning for the spine and are prone to slipping out of position, or herniating.

A slipped disc can compress one of the nerves in the back, which in turn leads to numbness and pain along the affected nerve. It may also cause sciatica, where pain runs down the leg.

Treatments include exercise or physiotherapy and painkillers. In severe cases patients may be offered surgery to fuse the discs together, or to replace damaged discs.

But while surgery will relieve pain, it can limit movement.

The new jab differs as its designed to stiffen the disc in order to prevent future degeneration. Known as STA-363, it is given as a single jab into the damaged disc. Its thought that lactic acid then triggers the production of more connective tissue and collagen, to make the disc stiff but strong.

That, says the developer Stayble Therapeutics, will make the disc more stable and wont compress any nerves as they are no longer able to grow into the repaired disc.

A single treatment is presumed to be effective within four to 12 weeks, last the patients entire life and require no extensive rehabilitation, say the researchers.

Experiments on pigs, reported by the company, have shown that discs injected with the treatment do get stiffer compared to those not injected.

In a new study at the Stockholm Spine Center in Sweden, 15 patients will be given one of three doses of the lactic acid jab, or a placebo.

A slipped disc can compress one of the nerves in the back, which in turn leads to numbness and pain along the affected nerve

It seems that they are using lactic acid to essentially accelerate ageing of discs for the treatment of discogenic pain [pain originating from the spine discs], says Professor Sam Eldabe, a consultant in pain medicine at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough. There is reasonable science behind the study.

While this is a common cause of lower back pain, identifying this population is not a simple exercise as most back pain patients have a number of causes. I look forward to the results when they are published as the therapy appears to be quite a simple one.

Meanwhile its reported that having a spinal cord stimulator  a tiny battery-powered transmitter similar to a pacemaker  fitted for chronic pain stops patients needing as many painkillers.

Researchers at Jefferson University in the U.S. monitored 5,000 people with chronic pain and found that one year after having the spine implant fitted, 93 per cent of patients were on lower daily doses of morphine and other painkilling drugs.

The stimulators emit mild electric signals designed to disrupt and mask the pain messages travelling from nerves to the brain, so that symptoms become less severe.

At last! Scientists may have found baldness cure

Scientists are a step closer to finding a cure for hair loss

Scientists are a step closer to finding a cure for hair loss such as male pattern baldness after a study showed a new type of cell that makes hair grow.

For years it was thought that when a hair falls out, stem cells in the skin regenerate the hair follicle to trigger growth.

But a new study by the University of California at San Francisco found that immune system cells called Tregs, which control inflammation, are crucial.

Experiments on mice found that Tregs trigger the action of stem cells. When Tregs are removed, hair doesnt grow, according to the journal Cell.

The weather may play a role in epileptic seizures, reports the journal Epilepsia. German researchers analysed data on 604 adults who had a seizure and looked at meteorological records from around the same time. Seizures were more likely when atmospheric pressure was low and humidity was high, although the reasons why are unclear.

Sponge that means end of insulin jabs

A sugar sponge which is injected into the blood could banish the need for daily insulin jabs in people with diabetes.

The tiny sponge is made from structures called glycopolymersomes  which are part of our cells  and a protein called lectin. The sponge monitors blood sugar and soaks it up when levels get too high, then releases it when blood sugar levels fall.

In a recent study on mice, scientists at Tongji University in China injected the sponge and, within two days, saw an improvement in blood sugar control, reports the Journal of the American Chemical Society. More studies are planned.
A two-year-old girl could die at any time without treatment for her lime-sized tumour which is slowly taking over her heart.

Verity Davy, from Crawley, suffers from arrhythmia - an abnormal heart rhythm, which was sparked by the growth.

Despite the mass not being cancerous, it has turned the toddler's body into a ticking time bomb that could fail her at any second.

The tumour was only discovered earlier this year after her heart started pumping at 250 beats per minute - more than double the average for a toddler.

Her parents are forced to carry around a defibrillator everywhere they go, just in case it happens again and causes their daughter's heart to stop beating.

The family are now desperately trying to raise 100,000, so they can take Verity to specialists in the US to have the tumour removed.

Verity Davy, from Crawley, suffers from arrhythmia - an abnormal heart rhythm, which was sparked by the tumour (pictured before her diagnosis in January)

Despite the mass not being cancerous, it has turned the toddler's body into a ticking time bomb that could fail her at any second (pictured in hospital last month)

Her mother, Emily Davy, 32, said: 'We are constantly on tenterhooks. It's a terrifying situation. We never go abroad anymore.

'We don't go anywhere without a phone signal, in case we need an ambulance. We wouldn't go too far from a hospital, either. We need Verity to have a chance to live.

The deadly condition was only discovered earlier this year after her heart started pumping at 250 beats per minute - more than double the average (pictured with her parents Emily and Russell Davy, both 32)

Her parents are forced to carry around a defibrillator everywhere they go, just in case their daughter's heart stops beating (pictured on February 21, when Verity's heart began to pump at 250 beats per minute - double the average for a child)

'The condition is very rare. Our lives have been turned upside down since the diagnosis.

'We now have to carry a defibrillator with us everywhere we go, in case Verity's heart stops beating. We never know if today will be the day that we might lose her.

'Verity acts like a healthy, active toddler, but living with this condition means she could experience another episode of arrhythmia at any time without warning.'

Ms Davy said until February 21 this year, when the abnormal rhythm was found, there was no cause for concern.

The call centre worker added that 'she was an active child'. But when they put her to bed, her heart was beating so fast, she could see it pumping out of her chest.

Verity was rushed to accident and emergency at Crawley Hospital. But she was taken immediately to the larger East Surrey Hospital in Redhill.

Doctors placed her on a magnesium drip which brought her heart rate down, Ms Davy, who is currently off work caring for her daughter, added.

But they were still unsure as to why the seemingly healthy two-year-old had developed such a fast heart rate.

An MRI scan revealed that she had a 4cm by 5cm tumour on her heart called a cardiac fibroma

The family are now desperately trying to raise 100,000, so they can take Verity to specialists in the US to have the tumour removed (pictured in January)

WHAT IS A CARDIAC FIBROMA? Cardiac fibromas are benign connective tissue tumours that usually affect children. They are often associated with arrhythmias - abnormal heart rhythms - which can be a presenting feature. But in some cases they can grow to large sizes completely undetected. The majority of tumors that cause sudden death extend into the ventricular conduction system. Because of its location, normally in the ventricle wall separating the lower chambers of the heart, it affects blood flow into the heart, disrupting normal rhythm. Treatment tends to involve removing the tumour completely. Only 200 cases have been recorded in medical literature to date, figures suggest. Advertisement

She was then referred to the Royal Brompton Hospital in central London.

Two weeks later, she had an MRI scan. It revealed that she had a 4cm by 5cm tumour on her heart called a cardiac fibroma.

The mass had caused a life-threatening arrhythmia called ventricular tachycardia, which could recur at any moment.

If it happens again, Mrs Davy and her gas engineer husband Russell, 32, have been warned their only child could die.

Verity is fitted with a monitor on the end of her finger which constantly checks her heart rate - even through the night.

Her parents also carry around a defibrillator - a device administering electric shocks to restart the heart in case of cardiac arrest.

Writing on the GoFundMe page for treatment in the US, Ms Davy said that the type of tumour she suffers from is 'incredibly rare'.

She added: 'The only treatment for this condition is an operation to remove the tumour, which unfortunately the NHS are unable to offer as they have no experience with this type of surgery.'
Cancer patients are more likely to survive their battle if they live in the countryside, new research suggests.

Being surrounded by trees and fields in every direction reduces the risk of death by 29 per cent for those with the disease.

Experts believe it could be down to the ease of getting a GP appointment in rural villages, allowing symptoms to be addressed quickly.

A closer relationship with the doctor may offer another explanation for the results of the British study, which city-dwellers often struggle to develop.

Scientists also hinted that those living away from urban areas are more likely to be affluent - a factor known to increase someone's life expectancy.

Being surrounded by trees and fields in every direction reduces the risk of death by 29 per cent for those with the disease

But the findings, led by the University of East Anglia, show a stark comparison to a body of evidence that suggests the opposite to be true.

Dr Peter Murchie, of Aberdeen University, who was involved in the study, told The Times: 'There have been a number of papers over the years and almost universally they find that in rural areas outcomes are worse.

'The nature of your relationship with a GP is different in rural areas... you're more likely to know the GP socially and that can help or hinder depending on symptoms.

'Access to rural GPs generally speaking is easier than it would be if you're registered at a big urban practice.'

For the study, the scientists assessed 926 bowel cancer patients - one of the most common forms of the disease (stock)

WHY YOU SHOULD MOVE FROM THE CITY The benefits of living in the countryside, from reducing the risk of obesity to improving wellbeing, have been highlighted in a range of studies. A Friends of the Earth Europe-funded study showed that the great outdoors had benefits for pregnant women in March. Those living in close proximity to trees and open fields gave birth to children of much healthier sizes, they found. After reviewing hundreds of previous studies, they also noted that it can slash the chance of an early death by 16 per cent. While having access to a garden, living near a park or within reach of the countryside helps people live longer, suggested a study last year. Harvard University researchers found those who live in the urban jungle had a 12 per cent higher death rate than those with access to green spaces. In April this year, Oregon State University experts found just going for a hike in the countryside helps to keep a smile on your face. Advertisement

How was the study carried out?

For the study, the scientists assessed 926 bowel cancer patients - one of the most common forms of the disease.

They compared the survival rates of those who lived in the cities with those who were based in the countryside.

What did they find?

They found rural patients were more likely to survive past the three year mark, the newspaper reports.

However, such patients presented with worrying symptoms when they first saw a doctor more often than city-dwellers.

The new findings, which also showed that having to travel further for treatment didn't impact survival, were published in the British Journal of General Practice.

What has previous evidence shown?

University of Sheffield researchers previously found that living further away from hospitals increased the risk of death for all causes.

Their data, published in 2007, suggested for every six miles (10km) distance, the chances of mortality increased by one per cent.

While Swedish researchers made similar conclusions in 2015 after assessing more than 500,000 patients.

They showed the chances of surviving a heart attack decreases by three per cent for every additional six miles (10km) someone lives from hospital.

An Italian study published in the same year found that the distance from hospitals can influence diagnosis, treatment, outcome and quality of life for cancer patients.
A boy born with a rare 'two face' condition has defied all odds to celebrate his 13th birthday.

Tres Johnson from Bernie in Missouri, US, marked the milestone - despite doctors giving him 'zero chance of survival' when he was born.

He has craniofacial duplication, whereby parts or all of the face are duplicated on the head.

Tres is believed to be the only survivor of the disorder - there are only 36 cases in the world ever been recorded.

Parents Brandy and Joshua have battled to help their son while doctors are amazed he is alive as many with the condition are stillborn.

Brandy, 35, his full-time carer, said: 'We don't know what will happen in Tres' future, no one thought he would be here today.

'It was very exciting celebrating his birthday and emotional, but very surreal waiting for the big day, I was an anxious mess worrying about him.

'Tres reaching the age of 13 is a huge deal, it's surreal knowing he's made it this far, the past 13 years have been nothing but a fight for survival.'

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The family say Tres turning 13 was a magical moment they never dreamed would happen

Mother Brandy admits she was shocked when she was first handed her newborn son

Tres was born with a large cleft, his eyes spaced further apart and two separate nostrils

'I lost count of the amount of times we were told he wouldn't make it but here he is today a teenager, we now ignore their predictions and just focused on one day at a time.

In craniofacial duplication, excess of the protein SHH leads to widening of facial features and to duplication of facial structures.

Tres was born with a large cleft, his eyes spaced further apart, two separate nostrils, an abnormally shaped head, cognitive delays and he also suffers from seizures.

He has undergone multiple operations to reshape his skull and close his cleft, as well as treat his seizures, which have reduced from 400 to 40-a-day since starting cannabis oil treatment.

Brandy says having her son alive and with them today is all that matters to the family

Tres has undergone a number of operations over the years to try correct his deformities

'Put him down'

The family revealed how the face horrific abuse from strangers who have told them to 'kill it' and 'put him down'.

Brandy said: 'I've heard every comment you can imagine over the years, from 'kill it', 'put him down' to being called 'selfish' for keeping him alive.

'After so many years I've just had to swallow my pride, try to stay calm and explain my son's condition to them.

'After I talk to them they things see my perspective and regularly ask how Tres is doing.'

Brandy says so many people pity her son - but for her and her husband, Tres is a blessing.

'He is developmentally delayed, because he has cysts in his brain, mentally he is at the age of an infant but he is progressively improving in all areas.

'Mobility wise we were told he would never walk, but that doesn't stop him from trying and scooting around on his butt.

'So many people that see what happened to our son, think of it as a tragedy but before I thought my son was going to die yet he's still with us today, to me that's all that matters.

'My goal is to keep him here and make sure he knows how loved he is, for however long he lives.'

Brandy says four years ago, doctors told them there was nothing more they could do for him

Shocked but determined

Mother-of-three Brandy said when he Tres was born, admits the first glimpses of her son were difficult.

'When they bought him into my room he was hooked up to a carrier box with all of his monitors, the only thing I could touch was his leg,' she said.

'He was adorable and shocking at the same time, one side of his face looked like our older son, the other resembled our middle son

'When he was born he had such a large cleft that it went up into his nasal passage and you could see into his sinus cavity as it was all open.

'His one eye looked like it was bulging out and the other sucked in, because his eyes are further apart he sees peripherally instead.'

Brandy and Joshua were determined to not give up on their child - and fight for him to be kept alive.

'Doctors weren't going to sustain Tres and planned to let him pass if my husband hadn't fought for him, they had never seen anything like him before,' she explained.

'Once I found out he was here and still alive that was all that mattered to us, we always were in it for the long haul.'

Scans from when Tres was a baby show the deformity in his skull caused by the condition

CRANIOFACIAL DUPLICATION Although classically considered conjoined twinning - which it resembles - this disorder is not normally due to the fusion or incomplete separation of two embryos. It is the result of abnormal activity by the protein SHH (sonic hedgehog - the name was inspired by the Sonic the Hedgehog video game character). David A. Staffenberg, pediatric reconstructive plastic surgeon at NYU Langone, in New York City said: 'In the centre of the baby picture [of Trey], we can see the right nostril and at the top of the cleft lip is the baby's left nostril, between the two there is a small circular depression, this may be a small duplicated nostril. 'There's a protein that seems to play a great role in how the face comes together, it can determine the width of the face and plays a role in how the brain, organs, fingers and toes develop. 'Most of these disorders tend to be sporadic in their inheritance, it's likely that neither his mother or father had any history of it in their family, it's probably the result of a spontaneous mutation. 'It's almost like being stuck by a bolt of lightning, it's a genetic equivalent of that. 'As painful as it is to hear, more often than not parents are told the prognosis is dismal and nothing can be done.' Advertisement

Seizures

Tres received over 14 different diagnoses before it was recognised that he had craniofacial duplication, also known as diprosopus, the Greek word for 'two faces'.

Since then, he has undergone numerous operations to close the cleft and efforts to reshape his skull to help relieve pressure on his brain.

Despite this, he has intractable epilepsy meaning he suffers from over 400 seizures a day.

After exhausting all medical options his mother now treats him with cannabis oil. She says in two years he has had over a 90 percent reduction in seizures.

Brandy said: 'Four years ago, we were told there was nothing more doctors could do for him.

'I did a lot of research and the first week using Cannabidiol his seizures went down to under 40 a day.

'He is cognitively improving and his size more than doubled, he was under 40lbs (18kg) and now is pushing 77lbs (35kg), he is constantly growing stronger and smarter.

'Using cannabis oil is the best decision I ever made.'

'We are not ashamed of him'

The family say they have struggled to find help for Tres and claim that, due to the rarity of his condition, many doctors see him as a 'research project'.

Brandy said: 'It's been hard for us to find a doctor who will treat my son as a person and not a case study, many have offered to work with us but not with my son's best interest at heart.

'One offered us a 'miracle surgery' to make him look normal, but I don't care about how he looks, what's important is he is alive and comfortable.

'We have only done the surgeries that were necessary, not any cosmetic ones, we are not ashamed of him or how he looks and never will be.'

The family have a GoFundMe page here to raise money for their son's medical costs.
Pregnant women should take up mindfulness classes if they don't want to be struck down with the 'baby blues', scientists claim.

Doing so reduces the fear of having a child, which makes post-natal depression less likely, researchers say.

This is because it slashes the risk of being forced to undergo a Caesarean section, which is widely known to trigger the common condition.

Expectant mothers who took part in the trendy new form of meditation reported fewer symptoms of the blues, a study found.

The small trial also suggests that taking part could improve the care a mother is able to give her children when they enter the world.

Mindfulness classes help to reduce the fear of having a child, which makes post-natal depression less likely, scientists claim (stock)

Lead researcher Dr Larissa Duncan, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, believes the findings could apply to men too, The Guardian reports.

She said that mindfulness allows expectant parents to deal with children crying or even toddler tantrums as their youngsters develop.

Dr Duncan told the newspaper: 'By using mindfulness to work with the contractions of labour, noticing they are temporary and there are spaces of ease in between, expectant parents learn a skill they can use later in parenting.'

How was the study carried out?

For the study published in the journal BMC Open, the researchers split 30 women who were in their third trimester into two groups.

They either received mindfulness training or the traditional childbirth classes given to pregnant women, The Guardian reports.

The former revolved around breathing techniques, walking meditation and yoga to keep them focused on the present moment.

Their minds were trained to be less reactive to the stress of contractions by switching between an unpleasant moment holding ice and a calmer one.

Expectant mothers who took part in the trendy new form of meditation reported fewer symptoms of the blues, a study found

What is the link?

Fear of childbirth has long been linked to post-natal depression, with various studies suggesting a link between the two.

A Finnish study of more than 500,000 women previously found the risk of the baby blues was tripled for those who were scared of giving birth.

By using mindfulness to work with the contractions of labour... expectant parents learn a skill they can use later in parenting Dr Larissa Duncan, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison

This is because panicking about having children can extend labour, leaving the child at risk of potential defects which the mother worries about.

While it also increases the risk of having a C-section, which leaves many women depressed due to the time it takes to recover from the procedure.

Others have previously reported suffering from the baby blues due to a sense of failure when unable to deliver their baby the natural way.

How many people does it affect?

An estimated 140,000 women suffer from mental health problems during pregnancy or in the months after their baby is born each year in the UK.

But thousands dont get the support they need, and suicide is the leading cause of death in expectant and new mothers.

Many women do not realise they have post-natal depression because it can develop gradually and often goes undetected and untreated.

Lucy Lyus, information manager at Mind, said: 'This study suggests learning mindfulness techniques during pregnancy might be effective for reducing symptoms of PND (post-natal depression).

'Mindfulness can help by increasing your awareness of your thoughts and feelings, managing unhelpful thoughts, and by developing more helpful responses to difficult feelings and events.

'However, it is important to highlight that although mindfulness can be helpful for some people, we would not recommend it for everyone.
A man lost touch with reality during a psychotic episode after drinking four cups of herbal tea a day, it has been reported.

The Italian was hospitalised after suffering speech problems, delusions and paranoid thoughts  such as believing people could read his mind.

Friends sought help for the unnamed 25-year-old who they say had been 'acting strangely' for a few days and behaving as if he were 'under the influence of an illegal drug'.

For months previously, he had been drinking herbal tea laced with St John's wort  a popular over the counter remedy used to treat depression, seasonal affective disorder (SAD), sleep problems, mild anxiety and jet lag.

The doctors who treated the man at AUSL Modena hospital in Italy say they could not rule out that the herb, known botanically as hypericum perforatum, did not contribute to the man's psychosis.

They said that while the treatment had been proved safe and beneficial for its use in mild-to-moderate depression, its effects on people with risk factors for psychosis were not fully known.

After drinking the St John's wort-laced tea, the man was diagnosed with schizophreniform

The man was reportedly going through 'a period of distress,' according to their report published in the Journal of Medical Case Reports.

The doctors diagnosed him with a condition called schizophreniform disorder  a short-term type of schizophrenia lasting longer than a month, but less than six months.

DOES ST JOHN'S WORT WORK FOR DEPRESSION? St John's wort contains the ingredients hypericin and hyperforin, that have been used for their antidepressant properties. It is thought that it works in a similar way to standard antidepressant medication. Research suggests that it increases the activity of brain chemicals such as serotonin and noradrenaline that are thought to play an important part in regulating our mood. As well as hypercin and hyperforin, the plant contains many other substances that may boost its antidepressant activity in ways that are not yet fully understood. Research suggests that, in some cases, St John's wort might be just as effective as some antidepressant drugs to treat mild or moderate depression. It may also cause fewer or less intense side effects than commonly prescribed antidepressants. However, for severe depression the evidence to show that it could help is limited. If you are thinking about taking St John's wort to treat other mental health problems, such as anxiety or seasonal affective disorder, it is worth noting that there is very little existing evidence on how effective it can be. If you have any worries about your mental health, it is important to consult your GP. Source: Mind Advertisement

They gave him antipsychotic medications to treat his symptoms, and two weeks after his admission, his condition improved and he went home.

During his follow-up treatment, it emerged the man had experienced a psychotic episode nine months previously and was a marijuana user.

Three months before his hospital admission, he had refused medication for a stomach infection and ulcers and instead self-medicated with tea made with St John's wort, drinking four cups a day.

He took doses recommended for mild/moderate depressive episodes, the doctors note.

What the experts say

Given the man's previous drug and mental health history, his doctors said that is is impossible to say for certain whether the herbal tea caused his psychotic episode.

But St John's wort 'could have played a determinant role in the onset' of the man's symptoms, they claim.

They explained that previous research has shown that some of its compounds may interact with bodily systems that are involved in regulating mood.

They also refer to past case reports in the literature, including the onset of manic symptoms in a 28-year-old depressed woman with no past history of mania after taking St John's wort.

In another case, a woman was diagnosed with schizophrenia at age 26 then went into complete remission with no medication for three years. After consuming St John's wort daily for two months, she became acutely psychotic with paranoid delusions.

They also refer to the onset of a first episode of psychosis in a 39-year-old Japanese woman who self-medicated with a high dosage of hypericum during a spell of mild depressed mood.

The doctors wrote: 'Its rising popularity could mean an increased risk for people self-medicating for potentially severe psychopathological conditions, for which there is no evidence of efficacy and tolerability, without receiving any professional supervision.

'To date, still too little is known about its safety, recommended dosage, and side effects in people at risk of psychiatric disorders.'
Viruses and bacteria do not respect national boundaries, diplomatic relations or commercial interests like tourism and trade.

Viruses thrive and multiply wherever they find a perfect host and travel freely with their hosts across continents.

That's why discovery of a new disease-causing virus in one part of the world is a potential threat to countries all over.

Health minister JP Nadda 'must ensure greater transparency in the functioning of his ministry'

In today's highly mobile and inter-connected world, it is a fallacy on the part of governments and health ministries to think that disease outbreaks and infections with new viruses - or information about them - could be kept under wraps.

In global public health scenario, information is as important an input as detection and treatment when it comes to disease control.

Timely and correct communication of information can save lives. In the case of detection Zika in Gujarat, our health agencies seem to have ignored this reality.

Following the disclosure by the World Health Organization (WHO) about first Zika cases in India, the health ministry has issued a statement - its first since the investigation into suspected cases began 'during post-monsoon period' in 2016.

A computer illustration of the Zika virus, which can cause severe disability in babies

Even this statement is selective in providing information. It only says that the first case was 'further confirmed' on January 3, 2017, without giving the date when it first tested positive.

The statement says two more cases were confirmed subsequently, without revealing the dates of confirmation.

Then the ministry says the presence of Zika in Gujarat was reported as part of an answer in Parliament on March 17. The WHO was notified of the case on May 15.

The above sequence makes it clear that there was no attempt to share the information about Zika with public at any stage.

The Zika virus is spread by mosquitoes and by human sexual activity (stock image)

The case would have remained a secret if no question was asked about it in Parliament.

If the ministry was interested in sharing the information, it should have made suo motu statement on Zika and not waited for a question.

As regards delay in communication of information, the ministry says: 'Since WHO had already withdrawn the notification of Zika virus disease as a public health emergency, the case was handled as per our existing protocol.'

Does this mean that as per 'our protocol' information need not be shared voluntarily?

Another instance of secrecy relates to reported appointment of an American consulting firm, John Snow Inc, to manage the ministry's essential immunisation unit, which in first place, is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Earlier technical support for this unit came from the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI).

We will perhaps learn about the health ministry's logic only when it decides to reveal it but replacing an Indian non-profit body with a Boston-based consulting firm appears highly strange on the face of it.

If PHFI's licence to get foreign funds was suspended on the grounds that India does not need foreign funding, how come John Snow is replacing PHFI?

It is time we realise that credible public health management demands transparency at all levels, be it Zika or immunisation
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has for long considered the Ram Janmabhoomi movement centred on Ayodhya as a 'nationalistic' campaign.

But it now seemingly wants the young minds in Uttar Pradesh too to think alike - despite a CBI court in Lucknow last month charging right-wing stalwarts LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Uma Bharti with criminal conspiracy in the Babri mosque demolition case.

The indoctrination exercise is part of a massive saffronisation project by the party that is underway in its newly acquired state.

The drive in Yogi Adityanaths state will highlight contributions of its ideological leaders

Under the aegis of the Pandit Deendayal Birth Centenary Celebration Committee that is organising celebratory events across the state, the BJP will hold a mega general knowledge quiz on August 20 for school students from across UP.

And the quiz will be based on a special book that is being prepared that proposes to rewrite history in the 'right light'.

A party source said: 'At a meeting recently we have allocated the responsibilities for the upcoming quiz contest among party workers and functionaries.

Syama Prasad Mukherjee was an Indian politician, barrister and academician, who served as Minister for Industry and Supply in Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's cabinet

'The dates for similar meetings regarding preparations have also been finalised for the different regions.

'Students of the 9th and 10th standards will be eligible to participate in the grand quiz. We want that students take inspiration from the lives and works of great men such as Deendayal ji and his philosophy of Antyodaya (uplift of the last man on the social ladder) so that they recreate India in its rightful glory.'

Since the BJP took power at the Centre three years ago, its critics have raised concerns of a push by the party to teach the superiority of its ideology, Hindu values and mythology at the cost of academic rigour, and cutting against the grain of secularism that runs through multi-faith modern India.

Pro-independence activist Vinayak Damodar Savarkar is another figure expected to feature

In 2014, thousands of schools in BJP-ruled Gujarat were given textbooks by RSS ideologue Dinanath Batra that said birthdays should be celebrated by shunning the western culture of blowing out candles and told children to draw an enlarged nation, Akhand Bharat, to include Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

According to the party's functionaries in UP, the organisation, along with the support of the newly elected Yogi Adityanath government, has planned to rope in 15 lakh students in this exercise.

The contest will see participation of 100 schools from each district of the state. UP has 75 districts while the party's internal geographical organisation of the state makes this tally around 83. This makes for the distribution of 15 lakh copies of the special book, the contents of which are telling.

Deendayal Upadhyaya, one of the most important leaders in the BJP history, is expected to form the centrepiece of the book

The book will be handed down along with the participation or registration form for the quiz. The questions in the contest would be based on the contents of the book.

The book and the quiz, said member of the committee and party spokesperson Dr Chandra Mohan, would serve for wide dissemination of the BJP ideology.

It would broadly deal with such subjects as the history of the Indian Freedom Movement in which the 'real heroes', who have so far been neglected by the Left-Congress scholarship, would be highlighted.

Students across 100 schools will sit the test (photo for representation only)

Pro-independence activist and Hindu Mahasabha member VD Savarkar is most likely, according to party sources, to find a place in the book.

The centrepiece of the book would be the contribution of the right-wing ideologues and BJP's own heroes such as Deendayal Upadhyay and would educate school students in his philosophy of 'Integral Humanism' that has been touted as the soul of the party's belief system.

The role of Shyama Prasad Mukherjee - founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh that was the political wing of the RSS before the BJP - is also expected to be recalled in the book.

The literature would also tackle the subject of Jammu and Kashmir and the party's stand on the subject.

Mohan also told Mail Today that the book would include content on post-1947 nationalistic mass movements, such as the anti-Emergency upsurge in the country that laid the foundation of Opposition to the Congress rule.

Most present-day BJP stalwarts have been products of the movement and are most likely to find pride of place in the literature.

The Ram Temple movement of the party too would be remembered with pride and would be listed under popular nationalistic mass agitations.
Alfa Romeo is back. Okay, it never really went away, but cars like the Mito and Giulietta have done little to reinvigorate the Italian marque in the last decade.

So, for this test at least, attempt to erase those forgettable cars from the knowledge bank in your head - which shouldn't be difficult - and cast your eyes on the stylish new model it hopes will cause a stir in the family-saloon market.

They have such high expectations for this car, in fact, that they've even given it one of the brand's most iconic names - Giulia.

It's been launched with a bold aim: to take on the might of Audi and BMW - so that's the test we've created here by pitting it against a comparable A4 and 3 Series respectively.

An Italian with intent: The release of the Guilia marks Alfa's return to the market as a serious challenger to the German brands that are dominating sales. But is it good enough to run an established Audi and BMW close?

Instead of focusing on the high-performance variants, we've gone for the mainstream choices you're likely to buy - the ones fitted with economical diesel engines that are designed to devour miles at ease.

And as those engines are of the latest breed, they should be among the safest to choose to avoid any diesel emission crackdowns on the horizon.

The Giulia, A4 and 3 Series selected for this test all cost in the region of 31,000-to-34,000 and claim to be able to return well over 60mpg.

So can Alfa Romeo really become a viable option in one of the most German-dominated car markets to date? There's only one way to find out... put them head to head.

THE CONTENDERS... Alfa Romeo Giulia (front, white), Audi A4 (left, red) and BMW 3 Series (right, blue) Alfa Romeo Giulia Spec: 2.2d 180 Super auto Engine: 2.2-litre diesel List price: 31,950 Target Price: 31,950 Power: 178bhp @ 3750rpm Torque: 332lb ft @ 1500rpm 0-60mph: 7.2sec Top speed: 143mph Clamied MPG: 67.3mpg What Car? True MPG: 45.7mpg CO2 emissions: 109g/km Audi A4 Spec: 3.0 TDI 218 Sport S tronic Engine: 3.0-litre diesel List price: 34,700 Target Price: 31,309 Power: 215bhp @ 4000-5000rpm Torque: 295Ib ft @ 1250-3750rpm 0-60mph: 7.1sec Top speed: 155mph Claimed MPG: 67.3mpg What Car? True MPG: 42.0mpg CO2 emissions: 109g/km BMW 3 Series Spec: 320d xDrive Sport auto Engine: 2.0-litre diesel List price: 33,460 Target Price: 29,249 Power: 187bhp @ 4000rpm Torque: 295lb ft @ 1750rpm 0-60mph: 7.4sec Top speed: 145mph Claimed MPG: 62.8mpg What Car? True MPG: n/a CO2 emissions: 119g/km

On the road...

Some might not be thrilled at the thought of the Giulia coming with a four-cylinder diesel engine, but it helps make it the lightest car of the trio, and it pulls well from low revs.

It also keeps pulling well, all the way up the scale, so on a wet day it wasnt far behind the six-pot 3.0-litre diesel in the Audi A4.

You might think the xDrive in the BMW, denoting four-wheel drive, would lead it to roar away in the wet conditions but the extra weight counted against it to the extent that the rear-wheel drive Alfa kept it easily at bay.

The Audi won the sprint, and did it very smoothly with that lovely diesel engine pouring out the torque and power through the front wheels.

Of the three cars on test, the Giulia is the most competent in the bends, and the most enjoyable to drive in the twisties

The BMW (left) has the best compromise of handling and ride quality. The Audi A4 (right) is more softly sprung so feels less responsive in the corners - the payoff is a silky smooth ride

But the Giulia comes right back when the road starts twisting and turning. Its incredibly agile, with fabulously light and engaging steering, making this one of the best handling cars in the class. The ride suffers slightly but its a mighty impressive performance.

The Audi cant keep up with it, since its designed more for comfort than all-out pace, but it means the A4 has a delightfully gentle ride to while away the miles.

Even the BMW couldnt live with the Alfa through the turns - even with the German's four-wheel drive. The Giulia really is that good. The pay-off is that the 3 Series offers the best compromise of handling and ride of any of these three.

The Alfa interior is a vast improvement on what we've seen from the brand - recently and probably ever - but it still falls short of the German rivals

From the driver's seat...

All three are easy to get comfy in, with decent space, good visibility and, officially at least, identical boot space.

But its in the cabins where we start to see a gap appearing.

The Alfa Romeo is better than previous Alfas, and the cabin has delightful style.

However, in terms of class and quality its just not up there, not with the BMW, which has a solidly German cabin, and most definitely not up with the Audi, which has a cabin which is in a class of its own.

The BMW is functional and everything works as exquisitely as you would expect from a premium German brand

The Audi is the pick of the bunch, though. The interior is stylish, feels wonderfully well made and has the best array of tech

The Alfa - as you might expect - has a few niggles. In this model with the automatic gearbox, the paddles behind the wheel are infuriatingly close to the indicator stalk, which results in a few fumbles at knocking the stick up or down when you want to tell other road users that you're about to change direction.

The Audi stands apart thanks to the 7-inch touchscreen that comes as standard along with good connectivity. Its slick and it works well, better than the rather clunkier but bigger 8-inch screen in the Alfa.

The Alfa set-up just looks dated already, and theres no chance of connecting Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.

The 3 Series gets the smallest screen here, at 6.5in, but when its controlled by iDrive, and you get lots of stuff like sat nav as standard, its just unbeatable.

Affordability

What youll pay for any of these three is partly based on your negotiating skills. If you can haggle like a good un then the BMW would be the cheapest, followed by the Audi, with the Alfa as the most expensive  which is the exact opposite of the list price sequence.

However, take in company tax, which you might be highly likely to need to in this sector, and the Alfa becomes the cheapest one to run over three years, about 1,600 more than the BMW, with the Audi somewhere in the middle.

Thats if youre paying cash, but buying on finance will put the Audi back at the top of the pile.

Despite this to-and-fro, all three cars come well equipped and all three get the top five stars in the Euro NCAP safety tests.

Winner: The Audi A4 is our choice car in this head-to-head. A brilliantly comfortable ride and lots of quality edges the others

Cars & motoring verdict

So is the Alfa the best option here?

For what you'd want from a family-sized diesel saloon, no.

The pick of the bunch for us is the Audi A4, particularly with this luscious 3.0-litre engine. It is the closest thing to a luxury limousine of the cars here, and could embarrass models in the league above.

Second place: Anyone looking for a more dynamic alternative to the A4 wouldn't be disappointed with the BMW 3 Series. It's a close runner-up

If you wanted an exec car that handled rather sharper, then the BMW 3 Series wouldn't disappoint - particularly because it can still deliver a compliant ride.

But if you wanted a car that handles insanely wonderfully then its the new Alfa Romeo Giulia all the way.

Not only that, but you have a torquey, economical diesel engine that pulls seriously hard throughout the rev range.

Wed love to see it win, as its the best looking car here by some margin, but Alfa Romeo is not really there yet.

Theyre getting there, but against such entrenched opposition it may take a revised model before we can genuinely expect it to be the winner.

And before you leap into any of these three, remember there's another contender to weigh up that didn't make this test trio: Jaguar's XE. Make sure you test drive that too.
Out of pocket: Nat Rothschild with his wife Loretta Basey

Banking scion Nat Rothschild is following former BP boss Tony Hayward out of the oil company they co-founded  leaving him nursing a 170million loss.

The high-flying pair set up Genel Energy in 2011 with promises of striking it rich in the oil fields of Iraqi Kurdistan.

But the company's share price has dived after extracting oil from its key Taq Taq field turned out to be more difficult than thought with losses widening last year to 961million.

Shares have dropped more than 90 per cent since highs of 1113p in January 2014, and the firm's value has fallen from 3.1billion to 275million.

Rothschild is believed to have had shares in 2012 worth around 190million.

His current 7.9 per cent stake (22.12m shares) is now worth around 21million (at yesterday's price of 87.25p).

Yesterday the 45-year-old, who last year married former Page 3 model Loretta Basey, became the latest of the original members of the firm to step down from the board.

Hayward quits as chairman today, and chief financial officer Ben Monaghan will leave on June 30. Board member Simon Lockett is also going, Genel said yesterday.

Analysts at RBC Capital Markets said the changes could mean 'more substantial changes are afoot, as the ties with the past are broken'.

The company listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2011 out of a merger between Turkish company Genel Energy International and Vallares, the oil and gas acquisition fund set up by Rothschild and Hayward.

Hayward had just been widely vilified for his role as BP boss during the Deepwater Horizon disaster, and was keen to have a success. 'I'm still a young guy and I've got a lot of energy,' he told the Mail at the time.

Genel's key Taq Taq field, about an hour's drive from Kurdistan capital Erbil, looked promising and the company hoped to produce around 350,000 barrels of oil each day from the field and other assets by 2014.

But the oil price collapsed, violence and political instability grew, and the Taq Taq reserves were repeatedly downgraded. In April, Genel produced around 18,000 barrels per day from the field.

It has also been hit by unsuccessful exploration efforts in Africa and payment delays from the Kurdish Regional Government.

Hayward, who will be replaced by oil industry veteran Stephen Whyte, is believed to have had shares worth more than 15million in 2012.

He sold 150,000 shares in 2015 and has a stake of around 0.53 per cent (1.48m shares), yesterday worth around 1.4million.

He said of Rothschild's departure: 'Despite a challenging external environment, the company has made significant progress during his involvement.'

Genel is focusing on its Miran and Bina Bawi gas fields in the Kurdistan region, which it claims position it to provide gas from the region to Turkey.
Embattled British Airways has commissioned an independent investigation into its IT fiasco that left thousands stranded over the bank holiday weekend.

The airline, which previously said it had embarked on an 'exhaustive' investigation into the disaster, is asking an 'independent company' to examine the computer problems that disrupted its operations two weeks ago and left 75,000 passengers stranded.

Willie Walsh, chief executive of IAG which owns BA, said the investigation 'will be peer reviewed and we will be happy to disclose details'.

Travel misery: BA said it is asking an 'independent company' to examine the computer problems that disrupted its operations two weeks ago and left 75,000 passengers stranded.

He added that the electrical incident was caused by human error and occurred when an electrical engineer disconnected the uninterruptible power supply, therefore shutting down the data centre.

But the damage was caused when the power was restored in an uncontrolled fashion.

Walsh said: 'It's very clear to me that you can make a mistake in disconnecting the power.

'It's difficult for me to understand how to make a mistake in reconnecting the power.'
TWO POSTS New lender Redwood Bank has appointed David Buckley from investment firm CIBC World Markets, as chairman, and former senior HSBC financier Nigel Boothroyd as non-executive director, as it prepares to launch later this year.

NEW PLATFORM A former boss of the 140-year-old London Metal Exchange has launched a rival trading platform.

Martin Abbott quit the business in 2013 after it was sold to the Chinese for 1.4billion and has now set up online competitor NFEx Markets.

BREXIT INSURANCE More Than motor insurance owner RSA is opening an office in Luxembourg to avoid any possible negative fallout from Brexit.

It will have a staff of less than ten and should allow the business to continue serving clients on the Continent, regardless of what deal is eventually struck with the European Union.

DEAL BACKED Activist investor Gatemore Capital Management has given DXs merger with the distribution arm of Menzies a seal of approval.

The investor, which previously said the deal was like tying two rocks together to see if they float has U-turned on its original stance after the terms were tweaked.

CANCER HOPE A novel cancer drug developed by AstraZeneca has been shown to boost the survival prospects of patients suffering from breast cancer.

The pharmaceutical giant said it took patients taking Lynparza seven months on average before their cancer became worse, whereas the rate of progression-free survival for those on chemotherapy was just over four months.

PASSENGER BOOST Hungarian budget airline Wizz Air boasted rising passenger numbers last month.

The carrier said passenger numbers increased 22.2 per cent to 2.4m last month, up from 2m the year before.

VETERAN ROLE Infrastructure group Balfour Beatty has appointed industry veteran Michael Lucki as a non-executive director.

The 61-year-old is a former chief financial officer at engineering firm CH2M and a former partner at Ernst and Youngs infrastructure division.

GOOD GROWTH Russian conglomerate Sistema said yesterday that revenue has been stable with profits up 3.2 per cent over the latest quarter.

Chief executive Mikhail Shamolin said growth had been particularly strong in telecom operating, childrens goods retailing, healthcare and real estate.

GUINEA SALE West Africa-focused miner Stellar Diamonds is selling its assets in the Republic of Guinea to the countrys main investment bank.

The 1.5million sale to BDG Capital includes plants and equipment as well as shares in some subsidiary companies.

SYSTEMS DEAL Waste-to-energy company Powerhouse Energy Group has signed a deal with an unnamed large corporate partner who will be investing up to 500,000 to help get some of its systems up and running.
A family eating at McDonald's were horrified to find multiple maggots squirming across their food trays.

Mr Wang said he and his eight family members came to the shocking scene at a McDonald's restaurant in Shenzhen, China, on June 4.

The American fast food brand, which is popular in China, has confirmed the claims and apologised to the diners for their 'unpleasant' experience.

Mr Wang and his family, from China, were revolted after spotting maggots on their food trays

Mr Wang said he wanted to throw up as he saw the insects wiggling when he finished his meal

Mr Wang told MailOnline that he and his family visited the McDonald's restaurant on the Minzhi Avenue in Shenzhen's Longhua District at 11am on Sunday.

They were disgusted to see two maggots wiggling on their food tray after they finished their food.

'We all wanted to throw up,' said the man.

Mr Wang worried if his family members, including a pregnant woman, would get sick after eating the food on the tray.

He demanded the restaurant provide free health checks for them.

The white larvae were later found to have fallen from the ceiling in the restaurant in Shenzhen

McDonald's said the source of the pest was from the restaurant's ceiling. The restaurant carried out pest control activities following the incident

Mr Wang and his family waited in the restaurant for the management to provide a response.

They were served a free meal while they waited.

To make matters worse, the family spotted two other live maggots on their food tray as they enjoyed their free food.

In the end, the restaurant refused to offer health checks on the spot, saying that it would take time to investigate the case.

However, the restaurant promised to contact Mr Wang later with an explanation.

While they were waiting at the restaurant, the family contacted several media outlets, hoping they would help urge the restaurant to investigate the incident.

Mr Wang and his family left the restaurant at about 5pm, six hours after their first meal, after they were sure they didn't suffer food poisoning.

The maggots, 0.2 inches to 0.4 inches long, were spotted on the floor of the McDonald's

Chen Wen Cai, a reporter of Southern Metropolis Daily, received a call from Mr Wang and visited the restaurant in the evening of the same day.

The reporter looked up to the ceiling and saw four maggots climbing out from the joints between the ceiling panels.

The maggots are 0.2 inches to 0.4 inches long, according to Chen.

'I looked up to the ceiling while I talked to the restaurant staff. The maggots kept falling to the floor and some almost fell into my mouth,' Mr Chen told MailOnline.

The reporter said he suffered cold sweat, nausea and itchiness during the visit.

McDonald's restaurant in Shenzhen citys Longhua District(pictured above) apologised to the customers for the 'unpleasant dining experience'

MailOnline has contacted McDonald's to verify the incident.

McDonald's confirmed the incident. The company had apologised to the customers for the 'unpleasant dining experience,' according to a statement obtained by MailOnline on June 6.

The statement also said: 'It is found that the source of the pest was from the restaurant's ceiling. We carried out another pest control task last night.'

The fast food chain said it would 'strengthen the management of the dining environment' to prevent a 'similar isolated case' from arising in the future.
43-year-old Ron Duby Jr was arrested on Saturday at Glenview Pub and Grill

A New Hampshire fugitive was arrested on Saturday after an 'alert karaoke fan' saw him at a Massachusetts pub, about to take the stage.

Ron Duby Jr, 43, was wanted by authorities for failing to register as a sex offender after being convicted for sexual assault of a victim under 13 in 1995.

He was named 'Fugitive of the Week' by the US Marshals Service just days ago and was wanted on an outstanding arrest warrant in Hillsborough County.

That's why karaoke DJ Bernie Del Llano was shocked when Duby messaged him and asked where his next show would be.

'He contacted me and said "Where are you going to be for karaoke? Where are you hosting your shows? I can't be in New Hampshire. I have to be in Massachusetts,"' Del Llano told CBS Boston.

'That gave me the first inclination.'

Del Llano wasn't sure if the fugitive would really come for the karaoke show at Glenview Pub and Grill in North Chelmsford, but he waited in anticipation, ready to call police.

Duby failed to register as a sex offender after he was convicted of sexual assault of a victim under 13 in 1995. He was finally caught after messaging karaoke DJ Bernie Del Llano (pictured) and asking where his next show was

When Duby showed up at the North Chelmsford pub to sing, Del Llano (pictured) called police. 'We wouldnt have made this arrest if it werent for this gentleman,' Chelmsford Police Lt. Edward Smith said about Del Llano

When Duby walked in the door, Del Llano knew it was him.

'It was surreal. To be honest with you. I was like is this really happening? I didn't think he'd actually show up! I recognized him immediately,' he said.

Police came and arrested the sex offender, but Chelmsford Police Lt. Edward Smith maintained that Del Llano had done most of the leg work for them.

'We wouldnt have made this arrest if it werent for this gentleman,' Smith said.

'He was astute enough to recognize this person. Basically made things easy for us. All we had to do was show up.'

Duby was scheduled to appear in Lowell District Court on Monday. He was in custody and couldn't be reached for comment; it is unknown if he has a lawyer.
A police officer was charged on Monday with involuntary manslaughter in the killing of an unarmed man with a martial arts-type chokehold after a chase through a Las Vegas casino.

Kenneth Lopera, 31, posted $6,000 bail and was released from jail with an August court date in the May 14 choking death of Tashii S. Brown, 40.

Lopera will plead not guilty to involuntary manslaughter and a second charge of oppression under color of office, Las Vegas Police Protective Association official Steve Grammas said.

Police officer Kenneth Lopera (left) has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Tashii S. Brown (right)

He could face up to up to eight years in state prison on the two charges.

'Officer Lopera did nothing criminal,' Grammas said. 'We prepared him for the worst-case scenario, and it came true.'

Lopera's arrest came at the same time county Sheriff Joe Lombardo announced to the media that Lopera had been suspended without pay and would be charged following the county coroner's ruling that Brown's death was a homicide.

Brown also used the name Tashii Farmer. He was under the influence of methamphetamine and had an enlarged heart, but Coroner John Fudenberg said Brown died of lack of oxygen, or 'asphyxia due to police restraint.'

Lopera zapped Brown with a stun gun seven times and punched him in the head and neck several times after the chase through employees-only hallways and into a rear parking area of The Venetian resort, police have said.

The incident began when Brown, appearing sweaty, agitated and disoriented, approached Lopera and his patrol partner in a casino coffee shop and said he thought people were after him.

Grammas said Lopera, who lost his partner during the chase, emerged alone in the driveway thinking he faced a combative man trying to commit a carjacking.

'Don't move! Get on your stomach!' Lopera can be heard telling Tashii S. Brown. 'Don't move! Get on your stomach!'

Clark County Undersheriff Kevin McMahill showed video from Lopera's body camera during a news conference

In bodycam video of the incident, Lopera can be heard telling Brown 'Don't move! Get on your stomach!'

The video then shows Brown on his back with his arms raised before a jolt from the stun gun makes his body stiffen. Brown cries out, 'Please! Please!'

Lopera punches Brown's head and neck from behind as Venetian security guards join the effort and other police officers arrive.

According to Clark County Undersheriff Kevin McMahill, Lopera was heard saying he used a 'rear naked choke,' a prominent mixed martial arts chokehold that differs from a department-approved technique that some departments call a 'lateral vascular neck restraint' and others refer to as a 'carotid artery hold'.

Grammas said the hold Lopera is said to have used is the same one approved by the department.

'The reference of a "rear naked choke," which is a mixed martial arts hold that the officer said he used, is identical to the LVNR that Metro practices,' Grammas said. 'Both are a carotid blood choke that cuts off blood flow to the brain. It's not a windpipe choke that cuts off the air.'

The American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada is calling for Las Vegas police to quit the practice.

McMahill also said Lopera held Brown's neck for more than a minute - far longer than the seven to 10 seconds it might take for an approved carotid restraint to render a person unconscious.

He also said Lopera continued using the Taser despite policy calling for officers to stop after three bursts if it doesn't have an apparent effect.

Lombardo said departmental investigations are continuing, and they could take a couple of months to complete.

The Venetian Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip

This photo taken at The Venetian Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on Sunday, March 14, 2017, shows the scene where an unarmed man died

A lawyer for Brown's mother, Trinita Farmer, said she had hoped the officer would face a murder charge.

Attorney Andre Lagomarsino said family members from Hawaii and Las Vegas mourned Brown at his funeral last Saturday.

'There will be a time for justice. That time is coming soon,' Lagomarsino said. 'At this time the family wants to absorb the information that is coming out' from the coroner and Las Vegas police.

Lagomarsino said Trinita Farmer also wants The Venetian held responsible for the actions of casino security officers who helped Lopera subdue Brown.

A spokesman for the casino declined to comment.

Clips of video from Lopera's police body-camera and casino security cameras that have been made public show Lopera using a Taser, punches and what a top police official described as an unapproved chokehold for more than a minute.

Local NAACP leader Roxann McCoy said she wasn't surprised by the coroner's ruling.

Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo announced that Lopera will be charged with involuntary manslaughter in a neck-restraint death case

On May 29, protesters blocked the front of The Venetian to protest the chokehold death of Tashii Brown

'After seeing what we saw on the video, I suspected they would find it was a homicide,' McCoy said. 'They did choke the man.'

Lopera, who identifies his racial heritage as Colombian and Puerto Rican, trains in Brazilian jiu jitsu, the police union official said.

He is an Army veteran who deployed twice to Afghanistan and worked as a jail guard for three years before becoming a police patrol officer in January 2016.
Customers of celebrity-endorsed California cupcake shop Sprinkles have been given paws for thought after footage emerged of a giant rat scurrying across its shelves.

The video, entitled 'Rat in cupcake store/live Ratatouille', shows the rogue rodent scampering over empty shelves in the store, which was closed overnight.

On Monday chief marketing officer Jennifer Warner told KTLA 5: 'We deeply regret that an unfortunate set of circumstances, including a structural malfunction, lead to this incident.'

Customers of celebrity-endorsed California cupcake shop Sprinkles have been given paws for thought after footage emerged of a giant rat scurrying across its shelves

The video, entitled 'Rat in cupcake store/live Ratatouille', shows the rogue rodent scampering over empty shelves in the store, which was closed overnight

On Monday chief marketing officer Jennifer Warner said: 'We deeply regret that an unfortunate set of circumstances, including a structural malfunction, lead to this incident'

It is unclear exactly what the structural malfunction, or the other circumstances, are.

In the video two women can he heard alternately squealing and crying expletives as they film the furry interloper scampering across shelves.

Neither woman seems to be familiar with the chain, which has 22 stores across the US and boasts Oprah Winfrey and Tom Cruise among its fans, according to its official site and the LA Times.

Warner said the owners of the branch, located at 629 Americana Way, had closed it down voluntarily after they learned of the video, which was uploaded Saturday.

The landlord and food safety experts then went through the kitchen to address the issue, she said.

It was reopened on Monday, and Warner promised customers that it wouldn't happen again, saying the owners were 'confident the cleanliness of the restaurant exceeds standards'.

According to the Sprinkles website, other celebs that favor the chain include Blake Lively, Paul Wesley, Barbra Streisand and Kevin Hart (right)

Actress Drew Barrymore (pictured) has also visited the cupcake shop

'Our companys utmost commitment is the health and safety of our guests and team members and we take this responsibility very seriously,' she said.

'In our 12-year history we have maintained a consistent Grade-A health department score and have diligently championed a culture of impeccable food safety.'

Sprinkles, which is owned by Cupcake Wars judge Candace Nelson, started in Beverly Hills in 2005. Its Glendale branch opened three years ago.

According to the Sprinkles website, other celebs that favor the chain include Blake Lively, Katie Holmes, Barbra Streisand and Ryan Seacrest.
Hundreds of mourners gathered at the funeral of one of the men who was fatally stabbed trying to stop an anti-Muslim tirade against two teenage girls in May.

Ricky Best, 53, was remembered on Monday as a hero for his bravery on a Portland, Oregon light-rail train.

He was on his way home on May 26 when a man on the train started yelling at two teenage girls.

Best and two other men tried to intervene and were stabbed in the neck. He and Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche, 23, died from their injuries.

Erik Best, one of Ricky's teenage sons, said at the funeral that his father understood deeds were more important than words, according to OregonLive. He said his father was a 'child of God'.

Best, an Army veteran who worked for the city of Portland, also leaves behind his wife Myhanh Best, two other teenage sons and a 12-year-old daughter.

Maj. Gen. Michael E. Stencel presents a United States flag to the family of Ricky Best at Best's burial service with military honors at Willamette National Cemetery in Portland, Oregon on Monday. Best was one of two men killed May 26 during an attack on a Portland light-rail train

Myhanh Best, Ricky's wife, clutches the flag that draped his casket during a committal service on Monday

Destinee Mangum, 16, center, arrives with her family at Christ The King church for Best's funeral service. Magnum was one of the girls who Best defended on the Portland train in May

The funeral was held at the family's church, Christ the King Catholic Church in Milwaukie, Oregon.

At least one of the two young women targeted on the train, Destinee Magnum, 16, attended. There were also women in hijabs and nuns in habits at the Catholic Mass.

Ricky Best, 53, pictured, was on his way home on May 26 when a man on the train started yelling at two teenage girls. Best and two other men tried to intervene and were stabbed in the neck. He died from his injuries

Best's family also wore white headbands of mourning, a Vietnamese funeral custom. Myhanh is from Vietnam.

Prosecutors say Jeremy Joseph Christian killed Best, another man and wounded a third when they tried to stop Christian from verbally assaulting the girls, one of whom wore a Muslim head covering.

Christian, 35, faces aggravated murder and other charges in the case. He has not yet entered a plea and has a court hearing later this week.

At Best's funeral, the Rev Rick Paperini used the word 'martyr' to describe Best's actions.

'It is a privilege to love,' Paperini said. 'I think Ricky understood love this way. He saw it as an opportunity and a privilege, and that's why he responded the way he did on the 26th of May, 2017.'

Archbishop Alexander K Sample described the actions of those who stood up on that train as 'an amazing demonstration of human love and dignity and respect for another'.

Sample said that he was 'proud that a member of our own Catholic community here in the Portland area really witnessed to what it means to be a disciple of Jesus, to love another as we love ourselves as our Savior taught'.

The remains of Best, an Army veteran and father-of-four, arrive for his committal service

The casket of Best rests in a hearse at the burial service. At his funeral, the Rev Rick Paperini used the word 'martyr' to describe Best's actions on May 26

The remains of Best are carried from his family's church, Christ the King Catholic Church following his funeral service

The service ended with a message from the Quran, according to OregonLive.

Harris Zafar, the Community Outreach Director of the Rizwan Mosque said he believed Best saved the two teens.

'If I had the opportunity to see (Best) today I would simply say thank you. Thank you for being the father I strive to be and the human being I strive to be,' he said.

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler attended the funeral, which came a day after hundreds gathered near a pro-President Donald Trump free speech rally in Portland, saying they wanted to make a stand against hate and racism. Fourteen people were arrested.

Best was buried with military honors at Willamette National Cemetery.

Best leaves behind his wife Myhanh, three teenage sons and a 12-year-old daughter

Salma Ahmad, with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), attended Best's memorial with other members of her organization

Best's family wore white headbands of mourning, a Vietnamese funeral custom. Myhanh is Vietnamese

Hundreds of mourners gathered at Christ The King Catholic Church for Best's funeral Monday

In this Wednesday, May 31, 2017 photo, candles with photos of Taliesin Namkai-Meche, right, and Ricky Best on them sit at a memorial for the two men in Portland

Prosecutors say Jeremy Joseph Christian, 35, pictured, killed Best when he tried to stop Christian from verbally assaulting two teenage girls, one of whom wore a Muslim head covering. Christian faces aggravated murder and other charges in the case
Schapelle Corby has posted a tribute to one of her dogs she was forced to leave behind in Bali when she was deported back to Australia.

She posted a photograph to her Instagram account early on Tuesday morning that showed her holding her dog, May, up to the camera, while wearing a red bra strap as a headband to keep her long hair off her face.

In the post Corby wrote: 'Miss little Ms May. When May was five weeks old her and two of her brothers got the dreaded Canine Parvo Virus.'

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Schapelle Corby (pictured) has posted a tribute to one her dogs May that she was forced to leave behind in Bali when she was deported back to Australia

'It's such a contagious disease, Bali vets that we contacted turned us away. Sadly, despite all efforts to save them her brothers didn't make it.

'May survived after we found an online Parvo recipe. The parvo has stunted May's growth, she's so small and still has all her baby teeth even though she's two years old. #mayssospecial #brastrapsarethebestheadbands.'

Canine parvo virus (CPV) is a highly contagious viral illness that affects dogs and can manifest in either intestinal form leading to vomiting, diarrhea, weight loss, and lack of appetite or in cardiac form, which attacks the heart muscle and often leads to death.

Corby's followers commented on her choice of headband describing it a 'great idea' and Corby replied to one saying 'You gotta try it if you haven't already. The best!'

Her first-ever Instagram post was a picture of her two dogs captioned with: 'Going to miss these two. My puppies #Luna&May'. Pictured right is Luna, who contracted canine parvo virus which Schapelle said caused her growth to be stunted

Corby also uploaded a photo of her taking a selfie (left) with her brother Michael (centre) and her sister Mercedes (right) in Bali before she left. She captioned it with: 'Minutes before leaving home on my way for deportation 27.5.2017'

Corby also posted a video of the moment she was escorted from the parole office in Bali into a waiting car and then to the airport in Denpasar, which appears to have been filmed by her sister Mercedes.

Corby is heard saying goodbye and thanking people as the footage shows her leaving the office and walking out to the car past police and the waiting media.

As she gets into the car she is heard exclaiming 'Oh, that was easy!' before thanking her driver.

He sister Mercedes is then heard saying 'That was nice, oh you just cover yourself' before the camera shows Corby, her head and face obscured by a scarf, holding her handbag up to the window.

Schapelle Corby is seen in the immigration holding area before boarding her flight to Brisbane on May 27, the night she was deported back to Australia

''The police are doing a good job, they're doing a really good job,' Mercedes is heard saying.

She then says to her sister 'Just keep your head down.'

Corby also posted a photo of herself taking a selfie with both her siblings, brother Michael and sister Mercedes, before they left Bali.

In the photo, Corby is on the left holding out her iPhone in a blue case, while her brother Michael is in the middle smiling and her sister Mercedes is on the right.

She captioned it: 'Minutes before leaving home on my way for deportation 27.5.2017. Couldn't have done this without you. Sibling love, Merc, Michael, Me. I'm the youngest of us 3 and I'm 39 #been1weekalready #clawhandselfie.

Corby also made headlines this week after she donated her parole book to charity run by Adam Whittington, the mastermind behind the botched 60 Minutes child abduction in Lebanon.

Mr Whittington launched Project Rescue Children (PRC), an organisation that sets up undercover operations to expose child sex traffickers, on the Gold Coast on Friday.

Corby also made headlines this week after she donated her parole book (pictured) to charity run by Adam Whittington, the mastermind behind the botched 60 Minutes child abduction in Lebanon
Two members of an Oregon church that shuns medicine in favor of prayer and anointing the sick with oils were arrested Monday in the death of their premature baby.

Sarah Mitchell, 24, and Travis Lee Mitchell, 21, are accused of murder and criminal mistreatment.

The couple turned themselves in and were booked Monday into the Clackamas County Jail on accusations of murder by neglect and first-degree criminal mistreatment, The Oregonian reported.

They have been under investigation since March, when Sarah delivered twin girls at her grandparents' home near Oregon City.

One of the babies, Ginnifer Mitchell, had breathing problems and died a few hours later on March 5. She was 16 inches long and weighed 3 pounds and 6 ounces when she died.

The couple are members of the Followers of Christ Church, which embraces faith healing.

Sarah Mitchell (left), 24, and Travis Lee Mitchell (right), 21, are accused of murder and criminal mistreatment in the death of their premature baby

They have been under investigation since March, when Sarah delivered twin girls at her grandparents' home. One of the babies, Ginnifer Mitchell (grave pictured) had breathing problems and died a few hours later

Several members have been convicted of crimes for failing to seek medical care for their children, including Sarah Mitchell's sister and brother-in-law.

The deaths prompted Oregon lawmakers in 2011 to remove faith healing as a legal defense in murder and manslaughter cases.

It was not immediately clear if the Mitchells had attorneys. Relatives hung up the phone when contacted Monday.

Chris Owen, Clackamas County chief deputy district attorney, said the pair would be arraigned Tuesday.

He declined further comment, saying the case remains under seal.

Oregon's chief medical examiner, Karen Gunson, said in March that Ginnifer was several weeks premature and her lungs were too underdeveloped to allow her to breathe unassisted for long.

Gunson told investigators that Gennifer's death would not have occurred suddenly, and that there would have been signs that the infant was having difficulty breathing including skin discoloration.

Gunson believed 'the death was preventable if Baby Ginnifer had been given the medical care available in a hospital neonatal intensive care unit,' the affidavit said.

The couple are members of the Followers of Christ Church which embraces faith healing. Several members have been convicted of crimes for failing to seek medical care for their children, including Sarah Mitchell's sister and brother-in-law

Authorities said the birth was attended by about 60 people, including three midwives, family members and other church members. No one called 911 when Ginnifer struggled to breathe.

Eric Tonsfeldt, a deputy medical examiner, responded to a call about the death and noticed the surviving twin, Evelyn, was also struggling to breathe.

Law enforcement persuaded the parents to get her medical treatment.

Evelyn was taken to Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland and survived. It's unclear who has custody of her.

The church, which operates in Oregon and Idaho, has about 1,000 members and is rooted in Pentecostalism, although it is not affiliated with any denomination.

Members believe in a literal translation of the Scripture, which states that faith will heal all and if someone dies, it is God's will.

The church drew criticism in 1998 after The Oregonian newspaper analyzed the deaths of 78 children buried in the church's graveyard since 1955.

At least 21 could have been saved by medical intervention, the newspaper found.
Terrorists are 'dangerous d****heads' who are usually thwarted before would-be attacks, according to Liberal Democrats Senator David Leyonhjelm.

The senator drew applause from the crowd on Q and A with his frank argument of why jihadis behind a reign of terror in Europe aren't sophisticated.

Mr Leyonhjelm was disputing Social Services Minister Christian Porters' claim recent attacks were masterminded by 'highly organised networks of individuals'.

The debate comes as tough new counter-terrorism orders allowing pre-emptive arrests are considered to tackle the threat of more attacks in the UK.

Liberal Democrats Senator David Leyonhjelm drew applause from the crowd on Q and A with his frank argument of why jihadis are not sophisticated

'These terrible criminal deeds are perpetrated by highly organised, sophisticated groups,' Mr Porter said.

'They manage to get weapons, whether they're trucks or semiautomatic weapons, as was the case if France.

'Our intelligence agencies are dealing with a high level of sophistication, both in the radicalisation almost of the offences, but also in the way they play out on the ground.'

But Mr Leyonhjelm disputed the claims, arguing the majority of would-be terrorists are thwarted before launching attacks.

'Most of them get caught before they do anything damaging,' he said. 'Compare that to drug smugglers most of whom don't get caught.'

'I disagree with the suggestion the people are sophisticated. They are not. They are actually d***heads...dangerous d***heads.'

Mr Porter mentioned that The Australian Government has foiled 12 terror attacks since the threat level was raised in 2014, leading to sixty-three arrests.

The figure does not included a deadly ISIS inspired attack in Melbourne on Monday by Yacqub Khayre, who was known to counter-terrorism police.

Social Services Minister Christian Porters' claimed the recent terror attacks were orchestrated by 'highly organised networks of individuals'

Tough new counter-terrorism measures are being considered to tackle the threat of more attacks in the UK (pictured: the scene of the recent London terror attack)

'The environment in terms of the threat is evolving all the time,' he said.

'Of course, every responsible government has to also evolve in terms of trying to keep up with that threat.

Liberal Democrats Senator David Leyonhjelm said pre-emptive arrests should be met with caution.

'They (terrorists) want to destroy our freedoms,' he said.

'Preventative detention orders I really hate and control orders I'm really uncomfortable about...If we give them up, they've won.'

UK Prime Minister Theresa May is considering reintroducing control orders replaced by softened Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures in 2011.

A Somalian-born man who carried out an 'ISIS-inspired' attack on the affluent streets of a Melbourne beachside suburb on Monday

The coroner remove a body from the aparment in Bay St Brighton where the shooting happened

Under control orders, suspected terrorists are placed under close supervision some liken to house arrest.

However implementing such laws in Australia could threaten the freedom of citizens and allow terrorists to 'win by default', Mr Leyonhjelm said.

This was echoed by Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese, who said Australia was 'acting appropriately' in regards to fighting terrorism.

'Remember you don't win the struggle against totalitarian fascism by completely giving up your freedoms,' he said on Q and A.

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May speaks outside 10 Downing Street after an attack on London Bridge and Borough Market left 7 people dead and dozens injured in London

Malcolm Turnbull has called on tech giants Facebook, Twitter and Apple to help tackle terrorism (pictured attending a memorial service for the victims of the Manchester attack)

'We need to examine precisely what's required and act in a sober fashion in the wake of the terrible events that happened in Manchester and London.'

Meanwhile, Malcolm Turnbull has called on tech giants Facebook, Twitter and Apple to help tackle terrorism after the latest attack in London in which four Australians have been caught up.

'There is too much tolerance of extremist material on social media and that, ultimately, requires co-operation from the big social media platforms - in particular, Facebook and Twitter,' he told reporters in Sydney.
Australia's chief spy declared there was no link between refugees and terrorism less than two weeks before a Somali-born meth addict killed a hostage in the name of IS and al-Qaeda.

Yacqub Khayre murdered one man, wounded three police officers and took a female escort hostage in a dramatic two-hour siege in a Melbourne serviced apartment.

The 29-year-old killer, who had links to banned Somali-based Islamist terror group al-Shabaab, then claimed: 'This is for IS, this is for al-Qaeda.'

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Yacqub Khayre (pictured in 2010 facing terror plot charges) was a refugee from Somalia

ASIO boss Duncan Lewis said in late May said was no link between refugees and terrorism

Just 11 days earlier, Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation director-general Duncan Lewis made his controversial statement to a Senate hearing during a grilling by One Nation leader Pauline Hanson.

'I have absolutely no evidence to suggest there is a connection between refugees and terrorism,' he said.

He later clarified his comments to explain that while refugees could become terrorists, very few of them had come to the attention of ASIO.

Khayre, who moved to Australia in 1991 aged three to escape war-torn Somalia, murdered in the name of an Islamist terror group on Monday night.

His deadly siege and plot to murder police came only days after the London terror attacks that killed seven people and wounded 48 others.

IS even claimed credit for the act of terror in the upmarket Melbourne bayside suburb of Brighton.

A body is removed from a Melbourne apartment where Yacqub Khayre staged a siege

Australia's chief spy was answering a question from One Nation leader Pauline Hanson

'The attack in Melbourne, Australia was carried out by a soldier of the Islamic State in response to the call for targeting the subjects of the coalition states,' the group's Amaq news agency said.

The terrorist with a criminal past, who arrived in Australia as a refugee to live with his uncle and grandfather, had been charged and acquitted over a plot in 2009 to blow up the Holsworthy army barracks in Sydney's south-west.

However, three other men were convicted in 2011 in the Victorian Supreme Court over that plot and were sentenced to 18 years in jail, with a minimum of 13 years and six months behind bars.

Man Monis who staged the 2014 Lindt Cafe siege in Sydney came to Australia as a refugee from Iran

Sydney schoolboy Farhad Jabar killed accountant Curtis Cheng in Parramatta in 2015

Mr Lewis' comments in late May, debunking the link between refugees and terrorism, were made two days after New South Wales coroner Michael Barnes described the December 2014 Lindt Cafe siege in Sydney as an act of terror.

Man Monis, the gunman who killed cafe manager Tori Johnson, was an Iranian refugee who moved to Australia in 1996 before being granted citizenship in 2001.

Less than a year after that, IS-inspired 15-year-old western Sydney student Farhad Jabar killed accountant Curtis Cheng outside Parramatta police headquarters.

He came from an Iraqi-Kurdish background and became to Australia from Iran in 2006.

In September 2014 Numan Haider, who moved to Australia as a refugee from Afghanistan as a child, was shot dead after he stabbed two counter-terrorism officers in Melbourne.

Numan Haider, who moved to Australia as a refugee from Afghanistan, stabbed three counter-terrorism officers in Melbourne in 2014
Evan Davis said the BBC is constantly getting emails from licence fee payers accusing them of pandering to certain political parties

No one at the BBC takes account of accusations of bias, according to the presenter of Newsnight.

Evan Davis said the BBC is constantly getting emails from licence fee payers accusing them of pandering to certain political parties.

But he claimed that 'no one at the BBC takes those kinds of things into account' because it is 'very rare' for the issue to be brought up.

His remarks at the Hay Festival come days after the corporation was accused of Left-wing bias in its Election Debate programme.

Speaking at the festival in Wales, Mr Davis said: 'All the time we get those emails. And honestly, no one at the BBC takes those kinds of things into account.

'Maybe people at the very top of the BBC do, I don't know. Maybe they do. But none of the people who are making programmes do.'

Mr Davis, 55, praised the BBC as Britain's answer to the New York Times, one of the world's most respected newspapers.

Biased? His remarks at the Hay Festival come days after the corporation was accused of Left-wing bias in its Election Debate programme

He claimed the Corporation doesn't impose sweeping diktats on its coverage, but might ask for certain conditions in the interests of fairness.

'There are some diktats at the BBC,' he said. 'They'll be on certain specific things like, 'you have to interview a Lib Dem during this part of the campaign', 'you cannot not have a Lib Dem on your programme', or 'you can't do this thing without having UKIP on' or something like that.

'That sort of diktat is imposed, where there's a sort of a fairness issue.'

He added: 'The BBC isn't one thing, it's a competing fiefdom of large numbers of different programmes competing with each other, sometimes cooperating with each other, more often competing with each other.

'So if one programme is trying to be convenient to the corporate interests of the BBC, another one will not be.'

Respected: Mr Davis, who replaced Jeremy Paxman as presenter of Newsnight in 2014, likened the BBC as to the New York Times - one of the world's most respected newspapers

Mr Davis, who replaced Jeremy Paxman as presenter of Newsnight in September 2014, was at the festival to promote his book Post-Truth: Why We Have Reached Peak B******t and What We Can Do About It.'

Last week the Conservatives lodged a complaint with the BBC over the treatment of Home Secretary Amber Rudd by a TV audience described as 'the most Left-wing ever'.

Miss Rudd was heckled and laughed at for defending government policy, but Jeremy Corbyn was cheered in the debate, which was watched by 3.6million viewers.

Furious Tories have demanded the corporation review its rules for audience selection for such programmes.
The BBCs North America editor, Jon Sopel, 58, tweeted emotionally during Sunday nights concert for the victims of the Manchester bombing: Dear Your Majesty, how about a Damehood for @arianagrande in the birthday honors (spelt the American way)? She has been MAGNIFICENT #onelovemanchester.

Should BBC types lobby HM over honours for their idols?

Not without clearing it with the BBCs royal liaison officer, says my royal source.

Jon Sopel, 58, tweeted emotionally during Sunday nights concert for the victims of the Manchester bombing: Dear Your Majesty, how about a Damehood for @arianagrande in the birthday honors (spelt the American way)? She has been MAGNIFICENT #onelovemanchester

Historical novelist Hilary Bring Up The Bodies Mantel, 64, wrote about Islamic hatred of the West in her 1988 book Eight Months on Ghazzah Street, which was based on personal experience.

She says in the Radio Times: We have lost our sense of history but Islamic militants talk about the Crusades as a present, living insult.

'Their sense of history is something seething beneath the surface, an active force in present-day affairs.

French cobbler Christian Louboutin, 54, pictured, is famous for his red-soled, stiletto-heeled shoes - he claims footwear is a 'protection against morosity'

French cobbler Christian Louboutin, 54, famous for his red-soled, stiletto-heeled shoes, muses: When times are tough and youre in a year where there are wars, or problems, fashion gets more important.

'The more things are morose, the more you need excitement. A shoe is protection against morosity.

His Cherry pumps  off-white organza, hand-embroidered with red cherries and tonal-green metallic sequins and beads [with] razor-sharp point toe and pin-thin stiletto heel  cost 1,145.

Enough to cause morosity in itself.

Labour's former deputy leader, Harriet Harman, 66, says Jeremy Corbyn should stand down if his party loses the general election because the buck stops with you, and you cant blame anybody else.

She cites three Labour leaders who did this: Michael Foot in 1983, Neil Kinnock in 1992 and Gordon Brown in 2010.

Why didnt Ms Harman stand for the leadership? She lost her nerve, suggests a source.

Former health minister Edwina Currie, 70, who says she found dating website partners sex-obsessed, wrote of her affair with former Tory premier Sir John Major, conducted in the 1980s.

She counsels moderation, saying that canoodling once a fortnight is about right. Clearly Sir John appreciated her moderation.

Gallantly, he insisted on sitting at the taps end when they bathed together, she confided. Im unable to get this touching scene out of my mind.

The sudden ostracism of Qatar by its neighbours  Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE have severed all links with the oil and gas-rich emirate, accusing it of embracing terrorism  puts our Royal Family in a tricky position.

The Qataris are neighbours of the Queen with an estate near Windsor Castle.

The King of Bahrain was a guest of the Queen during last months Royal Windsor Horse Show.

The Prince of Wales stayed with the rulers of the UAE last November.

A fortnight today, the desert folk are all expected in the Royal Enclosure as Royal Ascot gets under way.

Wholl be asked up to the Royal Box for tea with the Queen?
Vitaly Borker, 41, spent more than three years in prison after threatening customers of his online eyewear store with rape and murder

Notorious eyewear website operator Vitaly Borker has found himself back in jail.

Borker, who served more than three years in prison for threatening customers with murder or rape if they complained about their online purchases, was imprisoned on Monday by the same judge who sentenced him five years ago.

'I don't see how he's allowed to be back in business,' US District Judge Richard J. Sullivan said at a bail hearing.

Borker, 41, a Ukrainian immigrant living in Brooklyn, was arrested nearly two weeks ago on mail and wire fraud charges and is accused of peddling shoddy glasses online as premium ware.

His lawyers say he was falsely charged.

Federal officials said they learned Borker was back in business after reading an article in The New York Times in March headlined: 'A Pitch for Eyeglasses That Sounds Eerily Familiar.'

Sullivan had sentenced Borker to four years in prison in 2012 after hearing victims from across the country testify that he had harassed them between 2007 and 2010 when they complained about eyeglasses they had bought from his website, DecorMyEyes.com.

The website he ran was called DecorMyEyes.com. Now he has been imprisoned again for allegedly harassing more customers through another online store - OpticsFast.com

Borker reportedly adopted the aggressive tactics so customers would leave reviews, even if they were negative, and his online store would appear higher on Google searches.

'You were terrifying people, putting them in fear of their lives, of being viciously raped,' Sullivan said at the time.

Borker said he was 'genuinely and deeply sorry for the awful threats that I made.'

After his release from prison in 2015, however, Borker appeared to resume operations from OpticsFast.com.

He started generating fresh complaints that premium, name-brand eyeglasses or sunglasses sometimes were arriving at the homes of customers poorly made, dirty and damaged, according to a criminal complaint in Manhattan federal court.

The complaint did not allege that violent threats had been made this time around, but said emails from the company told one woman she was a 'stupid stupid lady' and a 'total degenerate'.

Most of the emails, signed from 'Becky S,' taunted customers who complained about their orders. One in particular read: 'I have been doing this for a decade. I will teach you a thing or 2 indeed.'

There started to be fresh complaints that premium, name-brand eyeglasses or sunglasses were arriving at the homes of Opticsfast customers that were poorly made, dirty and damaged

Dozens of people have left online reviews about their service, describing the 'harassing emails and texts' after disatifaction with an order that never stop

One woman, Claire Galvin, said that a month later she still receives the threatening messages

Sullivan noted that the complaint alleges Borker is 'Becky S' and he 'definitely had contact with customers.'

Dozens of people have left online reviews about Opticsfast, describing the 'harassing emails and texts' that never stop. One woman, Claire Galvin, said that a month later she still receives the threatening messages.

Sometimes the company threatened legal action against customers, according to the complaint.

One victim from New Mexico was allegedly harassed by OpticsFast with 70 text messages per day from 70 different numbers; he was then forced to change his number to avoid being contacted.

Defense attorney Dominic Amorosa argued on Monday that Borker is falsely charged.

'He's not communicating with customers,' Amorosa said, asking that Borker at least be allowed to remain free with electronic monitoring.

The lawyer said the company has processed 70,000 orders with only 213 complaints to the Better Business Bureau.

Amorosa also argued that the government was overstating his client's involvement in the business.
Has the number of police officers fallen in recent years?

It is impossible to escape the fact that police numbers tumbled during Theresa Mays six-year stint as Home Secretary.

Excluding long-term sick officers, police strength in England and Wales fell from 141,631 in March 2010  the year the Tory-led Coalition came to power  to 118,779 last year, a drop of 16 per cent.

But including police community support officers (PCSOs), there are 129,822 uniformed personnel  5,000 more than when Tony Blair came to power in 1997.

Meanwhile, the total police workforce, including civilian staff, has dropped to 198,228  the first time in a decade it has fallen below 200,000.

It is impossible to escape the fact that police numbers tumbled during Theresa Mays six-year stint as Home Secretary

What about the number of firearms officers?

The Home Office says armed police have been cut by 19 per cent  from 6,976 in March 2010 to 5,639 last year, a loss of 1,337.

But following deadly attacks in France in 2015 and 2016, then prime minister David Cameron vowed to reverse the decline.

He made 144million available to train an extra 1,500 armed officers by 2021. They will be trained to respond to marauding attacks by gun and knife-wielding terrorists.

Added to 3,500 armed officers in the British Transport Police, Civil Nuclear Constabulary, National Crime Agency and Ministry of Defence Police, the total will stand at around 10,500  the highest number in history.

Why are so many officers being lost?

Between 1997-98 and the peak year of 2009-10, direct government funding for the police soared in real terms from 7.4billion to 9.5billion  28 per cent.

Then the Government embarked on its austerity drive.

The Home Office says armed police have been cut by 19 per cent  from 6,976 in March 2010 to 5,639 last year, a loss of 1,337

Central government funding to forces fell by 2.3billion  or 25 per cent  between 2010-11 and 2015-16.

But in his Spending Review in 2015, then chancellor George Osborne announced that police budgets would be protected in real terms, representing an increase of 900million in cash terms by 2019-20. It left Labour wrong-footed, as then shadow home secretary Andy Burnham said police budgets could be cut by 10 per cent.

Did the cuts lead to an increase in crime?

No. In the year to last December, there were 6.1million crimes, according to the Crime Survey for England and Wales. The number has tumbled relentlessly from more than 19million in 1995. Crime levels were 33 per cent down on the 9.3million reported in 2009-10  the last full year of the Labour government.

Mrs May oversaw the introduction of more technology to police forces  freeing up thousands of hours spent on paperwork

Ministers hailed the drop as vindication of their demand for improvements in performance, and for chief constables to do more with fewer resources.

Mrs May also oversaw the introduction of more technology to police forces  freeing up thousands of hours spent by bobbies doing paperwork.

Concerns about the cuts were raised again in March when HM Inspectorate of Constabulary, the independent watchdog, published a report that warned the state of policing was perilous. But the watchdog said the issues were not solely because of budget reductions, pointing the finger at unacceptable police practices in individual forces.

What about the security services?

As chancellor, George Osborne faced criticism for cutting the intelligence agencies budget by 12 per cent in 2011 and 2012.

But in 2015, he promised to spend 3.4billion extra on the countrys counter-terrorism efforts over five years  a rise of 30 per cent. It pushed spending on counter-terrorism and the security and intelligence agencies  MI5, MI6 and GCHQ  from 11.7billion to 15.1billion by 2020-21.

The Government also announced plans to substantially increase the number of spies by more than 2,000 to help investigate and disrupt terrorist plots.

The new cash is being spent on ensuring the UKs security forces are able to respond to a marauding attack such as the one in Paris, improving information at border controls and increasing flight security at airports.

British intelligence agencies will expand their reach around the world sharing intelligence with the military, a new MI5 operations centre will be set up and technology upgraded.
Keane Wallis-Bennett, pictured, was killed at the age of 12 in April 2014 when she was hit by a 6ft 6in 'modesty wall' as she got changed for PE at Liberton High School in Edinburgh

The mother of a tragic 12-year-old who died when a wall fell on her at school wept yesterday as harrowing images of the changing room where she died were shown to an inquiry.

Keane Wallis-Bennett was killed in April 2014 when she was hit by a 6ft 6in 'modesty wall' as she got changed for PE at Liberton High School in Edinburgh.

Sheriff Principal Mhairi Stephen QC told the inquiry the proceedings would establish 'as precisely as possible' the tragic circumstances of Keane's death. She added: 'School should be a safe place for people.'

In late 2016 the youngster's family were told by the Crown Office no criminal charges would be filed as a result of her death.

In the opening minutes of the inquiry at Edinburgh Sheriff Court yesterday Keane's mother Abbie Wallis, 37, and father 50-year-old Clarke Bennett were left distraught after high resolution panoramic images of the changing room were shown.

Five huge screens in the courtroom showed the scenes  captured on a 360 degree camera  with shattered masonry and large amounts of blood pooled on the floor and marking the walls.

Bloody footprints could be seen on the remains of the wall and a child's shoe, a pencil case and backpack could all be seen abandoned near the spot where the young girl died.

The gruesome photographs came in the evidence of Police Scotland DCI Keith Hardie, who was in charge of investigating the incident three years ago.

In the opening minutes of the inquiry Keane's mother Abbie Wallis, 37, pictured left, and father 50-year-old Clarke Bennett, pictured right, were left distraught after high resolution panoramic images of the changing room where their daughter died were shown

In a report from the veteran officer which was read aloud, he said two pupils  who cannot be named owing to their age at the time  'leaned back against the wall to change their shoes'.

He went on: 'At this point the wall fell towards the changing area, crushing Keane Wallis-Bennett.'

Her cause of death was 'multiple crush injuries'.

During his investigation, 'several pupils said they had seen the wall move when pressure was exerted upon it', while two 'stated they reported the wall moving to members of the PE department'.

Statements made in the days after Keane's death from pupils aged 12 and 13 at the time were read into the record by procurator fiscal depute Gary Aitken.

Forensic officers are pictured at Liberton High School in Edinburgh on the day of the tragedy in April 2014

The accounts gave repeated retellings of the moment Keane was hit by the wall and the panic in the aftermath, leaving Keane's attending family distraught.

One 12-year-old's statement read: 'We were standing together and we were both leaning against the wall so we could change our shoes. The wall just fell backwards.'

The witness added she 'could see Keane's jacket and her legs sticking out' of the rubble of the crumbled wall in the aftermath.

Another 12-year-old girl's statement read: 'Some teachers came in and tried to lift up the blocks and all I could see was blood coming out of her head.'

In one account a pupil recalled how after the wall fell, another pupil was berating herself for the incident saying, 'It's all my fault' as she had been leaning on the wall.

A number of the statements recounted pupils' claims they had noticed and even warned of the 'wobbly wall' prior to the accident.

The inquiry is expected to continue for around two weeks.
Justin Trudeau took a minute out of his kayaking trip Monday to talk with a couple on the river.

The charming Canadian Prime Minister was kayaking on the Niagara River for World Environment Day, before he made his first public comments since President Donald Trump announced the US would leave the Paris climate accord last week.

But before he spoke in the Ontario town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, the life jacket-clad Trudeau stopped to have a nice chat with a couple.

In a video posted to Twitter, the Canadian Prime Minister can be seen leaving his group of kayakers to paddle up to a couple on a dock.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was kayaking Monday to mark World Environment Day on the Niagara River

He stopped for a minute along the way and chatted with a couple on a dock, pictured. The woman took a video on her phone of part of their conversation, including a brief chat about the high water levels

After the man asked how Trudeau was, the Prime Minister replied: 'Any day I can get out on the water's a good one. And they call this work, you know?'

As he paddles up to them, Trudeau comments on the high water levels. He then compliments the couple's house.

The man asks how Trudeau is doing and he replies,' Not too bad'.

'Any day I can get out on the water's a good one,' Trudeau said, adding: 'And they call this work, you know?'

The woman holding the camera turns it around to show her face and point to the prime minister and smile.

The woman who posted the video to Twitter wrote: 'Justin Trudeau just kayaked up to my house and talked to my parents? classic'.

Trudeau spoke with the family ahead of his comments on climate change, where he made a clear jab at Trump's move to leave the Paris agreement.

At the time Trump announced the US would be backing out of the climate deal, Trudeau issued a statement saying he was deeply disappointed.

The woman who posted the video to Twitter wrote: 'Justin Trudeau just kayaked up to my house and talked to my parents? classic'

Trudeau spoke with the couple ahead of his first public comments on climate change since President Donald Trump announced the US would be leaving the Paris climate agreement last week

He said the world needed 'the courage to confront the hard truths' on global warming, in his public address

To mark World Environment Day, the Canadian Prime Minister said the world needed 'the courage to confront hard truths' on global warming.

'The future is still bright for those who have the courage to confront hard truths, and the confidence to stay the course.

'Canada will not back down from its commitment to fight climate change - and we are not alone. Around the world, nearly every country is on our side. ... Inaction is not an option,' he added.

'We can't walk away from the reality of climate change.'

He said: 'The future is still bright for those who have the courage to confront hard truths, and the confidence to stay the course'
Sadiq Khan has dismissed Donald Trump's barrage of tweets about his response to the London attacks and questioned 'isn't he busy?'.

The London Mayor said he had too much on his plate in the aftermath of Saturday night's atrocity to respond in kind.

The US President has launched a series of tweets at Mr Khan, misquoting a reassurance that Londoners should not be alarmed by the presence of armed police to suggest the Mayor is playing down the terror threat.

Theresa May finally stepped into the row with clear criticism of Mr Trump today, insisting he was 'wrong' to be criticising Mr Khan's response.

Mr Khan has called for Mr Trump's state visit, expected in the autumn, to be cancelled - but the Government had rebuffed the claim.

Sadiq Khan (left today on GMB) has mocked Donald Trump's feud with him as he urged ministers to axe his state visit

Theresa May (pictured campaigning in Wales today) had previously endorsed Mr Khan's work in responding to the London Bridge atrocity but had stopped short of criticising the President

Asked about the spat with Mr Trump, Mr Khan told ITV1's today's Good Morning Britain: 'We're not kids in a playground, he's the president of the US. I'm too busy to respond to his tweets, isn't he busy?'

He denied he was stoking up a feud which went back to 2016, when the mayor described the then presidential candidate's calls for a ban on Muslim entry into the US as 'ignorant'.

'It takes two to tango. I'm not tangoing with this guy, I've got better things to do,' said Mr Khan. 'From Saturday until now my focus has been dealing with the aftermath of the horrific attack. Working with the police, security services, the Government; that's why I've not responded to the tweets from Donald Trump.'

Mrs May told The Sun today: 'The relationship with America is our deepest and most important defence and security relationship.

'Having said that, I think Donald Trump is wrong in what he said about Sadiq Khan, in relation to the attack on London Bridge.

'We've been working with Sadiq Khan. When you're working in the aftermath of an attack like that, party politics is put to one side.

'He's been at the COBRAs and we've been working with him to ensure the response was right, and to get London moving again.'

Last night, Mr Khan said Mr Trump's state visit should not go ahead.

'I don't think we should roll out the red carpet to the president of the USA in the circumstances, where his policies go against everything we stand for,' he told Channel 4 News.

'When you have a special relationship it is no different from when you have got a close mate. You stand with them in times of adversity but you call them out when they are wrong. There are many things about which Donald Trump is wrong.'

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson (pictured on Sky News today) - Mr Khan's predecessor as London Mayor - backed Mr Khan but dismissed the row as 'trivial' compared to the attacks themselves

Mr Trump renewed his strange fury at Mr Khan on Sunday, blasting him on Twitter for assuring Londoners there was 'no reason to be alarmed'.

The President suggested the remark referred directly to the terror attack when in fact it was about the increased presence of armed police.

But Mr Trump brushed aside criticism of his initial message last night, issuing a fresh Twitter attack on Mr Khan branding him 'pathetic'.

His son, Donald Trump Jr, piled in to the row today telling ABC: 'Rather than the mayor of London attacking maybe he should do something about it.

'Maybe he should do something to fix the problem rather than just sit there and pretend there isn't one. I think that's an important message.'

Mr Johnson told Sky News today: 'I don't want to impose myself to a row between the Mayor of London and the President of the United States.

'I have been there myself. Both individuals are very well capable of standing up for themselves.

'Sadiq Khan was saying something very reasonable and sensible about how there was no need for the public to be alarmed by armed police officers on the streets.

'This is a trivial controversy by comparison with the enormity of what happened on Saturday night and the importance of getting the right response.'

He added on the BBC: 'Well, the invitation has been issued and accepted and I see no reason to change that but as far as what Sadiq Khan has said about the reassurances that he has offered the the people of London I think he was entirely right to speak in the way that he did.'

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron also said Mr Trump's decision to go on the offensive in the wake of a major terrorist incident should disqualify him from making a state visit to Britain later this year.

The Prime Minister granted the honour to Mr Trump just days after he took office in January. The trip, in which he and his wife Melania will be hosted by the Queen, is due to take place in October.

Labelling the President 'an embarrassment to America', Mr Farron added: 'Theresa May must withdraw the state visit. This is a man insulting our national values at a time of introspection and mourning.'

Mr Khan appeared to criticise Mr Trump yesterday while addressing police funding. He noted that London has other responsibilities due to its status as a capital city, 'from major events  to state visits  some welcome, some less so'.

Their row began in January, when Mr Khan labelled the President's travel ban 'shameful and wrong'.

Their row began in January, when Mr Khan labelled the President's travel ban 'shameful and wrong'

The trip, in which Trump and his wife Melania will be hosted by the Queen, is due to take place in October

Mr Trump re-ignited it on Sunday after Mr Khan issued a statement, saying: 'Londoners will see an increased police presence today and over the course of the next few days. There's no reason to be alarmed.'

Mr Trump interpreted these remarks as suggesting people should not be alarmed by the second terror attack to hit the capital in three months.

He wrote on Twitter: 'At least seven dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and mayor of London says there is 'no reason to be alarmed!'

The President suggested the London attacks vindicated his opposition to gun control, saying: 'Do you notice we are not having a gun debate right now? That's because they used knives and a truck!'

The London mayor's office responded by saying he had 'more important things to do than respond to Donald Trump's ill-informed tweet that deliberately takes out of context his remarks'.

But last night, Mr Trump stepped up the row, posting another message on Twitter, saying: '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!'

Mr Trump interpreted Mr Khan's remarks as suggesting people should not be alarmed by the second terror attack to hit the capital in three months

Mr Trump's attack on the mayor has alarmed some senior US figures. Lewis Lukens, acting US ambassador to the UK, said: 'I commend the strong leadership of the mayor of London as he leads the city forward after this heinous attack.'

New York mayor Bill de Blasio added: 'Mayor Sadiq Khan is doing an extraordinary job  President Trump's attack on him is unacceptable.'

Mr Khan last night dismissed the President's criticism, saying: 'I've been busy dealing with the terrorist incident  I haven't got time to deal with tweets from Donald Trump.'

A White House spokesman said it was 'utterly ridiculous' to suggest the President had targeted Mr Khan because he is a Muslim and denied Mr Trump was 'picking a fight'.

She added: 'The President has been extremely clear that we stand in complete solidarity with the UK.'
A Queensland man and his friends have started a website that helps disgruntled motorists dispute unfair parking fines with exorbitant fees.

Sunshine Coast man Scott Bradley says the website was still in testing stage and will include information on the site in the future as the days went by.

Known as disputeit.org, the site was launched a fortnight ago after years of he and his mates having copped their fair share of parking fines.

Queensland man and his friends have started a website to dispute motorist parking fines

'It's more just understanding the types of fines reasons where they (authority responsible for fine) will consider it (waiving fine),' Mr Bradley told News Corp.

'It's about knowing what their process is.

'There's no risk in asking for a review.'

Mr Bradley said the website is currently based on New South Wales legislative guidelines which is by far the clearest to understand in the country.

He said the principles of when fines could be waived were consistent throughout the country and in line with New South Wales, but he was hoping to refine the information given to users on the website in time to come.

The website also has a legal chat bot and is currently free to use.

Queenslander Scott Bradley says the website is still a work in progress and in a testing stage

Known as disputeit.org, the site was launched a fortnight ago, is free and has a legal chat bot

It also provides users with parking fine information and examples of situations that could allow a motorist to successfully challenge the fines.

At the moment, Mr Bradly said the site could be used for more, like a tenancy dispute advice and helping legal firm's source clients.
Peter Matthews and his wife, Julie, had settled in for a relaxing Monday afternoon at their Brighton serviced apartment watching the Channel Seven reality show House Rules.

Little did they know a Somali-born terrorist who had pledged his allegiance to the Islamic State had shot a man dead downstairs, taken a woman hostage and Mr Matthews would be forced to crawl on his belly to safety.

Software industry worker Mr Matthews, 67, was bewildered when he popped down to the carpark of the Bay Street apartment complex after 4.30pm to find a policeman decked out in a bulletproof vest and helmet pointing a gun at him.

'Show me your hands, show me your hands!' the man screamed. 'On your belly, lie down! Face down! Crawl towards me, crawl towards me!'

Holidaying pensioner Peter Matthews, 67, was ordered to crawl on his belly towards police after unwittingly walking in the middle of an ongoing siege

'Show me your hands, show me your hands!': Heavily armed police (pictured) screamed at Mr Matthews after he appeared in the carpark of the Bay Street apartment complex

Somalian refugee Yacqub Khayre (pictured) was holed up in an apartment room with a hostage sex worker and a sawn-off shotgun. Police say he shot an innocent hotel clerk before a tense two-hour siege that ended with him getting shot dead by police

He and Julie, who live in a retirement village on the NSW Central Coast, had been completely oblivious to what was happening.

The couple had heard two loud bangs between 4pm and 4.30pm but had written it off as noise from the Nepean Highway next door.

They had no idea the building was surrounded by uniformed police officers and elite counter-terrorism forces.

And when Mr Matthews stepped out the back way of the building his wife was still inside, not far from ice-addicted African refugee Yacqub Khayre.

His wife remained inside for hours until shortly after the siege ended, with strict instructions to stay inside and not let anyone in.

'She was a little bit apprehensive, but she's not given to hysterics,' Mr Matthews said. Julie reported hearing about six or seven gunshots at one point in the evening.

Mr Matthews and his wife had no idea the building was surrounded by uniformed police officers and elite counter-terrorism forces

After booking an apartment (stock image of Brighton apartment complex), Khayre tied up a sex worker hostage and fatally shot a male clerk to lure police to the scene

Mr Matthew's wife Julie was left inside her hotel room - not far from ice-addicted African refugee Yacqub Khayre

Mr Matthews said it was lucky he hadn't walked through the front reception area of the building - where it is understood Khayre shot dead a man earlier that afternoon.

It was not what the couple were expecting when they arrived at the unit the day before because it was close to a hospital Mr Matthews was attending for a medical appointment.

Mr Matthews was full of praise for the police, who put him up in a nearby hotel. Most of his belongings are still inside.

He said it would make for a good story when he gets back to the retirement village.

'It was more excitement than I've had for a long time

'This will make for an interesting yarn on Friday happy hour.'
New York City ballet dancer, Gray Davis (pictured), 31, is being hailed a hero after he saved a homeless man, who was allegedly pushed onto subway tracks in Manhattan by a woman, on Saturday night

A New York City ballet dancer can also add heroics to his repertoire - having saved a homeless man who was pushed onto subway tracks over the weekend.

Gray Davis, a dancer with the American Ballet Theater, was on the 72nd Street Broadway-Seventh Avenue station platform with his mother, Janie Krabbe B. LeTourneau, and wife, Cassandra Trenary, when they witnessed an altercation.

The trio were on the downtown side waiting for the train when they saw a man and woman, who was identified by police as Carolyn Mack, exchanging punches on the opposite side, according to Davis's mother.

LeTourneau wrote on Facebook that Davis went to get security when 'all of a sudden the woman threw the man onto the train tracks'.

Davis said no one acted to help the unidentified man Saturday night around 11.20pm.

'At first I waited for somebody else to jump down there,' Davis told the New York Times. 'People were screaming to get help. But nobody jumped down. So I jumped down.'

The 31-year-old said he jumped onto the tracks and lifted the unconscious man onto the platform, before swinging himself up using his ballet training.

Davis and his family were waiting for the train when they saw a man and woman, who was identified by police as Carolyn Mack (left and right during her arrest), exchanging punches on the opposite side

Davis said he jumped onto the tracks and lifted the unconscious man onto the platform, before swinging himself up using his ballet training

Witnesses, including Davis and his family, told officers from the New York Police Department that the 58-year-old, who said he was homeless, was pushed onto the tracks by Mack, who fled the scene on foot.

Police later arrested 23-year-old Mack in connection with the assault. Mack denied pushing the man onto the tracks.

Davis, a dancer with the American Ballet Theater, was on the 72nd Street Broadway-Seventh Avenue station platform (pictured) with his mother and wife when they witnessed the altercation between the man and Mack

Video of Mack's arrest emerged Monday showing her sitting on the sidewalk as police attempt to put handcuffs on her.

The woman can be heard asking officers: 'Are you serious?' as witnesses walk over to give their statements.

Davis, who is being hailed a hero, is a native of Greenwood, South Carolina, and has been a member of the corps de ballet at Ballet Theater since 2007.

The dancer was not performing that night due to a herniated disk injury.

However, his wife, Trenary, had danced in both the matinee and the evening performances of 'The Golden Cockerel', according to the Times.

The subway incident occurred as Davis, his wife and mother were leaving the final show.

Authorities said the man and Mack did not know each other and an investigation is ongoing.
Forensic police collected a book containing Arabic writing in a cloth bag from the Melbourne apartment where a Somali-born refugee led a two-hour stand-off with police on Monday.

Officers were pictured on Tuesday morning carrying evidence bags out of the Buckingham Serviced Apartments in Brighton where gunman Yacqub Khayre murdered one man, wounded three police officers and took a sex worker hostage during a dramatic terror attack.

The brown paper evidence bag reads: 'Hard covered book with Arabic writing (in cloth bag) on desk in living room.'

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Forensic police collected a book containing Arabic writing in a cloth bag from the Melbourne apartment where Yacqub Khayre killed a man and led a two-hour stand-off with police on Monday

Officers carried evidence bags out of the Buckingham Serviced Apartments in Brighton on Tuesday morning (pictured)

Somalian-born refugee Yacqub Khayre (pictured) was killed during a shoot-out with officers

Khayre, 29, was killed by police in an exchange of 'severe gunfire' shortly before 6pm, ending the hostage situation inside the serviced apartments.

ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack and blamed it on Australia's membership in the US-led coalition against the militant group.

'The attack in Melbourne, Australia was carried out by a soldier of the Islamic State in response to the call for targeting the subjects of the coalition states,' the group's Amaq news agency said.

Police claim Khayre hired a sex worker to hold as a hostage during the attack.

Khayre posed as a client and planned to meet the woman, who is said to be in her 20s/30s, at the apartment, Victoria Police Commissioner Graham Ashton revealed on Tuesday morning.

The 29-year-old tied up the sex worker and shot and killed a male clerk - an Australian national born in China - to lure police to the complex, police said.

Police search the home of Yacqub Khayre at Roxburgh Park, which he shared with his mother

Police look after residents outside service apartments on Tuesday morning

Khayre posed as a client and planned to meet the woman, who is said to be in her 20s/30s, at the apartments on Bay Street, Brighton (picture from the scene)

After booking an apartment (stock image of Brighton apartment complex), Khayre tied up the sex worker and shot and killed a male clerk - an Australian national born in China - to lure police to the scene

Police said Khayre then hid outside of the apartment (stock image) to wait for police officers, dressed in gloves and a balaclava and armed with a sawn-off shotgun

'At the scene, when this person's first arrived there, a man was shot, we believe, by the gunman,' Commissioner Ashton said.

'He was an employee of the serviced apartments, so he appears to have been in the wrong place at, unluckily, the wrong time.'

Police said Khayre then hid outside of the apartment for officers, dressed in gloves and a balaclava and armed with a sawn-off shotgun.

It has been reported Khayre ignored the first officers on the scene, who reported to an explosion in the area around 4.30pm.

Police said he waited until the Special Operations Group arrived at the building before charging at them while firing the shotgun.

'The first they saw was the muzzled flash,' an officer told The Age.

The area outside the building was cordoned off and the Nepean Highway and Bay Streets were closed to traffic

When police arrived at the scene they discovered a male clerk's body lying on the floor of the foyer

Specialist police at the scene of an explosion and hostage situation at the serviced apartments in Brighton, in Melbourne's south-east, after reports first came through at 4.30pm

Three officers with the SOG were shot but do not have life-threatening injuries.

Police returned gunfire and killed the 29-year-old instantly.

The sex worker was able to flee the scene uninjured but police said she is traumatized by the attack.

During the siege, Khayre called the Melbourne newsroom of Channel Seven at 5.40pm to claim: 'This is for IS, this is for al-Qaeda'.

As he made the chilling phone call a woman, believed to be the female hostage, was heard screaming desperately in the background.
There has been far too much tolerance of extremism in this country. And now  in lost lives and spilled blood  we are counting the cost.

There is no other conclusion to draw  and I should know.

For years, I have been one of those working to curb the appalling behaviour of a dangerous Islamist minority in the Muslim community who have hidden behind religion as an excuse for their actions.

As Chief Crown Prosecutor for North West England, I prosecuted criminals from all communities without fear or favour, including Muslims, for terrorism and other offences.

Nazir Afzal: There has been far too much tolerance of extremism in this country. And now  in lost lives and spilled blood  we are counting the cost

I led the case against nine Muslim men, largely of Pakistani origin, who groomed vulnerable teenage white girls in Rochdale and committed sex offences against them.

I paid a price. In many cases, my efforts attracted hostility from a minority of the Asian community.

Some claimed that grooming cases were politically motivated  a stick to beat Muslims with. Some accused me of being a coconut  meaning I was white on the inside.

I was also criticised for pointing out that, in grooming cases, white professionals fear of appearing racist allowed the crimes to continue for years.

As a result, I believe Muslims in Britain must accept it is their responsibility to join the fight against extremism.

When the BBC approached me to be a panellist on Question Time on May 25, in the wake of the Manchester atrocity, I accepted  even though it meant stepping down as chief executive of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners after being advised that it would be inappropriate to appear.

Worryingly, though, there are those in the Muslim communitys leadership who are undermining Prevent, the Governments anti-radicalisation programme, which seeks to counter extremists.

Indeed, I was staggered there was nothing on the agenda for last years Muslim Council of Britain annual general meeting about radicalisation or the threat of people going to Syria. Crucially, young Muslims must be robust enough to resist grooming by ideologues.

Khuram Butt, one of the extremists who launched the crazed attack in London

Mr Afzal says: 'I believe Muslims in Britain must accept it is their responsibility to join the fight against extremism'

I believe Muslims in Britain must accept it is their responsibility to join the fight against extremism

To help achieve this, the Government must radically re-think where it puts resources to counter extremism.

A major problem is that, at times like this, the Home Office seeks help from our so-called community leaders. These men with long beards sermonising in mosques are no more representative of the community these days than Mickey Mouse is.

They havent produced many answers to Islamist extremism in the past and are unlikely to produce any in the future. This is partly because they are invariably professional and middle class  but the majority of Muslims in the UK are under 25 and come from low-income backgrounds.

The community leaders dont understand who we are dealing with when it comes to extremism. Also, I suspect that they want to avoid such challenging problems. Our young people, women and poor need better leadership.

Young British Muslims dont have a political voice. But its with them that we need to concentrate efforts to tackle extremism. Young people listen to other young people. So we need to start de-radicalisation programmes in schools and colleges  not mosques.

As Chief Crown Prosecutor, I learnt the value of information from within the Muslim community. Without such support, I wouldnt have been able to root out the Rochdale sex-traffickers.

We need to make it easier for such information to be passed on  above all by persuading communities that cooperating with the authorities is not an act of disloyalty but will protect people from danger.

Unfortunately, there is no shortage of opposition from organisations such as CAGE, which deliberately mislead young Muslims about Prevent.

Their claims that Prevent is about persecuting Muslims are simply untrue: the programme tackles all forms of extremism and a quarter of those referred are far-Right extremists.

Too often, Muslims are encouraged to see themselves as victims of hate, rather than recognising that the perpetrators of hate come from within their own ranks and that the majority should help the authorities expose them.

London attacker Khuram Butt on the Channel 4 documentary The Jihadi's Next Door

Too often, Muslims are encouraged to see themselves as victims of hate, rather than recognising that the perpetrators of hate come from within their own ranks. Pictured Khuram Butt on the Channel 4 documentary

I believe the Prevent strategy must be encouraged. It has flaws, mainly around communication, but there is no current alternative. And it has stopped at least 150 people from going to Syria for jihad, 50 of them children.

The problem is deep-rooted. Two years ago, a London head-teacher told me he was being approached almost daily by parents who said their children were being groomed to be jihadis. To compound matters, the parents did not want the police to be told of such fears and teachers didnt want to criminalise their pupils.

But they have a social responsibility to help. We ask people to identify victims of child sexual abuse by looking for signs, and it should be the same with radicalisation.

A vital way forward is through Muslim mothers and daughters. I have had many dealings with Muslim womens groups because they are the front line in tackling child sex abuse, forced marriage, honour-based violence and other similar social issues. Women are well placed to identify those at risk of being radicalised.

Its no coincidence Saturdays atrocity happened just five days before the General Election. What those murderers wanted was for people not to vote. They hate democracy

Yet Muslim womens groups struggle for funding. They need financial help from the State and well-off members of the Islamic community.

There are many wealthy Muslims in this country. I urge them to use their money to help deal with issues in Britain rather than the poor in South Asia or the Middle East.

Of course, there are some things only the Government can do  such as stopping hate-preachers coming into this country. There should be a policy of zero tolerance.

But it is essential we attack extremism in places it is festering. Weve known for a long time about radicalisation and recruitment via the internet and how sinister messages are transmitted by word of mouth in rooms above takeaway shops and minicab offices.

Its no coincidence Saturdays atrocity happened just five days before the General Election. What those murderers wanted was for people not to vote. They hate democracy.

Therefore, the most immediate response for every one of us is to cast our vote. Whatever party you put your cross against, that is a message to the extremists that they will not win.
Helicopter footage has been released showing the moment hundreds of partygoers on a Perth property become out of control.

This was the third time WA police had been called to the house in Yangebup near Cockburn Central which had allegedly held a party each night of the first weekend in June.

Police claim the party became 'out of control' on Sunday night when more than 150 hooded teenagers began throwing bottles at approaching officers.

Police claim the party became 'out of control' on Sunday night when more than 150 hooded teenagers began throwing bottles at approaching officers

The Police Air-Wing was forced to intervene and said that no injuries of youths or officers has been reported.

Residents on Beeliar Drive said they were tired of the noise and raucous caused by the disorderly youngsters and have tried to get them shut down multiple times.

But one of the party's organisers, Troy, told 7 NEWS that Friday night's party was to celebrate an 18th birthday, Saturday's party was a farewell and Sunday's was a fundraiser for one of their friends who had been diagnosed with cancer.

But one of the party's organisers, Troy, told 7 NEWS that Friday night's party was to celebrate an 18th birthday, Saturday's party was a farewell and Sunday's was a fundraiser for one of their friends who had been diagnosed with cancer

'It was all going pretty well until the police rocked up, barged in, unwelcome,' he said.

Police were eventually able to disperse the teens but not before the gathered at a local fast-food chain for an after party snack.

When asked if he would throw another party as big as this one had been Troy said 'any time.'

WA Police sergeant Andrew Maher said the party organiser may face charges as a result of the neighbour's complaints.

Daily Mail Australia spoke to WA police on Tuesday morning and it was confirmed no one has been charged yet.
Migrants and students who have repeatedly failed an occupational English exam claim the bar has deliberately been set too high in a bid to make money.

The Occupational English Test is a mandatory requirement for skilled migrants who wish to obtain residency and work in Australia's healthcare sector.

The tests, costing around $600 each time, are hugely profitable to the private enterprise companies around the country who run them, according to Today Tonight Adelaide.

And those who have had to re-sit the test multiple times say students are being failed on purpose so the companies can rake in more in fees.

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Migrants and students who have repeatedly failed an occupational English exam claim the bar has deliberately been set too high in a bid to make money

Nursing student Mike, 28, arrived from the Philippines two years ago and completed a tertiary diploma  but he has failed the OET three times, costing him $1,800

Nursing student Mike, 28, arrived from the Philippines two years ago and completed a tertiary diploma  but he has failed the OET three times, costing him $1,800.

He's been working in the aged care industry while studying, but is unable to accept either of the two job offers he has until he passes.

'Just because of the English test, you can't register, you can't have your job,' he told the program.

He added that because no feedback is ever given by the examiners, he doesn't know how he can improve.

His employers are similarly stumped because they have been impressed with his language skills.

'You don't know where you've gone wrong and you don't know how to improve,' he said.

'I think it is all about making money. I'm psychologically stressed and depressed and I'm now thinking of changing my career because of it.'

Meanwhile, an education consultant who prepares students for the test claims even some born in Australian would struggle to pass.

Rohan Feegrade said: 'Even a student who was schooled within the Australian education system would struggle.

'We've got students who have come through this office who have sat the test nine, 10 times.'

And it's difficult because test-takers must focus for eight hours in one day while taking the four components of the test  reading, writing, listening and speaking  and retake it all, even if they fail only one.

OET says it is designed to ensure that 'internationally trained healthcare professionals have the necessary language skills to practise safely and effectively in an English-speaking environment

The cost for undertaking the test is $587, which OET said has not risen since Cambridge English Language Assessment acquired the business in 2013.

CBLA is a not-for-profit department of the University of Cambridge with more than 100 years of experience in assessing English language skills

But it's also part-owned by Boxhill Institute  a Melbourne-based vocational training provider.

'Given the high stakes for candidates and the outcome of the testy, the end-to-end process of producing and validating OET test materials requires a range of quality assurance stages that involve considerable costs,' OET said in a statement.
Hard-Left paymaster: Len McClusky of the Unite union

Labours election hopes are pinned on the trade unions, figures show today.

The vast majority of the partys candidates in winnable seats are sponsored by union paymasters.

Labour is now even more dependent on union funds than it was under Ed Miliband at the last election.

In the 13 Labour-held seats where MPs have stood down, 12 of the vacancies have been filled by candidates who are members of a union or are partially funded by one.

They include Dan Carden, a key aide to hard-Left Unite leader Len McCluskey, in ultra-safe Liverpool Walton.

In the 50 marginal seats Labour needs to win, 41 candidates have union links. Nineteen of them are connected to Unite, Jeremy Corbyns main source of funding.

The Tories, who carried out the research, said it showed the stranglehold that Mr McCluskey has over Labour. If he becomes prime minister, Mr Corbyn has pledged to scrap anti-strike laws by repealing the Conservatives Trade Union Bill.

The Conservatives point out that Labours election campaign is being bankrolled by the unions  since April 18 they have given the Labour Party 5million.

John McDonnell, the Shadow Chancellor, has vowed Labour would rip up union laws enacted since 1979  paving the way for a new right to strike in law

If he becomes prime minister, Mr Corbyn has pledged to scrap anti-strike laws by repealing the Conservatives Trade Union Bill

The links mean that the union barons will strengthen their grip over Labour whether or not Mr Corbyn remains leader after the election. Tory party chairman Sir Patrick McLoughlin said: Jeremy Corbyns union paymasters put him in charge of the Labour Party and these figures show they would put him in charge of the country too.

Theresa May only needs to lose six seats for the Conservatives to lose their majority  leading to Jeremy Corbyn in Downing Street propped up by the SNP and Lib Dems in a coalition of chaos, bankrolled by militant union barons like Len McCluskey.

The price for this support would be to drag Britain back to the 1970s by ripping up anti-strike laws, piling misery on ordinary working families and crashing our economy.

The unions have bankrolled Labour to the tune of 17.8million since Mr Corbyn was installed as leader. Since the start of the election campaign, Labour has taken 5.2million from the unions  two thirds of its total donations.

Under Mr Miliband in 2014 Labour relied on the unions for 54 per cent of its funds  but this increased to 67 per cent in 2016 under Mr Corbyn.

The new leadership is vociferously in favour of new legislation to please trade unions.

Labour is now even more dependent on union funds than it was under Ed Miliband at the last election

John McDonnell, the Shadow Chancellor, has vowed Labour would rip up union laws enacted since 1979  paving the way for a new right to strike in law. It wants to allow the return of secondary picketing  flying pickets  where groups of strikers move from location to location, disrupting workplaces.

SNP: We'll back Labour Nicola Sturgeon vowed once again to prop up Labour as she prepared to face her first election debate last night. Speaking on BBC Radio 4s Womans Hour yesterday, the Scottish National Party leader revealed she had not ruled out working with Jeremy Corbyn after the poll. Just hours before she was due to appear on Question Time, she clarified that she did not favour formal coalitions but would support an alternative to the Conservatives. She added: I said this in 2015  if the parliamentary arithmetic post-election supported this, I would want the SNP to be part of a progressive alternative to a Tory government. I dont favour formal coalitions, Im talking something that would be... on an issue-by-issue basis. Advertisement

Flying pickets were used by striking miners to target power stations and coal depots, bringing the economy close to a standstill.

The Conservative analysis concentrated on the 13 candidates who have been parachuted in to replace Labour MPs who are stepping down.

The Unite union has close links to three candidates other than Mr Carden.

Tracy Harvey, candidate in Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, and Jo Platt in Leigh are members. And Laura Pidcock, who is standing in North West Durham, is a Unite activist.

Birmingham Edgbastons Preet Gill is a member of another large union, Unison; while Mike Hill in Hartlepool is a Unison regional organiser.

Liz Twist in Blaydon is funded by Unison and Eleanor Smith in Wolverhampton South West is a former Unison president.

Two Labour candidates are linked to the GMB. Stephanie Peacock in Barnsley East is an employee of the union, while Ellie Reeves in Lewisham West and Penge is the GMB-favoured candidate.
Lisa Woodrow considered suicide

Women damaged by a mesh designed to treat post-childbirth incontinence have finally been offered a glimmer of hope after enduring years of misery. As Good Health has repeatedly reported, many have suffered as the plastic mesh disintegrated into fragments which slice like cheesewire into surrounding flesh, causing crippling pain and infection, worsened incontinence, difficulty walking and, for some, the end of their sex lives.

Yet despite all this, the NHS has continued to give the implant a clean bill of health. And then earlier this year, a Scottish Government investigation rejected calls for the material to be banned.

But following growing anger about the report  including concerns that data showing the meshes often go wrong wasnt properly included  the report is to be reviewed, the Scottish health minister Shona Robison has announced. Its a move that gives hope to victims south of the border, too.

This review should reveal the first investigation was a total whitewash, which hid relevant data, said Kath Sansom of the English pressure group Sling The Mesh, which has almost 2,000 members, many of whom are taking legal action.

A complete ban on its use would have to come from the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency in London, but the Scottish Government can suspend the use of the mesh in Scotland. If it does that, NHS England would have to do something similar.

The mesh, also known as tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) is meant to support pelvic organs to treat post-childbirth incontinence or prolapse. While it has helped some women, for others its proved disastrous.

The Mail's report published last month

Studies in The Lancet and in Nature have reported that up to one in six women suffer problems within two years of receiving the mesh. Other studies have shown even higher complication rates.

Campaigners said data drawing attention to the failure rate were concealed in annexes or published elsewhere, so the March review appeared without them. One entire critical chapter said to be the work of Wael Agur, a specialist urogynaecologist from Glasgow University, isnt in the final document.

Dr Agur, who resigned from the committee collating the data shortly before publication, declined to comment. The chairman, Dr Lesley Wilkie, who also resigned last autumn, refused to say why.

In addition to calling for a ban on new operations, the campaigners want a central register to monitor patients, as some are affected a decade or more after the surgery.

Marcus Drake, a professor of physiological urology at Bristol University, who is unconnected with any Government review, acknowledges more needs to be done to establish the number of cases where the tape breaks up, but he also believes in the right hands, the surgery can be very successful.

Most women seem to get on well with this type of surgery, he said. But I advise women considering it to weigh everything up. Unless the severity of your symptoms is truly affecting your life, tell your surgeon you dont want surgery.

Sohier Elneil, a gynaecologist at University College Hospital, London, who specialises in removing the fragmented mesh, says she sees up to 20 patients a month: This is a big problem. Women have not been informed of the consequences of having this material implanted.

NHS England has been conducting its own safety review for more than three years: a spokesman insisted a report would be published later this year

Crucially for the NHS, the mesh is substantially cheaper than the colposuspension tissue repair operation it replaced.

The tissue repair, which involves stitching the neck of the bladder to surrounding structures, is a highly skilled operation, while the tape can be inserted in a procedure taking just 20 minutes. One NHS report calculated the cost saving at 377 per patient. Critics say the high complication rate associated with the tape cancels out such savings.

NHS England has been conducting its own safety review for more than three years: a spokesman insisted a report would be published later this year.

That will be little comfort to those living with the effects of the surgery. Here, some of the many whove contacted us tell their stories 

ITS KILLED MY SEX LIFE AT JUST 41

Kate Langley, 41, a former childminder from Pevensey, East Sussex, is married to Daniel, a kitchen fitter; they have two children, Joshua, 15, and Jessica, seven. Kate had the surgery in October 2012 and has been taken to hospital 53 times, admitted for up to 12 days at a time.

Sometimes the pain has been so bad its as if my insides were being ripped apart. I had so many scans and investigations which showed nothing: I now know that the mesh is only visible on a translabial ultrasound scan.

Kate Langley had the surgery in October 2012 and has been taken to hospital 53 times, admitted for up to 12 days at a time

Two months after my operation I even had my gallbladder removed as doctors thought it might be the problem, but it did nothing to ease the pain: likewise my hysterectomy in October 2014.

When my specialist first suggested TVT surgery Id got to the stage where I had to wear incontinence pads so I thought: Great! I can get back to normal life.

But four days afterwards, I was readmitted with agonising pains. I was in and out of hospital over the coming weeks, always in crippling agony. The ongoing discomfort made it difficult for me to walk.

A couple of years after surgery, I also began suffering with urinary tract infections every few months.

Two-and-a-half years after the op I had to give up my childminding business, due to spending so much time in hospital. They didnt discover the problem was the mesh until April 2015  that September, rather than have a long wait to have it removed on the NHS, I saw a private surgeon my wonderful extended family paid for: I was told the mesh had torn into my bladder, urethra and a main nerve.

But even now that most of its out  it couldnt all be removed as it was so embedded  they think I will always have pain.

My sex life has ended and Im only 41, so that puts a strain on our marriage. My not working hasnt helped either as were in debt.

Still, Im incredibly lucky because my husband loves me.

In April last year, I had the old-fashioned colposuspension surgery to fix my incontinence. Although I still have pain, I havent needed to be rushed to hospital. Thats at least something  and I hope to be able to start working from home again soon.

Ive still got a small piece of mesh so close to a main artery its too dangerous to remove. This really hits home just how dangerous this mesh is: When it goes wrong, it goes horrifically wrong.

I HAVE TO USE A WHEELCHAIR

Lisa Woodrow, 53, a mother of two adult sons and a former sales and marketing manager from Thetford, in Norfolk, had the surgery five years ago.

I remember joking with my partner, Tim, that Id be like a new woman after the operation. In fact the changes in me would all be very much for the worse.

Since Id had children, in my early 20s, Id suffered from leaks, which could be embarrassing, and I had to wear incontinence pads. I also had a prolapsed uterus so sex could be uncomfortable. When I heard about TVT, I didnt hesitate. But soon after the surgery it was clear something was very wrong. I had constant pain in my left side until May 2015 when it was finally removed, and bled for a year.

Lisa, 53, had a vaginal mesh fitted in 2013 and, after spending a couple of years in pain and suffering

It was difficult to walk and I had repeated urinary tract infections. My job was very demanding, and involved a lot of travel, so I had to give it up, and I havent worked for almost two years now.

One morning 3 years after the surgery, I collapsed in pain and had to be rushed to hospital.

I was in hospital for six weeks  no one could tell me what was wrong. I then paid to see a private urogynaecologist, who said the mesh had cut through tissue in my vaginal wall and urethra.

I wept at finally having an explanation: because no other doctor Id seen could explain it, Id begun to think I must be going mad.

Shortly after my collapse my partner told me he didnt love me and, in a way, I couldnt blame him: we couldnt make love and I sat like a zombie in my wheelchair most of the time.

By that stage Id lost almost everything and it was unbearable: In January 2016, I went as far as writing a suicide note. But my family mean the world to me, so I couldnt go through with it.

After I had the mesh removed last year, my pain levels went down. However, I need a wheelchair if I have to walk further than 25 yards and my incontinence is now even worse and I am in constant pain.

The mesh surgery is the worst thing thats ever happened to me.

MENOPAUSE WAS DUE TO THE MESH

Karen Murrell, 49, a school administrator and divorced mother of two lives in Rainham, Essex. She had her mesh fitted seven years ago.

The first sign something was wrong came when my husband and I made love a month after the op.

He felt something sharp and said: Oh my God, have you had teeth put up there? I went back to my consultant who cut off a bit of the tape that was poking through.

Karen Murrell had her mesh fitted seven years ago

Over the next couple of years, I developed constant back and leg pain; then I started suffering dizziness, like I was going to pass out. Every few months, Id get a urinary tract infection.

I put it down to getting older. But one morning last December I was in such intense pain I went to hospital: a doctor found more tape poking through into my vagina.

The mesh was removed by a specialist last month and she told me it was infected, covered in pus. She thinks Ive had the infection since the op  that explains why Id often wake up sweating, something I put down to the menopause. I now feel much better. Im one of the lucky ones, some women have been left disabled.

MY DOCTOR SAID THAT THE TERRIBLE PAIN WAS JUST IN MY MIND

Cynthia O'Neil, 69, a retired secretary, is divorced with three grown-up children and lives in Yorkshire. She was fitted with a mesh implant in October 2009.

When my gynaecologist patted me on the shoulder and said: I think your problems are all psychological, I felt so angry. Id been living with what felt like broken glass digging into me for two years. How dare he say I was imagining it!

Cynthia O'Neil was fitted with a mesh implant in October 2009

Id first been to see him after suddenly developing problems emptying my bladder in January 2009. He diagnosed a bladder prolapse. After physiotherapy didnt work, he suggested a sling operation using a plastic mesh to support my bladder. He said I wouldnt know it was there.

The surgery proved to be a big mistake  the pain afterwards was terrible; sometimes I was doubled over with it. Intercourse became impossible because it was too painful and I was totally uninterested. My partner and I split up in 2012. For four years after the operation I went back to my gynaecologist about the pain, but he was very dismissive and said it wasnt related to the mesh.

Then when he found a piece of mesh protruding into my vaginal wall he said he would remove it there and then: to my horror he put my feet in stirrups and with no anaesthetic put scissors in my vagina to trim the mesh. It felt every bit as bad as it sounds. I went back again a few weeks later and this was when he said my problems must be psychological.

So I went to see a urogynaecologist in October 2013. She found three more pieces of mesh had broken off eroded.

The next month I had the left side of the mesh and three pieces of eroded mesh removed.

This only provided temporary relief, but when I asked if the rest of the mesh could be removed the surgeon said shed need to perform it with a bowel surgeon because I might need a colostomy. I wasnt prepared to take that risk, so now Im just left with taking painkillers.

Its made me feel very depressed and isolated. I could have put up with my original bladder problem  I wish Id left well alone.

This has been a nightmare. The past six years of my life have just passed me by.

I feel very let down by the NHS. I just want some acknowledgement that these devices cause more harm than good.

Interviews by HELEN CARROLL and JO WATERS
It was the famous moment which earned him the moniker Two Jabs.

And John Prescott has conceded that he will go down in history as the man who thumped the bloke in the street rather than his service to politics.

The 79-year-old politician, who served as a Labour MP for almost four decades, punched a protester who threw an egg at him during the 2001 election campaign while he was deputy prime minster.

After being hit in the neck, the former amateur boxer responded with a straight left jab to the jaw.

John Prescott has conceded that he will go down in history as the man who thumped the bloke in the street rather than his service to politics

The 79-year-old politician, who served as a Labour MP for almost four decades, punched a protester who threw an egg at him during the 2001 election campaign

It was the famous moment which earned him the moniker Two Jabs

Speaking to the Radio Times, Mr Prescott admitted he will be remembered for the 40-second incident, which made national headlines, rather than his years as a politician.

The father-of-two said: Im really proud of what Ive achieved. But people wont remember me for my 40 years in Parliament.

'Instead, Ill be remembered for 40 seconds of my life. The time I thumped that bloke in the street. That incident, while I was out campaigning in Rhyl during the 2001 general election, will be my obituary.

'Theyve even put a plaque on the wall to mark the spot of this great historic punch. Thats life, I suppose.

He added: Never mind. Because if youd have told the young John Prescott hed end up doing what Ive done  four decades as an MP, ten years as deputy prime minister, seven years in the House of Lords  hed have been utterly amazed.

'I remember my mum once saying: Perhaps you might want to be an MP? And I said: No, I havent got it in me.

Mr Prescott also spoke about ageing and said the reason why people often say hes looking well is because he still has hair.

After he was hit in the neck, the former amateur boxer (pictured on a visit to an Amateur Boxing Club in 2015), responded with a straight left jab to the jaw

Despite serving as an MP for almost four decades, Mr Prescott is by most remembered more for his out-of-office antics

He said: People often say: Youre looking well. But I think a lot of that is down to the fact that Ive still got my hair. Im lucky. My health is pretty good and my mum and dad both lived into their 90s.

'I used to do a lot of deep-sea diving, which gave me good strong lungs. Im a diabetic and I have an ingrowing toenail, which tends to make me shuffle when I walk. Though sometimes I wonder: is it really the toenail or has the shuffling come with age?

The former Labour deputy leader also admitted how he is now unable to tie his shoelaces due to his paunch getting in the way.

For 10 years, John Prescott was Britains short-fused, often ridiculed Deputy Prime Minister until he quit the frontline of politics in 2007

He said: Sure, there are some things that irritate. I cant bend down to do my shoelaces any more because my paunch gets in the way. So I tie my shoes now by putting them up on the desk. Ive also noticed that I do need to work harder to remember peoples names these days. And I sometimes struggle a little to come up with a word. But Im not too worried.

People sometimes ask what I miss most about being young. I dont think Id dare say. Apart from the obvious?

For 10 years, John Prescott was Britains short-fused, often ridiculed Deputy Prime Minister until he quit the frontline of politics in 2007.

Despite serving as an MP for almost four decades, Mr Prescott is by most remembered more for his out-of-office antics.
Elderly patients with common mental health problems are facing clear discrimination at the hands of the NHS, experts warned yesterday.

A study found that people in their 70s with depression or anxiety were four times less likely to be referred for therapy than those in their 20s.

The researchers, led by experts at the University of West London, said the elderly are being under-referred for talking therapy by GPs, despite evidence they are more likely to turn up and generally respond better to treatment than younger people.

Their study examined more than 80,000 referrals for patients in the South West.

A study found that people in their 70s with depression or anxiety were four times less likely to be referred for therapy than those in their 20s (stock photo)

The team found that 23 per cent of people aged 20 to 24 with mental health problems were referred for talking therapies  four times the proportion of 70 to 74 year-olds, of whom only 6 per cent received a referral.

The researchers, led by Dr Sophie Pettit, wrote in the British Journal of General Practice: Once referred, adherence to and recovery resulting from treatment increases with age, and higher proportions of older adults are accessing and engaging with treatment than the 20 to 24-year-olds, who are being referred more frequently.

There is growing concern among experts of a rising toll of mental health problems among the elderly, who are increasingly isolated and lonely.

While such problems were previously considered more prevalent among the young, this latest research reveals the elderly are affected nearly as much. The researchers calculated that 15 per cent of 20 to 24-year-olds were affected, compared to 10 per cent among over-70s.

The Local Government Association estimates that more than one million people in Britain aged over 65 experience loneliness, a known risk-factor for depression and anxiety.

Dr Amanda Thompsell, chairman of the Old Age Faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: This report shows clear discrimination against older people when it comes to talking therapies.

There is growing concern among experts of a rising toll of mental health problems among the elderly, who are increasingly isolated and lonely (stock photo)

Many of the barriers deterring access to the elderly remain: from a lack of provision for home visits or transport to and from appointments, to problems using the internet and their generations stoical belief in just getting on with things.

She welcomed the reports suggestion that GPs raise awareness among elderly patients of the therapies available and their benefits.

Until they get this message across and the practical barriers to accessing talking therapies are overcome, this blatant discrimination will remain, said Dr Thompsell.

Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, chairman of the Royal College of GPs, acknowledged the benefits of therapies for elderly patients but said referrals were a problem because there are not enough services available.

We need more mental health services in the community. We need a greater variety of services in the community and we need GPs and our teams to have better, easier and quicker access to them, she said.
A British Transport Police officer who tried to take on the London Bridge jihadis armed only with his baton has sustained 'life-altering injuries' after being stabbed in the face.

The officer suffered injuries to his face, leg and hands as he tried to take on the knife-wielding extremists as they went on a crazed rampage along London Bridge and Borough Market on Saturday evening.

His Chief Constable has since praised the 'outstanding bravery' of the officer who is understood to be on probation having joined the force less than two years ago.

The officer's Chief Constable Paul Crowther has since praised the 'outstanding bravery' of the officer who is understood to be on probation having joined the force less than two years ago

The rented van used by the attackers pictured at the scene, where it was abandoned shortly after 10pm on Saturday night during the terror attack

The latest attack was the third terror attack in the last nine weeks on British soil

A friend whose husband works with the officer told The Daily Telegraph he sustained 'life altering but not life threatening' injuries and labelled him a hero who 'sets the example we should all follow'.

Rugby fans have since raised thousands of pounds for the heroic British Transport police officer.

On a JustGiving page set up to raise money for a holiday to aid in his recovery, a friend has written: 'A colleague of mine from the British Transport Police was seriously injured as he went towards the danger in order to try and stop these terrorists in their tracks.

RUGBY FANS RAISE THOUSANDS FOR OFFICER Rugby fans have raised thousands of pounds for a heroic British Transport police officer who took on the three knifemen armed with just his baton. The jihadists left the BTP officer, who has not yet been named, in hospital from his wounds. He was said to be in stable condition but with life changing injuries after he was stabbed in the face, head, and neck when he was one of the first to respond to Saturday night's attack. Now, rugby website Ruck, Rugby Pass, and the Rugby Union section of popular social media site Reddit, have almost hit their goal of raising 5,000 for the officer. Today the Just Giving page had raised more than 4,500. Advertisement

'Sadly he is currently in hospital and likely to be some time before he returns to work.

'As a police officer, myself and many colleagues have been affected by what has happened and devastated to hear that one of our own has ended up risking his life and shown an incredible amount of bravery attempting to stop these terrorists.

'He confronted them and played his part in trying to slow them down. He is likely to not be at work for some time and I would ask that we could raise a small amount of money so that he can use his time off effectively and treat him to an amount of money that could be used towards his rehabilitation by way of a holiday.'

His Chief Constable Paul Crowther said: 'Having visited the officer in hospital shortly after he was admitted for treatment, I was able to hear his account of what happened last night.

'It became clear that he showed enormous courage in the face of danger, as did many others who were at the scene and rushed to help.

'Although he is seriously unwell, he was able to recount how he faced the attackers armed only with his baton, outside London Bridge station.

'For an officer who only joined us less than two years ago, the bravery he showed was outstanding and makes me extremely proud.

'All of us at BTP wish him a swift recovery, and I know he will be touched by the hundreds of messages of support from across the UK and the world.

'Our thoughts are with all of those who died or were injured, and their loved ones as they try to come to terms with what happened.'

In another act of bravery, an off-duty police officer fought off three knifemen with his bare hands as they rampaged through Borough Market.

The Met officer was having a drink with friends after work when he saw his uniformed colleagues and members of the public being 'severely assaulted'.

Scotland Yard chief Cressida Dick, who worked in counter-terror earlier in her career, described the recent wave of attacks as 'unprecedented in my working life'

Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said she was 'enormously proud' of the officer, who is in a serious condition in hospital.

She said: 'My understanding is that, without hesitation, wearing his normal clothes, he dived in and tried to assist, and he I'm afraid was himself severely injured but utterly heroic.'

Ms Dick also commended bystanders who stayed with the officer and administered first aid before he was driven to hospital.

Describing the police response as 'extraordinary', she added: 'I think those of us who weren't there are in awe of what both the police officers armed, the unarmed officers we've heard about and indeed the emergency services and members of the public - just extraordinary amounts of courage shown.'

Ms Dick commended bystanders who stayed with the officer and administered first aid before he was driven to hospital

Three jihadi terrorists were shot dead by armed police after killing seven people and injuring at least 48 more during the horrific knife rampage in central London

How police have foiled 18 terror plots since 2013 including five since Westminster attack 10 weeks ago Britain's counter-terror agencies are adapting to a 'new reality' with the threat of attacks now at an unprecedented level. It was revealed last month that police and security services have foiled 18 plots since 2013 - including five in just nine weeks after Khalid Masood's deadly rampage at Westminster in March. The sheer volume of activity being undertaken by MI5 and its partners to contain the threat was laid bare in the wake of the Manchester bombing last month. Figures show the agency is managing around 500 active investigations involving around 3,000 individuals at any one time. But in addition there are also a larger pool of as many as 20,000 people who have been considered at some point in the past but are not included in the live probes. Scotland Yard chief Cressida Dick, who worked in counter-terror earlier in her career, described the recent wave of attacks as 'unprecedented in my working life'. Advertisement

Ms Dick has vowed that officers will 'step up a gear' in the wake of the London Bridge terror attack.

'Clearly there's a huge operation, both to make sure that we can keep people safe at that immediate scene, examine the scene and roll out proper protection across London for individuals, for events, for crowded places,' she told BBC Breakfast.

She described the recent attacks as 'unprecedented in my working life' and added: 'We in this country have faced a terrorist threat throughout my life - it changed and morphed and we will change and adapt to what appears to be a new reality for us.'

Police have foiled 18 terror plots since 2013 and arrest around one person every day in counter-terror raids, Ms Dick said.

'We have very good intelligence and we are frequently able to disrupt or indeed provide highly effective protection when we think an event or a particular place is at risk,' she added.

'But I understand people will be concerned and all I can say is we will be doing everything in our power and we will be stepping up a gear.'

She also said that the resources available to the police needed to be looked at, telling the BBC: 'We do have very extensive legislation, we do have very extensive powers - we need to look at whether we're using them to their full extent and we will be working with whoever is in the Government to see whether further powers would assist.

'As for more resourcing, every leader is going to ask for more resources of course they are, we do have a very, very, powerful counter-terrorist effort but as I've indicated the threat seems to be changing so we need to look at our strategy, we need to look at our resourcing, we need to look at the techniques we're using.

'We've always been able to sort-of step up our game and that I'm afraid is what we clearly need to do now, as do people in our communities.'

She added: 'The rhetoric that has been coming from Daesh and other organisations has been to encourage people to take action into their own hands, to use low-tech methods, and undoubtedly when people see something which appears from their perverted point of view to be successful some people will be inspired by that, so that is most certainly a possibility.'

Cressida Dick, with the London Mayor Sadiq Khan, near the scene of the terror attack

Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick praised the police response as 'extraordinary'

Terrorists brought carnage to the streets of Britain for the second time in as many weeks, killing seven and leaving 21 fighting for their lives.

Pedestrians were mowed down by a van on London Bridge before attackers stabbed a police officer and revellers around Borough Market with 12-inch knives.

The three men, wearing fake suicide bomb vests, were shot dead by eight officers outside a pub after police opened fire with an 'unprecedented' hail of 50 bullets, while a bystander was also shot. ISIS have claimed responsibility for the attack.

Officers say they know the identities of the men who carried out the attack and will release the names 'as soon as operationally possible'.

Scotland Yard said seven women and five men aged between 19 and 60 were arrested under the Terrorism Act in Barking on Sunday. A 55-year-old man was later released without charge.
Oscar-winner Catherine Zeta-Jones posted this picture of her mother showing that good genes run in her family.

My Mam is my muse, the Welsh actress writes of former seamstress Patricia, who passed on her lustrous locks and dark-eyed looks to Catherine.

The Hollywood star has come a long way from Swansea, where her dad used to own a sweet factory.

Oscar-winner Catherine Zeta-Jones posted this picture of her mother showing that good genes run in her family

She is now married to actor Michael Douglas, 72, with whom she has two children, Dylan, 16, and 14-year-old Carys, who has also clearly benefited from her grannys glossy tresses.

Despite her working-class roots, life wasnt too hard for young Catherine, whose parents were able to enrol her in dance and ballet classes after winning 100,000 on a night out at the bingo.

Catherine Zeta-Jones, pictured left, is now married to actor Michael Douglas, 72, with whom she has two children, Dylan, 16, and 14-year-old Carys, pictured right

TV chef Jamie solves Oprah's veg dill-emma

U.S. talk show host Oprah Winfrey, pictured, who has 9.4 million Instagram followers, posed with a big wicker basket of veg and captioned it: What to do with all this dill?

Naked chef Jamie Oliver is a brave man  he has dared to correct one of the most powerful women on TV after she got her herbs in a muddle.

U.S. talk show host Oprah Winfrey, who has 9.4 million Instagram followers, posed with a big wicker basket of veg and captioned it: What to do with all this dill?

Oliver, 42, immediately put her right commenting: Thats fennel mate, and suggested how to cook it.

Winfrey, 63, was suitably humbled. Thanks! she replied. No wonder I cant figure out what to do with it. Its fennel! Gonna stick to basics. A little too fancy for me.





Fussy Prince Charles is known to take his own organic food wherever he is in the world.

Although his more down-to-earth sister, Princess Anne, is happy to eat whatever shes offered, she does have certain requests.

Organisers of a recent lunch she attended tell me Annes staff let them know she shouldnt be served any dish that contained alcohol.

Perhaps she was worried about unwittingly ending up over the drink-drive limit?

Its taken him a while, but Fifty Shades Of Grey hunk Jamie Dornan has finally put to rest rumours that he dated Kate Moss after the pair modelled together in a 2006 Calvin Klein campaign.

Its amazing. Once, a friend said: I read that you dated Kate Moss, I was like, Id tell you if Id dated Kate Moss!  explains Dornan, 35, now happily married to actress Amelia Warner, with whom he has two children.

David Dimbleby is scrupulously impartial when presenting BBC TV Question Time General Election specials.

However, his Oxford University student son Fred has been less than impressed with those who watch the programme.

Some of the tweeting from the right [wing] has been ridiculous, he piously observed after a recent show.
A Muslim imam who speaks out against Islamist extremism and unchecked multiculturalism has applied to become an Army Reserve chaplain or a soldier in a bid to fight terrorism.

Adelaide-based shia imam Sheikh Mohammad Tawhidi says more Muslims need to join the Australian Defence Force to combat extremists, after a Melbourne terrorist killed a man at a serviced apartment.

'It is only appropriate that I lead by example,' he told Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday.

Adelaide shia imam Sheikh Mohammad Tawhidi has applied to be an Army chaplain

The Australian Defence Force has confirmed Sheikh Tawhidi's bid to be an Army chaplain

'I cannot watch Australia receive threats from other countries and deal with serious matters of extremism and terrorism while sitting back and doing nothing.'

The religious leader's first preference is to serve as an Army Reserve chaplain, followed by an infantry soldier.

'I encourage other Muslim leaders in Australia to consider as to whether or not they should take a similar action by joining the full-time or reserve forces,' he said.

'The Army needs sincere Muslims that are willing to oppose the radical terrorists within their own religion.

'I would of course serve in what ever capacity that the army thinks is best.'

Sheikh Tawhidi, who was born in Iran and moved to Australia from Iraq aged 12, said his experience as a Muslim scholar could motivate soldiers fighting ISIS, who take a Saudi Arabian Wahabi interpretation of the Koran to justify beheadings.

'They need to be assured by a Muslim that the motivations ISIS receive come from certain Islamic scripts, and they can't be courageous individuals at all, hence the suicide bombings and gatherings in large numbers,' he said.

'We prevent terror by having a highly-motivated army that believes the opponent is a coward and not a warrior.'

The Sheikh wants to fight terrorism after Somali-born Yacqub Khayre staged a Melbourne siege

Following the Melbourne terrorist attack, Sheikh Mohammad Tawhidi wants to fight terror

His application has been confirmed a day after Somali-born, ISIS-inspired extremist Yacqub Khayre murdered one man, wounded three police officers and took a female escort hostage in a dramatic two-hour siege in a Melbourne serviced apartment.

The 29-year-old killer, who had links to banned Somali-based Islamist terror group al-Shabbab, then claimed: 'This is for IS, this is for al-Qaeda.'

Sheikh Tawhidi 's application also comes a week after the Turnbull Government rejected a call to ban Islamist extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir, despite its declaration in March that it supported killing ex-Muslims.

It has emerged the Australian Defence Force's chief imam in Febuary 2015 signed a petition protesting against a push by former prime minister Tony Abbott to ban Hizb ut-Tahrir.

Sheikh Mohamadu Nawas Saleem added his name to that campaign after Mr Abbott proposed to prohibit the group, which campaigns for a global Islamic caliphate based on sharia law.

The Defence Force's chief imam Sheikh Mohamadu Nawas Saleem signed a petition in 2015 protesting against a plan to ban Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir

Adelaide Shia imam Sheikh Mohammad Tawhidi wants more Muslims to join the Army

Sheikh Tawhidi is interested in being either an Army Reserve chaplain or an infantry soldier

He was appointed as the Defence Force's chief imam four months later and he receives $717 a day as a member of the taxpayer-funded Religious Advisory Committee to the Services, which advises the Australian Defence Force.

The petition claimed that Hizb ut-Tahrir disavowed and have never supported terrorist acts, but it declined to mention how they are banned in Germany, The Netherlands, Russia and a range of Muslim-majority nations including Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and even Saudi Arabia.

Sheikh Tawhidi, who has warned about terror cells and backyard mosques in Australia, isn't seeking to replace Sheikh Saleem but had stern words about his support for that petition.

'If someone is part of our Defence Force, his loyalty should go towards defending the country, not promoting human rights in support of Hizb ut-Tahrir,' he said.

He stressed his application to be a chaplain or an Army reservist solider had nothing to do with Sheikh Saleem, and added he had experience as a clergyman in Canada and the Middle East.

'I want to be prepared to defend Australia. I'm not applying for any position of authority,' he said.
A couple who were renovating their home in Florida found a five-decade old wedding album in their ceiling and now are on a hunt for the bride and groom.

Megan Kapsidis and her husband, Bobby, of Sierra Vista, Arizona, were renovating a home they own in Holiday. Bobby had just taken apart some of the kitchen ceiling on Friday when he discovered an album titled Our Childrens Wedding tucked in a crawlspace.

The album was yellowed and weathered, but had perfectly preserved pictures of the wedding of Joseph and Marguerite Garguilo, married on September 14, 1963, at the St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Woodhaven, New York.

Megan excitedly posted pictures of the album to her Facebook wall.

Marguerite Gau and Joseph Gargiulo were married (above) in Woodhaven, New York in 1963

The wedding album was tucked into a crawlspace inside of the Florida home of Megan and Bobby Kapsidis

Bobby was tearing down their kitchen wall when first an alligator purse fell out - then the vintage wedding album

The couple live in Arizona but were renovating their home in Holiday, Florida when they made the discovery

Megan posted invitations and pictures from the wedding album to Facebook

'Stuff just keeps falling from our ceiling! Now it's someone's wedding album from 1963! They got married in New York. Anyone know Marguerite and Joseph Gargiulo?! I want to return this album to them or their family! Spread the word!' she wrote.

Earlier, an alligator handbag made in Cuba in the 1940s or 1950s had fallen from the ceiling and onto Bobby's head.

PIX11 found a phone number and address for the bride, but when Megan went to their door, someone else lived there. Marguerite's phone number was disconnected.

The bride, Marguerite, was a vision in white as she was tended to by her bridesmaids

Marguerite was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Gerard Lau - presumably Gerard is next to her in the photo on the right

The vintage album was found along with other debris inside of a crawlspace in the kitchen ceiling

'Mr. and Mrs. Gerard Lau request the honor of your presence at the marriage of their daughter Marguerite to Mr. Joseph Gargiulo,' said the inscripted invitation followed by the address of the nuptials. A reception was held at the Navy Shipyard in Brooklyn.

A woman on Megan's Facebook wall claimed the groom was her cousin, and said the last she had seen him was 30 years ago.

Megan said she hopes she can find the couple and return their album.

'Let us know where to send it and it will be on its way,' she told PIX11.
Yellowstone County District Judge Russell Fagg is stepping down this fall and will consider a future political career.

Fagg will resign Oct. 13. He will start his own law firm, but the former Republican state legislator is also considering a return to politics.

His replacement will be appointed by the governor in the next few months, but will have to face election in November 2018.

Fagg, 56, said he will return to private practice and focus on mediation, a key cog of U.S. justice focused on resolving cases before they go to trial.

"I may also consider politics, as I am very concerned about the direction our country is going. One thing at a time though. I want to finish this job well, and thus the four month lead time," Fagg said in a press release Tuesday. "I will handle the 1,100 cases in front of me and leave this office in good shape for the new judge.

Fagg told The Gazette he is alarmed by the federal government's failure to cut spending. He worries the nation's future will suffer as a result.

"To me, the biggest issue is the budget deficit that we continually run," Fagg said. "The way I look at it, 50 of the last 55 budgets have run deficits, accumulating to total debt of $20 trillion.

A district judge for 22 years and a former Republican legislator, Fagg said last December he was interested in replacing former U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke as Montana's only representative.

Fagg describes himself as center-right politically and eventually chose not to run. The timing wasn't a good fit. Zinke was appointed secretary of Interior on March 1 and an 85-day special election cycle immediately followed, with Republican Greg Gianforte winning the seat May 25.

Montana has two federal seats on the 2018 ballot. U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat, is seeking a third term. A few Republicans have expressed interest in running against Tester, but the presumed GOP frontrunner, Attorney General Tim Fox, announced last week that he wont challenge Tester.

Montanas U.S. House seat is the other federal office up in 2018. Gianforte has registered as a candidate, but is also considered vulnerable to a challenge because of his alleged election-eve assault on a reporter for The Guardian.

Fagg had also been rumored to be a potential U.S. attorney for Montana. The position has been open since President Donald Trump took office. Fagg said he isnt interested in the job.

The judge said Tuesday this was a good time in his personal life for something new.

This is a good time to consider a career change. My awesome wife Karen is supportive. And our amazing children, Harrison and Barclay, are off in college," Fagg said in a Tuesday press release.
One of Queensland's longes- serving mayors, Paul Pisasale, has resigned while wearing a hospital gown, pyjamas and slippers, citing health concerns as he faces an investigation by the state's corruption watchdog.

Cr Pisasale, the mayor of Ipswich since 2004, announced his resignation at a press conference at St Andrews Hospital in Brisbane on Tuesday.

He said a recent episode of multiple sclerosis, which he has suffered for 26 years, had put him 'up against the wall'.

Cr Pisasale, the mayor of Ipswich since 2004, announced his resignation at a press conference at Brisbane's St Andrews Hospital on Tuesday

Cr Pisasale addressed the crowd of journalists while dressed in pyjamas, slippers and with a hospital gown over the top (pictured)

'Now it's my time to look after my health,' he told reporters.

The Morning Show reported that Cr Pisasale had spent the last 48 hours in hospital after suffering from an 'MS attack' but had been organising his resignation for at least a month.

'After 25 years and not having a weekend off, not having a holiday and getting so engrossed in the job and the city it does take its toll,' Cr Pisasale said.

'I have resigned and Councillor Paul Tully, who has been a great colleague, will step in. After discussing my design over the last four weeks I don't think he thought I was fair dinkum.

'I have resigned and Councillor Paul Tully, who has been a great colleague, will step in. After discussing my design over the last four weeks I don't think he thought I was fair dinkum,' Cr Pisasale said

'But he now knows I am fair dinkum and he has my complete loyalty and support.'

When Cr Pisasale was asked about the Queensland's Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) investigation into him he said he would talk about it if the CCC made an announcement.

According to The Courier Mail the CCC have launched a fresh investigation into political donations Cr Pisasale received ahead of the 2016 election.

It is believed that the controversial mayor's home and council offices were raided on Monday.

It is believed that the controversial mayor's home and council offices were raided on Monday

During a CCC hearing in April it was revealed that Cr Pisasale received more than $220,000 in donations when he ran for his fourth and last term.

Mayor Pisasale was first elected to the council in March 1991 and appointed deputy mayor in April 2000.

He had been the mayor of Ipswich since 2004 and was still a very popular choice at the last election, winning 83 per cent of the vote.
Calls to deport an Indian doctor and her autistic daughter from Australia have come under question after it was revealed the Melbourne siege gunman was a refugee who was free on parole despite a long criminal record and ties to a terrorist group in Somalia.

Dr Nasrin Haque and her two children, 16-year-old daughter Sumaya Bhuitan and son Sakir, were ordered to leave the country last year after Sumaya failed a mandatory health test.

Dr Haque told SBS the immigration department denied Sumaya's application for permanent residency because she would be a burden to Australian taxpayers.

The immigration department's call to deport an Indian doctor (pictured is Dr Nasrin and her family) and her Autistic daughter (Sumaya is pictured far right) has raised questions over why the Melbourne gunman Yacqub Khayre wasn't sent back to Somalia

Yacqub Khayre (pictured) has been named as the attacker behind the 'ISIS-inspired' siege in Brighton, in Melbourne's south-east, which unfolded on Monday afternoon and left a man dead

The refugee was on parole when he shot a male clerk in a Brighton apartment building (pictured) and barricaded himself inside a room on Monday

A DECADE OF YACQUB KHAYRE'S CRIMES APRIL 2007 The teenager was sentenced to two years' detention in a Youth Justice Centre for somewhere between 42 and 45 offences. Charges including multiple burglaries and thefts, assault, providing a false name and address, drug possession, car theft and unlicensed driving at dangerous speeds. JUNE 2007 While still incarcerated he was sentenced for attempted armed robbery and intentionally causing injury after stabbing a man on a train twice in the leg, demanding the victim's money and phone. FEBRUARY 2008 Released on an adjourned undertaking on single charges of burglary and theft. DECEMBER 2010 After a six-month trial, Khayre was cleared by a jury over his alleged role in planning the 2009 Holsworthy army barracks terror plot in western Sydney. Wissam Mahmoud Fattal, Saney Edow Aweys, Nayev el Sayed were jailed in 2011 for a maximum of 18 years for planning a terrorist act to kill as many people as possible in a mass shooting at the army base. NOVEMBER 2011 Sentenced to 111 days in jail for the possession of a firearm and ammunition without a licence, one charge of car theft and failure to answer bail. APRIL 2012 A drug affected Khayre breaks into a Melbourne family home in an attempted armed burglary. He is confronted by a woman, who he strikes repeatedly in the face, back, shoulder and stomach in a bid to escape. He pleads guilty to five charges and is sentenced to a maximum of five-and-a-half years. DECEMBER 2016 Khayre is released on parole. JUNE 2017 While on parole, Khayre shot an apartment clerk dead and took a female escort hostage in a Brighton apartment building. While trying to escape he fired at police, injuring three of them before being killed in a hail of bullets. Advertisement

Despite launching a petition and pleading with authorities, the family was ordered to purchase plane tickets back to India and present them in February.

At the last minute, the department overturned its decision and granted Sumaya a permanent residency visa. The applications of the rest of the family are being considered, according to SBS.

The department's attempted deportation of an accomplished family who had been living in the country for eight years has given way to questions over why the man responsible for the Melbourne terror attack, Yacqub Khayre, wasn't just deported back to Somalia.

The refugee was on parole when he shot a male clerk in a Brighton apartment building and barricaded himself inside a room on Monday afternoon.

The 29-year-old hired a sex worker to hold as a hostage during the siege and lured police to the area.

At 6pm he left the building and fired on police, injuring three of them before they killed him in a hail of bullets.

Victoria Police is treating Khayre's attack as a terrorist incident.

ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack on Tuesday.

In 1991, at the age of just three, Khayre and his family fled war-torn Somalia, arriving in Australia to live with his uncle and grandfather.

Growing up in Gladstone Park, north Melbourne, he was reportedly a good student at school until his grandfather died in Year 12 and he fell in with the 'wrong crowd'.

From there he began committing petty crime and stole his uncle's car in 2006.

In 2007, he was charged with armed robbery after holding up passengers on a Melbourne train, leaving one man with knife wounds.

He was among five men charged with planning a terrorist attack on the Holsworthy army barracks.

The group were alleged to have planned to break into the secure base and kill as many army personnel as possible.

Khayre was one of only two to be cleared.

That came despite him reportedly travelling to Somalia in 2009 or 2010, where he may have attended 'weapons and military' and visited a cleric to gain 'holy approval' to carry out the attack.

Three officers were injured during the shooting confrontation with Khayre. Two men were taken to hospital while another was treated at the scene (pictured)

A bomb squad member suits up before entering the serviced apartment blocks to search for any explosives

Police crowd the streets on Monday night during the violent siege

Police allege Khayre hired a sex worker through an escort agency and held her hostage

Khayre tied up the woman from the escort service as he hid inside the hotel with a sawn-off shotgun waiting for police to arrive (pictured is a stock image of the service apartments)

Commissioner Ashton said a coronial investigation was being carried out by the Homicide Squad, with oversight from Professional Standards Command

The other three men involved in the terrorist plot, all friends from the notorious '8 Blacks' Islamic prayer centre, are serving out 18-year sentences behind bars.

After being acquitted of terror charges, Khayre was jailed for three years for carrying out a drug-affected home invasion in Melbourne's north in 2011.

High on ice, Khayre was reportedly armed with a knife when he broke into a house and violently assaulted a young woman and her father.

He fled with Apple electronics, a watch, laptop, jewellery and money.

Despite being well known to counter terrorism police, he was deemed a low-risk of offending and released on parole - before committing the attack in Melbourne.

'He is someone that was known to us as having a long criminal history. A whole range of offending going back many years,' Victoria Police Commissioner Graham Ashton admitted in a press conference on Tuesday.

'Hard covered book with Arabic writing (in cloth bag) on desk in living room': Police executed a search warrant at a home in Roxborough Park, where Khayre lived with his mother, on Tuesday morning. Investigators were seen holding a paper bag of evidence outside the property

'Long history of violence': Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull questioned why Khayre (pictured right) was let out on parole given his past violent convictions

'Most recently he has done some prison time in relation to reckless and intentionally causing injury, and intentionally causing injury, and whilst in prison, he was processed as well for an arson whilst in the corrections system.'

'Ultimately, he has been qualified for parole, received parole and was on parole at the time of this offence.'

'The early advice from the Department of Corrections was that he was compliant with parole and hadn't presented any issues in relation to his conduct whilst on parole leading up to yesterday.'

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, holding a press conference in Canberra after briefings with senior police and spy chiefs, repeatedly questioned how the known violent offender was out on parole.

'He had a long record of violence. A very long record of violence,' he said.

The bomb squad were called in 'to make sure the building is safe before forensics enter,' a police source said at the scene

Monday's incident began with locals reporting an 'explosion' inside the serviced apartments. Police believe this was the sounds of Khayre shooting dead his first victim

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the incident, blaming the attack on Australia's membership in the US-led coalition against the militant group

'He had been charged with a terrorist offence some years ago and had been acquitted. He was known to have connections, at least in the past, with violent extremism.'

Victorian Premier Dan Andrews earlier on Tuesday said the gunman was - until the deadly attack - compliant with the terms of his parole, which was for offences not related to terrorism.

But the prime minister, who has twice spoken with Mr Andrews since the siege, highlighted comparisons to Lindt Cafe hostage-taken Man Monis and the killer of Melbourne woman Jill Meagher.

'More investigations and explanations will be given but it is plainly - it is very hard, I think - to understand why he was released on parole given the nature of his record and the nature of his offence,' he said.
A dad blogger based in Oregon took to social media to defend using a leash on his three-year-old daughter while at a farmers market.

Clint Edwards of No Idea What I'm Doing: A Daddy Blog posted a picture on Facebook of his daughter Aspen while shopping last week.

'She's a wild child, and this thing has already kept her out of the road and from sticking her hand in an ice cream machine, along with keeping me sane,' said the father-of-three.

Clint Edwards of No Idea What I'm Doing: A Daddy Blog posted a picture on Facebook of his daughter Aspen on a leash while at a farmers market last week and defended his reasoning for using the item

'She's a wild child, and this thing has already kept her out of the road and from sticking her hand in an ice cream machine, along with keeping me sane,' he said

The 34-year-old commented on how having such an energetic child presents problems no matter how a parents treats them.

'Because the fact is, if I didn't put Aspen on a leash while at amusement parks, the zoo, a crowded mall, or the farmers market, she'd be the lost child announced over the intercom,' he added.

'She'd be the kid popping up in every Facebook feed for wandering into a shopping center parking lot, unattended.

'She could be the child climbing into the tiger cage. Because I can't, for the life of me, keep her from moving.

The author and parenting blogger added that he and his wife Meg gets 'dirty looks' from strangers and even has a few people speak out on his post about the practice.

The father-of-three felt that keeping his daughter on a leash kept her safer

'Her curiosity is incredible, and for only having a 12 inch stride, she moves faster than any Olympian.

The author and parenting blogger added that he gets 'dirty looks' from strangers and even has a few people speak out on his post about the practice.

Edwards said: 'In fact, I'll probably get some "I'm the perfect parent and this is why you suck" comments on this post. And to you I say this, "I'm keep this kid safe while maintaining my piece of mind, and that is 100% worth it."

'Because the reality is she'll calm down. She'll figure it out, because all kids do. But until that day comes, I'm going to do whatever I can to keep her out of danger, even if it means a leash.'

Meg also posted a photo on Facebook walking Aspen on the leash

'People have been like, "Thank you for sharing, we have to do this too to keep our kids safe!" Edwards told People.

'And I'll keep doing it until she grows out of it, she's a wild child!'

Him and his wife, Meg, have only received a few negative comments about the post.

'And when we do, other parents pounce on them in the comments saying, "You don't understand,"' he added.

'For parents that [don't get the purpose of] the leash, they're lucky enough to have a timid child or one who is not super active like my daughter.'

Edwards said people have something to say whether he uses the leash or not.

'My kid is going to get into stuff and run off no matter what I do or regardless of training you give them, the student services worker at Oregon State University said.

'Then people judge you for that too, its a damned if you do and damned if you dont situation.'

The parent even went as far as adding that some parents send him and his wife photos of their children on leashes.

He said: 'Before youre a parent you think, "Im never going to use a leash, its degrading." Its the exact same thing with a minivan, like "Im never going to drive one," but you do. You use it and its great!'
A Virgin plane was dramatically evacuated and a passenger arrested after an alarming note was discovered in the toilet on the flight from Sydney to Albury.

Passengers aboard the 8.05am flight jumped more than a metre from the plane onto the tarmac at Albury Airport on Tuesday morning as soon as the 68-seater turboprop landed at about 9.30am on Tuesday.

NSW Police said emergency services were called after a note written on a sick bag was discovered in the plane's toilet by another passenger as it approached Albury.

'It was just someone being very silly,' a police spokeswoman later said.

'It wasn't a bomb threat at all. It was not terror-related. It was just something we were concerned about and we wanted to make sure it was OK.'

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The doors of the plane were 'ripped off' from the outside by authorities and passengers were told to leave their luggage and jump

A man who was among the 42 passengers on the flight was arrested on the tarmac and taken to Albury Police Station.

It's possible he could be charged over the incident.

Police asked passengers if anyone had any issues with the man and spoke to those who'd been seated near him.

The arrested passenger was said to be calm throughout the flight. He read a novel and went to the bathroom once.

Local police congratulated cabin crew and passengers for the swift evacuation.

'The plane landed at 9.35am and within five minutes we had the plane and the occupants secure and safe,' Albury commander Superintendent Evan Quarmby told reporters.

'All of the occupants of the aeroplane were evacuated safely, very efficiently and should all be congratulated on the assistance they've given to police this morning.'

Police asked the passengers if anyone had any issues with the man and spoke to the people who had been seated near him

A man was arrested on the tarmac of Albury Airport after travellers were evacuated from a Virgin flight on Tuesday morning (pictured)

Supt Quarmby said the Virgin plane was completely searched and handed back to the airline.

It was initially reported the doors of the plane were 'ripped off' by authorities but Virgin later clarified they were opened from the inside, likely by cabin crew.

Passengers were told to leave their luggage and jump about 1.2 metres from the exits onto the tarmac.

Sydney retiree Wendy Willett said a hostess shouted: 'Evacuate, evacuate. Leave all your belongings, jump out the window.'

Ms Willett, who was sitting in the aisle opposite the arrested passenger sat quietly and read a thick novel during the flight from Sydney.

'He read a book for most of the way but got up at one stage and went to the bathroom,' Ms Willett said.

But she said was unaware of the alarm on board flight VA1174 until she saw police waiting for the turboprop when it landed on the tarmac.

'Suddenly the hostess started shouting,' she recalled afterwards.

It took less than five minutes for passengers to clear the 68-seater plane through the exits.

Ms Willett jumped more than a metre into a policeman's arms and passengers were shuffled quickly to the side.

A man has been arrested after a Virgin flight from Sydney landed at Albury airport (above)

She added the man  wearing a red jumper and red hat - jumped out of the plane with the rest of the passengers, but he was tackled by police and handcuffed immediately.

'We were told to move and then the police started yelling 'The man in red, the man in red'.'

'There was no commotion, nothing wrong until we landed.'

Ms Willett said another passenger revealed the man had made a strange comment about keeping an eye on the luggage earlier in the journey.

Another passenger told AAP he heard cabin crew saying: 'Leave your luggage. Get out and run, run, run.'

A Virgin spokeswoman said crew denied saying that, however.

She suggested a passenger caught up in the commotion may have yelled out 'run, run, run'.

Michelle McNamara, who works for a car hire company in the airport terminal, said plainclothes police, uniformed officers, firefighters and ambulance crews closed off half the terminal during the operation.

'It's normally quiet, it's Albury Airport,' she told AAP on Tuesday.

'It's a bit concerning. With all that's happening in the world, it makes you think the worst.'

Virgin Australia earlier told Daily Mail Australia that police met the aircraft on arrival due to a 'security incident.'

A passenger on the 8.05am Virgin flight said all passengers on the flight were evacuated when the plane landed

The plane was searched by police after the evacuation and cleared of any danger, a spokesman confirmed to Daily Mail Australia.

'Virgin Australia flight VA1174 from Sydney to Albury landed safely this morning,' a statement from the company said in a statement.

'Due to a security incident on board police met the aircraft on arrival. One passenger is assisting police with their enquiries.

'All guests disembarked safely and a full search of the aircraft was conducted by the local police and the aircraft has been cleared of any potential danger.

'The matter is now in the hands of the New South Wales police.'

The Albury incident comes a week after a mentally ill man threatened to blow up a Malaysia Airlines flight after it left Melbourne Airport.

Terrified passengers waited 90 minutes to be evacuated from the plane after it landed back at Tullamarine. They didn't know at the time the bomb threat was a hoax.
An ice-addicted Somali refugee was already on parole for a violent home invasion when he took off his GPS ankle bracelet and tied up a sex worker as a hostage - using terrifying tactics believed to have been inspired by a vile ISIS propaganda magazine.

Yacqub Khayre, 29, hired the woman through an escort agency posing as a client - but when she arrived at his rented hotel room in Brighton, Melbourne, on Monday afternoon she was used as helpless bait to attract police and media attention.

Police say the criminal also shot dead an innocent Chinese-born Australian clerk as part of a suspected trap to lure police into 'The Buckingham' serviced apartments.

The latest issue of the Islamic State's Rumiya magazine, released in May, encourages terrorists to 'lure' hostages and 'keep victims restrained' to maximise publicity.

'In order for the operation to gain publicity and more effectively plant terror into the hearts of the disbelievers, one can keep some of his victims alive and restrained, making for a more lengthy and drawn-out hostage scenario,' the magazine reads.

'One may then notify the authorities, explaining to them that he is a soldier of the Islamic State and informing them of what he has just done.'

The jihadi magazine's instructions bear a chilling resemblance to the chain of events that unfolded on Monday night. Previous editions of the magazine contain manuals on how best to carry out lone wolf attacks.

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Ice-addicted Somalian refugee Yacqub Khayre (pictured), 29, was already on parole for a violent home invasion when he took off his GPS ankle bracelet and killed an innocent hotel clerk during a two-hour siege

ISIS have claimed responsibility for the attack, but authorities are downplaying any links. The latest issue of the terror group's propaganda magazine (pictured) features the same terrifying tactics Khayre used during the siege

The latest version of the Islamic State's Rumiya (pictured) magazine, released in May, encourages terrorists to 'lure' hostages and 'keep victims alive and restrained'

Khayre, 29, was shot dead by heavily armed tactical command officers (pictured) after he opened fire on waiting police with a sawn-off shotgun

Junior jihadi: Khayre is pictured as a child growing up in Australia (left, aged 7, right, aged 12)

A spokesman for Corrections Victoria confirmed to Daily Mail Australia that Khayre 'tampered' with his GPS ankle bracelet some time after 4pm, triggering an alert to police who were already at the scene of the siege.

He said the electronic monitoring bracelet was used to ensure that Khayre was back at his listed home address by 10pm each night, as per his parole conditions.

Just before 6pm, Khayre appeared in the foyer of the hotel, firing shots at waiting tactical command officers heavily armed and wearing bullet-proof vests.

Three officers were struck by bullet fragments, one in the neck, while Khayre was fatally wounded during an exchange of 'severe' gunfire, ending the two-hour siege.

But questions have since risen over why the man, who carried out a violent meth-fuelled home invasion just months after he was accused of planning a suicide attack against Sydney's Holsworthy army barracks, wasn't just deported back to Somalia.

At 5.40pm, some 20 minutes before he died, Khayre called up a TV newsroom to claim: 'This is for IS, this is for al-Qaeda' (specialist counter terrorism police officer is pictured just moments before violent confrontation)

Police allege Khayre hired a sex worker through an escort agency and held her hostage, tying her up as he hid inside the hotel with a sawn-off shotgun waiting for police to arrive

The bomb squad was sent in to inspect Khayre's rented hotel room on Tuesday morning in the aftermath of the bloody two-hour siege

Police also descended on a home in Roxborough Park where Khayre is believed to have lived with his mother and two teenage brothers (pictured seizing bag of evidence)

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said there were 'very grave questions' about why the known violent offender was out on the streets on parole.

'How was this man on parole? He had a long record of violence,' Mr Turnbull said.

'He was known to have connections - at least in the past - with violent extremism.'

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack online, but Victoria Police Commissioner Graham Ashton downplayed their statement.

'We're aware of (online) them having claimed responsibility, but then they always tend to jump up and claim responsibility every time something happens,' he said.

'But he's also made statements last night around (rival organisation) al-Qaeda.'

Forensic police drive a car believed to be driven by Khayre from The Buckingham hotel

Police keep local residents away from service apartments while investigations take place

Bill Tsipas (pictured) says he was mistaken for the gunman and placed in handcuffs by police

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews promised to look at every part of the parole system, but said it had already worked to keep Khayre in jail longer than his minimum sentence.

'(Since his release) he's been compliant, including drug tests, attending appointments and observing a curfew,' Mr Andrew

The prime minister, who has twice spoken with Mr Andrews since the siege, highlighted comparisons to Lindt Cafe hostage-taken Man Monis and the killer of Melbourne woman Jill Meagher.

'More investigations and explanations will be given but it is plainly - it is very hard, I think - to understand why he was released on parole given the nature of his record and the nature of his offence,' he said.

'Hard covered book with Arabic writing (in cloth bag) on desk in living room': Investigators were seen holding a paper bag of evidence found inside the Melbourne apartment where the siege took place

The 29-year-old is a Somalian refugee who was on parole when he committed the ISIS-inspired attack. He had done time in jail for a violent meth-fuelled home invasion in 2011

Terrified witnesses described being ordered to crawl towards police on their bellies after unwittingly walking in the middle of the hostage negotiations (hotel pictured)

Forensic investigators were pictured entering Khayre's family home on Tuesday morning

Investigators at Roxborough Park load bags of evidence from the terrorist's home into a car

'We are going to be at that location for some time conducting inquiries there,' Commissioner Ashton said of Khayre's property

Police are canvassing the killer's neighbourhood and are speaking to members of his family

Police start their investigations outside the scene of the bloody siege

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull questioned why the known violent offender was on parole

In 1991, at the age of just three, Khayre and his family fled war-torn Somalia, arriving in Australia to live with his uncle and grandfather.

Growing up in Gladstone Park, north Melbourne, he was reportedly a good student at school until his grandfather died in Year 12 and he fell in with the 'wrong crowd'.

From there he began committing petty crime and stole his uncle's car in 2006.

In 2007, he was charged with armed robbery after holding up passengers on a Melbourne train, leaving one man with knife wounds.

He was among five men charged with planning a terrorist attack on the Holsworthy army barracks.

The group were alleged to have planned to break into the secure base and kill as many army personnel as possible.

Khayre was one of only two to be cleared.

That came despite him reportedly travelling to Somalia in 2009 or 2010, where he may have attended 'weapons and military' and visited a cleric to gain 'holy approval' to carry out the attack.

The other three men involved in the terrorist plot, all friends from the notorious '8 Blacks' Islamic prayer centre, are serving out 18-year sentences behind bars.

Police remove a body from the apartment in Brighton after a deadly two-hour siege that left two men, an Australian national working as a clerk and an ISIS-inspired gunman, dead

'Long history of violence': Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull questioned why Khayre (pictured right) was let out on parole given his past violent convictions

Heavily armed police swarmed the Brighton area as the hostage situation unfolded on Monday

A bomb squad member suits up before entering the serviced apartment blocks to search for any explosives

After being acquitted of terror charges, Khayre was jailed for three years for carrying out a drug-affected home invasion in Melbourne's north in 2011.

High on ice, Khayre was reportedly armed with a knife when he broke into a house and violently assaulted a young woman and her father.

He fled with Apple electronics, a watch, laptop, jewellery and money.

Despite being well known to counter terrorism police, he was deemed a low-risk of offending and released on parole - before committing the attack in Melbourne.

'He is someone that was known to us as having a long criminal history. A whole range of offending going back many years,' Commissioner Ashton said.

'Most recently he has done some prison time in relation to reckless and intentionally causing injury, and intentionally causing injury, and whilst in prison, he was processed as well for an arson whilst in the corrections system.'

'Ultimately, he has been qualified for parole, received parole and was on parole at the time of this offence.'

'The early advice from the Department of Corrections was that he was compliant with parole and hadn't presented any issues in relation to his conduct whilst on parole leading up to yesterday.'

Three officers were struck by bullet fragments, one in the neck, while Khayre was fatally wounded during an exchange of 'severe' gunfire, ending the two-hour siege (officer seen keeping watch during the hostage situation)

Commissioner Ashton said a coronial investigation was being carried out by the Homicide Squad, with oversight from Professional Standards Command

Investigators were seen holding a paper bag of evidence found inside the Melbourne apartment where the bloody siege took place with the words: 'Hard covered book with Arabic writing (in cloth bag) on desk in living room' scrawled on it.

Police also executed a search warrant at a home in Roxborough Park, where Khayre lived with his mother and two teenage brothers, on Tuesday morning.

'We are going to be at that location for some time conducting inquiries there,' Commissioner Ashton said.

'There is a full forensic effort being done. This is now a coronial investigation, being done by the Homicide Squad, with oversight from Professional Standards Command.

'There will be extensive work required at 408 Bay Street today.

'We will have a lot of police down there today, knocking on doors, talking to people, for witness accounts and also with reassuring the community down there.'

Neighbour Ina Tuariki said she was 'devastated' to discover from news reports she lived next door to the gunman.

She told how he lived in the three bedroom bungalow, worth around $600,000 due to close proximity to the shops and station, with his two younger brothers, both teenagers, plus his mother.

'He always said hello to me and seemed normal,' she said.

'I was never concerned about him. There are young people around here on ice and going off the rails but he wasn't one of them.'

A police helicopter hovered above the house as police erected two police tents to store evidence gathered from inside the property. More follows

Police crowd the streets on Monday night during the violent siege. It has since been revealed that the gunman had a history of violent crime and drug-abuse

The bomb squad were called in 'to make sure the building is safe before forensics enter,' a police source said at the scene on Monday night

Monday's incident began with locals reporting an 'explosion' inside the serviced apartments. Police believe this was the sounds of Khayre shooting dead his first victim

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the incident that left gunman Yacqub Khayre and an innocent hotel clerk dead.

'The attack in Melbourne, Australia was carried out by a soldier of the Islamic State in response to the call for targeting the subjects of the coalition states,' the group's Amaq news agency said.

IS blamed the attack on Australia's membership in the US-led coalition against the militant group.

On Monday afternoon, the Seven Network took a phone call in its Melbourne newsroom from a woman who said she was in a hostage situation before Khayre came on the line saying 'This is for IS, this is for al-Qaeda'.

Mr Ashton earlier told Nine that the gunman had been known to police because of his background 'in relation to terrorism matters, albeit some years ago.'

He said there had been no information that he had been planning an attack.

'He is someone certainly known to us from his background but certainly as of yesterday there wasn't anything that we had that suggested that he was planning on embarking on this, that this was anything more than a spontaneous act.'

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and Mr Ashton will hold a press conference at 8.30am on Tuesday to address fears of a terror link.

Victoria Police are treating Monday's deadly Brighton siege as a terrorist incident

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the incident, blaming the attack on Australia's membership in the US-led coalition against the militant group

Sources told the Herald Sun he was rated as 'a low-risk person of interest' by anti-terror police.

Police were called to the Brighton serviced apartment building at 5.41pm on Monday to reports of an explosion.

When they arrived, they found a man shot dead in the foyer.

They began efforts to negotiate with the gunman who was holding a woman hostage in one of the apartments.

Deputy Commissioner Andrew Crisp said on Monday night that the man spoken to by negotiators inside the building came out about 6pm and opened fire, hitting three police.

They returned fire and killed him.

Two male officers were taken to hospital for treatment while another was treated at the scene.
Channel Nine star Erin Molan has spoken out against the treatment of her father after reports on his calls to tighten immigration policies focused around Jim Molan's link to his TV-star daughter.

The retired major general said on Monday Australians should give up some rights in the fight against terror and would like to see migration from terrorist hotbeds suspended.

Speaking with Brisbane's Hit 105 the 33-year-old Footy Show presenter said it was 'ridiculous' her awarded military parent being referred to as 'Erin Molan's father'.

Erin Molan (pictured left) has hit back at media who focused on Jim Molan's (right) link to his TV-star daughter

Mr Molan said on Monday it was time Australia considered detaining people of interest before there was enough evidence to submit to a court

'God, he has done far more than I have ever done or will ever do in my career and he is so distinguished and he served this nation in the military,' she said.

'He's one of our most decorated soldiers. I just think, ''Erin Molan's father?'' That's actually just ridiculous. Mind you it is kind of cool because I'm like, ''Hey Papi. You ain't nobody but my dad''. So I do kind of give him stick.

She said in the kind of publications that matter, they would only refer to the Channel Nine beauty as 'his daughter' instead.

On Monday, former Major General Jim Molan said it was time Australians gave up habeas corpus, the long-standing right to trial before detention while speaking with Neil Mitchell on 3AW.

The Footy Show star Erin Molan (pictured) is the daughter of retired Major General Jim Molan

He also said it was time Australia took a 'zero tolerance' approach to terror and turned its focus to immigration because 'terrorists are either first or second generation refugees.'

'It's time to give up even more rights, we can decide to do that before that bad event or after the bad event,' Mr Molan said.

'I think the first thing that we've got to give up is habeas corpus. There is an option for us to suspend that, but society won't approve of that until after the big event.'

Mr Molan said it was time Australia considered detaining people of interest before there was enough evidence to submit to a court.

'Review what the intelligence is and make a determination for the person to be arrested and incarcerated for a period of time,' he said.

Mr Molan said the move would not only make the community safer, but rehabilitate the individual.

'It's not just we the society that doesn't get killed, it's the individual that may be finding themselves over their head and being killed or going to jail forever,' he said.

'The benefit of it is, you may break a chain of events.'

Mr Molan said it should not take a 'bad terrorist attack' on home soil to jolt Australia into action.

The Footy Show hosts Darryl Brohman, Erin Molan and Paul 'Fatty' Vautin at the the Logies

Retired Major General Jim Molan (pictured) also told Neil Mitchell he wanted migration from terror hotbeds suspended

The retired major general also told Neil Mitchell he wanted migration from terror hotbeds suspended.

'The logic of suspending migration from extremist influenced countries is undeniable,' he said.

'We should not bring to Australia a class of people who may have a tendency to become terrorists in the future.

'If you're in Australia now, you're rights are inalienable, unless we go for something like suspending habeas corpus.'

One Nation party leader Pauline Hanson ramped up her call for a Muslim immigration ban on Sunday

'Stop Islamic immigration before it is too late,' One Nation Party leader Pauline Hanson posted to Twitter on Sunday

Mr Molan said it 'all comes down to the government to protect us'.

His call for a migration suspension from extremist-influenced countries comes after One Nation party leader Pauline Hanson ramped up her call for a Muslim immigration ban.

The Queensland politician took to Twitter on Sunday morning to call for the ban as news emerged of Saturday night's London terror attacks which killed seven people.

'Stop Islamic immigration before it is too late,' she told her almost 30,000 followers.

'Stop Islamic immigration before it is too late,' she told her almost 30,000 followers

'Terrorism in the UK is growing week after week. Having extremists within our societies is not multiculturalism, it's suicide,' Adelaide Shia imam Sheikh Mohammad Tawhidi (pictured) posted to Twitter

With Muslims making up 2.5 per cent of the Australian population, Ms Hanson said Islam immigration needed to stop before it 'hits five per cent like England'.

'Australia refuses to hide the fact that terrorism is related to the Islamic teachings in the Koran,' she said.

Adelaide Shia imam Sheikh Mohammad Tawhidi supported Senator Hanson's call to ban Islamic migration.

'Terrorism in the UK is growing week after week. Having extremists within our societies is not multiculturalism, it's suicide,' he posted to twitter on Sunday.
An anonymous source, who claimed Rebel Wilson added a touch of 'fantasy' to stories about her life in order to 'make it in Hollywood', was paid up to $8000 for the information, a court has heard.

Wilson sobbed in the Supreme Court of Victoria on Tuesday as former Woman's Day writer Shari Nementzik denied doing a 'hatchet job' on her reputation.

Ms Nementzik rejected accusations from Wilson's lawyer, Matthew Collins QC, that she breached the journalistic code of ethics in writing the May 2015 article.

Mr Collins accused her of leaving out relevant facts and not giving the Pitch Perfect star an opportunity to reply.

Earlier in the day, the Hollywood actress looked to be in good spirits as she arrived to clutching a make-up bag bearing the words: 'Be original, be natural, be good.'

Rebel Wilson has fronted court with an inspirational message on her bag

The court heard Ms Nementzik's source was paid up to $8000 for the information.

In her evidence on Monday Ms Nementzik told the court everyone knows tabloid magazines work on 'cheque book journalism' in order to secure stories, and that her anonymous source was negotiating for payment between $2000 and $8000.

Wilson is suing Bauer, which also publishes Australian Women's Weekly, NW and OK magazine, for defamation for a series of articles she says damaged her career by portraying her as a serial liar about her real name, age and childhood.

Wilson says she has never lied to journalists, and claims fallout from the articles led to her being sacked from two DreamWorks animations and missing out on future lead roles.

Dr Collins accused Ms Nementzik of publishing information she knew was false from her source, which she denied, stating she didn't think her source was 'completely unreliable'.

Ms Nementzik denied the article - 'Just who is the REAL Rebel' - was a mean story from a source 'with an axe to grind' against the star.

The Hollywood Actress looked to be in good spirits as she arrived to the Victorian Supreme Court

The a make-up bag she was clutching bears the words: 'Be original, be natural, be good'

The former journalist at the centre of the high-profile defamation suit revealed an anonymous source was paid $*000 for details on 'Rebel's big fat lies'

'I was just doing my job,' she told the court.

The court heard Woman's Day originally backed down on publishing the article some two years earlier because they they 'just can't risk being sued'.

However, they resurrected the idea in May 2015 during the release of Pitch Perfect 2 and after much further research, according to Ms Nementzik.

Dr Collins said she took erroneous information from her source and compiled pieces of information from other magazine articles in order to 'do a hatchet job on Miss Wilson's reputation'.

Rebel Wilson's defamation case against the publisher of Woman's Day magazine has entered its third week

The case will continue on Wednesday with closing arguments.

Wilson has fronted court with an inspirational message on her bag as details trickle out about the article that sparked her defamation trial.

The Hollywood Actor looked to be in good spirits as she arrived to the Victorian Supreme Court clutching a make-up bag bearing the words: 'Be original, be natural, be good.'

The former journalist at the centre of the high-profile defamation suit told the court an anonymous source was paid $2000 for details on 'Rebel's big fat lies'.

Former Woman's Day writer Shari Nementzik told the Supreme Court of Victoria on Tuesday an article she wrote in May 2015 was never intended to cause harm to the 37-year-old Pitch Perfect star.

Ms Nementzik said an email chain within the Woman's Day office that referred to Wilson's 'lies' was only in-office banter after speaking with the source, and that the resulting article was meant to be 'lighthearted' and 'fun'.

On Monday, she told the court she never met or contacted the Hollywood star following information from an anonymous source because 'that wasn't how these stories usually work'.

Two-and-a-half years before the controversial story ran, the source told the reporter the actor fabricated much of her background.

Australian actor Hugh Sheridan says he and close friend Rebel Wilson went to a secret Disneyland apartment. Wilson is suing Bauer Media for articles she claims painted her as a serial liar about her real name, age and childhood

Her article, 'Just who is the REAL Rebel' was published in May 2015 quoting the source from Wilson's high school.

The informant claimed the Pitch Perfect star had added a touch of 'fantasy' to 'make it in Hollywood'.

In the Supreme Court of Victoria on Monday, Ms Nementzik admitted Woman's Day first spoke to the anonymous source in October 2012.

She held onto the source's claims until the release of Pitch Perfect 2, when there was a 'lot of hype' surrounding the Australian export.

Wilson, 37, is suing Bauer Media, the publisher of Woman's Day, Australian Women's Weekly, NW and OK! Magazine for a series of eight articles that she claims ruined her career by portraying her as a serial liar.

Wilson says she has never lied to journalists about her real name, age or childhood, and claims the articles caused serious damage to her career for nearly two years, a period in which she was sacked from two DreamWorks films.

Ms Nementzik told the court everyone knows tabloid magazines work on 'cheque book journalism' in order to secure stories, and that her anonymous source was negotiating for payment between $2000 and $8000.

She agreed with Wilson's lawyer, Matthew Collins QC, that she had not contacted the Bridesmaids and Fat Pizza star for comment.

The articles also suggested Wilson had been untruthful about being related to Walt Disney and getting exclusive access to Disneyland

Former Australian Women's Weekly journalist Caroline Overington said the Pitch Perfect actor lied to her about her real name, age and childhood during an interview in 2014

'That wasn't how these stories usually work,' Ms Nementzik told the court.

She said she never intended the story to be 'mean', instead hoping to play it up as a 'fun' story.

Former Australian Women's Weekly writer Caroline Overington earlier told the court she felt 'duped' after publishing an article containing what she says were lies told by the Hollywood star.

Overington said Wilson had lied about being younger than her real age and lied about being named Rebel at birth, when she was actually called Melanie Bownds.

The Bauer articles also claim Wilson made up other untruths, including being related to Walt Disney.

Overington told the Victorian Supreme Court on Monday that a year after publishing her article on Wilson, a number of other articles made her question the veracity of her story.

She set about trying to correct the errors by publishing a follow-up article separating fact from fiction.
Tigerair is offering incredible two-for-one deals for you and a friend to travel across Australia.

The budget airline has more than 19,000 one way fares for travelling between early October and mid-December 2017, Escape reported.

Two people can fly from Sydney to the Gold Coast for $59 or if you are looking to sunbathe flights from Sydney to the Whitsundays are $109.

The budget airline has more than 19,000 one way fares for travelling between early October and mid-December 2017, reports Escape

You and a friend can fly from Sydney to the Gold Coast for $59 or if you're looking to sunbathe there is a flight from Sydney to the Whitsundays for $109

If you are leaving Melbourne and looking for some new adventures there is an option to fly to Perth for $179 or Hobart for $59.

While this is not the cheapest offer Tigerair has ever done - they did offer $1 flights less than a month ago - the airline still offering cheaper options during the peak spring and summer season.

To cash in on the deal, enter 2FOR1 in the promo code field when booking during the sale.

But get in quick because the offer started 12pm AEST on Tuesday until 12pm on June 10 or until sold out prior.

You can escape to the Gold Coast for just $59 from Sydney and $79 from Melbourne

If you're leaving Melbourne and looking for some new adventures there is an option to fly to Perth for $179 or Hobart for $59

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'Today's sale caters for all types of travellers and tastes and it isn't limited to just two people.

'For example, a Sydney based family of four can head to the Gold Coast for their annual family holiday for just over $230 each way.

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The State Department has called for the immediate release of three activists who disappeared in China while investigating factories that made shoes for Ivanka Trump.

Hua Haifeng, Li Zhao and Su Heng, who were working undercover for New York-based China Labor Watch, vanished from factories in Jiangxi province last Saturday.

Wen Yu, a lawyer for Haifeng, said on Monday that he had traced all three men to the Ganzhou City Detention Center.

'We urge China to release them immediately and otherwise afford them the judicial and fair trial protections to which they are entitled,' said Alicia Edwards, a State Department spokeswoman.

Hua Haifeng, an activist with China Labor Watch, has been datained in the country, his lawyer says. The State Department has called on Beijing to release Haifeng and two other men

Li Zhao has not been seen since he vanished in Jiangxi province last month. A lawyer for Haifeng says the men are being held along with third activist Su Heng in Ganzhou City

Edwards would not confirm if the U.S. raised the issue directly with China, saying she couldn't comment on diplomatic conversations. White House spokesman Josh Raffel declined comment.

Up to now, the U.S. government hadn't said anything about the fate of the men.

Yu told reporters that the case is being handled by a national security team, adding: 'This is strange because it is a small case.'

Yu said he was forced to wait for more than eight hours at the detention center on Monday before getting to see his client for 'less than one minute.'

'I rushed to him and told him, 'I'm the lawyer hired by your wife,'' he said. Then police took him away.

Yu added that Hua looked fine and managed a smile before police escorted him out.

Earlier in the day authorities had told him that 'an accident happened in Hua Haifeng's cell,' without providing further details.

China Labour Watch plans to publish a report alleging low pay, excessive overtime and possible misuse of student labor at three factories owned by Huajian International.

The men were investigating three factories which produced shoes for Ivanka Trump (pictured this week in New York, left, and at the launch of a shoe collection in 2011, right) when they were arrested, China Labor Watch says

Ivanka Trump's brand has refused to comment. Huajian International, which owns the factories, denies excessive overtime and misuse of labor, and said it stopped making shoes for Ivanka's brand months ago (pictures, workers inside one of the factories)

The investigators also claim to have witnessed verbal abuse, with one manager insulting staff about poorly made shoes and making a crude reference in Chinese to female genitalia.

The company has denied allegations of excessive overtime and low wages. It says it stopped producing Ivanka Trump shoes months ago.

Ivanka Trump's brand has declined to comment on the allegations or the arrest and disappearances.

Marc Fisher, which produces shoes for Ivanka Trump and other brands, has said it is looking into the allegations.

Ivanka Trump's lifestyle brand imports most of its merchandise from China, trade data show.

She and her father both have extensive trademark portfolios in China, though neither has managed to build up a large retail or real estate presence there.

The arrest and disappearances come as China cracks down on perceived threats to the stability of its ruling Communist Party, particularly from sources with foreign ties such as China Labor Watch.

Faced with rising labor unrest and a slowing economy, Beijing has taken a stern approach to activism in southern China's manufacturing belt and to human rights advocates generally, sparking a wave of critical reports about disappearances, public confessions, forced repatriation and torture in custody.

Edwards said the U.S. remains concerned by 'the pattern of arrests and detentions.'

She said labor activists are instrumental in helping American companies understand conditions in their supply chains and holding Chinese manufacturers accountable under Chinese labor laws.
Huma Abedin stepped out solo at the CFDA Fashion Awards on Monday as her disgraced husband Anthony Weiner was seen wearing his wedding ring on an outing with their son in New York - three weeks after Abedin filed for divorce.

Glamorous Abedin donned a fuchsia pink shirtdress that was gathered at the center during her appearance at the awards, which she hasn't attended with Weiner since 2015.

Meanwhile, Weiner was spotted in Chelsea walking with their son, Jordan Zain Weiner, earlier in the day.

Huma Abedin (left) stepped out solo at the CFDA Fashion Awards on Monday as her disgraced husband Anthony Weiner (right) took a stroll with their son in New York

Abedin donned a fuchsia pink shirtdress that was gathered at the center during her appearance at the awards, which she hasn't attended with Weiner since 2015

Weiner was seen wearing khaki shorts and a green sweater as his son wore navy blue while carrying a cell phone in one hand.

The pair's outings come just a week after Abedin reportedly invited Weiner back home - two weeks after filing for divorce from the disgraced congressman.

Hillary Clinton's top aide renewed the lease on the couple's luxury $11,900-a-month Manhattan duplex and asked Weiner - who recently admitted to sexting with a 15-year-old girl - to move in, according to the New York Post.

Weiner, who has been sleeping at his mother's Brooklyn apartment, was supposed to move out last Tuesday, a source at the building told the Post. 'But they just signed for another year.'

It is not clear whether Abedin, 41, is on the lease alone or has signed with Weiner.

But a friend of the couple says that Abedin was concerned about their five-year-old son Jordan, who is mainly cared for by her husband.

'Huma is worried about her son,' the pal said. 'That's her priority, and Anthony plays a very strong role in raising him.'

Meanwhile, Weiner was spotted in Chelsea walking with their son, Jordan Zain Weiner, earlier in the day

Weiner was also seen wearing his wedding ring, despite Abedin filing for divorce on the same day he pleaded guilty to sexting a minor

Last week, Weiner was seen picking Jordan up from school in New York while still wearing his wedding band

Another source said that, despite the divorce rumors, Abedin 'still hasn't served him with the divorce papers'.

Weiner, 52, and Abedin had listed their three-bedroom, 1,500-square-foot apartment at 1 Irving Place, near Manhattan's Union Square on May 19 - the day Weiner pleaded guilty to transferring obscene material to a minor in federal court.

Abedin filed for divorce that same day - nine months after Abedin announced the couple had separated in the wake of the disgraced politician's third sexting scandal.

The stylish and unique' duplex apartment was taken off the market on May 25.

Weiner had wept in court on May 19 while begging for forgiveness as he entered a plea of guilty to a single charge of transferring obscene material to a minor

'I have a sickness, but I do not have an excuse,' Weiner told the court, while agreeing to accept any prison sentence of less than 27 months and register as a sex offender.

Weiner's day in court came eight months after DailyMail.com revealed that the disgraced Congressman had been exchanging sexually-charged messages and explicit photos with a 15-year-old high school student in North Carolina.

Weiner was 51 and still married to Abedin when he sent the texts and images to the minor female while Abedin was on the campaign trail (pictured left, the couple at the Met Gala in 2016, and right, Abedin on May 20)

Hillary Clinton's top aide renewed the lease on the couple's luxury $11,900-a-month Manhattan duplex (located in this building) and asked Weiner - who recently admitted to sexting with a 15-year-old girl - to move in, according to the New York Post

Weiner's 'stylish and unique' duplex apartment was listed for rent, only to be taken off the market a week later. Pictured, Weiner leaving Manhattan Federal Court on May 19

The exchanges began in January of last year after the teenager reached out to Weiner on Twitter, and continued through late spring.

Weiner had sent the texts and images to the minor female, during a time when his primary responsibility was the care of his son Jordan, while Abedin was on the campaign trail with Clinton.

It was the FBI's investigation into Weiner's inappropriate sexting that led to the discovery of classified emails forwarded by Huma to his computer - and the decision by FBI director James Comey to reopen the investigation into Clinton.

Weiner will have to register as a sex offender as part the plea deal with the Manhattan US Attorney's Office.

Prosecutors are recommending that Weiner serve a two-year sentence as part of the deal, with the charge carrying a maximum prison term of 10 years and maximum fine of $250,000.

He was released on bail and will be sentenced on September 8, four days after his 53rd birthday.
A man has described the terrifying moment assault rifle-toting special operations police officers handcuffed him after mistaking him for the Melbourne siege gunman.

Bill Tsipas was visiting a friend at the Buckingham Serviced apartments in Brighton on Monday afternoon when an armed terrorist shot a hotel clerk in the foyer.

He walked outside to check what the commotion was when heavily-armed police reportedly swooped on him, throwing him to the ground and handcuffing him.

Bill Tsipas (pictured) was reportedly thrown on the ground and put in handcuffs for 90 minutes after police mistook him for the Melbourne siege gunman

Mr Tsipas said heavily-armed police swooped on him when he went outside after hearing gunshot sounds, throwing him to the ground and handcuffing him

'I had the SWAT team pointing guns at me, and I was thrown to the ground, face to the dirt and hands behind my back,' Mr Tsipas told the Herald Sun.

'Guns getting pointed at me everywhere (in the driveway).

'After an hour and a half of handcuffs on me, they've taken the handcuffs off me, and before I knew it, I've started hearing bang, bang, bang and everyone's started running.'

It was at that exact moment that Somali-born refugee Yacqub Khayre, 29, emerged from his hideout and opened fire on waiting police, injuring three before he was shot dead.

It later emerged that Khayre was a long-time criminal on parole who took a female escort hostage in what could have been a bid to lure police into the terror attack.

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton says it is a 'possibility' the 29-year-old wanted to lure police into a deadly shootout.

'(There was) certainly a booking made to see an escort at the premises. He's then turned up at the premises with a firearm,' Mr Ashton told reporters on Tuesday.

'That's all been weighed into the calculations, but we haven't found anything like a note or any comment around that.'

Somali-born refugee Yacqub Khayre, 29, was shot dead by police after emerging from his hideout and opening fire on waiting officers

Police are searching Khayre's mother's home in Roxburgh Park to see if he had any links to overseas organisations

Officers had earlier found the body of a Chinese-born Australian clerk in the foyer.

'He appears to (have been) in the wrong place at the wrong time,' Mr Ashton said.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack online, but Mr Ashton downplayed their statement.

'We're aware of (online) them having claimed responsibility, but then they always tend to jump up and claim responsibility every time something happens,' he said.

'But he's also made statements last night around (rival organisation) al-Qaeda.'

Victoria Police is treating Khayre's attack as a terrorist incident.

The 29-year-old once spent 16 months on remand before being acquitted of a 2009 plot to attack the Holsworthy army barracks in Sydney.

He was jailed in 2012 over a violent home invasion and released six months ago.

Junior jihadi: Khayre is pictured as a child growing up in Australia (left, aged 7, right, aged 12)

Police keep local residents away from service apartments while investigations take place

Police are searching Khayre's mother's home in Roxburgh Park to see if he had any links to overseas organisations.

Khayre was shot dead as he stormed out of the Buckingham Serviced Apartments on Bay St in Brighton.

Two officers - including one with wounds to his face and neck - were taken to hospital while a third was treated at the scene.

A female escort held hostage was rescued from the ground floor apartment.

Mr Ashton said Khayre had been on parole since being released from prison in November and 'there was nothing wrong with his parole until yesterday.'

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said there were 'very grave questions' about why Khayre was on the streets.

'How was this man on parole? He had a long record of violence,' Mr Turnbull told reporters.

'He was known to have connections - at least in the past - with violent extremism.'

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews promised to look at every part of the parole system, but said it had already worked to keep Khayre in jail longer than his minimum sentence.

'(Since his release) he's been compliant, including drug tests, attending appointments and observing a curfew,' Mr Andrews told reporters.

Forensic investigators leave Khayre's family home after collecting evidence on Tuesday
Sometimes police officers have their gun at the ready in a dangerous situation - and sometimes they just need to improvise.

An image of a cop drawing a finger gun to force a man to the ground has been picked up by Cop Humour Australia, a Facebook page that shares light-hearted humour based on the day-to-day activities of police officers.

In a post made to the group's page, New Zealand police officers can be seen apprehending a man, clearly ordering him to the ground.

An image of a cop drawing a finger gun to force a man to the ground has emerged on social media

Out of the four police pictured, two can be seen with their weapons drawn. The vision of third officer by another cop but appears to be holding a police-dog from a K9 unit.

The policeman in the centre of the group is directly facing the offender and has his right hand on his belt, but amusingly appears to be pointing his left hand towards the assailant as if he was holding a gun made from his fingers.

The priceless moment quickly accumulated almost 550 likes in under an hour after it was viewed almost half a million times on image sharing platform Imgur.

Social media users were quick to see the funny side of the post, with one Facebook user citing: 'He was probably yelling ''Bang, bang!'' as well.'

One Facebook commenter thought the image resembled Rowan Atkinson using a finger gun in Mr Bean (pictured)

The priceless moment quickly accumulated almost 550 likes in under an hour after it was viewed almost half a million times on image sharing platform Imgur

Another thought the man must have forgotten to strap his weapon on that morning.

One commenter believed the formation was 100 per cent 'spot on' and the law enforcement strategy was perfect.

'There are two - possibly three - officers with weapons brought to bear on the target,' he said. 'The instructing officer has his right hand ready to draw his sidearm and is giving physical instructions with his left hand.

In the image New Zealand police officers can be seen apprehending a man with a K9 dog on the scene

Another commenter referred to the scene from Mr Bean where Rowan Atkinson famously quoted a scene from Dirty Harry

The user also said the two officers left and right of the main officer have 'longarms' on target as they have the superior weapon.

He said: 'The target can concentrate on the instructing officer and follow his directions knowing that if he doesn't he will die from both the left and the right.

'It allows the officer instructing to concentrate on having the target's full and undivided attention, and conveying to the target precisely what he wants him to do.'
President Donald Trump has instructed Rex Tillerson to put controversy over Russia aside in order to rebuild relations with the Kremlin, the Secretary of State has revealed.

Tillerson said relations with Russia are at a low point and deteriorating, and Trump asked him to try to stabilize the relationship and rebuild trust.

Speaking on a visit to New Zealand, he said he had 'no direct knowledge' about whether Russia investigations could bring down the administration.

Rex Tillerson said the President had asked him to stabilize ties with Vladimir Putin's regime

Relations between the Trump campaign and Russia are currently being investigated by the FBI

But he said the President is keen to stabilize ties with Vladimir Putin's regime.

The top US diplomat made the comments in Wellington, where he met with Prime Minister Bill English during a brief visit.

Tillerson said Trump has told him he should not allow the uproar to impede him from working on the relationship.

'He's been quite clear with me to proceed at whatever pace and in the areas I think we might make progress,' Tillerson said. 'I really am not involved in any of these other issues.'

Tillerson revealed he has been asked to help improve the relationship between Washington and Vladimir Putin

Tillerson, right, shakes hands with New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English at Premier House in Wellington, New Zealand

Tillerson was also asked about Trump's provocative tweets, including those in which he criticized London's mayor after three assailants killed seven people and wounded dozens in the London Bridge area over the weekend.

'The president has his own unique ways of communicating with the American people, and the world,' Tillerson said. 'And it's served him pretty well, and I don't intend to advise him on how to communicate. That's up to him.'

Tillerson said he was pleased by reports that some British imams were refusing to offer funeral prayers for the London attackers.

'That is what has to be done,' he said. 'Only the Muslim faith can handle this.'

English said he was reassured by Tillerson about the intention of the U.S. to engage in the Asia-Pacific region. Tillerson's New Zealand stopover came after he visited Australia with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.
Dr. Martin Tesher was arrested and charged in Brooklyn federal court on Monday with distributing a controlled substance

A New York physician was busted for prescribing more than 14,000 unnecessary prescriptions for oxycodone and other pain killers during a five-year period, police say.

Dr. Martin Tesher was arrested and charged in Brooklyn federal court on Monday with a single count of distributing a controlled substance.

The 81-year-old wrote prescriptions for more than 2.2million oxycodone pills from 2012 to 2017 from his family medical practice in Manhattan, authorities say.

The prescriptions he wrote provided more than $20million worth of the powerful opioid - which is an extremely high number for a doctor who does not specialize in pain management, authorities say.

The 81-year-old physician, who describes himself on his website as a 'good old-fashioned family doctor', supplied three confidential informants with oxycodone pills at his Upper East Side office located at 9 East 68th Street, according to court documents.

Tesher, who was born in Montreal, said he believed that the informant had an addiction, but still gave the patient - an NYPD informant - a prescription that allowed him to take 15 oxycodone pills a day for a month, the New York Daily News reported.

The 81-year-old doctor (above) wrote prescriptions for more than 2.2million oxycodone pills from 2012 to 2017 from his family medical practice in Manhattan, authorities say

The 81-year-old physician, who describes himself on his website as a 'good old-fashioned family doctor', supplied three confidential informants with oxycodone pills at his Upper East Side office located at 9 East 68th Street (file above), according to court documents

The doctor never confirmed if the informant suffered from an injury through testing and he did not look through the patient's medical records, according to arrest papers.

Authorities conducting the investigation said they consulted with a doctor who stated there was 'no medical reason' for such a bulky prescription to be issued to a first-time patient who had no history of pain or any serious conditions of pain.

A separate 'patient' went to visit the doctor and said he had an addiction to painkillers, according to court papers.

Tesher prescribed the 'patient' with 'hundreds' of oxycodone pills on each visit, it is alleged. However, he never prescribed an anti-opiate addiction drug, Suboxone, and he did not recommend the 'patient' to seek addiction treatment.

Tesher was released after a court appearance on $250,000 bond and faces up to 20 years on a charge of distributing a controlled substance.

A part of his bond agreement is that he is not allowed to write prescriptions for a list of drugs that includes oxycodone.

Tesher was released after a court appearance on $250,000 bond and faces up to 20 years on a charge of distributing a controlled substance. A part of his bond agreement is that he is not allowed to write prescriptions for a list of drugs that includes oxycodone (file above)

During court proceedings on Monday, it was revealed that the doctor earns nearly $800,000 a year.

However, he racked up roughly $130,000 in debts to pay for private-duty nurses for his hospitalized wife, the Daily News reported.

Acting Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Bridget Rohde said Tesher 'used his position as a doctor not to heal but to foster opioid addiction.'

The federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said the oxycodone was being diverted into the whole city and Long Island, despite the fact that Tesher is based in Manhattan.

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn have jurisdiction over Brooklyn, Staten Island, Long Island and Queens.

A DEA spokeswoman called Tesher 'one of the largest doctors we've identified as diverting prescriptions in New York City.'

The U.S. is currently in the grips of an opioid epidemic, as there were 1,075 opioid-involved deaths in the five boroughs in 2016 alone.

More than two million Americans in 2015 were said to be addicted to opioids as another 95million used prescription painkillers in the past year, according to date from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
A close friend of the Melbourne terrorist said he seemed 'happy and energised' as he prepared to pray at an Islamic youth centre 24 hours before the deadly incident.

The 28-year-old, who refused to be named, said he prayed with gunman Yacqub Khayre on Sunday night near Roxburgh Park, where this morning armed police raided his neat family suburban home.

'He was buzzing and happy as we walked into the mosque together,' the man told Daily Mail Australia.

'I'm in total shock about what he did - I didn't see any signs at all.'

The man said killing innocent people goes against his faith.

'In Islam, if you kill an innocent soul you are killing all of humanity,' he said.

Pictured: Roxburgh Park Islamic Youth Centre where Melbourne terrorist Yacqub Khayre prayed 24 hours before inciting a siege that claimed the life of a man

A woman in a hijab enters the Islamic super store next door to the Islamic youth centre where Yacqub Khayre prayed 24 hours before inciting a siege

The smiling young face of a killer: Yacqub Khayre pictured age seven (left) and 12 (right)

A close friend of Yacqub Khayre (pictured) said he seemed 'happy and energised' as he prepared to pray at an Islamic youth centre 24 hours before the deadly incident

The man, speaking outside the Hume Islamic Youth Centre, said his friend had been working as a bricklayer but had never seen signs of radical behaviour.

The gunman lived ten minutes walk away from the centre, which based on an industrial estate in Coolaroo.

The friend said the terrorist 'chatted and laughed' with him as the pair arrived at a local mosque to pray on Sunday night.

'It had just got dark and we had both just eaten before we arrived as we are fasting as it is Ramadan. You are allowed to eat after sunset.'

'Then we began praying - I didn't speak to him afterwards. We went our separate ways.'

A woman and two children walk in front of the Islamic youth centre where a 'happy and energised' Khayre prayed 24 hours before the attack

Police allege Khayre hired a sex worker through an escort agency and held her hostage, tying her up as he hid inside the hotel with a sawn-off shotgun waiting for police to arrive

Police also descended on a home in Roxborough Park where Khayre is believed to have lived with his mother and two teenage brothers

Bill Tsipas (pictured) says he was mistaken for the gunman and placed in handcuffs by police

He refused to name the mosque where the pair prayed - but said he had known him from the Muslim community for 'many years.'

'It's not fair for my communities to be linked to hate over this,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

On its website, the Islamic youth centre near the gunman's home claims it aims to provide a 'safe and friendly environment' for the youth of the local community that facilitates and promotes learning, a healthy and active lifestyle.

The centre, which has an Islamic 'super centre' based next door selling burqas, food and prayer books, also says it helps the 'development of virtuous character and an enlightenment of the spirit based on Islamic principles.'

The centre provides a prayer room, cafe plus 'gym and fight club.'

The friend of the gunman spoke just hours after anti-terror police raided the suburban home of the Somalian-born refugee who killed one man and led a two-hour stand-off with police at a Melbourne apartment complex.

At 7.30am officers swooped at the home of the gunman in Roxburgh Park, in the north-west of the city.

'We are going to be at that location for some time conducting inquiries there,' Commissioner Ashton said of Khayre's property

The refugee was on parole when he shot a male clerk in a Brighton apartment building (pictured) and barricaded himself inside a room on Monday

Neighbours told Daily Mail Australia of their shock that the ice-addicted African refugee, who was on parole and had links to Somalia-based terrorist group al-Shabaab, was behind an ISIS-inspired attack on the streets of Melbourne.

As police guarded the sealed off Sherwin Place they said they 'couldn't understand' why Khayre murdered one man, wounded three police officers and took a woman hostage in a dramatic two-hour siege in a hotel on Bay Street, Brighton, on Monday.

Police say the hostage was a sex worker Khayre had hired through an escort agency, posing as a client, and then tied up as he hid inside the building armed with a sawn-off shotgun and wearing a balaclava and gloves.

Mata Tuariki, 54, who lives on the corner of Sherwin Place with his wife Ina and their three children said he often saw Khayre walking to the nearby station with friends.

'He always seemed to be relaxed and smiling,' Mr Tuariki said.

'He would wave and say hello.'

'I never would imagine he would be connected to something like this, I just can't understand it.'

The 29-year-old refugee, who is believed to live at the Roxburgh Park house with his mother and two teenage brothers, shot dead a hotel attendant, an Australian national born in China, as part of a trap to lure police into 'The Buckingham' serviced apartments.

Just before 6pm, he appeared in the foyers of the hotel, firing shots at waiting tactical command officers heavily armed and wearing bullet-proof vests.

Three officers were struck by bullet fragments, one in the neck, while Khayre was fatally wounded during an exchange of 'severe' gunfire, ending the two-hour siege.

The 29-year-old is a Somalian refugee who was on parole when he committed the ISIS-inspired attack. He had done time in jail for a violent meth-fuelled home invasion in 2011

Forensic police drive a car believed to be driven by Khayre from The Buckingham hotel

But questions have since risen over why the man, who carried out a violent meth-fuelled home invasion just months after he was accused of planning a suicide attack against Sydney's Holsworthy army barracks, wasn't just deported back to Somalia.

At the home where he is believed to live with his mother a team of forensic experts dressed in white overalls entered the front door of the pretty cream home.

A police source at the scene told Daily Mail Australia they are conducting a 'thorough search of the property that will take sometime.'

Neighbour Ina Tuariki said she was 'devastated' to discover from pictures on news reports she lived next door to the gunman.

She told how he lived in the three bedroom bungalow, worth around $600,000 due to close proximity to the shops and station, with his two younger brothers, both teenagers, plus his mother.

'He always said hello to me and seemed normal,' she said.

'I was never concerned about him. There are young people around here on ice and going off the rails but he wasn't one of them.'

A police helicopter hovered above the house as police erected two police tents to store evidence gathered from inside the property.
Tasmanians are calling the ambulance for all the wrong reasons, a new government report has revealed.

Health Minister Michael Ferguson told a hearing that in some areas of the state, almost half of the calls were for 'unexpected primary care' rather than acute.

'Recent calls included one patient on Bruny Island who realised they'd run out of medication on Christmas Eve, and the patient requested from the island that ambulance paramedics visit the pharmacy and collect their medications and put the ambulance on the ferry to deliver them,' Mr Ferguson said.

Ferguson said many emergency calls were for 'unexpected primary care' rather than acute

Ambulance Tasmania chief executive Neil Kirby echoed Ferguson's views saying that in the last 12 months it had received triple-0 calls for things that can be best described as trivial.

Kirby said sore throats and colds made up 140 calls, with only some sent to the hospital.

Investigations revealed that there were also calls for itchy eyes, a cut finger and medication deliveries.

But the oddest request came from a person calling and requesting help with their dog.

'We even had a person call 000 because their dog was sick, and they wanted an ambulance to come and assess it,'Kirby told the ABC.

'A person in Scottsdale called Triple 0 wanting an ambulance because they had a blocked nose and a headache due to a cold.'

Tasmanians are calling the ambulance for all the wrong reasons, a new report has revealed

Steve Pearce from the Australian Paramedics Association was not surprised with the findings of the report given that there is a massive shortfall in paramedics.

He says the state is in need of another 107 paramedics and has raised the matter with the Federal Government two months ago.

At present, the state budget only covers for another 20 staff, to provide for extra crews in Launceston and Hobart.
Badger odour could be used to track down thylacines in far north Queensland after rumoured public sightings of the extinct animal.

The last-known thylacine, also known as a Tasmanian tiger, is believed to have died in Hobart Zoo in 1936.

But after numerous claims of public sightings, researchers from James Cook University announced in March this year they would conduct a study on Cape York, reported the ABC.

Badger odour could be used to track down thylacines (pictured) in far north Queensland after rumoured public sightings of the extinct animal

After numerous claims of public sightings, researchers from James Cook University (pictured) announced in March this year they would conduct a study on Cape York

Project leader Dr Sandra Abell told the ABC there were a number of ways to attract the animal.

'There's all sorts of weird and wonderful baits you can use... weird things like badger odour,' Dr Abell said.

'Observations are coming in from all over the far north and other parts of Queensland.

'My motto is, if they're there, we'll find them. I'm probably the biggest sceptic amongst everyone, but of course I want it to be true,' Dr Abell said.

She said it could turn out that the sightings were dinoges, cats or other feral animals.

Project leader Dr Sandra Abell told the ABC there were a number of ways to attract the animal. 'There's all sorts of weird and wonderful baits you can use... weird things like badger odour'

The field survey will use more than 50 high-tech 'camera traps' to survey prospective sites on the Cape and researchers have now extended the study area to include rainforest sites that are closer to Cairns.

Co-investigator Professor Bill Laurance said he spoke at length to two people in north Queensland who provided plausible and detailed descriptions of animals that could potentially be thylacines.

'One of those observers was a long-time employee of the Queensland National Parks Service, and the other was a frequent camper and outdoorsman in north Queensland,' Prof Laurence said.

Dr Abell said: 'My motto is, if they're there, we'll find them. I'm probably the biggest sceptic amongst everyone, but of course I want it to be true'

'All observations of putative Thylacines to date have been at night, and in one case four animals were observed at close range - about 20 feet away - with a spotlight.

'We have cross-checked the descriptions we received of eye shine colour, body size and shape, animal behavior, and other attributes, and these are inconsistent with known attributes of other large-bodied species in north Queensland such as dingoes, wild dogs or feral pigs.'

Despite hundreds of reported sightings, to this date no conclusive evidence has been provided that the Tasmanian Tiger is alive.

Fields trips for the study will be start in the next few months.
A 30-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the London Bridge massacre.

Counter-terrorism officers raided a property in Ilford, east London, in the early hours of this morning.

The man has been arrested over terror offences and has been taken into custody at a south London police station.

Police have arrested a 27-year-old man in Barking, east London, today while officers have also been seen removing evidence from the flat where Khuram Butt lived, pictured

Police also raided a home in Ilford yesterday morning, pictured, with forensics teams seen going in and out of the property

Detectives and uniformed officers, pictured, have been at the scene of Butt's flat since Sunday

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: 'Detectives investigating the London Bridge terror attack have carried out a search warrant at an address in east London in the early hours of Wednesday, June 7.

'Officers from the Met's Counter Terrorism Command, supported by officers from the Territorial Support Group, entered the address in Ilford at around 1.30am.

'A 30-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of terrorist acts (contrary to section 5 Terrorism Act 2006) and has been taken into custody at a south London police station under the Terrorism Act 2000.

'A search of the address is ongoing.'

Yesterday, a 27-year-old man has been arrested in the Barking area in connection with the atrocity.

It came after police confirmed they raided a home in Ilford in the early hours.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police told MailOnline that yesterday's raid was at a different address to today's operation and that nobody had been detained.

And also reports in Ireland emerged that a man had been detained in Limerick last night over the attack.

A Morrocan national was arrested in Limerick on Monday after ID documents found at his home were in the name of one of the London attackers - Rachid Redouane.

He was being questioned at a garda station in the city by detectives attached to the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) on suspicion of using forged documents, according to the Limerick Leader. He was later released without charge.

Gardai sources told the newspaper that they believe the man has been living and working in Limerick for some time and that he may have lived elsewhere in Ireland before that.

They don't believe he has been radicalised or is part of the terror plot, but they are trying to establish how he got hold of the documents and the authenticity of the paperwork.

On Monday, Scotland Yard announced that all 12 people arrested on Sunday by officers investigating Saturday's massacre have been released without charge.

The mother of terrorist Rachid Redouane's 18-month-old child was believed to be among seven women arrested by police investigating Saturday night's rampage.

Charisse O'Leary, 38, screamed 'don't shoot' as police stormed a block of flats in Barking, east London on Sunday and took away 12 people.

The mother-of-one, who also goes by the name Charisse Redouane, married the terrorist in Ireland in 2012.

Seven women and five men aged between 19 and 60 were arrested under the Terrorism Act in Barking on Sunday.

Police carried out raids in east London yesterday morning at properties in Newham and a former brothel in Dagenham as part of their investigation.

Meanwhile, explosions and gunshots were heard when police raided two more properties in east London as they investigated the terror attack on London Bridge.

The investigation in Barking continues after police also raided properties in Newham and Dagenham on Monday

A cordon has been put up in front of the property after officers launched the raid at around 1.30am, although it is understood no one has been detained

A cordon and forensic tent remain on site at the tower block in Barking, pictured

Officers searched two addresses in Dagenham and Newham in connection with Saturday night's massacre, which saw three jihadist terrorists kill seven people and injure dozens more.

Neighbours said around 40 armed police, some with stun grenades stormed the properties early yesterday morning, with locals hearing guns being fired and explosions ringing out.

One of the properties being searched is said to have previously been a brothel.

One witness told MailOnline he heard an 'extremely loud bang at 4am followed by multiple gunshots' off the A13 in Dagenham, east London.

The witness said: 'It was as if my ear was right next to a car backfiring. It was loud enough to wake everyone up at 4am.'

A driver from a nearby bus depot said the house in Dagenham had been a brothel.

Officers are pictured carrying bags of evidence away from Butt's flat today

Twelve people were arrested and four women taken into police custody during an early morning raid at the tower block on Sunday but all have been released without charge

Neighbour James Bateman, who lives at the other side of the road, said: 'At about 4am, after the large bang, I looked outside the window after being woken up and I saw about a dozen armed police officers going to and from an unmarked van.

'There were car alarms going off and we were over 300 feet away. The after bangs were smaller. It is quite possible they could have been gunshots.

'I don't know because I didn't see anyone shooting, but that's not to say it wasn't gunfire.'

Mr Bateman said the bangs that followed were not as loud but sounded 'the equivalent' of gunshots.

Simon Tucker wrote on Twitter: 'Heard this in the Dagenham area at around 4:15 am. Started with loud explosion sound. Followed by about 20 shots, Some sounded distant.'

Police officers were seen standing outside a residential property close to the Ship and Shovel pub in Dagenham. A quarter-mile stretch of the A13 is thought to have been closed off for a short period during the raid.

Charisse O'Leary (pictured, right), the wife of terrorist Rachid Redouane (left) was among 12 people arrested in Barking yesterday

Police carried out a raid at a Dagenham address yesterday morning in connection with the London Bridge terror attacks and residents reported hearing gunshots

On Sunday, police arrested 12 people including four women during a dawn raid at a block of flats in Barking where one of the London Bridge terrorists reportedly lived.

One witness said a suspect who tried to flee was shot while others reported hearing gunfire and explosions as police swooped on the east London address at 7am on Sunday.

Several men were pictured laying face down in the road handcuffed, while others were later led from the flat alongside four women. The arrests marked the first by police over the attack which killed seven and wounded 48, including 21 people left in critical.

A second raid by armed officers was then caught on film less than a mile away on Barking Road, East Ham, at 3.30pm as officers pointed their weapons to a first floor flat above a betting shop.

One of the suspects arrested in the East Ham raid made a desperate attempt at a rooftop escape by climbing out of a window.

He was only apprehended after armed officers pointed their weapons at him and threatened to shoot, Malik Rouf, 30, an eyewitness, told MailOnline.

'I don't know if he was scared or anything but he looked pretty desperate,' he said. 'He looked pretty determined to escape.'

The suspect, said to be black and in his twenties, turned around and climbed back through his window where he was arrested along with another black man.

The armed officers had jumped out of three unmarked police cars before pouncing, the eyewitness said. The two suspects were dragged into a van and driven away.

Meanwhile, armed police and forensic officers were seen scouring the scene at London Bridge and Borough Market, where three terrorists left a trail of death and destruction when they went on a van and knife rampage.

The attackers, who were wearing fake suicide vests, mowed down up to 20 pedestrians as they careered across London Bridge in an 'S shape' at 50mph before abandoning the vehicle at nearby Borough Market, where they began 'randomly stabbing' revellers packed into busy bars and pubs.
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A squalid, crumbling home that was once filled with rubbish and an unrelenting stench has sold for a staggering $2.4million.

The residence in the Brisbane suburb of Paddington was once in such poor condition that neighbours nicknamed it the 'Hoarder House'. It was first sold to builder brothers Rob and Andrew Gray in 2014 for $838,000 and they then spent seven months renovating it.

When they sold it to James and Kylie Aitken for $2.1million they could never have imagined it would go on to re-sell for $2.4million.

BEFORE: A squalid home with broken windows, crumbling walls and an unrelenting stench has been transformed into a multi-million dollar family home in a matter of months by an ambitious construction family

AFTER: Despite the 'very big challenge', the 'Hoarder House' is now instead known as the Hillview House. The glistening white Queenslander-style home boasts a coveted location and city views

Rob Gray and his brother spent around $1million renovating the home, which was packed with old clothes and furniture - and he said it was well worth the expense

The new interior includes timber and marble finishings leading to a stunning Brisbane city backdrop

The kitchen was filled with old food and dirty pans that had piled up over the years

What a difference! Gorgeous floor to ceiling windows let in the mid-morning light

The condition of the home had been so poor that neighbours knew it as the 'Hoarder House', but brothers Rob Gray, 26, and Andrew, 29, now have Plunkett Street neighbours admiring the newly renovated home

But that's exactly what it did on May 31, 2017, according to realestate.com.au.

Rob Gray told Real Estate he wasn't surprised the property, now known as the 'Hillside House', had grown in value so rapidly.

'There's been a lot of growth in the last 12 months to two years in inner city suburbs - Paddington being one - and this is just proof of what's happening,' he said.

'Essentially we were looking at it as somewhere that was going to have rapid growth so it really just came down to location and block size.

'I really enjoyed it. It was awesome looking back at what you've achieved,' said renovator Rob Gray

The work took just seven months, and Mr Gray estimated this kind of large-scale renovation would normally take a year

The condition of the home saw it become known to neighbours as the 'Hoarder House', with its prior owner, an elderly woman, residing there for at least 40 years

The four-bedroom home is now worth millions after a tidy overhaul by two separate owners

'Block size is one of the main elements because big blocks are rare in Paddington.'

Previously Rob Gray spoke to Daily Mail Australia about how the brothers added at least $2 million to the house's value thanks to their successful renovation work.

Unfortunately, the rubbish was included in the initial $838,000 price tag.

'The hardest part [of the renovation] was definitely getting rid of the rubbish and dealing with the smell for the initial few months.

The bathroom was once filled with rubbish and junk and the bath was barely usable. But that couldn't be further from the state of it today

The amazing property has gone up in value by around $2 million since being transformed

'Building a new house [from scratch] is a good feeling. But being what it was [Hoarder House] and changing it is probably better,' said Rob Gray

Rob Gray's brother was initially going to move into the home before they decided to sell it for $2.1million

'Even when the rubbish was taken out the smell stuck around until we took out the wall lining, then it was better,' Mr Gray said.

There appeared to be no hidden treasures within the rubble.

'It was literally all junk,' Mr Gray said, but added there was a tin filled with old coins which they've held onto.

Hoarder House had earned its name under the ownership of an elderly lady who'd lived at the home for at least 40 years, Mr Gray estimated, before she moved to a psychiatric hospital in Sydney.

You wouldn't recognise it now, but the multi-million-dollar family home was once filled with junk so smelly, the Gray brothers had to pull off the wall lining

The 600sqm property had been bought seven months earlier for $838,000. The renovations have added at least $2million to its value

The home has gone from an eyesore to one of the best properties in the area

'She's still alive and kicking,' Mr Gray said. 'She'd be pushing about 80.

'She'd been there for a long, long time, so everyone in the street knew her.'

Mr Gray said they'd spent around $1 million renovating the home, which is now a sprawling, modern-day Queenslander with 3.6m tall ceilings.

Of Graya Construction Builders, Mr Gray said the work was well worth it.

'I really enjoyed it. It was awesome looking back at what you've achieved,' he said.

'Building a new house [from scratch] is a good feeling. But being what it was [Hoarder House] and changing it is probably better.'

Despite the 'very big challenge', Hoarder House is now instead known as the Hillview House boasting a coveted location and city views.

The sprawling modern-day Queenslander has 3.6-metre ceilings
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One of two Moroccan-born extremists who murdered innocent victims at London Bridge was refused asylum in Britain eight years ago, it emerged today.

Rachid Redouane's claims he was a refugee were rejected in 2009 but he carried on living in the UK after marrying Briton Charisse O'Leary in Ireland in 2012.

The couple later became estranged when she refused to convert to Islam or impose his faith on their daughter Amina, now aged one.

The revelations come as a second suspect was arrested in Ireland over the terrorist attack that killed seven people on Saturday night - after a man was detained and then released without charge earlier today.

Today it was revealed that he tried to stop the little girl watching television in case it 'made her gay' and tried to prevent her eating pork or going to dance classes as he exerted control on his estranged family.

Friends said Ms O'Leary, 38, 'hated' her husband whom she accused of beating and bullying her during their turbulent months together, and she had recently moved to a housing unit for vulnerable mothers.

The Moroccan-born former pastry chef, 30, died in a hail of bullets with a fake bomb belt strapped to his waist and an Irish ID card in his pocket after his gang's murderous attack on Saturday night.

Charisse O'Leary (pictured, right supporting the victims of the Manchester attack), is the estranged wife of terrorist Rachid Redouane (left) came to see their daughter hours before he launched the London Bridge massacre

In recent social media posts, his estranged wife had complained that Redouane had not been visiting their daughter enough and friends said they hoped he drowned swimming - she had moved to a housing unit for vulnerable mothers

Friends said Ms O'Leary 'hated' her husband whom she accused of beating and bullying her during their turbulent months together as he tried and failed to impose hardline Islam on her and their daughter

A friend of his estranged wife, who was arrested but released without charge, told The Sun: 'He was always really selfish and I gave up so much for him. I was never going to convert and become a Muslim. There's no way I was going to do that.

'I just didn't agree with what he wanted. He didn't want Amina to eat pork or go to dance classes and I wasn't having that.

In recent social media posts, Ms O'Leary had complained that Redouane had not been visiting their daughter enough.

'He didn't want her watching things on TV either in case it made her 'gay'.'

Last night, Scotland Yard was still piecing together his movements since he arrived in Europe from North Africa.

Redouane was a 'clean skin' with no known links to terror. Investigators are understood to be sceptical of his claims to be from Morocco via Libya.

Redouane gained the right to stay in Britain by marrying London-born Charisse O'Leary, 38, possibly in Dublin.

Friends said she travelled to Ireland around three years ago after he moved to the Rathmines area in the south of the city when his visa ran out.

They said Redouane tried to convert her to Islam, but she refused and they had a 'volatile' relationship.

He returned to Britain about nine months ago. On Sunday, O'Leary, now using his surname, was arrested at gunpoint after the doors to her block of flats were blown off.

Witnesses said she shouted 'don't shoot' as she was dragged out sobbing.

Neighbour Siobhan Thomson said Redouane lived at the property until 'two or three months ago' when they separated, but visited regularly.

'All the bomb squad came with the dogs and their faces covered on Sunday morning and they broke down her door and she was really, really upset when she was taken out with the little girl,' she said.

'She was injured  it must've been injuries from the force of whatever they opened the door with. My door isn't actually on the hinges any more.'

Witnesses said Ms O'Leary shouted 'don't shoot' as she was dragged out sobbing. She is said to have 'hated' her estranged husband

The trio began their killing spree just after 10pm on Saturday when they ploughed into pedestrians in a white van on London Bridge

One of Gabriele Sciotto's photographs showed the face of the dying terrorist, wearing an Arsenal football shirt and combat trousers, just a few metres in front of him

The bodies of the two other men, including Redouane, lie in the road in Borough market after being gunned down

Police also examined the B&Q van which was used to mow down pedestrians before crashing into the front of the Barrowboy and banker pub near The Shard

Forensic officers painstakingly search for clues on London Bridge as they attempt to unravel the terror attack on Saturday

Cars, bikes and double decker buses were abandoned on London Bridge as investigations got underway

A map shows how terror attack unfolded. The attackers were shot dead within eight minutes of the first emergency phone call

Another neighbour said Redouane was seen at the block in East London at 6pm on Saturday, four hours before the attack. 'Armed police officers knocked on my door at 7am and warned me there would be a loud bang  then seconds later it sounded like a bomb had gone off,' she said.

How second killer made his way to Britain from Morocco via Ireland The Moroccan pastry chef who brought terror to London Bridge moved to Britain from Ireland around nine months before the attack. In Dublin, security sources confirmed that Rachid Redouane lived in the country for two years and left last October. He lived in Rathmines (pictured) which is considered upmarket, but also has a number of older Georgian buildings subdivided into cheap bedsits. Redouane appears to have gained the right to stay in Britain by marrying London-born Charisse O'Leary, 38, possibly in Dublin. Friends said she travelled to Ireland around three years ago when his UK visa ran out. The Irish special detective unit is now investigating his movements and contacts to see if he spent time with other terrorist suspects. It has not been confirmed what sort of Irish ID card he was carrying but it's believed it was a Garda National Immigration Bureau card. All non-nationals who are not citizens of a member State of the European Union, the European Economic Area or Switzerland must register with the Irish police. Speaking in Chicago, Irish leader Enda Kenny said the terrorist killer did not crop up on the intelligence service's radar. He said: 'As I pointed out in public and in the Dail [parliament] on a number of occasions there are a small number of people in Ireland who are being monitored and observed in respect of radicalisation and matters relevant to that. 'In this case, these facts are being checked but my understanding is this individual was not a member of that small group.' Advertisement

'I saw them taking Charisse away  she had blood running down her face because she'd obviously been injured in the blast. She was very upset  sobbing and crying out for her baby. It was extremely upsetting to see them being taken in separate cars.

'Her ex-boyfriend Rachid used to live with them but moved out a few weeks ago. He did return at 6pm on Saturday because I saw he'd signed in on the visitors' book but I'm not sure why.

'Charisse is a lovely woman and wouldn't harm a fly. Rachid keeps himself to himself and I know he is very religious.'

In one CV posted on the internet, O'Leary is listed as a personal assistant and former carer. She has posted dozens of pictures of her baby daughter online.

Just weeks ago, O'Leary wrote angrily online how he refused to visit Amina, choosing instead to go swimming with friends.

One former colleague at an Essex care home said: 'There's no way she'd have been involved [in terror]. She hated him in the end.

'He was a horrible person. She didn't say what happened but it seemed to me like it was domestic violence.'

The carer added: 'She smokes, she drinks. She wouldn't have converted to Islam. She dressed normally, in Western clothes.'

O'Leary left her full-time job at the care home around two years ago, the woman said. She then travelled to Ireland to be with her husband whose 'visa had run out'.

'He was from Morocco or somewhere like that and he'd been sent back,' the carer added. 'He went to Ireland while he waited for a visa and she went there because she hadn't seen him for ages.'

Another friend said O'Leary would have been 'terrified' when the police came.

'She's an absolutely brilliant person and a brilliant mum. She wouldn't have known [about the plot],' she said.

In Ireland, security sources confirmed that Redouane lived in the country for two years and left about nine months ago. He lived in Rathmines which is considered upmarket, but also has a number of older Georgian buildings subdivided into cheap bedsits.

The Irish special detective unit is now investigating his movements and contacts to see if he spent time with other terrorist suspects.

It has not been confirmed what sort of Irish ID card he was carrying but it's believed it was a Garda National Immigration Bureau card.

All non-nationals who are not citizens of a member State of the European Union, the European Economic Area or Switzerland must register with the Irish police. Speaking in Chicago, Irish leader Enda Kenny said the terrorist killer did not crop up on the intelligence service's radar.

He said: 'As I pointed out in public and in the Dail [parliament] on a number of occasions there are a small number of people in Ireland who are being monitored and observed in respect of radicalisation and matters relevant to that.

'In this case, these facts are being checked but my understanding is this individual was not a member of that small group.'

All 12 people arrested by officers investigating the London Bridge terror attack have been released without charge, Scotland Yard has announced.

The mother of terrorist Rachid Redouane's 18-month-old child was believed to be among seven women arrested by police investigating Saturday night's rampage.

Ms O'Leary, 38, screamed 'don't shoot' as police stormed a block of flats in Barking, east London on Sunday and took away 12 people.

Known extremist Khuram Butt, pictured, who was one of three terrorists shot dead by police after launching a deadly attack on London Bridge

Butt was also involved in a filmed altercation with police after an ISIS-type flag was unfurled in Regent's Park in the documentary where he was detained by police

Khuram Butt, 27, a married father of two, appeared on the Channel 4 documentary The Jihadi Next Door (left) and wore an Arsenal shirt (right) as he and two friends crashed their van into crowds on London Bridge before slashing at people with large knives murdering seven people and leaving 48 injured

Terrorist Khuram Butt wrote on his WhatsApp profile on May 10, 'Allah says (Quran 94:6) - Indeed, with hardship, comes ease.'

Instead of a picture of himself, his profile picture is lines from the Islamic religious book, which read: 'Speak justice, speak kindly, speak politely, speak fairly, speak gently, speak graciously, speak not in vain'

In recent social media posts, she had complained that Redouane had not been visiting their daughter enough.

One of her friends responded to her frustration that he was not going to see his child by saying: 'hope he drowns' before saying she 'shouldn't have wrote that'.

Police and MI5 face serious questions over their handling of Butt as it emerged they probed him two years before his murderous rampage.

This photograph of ringleader Kharum Butt was taken in May 2016 at West Kensington station during his training period

Khuram Butt, 27, was flagged up because of his extremist views and his case was examined by Scotland Yard and the security services.

A call was later made to the anti-terror hotline, warning of Butt's increasingly extremist behaviour.

But officials downgraded the investigation because they did not suspect the married father of two was planning an attack.

The admission came amid growing evidence that the security services missed a string of opportunities to stop Saturday night's atrocity.

The Mail revealed yesterday that Butt, whose family came to Britain from Pakistan as refugees, featured on a Channel 4 documentary about UK jihadis last year. In one scene, he was even filmed being spoken to by a police officer.

He was also an associate of Anjem Choudary  barracking opponents of the now jailed hate preacher  and neighbours said they had raised concerns about him.

Butt was identified last night as one of the three London Bridge attackers along with Rachid Redouane, 30.

The Mail also revealed that the London Bridge killer worked on the Underground  despite having featured in a documentary on British jihadis.

The 27-year-old knife maniac was based at Westminster Tube station, giving him access to tunnels under the Houses of Parliament.

The photograph was taken in May 2016 at West Kensington station during his training period. Four months earlier he had been profiled in the Channel 4 programme about extremism.

A former Tube colleague said: 'He went to Westminster, then Canada Water, then didn't pass his probation period. It was well known that he had appeared in this extremist documentary  but he was asked to leave London Underground not because of that, but due to poor attendance. We are now asking ourselves if he was planning something on the job.

'The intel he will have picked up about Parliament, and the movements of MPs travelling through the station, would potentially be of great value. Maybe he was planning some sort of spectacular.'

Back to work: London Bridge reopened yesterday for the first time since pedestrians were mowed down by the white van driven by jihadists

Heartbroken: Flowers were laid at the scene today and one person was overwhelmed as he came to terms with what has happened

Butt, who was named last night as one of the Borough Market murderers, became a child refugee and was given sanctuary in Britain.

Yesterday police admitted the married father of two, who had a newborn baby, was known to the authorities before he embarked on his sickening rampage slitting throats and stabbing pub-goers while shrieking: 'This one's for Allah.'

Butt was born on April 20, 1990, in Jhelum, an area of the Punjab famous for supplying soldiers to the British Army during the Raj, earning it the nicknames 'city of soldiers' and 'land of martyrs and warriors'.

In the early 1990s, the region was riven with political unrest, and when he was two, Butt's family moved to Britain. The family, including his elder brother Saad and sister Haleema, arrived as asylum seekers and settled in Barking, East London.

Yesterday the police were questioning members of the family including Butt's 28-year-old sister. A woman at her 550,000 semi-detached house in Harrow, North London, confirmed she was with the police.

Saad said the family wanted to be left alone to grieve.

The 29-year-old, who served on a young Muslims police advisory group, suggested the family would issue a detailed statement later.

Since the atrocity, there has been no answer at the home of Butt's 60-year-old mother Fahmida Akhtar.

In his early years, Butt is said to have attended Shaftesbury Primary School in East London. A former family friend said: 'He was a cheeky chappie.'

When he was seven or eight, Butt was knocked down by a car after which he walked with a limp for a while. He apparently went off the rails following the sudden death of his father Saif in 2003.

A former neighbour said: 'The kids were very young when their father passed away. It was probably quite traumatic seeing your dad lying there like that. The father was such a nice man.

'He worked night shifts selling fruit and veg at a stall in Queens Market in Upton Park, getting cash in hand.

'The father used to take care to bring them up properly and make sure they didn't stray.'

In his teenage years, Butt was 'really naughty', 'mouthy' and 'argumentative', according to a neighbour, who added: 'He was uncontrolled. His dad wasn't there any more. The older brother ended up playing the father figure.'

Butt is said to have studied at Newham Sixth Form before gaining an NVQ in business administration in 2009, and a diploma in teaching English as a foreign language.

Aged 22, he started working at an admin office of the fast-food chain KFC, where a former colleague said: 'He was a normal person, quite a friendly guy. He was going to clubs and pubs. He liked to go out with the girls.'

One former friend said he was a dope-smoking footballer who had a string of girlfriends. 'He liked to go out a lot. He had a few girlfriends, he was just a normal guy,' the friend said.

'He was a good footballer, a member of a club and he used to smoke a bit of weed and had a wide circle of friends, black, white, Asian.'

Butt took part in an arranged marriage in Chigwell, Essex, in a ceremony attended by more than 400 people.

A year ago, he took a job as a customer services assistant on the London Underground. He spent much of his time living off benefits and drifting between jobs. He began calling himself 'Jim Jones' and also Abu or Abdul Zaitun  Abz for short  and signs of an increasing rebellious streak included leaving his red Peugeot 107 in a no-park zone and amassing parking tickets.

Neighbour Furqan Nabi said: 'It was a bit strange, but he clearly didn't care.

'He kept changing his beard style and his hair. One day he would have longer hair, then he'd have shorter hair and then he would shave it all off.'

Another neighbour said: 'His wife would wear the full burka. He's got two kids, a newborn baby and a two-year-old son.

'He played with my daughter who is one year old  that's what's really crazy about the situation. I saw him all the time. He seemed like a really cool guy.'

A ground floor flat at the address is believed to belong to one of the dead attackers, according to neighbours

Alarmed parents reported Butt to police after he tried to convert children to radical Islam by giving them sweets. Erica Gasparri, a 42-year-old Italian mother of three, said she spotted 'Abz' in the park surrounded by children.

'My kids came home from the park and said: 'Mummy, Abz is giving us sweets and can we become Muslims?' I questioned my kids and they said he had said: 'Allah is a very important person and Islam is the only religion that will save you'.'

She said she confronted him and he replied: 'Your people, all of you, Americans, Europeans, going in our countries and killing our innocent children. In the name of Allah I'm ready even to kill my mother.'

She said he went on to defend the killers of drummer Lee Rigby and the Paris terrorists who struck at the magazine Charlie Hebdo in 2015. 'He was so angry with me I thought he was going to take my life that day when I confronted him.

'I'm lucky I'm still alive,' she said. Miss Gasparri was not the only one to report Butt to police. One of his friends phoned the anti-terror hotline, alarmed at hearing Butt's 'justification' for terror attacks in the news.

The friend told the BBC: 'That day I realised I needed to contact the authorities.

'I phoned the anti-terrorist hotline, I spoke to the gentleman. I told him about our conversation and why I think he's been radicalised. I did my bit. I know a lot of people did. But the authorities did not do their bit.' He said Butt had started listening to online rants by Ahmad Musa Jibril, an Arab-American preacher of hate who influenced several westerners to join Islamic State.

Butt was a supporter of Anjem Choudary's banned Islamist group al-Muhajiroun. He was banned from his local mosque, the Jabir Bin Zayd Islamic Centre, for parroting Choudary. One worshipper said: 'He kept shouting 'Only God is in charge'. In 2015, Butt prepared to abandon his pregnant wife Zahrah to wage jihad in Syria. A relative said: 'The family rallied around and as his Zahrah was pregnant they managed to stop him.'

Last year, 'Abz' featured in a Channel 4 documentary about British jihadists and unfurled an Islamic State-style flag in Regent's Park under the noses of police. A week ago, he hosted a 'last supper' barbecue in Barking Park.

A 30-year-old neighbour said: 'It was all men, not even any kids, they were all Muslims. He invited me but I didn't attend.'

When asked if it was a 'last supper' BBQ, he said: 'Yeah, that's one way of putting it.'

Another neighbour, Ken Chigbo, 26, had rented a van to move home and Butt 'was particularly interested in the van I hired, where I got it from and if it was an automatic.'

A short time later, Butt was seen driving his own rented van 'really fast' at children on his estate, apparently in a vile practice run for his murderous rampage across London Bridge.




Mugshots reveal his ever-changing face as he adds more and more ink

Repeat offender has been arrested nine times within the last eight years

Hardister, who is known for evolving face tattoos, also said he was a drug dealer

He was caught by police while sitting in the driver's seat on Sunday after 8pm

Repeat offender, Robert Hardister (pictured in 2017) who is known for his evolving face tattoos was arrested again in Florida while sitting in a stolen vehicle, police said

A serial offender known for his evolving face tattoos was arrested again in Florida while sitting in a stolen car, police said.

Robert Hardister, who makes for a memorable mugshot, was arrested shortly after 8pm on Sunday by an officer conducting a routine patrol in the St Augustine neighborhood.

Almost every inch of the 25-year-old repeat offender's face is covered in ink.

His latest mugshot, shows a newly pierced eyebrow and tattoos that cover his entire neck.

On Sunday, the St Augustine Beach police officer ran the tag of an unoccupied 2007 Chrysler Sebring, which had been stolen out of Marion County.

According to a police statement, the officer called for backup and set up surveillance of the stolen vehicle.

Shortly, thereafter Hardister approached the car and and sat in the driver's seat.

Hardister was quickly apprehended without incident and later confessed that he knew the vehicle was stolen.

He went on to say he was a drug dealer that had 'fronted' an unknown individual methamphetamine in exchange for the Chrysler.

Hardister said he had a lot of experience in 'boosting' cars from individuals.

Officers also found that Hardister was wanted for an active warrant in North Carolina for violating his parole.

Hardister hasn't always been tattooed. One of his earliest arrest mugshots, in October 2009 when he was 18 (left), shows a fresh faced Hardister. Each time he was arrested, his mugshot would boast a brand new tattoo (right, his November 2011 mug)

In 2012, Hardister had added a teardrop and bright yellow hair (left) and in February 2013, he had added multiple inkings; a HSL design on his neck, stars on his right cheek, the letter F on his other cheek, and floral designs up to his forehead

In September 2016, Hardister was arrested for stealing a truck. At that point his tattooed-face showed three tear drops falling underneath a star under his right eye while his cheek is tattooed with a creepy half-skeletal mouth.

Hardister's forehead is a mass of solid greed, and his entire neck is given over to a graffiti 'wall'.

But it wasn't always that way.

One of his earliest arrest mugshots, in October 2009 when he was just 18, shows a fresh faced Hardister, with floppy hair and not a tattoo in sight, flashing a cheeky grin to the camera.

He would go on to be arrested multiple times over the next seven years - mostly for vehicle theft.

And every time he was back at the police station, his mugshot would boast a brand new tattoo.

His first addition appears to have been a neck tattoo, seen in his mugshot from 2011.

By the following year he had added a teardrop - which can represent that a suspect has murdered someone or had someone close to them killed - and had bright yellow hair when arrested for car theft.

In his 2013 mugshot, he had added multiple inkings; a HSL design on his neck, stars on his right cheek, the letter F on his other cheek, and floral designs up to his forehead.

The following year he added 'SS' in between his eyebrows in February and by the end of 2014, when he was arrested in October, he had thick swathes of black ink on his face, 'stitches' for eyebrows and the word 'dead' tattooed across his head.

He has continued to add to his facial tattoos and when he was arrested in July last year, his face was covered.

'I really don't know what he has going on,' said Parker Beaudoin, a veteran tattoo artist told the Palm Beach Post. 'He's got a lot of everything.'

In February 2014, Hardister added an 'SS' between his eyebrows (left) and by the end of 2014, when he was arrested in October, he had thick swathes of black ink on his face, 'stitches' for eyebrows and the word 'dead' tattooed across his head (right)

He has continued to add to his facial tattoos and when he was arrested in July last year, his face (left) was covered. Hardister is also pictured in September 2016 (right)

Beaudoin believed that most of Hardister's tattoos were 'done either at a house or prison' with homemade tools, like a guitar string.

Hardister has been arrested at least five times in Palm Beach County alone. He was jailed for nine months in 2012 for motor vehicle theft.

The habitual offender was arrested on February 15, 2013, by Tequesta police for an out-of-town warrant and then just two days later on several charges including burglary.

He was arrested again in July that year for a probation violation.

His arrest on September 23 came after police found him sleeping behind the wheel of a reportedly stolen pickup truck in a Walmart parking lot.

Hardister told police he paid a friend $20 to borrow the truck so he could move some furniture into his new place.He claimed he had no idea it was stolen.
A teenager who was involved in a car crash has died after giving birth to a baby girl.

Joanna Delgado, 18, of Tranquillity, California was six-to-nine months pregnant and the force of the crash at Five Points in Fresno County, Sunday evening caused a spontaneous birth at the scene, reported ABC30.

Another outlet, Your Central Valley, said the baby - who later passed away - was delivered on the scene via Cesarean section.

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Joanna Delgado, 18, gave birth to a baby girl at the scene of a tragic collision in Five Points

Delgado, driving a Honda Civic (above) is said to have swerved over the middle line and crashed into another car

One outlet reported that the baby was forced into delivery by the impact of the crash

Delgado, of Kerman, was driving a Honda Civic on Sunday around 7.15pm on Highway 145 when she swerved over the middle lane and crashed head-on into another car, killing 24-year-old Adriana Solorio Romero of Five Points.

The baby was rushed by helicopter to a hospital after the birth but died the next morning.

A 16-year-old also inside of the car, whom some reports have identified as the father of the baby, is in critical condition.

The teen was at first erroneously identified by media outlets as being 10 years old, according to KMPH.

Some outlets reported that a 16-year-old male in the car with Delgado was the baby's father

Also killed was Adriana Solorio Romero, 24, who had just graduated from California State University, Fresno with a degree in child development

California Highway Patrol (CHP) Sgt. Mike Trenholm said the agency would be investigating whether drugs or alcohol played a part in the crash.

'We did find evidence here on-scene that leads us to believe possibly one of the drivers of the vehicles is impaired,' he said. 'We won't be able to determine definitively until an autopsy is performed.'

'It's never easy coming to these traffic accidents. But to see something like that where a child is born prematurely and potentially sustained fatal injuries as a result of the accident, it's heartbreaking,' he said.

Delgado had been set to graduate from Tranquillity High School on Thursday.

Her eerily prescient yearbook message unnerved her fellow classmates. Between recent and childhood pictures of herself, she had written, 'I would just like to apologize to those who were unable to graduate with the class of 2017. You missed out!'

A dog who was in the car with Delgado is also reported to have died in the collision.

According to a GoFundMe set up for the 24-year-old Romero's family, she had just graduated from California State University in Fresno with a Bachelors degree in child development.
President Donald Trump has tweeted about his travel ban, again contradicting his White House aides.

Trump spent his Monday morning criticizing his Justice Department for sending the 'watered down travel ban' to the Supreme Court on Twitter.

That afternoon, Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders admitted to reporters that Trump ceded ground to an appeals court in order to expedite the implementation of the immigration policy.

She also said: 'I think that the President isn't concerned with what you call it.'

However, Trump contradicted her when he tweeted hours later.

'That's right, we need a TRAVEL BAN for certain DANGEROUS countries, not some politically correct term that won't help us protect our people!' he wrote.

After President Donald Trump spent the morning criticizing his Justice Department for the 'watered down' version of his proposed immigration policy, Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, right, told reporters that Trump 'isn't concerned with what you call it'

Trump tweeted hours later, contradicting Sanders' comments to reporters

Earlier that morning, Trump tweeted four times about the ban.

'People, the lawyers and the courts can call it whatever they want, but I am calling it what we need and what it is, a TRAVEL BAN!' he said.

'The Justice Dept. should have stayed with the original Travel Ban, not the watered down, politically correct version they submitted to S.C.'

'The Justice Dept. should ask for an expedited hearing of the watered down Travel Ban before the Supreme Court - & seek much tougher version!'

'In any event we are EXTREME VETTING people coming into the U.S. in order to help keep our country safe. The courts are slow and political!'

Those tweets received some scolding from George Conway, the husband of Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway.

'These tweets may make some ppl feel better, but they certainly won't help OSG get 5 votes in SCOTUS, which is what actually matters. Sad,' he wrote, suggesting Trump's messages could hurt a future Supreme Court case.

Trump's most recent tweet wasn't only a contradiction to Sanders' comments on Monday. They also went against what Press Secretary Sean Spicer said in January, when he said: 'It's not a Muslim ban. It's not a travel ban. It's a vetting system to keep America safe'

Lawyer George Conway, left, tweeted after the president's first round of tweets about the ban Monday morning. Conway, the husband of Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway, right, warned that Trump may be shooting himself in the foot with all his tweets

After the tweet got some attention, George Conway, an attorney who recently took himself out of the running for a top DOJ post, added a few tweets to clarify.

'Just to be clear, and in response to inquiries, I still VERY, VERY STRONGLY support POTUS, his Admin, policies, the executive order and of course, my wonderful wife,' he wrote. 'Which is why I said what I said this morning.'

'Every sensible lawyer in WHCO and every political appointee at DOJ [would] agree with me (as some have already told me),' he continued.

'The [point] cannot be stressed enough that tweets on legal matters seriously undermine Admin agenda and POTUS--and those who support him, as I do, need to reinforce that [point] and not be shy about it.'

Trump tweeted several times Monday morning, criticizing his Justice Department for the 'watered down Travel Ban' they sent to the Supreme Court

At the White House's daily press briefing, Sanders discussed Trump's proposed immigration policy, saying that 'the President isn't concerned with what you call it'.

'The president is very focused on exactly what that order spells out, and that's protecting Americans, protecting national security, and he has every Constitutional authority to do that through that executive order, and he maintains that and that position hasn't changed in the slightest.'

'I don't think the president cares what you call it, whether you call it a ban, whether you call it a restriction. He cares that we call it national security,' she said.

That statement was met hours later by Trump's most recent tweet, which was also a contradiction to a statement Press Secretary Sean Spicer made in January.

'It's not a Muslim ban. It's not a travel ban,' Spicer said at the time. 'It's a vetting system to keep America safe.'

But on Monday, Trump confirmed on Twitter that it is a ban and 'not some politically correct term that won't help us protect our people'.

Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders admitted to reporters Monday afternoon that Trump ceded ground to an appeals court in order to expedite the implementation of the immigration policy that's indefinitely on hold and Trump has admitted is a travel ban
Hillary Clinton said now is the time to embrace the spirit of unity, referencing the most recent terror attack in London as she praised London Mayor Sadiq Khan for his 'steady, determined leadership.'

Clinton spoke for about 15 minutes on Monday in front of several students, grass-roots organizers and political figures at a fundraiser in Baltimore for the Elijah Cummings Youth Program in Israel where she encouraged teens to 'reach out to the world and understand what is happening.'

The former Democratic presidential nominee began her speech by acknowledging the victims of the two recent terror attacks in the United Kingdom where a combined 29 people were killed.

The former first lady offered her support to Khan, who was criticized by President Donald Trump over the weekend in social media postings.

While speaking during an event in Maryland, Hillary Clinton (left) said now is the time to embrace the spirit of unity, referencing the most recent terror attack in London as she praised London Mayor Sadiq Khan (right) for his 'steady, determined leadership'

Clinton spoke on Monday in front of several students at a Baltimore fundraiser on behalf of the Elijah Cummings Youth Program in Israel where she encouraged teens to 'reach out to the world and understand what is happening'

'It's a time for steady, determined leadership, like we are seeing from local authorities in London, including the mayor of London,' Clinton said.

'This is not a time to lash out, to incite fear or to use tragedy and terror for political gain.

'Normally this would go without saying, but we are not living in normal times.'

Her remarks at the event were less political and did not seemingly focus on the November election.

The fundraiser was for the Elijah Cummings Youth Program in Israel, which is a cross-cultural collaboration between the representative and the Baltimore Jewish Council that aims to foster students from the region.

Clinton also stressed the importance of developing religious tolerance through educational initiatives.

Clinton said: 'This is not a time to lash out, to incite fear or to use tragedy and terror for political gain. Normally this would go without saying, but we are not living in normal times'

Clinton also stressed the importance of developing religious tolerance through educational initiatives

'When violence motivated by hatred from, Portland, Oregon, to College Park, ends the lives of young Americans, this program's mission of spreading tolerance is more urgent than ever,' Clinton said.

'I'm asked quite often these days, what can we do? And the answer is as varied as the questioners,' Clinton added.

'There are so many ways for us to reach out, bring people together, set some common goals and work toward achieving them, to help build that brighter future for generations to come and, yes, for building leaders by building bridges, not walls.'

The former senator also encouraged event attendees to recognize the dangers of climate change following Trump's announcement that he would pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate agreement.

Cummings' youth program pays to send Baltimore high school students to Israel as part of a study abroad program.

The Maryland representative was not in attendance at the event on Monday, as he is recovering from heart surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
The day after Lee Rigby's murder, Khuram Butt joined notorious hate preacher Anjem Choudary (pictured) in support of the attack

The day after the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby in May 2013, Khuram Butt joined notorious hate preacher Anjem Choudary on College Green outside the Palace of Westminster in support of the attack.

There, Butt verbally assaulted a moderate Muslim leader who had opposed Choudarys extremist rhetoric.

Mohammed Shafiq, the head of Ramadhan Foundation, a Manchester-based group which works to build better relationships between communities, said he was called a murtad  traitor  by Butt.

He added that the London Bridge attacker had also labelled him a government stooge.

Fusilier Rigby was attacked by two jihadists who used a car and knives to kill the off-duty soldier as he walked down a road close to the Royal Artillery barracks in Woolwich, South East London.

Choudary, who had led the banned group al-Muhajiroun, controversially remarked that one of the killers, Michael Adebolajo, was a practising Muslim and a family man who he was proud of.

It later emerged that Adebolajo had been a supporter of Choudary and al-Muhajiroun as far back as 2007, when he was spotted at a rally with the hate preacher who had been the face of fanaticism in Britain.

The confrontation between Butt and Mr Shafiq was only brought to an end when police intervened and both Butt and Choudary, along with two other men, were escorted away.

Mr Shafiq said: Khuram Butt called me a murtad which means traitor in Arabic and accused me of being a government stooge when I confronted Anjem Choudary about him supporting terrorism and my public campaign against Lee Rigbys murder.

Fusilier Rigby (right) was attacked by two jihadists who used a car and knives to kill the off-duty soldier in Woolwich, South East London in May 2013. Butt is pictured left

The police turned up and Anjem, Khuram Butt and two other men were escorted away towards Millbank and I stayed in College Green.

It is clear that Anjem Choudary and his band of terrorist sympathisers were known to the police for many years. Many of us in the British Muslim community have been demanding action against these extremists to no avail.

Mr Shafiq said he was not surprised that Butt went on to carry out last weekends atrocity and argued that there were serious questions for the authorities.

Choudary was jailed for five-and-a-half years last August after two decades spent preaching hate.

He is believed to have inspired at least 110 Britons to commit terrorist acts.
The Cairns community have pulled together to try and find a veteran digger's missing dog which he bought after his parents died.

Benjamin Edwards was deployed in Afghanistan when he found out both of his parents had passed away from cancer.

'When I came back from Afghanistan I decided to get a rescue dog,' Mr Edwards told the Cairns Post.

Benjamin Edwards (pictured) returned from Afghanistan to heartbreak and decided to adopt a rescue dog called Lucky

'We have been a support network for each other. We're there for the good times and the bad. He's my best mate.'

But sadly on Sunday, while the veteran digger was at work in far-east Queensland, his rescue dog Lucky went missing while under the watchful eye of Mr Edwards' friend Tori Nagy.

'He went missing around 7pm in Edmonton, Cairns. I can't remember the exact time because I was so devastated at the time,' Ms Nagy told Daily Mail Australia.

She searched the surrounding area for the cattle dog cross rottweiler, even screaming into bushes as she drove up and down the road, but Lucky had disappeared.

Lucky's carer searched the surrounding area for the cattle dog cross rottweiler (pictured), even screaming into bushes as she drove up and down the road, but to no avail

Ms Nagy has set up a Facebook group called Find Lucky calling out for any assistance possible from the Cairns community

Ms Nagy has set up a Facebook group called Find Lucky calling out for any assistance possible from the Cairns community.

'More than 6,000 people saw my first post. The more people that know the better chance we have of finding him,' she said.

The community is handing out flyers with the dogs face on it which called Lucky a 'much loved and adored member of the family.'

The community is handing out flyers with the dog's face on them, calling Lucky a 'much loved and adored member of the family'

Ms Nagy has also contacted Australia Post and is 'awaiting approval for a Cairns-wide search by postman on their bikes.'

'We still haven't found him yet. But if anyone has any kind of information please let us know. We need to get him home,' Ms Nagy said.

Anyone with information about Lucky can contact Mr Edwards on 0484 350 954 or Ms Nagy on 0423 669 053.
Pauline Hanson has called on the prime minister to look seriously into temporarily banning Muslims from migrating to Australia - or, at the very least, more stringent vetting of those wanting to come to the country.

The One Nation leader has written to Malcolm Turnbull, compelled by the recent terrorist attacks in the UK, Europe and Melbourne.

Successive governments had failed to do what was needed to stop the growth and spread of Islamic terrorism, she said.

Pauline Hanson has demanded Australia introduce a Trump-style Muslim ban

The One Nation leader has written to Malcolm Turnbull, compelled by the recent terrorist attacks in the UK, Europe and Melbourne

'If laws need to be changed then so be it; if you need to consider a US style ban, as proposed by United States President Donald Trump, then so be it,' Senator Hanson wrote.

She also wants security forces to be given greater powers to deal with people on terror watch lists before they become violent.

On top of that, she suggests changing the way the Administrative Appeals Tribunal - an independent review body - works and its ability to overturn decisions regarding immigrants and refugees.

'If we continue to turn a blind eye to the radicalisation that is occurring in mosques throughout Australia then, I fear, we will soon see terrorist attacks to the degree that is happening in the United Kingdom and elsewhere around the world,' Senator Hanson said

This comes after Ms Hanson called for wider police powers after a man known to counter-terrorism police shot three police in a siege in Melbourne.

The One Nation leader appeared frustrated Somali-born Yacqub Khayre, 29, was still able to take a woman hostage despite being on a watchlist.

'Seems the Brighton terrorist was known to police. We must empower the police & turn terror watch lists into TERROR STOP LISTS!' she wrote on Twitter.

Pauline Hanson has called on Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to look seriously into a Donald Trump-style (pictured) Muslim travel ban

'Seems the Brighton terrorist was known to police. We must empower the police & turn terror watch lists into TERROR STOP LISTS!' she wrote on Twitter

Somali-born Yacqub Khayre, 29, was still able to take a woman hostage despite being on a watchlist

Moments before police stormed the building and shot him dead, the hostage-taker called Channel 7 saying: 'This is for IS, this is for al-Qaeda.'

The gunman was also on parole for a criminal offence and rated as a low-risk figure of interest to counter-terror authorities, according to the Herald Sun.

The anti-immigration senator has frequently called for a harder line against suspected terrorists, but didn't elaborate on what it would involve.

Ms Hanson is also demanding a stop to Muslim immigration after Sunday's attack in London which killed seven people and wounded four Australians.

Moments before police stormed the building and shot him dead, the hostage-taker called Channel 7 saying: 'This is for IS, this is for al-Qaeda.'

Three police officers were wounded in a shootout with an 'ISIS-inspired' hostage-taker

'Stop Islamic immigration before it is too late,' she told her followers in Australia on Sunday morning.

Senator Hanson has an ally in former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who called for police to be given the shoot-to-kill powers utilised in the London terror attack.

Mr Abbott, who put a commando regiment on standby during the December 2014 Lindt cafe siege, said he wanted Australia's leaders to urgently consider using the military in complex terrorist situations.

The gunman in Melbourne wounded three police officers before he was shot dead at The Buckingham serviced apartments on Bay Street in Brighton

Ms Hanson is also demanding a stop to Muslim immigration after Sunday's attack in Manchester which killed seven people and wounded four Australians

The gunman in Melbourne wounded three police officers before he was shot dead at The Buckingham serviced apartments on Bay Street in Brighton.

A man who worked in the apartment block was found dead in the foyer when police stormed in, believed to be killed by the gunman.

The woman aged in her 20s taken hostage, who also worked at the apartments, was safely rescued by armed police and the siege was resolved.
Long before he brought his jihad to Melbourne by taking a sex worker hostage and murdering an apartment worker, Somali refugee Yacqub Khayre had brought terror to another Victorian family.

Court documents have revealed disturbing details of the dead migrant's crimes which saw him thrown in jail years before he provoked a bloody siege in Melbourne's exclusive suburb of Brighton.

Khayre had been found guilty of scores of offences since 2007 - including possessing a firearm, burglaries and stabbing a commuter twice in the leg after demanding he hand over his wallet.

Melbourne terrorist Yacqub Khayre had left a young woman scared to be alone in her own room after a drug-fuelled home invasion in 2012

Australian police carry a box as they search what is believed to be the home of gunman Yacqub Khayre a day after he was shot dead - following a decade of crime

Police start their investigations outside service apartments on June 6 as it is revealed the terrorist behind the attack had recently spent years behind bars following a home invasion

But one of the most disturbing was his aggravated burglary of a modest family home in the city's northern suburbs in April 2012 where, high on ice, he assaulted a young woman and her father in the dead of night.

The young woman  who Daily Mail Australia has chosen not to name due to the torment the ordeal caused her - screamed when she found Khayre in her bedroom at 2.40am dressed in clothes and jewellery he had already stolen from her brother, and a pair of black gloves.

Shocked she was home, he screamed too.

Terrifying detail in court papers revealed Khayre charged at the woman, punching her in the face, her stomach, her back and her shoulders.

The commotion woke up her father, a former Turkish police officer of 25 years. He copped a head-butt and a punch to the face from the future terrorist.

But it wasn't long before the father and his daughter had wrestled him to the ground and called the police.

On Tuesday afternoon, a full 24 hours after the siege, a family member who did not want to be named for safety reasons told Daily Mail Australia: 'I just heard it right now. I had no idea.'

'I'm shocked, shocked, yeah. I wasn't sure that was the person, the same person!'

Khayre was sentenced to a jail sentence with a minimum of three years in October 2012.

Police speak to people outside the serviced apartments where Khayre shot dead an innocent clerk

Australian police search what is believed to be the home of gunman Yacqub Khayre

In sentencing Khayre to three years jail, Melbourne County Court Judge Felicity Hampel said the effect of the home invasion and assault on the young woman had been 'profound'.

'She says it has been very hard to deal with the anger resulting from the robbery, and she felt so unsafe in her own room and her house that she has ultimately had to leave the house and find accommodation elsewhere,' Judge Hampel said.

'The effect on her of the burglary, both in terms of her emotional state and the loss of her work, meant that she did not complete her studies this year, and has had to forego the cadetship that she had, as a graduate, lined up for next year, in anticipation of the completion of her studies. She feels that she has lost a year of her life, that she will never be able to get back, and feels that she has lost what, at this stage anyway, seemed to her to be her dream job.'

A DECADE OF YACQUB KHAYRE'S CRIMES 2007 APRIL: The teenager was sentenced to two years' detention in a youth justice centre for somewhere between 42 and 45 offences. Charges including multiple burglaries and thefts, assault, providing a false name and address, drug possession, car theft and unlicensed driving at dangerous speeds. JUNE: While still incarcerated he was sentenced for attempted armed robbery and intentionally causing injury after stabbing a man on a train twice in the leg, demanding the victim's money and phone. 2008 FEBRUARY: Released on an adjourned undertaking on single charges of burglary and theft. 2010 DECEMBER: After a six-month trial and 16 months in custody, Khayre was cleared by a jury over his alleged role in planning the 2009 Holsworthy army barracks terror plot in western Sydney. Wissam Mahmoud Fattal, Saney Edow Aweys, Nayev el Sayed were jailed in 2011 for a maximum of 18 years for planning a terrorist act to kill as many people as possible in a mass shooting at the army base. 2011 NOVEMBER: Sentenced to time served (112 days in jail) for the possession of a firearm and ammunition without a licence, car theft, failure to answer bail, giving a false name and handling stolen goods. 2012 APRIL: A drug-affected and armed Khayre breaks into a Melbourne family's home. He is confronted by a woman, whom he strikes repeatedly in the face, back, shoulder and stomach in a bid to escape. Khayre is eventually subdued by the woman's father, a former policeman. He pleads guilty to five charges including aggravated burglary and is sentenced to five-and-a-half years, with a minimum of three. 2016 DECEMBER: Khayre is released on parole. 2017 JUNE: Still on parole, Khayre shoots an apartment clerk dead and takes a female escort hostage in a Brighton apartment building. After about two hours, he storms out of the apartment, firing at police before he is killed in a hail of bullets. Source: Australasian Legal Information Institute, Corrections Victoria and Victoria Police Advertisement

The judge said the seriousness of the offence was 'made worse' by Khayre's 'very sorry criminal record'.

'You are 24 and have a very sorry criminal record. In April 2007, you were sentencedfor somewhere between 42 and 45 offences,' Judge Hampel said.

'Those charges included multiple burglaries and thefts, a charge of going equipped to steal and one of unlawful assault. There were also a number of charges of giving a false name and address, and one each of failing to answer bail and of assaulting or resisting arrest.'

'You also, at that stage, were dealt with for individual charges of possession of amphetamines, car theft, unlicensed driving and driving at a speed dangerous. In other words, wholesale and widespread criminal activity,' the judge said.

Police search the home of Yacqub Khayre at Roxburgh Park, Victoria, on Tuesday, June

Yacqub Khayre Melbourne terrorist Yacqub Khayre aged 12

'In all, you have 16 priors for burglary, one for aggravated burglary, and 15 for theft (not including car theft). You have the one serious conviction for attempted armed robbery, one conviction for intentionally causing injury, one for unlawful assault and two for firearms offences.'

In April 2007, Khayre was thrown in a youth detention centre for more than 40 offences relating to burglaries, car theft and possessing amphetamines.

Just two months later - while in juvenile detention - he was given a fully suspended jail sentence for demanding a train passenger's phone and wallet and twice stabbing them in a leg.

He was locked up for 111 days for possessing a gun and ammunition without a licence in 2011.

Khayre was also acquitted of alleged involvement in a 2009 plot to kill Australian soldiers at the Holsworthy Army barracks.

Daily Mail Australia understands the young woman involved in the home invasion has moved onto a successful career in finance.

The family have since left the home, trading it in for one with better security systems.
A Queensland man dubbed a danger to society has been sentenced to 12 years in jail for the 'brazen and degrading' rape of a 13-year-old girl on her way home from school.

Joshua John James Quell, 29, was under a suspended sentence for assault at the time of the offence and had been imprisoned for a 2007 attempted rape when he was 18.

He was sentenced in the Beenleigh District Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to the terrifying attack on the girl.

A Queensland man dubbed a danger to society has been sentenced to 12 years in jail for the 'brazen and degrading' rape of a 13-year-old girl (stock image)

The court heard Quell passed the girl, who was unknown to him, as she came home from school through a park in Loganlea, south of Brisbane on the afternoon of March 18, 2016.

After dragging her into bushes and ripping off her school uniform, Quell then subjected his victim to an hour-long ordeal that involved multiple sexual acts.

Quell, who knew he had hepatitis C at the time of the attack, had threatened to slit the girl's throat before fleeing.

Passers-by in the park did not notice the assault despite the court hearing the girl could see the people as the attack occurred.

Crown prosecutor David Nardone told the court Quell was not only under a suspended sentence for assault at the time of the offence and had been imprisoned for a 2007 attempted rape when he was 18.

'Quite simply, he's a danger to society,' Mr Nardone said.

'He preys on the vulnerable.'

He was sentenced in the Beenleigh District Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to the terrifying attack on the girl

The girl ran home and told her mother of the attack, with her description of Quell leading police to arrest him soon afterwards.

Testing later cleared the girl of any disease but Judge Richard Jones said the attack was nearly incomprehensible.

'I can't think of much more degrading activity, to be honest,' he said.

'The magnitude of offending almost defies description ... the offence was brazen in the extreme.'

Judge Jones said a victim impact statement from the girl's mother revealed the family had moved away from the area and the girl was at times 'sad, upset and subject to anxiety attacks'.
More than 200 cats have been poisoned to death within a month in a French village, it has emerged.

The 'serial cat killer' has been targeting animals in Saint Pierre la Mer, 55 miles south-west of Montpellier in southern France.

Birds and rodents have also been found dead and there are fears children could be in danger of ingesting the mystery substance.

More than 200 cats have been poisoned to death within a month in a French village, it has emerged

Animal charities have informed police amid fears someone is deliberately trying to kill cats in the area.

According to La Depeche newspaper, the Society for the Protection of Animals has been inundated with calls from concerned pet owners.

Charities have also called for autopsies to be carried out to determine what poison is being used.

The 'serial cat killer' has been targeting animals in Saint Pierre la Mer (file picture), 55 miles south-west of Montpellier in southern France

Villagers have been left on edge over the killings.

One resident, named only as Genevieve told French daily Ouest-France: 'The atmosphere has become hateful, nobody trusts anyone.

'We're all afraid a child might ingest some of this mystery poison.'
HELENA  Republican congressman-elect Greg Gianforte has filed an extension to push back the date he must appear in Gallatin County Justice Court on misdemeanor assault charges stemming from an election-eve altercation with a reporter.

The court document said "the parties are currently exploring a settlement" of the case and that the extension was not opposed by the state.

Gianforte has asked for another two weeks, and a specific court date has not been set.

"There's no appearance tomorrow morning," County Attorney Marty Lambert said Tuesday. "We're still looking for a date."

Gianforte's deadline to make an appearance on misdemeanor assault charges was originally Wednesday morning. Justice Court Judge Rick West has not yet ruled on the motion.

Bozeman technology entrepreneur Gianforte was cited for misdemeanor assault, punishable by up to six months in jail and a $500 fine, for an alleged attack on Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs at a campaign event on May 24, about 24 hours before Gianforte was elected to the U.S. House.

An audio recording from the altercation details Jacobs trying to ask Gianforte a question about a health care bill, then a scuffle, followed by Jacobs saying Gianforte body-slammed him and broke his glasses. Gianforte can be heard yelling Get the hell out.

Jacobs description of what happened was confirmed by accounts of others in the room, including a reporter for Fox News who saw the altercation.

But just after it happened, the Gianforte campaign sent out a press release saying Jacobs grabbed Gianfortes wrist and pushed both men to the ground, and made a point of calling Jacobs a liberal journalist with aggressive behavior.

Gianforte refused repeatedly in an interview with MTN Friday to say why his campaign released what appears to be a false statement about the altercation.

Gianforte defeated Democrat Rob Quist last month in the race to fill Montanas lone U.S. House seat, vacated when Ryan Zinke became Secretary of the Interior.

On Friday Gianforte's attorneys, William Mercer with Holland and Hart law firm in Billings, and Todd Whipple, with Whipple Law Offices in Bozeman, received a set of documents containing confidential criminal justice information. Mercer was the U.S. Attorney for Montana for eight years.

That set of documents includes the citation, a 17-page case summary report, 16 pages of reports from three detectives, three pages of medical records, a sketch of the place where the altercation occurred, the arrest report, copies of media coverage, 14 more pages of handwritten notes from various sources, three pages of names and addresses of witnesses, the violent crime victim notice of rights forms, five pages of teletype history records and a release form and 40 pages of records from Bozeman Deaconess Hospital.

Gianforte also on Friday filed to run for re-election in 2018, according to Federal Election Commission records.

Mercer, who was U.S. Attorney here from 2001-2009, was a nominee of former President George W. Bush to be associate attorney general, and served as acting associate attorney general briefly before returning to his Montana post. His time as U.S. Attorney for the state was not without controversy. In 2005 U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy said Mercer was living in Washington D.C. and violated federal law by not spending enough time in Montana.

In 2007, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester called for Mercer to resign after he changed language in the Patriot Act legislation that would alter residency requirements, according to the Washington Post.
An Australian nurse living in London is the fourth person confirmed dead following the weekend's terror attack.

Kirsty Boden, from Loxton, South Australia, was killed by the knife-wielding terrorists as she ran to help another victim of the attack on London Bridge and nearby Borough Market.

The 28-year-old was remembered by her family as being 'brave' in her final moments as she went to the aid of one of the injured, a statement released on Tuesday read.

Kirsty Boden (pictured), from Loxton, in South Australia, is believed to be the third confirmed victim of the weekend's London terror attack

The 28-year-old nurse was reportedly attacked by the knife-wielding terrorists while coming to the aid of another injured person. A keen traveller she is pictured outside famed music pub The Cavern in Liverpool, UK

'Kirsty was loved and adored by her family, friends and boyfriend,' the Boden family said in a statement.

'She was the most outgoing, kind and generous person who loved to help people. Helping people was what she loved to do in her job as a nurse and in her daily life.

'As she ran towards danger, in an effort to help people on the bridge, Kirsty sadly lost her life. We are so proud of Kirsty's brave actions which demonstrate how selfless, caring and heroic she was, not only on that night, but throughout all of her life.

'Kirsty  we love you and we will miss you dearly.'

A keen traveller when not at work, a haunting post on Ms Boden's blog documenting her European travels has been revealed, saying: 'Life is short.'

'At risk of sounding cliche, life is short and we should all use the time we have wisely.'

Graduating from Flinders University in 2009, Ms Boden moved to the UK and began working as a health professional a few years later.

But when not at work Ms Boden often travelled, detailing trips to Liverpool, Germany, Bulgaria Switzerland and Lithuania through her blog.

Recently she also journeyed to Kiev, in Ukraine, to attend Eurovision - supporting her home nation by wearing an Australian flag t-shirt.

'I'm just your average dreamer, with a full time job and a constant longing to go where I haven't been,' Ms Boden wrote.

A keen traveller when not at work, a haunting post from Ms Boden on her online travel blog read: 'At risk of sounding cliche, life is short and we should all use the time we have wisely.'

Sara Zelenak (pictured), from Queensland, who was nannying in the UK and was last seen on London Bridge, remains missing after being caught in Saturday night's terror attack

'I have big travel dreams but I am realistic.

'I recognise that I might not go everywhere but I should definitely go everywhere I can, and so should you!'

It is not yet known whether Ms Boden was attacked when terrorists used a van to run down people on London Bridge, or when they went on a rampage in nearby Borough Market.

Three other Australians are also believed to have been caught in the attack including missing Queensland nanny Sara Zelanak.

In a statement, South Australian Prime Minister Jay Weatherill said the confirmation of Ms Boden's death hit home for Australians.

'Kirsty's death brings the horror of terrorism close to home for all of us,' Mr Weatherill said.

'We all know someone who could've been innocently wandering through London last weekend.

'It's the random nature of this heinous crime which makes it so hard to fathom.'

Seven people have been confirmed dead in the attack, while 48 were injured.
A furious taxi driver gave a parking warden a piece of his mind when he was spotted giving out parking tickets outside the One Love Manchester concert.

Robbie Aden, from Liverpool, was one of the many taxi drivers who rescued terrified concert-goers after the bombing attack at Ariana Grande's concert last month.

He then gave people free lifts to the One Love Manchester gig on Sunday night.

But when he noticed parking wardens handing out tickets to those attending the concert, Robbie was beside himself with anger.

He accuses the Manchester parking warden of 'not being human'.

He says: 'There's doing a job and having compassion mate, this is not having compassion.

'You're giving out tickets to people who were terrified to come here. People died down the road a couple of weeks ago and you are giving them tickets - you're not human.

The parking wardens were handing out tickets to people who had parked to see One Love Manchester

'Any other day, a normal day, fair dos but not on a day like this. It's wrong, your bosses should have told you not to do this on a like day like this.'

'You're booking the man whose got no money whose helping other people, that's what you're doing.'

Robbie Aden accused the warden, who was wearing a Let's Stand Together Manchester sticker, of not having compassion

Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, Robbie said: 'The police had actually told us to park there, around the back of the ground while we waited to take people home again.

'We couldn't believe it when they started ticketing people's cars - and neither could the local residents living there who were also having a go at them.

'The parking warden actually had stickers on saying Let's Stand Together Manchester - but the way I see it everyone has stood together except them.'

50,000 people attended Sunday's concert to show defiance in the wake of May's suicide attack

Cab drivers were praised for their actions after the Manchester Arena bomb attack, where 22 people died and dozens were wounded.

They helped get stranded victims home, and ferried concert-goers to the One Love arena free of charge.
Tiny fragments of the body of St. John Bosco (pictured) were taken during a raid on a church in Castelnuovo, northern Italy

Thieves have stolen a saint's preserved brain from an Italian church sparking fears it will be used in satanic rituals or to demand a ransom, it has emerged.

Tiny fragments of the body of 19th century priest and educator St. John Bosco were taken during a raid in Castelnuovo, northern Italy.

Police have since set up road blocks in the area in the hope of retrieving the remains, which were taken from the basilica of Castelnuovo Don Bosco, so named for the town's most famous son.

There are fears the thieves may demand a ransom or even use the saint's brain in some form of satanic rite.

St John Bosco, born in the town in 1815, was founder of the Salesian religious order and is celebrated as having dedicated his life to helping poor and deprived children.

He died in 1888 and was canonised in 1934 and his name graces Salesian-run schools around the globe.

The ANSA news agency quoted Turin Archbishop Cesare Nosiglia as appealing to the bandits to 'return it immediately, without condition.'

The remains, kept in a glass case, were stolen on Friday.

Police have since set up road blocks in the area, east of Turin, in the hope of retrieving the remains, which were taken from the basilica of Castelnuovo Don Bosco, so named for the town's most famous son. Castelnuovo is shown in the file picture

A spokesman for the Salesian order in northern Italy, told Vatican Radio: 'You can take away a relic of Don Bosco, but you can't take away Don Bosco from the church or the world.'

Relic thefts are not uncommon in Italian churches and shrines.

In 2014, thieves stole a relic containing St. John Paul II's blood from a church in central Abruzzo, but threw it away as they fled thinking it worthless. Police later recovered it.
A very slender burglar has been filmed breaking into someone's house through the doggy door.

Incredible surveillance footage from Fort Worth, Texas, shows a smartly dressed man sliding through a tiny gap in the back door.

After reviewing the footage, homeowner Jeff Summers was relieved nothing happened to his dogs AJ and Lucy, who were sleeping at the time.

A very slender burglar has been filmed breaking into someone's house through the doggy door

'I was really angry that he was there, and just praying that he didn't do anything to hurt the dogs that were here because they are our family,' he said.

Summers gave the CCTV footage to police who posted it online to try and identify the robber.

'It's very uncommon to see someone enter a house through a doggy door,' said Sergeant Brandon Seery with the Heath Department of Public Safety.

He went on: 'He made his way into the bathroom. That's where he stole some prescription medication.'

Incredible surveillance footage from Fort Worth, Texas, shows a smartly dressed man sliding through a tiny gap in the back door

Sergeant Seery said they received an anonymous tip leading to the suspect who they are preparing to arrest.

Incredibly, the man who broke into Mr Summers' home reappeared at his front door with an apology letter.

The surprised homeowner accepted but says he will continue to keep surveillance cameras at his home.
An Australian nurse has been named as the fourth victim of the London Bridge terror massacre.

Kirsty Boden, 28, from Loxton, in South Australia, was attacked by the knife-wielding terrorists while coming to the aid of other injured people.

Her family have paid tribute to her, saying: 'As she ran towards danger, in an effort to help people on the bridge, Kirsty sadly lost her life.

'We are so proud of Kirsty's brave actions, which demonstrate how selfless, caring and heroic she was, not only on that night, but throughout all of her life.'

She is one of four people who have been named as victims of the horrific attack, which killed seven.

British business owner James McMullan, 32, from Hackney, died in the atrocity. Canadian Christine Archibald, 30, died after being hit by a van. And Frenchman Alexandre Pigeard, 27, was knifed in the neck while he was working at a restaurant.

Kirsty Boden, 28, from Loxton, in South Australia, was attacked by the knife-wielding terrorists while coming to the aid of another injured person

Kirsty Boden (pictured), from Loxton, in South Australia, is the fourth confirmed victim of the weekend's London terror attack

Graduating from Flinders University in 2009, Ms Boden moved to the UK and began working as a health professional a few years later

Graduating from Flinders University in 2009, Ms Boden moved to the UK and began working as a health professional a few years later.

But when not at work Ms Boden often travelled, detailing trips to Liverpool, Germany, Bulgaria Switzerland and Lithuania through her blog.

And now a haunting post on Ms Boden's blog documenting her European travels has been revealed, saying: 'At risk of sounding cliche, life is short and we should all use the time we have wisely.'

Recently she also journeyed to Kiev, in Ukraine, to attend Eurovision - supporting her home nation by wearing an Australian flag T-shirt.

'I'm just your average dreamer, with a full time job and a constant longing to go where I haven't been,' Ms Boden wrote on her blog.

'I have big travel dreams but I am realistic.

'I recognise that I might not go everywhere but I should definitely go everywhere I can, and so should you!'

Ms Boden often travelled, detailing trips to Liverpool, Germany, Bulgaria Switzerland and Lithuania through her blog

The Department of Foreign Affairs in Australia confirmed they are providing her family with assistance. Miss Boden is pictured at the Eurovision Song Contest in Kiev earlier this year

The Department of Foreign Affairs in Australia confirmed they are providing her family with assistance.

'She ran towards danger to help others. We are so proud of her': Family of fourth London Bridge terror victim's emotional tribute to their selfless, caring hero Kirsty Boden, 28, from Loxton, in South Australia, was attacked by the knife-wielding terrorists while coming to the aid of another injured person. Her family have paid tribute to her, saying: 'As she ran towards danger, in an effort to help people on the bridge, Kirsty sadly lost her life. 'We are so proud of Kirsty's brave actions, which demonstrate how selfless, caring and heroic she was, not only on that night, but throughout all of her life.' Advertisement

'We're putting in place all the appropriate measures to provide support for the families that were associated with this particular notification,' South Australian premier Jay Weatherill said today.

'It's a matter for DFAT to confirm the matter and to identify the particular Australian citizen we are gravely concerned about.'

Responding to news, Danny Mortimer, chief executive of NHS Employers, said:

'We are devastated to hear the NHS has lost one of its own. Our thoughts go out to everyone who knew Kirsty Boden, a nurse who worked at Guy's Hospital in London, now confirmed as one of Saturday's victims.

'It is truly humbling that bright, hard-working people like Kirsty were brave enough to run towards danger in aid of victims lying helpless on the bridge following such a barbaric attack.

'Together with the other emergency services, NHS staff have responded swiftly and with the professionalism for which they are renowned to a major incident and are providing the treatment, care and support that is needed.

'It shows once again that the high esteem in which the health service is held by the public is well placed.'

James McMullan, 32, was enjoying a night out with school friends to celebrate the launch of a new 1million business when he was caught in the attack.

British victim, James, was working on a web-based business to 'revolutionise education', according to his father, Simon.

The 61-year-old vowed to work on his 'exceptional' son's business.

He said: 'At this point in time the subject is too raw. I'm just going to try to keep the business that he was doing alive. He was working on it for two years.'

Mr McMullan added: 'He was on the verge of signing his first contract, a $1.5 million deal.

'It will radically change the face of education - I am going to continue his work. My son really was an exceptional man.'

James McMullan, 32, was enjoying a night out with school friends to celebrate the launch of a new 1million business when he was caught in the attack

His sister Melissa, right, fought back tears as she confirmed her brother's death on Sky News in an emotional statement

His younger sister Melissa fought back tears as she paid moving tribute to him and issued a heartfelt plea for people to oppose the terrorists.

Miss McMullan, 30, said: 'While our pain will never diminish, it is important for us all to carry on with our lives in direct opposition to those who would try to destroy us and remember their hatred is the refuge of small-minded individuals and will only bring more.

'This is not a course we will follow, despite our loss.'

Those killed in Saturday's attack have not yet been formally identified, but Miss McMullan said her brother's bank card had been found on one of the bodies.

He is believed to be the only British victim to have died.

Mr McMullan, from Hackney, was with old school friends at the Barrowboy and Banker pub when he stepped outside, moments before the terrorists crashed their van and began stabbing people indiscriminately.

His sister said it had been his first night out in months as he had been working round-the-clock as he prepared to launch a new e-learning business.

His younger sister Melissa fought back tears as she paid moving tribute to him and issued a heartfelt plea for people to oppose the terrorists

She praised her 'generous and caring' brother, saying: 'Words will never be able to match his essence. There will only ever be one James.

'Nowhere else will you find such humour and unique personality in someone who put friends and family above all else. He was an inspiration.'

She said her family wanted to thank the emergency services, adding: 'They did their utmost to serve and protect the population of London from these deranged and deluded individuals.'

Melissa McMullan wrote an emotional tribute to her brother on her Instagram account last night

In an emotional tribute, Melissa posted a picture of James dressed up as a washing machine.

She wrote: 'This was my big brother. It's the photo that best describe James. Anyone at bestival that year would have seen a washing machine wondering round. He was generous, kind and overwhelmingly knowledgeable.

'We would always to struggle to keep up with the 10 difference conversations he was clearly trying to have with you but he was so passionate about all 10 you couldn't help but smile and nod.

FIFTEEN PATIENTS REMAIN IN CRITICAL CONDITION The number of patients in a critical condition following the London terror attack has reduced to 15, health officials have said. A total of 48 people were taken to five hospitals across the capital after the incident on Saturday. London hospitals are still caring for 32 patients, 15 of whom remain in a critical condition, NHS England said. There are 13 patients being cared for at King's College Hospital in Denmark Hill, south London. Five are receiving critical care

Of the 12 patients being cared for at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, four are in a critical condition

St Thomas' Hospital is caring for four patients, all of whom are in a critical condition

One patient is receiving critical care at University College Hospital in central London

St Mary's Hospital in Paddington is treating two patients, one of whom is in a critical condition Advertisement

'Everything he did was for his family and friends. He was always there to support everyone in their personal issues or business ventures.

'If there was an event he was there, in the front of the queue or crowd cheering you on.

'He was an incredible person. Words cannot come close to how much we loved him as a family. '

Victims of London Bridge massacre Four of the seven victims who were killed in Saturday night's attack on London Bridge have been named. Kirsty Boden, 28, from Loxton, Australia Kirsty Boden, 28, from Loxton, in South Australia, was attacked by the knife-wielding terrorists while coming to the aid of another injured person Kirsty Boden, 28, from Loxton, in South Australia, was attacked by the knife-wielding terrorists while coming to the aid of other injured people. Graduating from Flinders University in 2009, Ms Boden moved to the UK and began working as a health professional a few years later. But when not at work Ms Boden often travelled, detailing trips to Liverpool, Germany, Bulgaria Switzerland and Lithuania through her blog. Recently she also journeyed to Kiev, in Ukraine, to attend Eurovision - supporting her home nation by wearing an Australian flag T-shirt. James McMullan, 32, from Hackney, east London James McMullan (pictured with his sister Melissa) was enjoying a night out with school friends to celebrate the launch of a new 1m business when he was caught in the attack E-learning business owner James McMullan, 32, from Hackney in east London, was killed while he was out celebrate his first million pound deal. He was out with school friends at the Barrowboy and Banker pub when he stepped out, just moments before the terrorists crashed their van and began stabbing people. Mr McMullan was waiting for his friends to finish their drinks, after he was refused re-entry to the pub by a doorman. His younger sister Melissa fought back tears as she paid moving tribute to him and issued a heartfelt plea for people to oppose the terrorists. Christine Archibald, 30, from British Columbia, Canada The first victim of the London Bridge terror attack was named as Canadian Christine Archibald. Friends asked well-wishers to volunteer for a good cause in tribute to her Canadian Christine Archibald, 30, had died in her fiance's arms after being struck by a speeding van. Ms Archibald worker at a homeless shelter, would have had 'no understanding of the callous cruelty that caused her death', her family have said. She is the first victim of the atrocity in London Bridge on Saturday night to be named. The attack killed seven people and critically injured 21 others. It is believed she was one of those hit by a hired van which attackers swerved on and off the pavement on Saturday night, ploughing into pedestrians. Alexandre Pigeard, 27, from Normandy, France Frenchman Alexandre Pigeard, 27, from Colleville-Montgomery, in Normandy, was killed at the Boro Bistro restaurant where he worked Frenchman Alexandre Pigeard, 27, from Colleville-Montgomery, in Normandy, was killed at the Boro Bistro restaurant where he worked. Mr Pigeard was stabbed in the neck in front of friends, according to his manager, after one of the terrorists jumped on to the roof of the bar to launch his attack. He was originally from Caen, and had completed his schooling at the Herouville-Saint-Clair high school. He was a huge fan of electronic music collective, and organised gigs for Cargo, the Caen music venue, and the Nordik Impakt electronic music festival. Mr Pigeard had been living in London for two and a half years, after moving from Colleville-Montgomery, a small town nestled on the banks of the River Orne between Caen and Ouistreham. There are still 36 injured being treated in hospitals across London - with 18 of them in a critical condition. Four people remain unaccounted for and their families and friends have issued appeals for information. Sara Zelenak, 21, from Brisbane, Australia Sara Zelenak has been missing since becoming separated from friends on Saturday Sara Zelenak, 21, from Brisbane, became separated from her friends and has not been seen since, family friends have said Family friend Diane Winter said they have had no news from the Australian consulate about Ms Zelenak's welfare. Ms Zelenak usually calls her mother everyday from London where she works as a nanny, Ms Winter said. But Ms Zelenak has not answered her phone or responded to texts since she was separated from her friends the moment chaos broke out in central London. Xavier Thomas, from Loire-Atlantique, France The family of Xavier Thomas are desperately searching for him. He was with his girlfriend, Christine Delcros, when the attack happened. She is said to be injured in hospital The missing French citizen is believed to be Xavier Thomas, whose sister-in-law posted a desperate message on Facebook yesterday. He is understood to have been with his girlfriend Christine Delcros when the attack took place. Ms Delcros is said to be injured in hospital. Her sister Nathalie Cros Brohan wrote online: 'We are on our way to London, my sister Christine Delcros and her boyfriend Xavier Thomas have been victims of #londonattack #LondonBridge.' 'My sister is seriously injured and hospitalised. I appeal to all those who have news of Xavier Thomas that is missing ... he is not one of the 4 French found. We are terribly worried.' Ignacio Echeverria, 39, from Las Rozas, Spain Ignacio Echeverria (pictured) was last seen on Saturday night lying on a pavement near London Bridge after confronting one of the knife-wielding terrorists as he was attacking a female victim Ignacio Echeverria used his skateboard as a weapon against a knife-wielding terrorist as he tried to save a woman from being attacked, it has been revealed. The was last seen on Saturday night lying on the pavement near London Bridge after confronting one of the knife-wielding terrorists as he was attacking a female victim. The 39-year-old, who lived in Poplar, east London, and came from Las Rozas near Madrid, tried to save the unidentified woman as he returned from a park with friends where he had been skateboarding. His sister Isabel, an account operations manager with WEX Virtual Payments who also lives in London, has launched a social media appeal for help in tracking him down after failing to find him following approaches to hospitals, the police and the Spanish consulate. Sebastien Belanger, from Angers, France Frenchman Sebastien Belanger (pictured with his girlfriend Gerda Bennet) has not been seen since the attack Frenchman Sebastien Belanger has not been seen since the attack. His girlfriend, Gerda Bennet, who was in Malta at the time, has returned to London and posted appeals to find him on Facebook. She wrote: 'I still have no news. Please if anyone has seen him or knows anything contact me.' She said Sebastien was 'exactly at the place where the attack happened' and has not heard from him for more than 24 hours. His personal Facebook page states that he has worked at Blueprint Cafe, near Tower Bridge, and Coq D'Argent, in Bank. An appeal page, called Help Us Find Sebastien Belanger has been created. Advertisement

The Frenchman murdered by the knife-wielding terrorists in London on Saturday was today identified as Alexandre Pigeard, 27, from Colleville-Montgomery, in Normandy.

Mr Pigeard was a waiter at the Boro Bistro, by the River Thames, who was stabbed in the neck in front of friends.

Manager Vincent Le Berre, from Brittany, described the terrifying moment where one of the terrorists jumped on to the roof of the bar to launch his attack.

He told the Telegramme news outlet that: 'One of the attackers got on to the roof of the bar and jumped on the parasol on the terrace, wounding one of my colleagues.

'He immediately attacked a client who was killed. I managed to escape, but my friend Alexandre did not have a chance. He was stabbed in the neck with a knife.'

Frenchman Alexandre Pigeard, 27, from Colleville-Montgomery, in Normandy, was killed at the Boro Bistro restaurant where he worked

He was originally from Caen, and had completed his schooling at the Herouville-Saint-Clair high school.

He was a huge fan of electronic music collective, and organised gigs for Cargo, the Caen music venue, and the Nordik Impakt electronic music festival.

Mr Pigeard had been living in London for two and a half years, after moving from Colleville-Montgomery, a small town nestled on the banks of the River Orne between Caen and Ouistreham.

Frederic Loinard, the town's mayor, said: 'Alexander was from our town' and hugely liked and respected.

It was yesterday revealed that Canadian Christine Archibald, 30, had died in her fiance's arms after being struck by a speeding van.

Ms Archibald worker at a homeless shelter, would have had 'no understanding of the callous cruelty that caused her death', her family have said.

She was the first victim of the atrocity in London Bridge on Saturday night to be named. The attack killed seven people and critically injured 21 others.

It is believed she was one of those hit by a hired van which attackers swerved on and off the pavement on Saturday night, ploughing into pedestrians.

The first victim of the London Bridge terror attack was named as Canadian Christine Archibald. Friends asked well-wishers to volunteer for a good cause in tribute to her

Ms Archibald, who worked at homeless shelter, died in the arms of her fiance Tyler Ferguson

The 30-year-old moved from her native British Columbia to live in Europe with her fiance

Ms Archibald's fiance, Tyler Ferguson, held her in his arms as she died, his sister revealed on Sunday.

Mr Ferguson's sister wrote on Facebook: 'Last night in London, my baby brother, lost the love of his life on the London Bridge.

'In a split second his entire life was ripped away from him. Hearing his painful sobs on the phone while he's alone trying to deal with this tears me apart.

'I have no words. If you know Tyler, please be there for him now, and later when what happened sinks in, he's going to need us all.'

Ms Archibald, a worker in a homeless shelter, moved from her native British Columbia to live in Europe with her fiance.

Her devastated family said: 'We grieve the loss of our beautiful, loving daughter and sister. She had room in her heart for everyone and believed strongly that every person was to be valued and respected.

'She lived this belief working in a shelter for the homeless until she moved to Europe to be with her fiance. She would have had no understanding of the callous cruelty that caused her death.

'Please honor her by making your community a better place. Volunteer your time and labor or donate to a homeless shelter. Tell them Chrissy sent you.'

The family of Xavier Thomas are desperately searching for him. He was with his girlfriend, Christine Delcros, when the attack happened. She is said to be injured in hospital

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said: 'I am heartbroken that a Canadian is among those killed.

'We grieve with the families and friends of those who have lost loved ones, and wish all those injured a speedy and full recovery.

'Londoners and people across the United Kingdom have always displayed strength and resilience in the face of adversity.'

'We recently witnessed this after the attacks in Manchester and in the Westminster area of London. This time will be no different.'

Sara Zelenak has been missing since becoming separated from friends on Saturday

A family friend, Diane Winter, has launched an online appeal to find out where she is

An unnamed French citizen died in the attacks and another is still missing, the country's Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian has said.

The missing French citizen is believed to be Xavier Thomas, whose sister-in-law posted a desperate message on Facebook yesterday.

He is understood to have been with his girlfriend Christine Delcros when the attack took place. Ms Delcros is said to be injured in hospital.

Her sister Nathalie Cros Brohan wrote online: 'We are on our way to London, my sister Christine Delcros and her boyfriend Xavier Thomas have been victims of #londonattack #LondonBridge.'

'My sister is seriously injured and hospitalised. I appeal to all those who have news of Xavier Thomas that is missing ... he is not one of the 4 French found. We are terribly worried.'

Ignacio Echeverria was last seen on Saturday night lying on a pavement near London Bridge after confronting one of the knife-wielding terrorists as he was attacking a female victim

Meanwhile a 35-year-old Greek man who was stabbed in the kidney is expected to be discharged from hospital at the end of the week following surgery.

Antonis Filis also sustained head injuries in the attack and his home country's embassy has ordered their flag to be flown at half-mast from in London to remember the victims.

Mr Filis was visited at his bedside by the Greek ambassador Dimitris Caramitsos-Tziras after several hours of surgery.

Officials from the country said afterwards in a statement: 'The embassy and the ministry of foreign affairs will continue to stand by him and his family.'

Filis moved to London in 2011 as Greece was gripped by an economic crisis.

His father Giorgos had told media: 'He said they were aiming for his carotid, with God's help and with him throwing up his hand he was hit on the head.

'If it had been a little bit lower we don't know what would have happened.'

Spanish HSBC worker Ignacio Echeverria is still missing after the attack.

Family and authorities in Spain are appealing for information on Echeverria's whereabouts

Mr Echeverria was last seen on Saturday night lying on the pavement near London Bridge after confronting one of the knife-wielding terrorists as he was attacking a female victim.

Mr Echeverria's family are trying to find 39-year-old, who lived in Poplar, east London, and came from Las Rozas near Madrid.

Mr Echeverria's sister Isabel, an account operations manager with WEX Virtual Payments who also lives in London, has launched a social media appeal for help in tracking him down after failing to find him following approaches to hospitals, the police and the Spanish consulate.

A 21-year-old Australian woman last seen on London Bridge also remains missing after being caught in Saturday night's terror attack.

Sara Zelenak, from Brisbane, became separated from her friends and has not been seen since, family friends have said.

Family friend Diane Winter said more than 24 hours have passed with no news from the Australian consulate about Ms Zelenak's welfare.

Ms Zelenak calls her mother everyday from London where she works as a nanny, Ms Winter said.

But Ms Zelenak has not answered her phone or responded to texts since she was separated from her friends the moment chaos broke out in central London.

His girlfriend, Greda, who was in Malta at the time, has returned to London and posted appeals to find him on Facebook

Pictured is Sebastien Belanger's girlfriend Gerda Bennet. The Frenchman is still missing

She wrote: 'I still have no news. Please if anyone has seen him or knows anything contact me'

She said Sebastien was 'exactly at the place where the attack happened' and has not heard from him for more than 24 hours

Frenchman Sebastien Belanger has not been seen since the attack.

His girlfriend, Gerda Bennet, who was in Malta at the time, has returned to London and posted appeals to find him on Facebook.

She wrote: 'I still have no news. Please if anyone has seen him or knows anything contact me.'

She said Sebastien was 'exactly at the place where the attack happened' and has not heard from him for more than 24 hours.

His personal Facebook page states that he has worked at Blueprint Cafe, near Tower Bridge, and Coq D'Argent, in Bank.

An appeal page, called Help Us Find Sebastien Belanger has been created.

Candice Hedge (left) is recovering in hospital after being stabbed in the throat. Londoner Roy Lerner (right) is in intensive care afte reportedly fighting back against the attackers

Candice Hedge said the stab wound had not impacted her main arteries and windpipe

There are 48 people recovering in hospitals across the capital, including Australian Candice Hedge whose throat was cut as she sat in a bar.

Another victim, New Zealander Oliver Dowling, 32, is in a coma after being stabbed in the face during the attack, which also injured his girlfriend, Marie Bondeville, whose condition is still unknown.

A British Transport Police officer was stabbed in the face, while Scotland Yard has now confirmed an off-duty Metropolitan Police officer was also among those injured.

Londoner Roy Larner is also in intensive care after reportedly running at the attackers to help others.

Mr Larner was reportedly got stabbed five times and was left with cuts to his head, neck, back and hands.

Friend Archie Webber-Brown wrote online: 'Roy Larner charged at the terrorists on London Bridge in order to try and stop them and help others escape.

'He ended up getting himself stabbed multiple times showing great courage and preparing he's body for the ultimate self sacrifice to help others, he should be acknowledged and rewarded for his actions.'

Brett Freeman was stabbed four times and has been recovering in hospital. His friend took this picture and posted it on Twitter with the caption: 'He's a soldier'.

32-year-old New Zealander Oliver Dowling is also in a coma after being stabbed in the face during the attack, which also left his girlfriend injured Marie Bondeville (pictured together)

Oliver Dowling (pictured, second from left) and his girlfriend were both injured in the rampage, his sister revealed on Facebook

The mother of one of the victims, 23 year-old Daniel O'Neill, who was stabbed in last night's attack, told reporters outside King's College Hospital: 'He just stepped outside the bar for a second and a man ran up to him and said: 'This is for my family, this is for Islam', and stuck a knife straight in him. He's got a seven-inch scar going from his belly round to his back.

'The man ran away, Daniel headed back into the pub, there was shots fired, everybody was told to lie down, and then they were told to go downstairs in the bar.

'At this stage Daniel's friend had put a tourniquet on him and was holding pressure there, he was brought downstairs, parts of that he doesn't remember, and then the police were there and brought him in their car to the hospital.

'These people say they are doing this in the name of God, which is an absolute joke. If it wasn't religion they'd find some other excuse.

'They are callous, they are barbaric and they are absolute cowards. We will carry on as normal.'

Miss Hedge had just finished her shift at Elliot's restaurant in London Bridge and was having a drink at a nearby bar when she was attacked.

Distressed people leave the area wearing foil blankets after they were caught up in the horror

More people who narrowly missed being injured in the crash walk away wearing the foil blankets

It is understood she was sat with her back to the attacker when he grabbed her head and slashed her throat.

Miss Hedge, who has been living in London for the past year, said the stab wound had not impacted her main arteries and windpipe.

She also posted on Facebook: 'Hey everyone, just so you know I'm doing Ok. Bit of pain but I will survive. Thanks for your thoughts and well wishes. Love to all'.

Meanwhie, Mr Dowling 's sister revealed on Facebook that he is expected to recover from stab wounds to his, face, neck and stomach, as the knife missed his vital organs.

She said: 'Doctors are very happy with how he's come out the other side.

'A massive thank to the University of London Hospital for their tireless efforts in helping my brother out!!'

Police are advising people who live within the London Bridge cordon to stay somewhere else tonight if they can

Witnesses to the terror attack said there was a stabbing in the Southwark venue at the Borough market while others heard at least 12 gunshots in the area

The officer was on-duty at the time and was responding to the incident at London Bridge, where a group of men drove a van into a crowd of people.

The men then jumped out of the car near Borough Market and began stabbing people nearby with 12-inch hunting knives, including the unnamed officer.

He sustained serious, but not life-threatening injuries, according to Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley who spoke outside Scotland Yard around 4am in London.

Another person stabbed was Geoff Ho, who was filmed clutching his neck with what appeared to be a knife wound.

He was bravely trying to break up what he believed was a Saturday night brawl when he was cut to the throat.

He tweeted this morning: 'I got out of surgery yesterday and am on the mend.'

Dramatic video shows Geoff Ho clutching his neck as he staggers away from the scene just moments after the terror attack

The London man was stabbed during the frenzied rampage across Borough Market and had been reported missing, but has now been found

Just moments before, he posted: 'Don't know whether it was stupid or noble to jump in and break up the fight outside the Southwark Tavern, but two a***s trying to do over the lone bouncer on the door isn't happening on my watch.'

Jean-Yves Le Drian, France's foreign minister, said four French nationals are in serious condition without releasing any names.

During an official visit to Tunis, the capital of Tunisia, Mr Le Drian added that 'another compatriot is still missing.'

London has a sizeable expat French community estimated at more than 200,000 people.

French President Emmanuel Macron was due to meet the family and friends of all those involved, and has already started making phone calls. Mr Macron also said security would be stepped up for legislative elections due to start in France next week 'to show the force of democracy in the face of enemies of freedom'.

French school children were among those injured in the terrorist car attack on Westminster Bridge in March.
A tiger that killed a keeper at a Cambridgeshire zoo will not be put down, it has been confirmed.

The decision not to destroy the animal has been 'fully supported' by the family of victim Rosa King, 33, who died following the incident at Hamerton Zoo Park.

An investigation is ongoing into the 34-year-old's death, which was described as a 'freak accident' by the zoo.

The park said on Monday: 'After extensive consultation with the staff at the zoo, we have decided not to put down the tiger.

'This decision has been fully supported by Rosa's family.

Hamerton Zoo's carnivore keeper Rosa King is pictured with two of the Cambridgeshire wildlife park's four tigers on World Tiger Day last year. Her parents say they 'fully support' the decision not to destroy the tiger that killed Rosa

'We are awaiting the findings of the investigation to fully understand what happened before we take further action on this matter.

'If we receive regulatory or professional guidance to the contrary, we will review our position.'

Cambridgeshire Constabulary were called to Hamerton Zoo Park at 11.15am on May 29 to reports of a serious incident.

The parents of zookeeper Rosa King, 33 (pictured) have 'fully supported' the park's decision not to destroy the tiger that mauled her to death

Witnesses described hearing 'blood-curdling screams' as the tiger attacked Miss King, while her colleagues frantically tried to lure it away with chunks of meat.

It was suggested that Rosa - described as the zoo's 'shining light' - may have been coming to the aid of a fellow keeper before she was killed.

The zookeeper's parents described how their 'beloved' daughter could see the 'soul' in animals and 'lived and breathed' her job.

The couple added that Rosa - who had worked as the zoo for 14 years - was following her 'vocation' by working at the zoo as a carnivore keeper.

In a statement, they said: 'Rosa was a dedicated professional when it came to her work.

'She lived and breathed a vocation that meant the world to her, living her dream.

'She had a care and understanding of her animals that was a joy and privilege to behold.'

The couple said their daughter - who was also 'loved and admired' by a younger brother - had shown a passion for animals from the age of two when she first sat on a horse.

They added that her 'whole attitude to the animal kingdom' was summed up by the words of Anthony Douglas Williams, who famously said: 'When I look into the eyes of an animal I do not see an animal. I see a living being. I see a friend. I feel a soul.'

'After that, her life was always going to be about animals,' they added. 'She lived her life to the full and was a very caring, generous person.

'She would stand up for those who couldn't stand up for themselves including the animals and campaigned and raised money for animal charities.

'Rosa completed a skydive in 2014 to raise money for Animal Asia and then travelled to China to visit the sanctuary for Moon bears to see for herself the work they do, and just recently returned from a visit to a Sun bear rehabilitation centre in Borneo.'

Mr King, 56, and his 54-year-old wife also thanked the public for the 'abundance of love and sympathy' which they had received since Rosa's death.

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One of the police forensic officers inspecting the cage at Hamerton Zoo, Cambridgeshire, was visibly upset and had to be comforted by a colleague

A tiger is pictured in an enclosure at the zoo, close to where Rosa was killed on Monday May 29

Police are interviewing members of staff to find out what happened. Chris Swales, second right, is pictured being taken away by police at the zoo. No arrests have been made

Emergency services initially described Rosa's death as 'non suspicious', but it has since emerged the owners were warned about safety failings several times over the past decade.

Inspectors had highlighted problems with ageing safety barriers and a damaged fence, and ordered the zoo to amend its escape protocols as long ago as 2007.

Following a further inspection six years later, the park had still failed to implement suggested changes, including overhauling risk assessments and 'safe working practices'.

The authors again implored the owners to conduct a 'wholesale review of the risk assessments'.

It is unclear if Hamerton or its owner Andrew Swales made attempts to abide by the conditions.

Ms King is understood to have been savaged in the Tiger Falls enclosure, which opened last year for its two rare Malayan tigers Cicip and Sahaja.

It is believed the barrier separating the enclosure and the tiger pen experienced a malfunction or was accidentally left unlocked when Miss King was cleaning.

Police and council officers are pictured at Hamerton Zoo, Cambridgeshire, where an investigation is now taking place



The park owner's son, Chris Swales, was questioned by police in a bid to find out what happened.

The 30-year-old son of Hamerton's owner, Andrew Swales, was taken away in an unmarked police car by detectives for questioning. Two other workers were seen helping police with their enquiries on site.

It is understood that all employees will be interviewed but have the choice whether to do so at the zoo or in a dedicated witness suite.

There is no suggestion any of the people questioned were responsible for Ms King's death and no arrests have been made.

A police officer was seen wheeling a large case away from the zoo to his van after the tragedy

Officers appeared to remove evidence from the scene of the incident for processing

The owners of a zoo where a tiger mauled a female keeper to death were warned about safety failings several times over the past decade. Police have now said they are investigating

On June 1 teams continued to comb the zoo for clues as to how a tiger managed to get into the enclosure where Rosa was working.

A blonde-haired woman could be seen standing in the area where Rosa was killed, looking emotional.

The zoo said it was 'co-operating fully' with the joint investigation by police and the council.

A spokesman said: 'Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with Rosa's family and friends, many of whom worked alongside her at the zoo.

'We are cooperating fully with the investigation that is currently being conducted by Huntingdonshire District Council environmental health department.'

Cambridgeshire police said the tiger has not been harmed, adding: 'We are jointly investigating with the council.'

Hamerton Zoo, where carnivore keeper Rosa King was killed yesterday in a 'freak accident', was criticised by inspectors following a visit in 2013 (shown)

A report raised concerns that the park, in Cambridgeshire, did not have escape protocols in place for specific animal

Chief Inspector Donna Wass added: 'While there are no suspicious circumstances, the death of the zookeeper is still unexplained and the police have a duty to report to the coroner, which is why the police investigation is ongoing.

'Huntingdon District Council have a responsibility for health and safety and licencing at the zoo, and are investigating these aspects.

'This is why both parties are still involved and will work together on a joint investigation.'

The case has been referred to the Cambridgeshire coroner's office. A spokesman said an inquest will be opened next week.

Following her death, it emerged that Rosa told a friend how she feared another of her animals saw her as 'his next meal'.

Friend Tracey Eyre, 48, said Miss King was always vigilant as she knew she was dealing with 'dangerous, wild animals'.

The mother of Miss King, pictured with one of the zoo's tigers, said she 'loved the job' and 'would not have done anything else'

Ms Eyre told the Daily Mirror: 'She said [another tiger] Blizzard often looked at her as if to say 'you're going to be my next meal if I get the chance'.

'She adored those tigers, they were like family to her, they were her little babies.'

Earlier this week, zoo inspection reports, obtained under Freedom of Information laws, revealed how Hamerton was in the spotlight for a catalogue of management issues

In 2012, inspectors ordered the renewal of ageing safety barriers and a damaged perimeter fence within three months, and said the escape protocol 'should be amended' to categorise animals of varying risks.

Zoos are regulated by local authorities across the UK, with no central government database of facilities. Government-appointed vets conduct inspections every three to four years, with annual follow-ups supposed to be undertaken by the local authority.

However, records indicate Hamerton has not been inspected in any capacity since August 2015.

Footage emerged of Miss King telling a TV interviewer how she believed keeping captive animals in zoos was not cruel

In the footage, Miss King spoke of how the zoo did 'a lot of work for conservation, a lot of breeding to try and save the species'

During that visit, no mention was made of security issues outlined in previous reports. The inspectors reported: '[Animal] escapes have been notified when necessary.' Representatives of Hamerton failed to respond to requests for comment last night.

TIGERS AT THE ZOO A pair of Malaysian tigers, eight-year-old male 'Cicip' and four-year-old 'Sahaja' arrived at the zoo in September 2015. They are the only ones to ever be seen in the UK, and only a handful of zoos in Europe currently keep this rare cat. The park currently has two Bengal tigers. A male named 'Blizzard' and his mate 'Lady Belle' arrived at the facility in 2001 from a circus in Belgium. Blizzard died in March this year. In a statement on March 6, the zoo said: 'Blizzard had taken a turn for the worst over the last few weeks and was not responding to medical treatment, so the decision was taken to put him to sleep.' Ladybelle died in June 2016. In a statement on June 10, the zoo said: 'Lady's health had been deteriorating over the last few months, and was receiving daily medical care from her keepers and vets. Unfortunately in the last week she deteriorated rapidly and yesterday the decision was made to put her to sleep.' Another pair of 15-month-old white Bengal tigers arrived from Germany in 2014, called 'Shiva' and 'Mohan'. Advertisement

Chris Draper, of wildlife charity Born Free, said: 'From these reports we have no way of determining whether these conditions were ever met. This zoo has clearly not been meeting some safety standards for many years. It is still unclear what happened to Rosa King but this is very worrying.'

Following her death, tributes poured in for the zookeeper.

Steven Eyre, a friend of Miss King's, said: 'She was dedicated to her job completely and was aware of all the risks. She was very meticulous about everything that she did ... We're all at a bit of a loss to understand what happened.'

Former zoo volunteer Zach Vaughan added: 'Rosa took her job very seriously and was always safe. She wouldn't have gone into the tiger enclosure for no reason.'

Miss King's friend, wildlife photographer Garry Chisholm, added: 'I have lost a very dear friend who loved the animals in her care very much.

'I would like to say more but I am struggling to take in this news at the moment.'

Writing on Facebook, Mr Chisholm added: 'I was deeply saddened to hear of the tragic events at Hamerton yesterday which resulted in the death of a good friend of mine.

'Rosa was a follower of this page and I would like to make the following tribute statement in her memory:

'Rosa wasn't just a keeper at Hamerton Zoo  she WAS Hamerton Zoo.

Rosa is pictured right alongside a cheetah and conservation stalwart Sir David Attenborough

'She was the absolute central point of it, the focal point of it. She was the shining light of it. It revolved around her.

'Her passion for the animals in her care was exceptional though her favourites were undoubtedly the cheetahs which she would refer to as her pride and joy.

'Rosa would raise money for cheetah conservation by actively taking part in parachute jumps and I was delighted when she approached me asking if she could use one of my pictures to promote her money raising campaign.

'I feel privileged to have known Rosa and been able to call her a friend. She will be greatly missed, not just by me but by everyone who came to know her.

'The only consolation I can take from today's tragic events is that Rosa is now reunited with her beloved Ares the cheetah and Blizzard and Ladybelle her beloved tigers.'

Philip Caso, a 20-year-old zoology student from Peterborough, got to know Ms King through doing work experience at the zoo each summer and commended her conservation efforts.

Witness Pete Davis said he believed the young keeper (shown) was attacked after rushing to help a colleague in the tiger enclosure

In a tribute on Facebook he wrote: 'I'm literally devastated to hear that one of the most inspirational women I knew died at Hamerton Zoo.

'Rosa loved and respected those animals to the point where each and every one was like a child to her.

'Her passion for her job has really inspired me and I was just glad I got the chance to know her. Thinking of all the other keepers.'

Photographer Hollie Gordon, who said she became friends with Ms King through visits to the zoo, said: 'Her passion for the animals, the zoo and conservation really shone through. She loved them all!'

The 24-year-old, from Blackpool, added: 'I am in shock by what has happened.

'Terribly upset and can't quite believe I won't see her again with a big smile on her face and working with her beloved cats.'

Mr Neve, 46, took part in a one-to-one tiger-feeding experience less than two months ago, where he met Miss King.

A spokesman for the zoo (pictured) last night confirmed a worker had died, saying staff were 'too distressed' to talk to the media

He said: 'I'm actually in shock. I met Rosa seven weeks ago when I went to feed the tigers.

'Getting to feed the tigers was fantastic. The day out was given to me as a Christmas present; I went down with the whole family and it was just a really, really good day.'

He added: 'She had a real passion for the cats and had obviously been there since they had arrived at the zoo. Her knowledge about tigers was second to none.

'The experience was only supposed to last around 45 minutes, but I was there for two hours just talking to her about the tigers - it was a real pleasure.'

Ms King was a self-confessed fan of big cats, and also raised funds three years ago for a charity helping bears.

Linking to a JustGiving page, through which she raised more than 900, she told donors she was going to skydive for Animals Asia.

She wrote on Facebook: 'Those of you who know me and have spoken to me around the Zoo will be aware of my love of big cats, but probably aren't as aware of my love of bears!

'I am a big supporter of the animal charity Animals Asia, who rescue and care for bears effected (sic) by the pet trade and in particular the cruel bear bile trade.'

A photograph allegedly taken next to the tiger enclosure minutes before the attack took place

This hastily-prepared sign was put up to let customers know that the park was closed for the rest of the day

Police and the air ambulance said they were called to a 'very serious incident' this morning, before a keeper's death was confirmed

An air ambulance landed as visitors were being evacuated from the zoo in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, this afternoon

The British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums released a short statement in regards to the incident via its website.

It said: 'The British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) is extremely saddened to hear that a zoo keeper has been killed by a tiger at Hamerton Zoo in Cambridgeshire.

WHEN CHEETAH WENT ON THE RUN Hamerton Zoo was at the centre of a scare nine years ago when a cheetah escaped. The three-year-old animal, called Akea, ended up in the garden of a neighbouring home and was discovered by a nine-year-old boy playing on his bicycle. Akea had scaled an 8ft fence surrounding his outdoor enclosure after a solar-powered electric fencing unit broke down. It was the first time a non-domesticated animal had escaped since the zoo was opened in 1990. Keepers said Akea had posed no danger to the public because he was tame after being hand-reared. One added: 'When I go in to see him he sits on me and we have cuddles. He's just like a big dog.' Advertisement

'Whilst the zoo is not a member of BIAZA, the death of a keeper affects the whole zoo community and our thoughts are with the keeper's family, friends and colleagues at this time.'

Hamerton Zoo Park opened in June 1990 and covers 25 acres. It includes enclosures for Malaysian tigers, Bengal tigers, cheetahs, wolves, corsac foxes and kangaroos, as well as a variety of birds, reptiles and domestic animals.

In 2013, Sarah McClay, 24, from Glasgow, was mauled to death by a Sumatran tiger at South Lakes Wild Animal Park in Cumbria.

The zoo was fined 255,000 after a faulty gate allowed a tiger called Padang to escape its den and pounce as she did her rounds.

The zoo went on to be branded the worst in Britain after nearly 500 animals died amid 'deplorable' welfare standards.

Three zookeepers were killed by big cats at zoos run by the late John Aspinall, who believed they should be allowed close access to bond with the animals.

In 1980, he was forced to shoot two Siberian tigers that killed keepers Brian Stocks and Bob Wilson within weeks of each other at Howletts, near Canterbury.

In 1994, Trevor Smith, 32, head keeper at the same zoo, was killed by a tiger.
Leaked emails have revealed that the Trump administration discussed lifting sanctions on Russia's oil industry as recently as March - even after National Security Adviser Michael Flynn was forced to quit because of links with Russia.

But officials from the State Department pushed back against the move, arguing that it would harm the US economy.

Sanctions were imposed by former President Barack Obama after Russia annexed Crimea, supported the regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and over alleged cyber attacks during the US presidential election.

The Trump administration examined the possibility of lifting sanctions even after National Security Adviser Michael Flynn (pictured) resigned amid revelations about his discussions with Russia's US ambassador

Emails seen by The Daily Beast reveal that discussions about lifting sanctions continued after Lt Gen H. R. McMaster succeeded Flynn.

The Daily Beast reports that NSC strategist Kevin Harrington examined the impact the move would have during a review of policy toward Russia.

A White House official told the publication: 'He did an economic analysis of what the Russian sanctions are doing.

'He said according to his analysis, they werent causing any significant pain. His view was, if these sanctions are harming our economy without putting any pressure on Russia, whats the point?'

The Trump administration's relations with Russia are the subject of an FBI investigation

But the official said the idea 'didn't go anywhere'.

One email seen by the Daily Beast points out that the reasons for imposing the sanctions had not changed.

It said: 'Russia continues to occupy Ukraine including Crimeaconditions that led to the sanctions have not changed.'

An insider said: 'He (Harrington) asked us to determine whether US national interests were being harmed by sanctions on Russian oil, which were bad for the world economy and therefore bad for the US economy.'

Sanctions were imposed against Russia following the 2014 annexation of Crimea in Ukraine

And the anonymous insider stated: 'We explained, youve got it backwards. Theres an oil glut. The reason global oil prices originally collapsed is our shale oil.'

Flynn quit after it emerged he had lied to Vice President Mike Pence about conversations he'd had with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak about lifting sanctions.

Numerous investigations are underway to determine what Flynn said.

In the weeks after Trump arrived in the White House, the President indicated he was willing to review the sanctions put in place by his predecessor, telling The Times that he would look to 'make some good deals' with Russia.

He continued: 'Russias hurting very badly right now because of sanctions, but I think something can happen that a lot of people are gonna benefit.'
Adrian Nicholas King, 39, fell into a coma after his kidney's failed while on holiday in Egypt

A hospital in Egypt turned off a British man's life support without warning and are refusing to send his body home until his family pay a 40,000 bill, his devastated mother has claimed.

Adrian Nicholas King, 39, originally from Stafford, flew to Cairo with a friend on May 9, but less than two weeks later, while on a safari trip, his kidneys are believed to have failed and he fell into a coma.

Mr King's mother, Elaine Gilbert, said that she was first told by doctors that her son had been in a coma for four days on May 25.

Five days later she claims that the hospital turned off his life support without warning and he died in the early hours of the morning.

Now she says the hospital are demanding 40,000 to release her son's body after there was an issue with the way he filled out his insurance form.

Mr King's mother, Elaine Gilbert, said that she was first told her son (pictured) had been in a coma for four days on May 25

Writing on Facebook Ms Gilbert said: 'I'm a mess today, head's in the shed.

'My son Adrian died today and I really don't know what to do, can't believe our country wouldn't help because insurance wouldn't so Egypt turned off machines and let him die. It's not right or human to do this.'

She later told Gay Star News that the hospital would not release her son's body until the family paid a 40,000 medical bill.

She added: 'It's disgusting they would do that to a human life. They're supposed to save lives. But money comes first.'

'We're going to be having a celebration of his life, a funeral without the body.

'I don't think there's any way we're going to get him back. All I can think it's just an empty vessel, it's not my son.'

Mr King's mother alleges that the Egyptian hospital is refusing to release her son's body until she pays 40,000 a medical bill. Mr King is pictured with his friend Eric

Friends have flooded Mr King's Facebook page with tributes.

One wrote: 'Saddened and shocked to hear of your passing Adey. All my love to your friends and family. A character and a friend that will be sorely missed.'

Another added: 'R.I.P you beautiful soul I will forever miss you.'

A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: 'We have been in close contact with Mr King's family since his death, and our thoughts are with them at this difficult time.

'We are advising them on their options and liaising with the Egyptian authorities on their behalf.'
This is the painful moment an unlucky kayaker slides down a river bank straight into a tree, wrapping his body around the trunk.

The wince-inducing sight was captured by Korey Boucher as his friend Jon attempted to recreate a trick a kayaking buddy had suggested to them at a river near their home in Columbus, Ohio, USA.

Perched patiently in a blue plastic vessel, another paddling partner lets go of the kayak causing Jon to rapidly gain speed on his rocky descent.

Oops! This is the painful moment an unlucky kayaker slides down a river bank straight into a tree, wrapping his body around the trunk

Quickly realising he has gone off course, Jon can do nothing as he slams straight into the solitary sapling and wraps his whole torso around its trunk before sliding to the floor.

Mr Boucher said: 'I was in shock, all I could say is the stereotypical, "are you okay?"'

In perfect You've Been Framed style, the moment was captured on video and shared on social media where it caused cringing and laughter alike.

In the video, Mr Boucher can be seen sliding down a muddy bank at great speed.

But before he can enter the water, the boat is misdirected and ends up travelling towards a tree.
Henry Bett (Huntingdon Crown Court at a previous hearing), 28, was originally convicted of causing the death of Rebecca Brown, 43, by dangerous driving

The farmer son of a former Norfolk Police and Crime Commissioner has been found guilty for a second time of causing the death by dangerous driving of a mother of four.

Henry Bett, 28, was originally convicted of causing the death by dangerous driving of Rebecca Brown, 43, at Peterborough Crown Court and was jailed for three and a half years.

He spent 13 months behind bars before being released after a successful appeal at which a re-trial was ordered.

Now though, although Bett, pleaded guilty at Cambridge Crown Court to a lesser charge of causing the death by careless driving of Mrs Brown, he has been convicted by a majority verdict of the more serious offence of causing her death by dangerous driving.

Now he must wait to hear his fate.

Judge Sean Enright has adjourned sentencing until later and allowed Bett, who is a director of the family faming business, Thornham Farms Ltd to remain free on bail until then.

The accident happened when a tractor driven by Bett hit a Fiat people carrier driven by Mrs Brown whose 17-year-old son was a passenger with her at the time.

Bett's father, Stephen Bett, is a former Conservative chairman of Norfolk Police Authority who was also elected the county's first ever police and crime commissioner.

His son denied he had been driving too fast at the time of the accident on 4 December 2013 in West Acre Road, Castle Acre, Norfolk.

The jury, when the re-trial took place last week, was not told of the previous trial, conviction or appeal.

The fatal accident happened when a tractor driven by Bett hit a Fiat people carrier driven by Mrs Brown (pictured) whose 17-year-old son was a passenger with her at the time.

When the Appeal Court ordered the fresh trial it imposed an order prohibiting publicity about the reason for the conviction being overturned.

It was revealed at the start of this hearing, in the absence of the jury, that the conviction was quashed on the ground that evidence had been wrongly admitted that Bett had taken cocaine several days before the collision.

The earlier trial heard he might have been suffering the effects of 'a come down' from taking the drug.

Mrs Brown, of Castle Acre, a dinner lady at the local primary school, had pulled into the verge and slowed to 10mph or less to allow the large German made Fendt 933 tractor to pass when they met on a long bend on the country road.

The court was told that there was room for both vehicles to pass each safely but in a near head-on collision, the front offside wheel of the tractor climbed up the bonnet of the people carrier and crushed the driver's side.

Bett told the jury he had pleaded guilty to causing Mrs Brown's death by careless driving 'because I caused the accident by being across the road' but denied his driving was dangerous.

Bett's father, Stephen Bett (pictured), is a former Conservative chairman of Norfolk Police Authority who was also elected the county's first ever police and crime commissioner.

After the verdict, the family of Rebecca Brown talked of the 'heaviness' of waiting for justice for three and a half years and said Bett had initially blamed Mrs Brown for what happened and accused him of never apologising for what had happened.

The court was told after Bett's conviction that he had three previous convictions and nine penalty points for speeding in cars, all in 2011.

They were for driving at 94mph and 98mph in 70mph limits, and at 48mph in a 30mph zone.

Bett is still subject to an interim driving ban, despite his conviction being overturned last summer.
Jamie Longjaw, 27, was taken into custody by the United States Marshal's Service Tuesday after walking away from the Passages Womens Program earlier in the day.

Just before 1 a.m. Longjaw left the Billings prerelease center without permission, said a news release from Alternatives Inc.

Longjaw arrived at Passages on Sept. 12. She was serving a sentence for criminal endangerment out of Yellowstone County. She now faces an up to an additional 10 years in prison for felony escape.
Banksy has cancelled his free print giveaway for people who could prove they voted against the Conservatives in the General Election.

The graffiti artist had offered voters in the Bristol North West, Bristol West, North Somerset, Thornbury, Kingswood and Filton constituencies a version of his famous 'balloon girl' print if they voted against the Tories.

But, he has now withdrawn the offer calling it 'ill-conceived and legally dubious' after Avon and Somerset Police received 'a number of complaints' and launched an investigation.

The new work was a print of his famous 'balloon girl', but with the red heart balloon replaced with the Union flag

Banksy has now withdrawn the offer calling it 'ill-conceived and legally dubious' after Avon and Somerset Police received 'a number of complaints' and launched an investigation

A statement on the Banksy website titled 'Product Recall' reads: 'I have been warned by the Electoral Commission that the free print offer will invalidate the election result.

'So I regret to announce this ill-conceived and legally dubious promotion has now been cancelled.'

Last week police told MailOnline that the graffiti artist's offer could constitute a criminal offence under rules which were first enacted in the 1800s.

The electoral offence of bribery carries an unlimited fine or a prison sentence of up to one year.

An announcement on Banksy's website says that a new piece will be released on June 9, the day after the General Election.

It is a print of 'balloon girl', but with the red heart balloon replaced with the Union flag.

The website said that the artwork 'is completely free' for voters in the Bristol constituencies.

The website said that the artwork was 'completely free' for voters in the Bristol North West, Bristol West, North Somerset, Thornbury, Kingswood and Filton constituencies

It added: 'Simply send in a photo of your ballot paper from polling day showing you voted against the Conservative incumbent and this complimentary gift will be mailed to you.'

A 'lawyer's note' disclaimer next to a photo of the work read: 'This print is a souvenir piece of campaign material, it is in no way meant to influence the choices of the electorate, has no monetary value, is for amusement purposes only and is strictly not for re-sale. Terms and conditions to follow, postage not included.'

But the elusive artist fell foul of the law with the Electoral Commission warning that bribery is an offence when someone 'directly or indirectly' gives any money to induce a vote.

He could have also been at risk from laws which say that inducing someone to take a photo of their ballot could also be classed as an offence.

The charity Crimestoppers warned voters to be wary of electoral fraud during the election.

The offer came after Banksy created a giant 'Brexit mural' in Dover in May

Its website stated: 'It's illegal to offer money or gifts to voters, directly or indirectly, to get someone to vote a certain way, or not to vote at all.'

Electoral law expert Dan Neidle, a partner at the firm Clifford Chance, told MailOnline that 'on the face of it' the offer could be classed as bribery.

He said: 'The law says that you're guilty of bribery if you give something to someone or promise to give something to someone in order to induce them to vote in a particular way.

'You have to do it corruptly - so what I expect he'll say if he gets the CPS threatening to prosecute is that he was joking and he'll say it wasn't corrupt.

'If all he ever did was put a post on Twitter or say it to a couple of mates, it may well look like he's joking.

William Kasper took these pictures in Bethlehem in 2007 and claimed they were of UK painter James Ames - one of the artists responsible for the iconic street pieces of Banksy

'But if he actually follows through and goes out there and gives things to people who promise to vote in particular way then it's not looking so good for him.'

Mr Neidle added that the disclaimer appeared to be a 'pathetic attempt to say he's not doing what he is doing'.

He said: 'Strictly the offence is committed now, it looks worse for him if he follows through - I suspect it's just a publicity stunt.

'This is all 19th century legislation drawn up when constituencies had a couple of hundred people and you could have bribed your way to winning.

'But no-one sane would think that nowadays - no matter how corrupt you are - you could influence an election result.'

A spokesman for the Electoral Commission said: 'The law in this area is complex.

'Given the risk that someone taking a photo inside a polling station may be in breach of the law, whether intentionally or not, the commission's advice is against taking any photos inside polling stations.'
Shocking dashcam footage has emerged of the terrifying moment a truck overturned on a Queensland highway after ploughing through the back of several vehicles queuing to exit the motorway during rush hour.

The freight truck was travelling along the Logan Motorway on May 30 as it joined the exit lane leading onto Wembley Road.

As it approached a line of stationary cars, it appears the driver showed no attempts to stop and smashed into the line of cars, which rolled the lorry in the huge collision.

Scroll down for video

The horrifying moment a freight truck ploughs into the back of a line of stationary cars on the Logan Motorway

The lorry overturned in the huge collision as several cars appeared completely mangled in the incident on May 30

The two cars at the back of the queue appeared mangled as motorists and passengers from surrounding vehicles jumped out and pulled the truck driver to safety at the side of the road.

Emergency services soon arrived on the scene shortly after the incident at 4.25pm.

The truck driver lay motionless as paramedics treated him as he was eventually stretchered into an ambulance.

The footage was captured by Jono Noonan who posted the video on YouTube.

He claims eight cars were damaged in the horror crash and a number of people were injured, however later reports have confirmed six vehicles were involved.

He also said the footage had been handed to police to assist their ongoing investigations.

It has been confirmed that miraculously only two people were injured in the heart-stopping collision, with neither suffering serious injuries.

Queensland Police have been contacted for further information regarding the crash.

Emergency services were quick to arrive on the scene as paramedics attended to the truck driver who lay motionless on the side of the road

Six vehicles were involved in the horror collision as miraculously there were no serious injuries in the peak hour crash

The truck driver was stretchered into an ambulance as it was revealed there were only two people involved in the horror crash to suffer injuries
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Head of MI6: Sir Maurice Oldfield handled defectors in the Second World War and fought the KGB in the Cold War

He was Britain's most decorated Cold War spy, head of MI6 and the purported inspiration for 'M' in James Bond.

Now, the astonishing life of Sir Maurice Oldfield who handled defectors in the Second World War and fought the KGB in the Cold War has been revealed in a book.

Sir Maurice was Britain's top spy in Washington at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 and the assassination of President John F Kennedy in 1963 - and even came out of retirement to take on the IRA in 1979.

At that time Margaret Thatcher made him Security Coordinator after an IRA bomb killed the Queen's cousin, Lord Louis Mountbatten, along with three others and 18 soldiers in County Down.

The fascinating life story of one of Britain's most decorated spies  who died aged 65 in 1981 - has now been told in intimate detail by his nephew Martin Pearce in a book called Spymaster, published by Corgi.

Writing in the book's introduction, Mr Pearce said: 'When your uncle is a spymaster, all you really know about him is his name and job title - everything else is just speculation.

'What was mysterious about Uncle Maurice was that, given he was a spymaster, he really never seemed very mysterious at all.

'He was funny, friendly and kind, and the only thing that seemed different about him from the rest of the family was that he 'spoke posh', as we Derbyshire folk would say.

Sir Maurice is pictured (centre) at this family Christmas dinner in Over Haddon, Derbyshire, in 1974. Pictured (from left) are Sadie, John, Warren, Tom and Martin Pearce, the book's author. On the right of Sir Maurice are Annie and Renee Oldfield

Sir Maurice (right) visits members of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Sinai in Egypt in 1975. He was Britain's most decorated Cold War spy, head of MI6 and the inspiration for 'M' in the James Bond books

'But then, people have told me that he would occasionally, when dealing with the posh, speak Derbyshire in order to disarm them.'

Sir Maurice was the MI6 head from 1973 to 1978 and the first chief to be named and pictured in the Press, leading to claims he was the model for intelligence chief 'M' in Bond and John Le Carre's George Smiley.

He died in March 1981 from stomach cancer but not before Mrs Thatcher quizzed him on his sexuality over fears he could have been subject to blackmail or pressure from Soviet counterintelligence.

Mr Pearce feels that smears on his uncle after his death should not take away from the remarkable man he was.

Sir Maurice (left) with the British Ambassador to the US, David Ormsby-Gore, 5th Baron Harlech (centre) and Foreign Secretary Alec Douglas-Home (right), in Washington at the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962

Sir Maurice is pictured aged 19 in his first passport photograph (left) and in his numerous attempts to get the look right for his official portrait on becoming chief of MI6 in 1973 (right)

Sir Maurice is pictured being awarded the Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George (KCMG) in 1975, with his chauffeur and (from left) his sisters Renee and Sadie, and long-serving bodyguard, Ken Dyer

Mrs Thatcher made a statement on the allegations concerning Sir Maurice in relation to the security of the UK after a question from Conservative MP Sir Peter Blaker in 1987.

'The ambiguity of Thatcher's statement allowed the press to have a field day with Oldfield's reputation, safe from the fear of libel action,' Mr Pearce said.

'Had the Prime Minister's written answer stated simply that Oldfield's conduct had been thoroughly investigated and no security risk had been found, that could have been the end of the matter and thirty years of innuendo and smears need not have happened.

'What I will not do, though, is finish about Maurice Oldfield with a negative. People find it difficult to pinpoint exactly the qualities which made Maurice the legend of MI6 that he remains.'

The Lathkill Hotel and Hall Hill Cottage in Over Haddon, Derbyshire, as they are today. Sir Maurice's father, Joe, was licensee of the pub in the late 1910s, and the large Oldfield family lived in the cottage until 1939

Tony Cavendish, one of Sir Maurice's oldest and most loyal friends, is pictured with his dogs at home in Hampshire in 1977. The picture was taken by Sir Maurice - whose story has been told in intimate detail by his nephew Martin Pearce in a new book

Sir Maurice is claimed to have been the inspiration for 'M' in James Bond. M is played (above) by Dame Judi Dench, alongside Daniel Craig as 007, in 2012's Skyfall. The character has also been played by Bernard Lee, Robert Brown and Ralph Fiennes

Mr Pearce also quoted the words of his uncle's Manchester University contemporary Professor Ronald Reed.

Mr Reed said: 'When, in the post-war world, Maurice saw that Russia and the United States of America would tend to dominate the scene, he never faltered in trying to maintain the former glory of his country as a world power.

'No wonder the spy Philby, and other would-be destroyers of this country, found him a formidable adversary. He deserves more of our thanks than our condemnation.'

Spymaster by Martin Pearce, is published by Corgi and available in paperback for 8.99.
The young Australian woman feared dead after the London Bridge attack narrowly avoided two other barbaric terrorist acts in the UK, her mother has revealed.

Sara Zelenak, from Brisbane, has not been since she became separated from friends while on a night out in London on Saturday, with her distraught family launching a public appeal to find the 'smart and sensible' 21-year-old.

Her mother, Julie Wallace, has described the moment she found out her daughter was missing after the attack, telling how she was almost caught up in the Westminster Bridge rampage and Ariana Grande concert bombing in Manchester.

'Horror, complete horror. And the one with the policeman being stabbed about three months ago, she was there the day before in the exact spot,' Ms Wallace told radio station 97.3FM on Tuesday.

Australia's foreign minister has confirmed that two Australians were killed in the van and knife attacks on London Bridge and London's Borough Market.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says in a statement: 'The Australian government is deeply saddened to confirm that two Australians have been killed in the London terrorist attack.'

Bishop has not revealed their names, but London police say Australian nurse Kirsty Boden, 26, is among the seven killed.

The family of 21-year-old London-based nanny Sara Zelenak says she had not been heard of his the attack. Another two Australians are recovering from stab wounds to the neck.

The mother of Sara Zelenak (pictured), still missing after the London Bridge attack, has revealed her daughter narrowly avoided two other terrorist acts in the UK

Ms Zelenak (pictured) has not been seen since Saturday night when she was caught up in the London Bridge terror attack

'The one with Ariana Grande's [concert], she was going to go to the concert.

'Everything she's just missed.'

On March 22, policeman Keith Palmer, 48, was stabbed to death by British-born jihadi Khalid Masood, 52, outside Parliament in London and four others were killed when they were mowed down by the terrorist on Westminster Bridge.

Two months to that day, 22 people died when another Islamist terrorist, Salman Abedi, 22, bombed the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester.

Ms Zelenak was meant to be working on the night of the London Bridge attack but changed her plans at the last minute as the family which employs her as an au pair had given her the night off.

Three jihadi terrorists shouting 'this is for Allah' killed seven people and left 48 injured on Saturday night when launched a van and knife attack on London Bridge and at nearby Borough Market just after 10pm.

On Tuesday, family and friends of Ms Zelenak were seen visiting the family home of the 21-year-old in Brisbane

Ms Zelenak's aunt, Tara (pictured), speaking to reporters on Tuesday outside her niece's family home in Brisbane

Family and friends, some carrying flowers, were at the family home of Ms Zelenak as they waited for news about her whereabouts

Ms Wallace said she last spoke to her daughter at 4.42pm on Friday, Brisbane time, with Ms Zelenak expressing her excitement about her impending trip with her mother and stepfather to France at the end of June.

Ms Wallace said her family were distraught at not having heard from Ms Zelenak and told how she has not slept for two days.

The family are due to fly out to London in a desperate bid to find Ms Zelenak, who has been living in city since March on what was to be a 'wonderful trip'.

Ms Wallace said that as she did not have confirmation her daughter's heart was still beating, she needed to do everything she could to track her down.

On Tuesday, family and friends of Ms Zelenak were seen arriving at her family home in Brisbane, before they flew out.

Ms Zelenak's stepfather Mark Wallace on Monday said he had called every hospital in the city trying to find Ms Zelenak.

'I feel terrible, I don't know what my name is, I can't think,' Mr Wallace told News Corp.

Ms Zelenak has not been seen, or heard from, since three jihadi terrorists shouting 'this is for Allah' killed seven people and left dozens injured in the heart of London on Saturday night

A British-born jihadi was shot and killed at the gates of the Palace of Westminster after he stabbed a policeman to death and ran down four others in March

Ms Zelenak's mother said she had been planning to go to the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester on May 22, which was targeted by terrorists, but changed her plans

Young victims look visibly distressed as they leave the Park Inn hotel that took-in victims from the Manchester Arena stadium after the Ariana Grande Concert was bombed

An emotional Ariana Grande (pictured) performing at a benefit concert for the victims of the Manchester Arena on Sunday

'Authorities in London can't give any information, they are in a terror lock down, so there's just no ability to find out or get any information... She's been gone for 48 hours and no one has seen or heard from her.'

Meanwhile, family and friends launched a public appeal that same day to find Ms Zelenak.

Pri Goncalves also revealed she was the last person to see Ms Zelenak  but the pair became separated when they panicked and ran for their lives when a van began plowing into people.

The pair had been leaving London Grind, a trendy restaurant moments from the scene of the attack, and were looking for a bar to go to when the chaos began.

Mark Wallace (left) the stepfather of Ms Zelenak (right) said he has called every hospital in London in a desperate attempt to find the 21-year-old who has not been seen since Saturday night

Pri Goncalves (pictured) revealed she was the last person to see Ms Zelenak on Saturday night

A public appeal to help find Ms Zelenak has been launched as the Brisbane woman has been missing since Saturday night's terror attack

She called Sara at 10.09am  a minute after police received the first emergency call reporting the attack and tried again a couple of minutes later, again at 10.16pm and 10.17pm but received no answer.

And Ms Zelenak hasn't been online to check her messages on Whatsapp since 10.03pm.

The pair, both au pairs working in Herne Hill in south London, had met on the train.

That evening, they were out celebrating Ms Zelenak's new job in Westminster and had met at London Bridge station before going to dinner.
A hospital secretly gave cancer patients lower doses of chemotherapy for eight years until a researcher uncovered it.

Toowoomba Hospital gave half the recommended dose of an oral chemotherapy drug to 47 patients suffering from advanced small cell lung cancer.

Tumours in 10 of the patients initially shrunk but the other 37 were too sick to tolerate even the half dose of the medication.

Toowoomba Hospital (pictured) secretly gave 47 lung cancer patients lower doses of oral chemotherapy for eight years

The patients were all in palliative care and the drugs were only meant to make them more comfortable in their last months. Only four are still alive.

Queensland Health was informed of the underdosing on May 25 when a researcher noticed by chance the hospital was using a different protocol to the rest of Australia.

However, despite launching an emergency review it chose not to inform families until a lung cancer expert audited the cases next month.

Queensland Health Deputy Director-General John Wakefield said an expert panel led by renowned cancer specialist Liz Kenny found the hospital did nothing wrong.

'The clinicians at the time, so Im advised, made a conscious decision to do this because they viewed the dosing in the protocol as too aggressive,' he told the Courier Mail.

Doctors gave them lower doses because the end-stage sufferers couldn't tolerate the drug

'Their experience had been that they felt it was poorly tolerated and  it was more appropriate to give the lower dose.'

Dr Wakefield was backed up by Queensland Health Minister Cameron Dick, who said there was no requirement for hospitals to use the drug's national protocol.

'Clinicians did a good job managing the balance between treating symptoms of terminal cancer and keeping chemotherapy side effects in check,' he told reporters.

'The 10 that received the treatment at that level benefited from it. So in a sense there's no patient harm that's been caused to anyone at any time.'

Queensland Health Minister Cameron Dick (pictured) said there was no requirement for hospitals to use the drug's national protocol and the hospital did nothing wrong

However, the department switched Toowoomba Hospital to the national protocol after the underdosing came to light.

'I think it's common sense that now we know what we know that it's time to standardise the base protocols,' Dr Wakefield said.

Queensland Health also ordered an audit of all chemotherapy protocols in the state's public hospitals.
A Virgin plane was dramatically evacuated and a passenger arrested after a note with the word 'BOM' was found written on a sick bag in the toilet.

Passengers aboard the flight from Sydney jumped more than a metre from the plane onto the tarmac as soon as it landed at Albury Airport about 9.30am on Tuesday.

Mitchell Moy, 30, was arrested by police, accused of leaving the misspelt, alarming note that sparked an emergency, according to Network Ten.

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A Virgin plane was dramatically evacuated and a passenger arrested (pictured) after a note with the word 'BOM' was found written on a sick bag in the toilet

Emergency crews met the plane on the runway at Albury Airport while cabin crew alerted passengers to evacuate immediately

Emergency crews met the plane on the runway while cabin crew alerted passengers to evacuate immediately.

A NSW police spokeswoman later revealed the bomb threat was not genuine, but was a hoax.

'It was just someone being very silly,' she said.

'It wasn't a bomb threat at all. It was not terror-related. It was just something we were concerned about and we wanted to make sure it was OK.'

Police asked passengers if anyone had any issues with the man and spoke to those who'd been seated near him.

The arrested passenger was said to be calm throughout the flight. He read a novel and went to the bathroom once.

Local police congratulated cabin crew and passengers for the swift evacuation.

'The plane landed at 9.35am and within five minutes we had the plane and the occupants secure and safe,' Albury commander Superintendent Evan Quarmby told reporters.

Police asked the passengers if anyone had any issues with the man and spoke to the people who had been seated near him

A man was arrested on the tarmac of Albury Airport after travellers were evacuated from a Virgin flight on Tuesday morning (pictured)

'All of the occupants of the aeroplane were evacuated safely, very efficiently and should all be congratulated on the assistance they've given to police this morning.'

Supt Quarmby said the Virgin plane was completely searched and handed back to the airline.

It was initially reported the doors of the plane were 'ripped off' by authorities but Virgin later clarified they were opened from the inside, likely by cabin crew.

Passengers were told to leave their luggage and jump about 1.2 metres from the exits onto the tarmac.

Sydney retiree Wendy Willett said a hostess shouted: 'Evacuate, evacuate. Leave all your belongings, jump out the window.'

Ms Willett, who was sitting in the aisle opposite the arrested passenger sat quietly and read a thick novel during the flight from Sydney.

'He read a book for most of the way but got up at one stage and went to the bathroom,' Ms Willett said.

But she said she was unaware of the alarm on board flight VA1174 until she saw police waiting for the turboprop when it landed on the tarmac.

'Suddenly the hostess started shouting,' she recalled afterwards.

It took less than five minutes for passengers to clear the 68-seater plane through the exits.

Ms Willett added the man  wearing a red jumper and red hat - jumped out of the plane with the rest of the passengers, but he was tackled by police and handcuffed immediately.

A man has been arrested after a Virgin flight from Sydney landed at Albury airport (above)

'We were told to move and then the police started yelling 'The man in red, the man in red'.'

'There was no commotion, nothing wrong until we landed.'

Ms Willett said another passenger revealed the man had made a strange comment about keeping an eye on the luggage earlier in the journey.

Another passenger told AAP he heard cabin crew saying: 'Leave your luggage. Get out and run, run, run.'

A Virgin spokeswoman said crew denied saying that, however.

She suggested a passenger caught up in the commotion may have yelled out 'run, run, run'.

Michelle McNamara, who works for a car hire company in the airport terminal, said plainclothes police, uniformed officers, firefighters and ambulance crews closed off half the terminal during the operation.

'It's normally quiet, it's Albury Airport,' she told AAP on Tuesday.

A passenger on the 8.05am Virgin flight said all passengers on the flight were evacuated when the plane landed

'It's a bit concerning. With all that's happening in the world, it makes you think the worst.'

Virgin Australia earlier told Daily Mail Australia that police met the aircraft on arrival due to a 'security incident.'

The plane was searched by police after the evacuation and cleared of any danger, a spokesman confirmed to Daily Mail Australia.

'Virgin Australia flight VA1174 from Sydney to Albury landed safely this morning,' a statement from the company said in a statement.

'Due to a security incident on board police met the aircraft on arrival. One passenger is assisting police with their enquiries.

'All guests disembarked safely and a full search of the aircraft was conducted by the local police and the aircraft has been cleared of any potential danger.

'The matter is now in the hands of the New South Wales police.'

The Albury incident comes a week after a mentally ill man threatened to blow up a Malaysia Airlines flight after it left Melbourne Airport.

Terrified passengers waited 90 minutes to be evacuated from the plane after it landed back at Tullamarine. They didn't know at the time the bomb threat was a hoax.
Eric and Donald Trump Jr have announced plans for a mid-market hotel chain based on their travels through small-town America during the presidential campaign.

The 'American Idea' brand will start with three hotels in Mississippi, which voted overwhelmingly for their father, before spreading to small towns across the country.

The announcement, which was made during a party at Trump Tower on Monday, is likely to renew concerns over possible conflicts of interest.

Eric and Donald Trump Jr (pictured with Trump Hotels CEO Eric Danziger, left) have announced plans for a new hotel chain inspired by the presidential campaign trail

The new chain will likely renew concerns over a conflict of interest after it was reported that a Saudi lobbying fund paid Trump International Hotel in Washington (pictured) $270,000

Critics have already highlighted problems over another new hotel brand, called Scion, which is also due to break ground in Mississippi.

The President sought to allay concerns by stepping down as head of the Trump Organization when he took the White House, handing over control to his sons.

He also agreed to forego new deals abroad and donate profits from foreign governments to the Treasury, but he remains invested in the firm, and receives quarterly updates on how the business is doing, the New York Times reports.

The Daily Caller, citing disclosures filed with the Justice Department, reported on Sunday that the Saudi Arabian government, through a lobbying firm, had paid $270,000 to the Trump hotel in Washington.

Trump stepped down as head of the Trump Organization when he took over as President, but still retains a financial investment in the company and received quarterly reports

Mr Danziger denied any political motivation behind the new hotel chain, and said Trump's name will not feature on any of its properties

Eric Danziger, the CEO of Trump Hotels, denied there is any political motivation to opening the new hotel chain.

Danziger also said the new hotels will have no overt connection to Trump, and his name will not feature anywhere on them.

He said the buildings would instead feature local artifacts and materials in their construction, aimed at breaking with the generic feel of budget hotel chains around the country.

'It's about small town America,' Danziger told the Washington Post. 'We kind of look at it as flea market chic.'
A row has erupted in Russia after doctors were instructed to perform virginity checks on underage schoolgirls.

Doctors have begun implementing an order from the Russian Investigative Committee - seen as the equivalent of the FBI - demanding that all medical evidence of sex involving girls under the age of 16 should be reported to the police.

The edict has led to an angry backlash with claims that girls will avoid going to clinics even when they have sexually transmitted diseases or pregnancies.

Russia's health ministry has joined newspapers and social media in lashing out at the virginity checks for young girls.

The Russian Investigative Committee - seen as an equivalent to the FBI - gave the order to doctors to assess the virginity of young girls. Above, a file photo of young girls at a camp in Saratov

Health minister for Saratov Vladimir Shuldyakov, pictured above, provoked the storm by ordering doctors to obey the instructions of the investigative committee

Vladimir Shuldyakov, health minister in Saratov region, provoked the storm by publicly ordering medics to obey the investigative committee's instructions.

Doctors must 'inform police about all cases when virginity was lost as well as about cases of pregnancies and abortions involving girls under 16 years old', he demanded.

Specifically, the order instructs doctors to check girls 'and report all cases when the integrity of the hymen is damaged'.

The Russian Health Ministry put itself at loggerheads with the Investigative Committee in attacking the move in Saratov with Omsk region also believed to carry out the checks ' in secret'.

Chief gynaecologist for children and adolescents Yelena Uvarova said the tests, which would include inspecting the 'integrity' of young girls' hymens, were 'completely unacceptable'. Pictured, a clinic in Saratov.

Yelena Uvarova, chief gynaecologist for children and adolescents, branded the virginity tests 'absolutely unacceptable' and questioned their legality.

Newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets warned the checks would lead to a 'sad result'.

'Imagine a young girl in love, her sleepless nights, her pleasures and horrors and her wish to hide her secret,' said its report.

'And she gets health problems - a sexually transmitted disease or suffers another gynaecological condition.

Critics said young girls who had had sex would be reluctant to see doctors out of embarrassment - even if they had caught a sexual disease. Above, a stock image of a clinic in Russia

'Does she go to the doctor who will find out about her 'damaged hymen' and report her to the police?

'And her tender secret will then go on a police record and later reach her parents, teachers and classmates?

'For sure this girl will not go to the doctor and then who knows how it will affect her future life and health?'

One social media critic said underage sex should be a problem for families to resolve 'not government bodies'.

Another complained: 'The minister and police have nothing else to do... we live in medieval times.'

An opponent added: 'Why do they want to report about girl only? What about boys who are not virgins....I am against early sex but reporting it to the police is idiotic.'

There were predictions that it would lead to doctors being bribed by wealthy parents to sign papers that their daughters were still virgins even if are were not.

But many commenters agreed with the move.

'Right decision,' wrote one. 'I worked at a school and watched 14-year-old students who went out with with much older men.

One supporter said 'children should study and not have sex', adding: 'There is so much dirt in the internet and on social networks'. Above, a stock image of a girls' camp in Saratov

'And I have known girls who had abortions at such an early age.

'Children should study and not have sex. But it is a complex problem.

'Look at those music TV channels, so vulgar, and there is so much dirt in the internet and on social networks.

'Somebody is deliberately seducing young people in Russia.'
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has canned his controversial end-of Ramadan feast that was last year attended by Islamic leaders including Waleed Aly, Susan Carland and Yassmin Abdul-Magied.

Mr Turnbull became the first prime minister to host an iftar dinner at Kirribilli House in Sydney, which involved about 70 Muslim leaders from around the country.

But after coming under fire for serving halal certified food and inviting guests such as a preacher who said 'enemies of Islam' should be 'destroyed', the PM won't be hosting the event this year.

Mr Turnbull's controversial dinner set taxpayers back just under $34,000, including $7,300 for the halal meal and $5,700 to fly staff to Sydney.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (third from left) with Waleed Aly (far left), Susan Carland (left) and Yassmin Abdel-Magied (far right) at last year's iftar dinner at Kirribilli House

Controversial preacher Sheikh Shady Al-Suleiman (pictured) was one of the guests who attended the dinner

Mr Turnbull chats with Waleed Aly at Kirribilli House during the controversial dinner last year

The 2016 dinner was marred by the attendance of controversial preacher Sheikh Shady Alsuleiman, who achieved notoriety for saying AIDS was a 'divine punishment' for homosexuals, and that adulterers should be stoned to death.

The guest list also included prominent Muslim figures The Project host Aly, his wife, Susan Carland, and former ABC host and activist, Yassmin Abdel-Magied.

In a sermon uploaded to YouTube in 2013 the sheikh, president of the Australian National Imams Council, said gay people were responsible for spreading diseases and attracted 'evil outcomes to our society'.

'Allah will send on them diseases they have never experienced before,' he was recorded saying.

'What's the most common diseases these days, HIV, AIDS, that's so common, and there's no cure to it.'

Mr Turnbull later voiced his regret for inviting Sheikh Alsuleiman to the feast, which had also included representatives from the Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist faiths.

Mr Tunrbull (right) was seen sharing a joke with Waleed Aly and Susan Carland at last year's feast

Mr Turnbull (pictured speaking at last year's event) did not intend for the event to be held annually

'I regard as unacceptable, and I will always condemn, any remarks which disrespect any part of our community, whether it is on the basis of their sexuality, their gender, their race, their religion,' Mr Turnbull had said.

He had billed the event as a chance to 'bring people together', even going as far as to recite a verse from the Koran.

'By breaking bread across religions and by bringing diverse people together, we are embodying Islam's emphasis on human diversity,' he said reciting a Koranic verse.

It is understood the Prime Minister did not intend for the event to be held annually.
The receptionist murdered by ISIS-inspired gunman Yacqub Khayre had a young child and got married only 15 days ago.

Kai 'Nick' Hao, 36 was at his post in the foyer of The Buckingham serviced apartments at 408 Bay Street in Brighton, Melbourne, when the terrorist burst in.

The Chinese-born Australian was gunned down with a sawn-off shotgun blast so loud neighbours reported the sound to police as an explosion.

Nick Hao, 36, was killed while he worked as a receptionist in the foyer of serviced apartments in Brighton, Melbourne

He was killed when ISIS-inspired gunman Yacqub Khayre (pictured) burst in and shot him with a sawn-off shotgun

Khayre, 29, strolled past Mr Hao's lifeless body up to an apartment in the two-storey complex where a 36-year-old Colombian prostitute waited for him.

The Somali-born gunman, who ordered the escort posing as a client, tied her up and held her hostage during a two-hour standoff with police.

Soon after he cut off the ankle monitor he was wearing while on parole for a violent home invasion he was released from prison over just seven months earlier.

At 5.41pm he called Seven News and told chief of staff Nicole Bland 'this is for IS, this is for Al Qaeda' while a woman screamed in the background.

Khayre, 29, strolled past Mr Hao's lifeless body up to an apartment in the two-storey complex where a 36-year-old Colombian prostitute (pictured after being rescued) waited for him

Mr Hao worked at The Buckingham serviced apartments at 408 Bay Street in Brighton

Police remove a body from the apartment in Brighton after a deadly two-hour siege that left two men, an Australian national working as a clerk and an ISIS-inspired gunman, dead

Then just before 6pm he burst back into the foyer and wounded three police officers before he was shot dead at the scene.

Questions have since risen over why Khayre, who was also was acquitted of planning a suicide attack against Sydney's Holsworthy army barracks, wasn't just deported back to Somalia after his home invasion sentence.

Police believe he planned his hostage-taking ruse to ambush police using terrifying tactics taken from a vile ISIS propaganda magazine.

The latest issue of the Islamic State's Rumiya magazine, released in May, encourages terrorists to 'lure' hostages and 'keep victims restrained' to maximise publicity.

Junior jihadi: Khayre is pictured as a child growing up in Australia (left, aged 7, right, aged 12)

The latest version of the Islamic State's Rumiya (pictured) magazine, released in May, encourages terrorists to 'lure' hostages and 'keep victims alive and restrained'

'In order for the operation to gain publicity and more effectively plant terror into the hearts of the disbelievers, one can keep some of his victims alive and restrained, making for a more lengthy and drawn-out hostage scenario,' the magazine reads.

'One may then notify the authorities, explaining to them that he is a soldier of the Islamic State and informing them of what he has just done.'

The jihadi magazine's instructions bear a chilling resemblance to the chain of events that unfolded on Monday night. Previous editions of the magazine contain manuals on how best to carry out lone wolf attacks.

Khayre, 29, was shot dead by heavily armed tactical command officers (pictured) after he opened fire on waiting police with a sawn-off shotgun

In 1991, at the age of just three, Khayre and his family fled war-torn Somalia, arriving in Australia to live with his uncle and grandfather.

Growing up in Gladstone Park, north Melbourne, he was reportedly a good student at school until his grandfather died in Year 12 and he fell in with the 'wrong crowd'.

From there he began committing petty crime and stole his uncle's car in 2006.

In 2007, he was charged with armed robbery after holding up passengers on a Melbourne train, leaving one man with knife wounds.

The bomb squad was sent in to inspect Khayre's rented hotel room on Tuesday morning in the aftermath of the bloody two-hour siege

A bomb squad member suits up before entering the serviced apartment blocks to search for any explosives

He was among five men charged with planning a terrorist attack on the Holsworthy army barracks.

The group were alleged to have planned to break into the secure base and kill as many army personnel as possible. Khayre was one of only two to be cleared.

That came despite him allegedly travelling to Somalia in 2009 or 2010, where he may have attended 'weapons and military' and visited a cleric to gain 'holy approval' to carry out the attack.

The other three men involved in the terrorist plot, all friends from the notorious '8 Blacks' Islamic prayer centre, are serving out 18-year sentences behind bars.

Mr Hao was killed in the foyer of this serviced apartment block, The Buckingham

It offers one and two bedroom apartments like this for $130 to $230 a night

The bedroom of one of the serviced apartments where an ISIS-inspired gunman held a young woman hostage for two hours before he was shot dead

After being acquitted of terror charges, Khayre was jailed for three years for carrying out a drug-affected home invasion in Melbourne's north in 2011.

Terrifying detail in court papers revealed Khayre charged at a woman inside, punching her in the face, her stomach, her back and her shoulders.

The commotion woke up her father, a former Turkish police officer of 25 years. He copped a head-butt and a punch to the face from the future terrorist.

But it wasn't long before the father and his daughter had wrestled him to the ground and called the police.

Khayre was sentenced to more than five years jail with a minimum of three years in October 2012, and was released on parole seven months ago.

Khayre was earlier found guilty of scores of offences since 2007 - including possessing a firearm, burglaries and stabbing a commuter twice in the leg after demanding he hand over his wallet.

A DECADE OF YACQUB KHAYRE'S CRIMES 2007 APRIL: The teenager was sentenced to two years' detention in a youth justice centre for somewhere between 42 and 45 offences. Charges including multiple burglaries and thefts, assault, providing a false name and address, drug possession, car theft and unlicensed driving at dangerous speeds. JUNE: While still incarcerated he was sentenced for attempted armed robbery and intentionally causing injury after stabbing a man on a train twice in the leg, demanding the victim's money and phone. 2008 FEBRUARY: Released on an adjourned undertaking on single charges of burglary and theft. 2010 DECEMBER: After a six-month trial and 16 months in custody, Khayre was cleared by a jury over his alleged role in planning the 2009 Holsworthy army barracks terror plot in western Sydney. Wissam Mahmoud Fattal, Saney Edow Aweys, Nayev el Sayed were jailed in 2011 for a maximum of 18 years for planning a terrorist act to kill as many people as possible in a mass shooting at the army base. 2011 NOVEMBER: Sentenced to time served (112 days in jail) for the possession of a firearm and ammunition without a licence, car theft, failure to answer bail, giving a false name and handling stolen goods. 2012 APRIL: A drug-affected and armed Khayre breaks into a Melbourne family's home. He is confronted by a woman, whom he strikes repeatedly in the face, back, shoulder and stomach in a bid to escape. Khayre is eventually subdued by the woman's father, a former policeman. He pleads guilty to five charges including aggravated burglary and is sentenced to five-and-a-half years, with a minimum of three. 2016 DECEMBER: Khayre is released on parole. 2017 JUNE: Still on parole, Khayre shoots an apartment clerk dead and takes a female escort hostage in a Brighton apartment building. After about two hours, he storms out of the apartment, firing at police before he is killed in a hail of bullets. Source: Australasian Legal Information Institute, Corrections Victoria and Victoria Police Advertisement

Despite being well known to counter terrorism police, he was deemed a low-risk of offending and released on parole - before committing the attack in Melbourne.

'He is someone that was known to us as having a long criminal history. A whole range of offending going back many years,' Commissioner Ashton said.

'Most recently he has done some prison time in relation to reckless and intentionally causing injury, and intentionally causing injury, and whilst in prison, he was processed as well for an arson whilst in the corrections system.'

How the terrifying siege in Melbourne unfolded over almost two hours

'Ultimately, he has been qualified for parole, received parole and was on parole at the time of this offence.'

'The early advice from the Department of Corrections was that he was compliant with parole and hadn't presented any issues in relation to his conduct whilst on parole leading up to yesterday.'

Investigators were seen holding a paper bag of evidence found inside the Melbourne apartment where the bloody siege took place with the words: 'Hard covered book with Arabic writing (in cloth bag) on desk in living room' scrawled on it.

Police also executed a search warrant at a home in Roxborough Park, where Khayre lived with his mother and two teenage brothers, on Tuesday morning.

'Hard covered book with Arabic writing (in cloth bag) on desk in living room': Investigators were seen holding a paper bag of evidence found inside the Melbourne apartment where the siege took place

Police also descended on a home in Roxborough Park where Khayre is believed to have lived with his mother and two teenage brothers (pictured seizing bag of evidence)

'We are going to be at that location for some time conducting inquiries there,' Commissioner Ashton said.

'There is a full forensic effort being done. This is now a coronial investigation, being done by the Homicide Squad, with oversight from Professional Standards Command.

'There will be extensive work required at 408 Bay Street today.

'We will have a lot of police down there today, knocking on doors, talking to people, for witness accounts and also with reassuring the community down there.'
A father and son have been burned alive after being sucked into a flaming sink hole that has been blazing for more than 100 years in India.

Teenager Rahim Khan was sweeping an area in front of his shop in the town of Jharia, in the country's north eastern Jharkhand province when he was sucked into a crater which opened up in the road.

His desperate father, Bablu Khan, 40, saw him slip into the hole before he too was killed after being buried under debris as he tried to save the 14-year-old.

Pictures show smoke coming from the burning sink hole which was caused by fires that have raged underground in the area for decades.

A father and son have been burned alive after being sucked into a flaming sink hole (pictured) that has been blazing for more than 100 years in India

Pictures show smoke coming from the burning sink hole which was caused by fires that have raged underground in the area for decades

Diggers were brought in as rescue workers attempted to retrieve the bodies of the father and son

Soon after, large plumes of smoke began to rise from the crater.

A rescue team arrived and dug an underground passage where temperatures of over 80 degrees were recorded.

The team tried to increase the diameter of the crater, with the help of earth movers, in an attempt to locate the bodies. But after 28 hours of searching, they had found nothing.

Devastated Rukshana Khatoon, who lost her husband and son in the incident, pleaded with the authorities to at least find the bodies or 'bury us along with them'. The state government has said it will provide compensation for the family of the deceased.

Two years ago it was reported that residents were dying of breathing disorders and skin diseases at alarming rates as underground fires that have raged for nearly a century continued to blanket the area in toxic smoke.

Teenager Rahim Khan and his father Bablu Khan were both killed when the burning sinkhole opened up in Jharia

A rescue team arrived and dug an underground passage where temperatures of over 80 degrees were recorded

The sinkhole opened up in front of a shop dragging in a father and son. Smoke could be seen coming from the hole which opened up as a result of raging underground fires

Tearful residents in Jharia watched on amid hopes the bodies of the two men would be found

Jharia has more than 70 fires which have burned continuously beneath the earth's surface since 1916.

Here the infernos have been left to burn unhindered following a coal mine collapse in the resource-rich region - which produced a blaze so intense authorities have balked for decades at the effort required to extinguish it.

Fuelled by billions of dollars worth of coal lying under the surface, the fires cause sinkholes which twenty years ago swallowed 250 homes within four hours.

Toxic fumes - which include poisons such as sulfur, sulfur, carbon and nitrogen oxides - are a part of everyday life where coal emissions are causing devastatingly high rates of breathing disorders and skin diseases among locals.

Residents and children spend their days clamoring over the hot ground to eke out a living by chiseling out pieces of coal to sell at local markets.

Rescuers used diggers as they excavated the crater in the hope of finding the bodies of the two men

A 21-strong rescue team arrived at the scene and dug an underground passage to try and get to the father and son

Rescuers battled a surface temperature of 80 degrees as they descended into the tunnel. However, the temperatures at the scene in Jharia, India, were too high and they had to return

The team tried to increase the diameter of the crater, with the help of earth movers, in an attempt to locate the bodies

The rescue operation continued for more than 28 hours, but the rescuers were unable to find the bodies

The first coal mine fire was detected in the area in 1916 and is believed to be due to a open cast mine not being correctly decommissioned.

In the decades since, it has spread to become truly unmanageable.

And despite repeated warnings that the town and surrounding area is on the brink of an ecological and humanitarian disaster, little has been done to help residents despite promises to move the entirety of the town.

It is believed that if the remaining coal still sitting below the surface - estimated at 1.5billion tonnes - was to burn at a similar rate, the fires could last for another 3,800 years.

Jharia has more than 70 fires which have burned continuously beneath the earth's surface since 1916

As well as the menace of sink holes, residents are also blighted by toxic fumes from underground fires in the region

Rescuers spent more than a day looking for the father and son, but eventually called off the search amid searing temperatures

Rescuers dig down in to a crater and feed a tube into the sink hole as they hunt for the bodies
An ultra-orthodox Jewish man kidnapped his ex-wife and raped her in a secret 'dungeon' after refusing to grant her a religious divorce, a court heard.

The defendant, from Hackney, allegedly lured the woman to his warehouse, with the help of Steven Hill, 54, under the pretext of collecting her granddaughter.

The 62 year-old, who cannot be named, and Hill then bundled her into a concealed cellar where he tied her up and raped her, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard.

The couple had been granted a divorce in the UK courts but, according to Jewish custom, they were still married.

The husband allegedly left the woman locked in the cellar on October 15, 2014 where she was able to call for help.

The 62 year-old husband, who cannot be named, and Hill then bundled her into a concealed cellar where he tied her up and raped her, Snaresbrook Crown Court (pictured) heard

Police found her later that day tied up, extremely distressed, half naked and covered in bruises, jurors heard.

Charlotte Newell, prosecuting, described the couple's troubled past.

She said: 'The couple had been married for some 28 years. They had eight children together. They are ultra-orthodox Hassidic Jews and follow their customs and rituals.

'Therefore they have divorced in a UK court in 2008, undergoing what appeared to be an acrimonious process.

'But they are still technically husband and wife and until he grants her a "get" or "release" they still considered themselves married under their own customs.

'Until he grants her a "get" she is known as a "chained" woman in the community.

'He has constantly refused to grant her that and they lived apart. They had no sexual relationship, and she described him as physically "sickening".'

Ms Newell described the day of the offences as happening on the Jewish festival of Sukkot.

She said: 'The nub of this case is that the two defendants are old friends. There was an earlier trial that came to no resolution.

'On that date the alleged victim was physically overpowered by her husband and Hill.

'She was taken to a secure dungeon-style cellar, that was concealed in a hidden room, and she was raped by her ex-husband. When she was bundled into the cellar room Hill withdrew.

'She was then left in this foul room where she would have remained had she not been able to call the police, who forced there way into the premises and found the cellar.

'They found her distressed, covered in bruises from head to toe, naked but for a dressing gown and skirt, and still bound by the restraints that had been used to restrain her.

Ms Newell added that the wife was suspicious of the circumstances leading up her alleged kidnap because her ex-husband arranged the meeting in English the day before.

'On October 14, the day before the offences, she was contacted and she came to the warehouse to pick up her grandchild.

'She found it strange that he made the arrangements with the phone and was very specific about when she should arrive.

'He spoke to her in English, not in Yiddish as if he was talking for the benefit of somebody else,' said the prosecutor.

'As the wife arrived late that day the defendant asked her to return the next day to pick up her grandchild.

'On October 15 she attended the warehouse to collect her grandchild as had been agreed.'

The defendant denies two counts of rape and one count of false imprisonment.

Hill, of East Bank, Stoke Newington, denies one count of kidnap. The trial, expected to last 3 weeks, continues.
Four parents who flew their children to Syria and forced them to watch ISIS execution videos have been jailed for ten years in Austria.

The two sets of parents, who have been protected from being identified under draconian privacy laws, have been jailed after they flew their families to the war-ravaged country and forced them to take part in ISIS training sessions.

The trial, which lasted five days at a court in Graz, Austria, revealed how the group had tried to indoctrinate the youngsters into the terror cell, with one dad even allowing his son to fire guns as part of sick 'training' sessions.

The group's 12 children said they were shown execution videos by their parents, who were raising them to hold radical Islamic views.

The mother and father, 29 and 39, respectively, made their children watch the attacks to 'turn them into better jihadists', it was alleged in a Graz, Austria, court as they faced child abuse charges. Pictured above, a file photo of an IS member in Syria

None of those involved have been named under strict privacy laws in the case which started last Thursday at the court in Graz.

The parents were named only as Enes S, 38, and Michaela S, 39, and married couple Katka, 43, and Hasan O, 49.

The court heard how three couples went with their children from Austria to Turkey and then Syria in December 2014.

Only two of the couples were facing trial this week, with the other couple still being held in Bosnia awaiting trial.

Once in Syria, the men received both Sharia education and combat training. The children were 'taught' using execution videos.

One set of parents forced their eight-year-old son to partake in military weapons training for 'self defence' which they also joined in on.

One of the victims, aged just nine, described a scene in Raqqa where he saw a group of people and a man with a microphone asking which one of them wanted to cut off the head of the man tied kneeling beside him.

The prosecutor stated that the child did not say the man was 'killed', but 'slaughtered'. That, according to him, is 'IS-propaganda language'.

The children were allegedly watching 'slaughter videos' even while still in Austria. Another child stated that he 'played taking heads' with his teddy bear.

One father told the court that even children as young as six started training with replica firearms under ISIS tuition.

Judges heard that some of the five children described the shocking videos as 'cool' while others found them 'gruesome'.

The court heard how the pair took the children to Syria where they were then forced to watch gruesome beheading videos (one pictured above) and ISIS battle scenes on a daily basis

The girls were forced to wear headscarves, and in Syria they had to wear veiled niqabs and black gloves, even when temperatures soared to more than 40 degrees Celsius.

This week the two couples were sentenced to the harshest sentences allowed by the court after judges branded them 'merciless and emotionless'.

Three parents were sentenced to ten years while the fourth parent was given a term of nine years behind bars.

They were all convicted for participation in a terrorist organisation and criminal association, as well as torture and neglect of minors.

Katka O was the only one who did not received the highest punishment of ten years imprisonment, but nine, a reduced sentence for being the only one who pleaded guilty.

The public prosecutor demanded a 'strict, very harsh punishment' for the four, saying they willingly joined a 'band of murderers, rapists, slave owners and really unpleasant people' and had 'mercilessly and emotionlessly' involved their children in the ideology as well.

He said: 'The associations are always given a blind eye, because it was said that that is simply their culture. But the terrorist association starts here, where little children are raised that way.'

According to him these organisations 'have to do with Islam just as much as the inquisition has to do with the Catholic faith'.

The judge stated that the highest punishment was decided upon in order to show that 'the state of Austria does not accept such things'.

Defence lawyers are believed to be launching appeals.

They had previously claimed that one of the families had only been visiting Syria on a 'holiday' but prosecutors proved that the dad had sold his car to fund the trip, and alleged this was evidence it was a 'planned trip' to get them infiltrated into the jihadi way of life.

Prosecutors demanded: 'Do you sell your car before every holiday?'

The dad claimed he had been 'hoodwinked' by a radical sect at his local mosque, saying: 'In the mosque I have heard that I can live in Syria in accordance with Islam, there is freedom for the wife and children.'

He said he wanted to leave his old life behind, but be able to continue claiming Austria's generous social services benefits.
Salvatore 'Toto' Riina, 86, is considered to be Sicily's most violent Godfather after declaring a 'war against the state' and ordering the killings of magistrates

A Sicilian Mafia boss known as 'the Beast' who ordered a little boy to be dissolved in acid is set to be freed from prison to 'die with dignity'.

The decision by an Italian court to release cancer sufferer Salvatore 'Toto' Riina, 86, on compassionate grounds has sparked outrage among politicians and relatives of the victims of organised crime.

He is considered to be Sicily's most violent Godfather after declaring a 'war against the state' and ordering the killings of magistrates Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino in 1992 bomb attacks that left nine others dead.

He was jailed a year later and became known as the Sicilian Mafia's 'Boss of all Bosses' for his extreme brutality.

From behind bars, Riina ordered the killing of 13-year-old Giuseppe Di Matteo who was strangled and his body dissolved in acid in 1996 to punish his father who had turned informant on the Mafia.

Responding to a request by the Mafia boss's lawyers, Italy highest court ruled on Monday that he had a right to 'die with dignity' under house arrest like any other terminally ill prisoner.

As well as cancer he is believed to have heart problems and Parkinson's disease.

Salvatore Borsellino, the brother of one of the slain magistrates, said: 'The court should have remembered that the person before them is same one who blew to bits servants of the state and ordered that a little boy be dissolved in acid.'

The final decision rests with a parole board in the northern city of Bologna, near Parma, where Riina is being held.

Last year it dismissed a petition for his release and it was unclear when it would review its decision following the high court's ruling.

The decision by an Italian court to release cancer sufferer Salvatore 'Toto' Riina, 86, on compassionate grounds has sparked outrage among politicians and relatives of the victims of organised crime

Leaders across the political spectrum said that Riina should spend his final days in prison.

Matteo Salvini, head of the right-wing Northern League, said: 'I am speechless.

'The dozens of victims who should weigh on his conscience and were brutally killed, including women and children, should have had the right to die with dignity.'

Carmelo Miceli, head of the centre-left Democratic Party in the Sicilian capital, Palermo added: 'We will not allow Riina to return to Corleone.'

Riina, pictured, was jailed in 1993 and became known as the Sicilian Mafia's 'Boss of all Bosses' for his extreme brutality

Last year Riina's mobster son sparked outrage in Italy by giving an interview in which he described his childhood as 'nice' and refused to denounce the mob.

Giuseppe Salvatore Riina appeared on RAI's premier talkshow to promote a book he had written about growing up in a Mafia family.

But not once during the interview did Riina criticise his father, and he refused to acknowledge the existence of the mafia, saying cryptically: 'It could be everything or it could be nothing'.
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An ex-girlfriend of one of the victims of Saturday night's terror attacks wiped away tears as she attended a minute's silence at London Bridge.

Nicola Smith, 24, was comforted by her sister as she paid tribute to James McMullan, 32, who was named by his family as one of the seven murdered by the three terrorists.

Miss Smith joined scores of Londoners who gathered around a mound of flowers left at a makeshift memorial, opposite the Barrowboy and Banker pub where the rental van mowed down pedestrians on London Bridge.

One sign in the floral tributes simply stated 'Terrorism has no religion' while another read 'Shaken but strong...and so so sorry that this happened in my city, my home - a Londoner.'

Another read: 'One love peace Islam, Christian, Jews whatever you believe these devil worshippers cannot divide is. Thinking of you. Us Londoners will always be united.'

Flags on official buildings were flown at half-mast and London mayor Sadiq Khan visited the headquarters of the London Ambulance Service to mark the moment.

Nicola Smith, 24, was comforted by her sister as she paid tribute to James McMullan, 32, who was named by his family as one of the seven murdered by the three terrorists

Miss Smith was comforted by her sister during the minute silence for the terror attack victims held today

James McMullan (pictured with his sister Melissa) was enjoying a night out with school friends to celebrate the launch of a new 1m business when he was caught in the attack

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan joins London Ambulance workers in observing a minute's silence at London Ambulance Service HQ in Waterloo

London Mayor Sadiq Khan stands with ambulance paramedics as they pause for a minute's silence in London this morning

Railway staff embrace after observing a minute's silence for the victims of the terror attack on June 6

Among those placing wreaths was the mother of 15-year-old Olivia Campbell, who was among the 22 people killed in the Manchester suicide bomb on May 22.

Yunkyung Song, 43, who moved to London from South Korea in 2001, visited to pay tribute.

She said: 'I just wanted a moment's silence for them, about how terrible it was. I feel terrified because it can happen to anyone who is living in London.

'The victims didn't do anything wrong. I feel really sad. It could be one of my friends or family. It is just heartbreaking.'

The sombre observance comes after Londoners attended a vigil for victims at Potter's Field Park by City Hall on Monday evening.

Before they stood together to observe the minute's silence last night, London Mayor Mr Khan drew frequent bouts of thunderous applause during a speech in which he vowed: 'London will never be broken by terrorism'.

Flanked on the podium by Home Secretary Amber Rudd and her shadow counterpart Diane Abbott, he said: 'We stand together tonight to honour the memories of the innocent lives lost and people injured in these barbaric attacks on our city on Saturday night.

'London stands in defiance against this cowardly attack against our city, our people, our values and our way of life.

'As the Mayor London, I want to send a clear message to the sick and evil extremists who commit these hideous crimes: We will defeat you  you will not win.'

People gathered near London Bridge observe a minutes silence for the victims of the terror attacks in London

Police officers and station staff observe a minute silence for the victims of the latest terror attack

Railway workers and commuters pause during a minute's silence for the victims of the terror attacks at London Bridge Station

Defiant Londoners across the capital paid tribute to the victims of the London Bridge terror attack today

Players and umpires stop the match for a minute of silence during the ICC Champions Trophy match between England and New Zealand at Swalec stadium, in Cardiff

The British and Irish Lions pay their respects to the victims of the terror attack at the QBE Stadium in Auckland

Lions coach Warren Gatland (centre) joins players and officials in a minute's silence held in New Zealand today

To whoops from the crowd, he continued: 'As a proud and patriotic British Muslim I say this: You do not commit these disgusting attacks in my name.

'Your perverse ideology has nothing to do with the true values of Islam and you will never succeed in dividing our city.

'Today we mourn the loss of innocent lives of Londoners and people from around the world. We send our love to the victims' families and all those who were injured. And we thank our courageous emergency services and those brave Londoners who risked their lives to care for others  you are the best of us.

'Our city is filled with great sorrow and anger tonight, but also great resolve and determination. Because our unity and love for one another will always be stronger than the hate of the extremists.

'This is our city. These are our values. And this is our way of life. London will never be broken by terrorism. We will step up the fight against extremism and we will defeat the terrorists.'

Prime Minister Theresa May called it 'an attack on the free world' as the victims included a 'number of nationalities'.

Armed police pay their respect during a minute's silence in St Ann's Square, in Manchester, for the victims of the latest terror attack

People paid their respects at St Ann's Square, in Manchester, where thousands of flowers remain in place following the atrocity on May 22 at the Manchester Arena concert

Crowds gathered at St Ann's Square in Manchester to remember the victims of the London terror attack

Staff and passengers held a minute's silence at Glasgow Central Station as they remember victims of the attack

On Saturday night, terrorists brought carnage to the streets of Britain for the second time in as many weeks, killing seven and leaving 21 fighting for their lives.

Police said they carried out a fresh raid in east London overnight hours after naming two of the assailants - Khuram Shazad Butt, 27, a Pakistan-born Briton, and Rachid Redouane, 30, who described himself as a Moroccan-Libyan dual national.

The Italian media, meanwhile, reported the third attacker as Youssef Zaghba, 22, born in Fez, Morocco, to a Moroccan father and an Italian mother.

Pedestrians were run down by a van on London Bridge before attackers stabbed a police officer and revellers around Borough Market with 12-inch knives.

The three men, wearing fake suicide bomb vests, were shot dead by eight officers outside a pub after police opened fire with an 'unprecedented' hail of 50 bullets, while a bystander was also shot. ISIS have claimed responsibility for the attack.

Much of the area around London Bridge remains cordoned off as police continued to investigate the attack. The area around Borough Market is not expected to reopen today.
The United States is considering withdrawing from the United Nations body on human rights.

Highlighting what it deemed a 'biased' stance on Israel, UN ambassador Nikki Haley said the US was 'looking carefully' at its role on the Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

'The United States is looking carefully at this Council and our participation in it,' Haley told the Geneva forum in her first address. 'We see some areas for significant strengthening.'

She said it was 'hard to accept' five resolutions had been passed against Israel, a US ally, while none were considered against Venezuela, which is in the grips of bloody protests over the rule of its president Nicolas Maduro.

UN ambassador Nikki Haley (pictured) said the US was 'looking carefully' at its role on the Human Rights Council

The United States is considering withdrawing from the United Nations body on human rights. Pictured: US President Donald Trump

She called on the Council to address serious human rights violations in Venezuela and for President Maduro's government to give up its seat in the 47-member UN body unless it gets its 'house in order'.

It came as the UN's top human rights official Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein called on Israel to pull out of Palestinian territories captured in 1967.

Palestinians want a state in the West Bank and Gaza, with East Jerusalem as their capital. The last round of peace talks collapsed in 2014.

Now, in a speech opening a three-week session of the UN Human Rights Council, al-Hussein observed the 50th anniversary of when he 'first heard the sound of war' as a boy in Amman, Jordan.

He said Palestinians were now marking 'a half-century of deep suffering under an occupation imposed by military force' and marked by 'systematic' violations of international law.

Haley took around four minutes to deliver her highly-anticipated remarks to the Council as it opened its three-week summer session today.

In December 2015, Trump (pictured with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu) said he was 'very neutral' on Israel-Palestinian issues but his tone became decidedly pro-Israeli as the presidential campaign progressed

Haley said it was 'hard to accept' five resolutions had been passed against Israel while none were considered against Venezuela, which is in the grips of bloody protests (pictured) over the rule of its president Nicolas Maduro

She called on the Council to adopt 'the strongest possible resolutions on the critical human rights situations in Syria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Belarus and Ukraine'.

Haley went on to say it should 'follow up' to prevent further human rights violations and abuses in those countries.

Haley described the UNHCR as 'so corrupt' weeks after becoming Trump's ambassador to the United Nations.

Her one-day appearance at a 'side event' in Geneva today was anticipated to be the standout event of the three-week session due to the US's reputation as a key human-rights defender - and single largest donor to the UN.

In December 2015, Trump said he was 'very neutral' on Israel-Palestinian issues but his tone became decidedly pro-Israeli as the presidential campaign progressed.

He has spoken disparagingly of Palestinians, saying they have been 'taken over' by or are condoning militant groups.

Days after the United Nations voted to condemn Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem this December, Trump questioned its effectiveness and branded it 'a club for people to have a good time'.

Trump (pictured) has spoken disparagingly of Palestinians, saying they have been 'taken over' by or are condoning militant groups

The UNHRC sparked outrage after Saudi Arabia, which has been bombing Houthi rebels in Yemen since 2015, was re-elected to the Council. Pictured: Pro-government fighters carry soldier killed during clashes with Houthi fighters in the south-western city of Taiz

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International condemned the oil rich nation's 'appalling record of violations' in Yemen. Pictured:UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, right, with Saudi Arabian Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

Saudi Arabia elected to UN women's right commission Human Rights groups were outraged when Saudi Arabia was elected to the UN women's rights commission in April. It became one of 45 nations on a panel 'promoting women's rights, documenting the reality of women's lives throughout the world, and shaping global standards on gender equality and the empowerment of women'. Saudi Arabia not only has a state policy of gender segregation but also requires every woman to have 'a male guardian who makes all critical decisions on her behalf,' said Hillel Neuer, director of UN Watch. He added: 'Saudi Arabia also bans women from driving cars... Electing Saudi Arabia to protect women's rights is like making an arsonist into the town fire chief... It's absurd.' Human Rights groups were outraged when Saudi Arabia was elected to the UN women's rights commission in April. Pictured: Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud with German Chancellor Angela Merkel Advertisement

The UNHRC sparked outrage after Saudi Arabia, which carried out 157 executions last year, was re-elected to the Council last year.

In a joint statement, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International condemned the oil rich nation's 'appalling record of violations' in Yemen, where it has been bombing Houthi rebels since 2015.

Both organizations unsuccessfully called for Saudi Arabia, a member of the UNHRC since it was created in 2006, to be suspended.
Papa John's employees have been arrested on suspicion of selling cocaine out of a store in Washington.

Five people were detained in Sammamish, near Seattle, after a six-month investigation by the King County Sheriff's Office and local police department.

Sammamish police were tipped off about the pizza chain's employees selling cocaine in the parking lot in December, according to the sheriff's office.

Papa John's employees have been arrested on suspicion of selling cocaine out of a store in Washington (file photo of Papa Johns)

Undercover detectives managed to buy drugs from two employees on four different occasions during an investigation dubbed 'Operation Extra Olives', KTLA reported.

'What the detectives would do is they'd order pizza and go out and wait in the parking lot,' said King's County spokeswoman Sergeant Cindi West.

She added: 'The employee would bring the pizza out and in the box would be the cocaine.'

'The operation got named because every time they'd order pizza, they'd say: 'Give it extra olives".'

Detectives searched the premises to find $28,000 in cash, cocaine, ecstasy, marijuana, Oxycodone, LSD and methamphetamine.

They arrested two Papa John's employees and three drug dealing 'friends' they introduced officers.

Five people were detained in Sammamish, near Seattle, after a six-month investigation by the King County Sheriff's Office and local police department (file photo of Papa Johns)

'Papa John's has zero tolerance for this type of offensive and illegal behavior,' a company spokesman told CNN on Saturday.

'The franchisee has confirmed that the employees involved with this situation are no longer employed and we apologize for their actions.

'The franchisee is working in full cooperation with local law enforcement to resolve this matter.'
Kelly Landry is set to make her return to television less than one month after her bid for an apprehended violence order against her multi-millionaire accountant husband Anthony Bell was thrown out.

Ms Landry will make an appearance as a guest panelist on morning talk show Studio 10 next Thursday, the Herald Sun reported.

She will be on the program to discuss her heart condition and raise awareness about heart disease.

But it's unclear if she will open up about the high profile case that played out in Sydney's public eye after she filed an interim AVO order against Mr Bell on January 9.

Kelly Landry is set to make her return to television less than one month after her bid for an apprehended violence order against her multi-millionaire accountant husband Anthony Bell was thrown out

Ms Landry will make an appearance as a guest panelist on morning talk show Studio 10 next Thursday

Ms Landry's appearance comes after a high profile case that played out in Sydney's public eye after she filed an interim AVO order against Mr Bell (pictured) on January 9

'I'm looking forward to the chance to shine the spotlight on a cause that's close to my heart,' she said, according to the newspaper.

Ms Landry was diagnosed with a rare heart defect after the birth of her first child in 2011.

She has discussed her condition recently after attending a luncheon for The Heart Foundation in May, where she delivered a motivational speech to other women.

Her appearance at the luncheon came in the middle of her bitter legal dispute with estranged husband Mr Bell.

Magistrate Robert Williams dismissed Ms Landry's AVO bid on May 18, finding there was little or no chance Mr Bell would be violent towards the former Getaway presenter in the future, despite intimidating her in the past.

The case became an extraordinary spectacle that embroiled top Nine Network personalities, including Footy Show presenter Erin Molan - a friend of Mr Bell.

During the hearings, Ms Landry was accused of excessive drinking and using the AVO as traction in divorce and custody proceedings

Meanwhile, the court heard allegations Mr Bell was stingy and was prepared to bully Ms Landry with his wealth and power

The case became an extraordinary spectacle that embroiled top Nine Network personalities, including Footy Show presenter Erin Molan (pictured) - a friend of Mr Bell

Ms Molan sent the celebrity accountant a selfie with no makeup and wearing an eye mask, telling him she had no sleep but that she and her boyfriend wanted to take him out and pay for his night.

Ms Landry said to the court she found it 'odd' for an unmarried woman to be sending a married man selfies.

During the hearings, Ms Landry was accused of excessive drinking and using the AVO as traction in divorce and custody proceedings.

Meanwhile, the court heard allegations Mr Bell was stingy and was prepared to bully Ms Landry with his wealth and power.

Ms Landry will be joined on Studio 10 with former ABC newsreader Natasha Exelby, who was famously caught playing with her pen live on air.
A nurse living in London is the first Australian confirmed dead following Saturday's terror attack in the city as fears grow for a Brisbane nanny who is still missing.

Kirsty Boden, 28, from Loxton, South Australia, was killed by knife-wielding terrorists as she ran to help another victim of the barbaric attack on London Bridge and nearby Borough Market.

Another Australian, Sara Zelanek, has not been since she became separated from friends while on a night out on Saturday, with her mother flying to London in a desperate bid to find the 21-year-old.

Ms Boden - the fourth named terror victim - was remembered by her family as being 'brave' in her final moments as she went to the aid of one of the injured in a statement released on Tuesday.

Kirsty Boden (pictured), from Loxton, in South Australia, was killed by knife-wielding terrorists as she ran to help victims of Saturday night's London terror attack

Ms Boden, 28, is being remembered remembered by her family as being 'brave' in her final moments as she went to the aid of one of the injured of the London terror attack

Colleagues of Ms Boden at Guys' and St Thomas' NHS Federation Trust have paid tribute to 'an outstanding nurse and a hugely valued member of the staff'

Sara Zelenak (pictured), from Queensland, who was nannying in the UK and was last seen on London Bridge, remains missing after being caught in Saturday night's terror attack

'Kirsty was loved and adored by her family, friends and boyfriend,' the statement read.

'She was the most outgoing, kind and generous person who loved to help people. Helping people was what she loved to do in her job as a nurse and in her daily life.

'As she ran towards danger, in an effort to help people on the bridge, Kirsty sadly lost her life. We are so proud of Kirsty's brave actions which demonstrate how selfless, caring and heroic she was, not only on that night, but throughout all of her life. Kirsty  we love you and we will miss you dearly.'

Ms Boden was working in London as a theatre recovery nurse at Guy's Hospital.

'As the chief nurse of Guys' and St Thomas' I cannot put into words how sad I am that we lost one of our own,' Dame Eileen Sills, chief nurse at Guys' and St Thomas' NHS Federation Trust, said.

'Kirsty was an outstanding nurse and a hugely valued member of the staff team in Theatres Recovery, described by her colleagues as "one in a million" who always went the extra mile for the patients in her care.

'Our thoughts at this time are with her family, her loved ones and our staff who have lost a dear friend and colleague.'

Hauntingly, just days before her chilling death, Ms Boden had posted on a blog documenting her European travels, saying: 'At risk of sounding cliche, life is short and we should all use the time we have wisely.'

Two of the London attackers have been named Pakistani-born Khuram Butt, who had appeared on a TV show called 'The Jihadi Next Door', and Moroccan-born Rachid Redouane

The third terrorist behind Saturday's London Bridge terror attack has been named as Youssef Zaghba

A keen traveller when not at work, a haunting post from Ms Boden on her online travel blog read: 'At risk of sounding cliche, life is short and we should all use the time we have wisely.'

Ms Boden was working in London as a theatre recovery nurse at Guy's Hospital

The 28-year-old nurse was reportedly attacked by the knife-wielding terrorists while coming to the aid of another injured person. A keen traveller, she is pictured here outside famed music pub The Cavern in Liverpool, UK

Graduating from Flinders University in 2009, Ms Boden moved to the UK and began working as a health professional a few years later.

But when not at work Ms Boden often travelled, detailing trips to Liverpool, Germany, Bulgaria Switzerland and Lithuania through her blog.

Recently she also journeyed to Kiev, in Ukraine, to attend Eurovision - supporting her home nation by wearing an Australian flag t-shirt.

'I'm just your average dreamer, with a full time job and a constant longing to go where I haven't been,' Ms Boden wrote.

'I have big travel dreams but I am realistic.

'I recognise that I might not go everywhere but I should definitely go everywhere I can, and so should you!'

It is not yet known whether Ms Boden was attacked when terrorists used a van to run down people on London Bridge, or when they went on a rampage in nearby Borough Market.

Ms Zelenak (pictured) has not been seen since Saturday night when she was caught up in the London Bridge terror attack

Mark Wallace (left) the stepfather of Ms Zelenak (right) said he has called every hospital in London in a desperate attempt to find the 21-year-old who has not been seen since Saturday night

In total, four Australians including Ms Boden and Ms Zelenak are believed to have been caught up in the attack. Seven people have been confirmed dead in the attack, while 48 were injured

On Tuesday, family and friends of Ms Zelenak were seen visiting the family home of the 21-year-old in Brisbane

Ms Zelenak's aunt, Tara (pictured), speaking to reporters on Tuesday outside her niece's family home in Brisbane

Family and friends, some carrying flowers, were at the family home of Ms Zelenak as they waited for news about her whereabouts

The three terrorists behind the attacks have been named as Rachid Redouane, Khuram Butt and Youssef Zaghba.

Ms Zelenak has not been since she became separated from friends while on a night out in London on Saturday, with her distraught family launching a public appeal to find the 'smart and sensible' 21-year-old.

Her mother, Julie Wallace, has described the moment she found out her daughter was missing after the attack, telling how she was almost caught up in the Westminster Bridge rampage and Ariana Grande concert bombing in Manchester.

'Horror, complete horror. And the one with the policeman being stabbed about three months ago, she was there the day before in the exact spot,' Ms Wallace told radio station 97.3FM on Tuesday.

Ms Zelenak was meant to be working on the night of the London Bridge attack but changed her plans at the last minute as the family which employs her as an au pair had given her the night off.

Ms Wallace said she last spoke to her daughter at 4.42pm on Friday, Brisbane time, with Ms Zelenak expressing her excitement about her impending trip with her mother and stepfather to France at the end of June.

A public appeal to help find Ms Zelenak has been launched as the Brisbane woman has been missing since Saturday night's terror attack

Ms Zelenak's mother said she had been planning to go to the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester on May 22, which was targeted by terrorists, but changed her plans

Young victims look visibly distressed as they leave the Park Inn hotel that took-in victims from the Manchester Arena stadium after the Ariana Grande Concert was bombed

A British-born jihadi was shot and killed at the gates of the Palace of Westminster after he stabbed a policeman to death and ran down four others in March

An emotional Ariana Grande (pictured) performing at a benefit concert for the victims of the Manchester Arena on Sunday

Ms Wallace said her family were distraught at not having heard from Ms Zelenak and told how she has not slept for two days.

The family are due to fly out to London in a desperate bid to find Ms Zelenak, who has been living in city since March on what was to be a 'wonderful trip'.

Ms Zelenak's stepfather Mark Wallace on Monday said he had called every hospital in the city trying to find Ms Zelenak.

Pri Goncalves also revealed she was the last person to see Ms Zelenak  but the pair became separated when they panicked and ran for their lives when a van began plowing into people.

The pair had been leaving London Grind, a trendy restaurant moments from the scene of the attack, and were looking for a bar to go to when the chaos began.

Pri Goncalves (pictured) revealed she was the last person to see Ms Zelenak on Saturday night

She called Sara at 10.09pm  a minute after police received the first emergency call reporting the attack and tried again a couple of minutes later, again at 10.16pm and 10.17pm but received no answer.

And Ms Zelenak hasn't been online to check her messages on Whatsapp since 10.03pm.

The pair, both au pairs working in Herne Hill in south London, had met on the train.

That evening, they were out celebrating Ms Zelenak's new job in Westminster and had met at London Bridge station before going to dinner.
The moment two young children fell from the open boot of a car as their mother drove down a road in Russia was caught on CCTV.

Following cars slammed on the breaks as a three-year-old girl and her older brother fell from the back of a Volvo estate car in the resort city of Sochi in south-western Russia's Krasnodar Krai region.

The children's mother did not appear to notice that her children had fallen from the car, but she was later arrested by police.

CCTV footage caught the moment a three-year-old girl and her older brother fell from the back of a Volvo estate car in the resort city of Sochi in south-western Russias Krasnodar Krai region

Following cars slammed on the breaks as the children's mother did not appear to notice that her children had fallen from the car. Pictured above, a young girl falls from the back of her mothers car (center)

Neither child was seriously injured in the incident, though the young girl was taken to hospital.

The incident was caught on the dashcam of another car on the busy road and on CCTV cameras.

The shocked girl is seen on film picking herself up from the ground as a male driver of another car rushes to her aid after falling from the boot of the Volvo.

The man comforts the young girl as a woman is heard in the background of the dashcam footage saying: 'Look there's a child! What just happened?'

The girl had fallen from the back of the Volvo which pulled out in front of oncoming traffic and the boot flew open.

The incident was caught on the dashcam of another car on the busy road and on CCTV cameras. The shocked girl is seen on film picking herself up from the ground as a male driver of another car rushes to her aid after falling from the boot of the Volvo (pictured above right)

The man comforts the young girl (right) as a woman is heard in the background of the dashcam footage saying: 'Look there's a child! What just happened?'

The girl had fallen from the back of the Volvo which pulled out in front of oncoming traffic and the boot flew open

Overhead CCTV footage shows that another child, a slightly older boy, fell from the boot of the car a few seconds earlier and ran to the side of the road.

A white car had to brake sharply to avoid hitting the boy, and the car which filmed the little girl falling out of the boot had to swerve to avoid her.

A bag and a basket also fell into the road at the same time as the little girl.

But despite losing two children and some of their belongings the mother sped off into the distance, seemingly unaware of the potential tragedy.

Police said the three-year-old girl needed hospital treatment for the injuries she suffered when she fell out of the car.

They later caught up with the child's unnamed mother, a 39-year-old woman, who faces charges.
"The Grand Old Party was having a grand old time in Bozeman."

Derek Brouwer, Missoula Independent, May 27, 2017

Precisely.

The Grand Old Party in Montana was indeed having a good time as the rest of the nation seemed stunned that the Treasure State was sending Greg Gianforte to Congress just a little more than 24 hours after he was ticketed for assaulting a reporter.

No one seemed worried. Why would the Republicans fret when the consequences of such an action are winning a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives?

That's part of the problem, though.

Gianforte has apologized for his actions in a concession speech. Let's be clear: It was the now Congressman-elect who literally took matters into his own hands. The responsibility for bodyslamming rests on him.

However, what got lost in the media firestorm about the alleged assault was the GOP leaders who seemed to actually encourage this sort of repulsive behavior that has certainly earned our state a black eye.

That's why we believe it's our job to hold those party leaders accountable for the words and the actions. We believe that anything less than an unqualified rejection of Gianforte's action runs the risk of looking like this sort of thing is maybe, possibly, sort of OK.

You know wink, wink.

As the furor over the body slamming reached a crescendo, The Associated Press reported that the Yellowstone County GOP issued its statement: "The Yellowstone County Republican Central Committee stands with Greg Gianforte and based upon the comments we've received from inside Yellowstone County and across the state, so do Montanans."

While the Yellowstone GOP didn't reference the controversy, this kind of statement would seem to give the tacit approval for actions which drew the scorn of the Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, and Gianforte's good friend, Sen. Steve Daines.

Does standing with Gianforte mean that the party also condones assault? Does it support beating up reporters?

Reading the statement which also called Gianforte "a generous servant" would seem to be an endorsement of his actions, and an example of all that's wrong in politics.

It would have been one thing for the Yellowstone GOP to simply not say anything. However, issuing a statement in the middle of the controversy seems to be a calculated move aimed at solidarity for the actions, which shouldn't have been tolerated.

Meanwhile, as election returns were coming in Brouwer and the Missoula Independent reported that Jeff Essmann, the chairman of the Montana GOP and Billings mayoral hopeful, went so far as to say that the incident was working positively for Gianforte because it showed his "human side."

When given the opportunity to denounce violence, Essmann doubled-down and said the easiest way to get into a fight in Montana bar was by getting in someone's face.

Let's get this straight: When given another opportunity to call assault wrong, Essmann defended it with some barroom wisdom?

The Gianforte incident didn't happen beneath the glow of neon, and it wasn't some tussle involving too much beer and too little judgment. Instead, this was a man seeking office to represent all Montanans. And the reporter simply had the audacity to ask a question about  horrors!  the Congressional Budget Office score of the proposed healthcare legislation.

We shudder to think what would have happened if the reporter would have asked about trade with Germany.

In both cases, Montana Republicans were offered the opportunity to denounce violence in politics. They were given the chance to become statesmen and leaders. Instead, they regressed into predictable politicians who lacked the conviction or spine to simply denounce violence, toeing a party line at the expense of decency and truth.

Keep in mind, this is the same party that likes to remind us of its values and Christian ideals. But Jesus talked about turning the other cheek, not breaking someone's glasses. And assault isn't a value, it's a crime.

Why was it so hard for leaders to express the shock and disappointment that the rest of us were feeling?

Meanwhile at the GOP celebration, as Brouwer reported, Gianforte's supporters cheered him on in between "sips of champagne and bites of pepperoni pizza."
A Republican congressman from Louisiana has come under fire for a Facebook post he wrote after the London terror attacks this weekend, calling for all radical Muslims to be hunted down and killed.

Rep. Clay Higgins - dubbed the 'Cajun John Wayne' - wrote the post on Sunday, the day after the attack on London Bridge and Borough Market that left seven dead.

'The free world... all of Christendom... is at war with Islamic horror,' Higgins wrote in the post, above a picture of a victim on the ground outside of a pub.

'Not one penny of American treasure should be granted to any nation who harbors these heathen animals. Not a single radicalized Islamic suspect should be granted any measure of quarter. Their intended entry to the American homeland should be summarily denied.

'Every conceivable measure should be engaged to hunt them down. Hunt them, identify them, and kill them. Kill them all. For the sake of all that is good and righteous. Kill them all,' Higgins added.

Louisiana Congressman Clay Higgins has come under fire for a post he wrote after the London terror attacks this weekend

In the Sunday post, Higgins said that all radical Muslims should be hunted down and killed

Higgins' post quickly went viral, with more than 2,500 users commenting on it.

The top-rated comments were by and large negative, with many calling Higgins' post hate speech and verging on genocidal.

'This is extremely hateful,' user Tyler F. Thigpen wrote. 'I didn't vote for you, but you represent me and I'd like to hear a lot less hateful speech from the politicians that serve me. Your disparaging rhetoric is disheartening and it's prime propaganda verbiage for the folks you're advocating we kill.'

Another user, Misty Johnson, added: 'Wow, you are no better than a terrorist. I'm more afraid of people like you than a refugee who was vetted for 2 years by 7 Intel agencies. I think we need better vetting for our representatives. You are an unhinged lunatic and playing right into what ISIS wants.'

But so far Higgins appears to have stood by his comments, refusing to take the post down.

And this is far from the first time that he has incited controversy.

Higgins' (pictured) post quickly went viral, with more than 2,500 Facebook users commenting

Higgins, an Army veteran and former police officer, was elected to Louisiana's third district in December

Higgins served as a military police officer in the Louisiana National Guard

Higgins resigned from his job as a captain for the St. Landry Parish Sheriff in 2016 because of public outcry over videos he made for Crime Stoppers, which targeted a local Louisiana gang and called them 'thugs,' 'animals,' and 'heathens'.

Before that, he resigned from the Opelousas Police Department right before he was set to be punished for using excessive force.

It was also revealed during Higgins' run for office that his first wife, who died in a car accident, claimed in their 1991 divorce that he once put a gun to her head.

Higgins said he had not contested the divorce and knew nothing of the allegation.

He said the marriage fell apart after the death of their six-month-old daughter. But, he insisted, there was no violence, no threats.

Now married to his fourth wife, Higgins is a New Orleans native. He grew up on a horse farm north of the city, achieved financial success in the automobile business and served in the Army National Guard as a military police officer. He says he began turning around an admittedly raucous lifestyle  'I worked too much, I drank too much, I didn't honor my wedding vows'  after a divorce from his second wife and the resulting separation from their children.

He has slipped Bible references into some of his videos and wears wrist bands with the words 'Redemption' and tiny crosses.

Higgins was elected in a run-off between two Republicans in December, with 56 per cent of the vote. He represents Louisiana's third district, which is in the southwest of the state along the Gulf of Mexico. Every parish in the district voted for Donald Trump in the presidential election.
A female teacher has appeared in court accused of having sex with a teenage girl.

Aveesha Ahsan, 32, from Lewisham, London, allegedly had an affair with the student, who was under 18, between October 2015 and June 2016.

Prosecutors allege the private tutor touched the girl without consent several times over the eight month period.

Aveesha Ahsan appeared at Inner London Crown Court accused of sexual assault and sexual activity with a child

Ahsan appeared at Inner London Crown Court today wearing a blue and white checked headscarf.

She stood with her arms folded as she denied sexual assault and sexual activity with a child.

James Lachkovic, defending, said: 'There was no sexual contact.'

Prosecutors allege Ahsan touched the girl without consent several times over the eight month period. The teacher denied the allegations

Bailing Ahsan ahead of her trial on November 20, Judge Usha Karu said: 'Your trial date is fixed and you remain on conditional bail as before.'

Ahsan denies sexual assault and sexual activity with a child by a person in a position of trust. The charges are said to relate to multiple incidents.

She was bailed on condition that she has no unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 18.
A man accused of raping a woman he met on dating website Plenty of Fish was overheard by a police call handler saying 'You're sexy, I couldn't even help myself'.

Andrew Fewster, 48, denies that he raped a woman at his flat in Hull, East Yorkshire, after downing wine from a pint glass.

The pair had met for the first time on the day of the alleged sex attack, but had exchanged texts and spoke on the phone, Hull Crown Court heard.

Andrew Fewster, 48, denies that he raped a woman at his flat in Hull, East Yorkshire, after downing wine from a pint glass. His trial continues at Hull Crown Court (pictured)

At first Fewster was only kissing the woman, but then allegedly undressed, raped and sexually assaulted her.

She then rang 101 for help, with the call claimed to capture the voice of Fewster saying 'I couldn't even help myself' - while a women's voice said 'I told you no'.

Prosecutor David Gordon told the court: 'At one point she was heard saying 'I just didn't like the fact that I kept saying 'No', and you kept forcing yourself'.

'A male voice, which was, the prosecution say, the voice of Mr Fewster, could be heard saying that he didn't force himself on her, and 'You're sexy, I couldn't even help myself'.'

The pair met after the women took a bus ride to Hull City Centre and bought pizzas and three bottles of wine before going back to Fewster's flat.

Mr Gordon said the victim could not remember exactly how much she had drunk, but felt tired and tipsy and was 'aware of what was going on'.

The woman later told police they 'were kissing each other, not French kissing, but kissing, there was no other touching or intimacy'.

She said Fewster then forced himself on her, undressed her, raped and sexually assaulted her.

Mr Gordon told a jury of eight women and four men: 'She couldn't get up - she tried to push Andy off her but he carried on regardless.

'She was making it clear she wasn't interested in sexual intercourse, she was saying ''No''.

When Mr Fewster fell asleep on a sofa, she went to a bedroom and called the police non-emergency number 101.

Mr Gordon said: 'She didn't think she had got a response from 101 so started to panic and she didn't know where she was.

'But she had actually got through - and that's why we have a recording of what's going on in the background of that flat.'

The prosecutor said the operator could hear both the complainant's and a male's voice belonging to Mr Fewster.

The female voice said: 'You shouldn't have done it. I told you no.'

The alleged victim then called a friend, told them she had been raped, and was advised to call 999, which she did, the court heard.

Police arrived and arrested Fewster who was asleep on the sofa.

He denies rape and sexual assault.

The trial continues.
It was a year-long undercover documentary featuring two home-grown fanatics who, as it turned out, would go on to become killers in the name of Islam.

But London Bridge ringleader Khuram Shazad Butt and another man now known as Islamic State executioner 'Jihadi Sid' were not the only two spouting extremist views on the Channel 4 documentary The Jihadis Next Door.

Filmmaker Jamie Roberts was able to get close to the group, who openly discussed radicalising and brainwashing people, laughed at a video of an Islamic State execution over a takeaway and unfurled an ISIS flag in a north west London park.

But although leader Abu Haleema was arrested and bailed over suspected terrorism offences, the rest appeared to go largely under MI5's radar.

It allowed Butt and two terrorist accomplices to murder seven innocent people in London Bridge on Saturday, slaughtering victims as they went on a knife rampage in bars and restaurants on a busy summer night in the capital.

Filming of the documentary, which was watched by 1.2million TV viewers, took place between January 2014 and early 2016.

MailOnline has looked into what those who featured have been up to since, from preaching on YouTube to carrying out noisy protests at the Old Bailey in London.

Here is a run down of those who were spouting their extremist views in plain sight.

London Bridge ringleader Khuram Butt and another man who went on to become an Islamic State executioner were not the only two spouting extremist views on The Jihadis Next Door

London Bridge ringleader Khuram Shazad Butt appeared on the Channel 4 documentary

ISIS executioner known as 'Jihadi Sid'

Age: 33

Last known whereabouts: Syria

One man who appeared at the start of the programme went by the name Abu Rumaysah, a father-of-four brought up in North London who rented out bouncy castles for children's parties.

One man who appeared at the start of the programme went by the name Abu Rumaysah, a father-of-four brought up in North London who fled to Syria and became an ISIS executioner

Arrested during the course of filming, he jumped bail and with his wife and children and fled to Syria and the Islamic State.

Just before the documentary was aired last year, it was said Rumaysah had become an Islamic State executioner  Jihadi John 2.

Butt is shown on the Channel 4 documentary

London terrorist Khuram Butt

Age: 27

Last known whereabouts: Barking, east London, before being shot dead

Khuram Shazad Butt, an ex-KFC and London Tube worker known as Abz, was a peripheral figure in the film.

He was among those in Regent's Park and was filmed confronted a police officer.

But despite being quizzed by police over his extremist views, Butt was free to roam Britain's streets and went on to carry out a horrific terrorist attack in central London.

His accomplices in the massacre were Moroccan-born former pastry chef Rachid Redouane, 30, and Youssef Zaghba, a 22-year-old who was born in Fez, Morocco to an Italian mother and Moroccan father.

Anjem Choundary's spokesman Mohammed Shamsuddin

Age: 40

Last known whereabouts: London

Another of the men filmed was Mohammed Shamsuddin. A spokesman for hate cleric Anjem Choundary - who was jailed at the Old Bailey last year for Islamic State-related terror offences - he appeared alongside Butt.

At one point, the 27-year-old - who would go on to slaughter seven innocent victims in London on Saturday - demands to know why the officer is touching Shamsuddin (he is not).

Shamsuddin was thrown out of the Old Bailey in 2010 for a noisy protest after a Muslim sister was jailed for life for the attempted murder of MP Stephen Timms

Acutely aware of the camera being present, Shamsuddin begins to grandstand. He shouts into the face of the officer telling him that he is a liar. He asks what section of terror legislation he is acting under, adding: Were not stupid. We know the law.

Shamsuddin was radicalised at university by a meeting with the hate preacher Omar Bakri. He claims to have suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome since the age of 18 and so lives on state benefits.

He was thrown out of the Old Bailey in 2010 for a noisy protest after a Muslim sister, Roshonara Choudhry, was jailed for life for the attempted murder of MP Stephen Timms with a knife.

In another protest outside a magistrates court in August 2015, he declared before the camera: One day Islam will be dominant and the black flag of Islam will one day be over Downing Street.

Last night Shamsuddin's brother was quoted as saying of Butt: 'If my brother is anything to do with him, then he needs to go to prison.'

It was Shamsuddin who led the prayers in Regents Park, attended by Butt and several other men including Abu Musab Al Gharieb and Abdul Hakim.

Using 'terrorist' messaging app, Abu Musab Al Gharieb

Age: Unknown

Last known whereabouts: London

As of last August, Al Gharieb's Facebook page header featured a graphic showing a black Islamic flag flying from the top of Buckingham Palace.

It also had links to British ISIS fighter and recruiter Omar Hussain in Syria.

Al Gharieb is said to have run a group on the secret messaging app Telegram - which has repeatedly been linked to terrorism. The group was called Path to Tawheed (the belief in one Islamic god) and had more than 800 members, according to The Sun.

Another of the men filmed was Mohammed Shamsuddin (top), a spokesman for hate cleric Anjem Choundary - who was jailed last year for Islamic State-related terror offences

Butt begins unfurling the Islamic State flag in the company of eight similarly clad associates

YouTube preacher Abdul Hakim

Age: Unknown

Last known whereabouts: London

Hakim, meanwhile, also has links to Choundary and has appeared on YouTube videos preaching in towns across the UK.

The group leader is one Abu Haleema, a heavily bearded sometime bus driver from Kilburn who is seen rehearsing his rants for YouTube.

Haleema reveals his passport has been confiscated to prevent him leaving for Syria. He says the then Home Secretary Theresa May could solve extremism in the UK simply by giving jihadists their passports back. Let us leave and there wont be a single extremist left in this country.

During filming of the Channel 4 documentary, Abu Haleema (pictured) is arrested and bailed for other suspected terrorism offences and banned from using social media

Taken away by police, Abu Haleema

Age: Unknown

Last known whereabouts: East Midlands

During the filming of the Channel 4 documentary, Haleema is arrested and bailed for other suspected terrorism offences and banned from using social media.

His last known address in the East Midlands, just yards from a primary school, was last night boarded up.

Neighbours said Haleema, a former London bus driver, was escorted from the terraced property in a marked police car last week, and has not been seen since.

It is understood he was forced to flee the hideout after he was discovered by a far-right activist, The Times reported.

English Defence League founder Tommy Robinson told the newspaper that he had been banned from social media site Twitter after he exposed the whereabouts of Haleema. He visited Haleema's Northampton home but got no answer.

Meanwhile. Haleema's landlord claimed that the Islamist had left the property without giving notice. A neighbour claimed to have been told by police that he faced being arrested if he revealed the address.

The names of three others who appeared in Regent's Park are unknown, while a fourth man had his face muzzed in the film.

Three more men also featured in the documentary - ginger-bearded former drug dealer Abdullah Deen, who has convictions for violence and called Lee Rigbys killer Michael Adebolajo a friend - Birmingham-based preacher Abu Mutassim and Omar Bakri Mohammed.

The latter is an extremist Syrian cleric who inspired a generation of British jihadists before being expelled from the UK. He was a key figure at Finsbury Park mosque in north London when it was headed up by hate preacher Abu Hamza.
The IT shutdown which left 75,000 bank holiday plane passengers stranded may have been caused by a single engineer, an airline boss has suggested.

Willie Walsh, chief executive of BA owner International Airlines Group, said the actions of an engineer who disconnected and then reconnected a power supply to the data centre may be central to a newly-ordered independent investigation.

He described the engineer's actions as 'uncontrolled and uncommanded.'

The airline's reputation has been badly damaged after the computer blackout on Saturday, May 27 left 75,000 people stranded across the globe (pictured the scenes at Heathrow on Sunday, May 28)

Willie Walsh (pictured) , chief executive of BA owner International Airlines Group, said the actions of an engineer who disconnected and then reconnected a power supply to the data centre may be central to a newly-ordered independent investigation

Mr Walsh, who is at the International Air Transport Association global summit in Mexico said: 'You could cause a mistake to disconnect the power, it's difficult for me to understand how you can mistakenly reconnect the power.'

He added that 'physical damage to the servers and distribution panels' was caused, which made it difficult for BA to quickly overcome the power outage.

Mr Walsh suggested in The Guardian that this 'in itself was a problem that we could have overcome probably in a couple of hours, I don't think it would have led to any cancellations'.

Mr Walsh admitted that the company failed to communicate effectively to the fed-up passengers left to queue at Heathrow Airport

Many passengers who had already checked in when the issue emerged were still waiting to be reunited with their luggage more than a week later

Mr Walsh also admitted that the company failed to communicate effectively to the fed-up passengers left to queue at Heathrow Airport.

He said: 'I wouldn't suggest for one minute we got communications right at BA, we didn't.'

Hundreds of flights were cancelled following the breakdown on the morning of Saturday, May 27 and the airline was unable to resume a full schedule until the following Tuesday.

The engineer's actions, which allegedly caused the meltdown, were described as 'uncontrolled and uncommanded'

Many passengers who had already checked in when the issue emerged were still waiting to be reunited with their luggage more than a week later.

The GMB union suggested the issue could have been prevented if the airline had not cut 'hundreds of dedicated and loyal' IT staff and contracted the work to India last year.

However a BA spokesman said the failure had 'nothing to do with outsourcing.'
A news reporter covering the London terror attack was forced to interrupt his broadcast when someone fell into the River Thames in the background.

Correspondent Juan Carlos Velez was reporting on the London terror attack for Spanish channel Antena 3 when another emergency unfolded live on camera.

As he was addressing the camera a tourist visiting nearby accidentally fell off Westminster Bridge and into the River Thames.

He was explaining the UK's electoral process, commenting that the PM Theresa May was leading a crisis cabinet, when police can be seen running in the background.

The reporter's attention is drawn to the incident and he says: 'We are watching police movement right now. It seems as somebody has fallen into the water.'

He then moves closer to the action, accompanied by his cameraman, who pans the shot into the water trying to view the victim.

A floating buoy used to rescue those stranded in the water can be seen floating but no one can be seen in the footage.

Juan Carlos Velez was in the middle of a broadcast when he noticed someone had fallen in the water

Juan continues, saying: 'Yeah, somebody has fallen into the water.'

Sirens can be heard in the distance as police officers nearby react quickly, while other tourists watch on in interest.

Police can be seen running across the busy road, holding up traffic, to signal to an incoming boat that there is a person in the water who needs rescuing.

Tourists look on into the river and it is clear that someone is in peril

Police quickly react, running across the road to keep sight of the tourist in the river

All of the chaos is caught on camera.

The reporter tells his viewers in the live broadcast how all bridges in the city have been reinforced with concrete fences in order to avoid more terror incidents as other emergency vehicles pull up.

An RNLI lifeboat rescued the woman. She was then treated by paramedics, who took her to hospital.

A spokesman said: 'At 9.20am on Monday 5 June the RNLI lifeboat, based at Tower Lifeboat Station was launched after reports of a woman in the water at Westminster Bridge.

They signal to a passing boat that someone is in the water in need of rescuing

'The crew of the E class boat were on the scene in two minutes and found a woman in the water who was conscious, but in some distress.

'She was rescued by the crew and taken in the lifeboat back to Tower Lifeboat Station, next to Waterloo Bridge.

'The woman, who was in her forties, was fully conscious and treated by paramedics at the lifeboat station before being taken to hospital.

'According to the crew who attended the scene had the lifeboat not arrived so rapidly it wouldnt have been long before she would have disappeared under the water.'
More than 4,000 rats have been killed after a plague of rodents descended on villages on an island in southern Burma.

Villagers have been offered cash for every rat corpse they produce amid fears the swarm of crop-eating vermin is a sign of an impending earthquake.

Residents of Haingyi island, one of the larger islands in the Irrawaddy Delta, have been battling the plague of rodents since the critters scurried into their villages over the weekend.

Short of pied pipers, desperate authorities have resorted to paying residents 50 kyat (four US cents, three British pence) for each dead animal in a bid to contain the outbreak.

Villagers in southern Burma have killed more than 4,000 rats after a horde of the verminous critters descended on their island homes.

'More than 4,000 rats have been killed since they tried to enter the villages,' regional MP Phyo Zaw Shwe told AFP.

'According to traditional beliefs, these animals can predict bad weather. So people here are also worried about floods or earthquakes.'

Studies by Japanese scientists have shown mice and rats are sensitive to electromagnetic waves similar to what often occurs before a major earthquake - although there has been no notable seismic activity in Burma the last few days.

Pictures shared on social media showed locals collecting piles of the dead animals.

Authorities in the area have offered 50 kyat (four US cents, three British pence) for every rat corpse as locals fear the plague could be indicative of an impending earthquake. Above, villagers sort through a pile of dead rats

Phyo Zaw Shwe said some of the bodies had been sent away for testing for disease, but nothing had been found so far.

A villager in Than Cho Tan village told local media residents were killing the animals - which came into the village in a row 'like ants' - with 'sticks, slingshots, and rocks'.

'This evening, the rats entered our village as well and so far we've managed to kill over 800,' he was quoted as saying by News Watch.

Burma is no stranger to rodent mobs.

Chin State, in the northwest, has repeatedly been hit by swarms of rats who come to gorge on bamboo fruit, which only appear once every 50-or-so years.

In the latest iteration in 2008, hundreds of people reportedly died when the rats turned from devouring the fruit to eating the crops of the local villagers.
A Central Coast benefits reliant woman has been jailed after deceiving punters by selling fake Cancer Council raffle tickets.

Karlee Faith Eckford was sentenced at Wyong Local Court to 10 months jail after passing off photocopied tickets to unwitting buyers from December 2014 until July last year, the Daily Telegraph reports.

As well as the income from her fraudulent activity, the 42-year-old claimed welfare payments while living in a caravan at the El Lago estate at The Entrance, documents provided to court revealed.

42-year-old Karlee Faith Eckford was sentenced to 10 months behind bars after unlawfully selling fake charity raffle tickets

She was sentenced at Wyong Local Court to 10 months jail after passing off photocopied tickets to unwitting buyers from December 2014 until July last year

She will serve a non-parole period of four months and will be eligible for release on September 28.

Police arrested Eckford in November at her home in The Entrance after an investigation surrounding allegations of fake raffle tickets being sold.

On raiding her home, officers discovered a series of Cancer Council ticket books, including genuine books produced by the cancer charity and replica versions.

Police alleged Eckford photocopied genuine tickets issued by the Cancer Council to produce identical copies of raffle ticket books, which she sold at Bateau Bay to members of the public oblivious that the tickets were counterfeit and that their money was going directly into the pockets of Eckford.

Police said the total amount obtained from selling the tickets was $2370 and that none of the money was handed over to charity.

Eckford faced 22 fraud-related charges yet when Eckford pleaded guilty to one count of obtaining financial advantage by deception and two counts of making a false document to commit fraud, the remaining charges were withdrawn.

Magistrate Peter Feather handed Eckford a 10 month sentence for the obtaining financial advantage offence and four months jail for each false document charge.

Eckford was already serving two good behaviour bonds for driving while disqualified and driving while her licence was cancelled, which were revoked in court.

She was convicted of those two offences and placed on good behaviour bonds for two years.
An Ohio man accused of not telling his mistress that he was HIV-positive has been charged with murder after the woman's death from AIDS.

Ronald Murdock, 51, of Toledo, also is charged with felonious assault. Lucas County court records listed no attorney for the jailed man ahead of his arraignment Tuesday.

The indictment alleges that Murdock had sexual contact with someone without disclosing that he had the virus that causes AIDS.

Scroll down for video

HIV-infected Ronald Murdock, 51 (left), has been charged with murder and felonious assault in the death of his mistress Kimberley Klempner, also 51 (right), who died of AIDS in February

WTVG-TV reports that Murdock's girlfriend, 51-year-old Kimberly Klempner, had AIDS and died in February.

Her son, Josh Klempner, says Murdock dated the woman for years without telling her that he had HIV and that he was married.

'It would be different if he would let people know that he had it before he got in that relationship. He didn't so that right there tells me and everybody else that he has no care. The only person he's worried about is himself,' Josh Klempner said.

Klempner's son Josh says that Murdock never told his mother that he had HIV in the five years they had a sexual relationship

The grandmother found out that her boyfriend had HIV when she looked through his medicine cabinet and found pills to treat the virus (far right in both pictures)

'He should of warned her. He should have told her. I don't want him out here on the streets. The way I see it they should just bury him under the jail,' he added.

Josh said his mother only found out that Murdock had HIV when she told him she was HIV positive in 2015 and he didn't seem bothered about it. Then she looked through his medicine cabinet and made a startling find.

'My mother found out about some pills he had. She stayed the night at his house one night and she felt something was up. She did some snooping and ran across a few pill bottles. She did a little research on them and found out that way,' Klempner said.

When Murdock's wife discovered the affair, she also told Klempner about Murdock's HIV status.

When Murdock's wife (right in both images) found out about the affair, she also told Klempner that her husband had HIV

According to Ohio law, those diagnosed with HIV are required to disclose the fact to their sexual partners

According to Ohio law, those diagnosed with HIV are required to disclose the fact to their sexual partners.

HIV is spread through bodily fluids. Many get the virus through sex or sharing needles.

It can usually be prevented by wearing a condom during sex, and taking a pill called PrEP.
A father has been stabbed to death on his birthday while trying to protect his son after a deadly mass brawl broke out in a public park.

Charlie Larter, 46, was killed and his son was injured in a stabbing frenzy in Murwillumbah, northern New South Wales, on Tuesday, 7 News reported.

Police have arrested a man reportedly known as 'Pitbull' over the attack.

Emergency services raced to the scene at Knox Park about 12.30pm and arrived to find a vicious brawl involving up to 30 people had broken out.

Charlie Larter, 46, was stabbed to death on his birthday while trying to protect his son after a deadly mass brawl broke out in a public park

Emergency services raced to the scene at Knox Park about 12.30pm and arrived to find a vicious brawl involving up to 30 people had broken out

Mr Larter's son Zack, 18, was stabbed in the chest before his father rushed to protect him, the Gold Coast Bulletin reported.

Paramedics discovered Mr Larter with stab wounds and he was taken to Tweed Heads Hospital, but he suffered a heart attack and died soon after.

Zack remains in Gold Coast University Hospital where he was taken in critical condition.

Another family friend, 29, was taken to Murwillumbah Hospital but has since been released.

Friend Talisha Mae paid tribute to the father on Tuesday night, saying he was a kind man who will be missed.

'I knew that you were a kind and outgoing man who only wanted the best for everyone, you were there for me as you were there for many others,' she posted to Facebook.

Sister Cathy Larter said she spoke to her brother just hours before he was killed, according to the newspaper.

'He was planning to go have some drinks and go to the pub with his family ... next thing I hear he has been killed and my nephew is in surgery,' she said.

Video captured at the scene shows the injured lying on the ground while they are assisted by paramedics and witnesses at the scene

Friend Talisha Mae paid tribute to the father on Tuesday night, saying he was a kind man who will be missed

The 32-year-old man who was arrested and is assisting police with their inquiries is believed to be called 'Pitbull', 7 News reported. Police are yet to lay any charges.

A video taken of the incident shows at least two men lying on the ground as paramedics arrived to assist them.

'Get over here now, hurry up ... my husband can't breathe ... get over her now,' a woman can be heard screaming as she kneels next to a man lying on the ground.

A teenage witness known as 'Rob' said he saw Mr Larter being stabbed 'four or five times' before he started 'dying in front' of him.

'His wife was screaming, and both he and his son were bleeding, it was awful,' he told the Gold Coast Bulletin.

'As they ran past he jumped out and started stabbing ... the older man tried to help his son and fell, he was stabbed four or five times.'
I am amazed that we have elected to represent our state a person who has shown us all that he is a bully. I worked hard to teach my grandsons that one should never engage in physical actions towards another person when upset, so now I am again trying to explain why an adult running for elective office acted the way he did a few nights ago.
A Virginia imam has been filmed advocating for female genital mutilation, describing it as the 'honorable thing to do' for young girls.

Imam Shaker Elsayed seemed to throw his support behind the practice during a lecture at the Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Virginia, last Friday.

'(Circumcism is) a sunna for the boys, and the honorable thing to do  if needed  for the girls. This is something that a Muslim gynecologist can tell you if you need to or not,' he said in the video, which was posted on the center's YouTube page before being removed.

Sunna is a word used to describe traditional Islamic practices.

Virginia Imam Shaker Elsayed (pictured in August 2011) has been filmed advocating for female genital mutilation during a lecture

Footage of the speech has since been posted online by the Middle East Research Media Institute. In it, the imam continued: 'There used to be a lady who used to do this for women, or, I mean, young girls.

'She is expected to cut only the tip of the sexual sensitive part in the girl, so that she is not hyper-sexually active.

'This is the purpose.'

Elsayed's speech then changed course and focused on the reasons why the practice had to be carried out by someone with proper 'training and knowledge'.

'Of course, if that lady or surgeon cut more than the tip, it causes serious harm in the sexual life of the child when she grows up, and this is why the West thinks of (it) as sexual mutilation,' he said.

'(Circumcism is) a sunna for the boys, and the honorable thing to do  if needed  for the girls. This is something that a Muslim gynecologist can tell you if you need to or not,' the imam said

'Because in many of the Muslim countries, ladies and men who are not qualified and do not have the training or the knowledge as to what exactly needs to be done, they cut more than needed.

'They end up damaging the sexual sensuality of the woman, when she becomes an adult, and she becomes cool or cold in the sexual relationship. And this is haram. This is prohibited, OK?'

The lecture then took another turn, as the imam explained why he believes the practice to be necessary.

'On the contrary, you see in societies where circumcision of girls is completely prohibited, hyper-sexuality takes over the entire society, and a woman is not satisfied with one person, or two, or three,' he said.

'This is, God forbid, now happening even in Muslim societies where they prohibit circumcision.

'They use a mistake in practice to prohibit the tradition, and they end up causing a lot of damage on the other extreme side of the sexual life of a woman.'

Imam Shaker Elsayed delivers his sermon during prayers services at the Dar al-Hijra mosque on Wednesday, June 15, 2005

The Dar al-Hijrah Mosque in Fall Church, Virginia, is pictured on August 13, 2011. The center's directors apologized for the imam's comments on Monday

The shocking practice, according to the Washington Post, is pushed in large part due to the want to suppress female sexuality and incorrect claims about potential health benefits - despite it not having any basis is the teachings of the Koran.

Dar al-Hijrah's Board of Directors blasted the imam's comments on Monday, in a statement given to the Post.

'We at Dar Al-Hijrah, DO NOT condone, promote, or support any practice of FGM,' it read.

'The reference to "Hyper-sexuality" is offensive and it is unequivocally rejected. The Board of Directors is particularly disturbed by such comments.'

It added that female genital mutilation is: 'prohibited in Islam as well as the laws of the land'.

The imam also issued an apology, which read: 'I hereby take it back. And I do apologize to all those who are offended by it'.

'We at Dar Al-Hijrah, DO NOT condone, promote, or support any practice of FGM,' a statement from the center read. Pictured are men gathered for prayer on August 12, 2011

Elsayed has a controversial past, and earlier this year he was accused by right-wing website the Daily Caller of urging American Muslims to carry out jihad.

'The enemies of Allah are lining up. The question for us is, are we lining [up] or are we afraid because they may call us terrorists?' he allegedly told a group of African Muslims in Virginia, according to the website.

Dar al-Hijrah has about 3,000 regular visitors, according to the Post, and it has worked to change its image after being associated with terrorism in the past.

Two of the hijackers who helped carry out the September 11 attacks are said to have worshiped at the center.

Due to its infamy, those who attend the center to pray have been targets of abuse - especially in recent months, the Post reports.

The newspaper reports there have been incidents of anti-Muslim hate speech and threats of violence directed towards worshipers.
You would have to be pretty desperate for a free drink to undertake this challenge.

A tourist bar in Thailand has come up with an alarming way for punters to get their hands on a shot, free of charge.

To take part, a contestant must hold their hand still on a table while the barman uses tools to count to hit marks three times between each finger.

Dangerous: A tourist bar in Thailand has come up with an alarming way for punters to get their hands on a shot, free of charge

The barman uses a hammer, an axe, a butcher's knife and a power drill, within milimetres of the person's hand.

In a gut-wrenching video posted to Facebook, a man takes part in the alarming challenge and remains calm.

In the clip, the barman, dressed in a white vest, uses one hand to grip onto the side while the other hold a weapon to make five marks in between his fingers at speed.

While his aim is flawless, missing the skin completely, viewers online were quick to point out how easy it would be for it to go wrong.

In the climax of the challenge, the barman withdraws a power drill, which buzzes loudly as it darts between the digits.

The clip was filmed by Emil Walas and posted to Snapchat before he uploaded it to Facebook.

He wrote: 'This is how you get a free shot.'
A women's rights activist who was detained for 73 days for openly defying Saudi Arabia's female driving ban has been arrested again.

Loujain al-Hathloul, 27, was arrested on June 4 at King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, though authorities have not revealed why she was taken into custody.

Hathloul has been denied access to a lawyer or her family, human rights group Amnesty International said.

Loujain al-Hathloul, 27, was arrested on June 4 at King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, though authorities have not revealed why she was taken into custody

Hathloul has been denied access to a lawyer or her family, human rights group Amnesty International said

She is expected to be taken to Riyadh later on Tuesday, where she will be interrogated by prosecutors, according to BBC.

Amnesty International has called for her immediate release, saying her 'continuous harassment' was 'absurd and unjustifiable'.

'It appears she is being targeted once again because of her peaceful work as a human rights defender speaking out for women's rights, which are consistently trammelled in the kingdom,' Amnesty International's Samah Hadid said.

'If so she must be immediately and unconditionally released,' Hadid added. 'Instead of upholding its promise of a more tolerant Saudi Arabia, the government has again shattered any notion that it is genuinely committed to upholding equality and human rights.'

Hathloul, who studied at the University of British Columbia, was arrested in 2014 after she tried to drive into Saudi Arabia from neighboring United Arab Emirates (UAE), flouting the ban on women motorists.

Saudi Arabia is the only country that forbids women from driving. It is not illegal to drive in the country, but only men are given driving licences and women risk fines and arrests if they get behind the wheel.

When Hathloul was arrested in 2014, UAE-based Saudi journalist Maysaa Alamoudi was also arrested as she arrived at the border to support the activist.

Hathloul, who studied at the University of British Columbia, was arrested in 2014 after she tried to drive into Saudi Arabia from neighboring United Arab Emirates (UAE), flouting the ban on women motorists

Campaigners said investigations surrounding the women appeared to focus on their social media activities rather than their driving.

In October 2014, dozens of women posted images online of themselves behind the wheel as part of an online campaign supporting the right to drive.

In response, the Ministry of Interior said it would 'strictly implement' measures against anyone undermining 'the social cohesion'.

Activists say women's driving is not technically illegal but that the ban is linked to tradition and custom in the conservative kingdom.

Upon being released from prison, Hathloul ran for public office in 2015 - the first election in which women were able to vote or stand as candidates.

Her name, however, was never added to the ballot.

Saudi law is based on one of the most conservative interpretations of Islamic Shariah, and no other Muslim countries enforce such strict guardianship measures.

She is expected to be taken to Riyadh later on Tuesday, where she will be interrogated by prosecutors. Amnesty International has called for her immediate release, saying her 'continuous harassment' was 'absurd and unjustifiable'

There have been some marginal improvements in women's rights in the kingdom in recent years. In a rare step to partially rein in guardianship, King Salman last month ordered government agencies to stop demanding guardians' permission beyond the areas where the law actually requires it.

Under Saudi law, the guardian's permission is required for a woman to get a passport, to travel abroad or to marry.

It is also often demanded whenever a woman tries to do any number of things, including rent an apartment, buy a car, undergo a medical procedure or take a job. As a result, women are consigned to the legal status of minors.

Rights activists say the system should be ended completely.

Guardianship was a major reason for outrage when Saudi Arabia in April was elected to a UN commission tasked with promoting gender equality and women's empowerment.

The kingdom was nominated to the post by the Asia-Pacific region, and normally nominees are rubber-stamped automatically.

In this case, the US requested a secret ballot vote, a move seen as a symbolic objection, though the kingdom won with 47 out of 54 votes.

The Geneva-based rights group UN Watch denounced the acceptance of Saudi Arabia on the commission, calling it the 'world's leading oppressor of women.'
President Donald Trump made a pitch to Republican leaders this afternoon to put solar panels on his border wall as a way to help pay for the large structure.

Trump's asking Congress to front the money for the barrier he said Mexico would eventually bear the brunt of. He's requested $1.6 billion for brick and mortar construction on the project that Axios says he spoke to lawmakers about.

The president said he's envisioning a 40-50 foot wall along the southern border that could be covered with electricity-generating solar panels similar to the ones that a company bidding for the contract submitted as part of their design.

Companies selected to build prototypes of the wall are soon to be announced.

President Donald Trump says his administration is 'working very hard' to get health care and tax reform bills through Congress and he expects Capitol Hill to move on his stalled agenda before it goes on summer recess

The president brought up the wall during a Tuesday gathering of GOP leaders from the House and Senate that took place at the White House.

Trump said his administration is 'working very hard' to get health care and tax reform bills through Congress and he expects Capitol Hill to move on his stalled agenda before it goes on summer recess.

Trump pushed senators, in front of the cameras, to follow the House's lead 'and get a bill across the finish line this summer that will be great health care for Americans.'

'I'm looking forward to seeing it, so looking forward to seeing it,' he told them during a White House working session.

The president also wants them approve 'a massive tax cut' - that 'will spur business like never before,' Trump said - and a budget that includes funding for the border wall he promised.

'I think we're going to have some very pleasant surprises for a lot of people,' Trump predicted.

The president presented a list of legislative demands to GOP leaders from both chambers at the Tuesday afternoon session that preceded a dinner with a select group of Republican lawmakers.

Lawmakers now have seven work weeks, including this one, to pass an Obamacare replacement bill, raise the debt ceiling and approve a budget if they're to meet the president's aggressive timeline.

Trump wants lawmakers codify the tax reforms he's put forward next, after their annual August recess, making for a jam-packed legislative schedule before the end of the fiscal year.

'Big meeting today with Republican leadership concerning Tax Cuts and Healthcare. We are all pushing hard - must get it right!' the president tweeted Tuesday morning.

He said to party leaders later, 'What a great team this is. What an unbelievable team.' The added, 'We'll know soon.'

The billionaire businessman made big promises on health care, taxes and infrastructure that have not come to pass in the slow-moving legislative branch, even though Congress is fully under Republican control.

Trump's legislative director said Monday that investigations into Russia and the election and Trump's firing of his FBI director James Comey have presented 'complications' that have slowed the administration's progress.

President Donald Trump has summoned GOP leaders to the White House today for a frank talk about his agenda that has stalled on Capitol Hill

Fights with Democrats over Trump's appointees and a slew of investigations have filled the congressional calendar.

Lawmakers are probing Russian interference in the presidential election, Trump associates' alleged collusion with the Kremlin, Obama-era spying and Trump's abrupt firing of Comey, who testifies this week on Capitol Hill.

At a Monday evening briefing, the president's legislative liaison was adamant that Trump's revised timetable could be met, in spite of numerous alarm bells, including the investigations.

'There's no doubt that keeping members focused on investigations detracts from our legislative agenda, detracts from what we're trying to deliver to the American people,' Legislative Director Marc Short said. 'To what extent I think is hard for me to say.'

Short told reporters the White Houses expects Congress to raise the debt ceiling and approve healthcare, along with the president's budget, by August to make way for a discussion on tax reform this fall.

'Tomorrow's meeting are specifically focused more on Republican leadership and figuring out our path forward,' Short said Monday of the talks. 'We wish it weren't this way, but the reality is, it will be a partisan exercise.'

Trump presented his list of demands to Republican leaders during a working session this afternoon. He'll press them again at a dinner that is also being limited to Republican members. He's seen greeting Republican Sen. Ted Cruz at the White House on Monday

The White House is adamant that Trump's timetable can be met, in spite of numerous alarm bells. Cruz is seen sharing a joke with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy at a White House event on Monday

The White House says it is still meeting with Democrats about tax reforms and the infrastructure package the president is traveling to Ohio and Kentucky this week to tout.

Changes the president wants for Obamacare rest firmly on the GOP's shoulders, however.

The House has passed a bill that was deemed dead on arrival in the Senate because of the cuts it makes to Medicare and the way it proposes to handle patients with pre-existing conditions.

Senators have stressed that a health care overhaul is now 'unlikely' to pass the deliberative body that has a 60-vote threshold for most pieces of legislation.

Even if Republicans were to abolish the standard to satisfy Trump, who has called for an elimination of the filibuster, they would face hurdles from within their own ranks on health care.

The Senate's Republican head, Mitch McConnell, said last week that 'he does know how we get to 50 at the moment.'

Republicans have a 52-seat majority in the Senate, and the vice president can break a tie if needed.

Trump praised House Speaker Paul Ryan for the 'important first step' his chamber took 'to rescue Americans from this calamity' known as Obamacare on Tuesday

Short insisted Monday that the president's aides are 'continuing to make significant process' with senators and the 'written text is actually pretty far along' after reports indicated that senators were souring on a bill altogether.

'I dont see a comprehensive healthcare plan this year,' Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina said.

The issue was front and center in today's talks - where the president challenged the Senate to follow the House and get a bill approved before August.

'That was a very, very long and difficult negotiation, but it really gives a great print, and great concept to Mitch and now the Senate,' he declared.

Trump praised House Speaker Paul Ryan for the 'important first step' his chamber took 'to rescue Americans from this calamity.'

The president has pressed senators in tweets and calls to find a way to get it done.

'The U.S. Senate should switch to 51 votes, immediately, and get Healthcare and TAX CUTS approved, fast and easy. Dems would do it, no doubt!' he said Memorial Day weekend when lawmakers were out on break.

He told lawmakers Tuesday that they must act to prevent the 'Democrat-inflicted tragedy.'
Conservative political commentator Andrew Bolt was attacked by two masked men who sprayed him with glitter at a book launch.

The Sky News pundit was approached for a selfie by a woman when the pair rushed him, knocking the woman aside and spraying him.

'They jumped me, spraying me in the face and all over my suit with some sticky liquid with some glitter and dye,' he said of the 'cowardly' attack.

Andrew Bolt was approached for a selfie by a woman when two masked men rushed him, knocking the woman aside and spraying him

CCTV footage from the restaurant in Carlton, Melbourne, showed Mr Bolt fighting back, knocking over several chairs and tables in the process.

He was seen wrestling with and punching one of them in the face at least once before he pushed him over and the other fled.

The controversial personality said he also kicked one of them between the legs off camera, and one of them would have a bruise on the left side of his face.

'Bad luck for them I don't do running and hiding,' he said.

'I apologise [for the kick between the legs], I guess, but I don't fight nice if I'm pushed too far.'

CCTV footage from the restaurant in Carlton, Melbourne, showed Mr Bolt (L) fighting back, punching one of them in the face at least once

He wrestled with them during the scuffle, knocking over several tables and chairs, and claimed to kick one of them between the legs

Police were looking for the two men who were wearing hoodies, along with a third man holding a camera who took photos of or filmed the fight.

Mr Bolt claimed the cameraman loitered outside the restaurant for half an hour waiting to photograph him.

Victoria Police said a 'short scuffle' took place in which the pair threw shaving cream and glitter before fleeing.

Mr Bolt was at the restaurant to help launch The Art of the Impossible, a book about Donald Trump by Steve Kates.

Mr Bolt was at the restaurant to help launch The Art of the Impossible, a book about Donald Trump by Steve Kates

He hosts his own television show, the Bolt Report, and his regular column in the Herald Sun has caused so much outrage his 2006 'best of' book was titled Still Not Sorry.
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A remarkable set of colourised photos has emerged on the 73rd anniversary of the D-Day landings shedding new light on the day Allied troops fought their way on to the beaches of northern France.

Black and white images of brave soldiers wading onto Omaha beach on the Normandy coast and advancing on Nazi positions have been transformed using Photoshop.

Separate pictures show exhausted servicemen being dragged ashore by medics and British, US and Canadian troops and members of a US parachute regiment preparing for the landings.

The colourised images emerged on the 73rd anniversary of Operation Overlord, which saw some 156,000 Allied troops landing in Normandy. It is thought as many as 4,400 were killed in an operation the Second World War Prime Minister Winston Churchill described as 'undoubtedly the most complicated and difficult that has ever taken place'.

Soldiers from the 16th Infantry Regiment, U.S. 1st Infantry Division wade ashore on Omaha Beach on the morning of June 6 1944. Dramatic images from D-Day have been given a new lease of life after being colourised by a Brazilian artist

D-Day medics From America's 5th and 6th Engineer Special Brigade help wounded soldiers as they reach Omaha Beach. In the background, survivors of sunken landing craft who reached the beach by using a life raft are helped ashore

Clarence Ware applies war paint to Charles Plaudo in England on June 5, 1944. They were both members of the so called Filthy Thirteen section of the US 101st Airborne Division. The idea came from unit sergeant Jake McNiece, who was part Chocataw and was designed to energise the men for the danger ahead

Brazilian artist Marina Amaral painstakingly researched the images as she gave them a new lease of life with colour using Photoshop.

She told MailOnline: 'Besides the uniforms, I tried to reproduce the atmosphere of the places and get as close as possible to what these soldiers actually saw with their own eyes.

'The generation of World War II are almost all gone, so I think it is extremely important to rescue these photos through a process that interests the new generation - so maybe people will be able to better understand what happened. This is what I've been trying to do since I began colourising photos two years ago.

'I like to keep in mind that I'm working with historical facts, and it's not my job to change that story and make it look the way I want it to look.

British Armys Infantry of 50th Division moving forward near St Gabriel, Normandy, between Ver-sur-Mer and Crepon. Approximately 2,700 British troops lost their lives during the D-Day offensive

The pictures emerged on the 73rd anniversary of Operation Overlord, which saw some 156,000 Allied troops landing in Normandy

Men of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles on the march in Normandy in July 1944. Brazilian artist Marina Amaral painstakingly researched the images as she gave them a new lease of life with colour using Photoshop

'I have to be respectful, and therefore, gather all the historical information possible in order to create images as close as possible to the reality of the scene portrayed. So I am always in touch with historians and they help me a lot to achieve this goal.

'Everything is done manually in Photoshop. I need to mask every object you can potentially see in the picture and assign to them a base colour.

'Then I go slowly building up the atmosphere I want to reproduce, always keeping the original lighting in mind, through many different layers, exploring and using as many colors as I can.'

Some 156,000 Allied troops landed in Normandy on June 6, 1944.

The assault was conducted in two phases: an airborne landing of 24,000 British, American, Canadian and Free French airborne troops shortly after midnight, and an amphibious landing of Allied infantry and armoured divisions on the coast of France commencing at 6.30am.

The operation was the largest amphibious invasion in world history, with over 160,000 troops landing. Some 195,700 Allied naval and merchant navy personnel in over 5,000 ships were involved.

Royal Marine Commandos attached to 3rd Division move inland from Sword Beach on the Normandy coast on June 6, 1944. Thousands of British and US airborne troops parachuted in to Ranville and St Mere-Eglise in Normandy

The cost of war: A stark image, colourised by a Brazilian artist, shows an Allied soldier lying dead in the sand in the wake of the D-Day landings

A US paratrooper is covered with a blanker after being killed in action near St Mere-Eglise in the days after thousands of allied soldiers had landed in Normandy

Captain J M Stagg (left), Chief Meteorological Officer with the Royal Air Force, was responsible for forecasting weather conditions for D-Day. Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory (right) was the Allied Air Commander in Chief

The landings took place along a 50-mile (80 km) stretch of the Normandy coast divided into five sectors: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword.

The assault was chaotic with boats arriving at the wrong point and others getting into difficulties in the water.

Troops managed only to gain a small foothold on the beach - but they built on their initial breakthrough in the coming days and a harbour was opened at Omaha.

They met strong resistance from the German forces who were stationed at strongpoints along the coastline.

Approximately 10,000 allies were injured or killed - 6,603 American, of which 2,499 were fatal, 2,700 UK soldiers and 1,074 Canadians, of which 359 fatal.

Between 4,000 and 9,000 German troops were killed - and it proved the pivotal moment of the war, in the allied forces' favour.

The invasion had required the transport of soldiers and material from the United Kingdom by troop-laden aircraft and ships, the assault landings, air support, naval interdiction of the English Channel and naval fire-support.
The Kremlin has claimed it intercepted a US bomber that was flying near the border of Russian airspace.

Moscow's defense ministry announced the incident on Tuesday morning, saying one of its SU-27 jets was dispatched to an area over the Baltic Sea.

The defense ministry said an aircraft was detected flying along the border, prompting the intercept.

Russia Today claims the SU-27 was sent out shortly after 7am GMT - or 3am on the east coast of the US.

Russia claims it intercepted a US B-52 bomber that was flying near the border of Russian airspace. A B-52 bomber is pictured during an air show in February 2015

This map shows the area of the Baltic Sea near the Russian border. Moscow said a US bomber was intercepted Tuesday morning

The ministry then went on to claim the Russian jet identified the plane as a US B-52 strategic bomber and escorted it until it flew further away from the border.

US European Command spokesman Captain Joe Alonso told Fox News the alleged incident was being investigated.

He could not confirm whether or not it took place.

Similar incidents have happened close to Russian airspace in the past. In September, a Russian fighter jet flew within 10 feet of a Navy surveillance aircraft.

At the time, American officials called it an unsafe intercept over the Black Sea.

Moscow's defense ministry announced the incident on Tuesday morning, saying one of its SU-27 jets was dispatched to an area over the Baltic Sea. Pictured is a SU-27 in October 2016

Moscow claimed the Russian jet identified the plane as a US B-52 strategic bomber and escorted it until it flew further away from the border. Pictured is a B-52 bomber in January 2016
A man is set to be summoned to court in Saudi Arabia after his wife claimed he called her a 'cow' and a 'donkey'.

The woman filed the lawsuit with the penal court, which issued an official document to the local mayor asking him to summon the husband to a hearing.

According to the court, 25 per cent of suits it deals with are concerned with verbal abuse and racial slurs, distracting from more serious criminal charges.

The Saudi Gazette quoted lawyer Saleh Al-Ghamdi as saying that verbal abuse recorded on social media is also a crime.

The wife of the man said he called her a 'cow' and a 'donkey', but the case will first be heard by a reconciliation committee before going to the penal court. Picture above, a stock image of Mecca in Saudi Arabia

He added: 'Such futile crimes should not be taken to the penal court as the court is busy dealing with far more serious issues.

'It has become a phenomenon that people take their own relatives to court for futile matters when the issue could have easily been resolved outside the court.'

Before the case goes before the penal court, however, it will first be taken to a reconciliation committee in an attempt to avoid the need for legal action.

But if that does not succeed, it will proceed to the penal court.
John Delozier is accused of attacking his new wife

A Pennsylvania man has been jailed on charges that he choked his new bride while fighting over cash gifts received at their wedding.

Johnstown police say 31-year-old John Delozier attacked the woman after they returned home from their wedding on Saturday.

Police say Delozier accused the victim of only caring about money before he attacked her, WJAC-TV reported.

Online court records don't list an attorney for Delozier.

Delozier allegedly choked her while fighting over money they received as a gift

He remained in the Cambria County jail Tuesday on charges of simple assault, harassment and strangulation.

Delozier was unable to post 10 percent of his $40,000 bail.

He faces a preliminary hearing on Thursday.
A Georgia father shot dead his daughter's boyfriend after officials say the man put a bullet in the woman's back during a heated argument early Sunday morning.

Authorities in Hall County say Floyd Rusk, 57, came to the defense of his daughter, 22-year-old Jessica Rusk, when she was attacked by her boyfriend, 25-year-old Thomas 'TJ' McNulty, at the Rusk family's home in the 3400 block of Jet Wright Road in Gainesville.

According to the Hall County Sheriff's Office, McNulty, who has a young son with Ms Rusk, shot her in the back with a shotgun during a domestic dispute that erupted at around 4.30am Sunday.

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Hero dad: Authorities in Georgia say 57-year-old Floyd Rusk (left) shot and killed his daughter's boyfriend, Thomas McNulty, 25 (right), after the man put a bullet in her back

Couple's quarrel: McNulty and Jessica Rusk, 22 (pictured together) were arguing Sunday morning when the man allegedly grabbed a shotgun and shot her

The young couple and their toddler son lived in the basement of Floyd and Martha Rusks home, and it was Jessicas mother who called 911 for help after the shooting, reported 11Alive.

While deputies were on their way to the scene, Mr Rusk reportedly grabbed a gun and shot McNulty, killing him. The 25-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Jessica Rusk was taken to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in stable condition and she is expected to make a full recovery.

So far, no charges have been filed against Floyd Rusk in connection to the deadly shooting, but it will by up to the district attorney to make the final determination following a review of the case.

Crime scene: The bloody dispute took place at the Rusk family's home in Gainseville, Georgia

McNulty and his girlfriend lived in the basement of her parents' home along with their young son

According to her social media posts, Jessica and TJ had been in a relationship since at least 2014 and welcomed their son in November 2015.

Investigators say the couple's child was home at the time of the shooting but was unharmed.

The station WSB-TV revealed on Monday that McNulty was fired from his Information technology job two weeks before the shooting for bringing a gun to work.

His former boss at Twisted Pair LLC, Scott Corathers, said McNulty had lasted only about a week at his firm and was let go for violating company policy.

Corathers said the 22-year-old claimed he forget the firearm in his back pocket.
Residents and businesses in Montanas Paradise Valley have been fighting to protect their way of life from foreign mining interests for the past two years.

They need the help of Montanas entire congressional delegation to succeed.

So far, these Montanans have persuaded the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to put a two-year pause on any development on 30,000 acres of federal public lands. Part of the land is at Crevice Mountain, right on the border of Yellowstone National Park near Gardiner. A company with Australian ties has sought a state permit to begin mining there on private land.

The rest of the public land that has been put off-limits to hardrock mining for two years is near Emigrant Gulch in the vicinity of Chico Hot Springs. A small Canadian company is pursuing state permits to explore mining potential on private land adjoining national forest.

The Yellowstone Gateway Business Coalition of 360 area businesses has stepped up to ensure that mining doesnt degrade the Yellowstone River and the beautiful landscapes that draw millions of vacationers, hunters, anglers and hikers to Yellowstones northern gateway.

In March, Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., introduced the Yellowstone Gateway Protection Act, S.941. The bill is brief and to the point: It would make permanent the two-year withdrawal of federally owned minerals on the same 30,000 public acres north of Yellowstone.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke endorsed this gateway land protection last summer while running for re-election to the U.S. House. He reiterated his support after being nominated to lead the Interior Department. Greg Gianforte, who last week was elected to fill the House seat Zinke vacated, is on record in support of Testers bill. The key public servant missing on this public land issue is Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont. Daines support is crucial because he is chairing the Senate Subcommittee on National Parks, the panel that needs to hold a hearing and approve the Yellowstone Gateway Protection Act.

No hearing on the gateway bill has been scheduled.

The Billings Gazette asked Daines spokeswoman what his position is on S.941. Via email, Daines responded: We need to protect this Montana treasure while also respecting private property rights and thats whats missing if we want to see this bill signed into law.

Its unclear exactly what Daines wants changed, but it sure sounds like hes talking about extra-special protection for mining interests in an area that shouldnt be mined. Testers bill contains the legal boiler-plate language for withdrawing federal minerals from hardrock mining development, nothing more.

The bill doesnt cover private land or privately owned minerals. Its large-scale mining involving public property that the local outfitters, guides, innkeepers and restaurateurs fear.

Testers bill adequately and properly addresses the valid existing rights Daines told us he wants to protect. Owners of claims in the proposed withdrawal area are exempt from the withdrawal if they can demonstrate a valid existing right to mine as defined in case law stretching back over the past century.

Were fighting to protect our jobs. What about our property rights? Karrie Kahle asked in a meeting with The Gazette recenty. Kahle, the special events coordinator at Chico Hot Springs, worries what a large open-pit mine would do to her business. Many of Kahles neighbors share her concerns.

The Park County economy runs largely on the $200 million that Yellowstone Park visitors spend annually. The county also has 564 farms and ranches that depend on clean water.

Commenting on Testers bill, Park County Commissioner Steve Caldwell said: The withdrawal also helps maintain the long-term viability of local public finance revenues while respecting the integrity of private property rights.

Daines stated concern is addressed in S.941. The senator from Bozeman should talk more with Tester, and join the rest of the delegation, Park Countys local elected representatives and 360 area businesses in supporting the Yellowstone Gateway Protection Act.

We call on Daines as subcommittee chairman to hold a hearing on this Montana legislation before Congress takes its five-week summer break in August. This bill should be a high priority for Daines because its a high priority for Montanans.

 The Billings (Mont.) Gazette
Comedian Seth Meyers awkwardly joked about Ivanka and Melania Trump at the awards event known as 'the Oscars of fashion'.

The Late Night host received a tepid response to his jokes about the first family at Monday night's CFDA Awards in New York, eliciting few laughs with jokes about the president's wife and daughter.

Returning to host the event for the first time since 2012, Meyers mostly stuck to apolitical material for the evening, poking fun at male rompers and Balenciaga's $2,145 'IKEA' bags.

But the room stayed quiet as Meyers tried a fashioned-themed political joke, saying: 'Abercrombie and Fitch has announced it's putting itself up for sale. Meanwhile, thanks to Donald Trump, the United States has become a Banana Republic.'

Comedian Seth Meyers awkwardly joked about Ivanka and Melania Trump at Monday night's CFDA Awards in New York, eliciting few laughs with jokes about the first family

'Big year for fashion designer Ivanka Trump,' Meyers said. 'I've heard her clothes are flying off the shelves in Nordstrom'

Turning to the presidential coiffure, Meyers found more success.

'It's harder than ever to separate fashion from politics. First Lady Melania Trump made headlines recently after she decided not to wear a head cover while visiting Saudi Arabia,' the comedian said.

'Which was especially shocking, since her husband wears a head covering literally everywhere,' he added, to laughter an applause.

A final joke about the first family fell flat, leaving the room in an awkward silence.

'Big year for fashion designer Ivanka Trump,' he said. 'I've heard her clothes are flying off the shelves in Nordstrom.'

It was revealed in February that Nordstrom had dropped Ivanka Trump's fashion line due to poor sales.

Meyers said it was 'especially shocking' that Melania Trump made headlines for refusing to wear a headscarf on a recent visit to Saudi Arabia (pictured), 'since her husband wears a head covering literally everywhere'

Host @sethmeyers on Melania skipping the head scarf in Saudi Arabia: "Shocking, as her husband wears a head cover literally everywhere." pic.twitter.com/hfJUtn6fjE  Maeve McDermott (@maeve_mcdermott) June 6, 2017

Though Meyers' political humor fell flat, the ceremony overall had a strong activist bent this year, reaching outside the fashion industry to honor feminist icon Gloria Steinem, Planned Parenthood's Cecile Richards, and actress Janelle Monae for their involvement in the Women's March on Washington in January.

The three were presented with the Board of Director's Special Tribute by designer Diane von Furstenberg, who said they had 'epitomized and crystallized' the march.

In her remarks, Steinem, a harsh critic of President Donald Trump, said the country is experiencing 'a time of hope but also of danger.'

'There is backlash from Trump to terrorists against the kind of equality and understanding and simple humanity that we strive for,' Steinem said.

'So like a woman leaving a violent household, who is then most likely to be injured or killed because she is escaping control, we too are escaping control. We have to be careful and look out for each other,' the noted feminist went on.

'Now there is more activism than I have ever seen in my lifetime,' she added. 'Maybe we are about to be free.'
Fears are growing powerful new shoot-to-kill laws mooted in the wake of the deadly Sydney Lindt Siege will not be implemented for at least another two months.

A coronial inquest in May into the terrorist attack which left two hostages dead recommended legal protection be given to police so they are better equipped to deal with individuals committing acts of terror.

Coroner Michael Barnes found police had been reluctant to shoot Islamist terrorist Man Haron Monis during the siege because of current laws.

New South Wales police are reportedly furious over delays to new shoot-to-kill powers mooted following the deadly Sydney Lindt siege. Pictured, armed officers outside the Lindt cafe in Martin Place in December 2014 as the siege unfolded

Islamist terrorist Man Haron Monis (pictured) took 18 people hostage inside the Martin Place Lindt cafe on December 15, 2014, and shot one of them dead

'The snipers and the police commanders believed that police did not have lawful authority to shoot Monis because he did not pose an imminent or immediate danger to the hostages,' Mr Barnes said.

New South Wales police commissioner Mick Fuller was reportedly urging politicians to grant officers legal protection following Mr Barnes's findings.

But the state government is remaining tight-lipped about when police will be granted the new shoot-to-kill powers, The Daily Telegraph reported.

'The Government is in the final stages of reviewing the Coroner's recommendations into the Lindt cafe siege and will respond shortly,' Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.

The delay in introducing the tough new measures, which might not be tabled in parliament until August, has left senior officers fuming.

'The bureaucrats are trying to run dead,' a senior source told the paper.

Coroner Michael Barnes in May found police had been reluctant to shoot Monis during the siege because of current laws. Pictured, police at the scene of the deadly siege in 2014

A hostage is led away by police after escaping the Lindt cafe in Sydney's Martin Place when Man Haron Monis committed an act of terror

Monis took 18 people hostage inside the Martin Place Lindt cafe on December 15, 2014 and shot dead manager Tori Johnson.

Barrister Katrina Dawson, who was also one of the hostages, was killed by police gunfire. Monis was fatally shot by police.

The state government is also yet to make changes to parole laws which would see less prisoners with terror links freed, despite unveiling planned new reforms in February.

It says now they anticipate legislation changes will happen by the end of the year.
Jeremy Corbyn addressed a rally attended by 300 members of an extremist group linked to the leader of the London Bridge attacks.

He addressed an anti-Israel protest where Islamists from Al Muhajiroun chanted about their support for Osama Bin Laden and shouted slogans calling for Israelis to be gassed. Two were dressed in mock suicide bomber outfits.

Khuram Butt, one of the three Borough Market murderers, was a supporter of Al Muhajiroun and an associate of its leader Anjem Choudary, the jailed hate preacher.

It was also claimed yesterday that the security services are looking into a second attackers links to the preacher.

The now-Labour leader addressed an anti-Israel protest where Islamists from Al Muhajiroun chanted about their support for Osama Bin Laden and shouted slogans calling for Israelis to be gassed

Omar Bakri Muhammad (left), the leader of al Muhajiroun, is pictured addressing a rally in Trafalgar Square in 2002 alongside hate preacher Abu Hamza. Bakri fled the UK shortly after the 2005 London bombings and is on the run in Lebanon while Hamza is serving life behind bars in the United States for terrorism offences

Details of Mr Corbyns attendance at the infamous demonstration in May 2002 are a blow to the Labour leader just 24 hours before the polls open.

The Mail can also reveal that he and his shadow chancellor John McDonnell both voted against the counter-terrorism law used to ban Al Muhajiroun and criminalise its members and leaders.

Jeremy Corbyn, pictured on Sunday in Carlisle, addressed a rally in 2002 which was attended by members of the now banned terror group al Muhajiroun

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon claimed the revelations showed Mr Corbyn could not be trusted with power. He said: Jeremy Corbyn wants to be prime minister in just two days, but this latest revelation about his association with extremists shows exactly why he is unfit to lead the country.

He has a long track record of siding with people who want to damage and attack the UK and there can be no excuse for his decision to address this rally.

There is a very real risk that Jeremy Corbyn and his Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott will be in charge of our security and borders on Friday unless people vote for Theresa May and her Conservative team.

A spokesman for Mr Corbyn said: Jeremy addressed a broad-based rally in support of Palestinian rights. It was a public event and he was in no way responsible for the views of all of the thousands of attendees. Jeremy condemns Al Muhajiroun in the strongest possible terms.

But the Labour leader has been exposed for calling terrorist groups Hezbollah and Hamas his friends, describing the death of Bin Laden as a tragedy, boasting of opposing anti-terror legislation in his 30-year career as an MP, and opposing powers stopping would-be terrorists travelling to fight with Islamic State.

Details of the demonstration were found on the communist Weekly Worker website. It described the ultra- reactionaries of Al Muhajiroun chanting Skud, Skud Israel and Gas, gas Tel Aviv , along with declarations of support for Al Qaeda.

Khuram Butt, pictured on the Channel 4 documentary The Jihadis Next Door, was linked to the terror group al Muhajiroun. He and two other terrorists killed seven people and injured dozens more in the London Bridge terror attack

Anjem Choudary, pictured at a rally outside Regent's Park mosque in 2015, was one of the ringleaders behind the now banned terror group al Muhajiroun. He is currently in jail for encouraging his supporters to join the terror group ISISin a series of lectures on YouTube

It added: Two would-be suicide posers were dressed in combat fatigues with a bomb strapped to their waists. This section accounted for no more than 200-300, but they made a noise far out of proportion to their numbers.

Mr Corbyn, then a backbench Labour MP, also addressed the rally, which police estimated was attended by around 8,000 people.

He made a speech in which he called for Israeli leader Ariel Sharon to be put on trial at the International Criminal Court and called for an end to trade with Israel.

Too many people have suffered for to long, too many young people have died as a result of this illegal occupation, he said.

Al Muhajiroun was set up by hate preacher Omar Bakri Mohammad, and sparked outrage when it described the 9/11 hijackers as the Magnificent 19.

Sadiq Khan stands with paramedics this morning to hold a minute's silence for those killed in the London Bridge terror attack. Seven were killed and dozens injured in the carnage

Mourners remember those killed in the terror attack at the floral tribute in London Bridge

He was exiled from the UK in 2005 in the wake of the July 7 terror attacks when leadership of the group passed to Choudary.

Yesterday the Mail revealed Butt joined Choudary on College Green outside the Palace of Westminster the day after the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby. He verbally assaulted a moderate Muslim leader who had taken exception to Choudarys extreme rhetoric including the remark that one of the killers, Michael Adebolajo, was a practising Muslim and a family man who he was proud of.

In 2000 Mr Corbyn and John McDonnell voted against Labours Terrorism Act that made membership of proscribed groups a criminal offence. Al Muhajiroun was added to the list in 2010.
Eric Trump, and his brother Donald Jr., both defended their president father against insinuations that his campaign colluded with the Russians to win.

'It's the greatest hoax of all time,' Trump's middle son told Good Morning America. 'We had no deals in Russia, we had no projects in Russia, we had nothing to do with Russia.'

Donald Trump Jr. echoed the sentiment sitting down with the same program, saying, 'It's without a question, it reads and smells like a witch hunt.'

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President Donald Trump's middle son Eric defended his father against claims that there was collusion between his campaign and the Russians calling it a 'hoax'

The president's eldest son Donald Jr. (right) agreed with his brother calling the ongoing investigations into Russia and the campaign a 'witch hunt'

ABC's Good Morning America talked to both Trump sons as they debuted a new Trump hotel product, called American Idea.

These hotels will be more affordable, just three stars, and decked out in patriotic flare.

They'll also be located in Trump country.

Donald Trump Jr. pushed back at the suggestion that the brothers were profiting from politics.

'It has nothing to do with politics,' he argued.

'We're trying to make money off a hotel brand we feel there's an under served market to,' he added. 'I think more companies could do better by being a little bit more patriotic.'

Additionally, despite keeping the president updated with profit reports for the company, Eric Trump said they 'just don't mix' their business with what their father is up to in Washington.

'The president of the United States has zero conflicts of interests,' Eric Trump said.

Eric Trump also acknowledged that he planned to watch fired FBI Director James Comey's testimony in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday.

'Yeah, sure, absolutely,' the middle Trump son answered.

Donald Jr. and Eric Trump had met with FBI agents a day before Comey's firing in New York to discuss an attempted cyber attack on their company, the Trump Organization.

'It was a totally separate topic,' Eric Trump said, separating the interview from questions regarding Comey and the ongoing FBI Russia probe, which is being handed over to Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

Turning to White House management, Donald Jr. was asked if he was satisfied with the team surrounding President Trump.

'I am, but the immediate team,' the Trump son replied. 'But I think there's plenty in D.C., there's probably plenty still in the White House, there's plenty of holdovers that aren't necessarily working in his best interest.'

Donald Jr. also answered in the affirmative when asked if he believed people were actively working against his father.

'Oh, without question,' he said.
This photo of a hand grenade was posted on the vigilante group's Facebook page along with a chilling warning

A vigilante group in Iraq is taking the law into their own hands by killing people they claim are members of ISIS.

Eleven suspected jihadists who were recently found blindfolded, bound and shot to death on the side of the road 20 miles south of Mosul are some of the victims of the group, which on its Facebook page tells supporters to 'burn' the families and homes of ISIS members.

The vigilante group, which has dubbed themselves the Hammam al-Alil Revolution, created a Facebook group to launch revenge on ISIS members in May. It now has 650 members.

'Soon we will start our operation, we are now locating Deash families,' read the first post on the page from May 28. 'We will make them regret joining. Good luck everyone,' it signs off.

The Facebook page launched six months after the town of Hammam al-Alil was liberated from ISIS, also known as Daesh.

The second post on the page featured a photo of a grenade with the pin pulled out and told the story of an apparent attack carried out by one of its members.

A collection of grenades are seen in a photo posted on the anti-ISIS vigilante Facebook page as the group seeks the address of jihadis near Mosul

Eleven suspected jihadists who were recently found blindfolded, bound and shot to death on the side of the road 20 miles south of Mosul (pictured) are some of the victims of the vigilante group, Hammam al-Alil Revolution, which on its Facebook page tells supporters to 'burn' the families and homes of ISIS members

'Today we targeted Mohammad Atrash, we threw two grenades and attacked the family with gunfire, as they did to us,' the post said.

The Facebook page posts the addresses of dead and imprisoned ISIS fighters, encouraging its members to go after them and their families.

The group told its followers last month to 'burn them and their families'.

One member of the group told The Telegraph that it was carrying out attacks as revenge after his cousin was killed by ISIS militants.

The man, only identified as Omar, said: 'It's a reciprocity. They hurt my family, now we will hurt theirs.'

Ali Hamed Ahmed, 65, said that his family was targeted after three of his sons joined ISIS.

'Our family is being punished for the sins of our sons,' he told The Telegraph. 'We have great shame for what they did, but they are not here now and this is our house. This is not right.'

Another family was targeted for two consecutive nights, when vigilantes threw a grenade at the home on Friday and opened fire with kalashnikovs on Saturday.

A member of the National Security Services told The Telegraph that he knew who was behind the attacks but would not intervene.
President Donald Trump sided with Saudi Arabia in a major diplomatic spat in the Middle East, taking credit for a bloc of Arab nations taking a 'hard line' against funding that boosts terror groups.

The president weighed in on Twitter amid the diplomatic standoff, after a Saudi-led bloc of Arab nations cut off diplomatic relations with Qatar over its support for terror-linked groups as well as its back-channel relations with Iran.

'During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!' Trump wrote, referencing his trip to Riyadh on his first international trip as president.

'So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding...extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!' Trump wrote in a pair of tweets.

President Donald Trump (L) and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (R) attend the Arabic Islamic American Summit in Riyadh. Trump appeared to back efforts to isolate Qatar on Tuesday

The diplomatic move Monday through Qatar into crisis. The tiny Persian Gulf nation is home to a U.S. air base that houses 11,000 military personnel.

Qatar has strong relations with Iran, which backs Hezbollah and other terror groups. I backs rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar-al Assad, it has backed the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas, and pumps funding into Al Jazeera, which has angered neighboring regimes at times.

'We certainly would encourage the parties to sit down together and address these differences,' Rex Tillerson said Monday, the New York Times reported.

It was announced by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates. Yemen, Libya's eastern-based government and the Maldives joined in later - opening up one of the worst rifts in years.

President Trump tweeted about the effort to isolate Qatar on Tuesday

President Trump tweeted about the effort to isolate Qatar on Tuesday

King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa (R) and U.S President Donald Trump (L) shake hands during the U.S. - Gulf Summit at Saudi Arabia's King Abdul Aziz International Conference Center in Riyadh

It was revealed on Monday that one of the tipping points for Qatari-Gulf Arab relations could have been a ransom Qatar officials paid earlier this year.

A ransom of up to $1billion paid by Qatar to Iranian and Al Qaeda-linked forces in Syria to release kidnapped members of the country's royal family may have been a trigger behind the effort to cut off Doha.

President Donald Trump (R) and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani take part in a bilateral meeting at a hotel in Riyadh on May 21, 2017. It is unclear how the Qataris will respond to his recent tweets

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD? Early reports are that the Saudis were emboldened by Trump's visit to Riyadh, which occurred days before the tough diplomatic action against Qatar. President Donald Trump, US First lady Melania Trump (2nd R), Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud (2nd L) and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (L) put their hands on an illuminated globe during the inauguration ceremony of the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on May 21, 2017

President Donald Trump (L) and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud during a signing ceremony at the Saudi Royal Court in Riyadh

Qatar paid the ransom to al-Qaeda affiliate fighting in Syria and Iranian security officials, a person involved in ransom negotiations said in April.

The incident was sparked when the group was kidnapped December 16, 2015 from a desert camp for falcon hunters in southern Iraq.

A person involved in the ransom negotiations said in April that 11 of the captives were members of Qatar's Al Thani ruling family.

As the fallout continued Tuesday, Qatar's state-of-the-art Hamad International was virtually deserted, as many of the nations had blocked air travel to the oil rich country.

Trump called for united efforts against Islamic extremism during a speech on his trip last month.

The U.S. air base in Qatar is critical to military efforts battling ISIS in Iraq and Syria, and to the overall security posture.
A Los Angeles judge has ruled that Cathriona White's claims that Jim Carrey gave her STDs before she committed suicide will be admissible in the wrongful death lawsuits brought by her mother and ex-husband.

Documents obtained by DailyMail.com reveal the judge shot down Carrey's motion to remove all allegations that he transmitted STDs to Cathriona, saying the actor's privacy concerns are not a top priority.

Brigid Sweetman, White's mother, is suing the actor for wrongful death blaming him for her daughter's 2015 suicide. White's estranged husband, Mark Burton, also filed a wrongful death suit against the Dumb and Dumber actor.

Carrey claims they were not close to White at the time of her death and are trying to capitalize on the tragedy.

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A LA judge ruled Cathriona White's (left) claims that Jim Carrey (right) gave her multiple STDs can be used as evidence in her mother's wrongful death suit. She died in 2015 from an intentional overdose of Ambien, Percocet and Propranolol

Sweetman accused Carrey of giving White multiple STDs during their relationship and said when White confronted him he called her a 'whore'. They dated on-and-off for three years.

Under California law, willfully exposing someone to a STD can constitute a cause of legal action for intentional infliction of emotional distress, a factor which can be relevant in determining a cause of suicide.

Burton claimed in an earlier complaint his estranged wife was tested for STDs prior to her relationship with Carrey.

Text messages allege she took a test one week after she began sleeping with the actor and later learned she contracted Herpes I, Herpes II and gonorrhea.

In papers filed May 31, the judge made her decision on several important issues in the case, including the STD accusations.

Brigid Sweetman (left) and Mark Burton (right) both filed wrongful death suits against Jim Carrey for Cathriona White's suicide. The makeup artist died at the age of 30 in her Los Angeles home

Sweetman and Burton both sued demanding general damages, funeral and burial expenses and punitive damages. The judge set the trial date for April 26, 2018.

Sweetman also alleges Carrey provided her daughter with medication which would violate the Drug Dealer Liability Act. Carrey has repeatedly denied providing White with drugs, claiming she stole the fatal dose of Ambien, Percocet and Propranolol from him.

Carrey filed a motion to strike the majority of the factual allegations in the complaints. He argued alleged transmission of STDs to White had no relevance to the case, contained private medical information and the statements were simply scandalous and abusive.

In earlier complaints, Burton provided text messages from White to Carrey about allegedly contracting STDs. She claimed she was tested before they were intimate

Carrey also wanted the allegations concerning him backing out of paying for the funeral expenses removed from the complaint.

The judge reviewed the evidence and testimony and sided with the plaintiffs. She states that the allegations concerning his offer to pay for the funeral expenses are relevant and may provide contextual information to the nature of the relationship Carrey had with White before her suicide.

In regards to the STD allegations, the order states they are 'wholly relevant' and inextricably a key factual basis for the causes of action in the lawsuit and denied Carrey's motion to strike them.

She notes that Carrey is a celebrity and there are privacy concerns. However, those privacy concerns do not override the right of the plaintiffs to include those allegations in the complaints.

She adds that given the nature of the allegations the court is hard pressed to see how this matter could be tried otherwise.

White wrote a letter to Carrey claiming he called her a 'whore' and an 'opportunist' when she confronted him about the STDs
A retired detective central to the high-profile investigation into Jaidyn Leskie's death still believes the toddler's babysitter killed him, despite having been acquitted of his murder.

In 1997, the death of 14-month-old Jaidyn in Moe, in regional Victoria, captured the attention of the nation as the search for first his body, and then his killer, wore on.

His disappearance, the 20th anniversary of which will be marked next week, led to Greg Domaszewicz, then partner of Jaidyn's mother Bilynda Williams, being charged with murder.

But although a jury cleared Mr Domaszewicz of the crime, Rowland Legg, the senior Victoria Police sergeant at the centre of the investigation, says he still believes he is guilty.

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A retired police detective central to the investigation into the death of Jaidyn Leskie (pictured) still believes the toddler's babysitter killed him, despite having been acquitted of his murder

Greg Domaszewicz (centre), the former partner of Jaidyn's mother Bilynda Williams, was found not guilty of murdering the 14-month-old toddler in Moe, regional Victoria, in December 1998

But although a jury cleared Mr Domaszewicz of the crime, Rowland Legg (pictured), the senior Victoria Police sergeant at the centre of the investigation, says he still believes he is guilty

Talking to A Current Affair ahead of the anniversary, Mr Legg revealed that he still believes that he charged the man responsible.

'At the time we charged Mr Domaszewicz, obviously we were satisfied that he was responsible for Jaidyn's death,' Mr Legg said.

'Nothing has occurred since then which changes my view.'

Jaidyn disappeared on June 15, 1997, while under the care of Mr Domaszewicz as his mother Bilynda partied at a notorious nightspot in the nearby town of Traralgon.

That same night, a pigs head was thrown at the front window of the home where Mr Domaszewicz lived and where the toddler was last seen.

On New Year's Day 1998, some six months after he disappeared, Jaidyn's body was pulled from nearby Blue Rock Dam - with sticky tape wrapped around a broken arm.

Less than a year later, in December 1998, a jury found Mr Domaszewicz not guilty of the toddler's murder, a decision that still outrages retired Snr Sgt Legg.

'I'm usually fairly composed. The vast majority of our investigations resulted in guilty verdicts,' he said.

On New Year's Day 1998, some six months after he disappeared, Jaidyn's body was pulled from the murky waters of nearby Blue Rock Dam - with sticky tape wrapped around a broken arm

'At the time we charged Mr Domaszewicz, we were satisfied he was responsible for Jaidyn's death... nothing has occurred since then which changes my view,' Mr Legg said

'But I did lapse for a moment and say I'd prefer to have three judges than a jury.'

Mr Domaszewicz admitted in 2014 that 'stupidity' led to Jaidyn's death and a coroner found in 2006 he had dumped the child's dead body in the murky waters of the dam.

'We found a wet wallet and wet clothing with Mr Domaszewicz, and later wet bank notes concealed under a mattress in his house,' Mr Legg said.

Bloodied tissues that matched Jaidyn's blood type were also found in the bin at his home.

But despite this, Mr Domaszewicz has always maintained his innocence.

It comes after another senior officer involved in the case last month claimed that Mr Domaszewicz may have been allowed to go home from his first police interview with key evidence.

Mr Domaszewicz admitted in 2014 that 'stupidity' led to Jaidyn's death and a coroner found in 2006 he had dumped the child's dead body (pictured) in the murky waters of the dam

'We found a wet wallet and wet clothing with Mr Domaszewicz, and later wet bank notes concealed under a mattress in his house,' Mr Legg said

It comes after another senior officer involved in the case last month claimed that Mr Domaszewicz may have been allowed to go home from his first police interview with key evidence

Sergeant Max Hill last month revealed 'significant evidence' may have been in Mr Domaszewicz's car, the day after he reported that Jaidyn was missing.

Mr Hill told the Herald Sun the murder charge may have stuck if a roll of tape found in the boot had been seized and was proved to match the tape used on Jaidyn's arm.

The roll of tape went missing after detectives returned Mr Domaszewicz's car in the hope he would unknowingly lead a surveillance team to the missing toddler.

Mr Hill said he photographed the 'evidence', which he was confident would have matched the tape used on Jaidyn's arm.

'It is surmised that this roll of tape most probably would have identically matched the tape used to bandage the child's broken arm,' he told the Herald Sun.

Mr Domaszewicz admitted in 2014 that 'stupidity' led to the child's death, after he left him to pick up mother Bilynda Williams (pictured) - who he was dating at the time - from a nightclub

'When the body washed up we may have had the only piece of physical evidence that could definitively link Domaszewicz to the murder.'

Mr Hill said if the photograph he took of Mr Domaszewicz's boot could be forensically examined with modern technology, Victoria could witness its first double jeopardy case.

'In the absence of that roll of tape, imagine if the photograph itself could now be forensically examined using the latest digital techniques and the tear from the last portion of that roll of tape is actually shown at high resolution in the picture,' he said.

He said if the tear on the roll could be shown to match the tear from the crude bandaging on Jaidyn's arm then the case could be reignited.

Mr Hill was the first person to interview Mr Domaszewicz while he was in charge of Moe police station and said he believes he was lying about something.
Tory tensions with the BBC boiled over today as a presenter was accused of acting like an 'official spokeswoman for Jeremy Corbyn' in an interview with Boris Johnson.

The Foreign Secretary was embroiled in a bad-tempered exchange with Mishal Husain on Radio 4's Today programme after he raised the Labour leader's stance on shoot-to-kill.

Mr Corbyn said in an interview in November 2015, days after the Bataclan terror attack in Paris, that he was 'not happy with the shoot to kill policy in general'.

But as Mr Johnson laid into the Labour leader for his consistent refusal to back counter-terrorist measures over the past three decades, Husain insisted on breaking in to 'set the record straight'.

The Foreign Secretary was embroiled in a bad-tempered exchange with Mishal Husain (pictured right) on Radio 4's Today programme after he raised the Labour leader's stance on shoot-to-kill

After being told by Husain she was 'setting straight' his 'political rhetoric', a clearly angry Mr Johnson said Mr Corbyn had 'changed his mind' during the election campaign

Mr Johnson said: 'He has sent out a signal that he is personally opposed to the use of shoot-to-kill tactics that were invaluable in saving people's lives on Saturday night.'

'Mr Johnson I don't know why you are saying that ... rather than some political rhetoric let me put the record on what he has said,.

'He has said in the wake of the London Bridge attack - this is not a one-off what he has said - but I want to put it to you directly to set the record straight.

'He will take whatever action is necessary to protect the security of our people and that includes full authority for the police to use whatever force is necessary to protect and save life as they did on Saturday night and as they did in Westminster in March.

CORBYN HAUNTED BY 'SHOOT TO KILL' REMARKS Jeremy Corbyn has faced renewed questions about his view on armed police in the aftermath of the London Bridge attack. Officers killed three marauding terrorists within minutes of the horrifying incident beginning on Saturday night. But despite praising the police's swift actions, Mr Corbyn has still faced questions because he admitted in the aftermath of the 2015 Paris attacks: 'I'm not happy with the shoot-to-kill policy in general. 'I think that is quite dangerous and I think can often be counter-productive.' Under a storm of criticism he later clarified: 'Of course I support the use of whatever proportionate and strictly necessary force is required to save life in response to attacks of the kind we saw in Paris.' In a sign of the backlash Mr Corbyn could face in the final days of the campaign, ex-Labour MP Simon Danczuk, who is standing as an Independent in Rochdale, warned on Sunday said: 'Can't believe public will now vote Labour to put Corbyn in Downing Street when he opposes shoot-to-kill and is effectively terrorists' friend.' Advertisement

A clearly angry Mr Johnson said Mr Corbyn had 'changed his mind' during the election campaign.

'Are you denying, Mishal Husain, that Jeremy Corbyn has in the past and actually in the quite recent past said he is opposed to the use of shoot to kill?' he said.

The presenter replied: 'I am setting the record straight on what he has said in the wake of the Westminster attack and the wake of what happened at London Bridge.'

But Mr Johnson insisted: 'He is opposed to shoot to kill.'

Tory MP Philip Davies said the interview was 'outrageous'.

'Husain was acting as if she was the official spokeswoman for Jeremy Corbyn,' he told MailOnline.

'The BBC is terribly biased but this was a new low even for the BBC.'

In the BBC interview with Mr Corbyn in November 2015, Mr Corbyn was asked by the corporation's political editor Laura Kuenssberg: 'If you were prime minister would you be happy to order people, police or military, to shoot to kill on Britain's streets?'

He replied: 'I am not happy with the shoot to kill policy in general. I think that is quite dangerous and I think it can often be counterproductive.

'I think you have to have security which prevents people firing off weapons where you can and there are various degrees of doing things, as we know, but the idea you end up with a war on the streets is not a good thing.

'Surely you have to work to try and prevent these things happening. That has got to be the priority.'

In an interview with the BBC last November, Mr Corbyn said: 'I am not happy with the shoot to kill policy in general. I think that is quite dangerous and I think it can often be counterproductive.'

Labour has tried to dismiss the comments based on a ruling from the BBC Trust, its former regulator, that the report was not 'duly accurate'.

However, the criticism hung on the fact that the report had not included the full question that was put to the Labour leader, suggesting he was specifically responding to the Paris attack rather than making a more general point about shoot to kill tactics.

Despite the comments, he has since stated that he does support the right of security services to use force against terrorists on the streets.

A BBC spokeswoman said: 'Today listeners expect robust, impartial and challenging questioning of politicians across the political spectrum.

'Mishal Husain was quoting Jeremy Corbyn's most recent comments on the 'shoot to kill' policy, and gave Boris Johnson ample opportunity to respond to them.

It is entirely reasonable for a journalist to put the Opposition Leader's words to the Foreign Secretary for his reaction.'
A hungry Alabama police officer was shocked when he found a large metal bolt inside his fast food sandwich.

Birmingham Police sergeant Patrick Cosby went through the drive-thru at an Arby's last Thursday during a night shift to tuck into a roast beef sandwich.

The cop told Alabama.com he paid for his meal - which included the sandwich, a drink, and other food - and drove back to his precinct. He then unwrapped the sandwich and took a bit, chomping down hard on the bolt.

'I pulled back and spit it out and looked into the sandwich. There's a massive bolt laying there. I'm kind of in shock,' Cosby told the newspaper.

An Alabama police officer was shocked when he found a large metal bolt (pictured) inside a sandwich he bought from Arby's

The cop then accused the person who made his sandwich of putting the bolt in his food on purpose.

'I'm playing this out in my head... I wondered if it was intentionally done,' he said.

'I feel like it was intentional. What are the chances it was an officer that got the one-inch bolt in his sandwich?

'If I were making a sandwich at home, I'd know if a 1-inch bolt was in there.'

The cop, who is vocal politically on Facebook and routinely attacks 'the left' and 'liberals', sent a picture of the bolt to his wife, who shared it on social media.

'Patrick got a little something extra with his Arby's sandwich tonight,' 27-year-old Angela Cosby wrote.

The picture showed the bolt nestled inside the roast beef sandwich, which the cop had taken a bit out of.

Cosby's mother, Katie Rouse, also shared the image on Facebook, but took it a step further by blaming 'Black Lives Matter' for putting the bolt in her son's meal.

Birmingham Police sergeant Patrick Cosby (pictured with his wife, Angela) went through the drive-thru at an Arby's last Thursday to buy the sandwich he later found had a bolt inside

Angela Cosby posted about the incident last Thursday, while also sharing a picture of the sandwich

She also repeatedly commented it was an intentional act, despite that allegation being denied by the store.

Cosby's wife contacted Arby's to make a formal complaint, and was told the chain's national office would be in touch with them.

On Saturday, Cosby was called by a regional supervisor, who said they did not believe the bolt was put in the sandwich on purpose and instead fell into the meat from a malfunctioning meat cutter, according to Alabama.com.

A vice-president with the company then reached out to Cosby who apologized for the incident, but explained again the bolt fell off a cutter.

The cop, seemingly unimpressed with what he viewed as a lack of justice, then took his complaint to the Birmingham Police Department, the FDA, and the Jefferson County Health Department.

He told Alabama.com the Health Department visited the store, and also reached the same conclusion the bolt came off a damaged cutter and unintentionally wound up in his food.
Two men picked up in cars were raped by women in separate incidents, police in Zimbabwe have said.

One man was held up with a gun, forced into the bush, raped and then drugged while the other was knocked out by a drink and abused while unconscious.

Police, who are now investigating, urged members of the public to be vigilant in case they are picked up by the women after a spate of female-on-male rapes in the country.

It comes as a man in neighbouring South Africa was left traumatised after being raped 'numerous' times by three women after hailing a cab last week.

One of the men said he was threatened with a pistol before being sexually molested, while the other said he was raped while knocked unconsciously after being offered a spiked drink. Above, a stock image of Harare, where both men were picked up

In Zimbabwe,The Herald reported that Chief Superintendent Paul Nyathi said one of the two recent victims, aged 37, was picked up in Harare on May 27 by a car containing one man and two women.

A woman who came aboard at the same time, the policeman said, pointed what seemed to be a pistol at the man after the driver had taken the car on a detour.

Chief Supt Nyathi said the woman force-marched the man into the bush, adding: 'One of the females forced the complainant to have sexual intercourse with him without his consent while another female accused forced the complainant to drink an unknown liquid which left the complainant unconscious.'

The other man also boarded a car in Harare, this one containing five unknown people, before being offered a drink by a woman which knocked him unconscious.

Chief Supt Nyathi said: 'When the complainant gained consciousness he discovered that he had been abused.'

Last year police were on the lookout for four women alleged to have sexually abused a 29-year-old man after offering him a lift in the Zimbabwean capital.

In 2015, another man - also aged 29 - was allegedly raped at gunpoint after being given a ride from Magunje Growth Point.
Jacqueline Grayson (pictured) shared posts from EDL and BNP on her Facebook page

A care home manager who shared controversial Facebook posts about Muslims on Facebook has been warned about the 'unacceptable' posts.

Jacqueline Grayson, manager of Treflys in Llandudno, faced a Social Care Wales fitness to practice hearing after a tip off from a 'whistleblower' about the English Defence League (EDL) and British National Party (BNP) posts.

Roman Catholic Mrs Grayson, 63, joined the home in 2005 as matron and worked with colleagues of different nationalities.

A Romanian colleague described her as 'amazing' with staff and residents.

Sharing ten posts on her personal Facebook page led to complaints by an unnamed individual to police - who took no action - and the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Mrs Grayson was then referred to Social Care Wales, the official body overseeing the care sector.

She argued that the posts by the far right EDL 'just came up' on her Facebook page, which was restricted to be seen only by 'friends.'

One EDL post she was accused of sharing was about a total ban on the burka.

Mrs Grayson told the panel: 'I don't believe it should be banned altogether. It does make me nervous in certain circumstances.

'In general, the burka should be allowed. In places, it should be restricted. People will walk in supermarkets and they are asked to remove their hoodies and motorcycle helmets. It's about safety and identification.'

She added: 'As a country we have been scared' and added 'I am very, very sorry about all the posts.'

Delme Griffiths, the presenting officer, urged the panel to reject any suggestion the conduct was protected by freedom of speech.

There was also a post with a picture of a golliwog, which Rhys Johns, representing her, said had been a toy from her childhood. Mrs Grayson, of Bangor, said she was born in the 1950s. 'All children had these,' she explained. 'We all collected the stickers off Robertson's jams.'

She hadn't appreciated the racial connotations at the time.

'It was just my years gone by. It wasn't intended to be racist in any way,' she declared.

She said posts had 'popped up' on Facebook and she 'inadvertently' shared material which promoted or condoned racist or anti-Islamic views. They were available to about 40 friends including several colleagues.

'I never intended for anybody to be upset or offended,' she said. 'I realise just how dangerous it (Facebook) can be. I have had twelve months to reflect on all of this.'

Mrs Grayson claimed the whistle-blower was 'selective' in the posts they chose to report.

She said: 'I am not a bad person. A lot of what I followed is to do with health and dying. This is just a very small minority of what has been on my Facebook. I do sympathise with refugees.'

Since the Manchester attack, EDL-style posts appeared again and were then deleted.

'I don't want to get involved in anything that is going to jeopardise my career. I do wish I hadn't posted any of them but I did,' she said.

Jacqueline Grayson, manager of Treflys (pictured) in Llandudno, faced a Social Care Wales fitness to practice hearing after a tip off from a 'whistleblower' about the EDL and BNP posts she was sharing on Facebook

The Treflys adult home is registered for 29 residents. Owner Bhusan Ramnath told the hearing his wife was Muslim and grandmother Mrs Grayson's views were 'quite moderate.' He said she had shared posts about the pressure on the NHS.

Barrister Rhys Johns, for her, said Mrs Grayson had learned 'a valuable lesson' and that Facebook users didn't necessarily 'dissect' posts when looking at them.

Mrs Grayson denied sharing posts in the knowledge what she was doing was offensive or discriminatory.

Mr Johns said she was sharing posts with a defined group and acting as a 'private person not as a professional.'

There was no evidence she had treated any Muslim resident to a lesser standard than others.

'She has shared the posts because of a political issue. She was sharing posts which were expressions of someone else's freedom of speech and did so naively,' he said.

Mr Johns argued that there was no misconduct. However, the panel found she had 'shared' seven Facebook posts between September 2015 and June last year, including anti-Islamic and discriminatory views.

Panel chairman Islwyn Jones said the golliwog image was now 'widely interpreted' as racist and offensive. Mrs Grayson had also shared a post highlighting Muslim mayors.

'You either recognised at the time or ought to have recognised the discriminatory and anti-Islamic messages conveyed in some of the posts,' he told her.

Letting Mrs Grayson off with a warning, the panel reminded her of the importance of adhering to the professional code of practice.

'We consider behaviour of this nature to be completely unacceptable for a registered professional,' said Mr Jones.

But he added : 'We have concluded that your fitness to practice isn't currently impaired.'
The sister of police killer Dale Cregan has wished her 'best brother that anybody could hope for' a happy birthday, saying she is hopeful 'there will be a miracle' and he will be released from prison.

Cregan, who lost an eye in a brawl years ago, was told he would die in prison when he was jailed for life without parole for shooting police officers Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes in 2012.

He was already on the run for the murders of David Short, 46, and son Mark, 23, when he killed the two policewomen after luring them to a house with a fake 999 call before shooting them 32 times on the doorstep in Hattersley and then throwing a grenade at them.

In an Instagram post his sister Kelly said she hoped he'd be 'back where you belong' - despite her evil brother receiving a whole-life term.

Kelly Cregan posted this Instagram post about her brother, on his birthday

Sharing a photograph of the murderer who has turned 34 behind bars, she wrote: 'Wishing the best brother that anybody could ask for in the whole wide world a happy birthday.

'Hoping one day there will be a miracle and you'll be back where you belong.

Dale Cregan, who lost an eye in a brawl years ago, was told he would die in prison when he was jailed for life without parole for shooting police officers Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes in 2012

'Love and miss ya long time day day.'

Kelly was forced to move to Spain in the aftermath of his four murders fearing for her safety but has recently returned to the UK.

She has reportedly also said her brother refuses to apologise for his sickening crimes.

Another of Cregan's sisters, Stacey, avoided jail last November despite laundering money for her drug baron boyfriend.

She was caught with luxury watches worth 33,000 and received a six-month sentence, suspended for two years after being found guilty by a jury of money laundering.

The 30-year-old paid for one Rolex from a bag full of 5, 10 and 20 notes, Manchester crown court was told.

One-eyed gunman Cregan remains close to his family, who regularly visit him in jail.

Cregan was told he would die in prison when he was jailed for life without parole for shooting police officers Fiona Bone and Nicola Hughes in 2012.

Cregan murdered PC Fiona Bone (left) and PC Nicola Hughes (right) in September 2012

Cregan killed PC Fiona Bone and PC Nicola Hughes by luring them to a house with a fake 999 call before shooting them 32 times on the doorstep and then throwing a grenade at them.

He was already wanted by police for a double murder of a father and son.

The notorious killer sparked controversy when he was moved from prison to the high-security psychiatric unit two years ago, as many claimed he would receive a 'cushy' lifestyle at Ashworth.
A colleague of the Texas high school principal who committed suicide is outraged at the way district officials chose to address rumors of an alleged affair with his secretary right before he killed himself.

Charles Simmons resigned from his position as assistant principal at Kirbyville High School last week after his colleague Dennis Reeves shot himself in his truck on May 23.

Reeves had left a meeting with the district's superintendent and assistant superintendent when they confronted him after his secretary came forward and said they had been having an affair.

In his resignation letter, Simmons gave five reasons why he thought superintendent Tommy Wallis and assistant superintendent Georgia Sayers mishandled the situation given Reeves had allegedly warned he would kill himself if he was exposed.

Principal Dennis Reeves, 45, shot himself in his truck at Kirbyville High School in Texas on May 23. He had just resigned after being confronted about claims of an affair with his secretary

Wallis and Sayers gave statements to police last week that detailed how they met with the secretary on May 23 - right before they met with Reeves - and she told them of the alleged affair.

The secretary told them Reeves had threatened to kill himself if the affair was revealed and he would make it look like an accident so the insurance company would pay his family.

The district officials met with Reeves anyway and told him he could resign to avoid an investigation or risk being fired, according to police statements. The married father of two chose to resign.

Charles Simmons resigned from his position as assistant principal at Kirbyville High School last week after his colleague Dennis Reeves shot himself in his truck

In his resignation letter to Wallis last week, Simmons made mention of Reeves' threat to take his own life and his reaction to being confronted about the allegations. He was addressing the statements given to police by Wallis and Sayers.

'You have admitted that before the final meeting with Mr Reeves, you were made aware of a suicide threat that he made regarding the very subject you went to confront him about,' he wrote.

'You admitted that before the meeting, you thought Mr Reeves had a gun which is why you were uncomfortable going out to his truck afterwards. You admitted that you saw Mr Reeves visibly 'shaken' and that 'his hands were shaking' while signing his name.

'You admitted that you then took his keys, computer, and his phone, escorted him out, locked him out of the building, and sent him out to that truck where the gun was waiting.'

Reeves was married to his wife Tammy (above) and they had two sons - one of whom had just graduated from high school

Reeves had come out of a meeting with the district's superintendent and assistant superintendent when he killed himself in the parking lot of the high school

Police have so far been unable to speak with the the secretary because she hired a lawyer who advised her not to speak to authorities.

After meeting with the woman, Wallis and Sayers immediately called a meeting with Reeves at the high school that afternoon to confront the allegations.

Reeves repeatedly denied having an affair with the woman.

Wallis said he told Reeves that he could resign without any investigation, but if he did not resign and it was revealed he had lied about the affair he would be fired.

'He immediately stated he was resigning in lieu of the investigation,' Wallis told police. 'When signing the resignation, he was (visibly) shaken. While signing his name, his hands were shaking.'

Wallis and Sayers said they then escorted him out of the building.

According to the police statements, as Reeves walked off, he told Sayers: 'I am not good'. Sayers responded: 'I know Dennis.'

The district officials said they became uncomfortable when they noticed the principal's truck still in the parking lot some time after he had left the meeting.

Wallis said he then called authorities to ask them to check on Reeves. Kirbyville Police Chief Paul Brister said he found Reeves dead in his truck with a gunshot wound to his head.

Reeves was married to his wife Tammy and they had two sons - one of whom had just graduated from high school.

The engine of his truck (above) was still running when he was found. Police said the transmission was in reverse but Reeves' foot was on the brake

The district officials had initially told media last week they had met with Reeves for a 'basic meeting' to discuss a number of things before he told them he was quitting.

'We had several things to discuss. We called the meeting to visit with him about a couple of things - summer school, staffing patterns, several things to discuss,' Wallis told KDFM last week.

When asked if something in the meeting could have provoked Reeves to commit suicide, Wallis said: 'I don't have any idea what Mr Reeves was thinking. I can't get into anybody's head.'

Authorities found Reeves in the truck with the .380-caliber semi automatic pistol he used to kill himself.

The engine of his truck was still running and the transmission was in reverse but Reeves' foot was on the brake.

The superintendent and assistant superintendent were the only ones left at the school when Reeves was found dead.

If anyone is seeking help please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by calling 1 800 273 8255 or visiting the website.
Swarms of rats have overrun a public elementary school in New York City, causing some parents to declare they will keep their kids home until the problem is solved.

Students and parents at PS/IS 217 on Manhattan's Roosevelt Island have been shocked by the explosion of rats on school grounds in recent weeks, with the rodent colony estimated at over 250.

The school serves international students in grades pre-kindergarten through eight, and holds classes until the end of June.

'My 7-year-old has seen the rats repeatedly, at one point she counted 23 rats within a matter of five minutes, right by the school wall, by her cafeteria,' parent Erka Kosta told Pix11, saying she kept her child home on Monday because of the problem.

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Swarms of rats have overrun a public elementary school in New York City, causing some parents to declare they will keep their kids home until the problem is solved

Students and parents at PS/IS 217 on Manhattan's Roosevelt Island have been shocked by the explosion of rats on school grounds in recent weeks

'I am concerned about infections. I am concerned about the fact that the place where you see the rats is right outside the school cafeteria,' Kosta said.

Community leader Frank Farance told the local station that garbage from the school cafeteria had likely attracted the rats.

'The colony has about 250 rats according to the Department of Health estimates and they grow on the double every month,' Farance said.

'Right now just to kill them, we have to be killing on the order of 60 rats a week just to keep up with the pace of their growth.'

'Right now just to kill them, we have to be killing on the order of 60 rats a week just to keep up with the pace of their growth,' says community leader Frank Farance

The rats have been seen creeping up the stairs outside the cafeteria, skittering through entrance gates, and even swarming in a children's play area

The rats have been seen creeping up the stairs outside the cafeteria, skittering through entrance gates, and even swarming in a children's play area.

Still, some parents aren't that concerned.

'I think it's been hyped up a little bit,' parent Arva Brazil told CBS New York. 'I completely trust the school to deal with it.'

In response to the infestation, officials from the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene plan to offer a 'Rodent Academy' to Roosevelt Island residents on June 29.

The free service is aimed at educating residents on 'how best to manage and curtail the rodent population'.
Three quarters of women either gain too much or too little weight during pregnancy, Australian researchers have found after analysing data gathered from more than one million mums-to-be around the globe.

Their findings have sparked calls for women to be weighed more often during pregnancy and given more information from health professionals about just how much weight they should gain.

Researchers from Monash University's Faculty of Medicine found three-out-of-four women don't gain a healthy amount of weight during their pregnancies, putting themselves and their babies at risk of developing health problems.

Almost half put on too much weight, while more than a fifth didn't gain enough.

Three quarters of women either gain too much or too little weight during pregnancy, Australian researchers have found (pictured posed by model)

At the start of their pregnancies, just over half of the women had been a healthy weight while 38 per cent were overweight and seven per cent underweight.

The Monash researchers, headed by Professor Helena Teede and Dr Rebecca Goldstein, based their findings on a fresh analysis of data from 1.3 million pregnant women who took part in more than 5300 studies in Europe, Asia and the United States.

'The findings strongly support the fact that we need to do more to help women go in to pregnancy at a healthy weight and gain a healthy amount of weight in pregnancy so they have less complications,' Prof Teede said.

'Basically it's not about eating for two. For the first trimester there should be no increased calories, the second trimester is about 330 calories extra a day and third trimester is about 450 calories a day (extra).

'Women also don't need to be 'confined', they need to remain active.'

Pregnant woman who don't put on enough weight are at risk of delivering smaller babies and going into labour early.

Researchers from Monash University's Faculty of Medicine found three-out-of-four women don't gain a healthy amount of weight during their pregnancies (pictured posed by model)

Those who gain too much weight are more likely to have bigger babies and need a caesarean.

The Monash study has brought into question the relevance of guidelines for healthy weight gain in pregnancy developed in the US four decades ago.

Prof Teede supports a review of current guidelines, as well as the introduction of frequent weigh-ins for mums-to-be, and more training for health professionals so they can better inform pregnant women about healthy weight gain in pregnancy.

HEALTHY WEIGHT GAIN DURING PREGNANCY Underweight women should gain 12.5-18kg Healthy weight women should gain 11.5-16kg Overweight women should gain 7-11kg Obese women should gain 5-9kg (Source: Department of Health) Advertisement

In Australia, women tend to only be weighed at the beginning of their pregnancy and only measured again if medical staff think it's warranted.

'The point is with this data is that we should be weighing all of them given that three in four don't gain a healthy amount of weight,' Prof Teede said.

'And we need to provide them with simple support to improve their lifestyle.

'But it's really important not to say to mums you have to deprive yourself and if you're hungry you shouldn't eat.

'It's about just eating really healthy foods, just follow the good ol' food pyramind, it's not complicated.

The Monash study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on Wednesday.
Princess Mary has greeted French President Macron's wife after her opening address at the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development in Paris.

The Danish Crown Princess spoke to members of the OECD before she was captured escaping reality for a brief moment as she enjoyed the marvels of the virtual lounge in the OECD's headquarters in Paris.

Princess Mary opened the OECD Forum 2017, which is a two day event where governments come together to share solutions to common problems.

Princes Mary (pictured right) welcomed by Brigitte Trogneux (pictured left) who is wife of French President Emmanuel Macron

The pair met at the Elysee Palace in Paris during Princess Mary's OECD forum visit

Princess Mary was greeted by France's First Lady Brigitte Trogneux at the Elysee Palace

As a strong advocate for women's rights, Princess Mary also attended the 'Pink Collar, Blue Collar' talk about gender equality across society.

Following the talks Secretary General of the OECD Jose Angel Gurria joined the Danish princess at the virtual lounge as she took a break from the 2017 forum.

Later on, Princess Mary was also seen meeting with 64-year-old Brigitte Trogneux, wife of French President Emmanuel Macron, who welcomed the Princess of Denmark to Paris.

The pair greeted each other at the Elysee Palace in Paris, which is home to the president and his wife.

Emmanuel Macron became the youngest French leader since Napoleon after winning the presidential election over a month ago.

Princess Mary (pictured left) attended the OECD session on gender equality
A police officer has told how he tried to save the life of terror attack victim Christine Archibald as she lay dying on London Bridge.

Pc Liam Dolphin of City of London Police said when he and fellow officers arrived at the scene within 90 seconds of the first 999 call on Saturday night, they thought they were dealing with the aftermath of a car accident.

But the scale of the carnage soon became clear and after Canadian charity worker Christine, 30, slipped away, he stood on the bridge and hugged her distraught fiance Tyler Ferguson.

Pc Dolphin was among a group of emergency workers who met the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall as they thanked them for their work during the terror attack.

Ms Archibald, who worked at homeless shelter, died in the arms of her fiance Tyler Ferguson

The 30-year-old moved from her native British Columbia to live in Europe with her fiance

The royal couple were visiting the Metropolitan Police's s special operations room in south London earlier today, before going onto the Royal London Hospital to meet some of those injured in the atrocity.

Pc Dolphin, 30, said that when he arrived he found members of the public trying to help Miss Archibald, who had been hit by the van on the bridge. 'I was giving her CPR,' he said. 'I left her when the medics came.'

Later he came across her fiance Tyler Ferguson among the walking wounded. 'I found him on the other end of the bridge,' he said. 'He was quite distressed. He told me she had been pronounced dead. I was just hugging him for a while. He had a bit of a difficult time.'

He said the memory of that night remained vivid. 'It sticks with you,' he said. 'It's very difficult.'

Prince Charles and Camilla the Duchess of Cornwall visited the Royal London Hospital today

Camilla hailed the public's response to the London Bridge attacks as 'Britain at its best' as she and Charles visited injured patients and medical staff in hospital

Charles, 68, told doctors, nurses, and other staff at the Royal London Hospital: 'I have so much admiration for all you are doing. It's a fantastic team'

His colleague, Special Constable Steven Morgan, 33, admitted: 'We thought we were turning up to a road accident.

'But as we made our way to the south side of the bridge it became more severe with casualties. We were both doing first aid to the critically wounded.'

Mr Morgan said he had not been back to his day job  as a marine specialist with Scottish Power working with offshore wind farms  since the attack. 'I decided it would not be best to go straight back,' he said. 'It is quite a different role, being a special constable and doing a day job.'

Officers from British Transport Police also told how they went to the aid of an unnamed colleague who stabbed in the eye by the attackers.

'We thought we were going to a fight,' said Pc Leon McLeod, 29.

But as they started treating the wounded on the bridge, 'the naughty guys came back' and the officers started fighting the terrorists, he said.

Pc Alfred Iswa, 51, meanwhile started to tend the injured officer, who was lying on the ground.

'I could see blood was coming out of his face, near the eye,' he said.

'I was trying to help him and he pointed his baton towards the attacker and said, 'Get him.' Even when injured he was trying to fight.

'It has become clear that is a fighter. He is a big guy. I was happy to have him by my side.'

Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall met members of the emergency services who were on duty the night of the terror attack at London Bridge and Borough market

Charles and Camilla went to the Central Communications Command also known as Metcall, and is the Metropolitan Police Service's largest Operational Command Unit (OCU)

Pc McLeod said the severity of the incident never really sank in, 'not even when the bullets started going.'

The time from the first call to the shooting of the terrorists 'felt like forever', he said. But when he checked the time, he realised it had only been eight minutes. 'I thought, 'Is that it?'.

Their colleague Pc Lee Crook, 36  whose birthday was on Saturday  was at Lewisham when the attack happened, and jumped on a train to London Bridge. 'I wasn't expecting it to stop at London Bridge. I was ready to pull the emergency alarm and jump off.'

With a member of the public Pcs Iswa and Crook loaded the injured officer on to an emergency stretcher and started walking him to Guy's Hospital.

But a passing police van flashed them and took him to King's College Hospital instead.

Two City of London detectives also described how they arrived at the scene within two or three minutes of the call.

Prince Charles talks to staff today during a visit to the Royal London Hospital

Charles told staff at the adult critical care unit who thanked him for visiting: 'It was the least I could do.'

DC Mark Alston, 35, said: 'The whole thing was so surreal. It was just a strange situation to be in. There were people's belongings all over the bridge. It was dead quiet there.'

Dc Tom Hayball, 33, said: 'We had walking wounded being tended to by members of the public covered in blood. There was a real sense of community that came out of it.'

Later Camilla hailed the public's response to the London Bridge attacks as 'Britain at its best' as she and Charles visited injured patients and medical staff in hospital.

They heard how passers-by sat on the bridge with injured victims, keeping them talking to avoid losing consciousness, while doctors and ambulance workers treated them.

'Everybody seemed to work together as a team. It's Britain at its best, isn't it? Camilla, 69, said. 'There doesn't seem to be any panic. Everybody gets on and does their job.'

Charles, 68, told doctors, nurses, and other staff at the Royal London Hospital: 'I have so much admiration for all you are doing. It's a fantastic team.' The couple met some of the six patients who underwent surgery after being brought into the hospital in Whitechapel, east London, and are now recovering in the Adult Critical Care Unit.

Dramatic video shows Geoff Ho clutching his neck as he staggers away from the scene just moments after the terror attack

They included journalist Geoff Ho, a martial arts expert who was stabbed in the neck after taking on one of the assailants in an effort to protect a bouncer at the Southwark Tavern in Borough Market. After their meeting, the Duchess said: 'I asked him how he was and he seemed very positive but he couldn't really speak because of his injuries.'

In a seminar room filled with around 20 staff who had treated patients on Saturday night, Camilla spoke to London Air Ambulance doctor Chris Lambert and paramedic Tracy Porter, who were among the first medical staff on the scene after the three terrorists crashed their white van into a crowd of pedestrians and then set off on a knife rampage in Borough Market at the south end of London Bridge.

Dr Lambert, 46, told the Duchess that the pair, who use a rapid response car after sundown because their helicopter cannot fly in the dark, began treating people at the north end of the bridge.

'At one point there was a rumour that there were terrorists at the north end of the bridge so we had to move to the centre of the bridge,' he said.

Some of the victims has been hit by the van and others stabbed by the terrorists. 'There were lots of people with stab wounds, multiple stab wounds some of them, and people with road traffic injuries,' he said.

'I was looking after about 10 people.'

Tracy Porter, 42, the paramedic, told Camilla how passers-by were volunteering to help keep patients conscious, prompting the Duchess's praise. Upstairs on the fourth floor the Prince and Duchess went to the Adult Critical Care Unit and met a handful of patients recovering from operations in the high dependency part of the unit. Some still in intensive care, the other half of the unit, were too poorly to see the royal couple.

Charles asked some of the nurses: 'Are you all exhausted after working through the night?'

They thanked him for coming and he replied: 'It was the least I could do.'

Alwen Williams, chief executive of Barts Health NHS Trust, said: 'We were delighted to welcome the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall to our hospital. It meant a great deal to our staff, who continue to offer safe and compassionate care to our patients. 'Our thoughts remain with all those affected by the events of last weekend.'
An Oklahoma mother has described the moment a hero neighbor shot dead her knife-wielding ex-boyfriend as he tried to drown their three-month-old baby twins in a bathtub.

Michelle Sorrells tearfully thanked her neighbor Cash Freeman for stepping in during the terrifying ordeal in Ada, south-east of Oklahoma City, on Friday.

Freeman fatally shot Leland Michael Foster, 27, while he was holding Sorrells at bay in the home with a knife and trying to submerge the babies in the bath.

'He saved me and my babies' lives,' she told KOCO News. 'There won't be a day that goes by when I don't thank him for that.'

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Michelle Sorrells tearfully thanked her neighbor Cash Freeman for shooting dead her ex-boyfriend as he tried to drown their twin babies in Oklahoma on Friday

The infants - a boy and a girl born prematurely - were treated in hospital and have since been released.

Leland Michael Foster (pictured above in 2011) was shot dead while he was holding Sorrells at bay in the home with a knife and trying to submerge his babies in the bath

Sorrells had frantically called police on Friday saying the father of her twins had a knife and was trying to drown the children.

She said Foster had threatened to kill her and dispatchers reported hearing struggles and screaming over the line.

Sorrells told police after that she was looking after her two babies and her 12-year-old niece when Foster showed up at her home.

She said Foster forced his way in and slammed her to the ground, before putting the babies into the bath and running the water.

'I managed to go forward and grab my son out of the bathtub. He was face-down in the water,' Sorrells said.

She said she physically fought with Foster in a bid to stop him drowning the children - and she was stabbed in the process.

Before police could arrive at the scene, Sorrells' niece had run to the neighbor's house pleading for help.

Neighbor Cash Freeman, pictured with his wife, was alerted to the horror ordeal by Sorrells' 12-year-old niece. He rushed into the home armed with his gun

Freeman armed himself with a revolver and rushed to help.

When he entered the neighbor's home he found Foster holding the infants' mother at bay with a knife while actively trying to drown the twin babies in a bathtub.

Freeman fired twice, killing Foster.

He was interviewed and released by cops at the scene, but prosecutors will review the circumstances to ensure that the shooting was justified.

Foster has prior criminal charges for arson and domestic abuse by strangulation, according to court records.

In 2011, officers responding to Foster's home on a domestic abuse complaint found a pile of clothes burning on a mattress, and a bathtub filled with water and electronics including a computer and gaming system, NewsOK reports.

Sorrells told police after that she was looking after her two babies and her 12-year-old niece when Foster showed up at her home in Ada, south-east of Oklahoma City, on Friday
James Comey's testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee is shaping up to be a major national TV event, with all three major broadcast networks planning to break into regular programming and cable set to provide wall-to-wall coverage.

On Capitol Hill, TV networks and print outlets from around the world are scrambling to fill seats inside the Senate Intelligence Committee room inside the Heart Senate Office Building, where the former FBI director will take an oath before getting quizzed about his conversations with President Trump.

The event is already being compared to other TV events that rocked Washington, from Anita Hill's testimony during the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings to Bill Clinton's impeachment and the Iran-Contra hearings.

Former FBI Director James Comey's testimony is getting wall-to-wall live TV coverage

TV networks are tossing out their daytime schedules. Fox News will refrain from commercials while sensational charges of Russian election interference get a major public hearing before a national audience.

Getting the boot will be morning programs including Rachel Ray on ABC, Let's Make a Deal on CBS, and normal Today Show programming. 'The View,' and 'The Price is Right' are also certain to get bumped during rounds of questioning that follow initial public statements from panel chairs and the high-profile witness.

Laura Lytle, director of the Senate Daily Press Gallery, has compared the interest to the build-up to the Bill Clinton impeachment trial, when the fate of the president an and the Monica Lewinsky scandal transfixed the nation.

On ABC, George Stephanopoulos anchors the networks coverage on Thursday.

NBC's Savannah Guthrie joins a parade of TV hosts who will cover James Comey live

George Stephanopoulos of ABC will be participating in Comey coverage Thursday

WHERE IN THE WORLD WILL MATT LAUER BE? Covering James Comey's testimony

CBS is deploying morning cohosts Norah ODonnell, Gayle King and Charlie Rose, along with John Dickerson, host of Sunday's Face the Nation.

NBC News is deploying chief legal correspondent Savannah Guthrie and 'Today' host Matt Lauer anchoring from New York, Variety reported. Joining will be nightly news anchor Lester Holt  who got Trump to say that Russia was on his mind when he decided to fire Comey, along with Chuck Todd, host of 'Meet the Press.'

Although network commentators have raised doubts about the Russia story, Fox News is launching its coverage an hour before Comey takes the stand.

It is bringing in prime time anchor Bret Baier and Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallance, as well as Dana Perino, cohost of The Five.

NBC's Lester Holt  who got Trump to say that Russia was on his mind when he decided to fire Comey  will participate in coverage

The event is being compared to past major national congressional testimony, like Anita Hill's Judiciary Committee testimony in 1991

Gayle King attends 2017 CBS Upfron at The Plaza Hotel on May 17, 2017

Charlie Rose attends the 2017 CBS Upfront on May 17, 2017 in New York City

'Meet the Press' moderator Chuck Todd will participate in NBC's live coverage

Anchor and CBS News Political Director John Dickerson joins the networks coverage of the Comey testimony

Shep Smith, whose wry observations have guided millions of viewers through live spectacles from global calamities to car chases and weather catastrophes over the years, will anchor coverage for FOX Broadcast

Chris Wallace joins Fox News coverage of the event

Wolf Blitzer will cover the event for CNN, a network Trump brands as 'fake news'

The network will air the hearing commercial-free, according to a release.

Shep Smith, whose wry observations have guided millions of viewers through live spectacles from global calamities to car chases and weather catastrophes over the years, will anchor coverage for FOX Broadcast.

Co-anchored by FNCs Bill Hemmer and Shannon Bream, coverage will begin at 9AM/ET and contributions will be made by a panel including FNCs chief political anchor Bret Baier, FOX News Sundays Chris Wallace and The Five co-host Dana Perino. Additionally, FNC will be commercial-free when the hearing begins at 10AM/ET. FNCs Shepard Smith will anchor coverage for FOX Broadcast.

One near-certain viewer is President Trump, who was revealed in a New York Times story to have used a TiVo device to watch a previous Senate hearing on Russia meddling, where former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper testified.

Trump called it 'one of the great inventions of all time.'

Trump may 'live tweet' the event if he feels the need to respond, the Washington Post reported Monday.

The White House said Monday President Trump would NOT invoke executive privilege to prevent Comey from testifying.
The five federally recognized tribes in North Dakota want a say in who becomes the next U.S. attorney for the state.

A resolution passed at a United Tribes meeting on Friday asks that the tribes be included in the "selection, interview and decision-making process" for this and all future selections for the top prosecutor job. The letter was sent to senators John Hoeven, R-N.D., and Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D.

The resolution argues that, because the federal prosecutor is solely responsible for charging the most serious crimes on the reservations, the tribes should be consulted on who that person is.

"Every other community in North Dakota has a democratic process available to select their local and state prosecutors," the tribes wrote. "The U.S. attorney effectively serves as our local prosecutor, yet we have no democratic role in electing or hiring them."

The tribes added that the federal government has a trust and treaty responsibility to consult with the tribes on decisions that significantly impact them.

"There is perhaps no federal position that has a more direct impact on the daily lives of our tribal members," the tribes wrote.

Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman Dave Archambault II said it is important to the tribe that it has a prosecutor who is willing to learn about the history, culture and law.

"It's treated as a political job with no consideration for the safety of our people. And what we're concerned about is the safety of our people," he said.

Archambault said the reservation is dealing with many serious crimes, including methamphetamine use and domestic and sexual abuse. But not all of those crimes need to be prosecuted in federal court. A good U.S. attorney would have a special prosecutor, who can work in tribal and federal court, and help decide which cases need to be charged in Bismarck, where the penalties are often steeper, Archambault said. Standing Rock has had such a position for the past several years, though it is currently vacant.

"That makes a world of difference when we start talking about fairness for our membership," he said.

Myra Pearson, chairwoman of the Spirit Lake Tribe, said communication is very important to her. She said she is often left in the dark by the U.S attorney's office about investigations on her reservation.

"I want to be able to work with somebody there and trust I can get a truthful answer from them," she said.

Archambault and Pearson mentioned that they appreciated the leadership of Tim Purdon, who held the post from 2010 to 2015.

"He came and visited and asked what we expected of his office," Pearson said. "And he sent his people out. He made sure they were on the ground all the time."

At least two people, former U.S. Attorney and Lt. Gov. Drew Wrigley and Assistant U.S. Attorney and Criminal Chief Clare Hochhalter, are under consideration to be appointed as the new U.S. attorney under President Donald Trump.

Hoeven said his office received the tribal letter on Tuesday afternoon, but it came too late for input, as he had already recommended Drew Wrigley.

"Ive met with all of them since the process has started," he said. "Nobody brought it up to me."

If the tribes want to give input this year, they should contact the Department of Justice, according to Hoeven, adding he would take future tribal input under advisement, including suggestions for candidates or feedback on people being considered for the post.

"I certainly think in the future when we embark on the process to do more consulting with them, Im certainly willing to do that," he said.

A spokeswoman for Heitkamp, who is considering both candidates, said in a statement the senator is still reviewing the resolution and believes that she agrees with it.

"Given the federal governments continued lack of funding for law enforcement, criminal justice and rehabilitation in Indian Country and the special relationship that the U.S. Attorney and the federal government have with the tribes concerning crime in Indian Country  Sen. Heitkamp believes North Dakotas tribes should certainly have a say in who the White House appoints as the U.S. Attorney in North Dakota," the statement said.
Extremist Islamic group Hizb ut-Tahrir has claimed Melbourne's ISIS attack was not terrorism and blamed the West for recent attacks in an incendiary Facebook post.

The group's controversial spokesman Uthman Badar said the authorities had been too quick to judge the attack as a terrorist incident, despite the man calling a TV newsroom to say he was acting on behalf of two Islamist networks.

The Melbourne attacker, Yacqub Khayre, was also previously accused, and acquitted, of an al-Shabaab terror plot to attack a Sydney army barracks.

But that did not deter Uthman Badar from slamming Malcolm Turnbull and other Western leaders for the attack that left an innocent man dead and three police officers injured.

Extremist Islamic group Hizb ut-Tahrir spokesman Uthman Badar (pictured) has claimed Melbourne's ISIS attack was not terrorism

Yacqub Khayre (pictured) was killed by police after he shot dead a man and took a woman hostage in the Melbourne suburb of Brighton on Monday

'Authorities have been quick to judge it "terrorism" within hours of the incident, much before any proper clarity of facts or details was even possible,' Mr Badar said in a Facebook post.

'As for the previous terrorism case (attacker Yacqub Khayre) was charged in, he was acquitted. Despite all this, it's being treated as a terrorism case. How much more politicised can this stuff become?'

Mr Badar also claimed the attacker would have been declared 'mentally unstable', not a terrorist, if they were 'some Anglo person'.

He continued: 'Increased violence and insecurity around the world, which concerns us all, results primarily from the brutally exploitative terror (''polices'') western powers export abroad.

'It is western leaders who should be first held responsible, for whose crimes more and more innocent people are paying a heavy price.'

Mr Badar accused the media and politicians of 'alarmist sensationalism' and said Muslims should not be bullied 'from upholding the just word of truth'.

The Melbourne attacker, Yacqub Khayre, was also previously accused, and acquitted, of an al-Shabaab terror pot to attack a Sydney army barracks

Armed police are seen at the scene of the Melbourne siege on Monday night

'The fact of the matter is that *if* this is politically-motivated violence, then it's motivated by the elephant in the room that the politicians and media alike evade: western foreign policy in the Muslim world - what we might accurately call secular liberal terror or western state terror,' Mr Badar wrote.

'And if it's not politically-motivated violence, then its being wrapped up as terrorism is part of the problem.

'The alarmist sensationalist with which such attacks are treated by media and politicians creates more fear and terror than the attacks themselves.'

Mr Badar also accused Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull of 'exploiting the attack, as usual, to ram through further "counter-terrorism" measures'.
The fiancee of the man who runs controversial Facebook group Blokes Advice says she is proud of him and not offended by the page.

This is despite dozens of posts giving advice on how to rape women, appearing to promote domestic violence and revenge porn, and calling women 'sausage wallets'.

'Sophie' claimed the closed Facebook group with more than 500,000 members provoked so much outrage that she and founder Brock Paulke were relentlessly trolled.

The fiancee of Brock Paulke (pictured), who runs controversial Facebook group Blokes Advice, says she is not offended by the page despite numerous posts degrading women

The group contains dozens of posts giving advice on how to rape women, appearing to promote domestic violence and revenge porn, and calling women 'sausage wallets'

She said her phone was bombarded with messages like 'how could you do this? Youre a disgrace', 'your son deserves a better father, or 'we hope you lose your son.'

'You cant argue with feminists, they just want to push their own narrative, even if we all know its rubbish,' she told News Corp.

'Blokes Advice is about supporting other guys  leave them to it. Im not offended, why should you be? Why are some people so threatened by a brotherhood?'

Sophie said she didn't look at the page, which has been the subject of numerous complaints and had to close and reform once already, as it was 'not her place'.

One member posted an image of a woman cowering from a man's clenched fist with a title that read: 'If you can't handle him at his worst...you don't deserve him at his best'

A post emerged on the group offering up sickening 'advice' on drugging and raping women

She said conversations the many male members had on the group were the same ones they would have at a pub, and it made no difference they were online.

The woman said Mr Paulke was a 'loyal, caring and amazing' man and a good father who she wouldn't be marrying if she had any doubts about.

She claimed he got up at 4am and came come at 7am six days a week to provide for his family to provide for the son doctors told her she wouldn't be able to have.

'These critics know nothing about him. Can they just hop off the bandwagon and let boys be boys? All this harassment is affecting my family,' she said.

Another added: 'I like to wait til they're asleep, slam it in and when they wake up screaming and asking what the f*** I'm doing, I say well I asked and you didn't say no'

Sophie said despite criticism of Blokes Advice it helped raise awareness of members' causes and pay medical bills costing tens of thousands of dollars.

Mr Paulke last month described the group as a 'brotherhood' and vowed to keep the page running.

'I stuck to my guns and didn't let the feminists win. It's become something I, my volunteers, friends and family are incredibly proud of,' he said.

'It's had really positive feedback from women too, normal women who aren't raging feminists and can see that blokes need to bond in their own way'.

But just weeks later a post emerged on the group offering up sickening 'advice' on drugging and raping women.

Screenshots of a thread in the group included admissions of rape by some of its members

The so-called advice came after one member posted seeking help on how to raise a woman's libido

The so-called advice came after one member posted seeking help on how to raise a woman's libido because he had a 'much higher sex drive' and was 'sick of rejection'.

One man replied: 'There's a new aftershave called chloroform, you'd be amazed at what she'll do when she smells that.

'She'll be amazed too when she wakes up.'

Another added: 'I like to wait til they're asleep, slam it in and when they wake up screaming and asking what the f*** I'm doing, I say well I asked and you didn't say no.'

Yet another man posted: 'Roofies mate. Then f*** her unconscious.'

'Just wait till she's asleep. Problem solved,' one more post read.

Another post in the group degradingly referred to women as 'sausage wallets'

Another image on the group that appeared to encourage domestic violence

The group was shut down in 2016 after photos started emerging of some of the vile comments circulating through the group.

O ne member posted an image of a woman cowering from a man's clenched fist with a title that read: 'If you can't handle him at his worst...you don't deserve him at his best'.

Another member posted a photo of the character Jack 'The Muss' Heke - a violent, alcoholic wife-beater from 1994 movie 'Once Were Warriors' - with the caption 'Inspirational bloke'.

'Imagine some of the hate rape that went on this weekend due to this page  Well done you bunch of sirs  I tip my hat,' another person wrote.

T-shirts with a 'Blokes Advice' logo, which features a penis and a beer, have also been sold to promote the page.

T-shirts with a 'Blokes Advice' logo, which features a penis and a beer, have also been sold to promote the page

'What would you do if you saw a female in public wearing the Blokes Advice shirt? Surely a few back hands will teach em a lesson,' one man wrote.

To this comment, the original poster replied: 'Hahaha actually did that when she was passed out.'

One user noted that he was 'admitting rape on a public forum,' while another noted it was a 'dumb thing to say, especially with the heat we are copping at the moment.'

As well as promoting sexual violence, some users advocated physically assaulting partners, with one man posted a picture of a brick and adding: 'Will help.'

Another said: 'Kick her in the c***.'
Carlos Hernandez Fernandez, 37, has been jailed for six years and ordered to pay $189,000 after posing as a plastic surgeon

A man who posed as a plastic surgeon before conning vulnerable women out of tens of thousands of dollars for botched operations has been jailed.

Carlos Hernandez Fernandez, 37, was sentenced to six years after carrying out tummy tucks, liposuctions and face lifts despite being 'utterly unqualified'.

A Colorado court heard how Fernandez often performed operations with little or no anesthetic, leaving his patients in torturous pain.

Carla Perez, one of the victims, says she went to Fernandez 'as a friend' looking for a nose job.

But the procedure was agony, she told CBS, saying: 'I could feel when he was cutting it open.'

Afterward, she was horrified by the results. 'I was totally bruised, my nose completely dropped, I had no more cartilage, and my septum was completely crooked,' she said.

'He hammered at my septum,' she added. 'With an actual hammer.'

Victim Carla Perez said she went to Fernandez for a nose job, but was left with virtually no cartilage in her nose and a crooked septum which he tried to fix with a hammer

Fernandez had been posing as a surgeon since 2015 via this clinic in Denver, Colorado, where he operated on at least 37 women

Fernandez also targeted immigrant women through the Hernandez Fernandez Clinic in the hope that they would not report the crime for fear of being deported.

Police believe there may be many more victims who used the clinic, which had been operating since at least January 2015, who have not come forward.

While Fernandez claimed to be a fully qualified surgeon, in fact the only training he had received was as a surgical assistant.

Nomi Garcia sad she became ill after an operation by Fernandez, but he advised her not to go to the hospital for fear of being discovered.

She told the court: 'He knew I was ill after one of the surgeries, and he knew that I could have lost my life, and he didn't care.'

Fernandez said the charade started after a friend asked for medical advice, knowing he had training in Mexico, and it snowballed from there.

As well as being jailed, Fernandez was also ordered to pay $189,000 in restitution.

He offered an apology to his victims, saying he never meant to harm them, but arrived at the courthouse with only $1,000.
The wife of slain policeman Brett Forte spent months protecting the ex-girlfriend of the man who would eventually kill her husband, in what has been dubbed a 'tragic coincidence'.

Susan Forte, a domestic violence counsellor with Queensland police, aimed to keep cop killer Ricky Maddison's former partner supported and safe after he tortured and threatened her.

In one scary incident Maddison reportedly arrived on the woman's doorstep, pulled out a gun, and aimed it at her and a child she was holding, before firing into the air.

His domestic violence attacks led to a warrant being issued for his arrest, before the resulting police pursuit saw Maddison shoot dead Snr Const Forte in cold blood, the Courier Mail reports.

Snr Const Susan Forte (left) the wife of slain policeman Brett Forte (right) protected the ex-girlfriend of Rick Maddison, the man who eventually killed her husband in a hail of gunfire

Mrs Forte, a domestic violence counsellor with Queensland police, aimed to keep Maddison's former partner supported and safe for months before he shot her husband dead last Monday. Pictured, Ricky Maddison

His violent domestic attacks against his ex-girlfriend resulted in a warrant being issued for his arrest, before a resulting police pursuit saw Maddison shoot dead Snr Const Forte (pictured)

A gun lover, Maddison's history of crime has been well documented since his death.

But the 41-year-old's violent record reportedly not only involves guns, but a variety of scare tactics he used to intimidate his terrified former lover.

On one occasion he poured petrol over the woman's head and threatened to set her alight, forcing her to be put in a police safe house.

The woman was left so frightened when Maddison turned up wielding a gun on her doorstep, that she reported it to police and began working with Mrs Forte.

Ahead of Snr Const Forte's funeral on Wednesday, the woman spoke out about the wife of the 'hero cop' and the 'tragic coincidence' of the shooting.

'(Susan) emailed me daily: "You will get there, you can do this, we will find him, don't worry",' the woman said.

'That is what broke my heart the most out of all of this. Out of all the people this could have happened to...'

Ahead of Snr Const Forte's funeral on Wednesday, the woman spoke out about the wife of the 'hero cop' and the care she received from her prior to the shooting (Pictured with young son)

On one occasion Maddison poured petrol over the woman's head and threatened to set her alight, while on another he turned up on her doorstep wielding a gun and pointed it at her

A heartbroken Mrs Forte arrives to visit a memorial set up in honour of her husband following the shooting last Monday

Just three weeks ago, Ms Forte's outstanding work was recognised at the inaugural Queensland Police Service Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Awards

Claiming that without the help of Mrs Forte she would have given up, the woman told of her heartbreak at the shooting death.

'(The shooting) would have just been absolute pure, tragic coincidence. There's no way (Rick) would have known about that,' she said.

Just three weeks ago, Ms Forte's outstanding work was recognised at the inaugural Queensland Police Service Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Awards.

Snr Const Forte was murdered by Maddison on Monday, May 29, during a wild police chase west of Brisbane.

'(The shooting) would have just been absolute pure, tragic coincidence. There's no way (Rick) would have known about that,' the ex-girlfriend of Maddison said

Snr Const Forte leaves behind a young family, including sons Brodie, nine, Samuel, three, and stepdaughter Emma, 16

With a warrant out for his arrest as a result of domestic violence charges, Maddison fled police before becoming involved in the pursuit.

Using an automatic rifle he opened fire on police vehicles, hitting and wounding Snr Const Forte fatally.

The gunman then went on the run, locking himself inside a farmhouse and shipping container, before being shot dead as he emerged with guns blazing hours later.

Snr Const Forte leaves behind a young family, including sons Brodie, nine, Samuel, three, and stepdaughter Emma, 16.
A Queensland mayor has stood down in dramatic fashion after he was allegedly found with $50,000 in cash in his suitcase last month at Melbourne Airport.

Mayor of Ipswich Paul Pisasale resigned from his position on Tuesday less than 24 hours after Queensland's anti-corruption watchdog underwent searches at Mr Pisasale's city hall offices.

The mayor had only been re-elected last year before revealing his sudden retirement, The Australian reports.

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Ipswich mayor Paul Pisasale resigned from his position on Tuesday less than 24 hours after Queensland's anti-corruption watchdog underwent searches at Mr Pisasale's city hall offices

In a strange course of events, the mayor arrived to the snap press conference sporting bright red socks and starry pyjama pants, with a white dressing gown on top

The long-serving stalwart had been in office since 2004 and has claimed his resignation was down to concerns regarding his health, with no mention of the large quantity of cash allegedly discovered in his carry on luggage.

Bizarrely, the Mr Pisasale addressed media during a snap press conference with the decision on Tuesday morning at St Andrew's Private Hospital wearing a dressing gown, pyjamas and bright red socks.

A Crime and Corruption Commission statement confirmed the raids were part of an 'ongoing investigation.'

The investigation is however a separate probe to one looking into political donations and campaigning in local government elections last year that also targeted Ipswich.

Sources have claimed the unearthing of $50,000 carried as hand luggage through the Melbourne airport on May 13 was part of the new CCC investigation into Mr Pisasale.

The money in question was allegedly seized by police as Mr Pisasale claimed he was carrying the money for someone else.

The 65-year-old revealed his constant and prolonged battle with multiple sclerosis, had put him 'up against the wall'.

'Now it's my time to look after my health,' Mr Pisasale said.

The announcement came less than 24 hours after it was confirmed Queensland anti-corruption officers had raided Mr Pisasale's office

Mr Pisasale was discovered last month carrying $50,000 through customs at Melbourne Airport

A CCC spokesman confirmed a search at the Ipswich City Council offices had taken place.

'The search was related to an ongoing CCC investigation. As the investigation is ongoing, it is not appropriate for the CCC to comment further,' the spokesman said.

It's also understood officers paid Mr Pisasale's home a visit on Monday.

Ipswich councillor Deputy Mayor Paul Tully will step in for Mr Pisasale with an election due within three months.

Despite the recent raids, Mr Tully remained impartial in comment regarding his former colleague.

'I think that's a matter that doesn't reflect on the council. It's a matter that may or may not involve Paul Pisasale and may involve other people as well,' Mr Tully said.

Mr Pisasale was one of several southeast Queensland mayors to give evidence in ongoing investigations.

The news will come as a shock to the people of Ipswich with Mr Pisasale a well liked figure among the area after gaining more than 83 per cent of the vote at last year's election.
This is the hilarious moment a leggy blonde ended up fighting a burly middle-aged woman.

The bizarre incident was caught on camera by an eyewitness with a smartphone at a market in the city of Rostov-on-Don, Russia.

Trouble broke out after the woman, who writes a beauty blog under the name of Victoria Pandora, bought some apricots.

A woman trader, who was reportedly upset that the blonde did not buy any of her eggs, insulted her revealing outfit.

Ms Pandora later said: 'I came to the market to get some fruit. I was standing and picking up apricots and then I heard: 'Look at her ass'.'

That led to a confrontation between the two women in which Ms Pandora threw an apricot at her older rival.

The market trader then waved the blonde away with her cardboard egg trays but as she turned her back, Ms Pandora appeared to spit at her.

Victoria appears to spit at the trader who then turns around and attacks her

That was too much for the older woman, who threw her cardboard trays at Ms Pandora and then grabbed her by the throat.

Ms Pandora can be heard in the video footage squealing as the woman refuses to release her.

The pair tussle before two men have to come and separate the two

Eventually two men split up the fighting women and they go their separate ways, after the blonde picks up belongings she dropped during the brawl and trots off.

Ms Pandora later posted on social media that she considered herself the victim of the incident, which she complained had ruined her mood.

Ms Pandora later posted on social media that she is a victim of the incident

She said she was so upset she might even cancel her planned birthday party

She said that she dropped two of her iPhones during the confrontation, broke her sunglasses and lost some money.

And she added that she was so upset that she might even cancel her planned birthday party.
Struggling to expand its ranks, the Army will triple the amount of bonuses it's paying this year to more than $380million, including new incentives to woo reluctant soldiers to re-enlist.

Some soldiers could get $90,000 up front by committing to another four or more years, officials told The Associated Press, as the Army seeks to reverse some of the downsizing that occurred under the Obama administration after years of growth spurred by the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

The enlistment campaign was driven by Congress' decision late last year to beef up the size of the Army, echoing Trump's campaign promises to significantly increase military staffing and firepower.

Last fall, Trump unveiled a plan that would enlarge the Army to 540,000 soldiers. Army leaders back the general idea, but say more men and women must be accompanied by funding for the equipment, training and support for them.

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Struggling to expand its ranks, the Army will triple the amount of bonuses it's paying this year to more than $380million. Pictured, a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team participates in a training exercise at Fort Bragg, North Carolina

Congress decided late last year to enlarge the Army, echoing Trump's campaign promises to increase military staffing. Last decade, in order to expand quickly, the Army came under fire for giving more people waivers to enlist, including those with criminal or drug use records

Under the current plan, the active duty Army will grow by 16,000 soldiers, taking it to 476,000 in total by October. The National Guard and the Army Reserve will see a smaller expansion.

To meet the mandate, the Army must find 6,000 new soldiers, convince 9,000 current soldiers to stay on and add 1,000 officers.

'We've got a ways to go,' Gen. Robert Abrams, head of US Army Forces Command, said in an interview at his office in Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

'I'm not going to kid you. It's been difficult because a lot of these kids had plans and their families had plans.'

In just the last two weeks, the Army has paid out more than $26million in bonuses.

The biggest hurdle, according to senior Army leaders, is convincing thousands of enlistees who are only months away from leaving the service to sign up for several more years.

Many have been planning their exits and have turned down multiple entreaties to stay.

'The top line message is that the Army is hiring,' Maj. Gen. Jason Evans, who recently became the service's head of Human Resources Command, said.

Army leaders say it will be tough to convince some enlistees who are only months from leaving - even with a $90,000 incentive. Pictured, Spc. Corey Harrison applies camouflage while participating in the training exercise at Fort Bragg

Col. Gregory Beaudoin said he told a soldier who wasn't sure what he wants to do in life: 'Here is an opportunity. Just extend for a year until you figure it out. The army is offering you an opportunity.' Pictured right, Beaudoin speaks with troops during training

Evans said the Army was expanding 'responsibly with a focus on quality', insisting there will be no relaxation of standards.

It is a clear reference to last decade, when the Army eased recruitment rules to meet combat demands in Iraq and Afghanistan.

At its peak, more than 160,000 US troops were in Iraq and about 100,000 were in Afghanistan. To achieve those force levels, the Army gave more people waivers to enlist, including those with criminal or drug use records.

The Army vows it won't do that again, focusing instead on getting soldiers to re-enlist - and money is the key.

The Army's $550billion base budget, approved by Congress last month, will provide money for the financial incentives. The latest round of increased bonuses, which became effective less than two weeks ago, are good for at least the next month.

Cyber posts, cryptologists or other intelligence or high tech jobs with certain language skills are particularly rewarded.

They can get between $50,000 and $90,000 by agreeing to serve another three to five years. Army special forces can also qualify for top level incentives.

But more routine jobs - such as some lower level infantry posts - may get nothing, or just a couple thousand dollars.

The new bonuses have triggered a spike in re-enlistments, said Mst. Sgt. Mark Thompson, who works with Army retention policies, saying there have been more than 2,200 since May 24.

To meet current figures by October, 9,000 current soldiers have to agree to stay on and 6,000 new men and women must enlist

Beaudoin said he thinks up to a fifth of his soldiers may stay on, crediting the bonuses for making the choice more attractive

The Army is about three-quarters of the way to its goal for re-enlistments. But meeting the ultimate target is difficult because the remaining pool of soldiers is comprised of people who 'have said no for a long time,' Thompson said.

Normally, he said, about a third of eligible soldiers re-enlist each year. This year, the goal requires nearly three-quarters signing on for more years.

In some cases, the personal touch can help.

Across Fort Bragg from Abrams' office, deep in the woods, soldiers from an 82nd Airborne Division unit are conducting a live fire exercise.

While evaluating the troops, Col. Greg Beaudoin, commander of 3rd Brigade, also is doing his part to meet the re-enlistment objective.

'I don't think he knows what he wants to do yet in life,' Beaudoin said of a soldier on his staff that he urged to re-enlist.

'So I told him, "Here is an opportunity. Just extend for a year until you figure it out. The army is offering you an opportunity. Take your time to figure out what you want to do."'

Beaudoin said he thinks up to a fifth of his soldiers may stay on, crediting the bonuses for making the choice more attractive.

But the clock is ticking.

'Time is our biggest challenge,' Evans said.
A shocked dog walker fears a deadly big cat is prowling a well-known beauty spot after she stumbled across two giant muddy paw prints.

Catherine Bance and her partner Bruce were walking on Aylesbeare Common in Devon when they made the terrifying discovery.

An amazed Catherine was so shocked that she took a picture of the claw-like imprint and sent it to her sister, Vicky.

Vicky told the Sidmouth Herald: 'There were only two pawprints found.

Catherine Bance and her partner Bruce were walking on Aylesbeare Common in Devon when they made the terrifying discovery (pictured)

'They seemed very big - even bigger than the print of a big cat. It was about the size of your hand.'

Catherine, of nearby Sidmouth, said they found the paw prints on a ghostly foggy day on the moor.

'It was like something from The Hound of the Baskervilles. If there is something out there it's better for people to know about it,' she said.

'It has not put me off going there to walk the dog - but next time I might do it on a sunny day!'

Very popular with dog walkers, ramblers and wildlife lovers, stunning Aylesbeare Common is a protected area made up of heathland and woodland.

Last year Avon and Somerset Police revealed they had been alerted to 13 sightings of big cats in Somerset, including panthers, lions and pumas.

The 'Beast of Wellington' - a black big cat - was last year blamed for a spike in domestic cat deaths in nearby Wellington, Somerset.
The White House insisted on Tuesday that its boast of a $110 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia is the real thing, after a noted foreign policy scholar called it 'fake news' and said U.S. defense contractors have nothing to show for it yet.

'There is no deal,' Brookings Institution Center for Middle East Policy senior fellow Bruce Riedel, who runs the organization's intelligence project, wrote Monday.

Spicer, however, said there are actual contracts in place  but later conceded: 'I don't know what was actually signed.'

Under tough questioning, he cited '$110 billion of Defense procurement items that were military sales with Saudi Arabia initially, that was totaled up to $350 billion over the next couple of years.'

'The immediate $110 million [sic], I believe, were signed right then' in Riyadh on May 20.

Separately, a White House official told DailyMail.com on Monday that much of what Trump announced in Saudi Arabia was 'prospective in nature.'

White House press secretary Sean Spicer insisted on Tuesday that a Trump administration-announced $110 billion 'arms deal' with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia includes actual signed contracts for military hardware purchases

The arms deal between King Salman (right) and U.S. companies is all smoke and mirrors, according to a Middle East expert who says there are no actual new defense contracts

President Donald Trump claimed in a May 21 speech during the Arabic Islamic American Summit in Riyadh that he and King Salman had inked a 'landmark agreement' including ;a $110 billion Saudi-funded defense purchase'

Spicer claimed on Twitter that the agreements signed by the US. and Saudi Arabia constituted the 'largest single arms deal in US history'

'It takes months to hammer out actual arms deals,' the White House official said. 'No one in Washington actually thinks the president and King Salman had a punch list of boats and planes and missiles, complete with price tags, specs and delivery dates.'

Spicer said on Tuesday, however, that 'I believe most of the Defense stuff, the initial $110 billion ... was up front and done' when President Donald Trump met with Saudi King Salman in Riyadh last month.

Brookings Institution senior fellow Bruce Riedel claims the entire idea of a massive new job-creating arms deal between U.S. defense contractors and the Saudi government is 'fake news'

Riedel says it isn't so.

Citing his sources in Congress and in companies that would stand to make a profit from a gargantuan transfer of U.S. military technology to Riyadh, he declared on Monday that 'there are a bunch of letters of interest or intent, but not contracts.'

The U.S. Senate, which must approve individual defense contracts, hasn't been notified of any new ones, Riedel says. The Pentagon refers only to 'intended sales.'

A little-noticed May 20 fact sheet from the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the Pentagon agency that oversees the international sharing of military materiel and expertise, lumped Trump's announcement into six existing 'Letters of Offer and Acceptance'  the formal term for government-to-government agreements.

White House deputy press secretary Michael Short referred DailyMail.com to the National Security Council for comment on Tuesday. NSC spokesman Michael Anton did not respond to a request for information.

Trump, pictured Tuesday at the White House, can ill afford a credibility lapse at a time when Middle East tensions are approaching an all-time high

The sale of Lockheed Martin's 'Multi-Mission Surface Combatant' frigate to Saudi Arabia was approved in October 2015, not during Trump's trip to Riyadh

The Defense Department told Congress in August 2016 that the Saudis would spend $1.15 billion on General Dynamics hardware including new Abrams battle tanks, but that transfer of hardware was part of the Trump administration's claim of success

The Saudis asked Boeing in December for permission to buy Chinook military helicopters, but Trump's team touted it as a success on their watch

In a May 21 speech to the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh, Trump declared that his team had 'signed historic agreements with the Kingdom that will invest almost $400 billion in our two countries and create many thousands of jobs in America and Saudi Arabia.'

'This landmark agreement includes the announcement of a $110 billion Saudi-funded defense purchase,' he said, striking a rock-solid tone on the deal that Riedel now says is paper-thin.

Since then there have been few whispers in Washington about any fine print, and fewer about timetables for actual deal-making.

The White House framed the arms deal in concrete terms in the wake of Trump's Saudi visit.

'That was a tremendous day,' Trump said at the top of a bilateral meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef on May 20.

'Tremendous investments in the United States. Hundreds of billions of dollars of investments into the United States and jobs, jobs, jobs.'

White House press secretary Sean Spicer claimed that day on Twitter that nearly $110 billion in defense contracts represented the 'largest single arms deal in US history.'

It's typical for governments to work out the minutiae of major international agreements well in advance of any public announcements.

With global attention focused on Trump's May visit to the Middle East, however, the White House may have found the conditions too tempting to waste.

Riedel cited sales proposals that have been publicly identified as part of the Trump administration's Saudi weapons plan, and calls them 'old news repackaged.'

One project, a $11.25 billion sale of Lockheed Martin's 'Multi-Mission Surface Combatant Ships,' was first announced in October 2015 while Trump was still in a tight race for the Republican presidential nomination.

The frigate, a specialized version of a coastal patrol ship the U.S. Navy uses, doesn't technically exist yet.

Another Lockheed armament, the Terminal High Altitude Air Defense system (THAAD), is already deployed in South Korea. President Barack Obama approved its sale to Saudi Arabia during a 2015 Camp David summit

President Barack Obama green-lighted the sale of the 'THAAD' missile defense system to the Saudis, but it was included in the Trump administration's list of deliverables last month

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency fact sheet, released in conjunction with the White House's initial boast of a jobs-boosting Saudi deal, also mentioned piggybacking on existing approvals for 153 General Dynamics Abrams tanks, 48 Boeing Chinook helicopters, 10 Lockheed Persistent Threat Detection System 'aerostat' reconnaissance blimps and an assortment of explosives and ammunition.

One document describes the Pentagon notifying Congress of a possible sale of bombs and missiles to the Saudis. That agreement dates back to 2013.

Regardless of how much of the White House's promised $110 billion in military hardware sales actually materializes, Riedel argues Saudi Arabia is in no shape to write a massive check.

Low oil prices and protracted military action in Yemen have put a crimp in the kingdom's purse, he notes.

And Congress, Riedel says, would be hard-pressed to approve a new transfer of weapons to the Arab world without an accompanying sale 'to compensate the Israelis and preserve their qualitative edge' in the Middle East.

The last big U.S.-Saudi arms deal, negotiated in 2012, required such a tit-for-tat. Even so, Riedel says, Riyadh has struggled to make its payments since global oil prices took a dive in 2015.

Separately, Saudi-funded lobbyists spent $270,000 between October and March at the Trump family-owned hotel down the street from the White House

The expenditures, including $190,000 for hotel rooms, were part of a campaign to weaken a 2016 law which allows Americans to sue foreign governments that support global terrorism

The stunning claim that the arms deal is a hollow one comes as the Saudi kingdom's Washington, D.C. lobbyists reported paying $270,000 to President Donald Trump's hotel just blocks from the White House in recent months.

Those payments, which are unrelated to defense lobbying, are a small part of an $8.4 million campaign to undermine a 2016 law allowing U.S. citizens to sue foreign governments that sponsor terror attacks.

The Daily Caller was first to report the lobbying disclosure, made with the Department of Justice in accordance with Foreign Agents Registration Act requirements.

MSLGroup, the lobby firm on the Saudis' payroll, told The Wall Street Journal that most of the expenses  which included $190,272 for lodging, $78,204 for catering and $1,568 for parking  were racked up before Trump became president on January 20.

The Trump International Hotel in Washington is part of the Trump Organization, the family business which he stepped away from running when he took office.
Robert Mueller, the special counsel hired to oversee the Department of Justice's Russia case, has put together an all-star team of prosecutors to look into charges of collusion, meddling and spying that have cast a shadow over Donald Trump's presidency.

Together, the team of former Department of Justice and FBI officials, have taken down mobsters, cheats, terrorists and a former president.

James Quarles, a partner with Mueller at WilmerHale before he joined the elite team of lawyers, was an assistant special prosecutor on the Watergate case that forced Richard Nixon's resignation.

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Robert Mueller, the special counsel hired to oversee the Department of Justice's Russia case, has put together an all-star team of prosecutors to look into charges of collusion, meddling and spying that have cast a shadow over Donald Trump's presidency

The team looking into Donald Trump's campaign and any links to Russian election meddling has taken down mobsters, cheats, terrorists and a former president

Former WilmerHale partner Aaron Zebley, chief of staff to Mueller when he ran the FBI, has also signed on. So has former DOJ attorney Jeannie Rhee, another WilmerHale alum.

Mueller's general counsel at the FBI, Andrew Weissmann, is part of the team, too. Weissman was the director of the task force that put away the CEO of Enron.

If the White House was not unnerved before, it indicated that it was now when Sean Spicer clammed up at his daily briefings on matters pertaining to the president's interaction with former FBI director James Comey and the administration's meetings with the Russians.

Asked whether the president had obstructed justice, Spicer told a reporter last Wednesday, 'Our job - we are focused on the presidents agenda and all, going forward, all questions on these matters will be referred to outside counsel, Marc Kasowitz.'

Kasowitz has represented Trump in other legal battles when he was a businessman. He notably finagled to have the billionaire's divorce records sealed - and he charges top dollar for his services. According to the Wall Street Journal, Kasowitz bills clients $1,500 an hour.

Trump says Comey informed him three times that he was not a target in the FBI's investigation. His son-in-law, Jared Kushner, has been identified as a person of interest in leaks since their conversation.

Former WilmerHale partner Aaron Zebley, chief of staff to Mueller when he ran the FBI, has also signed on. So has former DOJ attorney Jeannie Rhee, another WilmerHale alum

Mueller is also looking at former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who's case is going before a grand jury in Virginia, and Trump's ex-campaign manager Paul Manafort, accused of acting as a svengali to a corrupt political party in Ukraine.

To help him with the investigations, Mueller, a former head of the FBI in Republican and Democratic administrations, is relying on a team of former colleagues, several of whom followed him to WilmerHale.

Zebley, Mueller's FBI chief of staff, is a former special agent and assistant US attorney who specializes in national security and terror.

He was a senior counselor in the National Security Division at the Department of Justice before he joined WilmerHale.

Another former WilmerHale partner on the team: Rhee, a former assistant U.S. attorney who later worked in the Justice Departments Office of Legal Counsel as a liaison to the White House.

In that role, she gave the White House and the attorney general advice on executive authority. She also dealt with national-security issues, Bloomberg has reported.

At WilmerHale she helped firm's clients navigate the government investigation process.

Also on leave from WilmerHale is Quarles, a former Watergate prosecutor. Quarales was a co-chair of WilmerHale's appellate and Supreme Court litigation team. He was also a member of its intellectual property group.

Weissmann is the only member of the legal team who was working in government when the probe started.

Andrew Weissmann was general counsel to him at the FBI. Before that, Weissmann investigated and prosecuted more than 30 people involved with Enron, including Jeffrey Skilling and Kenneth Lay

The head of the Justice Departments criminal fraud unit, he's overseen corporate wrongdoing cases and has a history of pursuing foreign corruption.

He also has the trust of Mueller - he was general counsel to him at the FBI. Before that, Weissmann investigated and prosecuted more than 30 people involved with Enron, including Jeffrey Skilling and Kenneth Lay.

He began his career with DOJ in the US Attorneys Office in the Eastern District of New York.

'While at the U.S. Attorneys Office, Weissmann tried more than 25 cases and was instrumental in bringing to justice high-ranking members of the Genovese, Colombo and Gambino crime families and combating the infiltration of organized crime on Wall Street,' the Department of Justice says.

Mueller has had a long and storied career himself. His term as FBI director began a week after 9/11. He helped revamp the law enforcement agency into a counterterror unit, chasing down and helping to dismantle al Qaeda.

As head of DOJ's criminal division, before that, he helped bring to justice terrorists from the Lockerbie bombing.
The North Dakota Industrial Commission revoked the permit this week from a McKenzie County oilfield facility caught illegally dumping waste, but questions remain about how and when the seven-month-old mess will be cleaned up.

A state inspector observed an employee of Apollo Resources intentionally pumping drilling mud and wastewater onto a ranchers pasture in October in McKenzie County, Industrial Commission records show.

Since that time, Apollo Resources has not done enough to clean up the brine contamination, said Department of Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms, who recommended the companys permit be revoked.

In addition, the company that operated an oilfield treating plant south of Alexander for the past three years has had a pattern of failing to comply with state regulations, Helms said.

Basically, within less than a year of getting their permit, we started to have minor violations and those escalated to more and more major violations, he said.

Milt Madison, who owns the land adjacent to the treating plant, estimates about 10 to 20 acres of his pastureland were affected by the contamination.

Every acre you have is significant as far as having enough grazing land for the livestock, Madison said.

Dan Wells, the state inspector who caught what the Industrial Commission describes as illegal dumping, estimated that cleanup should have taken about a week, according to an Industrial Commission order.

But because the brine contamination was not immediately cleaned up, it caused more problems this spring when snow began to melt, Madison said.

If they would have done it last fall when it first occurred, a lot of this would have been avoided, he said. Once spring thaw started, it just enlarged the area.

The contamination affected a drainage that runs into Charbonneau Creek, said Bill Suess, spill investigation program manager for the North Dakota Department of Health.

A spill report estimates the contamination from the October incident at 80 barrels, or 3,360 gallons, but Suess said it was difficult to get an accurate estimate of the volume.

The company has scraped the topsoil to address some of the major impacts, but the next step is to do an excavation and remove the contaminated soil, Suess said.

We just hope that it gets cleaned up and the land is returned to its original state so wildlife and the livestock are all safe, Madison said.

Neighboring rancher Jared Hatter said the contamination affected a stock pond his cattle use. Two of his cows died recently, and hes having one tested to verify his suspicion that its connected to the brine contamination.

Hatter said hes pleased the Industrial Commission took action, but he wishes the state would have applied more pressure on the company to clean up the mess sooner.

The Industrial Commission voted unanimously Monday to revoke the companys permit and ordered that the site be cleaned by Oct. 1. However, regulators had already ordered the facility to stop operating.

Helms said he thinks its questionable that Apollo Resources, which doesnt have other assets in North Dakota, will have the resources to follow through with the cleanup.

The state could revoke the facilitys $175,000 bond and confiscate equipment on site to pay for the cleanup, or access the states abandoned well fund.

Apollo Resources said in a letter from attorney Lawrence Bender the company operated for nearly two years without a major incident and stands ready to continue its efforts to clean up the site.

The employee responsible for the incident has since been fired, and Apollo Resources is pursuing a lawsuit against him.

Apollo Resources did not respond to a request for comment sent through Bender.

The health department issued a notice of violation to Apollo Resources in March. The agency also expects to issue a fine, Suess said.

The Industrial Commission also is working on a civil complaint and a fine, as well as the potential for criminal charges against the former employee, Helms said.
A British tax advisor accused of running off with 20million of Crocodile Dundee actor Paul Hogan's money has been arrested after several years on the run.

Philip Jepson Egglishaw, 63, who was known as the 'Bowler hat Englishman', has been wanted by Australia's authorities since fleeing the country in 2004.

It is alleged he was the mastermind behind a 200million network of tax avoidance schemes and lured prominent Australians into them for more than three years.

His most high-profile victim was Hogan - an actor in the cult 1980s blockbusters - who settled a long-running financial dispute with the Australian taxman in 2012.

Philip Jepson Egglishaw is accused of running off with 20million of Crocodile Dundee actor Paul Hogan's money and has been arrested after several years on the run

In 2013, an international arrest warrant was issued after he was accused of stealing the fortune, which was being held in a Swiss bank account for the movie star.

The actor has been trying to track him down ever since, with his advisers alleging Mr Egglishaw had 'absconded with or spent all' of Mr Hogan's millions.

The funds had been lying in an account at the Corner Bank in Lausanne' run by the Geneva firm Strachans.

Mr Egglishaw has been living in Switzerland and it is thought that local law enforcement had been unwilling to execute the international warrant.

However, it is understood that last month, after trying to leave the country to go on holiday in neighbouring Italy, he triggered an Interpol 'Red Notice', notifying border officials of his wanted status.

Mr Egglishaw, who is from Jersey, was involved in Strachans, an accounting partnership which was previously based on the Channel Island before relocating to Switzerland.

Egglishaw's most high-profile victim was Hogan - an actor in the cult 1980s blockbusters (pictured) - who settled a long-running financial dispute with the Australian taxman in 2012

In 2004, while on a visit to Melbourne to meet clients, his laptop - containing details of transactions and offshore trusts - was seized by police, allowing authorities to launch Operation Wickenby, which became one of Australia's largest tax fraud probes.

The high-profile inquiry has so far reclaimed about 2.3 billion Australian dollars in tax liabilities and led to the conviction of 46 people.

According to the red notice, Mr Egglishaw faces a total of ten charges - one of which holds a sentence of 20 years in prison - including conspiracy to defraud the Commonwealth, money laundering and conspiracy to defraud.

The Attorney-General's Department in Australia confirmed that 'a man was arrested by Italian authorities on 3 May' and was to face prosecution in Australia for financial crimes.

A spokesman said: 'As the matter is now before the courts of a foreign country, it would not be appropriate to comment further.'
Flamboyant arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi, who conducted his businesses deals at lavish champagne parties, has died at the age of 82

Flamboyant arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi, who conducted his businesses deals at lavish champagne parties, has died at the age of 82.

The Saudi was worth 2.4billion at the peak of his wealth in the 1970s and was often said to be the richest man in the world.

He was the most prolific weapons dealer of his era who brokered deals with governments, arms manufacturers and private clients across the globe.

While his rivals carried out business in secret, Khashoggi did deals at champagne and caviar parties that lasted for days, often in the company of Hollywood stars.

On one occasion, the Stanford-educated magnate held a party in Istanbul for actress Liz Taylor after her cancer operation, while reportedly hiring rock band Queen to play at another bash.

Legend has it that he spent 150,000 a day at the height of his wealth, before he was implicated in the Iran-Contra affair in the mid-1980s.

Khashoggi was said to have brokered a secret sale of weapons by the US government to Iran when it was supposed to be under an arms embargo.

Ronald Reagans administration triggered the sale as part of a complex deal that led Iran to release US hostages and fund the Contra rebellion in Nicaragua on behalf of the US.

Roxy founder Jill Dodd (left) says she was the pleasure wife of notorious billionaire arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi (right, in an undated photo)

Chateau Louis XIII looks over the Bay of Cannes. It was once owned by Adnan Khashoggi

Khashoggi's yacht, the 280-foot Nabila, pictured in 1983 in The Harbour Of Monaco

Billionaires Soraya and Adnan Khashoggi at the wedding of their daughter Nabila in 1992

Reagan was forced to apologise when the scandal became public in 1987.

His empire unravelled amid a series of court cases and financial difficulties forced him to sell some of his assets, including his superyacht, Nabila, which eventually ended up in the hands of Donald Trump.

Khashoggi, who was born in Mecca to the Saudi kings personal doctor Muhammad Khashoggi, married Sandra Daly, a 20-year-old English woman who converted to Islam and took the name Soraya.

They had five children and Soraya gave birth to another daughter, Petrina Khashoggi, shortly after the couple divorced.

Adnan Khashoggi with his daughter Nabila (left) and third wife Shahpari (right) as they watched Nabila's London acting debut

Adnan and his wife Lamia enjoyed attending several film premiers throughout their time together

Scandal: The Iran Contra affair Khashoggi was said to have brokered a secret sale of weapons by the US government to Iran when it was supposed to be under an arms embargo. Ronald Reagans administration triggered the sale as part of a complex deal that led Iran to release US hostages and fund the Contra rebellion in Nicaragua on behalf of the US. Reagan was forced to apologise when the scandal became public in 1987. In the same year, Khashoggi appeared on the front cover of Time magazine below the headline: Those Shadowy Arms Traders: Adnan Khashoggis High Life and Flashy Deals. A year later he was arrested in Switzerland accused of concealing funds. He was extradited to the US on charges of racketeering and fraud, but later cleared by a Federal jury. But the damage to his reputation was done and his empire began to unravel as further court cases against him followed. Advertisement

However, a DNA test carried out when Petrina reached 18 revealed that she was the love-child of Jonathan Aitken, the ex-Conservative minister who was jailed for perjury in a libel case.

Khashoggi, who married again and had a son, was no stranger to infidelities himself. He freely admitted his penchant for prostitutes and was said to have entertained 11 pleasure wives on his countless yachts and at numerous holiday homes.

Mr Aitken, now 74, remained friends with Khashoggi and saw him shortly before his death. He said last night: He made big mistakes but he was a good man.

Adnan Khashoggi, his wife, Lamia Khashoggi (L) and Nabila Khashoggi (right), attending the 1988 Monaco Red Cross ball

Dodi Fayed, who had a romantic relationship with Diana Prince of Wales, with his mother Samira Khashoggi who is Adnan's sister

Soraya Khashoggi was one of the most beautiful, certainly the most intriguing and, famously, one of the richest women of her generation

Khashoggi (pictured) welcomed Dodd and her friend aboard and invited them to 'dress for dinner' before he led them to a huge walk-in closet filled with designer dresses

Dodd is a former model, who was featured in the pages of French Vogue, before she joined the billionaire's harem
A hen party reveller wearing a 'b*tches on tour' t-shirt was thrown off a Jet2 flight after tearing off the garment to cheers from her friends - not because of the swear word printed on the front, the airline has claimed.

The woman was allegedly cheered on as she stripped off at East Midlands Airport last week in Leicestershire.

The group also aimed 'colourful language' at airline staff before boarding their flight, said Jet2.

They were then thrown off the plane after staff claimed some of the women had continued to behave badly.

Sir Richard Branson, head of airline Virgin Atlantic, later offered the party a free flight to Las Vegas.

Bride to be Emma Green (pictured), 35, of Leicester, said her hen party was 'ruined' after her group of friends were forced off a flight to Magaluf over their novelty T-shirts

The group were removed from a Jet2 flight because their T-shirt slogan 'b*tches on tour' was deemed offensive (left and right)

But Jet2 said: 'There is probably another airline willing to compromise its principles and the satisfaction of other customers for cheap self-promotion.

'Our response to the incident, we believe, successfully reinforces our position as a family friendly company'.

The company has given an account of events it says led to its decision to remove the party from the flight for wearing what it called were 'offensive' t-shirts.

It removed the group of 18 women from a flight to Majorca with bride-to-be Emma Green saying her hen party trip had been ruined by Jet2's decision to eject the group before the flight departed for Palma.

The women had to pay for new flights and ended up travelling from different airports across the country.

At the time, Jet2 said the group were asked to either wear different attire or cover up the offensive language, and were reminded of this on 'numerous occasions', including by the airport police while in the departures area.

In a new lengthy statement posted on the airline's website, Jet2 claimed that as well as ignoring repeated warnings to remove the t-shirts or cover them up, the hen party engaged in 'rowdy behaviour'.

The statement said: 'Disruptive and offensive behaviour takes many forms and we believe that the language displayed last week on the hen party' t-shirts, coupled with their rowdy behaviour was unacceptable for a family friendly airline.

'The decision to remove some members of the group from the flight wasn't just about one offensive word on the t-shirts.

'It was also about the lack of consideration and repeated failures to follow important instructions given by our staff, crew and airport police to ensure others wouldn't be offended.

'It was about common decency and a lack of respect for fellow travellers.'

The airline said the hen party was first warned about the t-shirts when they checked in.

Miss Green said she and her friends are 'professionals' who were not making trouble and just wanted to go on holiday to Magaluf, pictured

Miss Green said it would be difficult for the women to enjoy themselves at the resort, pictured

Jet2 said: 'This led to repeated protests, inappropriate and often colourful language and one individual even ripping her top off in front of other bemused customers while others in the group cheered.

'Thankfully, our trained check-in team eventually convinced them to cover the wording up and as they left the check-in desk it appeared the issue had been resolved.

'However, our staff and even airport police, were forced to intervene once more after a dozen of the group in the departures area decided to display the offensive t-shirts again for all to see.

'After further intervention the group eventually complied with repeated requests and the aircraft prepared to depart for Majorca.

'Sadly, hopes for a trouble-free flight were premature as once in the cabin, six of the group again decided to ignore the warnings, revealing the offensive wording in front of an aircraft full of families and children.

'Their repeated failure to adhere to promises they had previously agreed to and their continued disruptive behaviour led the crew to become concerned as to how things might develop, once the aircraft was airborne.

'At whichpoint, Jet2 staff decided enough was enough and took the decision to remove the six for repeatedly failing to follow instructions.

'Upon informing the six passengers of their decision, the remaining 12 in the party decided to offload too. Several of the group became extremely difficult when asked for baggage tag details, preventing our ground handling team from removing their bags, thus delaying everyone else.

'Eventually, the aircraft departed approximately an hour later than scheduled, minus 18 passengers.'

Jet2 said it will continue to welcome hen parties, stag parties, families, couples, groups, and individual travellers - but only if they understand and accept its family friendly policy and zero tolerance approach to disruptive or offensive behaviour.

Speaking from their hotel in Majorca at the time, social worker Miss Green, from Leicester, said: 'It has completely ruined the whole experience.

'We have lost a day already and everybody is really tired from flying in from different airports. Some didn't land until 2am this morning.

'Its going to be really hard to enjoy ourselves now. We are just gutted that it came to this when there was no need.

'Nobody even spoke to me about the T-shirts, the first I knew we were being kicked off the flight.

Miss Green is due to marry fiance Aaron Bateman, 44, in 11 weeks time on August 26.

She added: 'The police looked bewildered by it all, I think they knew it was ridiculous.

'We are all professional women mainly in our late 30s and 40s. I work with mental health patients and I am not a trouble-maker.

'We did not deserve to be treated like we did and would have covered up on the plane if we were all asked to do so.

'But the word b*tch is a pretty mild curse as far as they go anyway, I hardly think the T-shirts were that offensive in the first place.'
An Alabama man has been arrested for allegedly shooting dead his own dog and also killing another dog that was asleep inside a neighbors apartment next door.

Grant Sides, 25, was ordered jailed on Monday in Birmingham. He was charged with two counts of aggravated cruelty to animals, firing a gun into an occupied dwelling and driving under the influence.

The shooting took place at around 3.30pm on May 26 at an apartment complex on 22nd South Street in the Highland Park section of the city.

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Grant Sides (left), 25, of Alabama, has been charged with two counts of aggravated cruelty to animals after he allegedly opened fire inside his apartment, killing his own dog and a 12-year-old pooch named Walter (right) who was sleeping in the unit next door

The shooting occurred inside this apartment complex on 22nd South Street in the Highland Park section of Birmingham, Alabama, on May 26

Brandon Watkins said he was at work that afternoon when he got a call saying that his neighbor Grand Sides had allegedly fired shots into his apartment.

At the time of the incident, Watkins was looking after two of his brother Colby's pet dogs while the man was vacationing with his family, and Brandon also has a dog of his own, Lennie, reported Al.com. All three animals were inside his apartment on the day of the incident.

Sides was initially picked up by police and charged with DUI after crashing his car not far from the first crime scene

Watkins dog and one of his brothers pets were locked in kennels, but Colby Watkins other pooch, 12-year-old Walter, was in Brandons bedroom, enjoying an afternoon nap on his pillow.

Sides reportedly opened fire on his own pet dog in his kitchen, which shares a wall with Brandon Watkins bedroom. Six rounds pierced that wall, killing Walter.

Following the shooting, neighbors told Watkins that Sides fled the apartment building screaming that he killed someone, then jumped in his car and took off.

Sides was apprehended by police a short time later after being involved in a crash at Highland Avenue and US 31, reported the station WIAT. The 25-year-old told police his dog had been shot.

When officers went to his apartment, they found his dead pet and also came across bullet holes in the kitchen wall, which led them to Brandon Watkins unit next door. There, they found Walter's lifeless body lying on a blood-soaked carpet in the bedroom.

When Brandon called his brother to break the tragic news to him, Colby Watkins and his family interrupted their trip and returned home to Birmingham.

Walter (pictured) was staying with Brandon Watkins in his apartment along with another dog while his owner, Watkins' brother, was away on vacation

Brandon said his 9-year-old niece was deeply upset to learn of Walters passing, having known him her entire life, and that his dog Lennie was left traumatized by the incident.

The dog owner added that had the shooting happened a few hours later, he possibly would have been killed.

Grant Sides was initially charged with DUI and taken to Brookwood Hospital. He was booked into the county jail on June 5 on $30,000 bond.
Lee Donald Kaplan, 52, was convicted by a jury on all 17 counts of child rape, sexual assault and other offenses in Bucks County, Pennsylvania on Tuesday

A self-styled cult leader has been convicted of raping six sisters aged between eight and 18 years old over several years, and even fathering two children by one of them.

Lee Donald Kaplan, 52, was convicted by a jury on all 17 counts of child rape, sexual assault and other offenses in Bucks County, Pennsylvania on Tuesday.

Kaplan's conviction came a year after police raided his home in June 2016 after receiving a complaint about the health and safety of numerous children in the home.

He was arrested after the eldest sister, now aged 18, told police she had given birth to two of his children - the first when she was just 14.

When police raided the Kaplan's home, they found the six girls he is accused of assaulting, three of their other sisters, their mother and the two children he fathered with one of the girls.

Daniel and Savilla Stoltzfus, the parents of the six sisters, had allegedly 'gifted' some of their daughters to Kaplan because he helped them financially when they wanted to leave their Amish community.

He was accused of brainwashing the girls into thinking they were his wives and that he was a prophet from God.

Kaplan's conviction came after he was arrested last year when police raided his home and found the girls living there and the eldest sister told police she gave birth to two of his children

When police raided the home (above), they found the six sisters living with Kaplan. They had received a complaint about the health and safety of numerous children living in the home

Kaplan met the family back in 2002 when the family wanted to leave the Amish faith but needed the money to do so. He offered to help them financially and began spending nights at their family home.

He allegedly first started abusing the family's two oldest girls, then 7 and 8, when he invited them into his bed.

The parents allegedly promised one of their daughters to Kaplan in marriage when she was just 7.

But by 2016, all of the Stoltzfus sisters were living with Kaplan and he had been allegedly having sex with six of them.

Several of the girls testified last week during Kaplan's trial that he had sex with them and they considered him to be their husband.

A 9-year-old girl testified that Kaplan began molesting her when she was 7 and the defendant told her not to tell anyone.

Her 15-year-old sister said Kaplan began having sexual contact with her when she was 11 or 12. She said she believed that's what husbands and wives do.

The mother of the girls told the court she knew about the sexual activity but believed it 'could be a good thing'.

Savilla and Daniel Stoltzfus were also arrested for child endangerment. They allegedly 'gifted' some of their daughters to Kaplan because he helped them financially

Stacy Roach, a Bucks County Children and Youth supervisor, testified on Friday that after Kaplan's arrest, the girls were taken to a doctor for the first time in their lives.

Doctors diagnosed three of the girls with Lyme disease while five of the girls needed to have a number of teeth removed.

'They had to be shown a video of how to wash long hair,' Roach said.

'It was obvious with the amount of dental work they needed that they probably didnt brush their teeth.'

After Kaplan's arrest, the girls were put into foster care. They were enrolled in an online school and now have Social Security numbers and birth certificates.

A sentencing date for Kaplan hasn't been set.

Daniel and Savilla Stoltzfus are awaiting sentencing on child endangerment convictions.
Uber has fired more than 20 employees as part of its internal probe into workplace culture and sexual harassment.

The ride-sharing company announced the news to its 12,000 employees at a meeting at its San Francisco headquarters on Tuesday, Bloomberg reports.

Staff were told at the meeting that the company had investigated 215 claims of discrimination and harassment dating back to 2012 as part of its investigation.

Uber has fired more than 20 employees as part of its internal probe into workplace culture and sexual harassment

Bobbie Wilson, an attorney at Perkins Coie, gave the Uber employees an assessment of the firm's investigation.

Fifty-seven claims are still be investigated, 31 employees have been given counselling and seven have been given written warnings from Uber.

The terminated employees have not been named.

They were sacked for varying reasons related to harassment, discrimination and other HR-related matters.

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick announced news of an investigation after a former employee wrote a viral blog post with accusations of sexual harassment within the company

The company told its staff it would expand its employee relations unit to better investigate claims. It also said it would dramatically increase management training since most Uber managers were first-time bosses.

The company's CEO Travis Kalanick announced news of an investigation after former engineer Susan Fowler Rigetti wrote a viral blog post in February that detailed accusations of sexual harassment and discrimination within the company.

Kalanick hired former US Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. and his law firm, Covington & Burling, to investigate the allegations made by Rigetti. Those findings have not yet been released and are separate to the ones announced on Tuesday.

Uber was not immediately available for comment.
Cocaine use is on the rise again in the UK after a decade of decline, according to worrying signs (stock photo)

There are worrying signs that cocaine use is on the rise again in the UK after a decade of decline.

A report by the EUs drug monitoring agency said residues found in Britains sewers is a sign that the popularity of the class A drug is returning.

An increase in the numbers of seizures from smugglers and high prices also indicate a rise in use.

Chemical analysis of wastewater in major cities has become a recognised method of measuring drug consumption.

The EU agency said levels of cocaine residue found in London sewers rose by around a fifth between 2014 and 2016.

It said: Data from wastewater monitoring and on seizures, price and purity suggest that the availability of cocaine may be rising again in parts of Europe.

'Both the number of seizures and the quantity seized increased between 2014 and 2015.

Levels of drug abuse have been declining since 2008 but young Britons remain Europes heaviest users of cocaine.

Around four per cent of those aged between 15 and 34 are thought to have used the drug in England and Wales in 2015.

Some analysts have linked the changes to the rise of social media and the subsequent more solitary lives of many youngsters.

The figure is compared to three per cent in Spain, the country with the second heaviest use.

Chemical analysis of wastewater found in sewers in major cities has become a recognised method of measuring drug consumption (stock photo)

Numbers of users are rising quickly in France, where the 2.5 per cent believed to have used cocaine in 2015 is around five times the level of 2000.

The report said: Powder cocaine is the most prevalent stimulant in the UK and the second most prevalent drug overall in Britain.

A 2016 analysis found the highest mass loads of benzoylecgonine  the main metabolite of cocaine  in cities in Belgium, Spain and the United Kingdom and very low levels in the majority of eastern European cities.

High levels of cocaine are found in sewers in the Belgian port city of Antwerp but recordings are lower in other parts of the country.

The level of cocaine metabolites was higher in wastewater samples from London than in samples from Bristol, the report said.

This is consistent with data from other countries with multiple locations, which indicate higher levels in larger cities. Nevertheless, the results pointed to increases in cocaine use in London.

Furthermore, higher levels of cocaine metabolites were detected at weekends.
A transgender man was called a 'dirty wrong-un' by two mothers in a shocking tirade filmed on a London train.

The women branded chef Naith Payton, 28, a 'f****** gay boy' and a 'boy with t***' after he asked them not to swear in front of children.

According to Mr Payton, the women even urged their young children to join in with the abuse, with one of them saying, 'shout at him and tell him he's bad'.

The women branded chef Naith Payton, 28, a 'f****** gay boy' and a 'boy with t***' after he asked them not to swear in front of children

Disturbing footage shows the women scream 'what the f*** does it have to do with you?' after Mr Payton asked them not to use offensive language.

One of the pair, with blonde hair, leaps off her seat and heads towards the chef, before knocking the camera out of his hand.

Writing a day after the incident, on June 3, the London local, originally from Reigate, explained that he 'hadn't got the worst' of the abuse on camera.

He wrote: 'When they got on the train, they were swearing, and using slurs, and there were some children on the train, including their own.

'One of them, the blonde woman, was repeatedly yelling "You f****** p***" down the phone, while her daughter was sitting in her lap.

'I didn't get the worst of what they said on camera, but it was very homophobic and transphobic - they called me a "f*****", a "f****** gay boy" and a "boy with t***."'

One of the pair, with blonde hair,(left) leaps off her seat and heads towards the chef, before knocking the camera out of his hand

Mr Payton said he felt compelled to intervene after the pair told their children the strange sounds the tube was making were coming from 'that bad man over there'.

He added: 'They were basically encouraging their child to bully an innocent person.'

The incident, which has been reported to the British Transport Police, took place between Willesden Junction and Kensington Olympia in west London.

A British Transport Police spokesman said it was investigating the incident.

Witnesses can contact the force by texting 61016 quoting reference 505 04/06/2017.
The uncle of one of the London Bridge killers has sent his condolences to the families of the victims, adding he feels 'ashamed' by the atrocity.

Nasir Dar condemned the sickening terror attack carried out by his nephew, 27-year-old Khuram Butt, and said he could not understand why he slaughtered seven innocent people.

Mr Dar told the BBC the murderous rampage last Saturday had no place in any religion as he wept for the victims who lost their lives.

Khuram Butt was one of three extremists who slaughtered seven injured people and injured nearly 50 more on a murderous rampage in London on Saturday night

Mr Dar told the BBC the murderous rampage last Saturday had no place in any religious ideology as he wept for the victims who lost their lives

From left: Khuram Shazad Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba were all shot dead by police following their crazed terror attack in London

Ringleader Khuram Butt was one of three extremists who slaughtered seven injured people and injured nearly 50 more on a crazed rampage in London on Saturday night.

Butt, Moroccan-Italian Youssef Zaghba, 22, andMoroccan-born former pastry chef Rachid Redouane, 30, all died in a hail of bullets as police fired at them in London's Borough Market.

Speaking to the BBC's Secunder Kermani in Pakistan, Mr Dar described how Butt started showing signs of extreme Islamist beliefs when he wore shalwar kameez - traditional Indian dress - grew a beard and 'started offering prayers'.

He added: 'Before that these symptoms were not found in him.'

Asked what message he would like to send out to the families of the victims who were killed, he wept as he said: 'They are all mine. Even though I don't know their names.

'But I think they're my relatives, my brothers. I don't know their names, their nationalities, why they were killed.'

He added: 'I condemn, first of all, this incident, this brutal action.

'And I am feeling ashamed in talking about this. Innocent people are killed in this action.

'I have very deep sympathies with all the victims, innocent victims. I would like to say no religion of the world allows to do this shameful, brutal action.'

Mr Dar said: 'I have very deep sympathies with all the victims, innocent victims. I would like to say no religion of the world allows to do this shameful, brutal action'

Khuram Butt appeared in the Channel 4 documentary The Jihadis Next Door - but still slipped through the net

It has since emerged Butt also tried to radicalise youngsters at a gym he worked out at, Ummah Fitness in Ilford, with Sajeel Shahid, 41, a member of Anjem Choudary's al-Muhajiroun network who was accused of helping train the 7/7 bomb ringleader Mohammed Siddique Khan.

Counter-extremism group The Quilliam Foundation revealed Butt was flagged to authorities following a violent and heated confrontation during a July 2016 event to mark Eid, the end of Ramadan.

Yet Butt was deemed a 'low priority' by police and MI5 despite the incident with Dr Hasam and his links to Choudary, Europe's most notorious hate preacher.

Counter-extremism group The Quilliam Foundation revealed Butt (pictured) was flagged to authorities following a violent and heated confrontation

On the Channel 4 show, Butt unfurled an ISIS flag before becoming embroiled in a heated confrontation

The father-of-two, 27, was probed two years before his murderous rampage but officials downgraded the investigation because they did not suspect he was planning an attack.

Incredibly, last year he even secured a job working on the Tube and had access to tunnels under the Houses of Parliament while working at Westminster station.

The Pakistani-born Briton, who came to the UK as an asylum seeker, was able to mastermind the murder of seven and maiming of 48 others in plain sight on Saturday night.

There are growing calls for Scotland Yard and MI5 to explain why they failed to act on the repeated warnings about Butt's extremism.
Michelle Carter (pictured in court on Tuesday) is charged in the 2014 death of 18-year-old Conrad Roy III who committed suicide in July 2014

A prosecutor says a woman accused of sending texts encouraging her boyfriend, 18, to kill himself used him 'as a pawn in her sick game'.

Michelle Carter is charged in the 2014 death of 18-year-old Conrad Roy III who was found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning in his pickup truck in Fairhaven in July 2014.

Prosecutors say that the 20-year-old had persuaded Roy to kill himself in calculated a bid to get 'attention' as the grieving girlfriend.

'She used Conrad as a pawn in her sick game of life and death,' said prosecutor Maryclare Flynn.

They added that on July 10, two days before his suicide, she had carried out a 'dry run'.

'She knew her plan to get attention would work because she pre-tested it,' they said.

'Two days before Conrad committed suicide, she did a dry run, texting several girls that Conrad had gone missing while simultaneously testing Conrad, telling him to get the gas machine.'

The court heard that Carter sent 40 text messages to Roy urging him to kill himself before he finally took his own life.

'She put him in the car that night,' Flynn added.

Carter, who appeared in court in a salmon pink jacket on Tuesday, had then played the grieving girlfriend, even organizing a baseball tournament in his memory - but hosted it in Plainville - her hometown not Roy's, the court heard.

Lynn Roy, the mother of Conrad Roy III, is offered tissues during her testimony before Judge Lawrence Moniz on Tuesday

Camdyn Roy, the sister Conrad Roy III, points to the defendant Michelle Carter to identify her while testifying in Carter's trial, Tuesday

Roy family members react when crime-scene photos are projected during the trial of Michelle Carter, Tuesday, in Taunton

Prosecutors say Carter sent her boyfriend Conrad Roy (pictured) dozens of text messages urging him to take his own life before he was found in his pickup truck in Fairhaven, Massachusetts on July 13, 2014

Roy's best friend Thomas Gammell asked her to move the memorial game but she had refused.

Texts they exchanged about the game revealed she wanted to ensure she got credit for the baseball tournament

'Ok awesome thank you! You're not taking credit for my idea, right?' she text him.

Defense attorney Joseph Cataldo said Roy previously was suicidal and Carter had talked him out of taking his life.

He said today that Roy was seriously depressed over the divorce of his parents and a victim of physical abuse by a relative who was on a 'path to take his own life for years'.

He added that Carter was not responsible for his death.

'This is a suicide case,' he said, 'not a not a homicide.'

Text messages, displayed in court, revealed Carter had pushed her boyfriend to kill himself, telling him 'it's time to do it today'

A photograph of the truck, in which Conrad Roy III killed himself, is projected during testimony in the trial

Grief-stricken members of the Roy family break down in tears during the trial, Tuesday, June 6

Roy's mother Lynn Roy, who broke down in tears during her testimony, also took the stand, telling Taunton Trial Court about her son's struggle with depression.

She said he had social anxiety and had been having 'bad thoughts'.

Lynn Roy said that on the night he died, she and he son had taken a walk along the beach, laughing, joking and talking 'about life'.

'You think your kids are doing better,' Roy said, alluding to her son's previous suicide attempt.

Gammell later took the stand, saying that he had never even heard of Carter until Roy's death.

Carter waived her right to a jury, meaning the judge will hear the testimony and issue the verdict.

Prosecutors released transcripts of text messages the then-17-year-old Carter sent to Roy. In one, she allegedly wrote: 'The time is right and you're ready, you just need to do it!'

The court heard that Carter and Roy exchanged more than 20,000 text messages - with more than 1,000 of those messages sent in the days leading up to Roy's death.

Prosecutors say Carter sent her boyfriend dozens of text messages urging him to take his own life.

Michelle Carter (in court on Tuesday) is accused of sending texts encouraging her boyfriend, 18, to kill himself of using him 'as a pawn in her sick game'

Michelle Carter (in court Monday with her attorney) allegedly encouraged her boyfriend, 18, to kill himself

Carter's lawyer argue that she tried repeatedly to talk him out of it and only began to support the plan when it became clear he would not change his mind.

They add that the texts are protected under free speech and that Roy was depressed and previously tried to take his own life.

Carter was 17 when Roy took his own life via carbon monoxide poisoning and prosecutors argue she is criminally responsible because she encouraged him to kill himself in a series of text messages.

In some exchanges, she even revealed she was frustrated he had not taken his life yet.

'Well I guess [that I am frustrated] just because you always say you are gonna do it but you dont,' she text him. 'But last night I know you really wanted to do it and Im not mad. Well, I mean, kind of, I guess, just because you always say youre gonna do it but you dont but last night I knew you really wanted to and Im not mad.'

When he mentioned he was worried it would hurt his family, Carter told him they'd 'get over it'.

'Everyone will be sad for a while but they will get over it and move on. They wont be in depression. I wont let that happen. They know how sad you are, and they know that you are doing this to be happy and I think they will understand and accept it. They will always carry you in their hearts.'

Carter, 20, was pictured arriving at Taunton Trial Court in Massachusetts, for the first day of her trial on Monday

Cater, wearing a quilted jacket, and her attorney Joseph Cataldo walk into court on Monday

Others she badgered him whether he was going to 'do it today', adding in another exchange 'tonight is the night. It's now or never'.

In another text, Roy told her he was 'gonna do it today' to which she replied 'You promise?'

In the hour before his death, prosecutors say, he was on the phone with Carter for 47 minutes, at one point telling her he was getting out of the truck because he feared it wasn't working.

'The car was filling up, and he was scared,' said prosecutor Flynn. 'She told him to get back in the car.'

'When he actually started to carry out the act, he got scared again and exited his truck, but instead of telling him to stay out of the truck... Carter told him to 'get back in',' the police report said.

Days before the suicide, prosecutors say Carter wrote, 'Don't be scared. You're finally to be happy in Heaven.'

'When are you going to do it? Stop ignoring the question???? You can't keep push [sic] it off,' prosecutors claimed Carter texted Roy.

'It's inconceivable,' said Claudette Roy-Viaol, Roy's great aunt to ABC News. 'I just don't understand how someone could do that, to encourage someone they claimed to love.'

The court heard that Roy III had tried to kill himself before he ever met Carter

Conrad Roy III (left and right) took his own life via carbon monoxide poisoning in 2014. Prosecutors argue Carter is criminally responsible because she encouraged him to kill himself

Roy had also attempted suicide and had been hospitalized before he met Carter.

In a text message sent two weeks before his suicide, he wrote of his desire to end his own life. 'I can't get better,' he wrote. 'I already made my decision.'

Roy's body was found in the truck in Fairhaven, Massachusetts on July 13, 2014, after his parents reported him missing, and police found the text messages after looking through his phone.

Police found a gasoline-operate water pump in the back seat of the truck after he died. A coroner later ruled he died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Carter messaged one of her friends nearly a week later expressing her fears that her messages to Roy had been found, People reported.

'I just got off the phone with Conrads mom about 20 mins ago and she told me that detectives had to come and go thru his things and stuff,' she wrote.

Michelle Carter, who broke down in tears in Taunton Trial Court (pictured) took the witness stand on Monday

Michelle Carter (pictured in court in July 2016) told the court her decision to waive the right to jury on Monday

A judge will hear the testimony and issue the verdict in Carter's (pictured in court in 2014) manslaughter trial

'They read my messages with him I'm done... His family will hate me and I could go to jail.'

The case involving Carter has drawn national attention after transcripts of those text messages were made public.

Even though Carter, who met Roy while on a vacation to Florida several years earlier, reportedly called herself his 'girlfriend', his friends and family said they never knew of the relationship.

Carter had also repeatedly posted online about how much she missed him, saying at one point, 'I will never understand why this had to happen.'

In March, a controversial psychiatrist said Carter was 'involuntarily intoxicated' by prescribed antidepressants when she texted her boyfriend encouragement as he committed suicide.

Psychiatrist Dr Peter Breggin testified that Carter was not responsible because she was being treated with the antidepressant Celexa in 2014, which would have altered her brain and meant she wouldn't have understood the impact of her texts to Roy.

Carter had posted on social media on the day Roy committed suicide saying he had 'gone too soon'

'She had no notion of wrongfulness on what she was doing,' Dr Breggin told the court, according to 12WPRI.

Dr Breggin, who was hired by defense attorneys, said Carter loved Roy but experienced a metamorphosis due to her medication.

'The impairment of being on the drugs while you are growing up - while you're brain is maturing, while your frontal lobes are developing - you're talking about being inundated with neurotoxic effects,' he said.

Prosecutors criticized Dr Breggin's credentials during cross-examination and sought to discredit him as an 'extremist' who was critical of antidepressants.

Assistant District Attorney Katie Rayburn pushed Dr Breggin to admit he only reached his conclusion about Carter based on medical records and the text exchange between her and Roy.

The judge did not rule on whether Dr Breggin can testify but the psychiatrist has been previously banned from testifying in other cases.

Carter's defense team were granted a request late last year for funds to hire an expert to examine the antidepressant she was taking at the time.

Her attorney Joseph Cataldo said at the time the drug Celexa could be the key to her defense because it can increase suicidal thoughts.

For confidential help, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or visit suicidepreventionlifeline.org.

'IT'S NOW OR NEVER': MICHELLE CARTER'S TEXT MESSAGES TO CONRAD ROY Prosecutors say Michelle Carter sent her boyfriend, Conrad Roy III, dozens of text messages urging him to take his own life. Carter's lawyer argue that she tried repeatedly to talk him out of it and only began to support the plan when it became clear he would not change his mind. Here are excerpts from their text exchanges, with messages cited by her lawyer first, followed by those cited by prosecutors: June 29, 2014: Carter: 'But the mental hospital would help you. I know you don't think it would but I'm telling you, if you give them a chance, they can save your life' Carter: 'Part of me wants you to try something and fail just so you can get help' Roy: 'It doesn't help. trust me' Carter: 'So what are you gonna do then? Keep being all talk and no action and everyday go thru saying how badly you wanna kill yourself? Or are you gonna try to get better?' Roy: 'I can't get better I already made my decision.' July 7, 2014: Roy: 'If you were in my position. honestly what would you do' Carter: 'I would get help. That's just me tho. When I have a serious problem like that, my first instinct is to get help because I know I can't do it on my own' Roy: 'Well it's too late I already gave up.' Between July 6, 2014 and July 12, 2014: Carter: 'Always smile, and yeah, you have to just do it. You have everything you need. There is no way you can fail. Tonight is the night. It's now or never.' Carter: '(D)on't be scared. You already made this decision and if you don't do it tonight you're gonna be thinking about it all the time and stuff all the rest of your life and be miserable. You're finally going to be happy in heaven. No more pain. No more bad thoughts and worries. You'll be free.' Carter: 'I just want to make sure you're being serious. Like I know you are, but I don't know. You always say you're gonna do it, but you never do. I just want to make sure tonight is the real thing.' Carter: 'When are you gonna do it? Stop ignoring the question' Carter: 'You can't keep living this way. You just need to do it like you did the last time and not think about it and just do it, babe. You can't keep doing this every day. Roy: 'I do want to but I'm like freaking for my family I guess. I don't know.' Carter: 'Conrad, I told you I'll take care of them. Everyone will take care of them to make sure they won't be alone and people will help them get through it. We talked about this and they will be okay and accept it. People who commit suicide don't think this much. They just could do it.' Advertisement




Two high school seniors have been found shot dead less than 24 hours before they were set to graduate, in a shocking double homicide on a suburban cul-de-sac.

Shadi Adi Najjar, 17, and Artem Ziberov, 18, were found fatally shot in a parked car on Monday night in Montgomery Village, Maryland, the day before they were supposed to graduate from Northwest High School.

Around 10.46pm, residents on Gallery Court called police after hearing a barrage of gunshots.

'My wife and I thought we heard someone hammering something, and it just didn't make any sense around 10:30,' one neighbor told NBC Washington.

Shadi Adi Najjar (left) was one of two honor roll teens found dead in suburban Maryland just one day before they were set to graduate

Artem Ziberov (left and right) was also pronounced dead at the scene after a hail of bullets was unleashed Monday night. Police have declared it a double homicide

Najjar's AP Scholar certificate is seen. 'They were both excellent students who had a positive impact on those around them,' school principal Jimmy DAndrea said

Cops found the two teens riddled with bullets inside a parked Honda Civic, where they were pronounced dead at the scene.

No arrests have been made in the case, and police have put out a plea to the public for any information about the shooting.

The two boys both live in Germantown, about seven miles from the scene of the shooting, and it is unclear what they were doing on the well-kept residential cul-de-sac at the time they were shot.

Friends and family of the two honor roll teens were devastated by the news of their deaths.

'May God punish who did this to my son. I'm sure the police will find who killed my boy,' Najjar's father said while holding his son's cap and gown.

Crime scene: Cops found the two teens riddled with bullets inside a parked Honda Civic, where they were pronounced dead at the scene

Northwest's graduation ceremony went forward as planned on Tuesday afternoon, with Principal D'Andrea calling for a moment of silence at the beginning of the ceremony

Classmates bowed their head for a moment of silence before continuing with the ceremony

'For those of you who knew Artem and Shadi, we ask that you remember and celebrate them,' Northwest High School Principal Jimmy DAndrea said in a letter.

'They were both excellent students who had a positive impact on those around them, and they will be greatly missed,' the principal said.

Graduation went forward as planned on Tuesday afternoon, with Principal D'Andrea calling for a moment of silence at the beginning of the ceremony.

'When I spoke to Artem's mother this morning, while extremely upset, her words to me were 'I hope everyone has a great celebration today,' D'Andrea said, encouraging the students as they struggled to compose themselves.

CrimeStoppers of Montgomery County is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for any information that leads to arrests in the case.

Anyone with information about the shooting is urged to call CrimeStoppers anonymously at 1-866-411-TIPS.
President Donald Trump may be the nation's tweeter-in-chief, but some Twitter users say he's violating the First Amendment by blocking people from his feed after they posted scornful comments.

Lawyers for two Twitter users sent the White House a letter Tuesday demanding they be un-blocked from the Republican president's @realDonaldTrump account.

The White House hasn't responded. But press secretary Sean Spicer acknowledged during his Tuesday reporters' briefing that tweets from Trump constitute official statements of his government.

'Well, the president is the President of the United States, so they're considered official statements by the President of the United States,' a befuddled Spicer said.

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President Donald Trump's personal Twitter feed is blocking many of his critics, something a First Amendment group says is unconstitutional since his tweets are actually White House communications

One of the Twitter users whom Trump has blocked is in the habit of trolling him with postings like this one, which suggests the president's wife wants him dead

The same anti-Trump organizer called him a 'bloody idiot' last week  mild stuff for a president accustomed to death threats

Monday on CNN, however, Trump aide Sebastian Gorka downplayed the idea that presidential tweets are policy statements.

'A hundred characters is not policy. It's not policy. It's not policy,' Gorka told 'New Day' co-host Chris Cuomo.

'It's social media, Chris. It's social media. You know the difference, right? It's not policy. It's not an executive order. It's social media. Please understand the difference.'

Twitter allows its users to block specific accounts, meaning the targets can't see or interact with their tweets as long as they are signed in.

Trump's @realDonaldTrump account recently blocked a number of accounts that replied to his tweets with commentary that criticized, mocked or disagreed with his actions.

The president has 31.7 million followers on that account, along with 18.6 million on the White House's official @POTUS account, although it's unclear how many people are double-counted in the White House's estimates of his reach since they follow both.

The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University in New York said in its letter that the blocking suppressed speech in a public forum protected by the Constitution.

Alex Abdo, the institute's senior staff attorney, likened Twitter to a modern form of town hall meeting or public comment periods for government agency proposals, both venues where U.S. law requires even-handed treatment of speech.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer acknowledged Tuesday that Trump's tweets are 'official statements by the President of the United States'

White House aide Sebastian Gorka (right) insisted Monday on CNN that 'a hundred characters is not policy ... it's social media'

The letter said Trump or his aides blocked the accounts @AynRandPaulRyan and @joepabike, belonging to songwriter Holly O'Reilly and professional cyclist and author Joseph M. Papp, respectively.

O'Reilly was among the organizers of the 'March for Truth,' a June 3 anti-Trump event.

She was blocked on May 28 after posting a brief animated clip of Pope Francis appearing uncomfortable during a meeting with Trump with a caption, 'this is pretty much how the whole world sees you,' the letter said.

Among her other tweets was one that she suspected was responsible for Trump blocking her.

'YOU ARE THE LEAKER, you bloody idiot. God, you're embarrassing. So glad we are finally getting the TRUTH,' O'Reilly wrote May 28 on Twitter, in response to a Trump tweet about leaked intelligence from the United Kingdom.

Three days later she tweeted a photo with the message: 'And now, for a series I like to call, "The Trumps go abroad".'

The picture showed first lady Melania Trump at the Vatican, in the traditional black veil women wear to audiences with the Pope.

'Dress for the job you want #widow,' O'Reilly's caption read.

Another Twitter user blocked by the president called him 'mentally weak and intolerant of dissent'

Papp learned he was blocked on June 4 after responding to a Trump tweet with a tweet labeling the president a '#fake leader.'

He later blasted Trump on Twitter as 'a @POTUS so mentally weak & intolerant of dissent he blocks US citizens critical of his policies from even reading his latest pronouncements.'

Eric Goldman, a Santa Clara University law professor who focuses on internet law, said that previous cases involving politicians blocking users on Facebook supported the Knight Institute's position.

If the institute should sue, Trump could claim his @realDonaldTrump account is for personal use and separate from his official duties as president, Goldman said. But he called that defense 'laughable.'

Trump also has a presidential @POTUS Twitter account. The Knight Institute said its arguments would apply with 'equal force' to both accounts.

Trump's Twitter use has drawn intense media attention for his unvarnished commentary about his agenda and attacks on critics. His tweets are often retweeted tens of thousands of times, and can shape the news cycle.

Legal experts have said his tweets may directly affect policy. A chain of postings about his travel ban may hamper his administration's defense in courts.
President Donald Trump wished James Comey good luck as the fired FBI Director prepares to testify at a Senate hearing where he will get grilled on whether Trump pressured him to hold back the FBI's Russia investigation.

'I wish him good luck,' Trump said, when asked Tuesday by a reporter at the White House whether he had a message for Comey as his high-stakes testimony looms large in Washington.

Comey does not plan to testify that Trump tried to obstruct justice when the two men spoke about an investigation of a top Trump advisor, according to a new report  though his appearance holds plenty of pitfalls for a White House under siege.

'He is not going to Congress to make accusations about the President's intent, instead he's there to share his concerns,' a source told ABC News, which previewed Comey's thinking ahead of Thurdsay's blockbuster Senate Intelligence Committee hearing.

Instead, Comey will speak about 'what made him uneasy' in his conversations with Trump during the early days of the administration.

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President Donald Trump wished fired FBI Director James Comey 'good luck' in his Senate testimony

Comey apparently was concerned enough about those talks that he kept detailed memos after each of them, and he is certain to get asked about those memos and whether they back up his account.

During one such meeting, the president reportedly told him: 'I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go,' and vouched that Flynn was a 'good guy.'

Former FBI Director James Comey's testimony is getting wall-to-wall live TV coverage

That was a reference to an ongoing FBI investigation into now-fired national security advisor Mike Flynn, who is being probed for his Russia contacts. Flynn just turned over hundreds of pages of documents to the Senate panel in connection with its probe.

The New York Times reported on the encounter, based on the Comey memos.

The former top law enforcement officer has already demonstrated a willingness to share how national pressures felt in his gut: telling a congressional panel it made him feel 'mildly nauseous' to think his decisions in the Clinton investigation might have impacted the presidential election.

Comey does appear prepared to contradict Trump's claim, stated in writing in the letter where he fired Comey, that the director had assured him he wasn't personally under investigation.

'While I greatly appreciate you informing me, on three separate occasions, that I am not under investigation, I nevertheless concur with the judgment of the Department of Justice that you are not able to effectively lead the Bureau,' Trump wrote Comey.

Such an assurance would have been unorthodox from an FBI official. Comey told associates he won't back up the president's account, a source familiar with his thinking told the network.

Beyond wishing Comey luck, Trump appeared eager to have the chance to engage in some counter-programming.

He is scheduled to address religious conservatives at the Faith and Freedom Coalition's 'Road to Majority' conference at 12:30 pm Thursday, right as Comey is on the Hill.

Comey's testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee is shaping up to be a major national TV event, with all three major broadcast networks planning to break into regular programming and cable set to provide wall-to-wall coverage.

On Capitol Hill, TV networks and print outlets from around the world are scrambling to fill seats inside the Senate Intelligence Committee room inside the Heart Senate Office Building, where the former FBI director will take an oath before getting quizzed about his conversations with President Trump.

The event is already being compared to other TV events that rocked Washington, from Anita Hill's testimony during the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings to Bill Clinton's impeachment and the Iran-Contra hearings.

TV networks are tossing out their daytime schedules. Fox News will refrain from commercials while sensational charges of Russian election interference get a major public hearing before a national audience.

Getting the boot will be morning programs including Rachel Ray on ABC, Let's Make a Deal on CBS, and normal Today Show programming. 'The View,' and 'The Price is Right' are also certain to get bumped during rounds of questioning that follow initial public statements from panel chairs and the high-profile witness.

Laura Lytle, director of the Senate Daily Press Gallery, has compared the interest to the build-up to the Bill Clinton impeachment trial, when the fate of the president an and the Monica Lewinsky scandal transfixed the nation.

On ABC, George Stephanopoulos anchors the network's coverage on Thursday.

NBC's Savannah Guthrie joins a parade of TV hosts who will cover James Comey live

George Stephanopoulos of ABC will be participating in Comey coverage Thursday

WHERE IN THE WORLD WILL MATT LAUER BE? Covering James Comey's testimony

CBS is deploying morning cohosts Norah O'Donnell, Gayle King and Charlie Rose, along with John Dickerson, host of Sunday's 'Face the Nation.'

NBC News is deploying chief legal correspondent Savannah Guthrie and 'Today' host Matt Lauer anchoring from New York, Variety reported. Joining will be nightly news anchor Lester Holt  who got Trump to say that Russia was on his mind when he decided to fire Comey, along with Chuck Todd, host of 'Meet the Press.'

Although network commentators have raised doubts about the Russia story, Fox News is launching its coverage an hour before Comey takes the stand.

It is bringing in prime time anchor Bret Baier and Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallance, as well as Dana Perino, cohost of The Five.

NBC's Lester Holt  who got Trump to say that Russia was on his mind when he decided to fire Comey  will participate in coverage

The event is being compared to past major national congressional testimony, like Anita Hill's Judiciary Committee testimony in 1991

Gayle King attends 2017 CBS Upfron at The Plaza Hotel on May 17, 2017

Charlie Rose attends the 2017 CBS Upfront on May 17, 2017 in New York City

'Meet the Press' moderator Chuck Todd will participate in NBC's live coverage

Anchor and CBS News Political Director John Dickerson joins the networks coverage of the Comey testimony

Shep Smith, whose wry observations have guided millions of viewers through live spectacles from global calamities to car chases and weather catastrophes over the years, will anchor coverage for FOX Broadcast

Chris Wallace joins Fox News coverage of the event

Wolf Blitzer will cover the event for CNN, a network Trump brands as 'fake news'

The network will air the hearing commercial-free, according to a release.

Shep Smith, whose wry observations have guided millions of viewers through live spectacles from global calamities to car chases and weather catastrophes over the years, will anchor coverage for FOX Broadcast.

Co-anchored by FNC's Bill Hemmer and Shannon Bream, coverage will begin at 9AM/ET and contributions will be made by a panel including FNC's chief political anchor Bret Baier, FOX News Sunday's Chris Wallace and The Five co-host Dana Perino. Additionally, FNC will be commercial-free when the hearing begins at 10AM/ET. FNC's Shepard Smith will anchor coverage for FOX Broadcast.

One near-certain viewer is President Trump, who was revealed in a New York Times story to have used a TiVo device to watch a previous Senate hearing on Russia meddling, where former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper testified.

Trump called it 'one of the great inventions of all time.'

Trump may 'live tweet' the event if he feels the need to respond, the Washington Post reported Monday.

The White House said Monday President Trump would NOT invoke executive privilege to prevent Comey from testifying.
Jeremy Corbyn told activists 'they underestimated us' as he vowed to win the election in a major rally speech on the eve of the last day of campaigning.

The Labour leader said the Tories had not realised how popular his party's message would be.

And waving the party's manifesto in his hand - described by experts as the most left-wing in Labour's history - he said his tax and spend plans have proved a hit with voters.

Mr Corbyn made a determined pitch to woo the youth vote as he addressed the rally on the eve of the final full day of campaigning before Thursday's vote.

He threw an event which observers said was half music festival half campaign event - roping in trendy electro band Clean Bandit and comedian Steve Coogan to warm up for him.

Corbyn declared 'they underestimated us' as he vows to become PM at Birmingham rally

Steve Coogan, pictured today with the Labour leader, warmed up for Jeremy Cotbyn at his rally

Corbyn gets ready to go on stage at the Birmingham rally this evening. He laid on an evening of music and promised to scrap university tuition fees in a bid to win over young voters

The Birmingham rally was beamed via videolink to simultaneous events in five different cities.

Addressing the crowd, he said: And they thought it would all be over by June 8, well Ill tell you what  they underestimated us didnt they?

They underestimated us, they underestimated us and the campaign we would mount.

And do you know what the turning point was? When we produced this...'

The Labour leader then waved his manifesto - which pledges to hike taxes and borrow many billions of pounds and renationalise the rail, mail and water industries.

He said: People say to me all this is a wish list. No its not  its a programme; its an agenda.

And do you know what: we are going to carry it out.

And it does cost of course. But we live in a country of great riches  we also live in a country of increasing poverty.

He said a Labour victory would change the political direction of this country.

Trendy electro group Clean Bandit played at the Corbyn rally in Birmingham tonight. Labour has made winning over young voters the central part of their election campaign

Jeremy Corbyn addressed the crowd in front at the rally , which observers said felt more like a music festival than a political event. The Labour leader is trying to woo young voters

The rally had echoes of Neil Kinnock's triumphalist Sheffield rally when the Labour leader swept to the stage shouting Were all right! Were all right!.

But just a week later John Major won a shock 21-seat majority and Mr Kinnock was forced into a humiliating resignation.

Mr Corbyn added: : Let us resolve to do things differently. Invest in education, invest in health, invest in housing, invest in jobs. Invest in a future for all of us.

This election on this programme gives us all an opportunity to change the political direction of this country.

Wherever you go, ask people what kind of country, what kind of world, what kind of society they want to live in.

Mr Corbyn has tried to win over youth voters by promising to scrap university tuition fees and hinting at writing off some of the debt of graduates who have already paid.

Comedian Steve Coogan was another of the Corbyn warm up acts in the celebrity backed rally

The 11bilion a year giveaway is one of the most expensive in the manifesto and critics have warned the move could leave a blackhole in university budgets if he government cannot find the cash to plug it.

Mr Corbyn again urged young voters to cast their ballots on Thursday, adding: What we do in this manifestoyoung people are our future young people give us everything, we must give them all the best chances we can.

He also gave a shout out to the hashtag Grime4Corbyn which was used by rappers who backed the Labour leader.

He added: Can I say thank you to so many musicians that have come on board  so many people from so many different cultural walks of life have come on board to support about in this election.

Earlier, Coogan  who plays the character Alan Partridge  described Theresa May as having the charisma of a pancake.
Instead of the White House having a so-called 'war room' in place, President Trump has decided that all Russian-related matters will be dealt with by his outside attorney in New York, Marc Kasowitz.

Politico first reported this change of strategy, as other outlets wrote about some of the reservations folks in Washington are having with Trump's choice of Kasowitz, his longtime lawyer, who is also currently defending former Fox host Bill O'Reilly against sexual harassment allegations.

Kasowitz, Axios explained, isn't personally the poison pill, but one source fretted that he 'played to Trump's instincts, which would not be helpful here.'

Marc Kasowitz, President Trump's longtime lawyer, has been tasked with representing the president in all Russian-related matters

Attorney Marc Kasowitz has both President Donald Trump (left) and former Fox News Channel host Bill O'Reilly (right) as clients

President Trump's longtime attorney Marc Kasowitz (center) was photographed with the president's second wife Marla Maples (left) and Lori Kasowitz (right) in 2015

An informal White House adviser told the online publication that there are some people that like the choice of Kasowitz because he's somebody the president trusts.

'On the other hand, there are people in the building who say that Kasowitz brings out the worst in the president,' the source continued. 'Kasowitz is a bit of an enabler and spins him up.'

The New York Times described Kasowitz as a New York character cut from the same cloth as Trump  a brawler who loves media attention  with his website even posting that he has represented, 'President Donald J. Trump in a wide range of litigation matters for over 15 years.'

'He is, for lack of a better comparison, the Donald Trump of lawyering,' the paper's Andrew Ross Sorkin wrote.

But that doesn't necessarily play well in Washington.

And while Kasowitz was a veteran of representing Trump through casino deals, divorces, and alleged sexual misdeeds, some worried he didn't have the right experience to represent a president under fire from both Congress and a special counsel.

However, while Axios' sources alluded to Trump being more of the problem than his choice of attorney, a report out Tuesday from Yahoo News said that just.

Yahoo's Michael Isikoff reported that four major law firms have turned down opportunities to represent the president for fear that Trump would simply ignore their advice.

Some of the attorneys the White House tried to court were Brendan Sullivan of Williams & Connolly, Ted Olson of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Paul Clement and Mark Filip of Kirkland & Ellis, and Robert Giuffra of Sullivan & Cromwell, Yahoo said.

While some of the firms the White House approached were more broadly worried about damaging their reputations, as aligning with Trump could hurt recruitment of additional lawyers and prominent clients, especially on the Democratic side.

Trump, himself, was seemingly the bigger problem.

'The concerns were, "The guy won't pay and he won't listen,"' one lawyer close to the White House told Isikoff of the discussions.

Trump has been especially defiant this week, tweeting a number of statements about his travel ban, which could later be used as a case against the controversial executive order if it goes before the Supreme Court.

The president also plans to continue tweeting through the testimony of FBI Director James Comey on Thursday, according to the Washington Post's Robert Costa  not the most legally advisable thing to do.

When asked Monday if Trump's tweets are ever approved by counsel, White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders suggested the answer was no.

'Not that I'm aware of, ' Huckabee Sanders said.
Colgate frozen lasagna, green ketchup and fat-free Pringles all feature in a new Museum of Failure.

The bizarre parade of rejected products from years gone by has been set up in the Swedish town of Helsingborg.

The museum is the brainchild of 43-year-old curator and clinical psychologist Samuel West.

Many items in the museum show companies' attempts to diversify their brand - including green ketchup

The idea came to him while on holiday and he quickly purchased the internet domain name.

West later realized he'd accidentally misspelled 'museum' - a sure sign the project would succeed.

'We know that 80 to 90 percent of innovation projects, they fail and you never read about them, you don't see them, people don't talk about them,' West says. 'And if there's anything we can do from these failures, is learn from them.'

Many items in the museum show companies' attempts to diversify their brand. There's Coca-Cola's BlaK coffee beverage and Pepsi's Crystal clear soda.

Iconic motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson makes an appearance with a men's eau-du-toilette, launched in the mid-1990s.

'The fans hated it,' West says. 'They had Christmas ornaments, Barbie dolls, all kinds of other stuff with the Harley-Davidson logo and it sort of trivializes the brand.'

Samuel West, curator of the Museum of Failure, holds a bottle of Heinz Green Sauce tomato ketchup

Even one of the world's best-known businessmen, President Donald Trump, makes an appearance.

The 'I'm Back And You're Fired' board game from 2004 looks like Monopoly, but players use 'T' branded pieces and the paper notes are adorned with Trump's image.

'It's a boring version of Monopoly. It's simplified so stupid people can play it, but it's also horribly boring,' West says.

I'm back and you're fired: Donald Trump's version of Monopoly at the Museum of Failure

The Museum of Failure is also home to some high-tech devices, including Google's Glass headset with augmented reality display and in-built camera.

'The problem was Google released it too early, it was still a prototype, so it was full of bugs,' West says.

Segway's two-wheeled electric mobility device is also featured.

'The Segway was supposed to revolutionize the way we transport people,' West says. 'And we all know that the Segway today is used by tourists before they go get drunk.'

Experts say innovation is tough and failure is often part of the process.

'You're working on the edge of tomorrow,' says Nicolai de Gier, a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. 'It's like the other part of trying is failing, so it's just a very natural thing and very important thing.'

West says many brands featured in his museum want nothing to do with it. But he says other companies have booked large group visits, perhaps to learn from past mistakes.

'It's liberating for us, when we try out a new skill or learn something, it's OK to fail,' he says.

The museum does offer some hope. On display is an Apple Newton personal digital assistant from 1993. The bulky black device paved the way for the iPhones and iPads that millions use today.

The Museum of Failure opens June 7 and will stay in its gallery space until at least early September. Entry is 100 Swedish kroner, or approximately $11.
Former FBI Director James Comey testimony Thursday in front of the Senate - his first on-the-record statements since he was abruptly dismissed - is being promoted as must-see TV that no one inside or outside Washington would dare miss.

And yet, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer suggested Tuesday that President Donald Trump would buck expectations and skip the blockbuster hearing, citing a 'full day' that would conveniently keep the commander in chief off Twitter.

'There's gonna be a very busy day, as all of his days are,' Spicer said during his daily briefing.

Former FBI Director James Comey testimony Thursday in front of the Senate - his first on-the-record statements since he was abruptly dismissed - is being promoted as must-see TV that no one inside or outside Washington would dare miss - except maybe the president

The Washington Post's Robert Costa said this morning that he had two White House officials telling him Trump could be live-tweeting Comey's testimony 'if he feels the need to respond.'

Trump could undermine his counsel's legal strategy in the Russia case if he says too much off the cuff. Even the White House press office is tossing inquiries to Trump's lawyers to avoid making a mistake.

Spicer suggested Tuesday that Trump would not have time to watch or tweet the hearing, as if the president's schedule has interfered with his social media use before.

He has a working session first thing in the morning with mayors and governors he hopes to partner with on his infrastructure proposals. He's giving a speech across town at a conservative political conference after that, Spicer said.

'The president's going to have a very, very, busy day, as he does all the time, and I think his focus is going to be on pursuing the agenda and the priorities that he was elected to do,' his press secretary said.

Proving his ability to show restraint during a photo op with lawmakers, Trump told reporters asking about his fired FBI director this afternoon, 'I wish him luck.'

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has repeatedly advised Trump to cut back on the tweets that have served as a constant source of drama in the administration.

The White House rebuffed him on Tuesday and all the other critics of his social media use, which predates the election.

'The president is the most effective messenger on his agenda,' Spicer contended.

Spicer pointedly said the 'same people who are critiquing his use of it now, critiqued it during the election, and it turned out pretty well for him then.'

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer suggested Tuesday that President Donald Trump would buck expectations and skip the blockbuster hearing, citing a 'fully day' that will conveniently keep the commander in chief off Twitter

The president's tweets on his travel ban could hurt him at the Supreme Court, a prominent lawyer and Trump supporter, George Conway, said yesterday.

At his briefing, Spicer admitted Tuesday, in a question that provided a set up for any comments Trump might make about Comey, that the tweets the president sends from his personal account have the weight of official White House policy.

Trump could have invoked executive privilege in a bid to keep Comey from revealing his secrets. He decided Monday that he would not make an attempt to keep the former law enforcement official quiet, 'in order to facilitate a swift and thorough examination of the facts sought by the Senate Intelligence Committee' the White House said.

Kellyanne Conway, counselor to the president, had left the door open to an executive action that morning, telling a 'Today' show co-host: 'If Mr. Comey does testify, we'll be watching with everyone else.'

Spicer suggested Thursday that the group Conway referred to did not include in the president, though, as he talked about Trump's 'very, very busy day.'

Trump could have invoked executive privilege in a bid to keep Comey from revealing his secrets. He decided Monday that he would not make an attempt to keep the former law enforcement official quiet

Comey is scheduled to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday at 10 am.

His participation was never in doubt, but Trump could have acted to keep a lid on their discussions about the FBI's Russia investigation into retired Gen. Michael Flynn and other associates of the president.

Comey will not accuse the president of obstruction of justice, ABC News has reported, but he will cast onto doubt Trump's claims that the FBI director told him three times that he was not under investigation.

A source told ABC that Comey was not appearing 'to make accusations about the Presidents intent, instead hes there to share his concerns.'
A Florida woman who tried to hire a hitman to kill her ex-husband or sell him into sex slavery so she could regain custody of their three kids has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for the crime.

Rachael Leahy, 35, pleaded no contest last month to a charge of criminal solicitation to commit murder.

In court on Monday, she apologized for her actions as she tried to convince Judge Deno Economou to give her a light sentence.

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Rachael Leahy, 35 (pictured), cried in court on Monday as she was sentenced to 20 years in prison

Leahy pleaded no contest last month to trying to hire a hitman to kill her ex-husband David, 60 (pictured above testifying in court during the trial)

Leahy apologized for her actions in an attempt to get a lighter sentence. Her ex-husband has full custody of their now 11, 9 and 7-year-old children. Leady pictured with two of her kids above

'I am so sorry to my kids. I am so sorry to this court,. I am so sorry to God and I want to apologize also to my ex-husband,' she said.

'I would not do this over again. I dont know what I was thinking at that time. I was not in my right mind, but I wouldnt do it again. I wish I never thought that wayI wish I could take it all back,' she added.

Her attorney said she felt like a victim and thought that killing her ex was the only way to get her kids back.

But after Leahy's ex David, 60, took to the stand and described how she allegedly abused the kids before and after they broke up, the judge decided to sentence Leahy to 20 years in prison, plus three years of parole.

Mr Leahy says that since he and his kids - who are now 11, 9 and 7 - learned of the plot, they've become paranoid.

'We changed all the locks in the doors. We got security cameras all over the house,' he said.

Prosecutors showed video during the trial showing Leahy speaking to an undercover cop she believed to be a hitman

She even joked about how she would be fine with her husband being sold into sex slavery

During the trial, prosecutors showed video in which Leahy spoke with an undercover cop she believed to be a hitman in August 2016.

Leahy was arrested after she paid the undercover cop $2,500 for the job in August

In the video, she said that she wanted her husband killed and promised to pay the hitman $2,500 upfront and another $2,500 once she got an insurance pay out from his death.

Leahy reportedly met with the undercover cop three times in person and had a dozen phone calls. The cop reportedly gave Leahy several chances to renege on her request to have her ex killed, but she did not relent.

'I know its an absolute extreme. Im not this sort of person but listen, Ive been through hellThere is no other resolution than for him to be gone completely,' she said in the video.

She even joked about how she would be fine with her husband being sold into sex slavery.

'I have all kinds of thoughts, like it would be great if somebody could, a group of people all in black and hoods and stuff would just throw him in a van and take him overseas and make them their man b****...for the rest of their life,' Leahy said.

Leahy's attorney said that she suffered from PTSD and other mental illnesses because of abuse suffered as a child. Above, Leahy and her ex

During the trial, her attorney said that she suffers from PTSD and other mental illnesses from being abused as a child.

David Leahy, who Rachael tried to get whacked, was the first to testify during the trial and said that their marriage was good for the first year but then got 'rockier and rockier' as time went on.

It was also during their marriage that he first learned of how she was abusing their kids.

'She would tie them up with zip ties, lock them to their bed, lock them in closets. This was while I was away at work,' he said.

Mr Leahy says that after they decided to get a divorce, when they had joint custody, he learned that she was 'still tying them up' and 'locking them in the garage'.

Eventually a family court judge decided to grant Mr. Leahy full custody.
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A new collection of images comparing the Normandy landings then and now have been released to mark the 73rd anniversary of D-Day.

The images captured tanks driving through the streets, soldiers laying flowers on new graves, and the troops running through the crashing waves and up the beach during the landing - which stand in stark contrast with the peaceful photos of the same locations in modern times.

They emerged on the anniversary of Operation Overlord, which saw some 156,000 Allied troops landing in Normandy. It is thought as many as 4,400 were killed in an operation the Second World War Prime Minister Winston Churchill described as 'undoubtedly the most complicated and difficult that has ever taken place'.

Saint Aubin sur Mer, France. June 6 1944 (the central image): The British 2nd Army: Royal Marine Commandos of Headquarters, 4th Special Service Brigade, making their way from Landing Craft Infantry Small) onto 'Nan Red' Beach, at about 9am. 2014 (the background image): A view of the sea at Nan Red Beach in the Juno beach area

Sainte Mere Eglise, France. 1944: A French armored column passing through the small French town of St Mere Eglise during the Allied invasion of Normandy, gets a warm welcome from the inhabitants. 2014: A view of the modern high street

Weymouth Harbour, England: 1944: Boats full of United States troops waiting to leave the harbor to take part in Operation Overlord in Normandy. 2014: A view of the quiet harbor

Basly, France. D-Day. 1944: Three soldiers of the 23rd Field Ambulance Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps, of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division place flowers on graves. Two soldiers wear the armband for the Red Cross. In the four temporary graves are a Scottish, a Canadian and two French civilians. 2014: A view of the graveyard with the church of Saint Georges de Basly in the background on May 5, 2014

The images include a photo of British Royal Marine Commandos, of the 4th Special Service Brigade, landing on Nan Red Beach, at St Aubin-sur-Mer at about 9am on June 6, 1944. The Commandos can be seen running through the crashing waves, after clambering down from the Landing Craft Infantry Small boats, and heading up the beach. The picture has overlaid on top of a 2014 photo of the now empty beach.

In another, a group of 2nd Ranger Battalion soldiers gather at the base of the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc after Colonel James E. Rudder established a post there in 1944. Meanwhile, German prisoners of war are marched along the top of the cliffs past an American flag to signal the allied post. The modern picture behind it, shows tourists enjoying a walk across the now green-topped cliffs.

England also features among the pictures including a 1944 view of Moreton-in-Marsh town center, where a huge pile of supplies and ammunition has been collected, in preparation for the impending D-Day invasion of France. It's overlaid on a 2014 of the modern town center which has cars parked on either side.

Weymouth, England. 1944: US troops on the Esplanade at Weymouth, Dorset, on their way to embark on ships bound for Omaha Beach for the D-Day landings. 2014: A view of the seafront littered with cafes

Trevieres, France. 1944: The body of a German soldier belonging to the 2. Infanterie Regiment lies on the Market Square on 15th June 1944 in front of two badly damaged buildings. 2014: A view of the market square which has repaired it's buildings damaged by the war

Bernieres-sur-Mere, France. 1944: A Canadian soldier is directing traffic outside Notre-Dame Nativity church. 2014: A view of the empty streets outside the church

Saint Lo, France. 1944: A group of American soldiers march through the town which was almost totally destroyed by Allied bombers, while a jeep drives past carrying supplied and soldiers. 2014: Today the area has been turned into a roundabout

Vierville sur Mer, France. 1944: American troops stand by with stores on Omaha Beach after the D-day landings. 2014: The beach is more or less empty, while a tarmac road runs alongside it

La Breche, France: British Commandos of 1st Special Service Brigade landing on 'Queen Red' Beach, at around 8.40am, 6 June. 2014: A view of the seafront and Queen Red Beach shows vast expanses of sand

Some 156,000 Allied troops landed in Normandy on June 6, 1944.

The assault was conducted in two phases: an airborne landing of 24,000 British, American, Canadian and Free French airborne troops shortly after midnight, and an amphibious landing of Allied infantry and armoured divisions on the coast of France commencing at 6.30am.

The operation was the largest amphibious invasion in world history, with over 160,000 troops landing. Some 195,700 Allied naval and merchant navy personnel in over 5,000 ships were involved.

The landings took place along a 50-mile (80 km) stretch of the Normandy coast divided into five sectors: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword.

Pointe du Hoc, France. 1944: A group of 2nd Ranger Battalion soldiers gather at the base of the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc after Colonel James E. Rudder established a post there in 1944. Meanwhile, German prisoners of war are marched along the top of the cliffs past an American flag to signal the allied post. 2014: Tourists enjoy a walk across the now green-topped cliffs

Caen, France. 1944: A couple watch a Canadian soldier with a bulldozer ripping down the ruins of a house in the rue de Bayeux on 10th July 1944 from the rubble strewn street. 2014: Today the house has been replaced, the streets are clear and cars line the road

Bernieres-sur-Mere, France: Troops of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, carrying masses of equipment, land at Juno Beach on D-Day. 2014: The beach huts that line the sand show the area in peace time

Colleville sur Mer, France. 1944 : Multiple styles of American craft arrived at Omaha Beach, Normandy, during the first stages of the Allied invasion. 2014: The vehicles are gone, the ships have left and today the only people on the beach are tourists

The assault was chaotic with boats arriving at the wrong point and others getting into difficulties in the water.

Troops managed only to gain a small foothold on the beach - but they built on their initial breakthrough in the coming days and a harbour was opened at Omaha.

They met strong resistance from the German forces who were stationed at strongpoints along the coastline.

Approximately 10,000 allies were injured or killed - 6,603 American, of which 2,499 were fatal, 2,700 UK soldiers and 1,074 Canadians, of which 359 fatal.

Between 4,000 and 9,000 German troops were killed - and it proved the pivotal moment of the war, in the allied forces' favour.

The invasion had required the transport of soldiers and material from the United Kingdom by troop-laden aircraft and ships, the assault landings, air support, naval interdiction of the English Channel and naval fire-support

Moreton in Marsh, England. 1944: A huge pile of supplies and ammunition has been collected, in preparation for the impending D-Day invasion of France. 2014: The modern town center which has cars parked on either side

Saint Marie du Mont, France. 1944: A group of American soldiers stand at the village fountain on June 12 as women collect pitchers of water. 2014: A view of the old village fountain now surrounded by a tarmac
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has launched a new investigation into Hillary Clinton over whether the former secretary of state meddled in a Bangladeshi corruption probe to help a Clinton Foundation donor.

'This new evidence of pay-to-play and special treatment reinforces the appearance that donations to the Clinton Foundation resulted in favorable treatment by Secretary Clintons State Department,' Grassley said.

The Daily Caller first reported Grassley's move after the publication's Investigative Group published a piece in May saying that Clinton had sent top U.S. diplomats to pressure Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheik Hasina, and her son Sajeeb Wazed, as the country investigated Clinton friend Muhammad Yunus for corruption.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (left) is again the target of a brewing federal investigation, as Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (right) seeks information on whether Clinton exerted inappropriate influence in a Bangladeshi corruption probe

Sen. Chuck Grassley is pointing a finger at Hillary Clinton and accusing her of being engaged with 'pay-to-play' for pressuring Bangladesh's prime minister to reinstall a Clinton ally atop the bank he had been running, before there was a corruption probe

Yunus, who led the country's Grameen Bank and whose microfinance concept won him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006, was accused of overcharging customers and 'sucking blood from the poor.'

He was later cleared.

Hasina's targeting of Yunus, which led to the Clinton ally being removed from atop the bank, was viewed as political retribution for when Yunus briefly flirted with getting into politics, the U.K.'s Independent found.

But because Clinton and other American officials got involved and Yunus had been a Clinton Global Initiative and Clinton Foundation donor, Grassley smelled pay-to-play.

Yunus had given between $100,000 and $250,000 to CGI, the annual Clinton-fronted gathering in New York, along with $25,000 to $50,000 to the Clinton Foundation.

'If the Secretary of State used her position to intervene in an independent investigation by a sovereign government simply because of a personal and financial relationship stemming from the Clinton Foundation rather than the legitimate foreign policy interests of the United States, then that would be unacceptable,' Grassley wrote in a letter dated June 1 to current Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

'Co-mingling her official position as Secretary of State with her family foundation would be similarly inappropriate,' Grassley said. 'It is vital to determine whether the State Department had any role in the threat of an IRS audit against the son of the Prime Minister in retaliation for this investigation.'

In the letter, Grassley said that Hasina had confirmed that Clinton had called her office in 2011 and demanded Yunus be restored to the top position at the bank.

Additionally, her son Wazed said he had been pressured to push his mother to end the investigation and even threatened with an IRS audit by some State Department officials.

The four officials Wazed met with were named in the letter, with Grassley requesting that one of them, Jon Danilowicz, the deputy chief of mission in Bangladesh, be made available for interviews with his committee's staff.

Grassley also wanted to know whether the matter had been referred to the inspector general or the Department of Justice.

And because Clinton's emails are always part of the story, Grassley attached a number of highly-redacted emails to his exchange with Tillerson, asking for the original copies to be handed over to the Senate committee too.
Vladimir Putin has claimed he never has bad days because he 'is not a woman'.

The Russian president made the bizarre comment to Oliver Stone during his upcoming four-part Showtime documentary, The Putin Interviews.

'I am not a woman, so I don't have bad days,' the Moscow man told Stone while giving the award-winning director a tour of the Kremlin's gilded throne room, Bloomberg reports.

'I am not trying to insult anyone. That's just the nature of things. There are certain natural cycles.'

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Vladimir Putin has claimed he never has bad days because he 'is not a woman' subjected to 'natural cycles'. The Russian leader is pictured on June 2 in St Petersburg

Stone also quizzed Putin about Russia's controversial stance towards its LGBT community, asking whether the president would 'take a shower in a submarine next to a gay man'.

'Well, I prefer not to go to the shower with him. Why provoke him? But you know, I'm a judo master,' Putin said, according to Bloomberg.

It comes after a snippet of the interviews, which were filmed over two years, was released last week. It showed Putin driving while Stone was in the passenger seat asking question - via a translator sat in the backseat.

The award-winning director is seen asking Putin about Edward Snowden, the former US National Security Agency contractor and CIA employee who leaked classified information about the extent of the NSA's surveillance. Snowden is wanted on espionage charges in the US.

'I think he [Snowden] shouldn't have done it. If he didn't like anything at his work, he should have simply resigned,' Putin told Stone.

The 64-year-old Russian leader said that he can't personally justify Snowden's methods, but he does believe that he was within his rights to take the decision.

Vladimir Putin and Oliver Stone are pictured together in an image from the upcoming Showtime documentary, The Putin Interviews

'I am not a woman, so I don't have bad days,' the Moscow man told Stone while giving the award-winning director a tour of the Kremlin's gilded throne room

'But since you are asking me whether it's right or wrong, I think it's wrong,' he said.

Putin said that he believes the NSA went too far in its snooping practices.

'Trying to spy on your allies if you really consider them allies, and not vassals, is just indecent. Because it undermines trust,' Putin said in reference to the revelation that the US government eavesdropped on German Chancellor Angela Merkel and several members of her cabinet.

He said that such an approach 'in the end [inflicts] damage [on] your own national security.'

He also said that the sharing publicly of data can't be called treason.

'Snowden is not a traitor. He did not betray the interests of his country. Nor did he transfer information to any other country,' Putin told Stone.

An electronic screen shows Russian President Vladimir Putin speaking during the St Petersburg International Economic Forum

Putin and Stone are pictured sitting around a table with a translator during one of the interview sessions for the Showtime documentary

He added that Snowden did not do anything 'which would have been pernicious to his own country or his own people.'

After Snowden's US passport was revoked, he became stranded in the transit zone of Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport in June 2013 while on his way to Latin America.

He was granted asylum in Russia shortly after and he's been living in Moscow ever since. His residence permit was extended until 2020 earlier this year.

When the snippet was released, Showtime said the interviews took place at the Kremlin, Sochi, and Putin's official residence in Moscow.

The network says the film 'captures the essence and complexity of the Russian leader and his approach to the US and the world'.

The Putin Interviews premieres next Monday, June 12, on Showtime at 9PM.
A teacher at a Texas high school has resigned after at least two male students accused him of offering them extra credit in exchange for various sexual favors.

One of the students, a 16-year-old, told the principal of Lancaster High School about the teachers alleged advances on Friday.

According to a statement from the Lancaster Independent School District, the teen said the educator had recently sent him suggestive text messages.

A teacher at Lancaster High School in Texas resigned Monday after two male students accused him of offering them extra credit in exchange for sexual favors

The missives reportedly contained offers of extra credit for sexual acts.

The teacher has not been named because as of Tuesday afternoon, he has not been charged with any crime.

The boy who came forward last week and another 16-year-old student told Fox 4 News their teacher showed them a 'wish list' of sexual favors on his phone.

He showed me all three things on there, and I was like, I cant do this, and I left the classroom, one of the teenagers told the station.

One of the 16-year-old boys said the teacher, a first-year staffer at Lancaster who had previous taught at other districts, would sometimes try to make physical contact with him in class.

After the student made the complaint to the principal, schools officials sent the teacher to the human resources department and immediately placed him on leave, having him escorted off campus.

On Monday, the teacher returns to the HR department and tendered his resignation.

Child Protective Services, the Texas Education Agency and law enforcement have all been notified of this case.
Youssef Zaghba was granted entry after telling the Italians: Im going to be a terrorist'

A major intelligence blunder allowed one of the London Bridge killers into Britain despite him being flagged on an international watchlist.

The security services faced serious questions following revelations that Youssef Zaghba was granted entry even after telling the Italian authorities: Im going to be a terrorist.

The Italians apparently forwarded the intelligence to their British counterparts when the 22-year-old travelled to the UK just a month later.

But the warnings were not acted on and the Moroccan-born Italian citizen was allowed in unhindered under EU freedom of movement rules.

Citizens of any country in the 28-nation bloc can enter the UK without a visa, just as Britons can travel freely around the Continent.

The revelation will add to concerns that UK counter-terrorism officials missed a string of opportunities to thwart Saturday nights atrocity, in which seven innocents were killed.

Another member of the Islamist terror gang, Khuram Butt, 27, was investigated by MI5 and police for his extremist views two years ago.

Security chiefs have already embarked on a potentially humiliating investigation into why they missed the danger posed by Salman Abedi, the Manchester Arena suicide bomber.

From left: Killers Khuram Shazad Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba

UK counter-terrorism officials missed a string of opportunities to thwart Saturday nights atrocity, in which seven innocents were killed

The authorities were repeatedly told that the 22-year-old, who had Libyan parents, was a danger to the public before he blew himself up at a pop concert last month, killing 22 fans including children. Yesterday Theresa May said MI5 needed to review its handling of intelligence into the London Bridge attack following revelations about the killers known terror links.

Zaghba was stopped at Bologna Airport before attempting to travel to Istanbul on a one-way ticket on his way to Syria in March last year.

Questioned about his intentions, the fanatic replied: Im going to be a terrorist. Concerned by his blunt response and agitated manner, security staff immediately called police and he was blocked from flying.

MI5 MUST LEARN FROM INTELLIGENCE FAILURE, SAYS PM MI5 needs to review its handling of intelligence linked to the London Bridge attack following revelations about the killers known terror connections, Theresa May said yesterday. The Prime Minister said she recognised public concerns about how the terrorists were able to carry out the atrocity. Meanwhile, Boris Johnson tore into the security services and the police, saying they faced questions over how plot ringleader Khuram Butt, 27, could slip through the net. The Foreign Secretary said the authorities had to respond to public demands to know how he was able to commit atrocities despite appearing on a TV documentary with known extremists. Home Secretary Amber Rudd then appeared to slap down Mr Johnson, saying it was not for her or him to assess how Butt slipped through the net. Mrs May also yesterday condemned Donald Trumps Twitter attacks on London Mayor Sadiq Khan as wrong  but said his state visit to Britain should go ahead. The US President fired off a series of critical tweets over Mr Khans handling of the London Bridge terror attack, mocking the mayors comments that there was no reason to be alarmed over armed police patrolling the streets. By Larisa Brown and John Stevens Advertisement

After discovering Islamic State propaganda videos on his phone, an investigation was launched.

But the Tribunale del Riesame, an Italian review court, decided there was insufficient evidence to charge him.

The Italian authorities returned his phone and passport but allegedly sent an intelligence file to the British security services the following month after he travelled to the UK.

They also listed him as a suspected foreign fighter on international databases, understood to include the EU-wide Second Generation Schengen Information System, known as SIS II, which has details of 250,000 wanted or missing people.

The system issues alerts about the most dangerous on-the-run criminals as well as suspected jihadists returning from Syria and Iraq. The Home Office was under mounting pressure last night over what action it took to prevent Zaghbas entry.

The beleaguered department has powers to block foreign nationals who have travelled to fight with so-called Islamic State on the basis of the threat they pose.

When EU nationals arrive at the border, their passport details should also be checked against a watchlist of suspected terrorists and foreign criminals compiled by the UK Border Force.

The Home Office declined to comment while an investigation is ongoing.

Scotland Yard insisted Zaghba was not a police or MI5 subject of interest. The finger of blame appeared to instead point at MI6, the UKs foreign intelligence service, which may not have passed on the information it received.

Whitehall insiders said that claims the Italians passed on intelligence to the UK should be treated with a pinch of salt.

One said: The Italians have made a mistake on their own patch and now they are desperate to cover their own backs. Zaghba was born in Fez in January 1995 to an Italian mother and Moroccan father. He is believed to have been a regular visitor to Britain.

The authorities suspect he held several short-term jobs in London, including at a hotel and restaurant. In the early hours of yesterday morning, police raided a 300,000 terraced house in Ilford, East London, an area where Zaghba in one online profile claimed to live.

The landlord, who lives close by, declined to comment on who was living there, saying it was a police matter.

Zaghba claimed to work as a housekeeper at the Marriott Hotel in Londons Regents Park in 2015. Managers said they had no record of his employment, but a cleaner claimed to recognise his photograph and said he worked as a security guard.

Last night Italian counter-terrorist agencies played down the extent to which they shared information about Zaghba. An Italian source said the information had been uploaded on to a European database.

SECURITY BLUNDER TWO: Ringleader let off with a caution for violent extremism a year ago

Ringleader Khuram Butt was reported to police last year for violent extremism, but was only cautioned.

The chance to stop him before Saturdays attack emerged as his mother called him insane. Fahmida Saif, 60, said she had repeatedly warned him against getting involved with religious fanatics.

Details also came to light of his key role in hate preacher Anjem Choudarys London terror group al-Muhajiroun. Butt was reported several times to police and MI5, who classed him as not dangerous. The pair abused moderate Muslims outside Parliament following Lee Rigbys killing.

Ringleader Khuram Butt was reported to police last year for violent extremism, but was only cautioned

The chance to stop him before Saturdays attack emerged as his mother called him insane

Yesterday Dr Usama Hasan, of the anti-extremist think-tank Quilliam, revealed he reported Butt to police and MI5 last July after a similar incident. Kharum Butt verbally and physically assaulted me, he said, adding that Butt accused him of being a government spy.

He was arrested this January, six months later, but was let off with a caution.

Haras Rafiq, Quilliams chief executive, said: Its one thing when someone from the public reports an individual as a violent extremist, but when experts who are involved in deradicalising jihadists report them, a caution is not enough.

At the time last summer Butt had a job on the Tube with access to tunnels under Parliament  despite having been filmed in the TV documentary The Jihadis Next Door unfurling the IS flag in London.

Butt, a father of two, was friends with IS fighter Siddhartha Dhar  Jihadi Sid  who was filmed killing hostages in Syria.

Butt was reported several times to police and MI5, who classed him as not dangerous

It emerged that Butt attended Ummah Fitness in Ilford run by a terror suspect on an FBI watchlist

It emerged yesterday that Butt attended Ummah Fitness in Ilford run by a terror suspect on an FBI watchlist. Sajeel Shahid, 41, a fellow al-Muhajiroun member, was accused of helping train the 7/7 bomb leader Mohammed Siddique Khan. The gym denied seeing anything of concern.

Butts wife Zahrah, 24, was said to be cursing him. They were not on good terms because of his extremist friends.

His mother told her brother, Shahid Rasool Dar, the whole family was furious. He said: My sister is so angry. She told Kharum many times to get away from such bad people but he turned completely mad. His mother thinks he was not sane.

SECURITY BLUNDER THREE: Refused asylum, killer simply moved to Ireland, married a Briton and came back

Moroccan pastry chef Rachid Redouane, 30, was refused asylum in 2009, when he was using the name Rachid Elkhdar

One of the London Bridge terrorists was a failed asylum seeker who slipped back into the UK after changing his name and marrying a British woman in Dublin, it emerged last night.

Moroccan pastry chef Rachid Redouane, 30, was refused asylum in 2009, when he was using the name Rachid Elkhdar.

Three years later, calling himself Redouane, he married London-born Charisse OLeary.

Soon after their wedding in Dublin, he is said to have returned to Morocco while his 33-year-old wife went back to London.

In 2014, he applied for an Irish visa through his marriage to an EU citizen, Sky News said. A year later, he was granted an EU card, allowing him to live in the UK  and commit mass murder.

An Irish security source described Redouane, who was not previously known to the security services, as having extensive immigration history related to the UK. The Home Office declined to comment last night and a number of important questions remained unanswered.

It was not clear when the jihadi first arrived in the UK, whether he was deported back to Morocco after his asylum application was rejected in 2009 and how he managed to slip back into the UK under a different name.

Miss OLeary, who has a 20-month-old daughter Amina but split from Redouane about three months ago, could not be reached for comment last night. She was released without charge on Monday, 36 hours after being arrested in connection with the terror attacks which culminated in her husband being shot dead by police.

Last night there were further disturbing revelations about Redouane and his life in the UK.

Three years later, calling himself Redouane, he married London-born Charisse OLeary

Like his fellow London Bridge attacker Khuram Butt, he was a follower of hate preacher Anjem Choudarys banned Islamist extremist group Al Muhajiroun, Sky News reported.

Sources in Dublin revealed he was arrested for immigration offences in 2009  the year he was refused asylum in the UK  while trying to board a boat from Scotland to Northern Ireland and was held for a number of days. It is believed he was questioned about fake passports.

It was also claimed that UK police had arrested him previously, possibly for immigration-related offences.

Scotland Yard said on Monday that Redouane had not been on the terror radar in the past.

Last night a bakery boss who employed Redouane said the pastry chef had been looking for a better life in the UK, only for extremist Muslims to brainwash him. Rajan Sehdev, 44, owner of Dylans Bakery in Willesden, North West London, said Redouane was suffering from depression after splitting from his wife.

Redouane had already lived in the UK for nearly a decade when in August 2011 he joined the bakery, where he met Miss OLeary.

It wasnt a marriage of convenience, Mr Sehdev said. The Rachid I knew is the complete opposite to the individual involved in the events of Saturday night.

He wasnt opinionated, political or ever discussed religion. He never showed any extreme views.

It seems he came back a couple of years ago and moved east [to Barking] where he met these friends and associates, like Khuram Butt and Anjem Choudary. He was naive and they manipulated him... brainwashed him. He had lost his own way in life and maybe thought they gave him a purpose  instead they poisoned him with their ideology. 
President Donald Trump made a crack about son-in-law Jared Kushner becoming more famous than himself  prompting immediate speculation that the quip could mean the White House aide's days were numbered.

Trump made the comment in the Roosevelt Room inside the West Wing, where both Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, landed high-level advisory positions.

Trump offered a brief comment about former FBI Director James Comey  whom he fired not long after making a similar observation about Comey's time in the spotlight. Now, Comey is set to testify before a Senate panel about its Russia investigation.

Pointing to Kushner, Trump said, 'Jared has actually become much more famous than me  I'm a little upset at that.'

'Jared has actually become much more famous than me,' Trump said Tuesday in reference to his son-in-law Jared Kushner

As gathered GOP heavyweights laughed, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise then turned to Kushner, and said: 'That's a badge of honor.'

Kushner, who has been the butt of jokes on Saturday Night Live for his limited speaking roles, smiled and clasped his hands in front of himself, according to a pool report by one of the media members who was in the room at the time Trump made the joke.

Trump made a similar joke about Comey at the White House in January.

'He's become more famous than me,' Trump quipped.

The remark came at a time, it was later revealed, when Trump was dining and speaking with Comey, and reportedly asking whether he himself was under FBI investigation.

The president is known now to like to share the spotlight with others in his orbit

Saturday Night Live did a skit in April mocking the civil war between Kushner and chief strategist Steve Bannon. They faced off in a Bachelorette-style competition

Trump made the during a meeting with congressional leaders

During one such meeting, the president reportedly told him: 'I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go,' and vouched that Flynn was a 'good guy.'

That was a reference to an ongoing FBI investigation into now-fired national security advisor Mike Flynn, who is being probed for his Russia contacts. Flynn just turned over hundreds of pages of documents to the Senate panel in connection with its probe.

Kushner has been under fire since it was revealed an independent counsel and a Senate panel are probing his contacts with Russians, including Russia's ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak and the head of a Russian bank.

He has carved out a role as one of the president's most trusted advisors, weighing in on the Middle East, helping broker arms pledges by the Saudis, and actin as a liaison to China.
Sadiq Khan attended a conference with one of the London Bridge murderers' close friends who is accused of training one of the 7/7 bombers, MailOnline can reveal.

The London Mayor spoke on the same platform as Sajeel Shahid, a militant who is said to have helped to train the ringleader of the July 7 London bomb attacks.

It emerged today Shahid was gym buddies with killer Khuram Butt, who butchered seven people in the deadly rampage on the capital's streets on Saturday night.

The pair once ran martial arts classes together at the all-Muslim Ummah Fitness gym in Ilford.

Sadiq Khan during a one minute's silence for those who died in the London Bridge attack at the London Ambulance Service HQOne Minute's silence for London terror attack victims

Shahid, pictured, was named in a New York court in 2004 as having 'set up an Al Qaeda training camp in Pakistan in 2003'

Khuram Butt (pictured) was close friends with Sajeel Shahid, a militant who is said to have helped to train the ringleader of the July 7 London bomb attacks

Mr Khan spoke at a 2003 conference alongside Yasser al-Sirri, who had been sentenced to death in Egypt over a political assassination attempt, while another speaker was Sajeel Abu Ibrahim, better known as Sajeel Shahid.

Shahid called for violence against British troops and ran a training camp in Pakistan where known terrorists learned how to make bombs and fire rocket-propelled grenades.

One of his graduates was Mohammed Siddique Khan, who led the gang of four suicide bombers on the deadliest terrorist attack ever committed in Britain, killing 52 people on the London Underground and a bus on July 7, 2005.

At the conference, Mr Khan gave a speech about representing a 9/11 conspirator and criticised two anti-terrorism bills for targeting Muslim groups.

The 'First Captives Conference' was set up to support terror suspects in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.

It was organised by the Islamic Observation Centre, which was run by al-Sirri.

A spokesman for Sadiq Khan said: 'This is an old story.

'At the time of this conference, the Mayor of London was a leading human rights lawyer and chair of Britain's pre-eminent human rights organisation  he spoke because it was quite literally his job.

'The Mayor has always condemned the hideous ideology of the extremists  and has suffered death threats and protests from them as a result.

'Following the horrific attack at London Bridge on Saturday, the Mayor is focused on ensuring our emergency services have the resources they need to keep Londoners safe  and sending a clear message around the world that London will never be cowed by terrorism.'

According to The Times, Butt, who lived in Barking, previously worked at all-Muslim gym Ummah Fitness in Ilford with Sajeel Shahid, 41, who allegedly helped the 2005 bombers train in Pakistan ahead of the atrocity.

Shahid is also said to have links to hate preacher Anjem Choudary and was accused of setting up an Al-Qaeda training camp in Pakistan.

The Times reported Butt and Mr Shahid were 'close friends' who ran mixed martial arts classes, with Butt said to have tried 'radicalising' young pupils.

It is also understood Butt was a supporter of Choudary's banned al-Muhajiroun group which has been linked to terror plots.

Shahid was named as a terror suspect in a court in New York in 2004 by former terrorist turned informant Mohammed Junaid Babar.

Babar told the court Shahid went to Pakistan in 2003 to meet an Al Qaeda leader and form the camp, but was later expelled from the country in 2005 after being detained for three months.

Exposed: Jeremy Corbyn is pictured at rally attended by jihadis linked to London Bridge killer who chanted support for Osama Bin Laden By Jack Doyle and Kate Ferguson Jeremy Corbyn addressed a rally attended by 300 members of an extremist group linked to the leader of the London Bridge attacks, writes Jack Doyle and Kate Ferguson. He addressed an anti-Israel protest where Islamists from Al Muhajiroun chanted about their support for Osama Bin Laden and shouted slogans calling for Israelis to be gassed. Two were dressed in mock suicide bomber outfits. Khuram Butt, one of the three Borough Market murderers, was a supporter of Al Muhajiroun and an associate of its leader Anjem Choudary, the jailed hate preacher. It was also claimed yesterday that the security services are looking into a second attackers links to the preacher. The now-Labour leader addressed an anti-Israel protest where Islamists from Al Muhajiroun chanted about their support for Osama Bin Laden and shouted slogans calling for Israelis to be gassed Details of Mr Corbyns attendance at the infamous demonstration in May 2002 are a blow to the Labour leader just 24 hours before the polls open. The Mail can also reveal that he and his shadow chancellor John McDonnell both voted against the counter-terrorism law used to ban Al Muhajiroun and criminalise its members and leaders. Defence Secretary Michael Fallon claimed the revelations showed Mr Corbyn could not be trusted with power. He said: Jeremy Corbyn wants to be prime minister in just two days, but this latest revelation about his association with extremists shows exactly why he is unfit to lead the country. He has a long track record of siding with people who want to damage and attack the UK and there can be no excuse for his decision to address this rally. There is a very real risk that Jeremy Corbyn and his Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott will be in charge of our security and borders on Friday unless people vote for Theresa May and her Conservative team. A spokesman for Mr Corbyn said: Jeremy addressed a broad-based rally in support of Palestinian rights. It was a public event and he was in no way responsible for the views of all of the thousands of attendees. Jeremy condemns Al Muhajiroun in the strongest possible terms.#But the Labour leader has been exposed for calling terrorist groups Hezbollah and Hamas his friends, describing the death of Bin Laden as a tragedy, boasting of opposing anti-terror legislation in his 30-year career as an MP, and opposing powers stopping would-be terrorists travelling to fight with Islamic State. Details of the demonstration were found on the communist Weekly Worker website. It described the ultra- reactionaries of Al Muhajiroun chanting Skud, Skud Israel and Gas, gas Tel Aviv , along with declarations of support for Al Qaeda. Advertisement

It comes as the London Mayor remains embrawled in a war of words online with US President Donald Trump.

Khan dismissed Donald Trump's barrage of tweets about his response to the London attacks and questioned 'isn't he busy?'

The London Mayor said he had too much on his plate in the aftermath of Saturday night's atrocity to respond in kind.

The US President has launched a series of tweets at Mr Khan, misquoting a reassurance that Londoners should not be alarmed by the presence of armed police to suggest the Mayor is playing down the terror threat.

Theresa May finally stepped into the row with clear criticism of Mr Trump today, insisting he was 'wrong' to be criticising Mr Khan's response.

Mr Khan has called for Mr Trump's state visit, expected in the autumn, to be cancelled - but the Government had rebuffed the claim.

Asked about the spat with Mr Trump, Mr Khan told ITV1's today's Good Morning Britain: 'We're not kids in a playground, he's the president of the US. I'm too busy to respond to his tweets, isn't he busy?'

Sadiq Khan (left today on GMB) has mocked Donald Trump's feud with him as he urged ministers to axe his state visit

Theresa May (pictured campaigning in Wales today) had previously endorsed Mr Khan's work in responding to the London Bridge atrocity but had stopped short of criticising the President

He denied he was stoking up a feud which went back to 2016, when the mayor described the then presidential candidate's calls for a ban on Muslim entry into the US as 'ignorant'.

'It takes two to tango. I'm not tangoing with this guy, I've got better things to do,' said Mr Khan. 'From Saturday until now my focus has been dealing with the aftermath of the horrific attack. Working with the police, security services, the Government; that's why I've not responded to the tweets from Donald Trump.'

Mrs May told The Sun today: 'The relationship with America is our deepest and most important defence and security relationship.

'Having said that, I think Donald Trump is wrong in what he said about Sadiq Khan, in relation to the attack on London Bridge.

'We've been working with Sadiq Khan. When you're working in the aftermath of an attack like that, party politics is put to one side.

'He's been at the COBRAs and we've been working with him to ensure the response was right, and to get London moving again.'

Last night, Mr Khan said Mr Trump's state visit should not go ahead.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson (pictured on Sky News) - Mr Khan's predecessor as London Mayor - backed Mr Khan but dismissed the row as 'trivial' compared to the attacks themselves

'I don't think we should roll out the red carpet to the president of the USA in the circumstances, where his policies go against everything we stand for,' he told Channel 4 News.

'When you have a special relationship it is no different from when you have got a close mate. You stand with them in times of adversity but you call them out when they are wrong. There are many things about which Donald Trump is wrong.'

Mr Trump renewed his strange fury at Mr Khan on Sunday, blasting him on Twitter for assuring Londoners there was 'no reason to be alarmed'.

The President suggested the remark referred directly to the terror attack when in fact it was about the increased presence of armed police.

But Mr Trump brushed aside criticism of his initial message last night, issuing a fresh Twitter attack on Mr Khan branding him 'pathetic'.

His son, Donald Trump Jr, piled in to the row today telling ABC: 'Rather than the mayor of London attacking maybe he should do something about it.

Their row began in January, when Mr Khan labelled the President's travel ban 'shameful and wrong'

The trip, in which Trump and his wife Melania will be hosted by the Queen, is due to take place in October

'Maybe he should do something to fix the problem rather than just sit there and pretend there isn't one. I think that's an important message.'

Mr Johnson told Sky News today: 'I don't want to impose myself to a row between the Mayor of London and the President of the United States.

'I have been there myself. Both individuals are very well capable of standing up for themselves.

'Sadiq Khan was saying something very reasonable and sensible about how there was no need for the public to be alarmed by armed police officers on the streets.

'This is a trivial controversy by comparison with the enormity of what happened on Saturday night and the importance of getting the right response.'

He added on the BBC: 'Well, the invitation has been issued and accepted and I see no reason to change that but as far as what Sadiq Khan has said about the reassurances that he has offered the the people of London I think he was entirely right to speak in the way that he did.'
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Terror on the streets, politics in turmoil and our European Union partners squaring up for the Battle of Brexit; with a rueful smile, Ken Hay summed it all up: Its just not the same country we fought for. And that, Im afraid, is what most of us here think.

With all that has been unfolding this week, many people will have overlooked the importance of yesterdays date: D-Day.

But not 150 veterans of the greatest military operation in history who had made the pilgrimage back to the Normandy beaches in memory of their fallen comrades.

Harry Card, 91, from Orpington, who had been on lookout duty on the bridge of HMS Swift as D-Day dawned

Ken Hay, 91, waits by the cab that brought him back to Normandy yesterday. If it wasnt for these blokes, wed all be speaking German, said Ray Coster, 64, who has been driving Mr Hay back to Normandy for the last nine years

Yesterdays itinerary took the veterans via lunch at the Convent of St Benoit where they were thrilled to discover that their hosts also run a brewery. Those nuns certainly know how to make a good strong beer, chuckled Harry Card.

D-Day veteran Cyril Sims from Dartford in Kent shed a tear during the commemoration service

For them, the memory of June 6, 1944, remains as vivid as ever  even if they cant be entirely sure where they were this time last week.

Here, in alternating downpours and sunshine, was a timely and powerful reminder that a few things still transcend all our current problems. And this year, the veterans had one piece of good news amid all the gloom.

For plans are finally being concluded for the first Normandy memorial to all 21,000 British servicemen and women who died in the battle that led to the liberation of France and, in turn, of the rest of Europe.

With 20million confirmed from the Governments Libor penalty fund (paid by errant bankers), the memorial should be ready in time for the 75th anniversary in 2019.

Today, the veterans will be shown the likely location.

A ll week, towns and villages across Normandy have been festooned with the flags of their saviours  Britain, Canada and the USA.

Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage poses for a photograph as he joins veterans on the beach at Arromanches

A veteran shelters from the wind and rain at a service at Bayeux Cemetery as part of the commemorations of the 73rd anniversary of the D-Day landings

For the veterans, the memory of June 6, 1944, remains as vivid as ever  even if they cant be entirely sure where they were this time last week

At one parade, one service, one reception after another, the ever-dwindling band of liberators have been welcomed, applauded, toasted and, above all, thanked.

We can never thank you enough, declared Patrick Jardin, mayor of Arromanches, echoing a message repeated with tearful sincerity across the region this week.

It is thanks to your selfless courage and the gift of your youth that we can fully understand the meaning of freedom.

Yesterday afternoon, this seaside town, which many veterans have come to regard as a spiritual home, was packed with visitors from all over Europe. One pipe band was from Holland, another from France.

They had come to honour the proud contingent of elderly gents in gong-jangling blazers and plastic ponchos.

The British veterans were cheered all the way through town to a windswept service on the seafront and all the way back again.

Plans are finally being concluded for the first Normandy memorial to all 21,000 British servicemen and women who died in the battle that led to the liberation of France and, in turn, of the rest of Europe

Every year, dozens of London cabbies drive veterans and their families from their doorstep, across the Channel, all over Normandy for several days and back home again without ever turning on the meter

In a week when Londons indomitable spirit has, once again, been in the global spotlight, there was something especially moving about the sight of this convoy of 90 London cabs  many flying Union flags  processing its way through Bayeux, Caen and the surrounding French countryside, says Robert Hardman

With all that has been unfolding this week, many people will have overlooked the importance of yesterdays date: D-Day

One memorable sight was that of Alfie Nash, eight, from Lincoln, standing on the kerb saluting the lot of them.

Several stopped and saluted straight back. Joe Corry, 93, late of the Special Boat Service, took off his medal-laden jacket and put it over Alfies shoulders for a photo.

Here, as at every other occasion yesterday, the veterans insisted on starting with a minutes silence for the victims of terror in London and Manchester.

Afterwards, when I asked their thoughts, many began voicing their frustration and anger that such abominations could occur in the democracy for which their own generation had made so many sacrifices.

The politicians have let us down and that is what we get in return, said Mr Hay, 91.

Having landed on D-Day with the Dorset Regiment, he ended up being taken prisoner a fortnight later after a bloody assault on an SS company headquarters in which many of his comrades were killed.

Yesterday afternoon, this seaside town, which many veterans have come to regard as a spiritual home, was packed with visitors from all over Europe

Here, in alternating downpours and sunshine, was a timely and powerful reminder that a few things still transcend all our current problems

Yesterday, he was chosen to lead the prayers at the service in the huge Commonwealth cemetery in Bayeux.

Here I met Harry Card, 91, from Orpington, who had been on lookout duty on the bridge of HMS Swift as D-Day dawned.

Modern Britain, he said, was engaged in a war quite unlike the one he had fought.

What a lot of gutless bastards those terrorists are  running into crowds and stabbing young women who cant defend themselves. At least we knew who our enemy was and where they were.

Along with many others, these men had arrived in a London black taxi.

Every year, dozens of London cabbies drive veterans and their families from their doorstep, across the Channel, all over Normandy for several days and back home again without ever turning on the meter.

The Secretary of State for Defence, Michael Fallon, pictured left, lays a wreath at a service at Bayeux Cemetery as part of the commemorations of the 73rd anniversary of the D-Day landings

Veterans wear ponchos as they shelter from the wind and rain at the service at Bayeux Cemetery

The veterans were undeterred by the wind and rain as they donned their ponchos and umbrellas during the service at Bayeux Cemetery in France

Its just a way of putting something back and saying thank you, said Tony Havis, 57, from Hornchurch, who was driving Joe Dutton, a veteran of 619 Squadron, on this years trip.

If it wasnt for these blokes, wed all be speaking German, said Ray Coster, 64, who has been driving Mr Hay, from Upminster, back to Normandy for the last nine years.

He could not resist observing the absence of drivers from the London cab trades internet-based arch-enemy, Uber, a point reiterated by former Ukip leader Nigel Farage, here with a production crew from his LBC radio phone-in.

In a week when Londons indomitable spirit has, once again, been in the global spotlight, there was something especially moving about the sight of this convoy of 90 London cabs  many flying Union flags  processing its way through Bayeux, Caen and the surrounding French countryside.

Y esterdays itinerary took them via lunch at the Convent of St Benoit where they were thrilled to discover that their hosts also run a brewery.

Those nuns certainly know how to make a good strong beer, chuckled Harry Card.

As well as paying for the memorial, the Libor fund also covers the travel and accommodation expenses of any veteran who wants to return here via the voluntary organisation, D-Day Revisited.

This year, the organisers have also brought two US veterans. Having survived the carnage on bloody Omaha Beach, Robert Howard, from Albany, New York, had never been back until this week.

Before embarking for Normandy in 1944, he asked a group of British soldiers to sign one of his pound notes. Rather than spend it, Mr Howard kept it as a souvenir and lucky charm. This week, it, too, has returned in his wallet.

Just one more extraordinary memory on an extraordinary day which never fails to put modern life in perspective.
U.S. President Donald Trump has taken to Twitter to weigh in on the Melbourne siege attack that left one man and the ISIS-inspired gunman dead.

President Trump retweeted a Fox News alert about terrorist Yacqub Khayre's rampage at a Brighton apartment complex on Monday, during which he held a sex worker hostage and charged at police, injuring three officers.

The tweet included a TV report featuring footage of the two-hour stand-off between police and the 29-year-old Somali-born refugee.

'FOX NEWS ALERT: ISIS claims responsibility for hostage siege in Melbourne, Australia that killed 1 person and injured 3 cops,' the video's headline read.

President Trump's tweet came just days after he offered his condolences to London following a terrorist attack on Saturday that killed at least seven people - including an Australian nurse - and injured 48 others.

U.S. President Donald Trump has taken to Twitter to weigh in on the Melbourne siege attack that left one man and terrorist gunman Yacqub Khayre dead

President Trump retweeted a Fox News report about Khayre's rampage at a Brighton apartment complex on Monday

The tweet included a TV report featuring footage of the two-hour stand-off between police and the 29-year-old Somali-born refugee (pictured)

Khayre, 29, was shot dead by heavily armed tactical command officers (pictured) after he opened fire on waiting police with a sawn-off shotgun

It was revealed on Tuesday night that the receptionist murdered by Melbourne gunman Khayre was Nick Hao, a father-of-one who got married only 15 months ago.

Hao, 36 was at his post in the foyer of The Buckingham serviced apartments at 408 Bay Street in Brighton when the terrorist burst in.

The Chinese-born Australian was gunned down with a sawn-off shotgun blast so loud neighbours reported the sound to police as an explosion.

Khayre, 29, strolled past Mr Hao's lifeless body up to an apartment in the two-storey complex where a 36-year-old Colombian prostitute waited for him.

The Somali-born gunman, who ordered the escort posing as a client, tied her up and held her hostage during a two-hour standoff with police.

Soon after he cut off the ankle monitor he was wearing while on parole for a violent home invasion he was released from prison over just seven months earlier.

At 5.41pm he called Seven News and told chief of staff Nicole Bland 'this is for IS, this is for Al Qaeda' while a woman screamed in the background.

Nick Hao, 36, was killed while he worked as a receptionist in the foyer of serviced apartments in Brighton, Melbourne

He was killed when ISIS-inspired gunman Yacqub Khayre (pictured) burst in and shot him with a sawn-off shotgun

Khayre, 29, strolled past Mr Hao's lifeless body up to an apartment in the two-storey complex where a 36-year-old Colombian prostitute (pictured after being rescued) waited for him

Mr Hao worked at The Buckingham serviced apartments at 408 Bay Street in Brighton

Police remove a body from the apartment in Brighton after a deadly two-hour siege that left two men, an Australian national working as a clerk and an ISIS-inspired gunman, dead

Then just before 6pm he burst back into the foyer and wounded three police officers before he was shot dead at the scene.

Questions have since risen over why Khayre, who was also was acquitted of planning a suicide attack against Sydney's Holsworthy army barracks, wasn't just deported back to Somalia after his home invasion sentence.

Police believe he planned his hostage-taking ruse to ambush police using terrifying tactics taken from a vile ISIS propaganda magazine.

The latest issue of the Islamic State's Rumiya magazine, released in May, encourages terrorists to 'lure' hostages and 'keep victims restrained' to maximise publicity.

Junior jihadi: Khayre is pictured as a child growing up in Australia (left, aged 7, right, aged 12)

The latest version of the Islamic State's Rumiya (pictured) magazine, released in May, encourages terrorists to 'lure' hostages and 'keep victims alive and restrained'

'In order for the operation to gain publicity and more effectively plant terror into the hearts of the disbelievers, one can keep some of his victims alive and restrained, making for a more lengthy and drawn-out hostage scenario,' the magazine reads.

'One may then notify the authorities, explaining to them that he is a soldier of the Islamic State and informing them of what he has just done.'

The jihadi magazine's instructions bear a chilling resemblance to the chain of events that unfolded on Monday night. Previous editions of the magazine contain manuals on how best to carry out lone wolf attacks.

In 1991, at the age of just three, Khayre and his family fled war-torn Somalia, arriving in Australia to live with his uncle and grandfather.

Growing up in Gladstone Park, north Melbourne, he was reportedly a good student at school until his grandfather died in Year 12 and he fell in with the 'wrong crowd'.

From there he began committing petty crime and stole his uncle's car in 2006.

In 2007, he was charged with armed robbery after holding up passengers on a Melbourne train, leaving one man with knife wounds.

The bomb squad was sent in to inspect Khayre's rented hotel room on Tuesday morning in the aftermath of the bloody two-hour siege

A bomb squad member suits up before entering the serviced apartment blocks to search for any explosives

He was among five men charged with planning a terrorist attack on the Holsworthy army barracks.

The group were alleged to have planned to break into the secure base and kill as many army personnel as possible. Khayre was one of only two to be cleared.

That came despite him allegedly travelling to Somalia in 2009 or 2010, where he may have attended 'weapons and military' and visited a cleric to gain 'holy approval' to carry out the attack.

The other three men involved in the terrorist plot, all friends from the notorious '8 Blacks' Islamic prayer centre, are serving out 18-year sentences behind bars.

Mr Hao was killed in the foyer of this serviced apartment block, The Buckingham

It offers one and two bedroom apartments like this for $130 to $230 a night

The bedroom of one of the serviced apartments where an ISIS-inspired gunman held a young woman hostage for two hours before he was shot dead

After being acquitted of terror charges, Khayre was jailed for three years for carrying out a drug-affected home invasion in Melbourne's north in 2011.

Terrifying detail in court papers revealed Khayre charged at a woman inside, punching her in the face, her stomach, her back and her shoulders.

The commotion woke up her father, a former Turkish police officer of 25 years. He copped a head-butt and a punch to the face from the future terrorist.

But it wasn't long before the father and his daughter had wrestled him to the ground and called the police.

Khayre was sentenced to more than five years jail with a minimum of three years in October 2012, and was released on parole seven months ago.

Khayre was earlier found guilty of scores of offences since 2007 - including possessing a firearm, burglaries and stabbing a commuter twice in the leg after demanding he hand over his wallet.

A DECADE OF YACQUB KHAYRE'S CRIMES 2007 APRIL: The teenager was sentenced to two years' detention in a youth justice centre for somewhere between 42 and 45 offences. Charges including multiple burglaries and thefts, assault, providing a false name and address, drug possession, car theft and unlicensed driving at dangerous speeds. JUNE: While still incarcerated he was sentenced for attempted armed robbery and intentionally causing injury after stabbing a man on a train twice in the leg, demanding the victim's money and phone. 2008 FEBRUARY: Released on an adjourned undertaking on single charges of burglary and theft. 2010 DECEMBER: After a six-month trial and 16 months in custody, Khayre was cleared by a jury over his alleged role in planning the 2009 Holsworthy army barracks terror plot in western Sydney. Wissam Mahmoud Fattal, Saney Edow Aweys, Nayev el Sayed were jailed in 2011 for a maximum of 18 years for planning a terrorist act to kill as many people as possible in a mass shooting at the army base. 2011 NOVEMBER: Sentenced to time served (112 days in jail) for the possession of a firearm and ammunition without a licence, car theft, failure to answer bail, giving a false name and handling stolen goods. 2012 APRIL: A drug-affected and armed Khayre breaks into a Melbourne family's home. He is confronted by a woman, whom he strikes repeatedly in the face, back, shoulder and stomach in a bid to escape. Khayre is eventually subdued by the woman's father, a former policeman. He pleads guilty to five charges including aggravated burglary and is sentenced to five-and-a-half years, with a minimum of three. 2016 DECEMBER: Khayre is released on parole. 2017 JUNE: Still on parole, Khayre shoots an apartment clerk dead and takes a female escort hostage in a Brighton apartment building. After about two hours, he storms out of the apartment, firing at police before he is killed in a hail of bullets. Source: Australasian Legal Information Institute, Corrections Victoria and Victoria Police Advertisement

Despite being well known to counter terrorism police, he was deemed a low-risk of offending and released on parole - before committing the attack in Melbourne.

'He is someone that was known to us as having a long criminal history. A whole range of offending going back many years,' Commissioner Ashton said.

'Most recently he has done some prison time in relation to reckless and intentionally causing injury, and intentionally causing injury, and whilst in prison, he was processed as well for an arson whilst in the corrections system.'

How the terrifying siege in Melbourne unfolded over almost two hours

'Ultimately, he has been qualified for parole, received parole and was on parole at the time of this offence.'

'The early advice from the Department of Corrections was that he was compliant with parole and hadn't presented any issues in relation to his conduct whilst on parole leading up to yesterday.'

Investigators were seen holding a paper bag of evidence found inside the Melbourne apartment where the bloody siege took place with the words: 'Hard covered book with Arabic writing (in cloth bag) on desk in living room' scrawled on it.

Police also executed a search warrant at a home in Roxborough Park, where Khayre lived with his mother and two teenage brothers, on Tuesday morning.

'Hard covered book with Arabic writing (in cloth bag) on desk in living room': Investigators were seen holding a paper bag of evidence found inside the Melbourne apartment where the siege took place

Police also descended on a home in Roxborough Park where Khayre is believed to have lived with his mother and two teenage brothers (pictured seizing bag of evidence)

'We are going to be at that location for some time conducting inquiries there,' Commissioner Ashton said.

'There is a full forensic effort being done. This is now a coronial investigation, being done by the Homicide Squad, with oversight from Professional Standards Command.

'There will be extensive work required at 408 Bay Street today.

'We will have a lot of police down there today, knocking on doors, talking to people, for witness accounts and also with reassuring the community down there.'
A second Australian has been confirmed dead in the London terror attacks, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has said.

The names of the two victims have not been officially released, although the family of one - nurse Kirsty Boden, 28, from Loxton, South Australia - has confirmed her death.

The second Australian is believed to be Sara Zelenak, a 21-year-old Brisbane woman, who was separated from her friend on London Bridge when the violence began, Sky News reports.

Of the seven confirmed deaths, five have now been named, including Miss Boden and Miss Zelenak.

The other three victims were revealed as Londoner James McMullan, 32, Canadian tourist Christine Archibald, 30, and French waiter Alexandre Pigeard, 27.

The heartbroken family of Ms Boden revealed she died after she ran towards danger in a bid to save lives.

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Australian nanny Sara Zelenak is believed to be one of two Australians confirmed dead

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has reached out to the families of both of the Australians killed - a sickening rampage his foreign minister has described as savage beyond belief.

The prime minister has also spoken with the family of Ms Zelenak, who was on London Bridge after becoming separated from a friend when the rampage began.

Her family were bracing for the worst after appealing for information about the 21-year-old nanny in a Facebook post shared hundreds of times on Monday, saying she usually rang her mother daily.

TERROR VICTIMS Killed: Kirsty Boden, 28, from Loxton, Australia .

James McMullan, 32, from Hackney, east London.

Christine Archibald, 30, from British Columbia, Canada.

Alexandre Pigeard, 27, from Normandy, France. Missing: Sara Zelenak, 21, from Brisbane, Australia.

Xavier Thomas, from Loire-Atlantique, France.

Ignacio Echeverria, 39, from Las Rozas, Spain.

Sebastien Belanger, from Angers, France. Advertisement

'I am a father ... Kirsty or Sara could be one of my kids, it could be one of your kids,' Mr Turnbull told 3AW's Neil Mitchell on Wednesday.

'This is heart-rending, this is the last thing anybody expects to happen to their children when they are in London.'

Ms Bishop says the families are on their way to London and have asked for privacy.

'You can understand what a harrowing time they are going through,' she told Sydney's 2GB radio.

'The two beautiful young women enjoying a night out in London. I have to say, the savagery of these attacks is just beyond belief.'

In a statement earlier on Wednesday, Ms Bishop said: 'The Australian Government is deeply saddened to confirm that two Australians have been killed in the London terrorist attack.

'We continue to work with the United Kingdom authorities who have asked that we await official confirmation of the identities of the victims, and for the families to be officially notified, before we release their names.'

Prince Harry paid tribute to the victims of the terror attack during a speech to launch the Invictus Games in Sydney on Wednesday.

'I would also like to start by sending my thoughts to those affected by Saturday's attack in London Bridge,' he said.

'Australians form an important and vibrant part of the fabric of life in London and we are reminded of that in good times and bad.

'And our hearts go out to the victims, their friends and families.'

Kirsty Boden (pictured), from Loxton, in South Australia, was killed by knife-wielding terrorists as she ran to help victims of Saturday night's London terror attack

Sara Zelenak (pictured), from Queensland, was last seen on London Bridge after being caught in Saturday night's terror attack

Ms Boden's relatives said she was 'loved and adored by her family, friends and boyfriend,' while her colleagues at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital in central London, where she worked as a senior staff nurse in theatre recovery, described her as 'one in a million.'

'As she ran towards danger, in an effort to help people on the bridge, Kirsty sadly lost her life,' her family said in a statement on Tuesday.

'We are so proud of Kirsty's brave actions which demonstrate how selfless, caring and heroic she was, not only on that night, but throughout her life.'

They added: 'She was the most outgoing, kind and generous person who loved to help people.

'Helping people was what she loved to do in her job as a nurse and in her daily life.'

'Kirsty  we love you and we will miss you dearly.'

Dame Eileen Sills, the chief nurse at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, also paid tribute to Ms Boden, who she described as an 'outstanding' nurse.

'As the Chief Nurse at Guy's and St Thomas' I cannot put into words how sad I am that we have lost one of our own,' she said.

'Kirsty was an outstanding nurse and a hugely valued member of the staff team in Theatre Recovery, described by her colleagues as 'one in a million' who always went the extra mile for the patients in her care.

'Our thoughts are with her family, her loved ones and our staff who have lost a dear friend and colleague.'

Members of the Loxton State Emergency Service said she always 'lit up the room with your adorable smile and gorgeous laugh.'

'You are a true everyday hero, putting the needs of those injured before yourself,' they said on Facebook.

Ms Boden, 28, is being remembered remembered by her family as being 'brave' in her final moments as she went to the aid of one of the injured of the London terror attack

Immanuel College principal Kevin Richardson said the former student was a boarder and a star swimmer, who always wanted to travel.

'She was a very caring person. One of those kids who basically had a great passion for life and wanted to live every moment,' he told ABC radio.

Former schoolmate, Donshae Kaesler said Ms Boden was 'always so bubbly at school'. She added: 'You will be sadly missed.'

South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill also offered his condolences to Ms Boden's family.

In a statement, he said: 'This is a tragedy which will touch all South Australians.

'Kirsty's death brings the horror of terrorism closer to home for all of us. We all know someone who lives in the United Kingdom.

'We all know someone who could have been innocently wandering through London last weekend. It's the random nature of this heinous crime which makes it so hard to fathom.

'As a state, we mourn for Kirsty, we send our love to her family and we stand in solidarity with the people of Loxton as they grapple with this awful news.'

In a press conference on Wednesday morning, he said Ms Boden's murder as an 'unspeakable act of evil.'

He said: 'Kirsty Boden was a beautiful young woman from Loxton who left South Australia to explore the world using her talents as a nurse to care for others.

'She died doing just that, trying to help others. It is just so cruel, so wrong for someone so compassionate to be taken from us by such an unspeakable act of evil.'

Colleagues of Ms Boden at Guys' and St Thomas' NHS Federation Trust have paid tribute to 'an outstanding nurse and a hugely valued member of the staff'

A keen traveller when not at work, a haunting post from Ms Boden on her online travel blog read: 'At risk of sounding cliche, life is short and we should all use the time we have wisely.'

The 28-year-old nurse (pictured) travelled to Kiev, Ukraine, for Eurovision this year

He added: 'Like so many South Australians, she wanted to explore the world, moving to London where she lived for the past three years.

'It seems so cruel that her adventure should end in this way.

'To Kirsty's family, your pain must be unbearable but I want you to know that you are in our thoughts and our prayers.

'The South Australia community shares your heartbreak and offers its support to you at this awful time.'

Just days before her death, Ms Boden had written her blog post on her travels around Europe.

'At risk of sounding cliche, life is short and we should all use the time we have wisely,' she wrote.

Ms Boden moved to the UK shortly after graduating from Flinders University in Adelaide.

She began working in the healthcare sector a few years later and in her free time, she loved to travel  and documenting visits to Germany, Bulgaria, Switzerland and more on her blog.

Ms Boden recently made her way to Kiev, Ukraine, to attend the Eurovision Song Contest  where she supported her homeland by wearing a T-shirt bearing the Australian flag.

Ms Boden was working in London as a theatre recovery nurse at Guy's Hospital

The 28-year-old nurse was reportedly attacked by the knife-wielding terrorists while coming to the aid of another injured person. A keen traveller, she is pictured here outside famed music pub The Cavern in Liverpool, UK

'I'm just your average dreamer, with a full time job and a constant longing to go where I haven't been,' she wrote.

'I have big travel dreams but I am realistic. I recognise that I might not go everywhere but I should definitely go everywhere I can, and so should you!'

Meanwhile, Ms Zelenak's mother Julie Wallace travelled to London on Tuesday to search for her missing daughter.

She revealed how her daughter, who had worked as a nanny in London since March, avoided the horror on Westminster Bridge earlier this year and was very nearly caught up in the Manchester suicide bombing, Ms Wallace revealed.

'Horror, complete horror. And the one with the policeman being stabbed about three months ago, she was there the day before in the exact spot,' Ms Wallace told radio station 97.3FM on Tuesday.

Ms Zelenak (pictured) has not been seen since Saturday night when she was caught up in the London Bridge terror attack

Mark Wallace (left) the stepfather of Ms Zelenak (right) said he has called every hospital in London in a desperate attempt to find the 21-year-old

On Tuesday, family and friends of Ms Zelenak were seen visiting the family home of the 21-year-old in Brisbane

She also revealed her daughter had tickets to the ill-fated Ariana Grande concert in Manchester where a terrorist set off a bomb, killing 22, but end up not going.

Ms Zelenak was meant to be working on Saturday night, but a last-minute change of plans meant she was out with a friend on London Bridge.

Ms Wallace said she last spoke to her daughter at 4.42pm on Friday, Brisbane time.

She said her daughter had expressed her excitement about her upcoming trip with her mother and stepfather to France at the end of this month.

Ms Zelanak's stepfather Mark Wallace said he was distraught after calling every hospital in London trying to find her  to no avail.

Ms Zelenak's aunt, Tara (pictured), speaking to reporters on Tuesday outside her niece's family home in Brisbane

Family and friends, some carrying flowers, were at the family home of Ms Zelenak as they waited for news about her whereabouts

Ms Zelenak's friend Pri Goncalves was the last person to see her  but the pair became separated when they panicked and ran for their lives after a van began plowing into people on London Bridge.

The pair had been leaving London Grind, a trendy restaurant moments from the scene of the attack, and were looking for a bar to go to when the chaos began.

When she looked back and saw her friend wasn't with her, she called Sara at 10.09pm  a minute after police received the first emergency call reporting the attack.

She tried again a couple of minutes later, again at 10.16pm and 10.17pm but received no answer.

She said Ms Zelenak hasn't been online to check her messages on Whatsapp since 10.03pm, shortly before the attack began.

The pair, both au pairs working in Herne Hill in south London, had met on the train.

That evening, they were out celebrating Ms Zelenak's new job in Westminster and had met at London Bridge station before going to dinner.

Four Australians including Ms Boden and Ms Zelenak are believed to have been caught up in the attack. Seven people have been confirmed dead in the attack, while 48 were injured

Four Australians were caught up in the attack in total, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has said.

They included Candice Hedge who is recovering in hospital after undergoing surgery after being stabbed in her neck.

Darwin electrician Andrew Morrison has travelled back to Australia after receiving stitches after he was knifed in the neck.

The three terrorists behind the attacks have been named as Rachid Redouane, Khuram Butt and Youssef Zaghba.

All three were shot dead by police within eight minutes of the first emergency call.
Theresa May last night issued a stark warning of the dangers to Britain posed by Jeremy Corbyn and his lieutenants as she launched a final push for votes.

The Prime Minister said a vote for Labour could put gaffe-prone Diane Abbott in charge of Britains national security and Marxist John McDonnell in control of the tax system.

She told the Daily Mail that Mr Corbyn, who lost a vote of confidence among his own MPs last year, would be too weak to negotiate a good Brexit deal.

The public faces a clear choice tomorrow, she said. A vote for me and my team to make a success of Brexit or a decision to risk it all with Jeremy Corbyn and his coalition of chaos. The public can vote for their local Conservative candidate and deliver a Government with a plan for Brexit, the right policies to protect our national security and a commitment to keep taxes on families low.

Theresa May (pictured at a rally in Slough, Berkshire) last night issued a stark warning of the dangers to Britain posed by Jeremy Corbyn and his lieutenants

Mrs May told the Daily Mail that Mr Corbyn, who lost a vote of confidence among his own MPs last year, would be too weak to negotiate a good Brexit deal

Or they can vote to put Jeremy Corbyn in charge of the Brexit negotiations, John McDonnell and his Marxist policies in charge of the economy and Diane Abbott in charge of our police, our borders and our national security. Tory strategists have dubbed Corbyn, Abbott and McDonnell the toxic trio, believing that their hard-Left views will repel Middle England.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson stepped up the rhetoric last night, saying Mr Corbyn had taken the side of just about every adversary this country has had in my lifetime. Mr Corbyn described Tory claims that he was unpatriotic as utterly ridiculous.

Mrs May last week said the Labour leader doesnt believe in Britain  a claim he described as offensive  but Tory sources pointed out that Mr Corbyn refused to sing the national anthem at a Battle of Britain memorial service in St Pauls Cathedral after becoming Labour leader in 2015.

And Mr Johnson launched a full-scale attack on his record, describing him as soft and muddle-headed on terror and pointing out he had even voted against a ban on the Al Qaeda terror group. Mr Johnson also poured scorn on the prospects of Mr Corbyn securing a good Brexit deal.

The Labour leader has said he would never countenance leaving the EU without a deal, even if Brussels tries to punish the UK  holding out the prospect that Brexit might never happen.

John McDonnell, Diane Abbott, and Leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn (pictured at the launch of the party's manifesto at an event in the University of Bradford). The Prime Minister said a vote for Labour could put gaffe-prone Abbott in charge of Britains national security and Marxist McDonnell in control of the tax system

Mr Johnson said Mr Corbyn would become the prisoner of his likely coalition partners, Nicola Sturgeon and Tim Farron, who both oppose Brexit.

He said Mr Corbyn would go into the negotiations this month with his coalition partners perched on his shoulders like a pair of parrots jabbering in his ear and trying to stuff up Brexit.

Police are preparing to step up security at polling stations tomorrow, but asked if voters should be concerned for their safety, Mrs May said: No.

She added: The national threat level is at severe, which does mean that a terrorist attack is highly likely. It has been severe for some time.

The police have been planning and ensuring peoples safety on that basis. People should go out there to vote. I want to see people going out to vote because I think that is a very important message  that our democracy will not be deterred.
A New York man was not following the yellow brick road when he was arrested for a DWI, according to police.

Nicholas Sherman was dressed as the Wizard of Oz character, the Tin Man, when he was arrested on Sunday night.

New York State police responded to a residence on Perryville Road in Sullivan after receiving a report of an intoxicated male on private property.

Tin Man (right) impersonator, Nicholas Sherman (left), 31, was arrested for a DWI after police received a report about a man on a private residence. The 31-year-old allegedly drove to the home with another man. His blood alcohol content level was .19

Police said the homeowner reported seeing a man wandering on their private residence.

The 31-year-old allegedly drove to the home with another man and the homeowners asked them to get off the property.

Sherman's blood-alcohol content level was .19 when police arrived at the scene.

He was charged with an aggravated DWI.

State troopers said the Tin Man impersonator told them that he had just left a business in Chittenango where he was hired to portray the Wizard of Oz character.

Sherman is scheduled to appear in court on June 20.
Over the last weeks, Jeremy Corbyn, Diane Abbott and John McDonnell have presented themselves as reasonable and moderate statesmen. But this investigation by GUY ADAMS into what they actually believe  and, more importantly, what theyve said publicly  reveals a very different and frightening insight into this trio who want to lead us...

Anti police

In 1977, while Corbyn was running Hornsey Labour Party, a poster displayed at its HQ depicted policemen as pigs wearing helmets. The local newspaper dubbed it a filthy insult. Corbyn founded a far-Left group called Socialist Campaign for a Labour Victory in 1979. It said: The capitalist police are an enemy of the working class. Support all demands to weaken them.

In 1981 he blamed violent riots in his Wood Green council ward on oppressive policing. The Hornsey Journal responded by accusing rabble-rousing Corbyn of supporting the overthrow of our society by mob violence and the emasculation of law and order.

London Labour Briefing (a far-Left newspaper Corbyn helped publish) accused The Met of having acted like an army of occupation during the Brixton riots in the same year, which injured 280 officers. An editorial said: The street fighting was excellent but could have been (and hopefully in future will be) better organised.

John McDonnell, Gerry Adams, and Jeremy Corbyn at a meeting in June 2008

Another article accused police of strutting round Brixton harassing young blacks, lurking around public toilets to arrest gay men, protecting fascist demonstrators.

On Remembrance Sunday in 1986, three years after becoming an MP, Corbyn laid a wreath at the Cenotaph commemorating rioters whod died in clashes with the police. Tory MP Teddy Taylor said: Mr Corbyn should be ashamed.

Typically, Corbyn voted against laws that might assist the police in stopping terrorism at least 17 times in his career, opposing moves to ban Al Qaeda, restrict the movement of terror suspects with so-called T-Pim orders (Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures) and to allow police and security services emergency access to email and phone records.

Ken Livingstone, left, Gerry Adams (centre left), Jeremy Corbyn walk on Westminster bridge

Addressing a Stop The War rally in 2011, he boasted: Ive been involved in opposing anti-terror legislation ever since I first went into Parliament in 1983.

As recently as 2015, Corbyn opposed the police being able to shoot terror suspects (something that saved many lives in London on Saturday), declaring: I am not happy with the shoot-to-kill policy in general. I think that is quite dangerous and I think it can often be counterproductive.

Mocked our soldiers

One of the many loony Left causes Corbyn has supported was a campaign in the early Eighties against the infiltration of military literature into reading material in Haringeys libraries.

In 1982, Corbyn opposed a council motion offering loyal support to British troops heading to the Falklands.

He tabled an alternative which declared: We resent this waste of unemployed men who are being sent to the Falklands to die for Thatcher. He added that sending a UK task force to liberate the British territory after the invasion by Argentina was a Tory plot to keep their money-making friends in business.

1966: Sinn Fein's Gerry Adams controversial meeting with Labour MPs Jeremy Corbyn and Tony Benn went ahead

The same year, when Corbyns IRA chums were murdering British soldiers, London Labour Briefing magazine carried a report from Ulster which accused our soldiers of cruising the streets with all the arrogance of male punters in Soho and leering at women and spitting their contempt at the children.

For good measure, it claimed that black squaddies were made to bring up the rear of a street patrol as these are the positions where a soldier is more likely to be shot. And it went on to say that troops also like to shoot dogs.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn at 2016 anti-Trident demo

More recently, Corbyn blamed our Armed Forces for causing natural disasters. In 2005, in his column for Morning Star (the hard-left newspaper with historic links to the Communist Party) he endorsed a bizarre conspiracy theory that claimed the floods in Devon in 1952 were was caused by the RAF experimenting with creating rain as a weapon of war by seeding small clouds with a cocktail of chemicals that caused the storm and flash flood.

In 2013, Corbyn took part in a protest at RAF Waddington calling for the Armed Forces to be banned from the obscenity of using drones  devices crucial in the Wests war against ISIS and used to kill the terror groups British executioner Jihadi John.

Jihadi John is someone Corbyn would have allowed to walk our streets, judging by an interview the MP did in 2015 with Arab TV station LuaLua, in which he said moves to ban jihadis from returning to Britain were strange and legally very questionable.

Cheerleader for the IRA

Throughout the Eighties and Nineties, Corbyn and McDonnell were the IRAs most vigorous allies in Westminster, attending the annual gathering of the Wolfe Tone Society, an organisation which honours dead IRA members and imprisoned volunteers. The events 1986 programme declared: Force of arms is the only method capable of bringing about a free and united socialist Ireland.

At an Irish Republican event in 1987, Corbyn took part in a minutes silence to commemorate eight IRA men shot dead by the SAS as they travelled to attack a police station in County Armagh. Im happy to commemorate all those who died fighting for an independent Ireland, he said.

In 1996, the year of the Docklands and Manchester bombings, Corbyn invited Gerry Adamss deputy, to the Commons with a group that included several suspected IRA terrorists. The Labour chief whip accused Corbyn of putting the Commons at considerable and unacceptable risk.

Corbyn attends The People's March for Climate, Justice and Jobs in 2015

Corbyn put up 20,000 of his own money to stand bail for Roisin McAliskey, an IRA terror suspect facing extradition to Germany, where authorities wished to prosecute her for killing a soldiers wife during a mortar attack on a UK army base. (Eventually, she was not extradited.)

Last month, in a Sunday morning television interview, Corbyn was asked five times to unequivocally condemn the IRA. Five times he declined.

After the Brighton Bomb, in which the IRA murdered six people, London Labour Briefing (a far-Left monthly journal that Corbyn helped run), published a readers letter stating: What do you call four dead Tories? A start!

Next to a picture of Lord Tebbit, who was seriously injured (and whose wife would be wheelchair-bound for life) it added: Try riding your bike now, Norman!

Weeks after the Brighton attack, Corbyn invited two IRA terrorists to the Commons for a PR stunt where they protested about strip-searches in Northern Irelands prisons.

A few weeks after the IRAs 1996 bombing of Manchester which caused massive devastation, Corbyn agreed to host the launch of Adamss autobiography in the Commons. The book included an account (allegedly fictional) of killing a British soldier.

Terrorist chums

In 1984, Corbyn lobbied a variety of Latin American cultural organisations on behalf of what he called comrades in the M19 movement in Colombia. These comrades, according to the Sunday Times, had car-bombed, shot, tortured and killed their way across the country in recent years.

The men accused of the Lockerbie bombing, in which 270 died, were also helped by Corbyn. In 1992, he signed a letter supporting their bid to avoid trial in either the UK or America. One has to ask whether they would receive a fair trial in a British or US court, he said. After 9/11, Corbyn wrote in the Socialist Campaign Group News, a paper for left-wing MPs, blaming the tragedy on the West and its blanket support for Israels occupation of Palestine.

Officers help the injured after the IRA pub bombings in Guildford, Surrey in October 1974

In a 2009 speech, Corbyn said: It will be my pleasure and honour to host an event in Parliament where our friends from Hezbollah will be speaking Ive also invited our friends from Hamas to come and speak. Asked why hed called the terror groups friends, he said: It was inclusive language which with hindsight I would rather not have used. I regret using those words.

Finsbury Park Mosque, where Islamist rabble-rouser Abu Hamza once preached, counts local MP Corbyn as a longstanding supporter. In 2014, he joined a group there to welcome Abdallah Djaballah  a controversial imam who has called on fellow countrymen to wage holy Muslim war against Britain and the U.S.

Labour MP Diane Abbott in 2013

Corbyn has opposed at least 13 Prevention of Terrorism bills. In Socialist Campaign Group News, he has said he regularly hosts meetings by international solidarity groups at which many express sympathy for armed insurrection. Corbyn asked: Are they, or those attending, to be criminalised?

In 2009, Corbyn called for Hamas to be taken off the terror list, telling Al Jazeera: Contacts with Hamas by politicians are increasing day after day. All want to find a peaceful solution to the problem.

Following the terror attacks in Paris in 2015, Corbyn said he opposed police being allowed to shoot terror suspects, saying hes not happy with the shoot-to-kill policy in general.

Unpatriotic, anti-royal

In 1976, the self-confessed republican opposed plans by Haringey Council to celebrate the forthcoming Silver Jubilee, according to the local newspaper, making one or two less-than flattering remarks about the monarchy when the question came up.

When the date itself came, he refused to let the Union Jack fly in the Labour Partys offices.

McDonnell, the Marxist who wanted to axe MI5 DISARM POLICE Was among signatories to a 2015 open letter demanding that MPs abolish the monarchy . . . Disband MI5 and special police squads, [and] disarm the police. When this made headlines following his appointment as Shadow Chancellor, claimed his name had been added in error, despite the fact that the letters authors, an organisation called The Socialist Network, had published a photo of him posing with a copy of it. PRAISED IRA Told a 1986 Sinn Fein meeting in New Cross, South-East London, that the ballot, the bullet and the bomb would end British rule in Northern Ireland. A local newspaper reported he then called Lewisham councillors whod boycotted the event gutless wimps and joked that kneecapping might help change their minds. Attendees reportedly roared with laughter over the Brighton hotel bomb, which had killed five people, including a Tory MP, and maimed 31 others just two years earlier. Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer John McDonnell on the second day of the Labour Party Autumn Conference on September 28, 2015 in Brighton Famously praised the IRA in a 2003 speech, saying: Its about time we started honouring those people involved in the armed struggle. It was the bombs and bullets and sacrifice made by the likes of [hunger striker] Bobby Sands that brought Britain to the negotiating table. Later issued grovelling apology for the remarks. AT A Sinn Fein fundraiser in 2004, was given a special award for unfailing political and personal support he has given to the republican community. The plaque was presented by an IRA terrorist who in 1973 bombed the Old Bailey, killing one and injuring almost 200, and who, in 1983, led a breakout of IRA inmates from the Maze prison, during which he shot a prison officer in the head. COMMUNIST For years, listed his hobby in Whos Who as fermenting [sic] the overthrow of Capitalism. Was caught on video in 2016 telling a private audience Im a Marxist, and callously describing the 2008 financial crash, which cost millions of people their homes and jobs, as something for which Ive been waiting . . . for a generation. Asked last month by BBC presenter Andrew Marr Are you a Marxist? he declared: I believe theres a lot to learn from reading [Das] Kapital, yes of course, and thats been recommended not just by me but many others, mainstream economists as well. Called for direct action and insurrection to instil fear in the rich elite ahead of the 2015 General Election. Writing in the anarchist journal Strike! dubbed himself as the last communist in Parliament and said: Words are not enough. The elite who still dine at the Ritz, shop at Fortnum & Mason and populate the company boards in the City . . . will only be fearful when our talk moves on to action. KILL MRS T Dubbed Tory MP Esther McVey a stain on humanity around the same time, and asked: Why arent we lynching the b*****d? Refused to retract the remarks on Robert Pestons ITV show last year, saying he was expressing honest anger over welfare cuts. Declared at a Trade Union conference in 2010 that the single act hed most like to do to improve the world would be to go back in time and assassinate Thatcher. Later issued apology for the appalling joke. Speaking to the Labour Representation Committee conference in Liverpool in March 2012, called the Cameron coalition government an elected dictatorship. He said: Theres three ways in which we change society. One is through the ballot box, the democratic process and into Parliament. The second is trade union action, industrial action. The third is basically insurrection . . . I think we have a democratic right to use whatever means to bring this government down. Advertisement

In the early Nineties he said: A Labour government must abolish the House of Lords as a matter of very high priority, and used a Morning Star column to call for the Royal Family to be evicted from Buckingham Palace to smaller, more modest accommodation.

He was accused of insulting the monarchy by wearing a red jacket when solemn eulogies were made in the Commons in tribute to the Queen Mother who had died.

On the day Prince William married Kate Middleton, he used Twitter to urge followers to ignore the event and watch Vladimir Putins propaganda TV station, Russia Today, instead. Try Russia Today. Free of Royal Wedding and more objective on Libya than most, it read.

Diane Abbott enjoys a beer at the New Statesman party in Liverpool in September 2016

Jeremy Corbyn refuses to sing the national anthem during the 75th anniversary Battle of Britain memorial service at St Paul's Cathedral in London on September 15, 2015

Members of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas march with rockets in March 2016

When standing for the Labour leadership, he called for the Queen to be stripped of her Royal Prerogative, the nominal powers she gives to the Cabinet to enable them to pass some laws without seeking the consent of Parliament.

His republicanism is partly rooted in his awkward attitude to patriotism  which was exposed in 2005 when he criticised the Labour Cabinet Minister David Blunkett for giving a speech endorsing British values.

[Blunketts] problem is that he thinks patriotism is a progressive and generous force, wrote Corbyn in Socialist Campaign Group News.

Somehow we are encouraged to delude ourselves into thinking Britain is therefore a force for good in the world Most countries self-delude to a huge extent, but Britain, more than most.

Gypsies hero

Labours election manifesto pledges to support travellers and their right to a nomadic way of life.

Corbyn has been down this road before. And it didnt end well.

In 1975, when Haringey was suffering a cashflow crisis, Corbyn successfully campaigned for the council to give annual grants to the Gypsy Council because gypsies were a forgotten group in the borough.

Eight years later, as council planning chairman, he let gypsy families illegally occupy a paddock in Tottenham. Within a year, they turned the site into what local newspapers called an excreta-ridden outdoor toilet that resembled a Third World slum.

Abbott: Every defeat for Britain is a victory for us Bin laden backer Shortly before 9/11, voted against a Bill to proscribe Al-Qaeda as a terrorist group, alongside such outfits as Egyptian Islamic Jihad, the Armed Islamic Group, Harakat-ul-Mujahideen, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group and the Islamic Army of Aden. In a recent BBC interview, sought to justify the move because the Bill would have outlawed some groups that were not terrorist organisations, but dissident organisations. However, when pressed, she was unable to identify them. Plays race card Months before 9/11, Diane Abbott voted against a bill to proscribe al-Qaeda as a terrorist organisation During a 2012 TV debate on racism, tweeted: White people love playing divide and rule. We should not play their game. Accused of anti-white racism, claimed she was referring to historic behaviour of white people during the days of the British Empire. Following the Brexit vote, suggested on Question Time that Leave voters were racists who wanted to see less foreign-looking people on their streets and told a meeting at the Labour conference that they had added another turn of the screw to rising racism. Previously took a diametrically opposed view of the EU, arguing in 1993 that Europhiles were racist because their proposed Maastricht treaty undermines civil rights of black Britons and was a product of rising Nazism and racism across Europe. The reason? She thought, utterly wrongly, that the treaty would reduce immigration. Speaking at a conference in the U.S. in 1988 claimed that Britain invented racism and called Parliament the heart of darkness, in the belly of the beast. IRA support Supported the IRA when it was bombing the British mainland, claiming in a 1984 interview with the journal Labour & Ireland that Ireland is our struggle  every defeat of the British state is a victory for all of us. In the same interview stated: Though I was born here in London, I couldnt identify as British and criticised Ulster as an enclave of white supremacist ideologies. Asked about the remarks recently, claimed to have moved on since the Eighties: I dont have the same hairstyle, I dont have the same views. 'Mao did good' Claimed on a 2015 edition of BBC show This Week that on balance, Chairman Mao did more good than harm . . . he led his country from feudalism. Then laughed when it was pointed out that at least 45 million people were worked, starved, or beaten to death because of Chinas Communist dictator. Abolish MI5 Signed an Early Day Motion in 1989 calling for the abolition of conspiratorial groups like MI5 and Special Branch which are not accountable to the British people. Four years earlier, dubbed the Home Office a fundamentally racist organisation. If Labour wins, she could be its boss. Advertisement

Corbyn then intervened to block council officers from evicting the gypsies.

As a result, the mess worsened and there was an outbreak of dysentery that led to four teachers and 20 children from a nearby school having to be treated in hospital.

Even one of Corbyns Labour colleagues said he should be ashamed for allowing the area to degenerate into a filthy rat-infested mess.

When the gypsies eventually left, Haringey Council faced a bill of 43,000 [more than 100,000 in todays money] to clear up the site. Typically, Corbyn told reporters: I am not prepared to apologise for my actions.

MP Jeremy Corbyn with Gerry Adams at the Bobby Sands and James Connolly commemoration at Conway Hall, London

Anti-Semitism

After Radio 4s Womans Hour presenter Emma Barnett last week exposed Corbyns inability to cost Labours childcare policy, his supporters targeted her with anti-Semitic abuse. One Twitter user called her a Zionist shill [stooge].

Perhaps this is not surprising, considering that Corbyn himself has called Hamas, the terror group whose charter called on followers to kill Jews, his friends.

Over the years, Corbyn has visited Palestine courtesy of Interpal, a charity banned in the U.S. for alleged terror links. Hes attended events run by Paul Eisen, a convicted Holocaust denier.

In 1982, Corbyns London Labour Briefing magazine compared Israel to Holocaust-era Germany, saying: The parallels between Kristallnacht [a night of anti-Jewish violence in Germany in 1938] and the Holocaust now being visited on the Palestinians is all too clear.

More recently, he wrote an article in Socialist Campaign News calling Israeli premier Ariel Sharon a hated butcher.

The following year, he visited the Middle East, writing that Gaza was like entering an open prison and accused the Israeli army of wanton destruction.

On his return, Corbyn addressed an anti-Israel rally in London attended by hundreds of members of banned extremist group Al-Muhajiroun. An account of the event in the Weekly Worker noted that demonstrators clad in fake suicide vests chanted gas, gas Tel Aviv.

In 2013, he wrote to the Foreign Office criticising Israels criminal politicians and the following year he wrote in the Morning Star of attending a ceremony in Tunisia where wreaths were laid on the graves of terrorists responsible for the 1972 massacre of Israelis at the Munich Olympics.
What a miserable week it has been for the BBC's Golden  or should that be former Golden  Girl Mishal Husain

What a miserable week it has been for the BBC's Golden  or should that be former Golden  Girl Mishal Husain.

First there was the shambolic leaders' debate in Cambridge which, as moderator, she singularly failed to moderate.

At times this bear pit was little more than a bad-tempered slanging match that appalled viewers, and is now the subject of a complaint by the Tories for the audience's clear Left-wing bias.

She made little attempt to rein in the Corbynista mob in full cry and appeared out of her depth.

Then yesterday another car-crash interview in the style that Diane Abbott has made popular in recent weeks. But this time it was the interviewer  Ms Husain  rather than the interviewee in trouble.

Despite misgivings in the Beeb over Husain's lightweight performance in the debate, she was handed the prize interview at 8.10am with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on Radio 4's Today programme.

Little has been seen or heard of Boris during the campaign so his opinions were keenly awaited  not least, as a former London Mayor, his views on the London Bridge attack.

Unfortunately, listeners didn't get much chance to hear them. Adopting an aggressive, even menacing tone, Husain constantly cut across the increasingly exasperated Foreign Secretary with little evidence of the impartiality the BBC claims it is so proud of in its journalists. It seemed all too clear where her sympathies lay.

In an extraordinary exchange, Mr Johnson laid into Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for his consistent refusal to back counter-terrorist measures over three decades. But Husain insisted on breaking in to 'set the record straight', parroting exactly what Corbyn said in the aftermath of London Bridge and ignoring his previous position.

There was the shambolic leaders' debate in Cambridge which, as moderator, she singularly failed to moderate

This has prompted criticism that she was acting as 'Corbyn's spokesperson.'

The low point came when Johnson scorned the idea Diane Abbott, as home secretary in a Labour government, would have the skills to deal with a major terrorist attack.

It was too much for Husain, 44, who jumped in with a good impression of a teacher disciplining an unruly child, saying: 'No, no, please stop talking.' Johnson, clearly taken aback, said: 'But you have invited me on your show to talk.'

Husain ploughed on, trying to move him on from talking about Abbott by chiding: 'You are the Foreign Secretary, you have a big job in government.'

Within minutes of the interview ending, a call was made to the office of James Harding, the BBC's Director of News, by a senior figure at Tory HQ.

'After the leaders' debate we were disappointed with the tone and conduct of the interview,' a source told the Mail.

Asked if Husain was a regular problem the source said: 'We are not going to personalise it but you heard the interview and TV debate.'

Husain gave lightweight performance in the debate, she was handed the prize interview at 8.10am with Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on Radio 4's Today programme

More charitable colleagues blame the Johnson debacle on Husain's lack of confidence following the Cambridge debate.

To be fair, up to now she's had a glittering record. When she was appointed presenter on Today in 2013, it was seen as confirmation that a talented broadcaster was being fast-tracked to stardom.

And it helped that she ticked all the right boxes for the politically correct corporation: a 40-something working mother and the first Muslim female Today presenter.

She established herself on Today while continuing to read the 10pm news on BBC1 at weekends. In 2014, she won plaudits for her reports from Pakistan after 100 children were murdered by the Taliban. A year later she was named Broadcaster of the Year.

The decision to entrust the leaders' debate to Husain confirmed her ascendancy, leaving behind her experienced co-presenters Justin Webb and Sarah Montague.

Husain was born in Northampton and moved aged two with her parents to the United Arab Emirates. At 12, she returned to England to attend boarding school before reading law at Cambridge.

Clever, charming, and ruthlessly ambitious, she built a following as the main evening anchor of BBC World News

Husain, who lives in Hampstead in north London  a favourite with luvvies  with her husband, lawyer Meekal Hashmi and their three sons, made an instant impression when she joined the white male-dominated BBC in 1998. Clever, charming, and ruthlessly ambitious, she built a following as the main evening anchor of BBC World News.

Meticulous and hard-working, she's nevertheless left some colleagues unimpressed by recent events. 'The TV debate was a disaster,' a senior BBC figure said yesterday. 'She never got to grip with the panellists let alone that baying mob audience.'

Of the Today interview, another said: 'She spoke almost as much as Johnson and was trying to get herself noticed to make-up for the shambles in Cambridge.'

He pointed out that in 2009, when Gordon Brown was prime minister, eyebrows were raised when it emerged Husain had been paid to host events for the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

But it is her unquestioning political correctness that most exasperates some of her Today colleagues. 'She's very beautiful and very bright,' said one, 'but she's achingly liberal and right on and doesn't have a clue what most people in Britain think.'
Former U.S. president Barack Obama delivered an extended, vicious coded critique of his successor Donald Trump on Tuesday in Canada, speaking to an audience of 6,000 fans at an event hosted by the Montreal Board of Trade.

He bashed the rise of 'extreme nationalism and xenophobia and the politics of "us-versus-them",' a clear slap at Trump in the preferred language of American liberals.

'In times of disruption we may go backward instead of forward,' he warned. 'We're going to have to replace fear with hope.'

Obama drew laughter with a thinly veiled kick at the Trump administration's famous embrace of 'alternative facts,' saying that America in the less than 20 weeks since he left office has suddenly devolved into a place 'where we don't just have disagreements based on our opinions, but now people are just disagreeing on facts.'

'And we're in an environment where we are only accepting information that fits our opinions, instead of basing our opinions on the facts that we receive. And evidence and reason and logic.

Former U.S. president Barack Obama delivered a veiled but lengthy slap at Donald Trump and his 'America first' philosophy on Tuesday in Canada

Trump, Obama warned without naming him, has led America down the path of 'extreme nationalism and xenophobia and the politics of "us-versus-them"'

In a seeming ad-lib, he cited the 18th-century European as one foundation of modern democracies, and said 'we should continue to promote those values.'

Obama claimed that in an age when some world leaders are willing to 'violate our principals because of fear and uncertainty,' progress  measured by the work of multinational coalitions and institutions' can't continue.

'We have to sustain our alliances. We have to help other countries with their own development,' he said, without explicitly mentioning Trump's 'America First' philosophy.

The alternative, Obama suggested, would see anti-democratic forces swooping in to fill the voids left by globalist cooperation.

He said the result could be 'intolerance and tribalism and organizing ourselves along ethnic lines.'

The former president defended the Paris climate accord, saying that 'even with the temporary absence of American leadership'  Trump pulled the U.S out of it last week  it 'will still give our children a fighting chance'

'The disruptions that are happening globally are going to continue to accelerate,' Obama warned. 'And what's more, in an age of instance information, where TV and Twitter can feed us a steady stream of bad news  and sometimes fake news  it can seem like the international order that we've created is being constantly tested, and that the center may not hold.'

'And in some cases that leads people to search for certainty and control, and they can call for isolationism or nationalism, or they can consider rolling back the rights of others, or simply they can try to retreat and suggest that we have no obligations beyond our borders, or beyond our communities, beyond our tribe.

'That what's good for me and my immediate people is all that matters. Everybody else is on their own.'

Obama had special praise for the Paris climate treaty, a largely voluntary 190-nation accord that President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of last week.

To the sound of applause, the former president pronounced it 'an agreement that, even with the temporary absence of American leadership, will still give our children a fighting chance.'

'We have shown that environmental sustainability and economic progress are not contradictory, but are complementary,' he claimed.

And he made a point of defending policies aimed at sheltering refugees  at a time when the Trump administration is fighting with federal courts to temporarily suspend America's entirely refugee program.

'That's who we are,' he said of putting a welcome mat out for refugees from war-torn regions like Syria.

Trump has argued, leaning on the statements of some terror groups, that refugee populations from the Middle East could be a 'Trojan horse' with embedded jihadis.

'We can do it in an orderly way,' he said, arguing for the continuation of a system that 'upholds our tradition of lawfulness.'

'If our people feel that immigration is disorderly, then we put at risk our ability to welcome immigrants because we see sometimes political backlash,' Obama allowed.
Arrested: Yue Chen, 58, allegedly planned to murder three doctors whom he believed had used him as a test subject to train students. He was arrested on May 31 in San Jose

A California man in the final stages of cancer was arrested after he embarked on a 280-mile road trip to murder three doctors who he claimed had treated him like an 'animal', police said.

Yue 'Randy' Chen, 58, allegedly left his home in Visalia, California, with the intention of gunning down the medics, but his plans fell apart when his family reported him missing and police found evidence of his plot.

When he was stopped in San Jose, Chen had two semiautomatic handguns, a white rubber mask and a typed note titled 'Why do I kill', Mercury News reported.

Chen's family reported him missing on May 31, and when Visalia police went to his home they found a note in which he said he 'had to kill these doctors today because they are evil.'

They also found that he had been googling the details of three doctors, a police report said.

Just as important was what they didn't find: A pair of handguns registered to Chen, and a red 2017 Nissan Rogue that he had hired.

The department contacted Palo Alto police, warning them that Chen was on his way with murder in mind.

Road trip: Police say Chen drove more than 280 miles, from his home in Visalia to San Francisco, and then on to San Jose, where California Highway Patrol pulled him over

'We have to give credit to Visalia for taking the threat as serious,' Palo Alto police Lt James Reifschneider said.

'They went out on a missing persons case. Because they were thorough, they were able to identify there was much more to the story.

'He was missing, armed and was en route to the Bay Area to murder some folks.'

Chen was born in China but had lived in New York for 12 years before moving to California. He told police he has Stage 4 cancer and does not have long to live.

It was in California, in 2008, that he believes doctors first began using him as a test subject, the police report said.

He reportedly told investigators that the hospitals had inflicted injuries on him, including damaging his spine so that they could use him to train students.

'They only hurt me,' Chen is said to have told detectives. 'They hurt me both hospitals. They really screw my life, or the doctors lie to me. Hospitals, they all cover for each other.'

Dying: Chen, of Visalia, has Stage 4 cancer. His family reported him missing on May 31, and when police checked his home, they found notes on his intended victims, they say

Chen first headed to a hospital in San Francisco, but then left, according to the police report.

The names of the hospitals Chen was targeting have been redacted from the report, but police told Mercury News that one of the doctors worked at UCSF Medical Center.

Chen then drove to the home of one of his intended victims, police said - but was intercepted by California Highway Patrol on Highway 101 in San Jose.

The note that police found on Chen listed his reasons for plotting the murders, the report said, including revenge and to warn others 'this is possible if you treat people like an animal.'

Chen has been charged with three felony counts of premeditated attempted murder by The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office.
A suspect has been detained at Heathrow Airport in connection with the Manchester Arena bombing.

Greater Manchester Police said that the arrest had been pre-planned and that the airport was not in any danger.

The 38-year-old has now been hauled under custody, where he remains under the Terrorism Act.

He becomes the 19th person to be arrested in connection with the attack, which killed 22 people, but 12 have already been released without charge.

British police said on Tuesday they had arrested a man at London's Heathrow airport (pictured)

'The 38-year-old was arrested on suspicion of offences contrary to the Terrorism Act and remains in custody,' Greater Manchester Police said in a statement on Twitter.

'The arrest was planned beforehand and there was no direct threat to the airport.'

Yesterday, it emerged that bomber Salman Abedi may have used a Nissan Micra to store items used to assemble his deadly device.

Abedi murdered 22 people, including seven children, after detonating an improvised explosive device after a concert by US singer Ariana Grande on May 22.

Abedi murdered 22 people after detonating a bomb after a concert by Ariana Grande

Abedi made 'repeated trips' to and from the car between 18 and 22 May, and police have since found 'significant evidence' in the vehicle.

Officers are now hunting for possible accomplices who may have used the car and helped plan the terror attack.

Greater Manchester Police issued photos of the Nissan and a red and black holdall and appealed for anyone who recognised either to come forward.

Police said 'significant evidence' was found in the white car, which has an 'R' registration plate and was seized from Devell House in Rusholme on Friday.

Just days ago shops, homes and student halls were evacuated as anti-terror police swooped on the car.

Officers threw a 100-metre cordon around the white Nissan Micra parked in the south of the city amid fears the vehicle could be booby-trapped, before it was towed away.

Detective Chief Superintendent Russ Jackson said police were continuing to track the movements Abedi made in the days leading up to the attack.

Mr Jackson said it was 'vital' officers exhausted all lines of enquiry to establish how other people were involved in planning the attack.

He said: 'Our investigation has also revealed that Abedi made repeated trips to and from this car between 18 and 22 May 2017 and we believe he was taking items from the car to help assemble the device.

Abedi made 'repeated trips' to and from the car between 18 and 22 May, and police have since found 'significant evidence' in the vehicle

Greater Manchester Police issued photos of the Nissan and a red and black holdall and appealed for anyone who recognised either to come forward

'The car was sold by a previous keeper on 13 April 2017.

'Abedi left the country on 15 April and it is vital that we understand what happened to this car during these few days between 13 and 15 April.

'We need to know who was in the car and where the car went. You may have seen the car and not realised at the time but it could have stopped at a newsagents or a supermarket - did you see the car and its occupants during these dates?'

He added: 'We also appeal to anyone who knew Abedi or his close associates to come forward. Did you notice anything suspicious about him or people he associated with? This information could be vital in piecing together what happened.'

Officers are now hunting for possible accomplices who may have used the car and helped plan the terror attack
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In his last public appearance before his death, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs outline his vision for 'building the best office building in the world' to Cupertino city planners.

Yet as well as the building itself, he also wanted to bring back Silicon Valley's past with thousands of trees creating what is now called Apple Park.

Now, the incredible lengths Apple went to in making his vision a reality, from buying a Christmas tree farm in Nevada to buying so many local trees it caused a shortage, have been revealed.

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From buying a Christmas tree farm in Nevada to purchasing so many local trees it caused a shortage for other construction projects, the incredible lengths Apple went to have been revealed. Here, the finished Park is shown, with some on the 9,000 trees being planted.

While the office itself boasts elaborate glass canopies, a two-story yoga room, a 4,000 person cafe with four-story glass doors, and even patented pizza boxes to prevent food from getting soggy, the parkland surrounding it is just as impressive.

David Muffly, the expert dubbed 'Apple's tree whisperer' has revealed the incredible lengths Apple went to in a bid to fulfil Steve Jobs vision - even buying a Christmas tree farm in Nevada.

Muffly said the biggest challenge was finding enough trees, especially as the number rose from Jobs' original 6,000 to the current goal of 9,000.

When Jobs presented his plan to the Cupertino City Council in June 2011, he said that Apple would add to the 3,700 existing trees for a total of 6,000 - but this proved impossible, so new trees had to be brought it.

David Muffly, the expert dubbed 'Apple's tree whisperer' has revealed the incredible lengths Apple went to in a bid to fulfil Steve Jobs vision - even buying a Christmas tree farm in Nevada

Jobs hoped to recapture the lost feel of an area that was once mostly open spaces and fruit orchards.

'The landscape design of meadows and woodlands will create an ecologically rich oak savanna reminiscent of the early Santa Clara Valley,' Apple said in its original proposal.

'It will incorporate both young and mature trees, and native and drought tolerant plants that will thrive in Santa Clara County with minimal water consumption.

'The thoughtful and extensive landscaping will recall Cupertino's pre-agricultural and agricultural past.'

Planners meticulously mapped how the trees would look as they grew. Here, the plan shows them after a year

Plans for the exterior of the Apple campus, showing the huge number of plants and trees. In fact, the number rose from Jobs' original 6,000 to the current goal of 9,000.

The most problematic area was finding larger trees on the perimeter to present a green border around the new HQ.

After looking at redwoods at some abandoned Christmas tree farms up on Skyline, the search widened.

'I sent all my little tree elves to help me, telling them we need big trees we can transport to the site,' he told Steven Levy of Backchannel.

'Next thing I know we're finding these in two abandoned Christmas tree farms in the Mojave Desert, Yermo, and Adelanto. Who knew there were Christmas tree farms in the Mojave?'

Apple actually bought the Yermo site, according to Levy.

HOW APPLE PRESERVED THE TREES ON SITE 800 of the healthiest and most attractive trees were 'boxed' so they could be stored in a corner of the construction site Apple's tree strategy involced first preserving the best trees already on the site for replanting later. According to planning documents, Apple removed 3,616 trees from the land before construction could begin. Muffly and his team selected and stored 800 of the healthiest and most attractive of those trees and 'boxed' them so they could be stored in a corner of the construction site. A report from the city's consulting arborist, Michael Bench, included photos of a couple of trees from the site being readied for transplantation to these large boxes, and revealed how they were moved. The pain painstaking process was revealed in an October 2013 report. 'The pipes are driven under the root ball using a pneumatic hammer. 'A large I-Beam will be bolted to these pipes on the 2 sides where they extend past the root ball. 'When it is time to transplant the trees, cranes will affix cables to the I-Beams to lift and move the tree. 'The root balls are being irrigated and will continue to be irrigated on a regular schedule for up to 5 years.' Advertisement

The project is estimated to cost a staggering $5 billion (4 billion), and it isn't hard to see why; stunning new images reveal the unimaginable attention to detail at work in the nearly completed 'Apple Park' campus, giving rise to everything from specially crafted door handles to a 'building that breathes.'

Breathtaking new photos appearing in the June issue of Wired, which appeared on newsstands on May 23, revealed a close-up look at some of the features that will set Apple's campus apart from all the rest.

Back in 2011, just before his death, Jobs addressed the Cupertino City Council to speak of 'a pretty amazing building,' Wired reports.

'It's a little like a spaceship landed.'

APPLE TRIGGERS CALIFORNIA TREE SHORTAGE Developers working on San Francisco's new Transbay Transit Center train station are having a hard time getting trees for the new 5.4-acre green rooftop City Park. Patrick Trollip, the lead landscaper on the transit project, told the San Francisco Chronicle that Apple has become their biggest obstacle because the company keeps buying all the trees at landscaping centers along the coast. 'Buying trees is a surprisingly cutthroat business. 'And it's been especially challenging to locate desirable specimens because Apple has been buying up 3,000 trees for its new Cupertino headquarters. In a cluster of East Bay nurseries, Apple has been growing more than 4,600 trees, which are nestled in large, wooden boxes When Greenspan and Trollip found a tree they fancied they would 'tag it' with a locking yellow tag, so that nobody else  like Apple  could get it. Eventually all the tagged trees were moved to a nursery in Sunol, where the transbay project team leased 4 acres.' Advertisement

'Could we have cut a corner here or there?' Cook told Wired when asked about the obsession with detail.

'It wouldn't have been Apple. And it wouldn't have sent the message to everybody working here every day that detail matters, that care matters.

'I revere him,' Cook says. 'And this was clearly his vision, his concept. Our biggest project ever.'

The futuristic campus will soon be welcoming its first employees, who will be greeted by swathes of artificial hills, a mini-forest that will eventually contain 9,000 drought-resistant indigenous trees, and a 'breathing building' powered by 805,000-square-feet of solar paneling.

This room-sized mock-up of the planned Apple HQ was released in November 2013 before executives submitted their plans to the council. Pictured is an artist's impression, showing the huge number of trees

The parts of the multi-storey car park that will be on show, according to this image from Apple, will be covered in plants and greenery to help the concrete structure blend in

THE OBSESSION WITH DETAIL INSIDE 'APPLE PARK' Construction on Apple's futuristic campus has been estimated to cost roughly $5 billion. Apple has specified every part of the project with rules for contractors, and features include: 'Breathing building' that uses soffits beneath the canopies to inhale, and shafts to exhale warm air - as Steve Jobs hated air conditioning and fans

Artificial hills and a mini-forest of 9,000 native trees, all drought-resistant with hopes they can 'survive a climate crisis' with some hand picked by Jobs

100,000-square-foot Fitness and Wellness Center (including a two-story yoga room made of distressed stone to look like Steve Jobs favourite Yosemite hotel)

Canopies (fins along the glass) on every floor to help the building 'breathe'

A cafe with four-story glass doors that will open up on nice days so employees can eat outside 'Pods' designed for the many different activities that will take place within its walls, from work and collaboration to socializing

1,000-seat Steve Jobs Theater

805,000 square-feet of solar panelling

755-foot tunnel adorned with thousands of tiny white tiles

Shock absorbers to withstand earthquakes

Offices panelled with 'custom timber veneer' from recycled wood - and guidelines for the special wood used frequently throughout the building ran to some 30 pages

Patented pizza boxes to keep food from getting soggy

Contractors were told no vents or pipes could be reflected in the glass Advertisement

According to Wired, the campus will also have a 100,000 square-foot Fitness and Wellness Center  and, this will contain a two-story yoga room built from distressed stone from 'the right quarry in Kansas,' to mimic the stone at Jobs' favourite Yosemite hotel.

Inside the circular building, each floor will be lined with fins called 'canopies,' which will be equipped with soffits on the under that will allow the Ring to 'inhale' air.

And, shafts placed elsewhere will allow it to exhale warm air to the outside, Wired reports.

With elaborate glass canopies (pictured left), a two-story yoga room, a 4,000 person cafe with four-story glass doors, and even patented pizza boxes to prevent food from getting soggy, Apple's highly-anticipated 'mothership' could soon bring the dream to life. The door handle, designed by Apple and Foster + Partners (right) is used on both sliding doors and pivoting ones, and is believed to have gone through dozens of protypes. The final version is designed to be integrated into the doorframe with no visible bolts.

The building will have a massive four-story atrium as its cafe, with four-story glass doors that will open up on nice days so employees can eat outside.

The Apple Park cafe will make use of Apple's patented pizza box, as well, which the firm is believed to have been trialing at its existing campus.

All door handles in the building are custom designed from Apple and Foster + Partners  and, whether a sliding door or pivoting, they'll all have the same kind of handle.

There have been several prototypes, with some that were 'long and barely protruding,' and others that are 'tighter and less forgiving,' according to Wired.

And, the staircases are sculpted from thin concrete that's 'the perfect white.'

The Apple campus will have 360-degree curved glass fronted walls and central courtyard as well as a 1,000-seater auditorium, a gym and 300,000 square feet of 'research' space. Pictured is the most recent image of the site, taken on January 13

APPLE'S PATENTED PIZZA BOX The building will have a massive four-story atrium as its cafe, which will have four-story glass doors that will open up on nice days so employees can eat outside. The Apple Park cafe will make use of Apple's patented pizza box, as well (pictured) In 2012, Apple published a patent for a special food container that requires no assembly before use, and will minimize storage space. It would have several uses, including the storing and transport of food 'in any shape and size,' from eggs and fruits to meat products, or to store got foods such as pizza. And, it could prevent pizza from becoming soggy. 'In one embodiment, the elevated portion can take the form of concentric rings that elevate the pizza from the bottom surface of the container,' the patent explains. 'Elevating the pizza from the bottom surface ensures that any steam that is emitted from the bottom of the pizza can flow away from the bottom of the pizza. 'Allowing such steam to flow away from the bottom of the pizza prevents moisture from becoming trapped between the pizza and the bottom surface of the container and subsequently reabsorbed by the pizza causing it to get soggy.' Advertisement

The building will be home to scores of glass-encased 'pods' designed for the many different activities that will take place within its walls, from work and collaboration to socializing.

Jobs' vision of the campus saw harmony between nature outside and the building itself, and to ensure the right flora would be perfect, he sought out tree expert David Muffly.

The idea was to use indigenous plants that could withstand drought and even a climate crisis.

Breathtaking new photos appearing in the June issue of Wired , on newsstands May 23, have revealed a close-up look inside Apple Park

Earlier this year, a flyover of Apple's mothership revealed work on Campus 2 is nearly complete.

The incredible drone images also reveal the astonishing attention to detail of the site.

From the arrangement of electrical wiring to the finish of a hidden pipe, no aspect of the 2.8 million-square-foot main building has been too small to attract scrutiny.

Apple hopes that the campus will be finished by spring this year.

Since Apple unveiled its plans in 2011, the move-in date has slowly receded.

Jobs' initial projection was 2015, but this spring now seems most likely, according to people involved in the project.

More than $1 billion (800 million) was allocated for the interior of the main building alone, according to a former construction manager.

The campus is something of an exception to the trend of radically open offices aimed at fostering collaboration, said Louise Mozingo, a professor and chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning at University of California, Berkeley.

Its central office building - a massive ring of glass frequently likened to a spaceship - could be a challenge just to navigate, she noted.

'It's not about maximizing the productivity of the office space, it's about creating a symbolic center for this global company,' she said. 'They are creating an icon.'

KEY FEATURES OF THE SPACESHIP-LIKE CAMPUS Appearing as a giant saucer, the Silicon Valley site near the 280 Highway will be home to 13,000 Apple employees. There will be jogging and cycling trails, with more than a thousand bikes kept on site at all times, which staff can use to make their way around. The Spaceship will have 360-degree curved glass fronted walls and central courtyard as well as a 1,000-seater auditorium, a gym and 300,000 square feet of 'research' space. Apple Campus 2 will additionally have underground parking hidden from view, meaning 80 per cent of the site can be covered in trees. The site was previously owned by Hewlett Packard and the majority of the area is currently covered in asphalt. Elsewhere underground, the auditorium will be where Apple's CEO Tim Cook will present the companies keynotes ahead of product launches, for example. This auditorium will be covered with a circular glass pavilion that will also be an access point for employees and guests. Natural gas will, primarily, provide the building's power and the local energy grid will only be accessed in emergencies. The glass structure will also be fitted with solar panels. The circular, four-storey building will be around a mile in circumference and a third of a mile wide and was recently described by the San Fransisco Weekly as a 'massive glass doughnut' . The building stays eco-friendly with natural ventilation that works instead of air-conditioning for 70 per cent of the year, low energy LED lighting where natural light doesn't reach, and on-site recycling. Advertisement

Its central office building - a massive ring of glass frequently likened to a spaceship - could be a challenge just to navigate. This image shows work progressing on the site, with the outer ring almost complete

The circular, four-storey building will be around a mile in circumference and a third of a mile wide and was recently described by the San Francisco Weekly as a 'massive glass doughnut'

An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment.

Technology companies have long favoured generic office parks, but the Apple Campus 2 marks a new chapter in Silicon Valley architecture.

When completed, the campus will house up to 14,200 employees, according to the 2013 project description.

The main building - which boasts the world's largest piece of curved glass - will be surrounded by a lush canopy of thousands of trees.

The new campus will be located at 1 Infinite Loop in Cupertino, which is part of the world-renowned Silicon Valley. Architect German de la Torre, who worked on the project, found many of the proportions - such as the curve of a rounded corner - came from Apple's products

Little remains from the cement-laden campus Apple acquired from Hewlett-Packard, though the iPhone maker preserved a century-old barn that remained intact.

But what was most striking to those who worked on the project was Apple managers' insistence on treating the construction of the vast complex the same way they approach the design of pocket-sized electronics.

Apple's in-house construction team enforced many rules, including no vents or pipes could be reflected in the glass.

What was most striking to those who worked on the project was Apple managers' insistence on treating the construction of the vast complex the same way they approach the design of pocket-sized electronics

Pictured is the cafeteria housed in a huge atrium. There are 59 skylights along the roof, allowing natural light to come inside, while giant glass doors open to let fresh air in

Apple Campus 2 will additionally have underground parking hidden from view, meaning 80 per cent of the site can be covered in trees

And guidelines for the special wood used frequently throughout the building ran to some 30 pages.

The company's keen design sense enhanced the project, but its expectations sometimes clashed with construction realities, a former architect said.

'With phones, you can build to very, very minute tolerances,' he said.

'You would never design to that level of tolerance on a building. Your doors would jam.'

The company's keen design sense enhanced the project, but its expectations sometimes clashed with construction realities, a former architect said

Early in construction, Apple managers told the construction team that the ceiling - composed of large panels of polished concrete - should be immaculate inside and out, just as the inside of the iPhone's audio jack is a finished product

Drone footage taken above the site reveals the vast extent of the construction, with hundreds, if not thousands of lorries and diggers involved

Apple's novel approach to the building took many forms.

Architect German de la Torre, who worked on the project, found many of the proportions - such as the curve of a rounded corner - came from Apple's products.

The elevator buttons struck some workers as resembling the iPhone's home button; one former manager even likened the toilet's sleek design to the device.

But Mr de la Torre ultimately saw that Apple executives were not trying to evoke the iPhone per se, but rather following something akin to the Platonic ideal of form and dimension.

Elsewhere underground, the auditorium will be where Apple's CEO Tim Cook will present the companies keynotes ahead of product launches, for example

Architects working on the building say that many of the proportions - such as the curve of a rounded corner - came from Apple's products

Much of the construction time has been spent in placing small tiles along the walls of one of the access tunnels

'They have arrived at design principles somehow through many years of experimentation, and they are faithful to those principles,' Mr de la Torre said.

Early in construction, Apple managers told the construction team that the ceiling - composed of large panels of polished concrete - should be immaculate inside and out, just as the inside of the iPhone's audio jack is a finished product, a former construction manager recalled.

Each of the thousands of ceiling panels had to win approval from both Apple's in-house team and the general contractor, once at the shop and then again at the construction site.

Natural gas will, primarily, provide the building's power and the local energy grid will only be accessed in emergencies

Technology companies have long favoured generic office parks, but the Apple Campus 2 marks a new chapter in Silicon Valley architecture. Pictured left is Apple's current Cupertino campus

Covering 175 acres, Apple's 'Campus 2' headquarters will replace its current offices at 1 Infinite Loop (pictured)

'The things you can't see, they all mattered to Apple,' the former construction manager said.

One of the most vexing features was the doorways, which Apple wanted to be perfectly flat, with no threshold. The construction team pushed back, but Apple held firm.

'We spent months trying not to do that because that's time, money and stuff that's never been done before,' the former construction manager said.

Signage also required a delicate balancing act, as Apple wanted all signs to reflect its sleek, minimalist aesthetic, but the fire department needed to ensure the building could be swiftly navigated in an emergency.

This image is an artist's impression of what the Apple Campus 2 will look like from above when its complete. The site will be surrounded by a man-made forest featuring 7,000 trees. It was previously owned by Hewlett Packard and is currently covered in around 80 per cent asphalt

Much of the inside of the futuristic building will also be made of glass with stone-coloured walls to add to the building's natural-looking design (pictured). The 175-acre Silicon Valley site near the 280 Highway will house 13,000 staff. Pictured are artist's impressions

During his initial proposals, Apple's co-founder Steve Jobs said he wanted the building to be covered in 40ft floor-to-ceiling panes of curved glass so that all of the building's four storeys would be visible from the outside and offer a large amount of natural light (pictured). Pictured is an artist's impression
A huge amount of progress has been made in establishing equal rights for gay parents in recent years.

But there are still some misconceptions about the effect that growing up with same sex parents can have on children.

In an article with The Conversation Andrew Leland, a PhD Candidate at the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University, explores some of the scientific findings about two father families.

And the results suggest that gay fathers are more likely to be involved in school-based and community activities than straight dads to shake off the belief that they are poor parents.

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Research suggests that that gay fathers are be more likely to be involved in school-based and community activities than heterosexual dads (stock image)

HOW DO TWO FATHER FAMILIES DIFFER? Research suggests that affluent, white, two-father households adhere to traditional parenting roles. One is the primary breadwinner, while the other earns either less income or none at all and handles most of the caregiving and chores. However, two-dad households can challenge the 1940s Norman Rockwell image of gendered parenting, just like heterosexual couples can. Households with two fathers working full-time rely on daycare facilities, babysitters, housekeepers and nearby relatives for support. Some of these men even take on responsibilities based on skills and strengths, rather than who fits the socially and culturally constructed mold of being more 'motherly' or 'fatherly.' Advertisement

Kentucky family court judge W. Mitchell Nance says he refuses to hold hearings on same-sex couples' adoptions 'as a matter of conscience.'

He's not the only authority defying the 2015 Supreme Court ruling that made marriage equality the law of the land.

So-called 'religious freedom' bills in Texas, South Dakota and Alabama could let private adoption agencies discriminate against same-sex couples.

When pressed on the question, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos recently refused to tell lawmakers whether she believes the federal government should deny government funds to schools that discriminate against the children of LGBT parents or LGBT students.

Maybe these officials, judges and lawmakers should check out the research on how gay parents differ from straight parents.

So far, most of this scholarship has focused on the social, emotional and cognitive outcomes of children they raise. (Spoiler alert: These kids turn out fine.)

As a former teacher who now researches gay dads and their families while pursuing a doctorate in education, I am studying how the growing number of men married to other men are raising their children.

So far, I'm finding few differences between them and their straight peers of similar socioeconomic status  especially regarding their children's schooling.

A growing population

Since the Census Bureau estimates but does not count the number of households headed by two fathers, it's hard to track them.

Plans were taking shape for the Census Bureau to begin counting same-sex-parented households in 2020.

They seem unlikely to move forward due to recent budget cuts, the census director's recent resignation and the political climate.

The American Community Survey, the Census Bureau's ongoing demographic survey of approximately three million households, estimates that in 2015, almost 40,000 two-dad households were raising children, compared to about 30,000 in 2010 (stock image)

Nevertheless, the American Community Survey, the Census Bureau's ongoing demographic survey of approximately three million households, already follows same-sex parenting.

It estimates that in 2015, almost 40,000 two-dad households were raising children, compared to about 30,000 in 2010.

Parenting roles

How do parents in these families settle into specific roles? In short, just like heterosexual parents do.

Research suggests that affluent, white, two-father households adhere to traditional parenting roles.

One is the primary breadwinner, while the other earns either less income or none at all and handles most of the caregiving and chores.

How do parents in two farther families settle into specific roles? In short, just like heterosexual parents do (stock image)

However, two-dad households can challenge the 1940s Norman Rockwell image of gendered parenting, just like heterosexual couples can.

Households with two fathers working full-time rely on daycare facilities, babysitters, housekeepers and nearby relatives for support.

Some of these men even take on responsibilities based on skills and strengths, rather than who fits the socially and culturally constructed mold of being more 'motherly' or 'fatherly.'

Community and school engagement

And that's where the parenting of gay dads may differ from a traditional heterosexual household, as my research and the work of other scholars suggests.

While interviewing and spending time with 20 two-dad families living in the Northeast for my current study, I have learned that they're apt to step up.

Many become involved as classroom parents, voluntarily assisting teachers, reading books or leading singalongs.

Many gay fathers become involved as classroom parents, voluntarily assisting teachers, reading books or leading singalongs (stock image)

Some take leadership roles by becoming active PTA members or organizing events that go beyond their children's classes.

In some cases, gay fathers become PTA presidents or serve on school boards.

Like all civically engaged parents, gay fathers support their local museums and libraries and enrol their kids in camps and extracurricular activities.

They sometimes do additional volunteer work for social justice groups.

The largest-scale survey to date was conducted in 2008 by the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network, an organisation focused on the safety of LGBT students in schools.

That study, which included 588 LGBT parents, suggested that gay fathers could be more likely to be involved in school-based activities than heterosexual dads.

'OVERWHELMING' EVIDENCE SEX OF PARENTS DOESN'T MATTER A study led by the University of Oregon in 2015 came to the conclusion that children raised by same-sex couples are no worse off than children raised by parents of the opposite sex. The research looked at 19,000 studies and articles related to same-sex parenting from 1977 to 2013. 'Consensus is overwhelming in terms of there being no difference in children who are raised by same-sex or different- sex parents,' University of Oregon sociology professor Ryan Light said. He explained that there was some disagreement among scientists on the outcome of same-sex parenting in the 1980s but it largely subsided in the 1990s. A clear consensus had formed by 2000 that there is no difference between same-sex and different-sex parenting in the psychological, behavioural or educational outcomes of children. 'Across the board we find the iterative suggests there's no significant differences,' Light said. 'To our knowledge this is the most comprehensive analysis of this type on this issue.' Advertisement

Aside from the simple fact that they love their children just like all parents do, Abbie Goldberg, a Clark University researcher, and her colleagues have shown that increased presence may be due, in part, to fathers' initiatives to counter bias and assert more same-sex visibility and inclusion in schools.

My current study, indicates the same.

Many of the men taking part have told me that being actively involved helps them preemptively counteract potential negative encounters with school personnel and other families.

Gay dads prefer schools and communities that are safe and inclusive.

Beyond that, they want judges like Nance and lawmakers bent on barring them from fatherhood to see that two-dad families are for the most part just like any other family.
The number of young lobsters is declining in the Gulf of Maine despite years of record-breaking harvests, a University of Maine marine scientist has warned.

Rick Wahle quantifies the population of baby lobsters in the gulf, a key lobster fishing area about the size of Wisconsin, at monitoring sites in New England and Canada every year.

His American Lobster Settlement Index, released this month, shows monitoring sites from New Brunswick to Cape Cod had some of the lowest levels since the late 1990s or early 2000s.

The decline in baby lobsters represent an 'early warning' of what might happen to the future of the lobster harvest, which is the source of a major fishery and a focus of the tourism industry in New England, Wahle said.

WHAT IS CAUSING IT? Scientists and fishermen are working to better understand the changes in the lobster population and their potential ramifications for the environment and the economy. Wahle said one factor could be a declining amount of a type of copepod that baby lobsters like to feed on. Another possibility is an increase in predators of young lobsters, he said. Wahle said scientists need to better understand those issues to help prepare for the future of the lobster fishery. Advertisement

Lobsters take several years to grow to legal harvesting size, so the drop in young lobsters would start to affect lobstermen in future years, he said.

The decline in baby lobsters represent an 'early warning' of what might happen to the future of the lobster harvest, which is the source of a major fishery and a focus of the tourism industry in New England, Wahle said.

'If we were to see a collapse in the lobster catch, it would mean that we're already seven to eight years into a decline in the population,' Wahle said.

For over 10 years now, lobster egg production has been rising but the number of baby lobsters has been falling, Wahle said.

Scientists and fishermen are working to better understand the changes in the lobster population and their potential ramifications for the environment and the economy.

Wahle said one factor could be a declining amount of a type of copepod that baby lobsters like to feed on.

Another possibility is an increase in predators of young lobsters, he said.

Wahle said scientists need to better understand those issues to help prepare for the future of the lobster fishery.

Maine accounts for the largest percentage of the U.S. lobster catch yearly, and the industry has been booming in recent years.

The catch climbed to more than 130 million pounds last year, which was a record total according to state statistics that go back to the 19th century.

The total U.S. lobster catch was worth a record of more than $620 million in 2015, which is the most recent year for which statistics are available.

It's a lifeblood industry in Maine, and Wahle cautioned that 'a downward trend in lobster production could significantly impact the state's coastal economy in the future.'

David Cousens, the president of the Maine Lobstermen's Association, agreed. He said he's concerned about the Maine lobster fishery going the way of the southern New England fishery, which scientists have said has faded in the face of warming ocean waters.

Scientists and fishermen are working to better understand the changes in the lobster population and their potential ramifications for the environment and the economy.

'It isn't encouraging. You've got to find out what's causing it if we're losing baby lobsters,' Cousens said.

'And we need to do as much as we can to slow down global warming. That is critical to our existence.'

Wahle is co-chairing an international conference on lobster management this week in Portland. Environmental factors such as the impact of warming ocean waters on the lobster population are among the focuses of the event.
Police officers, regardless of their race and background, speak less respectfully to black members of the public than those who are white, according to new research.

Scientists studied body cam footage collected from California's Oakland Police Department and analysed the language used by officers during routine traffic stops.

They asked study participants, who did not know the race or gender of those involved in the exchange, to read transcripts of some of these interactions and rate how polite and respectful the officers were.

The team plugged this information into an artificially intelligent computer which analysed more than 180 hours of body camera footage from almost 1,000 stops.

The results found 'racial disparities' in the level of respect shown by officers, and the researchers claim that even officers who are not racist exhibit the bias.

Police officers speak less respectfully to black members of the public than those who are white, according to new research. Scientists studied body cam footage and analysed the language used by officers (stock image)

WHAT DID THEY FIND? The study looked at the language used by officers to analyse how respectful they were with white and black members of the public. It found that white residents were 57 per cent more likely than black residents to hear a police officer say the most respectful utterances. These included apologies and expressions of gratitude like 'thank you'. Meanwhile, black community members were 61 per cent more likely than white residents to hear an officer say the least respectful utterances. These included informal titles like 'dude' and 'bro', and commands like 'hands on the wheel'. Advertisement

Although the difference in language used was subtle, the researchers said that the 'widespread' racial disparities found may damage police-community relations.

The Stanford University team said that their study aimed to improve these relations.

'Our findings are not proof of bias or wrongdoing on the part of individual officers,' said Dr Jennifer Eberhardt, a Stanford psychology professor and co-author of the study.

'They highlight that, on the whole, police interactions with black community members are more fraught than their interactions with white community members.'

Dr Eberhardt stressed that many factors could drive racial disparities in respectful behaviour.

'The disparities we report could be due to the officers awareness of police-community tensions nationwide, anticipated tension in the interaction, actual tension during previous stops with blacks, stereotype threat felt by officers, stereotype threat felt by black community members, etc,' she told MailOnline.

'The point is that the language disparities could be driven by multiple factors and can emerge even when an officer holds no racial animus against blacks and even when they hold no awareness of their differences in language use.'

The racial disparities in respectful speech found by Dr Eberhardt and her team remained even after the researchers controlled for the race of the officer, the severity of the offence, and the location and outcome of the stop.

To analyse the body camera footage, the researchers first developed a new artificial intelligence technique for measuring levels of respect in officers' language.

They examined transcripts from 183 hours of body camera footage from 981 stops, which 245 different officers conducted in April 2014.

The team examined transcripts from 183 hours of body camera footage from 981 routine traffic stops. The level of respect shown by officers was calculated using artificial intelligence, which found 'racial disparities' in the way they spoke (stock image)

In the first phase of the study, human participants examined a sub-sample of the transcribed conversations between officers and community members.

The participants, who did not know the race or gender of those involved in the exchange, rated how respectful, polite, friendly, formal and impartial the officers' language was.

In the second phase, the researchers used these ratings to develop a computational linguistic model of how speakers show respect.

This included apologising, softening commands and expressing concern for listeners' well-being.

They then created AI software that automatically identified these words, phrases and linguistic patterns in the transcripts of the officers' language.

HOW DID THE RESEARCHERS ANALYSE LANGUAGE? To analyse the body camera footage, the researchers first developed a new artificial intelligence technique for measuring levels of respect in officers' language. They examined transcripts from 183 hours of body camera footage from 981 stops, which 245 different officers conducted in April 2014. In the first phase of the study, human participants examined a sub-sample of the transcribed conversations between officers and community members. The participants, who did not know the race or gender of those involved in the exchange, rated how respectful, polite, friendly, formal and impartial the officers' language was. In the second phase, the researchers used these ratings to develop a computational linguistic model of how speakers show respect. This included apologising, softening commands and expressing concern for listeners' well-being. They then created software that automatically identified these words, phrases and linguistic patterns in the transcripts of the officers' language. In the third phase, the researchers used this software to analyse the remaining transcripts  a total of 36,000 officer utterances with 483,966 words. Advertisement

In the third phase, the researchers used this software to analyse the remaining transcripts  a total of 36,000 officer utterances with 483,966 words.

Because the team had so much data, they could statistically account for the race of the officer, the severity of the offence and other factors that could affect officers' language.

The researchers' groundbreaking technique demonstrated that white residents were 57 per cent more likely than black residents to hear a police officer say the most respectful utterances.

These included apologies and expressions of gratitude like 'thank you.'

Meanwhile, black community members were 61 per cent more likely than white residents to hear an officer say the least respectful utterances.

These included informal titles like 'dude' and 'bro', and commands like 'hands on the wheel.'

'To be clear: There was no swearing,' said Professor Dan Jurafsky, a study co-author and Stanford professor of linguistics and of computer science.

'These were well-behaved officers. But the many small differences in how they spoke with community members added up to pervasive racial disparities.
In 1977, an astronomer looking for alien life in the nigh sky above Ohio spotted a powerful radio signal so strong that he excitedly wrote 'Wow!' next to his data.

The 72-second blast, spotted by Dr Jerry Ehman through a radio telescope, came from Sagittarius but matched no known celestial object.

Conspiracy theorists have since claimed that the 'Wow! signal', which was 30 times stronger than background radiation, was a message from intelligent extraterrestrials.

But a researcher has now found that the signal, which has perplexed scientists for 40 years, was in fact just the trace of two comets as they shot past Earth.

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The Wow! signal was detected by a radio telescope in Ohio in 1977 as a 72 second-long burst of powerful radio waves during a project searching for alien signals. It earned its name after astronomer Dr Jerry Ehman circled the signal data and wrote' Wow!' in the margin (pictured)

THE STORY OF THE 'WOW!' SIGNAL The Wow! signal was detected on 15 August 1977 with a radio telescope known as Big Ears at the Ohio State University Radio Observatory in Delaware. Dr Ehman, who had been working on a project for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute, noticed the surprisingly strong signal in a column of alphanumerical data. With a red pen he scrawled the word 'Wow!' in the margin and circled the sequence. Astronomers ruled out that the signal came from Earth and could find nothing in our solar system to have produced it. It is thought to have come from a region of space to the northwest of the globular galaxy cluster M55 in the constellation Sagittarius. Although Dr Ehman himself has remained sceptical, the signal has led to claims that it may have been a radio beacon or broadcast coming from far beyond our own solar system. Advertisement

Professor Antonio Paris, an astronomer at St Petersburg College in Florida, has spent the past year investigating the bizarre signal.

Using celestial records he found that two comets, unknown to scientists at the time, were passing by Earth on August 15, 1977 - the night the Wow! signal was detected.

Those comets were discovered in 2006, and last year Professor Paris suggested that a cloud of hydrogen gas in the wake of the celestial objects triggered the signal.

But the scientist had to wait until this year, when the comets flew past Earth again as part of their synonymous six-year orbits around the sun, to prove his theory.

In a paper published in the Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences, he has now proven once and for all that the signals were not caused by aliens.

When the comets passed by this year, the signal they produced was exactly the same as that seen in 1977.

Speaking about the theory before its confirmation, Professor Paris admitted that he had wanted to be wrong.

'There's still a bit inside of me that hopes it was aliens,' he said.

When he first published the theory last year, Professor Paris said the comets produced a cloud of hydrogen gas in their wake which released radiation.

The frequency of the signal spotted by Dr Ehman in 1977 matches the emissions produced by hydrogen atoms, he said.

The clouds of hydrogen that surrounds them as sunlight breaks up the frozen water on their surface extends millions of miles around the comets, meaning they could produce a powerful signal.

Previous research has found that two comets were in the right region of the sky at the time the signal was received. A study of the comets as they passed Earth this year has revealed that the comets gave similar radio signals to those detected in 1977 (stock image)

THEORIES FOR WHAT CAUSED THE 'WOW!' SIGNAL There have been many theories over the years for what could have been the source for the short-lived, narrow band radio signal that became known as the Wow! signal. At the time, it was seen has having all the traits of having come from a distant planet, but the inability to pick it up again has frustrated astronomers. While some have taken it to be a radio message broadcast by an alien beacon into space, others have looked for other astronomical sources. Theories have included collisions between asteroids and stars, flares from stars, merging white dwarfs and colliding neutron stars. Advertisement

'Several investigations into the "Wow!" signal have ruled out the source as terrestrial in origin or other objects such as satellites, planets and asteroids,' Professor Paris said at the time.

'From 1977 July 27 to 1977 August 15, comets 266P/Christensen and P/2008 Y2 (Gibbs) were transiting in the neighborhood of the Chi Sagittarii star group.

'Ephemerides for both comets during this orbital period placed them at the vicinity of the "Wow!" signal.

'These two comets were not detected until after 2006, therefore, the comets and their hydrogen clouds were not accounted for during the signal emission.'

The Wow! signal was detected on 15 August 1977 with a radio telescope known as Big Ears at the Ohio State University Radio Observatory in Delaware.

The Wow! signal was detected as coming from a region of space close to the M55 galaxy cluster close to the constellation Sagittarius (illustrated), but new research suggests the signal may have been produced by two comets, undiscovered at the time

THE COMETS BEHIND THE WOW! SIGNAL Comet 266P/Christensen was first discovered in 2006. It orbits the sun every 6.79 years. The closest it passes to Earth is 125 million miles. P/2008 Y2 (Gibbs) was first discovered in 2008. It passes much closer to Earth, at a distance of 61 million miles and orbits the sun every 6.8 years. Advertisement

Dr Ehman, who had been working on a project for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute, noticed the surprisingly strong signal in a column of alphanumerical data.

With a red pen he scrawled the word 'Wow!' in the margin and circled the sequence.

Astronomers ruled out that the signal came from Earth and could find nothing in our solar system to have produced it.

It is thought to have come from a region of space to the northwest of the globular galaxy cluster M55 in the constellation Sagittarius.

Although Dr Ehman himself has remained sceptical, the signal has led to claims that it may have been a radio beacon or broadcast coming from far beyond our own solar system.

By training radio telescopes (Very Large Array pictured) onto the part of the sky where the signal was detected, the comet theory was confirmed as the two celestial objects passed by Earth in January 2017

Some have taken it as evidence of alien life as the frequency is widely thought to be one that could be used by extraterrestrials to communicate.

The mystery surrounding the signal has only been compounded by the inability to pick up the signal again, despite repeated attempts by increasingly more powerful radio telescopes.

However, at the time, researchers did not know of the existence of comets of 266P/Christensen and P/2008 Y2 (Gibbs). The pair was only discovered after 2006.
Origins of the world's densest collection of Jurassic dinosaur bones has baffled scientists for decades.

Researchers have long believed the bones of dinosaurs, mostly that of Allosaurus, ended up at the Cleveland, Ohio site after one catastrophic event.

Over the years, scientists have speculated that the dinosaurs were poisoned, died in a severe drought, or became trapped in thick mud.

Now, researchers say that floods gradually washed dead dinosaurs into the small pit.

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Researchers found that bodies of the Allosaurus (pictured in the lobby of the San Diego Natural History Museum), which was a massive carnivore, rivalling T-rex in statue, washed into the pond and rotted

WHAT DID THEY FIND? A new study published in PeerJ suggests the quarry is the result of numerous mortality events which brought the dinosaurs to the site over time - rather than a single fatal event. The study reveals the small bone fragments were created during drought periods by weathering and erosion of bones disintegrating at the surface. During flood periods, however, the carcasses of Allosaurus and other dinosaurs washed in and rotted in a small pond. Using chemical analyses and studies of microscopic bone fragments researchers found dinosaur bones found themselves in the deposit after they had died. As a result, the pond became poisonous to other forms of life. This also explains why there are no pond fossils at the site and almost no gnaw marks on bones excavated from the quarry. Advertisement

The Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry (CLDQ) is the densest collection of Jurassic dinosaur fossils and is dominated by one famous predatory dinosaur Allosaurus which was one of the largest dinosaurs of the late Jurassic period.

The site is famous for its abundance of dinosaur bones - including 70 different individuals that represents a minimum of nine genera.

First excavations were carried out in 1929 when 1,000 bones were collected by the University of Utah.

Since the discovery of the pit in 1927 nearly 10,000 bones have been collected.

New research led by the University of Wisconsin suggests the quarry is the result of numerous mortality events which brought the dinosaurs to the site over time - rather than a single fatal event.

More than half of these bones belonged to a single taxon called Allosaurus, which was a massive carnivore, rivalling T-rex in stature.

The largest ever found measured 43ft (13 metres) long and 16ft (5 metres) tall. There are at least 46 different individuals buried in the pit.

More than half of these bones belonged to a single taxon called Allosaurus (pictured), which was a massive carnivore, rivalling T-rex in stature

Allosaurus had dozens of sharp, serrated teeth and arms with long claws, longer than a T-rex's. It lived between 155.7 and 150.8 million years ago in the late Jurassic period

THE ALLOSAURUS The Allosaurus lived between 155.7 and 150.8 million years ago in the late Jurassic period. Its name means 'different lizard' in Greek because its hollow vertebrae were considered distinct from other dinosaur species known at the time of first discovery in 1877. Allosaurus was a massive carnivore, rivalling T-rex in stature. The largest ever found measured 43ft (13 metres) long and 16ft (5 metres) tall. Distinguishing features included a disproportionately large head, small horns above the eyes and facial ridges. It had dozens of sharp, serrated teeth and arms with long claws, longer than a T-rex's. The dinosaur hunted large herbivores and fossil evidence shows it clashed with Stegosaurus. Advertisement

The study reveals the small bone fragments were created during drought periods by weathering and erosion of bones disintegrating at the surface.

During flood periods, however, the carcasses of Allosaurus and other dinosaurs washed in and rotted in a small pond.

Using chemical analyses and studies of microscopic bone fragments researchers found dinosaur bones found themselves in the deposit after they had died.

This also explains why there are no pond fossils at the site and almost no gnaw marks on bones excavated from the quarry.

Using x-ray fluorescence of sediments in the pit researchers found it had 'an ephemeral environment dominated by periods of hypereutrophic conditions during bone accumulation'.

Rather than dying in the deposit, researchers found 'vertebrate remains were introduced post-mortem to an ephemeral pond during flood conditions'.

The Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry (pictured) is the densest collection of Jurassic dinosaur fossils and is dominated by one famous predatory dinosaur Allosaurus which was one of the largest dinosaurs of the late Jurassic period

Since the discovery of the CLDQ in the 1920s numerous hypotheses have been proposed to explain the origins of the quarry - from a mass poisoning to a drought to them being trapped in thick mud

CLEVELAND-LLOYD DINOSAUR QUARRY The Cleveland-Lloyd Dinosaur Quarry (CLDQ) is the densest collection of Jurassic dinosaur fossils and is dominated by one famous predatory dinosaur Allosaurus which was one of the largest dinosaurs of the late Jurassic period. Since its discovery in the 1920s numerous hypotheses have been proposed to explain the origins of the quarry - from a mass poisoning to a drought to them being trapped in thick mud. The quarry is famous for its abundance of dinosaur bones - including 70 different individuals that represents a mimimum of nine genera. Since the discovery of the pitt in 1927 nearly 10,000 bones have been collected. First excavations were carried out in 1929 when 1,000 bones were collected by the University of Utah. Advertisement

The Allosaurus lived between 155.7 and 150.8 million years ago in the late Jurassic period.

Its name means 'different lizard' in Greek because its hollow vertebrae were considered distinct from other dinosaur species known at the time of first discovery in 1877.

Distinguishing features included a disproportionately large head, small horns above the eyes and facial ridges.

It had dozens of sharp, serrated teeth and arms with long claws, longer than a T-rex's.

The dinosaur hunted large herbivores and fossil evidence shows it clashed with Stegosaurus.

'These new data help to support the inferred depositional environment of the quarry as an ephemeral pond, and represent a significant step in understanding the taphonomy of the bonebed and Late Jurassic paleoecology in this region', researchers said.
A computer controlled pod has entered the race to solve the problem of automated package delivery.

Kar-go is the brainchild of a British entrepreneur whose creation could take on rival efforts from a number of multinational firms to make robotic delivery a reality.

The autonomous vehicle could drastically reduce shipping fees by removing 90 per cent of the costs associated with the last mile of a delivery.

Kar-go the robotic pod (artist's impression pictured) could soon be delivering packages direct to your front door, if the startup firm behind its creation can find funding to create a fleet of the vehicle

HOW DOES IT WORK? Kar-Go uses state of the art artificial intelligence software to detect and manoeuvre around hazards. Within the vehicle's body is a system of compartments which contain packages belonging to different customers. As the vehicle arrives at each delivery address, the system automatically selects the package belonging to the corresponding customer for delivery. The package is then released through an opening in the rear of the vehicle for collection by the customer. Kar-Go's team and lead scientist will demonstrate the prototype autonomous vehicle in London on June 14. Advertisement

Kar-Go is designed to drive on unmarked roads, including streets and pavements in residential areas.

It uses a combination of advanced robotics and driverless vehicle technology to navigate.

The Guildford-based startup behind the plans, The Academy of Robotics, has already gained permission from the UK government to test out a prototype of the vehicle on public roads.

And the company is working with specialist car manufacturer Pilgrim, based near Brighton, to create a fleet of the vehicles in the near future.

They hope to make their first commercial delivery through a well-known courier service using Kar-go later this year.

The firm was set up by William Sachiti whose last business venture, digital concierge service MyCityVenue, attracted 1.6 million users before being sold to SecretEscapes.

After selling the company, he decided to study robotics at Aberystwyth University, who provided the initial 10,000 grant to get the project started.

About Kar-Go Mr Sachiti said: 'We can now modify vehicles by adding our driverless car sensors, AI software and our package management system.

'So far, we have a working prototype robot which can drive itself on unmarked roads and pavements between any two locations.

'We are also simultaneously working with Pilgrim to create our street legal versions.'

Kar-Go uses state of the art artificial intelligence software to detect and manoeuvre around hazards.

Within the vehicle's body is a system of compartments which contain packages belonging to different customers.

Within Kar-Go is a system of compartments (pictured) which contain packages belonging to different customers. As the vehicle arrives at each delivery address, the system automatically selects the package belonging to the corresponding customer

The Academy of Robotics, has already gained permission from the UK government to test out a prototype of the vehicle (pictured) on public roads. And the company is working with specialist car manufacturer Pilgrim to create a fleet of the vehicles in the near future

As the vehicle arrives at each delivery address, the system automatically selects the package belonging to the corresponding customer.

The package is then released through an opening in the rear of the vehicle.

Kar-Go's team and lead scientist will demonstrate the prototype autonomous vehicle in London on June 14.

And a Crowdcube crowd funding campaign will also be launched at the event.
A fireball which lit up the sky when it plunged to Earth was caught on camera above the English Channel.

Filmed off the coast of Dawlish in Devon by a webcam, the burning meteor appears to burn up in the sky before disappearing.

More than 50 people reported seeing the flaming ball - which appeared brighter than the moon - from Surrey, Guernsey and even Rennes in northern France as it rocketed down to Earth on Friday night.

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Just before midnight on Friday night the Bolide fireball was spotted by a camera that points out to sea in Dawlish in Devon

WHAT ARE FIREBALLS? A fireball is another term for a bright meteor. They are small bodies of matter from space that burn up as a result of friction in Earth's atmosphere. A Bolide fireball is one which explodes with a bright flash at the end - even showing visible fragmentation. Several thousand fireballs happen in the Earth's atmosphere daily. Many of these happen during the day or over oceans which means they go unnoticed. Sometimes they have trains and smoke trails beyond them which are ionzied air molecules left behind after the meteor has passed. Although they may look terrifying, fireballs can never hit Earth - they burn up at 9 -12 miles (15 - 20km) high. Advertisement

Dr Robert Massey deputy executive director of the Royal Astronomical Society said it was an impressive sight and almost certainly a bright meteor burning up in the Earth's atmosphere.

'It just shows that a lot of astronomy can be enjoyed without any special equipment at all,' he said.

The operators of the Dawlish Beach Cam reported the sighting to the UK Meteor Network.

'This particular type is known as a Bolide fireball which means that it is brighter than the moon' a spokesperson for Dawlish Beach Cam said.

A fireball is another term for a bright meteor.

They are small bodies of matter from space that enter Earth's atmosphere and becoming bright as a result of friction.

A Bolide fireball is one which explodes with a bright flash at the end - even showing visible fragmentation.

'The team are still collating information on this particular event but they do have some other footage and the trajectory they believe the fireball took', the spokesperson for Dawlish Beach Cam said.

'Our footage does disagree with the information though as it would have appeared from left to right from their suggestion.

'Normally they try to triangulate the positions from a minimum of three stations and so our footage has been of great use', he said.

Several thousand fireballs happen in the Earth's atmosphere daily.

Many of these happen during the day or over oceans which means they go unnoticed.

More than 50 people reported seeing the flaming ball from Surrey, Gurensey and even Rennes in northern France

A fireball is another term for a bright meteor. They are small bodies of matter from space that enter Earth's atmosphere and becoming bright as a result of friction

Sometimes they have trains and smoke trails beyond them which are ionised air molecules left behind after the meteor has passed.

Although they may look terrifying, fireballs can never hit Earth - they burn up at between 9 -12 miles (15 - 20km) high.

'If you are interested in reporting incidents or even hosting a camera to track these events, the team would love to hear from you', the spokesperson said.

A Bolide fireball is one which explodes with a bright flash at the end - even showing visible fragmentation. Several thousand fireballs happen in the Earth's atmosphere daily

The fireball was spotted at the seaside town Dawlish (pictured). Although they may look terrifying, fireballs can never hit Earth - they burn up at between 9 -12 miles (15 - 20km) high

'Of course, if you are watching on Dawlish Beach and spot anything then please do report it to us so we can share the footage.'

In a write up of the report received on the UK Meteor Network's website they wrote: 'We started receiving fireball reports just minutes after midnight.

'It appears to be very bright meteor/fireball lasting few seconds and been spotted from Nottingham to Guernsey but as far as French Lorient and Rennes', they said.
Women cope better with 'graveyard' shifts because they are more supportive of one another at work, experts claim.

New research found that men working nights were twice as likely to feel tired as those working during the day - putting them at increased risk of injury and mistakes.

But the same effect was not seen among females, whose stress levels remained the same whatever their working pattern.

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Women cope better with 'graveyard' shifts because they are more supportive of one another, experts claim. Research found that men working nights are twice as likely to feel tired as those working during the day - putting them at increased risk of injury and mistakes (stock image)

HOW TO COMBAT SHIFTWORK FATIGUE The strenuous hours of shiftwork can have a range of negative health effects, including disruption of the circadian regulation system. The researchers say that their study highlights the importance of sleep hygiene to those working nights. Good sleep hygiene practices include limiting daytime naps to 30 minutes. Napping does not make up for inadequate nighttime sleep, but a short nap can help to improve mood, alertness and performance. Avoiding stimulants such as caffeine and nicotine close to bedtime is also advised. Light therapy may help shift workers adjust to irregular schedules. It involves sitting near a light box for a prescribed amount of time. Advertisement

The study, from researchers at the University at Buffalo, looked at the stress levels of male and female police officers.

Epidemiologist and study lead author Professor John Violanti said: 'Female officers appear to use more effective types of coping with the stress and fatigue of shift work.

'Previous research shows women are more likely than men to be supportive of each other to help protect against the stress of shift work.'

It is also believed the female hormone oestrogen blocks the negative effects of stress on the brain.

Afternoon shifts, which typically go from 4pm to 2am, are the busiest for officers because of rush hour jams, accidents, domestic disputes, assaults and murders.

Professor Violanti, who served with the New York State Police for more than two decades before moving into academia, said: 'Officers who work the afternoon shift are more likely to be fatigued, which puts them at greater risk for accidents, errors and stress.'

The findings were part of his ongoing Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Occupational Police Stress (BCOPS) study.

The research includes occupational related data on more than 300 members of the Buffalo Police Department.

The new study's findings and were based on shiftwork and fatigue data for 308 officers, 78 of whom were women.

The BCOPS study includes a 15 year work history database that contains a daily account of start times and hours worked for the participating officers.

Researchers measured fatigue using a questionnaire which asked officers how often they felt tired.

The study, from researchers at the University at Buffalo, looked at the stress levels of male and female police officers doing shiftwork. They found that women's stress levels remained the same whatever their working pattern (stock image)

Of the participants, 116 - more than a third - responded 'somewhat' to 'very much'.

Professor Violanti said the results showed working the afternoon shift was associated with a two-fold higher prevalence of fatigue compared to those working the day shift - but only among the male officers.

He said: 'Our inquiry was based on fatigue at work only focusing on fatigue involving physical, mental and emotional tiredness.

'It may be possible other factors are involved in fatigue at work due to lack of proper sleep and increased activities and responsibilities outside of work.'

But Professor Violanti said this particular study did not explore these possibilities.

He said it was interesting his researchers did not observe a significant relationship between shift work and fatigue among the 78 women officers in the study.

Professor Violanti said examining fatigue among shift working professionals is important because the strenuous hours can have a range of negative health effects, including disruption of the circadian regulation system.

He added: 'Our research demonstrates a need for sleep intervention into police fatigue, including educating officers and police departments on sleep hygiene, possible use of caffeine, controlled napping and light therapy.'

Good sleep hygiene practices include limiting daytime naps to 30 minutes.

Napping does not make up for inadequate nighttime sleep but a short nap can help to improve mood, alertness and performance.

Avoiding stimulants such as caffeine and nicotine close to bedtime is also advised.

Light therapy may help shift workers adjust to irregular schedules. It involves sitting near a light box for a prescribed amount of time.
A team of excavators in Bulgaria has resumed a search for fossils of an ape-like creature which may be the oldest-known direct ancestor of man and whose discovery has challenged the central hypothesis that humankind originated in Africa.

The Graecopithecus freybergi, who lived 7.2 million years ago, is known only from a lower jawbone, unearthed in 1944 in Greece, and an isolated tooth, found in 2009 near the Bulgarian town of Chirpan, where excavations have now restarted.

'It would be great to find a whole skeleton but a thigh would also help us a lot,' Professor Nikolai Spassov, head of Bulgaria's National Museum of Natural History, told Reuters.

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Researchers have analysed two known specimens of the fossil hominid Graecopithecus freybergi - a lower jaw from Pyrgos Vassilissis, Greece (pictured), and an upper premolar from Azmaka, Bulgaria. They believe the fossils belonged to pre-humans

WHERE DID HUMANS ORIGINATE? For decades, scientists have thought that humans originated in Africa. Modern humans (Homo sapiens) likely split from an apelike ancestor in east Africa around 200,000 years ago, the theory suggests. These early humans colonised the planet by spreading out of Africa around 50,000 years ago. The theory is popular because almost all of the fossils of early humans who lived between 6 and 2 million years ago come from Africa. But new studies analysing 7.2 million-year-old teeth found in Greece and Bulgaria suggest that the animals were pre-human ancestors. This means that modern humans could have originated in the Mediterranean and not Africa. Advertisement

The scientific consensus long has been that humanity's ape-like ancestors, known as hominins, originated in Africa. Until now, the oldest-known hominin was Sahelanthropus, which lived 6-7 million years ago in Chad. [

But Spassov hopes new fossils will back up the theory that hominins originated in the Eastern Mediterranean.

'They have most probably migrated to Africa due to climate change,' he said.

Surrounded by dangerous predators in a savannah-type environment, life would have been hard for a Graecopithecus freybergi.

A male would have weighed around 40 kg and a female around 30 kg, Spassov said.

Scientists in Greece are also expected to resume the search for remains of the hominin, and excavation work will begin in neighboring Macedonia in September.

Chimpanzees are humans' nearest living relatives, but where the last chimp-human common ancestor lived has been debated for years by anthropologists.

Researchers in the Balkans have now discovered 7.2 million-year-old fossils, which they believe belonged to pre-humans.

The findings suggest that the split of the human lineage occurred in the Eastern Mediterranean and not - as customarily assumed - in Africa.

Until now, researchers have assumed that the lineages between great apes and humans diverged five to seven million years ago and that the first pre-humans developed in Africa.

But two studies by an international team of researchers led by the University of Toronto outline a new scenario for the beginning of human history.

The team analysed two known specimens of the fossil hominid Graecopithecus freybergi - a lower jaw from Pyrgos Vassilissis, Greece and an upper premolar from Azmaka, Bulgaria.

Using computer scanning, they were able to visualise the internal structures of the fossils and demonstrated that the roots of premolars are widely fused.

Professor Madelaine Bohme, who led the study, said: 'While great apes typically have two or three separate and diverging roots, the roots of Graecopithecus converge and are partially fused - a feature that is characteristic of modern humans, early humans and several pre-humans including Ardipithecus and Australopithecus.'

Using computer scanning, the researchers were able to visualise the internal structures of the fossils and demonstrated that the roots of premolars (pictured) are widely fused

WAS EUROPE ONCE A SAVANNAH? Before the development of the Sahara in North Africa, the researchers believe that Europe was a vast savannah. The researchers studied microscopic fragments of charcoal and plant particles, called phytoliths. Many of the phytoliths studied were found to derive from tropical grasslands and savannahs. The study marks the first time that such grasses have been discovered in Europe. Professor Nikolai Spassov, who also worked on the study, said: 'In summary, we reconstruct a savannah, which fits with the giraffes, gazelles, antelopes, and rhinoceroses that were found together with Graecopithecus.' Advertisement

The lower jaw, which the scientists have nicknamed 'El Graeco', has additional dental root features, suggesting that the Graecopithecus freybergi might belong to the pre-human lineage.

Mr Jochen Fuss, who also worked on the study, said: 'We were surprised by our results, as pre-humans were previously known only from sub-Saharan Africa.'

An analysis showed that the Graecopithecus fossils were 7.24 and 7.175 million years old  several hundred thousand years older than the oldest potential pre-human from Africa, the six to seven million year old Sahelanthropus from Chad.

Professor David Begun, co-author of the study, added: 'This dating allows us to move the human-chimpanzee split into the Mediterranean area.'

The researchers believe that the evolution of pre-humans may have been driven by dramatic environmental changes.

The lower jaw was discovered in Pyrgos Vassilissis, Greece while the upper premolar came from Azmaka, Bulgaria

An analysis showed that the Graecopithecus fossils were 7.24 and 7.175 million years old  several hundred thousand years older than the oldest potential pre-human from Africa, the six to seven million year old Sahelanthropus (artist's impression pictured) from Chad

WAS THE ORIGIN OF MAN MULTI-REGIONAL? One theory on the origin of man suggests that modern humans developed in multiple regions around the world. The theory claims that groups of a pre-human ancestor made their way out of Africa and spread across parts of Europe and the Middle East. From here the species developed into modern humans in several places at once. According to the multi-regional theory, different races arose in different regions as a result of natural selection as these populations evolved into modern humans. The argument is supported by fossil evidence of early and pre-human ancestors found across Europe and the Middle East over the past 100 years. But some scientists question whether these bones belonged to true pre-human ancestors or just early humans that had travelled from Africa. The two new teeth studies add fresh evidence to the multi-regional theory. Advertisement

Based on geological analyses of the sediments in which the two fossils were found, the researchers found that the North African Sahara desert originated more than seven million years ago.

Although geographically distant from the Sahara, an analysis of uranium, thorium, and lead isotopes in individual dust particles showed an age between 0.6 and three billion years and suggests an origin in Northern Africa.

The dusty sediment also had a high content of different salts.

The researchers said: 'These data document for the first time a spreading Sahara 7.2 million years ago, whose desert storms transported red, salty dusts to the north coast of the Mediterranean Sea in its then form.'

Researchers believe that Europe was once a savannah, which fits with the giraffes, gazelles, antelopes, and rhinoceroses that were found together with Graecopithecus

Based on geological analyses of the sediments (pictured) in which the two fossils were found, the researchers found that the North African Sahara desert originated more than seven million years ago

This graphic shows the sites around the world where the oldest human remains have been found

WAS EVOLUTION DRIVEN BY WEATHER CHANGES? The researchers believe that the evolution of pre-humans may have been driven by dramatic environmental changes. Based on analyses of the sediments in which the two fossils were found, the researchers found that the North African Sahara desert originated more than seven million years ago. Although geographically distant from the Sahara, an analysis of uranium, thorium, and lead isotopes in individual dust particles showed an age between 0.6 and three billion years and suggests an origin in Northern Africa. The dusty sediment also had a high content of different salts. The researchers said: 'These data document for the first time a spreading Sahara 7.2 million years ago, whose desert storms transported red, salty dusts to the north coast of the Mediterranean Sea in its then form.' Advertisement

Before the development of the Sahara in North Africa, the researchers believe that Europe was a vast savannah.

The researchers studied microscopic fragments of charcoal and plant particles, called phytoliths.

Many of the phytoliths studied were found to derive from tropical grasslands and savannahs.

The study marks the first time that such grasses have been discovered in Europe.

Professor Nikolai Spassov, who also worked on the study, said: 'In summary, we reconstruct a savannah, which fits with the giraffes, gazelles, antelopes, and rhinoceroses that were found together with Graecopithecus.'

Professor Bohme added: 'The incipient formation of a desert in North Africa more than seven million years ago and the spread of savannahs in Southern Europe may have played a central role in the splitting of the human and chimpanzee lineages.'

She calls this hypothesis the North Side Story, recalling the early thesis of French palaeoanthropologist, Yves Coppens, known as East Side Story.

Before the development of the Sahara in North Africa, the researchers believe that Europe was a vast savannah (stock image)
Elon Musks Space Exploration Technologies Corp will fly its first mission for the U.S. Air Force in August when it launches the militarys X-37B miniature spaceplane, Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said on Tuesday.

Four previous X-37B missions were launched by United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rockets.

'SpaceX will be sending the next Air Force payload up into space in August,' Wilson said during webcast testimony before the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee.

The reusable X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle (pictured) returned Sunday morning, concluding an almost two-year mission in orbit, according to the US Air Force

X-37B TEST SHUTTLE Contractor: Boeing Height: 9 feet 6 inches Length: 29 feet 3 inches Wingspan: 14 feet, 11 inches Weight: 11,000 pounds Power: Gallium Arsenide Solar Cells with Lithium-Ion batteries Launch Vehicle: Alliance Atlas V (501) Advertisement

She later specified that the payload would be one of the Air Forces two X-37B spaceplanes.

The Air Force did not immediately reply to a request for comment about when the contract with SpaceX was awarded, or if it had previously hired United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co, for the mission. Launch contracts are usually announced about two years before a flight.

SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell declined to comment. ULA could not immediately be reached for comment.

SpaceXs first publicly disclosed launch contract for the Air Force was awarded last year for a next-generation Global Positioning System satellite flight in 2018.

A second GPS launch contract was awarded in March. The contracts are valued at $83 million and $96.5 million, respectively.

In May 2016, the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office disclosed it had hired SpaceX to launch a spy satellite aboard a Falcon 9.

The mission, which was arranged through an intermediary, Ball Aerospace, took place last month.

Earlier this year the unmanned military space plane landed at Kennedy Space Center Sunday with a sonic boom concluding an almost two-year mission in orbit, according to the US Air Force.

The Air Force tweeted shortly after 8am that the vehicle had landed safely, marking the conclusion of its fourth classified mission, which lasted more than 700 days.

The Air Force tweeted shortly after 8am that the vehicle had landed safely, marking the conclusion of its fourth classified mission, which lasted more than 700 days

The unmanned X-37B, which resembles a mini space shuttle, landing on a runway used by the now-mothballed craft.

The Boeing-built space plane blasted off in May 2015 from nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station aboard an Atlas 5 rocket built by United Launch Alliance, a partnership between Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co.

The X-37B, one of two in the Air Force fleet, conducted unspecified experiments for more than 700 days while in orbit. It was the fourth and lengthiest mission so far for the secretive program, managed by the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office.

The Air Force said the orbiters 'perform risk reduction, experimentation and concept-of-operations development for reusable space vehicle technologies.'

THE X-37B MYSTERY The U.S. Air Force's unmanned X-37B space plane has flown three previous secret missions to date. Each time it has carried a mystery payload on long-duration flights in Earth orbit. The spacecraft looks similar to Nasa's space shuttle but is much smaller. The X-37B is about 29ft (8.8m) long and 9.5ft (2.9 m) tall. It has a wingspan of just less than 15ft (4.6 m). At launch, it weighs 11,000lbs (4,990kg). Like a shuttle, X-37B is blasted into orbit by a rocket. However, it lands using a runway like a normal aircraft. The X-37B is too small to carry people onboard, but does have a cargo bay similar to that of a pickup truck, which is just large enough to carry a small satellite The craft is taken into orbit on a rocket but lands like the space shuttle by gliding down to Earth. While its main mission payload is a mystery, Nasa has revealed it has a materials experiment aboard. The Planetary Society is tagging along with a solar-sail demo. Ten CubeSat nanosatellites are also taking a piggyback ride into orbit. Advertisement

However, the exact nature of the mission and its cost is classified.

The Secure World Foundation, a nonprofit group promoting the peaceful exploration of space, says the secrecy surrounding the X-37B suggests the presence of intelligence-related hardware being tested or evaluated aboard the craft.

The vehicles are 29 feet long and have a wingspan of 15 feet, making them about one quarter of the size of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's now-retired space shuttles.

The X-37B, also known as Orbital Test Vehicle, or OTV, first flew in April 2010 and returned after eight months. A second mission launched in March 2011 and lasted 15 months, while a third took flight in December 2012 and returned after 22 months.

Sunday's landing was the X-37B's first in Florida. The three previous landings took place at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

The Air Force relocated the program in 2014, taking over two of NASA's former shuttle-processing hangars.

The Air Force intends to launch the fifth X-37B mission from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, located just south of the Kennedy Space Center, later this year.

Air Force officials have called the X-37B program 'the newest and most advanced re-entry spacecraft.' The program is managed by the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office

When the plane landed Sunday morning the sonic boom could be heard throughout Central Florida, and some Brevard County residents likely heard them before it even touched down at the Shuttle Landing Facility.

Air Force officials said that several technologies are being tested in the program.

'The primary objectives of the X-37B are twofold; reusable spacecraft technologies for America's future in space and operating experiments which can be returned to, and examined, on Earth,' an official said, according to Click Orlando.

Officials also explained that the X-37B is the first vehicle of its kind able to return experiments to Earth for further inspection and analysis. It is the first with this capability since NASA's Shuttle Orbiter.

The X-37B is able to stay in space longer because of its minimum on-orbit time of 270 days, officials said.

When the plane landed Sunday morning at the Kennedy Space Center (pictured) the sonic boom could be heard throughout Central Florida, and some Brevard County residents likely heard them before it even touched down at the Shuttle Landing Facility

According to the Air Force, this is the fourth successful mission for the project, with the first three landing at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

In total, the two craft have spent a total of 2,085 days in orbit.
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The terrifying faces may look like creatures from a horror movie, but these digital images were actually generated by artificial intelligence (AI).

Pix2pix project has unleashed a new tool that analyzes portraits and fills them in with colors and textures using a technique called generative adversarial networks (GANs).

During the process, the system determines if its result match the sketch and will keep repeating the generation process until its own passes as 'real'  regardless of how nightmarish the results may look.

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The terrifying faces may look like creatures from a horror movie, but these digital images were actually generated by artificial intelligence (AI). Pix2pix project has unleashed a new tool that analyzes portraits and fills them in with colors and textures using a technique called generative adversarial networks (GANs)

HOW DOES IT WORK? Users are presented with an input box and an output box and are prompted to draw a face in input, select process and in seconds, the AI will reveal its version of the sketch. Pix2pix used GANs to train its algorithm, which is a method to help the technology work towards a solution to a problem by judging how accurate its results are and the repeating them until they are correct. One component of the AI is drawing, while the other determines whether the result is deemed 'real' or 'fake' and if fake, the sketching factor keeps adding until it gets it right. Advertisement

The tool, which was designed by Dutch Public Broadcaster NPO, was fed thousands of images of one of its anchors, Lara Rense.

Users are presented with an input box and an output box on the website.

They are then prompted to draw a face in input, select process and in seconds, the AI will reveal its version of the sketch.

And although the original may not have been anything to look at, the AI's result seems to be a thing of nightmares.

However, many AI systems have attempted to create their own art and it seems they have all had the same results.

MotherBoard explained that this is because machine learning was designed to classifying existing image, not make new ones.

But it seems, according to the popular Tumblr prostheticknowledge, the tool does work if you are able to draw a flawless image in the input box.

Pix2pix used GANs to train its algorithm, which is a method to help the technology work towards a solution to a problem by judging how accurate its results are and the repeating them until they are correct.

One component of the AI is drawing, while the other determines whether the result is deemed 'real' or 'fake' and if fake, the sketching factor keeps adding until it gets it right.

Another AI has also dreamed up its own nightmare that included Bob Ross as a monster-faced figure.

An engineer filtered an episode of Ross's PBS television show 'The Joy of Painting' through the artificial neural network DeepDream, which can 'see' objects and animals that are not really there.

The tool, which was designed by Dutch Public Broadcaster NPO, was fed thousands of images of one of its anchors, Lara Rense (pictured). And it seems the tool does work if you are able to draw a flawless image in the input box

Users are presented with an input box and an output box on the website. They are then prompted to draw a face in input, select process and in seconds, the AI will reveal its version of the sketch

The video shows a segment with Ross painting his iconic happy trees, but instead of seeing fluffy green bushels, viewers are presented with bug-eyed creatures on the canvas.

The latest DeepDream project was created by Alexander Reben, who is an artist an engineer.

Reben shared his nightmarish masterpiece on Vimeo, which he called 'Deep Artificial Trees'.

Pix2pix used GANs to train its algorithm, which is a method to help the technology work towards a solution to a problem by judging how accurate its results are and the repeating them until they are correct

One component of the AI is drawing, while the other determines whether the result is deemed 'real' or 'fake' and if fake, the sketching factor keeps adding until it gets it right

'This artwork represents what it would be like for an AI to watch Bob Ross on LSD (once someone invents digital drugs),' Reben explained in the video's description.

'It shows some of the unreasonable effectiveness and strange inner workings of deep learning systems.'

'The unique characteristics of the human voice are learned and generated as well as hallucinations of a system trying to find images which are not there.'

Basically the AI know it must continue adding colors and textures to the image until its 'fake' image has passed as 'real', which is why the digital faces look like a nightmare

DeepDream was originally developed to give scientists and engineers a peek into what a deep neural network is seeing when it looks at an image.

However, it later become used to create bizarre, nightmare-like psychedelic and abstract art.

The tool was built by Realmac Software based in Brighton and is only available for Mac users.

'Artificial Neural Networks have spurred remarkable recent progress in image classification and speech recognition,' wrote Alexander Mordvintsev, Christopher Olah and Mike Tyka of Google's AI team.

Another AI has also dreamed up its own nightmare that included Bob Ross as a monster-faced figure. An engineer filtered an episode of Ross's PBS television show 'The Joy of Painting' through the artificial neural network DeepDream, which can 'see' objects and animals that are not really there

DeepDream was originally developed to give scientists and engineers a peek into what a deep neural network is seeing when it looks at an image. However, it later become used to create bizarre, nightmare-like psychedelic and abstract art - like what was created using Bob Ross's tv show

'But even though these are very useful tools based on well-known mathematical methods, we actually understand surprisingly little of why certain models work and others don't.'

Google trained an artificial neural network by showing it millions of training examples and gradually adjusting the network parameters until it gives the classifications the team want.

The network typically consists of 10 to 30 stacked layers of artificial neurons and each image is fed into the input layer, which then talks to the next layer, until eventually the 'output' layer is reached.

The video shows a segment with Ross painting his iconic happy trees, but instead of seeing fluffy green bushels, viewers are presented with bug-eyed creatures on the canvas (pictured)

Then the clip takes viewers to a farm where he pets what is supposed to be cute animals, but instead of a fluffy gerbil in his hands, it appears as if he is holding a creature that morphs from a monkey, to a lizard, to an eight-legged spider. Google trained an artificial neural network by showing it millions of training examples

And the network's 'answer' comes from this final output layer. In doing this, the software builds up an idea of what it thinks an object looked like.

The five and a half minute clip of Ross's PBS show is anything but fun and happy trees.

Ross is standing in front of the canvas, but the neural network has transformed him into a creature of different animal heads.

And his paintings become more bizarre as the clip rolls on. Instead of a scenic view of the mountains, lizards, bugs and other animals fill the canvas

Then the clip takes viewers to a farm where he pets what is supposed to be cute animals, but instead of a fluffy gerbil in his hands, it appears as if he is holding a creature that morphs from a monkey, to a lizard, to an eight-legged spider.

And his paintings become more bizarre as the clip rolls on.

Instead of a scenic view of the mountains, lizards, bugs and other animals fill the canvas.

MIT researcher have created their own nightmare machine and turned famous landmarks appear like something out of a horror film.

The algorithm created by the team is making photographs of famous landmarks appear like something out of a horror film.

'We use state-of-the-art deep learning algorithms to learn how haunted houses, or toxic cities look like,' the researchers said.

'Then, we apply the learnt style to famous landmarks and present you: AI-powered horror all over the world!'

Interested viewers can help MIT find the essence of horror on the website , or look at more of the pictures the Nightmare Machine has generated on Instagram .
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The gentle grace of the mysterious humpback whale is captured in a mesmerising new photo series.

Jem Cresswell spent three years following the marine mammals during their annual migration to Vavaa island in the Tonga to get the close-up shots.

One image shows a humpback gliding towards the camera with barnacles on its underside. Another shows a mother and calf hanging close to the surface side-by-side. Some of the aquatic giants feature scratches on their ridged skin from underwater tussles or encounters with boats.

Cresswell, who is based in Sydney, told MailOnline Travel that he was 'initially drawn to the whales gentle nature, sheer size and the feeling of insignificance in their presence'.

As he became increasingly familiar with their behaviour, Cresswell set out to document the humpbacks in a more intimate way, taking portraits from a just several feet away. During three expeditions he took more than 10,000 photos.

Limited edition prints from Cresswell's series Giants are currently available to purchase via the Michael Reid Sydney Gallery. He said he chose to shoot in black and white to give the photos a timeless quality 'representing how long these creatures have been around for'.

Looking up from below: The gentle grace of the mysterious humpback whale is captured in a mesmerising new photo series

Stop motion: Jem Cresswell spent three years following the marine mammals during their annual migration to Vavaa island in the Tonga to get the close-up shots

In the eye of the beholder: One image shows a humpback gliding towards the camera with barnacles on its underside

Up close and personal: Cresswell, who is based in Sydney, told MailOnline Travel that he was 'initially drawn to the whales gentle nature, sheer size and the feeling of insignificance in their presence'

Playing up to the camera: As he became increasingly familiar with their behaviour, Cresswell set out to document the humpbacks in a more intimate way, taking portraits from only a few feet away

Source of inspiration: During three expeditions, Cresswell took more than 10,000 photos and had to be stringent about the selection process

A family affair: This beautiful shot shows a mother and calf gliding under the water's surface side-by-side

Up for grabs: Limited edition prints from Cresswell's series Giants are currently available to purchase via the Michael Reid Sydney Gallery. He said he chose to shoot in black and white to give the photos a timeless quality 'representing how long these creatures have been around for'
She is just weeks away from giving birth to the first Made In Chelsea baby with her long-term beau Josh 'JP' Patterson.

But Binky Felstead, 26, has hinted Louise Thompson, 27, is in fierce competition with her to get engaged first, to boyfriend Ryan Libbey, 26.

Describing the race, she told OK! magazine: 'There's definitely no competition from my side.'

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'There's no competition on my side': Made In Chelsea's pregnant Binky Felstead hinted Louise Thompson is racing to get engaged first

With Sam Thompson and Tiffany Watson taking a break from their relationship for the summer, Binky and Louise are in the most serious romances on the E4 show.

Nevertheless, Binky insists she is satisfied with taking such a momentous step in welcoming her first.

Giving her opinion on getting engaged, she added: I think having a baby is pretty big compared to that.

Head-over-heels: Louise and Ryan have been going strong since they began dating last summer after she split from her ex

Offspring: But Binky beat the fitness fanatic to getting pregnant first as she is weeks away from expecting her baby with her beau Josh 'JP' Patterson

'Its the biggest commitment there is. I dont really see my relationship being in comparison to anyone elses.'

In recent months, Binky and JP have been rekindling their romance after they announced they were back together.

At the time, they insisted that they were not item 'because' of the baby but instead that the news had brought them closer.

Hurdles: Their union wasn't without it's hurdles - with a reluctant JP unsure of how serious he wanted to get with Binky at first

The end of an era: Binky announced she is leaving Made in Chelsea after six 'magical' years, as she prepares to welcome her first child

The full interview appears in this week's issue of OK magazine, on sale Tuesday 6 June

Now she describes the relationship as 'serious' and reveals plans to take things up a notch by moving in together.

She told the publication: 'We don't live together but we're going to eventually.

'Im staying with friends as my house is being renovated, so we dont actually have a house to live in at the moment!

'It needs to be finished soon, otherwise Im going to have a proper panic attack.

Meanwhile, Louise and Ryan began dating last summer just months after she split from long-term ex Alik Alfus in May.

In the latest series of the E4 program, she recalled the moment she thought Ryan was going to pop the question while they were on a romantic getaway to Paris.

It's a girl: The still-untitled series will follow Binky and JP as they become parents for the first time, to their daughter

Meanwhile! Louise and Ryan have been getting cosy as the social media savvy star has been flooding her Instagram with loved-up pictures of the duo on holiday

Louise told her Chelsea pals how she discovered an empty ring box among his belongings in the hotel room.

Naturally, her friends asked her what she would have said if he had indeed decided to ask for her hand in marriage.

The fitness queen told them she would have said 'yes' as long as he didn't ask in front of loads of people because she's a 'control freak'.

The full interview appears in this week's issue of OK magazine, on sale Tuesday 6 June.
She was left red-faced last week when her radio co-host Kyle Sandilands blurted out her awkward childhood secret live on-air.

And on Tuesday, Jackie 'O' Henderson was again feeling uncomfortable during a candid chat on The Kyle and Jackie O show - this time about her mothering skills.

Radio shock jock Kyle jokingly accused the veteran radio host of starving her six-year-old daughter Catalina 'Kitty' Mae, after the youngster was heard crying out for food in an audio clip.

Not impressed: Kyle Sandilands jokingly accused his co-host Jackie 'O' Henderson of starving her six-year-old daughter Kitty

'The poor kid's starving!' Kyle said after the clip aired.

'How can you have that cute child laying there making the sounds of a Seal... she's obviously very distressed... the kid's desperate for food.'

Kyle's criticism began after hearing Jackie attempt to read a book to Kitty before bed.

Exaggerating: Jackie insisted the audio of Kitty crying for food sounded 'worse' than it was

Hunger pains? The young schoolgirl could be heard letting out a high-pitched scream that Kyle later likened to the sound of a Seal

The youngster could be heard letting out a high-pitched scream that Kyle later likened to the sound of a Seal.

'C'mon, Kitty, that's an annoying noise,' Jackie could be heard saying, to which Kitty replied: 'If you give me food I'll stop doing this noise.'

Jackie continued reading: 'There was a frantic scurry... Kitty I mean it.'

Happy family: Jackie shares daughter Kitty with husband Lee Henderson (pictured)

'Mum I'm actually that hungry ... I'm starving!' the youngster complained.

Jackie said firmly: 'Well you had the chance to eat your dinner and you didn't. C'mon you can eat in the morning.'

Muffled crying could then be heard, however the radio star insisted on-air: 'It sounds way worse than what it actually is.'

'Jackie, she used to do things with her cousins': KIIS FM's Kyle blurted out Jackie 'O' Henderson's childhood secret live on air this Thursday

'Listen they don't eat their dinner. You spend all this time making this healthy meal and they eat two bites then want dessert,' Jackie explained, adding: 'you have to teach a lesson, if you don't eat your dinner you go to bed hungry.'

Jackie's mothering is just the latest thing drawing criticism from Kyle recently.

Last week, he blurted out her childhood secret live on-air.

Former flame: Not much is known about Jackie's past boyfriends, however the personality did reveal in January last year that she dated a drug dealer

'Jackie, she used to do things with her cousins. Jackie and her cousins would kiss in Tasmania!' Kyle told Debbie, attempting to play down the bizarre nature of his own actions.

'Yeah, once,' Jackie mumbled as Kyle hooted with laughter.

Not much is known about Jackie's past boyfriends, however the personality did reveal in January last year that she dated a drug dealer.

Scandalous: Naturally it didn't take long for co-host Kyle to chime in, playfully teasing: '[He was] selling bags of weed out the back.' While Guy added: 'Such class'

The blonde mentioned her shady ex during a competition with Kyle and guest Guy Sebastian, to establish who had dated the most 'Bogan' people in their past.

'Drug dealer on the Gold Coast, drove a Kombi van...hello,' Jackie giggled, much to Kyle and Guy's delight.

Naturally it didn't take long for co-host Kyle to chime in, playfully teasing: '[He was] selling bags of weed out the back.' While Guy added: 'Such class.'

She has also previously admitted to having a threesome in the years before she was married to her husband Lee Henderson.

During a segment on the Kyle And Jackie O Show in 2014, Jackie confessed: 'I've had one', explaining hers was with another woman and a man, who was not her husband.

'It was a pretty long time ago,' she assured fans.
When the benediction is offered at the conclusion of a church service, it can be easy to nod in agreement even as we neglect or forget the actual implications for everyday life. As we exit the walls of the local church and engage with the rest of the world  economically, socially, or otherwise  how do we shine our light with both love and distinction?

In a recent lecture at the Oikonomia Networks Karam Forum, Vincent Bacote encourages us to reflect on what discipleship ought to look like in a diverse and pluralistic society.

Each week, most church members work and play among people with competing conceptions of truth, goodness, beauty, and justice, he says. The benediction sends people who believe that Christ has come, died, risen, and will come again, into engagement with a complex, diverse society, and that engagement is their true and full discipleship. But how should they engage?

Channeling similar themes as Actons For the Life of the World: Letters to the Exiles, Bacote argues that the church ought to engage the world with imagination, hospitality, and hope.

1. Revive Imagination

Many Christians live in an imagination desert, unable to connect faith and vocationWe need to help them see that imagination is the friend of truth, to imagine is to work with truth, to envision various ways Gods truth can appear in our workplaces. The faith-and-work movement emphasizes the first Great Commission, the one we see in Genesis 1:28 and Psalm 8, where we learn that humans are created in the divine image and charged by God to be caring, winsome stewards of the world, especially in the work place Inhabitants of the imagination desert make little of the world. Perhaps content with receiving Gods truth, but ignorant or confused about how Gods truth connects to the rest of life. Culture makers work with truth, figuring out and imagining how to make something of a pluralistic world.

2. Embrace Hospitality

While the faith-and-work movement and holistic discipleship tell us to dive into the world of work in the public square, that world out there can be a harsh environment for the expression of a vibrant faith. Returning fire, or huddling with our people and avoiding them, may seem to be the optimal strategy. Jesus gives us another path: The way of hospitality Dont let selective righteousness give you permission to take the path of the priest and the Levite. Who are the people out there on your pathways, waiting to be engaged with hospitality? Are you walking on by, or do you have a holy zeal for hospitality in our pluralistic world? People who believe that Christ has come and died and risen and will come again, they hear words of benediction each week  good words sending the people of God into a world with pluralistic pathways, full of Good Samaritan opportunities.

3. Engage with Hope

Christians ought not to despairOur faith calls us to hope, prompting us to carry hopefulness with us everywhereHope steers us through these challenging waters. 1 Peter 3:15 tells us to be ready to give an answer for the hope that is within us, especially in difficulty and hostility. Our hope is in Christs salvation, that reclaims Gods world, vanquishes sin and death, and gives meaning to our lives each day. Hope admits that circumstances arent always going to be in our favor, but it resists pressing the mute button.

Getting these three, distinct aspects right will transform our cultural influence, whether through our economic action, community involvement, or political witness.

Whether were building relationships with friends and neighbors, trying to start new businesses and pioneer new industries, or responding to various challenges to individual freedom and religious liberty, we can move forward boldly with imagination, hospitality, and hope.

For all our work in this world is made of stuff of the earth  our families, our labor, our governments and charities and schools and art forms  all of it takes place here below, but all of it is pointed toward heaven, says Evan Koons in For the Life of the World. Imagine if all of us offered our work for the good of the cities around us. How might we be able to change those cities? What would it look like if we only understood that our humble work is a heavenward offering? What would our city of exile look like then?
She was pictured soaking up the sun on a super-yacht in Monte Carlo last week.

But Winnie Harlow banished any trace of the holiday blues on Monday night with a spot of partying at the Wonderland Summer Issue dinner in London.

The 22-year-old model looked the height of sartorial elegance in an 80s-inspired silver miniskirt at the bash at The Ivy Soho Brasserie.

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Looking good: Winnie Harlow enjoyed a spot of partying at the Wonderland Summer Issue dinner in London on Monday night

Letting her statement skirt do all the talking, the rising star added a simple black poloneck to her ensemble.

She injected a dose of sparkle with a pair of gold triple-strap sandals and added an understated silver ring.

Styling her dark tresses in a gamine crop, the American beauty outlined her eyes with lashings of dramatic mascara.

Stylish: Letting her statement skirt do all the talking, the rising star added a simple black poloneck to her ensemble

Chic: The 22-year-old model looked the height of sartorial elegance in an 80s-inspired silver miniskirt at the bash at The Ivy Soho Brasserie. Pictured with Madison Beer

Ever the jet-setter, Winnie was trackside to cheer on her rumoured former flame Lewis Hamilton and the glitzy Monaco Grand Prix last week.

And just an hour after the Formula One race, stunning Winnie Harlow was on hand to console Lewis following his loss to Sebastian Vettel.

The model took Lewis' mind off the track with a very racy thong-style bikini as the pair partied on a super yacht in Monte Carlo with a bevy of models, including Bella Hadid and Barbara Palvin.

Model Winnie shot to fame after being discovered by Tyra Banks on America's Next Top Model.

Sultry: Styling her dark tresses in a gamine crop, the American beauty outlined her eyes with lashings of dramatic mascara

Keeping fashionable company: Winnie posed alongside Neelam Gill, Ray BLK and Madison Beer

Double trouble: Winnie also mingled with fellow model Leomie Anderson, who wore a semi-sheer pink jumpsuit

Having been bullied at school for her vitiligo, Winnie has previously admitted that she never expected to achieve such success in the fashion industry.

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.'

Taking it easy: The model used the decking as her own personal runway as she posed in a red bikini, showing off her lithe frame and beautiful and unique complexion

Having fun: And although Lewis, 32, had a disappointing seventh-place finish in the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday, the ladies cheered him up considerably

Belle of the ball: Winnie put in a series of head-turning appearances during the Cannes Film Festival
Peter Helliar and Carrie Bickmore were left in awe of Ariana Grande on The Project on Monday.

After watching footage from the Manchester bombing benefit concert, they were visibly emotional.

Carrie, 36, appeared on the verge of tears as she praised 'the courage it would have taken for Ariana to get back up there' just 12 days after 22 of her fans were mercilessly killed.

In awe: On Monday, The Project's Peter Heliar and Carrie Bickmore (R) were left in awe of Ariana Grande's bravery at the Manchester bombing benefit concert

'I was watching bits of that come through today in tears, you know - the power of music,' the presenter said after footage aired.

Shaking her head in awe she added: 'And I'm so impressed by Ariana Grande... The courage it would have taken to get back up for there for those 50,000 fans.'

She mentioned how Pharrell Williams insisted the artists would stand up there 'without fear.'

'But it would have been fear in the back of many of their minds... Especially after what had happened in London just hours before,' she claimed, visibly shaken.

'In tears': 'I was watching bits of that come through today in tears, you know - the power of music,' 36-year-old Carrie said after footage aired

Co-host Peter's voice cracked as he reminded hosts: 'You've got to remember how young she (Ariana) is.'

'For her to go through that last week and then to come back... you know? They could have just put out a tribute album and sent their support that way.'

The 41-year-old continued: 'For all of those artists to GET to Manchester and you're right - it would have been at the back of their minds and the people's in the stadium.'

'It was a very real thing. Powerful.'

'It was a very real thing': Peter's voice cracked: 'For her to go through that last week and then to come back... you know? '(the attacks) Would have been at the back of their minds'

After Carrie cut to vision of a schoolgirl crying in Ariana's arms, she insisted: ' But that's the thing - (the concert) wasn't all sad.'

'It was one banger after the next, after the next... Some of the greatest songs you've heard in the world played.

'It was a real joyous occasion.'

The Project hosts praised Ariana's bravery and selflessness in making the concert about the fans and victims.

'Joyous': After blonde beauty Carrie cut to vision of a schoolgirl crying in Ariana's arms, she insisted: ' But that's the thing - (the concert) wasn't all sad... 'It was a real joyous occasion'

'I had the pleasure of meeting (bombing casualty) Olivia's mummy a few days ago,' footage showed the songstress saying.

'And as soon as I met her I started crying, and gave her a big hug, and She said, "Stop crying, because Olivia wouldn't have wanted you to cry."'

'And then, she told me that said Olivia would have wanted to hear the hits.'

She added: 'This evening has been full of fun and love and bright energy and I want to thank you for that.'
Mischa Barton reached a deal with an ex-boyfriend Monday banning him from releasing a sex tape.

The 31-year-old actress and ex Jon Zacharias agreed he would not release any explicit videos or photos obtained during their relationship, according to an article by TMZ.

Zacharias also must turn over any explicit material to Barton's lawyer, Lisa Bloom, according to the agreement approved by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge.

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Sex tape case: Mischa Barton scored a legal victory Monday during a hearing in her sex tape case

The O.C. star last month was granted an extension to temporary restraining orders granted against Zacharias and another ex, Adam Shaw.

Barton alleged they had been trying to sell an explicit sex tape of her with an asking price of $500,000.

The footage was being offered for sale to online porn companies and several industry giants were considering the offer.

Barton believed that Zacharias filmed her in intimate moments without consent and alleged that either Zacharias or Shaw was peddling the sex tape.

Without consent: The actress reached a deal with ex Jon Zacharias banning him from releasing the sex tape

Press conference: The O.C. star was joined by her lawyer Lisa Bloom after the hearing in Los Angeles

Shaw under the temporary restraining order remains barred from releasing the sex tape.

A hearing has been set for Wednesday in which Barton will seek a permanent restraining order banning its release.

The Notting Hill star meanwhile was spotted Friday getting affectionate with a mystery man in Los Angeles.

Former boyfriend: Jon Zacharias, shown in an undated social media photo, reached a deal with is ex Mischa

They enjoyed a romantic dog walk together after a champagne lunch in West Hollywood.

The pair first set tongues wagging last month when they were spotted at the Cannes Film Festival leaving the L'Oreal Cinema Club party looking rather intimate.

The London-born beauty has been linked romantically to several men over the years, but seemingly has not embarked on a long-term relationship since splitting in 2009 from The Kooks frontman Luke Pritchard.

Moving on: The actress is shown Friday with a new mystery man in Los Angeles
She's the English actress known for her role as head housemaid Anna Smith in beloved drama Downton Abbey.

And Joanne Froggatt, 36, was in good company as she attended a charity dinner at Sentebale Royal Salute Polo Cup in Singapore with Prince Harry on Monday.

The Golden Globe winner was a picture of elegance as she revealed a hint of cleavage in her strappy blue-and-black frock.

Beauty in blue! Joanne Froggatt, 36, was in good company as she attended a charity dinner at Sentebale Royal Salute Polo Cup in Singapore with Prince Harry on Monday

Her look was accessorised with a pair of elegant rings, while she opted to leave her flaxen mane to hang loosely by her shoulders.

Clutching a bottle of Royal Salute Polo edition, Joanne beamed from her seat in the audience as Harry gave an address to the crowd.

Prince Harry, who had competed in the two-day equestrian event over the weekend, looked relaxed in a grey suit and blue business shirt.

Dapper: Prince Harry, who had competed in the two-day equestrian event over the weekend, looked relaxed in a grey suit and blue business shirt

Joanne has been making headlines with the announcement of her new starring role in ITV drama Liars.

Created and written by BAFTA-nominated producers and screenwriters Harry and Jack Williams, Liar tells the story of a night that changes the lives of Laura Newell (Joanne) and Andrew Ellis (Ioan Gruffudd) forever.

Laura is a smart and dedicated teacher, not long out of a relationship and unsure about getting back on the dating scene.

Housemaid no more! Joanne has been making headlines with the announcement of her new starring role in ITV drama Liars

Andrew is a renowned surgeon whose son is a pupil at Lauras school, and following an initial encounter the two pursue a romance.

They begin dating, but neither fully realises consequences their meeting will have on each other or their families, as truth and consequences appear hand-in-hand.

The broody and dramatic thriller explores both sides of a relationship, and both sides of the truth.
They have been rumoured to be an item for months.

And on Monday Tom Cruise, 54, looked drawn to his co-star Annabelle Wallis, 32, at the premiere of The Mummy in Mexico.

The Hollywood icon beamed as he posed next to the British beauty.

She is a catch: They have been rumoured to be an item for months. And on Monday Tom Cruise looked drawn to his co-star Annabelle Wallis at the premiere of The Mummy in Mexico

Team Mummy: Director Alex Kurtzman, Sofia Boutella, Tom and Annabelle

The actor wore a blue suit and dark tie with dress shoes as she posed with Wallis as well as his other female co-star, Sofia Boutella.

Both Annabelle and Sofia chose red for their look.

Annabelle wore a V-design gown with black and white in it and an unusual inverted V neckline. And Sofia went with a shimmering number that had straps and was full length.

Dapper: The actor wore a blue suit and dark tie with dress shoes

Snazzy: Annabelle wore a V-design gown with black and white in it and an unusual inverted V neckline

Classic: And Sofia went with a shimmering number that had straps and was full length

The movie opens in the US on June 9.

Cruise stars as Nick Morton.

He is described as a 'soldier of fortune' who plunders ancient sites for timeless artifacts and sells them to the highest bidder.

Two good to be true! The ladies both had on striking red gowns

Big role: Cruise stars as Nick Morton. He is described as a 'soldier of fortune' who plunders ancient sites for timeless artifacts and sells them to the highest bidder

When Nick and his partner come under attack in the Middle East, the ensuing battle accidentally unearths Ahmanet, a betrayed Egyptian princess who was entombed under the desert.

The film is action packed and promises to be an early summer hit.

The movie also stars Jake Johnson, Courtney B. Vance and Russell Crowe.

Rumours that Tom is interested in Annabelle have been laughed off as she has been reportedly dating Gwyneth Paltrow's ex Chris Martin.

Three amigos: The director and his lovely stars were arm in arm

He's so loved: Fans try to grab at the ex of Katie Holmes and Nicole Kidman

In March it was alleged that Tom - who has not had a serious love interest since he divorced Katie Holmes in 2012 - was romancing his Mission: Impossible 6 co-star Vanessa Kirby, 28.

The actor cast the British beauty in the latest installment of the action films after seeing her play Princess Margaret in the acclaimed Netflix series The Crown, according to InTouch Weekly.

The pair are believed to have immediately hit it off on set, and Cruise is now said to be looking to the future.

He doesn't stop! The Top Gun star has made over two dozen action films that have made over $100m each

A dad too: The actor has three kids: Bella, Connor and Suri

Sources also say Cruise is ready again to settle down, just weeks after his beloved mother Mary Lee Pfeiffer died at the age of 80.

An insider told the US magazine that he loved how Vanessa played Margaret in The Crown, with the source saying that 'Tom flipped for her work'.

'He told the other MI producers that he had to have Vanessa for a crucial role in the franchise's sixth installment,' they added. 'He's blown away by her endless charm and energy.'

New love? In March it was alleged that Tom - who has not had a serious love interest since he divorced Katie Holmes in 2012 - was romancing his Mission: Impossible 6 co-star Vanessa Kirby, 28

On set: She is seen here with Claire Foy on the set of TV's The Crown in 2016

Once Cruise got her on set, they had 'instant chemistry,' it was later alleged, and it was that spark between the two that led to her getting the role right away.

And, according to the unnamed insider, Cruise is already said to be considering a long future with the British beauty, with one source even suggesting that 'he wants to make her the next Mrs Tom Cruise'.

The beauty, who was born in Wimbledon, West London, is the same height 5'7" Cruise; his former wife Nicole Kidman, who was four inches taller than the actor, famously quipped that she could 'now wear heels' after the pair divorced, while his third wife Katie Holmes was two inches taller than the Mission Impossible star.

She attended the Lady Eleanor Holles boarding school in Hampton, Middlesex, where fees are currently $23,700 (18,945) per year, before going on to take a gap year, during which she spent several months traveling around Africa and Asia.
She recently became Australia's 'richest entertainer,' thanks to her $347 million net worth.

And Nicole Kidman certainly looked like a million dollars while attending the CFDA Awards in New York on Monday.

The 49-year-old Hollywood actress dazzled in a strapless black Oscar de la Renta gown, which retails for nearly $12,000.

Elegant: Nicole Kidman dazzled in a $12,000 Oscar de la Renta gown the CFDA Awards in New York on Monday

The Big Little Lies star, who is set to turn 50 in two week's time, displayed her slender waist in the draped velvet gown, which featured a diamond embroidered trim.

She paired the elegant look with black strappy stilettos, which highlighted her neatly pedicured feet.

Nicole accessorised with a a ruby-encrusted diamond necklace and studded earrings.

Beaming beauty: The Big Little Lies star displayed her slender waist in the draped velvet gown, which featured a diamond embroidered trim

Simple: Nicole accessorised with a a ruby-encrusted diamond necklace and studded earrings

Classic: The Australian beauty's dress was once modelled by socialite Bella Hadid, during the late Oscar's Fall 2017 runway show

Her luscious blonde locks were neatly parted at the side and worn in loose waves.

She opted for flawless makeup consisting of light foundation, blush and bold red lips.

The Australian beauty's dress was once modelled by socialite Bella Hadid, during the late Oscar's Fall 2017 runway show.

Blonde ambition: Her luscious blonde locks were neatly parted at the side and worn in loose waves

Flawless: She opted for flawless makeup consisting of light foundation, blush and bold red lips

High spirits: The Big Little Lies star posed up a storm at the star-studded event

During the gala, The Hours actress graced the stage to present one the evening's honors to Belgian designer Raf Simons.

There, she presented the chief creative officer at Calvin Klein with the award for Womenswear Designer Of The Year.

The annual event celebrate fashion's best, honoring achievements in Womenswear, Menswear, and Accessory Designer of the Year, as well awarding the Swarovski Awards for Emerging Talent.

Better to give that recieve! The Aussie beauty glowed onstage as she presented one of the evening's awards

Giving her all! Nicole got to bestow an award to Raf Simons of Calvin Klein for Womenswear Designer Of The Year

Giving big! Vogue EIC Anna Wintour and actor Armie Hammer were among the evenings other presenters

Vogue Editor In Chief Anna Wintour stepped onstage to present another one of the evening's honors, while actor Armie Hammer and designer Kenneth Cole also joined the festivities.

This year's CFDA Awards bestowed special honors upon designer Rick Owen, who earned a Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as makeup artist Pat McGrath, who went home with the evening's Founder's Award honor.

Janelle Monae, Gloria Steinem, and Planned Parenthood's Cecile Richards received the evening's Board Of Directors Tribute together from CFDA President Diane Von Furstenberg, while the gala was hosted by late night charmer Seth Meyers.

Handsome gents: Armie Hammer and Kenneth Cole were also on stage during the evening

Group effort: Janelle Monae, Gloria Steinem, and Planned Parenthood's Cecile Richards received the evening's Board Of Directors Tribute together from CFDA President Diane Von Furstenberg
She publicly came out as transgender last month, revealing she was born as a boy named Shayne.

And Daniielle Alexis teared up on Channel Seven's Daily Edition on Tuesday while discussing her transition from male to female.

The 31-year-old actress, who plays Dana Malouf on the prison drama, said she was in a 'really dark place' before undergoing sex assignment surgery because she couldn't go on being 'half/half'.

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'I was in a REALLY dark place': Daniielle Alexis teared up on Channel Seven's Daily Edition on Tuesday while discussing her transition from male to female

Secret struggle: The 31-year-old actress, who plays Dana Malouf on the prison drama, said she was in a 'really dark place' before undergoing sex assignment surgery because she couldn't go on being 'half/half'

'I remember getting to a point within my transition where I was on hormone therapy and I was pre-op and I called my mum and I was crying and I was in a really dark place,' she began.

'I said, "Mum, I cant live like this, like half/half"... Like thats how it really felt and I was in a really emotional, dark place.'

The brunette beauty revealed she had the full support of her mother and grandfather when she finally came out as transgender after high school.

Support: The brunette beauty revealed she had the full support of her mother and grandfather when she finally came out as transgender after high school

Family support: The raven-haired star revealed her mother and grandfather saved $30,000 for the sex reassignment surgery

And she made the transition from male to female thanks to their generosity.

She revealed they saved $30,000 for the surgery after she underwent initial hormone therapies after high school.

Daniielle became emotional as she explained: 'My mum said, "Im here for you, Im going to support you to the end of the world, hold on Ive been saving your whole life with your grandfather to get your surgery for you."'

'It's like your a butterfly and you're complete': With her darkest days behind her now, Daniielle also spoke about how it feels to be completely done with her transition

The Instagram sensation, who boasts 30k followers on the social media site, added: 'All we need as transgender people is love and support, for Mum to do that to me was a miracle, definitely!'

With her darkest days behind her now, Daniielle also spoke about how it feels to be completely done with her transition.

'Dramatically, it's like your a butterfly and you're complete.. it's a re-birthing process, you feel like you're born again,' she explained.

Support: The Instagram sensation, who boasts 30k followers on the social media site, added: 'All we need as transgender people is love and support, for Mum to do that to me was a miracle, definitely!'

Daniielle is currently enjoying newfound fame after making her acting debut on Wentworth this year.

The brunette beauty isn't the first transgender actress to star in a prison drama.

Laverne Cox, who was born male, has found success as Sophia Burset on Netflix's Orange is the New Black.

Wentworth currently airs on pay-TV provider Foxtel.
She's the Sydney 'Queen of PR', while he's Hollywood royalty.

But Roxy Jacenko, 36, knocked Brad Pitt down a few pegs on Tuesday.

In footage from her debut on 20 to One, Roxy criticised the American actor's bizarre Chanel commercial.

'Have you just drunk Chanel No. 5 while filming that?' Roxy Jacenko will criticise Brad Pitt's infamous 2012 Chanel commercial as she makes her debut on 20 to One on Tuesday night

In the 2012 black-and-white TV advert, a long-haired Brad stands in a mysterious empty room.

He says meaningless phrases like, 'Its not a journey. Every journey ends, but we go on,' and 'The world turns and we turn with it.'

Brad concludes: 'But wherever I go, there you are. My luck, my fate, my fortune. Chanel No. 5.'

'The world turns and we turn with it': In the 2012 black-and-white TV advert, a long-haired Brad stands in a mysterious empty room while saying meaningless phrases

Reflecting on the footage, a confused Roxy said: 'Have you just drunk Chanel No. 5 while filming that?'

Brad's commercial has been the subject of several parodies online in the last few years.

On Tuesday's 20 to One, the Sweaty Betty PR founder is among the celebrity 'talking heads' skewering pop culture.

Light entertainment: On Tuesday's 20 to One, the Sweaty Betty PR founder is among the celebrity 'talking heads' skewering pop culture

But Roxy hinted at some regrets before the airdate, writing on Instagram: 'Someone fire up a jet with a one way ticket out of here.'

In the next few weeks, her husband Oliver Curtis will return to the family home after serving a year at Cooma Correctional Centre.

The former investment banker, who married Roxy in 2012, was sentenced for insider trading in June last year.
She's an award-winning actress who has been happily married to her 'best friend' for nearly a decade.

And Helen McCrory has revealed laughter was the key to long-lasting love with fellow thespian Damian Lewis, who she married in 2007.

The Peaky Blinders Actress, 48, first met the flame-haired actor in 2003 when they co-starred in Five Gold Rings, and for Helen, it was love at first sight.

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He made her laugh: Helen McCrory has revealed how she fell in love at first sight with husband Damian Lewis when they appeared opposite each other in Five Gold Rings in 2003

Happy couple: Helen and Damian will celebrate 10 years of marriage next month, with Helen revealing that laughter was the key to their romance

She told Radio Times: 'He just made me laugh a lot. And still does.

'Of course, everyone in life wants someone to love and be loved by, but I think I was always just engrossed and involved in work. And no, the timing was pure fluke, pure chance, it always is, isnt it?'

The happy couple, who share children Manon, 10 and Gulliver, nine, will celebrate 10 years of marriage next month..

Helen spoke candidly to the publication ahead of her lead role in new ITV political thriller Fearless.

Fearless new role: Helen will star as human rights lawyer Emma Banville in new ITV political drama Fearless

She plays human rights lawyer Emma Banville who campaigns to free a man she believes was wrongfully convicted of killing a schoolgirl.

The lovely lady has teamed up with Homeland writer Patrick Harbinson for the new drama set to premiere later this year.

Helen said integral to the couple's happy and stable relationship is the ability to support each other, particularly when she was deciding whether to move forward with Fearless.

She said: 'Yes, he is {supportive}. Much more so than I am. He was the one that persuaded me to do Fearless.

'He told me, You have to do Fearless. You have to. I pointed out that he was going to be in America filming Billions and in ten years Ive always had the children when he goes away filming. But he replied, Well, Ill do it. Of course I can. '

Talented actress: Helen as Aunt Polly in the hit TV show Peaky Blinders

While Damian is known to US audiences for his roles in Homeland and Billions, Helen is an established and respected actress of stage and screen

Her repertoire of roles include wily Aunt Polly in Peaky Blinders, Narcissa Malfoy in the Harry Potter films and her Olivier award nominated performance as Rosalind in As You Like It.

'Im so proud of him. As we know, just because youre talented doesnt mean youre going to be successful. So Im really, really proud of him and really pleased for him. And he wears it well.'

Helen's full interview about her upcoming role will appear in this week's Radio Times

She will appear alongside 'totally charming' comedian John Bishop who plays her love interest in the drama series.

Helen said the role of Emma resonated with her and the pressures placed on modern women.

She said: 'I think were all pioneers as women now because theres no blueprint.

'My generation  we werent quite told you could have it all. And of course you cant. Emma sacrificed things because of who she is and what she wants to do, and thats her personal life, and I know that to be true for lots of women.'

Helen is riding high on a wave of success, which culminated in her being awarded an OBE in December, although she admitted she mistook the prestigious letter for a parking ticket .

Helen's full interview is in this weeks Radio Times, on sale from Tuesday 6th June 2017
Lorraine broke down in tears over devastating footage of the memorial service for Eilidh MacLeod - one of the Manchester terror attack victims.

The popular TV host was overwhelmed with emotion as the upsetting clip from her native Scotland played out on Tuesday's episode of the ITV chat show.

'It breaks your heart,' the broadcaster, 57, relayed more than once as she looked visibly upset - before the show dramatically cut to a quick competition segment.

Emotional: Lorraine, 57, broke down in tears over footage of the memorial services for one of the Manchester terror attacks victim

Two weeks ago, a bomb was detonated by suicide bomber Salman Abedi at pop star Ariana Grande's concert - killing 22 people and injuring at least 119 others.

Eilidh, 14, from the remote Scottish island of Barra, was among those tragically murdered at the Manchester Arena on May 22.

The teen's funeral was the first of the Manchester victims' to be held and took place at Church of Our Lady, Star of the Sea in Castlebay, on Monday morning.

And Lorraine's heavy heart was evident as she couldn't hold back her tears while talking about the service on Tuesday's episode of the ITV show.

Tragic: The heartbreaking memorial was held for Eilidh MacLeod, 14, of Barra, Scotland - who was among the 22 people who tragically died in the explosion at Ariana Grande's Manchester concert two weeks ago

'It breaks your heart': The popular TV host was overwhelmed with emotion as the clip played out on Tuesday's episode of the ITV chat show

Upset: The Scottish presenter mentioned that the scene 'broke her heart' more than once as she looked visibly upset - before the show dramatically cut to a quick competition segment

Heartbreaking: The emotional clips showed Eilidh's loved ones making their way into the church on the island of Barra to pay tribute to the teen on Monday morning

Tragic: Roddy MacLeod, father of Manchester bomb victim Eilidh MacLeod, led the funeral procession on its way to the church

The TV star's eyes welled up with tears as she spoke about the clip, with her quickly looking down in a bid to contain her self-control.

With Lorraine looking down to combat her emotion, she regained composure and resumed with her next guests.

Prior to Eilidh's service, her parents, Roddy and Marion, said: 'Two weeks ago today we lost our darling daughter and sister, Eilidh MacLeod, in one of the cruellest ways possible.

'Most of Eilidh's happiest times were spent in the Western Isles, particularly Barra and Vatersay, with her friends and family so we are pleased to have her back home among those she loved so much.

Breaking down: Lorraine's heavy heart was evident as she couldn't hold back her tears while talking about a memorial service for the young teen victim from her native Scotland

Devastating: The TV star's eyes welled up with tears as she spoke about the clip, with her quickly looking down in a bid to contain her self-control

Back on form: Lorraine regained composure and resumed with her next guests Brian Cox and Miranda Richardson

Soon to be big: She was also joined by boyband 5 After Midnight - who spoke about their rising claim to fame after X Factor

'Today, as we take Eilidh on her final journey, our one hope is that her funeral is a real celebration of her life and the wonderful person she was.

'Eilidh's infectious personality touched everyone she met and it has been a privilege and an honour to have her as our daughter.

'We will always remember her as a truly beautiful girl inside and out, eternally young, loved by all and forever in our hearts.'

Around 1,000 people - about the size of the island's population - paid their respects to the youngster at the church.

Upsetting scenes: Sad mourners held service orders as they waited to enter the church for Eilidh's funeral

Paying their respects: Hundreds of mourners lined the streets as the funeral procession left the church

Defiant: Since the horrifying attacks, Ariana Grande, 23, returned to the stage for the first time on Sunday night at the Manchester Arena on May 22 to pay tribute to the victims

Eilidh's dad Roddy led the coffin with a rope, while extended family members took it in turns to carry the coffin at waist height.

The service started just before 11am with a recording of Eilidh playing 'Both Sides the Tweed' on the pipes. The mass was also relayed to mourners in nearby Castlebay Hall.

Since the horrifying terror attacks, American star Ariana returned to the stage for the first time on Sunday night at the Manchester Arena on May 22 - just a day after the London terror attacks.

Ariana and her famous friend, including the likes of Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, Black Eyed Peas and Take That, raised 2 million with the emotional One Love Manchester concert, which paid tribute to the victims.

Will never be forgotten: The grieving parents of Eilidh, Roddy and Marion, described her as a 'beautiful girl'
Pope Leo XIII, writing in the midst of social crisis at the end of the nineteenth century, wisely observed: When a society is perishing, the wholesome advice to give to those who would restore it is to call it to the principles from which it sprang. For the American experiment in ordered liberty, this means in large part going back to the Anglo-American tradition represented by Adam Smith and Edmund Burke. Thus I argue in Fountainheads of Fusionism that fusionism is a phenomenon that illustrates a deeper and more fundamental connection between social conservatism and economic liberty.

In a recent column, David Brooks decried the crisis of Western civilization, in which he really decried not the abandonment of Western civilization as such, but that greatest modern achievement of Western civilization, the liberal order. Liberty, said Lord Acton, is the delicate fruit of a mature civilization, and for Brooks, Western civilization is a tree whose fruit is in danger of rotting away. In America, observes Brooks, the basic fabric of civic self-government seems to be eroding following the loss of faith in democratic ideals. Brooks points to Trump among other populist and authoritarian figures throughout the world, as an example of this trend: While running for office, Donald Trump violated every norm of statesmanship built up over these many centuries, and it turned out many people didnt notice or didnt care. The faith in the West collapsed from within. Its amazing how slow people have been to rise to defend it.

Now this crisis of liberalism did not arise out of nothing or simply because of Trump, who is as much a symptom as he is a cause of anything. As Brooks notes, the crisis goes back decades, and indeed certain tensions of the liberal order are endemic to it, features rather than bugs, which when working appropriately help us to strike a balance, if a tenuous one, between stability and dynamism, order and liberty. Within the larger divide, often but not solely partisan, between conservatives and progressives, liberal Democrats and traditionalist Republicans, there is another dimension to the political and social discussion that is often overlooked, the place of libertarians and classical liberals, who have so often felt homeless in the American political landscape. If we define the conservative movement broadly, to include figures like Russell Kirk as well as Friedrich Hayek, we see that throughout the twentieth century conservatism has always been a diverse coalition.

As I argued back before the Trump phenomenon, conservatives and libertarians do not share the same highest love, perhaps, and in this way might be regarded as two distinct peoples in some sense. But even so, they must live together in temporal peace, even if they make use of these temporal goods for different purposes. It may turn out, as Franklin put it, that we must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.
He broke hearts across Australia after confirming his relationship with Kendall Bora.

And Dr Chris Brown enjoyed a romantic date with his new girlfriend at Tamarama Beach last month.

The genetically-blessed couple spent the afternoon surfing and soaking up the sun before strolling home together.

Still going strong! Dr Chris Brown enjoyed a romantic date with his new girlfriend Kendall Bora at Tamarama Beach last month

Looking the part! The Bondi Vet star, 38, wore a black wetsuit before taking to the waves

Chris, 38, wore a black wetsuit before taking to the waves for a surf.

While he went surfing, Kendall relaxed on the beach and read a book.

She looked happy and confident in a black swimsuit which highlighted her slender figure.

Looking good! While Chris went surfing, Kendall relaxed on the beach and read a book

He's a lucky guy! Kendall looked happy and confident in a black swimsuit which highlighted her slender figure and pert derriere

Kendall flaunted her pert derriere in the stylish one-piece as she enjoyed the last of the Autumn sun.

She styled her brunette hair in a loose ponytail and accessorised with a pair of sunglasses and a gold chain necklace.

A tabloid magazine recently reported Chris is ready to propose to Kendall.

The details: She styled her brunette hair in a loose ponytail and accessorised with a pair of sunglasses and a gold chain necklace

Wedding bells? A tabloid magazine recently reported Chris is ready to propose to Kendall

Has he finally found Mrs Right? 'People are saying it's just a matter of time before he pops the question,' a friend told Woman's Day

'People are saying it's just a matter of time before he pops the question,' a friend told Woman's Day.

Chris' parents are reportedly pleased with his new relationship as the source claims they 'get on famously' with Kendall.

The I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! host went public with his romance three months ago.

That's good! Chris' parents are reportedly pleased with his new relationship as the source claims they 'get on famously' with Kendall
Just weeks ago, Lara Worthington (nee Bingle) proudly flaunted her maiden name on a pass during a family outing to Pandora: The World of Avatar in Florida.

And as she checked in to a hotel in Hong Kong this week, it seems the model wife of actor Sam Worthington may be using 'Bingle' on a more regular basis.

Posting an Instagram Story on Tuesday, the 29-year-old shared a note from luxury hotel The Upper House, which was clearly addressed to 'Ms Bingle'.

'Dear Ms Bingle': After sharing a note from a Hong Kong hotel on her Instagram Story, it appears Lara Worthington (nee Bingle) has reverted back to her maiden name

The note, which accompanied a gift, read: 'Dear Ms Bingle, So sorry I missed your departure but I do hope you're settling well in our House!'

It continued: 'Please do let us know if you have any plans to come back. Safe travels.'

Lara, who secretly married Sam back in 2014, captioned the image: 'Best hotel'.

Why not 'Mrs Worthington'? Despite marrying actor husband Sam Worthington (right) in 2014, Lara (left) seems to be using 'Bingle' on a regular basis

Hello Ms Bingle! Lara also used her maiden name when she attended the opening of the Pandora: The World of Avatar attraction in Florida earlier this month

Lara's trip to Hong Kong is the latest in a string of exotic destinations she has visited over the last four weeks.

Last week, she flew Down Under to attend a Tiffany & Co. launch in Sydney following a getaway in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

And earlier this month, the New York resident also enjoyed a luxury holiday in the South of France.

Family friendly: Sam and Lara share two sons together, Rocket (pictured) and baby Racer

She also attend the opening of Avatar Land in Florida, USA, where she went by 'Lara Bingle' on her event pass.

Lara and husband Sam, who now live in NYC, share two children together.

The couple welcomed their first child Rocket in March 2015, and second son Racer arrived in October 2016.
She previously admitted that it took some time for her to accept her body type.

And Kate Bosworth certainly oozed self confidence as she stepped out in style at the CFDA Fashion Awards in New York City on Monday night.

The 34-year-old actress dressed to flatter her svelte figure in a shimmering light yellow dress with a striking floral applique.

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All eyes on her: Kate Bosworth, 34, oozed body confidence as she stepped out in style at the CFDA Fashion Awards in New York City on Monday night

Kate was hard to miss in the ankle-grazing number which skimmed her impeccable frame.

The sleeveless number featured a lace underlay with shimmering gold and yellow hues - with a further layer of intricate embroidery.

The light number perfectly complemented her golden glow and sleek blonde locks.

Teaming the number with a pair of towering gold strappy heels, the Still Alice star worked her angles on the red carpet.

Fashionista: The American actress dressed to flatter her svelte figure in a shimmering light yellow dress with striking floral applique

Chic: The sleeveless number featured a lace underlay with shimmering gold and yellow hues - with a further layer of intricate embroidery

Kate also accentuated her striking features - opting for a healthy dose of bronzer and glossy lips.

She accessorised with dangling earrings and harboured all of her essentials in a rose gold clutch.

Kate, who became a household name after starring in Blue Crush, looked pretty as a picture as she mingled with her fellow attendees.

Kate has previously spoken of her love of dressing up on the red carpet, but admitted it took some time for her to accept her body type.

Stunning: The light number perfectly complemented her golden glow and sleek blonde locks

Like a pro! Teaming the number with a pair of towering gold strappy heels, the Still Alice star worked her angles on the red carpet

Beautiful: Kate also accentuated her striking features - opting for a healthy dose of bronzer and glossy lips - with Kristopher Brock and Laura Vassar Brock

Speaking to Fashion magazine earlier this year, she said: 'Ill look at someone like Beyonce and say, "That dress is so amazing on her," but I know that my body type is completely different.

'I have more of a boyish figure, so anything thats too loose or shapeless isnt the most flattering for me.

'When it comes to dressing up, I dont have any anxiety at all - its actually something I really enjoy.

'Its the quickest way to communicate a feeling - culturally and individually, clothing can represent something about our time or what is going on inside us. Fashion is the most immediate way to see something evolve.'

Trendy: She accessorised with dangling earrings and harboured all of her essentials in a rose gold clutch

Having fun: Kate, who became a household name after starring in Blue Crush, looked pretty as a picture as she mingled with her fellow attendees

'I have a boyish figure': Kate has previously spoken of her love of dressing up on the red carpet, but admitted it took some time for her to accept her body type

Talking about fashion, she continued: 'When it comes to dressing up, I dont have any anxiety at all - its actually something I really enjoy'

Kate is also loved up with her husband Michael Polish - who has a daughter Jasper, 19, from his previous marriage.

The met when he directed her in a cinematic adaptation of Jack Kerouacs 1962 novel Big Sur in 2011.

The couple tied the knot two years later in a romantic ceremony in Philipsburg, Montana, in August 2013.

Speaking in an interview with British Marie Claire magazine in January 2015, Kate admitted she was cautious about rushing into a relationship with her director while they were filming on set in California.

Smitten: Kate is also loved up with her husband Michael Polish - who has a daughter Jasper, 19, from his previous marriage

She explained: 'There are so many people that hook up on movies, and you wonder if that's real, so we didn't go there.

'I think we were both experienced to know that if this was the real deal, we could wait to see what would happen.'

Having adopted a patient approach to her romance with the director, Kate admits it wasnt long before she discovered he was The One'.

She recalled: 'That's when it hit me, at about a million miles an hour  I almost fell off my chair. They always say, "You know when you know," and I had found that quite frustrating my whole life.

'It hit me a million miles an hour': Having adopted a patient approach to her romance with the director, Kate admits it wasnt long before she discovered he was The One'




She's the host of Love Island - the sexiest show on TV.

And Caroline Flack's own love life tends to always be under the microscope too, having been linked to the likes of Harry Styles and Olly Murs in the past.

But the 37-year-old is yet to find Mr Right, it would seem; and has spoken about her own disastrous holiday romance from her early twenties.

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'I had to dump him in 15 minutes' Caroline Flack revealed her only holiday romance ended in disaster when she went to stay with him six months later and realised she couldn't stand him

Chatting on Nick Grimshaw's morning show on Radio 1, Caroline recalled: 'I went to Japan and ended up meeting this guy from Los Angeles in a bar. We connected, went on a few dates. I was only young, 23/24, and I thought he was the one!'

She continued: 'We went home and we kept in touch for six months and one day he phoned and was like "this is ridiculous I miss you come to LA" and I was like "Oh my God!"

'He put me on a flight to LA and I was like "this is amazing" and I told my Mum and said "this could be it".

'When I landed I was nervous and I was in Arrivals and I couldn't see him anywhere. And then this guy approached me and he didn't look anything like the guy I'd had the romance with!'

OMG: She believed her lover was the one

The pretty brunette went on to explain that she decided that she must have had her 'holiday goggles' on during the trip.

'It was awkward,' she continued. 'He was like a completely different person.

'We went to his house where I stayed for two days and I was like "I can't stay here". And the only person I knew in LA was Jack Osbourne, because we'd met on Bo Selecta.

'He'd given me his number and said if I was ever in LA give him a call. So I texted him and said I was stuck in LA and I just needed to know a good hotel I could stay in.

Chatting: On the BBC morning show on Radio 1 , Caroline recalled - 'I went to Japan and ended up meeting this guy from Los Angeles in a bar. We connected, went on a few dates. I was only young, 23/24, and I thought he was the one'

No more sun: Caroline returned to the UK with a thud as she spent the morning travelling across London in the drizzle

'He's so nice. He asked where I was and said he'd be there in 15 minutes. So I had to dump this guy in 15 mins and I ended up staying with The Osbournes for two weeks!'

The presenter went on to tease that the new season of Love Island, that premiered on Monday night, looks to be the spiciest yet.

Asked whether or not she 'fancied' any of the current men in the villa, she said 'no; but one is very aesthetically pleasing'.

Caroline had been prepping for the return of Love Island last week in Mallorca; and speaking to Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford live from the new villa on This Morning, the star had to bat off questions about her own dating status.

When you work with your bezza: Caroline Flack is in Mallorca ahead of the launch of the new season of Love Island

'We are not here to talk about that!' Caroline Flack gets flustered and refuses to answer questions about her alleged new boyfriend in Love Island interview live from the new villa

Eamonn bluntly asked: 'Do you have a boyfriend?'

Laughing nervousely, Caroline replied: 'Eamonn!! We are not here to talk about that!'

She added: 'I knew you would do that!'

Caroline spoke about her previous decision to have a relationship detox in the July 2017 issue of Cosmopolitan magazine.

She explained: 'Ive actually only just started dating again, because I did a year-long relationship detox, which I started at the end of 2015. Something had to change. Essentially, I put myself into relationship rehab.'

Uh oh: Contestants Montana Brown (L) and Jess Shears' friendship gets off to an awkward start after they confess to dating the same guy at the same time on Monday's night series premiere of Love Island

She also coyly confessed she had met someone special, but didn't divulge any information about the mystery man.

'Im dating again now  maybe Ive already [met someone] Lets just say, Im in a brilliant place', she enthused.

On the debut episode of Love Island, contestants Montana Brown and Jess Shears' friendship gets off to an awkward start after they confess to dating the same guy at the same time.

With the situation playing on her mind, self-confessed posh girl Montana admitted to some of her fellow islanders as they settled into the villa that it wasn't her first time seeing model Jess.

Shock: The hopefuls are in for a shock as they find out Montana and Jess know each other (pictured Camilla and Chloe)

Gathering some of the islanders in the bedroom, she confessed: 'I went out with this guy. Basically I think he was seeing us at the same time. But I dont know if she knows. I dont think she does know its me, thats the thing.

'I was pretty chilled about the situation, it didnt work. I Instagrammed her. When I saw her I was like "I recognise her from somewhere", and then it clicked.'

Following her admission, Montana headed to the Beach Hut for some much-needed perspective as she mulled over whether it was worth bringing up.

She explained: 'Im not sure if nows the best time for me to speak to her about it. I dont really want to bring up that me and her saw the same guy around the same time.'

Lining up! The girls line up (Pictured Olivia, Montana, Camilla, Amber and Chloe) on the grass ahead of meeting the men

While Montana pondered whether to come clean, it quickly transpired that Jessica had also clocked her history with the beauty and marvelled at the chances they ended up in the same place.

'As soon as I saw Montana I recognised her and I was like "oh my God, as if"', she said. 'Of all the people in the world, me and her are in here together.'

Attempting to clear the air, the glamorous pair took to the sun beds later in the evening to discuss their past face to face and how they found out about each other.

Montana divulged: 'I was just realising he was being really shady with pictures and I was thinking "thats weird." I called him out on it.' To which Jessica added: 'We must have both kicked off at the same time.'

Clear the air? Following her admission, Montana headed to the Beach Hut for some much-needed perspective as she mulled over whether it was worth bringing up

Montana continued : 'It was on the last night and I was like "I dont know about you but we just didnt really get along..". And then he just goes "yeah, well I have been seeing some girl anyway" and I was like "what?"'

At that point, Jess admitted: 'That would have totally been me.' While Montana conceited: 'Yeah it was.'

As the conversation progressed, Jess revealed she took to social media to stalk her love rival as she came to terms that her then beau had been seeing them both.

She explained: 'I followed you on Instagram because I was like "I need to stalk this girl"'. Despite the cyber stalking confession, Montana completely agreed with her sentiments, sharing: 'He was definitely overlapping.'

Awkward: While Montana pondered whether to come clean, it quickly transpired that Jessica had also clocked her history with the beauty and marvelled at the chances they ended up in the same place

Following the candid chat, Montana insisted that their conversation had been enlightening, conceding that she was the 'side chick' in the love triangle.

She added: 'Jess knew, and I didnt realise that she knew but she was like " didnt know if you knew" so it was kind of one of those miscommunications. I think I was the side chick. I didnt want to be the side chick but obviously I was. Hey ho.'

Although Montana feels a weight off her chest and a hope to continue on with a clean slate, it seems Jess was uncertain of her feelings towards Montana, explaining her revelations were a little more than she was expecting.

Hopeful for love: Cirque Le Soir club dancer Amber awaited her summer of love

Ready for love? Harley(L) and Sam showcased their bulging biceps as they meet their potential love interests

'Its good talking to her about it because its nice to see her point of view but at the same time its a bit of a revelation because I didnt realise they were properly dating,' she said. 'Part of me is like "I got there first with this guy that me and Montana were both sort of texting at the same time."

'I know I was there first. So part of me does think "I was there first and you sort of got in the way" so I dont know how vindictive Im feeling yet. I feel like I owe her no loyalties.'

Despite the possible brewing feud, the villa is set to welcome its first passionate smooch ahead of the series three premiere on Monday on ITV2.

As the lights went out and the couples shared beds for their first night in the villa, one pairing couldn't resist each other as the take the crown for the first kiss of the series.

Love Island airs nightly on ITV2.
Duncan Bannatyne wore colourful traditional dress and made his wedding speech in Nigora Whitehorn's native language for the Uzbek part of their celebrations.

Talking to MailOnline, Duncan, 68, said it was important to him to embrace his 37-year-old love's culture as they celebrated their special day, which occured on Sunday in Portugal, a day after their beach ceremony.

He said: 'My new Uzbek family are generous, caring, giving people and I am proud to be part of what is to me a wonderful new world. It was amazing to embrace Nigoras culture as part of our wedding.'

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'I was so proud that he made his wedding speech in my native language': Duncan Bannatyne, 68, wore traditional clothing for the Uzbek part of his wedding to Nigora Whitehorn, 37

He said: 'My new Uzbek family are generous, caring, giving people and I am proud to be part of what is to me a wonderful new world. It was amazing to embrace Nigoras culture as part of our wedding'

And Nigora said that she couldn't believe the lengths the star went to in order to make her feel happy on their big day.

Uzbekistan is a Central Asian nation and former Soviet republic and Nigora said: 'I was so proud that Duncan made his wedding speech in my native language.

'This was such a loving, romantic thing to do as its a very difficult language to learn. If it is possible it made me love him even more.'

'I am proud to be part of this wonderful new world': Dragon's Den star Duncan gushed over 'soulmate' Nigora as he shared more snaps from their Portugal beach wedding on Saturday

Multi-millionaire Duncan Bannatyne has shared some stunning pictures from his wedding including some from their intimate beach ceremony in Portugal on Saturday.

He said he was thrilled with how the day went, as he gushed about his 'perfect' bride.

'It was a perfect family wedding and I was overwhelmed by how beautiful Nigora looked. Our wedding was filled with love, laughter and happiness.

Kilty pleasure: Ever the true Scotsman, Duncan - who was marking his third trip down the aisle - donned a tartan kilt swish three button tuxedo jacket and red bow-tie

'My new Uzbek family are generous, caring, giving people and I am proud to be part of what is to me a wonderful new world. I feel very blessed and look forward to our life together as husband and wife.'

Nigora, 37, also said: 'I am so happy to have married my love, best friend and soul mate.

'It was the most wonderful weekend and sharing it with our families and friends made it complete. I am so proud to be Mrs Duncan Bannatyne.'

Beautiful: The two looked madly in love as they said 'I do' among friends and family

The two looked madly in love as they said 'I do' among friends and family who took to Twitter to share the touching snaps.

Ever the true Scotsman, Duncan - who was marking his third trip down the aisle - donned a tartan kilt swish three button tuxedo jacket and red bow-tie.

Nigora looked stunning in a white gown from Atelier Eme, Milan.

The entrepreneur shared recently the exciting week he had coming up.

He tweeted ahead of the ceremony: 'Our large families arriving in Portugal today, getting married Saturday, Uzbek party Sunday, UK Election Wed. What an exciting week'

Best Wishes to Left-handed Scottish Businessman @DuncanBannatyne & wife Nigora. A h-uile la sona dhuibh s gun la idir dona dhuibh!  pic.twitter.com/qbik0ozIsE  Left-handers Int'l. (@LefthandersIntl) June 3, 2017

He tweeted: 'Our large families arriving in Portugal today, getting married Saturday, Uzbek party Sunday, UK Election Wed. What an exciting week.'

A source close to Duncans family said: It is going to be a big wedding. His six children will all be there.

But one person very unlikely to attend is his second wife, Joanne McCue, whom the tycoon  worth a cool 175 million  labelled a gold-digger after their 2013 divorce. He split from first wife Gail Brodie in 1994.

Nigora was living in a 200,000 terrace house in Bedfordshire with her teenage daughter before she met the mogul.

The father-of-six met Nigora in 2011 after splitting from his second wife, Joanna McCue.

Duncan proposed last year while the pair were holidaying in Monaco.

He popped the question with an enormous pear-shaped ring that features a giant diamond surrounded by a small cluster of diamonds.

Duncan, who has a 175 million fortune suggested he would float his gym and spa empire for 300million.

Since falling for each other, the couple have never been shy about very public displays of affection.

Fantastic wedding on the beach with @DuncanBannatyne pic.twitter.com/hmAU8EaPvQ  Andy Reid MBE (@andyreid2506) June 3, 2017




It's the show that always manages to cause tension between couples, as they are set tasks to judge each other's attractiveness.

And that was definitely the case for TOWIE's Georgia Kousoulou and Tommy Mallet as they appeared in a clip from the latest episode of Your Face Or Mine?

Asked to judge how attractive Nicole Scherzinger was in comparison to Cheryl, Tommy was seen practically salivating over Nicole.

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Georgia Kousoulou seems far from impressed as Tommy Mallet raves about Nicole Scherzinger... while Chloe Ferry offers Jimmy Carr her phone number on Your Face Or Mine?

'Scherzinger all day long, mate!' Tommy said to hosts Katherine Ryan and Jimmy Carr.

'You're getting very excited,' came Georgia's response as her head snapped round in his direction.

Trying to backtrack, Tommy said: 'I like the X Factor you see!'

He then realised both women have been on the ITV singing show, and so his point was moot.

Peaked interest: Asked to judge how attractive Nicole Scherzinger was in comparison to Cheryl, Tommy was seen practically salivating over Nicole

Snappy: 'You're getting very excited,' came Georgia's response as her head snapped round in his direction

In another clip, Chloe Ferry of Geordie Shore sat herself between the couple, with Tommy having to decide which was prettier.

But Chloe - hyperactive as ever - had already caught the eye of Jimmy, as she continually speculated that 'he fancies us', offering to give him her number at the end of the show.

'You are misreading this signal,' came Jimmy's horrified reply as he made sure to keep his eyes away from Chloe's chest, cleary braless beneath her skintight jumpsuit.

James Diags - also from TOWIE - joined the fun, explaining why he has his nickname.

Glad eye: Chloe - hyperactive as ever - had already caught the eye of Jimmy, as she continually speculated that 'he fancies us', offering to give him her number at the end of the show

Explain yourself: James Diags - also from TOWIE - joined the fun, explaining why he has his nickname

'Oh my god, babes!' Katherine - who hails from Canada - also perked things up with her impression of an Essex accent

'It's because people think I have a diagonal smile,' he said, demonstrating it.

The audience voted Tommy as the hotter of the two; but the smirk was soon wiped off his face when they voted him the least attractive of a line up of five other men.

Katherine - who hails from Canada - also perked things up with her impression of an Essex accent.

'Oh my God, I love it, I wanna talk just like they do, and be a glamour model,' she said in the notorious accent.

All the money Tommy and Georgia won was for Rainbow Trust Childrens Charity.

Your Face or Mine, Comedy Central Wednesday 7th June at 8pm.
The Bachelor 2013's Tim Robards proposed to his longtime girlfriend Anna Heinrich last month.

And on Tuesday, the reality TV couple made their first red carpet appearance since announcing the engagement.

Tim and Anna looked happier than ever at the Foxtel Now launch, which took place at Sydney's Hordern Pavilion.

First engagement! On Tuesday, The Bachelor's Tim Robards (left) and Anna Heinrich (right) made their first red carpet appearance since announcing their plans to marry

Basking in a blissful glow, the genetically-blessed pair opted for black attire at the star-studded event.

Chiropractor Tim cut a casual figure in a leather jacket, which he wore over a grey knit jumper and black trousers.

Blonde bombshell Anna took the glamour up a notch, rocking a stylish black fringe dress that clung to her curves and was held up by material straps.

Adorning her finger was her sparkling new engagement ring, which is estimated to be worth up to $173,000.

Fringe benefits: Blonde bombshell Anna looked glamorous in a black fringe dress, as she proudly showed off her sparkling engagement ring at the Foxtel Now launch in Sydney

Matching outfits: Tim cut a casual figure in a leather jacket and grey jumper while Anna wore a stylish black frock

Her loosely waved blonde locks cascaded gently over her bare shoulders.

She finished off her look with a pair of simple black heels, which served as a stylish choice of footwear.

Joining Tim and Anna for the glamorous event was a host of local celebrities, including E! Australia presenter Ksenija Lukich.

She wore a fashion-forward jumpsuit, teamed with a fresh blow dry and a natural-looking beauty palette which highlighted her glowing complexion.

Flawless! E! Australia presenter Ksenija Lukich wore a fashion-forward black jumpsuit

Sleek and stylish: Former beauty queen Laura Dundovic wore a teal figure-hugging number

Booty-ful display! The model's pert derriere was accentuated in the dress while she offered a glimpse of her cleavage

Elsewhere, Laura Dundovic looked flawless in a tight-fitting teal cut-out dress which accentuated her pert derriere.

Rocking a sleek low ponytail, Laura also offered a glimpse of her decolletage in the cleavage-baring number, while still looking classy and refined.

Her black pumps, matched with a similarly shaded YSL clutch and charcoal nails, really made the outfit pop.

Firm friends! Laura cosied up to sprinter Katie Williams (left) for photos on the red carpet

Silky smooth: The sportswoman stuck to the black theme by donning a satin black dress

Cosying up to model was fit and fabulous sprinter Katie Williams, who stuck to the black theme by donning a satin black wrap dress.

The sportswoman chose an oversized black tote and lack-up heels in the same shade to finish off her ensemble.

Bright nails added a pop of colour while her freshly cut blonde hair looked chic and stylish with her smoky eye makeup.

Busting out! Janet Roach's ample assets were on full display in a low-cut floral frock

Here come the girls! The Real Housewives Of Melbourne's cast also attended the event

Turning heads: Janet posed with RHOM stars Lydia Schiavello (centre) and Gina Liano (right)

The Real Housewives Of Melbourne ladies were also in attendance.

Wearing a white floral dress which featured a plunging neckline, Janet Roach put her ample assets on full display.

Meanwhile Lydia Schiavello was a delight in red as she flaunted her figure in a sheer red lace frock.

Joining the rest of the Housewives, the vivacious Gina Liano also made an appearance, turning heads in a strapless white lace dress.

Retired NRL star Braith Anasta also rocked up to the Foxtel Now launch in a navy blue suit and collared shirt.

Sheer delight! Lydia Schiavello flaunted her ageless figure in a sheer red lace frock
Her boyfriend Ryan Libbey came under fire after posting a 'tactless' snap of him in tribute to the London terror attack.

But for Louise Thompson, it was time to resume the sizzling Instagram display as she drove her followers wild with two bikini clad snaps during her trip to Mykonos, Greece.

The Made In Chelsea star, 27, set pulses racing in a skimpy white bikini which showed off her topped up bronzed glow as she made her way down the white stairs in the scorching heat.

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Holioday time again! Louise Thompson, 27, set pulses racing in a skimpy white bikini which showed off her enviable frame as she enjoyed a sun-kissed trip to Mykonos, Greece

The bikini showed off Louise's toned abs and lean legs to perfection and she accessorised with a striking silver body chain.

Louise sported centre parted locks and a pair of shades as she strutted down the steps in matching embellished white shoes.

Clearly in high spirits in the picture, the reality star captioned the snap: 'Happy place, happy crowd  fallen in love with #mykonos GR next up --> meeting the #GirlGangInMykonos for a @calzedonia store visit.'

And Louise wasn't done there, as she took to the social media platform to upload an image of her posing in a pristine blue infinity pool.

'Morning dip in Mykonos': In another, the Made In Chelsea star stood at a side angle in the infinity pool and raised one arm - allowing her impeccably chiselled abs to take prominence

Criticism: This comes after her boyfriend Ryan Libbey, 26, was slammed by his Instagram followers, for sharing an image of himself as part of his tribute to the London Bridge terror attack victims

With the ocean behind her, the beauty stood at a side angle and raised one arm - allowing her impeccably chiselled abs to take prominence.

Her tiny bikini just about managed to contain her modesty as she executed the steamy pose by placing one leg in front of the other.

'Morning dip in Mykonos! These views. Can't wait for a fun trip exploring the island with the @calzedonia girls!' she titled the saucy snap.

This comes after her beau Ryan apologised after being slammed by his Instagram followers for sharing an image of himself, with clothing brands tagged, as part of his tribute to the London Bridge terror attack victims.

The hunk, 26, shared a photo on Instagram on Sunday, the day after seven people were killed in London Bridge, of himself posing in the sunshine.

While he included a heartfelt message alongside the image, Ryan was criticised by his followers for choosing to share a photo of himself, and including tags which are used to advertise brands in the photo.

Seven people were killed and nearly 50 injured on Saturday night after three men drove a van into a crowd on London Bridge and set upon people in a crazed knife rampage.

On Sunday night Ryan shared his tribute, with the personal trainer's photo showing him posing on a street, with info on where his sunglasses, shirt, trousers and shoes could be bought. The tags were later removed by the star.

Alongside his photo, Ryan wrote: 'My thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by the attacks on our capital last night.'

Promotional: While he included a heartfelt message alongside the image, Ryan was criticised for choosing to share a photo of himself, and including tags used to advertise brands

Not impressed: Despite his words, many followers chose to focus on his choice of image

'These acts of terror are disgusting and I can't comprehend how any human out there has the capability to cause such damage, upset and pain to a nation, a city, a person, a family, a child, to a beautiful world. We should all stand together, show strength and look after one another.'

'Hold those closest to you a little closer and stay safe.'

Despite his words, many followers chose to focus on his choice of image, with one follower ellie_smurf questioning in the comments: 'How can you write a post like this yet still advertise brands that are probs paying you to tag their products.'

Hitting back: Ryan replied, stating: 'this is not a sponsored post' but the commenter said: 'Just think these things can be done in a more tactful way'

Ryan replied, stating: 'this is not a sponsored post. I'm quite simply showing my gratitude to those brands who have been kind enough to gift. The essence and point of this post is to offer my condolences to those suffering. So rather than come at me for tagging a brand, focus on keeping yourself and your loved ones safe.'

But ellie pointed out: 'I can focus on my safety and appreciate the content of the message posted without appreciating the photo and the brands tagged in it... Just think these things can be done in a more tactful way.'

Another commenter agreed, writing: 'So your reaction is to post a picture of yourself? You ok?'

Thoughtless: Another commenter agreed, writing: 'So your reaction is to post a picture of yourself? You ok?'

In his corner: Some came out in defence of the reality star with the madeinchelsea_uk account writing: 'Well said Ryan'

Ryan replied again, telling the follower to 'shut the f**k up. Another one who has missed my point entirely.'

Some came out in defence of the reality star with the madeinchelsea_uk account writing: 'Well said Ryan Sad others choose to focus on your photo rather than your words and your heartfelt message.'

bex_hughes_life_must_carry_on also defended Ryan, writing: 'All those saying they notice the photo blah blah blah . I see a picture of a man in deep thought see the facial expressions. Lovely sentiment and its especially important because this is his turf. So he is probably v.upset about whats happend himself. Not everyone is about self promotional benefits you know.!!! [sic]'

On his side: : bex_hughes_life_must_carry_on also defended Ryan, writing: 'I see a picture of a man in deep thought see the facial expressions'

'Lovely': His girlfriend Louise Thompson also showed her support, writing simply in a comment: 'lovely words bub'

Ryan thanked the fan for their words, replying: 'thankyou so much for saying that. So pleased that someone is speaking some sense and being nice, and what's more not trying to find fault in a picture I've posted during this sensitive time. I was trying to be nothing but sensitive, yet so many have misinterpreted and tainted this post now.'

His girlfriend Louise Thompson also showed her support, writing simply in a comment: 'lovely words bub.'

After receiving a stream of negative comments, the reality star uploaded a video on his Instagram page on Monday afternoon apologising for his choice of photo, and admitting he has 'to learn from this.'

'I just wanted to apologise formally and officially for what was a clumsy post on my Instagram over the weekend,' Ryan said in the video. 'I really didn't mean to cause upset or offence. It was a clumsy choice of photo from myself and I shouldn't have tagged any brand in that photo.'

'The words that I wrote, I do mean them,' he went on. 'It was supposed to be a genuine and heartfelt message. I just wanted to reach out and offer my condolences to everyone in London who's been affected by what's been a terrible event.'

'I got it wrong this time and I am sorry. I've got to learn from this, I'm still getting used to being in the public eye and it's not easy.'

Ryan's post comes just two weeks after his girlfriend and MIC co-star Louise was slammed for sharing a bikini Instagram hours after the Manchester terror attack left 22 people dead.

Apology: Ryan's post comes just two weeks after his girlfriend and MIC co-star Louise Thompson was slammed for sharing a bikini Instagram hours after the Manchester terror attack left 22 people dead

The star issued a public apology for offending her social media followers, but was back to doing what she does best - plugging swimwear brands online- as she uploaded more shots from her holiday in Isla de Holbox,Mexico, just two days later.

The Edinburgh University graduate insisted 'news hadn't travelled' when she shared the original image while drinking a margarita and wearing a bikini.

Despite Louise's apology for 'ignorance' and 'being offensive', her personal trainer boyfriend Ryan continued to post images in his swimwear - with a beachside image coming just seven minutes after his girlfriend's lament-filled post.

Apology: The ,Made In Chelsea star, 27, was forced to issue a public apology for offending her social media followers by posting a bikini snap in the wake of the Manchester terror attack

At least 22 people, including an eight-year-old girl, were left dead and more than 119 injured after a suicide bomber targeted gig-goers at a packed Ariana Grande gig in Manchester Arena.

As families continued to hunt for lost relatives while others mourn the dead, celebrities swarmed social media to extend their sympathies to all involved, with many sharing images centered around Manchester.

In the midst of the social media tributes, Louise shared one of her now-trademark bikini images - much to the chagrin of fans, with users penning: 'Couldn't think to pay tribute given the current events?

'Vile, self-absorbed narcissistic creature. Get your head out of your own a**ehole.... Do you see beauty in anything else but yourself? Just for one day could you have not posted such a shallow post.'

Not heard? Despite the news seemingly just arriving at Louise's door, Ryan continued to share images of himself on the beach

Six hours after she posted the image, Louise shared a shot posted by many - depicting a black and white line drawing of a stick-woman holding a heart-shaped balloon with the word Manchester etched across.

She added a caption on the image reading: 'I am very sad to hear of the devastating news back home ! I'm sorry to have offended anyone with my last picture...

'I didn't mean to be so ignorant - I know it doesn't mean much but the news hadn't travelled. Anyway this isn't about me, but the bigger picture...

'Sending lots of love and prayers to the victims families as they are the ones hurting. Please may this cruelty stop, nothing is being achieved. We must put an end to terrorism.'

Despite the news seemingly just arriving at Louise's door, Ryan continued to share images of himself - this time posing topless while promoting the fitness retreat they are visiting while adding a caption: 'I fit right into this island life ~ Louise I'm staying'.

Still going strong: Louise and Ryan began dating last summer, just months after the brunette split from long-term ex Alik Alfus in May

Prior to her apology, Louise was once again sending her followers wild with envy as she holidayed with Ryan inMexico, posting an array of bikini snaps on her Instagram account.

The star can be seen holding a cocktail aloft while posing in a neon trimmed two-piece, looking a deep shade of mahogany. She posted: 'When in Mexico.... drink frozen margharitas on tap also, how sick is this swimsuit with a tan @misspap'.

Another snap saw the lovebirds cosying up on the steps of their hotel, with the brunette flashing her enviable abs in a white bikini.

She captioned the snap: 'airway to HEAVEN. aka our room at @casalastortugas this has to be one of the coolest hotels I've ever seen multicoloured buildings, beautiful tapestries, balconies, mezzanines, hammocks, shell lamps, and every room is different!'

'I also had the most beautiful bikini left on my bed to wear from the boutique shop this is a honeymooners dream.'

Louise and Ryan began dating last summer, just months after the brunette split from long-term ex Alik Alfus in May.

Speaking to OK! earlier this year, the reality star admitted she had kept her relationship with Ryan a secret at first in order to avoid judgment - with the pair staying in separate hotels while they filmed in the South of France last year.

She explained: The production team found out I had a secret boyfriend while we were over there and were pretty annoyed at me! But they said theyd forgive me if I got Ryan to join the show.

Happy: Louise then responded by paying tribute to her boyfriend in one final post - captioning a post of her smiling off camera: 'When you're with the right person it shines right through you'

Admitting she had wanted to avoid inevitable backlash for embarking on a romance so soon after Alik, she continued: 'We actually kept our relationship to ourselves for about five months.

I didnt want people judging me for moving on so quickly after Alik. Ryan didnt even come to my house for the first five months because I didnt know how my brother Sam would react.

The pair have put on a united front ever since, and are now known for their selection of holiday photos and fitness videos on their Instagram pages.

Yet, their activities online have not come without scrutiny - after Louise's brother Sam exposed their methods of capturing such idyllic snaps.

Taking to Snapchat in January, the blond MIC star shared a snap of the couple posing in the pool - flanked with professional photographers and a full lighting team to capture the winning shot.

Sam, who is currently dating co-star Tiffany Watson, has since embarked on a number of parodies of his sibling - slipping into several of her bikinis and mocking her sexy poses on his own page.
No case of the Monday blues here.

Tara Reid could not have looked happier as she stepped out in New York City.

The 41-year-old beamed brightly as she rocked a light flower patterned jacket on what was a sunny afternoon in the Big Apple.

Flower power: Tara Reid could not have looked happier as she stepped out in New York City on Monday

She paired it with tight grey leggings and thick white boots.

The actress carried a cute black purse, her shades and a bottle of water in one hand, so she could keep the other free for waving.

There is exactly two months until the eagerly awaited fifth installment of her cult hit franchise Sharknado descends.

Last week confirmed the title Sharknado 5: Global Swarming, with the tagline of 'Make America Bait Again!'

All smiles: The 41-year-old beamed brightly as she rocked a light flower patterned jacket on what was a sunny afternoon in the Big Apple

Reid plays the now-bionic April Wexler, who managed to survive a space shuttle falling on her in part three, after a Twitter poll was held to decide whether the character lived or died.

The plot sees her reunite with fellow hero Fin (Ian Ziering) to chase a tornado - which has trapped their son - around the world.

This time, the sea creature-slinging cyclone will terrorize London, Rio, Tokyo, Rome, and Amsterdam.

Syfy also unveiled the ever-expanding list of celebrity cameos, including Fabio as the Pope, and 70s Latin sensation Charo playing the Queen of England.

Cameos: In her upcoming Sharknado 5, Fabio will play the Pope, while 70s Latin sensation Charo playing the Queen of England.

Gilbert Gottfried will play storm chaser Ron McDonald; pro skateboarder Tony Hawk will play a masterful weapons operative strategist, while Olivia Newton-John and her daughter Chloe Lattanzi who play two brilliant scientists trying to defend Australia from the sharks.

Real Housewives of Atlanta star Porsha Williams has been cast as Andromeda, an archaeologist and member of the elite 'Sharknado Sisterhood.'

Ross Mullan meanwhile, who plays a White Walker in Game Of Thrones, will play as Dr. Wobbegon, a scientist who has made breakthroughs in meteorological studies to track Sharknado storms.

Sharknado 5: Global Swarming is set for release on Syfy on August 6, 2017.
It is the love triangle that has rumbled Love Island after just one day.

And things are only set to worsen for Montana, Jessica and Dom on Tuesday night's episode of the show as the handsome star is seen to be torn between the women - despite spending an entire day locking lips with the former.

Monday night's launch show saw Jessica, who was introduced as a bombshell who was forced to split up one couple, realise Montana was once texting the same boy as her on the outside world - leading to widespread suspicions she was preparing to exact revenge.

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Oh my! Montana, Jessica and Dom on Tuesday night's episode of the show as the handsome star is seen to be torn between the women - despite spending an entire day locking lips with the former

When the five couples were paired together on the launch night, sexy Jessica was soon introduced in a shock move leading to Montana's fears she was after her man - confirmed on Tuesday night's episode.

She referenced their shared romantic history as she said: 'I just think its extra awkward because we already have history of going for the same guys', after which Jessica made the predictable decision to nab Dom.

Montana then received a message reading: 'Montana, you are now single. In a few days everyone except Jessica and Dom will have the chance to recouple. The Islander not chosen in that recoupling will be dumped from the Island. #alltoplayfor #getgrafting'.

In the midst of her fears she then grew more candid about her opinion of Jessica: 'I just think if youre going to do that, fair enough I know shes in a really tricky situation, she has to pick someone, it is really difficult...

Close: Dom and Montana cosied up on the episode (above), before he embarked on a steamy date with his new partner Jessica

Fuming: Monday night's launch show saw Jessica, who was introduced as a bombshell who was forced to split up one couple, realise Montana was once texting the same boy as her - leading to widespread suspicions she was preparing to exact revenge

Oh dear... When the five couples were paired together on the launch night, sexy Jessica was soon introduced in a shock move leading to Montana's fears she was after her man - confirmed on Tuesday night's episode

'But me and Dom are the only couple that actually like each other. Come on, if I had to steal someone, I would not go ahead and just do that. Point blank. I think thats really mean.'

Trying and ultimately failing to diffuse the situation, Jessica spoke to Montana about her choice: 'Honestly babe, I feel bad doing it. I played with it all morning in my head and I literally had to go right if I was here yesterday, who would I have stepped forward for?'

Responding to the words, she said: 'Yeah I know but Dom did say dont pick me, because he was happy with me', while Jessica went on: 'I know but it was down to my choice. I cant choose someone else and be inauthentic, because its gonna happen. Were all playing a game. I am sorry, no hard feelings.'

Hurtful: 'But me and Dom are the only couple that actually like each other. Come on, if I had to steal someone, I would not go ahead and just do that. Point blank. I think thats really mean.'

Chilling out: Trying and ultimately failing to diffuse the situation, Jessica spoke to Montana about her choice: 'Honestly babe, I feel bad doing it. I played with it all morning in my head and I literally had to go right if I was here yesterday, who would I have stepped forward for?'

Jessica later took to the Beach Hut to voice her feelings: 'Montana hates my guts doesnt she. Literally hates them. But Id make the same decision again.'

Montana meanwhile also headed to the shack as she said: 'They need to now spend some quality time together. Well, not quality, Id say five minutes tops. And then hopefully Dom will be like: "Do you know what, I want to go back to my steak at home." And then Ill be there. On the sofa. On my own.'

Seizing her opportunity at sweet revenge, when the day's task was a snogging challenge, Montana was quick to get steamy with Dom, later saying: 'I felt a bit awkward at first. Thats a bit bitchy of me. Then I was like nah, she didnt care about my feelings so'.

Whoops: Jessica later took to the Beach Hut to voice her feelings: 'Montana hates my guts doesnt she. Literally hates them. But Id make the same decision again'

Date time! Adding further to her woes, Jessica then received a text reading: 'Jessica, you and Dom are about to go on a date. #firstdatenerves #oneonone'

Over the moon: Undoubtedly to Montana's chagrin, Dom said of the date: 'Im buzzing to go on a date with Jessica. Give us a chance to get to know each other'

Away from the regimented kisses in the challenge, the couple later started kissing in secret throughout the day - despite his pairing with Jessica. She then warned her former partner: 'If you share a bed with Jess, which I think you probably should, but if someone new comes in youve got to be prepared for me to do the same.'

Adding further to her woes, Jessica then received a text reading: 'Jessica, you and Dom are about to go on a date. #firstdatenerves #oneonone'.

Undoubtedly to Montana's chagrin, Dom said of the date: 'Im buzzing to go on a date with Jessica. Give us a chance to get to know each other.

'On a level without anyone else around. Well see how she really feels, because obviously shes picked the person shes most attracted to. At the moment my head and my heart are saying Montana. 24 hours in this place is like a lifetime, so well just see.'

Up close: 'On a level without anyone else around. Well see how she really feels, because obviously shes picked the person shes most attracted to. At the moment my head and my heart are saying Montana. 24 hours in this place is like a lifetime, so well just see'

Having a ball: Dom appeared particularly enamored with the buxom brunette during their dinner

Close:Jessica was equally eager for alone time with her co-star: 'Do you know what, Im so excited to go on a first date. Im actually really excited for it to be with Dom'

Jessica was equally eager for alone time with her co-star: 'Do you know what, Im so excited to go on a first date. Im actually really excited for it to be with Dom, because I feel like in the villa hes putting on a certain persona or hes coming across a certain way. Remove him from the group, and Ill see what hes like.'

Fuming Jessica later bared her heart as she said: 'She has effectively stolen my goods. Shes gone to my home and shes taken my prize possession. I think I should trust Dom but for some reason Im like youre lying.

While Dom promised he could be trusted he soon showed his true colours as he said: 'That date was a game changer', having told Jessica: 'You do look ridiculously beautiful tonight.

Not cool: While Dom promised he could be trusted he soon showed his true colours as he said: 'That date was a game changer', having told Jessica: 'You do look ridiculously beautiful tonight'

Cheeky! Enraged Montana took Jessica aside to say: 'I just thought the way you went about it was really sneaky. The fact that he was even an option. I would have preferred for you to say I dont know who Im going to be pick, Dom is in the running.

'We make a great couple... A power couple. This is the best first date Ive ever had to be fair. Ive really enjoyed it. Im looking forward to seeing where it goes.'

Enraged Montana took Jessica aside to say: 'I just thought the way you went about it was really sneaky. The fact that he was even an option. I would have preferred for you to say I dont know who Im going to be pick, Dom is in the running.

'It sets us off on the wrong foot. Especially with our history. I think that was really rogue for you to go for the one guy that was like dont pick me.'

Love Island is on ITV2 this evening at 9pm.

Pucker up! Meanwhile things got steamy between the other contestants as they enjoyed a game of spin the bottle by the pool

Onto the next! During the game, Jessica was seen smooching Harley

My turn: Elsewhere Kem (centre) set his sights on Amber, enlisting Olivia and Marcel for advice
In a recent visit to a steel factory in Italy, Pope Francis said, One sickness of the economy is the gradual transformation of entrepreneurs into speculators.

The speculator doesnt love his business, doesnt love the workers, but only sees the business and workers as the means to make profit, the pontiff added.

But the pope doesnt seem to understand what speculators do, says Luanne Zurlo. What Francis blames speculators for doing, says Zurlo, is not speculating but rather engaging in crony capitalism:

Engaging in speculation need not be evil, nor even a little bit wrong.

The wholesale demonization of speculators reflects a lingering misunderstanding of how markets work.

In economics, speculation means making a prediction about a future outcome.

Since the future is uncertain, making decisions about the future entails some degree of risk. In the world of finance, speculation implies taking on high financial risk in hopes of achieving a large financial gain, typically over a short-term period.

In fact, we are all speculators including, and especially, entrepreneurs. Waiting to buy a car in expectation that the same car can be bought in the future at a cheaper price is speculation.

In his Genoa remarks, the pope describes ugly business practices that are, indeed, too common. They just arent what business or finance professionals understand as speculation.

Speculation has become a catchall phrase for any kind of nefarious business activity, real and imagined.

The speculator does not love his company, he does not love his workers, but sees business and workers only as a means to make a profit, Francis said.

What the pope condemns here are owners and managers who operate their businesses as wealth creation engines for themselves at the expense of employees. This is greedy and utilitarian behavior, but not speculation, properly understood.

Read more . . .
George and Amal Clooney have welcomed twins.

The human rights lawyer, 39, gave birth to a girl, Ella, and a boy, Alexander, on Tuesday morning in England.

'This morning Amal and George welcomed Ella and Alexander Clooney into their lives,' a spokesperson for the 56-year-old actor said in a statement.

'Ella, Alexander and Amal are all healthy, happy and doing fine.'

Double the joy: George and Amal Clooney, pictured in Paris on February 24, have welcomed a baby boy and girl

Support system: Amal's mother Baria Alamuddin was also spotted shopping in London, no doubt buying some gifts for new arrivals Ella and Alexander

WHAT'S IN A NAME? According to Nameberry.com: 'Ella rose from Number 265 in 2000 to a high of Number 15 in 2013 and is at Number 17 this year. Iconic singer Ella Fitzgerald adds a jazzy edge. One other appeal of Ella: It sounds both vintage and modern at the same time. John Travolta, the Warren Beatty, Ben Stiller, Eric Clapton Alex Rodriguez, and Mark Wahlberg all have daughters called Ella.' 'Alexander has been in the Top 25 since 1991, and is still at a high Number 11. According to Greek legend, the first Alexander was Paris, who was given the nickname Alexander by the shepherds whose flocks he defended against robbers. He was followed by Alexander the Great, aka Alexander III, who conquered much of Asia. A royal name in Scotland, it is still highly popular there. Among the many notable Alexanders in history, standouts are Hamilton, Graham Bell, Fleming, Pope and Haig.' Advertisement

The announcement ended with the quip: 'George is sedated and should recover in a few days.'

The couple welcomed the two new bundles of joy at London's Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.

Amal's mother Baria Alamuddin was also spotted shopping in London, no doubt buying some gifts for new arrivals Ella and Alexander.

The stars are believed to have paid up to 8,520 ($11,000) for a private suite in the Kensington Wing according to a Tuesday report from Daily Mirror.

According to the publication, the women who stay in that section of the hospital can expect one-to-one midwife support as well as 24-hour consultant care.

The facility also boasts an 'exclusive postnatal maternity suite' for the 'ultimate birthing experience' according to the hospital's site.

In addition the Kensington Wing boasts that it is the only private maternity hospital in London to be fully-accredited in the UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative.

The program acknowledges maternity units which adopt internationally recognized standard of best practice in care for both mothers and the children.

Stunning:The couple welcomed the two new bundles of joy at London's Chelsea and Westminster Hospital

Quite the set-up: The stars are believed to have paid up to 8,520 ($11,000) for a private suite in the Kensington Wing according to a Tuesday report from Daily Mirror

Touch of class: According to the publication, the women who stay in that section of the hospital can expect one-to-one midwife support as well as 24-hour consultant care

This is a hospital? The facility also boasts an 'exclusive postnatal maternity suite' for the 'ultimate birthing experience' according to the hospital's site

Nice duds: In addition the Kensington Wing boasts that it is the only private maternity hospital in London to be fully-accredited in the UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative.

Lounging: Pictured is one of the chairs in the ritzy wing

The proud new parents also seemed to pick out some very popular names as Ella - Norman form of Germanic name Alia - is the 17th most popular name for a female in the United States and 6th ranked in the UK.

Alexander - A Latinized form of the Greek name Alexandros - is the 11th ranked name for male in the US and the 22nd in the UK.

George skipped a humanitarian event last week while waiting for the birth.

The actor joked that if his human rights lawyer wife had their twins while he attended the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity ceremony in Yerevan, Armenia on Sunday, he would not have been able to show his face at home.

Explaining his absence in a video message, George joked: 'I really would have been [in Yerevan] but if I came there and my wife had twins while I was there, I could never come home.'

Aww: 'This morning Amal and George welcomed Ella and Alexander Clooney into their lives,' a spokesperson for the 56-year-old actor said in a statement, as the couple are pictured together in Berkshire back in March

Sprawling: The pair are currently based in Berkshire, England, where they own a $14 million home

The pair are currently based in Berkshire, England, where they own a home.

It was announced back in February that the happy couple were expecting twins together. They are both first-time parents.

They reportedly met in 2013 and were engaged in April 2014.

George and Amal then married in September 2014 in Venice, Italy.

George's best friend Rande Gerber was among the first to offer his congratulations, sharing a video on the Instagram page for the duo's tequila company on Tuesday.

The 55-year-old businessman uploaded a video of himself wheeling a trolley with three boxes of diapers and two boxes of the pair's Casamigos Tequila through the office to mark the arrival of the twins.

Captioning the video, he wrote: 'Special delivery. #HouseOfFriends (sic)'

Diaper delivery: George's best friend Rande Gerber was among the first to offer his congrats, sharing a video on the Instagram page for the duo's tequila company on Tuesday

Congratulations! The couple's a-list friends have been sending their best wishes

The couple's a-list friends have been sending their best wishes with Ellen DeGeneres tweeting as the news broke: 'Welcome to the world, Ella and Alexander Clooney. Congratulations, George and Amal, or as Im now calling you, Oceans Four.'

Katie Couric gushed: 'Congratulations to Amal & George Clooney on welcoming their twins, Ella and Alexander!!!'

Salma Hayek, who starred with George in the 1996 thriller From Dusk Till Dawn, insisted the twins couldn't have a better family surrounding them, when asked about the arrivals at a screening in NYC on Tuesday night.

Talking to People Magazine, Salma offered: 'I have no advice because his wife is Lebanese like me and I know his mother-in-law and his sister-in-law and I know those kids cannot be in better hands.'

Pals: Back in March Cindy Crawford revealed the hilarious gifts she had made for the twins which reference the Casamigos tequila company George owns

Meanwhile, Oprah Winfrey has admitted she knows what gift she plans to send for the twins.

However, she didn't want to ruin the surprise she had planned by divulging what she's going to buy, but she did come up with a suggestion that she thinks people should consider when splashing out on a gift for their friends' children.

She told Entertainment Tonight: "My favourite baby gift to give is the Baby's Own Book Club! You get the name of the baby and then you send them every baby book you could imagine and you put the name of the baby on the book and do their own book club. Now I'm giving you my favourite idea!'

Proud papa: George proudly posed with the gifts which he draped over bottles of his tequila

Back in March, George's friend Cindy Crawford revealed her gift to the couple which referenced his Casamigos tequila brand.

The 51-year-old supermodel - who's husband Rande co-owns the beverage brand with Clooney - took to Instagram to share a cute photo of monogrammed baby grows with Casa and Migos emblazoned across them

The Ocean's Eleven star, once Hollywood's most eligible bachelor, recently said he's delighted to be a family man now.

Happy news: It was announced back in February that the happy couple - pictured at an event in London back in January - were expecting twins together

Didn't slow down: Amal addressed the United Nations at their New York headquarters back in March while pregnant

He said: '[I'm] even happier [than before]. I didn't know that we'd have kids. I was very happy that we were going to get married and then [a pregnancy] seemed like the next step.'

Prior to the birth, George and Amal scaled back their international travels.

He said: 'We decided to be much more responsible, to avoid the danger. I will not go to South Sudan anymore and in the Congo, Amal will no longer go to Iraq and she will avoid places where she knows she is not welcome.

'Before, I did not care, I would even say that there was a pretty exciting side to going where no reporter had ever been.'
She turned heads in a tangerine-coloured sweater and green trousers on Monday.

But Victoria Beckham was back to her monochrome best a day later, rocking a grey utilitarian-inspired outfit as she headed to a meeting in New York.

The fashion designer, 43, put her own slick twist on menswear tailoring in the androgynous shirt and trousers which she teamed with her signature flat-top shades.

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Working girl: Victoria Beckham was back to her monochrome best on Tuesday, rocking a grey utility-inspired outfit while heading to a meeting in New York

Stepping out just ahead of presenting her resort collection, the mother-of-four proved she meant business in the sharp ensemble.

Injecting a dose of colour to her ensemble, Victoria toted an oxblood chain bag and killer stilettos in a matching hue.

A gold men's Rolex and 80s-inspired oversized black shades were the finishing touches to the boy-meets-girl look.

Styling her chestnut bob in artfully undone waves, Victoria added a simple slick of taupe lipstick.

Chic: The fashion designer, 43, put her own slick twist on menswear tailoring in the androgynous shirt and trousers which she teamed with her signature flat-top shades

Keeping it simple: The mother-of-four looked impossibly chic in her all-grey attire

Shady lady: Victoria hid behind a large pair of sunglasses as she headed off

Slouchy: Victoria slung her hands in her pockets as she posed outside the venue

Victoria seemed to have spent no more than a weekend at home in London before resuming work on her global fashion empire, on Monday.

The family - including all four children Brooklyn, Romeo, Cruz and Harper - are only just back from a fun-packed safari holiday.

Along with husband David, Victoria spent quality time with her brood during their half term holidays from school, but the children did not escape the world of education because their visit included plenty of sight-seeing and culture.

Super chic: The fashion designer's floor-skimming trousers gave the illusion of endless legs

Helping hand: A security guard was trailing behind Victoria, carrying her bag under one arm

Burgundy accent: Victoria's killer heels matched her elegant leather handbag

Bold and beautiful: Victoria Beckham was certainly making a statement as she touched down at New York's JFK airport on Monday in spring brights

With the exception of five-year-old Harper, each member of the family has been keeping their fanbase up to date with fascinating pictures of wildlife.

Of course, their Instagram updates have not been without a collection of precious family moments, shot largely by aspiring photographer Brooklyn.

As the eldest of the Beckham brood, the 18-year-old has focused on bonding time with dad David.

He is even becoming increasingly more look his father in the looks department, if their latest selfies are anything to go by.

'Mummy's little lion cub': Victoria shared a heartwarming snap of five-year-old Harper cuddling up to her during their family holiday in Africa

Like father, like son: David Beckham shared some sweet snaps of himself on an exotic getaway with his children in Africa on Thursday
As one of the most famous English fashion designers, she has a keen eye for style.

But Stella McCartney was enjoying an off-duty day on Tuesday, as she showed off her glowing make-up free complexion during low key appearance in New York City.

The daughter of Paul McCartney, 45, cut a chic figure in a tweed mid-length jacket as she left a hotel with a male aide, who carried fashion bags on their outing.

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Chilling out: Stella McCartney is clad in casual as she hit the bustling streets of New York City on Tuesday afternoon with a male companion

Dressed down for the day's events, the fashion conscious beauty picked out a comfortable white T-shirt and cut off chinos for the outing.

The London native tucked her long caramel coloured tresses behind her ears, drawing the eyes of onlookers to her rosy cheeks.

Carrying a coffee in each hand, she kept her accessories simple as she slung a black handbag over her right shoulder.

Designer off duty! The age-defying style queen, 45, showed off her natural beauty as she went without make-up for her outing (left)

She's got style: As a top fashion designer, it is no surprise the London native has an artist's eye for style as she cut a chic figure in a tweed jacket

Her smiling male pal followed closely behind her, his hands full with shopping bags.

The close friend was dressed in a smart jacket, teamed with casual baggy bottoms.

Stella juggles her high-flying career as a fashionista with raising her four children in her personal life.

In 2003, the musician's daughter married British publisher Alasdhair Willis at the Mount Stuart House in Scotland.

Delicious! Stella grabbed two coffees on the way while her friend talked to her

Glowing: Stella proved her natural beauty as she stepped out without a scrap of cosmetic help

The couple raise sons Miller Alasdhair, 12, and eight-year-old Beckett Robert Lee and daughters Bailey Linda, aged ten, and Reiley Dilys, six.

Speaking about raising her two daughters in a recent interview, she told W magazine: 'I take it for granted that my daughters are pretty solid, strong girls.

'They're fearless. They can have an opinion and a voice.

'We have moments of mindful awareness. And then we talk absolute cr*p.'

Stepping out! She sashayed through the streets in a platform pair of strappy sandals for the ultimate comfort

Days out: She completed her casual look with a cut off pair of caramel coloured trousers

Flexible: Stella proved her agility as she clambered out of her Tesla

Busy bee: Stella is known for juggling her high-flying career as a fashionista with raising her four children in her personal life
She's become better known for promoting a healthy lifestyle than she has for parading her lavish one on Made In Chelsea.

But Louise Thompson kept her superfit physique under wraps on Tuesday, as she was spotted joining friends in sunny Mykonos, Greece.

Covered almost entirely by a chic beach dress, the brunette hid her impeccable abs for once, but still managed to accentuate her holiday glow in white.

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Covered up: Louise Thompson dressed her bikini figure in a chic beach dress on Tuesday as she hit the beach in Mykonos, Greece

Peeping beneath mirrored shades, the British reality TV personality gave a polite smile and a wave.

Louise may have been on her way to the beach but never far from work, it seems, because she was seen plunging straight into another photoshoot on the sands.

Flanked by a bevvy of beautiful girls, the petite brunette acted like a complete natural in front of the cameras.

After all, Louise regularly sets up her own shoots with fitness guru and boyfriend Ryan Libbey to boast about their many international adventures - not to mention their envy-inducing physiques.

Easy breezy: The brunette was spotted strolling to the seafront in a chic outfit

Glowing: She showed off her deep tan with her dress covering up her bikini

The duo have come under fire more recently for their timing when it comes to publishing self-indulgent posts, nonetheless,

On Sunday, it was boyfriend Ryan who came under fire for posting a 'tactless' snap of him in tribute to the London terror attack.

Ryan apologised when his Instagram followers slammed him for sharing an image of himself, with clothing brands tagged, as part of his tribute to theLondon Bridge terror attack victims.

The hunk, 26, shared a photo on Instagram on Sunday, the day after seven people were killed in London Bridge, of himself posing in the sunshine.

Back to work: She plunged herself straight into a photoshoot, where she was seen surrounded by models

All work and no play: Louise was pictured on the left of the crowd as the girls modelled clothes

After receiving a stream of negative comments, the reality star uploaded a video on his Instagram page on Monday afternoon apologising for his choice of photo, and admitting he has 'to learn from this.'

'I just wanted to apologise formally and officially for what was a clumsy post on my Instagram over the weekend,' Ryan said in the video. 'I really didn't mean to cause upset or offence. It was a clumsy choice of photo from myself and I shouldn't have tagged any brand in that photo.'

'The words that I wrote, I do mean them,' he went on. 'It was supposed to be a genuine and heartfelt message. I just wanted to reach out and offer my condolences to everyone in London who's been affected by what's been a terrible event.'

Criticism: Her shoot comes after her boyfriend Ryan Libbey, 26, was slammed by his Instagram followers, for sharing an image of himself as part of his tribute to the London Bridge terror attack victims

Promotional: While he included a heartfelt message alongside the image, Ryan was criticised for choosing to share a photo of himself, and including tags used to advertise brands

'I got it wrong this time and I am sorry. I've got to learn from this, I'm still getting used to being in the public eye and it's not easy.'

Ryan's post also came just two weeks after Louise was slammed for sharing a bikini Instagram hours after the Manchester terror attack left 22 people dead.

With the ocean behind her, the beauty stood at a side angle and raised one arm - allowing her impeccably chiselled abs to take prominence.

Her tiny bikini just about managed to contain her modesty as she executed the steamy pose by placing one leg in front of the other.

High spirits: She didn't seem to have let the incident get her down, nevertheless

Soaking up the sun: Louise has barely been away from the sun in 2017

'Morning dip in Mykonos! These views. Can't wait for a fun trip exploring the island with the @calzedonia girls!' she titled the saucy snap.

The star issued a public apology for offending her social media followers, but was back to doing what she does best - plugging swimwear brands online- as she uploaded more shots from her holiday in Isla de Holbox,Mexico, just two days later.

The Edinburgh University graduate insisted 'news hadn't travelled' when she shared the original image while drinking a margarita and wearing a bikini.

Despite Louise's apology for 'ignorance' and 'being offensive', her personal trainer boyfriend Ryan continued to post images in his swimwear - with a beachside image coming just seven minutes after his girlfriend's lament-filled post.

Holioday time again! Louise shared a picture in a skimpy white bikini earlier that day

'Morning dip in Mykonos': In another, the Made In Chelsea star stood at a side angle in the infinity pool and raised one arm - allowing her impeccably chiselled abs to take prominence

Apology: Ryan's backlash comes just two weeks after his girlfriend and MIC co-star Louise Thompson was slammed for sharing a bikini Instagram hours after the Manchester terror attack left 22 people dead

Apology: The Made In Chelsea star, 27, was forced to issue a public apology for offending her social media followers by posting a bikini snap in the wake of the Manchester terror attack

At least 22 people, including an eight-year-old girl, were left dead and more than 119 injured after a suicide bomber targeted gig-goers at a packed Ariana Grande gig in Manchester Arena.

As families continued to hunt for lost relatives while others mourn the dead, celebrities swarmed social media to extend their sympathies to all involved, with many sharing images centered around Manchester.

In the midst of the social media tributes, Louise shared one of her now-trademark bikini images - much to the chagrin of fans, with users penning: 'Couldn't think to pay tribute given the current events?

'Vile, self-absorbed narcissistic creature. Get your head out of your own a**ehole.... Do you see beauty in anything else but yourself? Just for one day could you have not posted such a shallow post.'

Not heard? Despite the news seemingly just arriving at Louise's door, Ryan continued to share images of himself on the beach

Six hours after she posted the image, Louise shared a shot posted by many - depicting a black and white line drawing of a stick-woman holding a heart-shaped balloon with the word Manchester etched across.

She added a caption on the image reading: 'I am very sad to hear of the devastating news back home ! I'm sorry to have offended anyone with my last picture...

'I didn't mean to be so ignorant - I know it doesn't mean much but the news hadn't travelled. Anyway this isn't about me, but the bigger picture...

'Sending lots of love and prayers to the victims families as they are the ones hurting. Please may this cruelty stop, nothing is being achieved. We must put an end to terrorism.'

Despite the news seemingly just arriving at Louise's door, Ryan continued to share images of himself - this time posing topless while promoting the fitness retreat they are visiting while adding a caption: 'I fit right into this island life ~ Louise I'm staying'.
Shay Mitchell celebrated her 30th birthday with a vacation to Morocco.

And the beauty clearly misses the country as on Tuesday the leggy wonder shared a photo while naked in a bathtub during her travels.

But on Tuesday the Pretty Little Liars actress was back to work in New York City as she was seen heading to a meeting.

Manhattan blues: Shay Mitchel wore a black top and jeans as she headed out in NYC on Tuesday morning

Good jeans: The star wore a sheer black top tucked into a pair of high-waited washed jeans that slightly flared out at the bottom

The star wore a sheer black top tucked into a pair of high-waited washed jeans that slightly flared out at the bottom.

A black Gucci belt added sophistication and black strappy sandals spelled summer.

The TV icon wore her locks down and had on flattering makeup with oversized sunglasses.

Good look: The TV icon wore her locks down and had on flattering makeup with oversized sunglasses

She carried a bottle of water and a cell phone that had a case which said Be You on the back.

But all eyes were on her structured designer handbag.

There were several male fans in the background take double takes of the cover girl as she walked to her car.

The Ontario, Canada native seemed to have a great time on her trip to Morocco.

Take me away, Calgon! On Tuesday the leggy wonder shared a photo while naked in a bathtub during her travels to Morocco

Stylish: Here the TV diva wore a cream colored mini dress with tassels

Lady in red: The Canadian wore this bright dress to re-create an old photo she loves

The actress shared several photos to Instagram of camels, the coastline and her hotel.

She said the trip was an 'amazing experience' and in one of her posts she quoted the late husband of Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton: 'The gladdest moment in human life, me thinks, is a departure into unknown lands.'

This New York sighting comes after the beauty was spotted having a night on the town with her Pretty Little Liars costar Ashley Benson at Craig's in West Hollywood.

The two were seen coming out of a the venue arm-in-arm.

Shay wore a black silk blouse with jeans and pumps as she carried a gold Chanel purse.
Amal and George Clooney have become proud parents to twins this week.

And as the news was made public on Tuesday afternoon, the human rights lawyer's mother Baria Alamuddin was spotted shopping in London, no doubt buying some gifts for new arrivals Ella and Alexander.

Baria, 66, looked effortlessly chic in a casual and comfortable ensemble, teaming a loose white blouse with smart trousers.

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Baby joy! Amal Clooney's mother Baria Alamuddin was spotted shopping up a storm in London on Tuesday, no doubt buying some gifts for new arrivals Ella and Alexander

Good news: Amal and George Clooney have become proud parents to twins this week

She covered up against the changeable weather in a cream cardigan and carried a leather handbag in one hand.

Baria reportedly purchased two baby gros from E-Side, one grey with a bear on it and another mint coloured with a rabbit on it.

E-Side is an upmarket shop specialising in gifts in Gerrard's Cross, London and brands itself as 'The Family Store for Modern Organic Living'.

Chic in neutrals: Baria, 66, looked effortlessly chic in a casual and comfortable ensemble, teaming a loose white blouse with smart trousers

Cute: Baria reportedly purchased two baby gros from E-Side, one grey with a bear on it and another mint coloured with a rabbit on it

Keeping a low profile: The human rights lawyer's mother has yet to comment on the news

Shopping spree: She covered up against the changeable weather in a cream cardigan and carried a leather handbag in one hand

Amal, 39, gave birth to a girl, Ella, and a boy, Alexander, on Tuesday morning in England.

'This morning Amal and George welcomed Ella and Alexander Clooney into their lives,' a spokesperson for the 56-year-old actor said in a statement.

'Ella, Alexander and Amal are all healthy, happy and doing fine.'

Upmarket: E-Side is an upmarket shop specialising in gifts in Gerrard's Cross, London and brands itself as 'The Family Store for Modern Organic Living'

Heading home: Baria was seen clambering into a taxi following her shopping session

Comfort first: The new grandmother slipped her feet into sensible brogues

On her doorstep: The couple welcomed the two new bundles of joy at London's Chelsea and Westminster Hospital

The announcement ended with the quip: 'George is sedated and should recover in a few days.'

The couple welcomed the two new bundles of joy at London's Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.

The stars are believed to have paid up to 8,520 ($11,000) for a private suite in the Kensington Wing according to a Tuesday report from Daily Mirror.

Bundles of joy: It was revealed that the human rights lawyer, 39, gave birth to a girl, Ella, and a boy, Alexander, on Tuesday morning in England, as they are pictured in Paris back in February

According to the publication, the women who stay in that section of the hospital can expect one-to-one midwife support as well as 24-hour consultant care.

The facility also boasts an 'exclusive postnatal maternity suite' for the 'ultimate birthing experience' according to the hospital's site.

In addition the Kensington Wing boasts that it is the only private maternity hospital in London to be fully-accredited in the UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative.

The program acknowledges maternity units which adopt internationally recognized standard of best practice in care for both mothers and the children.

Stunning:The couple welcomed the two new bundles of joy at London's Chelsea and Westminster Hospital

Quite the set-up: The stars are believed to have paid up to 8,520 ($11,000) for a private suite in the Kensington Wing according to a Tuesday report from Daily Mirror

Touch of class: According to the publication, the women who stay in that section of the hospital can expect one-to-one midwife support as well as 24-hour consultant care

This is a hospital? The facility also boasts an 'exclusive postnatal maternity suite' for the 'ultimate birthing experience' according to the hospital's site

Nice duds: In addition the Kensington Wing boasts that it is the only private maternity hospital in London to be fully-accredited in the UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative.

Lounging: Pictured is one of the chairs in the ritzy wing

George skipped a humanitarian event last week while waiting for the birth.

The actor joked that if his human rights lawyer wife had their twins while he attended the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity ceremony in Yerevan, Armenia on Sunday, he would not have been able to show his face at home.

Explaining his absence in a video message, George joked: 'I really would have been [in Yerevan] but if I came there and my wife had twins while I was there, I could never come home.'

Aww: 'This morning Amal and George welcomed Ella and Alexander Clooney into their lives,' a spokesperson for the 56-year-old actor said in a statement, as the couple are pictured together in Berkshire back in March

Sprawling: The pair are currently based in Berkshire, England, where they own a $14 million home

The pair are currently based in Berkshire, England, where they own a home.

It was announced back in February that the happy couple were expecting twins together. They are both first-time parents.

They reportedly met in 2013 and were engaged in April 2014.

George and Amal then married in September 2014 in Venice, Italy.

Pals: Back in March Cindy Crawford revealed the hilarious gifts she had made for the twins which reference the Casamigos tequila company George owns

Proud papa: George proudly posed with the gifts which he draped over bottles of his tequila

Back in March, George's friend Cindy Crawford revealed her gift to the couple which referenced his Casamigos tequila brand.

The 51-year-old supermodel - who's husband Rande Gerber co-owns the beverage brand with Clooney - took to Instagram to share a cute photo of monogrammed baby grows with Casa and Migos emblazoned across them

The Ocean's Eleven star, once Hollywood's most eligible bachelor, recently said he's delighted to be a family man now.

Happy news: It was announced back in February that the happy couple - pictured at an event in London back in January - were expecting twins together

He said: '[I'm] even happier [than before]. I didn't know that we'd have kids. I was very happy that we were going to get married and then [a pregnancy] seemed like the next step.'

Prior to the birth, George and Amal scaled back their international travels.

He said: 'We decided to be much more responsible, to avoid the danger. I will not go to South Sudan anymore and in the Congo, Amal will no longer go to Iraq and she will avoid places where she knows she is not welcome.

'Before, I did not care, I would even say that there was a pretty exciting side to going where no reporter had ever been.'
She tango'd with Tony Dovolani on the 21st season of Dancing With The Stars in 2015.

And it looks as if Kim Zolciak picked up some smooth dance moves when on the hit competition show.

When having fun during her vacation in the Turks And Caicos on Tuesday, Kim's daughter Brielle filmed the Don't Be Tardy star twerking to Eminem while in her bikini.

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Not shy: Kim Zolciak was seen twerking while on vacation in the Turks And Caicos on Tuesday

At it: The 39-year-old Don't Be Tardy star was listening to a song by rapper Eminem

Vacation vibes: She wore a black and cream snakeskin print bikini that had gold chain detailing. Her hair was messy but pulled up into a loose knot, and she had no makeup on

The 39-year-old wife of Kroy Biermann seemed to be having fun as she shook her behind like no one was watching.

The mother of six wore a black and cream snakeskin print bikini that had gold chain detailing.

Her hair was messy but pulled up into a loose knot, and she had no makeup on.

Going for it: The 39-year-old wife of Kroy Biermann seemed to be having fun as she shook her behind like no one was watching

Shy lady: At first she danced a bit by a wicker sofa on the patio of their rental. Then she stopped, seemingly a bit embarrassed

The star did have very long nails, however, and added a Hermes LOVE bracelet to her wrist.

At first she danced a bit by a wicker sofa on the patio of their rental.

Then the Georgia resident stopped, seemingly a bit embarrassed.

Team: Later Kim resumed her dancing on another part of the patio. This time a female friend, chef Tracey Bloom, got behind her and raised her arms

Profile: The mother-of-six flashed a tattoo on her rib cage as female friend - chef Tracey Bloom who often appears on Don't Be Tardy - got behind her and raised her arms

Later Kim resumed her dancing on another part of the patio. This time a female friend - chef Tracey Bloom who often appears on Don't Be Tardy - got behind her and raised her arms.

The day before the reality star stood out more than usual in a bright orange two piece.

Zolciak said she brought her six kids on vacation after a rough spring.

Bikini day: Zolciak stood out more than usual in a bright orange two piece while on holiday on Monday

Still hot: The blonde beauty's figure looked very toned with muscular arms and a tiny waistline. She also flashed plenty of cleavage

The Real Housewives Of Atlanta vet was standing in her white-and-grey bathroom as she snapped away.

The blonde beauty's figure looked very toned with muscular arms and a tiny waistline. She also flashed plenty of cleavage.

The TV icon wore her long locks down and had on large sunglasses.

The beach look: The TV icon wore her long locks down and had on large sunglasses

This comes after she wore a blue bikini the day before while standing by the ocean.

The beauty brought her family to a sunny beach this weekend and she said the trip was overdue.

'No place I'd rather be!  happy and at peace (I have had so much anxiety since the incident with Kash often times it's overbearing) thankful I can try and refocus my energy and lift my vibration,' the former dancer wrote on Instagram.

The day before: Zolciak in a blue number as she looked out at the sea

Grateful: 'No place I'd rather be!  happy and at peace (I have had so much anxiety since the incident with Kash often times it's overbearing) thankful I can try and refocus my energy and lift my vibration,' the blonde wrote on Instagram

Her son had his eye injured after a dog attacked him in April.

He was rushed to the hospital where he underwent surgery and spent days recovering.

But the star has said that he will luckily have a full recovery as she thanked God.

On Monday the child was seen playing with a pit bull puppy at their vacation rental; it was explained the pup belonged to the people who owned the property. Kroy kept a close eye on the children as they played with the little dog.

Doggy day: Her son Kash had his eye injured after a dog attacked him in May. On Monday the child was seen playing with a pit bull puppy at their vacation rental; it was explained the pup belonged to the people who owned the property. Dad Kroy told him to be careful

The little guy: The dog was quite small; here Kroy is seen playing with him

With her crew: The star took her family to dreamy Turks and Caicos; here she is with husband and one of her six kids

The day before, the looker was seen in a blue bikini as she stood alone looking at the ocean. Kim was also arm-in-arm with her husband Kroy.

'We are a team and we always will be. I love you @kroybiermann beyond words,' she wrote in one post.

And she shared a photo of her daughter Ariana, 15, who she called a 'princess.'

Royalty: And she shared a photo of her daughter Ariana, 15, who she called a 'princess'

Her boy: Here she said that her son was having the best time as she added a heart

Kim, who made her fame on The Real Housewives Of Atlanta, also showed images of her twins.

'Twin life!! @kaiabiermann @kanebiermann  thanking everyone up above for my incredible blessings,' she said.

And she added that she knew she would more or less be a star one day: 'Always had BIG DREAMS.'
She had a hellish year in 2016, following her very public divorce from Johnny Depp.

And as Amber Heard slowly gets her groove back, the Hollywood actress continues to show fans her humorous side.

The 31-year-old recently woke up to wine-stained chairs after a hard night of partying with her Aquaman co-stars on the Gold Coast and she laughed it all off in a tongue-in-cheek Instagram post on Tuesday.

Laughing it off: Amber Heard recently woke up to wine-stained chairs after partying with her Aquaman co-stars on The Gold Coast and she laughed it all off in a tongue-in-cheek Instagram post on Tuesday

'When you have one glass of red wine and the chair drinks most of it,' she captioned a snap in which she could be seen cleaning up the mess.

'Thank you to my Aussie cast/crew for such a fun night out of singing and dancing. It will be forever stained in my memory...but hopefully not these chairs.'

The Texas-native appeared makeup-free while clutching a cleaning sponge and displaying a helpless expression alongside the stained furniture.

The snap comes a day after Amber, who reportedly partied at Surfers Paradise until 3.30am last week, shared the aftermath of her big night out.

Party too hard? On Tuesday, Amber, who reportedly partied at Surfers Paradise until 3.30am last week, shared the aftermath of her big night out

The actress' face was covered by her unkempt bed hair as she held her hand up to her face in complete shock.

Amber captioned the post: 'The next morning.'

Her fans were suitably amused with some posting comments such as:

'Ooh big night' and 'Ouch hope u had fun (sic).'

She knows what she likes! Amber Heard (R) exclusively drank red wine during her night off at the Sin City nightclub in Surfers Paradise on Saturday, according to VIP host Ric Gibson (L)

The Gold Coast Bulletin reported the blonde beauty drank red wine exclusively and did not leave the venue until 3.30am.

Sin City VIP host Ric Gibson said Amber's taste for red wine is the result of her former marriage to the Pirates Of The Caribbean star.

'Her PR person said she only does red wine because when she was with Johnny Depp that was all he drank,' he told the publication.

Ric added: 'It's not something we serve on a regular basis so it's lucky we had some in the cellar.

'That was all he drank': Amber's publicist reportedly told Ric the actress only drinks red wine because she developed a taste for it during her former marriage to Johnny Depp (right)

Work trip: The 31-year-old is currently in Australia filming superhero blockbuster Aquaman

The VIP host managed to snap a selfie with the Hollywood actress, which he later shared to his Instagram account.

Ric said he had a friendly chat with Amber, who is currently dating Tesla billionaire Elon Musk, during her night out.

'I thought she would be stuck up given the status she has but she was very down to earth, very funny and stunning as well,' he revealed.

Date night! Amber appears to be enjoying her time in Australia, and has been spotted by fans dining at several fancy restaurants with her billionaire boyfriend Elon Musk (right)

Amber appears to be enjoying her time in Australia, and has been spotted by fans while dining at several fancy restaurants.

Her previous visit Down Under with ex-husband Johnny in 2015 resulted in a highly publicised 'dog smuggling' controversy.

But it appears to be a case of 'no hard feelings' as she flaunts her new romance with Elon, 45, and takes in the local sights.
George and Amal Clooney have proudly announced the arrival of twins Ella and Alexander - and a top forensic artist has released images of what the children might look like.

Forensic imaging specialist Joe Mullins, who is based in Washington D.C, took photos of the couple and used the latest computer technology to predict their features.

Little Clooneys? A top forensic artist has released images of what Amal and George's twins Ella and Alexander might look like

The resulting graphics shows cherubic toddlers with dark brown eyes, glossy brown hair and pouty lips.

George, 56, and Amal, 39, have not yet released any photographs of their new arrivals.

The human rights lawyer and her husband are said to have welcomed their twins into the world in the comfort of a luxurious private suite in the Kensington Wing at London's Chelsea and Westminster Hospital on Tuesday morning.

The arrival of the twins was announced in a statement by George's publicist earlier.

Power couple: The pair, pictured in May last year, welcomed their twins on Tuesday morning

It read: 'This morning Amal and George welcomed Ella and Alexander Clooney into their lives. Ella, Alexander and Amal are all healthy, happy and doing fine.'

And at George's expense, publicist Stan Rosenfield also joked that the actor is 'sedated and should recover in a few days'.

The actor recently confessed he and Amal hadn't picked the names for their little ones yet but did say they were happier than ever.

He said: 'No we haven't picked out any names and I'll tell you why ... Because I've had friends pick out names around their parents and then it becomes ...

'Whatever name you pick they're like, 'Oh, I don't like that. That guy's a prime minister' 'Can't name her Susan. You remember your Aunt Susan?'

'[But] can you believe it?! Yeah, [I'm] even happier [than before]. I didn't know that we'd have kids. I was very happy that we were going to get married and then [a pregnancy] seemed like the next step.'
The mine has also been slammed by environmentalists who say it will hurt the Great Barrier Reef, a World Heritage-listed biodiverse site stretching along Australia's northeastern coast, which is already threatened by climate change.

Indian mining giant Adani on Tuesday said it will start work on a huge US$16 billion coal project that environmentalists warn will damage Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

Billionaire chairman Gautam Adani said in Townsville that the board had made its "final investment decision" which marked the "official start" of the Carmichael coal mine, destined to be one of the world's largest.

The controversial project -- the biggest investment in Australia ever by an Indian company -- encountered numerous regulatory and legal hurdles, leading to seven years of delays, with a lease finally granted last year.

It has also been slammed by environmentalists who say it will hurt the reef, a World Heritage-listed biodiverse site stretching along Australia's northeastern coast, which is already threatened by climate change.

"Now the time for waiting is over and the time for doing is beginning," said Federal Resources Minister Matt Canavan.

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The development proposes exporting coal to India from a massive open-cut and underground coal mine 160 kilometres (100 miles) northwest of Clermont in central Queensland, home to the reef, via a 189-kilometre rail link to port.

The conglomerate, which had delayed final approval due to uncertainty over royalty payments, forecasts it will produce 60 million tonnes of thermal coal a year for export.

It also estimates it will generate 10,000 direct and indirect jobs, with pre-construction works starting in the September quarter of 2017.

- Poverty and disadvantage -

Adani hit out at activists who have challenged the project for years, accusing them of exploiting legal loopholes to stall development.

"We have been challenged by activists in the courts, in inner city streets, and even outside banks that have not even been approached to finance the project," he said.

"We are still facing activists. But we are committed to this project. We are committed to regional Queensland and we are committed to addressing energy poverty in India."

Canavan also brushed off activist concerns, saying they should remember the "quarter billion Indians who don't have electricity at all".

"It is about providing a benefit to those people to have electricity and bring them from the suffering of poverty and disadvantage," he said.

"That does a lot more for the world, our globe, our environment, than anyone tweeting in air-conditioned rooms in Sydney who might be opposed to it."

Billionaire Adani chairman Gautam Adani said the board had made its "final investment decision" which marked the "official start" of the Carmichael coal mine -- destined to be one of the world's largest.

Earlier this year a group of prominent Australians urged Adani to abandon the mine.

Signatories to an open letter included former Australian Test cricket captains Ian and Greg Chappell, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Geraldine Brooks, Australian-based British comedian Ben Elton, and rock group Midnight Oil.

They cited public opposition, risks to miners' health, the potential impact on the reef, and India's reputation as reasons not to proceed.

Environmentalists said Tuesday Adani had yet to reveal how it would fund the mine, with numerous banks ruling out finance for the project.

Greenpeace Australia called it "toxic" and a "disaster for the climate", while WWF-Australia chief Dermot O'Gorman warned of a risk to the reef.

"Carbon pollution from burning coal is the single largest cause of global warming," he said.

"The Australian and Queensland governments should be investing in actions that protect the reef, not a new mine doomed to fail, that will hasten the reef's destruction."

The reef -- already under threat from farming run-off, development and the crown-of-thorns starfish -- is in the grip of a second successive mass bleaching event this year, which has been blamed on global warming.
In May 2017, while attending the XXI Congress of the Association for the Taxonomic Study of the Flora of Tropical Africa (AETFAT), Smithsonian Libraries (SIL) staff Martin R. Kalfatovic and Carolyn A. Sheffield received a speaking invitation for the Embassy of the United States of America, Nairobi, Kenya from Tatum Albertine (Environment, Science, Technology & Health Officer).

The Embassy is located in Gigiri, north of the Nairobi central business district, about a two hour drive in Nairobi traffic from the Karen neighborhood where the AETFAT Congress was being held. The program was held in the American Reference Center (ARC) on the Embassy campus. The ARC serves students, teachers, researchers, journalists, business professionals and individuals simply interested in broadening their horizons on any topic.

The purpose of the talk was to provide a wider Kenyan community with information about the Biodiversity Heritage Library and services provided by Smithsonian Libraries to Smithsonian researchers that could serve as a model or inspiration for similar services to the broader research community in Kenya. There were invited guests from National Museums of Kenya, the Kenya Wildlife Service, Nature Kenya: The East African Natural History Society, and the National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation (NACOSTI). In addition, Albertine worked with ARC Deputy Director Nashon Akello to publicize the program widely with the university community and faculty and students from both Kenyatta University and the Technical University of Kenya.

Smithsonian Libraries Associate Director Martin R. Kalfatovics presentation, Managing Scholarly Research Output: The Smithsonian Institution Experience: An Introduction to Smithsonian Research Online (SRO) covered key components of the Smithsonian Libraries SRO program of bibliographic data collection, data analysis for metrics and reporting, and communications to administrators, researchers, and the public. The presentation was based on previous presentations of SIL staff Alvin Hutchinson and Richard Naples and with input from Suzanne C. Pilsk. A representative of NACOSTI in attendance commented:

Information management and data analysis towards scholarly publications is a very important indicator of a nations development and reflects the potential of a nation to harness its human resource in solving problems of mankind. It also broadens the horizons of policy thinking and in addressing many critical issues the government faces. As a policy making institution, scholarly publications will be very important in advising the government accurately. Therefore, your invitation of our institution was timely because this is one of the areas needed to be harnessed in advising the government by policy directions using real data.

As Scott Miller, Deputy Under Secretary for Collections and Interdisciplinary Support at the Smithsonian Institution, who facilitated the planning for the program, noted:

Most research organizations in Kenya, as well as agencies who regulate research, are struggling with the challenges of tracking and making available the results of research. The tools that Smithsonian Research Online have used could be readily adapted for use by some of these organizations.

Given the overlap of interests of many organizations in biodiversity research in Kenya, I also hope these presentations catalyze discussion of the possibility of a multi-organization collaboration to create a centralized data archive that has multiple portals to serve different users.

Carolyn A. Sheffield, BHL Program Manager, presented on Inspiring Discovery Through Free Access to Biodiversity Knowledge: The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL). Sheffield covered a general introduction of the BHL as well as recent accomplishments and metrics related to Kenya and Africa. BHL Africa colleagues, Asha Owono and Ben Nakitare were in attendance and provided additional support in relation to Kenyan participation in the BHL during the question and answer period. A participant from the Kenya Wildlife Service noted: The lecture and demonstration were very encouraging and I have the feeling that if this is pursued more vigorously, it can enhance information sharing within the conservation field in this country and the world at large.

Kalfatovic, Albertine, Sheffield

Again, as Dr. Miller commented during the planning for this presentation, This program is important for several reasons beyond helping users understand how to use the Biodiversity Heritage Library (which is important in itself). Kenya is poised to make significant additions to the BHL. As was discussed at the Laikipia landscape workshop in February, there is a rich history of grey literature in East Africa on agriculture, wildlife, public health, etc., that is not available to most people today.

The ARC was filled to capacity with sixty attendees. The Embassy social media team led by Amos Rono also presented the program as a Facebook Live broadcast as well as live streaming it to other U.S. Embassies in East Africa (see link below). Smithsonian Libraries and Biodiversity Heritage Library social media team also promoted the event.

Thanks to ARC Director George Kamau and ARC Deputy Director Nashon Akello for hosting the program in their space and Dan Travis (Public Affairs Officer), Megan Larson-Kone (Cultural Affairs Officer), Alka Bhatnagar (Information Resource Specialist), and Pushpinder Dhillon (Economic Section Chief) on the U.S. Embassy staff who worked to make this program a success.

View the Facebook Live presentation.
A doctor takes pictures of a man's skin condition for diagnosis through an online dermatology platform in Mali

In Mali, where skin conditions are widespread and skin doctors are scarce, physicians have turned to technology to treat patients remotely.

From his Bamako office, Professor Ousmane Faye, one of a small number of dermatologists in Mali, examines photos of an arm and a torso afflicted by a skin pigmentation disorder.

The photos arrived the same day the patient visited his doctor in Koulikoro, 57 kilometres (35 miles) away.

Faye's pilot programme, in place for 18 months, allows general practitioners working in even the most remote areas to consult with a specialist.

In a country that has around one dermatologist per million people, that is an invaluable aid. For in Mali, according to estimates, nearly 30 percent of the population suffers from skin diseases, such as leprosy, psoriasis and eczema.

"The patient from Koulikoro suffers from hypochromia lesions with some healthy patches of skin," says Faye, head of dermatology at Mali's national disease control centre (CNAM).

"Two months ago, the patient had treatment that made the lesions worse," he added. By this he meant traditional remedies.

But thanks to the "Bogou" app, designed by a Malian developer, the professor can bring his specialist knowledge to bear on the information sent over by general practitioners, using his computer or even his mobile phone.

Using a secure platform protected with a password, Faye says he can see images posted by the general practitioner in Koulikoro.

"Then I can confirm the doctor's diagnosis and even give advice."

Dermatologist Ousmane Faye uses photos to remotely prescribe treatment for skin disorders in Mali

Provided clear images are available, Faye's line of work is particularly well-suited to remote diagnosis, as dermatology is based on observation by the human eye, he explains.

"There is a triple benefit: time, money and training", for the doctors out in the field, he says.

- Next-day treatment -

Out in Banamba, about 140 kilometres (90 miles) northeast of Bamako, patient Fatoumata Konare has reaped the benefits.

"It had been itching for a long time," she says of her skin condition.

Her doctor took photos when she went in to see him, sent them on, and told her to return the next day for a prescription.

"I went to buy the pills and the lotion and was healed. I don't need to go anywhere else, everything was taken care of in Banamba," she says.

Doctors in Mali have turned to technology to diagnose and treat patients remotely

The Pierre Fabre foundation which is financing the programme, said the results have been "solid", with 175 complex cases diagnosed remotely.

The foundation promotes the use of new technologies to improve diagnosis and treatment of skin diseases in Africa, and the idea is to expand the project from Mali to other African countries.

Already, 20 doctors and nurses have been trained with a goal of extending the service throughout Mali over the next two years.

They will first focus on reaching the most disadvantaged and remote areas that have internet coverage.
Donald Trump's choice as the new ambassador to China, former Iowa governor Terry Branstad, pictured, has yet to arrive in the country.

The top career diplomat at the US embassy in China has stepped down, an American official in Beijing confirmed Tuesday, amid suggestions that he opposes President Donald Trump's climate policy.

Embassy charge d'affaires David Rank was a 27-year veteran State Department officer appointed to serve in Beijing in January last year.

"Mr Rank made a personal decision. We appreciate his years of dedicated service to the State Department," US embassy spokeswoman Mary Beth Polley told AFP.

Polley said the embassy informed China's foreign affairs ministry on Monday that Jonathan Fritz would be serving as charge d'affaires.

She declined to comment on when a permanent replacement for Rank would be announced.

Trump's choice as the new ambassador to China, former Iowa governor Terry Branstad, has yet to arrive in the country.

News of Rank's resignation was broken on Twitter by veteran China reporter John Pomfret, an editor at the SupChina news site, formerly of the Washington Post.

According to Pomfret, Rank stepped down because he "could not back Trump on climate" and had been dismayed by the president's decision to pull out of the Paris climate accord.

Pomfret added Rank had "called a town hall meeting" at the embassy "to say he could not deliver a demarche (initiative)" to China over US withdrawal from the Paris agreement.
Cameroonian soldiers engaged in the fight against Boko Haram often complain about their conditions

Around 30 Cameroonian soldiers fighting the Nigerian jihadist group Boko Haram were arrested after a demonstration to demand the payment of bonuses and some leave, the defence ministry said Monday.

The soldiers on Sunday "set about stopping traffic with barricades on national route number one," the ministry said in a statement broadcast on state radio.

The men were demanding that they be immediately relieved from duty, as well as "the payment of bonuses for 'international soldiers' in line with those granted to their comrades from UN peace keeping missions," the statement said.

The soldiers were transferred from the Zigue area in the far north to capital Yaounde where they were placed under arrest and a judicial investigation was opened, the ministry said.

Traffic along the northern route was restored.

Cameroonian soldiers engaged in the fight against Boko Haram often complain about their conditions, but this is the first time a group have demonstrated for leave or greater pay.

Though Boko Haram was born in Nigeria, the Islamic State-affiliated group has carried out frequent attacks in Cameroon, Chad and Niger, prompting the formation of a 10,000-strong regional force to fight back.

Some 200,000 Cameroonians from the far north region near Nigeria have left their villages in fear of the violence.
Traders can charge around $2,000 a viss (equivalent to 1.63 kilogrammes) for tiny swiftlet nests popular for soup in China -- more than the average person in Myanmar earns in a year.

The cries of amorous swiftlets echo around the dark room, an unlikely gold mine for traders in southern Myanmar who are cashing in on rising demand for the edible nests from China's growing middle class.

Dozens of buildings dedicated to the tiny birds have sprung up around Bokpyin in recent years, their grey concrete structures towering over the humbler wooden and brick homes of the town's human inhabitants.

Every morning and evening the air is filled with high-pitched twitterings blasted from loudspeakers that draw thousands of the swallow-like birds home to roost.

Edible birds nests have become one of the main industries in Bokpyin, traditionally known for producing the chewable stimulant betel nut as well as rubber and palm oil.

Edible birds nests have become one of the main industries in the town, traditionally known for producing the chewable stimulant betel nut as well as rubber and palm oil.

Traders can charge around $2,000 a viss (equivalent to 1.63 kilogrammes) for the tiny nests -- more than the average person in Myanmar earns in a year.

"We started making man-made bird nests (houses) 10 years ago," said Paing Set Aung, who owns one of the buildings where hundreds of swiftlets make their homes in the rafters.

Most of the tiny white nests, which are made from solidified bird spit, are sold to neighbouring China, where they are served up in restaurants as delicacies.

"Initially there was a house where the birds came to roost by themselves. After that, people started to construct man-made bird houses."

Most of the tiny white nests, which are made from solidified bird spit, are sold to neighbouring China.

Long considered the reserve of the country's wealthy elite, who ate them during lavish banquets, they are in increasing demand from middle-class consumers.

Long considered the reserve of China's wealthy elite, who ate them during lavish banquets, dishes made from birds nest are in increasing demand from middle-class consumers.

Today the global edible birds nest industry is estimated to be worth $5 billion, most of it produced in Southeast Asia.

Myanmar's exports have surged since 2011 -- the year the former junta handed over power to a quasi-civilian government.

"Bird nests are one of the main businesses in Bokpyin," said local Lin Aung, who built his first house five years ago and is now on his third.

"China is the top buyer of bird nests here."

- 'Caviar of the East' -

Once across the border, the nests are transformed into one of the most expensive foods in the world.

Today the global edible birds nest industry is estimated to be worth $5 billion, most of it produced in Southeast Asia.

When boiled in water they dissolve into a gelatinous gloop which is then made into desserts or drunk as a soup or a tonic that is said to prolong life and improve strength.

There is little peer-reviewed scientific data showing that nests have proven medicinal properties. Nutritional studies have shown the saliva to be mainly made up of protein, followed by carbohydrates.

In Shanghai restaurants sell the "the caviar of the East," as it is known, for hundreds of dollars a bowl.

Many of them cater specifically to women, who believe the nests can help smooth the complexion and make them look younger.

When boiled in water the nests dissolve into a gelatinous gloop which is then made into desserts or drunk as a soup or a tonic that is said to prolong life and improve strength.

The tonic is also said to help during pregnancy -- one of Shanghai's high-end spas solely for mothers-to-be even has its own restaurant and sells gift bags for as much as 3900 RMB ($566).

Shoppers can also order the products online, including candied birds nests from Myanmar to be eaten as sweets.

"In China, the bird nest has been a really famous and much-loved traditional tonic since ancient times," Zhang Yi told AFP inside her NestCha restaurant.

"It is mild and a little sweet. It is good for women, the elderly, children and men."

- Growing industry -

These luxury products are a far cry from the nests' humble beginnings on the islands of Myanmar's southern archipelago.

In Shanghai, restaurants sell dishes made from the nests, known as "the caviar of the East" for hundreds of dollars a bowl.

To begin with they were harvested on the region's many islands by daring climbers who risked life and limb scaling treacherous cliffs without any safety equipment.

For years the industry was dominated by the Union of Myanma Economic Holdings Ltd (UMEHL), a sprawling conglomerate controlled by the military elites that ran Myanmar for half a century.

But, as in much of Southeast Asia, production has increasingly moved into urban centres.

Locals in the southern city of Myeik started building houses to attract the birds decades ago, then later production spread to Bokpyin and nearby Kawthaung.

Competition for space in Bokpyin between bird nest producers and tourism developers has seen land prices surge to as high as $75,000 a plot in downtown -- on a par with parts of the commercial capital Yangon.

There are now more than 130 houses devoted to the swiftlets dotted around the region, according to state media.

Competition for space in Bokpyin between bird nest producers and tourism developers has seen land prices surge to as high as $75,000 a plot in downtown -- on a par with parts of the commercial capital Yangon.

Nests are normally harvested three or four times a year, but traders can collect them often as once a month if they are in need of cash.

Producer Aung Kyaw Moe said that, because the swiftlet populations naturally increase as the birds become accustomed to their homes, the industry will only grow in the coming years.

"They are like humans because they come and live here after they get to know the place," he told AFP, standing next to his tall wooden bird-house in Myeik.
Calle Jarnkrok (L) of the Nashville Predators celebrates with teammate Yannick Weber after scoring a goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game Four of the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Finals, at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, on June 5

The Nashville Predators roared back into Stanley Cup contention on Monday with a series-leveling 4-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Calle Jarnkrok, Frederick Gaudreau, Viktor Arvidsson and Filip Forsberg scored as the Predators swept to a deserved win at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena to tie the best-of-seven series at two apiece.

Nashville, who dropped the opening two games of the series before romping to a 5-1 win in Game 3 on Saturday, picked up where they left off at the weekend to overwhelm the defending champions.

Netminder Pekke Rinne had another inspired night for the Predators, saving 23 of 24 shots including an incredible double save in the second period to deny both Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel what would have been a game-tying goal.

Jarnkrok fired the Predators into the lead in the first period, tucking away a rebound from close range. Pittsburgh challenged for goaltender interference but Jarnkrok's goal was deemed good.

Filip Forsberg (R) of the Nashville Predators is defended by Trevor Daley of the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game Four of the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Finals, at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, on June 5

The Penguins responded swiftly however with Crosby getting the visitors back on level terms, coolly finishing past Rinne after sending the Predators' goalie the wrong way.

Gaudreau then sent Nashville into the lead with a clever wraparound. Initially it looked as if his shot had been cleared but a replay review showed the puck had crossed the line to send the Predators 2-1 up.

Rinne's double save brought the home fans to their feet soon afterwards and the stadium erupted shortly after that when Mike Fisher and Arvidsson combined superbly to double the lead.

Fisher's desperate lunging pass sent Arvidsson through on goal and the Swedish star finished with aplomb to trigger delirium.

With time ticking down in the third period, Forsberg then applied the coup de grace, steering the puck into an empty net from long range to make it 4-1.

Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins reacts after Filip Forsberg of the Nashville Predators scored an open net goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins in game four of the 2017 NHL Stanley Cup Final, at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, on June 5

Predators coach Peter Laviolette singled out netminder Rinne for praise before attributing the victory to a team effort.

"Pekke was excellent tonight, outstanding," Laviolette said. "But I liked the way the guys stayed focused from start to finish. And that's the difference sometimes. Now everything matters, every pass matters, every check matters, every face-off matters. And I thought our guys were sharp from start to finish."

Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan bemoaned his team's failure to breach the Nashville defence more than once.

"It's hard to win when you score one goal," Sullivan said. "Having said that, I thought tonight, of all the games we played, we generated the most chances and the highest quality.

"It didn't go in the net for us. We had a number of grade A opportunities, a couple of breakaways. There were a lot of things from a process standpoint that we really liked.

"I think we just got to stay with it. We believe we got guys that can score goals and can finish."

Game 5 takes place in Pittsburgh on Thursday.
Japan shut down all of its atomic reactors after a powerful earthquake in March 2011 spawned a huge tsunami that led to meltdowns at the Fukushima nuclear plant

A Japanese utility switched on another nuclear reactor Tuesday in a small victory for the government's pro-atomic push, despite strong public opposition after the 2011 Fukushima meltdown.

The restart of the No. 3 reactor at the Takahama nuclear plant brings the number of running reactors in Japan to five, while dozens more remain offline.

The plant, operated by Kansai Electric Power (KEPCO), is located in Fukui prefecture, some 350 kilometres (215 miles) west of Tokyo.

Tuesday's restart comes after the utility switched on Takahama's No 4 reactor last month after a court cleared its restart, despite complaints from local residents over safety concerns. The court also gave the green light to switch on the No. 3 reactor.

Japan shut down all of its atomic reactors after a powerful earthquake in March 2011 spawned a huge tsunami that led to meltdowns at the Fukushima nuclear plant.

It became the world's worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl in 1986.

Since then, just a handful of reactors have come back online due to public opposition and as legal cases work their way through the courts.

However, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has aggressively promoted nuclear energy, calling it essential to powering the world's third-largest economy.

Much of the public remains wary of nuclear power after the disaster at Fukushima spewed radiation over a large area and forced tens of thousands to leave their homes, with some unlikely to ever return.
A Chinese official helps plant seagrass in the Potomac River as foreign envoys help out with a conservation scheme threatened by US budget cuts

President Donald Trump may have torpedoed the Paris climate accord as US diplomats brace for huge cuts to their environmental programs.

But on Monday, American officials joined world diplomats wading out into the Potomac estuary to replant seagrass in a telling gesture paired with an unlikely photo opportunity.

Embassy staff from 13 countries -- from great power China to tiny island nation Malta -- joined helpers from the State Department to restore a small corner of the waterway.

Their grass had germinated six months ago under a previous administration that had made environmental protection a foreign policy priority.

The shoots were nurtured in foreign embassies in Washington, then wrapped in damp newspaper for the hour-long road trip to Mason Neck State Park in Virginia.

Soggy headlines in several languages recalled the political and diplomatic chaos in Washington as the Trump administration beds in.

The heading on one editorial -- covering part of the grass that Costa Rica was to contribute to Belmont Bay's underwater ecosystem -- stood out: "Climate change hypocrites."

It was an unfortunate note at an otherwise quietly positive event to help a mighty waterway.

Once badly polluted, America's biggest estuary network is slowly recovering. Water snakes swam by and ospreys dove for fish as the volunteers waded in.

But even as the diplomats worked, a new batch of headlines was being written elsewhere.

In New York, UN chief Antonio Guterres urged countries to put aside national interests to focus on saving the oceans and prevent "global catastrophe."

In Beijing, the senior diplomat at the US embassy -- which is still waiting for its new ambassador to arrive -- resigned abruptly, reportedly over opposition to Trump's climate stance.

And a new poll, conducted for ABC News and The Washington Post, found that US voters oppose Trump's decision on the Paris pact by a margin of two to one.

Although China and Europe have vowed to increase their support for the 2015 Paris accord's plan to cut greenhouse emissions, the US boycott leaves a gap in leadership.

Several US climate-related programs would disappear under a proposed budget presented by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the former CEO of oil giant ExxonMobil.

- Malta summit -

Malta's Ambassador to the United States Pierre Clive Agius (R) helps plant seagrass in a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay

The Bureau of Oceans and International and Scientific Affairs, which had several staff on hand for Monday's event, will not suffer that fate. Its budget is slated to be cut by only $1.7 million to around $13.3 million.

Another program dear to the previous secretary of state, John Kerry, will also continue: the annual Our Oceans summit promoting maritime conservation.

Kerry hosted the 2016 summit in Washington, and the European Union will host this year's conference in Malta, which holds the rotating presidency.

Malta's ambassador Clive Agius, who joined the volunteers to plant a batch of seagrass, confirmed Europe's concern at Trump's Paris decision.

"We cannot not feel a bit disappointed that we're not all pulling the same rope," he said on the muddy foreshore.

After Malta, Indonesia takes up the Our Oceans banner, and their team was also at the park.

US officials point out that Trump's "America First" policy, while opposed to a global pact on climate change, nevertheless insists on the value of clean water and air.

Indonesia's second secretary for economic affairs, Anggarini Sesotyoningtyas, said her country shares that goal and is working hard to collect ocean debris.

- Entryway to the Americas -

But climate change is also "a big issue," she said, adding that Indonesia remains committed to an ambitious 26 percent cut in greenhouse emissions.

The fortuitously named Cliff Seagroves, acting director of the US State Department's Office on Foreign Missions, remained upbeat.

"I think we're all committed to doing what we can for the environment in whatever way we can," he said of his colleagues.

He cited seagrass planting as "an example of a simple project that can be done anywhere in the world."

The plants should reduce erosion, boost oxygen levels in once-polluted rivers and bays, help clean the water and store carbon that could fuel climate change.

But if the State Department and its foreign partners are happy to help, the US federal government as a whole may be about to back away.

The president's budget plan abolishes the $73 million Chesapeake Bay program, noted Rebecca LePrell, executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation for Virginia.

European Union embassy staff plant seagrass at Mason Neck State Park in Virginia

An area of 64,000 square miles (165,000 square kilometers) and home to 18 million in six states, the Chesapeake basin was an entryway to the Americas for European explorers.

The states and the District of Columbia agreed in 2010 on a 15-year clean-up plan that has had some success, but was due to run until 2025.

All that, as well was Washington's leadership role in the global climate debate, is now in question.
Australian officials have ordered an investigation into espionage laws and foreign government interference amid growing concerns about Chinese influence in the country's politics

Australia has ordered an inquiry into espionage laws and foreign government interference amid growing concerns about Chinese influence in the country's politics, it emerged Tuesday.

The move follows an investigation that discovered the nation's spy agency had warned the country's political elite two years ago about taking donations from two billionaires with links to the Chinese Communist Party.

The probe, by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Fairfax Media, said that despite being cautioned both the Liberals and Labor continued accepting substantial sums of cash.

Their investigation showed that property developers Huang Xiangmo and Chau Chak Wing, or their associates, had donated around AUS$6.7 million ($5 million) to political parties over a decade.

Chau is an Australian citizen while Huang's citizenship application has been stalled by Australia's spy chiefs, ABC said. Both reportedly have connections to the ruling Communist Party.

The investigation, aired on Monday evening, said intelligence agencies had major concerns that China was interfering in Australian institutions and using the political donations system to gain access.

China's foreign ministry spokeswoman called the reports "totally groundless", adding that Australian media should not "waste their time on such meaningless and malicious" stories.

"Early last month, I asked the attorney-general to review our espionage laws, to review our laws relating to the activities of foreign governments in Australia and he is going to present a report on what changes we may need to make," Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told reporters.

"But we take it very, very seriously. The sovereignty of Australia, the sovereignty of our democratic processes, free from foreign interference is a matter of the highest concern."

The revelations come with Russia accused of interfering in the American and French political systems.

Attorney-General George Brandis said he was examining whether espionage offences in the criminal code were adequate.

"The threat of political interference by foreign intelligence services is a problem of the highest order and it is getting worse," he said.

"I will be taking legislative reforms to Cabinet with a view to introducing legislation before the end of the year."

Labor leader Bill Shorten said the party no longer wanted money from Chau or Huang.

The ABC said Chau declined to answer questions because he was travelling while Huang said in a statement it was regrettable the broadcaster "would seek to question my motives and undermine my reputation based on recycled news reports, dubious assertions and innuendo".
A truck bomb that ripped through Kabul's diplomatic quarter last week killed more than 150 people, Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani said Wednesday. The explosion blew a huge hole in the road and maimed more than 300 people.

The death toll from a devastating truck bomb in Kabul's diplomatic quarter last week has jumped to more than 150, President Ashraf Ghani told an international peace conference in the capital on Tuesday.

Kabul has been on edge since the bombing in the highly fortified area last Wednesday, the deadliest in the city since 2001.

"Over 150 innocent Afghan sons and daughters were killed and more than 300 wounded were brought to hospitals with burns and amputations," Ghani said. Previously officials had put the number of dead at 90.

Four more people were killed Friday when hundreds of protesters incensed by the bombing clashed with police, prompting officials to force them back with live rounds fired in the air, tear gas and water cannon.

The protesters, holding a sit-in for a fifth day Tuesday near the bombing site, have demanded the resignation of Afghanistan's security chiefs, including national security adviser Hanif Atmar -- a demand that Ghani has turned down.

And on Saturday, at least seven people were killed when suicide bombers tore through a row of mourners who were attending the funeral of one of the protesters, the son of an influential Afghan senator.

No group has claimed the attacks, but the government has blamed the Taliban-allied Haqqani Network for Wednesday's bombing.
UN Yemen envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed speaks to reporters in Sanaa on October 25, 2016

Rebels who control the Yemeni capital Sanaa have said they will have no further dealings with a UN envoy who has conducted months of shuttle diplomacy with the Saudi-backed government.

The head of the rebel-installed Supreme Political Council, Saleh al-Samad, accused the envoy of bias and said he would no longer be allowed entry to rebel-held areas.

"We say unanimously that the envoy is no longer welcome here," Samad said in a televised speech late Monday.

"There will be no more contact with Ismail Ould Sheikh Ahmad and he is not welcome here."

Samad said the decision was taken jointly by the Huthi Shiite rebels and their allies in the General People's Congress of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The rebels' announcement comes after an abortive visit by the envoy to Sanaa last month in which he was mobbed by protesters and failed to secure any meetings with rebel representatives.

He had been trying to broker a ceasefire for the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan which began on May 27.

More than 8,000 people have been killed since a Saudi-led coalition launched a military intervention in March 2015 to prop up the government of Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.

Along with Sanaa, the rebels still control most of the north and the Red Sea coastline, including the key port of Hodeida.

The coalition has imposed an air and sea blockade of rebel-held territory and only UN-supervised deliveries of food and medicines are allowed, nearly all of them through Hodeida.

With some 17 million people facing dire food shortages, UN officials have warned of the risk of famine.

The country has also been hit by a cholera outbreak that has killed more than 500 people.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani (C) stands for the national anthem during an international peace conference at the Presidential Palace in Kabul on June 6, 2017

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani issued an ultimatum to the Taliban Tuesday, warning them to embrace peace or "face consequences" after announcing that the death toll from last week's devastating truck bombing had passed 150.

Ghani has come under mounting criticism over the bombing, the deadliest in Kabul since 2001, with protests and deadly street clashes roiling the Afghan capital as people incensed by spiralling insecurity call for his government's resignation.

The president made a strong plea for peace at an international conference on Afghanistan attended by around two dozen countries, which was held under tight security as armoured vehicles patrolled the streets and fighter jets roared over the capital.

"We are offering a chance for peace but this is not an open-ended offer," Ghani said.

"Time is running out... this is the last chance: take it or face consequences."

The conference, labelled the "Kabul Process", aims to build international support for ways to restore security in Afghanistan.

Kabul has been on edge since the massive truck bomb last Wednesday ripped through the city's highly fortified diplomatic quarter, home to the presidential palace and a host of foreign embassies.

The death toll has jumped to more than 150 people, while over 300 wounded were brought to hospitals, many with burns and amputations, Ghani told the conference.

"We are a nation of survivors. Terrorists can shed our blood but they cannot break our will," he said.

Officials had previously placed the death toll the attack at 90. Ghani did not explain the dramatic jump but Afghan authorities have played down casualty figures in the past.

Ghani offered the Taliban the opportunity to open a representative office, adding that he was flexible about the location of future talks.

The insurgents responded to the conference by firing a rocket at what they claimed was NATO's headquarters. It landed inside the Indian ambassador's residence and no one was hurt.

Underscoring the growing insecurity, a motorcycle bomb exploded near the Grand Mosque in the western city of Herat, killing seven people and wounding 16 according to the interior ministry.

- Rising tensions -

Ghani has faced growing calls to step down since four people were killed Friday when hundreds of protesters incensed by the truck bombing in Kabul clashed with police, prompting officials to respond with live rounds fired in the air.

The protesters, holding a sit-in for a fifth day Tuesday near the bombing site, have also demanded the resignation of security chiefs including national security adviser Hanif Atmar.

The attacks have worsened tensions between rival ethnic groups and raised the prospect of a political crisis.

Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani, who heads the mainly ethnic Tajik Jamiat political group, also called for Atmar's dismissal on Monday. But Ghani, who like Atmar is from the majority Pashtun ethnic group, firmly rejected the demand.

Rabbani survived an attack at the funeral of one of the protesters on Saturday, when a suicide bomb tore through a row of mourners and killed seven more people.

He blamed "terrorists within the system" for the funeral blasts, suggesting they were an inside job.

The government has accused the Taliban-allied Haqqani Network of carrying out Wednesday's attack, and said the funeral was targeted by bombers trained at a religious seminary in Pakistan.

Previous international efforts to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table have failed, but diplomats in Kabul hailed Tuesday's conference as a stepping stone to peace.

"The launch of the Kabul Process tomorrow is an important marker for each and every country in the region to show its true support for Afghanistan's aspirations for peace," said British ambassador Dominic Jermey on Monday.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, speaking to the media during a joint press conference with New Zealand's Prime Minister Bill English in Wellington, said President Donald Trump had ordered him to build ties with Russia

US President Donald Trump has told his top diplomat to ignore trouble in Washington and re-engage with Russia to rebuild ties, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Tuesday.

With ex-FBI director James Comey due to testify to Congress on Thursday, Tillerson was asked if he feared the adminstration would be brought down over allegations of Trump's election campaign ties with Moscow.

"The president has been clear to me, 'Do not let what's happening over here in the political realm prevent you from the work you need to do in this relationship'," he told reporters in New Zealand.

Comey's testimony will be his first public remarks since being fired by Trump last month, and represents a moment of danger for the embattled president.

His sacking came as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) probes possible collusion between Trump's election campaign team and Russia -- which US intelligence believes hoped to tilt the election in the Republican's favor.

Tillerson said he could not comment on the investigations into Russian ties and was "really ... not involved in any of these other issues".

But he added: "The president has been very clear with me that Russia is an important global player and today our relationships with Russia are at a very low point and they've been deteriorating.

"So the president asked me to begin a re-engagement process with Russia to stabilise that relationship so it does not deteriorate further."

Trump wanted him to "identify areas of mutual interest where perhaps we can build some level of trust and confidence so that there are areas where we can work together".

"And that's the process that's under way today," Tillerson said.

"He's been quite clear with me to proceed at whatever pace and in whatever areas we might make progress."

Tillerson met New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English and Foreign Minister Gerry Brownlee on Tuesday after stopovers in Australia and Singapore.
President Muhammadu Buhari, 74, left Nigeria on May 7 and is receiving treatment for an undisclosed illness

The wife of Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari returned from London Tuesday after visiting her ailing husband, who is receiving treatment for an undisclosed illness, her office said.

Aisha Buhari left for the British capital last week to "spend some time" with her 74-year-old husband, who left Nigeria on May 7 and has not been heard from or seen since.

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has been formally deputising.

Aisha Buhari thanked Osinbajo for his work and said her husband would return "soon... as he is recuperating fast", without elaborating.

Before his latest trip, Buhari had previously spent almost two months in Britain being treated for what he described as one of the worst illnesses of his life.

The presidency has repeatedly rejected rumours that Buhari is terminally ill or even dead but refused to disclose his illness or what treatment he is having.
A member of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces removes an Islamic State group flag in the town of Tabqa on April 30, 2017, as they advance in their battle to take Raqa

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces broke into the Islamic State group's Syrian bastion of Raqa on Tuesday, less than an hour after declaring a new phase in their fight for the city.

"Our forces entered the city of Raqa from the eastern district of Al-Meshleb," SDF commander Rojda Felat told AFP.

She said fierce clashes were also raging on the northern outskirts of the city.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the SDF had seized a number of positions inside Raqa on Tuesday after advancing to the city's eastern edge overnight.

"They have taken control of a checkpoint in Al-Meshleb, as well as a number of buildings," Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

"The advance came after heavy air strikes by the US-led coalition," he said.

The coalition has backed the SDF's seven-month drive for Raqa with military advisers and weapons deliveries as well as air support.

After months sealing off access routes to the city from the east, north and west, the SDF on Tuesday announced a new phase in their fight for Raqa.

"We declare today the start of the great battle to liberate the city of Raqa, the so-called capital of terrorism and terrorists," SDF spokesman Talal Sello told reporters in the village of Hazima, north of the city.

"With the international coalition's warplanes and the state-of-the-art weapons they provided to us, we will seize Raqa from Daesh," Sello told AFP, using an Arabic acronym for IS.

He asked civilians inside the city to keep away from IS positions and from the front lines.

As the SDF has drawn closer to the city, reports of civilian casualties in coalition air strikes have swelled.

On Monday, the Observatory said a coalition bombing raid killed 21 civilians as they tried to escape Raqa by dinghy on the Euphrates River.

The same route had been used by IS fighters, Abdel Rahman said.

More than 320,000 people have been killed and millions more have fled their homes since the civil war erupted in Syria in March 2011.
Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia, which has one of the highest rates of executions in the world, has witnessed protests and clashes with police in its mainly Shiite eastern province since 2011

Saudi Arabia plans to execute 14 citizens, all Shiites, after a "grossly unfair trial" linked to political protests, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday.

Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia, which has one of the highest rates of executions in the world, has witnessed protests and clashes with police in its mainly Shiite eastern province since 2011.

Court documents obtained by the two human rights groups showed that a total of 38 defendants, including the 14 sentenced to death, were convicted of charges linked to demonstrations in the eastern province 2011 and 2012.

Most had been held in pretrial detention for more than two years, many of them in solitary confinement, the groups said.

"The rise in death sentences against Saudi Arabian Shiites is alarming and suggests that the authorities are using the death penalty to settle scores and crush dissent under the guise of combating 'terrorism' and maintaining national security," said Sarah Leah Whitson of Human Rights Watch.

Amnesty International's Lynn Maalouf said the death sentences, handed down in 2016 and upheld last month, were based on coerced confessions that were later retracted.

Maalouf said the verdicts were based on "sham court proceedings ... that brazenly flout international fair trial standards" and should be overturned.

Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia has executed 36 people this year.

Authorities in the kingdom have accused protesters of "terrorism" aimed at destabilising the country.

Saudi Arabia also uses the term to describe drug traffickers and extremists loyal to the Islamic State group, who have executed a number of attacks on Shiites.
Members of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) stand in the village of Hazima on the northern outskirts of the Islamic State (IS) group's Syrian bastion of Raqa on June 6, 2017

US-backed fighters broke into the city of Raqa on Tuesday as they launched a final assault to drive the Islamic State group from its de facto Syrian capital.

The attack on the northern city at the heart of IS's Syrian territory has been seven months in the making and is backed by air support, military advisers and weapons deliveries from the US-led coalition.

Seized by the jihadists in early 2014, Raqa became notorious as a hub for IS's operations in Syria, Iraq and beyond.

The city has been the scene of some of the group's worst atrocities, including gruesome executions, public displays of bodies and the trafficking of women.

The battle for Raqa

It was one of the twin pivots of IS's so-called "caliphate," with Mosul in neighbouring Iraq -- where US-backed forces are also bearing down on the jihadists.

After months sealing off access routes to the city from the east, north and west, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces on Tuesday entered the city limits for the first time.

"Our forces entered the city of Raqa from the eastern district of Al-Meshleb," SDF commander Rojda Felat told AFP, adding that clashes were also raging on the city's northern outskirts.

"They are fighting street battles inside Raqa now, and we have experience in urban warfare," she said.

- 'Decisive blow' -

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said clashes in Al-Meshleb had forced IS members to withdraw from more than half of the district.

The SDF was also trying to push into Raqa's northwestern district of Al-Andalus, the monitor said, as fighting continued to the north, east and west of the city.

The advance in Al-Meshleb was backed by heavy air strikes by the US-led coalition, the Observatory said.

The coalition began its air campaign against IS in Iraq in August 2014, expanding its operations to Syria the following month.

The coalition appears keen to expel IS from its last major urban bastions before the "caliphate" turns three years old later this month.

Defeating IS in Raqa would "deliver a decisive blow to the idea of ISIS as a physical caliphate", coalition commander Lieutenant General Steve Townsend said.

Warning the fight would be "long and difficult," Townsend framed the offensive as part of a greater struggle against IS, which has claimed attacks in many countries including last month's deadly bombing in Manchester.

"We all saw the heinous attack in Manchester," he said. "ISIS threatens all our nations, not just Iraq and Syria, but in our homelands as well."

The SDF launched its operation to take Raqa -- dubbed "Wrath of the Euphrates" -- in November.

Talal Silo, spokesman for the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) speaks on the northern outskirts of the Islamic State group's Syrian bastion of Raqa on June 6, 2017

It then scored a series of victories in the wider province, including capturing the strategic town of Tabqa and its adjacent dam in May.

On Tuesday, SDF spokesman Talal Sello made the long-awaited announcement that the battle for Raqa itself had begun.

"We declare today the start of the great battle to liberate the city of Raqa, the so-called capital of terrorism and terrorists," Sello told reporters in the village of Hazima, north of the city.

"With the international coalition's warplanes and the state-of-the-art weapons they provided to us, we will seize Raqa from Daesh," Sello told AFP, using an Arabic acronym for IS.

- Concerns for civilians -

Sello urged civilians inside the city to keep away from IS positions and from the front lines.

The United Nations said it was concerned for the safety of more than 400,000 men, women and children in Raqa province who may be caught up in the violence.

As the SDF has drawn closer to the city, reports of civilian casualties in coalition air strikes have swelled.

On Monday, the Observatory said a coalition bombing raid killed 21 civilians as they tried to escape Raqa by dinghy on the Euphrates River.

The same route leading out of the city's southern districts has been used by IS fighters, it said.

An estimated 300,000 civilians were believed to have been living under IS rule in Raqa, including 80,000 displaced from other parts of Syria.

Members of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) sit in the back of pick-up truck in the village of Hazima on the northern outskirts of the Islamic State group's Syrian bastion of Raqa on June 6, 2017

Thousands have fled in recent months to other parts of the province or to makeshift camps in territory newly captured by the SDF.

On Tuesday, the International Rescue Committee said it was "deeply concerned for the safety of civilians in Raqa" after a drop in numbers fleeing the city in the past week.

This "may indicate ISIS intends to use the 200,000 people still trapped in the city as human shields," the aid group said, using another acronym for IS.

It also urged the "utmost care" to prevent civilian casualties after "a worrying number of civilians killed from coalition airstrikes across Raqa in recent months".

There are also risks for civilians who try to escape the last cities under jihadist rule.

On Tuesday, UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein accused IS of murdering 163 people to prevent them from fleeing Mosul last week.

More than 320,000 people have been killed since civil war erupted in Syria in 2011 with anti-government protests.
The UN has more than 15,000 peacekeepers operating in Democratic Republic of Congo who are part of the MONUSCO force

The UN rights chief on Tuesday gave Kinshasa a two-day deadline to show it is seriously investigating violence in the central Kasai provinces, or submit to an international probe.

"Unless I receive appropriate responses from the government regarding a joint investigation by June 8, I will insist on the creation of an international investigative mechanism for the Kasais," said Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein.

In March, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights demanded a high-level investigation into abuses committed against civilians in the violence-wracked Democratic Republic of Congo following the discovery of dozens of mass graves.

The region has seen a major spike in violence since September when government forces killed tribal chief and militia leader Kamwina Nsapu who had rebelled against President Joseph Kabila.

The unrest has claimed more than 400 lives and forced more than 1.2 million from their homes, according to UN figures. Unconfirmed local statistics put the number of dead as high as 3,000.

In his opening address to the UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday, he warned that "the already dire situation in the Kasai provinces ... continues to deteriorate, spreading to other provinces and across the border with Angola."

Since September 2016, the provinces in Democratic Republic of Congo's central Kasai region have been ravaged by clashes

His comments came after a coalition of 262 Congolese and nine international rights groups including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International last week urged the Geneva-based rights council to set up the inquiry on the Kasai violence.

On Monday, Washington called for a UN-led probe into the murder of two UN experts who had been gathering evidence about 40 mass graves in the region.

Zeid also condemned the "difficulties in accessing the areas where violations and abuses are occurring" and said he would dispatch a team to the region next week "to meet with people fleeing attacks."
Residents of Haingyi island in Myanmar have been battling thousands of rats since the critters scurried into their villages over the weekend

Thousands of rats have descended on villages on an island in southern Myanmar, a local official said on Tuesday, in what some have taken to be an ill omen of impending disaster.

Residents of Haingyi island, one of the larger islands in the Irrawaddy Delta, have been battling the plague of rodents since the critters scurried into their villages over the weekend.

Short of pied pipers, desperate authorities have resorted to paying residents 50 kyat (four US cents) for each dead animal in a bid to contain the outbreak.

"More than 4,000 rats have been killed since they tried to enter the villages," regional MP Phyo Zaw Shwe told AFP.

"According to traditional beliefs, these animals can predict bad weather. So people here are also worried about floods or earthquakes."

Studies by Japanese scientists have shown mice and rats are sensitive to electromagnetic waves similar to what often occurs before a major earthquake -- although there has been no notable seismic activity in Myanmar the last few days.

Pictures shared on social media showed locals collecting piles of the dead animals.

Phyo Zaw Shwe said some of the bodies had been sent away for testing for disease, but nothing had been found so far.

A villager in Than Cho Tan village told local media residents were killing the animals with "sticks, slingshots, and rocks".

"This evening, the rats entered our village as well and so far we've managed to kill over 800," he was quoted as saying by News Watch.

Myanmar is no stranger to rodent mobs.

Chin State, in the northwest, has repeatedly been hit by swarms of rats who come to gorge on bamboo fruit, which only appear once every 50-or-so years.

In the latest iteration in 2008, hundreds of people reportedly died when the rats turned from devouring the fruit to eating the crops of the local villagers.
(FILES) This file photo taken on June 15, 2015 shows a Qatar Airways A350 900

Qatar's state-of-the-art Hamad International bills itself as one of the most luxurious airports in the world -- but on Tuesday, it was also one of the quietest.

As a travel ban announced by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) came into force, terminals and drop-off areas at Doha's "gateway to the world" were deserted.

"This is the emptiest airport I've ever been in," said Katie, transiting Qatar en route to Thailand.

"It's exceptionally quiet, almost eerie."

Hamad's cavernous three-year-old terminals, constructed at an estimated cost of $16 billion (14 billion euros), can seem relatively empty on normal days because of their massive size.

But the diplomatic crisis between Doha and Riyadh backed by its Arab allies that has isolated Qatar left Hamad International a shadow of its normal activity on Tuesday.

With more than 30 Qatar Airways flights cancelled to and from Doha, there were neither traffic jams at departures where travellers are dropped off nor lines for taxis to pick up arriving passengers.

Inside, a calm air of weary resignation too hold.

Passengers gazed at information screens inside the terminals with amusement and pointed at cancelled flights to and from destinations across the Gulf, including Jeddah, Dammam and Dubai.

For most passengers, the experience was one of bemusement.

"I have never seen it like this," said the civil engineer, who was travelling home to New Delhi.

"It's crazy. I hope the crisis will finish soon."

Downstairs in the arrivals hall, Jaffa, a taxi driver from the Philippines who picks up passengers every day, chuckled at the emptiness.

"I've never seen so few people here," he said.

- 'It's appalling' -

Scenes were more frantic elsewhere in the Gulf as desperate Qatar Airways' passengers scrambled to find alternative travel arrangements.

People gather outside a branch of Qatar Airways in the Emirati capital of Abu Dhabi on June 6, 2017 as travellers try to find alternative travel plans because of bans on the airline

Scenes of long queues on social media showed travellers at Qatar Airways offices across the Gulf, as Saudi Arabia announced it had revoked the carrier's license and would close all its offices in the country within 48 hours.

Marsudi, an Indonesian trying to travel to Doha from Riyadh, told AFP he was holding a ticket, paid for by his employer, for a flight home to central Java via Saudi Arabia next Saturday.

"They have to do something," he said.

In the United Arab Emirates, the situation was just as bad for both those travelling on business and expats trying to fly home.

"It's appalling, basically," said Farrukh Hafez, trying to find a flight home to Manchester.

"I won't be able to use my ticket, I can't travel," he said outside a Qatar Airways office in Abu Dhabi. "It has just absolutely disturbed all my summer plans and I don't know if I'll find any alternative flight to Manchester."
US President Donald Trump linked Arab moves to isolate Qatar to his recent Middle East trip

US President Donald Trump Tuesday linked Arab moves to isolate Qatar to his recent Middle East trip, showing little sympathy for the plight of the Gulf emirate despite its role as a hub for US military operations in the region.

"During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!" Trump wrote on Twitter.

Saudi Arabia and several Arab allies, including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, cut diplomatic ties and transport links with Qatar on Monday, accusing the Gulf state of supporting extremism.

The dispute comes less than a month after Trump visited Saudi Arabia and called for a united Muslim front against extremism.

The US military uses a vast air base in Qatar as a crucial hub for its military operations in the region, now focused on the fight against the Islamic State group.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called on Gulf states Monday to stay united and work out their differences.

Energy-rich Qatar has long had strained ties with its neighbors but the move by Riyadh and its supporters shocked observers, raising fears the crisis could destabilize an already volatile region.

The Gulf states and Egypt banned all flights to and from Qatar and ordered Qatari citizens to leave within 14 days.
The EU's 3-billion euro package was to help Turkey deal with the millions of refugees and migrants who have fled there, from neighbouring Iraq and Turkey in particular.

The EU's 3-billion euro package to help migrants in Turkey will have been fully assigned to projects by the end of the year, the bloc's envoy said Tuesday.

All the funds, part of a deal with Turkey to tackle Europe's migrant crisis, will be fully assigned by the end of 2017, said Christian Berger, the EU ambassador to Turkey.

Berger was speaking during a visit to the southern Turkish city of Hatay, near the border with Syria.

"We will know exactly what we are doing with the three billion euros ($3.3 billion) and we will have contracted almost the entire amount of money at the end of this year," he told reporters.

Berger was in Hatay for the handover of EU-financed medical equipment worth 220,000 euros ($247,000) to a medical centre serving 300 refugees daily, which also trains Syrian doctors and nurses.

In March last year, Brussels signed an agreement with Ankara to halt the flow of migrants coming to EU member states.

In return, the EU undertook to speed up talks on Turkey's accession into the EU and to loosen visa restrictions for Turks.

But while the deal substantially reduced the flow of migrants into Europe, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan repeatedly accused Brussels of failing to deliver the funds.

Berger said the issue was discussed during the May 25 meeting between Erdogan, European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker and European Council President Donald Tusk on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Brussels.

As of May, 811 million euros ($910 million) has already been paid out, according to official EU figures.

Turkey is home to 2.9 million Syrian refugees, according to official interior ministry figures, with over 380,000 in Hatay province on the Syrian border.
Displaced Iraqi Yusra Mohammed holds a letter from the Red Cross stating the whereabouts of her two teenage sons after they were detained, as she stands at the Khazir camp on June 5, 2017

After fleeing the battleground city of Mosul, Yusra Mohammed says her children were detained by Iraqi Kurdish forces and she did not hear from them for around two months.

Hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes as Iraqi forces press a massive operation to retake Mosul from the Islamic State jihadist group.

Security forces have tried to prevent IS members from slipping out among the fleeing civilians, but their efforts to catch jihadists have added to the burdens of families already suffering from the war that has consumed their city.

Mohammed said members of the Asayesh, the Iraqi Kurdish region's internal security forces, detained her two teenage boys after the family left east Mosul in February.

"The Asayesh came to ask about Saddam and Qusay, and said they were wanted... and took them," she told AFP in the Khazir camp for displaced people, referring to her sons, who are aged 16 and 14.

"They were accused of being Dawaesh," Mohammed said, using a pejorative Arabic term for members of IS.

The boys "were working selling water in Mosul before the Dawaesh prevented them from doing so, and they became unemployed", she said.

Displaced Iraqi Yusra Mohammed heard nothing about the fate of her boys for weeks, until she received a letter from the Red Cross, which she is shown here holding on June 5, 2017 at the Khazir camp

Mohammed heard nothing about the fate of her boys for weeks, until she received a letter from the Red Cross that included a message from Saddam.

He asked for "a lawyer and a meeting and money," saying that he was in a juvenile prison in the city of Dohuk, one of three provincial capitals in Iraq's Kurdish region.

They "are young and are being unjustly treated and we do not have money for a lawyer," Mohammed said, the fatigue and sadness clear on her face.

Her sons were arrested some two months after the family arrived at the camp in Khazir following a complaint by an informant, their mother said.

She appealed to Kurdish authorities for a trial: "If my sons are found guilty or are cooperating with the Dawaesh, try them" in court.

Mohammed's family is not the only one in the camp to have had members arrested after fleeing fighting and instability in the Mosul area.

Two days after Mousa Mahmud Mousa, 57, arrived at the camp in March, Kurdish forces arrested his 27-year-old son Wazir.

- 'We are imprisoned here' -

A displaced Iraqi woman on June 5, 2017 carries a child in the Khazir camp, where some parents say their sons have been detained on suspicion of belonging to the Islamic State group

"He employed workers who previously worked with the Dawaesh, but they (security forces) told him: 'As long as Dawaesh worked with you, you are a Daeshi,'" Mousa said.

His son was running a shop that produced water tanks, and had been a teacher before IS seized Mosul in 2014.

Like Mohammed, Mousa received a letter from the Red Cross confirming his son's detention, in his case in the Kurdish regional capital of Arbil.

"We want to go out to see him but they prevented that," Mousa said. "My son is imprisoned in Arbil and we are imprisoned here."

People in the camp say the Kurdish forces have their identification cards and do not let them leave pending the completion of a security investigation.

Human Rights Watch said Saturday: "New cases have emerged of Kurdistan Regional Government authorities detaining men and boys fleeing Mosul on suspicion of affiliation with the Islamic State" group.

"Family members reported that after Kurdish authorities took their relatives into custody, the families had no contact with the detainees for as long as four months," the watchdog said.

Displaced Iraqis wait for food at the Khazir camp on June 5, 2017, as Iraqi forces fight to retake Mosul from the Islamic State group

"Authorities would not tell the families where their relatives were, and... the families had no means to challenge their relatives' detention," it said.

A Kurdish regional government committee tasked with responding to international reports rejected both the families' accounts and HRW's findings.

"All defendants are provided access to lawyers and family members, and their families are informed of their arrest," the committee said in a statement.

Arrests are based on "substantial evidence" and only carried out after a warrant from a judge is obtained, it said.

The committee added the region's procedures were necessary "to safeguard itself against acts of potential terrorism".

But Abdullah Suleiman said his 30-year-old brother Ali was arrested based on the length of his beard and suspicion over his name.

"We don't know anything about him," Suleiman said.
US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley denounced what she said was the UN Human Rights Council's "anti-Israel bias"

US envoy Nikki Haley on Tuesday urged the United Nations Human Rights Council to throw out abusive regimes and end what she called its "anti-Israel bias", warning that its credibility was at stake.

Haley did not explicitly threaten to quit the body if Washington's concerns were not addressed, a prospect that first emerged in February in a leaked letter by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

But Haley used her speech, the first by an American UN ambassador to the Geneva-based council since its creation in 2006, to put the body on notice.

"The United States is looking carefully at this council, and our participation in it. We see some areas for significant strengthening", she said.

"Being a member of this council is a privilege, and no country who is a human rights violator should be allowed a seat at the table", Haley added.

US concerns about the UN rights body predate President Donald Trump's election, and Washington has long denounced an agenda item dedicated exclusively to criticising Israel.

It has also raised concerns about a nomination process that has seen authoritarian governments elected to one of the 47 rotating seats.

After a relatively mild council speech, Haley escalated her criticism later Tuesday in remarks at the Graduate Institute of Geneva.

"The world's foremost human rights body has tarnished the cause of human rights" by giving seats to brutal regimes, Haley charged.

Governments "who cannot defend themselves turn to this council for hope", she added.

- Venezuela targeted -

Haley directed her heaviest fire at Venezuela, where two months of anti-government protests have left dozens dead.

She urged Caracas to "voluntarily step down from its seat... until it can get its own house in order."

In a side-event hosted by the United States, Haley claimed that the council "has no excuse" for allowing Venezuela to hold a seat.

Venezuela's UN-Geneva ambassador Jorge Valero countered that the United States had "no moral authority" to lecture on human rights.

The United States should quit its own seat, Valero told the council, and "apologise for the atrocities it committed throughout history."

- Israel, reforms -

Turning to Israel, Haley reiterated US concerns about what it considers the country's unfair treatment.

It "is essential that this council address its chronic anti-Israel bias, if it is to have any credibility", she said.

Israel is the only country with a dedicated rights council agenda item, known as Item 7.

Israel and its allies have denounced the council for allowing majority-Muslim states to spearhead resolutions at every session denouncing abuses against the Palestinians.

"Agenda Item 7 must be removed", Haley said the Graduate Institute, laying out her rights council reform plan.

She also called for open campaigning and voting in the General Assembly for council seats, based on a nation's record, to replace the regional nomination system.

"The United States does not seek to leave the Human Rights Council, we seek to re-establish the council's legitimacy" through targeted reforms, Haley said.

The Geneva director for Human Rights Watch, John Fisher, agreed that a reformed membership process would make the rights council stronger.

"All states from all regions should work together to end back-room deals on closed voting slates," he said in a statement. "It's the best way to keep serial rights abusers off the council."

In addition to Venezuela -- where protesters have accused President Nicolas Maduro's government of systemic repression -- Burundi also sits on the council, despite several recent reports detailing gruesome abuses perpetrated by state security agents.

In his speech opening the session, UN rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein also upbraided some council members -- including Indonesia, Egypt and the Philippines -- for restricting international investigations into alleged abuses.
Mexico has agreed to reduce exports of refined sugar to the US in return for continued duty-free access to its market, Mexican officials say. Pictured here is a worker harvesting sugar cane in the Mexican state of Puebla

The United States will continue allowing Mexico to sell it sugar duty-free, the Mexican economy minister said Tuesday as the countries prepared to announce a deal on a long-running trade dispute.

"Mexican sugar will retain its access to the US market, without paying compensatory tariffs," Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo told TV network Televisa.

In return, Mexico has agreed to reduce the amount of refined sugar it sends to the United States, he said.

Last year Mexico exported 1.1 million tonnes of sugar to the United States, some 40 percent of which was refined.

US sugar producers have protested the amount of cheap sugar pouring across the border, accusing Mexico of subsidizing its sugar industry then dumping the excess product.

Washington had threatened to slap tariffs of up to 80 percent on Mexican sugar unless a deal was reached.

The original deadline was Monday, but the two sides extended it to Tuesday to iron out what US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross called "a few technical details."

Ross and Guajardo are expected to announce a deal in Washington later Tuesday.

"We are quite optimistic that our two nations are on the precipice of an agreement we can all support," Ross said Monday.

The dispute comes as the two neighbors, along with Canada, are set to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Mexican sugar has entered the US market tariff-free since 2008. In exchange, the Mexican market was opened to US corn-based fructose, used mainly to sweeten soft drinks.

After protests from US sugar companies and farmers, both governments agreed to Mexican sugar export quotas in 2014.

But complaints from US sugar concerns continued, and Washington and Mexico City reopened talks last year.
Palestinians are checked at an Israeli checkpoint between the West Bank town of Bethlehem and Jerusalem

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's office on Tuesday slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's pledge to keep permanent security control over the West Bank, saying Israel was "not ready" for peace.

It said Netanyahu's remarks on Monday night were meant as a stumbling block to US President Donald Trump's attempts to breathe life into long-stalled peace efforts.

"They are a message to the US administration and to the international community that Israel is not ready to reach peace based on international law and resolutions," Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina wrote in a statement.

"We reject these remarks, which seek to create a climate that makes the situation more complicated and are absolutely not aimed at supporting efforts for a solution," he added.

Netanyahu made the comments at a ceremony to mark 50 years since the outbreak of the 1967 Six-Day War.

In that war, Israel occupied the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and subsequently annexed east Jerusalem, in a move never recognised by the international community.

The occupation continues, and under interim agreements with the Palestinians, Israel currently has full security and civil control of 60 percent of the West Bank.

The remainder is under varying degrees of limited Palestinian autonomy but Israeli security forces operate there at will.

At Monday's event, Netanyahu said: "We seek peace with our neighbours, a real peace, a peace that will last for generations."

"That is why in any agreement -- and without an agreement -- we shall maintain security control over all the territory west of the Jordan" river.

The Palestinian foreign ministry said in a statement: "Netanyahu wants to cut off the momentum of US and international efforts to resume negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis."

Trump visited Israel and the Palestinian territories last month, calling on Israelis and Palestinians to make compromises for peace but offering no specifics on how to resolve the 50-year-old conflict.

During Trump's meeting with Abbas in Bethlehem the two leaders had a heated exchange, said a senior Palestinian official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Trump accused Abbas of anti-Israeli incitement, based on "false" video clips Netanyahu had given to the White House, the official said.

"The Palestinian delegation was then able to clarify the situation," he added.
The Trump Organization, which for years focused on high-end, luxury real estate, on Tuesday announced a new foray into the domestic hotel market with a chain of middle-of-the-range hotels.

The venture was inspired by travels by the Trump children on father Donald Trump's presidential election campaign last year, when they were introduced to lackluster hotels in the US hinterland, The New York Times reported.

The new line will be called American Idea and three agreements have been signed for properties in the Mississippi Delta area, announced Trump Hotels, which is part of The Trump Organization.

"American Idea hotels will be an alternative, for both guests and hotel developers, looking for an answer to the run-of-the-mill offerings currently in the midscale space," Trump Hotels announced.

"Guests will enjoy local flavor and genuine service in an environment that pays respect to the unique culture of each destination," it added.

The New York Times reported that during the campaign, the Trump children would report back about thousands of supporters attending rallies and what they saw as a chance to build a line of hotels standing out from standardized options.

"I said, 'That's brilliant,'" Trump Hotels CEO Eric Danziger told the newspaper. "The reality is we should have something in those kinds of locations."

Mississippi, the southern state where the first hotels are slated to open, voted for Trump over Democrat Hillary Clinton by a margin of nearly 18 percent.

But Danziger rejected the idea that the electoral map would become a blueprint for picking future locations, the Times reported.

"There is no political thought to it," Danziger was quoted as saying by the newspaper, adding that there could be "many hundreds" of American Idea hotels in both Republican and Democratic voting areas.

The Trump Organization is run by the president's adult sons, but the commander-in-chief refused to divest fully from the firm, coming under fire from political opponents and ethics experts.
Iranians take part in an anti-Saudi demonstration in Tehran on September 9, 2016

Viewed from Tehran, the extraordinary spat between Qatar and its Gulf neighbours has many advantages, experts say, but it is also worried about yet more volatility in the troubled neighbourhood.

"This is a new low for the Saudis. They don't know how to do foreign policy. They are fighting with most of their neighbours," said Foad Izadi, international affairs professor at the University of Tehran.

"At least this incident gives the Iranian government an opportunity to show it is the mature and responsible actor in the region," he added.

"It also gives us an opportunity to increase relations with Qatar since now it needs Iran for aviation and food supplies."

After Saudi Arabia and several of their allies severed ties with Qatar on Monday -- cutting off its sea, land and air access -- Iran was quick to jump in with offers of food imports and access to its airspace.

The Saudis accused Qatar of supporting extremist groups seeking to "destabilise the region", which it denied.

But analysts say the real target was Iran.

"The Saudis seek to create a united front against Iran, and they need to eliminate any opposition within the (Gulf) coalition," said Farhad Rezaei, research fellow with the Center for Iranian Studies in Turkey.

He said the Qataris are being punished for not sharing Saudi Arabia's "obsession with Iran".

"There are others in the Gulf coalition that do not share this obsession, but none have Qatar's ability to resist Saudi pressure," said Rezaei, highlighting Doha's immense gas reserves and close military ties with Washington.

- 'No satisfaction in Tehran' -

An Iranian woman walks past a Qatar Airways branch in the capital Tehran on June 6, 2017

The spat comes less than a month after US President Donald Trump visited Saudi Arabia and called for a united front to isolate Iran, so the sudden collapse in the Gulf alliance should be welcome in Tehran.

Not just Qatar, but also other Muslim nations including Oman, Kuwait and Malaysia -- have expressed their doubts or even outright opposition to the Saudis' relentless campaign against Iran.

But that doesn't mean Iran welcomes the latest tumult among its rivals, said Adnan Tabatabai, head of German think-tank CARPO.

"I don't think there's a sense of satisfaction in Tehran over this spat," he said.

"Of course Iran is happy to show that the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) is fragile, but ultimately it just makes the neighbouring region even more volatile and that doesn't serve anyone's interests."

He said the dispute was a particular tragedy because Qatar and Iran have shown it's possible to have a constructive economic partnership despite sharp differences in other areas.

They back opposing sides in the Syrian conflict, where Iran has provided vital ground forces to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad while Qatar has funded the rebel groups trying to bring him down.

But Qatar and Iran also share an offshore gas field, called North Dome and South Pars, working closely together on its management and naval security.

"That should not have been seen as a problem but as a blueprint for other countries on how economic cooperation can build into a common security relationship," said Tabatabai.

- Regional competition -

Spurred on by a fiercely anti-Iran administration in Washington, the Saudis are determined to push back against Tehran's powerful position across the region.

As well as its successful campaigns in Syria, Iranian-backed militias are crucial to the fight against the Islamic State group in Iraq.

Tehran's close ally Hezbollah is dominant in Lebanon, while the loosely affiliated Huthi rebels in Yemen have dragged the Saudis and their allies into a devastating and draining conflict in that country.

"Unfortunately for the Saudis, Qatar has viewed Iran as part of the solution to regional conflicts... and know that military conflict could threaten its economic ties with Iran," said Rezaei.

It remains to be seen whether the aggressive move against Qatar will force it to change its mind, or do the opposite and push it more firmly into the arms of Iran.

But for now, Iranian analysts are basking in the opportunity to depict the Saudis as the bad guys.

"The Saudi government is not content with having a dictatorship internally, they want a regional dictatorship," said Izadi.

"They don't accept any dissent, even from their fellow Sunni governments."
Ethiopia is among the least-connected countries in Africa, with only about 12 percent of people online, the International Telecommunications Union reported in 2015

Ethiopians were still unable to surf the web via mobile networks on Tuesday, despite government claims the nationwide internet shutdown, which began a week ago, had been lifted.

Africa's second most-populous country turned off its internet access without warning or explanation last week, briefly depriving even diplomatic buildings, like the UN's Economic Commission for Africa and the headquarters of the African Union, of internet access.

While service to those two institutions was restored and subscribers to broadband internet say they are now able to get online, access via mobile data -- which is most used by businesses and individuals -- was still unavailable.

This is despite government assurances that the blockage had been lifted.

In a press conference on Monday, Communications Minister Negeri Lencho said the internet had been "partly" shut down for three days last week and that social media sites were the only services that remained blocked.

Negeri said the shutdown was a measure necessary to keep students taking annual exams away from distractions on social media.

"The only reason is to help our students to concentrate on the exams because we know we are fighting poverty," Negeri said.

Ethiopia's sole telecommunications provider has blocked social media websites like Facebook and Twitter since anti-government protests broke out last year.

The country is among the least-connected in Africa, with only about 12 percent of people online, the International Telecommunications Union reported in 2015.

The Brookings Institution think tank released a report last October saying the country only lost around $8.5 million (7.5 million euros) when internet access was cut off for weeks during last year's unrest.

"People invest a lot of money in China, where the internet is already very difficult," John Ashbourne, Africa economist a London-based Capital Economics told AFP. "These are not insurmountable problems, but they're frustrations."

The internet cafe where Abiy Tesfaye works in Addis Ababa's busy Piazza neighbourhood runs off mobile data and only one customer was using one of his 14 computers.

The business has been suffering for years as more and more people browse the internet with smartphones, Abiy said, and the internet shutdown was the latest blow.

"We lose money, we don't have the customers. It's a shame," he said.

Around the corner, Dereje Alemayehu Nida's cafe was doing a brisk business in people filling out visa applications and surfing Facebook, but that's only because his broadband internet access came back online over the weekend after days without connectivity.

"It would have been better if they used another means to control the exams rather than shut down the internet," Dereje said.
"In spite of restriction(s) imposed on the network, Al-Jazeera will continue to cover the news and current affairs from the region and beyond (in a) balanced objective manner," the news channel said in a statement

Qatar-based broadcaster Al-Jazeera said Tuesday Saudi Arabia's decision to shut its office in the kingdom as part of the diplomatic crisis in the Gulf was "unjustified".

In a statement, the global news channel condemned Riyadh's move and called on Saudi Arabia to allow its journalists to continue to work "free of intimidation and threats".

"We firmly believe these are unjustified measure(s) by the authorities in the kingdom against the network and its operations," the statement said.

"In spite of restriction(s) imposed on the network, Al-Jazeera will continue to cover the news and current affairs from the region and beyond (in a) balanced objective manner".

As well as closing the office, Saudi Arabia withdrew the channel's licence needed to broadcast.

It also accused Al-Jazeera of promoting "terrorist groups" and supporting rebels in Yemen.

The move came as Saudi Arabia, along with other Gulf states and Egypt, severed ties with Qatar.

Separately, beIn Sports, a subsidiary satellite network of Al-Jazeera, went offline in the United Arab Emirates, which was also among those to cut relations with Qatar.

Al-Jazeera, one of the largest news organisations in the world, has long been a source of conflict between Qatar and its neighbours, who accuse the broadcaster of bias and fomenting trouble in the region.

Egypt has accused Al-Jazeera of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, which it blames for violence after Egypt's military ousted the movement from power in 2013.

Three Al-Jazeera journalists, including a Canadian and an Australian, were detained in Egypt between 2013 and 2015, triggering international protests.
Three-time former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba was elected as Nepal's president by the country's parliament on Tuesday.

The political veteran, who has previously served three times in the top post, in 1995-1997, 2001-2002 and 2004-2005, stood unopposed in the election which marked the tenth time in just over a decade that the leadership has changed hands.

He had earlier struck a deal with his predecessor, Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal, that some criticised as being undemocratic.

Nepal's newly-elected Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba (C) leaves the parliament building in Kathmandu on Tuesday

Dahal, who resigned a fortnight ago after just 10 months as prime minister, had agreed to stand aside for Deuba once long-awaited local polls had been held in Nepal.

'I announce that respected member Sher Bahadur Deuba... has been elected to the post of Nepal's prime minister,' said Parliament Speaker Onsari Gharti Magar, addressing parliament during a live television broadcast.

Deuba's centre-right Nepali Congress struck an uneasy alliance with the Maoists last August on the condition Dahal would hand over power once local elections had been held.

The first phase of those polls - the first held in 20 years - were staged last month in three of Nepal's seven districts. The second round of voting has been delayed twice, but did not impede Deuba's appointment.

Nepal's newly-elected Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba (L) shakes hands with outgoing Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal as they leave parliament in Kathmandu on June 6, 2017

Nepal's revolving door politics has seen the three largest parties cycle through the premiership since 2006, when a peace deal was struck to end a lengthy Maoist insurgency against government forces.

'The manner of his (Deuba's) rise for the fourth time does not bode well because it has not been a democratic process,' said Kunda Dixit, the editor of the Nepali Times newspaper.

Seventy-year-old Deuba takes the helm for the fourth time as Nepal enters the final stages of a drawn-out peace process that birthed a new constitution and promises for broad elections.

The new constitution, signed in 2015, mandated that local elections must be followed by polls at provincial and national level no later than January 2018.

This process has been hindered by the Madhesi, a minority group living along the border with India who have vowed to obstruct the polls unless the constitution is amended to give them a larger political voice.

The proposed changes, which would see Nepal's boundaries redrawn to give the lowland Madhesi greater representation, is fiercely opposed by the main opposition party.

But in a speech to parliament, Deuba assured lawmakers the Madhesi's demands would be met and elections proceed as planned.

'The priority now is the second phase of election. It will be conducted as scheduled. I want to assure you that all the three elections - local, provincial and national - will be held as planned,' he said.
A general view of Doha, Qatar is seen June 5, 2017

Here are the main developments that led to the unprecedented crisis between Qatar and its Gulf neighbours:

- Smear campaign -

On May 20, 2017, Qatar says it is the victim of a smear campaign and rejects accusations of it supporting "terrorism" ahead of a landmark visit by US President Donald Trump to Saudi Arabia.

Trump and Saudi King Salman sign a "strategic vision" agreement to intensify ties in defence, economics and other areas.

In a speech in Riyadh on May 21, Trump urges the international community to isolate Iran and calls on Arab and Muslim states to freeze channels of funding for groups including the Sunni Muslim Islamic State jihadists and Lebanon's Shiite movement Hezbollah.

The emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, meets Trump on the sidelines of a summit in Riyadh.

- Suspected hacking -

On May 24, Qatar says its national news agency has been hacked by unknown parties who have posted "false" statements attributed to the emir, in which he speaks favourably of Iran, Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood and Hezbollah.

Qatar

Qatar denies all the comments and says it is investigating the alleged hacking, but Gulf media continue to run the statements.

Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani says Doha is the victim of a "hostile media campaign", particularly in the United States.

On May 28, United Arab Emirates state minister for foreign affairs Anwar Gargash says Gulf countries are going through a new "deep crisis", urging Qatar without naming it to "change its attitude and re-establish confidence and transparency".

On June 2, a Qatari official says FBI agents are helping Doha in investigating the source of the alleged hacking.

- Qatar boycotted -

On June 5, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, the UAE, Yemen and the Maldives cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of backing terrorism.

It is accused of backing radical Islamist groups and of not taking a sufficient distance from Iran, Saudi Arabia's regional rival.

The break-off in relations goes hand in hand with economic measures, such as closure of land and maritime borders, suspension of air links and restrictions on movements by Qataris.

Doha residents flock to stock up at supermarkets.

A Saudi-led Arab coalition fighting pro-Iranian Yemeni rebels announces it is ending Qatar's membership.

- Mediation -

Turkey calls for dialogue and says it is ready to help defuse the row.

Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman says the latest developments involving Qatar could herald a broad anti-terror alliance including Israel.

On June 6, Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah travels to Saudi Arabia for talks aimed at resolving the crisis.

- Disruptions -

Air traffic is disrupted in the Gulf after several large Arab airlines stop flying to and from Qatar.

More than 30 Qatar Airways flights are cancelled to and from Doha.

- Trump accuses Qatar -

Trump says isolating Qatar could mark the "beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism" and backs Saudi Arabia and its allies. He suggests Qatar is funding extremism.
Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba (C) arrives at parliament for the vote to elect him prime minister on June 6, 2017

Sher Bahadur Deuba, who Tuesday became prime minister for the fourth time, is a sharp political operator who has swept in and out of power through a series of alliances typical of the horse-trading that defines Nepali politics.

Deuba last held power in the final years of the brutal 10-year civil war, which claimed more than 16,000 lives and displaced thousands.

His failure to bring an end to the conflict prompted King Gyanendra Shah to retake control of the country in 2005, removing Deuba as prime minister.

The return to royal rule was short-lived. Popular protests against the king saw a democratic government retake control the following year and sign an agreement with the Maoists to end the conflict.

The monarchy was abolished in 2008.

Deuba leads the centre-right Nepali Congress, currently the largest party in parliament.

He first came to power in 1995 and survived a no-confidence vote that same year brought by the main opposition party and a faction of his ruling coalition.

He reportedly dispatched an influential minister to Thailand before the vote so the minister could not fan sentiment against him in parliament.

Deuba became prime minister for a second time after the then-Nepali Congress leader resigned over a dispute with the king in 2001, only to then be removed by the monarchy himself a year later, who branded him "incompetent".

Twenty months later, the monarch was instrumental in bringing Deuba to power for a third time, to then remove him again from the post a year later.

- Political deal -

His confirmation as prime minister this time around was unopposed in parliament thanks to a gentleman's agreement with his one-time foe Pushpa Kamal Dahal, a former Maoist guerrilla chief who resigned from the top position two weeks ago.

Dahal came to power last August with the backing of Deuba's Nepali Congress on the understanding that he would step aside after local elections, to give Deuba another turn at the top.

It was an uncomfortable alliance -- at the height of the civil war Deuba, then prime minister, had announced a five million rupee ($50,000) bounty for Dahal's capture, dead or alive.

Deuba, 70, was born in a remote western district and rose through the student wing of the Nepali Congress at a time when the country was under the direct royal rule.

He was jailed for protesting against the king's increasingly authoritarian regime and was tortured.

Deuba suffers from a speech defect reportedly caused by the torture he endured, which left him with permanent damage to his tongue and lips.

He was first elected to parliament from his home town after democracy was restored in the early 1990s and became home minister.

Deuba's critics describe him as a smooth political operator not motivated by ideology.

He was strongly criticised for signing a water-sharing deal with India in 1996, which sparked protests amongst more nationalistic elements.

He was also censured for paving the way for the king's takeover in 2005 by dissolving the elected parliament at the height of the Maoist insurgency, which caused a deep split within his party.

But he is credited with pushing through a series of laws to free bonded farm labourers which were a product of Nepal's deeply ingrained feudal society.
The US National Security Agency, seen here, is one of a number of intelligence agencies hit by leaks of classified material

The publication of a top secret National Security Agency report on Russian interference in the US election Monday was just the latest in a string of disruptive leaks.

US authorities arrested a 25-year-old woman, Reality Leigh Winner, who worked for an NSA subcontractor, soon after the report was posted by The Intercept, a news website.

In an age of digitized data and advanced encryption, it appears to have gotten harder to keep secrets.

Here are the most spectacular leaks to rock US spy agencies in recent years:

- Chelsea Manning, Julian Assange and WikiLeaks -

Assange launched the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks in 2006, but it was only in 2010 when it showed the power of leaks in the digital age. Manning, an army private doing intelligence work in Iraq and disturbed by US policies, downloaded hundreds of thousands of pages of US diplomatic communications and secret Iraq war files, handing them over to Assange's operation.

The Manning leaks exploded over the internet, stirring tensions with US allies and undermining trust and exposing confidential sources of intelligence.

- Edward Snowden and the NSA files -

In 2013, Edward Snowden released to journalists Laura Poitras and Glenn Greenwald a set of files detailing extra-legal surveillance operations by the NSA. Snowden had worked for the NSA and CIA, lastly employed via Booz Allen Hamilton, a powerful private firm that contracts a huge amount of work for US intelligence. Snowden's revelations exposed US spying on its allies, including tapping the phone of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. They also forced the US government to curb the NSA's wholesale collection on Americans' communications data.

- Glenn Greenwald and The Intercept -

After the first Snowden revelations, Greenwald and others, backed by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, launched The Intercept in 2014. The online news website has continued to publish Snowden materials and has regularly attracted leaks of other secret materials, including the NSA Russia hacking report it posted on Monday. In 2015, The Intercept also reported on British intelligence materials showing a plan to monitor as much of the internet and global communications as possible.

- The NSA and the Shadow Brokers -

In 2016, a mysterious individual or group calling itself the Shadow Brokers appeared online offering for sale a portfolio of tools and exploits from the NSA's ultra-secret hacking team known as the Equation Group. No one took up the offer, and since then the Shadow Brokers, believed to be Russian or Eastern European, has trickled out parts of the portfolio to demonstrate how genuine and potent they are. One NSA exploit revealed on April 14 was used a month later by hackers in a global wave of cyber-attacks and ransomware extortion. It remains unclear how the Equation group materials were taken from the NSA.

- NSA contractor Harold Martin -

Martin was arrested in August 2016 after investigators discovered he had amassed an "astonishing quantity" of classified information over two decades in his suburban Maryland home. Like Snowden he had worked for the NSA via contractor Booz Allen Hamilton. It remains unclear what Martin did, if anything, with the information; he has been charged only with taking secret materials against the rules of his employment contract, rather than espionage.

- The CIA's Hacking Tools and WikiLeaks -

Since March, WikiLeaks has been steadily releasing nearly 9,000 documents from the CIA's hacking program, a cyber-arsenal it calls "Vault 7." WikiLeaks suggested it received the files from a private contractor of the intelligence community. The data provides a window into how the CIA, like the NSA, breaks into computers and cellphones using software and hardware vulnerabilities, many of which are still open to exploitation. "The source wishes to initiate a public debate about the security, creation, use, proliferation and democratic control of cyberweapons," WikiLeaks said.
People gathered outside a branch of Qatar Airways in the Emirati capital of Abu Dhabi on Tuesday as travellers sought alternative travel plans because of bans on the airline

The head of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) on Tuesday urged Gulf countries that have cut ties with Qatar to restore air links with the country, warning of major travel disruptions.

"Of course we accept that countries have the right to close their borders," said IATA director general Alexandre de Juniac.

"But connectivity with Qatar must be restored as quickly as possible," he told AFP, speaking on the sidelines of the group's annual meeting in Cancun, Mexico.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Egypt and the Maldives broke off diplomatic and trade relations with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of supporting terrorism.

The measures included closing their land and sea borders to Qatar and banning Qatari planes from their airspace.

Airline executives at the IATA meeting said it was still unclear how the measures would affect air travel.

Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al Baker hastily left the meeting Monday.

"We hope the crisis will disappear and aviation is coming back to normal," said Abdul Wahab Teffaha, the head of the Arab Air Carriers Organization which groups 33 airlines.

"We have to monitor the situation in the next couple of days. The Doha-Dubai sector is particularly busy and we are currently analyzing the situation," said Christoph Mueller, chief digital and information officer at Emirates airline.

"We operated our last flight just a couple of hours ago, and we are updating the traveling public in time," he said.
The Pentagon says Saudi-led moves to isolate Qatar have had "no impact" on US military operations at Al Udeid Air Base near Doha, seen here in a 2013 picture

A Saudi-led move to isolate Qatar has had "no impact" on US military operations in the emirate, nor is any expected, a Pentagon spokesman said Tuesday.

The US has a regional command center at Al-Udeid air base near Doha from which it runs air operations throughout the region.

"There has been no impact on our operations either in Qatar or with regards to airspace permission around it and we don't anticipate there will be," Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis said.

Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates severed diplomatic ties and transport links with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of supporting extremism.

US President Donald Trump threw his weight behind the effort spearheaded by Riyadh, despite Qatar's role in hosting US military operations in the fight against Islamic State extremism.

"They said they would take a hard line on funding... extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!" Trump said on Twitter.
US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, in the Saudi capital Riyadh on May 21, 2017

In a series of morning tweets, President Donald Trump threw Washington's relations with Doha into deep crisis on Tuesday and raised doubts about the future of the largest US air base in the Middle East.

Trump publicly accused key regional ally Qatar of funding extremism, while tacitly backing a blockade of the emirate, home to the Al-Udeid Air Base near Doha where around 10,000 US military personnel are stationed.

The base is also the regional headquarters of US special forces and air force commands -- two vital components of American military operations in Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq and beyond.

Trump's comments came after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf states broke diplomatic relations with their smaller neighbor.

The US leader appeared to claim credit for Gulf states isolating Doha, a move he said could "be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!"

"So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off," Trump said in a morning tweet.

"They said they would take a hard line on funding... extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar," he said.

Trump's tweets mark a major departure in US foreign policy that could upend the balance of power in the Middle East, and left his administration was left scrambling to contain the damage.

Just weeks ago Trump smiled and shook hands with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, saying "we are friends, we have been friends for a long time now."

Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis tried to quell concerns about the future of Al-Udeid, stressing there had been "no impact" on US military operations in Qatar "and we don't anticipate there will be."

- 'Real talk' -

Among diplomats and former US officials there was shock that Trump would so openly pick sides in what is effectively a dispute between allies.

Previous US administrations have expressed deep concern about the hundreds of millions of dollars that flow from Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to the likes of the Islamic State group and Al-Qaeda.

But the White House has preferred to quietly coax those capitals into adopting tighter financial rules and cracking down on individual donations, while building invaluable intelligence and military cooperation.

US Defence Secretary James Mattis (C) was greeted by military dignitaries at Al-Udeid military air base in Doha on April 21, 2017

That approach was epitomized by President George W. Bush's approach to Saudi Arabia after the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were Saudi citizens.

Just hours before Trump's tweets, the US ambassador in Qatar Dana Shell Smith took to Twitter herself to stress the "great partnership" with Qatar and "real progress to counter terrorist financing."

Aside from providing a vital base for US troops, Qatar has garnered significant regional influence, from becoming a major player in Libya to dramatically influencing the stance of the Syrian opposition.

Bob Corker, the Republican head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, appeared stunned when informed by journalists about Trump's tweets on Qatar.

"Some of our Arab friends have different sensibilities relative to groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and others, and it's created some dissension, and it's been our policy that we work with everybody in the region in a way that's constructive," he responded.

But Trump's tweets may not come as much of a shock inside the White House.

Officials say that the president and his top aide and son-in-law Jared Kushner have been impressed by Saudi Arabia's dynamic young deputy crown prince Mohammad bin Salman, who is vying to become the country's next king.

In Washington there are growing fears that tacit support could now embolden Saudi Arabia and the UAE to pursue regime change in Qatar or make other demands that are so punitive they will stoke a crisis.

- 'Saudi-Emirati ambitions' -

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have long been infuriated by Qatar's support for the Muslim Brotherhood, for the Arab Spring which overthrew several autocratic regimes and for its tolerance of arch-rival Iran.

Al-Jazeera -- the Doha-based channel which has been highly critical of the Saudi royal family -- has also been a thorn in their side.

Qatar Airways said it had suspended all flights to Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt "until further notice"

"Given the vehemence in the Saudi and Emirati public statements and this history between these three countries, it may be that the Saudis and Emiratis are seeking to push out senior Qatari leaders," said a senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

"I worry that the United States has joined this endeavor without knowing the full extent of the Saudi-Emirati ambitions or endgame."

The official said that given the turmoil, Qatar's leaders may try to reassure US central command that Al-Udeid operations are secure to keep Trump from backing dramatic Saudi action.

"Fundamentally, Qatar should want to keep CENTCOM fat and happy."

Some Saudi supporters were emboldened by Trump's comments.

"#Trump declared that #Qatar is a #terrorism sponsor. #GameOverQatar" tweeted Salman Al-Ansar head of the Saudi American Public Relation Affairs Committee, a lobby group.
Saudi-born arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi was once estimated to be worth around $3 billion

Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi, a tycoon known for his lavish billionaire lifestyle and far-reaching international connections, has died in London at the age of 82, his family said on Tuesday.

"Our beloved father Adnan Khashoggi, aged 82, died peacefully today in London while being treated for Parkinson's Disease," they said in a statement.

"He lived his last days... with the same elegance, strength and dignity that characterised his remarkable life," the statement said.

US-educated Khashoggi brokered arms deals around the world, earning handsome commissions and operating in a shady business while partying with global elites.

"Our father understood the art of bringing people together better than anyone," the family said, adding: "He celebrated life in the living of it, and always with an innate curiosity in others".

Khashoggi was an uncle to Dodi Fayed, Princess Diana's last love, since his sister was married to Fayed's father Mohamed Al-Fayed.

He was at one time estimated to be worth 2.4 billion ($3 billion) but ran into financial difficulties and had to sell his private DC9 airliner and his yacht, Nabila.

In 1997, a Paris court ordered him to pay a $1.6 million fine for smuggling 37 paintings into France in 1986. Khashoggi brought in the paintings on his private jet on a flight from the United States to Nice with a stopover in Spain.

In 1998, the casino at London's Ritz Hotel settled out of court its lawsuit against Khashoggi for 8.0 million of gambling debts.

The judge had heard that the Saudi businessman between January and April 1986 had gambled a total of 10 million.

His luck quickly ran out and he had to sign a total of 16 cheques for 200,000 each, all drawing from a Swiss bank account.

The bank subsequently refused to honour the cheques because the money to cover was not in the account.
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First-time parents George and Amal Clooney welcomed their twin babies, Ella and Alexander, on Tuesday morning in London, the actor's publicist said.

"This morning Amal and George welcomed Ella and Alexander Clooney into their lives," Stan Rosenfield said on behalf of the couple. "Ella, Alexander and Amal are all healthy, happy and doing fine."

"George is sedated and should recover in a few days," he joked about the 56-year-old Hollywood heartthrob.

The 39-year-old Lebanese-British international human rights lawyer and Clooney tied the knot in Venice in 2014.

The couple have kept a low profile since announcing they were having twins in February, staying at their rural home outside London.

Amal's clients include former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko and Australian Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

After her wedding, she threw her legal clout and celebrity behind a series of high-profile causes including Britain's possible restitution of the Elgin Marbles to Greece.

She defended Al-Jazeera reporter Mohamed Fahmy after he was jailed in Egypt and was part of the legal team for former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed following his toppling in 2012.

She has also defended the cause of young Yazidi women who were abused by fighters of the Islamic State jihadist group.

Amal was born in Lebanon before her family moved to Britain when she was three years old.

Actor, director and producer George was married to actress Talia Balsam from 1989 to 1993, before his role in hit television series "ER" propelled him to international stardom.
An Israeli government-sanctioned settlement would be the first official new settlement in a quarter of a century

Israeli authorities on Tuesday advanced plans for 1,500 settler homes in the occupied West Bank, including units for the first new official settlement in some 25 years, the Peace Now NGO said.

A defence ministry committee advanced the plans and may do so for around 1,000 more on Wednesday, the NGO that tracks settlement building in the Palestinian territory said in a statement.

The move came as Israelis and Palestinians marked the 50th anniversary of the Six-Day War, fought from June 5-10, 1967 and when Israel's occupation of the West Bank began.

Israeli authorities did not respond to requests for comment on the plans, which Peace Now said showed that "a two state solution is not on (Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's) agenda".

"By promoting the establishment of the first new settlement in 25 years, as well as thousands of additional settlement units, Netanyahu's actions speak louder than his empty words on peace," Peace Now said.

The plans moved forward on Tuesday are at various stages in the process and the units are located in different areas.

Plans for 102 units for the new settlement, to be known as Amichai, are in the early stages and require a series of further steps.

Netanyahu had pledged to build a new settlement for around 40 families of a wildcat Jewish outpost in the West Bank known as Amona, which was evacuated under court order in February.

An Israeli government-sanctioned settlement would be the first official new settlement in a quarter of a century.

Construction in recent years has involved expanding existing settlements in the West Bank, with many countries warning it is gradually eating away at any chance of a two-state solution with the Palestinians.
French President Emmanuel Macron spoke by phone with Qatari leader Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and restated the "importance of preserving stability in the region"

French President Emmanuel Macron called for unity among Gulf states on Tuesday, saying he was ready to back "all initiatives to encourage calm".

Macron spoke by phone with Qatari leader Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and restated the "importance of preserving stability in the region". He also reaffirmed France's readiness to stay in contact with all parties involved, the president's office said in a statement.

Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates severed diplomatic ties and transport links with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of supporting extremism.

US President Donald Trump threw his weight behind the effort spearheaded by Riyadh, despite Qatar's role in hosting US military operations in the fight against Islamic State (IS) extremism.

The Gulf states "said they would take a hard line on funding... extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!" Trump said on Twitter.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech during a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the Six-Day War on June 5 2017

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday told Israeli settlers marking 50 years since the Six-Day War he would keep building across the occupied West Bank and that no one would be "uprooted from his home".

It was unclear if Netanyahu was suggesting no settlements would be dismantled in any peace deal with the Palestinians, which would mark a significant change and raise further doubts over future possibilities of a two-state solution.

A spokesman for Netanyahu did not respond to a request for further explanation.

Netanyahu was speaking in parliament at a special session marking 50 years since the Six-Day War, when Israel's occupation of the West Bank began, to an audience of lawmakers and invited settler leaders.

"Everyone has the right to live in his home and nobody will be uprooted from his home," Netanyahu said.

His comments came as Israeli authorities also advanced plans for some 1,500 settlement homes in the West Bank, including units for the first new official settlement in some 25 years, the Peace Now NGO said.

A defence ministry committee advanced the plans and may do so for around 1,000 more on Wednesday, said the NGO that tracks settlement building in the Palestinian territory.

US President Donald Trump has called on Netanyahu to hold back on settlement building as he seeks ways to relaunch peace efforts with the Palestinians, but the Israeli leader also faces political pressure from the powerful settler movement.

Netanyahu has said he still supports a two-state solution, but peace advocates allege his actions show otherwise.

Proposals for future peace deals with the Palestinians typically involve land swaps, with far-flung settlements evacuated and larger settlement blocs remaining under Israeli control.

- 'We are building' -

The settlers, pillars of support for Netanyahu's right-wing government, are still smarting over the February demolition of the Amona rogue settlement outpost in the West Bank.

A picture taken on May 21, 2017 from the Jewish settlement of Pisgat Zeev shows the Palestinian Shuafat refugee camp in east Jerusalem behind the controversial Israeli separation wall

Settler leaders this week accused Netanyahu of a de facto construction freeze after reports emerged of moves to advance plans for some 2,500 settler homes instead of a far larger number they were expecting.

Netanyahu spoke Tuesday of a plan to rehouse Amona evacuees at a new site in the West Bank, which Peace Now says would be the first new government-approved settlement in about 25 years.

Construction in recent years has involved expanding existing settlements in the West Bank, with many countries warning it is gradually eating away at any chance of a two-state solution with the Palestinians.

The fledgling Amichai settlement received an initial green light for 102 dwellings from a defence ministry planning committee on Tuesday, Peace Now said, part of a plans for 1,500 settler homes that were moved forward.

The plans advanced on Tuesday are at various stages in the process and the units are located in different areas.

Plans for the 102 units for the new settlement are in the early stages and require a series of further steps.

Some were existing homes legalised retroactively.

"I have the privilege, after decades, to be the prime minister to build a new community in Judea and Samaria," Netanyahu told the Knesset, or parliament, using the term Israel applies to the West Bank.

"We are building in every part of Judea and Samaria."

Israeli settlement building is seen as illegal under international law and a major stumbling block to peace efforts as they are constructed on land the Palestinians see as part of their future state.

Trump visited Israel and the Palestinian territories last month to seek ways to restart peace efforts, at a standstill since a US-led initiative collapsed in April 2014.
Sudanese children stand next to a member of the UN-Afrcian Union mission in Darfur (UNAMID), a mission that expects significant troop cuts under a proposal for strategic review

The African Union and the United Nations are proposing major cuts to their joint peacekeeping force in Sudan's troubled Darfur region, paring down one of the world's largest and costliest peace operations.

A joint report sent to the UN Security Council last month recommends that the ceiling set for military troops be cut by 44 percent and the maximum number of police reduced by 30 percent in the UNAMID force.

The Security Council is expected to discuss the proposals next week.

The cuts to the 17,000-strong UNAMID force would result in major savings to the UN peacekeeping budget at a time when the United States is seeking to reduce its financial contribution to the blue helmets.

UNAMID has a budget of $1.04 billion per year, making it one of the UN's costliest missions along with the UN force in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Under the proposal outlined in a strategic review of the UNAMID force, the troop level would drop to 8,735 and the police strength would stand at 2,360.

The drawdown would be carried out in two six-month phases.

The report cited an "improvement in the security situation" as a result of the Khartoum government's offensive against rebel groups in Darfur, which are now confined to parts of western Jebel Marra.

Darfur has been engulfed in conflict since 2003, when ethnic minority insurgents mounted a rebellion against President Omar al-Bashir, complaining that his Arab-dominated government was marginalizing the region.

Bashir launched a brutal counter-insurgency, and the United Nations says that at least 300,000 people have been killed in the conflict and another 2.5 million have been forced to flee their homes.

The UN-AU joint mission "should adjust to the new realities in Darfur and the Sudan," said the report from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and African Commission chair Moussa Faki Mahamat.

The peacekeepers would withdraw from several sectors in Darfur and concentrate the mission's main military effort on Jebel Marra, said the report dated May 18.
Comey will testify on Thursday before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Russian meddling in the 2016 US election

The US capital will grind to a halt Thursday, glued to TV sets and computer screens as sacked FBI chief James Comey testifies about whether President Donald Trump asked him to drop a probe into one of his key aide's links to Russia.

Trump, a ratings-obsessed former reality TV star, may not appreciate the worldwide attention paid to Comey's public testimony, being touted as the Super Bowl of high political drama.

Comey is the star witness in the Senate Intelligence Committee's investigations of alleged Russian election meddling last year, with the possible collusion of the Trump campaign. The allegations have drawn comparison to the 1970s Watergate scandal that brought down president Richard Nixon.

Comey was given the go-ahead to deliver potentially explosive testimony after the White House announced it would not use its executive privilege to block his appearance, less than a month after he was controversially sacked by the president.

At least two Washington bars were opening their doors before the 10 am start of the hearing to residents of the capital wanting to watch the drama live.

"Come on... you know you want to watch the drama unfold this Thursday," Shaw's Tavern wrote on its Facebook page, touting a $5 Russian vodka and $10 "FBI" sandwiches for the occasion.

A warm-up act of sorts comes Wednesday, when the same committee hears testimony from Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, National Security Agency (NSA) head Mike Rogers, interim FBI director Andrew McCabe, and Deputy US Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

Adding to the drama, a top-secret NSA report leaked to online news outlet The Intercept ramped up pressure on the Russia probe, as it shows that hackers from Russian military intelligence repeatedly tried to break into US voting systems before last year's presidential election.

The NSA document reportedly depicted a hacking operation tied to Moscow's GRU intelligence agency that targeted private US companies providing voter registration services and equipment around the country.

Keen to crack down on leaks, the Trump administration quickly announced the arrest of an intelligence contractor on charges of violating the espionage act.

- 'A lot of smoke' -

Comey's testimony will be his first public remarks since he was summarily fired by Trump May 9, and represents a moment of peril for this already embattled president.

Trump dismissed Comey -- a stunning move by any measure -- as the Federal Bureau of Investigation probes possible collusion between his campaign team and Russia, which US intelligence agencies concluded had sought to tilt the election in the Republican's favor.

Former national security adviser Michael Flynn and President Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner in February, before Flynn was forced out over his secret talks with the Russian embassy

Comey is said to have written detailed notes about three conversations he had with Trump while still FBI director, notes which reportedly document the president's efforts to get the FBI to ease the investigation's focus on former national security advisor Michael Flynn.

Any confirmation that Trump tried to press Comey would open the president to damaging allegations that he attempted to obstruct an ongoing FBI investigation.

Several Democrats have warned that attempts to obstruct justice would propel the crisis into territory similar to the Watergate scandal which sank Nixon.

Senator Mark Warner, the intelligence panel's top Democrat, said Trump would have violated longstanding guidelines if he pressured Comey to drop or slow-walk an investigation.

"It would be unthinkable if the president actually did what was reported," Warner told CBS News Sunday.

"We have no smoking gun at this point, but there is a lot of smoke," he said.

- Tone, words, context -

Committee Republican Senator Susan Collins said she was keen to learn precise details and wording of the Trump-Comey exchanges.

"The tone, the exact words that were spoken and the context are so important," Collins said on CBS. "That is what we lack right now, and we can only get that by talking to those directly involved."

Senator Richard Burr (L) (R-NC), Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and ranking member of the committee Sen. Mark Warner (R) (D-VA) are to oversee Thursday's potentially explosive hearings into Russia's alleged campaign hacking

What Comey will reveal, if anything, is the topic of intense speculation.

The White House had suggested Trump could invoke executive privilege to protect the confidentiality of presidential discussions, but some aides were wary that may appear like a cover-up.

Trump's decision to fire Comey led the Justice Department to appoint a special counsel, ex-FBI director Robert Mueller, to investigate allegations of collusion.

He reportedly has met with Comey to discuss the probe, and Comey reportedly sought his approval to testify.

Last Wednesday the House Intelligence Committee issued subpoenas for Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen and Flynn -- who was also allegedly part of discussions between the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner and Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak.
The Italian mother of London attacker Youssef Zaghba says that she believes her son was radicalised by a combination of online propaganda and contacts in London

The Italian mother of London attacker Youssef Zaghba says she tried to prevent him being radicalised, "but he had internet" and fell in with the wrong crowd in the British capital.

Zaghba, 22, has been identified as the third of the three attackers shot dead by police after their attack in London on Saturday that killed seven people and left dozens injured.

A Moroccan-Italian dual national, it has emerged he had tried to join the Islamic State group in Syria last year and was notified to Britain as a suspect figure after being intercepted by Italian authorities.

His mother, Valeria Collina, a convert to Islam who is separated from the attacker's Morocco-based father, told Italian weekly L'Espresso that she thought her son had been radicalised by a combination of online propaganda and contacts in London.

"We always kept an eye on who he was friends with and checked that he was not mixed up with the wrong people," she told the magazine in her only interview since her son was identified.

"But he had internet and that is where everything came from.

"He never let himself be led by anyone, neither in Italy, nor in Morocco, where he was studying computing at the University of Fez."

Collina said she had been concerned by the milieu in the part of east London where her son lived.

"I have been there and I did not like it. He was mixing with the wrong people."

The Italian said that her son had shown her videos about Syria before his March 2016 attempt to board a flight for Turkey, apparently with the intention of reaching its conflict-torn neighbour.

"But he never spoke about going to fight there. For him Syria was a place where you could live according to a pure Islam. The way he told it was a fantasy... transmitted to him over the internet."

- Goodbye call -

His mother added that she "always told him there were horrible things they did not show. But I wasn't able to make him change his mind."

The mother of London attacker says she understands why British imams have said they are not prepared to give her son a Muslim funeral

She said she understood why many British imams have said they are not prepared to give her son a Muslim funeral.

"I understand that and I share their choice because it is necessary to send a strong political signal. Also to give a message to the victims' families and non-Muslims.

"Only a mother can feel the pain of another mother. I know that nothing can be enough but I am ready to do whatever I can to bring them peace.

"I understand that asking to be forgiven means nothing, that's why I promise to dedicate my life to ensuring this does not happen again.

"We must fight the ideology of Islamic State with true knowledge and I will do that with all my force, by teaching the true Islam and by trying to convince families to fill this void that can afflict their sons."

Collina said she had last spoken to her son on Thursday afternoon. Neither she nor her estranged husband had been able to reach him on Friday.

"With hindsight I realise now that he intended it as a goodbye call. Although he did not say anything particular, I felt it in his voice. Also because he usually sent messages, he didn't always call.

"We joked about how he was going to pick me up at the airport in London. I was due to go and meet him in ten days to celebrate the end of Ramadan together. He had just bought a new second-hand car, I asked if he was going to put little flags on it for me."
It was the second time in less than a month that coalition forces have attacked pro-regime forces, a group of whom are seen near Aleppo in March 2017, as they headed toward the garrison

The US-led coalition "destroyed" a unit of pro-regime forces in Syria on Tuesday as they advanced near an area where coalition commandos have been training and advising rebels, a military statement said.

A group of about 60 pro-regime soldiers moved into the area with a tank, artillery, anti-aircraft weapons and armed technical vehicles, posing a threat to the coalition forces at At-Tanf Garrison near the border with Jordan and Iraq, the coalition said in the statement.

"The coalition issued several warnings via the de-confliction line prior to destroying two artillery pieces, an anti-aircraft weapon, and damaging a tank," it said.

Syria's official SANA news agency said several people were killed, and accused the coalition of supporting terror.

"Warplanes belonging to the so-called international coalition attacked one of our military positions on the road to At-Tanf in the Shhaimeh region of Homs province, killing a number of people and causing some material damage," SANA quoted a military official as saying.

"This aggression once again demonstrates these forces' support for terrorism, at a time when the Syrian Arab Army and its allies are making daily progress against Daesh," the source added, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State.

US and British troops are based at At-Tanf, where they train local Syrian fighters for the battle against Islamic State forces.

The coalition said the contingent was "well advanced" into the 34-mile (55-mile) de-confliction zone, where any intrusion is considered hostile.

"The coalition is not looking for a fight with the Syrian regime or pro-regime forces, but it is ready to defend itself if pro-regime forces refuse to leave the de-confliction zone," it said.

The assault marked the second time in less than a month that coalition forces have attacked pro-regime forces as they headed toward the garrison.

Last month, coalition planes pounded the front of a convoy that had apparently been headed toward At-Tanf, in an established "deconfliction zone" northwest of the garrison.
Syrian regime forces, pictured February 2016 outside of Raqa, advanced into Raqa province for the first time in a year, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights

Syria's army advanced into Raqa province Tuesday, a monitor and a military source said, on the same day US-backed forces pushed into its provincial capital held by the Islamic State group.

"Regime forces entered Raqa province for the first time in a year, coming from Aleppo province" to the west, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said.

Backed by Russian air strikes, troops seized the villages of Khirbet Mohsen and Khirbet al-Sabaa from IS fighters, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said.

A Syrian military source confirmed the army had advanced into the province and taken the two villages, west of the jihadists' de facto Syrian capital of Raqa city.

The troops aim to "ensure the security of Aleppo province against the attacks of Daesh jihadists", the source said, using an Arabic acronym for IS.

President Bashar al-Assad's army has since January been carrying out a massive operation to fight IS in the eastern part of Aleppo province.

His soldiers on Tuesday were around 70 kilometres (40 miles) from Raqa city, into which the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces thrusted earlier in the day.

The SDF, who are made up of Kurdish and Arab rebels, on Tuesday announced they were launching a final assault to drive the jihadists from the city.

Abdel Rahman said it was not immediately clear if there was any coordination between the SDF and Assad's forces.

More than 320,000 people have been killed since Syria's war started in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests.
US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Mexico's Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal reached an agreement to allow resumption of Mexican sugar into the US market

The United States and Mexico reached an agreement Tuesday in a long-standing dispute that will allow duty-free sugar imports to resume from south of the border, albeit with new conditions.

US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the new deal will "address the flaws in the current system" and protect American sugar refiners, confectioners and soft drink makers from harm caused by imports of subsidized Mexican sugar.

However, he said the US sugar industry does not support the deal reached in talks with Mexico Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal.

"The new agreement prevents dumping of Mexican sugar and corrects for subsidies the Mexican sugar industry received," Ross said at a joint press conference.

The deal will increase the import price to 23 cents a pound of raw sugar from 22.25 cents, and for refined sugar to 28 cents a pound from 26 cents.

In addition, the share of refined sugar imported will be reduced to 30 percent from 53 percent.

Guajardo said those changes "protects Mexican companies and workers" and "maintains Mexico's position as the main supplier" to the US market.

In addition, Mexico was granted "right of first refusal" to supply any excess US demand, as determined each year by the US Department of Agriculture.

Ross said he hopes the sugar industry will support the deal once it is finalized in the coming days. He did not specify what objections the refiners raised.

US sugar producers have protested the amount of cheap sugar pouring across the border, accusing Mexico of subsidizing its sugar industry, then dumping the excess product.

Last year, Mexico exported 1.1 million tonnes of sugar to the United States, some 40 percent of which was refined.

Mexican sugar has entered the US market tariff-free since 2008. In exchange, the Mexican market was opened to US corn-based fructose, used mainly to sweeten soft drinks.

After protests from US sugar companies and farmers, both governments agreed to Mexican sugar export quotas in 2014. But complaints from US sugar refiners continued, and Washington and Mexico City reopened talks last year.

Washington had threatened to slap tariffs of up to 80 percent on Mexican sugar unless a deal was reached.

The dispute comes as the two neighbors, along with Canada, are set to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Amal Clooney's (L) parents expressed their elation over the birth of Ella and Alexander, their new grandchildren

Amal Clooney's parents said they were elated Tuesday to welcome their twin grandchildren Ella and Alexander, and added that the birth had gone well.

"They are in great health, all is perfect," Amal's father Ramzi Alamuddin, who lives in Beirut, told AFP.

"I am very happy for them, (Amal and George) will be great parents."

He added that he had spoken with his daughter and son-in-law after the birth and hoped to travel to London soon to meet his grandchildren.

Amal's mother Baria, reached in London, where she was in hospital with her daughter, said everyone was doing well.

"We are over the moon," she said in an interview. "It was a beautiful delivery. The babies are beautiful and are doing well."

The first-time parents welcomed their twin babies in the morning, the actor's publicist said.

"This morning, Amal and George welcomed Ella and Alexander Clooney into their lives," Stan Rosenfield said on behalf of the couple. "Ella, Alexander and Amal are all healthy, happy and doing fine."

"George is sedated and should recover in a few days," he joked about the 56-year-old Hollywood heartthrob.

The 39-year-old Lebanese-British international human rights lawyer and Clooney tied the knot in Venice in 2014.

The couple have kept a low profile since announcing they were having twins in February, staying at their rural home outside London.
Non-governmental groups from Algeria, Morocco and abroad urged "authorities in both countries to find an immediate solution" to house the Syrian refugee families living in limbo between the two countries

Dozens of Syrian refugees remained stranded in no-man's land between Morocco and Algeria on Tuesday, non-governmental groups said, despite an Algerian offer to help.

Algiers said last week it would take in the refugees after the United Nations urged both sides to help the Syrians, who include a pregnant woman and have been stranded in the desert area since April 17.

"The Syrian refugee families are still blocked on the border between Algeria and Morocco. Authorities on both sides are passing each other the buck," said Noureddine Benissad of the Algerian League of Human Rights.

Saida Benhabiles, the head of the Algerian Red Crescent, said a joint team from her organisation and the UN refugee agency have been waiting on the Algerian border since late Monday.

"There's no obstacle on the Algerian side," she said. "But the problem is they're in Moroccan territory and we can't go to get them."

In a statement, non-governmental groups including the Moroccan Association of Human Rights, International Federation for Human Rights and the Algerian League of Human Rights urged "authorities in both countries to find an immediate solution".

The zone between the two countries has been closed since 1994. The North African rivals have very difficult relations, especially over the question of Western Sahara.
Saudi Arabia Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir speaks to the press on current events and challenges in the Middle East in Paris on June 6, 2017

Qatar must "change their policies" and stop supporting "extremist groups", the Saudi foreign minister said Tuesday in Paris, a day after his nation and its allies cut off ties with the Gulf state.

"They have to change their policies" and "stop supporting extremist groups," Adel Al-Jubeir told reporters, adding that Qatar needed "to act like a normal country."

Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates severed diplomatic ties and transport links with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of supporting extremism.

In a surprise move against a key ally, US President Donald Trump suggested Qatar -- home to the largest American airbase in the Middle East -- was funding extremism as he tacitly backed the diplomatic blockade of the emirate.

"They said they would take a hard line on funding... extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!"

Trump's broadside came as Kuwait's ruler flew to Saudi Arabia in a bid to resolve the worst diplomatic crisis to hit the Arab world in years.

The Saudi top diplomat did not specify what he wanted from Qatar, saying that "a number of steps can be taken, they know it".

When asked about possible international diplomatic efforts to end the crisis, he said, "I don't believe there is a mediation. This is an internal GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) issue."

"We decided to make it clear that enough is enough," Jubeir said, also indicating that they were not interested in regime change in Qatar.

"We want Qatar to be an ally in finding peace and stability in the region," he said.

In 2014 Qatar promised to cease sheltering Islamist leaders and tempered the tone of its powerful TV channel Al-Jazeera, accused of being a mouthpiece for Islamists in the Arab world.

When asked about the Saudi arch-rival in the region Iran, Jubeir called it "an aggressive and hostile state" that would probably try to exploit the situation which would only make it worse for Qatar.

Energy-rich Qatar has long had strained ties with its neighbours but the move by Riyadh and its supporters raised fears of more volatility in the region.

It was already having tangible effects, with dozens of flights cancelled, Qatari planes barred from regional airspace, and panic buying in Doha amid fears of food shortages.

Kuwait did not join fellow Gulf countries in taking measures against Doha, and its Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah arrived in the Saudi city of Jeddah for talks to resolve the crisis.

Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani signalled his nation was open to talks, calling for "a dialogue of openness and honesty" to resolve the crisis.

French President Emmanuel Macron called for Gulf unity, saying he was ready to back "all initiatives to encourage calm".
COLTON, Calif. (AP) - The Latest on the stabbing of two young girls and their mother in Southern California. (all times local):

4:30 p.m.

A Southern California woman suspected of stabbing her daughter and two granddaughters previously pleaded guilty to stabbing her son and throwing her daughter out of a van while driving on the freeway in 2005.

This undated photo provided by the Colton Police Department shows Nicole Darrington Clark, 43. Clark is a fugitive, being sought by authorities who say a 6-month-old girl was slain and her sister and mother were critically wounded in a stabbing they suspect was carried out by Clark, the little girls' grandmother, in an attack Monday morning, June 5, 2017, in the family's Colton, Calif., home. (Colton Police Department via AP)

The Pasadena Star-News reported in 2007 that after the plea a judge ruled that Nicole Darrington Clark was not guilty of attempted murder by reason of insanity and sent her to a state hospital for 34 years to life. Neither child was seriously injured.

It wasn't immediately clear when or why she was released from the mental hospital and whether the daughter in the 2005 attack is the same one found critically injured Monday in Colton. Police did not immediately reply to a message seeking answers to those questions. But police said earlier Monday they are aggressively looking for Darrington Clark, who is not in custody.

A 1-year-old granddaughter of Darrington Clark was killed, and her sister was critically injured in the Monday morning stabbing. The two girls and two women all lived together in an apartment.

___

1:15 p.m.

Southern California authorities say a 1-year-old girl was slain and her sister and mother were critically wounded in a stabbing they suspect was carried out by the little girls' grandmother.

Colton police Cpl. Ray Mendez tells The Press-Enterprise newspaper (http://bit.ly/2qR9IXK) that detectives are aggressively searching for 43-year-old Nicole Darrington Clark in connection with the Monday morning attack.

Mendez says investigators do not know the motive for the attack, which took place in an apartment where Clark, her daughter and granddaughters lived together.

Neighbor Patty Williams tells the newspaper the wounded woman had been "stabbed everywhere." She says a police officer picked up the wounded older child in his arms to drive her to a hospital.

Colton is about 60 miles (97 kilometers) east of Los Angeles.

Colton, Calif., police investigate the scene where a 6-month-old baby was killed and her sister and mother were hospitalized in critical condition after a stabbing attack at their apartment in Colton Monday, June 5, 2017. Authorities were aggressively searching for the baby's grandmother, 43-year-old Nicole Darrington Clark, in connection with the morning attack. Clark remained at large Monday afternoon. (Rick Sforza/Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG via AP)

Colton, Calif., police investigate the scene where a 6-month-old baby was killed and her sister and mother were hospitalized in critical condition after a stabbing attack at their apartment in Colton Monday, June 5, 2017. Authorities were aggressively searching for the baby's grandmother, 43-year-old Nicole Darrington Clark, in connection with the morning attack. Clark remained at large Monday afternoon. (Rick Sforza/Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG via AP)
HONOLULU (AP) - Hawaii's congressional delegation is urging U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly to stop the deportation of a Hawaii coffee farmer.

Andres Magana Ortiz is ordered to report to U.S. immigration officials in Honolulu on Thursday with a bag packed to return to Mexico, his immigration attorney James Stanton said.

The delegation's letter Monday to Kelly asks him to exercise his prosecutorial discretion to allow him to remain in Hawaii, where is a coffee farmer on the Big Island and married to a U.S. citizen.

"We agree that persons that pose a threat to national security and public safety should be a priority for deportation proceedings. However, Mr. Magana Ortiz poses no such threat to national security or public safety and therefore should not be a priority for removal," said the letter signed by U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono, U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa and U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard. "Rather, it is in our national interest for Mr. Magana Ortiz to remain in the United States where he can continue to work, pay taxes and raise a family."

Magana Ortiz entered Arizona illegally in 1989 when he was 15, Stanton said. His wife is petitioning for him to become a legal permanent resident. The delegation's letter also asks that a review of her petition be expedited.

His case gained attention after a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge criticized the Trump administration's order to deport him. However, the court lacked authority to block the order.

"President Trump has claimed that his immigration policies would target the 'bad hombres,' " Judge Stephen Reinhardt said in an opinion issued last week. "The government's decision to remove Magana Ortiz shows that even the 'good hombres' are not safe."
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - The Latest on a white Mississippi lawmaker's remark about lynching (all times local):

10:40 p.m.

Eleven black lawmakers in Mississippi are publicly condemning a white colleague's online remark that people should be lynched for removing Confederate monuments.

Members of the Legislative Black Caucus spent more than an hour and a half making speeches late Monday. Mississippi legislators were meeting in special session to finish a state budget.

Republican Rep. Karl Oliver said May 20 on Facebook that Louisiana leaders had acted like Nazis in taking down Confederate statues in New Orleans. He apologized on Facebook on May 22, then apologized privately to some black colleagues Monday - the first time lawmakers were back in session since then.

Oliver listened to all of the speeches condemning his remark, showing no emotion. He left the Capitol without responding.

Democratic Rep. Robert Johnson says Oliver's original remark reinforced the stereotype that people from Mississippi are stupid and backward.

____

3:29 p.m.

A white Mississippi lawmaker has been privately apologizing to many of his black colleagues, more than two weeks after saying people should be lynched for removing Confederate monuments.

Legislators were in session Monday for the first time since Republican Rep. Karl Oliver of Winona posted the remark to Facebook on May 20.

Oliver posted a general apology on Facebook May 22. He says Monday he stands by that apology and is offering one-on-one apologies to black colleagues who will listen.

Democratic Rep. Bryant Clark of Pickens, who is black, says Oliver told him the lynching remark "did not come from his heart." Clark says Oliver should stand before the House and apologize. Oliver says he doesn't plan to do that.

A Senate committee rejected a resolution urging Oliver to resign.
Christine Lui Chen, a 36-year-old health care executive in New Jersey and mother of two small children, had never considered entering politics, focusing instead on her family, her career and her community.

That all changed in January, 13 hours after she attended the Women's March on Washington. She emailed Democratic officials: "Here's my resume. I want to get involved."

Less than five months later, Chen's name will be on the ballot, unopposed, in Tuesday's Democratic primary. She hopes to become her district's first Democratic state senator in more than 30 years, the first-ever Asian-American woman in her state's legislature - and a spear-point for legions of enthusiastic, mainly liberal-leaning women inspired by the election of President Donald Trump to get into politics.

In this May 29, 2017, photo, Christine Lui Chen,, who is running for state senate during the November elections, participates in the Bridgewater Memorial Day Parade in Bridgewater, N.J. Chen, a 36-year-old health care executive in New Jersey and mother of two small children, had never considered entering politics, focusing instead on her family, her career and her community. That all changed in January, when she attended the Women's March on Washington. Thirteen hours later, she emailed Democratic officials: "Here's my resume. I want to get involved." (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

"I just never thought politics was in the cards," says Chen, whose parents immigrated to the United States with almost nothing to their name. "But I don't want to be the one who didn't do anything, when we're at this moment in history where we need to stand up and say, 'This is what it means to be an American.'"

New Jersey is one of two states holding general legislative elections this year; the other is Virginia. Political analysts will be watching closely to see if there's a shift in the red-blue balance, but the newfound enthusiasm for politics among women - particularly young women like Chen - is also drawing attention. Like her, a number of them say they were inspired by Barack Obama's suggestion, in his farewell speech, to "grab a clipboard" and collect signatures to run for office themselves, if they were disappointed with their elected officials.

"This moment is unprecedented," says Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILY's List, which works to recruit and elect pro-choice Democratic women. "We've never seen anything like it." She says since Election Day, her organization has heard from over 13,000 women from all 50 states interested in running for office.

To compare: In 2015 and 2016 combined, about 920 women contacted the group. "And that was a good year!" she notes.

The vast majority, Schriock adds, are running in their local communities or on the state level. "They realize, 'I've got to start local.' It's our responsibility to try to guide them into a race and that may be 2018, or it may be 2022. It's a huge pipeline."

In New Jersey, the Center for American Women and Politics holds an annual, non-partisan campaign training program, Ready to Run, each March at Rutgers University. Typically, only four or five women sign up by December, says Debbie Walsh, who heads the center. This year, 100 women had done so. Running out of space, organizers had to limit registration to 250.

"I've never felt that kind of energy," says Walsh of the recent session, where Chen was among the trainees. "I think it's this universal moment for a lot of women - more on the middle-of-the-road to progressive end of the spectrum - who didn't really pay that much attention to politics, kind of thought this was a world that they didn't need to really participate in. This idea that you could be on the sidelines and that that was OK - no longer feels OK."

Also among this year's trainees was Lacey Rzeszowski, 42, a registered Republican until January, when she officially switched to the Democratic side. Rzeszowski is running for New Jersey Assembly; like Chen, she hoping to turn a longtime red district blue.

Rzeszowski, who in recent years has been a fulltime mother to her three sons, says she made her final decision to run during the bus ride home from the women's march. All day, she'd been awed by the crowd - "the scale, enormity and beauty of it," she says. "Women standing up for women."

And so, when her seatmate fell asleep on the way home, she found herself staring out the window. "I knew that when I got home, I was going to discuss it with my husband," she says.

Like Chen and Rzeszowski, Lisa Mandelblatt, an attorney and teacher in Westfield, New Jersey, found her career plans changing quickly after the march. She recalls feeling "stunned and horrified" after Trump defeated Hillary Clinton, but newly hopeful after encountering the thousands of women - a sea of pink hats - who converged on Washington with her. "I started to feel, 'OK, we've got this,'" says Mandelblatt, 53, referring to the country at large. "We're gonna be OK."

Perhaps because she's a teacher, Mandelblatt already owned a clipboard. "But I grabbed it," she laughs. She's now preparing to run for U.S. Congress in 2018, challenging for the seat held by Rep. Leonard Lance, a Republican.

In Virginia, Danica Roem faces a June 13 primary for the House of Delegates. Roem, 32, says she was motivated less by feelings about Trump than about the longtime incumbent she seeks to unseat, Bob Marshall, a conservative Republican who Roem contends has been "for 25 years, the most anti-LGBT legislator not just in Virginia, but in the entire South."

But Roem, a journalist and transgender woman, doesn't plan to spend a cent on opposition research. She covered Marshall for nearly a decade for several Virginia news outlets.

On the day Roem announced her candidacy, Marshall introduced his bathroom bill, prohibiting people from entering restrooms designated for use by members of the opposite sex. "His legislative priorities are more concerned with where I go to the bathroom than how his constituents get to work," she says, referring to a major quality-of-life issue in her district: traffic.

Roem hopes to become what she says will be the first out transgender person ever seated in a state legislature. She's confident: Asked why her opponent has remained in his seat so long, she replies: "Because he's never run against me before."

Also facing a primary for a Virginia legislative seat is Jennifer Carroll Foy, a public defender. Foy never thought politics would be her thing. But her shock over the election - she'd gone to bed at 7 p.m., certain of a Clinton victory, and thought her husband was joking in the morning - spurred her to action.

"It's true what they say," she says about women in politics. "Men have to be told NOT to do it, while women need to be told, yes, you CAN do it."

It took the 35-year-old attorney, who was one of the first African-American women to graduate from the Virginia Military Institute, about six weeks to resolve to run. By then, she says, she had gone through various stages of grief: denial, anger. She decided not to be angry anymore.

"I realized that I can either wait for someone else to do it, or I can be that change that I'd like to see," she says.

It's that same realization, says Chen, that has led her to knock on hundreds of doors since resolving to oppose incumbent Michael Doherty, who she says was the first New Jersey elected official to back Trump.

For Chen, a chief motivating factor was Trump's immigration policies, a subject close to her heart. "Are we less American because we don't look like Donald Trump?" she asks, referring to her family. Chen says she is also motivated by the fact that her husband is a cancer survivor.

"Life is short," she says. "Too much is at stake."

In this May 29, 2017, photo, Christine Lui Chen, center, who is running for state senate, participates in the Bridgewater Memorial Day Parade in Bridgewater, N.J. Chen, a 36-year-old health care executive in New Jersey and mother of two small children, had never considered entering politics, focusing instead on her family, her career and her community. That all changed in January, when she attended the Women's March on Washington. Thirteen hours later, she emailed Democratic officials: "Here's my resume. I want to get involved." (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

In this May 29, 2017, photo, Christine Lui Chen, center, who is running for state senate during the November elections, participates in the Bridgewater Memorial Day Parade in Bridgewater, N.J. Chen, a 36-year-old health care executive in New Jersey and mother of two small children, had never considered entering politics, focusing instead on her family, her career and her community. That all changed in January, when she attended the Women's March on Washington. Thirteen hours later, she emailed Democratic officials: "Here's my resume. I want to get involved." (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

In this May 29, 2017, photo Christine Lui Chen, right, who is running for state senate during the November elections, walks with her daughter Lily Chen, 6, while participating in the Bridgewater Memorial Day Parade in Bridgewater, N.J. Chen, a 36-year-old health care executive in New Jersey and mother of two small children, had never considered entering politics, focusing instead on her family, her career and her community. That all changed in January, when she attended the Women's March on Washington. Thirteen hours later, she emailed Democratic officials: "Here's my resume. I want to get involved." (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

In this April 15, 2017 photo released by Jennifer Carroll Foy, Foy, right speaks with voter Preston Arnold, center, as her husband Jeff Foy looks on in Woodbridge, Va. Foy, a public defender, is facing a primary for a Virginia legislative seat. She never thought politics would be her thing. But her shock over the election spurred her to action. (Alex Orosco via AP)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Conservative groups are wasting little time in trying to deal a crippling blow to labor unions now that Justice Neil Gorsuch has joined the Supreme Court.

A First Amendment clash over public sector unions left the justices deadlocked last year after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. But union opponents have quickly steered a new case through federal courts in Illinois and they plan to appeal it to the high court on Tuesday.

The groups say unions representing government employees violate the free speech rights of workers by collecting money from people who don't want to join.

FILE - In this Feb. 13, 2016, file photo, people stand on the steps of the Supreme Court at sunset in Washington. Conservative groups are wasting little time in trying to deal a crippling blow to labor unions now that Justice Neil Gorsuch has joined the Supreme Court. A First Amendment clash over public sector unions left the justices deadlocked last year after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. But union opponents have quickly steered a new case through federal courts in Illinois and they plan to appeal it to the high court on Tuesday, June 6, 2017. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick, file)

If the high court agrees, it could threaten the financial viability of unions and reduce the clout of labor, one of the biggest contributors to Democratic political campaigns.

The Supreme Court seemed all but certain to rule against the unions in a similar case argued before Scalia died. That case, involving a California teachers' union, was the first of several to split 4-4 while the court was short-handed. The deadlock left in place a four-decade-old practice that lets public-sector unions collect fees from non-members to cover the costs of collective bargaining.

"Our hope is that a year from now, the Supreme Court will end this injustice and free every public school teacher, safety officer and other government worker to decide for themselves whether or not to financially support a union with their hard-earned money," said a joint statement from the two organizations backing the case - the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation and Liberty Justice Center.

The Supreme Court won't consider taking up the case until September at the earliest.

The latest appeal comes as union membership in the U.S. hit new lows last year, sinking to just 10.7 percent of the workforce. As private union membership has steadily declined, about half of all union members now work for federal, state and local government. Most of them are in states like Illinois, New York, and California that are largely Democratic and seen as friendly toward unions.

The Illinois case involves Mark Janus, a state employee who says Illinois law violates his free speech rights by requiring him to pay fees subsidizing a union he doesn't support, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. About half the states have similar laws covering so-called "fair share" fees that cover bargaining costs for nonmembers.

Janus is seeking to overturn a 1977 Supreme Court case that said public workers who refuse to join a union can still be required to pay for bargaining costs, as long as the fees don't go toward political purposes. The arrangement was supposed to prevent nonmembers from "free riding," since the union has a legal duty to represent all workers.

A federal appeals court in Chicago rejected Janus' claim in March, ruling that the fees were constitutional under the 1977 case, Abood v. Detroit Board of Education.

AFSCME President Lee Saunders called the case an effort to chip away at the power of unions "to negotiate a fair return on our work, provide for our families, and lift up the concerns of all working families."

Last year, the issue split the court's liberal and conservative members during oral arguments in the California case. Several conservative justices, including Scalia, seemed ready to scrap Abood. They said bargaining issues like teacher salaries, merit promotions and class sizes are all intertwined with political issues involving the size of state budgets and how taxpayer dollars should be spent.

While unions avoided a loss after Scalia's death, Gorsuch is seen as equally conservative, though he has not expressed views on the issue of fair share union fees.

For unions, the loss of millions in fees would reduce their power to bargain for higher wages and benefits for government employees.

"This is an aggressive litigation campaign aimed at undermining unions' ability to operate by forcing them to represent people for free," said Benjamin Sachs, a professor at Harvard Law School specializing in labor law.
BEIRUT (AP) - A U.S.-backed Syrian force said Tuesday it has begun an offensive to capture the northern city of Raqqa, the de facto capital of the Islamic State group, after months of clearing operations. An American commander said the battle will be long and difficult, but success would deliver a decisive blow to the idea of IS as a physical caliphate.

By early afternoon, opposition activists said U.S.-backed fighters were trying to break into the city from the east, triggering intense clashes.

Raqqa was among the first cities captured by IS, in January 2014, and has been the home of some of the group's most prominent leaders. The battle for the city is expected to be extended and bloody, and could mark a major turning point in the war against the extremists.

Talal Sillo, a spokesman for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, told reporters that operations have begun in coordination with the U.S.-led coalition.

"We declare today the beginning of the great battle to liberate the city of Raqqa, the alleged capital of terrorism and terrorists," Sillo told a news conference held in northern Syria. "Morale is high and military readiness to implement the military plan is complete, in coordination with the U.S.-led coalition."

SDF fighters began advancing toward Raqqa in November, capturing wide areas of northern Syria from the extremists. Last week, they reached the northern and eastern gates of the city after intense clashes under the cover of U.S.-led airstrikes.

Raqqa is currently surrounded from the east, north and west, and opposition activists have reported intense shelling and airstrikes on the city since Monday night, which killed at least 12 people.

IS militants are not expected to give up easily. Iraqi forces launched an offensive to capture the northern city of Mosul, the largest held by IS, in October, and heavy fighting is still underway there.

Lt. Gen. Steve Townsend, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said the twin offensives against Mosul and Raqqa are hurting the Islamic State group's prestige and ability to recruit new loyalists.

"It's hard to convince new recruits that ISIS is a winning cause when they just lost their twin 'capitals' in both Iraq and Syria," Townsend said, referring to IS by another acronym.

He said U.S.-led coalition forces will continue to support the SDF in Raqqa, providing equipment, training, Intelligence and logistics as well as precision firepower.

"We all saw the heinous attack in Manchester, England," said Townsend, referring to a bombing that killed 22 people last month and was claimed by IS. "ISIS threatens all of our nations, not just Iraq and Syria, but in our own homelands as well. This cannot stand."

"The International Coalition and our partner forces are steadily dismantling the physical caliphate of ISIS," said Townsend. "Once ISIS is defeated in both Mosul and Raqqa, there will still be a lot of hard fighting ahead, but this coalition is strong and committed to the complete annihilation of ISIS in both Iraq and Syria."

Townsend added that once Raqqa is retaken, the SDF have stated it will be turned over to a representative body of local civilians who will provide security and governance.

The U.S.-SDF partnership has complicated relations with Turkey, which views the group's Kurdish component as an extension of a terror group operating inside its own borders.

Turkey has remained hostile to the Kurdish People's Protection Units, known by their Kurdish acronym the YPG, which form the backbone of the SDF. The YPG are close to the Kurdish PKK insurgent group in Turkey, which is designated as a terror organization by NATO and the U.S.

Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Tuesday his country will respond if an offensive by the SDF on Raqqa poses a security threat to Turkey. He criticized the United States for launching the Raqqa offensive with SDF.

IS stormed across large areas in Syria and Iraq in 2014, declaring a self-styled Islamic caliphate. But it has lost much of that territory over the past two years following grueling campaigns by an array of Syrian and Iraqi forces. The fighting has devastated communities in both countries and forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes.

IS has been fortifying its positions in Raqqa for months, setting up barriers and hanging sheets of cloth over main streets to provide cover from warplanes. A belt of land mines and militant checkpoints circle the city.

The humanitarian NGO International Rescue Committee said it is deeply concerned for the safety of civilians in the city, adding that the number of people escaping Raqqa has dropped. That may indicate that IS "intends to use the 200,000 people still trapped in the city as human shields," the group reported.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported heavy clashes on the edge of Raqqa's eastern neighborhood of Mashlab as well as inside Division 17, a former Syrian army base now controlled by IS north of the city. It said SDF fighters captured several buildings in Mashlab.

Earlier Tuesday, state news agency SANA reported that the airstrikes by the U.S.-led coalition killed 12, including women and children. It said the families were fleeing the city in boats across the Euphrates River ahead of an expected all-out attack by the SDF.

The Observatory said 21 people were killed in the Monday night airstrikes. It said they were likely carried out by the U.S.-led coalition.

___

Associated Press writer Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey contributed to this report.
LONDON (AP) - The Latest on the attacks in the London Bridge area (all times local):

6:30 a.m.

Relatives of Australian Sara Zelenak have confirmed she was killed in the London attacks over the weekend.

Britain's Prince Harry speaks at a function at Admiralty House in Sydney, Wednesday, June 7, 2017. Prince Harry is in Sydney to launch the 2018 Invictus Games. (David Moir/Pool Photo via AP)

The 21-year-old worked as a nanny in London and had previously been described as missing after the attacks Saturday night.

Her aunt, Tara, says Zelenak's mother Julie Wallace broke down when she learned of her daughter's death while traveling to Britain.

Tara posted on Facebook: "Even though there was limbo for days, there was still a bit of hope."

Seven people were killed and dozens wounded in the attacks by three assailants near London Bridge. Another Australian who died, nurse Kirsty Boden, was said to have been trying to help other victims when she was killed.

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4 a.m.

A former U.S. intelligence official has offered his nation's condolences to three Australians killed in attacks in London and Melbourne, Australia.

Two Australians were among the seven killed in a van and knife attacks on and on Saturday. A Chinese-born Australian was killed by a gunman who was shot dead by police in what authorities described as a terrorist incident in Melbourne on Monday.

Former U.S. Director of National Intelligence Jim Clapper said in a speech to Australia's National Press Club: "Unfortunately, on a serious note, I am compelled to acknowledge the tragic loss of two Australian citizens in the mindless, heinous terrorist attack in London."

He added: "On behalf of the United States, I want to offer heartfelt condolences and prayers and similar thoughts go out to the family of the man killed in Melbourne."

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3 a.m.

Prince Harry has spoken in praise of Australians living in London after two of them were confirmed to have been killed in the van and knife attacks there over the weekend.

Harry said: "Australians form an important and vibrant part of the fabric of life in London and we are reminded of that in good times and bad." He said his heart went out to the victims, their friends and families.

Authorities have said Australian nurse Kirsty Boden was trying to help other victims when she was killed in the attacks Saturday night on London Bridge and in Borough Market. The identity of the second Australian among the seven dead has not been released.

Harry was in Sydney on Wednesday to launch the 2018 Invictus Games. He created the sporting competition for injured and sick servicemen and women after his two tours of duty in Afghanistan.

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12:42 a.m.

Australia's prime minister says one of the two Australians killed in the van and knife attacks on London Bridge and London's Borough Market had been trying to help other victims.

London police say Australian nurse Kirsty Boden, 28, is among the seven killed. The family of 21-year-old London-based nanny Sara Zelenak says she has not been heard of since the attack, but she had not been officially confirmed dead.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told Melbourne Radio 3AW: "Kirsty Boden was a young nurse who went to help victims of the attack and tragically has been killed by these cowardly, vicious terrorists."

Turnbull says he has spoken to both Boden and Zelenak's families. The families were either already in London or on their way from Australia.

Another two Australians are recovering from stab wounds to the neck. Turnbull says all Australians are now accounted for.

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11:13 p.m.

Australia's foreign minister has confirmed that two Australians were killed in the van and knife attacks on London Bridge and London's Borough Market.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says in a statement: "The Australian government is deeply saddened to confirm that two Australians have been killed in the London terrorist attack."

Bishop has not revealed their names. But London police say Australian nurse Kirsty Boden, 28, is among the seven killed. The family of 21-year-old London-based nanny Sara Zelenak says she has not been heard of since the attack. Another two Australians are recovering from stab wounds to the neck.

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9:55 p.m.

Irish police say they have arrested a man in connection with the London Bridge attack.

Ireland's police force, Garda Siochana, said a man in his 30s was arrested Tuesday in Wexford county, south of Dublin, under the Theft and Fraud Offences Act.

He is being questioned about documentation connected to Rachid Redouane, one of the three attackers identified by British police.

Redouane, who claimed to be Moroccan and Libyan, had spent time in both Britain and Ireland.

Redouane and two other men were shot dead by police after they went on a vehicle and knife rampage on and around the bridge on Saturday, killing seven people and wounding almost 50.

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8 p.m.

Residents of an Italian suburb where one of the London Bridge attackers spent time say he was a "good boy" but that some suspicions were raised.

Franca Lambertini, Youssef Zaghba's aunt by marriage who lives near his mother Valeria Collina close to the city of Bologna, told The Associated Press: "I know him little from when he stayed with his mother. For me he was a good boy, but."

She said that just last week her daughter said: "Mom, I hope Youssef doesn't have anything to do with that sort of thing.'"

She said she replied: "'Forget about it! He's a good boy, what do you think?' This is what happened, I swear."

Franco Orsi, a neighbor of Collina, says she never spoke about her son.

"She would say that one was abroad, the daughter lives in Bologna. She didn't say more. She never talked about anything, especially of her children."

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7:30 p.m.

The Italian mother of one of the London Bridge attackers says her son used to show her videos of Syria and said he wanted to go there "because it was a place where you could live according to a pure Islam."

Valeria Collina, who converted to Islam and lives near Bologna, was quoted by Italian newsmagazine L'Espresso as saying she last spoke to her son, Youssef Zaghba, two days before Saturday's attacks. Collina says she now realizes it was a goodbye call.

She had planned to fly to London in a few days to celebrate the end of Ramadan with her 22-year-old son and was informed on Tuesday by Italian intelligence agents that he was dead.

Collina says that even though Zaghba was eager to go to Syria, he never told her he wanted to fight as a jihadi. She says she tried to keep him away from radical friends, but "he had the internet, and from there he got everything."

She also says she agrees with the Muslim imams who have refused to preside over her son's funeral.

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7:05 p.m.

London police say a French man who has been missing since the night of the London Bridge attack may have been thrown into the River Thames by the killers' speeding van.

The Metropolitan Police force appealed Tuesday for information about 45-year-old Xavier Thomas, who was walking with his girlfriend over the bridge when the attack began on Saturday night.

The force said witness accounts suggest Thomas might have been thrown into the river, and is urging anyone who saw anything to contact detectives.

Thomas' girlfriend was struck and seriously injured by the van.

Boats from the police marine unit and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution have been searching the river since the attack.

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6:50 p.m.

Authorities in Italy say the Italian mother of one of the London Bridge attackers had converted to Islam and wore a veil in the Bologna suburb where she lived alone.

Mayor Daniele Ruscigno of Valsamoggia, in the province of Bologna, tells The Associated Press that Valeria Collina was "very reserved, so locals really don't know her. I don't even know her."

Collina is the mother of 22-year-old Youssef Zaghba, who London police identified Tuesday as one of the three men who drove into pedestrians on the bridge then stabbed people in a food market and restaurants nearby.

Collina lived in the tiny hamlet of Castello di Serravalle. City records listed Zaghba as having been born in Morocco and a resident overseas during 2004-2016.

Ruscigno says Zaghna is believed to have been in Morocco, where his father lived, during those years. He says Zaghba returned to Bologna for a few days in 2016, "passing through to go to other countries and we imagine he settled in London in that period."

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6:35 p.m.

An Italian prosecutor says one of the London Bridge attackers told authorities after being stopped at Bologna's airport he "wanted to be a terrorist," but then quickly corrected himself.

Bologna prosecutor Giuseppe Amato said Tuesday and there wasn't enough evidence to arrest or charge Youssef Zaghba when authorities stopped him at the city's Marconi airport on March 15, 2016.

But Amato tells Italy's Radio 24 that Zaghba was flagged to British authorities as a "possible suspect."

Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported Tuesday that Zaghba was stopped while trying to take a flight to Turkey on his way to Syria.

Amato says any time Zaghba was in Italy after that, he was always tracked by Italian intelligence officers.

He says: "We did everything we could have done, but there weren't elements of proof that he was a terrorist."

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5:45 p.m.

A British soccer club has applauded the bravery of one of its fans who fought back against attackers in the London Bridge attack.

Millwall Football Club commended Roy Larner, 47, for "his immense bravery in incredibly terrifying circumstances." Larner told the Sun newspaper that he was knifed eight times after attackers targeted a pub where he was out for a night with friends, shouting "This is for Allah!"

He says the attackers were chanting "Islam! Islam!" and that he responded with an obscenity, adding "I'm Millwall."

The club, which has a reputation for violent supporters, says it "stands together with all other football clubs and organizations in offering its absolute support to those in need following the tragic events of last Saturday night."

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3:15 p.m.

An Italian prosecutor says one of the London Bridge attackers told authorities at Bologna's airport he "wanted to be a terrorist," but then quickly corrected himself.

Bologna prosecutor Giuseppe Amato said Tuesday and there wasn't enough evidence to arrest or charge Youssef Zaghba when authorities stopped him at the city's Marconi airport on March 15, 2016.

But Amato tells Italy's Radio 24 that Zaghba was flagged to British authorities as a "possible suspect."

Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera reported Tuesday that Zaghba was stopped while trying to take a flight to Turkey on his way to Syria.

Amato says any time Zaghba was in Italy after that, he was always tracked by Italian intelligence officers.

He says: "We did everything we could have done, but there weren't elements of proof that he was a terrorist. He was someone who was suspicious because of his way of behaving."

___

1:30 p.m.

Family members of a 21-year-old Australian nanny who is missing in London after the London Bridge attacks are pleading for information and raising money to fly her parents to Britain.

Sara Zelenak's mother Julie Wallace told Brisbane radio station 97.3FM that the family had planned to meet Sara in Europe soon.

"We were counting down the days to see her," Wallace said. "The last time I spoke to her was our time Friday afternoon at 4:42 and she said, 'Oh mum! It's only 28 days until you and I and dad can have baguettes and cheese and croissants in Paris."

A woman named Tara who identified herself as Sara Zelenak's aunt said the family is "bracing for the worst." Speaking to media Tuesday outside the family's home in Ormiston in eastern Australia, the aunt called Zelenak a "special, kindred spirit."

London police said Australian woman Kirsty Boden was among the seven killed, and the Australian government confirmed that two Australians are among the injured. Australia's prime minister says officials are working to try to find out what happened to Zelenak.

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1:20 p.m.

Surveillance video from a bar in Borough Market obtained by local Spanish newspaper Diario de Pontevedra shows the moment when one of the assailants in Saturday's attack is blocked from accessing a packed bar moments before he was shot by the police.

The camera captured how staff at the Arthur Hooper's bar sheltered customers and other passers-by as the attack unfolded, the newspaper said. As various people try to close off the entrance, manager Sergio Farina can be seen wrestling the door against one of the assailants who is trying to charge against it.

"The police opened fired when one person was stabbed," Farina told the newspaper, adding that the assailant was shot by the police a few meters away from the bar's entrance.

The manager's brother, Rafael, a reporter with Diario de Pontevedra, told the AP that 28 people were sheltered that night in the bar. He said his brother, who has lived in London for 16 years, was more shocked about the events than proud of his action. "My brother doesn't want to be a hero, he just did what anybody would do," said Rafael Farina.

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1 p.m.

The Pakistani cousin of one of the London Bridge killers said the attack has shattered his family.

Bilal Dar told The Associated Press in the Pakistani city of Jhelum that his cousin, Khurum Butt, lived in the city until he was about 7 years old.

Dar said the last time he spoke to Butt it wasn't obvious that he had turned to radical Islamist beliefs.

"Our family is hurt by what he did," Dar said. "This has destroyed our family's pride."

Dar, 18, said that Pakistani intelligence agents were interviewing relatives.

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12:55 p.m.

The mayor of London says he couldn't care less about the accusatory tweets being issued by the president of the United States.

Sadiq Khan told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he "really couldn't be bothered about what Donald Trump tweets."

Trump has repeatedly singled out the mayor of London for criticism following the van-and-knife attack on Saturday night that left seven people dead and scores more injured.

Khan in turn has asked the government to reconsider its decision to invite Trump for a state visit, a move the mayor described as "inappropriate."

Khan spoke to the AP outside the headquarters of London's Ambulance Service following a minute of silence held in honor of the victims of the attack.

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12:20 p.m.

The Italian daily Corriere della Sera reported Tuesday that Youssef Zaghba, the third named London Bridge attacker, had been stopped in Italy while trying to go to Syria in 2016.

Zaghba, who was said to be born in Morocco to a Moroccan father and an Italian mother, was stopped at Bologna's Marconi airport on March 15, 2016, while he tried to take a flight to Turkey. He was allegedly on his way to Syria and was carrying only a backpack.

The report said that Italy had put him on a watch list and flagged his presence to Moroccan and British authorities. The parents lived for a time in Morocco and when they separated the mother returned to Italy and re-established herself in Bologna.

Zaghba was reportedly working in a London restaurant and had not been seen in Italy since 2016.

A British government official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the attack investigation confirmed the details of the Italian report, and said that the man had not been considered a "person of interest," meaning they had no reason to think he was violent or planning an attack.

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12:10 p.m.

Police have identified another victim of the London Bridge attacks as Australian nurse Kirsty Boden, releasing a statement from her family praising her work and her effort to help other victims.

The Metropolitan Police issued a statement Tuesday on behalf of her family saying, "As she ran towards danger, in an effort to help people on the bridge, Kirsty sadly lost her life." Police did not elaborate on how she was killed.

The family said her actions "demonstrate how selfless, caring and heroic she was, not only on that night, but throughout all of her life."

Australian media reported that Boden was 28 and from Loxton in southern Australia.

Boden was among seven people killed in the Saturday night attacks. Another Australian woman, Sara Zelenak, has been reported missing since the attack.

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11:50 a.m.

British police have named the third London Bridge attacker at 22-year-old Youssef Zaghba, believed to be an Italian national of Moroccan descent.

Police said Tuesday he is from east London and his family has been notified.

Police say he was not a "subject of interest" to police or the intelligence services.

The other two attackers were named Monday as Khuram Shazad Butt and Rachid Redouane.

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11:35 a.m.

People across Britain have paused for a moment of silence to remember those killed and injured in the London Bridge attack.

Commuters paused in train stations, hospital staff gathered in hospital foyers and workers stopped work in government offices at 11 a.m. (1000GMT). Ambulance workers, many of whom treated the wounded in Saturday's attack, gathered outside their headquarters alongside Mayor Sadiq Khan.

Dozens of people gathered in driving rain at the end of London Bridge, where a growing mound of flowers sits beside a police cordon.

Seven people were killed and almost 50 injured when three attackers ran down pedestrians on the bridge, then stabbed passers-by in nearby Borough Market. The attackers were shot dead by police.

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10:40 a.m.

The gym where one of the London Bridge attackers trained says they saw nothing of concern during his time there.

In a letter posted outside, the Ummah Fitness Centre said staff would "help the police in any way we can" as investigators try to learn more about Khuram Shazad Butt.

Butt was among three men who rammed a van into pedestrians on London Bridge and then stabbed people in nearby Borough Market. Seven people died and dozens were wounded during the attack late Saturday.

Neighbors described Butt as an avid weightlifter and Transport for London confirmed he worked for London Underground in customer service before leaving last October.

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10:30 a.m.

Spain's foreign minister, Alfonso Dastis, says his British counterpart, Boris Johnson, has promised to accelerate efforts to identify victims in Saturday's attack that killed seven people and injured dozens more.

Ignacio Echeverria, a 39 year-old Spanish banker remains missing after trying to help a woman injured in the vicinity of Borough Market, near London Bridge, his father said based on the account of a friend of Echeverria's who was at the scene.

The friend described seeing Echeverria for the last time lying on the floor after confronting one of the assailants.

Ignacio's father, Joaquin Echeverria, told The Associated Press that the family was flying to London on Tuesday to join other relatives.

He said authorities had not shared any information with them.

The son's employer, HSBC, has provided the services of a private detective to aide in the hunt for information.

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9.05 a.m.

Much of the area around London Bridge remained cordoned off as police continued to investigate Saturday's attack that killed seven people.

The area around Borough Market is not expected to reopen Tuesday.

The nearby London Bridge station was operational though one of the exits that leads to the cordoned off area on Borough High Street remained closed.

Transport for London, which oversees the capital's transport network, has advised commuters, struggling to get to work in the driving rain, to make alternative journeys as the station will be busy.

A minute's silence is due to be observed in Britain at 11 a.m. local time (1000 GMT) in memory of the seven people who died during the attack late Saturday.

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7.40 a.m.

A new search is underway in a neighborhood near the home of two of the London Bridge attackers, hours after police said they had freed everyone detained following the attack.

London police said all 12 people held since the attack late Saturday from the Barking neighborhood in the east of the city have been freed without charge. A new search was underway Tuesday in Ilford, just north of Barking.

The attack left seven people dead and dozens wounded before police shot dead the three attackers, who wore fake suicide vests.

One of them, Khuram Shazad Butt, had appeared in a documentary "The Jihadis Next Door" and was known to investigators. The second man, Rachid Redouane, had not aroused any suspicions. Police have not released the identity of the third attacker.

Pedestrians walk in the rain by a flower memorial in the London Bridge area of London on Tuesday, June 6, 2017. A new search was underway Tuesday in a neighborhood near the home of two of the London Bridge attackers, hours after police said they had freed everyone detained in the wake of the Saturday evening rampage that left several dead and dozens wounded. (AP Photo/Tim Ireland)

A girl cries prior to participating in a moment of silence to remember attack victims in the London Bridge area of London on Tuesday, June 6, 2017. A new search was underway Tuesday in a neighborhood near the home of two of the London Bridge attackers, hours after police said they had freed everyone detained in the wake of the Saturday evening rampage that left several dead and dozens wounded. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan speaks to the media as he joined London Ambulance workers in observing a minute's silence at the London Ambulance Service headquarters at Waterloo, central London, in honour of the London Bridge terror attack victims, Tuesday June 6, 2017. A new search was underway Tuesday in a neighborhood near the home of two of the London Bridge attackers, hours after police said they had freed everyone detained in the wake of the rampage that left several dead and dozens wounded. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)

People participate in a moment of silence at a flower memorial in the London Bridge area of London on Tuesday, June 6, 2017. A new search was underway Tuesday in a neighborhood near the home of two of the London Bridge attackers, hours after police said they had freed everyone detained in the wake of the Saturday evening rampage that left several dead and dozens wounded. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

A cyclist and pedestrians commute between newly installed barriers on London Bridge area of London on Tuesday, June 6, 2017. A new search was underway Tuesday in a neighborhood near the home of two of the London Bridge attackers, hours after police said they had freed everyone detained in the wake of the Saturday evening rampage that left several dead and dozens wounded. (AP Photo/Tim Ireland)

Pedestrians walk by a flower memorial in the London Bridge area of London on Tuesday, June 6, 2017. A new search was underway Tuesday in a neighborhood near the home of two of the London Bridge attackers, hours after police said they had freed everyone detained in the wake of the Saturday evening rampage that left several dead and dozens wounded. (AP Photo/Tim Ireland)
ATLANTA (AP) - A Republican candidate in a nationally watched Georgia congressional race says she doesn't support a "livable wage."

That was the way Karen Handel explained her opposition to a minimum-wage increase during a debate Tuesday night with Jon Ossoff, a Democratic upstart who has become a face of the opposition movement to President Donald Trump and is aiming for an upset that would rock Washington ahead of the 2018 midterms.

Handel, a former Georgia secretary of state, declined Wednesday to walk back her remarks.

Candidates in Georgia's 6th Congressional District race Republican Karen Handel, left, and Democrat Jon Ossoff shake hands after a debate Tuesday, June 6, 2017, in Atlanta. The two meet in a June 20 special election.(Branden Camp/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

She said in a statement: "The private sector creates good paying jobs when we have a robust economy with lower taxes and less regulation."

During the debate, Handel was repeating the phrasing Ossoff had just used to explain his limited support for mandate wage increases that he said would yield a "livable wage," and her position follows standard Republican orthodoxy on Capitol Hill.

But her choice of words - "I do not support a livable wage" - could become fodder against her before the June 20 special election in Georgia's 6th Congressional District. And it certainly could become grist as Democrats nationally continue their efforts to frame Trump and Republicans as foes of the working class.

Federal minimum wage is $7.25, though 29 states and many cities have higher minimums. Georgia is not among them. There is a national labor movement to increase the federal mark to $15 an hour, and many Democrats in Congress advocate at least a $10.10 hourly wage.

Ossoff spokeswoman Sacha Haworth said Wednesday the campaign will use Handel's remarks in "targeted messaging," though they did not specific whether that means direct mail, online advertising or other means. The approach suggests Ossoff will not feature the comment in his extensive television advertising campaign that reaches the broadest swath of voters in the affluent, well-educated district.

National Democrats said Wednesday they almost certainly will take the same approach.

Handel and Ossoff are embroiled in an expensive special election that has become a proxy for national political dynamics. The affluent suburban Atlanta district has elected a Republican since 1978, but Trump barely won here in November, giving Ossoff an opening if he can woo enough independents and even moderate Republicans.

Democrats needs to flip 24 Republican seats by next November to reclaim a House majority, and the national party has identified the Georgia seat as the best shot for a pickup in a round of special elections this spring. Republicans already have held on to open seats in Kansas and Montana.

Public opinion polls have for years showed a majority of American adults back a higher federal minimum wage. Voters in Arizona, Colorado, Maine and Washington last year all approved ballot measures to raise the state minimum pay. But it's less clear whether the issue can be a deciding factor between two candidates.

The Georgia district's makeup - the median household income is about 60 percent higher than the national mark - explains why Ossoff and other Democrats have not immediately pounced on Handel's statement about wages, even as liberal commentators and activists have reacted across social media and online.

Handel, answering a panelist's question after Ossoff, called the matter a "fundamental difference" between the two candidates. After stating her opposition to a "livable wage," she echoed standard Republican theory about government avoiding mandates on businesses, arguing that freeing employers to make decisions enables them "to do what they do best ... create jobs." That, she said, results in higher wages.

A federally imposed hike, she said, would "dramatically hurt" businesses.

Ossoff, who frames himself as a centrist despite his support from the grassroots left nationally, answered the question cautiously himself.

He said he supports increases "indexed to cost-of-living," meaning different communities could set different wages. He specifically cited higher costs in urban areas. And he said he advocates step raises over time, so that businesses could absorb cost increases.

That position largely reflects what Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said in 2016, in contrast to her primary rival and liberal hero Bernie Sanders, who backs the $15 per hour standard.

Ossoff and Handel have tried for weeks to downplay the national significance of their contest, insisting the contest is about Georgia voters. But that facade crumbled throughout the one-hour debate.

Handel repeatedly cast Ossoff as a tool of "the most liberal elements of the Democratic Party," and mentioned House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, about a dozen times.

"Your values are from 3,000 miles away in San Francisco," Handel told Ossoff.

Ossoff countered by repeatedly declaring he'll "work with anyone in Washington" as "an independent voice."

He noted Handel echoes Trump on most issues, suggesting she's the "rubber stamp" candidate.

The reality is that whoever wins will have benefited from outside help. Ossoff has raised money alongside Pelosi. Handel has raised money with Trump.

___

Follow Barrow on Twitter at https://twitter.com/BillBarrowAP

Candidates in Georgia's 6th Congressional District race Republican Karen Handel, left, and Democrat Jon Ossoff shake hands after a debate Tuesday, June 6, 2017, in Atlanta. The two meet in a June 20 special election. (Branden Camp/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Candidates in Georgia's 6th Congressional District race Republican Karen Handel, left, and Democrat Jon Ossoff prepare to debate Tuesday, June 6, 2017, in Atlanta. The two meet in a June 20 special election.(Branden Camp/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Candidates in Georgia's 6th Congressional District race Republican Karen Handel, left, and Democrat Jon Ossoff prepare to debate Tuesday, June 6, 2017, in Atlanta. The two meet in a June 20 special election.(Branden Camp/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Candidates in Georgia's 6th Congressional District race Republican Karen Handel, left, and Democrat Jon Ossoff prepare to debate Tuesday, June 6, 2017, in Atlanta. The two meet in a June 20 special election.(Branden Camp/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
BERLIN (AP) - The prime minister of Montenegro says he has no hard feelings about President Donald Trump pushing past him at a NATO summit in Brussels last month.

In a scene that went viral on the internet, Trump appeared to shove Prime Minister Dusko Markovic to get to the front of the group as NATO leaders entered the alliance's new headquarters building.

But Markovic, whose tiny Balkan nation joined NATO on Monday, said in an interview with Germany's Bild newspaper Tuesday that the Brussels incident was no big deal.

He concedes that "contact took place, which the media referred to as pushing" but that he "did not perceive it like that."

It was, he says, "a completely harmless event."

Markovic said the U.S. president should be "next to" the NATO Secretary General.
A judge held a juror in contempt and declared a mistrial in the case of a church minister charged in the beating a congregant who says he was attacked to expel his 'homosexual demons.'

The judge in Rutherfordton, North Carolina immediately jailed the juror and declared a mistrial in the kidnapping and assault trial of minister Brooke Covington, letting her off the hook for the time being.

Judge Gary Gavenus said he had warned the jurors not to bring in outside material during their deliberations, but that juror Terry Shade Jr brought in a law document not relevant to the charges in the case.

'You are under arrest,' Gavenus said. 'Get him out of here.'

Shade was sentenced on the spot to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine.

Brooke Covington, right, leaves a May hearing with her lawyer. She has been charged with kidnapping and assault, but a judge on Tuesday declared a mistrial in the case and jailed a juror

Covington, 58, a longtime minister at Word of Faith Fellowship in Spindale, North Carolina, faced up to two years in prison if convicted on charges of kidnapping and assaulting former member Matthew Fenner in January 2013.

Covington was the first of five church members to face trial in the case. Each defendant will be tried separately. Covington's trial began May 30.

It was not immediately clear when a new trial would take place. The judge ordered everyone involved in the case not to talk to reporters.

Matthew Fenner, 23, said the group circled him and beat him for two hours

Fenner, 23, said he was leaving a prayer service on January 27, 2013, when nearly two dozen people surrounded him in the sanctuary.

He said they slapped, punched, choked and blasted him - a church practice that involves intense screaming - for two hours as they tried to expel his 'homosexual demons.'

As part of an ongoing, two-year investigation into abuse of Word of Faith Fellowship congregants by church leaders, The Associated Press interviewed four former church members who said they witnessed Fenner's assault.

Earlier Tuesday, a man was charged with harassing the jurors.

Chad Metcalf, 35, was brought Gavenus in handcuffs after he allegedly told the jury in a hallway to reach a verdict. Deliberations had begun Monday.

'I take this very seriously,' Gavenus told Metcalf.

The juror who was held in contempt was the same one who reported Metcalf's comment to the judge.

Gavenus said Metcalf could face 39 months in prison and set a $100,000 bond.

Metcalf's connection to the case, if any, was not immediately clear. Several former members of the church who were in the court room told The Associated Press they did not know or recognize him.

Court records show a man by the same name had a court date Tuesday morning on a charge of driving with a revoked license. It was not clear if he has an attorney, and calls to a telephone number listed for him were not answered.

During closing arguments, prosecutor Garland Byers said Fenner was held against his will and attacked.

'In the name of religion, you don't assault people. You don't get to hurt people. You don't get to confine people,' he said.

'They were trying to scare him straight, and I hate using that terminology,' Byers added.

Defense lawyer David Teddy countered that Fenner had been subjected to blasting before and had also participated in the form of 'prayer' when it was used on others.

'He requested the prayer. He consented to the prayer. And I submit to you, he knew what was coming,' Teddy told the jurors.

Teddy said Fenner wanted to punish the church for condemning his homosexuality.

'That is a cause, not a crime,' he said.

Based on exclusive interviews with 43 former members, documents and secretly made recordings, the AP reported in February that Word of Faith Fellowship congregants were regularly punched, smacked, choked, slammed to the floor or thrown through walls in a violent form of deliverance meant to 'purify' sinners by beating out devils.

The controversial Word of Faith Fellowship sect was founded in 1979 by Jane Whaley, a former math teacher, and her husband, Sam, a former used car salesman

Fenner said he joined the sect with his mother and brother in 2010. He said he fled after being attacked.

The investigation also revealed that congregants were ordered by church leaders to lie to authorities investigating reports of abuse and that two assistant district attorneys and a veteran social worker were among those who coached congregants and their children on what to say to investigators.

After the report, the prosecutors, including one who is a son-in-law of a church founder, left their jobs, and the social worker resigned.

The sect was founded in 1979 by Jane Whaley, a former math teacher, and her husband, Sam, a former used car salesman.

Under Jane Whaley's leadership, Word of Faith Fellowship grew from a handful of followers to its current congregation in North Carolina, and another nearly 2,000 members in churches in Brazil and Ghana.

It also has affiliations in other countries. Whaley is not charged in this case.
LONDON (AP) - Police investigating the Manchester bombing freed three more people without charge, including the bomber's brother, and released more photos Tuesday as they worked to reconstruct the killer's final movements.

The May 22 attack at an Ariana Grande concert killed 22 people as well as bomber Salman Abedi, a Briton of Libyan descent. Police are trying to uncover clues about a suspected network that supported him.

Greater Manchester Police released photos of a white Nissan Micra seized in Manchester, saying "significant evidence" had been found inside.

People observing a minute's silence in St Ann's Square, Manchester, England, in honour of the London Bridge terror attack victims, Tuesday June 6, 2017. A new search was underway Tuesday in a neighborhood near the home of two of the London Bridge attackers, hours after police said they had freed everyone detained in the wake of the rampage that left several dead and dozens wounded. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP)

Police appealed for anyone who saw the car between April 13, when its previous owner sold it, and April 15 - when Abedi left the U.K. - to contact detectives.

Police say Abedi returned to Britain from Libya four days before the attack. Detective Chief Superintendent Russ Jackson said "Abedi made repeated trips to and from this car" during those four days, "and we believe he was taking items from the car to help assemble the device."

Police also released a photo of a sports bag with a San Francisco 49ers logo, saying anyone who recognized it should contact them.

Police arrested a total of 18 people over the attack, but have released 10 of them without charge. Eight remain in custody.

Among those released was Ismail Abedi, the dead bomber's brother, arrested a day after the attack. A 20-year-old man arrested May 27 and a 33-year-old man arrested May 24 were freed without charge on Tuesday. Their names were not released.

The bomber's father, Ramadan Abedi, was arrested in Tripoli on May 24, along with another brother Hashim, who Libyan security forces said was "aware of all the details" of the attack.

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

In this photo provided by Greater Manchester Police on Tuesday, June 6, 2017, a photo of a white style Nissan Micra is photographed in connection with the May 22 attack at an Ariana Grande concert which killed 22 people as well as the bomber Salman Abedi, a Briton of Libyan descent. Police appealed for anyone who saw the car between April 13, when its previous owner sold it, and April 15 _ when Abedi left the U.K. _ to contact detectives. (Greater Manchester Police via AP)
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) - Nigeria's first lady says the president's health is improving after he has spent nearly one month in a London hospital for an unspecified illness.

President Muhammadu Buhari's ill health has prompted fears as this is the second time this year he has been abroad for extended medical treatment.

A spokesman for first lady Aisha Buhari says she has returned to Nigeria after visiting her husband in London. Upon her return she conveyed that the president "is recuperating fast."

The exact nature of Buhari's illness is unknown although he has spoken of receiving blood transfusions.

Observers fear political unrest could erupt in Nigeria, particularly in the predominantly Muslim north, should Buhari not finish his term in office. The previous president was a Christian from the south.
Your daily look at late-breaking news, upcoming events and the stories that will be talked about today:

1. NSA LEAKED REPORT SUGGESTS RUSSIAN VOTE HACK

Russian hackers attacked at least one U.S. voting software supplier days before Trump was elected, suggesting election-related hacking penetrated further into U.S. voting systems than previously known.

A man with an umbrella in the wind walks by newly installed barriers on Westminster Bridge in London on Tuesday, June 6, 2017. A new search was underway Tuesday in a neighborhood near the home of two of the London Bridge attackers, hours after police said they had freed everyone detained in the wake of the Saturday evening rampage that left several dead and dozens wounded. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

2. WHAT IS NOW CENTRAL AHEAD OF UK VOTE

Two days ahead of the British general election in which security matters are now front and center, questions have been raised over the government's ability to protect Britain following cuts to police numbers in recent years.

3. INLAND US CITIES HAVE PLAN FOR CLIMATE CHANGE

Many river communities are responding by raising or replacing bridges that suddenly seem too low to stay safely above water.

4. WHERE TERROR FUNDING CUTS ARE CAUSING OUTRAGE

Proposed cuts to anti-terrorism grants under Trump's spending plan have enraged Las Vegas, where a recent Islamic State propaganda video suggests the gambling mecca might be targeted.

5. WHO IS TRYING TO MEDIATE QATARI CRISIS

Kuwait is trying to arbitrate a Gulf crisis in which Arab countries have cut diplomatic ties to Qatar and moved to isolate the energy-rich travel hub from the outside world, Qatar's foreign minister says.

6. AP OBTAINS MILITANT FOOTAGE OF MARAWI PLAN

Video of that secret meeting offers a rare glimpse into the clandestine operations of insurgents who followed through with an unprecedented assault on the Philippine city.

7. AFTER DECADE OF HAMAS RULE, GAZA SHORT ON FREEDOM, JOBS, ELECTRICITY

Unable to offer a remedy, the Islamic militant group has been doubling down on oppression, jailing the few who dare complain publicly.

8. HOW COSBY'S LAWYER WANTS JURORS TO VIEW HIM

Not as a fallen celebrity on trial in a sex assault case but as a flawed man "whose infidelities have made him vulnerable to these accusations."

9. GM RESISTING GREENLIGHT CAPITAL'S POWER PLAY

David Einhorn's group wants to split up the automaker's stock to boost the price, which is stuck near its 2010 initial public offering price of $33.

10. KEVIN DURANT CAN PLAY 'D' TOO

While best known for his sensational scoring and shot-making, the Warriors' star has proven himself as a capable defender - especially on LeBron James.

This image taken from undated video shows a hand drawn map on a table at a meeting attended by the purported leader of the Islamic State group Southeast Asia branch, Isnilon Hapilon, at an undisclosed location. The images offer a rare glimpse into the clandestine operations of insurgents who followed through two weeks ago with an unprecedented assault on the lakeside city of Marawi, parts of which they still occupy today. (Photo via AP)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Dozens of thirsty police officers responded to an "emergency" call to visit a lemonade stand run by a 3-year-old aspiring cop in Kansas City, Missouri.

The Kansas City Star (http://bit.ly/2qP4nQG ) reports that Hannah Pasley set up her lemonade stand last Friday and Saturday to raise money to buy her own police uniform. After buying the uniform Saturday morning, Hannah returned to her stand - wearing police coat and hat - that afternoon.

When the flow of customers thinned, Hannah's aunt, Ashly Rooks, and her friend Sierra Moore took to Facebook to encourage officers to visit.

Rooks says the street was soon packed with squad cars. Moore says "50 plus" officers responded, and a police helicopter buzzed overhead.

They gave Hannah a Kansas City Police Department patch and a Clay County Junior Deputy badge.

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Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (AP) - Wildlife officials say storms earlier this year have washed away most of the pelican nests near one section of the South Carolina coast.

Felicia Sanders with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources told The Post and Courier of Charleston (http://bit.ly/2rY2fKP ) that storms have washed away most of the pelican nests, as well as the nesting areas for terns and some gulls near Mount Pleasant.

Sanders says Crab Bank Island usually has thousands of nests and now has fewer than 50.

She says high tides wash over much of the island.

At least 60 shorebird eggs were found across the Sullivans Island beach at the mouth of Charleston Harbor, more than a mile away.

The nesting areas are off-limits, but are a choice site for ecotourism boating trips.

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Information from: The Post and Courier, http://www.postandcourier.com
PRAGUE (AP) - The Czech Republic's possible next prime minister says he is opposed to setting a date for adopting the euro, the common European currency.

Andrej Babis, whose centrist ANO movement is favored to win October's parliamentary election, says his party considers "the eurozone a risk zone" due to Greek debts and the situation of Italian banks.

The country is officially committed to join the euro but the previous governments as well as the current government ANO is part of have set no target date.

Babis, one of the richest people in the Czech Republic, acknowledged the commitment Tuesday but said "There's no need to hurry."

Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka of the leftist Social Democrats recently said the election is the right time to debate the euro adoption.
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump injected the United States into a volatile crisis among America's Mideast allies, siding Tuesday with Saudi Arabia and other countries against Qatar in a dispute that threatens to disrupt efforts to defeat the Islamic State group and counter Iran.

In a series of early-morning tweets, Trump appeared to endorse the accusation that the small, gas-rich kingdom funds terrorist groups, a serious allegation against a strategic U.S. partner that hosts a base with some 10,000 American troops. He also sought to cast the anti-Qatar action led by the Saudis and the United Arab Emirates as the result of his trip last month to Riyadh, where he pressed leaders from dozens of Arab and Muslim governments, including Qatar's emir, to combat extremism.

Trump said he'd told the kings, presidents and prime ministers that funding "Radical Ideology" can't be tolerated, and "Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!"

FILE -- In this May 21, 2017, file photo, President Donald Trump, right, holds a bilateral meeting with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Trump sided with Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries Tuesday in a deepening diplomatic crisis with Qatar, appearing to endorse the accusation that the oil-rich Persian Gulf nation is funding terrorist groups. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

"They said they would take a hard line on funding ... extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!" Trump said on Twitter, claiming his visit to Saudi Arabia was "already paying off."

He appeared to take a more measured tone during a call with Saudi Arabia's King Salman. Trump told Salman that a united Gulf Cooperation Council is "critical to defeating terrorism and promoting regional stability," according to a White House readout of the conversation. The council includes Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait.

The president's sharp critique of Qatar pulled the U.S. directly into a conflict that American diplomats had wanted the bickering parties to resolve among themselves. The U.S. wasn't planning a major mediation role, a State Department official said, pointing to offers from Turkey and Kuwait to intervene in what is emerging as the worst diplomatic crisis in the Persian Gulf in decades.

The fracas pits Qatar - a country smaller than Connecticut and the world's biggest producer of liquefied natural gas - against Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain. Those countries on Monday severed diplomatic ties with Qatar, leading to suspended flights and regional ports closed to Qatari ships as anxious residents started stockpiling food.

Qatar's neighbors have long accused the country of tolerating or even encouraging support for extremist groups, including al-Qaida's Syria branch - all of which Qatar denies. But its independent foreign policy has led to various tensions with its neighbors. The region's Sunni states bristle at Qatar's less hostile position toward Shiite Iran and object to its backing groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, whose ideology challenges the system of hereditary rule in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and elsewhere.

For Trump, the rift has emerged as a key test of his goal to unite the region around destroying IS and other extremist groups, and containing Iranian influence. While he has even held out hopes that a communal effort could pave the way for Israeli-Arab rapprochement, the Qatar crisis serves as a reminder of the region's many fault lines that challenge U.S. diplomacy.

While Trump, too, shares the Saudi and UAE goals of weakening hardline Islamic movements and stemming Iran's influence, American officials hadn't publicly singled out Qatar as a problem. Like earlier administrations, Trump's had kept its concerns private while publicly praising Qatari efforts to stamp out terror financing.

"They have made progress," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Tuesday, while adding that "they and we recognize more work remains to be done."

On Monday, Trump's secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, encouraged the sides to "sit down together" to resolve irritants he said had "bubbled up" for some time. He didn't take sides.

It was unclear how Trump's broadside against Qatar might affect the U.S.-led coalition fighting IS. The U.S. relies heavily on Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar to orchestrate air attacks in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. And it is trying to galvanize the Arab world to assume greater responsibility in fighting IS, something governments won't be able to do if they're consumed with internal spats.

"It's a mixed bag with Qatar," said Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, summing up America's strategic conundrum. "They have been definitely playing footsie with a lot of terrorist organizations, but we have a big air base there."

The Pentagon cited no immediate effects from the instability on its operations. Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, expressed gratitude to Qatar for supporting the U.S. presence, outlining no plans to adjust American military posture.

Yet a prolonged crisis will put significant pressure on Qatar. Millions of migrant workers and expatriates live there, and much of Qatar's food comes from Saudi Arabia across the peninsular nation's only land border, which the Saudis have now closed.

And a coup attempt or any cross-border action by the Saudis or Emiratis would put Trump in an uncomfortable position, given his now vocal support for the anti-Qatar action.

If Qatar is economically weakened or decides to retaliate against Trump's 140-character allegations, it has leverage. Beyond hosting U.S. troops, Qatar has invested billions in the U.S. and increased its clout in Washington along the way.

It's a strategy shared by other Persian Gulf countries seeking to win U.S. support - including Saudi Arabia. During his Saudi trip, Trump announced $110 billion in deals to sell weapons to the kingdom.

And in its bid to lobby the U.S. administration, the Saudis spent about $270,000 at Trump's hotel in Washington between October and the end of March, new foreign agent filings show. The Trump Organization says the money will be handed over to the U.S. Treasury.

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Associated Press writers Lolita C. Baldor, Richard Lardner and Julie Bykowicz contributed to this report.

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Reach Josh Lederman on Twitter at http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP
WASHINGTON (AP) - A federal contractor has been arrested following the leak of a classified intelligence report that suggests Russian hackers attacked at least one U.S. voting software supplier days before last year's presidential election.

Shortly after the release of the report by The Intercept on Monday, the Justice Department announced it had charged a government contractor in Georgia with leaking a classified report containing "Top Secret level" information to an online news organization. The report the contractor allegedly leaked is dated May 5, the same date as the document The Intercept posted online.

The report suggests election-related hacking penetrated further into U.S. voting systems than previously known. A Kremlin spokesman denied the report.

FILE - In this June 6, 2013 file photo, the National Security Agency (NSA) campus in Fort Meade, Md. Russian hackers attacked at least one U.S. voting software supplier days before the 2016 presidential election, according to a classified NSA report leaked Monday, June 5, 2017, that suggests election-related hacking penetrated further into U.S. voting systems than previously known. The report, which was published online by The Intercept, does not say whether the hacking had any effect on election results. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

The classified National Security Agency report does not say whether the hacking had any effect on election results. But it says Russian military intelligence attacked a U.S. voting software company and sent spear-phishing emails to more than 100 local election officials at the end of October or beginning of November.

U.S. intelligence agencies declined to comment.

The document said Russian military intelligence "executed cyber espionage operations against a named U.S. company in August 2016 evidently to obtain information on elections-related software and hardware solutions, according to information that became available in April 2017."

Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for President Vladimir Putin, denied the allegations Tuesday, saying that the Kremlin did not see "any evidence to prove this information is true." He said Moscow categorically denies "the possibility" of the Russian government being behind it.

The hackers are believed to have then used data from that operation to create a new email account to launch a spear-phishing campaign targeting U.S. local government organizations, the document said. "Lastly, the actors send test emails to two non-existent accounts ostensibly associated with absentee balloting, presumably with the purpose of creating those accounts to mimic legitimate services."

The document did not name any state.

The information in the leaked document seems to go further than the U.S. intelligence agencies' January assessment of the hacking that occurred.

"Russian intelligence obtained and maintained access to elements of multiple U.S. state or local electoral boards," the assessment said. The Department of Homeland Security "assesses that the types of systems Russian actors targeted or compromised were not involved in vote tallying."

The Intercept contacted NSA and the national intelligence director's office about the document and both agencies asked that it not be published. U.S. intelligence officials then asked The Intercept to redact certain sections. The Intercept said some material was withheld at U.S. intelligence agencies' request because it wasn't "clearly in the public interest."

The Associated Press could not confirm the authenticity of the May 5 NSA document, which The Intercept said it obtained anonymously.

In its announcement of the arrest, the Justice Department said Reality Leigh Winner, 25, of Augusta, Georgia, has been charged in U.S. District Court with copying classified documents and mailing them to a reporter with an unnamed news organization. Prosecutors did not say which federal agency Winner worked for, but FBI agent Justin Garrick said in an affidavit filed with the court that she had previously served in the Air Force and held a top-secret security clearance.

Winner's attorney, Titus Thomas Nichols, declined to confirm whether she is accused of leaking the NSA report received by The Intercept. He also declined to name the federal agency for which Winner worked.

"My client has no (criminal) history, so it's not as if she has a pattern of having done anything like this before," Nichols said in a phone interview Monday. "She is a very good person. All this craziness has happened all of a sudden."

In affidavits filed with the court, Garrick of the FBI said the government was notified of the leaked report by the news outlet that received it. He said the agency that housed the report determined only six employees had made physical copies. Winner was one of them. Garrick said investigators found Winner had exchanged email with the news outlet using her work computer.

Garrick's affidavit said he interviewed Winner at her home Saturday and she "admitted intentionally identifying and printing the classified intelligence reporting at issue" and mailing it to the news outlet.

Asked if Winner had confessed, Nichols said, "If there is a confession, the government has not shown it to me."

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Bynum reported from Savannah, Georgia.
UNIVERSITY CITY, Mo. (AP) - Chuck Berry did things his own way, right up to his final album, a 10-song set nearly four decades in the making.

The St. Louis native widely hailed as the father of rock 'n' roll announced plans for the album "CHUCK" in October on his 90th birthday. The music took on added poignancy when Berry died in March. The album will be released Friday.

It's a fitting finale from the guitar master who melded blues, R&B and country music into a sound that took over the 1950s, forever changing the cultural landscape. Some of the new songs, like "Wonderful Woman" and "Big Boys," feature the same driving rhythm of his earliest hits like "Maybellene" and "Roll Over Beethoven." In fact, one of the new songs, "Lady B. Goode," offers the perspective of the woman left behind by his legendary "Johnny B. Goode."

FILE - In this Oct. 17, 1986 file photo, Chuck Berry performs during a concert celebration for his 60th birthday at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis, Mo. Berry died March 18, 2017 at the age of 90. His last album, "Chuck," will be released on Friday, June 9, a fitting finale from the man who melded blues, rhythm and blues and country music into a sound that changed the cultural landscape. (AP Photo/James A. Finley, File)

But Berry's son, Charles Berry Jr., said his father did not set out to make a legacy album.

"I think this was just his next body of work, and it just took a lot longer than the other albums to get released," Charles Berry Jr., 55, said in an interview with The Associated Press.

That's an understatement. Jim Marsala, who played bass guitar in Berry's band for 41 years, said Berry began working on new material soon after the release of his previous album, "Rock It," in 1979.

Always marching to his own beat, Berry was in no particular hurry. For 10 years, he recorded songs, or riffs for songs, or whatever came to mind. All of the tracks were destroyed in a 1989 fire at a studio near his home in Wentzville, Missouri, a St. Louis suburb.

At that point, "he has nothing," Charles Berry Jr. said. "So, he builds another studio and goes back to work, re-creating and creating new music."

In the meantime, Berry continued to perform, including monthly shows for nearly two decades at Blueberry Hill, a venue in another St. Louis suburb, University City, until age 88. Marsala directed the band, Charles Berry Jr. played guitar, and the always unpredictable frontman commanded the stage, taking his bandmates on a nightly trip they could never anticipate.

"The show was completely ad-libbed," Marsala said. "You never knew what was coming next. We usually started out with 'Roll Over Beethoven,' 'School Days,' and then 'Sweet Little Sixteen,' and then from there it was whatever he felt like playing."

Marsala made sure he stood to Berry's left, better to see where Berry's hands were on the neck of his guitar "so I knew what key he was in. So when he would do his four-bar intro I had hand signals. I would flash to the keyboard player so he would know what key we were in. And we'd come in on the fifth bar. It worked great."

Charles Berry Jr. smiled as he recalled those shows.

"He'd be up onstage and just start doing stuff," he said. "And it'd be, 'OK, let's just follow him wherever he's going.'"

"CHUCK" was a family affair. Charles Berry Jr. plays guitar, as does his own son, Charles Edward Berry III, who turns 23 this week. Ingrid Berry-Clay, one of Chuck's three daughters, sings and plays harmonica.

She sings along with her dad on "Darlin'," a country-tinged ballad that resonates as a final message to his children.

"Darlin', your father's growing older each year," Berry sings. "Strands of gray are showing bolder/Come here and lay your head upon my shoulder/My dear, the time is passing fast away."

Typical of Berry, the lyrics of "CHUCK" are at times poetic, at other times playful. "Big Boys" harkens to his earlier odes to teenage cravings. "The girls wanna stay and the boys wanna play/So let's rock 'n' roll 'til the break of day," he sings.

But in the closing song, "Eyes of Man," Berry warns philosophically of worshipping false idols.

"So be the temples men have cherished/Crumble in ruins to rot and rust/Low lies each pillar and arch to perish/Doomed to decay and rot to dust."

Berry's impact on music was evident, said Joe Edwards, the owner of Blueberry Hill and a close friend of Berry's.

"But the fact that he changed culture around the world by bringing black kids and white kids together through music was an even greater accomplishment, perhaps," Edwards said.

"It was just unbelievable the influence he had."

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Online: http://www.chuckberry.com

FILE- In this Jan. 19, 1993 file photo, Chuck Berry dances on stage at the Presidential Gala for President-elect Clinton and Vice President Al Gore in Landover, Md. Berry died March 18, 2017 at the age of 90. His last album, "Chuck," will be released on Friday, June 9, a fitting finale from the man who melded blues, rhythm and blues and country music into a sound that changed the cultural landscape. (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 26, 2012 file photo, Chuck Berry plays "Johnny B. Goode" at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston, an event where he and Leonard Cohen were honored with Awards for Song Lyrics of Literary Excellence. Berry died March 18, 2017 at the age of 90. His last album, "Chuck," will be released on Friday, June 9, a fitting finale from the man who melded blues, rhythm and blues and country music into a sound that changed the cultural landscape. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 28, 1984 file photo, American singer and guitarist Chuck Berry poses with his Lifetime Achievement Award presented to him at the 26th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. Berry died March 18, 2017 at the age of 90. His last album, "Chuck," will be released on Friday, June 9, a fitting finale from the man who melded blues, rhythm and blues and country music into a sound that changed the cultural landscape. (AP Photo, File)

In this Wednesday, May 31, 2017, photo, Charles Berry Jr., son of rock 'n' roll legend Chuck Berry, poses alongside a statue of his late father, in University City, Mo. Berry Jr. plays guitar on his father's final album entitled "Chuck", a 10-song set nearly four decades in the making. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

FILE - In this Aug. 1, 2008, file photo, Chuck Berry poses in front of his childhood home in St. Louis. Leaders in St. Louis are hoping to develop the home into a museum to honor the man credited by many with inventing rock 'n' roll. Berry died March 18, 2017. (Dawn Majors/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP, File)

FILE - This April 4, 1980 file photo shows American guitarist and singer Chuck Berry doing the "duck walk" during a performance. Berry died March 18, 2017 at the age of 90. His last album, "Chuck," will be released on Friday, June 9, a fitting finale from the man who melded blues, rhythm and blues and country music into a sound that changed the cultural landscape. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 28, 1984 file photo, American singer and guitarist Chuck Berry is shown at the annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. Berry died March 18, 2017 at the age of 90. His last album, "Chuck," will be released on Friday, June 9, a fitting finale from the man who melded blues, rhythm and blues and country music into a sound that changed the cultural landscape. (AP Photo/Douglas Pizac, File)
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A black teenager was called a racial slur before being attacked by two white men near his Virginia home as part of a campaign to run his interracial family out of the neighborhood, a federal lawsuit says.

The lawsuit comes more than a year after the men were convicted of assault and battery of now-18-year-old Mister Frazier. But they were cleared of hate crime charges after a judge said it appeared to be just a neighborhood brawl.

"That's like saying that the graffiti painting on LeBron James' house was just a neighborly dispute," said Frazier's attorney, Victor Glasberg, referring to the report that an unidentified person recently spray-painted the N-word on the front gate of James' home.

Frazier says he was playing outside with children during an 8-year-old's birthday party at his Gloucester County home in 2015 when he heard a man in a neighboring yard of a vacant home calling the kids the N-word.

Frazier, who goes by the name Happy, went into the neighboring yard and confronted the man about the slurs, the lawsuit says. That man - Stephen Cooke - got in Frazier's face, called him the N-word and told him to jump before pushing his shoulder into the teen's chest, the lawsuit says.

Another man with Cooke - Douglas Clark - then hit Frazier in the face before putting him in a headlock, pulling him to the ground and repeatedly punching him in the head, the lawsuit says.

"The attack fractured feelings of safety and belonging that had allowed them, an interracial family, to move to Gloucester without fear of neighbor's race-based hostility or violence," the lawsuit says.

Cooke and Clark did not respond to several phone messages left at numbers listed for their homes. An attorney for Clark in the criminal case did not respond to phone and email messages.

Devin Hensley, who represented Cooke in the criminal case but is no longer his attorney, said Tuesday that the judge who concluded that the evidence did not show the men targeted Frazier because of his race "had nothing but the truth in mind."

"We had a full trial on all the issues," Hensley said. "The commonwealth's attorney who was prosecuting the case argued strenuously to find Mr. Cooke guilty of a hate crime, and the judge decided not to do that."

During their trial, attorneys for the men rejected the idea that the fight was racially motivated and argued Frazier was the aggressor.

Cooke denied using racial slurs, saying he was using the word "jigger," - a kind of flea found in sub-Saharan Africa and central and South America. Cooke acknowledged calling the children "dirt frogs" and "monkeys," but said he yelled at them because they weren't supposed to be playing in the yard of the vacant home.

Frazier and his sister lived with their black uncle and white aunt in Gloucester Point, which was nearly 90 percent white in 2015, the lawsuit says. Frazier's sister, who says she was pushed by one of the men during the fight, is also named in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims the assault was part of a "campaign of race-based hostility, harassment, and violence" aimed at forcing Frazier and his family from the home. There are no other African-Americans on the block, the lawsuit says.

Cooke's wife also spread rumors that the teen had vandalized homes on the block and slashed a neighbor's tires, Frazier's attorneys say. After the assault, she routinely blared her car horn while driving by the family's home, the lawsuit says.

The men were convicted of assault and battery and sentenced to a year in jail but were told they only had to serve a fraction of that as long as they remained on good behavior.

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Follow Alanna Durkin Richer at http://twitter.com/aedurkinricher. Read more of her work at http://apne.ws/2hIhzDb
PASCAGOULA, Mississippi -- The two suspects wanted in connection with the Saturday robbery and stabbing at a St. Martin gift shop are in custody after U.S. Marshals found them hiding in a wooded area.

According to Jackson County Sheriff Mike Ezell, 23-year-old Erin Elizabeth Diaz and 33-year-old Clinton Buchanan were located and taken into custody in the woods behind the Flying J truck stop on Canal Road in Gulfport around 5:30 Monday afternoon.

Diaz and Buchanan are each charged with armed robbery, with other charges possible. Ezell said Diaz entered Dino's Gift Shop on North Washington in the St. Martin community Saturday morning and stole money out of the cash register, stabbing the 26-year-old store owner -- her ex-husband -- in the arm as he tried to prevent her from taking the undisclosed amount of cash.

Diaz then fled the store and got into a maroon Dodge Magnum driven by Buchanan. The store owner was taken to Ocean Springs Hospital for treatment of his stab wound.

Both suspects remain in the Jackson County Adult Detention Center awaiting an initial court appearance.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A Southern California man charged with killing an Australian tourist in a fight in San Francisco has pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter, assault and battery.

Thirty-four-year-old David Murillo, of Hesperia, entered the plea on Tuesday in the death of Matthew Bate.

Mark Jacobs, Murillo's public defender, said his client had two children and would not intentionally hurt anyone.

Authorities say Bate of Australia's Woolner Northern Territory got into an argument with two men that turned physical early Friday outside a hotel.

San Francisco police spokeswoman Officer Giselle Talkoff said police were not releasing information about what sparked the argument.

San Francisco District Attorney's Office spokesman Alex Bastian says alcohol may have been a factor.

The 33-year-old Bate fell and hit his head after being struck by a single punch. He died at a hospital.
PARIS (AP) - The Latest on the security operation near the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris (all times local):

5:35 p.m.

Witnesses around Notre Dame Cathedral are describing a dramatic police operation in the tourist-filled site in central Paris.

Police officers seal off the access to Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, France, Tuesday, June 6, 2017. Paris police say an unidentified assailant has attacked a police officer near the Notre Dame Cathedral, and the officer then shot and wounded the attacker. (AP Photo/Matthieu Alexandre)

Lawrence Langner, a 73-year-old American visiting the neighborhood just across the Seine River from the cathedral, told The Associated Press that he suddenly heard a commotion and two detonations like gunshots.

Journalist David Metreau, who said his office overlooks the square, tweeted that there were two blasts that sounded like shots, and posted a photo of a body lying seemingly inert on the ground.

Others posted photos online of what appeared to be the interior of medieval Notre Dame, one of France's most-visited monuments.

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5:25 p.m.

Paris police say an operation around Notre Dame Cathedral is over, after an attacker who targeted police with a hammer was shot and injured.

Police spokeswoman Johanna Primevert tells The Associated Press that the intervention is over. She did not provide further details.

Another police official said the attacker surged at police patrolling the scene with a hammer.

Paris police tweeted that one officer was wounded in the attack.

Hundreds of people on the esplanade in front of Notre Dame were evacuated while the operation was under way.

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5 p.m.

Paris police say an unidentified assailant has attacked a police officer near the Notre Dame Cathedral, and the officer then shot and wounded the attacker.

A police spokesperson told The Associated Press that the officer used his weapon to shoot the attacker in Tuesday's incident. The spokesperson, who was not authorized to be publicly named, said the attacker was being hospitalized.

A police union official, Cedric Michel, said a man armed with a hammer went after the police officer who was patrolling on the esplanade in front of Notre Dame Cathedral. Michel said the attacker was "neutralized" by police.

It is unclear whether the attacker was acting alone.

___

4:45 p.m.

Paris police say a security operation is under way near Notre Dame Cathedral and are urging passers-by to stay away from the area.

The police department tweeted about the operation on Tuesday afternoon but did not provide any details. A police official would not provide further information.

Large numbers of police cars filled the area on the Ile de Cite island in the River Seine in the center of Paris.

Paris is under high security after a string of Islamic extremist attacks in recent years.

Police officers seal off the access to Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, France, Tuesday, June 6, 2017. Paris police say an unidentified assailant has attacked a police officer near the Notre Dame Cathedral, and the officer then shot and wounded the attacker. (AP Photo/Matthieu Alexandre)

Police officers seal off the access to Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, France, Tuesday, June 6, 2017. Paris police say an unidentified assailant has attacked a police officer near the Notre Dame Cathedral, and the officer then shot and wounded the attacker. (AP Photo/Matthieu Alexandre)
NEW YORK (AP) - At first blush, the Broadway musicals "Hamilton" and "Dear Evan Hansen" don't seem to have a lot in common - other than being hits both onstage and online.

But if you listen very closely, you might hear in the music of each a crucial connective tissue. That would be Alex Lacamoire, the music supervisor and orchestrator for both shows and the man who oversaw their cast albums.

Lacamoire, who has won two Tony Awards and two Grammy Awards for working with Lin-Manuel Miranda on "In the Heights" and "Hamilton," is a favorite to add to his trophy case this week at the Tonys after his work with Oscar winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul on "Dear Evan Hansen."
MONTGOMERY VILLAGE, Md. (AP) - Two male teens are dead after they were found shot in a car the night before their high school graduation, police in Maryland said Tuesday.

Shadi Adi Najjar, 17, and Artem Ziberov, 18, both of Germantown, were scheduled to graduate Tuesday, Northwest High School Principal Jimmy D'Andrea said in a message to the school community.

At graduation, D'Andrea said all those attending had heavy hearts, but Najjar and Ziberov "would want us to move forward today and celebrate."

The principal also said he spoke with Ziberov's mother and she said, "I hope everyone has a great celebration today."

After a 911 caller reported hearing shots fired in a leafy neighborhood of single-family homes in Montgomery Village on Monday night, officers found the two with gunshot wounds in a parked car, Montgomery County police said. Both died at the scene. Police are awaiting a medical examiner's report.

Investigators are still gathering information about the circumstances surrounding the shooting, police spokesman Capt. Paul Starks said. The county saw 15 homicides last year.

"Two at once is shocking and tragic," Starks said.

Ziberov's stepfather, who spoke to WTTG-TV but didn't give his name, said he has no idea why the teen was in Montgomery Village, about 7 miles from his home, on Monday night. Ziberov was an Eagle Scout, held a job and planned to attend the University of Maryland in the fall, his step-father said.

"May God punish who did this to my son," Najjar's father, Adi, told WRC-TV while holding his son's cap and gown. "I'm sure the police will find who killed my boy."
BRANSON, Mo. (AP) - Two 18-year-old Missouri men are accused of tying a kitten to a car's bumper and dragging it to its death, then posting video online showing people "laughing as the cat tossed and turned" behind the vehicle.

Jordan Hall was charged Tuesday and Kyle Williams on Sunday with animal abuse and armed criminal action. The prosecutor didn't immediately respond to messages about whether they have attorneys.

The probable cause statement says laughter and somebody saying "this will be funny" can be heard as Williams ties the "scared" cat to the bumper. The statement says the cat was dragged last week until it "could not run anymore."

Hall has been identified as the driver. He told authorities he knew it was "not right." Police say Williams posted the video on Facebook.
PARIS (AP) - The Latest on the security operation near the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris (all times local):

7:10 p.m.

Interior minister Gerard Collomb says a special security meeting convened by French president Emmanuel Macron will examine new counterterrorism measures Wednesday at the Elysee palace.

Police officers seal off the access to Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, France, Tuesday, June 6, 2017. Paris police say an unidentified assailant has attacked a police officer near the Notre Dame Cathedral, and the officer then shot and wounded the attacker. (AP Photo/Matthieu Alexandre)

Collomb told reporters the defense council, which includes government members and top security officials, will focus on extending the country's state of emergency and other permanent security measures.

France has been under a state of emergency since Nov. 2015 attacks. The government plans to ask parliament to extend it from July 15, its current expiration date, until Nov. 1.

The French presidency says the defense council will also outline details of a new task force that will be in charge of coordinating counterterrorism efforts and intelligence services in the country. The coordination unit will be based at the Elysee palace and operational 24 hours a day.

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6:50 p.m.

A former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations was among the hundreds of people held inside Notre Dame Cathedral after a hammer-wielding man attacked police and was shot by an office.

Ambassador Nancy Soderberg said she was admiring the church's stained glass windows on Tuesday when she heard an announcement in French urging visitors to stay calm as police dealt with an incident outside.

Soderberg told The Associated Press that those inside got nervous when they were told soon after that the cathedral's doors were closing and everyone had to stay there.

She says the group stayed calm and orderly throughout despite not knowing what was happening, though "everyone was very quiet and very scared" when police came in to check the cathedral's pews row by row.

Soderberg tweeted a photo from inside the Notre Dame showing those locked inside putting their arms in the air as instructed by police.

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6:05 p.m.

Paris prosecutors have opened a counterterrorism investigation after an unidentified assailant attacked police with a hammer outside Notre Dame Cathedral.

French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb says the attacker cried "it's for Syria" as he went after officers patrolling an esplanade in front of the famous landmark.

The Paris prosecutor's office said the investigation was opened Tuesday soon after the attack. The attacker was shot and wounded in the incident in one of France's most popular tourist areas.

Speaking after the attack, Collomb said police found kitchen knives, a hammer and other unsophisticated weapons on the wounded assailant.

It was the latest of several attacks in France targeting security officers. In April, an attacker opened fire on a police van on Paris' Champs Elysees, killing one and gravely wounding two others. The attacker was shot dead by police.

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5:55 p.m.

Several hundred people were held inside Notre Dame Cathedral after a man went after officers patrolling outside the Paris landmark.

Kellyn PotVin-Gorman, an American tourist visiting Paris from Colorado, tells The Associated Press she was at the front of the line to enter the cathedral when she saw panicked people running in every direction on Tuesday afternoon.

PotVin-Gorman says she heard three gunshots before seeing the attacker, dressed in a blue jacket and blue jeans, lying on the ground about 30 meters (100 feet) outside the cathedral.

She says many ran toward a nearby subway station, but a crowd also pushed past her to try to get inside the cathedral.

The 49-year-old said she was being held with her husband and about 500 others inside the landmark, where many prayed and the mood is sober. -

___

5:35 p.m.

Witnesses around Notre Dame Cathedral are describing a dramatic police operation in the tourist-filled site in central Paris.

Lawrence Langner, a 73-year-old American visiting the neighborhood just across the Seine River from the cathedral, told The Associated Press that he suddenly heard a commotion and two detonations like gunshots.

Journalist David Metreau, who said his office overlooks the square, tweeted that there were two blasts that sounded like shots, and posted a photo of a body lying seemingly inert on the ground.

Others posted photos online of what appeared to be the interior of medieval Notre Dame, one of France's most-visited monuments.

___

5:25 p.m.

Paris police say an operation around Notre Dame Cathedral is over, after an attacker who targeted police with a hammer was shot and injured.

Police spokeswoman Johanna Primevert tells The Associated Press that the intervention is over. She did not provide further details.

Another police official said the attacker surged at police patrolling the scene with a hammer.

Paris police tweeted that one officer was wounded in the attack.

Hundreds of people on the esplanade in front of Notre Dame were evacuated while the operation was underway.

___

5 p.m.

Paris police say an unidentified assailant has attacked a police officer near the Notre Dame Cathedral, and the officer then shot and wounded the attacker.

A police spokesperson told The Associated Press that the officer used his weapon to shoot the attacker in Tuesday's incident. The spokesperson, who was not authorized to be publicly named, said the attacker was being hospitalized.

A police union official, Cedric Michel, said a man armed with a hammer went after the police officer who was patrolling on the esplanade in front of Notre Dame Cathedral. Michel said the attacker was "neutralized" by police.

It is unclear whether the attacker was acting alone.

___

4:45 p.m.

Paris police say a security operation is underway near Notre Dame Cathedral and are urging passers-by to stay away from the area.

The police department tweeted about the operation on Tuesday afternoon but did not provide any details. A police official would not provide further information.

Large numbers of police cars filled the area on the Ile de Cite island in the River Seine in the center of Paris.

Paris is under high security after a string of Islamic extremist attacks in recent years.

Police officers seal off the access to Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, France, Tuesday, June 6, 2017. Paris police say an unidentified assailant has attacked a police officer near the Notre Dame Cathedral, and the officer then shot and wounded the attacker. (AP Photo/Matthieu Alexandre)

Police officers seal off the access to Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, France, Tuesday, June 6, 2017. Paris police say an unidentified assailant has attacked a police officer near the Notre Dame Cathedral, and the officer then shot and wounded the attacker. (AP Photo/Matthieu Alexandre)
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A former Oklahoma bail bondsman accused of traveling to Peru and having sex with underage girls has been sentenced to five years in prison.

The Oklahoman (http://bit.ly/2s0sXT7 ) reports 63-year-old Robert Earl Pierce was also fined $17,500 and will have to register as a sex offender.

Pierce told the judge during Monday's hearing that he'll bear shame and humiliation for the rest of his life.

Pierce pleaded guilty last year to engaging in an illicit sex act with an underage girl in Peru in 2012. Prosecutors say the investigation revealed three victims, two of whom were 15 at the time.

Pierce was shown leniency after cooperating in the prosecution of his friend, former attorney Michael Dean Billings, who was sentenced to 14 years in prison. Records show the men made trips to Iquitos, a poverty-stricken city the FBI says is a known child sex-tourism site.

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Information from: The Oklahoman, http://www.newsok.com
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - Gulf Arab nations often get considered one giant family, as many ruling tribes intermarried and have long ties stretching back to the days before oil turned dusty fishing villages into skyscraper-studded metropolises.

But if the last day has proven anything, it's that every family fights.

The diplomatic standoff between Qatar and its neighbors has exposed longstanding faults running just under the surface of the Gulf Cooperation Council, a regional body meant to serve as a counterbalance to Iran.

FILE- In this Saturday, April 7, 2012 file photo, the new high-rise buildings of downtown Doha, photographed in the background as Qatari women and a man walk by the sea in Doha, Qatar. Qatar, now facing a diplomatic crisis with other Arab nations, is a small country with a big history of turmoil and coups as it became one of the world's top suppliers of natural gas and now plans to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File)

None of the key countries - Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - appears to be backing down, calling into question the unity of the council just as it seeks to portray itself as standing up to Iran.

"The new hawkish policy reflects an end to decades-long tradition in the Gulf Cooperation Countries that seeks to maintain dialogue irrespective of policy differences," wrote Ayham Kamel, Middle East director at the Eurasia Group, calling the damage to Gulf relations "irreparable."

"Saudi Arabia's relationship with President Trump is the linchpin of Riyadh's new approach. The implicit message to all the Gulf leaders is that Saudi Arabia remains the center of gravity in Gulf affairs."

The Gulf Cooperation Council, known by the acronym GCC, formed in 1981 in the wake of Iran's Islamic Revolution overthrowing the shah and installing its clerically overseen government. By the time ink dried on the agreement, Iraq had already invaded Iran, sparking a long, bloody war between the two countries that spilled into the waters of the Persian Gulf and worrying the Sunni Arab members of the council.

Typically, heavyweight Saudi Arabia has dictated major foreign policy decisions across the council, which is headquartered in the kingdom. Saudi Arabia, home to the holiest sites in Islam, views itself as the protector of the Sunni faith as well. Both it and the United Arab Emirates also view themselves as providing the military power necessary to counter Iran, especially after the 2015 nuclear deal Tehran struck with world powers.

But there always have been cracks. The sultanate of Oman long has maintained its distance, serving as a crucial go-between Iran and the West. Kuwait, home to Shiites and Sunnis living together in peace, has served as a mediator as well.

But while those countries quietly stand apart, Qatar has gone loud. While practicing Wahhabism, an ultra-conservative version of Islam standard in Saudi Arabia, Qatar allows women to drive and foreigners to drink alcohol.

Qatar openly embraces officials from the Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Islamist group that other Gulf nations view as a threat to their hereditary rule. It maintains relations with Iran as it shares a massive offshore natural gas field with the Islamic Republic. And its Doha-based Al-Jazeera news network didn't hesitate to go hard after autocratic rulers amid the protests of the 2011 Arab Spring.

That, coupled with long-standing allegations from the West of Qatar allowing or even encouraging funding of Sunni extremists, appear to be what finally tipped Saudi Arabia and others into taking action. Even U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to line up with them in a tweet Tuesday, writing: "Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end of the horror of terrorism."

Qatar's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani warned that the crisis raised "a big question mark" about the Gulf council.

"This brings about real questions about the future of the GCC nations, which are basically one people who share the same language and have extensive family ties among its people," he told Al-Jazeera. "That said, however, we reject that some in the GCC are trying to impose their will on Qatar or intervene in its internal affairs."

Despite Sheikh Mohammed's strong words, Qatar is vulnerable. It imports the majority of its food, much of it over its now-shut land border with Saudi Arabia.

Emirati and Saudi government officials have offered no specifics about what they hope to achieve with isolating Qatar. However, there have been some suggestions.

Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi, an outspoken member of the ruling family of the sheikhdom of Sharjah in the UAE, wrote Monday that "it is likely that this time the Gulf states will demand the complete shuttering of the Al-Jazeera TV network before any mediation can take place." He also identified other Qatari media outlets that could be closed, as well as said Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas members would need to be expelled.

"It must de-escalate the media coverage and must sever ties with extremist groups including, but not only, the Muslim Brotherhood and groups in Yemen," Al Qassemi wrote in a column for Newsweek's website. "Judging by the Qatari reaction so far, it seems the Gulf states' patience will be tested."

That's toned down compared to other columns, which include one in the Saudi government-aligned daily newspaper Arab News calling Qatari officials "pathological liars." Others warned that Qatar stood on a diplomatic precipice.

"Qatar cannot continue to face two ways, supporting groups and regimes that are actively harming the region," Abu Dhabi's state-owned The National newspaper opined in an editorial Tuesday. "The GCC is a club, with common goals. If Qatar cannot agree with those goals, it should not hope to remain part of the club."

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EDITOR'S NOTE: Jon Gambrell, an Associated Press reporter since 2006, has covered the Middle East from Cairo and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, since 2013. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongambrellap. His work can be found at http://apne.ws/2galNpz.

This handout graphic provided by Flight Radar shows how Qatar Airways flights are managing bans on flights through the airspace of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, UAE, & Egypt, by flying over Iranian airspace. The political storm surrounding Qatar is impacting business in one of the world's biggest natural gas producers and travel hubs. (Flight Radar via AP)
ST. LOUIS (AP) - A Missouri appeals court has ruled that a white professor at a predominantly black university in St. Louis was fired "because of the color of her skin."

A three-judge panel of the Missouri Court of Appeals on Tuesday affirmed a 2015 jury verdict that awarded nearly $5 million to Beverly Wilkins, a former professor at Harris-Stowe State University.

Wilkins claimed in her lawsuit that she was repeatedly passed over for promotions during nine years of employment before being fired in 2010.

The university blamed state budget cuts, but the lawsuit says two black professors with less tenure than Wilkins kept their jobs.

It's unclear if the university will appeal. The university says in a statement that it has not yet had an opportunity to review the ruling with its lawyers.
BOSTON (AP) - Massachusetts lawmakers are weighing whether to ban the use of Native American mascots in public schools - a proposal that drew strong opinions at a public hearing Tuesday.

The push comes after the town of Tewksbury rebuffed efforts to change the name of its high school mascot, the Redmen.

Linda Thomas has children in the first and fourth grades in Tewksbury and said she doesn't want to signal that "it's OK to use these images and memes and logos."

"The name has becomes so integrated and repeated that the meaning is lost," she said. "People using it don't intend to cause harm, but the impact is harmful and Native Americans have been saying this now for decades."

Thomas added it's hard to imagine any other racial group being used as a mascot.

State Rep. James Miceli, a Democrat who represents Tewksbury, said opinion in the town was overwhelmingly against changing the Redmen mascot. He urged fellow lawmakers to reject the bill outright or exempt communities that already have voted, as Tewksbury did at a town meeting.

"The Indians have been to that community many times," Miceli said after testifying. "We held powwows in that town. Never once when I have seen this did they mention anything in opposition" to the mascot.

There are even divisions among Native Americans.

Gloria Colon, outreach coordinator for the North American Indian Center of Boston, said she is troubled about the way some mascots are portrayed.

"Some of them depict large noses and some of them seem to be angry, so that's very offensive to me," said Colon, of Micmac heritage.

But Gene Weeden Williams, a Narragansett Indian who lives in Amesbury, saw nothing to be gained by going after Native American mascots.

"My people need help, but that's not the kind of help we need," said Williams, adding he does not take offense to sports teams using the names. "It could get worse for us by causing a division between my people and other people."

The bill defines a Native American mascot as a "name, symbol, or image that depicts or refers to an American Indian tribe, individual, custom, or tradition that is used by a public school as a mascot, nickname, logo, letterhead, or team name."

The bill gives specific examples, including "Redskins," ''Savages," ''Indians," ''Indianettes," ''Chiefs," ''Chieftains," ''Braves," or "Redmen."

Republican Gov. Charlie Baker said Monday he's waiting to see what action the Legislature takes, if any, but added, "I don't think anybody should use anything as a mascot in a derogatory sense."

Democratic Senate President Stan Rosenberg said he's heard mixed messages from residents.

In 2015, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation making the state the first to bar public schools from using the Redskins name for sports teams.

In Oregon, school districts with tribal mascots must do away with them by July 1. The state makes exceptions for districts that get the approval of one of Oregon's nine tribes. In Wisconsin, opponents of Native American mascots can file a complaint.

In 1993, the Washington State Board of Education passed a resolution encouraging schools to drop Native American mascots.

Some Massachusetts school districts have taken similar action. In 1988 Wellesley High dropped the word "red" from its Red Raiders nickname and adopted a pirate mascot.

Since then, Frontier Regional School in Deefield changed its name from Redskins to Red Hawks. Natick switched from "Redmen" to Red Hawks. And the Gill-Montague Regional School Committee dropped Indians as the mascot for Turners Falls High School.

The controversy has also embroiled professional sports teams, notably the NFL's Washington Redskins and the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball.

In 2014, the U.S. Patent and Trademark office declined to register several trademarks for the Redskins, a franchise that was founded in Boston in the 1930s, citing federal regulations against protecting words and images that are disparaging or offensive. The team argued the rule violates the First Amendment.

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This story has been corrected to show opponents of Native American mascots in Wisconsin can file a complaint, not that the state bans such mascots, and to delete an incorrect reference to a Minnesota ban.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Leading U.S. CEOs remain supportive of some of President Donald Trump's policy initiatives despite his still-hazy plan for cutting taxes and recent actions by Trump that have intensified attention on federal investigations of his campaign.

The Business Roundtable, a trade association for CEOs, said Tuesday that the executives' economic outlook has reached its highest level in three years - a reading of 93.9, which suggests continued economic growth.

The association found in its survey of CEOs that plans for capital investment rose 4.6 percentage points since the first quarter, while sales expectations increased 0.5 percentage point.

Still, the executives' hiring plans for the next six months suggested a potential slowdown.

Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase and chairman of the roundtable, suggested that the results reflect confidence in the prospect for overhauling taxes and in the administration's "commitment to creating a more favorable regulatory environment."

Dimon, speaking on a conference call with reporters, said "the urgency for tax reform couldn't be overstated."

The roundtable has been advocating lower corporate tax rates and a shift toward a territorial tax system, whereby companies would pay only on the income earned in each country. A majority of the organization's members have said they would delay hiring and investment plans if the tax overhaul pledged by Trump and congressional Republicans became stalled.

The Trump administration has released only a one-page outline of general principles on taxes, which stress lower rates for business and personal income. But its outline was so vague on key details as to raise doubts about the viability of rewriting the tax code this year while also passing a budget, raising the federal debt limit and overturning the federal health care law.

Much of Trump's attention in recent weeks has been focused on the investigations being conducted of his presidential campaign, including by Robert Mueller, a special counsel. Mueller was appointed after Trump fired the FBI director, James Comey, who was looking into ties between Russia and Trump's campaign. Comey is to testify Thursday on Capitol Hill.

Josh Bolten, a former White House chief of staff who is president and CEO of the roundtable, acknowledged that issues that distract from the Trump administration's policy agenda remain a concern but that the organization's survey results are a sign of "ongoing optimism for tax and regulatory changes."
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley is accusing the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs of lying about wait times for medical appointments at Iowa's VA hospitals, based on documents provided by a whistleblower.

The Iowa Republican said the data shows the agency provided false information to his committee in late February when it said no veterans had been waiting more than 90 days for care earlier this year at the two medical centers.

According to the whistleblower data, which Grassley said the VA has since confirmed as accurate, the Iowa City VA reported 537 veterans waiting for a clinical appointment between 91-180 days, 539 between 181 days to a year, and 232 between one and two years. The other VA hospital, in Des Moines, showed hundreds of others waiting for appointments more than 90 days, Grassley said the documents from mid-February show.

"I would draw the conclusion that they were misleading us because the information was probably embarrassing," Grassley said in an interview Monday with The Associated Press. "It's a crime that veterans are being treated this way."

The VA did not immediately respond to messages.

VA Secretary David Shulkin said in a May 26 letter to Grassley he was disheartened to learn of the contradictory information.

"I assure you that was not our intent and believe this was a case of misunderstanding between VA and committee staff," he wrote.

Grassley said he doesn't believe it was a misunderstanding at all because he said his staff made clear in multiple meetings the information the committee was seeking. He said VA officials eventually acknowledged the whistleblower information was accurate. Grassley responded to Shulkin in a letter on Friday.

"The appearance of an attempt to mislead the committee about the extent of the wait times in these facilities is extremely disturbing," Grassley said.

Grassley said a bill the House passed in March up for debate in the Senate Tuesday evening may help.

It increases the VA's authority to remove employees at all levels of the department and shortens the removal process. It also ensures an individual removed from the VA is not kept on the government payroll while appealing. Shulkin has called for its passage.

Grassley and 13 other senators signed a letter Tuesday to Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald seeking answers about why fewer than six employees responsible for patient wait time problems have been fired in the last two years.

The letter cites an inspector general report filed six months ago that says supervisors instructed employees to manipulate patient wait time data in 40 VA medical facilities in 19 states.

The wait times have been a focus for the agency since a 2014 scandal involving delays at the Phoenix VA medical center during which as many as 40 veterans died while waiting months for appointments and it was determined VA personnel had been providing false data on patient wait times.
SAO PAULO (AP) - Brazilian meatpacking giant JBS says it has sold its units in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay to companies controlled by a rival meat processing company in Brazil.

JBS said in a Tuesday securities filing that it sold the three meat processing plants for $300 million to Minerva in Sao Paulo state.

The units sold are: Pul Argentina; Frigomerc of Paraguay and Pulsa of Uruguay.

JBS executives are at the center of a political crisis engulfing President Michel Temer. In a secret audio recording of JBS executive Joesley Batista in March, Temer appears to be condoning a payment of hush money to imprisoned former House Speaker Eduardo Cunha.

JBS last week agreed to pay a more than $3 billion fine for its role in a corruption scheme involving pension funds.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Sony Pictures Entertainment is backing the director of last year's "Ghostbusters" remake, Paul Feig, after Dan Aykroyd criticized him for spending too much money on the film to make it worthwhile for Sony to make a sequel.

Without mentioning Feig's name, Aykroyd said on the British chat show "Sunday Brunch" this week that Feig didn't want to shoot scenes Aykroyd and others told him were necessary. He said the scenes were eventually added as reshoots and cost the production an additional $30 million to $40 million, making a sequel "economically not feasible."

While he said he was pleased with the reboot of the franchise that starred Kristen Wiig and Melissa McCarthy, Aykroyd suggested Sony wouldn't be eager again to work with Feig, who directed comedy hits "Bridesmaids" and "The Heat."

FILE - In this July 21, 2014 file photo, Dan Aykroyd attends the world premiere of "Get On Up" in New York. During an appearance on British chat show "Sunday Brunch" on June 4, 2017, Aykroyd criticized the director last year's "Ghostbusters" remake for spending too much money to make the film. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

"He will not be back on the Sony lot any time soon," Aykroyd said.

Sony Pictures took issue with Aykroyd's comments in a statement to The Associated Press on Tuesday, putting the cost of the reshoots at $3 million to $4 million.

"Sony has a strong relationship with Paul Feig, and we have incredible respect for his work," spokeswoman Jean Guerin said.

Sony Pictures hasn't said whether there will be a sequel to "Ghostbusters." The company does say that "Ghostbusters" television and family projects are in the works.

Aykroyd co-wrote and starred in the original "Ghostbusters" film and its 1989 sequel. He served as an executive producer for the remake.
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) - Mexico says it will invest $30 million in a Guatemalan milk plant to increase employment and reduce emigration.

The plant will be constructed in Escuintla, 31 miles (50 kilometers) outside of Guatemala City.

A representative of Guatemala's foreign ministry told The Associated Press that the plant will generate at least 4,000 new jobs.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto emphasized the importance of "further reinforcing a frank and permanent dialogue" between the two countries. Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales said that cross-border commitment is particularly important for efficient trade and migration.

The announcement was made Tuesday during Pena Nieto's first official visit to Guatemala.

Tens of thousands of Guatemalan immigrants cross the Mexican border each year in a bid to reach the United States.
ATLANTA (AP) - In a story June 4 about congressional candidate Jon Ossoff declining to participate in a nationally televised debate, The Associated Press reported erroneously details of the debate's broadcast. It can be heard on WABE, Atlanta's NPR station, and will be televised on PBA 30, Atlanta's PBS station.

A corrected version of the story is below:

Ossoff declines nationally televised debate with Handel

Democrat Jon Ossoff has declined to participate in an Atlanta Press Club debate with Republican Karen Handel that CNN had proposed to broadcast

ATLANTA (AP) - Democrat Jon Ossoff has declined to participate in an Atlanta Press Club debate with Republican Karen Handel that CNN had proposed to broadcast.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (http://bit.ly/2qRkBwL) reports that Ossoff declined Sunday to participate in what would have been a nationally televised debate.

In a statement sent to CNN, Ossoff spokeswoman Amy Messner says the campaign only committed to debates moderated by "the metro Atlanta press corps."

Georgia's 6th District contenders will participate in two televised debates this week: Tuesday on WSB-TV and Thursday on PBA 30, an Atlanta-based PBS station. The debate will also be broadcast on WABE, Atlanta's NPR station.

In the run-up to the April 18 vote both Ossoff and Handel attended more than a dozen forums and debates but the two campaigns have struggled since then to agree on scheduling of subsequent debates.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate approved broad legislation Tuesday to make firing employees easier for the beleaguered Department of Veterans Affairs, part of an accountability effort urged by President Donald Trump following years of high-profile problems.

The bipartisan measure passed by voice vote. It comes more than three years after a 2014 scandal at the Phoenix VA medical center, where some veterans died while waiting months for appointments. VA employees created secret lists to cover up delays.

The bill would lower the burden of proof needed to fire employees - from a "preponderance" to "substantial evidence," allowing a dismissal even if most evidence is in a worker's favor.

Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin speaks at the daily press briefing at the White House in Washington, Monday, June 5, 2017. Shulkin said Monday the department will be overhauling its electronic health records, adopting a commercial product used by the Pentagon that he hopes will improve care for veterans and reduce wait times for medical appointments. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

The American Federation of Government Employees, the largest federal employee union, opposed the bill. But the measure was viewed as more in balance with workers' rights than a version passed by the House in March, mostly along party lines. The Senate bill calls for a longer appeal process than the House's version - 180 days vs. 45 days - though workers would not be paid during that appeal. VA executives also would be held to a tougher standard than rank-and-file employees.

The bill now goes back to the House, where the revisions are expected to be approved.

The VA has been plagued by years of problems, and critics complain that too few employees are punished for malfeasance. The Associated Press reported last week that federal authorities were investigating dozens of new cases of possible opioid and other drug theft by employees at VA hospitals, even after the VA announced "zero tolerance" in February. Since 2009, in only about 3 percent of the reported cases of drug loss or theft have doctors, nurses or pharmacy employees been disciplined.

"The overwhelming majority of the people who work at the VA are good, hard-working employees who serve our veterans well," said Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. "But it has become clear under the current law the VA is often unwilling or unable to hold individuals appropriately accountable for their actions and misdeeds."

He was a lead sponsor of the bill along with Democrat Jon Tester of Montana and Republican Johnny Isakson of Georgia.

"To shield employees from consequences brings down the entire department, it demoralizes the workforce and undermines the core mission of the VA," Rubio said.

The Senate bill would codify into law a Trump campaign promise - a permanent VA accountability office, which was established in April by executive order. The legislation would give the head of the accountability office more independent authority and require regular updates to Congress. The office would also maintain a toll-free number and website to receive anonymous whistleblower disclosures.

In a "State of the VA" report released last week, VA Secretary David Shulkin described an employee accountability process that was "clearly broken." He said the VA had about 1,500 disciplinary actions against employees on hold, citing a required waiting period of at least a month before taking action for misconduct.

Dan Caldwell, policy director of the conservative Concerned Veterans for America, hailed the bill's passage as "long overdue."

"The regular horror stories have made it clear that veterans deserve much better," he said.

Despite problems at the VA, Congress has had difficulty coming to agreement on a bill. A 2014 law gave the VA greater power to discipline executives, but the department stopped using that authority after the Obama Justice Department deemed it likely unconstitutional. Last month, a federal appeals court temporarily overturned the VA firing of Phoenix VA hospital director Sharon Helman over the wait-time scandal.

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Follow Hope Yen on Twitter at https://twitter.com/hopeyen1
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - The family home that Kentucky's Republican governor purchased from a friend and political appointee is worth $1.3 million less than local officials say it is, according to the governor's lengthy appeal to tax assessors in his county.

The appeal is Gov. Matt Bevin's first detailed account of the purchase that has prompted two ethics complaints and captivated Kentucky's political circles in the months since The Courier-Journal first wrote about the sale. If it succeeds, the appeal could quash the ethics complaints and arm Bevin with a defense against charges of corruption that Democrats are sure to level at him when he runs for re-election in 2019.

Bevin and his wife, Glenna, purchased the home from Neil and Anne Ramsey on March 17. Bevin's attorney, Mark Sommers, said the families "formed a close friendship" after meeting a local restaurant following church one Sunday. Ramsey, who owns an investment company, has donated to Bevin's political campaigns, and Bevin appointed Ramsey to the Kentucky Retirement Systems board of directors.

Bevin, his wife and their nine children have access to the Governor's Mansion in Frankfort, which has 25 rooms over more than 18,000 square feet, but they don't live there. Most of the mansion is public space, leaving the top floor for residential use, and Bevin's lawyer said it "could not be used on a day-to-day basis" by a family of 11 people.

And after Bevin took office in December 2015, it became clear that the family's 3,500 square-foot home in Louisville had "security and accessibility problems that became worse over time," the lawyer said.

Last fall, Bevin asked Ramsey about buying an 8,000-square foot house he owned in Anchorage, a wealthy suburb of Louisville, the state's largest city. Ramsey and his wife lived next door, and Sommers said they "did not want to sell it to buyers they did not know." He called it a "win-win situation."

"The Bevins would obtain a house of sufficient size and seclusion to meet their needs, and the Ramseys would get fair value and good friends as their neighbors," Sommers wrote.

Bevin, an investment manager like Ramsey, bought the property with his wife, paying $1.6 million in cash. Neither side paid for an appraisal. Sommers said Bevin has hired an appraiser and will present the result county officials.

Jefferson County officials say it is worth nearly $3 million, based on the value that Ramsey himself had declared in his deed. The disparity has prompted requests by an ethics watchdog and a Democratic lawmaker for an investigation by the Kentucky ethics commission to determine if the sale price amounted to an improper gift.

But Sommers argues local officials made several errors in calculating the property's value. The home originally sat on a 19-acre parcel. But the Bevins purchased 10 acres while Ramsey kept the other 9 acres. Sommers said Jefferson County officials mistakenly applied the value of all 19 acres to the Bevins' purchase.

Anchorage tax assessors lowered the city's valuation of the 19-acre property to $2.2 million after an earlier appeal by Ramsey. But Sommers says it's worth even less, because it's "well over one-hundred years old and in a considerable state of disrepair" despite the Ramseys' "herculean effort" to restore the house before the Bevins bought it.

The property no longer includes a 3-acre parcel that would block the Bevins' view of the road should it ever be developed, and the Bevins lack clear title, because the Ramseys retained both legal access to property and "right of first refusal" should the Bevins ever try to sell it.

"A fairly valued assessment should take account of these facts, which the current assessment plainly does not," Sommers wrote.

Democratic state Rep. Darryl Owens filed an ethics complaint against Bevin on Monday. Owens said if the house does turn out to be worth much less than its previous valuation, it would satisfy his concerns, but he doesn't think most of these arguments are "legitimate."

"I think this is something that is right for the ethics commission to take a look at," Owens said. "Ethics doesn't mean it's illegal. Ethics means there is an aura of unfairness about a particular transaction."
The decaying remains of a small girl who went missing two years ago have been found in a garage in Belleville, Illinois.

She was found after her mother told Centreville police they would find her daughter, who died aged seven in 2015, in a vacant home in southern Illinois.

After contacting the unnamed homeowner, investigators entered the garage to find a girl wrapped in blankets, it has been reported.

The body was so decomposed that detectives could not even determine its gender, coroner Calvin Dye Sr told the St Louis Post Dispatch.

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The decaying remains of a small girl who went missing two years ago have been found in a garage in Belleville, Illinois

Police are still not sure whether her death was a result of homicide but Sergeant DeMarius Thomas Sr said they believe she was killed in Belleville and dumped in the garage.

Police say the girl's mother moved to Las Vegas to escape her husband Jason Quate (pictured)

Police say the girl's mother moved to Belleville two years ago but later fled to Las Vegas to escape her husband Jason Quate, who allegedly forced her into prostitution.

Quate was today arrested and charged with 'sex trafficking of an adult' and 'accepting or receiving earnings of a prostitute'.

The authorities are yet to arrest or charge anyone with the death of the child.

Illinois State Police, assisting in the investigation, say they are not aware of reports of missing children who match the description of the young girl found in Belleville. The results of an autopsy will be available later this week.

Las Vegas police said a suspect was taken into custody Tuesday on unrelated charges.

It is unclear whether the woman was being questioned by police or had been taken into custody.

She was found after her mother told Centreville police they would find her daughter, who died aged seven in 2015, in a vacant home

A forensic anthropologist will try to determine the child's gender and race, and police are trying to determine how the child died, Dye said.

He said investigators were trying to piece together the case, adding: 'Everything's real sketchy.'

Neighbors of the small, frame home with boarded-up windows told the Belleville News-Democrat the house has been vacant for more than two years.

Property records show the home was last sold for $25,500 in 2005. The man listed as its owner, Marcus Acoff, declined comment when reached by the AP, saying he did not want to interfere in the investigation.
Washington

Senators had a clear message for U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos in a budget hearing here Wednesday: Dont get too attached to your budget proposal .

Republican and Democratic senators on the Senate education appropriations subcommittee expressed skepticism about cuts and eliminated programs in the budget proposal for the U.S. Department of Education. And Democrats sparred with DeVos over how the spending blueprint for fiscal 2018 handles Title I spending on disadvantaged students, and how a voucher proposal would handle issues of discrimination.

This is a difficult budget request to defend, Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., the subcommittee chairman, told DeVos. And he said the elimination of formula-funded programs like the $2 billion Title II program for teacher training, and the $1 billion 21st Century Community Learning Centers program that funds after-school, will be all but impossible to get through Congress.

The secretary also addressed the civil rights controversy raised last month by the departments $250 million proposal to fund and study the impact of vouchers. Last month before the House education spending committee , DeVos emphasized state and parent prerogatives with respect to voucher programs legal obligations. On Wednesday, DeVos pledged that any private schools that would participate in the initiative would have to follow federal law governing special education. Schools that receive federal funds must follow federal law, period, DeVos said repeatedly.

She gave the same response to Sen. Jack Reed, when the Rhode Island Democrat asked her if a private school participating in a federal voucher program would have to take all students who wished to attend.

But Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., argued that DeVos response left the door open for a federally backed voucher program to allow for religious discrimination and discrimination against LGBTQ students in participating private schools. He said the secretary essentially refused to affirm these protections.

DeVos stressed that Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court must resolve questions about protections for those students: This department isnt going to be issuing any decrees. She also sharply disputed Merkleys characterization of her views, telling the senator, Discrimination in any form is wrong.

Need more background on this issue? See our story this week on how civil rights laws do and do not impact school choice programs . In general, its important to distinguish areas where federal law is clear, such as racial discrimination, from where it is fuzzier, such as transgender students rights.

Blunt came to DeVos defense on this issue, and criticized the Obama administration for trying to write federal law on its own: Thats the job of the courts and the Congress, not the Department of Education.

And in response to a question from Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., about whether officials at private education organizations should enrich themselves off students, DeVos responded that what mattered was student performance, not the tax status of schools.

Strings Attached?

As she did last month before the House education spending committee, DeVos defended the budget proposals emphasis on choice. She said she believed in the power of markets to help parents make appropriate choices for their children, and said the budget eliminates 22 programs that are duplicative, ineffective, or could be better handled by states and local communities.

The notion that spending more money is going to bring about better results is, I think, ill-advised, DeVos said.

The spending proposal from the president would cut $9.2 billion from the current Education Department spending levels, or about a 13.5 percent reduction. Its the largest proposed single-year cut from a president to the agency since President Ronald Reagans spending plan for fiscal 1983Congress ultimately increased funding for the department that year .

Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., said any agency budget proposal that asks for less money is a fairly rare conversation around these parts. But he quizzed DeVos on how a Title I public school choice initiative was different than the Obama-era Race to the Top competitive-grant program that gave money to states in exchange for taking certain approaches to standards, teacher evaluations, and testing.

In addition to the $250 million voucher proposal and the $1 billion public school choice program under Title I that would follow students to schools of their choice, the Trump budget seeks a 50 percent increase to federal charter school grants, which would bring that grant funding up to $500 million.

DeVos responded that no such policy strings would be attached to the Title I proposal, and that it would be entirely voluntarily. (So was Race to the Top, for what its worth.) It is in no way going to be mandated from the top, she told Lankford.

Fight Over Actual Funding Levels

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., meanwhile, slammed the proposed elimination of the $2 billion grant program for teacher development and class-size reduction, as well as the $113 million cut to special education and the elimination of the $400 million Title IV block grant for well-rounded education programs. (Murray is the ranking Democrat on both the Senate subcommittee and the Senate education committee.)

Your budget proposes policies similar to those that were roundly rejected on both sides of the aisle during our ESSA debatelike privatization and portability, Murray said.

Murray and DeVos also had a testy exchange about whether the proposed budget cuts the $15.5 billion Title I program designed to help disadvantaged students.

DeVos told the subcommittee, consistent with her agencys position since the budget was released, that the Trump spending plan keeps Title I and special education funding flat, saying, The intention is to fully fund Title I. A new $1 billion Title I public school choice program would bring Title I spending up to $15.9 billion.

But that claim is based on a previous spending resolution, not the current fiscal 2017 budget. Traditional Title I aid to school districts would be cut by nearly $600 million, down to about $14.9 billion, in Trumps budget. Were going back to bad numbers, Murray said at one point when DeVos characterized the departments proposed spending levels.

In an exchange with Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., DeVos expressed hope that schools in rural areas would take advantage of virtual learning programs to make up for the lack of diverse school choice options.

And in response to questions from Shelby and Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., about the proposed $168 million cut to career and technical education grants to states, DeVos said such programs should be considered as part of broader changes to higher education in general.

Right now we have a lot of efforts that really overlap, she said.

What happens to specific proposals in the administrations budget plan isnt clear yet, although the fiscal 2018 budget is due to begin Oct. 1.

Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., the chairman of the House subcommittee that funds the department, was not as openly critical as Blunt during the House hearing last month. He praised the spending plans emphasis on choice and its increased spending on charter schools in particular. But he did not comment directly on the $250 million voucher proposal.

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos testifies on Capitol Hill on June 6, before the Senate Appropriations Committee, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing on the fiscal year 2018 budget.

--Susan Walsh/AP

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CINCINNATI (AP) - Jury selection appears to be nearing an end for the retrial of a fired white police officer charged with murder in the 2015 death of a black unarmed motorist.

Hamilton County Judge Leslie Ghiz (giz) said Tuesday she expects that a jury will be seated Wednesday and jurors could then visit the scene where Tensing shot Sam DuBose in 2015. The day's session will begin with more questioning of prospective jurors.

Two potential jurors were excused Tuesday after defense attorney Stewart Mathews drew attention to Facebook posts in which they expressed support for DuBose.

Tensing was a University of Cincinnati officer when he says he feared for his life as DuBose tried to drive away from a traffic stop. His first trial ended in a hung jury last November.
Emirates Team New Zealand capsized Tuesday at the start of an America's Cup challenger semifinal race against Britain on Bermuda's stormy Great Sound, throwing three crewmen into the water and extensively damaging its 50-foot catamaran.

Chase boats immediately converged on the catamaran and confirmed that all six crew members were accounted for, including three who remained in the cockpit in the starboard hull. Skipper Peter Burling said there no major injuries.

It was a harrowing end to a chaotic afternoon of racing in squalls and wind that sometimes reached 25 knots.

In this photo provided by America's Cup Event Authority, Emirates Team New Zealand capsizes during an America's Cup challenger semifinal against Great Britain's Land Rover BAR on the Great Sound in Bermuda on Tuesday, June 6, 2017. (Gilles Martin-Raget/ACEA via AP)

The Kiwi boat appeared to get on its hydrofoils too quickly as it made a difficult maneuver and lost control, with its bows plunging deep into the water and the boat flipping forward in what's called a pitch-pole, coming to rest with the top of the wing sail in the water. The catamaran eventually settled onto its side, resting on its port hull with three sailors suspended in the airborne starboard hull.

Helmsman Peter Burling said he, skipper and wing trimmer Glenn Ashby and Simon van Velthooven remained in the boat while Andy Maloney, Blair Tuke and Josh Junior were thrown into the water.

"I was very thankful when I was sitting up top to be able to look out the back and see all their heads above water and know they're all safe," said Burling, a 26-year-old Olympic gold and silver medalist. "That's definitely the first thing that goes through your mind when you have those incidents, to make sure the whole crew's safe."

Tuke, Maloney, Junior and Van Velthooven, an Olympic cycling medalist, are grinders nicknamed "cyclors" because they ride stationary bikes to provide power for the hydraulic systems used to trim the wing sail and operate the foils.

Burling said the capsize "was fully our error" as the boat accelerated and got high on its foils. He said the crew will review video to see what precisely went wrong.

He said it was too early to know if the shore team would be able to fix the boat in time for Wednesday's two scheduled races.

"As a group of New Zealanders, we are incredibly resilient," Burling said. "We'll bounce back from this. At some stage we'll get the boat back to 100 percent but we're still assessing damage."

The catamaran was righted and the damage appeared to be extensive, particularly to the wing sail. There could also be damage to the boat's electronic systems.

British skipper Ben Ainslie, who crossed the starting line ahead of New Zealand, pulled up as soon as he realized what happened. Ainslie radioed to his support boat to go back and help the Kiwis.

The race was black-flagged, with Ainslie's Land Rover BAR awarded the point. He trails the Kiwis 3-1 in the best-of-9 series.

Team New Zealand damaged its wing sail prior to the day's first race and went back to shore to swap it out. The Kiwis made it to the start line in time and passed Land Rover BAR late in the race to win by 2 minutes, 10 seconds.

Ainslie said it appeared Burling made a slight misjudgment on rake and angle. "But all of us sitting here aren't going to pass criticism," he said during a news conference. "These boats are incredibly hard to sail and these things can happen .Thank God, most importantly, everyone's fine on the boat. I'm sure they'll recover from that and be out there tomorrow or the next day."

Ainslie, one of the world's most accomplished sailors, said he's never experienced a day like Tuesday in his 30 years of competitive sailing.

While calling it "exhilarating," he likened it to skiing on ice. "You really just have to go for it and be as fast as you can and just no holds barred. If you start sort of slowing up, trying to play it safe, that's almost worse. When it works, when you're sailing these boats fast and well, it's incredibly rewarding. But as you saw today, there are lots of times when, for whatever reason, it's not possible."

The mayhem came a day after Ainslie was forced to retire from two races because of serious damage to his wing sail.

In the other semifinal, SoftBank Team Japan beat Sweden's Artemis Racing twice to take a 3-1 lead. Both boats sustained damage.

While fast and exciting, the foiling catamarans are almost always sailing on the edge. In the buildup to the 2013 America's Cup, British Olympic star Andrew "Bart" Simpson was killed when Artemis Racing's 72-foot catamaran broke apart during a test run on San Francisco Bay.

Sailors wear the latest in safety equipment, including crash helmets and life vests, and carry an oxygen supply and knives in case they need to cut themselves free.

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Follow Bernie Wilson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/berniewilson

In this photo provided by America's Cup Event Authority, Emirates Team New Zealand capsizes during an America's Cup challenger semifinal against Great Britain's Land Rover BAR on the Great Sound in Bermuda on Tuesday, June 6, 2017. (Gilles Martin-Raget/ACEA via AP)

In this photo provided by America's Cup Event Authority, Emirates Team New Zealand capsizes during an America's Cup challenger semifinal against Great Britain's Land Rover BAR on the Great Sound in Bermuda on Tuesday, June 6, 2017. (Gilles Martin-Raget/ACEA via AP)

In this photo provided by America's Cup Event Authority, Emirates Team New Zealand capsizes during an America's Cup challenger semifinal against Great Britain's Land Rover BAR on the Great Sound in Bermuda on Tuesday, June 6, 2017. (Gilles Martin-Raget/ACEA via AP)
A retired US Navy commander has admitted lying about his relationship with a shady contractor who plied him with dinners, hotel stays and prostitutes.

As part of a deal with federal prosecutors, David Kapaun pleaded guilty to fraud and false statements in federal court in Honolulu, Hawaii, involving his relationship with Leonard Francis, known by the nickname 'Fat Leonard'.

The contractor was described by prosecutors as 'the center of a colossal bribery and fraud scandal'.

Dave Kapaun, pictured in 2001 (left), admitted fraud and making false statements about his association with crooked contractor 'Fat Leonard'

Kapaun told the court that he omitted any mention of Francis from a security clearance update form because he knew 'I did have a past association with him that was unfavorable.'

He also didn't disclose receiving dinners, hotel stays and prostitutes from Francis, said his defense attorney, Victor Bakke.

Leonard Francis, known by the nickname 'Fat Leonard', has admitted bribing navy officials with cash, prostitutes and other gifts

Francis has acknowledged bribing Navy officials with cash, prostitutes and other gifts in exchange for classified information to help his company, Singapore-based Glenn Defense Marine Asia.

The company provided services such as trash and sewage removal, food, water, security and fuel to U.S. Navy ships, according to prosecutors. He's awaiting sentencing.

'He played a minor role in the overall scheme that was conducted by Fat Leonard,' Bakke said of Kapaun.

'He's remorseful. He realizes he should have used better judgment. But just like the number of other Naval officers that are involved in this case, he was seduced by this guy.'

Twenty-one current and former Navy officials have been charged so far in the scandal. Kapaun is the 11th to plead guilty.

The allegations prompted Kapaun to resign earlier this year from his civilian position as deputy chief of staff for US Special Operations Command Pacific.

Kapaun could face up to five years in federal prison when he's sentenced on Sept. 11. The terms of his plea agreement will require Kapaun to pay $50,000 restitution and a $25,000 fine, Bakke said.

Kapaun retired and was honorably discharged in 2008 after a 25-year Navy career, Bakke said.

"Even though he's retired, they could pull him back to active duty and court-martial him if they wanted to," Bakke said.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House and its allies are scrambling for ways to offset potential damage from fired FBI Director James Comey's highly anticipated congressional testimony, an appearance that could expose new details about his discussions with President Donald Trump about the federal investigation into Russia's election meddling.

Asked about the testimony, Trump on Tuesday was tight-lipped: "I wish him luck," he told reporters before a meeting with lawmakers.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday evening a person familiar with the situation said Comey had told Attorney General Jeff Sessions that he did not want to be left alone with Trump.

In this Wednesday, May 3, 2017 photo, then-FBI Director James Comey testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. A nonprofit issues group is labeling James Comey a political "showboat" in an advertisement set to air on television Thursday, the day the former FBI director testifies on Capitol Hill. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The person, who was not authorized to discuss the matter by name and spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press the comment was made because of concerns Comey had about Trump.

It was not immediately clear when the conversation occurred. But The New York Times, which first reported the interaction with Sessions, said it came after Trump had asked Comey in February to end an FBI investigation into Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn.

Justice Department spokesman Ian Prior declined to comment. He said Sessions "doesn't believe it's appropriate to respond to media inquiries on matters that may be related to ongoing investigations."

Trump's White House and its allies are crafting a strategy aimed at undermining Comey's credibility. Both White House officials and an outside group that backs Trump plan to hammer Comey in the coming days for misstatements he made about Democrat Hillary Clinton's emails during his last appearance on Capitol Hill.

An ad created by the pro-Trump Great America Alliance - a nonprofit "issues" group that isn't required to disclose its donors - casts Comey as a "showboat" who was "consumed with election meddling" instead of focusing on combating terrorism. The 30-second spot is slated to run digitally on Wednesday and appear the next day on CNN and Fox News.

The Republican National Committee has been preparing talking points ahead of the hearing, which will be aired live on multiple TV stations. An RNC research email Monday issued a challenge to the lawmakers who will question Comey. There's bipartisan agreement, the email says, that Comey "needs to answer a simple question about his conversations with President Trump: If you were so concerned, why didn't you act on it or notify Congress?"

Comey's testimony before the Senate intelligence committee marks his first public comments since he was abruptly ousted by Trump on May 9. Since then, Trump and Comey allies have traded competing narratives about their interactions. The president asserted that Comey told him three times that he was not personally under investigation, while the former director's associates allege Trump asked Comey if he could back off an investigation into Michael Flynn, who was fired as national security adviser because he misled the White House about his ties to Russia.

Democrats have accused Trump of firing Comey to upend the FBI's Russia probe, which focused in large part on whether campaign aides coordinated with Moscow to hack Democratic groups during the election. Days after Comey's firing, the Justice Department appointed a special counsel, former FBI Director Robert Mueller, to oversee the federal investigation.

The new revelation about Comey's uneasiness with Trump brings to mind a posting last month by Comey friend Benjamin Wittes on his Lawfare blog, in which he said Comey "saw it as an ongoing task on his part to protect the rest of the Bureau from improper contacts and interferences from a group of people he did not regard as honorable."

Despite the mounting legal questions now shadowing the White House, Trump has needled Comey publicly. In a tweet days after the firing, he appeared to warn Comey that he might have recordings of their private discussions, something the White House has neither confirmed nor denied.

White House officials appear eager to keep the president away from television and Twitter Thursday, though those efforts rarely succeed. White House spokesman Sean Spicer said the president plans to attend an infrastructure summit in the morning, then address the Faith and Freedom Coalition's "Road to Majority" conference at 12:30 p.m.

"The president's got a full day on Thursday," Spicer said.

The White House had hoped to set up a "war room" stocked with Trump allies and top-flight lawyers to combat questions about the FBI and congressional investigations into possible ties between the campaign and Russia. However, that effort has largely stalled, both because of a lack of decision-making in the West Wing and concerns among some potential recruits about joining a White House under the cloud of investigation.

"If there isn't a strategy, a coherent, effective one, this is really going to put us all behind the eight ball. We need to start fighting back. And so far, I don't see a lot of fight," said Barry Bennett, a former Trump campaign aide.

Still, Trump supporters say they are willing to step in to help the White House deflect any accusations from Comey.

"If we feel he crosses a line, we'll fire back," said Ed Rollins, chief strategist of Great America PAC, the political arm of the group airing the Comey ad.

Rollins and others with Great America say they plan to stand up for Trump in cable appearances Thursday.

He said the White House has "improved" its communications with surrogates, starting with the president's recent trip abroad, and frequently holds call-ins to discuss what story lines they'd like to push.

"I assume they'll do the same thing with this," Rollins said of the Comey hearing. However, he added, he had not heard from the White House about the Comey hearing as of midday Tuesday.

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Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report.

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Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC and Julie Bykowicz at http://twitter.com/bykowicz

White House press secretary Sean Spicer gets a note from a staff member during the daily press briefing at the White House, Tuesday, June 6, 2017, in Washington. Spicer discussed Trump's tweets, former FBI Director James Comey's congressional testimony and other topics. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Tuesday that by 2050 global demand for fresh water is projected to grow by more than 40 percent and at least a quarter of the world's population will live in countries with a "chronic or recurrent" lack of clean water.

He told the Security Council that "strains on water access are already rising in all regions," noting that three-quarters of the 193 U.N. member states share rivers or lake basins with their neighbors.

"Water, peace and security are inextricably linked," Guterres said. "Without effective management of our water resources, we risk intensified disputes between communities and sectors and increased tensions among nations."

The secretary-general said the United Nations is ready to engage in preventive diplomacy to keep the competition for water from sparking conflicts.

Bolivian President Evo Morales, whose country currently holds the council presidency, noted that since 1947, some 37 conflicts have taken place between countries related to water.

"Our planet, the human family and life in all its myriad forms on Earth are in the throes of a water crisis that will only get worse over the coming decades," he said.

"If current patterns of consumption continue unabated, two-thirds of the world's population will be facing water shortages as a daily reality by 2025," Morales added.

Right now, he said, more than 800 million people lack access to safe drinking water and more than 2.5 billion don't have basic sanitation.

Morales, who presided over the meeting, said the limited availability of fresh water underscores the importance of tackling the issue and ensuring that access to clean water is shared and doesn't become "a pretext for domestic or international conflict."

British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said the world has already seen what can happen "when the waters run dry," pointing to drought in Somalia that is driving acute food shortages and threatening famine and a lack of clean water that is exacerbating the crisis sparked by Boko Haram in northeast Nigeria and sickening thousands.

He said the world currently is not on track to meet U.N. goals for 2030 calling for improved water security, access to drinking water and sanitation, as well as stronger management of water resources shared by countries.

In South Asia, Rycroft said, 1 billion people across Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal and Pakistan rely heavily on just three rivers, but "despite facing similar problems posed by water demand and climate change, regional collaboration between these countries is limited."

Rycroft said Britain has provided $30 million over the past five years to support a regional approach to "identify and resolve challenges affecting these transboundary waters."

But to tackle the problem globally, he urged the world's developed nations to also invest in delivering improved water security within and between states.

In one example of regional cooperation, Ethiopian Ambassador Tekeda Alemu said that while there are differences between the six countries that are upstream and downstream on the Nile River, those nations negotiated for 13 years to produce an agreement on using its waters. It was signed by all six nations and is awaiting ratification by three of them.

"The cooperation between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan and the signing of the Declaration of Principles by the leaders of the three countries is also another manifestation of regional cooperation that needs to be enhanced further," he said.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Kansas legislators Tuesday night repudiated the tax-cutting experiment that brought Gov. Sam Brownback national attention, with even fellow Republicans voting to override his veto of plan reversing many of the income tax reductions he's championed in recent years as a way to fix the cash-strapped state's budget.

The state will increase its personal income tax rates and end an exemption for more than 330,000 farmers and business owners. Legislators expect the changes to raise $1.2 billion in new revenue over two years to close projected budget shortfalls totaling $889 million through June 2019 and also provide additional funds for public schools.

The conservative Republican governor still touts the income tax cuts enacted in 2012 and 2013 as pro-growth policies. But voters soured last year on the governor's policies, ousting two dozen of his allies from the Legislature and giving more power to Democrats and moderate Republicans who then backed this year's tax increase. The Legislature's action leaves his main political legacy in tatters.

FILE - In this Monday, June 5, 2017, file photo, Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback speaks to reporters during a news conference, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. Brownback promised early Tuesday, June 6, to veto an income tax increase approved by the GOP-controlled Kansas Legislature to fix the cash-strapped state's budget and meet a court mandate on funding for public schools. (AP Photo/John Hanna, File)

"He believes - still believes - in this, and that's OK. I don't," said Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning, a conservative Kansas City-area Republican who supported the first round of tax cuts in 2012 but voted to override the veto. "I've made many, many bad decisions in my business career, as many bad as good, but I've always backed up and mopped up my mess. That's what I'm doing now."

The Senate's vote to override 27-13, exactly the two-thirds majority required. The vote in the House was 88-31, giving supporters of the bill four votes more than a two-thirds majority.

When lawmakers passed the bill early Tuesday morning, supporters were short of two-thirds majorities in both chambers. But they had been confident they could pick up additional votes because disagreements about taxes caused the Legislature's annual session to drag out. Lawmakers met Tuesday for the 109th day of what was supposed to be a 100-day session, making this year's one of the longest in state history.

Had the effort to override the veto failed, legislators would have had to start over on a new tax plan, with prospects of working into next week. Legislative leaders were waiting to finish work on the next state budget until tax issues were resolved, and Brownback's administration had said that lawmakers need to pass a budget by June 17 for most state employees to continue getting paid after the new fiscal year begins in July.

"Let's get our work done," said Rep. Larry Hibbard, a moderate southeast Kansas Republican. "Let's put this Capitol in the rearview mirror."

Under the new tax laws, Kansas will return to having a third tax income tax rate for its wealthiest filers, something cuts in 2012 eliminated. The top rate will be 5.7 percent, as opposed to 4.6 percent now.

The governor endorsed less aggressive income tax increases and proposed raising cigarette and liquor taxes and annual filing fees for for-profit businesses. But his proposals wouldn't have raised enough money to cover the spending increases for schools contemplated by lawmakers.

"We can and we must balance our budget without negatively harming Kansas families," Brownback said in his short veto message Tuesday afternoon.

The tax increase was designed to also cover extra aid to the state's 286 local public school districts because the state Supreme Court ruled in March that education funding is inadequate. The state spends about $4 billion a year on its schools and lawmakers passed a plan Monday night to phase in a $293 million increase in education funding over two years.

Brownback's remaining legislative allies, like him, suggested that the tax increase will ruin the economy, and they argued that Kansas has done little to control its spending - a point many Democrats and GOP moderates disputed.

"This level of taxation is wholly unnecessary," said Sen. Ty Masterson, a Wichita-area conservative Republican. "What we're doing is fleecing our constituents."

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Follow John Hanna on Twitter at https://twitter.com/apjdhanna .

Kansas Senate tax committee Chairwoman Caryn Tyson, R-Parker, speaks against overriding Republican Gov. Sam Brownback's veto of a bill that would have increased income taxes to fix the state budget and provide additional funds for public schools, Tuesday, June 6, 2017, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. The bill would have raised $1.2 billion over two years by increasing income tax rates and ending an exemption for more than 330,000 farmers and business owners (AP Photo/John Hanna)

Kansas state Rep. K.C. Ohaebosim, left, D-Wichita, makes a point in a conversation with Rep. Boog Highberger, right, D-Lawrence, before a House vote on overriding Republican Gov. Sam Brownback's veto of a tax increase to fix the state budget, Tuesday, June 6, 2017, in Topeka, Kan. Legislators have overridden the veto, and Ohaebosim and Highberger supported the effort. (AP Photo/John Hanna)
Labour has gained ground in Scotland in the final stretch of General Election campaigning, according to the latest opinion poll.

Kezia Dugdales party has 25% of the vote, behind the Tories on 26% and the SNP on 43%, the YouGov survey for The Times newspaper indicates.

Don't be shellfish, Vote Labour on Thursday  pic.twitter.com/CpYLKjWgMa  Kezia Dugdale (@kezdugdale) June 5, 2017

The findings come ahead of the rescheduled live television debate featuring the leaders of Scotlands four main political parties. The STV debate was due to be held on May 24 but was postponed as campaigning was suspended following the Manchester suicide bombing.

Willie Rennie, Kezia Dugdale, Nicola Sturgeon and Ruth Davidson will all debate tonight (Andrew Milligan/PA)

The poll of 1,093 people conducted between June 1 and 5 puts Scottish Labour up by six points on the last YouGov survey in May, with the Tories down three points and the SNP down one point.

The results also mirror recent Ipsos Mori findings, which put support for Labour and the Tories neck-and-neck on 25% each, behind the SNP on 43%.

Among the other parties, YouGov found support for the Lib Dems at 6% and the Greens at 1%.

When the results are put into the ScotlandVotes seat predictor by Weber Shandwick, they indicate the SNP could lose as many as 10 constituencies, falling from the 56 it won in 2015 to 46.

The predictor sees the Tories rise from one to seven seats, and both Labour the Lib Dems from one to three, although it assumes a uniform swing to make the projections.

I'm in Scotland this evening. Scots have a choice at #GE2017 between Tories & SNP delivering for the few or @UKLabour delivering #ForTheMany pic.twitter.com/JWbGqDnZ8z  Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) May 28, 2017

Approval ratings for the party leaders indicate Mrs May is more unpopular in Scotland than Mr Corbyn, with the former scoring a satisfaction rating of -32 and the latter -5. Mrs May saw her rating plummet by 15 points on the previous YouGov poll in May while Mr Corbyn saw his rating rise by 31 points.

Meanwhile, the poll found support for independence at 43%, with 57% backing a No vote if another referendum were to take place.

In tonights leaders debate SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon, Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie and Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson will all take part.

The Scottish Green Party criticised the channels decision not to include them in the debate and an STV spokeswoman said the decision was made as, under the Ofcom code, the broadcaster is required to consider historical election performance.

STV's decision to exclude us from their general election debate is bizarre. #InviteTheGreens https://t.co/wGz9zpNqfX  Scottish Greens (@scottishgreens) April 27, 2017

The debate, chaired by STVs political editor Bernard Ponsonby, will be broadcast live from Tron Theatre in Glasgow in front of a 120-strong audience chosen from a representative sample of the Scottish electorate.

Earlier, Scottish Lib Dem General Election campaign chairman Alex Cole-Hamilton will give a final rallying speech to activists in Edinburgh West.

He is expected to say: This election is our chance to say loud and clear that Scotland does not want another divisive independence referendum. My message to voters is to grab this opportunity with both hands and elect a MP that will put the divisions of the past behind us and work to create a more open, tolerant and united country.

Ms Davidson and Ms Dugdale will be campaigning in Edinburgh while Ms Sturgeon will give a speech to a major oil and gas industry conference in Aberdeen.
US President Donald Trump is accusing Senate Democrats of dragging their feet over his nominees, but his blame is misplaced. It is the president who is lagging behind his predecessors in naming candidates for key government posts during his first five months in office.

Mr Trump has so far nominated 110 people for 559 positions, fewer nominations than each of the last four presidents, according to the non-partisan Partnership for Public Service. By comparison, Democrat Barack Obama had selected 252 nominees by early June 2009.

Thirty-six percent of Mr Trumps nominees have been confirmed, compared with 59% for Mr Obama, the groups data show, suggesting that Mr Trump has indeed had fewer nominees confirmed.

But blaming the Democrats in this case ignores the reality that Mr Trumps fellow Republicans control the Senate, where nominations are confirmed. They run the committees and schedule, and changes in Senate rules engineered by Democrats in 2013 require only a simple majority to confirm nominees.

As part of a Monday morning tweetstorm, Mr Trump wrote that Democrats are taking forever to confirm his nominees, including ambassadors. They are nothing but OBSTRUCTIONISTS! Want approvals, he tweeted.

Mr Trump accused Democrats of obstructing his appointments (Andrew Harnik/AP)

Democrats fired back. If the president is looking for someone to blame on the slow pace of confirmations, he needs only to look in the mirror, said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, said only five would-be ambassadors are awaiting action out of dozens of slots to be filled.

Your lack of nominations is the problem, he tweeted in response to Mr Trumps accusation.

Mr Trump has said, for example, that he would nominate New York Jets owner Woody Johnson as ambassador to Britain but has yet to do so.

In the case of Callista Gingrich, Mr Trumps choice for ambassador to the Vatican, the administration has yet to submit all the required paperwork. Without it, the Republican-led Foreign Relations Committee cannot schedule a confirmation hearing. Ms Gingrich, wife of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, was nominated by Mr Trump on May 25.

The president should get off Twitter and lead his team in sending more ambassadors and other crucial nominees to the Senate, said Sean Bartlett, Senator Cardins spokesman. Were ready to do our job, but he needs to do his first. Thats how the process works.

There are 188 ambassadorial positions. Roughly a third of the slots are filled by political appointees and the rest by career foreign service officers. Mr Trump has made 11 ambassador appointments and five have been confirmed by the Senate, according to the American Foreign Service Association, which tracks such appointments.

By this time in Republican George W Bushs presidency, he had submitted 202 nominees and 127 had been confirmed, according to the Partnership for Public Service. Democratic President Bill Clinton had nominated 207, with 161 confirmations. Republican President George HW Bush had nominated 155 and had secured 94 confirmations.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd has rejected suggestions that a decline in the number of police officers had made the UK more vulnerable to terrorism.

Ms Rudd said it was simply wrong to blame the 20,000 fall in police numbers for the terrorist rampage at London Bridge and Borough Market.

Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry said that Labours plans for an extra 10,000 police would not necessarily have prevented the attacks but the increased number of officers would have created better links with the community.

The two politicians clashed in a BBC Radio 4 Womans Hour debate in which Ms Rudd insisted that the reforms put in place had protected frontline policing despite the cuts in numbers.

The Home Secretary said: This angle that the Labour Party are very much going on, and to a certain extent the Liberal Democrats, that the reducing of the numbers of policemen on the beat is somehow accountable for this attack is simply wrong.

She said HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary Sir Tom Winsor had concluded the measure of police effectiveness is not in direct correlation to the numbers of police officers, except in public order situations.

Police officers in England and Wales

She added: We do have to remember that the reductions that were made in 2010 to 2015 were  and I do admit  there was a reduction in police numbers  also led to a reduction in crime.

But Ms Thornberry said: What we propose is 10,000 additional police officers to make up for some of the cuts.

That would mean one police officer in each ward, in each local community. That by itself would not necessarily mean that we would have stopped these terrorist attacks.

Check out police cuts in your area. Use our interactive #PoliceCuts map: https://t.co/VXOkkufhos pic.twitter.com/I2D8OrgPmd  UNISON - UK's largest union (@unisontheunion) June 5, 2017

But I tell you what it would mean: It would mean that the police would be less stretched, they would be able to work with the community better.

The pair also clashed over the UKs links with Saudi Arabia, with the Home Secretary insisting we have the toughest form of export licences in the world for arms sales.

She said the UK had managed to reduce funding flows to extremist groups from Saudi Arabia and we are always watchful to make sure their influence, where it is bad, is going to be limited.

But Ms Thornberry criticised arms sales, saying: People in Yemen are being starved as a result of the bombardment with our bombs.

Also appearing on the show were Liberal Democrat Jo Swinson, the SNPs Kirsty Blackman and Ukips Margot Parker.
A Londoner, a Canadian woman, an Australian nurse and a French national were among the seven people killed in Saturday nights attack in the capital.

Canadian Christine Archibald, 30, was the first to be named.

She died in her fiances arms after being struck by the speeding van on London Bridge.

Her family said she would have had no understanding of the callous cruelty that caused her death.

Sadiq Khan

, 32, from Hackney, was last seen outside the Barrowboy And Banker pub and his sister said police have told her his bank card was found on a body at the scene of the attack.

Melissa McMullan described her brother as an inspiration and told Sky News: While our pain will never diminish, it is important for us all to carry on with our lives in direct opposition to those who wish to destroy us, and remember that hatred is the refuge of small-minded individuals and will only breed more.

She added that police told her they were unable to formally identify him until the coroners report is released.

Australian nurse Kirsty Boden was killed after she ran towards danger to help people, her family said.

Relatives said the 28-year-old was loved and adored by her family, friends and boyfriend, while colleagues at Guys and St Thomas Hospital in central London described her as one in a million.

Statement on the news that our staff nurse Kirsty Boden tragically died during the London Bridge terrorist attack: https://t.co/lCwqDsQsLc  Guy's and St Thomas' (@GSTTnhs) June 6, 2017

As she ran towards danger, in an effort to help people on the bridge, Kirsty sadly lost her life, her family said in a statement. We are so proud of Kirstys brave actions which demonstrate how selfless, caring and heroic she was.

, 27, has been named by French media as one of those killed.

Brittany news outlet Le Telegramme reported an account from Boro Bistro manager Vincent Le Berre, who told how his colleague, Mr Pigeard, was attacked by a terrorist in the bar near Borough Market on Saturday night.

I managed to escape him, but my friend Alexandre did not have that chance. He was hit in the neck with a knife, he said.

Detectives would like to hear from anyone who has any info about these men that may assist the investigation #LondonBridge #BoroughMarket pic.twitter.com/vicNZpzuNV  Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) June 6, 2017

According to French media, Mr Pigeard was from Caen, in Normandy, but had been living in London for more than two years.

Normandy news outlet La Manche Libre reported that Frederic Loinard, the mayor of nearby Colleville-Montgomery, where Mr Pigeard has family, confirmed the death to locals on Tuesday.

French chef Sebastien Belanger, 36, is thought to be among those who died.

He was drinking at the Boro Bistro near Borough Market when the area came under attack.

New metal barriers on London Bridge which have been placed there following Saturday's terrorist attack (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

Originally from Angers, western France, Mr Belanger had lived in London for several years and worked at the Coq dArgent restaurant in the City, The Daily Telegraph reported.

French media have reported that his family are travelling to London on Wednesday to identify a body which is believed to be his.

and his girlfriend,, who were visiting London for the weekend, are said to have both been victims.

Nathalie Cros Brohan said on Facebook on Monday that she was on her way to London after her sister, Ms Delcros, was seriously injured and taken to hospital, while Mr Thomas is yet to be found.

I call on all those who have news of #Xavier #Thomas who is missing, she posted. Were terribly worried.

On Tuesday the Metropolitan Police issued an appeal for help to find the 45-year-old French tourist, who they fear may have been knocked into the River Thames.

The rivers murky waters are being trawled by specialist officers from the Marine Policing Unit and Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).

Anyone who has seen Mr Thomas since June 3 or was present on the bridge at the time is asked to ring police on 0800 0961 233.

The family of Sara Zelenak told Australias ABC news they are bracing for the worst after she became separated from friends on Saturday night.

Pri Goncalves said on Facebook she was the last person to see her, writing: I called her a lot of times but she never picked up the phone. She hasnt been seen since the attack and we are all scared, worried but hoping she will be all right.

Ms Zelenaks mother Julie Wallace told Brisbane radio station 97.3FM she planned to fly to London to look for her daughter, who she described as a very smart, sensible girl.

Spanish banker Ignacio Echeverria, 39, remains missing after trying to help an injured woman in Borough Market, his father said, based on the account of his sons friend who was at the scene.

Joaquin Echeverria told the Associated Press that the family were flying to London on Tuesday to join other relatives, adding authorities had not shared any information with them. The sons employer, HSBC, has provided the services of a private detective to help in the hunt for information.

Dozens of others were injured, including four police officers:

A British Transport Police (BTP) officer was stabbed in the head, face and leg after taking on the knifemen armed only with his baton.

Statement from @BTPChief on officer injured during incident at London Bridge : https://t.co/l9ptrQEIpD pic.twitter.com/uQ47dUVxV4  British Transport Police (@BTP) June 4, 2017

An off-duty Metropolitan Police officer was in hospital with serious injuries after he confronted the attackers with no weapon.

Two other Met officers, who were both on duty, received less serious injuries during the rampage.

New Zealander Oliver Dowling, 32, from Christchurch, is reported to have been left in a coma after being stabbed in the face, neck and stomach. It was reported that his girlfriend, Marie Bondeville, was also injured.

Sunday Express business editor Geoff Ho was left in intensive care after being stabbed in the throat when he tried to help a wounded bouncer.

Thank you every one for the best wishes. I got out of surgery yesterday and am on the mend.  Geoff Ho (@FinanceHog) June 5, 2017

were stabbed in the neck, while Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the government had very real concerns about another two citizens who may have been caught up in the attacks.

is recovering in St Thomas Hospital, whilereceived stitches for a wound and was on his way home to Australia.

, 23, was left with a 7in wound from his stomach to his back and was saved by a friend who applied a tourniquet and took him downstairs in a pub.

Millwall FC fan Roy Larner, 47, told The Sun he was knifed eight times as terrorists targeted drinkers at the Black & Blue restaurant and bar. Speaking to the paper from hospital, he said he tried to fight them off with his bare hands, adding: They got me in my head, chest and both hands. There was blood everywhere.

were confirmed among the dead by the countrys minister for foreign affairs, Julie Bishop.

A statement released by her office said: The Australian Government is deeply saddened to confirm that two Australians have been killed in the London terrorist attack. We continue to work with the United Kingdom authorities who have asked that we await official confirmation of the identities of the victims, and for the families to be officially notified, before we release their names.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott wants lawmakers to consider placing restrictions on school restroom access for transgender students&mdash:one among a list of 19 issues he outlined for a special legislative session set to begin July 18.

North Carolina is the only state that has enacted a so-called bathroom bill that restricts access to school facilities at the state level. Abbott, a Republican, has pushed Texas to adopt a similar measure for public buildings, but lawmakers failed to reach an agreement during their regular legislative session.

The Obama administration previously asserted that Title IX, the federal gender non-discrimination law, guarantees the rights of transgender students to access bathrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity, even if it differs from the sex they were assigned at birth. But the administration of Donald Trump lifted that guidance shortly after he took office, bringing an end to a multi-state lawsuit led by Texas that said the federal guidance threatened the privacy rights of students .

Texas lawmakers will consider the 19 items on Abbotts agenda, including the item related to transgender students , after they pass key legislation that would keep some state agencies from shuttering, the Texas Tribune reports.

Further reading about transgender students:

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The Tories head into the General Election with a seven-point lead over Labour in an indication the party may have stemmed the flow of support away from it, according to a poll.

Opinium Researchs final poll before June 8 puts the Tories unchanged on 43% with Labour down one point since last week on 36%.

It is the first Opinium study of the campaign which has seen the Tory lead increase rather than shrink and adds to a mixed picture painted by pollsters in recent weeks.

Our final poll of the general election campaign gives the Conservatives a lead of 7 points over Labour #ge2017 https://t.co/B511292P2W pic.twitter.com/gMrz5dywHm  Opinium (@OpiniumResearch) June 6, 2017

The poll suggested the campaign has damaged the reputation of the Prime Minister, despite a likely Conservative win, with Theresa Mays net approval ratings falling from plus 21% at the start of the campaign to just plus 5% on average across all voters.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyns popularity has increased over the campaign but only to minus 7%.

Adam Drummond, head of political polling at Opinium said: Labours campaign surge appears to have crested as our final poll of the campaign is the first to see the Tory lead expand rather than contract.

YouGov 2017 election model estimates (6 June)

CON 42%, 265-342 seats

LAB 38%, 230-300 seats

For full results visit: https://t.co/1eYpO4jRQq pic.twitter.com/QIOERg6ozN  YouGov (@YouGov) June 6, 2017

If this is the start of a trend, and it is supported by other work Opinium has done, then it is worth bearing in mind that at the last election 15% of voters made their mind up either on polling day or the day before.

Labours campaign has firmed up support among sympathetic groups and looks like averting the wipeout that was predicted at the beginning.

A soggy start to polling day in some areas with heavy outbreaks of rain forecast graphic

Mr Drummond said Mrs Mays Brexit firewall of former Ukip voters is holding steady and should be enough to guarantee her a comfortable majority on Thursday.

However, this has been a surprising campaign with many unexpected and some tragic events and its difficult to say precisely what sort of an impact this will end up having.

Poll of polls with two days to go

The poll put the Liberal Democrats up two points on 8%, with Ukip and the SNP unchanged on 5%, the Greens on 2% and Plaid Cymru on 1%.

While Opinium offered good news for Mrs May, a Survation poll for Good Morning Britain found the Conservative lead over Labour slashed from 17 points to just one over the course of the last month, with the Tories on 41.5% compared with Labour on 40.4%. The Liberal Democrats were on 6% and Ukip on 3%.

CON Lead Over LAB Drops 16 points In a Month: CON 42*% -2 LAB 40% +3 LD 6% -3 UKIP 3% -1 Others 9% (+2) Details: https://t.co/FU39sxUoGq  Survation. (@Survation) June 6, 2017

A daily constituency-by-constituency estimate by pollster YouGov suggested the Conservatives could emerge from the June 8 election with 304 Commons seats  down 26 from the end of the previous parliament  compared with Labours 266 (up 37), with the Scottish National Party on 46 (down eight) and the Lib Dems on 12 (up three).

This result would deny any party an absolute majority, which requires 323 MPs  assuming Sinn Fein sticks to its policy of not taking up seats.

Theresa May still leads Jeremy Corbyn as best PM 49% to 34% https://t.co/RqV0I89lA7  Savanta ComRes (@SavantaComRes) June 3, 2017

The YouGov model, which draws on survey data and analysis of key demographics, previous voting behaviour and likely turnout, has consistently shown stronger results for Labour than polls carried out under more conventional methods.

A Press Association poll of polls taking in 11 results from the past week put the Conservatives on 44%, seven points clear of Labour on 37%, with the Liberal Democrats on 8%, Ukip on 4% and the Greens on 2%.

If this is the result on Thursday, the Tories could expect 347 MPs (up 17), with Labour on 223 (down six), the SNP on 48 (down six), the Liberal Democrats on 10 (up one), Plaid Cymru on three (unchanged) and Greens on one (unchanged).

In answer to a question regularly asked: No evidence to suggest that rain on election day will have significant impact on result. #GE2017  Joe Twyman (@JoeTwyman) June 6, 2017

Opinium carried out an online survey of 3,002 UK adults aged 18 and over between June 4 and 6. Results have been weighted to representative criteria of the UK.

Survation polled 1,103 UK residents aged 18 and over by telephone on June 2 and 3. Data was weighted to be representative of all UK adults.

YouGovs daily update included 7,380 interviews conducted on June 5 as part of 53,241 in the previous seven days.
Cheick Tiotes family remain in the dark over what caused his sudden and tragic death at the age of just 30.

It was announced on Monday that the former Newcastle and Ivory Coast midfielder had collapsed while training with Chinese club Beijing Enterprises, but the cause is as yet unexplained with a post-mortem examination still to take place.

Press Association Sport understands Tiotes family is heading out to China after receiving the shock news in the hope of receiving some answers.

Cheick Tiote

We thank the many clubs, players, fans and wider sporting community for their kind messages following Cheick Tiote's tragic passing. #NUFC pic.twitter.com/4JMikTxEtT  Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) June 6, 2017

The players agent, Emanuele Palladino, is also due to fly to Beijing to offer his assistance with arrangements.

Tiote, a Muslim observing Ramadan, had been with his new club since February after ending a six-and-a-half-year stay at St James Park.

His death sparked an out-pouring of affection on Tyneside for a man who had become something of a peripheral figure in the months immediately before his departure, but one who initially made a significant impact following his 3.5million arrival from Dutch club FC Twente in August 2010.

He helped Newcastle re-establish themselves in the Premier League in their first season back following promotion, and starred alongside Yohan Cabaye as they secured a surprise fifth-placed finish 12 months later.
A man has died after a tree fell on his car as high winds and heavy rain battered Britain.

The 48-year-old, from Crondall, died after the incident just a short distance from the village on the A287 shortly before 7.20am on Tuesday, Hampshire Police said.

It came as the UK was hit by 50mph winds and more than two inches of rain in some places.

Branches of a tree on a car and bus, in Waterloo, London, following heavy rainfall (Yui Mok/PA)

Inspector Simon Hills said: Part of the investigation will be to determine if the weather was a contributing factor.

The Met Office said a yellow warning for high winds was in place for the whole of England and Wales except the north east for Tuesday, with a separate rain warning for north and east Scotland running until noon on Wednesday.

Elsewhere, the heavy rain and wind led to chaos in London, with multiple train delays and tree branches falling on a car and bus near Waterloo station.

Take care this evening in the #rain a yellow severe weather warning is in place https://t.co/smXo3BIiGH Stay #weatheraware pic.twitter.com/JrQHdZMOBt  Met Office (@metoffice) June 6, 2017

Former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg arrived late at a campaign event after the train he was on hit a fallen tree at high speed while leaving Derby.

Mr Clegg was nearly an hour behind schedule for a joint appearance with Tim Farron, his successor as Liberal Democrat leader, in Sheffield because of the incident.

The ex-deputy PM told the Press Association: As the train was speeding out of Derby, there was quite a sort of shuddering impact because the train hit what I assume was quite a large tree across the track.

So the train was stopped until the tree was removed and disgorged from between the wheels of the front carriage and then we moved on, so all was well and nobody was hurt.

The first preview day of the Chatsworth Flower Show in the nearby Peak District part of Derby was also forced to shut early.

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) said it planned to open the sell-out show on Wednesday, when the public get their first chance to visit.

The Met Office wind warning is in force until 10pm and warns of gusts of up to 60mph possible in coastal and hilly areas.

It added: Expect some localised transport disruption, with some trees perhaps uprooted. Large waves and spray will affect some coasts.

Meteorologist Emma Sharples said: There will be less gusty winds on Wednesday, but Thursday and Saturday will bring unsettled weather.

So far, 61.6 mm (2.5in) has fallen in areas of high ground, in particular Cumbria and Snowdonia.
Unseeded Latvian teenager Jelena Ostapenko feels anything can happen after she battled through the rain delays to beat former world number one Caroline Wozniacki and secure a place in the semi-finals of the French Open.

Ostapenko had struggled against the wind during the opening set on Court Suzanne Lenglen but the 19-year-old rallied in the second set, breaking the world number 12 twice as she moved 5-2 ahead before rain forced the players off.

Following a delay of the best part of three hours, the teenager closed out the set on her serve to level.

Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko celebrates winning her quarterfinal match of the French Open tennis tournament against Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki in three sets (Petr David Josek/AP)

Teenage Dream.



Ostapenko makes first Major SF ousting Wozniacki 4-6 6-2 6-2.#RG17 pic.twitter.com/fg8QUD0NK8  Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 6, 2017

Wozniacki, who has never made the semi-finals of the French Open, led 2-1 again in the decider before another rain break.

Ostapenko, though, produced the required resolve when play resumed, with a double break putting her on the brink of victory which she delivered when holding her serve to love.

The elation of the 19-year-old was clear as the feat of her achievement in reaching a first Grand Slam semi-final began to sink in, after a 4-6 6-2 6-2 win over the 11th seed in just under two hours on court.

Ostapenko, who had defeated Australian Samantha Stosur in the last 16, said: When I came here I didnt expect I am going to be in the semis, but I was playing better and better every match so if I keep it up, I think anything can happen.

Raining again  Eleanor Crooks (@EleanorcrooksPA) June 6, 2017

I have, though, to take one step at a time. I am still in the semi-final and it is going to be a hard match, so I just have to go out there and do my best.

There were, though, tears of disappointment over on Court Philippe Chatrier, where Kristina Mladenovics hopes of becoming a first French champion since Mary Pierce in 2000 evaporated as she was beaten 6-4 6-4 by Timea Bacsinszky, the number 30 seed from Switzerland.

Mladenovic had beaten defending champion Garbine Muguruza in the previous round, but there was to be no repeat as Bacsinszky made the most of the testing conditions.

The world number 14 fought back the tears as she left the court, with French hopes now left to rest with Caroline Garcia, who faces world number three Karolina Pliskova on Wednesday, while Elina Svitolina of Ukraine plays Romanian number three seed Simona Halep.

 2e demi-finale en Grand Chelem pour @TimeaOfficial 



 Les 2 a Roland-Garros !



Bacsinszky d. Mladenovic 6-4 6-4 to reach #RG17 SFs! pic.twitter.com/tbwypj6HrD  Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 6, 2017

Bacsinszky and Ostapenko are set to meet on Thursday  which will be both players birthday  with a place in the final at stake.

Ostapenko said: We are good friends, because we played the doubles in China last year, and thats how I got to know her, she is a really nice person.

To play semi-final of Roland Garros on your birthday, I think its really nice. I actually didnt expect that it would be here in Paris (for my birthday), but I am going to enjoy it and I will have (birthday celebration) plans after the tournament.

Wozniacki, though, will now regroup as focus starts to turn towards Wimbledon and then the hard-court finale to the season.

First Latvian woman to advance to a semifinal at #RolandGarros in the Open Era  #RG17 pic.twitter.com/3uygPQRATp  Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 6, 2017

Bacsinszky, meanwhile, can now look forward to a second French Open semi-final in three years.

She said: The magic has been happening for me here always  even the first time I came here as a little kid. I am still finding out why. I have some ideas, but Im still not 100 per cent sure.

Mladenovic tried to look on the positives of her French Open campaign, which at one point had been in doubt because of a back problem.

I had so many great moments on the court, big wins and played a great game, she said.

As a result of the rain delays, Tuesdays scheduled mens quarter-finals involving Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal were postponed until Wednesday morning.
The Conservatives have launched a fresh attack on Jeremy Corbyn following a report that he addressed a rally attended by members of the extremist al-Muhajiroun group.

Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon said Mr Corbyns appearance at the Trafalgar Square rally 15 years ago showed he was unfit to be prime minister.

However, Labour said Mr Corbyn could not be held responsible for all the views of the thousands of people who attended the event in support of Palestinian rights and that he condemned al-Muhajiroun in the strongest possible terms.

Result projection based on latest regional and national polls graphic

Sir Michaels comments came after the Guido Fawkes website posted a link to a report of the event in May 2002 by the left-wing Weekly Worker.

It noted that there had been many Muslim contingents mostly from the mainstream, who were at pains to distance themselves from the hard-line Islamists of the Hamas/Al Qaida type.

However, it said there were also a number of ultra-reactionaries from organisations such as al-Muhajiroun, who chanted support for Osama bin Laden and gas, gas Tel Aviv.

Two would-be suicide posers were dressed in combat fatigues with a bomb strapped to their waists, it said.

How the poll of polls has changed graphic

This section accounted for no more than 200-300, but they made a noise far out of proportion to their numbers.

Sir Michael said: Jeremy Corbyn wants to be prime minister in just two days, but this latest revelation about his association with extremists shows exactly why he is unfit to lead the country. He has a long track-record of siding with people who want to damage and attack the UK and there can be no excuse for his decision to address this rally.

A Labour spokesman said: Jeremy addressed a broad-based rally in support of Palestinian rights. It was a public event and he was in no way responsible for the views of the thousands of attendees.

Jeremy condemns al-Muhajiroun in the strongest possible terms.
Sir Ben Ainslie hopes to see Team New Zealand back in the water to complete the Americas Cup challenger semi-final after their boat capsized during the run-in to Tuesdays second race in Bermuda.

After winning the first race against Great Britains Land Rover BAR syndicate to move 3-0 ahead in the first-to-five contest, the New Zealanders, who had lost the start, were on the first reach when, under strong winds, the boat rose up on its foils and plunged forwards into the Great Sound.

Race organisers confirmed all of the crew were accounted for and unhurt as Team New Zealand were left to assess the damage to the catamaran, which was eventually brought back upright and then towed to the shore base.

Emirates Team New Zealand capsizes during an America's Cup challenger semifinal against Great Britains Land Rover BAR on the Great Sound in Bermuda (Ricardo Pinto/ACEA via AP)

BAR were awarded the race win as a result of the incident, which now sees them trail 3-1.

The winners of the series are set to progress to the challenger final and whoever wins that takes on defending champions Team USA for the Americas Cup itself.

The Great Britain boat had suffered a broken wing on the first day of the semi-final, which saw the team retire in the opening race and then having to forfeit the second.

Ainslie hopes Team New Zealand will be able to renew their rivalry out on the water.

Unbelievable day of racing in ferocious conditions. Glad all are ok on @EmiratesTeamNZ, the fight continues for @LandRoverBAR #americascup https://t.co/wXAzO8na0X  Ben Ainslie (@AinslieBen) June 6, 2017

All of us sitting here are not going to pass criticism  these boats are incredibly hard to sail and these things can happen  thank God most importantly everyone is fine on the boat, Ainslie said at a press conference broadcast via the official Americas Cup YouTube channel.

I am sure they will recover from that and be out racing tomorrow or the next day.

Team New Zealand helmsman Peter Burling told a press conference the capsize was was fully our error as the crew were trying to get off the start clean, but also confirmed there were no injuries.

Burling, though, believes the fair bit of damage to the AC50  which appeared to include a top section of the wing smashed  was repairable and expects to be able to resume racing should it go ahead on Wednesday if the weather conditions permit.

A forecast for stronger winds could see racing cancelled, and therefore buy Team New Zealand some extra time for any running repairs.

Burling said: We will bounce back from this, as team this will really pull us together.

Despite the problems suffered by Team New Zealand, Ainslie was happy overall with the progress of his crew as BAR eye a recovery.

It was unbelievable racing in gusts up to 27-28 knots. Certainly, in thirty years of racing boats, it was the most full-on, exhilarating moment Ive ever had. It was incredible out there, the five-time Olympic champion said, quoted on the BAR website.

In the other semi-final series, Team Japan won both runs against Swedens Artemis Racing to move 3-1 ahead.
Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale was set to drop her partys opposition to a second independence referendum in the immediate aftermath of the UKs decision to quit the European Union, Nicola Sturgeon claimed.

The SNP leader and First Minister said Ms Dugdale had told her that the vote for Brexit in June 2016 changed everything and that Labour should stop opposing a referendum.

Ms Sturgeon made the claim as party leaders north of the border went head to head in the final TV debate of the General Election campaign.

Kezia Dugdale said Labour should drop opposition to #ScotRef on the morning after the #EUref, why is she opposing it now? #ScotDebates #GE17 pic.twitter.com/BYcm97x1DQ  The SNP (@theSNP) June 6, 2017

Afterwards Ms Dugdale stated on Twitter:

Any suggestion that I ever said to Sturgeon that I'd change Labour's position on #indyref2 is a categoric lie + shows how desperate she is  Kezia Dugdale (@kezdugdale) June 6, 2017

The showdown took place less than 36 hours before polling opens on Thursday, and saw Ms Sturgeon, Ms Dugdale, Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson and Willie Rennie of the Scottish Liberal Democrats clash on issues including Brexit, security and the so-called rape clause.

But some of the most heated exchanges in the STV Scotland Debates programme were about the issue of independence, with the Scottish Government having already put forward plans to hold another referendum at the end of the Brexit process.

Almost two-thirds (62%) of Scots wanted the UK to stay in the European Union (EU) and Ms Sturgeon claimed in the wake of that vote that the Scottish Labour leader had told her she thought her party should drop its opposition to a second independence referendum.

With Dugdale telling Sturgeon she'd support #indyref2 it's clear that only Conservative MPs will protect the Union.#ScotDebates  Scottish Conservatives (@ScotTories) June 6, 2017

The First Minister said: I respect the fact that many people disagree with me on a referendum and independence but I also believe that Scotland needs to have a choice at the right time about our future, because the consequences of not having a choice are that we may have to accept a disastrous Brexit that will put tens of thousands of Scottish jobs on the line.

She told Ms Dugdale: You used to agree with me on that Kezia. You and I spoke the day after the EU referendum and you told me then you thought the change taken by Brexit meant that you thought Labour should stop opposing a referendum.

Youve changed your mind but why should everybody else in Scotland be denied a choice?

Ms Davidson asked the First Minister: Did you just tell people you had a private conversation with Kez Dugdale last June where she said she was going to drop Labours opposition to independence?

KD: Today a poll showed that 62 percent of Scots believe Nicola Sturgeon's top priority is independence. #ScotDebates #GE2017 pic.twitter.com/cSXDMxLOUg  Scottish Labour (@ScottishLabour) June 6, 2017

Ms Sturgeon replied: She said that she thought Brexit changed everything and she didnt think Labour could any longer go on opposing a second independence referendum.

Ms Dugdale later insisted it was nonsense to suggest she would do anything other than fight for Scotland to remain within the UK.

Asked about her tete-a-tete with the First Minister, Ms Dugdale told the audience: We did speak on the phone after the European Union referendum result to share how devastated we were about it because of the damage it was going to do to Scotlands economy and to future jobs.

The idea that I would do anything other than protect the United Kingdom and fight for us to remain within the UK is absolute nonsense.

But Ms Sturgeon claimed: I know what was said. Im not having a go at you, Kezia, youre entitled to change your mind.

I think what youre not entitled to do, though, is to always be having a go at me just for wanting to give people in Scotland a choice.

There were also fiery exchanges when the SNP, Labour and Lib Dem leaders all attacked the Conservatives over the so-called rape clause.

UK Government welfare changes mean women will no longer be able to claim tax credits for more than two children, with an exception to the rule being applied for those who conceived as a result of rape.
US President Donald Trump has wished sacked FBI director James Comey luck ahead of his upcoming congressional testimony.

Mr Trump was asked about his message for Mr Comey as the president welcomed Republican congressional leaders to the White House.

He replied: I wish him luck.

Mr Comey is scheduled to testify on Thursday before the Senate intelligence committee.

(Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)

The appearance will mark Mr Comeys first public comments since Mr Trump abruptly sacked him last month.

Mr Trump has scheduled a speech addressing religious conservatives in the Faith and Freedom Coalition at around the same time as Mr Comeys testimony.

Since Mr Comeys sacking, allies of Mr Trump and Mr Comey have traded competing narratives about their interactions.

The president asserted that Mr Comey told him three times that he was not personally under investigation, while the former directors associates allege Mr Trump asked Mr Comey if he could back off an investigation into Michael Flynn, who was sacked as national security adviser because he misled the White House about his ties to Russia.

Democrats have accused Mr Trump of firing Mr Comey to upend the FBIs Russia probe, which focused largely on whether campaign aides coordinated with Moscow to hack Democratic groups during the election.

Days after Mr Comeys sacking, the Justice Department appointed a special counsel, former FBI director Robert Mueller, to oversee the federal investigation.

Despite the mounting legal questions now shadowing the White House, Mr Trump has needled Mr Comey publicly.

In a tweet days after the sacking, he appeared to warn Mr Comey that he might have recordings of their private discussions, something the White House has neither confirmed nor denied.
NICOSIA, June 5 (Reuters) - Peace talks on divided Cyprus are to resume in Geneva this month, the United Nations said on Monday, ending a stalemate on procedure which had threatened to derail two years of negotiations.

Talks between Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci had stalled last month in disagreement over the modalities of a conference in Geneva including Britain, Turkey and Greece and which would address security issues on a post-settlement Cyprus.

"The leaders and the Secretary-General agreed on the need to reconvene the Conference on Cyprus in June," a statement from the office of United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said.

Guterres met Anastasiades and Akinci in New York on Sunday night.

His adviser, Espen Barth Eide, would engage the sides and prepare a common document which would "guide discussions on security" with all participants.

In parallel, the United Nations said, the two Cypriot sides would continue discussions in Geneva on all other outstanding issues, starting with territory, property, governance and power-sharing.

"The leaders and the Secretary-General agreed that all issues will be negotiated interdependently and that nothing is agreed till everything is agreed," the United Nations said.

Cyprus was split in a Turkish invasion in 1974 triggered by a brief Greek-inspired coup.

Security issues related to the presence of up to 30,000 troops in the breakaway north of the island are a key sticking point in talks. Greek Cypriots perceive their ongoing presence post-settlement a threat, while Turkish Cypriots say the troops are necessary for their security (Reporting By Michele Kambas; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
By Ossian Shine

PARIS, June 5 (Reuters) - France's wait for a men's singles champion at Roland Garros will stretch into a 35th year, and three-times champion Mats Wilander says their current crop of stars are running out of time.

Wilander was beaten in the final by France's last champion, Yannick Noah, in 1983. The Swede also broke French hearts the last time a Frenchman reached the final, beating Henri Leconte in 1988.

"It is disappointing, for sure," Wilander told Reuters at Roland Garros. "If you look at those guys, (Jo-Wilfried) Tsonga, (Richard) Gasquet, (Gael) Monfils... look at their rankings... for no-one to get to the quarter-finals is really quite disappointing.

"I think they have underperformed, really. And then who is coming next? Lucas Pouille, okay... but right now this kind of golden generation has not got much more time. This group is not going to be around forever.

"You would have expected them to have maybe won a grand slam by now."

It is not only in Paris where the local men have suffered a barren run. In fact, since Noah's triumph, no Frenchman has won a grand slam singles title.

Twelfth-seed Tsonga lost in the first round, 24th-seed Richard Gasquet retired injured in the third round to fellow Frenchman and 15th-seed Monfils, who lost in the fourth round to Stan Wawrinka.

"OK, well Stan, that is tough," Wilander said of Monfils' defeat. "But you have to beat these guys if you are going to do it."

Wilander said he was surprised that none of the French players over the years had been able to harness the massive power of the Roland Garros crowd in the way Noah had done in '83.

"It knocked me off my feet," Wilander said of the crowd back then. "It is a tough situation, having a crowd like that against you.

"But then again, it can be hard to have them in your corner.

"Sometimes it is not easy when people around you want more for you than you want yourself, It can be hard to stay in the present." (Editing by Pritha Sarkar)
Its sooner rather than later that the U.S. Supreme Court is getting another crack at overruling a major decision on public-employee union fees for non-membersshould it choose to do so.



Two groups planned to file an appeal Tuesday on behalf of an Illinois state government employee who objects to paying so-called agency fees to his collective-bargaining agent, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees. The appeal is much farther along than a separate challenge to such fees filed by a group of California teachers earlier this year.

Last term, in Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association , the justices deadlocked 4-4 in a case in which nonunion teachers asked it to overrule Abood v. Detroit Board of Education , the 1977 Supreme Court cast that authorized public employee unions to charge service fees to employees in the bargaining unit who refuse to join.

This case presents the same question presented in Friedrichs: should Abood be overruled and public-sector agency fee arrangements declared unconstitutional under the First Amendment? says the appeal filed by the Liberty Justice Center , based in Chicago, and the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation , based in Springfield. Va.

The plaintiff in the case is Mark Janus, an employee of the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, who has $44.58 deducted from his paycheck every month to cover the collective-bargaining fees of AFSCME.

Janus and two other state employees who object to the union fees had intervened in a lawsuit brought by Gov. Bruce Rauner, a Republican who has sought by legislative and legal means to upend the status quo in public employment in the state, as has occurred in nearby states such as Michigan and Wisconsin. The suit seeks to overrule Abood and have Illinois public-sector agency law declared unconstitutional.

The governor was dismissed from the suit for lack of standing, and some of the other plaintiffs fell by the wayside because of other issues. Both a federal district court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, in Chicago, dismissed the lawsuit.

Judge Richard A. Posner of the 7th Circuit said that neither the district court nor this court can overrule Abood, and it is Abood that stands in the way of [Januss] claim.

In their appeal to the Supreme Court in Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Council 31 , the two groups backing the case argue that it would make a good vehicle for the Supreme Court to use to finally put Abood to rest.

The conventional wisdom after the arguments in Friedrichs was that the court was prepared to overrule Abood. But Justice Antonin Scalia died soon after those arguments, leading to the 4-4 deadlock which allowed court rulings upholding Californias agency-fee law to remain in place. The anti-union groups are essentially betting that new Justice Neil M. Gorsuch would be likely to side with them.

The new challenge to Californias law was filed in February by a group of teachers who object to paying agency fees. But the Illinois case involving state employees has beaten that case to the Supreme Court, and the courts decision would likely apply to all public-employee unions.

It is virtually certain that the justices wont decide until next term whether to grant review of the Illinois case.
DUBAI, June 5 (Reuters) - Kuwait's emir urged Qatar's Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani on Monday to calm tensions with allies and refrain from escalating the worst diplomatic rift among Gulf Arab states.

Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah "expressed his wish" that Qatari ruler "work on easing tensions and refrain from taking any decision that might cause escalation", the Kuwait state news agency Kuna said.

Al-Sabah called on Tamim to give efforts at mediation a chance to contain differences, Kuna said, adding the two leaders spoke over a phone call. (Reporting By Aziz El Yaakoubi, editing by Larry King)
By Julie Ingwersen

CHICAGO, June 5 (Reuters) - U.S. spring wheat futures traded on the Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGEX) closed higher on Monday for a fourth straight session on fears of hot, dry weather in the northern Plains, while corn and soybean futures ended fractionally higher.

MGEX July spring wheat ended up 5-1/4 cents at $5.89 per bushel and Chicago Board of Trade July wheat settled unchanged at $4.29-1/2.

CBOT July corn ended up 1/4 cent at $3.73 a bushel while July soybeans finished up 3/4 cent at $9.22 a bushel.

MGEX spring wheat futures were a bright spot in an otherwise choppy grains sector, climbing on weather worries at a time when traders are concerned about supplies of high-protein wheat.

About one-quarter of North Dakota, the top U.S. spring wheat producer, is under a moderate drought, according to the latest weekly U.S. Drought Monitor report. Forecasts called for warm weather in the coming days.

"Light and scattered showers are possible across the northern Plains late (Tuesday) and Wednesday, but should not lead to any significant improvement in soil moisture. Above-normal temperatures in the northern Plains over the next week will only worsen dryness," MDA Weather Services said in a note to clients.

Temperatures in Aberdeen, South Dakota, reached a record-high 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 degrees Celsius) on Friday, the National Weather Service said.

After the markets closed, the U.S. Department of Agriculture rated 55 percent of the U.S. spring wheat crop in good to excellent condition, down from 62 percent a week earlier. Analysts surveyed by Reuters had expected a drop of one percentage point, to 61 percent good-to-excellent.

CBOT wheat settled flat, pressured by the start of the U.S. winter wheat harvest. The harvest was 10 percent complete by Sunday, the USDA said.

CBOT soybean futures edged higher after a seesaw session, supported by technical buying and fund short-covering after the supplement to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission's weekly Commitments of Traders report showed that funds expanded big net short positions in soybeans and corn.

Large speculators stretched their net short in CBOT soybean futures to 113,391 contracts in the week to May 30, the CFTC report showed, the widest since March 2016.

A large net short position leaves the market vulnerable to bouts of short-covering.

Also bullish, the USDA said private exporters sold 120,000 tonnes of U.S. soybeans to unknown destinations.

The USDA said the U.S. soybean crop was 83 percent planted as of Sunday, ahead of the five-year average of 79 percent.

Corn ratings improved. The government rated 68 percent of the U.S. corn crop as good to excellent, up from 65 percent a week earlier and above an average of analyst expectations of 67 percent.

(Additional reporting by Nigel Hunt in London and Naveen Thukral in Signapore; editing by James Dalgleish and G Crosse)
MELBOURNE, June 6 (Reuters) - London copper was steady on Tuesday, supported by a weaker dollar, although signs of slowing growth in China and the U.S kept a lid on prices.

FUNDAMENTALS

* COPPER: London Metal Exchange copper edged up 0.1 percent to $5,635 by 0118 GMT, following 0.7 percent losses from the previous session. Prices last week fell to $5,575 a tonne, the weakest in around a fortnight and have remained stuck in range for the past month.

* SHANGHAI: Shanghai Futures Exchange copper eased 0.3 percent to 45,110 yuan ($6,631) a tonne. Shfe zinc fell 2 percent, tracking weakness in steel.

* CHINA ECONOMY: China's economy is likely to have remained on a stable footing in May, buoyed by solid gains in trade and investment as economic ties with the United States take a positive turn and infrastructure spending cushions domestic growth.

* US ECONOMY: U.S. services sector activity slowed in May as new orders tumbled, but a jump in employment to a near two-year high pointed to sustained labor market strength despite a deceleration in job growth last month.

* ZAMBIA COPPER: Zambia has detained 31 Chinese nationals for illegal mining in the African country's copper belt but has failed to provide strong proof of their crimes, a senior Chinese diplomat said as he lodged a complaint.

* TRADING PLATFORM: A new company, NFEx Markets, plans to launch a base metals trading platform in the first quarter of next year that will mimic the London Metal Exchange's (LME) forward contracts, in an attempt to attract physical trade, the company said on Monday.

* For the top stories in metals and other news, click or

MARKETS NEWS

* Asian stocks retreated on Tuesday after Wall Street's stumble overnight, while oil inched up from the previous day losses as lower Libyan oil production assuaged concerns that the severing of ties with Qatar by other Arab states could impede a deal to cut crude output.

DATA/EVENTS

0830 Euro zone Sentix Index June

0900 EZ Retail Sales MM Apr

0900 EZ Retail Sales YY Apr

PRICES

Three month LME copper

Most active ShFE copper

Three month LME aluminium

Most active ShFE aluminium

Three month LME zinc

Most active ShFE zinc

Three month LME lead

Most active ShFE lead

Three month LME nickel

Most active ShFE nickel

Three month LME tin

Most active ShFE tin

ARBS ($1 = 6.8030 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Melanie Burton; Editing by Richard Pullin)
JERUSALEM, June 6 (Reuters) - A security guard shot and killed an Arab-Israeli citizen as hundreds of protesters stormed a police station in central Israel overnight and set fire to vehicles, police said on Tuesday.

The violence erupted after police officers in the Arab town of Kafr Qassem attempted to apprehend a suspect wanted for questioning, spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.

About 50 residents confronted the officers and hurled rocks at them, Rosenfeld added.

Hundreds of residents, some of them masked, later broke through the gates of the local police station and tried to enter the building, he said.

"The security guard at the police station felt his life was in danger and opened fire," Rosenfeld said.

He said one of the protesters was critically wounded and died in hospital.

Television footage distributed by the police showed rocks strewn along the road and three vehicles on fire.

Kafr Qassem's mayor, Adel Badir, said the guard had used excessive force. "I don't understand how the security guard could say he felt his life was in danger if he had police officers with him," Badir told Army Radio.

Badir said tensions with police have been high in recent weeks, because residents feel officers have been ignoring a rise in violent crime. (Reporting by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
By Rozanna Latiff and Syed Raza Hassan

KUALA LUMPUR/KARACHI, June 6 (Reuters) - Non-Arab nations in Asia, such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Pakistan, are getting caught in the middle after Saudi Arabia led a clampdown on Qatar, accusing the tiny emirate of supporting pro-Iranian Islamist militants.

Malaysia had rolled out the red carpet for Saudi Arabia's King Salman at the end of February, the first by a Saudi king to Malaysia in more than a decade. Then, the following month, Kuala Lumpur signed a defence cooperation agreement with Qatar.

A source close to the Malaysian government said that the recent efforts to strengthen ties with Qatar, including a visit by the foreign minister last month, will probably now be put on the backburner.

"We have more to lose by siding with Qatar," said the source, who requested anonymity.

On Monday, a half-dozen countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Bahrain, cut diplomatic ties with the energy-rich emirate, accusing it of backing Tehran and Islamist groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood. Qatar has said it does not support terrorism and the rupture was founded on "baseless fabricated claims."

Doha now faces an acute economic plight as it relies on Gulf neighbors for 80 percent of its food imports.

The diplomatic clamp down on Qatar is seen as an indirect jab at Iran, and leaves non-Arab Muslims countries in an "uncomfortable position", according to James Dorsey, a senior fellow at Singapores S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS).

"The Saudis view Iran as the foremost terrorist threat rather than the Islamic State and a lot of non-Arab Muslims countries ... would probably not agree with that," Dorsey told Reuters.

PAKISTAN'S OFFICIAL SILENCE

Indonesia, Malaysia and Pakistan are predominantly Sunni-Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia. Jakarta has sometimes tried to play a mediating role when inter-Arab tensions have flared, particularly between Saudi Arabia and predominantly Shi'ite Muslim Iran.

Jakarta's Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi received a phone call from Irans Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday who wanted to discuss the rift, Foreign Ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir said.

Indonesia has called for reconciliation and dialogue in the latest diplomatic clash.

The dilemmas are particularly acute for nuclear-armed Pakistan, which has the world's sixth-largest army and the largest military in the Muslim world.

Sunni-majority Pakistan maintains deep links with the establishment in Riyadh, which provided Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif with political asylum after he was ousted in a 1999 military coup.

But with a large Shi'ite minority and a shared western border with Iran, Pakistan has a lot to lose from rising sectarian tensions. In 2015, Pakistan declined a Saudi call to join a Riyadh-led military intervention in Yemen to fight Iranian-allied insurgents.

Pakistan has maintained official silence about the latest rift in the Arab world, loathe to be seen taking sides between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Pakistan also has close ties with Qatar itself, including a 15-year agreement signed last year to import up to 3.75 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas a year from the emirate, a major step in filling Pakistans energy shortfall.

"Pakistan has to act very carefully. In my opinion, there is only one option for Pakistan: to stay neutral," said retired army Brigadier Shaukat Qadir, now an independent risk and security analyst.

ISLAMIC MILITARY ALLIANCE

Pakistans recently retired army chief, General Raheel Sharif, traveled to Riyadh in April to lead the Saudi-led Islamic Military Alliance. The stated mission of the multinational alliance is to fight terrorism but it is increasingly seen as anti-Iran.

"There are rumors flying around that Raheel Sharif is pulling out of the Saudi-led military alliance. I hope they are true and he comes back soon," said Qadir.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in January 2016 visited both Riyadh and Tehran along with Shariff, who was then the army chief, in an attempt to bridge the deepening chasm.

Relations between Malaysia and Saudi Arabia have been in the spotlight over the last two years after Saudi Arabia was dragged into a multi-billion dollar corruption scandal at Malaysian state fund lMDB, founded by Najib.

Najib has denied any wrongdoing in the money-laundering case which is now being investigated by several countries including the U.S, Switzerland and Singapore.

During King Salman's visit to Malaysia, Saudi oil giant Aramco agreed to buy a $7 billion equity stake in Malaysian state energy firm Petronas' major refining and petrochemical project.

But Qatar has also invested between $12 billion and $15 billion in Malaysia, according to media reports.

RSIS' Dorsey said non-Arab Muslim countries like Malaysia would be "put on the spot" if the Saudis demand that its trade partners pick a side.

"They (Malaysia) can say either I do business with you, or say I'm not going to make that choice. Then the question would be how would the Saudis or the UAE respond to that," Dorsey said. "But we're not there yet, and there's no certainty that it will get there."

(Additional reporting by John Chalmers, Joseph Sipalan, Kay Johnson and Fergus Jensen; Editing by Bill Tarrant)
MANILA, June 6 (Reuters) - Philippine police on Tuesday arrested a man who said he was the father of two brothers whose Maute group of Islamist militants led the seizure of southern Marawi City two weeks ago.

The man, who identified himself as Cayamora Maute, was in a vehicle along with a son-in-law, a daughter-in-law and a woman believed to be his wife, when it was stopped at a checkpoint in Davao City, regional police official Alexander Tagum told a news conference.

"As a patriarch and the father of the Maute brothers...I guess he can still persuade his sons to stop the fighting in Marawi and once and for all surrender to the government," regional military spokesman Brigadier General Gilbert Gapay told the same briefing.

The May 23 occupation of Marawi City by hundreds of militants who had pledged allegiance to the ultra-radical group, Islamic State, triggered a brutal urban battle with military forces that entered its third week on Tuesday.

Military officials believe the Maute brothers - Omarkhayam and Abdullah - are holed up in a built-up area of Marawi City. The military earlier said it was investigating a report that one of them had been killed in the fighting. (Reporting by Karen Lema; Writing by John Chalmers; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
By Girish Gupta and Andrew Cawthorne

CARACAS, June 6 (Reuters) - Venezuela's security forces arrested at least 14 army officers on suspicion of "rebellion" and "treason" in the first week of protests against President Nicolas Maduro's government in early April, according to military documents obtained by Reuters.

The soldiers, who include colonels and captains, are being held in Ramo Verde prison in the hills outside Caracas, according to lists being circulated within the military.

The documents said their cases were being "processed", and it was not clear if they had been formally charged.

The lists emerged after allegations by Venezuelan opposition leaders that a purge is underway within the military to quash dissent over the handling of massive demonstrations against the socialist government since early April.

The documents seen by Reuters only went up to April 8, after which opposition leaders and rights activists say many more soldiers have been rounded up.

The military's National Guard unit has been at the forefront of policing the protests, using tear gas, water cannons, and rubber bullets against masked youths who hurl stones, Molotov cocktails and excrement against security lines.

At least 65 people have died, with victims including government and opposition supporters, bystanders and members of the security forces. Hundreds more have been injured.

Opposition leaders say there is increasing disquiet within the military over the use of force against protesters who are demanding general elections, foreign humanitarian aid and freedom for jailed activists.

In public, top military officers have backed Maduro's accusation that an "armed insurrection" is being mounted by violent conspirators seeking a coup with U.S. backing.

But privately some National Guard members have complained of exhaustion and disillusionment.

ASYLUM REQUESTS

A few soldiers have gone public with their discontent.

Three lieutenants fled to Colombia and requested asylum last month, prompting the Venezuelan government to demand their extradition to face charges of coup plotting.

Opposition media last week published a video purporting to be a Venezuelan naval sergeant expressing his dissent and urging colleagues to disobey "abusive" and "corrupt" superiors.

"I reject Mr. Nicolas Maduro Moros as an illegitimate president and refuse to recognize his regime and dictatorial government," Giomar Flores said in a seven-minute video, wearing a white naval uniform and black beret next to a Venezuelan flag.

Reuters could not confirm his case or whereabouts.

Neither the Information Ministry nor the Armed Forces responded to requests for information.

Late leader Hugo Chavez turned the military into a bastion of "Chavismo" after a short-lived coup against him in 2002.

Though Maduro, 54, does not hail from the army as Chavez did, he has kept ties strong, placing current or former soldiers in a third of ministerial posts, and giving them control over key sectors like food distribution.

Opposition leaders have been openly calling for the armed forces to disobey Maduro and side with their demands, but the top brass have repeatedly pledged loyalty. (Writing by Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Brian Ellsworth and Jonathan Oatis)
NIAMEY, June 6 (Reuters) - A court in Niger handed an opposition leader a three-month suspended sentence on Tuesday for agitating for the overthrow of government, a move his lawyer said was aimed at silencing its critics.

El Hadj Amadou Djibo, the head of a coalition of opposition parties, was arrested last month after calling on his allies to remain united against President Mahamadou Issoufou and force him from power by all legal means available.

"This is a way of silencing the opposition," Djibo's lawyer, Douleur Oumarou, told reporters after the verdict. "We are going to appeal."

Djibo was expected to be released from prison later on Tuesday.

In March, a court freed 15 civilians accused of complicity in an alleged December 2015 putsch against Issoufou. Nine military officers, including the alleged ringleader General Salou Souleymane, are still behind bars awaiting trial.

Issoufou has led Niger, a major uranium producer and Western ally against Islamists in the Sahara, since 2011. He won re-election in February 2016 in a run-off boycotted by the opposition, whose candidate had been jailed shortly before the first round. (Reporting by Boureima Balima; Writing by Aaron Ross; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
BEIRUT, June 6 (Reuters) - U.S.-backed Syrian militias said on Tuesday they had launched a battle to free Raqqa, Islamic State's base of operations in Syria, attacking from the east, west and north of the city.

The Raqqa assault will pile more pressure on the jihadist group's self-declared caliphate as it faces defeat in the Iraqi city of Mosul and retreats across much of Syria.

Here are some facts about Raqqa:

THE CITY

Raqqa is Syria's sixth-largest city and sits on the River Euphrates around 90 km (56 miles) from the Turkish border in north central Syria.

It is 40 km downstream of the Tabqa dam, Syria's largest, behind which stretches Syria's largest lake, Lake Assad.

The hardline Sunni militant group overran Raqqa in January 2014, seizing control from rebel groups opposed to the rule of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

ITS PEOPLE

The United Nations said in March the city contains around 200,000 people, just under its pre-war population. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor estimates there are at least 150,000 civilians still there.

According to the U.S.-led coalition, 3,000-4,000 Islamic State fighters could be holed up in Raqqa city, erecting defences against the anticipated assault.

The coalition says it is careful to avoid civilian casualties in its bombing runs in Syria and Iraq but the U.N. human rights office has raised concerns about increasing reports of civilian deaths.

Islamic State militants have reportedly forbidden civilians from leaving, it said.

Islamic State has imposed its very strict interpretation of Islamic law on Raqqa's residents, carrying out regular public executions, lashings and violent punishments for infringements of their rule.

Tens of thousands of people have been displaced by fighting around Raqqa since late last year.

THE ANTI-IS OFFENSIVE

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias, have been closing in on Raqqa since launching their campaign to take the city in November 2016.

The United States-led coalition against Islamic State supports the SDF with air strikes and special forces on the ground.

For months, the SDF has encircled Raqqa from the north, east and west, facing tough resistance from the jihadists who have used the city as a hub for planning attacks abroad.

Now Islamic State's only means of crossing to its main territory south of the River Euphrates is by boat, after air strikes knocked out several bridges.

AFTER THE FIGHTING

The Raqqa campaign has been the source of tension in ties between the United States and NATO-ally Turkey. Possible Kurdish influence in the future running of the predominantly Arab city is sensitive both for residents and for Turkey.

The powerful Kurdish YPG militia is the SDF's key component and has become the main U.S. partner in the fight against Islamic State in northern Syria.

Turkey views the YPG as the Syrian extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has waged a three-decade insurgency within Turkey, and fears growing Kurdish ascendancy along its border. Ankara raised fierce objections last week when the United States said it started supplying arms to the YPG for the Raqqa assault.

The SDF has said it will hand control of Raqqa to a civilian council from the city once it has defeated Islamic State, echoing the pattern in other areas captured by the SDF from the militants.

Islamic State controls swathes of Syria's eastern deserts bordering Iraq and most of Deir al-Zor province, which would be its last major foothold in Syria after losing Raqqa.

The militants have made enemies of all sides involved in the six-year Syrian conflict, losing territory to various separate military campaigns over the past year.

HERITAGE

A modern-day provincial transport hub and market town, Raqqa city was built by the Abbasid Islamic Caliphate in the eighth century, serving as its capital at one point.

Raqqa has been inhabited since antiquity and contains many archeological and architectural sites of interest. The United Nations has said sites in and around the city have been extensively looted during the war and religious buildings have been damaged.

Islamic State released a video of them bombing a large part of the Uwais al-Qarani shrine complex in March 2014. (Reporting by Ellen Francis and Lisa Barrington; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
STOKE-ON-TRENT, England, June 6 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Tuesday she had raised "the question of terrorism" when she visited Saudi Arabia in April.

Asked whether the subject of the financing of terrorism was brought up when she met Saudi Arabia's leaders early in April, May said: "We talked to Saudi Arabia on a whole number of issues around the question of terrorism."

"Saudi Arabia is a country itself which has experienced terrorist attacks and many lives have been lost as a result of that. We have an important link with Saudi Arabia because, actually, action taken by Saudi Arabia has saved lives here in this country."

"We as a government have ensured that we have strengthened our ability to deal with terrorist finance through the changes we have put through in the criminal finances act." (Reporting by William James; writing by Elizabeth Piper; editing by Kate Holton)
Republican Gov. Sam Brownback threatened Tuesday morning to veto a tax hike bill that, in part, would provide schools with hundreds of millions more dollars to help satisfy a state supreme court ruling on school finance.

[UPDATED June 7, 10:00 a.m.: Since Tuesday, Brownback had followed through on his veto of the tax hike approved by state lawmakers, but proponents of the bill came up with enough votes to override the veto. The school funding formula revised under a separate bill and being funded by the tax hike will now have to pass muster with the state supreme court.]

Kansas legislature on Monday night passed two sweeping bills that would reverse a series of famous tax hikes and provide the states financially strained school districts with more than $293 million over the next two years.

The tax bill would raise $1.2 billion over two years by increasing income tax rates and ending an exemption for more than 330,000 farmers and business owners, according to the Associated Press. It would also provide more than $10 million in state scholarships for students in academically struggling schools to attend a school of their choice.

The tax bill would fund the new school funding formula bill, which is intended to more effectively distribute funding to close achievement gaps, an issue at the center of the long-running Gannon v. Kansas school finance case.

Because there arent enough votes in the legislature to override Brownbacks threatened veto, the legislature would likely have to go back to the drawing board on figuring out a way to satisfy an increasingly agitated supreme court before July 1. Brownback hasnt said whether he would veto the school funding formula bill and it wasnt clear whether the state would send an unfunded new funding formula to the court.

The court ruled earlier this year that the states school funding model short shrifted its academically struggling students by not providing enough resources to help them meet the most basic standards.

While the states educators and Democrats interpreted the ruling to mean that the state owes schools close to $400 million over the next two years, the states more-conservative legislators interpreted the ruling to mean that the legislature should more closely crack down on its academically wayward schools. Thats placed this year teacher tenure, academic standards, state takeover, and vouchers in the center of a years-long funding battle.

The state supreme court last year threatened to shut down the states public schools if the legislature didnt come up with a funding formula that more equitably distributed funds between districts.

The most recent fight in Topeka took place in late-night meetings in the capitols chambers and involved a host of committees in both the Senate and House. Legislators were trying to craft both an education bill and a tax plan that would both satisfy the court and its fiscally conservative basenot an easy task in Kansas.

Brownback earlier this year vetoed a similar income tax hike that wouldve brought more than $1 billion to the states strained coffers.

The legislature this past week was trying to avoid going into special session. This years session was the longest in state history.

Its wrong to put our kids, schools and communities through that risk, Sen. Lynn Rogers, a Witchita Democrat said of a potential school closing by the court.

Dont miss another State EdWatch post. Sign up here to get news alerts in your email inbox. And make sure to follow @StateEdWatch on Twitter for the latest news from state K-12 policy and politics.
WASHINGTON, June 6 (Reuters) - Mexican Economy Secretary Ildefonso Guajardo said on Tuesday that the North American Free Trade Agreement's rules of origin can be improved but denied that Mexico was a "back door" for Chinese goods to enter the United States.

Speaking in a live interview on CNBC, Guajardo also said he believed there were grounds to believe that NAFTA can be renegotiated to benefit the United States, Canada and Mexico.

He said, however, that "Plan B" for Mexico would be to revert to World Trade Organization tariff rates for exports to the United States such as the 2.5 percent tariff for passenger cars.

"Obviously, (it is) a little bit more expensive, but it's not the end of the world," he added.

He said that the Chinese content of cars traded between North American countries was very low, about 3 percent, largely using parts that are no longer produced in the region, such as flat panel display screens and other electronic items.

"This idea that Mexico is being used as a back door for Chinese imports into the U.S. is not the right one," he said.

Under the current NAFTA agreement, motor vehicles must have 62.5 percent North American content, a figure that U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has said is too low and allows for too much content from other regions to benefit from NAFTA tariff-free status.

Guajardo warned that raising the bar too high on North American content could make the region less competitive.

"We can make an effort to strengthen that, no question about it. But if you go too far, you may be shooting yourself in the foot, because you're losing competitiveness," he said.

Negotiations to modernize the 23-year-old NAFTA trade deal are expected to start after Aug. 16, at the conclusion of a U.S. government consultation period with lawmakers, industries and the public.

Guajardo also said that he and Ross were close to announcing an agreement on sugar trade between the two countries. (Reporting by David Lawder Editing by W Simon)
BEIRUT, June 6 (Reuters) - The Syrian army crossed into Raqqa province on Tuesday, capturing two villages from Islamic State, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, an advance coinciding with the start of a U.S.-backed assault on Raqqa city.

The Russian-backed Syrian army and allied militias advanced into Raqqa province from neighbouring Aleppo province where they have seized swathes of territory from Islamic State this year.

The villages seized - Khirbet Mohsen and Khirbet al-Saba - are about 80 km (50 miles) from Raqqa city and are located 7 km south of the main road linking Raqqa and Aleppo.

The U.S.-backed campaign to capture Raqqa is being fought by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance that includes the Kurdish YPG militia.

In May, the Syrian government described the Kurdish war with Islamic State as "legitimate" and said the military priorities for Damascus were Islamic State-held Deir al-Zor and the Badia region at the border with Jordan and Iraq. That suggests it does not intend to challenge the U.S.-backed campaign at Raqqa city. (Writing By Tom Perry; Editing by Janet Lawrence)
BRUSSELS, June 6 (Reuters) - Belgian police detained 12 people in connection with the Brussels bombings of March last year, after a series of home searches, federal prosecutors said in a statement.

Police carried out 14 house searches and a judge will decide in the coming hours whether the 12 people will be detained further, the statement said.

The Islamic State-inspired bombings at Brussels Airport and on the city's metro system in March 2016 killed 32 people. (Reporting by Robert-Jan Bartunek and Julia Fioretti; editing by Philip Blenkinsop and Robin Pomeroy)
By Marja Novak

LJUBLJANA, June 6 (Reuters) - The Slovenian Fiscal Council, a body that advises the government on public finances, said the government should increase efforts to reduce public debt while the country enjoys strong economic growth.

The Slovenian economy expanded rapidly after the country joined the European Union in 2004 and adopted the euro in 2007, but it was badly hit by the global financial crisis that began in 2008. It barely avoided an international bailout for its banks in 2013.

"(Public) spending has to be limited in a way to form reserves and speed up reduction of state debt," the council said in a report on Tuesday.

In the years that followed the onset of the financial crisis, Slovenia's public debt almost quadrupled, growing to 83 percent of GDP in 2015 from 21.8 percent in 2008.

The government plans to reduce debt to 77 percent of GDP this year from about 80 percent in 2016 and then over the years gradually bring it to below 60 percent of GDP, the maximum level allowed for euro zone members.

The council also said the latest figures show that Slovenia's GDP growth this year may be above 3.6 percent, as forecast by the government's macroeconomic institute in March, which could lead to overheating of the economy.

Last week, the statistics office reported Slovenia's GDP expanded by 5.3 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, the strongest growth in almost 10 years, mainly because of robust investment and exports.

(Reporting By Marja Novak, editing by Larry King)
June 6 (Reuters) - Iraq is not taking sides in the dispute that pits Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries against Qatar, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told a news conference on Tuesday in Baghdad.

"We are not part of these differences, we are keeping good relations with all the countries," he said.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed relations with Qatar over its alleged support of Iran and Islamist groups on Monday, in the worst split between powerful Arab states in decades.

Abadi did not comment on press reports that one of the elements of the dispute was money paid in April by Qatar to Iraqi Shi'ite pro-Iranian groups in order to free members of its ruling family kidnapped in Iraq in 2015.

He reiterated that his government aims to control the border area with Syria in coordination with the forces of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Iran.

"We have communications with the Syrian government to secure the east Syrian areas, and we have one objective, which is to eliminate Daesh," or Islamic State, he said.

His comment seemed to dismiss cooperation with the U.S.-backed Syrian opposition forces that are also fighting Islamic State on the other side of the border.

But he said that armed groups will not be allowed to cross from Iraq into Syria, in an apparent reference to Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias supporting Assad. "Entering Syria would create international complications we don't need," he said. (Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed; Writing by Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
BERLIN, June 6 (Reuters) - Germany's foreign minister said on Tuesday he would try to avoid damaging already strained relations with NATO partner Turkey during a withdrawal of German troops, as he did not want a mounting dispute to push Ankara into closer ties with Moscow.

Sigmar Gabriel said his officials would do their best not to escalate the situation as German troops left the Incirlik air base in southern Turkey - in reaction to Ankara's decision to restrict German lawmakers' access to the soldiers.

"Above all we should organise the withdrawal so that there is no megaphone diplomacy where we trade insults," Gabriel told Deutschlandfunk radio.

He said he had agreed with Chancellor Angela Merkel and Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen that the German cabinet would deal with the issue on Wednesday.

Von der Leyen said in a statement that the ministry was prepared to move the 280 German soldiers in Incirlik to an air base in Jordan, which will pause refueling missions by two to three weeks and surveillance flights by two to three months.

The issue has led to domestic tensions. Foreign ministry sources said parliament must not approve the redeployment since Incirlik was not specifically mentioned in the current mandate.

But Thomas Oppermann, who heads the parliamentary faction of the Social Democrats, junior partners in the coalition, and Left party lawmakers are demanding a vote.

Sevim Dagdelen, a Left party lawmaker, said Germany should bring its troops and equipment home instead of moving them to Jordan.

Dagdelen said she was concerned about Jordan's close ties to Qatar after several other large Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, severed relations with Qatar on Monday and accused it of support for Islamist militants.

Turkey's ties with Germany and other European Union states deteriorated sharply in the run-up to Turkey's April 16 referendum that handed Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan stronger presidential powers.

Germany, citing security concerns, banned some Turkish politicians from addressing rallies of expatriate Turks before the referendum. Ankara responded by accusing Berlin of "Nazi-like" tactics, drawing rebukes from Berlin.

Turkey has reignited a row over access to German forces on its territory by imposing new restrictions on German lawmakers visiting Incirlik, where German forces operate reconnaissance aircraft and refueling planes to support U.S.-led coalition operations against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

"We have no interest in pushing Turkey into a corner ... we don't want to push it towards Russia," Gabriel said.

One Western military official said the move could cost around 20 million euros ($22.53 million), and came at a sensitive time when the U.S.-led coalition was preparing a major offensive in Syria.

Turkey has been seeking to improve relations with Russia. Last month it agreed plans with Moscow and Tehran to reduce the fighting in Syria, and has been working to end economic barriers imposed after Turkey shot down a Russian plane in 2015.

($1 = 0.8876 euros) (Reporting by Madeline Chambers and Andrea Shalal; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Ken Ferris)
By Andrew Osborn and Dmitry Solovyov

MOSCOW, June 6 (Reuters) - Russia scrambled a fighter jet on Tuesday to intercept a nuclear-capable U.S. B-52 strategic bomber it said was flying over the Baltic Sea near its border, in an incident that had echoes of the Cold War.

The appearance of the B-52, a long-range bomber that first went into service in the 1950s, irked Moscow. A Russian Foreign Ministry official said the plane's appearance in Europe would not help ease tensions between the West and Russia. A former Russian Air Force commander called the move "disrespectful."

Russian air defence systems detected the U.S. bomber at around 1000 Moscow time as it was flying over neutral waters parallel to the Russian border and sent a Sukhoi Su-27 jet to intercept it, the Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement.

"The Russian SU-27 crew, having approached at a safe distance, identified the aircraft as an American B-52 strategic bomber and escorted it" until such time as it changed course and flew away from the border area, the ministry said.

Russia said the SU-27 took off from its Baltic Fleet air defence unit, which is based in the European exclave of Kaliningrad.

The U.S. military said its aircraft was in international airspace and declined immediate comment on the Russian plane's actions.

"We can confirm that the U.S. Air Force B-52 was operating in international airspace but we dont have any information to provide at this time regarding the behaviour of Russian aircraft," Air Force spokesman Colonel Patrick Ryder said.

NATO members such as Britain regularly report scrambling jets to intercept Russian nuclear-capable bombers flying close to their air space. It is less common for Russia to report using its fighters for the same reason.

In a separate incident, Russia said an MiG-31 jet fighter had intercepted a Norwegian patrol plane over the Barents Sea. Russia's Defence Ministry identified the plane as a P-3 Orion anti-submarine aircraft.

The Russian Defence Ministry complained that the Norwegian plane had flown close to Russia's state border with its transponders switched off. The Norwegian military confirmed the encounter, but said it was "normal."

Moscow was more put out by the B-52's appearance.

The state-backed Sputnik news agency cited a Foreign Ministry official, Mikhail Ulyanov, as saying Moscow believed a number of U.S. B-52s had recently been transferred from their base in Louisiana to Britain to take part in military exercises.

"The fact that NATO forces are converging near Russia's borders and carrying out military exercises supported by strategic bombers from the USA capable of carrying nuclear weapons hardly helps de-escalate tensions in Europe," Sputnik quoted Ulyanov as saying.

U.S. forces are engaged in various exercises with Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and other partner nations as part of the Saber Strike war games. The United States is also taking part in the annual BALTOPS naval training exercise in the Baltic Sea which runs until June 16. Pyotr Deinekin, a former Russian Air Force commander, was cited by the Interfax news agency as saying that he could not recall the last time a B-52 had flown over the Baltic Sea and that the incident raised troubling questions.

"Such behaviour does not deserve respect," said Deinekin, who said Russia needed to establish what weaponry the B-52 was carrying.

The B-52 was designed to attack Moscow's most vital targets via the North Pole in the event of a nuclear war when the Soviet Union still existed, Deinekin said.

"Strategic bombers should not fly so close to our land borders," he said. (Addiotnal reporting by Jack Stubbs in Moscow, Camilla Knudsen in Oslo and Arshad Mohammed in Washington; Editing by Larry King and Leslie Adler)
By William James and David Milliken

LONDON, June 6 (Reuters) - Police on Tuesday named the third of the jihadis who killed seven people in a knife and van attack in London, someone an Italian prosecutor said had been flagged to British authorities as a potential risk after he moved to England last year.

The attack has eclipsed other issues in the political campaign for Thursday's parliamentary election, with both the ruling Conservatives and opposition Labour Party battling to defend their records on security.

Prime Minister Theresa May, facing accusations she starved police of resources, said she could seek to overturn human rights protections that make it hard to deport or detain suspected militants when there is insufficient evidence to prosecute them.

The revelation that at least one of Saturday's attackers, Khuram Butt, was known to security services has raised concerns that they lack the resources to prevent attacks.

Butt, a 27-year-old British national born in Pakistan, had appeared in a British TV documentary broadcast last year called "The Jihadis Next Door".

Saturday night's rampage, in which the three men drove into pedestrians on London Bridge before stabbing people in the bustling Borough Market area, was Britain's third Islamist attack in as many months.

The identity of the third attacker was revealed by police on Tuesday as Youssef Zaghba, a 22-year-old who had not been a subject of interest for them or the domestic intelligence agency MI5.

But an Italian prosecutor said Zaghba, who had a Moroccan father and an Italian mother, had been stopped at Bologna airport in 2016 on suspicion of being on his way to Syria, and told police he wanted to be a terrorist.

The prosecutor said Italy had lacked the evidence to prosecute Zaghba, but had warned Britain about him.

Zaghba lived in Morocco for much of his life but had made short visits to Italy to see his mother in Bologna.

POLLS NARROWING

As details about the jihadists have emerged, May has faced questions about her record of overseeing cuts to police numbers when she was interior minister.

However, she received some comfort from the first major poll conducted after the attacks, which showed the Conservatives' lead over Labour widening by 1 percentage point to 7 percent.

"Labour's campaign surge appears to have crested as our final poll of the campaign is the first to see the Tory (Conservative) lead expand rather than contract," Opinium's head of political polling, Adam Drummond, said.

Earlier on Tuesday, a poll conducted by Survation for ITV before the London attack, had the Conservatives' lead over Labour narrowing to just one point from six points in the same poll a week earlier.

The prevailing view among pollsters remains that May's party, which has been in government since 2010, will win a majority.

A campaign email signed by May told Conservative supporters: "With the polls tightening and with just two days to go until polling day, we need to go all out with one final push."

Less than two weeks before the London Bridge attack, a suicide bomber killed 22 adults and children at a pop concert in Manchester and, in March, five people were killed when a car drove into pedestrians on London's Westminster Bridge.

Police had already named Butt and Rachid Redouane, a 30-year-old who claimed to be Moroccan and Libyan, as two of the London Bridge attackers.

Irish state broadcaster RTE reported on Tuesday that Redouane had been refused asylum in Britain but had been able to move legally after marrying in Ireland in 2012. Britain and Ireland have reciprocal residency rights.

Butt, Redouane and Zaghba were shot dead at the scene of the attack by officers within eight minutes of police receiving the first emergency call.

The first of the dead to be named were Canadian Christine Archibald and Britons James McMullan and Kirsty Boden. The 48 injured included people from France, Spain, Australia and New Zealand.

London police said late on Tuesday that they feared a French tourist, 45-year-old Xavier Thomas, had been thrown into the River Thames by the attackers' van and drowned. His girlfriend was seriously injured in the collision.

Boden's family said she had been a nurse and had tried to help the injured.

"As she ran towards danger, in an effort to help people on the bridge, Kirsty sadly lost her life," they said in a statement.

A minute's silence was held nationwide at 11 a.m. (1000 GMT) to honour all the victims.

MAY VS CORBYN

Before the recent attacks, Brexit and domestic issues such as the condition of the state-run health service and the cost of care for the elderly had dominated the election campaign.

When May called the election in April, her Conservatives led in opinion polls by 20 points or more.

But an announcement - made before the Manchester and London Bridge attacks - that they planned to make some of the elderly pay more for their care saw that lead start to shrink, and the trend has continued. Surveys now put the Conservatives ahead by between one and 12 points.

Security has become the number one issue and both main parties issued statements on Tuesday portraying their own positions on policing and intelligence as the most robust.

As interior minister from 2010 to 2016, May oversaw a drop of 20,000 in the number of police officers in England and Wales, which Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said should never have happened and warranted her resignation.

But MI5 has seen its budget increase and has plans to expand to 5,000 officers from 4,000 over the next five years, the intelligence agency's chief, Andrew Parker, said last year.

Corbyn has been criticised for past sympathies with militant groups, voting against counter-terrorism legislation and expressing reservations about police responding to attacks with "shoot-to-kill" tactics. Since the attack, he has said he fully supported the actions of the police.

At campaign stops on Tuesday, May was questioned almost exclusively about issues related to terrorism.

Asked if the financing of terrorism was brought up in April when she met the leaders of Saudi Arabia, a major buyer of British arms, she said: "We talked to Saudi Arabia on a whole number of issues around the question of terrorism."

(Additional reporting by Kate Holton, Elizabeth Piper and Kylie MacLellan in London, by Valentina Accardo and Antonella Cinelli in Rome, and by Padraic Halpin in Dublin; Writing by Estelle Shirbon and David Milliken; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Robin Pomeroy)
L-R Sampath Kumarasinghe - DGM - TATA commercial vehicle sales, Madu Singh - Country Manager - TATA Motors, Nalinda Kurukulasooriya - GM - TATA commercial vehicle sales, Vijitha Bandara - Director DIMO, Gahanath Pandithage - Group CEO DIMO, Arjun Fernando  CEO DFCC Bank, Lakshman Silva Deputy CEO  DFCC Bank, Gillian Edwards  Senior Vice President, Consumer Banking, Bhathiya Alahakoon, Senior Vice President, Branch Banking and Rasika Senaratna, Manager  Retail Assets and Leasing.

DFCC Bank recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Diesel & Motor Engineering PLC (DIMO), to facilitate the leasing of Tata Vehicles at an affordable price, to customers across its branch network. The MoU was signed by the CEOs of both organizations, at a gathering that took place at the DFCC Head Office. DIMO is The Authorized Distributor for TATA vehicles in Sri Lanka. Through the leasing partnership, customers will be given special offers on selected Tata lorries, pick-ups, heavy duty trucks and buses.

Tata Motors is India's largest heavy commercial vehicle manufacturer and is ranked among the worlds top five global manufacturers in that particular category. As The Authorised Distributor for Tata Vehicles in Sri Lanka, DIMO offers a wide range of Tata Commercial Vehicles for different applications. The new partnership will ensure that Sri Lankan customers are able to lease or purchase a good quality vehicle, with minimal hassle and at a reduced cost. Tata Motors India and DIMO have a strong relationship spanning more than 56 years, and Tata commercial vehicles have played a vital role in the daily lives of many Sri Lankans. DIMO - Tata currently operates with more than 40 branches across the country to offer Tata Sales, Service and Genuine Spare Parts and provides 24-hour roadside assistance to Tata customers across Sri Lanka.

Commenting on the partnership, Arjun Fernando, CEO of DFCC Bank said: We are pleased to join hands with DIMO as this partnership enables us to offer added value to our customers, whilst simultaneously expanding our leasing portfolio. The Tata range of vehicles are much-sought after by a wide segment of customers for their day-to-day and commercial use, and we hope that this new aspect of our offering will help our valued customers to meet their aspirations and grow from strength to strength. DFCC Bank is dedicated to enriching the lives of our customers, and we continuously strive to build our portfolio and enhance our overall offering to meet their needs.

Gahanath Pandithage, Group CEO of DIMO, added: DIMO is pleased to enter into this strategic partnership with DFCC Bank. We are confident that this Special leasing offer will be an ideal financial solution for our Tata customers. Apart from providing versatile and economical transportation solutions for our Tata customers, DIMO always keen on adding more value to our customers through these kind of partnerships.

DFCC Bank continuously strives to create sustainable value for all of its stakeholders whilst providing its valued customers with a comprehensive range of innovative financial solutions. Dedicated to spearheading financial inclusivity, DFCC Bank strives to offer solutions that empower and enrich the lives of its valued customers across the nation.
A former powerful politician the other day attended the funeral of a close kinsman of a political stalwart in an area close to Colombo hallowed by the Buddhas visit according to tradition.



After paying his respects to the deceased, the former powerful politician spent some time chatting to the family members and other mourners. There was a heavily bearded person among the mourners who greeted him with obvious high regard and respect.



Presently the former political leader said good bye to the family members and other mourners who stood by respectfully. And as stepped out of the house, an intimate whispered into his ear: Sir, didnt you recognize him?



Recognize whom? 



Why, Sir that one with the face almost covered with the beard?



I dont know him. Who is he?



He is the famous direct descendent of King Dutugemunu, Sir! replied the loyalist.



The former powerful politician who looked amazed recovered himself immediately and grinned.

Believe me, I didnt recognize him!
By Monica Washington

Recently I asked my AP English Language students to write an argumentative essay about individuality and conformity in U.S. schools. Theyre teenagers, so I expected some pushback about school, but I wasnt at all prepared for the number of compositions focused on oppressive school culture. One student, Anna, wrote, Public schools are no more than glorified prisons with pretty decorations in place of barbed wire. The tension created by overbearing and outrageous regulations, curriculum and conformity pull on students until they have been stripped of all individuality and feel nothing but exhaustion.

Her scathing account of public school haunted me. I expected that Anna would find school freeing, even enlightening. And I wondered: How is it that a well-rounded, popular and academically strong student equates school with prison? Is this just hyperbole?

Looking for answers, I shared Annas words with some colleagues, but I got no love there either.

Are you sure she is speaking about students and not teachers? one asked.

Wow. This is exactly how I feel as a teacher, another told me.

Then this one: I thought only teachers felt that heaviness.

Its one of the ironies of our profession, I suppose. Educators continually find themselves confronted with mounting contradictions, particularly if they teach in oppressive school cultures. For example,

we are often told that we are valued professionals who change the lives of our students every day. But we are also micromanaged to immobility, not trusted to make the simplest decisions that affect students learning and well-being. When students have to work in classrooms in silence because the teacher knows that the loud and messy learning is often seen as ill-managed instruction, the walls close in. That is the box in which many teachers teach and students frequently are expected to excel.

Heres another irony that plagues us. Choose any schools mission statement randomly, and it is likely to contain some language about valuing diversity. Yet, students often report that they do not feel their individuality is respected. They point to recent news reports of students who are suspended for having unconventional hairstyles and untraditional hair colors . When school officials require teachers to regulate every element of student diversity, students are bound to feel a disdain toward school.

The real irony is that what is said to support teachers is often belied by administrators and policymakers who are unable to walk their talk. On their lips, the word professional often feels not only empty, but like a word laced in condescension and mistrust. The differences between what we tell teachers and students we value and what we show them we value in fact squashes individuality and extinguishes the love of learning.

Education is a hard business, but in some placesschools not based on fear that teachers will mess up or students will stand outschool is a beautiful place. The leaders in those schools get it right by maintaining open communication with teachers to find out what students really need. They get it right by understanding that great learning can be messy. They get it right by listening to students and teachers about what is working and what is not working.

Monica Washington is the 2014 Texas Teacher of the Year. She teaches English in Texarkana Texas.

Photo credit: Courtesy of Pixabay
By Chapa Madubhashini

This is a tragic story of a couple who live in a common latrine opposite Parakrama Samudraya adjoining the Paththini Devalaya in Polonnaruwa. A lady named Nala Mudiyanselage Kanchana Devi, who was the mother of one child, had related her tragic story with tear-filled eyes to the journalists as follows:

We are in fear because our daughter will curse us some day when she grows up and comes to know that she lived in a public latrine like this. Our little daughter will feel sad when she comes to know that she had been brought to this place after her birth. But, some day we could explain our life story to her, and our life led without the help of anyone. We trust she will excuse us by that time.

This family had been living in a public latrine for more than 3 years with their little daughter.

Kanchana Devi, a Tamil resident of Hatton, explained how she met her husband when she came to work in a textile shop in Colombo.

Mother and daughter spending their life in the toilet

When I was working in this shop for some time, I met Dinesh who came to work in the same shop. He was a Sinhala youth. However, we were able to build-up a love affair without any racial differences. We got married with the blessings of all concerned. We came to the place called 2nd canal in Polonnaruwa after marriage. But we were compelled to live in a rented house there as we did not have a house to call our own. My husband had no permanent employment, but worked as a labourer to eke out our living. With the passage of time, I came to know that I was pregnant.

In the meantime, the guardian of the Paththini Devale had helped them to earn a living when they had explained their plight to him.

When our daughter was six months of age, my husband had become almost blind due to the cataract

When we explained our situation to the Kapu Mahattaya (guardian of the devale), he asked us to live here by looking after the toilet as well. He said that a sum of Rs. 20 is charged from one person and that Rs. 10 can be used for our living and the balance for the maintenance of the Devale. Therefore, we came to this place because it was a great help for us. Then, I was after two months of my pregnancy.

Kitchen utensils being used in the common toilet

As she was pregnant, her husband had gone to the Kachcheri in Polonnaruwa on several occasions to ask for a small block of land to make a shelter for themselves, but they had not got any land in spite of the fact that a heap of letters had been received by them from the Kachcheri to obtain a land.

We came to this place with our newborn baby. As this latrine is used by so many people, it is not at all a suitable place to raise a child. The stench is unbearable and we feared that our daughter will be infected with all the germs in this place. But we remained here as we were helpless. After the birth of our child, my husband visited the Kachcheri once again requesting for a land. Even after informing the officers that we now had an infant to take care of, we did not receive a response, Kanchana Devi said.



In the meantime, her husband suffered from cataract. When our daughter was six months of age, my husband had become almost blind due to the cataract. I felt I was isolated in this world with the child, without the help of anyone. However, I went to the eye clinic of the Polonnaruwa Hospital with our child and my blind husband to get medical treatment. After being hospitalised for some time, he recovered from his eye disease.

We wrote letters to the Ministers asking for a house or a land

We wrote letters to the MPs and the Ministers asking for a house or a land. In response, we were given a letter after holding a meeting, in which it was mentioned that a house with all amenities will be given to us. We visited the Kachcheri again, and the officers there informed us that they could not give money, land and a house. They said that the house would have to be constructed by us. However, we did not receive a single rupee to date. They did not even tell when the money would be given to us. We do not have money to start the construction work. They agreed to give us money in stages, according to the work done.



We found that some other person had laid a foundation on the land that was allocated to us. When we informed the relevant authorities, they promised to bring down the foundation and give the land back to us. We do not need large houses. Even a small room would be sufficient for us. When there are large crowds, we cant live here because of the bad smell. Then, one of us goes towards the tank with the child, and when the crowds decrease, we come back and clear the place so that we can live with the child.Nobody likes to live in a toilet with a child. We too wish to live like others. We cannot even cook our meals here. Passers-by refer to us as the people living in the toilet. Since we have a girl child, as she grows up, people will get used to calling her as the girl in the toilet. We earnestly request to get at least a small house built, so that we could spend our life as normal humans do.
A tense situation prevailed at the Aralaganwilla area following the discovery of hundreds of animal skulls from a garbage dump.

The residents of the area had launch a protest against the discovery, obstructing the Maduru Oya-Polonnaruwa Main Road, accusing the Pradeshiya Sabha authorities of dumping the skulls and remains of dogs that had been killed.

The residents suspect that an operation to kill and sell dog meat was going on in the area right under the noses of the Pradeshiya Sabha members.

However, Public Health Inspectors who visited the location after being informed of the situation by the Aralaganwila Police, had said the skulls were that of goats and not dogs.

Aralaganwilla Police OIC Inspector Lasantha Bandara told Daily Mirror that the mutton supplier to the Army has dumped the remains of the goats onto the garbage dump, which he insisted was a site authorised for garbage dumping.

However, when contacted, Army Spokesman Brigadier Roshan Seneviratna contradicted the OIC and said the Army was not consuming mutton and that the only authorised meat that they consume was chicken.

Meanwhile, the Aralaganwilla Police said that they were conducting an investigation into the matter. (Thilanka Kanakarathna and Darshana Sanjeewa)

Video by Nimal Jayarathne

- Pix by Nimal Jayarathne
Government is planing to introduce a Cabinet paper to vest a 60 per cent equity of the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) with India while retaining 40 per cent, the joint opposition (JO) claimed today.

JO MP Bandula Gunawardena told a news conference that the governments double standards had been exposed by trade unions.

It is not ethical to sell the country's resources when it is in the midst of a catastrophe," he said.

The MP claimed that the Nuwara Eliya, Kandy and Galle post office buildings are to be handed over to India for hotel projects.

He said some 125,000 Sri Lankans employed in Qatar are at risk after several Middle Eastern countries broke off diplomatic relations with that country. The MP said soon after the unity government took office, discussions were held to hand over SriLankan airlines to the Qatar Airways.

"if the deal had gone through we would have been in big trouble," he said (Thilanka Kanakarathna and Sheain Fernandopulle)

Video by Isuru

- Pix by Nisal Baduge
Mr Thushan Upasena - Deputy Chairman KDU Group, Mr Susantha Pinto - Group Chief Executive Officer KDU Group, Mr Saman Upasena - Chairman KDU Group, Mr William Costley - Vice President Operations SEA & India Hilton, Mr Kieran Bestall - Director of Development Asia Hilton, Mr Deelaka Upasena - Director KDU Group

Hilton (NYSE: HLT) and DoubleTree by Hilton today signed a management agreement with KDU Adventures (Pvt) Ltd, a subsidiary of KDU Group (Pvt) Ltd, to manage the 140-room DoubleTree by

Hilton Weerawila, scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2018. The latest signing brings the current Hilton pipeline hotels in Sri Lanka to seven properties.

With a fast-growing, global portfolio of more than 500 upscale properties, we are delighted that our award-winning DoubleTree by Hilton brand is gaining traction in Sri Lanka. The DoubleTree by Hilton Weerawila will mark the fourth upcoming DoubleTree by Hilton property in this emerging market, said Dianna Vaughan, senior vice president and global head, DoubleTree by Hilton. As the first upscale hotel in Weerawila, we look forward to delivering exceptional experiences to guests beginning with our signature, warm DoubleTree Cookie welcome.

Located in the town of Tissamaharama, within Sri Lankas Hambantota district, DoubleTree by Hilton Weerawila lies on the bank of tranquil Lake Weerawila. It is also near to the Weerawila Bird Sanctuary, a nesting ground for hundreds of diverse bird species.

The hotel provides good accessibility to three of the top 10 most visited wildlife sanctuaries in Sri Lanka: Yala National Park, Udawalawe National Park, and Bundala National Park. It is also near to the Matala International Airport, the Hambantota Port, Kataragama & Sacred City, and is within close proximity to the historic Tissamaharama town center. Sri Lankan wildlife sanctuaries are renowned for their extensive diversity of wild animal life as well as ecosystems ranging from monsoon forests to freshwater and marine wetlands.

As tourism in Sri Lanka continues to grow, expanding our footprint in developing towns, including Tissamaharama, supports our mission to be the worlds most hospitable company by being in destinations where our guests want to travel. The signing of DoubleTree by Hilton Weerawila demonstrates our commitment to fill the existing gap of an international accommodation in the area, giving us a clear first-mover advantage in offering our award-winning hospitality to both international and domestic tourists, said Guy Philips, senior vice president of development, Asia and Australasia, Hilton.

Counted amongst the Top 10 Coolest Countries in the world to visit in 2015 according to Forbes magazine, Sri Lanka welcomed a record number of international visitors in 2016, reaching over two million, a 14 percent increase from 2015. As a prominent town of the Hambantota district, Tissamaharama, the former capital of the ancient Ruhunu Kingdom, has been instrumental in driving tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka because of its rich heritage and adventure tourism offerings.

DoubleTree by Hilton Weerawila will participate in Hilton Honors, the award-winning guest-loyalty program for Hiltons 14 distinct brands. Hilton Honors members who book directly through preferred Hilton channels have access to instant benefits, such as an exclusive member discount, free standard Wi-Fi and a flexible payment slider that allows members to choose nearly any combination of points and money to book a stay. Members can also redeem their points for free nights, and can gain access to unique events through the Hilton Honors auction platform.
The record number of dengue patients and deaths recorded up to May this year mayincrease with the onset of the monsoonal rains. According to a Daily Mirror report last month, Dr. Prachila Samaraweera of the Dengue Control Unit of Colombo, has said some 44,000 dengue patients had been reported countrywide with 115 deaths. The number is massive compared to the previous years figure where some 55,000 dengue patients were reported with 97 deaths for the entire 2016. The increase in dengue patients is scary when considering that in 2015 there were only 30,000 dengue patients with 54 deaths.



While round table discussions are continuing and major campaigns including a three months dengue control programme has been launched, some important insights and simple and practical methods to control the spread of the mosquito breeding sites seem to have been ignored. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organizations former Engineer Ranjit Seneviratne has recently revealed some myths and ineffective practices that were being followed specially by state institutions to control the epidemic. He gives some enlightening information and practical methods which are useful to both ordinary citizens and authorities in their battle against dengue.



Various efforts are being made by the authorities and the Colombo Municipality personnel who are going around clearing plants and insisting that people who grow useful food plants like banana, Aloe Vera etc. should remove them  as well as flowering plants so useful to encourage bees and butterflies that are scarce in the city. This appears to be a sort of knee-jerk reaction, because if it were plants that harboured dengue-carrying mosquitos, then dengue should be rampant in villages with so much of vegetation there, Mr. Seneviratne argues. The reason for this is perhaps because plants are known to exude oils and bio-chemicals (much like humans exude salty sweat from the skins surface) and the dengue mosquitoes normally do not breed in such polluted water.



He says, on the contrary, dengue is rampant in cities that are densely populated and near schools  in other words where there are people and children who throw plastic yogurt and ice cream cups and plastic bags all over the place, as well as Thambili and coconut shells. He emphasises the need for the authorities to insist that ice cream, yogurt, etc, should only be sold in paper cups (that could be easily torn to prevent water collection) and king coconut (Thambili) sellers should collect their shells in gunny bags  and be fined if they left them around.



Another source of clean water favoured by the Anopheles Aegyptus Mosquito (implicated in the spread of dengue) are plastic bags. Therefore it is in everyones interest that the authorities should eliminate plastic bags and insist that only paper or cloth, jute-hessian or woven leaf (Dumbara Mat Pang and Palmyrah leaf) bags be used, Mr. Seneviratne said.



He also points out that public places where water collects are roads, because in Sri Lanka, people allow water from their properties to flow into the road, causing the road to break up and water to collect in small pot-holes. This is contrary to what happens in other countries where owners would be fined for such offences. The other place where water collects is public drains, because we the uncaring public, carelessly throw rubbish into drains, blocking the flow of water. The present practice is to spray toxic chemicals into these drains. As the drains are not water-tight, these harmful chemicals leak into ground water and could poison us. The effect is not immediate, but these chemicals are known to gradually accumulate especially in the fat cells and over time could cause cancer and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs).



The FAO expert says a simple and inexpensive solution is to spray used engine oil (most of the harmful additives in the oil are burnt up in used oil). The oil forms a film on the surface and the larvae of the mosquitoes during the pupal stage (when they are shaped like commas) are air breathers and come to the surface to breathe. The oil chokes the breathing tube and kills the pupal stage mosquito larvae.



Mr. Seneviratne also submits a more technical solution that could be implemented by the authorities to control dengue mosquitoes. He encourages the use of the Sterile male technique which was successfully used by the FAO to eliminate the New World Screw Worm (whose larvae bore into living flesh killing their host). This was done when there was an outbreak in North Africa from meat imported from South America and also from a West Indian Island that was infested, to prevent it from migrating to main-land USA.
The Colombo High Court today served indictments on UPFA MP Namal Rajapaksa and two other directors, Sujani Bogollagama and Senani Samaranayake of Gowers Corporate Services (Pvt) Limited on charges of money laundering involving a sum of Rs.30 million transacted through the company.

The Colombo High Court later released them on the previous bail conditions imposed by the Colombo Chief Magistrates Court.

Two other company directors, Indika Karunajeewa and Iresha Silva who were indicted by the AG were not present in Court when the case was taken up for hearing.

The Counsel appearing on behalf of these two suspects informed Court that they were out of the country.

On an earlier occasion, the Colombo Chief Magistrate's Court had issued international warrants for the arrest of two suspects.

The AG had filed indictments on the five suspects on eleven counts of money laundering.

The FCID had launched investigations into this matter on a complaint made by Voice Against Corruption Convener Wasantha Samarasinghe.

Colombo High Court Judge Gihan Kulatunga put off the case for June 28. (Yoshitha Perera)
The Foreign Affairs Ministry said today there was no immediate impact on Sri Lankans in Qatar in the wake of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt breaking ties with that country but that it was monitoring the situation closely.

Ministry Spokesperson Mahishini Colonne said Sri Lankans could contact our embassy in Qatar in case they needed help.

She said however, Sri Lankans employed by companies based in the countries which broke ties with Qatar might face difficulties.

Meanwhile, Foreign Employment Minister Thalatha Atukorale also said there was no direct impact on Lankans employed in Qatar.

The Qatari issue is only a regional issue and there is no threat to Sri Lanka," she said and added that Sri Lanka did not have any issues with Qatar on a diplomatic level.

We also heard that banks have stopped exchanging Qatar Riyals due to false news aired at Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) this morning. However, the Central bank has issued instructions on this matter, she said.

The minister asked employees in Qatar to inform the embassy if they wished to return to SL.

Meanwhile, Sri Lankan Ambassador in Qatar, ASP Liyanage said some Sri Lankans there seem to have panicked but assured there were no major effects on Sri Lankans at the moment.

He said all foreign ambassadors in Qatar had met the Qatari king and had discussed the situation.

Mr. Liyanage said the embassy had received several phone calls asking about the situation.

"There was a bit of a rush at the airport due to the suspension of several flights and at the supermarkets because of the fear of economic sanctions. There is no need to panic as the SriLankan Airlines operates its flights to Qatar as per the schedule and there are no economic sanctions, he told Daily Mirror. (Darshana Sanjeewa)


Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is seen congratulated by Patricia Scotland, the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth at the UN headquarters in New York on Tuesday. The Prime Minister delivered a speech at the UN Ocean Conference which was held at the UN headquarters.
With Sri Lanka facing the worst-ever floods in 27 years, the Sri Lankan economy has begun to feel the pinch of climate change. The government immediately appealed for foreign assistance to recover from the floods that caused an estimated Rs.300 billion or approximately US $ 2 billion worth of damage.

The worst flood coupled with deadly landslides in three decades claimed over 200 lives, damaging a staggering of 35,000 houses, with another 116 missing. Nearly 237,240 people have been displaced from their homes and have moved to 376 safe locations, including camps, schools, temples, community centres, with host families or in other temporary accommodation.

Unfortunately, the minister in charge of disaster management was in Mexico attending a conference when all this happened. Surely, was he not warned of the cyclone in advance by the Meteorology Department? The minister had gone to Mexico to give a speech about disaster management when a disaster was happening in the south of the country. Perhaps he should have taken the first flight home to coordinate the relief efforts.



Flood control

Time and again both economists and sustainability experts have emphasized the importance of environmental sustainability and flood control. Despite the recent extreme weather patterns the ministry still does not have a state-of-the-art monitoring system to track the weather and water-level around the country.

According to the government sources, the current flood has the capacity to have long-time effect on numerous sectors of the economyeverything from agriculture to manufacturing to transportation. However, estimating the flood losses is a time-consuming process.

Besides the obvious damage to public and private structures, the other damages occur are often hidden, appearing only after a few weeks. Examples include reduced fertility of farmland, weakened structural foundations of buildings or waterlogged roads and bridges the deterioration of which is exposed only during extreme weather. The other factors, such as transportation delays and increased volatility of crop and livestock markets, also must be accounted for and supported to come out of the crisis.



Preparedness

The past few years we have seen an extraordinary spate of natural disasters and extreme weather, including the collapse of the biggest garbage dump in the country. The economic losses from these events have been considerable: these calamities have cost the economy dearly in terms of lost wages and output, utility disruptions, destruction of public and private property, additional commuter time and transportation costs and hundreds of lives.

Any type of disaster, however, can leave an economic imprint that lingers for years. Therefore, we need to be better prepared to deal with it. Because natural disasters typically set in motion a complex chain of events that can disrupt both the local economy and, in severe cases, the national economy. Calculating the damages of such an event can also be an onerous task because the cost of a natural disaster is ultimately wedded to several factors, andmore importantlyvaries by type of disaster.

Among the key influences are the magnitude and duration of the event, structure of the local economy, geographical area affected, population base and time of day it occurred. Naturally, disasters that affect densely populated areas have the greatest potential for inflicting the most damage. Not only are large numbers of people endangered but the potential loss to homes, businesses, highways, roads, bridges and utilities is also magnified.



Government response

Rebuilding and cleanup efforts must be done fast under a capable minister. The crisis can generate temporary increases in retail sales of such items as construction materials and non-perishable items resulting in prices moving up. Damaged or destroyed goods like clothing, furniture and other household items need to be replaced and roads, bridges or other structures have to be repaired or rebuilt fast.

A factor influencing the recovery period is the timing and extent of disaster assistance monies from the centre and local governments. Although emergency funds for food and shelter are usually disbursed immediately by presidential directive, monies for longer-term rebuilding efforts are often appropriated by the government with a substantial lag. Finally, the percentage of total losses that are insured also affects the recovery. The lower the percentage of insured losses, the greater the dependency the local economy affected becomes on private and government monies.

In the final analysis, we can no longer be stuck in an endless loop of unpreparedness. However, it seems that we have not learned anything during the past couple of years. We still tend to be reactionary knowing very well that being proactive could minimize many of the deaths and damage to property and infrastructure.

(Dinesh Weerakkody is a thought leader)
Its just a kiss away Kiss away, kiss away - Gimme Shelter, The Rolling Stones

As in the fairy tale, a dramatic transformation occurred when Minister Mangala Samaraweera planted a smooch, on his successor Ravi Karunanayakas cheek. Except that the transformation occurred in the kisser, Mr. Samaraweera.

A transformed Mr. Samaraweera seemed to see himself in the mirror as the President of Sri Lanka. In his first official event as Finance Minister at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce late last month, he outlined sweeping changes which constituted a perspective for a drastic change of Sri Lanka. It was a macro change that no one has been mandated to implement and certainly has not been articulated by Sri Lankas elected President.



Samaraweera delivered the keynote speech at the inauguration of the Sri Lanka Investment & Business Conclave 2017: Growth through Partnerships, organized by the CCC. (Mangala Maps Way Forward, Daily FT)



While he has been removed from the Foreign Ministry for the second time (the first being by President Sirisenas predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa), Mangala thinks that what he has been appointed to do is to extend that which he did as Foreign Minister. As the Daily FT reported, he made his first speech as Finance Minister while keeping a foot in his previous portfolio as Foreign Minister



The (patronizing) message issued from Ottawa on May 18 by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, to mark the 8th anniversary of the end of Sri Lankas war, revealed exactly what Mangala did as Foreign Minister:



I reiterate my call to the Government of Sri Lanka to ensure that a process of accountability is established that will have the trust and confidence of the victims of this war. To this end, Sri Lanka should fulfill its international commitments by ensuring the involvement of Commonwealth and international investigators, prosecutors and judges. (My emphasis-DJ)

Now Mangala Samaraweera says that his work as Finance Minister will be on a continuum with his work as Foreign Minister and that both these are part of the same grand vision for Sri Lanka!

Mangalas speech repeats his lamentation about Sri Lankas performance over the last 69 years. Samaraweera indicates that the countrys development since Independence has been a failure and that he as Finance Minister will force through the new paradigm of Ranil Wickremesinghe that will change all that bywait for itFeb 4, 2018, the 70th anniversary of Independence:



Samaraweera recalled the potential Sri Lanka had at Independence but expressed hope that the country still has the chance to turn things around and use its 70th Independence to chart a new beginning. The economic policy plan presented by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe last October was referred to as a blueprint the government would follow.

Mangala thinks his task as Finance Minister is to drive the Ranil-CBK project through in a policy coup detat

Samaraweera announced, Sri Lankas aspirations to become a regional hub for financial services for international trade and that the growth model Sri Lanka evolves would need to be private sector driven with exports and FDI as key pillars.



Who decided that Sri Lanka would give priority to converting itself into a regional hub for financial services i.e. aspire to emulate Singapore than Malaysia and South Korea? And has the SLFP faction within the government agreed to this growth model that would be private sector-driven, rather than state-driven or state-private driven, as in the spectacularly successful East Asian model?

Has the President, who has been elected with the legitimate power to determine the blueprint which the government would follow, relinquished those duties to the PM, as in India and the UK? JR Jayewardene campaigned on the platform of an open economy and an executive presidential system and obtained a sweeping mandate for his model. Ranil Wickremesinghe has no such mandate and President Sirisena did not run for office on the Ranil economic blueprint.



Mangala thinks his task as Finance Minister is to drive the Ranil-CBK project through in a policy coup detat. On May 29, 2017 the BBC asked, Is Sri Lanka up for sale? The Ranil-CBK-Mangala troikas answer to the BBCs question is Hell, yes!



The Finance Minister further proclaimed that Without reconciliation and a stable foundation economic progress would once again evade our nation. In fact this is why a new Constitution in important...

He elaborated in his remarks to the Mass Media Ministry which he has just assumed control of: The Government has already started the process of giving executive powers to Parliament, said Samaraweera (Daily FT, June 3rd 2017)



The Samaraweera strategy is an unintended suicide bomb. A healthy business climate rests not on reckless policy reform but on sociopolitical stability, continuity and harmony. The attempt at a introducing a new Constitution will not only damage and destabilize a fragile coalition, but will also divert and divide the state apparatus itself (bureaucracy, judiciary, military). Above all it will necessitate a polarizing and convulsive Referendum -- all of which will gravely harm the business climate which the Finance Minister is duty-bound to protect and foster.



There is of course Ranils Plan B -- namely to bring the abolition of the executive Presidency before Parliament as a separate amendment which does not require a referendum, and secure the votes of Basil-GLs Pohottuwa. It will be a double-cross, a trap: (A) Gotabhaya will be eliminated from the running in 2019 by abolishing the executive presidency, while Mahinda, whose loyalist MPs will be used for the abolition, will be knocked out of the Premier stakes in 2020 by briefly removing his civic rights by means of a war crimes or financial accountability trial.(B) The Pohottuwa faction will be tapped by Ranil to secure the abolition of the Executive Presidency, while the official SLFP will be leveraged by CBK to get the enhanced devolution package through Parliament.



The proposed abolition rejects/ignores the axiom of a former Finance Minister, JR Jayewardene, based on experience of the islands politics since the 1930s, that sustained high growth is impossible in our society within a Westminster model and requires an Executive outside/above Parliament. Even an Executive Prime Minister would not suffice.



As the powers of the Provincial Councils expand, and Prime Minister Wickremesinghes MoU with India including ECTA opens the floodgates for the five Southern Indian states to enter our economy unimpeded, the abolition of the Executive Presidency and dissolution of the Presidency-economy nexus will devastate any prospects for stability and sustained growth and wreck any chance of an island-wide national development policy, a single island-wide division of labour and a single market.

The geopolitical reality is that the parliamentary model in this small island (where the minority parties will wield a de factoveto) cannot control autonomous provinces with a huge ethnic kin-state across 18 miles of water and a behemoth of a subcontinent as neighbour. What India successfully does to keep itself united with the PM/parliamentary system and quasi-federalism, a little island dwarfed by its neighbour cannot do to keep itself together as a single sovereign state.



If the Executive Presidency falls, the Northern and Eastern Provinces rise quasi-federally and Indian monopoly capitalism swallows the Sri Lankan market and enterprises, so ending the possible future of Sri Lanka as a strong, modern, developed, sovereign country with a sense of independent nationhood and a proud, dignified, distinct people.
New Laws Create Registries for Animal Abusers Like Sex Offenders

Animal abuse is a serious crime, and not just for pet owners and animal enthusiasts. According to the Washington Post, research demonstrates that animal abusers are more likely than the general population to commit violent crimes against people and the FBI recently bumped animal cruelty up to a Class A felony.

The Post also reports that the FBI is tracking cases of animal abuse much in the same way they track homicides, while jurisdictions from Florida to New York are creating registries for animal abusers much in the same way they have registries for sex offenders. And the registries can affect everyone from pet stores to pet sitters.

Florida Friends of Animals

"Most owners consider their pets to be family members," Kevin Beckner, a Hillsborough, County commissioner, said in a statement. "This Registry not only protects animals, but it can identify -- and maybe even prevent -- violence against humans, too." Florida's Hillsborough County is just the latest to add an animal abuse registry to its municipal statutes.

Under the law, anyone convicted of an animal abuse offense is required to register within 10 days after their conviction or release date, and anyone on the registry is "strictly prohibited from adopting, purchasing, possessing, or otherwise obtaining certain animals from any animal shelter, pet seller, or other person or entity involved in the exchange of animals by adoption, sale, or other means." The statute also places the onus on animal foster and rescue groups, animal shelters, pet shops and other pet-related commercial establishments, animal breeders, and veterinarian services in the county to "ensure that certain animals are not transferred to a person registered as an animal abuser."

Late Registration

As the Post also points out, Hillsborough County is far from the first jurisdiction to create such a registry:

A handful of New York counties have them, as does New York City, although that one isn't accessible to the public. Cook County, Ill., whose county seat is Chicago, recently decided to create one. Tennessee started the first statewide registry in January, although it still has just three people on its list.

The registries aren't perfect. They require offenders to register themselves and only cover the jurisdictions in which they are enforced, so crossing city or county lines could allow an animal abuser (even a registered one) to purchase another animal. Still, registries like Hillsborough's may make it more difficult for repeat offenders to hurt animals, and, perhaps, even people.

Related Resources:
The major link between Sri Lanka and Thailand

Samanaera been inducted

Poson Poya activities at the two Maha Vihares of Malwatta and Asgiri also indicate that the Upasmapada or Higher Ordination rites have been concluded. But, what was the reason for Padre Maria Percoto to translate Upasampada Kammavaca which describes Upasampada ceremonies to Italian under the title  Kammava Ossia Trattato della orgdinazilo seconde online detti Penzi.

In the Malwatta circles it is said that Padre Percoto took these recorded versions to Rome - the Bastion of Roman Catholicism and handed it over to the then Pope with the comments that some of these actions during the Upasampada ceremonies could be incorporated into the ceremonies in investing Catholic Priests into the Order



To the laymen it is a tedious process.and so it is for the Samaneras . In the morning hours the Samenera is questioned by the Mahnayake or the Anunayake in order to ascertain that he knows his basics to serve the people. He is also questioned about any marks [on his body] that had been inflicted on him. The rites conducted at both Asgiri and Malwatta Maha Vihares do not differ from the original rites brought into the country by Upali Maha Thera in 1753, 264 years ago, coming up to 265 years now.



A British government agent, Dickson gives a first hand account of the Upasampada ceremony conducted at Malwatta Maha Vihare in 1872. He says: From the Sri Dalada Maligawa, the novices mount on tuskers and are taken into the Temple Square. Thereafter they are taken to the respective Maha Vihares.

The rites conducted at both Asgiri and Malwatta Maha Vihares do not differ from the original rites brought into the country by Upali Maha Thera in 1753, 264 years ago, coming up to 265 years now

When the two hundred and sixtieth year was celebrated, the Princess of Thailand arrived to participate in the ceremonies that were conducted in Kandy. This then is the major link between Sri Lanka and Thailand in bringing Upasampada into the country from Thailand. But in fact Upasampada rites were taken to Thailand from Sri Lanka during the reign of King Parakarama Bahu II ( 1153 ).

The next was the official and ceremonial launch by the then President Mahinda Rajapaska, where he gifted  Atapirikara to the Mahanayake of Malwatta, Venerable Tibbotuwawe Sri Sumangala Thera to be donated to all  Wahalnaga  (Royal Samenara ) Theras who would receive Upasampada rites from Vesak to Poson But, though this rite had been continued even by the British, where the Head of State had offered the Wahal Naga  Atapirikara, now it comes from the Sri Dalada Maligawa, supported by the Buddhist commissioner.

Receiving the blessings from the Karaka Sabha

What is this  Wahalnaga? The best Samanera, chosen during the period of the Upasampada, where they are questioned about the teachings of Buddha and the stanzas recited in order to serve the people, the most competent one is raised to the standard of the Wahalnaga. Or sometimes the Mahnayake has the discretion of choosing a  Wahalnanga or Royal Samenera from Wesak to Poson poya. However there would be four of them from each Maha Vihare. This is considered a crowning moment for any Buddhist monk.



It has been the custom from the days of King Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe to offer a  Atapirikara to the Wahalnaga from the royal household and it continued . Even during British times, the governor offered one and the practice has continued since then. With the constitutional changes it went to the Diyawadana Nilame for some reason or other.But, with the Presidency it went back to the President, which is now offered through the Buddhist Commissioner General. There is an addition for several years, where even travelling expenses are paid to the Samaneras coming for the Upasampada ceremonies.

In the reign of Saenmuengma. Lana monks headed by the Elder Medhankara came to Sri Lanka with two other monks for re-ordination and then returned to Lana

(Thailand )

The pinnacle of any monk who has entered the refuge of Buddha is to perform  Vas, which could be only undertaken by a monk who has been bestowed with Upasampada rites.



Though Upasampada rites was brought to Sri Lanka in 1753, most of us have forgotten the fact that it was during the reign of King Parakarama Bahu the Great ( about 1153 AD ) a great supporter of Theravada Buddhism, these rites were taken to Thailand . The Seventh Buddhist Council was held under the chairmanship of Kassapa Thera of Dimbulagala, during the same period.



Neighboring lands, such as Burma, Thailand ( then known as Lanna ) Pegu ( Lower Burma) and Cambodia flocked to Sri Lanka in order to acquaint themselves of the Buddha Dhamma. Then Thailand also sent monks to learn and obtain Upasamapda rites . Later these rites became to be known as Lankavamsa rites, as the rites were taken from Sri Lanka or Lanka to Thailand.



During the reign of Thailands King Khunrajiajhaeng, two Sri Lankan monks were resident in a temple at Nakhon Sri Thammarat. The king is said to have gone down to the monastic head of the Sangha, where the Sri Lankan monks were staying. It is recorded that it was during this time that a Buddha image Sihing was brought to Nakhon Si Thanammarat and the Elder Dhammkitti and his followers came to study Buddhism in Sri Lanka.



In ancient Thailand there were two groups of monks, the Mon group and Lana .In the reign of Saenmuengma. Lana monks headed by the Elder Medhankara came to Sri Lanka with two other monks for re-ordination and then returned to Lana ( Thailand ).The 260th Upasampada ceremonies at the two established Maha Vihares ends on Poson. These rites were brought into the country when there was not a single monk with the Upasampada Karmayaor Higher Ordination.



The age old custom of Upasampada or Higher Ordination continues in Sri Lanka with all the rites and rituals since 1753. The fact is that this rite fulfills the life of a Samenra to the status of a fully-fledged monk is the ultimate goal . But, the continuity of this tradition of Upasampada is in the same basic form both at Malwatta and Asgiri Vihares, which remain so. It is unique.



But, there came a time when Sri Lanka had not a single monk who had been ordained with Upasampada rites and it was Weliwita Asarana Sarana Sarankara Thera who took the initiative to request the king to bring these ceremonies back to Sri Lanka from then Siam or Thailand.



The temples fell into disuse and the Sangha was interested in mundane affairs rather than serving the people. A class of monks known as Ganinnansea sprung up and they did more damage than the teachings of The Buddha. In fact Buddhism fell into an abyss and Catholism spread quickly in the Kandyan Kingdom .



It was at this time that Welivita Saranankara Thera entered Bikkhuhood under the then learned residing monk at Suriyagoda. Incidentally, the Suriyagoda monk had been bestowed with Upasampada rites by a Burmese group of monks, who had travelled to Sri Lanka during the reign of King Wimaladhramasuriya II. It is stated that these Burmese monks had ordained and delivered Higher Ordination to those qualified monks to receive the rites. The location where the rites were performed was on the banks of Mahaweli River at Getambe in Kandy. Books were rare but the Venerable Suriyagoda Rajaguru had certain important books which were protected as the life blood of the religion.



It was in this period that this young person formed an organisation called  Silvath Samagama - a pious association. In numerous ways he fell foul with the feudal fraternity and was banished to Laggala without the knowledge of the king. He was brought back and in the in the period of King Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe and was sent as the first emissary to bring Upasampada to Sri Lanka. But the attempt failed. It was the third delegation of twenty-two monks who arrived in Sri Lanka headed by Upali Thera which was successful.



On Esala full moon day, Upali Thera and the Siamese monks arrived in Godapola in the Matale district. From here the delgation of monks were brought in procession to Kandy. An area for the Upasampada ceremonies was marked as a Sima Malaka ( confined area ). The area where the first ceremonies were enacted is now known as the Poyage in the Malwatta Maha Vihare. Likewise in Asgiriya Maha Vihare. However there are markings at Adhana Maluwa to indicate that Poyage existed in this area for Asgiriya Maha Vihare.



The first suggested record of an Upasampada rite was for Weliwita Thera. But, Weliwita Thera had said that he must have a monk senior to him in order to pay obeisance and to venerate.Therefore Mahanayake Kobbekaduwa of Malwatta was first bestowed with Upasampada rites followed by theros Saranankara, Hulangamuwa Bambaradeniya, Tibbotuwawe and Navinne.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) searched on June 5 the offices and home of NDTV promoters Radhika Roy and Prannoy Roy over allegations of defrauding the ICICI Bank and causing a loss of Rs 48 crore.

Though the Modi government maintains the usual law is taking its own course, the move is seen as muzzling one of the few liberal voices who are still struggling to survive in Indias media landscape.

Hindu nationalist Modi loves to hate liberal-leaning media. His paranoia for the free press is situated well in the past. His hatred towards journalists, particularly from English news outlets has taken shape since 2002. While the Gujarati media crossed all limits of responsible journalism and fed on the prevalent anti-Muslim prejudices during and post the Gujarat carnage period, the mainstream English journalists took Modi, then CM of the state, to task and kept exposing his omissions and commissions. That made him feel aggrieved and he continues to nurse a grudge.

He has been Prime Minister for three years but has not addressed a single press conference in India yet. Each month, Modi uses All India Radio to say his Mann ki Baat to promote some of his governments policy.

He steadfastly ignores the mainstream national media, gives controlled access to only a few selective journalists and prefers to use social media to convey his version of the story. Modis tweets have become the primary news source for Indian media.

Modis social media presence can be the envy of any politician in the world. On Twitter, he currently stands second to Barack Obama in following among politicians. Though Obama has more than 90 million followers and from all over the world, Modis 30 million-plus followers are mostly from India and the Indian diaspora.

Twitter helps Modi directly reach a significant constituency of listeners, and he uses it as a channel to bypass the mainstream critical media.

Modi supporters and his party BJP never fail to blame the national media for its "biased" view against their leader. Modi calls the press "news traders" and one of his ministers has given journalists the vulgar epithet of "presstitutes".

However, besides a handful of media houses, most of the Indian media has either been bought over or forced to submission by the Modi government. Only a small number of journalists who are critical of his authoritarian brand of "Hindutva" politics are being regularly harassed by the regime and its supporters.

Besides a handful of media houses, most of the Indian media has either been bought over or forced into submission by the Modi government. Photo: CNN

US-based Freedom House rates India in its Freedom of the Press 2017 report as "Partly Free". In last years report, it was scathing in its criticism of the present regime for the pathetic state of the Indian media:  media workers continued to face obstacles under Prime Minister Narendra Modis government. Journalists reported difficulty gaining access to government officials, and expressed concern over heavy-handed government censorship during the year. Journalists and writers reported receiving threats in connection with their work amid a national debate on whether there was rising intolerance in the country.

Another international media watch organisation Reporters without Borders in its 2017 World Press Freedom Index has given India 136 ranking, three points down from 2016 and lower even than press freedom in Afghanistan.

Its report, under the headline of "Threat from Modis nationalism" describes the sorry state of Indias press freedom: With Hindu nationalists trying to purge all manifestations of 'anti-national' thought from national debate, self-censorship is growing in the mainstream media. Journalists are increasingly the targets of online smear campaigns by the most radical nationalists, who vilify them and even threaten physical reprisals. Prosecutions are also used to gag journalists who are overly critical of the government, with some prosecutors invoking Section 124A of the penal code, under which 'sedition' is punishable by life imprisonment.

There is no doubt that in Modis India, there is very little space left for a free press and that space is shrinking fast. Increasingly repressive state laws are being used to curb press freedom. There is also a shift in the nature of censorship in the country and right-wing organisations and leaders are misusing the law to curb dissent.

It is getting extremely difficult to say or publish anything against Modi in the Indian media. There is systematic harassment of any critical voice by the government, ruling party and its supporters. Modi is doing whatever he can to frame the agenda for the media and viciously pursuing the policy of unilateral messaging.

The media plays a critical role in democracies. Its task is to enable citizens to make informed decisions by providing them with a balanced picture of the complex world. The majority of Indian media is fast failing to do this job due to the fear of the regime and propagating ultra nationalist and anti-minority discourse in the country. This is affecting Indian society quite negatively.

In a liberal democracy, there are two key features which define the freedom of the press -freedom to investigate, evaluate and censure the system in which the press operates, and freedom from government intrusion.

On both fronts, press in India is suffering heavily now. Many media houses have already turned into the regimes propaganda machine and those who are refusing to do so are facing all sorts of pressures to fall in line.

The lack of effective opposition has made Modi powerful already. However, forcing the media to be subservient is helping the authoritarian Modi to gradually destroy Indias key democratic institutions and to acquire all the power for himself.

When an authoritarian leader takes a decision, it might look bold and efficient, but it lacks checks and balances and suffers from the absence of a safety net. A regime which becomes dependent on the "wise" choice of a sole individual to mirror the interest of the whole country becomes a dangerous proposition.

There is no doubt that Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a populist and polarising politician. Since his rise to national politics, there has been a fear among commentators and academics about his authoritarian temperament.
When the creation of Telangana was announced in July 2013, I was in transit for the night in Hyderabad as I proceeded to Pune for some personal work. Not wanting to shell out a lot of money just for a few hours of rest and remain in proximity to the Begumpet station, I chose to stay at a nondescript "working mens hostel" that provided a bed and food for cheap.

As the news broke I felt a sense of confusion, as I was a proponent of united Andhra. Nevertheless, I wasnt too surprised because in the preceding election of 2009, the TRS and TDP were part of the grand alliance.

As I went to bed that night, I felt that common daily life would not be affected and there would be assurances for the residual state of Andhra Pradesh. Most parties had come to an apparent consensus over Telangana (both TDP and YSRCP had written letters supporting the creating of Telangana).

I completely misread the situation because almost immediately there were protests and a clear rift emerged within most political parties based in the region. I felt this too shall pass with time. However, there was sustained media coverage and emotions were whipped up.

I admit that I fell prey to the rhetoric, as my initial feeling of indifference soon morphed into rage and a sense of profound injustice. The media instead of posing questions to the political parties over the doublespeak, settled for sensationalism, which further stoked the cinders of hatred.

In the next one year, which led up to the general (and state) elections of 2014, there was acrimony across the residual state and regular life came to a halt. The continued reporting about disturbances and arson by miscreants only sustained an atmosphere of political psychosis, where people didnt realise that the protesting parties had consented to bifurcation, implicitly and explicitly.

During campaign for the 2014 election, both BJP and TDP leaders, including Narendra Modi, Venkaiah Naidu and Chandrababu Naidu, promised to accord Andhra Pradesh special category status.

After the elections, the government claimed the state was not eligible for special category status and brazenly ruled out engaging with any dissenting voices. In this backdrop, when the Congress led the Pratyeka Hoda Bharosa Sabha, along with many likeminded parties, in solidarity with the people of Andhra Pradesh, I was motivated to listen to what the various leaders have to say.

When the TDP takes credit for creating Telangana, on what grounds do they "blame" the Congress for bifurcation? Photo: India Today

As I listened to the galaxy of leaders reiterate their resolve to continue fighting for the cause of Andhra Pradesh, I received a text from my friend asking how the meeting was progressing. When I informed him that the ground was brimming with people in rapt attention, he seemed perplexed because he had been informed by the TV channels that only a small trickle of people attended the event. Moreover, many channels showed the black flag protests led by TDP activists that demanded that Rahul Gandhi go back. The protesters alleged that he was responsible for the bifurcation of the state.

While the media should remain neutral and report objectively, they should also learn to pose questions to politicians. Not one channel questioned the double standards of the TDP with regard to Telangana, both at the time of bifurcation and during the black flag protests on June 4.

While Chandrababu Naidu claimed in Telangana that it was with his support that the new state became a reality, in Andhra Pradesh he projected the bifurcation onto the Congress. None in the media appeared courageous enough to pin down the TDP and seek answers for the acute political schizophrenia they appeared to suffer from.

As a common citizen, I seek answers for the following pertinent questions the media refuses to ask the government:

1) When the TDP was in alliance with the TRS in 2009, wasnt it implicit that they supported the creation of Telangana, given that that was the raison detre of the TRS? When the TDP takes credit for creating Telangana, on what grounds do they "blame" the Congress for bifurcation?

2) Did the BJP and TDP not know before the election that Andhra Pradesh was not eligible for being accorded special category status? Are there any recent developments in the state so drastic that they had to change their stand on the issue? Both the BJP and TDP stated that the special category status is cardinal for the progress of the state. Hence, is it not their duty to ensure Andhra Pradesh is given its due? Why the stepmotherly treatment?

The recent developments make me recall a quote attributed to Malcolm X - If youre not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing!

Unlike in 2014, I refuse to be carried away by the rhetoric of the media and seek answers from the government. The government should stop slandering their political opponents and focus on honouring their pre-election commitments.
The NDA government has always disliked and dismissed criticism, no matter what the truth is.

For example, Union minister General VK Singh, when criticised by the media for his comments "that monitoring the rescue process of Indians stranded in the war-torn country of Yemen is less exciting than visiting the Pakistani embassy", described the media as "presstitutes". This shows how an NDA minister treats the media, especially when he is being "criticised" or "exposed". One of the channels he "abused" was the NDTV.

It is noteworthy to mention that the wily General, who was earlier accused of fudging his birth date to extend his service term as Chief of the Army Staff, was made a Union minister despite his questionable record. A major example of how PM Narendra Modi has a disregard for probity and the due process.

On the morning of April 9, during the Srinagar bypoll, a Kashmiri shawl-weaver Farooq Ahmad Dar, who voted in the election, was "abducted" by the Army, tied to the bonnet of an Army jeep, and exhibited in an arduous 28km journey. Even before the Court of Inquiry (CoI) had decided, the offending officer, Major Leetul Gogoi, was given a commendation.

The Army chief clearly stated that he would prefer if the stone-pelters took up lethal weapons so that he could retaliate.

Major Gogoi accused Dar of being a "top stone-pelter." But Dar was one of the 7 per cent who voted in the Srinagar bypoll. Stone-pelters have never been known to do this. So, it was an "abduction" by the Army, backed by false accusations, with action taken even before the CoI had given its final decision.

Interestingly, this information came to light in late May, around seven weeks later. Was the media gagged? Or did the Army suppress this information?

Shows the great importance of a free and fair media, now under politically motivated attack like the NDTV.

Modi, as usual, despite a media and public outcry, didn't say a word on the commendation or the entire episode. Under such circumstances, Army chief General Bipin Rawat must have had got political clearance.

Emboldened by such support, General Rawat made an incredible statement. He clearly stated that he would prefer if the stone-pelters took up lethal weapons so that the General could retaliate. He also stressed that the people though protected by the Army, should be scared of the Army. This is a new theory of defence/offence coined by Rawat.

As usual, the NDA government was silent. Even Arun Jaitley, finance minister with additional charge of defence, did not say a word. The debate on these outrageous statements was raised by the media, including the electronic media, which also included the NDTV, among many others.

The basic point many are trying to make is that ministers, Army officers, RSS activists and others like them are saying what they want despite the fact that these statements are abusive, incendiary, or not in keeping with the office holder's position.

The news media as well as social media are the main informants for the common man. The government is clearly upset that the fallout of demonetisation as reported by the media, is significantly more critical and in depth than the government statements.

To make matters worse, when the NDA government levelled corruption charges against P Chidambaram, his son Kartik, Virbhadra Singh and other Congress leaders and their relatives, the media did not immediately rush to conclusions, but waited and watched.

That is not good enough for the Modi sarkar. The NDTV has been one of the most outspoken channels from the very beginning, when the popular and path-breaking "The World this Week", enlightened many of those who had TVs.

Further, it was not owned by any major corporate entity with links to the ruling quarters.

Now, the alleged illegal actions between the NDTV and the ICICI Bank, were raised by a disgruntled ex-NDTV employee in 2007. But the CBI raid comes 10 years later.

This clearly appears to be a political vendetta. Some have surmised that senior NDTV anchor Nidhi Razdan, who politely asked BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra to leave her show recently after he alleged that NDTV had an agenda, angered the Modi government. That seems unlikely, though. But it is true that several media channels do have an agenda.

However, most participants know what to expect and come nonetheless. Many of us have participated in media discussions for years.

But while different, even strongly held views, are stated on TV, the quality of information and the independence of the channels matter.

Information and contrarian views are part of a vibrant democracy. But motivated financial raids, partisan use of the law, and denigration of unpalatable views by the ruling bloc, are a very serious assault on democracy.
Triple talaq also known as talaq-e-mughallazah - irrevocable divorce that is practiced by Muslims in India - is a controversial subject and being debated ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi raised the issue.

The government of India and the Supreme Court have been involved in addressing the issues of justice, gender equality, human rights and secularism.

The online petition against triple talaq has been signed by 50,000 Muslim men and women across the country.

The life of a woman comes crashing down when her husband, by saying the word "talaq" thrice, abandons her. The practice has been outlawed in many Muslim majority nations, but is permitted in India under the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937.

Their sufferings are ignored comepletely by an orthodox and patriarchal society.

According to this act, in matters of personal disputes, the state will not intervene and a religious authority will instead pass the judgment. As many as 60 per cent of divorces that have happened under triple talaq has left the women to fend for herself and her children.

India has no uniform civil code. Men go "scot-free" and like to believe their action is approved by the Quran. They find it so easy to dump their wives, sometimes even via an SMS.

Triple talaq is a much bigger issue in which Muslim women were never given any say. Their sufferings ignored completely by an orthodox and patriarchal society, which believes in dominating the rights of women and stone-walling any attempt towards reforms.

When Pakistan, Bangladesh and many other Islamic countries could ban the practice of, why not India?

Why should women in India suffer despite India being home to world's third-largest Muslim population governed by the sharia or Islamic jurisprudence and it has been the so since the British colonial rule? India's 90 million Muslim women face the threat of sudden, oral and out-of-court divorce.

Quran, in reality, demands time and patience in executing a divorce in the hope of making the union possible knowing that couples are bound to have differences. The quranic message is very explicit about divorce. It leans more towards safeguarding marriage than dissolving it abruptly. The chapter on women in the Quran draws attention to the need for arbitration before the husband and wife decide to part ways.

In the event of triple talaq, where does the chance of arbitration, as stated in the Quran, stand? The Quran sets certain norms to execute divorce, just as there are norms to sanctify a marriage.

Muslim men should read the complete chapter devoted to divorce in the Quran  Surah al-Talaq.

For Muslim women, the the deep-ingrained misogyny takes an additional, violent turn with triple talaq. Muslim women have limited freedom. The system  which entitles the men of the family to protect the honour and chastity of women  gives them the power to "punish" women with practices such as polygamy.

I fear for the safety of women and want to raise the issue in the hope that all women and even men would make the valuable contribution to the community by standing up against triple talaq.
Former AG Holder Completes Uber Review; Will It Be Public?

After former engineer Susan Fowler published a blog post detailing numerous instances of sexual discrimination and harassment during her time at Uber, the company knew it had to get the investigation and response right. So it turned to the man who was once America's former top prosecutor, former U.S. attorney general Eric Holder and Tammy Albarran, his partner at the Covington & Burling law firm.

Axios is reporting that Holder has completed his investigation and the results could be presented to Uber's top brass sometime this week. So what did Holder find? And will his findings be made public?

You Gotta Know When to Holder 'Em...

Fowler's bombshell blog post was published on February 19, and Uber brought in Holder just two days later. Since then, according to Fast Company, Holder's team has been gathering data and input from "hundreds of employees" to create an accurate profile of Uber's workplace culture. While the investigation was supposed to be wrapped up at the end of April, it was extended to the end of May to allow Holder to complete interviews with several key figures in the company, including top human resources executives.

Along with tales of specific harassment, including her manager propositioning her for sex on her first day, Fowler detailed numerous other instances of harassment and discrimination against other female employees, all of which were reported to HR personnel, and none of which were adequately investigated or acted upon. Holder was hired not only to look into Fowler's specific claims but to analyze Uber's corporate culture as a whole.

...And Know When to Fold 'Em

According to Axios, Uber scheduled an all-hands meeting June 6 to discuss Holder's findings with employees, but the full report probably won't be released publicly or to employees. Most likely the complete details of the report will only be shared with Uber's board of directors, including Arianna Huffington, Bill Gurley, and David Bonderman.

And even the June 6 date may get pushed back. Tragically, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick's mother was killed in a boating accident over the weekend that also injured his father. Whether the meeting to discuss Holder's report will be pushed back to accommodate a grieving Kalanick remains to be seen, as will the exact details of his report.

Related Resources:
'Flight Risk' Lawyer Disappears After $550M Fraud Arrest

Attorney Eric Christopher Conn said he would flee to Cuba or Ecuador if he ever got caught.

Conn, awaiting sentencing in a $550 million fraud on the federal government, apparently has made good on his word. It was no surprise to those who knew him best, but a big surprise to those who only knew his public persona.

"He's not one to walk away from a fight," the narrator says in one of Conn's many advertisements.

Lawyer on the Lam

The flamboyant attorney has disappeared, leaving behind a broken ankle monitor and a trail of fake disability claims. He had pleaded guilty and was scheduled to be sentenced for his part in a Social Security fraud that brought in millions to his firm.

"I submitted or allowed the submission of medical records that I knew to be fraudulent in nature," Conn told U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves at his plea hearing.

The admission, which carries up to a 12-year-sentence, understated the breadth of the crime. According to reports, Conn included a judge, doctors, and others in the scheme involving more than 1,700 cases over a 12-year period.

Government workers first noticed a problem at an appeals office, where Conn presented cases to former judge David B. Daugherty. According to court records, Conn paid the judge about $10,000 a month for six years to rubber-stamp his cases.

We Told You So

After Conn was arrested last year, prosecutors asked the judge to keep him in jail pending trial because he was a flight risk. An FBI agent testified Conn told employees at his firm that he would flee to avoid criminal charges, and that he had wired large sums of money out of the country.

The judge released Conn on conditions, including an ankle monitor and a $1.25 million bond. "Your trust is not misplaced," he conned.

Mark Wohlander, who represents two former Social Security workers who blew the whistle on Conn, predicted early on that "the day would come when they would find his ankle bracelet lying on the ground at the Pikeville airport."

Related Resources:
Ohio Is the Latest State to Sue Over Opioid Crisis

According to the Centers for Disease Control, opioid overdoses claim 91 lives per day in America, and the number of overdose deaths associated with opioids has quadrupled since 1999. Ohio has been hit especially hard. According to a new lawsuit filed by the state's attorney general against five drug manufacturers, opioid-related drug overdoses in Ohio have skyrocketed 642 percent in the last 15 years.

Ohio's is the latest in a long line of local litigation seeking to hold opioid manufacturers responsible for a nationwide crisis.

Buckeye State Battle

The Ohio lawsuit targets Allergan, Endo Health Solutions, Johnson & Johnson, Purdue Pharma, and Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, claiming the drug manufacturers and distributors disseminated false and deceptive statements about opioids, misrepresented the benefits and risks of opioid use, and peddled drugs to susceptible prescribers and vulnerable patients. The suit even alleges the defendants "formed an opioid marketing enterprise in violation of the Ohio Corrupt Practices Act for the purpose of illegally promoting the widespread use of opioids for chronic pain."

Those efforts paid off for the drug companies, but not so much for patients or the state agencies that were forced to deal with the fallout of opioid addiction:

Defendants' efforts were wildly successful. Opioids are now the most prescribed class of drugs; they generated $11 billion in revenue for drug companies in 2014 alone. In an open letter to the nation's physicians in August 2016, the then-U.S. Surgeon General expressly connected this "urgent health crisis "to "heavy marketing of opioids to doctors ... [m]any of [whom] were even taught -- incorrectly -- that opioids are not addictive when prescribed for legitimate pain." This epidemic, fueled by opioids lawfully prescribed by doctors, has resulted in a flood of prescription opioids available for illicit use or sale (the supply), and a population of patients physically and psychologically dependent on them (the demand). And when those patients can no longer afford or legitimately obtain opioids, they often turn to the street to buy prescription opioids or even heroin.

Just and Right

"It is just and it is right that the people who played a significant role in creating this mess should now pay to clean it up," Attorney General Mike DeWine told the Columbus Dispatch. DeWine's suit seeks unspecified damages for consumers misled by the drug companies' deceptive marketing. Ohio is also alleging that the companies violated state product liability laws, public nuisance laws, and even committed Medicaid fraud.

Along with facing lawsuits filed by other states, cities, and even Native American nations, some drug companies have already paid civil fines to settle civil lawsuits filed by the federal government. As the opioid crisis isn't going anywhere soon, neither is opioid-related litigation.

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Trump's Travel Ban Headed to Supreme Court

Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice appealed the Fourth Circuit's injunction against President Trump's Executive Order on immigration to the Supreme Court, asking the Court to reinstate the travel ban on immigrants from six Muslim-majority countries. And the president himself has of course taken his thoughts on the case to Twitter.

So what will be the government's argument in defending the travel ban? What can the Supreme Court do? And did Trump just sabotage the appeal before it even got started?

Wild Animus

At present, two versions of Trump travel bans have been blocked by two different Circuit Courts of Appeal. Both of those (and the lower courts that initially issued injunctions against enforcement of the orders) have looked beyond the plain text of the executive orders and considered statements from the president and his administration as evidence of "animus" and religious bias behind the travel bans. Therefore, the courts found, the orders violate the First Amendment's ban on religious discrimination, and specifically regarding Trump's latest version, the Fourth Circuit said the order "speaks with vague words of national security, but in context drips with religious intolerance, animus, and discrimination."

One of the central arguments in the DOJ's appeal to the Supreme Court is that this investigation went too far. The government petition noted that the Fourth Circuit held "that statements by the President -- nearly all before assuming office, while still a private citizen and political candidate -- and informal remarks of his aides imply that the entry suspension is intended to target Muslims."

The government argues the Court "has never invalidated religion-neutral government action based on speculation about officials' subjective motivations drawn from campaign-trail statements by a political candidate," and that such an analysis is inappropriate when reviewing executive orders, especially those pertaining to immigration and national security.

Whether those statements can or cannot be considered when determining the constitutionality of the travel ban will be vital: judges and courts that have ruled against the executive order have cited the campaign's continued targeting of Muslim's in speeches and campaign materials, targeting that allegedly continued after the election.

Stray Comments

In addition to disregarding pre-election comments and "informal remarks," the DOJ may also want the Court to ignore post-election tweets from the president himself. Earlier today, Trump fired off a mini "tweetstorm" regarding the appeal, and it may not have helped his case:

People, the lawyers and the courts can call it whatever they want, but I am calling it what we need and what it is, a TRAVEL BAN! -- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017

The Justice Dept. should have stayed with the original Travel Ban, not the watered down, politically correct version they submitted to S.C. -- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017

The Justice Dept. should ask for an expedited hearing of the watered down Travel Ban before the Supreme Court - & seek much tougher version! -- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017

In any event we are EXTREME VETTING people coming into the U.S. in order to help keep our country safe. The courts are slow and political! -- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017

Starting with an attack on the court's authority is probably not the best gambit, and doubling down on the "travel ban" moniker may only echo the "Muslim ban" rhetoric on which he ran for president. And it's odd legal advice he's giving to his own Justice Department, saying they "should have stayed with the original Travel Ban, not the watered down, politically correct version they submitted to S.C.," since it was his administration, presumably, that decided to rewrite the order instead of appealing the first time around. After all, Trump's signature is on the second travel ban.

And by suggesting that the DOJ "should ask for an expedited hearing of the watered down Travel Ban before the Supreme Court - & seek much tougher version," Trump seems to be undermining his own lawyers' legal strategy. "I think he is kneecapping his lawyers in the Department of Justice," Austin Evers, a former top State Department lawyer told the Washington Post.

Saying he wishes the Court were considering his initial travel ban undercuts the need to review the new one, and hearkens to an also-blocked order that, arguably, employed more anti-Muslim language. Not only is the government arguing that the Supreme Court should ignore Trump's pre-election comments -- they may want the justices to ignore his post-election tweets as well.

Chances in Court

So what can the Supreme Court actually do in this case? Along with the petition for review of the Fourth Circuit's decision, the DOJ is asking the Court to stay the two orders blocking the travel ban from being enforced. Because the travel ban was temporary -- for 90 days while the government could review its vetting procedures -- it's possible that the Court could stay the orders, which would start the 90-day clock, and then not get around to hearing the underlying arguments about religious discrimination until after that time, which would render the entire question moot by then.

Or, as the New York Times points out, the justices could expedite the case schedule and hear arguments before they leave for their summer break. Otherwise, the case may not be heard and decided until the fall. And with multiple courts blocking the travel ban, choosing which to review could impact the case schedule as well.

Until the Supreme Court speaks in some capacity, the injunctions against enforcement of Trump's travel ban will remain in effect. And the president will presumably keep tweeting.

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Of the school buildings that took a toll, around 30 have been completely destroyed, said U Khin Aung, a Maungdaw township education officer.

A total of 217 school buildings have sustained damaged according to the list we have received on June 3, he said. Seventy-five percent of the buildings have been moderately damaged. The remaining 30 percent need to be rebuilt. Schools located between the mountains may have been damaged as well.

The local schools are trying to work around the situation and keep classrooms functioning despite the havoc. Arrangements have been made at most schools to teach lessons in staggered shifts in the remaining functional buildings.

It may take a month to repair the buildings. At the Number 1 Basic Education High School Maungdaw, five or six out of eleven buildings have been damaged. The students will have to attend school in either morning or afternoon shifts as there are not enough school buildings, U Khin Aung said.

The storm has also damaged the roofs of student hostels in Nan Thar Taung Philanthropic School in northern Maungdaw township, which hosts over 500 students and 17 teachers.

All the roofs of the hostels and bathrooms have been ripped off so there are difficulties with the students living arrangements. Teaching has been halted as the students have to sleep in the classrooms, said U Nyar Ka, the chief abbot of Nan Thar Taung Philanthropic School.

The Maungdaw Township General Administrative Department has not yet visited the philanthropic school to report on the damages, but the Ministry of Border Affairs and the Education and Training Department have been notified about the schools condition.

Cyclone Mora lashed Bangladesh and Rakhine State on May 29 to 30. In a June 2 statement, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said parts of central Rakhine remain at risk of landslides and collapsing riverbanks, while Maungdaw is inundated with floods following the cyclone. Refugees and internally displaced people in Bangladesh and Rakhine State were among the worst affected by the storm, which included winds surging upward of 72 miles per hour. Reuters reported that in one refugee camp across the border in Bangladesh, about 70 percent of the makeshift shelters were damaged.

Translated by Thida Linn

Edited by Laignee Barron
New U.K. Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt has reversed most of an economic package announced by the government just weeks ago, including a planned cut in income taxes. Hunt said Monday he was scrapping almost all the tax cuts announced last month by the Conservative government of Prime Minister Liz Truss, and also signaled that public spending cuts are on the way. It was a bid to soothe turbulent financial markets spooked by fears of excessive government borrowing. The move raises questions about how long the beleaguered prime minister can stay in office, though Truss insisted she has no plans to quit. She vowed to lead the Conservatives into the next general election, but many in the party want her gone.
On June 1 and 2 officials from the Tak Province Joint Special Police conducted raids on garment factories, construction sites and other work sites in Mae Sot.

U Moe Gyo, chair of the Joint Action Committee for Burmese Affairs, said that the arrests were part of a special scheme by the Thai Labor Ministry to eradicate child labor and other forms of illegal labor.

Around 100 people were arrested today [June 2]. They are workers from factories, workshops, construction and general workers from Mae Pa, Mae Kasa, and Mae Ku sub-districts. Around 200 people were arrested yesterday [June 1], he said.

Two deputy directors from the Thai Ministry of Labor visited Mae Sot on May 18 to meet with Myanmar labor attache U Aung Ko Than and workers rights activists to inquire about child workers and undocumented workers in the Mae Sot area. The arrests were made after that visit, according to U Moe Gyo.

Most of the factories and workshops have been closed in Mae Sot area due to the recent crackdown and undocumented workers have fled to relatives houses, monasteries, farmlands and forest near the Myawady border, according to Mae Sot-based workers rights activists.

The employers and managers have been trying to assist workers who were arrested.

There were 197 people at the jail up to last night. Some of [the detainees] are being interrogated by police in the Mae Pa area. As far as we known, 11 child workers have been arrested but I heard that there are up to 18 child workers in total, said Ko Moe Kyaw, an officer from Yaung Chi Oo Workers Association.

According to Thai authorities, the detainees will be released after paying fines.

Over 400,000 Myanmar migrant workers working in the nine districts of Tak Province, with at least 200,000 employed in Mae Sot District alone. The majority of the workers are employed in agriculture, livestock breeding and manufacturing, according to labor rights activists.

Translated by Thida Linn

Edited by Laignee Barron
On November 8, the coup council said that it would deactivate mobile SIM cards that did not match the information provided by the Ministry of...
 Albemarle County has extended the deadline for the first installment of 2017 tax payments to June 15. (434) 243-7920.

 Albemarle County Supervisor Brad Sheffield holds a community meeting on traffic concerns in the Rio area at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Seminole Trail Volunteer Fire Department at 3055 Berkmar Drive. (434) 296-5822.

 Albemarle-Charlottesville NAACP meets at 7 p.m. Monday at Jefferson School City Center at 233 Fourth St. NW. Charlottesville Police Chief Al Thomas Jr. will speak. (434) 220-1493.

 City of Charlottesville holds a workshop on the 2018 Comprehensive Plan Update from 6 to 8 p.m. June 21 at Charlottesville High School. Details are available at charlottesville.org. (434) 970-3333.

 Climate Energy Rally will begin at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Free Speech Wall on the Downtown Mall. (434) 987-6321.

 In-person Absentee Voting is available through Saturday in Charlottesville and Albemarle County registrars offices. lwv.avenue.org. (434) 970-1707.

 League of Women Voters hosts a forum with Charlottesville commonwealths attorney candidates Joe Platania and Jeff Fogel from 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday in City Council Chambers. (434) 970-1707.

 Piedmont Virginia Community College offers Student Orientation, Advising and Registration sessions for new and prospective students from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday and June 29 at the Main Campus at 501 College Drive. The free session is required for 2017 high school and homeschool graduates and non-graduates who are first-time college students. Additional sessions will be in July and August. pvcc.edu/soar. (434) 961-6581.

 Piedmont Virginia Community College holds Getting Started information sessions for prospective students from 6 to 7 p.m. Monday at Nelson Memorial Library in Lovingston and from 6 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at Albemarle High School. Additional sessions are scheduled later this month. pvcc.edu/outreach. (434) 961-5275.

 Piedmont Virginia Community College holds information sessions for its culinary arts associate degree programs from 10 a.m. to noon June 17 and 23 at Jefferson City School Center at 233 Fourth St. NW. Additional sessions will be in July and August. Attendance is required at one of the sessions for any new student interested in pursuing an associate of applied science degree in culinary arts. Pvcc.edu/culinary. (434) 961-6581.

 Senior Statesmen of Virginia host Albemarle County Supervisor Brad Sheffield speaking about the future of the Rio/29 area from 1:30 to 3 p.m. June 4 at the Senior Center at 1180 Pepsi Place. (434) 974-7756.

 Summer Feeding Program sponsored by Blue Ridge Area Food Bank opens three feeding sites for area children in need. Trinity Presbyterian Church at 3101 Fontaine Ave. opens from 8:30 to 9 a.m. for breakfast and from noon to 12:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday from June 19 through July 19. The Greenstone on Fifth Community Center opens from noon to 1 p.m. and for a snack from 3 to 3:15 p.m. Monday through Friday from June 18 through Aug. 11. The Friendship Court Community Center opens for dinner from 5:15 to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday from July 24 through Aug. 10. brafb.org. (540) 213-8405.

 Virginia Department of Transportation holds a public hearing on the Route 53-Route 618 roundabout project in Fluvanna County from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Fluvanna County Public Library at 214 Commons Boulevard in Palmyra. (434) 529-6314.

 Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles DMV 2 Go Mobile Office will be at Reids Supermarket from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 15 at 600 Preston Avenue. (804) 497-7100.
After months of public debate, official decisions and heated controversy, Charlottesvilles City Council on Monday voted to rename Lee Park as Emancipation Park and Jackson Park as Justice Park.

The council vote on the matter was preceded by a testy public comment period during which several left-wing activists were removed from the council chambers for interrupting their ideological counterparts.

In recent weeks, tensions have simmered following series of protests and public confrontations between ideologues who have been at loggerheads over the recommendations from last years Blue Ribbon Commission on Race, Memorials and Public Spaces.

The commission recommended renaming the parks in response to its charge to study whether the city should move the citys statues of Confederate Gens. Robert E. Lee and Thomas Stonewall Jackson.

The commission ultimately recommended, among other actions, either moving the statues to McIntire Park or transforming them in their respective namesake parks.

Rick Turner, the former president of the Albemarle-Charlottesville NAACP, said Monday that the statues are a symbol of white supremacy and terror.

Our historical memory leaves us disabled and spiritually empty, he said about the so-called Lost Cause narrative that some say is promoted through most Confederate statues and monuments.

Alluding to the recent arrests of activist Veronica Fitzhugh and attorney Jeff Fogel, a Democratic candidate for Charlottesville commonwealths attorney, independent City Council candidate Nikuyah Walker said other underlying community issues are being exposed by the rancor around the statues.

Walker said the two were arrested by multiple police officers at their homes after the incidents in which they were accused of the crimes. She said the nature of those arrests likely reflect to a slight degree how minority suspects are treated by police.

The reason the statues have brought up the concerns, and all of the trauma that its bringing up, is because of issues like this, she said. If we dont fix those, well never have peace in the community.

It takes something like the statue to unearth all of these feelings, emotions and wrongdoings, she added.

Both Fitzhugh and Fogel were charged with misdemeanors following rapidly mobilized protests in recent weeks against local blogger Jason Kessler as he met with fellow right-wing activists in the downtown area.

Fogel was charged with simple assault after one of Kesslers friends alleged that Fogel lightly pushed him with an open hand. Fitzhugh has been charged with misdemeanor assault for shouting at Kessler to leave the Downtown Mall.

After Kessler and John Heyden were interrupted repeatedly, which resulted in a brief suspension of Mondays council meeting and police officers escorting left-wing agitators out of the room, Kessler accused Councilors Wes Bellamy and Kristin Szakos of colluding with anti-fascist activists.

Kessler alleged those activists across the country have advocated for violence against police officers and overthrowing the government.

You dont give a damn about white people, Kessler said. You people are implementing policies which are displacing us in our home countries, and we will not be allowed to survive.

You dont even recognize our right to exist, he said.

Mason Pickett, a city resident, said he doesnt support the right- or left-wing activists, calling them irresponsible and extreme. He also asked, however, why the councilors havent condemned the left-wing activists for their confrontational tactics in recent weeks.

This groups irresponsible and dangerous tactics will ultimately result in the serious injury or death of someone if it does not stop this pack-like behavior immediately, Pickett said about Showing Up for Racial Justice, a group that has been responsible for initiating the public encounters with Kessler and his colleagues in recent weeks.

Councilor Kathy Galvin did not condemn a particular group, but also warned of potential violence that could result if the political confrontations continue.

She said that she has seen hate coming from both sides.

Weve got to sit down and listen to each other, she said. If we cant do that, we will devolve into some of the worst kind of violence that weve all seen before in human history.

Following the chants and interruptions that preceded Kesslers comments, Karenne Wood, a descendant of the Monacan tribe, said she felt embarrassed by everything Ive seen tonight.

Currently a Fluvanna County resident, Wood said there are economic and historic reasons why more Native Americans dont live in the city. Regardless, she said, we arent filled with hatred.

We have been a welcoming people for a very long time.

Wood said she appreciated that the city would be considering naming Lee Park after the Monacan tribe that once lived throughout the Charlottesville area.

Of the more than 2,600 name suggestions that were submitted to the city in an online survey, approximately 2,200 of them included Lee or Jackson.

Drawing from suggestions that were reviewed by the citys Parks and Recreation Advisory Board and the Historic Resources Committee, the following names were presented to the council as top appropriate suggestions:

For Lee Park: Monacan Park, Sally Hemings Park, Vinegar Hill Park, Unity Park, Freedom Park, Library Park and Market Street Park.

For Jackson Park: Court Square/Courthouse Park, Sally Hemings Park, 13th Amendment Park, Freedom Park, McKee Park, Unity Park and Justice Park.

$15.25M bond issue

In other business, the City Council on Monday authorized a $15.25 million bond issue, following a public-notice snafu last month.

The council was scheduled to approve the bond issue on May 1, but chose to defer a vote because the agenda for the meeting did not advertise that a public hearing would be held prior to the vote on matter.

In the meeting to consider the bond issue previously, there was some concern that the item had not been noticed sufficiently and they opted to defer to a later date, said city spokeswoman Miriam Dickler.

The revenue from the bonds will go toward several projects related to schools, public buildings, public safety infrastructure, parks and recreation facilities and stormwater system improvements, per the citys five-year Capital Improvement Program.
The two Democratic candidates for the House of Delegates 57th District seat made their case to voters Monday night at Northside Library as the primary election approaches.

House Minority Leader David J. Toscano, D-Charlottesville, and Ross Mittiga, a political researcher and instructor at the University of Virginia, took questions on topics ranging from the environment, campaign finance reform and what they would do for their constituents, and Virginia, if elected.

The League of Women Voters of the Charlottesville Area hosted the forum.

Throughout the campaign, the environment has been one of the most prominent and common topics for both candidates.

Mittiga, who focuses his research on the politics and ethics of climate change, has become a vocal opponent of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and of Toscano for taking campaign contributions from Dominion Energy.

Mittiga has pushed back on Toscanos environmental record, pointing out contributions hes received from Dominion over the years. In total, Toscano has received nearly $37,000 from Dominion, according to finance reports on the Virginia Public Access Projects website.

Toscano responded by saying those total donations have come in over the course of a period of time, and that he tries to put the money he receives behind other progressive candidates running for seats across Virginia.

On campaign finance, both agreed on doing away with Citizens United v. FEC, the landmark Supreme Court case involving the regulation of campaign spending.

Both candidates stressed the need to increase the number of Democrats and progressives in the House of Delegates  and state elected offices in general  to accomplish many of the goals and ideas on their platforms.

Toscano pushed for unity among Democrats, even when there are contested primary races, to achieve this so progressives will have a stronger voice in Richmond.

Mittiga, on the other hand, has gone against the idea of voting for candidates just because of party affiliation. He has frequently said the Democratic Party needs to be reenergized and revitalized to attract more voters again in order to gain stronger representation in Virginia.

When asked about their top three issues theyve campaigned on, Mittiga said his are stopping all fracked-gas pipelines; raising the minimum wage to $15; and wanting to get big money out of politics.

Toscanos top three were creating budgets that helped working families, particularly when it comes to the value of education; protecting insurance rights for those who could be affected by efforts in Washington to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act; and pushing for nonpartisan redistricting reform.

Nicolas McCarthy, a Charlottesville resident, attended the forum. He said he didnt expect to change his mind on whom he was voting for  which he would not reveal  but did say some of the comments from candidates caused him to think a little bit.

McCarthy said the forum was extensive and covered several issues, but that he wished there could have been more participation from those in attendance and opportunities for follow-up questions.

I know that you do risk the chance of someone grandstanding from the audience, but I think its really worth it for people to really interact with their possible, future elected officials because this is really the best opportunity we have to interact with them, he said.

The primary election is Tuesday.


Ginsberg's HOWL isn't merely a masterwork of poetry, nor is it merely a classic; it is also an indelible part of American free speech jurisprudence: when US Customs seized copies of the poem on their way into New York from the British printer's presses, the resulting obscenity trial made history.







Now, Stanford Libraries has digitized and posted scans of all known drafts of HOWL. They are encumbered with a regrettably clunky and difficult-to-navigate viewer, but if you put it in fullscreen mode and zoom in, you can see a whole page at a time. Regrettably, there's no way to compare multiple pages, which makes it very difficult to make best use of the multiple draft repository.



With its famous opening line, obscure references to fellow Beat writers, and graphic depictions of drug use and sexuality, Ginsberg's poem railed against the conformity of 1950s America. Ginsberg continued to revise the first section of the poem in the fall of 1955 and began work on the second section of the poem, before doing his first public reading of the poem at the Six Gallery in October. Ginsberg's reading of the first part of "Howl" at the Six Gallery is now part of Beat lore, memorialized by fellow Beat writer Jack Kerouac in Dharma Bums. The first draft of the poem is the beginning of what would become a longer poem, consisting of three inter-related sections and a final "Footnote." The "Howl" manuscripts and typescripts in the Allen Ginsberg Papers document the formal development of the poem, tracing Ginsberg's experiments with different structures and wording in each of the poem's sections. Below is Ginsberg's first draft of part two of "Howl," which he wrote at the bottom of a typed draft of part one. When the full text of the poem was published in 1956 by City Lights Books, it launched Ginsberg's literary career, along with his notoriety. In 1957, US Customs confiscated copies of Howl and Other Poems, when they arrived in New York from the printer in England. Months later, City Lights owner Lawrence Ferlinghetti and bookstore manager Shig Murao were arrested for the publication and sale of the book, setting the stage for what would become a high-profile obscenity trial. Prominent writers, critics, and academics, including Kenneth Rexroth, Walter Van Tilburg Clark, and Mark Schorer, defended the literary merits of the poem at the trial, leading Judge Clayton Horn to rule that the poem was not obscene. Ginsberg's public readings of the poem and the publicity surrounding its publication cemented the Beat Generation in the public imagination and set the stage for the 1960s counterculture that followed. In partnership with the Ginsberg Estate, Stanford Libraries is pleased to share this seminal piece of the Beat Generation and an American literary classic.

Allen Ginsberg's "Howl" goes online

[Rebecca Wingfield/Stanford Libraries]

(Thanks, Gary!)
Disney fans here have been much preoccupied with the retheming of "Tower of Terror" to "Guardians of the GalaxyMission Breakout" at Disney California Adventure, and the opening of Pandora at Animal Kingdom in Walt Disney World. On the other side of the planet at Tokyo DisneySea (one of the best Disney parks in the worldask anyone who's been there, or just look at a photo below) the latest attraction to open is "Nemo and Friends SeaRider." The new ride, which opened on May 12, replaces one of the park's 2001 opening day attractions, "Stormrider." That ride was kind of like a bigger version of "Star Tours," but not nearly as good. You could see the seams all over the large screen, thus destroying the illusion that you were supposed to be looking out a large observation window at the front of a new type of plane. Said aircraft was designed to drop a "fuse" into the center of a hurricane which immediately dissipates it. The ride was not the best thing Walt Disney Imagineering has done, and it usually had the shortest line in Tokyo DisneySea, about 20 to 40 minutes in a park where two- and three-hour lines are the norm.

They just fixed it by redoing the entire thing with an overlay from the film Finding Dory. There are many Disney park enthusiasts who bemoan the conversion of a ride with an original storyline and characters to that of an Intellectual Property ("IP") which Disney owns. Personally, I don't care as long as the ride is good. And from all reports "Nemo and Friends SeaRider" is good. As in the film Fantastic Voyage (or Disney's own ride "Body Wars" which had a propensity to make its riders barf), you enter a vehicle, in this case the SeaRider, which is then magically reduced in size. Thus you are able to participate in the frolics with Nemo, Dory, and the other anthropomorphized undersea critters.

What surprised everyone on opening day is that there are at least two, and likely more, different films and ride sequences, making subsequent visits a necessity (at least for the Disney-infected, such as myself),

So take a looksee!

Via Disney and More.
Although the test had been planned for years, the launch couldnt have been more timely. On May 30, just two days after North Koreas latest ballistic missile launch and Kim Jong Uns promise of a bigger gift package to the United States, the Pentagon announced that it had successfully intercepted and shot down an unarmed rocket launched from the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean. (Fittingly, the unarmed missile was launched from a test site named after President Ronald Reagan.)

The kill vehicle that took down the ICBM was launched from an underground missile silo at Vandenberg Air Force Base, just north of Los Angeles. The interceptor found its target hundreds of miles above the Earth. In the vast emptiness of space, it was the equivalent of a bullet hitting a bullet.

The Pentagon says it still needs to incorporate additional upgrades and complete further testing under more realistic conditions before the interceptor system can be considered a truly reliable defense against long-range, nuclear-armed weapons. However, while the $244 million test may not immediately guarantee complete U.S. protection should North Korea attempt to strike us, it goes a long way toward making it a reality.

At this point, the system is still considered a tool of last resort, but it works and will improve with time and testing. This incredible feat of engineering gives Americans a chance to breathe a bit easier and it sends the thugs in Pyongyang the message that if they launch, we will destroy.

Our hats are off to the Missile Defense Agency, the U.S. Air Force, the Joint Functional Component Command for Integrated Missile Defense, and U.S. Northern Command for a job well done.

Richmond Times-Dispatch
Climate change is a moral emergency. We need leaders who are willing to step up and fight to do what is right for our planet.

Del. David Toscano is not that leader. Mr. Toscano is not strong on environmental issues, because he falls unacceptably short in several areas.

Fracking is a disaster for the environment. Not only do chemicals used in fracking contaminate our groundwater, but drilling releases pollutants including methane into our air, exacerbating climate change. Perhaps worse, the injection of fracking wastewater causes earthquakes.

Mr. Toscano does not support a ban on fracking. Ross Mittiga, Mr. Toscanos opponent, does.

Do politicians who are strong on the environment accept tens of thousands of dollars from fossil fuel companies? Mr. Toscano has accepted $36,938 from Dominion Power, making it one of his top 10 all-time donors. Mr. Toscano joined Republicans in passing SB 1349, the Dominion Rate-Freeze Bill, in 2015. After auditors learned that Dominion boosted its profits by charging customers $280 million, Republican legislators and Mr. Toscano passed a bill that, appallingly, allowed Dominion to continue to overcharge customers.

In contrast, Mr. Mittiga has signed a pledge to never accept contributions from Dominion or any other dirty energy company.

Mr. Mittiga strongly opposes the construction of the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley pipelines, but Mr. Toscano does not. These pipelines could as much as triple Virginias greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, constructing these pipelines would require the seizure of land through eminent domain, often in beautiful, rural areas. These pipelines would be a disaster in every regard, yet Mr. Toscano does not oppose them.

Charlottesville is a progressive city. Lets elect a delegate who feels the same way on environmental issues as we do. No fracking, no donations from fossil fuel companies, and no new pipelines. Ross Mittiga checks all those boxes.

Aaron M. Jacobs

Charlottesville

References:

 youtu.be/ZnA1LDZbtFo

 youtu.be/ZnA1LDZbtFo
We already know Uber's been investing millions of dollars in the future of self-driving. Now Lyft is making similar moves, including a partnership with Boston-based nuTonomy, a self-driving car startup founded by an MIT guy.

The New York Times' Mike Isaac reports,

Lyft on Tuesday announced an agreement with nuTonomy, a self-driving car start-up, that will eventually bring thousands of nuTonomy's autonomous vehicles to Lyft's ride-hailing network. The partnership will initially focus on research and development related to the customer experience of summoning an autonomous vehicle, Lyft said. "Our ultimate responsibility is to bring the best autonomous vehicles to Lyft's millions of passengers," Logan Green, Lyft's chief executive, said in an interview. "And since it's very early in the development life cycle of autonomous vehicles, we'll explore many partnerships to learn with and from partners to help figure out what passengers want." The agreement is part of Lyft's broader move into autonomous car-sharing. Mr. Green has long postulated that the future of transportation will be less focused on private car ownership.

Soon, reports the Boston Globe, you'll be able to hail an autonomous Lyft in Boston. The first big ride-sharing partnership for Lyft is with a Boston-based startup.

NuTonomy was founded by Karl Iagnemma, a robot scientist at MIT. Last year, in Singapore, the company launched the world's first taxi service using self-driving vehicles. This year, nuTonomy has begun testing cars in Boston's Seaport and Fort Point neighborhoods, using electric cars from French automaker Renault. Lyft engineers will now participate in that research, figuring out how to integrate the Lyft smartphone app with the autonomous car's software. "We don't really know how riders are going to interact with autonomous vehicles," said Iagnemma, "because we really haven't had that much experience." Together, Lyft and nuTonomy will learn how to manage the entire process, so that consumers will learn to feel confident that self-driving vehicles are safe. The process of integrating the companies' software has already begun. When it's completed, Lyft will begin offering rides to paying customers in the self-driving cars. No date has been selected for the launch of the service, which must first be approved by the city of Boston.

Lyft/NuTonomy choosing Boston to test its self-driving cars is like choosing to play against LeBron in a pickup game.  Dan Primack (@danprimack) June 6, 2017

Lyft is working with a third self-driving tech company https://t.co/rDjKlUMxCQ pic.twitter.com/sp5lEHPZIr  Recode (@Recode) June 6, 2017

Lyft to launch self-driving test in new Uber challenge https://t.co/1K2KzsKt5C  Financial Times (@FinancialTimes) June 6, 2017
Various sources this morning report that Uber had an all-hands meeting in which staff were told more than 20 employees are being fired as the result of a company investigation into claims of discrimination and sexual harassment.

From Bloomberg:

Bobbie Wilson, an attorney at Perkins Coie LLP, gave Uber's more than 12,000 employees an assessment of the firm's investigation, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing personnel matters. A separate probe commissioned by Uber that's being led by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has given its own recommendations to a subcommittee of Uber's board of directors, the person said.

Perkins Coie looked into 215 claims and took no action in 100 instances; the company didn't name the employees who were fired, the person said.
The US aviation industry is highly concentrated, with only four major airlines left in the country; for years, they've been lobbying to get rid of the FAA and take over their own safety oversight.

In an announcement that included near-verbatim quotes from several aviation Big Four lobbyists, Donald Trump announced plans to shut down the FAA and let the incumbents regulate themselves.





If Trump can stop tweeting horrible things long enough to let the lobbyist-funded swamp-dwellers in his cabinet and Congress make this happen, there will be two enormous problems with this arrangement. First and most obviously, the industry will cut corners on safety and people will die. Corporations are pathological externalizers: any costs that can be put off to other parties are. That's why corporations pollute, kill their workers, and defraud their customers: in the next-quarter-focused version of shareholder capitalism, anything that adds an extra dollar to this quarter's balance sheet is the duty of management.

But the second problem is, if anything, more pernicious: letting a highly concentrated industry regulate itself inevitably leads to rules that prevent any new competitors from appearing on the scene. New entrants will come up with practices that are different, and potentially superior, to the ones in place now  practices that are difficult to match if you've already sunk billions into the old system. By refusing to consider these practices on their merits  and simply ruling them out on the basis that they're not compliant with the old rules  the incumbents can create a system where any improvement is literally illegal.

These two are a deadly combination. Without competition from new entrants, the incumbents can deliver less and less value to the country (and retain more and more value for their shareholders) without the fear of losing customers to an upstart. Privatizing aviation safety allows the Big Four to treat us worse and make us less safe, and removes any floor on such bad behavior by eliminating competition.



Trump used blunt language to attack his own Federal Aviation Administration, saying it wasted billions of dollars in technology and accusing it  without offering proof  of using equipment that dated back decades. His language echoed the arguments of such companies as American Airlines Group Inc. and Southwest Airlines Co. "They didn't know what they were doing," he said of previous efforts to modernize the system. "A total waste of money." The plan drew immediate support from most airlines but faces some stiff opposition from private aviation groups and in Congress. Most Democrats and some powerful Republicans have resisted transferring this critical service outside of the government.



Trump Backs Air-Traffic Spinoff to Fix 'Broken' System

[Alan Levin and Mark Niquette/Bloomberg]
New Delhi: Liquor major United Spirits has said its margins will be impacted under the GST regime, which is to be implemented from next month, on account of additional tax on input materials and services.

Although the government has put portable alcohol or alcohol for human consumption out of the ambit of GST, state governments will continue to impose certain taxes. "Our initial assessment on GST suggests that, while alcohol for human consumption has been excluded from GST, the additional tax on input materials and services will result in stranded taxes, and impact margins," the Diagio-controlled firm said in an investor presentation.

The firm said it will continue to work with the central government to minimise this impact and approach the state governments for appropriate price increases, it added. USL also expects that ban on alcohol sale near highways to impact on its business till the first half of the current fiscal. "This is creating a short term impact which is expected to go through to the first half of FY18."

The company, which has key brands as Johnnie Walker, Black&White and Black Dog among others in its portfolio, said that its FY17 business was impacted because of prohibition in Bihar.

"We have delivered 4 per cent reported net sales growth in the full year which was impacted mainly by Bihar prohibition and operating model changes. If we exclude the one off impact net sales grew 8 per cent in the full year," the company said.

The Supreme court judgement on alcohol sales near highways impacts not only the industry but also sectors like tourism, hotels and restaurants, United Spirits said. It said that if the impact doesn't get mitigated, the consumption will shift to other outlets.

The Bihar prohibition and the operating model changes impacted mostly the popular segment and volume declined 10 per cent, the liquor major said. The government has kept potable alcohol or alcohol for human consumption out of the ambit of GST with states retaining the right to impose taxes on it.

To maximise value from its popular brands, the company would in some states retain the business and operate it on its own and in certain states where local parties are better advantaged it would appoint franchisees for the popular brands through a fixed fee model.

Besides, the company will exit from those states where the business is not profitable. "In states like Maharashtra and Karnataka where we can drive sustained and profitable growth in the long term, we will retain the business and operate it ourselves," USL said.

"In those states where we do not see a profitable business model either way we may choose to exit," it added.
New Delhi: Bharti Airtel today said the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the proposed merger of Telenor India with the company. Last week, Bharti Airtel and Telenor India also filed a joint application before National Company Law Tribunal for approval of their merger following nod from the market regulator Sebi and stock exchanges -- BSE and NSE.

"We wish to inform you that Competition Commission of India (CCI) vide its letter dated June 5, 2017 has approved the proposed merger of Telenor (India) Communications Pvt Ltd with Bharti Airtel Ltd," the company said in a BSE filing.

Airtel and Telenor signed the agreement for merger on February 2017 under which Airtel will acquire Telenor India's running operations in seven circles -- Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat, UP (East), UP (West) and Assam.

These circles represent a high population concentration and therefore, offer a high potential for growth. The proposed acquisition will include transfer of all of Telenor India's assets and customers, further augmenting Airtel's overall customer base and network," the company had earlier said.

It will also enable Airtel to further bolster its strong spectrum footprint in these seven circles, with the addition of 43.4 MHz spectrum in the 1800 MHz band -- widely known as 2G spectrum, but it is now being used for 4G services as well.
New Delhi: Public sector Canara Bank has cut MCLR rates by 0.05 percentage point for various maturities with effect from tomorrow.

"In terms of the guidelines of RBI, all rupee loans sanctioned and credit limits renewed from June 7, 2017 will be priced with reference to the tenor-based MCLR rates are as below", it said in a regulatory filing.

For overnight, the new MCLR will be 8.10 per cent, while for one month and three-month maturities new marginal cost based lending rates (MCLR) will be priced at 8.15 per cent and 8.20 per cent respectively. For six months and one year, the new MCLR are set at 8.35 per cent and 8.40 per cent respectively, the bank said.

Stock of the bank today closed 1.32 per cent down at Rs 358.05 on BSE.
New Delhi: The cellular operators have approached the government for a reduction in the 18 per cent GST rate, saying the benefit of input credit is not enough to fully compensate the higher tax incidence in the new regime.

The telcos under industry body Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) have emphasized that reduction in Goods and Services Tax or GST rate is important given that the industry is already suffering from "poor financial health". "We request that the applicable GST rate for the telecom industry, which is already suffering from poor financial health, is reduced, so as not to increase the burden from the current levels," COAI has said in a letter to the Revenue Secretary.

The letter comes just days before the meeting of the GST Council on June 11, in which the Centre and the states will review demands by various industries of lowering the proposed tax rates on certain goods and services. Finance Ministry has already indicated that a review is only possible where the proposed tax rate is exorbitantly higher than the current levels.

The letter by COAI Director General Rajan Mathews said the benefits on account of availability of credit of existing duties and taxes are not as perceived by the Finance Ministry. The notion that the increase in GST rate by three per cent will get compensated by the reduction of cascading tax costs, is "misconceived", the industry association said. "While the increased burden of three per cent will arise on the entire revenue, the benefit of input taxes will accrue only on procurement of capital equipments etc, which is a smaller percentage of the revenue," the COAI letter said. Hence, the benefit "will be minimal", it added.

The apex industry body - which counts Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular and Reliance Jio as its members - highlighted that a number of key inputs such as diesel and electricity that are consumed by the telecom firms continue to be outside the GST regime for which no credit is available. "It is therefore evident that the telecom sector will continue to reel under significant cascading taxes even under the GST regime," it added.

Under the new rates decided by the GST Council, the telecom services will be taxed at 18 per cent. At present, telecom consumers are charged 15 per cent in form of tax and cess over their phone bills. The debt-ridden industry had expressed disappointment with the rates saying telecom services will become expensive for consumers.

The Finance Ministry, however, has asked telecom companies to rejig costs and lower prices to pass on to the consumers benefits of tax rate reduction under the Goods and Services Tax regime, which will come into effect from July 1. Finance Ministry has argued that the service providers, can claim input tax credit which will bring down the effective incidence of the levy. But COAI said that cumulative savings on account of credits of duties/taxes becoming available and minuscule interest benefit arising out of full availability of spectrum credits is around 1.1 per cent of the revenue, which is far below three per cent (hike). COAI has also red flagged the "denial" of credit on telecom towers, despite the fact that towers are essential for rendering telecom services.
New Delhi: Global beverages major Coca-Cola on Monday said it will contribute, along with its partners, over USD 1.7 billion (Rs 10,943 crore) in next five years to the Indian agriculture ecosystem.

To be contributed by the company, its bottling partners, fruit suppliers and processors, the amount will be for the entire supply chain from "grove to glass through a concept called 'Fruit Circular Economy'," Coca-Cola India said in a statement.

"Close to USD 800 million (Rs 5,150 crore) of this contribution would be towards procurement of processed fruit pulp and fruit concentrate for the Coca-Cola Company's ever increasing portfolio of juice and juice drinks and carbonated drinks with juice products in India," it said.

The company further said it is also working on a transitional journey focused on creating sustainable agriculture by using a variety of Indian fruits in its beverages under juice and aerated drinks categories.

Through this initiative company's bottling arm Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages, 13 other independent franchise bottlers and fruit processing companies will invest around USD 900 million (Rs 5,793 crore) over the next 5 years.

The investments would be on manufacturing lines, juice bottling infrastructure and fruit processing plants and equipment and agriculture interventions to support demand and grow range of the company's non-carbonated drinks portfolio, it added.

Coca-Cola India and Southwest Asia President T Krishnakumar said: "The investments announced today by Coca- Cola will further catalyse economic growth and create new opportunities for farmers and local suppliers."

The company, which today launched a new Minute Maid Pulpy Mosambi, said it would also expand its juice product range. "We have already expanded our Minute Maid juice range from one variant in 2007 to 11 variants in 2017 and if we are to realise our portfolio ambitions of being a total beverage company, we must invest in the agri ecosystem," he added.

Coca-Cola said an estimated 2 lakh farmers will benefit from its five year roadmap of sourcing fruit pulp and fruit concentrate derived out of 2.10 million tonnes of fruit. Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages and Jain Irrigation have already invested on Project Orange Unnati and Project Mango Unnati working on technology like Ultra High Density

Plantation and Micro Irrigation System for enhanced produce. Currently, the company procures and exports raw materials and ingredients worth USD 280 million (Rs 1,802 crore) from India to 44 countries.
New Delhi: Shareholders of textile major Raymond Ltd today rejected overwhelmingly a proposal for sale of JK House to its promoters and extended family at a substantial discount.

The shareholders have also approved reappointment of the company's Chairman and Managing Director Gautam Singhania as director despite proxy advisory firm Institutional Investor Advisory Services (IiAS) recommendation against the proposal.

Raymond had asked its shareholders to either reject or approve an offer required to be made by the company under a tripartite agreement entered in 2007 between it, lessor and occupants -- all part of promoters and their extended family-- of JK House.

Under the agreement, the company was required to sell flats at JK House at a substantial discount to the current prevailing market prices. In its AGM today, 97.67 per cent of total votes polled was against the resolution, while 2.32 per cent was in favour.

Commenting on the development, Singhania said the decision by shareholders was in the best interest of the company and shareholders. It is "aligned to my personal opinion on this issue expressed earlier", he added.

IiAS had red-flagged the proposal saying Raymond's promoters and their extended family were trying to buy the premium property in Mumbai from the company at "throwaway rates" which will result in loss of over Rs 650 crore to the company and its shareholders. Stating that protecting shareholders interest is of paramount importance, Singhania said Raymond is on a growth path and making it future ready for enhanced value creation for all stakeholders.

The shareholders have also approved reappointment of Singhania as director with 90.53 per cent of votes polled in favour and 9.46 per cent against the resolution. IiAS had stated that Singhania was responsible for the related party transaction in discussion and recommended the shareholders vote against his reappointment as director to Raymond's board.
Mumbai: In the wake of the recent liquidity crisis at Reliance Communications, global rating agency Fitch Ratings today said though the country's banks do not have large exposure to the telecom sector, but defaults could affect lenders with weak financials.

"Indian banks' exposure to troubled telecom companies is not large enough to pose a systemic threat, but defaults could add to problems at banks with weak balance sheets," the rating agency said in a note here today.

According to Reserve Bank, total debt owed by telcos to banks is only Rs 91,300 crore (USD14 billion), accounting for just 1.4 per cent of all bank loans. Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications is struggling to repay Rs 45,000 crore of debt to its lenders. Due to weak operating performance and liquidity condition the company and its various debt instruments were downgraded by multiple rating agency including Fitch Ratings.

Last week, the lenders to Reliance Communications agreed to restructure its debt under strategic debt restructuring of Reserve Bank of India. The lenders have given the company a seven month breather to repay a part of the debt.

Fitch further said the credit profiles of the country's telcos are under pressure from fierce competition stemming from the entry into the market of Reliance Jio last year and rising capex required for the roll-out of 4G services. "Some companies could find it difficult to service their debt and we have the sector on a negative outlook," it said.

The banks already have significant asset quality issues that could be made worse by stress in the telco sector. It, however, said exposure to other troubled sectors is much larger. Lending to iron and steel companies, for example, accounts for 4.7 per cent of total lending. The power sector accounts for 8.7 per cent and the road sector for 2.7 per cent.

The agency said loans to telcos are also generally backed by spectrum assets, which should provide a better chance of recovery than, for example, a steel factory operating below capacity or a power plant that lacks a power purchase agreement. "That said, the sale of spectrum assets might take longer than banks expect and not fetch full value, given that the top-three telcos now have sufficient spectrum to run their operations for the medium term," the report said.
New Delhi: Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha has asked all the ministries and departments to set up a GST facilitation cell to help resolve sectoral concerns of the industry for smooth rollout of the new tax regime from July 1.

In a letter to the secretaries of various ministries and departments, Sinha said that the GST facilitation cell should be managed by a small core team headed by the economic adviser or any other officer of the ministry. "The cell shall be in constant touch with major industry and business associations relating to the respective ministry/department and provide all possible support for the smooth roll-out of GST with effect from July 1, 2017," a finance ministry statement said.

Sinha has also asked the ministries to ensure that all public sector units (PSUs) under the administrative control of their respective ministry/department are GST compliant before July 1, 2017. The secretaries have been asked to hold meetings with the CMDs/chairpersons of PSUs in order to sensitise them towards GST roll out.

"The Cabinet Secretary further added that preferably each PSU may constitute a GST cell, which, in turn, should be fully equipped with the complete knowledge of all the relevant GST Act/Rules/Rate Structure etc," the statement said.

Earlier, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia had written to the secretaries of various ministries saying there is an urgent need for all the central government's ministries and PSUs to be made aware of basic features of the GST law and procedures, including implication in their respective areas of work.

The GST facilitation cell, Sinha said, could serve as the first point of contact for addressing any issue being faced by any business or industrial sector related to the respective ministry. At present, helpline numbers are being made operational by the revenue department for understanding legal or IT related issues of the GST.

Sinha further said that to ensure smooth and successful roll-out of GST, it is essential that all stakeholders, both in the government as well outside, are adequately prepared for the roll-out. Therefore, it is imperative to ensure that all sectors/businesses are GST ready before July 1, 2017.

Touted as the biggest taxation reform since independence, the GST will subsume 16 different taxes, including excise, service tax and VAT, and will make India a single market for seamless transfer of goods and services.
Salman Khan's 'Tubelight' is one of the most anticipated films of the year.

New Delhi: After Siddharth Roy Kapur and Kamal Hassan, Bollywood actor Salman Khan is the latest from the film industry to express his feelings over the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

When asked about government's decision for announcing 28 per cent tax slab under the GST for cinema, the 51-year-old actor said, "Whatever the government has done, they must have done it with proper planning."

To mark the world Environment Day, the 'Sultan' star launched two battery-powered bicycles under his Being Human brand.

Both the variants of the Being Human E-Cycle - BH27 and BH12 - are available in four colours, white, yellow, red and black. Additional variants will be available for sale in a few months.

While addressing the media, Salman said, "People often drop the idea of using cycles when they have to travel long distances because of the effort involved. With the pedal assist and rechargeable motor support, Being Human E-Cycles make it easy and practical to cycle across both urban and not-so-urban areas."

These bicycles have a maximum speed of 25 km/hr. Both the variants present at the event were priced at Rs. 40,000 and Rs. 57,000.

On the work front, Salman Khan will be next seen in Kabir Khan's 'Tubelight,' alongside Sohail Khan and late actor Om Puri.

The flick is slated to release on June 23.
050617CANDIDATE KORA WANTS TO WORK WITH ABG

By Aloysius Laukai

The PDM candidate for the North Bougainville Open seat, DAMIAN KORA says he has only two things he is standing for in the 2017 National Elections.

In his political talk on New Dawn FM yesterday, MR. KORA said that first he wants to work with the ABG and attend ABG meetings so that he can get the same information to the National Government.

He said past leaders had nothing to talk about in the National Parliament because they were not meeting with the ABG leadership to get their grievances to the National Parliament.

MR. KORA said this has resulted in them sitting quietly like Bougainville had no issues to talk about in Parliament.

He said that the ABG was a transitional government which required the national members to provide the bridge between the National Government and Bougainville but this has not happened in the last sixteen years.

MR. KORA said that our own leaders have failed the people of Bougainville and therefore a complete new leader who knows the peace process must be elected this time to set the course back on track.

His second priority was to organize and fund the 14 Constituencies in North Bougainville to develop their Cocoa and Coconut plantations an d organize buyers to buy in the constituencies to create wealth in the villages.

MR. KORA said that the people of Bougainville must have cash in their pockets as they go into the preparation for the Referendum in 2019.

He said the people of North Bougainville must talk and develop what they own on their land and that the plantations that have look after them for so many years.

He said issues like the PANGUNA mine is for the landowners of Panguna and not the North Bougainvilleans who have survived on Copra and Cocoa to this day.

Ends
BENGALURU: Criminal cases registered against forgery are common and they normally involve the accused forging the signatures of the living. But here, the dead came back to life and signed documents, that put a surveyor in the dock!

The private surveyor had surveyed a piece of land, and during the process, took the signature of a man as part of the mahazar. But the only hitch was... he was late by a couple of days! The signature that the surveyor took was that of a man who had died two days ago.

After learning about the incident, authorities issued a show-cause notice seeking to cancel his licence. After receiving the surveyors reply, the DC passed an order cancelling his licence. Later, when the Director of Land Reforms too dismissed his appeal, the surveyor approached the Karnataka High Court.

The case relates to the petitioner, who was granted the private survey licence in 2002. In 2007, he made an application seeking preparation of a survey sketch for Sy.No.182/1 and 182/2 of Kulavalli village, Jamkhandi Taluk, Bagalkot district. While preparing the sketch, the signature of Parappa Shivaraya Masthi was taken on Aug 12, 2007. But Masthi had died on Aug 10, 2007. After a complaint was lodged, the surveyors licence was cancelled.

The petitioner contended that he was not aware of Masthis death. The signature was obtained on a survey sketch as part of the Mahazar, and was accepted as it was not brought to his notice, the surveyor argued.

It was the duty of the petitioner to ascertain as to whose signature has been obtained on the survey sketch. He cannot accept the same merely because somebody has produced it. The signature on the mahazar is the proof of the presence of those who have signed the document. The witnesses have also deposed against the petitioner. A detailed inquiry has been held," the court observed.

It stated that the only defence offered by the petitioner that he was unaware of the death cannot be accepted. The petitioner has failed in his duty as a surveyor in taking the signature of persons who are no more. Such an act of the petitioner necessarily entails cancellation of licence. I find no good ground to interfere with the impugned order," the judge ordered.
Hyderabad: A 22-year-old woman on Monday allegedly committed suicide by setting herself on fire at her house in Yacharam near here, police said.

M Shyamala, who was alone in the house, poured kerosene and set herself ablaze, said police.

Her parents have alleged that she took the extreme step due to the harassment by a police constable who was pestering her with his love proposal.

On hearing her cries, the neighbours tried to rescue her and immediately shifted her to a nearby private hospital where she was declared brought dead by the doctors, they said.

Her parents and family members in a complaint lodged with Yacharam Police station alleged that she resorted to the extreme step unable to bear harassment from a police constable identified as S Narsimha, inspector J Madan Mohan Reddy said.

"The constable has been accused of mentally harassing her to accept his love proposal, as per the complaint. On Monday, he called her on her cell phone and threatened her," the inspector said based on the complaint.

A case was registered and further probe is on.
Echoing similar opinion, another JD (U) leader Shyam Rajak assured that the culprits will be nabbed soon and justice will prevail. (Photo: ANI/Twitter)

Patna: Condemning the incident in Bihar's Kaimur district where two youths were tied with ropes, hung upside down and given a sound thrashing on a mere suspicion that they had stolen five plastic chairs hired for a wedding ceremony at the village, the Janata Dal (United) on Tuesday said that the guilty will be brought to book.

Asserting that under Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's rule the wrong will not flourish, JD (U) leader Sanjay Singh dubbed the incident as 'morally incorrect'.

"It is a very saddening incident. Such a huge punishment for a small crime is not morally incorrect. Our government will punish the miscreants. We will never let go anyone who challenges law of the land. Our govt is very active and justice will be done. The guilty will be prosecuted. We will not overlook offenders," Singh told ANI.

Echoing similar opinion, another JD (U) leader Shyam Rajak assured that the culprits will be nabbed soon and justice will prevail.

"The incident is condemnable. Nitish Kumar is our CM, and we under his leadership will not let wrong prevail. The entire incident will be investigated. The incident is condemnable. Law will take its course and the offenders will be nabbed as soon as possible," said Rajak.

In a Sonbarsa village of Kaimur district in western Bihar, two youth were beaten blue and black on charges of stealing five chairs from a wedding last week.

The victims--Raj Kumar Bind and Birbal Bind, both in their early 20s, were hanged upside down on a tree and beaten badly by strongmen in the village.

According to reports, there was wedding ceremony in the house of Mahangu Bind, a strongman in the village.

Soon after his daughter was married and the baarat returned, he found that of the several items he had hired from a tent house for the wedding, five chairs were missing.

Mahangu suspected that Raj Kumar and Birbal were responsible for the alleged theft and called them to his house and hanged them upside down on a tree and thrashed them.

The victims were released only after they paid Rs. 3,000 as compensation for the chairs that had gone missing.

However, an FIR in connection with the barbaric incident was registered at the Nuaon Police Station only on Sunday.
The party said any such decision is for the state government to take. (Photo: Videograb)

New Delhi: The BJP on Tuesday termed as "false and malicious untruth" reports that it wants to impose a ban on beef in Meghalaya as another party leader in the state quit protesting the Centre's controversial notification on cattle.

The party said any such decision is for the state government to take.

Nalin Kohli, who is Meghalaya in-charge for the BJP, blamed the Congress for spreading this "malicious untruth" and accused it of communalising the political agenda in the state going to polls next year.

The North Garo Hills district BJP president, Bachu Marak, had on Monday resigned from the party over the Centre's ban on the sale of cattle in markets for slaughter.

"I cannot compromise on the sentiments of the Garos. As a Garo, it is my responsibility to protect the interest of my community. Beef eating is part of our culture and tradition.

Imposition of BJP's non-secular ideology on us is not acceptable," Bachu said after the resignation.

Kohli said the party "welcomed" his resignation as it was going to take disciplinary action against him as he and some others were working to sabotage its prospects.

Consumption of beef is common in much of the north eastern states and the saffron party, whose many leaders are vocal against beef-eating, has been accused by its rivals of working to impose a ban in the region as well.

"The dirty tricks department of the Congress is trying to communalise the agenda with a false and malicious untruth that the BJP wants to impose a beef ban on the state of Meghalya.

"Nothing is farther from the truth since under our constitutional scheme, the central government cannot encroach on the area of what a state government has to decide," Kohli said.

The BJP's single point agenda for Meghalaya is Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas' and it is gearing up to contest the assembly elections on this positive agenda of development, he said.

It will also expose "rampant corruption, unfulfilled promises and lack of development" under the Congress government of Mukul Sangma, he said.

He accused the Congress of running away from a debate on its performance.
Guwahati: The first wave of flood has hit the Kaziranga National Park and over 13,000 people in Assam.

Disclosing that over 30 per cent areas of 858 sq km area of the park has already been inundated in the floodwater, the park authorities said that almost all the low-lying areas of the park are under water and animals have started moving towards the hills of Karbi Anglong district.

Pointing out that park authorities have strengthened security as poachers take advantage of the flood to kill animals, particularly one-horned rhinos, park authorities said that they could not complete the construction of 33 highlands meant to provide shelter to animals during the floods.

Informing that artificial highlands were constructed to provide additional support to wildlife of the park to escape deluge, park authorities said that they have deployed additional 100 forest guards to take care of animals during the flood.

Meanwhile, incident of landslides in North Cachar Hills in the hilly Dima Hasao district have snapped the rail link to Barak Valley. The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) had to cancel a passenger train to Silchar from Lumding on Saturday after the incident of landslides.

The Brahmaputra river is flowing above the danger level in Nimatighat, prompting officials to suspend ferry services to the island district of Majuli from Jorhat.

Assam Disaster Management Authority officials said the first wave of floods have affected 28 villages in Lakhimpur, Jorhat and Biswanath districts.

The Assam government has already instructed the officials in flood-prone districts to arrange relief and rescue materials to handle the emergency situations.

The Army, along with the civil administration, is also carrying out a joint exercise at various places to train locals to rescue the marooned people from flood prone areas.
The father of the boy is a perfume seller, Abhilesh(35) of Chellamuthu Nagar , Pollachi.Saratha was depressed after her son was allegedly denied admission.

Coimbatore: A 30-year-old woman committed suicide after a private matriculation school in Pollachi allegedly refused to admit her son in sixth class.

Police said the tragedy occurred after Saratha, the mother of the boy, had submitted an application in a private matriculation school here for class six admission, hoping her son would get better education.

The father of the boy is a perfume seller, Abhilesh(35) of Chellamuthu Nagar , Pollachi.Saratha was depressed after her son was allegedly denied admission by that school and hung herself from a ceiling fan in her home on Sunday
New Delhi: Hitting back at the CPI(M), the BJP on Tuesday accused it of being a "mouthpiece" of Pakistan and China, alleging that the party and "perverse" intellectuals were standing not with the armed forces but with separatists, stone pelters and terrorists.

"Instead of standing with the armed forces, the CPI(M) and the perverse intellectuals are standing with separatists, stone pelters and terrorists. In reality, the CPI(M) has now become a China and Pakistan mouthpiece. Those who are targeting the Army chief are 'Jaichands' sucking up to hostile neighbours and backstabbing India," BJP spokesperson GVL Narsimha Rao said.

The CPI(M) had on Tuesday criticised Army Chief Bipin Rawat for defending the use of a "human shield" in Kashmir, saying his comments reflected the views of the Modi government, which seeks to "suppress" the people there.

The Left party said the Army and Kashmiris would suffer "irreparable damage" because of the government's "blind" adherence to the use of force against civilians in the Valley.
Srinagar: Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and working president of opposition National Conference (NC), Omar Abdullah, on Tuesday alleged that the youth of the State are being suffocated by repressive policies of the PDP-BJP government. The looming uncertainty coupled with the confrontational approach of the PDP-BJP government has created a sense of despair and hopelessness among the youth, he said.

Abdullah who was speaking at a youth convention at the party headquarters in Srinagar also said that the Central governments unfortunate failure to reach out and build bridges of reconciliation and peace with the youth of the State has created a political vacuum. In this grim atmosphere, our youth is being robbed of their right to dream of a dignified and prosperous future  which is a travesty, he said.

He said the youth feel cheated and betrayed after promises made to them in 2014 were either broken or unapologetically abandoned. Promises were made during the elections and votes sought for specific purposes. The same promises were then bartered without any inhibitions for personal and familial political empowerment of a few people while our hardworking, honest and sincere young men and women were let down and left to the mercy of uncertainty and turmoil, he alleged. He added that due to this treachery, the trust deficit has been further widened to an extent where skepticism on the ground far overshadows the utility of any rhetoric the government has to offer.

He, however, exhorted the activists of the partys Youth Wing to lead efforts to bring about change and empower the youth to shape a future of dignity and peace. He asked them to organize themselves at the local ground level in a decentralized manner and lead a collective effort to bring about a change. You are the harbingers of change and you have to work together and with utmost dedication and conviction to be a source of reprieve for the people. Together, the youth can lead a historic effort to rid the State of political opportunism and deceit, he said.
Chennai: The Madras High Court on Tuesday adjourned till Wednesday hearing on another Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed challenging the Centres recent notification banning the sale and purchase of cattle from animal markets, for slaughter.

When the PIL came up, the first bench of Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice M Sunder adjourned the matter to Wednesday for further hearing.

The matter relates to the PIL seeking to declare the notification of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017 by the Centre, as illegal, unconstitutional, and ultra vires of the Constitution.

The petitioner, an advocate owing allegiance to Vidhudhalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, alleged that on the pretext of framing rules to prevent the trans-boundary smuggling of cattle, the Centre has imposed its Hindutva ideology by way of banning sale and purchase of cattle for slaughter from animal markets.

Instead of making a valid rule to prevent international sales and smuggling, as well trans-boundary smuggling, the Centre under a misconception has drafted and notified the Rule, banning sale of cattle at animal markets for slaughter, which is ultra vires to the provisions of the Constitution dealing with Article 14, 19 (1) (g), 21, 25 and 29, the petitioner contended.

The question is whether the Centre under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act, 1960 is empowered to notify such Rules, when the subject matter falls under the state subject, the petitioner said.

The notification has triggered protests by non-BJP parties and state governments of Kerala, West Bengal and Puducherry which stridently oppose it.

Protesters have alleged that it infringed upon the food habits of people.
New Delhi: With two farmers killed by security forces during a protest in Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur district on Tuesday, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has ordered a judicial enquiry into the matter.

The protesting farmers intensified their agitation earlier on Tuesday, as they continued to demand fair prices and loan waiver. However, things got out of hand when security forces opened fire on the farmers, killing two and injuring three.

Meanwhile, internet services in Mandsaur, Ratlam and Ujjain remain suspended following the farmers' protests, and a curfew has also reportedly been imposed.

The Rashtriya Kisaan Mazdoor Sangh has called for a state-wide shutdown on Wednesday.

The fresh protests come despite Chouhan's assertion yesterday that his government is taking all necessary steps to address the issues of the agitating farmers.
DMK leader MK Stalin writes to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj urging her to ensure the interests of Indians living in Qatar. (Photo: DC/File)

Chennai: DMK leader MK Stalin on Tuesday wrote to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj urging her to ensure the interests of Indians living in Qatar, with which a Saudi-led coalition has severed ties.

In his letter to the union minister, Stalin, also opposition leader in the Tamil Nadu assembly, said families in India of those living in Qatar were very much worried about the safety of their relatives in the Gulf country.

And it is quite imperative on my part to seek your timely personal diplomatic assistance, as it is broadly viewed that the current tension may have the potential to affect the interests of Indians in Qatar, he said.

I am confident that under your leadership, the Ministry of External Affairs might have already explored and initiated the diplomatic steps necessary to ensure the safety and well-being of the Indians living in Qatar, he added.

He requested Sushma Swaraj to direct the Indian embassy in Doha to take utmost care of the interests of the Indians living in Qatar during the period of complex diplomatic challenge.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates announced on Monday that they were severing diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing the Gulf state of supporting terrorism.
New Delhi: Congress party president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday said whatever success or progress the NDA government has achieved is from programs and projects started by the previous UPA regime.

"The Modi government has just completed three years in office. Where there was harmony, there is discord. Where there was tolerance, there is provocation. Where there was relative calm, as in Kashmir, there is growing confrontation, tension and fear. Where there was economic potential, there is stagnation. Where there was rich diversity, there is a brazen campaign to strait-jacket the whole country into a regressive and narrow-minded world-view," she said after a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) in Delhi.

She added that the NDA government had failed to provide any benefit to the vast majority of the poor and deprived.

Taking a dig at the Centre's much touted and promoted demonetisation drive, she said, "If we just look at demonetisation, which was touted as a great success, till today, the government refuses to disclose how much of the demonetised currency in circulation was actually returned to the banks.

The recent released growth rate indicates that former prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh's forecast that demonetisation would slow down economic growth was correct," she said.

Sonia also criticised the Centre's 'Make in India' campaign, saying it has failed to create jobs or attract investment, adding that unemployment, farmers suicide are increasing by the day.

"Unemployment is rampant. Farmers throughout the country are in severe distress forcing them to commit suicide. Worst of all, women, Adivasis, minorities and other oppressed people are facing perilous times.

The 'manifesto promises' that should have been fulfilled in 2019 are now being shifted to 2022," she said.

Commenting on the Centre's new notification on cattle trade, she said there is an assault on livelihoods and food habits of those who follow different tenets and beliefs.

"This government is using the power of the state to stifle voices that express different thoughts and ideas or speak out for alternative policies and philosophies," she said.

Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said, "The NDA government has completed three years. Though they are celebrating this by using government's money, but these three years were the most disappointing period for the people of India."

He further said the nation has only witnessed fear and fright in three years of Modi government.
Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Bhupendra Singh on Tuesday said that police had not fired on farmers protesting for raising prices for their produce, adding that the state government has not imposed any curfew suspended internet services in the region.

"There was no firing from police, will look into the farmer's death," Singh told ANI.

Earlier, reports emerged that two farmers had died and four others were injured after police started firing in during farmer's protest in Mandsaur.

The Internet was also reportedly suspended in Mandsaur, Ratlam and Ujjain during the protest.

Protestors were demanding higher prices for their produce, including onions and dal.

They also wanted their loans to be waived as was being done in the BJP ruled states of Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.
New Delhi: Jet Airways and IndiGo on Monday said their flights to Doha are operating as per schedule, amid some Arab states severing their diplomatic ties with Qatar  a development that could also result in airspace restrictions over the Gulf region.

In a major diplomatic crisis in the Arab region, many countries had cut their ties with Qatar blaming the latter of extending support to extremists.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, Egypt, Yemen and Maldives also severed their relations with Qatar.

While restrictions have been imposed on state-owned Qatar Airways, there are no curbs imposed by the countries on carriers from India and other nations.

Apart from Jet Airways and IndiGo, national airline Air India also has flight services to Doha -- the capital of Qatar.

Jet Airways, whose strategic partner is UAE-based Etihad Airways, said its flight operations to Doha are as per schedule.

Our flights to and from Doha are operating as per schedule, Jet Airways said in a tweet. Noting that it is closely monitoring the situation, IndiGo said its Doha flights are operating as per schedule.

Flights to Doha operating as per schedule. Passengers will be informed of changes if any. We are closely monitoring the situation, the airline tweeted.

There was no comment from Air India about its Doha flights.

According to reports, the UAE has said that foreign airlines should take permission for using its airspace while operating flights to Qatar.
New Delhi: In what may spark a fresh controversy, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Indresh Kumar has said that Muslims who are observing fast (Roza) during the Holy month of Ramadan should not include 'gosht' (meat) in their meal as it is a 'beemari' (disease).

"First, during Ramadan, they should plant trees in their localities, lanes, mosques and dargahs to check pollution and to protect environment. Second, they should keep Tulsi plant in their homes, because it's called Rehan (Herb of heaven) in Arabian and isse jannat naseeb hogi (You will get heaven)," he said.

He further appealed to the Muslim community to include cow milk in their sherbet.

"Prophet and his family never consumed meat. They used to say meat is a disease and milk is a cure," he added.

The RSS leader further said that consuming meat during the holy month of Ramadan is equivalent to consuming poison.

Indresh made the statement during an iftaar party organized by the Muslim Rashtriya Manch (MRM) in Jamia Millia Islamia University on Monday.
Sonia Gandhi hits out at NDA government over unrest in Jammu and Kashmir. (Photo: ANI Twitter)

New Delhi: Taking a jibe at the Centre over the prevailing unrest in the Valley, Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday said the growing crisis in Jammu and Kashmir has come to represent the colossal failure of the NDA Government.

The crisis in Jammu and Kashmir has come to represent the colossal failure of this government. We are facing a rise in cross-border terrorism, Sonia Gandhi said after a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) in the national capital.

She said the insensitive handling of the situation in the Valley by both the State and the Central governments are systematically alienating and antagonizing the local population, especially the youth.

A divisive agenda is being followed which has undone years of goodwill and progress. A large number of jawans and civilians have lost their lives or have been injured, she said.

She further advised the ruling regime to address the growing crisis situation in the Valley and to correct its flawed approach to restore normalcy in order to regain the trust of the people.

I have asked a small group of colleagues under the chairmanship of Dr. Manmohan Singh to keep abreast of the situation there, she added.

Meanwhile, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Director General Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar visited Kashmir on Tuesday.

He lauded the army, while stating that the Bandipora encounter was successful.

We succeeded in saving our camps. The Jammu and Kashmir Police also helped us. We have reviewed the Amarnath Yatra too, he added.

Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police SP Vaid said the Bandipora encounter was a live example of coordinated work.

At least four militants were killed in retaliatory firing by 45 Battalion CRPF and the Jammu and Kashmir Police (JKP) at Sumbal in Bandipora district on Monday.

The militants were reportedly attempting a suicide attack on the CRPF camp.
New Delhi: Home Minister Rajnath Singh, on Tuesday, said that US President Donald Trump's statement withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement had come as a shock for India but he was sure America would rethink its decision.

Inaugurating a two-day national level conference on 'Capacity Building of State Disaster Response Force-2017', Singh said it was cause of concern for India and the world community if a country thinks only about its own interests.

"The US President's statement on Paris agreement has come as a shock for us and the international community. I am sure the US will rethink its decision," he said.

It has to be seen, the home minister added, in what circumstances the US president made the statement on the Paris accord.

Announcing the US withdrawal from the Paris deal on June 1, Trump claimed that India had made its participation in the agreement "contingent on receiving billions and billions and billions dollars in foreign aid".

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj rejected Trump's comment yesterday and said India signed the Paris climate pact not because of pressure from any country or due to the lure of money.

"Our signature in the pact was not because of greed, it was not because of fear. We signed it due to our commitment to protecting the environment... India will continue to be part of it irrespective of whether the US remains in it or not," Swaraj told reporters while speaking on three years of the Modi government.
Hundreds of Youth Congress and Yuva Morcha activists had gathered since last night in front of the Secretariat as part of a '24-hour siege' protest against the government headed by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan. (Photo: Representational Image)

Thiruvananthapuram: Youth activists of the Opposition Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday clashed during an agitation before the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram against the CPI(M)-led LDF government, which is celebrating its first year in office.

Hundreds of Youth Congress and Yuva Morcha activists had gathered since last night in front of the Secretariat as part of a '24-hour siege' protest against the government headed by chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, alleging that its one year rule was a "total failure."

Trouble started when the activists pelted stones at each other and tore flex boards. A policeman was injured in the stone throwing and police used water cannons to disperse them, police said.

Earlier, inaugurating the Yuva Morcha rally, Poonam Mahajan, national president, said the "red terror" unleashed by Marxist workers against the cadres of saffron outfits should end.

Alleging that the attack against party workers had increased after LDF government came to power in May last year, Mahajan wanted the centre to hold a proper inquiry into the killings of RSS/BJP workers.

Since the 1960s, in Kannur, from where the chief minister hails, over 200 RSS/BJP workers have been killed, she alleged. "No FIRs have been registered," she said.

"We request the Prime Minister, Home Minister and Kerala Governor to conduct a proper inquiry and set up a Special Investigation Team to fight the red terror," she said.

She said the one year rule of the Vijayan-led government was a failure on all fronts, and alleged that rape cases and atrocities against dalits were on the rise.

BJP leaders Ram Madhav and H Raja were among those who spoke.

BJP Kerala president Kummanam Rajasekharan said "there is no water nor rice in ration shops, and no jobs for the youth. What has the government done to celebrate its first year in office."

Youth Congress national president Amarinder Singh Raja inaugurated the youth congress rally.

Speaking at the rally, KPCC president M M Hassan said there was nothing for the LDF government to celebrate as its policies were all "anti-people."
Chennai: Operating from a dingy building, a 61-year-old branch library at Shanmugam Road of West Tambaram cries for attention from government and public entities.

Handful of people visit the makeshift library, which once was an individual house. Employee crunch and lack of funds are the reasons for the poor maintenance of the library, said the staff. The library is now being operated by a differently abled woman.

Though the village librarian has refused to talk to this newspaper, regular visitors of the place complain of many lapses. The e-service system, which is introduced in most of the libraries in the recent past, is not in a proper condition. Two computers that were set up in the library are non-functional since many days. Except for the libr-arian, there are no one in the library to help the people with books and membership cards, said Arjun Nagu, a visitor.

The restrooms are in a filthy condition and visitors also complain of the absence of water facility. Forget about the up-graded facilities like CCTV cameras, the library has no good collection of books.  Arjun added. The library, initially started for ladies and children, was inaugurated by Tha Mu Dhanabal in 1956 when Tambaram belonged to a panchayat. It was only after constructing the new building in 1986 and throwing it open to everyone that the facility started attracting book lovers .

(With inputs from Amirtha VK)
KOCHI: Kochi city was at the feet of mother earth on her D-day on Monday. A number of organisations, educational institutions and district administration organised a variety of events to commemorate the World Environment Day. M. Swaraj, MLA, inaugurated the district-level functions at Edakochi PKM Auditorium as part of the Haritha Keralam programme. A total of 4.5 lakh saplings are being planted in the district as part of the programme. along with Mr Swaraj, actor Nivin Pauly, district collector Muhammed Y. Safirulla and John Fenandez, MLA, also planted saplings.

The CPMs programme of planting 25,000 bamboo saplings on the banks of Periyar was inaugurated by finance minister T.M. Thomas Isaac at a function at Aluva attended by Prof M.K. Sanu, Innocent, MP, P. Rajeev, actors Nadirsha and Dileep and directors Amal Neerad, Aashiq Abu, among a galaxy of cultural, political and literary personalities. The day was observed at Ernakulam Rural police headquarters with the planting of saplings by staff. The NSS wings of MG University, Sanskrit Universtiy and Sacred Heart College, Thevara, observed the day with the planting and distribution of saplings. Vice-Chancellor Dr Rose Varghese led the planting of 500 saplings on NUALS campus.

IndianOil, in its effort make the world a better place to live, resolved to plant/distribute over 1 lakh saplings across Kerala. At Lourdes Hospital, Kochi, saplings were distributed to school children, patients and staff members on the occasion. Youth Congress Ernakulam block committee deployed its 50 activists to clean the road stretch from Corporation office to High Court. Sections of Kochi Corporation staff and councillors led by the Opposition leader K.J. Antony and Mayor Soumini Jain separately planted saplings. Leaving nature to itself is the best landscaping, said Dr. Baju George, CEO, SmartCity Kochi, at an event organized by Sands Infrabuild, which is building one of the tallest IT buildings in India in SmartCity, in connection with the World Environment Day.
New Delhi: Sonia Gandhi may step down from the Congress presidentship, paving the way for Rahul Gandhi's possible elevation when the party holds its internal elections by October 15.

The Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party's highest decision-making body, on Tuesday approved the schedule for internal elections under which the party has to complete the exercise by October 15.

In her speech at the CWC meeting, Sonia Gandhi exhorted party men to strengthen the organisation and complete the organisational polls with "speed and sincerity".

"We must strengthen our organisation. The ongoing organisational elections must be completed with the utmost speed and sincerity," she said at the meeting, ahead of the CWC approving the poll schedule.

Asked whether the issue of elevation of Rahul Gandhi was discussed at the meeting, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad replied in the negative.

"The schedule for organisational elections has been cleared by the CWC," Azad said, adding that Rahul's elevation was not specifically discussed.

The CWC members had in the last meeting in November unanimously expressed "strong sentiment" for Rahul's elevation for the first time and may take it further.

At the November 7 meeting, all members, including former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and senior leader AK Antony, had made a strong pitch for Rahul to take over the reins of the party.

The Congress President has created a record by being at the helm of the 130-year-old organisation for nearly two decades since late Sitaram Kesri's ouster by the CWC in early 1998.

Rahul was appointed party vice president in January 2013 at Congress's brainstorming session in Jaipur.
For launching heavier satellites, ISRO had to depend on facilities from abroad and the space agency had launched 3,404 kg communication satellite GSAT18 from Ariane, French Guiana.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will work on launching vehicles with

"electric propulsion system" so that large satellites can be sent into space by the agency, its Chairman A S Kiran Kumar said today.

"Till today, we had the capability to launch 2.2 tonne satellites and in today's GSLV-MKIII D1 launch, we successfully used electric propulsion system," he told reporters here.

Asked whether ISRO would make use of the facility at French Guiana, he said for the next satellite GSAT18, weighing about 3.3 tonnes and scheduled for launch on June 28 and another satellite weighing 5.8 tonnes would be done from there.

For launching heavier satellites, ISRO had to depend on facilities from abroad and the space agency had launched 3,404 kg communication satellite GSAT18 from Ariane, French Guiana.

"For the next launch which is on June 28, we are actually getting it done from Ariane. It is a GSAT18 which is about 3.3 tonnes but after that we also have 5.8-tonne satellite for which also, we will be going to French Guiana," he said.

"We have a six-tonne satellite in principle. It is possible to be realised using electric propulsion. So we have already started using electric propulsion system. (Even)

GSAT-19 (launched today) carries an electric propulsion system. So, we have successfully tested that," he said.

Asked how the mood was when the cryogenic upper stage was firing during today's launch of GSLV MkIII carrying GSAT-19, he said it was "upbeat" as the scientists undertook several round of tests.

"The mood was upbeat. In December 2014 we tested our first S200 solid motor and L110 liquid engine. We did make certain modifications. As far as cryogenic engine was concerned, more than 199 tests have done since December 2014.

All these tests have been done without any mishap or failure. This also boosted our confidence," he said.

About the immediate task for ISRO, Kumar said "it is to improve the launch vehicles of PSLV, at least two launches of GSLV Mark II per year and one more Mark III within a year".

Asked when GSAT19 would reach the intended orbit, he said, "Right now what is achieved is a geostationary transfer orbit. That means, it is about perigee of 170 kms and apogee of 39,500 kms. What we will do is a series of manoeuvres using the propulsion of the satellite in the coming days. Typically it takes two to three weeks."

On the status of inter-planetary mission, Kumar said the space agency had two approved missions - "Aditya" and "Chandrayaan II."

"The launch of "Chandrayaan II" will be in the first quarter of next year and with regard to "Aditya" we are planning to launch it some time in 2018-'19," he said.

To a query as to whether the market size of ISRO increased with today's heavy satellite launch, Kumar said "definitely with every successful launch credibility of the system goes up. Customers will have greater confidence".

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Amazon is one of those few IT giants that wants to challenge the maestros of the conventional tech space by bringing out innovative products. The Amazon Echo was a breakthrough product that led Google and Apple to follow up with their iterations of the same. Their Prime Video service is also doing great as compared to rival services by Google and others. However, they couldnt exactly set fire in the smartphone arena with its Firefox series of phones. Now though, they are getting ready to beat the leaders at their own game with Ice smartphones.

According to a report from Gadgets360, Amazon is working on a new line-up of smartphones branded as Ice, according to anonymous sources. The phones will be based on the latest Android OS and will feature support for Google Mobile Services, apart from running Amazons suite of apps and services. This is a major departure from the Android tablets that Amazon sells without Google apps on them.

The sources also say that the phones could feature 5.2-inch and 5.5-inch displays. They would come with entry-level specifications  Snapdragon 435, 2GB RAM, 16GB storage, Android 7.1 and will offer Google Assistant as well. The devices could start around Rs 6,000 and could be in the markets within a year. However, no hints of Alexa on these phones has been speculated yet.

If this speculation turns out to be true, then we could be looking at a well-armed contender in the budget smartphone category ruled by the Android platform. The initial Fire phone ran the FireFox OS without Google apps, which was a deal-breaker for many. The Ice phones running Android could have a fair chance of surviving in a market dominated by Googles open-source OS.

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India has fallen victim to a new malware called Fireball and is among the worst hit countries across the world in a massive new outbreak, launched by a Chinese firm, according to security firm Check Point.

Check Point counts over 250 million PCs infected with the malicious code across the world, among which India is recorded to be the worst affected, with 25.3 million infected PCs. Other countries which have been infected by the malware following India, includes Brazil (24.1 million), Mexico (16.1 million), Indonesia (13.1 million) and the US (5.5 millions).

The malware is designed to hijack browsers and manipulate infected users web-traffic on behalf of a Beijing-based digital marketing firm called Rafotech to generate ad-revenues. Disturbingly, the malware also has the ability of running any code on victim computersdownloading any file or malware.

A quarter-billion computers could very easily become victims of real malware, said Maya Horowitz, head of Check Point research firm, told Wired. It installs a backdoor into all these computers that can be very, very easily exploited in the hands of the Chinese people behind the campaign, she added.

This is the second global malware attack that India has fallen prone to, in a row after the massive WannaCry ransomware attack spread last month. The global cyber attack affected over 200,000 computers systems in at least 150 countries, including India, taking advantage of a vulnerability of the Microsofts OS Windows. The attack was also linked back to Chinese-speaking criminals, based on the language used in the malwares ransom note.

In the Check Point analysis, it appeared one out of five of all cooperate networks are affected. The security firm warns that even though hit rates in the US (10.7%) and China (4.7%) are alarming; Indonesia (60%), India (43%) and Brazil (38%) have much more dangerous hit rates.

Check Point notified fireball should not only be judged based on its abilities known so far. Something behind this is fishy, and the intentions of the developers arent only to monetize on advertisements, Horowitz said. We dont know their plans, and if there really is one. But it looks like they have the opportunity to take it to the next level, she added.

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Washington: US President Donald Trump renewed his criticism of London Mayor Sadiq Khan on Monday, in a second such condemnation in less than 48 hours since a terror attack in the British capital.

Trump accused Khan -- Londons first Muslim mayor -- of offering a pathetic excuse for comments that Trump earlier misconstrued about policing in response to Saturdays attack, which left seven people dead.

Khan had told Londoners there was no reason to be alarmed about an increased police presence in the coming days.

Trump has leapt on the London attacks as evidence of the need for hardline security measures in the United States, including a ban on travellers from Muslim countries.

Trumps comments caused outrage among British officials, many of whom call London home.

British Prime Minister Theresa May was among those who came to Khans defence.

I think Sadiq Khan is doing a good job and its wrong to say anything else -- hes doing a good job, she told a press conference on Monday.

Khans staff said he was too busy to respond to Trumps tweets.
Washington: US President Donald Trump has insisted the need for a travel ban for certain dangerous countries.

"That's right, we need a TRAVEL BAN for certain DANGEROUS countries, not some politically correct term that won't help us protect our people!," Trump tweeted.

In the aftermath of the London terror attack, Trump retorted once again to the US courts for blocking his attempted travel ban against people from six Muslim-majority countries.

"People, the lawyers and the courts can call it whatever they want, but I am calling it what we need and what it is, a TRAVEL BAN!" the President tweeted.

His comments drew the ire of legal experts, including a Supreme Court lawyer representing Hawaii against the White House and George Conway, husband of Trump's aide Kellyanne Conway and an attorney who has been considered for senior federal posts, the Guardian reported.

Neil Katyal, a Supreme Court lawyer, tweeted in response to Trump, "It's kind of odd to have the defendant in Hawaii v Trump acting as our co-counsel. We don't need the help but will take it!"

The White House appealed to the Supreme Court after Trump's executive order restricting entry to the US from Iran, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, Libya and Syria was blocked by federal courts in Maryland and Hawaii.
Washington: A Russian fighter jet intercepted a US B-52 bomber over the Baltic Sea, the Russian Defence Ministry told Russian media outlets Tuesday.

Russian media quoted the ministry as saying that the Russian Su-27 was "dispatched to intercept the target" and "approached the aircraft staying at a safe distance, identified it as a US strategic bomber B-52 and escorted it for some time."

The B-52, according to the ministry, was over international waters and flying near "Russia's state borders." A spokesman for the US European Command did not respond to request for comment.

Several B-52s, along with a contingent of maintenance troops arrived in the United Kingdom in recent days to participate in a series of NATO exercises happening this summer. Sabre Strike, one of the multinational exercises, began last month and will take place in Poland, Latvia and Lithuania during the coming weeks.

B-52 bombers first entered service in the 1950s and will fly long into the 21st century as the workhorse of the Air Force's bomber fleet.

The hulking eight-engine aircraft are capable of holding 70,000 pounds of munitions and have been upgraded in past decades to drop everything from sea mines to nuclear-tipped cruise missiles.

A detachment of the planes are currently participating in the air war against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Last month, a Russian aircraft came within 20 feet of a US surveillance plane over the Baltic Sea in an incident the Pentagon called "routine." Additionally, US aircraft intercepted a number of Russian bombers near the coast of Alaska in May.

NATO jets intercepted Russian aircraft more than 100 times near the Baltic States in 2016, according to data provided by the Lithuania Defense Ministry to a regional news agency.

After Russia annexed Crimea and sent troops into eastern Ukraine in 2014, the number of NATO intercepts peaked at 160 in 2015.
Washington: A top secret National Security Agency document shows that hackers from Russian military intelligence tried repeatedly to break into US voting systems before 2016's presidential election, The Intercept reported on Monday.

The NSA report depicts an operation tied closely to Moscow's GRU intelligence directorate targeting private companies that hacked voter registration services and equipment for months until just days before the November 8 election, the online news outlet said.

The Intercept, which focuses on national security issues, says the NSA document does not conclude whether the hackers had any effect on the election or whether its aims were accomplished.

US intelligence officials have repeatedly said hackers had no effect on vote tallies in the election, won in a shock upset by Donald Trump.

But the report expanded on US allegations that Russian President Vladimir Putin directed a concerted effort, involving hacking and disinformation, to interfere with the election to help Trump.

"Russian General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate actors ... executed cyber espionage operations against a named US company in August 2016, evidently to obtain information on elections-related software and hardware solutions," the NSA report says, according to The Intercept.

"The actors likely used data obtained from that operation to ... launch a voter registration-themed spear phishing campaign targeting US local government organizations."

The report was published just days after Putin denied allegations that the Russian state had meddled in the US election.

Putin conceded, however, that there may have been hacking by Russians unconnected with the government.

As for the charges of government involvement, he said: "This useless and harmful chatter needs to stop."

The NSA did not immediately reply to requests for comment on the report.

The Intercept said that the agency, Washington's most important signals intelligence body, sought first to dissuade them from publishing it, and then requested redactions of sensitive information.

The report shows that, by trying to steal log in credentials and using spear fishing emails to plant malware, the hackers obtained and maintained access to elements of multiple US state or local electoral boards.

How successful that effort was, and what kind of data may have been stolen, remains an unanswered question, the NSA report says.

It also notes that despite then-president Barack Obama's warning to Putin in September 2016 to not interfere with the election, the hacking attack on voter systems continued through October.
The closing of air and land crossing has implications for the food supply chain in Qatar that imports food from neighbouring countries. (Photo: ANI)

Doha: Ever since six countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed relations with Qatar after accusing the state of supporting terrorism and de-stabilising the region, residents of Qatar have been stocking up on food, worried that a diplomatic spat with its neighbours could turn into an economic blockade and lead to shortages.

Saudi Arabia has severed all land, sea and air links with Qatar, and the UAE has closed its airports and harbours to Qatari flights and shipping even as the state says the claims are unjustified and baseless.

Though Qatar is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, it relies heavily on imported food. The country imported about $1 billion worth of foodstuff in 2015, with about a third of that coming from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, according to the World Bank data.

"Food security is a big issue here in Qatar, CNN quoted Adel Abdel Ghafar, visiting fellow at the Brookings Doha Center, as saying.

"So the closing of air and land crossing has implications for the food supply chain," he added.

Iran, however, is prepared to ship food to Qatar through its three ports in the south of the country, Fars, a semi official Iranian news agency, said.

The diplomatic spat has created a rift in the Gulf Cooperation Council, a regional alliance made up of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and Qatar.

Tensions escalated last week after the official Qatar News Agency ran a report quoting the Emir of Qatar making favourable comments about Iran and criticising US President Donald Trump's hardline policy towards Tehran.

Qatar later clarified the news agency was hacked, and that the report quoting the Emir was fake news.
Melbourne: Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on Tuesday police were treating a deadly siege in the city of Melbourne as an "act of terrorism" after a claim by the Islamic State group that one of its fighters was the gunman responsible.

Police shot dead the gunman, Yacqub Khayre, who they said had a long criminal history, on Monday after he killed a man in the foyer of an apartment block in Melbourne, Australia's second-largest city, and held a woman hostage inside.

Senior officials confirmed that Khayre had been acquitted of a plot to attack a Sydney army base in 2009 and was on parole for a violent home invasion at the time of Monday's siege.

"This terrorist attack by a known criminal, a man who was only recently released on parole, is a shocking, cowardly crime," Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told reporters in the capital, Canberra.

"It is a terrorist attack and it underlines the need for us to be constantly vigilant, never to be deterred, always defiant, in the face of Islamist terrorism," he said.

Police also said they were investigating the siege as act of terrorism after Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack via its Amaq news agency. They identified Khayre as a 29-year-old Australian of Somali heritage.

Amaq said the attack was launched because of Australia's membership of a US -led coalition fighting against the militants in Syria and Iraq.

Police said they were investigating whether Khayre had any established links with the group.

Victoria state Police Commissioner Graham Ashton said earlier Khayre had arranged to meet a female escort at a block of serviced apartments in the beachside Melbourne suburb of Brighton on Monday.

After shooting and killing a staff member when he arrived, Khayre then held the woman hostage for several hours before he burst out of the building and engaged police in a firefight, during which he was killed.

The woman was unhurt but three police officers suffered gunshot wounds that were not life-threatening, Ashton said.

Police are investigating whether Khayre tried to lure police into an ambush. Australia has not increased its terror threat level and police said they were not looking for any other suspects.

A spokeswoman for Vixen Collective, an organization representing sex workers, said she did not believe escorts were specifically targeted given Islamic State had recently encouraged readers of its magazine to lure people via various means, including fake classified ads.

Turnbull questioned why Khayre was not behind bars after a string of offences.

He first came to the attention of counter-terrorism police in 2009, when he was one of five men accused of plotting an attack on Sydney's Holsworthy Army base to kill soldiers. Three of the men were convicted, while Khayre and the fifth man were acquitted.

The Victorian Supreme Court was told during that case that Khayre had been a worshipper at a Melbourne mosque and at a nearby prayer hall regarded by police as an "incubator" of extremist ideology.

Prosecutors unsuccessfully argued that Khayre traveled to Somalia to obtain a fatwa, or religious ruling, in support of the Sydney plot.

Court documents show Khayre migrated as a child with his family to Australia through a Kenyan refugee camp. He was recognized as a refugee under Australia's humanitarian migration program and later became a citizen, police said.

"There is no place in Australia for such cowardly violence," the Somali Australian Council of Australia said in a statement.

Forensic investigators were at Khayre's family home in Melbourne's suburban Roxborough Park, according to a Reuters witness. Police said they were also conducting "reassurance patrols" to calm the neighborhood.

He was jailed in 2012 over a violent burglary in Melbourne, where he was found to have repeatedly struck a woman and her father. Khayre was given a five-and-a-half year prison term, according to court documents. He was granted parole in December.

Tightening of parole conditions is now likely to form a centerpiece of the next meeting between Turnbull and the state government leaders on Friday.

Australia, a staunch ally of the United States, has been on heightened alert for attacks by home-grown militants returning from fighting in the Middle East, or their supporters, since 2014.

In December 2014, a gunman killed one hostage during a 17-hour siege at a popular Sydney cafe. Another hostage was killed by fragments of a bullet fired by police who stormed the cafe and killed the gunman.

The Melbourne siege has sparked debate about immigration and travel policies. Far-right leader Pauline Hanson said she would support a travel ban like the one US President Donald Trump is trying to introduce.

"(Turnbull should) look seriously at instituting a moratorium on immigration of Muslims to Australia or, at the very least, greater stringency in vetting those wishing to come to our country," said Hanson.
Prosecutor Suzanne Thomas said that he took advantage of his position to sexually abuse the girls in his care. (Photo: Representational)

Wales (UK): A Muslim religious priest in Cardiff, United Kingdom, has been accused of sexually assaulting minor girls as young as five years old when they sat with him during Koran recitals.

According to a report in Daily Mail, 81-year-old Mohammed Haji Sadiq would touch the girls on their stomach, chest and private parts during his Koran classes at Madina Mosque in Cardiff, where he taught primary school children for 36 years.

He would also pull the girls towards him and rub their bodies against the inner part of his legs. He would call them to sit next to him saying he wanted to hear them recite the Koran.

Prosecutor Suzanne Thomas said that he took advantage of his position to sexually abuse the girls in his care.

One of his victims, who is now 26 years old, said he would abuse her several times a week. She said that he had touched her under her clothes many times and sometimes he would lay her face on his lap and touch her between her legs.

The priest denied seven counts of indecent assault of a girl under 14 years, and eight counts of assaulting a girl less than 13 years of age by touching.
Paris: A French police officer shot and injured a man who attacked him with a hammer outside Paris's Notre-Dame cathedral on Tuesday, authorities said.

Police sealed off the area in front of the cathedral, where the attacker lay injured on the ground.

The attack comes with France on high alert for more jihadist strikes after a weekend attack in London, where extremists used a van and knives to crush to death and kill seven people, one of them French.

Authorities in Paris asked the public to stay away from Notre-Dame, one of France's biggest tourist attractions situated on the banks of the Seine river in the heart of the capital.

French TV reported scenes of panic during the shooting, with tourists scrambling for cover. France is under a state of emergency and on its highest possible level of alert following a string of terror attacks that began in 2015, which have killed over 230 people.

In the last fatal attack, a policeman was shot and killed on Paris's prestigious Champs-Elysees avenue on April 20, three days before the first round of the presidential election.

Major attacks in France targeted the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine in January 2015 and in November that year, gunmen and suicide bombers attacked sites around Paris including the Bataclan concert hall, killing 130 people.

Then in July last year, a radicalised Tunisian man drove a lorry at high speed through a Bastille Day fireworks display on the Nice waterfront, massacring 86 people. Since then there have been a series of smaller attacks, often targeting security forces.
London: The British government on Tuesday stood by an invitation for US President Donald Trump to make a state visit to the UK as London Mayor Sadiq Khan under attack from the White House said the offer should be scrapped.

"The invitation has been issued and accepted and I see no reason to change that," Foreign Minister Boris Johnson told BBC radio. Prime Minister Theresa May, asked by The Sun newspaper whether the controversial trip would go ahead, answered "Yes." But Khan, in an interview with AFP, reiterated his view that the invitation was "premature". "State visits are given to world leaders who have had distinguished service, who have a track record," he said.

"In the circumstances where Donald Trump as president had a Muslim ban, had changed the policies of the USA, the longstanding policies around refugees, in the circumstances where many British people disagree with many of Donald Trump's policies, we shouldn't be having a state visit," he said. Khan said the United States and Britain were "close allies" and they should continue to work closely together.

"But one of the things about a special relationship, it's like having a best friend you stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them in times of adversity but you call them out when they're wrong, and you tell them when they are wrong. And I think on many, many things, Donald Trump is wrong," he said.

State visits are considered top-level events typically honouring visitors with banquets, speeches to lawmakers and business chiefs and an audience with Queen Elizabeth II.

May made the invitation to Trump just seven days after he took office, a decision that prompted accusations that Britain, its global influence set to be weakened by Brexit, was kowtowing to the new US leader.

By contrast, May's predecessor David Cameron gave the invitation to the president Barack Obama more than a year into his administration.

More than 1.8 million people have signed an online petition saying Trump should not make the state visit as it "could cause embarrassment" to the monarch. In other comments, May and Johnson both defended Khan for his reassurances to Londoners after the attacks.

Trump, in a series of tweets, lashed Khan's handling of the Saturday night terror attack, mocking the mayor for telling the public there was "no reason to be alarmed" over armed police on the streets.

The US president then dismissed criticism that he had taken Khan's remarks out of context, accusing Khan of coming up with a "pathetic excuse" to defend himself. "I think Donald Trump is wrong in what he said about Sadiq Khan in the aftermath of the London Bridge attack," May said at a press conference on the campaign trail ahead of Thursday's election.

Johnson said separately "He is entirely right to say what he said to reassure people of his city about the presence of armed officers on the streets."
ISIS seized Mosul in 2014, and the operation that began last October to retake the city has pushed hundreds of thousands of residents to flee their homes. (Photo: Representational/File)

Geneva: The United Nations human rights chief on Tuesday accused the Islamic State group of murdering 163 civilians to prevent them from fleeing Iraq's western Mosul last week.

"The brutality of Daesh and other terrorist groups seemingly knows no bounds," said Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, using an Arabic acronym for ISIS.

"On Monday, my staff reported to me that bodies of murdered Iraqi men, women and children still lay on the streets of the al-Shira neighbourhood of western Mosul, after at least 163 people were shot and killed by Daesh to prevent them from fleeing," he said in his opening address to the UN Human Rights Council.

"My staff have also received reports of missing people from this neighbourhood," he added, without providing further details. His spokesman Rupert Colville told that the killings were believed to have taken place on June 1.

ISIS seized Mosul in 2014, and the operation that began last October to retake the city has pushed hundreds of thousands of residents to flee their homes.

Iraqi forces have retaken all but a handful of areas around the Old City in western Mosul, but the jihadists are fighting in densely populated areas, and have used civilians as human shields at various points in the battle.

The United Nations warned at the end of May that up to 200,000 civilians may still be trapped in IS-held areas, facing shortages of food, water and medicine as well as deadly danger from the battle for the city.

Zeid on Tuesday condemned "in the strongest terms the cowardly and sickening attacks perpetrated against innocent people by callous terrorists operating in many parts of the world."
Beijing: China on Tuesday cautioned India and other Asian countries against forming informal alliances to counter its increasing assertiveness as they cannot rely on the US in Trump era.

"I have seen the reports but I doubt the authenticity of these reports," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told media briefing here.

She was commenting on reports from Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore that India, Japan, Australia and Vietnam were contemplating informal alliances in view of the uncertainties of US policies under President Donald Trump.

If those reports are authentic, it demonstrates that Cold War mindset has not been eradicated and "some people approach and handle the country to country relations with zero sum opinion," Hua said.

Speaking at the forum two days ago, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said: "In this brave new world we cannot rely on great powers to safeguard our interests."

"We have to take responsibility for our own security and prosperity, while recognising we are stronger when sharing the burden of collective leadership with trusted partners and friends," he said.

Hua said China stands for common comprehensive and sustainable security idea for the building of cooperation of a new international relation with win cooperate at its core. "Any confrontation and containment will have no way out. Hope relevant people can put Chinas development in perspective," Hua said.
The North Garo Hills district BJP president, Bachu Marak, has resigned from the party over the Centre's ban on the sale of cattle in markets for slaughter.



Bachu's resignation comes four days after West Garo Hills district president Bernard Marak made an exit from the party on the same issue.



"I cannot compromise on the sentiments of the Garos. As a Garo, it is my responsibility to protect the interest of my community. Beef eating is part of our culture and tradition. Imposition of BJP's non-secular ideology on us is not acceptable," Bachu said after resigning from the party last night.

He has submitted his resignation to state party president Shibun Lyngdoh.



Bachu had proposed a 'bitchi' (rice beer) and beef party in the Garo Hills on his Facebook page recently to mark the Modi government's three years in office and had attracted party leadership's criticism.



BJP national spokesperson Nalin Kohli had warned of stringent action against Bachu.

Later, announcing his resignation from the party in another Facebook post, he said, "My Tradition and Cultures is (sic) my first priority and Party at Last. Why is beef Everytime the issue, why not

pig, chicken, goat and other animals."



Bernard Marak, who had resigned from the party, is organising a beef party at the Eden Bari locality of Tura on June 10 and Bachu is expected to participate in the event.



"I will attend the beef party in Tura to register our voice against such moves of the BJP," he said.
The Congress Working Committee chaired by party president Sonia Gandhi met here today to discuss the current political situation and the upcoming presidential poll.



The highest decision-making body of the party met at the residence of Sonia Gandhi and was attended by party vice- president Rahul Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.



Top Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, P Chidambaram, Ambika Soni, Janardan Dwiwedi and other CWC members were present during the meeting.



The leaders are likely to discuss the current political situation in the country and the issue of forging a larger opposition unity.



Senior members of the CWC are likely to discuss the raging issue of cow vigilantism and also the economic situation, party sources said.



They said the CWC is expected to ratify the schedule for organisational polls. According to the schedule, the next Congress president has to be elected by October 15.



The CWC is meeting at a time when the Congress is seeking to unite opposition parties ahead of the presidential election.



It wants a broad coalition of opposition parties in place ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to take on the BJP. The BJP and its allies have gained in strength since the Modi government was formed in May 2014.



The CWC members had in November unanimously expressed "strong sentiment" for Rahul's elevation for the first time and may take it further.



At the November-7 meeting, all members, including former prime minister Manmohan Singh and senior leader A K Antony, had made a strong pitch for Rahul to take over the reins of the party.



The Congress president has created a record by being at the helm of the 130-year-old organisation for nearly two decades since late Sitaram Kesri's ouster by the CWC in early 1998.



Rahul was appointed party vice president in January 2013 at the Congress's brainstorming session in Jaipur.
News / National

by Staff reporter

FORMER Zimbabwe Warriors defensive midfielder Esrom Nyandoro, who also last year parted ways with South African Premiership side Mamelodi Sundowns where he spent 11 years, was recently prophesied to soon receive millions in unspecified currency.In an almost two-minute long video clip, where he was prophesied by eccentric Malawian prophet - Shepherd Bushiri warmly referred to as Major 1, Nyandoro was told he would soon receive millions.In the video, Esrom is picked from the crowed and told to unfold his shirt on the right forearm, where he has tattoos of his children's names." . . . Do you see inside the shirt? . . . put it back, I want people to see that it was hidden and that I couldn't see. I asked what are these three names . . . what are these three children, he says I have got four, and I say what those four written on your arm . . . "My God is going to shock you, MMMMM," he says before asking Esrom what that means.Esrom then responds: "MMM," before Bushiri interjects, saying "No, I said M five times, its millions."It was however, not clear when he was prophesied.An excited Esrom then says he receives and that he believes, before being asked to sit down.Many celebrities, including politicians from across the globe have been spotted at prophet Bushiri's Enlightened Christian Gathering (ECG) church in Pretoria, South Africa.He has since established a church in Zimbabwe, which is headquartered in Bulawayo.The church in Bulawayo is housed in Belmont along Five Street Extension and today, since it was opened boasts of a between 3 000-5 000 congregation.Two months ago prophet Bushiri's wife held a service at the church, where approximately 15 000 people attended.The church is also in the process of securing funding through holding several competitions to raise funds to acquire land to build a mega church and school.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh today said that US President Donald Trump's statement withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement had come as a shock for India but he was sure America would rethink its decision.



Inaugurating a two-day national level conference on 'Capacity Building of State Disaster Response Force-2017', Singh said it was cause of concern for India and the world community if a country thinks only about its own interests.



"The US President's statement on Paris agreement has come as a shock for us and the international community. I am sure the US will rethink its decision," he said.



It has to be seen, the home minister added, in what circumstances the US president made the statement on the Paris accord.



Announcing the US withdrawal from the Paris deal on June 1, Trump claimed that India had made its participation in the agreement "contingent on receiving billions and billions and billions dollars in foreign aid".



External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj rejected Trump's comment yesterday and said India signed the Paris climate pact not because of pressure from any country or due to the lure of money.



"Our signature in the pact was not because of greed, it was not because of fear. We signed it due to our commitment to protecting the environment... India will continue to be part of it irrespective of whether the US remains in it or not," Swaraj told reporters while speaking on three years of the Modi government.
US President Donald Trump has renewed his call for a travel ban to protect Americans from "certain dangerous" countries after the latest terror attack in London.



However, he did not name the countries he considers "dangerous".



"That's right, we need a TRAVEL BAN for certain DANGEROUS countries, not some politically correct term that won't help us protect our people!" Trump told his 31.6 million followers on Twitter last night.



The president posted a series of tweets earlier Monday morning, saying the Department of Justice should have pushed forces initial order rather than the "watered down, politically correct version" he submitted to the Supreme Court.



Trump's executive order with regard to travel ban for people coming from six Muslim majority countries - Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen - has been shot down by the US judiciary.



Meanwhile, the White House ruled out a new executive order in this regard.



"Not that I'm aware of. But the President is going to continue taking aggressive steps every single day to protect the people in this country," said the White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary, Sarah Sanders.



"The President is very focused on exactly what that order spells out, and that's protecting Americans, protecting national security. And he has every constitutional authority to do that through that executive order, and he maintains that and that position hasn't changed in the slightest," she said.



She said Trump cares about national security.



"He cares that we call it national security and that we take steps to protect the people of this country. It's real simple. Everybody wants to get into the labels and the semantics of it, but the bottom line is hes trying to protect the citizens of this country," she said.



"The danger is extremely clear. The law is very clear. And the need for this executive order is very clear. And the President's priority in protecting the people is very clear. Full stop," Sanders said in response to a question.



On Saturday night, three knife-wielding attackers in fake suicide vests unleashed a terror rampage in the British capital, plowing a van into pedestrians on the iconic London Bridge before stabbing revellers in nearby Borough market, killing seven people.
Pro-Khalistan slogans reverberated inside the revered Golden Temple in Amritsar on Tuesday as scores of Khalistani sympathisers and radicals took centre stage at the 33 rd anniversary of Operation Bluestar today.



Several swords wielding Sikhs shouted Khalistan Zindabad slogans just when Jathedar (head priest) Giani Gurbachan Singh of the Akal Takht- the highest temporal seat of Sikhism- attempted to address the Sikh community. The heavy Khalistan sloganeering disrupted the event organised by the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC)- the authority managing majority of Sikh shrines in the country.



The address by the head priest was interrupted after which he went inside to convey his feelings on the day. The day is observed against the 1984 operation Bluestar conducted by the Army to flush out militants who had holed up inside the Golden Temple. Giani Gurbachan Singh today termed slain Khalistan ideologue Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale who was killed in the military operation as a mahanshaheed (great martyr).



Self-styled parallel head priests appointed during a Sarbat Khalsa (congregation of Sikhs) held some time ago were also present on the occasion. They refused to accept the authority of the incumbent head priest of the Akal Tahkt Giani Gurbachan Singh saying that he should not have addressed the community on this day. Members of the SAD (Amritsar) led by former IPS officer Simranjit Singh Mann were also conspicuous. Call for bandh in Amritsar city by radical organisation Dal Khalsa was partially successful.



Security apparatus was maximised in and around the area today in the apprehension of disruption in law and order. Intelligence inputs had indicated threat this time around. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) too has issued an alter ahead of the day. Additional seven companies of para military forces were deployed in sensitive areas to avoid any untoward incident. The anniversary in the past saw violent clashes between SGPC task force and sword and cane-wielding Sikhs owing allegiance to radical outfits. Eight persons were injured in the clashes two years ago.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani issued an ultimatum to the Taliban today, warning them to embrace peace or "face consequences" after announcing that the death toll from last week's truck bombing had passed 150.



Ghani has come under mounting public criticism for spiralling insecurity, with a wave of protests and deadly street clashes roiling the Afghan capital as people incensed by the violence call for his government's resignation.



The president made a strong plea for security at an international peace conference on Afghanistan attended by around two dozen countries.



Armoured vehicles patrolled the streets as part of tight security and fighter jets roared over the capital.



"We are offering a chance for peace but this is not an open-ended offer," Ghani said.



"Time is running out... this is the last chance: take it or face consequences."



The conference, labelled the "Kabul Process", aims to build international support for peace. There was no immediate reaction from the Taliban to Ghani's comments.



Kabul has been on edge since the massive truck bomb last Wednesday ripped through the city's highly fortified diplomatic quarter, home to the presidential palace and a host of foreign embassies.



The death toll from the devastating attack has jumped to more than 150 people, while over 300 wounded were brought to hospitals, many with burns and amputations, Ghani told the conference.



Previously officials had put the number of dead at 90. Ghani did not immediately explain the much higher figure.



Four more people were killed Friday when hundreds of protesters incensed by the bombing clashed with police, prompting officials to force them back with live rounds fired in the air, tear gas and water cannon.



The protesters, holding a sit-in for a fifth day Tuesday near the bombing site, have demanded the resignation of Afghanistan's security chiefs, including national security adviser Hanif Atmar.



The attacks have worsened tensions between rival ethnic groups and raised the prospect of a political crisis.



Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani, who heads the mainly Tajik Jamiat political group, also called for Atmar's dismissal on Monday. But Ghani, an ethnic Pashtun, firmly rejected the demand.



Rabbani survived an attack at the funeral of one of the protesters on Saturday where suicide bombers tore through a row of mourners and killed seven more people.



He blamed "terrorists within the system" for the funeral blasts, suggesting they were an inside job.

The government has accused the Taliban-allied Haqqani Network of carrying out Wednesday's attack, and said the funeral was targeted by bombers trained at a religious seminary in Pakistan.



Previous international efforts to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table have failed, but diplomats in Kabul hailed Tuesday's conference as a stepping stone to peace.
Veteran politician and former Parliamentarian Era Sezhiyan passed away this morning after brief illness. He was 95.



Born on 28 April 1923 at Thirukkannapuram, Thanjavur District of Madras Province (present Tamil Nadu). After graduation Sezhiyan and his elder brother Nedunzhiyan both were attracted towards the leader C. N. Annadurai (fondly called Anna) who founded in 1949 the political party DMK.



Anna made Sezhiyan as a candidate in the 1962 General Election in the Perambalur Constituency of Trichy District and got him elected to the House of the People (Lok Sabha).



On a constitutional issue, he won his case in 1974 in Madras High Court against the Union Government.



As Chairman of Public Accounts Committee (1971-73), he presented a record number of 96 Reports to Parliament.



Jaiprakash Narayan regarded Sezhiyan as a finest if not, the best Parliamentarian of the times and included him in the National Coordination Committee which formed the base of Jan Morcha along with senior leaders in the opposition against the undemocratic 1975-77 Emergency.



Evading the arrest warrant of the Delhi Police, Sezhiyan became the focal point of the Opposition.



In 1978, at the request of Prime Minister of Moraji Desai, Tamilnadu Chief Minister M G Ramachandran (MGR) supported with the strength of AIADMK in the Assembly to sent Sezhiyan to the Council of the States (Rajya Sabha).



In 2001, Era Sezhiyan retired from active party politics, but continuous to write articles in leading English and Tamil dailies and journals on the matter of public importance.



His recent books are Shah Commission Report, Lost and Regained and Parliament for The People received wide welcome from the leaders of all parties and public.
While urging Indian Muslims to join Islamic Jihad for 'Ghazwa-e-Hind' (the final and last battle for the conquest of India), former commander of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen Zakir Musa has reiterated that the war was not just limited to Kashmir. He also called Indian Muslims spineless.



In a 4-minute audio clip released on social networking sites, Musa urged Indian Muslims to stand up against oppression and launch the jihad against gau rakshaks (cow protectors). It's a war between Islam and the infidels, he declared in his first direct address to Indian Muslims.



Against a black al-Qaeda banner, with a world map added along with and two Kalashnikovs rifles emblazoned on two sides, Musa spoke in Kashmiri-accented Urdu. The militant commander goes on to talk about a reported rape of a Muslim woman in Bijnor. It is shameful that Indian Muslims are spineless and dont act against the perpetrators of such crimes, he said.



Indian Muslims are most unconscionable and have forgotten about the battle of Badr. My blood boils when I see Muslims being attacked by Gau Rakshaks and Indian Muslims must form groups to take part in the conquest of Hind, he says.



Musa then quotes the sayings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and recalls Gazwa-e-Hind. Our beloved Prophet has assured Jannat (heaven) to those who participate in the conquest of Hind, he says.



Musa, who had taken over as Hizbul chief after its previous commander, Burhan Wani, was killed by security forces in an encounter on July 8, 2016, had stirred up a hornets nest last month when he threatened to chop off heads of those separatist leaders who claim the Kashmir struggle as political and not Islamic.



Consequently, Hizbul commanders based in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir termed his statement as unacceptable and termed it as his personal opinion. Following the snub, Musa disassociated from the militant outfit.

A senior police officer confirmed that it was Musas voice.
The day when Lalu Prasads parliamentarian daughter Misa Bharti skipped questioning by the Income Tax department in an alleged proxy property case, her mother and former Chief Minister of Bihar Rabri Devi on Tuesday was also charged with acquiring benami property in Patna.



Rabri has been charged with accepting a gift in the form of a land that worth Rs 30.8 lakh from an unknown person called Lallan Choudhary. Lallan, who is believed to be a resident of Siwan, said in the registered deed that since Rabri had helped him financially, so the donor deemed it fit to donate the land to the former Chief Minister on January 25, 2014.



The donor is very close to the donee for a long time and the donee is also financially helping and rendering service to him for a long time and therefore the donor disclosed his intense desire to make gift this said property, says the registered deed.



The BJP has, meanwhile, smelt a rat in the alleged shady benami property transaction. Senior BJP leader Sushil Modi, who said the entire exercise appeared to have been done allegedly to convert Rabris black money into white, has posed five questions to the former Chief Minister.



First, who is this Lallan Choudhary who gave away his 1088 square feet land in Patna worth 30.8 lakh as a gift to Rabri Devi? Is Lallan her relative? Or a party MLA/MP?.



Secondly, how come the land which Lallan purchased in Patna in 2009 for 3.97 lakh became worth Rs 30.8 lakhs in 2014?



Thirdly, from where he got the money to pay Rs 3.97 lakh for the land? Was it through financial help from Rabri?

Fourth, why would someone sustain a loss of Rs 30.8 lakh by gifting his land to Rabri unless and until the gesture is reciprocated? If it was so, how was Lallan benefited?



Fifth, to unravel the mystery, the identity of the person concerned Lallan should be made public so as to clear the air. Or else, it will be construed that Rabri purchased a land for Rs 3.97 lakh through this proxy person and got it registered in her name through a gift in 2014.



Modi, for the last two months, has been exposing how Lalus family members had been gifted with immoveable properties worth crores by former union ministers Kanti Singh and Raghunath Jha and present Bihar Finance Minister Abdul Bari Siddiqui. Months prior to this disclosure, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to launch a crack-down on those who own benami property.
Opinion / Columnist

I AM a good wife, really I am. In fact, not to beat my own drum or anything, but if there was a scale of wifehood and my husband was asked to judge, I suspect he would give me 8 out of 10 if not more. I mean, I am after all the one who, after graduating with my PhD in something I thought was useful (the job market suggests it is not), I got myself suitably married to someone from my rural home, and became Mrs Mushonga. No double barrel Zhou-Mushonga, oh no, just plain old Dr Mrs Amai Mushonga, although the certificate says Zhou. I say this because I do not wish to create the impression that my disagreement with my husband is because I do not respect him or that I think I am better educated, but because on this one issue, him and I have disagreed.So the other night I told my husband that I chanced upon an article written by someone called Albert Gumbo, which was titled Who is Nkosana Moyo?' Now, I almost didn't read it because I thought, isn't he the minister who resigned? But, my curiosity had got the better of me, and after I read it, I just had an epiphany.Before I read there article, I was uninspired by the MDC-T and the opposition in general and was not planning to even register to vote when they start this biometric thingy. But after telling him I was inspired, my husband, with whom I now share a name, surprised me by saying: "is he not going to be another Simba Makoni and split the vote?"Now, I love my husband, and sometimes I listen to his arguments, but this time not. After all, I am the PhD holder that went through nine months of nausea, vomiting, and morning sickness and craving "something nice" without ever knowing quite what that was, (to be fair to him he tried to get me everything and anything, without success but still, he tried) only to give birth to a baby girl that I just knew looked like a Chantelle or Michelle, but the man whose name I now share said we must name her after my grandmother. So now I am Mai Hazvinei. Very far from Chantelle, and when my PhD colleagues from all over the world send their congratulations and ask what does her name mean,' I have to be inventive because how can you say you named your child it doesn't matter' with a straight face in this day and age?So this is what I told my husband. The claim that Makoni split votes in 2008 is ahistorical. The 2008 Presidential election was rigged. Morgan Tsvangirai won the election but was in fact robbed of victory by the Mudede three-month long vote tallying."Baba Hazvi," I said to him, this "splitting the vote" argument also assumes that the democratic space is finite, and cannot accommodate new entrants. This is the type of thinking that shortchanges Zimbabweans by shrinking democracy instead of encouraging it. It arrogates entitlement to those occupying the opposition space, and out of that sense of entitlement grows hubris. It makes them claim that they own the Intellectual Property (IP) rights to being the opposition.But, more importantly, at this stage, such thinking reduces the democratic aspirations of all Zimbabweans to one narrow narrative of removing President Robert Mugabe at any cost. It says removing Mugabe is better than providing a vision for economic transformation, a vision for a future for our lost generations, a vision for Hazvinei and her siblings. It places opposition success in the next election as the only goal, not good government or better leadership.It is a narrative that says we do this now, (getting rid of Mugabe) using only one candidate despite their flaws, and worry about clear, working and workable plans later. This is a position that we must reject. Our Hazvinei and her brother that I am carrying now (and no, Baba Hazvi, we will not name him "Dhemeti" like his grandfather) deserve a leader with a vision. Our economy deserves an injection of sound management and stewardship, from a person with a track record of achieving in the past, not "anybody-but-Bob". Our country deserves a vision that focuses on the future, not fielding the same losing candidate over and over and expecting a different outcome.I told Baba Hazvinei that the idea that we should be afraid to split votes suggests that compromise, based on political space and not ideas, is the way to go. That a coalition of politicians for political positions, and discussions of who occupies which post in said coalitions, is more important than policies. It is wrong that those with great ideas transcending what is being offered by the current established opposition must stay at home or subordinate their ideas to the mediocrity on offer. It is not right that the nation should come second to an orderly coalition arrangement.That "who heads the coalition" is the most important question occupying all discussions of a coalition says it all. Zimbabweans deserve a candidate that talks about their future, not political positions.In any event, even Baba Hazvinei agrees with me that the coalition of politicians that was referred to as the GNU and the subsequent disintegration of the opposition movement into a mushroom field of parochial interests has left a fair share of disappointed and disaffected voters that yearn for change. Not just change from Zanu-PF and the rape of the country but change from politics as usual.Real change. I am one of them. If not Nkosana with his good qualities, who is there to vote for?This "splitting the vote" narrative relies on the false argument that all Zimbabweans are mortgaged to either Zanu-PF or MDC-T. It does not contemplate the voter who is put off by both sides, and will not participate unless a viable third choice is offered. It assumes that we are saying to the person who sat out the 2008 and 2013 elections because of not having someone worthy of their vote: come 2018 we are giving you the same choice: you can have any candidate you want as long as it is the ones you did not find worthy in 2008 and 2013. It does not say "we heard you in 2013 and so here is a better option".But even more, it relies on a failure to properly articulate issues relevant to particular voters. You cannot appeal to a villager that freely voted for Robert Mugabe in 2013 by saying that we want to remove him because he forces people to vote for him. That makes you appear out of touch and unlikely to address that villager's pressing problems.How many times has Baba Hazvinei himself heard me shouting at the computer when a prominent MDC-T member posts something on social media about Macron's wife or patronising to women? Does this splitting the vote argument mean that I should still hold my nose and vote for them? Lord no, I am good enough a wife to make sacrifices and accept things from my husband and his family (Hazvinei is actually a very good name), but I should not also be expected to agree with this logic.So I told him, Baba Hazvinei, that come 2018, I will definitely be voting, but for the best candidate. And in the end, even he agrees that if our politics were mature and we voted people into office based on capability, Nkosana is by far the best candidate whose name is floating around right now. And that our politics has always failed to attract people of such calibre, who have been somewhere and have considerable knowledge, expertise and experience from across the world. Well, until now, because now we have a candidate worth voting for.It is about timeMai va Hazvinei Mushonga (PhD in Sociology, working in the NGO sector)
A special court today granted bail to two suspected 'hawala' operators arrested for their alleged roles in the Election Commission bribery case involving AIADMK (Amma) faction leader T T V Dhinakaran.



Special Judge Poonam Chaudhry allowed the bail pleas of Nathu Singh and Lalit Kumar alias Babu bhai on furnishing of personal bonds of Rs two lakh each and two sureties of the like amount.



The court imposed on them several conditions, including that they would not tamper with the evidence or influence the witnesses.



It also directed the two accused not to leave the country without its permission and to surrender their passports.



Singh and Kumar were arrested by the Delhi Police Crime Branch on April 27 and May 18 respectively and were in custody since then.



They had sought bail contending that their custodial interrogation was not required and sought parity with Dhinakaran and his close aide Mallikarjuna who have already been enlarged on bail.



The police, however, had opposed their bail saying it was a serious crime and they could tamper with the evidence. Dhinakaran and Mallikarjuna were granted bail on June 2 by the court.



Police had claimed that Kumar was the one who allegedly handed over Rs one crore unaccounted money to an unidentified person which was to be given to the arrested accused and middleman Sukesh Chandrashekar.



It had alleged that the money was meant to bribe EC officials to get a favourable order in the pending party symbol matter involving Dhinakaran.



Regarding Singh, police had claimed that he was involved in illegal transfer of money and he was given Rs one crore to hand it over to Chandrashekar.



Dhinakaran was arrested here on the night of April 25 after four days of questioning for allegedly attempting to bribe Election Commission (EC) officials for the symbol.



His faction had hoped to obtain the symbol for the bypoll to the R K Nagar Assembly seat in Tamil Nadu, which was later cancelled by the EC after the alleged irregularities were reported in the media.



The bypoll was necessitated by the death of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, who represented the constituency.



The EC had frozen the AIADMK's symbol after two factions of the party -- one led by Dhinakaran's aunt Sasikala and the other by former chief minister O Panneerselvam -- staked a claim to it.



Mallikarjuna was arrested for allegedly facilitating a Rs 50-crore deal between Dhinakaran and Chandrashekar. Dhinakaran has been accused of arranging the money from undisclosed sources and getting it transferred from Chennai to Delhi through illegal channels.
As the farmers strike in Maharashtra entered the sixth day on Tuesday, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis that his government is working towards implementation of what would be the biggest ever farm loan waiver.



We are looking at the issue, we are studying itafter meeting the farmers leaders last week, we have announced the 31 October deadline for implementation.this is going to be the biggest loan waiver ever, Fadnavis, who was accompanied by Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu, told reporters in Mumbai.



Fadanviss statement came ahead of the weekly Cabinet meeting where various issues including the farmers agitation was discussed in detail.



The statement comes on the day when former union agriculture minister and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar called on prime minister Narendra Modi to discuss the issue of loan waiver for farmers.



We shall be writing off the loans of all deserving and needy farmers. For this, we shall make use of IT-based technology It will be the biggest farm loan waiver in history.whom to give, how to give, who would be eligiblevarious factors would be looked into, he said, speaking about the four month timeframe.



He also said that to ensure that farmers are benefitted, the government is also studying an IT-based implementation method of Andhra Pradesh. In the past, there were irregularities in the loan waiver schemes and to avoid this a proper seamless system would be in place, he said.



On the strike, he said that on Monday 300 of the 307 APMCs were functional. Of the seven non-function, four had weekly closure, he said. The government is ready for talkswe are ready to talk to farmers leaders who are genuine and who are not looking at political gains, the chief minister said, adding that we are definitely not going to succumb to the pressure of people who are firing over the shoulders of farmers.
Liquor manufacturers from Bihar today moved the Supreme Court seeking a clarification on its May 29 order granting time till July 31 to dispose old stocks of alcoholic beverages worth over Rs 200 crore outside the state.



A vacation bench of justices Ashok Bhushan and Deepak Gupta said that it would hear the matter tomorrow after senior lawyer Salman Khurshid, representing the liquor manufacturers, mentioned the matter before it.



Khurshid told the bench that the apex court's May 29 order mentioned about time to destroy the stock but it did not indicate anything about its export.



"The issues were about the export and destruction of old stocks. The May 29 order indicates about destruction but the issue of export is not there in the order," he said.



In the May 29 order, the apex court had said, "Time to destroy/drain the stocks is extended up to July 31, 2017. It is made clear that no further extension will be granted in future."



Earlier, the court had extended till May 31 the deadline of April 30 for disposing of old stocks, including raw material, fixed by the Nitish Kumar government which had imposed a ban on liquor in the state from April 1 last year.



On May 29, the counsel representing the manufacturers had submitted before the apex court that the firms would be incurring huge losses if they were not allowed to dispose of their existing stocks of alcoholic beverages outside Bihar.



The state government had opposed the demand for extension of time, claiming the firms were indulging in illegal liquor trade. The apex court had on March 31 granted time until May 31 to these companies to dispose of the old stocks and directed them to follow the resolution passed by the Bihar government on disposal of stocks following the imposition of prohibition in the state.



The Bihar government which has prohibited consumption, stocking and sale of liquor in the state had on March 30, had passed a resolution by which it has allowed the companies to export their old stocks to other states.



The state government had granted time to export the excisable and non-excisable articles till April 30, after which they will not be able to do so. On October 7, 2016, the apex court had stayed the operation of Patna High Court judgement quashing the state's law banning sale and consumption of all types of liquor, saying liquor and fundamental rights "do not go together".



The Bihar government has challenged the high court verdict of September 30, 2016, which had quashed the notification banning consumption and sale of liquor in the state. However, after the law was set aside, Bihar government had come out with a new law banning sale and consumption of liquor which was notified on October 2, 2016.



It had notified the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016 to ensure that the ban on sale and consumption of alcohol including Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) as well spiced and domestic liquor, continued in the state.



The Patna High Court had on September 30, 2016, quashed the notification banning consumption and sale of alcohol in the state, saying it was ultra vires to the Constitution. The Grand Secular Alliance government in Bihar had first banned manufacture, trade, sale and consumption of country- made liquor since April 1, 2016, but later imposed a blanket ban on all types of liquor, including foreign liquor, in the state.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet this week on the sidelines of SCO summit in Astana, amid growing differences between the two countries over a host of issues including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and NSG. Efforts were on through diplomatic channels to arrange a meeting between the two leaders, informed sources told PTI here.



The summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) being held on June 8-9 in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, is special for India as it would be formally admitted into the China dominated six-nation grouping along with Pakistan.



Till now China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are the group's full members. Afghanistan, Belarus, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan have observer status. The admission of India and Pakistan will enlarge the group's footprints for the first time to South Asia from Central Asia.



Chinese officials say that Beijing attaches importance to the Modi-Xi meeting as this would be the first this year and taking place after India boycotted the high-profile Belt and Road Forum held here last month in which 29 world leaders took part.



India abstained from the summit to highlight its concerns over the USD 50 billion CPEC which is part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and passes through Gilgit and Baltistan in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). China is vocal about its stand to block India's admission into the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) besides moves to list JeM leader Masood Azhar as terrorist by the UN.



After Astana, Modi and Xi are also expected to cross paths at the G20 summit to be held next month in Hamburg, Germany followed by Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) summit to be held in Xiamen, China in September.



Their Astana meeting would be followed by a lengthy process of high-level consultative meetings between BRICS countries starting with the foreign ministers this month. Minister of State for External Affairs Gen V K Singh was expected to attend the BRICS Foreign Ministers meeting to be held here on June 18-19.



It will also be followed by a meeting of the National Security Advisors on July 27-28 here. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, who is also Indias Special Representative for the Sino-India border talks, was expected to attend the meeting. This is the first time that the BRICS Foreign Ministers meet is being held far ahead of September summit following the suggestion from the host country, China.



Finance Ministers of the BRICS countries are also due to meet. While the outcome of these meetings cannot be judged, they provide numerous platforms for leaders and officials of India and China to discuss a way out their differences and step up cooperation, officials said.
The Banaras Hindu University, the Aligarh Muslim University and the Medical Council of India today joined hands to challenge in the Supreme Court an Allahabad High Court order setting aside 50 per cent institutional preference in admission to PG medical seats.



A vacation bench of justices Ashok Bhushan and Deepak Gupta, after hearing the arguments, reserved its verdict for tomorrow. During the brief submission, the two universities said that the high court verdict was violative of earlier apex court judgement and MCI regulations which allow institutes to take admissions on 50 per cent seats from their own institution.



Both these central universities got the support from the MCI, which argued that the high court has erred in interpreting the laid down regulations. Additional Solicitor General Maninder Singh appearing for the BHU, sought immediate stay of the high court's May 29 order saying the "entire apple cart" cannot be reversed.



"The entire apple cart cannot be reversed by re-opening those 50 per cent seats for students selected through the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET)," he said. The ASG also relied upon the earlier apex court's verdict in the Saurabh Chaudhary case laying down guidelines for PG admission to contend that only 50 per cent seats were to be filled through an all-India quota.



Singh said that if the institutional preference for 50 per cent seats were done away with, what would happen to other premier institutes like the AIIMS and the PGI, Chandigarh. Senior advocate Salman Khurshid, appearing for the AMU, said some students have already been admitted by the varsities under the 50 per cent quota, therefore the high court verdict needs to be stayed.



Khurshid added that in the AMU, out of 195 seats for PG medical courses, admission on 149 were already done and everything cannot be reversed. The bench, while observing that the high court may have misinterpreted the rules, reserved its order for tomorrow.



On May 29, after hearing a PIL, the high court had passed order allowing to fill up the 50 per cent institutional quota seats in PG medical courses in these two central universities for students from any medical college based on their ranking in NEET.


"Bitchi" is a local brew usually shared during festivals among the Garo tribals in western Meghalaya. "These people were actively working to sabotage the prospects of our potential candidates for the state elections next year. They were aspirants themselves and the party did not see them as winning candidates," BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli told PTI.



Welcoming the resignation of North Garo Hills district president Bachu Marak, he said it was on "expected" lines since disciplinary action against him was in the process.



Last week, West Garo Hills district president Bernard Rimpu Marak, was asked to put in his papers, hours after he posted on his Facebook page an announcement of a "bitchi-beef" party to celebrate Modi's term in office.



The BJP leader said party reorganisation at the district- level would be on to replace these two leaders. He claimed the ruling Congress was trying to "communalise the agenda with a false and malicious untruth" about the party's plan to impose beef ban in Meghalaya.



"Nothing is farther from the truth since under our constitutional scheme, the central government cannot encroach on the area of what a state government has to decide," he said.



Highlighting that the BJP's single point agenda for Meghalaya was the prime pinister's 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas', Kohli said the party "will expose the rampant corruption, unfulfilled promises and lack of development under the Congress government of Mukul Sangma."

The BJP today said the two party leaders from Meghalaya's Garo Hills region, who resigned protesting the Centre's notification on cattle, were "ticket aspirants" against whom "disciplinary proceedings" are on.The party also said the two leaders were trying to "sabotage" the 2018 state Assembly elections. The two leaders of the Garo Hills region put in their papers in less than a week after they announced on social media that they would celebrate Prime Minister Narendra Modi's three years in office by organising a "bitchi-beef" party.
The special investigation team (SIT) probing the mysterious death of Karnataka cadre IAS officer Anurag Tiwari, who was found dead near a guest house in the state capital last month, is investigating the possibility of 'drug overdose' as a possible cause of death.



According to the sources here, the SIT sleuths, who had recently visited Tiwari's house in Bangalore, had found a large number of cigarette butts and some suspicious articles, which could be psychotropic drugs.



A large quantity of cigarette butts had also been found in the room at the guest house, where Tiwari had been staying before being found dead.



''We have sent the substances for forensic examination,'' said a senior police official here.



The police also said that two Karnataka bureaucrats, who had met the SIT sleuths during their visit to Bangalore and suspected foul play in Tiwari's death, refused to record their statement.



Tiwari's family members, however, rubbished the police theory and said that it was being spread to prove that there was no foul play.



The family members reiterated that the SIT was not investigating the case seriously.



Tiwari, who was commissioner, food, civil supplies and consumer affairs department in Karnataka, was found dead here a few days back. His body was found lying on the side of the road a few metres away from the Guest House.



Tiwaris postmortem report was inconclusive and the doctors preserved his viscera and heart for further forensic examination to ascertain the cause of death. The death of the IAS officer also triggered a political storm in UP with BJP and Congress getting engaged in sharp exchange of words




The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Tuesday slammed Army chief Bipin Rawat, saying he is reflecting the views of the Narendra Modi government and security forces will suffer irreparable damage due to the Centres blind adherence to using coercive force against civilians.



An editorial in CPMs mouthpiece Peoples Democracy, of which senior Prakash Karat is the editor, said, Unfortunately, the army chief is reflecting the views of the Modi government which seeks to suppress the people of Kashmir through the sole reliance on use of force. Not only will the people of Kashmir but the army itself will suffer irreparable damage due to the governments blind adherence to the use of coercive force against the civilian population.



The party contended that General Rawat also defended the wrongful action of Major Nitin Gogoi who had tied a civilian in front of a jeep to act as a human shield and drove his convoy through a number of villages --to rescue poll officials under attack from a stone-pelting mob. Gen Rawat awarded a commendation to Major Gogoi "even while an enquiry into the action was being held."



It said Gen. Rawat justified the serious violation committed by Major Gogoi in the following words: "This is a proxy war ....It is played in a dirty way....That is where innovation comes. You fight a dirty war with innovation"," it added. The mouthpiece said the way Farooq Ahmad Dar, who had gone to vote in the Srinagar by-poll, was caught and tied to a jeep as a deterrent to stone pelters was a shocking incident. "The army chief of staff, by commending this act, has let down the high professional standards of the army. Some former serving generals of the army have decried the use of the civilian as a human shield. They have correctly pointed out that the army cannot treat its own people in such a manner," it said.



The CPI(M) mouthpiece alleged that General Rawat makes no distinction between young protestors throwing stones and armed militants. "He had, on an earlier occasion, warned that the army would treat all those who do not support army operations or obstruct them during encounters as "overground workers of terrorists."



In an interview, the mouthpiece said, the Army chief also said he wished stone pelters in the Valley were firing weapons, because then I could do what I (want to do). He also maintained that there is a dirty war in Kashmir.



The CPI(M) mouthpiece said "to taunt protestors to take up arms, so that the army could deal with them appropriately is a needless provocation and displays an attitude which is unbecoming of a senior army officer."



Its comments came a day after Kolkatta scholar Partha Chatterjee faced heat for comparing Gen Rawat to General Dyer, a British army official in colonial India who is infamous for ordering the massacre of peaceful protestors at Jallianwalla Bagh in 1919.



The government and the Army have held that the security forces have acted in restraint to avoid loss of lives despite grave provocation by separatist forces at the instance of Pakistan.
Opinion / Columnist

Femi Fani-Kayode is a Nigerian lawyer, a politician, an evangelical christian, an essayist and a poet. He was the Special Assistant (Public Affairs) to President Olusegun Obasanjo from July 2003 until June 2006. He was the Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Federal Republic of Nigeria from June 22nd to Nov 7th 2006 and the Minister of Aviation from Nov 7th 2006 to May 29th 2007.

A few weeks ago, I tweeted that I would write an essay about the bombing of a building at the Synagogue Church Of All Nations, SCOAN, a church founded by Prophet Temitope Balogun Joshua.Though I have been writing essays and contributing to the public discourse for over 27 years, I have never received the number of threats from known and unknown sources as I did after that tweet.Yet I am not deterred. As a matter of fact such threats always strengthen my resolve to stand firm, do the right thing and dig even deeper.I am a servant of truth and the voice of the voiceless; I cannot be intimidated and I will not be silenced.Part of my calling is to speak truth to power, to stand up for the oppressed and to speak up for the victims of barbarity, persecution, wickedness and injustice and I will not shy away from doing so on this occasion.Prophet TB Joshua started his ministry 30 years ago in 1987 when he founded his Church. He is a strong and credible voice in the Body of Christ in Nigeria.He is a respected and much-loved Christian leader who is doing great works and wonders for the Kingdom of God both in and outside of our country. He is revered in many nations in the world, including numerous countries in South America, South East Asia, Africa, Europe, the far East, Israel, Lebanon, India and the United States of America where he is a regular visitor that is welcomed and received with much love and enthusiasm.Such is his following that it is on record that out of every 10 foreigners that visit Nigeria every year, 6 of them have come to spend time in T.B. Joshua's Church and receive ministration from him.Yet despite all these laudable achievements it is clear that he has many enemies.I am not a member of his Church, I have never worshipped there and neither do I have any reason to defend him or to speak up for him other than the fact that, in my humble opinion, in this particular case and matter, he and his Church members are undoubtedly the primary targets and victims of injustice, wickedness and what can only be described as nothing less than pre-meditated and cold-blooded mass murder.They are also the subjects of one of the greatest cover-ups in Nigerian history and of a massive and well-orchestrated disinformation campaign.It says a lot for him, his resilience, his ministry, his calling, his members and the enormous amount of strength and grace that he enjoys from the Living God that, despite the sheer hell that he has been put through as a consequence of these ugly events and tragic affairs, he has refused to be broken or silenced.Rather than capitulate, he has risen to the occasion, gone from strength to strength, stoically accepted the numerous challenges that he has been faced with and stood firm in the preaching of the gospel and in the battle against the kingdom of darkness.He has also refused to be cowed and instead has stood-by, comforted and assisted the families of those who lost their loved ones in this brutal attack as best as he could.The truth is that whether his detractors wish to admit it or not, T.B. Joshua has weathered the storm well and he remains one of the most respected and celebrated Pastors and men of God in Nigeria today and certainly one of the most internationally-acknowledged and acclaimed of them all.The truth is that there is nothing that is ordinary about this man. It appears that the more his haters (and there are many of them in Nigeria) throw bricks at him and seek his downfall, the more he grows, prospers and increases. Only God can do this for any human being.Like those that are healed of numerous ailments by the Holy Spirit in his Church, his strength and survival and his uncanny readiness and ability to continue to spread love and charity to the poor, the weak, the challenged, the despised and the helpless all over the world, regardless of his own personal challenges, is not only exemplary but also borders on the miraculous.The truth is that if the events that I am about to describe had happened to ANY other person or man of God in this country I am not sure that they would have been able to survive it.To all intents and purposes, Joshua is a mystery. He is a modern-day enigma.He is a profoundly good man whose humility is second to none, who is deeply courageous and who is filled with the light and power of the Spirit of God.Yet his towering status, his selfless ministry and his good works is hardly the point here. If what he was subjected to three years ago had happened to anyone else and if the details were brought to my attention I would have written about it and exposed it in exactly the same way that I am about to do now.Today, I present the first and second parts of this essay. I have almost finished part three, which is the most telling of them all and, once done, I will release it after those whose names that I have mentioned have been duly consulted and informed.Here I have written what I believe is the truth. I have risked my life and the life of my sources by doing so but I have no regrets.It is for us to do as we are led by the Holy Spirit and it is for God to protect us. I leave all to Him and I give Him the glory.Here we go.One of the single greatest atrocities perpetuated by rogue elements in our intelligence agencies in modern history was the blowing up of a guest house in Prophet TB Joshua's church which resulted in the death of approximately 116 people, most of whom were foreigners. This took place on September 12th 2014.The perpetrators of this utterly barbaric act were the same people that covertly and cleverly spun the tale that the building collapsed as a result of a weak foundation and fed that pernicious lie to a gullible and easily manipulated Nigerian media.As trusting as ever, the Nigerian people bought this hideous mendacity lock, stock and barrel whilst many prominent clerics and Church leaders who were envious of Joshua's rising profile, power and popularity reveled in the lie and helped to preach, spread, perpetuate and consolidate it.They argued that the building was built without the relevant permits and conveniently overlooked the fact that, according to my sources at Alausa, Lagos state, between 60 and 70 percent of buildings in the environs and suburbs of Lagos state either never had a building permit in the first place, procured one only after the relevant building was constructed or have fake ones which were procured through bribes.That being the case, it seems strange that far many more buildings have not collapsed in Lagos if the assumption is that they ALL have weak foundations.The "weak foundation as a consequence of no building permit theory" appears to me to be implausible. In my view, it lacks credibility and it is in fact a false and fake narrative.This was not the cause of the tragedy and the real cause was far more sinister and macabre than that.The motive for the attack was to silence and discredit Joshua who, by that time, had become a thorn in the flesh of many within the corridors of power simply because he was exposing the deepest secrets about what was going on in the country and those who were covertly working against former President Goodluck Jonathan.He went as far as to prophesy and predict everything that would happen in the 2015 election which was scheduled to hold two years later, with great accuracy, if President Goodluck Jonathan did not remove certain people (whose names were mentioned) within his government and inner circle.The counsel was put on record and when I was doing my research for this write up I actually read the transcripts of this interesting discourse and I was utterly amazed at the accuracy of his predictions.The attack involved the use of certain members of our intelligence agencies who used a large remote-controlled drone to fly over the building and who then activated an explosive device which had been planted in the building days earlier with the drone.There is a video on YouTube of the drone hovering at very close range over the building three times just before it collapsed. I urge readers to look for it and view it.After the third time the entire building collapsed like a pack of cards. This was AFTER a loud explosion, which was clearly heard by many of the survivors within and outside of the building, shattered the tranquility, peace and silence of the structure and blew out its foundations.Sadly many people were killed and even more were badly injured. This was Nigeria's own 911 but unlike the real 911 the victims were never properly celebrated or mourned and the perpetrators were never identified or brought to justice.The whole thing appears to have been covered up and those in high places in the intelligence agencies at the time, having discovered that this was yet another rogue operation by a group of fifth columnists within the security apparatus who were keen on silencing the Presidents friends and who wanted to use the operation to embarrass and terrify their perceived enemies and adversaries, decided to brush the whole thing under the carpet and keep it quiet.The trauma that the families that lost their loved ones suffered, most of whom were foreigners, was harrowing and unimaginable and the outrage that was expressed by the Nigerian public as a consequence of it was, rightly, unprecedented.Even greater and more pronuonced was the pain, anguish and deep sense of loss of Prophet TB Joshua himself and members of his SCOAN Church who were utterly devastated by this horrendous and tragic event, this inexplicable slaughter and this frightful and unexpected loss of the lives of their friends, colleagues, loved ones and Church members.Such was the outrage from members of the public in Lagos as a result of the matter that the Federal and State Governments felt that they had to act fast in order to manage the fall-out from the whole ugly episode.And this is where things went badly wrong. In a typical Nigerian manner, instead of digging deep and patiently trying to establish the relevant facts and setting in motion a forensic-based and professional investigation, the security agencies looked for a scapegoat, turned on the man of God, made him the subject of a criminal investigation and claimed that the building collapsed because it had weak foundations and because it had not been properly built.They ignored all the evidence that suggested that there was far more to the matter than that and instead sold this unlikely and utterly absurd narrative and dummy to the Nigerian people and the international community.They then proceeded to initiate criminal proceedings against Joshua and some of his Church members and sought to discredit, disgrace, shame and utterly destroy him.With this they had managed to divert attention away from the real cause of the collapse of the building, they had found an easy and convenient scapegoat and consequently the real perpetrators managed to escape any form of suspicion or scrutiny. (TO BE CONCLUDED).
India Inc has given a very cold response to the Central Government's call to provide schools with separate toilets for boys and girls under corporate social responsibility.



Out of a total 4,17,796 toilets constructed at the Government schools across the country, Corporate Houses contributed to the construction of just 0.82% toilets. Only 12 Corporates joined in the Narendra Modi government's move to provide every Government school with separate toilets for boys and girls.



They funded towards the construction of a total of 3,466 toilets, according to data with the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry.



While Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) supported the construction of 1,509 toilets followed by Mahindra Group 1,171, German luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz doled out funds for the construction of just one toilet for boys at a school in Goa.



The TCS funded construction of a total of 1026 toilets at Government schools in Andhra Pradesh, 425 in Telangana and 58 in Bihar. Mahindra Group supported the construction of in 10 States including 536 in Bihar, 422 in Andhra Pradesh, 79 in Assam and two in Karnatakaone at a girls school in Aladahalli village, Kadur while the other at PU College, Aurad, in Kalaburgi North.



Infosys Foundations funded construction of 250 toilets in Odisha, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) 138 in Bihar and Odisha, Microsoft India 22 in Telangana and Coca-Cola India Private Limited 14 in four States including Andhra Pradesh.



The public sector units (PSUs) under various Union Ministries remained the major contributors as they together funded for the construction of more than 1.41 lakh toilets in Government schools across the country. Ministry of Power funded the constructed of more than 64,000 toilets while Ministry of Coal incurs the expenditure on construction of 52,388 toilets.
Sonia Gandhi may step down from the Congress presidentship, paving the way for Rahul Gandhi's possible elevation when the party holds its internal elections by October 15.



The Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party's highest decision-making body, today approved the schedule for internal elections under which the party has to complete the exercise by October 15.



In her speech at the CWC meeting, Sonia Gandhi exhorted partymen to strengthen the organisation and complete the organisational polls with "speed and sincerity".



"We must strengthen our organisation. The ongoing organisational elections must be completed with the utmost speed and sincerity," she said at the meeting, ahead of the CWC approving the poll schedule.



Asked whether the issue of elevation of Rahul Gandhi was discussed at the meeting, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad replied in the negative.



"The schedule for organisational elections has been cleared by the CWC," Azad said, adding that Rahul's elevation was not specifically discussed.



The CWC members had in the last meeting in November unanimously expressed "strong sentiment" for Rahul's elevation for the first time and may take it further.



At the November 7 meeting, all members, including former prime minister Manmohan Singh and senior leader A K Antony, had made a strong pitch for Rahul to take over the reins of the party.



The Congress president has created a record by being at the helm of the 130-year-old organisation for nearly two decades since late Sitaram Kesri's ouster by the CWC in early 1998. Rahul was appointed party vice president in January 2013 at Congress's brainstorming session in Jaipur.
US President Donald Trump today supported the actions of four Arab countries to cut off diplomatic relationship with Qatar, saying his visit to the Middle East is "paying off" to end the "horror of terrorism".



Led by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and United Arab Emirates have blamed Qatar for "financing, adopting and sheltering extremists", and alleged that it supports terrorist groups ranging from the Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamic State to the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.



"During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!" Trump tweeted.



"So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding, extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar," he said.



"Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!" Trump said.



Trump last month visited Saudi Arabia during which he addressed leaders of 50 Muslim countries including Afghanistan and Pakistan.



Members of the Gulf Cooperation Countries signed a memorandum of understanding with the US to make it illegal in their countries for raising funds for terrorist and extremist organisations.



Trump also slammed the mainstream American media. "Sorry folks, but if I would have relied on the Fake News of CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, washpost or nytimes, I would have had ZERO chance winning WH," he said in yet another tweet.



"The FAKE MSM is working so hard trying to get me not to use Social Media. They hate that I can get the honest and unfiltered message out," he wrote.



A day earlier, the White House had said that Trump is committed to have conversations with all of the people involved in that process, with all of those countries.



"We want to continue to deescalate that. And at this point, we're continuing to work with each of those partners," the White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters.


"The SOP will also recognise that ordinarily FDI applications, including those related to non resident Indian (NRI)/ Export Oriented Unit (EOU), food processing, single brand retail trading and multi brand retail trading proposals, should be decided in 60 days," the office memorandum said.



All pending applications with the FIPB would be transferred to the administrative ministry and oversight of the FIPB portal shall be transferred to the DIPP from the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) within four weeks.



While FDI approval decisions in majority of the sectors have been relegated to concerned ministry, those relating to private security agencies would be decided by the Home Ministry. The DEA will clear proposals of financial services which are not regulated by a regulator or where there is more than one regulator or there is a doubt about the regulator.



Any FDI proposal in banks will be approved by the Department of Financial Services. "FDI proposals by NRIs/EoUs requiring approval of the government will be dealt with by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and the DIPP will continue to be the administrative ministry for this purpose," it said.



Also, application for import of capital goods or machinery shall be handled by the DIPP. However, applications involving investments from "Countries of Concern", requiring security clearance as per the FEMA guidelines and FDI policy, shall be processed by the Home Ministry.



While the Home Ministry will only process those applications coming via automatic route but requiring security clearances, cases pertaining to approval route sectors requiring security clearance will be processed by the concerned administrative ministry.



Besides, the format of security clearance form has been changed and has been made available on the FIPB portal. The government has asked applicants to upload the new form failing which application will not be entertained.



For FDI application in which there is a doubt about the administrative ministry concerned, the DIPP shall identify the ministry where the application will be processed, it said, adding that the concerned ministry will have to seek Cabinet nod wherever required.



"The concurrence of DIPP would be mandatory with reference to the FDI applications which are proposed to be rejected by the competent authority or where approval is proposed by competent authority subject to additional conditions not provided in the FDI policy," it said.



A joint quarterly review meeting will be undertaken by a committee co-chaired by DEA and DIPP Secretary on pendency of proposals with Government.



All past and future litigations and liabilities shall be handled by the administrative department and about 4,500 reference and record files currently with the FIPB secretariat will be transferred to concerned ministry.



Currently, about 91-95 per cent of FDI is coming through the automatic route and only 11 sectors, including defence and retail trading, require the government approval for FDI.



Inflow of foreign direct investment into India increased by 9 per cent to USD 43.48 billion in 2016-17. Foreign investment proposals above Rs 5,000 crore would continue to be cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs. The FIPB was constituted under the Prime Minister's Office following economic liberalisation in the early 1990s.

The government today said post the abolition of the FIPB, ministries will have to decide on FDI proposals within 60 days of the application and any rejection will need concurrence of the DIPP.India had last month scrapped the 25-year old foreign investment advisory body FIPB as it looks to attract more FDI by providing quick approvals under a single-window clearance system.In an office memorandum, the Finance Ministry said subsequent to the abolition of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), concerned administrative ministries have been alloted the work of granting approval for foreign investment in the specific sector.The Industry Ministry, in consultation with the administrative ministry, will come out with a detailed guideline for processing of the FDI proposals and ensure a "consistency of treatment and uniformity of approach".The Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) shall involve the process of inter-ministerial consultation for the examination of FDI proposals, wherever necessary, it said.
The main opposition party in Gujarat, Congress on Tuesday said that it would repeat all the 57 sitting legislators as its candidates for the forthcoming Assembly polls.



We are going to repeat all the sitting Congress party legislators as they are going to again win this time, Bharatsinh Solanki, president, Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee, said. He said this after arriving in the city after meeting Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and senior Congress leaders in New Delhi. We had a discussion on how Congress bags two-thirds seats in the forthcoming Assembly elections in the state.



The state of Gujarat is due for polls to 182seat Legislative Assembly by the end of this year. While the ruling BJP is claiming to target 150 seats, Congress with its slogan Congress is coming is hoping to win two-thirds of the seat and come back to power in the state after a gap of over two decades.



Interestingly, the announcement comes from the state Congress chief solo, without the presence of the leader of the Opposition and party stalwart Shankarsinh Vaghela. There has been a buzz in the political circles that Vaghela has been unhappy with party affairs and may be on verge of jumping ship to BJP with few legislators. However, with Congress announcing that all the sitting legislators, including Vaghela and his son Mahendrasinh, officially announced to be party candidates, it could put spanner in Vaghelas plans for a while.



This sees Vaghela isolated for now. He was expected to announce his candidature to Rajya Sabha and put spanner in the re-election of Sonia Gandhis political advisor Ahmed Patel. With this, Vaghela will have to think out of the box, a senior Congress leader said.



Vaghela remained tight-lipped on the developments within the party. Solanki on his part said that the party would announce a list of another 65 seats by the end of June. I have shared final lists of people who would head various panels on elections in the state. We are also going to announce them shortly, he said.
The British government today stood by an invitation for US President Donald Trump to make a state visit to the UK as London Mayor Sadiq Khan -- under attack from the White House -- said the offer should be scrapped.



"The invitation has been issued and accepted and I see no reason to change that," Foreign Minister Boris Johnson told BBC radio.



Prime Minister Theresa May, asked by The Sun newspaper whether the controversial trip would go ahead, answered "Yes."



But Khan, in an interview with AFP, reiterated his view that the invitation was "premature". "State visits are given to world leaders who have had distinguished service, who have a track record," he said.



"In the circumstances where Donald Trump as president had a Muslim ban, had changed the policies of the USA, the longstanding policies around refugees, in the circumstances where many British people disagree with many of Donald Trump's policies, we shouldn't be having a state visit," he said.



Khan said the United States and Britain were "close allies" and they should continue to work closely together.



"But one of the things about a special relationship, it's like having a best friend -- you stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them in times of adversity but you call them out when they're wrong, and you tell them when they are wrong. And I think on many, many things, Donald Trump is wrong," he said.



State visits are considered top-level events typically honouring visitors with banquets, speeches to lawmakers and business chiefs and an audience with Queen Elizabeth II.



May made the invitation to Trump just seven days after he took office, a decision that prompted accusations that Britain, its global influence set to be weakened by Brexit, was kowtowing to the new US leader.



By contrast, May's predecessor David Cameron gave the invitation to the-president Barack Obama more than a year into his administration. More than 1.8 million people have signed an online petition saying Trump should not make the state visit as it "could cause embarrassment" to the monarch.



In other comments, May and Johnson both defended Khan for his reassurances to Londoners after the attacks.

Trump, in a series of tweets, lashed Khan's handling of the Saturday night terror attack, mocking the mayor for telling the public there was "no reason to be alarmed" over armed police on the streets.



The US president then dismissed criticism that he had taken Khan's remarks out of context, accusing Khan of coming up with a "pathetic excuse" to defend himself. "I think Donald Trump is wrong in what he said about Sadiq Khan in the aftermath of the London Bridge attack," May said at a press conference on the campaign trail ahead of Thursday's election.



Johnson said separately: "He is entirely right to say what he said to reassure people of his city about the presence of armed officers on the streets."
The special investigation team (SIT) of the Uttar Pradesh police probing the mysterious death of Karnataka cadre IAS officer Anurag Tewari, who was found dead near a guest house here on May 17, is investigating the possibility of ''drug overdose'' as a possible cause of the death.



According to sources here, the SIT sleuths, who had recently visited Tewari's house in Bengaluru, had found a large number of cigarette butts and some suspicious articles, which could be psychotropic drugs.



A large quantity of cigarette butts had also been found in the room at the guest house, where Tewari had been staying before he was found dead. We have sent the substances for forensic examination, said a senior police official here.



The police said that two Karnataka bureaucrats, who had met the SIT sleuths during their visit to Bengaluru, suspected foul play in Tewari's death but refused to record their statement.



Tewari's family members, however, rubbished the police theory and said that it was being spread to prove that there was no foul play. The family members reiterated that the SIT was not investigating the case seriously.



Tewari was commissioner, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs department in Karnataka. His body was found lying on the side of the road a few metres away from a government guest house here. Tewaris post-mortem report was inconclusive and doctors have preserved his viscera and heart for further forensic examination to ascertain the cause of his death.
After a long, fruitful innings in academics, a mineralogist-turned administrator has taken to painting to express his experiences and ideas about the society.



Retired VC of B S Abdur Rahman University, Chennai, and of the Kashmir University and Pondicherry University, Jalees Ahmed Khan Tareen, a Geologist with specialisation in Mineralogy, has been painting for the past six months to give an apt expression to his creativity. He has so far painted around 75 paintings and hopes to complete at least 100 artworks before exhibiting them either in the last week of June or first week of July.



I lost my father at the age of seven. We had to leave our native Hampapura in K R Nagar taluk and shift closer to our grandfathers house in Mysuru. Whatever I am today is due to the efforts and care of my mother. She took care of the whole family, all my brothers and sisters. Most of my paintings thus, revolve around women, particularly a mother, he said.



If a woman is not educated, half the community is lost. So, education is vital for women. A mans education follows, he said.



His paintings touch almost all aspects of life, human relationships, struggles in life, science and technology, literature, art and culture. Showing a painting, which depicts a couple of cows, he said, cows are an integral part of our lives. Right from the birth of a child, when babies are fed with cow milk as an additional food supplement, cows play a major role in the lives of the people, he explained.



Defining painting as a very effective means of communication, Tareen said, the artist in him would have helped him transform into an administrator from an academician. Long back, I had painted the evolution of Science on a 12X4 canvas in 1973 which now adorns the wall at the entrance of the Earth Sciences department in Manasagangothri, University of Mysore. Later, I could not pursue my passion due to various reasons. I retired in May 2015 after serving as VC of B S Abdur Rahman University. Of late, it struck me that I should follow my instinct and start painting. I have been giving expression to my feelings, emotions and thoughts. The subjects vary and depend on my mood and situation. I use acrylic paint as the medium due to its longevity, he said.



At least 50% of the expected proceeds from my paintings would be used to construct a school building of the Muslim Education Society at the Idgah Maidan near Bannimantap. This hobby has given me satisfaction. It will continue till my last breath. The paintings will be on display at my house and any person, who has a liking for arts, can visit to see them, he said.



A Padmashri awardee and a busy academician, as he holds some honorary posts in several organisations, Tareen is a widely travelled person. He has also published Fire Under Snowflakes a memoir of his stint as VC of Kashmir University from 2001-04. After successfully completing all his responsibilities across India, he has now come full circle as he returned to Mysuru where he started his career.

DH News Service






Hua Chunying, a spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Chinese Government, defended the choppers' foray across the Line of Actual Control or the de-facto border between India and China as regular border patrol by the military of the communist nation. She also noted that China and India had disputes over territory along the Middle Sector of the boundary.



External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj, told journalists that Chinese choppers' intrusion into the airspace of India was unacceptable for New Delhi.



She said that India would lodge a protest with Delhi over the incident.



New Delhi's complex and troubled relations with Beijing was strained further last month, as India turned down an invitation from China to attend a conclave of international leaders hosted by Chinese President to drum up support for his ambitious cross-continental connectivity initiative One-Belt-One-Road.



India claims that China was illegally occupying approximately 38,000 sq. kms of areas in Jammu and Kashmir. Besides, Islamabad in 1963 illegally ceded to Beijing 5,180 Sq. Kms of areas that India blames Pakistan of illegally occupying in Jammu and Kashmir. China claims approximately 90,000 sq. kms. of areas in Arunachal Pradesh of India, in addition to about 2000 sq. kms. in the middle sector of the boundary.



The Special Representatives of India and China have been holding negotiations to resolve the long-pending boundary dispute since 2003. They reached an agreement in 2005 on the political parameters and guiding principles for settlement of the dispute. They have since been engaged in talks to develop a framework to resolve the dispute. The framework will will be followed by actual demarcation of the border.



The current Special Representatives  Prime Minister Narendra Modi's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and China's State Councilor Yang Jiechi  had the 19th round of the parleys in Beijing in April 2016. They agreed to hold the 20th round in New Delhi later this year.

The recent intrusion by two Chinese helicopters into Indian airspace in Uttarakhand signalled that Beijing had hardened its position even on the less-contentious middle sector of the disputed Sino-India boundary.Two helicopters of People's Liberation Army Air Force were seen hovering over Barahoti in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand on Saturday. New Delhi took a serious note of the incident, as it signalled that China might shift to a hardline approach in its negotiations with India to resolve the dispute over boundary  even on the less contentious middle sector or the stretches in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.Sources told the DH that Beijing had apparently hardened its position in response to New Delhi's decision to allow Dalai Lama to visit Arunachal Pradesh  the frontier state, which had since long been at the centre of the dispute over boundary between India and China.Dalai Lama  the icon of Tibetans' protest against Chinese rule over their homeland  visited the state in April. The visit had irked Beijing as it accuses the Buddhist monk of pursuing an agenda to split China. Beijing had even warned New Delhi that it would take necessary measures to defend its territorial sovereignty and legitimate rights and interests in response.Sources the DH spoke to in New Delhi are of the view that the PLA-AF choppers' intrusion into the airspace of India was a subtle move by China to re-assert its claims on areas along its disputed boundary in the middle sector.It came just months after the communist nation signalled its renewed interest in settling the territorial row in a piecemeal manner  beginning with the stretches in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh and then going for settlement in more contentious western (stretches in Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir) and eastern (Arunachal Pradesh) sectors .An early-harvest agreement on boundary was one of the four proposals China's ambassador to India, Luo Zhaohui, put forward in January this year to add new momentum to the bilateral relations between the two nations. He reiterated the proposals in a speech delivered at United Service Institution in New Delhi early last month.India and China had in fact made substantial progress in resolving the dispute in the middle sector of the boundary and even exchanged maps in 2001.The process, however, did not advance much in the past one-and-a-half decade, even as Special Representatives of the two nations continued negotiations to settle the boundary dispute in its entirety.New Delhi is yet to make it clear if it is in favour of a piecemeal solution  beginning with the middle sector  of the row over boundary, or would wait for a comprehensive deal to resolve the dispute in one go.
A civilian was killed as clashes erupted after security forces launched Cordon and Search Operation (CASO) in south Kashmir's Shopian district on Tuesday evening.



Sources said that the army, CRPF and the special operations group (SOG) of the police cordoned off Ganowpora village in Shopian, 52 km from here, after inputs about the presence of militants there. However, civilians, mostly youth took to streets and pelted stones on security forces to help the militants escape from the cordon.



As the clashes intensified and it became difficult for forces to carry on searches they reportedly opened fire on protesters injuring one Aadil Magray, following which he was rushed to District Hospital Shopian, they said.

However, a health official said that Adil was declared dead on arrival at the hospital. Several other protesters were also injured during the clashes which were going on till late in the evening.



Stone pelting protests at encounter sites has emerged as a major problem for security forces in Kashmir in the last one year forcing Army Chief General Bipin Rawat to issue a warning in February that the civilian protesters obstructing encounters, would be treated as over ground workers of terrorists and dealt with harshly.



However, despite warnings and new strategies, security forces continue to face stiff resistance from local population during encounters with militants across Kashmir. The trend, which emerged from south Kashmir in 2014, gained momentum across Kashmir following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen poster boy Burhan Wani by security forces in July last year.



More than 30 militants have managed to flee the cordon in more than a dozen encounters in the last few months due to the civilians marching towards encounter sites and pelting stones. In some cases, the army is forced to withdraw the cordon to avoid collateral damage, a senior police official told DH.




Pro-Khalistan slogans reverberated inside the Golden Temple in Amritsar on Tuesday as scores of Khalistani sympathisers and radicals took centre stage at the 33rd anniversary of Operation Bluestar.



Several sword-wielding Sikhs shouted Khalistan Zindabad slogans when Jathedar (head priest) Giani Gurbachan Singh of the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikhism, attempted to address the community.



The heavy Khalistan sloganeering disrupted the event organised by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the authority managing majority of the Sikh shrines in the country.



The address by the head priest was interrupted after which he went inside to convey his feelings on the day.




The aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has filed a police complaint against 34 pilots of Jet Airways, IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir for reportedly posting obscene messages on a WhatsApp group against its officials.



Acting on the complaint, the Delhi Police on Tuesday questioned 13 pilots. It is rare for the DGCA to file police complaint against pilots and in this instance, regulatory officials said some of the messages put out in a WhatsApp group were really obscene.



DGCA Director General B S Bhullar confirmed that the regulator has filed the complaint against 34 pilots of Jet Airways, IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir. Any action on that is for the police, Bhullar told PTI.



On whether any disciplinary action would be initiated against the pilots, Bhullar said it was up to the airlines to decide on whether to take action or not.



Sources said some of the obscene messages on the WhatsApp group were also put out on the social media.

A DGCA official said some pilots from the said airlines created a WhatsApp group and some content shared on it was offensive and abusive.



Unconditional apology

The official also said that unconditional apology has come from the airlines managements. Earlier in the day, many of the pilots, including 10 from Jet Airways, were questioned at the Lodhi Colony police station here.



The pilots have been called in for questioning on the basis of a complaint by the DGCA. They have been called in for an inquiry, a senior police official said.



Thirteen pilots have been questioned, the official added.



A Jet Airways spokesperson said that a few of its cockpit crew were called to record their statements by local authorities in response to a complaint and the airline is extending its full cooperation to the authorities.



The matter is under investigation and we are therefore unable to comment further. Jet Airways will take appropriate measures where necessary, as per the company policy and in compliance with local law, the spokesperson said.



An IndiGo spokesperson said appropriate action would be taken after an internal enquiry into the matter. We are looking into the charges and extending full cooperation to the DGCA in this matter, he said. A SpiceJet spokesperson said no pilot of the airline has written any derogatory or obscene message against any DGCA official or made any comment on the draft DGCA Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR). One of our pilots had just forwarded some



WhatsApp messages to a few friends and colleagues, he added.



GoAir said that only one of its pilots has been named in the complaint and the issue was closed now after the airline filed an unconditional apology along with the other three private carriers.



Last month, the regulator proposed norms that would require notice period of one year for captains and six months for co-pilots.



This draft CAR has been opposed by most of the pilots groupings.




Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday followed External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to denounce US President Donald Trumps recent statement on withdrawing from the 2015 Paris agreement on climate change.



The US presidents statement on Paris agreement has come as a shock for us and the international community, Singh said, after inaugurating a two-day conference on Capacity Building of State Disaster Response Force.



I am sure the US will rethink its decision, said Rajnath, even as New Delhi launched preparations for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Washington DC later this month for his maiden meeting with the new US president.



Singh expressed shock over Trumps statement just a day after Sushma dismissed US presidents charges that India had received billions of dollars in return for signing the Paris agreement.



Sushma rejected Trumps allegations while addressing reporters at the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi. India had signed the Paris Agreement, not due to pressure from any country, nor (out of) greed. India signed the agreement because of its traditional commitment to protecting the environment, she said on Monday.



The home minister on Tuesday followed it up and said that the US presidents recent statement about the Paris agreement sent the message that the world community was not united in dealing with climate change. Rajnath added that it also made it clear that a country was only concerned about its own environment.



Trump last week announced his governments decision to withdraw US from the Paris Agreement  a United Nations accord signed by 195 countries at the COP21 climate conference in the capital of France in December 2015. Trump said India had made its participation in the Paris agreement contingent on receiving billions and billions and billions of dollars in foreign aid from developed countries.



His remarks cast a shadow over preparation for Modis visit to Washington DC later this month. With two senior ministers of the Modi government already dismissing the allegations by Trump, New Delhi sent out a clear message to Washington DC that it disapproved of the American presidents remarks.
India Inc has given a very cold response to the central governments call to provide schools with separate toilets for boys and girls under corporate social responsibility.



Of the 4,17,796 toilets constructed in government schools across the country, corporates have contributed to only 0.82% of the toilets.



Only 12 corporate firms joined the governments move to provide every government school with separate toilets for boys and girls.



According to data available with the Ministry of Human Resources Development, corporates have funded the construction of only 3,466 toilets.



Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) supported the construction of 1,509 toilets and Mahindra Group funded the construction of 1,171. German luxury car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz doled out funds for the construction of only one toilet at a school in Goa.



The TCS funded the construction of a total of 1,026 toilets in Andhra Pradesh, 425 in Telangana and 58 in Bihar. Mahindra Group supported the construction of toilets in 10 states, including 536 in Bihar, 422 in Andhra Pradesh, 79 in Assam and two in Karnataka  one at a girls school in Aladahalli village, Chikkamagaluru district, and the other at a PU college in Aurad, Kalaburagi district.



Infosys Foundation funded the construction of 250 toilets in Odisha, Confederation of Indian Industry funded 138 in Bihar and Odisha, Microsoft India 22 in Telangana and Coca-Cola India Private Limited funded 14 toilets in four states.



Public sector units under various ministries remained the major contributors. They together funded the construction of more than 1.41 lakh toilets. The Ministry of Power funded the construction of more than 64,000 toilets, while the Ministry of Coal funded 52,388.



Of the 4,17,796 toilets constructed in schools, corporates have contributed to only 0.82% of the toilets. Mercedes Benz doled out funds for the construction of only one toilet at a school in Goa


Five people were killed and two injured in violence that broke out during a farmers agitation in the Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday, prompting the authorities to clamp curfew in the area.



Eyewitnesses said the victims suffered bullet wounds, but district authorities denied that there was any firing by the police on the protesters who torched vehicles and threw stones. Farmers in western Madhya Pradesh are protesting since June 1, demanding higher minimum support prices among other things.



Mandsaur Collector S K Singh confirmed the death of five people and said a magisterial inquiry has been ordered.



As tension prevailed, mobile internet service was suspended in Mandsaur, Ratlam and Neemuch districts.



Singh also said, The police have told me that neither did they fire nor did they have any orders to fire.



Curfew has been imposed in Pipalya Mandi police station area of the district where the incident took place, while prohibitory orders restricting movement under Section 144 of the CrPC have been imposed in rest of the district and in neighbouring Ratlam district.



An in-camera autopsy of bodies was held to ascertain the cause of death, the collector said. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the next of the kin of the deceased.



Trouble was reported from many parts of western Madhya Pradesh as farmers stir continued for the sixth day on Tuesday. In Indore, police baton charged farmers who started throwing stones during a march. In Dhar, farmers blocked the Indore-Ahmedabad National Highway for about three hours. Shops in the local market remained closed all day in Neemuch city.



While the Congress called for a statewide bandh on Wednesday, Chouhan blamed the Opposition party for instigating the violence.



I request the farmers to be patient. Do not fall into the trap of anyone. The government stands with farmers. We will solve all problems through discussion, Chouhan tweeted.



The Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Ajay Singh, said, All the claims of the chief minister have proved false so far. Now, the government is using bullets to suppress farmers voice. Chouhan should resign immediately.

PTI


Nearly seven months after the Centre banned 500- and 1,000-rupee notes, people are still found to be exchanging scrapped notes in the city using the special provision extended to NRIs.



Police raided five places since Monday night and seized demonetised notes worth Rs 5.77 crore and arrested 15 people. The raids were conducted hours after the Cubbon Park police arrested five men, including four from Tamil Nadu, and seized Rs 2.5 crore from them in a hotel on Church Street on Monday afternoon.



The probe so far indicates that a network is still active in the city to exchange the notes for industrialists in Chennai and other cities of Tamil Nadu.



The Basavanagudi police arrested Iqbal Mohammad, Rajesh and Ravindranath and seized Rs 2.15 crore from them. Rajesh and Ravindranath are employees of an outsourced agency of a leading bank. Mohammad, a realtor from Mangaluru, had come to the city for exchanging the notes. They were discussing the exchange at SLV Hotel in Basavanagudi when police raided them. But Iqbals friend Ramesh managed to flee from the hotel.



In another raid near PES College, police arrested Sadashiva and Harsha and seized Rs 1.12 crore in scrapped notes. They were waiting for their friend Raju at whose behest they had arranged the notes for a 20% commission.



In a separate raid near National Cooperative Bank in Gandhi Bazaar, police arrested Raghunandan, an FDA with the Health and Family Welfare Department, and Suresh, a resident of JP Nagar, and seized Rs 50 lakh in banned notes. Raghunandan was in touch with his friend Chinnegowda for the exchange.



In another raid near Brigade Millenium apartments in Puttenahalli, police arrested V Murali, a resident of Vijayanagar, Balaji, Shafique Ahmed and Manjunath, from Vyalikaval, and seized Rs 1 crore in scrapped notes. The suspects had stashed the notes in a car.



In Puttenahalli, police arrested four people and seized Rs 1 crore in banned notes.
The producers of Kirik Party, a 2016 blockbuster Kannada film, have fulfilled the promise they had made about a vintage car they had used in the film.



The car is central to the films theme. In the movie, Karna, the protagonist, auctions the vintage car to fund the education of sex workers children. Rishab Shetty, the director, and G S Guptha and Rakshit Shetty, the producers, had declared that they would auction the car in real life too, to fund the education of sex workers children if the movie became a hit.



The car was put up for auction online about two months ago and was sold two weeks ago, Rishab told DH.



The car is auctioned for Rs 4 lakh in the movie and the team wanted to raise the same amount in real life too. The producers fixed the base price at Rs 3 lakh in real life. Ravi Kore, a software engineer from Belagavi, bought the car in the auction for Rs 3.15 lakh. We added Rs 85,000 from our pockets and made it Rs 4 lakh, Rishab added.



The producers got in touch with the Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights and identified Jyothi Mahila Sangha, which works for the welfare of children of sex workers. The proceeds were handed over to the organisation.



We wanted to fund the education of one child. It is up to the sangha to decide how to use the funds, Rishab said.



Rishab and his team bought the car from a person in Bengaluru for Rs 1.5 lakh and spent Rs 3 lakh to refurbish it and make it look like a vintage car. Kirik Party, made at a cost of Rs 4 crore and released on December 29, 2016, is the second highest-grossing film in the Kannada film industry by netting Rs 65 crore and running for 100 days in over 25 cinemas across Karnataka.

DH News Service




The High Court of Karnataka on Tuesday directed a city-based school, which denied admissions to students without giving any reasons, to readmit them.



Kiran Pre-Primary and High School in Hegganahalli in Peenya had refused to admit 18 students studying in different classes. Following this, parents of these students approached the high court.



Justice S Sujatha, who heard the case, directed the school to admit the students and also ordered notice to the school and District Education Regulating Authority (DERA).



Advocate Sumana Hegde, representing the students, said the school denied admissions to 18 students as they had earlier questioned the hike in school fees and had approached the court. The single bench of the high court, hearing their plea, had passed certain directions to the education department on how to approve the school fee structure.



However, Kiran school did not follow the courts direction and instead denied admissions to students. The school also demanded Rs 37,952 from students excluding the fees for uniform and books. The petitioners contended that they were not in a position to pay the fees and are in a fix as the school had already reopened.



The high court, on a petition challenging the hike in school fees, instructed the Director of Public Instruction (DPI) and the Deputy Director of Public Instruction (DDPI) to collect the audit report of private schools by January 15 from the next academic year. The court also directed DPI and DDPI to approve by February 2015 the fee structure that would be collected for the next academic year.
All the structural assemblies and propellant tankages of GSLV Mk III  Indias heaviest rocket  launched from Sriharikota on Monday  were produced here at the Aerospace Division of state-owned aviation major, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).



HAL produced the tallest- ever Pay Load Fairing, which protected all the sensitive and crucial equipment during the launch phase. Twenty types of riveted structures, six types of welded structures and GSAT-19 bus structure were manufactured at the HAL facility and delivered in time for the GSLV MKIII D1 mission. The fabrication of the composite OPLF heat shield (Ogive Payload Load Fairing) which is five metres in diameter and 11 metres in height is a significant achievement.



Under its five-decade-old partnership with Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), HAL contributes to the PSLV, GSLV Mk II and GSLV Mk III programmes  by way of supplying light alloy structures, tankages and satellite bus bars.



HAL has modernised its facilities to develop next generation hardware for future space missions. Currently, the booster rockets of GSLV MKII integrated by HAL are used directly on the launch pad. The company had delivered 18 structures and propellant tankages to the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) launched on November 5, 2013, a company release said.
A parliamentary standing committee inspected the progress of cleaning the polluted Bellandur lake on Tuesday.



The parliamentary standing committee on urban development headed by Pinaki Misra along with other members, including Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha member P C Mohan, enquired with officials on the progress of the work which is directly being monitored by the National Green Tribunal (NGT).



Speaking to DH, Mohan said the work on restoring Bellandur and Varthur lakes was very slow. Mohan questioned the officials of the urban development department as to why only four machines were being used to clear weeds.



He was not convinced with the reply of the officials that there was a shortage of machines. He said if that was the case, the state could have written to the Centre, seeking funds and machinery to revive the water bodies.



The 31-member committee, which interacted with local residents and members of Whitefield Rising, agreed that the lakes were not only contaminated with sewage, but also with phosphates and phosphorus found mostly in detergents and soaps.



These nutrients are banned in Western countries, but companies from these countries are using them in India. These are harmful to all water bodies in India. We will direct the detergent manufacturers to at least start by listing the contents and percentage of each of them in the product, so that people are aware, said a committee member.



The two lakes have been in the news over the last few weeks because of frothing and fire incidents, forcing the NGT to take up a suo motu case against the government and directing it to improve their quality.



Misra said, earlier in the day, the committee conducted a three-hour-long audit of Bengalurus traffic and polluted lakes. We will recommend zero sewage discharge. Whether it is industrial effluents or domestic sewage, untreated sewage should not be let in to these lakes, he said.



The MPs rode on Namma Metro from Kempegowda station to Baiyappanahalli and from there, they travelled to Varthur Kodi in a BMTC Volvo bus.

DH News Service
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Alleged victims of a Derbyshire doctor are to share their experiences with a major national inquiry into child sexual abuse.

One hundred and five people have come forward to Derbyshire police to claim they were abused at the former mental hospital Aston Hall near Derby.

A Derby Telegraph investigation uncovered the scandal, in which the hospital's former head physician Dr Kenneth Milner is accused of tying down children and pumping them with drugs to correct "deviant" behaviour.

Now, those claiming they were abused have been invited to contact the national Independent Inquiry Into Child Sexual Abuse. It was set-up in 2014 to examine how the county's institutions handled their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse.

It has launched a section called the truth project, which will focus on claims of abuse made in the East Midlands. It will include Aston Hall. People contacting them will share their experiences and suggest changes to keep children safe in the future.

The Chair of the inquiry, Professor Alexis Jay, said: The inquiry has come to this region because I believe there are many victims and survivors across the East Midlands who might be ready to share their experiences with the Truth Project.

Every day more and more victims and survivors are coming forward to us. If you are thinking about meeting us in Nottingham, I want you to know that we are here to listen and learn from you.

David Martin, who says he was abused twice by Dr Milner at Aston Hall while aged just 12 and 13, including on his first day at the hospital, says he will contact the inquiry.

Mr Martin, of Top Valley, Nottinghamshire, said: "I think it's very positive news and I welcome the fact they want to listen to us. The more people get to know about what we went through and the more reach it gets is better. Hopefully it will help get to the bottom of what happened.

"And, hopefully, by going to the inquiry it will mean lessons can be learned and nobody else will have to go through what happened to us."

Later this year, the inquiry will publish a report which will feature the experiences of victims and survivors from the project.

Police have written to alleged victims to say they have identified 58 crimes at Aston Hall. Expert lawyers representing them say this is the biggest case they have come across in Derbyshire.

And one of the countrys leading abuse lawyers say it is one of the biggest such scandals he has known in a British mental health institution. Dr Milner is accused of holding them down and pumping them with drugs and then make them relive past experiences. Some alleged victims claim he sexually abused them.

A letter sent to alleged victims last month by police said they were in the process of recording crime types in relation to the accounts given. It said once all accounts are obtained it would prepare a report for the consideration of the Crown Prosecution Service.
There are five candidates competing for Erewash, which was created in 1983 out of the former constituencies of Derbyshire South East and Ilkeston.

But which one will receive the most votes in the 2017 General Election?

Here is a look at the candidates who will line up on your ballot paper if you are in the wards of Abbotsford, Breaston, Cotmanhay, Derby Road East, Derby Road West, Draycott, Hallam Fields, Ilkeston Central, Ilkeston North, Kirk Hallam, Little Hallam, Long Eaton Central, Nottingham Road, Old Park, Sandiacre North, Sandiacre South, Sawley, and Wilsthorpe - all part of Erewash Borough Council area  on June 8.

The candidates are:

Catherine Atkinson - Labour

Ms Atkinson lives in Ilkeston and says she "believes in the town and its people" and is "not scared to stand up for the things I believe in and the place I live".

She said: "I want to see investment in young people because they are our future, not cuts to our schools. I want to protect older people from attacks on their pensions and their access to care. I want to help deliver Labour's pledge for 10,000 more police, paid for by reversing the cuts to capital gains tax. A Brexit deal that is in the interests of Erewash's businesses and families, not an extreme Tory Brexit which will damage trade and jobs."

General Election history: Stood in Erewash in 2015.

Roy Dunn - Independent

Mr Dunn is a retired rail engineer, who lives in Long Eaton, and is standing as an Independent candidate. Has previously stood for election to Erewash Borough Council.

General Election history: Standing in General Election for the first time.

Martin Garnett - Liberal Democrat

Mr Garnett will be standing for election in Erewash for the sixth time on June 8. He is an associate professor in pharmacy. He says the election is not just about Brexit but is about "the type of society we want".

He said: "In our increasingly technological world, we need more politicians who understand the technology which underpins our modern society and how we can use technology more effectively in society. Britain is one of the world's richest countries but our economy is not currently in good shape. Only the Liberal Democrats have a manifesto for both an effective economy and fair social reform."

General Election history: Stood in Erewash in 1997, 2001, 2005, 2010 and 2015.

Ralph Hierons - Green Party

Mr Hierons joined the Green Party following the last General Election as he said he "saw them as the only party with any remaining integrity". He works as an internet designer and developer. He has lived in Erewash for ten years.

He said: "I view Erewash as a mass of abandoned potential, which like so many areas has been brutalised by austerity cuts. The constituency is distanced from Westminster and consequently disaffected. Combating voter apathy in an area that has been penalised by the coalition is definitely an uphill struggle but one I would rise to."

General Election history: Stood in Erewash in 2015

Maggie Throup - Conservative

Mrs Throup became MP for Erewash in 2015 and is a graduate of the University of Manchester with a BSc in biology.

She said: "I am proud to be standing with Theresa May as her local candidate here in Erewash because I believe that only she can provide the strength and stability that our country so desperately needs at this critical time. I have campaigned tirelessly on the issues that matter most to residents such as social care, the opening of Ilkeston train station and anti-social behaviour."



General Election history: Stood in Colne Valley in 2005 and Solihull in 2010.

Our guide to your constituency:

From the names of the General Election candidates in your constituency to the issues which matter in your area, there's lots to think about when it comes to voting.

Hopefully, we can help. Simply enter your postcode in our widget, below, and you'll get a range of crucial information  such as who is standing in your constituency and who is likely to win. You'll also get a run-down of the major issues in your area using the latest official statistics.
By Jeff Tollefson and Quirin Schiermeier

2 June 2017

(Nature)  Nature rounds up reaction from researchers around the world to US President Donald Trumps decision to pull the United States out of the Paris climate agreement.Jane Lubchenco, marine ecologist at Oregon State University in Corvallis and former administrator of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration:Where to start? President Trumps decision to withdraw from the Paris Agreement shows a blatant disregard for the wishes of most Americans and business leaders, an irresponsible and callous dismissal of the health, safety and economic well-being of Americans, a moral emptiness in ignoring impacts to the poorest people in the US and around the world, and gross ignorance about overwhelming scientific evidence. Far from protecting America as the president stated, withdrawing from Paris will make America more vulnerable and diminish its world leadership. It is terrifying that the individual who should be leading the rest of the world is so arrogant and irresponsible.Our collective future and that of much of the rest of life on Earth depends in part on confronting climate change and ocean acidification. Doing so requires global collective action. Its hard to imagine anyone consciously choosing to leave a legacy of impoverishment, economic disruption, increasingly bizarre weather, health impacts ranging from heat strokes to spread of diseases, rising sea levels and flooding  but that is just what the president has done. Moreover, the new path and the presidents proposed budget would forego significant economic opportunities.[]Thomas Stocker, former co-chair of climate science for the IPCC, and climate and environmental physicist at the University of Bern, Switzerland:Trumps decision to ignore scientific facts of climate disruption and the high risks of climate-change impacts is irresponsible not only towards his own people but to all people and life on this planet. The US administration prefers old technology over innovation and transformation. It is rejecting the enormous benefits and returns that leadership in the next industrial revolution  decarbonization  has to offer.The United States is the second-biggest emitter of carbon dioxide worldwide (and has contributed, with Europe, 52% of the share of cumulative carbon emissions since industrialization). It is withdrawing from its historical responsibility to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and lead the way forward. Given the continuous commitment of most countries to reduce emissions, and the firm leadership of Europe, China and Russia in shaping the transformation towards a decarbonized economy, the United States runs the risk of being left behind and missing one of the greatest economic opportunities of our time.Susan Lozier, oceanographer at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina:Trumps decision is as short-sighted as it is disheartening. The oceans already hold about 35% of the carbon dioxide that has been released to the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution. Nothing good for the ocean and the life it contains comes from this storage. Whether you simply admire marine life or count on it for your livelihood, this decision shouldnt sit well. An already fragile ocean is further imperilled. []Katharine Hayhoe, director of the Climate Science Center at Texas Tech University in Lubbock:The biggest loser from the decision could be the United States itself. Why? Because although the Paris agreement is a climate treaty, a triumph for evidence-based decision-making, its also much more: a trade agreement, an investment blueprint and a strong incentive for innovation in the energy and the economy of the future.Earlier this week, India broke its own record for the lowest bids for electricity from solar power. Last month, Ernst & Young listed its most attractive markets for renewables: the United States came third, behind China and India. And earlier this year, China announced a US$360-billion investment in clean energy to create 13 million new jobs. The US announcement shows that it will be doing its best to turn back the clock, while the rest of the world accelerates into the future. [more]
United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit. CHESTER L. BIRD, Petitioner - Appellant, v. WYOMING DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS STATE PENITENITARY WARDEN; WYOMING ATTORNEY GENERAL, Respondents - Appellees. No. 17-8034 Decided: June 05, 2017

Before LUCERO, McHUGH, and MORITZ, Circuit Judges.

ORDER DENYING CERTIFICATE OF APPEALABILITY*

Chester L. Bird is a Wyoming habitual offender serving concurrent life sentences for kidnapping and sexual assault, to which he pleaded guilty. After prior unsuccessful collateral attacks, he filed the habeas petition underlying this appeal. He alleged he has been denied direct review of his conviction by the Wyoming Supreme Court because it treated an appeal challenging the validity of his plea as an appeal from the denial of collateral review. The district court dismissed the petition without prejudice for lack of jurisdiction, holding that it was second or successive and that a transfer to this court for potential authorization under 28 U.S.C.  2244(b)(3) would be futile. See In re Cline, 531 F.3d 1249, 1252 (10th Cir. 2008). Bird requests a certificate of appealability (COA) to permit review of the district court's decision. Because reasonable jurists could [not] debate whether (or, for that matter, agree that) the petition should have been resolved in a different manner, Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484 (2000), we deny a COA and dismiss the appeal.

Bird's habeas petition claims he has been deprived of a speedy direct appeal in violation of his constitutional right under the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendment[s]. R. at 19. Some background will clarify the thrustand successive natureof that claim.

Shortly after he was convicted and sentenced, Bird sought to withdraw his plea on the ground that he had been misinformed about the maximum sentence he faced for the offenses of conviction. Before accepting the plea, the state trial court had overstated the sentence, saying Bird faced the possibility of three consecutive life terms, two for the substantive offenses of kidnapping and sexual assault and one for his habitual-offender status. The latter is not a separate crime but merely the basis for enhancing sentence on the substantive offenses, so Bird faced at most two life terms. See Bird v. State, 901 P.2d 1123, 1127-28 (Wyo. 1995). Counsel filed an appeal from the judgment of conviction, while Bird sent a pro se letter to the trial court seeking to withdraw his plea, citing a violation of Wyo. R. Crim. P. 11(b)(1) (before accepting a guilty plea, the trial court must ensure the defendant understands the maximum possible penalty provided by law). Although the trial court simply forwarded the letter to counsel, the Wyoming Supreme Court construed its action as the automatic denial of [the] request and reviewed that constructive denial in Bird's appeal from his conviction. Bird, 901 P.2d at 1128. It affirmed on the basis that Bird had not shown the erroneous statement of the maximum sentence was sufficiently prejudicial to warrant relief:

We cannot discern how Bird was prejudiced in any way by the initial misstatement of the maximum sentence. That misstatement was corrected in Bird's presence prior to sentencing and Bird, in fact, was sentenced to only two, not three, life sentences which were made to run concurrently. Bird had an opportunity to comment with respect to sentencing, and another opportunity to inform the court of any reason why it should not pronounce sentence. He declined each offer.

Bird does not claim, nor can he, that he was threatened, directly or indirectly, with three consecutive life sentences should he not plead guilty. The misstatement occurred after Bird had advised the court through counsel of his desire to enter pleas of guilty. The erroneous statement did not induce Bird to change his plea from not guilty to guilty.  We are satisfied no substantial right held by Bird was affected, and he was not prejudiced in any respect. No miscarriage of justice occurred.

Id. at 1130 (footnote omitted).

As alluded to above, Bird's objection to this analysis is that it was predicated on the supreme court's characterization of the posture of the matter as not a direct appeal from a plea of guilty but, instead,  an appeal from the denial of a motion to withdraw a plea of guilty (essentially a collateral attack). Id. Given that characterization, the court required Bird to demonstrate that the error entailed a miscarriage of justice affecting substantial rights, rather than requiring the State to show that the error was harmless. Id. at 1130 (analogizing Bird's burden to that of a federal defendant seeking collateral relief for trial error under 28 U.S.C.  2255). By contrast, in other appeals from plea-based convictions, both before and after Bird's, the court has reviewed similar plea challenges under a constitutional harmless error standard requiring the State to show harmlessness beyond a reasonable doubt. See, e.g., Ingalls v. State, 46 P.3d 856, 863 (Wyo. 2002) (following Stice v. State, 799 P.2d 1204, 1208 (Wyo. 1990)). Bird's habeas petition claims this divergent treatment has deprived him of the direct appeal to which Wyoming law entitles criminal defendants. See R. at 25 (Although properly presented with a [Rule] 11 violation in [Bird v. State], at no time has the Wyoming Supreme Court afforded Bird a direct appeal from his pleas of guilty, wherein the Wyoming Supreme Court has not required the State of Wyoming to prove that [the error]  was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt[.] (internal quotation marks omitted)).

The district court held that Bird was pursuing a second or successive habeas petition for which he had not obtained circuit authorization under 28 U.S.C.  2244(b). And, noting that Bird had recently sought and been denied such authorization for the same claim, it concluded dismissal rather than transfer was appropriate. We agree on both points.

Bird's objection to the Wyoming Supreme Court's analysis and disposition of his challenge to his plea has been available to him ever since Bird v. State was decided some 22 years agowell before he filed his first habeas petition in 1998. The instant petition is therefore facially second or successive. See United States v. Williams, 790 F.3d 1059, 1069 (10th Cir.) (claim is second or successive if it existed at the time of [an] initial habeas petition), cert. denied, 136 S. Ct. 604 (2015).

Bird seeks to avoid this conclusion by framing his petition as objecting not to the Wyoming Supreme Court's adjudication of his appeal in Bird v. State but to the supreme court's ongoing delay in adjudicating [that] direct criminal appeal, Opening Br. at 5 (emphasis added), which he insists is in appellate limbo  and remains alive and unconcluded, id. at 8 (citations and internal quotation marks omitted). This distinction serves as the premise for his reliance on case law indicating that a petition seeking to remedy a lost (or unreasonably delayed) direct appeal is not deemed successive to a prior petition challenging the underlying conviction. See Carranza v. United States, 794 F.3d 237, 239-42 (2d Cir. 2015). We need not consider whether to follow Carranza, because Bird's premise is spurious: the Wyoming Supreme Court's decision in Bird v. State formally disposed of the only appeal perfected by Bird following his conviction (he does not claim that he filed separate appeals from his conviction and the denial of his request to withdraw his plea). While he objects to the manner and substance of the court's disposition, his objections do not alter the basic fact that his appeal from the judgment of conviction was conclusively resolved in 1995, years before he pursued his first habeas petition. This is not a case involving delay in the disposition of a pending appeal.

It is also beyond debate that the district court properly exercised its discretion to dismiss the habeas petition, rather than transfer it to this court to consider authorization of Bird's successive claim, in light of our recent denial of authorization for another version of the same claim. We held:

Mr. Bird's  claim is that the Wyoming Supreme Court committed a procedural error by applying the wrong standard of review during his first appeal. Mr. Bird has not established that he could not have discovered the factual predicate for this claim previously through the exercise of due diligence. Nor would the facts underlying the claim be sufficient, in light of the evidence as a whole, to establish by clear and convincing evidence that, but for constitutional error, no reasonable factfinder would have found him guilty of the underlying offense. See 28 U.S.C.  2244(b)(2)(B).

In re Bird, No. 16-8076, Order at 3 (10th Cir. July 28, 2016) (brackets and internal quotation marks omitted). Bird contends his claim here is different, but that contention is based on the spurious distinction discussed above. Stripped of its contrived guise as a challenge to delay in the disposition of an appeal actually resolved 22 years ago, the claim Bird wishes to pursue is just another variant of his objection to the standard of review applied by the Wyoming Supreme Court in Bird v. State.

The application for a COA is denied and the appeal is dismissed.

Entered for the Court

ELISABETH A. SHUMAKER, Clerk

FOOTNOTES

. Bird contends, for example, that the supreme court erred in treating as a formal ruling the trial court's action forwarding to counsel his pro se request to withdraw his plea and in reviewing that ruling (under a collateral review standard) instead of the validity of his plea-based conviction itself (under a direct review standard).
United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee Cross Appellant, v. KIMBERLY WATSON, Defendant-Appellant Cross Appellee, SHAVONE RICKETTS, Defendant-Appellant. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. MALCOLM LIPSCOMB, Defendant-Appellee. No. 13-14106, No. 13-15877 Decided: June 05, 2017

Before MARTIN, ROSENBAUM, and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges.

In this consolidated multi-defendant appeal, Kimberly Watson and Shavone Ricketts appeal their convictions arising out a scheme to file false income-tax returns. A jury found them guilty of a number of offenses, including conspiracy to defraud the government, in violation of 18 U.S.C.  286; filing false claims, in violation of 18 U.S.C.  287; wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C.  1343; and aggravated identity theft, in violation of 18 U.S.C.  1028A(a)(1). On appeal, they contend that the district court abused its discretion at trial by admitting evidence of seven fraudulent tax returns not charged as substantive counts in the indictment. Watson also contends that the district court erred when it admitted evidence that was seized from her purse without a warrant.

The government has cross-appealed the sentences of Watson and codefendant Malcolm Lipscomb, arguing that the district court erred in calculating their guideline ranges. The government contends that the court erroneously declined to apply a two-level enhancement for the number of victims, under U.S.S.G.  2B1.1(b)(2), based on an interpretation of guidelines commentary relating to aggravated-identity-theft cases which this Court has since rejected.

We affirm the convictions of Watson and Ricketts. The district court did not abuse its discretion by admitting evidence of the tax returns, and Watson has waived any argument that evidence from her purse should have been suppressed because she failed to seek suppression in the district court. We vacate the sentences of Watson and Lipscomb and remand for resentencing.

I. Admission of Uncharged Tax Returns (Watson & Ricketts)

A federal grand jury returned a 46-count indictment charging Watson, Ricketts, Lipscomb, and Alfretta Jones with numerous offenses arising out of a scheme to file false income-tax returns in other persons' names. The case against them involved a total of twenty-seven false tax returns, twenty of which were charged as substantive offenses (mainly wire fraud and filing false claims). The remaining seven tax returns were not charged as substantive offenses (the uncharged returns), but were instead offered as evidence in support of the conspiracy count. After Jones pled guilty, 43 counts remained to be tried against Watson, Ricketts, and Lipscomb at trial.

Before trial, the government moved in limine to obtain a ruling on the admissibility of evidence regarding the uncharged returns. The government argued that this evidence did not implicate Rule 404(b) because it was intrinsic to the conspiracy offense. To the extent the evidence constituted extrinsic evidence of other wrongs, the government contended, it was admissible under Rule 404(b) as relevant to intent and knowledge.

In response, Watson and Ricketts argued that the uncharged returns, which in their view were not intrinsic to the conspiracy, should be excluded as unfairly prejudicial. Watson and Ricketts asserted that the uncharged returns would have a spill-over effect, making it more likely that the jury would convict on weaker substantive counts due simply to the uncharged conduct. They also contended that introducing the collateral evidence was not necessary to the government's case and would confuse the jury.

During a pre-trial conference on the motion in limine, the district court concluded that the uncharged returns were relevant and admissible as evidence of the conspiracy itself or as inextricably intertwined with the conspiracy and the substantive counts. Further, the court concluded that, even if the evidence were deemed other-act evidence under Rule 404(b), it would still be admissible on the issues of intent and knowledge.

Following a five-day trial, the jury found Watson guilty of Counts 1, 29, 11,12, 1416, 1830, and 3342, and not guilty of Counts 13, 31, and 32. Ricketts was found guilty of Counts 1, 17, 40, 41, and 43, and not guilty of Counts 1116, 1839, and 42. The district court sentenced Watson to a total of 48 months of imprisonment, Ricketts to a total of 36 months of imprisonment, and Lipscomb to a total of 60 months of imprisonment. Each of the total sentences included a mandatory consecutive sentence of 24 months for aggravated identity theft. This appeal followed.

A. Standard of Review

Generally, we review a district court's evidentiary rulings for an abuse of discretion. United States v. Troya, 733 F.3d 1125, 1131 (11th Cir. 2013). An abuse of discretion occurs if the district court applies an incorrect legal standard, relies on clearly erroneous facts, or makes a clear error in judgment. See United States v. Wilk, 572 F.3d 1229, 1234 (11th Cir. 2009).

B. Discussion

Watson and Ricketts do not challenge the district court's determinations that evidence regarding the seven uncharged tax returns was admissible as direct evidence of the charged conspiracy, as inextricably intertwined with the conspiracy and the substantive counts, or as permissible Rule 404(b) evidence on the issues of intent and knowledge. Accordingly, they have abandoned any issue as to the bases for admission. See Sapuppo v. Allstate Floridian Ins. Co., 739 F.3d 678, 680 (11th Cir. 2014) (issues not raised on appeal are abandoned).

Instead, Watson and Ricketts argue that the evidence, though admissible, should have been excluded under Rule 403, Fed. R. Evid., due to the potential for jury confusion. They contend that the case was already complex and confusing to begin with from an evidentiary perspectivebased on the number of tax returns at issue and the way that the government charged the caseand that the government exacerbated that level of confusion at trial by presenting the evidence in a generalized fashion and failing to distinguish between the returns underlying the substantive counts and the uncharged returns. In the appellants' view, this confusing presentation of the evidence gave rise to the possibility of a verdict based on generalized reasoning rather than proof specific to the substantive counts. The appellants also assert that the probative value of the evidence was low because the uncharged returns were not necessary to prove either the conspiracy count or the defendants' intent. In short, the evidence, in the appellants' view, should have been excluded under Rule 403.

All admissible evidence, whether intrinsic or extrinsic, must be weighed against Rule 403 prejudice. Troya, 733 F.3d at 1131. Federal Rule of Evidence 403 permits a court to exclude relevant evidence if its probative value is substantially outweighed by a danger of one or more of the following: unfair prejudice, confusing the issues, misleading the jury, undue delay, wasting time, or needlessly presenting cumulative evidence. Fed. R. Evid. 403.

We have stated that Rule 403 is an extraordinary remedy which the district court should invoke sparingly, and the balance should be struck in favor of admissibility. United States v. Lopez, 649 F.3d 1222, 1247 (11th Cir. 2011) (internal quotation marks omitted). [T]he balance to be struck is largely committed to the discretion of the district court, which has far more experience in evidentiary matters and is better equipped to decide them than an appellate court. Id. Because the district court is in a better position to weigh competing concerns under Rule 403 in light of the specific facts of the case before it, we will find that the district court abused its discretion under Rule 403 in only the rarest of situations. Id.

Here, the district court did not abuse its discretion by admitting the evidence of the uncharged tax returns. For starters, the uncharged returns were probative evidence. The conspiracy count alleged that Watson, Ricketts, and their codefendants conspired to defraud the government by filing false income-tax returns in the names of other persons between 2009 and 2012. To the extent the returns were offered as evidence of that conspiracy, the returns were direct evidence that [Watson and Ricketts] had committed the crime with which [they were] charged, and direct evidence of guilt may not be excluded under Rule 403. Id. at 1248.

Moreover, the uncharged returns were probative evidence because they were clearly linked in time and circumstances with the substantive offenses and the fraudulent scheme. See United States v. Wilson, 788 F.3d 1298, 1314 (11th Cir. 2015) (holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion in admitting evidence of 31 uncharged tax refund checks as intrinsic to the charged crimes). In United States v. Ford, 784 F.3d 1386, 1394 (11th Cir. 2015), for example, we upheld the admission of testimony from nine victims concerning tax returns that were not charged in the indictment. Because [t]he testimony of the additional victims concerned fraudulent tax returns that were filed by Ford, during the same time period, and using the same methods, we concluded that it was probative evidence inextricably intertwined with the scheme charged in the indictment. Id. As in Ford, the uncharged returns in this case concerned fraudulent tax returns that were filed during the same time period and using the same methods as the substantive offenses. See id.

Even assuming that the seven uncharged tax returns added some additional degree of confusion to the case, which involved twenty false tax returns charged as substantive offenses, it was not enough to substantially outweigh [ ] the probative value of the evidence. See Fed. R. Evid. 403. Watson and Ricketts offer no compelling reason to suspect that the jury actually was confused by the government's presentation of the evidence. In fact, the jury returned not guilty verdicts on a number of counts against both Watson and Ricketts, which suggests that the jury evaluated each count based on the proof specific to that count and did not rely on generalized reasoning. Overall, we see no basis in the record to conclude that the district court made a clear error of judgment in striking the balance under Rule 403 in favor of admissibility. See Lopez, 649 F.3d at 1247.

Finally, Watson and Ricketts assert in passing that the district court could have remedied any potential confusion by providing a limiting instruction to the jury, but such passing references are not sufficient to raise an issue on appeal. See Sapuppo, 739 F.3d at 68182. In any case, after discussing the issue with the district court, and in light of the court's ruling that the seven uncharged returns were admissible as evidence of the conspiracy, defendants' attorneys asked the court not to give a limiting instruction. Accordingly, they invited any error caused by the lack of a limiting instruction. See United States v. Love, 449 F.3d 1154, 1157 (11th Cir. 2006) (It is a cardinal rule of appellate review that a party may not challenge as error a ruling or other trial proceeding invited by that party.) (quotation marks omitted).

For these reasons, the district court did not abuse its discretion by admitting evidence of the seven false tax returns not charged as substantive offenses.

II. Suppression (Watson)

Watson argues that the evidence obtained from a search of her purse, which was found during a search of Ricketts's car, should have been suppressed because police did not obtain a warrant to search her purse. However, [m]otions to suppress illegally obtained evidence must be made prior to trial or such objections are deemed waived, Fed. R. Crim. P. 12(b)(3), though this waiver may be excused for good cause. United States v. Lall, 607 F.3d 1277, 1288 (11th Cir. 2010). Here, Watson did not move to suppress or otherwise object to the admission of the evidence seized from her purse, and she offers no grounds for excusing that failure. Because she failed to file a timely suppression motion, she cannot raise that claim for the first time on appeal. Id. (quotation marks omitted). Accordingly, we do not address her arguments on this issue.

III. Government's Cross-Appeal (Watson & Lipscomp)

In its cross-appeal, the government argues that the district court miscalculated the guideline ranges for both Watson and Lipscomb. We review de novo the district court's legal interpretation of the Sentencing Guidelines. United States v. Zaldivar, 615 F.3d 1346, 1350 (11th Cir. 2010). In most cases, an incorrectly calculated guideline range is grounds for reversal. See United States v. Bonilla, 579 F.3d 1233, 1245 (11th Cir. 2009).

Watson's and Lipscomb's guideline ranges were calculated under U.S.S.G.  2B1.1. Section 2B1.1(b)(2) instructs courts to apply a two-level increase to the offense level if the offense involved ten or more victims. U.S.S.G.  2B1.1(b)(2). The district court in this case declined to apply  2B1.1(b)(2), relying on commentary to the aggravated identity-theft guideline, specifically Application Note 2 to  2B1.6. Application Note 2 states that where a sentence for aggravated identity theft is imposed in conjunction with a sentence for the underlying offense, such as mail fraud or filing false claims, the court should not apply any specific offense-characteristic enhancements for the transfer, possession, or use of a means of identification when determining the sentence for the underlying offense. U.S.S.G.  2B1.6 cmt. n.2. The court reasoned that this commentary prevented the application of  2B1.1(b)(2) in this case because the number-of-victims enhancement applied only because the victim's means of identification had been used. See U.S.S.G.  2B1.1 cmt. n.4(E)(ii) (defining a victim as, among other things, any individual whose means of identification was used unlawfully or without authority).

After the district court sentenced the defendants in this case, however, we held in Ford that  2B1.6 does not prohibit a sentence enhancement for the number of victims under Section 2B1.1(b)(2) for any non-aggravated identity theft offenses charged, such as mail fraud or making a false claim. 784 F.3d at 139798. Thus, [f]or offenses governed by Section 2B1.1, like mail fraud and false claims, an enhancement is permitted under Section 2B1.1(b)(2) based on the number of victims, even where the indictment also charges aggravated identity theft. Id. at 1397.

Accordingly, based on Ford, the district court erred by not applying the enhancement for number of victims under  2B1.1(b)(2). See id. at 139798. Lipscomb's argument that Ford makes it permissible, but not mandatory, to apply the enhancement is off the mark. The district court's responsibility to properly calculate the guideline range is not discretionary. See Bonilla, 579 F.3d at 1245. If the court then chooses in its discretion to vary from the guideline range, whether based on a policy disagreement with the guidelines or based on the specific facts of the defendant's case, it may do so, but in any case, it must first correctly calculate the guideline range. See, e.g., United States v. Irey, 612 F.3d 1160, 1188 (11th Cir. 2010) (en banc). Accordingly, we vacate Watson's and Lipscomb's total sentences and remand for further proceedings.

IV.

In sum, we affirm Watson's and Ricketts's convictions because the district court did not abuse its discretion by admitting evidence of false tax returns not charged as substantive counts in the indictment. We do not address Watson's suppression arguments because she raises them for the first time on appeal.

As for the government's cross-appeal, we conclude that the district court erred by not applying the enhancement for number of victims under U.S.S.G.  2B1.1(b)(2). Therefore, we vacate the total sentences of Watson and Lipscomb and remand for resentencing as appropriate under the circumstances.

AFFIRMED IN PART; VACATED IN PART AND REMANDED FOR FURTHER PROCEEDINGS.

FOOTNOTES

. Watson's arguments on this issue come from a brief filed by her trial counsel before we granted Watson's pro se motion to discharge and appoint substitute counsel. Substitute counsel then filed a supplemental brief which does not raise the evidentiary issue regarding the tax returns. As such, it is unclear if Watson still wishes to raise this issue on appeal. Out of an abundance of caution, and because Ricketts raises the same issue, we address the issue as if it applies to both Watson and Ricketts.

. To be clear, the seven tax returns at issue were alleged in the indictment, but they were not the bases for substantive offenses like the other twenty tax returns.

. We also agree with the district court that the returns would have been admissible under Rule 404(b) as relevant to the intent and knowledge.

. Guideline-calculation errors may in some circumstances be considered harmless. Here, however, the district court helpfully indicated that the sentences should be vacated if we determined that the court erred.

PER CURIAM:
United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit. KYLE RAY HIMES, Petitioner-Appellee, v. SECRETARY, FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, ATTORNEY GENERAL, STATE OF FLORIDA, Respondents-Appellants. No. 16-10561 Decided: June 05, 2017

Before HULL, WILSON, and JULIE CARNES, Circuit Judges.

Petitioner Kyle Himes was convicted by a Florida jury of robbing a bank. After exhausting his state court remedies, he filed a habeas corpus petition in the district court pursuant to 28 U.S.C.  2254. The district court conditionally granted Petitioner a writ of habeas corpus on his claim that the Florida trial court's denial of his motion for continuance to locate his sole alibi witness violated his due process rights. The Secretary for the Florida Department of Corrections (Secretary') filed this appeal, arguing that the district court erred by granting Petitioner habeas relief because the state court's denial of Petitioner's claim was not contrary to, or an unreasonable application of clearly established Supreme Court precedent. After careful review, we agree with the Secretary, reverse the judgment of the district court, and remand with instructions to reinstate Petitioner's conviction and sentence.

I. BACKGROUND

A. State Court Proceedings1. Pre-Trial Proceedings and Trial

In January 2007, the State of Florida charged Petitioner by way of an information with one count of robbery, in violation of Fla. Stat.  812.13(2)(c), for robbing the Southeastern Bank in Nassau County, Florida, on December 8, 2006.

Prior to trial, Petitioner filed a witness list with several names, including Regina Walker. One month after filing the witness list, Petitioner moved for a continuance to prepare for trial and to depose several witnesses who had not been located. Petitioner's trial was eventually set for the week of March 10, 2008, with a final pre-trial on February 28, 2008. On February 22, 2008, the State filed a statement of particulars, indicating that the robbery occurred on December 8, 2006, at approximately 4:53 p.m. at the Southeastern Bank in Hilliard, Florida. The State also demanded written notice of any alibi witnesses. On February 28, 2008, Petitioner filed a notice of alibi, stating that Walker would testify that Petitioner was at her and Jamie Gilbreth's home at the time of the alleged robbery. The State responded with a list of alibi-rebuttal witnesses, including Jamie and Raychelle Gilbreth and Erica Leech.

The State deposed Walker approximately one week prior to the scheduled trial. In her deposition, Walker stated that she lived with her boyfriend, Jamie Gilbreth. She had met Petitioner twice: once at a store and once at a barbeque at her home. When asked the date of the barbeque, Walker responded: I'm not really sure. I thought it would be on a Saturday, but I'm not sure. She did not know whether the barbeque was on a Friday (as was the day of the robbery), or a Saturday, but she knew that the barbeque was after Thanksgiving but before Christmas. She initially stated that she knew the barbeque was the day of the robbery because Raychelle Gilbreth called her to say that she had been arrested. However, Walker later conceded that she could not say with certainty that Petitioner was at her house the day of the robbery: December 8, 2006.

On the morning of trial, Petitioner moved for another continuance, seeking additional time to locate Walker, as Petitioner had been notified by Walker's stepfather that Walker had moved to Georgia. The State opposed the motion, on the basis that Walker testified at her deposition that she was not sure whether Petitioner was at her home on the day of the robbery. The State further asserted that it would burden the prosecution to continue the trial, as the State's witnesses were all available to begin trial. Petitioner argued that Walker's testimony was critical and that he had made several attempts to serve Walker in the past ten days, including hiring two different process servers. The district court denied the motion, stating that [t]he matter ha[d] been set for trial for two months and that the case needed to move forward.

At trial, the State presented testimony from several witnesses, including Jamie Gilbreth, Raychelle Gilbreth, and Erica Leech. Jamie Gilbreth, who was at that time in jail for an unrelated robbery charge, testified that Petitioner had asked him to help rob a bank in Hilliard. Jamie also testified that Petitioner spent time at his house (that he shared with Walker) on the day of the robbery, but that Petitioner left the house with Jamie's sister, Raychelle Gilbreth. Neither Raychelle nor Petitioner were at Jamie's home just before 5:00 p.m. (the time of the robbery). The State also called Raychelle Gilbreth, who testified that she had pled guilty to robbery and was awaiting sentencing. She admitted robbing the Southeastern Bank in Hilliard on December 8, 2006, and explained that the robbery was Petitioner's idea and that he took all of the money after she robbed the bank. Another witness, Erica Leech testified that she met Petitioner at Jamie and Walker's residence on the day of the robbery, and that Petitioner and Raychelle left the residence around 4:00 p.m..

Petitioner testified in his own defense. He stated that he went to Jamie and Walker's home for a barbeque on the day of the robbery. He fell asleep at the party, woke up around 5:30 p.m., and left shortly thereafter. Petitioner denied going near the bank on the day of the robbery.

The jury found Petitioner guilty of robbery as charged. Petitioner moved for a new trial, asserting that he was prejudiced by the trial court's denial of his motion for continuance to produce a properly subpoenaed witness. The trial court denied the motion.

At sentencing, Petitioner again moved for a new trial on the ground that Raychelle Gilbreth perjured herself in her deposition and trial testimony. Raychelle was called to the stand and testified that she was not completely honest during her deposition, but that she had been truthful at trial on every point except for her testimony that Petitioner kept all of the money. On cross-examination, Raychelle maintained her testimony that Petitioner was involved in the robbery. The trial court granted Petitioner's motion for a new trial. Following the State's motion for rehearing, in which it asserted that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to grant Petitioner's oral motion for a new trial, the trial court granted the State's motion and set a date for sentencing. The trial court ultimately sentenced Petitioner to 15 years' imprisonment.

Petitioner appealed to the Florida appellate court. He argued in relevant part that the trial court erred by denying his motion for continuance, which prohibited him from calling a crucial alibi witness in support of his defense at trial and therefore violated his due process rights. The Florida appellate court affirmed in a per curiam opinion without explanation.

2. State Habeas Proceeding

Petitioner filed a motion for state post-conviction relief pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850, challenging his conviction on other grounds. The Florida trial court denied Petitioner's 3.850 motion, and the Florida appellate court affirmed in a per curiam opinion without explanation.

B. Federal Habeas Petition

Petitioner subsequently filed the present  2254 petition, asserting multiple grounds for relief. Of relevance to this appeal, Petitioner argued in Ground One that the Florida trial court violated his due process rights under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments by denying his request for a continuance to locate his only alibi witness, Walker. He asserted that the Florida trial court's denial of his claim was an unreasonable application of clearly established Supreme Court precedent in Ungar v. Sarafite, 376 U.S. 575 (1964), and Lee v. Kemna, 534 U.S. 362 (2002).

The district court conditionally granted Petitioner's  2254 petition as to Ground One and denied his petition in all other respects. In reaching this decision, the district court discussed the decision of the former Fifth Circuit in Hicks v. Wainwright, 633 F.2d 1146, 1147 (5th Cir. 1981), which had relied on the Supreme Court's decision in Ungar to hold that the denial of Hicks's motion for continuance to present critical defense testimony amounted to a violation of due process. The district court noted that Hicks applied a multi-factor test for determining whether the denial of a request for a continuance was an abuse of discretion as set forth by the former Fifth Circuit in United States v. Uptain, 531 F.2d 1281 (5th Cir. 1976).

Applying the factors set forth in the Uptain decision, the district court concluded that the Florida trial court abused its discretion in denying Petitioner's request for a continuance. The district court then found that Petitioner had shown specific substantial prejudice because Walker's testimony was essential to Petitioner's defense, her testimony was not adduced by any other witness, and her testimony would have disputed the testimony of the State's witnesses, many of whom had criminal records. The district court next concluded that the Florida appellate court's summary affirmance of the trial court's denial of the motion for continuance was contrary to Supreme Court precedent and objectively unreasonable because the Florida trial court failed to give adequate consideration to the salient factors. Quoting the Supreme Court's decision in Ungar, the district court stated that the record demonstrated evidence of a myopic insistence upon expediousness in the face of a justifiable request for delay, which resulted in Petitioner going to trial without a crucial alibi witness. Because Petitioner's right to present Walker as an alibi witness outweighed any inconvenience that would have resulted from granting a continuance, the district court concluded that it was objectively unreasonable to conclude that the Florida trial court was within its discretion when it denied Petitioner's request for a continuance. Accordingly, the district court granted Petitioner habeas relief as to his due process claim.

The district court entered judgment, conditionally granting Petitioner's  2254 petition with respect to Ground One. The district court vacated Petitioner's robbery conviction and directed the State to take all actions necessary to ensure that the state trial court is apprised of this ruling, that trial counsel is appointed to represent Petitioner  and that a new trial (or other appropriate disposition) is ordered in an expeditious fashion. The Secretary filed this appeal.

In the meantime, the Secretary filed a motion to stay the judgment, which was denied by the district court. The Secretary also filed a motion to stay the judgment pending appeal in our Court. We granted that motion.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Applicable Standard

We review the district court's grant of a habeas corpus petition pursuant to  2254 de novo. Fotopoulos v. Sec'y, Dep't of Corr., 516 F.3d 1229, 1232 (11th Cir. 2008). The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA) sets forth a standard that makes granting habeas relief difficult on a claim that the state court has adjudicated on the merits. See White v. Woodall, 572 U.S. __, 134 S. Ct. 1697, 1702 (2014). Under AEDPA, a federal court may only grant habeas relief on a claim if the state court's decision was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law or was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the State court proceeding. 28 U.S.C.  2254(d).

As contained in  2254(d)(1), the phrase clearly established refers to the holdings of the Supreme Court's decisions, not dicta, as of the time of the applicable state court decision. Lockyer v. Andrade, 538 U.S. 63, 7172 (2003). A state court decision is contrary to clearly established federal law if the state court  contradicts the United States Supreme Court on a settled question of law or holds differently than did that Court on a set of materially indistinguishable facts.  Evans v. Sec'y, Dep't of Corr., 703 F.3d 1316, 1325 (11th Cir. 2013) (quoting Cummings v. Sec'y for Dep't of Corr., 588 F.3d 1331, 1355 (11th Cir. 2009)). Moreover, a state court decision constitutes an unreasonable application of clearly established federal law, where the court identifies the correct governing principles, but unreasonably applies those principles to a petitioner's case. Wellington v. Moore, 314 F.3d 1256, 1261 (11th Cir. 2002). The pertinent inquiry is not whether a federal court believes the state court's determination was correct but whether that determination was unreasonablea substantially higher threshold. Evans, 703 F.3d at 1325 (quotation omitted).

In the present case, the Florida appellate court denied Petitioner's claim without explanation. Because we interpret the Florida appellate court's decision as a denial on the merits, it is entitled to deference under  2254(d). See Wright v. Sec'y for Dep't of Corr., 278 F.3d 1245, 1254 (11th Cir. 2002) (concluding that state court's summary denial of a claim is considered an adjudication on the merits for purposes of  2254(d)(1)). Where, as here, the state court does not provide an explanation for its reasoning, the petitioner must show that there was no reasonable basis for the state court's decision to deny relief. See Wilson v. Warden, Ga. Diagnostic Prison, 834 F.3d 1227, 1235 (11th Cir. 2016) (en banc), cert. granted, (U.S. Feb. 27, 2017) (No. 16-6855).

B. Due Process Violation

The Secretary argues that the district court erred by granting Petitioner a writ of habeas corpus because it conducted a de novo review of Petitioner's due process claim, relied on circuit precedents to conclude that the denial of Petitioner's motion for continuance violated due process, and relied on these de novo determinations to find that the Florida appellate court's denial of this claim was contrary to, and an unreasonable application of Supreme Court precedent.

The district court granted habeas relief because it concluded that the Florida trial court's denial of Petitioner's motion for continuance constituted a due process violation based on the factors set forth in the former Fifth Circuit's decisions in Uptain and Hicks. The district court then determined that the Florida appellate court's summary affirmance of the trial court's denial of Petitioner's motion for continuance was contrary to, or an unreasonable application of Supreme Court precedent, apparently relying on the Supreme Court's decision in Ungar.

Here, the district court erred by conditionally granting Petitioner a writ of habeas corpus on his due process claim because it did not apply the deferential review standard required by  2254(d). The district court acknowledged that the state court's decision was entitled to AEDPA deference, but instead of determining whether the Florida appellate court's decision denying Petitioner's due process claim was reasonable, it considered whether Petitioner's due process rights were violated by the Florida trial court's denial of his motion for continuance. This constitutes error.

Applying the deference required by AEDPA, the Florida appellate court's rejection of Petitioner's due process claim was not contrary to, or an unreasonable application of clearly established Supreme Court precedent. The Supreme Court has never held that the denial of a motion for continuance to secure an alibi witness amounts to a due process violation. As a result, the Florida appellate court's summary affirmance of the trial court's denial of Petitioner's motion for continuance cannot be contrary to clearly established Supreme Court precedent. See Dombrowski v. Mingo, 543 F.3d 1270, 1274 (11th Cir. 2008) ([W]hen no Supreme Court precedent is on point, we have held that a state court's conclusion cannot be contrary to clearly established Federal law as determined by the U.S. Supreme Court.  (quoting Washington v. Crosby, 324 F.3d 1263, 1265 (11th Cir. 2003)).

Petitioner argues that the Supreme Court's decisions in Lee and Ungar clearly establish that the denial of a motion for continuance to secure an alibi witness amounts to a due process violation, and that the Florida appellate court's decision was contrary to those precedents. We disagree. As to Lee, the Supreme Court concluded that the district court and the court of appeals had incorrectly determined that the petitioner's due process claim, based on the denial of a motion for continuance to secure alibi witness testimony, was procedurally defaulted. Lee, 534 U.S at 369, 38788. Contrary to Petitioner's contentions, the Supreme Court in Lee did not reach the merits of the petitioner's due process claim, but instead remanded the case to the lower courts to address it in the first instance. See id. at 387. Because Lee's holding was limited to a procedural default issue, it does not clearly establish that the denial of a motion for continuance to secure an alibi witness amounts to a due process violation. See Fotopoulous, 516 F.3d at 123435 (explaining that clearly established federal law refers to the holdings of the Supreme Court).

In Ungar, a case involving a contempt proceeding, the Supreme Court held that the trial court's denial of the defendant's motions for continuancefor counsel's additional preparation and for the defendant to obtain medical proof and expert testimonydid not violate the defendant's due process rights. Ungar, 376 U.S. at 59091. The Supreme Court noted that although the disposition of a motion for continuance is typically within the discretion of the trial judge, a myopic insistence upon expeditiousness in the face of a justifiable request for [a] delay can render the right to defense with counsel an empty formality. Id. at 58990. The Court further stated that there were no tests for determining whether a denial of a continuance is so arbitrary [that it] violate[s] due process, and that the determination must be based on the circumstances of each individual case. Id. Because Ungar did not consider whether the denial of a motion for continuance to secure an alibi witness constituted a due process violation, it arguably does not constitute clearly established federal law. Fotopoulous, 516 F.3d at 123435. But assuming Ungar constitutes clearly established federal law, the Florida appellate court's decision was not contrary to Ungar, as the facts of the present case are not materially indistinguishable from the facts in Ungar.

The district court also erred by concluding that the Florida appellate court's denial of Petitioner's due process claim involved an unreasonable application of Ungar. The Supreme Court's statement in Ungarthat a myopic insistence upon expeditiousness in the face of a justifiable request for delay can render the right to defend with counsel an empty formalityis a fairly general rule. Ungar, 376 U.S. at 589. The multi-factor test that the district court relied upon to conclude that the Florida trial court's denial of Petitioner's motion for continuance violated his due process rights originated in the former Fifth Circuit's decision in Uptain, not Ungar. See Uptain, 531 F.2d at 1287. The Supreme Court has made clear that courts may not rely on circuit precedent when determining the reasonableness of a state court's decision. See Parker v. Matthews, 567 U.S. 37, 132 S. Ct. 2148, 2155 (2012) ([C]ircuit precedent does not constitute clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court. ). Therefore, the district court erred to the extent it relied on circuit court precedents to determine that the Florida appellate court's decision was objectively unreasonable.

Because Ungar announced a general rule, the Florida appellate court had more leeway in denying Petitioner's due process claim. See Evans, 703 F.3d at 1326 (explaining that the more general the rule announced by the Supreme Court, the more leeway courts have in reaching outcomes in case-by-case determinations. (quotation omitted)). Under Florida law, to prevail on a motion for continuance based on the absence of a witness, the defense must show: (1) prior due diligence to obtain the witness's presence; (2) that substantially favorable testimony would have been forthcoming; (3) that the witness was available and willing to testify; and (4) that the denial of the continuance caused material prejudice. Geralds v. State, 674 So. 2d 96, 99 (Fla. 1996).

Here, there are several reasons in the record that support the Florida appellate court's summary affirmance of the trial court's denial of Petitioner's motion for continuance. For starters, although Petitioner asserted that Walker would provide crucial alibi testimony, her deposition does not support this contention. Indeed, Walker was not even sure about the date of the barbeque that was Petitioner's purported alibi, and she could not say for certain if Petitioner was at her house on the date of the robbery. Even if her testimony were sufficient to establish that Petitioner was at her house on the day of the robbery, that issue does not appear to be in dispute because at least two other witnesses testified at trial that Petitioner was at Walker's house on the date of the robbery. Both of those witnesses, however, testified that Petitioner left the barbeque with Raychelle (his co-defendant) before the time of the robbery. Notably, Walker's deposition testimony does not indicate what time Petitioner arrived at her home for the barbeque and whether and when he left her home. Thus, Walker's testimony that Petitioner was at the barbeque was cumulative of other witness testimony. There is also no indication that Walker's testimony would have contradicted the other witnesses who testified that Petitioner left the barbeque with enough time to commit the robbery. Further, although Raychelle later admitted that she lied about some things during her testimony at Petitioner's trial, she continued to maintain her testimony that Petitioner was involved in the robbery. Therefore, the Florida appellate court's decision affirming the denial of Petitioner's continuance motion was not objectively unreasonable.

III. CONCLUSION

Based on the foregoing, we REVERSE the judgment of the district court and REMAND with instructions to reinstate Petitioner's conviction and sentence.

FOOTNOTES

. We reject Petitioner's argument that we do not have jurisdiction to review the district court's conditional grant of a writ of habeas corpus. Contrary to Petitioner's claim, the Secretary did not need to obtain a certificate of appealability in order to file this appeal. See Lawhorn v. Allen, 519 F.3d 1272, 1285 n.20 (11th Cir. 2008) (explaining that an appeal by the State or federal government does not require a certificate of appealability); see also Fed. R. App. P. 22(b)(3) (A certificate of appealability is not required when a state or its representative or the United States or its representative appeals.).

. Though not relevant to the present appeal, there was a series of denials by the Florida trial court and subsequent remands by the Florida appellate court before the Florida appellate court ultimately affirmed the trial court's denial of Petitioner's 3.850 motion.

. A conditional grant of habeas relief delays a prisoner's release for a certain period of time to permit the State to correct the constitutional defect. See Moore v. Zant, 972 F.3d 318, 320 (11th Cir. 1992) (Federal courts pursuant to their authority to dispose of habeas matters as law and justice require often delay a state prisoner's release from custody for a reasonable time to allow the state an opportunity to correct the constitutional defect that make the custody unlawful.); see also Magwood v. Patterson, 561 U.S. 320, 347 (2010) (Kennedy, J, dissenting) ([A] conditional grant of relief  allows the state court to correct an error that occurred at the original sentencing.).

. Petitioner's motion to expedite the appeal is DENIED as moot.

PER CURIAM:
United States Court of Appeals, First Circuit. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Appellee, v. ISAIAS PEREZ-CARRERA, Defendant, Appellant. No. 16-1392 Decided: May 17, 2017

Before Torruella, Thompson, and Kayatta, Circuit Judges. Raul S. Mariani Franco on brief for appellant. Mariana E. Bauza-Almonte, Assistant United States Attorney, Chief, Appellate Division, and Rosa Emilia Rodriguez-Velez, United States Attorney, on brief for appellee.

The district court sentenced defendant Isaias Perez-Carrera (Perez) to 50 months' imprisonment, varying upward from a guidelines sentencing range of 30 to 37 months. Perez appeals. He argues that the district court erred by justifying the upward variance with factors that the guidelines sentencing range already took into account. According to Perez, this error rendered his sentence procedurally and substantively unreasonable. We disagree and thus affirm.

I.

According to the operative presentence investigation report (PSR), on December 31, 2013, a private security guard called the police to report that an individual had exited his vehicle, pulled a hood over his head, placed a firearm inside a pack on his shoulder, and entered a pharmacy. The guard also said that he heard a sound consistent with a firearm being loaded. The police responded and spoke with the guard, who identified the individual he had observed. The police approached that individual, confiscated his shoulder pack, and found a loaded firearm inside. They arrested the individual, whom they later identified as Perez. Perez was charged in a one-count indictment with possessing a firearm after having been convicted of a felony in violation of 18 U.S.C.  922(g). He pled guilty to that charge on December 8, 2014. His plea was not the product of any agreement with the government.

The operative PSR includes an offense-level computation that lists Perez's total offense level as seventeen, reflecting a base offense level of twenty, less three levels because Perez accepted responsibility. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual (U.S.S.G.)  2K2.1(a)(4)(A), 3E1.1(a)-(b) (U.S. Sentencing Comm'n 2015). Perez's criminal history score is listed as five: he accrued three points for a prior conviction, id.  4A1.1(a), and two points for having committed the instant offense while serving a term of supervised release, id.  4A1.1(d). That score corresponds with criminal history category III and, combined with the total offense level of seventeen, yields a guidelines sentencing range of 30 to 37 months. Id. ch. 5, pt. A (Sentencing Table).

The district court convened a sentencing hearing on January 28, 2016. During the hearing, Perez elicited testimony from three witnesses. He first called a clinical geneticist from the University of Puerto Rico's Department of Health who treated the defendant's son in connection with his significant congenital impairments. The geneticist testified about the manifold treatments and demanding care that the child required. Next, the defendant's wife testified about the support she needed from Perez to care for their son and her two other children. Finally, the defendant's mother testified about the importance of Perez's role in helping her run a family business. The district court then heard argument from defense counsel and from the government. During its argument, the government asked the district court to impose the statutory maximum sentence of 120 months' imprisonment because of Perez's criminal history, his history of [disciplinary] violations while incarcerated, and his possession of a firearm while on supervised release. This unexpected request drew an objection from defense counsel, and it prompted the district court to postpone the sentencing until a later date. In doing so, the district court specifically advised the parties that it was contemplating a departure going upward or an upward variance and was therefore continuing the proceedings to allow the defendant time to be prepared.

The district court reconvened on March 30, 2016. At that time, Perez requested a below- or within-guidelines sentence, and the government lowered its request from 120 months to 84 months. The district court heard from Perez and then imposed its sentence. It properly identified the offense conduct, correctly calculated the guidelines sentencing range as 30 to 37 months, and appropriately referenced the sentencing factors enumerated in 18 U.S.C.  3553(a). It noted Perez's personal background and criminal history, including his prior felony convictions for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and for aiding and abetting in the use of a firearm during the commission of that crime. The district court then explained that it would vary upward, albeit not as much as the government requested, citing the nature of the prior conviction and the relatively short interval between Perez's release and his reoffense. It imposed a sentence of 50 months' imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release.

Defense counsel promptly objected to the grounds expressed by the Court for an upward variance, arguing that the sentence was substantively unreasonable. The court rejected this argument, emphasizing that the defendant engaged once again in having a weapon when he was barely 22 months [into] a 36 month's [sic] sentence on supervised release that followed a 97-month term of imprisonment for the prior conviction. This timely appeal followed.

II.

On appeal, Perez raises both procedural and substantive challenges to the reasonableness of his sentence of 50 months' imprisonment. We address each category of challenges in turn.

A.

Perez did not raise his procedural challenges in the district court, so we review these challenges only for plain error. United States v. NievesMercado, 847 F.3d 37, 41 (1st Cir. 2017). Review for plain error entails four showings: (1) that an error occurred (2) which was clear or obvious and which not only (3) affected the defendant's substantial rights, but also (4) seriously impaired the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings. United States v. Duarte, 246 F.3d 56, 60 (1st Cir. 2001).

Perez first argues that the factors relied on by the district court to justify the upward variance were already covered in [his] guideline range. Perez asserts that the district court therefore double-counted his prior felony conviction. According to Perez, that prior conviction [wa]s duly taken into account by the guidelines, as it resulted in three criminal history points. It is true that the district court cited the prior conviction to justify the upward variance, and it is true that Perez received three criminal history points for that conviction. Yet the guidelines sentencing range only took into account the fact of the prior conviction and the duration of the resulting sentence. See U.S.S.G.  4A1.1(a). What the district court took into account was the nature of the prior conviction and the similarity between the criminal conduct at issue in the prior conviction and the instant offense. Perez does not argue that the guidelines sentencing range accounted for those considerations, and we find that the district court's reliance on them to justify the upward variance was not obviously wrong. See NievesMercado, 847 F.3d at 43 (rejecting a claim of procedural unreasonableness where the district court discussed not only the existence but also the nature of [the defendant's] criminal history and in particular noted similarities between the prior criminal conduct and the instant offense).

We likewise reject Perez's second and similar argument that the district court double-counted the fact that Perez committed the instant offense while serving a term of supervised release. To be sure, the guidelines sentencing range incorporated two criminal history points because Perez committed the instant offense while under any criminal justice sentence, including  supervised release. U.S.S.G.  4A1.1(d). The district court noted, in explaining the upward variance, that Perez was less than two years into his three-year term of supervised release when he committed the instant offense. But the transcript from the sentencing hearing makes clear that the court noted that fact in service of a different point: that Perez recidivated relatively soon after having served a lengthy sentence for his prior conviction. The court expressed concern that the prior 97-month sentence yielded such minimal deterrence that Perez reoffended within 22 months of his release from prison. That Perez happened to remain on supervised release at that time was beside the district court's point. Regardless of whether Perez had previously received a short term of supervision, a long term of supervision, or no term of supervision at all, it was not plainly erroneous for the district court to have determined that Perez required additional deterrence through a longer custodial sentence because, after spending over eight years in prison, Perez made it just 22 months before he was picked up for another felony offense.

Because Perez has failed to convince us that the district court obviously double-counted either factor in justifying the upward variance, we reject on plain error review his claim that the district court imposed a procedurally unreasonable sentence.

B.

That leaves Perez's argument that his sentence is substantively unreasonable. Perez did raise this objection in the district court, so we review the substantive reasonableness of his sentence for abuse of discretion. United States v. Trinidad-Acosta, 773 F.3d 298, 309 (1st Cir. 2014). In assessing substantive reasonableness, we focus[ ] on the duration of the sentence in light of the totality of the circumstances. United States v. Del Valle-Rodriguez, 761 F.3d 171, 176 (1st Cir. 2014). [A] plausible sentencing rationale and a defensible result are all that we require. United States v. Narvaez-Soto, 773 F.3d 282, 288 (quoting United States v. Martin, 520 F.3d 87, 96 (1st Cir. 2008)).

Perez advances two claims of substantive error. First, he says, the district court erred [b]y relying on already included factors to further enhance [his] sentence. We have already rejected this contention in finding that the district court gave reasons for its variance beyond those factored into the guidelines sentencing range calculation, NievesMercado, 847 F.3d at 44--in this case, the nature of Perez's criminal history, the similarity between the prior and instant offenses, and the time between his release and his reoffense. Second, Perez argues that the district court failed to consider the totality of the circumstances, and that its myopic focus on his criminal history caused the district court to overlook individual characteristics warranting a lower sentence. Although the upward variance in this case was significant, and by no means inevitable, we do not find that the totality of the circumstances demand a different result. The district court weighed the evidence presented by Perez but ultimately determined that his criminal history tipped the scales in favor of an above-guidelines sentence. Mindful that [i]n most cases, there is not a single appropriate sentence but, rather, a universe of reasonable sentences, United States v. Rivera-Gonzalez, 776 F.3d 45, 52 (1st Cir. 2015), we hold that the sentence imposed in this case falls within that universe.

III.

Finding neither procedural nor substantive error, we affirm the judgment of the district court.

FOOTNOTES

. To the extent Perez's real complaint is not that the court overlooked those factors but that it weighed those factors less heavily than he would have liked, our precedent makes clear that such balancing is, within wide limits, a matter for the sentencing court. United States v. Rivera-Gonzalez, 776 F.3d 45, 50 (1st Cir. 2015). The record reveals that the district court considered the evidence adduced and arguments advanced by Perez at sentencing--including evidence and arguments regarding the importance of his support to his family. We discern no plain error by the district court in identifying the pertinent sentencing factors and no abuse of the broad discretion afforded to the district court in deciding how to weigh them. Furthermore, to the extent Perez argues that the district court erred by finding that Perez's wife was doing all of the work in raising their son, he has not shown that this factual finding was obviously erroneous.

KAYATTA, Circuit Judge.
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Each prisoner will cost California $75,560 per year  a new record

The price per inmate has doubled since 2005, even as court orders related to overcrowding have reduced the population by about one-quarter.



By DON THOMPSON

Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif.  The cost of imprisoning each of California's 130,000 inmates is expected to reach a record $75,560 in the next year, enough to cover the annual cost of attending Harvard University and still have plenty left over for pizza and beer.

The price for each inmate has doubled since 2005, even as court orders related to overcrowding have reduced the population by about one-quarter. Salaries and benefits for prison guards and medical providers drove much of the increase.

The result is a per-inmate cost that is the nation's highest and $2,000 above tuition, fees, room and board, and other expenses to attend Harvard.

Gov. Jerry Brown's spending plan for the fiscal year that starts July 1 includes a record $11.4 billion for the corrections department while also predicting that there will be 11,500 fewer inmates in four years because voters in November approved earlier releases for many inmates.

Since 2015, California's per-inmate costs have surged nearly $10,000, or about 13 percent. New York is a distant second in overall costs at about $69,000.

Critics say with fewer inmates, the costs should be falling.

Now that we're incarcerating less, we haven't ramped the system back down, said Chris Hoene, executive director of the left-leaning California Budget & Policy Center.

For example, the corrections department has one employee for every two inmates, compared with one employee for roughly every four inmates in 1994.

California was sued for overcrowding, and to comply with a federal court-imposed population cap, the Brown administration now keeps most lower-level offenders in county jails instead of state prisons. Additionally, voters in 2014 reduced penalties for drug and property crimes and last fall approved the earlier releases.

Republican state Sen. Jim Nielsen said reformers falsely promised a prison dividend from savings related to the changes. Instead, there's now an uptick in many crimes and he's worried it will lead to an influx of new inmates that will cost more to house.

Joan Petersilia, co-director of the Stanford Criminal Justice Center, said it was highly predictable that per-inmate costs would increase even as the population decreased.

We released all the low-risk, kind of low-need and we kept in the high-risk, high-need, she said.

California is not alone. The Vera Institute of Justice, a New York City-based reform group, said California is one of 10 states that reduced its inmate population only to see prison spending rise.

California Department of Finance spokesman H.D. Palmer said the state faces unique pressures, including federal oversight of prison health care that has driven up costs and remote prisons that are more expensive to operate.

Real savings won't come unless the inmate population drops so low that the state can start closing prisons, said Drew Soderborg, a criminal justice analyst with the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office.

But the federal population cap makes it difficult to do that without exceeding crowding limits in individual prisons.

As we continue to reduce the overall population, we are able to achieve savings, Palmer said. But there are a few things that are pushing cost pressures in the other direction, led by employee compensation and retirement.

The California Correctional Peace Officers Association is in the middle of a contract that will cost taxpayers more than $1 billion over three years.

California's average $70,020 wage for prison and jail guards was topped only by New Jersey's $71,430 last year, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Palmer said the contract includes concessions that Brown sought to help reduce the state's long-term costs of providing retirees' health care benefits.

But the contract also includes sweeteners like more money for working in remote prisons. And what had been a $1,560 annual incentive for remaining physically fit now goes directly into officers' base pay.

The union will work with lawmakers to try to trim the budget, spokeswoman Nichol Gomez said in an email, but she noted that the more serious, longer-term inmates that remain carry higher costs.

Vocational, academic, mental health and medical programs are not cheap, but we're doing our best to provide programs that give people the best chance to succeed once released, she said.




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If it won't be from sea-to-sea, just how long will it be?



By ALICIA A. CALDWELL

Associated Press

WASHINGTON  The White House insists that plans for President Donald Trump's border wall are on track despite resistance from Congress. What it's not saying is how it envisions the wall these days.

Trump's promise to build a big beautiful wall and have Mexico pay for it was a campaign rallying cry. It conjured images of an imposing structure spanning the 2,000 miles of America's southern border, too tall and strong for foreigners to dare cross illegally.





. . .
United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Appellee, v. BROK JAMES CHASE, Defendant-Appellant. 16-2636 Decided: June 05, 2017

PRESENT: DENNIS JACOBS, DEBRA ANN LIVINGSTON, RAYMOND J. LOHIER, JR., Circuit Judges. FOR APPELLANT: MELISSA A. TUOHEY, Assistant Federal Public Defender, forLisa A. Peebles, Federal Public Defender, Syracuse, NY. FOR APPELLEE: MICHAEL GADARIAN (Rajit S. Dosanjh, Lisa M. Fletcher, onthe brief), Assistant United States Attorney, forRichard S. Hartunian, United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York, Syracuse, NY.

UPON DUE CONSIDERATION, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that the judgment of the district court be AFFIRMED.

Defendant-appellant Brok James Chase pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual exploitation of a child for the purpose of producing child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C.  2251(a). The exploitation counts are based on repeated and horrific sexual abuse of his young stepdaughter. The United States District Court for the Northern District of New York (Sannes, J.) sentenced Chase principally to fifty years' imprisonment. Chase appeals his sentence, asserting that it was both procedurally and substantively unreasonable. We assume the parties' familiarity with the underlying facts, the procedural history, and the issues presented for review.

We review a district court's sentence for procedural and substantive reasonableness, which amounts to review for abuse of discretion. United States v. Cavera, 550 F.3d 180, 187 (2d Cir. 2008) (en banc). A district court commits procedural error where it fails to calculate the Guidelines range  , makes a mistake in its Guidelines calculation, or treats the Guidelines as mandatory. Id. at 190. It also errs procedurally if it does not consider the factors set forth in 18 U.S.C.  3553(a), rests its sentence on a clearly erroneous finding of fact, or fails to adequately explain its chosen sentence. Id.

A sentence is substantively unreasonable if it cannot be located within the range of permissible decisions. Id. at 189. [O]nly those sentences that are so shockingly high, shockingly low, or otherwise unsupportable as a matter of law that allowing them to stand would damage the administration of justice  are substantively unreasonable. United States v. Broxmeyer, 699 F.3d 265, 289 (2d Cir. 2012) (quoting United States v. Rigas, 583 F.3d 108, 123 (2d Cir. 2009)).

1. Chase argues procedural error on two grounds. First, he contends that the court abused its discretion by refusing to depart downward due to his mental and emotional conditions pursuant to U.S.S.G.  5H1.3.

Claims that the district court erred in refusing to depart are not cognizable on appeal in the absence of substantial indication that the district judge believed she lacked authority to depart or an indication that a violation of the law occurred. United States v. Jackson, 658 F.3d 145, 153-54 (2d Cir. 2011); see United States v. Robinson, 799 F.3d 196, 201 (2d Cir. 2015) ([A] district court's decision not to depart from the Guidelines is generally unreviewable, unless it misunderstood its authority to do so.).

Nothing in this record suggests that the district court misunderstood its authority to depart or that the sentence was otherwise illegal. In fact, the district court explicitly acknowledged its authority to depart downward based on Chase's mental and emotional conditions and declined to exercise this authority after carefully considering the circumstances of Chase's case. Accordingly, we lack jurisdiction to review this decision. See United States v. Stinson, 465 F.3d 113, 114 (2d Cir. 2006) (per curiam) ([I]n the post-Booker sentencing regime  review of [the denial of a downward departure] will be available only when a sentencing court misapprehended the scope of its authority to depart or the sentence was otherwise illegal. (quotation marks omitted)).

2. Chase's second procedural challenge is that the district court failed to satisfy its stated objective of imposing a below-Guidelines sentence.

The Guidelines offense level for Chase's criminal conduct yielded a recommended -- and here undisputed -- sentence of life imprisonment. However, because the statutory maximum for each of the four counts of conviction was thirty years, the Presentence Investigation Report, adopted by the district court, stacked the statutory maximums to arrive at a recommended Guidelines sentence of 120 years' imprisonment. After analyzing the factors set forth in  3553(a), the district court rejected the Guidelines sentence as excessive and imposed a sentence of fifty years.

Chase argues that this fifty-year term (at the conclusion of which he will be in his seventies) is effectively a life sentence, and, therefore, does not achieve the district court's desired below-Guidelines result. Because he failed to raise this objection in the district court, we review for plain error. See United States v. Villafuerte, 502 F.3d 204, 207-08 (2d Cir. 2007). We identify no error, plain or otherwise.

Chase's sentence is below the Guidelines, which the district court properly calculated to be 120 years' imprisonment. Section 5G1.2(d) of the Guidelines authorizes courts to stack statutory maximums, as the district court did, to reach a term of years equivalent to a life sentence. See United States v. Brown, 843 F.3d 74, 82 (2d Cir. 2016) (holding that the district court correctly applied  5G1.2(d) by stacking statutory maximums for 110-year sentence). Specifically,  5G1.2(d) states that [i]f the sentence imposed on the count carrying the highest statutory maximum is less than the total punishment, then the sentence imposed on one or more of the other counts shall run consecutively, but only to the extent necessary to produce a combined sentence equal to the total punishment. U.S.S.G.  5G1.2(d). Chase submits that because the total punishment of life in prison could be achieved by a sentence less than 120 years, the district court should have calculated his Guidelines sentence using average life expectancy data. He cites no authority supporting such an approach, and we see no reason to adopt it.

In any event, fifty years is not the same as life. With his release expected at the age of seventy-two, Chase's sentence allows for the real possibility that he will outlive his prison term. Thus, regardless of whether the measure is 120 years or life, Chase received the below-Guidelines sentence intended by the district court.

3. Chase claims that the sentence is substantively unreasonable because it fails to properly account for the need to provide him with mental health and sex offender treatment in the most effective manner, as prescribed by 18 U.S.C.  3553(a)(2)(D). He contends that such treatment is best provided outside of prison.

The district court did not abuse its discretion in sentencing Chase to fifty years' imprisonment. This sentence was the result of careful consideration of the  3553(a) factors and the circumstances of Chase's case. The court imposed a long period of incarceration not because it was oblivious to the need to provide appropriate treatment -- that need was explicitly recognized -- but because it concluded that other considerations militated in favor of significant incapacitation, deterrence, and punishment. Those considerations included: the extreme and heinous nature of the sexual abuse; the prolonged period of abuse; the victim's age (four to six years old during that period); Chase's efforts to opt the victim out of child abuse programming at school; his deletion of evidence stored on his computer when agents arrived at his home; his large collection of child pornography; and his sharing of child pornography over a peer-to-peer network. See Cavera, 550 F.3d at 191 ([W]e do not consider what weight we would ourselves have given a particular factor. Rather, we consider whether the factor, as explained by the district court, can bear the weight assigned it under the totality of circumstances in the case. (citation omitted)).

Given the seriousness of Chase's crimes and the broad range of permissible decisions available to the district court, we cannot conclude that his sentence was unreasonable.

Accordingly, the judgment of the district court is hereby AFFIRMED.

FOR THE COURT:

CATHERINE O'HAGAN WOLFE, CLERK

FOOTNOTES

. Under plain error review, a defendant must demonstrate that (1) there was error, (2) the error was plain, (3) the error prejudicially affected his substantial rights, and (4) the error seriously affected the fairness, integrity or public reputation of judicial proceedings. United States v. Cook, 722 F.3d 477, 481 (2d Cir. 2013).

. We note that fifty years' incarceration is in line with other cases involving severe sexual abuse of children. See, e.g., Brown, 843 F.3d 74 (sixty years); United States v. Hamilton, 548 F. App'x 728 (2d Cir. 2013) (summary order) (150 years); United States v. Ketcham, 507 F. App'x. 42 (2d Cir. 2013) (summary order) (sixty years).
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said isolating Qatar was the 'beginning of end' of terrorism, clearly indicating that the concerted move by prominent Arab states had the blessing of the US.

Seven Arab nations including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, Libya, the UAE and the Maldives severed all ties with gas-rich Qatar, accusing it of supporting groups, including some backed by Iran, "that aim to destabilise the region".

The biggest diplomatic standoff by bigger Arab nations against smaller Qatar could destabilise the country's economy and adversely affect Indian interests in the region.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, Libya, the UAE and the Maldives severed relations with gas- rich Qatar, accusing it of supporting groups, including some backed by Iran, "that aim to destabilise the region".

Qatar denied any support for extremists and accused its Gulf neighbours of seeking to put the country under "guardianship".

Trump also said leaders he met on his recent Middle East trip had warned him that Qatar was funding "radical ideology" after he had demanded they take action to stop financing militant groups.

"During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!" Trump tweeted.

The comments seem intriguing since Qatar is a US ally and hosts a US military base.

Trump's comments about the rift between Qatar and major Arab nations over alleged support of Iran and Islamist groups, which first appeared on Twitter, came ahead of a planned meeting of leaders of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to try to resolve the dispute.

Ordinary Qataris, however, were to be found crowding into supermarkets to stock up on goods against the crisis.

Gulf Arab officials said Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber al-Sabah will meet with Saudi Arabia's King Salman later in the day, hoping to heal the damaging rift which has affected global oil prices, hit travel plans and sown confusion among bankers and businesses in the region.

In fact, a number of banks in the region began stepping back from business dealings with Qatar. Saudi Arabia's central bank advised banks in the kingdom not to trade with Qatari banks in Qatari riyals, sources said.

Oil prices also fell on concern that the rift would undermine efforts by Opec to tighten production.
The Eufaula City Council faces a controversial decision in the coming weeks regarding Sunday alcohol sales.

With the Alabama Legislature and Gov. Kay Ivey signing off on a request for the council to regulate Sunday sale of alcohol, the decision now rests with the five council members.

An ordinance for Sunday alcohol sales wasnt discussed at the Monday night council meeting due to some of the legal paperwork not yet being worked out, said Councilwoman Linda Grice, who is in favor of the ordinance.

I know my name will be mud with some people, said Grice in an interview with the Tribune. I just think we have to do what we think is right for the city.

Grice admits she didnt always agree with alcohol sales on Sunday, but a better knowledge on how it would impact the city financially has made her rethink her position.

When all of this started being talked about in Eufaula, I was very opposed to it. I was looking at it from the standpoint that many of the ministers look at it, too, she said. As I matured as a Christian, I realized that drinking a beer or having a glass of wine wont send people to hell. If you have a right relationship with God, and dont make alcohol your God, I dont see how there would be any difference at all.

Pastor Alvin Godfrey submitted a letter to the Tribune on behalf of the Eufaula-Georgetown Area Ministerial Association, stating the groups position on the issue.

We, as an association, strongly oppose liquor sales of any kind on the Lords Day, said Godfrey. Also, the amount of taxes that Sunday sales would generate is minute, anyway. We do pray for new industry and businesses that will bring more jobs into our community; however, we do not believe that promoting and selling liquor is the way to prosperity.

But Grice said she believes Sunday sales would have a positive impact on the city financially.

I dont think well see people falling out in the streets drunk. To be honest with you, if they dont get it here, theyre going to Georgetown to get it or going to buy it on Saturday. If youre going to drink it, youre going to drink it, she said. When these people come through from north Georgia or from the beach on the way home, or the businessmen who want to have a glass of wine with dinner when they come to town. They cant do that here. And really there just arent many places that dont have Sunday sales. I think were going to have to step up.

Councilman Tony Robertson also felt like the restriction of Sunday alcohol sale hurt business.

You know the Mayor has told us that in order to get one of these nice sit down restaurants here, we need this, said Robertson. I voted for it to go to the legislature, and I will vote for it again when its time.

But voting on Sunday sales wont happen overnight.

Once council members decide whether to act on the resolution, it will go through a public hearing process. This includes advertisement in the paper for four weeks and two public hearings. Public hearing dates will be posted in the Tribune.

Both Robertson and Grice noted that the resolution theyve put forth would only allow the sale of beer and wine in certain licensed establishments.

The legislation is limited to restaurants and hotels from noon until 9:30 p.m. or until midnight if New Years Eve falls on a Sunday. It also includes the sale of beer or table wine at retail stores for on-premise or off-premise consumption.
United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit. FELIX ZVIKOMBORERO ZIHUMO, Petitioner v. JEFFERSON B. SESSIONS, III, U. S. ATTORNEY GENERAL, Respondent No. 16-60113 Decided: June 02, 2017

Before STEWART, Chief Judge, and JOLLY and JONES, Circuit Judges.

Felix Zvikomborero Zihumo, a native and citizen of Zimbabwe, petitions for review of a decision of the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA) affirming the denial of his applications for withholding and cancellation of removal following an adverse credibility determination by the immigration judge (IJ). He does not challenge the denial of his asylum application as untimely or the determination that he waived any claim for relief under the Convention Against Torture.

Because the BIA reviewed the IJ's credibility finding for clear error, we will review the IJ's decision to the extent it impacted the decision of the BIA. See Wang v. Holder, 569 F.3d 531, 536 (5th Cir. 2009). According to Zihumo, the IJ cherry-picked evidence to support the adverse credibility finding and did not consider totality of the circumstances as required under 8 U.S.C.  1158(b)(1)(B)(iii). The detailed and extensive rationale for the credibility finding clearly reflects that both the IJ and the BIA considered the totality of the circumstances.

In addition, Zihumo asserts that the IJ improperly speculated that he could not fear for his life if he returned to Zimbabwe and also want to return one day. The IJ did not speculate that a person could not fear returning to a country and also want to return. Instead, the IJ questioned the suspicious timing of Zihumo's changed outlook on whether it would be safe for him to return to Zimbabwe, which coincided with the expiration of his student visa.

According to Zihumo, the IJ also erred by relying on his smug demeanor and his smirking during the hearing without noting the behaviors on the record or asking him about them. The IJ properly relied on his observations. See  1158(b)(1)(B)(iii).

Zihumo also disputes the finding that his testimony was the only evidence supporting his allegations of persecution. He cites as corroborating evidence the testimony of an official with the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), written documentation in the record of the political situation in Zimbabwe, a statement purportedly signed by his parents, a report issued by the United States Embassy, and reports by the State Department. The party official did not testify about Zihumo's alleged political activities in Zimbabwe, his encounters with the ruling party, or the experiences of his family members. Indeed, the official indicated that Zihumo would be safe in Zimbabwe if he refrained from intervening in conflicts between MDC supporters and forces loyal to Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe. Accordingly, the testimony did not corroborate Zihumo's allegations or show that he faces a clear probability of persecution.

Similarly, the reports about conditions in Zimbabwe do not corroborate Zihumo's personal story. The only corroborating evidence he cites is an unsworn statement purportedly signed by his parents. Such unverified evidence alone does not establish a clear probability of persecution in light of the adverse credibility finding. See Zhang v. Gonzales, 432 F.3d 339, 345 (5th Cir. 2005).

For all of these reasons, Zihumo fails to satisfy the substantial evidence standard with respect to the adverse credibility finding, see Wang, 569 F.3d at 538-39, and fails to show that he is entitled to withholding of removal, see Hongyok v. Gonzales, 492 F.3d 547, 550 (5th Cir. 2007).

Zihumo also contends that the BIA erred in affirming the denial of cancellation of removal because the IJ did not consider the evidence of his daughter's asthma and the associated risks she would face upon return to Zimbabwe. We lack jurisdiction to review the finding that Zihumo failed to show that his removal would result in exceptional and extremely unusual hardship to his daughter. See Sung v. Keisler, 505 F.3d 372, 377 (5th Cir. 2007).

The petition for review is DENIED.

PER CURIAM:*
The company's sales grew by 34 percent ahead by 2 percent of Tamil Nadu industry. HMSI now holds 35 percent of the market in the state of TN. The company claims that one in every three customers is buying a Honda two-wheeler in the state.

Mr Minoru Kato - President & CEO, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. announced, "I thank our valued customers who have made Honda the Most preferred brand in Tamil Nadu. 2017-18 is definitely the most challenging year for Honda 2Wheelers India till now."

He added, "India operation is already the No. 1 contributor to Honda's global two-wheeler business. This year we are aiming 6 million units with 20 percent growth over the large existing base. Undoubtedly, our aggressive plans for key states including Tamil Nadu will play an important role in contributing to this growth of Honda in India."

Re-positioning with Honda's vision to extend its reach in India through its closer to market' approach, the company inaugurated its new Zonal office in Coimbatore, Honda's 2nd Zonal office in Tamil Nadu after Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the only state in the south region to have two zonal offices.

Elaborating on how Honda's becoming No. 1 brand in Tamil Nadu, Mr Yadvinder Singh Guleria, Senior Vice President - Sales & Marketing, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. said, "Within regions, the more progressive South and West regions are today leading the scooterisation of India. As the second largest scooter market in India, Tamil Nadu is clearly a trend-setting state."

He added, "There is a dramatic evolution of two-wheeler industry in Tamil Nadu. Now nearly every 2nd customer chooses to ride home on a scooter. Mopeds which always had a stronghold in Tamil Nadu have seen a sharp drop in contribution every year. Now only 1 in 10 two-wheelers sold in the state is a moped."

The pace of scooterisation is faster in South and West region compared to All India average. Within the Southern region, Tamil Nadu is one state wherein scooter penetration is almost reaching 50 percent level.

TN is India's second biggest scooter market, all thanks to better road infrastructure, women entering the workforce, high convenience, advanced technology and co-usage are acting as a tailwind for increased demand for Honda scooters.

Backed by this trend, Honda's market share has grown seven times to 35 percent in April 2017 from only 5 percent a decade ago in TN. Automatic scooters have overtaken both 110cc motorcycles and mopeds as the number one choice of customers in the state.

Being a critical market, Honda will expand its network reach by more than 40 sales and service touch-points in semi-urban and rural areas over the existing 405 outlets in Tamil Nadu.

As a responsible company, Honda is putting people first. Skilled safety instructors at Honda's 11th traffic park at Coimbatore are actively promoting road safety on a daily basis and have already educated over 14,000 people in 5 months. Additionally, the company, today inaugurated a Special Summer Camp to educate young minds on road safety in Coimbatore city via fun, practical and theory programmes.
The Fair Work Commission today delivered its annual wage review. This decision will have a significant impact on all businesses and industries and over 2.3 million employees who are paid at the National Minimum Wage or minimum Modern Award rates.

From the first full pay period commencing after 1 July 2017:

all Modern Award rates will increase by 3.3 per cent (with weekly wages rounded to the nearest $0.10)

the National Minimum Wage will increase by 3.3 per cent to $18.29 per hour (and $694.00 per week for a full-time employee), an increase of $0.59 per hour

The Commissions decision only confirms the basic increase in minimum rates while confirmation of the specific rates (including new allowance rates) for each individual Award have not yet been released. These will be released before 1 July 2017.

The impact.

Ed Mallett, managing director of Employsure, an employment relations solutions provider with over 13,000 small business clients, explains: In reaching its decision to increase the National Minimum Wage by the highest percentage weve seen since 2011, the Commission took into consideration living standards. However, we know Australia already boasts high wages and high living standards. Our minimum wage is one of the highest in the world says Mallett.

We predicted the increase to be no more than 2.4%, and are particularly surprised at the decision  3.3 per cent is the highest weve seen in six years. Although some relief has come in the form of reducing penalty rates across some industries, the Commission announced that these reductions would be phased-in by increments over the next three years. Both decisions seem like a double punch in two days.

While the Commission took into consideration the strong economic environment, Mallett questions why such a high increase, when we are doing so well?

Considering:

real net national disposable income increased by 6.8 per cent over the year

all measures of inflation have increased since the March quarter 2016, but are currently at the lower end of the RBAs medium-term target range

unemployment rate is steady

labour productivity growth in the market sector was higher than the previous 5 year period and rose sharply in 2016

profit growth was particularly strong in 2016 compared with the preceding years and above the 5 year and 10 year averages for both total industries and non-mining industries

The weekly wage bill for Australian businesses could increase up to $51.3 million and most SMEs wont be charging customers 3.3 percent extra from July 1, but will need to come up with an extra $22.30 per week per employee, paid at the expense of their bottom line.

As I see it, SMEs will need to consider reducing costs, increasing prices, reducing staff or reducing operating hoursor a mixed approach to maintain current profitability.

What happens next?

Each National Minimum Wage order made in an annual wage review comes into operation on 1 July in the next financial year, and continues in operation until the next National Minimum Wage order comes into operation. Publication of determinations changing the Minimum Wage rates in Modern Awards, and a National Minimum Wage order for employees who are not covered by an agreement or Award will be released over the coming weeks.

It usually takes the Commission two to three weeks to update the pay rates for each Award. Employers need to listen out for announcements and visit the Fair Work Commission and Fair Work Ombudsman websites for updates: We are immediately updating our 13,000 small business clients with the new rates relevant for their employees from today.

What do I need to do?

If you pay your staff at Award level, the increase to minimum rates take effect from the first full pay period commencing after 1 July 2017.

If you already pay above Award rates, you may not be required to increase your employees wages, provided the rates you pay are above the increased minimum Award rates (and you are not required to increase employees wages under their contracts of employment or applicable enterprise agreement).

See also: We empower people to challenge the status quo: Employsures founder on work culture and The legal industry: fast asleep while technology enables a new model for start-ups
United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, PlaintiffAppellee, v. DANIEL MONTEZ, DefendantAppellant. No. 16-1188 Decided: June 05, 2017

Before POSNER, MANION, and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges.

Daniel Montez appeals his conviction and sentence for possession with intent to distribute cocaine. He principally argues that the district court erred in admitting a wiretapped conversation he had with an alleged supplier. He also asserts that the district court improperly applied the Sentencing Guidelines' career offender enhancement. Finding his arguments unpersuasive, we affirm the judgment of the district court.

I. Background

This case arose from an investigation of a drug trafficking ring led by Jose de Jesus RamirezPadilla (known as Gallo). Beginning in 2011, federal agents placed courtauthorized wiretaps on the phones of Gallo and others connected with his organization. These wiretaps intercepted a call between Montez and Gallo, and another one between Montez and Gallo's brother, Helein RamirezPadilla (Helein).

Based upon the evidence obtained through the wiretaps, the government initially charged 40 individuals, including Gallo, Helein, and Montez, with narcotics conspiracy in violation of 21 U.S.C.  846. The grand jury eventually returned indictments charging 23 individuals with narcoticstrafficking crimes. While Gallo, Helein, and four others were eventually indicted on conspiracy charges, Montez was indicted on three counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C.  841(a)(1). The three counts related to three distinct alleged transactions: on October 27, 2011; December 12, 2011; and June 17, 2012.

Before trial, Montez raised concerns that the recordings of the wiretapped calls (or at least the words of Gallo and Helein in those recordings) were inadmissible hearsay. Montez pressed only general objections to calls from October 27, December 12, and December 14, 2011. The district court rejected what it termed Montez's blanket objection to every statement in the recordings, and then went on to provide some specific examples of statements that were not hearsay. The court held that Helein's words were necessary as context for Montez's admissions and allowed the recordings to be played to the jury.

At trial, in addition to the phone calls, the government elicited Gallo's live testimony that Montez had been a customer of his organization. Two FBI agents also testified to the effect that Montez had admitted to purchasing cocaine at the time of his arrest. Montez's strategy was to cast himself as a user of the drugs, rather than a distributor. To that end, he called one additional agent who testified that he didn't find any typical drugdealing paraphernalia in Montez's home at the time of the arrest. In the end, Montez was convicted of the December count, but acquitted of both the October and June counts.

At sentencing, the district court found that Montez was a career offender under Section 4B1.1 of the Sentencing Guidelines based on his 1985 Illinois murder conviction and 2007 Illinois conviction for aggravated battery of an officer. After the enhancement, Montez's offense level was 32 and his criminal history category was VI, accounting for a Guidelines range of 210 to 262 months, capped by a 20year statutory maximum. The district court sentenced Montez to 210 months' imprisonment. Montez appealed his conviction and the application of the careeroffender enhancement.

II. Discussion

Montez raises four issues with the proceedings below. He says: (1) the district court should have excluded at least portions of his December phone calls with Helein because Helein's statements were inadmissible hearsay; (2) the district court erred in its treatment of a witness's answer that he worked on the gang task force after the parties had agreed to omit any mention of gang activity in the trial; (3) his conviction was tainted by incorrect transcripts of wiretapped calls introduced before the grand jury; and (4) his conviction for aggravated battery was insufficient to justify the application of the Guidelines' careeroffender enhancement. We consider and reject each argument in turn.

A. Hearsay Objections

Montez's most significant complaint about the district court's judgment is the court's decision to admit conversations between himself and Helein from December 12 and December 14, 2011. Montez made only a blanket hearsay objection to the entire conversation, refusing the district court's invitation to identify particular statements by Helein that constituted inadmissible hearsay. He has now identified particular portions of the transcripts that he says contain hearsay statements by Helein.

Normally, we would review the district court's evidentiary rulings for abuse of discretion. United States v. Davis, 845 F.3d 282, 286 (7th Cir. 2016). The government argues that we should apply the plain error standard of review because of Montez's failure to make objections to particular statements. See United States v. Walker, 237 F.3d 845, 851 (7th Cir. 2001). Abuse of discretion is a highly deferential standard of review, but plain error is even more highly deferential. United States v. Cheek, 740 F.3d 440, 451 (7th Cir. 2014). However, we do not need to decide this question because even under the abuse of discretion standard, we would uphold the district court's evidentiary ruling.

The three particular exchanges that Montez highlights in his brief are as follows:

December 12:

Montez: And listen, is it hard or is it loose?

Helein: It's real nice, dude.

Montez: Okay. That's what I need to know.

Helein: It's more or less.

Montez: Okay, no, no, so I know because these fucking dudes are picky.

December 12:

Montez: I'm passing uh, almost by 47th.

Helein: Look, dude, take about fucking 20 minutes around there, dude. Are you going to want the three?

Montez: I'm going to grab one first, uh, I'm  because the other dude is not going to give me the tickets yet; but I will need three, yes.

Helein: All right.

Montez: So, so what do you want?

Helein: For you to arrive in about 20 minutes so I can measure all of the shit.

December 14:

Montez: But, is it going to be uh, firmer  not like

Helein: No, it's nice, it's nicer dude.

Montez: Good, because this other one you gave me, man, wasn't worth shit man. It was good, but it was all loose, man. I had problems even giving it to that son of a bitch.

The district court, in overruling Montez's general objections, found that Helein's statements were not hearsay because they were necessary to provide context for Montez's admissions. However, as we explained last year, when an argument is made that outofcourt statements should be admitted as context, the relevant legal question is still whether those statements are offered for their truth. United States v. Smith, 816 F.3d 479, 481 (7th Cir. 2016). In other words, the fact that the declarant's words help place the defendant's admissions into context is not an independent basis upon which to say the declarant's statements are not hearsay.

In Smith, we explained the difference between a statement offered for its truth and one offered to make sense of another party's admission. Suppose the declarant (Helein in this case) says to the defendant, I will pay you $7,000 in exchange for a letter my client can use to seek a grant for a daycare center. Do you agree? To this, the defendant simply responds yes. Under the reasoning in Smith, the declarant's words are admissible because they are not offered for their truth, but rather to show the meaning of [the defendant's] yes, which does not depend on whether [the declarant] was speaking truthfully. Id. On the other hand, suppose the declarant had said, [l]ast week I paid you $7,000 for a letter that my client will use to seek a grant for a daycare center. Do you remember? If the defendant responded yes, the declarant's statement would be hearsay because it would be relevant only if [the declarant] spoke the truth  that he had paid $7,000 in exchange for a letter. Id. at 482.

Similarly, in United States v. Amaya, 828 F.3d 518, 528 (7th Cir. 2016), an officer testified that an outofcourt declarant had said [t]hat was a bigass pistol and the officer had responded [h]ell yea. We reasoned that the declarant's statement was hearsay because his exclamation regarding the pistol only puts the officer's response in context and is only relevant if the [declarant] was speaking the truth. Id. These cases teach that the ultimate question is whether the declarant's statement is relevant only if it is true. If a statement is relevant irrespective of its veracity, then it is not hearsay.

In our case, the truth or falsity of Helein's statements is irrelevant. For example, in the first exchange above, Helein's statements [i]t's real nice, dude and [m]ore or less weren't offered to prove that the cocaine the two men were discussing was in fact of high quality. Rather, they were offered to explain the meaning of Montez's answers. Without Helein's statements, Montez's [o]kay would be unintelligible, as we would have no idea to what he was responding. Like the first statement discussed in Smith, Helein's words are admissible because they were offered irrespective of their truth to explain Montez's response. Montez's words, particularly his admission that these fucking dudes are picky, do all the work to incriminate him as a distributor of cocaine.

Likewise in the second exchange, Helein's statements were not offered for their truth (such as that he would take 20 minutes to measure the cocaine or that he had cocaine at all), but to illustrate the significance of Montez's agreement to show up. And in the third exchange, the truth of Helein's utterance (that the cocaine was better than the batch he had provided two days earlier) was similarly irrelevant. Helein's words were instead offered to explain Montez's complaint about the quality of the December 12 cocaine. Once again, Montez's problem is not Helein's words, but that his own statements on December 14 show that he did indeed pick up cocaine from Helein on December 12.

We conclude that Helein's statements in the wiretapped calls were not offered for the truth of the matters asserted therein. Therefore, the district court did not err, much less abuse its discretion, by admitting the entirety of the conversations.

B. The Gang Task Force Comment

Montez next argues that the district court erred by failing to do anything when a federal agent witness, by way of introductory questioning, testified that he worked in the gang task force. Because the parties had agreed not to mention anything gangrelated during the trial, Montez's counsel asked for a sidebar after the comment. While Montez now says the judge should have issued a limiting instruction or struck the comment from the record, at the time his counsel told the judge there was nothing the judge could do about it. As a result, he has waived any objection to the judge's handling of the comment.

Waiver occurs when a criminal defendant intentionally relinquishes a known right. United States v. Haddad, 462 F.3d 783, 793 (7th Cir. 2006). Waiver of a right extinguishes any error and precludes appellate review. United States v. Brodie, 507 F.3d 527, 530 (7th Cir. 2007). We have found waiver where either a defendant or his attorney expressly declined to press a right or to make an objection. United States v. Cooper, 243 F.3d 411, 416 (7th Cir. 2001). That is precisely what happened here. The court asked Montez's counsel what it should do about the stray reference, but counsel rejected the judge's invitation to do something. Given the situation, this was clearly a strategic decision rather than a mere oversight. Id. Montez cannot resurrect this argument on appeal.

C. The Grand Jury

Montez's third argument is that his conviction was tainted by improper evidence introduced to the grand jury. The improper evidence amounted to a few mistakes in the transcripts of recorded phone calls. This claim lacks merit because the petit jury's guilty verdict[ ] render[s] harmless any possible error in the grand jury proceedings. United States v. Morgan, 384 F.3d 439, 443 (7th Cir. 2004). As we have explained, a rule designed to protect the innocent from being indicted  should not be enforced by reversing a conviction obtained after trial  because we know, as surely as courts know anything, that the convicted defendant is not a member of the class of beneficiaries of the rule. United States v. Fountain, 840 F.2d 509, 515 (7th Cir. 1988). Thus, even assuming that there was error, we will not vacate Montez's conviction on this ground.

D. Sentencing

Montez's last argument is that the district court erred by applying the Sentencing Guidelines' careeroffender enhancement to him, increasing his offense level from 26 to 32. In order to qualify as a career offender under Section 4B1.1 of the Guidelines, a defendant must be over eighteen years of age, have committed a crime of violence or a controlled substance offense, and have at least two prior felony convictions of either a crime of violence or a controlled substance offense. U.S.S.G.  4B1.1. There's no dispute that Montez satisfies the first two requirements, but he argues that he hasn't been convicted of two qualifying crimes.

The presentence report indicated that Montez had (among other convictions) a 1985 Illinois conviction for murder and a 2007 Illinois conviction for aggravated battery of an officer. It is undisputed that the murder conviction counts, so the question here is whether aggravated battery of an officer under Illinois law is a crime of violence sufficient to satisfy the third requirement of the careeroffender Guideline.

At the time of the sentencing, a crime of violence was any state or federal crime punishable by more than one year imprisonment that has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another. U.S.S.G.  4B1.2(a)(1). Under the framework of Mathis v. United States, 136 S. Ct. 2243 (2016), the principal question is whether the statute under which the defendant was convicted is divisible or indivisible. When a statute is indivisible such that it sets out a single set of elements to define a single crime, it is proper to simply line[ ] up that crime's elements alongside those of the generic offense [here, the crime of violence definition] and see[ ] if they match. Id. at 2248. Under this categorical approach, a crime counts as crime of violence if its elements are the same as, or narrower than that definition. Id.

Some criminal statutes, however, have a more complicated (sometimes called divisible) structure, making the comparison of elements harder. Id. at 2249. A single statute may list elements in the alternative, and thereby define multiple crimes. Id. To deal with this problem, the Court developed the modified categorical approach, whereby a sentencing court looks to a limited class of documents (for example, the indictment, jury instructions, or plea agreement and colloquy) to determine what crime, with what elements, a defendant was convicted of. Id. The sentencing court then performs the same analysis as in the categorical approach, comparing the elements of that particular crime to the elements required for a crime of violence. Id.

The Illinois aggravated battery statute under which Montez was convicted read, [i]n committing a battery, a person commits aggravated battery if he or she  knows the individual harmed to be an officer or employee of  a unit of local government. 720 ILCS 5/124(b)(18). The underlying battery statute said that [a] person commits battery if he intentionally or knowingly without legal justification and by any means (1) causes bodily harm to an individual or (2) makes physical contact of an insulting or provoking nature with an individual. Id. 5/123(a). We have held that this statute is divisible and that violation of the first clause (the bodily harm clause) is a crime of violence, while violation of the second is not. See Stanley v. United States, 827 F.3d 562, 566 (7th Cir. 2016); United States v. RodriguezGomez, 608 F.3d 969, 97374 (7th Cir. 2010). Thus, the careeroffender enhancement was proper if Montez was convicted under the statute's first clause.

Generally, [t]he scope of our inquiry [into the precise crime committed] is limited to (1) admissions made by the defendant, and (2) the charging document, plea agreement, plea colloquy, and comparable judicial records from the conviction. RodriguezGomez, 608 F.3d at 973 (citing Shepard v. United States, 544 U.S. 13, 16 (2005)). Montez objects that the government produced no document showing the facts of his conviction that would satisfy the requirements of Shepard. However, he did not contest the facts contained in the presentence report, which said that the aggravated battery charge was based upon his kicking a police officer in the chest several times and in the face once. The government's failure to rely on Shepard documents isn't error where the defendant didn't question the accuracy of the summary in the presentence investigation report. United States v. AvilesSolarzano, 623 F.3d 470, 475 (7th Cir. 2010). That is because [t]here is no reason to go digging for a statecourt indictment if the parties agree on what it says. Id. Thus, Montez's Shepard argument fails and we will treat the facts admitted in the presentence report as accurate.

In conclusion, because uncontested findings in the presentence report indicate that Montez was indeed convicted under the aggravated battery statute's bodily harm clause, the district court did not err by applying the careeroffender enhancement in this case.

III. Conclusion

For the reasons stated above, the district court did not err and we will not disturb Montez's conviction and sentence.

AFFIRMED

FOOTNOTES

. Montez also objected to admission of the October conversation, but that's not relevant on appeal since he was acquitted on the October count.

. Even if Montez had not waived this objection, the gang task force reference would amount to harmless error under this court's precedent. See Sanchez v. City of Chicago, 700 F.3d 919, 932 (7th Cir. 2012) (As evidence of an officer's experience, assignment, and qualifications, the mere mention that the officer is a gang specialist or assigned to a gang unit typically is appropriate and harmless.).

. Although Mathis was an Armed Career Criminal Act case, courts have observed that the approaches used to apply the careeroffender enhancement and the Armed Career Criminal Act are similar and thus that Mathis is controlling in a Guidelines case. See United States v. Hinkle, 832 F.3d 569, 574 (5th Cir. 2016)

MANION, Circuit Judge.
The Chattanooga-Hamilton County Medical Society and Medical Foundation of Chattanooga is hosting the 12th annual Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine this week, June 5-8. The program encourages rising high school seniors and recent graduates to consider careers in medicine. During the course of the week, students participate in daily roundtable discussions with physicians and shadow different physicians.The program is designed to:- Provide students the opportunity to learn more about life as a physician and inspire them to consider a career in medicine;- Educate students about options available to assist with the cost of medical education;- Provide students and local physicians with a community-based mentoring/teaching experience;- Increase the pipeline of health care professionals in Southeastern Tennessee.Twenty-five students were selected from more than 75 nominations.The participants represent 17 private and public high schools in the area.This program is a great way to educate students on the opportunities of the field of medicine, said Mark Brzezienski, MD, past president of the Medical Society and founder of the program. We aim to inspire these talented young people to pursue a career in the field. These students be the future leaders of health care.Sessions are at area hospitals.2017 Participants are:Boyd Buchanan School: Emily HaukeCenter for Creative Arts: Cloe LemoineCentral High School: Bethsahida Harrigan, Saige Lowery, Jennifer RamirezChattanooga Christian School: Anna Kate Fikkert, Ashley Rice, Elizabeth WittyChattanooga Girls Leadership Academy: Wendy ReynosoCSAS: Brianna Mattoon, Mackenzie WallEast Hamilton High School: Sarah Chacko, Chaise GarrisonGPS: Daphne ThomasGrace Baptist Academy: Maggie LongHeritage High School: Nicholas DarlingNotre Dame High School: Jacob Dill, Johannah ValentinOoltewah High School: Angela LivarchukRed Bank High School: Tanner CroweSale Creek High School: Timothy TurnerSilverdale Baptist Academy: Krista Cameron, Lillie ColeWhitwell High School: Cierra Floyd
The Tennessee Department of Education on Tuesday announced the nine finalists for the 2017-18 Tennessee Teacher of the Year award.

Officials from Hamilton County Department of Education said, "As a STEM Fellows Program member, Ms. Burrus works to include critical thinking and problem-solving in every classroom lesson because she knows teacher efficacy is the number one factor in determining student success.

"Ms. Burrus is also a cabinet member participant in the CSAS Shared Leadership Team, a presenter at the National Paideia Conference and Magnet Schools of America conference, and the facilitator of the CSAS Earth Club.



"We at HCDE are thrilled Ms. Burrus is one of only nine finalists from across the state. She truly is an amazing example of the Great Teachers, Great Leaders we strive for in HCDE schools."

"These teachers are our students heroes," Education Commissioner Candice McQueen said. Our educators have a direct, positive influence on students every day. And, because of educators like these nine finalists, Tennessees future is bright.



The final winner will represent Tennessee in the National Teacher of the Year competition and serve as an ambassador foreducation in the state throughout the year. To qualify, candidates must have been teaching full-time for at least three years,have a track record of exceptional gains in student learning, and be effective school and community leaders.The nine finalists for 2017-18 Tennessee Teacher of the Year are:

West Tennessee:



CORE Region Teacher School District Shelby/Municipals Stephanie Rice Crosswind Elementary Collierville Schools Southwest Mandy Fraley NortheastMiddle Jackson-Madison County Schools Northwest Carol Nanney McKenzieElementary McKenzie Special School District



Middle Tennessee

CORERegion Teacher School District MidCumberland Cicely Woodard West End Middle Metro Nashville Public Schools SouthCentral Chelle Daniels WestMiddle Tullahoma City Schools UpperCumberland Rebecca Ryan White County High White County Schools



East Tennessee
WannaCry ransomware attack: How to protect your data online

More and more Brits are choosing to store essential personal information on their PCs. From wedding photos and important passwords, to using personal laptops to work from home, UK residents are leaving pertinent data and memories open and vulnerable to ransomware and online fraud.

Last month, businesses and organisations of all sizes from around the world were hit by a large-scale cyber attack, named WannaCry, proving that ransomware should be a concern for anyone who stores important data on a computer or laptop that is connected to the web.

WannaCry is a form of ransomware, meaning it is a computer virus which encrypts files, making a computer unusable, and demands payment in exchange for unlocking the files.

So far, WannaCry has infected over 230,000 computers in 150 different countries. High-profile victims include the UK's National Health Service (NHS), which was forced to turn away patients at several trusts over the weekend, as well as Spanish telecoms company Telefonica and courier service FedEx.

However, it is not just businesses which are at risk. Any individual using an old version of Microsoft Windows may be a target for ransomware, which targets vulnerabilities in old operating systems.

With this in mind, Ebuyer has developed some top tips for consumers to keep them safe from online ransomware:

1. Do not open emails from senders that you dont know.

2. Update all computers you use to the latest version of Windows - the National Cyber Security Centre has details on how to do that on their website.

3. For those using Windows XP, which is no longer officially supported, Microsoft took the unprecedented step of issuing a security update over the weekend - which can be downloaded from their onsite download centre.

4. Whether you're at home or on a business network, make sure you're running antivirus software that's kept up-to-date.

5. Regularly backup files to the cloud or external storage.

Paul Lyon IT Director at Ebuyer said: The cyber attacks on the NHS and the resulting fallout have once again brought into focus the importance of security both at home and in the office. Ransomware has been around for some time but this is by far the most high-profile attack.

Cybercrime is a growing industry and criminals are becoming significantly more sophisticated and their attacks more destructive. New threats are constantly being developed. Businesses of all sizes, as well as the ordinary home user, are vulnerable to attack and should always be on their guard.
Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berkes Council for Women convened a public hearing Monday night at the Family Justice Center to help women and their families realize financial freedom. The Councils financial independence workgroup presented findings from its most recent policy paper on the impact of high interest lending practices and solutions to help Chattanoogans get out of debt.

Back when I first ran for state office, people shared their concerns with me about predatory lending and the damage it does to businesses and homes in the neighborhoods where these stores are located," said Mayor Berke during Monday night's public forum. "And we know these high interest loans hurt women and families who are just trying to get by until their next paycheck. Two years ago, we took the first step in curbing the growth of these businesses. And through tonight's Council for Women session, we will continue to move forward on this important issue.

To improve the economic status of all women, the Mayors Council for Women is focused on helping families achieve financial independence by leveraging existing community resources and reducing predatory lending through legislative action. Research and interviews with women informed the councils finding that predatory lending is a major barrier to financial independence.

At Monday nights hearing, Jennifer Harper, director of Bridge Financial Planning, presented the groups findings, including that Tennessee has more payday lenders per each household than compared to nearly any other state and that the state allows annual percentage rates of up to 460 percent.

Tennessees density of predatory lenders is the highest. You can see what that means for the city of Chattanooga if you look at where theyre located, said Ms. Harper, pointing to the map showing the concentration in Brainerd and along public transportation hubs. We want to reduce the number of community members using high interest loans.

In Chattanooga, there is one predatory lender for about every 1,500 households, according to Census data. Being poor or excessive use of credit is one of the top five reasons people go bankrupt, according to Investopedia, and World Atlas ranks Tennessee highest in the nation for personal bankruptcy.

This isnt just about poor people, and this isnt just a problem in Midtown. Its all over our city, said Councilwoman Carol Berz, who is co-chair of the Mayors Council for Women. Predatory lenders exist because they fulfill a need, so we need to look at traditional banking differently. We cant just condemn predatory lending. We have to do more.

During the panel discussion at Mondays event, Tracee Smith, Community Development manager at First Tennessee Bank, told guests about a partnership the bank has with Operation Hope, which focuses on financial education. They work with people in the community to help build their credit scores to 720.

Operation Hope works one on one with these individuals, but they also deal with the emotional side of it, why they are in that situation, and address those issues, said Ms. Smith. Its important to teach people there are other tools out there to improve your finances.

A Council for Women subcommittee is working on financial alternatives to help women in Chattanooga and plans to propose a policy change to address predatory lending. The discussion and feedback from the public at Monday nights hearing will inform their proposal.

For more information on the Mayors Council for Women and how to get involved in advancing the status of women and families in Chattanooga, please visit http://connect.chattanooga.gov/councilforwomen/.
Audi Q8 SUV is joined by Q4 and three new e-trons on Audi 2020 roadmap

Audi is facing up to the challenges of the present day but also confidently embracing the future with ambitious plans. Following a year that was impacted by the diesel crisis, the company intends to continue pushing forward with its strategic transformation, the details of which have just been outlined to shareholders by the Board of Management at its Annual General Meeting in Neckarsulm, Germany.

We are rejuvenating our model portfolio enormously and will renew five existing core model series by mid-2018, stated Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG. In addition, we will expand our successful Q family by 2019 with two new concepts  the Audi Q8 and the Audi Q4  and we will launch our battery-electric e-tron models. Audi plans to launch three new electric models by 2020, after which the brand will gradually electrify models in each of its core series.

The focus this year is on top-end models with the new generations of the Audi A8 and Audi A7. The premium manufacturer will unveil the A8 at the first Audi Summit to be held in Barcelona on July 11. With this new event concept, the Ingolstadt-based company will create an exclusive presentation format all around the Four Rings. There, we will show the world everything that defines Vorsprung durch Technik and our brand, explained Stadler.

Over 30% fully or partially electric sales by 2025

Audi is systematically utilising Group synergies in order to implement topics of the future even faster and more efficiently. In April, the brand agreed on new development cooperation with Porsche for future vehicle architectures. Part of the cooperation is the development of shared premium architecture for electrification  an effective lever to enhance the competitiveness of electric cars. By 2025, Audi intends to achieve a proportion of one third fully or partially electric models in its unit sales.

In addition to the traditional car business, the premium brand will expand its range of digital services in the future. With myAudi, the company aims to create a consistent entry into the brands digital world and establish a platform for a wide range of online services, which will be open also for third-party providers to offer services. Audi is also expanding its mobility services for urban areas and intends to offer them in more than 15 markets worldwide by the end of this decade.

With a subsidiary founded in March 2017, Audi will take over the leading role within the Volkswagen Group in the development of autonomous driving. Autonomous Intelligent Driving GmbH is working on the technology for driverless vehicles in urban environments, which will be applicable in models of various brands. The technology is to be ready for application in a first small series of cars early in the next decade.

We are financing our transformation out of our own resources, said Axel Strotbek, Member of the Board of Management of AUDI AG for Finance, IT and Integrity. Our business operations are robust also in the currently challenging situation. On the side of expenditure and investment, our Speed up! program is helping us to achieve a high level of efficiency and thus a maximum focus on the topics of the future.

In the first quarter of 2017, the Audi Group achieved an operating profit of more than 1.2 billion. With an operating return on sales of 8.7 percent, the company clearly met its profitability target. The net cash flow increased to more than 1.5 billion.

In full-year 2017, the company intends to slightly increase deliveries of Audi-brand cars compared with the number of 1,867,738 automobiles delivered in 2016. Revenue should also slightly surpass the prior-year level of 59.3 billion. In terms of operating return on sales, following the 5.1 percent of last year, Audi now plans to achieve its strategic target corridor of 8 to 10 percent once again. In 2016, operating profit was reduced by 1.8 billion and operating return on sales by 3.1 percentage points due to special items in connection with the diesel crisis and Takata airbags.
Cloud marketing automation firmZeta Global on Thursday announced that it has raised US$140 million in its largest ever round of financing.

Former Apple CEO John Sculley and David Steinberg cofounded the company in 2007. GPI Capital led the Series F financing. Other investors include funds sponsored by Franklin Square Capital Partners and sub-advised by GSO Capital Partners, the credit division of Blackstone.

The new round of financing includes $115 million in equity and $25 million in debt. Zeta will use the funds to advance its growth plan through strategic acquisitions. It also plans to use some of the new funds to invest in new technologies, as well as for operations, and for sales and marketing efforts.

The financing round marks a watershed moment for Zeta Global, and the company is on track to reach all of its internal goals, said Steinberg, who is the companys CEO.

We are hitting every milestone in our evolution and will continue to capitalize on acquisitions that will enhance and extend our marketing cloud so that we can deliver even more to our blue chip client base, he added.

GPI Capital Chief Investment Officer Bill Royan, who will join the Zeta Global board of directors after the deal closes, said he was bullish on the shift towards data-driven digital marketing.

Laying the Groundwork

Zeta Global, which last year changed its name from Zeta Interactive, recently has made some key additions to its management team. In March, it named Donald Steele, the former managing director of North American sales at Epsilon, as its first chief revenue officer. In January, it announced that Jarrod Yahes, former CFO of Jackson Hewitt Tax Service, would be its new CFO.

Zeta Global has expanded through a series of acquisitions to become competitive in the CRM space against incumbents like Salesforce, IBM, Oracle and others.

The pace of innovation in cloud marketing is fast, and there is no clear winner in that space, said Rebecca Wettemann, vice president of research at Nucleus Research.

We saw a peak of acquisitions a few years ago, and its likely to happen again  particularly with broader platform players that can grab innovation from the niches, she told CRM Buyer.

Zeta grew by 50 percent in 2016. As it reportedly generated $200 million in revenue in 2015, that would put its 2016 revenue at about $300 million.

Zeta last summer raised $45 million from business development companies managed by FS Investments and sub-advised by GSO Capital Partners, Cerebus PNC Senior Loan Fund and PNC Bank.

Around the same time, Zeta announced its $50 million deal to acquire Acxiom, which provides marketing automation software for enterprise firms.

IPO Potential

Zeta Global reportedly has been watching the markets closely with an initial public offering in mind.

The new round of funding and Zetas growing base of customers show there is still plenty of demand for comprehensive, multichannel marketing solutions from a variety of sources, said Jeffrey Kaplan, managing director of ThinkStrategies.

The companys rapidly growing installed base of brand-name customers clearly indicates that it is offering unique capabilities compared to Salesforce.com and other CRM providers, he told CRM Buyer.

The new round of funding shows investor confidence in the companys plans to make additional acquisitions or launch an IPO, Kaplan suggested.

There are a lot of big data vendors, but Zeta augments data sets with context and improves Data as a Service marketing, said R Ray Wang, principal analyst at Constellation Research.

They will keep buying distressed companies, he told CRM Buyer, and integrating and aggregating data sets to improve marketing outreach.
Cybersecurity expert Eugene Kaspersky has volunteered to turn over his companys software source code to allay fears about possible ties with the Russian government, The Australian reported last week. Kaspersky made the offer public at CeBIT Australia.

Some U.S. officials have expressed concerns that Kaspersky Lab might have a close working relationship with the Russian government.

Kaspersky five years ago replaced a number of high-level managers with people who had ties to Russias military or intelligence services, Bloomberg reported in 2015.

Some of them reportedly have provided data from the 400 million customers using Kasperskys software to Russias intelligence agency, the FSB.

Also, Kaspersky himself reportedly visits saunas with Russian officials on a regular basis.

Kaspersky studied at a university backed by the KGB  the precursor of the FSB  in the 1980s, according to reports, and he served as a software engineer with Soviet military intelligence before leaving for the private sector.

The heads of five U.S. intelligence agencies recently expressed suspicions regarding Kaspersky Lab to the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, but they dont have an option due to political reasons, Kaspersky suggested on Reddit.

Recently, inaccurate statement and claims about Kaspersky Lab have circulated in public, the company said in a statement provided to TechNewsWorld by corporate communications manager Denise Bertrand.

Eugene never worked for the Russian government, Kapersky Lab contended. He grew up in the Soviet Union era when almost every education opportunity was sponsored by the government in some manner.

The university Kaspersky studied at was sponsored by four state institutions, one of which was the KGB, Kaspersky Lab said. He was placed at a Russian Ministry of Defense scientific institute as a software engineer upon graduating, because it was routine for university faculty to determine students post-graduate positions.

Stirring a Hornets Nest

Kaspersky did itself no favors with its all-out pursuit of hackers and malware authors linked to the U.S.

It has uncovered sophisticated malware or spyware connected to U.S. intelligence sources, including Stuxnet, Flame, Shamoon, and The Equation Group.

Kaspersky didnt seem to look equally hard for state-sponsored malware released by Russia, an acknowledged haven for cybercriminals.

Possibly because of that, and also because of the controversy surrounding Russias possible meddling in the U.S. presidential elections, Kaspersky now is under the microscope.

The FBI is looking into Kasperskys ties with the Russian government, as is the Senate.

Separately, the NSA and the UKs GCHQ reportedly have been trying to hack into Kaspersky for years.

Is Kaspersky Targeted Unfairly?

The NSA could be behind the latest scrutiny of Kaspersky Lab and its CEO.

Its always dangerous to piss off three-letter agencies, said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group.

Doing so while operating out of Russia would be even more problematic, he told TechNewsWorld.

However, the likelihood of Kaspersky maintaining a wall between its work with the FSB and Russian government, and its work with other clients is effectively zero, said Michael Jude, a program manager at Stratecast/Frost & Sullivan.

Like a John LeCarre Novel

The situation is like a John LeCarre novel come to life, said Laura DiDio, principal analyst at ITIC.

Youre not going to be able to prove absolutely whether or not Kaspersky has ties to the Russian government, she told TechNewsWorld.

He has done all he can do  offer to give the U.S. government his source code, she pointed out.

The problem isnt whether Russia built a back door into the Kaspersky code, but that Russia may have copies of the source code, Jude told TechNewsWorld.

Regardless of whom Kaspersky turns his code over to, his reputation is shot, Jude said. If its Russia, the U.S. market is dead; if its the U.S., then just about every non-U.S. market is dead.
Theres been a lot written recently about how artificial intelligence, machine learning and automation are going to displace millions of workers. However, these powerful new technologies already have spawned a surge in demand for a new wave of highly skilled consultants to help organizations capitalize on the added business opportunities resulting from the latest innovations.

Although the potential business benefits that can be derived from AI, ML and automation are obvious, attaining these benefits requires highly specialized skills that most organizations currently lack.

Salesforce sees the demand for this unique set of consulting skills rising and has launched a new US$50 million SI (system integrator) Trailblazer Fund and SI Trailblazer Alliance Initiative to fill the void.

Growing customer demand for Salesforce has created a critical need for more Salesforce-trained consulting partners as part of the thriving Salesforce Economy,' said Tyler Prince, Salesforces EVP of worldwide alliances and go-to-market innovation.

Consulting firms play a pivotal role in the Salesforce ecosystem, noted the new funds administrator, John Somorjai, Salesforces EVP of corporate development and Salesforce ventures.

Meeting Demand

Their comments reminded me of the market forces that propelled International Network Services (INS)  a network consulting company I was a part of in the 1990s  to tremendous success. Cisco Systems at that time was riding a wave created by the rapidly growing demand for their routers among major service providers and enterprises seeking to build out new Internet Protocol networks.

Ciscos executives recognized that the biggest impediment to continued growth was lack of sufficient manpower to properly plan, design, implement and manage their latest networking products. In response to this potential speed bump, Cisco not only made a strategic investment in INS, but also used our successful network consulting methodologies as a model for other firms entering the market.

Fast-forward to 2006, when Salesforce found itself in a similar position, as demand for its Software as a Service solutions started to gain traction. Although there were a handful of consulting companies helping customers implement Salesforces solutions  such as Bluewolf  Salesforce made a seed investment in Appirio, a new consulting company.

The Scalability Challenge

Jim Goetz, an INS alum who had become one of the most successful venture capitalists at Sequoia Capital, also backed Appirio. Investing in a professional services company at that time was very unusual, because most VCs didnt see the consulting model as scalable, and they were concerned that the primary intellectual capital and assets (i.e., people) easily could walk out the door.

What set consultancies like INS and Appirio apart, and attracted the attention and funding of VCs, was the promise of a more repeatable, and therefore scalable, business model that would combine traditional professional services with a widening array of software-powered solutions.

That formula not only led to the acquisition and successful exits of those firms (INS by Lucent and Appirio by Wipro), but also made companies like Bluewolf and Cloud Sherpas targets for acquisition by IBM and Accenture respectively.

Smart Bets

Based on these experiences, the investment community is making more bets on consultancies. For instance, 2nd Watch earlier this year received $19 million in funding to scale its consulting business, which is focused on AWS, Azure and other cloud infrastructure service requirements.

While the good news is that many of the first generation cloud-native consultancies found success and an exit via acquisition, the new challenge is to find the next generation of consultancies that can help corporate clients adopt a new round of AI, ML, automation and Internet of Things technologies and applications.

With its new SI Fund, Salesforce is joining a growing number of VCs to help the next generation of specialized consultancies fill the void  and help their mutual customers capitalize on the latest technological innovations and market opportunities.
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Fulton Market Could Be Getting A New Food Hall, Thanks To 'Time Out Chicago' Publisher

By Stephen Gossett in Food on Jun 6, 2017 8:40PM

The ongoing food-hall craze in Chicago shows no sign of abating. And neither does the transformation of Fulton Market from its food-production roots to its food-consumption present. So you probably won't be surprised to hear that a food hall is reportedly being planned for the booming foodie-focused neighborhood, but you might be surprised at who's apparently behind it: Time Out Group, the publishers of our city's own Time Out Chicago culture/A&E guide.

The media company hasn't confirmed yet any plans, so details are scant; but the group is reportedly eyeing a two-level, 30,000-square-foot building space at West Fulton Market and North Sangamon Street, sources for the Tribune told the paper.

Time Out launched a successful food hall in Lisbon called Time Out Market back in 2014. According to its website, it has two dozen restaurants, eight bars, 12 shops and a music venue. (The Tribune notes that the potential Chicago site is considerably smaller than that flagship.) Time Out plans to launch a stateside market in Miami Beach plus one in London and another in Portugal.

"Our first market in Lisbon has been a major success story both for us and, most importantly, for the city itself. So rolling out Time Out Market in select international locations is a priority for us," a Time Out spokesperson told Chicagoist by email. "We dont comment on rumors but what we can say is that we continue to scope new locations in great foodie destinations around the world to bring together under one roof the best of a city: its best restaurants, bars, and cultural experiences."

As you've surely noticed, food halls (think food courts, but you know, with fancier options) are quite the rage here in town. Most recently, Lakeview Market announced plans for Broadway and Sheridan, following in the footsteps of Revival Hall, Latinicity and the Loop's forthcoming Wells St. Market. You can check out the Trib's original story here while you wait for more details.
'Landlord Dispute' To Lead River North's Longstanding MK Restaurant To Shutter

By Rachel Cromidas in Food on Jun 6, 2017 9:04PM



mk restaurant, photo by L. Stolpman.

River North's longstanding mk restaurant is closing its doors after Sunday.

The restaurant has been operating for 18 years at 868 N. Franklin St., and chef and owner Michael Kornick told the Tribune that a "dispute" with the new landlord is shuttering the restaurant:



"It's a new landlord and an old building," he said. "I needed the landlord to at least share in the expense of upgrades. My investors were ready to reinvest in the property, but without some help from the landlord, it was impossible."

The fine-dining establishment mk was long known for its acclaimed new-American menu and pastries, and more recently, it was the location of the oddly entertaining NBC reality show First Dates. Kornick is still running other restaurants, including the local DMK Burger Bar chain and the new DMK Restaurant cafe inside Merchandise Mart. mk's executive chef Erick Williams is partnering with Kornick on other projects, including the reopening of Little Italy's County Barbeque.

Kornick also told the Tribune that he thinks he has another fine-dining restaurant concept in his future.
Considered to be the Ten Best UFO Photos Ever Taken I am sure that we could add more pictures to this list but these are considered ten o...
At a time when Congress wants to scale back K-12 testing requirements, the Every Student Succeeds Act could do just the opposite for one group of studentsthose who dont yet communicate fluently in English.

To ensure consistent monitoring of English-language learners, federal education law now requires annual English-language-proficiency assessments. States must also standardize criteria for identifying English-learners and for reclassifying them when they no longer need support services.

The significance of English-learners is on the rise as this population grows and the changes in federal law that suggest a more precise look at how those students are performing in school are a reflection of that, advocates and experts say.

ESSA has basically set a different way of looking at the bar, and now people are trying to catch up to that, said H. Gary Cook, the director of research for the World Class Instructional Design and Assessment, or WIDA, consortium, a group of education agencies that share English-language proficiency standards and assessments for English-language learners that are aligned with the Common Core State Standards.

Even though Congress voted to block the accountability rules for the Every Student Succeeds Act created by the Obama administration, many states are still using those regulationsincluding the recommendation that states not use academic content assessment to measure English proficiencyas well-vetted guidance.

The changes could lead more states to lean almost exclusively on English-language-proficiency exams to determine when the students no longer need the extra aid.

Figuring out whether students need extra English support and when they no longer require it are crucial for the success of English-learners.

When reclassification occurs too early, English-learners can find themselves struggling without the support services they need. If the process happens too late, students may be restricted from taking higher-level courses that would prepare them for college.

And the back end of the process can be subjective, even when standards are established.

Before Congress passed the Every Student Succeeds Act, close to 30 states were already relying solely on the results of a single testing benchmark.

That reliance on test results could accelerate if an early look at accountability plans that states submitted to the Education Department is any indication. Of the 13 states that submitted accountability plans to the U.S. Department of Education by the end of April, a majority used a single assessment as their exit criteria for English-learners.

Challenges Ahead

A few of the other states left their English-learner accountability sections blank as they work to figure out how to ensure that schools are educating ELLs.

Educators and researchers have raised questions about using a high-stakes assessment as the sole determinant of English-learners educational progress.

States are really grappling with how to account for their [English-learner] populations, said Jessica Rodriguez Boudreau, the education outreach manager with the National Council of La Raza. There are concerns because states are clearly trying to figure out how to do this well.

Prior to the new law, most states had a patchwork of entry and exit procedures including classroom observations and norm-referenced achievement tests. The new law aims to make policies more consistent.

But could standardization also serve as a roadblock to progress?

Some English-learner advocates say educators who work directly with English-language learners should play a major role in determining when, and if, the students no longer need the specialized services. Prior to the change in law, only 15 states used teacher input or evaluation.

Before the passage of ESSA, Georgia was among just six states that factored English-language acquisition into their statewide accountability systems. The state uses the WIDA consortiums ACCESS for ELLs to measure English-learner progress.

Factoring in other measures complicates an already-complex matter, said Allison Timberlake, the director of accountability at the Georgia education department.

This metric has worked for our educators, Timberlake said. We want to make sure we stick with something that will support students and not just be a complex calculation that no one will understand and then basically ignore.

A recent change to the WIDA assessment could complicate the transition for some states.

Designed to reflect the new language demands in college- and career-ready standards being adopted by states across the country, the new assessment, ACCESS 2.0, has raised the bar for English-language proficiency.

The change has forced English-learners to demonstrate more sophisticated language skills to achieve the same proficiency level scores.

It really gives muscle to this assessment and accountability, which was off on a lunar surface  in the old law, said Robert Linquanti, the project director for English Learner Evaluation and Accountability Support at WestEd, a San Francisco-based research organization.

In Colorado, where about 14 percent of students are identified as English-learners, state leaders aim to set reasonable and thoughtful targets, said Alyssa Pearson, the chief accountability officer for the state education department.

Colorado and Georgia are among 35 states that belong to the WIDA Consortium.

With more exacting standards in place, students scores could dip, extending the time some remain in English-learner support services.

The states with accountability plans without long-term goals for English-language learners probably lack them because the standards for English proficiency and the tests that measure how well students are learning the language are changing.

Its a negotiation to try and sort out where the sweet spot is for a state, said Cook, the director of research for WIDA. That varies based on state policy  what do we mean by English proficient, how do we support these students?

Some experts and advocates worry that the reclassification process could remain inconsistent, despite the change in federal law.

WIDA is advising member states as they seek to establish new exit criteria goals. Finding that so-called sweet spot could prove tricky: Set the bar too high and students are kept in English-learner services too long, set the bar too low and they could struggle to make the transition.

Research from the federal Regional Education Laboratory at WestEd has found that middle and high school-age English-language learners who are deemed English-proficient still often struggle to grasp math and English/language arts lessons.

In acknowledgement of that, ESSA requires states to monitor former English-learners for four years, two years longer than the previous law required.

Looking Ahead

A 2015 Education Commission of the States reportcompleted before the passage of the new federal lawmakes the case that changes in the law should elevate the status of each states English-language-learner coordinator, said Micah Ann Wixom, a policy analyst with the organization.

English-learners face some of the steepest odds of earning a high school diploma and attending college.

The new provisions in ESSA could be seen as acknowledgment from Congress that the nations K-12 schools must do more to meet the needs of English-learners, who are 10 percent of students nationwide.

It puts a spotlight on the needs of these students, said Scott Sargrad, the managing director of the K-12 education policy team for the Center for American Progress, a Washington think tank. "[Their performance] is consequential.

While promising outcomes are possible, advocates are worried about potential pitfalls.

Even a report that Linquanti co-authored for the Council of Chief State School Officers concludes that states should use at least two measures, including observations of how students use language in the classroom settings, to determine whether a student is ready to exit English-learner services.

A lot of this is going to come down to how motivated states are, and how thoughtful they are, Linquanti said.
Texas ended a rodeo-like biennial legislative session last week that wrangled a mix of education issuesincluding cyberbullying, the rights of transgender students, school funding, accountability, and various school choice optionswith varying results.

In the end, bills that would crack down on cyberbullying and make a slight alteration to the states controversial letter-grade system made it to the desk of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who was expected to sign them into law.

But various efforts by the GOP-dominated legislature failed to clear the way for the use of vouchers and education savings accounts, or to dismantle and revise the states K-12 funding formula.

Funding Battle

The states elected supreme court decided a little over a year ago that, while the Texas public school systems performance needed more money and dramatic academic improvement, especially for its black and Latino students, it was not the courts place to tell the legislature how to spend the states money or its teachers how to educate its more than 5 million students.

Texas has been under court order for years to more evenly distribute local oil revenue among wealthy and poor districtswhat is known in school funding circles as the Robin Hood plan. But districts overall still pay the vast majority of school costs, a sore point for local superintendents. Many of the states districts are growing rapidly.

With the dip in oil prices, the state has experienced a revenue shortfall, and many legislators were eager this year to let wealthy districts rely even more on local revenue.

A Senate bill that would have done just that, while also providing more money to poorer districts, had been gaining traction until recent weeks. But at the last minute, a Republican senator attached a provision to the bill that would have allowed for the use of education savings accounts by special education students to attend private schools. The House, which for the last several years has blocked efforts to allow for tuition vouchers, killed the bill.

The legislature ended up passing a $217 billion overall state budget that would keep per-pupil spending at about the same level as the current school year. A large portion of that revenue will come from the states rainy-day fund and local revenue, and the state reserved some of the money for pre-K and to alleviate school overcrowding.

Grading the Schools

After the Texas Education Agency earlier this year released disappointing preliminary grades under the states A-F grading system, suburban superintendents and district board members led a petition-backed drive aiming to get rid of the grading system or dramatically water it down so that fewer well-regarded districts with stagnant test scores or large achievement gaps would receive failing overall grades.

In the end, the legislature passed a bill that delayed the letter-grade accountability system from going into effect until the 2018-19 school year and reduced the number of categories districts would be graded on.

The legislature also passed a bill that would allow high school students who have failed two standardized exams to still graduate and another bill that waives accountability measures if a regular public school decides to share space with a charter school.

Those changes came months before the states accountability plan under the Every Student Succeeds Act, still in draft form, is to be submitted to the federal government. ESSA goes into effect in the 2017-18 school year.

Textbook Approvals, School Climate

Legislation also passed letting the state school boards 15 elected members reject textbook content deemed not suitable for the subject and grade level. It now goes to the governor, who can sign or veto it, or allow it to become law automatically.

Critics worry the proposal weakens limits in place since 1995, which allow the board to seek edits to textbooks only for factual errors or to better align with Texas curriculum.

Even with those limits, ideological battles in the state board over textbooks have long made national headlines. Texas textbook market is big enough to affect textbook content elsewhere.

On the school climate front, the legislature passed a bill that forces district administrators to come up with a way to, among other things, allow for students to anonymously report incidents of cyberbullying to schools officials. It gives school officials up to three days to tell victims parents about bullying incidents.

Lawmakers also passed a bill that allows for guns to be kept in parked cars outside schools, along with legislation that more severely punishes teachers who engage in inappropriate relationships with their students.

The heated national battle over whether transgender students have the right to use restrooms corresponding to their gender identity also roiled the legislative debate.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a Republican, entered into a standoff last week with Republican House Speaker Joe Straus over a House compromise bill that would have required school districts to provide single-occupancy bathrooms and changing facilities for students who dont want to use the ones associated with their biological sex.

Patrick said the bill left too much open for interpretation and demanded that the House pass a bill with stronger language that more clearly bars transgender students from using the bathroom of their choice.

The standoff drew intense scrutiny, especially in light of a controversial battle over the issue in North Carolina, and high-profile legal cases involving students in Virginia and, most recently, in Wisconsin.
How far can private schools that take taxpayer-funded vouchers go in selecting students without running afoul of civil rights and antidiscrimination laws?

The answer is complicatedand less than reassuring to those concerned about the rights of students of color, LGBT students, and children with disabilities.

And its a question supercharged now by the Trump administrations strong advocacy for expanding school choice and U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos opaque stance on the issue, especially in recent testimony before members of Congress.

This tension took center stage in a recent congressional hearing on Trumps proposed education budgetwhich includes $250 million in competitive grants to fund vouchers, and to study their effectsas Democrats pushed DeVos to say whether she would prohibit federally funded vouchers from going to private schools that dont admit certain groups of students.

DeVos did not name an instance of discrimination that would rule out a private school from participating. But she did stress that her agency would investigate any alleged civil rights violations in schools.

Federal anti-discrimination laws include protections for race, color, and national origin under Title VI, for those with disabilities under provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and for gender under Title IX, among others.

In a recent panel discussion in Washington, Lindsey Burke, the director of the Heritage Foundations Center for Education Policy, dismissed the possibility that private schools using federally backed vouchers could racially discriminate against students.

Yet a federal programs details matter a great deal for the application of various civil rights laws, said Art Coleman, a co-managing partner of EducationCounsel, a Washington consulting firm.

One key question is whether the private schools would be considered true recipients of federal funds, he noted.

Generally, courts have attempted to glean the best indicators of congressional, legislative intent to resolve that question, said Coleman, who previously served as a deputy assistant secretary for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Education under President Bill Clinton. The design and the operation and the effects of any federal program that may be proposed will, therefore, likely matter  and matter a lot.

But theres more legal ambiguity when it comes to whether private schools can deny admissions to students based on their religion or sexual orientation, especially for schools that are participating in voucher programs funded by states.

A recent review of state statutes for voucher programs conducted by Indiana University and University of Wisconsin researchers found that no state lays out protections for all marginalized groups of students, whether based on their religion, race, ethnicity, disability, sex, or sexual orientation.

Most states only furnish explicit protections for race and ethnicity.

Leeway for Private Schools

Not a single state protects LGBT students within its voucher laws anti-discrimination language, the researchers found.

While several voucher programs are geared solely for students with disabilities, private schools that accept vouchers can still turn away students if they do not have the means to provide for a childs specific needs. Parents in several states must waive certain disability rights for their children under federal education law in order to participate in a special-education-specific voucher program.

But reviews of statutes and case law leave plenty of questions on what solid protections exist for different groups of students between overlapping federal and state laws, said Suzanne Eckes, a professor of education at Indiana University.

Youd be on thin ice to say, Were a private school, and even though were not taking vouchers, were not going to admit African-Americans, she said.

She pointed to a 1983 Supreme Court caseBob Jones University v. United Statesin which the court ruled it was constitutional for the Internal Revenue Service to revoke the tax-exempt status of the university because it used racially discriminatory admissions policies and it prohibited interracial dating and marriage for students.

We dont have a similar case dealing with admissions and LGBT students, said Eckes, one of the researchers who reviewed voucher laws.

In other instances, private, religious schools tangled with thorny issues related to how public funds are used.

In a 1997 ruling in Agostini v. Felton, the Supreme Court ruled that having public school teachers provide instruction in a private religious school (through a provision of Title I law concerning disadvantaged students) did not violate the Constitutions prohibition on the federal government establishing an official religion or giving a marked preference to any particular religion.

And in 2002, the Supreme Court ruled in Zelman v. Simmons-Harris that an Ohio voucher program in which tuition aid went to religious schools did not violate the establishment clause.

The Ohio program is entirely neutral with respect to religion. It provides benefits directly to a wide spectrum of individuals, defined only by financial need and residence in a particular school district, Chief Justice William Rehnquist wrote in the majority opinion.

Negative Attention

The D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program in the nations capital, the only federally funded voucher program, could provide some clues as to how a broader federal school voucher program might work.

In the 2016-17 school year, about 1,200 students were awarded vouchers and 47 private schools participated.

Students using the vouchers are not required to waive any due process rights or civil rights protections, said Rachel Sotsky, the executive director of Serving Our Children, which administers the program. The federal legislation creating the program specifically provides that schools participating in the program may not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, or religion. However, the language governing D.C.'s vouchers doesnt guarantee that students wont lose certain rights under the IDEA, said Selene Almazan, the legal director of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, an advocacy group for special-needs students. Without that assurance, we remain opposed to the voucher program, Almazan said.

As congressional Democrats and others sharpen this line of attack on Trump and his surrogates, concern is growing among some voucher advocates that a federal push to expand private school choice is no longer an asset, but a liability.

If youre asking me, has [Betsy DeVos] created an environment where this is becoming more and more talked about? Yeah, said Robert Enlow, the president and CEO of EdChoice, a group that advocates for school choice.

Whats sad about it is, as a result, we havent had the kind of positive debate I had hoped. The saddest thing to me in this political environment, is that programs that are helping kids, particularly low-income kids and often overwhelmingly children of color, are being seen as negative.
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.
World Naked Bike Ride Is Back This Weekend To Show Chicago Some Skin

By Rachel Cromidas in Arts & Entertainment on Jun 6, 2017 8:16PM



(By Layne Dixon/Chicagoist)

Show Chicago some skin, and your pro-environment politics in the process, this weekend during the annual World Naked Bike Ride.

The massive group bike ride, now in its 14th year, will have riders gather in a semi-secret spot Saturday evening, where they'll strip down under the setting Chicago sun and possibly don glitter and costumes before getting ready to ride through the city streets all evening long. Seriously, come prepared; the ride will cover 14 miles and wind down just before midnight.

It's an opportunity to stop traffic and show your support for the environmentat a time when the United States is bafflingly no longer signed on to the Paris Accordwhile sort of skirting the law: It's the Chicago Police Department's policy to embed bike cops with the riders, and they refrain from ticketing riders for traffic violations or nudity and are mostly there to keep the event safe.

"This is an annual event and poses no public safety threat," CPD said in a statement to Chicagoist last year. "Chicago Police will monitor the event to ensure the well-being of participants, onlookers and citizens in general. As needed, officers will monitor traffic conditions along the planned bike route in order to facilitate efficient flow of vehicular and pedestrian traffic."

There are World Naked Bike Rides in cities around the world, but thankfully you don't have to get fully naked, or even ride a bike, to participate in the fun. The ride requires participants to ride a "person-powered vehicle" (as opposed to motor-powered), and asks riders to use their discretion when it comes to getting naked. Expect to see strategic use of body paint, pasties and swimwear.

The gathering usually begins around 6 p.m. Saturday and departs before sundown (after 8 p.m.) for a semi-secret route around the city that usually runs well into the night. Here's our write-up on last year's festivities. The World Naked Bike Ride Chicago Facebook group has more of the details.
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An ink-brush landscape by modern master Fu Baoshi (1904-65) was sold for 187 million yuan ($27.5 million) to a real estate developer from northwestern Gansu province at a Beijing auction Sunday night.

Magnificent View of Maoshan Mountain [Photo provided to China Daily]

Magnificent View of Maoshan Mountain was completed in the traditional shanshui mountain-and-water-style just three months before Fu's death. The nearly three-meter-long painting depicts a grand panorama of the mountain, an important seat of Taoism that is located in the eastern Jiangsu province.

Fu also painted at the seat of the mountain and in between the dense forests many factories and towns that are being built. The work exemplifies his distinctive approach to hailing socialist construction, a major topic of the artists at the time.

Han Qing, chairman of Tian Qing Group Real Estate Company, acquired the painting to enrich the collection of Tian Qing Museum, an institution funded by the company.

Magnificent View of Maoshan Mountain is the third most expensive of Fu's output at auction.

The work is the top lot of Beijing Poly Auction's night sale of classic Chinese paintings.

In the same sale, Fu's ink-brush figure painting, Goddest (Shan Gui), fetched 64 million yuan.
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A startup entrepreneur tests a robot at an innovation center in Langfang, Hebei Province. [Photo/Xinhua]

The regional development gap among Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province is shrinking, a key report has disclosed.

In a far-reaching survey, more than 60 percent of the 1,200 people questioned felt integrated transports links, such as rail, road and air, had made significant progress since 2005-15, and brought the regions closer together.

Along with the survey, detailed government data are contained in the Index Report for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Integrated Development, published by a think tank under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences on Monday.

"This is the first substantial research into the integrated development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei," said Zhao Jianying, director of China Social Sciences Press, the publisher of the report. "This helps to assess its development status."

In 2014, President Xi Jinping proposed plans to integrate development between Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province.

A year later, the Outline Plan of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Integrated Development was approved by the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

Part of the report shows the three regions have seen rapid development between 2005-15 in fields such as innovation and environment issues.

"The research is more scientific than other reports because we have combined statistics with a subjective questionnaire survey," said Huang Qunhui, director of the Institute of Industrial Economics under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the think tank involved in the report.

Green development has increased between 2005-15 in the three regions, the report revealed.

But residents were still suffering from pollution, according to the survey.

About 59 percent of those polled believe air quality in the areas is not improving but deteriorating.

Up to 65 percent say pollution controls are not effective enough, the report showed.

More than 90 percent also believed that moving Beijing's manufacturing sector out of the capital was the correct decision.

Around 68 percent are also convinced Beijing's high-quality educational resources are lacking in Tianjin and Hebei.

In addition, State-owned central enterprises have struggled to keep up with integrated development plans in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, data highlighted.


Paulo Macedo, CEO of Caixa Geral de Depositos



When youve taken the scalpel to the national health care budget during the worst economic crisis in living memory, doing the same to a bloated state-owned bank might look like childs play. That, at least, is what the Portuguese government was hoping when it appointed Paulo Macedo as the new CEO of Caixa Geral de Depositos (CGD), the state-owned bank that has not made a net profit since 2010.

A former board member at Millennium BCP, 53-year-old Macedo served as Portugals minister of health from 2011 to 2015; under his watch health spending contracted dramatically. Public expenditure on pharmaceuticals was down by 9% in 2011 alone, according to OECD numbers, with per capita health spending falling by close to 11.5% between 2010 and 2013.

Macedo is proud of the delicate balancing act he achieved at the ministry, recalling that health indicators across the board continued to improve at a time of reduced margins on pharmaceuticals and medicines.

If Macedo succeeds at Caixa, it will represent a spectacular turnaround for a bank with a proud 140-plus year history, but with a business model and a corporate culture that appears to be approaching  if it is not already past  its sell-by date.
Its impossible for me to include the impact of big data in my valuation model. If I ask the banks, they all say they are using it  that its a very important tool  but its impossible to know using publicly available data how they are using it and how big the impact is. I have absolutely no idea.

This blunt assessment of the impact of big data from an equity analyst of Latin American banks is near universal. The banks, they say, are all talking about big data initiatives. They say it is going to drive performance, but any metrics about how the issue is affecting the business today, or even meaningful projections about how big data could improve results in the near future, are not forthcoming.


Home Credit has more than 11 million customers in China and leads the

market in point-of-sale loans



The prospect of financing Chinas legions of eager shoppers has bankers around the world salivating. Yet so far foreign firms have struggled to get a foothold in the countrys still-young consumer-finance market.

A notable exception is Home Credit, a Czech group better known in the west for its operations in Russia. In 2010, when Chinas banking regulator issued the first four pilot licences for private-sector consumer finance operators, Home Credit was the only foreign company to make the cut.

Today, the group has more than 11 million customers in China and is the market leader in point-of-sale (PoS) loans. Both its client base and loan portfolio have more than doubled in each of the last two years, with net lending topping 5.3 billion at the end of 2016.

How did a relatively obscure firm from central Europe manage to steal a march on global banks with far larger balance sheets and longer track records in consumer finance?

Chief executive Jiri Smejc highlights several factors that have given Home Credit an edge over its rivals in China.


Riad Salame, the long-serving governor of the Banque du Liban



Every time Lebanese bankers jump a hurdle, another one rises before them.

Twelve months ago, on a quiet evening during Ramadan, a bomb exploded outside the headquarters of Blom Bank in Beirut. Responsibility for the attack was never claimed, but it was widely interpreted as a warning sent by Hezbollah to the Lebanese banking community, which was in the process of implementing a US law  the Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Act, or HIFPA  curbing the Shiite partys access to the financial sector. Fortunately there were no fatalities. Eventually tensions surrounding the new regulation faded.

A year later, Blom has not yet finished replacing the glass shattered in the explosion, while another US law  even harsher toward Hezbollah than HIFPA  is already being prepared.

Riad Salame, the long-serving governor of the Banque du Liban, is well aware of the pressures that could arise from any new legislation. He had, as best he could, appeased tensions between Hezbollah and the countrys banks last year by setting clear guidelines for the implementation of the US sanctions, thereby preventing Lebanese banks from over-zealously applying the rules.
Denmark-based Advantage Media ventures into the Indian Market through a collaboration with White Rivers Media, to bring their proprietary Remarketing Tool to the country. White Rivers Media will be the exclusive representative of this tool in the Indian sub-continent. With this collaboration, they aim to provide strategic online re-targeting solutions to the top ecommerce players in India.

The collaboration plans to deliver definitive value to the ecommerce industry in terms of improved Conversion Rates and Personalized Retargeting. They will be closely working with the Confederation of Danish Industry to create mutually beneficial solutions for companies from both the countries.

On partnering with Advantage Media, Shrenik Gandhi, CEO and Co-Founder, White Rivers Media, said, The Indian ecommerce sector is one of the fastest growing in the world with homegrown and global heavyweights trying to reach maximum customers in the most optimised way. This remarketing tool holds enormous promise for increasing the return on investment on sustainable basis. Advantage Media in bringing the proprietary tool to India for the first time. Their solution has already proven its mettle in the ecommerce industry across 20 countries. Retargeting solution adds up to the promise of White Rivers Media to bring the most effective ROI-driven marketing strategy for our clients. We already provide ROI-oriented digital and social media services; this new retargeting solution seamlessly synchronizes and adds up to our service range.

According to Jonas Frederiksen, Global Founder - Advantage Media, This is the next step towards following the strategy we started almost four years ago. India was a natural choice for the next step; the growth is over 51% in the e-commerce as the population is buying more and more online. This growth is amazing and we would, of course, like to be part of this, the next coming years.

He also added, We found the right partner in White Rivers Media. They have shown to have exactly what we were searching for, partner-wise. We bring a unique product with a unique payment model i.e. our clients only pay if we bring revenue.

Advantage Media's remarketing advertising solutions have already been successful in Europe, South America and South East Asia. The company has been offering behavioural services retargeting to large retail groups like Zalora, Pontofrio.com, Extra, OLX and Jack&Jones. With the latest and most advanced technology, their real-time algorithm makes sure that campaigns are always optimized specifically to suit the customers need.

Read more news about (internet advertising India, internet advertising, advertising India, digital advertising India, media advertising India)
Preferential policies for small and hi-tech enterprises rolled out by Beijing Municipal Taxation Bureau have benefited tens of thousands of enterprises, with corporate income tax cut by more than 3.5 billion yuan (US$507.5 million) in the first quarter.

Income tax levied from 33,000 low-profit small businesses and 1,678 hi-tech enterprises was reduced by 115 million yuan and 2.397 billion yuan respectively; income tax on accelerated depreciation of fixed asset levied from 1,170 enterprises was cut by 1.034 billion yuan.

Banks and the municipal taxation authorities will strengthen cooperation to offer collateral-free loans to low-profit small businesses.

"Banks could offer loans to small businesses without any collateral as long as they have good credit on tax records for the past two years. The amount of the loan could reach up to 5 million yuan," said Man Zhipeng, the staff of China Construction Bank Beijing branch.

By the end of the first quarter of this year, 118 small businesses have benefited from the loan service rolled out by China Construction Bank Beijing Branch, with a total of 250 million yuan of loans granted.
I wondered if Joppa (can't find how to tag) or anyone could answer this question please?My husband has his first flr (m) which expires in September. We are meant to be going on holiday in August but we've found out that a Schengen visa will not be granted if he has less than 90 days left on his flr (m). Is there any way round this, or do they make it so that you actually can't go abroad during those 3 months? This seems crazyMany thanks in advance for any help.
Oh sorry MICE is not a distant mode it's a vocational course approved by the ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises government of india plus UGC, my certificate don't show any distant learning or correspondence mode because when I contacted the institute, they said its a blended course and they follow all courses of a regular medium. Any idea what did they mean
It won't do any harm to go and ask for a paper 2042 plus whatever other form you might need to declare your small income for 2016.Although the date is passed for declaring on paper this year and the fine is 10% of the tax due this won't bother you as you won't be paying anything on 5K
I too bank with BDO, you are correct very limited about claims for fraudulent withdrawal/CC charges. Each account you have is insured for php 500,000 with PDIC. Cheapest way to send money is deposit a check to your dollar account and wait 20 business days for it to clear, that now entails a $5 charge per deposit. Option 2. withdraw using ATM card from US bank, this will cost foreign currency conversion fee(1-3%), plus local bank fee of php 200 per transaction, plus US bank charge. ATMs here have withdrawal limits from php 4000 to 20,000 per transaction, depending on the bank and location of the ATM. HSBC has a php 40,000 limit per transaction but most of those ATMs are in the manila area. People use Xoom, WU, Remitly, etc to transfer funds, but they normally have poor XE rates and a fee. I personally use Transferwise because they use the current XE rate at the time you initiate the transfer and the cost is less than 1%. Transferwise I can only send Php to my local account, which is what I need here. If I want dollars I would deposit the check. If you want to try Transferwise you can use the following link and your first transfer would be free.Chuck


A perceived view that migrant workers have a stronger work ethic than British born people has been proven for the first time in a new study of Central and East European workers who have moved to the UK.The research from the University of Bath and the University of Leicester shows that migrant workers are over three times less likely to be absent from work than native UK workers, a measure which economists equate with work ethic.However, the enhanced migrant work effort was found to be a temporary phenomenon lasting for approximately two years from their arrival in the UK, after which migrant workers absence converged with levels of other workers.The research report says that a wide body of existing research evidence suggests that employers in the UK will often recruit workers on the basis of their nationality, especially in lower skilled roles where employers tend to value a good work ethic above anything else.While the perception of the migrant work ethic persists, UK native workers may in some cases be missing out on jobs simply because their nationality is not synonymous with hard work.The researchers suggest that by putting in extra effort at work, new migrant workers are trying to signal their worth to employers, compensating for limited English language skills and to overcome a lack of understanding from their new employers about the qualifications and skills they have gained in their home country.In fact migrants have on average two years more of education than their UK counterparts. Additionally, migrant workers from low income countries initially perceive their UK salary to be relatively high and respond with increased effort.As migrants spend longer in the UK, their language skills improve, they become more knowledgeable about the UK job market and they take on better paid roles. They no longer have to rely on working extra hard to prove their worth and they quickly assimilate into UK working culture.This is the first study with concrete evidence on the existence of the migrant work ethic. It backs up managers perceptions that Polish and other Central and Eastern European migrants are harder working than UK employees, but importantly only for around two years from their arrival in the UK, said Dr Chris Dawson, a senior lecturer in Business Economics at the University of Bath.The study shows that the common view that UK workers are lazy compared to migrant workers is misconceived. In fact migrants are temporarily working extra hard to offset the challenges they face when they first enter the UK job market, he explained.We clearly see in the research that migrants new to the UK put in a couple of years of hard work, before a better understanding of our culture and job market means they adopt the same work ethic as native workers, he added.According to Dr Benjamin Hopkins, a lecturer in Work and Employment at the University of Leicester when the Central and Eastern European nations became part of the European Union in 2004 the numbers of migrants registering to work in the UK was far beyond any projected figures.There was very little planning around information for employers about qualifications in these countries and how they relate to the UK system. This lack of understanding exacerbated the need for migrants to demonstrate their value to employers in a very practical way, namely by recording lower levels of absence than their colleagues from the UK, he added.
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Former career counselor Marshall Uhlig walked into Startup Weekend San Antonio on Friday with an idea and walked out about 50 hours later on Sunday with a new test app, a team, entrepreneurial advice, free office space and legal help to launch a new company.

Uhligs team took first place for their business concept dubbed CareerMatch The app, pitched as the Tinder for business, allows users to swipe yes or no through a list of questions and then matches them with potential careers based on their responses.

Imagine Tinder and LinkedIn had a love child, Uhlig said, citing the popular dating app Tinder and the career web site LinkedIn.

Techstarss Startup Weekend brings wannabe entrepreneurs together to test out ideas over a weekend-long sprint. The co-working space Geekdom hosted the event in San Antonio to help nurture startups in the city.

We used to do these maybe once a year, and this last year we made a commitment to do four, said Dax Moreno, director of programs and ecosystem development at Geekdom. Geekdom executives decided after a conversation last year to do more Startup Weekends because of watching the successful launch of several companies following the event.

Those companies also became members of Geekdom, Moreno said.

The weekend is working, he said. And so thats what we got really excited about, lets double down and lets start really putting more effort and thought into how we run the weekend, put some resources into it, promote it a little bit more, make it a focus. Because were seeing that its creating startups, its creating networking opportunities.

Now the event is held once a quarter in San Antonio.

A concept to deliver local culture-centric curated boxes called PuroBoxes won second place in the competition. Alcohol vaping idea Vapohol and audio essay platform Brainwave Audio Streaming tied for third.

San Antonio-based Amanda Miller said Friday PuroBoxes is providing a platform for local artists, artisans and everybody to kind of get the word out and increase their revenues and share the history.

Miller said she is also launching a tour company that would be focused on local people providing local experiences.

I would like for this model to apply to other cities to help those local artists come together and get exposed, she said on Friday of her PuroBoxes idea. Because everybody wants to support local, they just dont know how.

Uhligs app takes a user through a series of questions they can swipe to agree or disagree with to help them identify their top skills. The more a user swipes, the more precise the results, Uhlig explained Sunday evening during his pitch to the four judges.

If you have a very specific problem and no solution, this weekend is going to be amazing because youre going to go out and youre going to find a solution, facilitator Zack Pennington told the audience Friday. Whereas if you come in here with an obsessed solution and you spend the whole weekend looking for a problem youre going to be miserable, right? Like oh man who needs the drones to tie the shoes? And you go around and nobody needs them.

After a weekend of development and talking to potential customers, one of those groups that found a solution just might be the CareerMatch team.

Whether its CareerMatch or whatever it becomes, whether its a different name or the app, I am never going to stop pursuing the passion of helping people figure out what theyre passionate about, Uhlig said in an interview after he won.

Uhlig worked at the University of Texas at San Antonio in several roles, including 3 years as a career counselor. He says he left in October 2016 to pursue his vision full time.

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But at first, his dream was not based on an app.

I had been pursuing this for the past couple of months as far as me being the product, as far as me speaking, one-on-one engagements, Uhlig said.

On Friday, the entrepreneurs were asked to pitch ideas for a new business in 60 seconds or less. They had to convince others to vote for their idea and join a team for the weekend  and they had to present a completely new idea, not something they had already developed. Nine teams eventually pitched to the judges on Sunday.

At the end of the weekend, Uhlig said he thought his idea had potential as an app. Others on his team helped develop the app and web site and brainstormed on the marketing.

To have this team back me up and say: we like this, and to create it, make it real, I mean that was  this weekend was one of the best of my life, Uhlig said.

Uhligs crew won a three-month membership to Geekdom; a pre-incorporation founders agreement, three hours of consultation, a company agreement and a Texas LLC formation plus certificate of incorporation from Innocenti Jones PLLC; and other items to help them grow their business.

To win this, it affirms, whatever happens next, that this is something worth legitimately fighting for and pursuing, Uhlig said after winning.

sehlinger@express-news.net

Twitter: @samehlinger
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Two investment groups  one based in Mexico and the other in Dubai  have tossed a lifeline to San Antonios Vysk Communications Inc., a struggling maker of smartphone cases designed to prevent eavesdropping and hacking.

An affiliate of Mexico City conglomerate Grupo Salinas and Dubais Linarus FZE recently made a substantial investment in Vysk, according to three people familiar with the transaction who didnt want to be identified because the terms of the deal were confidential.

One of the people said the terms allow for the two groups to invest a little more than $20 million combined. Each group has been given a seat on Vysks reconstituted board, joining company CEO Victor Cocchia.

Cocchia declined to share any details, saying he was bound by confidentiality agreements.

I dont even know how you would have found out that wed had this investment, Cocchia said in a phone interview Friday. Obviously, it came from leaked information. So all I can tell you is that, obviously, were a private company and our investor list is private.

Grupo Salinas, which controls banking, television and retail companies, is headed by Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego. Forbes real time ranking of the worlds billionaires pegs Salinas net worth at $8.4 billion, making him the 179th richest person in the world as of late Monday afternoon.

Linarus is controlled by a consortium of investors.

I actually cant comment on who has invested in us, Cocchia said. I can tell you that were in, obviously, a good financial state right now that were happy with. Were producing product and we have a good customer base.

The investment will allow Vysk to expand its staff and build operations, he said.

The investment comes amid legal and tax troubles for Vysk, which touted plans three years ago to create a manufacturing, distribution and headquarters operation that would employ more than 300. Those plans have largely failed to materialize. It has almost 50 employees who earn way above average for workers in San Antonio, Cocchia said.

Vysk owes more than $2.2 million in unpaid payroll taxes from the last half of 2014 through September, according to IRS tax lien notices filed in April and last year. As of late Monday afternoon, the IRS had not filed documents indicating the liens have been released.

You are getting false information, Cocchia said when asked about the liens. Were in very good stead on that front. What I can say is Vysk is in a significantly better state than it was. Weve weathered the storm. Were in a good place.

Vysk also has been enmeshed in legal disputes with an investor and a former landlord.

In addition, the company has been beset by turnover in its ranks. Company co-founder Michael Fiske said he resigned from the board last month after stepping down as chief technology officer in February. He declined further comment.

Fiske, a mathematician, told the San Antonio Express-News in March that he was the one who brought all this technology to Vysk. Fiske and Cocchia worked together to devise a sophisticated smartphone case featuring voice encryption and a lockdown mode that blocks microphones and shutters front and rear cameras for privacy.

The case, known as QS1, has yet to catch on and has generated only minimal sales, one of the sources told the Express-News in March. The source added that Vysk has been burning through cash.

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Despite Vysks various challenges, two of the sources said Grupo Salinas likes Vysks technology.

Grupo Salinas controls a myriad of businesses. Its companies include Grupo Elektra, a banking and retail operation, and broadcaster TV Azteca, both of which are publicly traded in Mexico. Grupo Salinas also some privately held company, including telecommunications provider Totalplay of Mexico City.

Other companies in the Grupo Salinas portfolio include Advance America, a payday lender and cash advance company with about 2,400 stores in the U.S.

Daniel McCosh, a Grupo Salinas spokesman, said he couldnt comment on an investment in Vysk. But he speculated it could be a private investment of Ricardo Salinas, the founder and chairman of Grupo Salinas. Grupo Salinas generally does not discuss Ricardo Salinas private investments, McCosh said.

A Linarus representative couldnt be located for comment.

Vysk addressed its financial constraints in a December court filing in a legal battle with San Antonio financial backer and angel investor Peter Selig of Acequia.

Although Vysk has been tremendously successful in its infancy, it is still a growing company having enormous demands on its cash flow to meet its world-wide growth, the court filing stated.

pdanner@express-news.net

Twitter: @AlamoPD
Growing up in divided Germany near the border with what was then Czechoslovakia, artist Sabine Senft would go on mushroom-gathering excursions. Every so often, when she looked up, Senft would see a watchtower with a guard ensconced inside.

Later, on the evening news, they would tell you how many people tried to cross and were stopped or were shot, she recalled.

Through the years, Senft has contemplated what would make a person risk life and limb to leave one country for another. The answer  at least symbolically  can be found inside a shiny wrapper, sealed at either end with a twist.

They look for something sweeter in their life, Senft said.

Thats why she used 120 pounds of hard candy to represent the Rio Grande in an installation on view in the Hudson Show Room at Artpace.

Senfts Borderline Realities is one of two exhibits by German-born, San Antonio-based artists looking at issues of migration and geopolitical borders currently at the downtown arts lab. Checkpoint by Doerte Weber is on display in the Main Space gallery.

Plans were in place for Senfts show when Artpace received a proposal from Weber through its Texas Open Call, said Executive Director Veronique Le Melle.

We just felt theres a synergy in the work, theres a synergy in the issues that theyre both dealing with, so it just seemed organic to show them at the same time to really be a bridge between our two spaces, she said. Meanwhile, we had no idea what was going to start happening globally  this nationalism fire thats sweeping across our world. What these artists are talking about, this is classically why our organization always says that contemporary art reflects whats going on in our society.

The works in Borderline Realities all connect to Senfts personal history as much as just offering a unique perspective with my background onto whats happening right now in the world, she said.

Senft, who earned a masters degree in Munich, moved to San Antonio about nine years ago when her husband got a job here. In Texas, she was drawn to the Rio Grande as a natural border between the United States and Mexico.

I used to work and live near the Austrian-German border, she said. Again, the river was the border. Theres no fence, no wall, no checkpoints. Its just the open land. Still you know the border is there.

On a trip to Marfa, Senft swung over to Presidio to see the Rio Grande. From a plateau she had a view of Ojinaga, the town on the Mexican side of the river. Intrigued, she began researching issues related to the border and immigration.

I researched how many people die, what happens to them, Senft said. And it just rang within me exactly what happened in Germany when I grew up in the 70s when the wall was in place and people were shot trying to cross it.

The artist submitted a proposal to the Artist Foundation of San Antonio and was awarded a grant in 2015 to continue working on the project. While conducting her research, Senft spoke to Border Patrol agents, who showed her campsites left behind by undocumented migrants. She also saw a spot where undocumented immigrants wrecked a vehicle attempting drive across a shallow section of the river. She incorporated bits of detritus she found at the sites into Surges, a series of mixed-media paintings. The spare, elegant works feature swooshes and splatters in gold leaf over varnish that are meant evoke the flow of people fleeing poverty and war around the world.

Theyre looking for the golden future, Senft said. Theyre not leaving their homes because things are fine.

Another series, Drags, is comprised of a digital image of tires printed on aluminum plates in different colors. Border patrol agents drag tires behind trucks to smooth the earth and check for footprints.

At one end of the gallery, a video of the South Texas border landscape serves as a backdrop for Senfts river. In a bare spot on the floor among the shiny blue wrappers, a projection shows images of people who did not make it across. Visitors are welcomed to take a piece of candy.

As the show goes on the river will be eaten away, she said.

Like Senft, Weber grew up in a divided Germany. The artist, who has lived in San Antonio since 1986, has vivid memories of the Berlin Wall topped with barbed wire. Her husband, photographer Ansen Seale, is from McAllen in the Rio Grande Valley. On trips to the area, the couple would cross the border to eat and shop in Reynosa. When U.S. officials began setting up the barrier between the United States and Mexico, I felt it was like deja vu, experiencing this again, that a border takes away my freedom to travel, Weber said.

A weaver, Weber frequently works with recycled materials, specifically plastic newspaper bags. In 2014, she set up a large-scale installation of 11 vertical panels made out of cotton thread and bags within feet of a section of fence along the border in Brownsville. Installed perpendicular to the fence in display racks, the 8 feet-by-4-feet panels were meant to evoke passageways.

For the new iteration of the installation at Artpace, Weber wove another seven panels, each 17 feet-by-3-feet. Hung side by side, the pieces look like a section of the border fence, with the metal slats woven from a red-brown thread and the space between made from plastic bags. From a distance, an abstract landscape takes shape through the bars, soft earth tones giving way to blue sky. Currently in a residency in Navasota, Weber began working on the panels in February.

On display in Artpaces storefront gallery, Checkpoint is visible from the street, though not exactly in its full glory. The ceiling in the space is 15 feet high, so the new tapestries are folded over at the top and rolled at the bottom.

Weber began using plastic bags for a Luminaria project in 2012 and since then people have not stopped bringing me their plastic bags, she said. Sometimes I open my door and there are all these bags.

As such, she sees her work as a community effort.

Its very important for me, the understanding of my work, that Im not speaking for myself, but that I am speaking for a community, she said. In giving me plastic bags, these people become part of my community, and its very important to me, because I think we need to get out of this (idea) that one person has the answer or resolution to something. We have to work together.

Recently, Weber has been talking to a friend in Germany about showing the piece there.

The greatest thing would be if I could bring it back to Berlin, because it would mean for me going full circle, she said. It gives me goosebumps to think of it.

Borderline Realities and Checkpoint continue through Aug. 27, Artpace, 445 N. Main Ave., 210-212-4900, artpace.org.

lsilva@express-news.net
So what if, in his speech last week to NATO, Donald Trump didnt explicitly reaffirm the provision that an attack on one is an attack on all?

Whats the big deal? Didnt he affirm a general commitment to NATO during his visit? Hadnt he earlier sent his vice president and secretaries of state and defense to pledge allegiance to Article 5?

And anyway, who believes that the United States would really go to war with Russia  and risk nuclear annihilation  over Estonia?

Ah, but thats precisely the point. It is because deterrence is so delicate, so problematic, so literally unbelievable that it is not to be trifled with. And why for an American president to gratuitously undermine what little credibility deterrence already has, by ostentatiously refusing to recommit to Article 5, is so shocking.

Deterrence is inherently a barely believable bluff. Even at the height of the Cold War, when highly resolute presidents, such as Eisenhower and Kennedy, threatened Russia with massive retaliation (i.e., all-out nuclear war), would we really have sacrificed New York for Berlin?

No one knew for sure. Not Eisenhower, not Kennedy, not the Soviets, not anyone. Yet that very uncertainty was enough to stay the hand of any aggressor and keep the peace of the world for 70 years.

Deterrence does not depend on 100 percent certainty that the other guy will go to war if you cross a red line. Given the stakes, merely a chance of that happening can be enough.

Leaders therefore do everything they can to bolster it. Install tripwires, for example. During the Cold War, we stationed troops in Germany to face the massive tank armies of Soviet Russia. Today we have 28,000 troops in South Korea, 12,000 near the demilitarized zone.

Why? Not to repel invasion. They couldnt. To put it very coldly, theyre there to die. Theyre a deliberate message to the enemy that if you invade our ally, you will have to kill a lot of Americans first. Which will galvanize us into full-scale war against you.

We resort to tripwires because parchment promises are problematic and tripwires imply automaticity. We do what we can to strengthen deterrence.

Rhetorically as well. Which is why presidents from Truman on have regularly and powerfully reaffirmed our deterrent pledge to NATO. Until Trump.

His omission was all the more damaging because of his personal history. This is a man chronically disdainful of NATO. He campaigned on its obsolescence. His inaugural address denounced American allies as cunning parasites living off American wealth and generosity. One of Trumps top outside advisers, Newt Gingrich, says that Estonia is in the suburbs of St. Petersburg, as if Russian designs on the Baltic states are not at all unreasonable.

Moreover, Trump devoted much of that very same speech, the highlight of his first presidential trip to NATO, to berating the allies for not paying their fair share. Nothing particularly wrong with that, or new.

But if youre going to berate, at least reassure as well. Especially given rising Russian threats and aggression. Especially given that Trumps speech was teed up precisely for such reassurance. An administration official had spread the word that he would use the speech to endorse Article 5. And it was delivered at a ceremony honoring the first and only invocation of Article 5  ironically enough, by the allies in support of America after 9/11.

Trumps refusal to utter those words lowers whatever probability Vladimir Putin might attach to America responding with any seriousness to Russian aggression against a NATO ally.

Angela Merkel said Sunday (without mentioning his name) that after Trumps visit it is clear that Europe can no longer rely on others. Its not that yesterday Europe could fully rely  and today it cannot rely at all. Its simply that the American deterrent has been weakened. And deterrence weakened is an invitation to instability, miscalculation, provocation and worse.

And for what?

letters@charleskrauthammer.com
A 25-year-old government contractor has been charged with mishandling classified information after authorities say she gave a news website a top-secret National Security Agency document that suggested Russian hackers penetrated U.S. voting systems much more extensively than previously known.

Reality Leigh Winner was accused of gathering, transmitting or losing defense information  the first criminal charge filed in a leak investigation during the Trump administration.

Winner was arrested Saturday and the case was revealed Monday, shortly after the Intercept website posted a redacted version of a U.S. intelligence document describing Russian government efforts to use hacking techniques against employees of a company that provides technical support to states voting agencies.

Documents filed in federal court against Winner in Georgia, where she worked, did not identify the news outlet, nor the document in question, although both the Intercept and the court papers say the document in question was dated May 5. A person familiar with the case said the charges stem from the document given to the Intercept.

The classified NSA report does not say whether the hacking had any effect on election results. But it says Russian military intelligence attacked a U.S. voting software company and sent spear-phishing emails to more than 100 local election officials at the end of October or beginning of November.

The document said Russian military intelligence executed cyber espionage operations against a named U.S. company in August 2016 evidently to obtain information on elections-related software and hardware solutions, according to information that became available in April 2017.

The hackers are believed to have then used data from that operation to create a new email account to launch a spear-phishing campaign targeting U.S. local government organizations, the document said. Lastly, the actors sent test emails to two nonexistent accounts ostensibly associated with absentee balloting, presumably with the purpose of creating those accounts to mimic legitimate services.

The Chicago Tribune reported late Monday that U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., said Russian operatives hacked into the Illinois State Board of Elections last year to view voter database files. Quigleys declaration of Russian involvement in the hacking of the state elections board marked the first time the country had been definitively identified as behind the attack last year, though it had been widely suspected.

The Associated Press, citing the the Intercepts NSA document, reported that Russian intelligence obtained and maintained access to elements of multiple U.S. state or local electoral boards but that the Department of Homeland Security assesses that the types of systems Russian actors targeted or compromised were not involved in vote tallying.

Winners lawyer, Titus Nichols, said he had not yet seen any of the evidence in the case, so he could not discuss the specific accusations. He said his client has served in the Air Force for six years, including a recent assignment at Fort Meade, home of the NSA.

According to court documents, Winner had a top-security clearance as an active-duty member of the Air Force from January 2013 until February of this year, when she began working for Pluribus International Corp., a government contractor, at a facility in Augusta, Georgia.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said investigators fast work allowed us quickly to identify and arrest the defendant. Releasing classified material without authorization threatens our nations security and undermines public faith in government. People who are trusted with classified information and pledge to protect it must be held accountable when they violate that obligation.

Winner remains in jail pending a detention hearing this week, said the lawyer, adding that he expects the government will seek to keep her behind bars pending trial.

Nichols said his client should be released.

She has no criminal history; its not as if shes a threat to anyone, he said.

The Associated Press and Tribune News Service contributed to this report.
An Afghan woman who attempted suicide last month in a Karnes City immigrant family detention center has been granted asylum and released.

Samira Hakimi, who tried to kill herself in May, and her 4-and 8-year-old sons were released last week after a judge granted them asylum, according to Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, which represents families in the detention center.
Armed police officers patrol near London Bridge after the terror attack took place on Saturday night in London, Britain on June 4, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

The British people had hardly recovered from the shock of the Manchester pop concert terror attack than they faced another violent assault on their freedoms.

The militants involved used a van to hit innocent pedestrians on London Bridge followed by a stabbing spree in the nearby busy Borough Market area. Seven people were killed and dozens injured before police arrived to kill the three attackers.

It is all too familiar: Innocent people killed, mass panic, emergency services rushing to the site of attack and armed police on the streets. Terrorism has become part of our daily lives like road mishaps.

If 9/11 is taken as the starting point of terrorism in the 21st Century (though there were terrible attacks long before that), in the more than a decade-and-a-half since, hardly a week goes by without civilians becoming prey to these predators.

Even the official response is too familiar and quite often sickening. The local leaders declare that enough is enough and security is upped. The international community regurgitates empty condemnations; symbolic help in the probe and tracking down the perpetrators is offered; and then after a couple of days, life returns to comparative normality.

Even common people conveniently forget these gory incidents. The places where humanity bled are washed clean as if nothing happened.

However, amid the mundane familiarity and psychic forgetfulness, life for certain people is changed forever. I mean, of course, the victims -- those who lose loved ones in these moments of unjustified fury; those who suffer body scars, broken limbs and amputations; and those whose financial prospects are dimmed forever.

Often governments offer monetary compensations to relatives of dead and those injured in terror attacks. Often free treatment is given to them. However, has anyone ever paid for the deep unseen psychological wounds the victims carry for rest of their lives? Can any amount of money or medicine treat such scars?

There is no doubt that violence is part and parcel of human existence. Humans commit acts of bloodshed and feel proud of it. It is instinctive to some extent. But violence is mostly a product of particular culture, education and training.

We, through our actions and choices, create space for violent behavior and actions. At State level, the leaders do so by following polices that justify violence.

Terrorism is also a kind of violence that individuals, groups and countries use as policy, a tool and option to achieve a certain political purpose or force others to change a certain policy.

There are volumes of research about the origin of extremism and terrorism. It shows that terrorism is a conscious human activity. It is due to certain reasons that can seem ridiculous, fictional or outrageous for others. However, they serve certain elements and help them to justify their violent actions.

It means that individuals involved in extremism can be identified, isolated and punished if there is a political will and determination. There are places on Earth where terrorism was defeated and peace restored after decades of bloodshed.

In hindsight, the terrorist acts taking place in America, Europe, the Middle East, South Asia and other places are directly linked to jihad phenomenon of the 1980s in Afghanistan. The entire civilized world helped to create the Frankenstein monster, left it to grow and allowed it come back to kill.

Why were the legions of terror left to themselves after withdrawal of the Soviet Union from Afghanistan? Why was the opportunity to eliminate terrorism immediately after 9/11 squandered?

When the Middle East faced political upheaval in the form of the so-called Arab Spring, the mistakes of Afghanistan were repeated. There are reports that Britain turned a blind eye and even facilitated Muslim youth to travel to Libya to fight against the dictator, Qaddafi.

Despite mistakes of the past and policy blunders of present time, the evil of terrorism can be tackled. The world should agree on a one-point agenda to eradicate extremism and terrorism in whatever guise it appears.

If the world cannot work from the same page, at least each country can adopt policies to identify the sources of violent ideologies and act against them.

But with the current policies and actions, one can hardly see terrorism being eliminated anytime soon. Rather, it will increase and expand. More innocent lives will be lost. More irrational wars and conflicts may follow.

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.
AUSTIN  No one knows when Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will face trial on securities fraud charges. Or where the trial will be held. Or who will be the judge.

The case remains tied up in state courts nearly two years after a grand jury in Paxtons home county indicted the high-ranking Republican, accusing him of encouraging colleagues and friends to invest in a North Texas tech startup without telling them he would earn a recruiting commission.

Special prosecutors late last week asked the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to weigh in, potentially delaying the case further as the justices untangle who has jurisdiction to settle a fight over whether to remove the Tarrant County state district judge overseeing the case.

It illustrates what will happen when you have vigorous counsel on both sides who have considerable resources and a case involving a number of difficult issues, said George Dix, a professor of law at the University of Texas at Austin.

Heres a breakdown of the case against Paxton and its status so far:

The basics

Paxton faces two first-degree felony criminal charges of securities fraud and one third-degree charge of failing to register with the state as an investment adviser. Paxton, who began his political career in the state House of Representatives in 2003, says he is the victim of a political witch hunt. He has fought the charges since his indictment eight months after assuming the attorney generals office in 2015. He raised $329,000 for his defense team and has spent the last two years in court, challenging everything from the integrity of the grand jury to where the trial should be held.

In that time, he twice convinced a federal court to dismiss similar civil charges brought against him by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

If found guilty in criminal court, he could face up to 99 years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines.

While Paxton fought his case, campaign contributors and allies took on his accusers and prosecutors, filing a lawsuit to stop officials in Paxtons home of Collin County from paying three Houston lawyers assigned to prosecute the case.

The fight over paying the prosecutors, who last submitted a $200,000 invoice in January, remains in flux as the 5th Court of Appeals in Dallas sorts through the legality of denying the payments. To date, the prosecutors have submitted invoices totaling more than $500,000.

It was concern about people behind the fight over back pay that led Tarrant County Judge George Gallagher to move the case in Apri from Paxtons home turf to Harris County, siding with the prosecutors who had argued Paxtons allies blitzed TV and radio airwaves to taint the jury pool in the attorney generals favor.

Gallagher set a September trial date. The trial originally had been set to start May 1 in Collin County,

Hours after that decision, Paxtons legal team told the court it wanted a new judge and said they would refuse to sign paperwork allowing Gallagher to follow the case to Harris County.

Gallagher told the Houston Chronicle he intended to stay on the case.

Paxton then asked the Harris County District Clerks office to submit the case for random assignment to a local judge.

When that failed, Paxtons team argued Gallagher should not have presided over the case in 2017 because his temporary assignment had expired last year, and insisted the case be returned to Collin County.

Paxton scored a victory when the 5th Court of Appeals in Dallas ruled last month that Gallagher gave up oversight of the case when he transferred it to Harris County. Special prosecutors quickly asked the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to step in.

Whats next?

The prosecutors contend in legal documents that a Harris County appeals court should decide whether Gallagher stays on the case. They also argue the Legislature never meant for defendants such as Paxton to opt for a new judge by refusing to sign paperwork.

I would agree that it probably wasnt their intent but certainly thats how that was written, said Melissa Hamilton, visiting criminal law scholar at the University of Houston Law Center. When statutory language is clear, (judges) dont want to go to legislative intent.

Upholding the decision would mean that a prosecutor or defendant who does not agree to a change of venue could have the power to boot a judge off a case, she said.

Should the special prosecutors lose, Paxton would be assigned a new judge in Harris County, throwing into question how long it will take for the jurist to get up to speed and set a date for a trial.

Attorneys on both sides of the case are under a gag order Gallagher reissued days before moving the case to Harris County.

If the court tackles the issue, it could further delay Paxtons criminal trial.

Special prosecutors plan to try Paxton first on the lesser charge of failing to register with the state as an investment adviser before conducting a second trial on his securities fraud charges.

Anyone planning to challenge Paxton for the attorney generals spot would need to file candidacy paperwork by December. Fellow Republicans who want to challenge him are likely to go after the incumbent only if they think the trial has left him damaged, said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston.

That wont happen until a trial occurs or until theres some kind of verdict in the case. In a way, the delay has benefited him by pushing off those decisions until potentially after the filing deadline, Rottinghaus said. On the other hand, he said, if the case is delayed too long and someone does decide to run against him, the trial could pose an imaging nightmare for the incumbent.

When youre running for re-election, you dont want to juxtapose you in and out of courtroom on trial for criminal acts right at the time voters are thinking about whether or not to re-elect you.

andrea.zelinski@chron.com

twitter.com/andreazelinski
The video about the latest attempt to take a 5-inch songbird off the endangered list opens with a man in a cowboy hat placing a fence post in a hole.

As the sun arcs across the Texas sky, the mans son watches from behind a screen door in a rustic wooden home as his father painstakingly builds the fence, where the man later hitches his horse. As the sun sets, the father and son play-fight near an old oak tree.

The video comes from the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative think tank that on Monday filed a lawsuit against the federal government over the golden-cheeked warbler on behalf of the Texas General Land Office.

The two announced this year they had joined forces to try to get the warbler off the list, arguing that the bird is doing fine and its protections threaten Texans property rights.

Behind the imagery in the video is the voice of Land Commissioner George P. Bush, who later appears on camera.

Most of us agree that the American dream is about being left alone and living a life thats independent of others, Bush says. Even more important than the individual, its about family. Its about heritage. Its about what I think Texas is all about.

Iliana Pena, conservation director for Audubon Texas, called the video misleading and said the best-available science shows habitat loss continues to threaten the bird.

Ironically, the video represents an idyllic Hill Country lifestyle in which the warbler and landowners live in harmony, she said.

The foundations YouTube channel is full of professionally produced videos supporting various free-market causes. While the audio in the newest video never directly mentions the warbler, two text screens in the video describe the lawsuit and argue that warbler protections have decreased the value of GLO land.

In a March interview, a GLO spokeswoman said state law allows the agency to retain outside counsel and that the foundation is representing the state agency for free.

A songbird that spends its winters in Mexico and Central America and nests in only 35 counties in Central Texas, the golden-cheeked warbler has for decades been a symbol in the debate over growth and development in the San Antonio-Austin corridor and the Hill Country.

None of the arguments over Texas values or Hill Country aesthetics appears in the lawsuit, filed in Austin federal court. It alleges that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service did not properly follow environmental law, especially by not designating critical habitat for the bird since it was added to the endangered list in 1990.

It also says the service did not properly consider a 2015 study that estimated that Texas hosts around five times more warbler habitat than scientists knew about 27 years ago.

In 2016, the service wrote that those who wanted protections removed did not present substantial information that delisting is warranted and that habitat destruction, fragmentation and degradation remain a real and significant threat to the continued existence of the warbler.

bgibbons@express-news.net

Twitter: @bgibbs
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Prosecutors on Monday told a jury hearing the case of a San Antonio man accused of killing his grandson that the toddler already was dead when the man set fire to his pickup to hide that the boy had ingested methamphetamine.

Joel Soto was 51 when he was arrested Nov. 16, 2013, in the death of his grandson, Jeremy Soto, 2.

He went to the truck, took a gas can, sprinkled it over Jeremy, who was already dead, lit it, and it exploded, prosecutor Stephanie Boyd told the jury in her opening statement.

She also added that the child had methamphetamine in his system.

They (prosecutors) have to prove he (Soto) possessed methamphetamine, Sotos attorney Justin Fischer told the jury in his opening statement. The state cannot show Joel possessed meth.

Soto, now 54, told authorities that he had pulled over around 10:25 a.m. in the 5300 block of Rogers Road on the far West Side to check his 1988 Chevy pickup, which he said was smoking from underneath the hood.

When fire engulfed Sotos pickup, witnesses said they then heard the man scream, Help! My grandson!

When the fire was extinguished, authorities found the childs body.

Soto was taken to University Hospital and was treated for burns. Investigators who interviewed him at the hospital said his injuries were not consistent with his explanation of events, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

In addition to murder, Soto also is charged with arson and injury to a child by omission.

The trial is being heard in the 379th state District Court, presided by Judge Ron Rangel. Soto faces up to life in prison if convicted.

ezavala@express-news.net
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In the final week of the mayoral runoff, incumbent Ivy Taylor unveiled endorsements from several local politicians in her bid for re-election.

Taylor faces opponent Ron Nirenberg, the outgoing District 8 councilman, in a race that will be decided Saturday. The two emerged as the top vote-getters from a crowded field of 14 in the May 6 general election.

Taylor has picked up endorsements from three exiting City Council members, including two who are leaving well before term limits would have forced them out, and a handful of local Democrats and Republicans.

In a Monday news release, the Taylor campaign said the mayor has been endorsed by Councilman Ray Lopez, who is leaving his District 6 seat because of term limits, and outgoing councilmen Joe Krier and Mike Gallagher, seen as Taylors closest allies on the dais.

She also has been endorsed by state Rep. Lyle Larson, R-San Antonio; Bexar County Commissioner Kevin Wolff, the lone Republican on the Commissioners Court; his father, Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, a Democrat; and former County Commissioner Tommy Adkisson, who placed in a distant fourth in his attempt to oust Taylor from the mayors office in the 2015 race.

Ive worked with many San Antonio mayors  as a city councilman, a county commissioner and now a state representative, Larson said in Taylors news release. The successful ones prudently invest your tax dollars in streets, public safety and other basic services, without increasing your tax rates. Ivy Taylor clearly is a successful mayor.

Kelton Morgan, Nirenbergs campaign manager, said about Taylors support: If those kinds of endorsements mattered, Ivy Taylor wouldnt be mayor.

Some of the people who are endorsing Taylor in the runoff had supported former state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte in her failed mayoral bid against Taylor in 2015.

In recent weeks, Nirenberg has picked up endorsements from former mayors Phil Hardberger and Julian Castro, the latter of whom has helped the candidate in get-out-the-vote efforts.

Greg Jefferson, Taylors campaign spokesman, lauded his candidates endorsements and trashed those of the opponent.

Mayor Taylors endorsements show shes earned support across the political spectrum, and in every corner of San Antonio. Shes a consensus-builder with a long track record of success  from achieving water security to attracting new jobs to making our neighborhoods safer, he said. Councilman Nirenbergs list of endorsements, on the other hand, is as thin as his resume. Still, both are longer than his record of accomplishments on council.

The competing remarks from the two campaigns are stark reminders of how fraught with friction and discord this race has become.

Both sides have used negative campaign tactics to cast shadows over each other, and comments from campaign surrogates have become increasingly curt.
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SAN ANTONIO  The search for a 37-year-old man who allegedly shot a woman in her apartment on the Northeast Side and then fled with their 1-year-old child ended in a neighboring county when the man crashed and was shot dead by Texas Department of Public Safety Troopers.

Adrian Maurice Hardeman wrecked his vehicle at 2:45 p.m. on Alternate U.S. Highway 90 and County Road 364 in Gonzales County, Texas DPS Lt. Jason Reyes said in an email.

"While conducting the crash investigation, Troopers made contact with an armed suspect who was shot by troopers on the scene," Reyes said.

READ ALSO: Drowning of 26-year-old on River Walk ruled homicide

Almost three hours earlier, April Russell, 35, was found with a gunshot wound at around noon in the 2300 block of Northeast Loop 410, according to the San Antonio Police Department. Paramedics later pronounced her dead at the scene.

SAPD Chief William McManus identified Hardeman as the suspect in her death. He said that he fled with their 1-year-old daughter, who was found safe by police around 1:15 p.m. in the 4900 block of Wycliff Drive in the East Side.

Reyes said DPS troopers learned Hardeman was a suspect in Russells death after Hardeman was shot. The Texas Rangers are now investigating the shooting.

Earlier, McManus said Hardeman had been estranged from Russell and was trying to get back into her life, investigators said.

This morning he knocks on the door and tries to reconcile, tries to get back into her life, McManus said. She wants nothing to do with him.

McManus said investigators believe Hardeman returned to Russells apartment a few hours later, broke though a front window and fatally shot her in the back room.

Nancy Lupolt, a resident at the apartment complex where the woman was killed, said she saw Hardeman and Russell fighting in the courtyard around 10:15 a.m.

He was just calling her every name, she said. Nasty names. I don't even want to repeat them because they were so bad.

He was irate. Just a nasty, nasty person, she said.

READ ALSO: Lightning strikes Southwest plane in San Antonio, hits nearby employee

Another resident said she also heard Hardeman and Russell screaming at each other Monday morning. She said police previously had been called to the apartment complex twice and had to break up Hardeman and the woman on at least one occasion.

McManus was unable to confirm whether police had visited the scene before the shooting.

Text "NEWS" to 77453 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com

cdowns@mysa.com

Twitter: @calebjdowns
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A local developer is again asking the city for permission to break height limits around Mission Concepcion, part of a World Heritage site, after it buckled under public pressure to build within the limits last year.

210 Development Group agreed last summer to lower the height of the complex from four to three stories to comply with the Mission Protection Overlay, a buffer zone the city created in 2014 to control growth around the missions. But the company later realized it had to expand the foundation of the apartment buildings for the sites drainage to work properly, spokeswoman Holly Thoman said.

Three of the nine buildings would now exceed the limit by between 3.5 feet and 7 feet, according to documents from the citys Historic and Design Review Commission, which will vote on the new design Wednesday. The HDRC approved the previous design in August.

We are not proposing an increase in density  this is a big concern of local area residents, Thoman said in an email. We arent proposing any more total units or trying to add on a story to any of the buildings.

South Side residents are divided over the 228-unit gated apartment complex, which has yet to be named. Some support it in the hope that it will revitalize a dilapidated 11-acre property, while others oppose it because theyre concerned about new development encroaching on the missions.

The Roosevelt Park Neighborhood Association hasnt taken a position on the project because its six-member board is evenly split on the issue.

Brady Alexander, one of the leaders of the Alliance for San Antonio Missions community group, said he wont support any project that violates the height limits, which he believes are already too lenient.

Any variance to the height restrictions should be scrutinized so they dont set a precedent, Alexander said. There are three more missions.  Whats to stop them from saying, We did this once, why not do it again?

District 3 Councilwoman Rebecca Viagran also said she doesnt support exceeding the overlays height limits on the site.

We have the mission overlay for a reason, she said. The project is right next door to Mission Concepcion. Im really concerned about this.  If they come back with something that makes it underneath the (limit), maybe we can have a conversation.

Even with the height increase, none of the apartment buildings would be visible to someone standing in front of Mission Concepcion, according to documents submitted to HDRC by 210 Development.

The company is also asking to make the roofs of the apartment buildings flat  rather than sloped and tiled, as before  so that they violate the height limit as little as possible.

City staff hasnt yet issued a recommendation on the latest design of the complex because theyre awaiting more drawings from 210 Development, city spokeswoman Ximena Copa-Wiggins said.

HDRCs decision isnt subject to City Council approval. If HDRC approves 210 Developments request for a variance on the limit, the company would still have to get the go-ahead from the citys Board of Adjustment.

A wave of new development has hit the South Side since the Mission Reach section of the River Walk was completed a few years ago. Residents say theyre conflicted about the growth; they welcome the construction of new retail stores and higher-quality homes, but theyre concerned about congestion, rising property values and the dilution of the areas culture.

The complex would be five blocks north of another controversial project: a mixed-use development replacing the Mission Trails mobile home park.

Change is going to happen. We just like to see it be appropriate and a good fit for the area, Alexander said. The main question is how are the locals going to benefit from this infusion of tourists, interest and development?

210 Development has tried a few times times to build an apartment complex next to Mission San Jose, despite opposition from nearby residents.

Its latest effort failed this year after the property owner, a local veterans group, pulled out of negotiations. The company isnt actively pursuing a project there now, Thoman said.

The Concepcion apartment complex came out of a deal between 210 Development and the Archdiocese of San Antonio, which owns a 12.5-acre property next to Mission Concepcion that was the site of St. Johns Seminary from 1920 to 1970. The archdiocese solicited bids from investors to redevelop the seminary, which has become a magnet for vandalism and squatters since its last tenant, a drug rehab center, left in 2011.

210 Development has signed a 75-year ground lease with the archdiocese. The company is applying for federal historic tax credits to rehabilitate three historic buildings that were formerly part of the seminary to become part of the complex, Thoman said.

rwebner@express-news.net

@rwebner
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Immigration authorities in Zambia on Tuesday released all the 31 Chinese nationals who were detained over the weekend.

The Chinese nationals, working for copper smelting Chinese companies on the Copperbelt province, were detained by police for suspected illegal purchase of copper tailing raw materials.

However, Zambia authorities have failed to provide strong proof of their crimes, and released the Chinese nationals after talks with the Chinese Embassy officials.

The Chinese nationals are expected to be flown back to China after their release, sources told Xinhua.

On Monday, China lodged solemn representations to Zambia following the detaining of its nationals.

While stating that China does not defend illegal actions, the Chinese Foreign Ministry expressed concern over "selective" law-enforcement against its citizens overseas.
Over 250 breeds of cattle are recognized throughout the world. Some breeds are used for dairy production, while others are used for beef production.

Each breed of cattle has its own strengths and weaknesses, making it better suited for certain climates, living conditions and production goals. Breeds can vary in coloration, size, the presence or absence of horns, overall hardiness and production uses. With so many things to consider, well focus on identifying the most common dairy breeds in the United States.

Ayrshire

Appearance

Color: White and a reddish-brown mahogany that varies in shade from very light to very dark.

White and a reddish-brown mahogany that varies in shade from very light to very dark. Markings: The markings vary from all red to all white. The spots are generally small and jagged at the edges, scattered over the entire body of the cow.

The markings vary from all red to all white. The spots are generally small and jagged at the edges, scattered over the entire body of the cow. Size: Medium sized, weighs over 1,200 pounds at maturity.

Medium sized, weighs over 1,200 pounds at maturity. Horns: Over a foot in length at maturity. However, are frequently dehorned as calves.

Other characteristics

Region: Nationwide, with the largest numbers in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Vermont.

Nationwide, with the largest numbers in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa and Vermont. Living conditions: Can forage for themselves in adverse feeding and climatic conditions.

Can forage for themselves in adverse feeding and climatic conditions. Calves: Strong and easy to raise. Do not possess the yellow tallow characteristic that reduces carcass value.

Strong and easy to raise. Do not possess the yellow tallow characteristic that reduces carcass value. Health and temperament: Excel in udder conformation and dont have excessive foot and leg problems.

History

The Ayrshire cattle were implemented in the United States around 1822, meeting New England farmers need for a dairy cow that would graze the pastures of their rough, rocky farms and tolerate the cold winters. The cattle thrived as their new home was much like their native Scotland.

Uses

Ayrshires have been bred and developed to be profitable dairy cows. They are a moderate butterfat breed. According to Oklahoma State University, with good management and feeding practices, individual Ayrshire herds average as high as 17,000 pounds of milk and 700 pounds of butterfat. Top-producing Ayrshires can regularly exceed 20,000 pounds of milk in their lactations.

Brown Swiss

Appearance

Color: Grey, dark brown, tan and sometimes almost white in color.

Grey, dark brown, tan and sometimes almost white in color. Markings: Solid colored, with a black muzzle and hooves.

Solid colored, with a black muzzle and hooves. Size: Medium-sized, cows weigh about 1,300 to 1,400 pounds.

Medium-sized, cows weigh about 1,300 to 1,400 pounds. Horns: Dehorned.

Other characteristics

Region: Possibly the most common dairy breed in the world, with a population of seven million. In the United States, the largest concentrations are in Wisconsin, Iowa and Ohio.

Possibly the most common dairy breed in the world, with a population of seven million. In the United States, the largest concentrations are in Wisconsin, Iowa and Ohio. Living conditions: Brown Swiss cattle can thrive in both hot and cold climates, and a variety of terrains and management systems.

Brown Swiss cattle can thrive in both hot and cold climates, and a variety of terrains and management systems. Health and temperament: Brown Swiss cattle are prized for their longevity, dairy strength and outstanding feet and legs. They are also known for their docile, friendly disposition.

History

Brown Swiss cattle may be the oldest of all dairy breeds, originating in Switzerland. They were introduced to the United States in 1869 in Massachusetts. The Brown Swiss in the United States today descend from 25 bulls and 140 females initially imported from Switzerland.

Uses

Brown Swiss yield large volumes of milk with a large percentage of fat and protein components for cheese-making. Brown Swiss producers often receive higher premiums than owners of other breeds. Brown Swiss herds average 22,452 pounds of milk, 919 pounds of fat and 749 pounds of protein.

Guernsey

Appearance

Color: Fawn and white.

Fawn and white. Markings: The markings vary from mostly fawn with small patches of white to fawn with large white patches.

The markings vary from mostly fawn with small patches of white to fawn with large white patches. Size: Smaller, weighs over 1,000 pounds at maturity.

Smaller, weighs over 1,000 pounds at maturity. Horns: Dehorned.

Other characteristics

Region: Nationwide, however, decreasing in numbers as total dairy cow population decreases across the United States.

Nationwide, however, decreasing in numbers as total dairy cow population decreases across the United States. Living conditions: Excellent grazers, made for pasture-based milk production. Require less feed per pound of milk produced than larger breeds. Adaptable to warmer climates.

Excellent grazers, made for pasture-based milk production. Require less feed per pound of milk produced than larger breeds. Adaptable to warmer climates. Calves: They have a younger average age of first-calf heifers and they are also known for having a lower projected calving interval because of their smaller size.

They have a younger average age of first-calf heifers and they are also known for having a lower projected calving interval because of their smaller size. Health and temperament: Guernseys dont have any known undesirable genetic recessiveness. Additionally, Guernsey cows are known for a gentle disposition.

History

Guernsey cattle were brought to the United States from the Isle of Guernsey in 1840, being introduced in New York, originally.

Uses

Guernseys are known for producing high-butterfat, high-protein milk with a high concentration of betacarotene. The milk is known for its golden color due to the high levels of betacarotene. According to Oklahoma State University and data from herds enrolled in the American Guernsey Associations Dairy Herd Improvement Register program during 1992, Guernsey herds average 14,667 pounds of milk, 659 pounds of butterfat and 510 pounds of protein.

Holstein

Appearance

Color: Black and white or red and white.

Black and white or red and white. Markings: Easily recognized, with distinctive color patterns of black and white or red and white.

Easily recognized, with distinctive color patterns of black and white or red and white. Size: Large breed, Holstein cows weigh about 1,500 pounds and stand 58 inches tall at the shoulder when they reach maturity.

Large breed, Holstein cows weigh about 1,500 pounds and stand 58 inches tall at the shoulder when they reach maturity. Horns: Dehorned.

Other characteristics

Region: Nationwide, Holstein dairy cattle dominate the United States milk production industry. Nine out of 10 dairy producers currently milk Holsteins.

Nationwide, Holstein dairy cattle dominate the United States milk production industry. Nine out of 10 dairy producers currently milk Holsteins. Living conditions : Adaptable to a wide range of environmental conditions.

Adaptable to a wide range of environmental conditions. Calves: A healthy Holstein calf weighs over 90 pounds at birth. heifers can be bred when they weigh about 800 pounds, at about 15 months old. However, it is most desirable to calve Holstein heifers for the first time between 24 and 27 months old. Gestation lasts about nine months.

A healthy Holstein calf weighs over 90 pounds at birth. heifers can be bred when they weigh about 800 pounds, at about 15 months old. However, it is most desirable to calve Holstein heifers for the first time between 24 and 27 months old. Gestation lasts about nine months. Health and temperament: According to Holstein Association USA, Inc., Holsteins have unexcelled production, greater income over feed costs and unequaled genetic merit.

History

The Holstein cow originated in Europe, before being brought to the United States in 1852. After being established in Massachusetts, the Holstein breed was sought after by many other breeders.

Uses

According to Holstein Association USA, Inc., the 2015 average production for Holstein herds that were enrolled in production testing programs and eligible for genetic evaluations was 24,958 pounds of milk, 920 pounds of butterfat and 710 pounds of protein per year.

Jersey

Appearance

Color: May vary from a light gray or tan to a very dark fawn or a very dark, almost black shade.

Markings: Generally, have unbroken color patterns, but are commonly darker around their hips, head and shoulders.

Size: Jersey cows have an extreme weight range, varying between 800 and 1,200 pounds.

Horns: Dehorned.

Other characteristics

Region: Worldwide, with outstanding herds found from Denmark to Australia and New Zealand, from Canada to South America, and from South Africa to Japan.

Worldwide, with outstanding herds found from Denmark to Australia and New Zealand, from Canada to South America, and from South Africa to Japan. Living conditions: Adaptable to a wide range of climatic and geographical conditions. More tolerant to heat than larger breeds. Excellent grazers.

Adaptable to a wide range of climatic and geographical conditions. More tolerant to heat than larger breeds. Excellent grazers. Calves: According to the American Jersey Cattle Association, Jerseys benefit from little or no calving problems, greater fertility, a shorter calving interval and earlier maturity.

According to the American Jersey Cattle Association, Jerseys benefit from little or no calving problems, greater fertility, a shorter calving interval and earlier maturity. Health and temperament: Jerseys produce more pounds of milk per pound of body weight than any other breed. Docile and easy to manage, despite a more nervous disposition. Differences in reproductive performance, a lower incidence of clinical mastitis, less disease and injury, and fewer feet and leg problems make Jerseys favorable. Jersey bulls are smaller than other breeds but extremely muscular. Jersey bulls are the least docile of all common breeds of cattle.

History

The Jersey is one of the oldest dairy breeds, being purebred for nearly six centuries. It originated in the Island of Jersey in the English Channel. It was introduced to the United States in the late 1850s.

Uses

Jersey cows in the United States produce more than 17 times their bodyweight in milk each lactation. According to the American Jersey Cattle Association, the 2015 average production for Jersey herds that were enrolled in production testing programs and eligible for genetic evaluations was 18,040 pounds of milk, 868 pounds of butterfat and 659 pounds of protein per year.

Milking Shorthorns

Appearance

Color: Red, red and white, white or roan  a close mixture of red and white, and found in no other breed of cattle.

Red, red and white, white or roan  a close mixture of red and white, and found in no other breed of cattle. Markings: One color covering a majority of the body with a secondary color speckling its hide.

One color covering a majority of the body with a secondary color speckling its hide. Size: Larger breed, weighing 1,400 to 1,500 pounds and averaging 55 inches tall.

Larger breed, weighing 1,400 to 1,500 pounds and averaging 55 inches tall. Horns: Yes.

Other characteristics

Region: Found all over the United States.

Found all over the United States. Living conditions: Milking Shorthorns are very hardy and adaptable to a wide range of environmental stressors. They are also efficient grazers.

Milking Shorthorns are very hardy and adaptable to a wide range of environmental stressors. They are also efficient grazers. Calves: Milking Shorthorns are known for high levels of fertility and ease of calving. Their healthy calves born each year on regular calving intervals are spunky at birth and grow rapidly.

Milking Shorthorns are known for high levels of fertility and ease of calving. Their healthy calves born each year on regular calving intervals are spunky at birth and grow rapidly. Health and temperament: Milking Shorthorns are desirable due to their durability, longevity, ease of calving and ability to adapt to a number of production environments. They are also known to be docile, efficient producers. Additionally, they are large enough to have salvage value at the end of their productive lives.

History

Milking Shorthorns originated in northeastern England. They were brought to the United States in 1783, in Virginia. They quickly became favorites for their ability to provide milk, meat and power. They were later imported to New York, Kentucky, Ohio and the Midwest.

Uses

The Milking Shorthorn breed is one of the most improved over the past 15 years with more increases expected. It has developed more into a dairy breed and improved udder quality. The average production for Milking Shorthorns is about 15,000 pounds of milk, with 3.8 percent butterfat and 3.3 percent protein.

Related Content

Resources
A new survey found that Chief Compliance and Ethics Officers are struggling to effectively aggregate and analyze data due in part to outdated technology and a lack of available tools at their disposal.

The 2017 Ethics and Compliance Survey engaged more than 335 business ethics leaders across the United States and abroad.

The report, released this week by the Ethisphere Institute and compliance services firm Convercent, found that respondents use up to ten different systems to collect and quantify data. But just 7 percent are connected through automated feeds.

Seventy-four percent said they use email mainly to collaborate and share data, which could result in a cumbersome process.

According to Ethispheres Erica Salmon Byrne, EVP and Executive Director, Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA), the 2017 survey reveals several key issues facing ethics professionals including outdated technology and ineffective processes. At the same time, the survey highlights how companies can address challenges related to developing and executing meaningful ethics programs through greater data analysis, assigning meaningful metrics, and conducting efficient communication.

We have come so far over the course of the last decade, in terms of the data  the actual data that is available to companies, said Byrne. Were starting to see data about employee turnover, employee culture and productivity, but were not 100 percent there yet because As the report points out, Most CECOs are forced to gather siloed data from multiple departments and thats an issue weve got to solve as a community.

Kimberly-Clark Corp, for example, an Ethisphere BELA member highlighted in the report that the company uses data to inform its ethics and compliance program KPIs. In turn, this allows the Texas-based company to identify trends and issues that can be addressed more quickly.

The survey illuminates the toughest challenges, biggest opportunities, and evolving technologies for companies working to establish programs oriented around proactivity and doing the right thing, said Patrick Quinlan, CEO and Co-Founder of Convercent.

Among the surveys findings, other highlights include:

Why Tapping Into the Voice of the Employee is Critical: Effective intake methods are critical for gaining insight into the ethical health of an organization. Prioritizing what employees communicate and also how they communicate is crucial. Nearly 73 percent of employees in Ethispheres overall culture data set say they raise concerns with their manager; however many respondents admitted they do not track open door reports. This indicates many organizations are missing out on critical insights into the health of the organization.

Proof CECOs are Taking a Seat at the Table : This years survey found ethics and compliance professionals are getting more access to CEOs than ever before. Forty-seven percent said they speak with their CEOs more than once a month. And nearly half (44 percent) say they report regularly to the board. This is a positive indicator that top-line leadership is increasingly recognizing compliance and ethics as critical business differentiators.

Click here to download the full report.

_____



Aarti Maharaj, pictured above, is a contributing editor of the FCPA Blog. Shes the Executive Editor and Director of Communications at Ethisphere. She can be contacted here.


Prince Harry has taken part in a charity polo event in Singapore to raise money for a HIV charity.

Prince Harry

The 32-year-old royal has been on a tour of the small Asian island since the weekend, and on Monday (05.06.17) he participated in the Sentebale Royal Salute Polo Cup, which was be hosted at the Singapore Polo Club, to help raise awareness and funds for the Sentebale charity that supports those suffering from HIV in Lesotho and Botswana.

Prince Harry was aiming to raise around 1 million for the charity at the event, where he was joined by the likes of former 'Doctor Who' star Karen Gillan, 'Humans' actress Gemma Chan, and 'Downton Abbey' star Joanne Froggatt.

The flame-haired royal also said aimed to give young people the "voice they deserve" when it comes to the awareness of HIV and AIDs, as he said a large part of ending the epidemic was in "tackling the stigma" surrounding the disease.

Writing in the official programme for the Sentebale Polo Cup with his charity co-founder Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, Harry said: "In the past year we have expanded operations into Botswana, addressing the pressing needs of the country with the world's third-highest HIV prevalence.

"We will continue to support the global commitment to ending the Aids epidemic by 2030. We believe that we cannot beat HIV without giving children and adolescents the voice they deserve.

"It is our ambition to change the tide of this epidemic by ensuring more young people know their status, access treatment and are empowered to tackle stigma and play their part in bringing the Aids epidemic to an end."

Elsewhere during his trip, Prince Harry visited a 21-year-old charity worker named Alibi Mohdar, who was taking a finger-prick test for HIV which fortunately told him he was negative.

Prince Harry told Alibi, who works for Action for Aids: "What you're doing is really important. It's better to know your status than not."
There's nothing more satisfying than a night in with chocolate, a good movie and a face mask- so here are a few for the vegans out there who are in need of some pampering.

Vegan on Female First

LABthetics Enzyme Skin Peel Renewal Mask (2) (18.00) (Vegan)

The perfect peeling and resurfacing enzyme formula which effectively breaks down the build up of dead skin and dissolves blockages for a smoother, more radiant texture. Papaya extract acts as a powerful exfoliator dissolving dead skin cells, kaolin absorbs excess oils, exfoliating and freshening the skin while calcium targets dryness and premature wrinkling by encouraging cell turnover and improving lipid barrier function.

Tropic

Tropic Deep Hydration Soothing Cooling Mask, 20, www.tropicskincare.com

Achieve instant hydration with this creamy gel mask, created to soothe and moisturise super dry skin. For those who find a daily moisturiser irritates their skin, this mask provides hassle-free hydration when you need it most

Tropic Clear Skin Blemish Fighting Mask, 20, www.tropicskincare.com

This spot-busting mask helps to control sebum levels, reduce redness and manage breakouts quickly and effectively by tightening pores. Created specially for acne and blemish-prone skin, this is a hero product for those who suffer from excessive oil production and a shiny T-zone.

skyn ICELAND Arctic Hydration Rubberizing Mask, 12.00, Boots

Sand and Sky

Sand & Sky Brilliant Skin is available for 39.90 from www.sandandsky.com

Now available at Harvey Nichols and www.harveynichols.com

Follow us at: @sandandskyaus

Yes To DIY Powder-To-Clay Masks

Say Yes To the brand new Yes To DIY Powder-To-Clay Masks collection, available in Moisturising Coconut, Calming Cucumber, Blemish Fighting Tomatoes and Detoxifying Charcoal, the ultimate in customisable, natural skincare.This innovative range of single-use masks feature on-trend natural powders with a nifty pop-up bowl and spatula so you can be a DIY Diva and #mixandmask a tailored treat every time! Simply blend with water for a fresh, natural clay mask or why not add yoghurt for a moisture boost, avocado for nourishment or get creative with your own Diva It Yourself recipe.

Beauty Kitchen Sea Plankton 5 Minute Miracle Mask, 14.99 NEW! From Holland & Barrett

Seahorse plankton is a clever kind of microalgae that protects itself from environmental stresses by producing a unique mix of antioxidants, omega 3, lipids, sterols, carotenoids and vitamins (A, D, E & K). And guess what? This mix has incredible beauty benefits, particularly for sensitive and problem skin.

 Detox mask to cleanse and purify the skin

 Leaves skin refreshed and glowing

 Use weekly to stimulate and firm face, neck and decolletage

Spa Find Plantox Effect Transformation Peel Off Mask  30g, 8.95

The Plantox Effect Transformation Peel-Off Mask will transform your complexion into a smoother, softer and younger looking skin. Packed with skin-nourishing Hibiscus Seed, this wondrous ingredient reduces fine lines and wrinkles whilst boosting your skins natural defences. The result is a more radiant complexion that defies the signs of ageing.

Dead Sea Spa Magik Mud Mask  75ml, 7.96

The deep-cleansing action of the mud mask helps to remove impurities from deep-down in the skin and pores to reduce the appearance of blackheads and other skin blemishes. The mineral nourishment stimulates the complexion, smoothing out lines and hydrating the skin for a fresh-faced health glow.

Dead Sea Spa Magik Algimud Face Mask  25g, 3.70

Mineral-rich Dead Sea Mud combines with the pure oceanic alginates for the ultimate peel-off mask. The unique compound of natural seaweed and minerals refresh the skin for a more youthful complexion and softer texture. This mud mask comes in an easy-to-use sachet for home spa use.

Spa Magik Organiks Wrinkle Therapy Peel and Reveal Marine Mask  30g, 4.96

The peel and reveal mask provides immediate anti-ageing results to target wrinkles and fine lines. Submerge your skin in minerals and vitamins. Facial contours will feel refined as the Vitamin C and algae formula supercharges your skin with nutrients. This peel-off mask reveals a glowing and more radiant complexion.

Stockist for all products: www.shopforspa.com

Skin Yoga

Sandalwood Saffron Face Mask

For Anti-Aging, Hydration

The goodness of sandalwood will reverse the signs of aging and gradually remove wrinkles and dark spots. Saffron will improve skin texture and also naturally make skin brighter and more radiant. The anti-oxidants found in walnuts are essential to skin regeneration and elasticity. Walnuts also include chemicals that help boost circulation, bringing oxygen and nutrients to your skin cells quickly.

www.skinyoga.co.uk

Green Tea Mask

Inspired from the ancient Japanese skincare regime, this green tea based, antioxidant rich face mask slows aging and wrinkles. This is a 100 percent natural acne control formula that removes toxins from your skin and gives you a more youthful appearance. Unlike other acne control mask and face wash this mask does not dry your skin at all. Organic Green Tea works as a very effective sun guard and acne control agent. Rice flour help fight sun spots natural adds glow to the skin.

Like your beloved motor, your skin needs oil to function properly, but not too much! If your skin becomes shiny within an hour of cleansing (particularly on the nose, forehead and chin areas), its likely that you have an oily skin type. Addressing shiny t-zones nationwide, Bulldog Skincare For Men launch five new Oil Control products which have been developed to de-slick the skin without leaving it feeling like the Sahara.

Oil Control Face Mask, 100ml (RRP 6.00)

FaceTox 29.99

Facetox organic face mask will help to detoxify your skin. The FaceTox masks are suitable for all skin types and are made using only the purest ingredients to ensure no irritation. The FaceTox Mask contains Bentonite & Moroccan Lava clay, which have been used for centuries in facemasks. When the FaceTox clay blend is mixed with the Rose Water, it creates a negative charge and when applied to your skin, draws out the toxins. Leaving you with softer, clearer skin. We recommend using the mask once per week

Eminence Chocolate Mousse Hydration Mask, RRP: 37, Stockists: www.theskinsmith.co.uk

Treat your skin in a calorie-free chocolate mousse that fights the signs of ageing deliciously. The moisturising facial mask hydrates and conditions normal to dry skin. It looks and smells like chocolate mousse and tightens the skin as it dries. The antioxidant-packed formula leaves skin clearer, smoother, and brighter. Key ingredients include: Cocoa, macadamia nut oil, and almond oil, jojoba oil, ginseng, vitamin E and vitamin C. It's also worth mentioning that the product is vegan!

7th Heaven

Strawberry Souffle - Cleanse your skin with our Strawberry Souffle face masque as part of your regime for a purified, toned smooth complexion. Loaded with natural goodness which leaves skin hydrated and refreshed allow your skin to breathe with soothing Aloe Vera & calming Vanilla.

Passion Peel Off - Gently peel away dead skin with our amazing Passion Peel Off deep cleansing masque. Our Pomegranate and Passion Flower formula cleans, purifies and protects leaving your skin feeling fresh and radiant.

Red Hot Earth Sauna: De-stress and indulge as you feel the heat penetrating your damp skin. The warming feeling is simply heavenly! Relax and enjoy to reveal a soft, radiant complexion.

Dead Sea Mud Pac: De-stress and experience the ultra deep pore cleansing effects of rich dead sea minerals. Open blocked pores and draw out impurities to reveal revived, smooth skin.

Very Berry: Bursting with the juice of pressed Blueberries and crushed Cranberries our fruity beauty is packed with antioxidants. Nourishing Peach Kernel oil and soothing Aloe will leave your skin refreshed and cleansed.

Cucumber Peel Off: Relax and unwind as you peel and reveal a fresher face. This pore cleansing masque helps remove impurities and dead cells whilst reviving skin. This masque is great for a weekly detox.

Chocolate Face Masque: This guilt free treat smells divine and offers a feast of fabulous creamy delights. This deep cleansing masque helps unblock pores and moisturises for smooth soft skin.

White Chocolate Face Masque x2: Deep Cleanse with our White Chocolate Face Masque as part of your regime for a radiant, glowing complexion. Smells so yum please don't be tempted to eat! Allow the Cocoa Butter, rich Cream and moisturising Jojoba to leave your skin deep cleansed & as smooth as the softest cream.
With over 72 million followers, Nike has become the most popular fashion brand on Instagram, says a recent survey. This has made Nike the fifteenth most popular Instagram account in the world, beating celebrities like Khloe Kardashian and Miley Cyrus. Swedish company H&M stands second in the list with over 21 million followers on Instagram.

Social media analytics firm Iconosquare had measured total followers and follower growth on Instagram during April and May 2017. In the top ten, Zara was the fastest-growing brand, managing an impressive 8.72 per cent growth over the April-May period. While, BooHoo and Schuh saw 0.67 per cent and 1.06 per cent follower growth respectively, making them among the slowest-growing brands analysed.

"The boundaries between Instagram and brands shopping pages are becoming increasingly blurred. As the worlds most popular visual social network, a quality Instagram presence is more than a nice to have for high street fashion brands, its essential to their success," Romain Ouzeau, CEO of Iconosquare, said.

With over 72 million followers, Nike has become the most popular fashion brand on Instagram, says a recent survey. This has made Nike the fifteenth most popular Instagram account in the world, beating celebrities like Khloe Kardashian and Miley Cyrus. Swedish company H&M stands second in the list with over 21 million followers on Instagram.#

Instagram is increasingly becoming an important marketing channel for retailers. The platform recently reached 700 million monthly active users, and its emphasis on visuals lends itself well to fashion brands. Instagram has been experimenting with shoppable posts recently, allowing brands to add product details and links to their photos. (RR)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
The textiles ministry has completed consultations with stakeholders and outreach sessions with the industry, and is currently in the process of finalising draft guidelines of the National Textiles Policy. After adding inputs from the Textiles India 2017 fair this month, the policy is likely to be put for Cabinet approval next month, a senior official said.

We have done stakeholder consultations with all segments, with all handloom weavers, big manufacturers (on the textiles policy). We have reached out to all the segments. We are almost ready (with the draft), Pushpa Subramanyam, additional secretary of textiles ministry, said during an interaction in Warangal, Telangana state.

Subramanyam was in the town to invite textile and apparel industry entrepreneurs to participate in Textiles India 2017, a global exhibition of textiles and related segments slated from June 30 to July 2 in Gandhinagar.

The textiles ministry has completed consultations with stakeholders and outreach sessions with the industry, and is currently in the process of finalising draft guidelines of the National Textiles Policy. After adding inputs from the Textiles India 2017 fair this month, the policy is likely to be put for Cabinet approval next month, a senior official said.#

Soon after the Textiles India 2017 is over, we will enrich the document with the more inputs from the event. In July it may go to Cabinet for approval, she added.

The National Textiles Policy is expected to aim at achieving $300 billion textile exports by 2024-25, and thereby creating around 35 million new employment opportunities.

Speaking about the proposed Textile Park in Warangal, Subramanyam said, We are waiting for the proposal from the state government. We have funds. As soon as it comes we will sanction it.

The proposed park would be a fibre to fabric textile park. It has been proposed to be set up by the state government to boost textile industry in the state. (RKS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
Hattrick hero Shivarajkumar and Kichcha Sudeepa are flying to London this month to shoot for their forthcoming movie, The Villain. Hitherto, the movie has created a wild craze among the fans of two most popular celebrities of Sandalwood.

Some parts of the movie have been shot in and around Bengaluru, Shivamogga and Belagavi. The film crew is now looking forward to the next shooting schedule, in London. Directed by Prem, The Villain will be hitting the floors very soon.

In London, Shivanna and Sudeepa will be joined by the heroine of the movie, Amy Jackson. Yes, you heard it right! Amy Jackson will be shooting for her first Kannada film ever, opposite big names on a huge franchise.

After the shoot in London, the team will then head towards Thailand and then Australia to complete the remaining portion of the movie.

Read more in detail...

Departure To London

Few important scenes of the movie were to be shot in London, according to the director Prem. As such, the team will decamp to London on June 15. Shivanna and Sudeep are to join the team on flight.

Eight Days Of Shooting

The shooting in London is estimated to be a week long and the team will be put up in London until June 23.

What Is The Scene In London?

Some parts of the movie which require the presence of both Shivanna and Sudeepa on screen, will be shot in London. Besides, some songs are to be shot there as well.

Rigorous Preparation

The Villain cast and crew are ready for their next schedule of shooting. Director Prem, producer C. R. Manohar and 20 other crew members will be boarding the flight to London this June 15.

Amy Jackson Finalised

Amy Jackson, who last starred in the Tamil movie Theri, has been chosen as the female lead for The Villain. She will be joining the cast and crew in London, once the team reaches there. Director Prem has conclusively chosen Amy Jackson to be the leading lady before their foreign shooting schedule.

Big Budget Movie

The Villain, even before its making, is touted to be one of the costliest and exorbitant movies in Kannada Film Industry. This is the first time Shivanna and Kichcha Sudeepa will be seen sharing the screen space together. Consequently, the expectations about this movie are soaring in Gandhinagar.
CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 07/25/17 -- Blackbird Energy Inc. ("Blackbird" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: BBI) is pleased to provide an operational update regarding its 2017 delineation and development program and expansion of the Eastern Pipestone/Elmworth Gathering System ("Eastern Gathering System"). Blackbird is also pleased to announce that it has increased its Montney rights in the Pipestone/Elmworth corridor to 125 gross sections (108.9 net sections).

Highlights

-- 2017 Delineation and Development Program: Blackbird has focused on furthering the development of its southern Wapiti core area, enhancing production capacity, and the continued delineation of its extensive Montney resource. In the next quarter the budgeted program encompasses the drilling, completion and recompletion of a total of six development wells and the drilling and completion of four (1.75 net) delineation wells. -- Recompletion Program: Blackbird has successfully recompleted the first of three wells. The remaining two wells are planned to be recompleted in August and September, respectively, with initial production testing to follow thereafter. -- Gathering System Expansion: Blackbird has commenced surveying of its Eastern Gathering System, which will tie in production from the 2-20-70- 6W6 (11-9 surface) well and service future development wells on Blackbird's eastern lands south of the Wapiti. Construction is expected to commence post regulatory approval with an estimated budget of $4.4 million. The Eastern Gathering System is anticipated to be brought on stream in the first half of 2018.

Delineation and Development Program

Operated Wells

We are pleased to provide the status and timeline for the drilling and completion of three development wells and one delineation well on our northern multi-interval land block.

02/6-26-70-7W6 Upper Montney Development Well

The previously announced 02/6-26-70-7 Upper Montney well was spud on June 10, 2017 from surface location 14-14-70-7W6 and drilled to a measured depth of 4,808 meters, including an approximately 2,100 meter lateral section. The well was drilled for approximately $2.6 million. Completion operations are scheduled for August 12, 2017 utilizing the STAGE Generation Four 8620 Sleeve System. The completion program will place approximately 75 tonnes of sand per stage over approximately 52 stages. Blackbird plans to tie-in and flow-test the well into existing infrastructure, with initial production anticipated by late August, 2017.

2-28-70-7W6 Middle Montney Development Well

The 2-28-70-7 Middle Montney well was spud on July 11, 2017 from surface location 11-15-70-7 W6. Currently the well is being drilled in the lateral section and the planned measured depth is 5,004 meters, including an approximately 2,050 meter lateral section. Completion operations are scheduled for August 26, 2017 utilizing the STAGE Generation Four 8620 Sleeve System. The completion program will place approximately 75 tonnes of sand per stage over approximately 52 stages. Following completion, the well will be tied in and flow-tested into existing infrastructure, with initial production anticipated by September, 2017.

1-20-70-7W6 Upper Montney Development Well

The 1-20-70-7 Upper Montney well is expected to be spud the first week of August from surface location 10-8-70-7W6. The well has a planned measured depth of 4,600 meters, including an approximately 2,000 meter lateral section. Completion operations are scheduled for the first week of October utilizing the STAGE Generation Four 8620 Sleeve System. The completion program will place approximately 75 tonnes of sand per stage over approximately 51 stages. Blackbird plans to tie-in and flow-test the well into existing infrastructure, with initial production anticipated by late October, 2017

7-27-71-7W6 Upper Montney Delineation Well

The 7-27-71-7 Upper Montney delineation well is expected to be spud at the end of August from surface location 7-33-71-7W6. The well has a planned measured depth of 4,500 meters, including an approximately 2,000 meter lateral section. Completion operations are scheduled for the latter portion of October utilizing the STAGE Generation Four 8620 Sleeve System. The completion program will place approximately 75 tonnes of sand per stage over approximately 51 stages. This well targets the Upper Montney at Pipestone/Elmworth and will test and delineate the "Volatile Oil" window on the northern portion of Blackbird's land. This well is an approximate 10 km northern step-out from Blackbird's existing operated wells and is important both for the continued delineation of the "Volatile Oil" window as well as continuing a significant portion of Blackbird's northern multi-interval land block. The well will be flow-tested post completion to evaluate productive capability and reservoir quality.

Non-operated Delineation Wells

Blackbird has participated in the drilling and completion operations of three (.75 net) non-operated delineation wells.

14- 30-70-7W6 Upper Montney Well

The 14- 30-70-7 Upper Montney well in which Blackbird has a 17.9% working interest is located north of the Wapiti and has been drilled, completed and initial production tested. This well delineates the "Volatile Oil" window on the western edge of Blackbird's lands and also retains one section of Blackbird's land that was in near term expiry. The well was drilled to a total measured depth of 5,350 meters and a lateral length of 2,861 meters.

13-04-70-6W6 and the 3-17-70-5W6 Middle Montney Wells

The 13-04-70-6 and the 3-17-70-5 Middle Montney wells, in which Blackbird has a 37.5% and 20% working interest, respectively, are located south of the Wapiti and have both been drilled and completed. Both wells will further delineate the "Volatile Oil" window and also will allow for the retention of Blackbird's southeastern lands. The 13-04-70-6 well was drilled to a total measured depth of 5,615 meters and a lateral length of 3,056 meters and the 3-17-70-5 well was drilled to a total measured depth of 5,320 meters and a lateral length of 2,876 meters.

Recompletions

02/2-20-70-7W6 Upper Montney Development Well

The 02/2-20-70-7 Upper Montney well was successfully refrac'd in mid-June using plug and perf and diverter agents. The completion consisted of 33 intervals at 30 meters spacing and approximately 1,650 tonnes of sand was placed. Tubing was installed July 16, 2017 and the well is tied in and is in clean-up phase with a projected IP30 date of early September.

15-21-70-7W6 Upper Montney Development Well

The 15-21-70-7 Upper Montney well is scheduled to be refrac'd in late August in conjunction with the 2-28-70-7 Middle Montney well. The Company is evaluating two completions options, being either pin-point or plug and perf. The planned completion program will be to place approximately 2,700 tonnes of sand in the refrac.

2-20-70-6W6 Middle Montney Development Well

The 2-20-70-6 Middle Montney well is scheduled to be refrac'd in the middle of September. The Company is evaluating two completions options, being either pin-point or plug and perf. Management estimates that less than 20% of the well was completed during initial fracing operations. The 2-20-70-6 well produced approximately 395 bbls/d of light oil and 243 mcf/d gas during the last 24 hours of a 111-hour production test. This well confirms the presence of and extends the "Volatile Oil" window more than 5 km eastward from Blackbird's previous wells. This well is also important for the continuation of a portion of Blackbird's southeast land block and is planned to be tied in once the Eastern Gathering System is completed.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Short-Term (24-hour) Test Rates(3) Average Flowing Total Montney Casing Raw Gas Oil Combined Well Interval Pressure Production Production Production (kPa)(2) (mmcf/d) (bbls/d) (boe/d) 2-20-70-6W6(1)(4) Middle 2,499 0.24 395 436 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Notes: (1) Based on camera run performed, management estimates that this well was producing through a limited number of stages due to mechanical issues experienced in the wellbore during completion operations. Management is unable to determine the exact number of producing stages. Management believes this well will be capable of higher production rates once the well is re-completed. The 2-20 (surface 11-9) well flowed on clean-up for a total of 111 hours. (2) The 2-20 (surface 11-9) well produced through a 14.3 millimeter choke at the beginning of the final 24-hour test period and a 25.4 millimeter choke at the end of the final 24-hour test period. At the end of the 24-hour test period, the flowing casing pressure was 2,205 kPa. (3) Represents average production rates from the 2-20 (surface 11-9) well over the final 24 hours of the 111-hour production test. The Company cautions that test results and initial production rates are not necessarily indicative of long-term well or reservoir performance or of ultimate recovery. Actual results will differ from those realized during testing or an initial short-term production period, and the difference may be material. (4) The 2-20 (surface 11-9) well produced an average of approximately 1,399 bbls of load fluid per day over the final 24 hours of the 111-hour production test.

Resource Delineation and Land Retention

Upon completion of Blackbird's initial 2017 development and delineation program, the Company will have a total of five Upper Montney wells and three Middle Montney wells on production, and five (2.75 net) wells behind pipe. These wells will span over four townships, with the 02/2-20-70-7 and 2-20-70-6 wells being approximately six sections apart on an east/west basis and the 7-27-71-7 and 2-20-70-6 wells being approximately eight sections apart on a north/south basis.

This drilling program will delineate a large portion of Blackbird's contiguous land block. See Figure 1 below for an illustration of these well locations and Blackbird's planned future Eastern Gathering System.

To view Figure 1: Blackbird's 13 Montney Wells and Planned Eastern Gathering System, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/bbi0725fig1.pdf.

Eastern Gathering System Expansion

Blackbird has commenced surveying of its Eastern Gathering System. When completed the Eastern Gathering System will tie in production from our 2-20-70-6W6 (11-9 surface) well and serve as the backbone for tieing in all future development wells on Blackbird's eastern lands south of the Wapiti. Construction is expected to commence post regulatory approval with an estimated budget of $4.4 million. The Eastern Gathering System is anticipated to be brought on stream in the first half of 2018.

Industry Activity Adjacent to Blackbird's Lands

The Pipestone/Elmworth Montney corridor continues to be one of the most actively drilled areas in Western Canada. Within two townships of Blackbird's land holdings, over 80 wells have been spud or rig released in the Montney since January 1, 2017 as illustrated with the wells highlighted in red in Figure 2 below.

To view Figure 2: Industry drilling activity adjacent to Blackbird's holdings, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/bbi0725fig2.pdf.

Garth Braun, Blackbird's Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President stated: "Our 2017 delineation and development program continues to focus on building meaningful reserves, increasing the ability for our company to produce natural gas, oil and liquids and delineate the "Volatile Oil" window to complement the development block in the condensate window to the west. Our strategic delineation of the Upper and Middle Montney intervals over a large geographic area has provided us with very valuable information regarding our resource in-place, and solidifies our confidence in the next phase of Blackbird's growth. We will continue our delineation program and proceed into a development phase on our eastern development block. Through this development phase, we will look to increase production and reserves while maximizing the value in lockstep with our infrastructure buildup."

About Blackbird

Blackbird Energy Inc. is a highly innovative oil and gas exploration and development company focused on the condensate and liquids-rich Montney fairway at Elmworth, near Grande Prairie, Alberta.

For more information, please view our Corporate Presentation at www.blackbirdenergyinc.com.

Advisories

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements or information (collectively referred to herein as "forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking statements relate to future results or events, and are based upon internal plans, intentions, expectations and beliefs. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those contained in the statements. All statements other than statements of current or historical fact constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are typically, but not always, identified by words such as "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "intend", "plan", "budget", "forecast", "target", "seek", "estimate", "propose", "potential", "project", "continue", "may", "will", "should" or similar words indicating or suggesting future outcomes or events.

Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future outcomes or circumstances. There can be no assurance that the results or events contemplated by the forward-looking statements, or the plans, intentions, expectations or beliefs contained therein or upon which they are based, will in fact occur or be realized (or if they do, what benefits the Company may derive therefrom).

Forward-looking statements contained in this press release include but are not limited to, statements regarding: planned drilling and completion (including recompletion) operations in respect of the development and delineation wells described herein, including expected spud dates and timeframe for completion programs; the expected timing for tie-in, flow-testing and initial production of wells that are drilled and completed; the numbers of stages and projected sand volumes contemplated by each future completion program; the extent to which the activities described herein will delineate the Company's acreage; and the anticipated commissioning of the Eastern Gathering System, the estimated cost of its construction, and the anticipated timing for it being brought on stream.

The forward-looking statements herein reflect Blackbird's assessment of material factors and assumptions regarding, among other things: commodity prices and currency exchange rates; the timing and success of drilling and completion activities (and the extent to which the results thereof meet expectations); the accuracy of geological and geophysical data and the interpretation thereof; the Company's ability to generate internal cash flow to fund current and future expenditures, and access external financing when required and on commercially acceptable terms; future capital expenditure requirements and the sufficiency thereof to achieve the Company's objectives; the performance of both new and existing wells; the successful application of drilling and completion technology and processes; the Company's ability to economically produce oil and gas from its properties and the timing and cost to do so; the predictability of future results based on past and current experience; prevailing weather conditions; prevailing legislation and regulatory requirements affecting the oil and gas industry (including royalty regimes); the timely receipt of required regulatory approvals; the availability of capital, labour and services on a timely and cost-effective basis; and the general economic, regulatory and political environment in which the Company operates. The forward-looking statements reflect management's current views and are based on assumptions that may prove to be incorrect. Although Blackbird believes that its assessment of factors and assumptions reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable based on currently available information, no assurance can be given that they will prove to be correct or that the forward-looking statements.

The Company believes that the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are reasonable based on current information. Undue reliance should not, though, be placed on forward-looking statements, which are necessarily based on assumptions and subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those indicated or suggested in the forward-looking statements. Many of these, many of risks and uncertainties are beyond the Company's control. Such risks and uncertainties include, among other things: (1) a downturn in general economic and business conditions in North America and internationally; (2) the inherent uncertainties and speculative nature associated with oil and gas exploration, development, exploitation and production, including drilling, completion and processing risks and potential delays, cost overruns and loss of production or reserves bookings arising therefrom; (3) adverse changes in the price of and demand for oil and gas and their effect on the economics of oil and gas exploration and production; (4) any number of events or causes which may delay or cease exploration and development of the Company's properties or increase the cost thereof, such as environmental liabilities, adverse weather, mechanical failures, health and safety concerns, labour problems and changes in laws or governmental regulation (including with respect to royalties and taxes); (5) competition for labour, services, equipment and materials necessary to further the Company's oil and gas activities; (6) the risk that the Company does not execute its program or alters its plans; (7) inability to retain key employees or secure required services on a timely basis and on acceptable terms; (8) inability to finance operations and growth either through internal cash flow or timely access to external capital on acceptable terms; and (9) other factors beyond the Company's control.

Should any of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or any of the Company's assumptions prove incorrect, actual results or events may vary in material respects from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of risks, uncertainties and other factors is not exhaustive. Readers should also review the risk factors described in the documents filed by the Company from time to time with securities regulatory authorities in Canada, including its most recent annual information form and annual and interim management's discussion and analysis, copies of which are available electronically on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Unpredictable or unknown factors not discussed could also have material adverse effects on forward-looking statements. The impact of any one factor on a particular forward-looking statement is not determinable with certainty as factors are interdependent and the Company's course of action would depend on its assessment considering all information then available.

All forward-looking statements in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements should circumstances or management's views change.

Barrels of Oil Equivalent

This press release includes reference to production information presented on a barrel of oil equivalent ("BOE") basis, with natural gas volumes converted at the ratio of six thousand cubic feet to one barrel of oil. BOEs may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation. A BOE conversion ratio of six mcf (six thousand cubic feet) to one bbl (one barrel) is based on an energy equivalency conversion method primarily applicable at the burner tip and does not represent a value equivalency at the wellhead or the plant gate. Although the 6:1 conversion ratio is an accepted norm in the oil and gas industry, it is not reflective of price or market value differentials between product types. Based on current commodity prices, the value ratio between natural gas and oil is significantly different than the 6:1 ratio based on energy equivalency. Accordingly, a 6:1 conversion ratio may be misleading as an indication of value.

THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE INC. HAS NEITHER APPROVED NOR DISAPPROVED THE CONTENTS OF THIS PRESS RELEASE. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

Contacts:

Blackbird Energy Inc.

Garth Braun

Chairman, CEO, and President

(403) 500-5550

gbraun@blackbirdenergyinc.com

www.blackbirdenergyinc.com






OTTAWA (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar slipped against its major rivals in the Asian session on Tuesday, with investors adopting a cautious stance ahead of U.K. general elections, the European Central Bank meeting and a testimony by former FBI Director James Comey in the United States - all scheduled for Thursday.



Comey is set to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Russia investigation. He is likely to be grilled by the Committee about the conversations with the U.S. President Donald Trump related to the ongoing investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.



Investors also keep an eye on the Federal Reserve's FOMC meeting next week, with most economists expecting a 25 bps rate hike.



U.S. factory orders fell for the first time in five months in April, whereas services sector activity slowed in May, separate reports showed on Monday. Recent downbeat data suggested that the Fed is likely to adopt a more cautious stance for rate hikes beyond June.



According to the latest Survation poll conducted on Friday and Saturday, British Prime Minister Theresa May's lead over the opposition Labour Party has shrunk from 17 to just 1 percentage point.



The ECB is widely forecast to keep monetary policy unchanged, although investors expect it to tweak its guidance to keep up with the eurozone's broad-based and resilient economic recovery.



The greenback showed mixed performance on Monday. While the currency rose against the franc and the euro, it held steady against the Japanese yen. Against the pound, the greenback weakened.



The greenback slipped to 109.60 against the Japanese yen, its lowest since April 25. Continuation of the greenback's downtrend may see it challenging support around the 108.00 region.



The greenback remained lower against the Swiss franc with the pair trading at 0.9635. At Monday's close, the pair was valued at 0.9653. On the downside, the greenback is likely to locate 0.95 as the next support level.



The greenback that closed Monday's trading at 1.1254 against the euro dropped to 1.1278. The greenback is poised to locate support around the 1.14 mark.



The greenback slipped to near a 2-week low of 1.2950 against the pound, compared to 1.2901 hit late New York Monday. The greenback is seen challenging support around the 1.32 level.



The Report on Jobs compiled by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and IHS Markit showed that U.K. permanent job placements grew at the fastest pace in just over two years in April.



The number of people placed in permanent jobs increased notably in May and the rate of expansion was the fastest for 25 months.



The greenback dropped to a 6-day low of 1.3443 against the loonie, while reaching over a 3-month low of 0.7175 against the kiwi. Further weakness may take the greenback to support levels of around 1.32 against the loonie and 0.73 against the kiwi.



Looking ahead, Eurozone Sentix investor sentiment index for June and retail sales for April are due in the European session.



At 10:00 am ET, Canada Ivey PMI for May is set for release.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
Duco, the global provider of self-service data normalization and reconciliation services, today gave an update on its year-end results. Highlights include well over 100% growth in annually recurring revenue (ARR), a 50% increase in new clients, and significant development of the firm's flagship reconciliation platform Duco Cube. Alongside this, Duco increased its footprint in New York and London, adding key senior management and personnel focused on research and development, client services and commercial expansion. By using Duco Cube, clients have saved over 5000 man hours per day in manual reconciliation time.

Demand for Duco Cube was driven by firms wanting to reduce costs, eliminate manual controls and address data challenges with legacy systems. Business in the UK and Europe saw growth due to regulatory requirements for EMIR, MiFID and the upcoming MiFID II, alongside supporting system migration activities. US growth was fueled by take-up in listed derivatives and the buy side. At the macro level, Duco benefitted from Software as a Service (SaaS) platforms becoming a mainstream option for the financial services industry.

The company extended its strategic agreements with several existing clients and made a number of key wins across global banks, brokers and buy side firms. In addition, Duco expanded into new industry verticals, signing a major international distribution agreement with CME Group, as well as new commercial deals with fund administrators and payments firms. The company also extended its global support structure, setting up a data center in Luxembourg following the deployment of Duco Cube for Societe Generale Bank Trust. This continues to fuel Duco's investment and international expansion strategy.

Christian Nentwich, CEO of Duco, said: "We have had yet another strong year and Duco is well positioned for further growth. As cost pressures, upcoming regulation and the search for efficiency continue to shape the industry, there is an ongoing shift from legacy processes to using agile, quick-to-deploy technology. We continue to set the standard in this space with a SaaS-based platform that's live in 24 hours from contract signature, with return on investment in 30 days. Only Duco provides a self-service reconciliation tool that truly puts business users in control."

About Duco

Duco's mission is to make managing data easy. As the market leader in self-service reconciliation, Duco empowers users to deal with complex data in a fraction of the time required by traditional systems. New clients are live in 24 hours, with reconciliations in production in 7 days and return on investment in 30 days. Customers include international banks, brokers, exchanges, hedge funds, asset managers, fund administrators, payments companies and corporates. Headquartered in London, with offices in New York and Luxembourg, Duco serves clients throughout Europe, the United States, Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Australia.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170606005125/en/

Contacts:

Duco

Chris Peacock

+44 (0)203 111 9294

press@du.co
DUBAI, UAE, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Astellas has announced that a wide selection of abstracts highlighting the company's diverse oncology portfolio across a broad range of cancers have been accepted for oral or poster presentation at the 2017 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, June 2-6 in Chicago. On a yearly basis the meeting brings together more than 30,000 oncology professionals from around the world to discuss state-of-the-art treatment modalities, new therapies and ongoing controversies in the field, as well as sharing best practices in treating different cancer types.

"We are thrilled to announce our largest presence to date at this year's ASCO meeting," said Steven Benner, M.D., Senior Vice President and Global Therapeutic Area Head, Oncology Development, Astellas. "We believe these data reflect significant progress in our pursuit to create innovative treatment options for some of the most difficult-to-treat cancers and further underscore our ongoing commitment to becoming a world-class oncology company enabling patients with cancer to focus on living."

In just over a decade, Astellas has built a leadership position and substantial oncology pipeline through a thoughtful blend of investments in organic research and development (R&D), strategic business development and strong collaborative partnerships with some of the most renowned institutions internationally.

Markus Weber, General Manager, Astellas MENA/SSA (Middle East, North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa) commented: "We are pleased to be at the forefront of research in the field of oncology and proud to be able to expand the available treatment options to patients. Our growing presence at ASCO is a clear demonstration of our commitment to turn innovative science into value for cancer patients."

This year a record number of Astellas abstracts have been accepted to be presented at ASCO, including new research presented across 10 individual studies, showcasing a wealth of new research and data covering a variety of cancers, including prostate cancer, acute myeloid leukemia, gastric cancer, urothelial cancer, lung cancer and breast cancer.

About Astellas

Astellas Pharma Inc., based in Tokyo, Japan, is a company dedicated to improving the health of people around the world through the provision of innovative and reliable pharmaceutical products. We focus on Urology, Oncology, Immunology, Nephrology and Neuroscience as prioritized therapeutic areas while advancing new therapeutic areas and discovery research leveraging new technologies/modalities. We are also creating new value by combining internal capabilities and external expertise in the medical/healthcare business. Astellas is on the forefront of healthcare change to turn innovative science into value for patients. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.astellas.com/en.

AboutAstellas MENA/SSA

Astellas MENA/SSA is an affiliate of Astellas Pharma Inc. and aims to make a positive difference to the patients in the Middle Eastand Africa region, which is a key territory for Astellas. The new regional affiliate in Dubai, United Arab Emirates brings together a team of highly skilled people, with local knowledge and long-standing professional experience in the region. The regional affiliate serves as a management hub to further expand and develop Astellas' business activities across the MENA/SSA territory. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.astellasmenassa.com



Contacts for inquiries or additional information:

Astellas Pharma DMCC

Simona Sutaviciute - Regional Communications Manager

E-mail: simona.sutaviciute@astellas.com



Instinctif Partners

Ibrahim Mougharbel

E-mail: Ibrahim.Mougharbel@instinctif.com

Tel: +971-(0)-55-246-8846


Regulatory News:

Subsequent to the request of AFD to the banking supervision authorities to modify its status under French law from credit institution to "societe de financement", on june 30th 2017, the European Central Bank has approved the modification. From this day forward, the status of AFD is societe de financement .

This change does not affect the EPIC status (Public industrial and commercial institution) under French law. All AFD's missions and objectives remain unchanged with the support of the French State.

Agence francaise de developpement MondeEnCommun Le siege 5 rue Roland Barthes 75598 Paris cedex 12 t. +33 1 53 44 31 31 f. 33 1 44 87 99 39 afd.fr Etablissement public Dotation de Dotation de 2 807 998 856 euros N TVA intracommunautaire FR 80 775 665 599 RCS Paris B 775 665 599

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170702005065/en/

Contacts:

Agence francaise de developpement

Francoise Lombard, 01 53 44 40 14


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 24 November 2017

Asia Wealth Group Holdings Limited

("Asia Wealth" or the "Company")

UNAUDITED INTERIM RESULTS

FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 31 AUGUST 2017

The Board is pleased to report the unaudited interim results of Asia Wealth Group Holdings Limited ("Accounts") for the period from 1 March 2017 to 31 August 2017. These Accounts have been prepared under IFRS and will shortly be available via the Company's website, www.asiawealthgroup.com.

Chairman's Statement

Financial Highlights

The highlights for the six months ended 31 August 2017 include:

Consolidated revenue of US$1,146,815 (2016: US$600,649 )

Gross profit for Meyer Group of US$433,858 (representing a gross margin of 38%) (2016: US$254,371 and 43%)

Cash at bank and on hand of US$1.2m at 31 August 2017 (2016: $1.4m ).

The group reports a profit after tax of US$0.162 million on sales of US$1.147 million for the six months ended 31 August 2017. These sales were generated by the Company's wholly owned subsidiary, Meyer Asset Management Ltd., BVI. This improvement in profitability was principally caused by revenue increase.

Cash balance has increased by US$299,065 and net assets by US$262,415, respectively, since 1st March 2017.

The Board has taken and is continuing to forge new revenue generating relationships, as well as expanding revenue creating opportunities, in both new avenues and existing. We continue to seek alliances and partnerships with firms in the same and new sectors.

Asia Wealth continues to seek investment opportunities in the Asia region and is currently engaged in multiple discussions on various potential acquisitions. The Directors continue to run the business in a cost-effective manner.

The Accounts have not been audited or reviewed by the Company's auditors.

The Directors of the Company accept responsibility for the content of this announcement.

Richard Cayne

Executive Chairman

Contacts:

Richard Cayne (Executive Chairman)

Asia Wealth Group Holdings Limited, +66 2 2611 2561

www.asiawealthgroup.com

Guy Miller (Corporate Advisers)

Peterhouse Corporate Finance Limited, +44 20 7220 9795

ASIA WEALTH GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED

Consolidated Statement of Financial Position

At 31 August 2017

All amounts stated in U.S. Dollars

Note 31-Aug-17 31-Aug-16 Non-current assets Fixed assets 3 26,813 36,974 Investment in property 389,135 - 415,948 36,974 Current assets Cash and cash equivalents 1,168,212 1,368,304 Trade receivables 241,404 197,896 Loans and other receivables 115,348 - Due from related party 18,619 - Prepayments and other assets 105,550 75,626 Available-for-sale investment 359,926 358,208 2,009,059 2,000,034 Total assets $ 2,425,007 $ 2,037,008 Equity Share capital 4 913,496 913,496 Share-based payment reserve 5 - 35,423 Consolidation reserve 405,997 405,997 Translation reserve 1,512 (12,507) Retained earnings (127,339) (284,436) Total equity 1,193,666 1,057,973 Non-current liabilities Liabilities under finance lease agreement 6 13,267 21,205 Current liabilities Trade payables 1,115,220 951,222 Due to related parties 29,082 - Liabilities under finance lease agreement 6 8,845 8,482 Deferred revenue 2,572 - Other payables and accrued expenses 62,355 (1,874) 1,218,074 957,830 Total liabilities 1,231,341 979,035 Total equity and liabilities $ 2,425,007 $ 2,037,008

ASIA WEALTH GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED

Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income

For the half year ended 31 August 2017

All amounts stated in U.S. Dollars

Note Mar - Aug 2017 Mar - Aug 2016 Revenue 1,146,815 600,649 Expenses Commission 695,430 338,235 Professional fees 138,923 66,863 Wages and salaries 13,392 79,295 Directors' fees 7 101,478 101,106 Travel and entertainment 27,591 24,800 Office expenses 22,186 4,231 Rent 8,252 18,556 Marketing expenses 5,637 6,427 Communication 2,311 2,804 Depreciation 3 16,196 7,117 Bank charges 4,975 3,331 Sundry expenses 16,015 5,905 1,052,386 658,670 Net profit/(loss) from operations 94,429 (58,021) Other income/(expense) Foreign exchange gain/(loss) 63,924 43,334 Interest Income 4,812 5,329 Investment income - - 68,736 48,663 Net profit/(loss) before finance cost 163,165 (9,358) Finance cost Interest expense (721) (1,699) Net profit/(loss) before taxation 162,444 (11,057) Taxation 8 - - Total comprehensive income (loss) $ 162,444 $ (11,057)

ASIA WEALTH GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED

Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity

For the half year ended 31 August 2017

All amounts stated in U.S. Dollars

31-Aug-17 Share Capital Share-based Payment Reserve Consolidation Reserve Translation Reserve Retained Earnings Non-Controlling interest Equity Number US$ Balances at beginning of 1 Mar 2017 11,433,433 913,496 10,708 405,997 (9,317) (372,081) (17,552) 931,251 Issuance of share capital - - - - - - - - Share-based payment expired - - (10,708) - - 10,708 - - Issuance of share warrants - - - - - - - - Disposal of subsidiary - - - - - 71,590 17,552 89,142 Translation differences - - - - 10,829 - - 10,829 Total comprehensive income - - - - - 162,444 - 162,444 Balances at end of 31 Aug 2017 11,433,433 913,496 - 405,997 1,512 (127,339) - 1,193,666 31-Aug-16 Share Capital Share-based Payment Reserve Consolidation Reserve Translation Reserve Retained Earnings Non-Controlling interest Equity Number US$ Balances at beginning of 1 Mar 2016 11,433,433 913,496 35,423 405,997 (15,919) (302,692) (1,201) 1,035,104 Issuance of share capital - - - - - - - - Issuance of share options - - - - - - - - Issuance of share warrants - - - - - - - - Translation differences - - - - 3,412 29,313 1,201 33,926 Total comprehensive income - - - - - (11,057) - (11,057) Balances at end of 31 Aug 2016 11,433,433 913,496 35,423 405,997 (12,507) (284,436) - 1,057,973

ASIA WEALTH GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED

Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

For the half year ended 31 August 2017

All amounts stated in U.S. Dollars
PUNE, India, December 1, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Exoskeleton Market is forecast to reach $2,810.5 million by 2023 from $299.8 million in 2017 at a CAGR of 45.2% during (2017-2023) driven by growing demand from healthcare sector for robotic rehabilitation, advancements in robotic technologies and huge investments for the development of exoskeleton technology; Americas was the largest shareholder in 2016 whereas APAC would be the fastest-growing region.

Browse 65 Market Data Tables and 37 Figures spread through 148 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Exoskeleton Market by Component (Hardware and Software), Type (Powered and Passive), Mobility (Stationary and Mobile), Body Part (Lower, Upper, and Full Body), Vertical (Healthcare, Defense, and Industrial), and Geography - Global Forecast to 2023"http://www.reportsnreports.com/reports/1245411-exoskeleton-market-by-component-hardware-and-software-type-powered-and-passive-mobility-stationary-and-mobile-body-part-lower-upper-and-full-body-vertical-healthcare-defense-and-industrial-and-geo-st-to-2023.html.

The key players in the exoskeleton market include Bionik Laboratories (Canada), B-Temia (Canada), CYBERDYNE (Japan), Ekso Bionics (US), Focal Meditech (Netherlands), DIH Technologies (China), Hyundai Motor (South Korea), Lockheed Martin (US), Meditouch (Israel), Ottobock (Germany), Re Walk Robotics (Israel), Exhauss (France), Fourier Intelligence (China), GOGOA Mobility Robots (Spain), P&S Mechanics (South Korea), suitX (US), ATOUN (Japan), Daiya Industry Co. (Japan), Honda Motor (Japan), MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES (Japan), PARKER HANNIFIN (US), Rex Bionics (New Zealand), Gobio Robot (France), Myomo (US), and Wandercraft (France).

The Americas held the largest share of the exoskeleton market in 2016. The Americas being the early adopter of exoskeletons for all major verticals such as healthcare, industrial, and defense and a home to some well-known players of the exoskeleton market has the maximum demand for exoskeletons. The market in APAC is expected to grow at the highest CAGR between 2017 and 2023. APAC is likely to adopt exoskeletons for almost all major verticals such as healthcare, industrial, and defense during the forecast period. As the elderly and disabled population in APAC countries, namely China and Japan is on the rise, the region is expected to employ exoskeletons for the rehabilitation and personal assistance applications.

Inquire for DISCOUNT on "Exoskeleton Market - Global Forecast to 2023" research report at http://www.reportsnreports.com/contacts/discount.aspx?name=1245411.

The exoskeleton market for powered exoskeletons is expected to grow at a higher CAGR between 2017 and 2023. At present, powered exoskeletons are used mainly in the healthcare vertical to assist people with disabilities, but with the introduction of cost-effective system and because of its additional benefits over the passive ones, powered exoskeletons will find its way in several new verticals, ultimately resulting in the high growth of the segment during the forecast period.

The Exoskeleton Market for full body exoskeletons is expected to grow at the highest CAGR between 2017 and 2023. This is mainly because of the growing interest of the government of various countries toward the development of full body exoskeletons owing to the advantages these exoskeletons provide in the defense sector. The security and defense sectors of several countries are investing heavily for the development of technology to further strengthen their security forces on borders.

Healthcare vertical held a larger share of the overall exoskeleton market in 2016. Exoskeletons are being widely deployed at rehabilitation centers for therapies and are used by the people with disability for personal assistance; owing to this, the healthcare vertical accounted for the largest share of the exoskeleton market in 2016. Rehabilitation robotic systems include assistive robots, orthotics, and prosthetics exoskeletons.

Order a copy of "Exoskeleton Market - Global Forecast to 2023" research report at http://www.reportsnreports.com/purchase.aspx?name=1245411.

Mobile exoskeletons held a larger share of the exoskeleton market in 2016. Mobile exoskeletons accounted for a larger share of the overall exoskeleton market in 2016. The basic concept to use exoskeletons is to provide mobility to people, who can be achieved only by using mobile exoskeletons; hence, there is more demand for mobile exoskeletons than the stationary ones.

Factors such as increasing adoption of human augmentation in industrial and military sectors, introduction of soft actuators, and adoption of the technology by insurance companies in their plans are expected to generate opportunities for the players in the exoskeleton market. The breakup of primaries conducted during the study is depicted below.

By Company Type: Tier1 - 55%, Tier 2 - 20%, and Tier 3 - 25%

By Designation: C-Level Executives - 75% and Directors - 25%

By Region: Americas - 10%, Europe - 20%, APAC - 40%, and RoW - 30%

Another research titled Medical Robots Market Global Forecasts to 2021 says, the medical robots market is projected to reach $12.80 billion by 2021 from $4.90 billion in 2016, growing at a CAGR of 21.1% in the next five years (2016 to 2021). Companies such as Intuitive Surgical Inc. (U.S.), Stryker Corporation (U.S.), Mazor Robotics Ltd. (Israel), Hocoma AG (Switzerland), Hansen Medical Inc. (U.S.), Accuray Incorporated (U.S.), Omnicell Inc. (U.S.), Ekso Bionics Holdings Inc. (U.S.), ARxIUM (U.S.), Kirby Lester LLC (U.S.) have been profiled in this 146 pages research report available athttp://www.reportsnreports.com/purchase.aspx?name=276641.

Explore more reports on Semiconductor and Electronics Market athttp://www.reportsnreports.com/market-research/semiconductor-and-electronics/.

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CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The euro drifted lower against its major counterparts in the early European session on Tuesday. The euro hit a weekly low of 123.23 against the yen and near a 5-week low of 1.0843 against the Swiss franc, from its early highs of 124.40 and 1.0865, respectively. The single currency edged down to 1.1242 against the greenback and a session's low of 0.8692 against the pound, off its previous highs of 1.1278 and 0.8731, respectively. The European currency hit a 5-day low of 1.5128 against the loonie and near a 4-week low of 1.5683 against the kiwi, after having advanced to 1.5187 and 1.5804, respectively in early deals. Reversing from an early high of 1.5110 against the aussie, the euro eased to 1.5027. The next possible support for the euro is seen around 1.49 against the aussie, 1.50 against the loonie, 1.55 against the kiwi, 122.00 against the yen, 1.07 against the franc and 1.11 against the greenback. 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.
Announcement



6 June 2017



Coloplast - transactions in connection with share buy-back programme



As mentioned in Announcement No. 2/2017 Coloplast has initiated the second part of the share buy-back programme totalling up to DKK 1bn. This part of the programme of DKK500m is expected to take place from 27 February, 2017 to 28 August, 2017.



The buy-back programme will be structured in accordance with Article 5 of Regulation No. 596/2014 of the European Parliament and Council of 16 April 2014 (MAR) and Regulation 2016/1052, also referred to as the "Safe Harbour" rules, which ensure that the company is protected against violation of insider legislation in connection with the buyback programme.



The following transactions have been executed during 29 May - 2 June 2017:



Date Number of Buying Amount DKK shares price -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 29 May 2017 3,495 555.87 1,942,756.56 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 30 May 2017 0 0.00 0.00 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 31 May 2017 0 0.00 0.00 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 June 2017 0 0.00 0.00 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2 June 2017 0 0.00 0.00 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Accumulated until now under the 537,341 527.60 283,503,626.97 programme --------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Henceforth, Coloplast owns 3,482,693 treasury B shares of DKK 1 equal to 1.61% of the company's total share capital.



An overview showing the transaction data for the period 29 May - 2 June 2017 is enclosed.



Kind regards,



Investor Relations



Coloplast A/S



Tel. +45 4911 1800



For further information, please contact



Investors and analysts



Ellen Bjurgert



Director, Investor Relations



Tel. +45 4911 1800/+45 4911 3376



Email: dkebj@coloplast.com



Rasmus Srensen



Sr. Manager, Investor Relations



Tel. +45 4911 1800/ +45 4911 1786



Email: dkraso@coloplast.com



Press and the media



Dennis Kaysen



Director, Corp. Communication



Tel. 4911 2608



Email: dkdk@coloplast.com



This announcement is available in a Danish and an English language version. In the event of discrepancies, the Danish version shall prevail.



Coloplast develops products and services that make life easier for people with very personal and private medical conditions. Working closely with the people who use our products, we create solutions that are sensitive to their special needs. We call this intimate healthcare.



Our business includes ostomy care, urology and continence care and wound and skin care. We operate globally and employ more than 11,000 people.



The Coloplast logo is a registered trademark of Coloplast A/S.  2017-06 All rights reserved Coloplast A/S, 3050 Humlebk, Denmark.



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Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
6 June 2017

PipeHawk plc

("PipeHawk" or the "Company")

Directorate change

The Company announces that the Board has accepted the resignation of Bob Tallentire as a non-executive director of the Company, with immediate effect. After many years acting as Managing Director of Adien and Finance Director of the Group, Bob took on a prestigious position with a leading firm of international corporate finance advisers in March 2016 and remained as a non-executive director.

Gordon Watt, Chairman of PipeHawk, stated "Bob's steady hand at the financial tiller has helped the Group through some very tough times and I would like to thank him for his significant contribution to the Group's progress."

Enquiries:
PALM BEACH, Florida, August 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

From a recent article published on Bloomberg.com, in the midst of a tumultuous month in U.S. politics and global security, traders have pushed gold futures to near a nine-month high. But if the history of gold's relationship with oil is any guide, that surge may last longer than the flare-up in geopolitical tension. The precious metal has rallied 11 percent in 2017 to trade at $1,294.40, compared to a 10 percent slump in crude. Miners with developments and recent market performance of note include: StrikePoint Gold Inc. (OTC: STKXF) (TSX-V: SKP), Pretium Resources Inc. (NYSE: PVG) (TSX: PVG), Yamana Gold Inc. (NYSE: AUY) (TSX: YRI), Kinross Gold Corporation (NYSE: KGC) (TSX: K), Eldorado Gold Corporation (NYSE: EGO) (TSX: EDL).

StrikePoint Gold Inc. (OTCQB: STKXF) (TSX.V: SKP.V) is pleased to report encouraging initial assays from grab samples collected from across the Pluto Property in the Kluane Region of the Yukon Territory. A total of 68 surface sample assays have been completed to date by ALS Laboratories and results reflect the polymetallic nature of the Pluto property. Gold assays ranged from trace to 48.4g/t Au, including a separate sample of 36.3g/t Au. The highest-grade samples were collected from the Charon target, which is the current focus of a RAB drill program. Read this and more news for StrikePoint Gold at:http://www.marketnewsupdates.com/news/stkxf.html

Samples from within the same area also returned elevated copper values copper, with results ranging from trace to 1.23%. Copper mineralization appears to be localized in schist units, while gold is associated with arsenopyrite and pyrite within marble and skarn layers. Surface mineralization at Charon has a strike of 1.2km west to east, and 400m north to south, and is still open on all sides.

In addition to the gold and copper values, this latest set of results has returned silver assays from trace to 333g/t. The high grade silver sample runs 2.07g/t gold and represents a significant easterly step out of 2 km from the Charon Zone. Samples collected from between this location and the central Charon area are still pending assays.

Extensive mapping and study of the area since mid-July has shown that mineralization is not linked to a single skarn layer as initially thought, but instead there is evidence of multiple lithologically controlled beds that are stacked in section, with the presence of sulphide mineralization throughout. These units align well with resistivity/conductivity data gathered during a Ground Induced Polarization (IP) Survey by Groundtruth Exploration and are proving useful for drill targeting.

In other mining market performance of note from Monday:

Pretium Resources Inc. (NYSE: PVG) was up slightly in afterhours trading on Monday after closing down slightly at $8.55 on over 1.1 million shares traded by the market close. The Company released recent highlights from the second quarter of 2017 and commissioning updates for its high-grade gold Brucejack Mine. During commissioning in June and grade ramp-up in July a total of 25,392 ounces of gold were produced from low-grade stockpiles, development muck and, in July, the addition of stope ore. Gold sales have commenced. Pretium Resources maintains listings on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: PVG.TO) and the New York Stock Exchange (PVG)

Yamana Gold Inc. (NYSE: AUY) closed up over 2% at $2.76 on Monday on over 9.5 million shares by the market close. Yamana Gold operates as a gold producer in Canada, Brazil, Chile, and Argentina. The company explores for precious metals, gold, silver, and copper. It primarily holds interests in the Chapada, El Penon, Canadian Malartic, Gualcamayo, Minera Florida, Jacobina, and Brio Gold mines. Yamana Gold maintains listings on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: YRI.TO) and the New York Stock Exchange (AUY).

Kinross Gold Corporation (NYSE: KGC) was up slightly in afterhours trading on Monday after closing up at $4.28 on over 7.9 million shares traded by the market close. Kinross is a senior gold mining company with mines and projects in the United States, Brazil, Russia, Mauritania, Chile and Ghana. Our focus is on delivering value-based on the core principles of operational excellence, balance sheet strength, disciplined growth and responsible mining. Kinross maintains listings on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: K.TO) and the New York Stock Exchange (KGC).

Eldorado Gold Corporation (NYSE: EGO) also was up slightly in afterhours trading on Monday after closing up at $1.91 on over 3.7 million shares traded by the market close. Eldorado Gold Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration, development, and mining of gold properties in Turkey, Greece, Brazil, Serbia, and Romania. The company also explores for iron, silver, lead, and zinc. Eldorado Gold Corporation maintains listings on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: EDL.TO) and the New York Stock Exchange (EGO).

DISCLAIMER:MarketNewsUpdates.com (MNU) is a third party publisher and news dissemination service provider, which disseminates electronic information through multiple online media channels.MNU is NOT affiliated in any manner with any company mentioned herein.MNU and its affiliated companies are a news dissemination solutions provider and are NOT a registered broker/dealer/analyst/adviser, holds no investment licenses and may NOT sell, offer to sell or offer to buy any security.MNU's market updates, news alerts and corporate profiles are NOT a solicitation or recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities.The material in this release is intended to be strictly informational and is NEVER to be construed or interpreted as research material.All readers are strongly urged to perform research and due diligence on their own and consult a licensed financial professional before considering any level of investing in stocks.All material included herein is republished content and details which were previously disseminated by the companies mentioned in this release.MNU is not liable for any investment decisions by its readers or subscribers.Investors are cautioned that they may lose all or a portion of their investment when investing in stocks.For current services performed MNU has been compensated twenty three hundred dollars for news coverage of the current press release issued by StrikePoint Gold Inc.. by a non-affiliated third party.MNU HOLDS NO SHARES OF ANY COMPANY NAMED IN THIS RELEASE.

This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "may", "future", "plan" or "planned", "will" or "should", "expected," "anticipates", "draft", "eventually" or "projected". You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in a company's annual report on Form 10-K or 10-KSB and other filings made by such company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and MNU undertakes no obligation to update such statements.



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Las Vegas, Nevada--(Newsfile Corp. - September 27, 2017) - Defense Technologies International Corp. (OTC Pink: DTII) announced today that the company will be demonstrating its terrorist security technology at schools and universities starting in October.

Unlike other scanners that are used in public facilities, the Passive Security Scan does NOT use X-rays to detect threats. The "Passive Security Scan" technology is based on the 'Earth Magnetic Fields' has no emission whatsoever and is therefore extremely safe and harmless to the person passing through our portal.

"Serious health concerns have been raised over the repeated exposure to X-rays from other scanning machines currently in use. We believe that our Passive Security Scan is the best solution to help protect students and faculty members alike from harmful terrorist attacks," stated Defense Technologies International CEO Merrill W. Moses.

The Company's 'Passive Security Scan' is a unique "next generation" walk-through detector scanning unit. This patented and trademarked passive scanning system allows for detecting and identifying concealed threats such as guns, knives, etc.

"We are excited to demonstrate our scanning technology for use at elementary schools, high schools, and universities in Canada and the United States," added Moses.

In addition, the Company is now offering "distributor" opportunities for its security technology throughout the United States and all the Provinces and Territories of Canada.

Our Website: http://www.defensetechnologiesintl.com/

Video of the Passive Security Scan Portal: https://youtu.be/nypDRF2xhlA

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking" statements. Forward looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change.

Contact:

Defense Technologies International

Merrill W. Moses,

President & CEO

Phone : 800 520-9485

Email: dtii@defensetechnologiesintl.com
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 31, 2017) - Silver One is pleased to announce that it has received permitting from the Bureau of Land Management ("BLM") to commence drilling of the historic leach pads at its past producing Candelaria silver project in Nevada. Drilling is expected to commence in November 2017.

Greg Crowe, President and CEO of Silver One commented: "With the closing of the previously announced C$4.3 million financing and the receipt of the BLM permit, Silver One is now in a strong position to advance its flagship Candelaria past producing silver project in Nevada. Drill testing of the old leach pads, which have a previously disclosed historic inferred resource (see table below) of over 48 million ounces of silver averaging 1.29 oz/t silver (40 g/t), will be our first priority. Drill samples will be submitted for analytical and metallurgical studies to assess the potential of reprocessing the old leach pads to recover silver in a near-term leaching operation. Silver One will also be exploring the potential for down-dip high grade silver mineralization north of the two past producing open pits and historic resource area, where drill intercepts as high as 670 g/t (21.4 oz/t) over 13.7 metres were encountered. Additionally, numerous old workings that occur along strike from the open pits will be examined to determine the potential of adding new silver resources at Candelaria." The historical resource estimate was reported by SSR Mining Inc. (formerly, Silver Standard Resources Inc.) in a technical report titled "Candelaria Project Technical Report" dated May 24, 2001 (filed on EDAR on June 20, 2002), prepared by Pincock Allen & Holt. The historical mineral resource estimate used "measured mineral resource", "indicated mineral resource" and "inferred mineral resource", which are categories set out in NI 43-101. Accordingly, Silver One considers these historical estimates reliable as well as relevant as it represents key targets for exploration work by Silver One. The qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as a current mineral resource. Silver One is not treating this historical estimates as current mineral resources.

Further, the historical resource estimate is set forth in the table below:

Candelaria Project Historical Resource Estimate Area/Type Classification Tons Factored Ag Grade

(opt Ag total ) Sol. Au Grade

(opt Au soluble ) AqEq Grade

(opt AgEq total ) Ag Ounces

(Ag total ) Aq Equiv. Ounces

(AqEq total ) Mount Diablo Measured 3,391,000 4.44 0.004 4.67 15,054,000 15,838,000 Indicated 10,231,185 2.84 0.003 3.01 29,005,000 30,796,000 Subtotal, Measured + Indicated 13,623,000 3.23 0.003 3.42 44,060,000 46,633,000















Mount Diablo Inferred 5,191,000 2.12 0.003 2.30 11,015,000 11,939,000 Northern Belle 9,162,000 2.26 0.002 2.37 20,661,000 21,714,000 Leach Pads 37,328,000 1.29 --- 1.29 48,153,000 48,153,000 L.G. Stockpiles 4,000,000 0.75 --- 0.75 3,000,000 3,000,000

Subtotal. Inferred 55,681,000 1.49 0.002 1.52 82,829,000 84,806,000

Notes

1) Lode resources tabulated at a 0.5 opt Ag soluble cutoff grades, with only Ag total shown in this table.

2) Leach pads and low grade stockpile resources tabulated for entire accumulation of material.

3) Total silver grades factored from soluble silver grades using regression formulas developed by Snowden.

4) Silver equivalent grade includes the contribution from the gold grade (soluble) using an Ag:Au equivalency ratio of 57.8:1.

The data base for the historical resource estimate consists of:

on the Mount Diablo Deposit consisted of 538 drill holes by previous owners and 10 drill holes by Silver Standard Resources Inc. For drill holes that were twinned, the author used the lower of the two values assigned to the original holes. The mineral resource estimate used a kriging estimation method to establish zones with a cut-off grade of 0.5 opt Ag. Ordinary kriging was used to interpolate grades in the block model. The block models were set up with block dimensions of 25 feet by 25 feet in plan and 10 feet in height. The maximum search range used in the higher-grade zone was 235 feet, in the lower grade zone it was 1,000 feet and in the background zone it was 350 feet. Block models more than 300 feet from the nearest composite only constituted 3 percent of the total number of estimated blocks and were assigned to an inferred category, on the Northern Belle Deposit consisted of 226 drill holes by previous owners, of which a portion of these holes were duplicated for the Mount Diablo Deposit database. The mineral resource estimate used a kriging estimation method to establish zones with a cut-off grade of 0.5 opt Ag. The mineral resource estimate used multiple indicator kriging to interpolate grades in the block model. Block models were set up with block dimensions of 50 feet by 50 feet in plan and 20 feet in height. The maximum search range used in the higher-grade zone was 85 feet, in the intermediate-grade zone was 120 feet and the lower-grade zone was 140 feet and in the lower undifferentiated material below the current pit topography was 260 feet. Block models more than 300 feet from the nearest composite only constituted 3 percent of the total number of estimated blocks and were assigned to an inferred category; on the Leach Pads consisted of 24,633,000 tons located on Leach Pad 1 and 12,695,000 on Leach Pad 2. The estimate for Leach Pad 1 is based on the fact that silver production indicates 51.5% of total silver was recovered by heap leaching operation, while 81.2% of the soluble silver contact was recovered. Further, the estimate for Leach Pad 2 is based on the fact that silver production indicates 42.4% of total silver was recovered by heap leaching operation, while 71.3% of the soluble silver content was recovered; on the Low-Grade Stockpile is based on limited and incomplete data and documentation. Material placed on the on the stock piles ranged from 0.5 to 0.65 opt Ag,

To the knowledge of Silver One, there is no new data available since the calculation of the above historical resource estimate and no additional work has been done to upgrade or verify the historical resource estimate.

Candelaria was historically the highest-grade silver producer in the state of Nevada, averaging over 1,250 g/t silver from high-grade vein mining between the mid 1800s and the mid 1900s. Open pit mining operations were undertaken in the 1970s through 1998 by several companies including Nerco and Kinross. Kinross closed the open pit and leach operation in 1998 due to low silver prices. Leaching of the historic pads was not completed leaving a substantial amount of silver unprocessed. It is estimated that the property has produced over 68 million ounces of silver.

Qualified Person

The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Greg Crowe, P.Geo, President and CEO of Silver One, and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

About Silver One

Silver One is a silver focused exploration company that holds an option to acquire a 100% interest in the past producing Candelaria Silver Project, located in Nevada, from SSR Mining Inc. (formerly, Silver Standard Resources Inc.) and a 100% interest in three significant silver assets located in Mexico: Penasco Quemado in the State of Sonora, La Frazada in the State of Nayarit, and Pluton in the State of Durango. The Mexican mining assets were acquired from First Mining Financing, which became a key shareholder resulting from the transaction.

For more information, please contact:

Silver One Resources Inc.

Monica Hamm

VP, Investor Relations

Phone: (604) 974-5274

Email: info@silverone.com

Forward-Looking Statements

Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations. They are not guarantees of future performance. Silver One cautions that all forward looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond Silver One's control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to Silver One's limited operating history, ability to obtain sufficient financing to carry out its exploration and development objectives on the Candelaria Project, obtaining the necessary permits to carry out its activities and the need to comply with environmental and governmental regulations. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, Silver One undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information.

NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
DUBAI, UAE, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Montreal International Clinic offers non-surgical treatment options via PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma therapy) for immediate relief from back and joint pain.

In a move that is set to revolutionise the treatment of back pain, Montreal International Clinic spoke of its Platelet Rich Plasma therapy as an effective solution to this globally debilitating issue. In fact, back pain is so widespread, it is estimated that at any given point, a whopping 31 million Americans are suffering from it; additionally, it is listed as one of the top 10 global diseases and injuries. As of late, the condition is seen to be manifesting itself in youth 20-30 years of age mainly, owing to increasingly sedentary lifestyles brought on by the digital age, which is an understandably disturbing trend. Additionally, PRP was also encouragingly found to be instrumental in offering relief from joint pain.

Furthermore, back pain was also found to be the primary cause of limitations in activity and increased work absences. A majority of countries lose millions of work days annually to the problem, which eventually leads to a decline in productivity, output and inevitably revenue and profits. Moreover, the United Kingdom most recently reported that back pain was the leading cause of disability amongst young adults. Even more alarmingly, back pain is also the single principal root cause of disability around the world. The condition is also according to statistics, the second most common reason for seeking medical assistance. Coupled with persistent joint pain, one is left with a very subdued workforce indeed.

In Dubai, the situation is no different. Taking the UAE as a whole, it was revealed that back pain is one of the most rampant spinal conditions around. What is most dangerous about back pain is that in extremely severe cases, it can lead to conditions such as spinal degenerative disease, which directly affects the spinal column. Seeing as this is the control centre of your body aside from your brain, it is not a situation to be taken lightly. However,the majority of people who suffer from back pain often end up trying out treatments of their own accord, particularly if the pain is new such as through yoga, tai chi and pilates to name a few. Whilst these are generally good for your health, without proper medical guidance one could end up worsening the condition. The rest, end up opting for surgery and heavy medications, neither of which guarantee relief, particularly in the long-term.

In light of this, Montreal International Clinic has introduced a ground-breaking treatment option for sufferers of not only back pain but also joint pain, known as Platelet Rich Plasma therapy. For those who prefer other non-invasive, this should come as a welcome respite not just for these types of pains, but all musculoskeletal conditions. It is administered via an injection, with astonishing results. Patients have reported the ability to get back everyday life and activities with minimal and at times, no pain at all afterwards. One of the main characteristics of PRP, is that it makes use of the body's natural healing process which not only means long-lasting results, but also marginal intrusion. Platelets are a component of human blood, playing a vital role when it comes to healing injuries. Hence, in concentrated amounts it works highly successfully.

Dr. Ashraf who heads the Neuro Spinal Department at Montreal International Clinic stated, 'Back pain and joint pain are two of the most common conditions in Dubai, much like everywhere else in the world. Around 70% of the population is already suffering from them, and younger generations battle these ailments much earlier on in their lives thanks to video games and computers. Fortunately, we now have a less invasive solution with dependable results through PRP. It is a fantastic solution to curing both back and joint pain, allowing you to even walk out the very same day without any complications. If you would like to have a consultation and speak to us about it, you are most welcome to get in touch.'

ABOUT US

Montreal International Clinic is a leader in health and medical services, backed by a team of experienced, skilled and highly qualified medical professionals across various disciplines within the industry. Located in Dubai, we are known for our innovative treatments that are typically not found easily in other parts of the region. These, combined with personalised care and cutting-edge technologies allows us to offer highly effective solutions to each and every one of our patients for a broad spectrum of health conditions.

Press release submitted by: Be Unique Group, Digital Marketing Agency In Dubai

To find out more, contact us on http://www.montrealintclinic.com or +971-4-344-1132.
VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - June 06, 2017) - GoldQuest Mining Corp. (TSX VENTURE: GQC) (FRANKFURT: M1W) (BERLIN: M1W) ("GoldQuest" or the "Company") is pleased to report assay results from the latest 8-hole batch of drill holes from its ongoing ~10,000 metre drill program. The program is focused on identifying new gold systems and defining the extents of the mineralization at the recent Cachimbo Discovery. All drilling occurs within its 100% owned Tireo Concessions, which hosts the multi-million ounce Romero Project in the Dominican Republic.

Highlights:

TIR-17-28 intersected 53 metres of 1.00 g/t gold with higher grade sections including:

-- 3.1 metres grading 4.82 g/t gold, 27.9 g/t silver, 2.18% zinc and 0.21% copper

-- 0.3 metres grading 22.3 g/t gold, 76.8 g/t silver, 10.7% zinc and 1.02% copper

-- 3.1 metres grading 4.82 g/t gold, 27.9 g/t silver, 2.18% zinc and 0.21% copper -- 0.3 metres grading 22.3 g/t gold, 76.8 g/t silver, 10.7% zinc and 1.02% copper TIR-17-25 intersected 21.77 metres grading 1.83 g/t gold including:

-- 1.4 metres grading 9.13 g/t gold and 25 g/t silver

-- 1.4 metres grading 9.13 g/t gold and 25 g/t silver Drilling continues at Cachimbo and mineralization is open down dip and along strike

Drilling results are from a series of targets in three areas, Cachimbo, Mineros Ridge and Las Avispas, all encountering large epithermal/VMS systems, related to the collision of the Atlantic and Caribbean geological plates. The hole locations are shown on the map found here: http://www.goldquestcorp.com/images/Tireo_Exploration_Map_-May-2017.jpg

Assays from three holes at Cachimbo are reported herein. All three holes intersected gold within strata-bound polymetallic massive and semi-massive sulphide horizons and underlying vein quartz-sulfide vein stock works. Anomalous intersections were encountered in Holes TIR-17-22 (16 metres grading 1.2 g/t gold) and TIR-17-25 (22 metres grading 1.8 g/t gold) which were collared from the same platform as the Cachimbo discovery hole, TIR-16-09 intersecting 5 metres grading 14 g/t gold, 74 g/t silver, 12% zinc and 1% copper (see release dated January 10, 2017), and have extended the mineralization to the north-west and south-west. Hole TIR-17-28 (50 metres grading 1 g/t gold) was collared 100m east of the discovery hole platform. The mineralization appears to be dipping to the east and additional holes are tracing the extents eastwards and to the north and south, with assays pending. Drilling continues at Cachimbo and will test areas along strike to the south east and north west of the discovery.

At Mineros Ridge drilling intersected additional encouraging gold and base metal mineralization in hole TIR-17-19 which intersected 5 zones of anomalous gold and/or base metal mineralization. Further interpretation of the drilling is on-going to assess the next steps for the area.

While the holes at the Las Avispas targets to date have not revealed significant gold mineralization, the drilling has defined the presence of a volcanic eruptive centre similar to that observed at Romero in which the sulfide-impregnated key pebble breccia horizon recognized at all the district's major gold occurrences is present. The Company is interpreting the results and determining the next steps for the target.

"The current drill program continues to seek new discoveries along GoldQuest's 50 kilometre long concessions, as well as define more clearly our discoveries such as Cachimbo," commented Bill Fisher, GoldQuest's Executive Chairman. "Drilling has encountered anomalous gold and copper in new areas and we look forward to further results as we unlock the potential of the Tireo Belt."

Table 1. Tireo Drilling Intersections ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hole From (m) To (m) Length (m) Au g/t Ag g/t Cu % Zn % ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cachimbo Holes ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- TIR-17-22 68.4 94.0 25.6 0.44 5.95 0.03 0.17 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- and ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 95.53 106.68 11.15 0.52 2.83 0.02 0.14 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- and ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 119.23 135.0 15.77 1.15 6.66 0.02 0.10 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- and ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 143.28 146 2.72 0.58 1.52 0.01 0.03 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- and ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 147.7 150.5 2.8 0.35 1.45 0.01 0.05 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- and ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 152.5 155.05 2.55 0.77 0.90 0.01 0.02 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- and ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 159.0 161.0 2.0 0.24 1.00 0.01 0.02 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- TIR-17-25 47.24 50.0 2.76 1.46 10.27 0.11 0.60 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- and ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 67.23 68.76 1.53 0.50 18.73 0.01 0.03 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- and ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 75.02 96.79 21.77 1.83 9.36 0.02 0.14 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- including ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 80.42 81.83 1.41 9.13 25.00 0.05 0.10 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- TIR-17-28 128.78 181.75 52.97 1.00 6.40 0.04 0.33 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- including ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 128.78 131.85 3.07 4.82 27.93 0.21 2.18 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- including ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 131.54 131.85 0.31 22.30 76.80 1.02 10.70 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- and ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 173.67 179.83 6.16 2.81 7.42 0.01 0.06 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Los Mineros Holes ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- TIR-17-19 111.06 120.6 9.54 0.01 0.50 0.03 0.21 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- and ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 146.24 147.0 0.76 0.02 0.70 2.08 0.12 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- and ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 159.85 165.0 5.15 0.02 0.50 0.21 0.02 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- and ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 234.0 246.07 12.07 0.49 3.29 0.01 0.05 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- and ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 255.0 256.66 1.66 1.01 19.00 0.02 0.20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Las Avispas Holes ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Encouraging anomalous base metal results in holes TIR-17-20/21/23/24 Results ranged from 0.1 to 0.3% copper or zinc, intersected at various depths between 20 and over 300 metres down the hole and over lengths of 1 to 7 metres ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Interval grades are calculated using uncapped assays. Gold values did not exceed 22.3 g/t. Intervals may not represent true widths. There is insufficient drilling to determine the orientation of the mineralized zones at this time.

Table 2. Collar locations and hole directions for Tireo holes ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hole Easting Northing Elevation Azimuth Dip ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- TIR-17-19 262026 2105725 1322 225 -70 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- TIR-17-20 263674 2104486 1181 225 -70 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- TIR-17-21 264203 2104271 1070 225 -70 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- TIR-17-22 266307 2097280 1176 320 -70 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- TIR-17-23 264583 2103737 1166 225 -60 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- TIR-17-24 264583 2103737 1166 45 -78 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- TIR-17-25 266307 2097280 1176 200 -75 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- TIR-17-28 266395 2097276 1220 270 -70 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

QA/QC

As part of the Company's Quality Assurance and Quality Control procedures (QA/QC the Company reviews results from Certified Standard Reference materials (CRSM or Standards), which are inserted at a rate of five per 100 samples. Within the results disclosed herein there were no samples with results outside of the recommended tolerances for the standards. In GoldQuest's drill programs, composite intervals were chosen using a combination of geological criteria and mineralization, averaging around two metres core length. The drill core is cut in half with one half of the core sample shipped to ACME Labs by GoldQuest technicians. The remaining half of the core is kept at the Company core shack for future assay verification, or any other further investigation. Assays within intervals below the 0.005 g/t detection limit for Au were given a zero value. All drill samples were prepared and screened by ACME Labs (Vancouver); metallic fire assay and multi"element ICP"MS were assayed by ACME Analytical Laboratories (Vancouver). Gold values are determined by standard fire assay with an AA finish, or, if over 10.0 g/t Au, were re"assayed and completed with a gravimetric finish. Copper and zinc values exceeding 0.2% were re-assayed with a 4-acid digestion and AAS finish. When zinc values exceeded 10% a classic titration was carried out for zinc. QA/QC included the insertion and continual monitoring of numerous standards, blanks and duplicates into the sample stream, at random intervals within each batch. The comprehensive GoldQuest Quality Assurance and Quality Control protocols can be viewed on GoldQuest's website at: http://www.goldquestcorp.com/index.php/corporate/corporate"governance.

The information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Jeremy Niemi, P. Geo., Vice President, Exploration of GoldQuest and a Qualified Person for the technical information in this press release under NI 43"101 standards.

About GoldQuest

GoldQuest is a Canadian based mineral exploration company with projects in the Dominican Republic. GoldQuest is traded on the TSX"V under the symbol GQC and in Frankfurt/Berlin with symbol M1W. The Company is well funded to carry out the exploration programs reported on in this release and to advance the development of its Romero gold/copper discovery, also located in the Tireo Formation of the Dominican Republic.

Forward"looking statements:

Statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts are forward"looking information that involves known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Forward"looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the 2015 drill program, the results of the drill program and the interpretation of the results of the drill program, further drilling, the timing of drilling and assay results, mineral resource estimates, the merits of the Company's mineral properties, future drill programs and studies, and the Company's plans and exploration programs for its mineral properties, including the timing of such plans and programs. In certain cases, forward"looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "has proven", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "potential", "likelihood", "appears", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "at least", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "should", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved".

Forward"looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward"looking statements. Such risks and other factors include, among others, risks related to uncertainties inherent in drill results and the estimation of mineral resources; commodity prices; changes in general economic conditions; market sentiment; currency exchange rates; the Company's ability to continue as a going concern; the Company's ability to raise funds through equity financings; risks inherent in mineral exploration; risks related to operations in foreign countries; future prices of metals; failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; accidents, labor disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays in obtaining governmental approvals; government regulation of mining operations; environmental risks; title disputes or claims; limitations on insurance coverage and the timing and possible outcome of litigation. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could affect the Company and may cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward"looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward"looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, do not place undue reliance on forward"looking statements. All statements are made as of the date of this news release and the Company is under no obligation to update or alter any forward"looking statements except as required under applicable securities laws. Forward"looking statements are based on assumptions that the Company believes to be reasonable, including expectations regarding mineral exploration and development costs; expected trends in mineral prices and currency exchange rates; the accuracy of the Company's current mineral resource estimates; that the Company's activities will be in accordance with the Company's public statements and stated goals; that there will be no material adverse change affecting the Company or its properties; that all required approvals will be obtained and that there will be no significant disruptions affecting the Company or its properties.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

CONTACT INFORMATION



GoldQuest Mining Corp.

www.goldquestcorp.com



GoldQuest Mining Corp.

Julio Espaillat

President & Chief Executive Officer

+1"829"919"8701

JEspaillat@GoldQuestCorp.com



GoldQuest Mining Corp.

Bill Fisher

Executive Chairman - Toronto

+1"647"271"4505

BFisher@GoldQuestCorp.com



GoldQuest Mining Corp.

Katherine Fedorowicz

Investor Relations

1-877-919-5979

KFedorowicz@redcloudKS.com
The Company's White Book Sets New Logistics Standards

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK,North Carolina, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --Marken announced today the launch of their Direct to Patient (DTP) White Book Industry Guide.The guide provides Marken's clients with clear logistics standards for trials which are conducted at the patient's home.

Marken continues to expand its clinical trial logistics services with supporting technology and regulatory expertise. Home-based clinical trials are currently the fastest growing service in Marken's portfolio and are consistent with the industry's trend towards patient-centricity. Since the establishment of the DTP program in 2012, Marken has managed the largest portfolio of active DTP trials in the industry, including global trials with over 15,000 patients. Marken currently supports Direct to Patient services involving over 1,600 investigator sites in 45 countries around the world.

The new White Book Industry Guide details how Direct to Patient trial services must be set up to comply with industry and regulatory standards.The services offered include delivery of clinical trial materials directly to the patient's home, home pickup and delivery of collected biological specimens, protection of data, and return of unused or expired clinical trial materials. The company also offers global home nursing services through its partners.

Wes Wheeler, Marken's Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We are pleased to offer our White Book Industry Guide which leverages our experience from the many successful Direct to Patient trials we have managed for our clients. The guide provides increased visibility of the local requirements and allows us to assist our clients when establishing new protocols for home-based trials.We are very proud to have been named a preferred partner for leading sponsor pharmaceutical companies, Clinical Research Organizations, Contract Manufacturing Organizations and central laboratory clients."

To request a copy of Marken's Direct to Patient Industry Guide, please send an email to: info@marken.com.

About Marken

Marken is a wholly owned subsidiary of UPS. Marken is the only patient-centric supply chain organization 100% dedicated to the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries. Marken maintains the leading position for Direct to Patient services and biological sample shipments and offers a state-of-the-art GMP-compliant depot network and logistic hubs in 45 locations worldwide for clinical trial material storage and distribution. Marken's more than 730 staff members manage 50,000 drug and biological shipments every month at all temperature ranges in more than 150 countries. Additional services such as biological kit production, ancillary material sourcing, storage and distribution, shipment lane verification and qualifications, as well as GDP, regulatory and compliance consultancy add to Marken's unique position in the pharma and logistics industry.

Logo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/128173/marken_new_website_logo.jpg
CHIPPEWA FALLS  Local health officials are working with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services to determine the source of a norovirus infection that sickened dozens of people at an event that was being held at the Northern Wisconsin State Fairgrounds in Chippewa Falls.

At least 60 adults and children became sick with gastroenteritis after attending the Special Kids Day event in May. The event was not one that was put on by the fairgrounds.

Nine local health departments are working on the investigation, including ones in Chippewa and Eau Claire counties.

Event organizer Tom Leuck says about 1,000 people from 26 school districts attended the two-day festival. He says people who attended both days have reported getting sick.

Leuck is not sure of the source of the sickness but says hugging and physical contact may have contributed to the spread of the illness.

Special Kids Day is an annual event for children with disabilities that features games, food and music.

According to the state Bureau of Communicable Diseases:

A norovirus can cause diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal cramping, and is the cause of 20 million illnesses in the U.S. every year. Usually symptoms start 12 to 48 hours after a person becomes infected.

The virus is found in the stool or vomit of someone infected with norovirus from the time symptoms start until at least 48 hours after symptoms end, and probably longer. ... It can be spread by eating food or drink that has been contaminated with norovirus as well as touching objects with norovirus on them and then touching your mouth.

The agency adds: People with diarrhea or who are vomiting should not handle food, work in or attend day care centers of schools, or take care of patients in a health care facility until 48 hours after their symptoms are gone.

Norovirus can cause inflammation of the stomach and intestines. Most people recover in a few days, but it can be dangerous for young children or elderly people.
MISGAV, ISRAEL / ACCESSWIRE / June 6, 2017 / The Trendlines Group ("the Group") (SGX: 42T; OTCQX: TRNLY), a leading Israeli investment and innovation commercialization company, focused on early-stage, high growth innovation-based medical and agricultural technologies, today announced the execution of a definitive agreement for the sale of its BioSight Ltd. shares to Arkin Bio Ventures Ltd.

Upon completion of the transaction, the Group is expected to receive net proceeds of approximately US$1.3 million, pretax (or approximately US$1.0 million after tax). The completion of the transaction is expected to take place within 14 business days from the signing of the Agreement.

BioSight developed a technology and pipeline of cancer drugs that target and release therapeutic drugs inside cancer cells to reduce systemic toxicity associated with conventional chemotherapy treatments. Trendlines' cost basis in BioSight is zero since BioSight was incidentally obtained by the Group as a part of Trendlines Medical-Misgav Ltd. (now named Trendlines Incubators Israel Ltd.) in 2007.

Commenting on the exit from BioSight, Trendlines Chairman and CEO, Steve Rhodes said, "We are pleased to announce this first exit of 2017. Proceeds from the BioSight exit serve to further strengthen our cash position. We look forward to reporting on developments of our other 43 portfolio companies as additional companies move closer to exit."

About Trendlines

Trendlines is an innovation commercialization company that invents, discovers, invests in, and incubates innovation-based medical and agricultural technologies to fulfil its mission to improve the human condition. As intensely hands-on investors, Trendlines is involved in all aspects of its portfolio companies from technology development to business building. Trendlines' shares are traded on the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX: 42T) and in the United States as an American Depositary Receipt (ADR) on the OTCQX International (OTCQX: TRNLY).

Forward Looking Statement

Statements in this press release that are not statements of historical or current fact constitute "forward-looking statements." Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other unknown factors that could cause the Company's actual operating results to be materially different from any historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In addition to statements that explicitly describe these risks and uncertainties, readers are urged to consider statements that contain terms such as "believes," "belief," "expects," "expect," "intends," "intend," "anticipate," "anticipates," "plans," "plan," to be uncertain and forward looking. The forward-looking statements contained herein are also subject generally to other risks and uncertainties that are described from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Investor Contact Information:

Judith Kleinman, Director

Investor Relations & Corporate Communications

The Trendlines Group

judith@trendlines.com

Tel: +972.72.260.7000

SOURCE: The Trendlines Group
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 06/06/17 -- Denison Mines Corp. ("Denison" or the "Company") (TSX: DML)(NYSE MKT: DNN) is pleased to announce the specifics of its summer plans for its 60% owned Wheeler River project and its other Athabasca Basin pipeline projects.

Wheeler River

A total of 18,000 metres of drilling is planned in approximately 40 holes. The program, which is entirely focused in and around the Gryphon deposit, commenced in late May and is expected to run until the end of September with the following objectives:

-- Completion of the Gryphon infill drilling program to bring the current inferred resources to an indicated level of confidence (18 holes); -- Additional infill and expansion drilling to potentially add indicated resources from priority exploration areas surrounding and within the Gryphon deposit (approx. 10 holes); and -- Infill and expansion drilling within the D series lenses to potentially add indicated or inferred resources to the Gryphon deposit (approx. 10 holes).

The drilling plan includes predominantly daughter holes, drilled from existing surface (or "parent") holes, in order to test more targets by drilling less metres. Continued use of directional drilling at Gryphon will ensure optimal drilling accuracy in addition to cost savings. The summer program at Wheeler River also includes continuation and completion of certain Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS") field activities, including environmental and engineering data collection programs.

An updated mineral resource estimate for Wheeler River is planned once summer assay results are received, and is then expected to be incorporated into the completion of a PFS planned for 2018.

Hook-Carter

Denison acquired an 80% interest in the Hook-Carter property in late 2016 and is planning an initial reconnaissance drill program of approximately 2,700 metres in five drill holes for late summer. This drilling program is expected to test initial targets generated from ground geophysical surveys which are underway over the southwestern portion of the property. The Hook-Carter property (80% Denison, 20% ALX Uranium Corp.) is highlighted by 15 kilometres of strike potential along the highly prospective Patterson Corridor with only five historic holes completed to date. The property has potential to host basement- and unconformity-hosted uranium deposits along the Patterson Corridor, which is host to the Triple R deposit (Fission Uranium Corp.) and Arrow deposit (NexGen Energy Ltd.).

Waterbury Lake

Denison's 63.63% owned Waterbury Lake project, which includes the J-Zone uranium deposit, is located within 20 kilometres of the McClean Lake mill, and is situated near the Roughrider, Midwest and Midwest A deposits. Denison intends to extend the Waterbury Lake 2017 exploration program to include a summer drilling program of approximately 2,650 metres in six holes. The program would provide initial drill testing of a target area almost one kilometre north of the J-Zone uranium deposit in an area interpreted to have a similar geological setting.

Crawford Lake & Moon Lake South

A total of 2,200 metres in approximately four holes is planned to test targets along the CR-3 conductive trend located on the Crawford Lake property (100% Denison) and the contiguous Moon Lake South property (Denison earn-in option). The CR-3 trend has been interpreted over a strike length of approximately nine kilometres, with only seven drill holes completed to date, and is located approximately two kilometres west of the K-Trend, which hosts the Gryphon deposit on Denison's adjacent Wheeler River property. In accordance with the letter agreement with CanAlaska Uranium Ltd., Denison recently earned a 51% interest in the Moon Lake South claim and intends to earn a further 24% interest by making additional exploration expenditures.

McClean Lake

A total of 4,800 metres of drilling in approximately 18 holes is planned at McClean Lake (22.5% Denison), as part of a summer exploration program operated by AREVA Resources Canada Inc.

Illustrative Figures & Further Details

A detailed location and basement geology map for Wheeler River is provided in Figure 1. Figure 2 provides a map of Denison's Athabasca Basin mineral dispositions with priority exploration projects outlined in bold.

To view Figures 1 and 2 please click on the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/DML0606.pdf

Further details regarding the Gryphon deposit and the current mineral resource estimates for Wheeler River are provided in the NI 43-101 Technical Report for the Wheeler River project titled "Preliminary Economic Assessment for the Wheeler River Uranium Project, Saskatchewan, Canada" dated April 8, 2016 with an effective date of March 31, 2016. A copy of this report is available on Denison's website and under its profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml. Further details on Denison's pipeline exploration projects are included in the Company's MD&A available on Denison's website and under its profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml.

Qualified Persons

Dale Verran, MSc, Pr.Sci.Nat., Denison's Vice President, Exploration, who is a Qualified Person in accordance with the requirements of NI 43-101 has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this release.

About Wheeler River

Wheeler River is the largest undeveloped high-grade uranium project in the infrastructure rich eastern portion of the Athabasca Basin region, in northern Saskatchewan. The project is a joint venture between Denison (60% and operator), Cameco Corp. ("Cameco") (30%), and JCU (Canada) Exploration Company Limited ("JCU") (10%), and is host to the high-grade Gryphon and Phoenix uranium deposits discovered by Denison in 2014 and 2008, respectively. The Gryphon deposit is hosted in basement rock and is currently estimated to contain inferred resources of 43.0 million pounds U3O8 (above a cut-off grade of 0.2% U3O8) based on 834,000 tonnes of mineralization at an average grade of 2.3% U3O8. The Phoenix unconformity deposit is located approximately 3 kilometres to the southeast of Gryphon and is estimated to include indicated resources of 70.2 million pounds U3O8 (above a cut-off grade of 0.8% U3O8) based on 166,000 tonnes of mineralization at an average grade of 19.1% U3O8, and is the highest grade undeveloped known uranium deposit in the world.

On April 4th, 2016, Denison announced the results of a Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") for the Wheeler River Project, which considers the potential economic merit of co-developing the high-grade Gryphon and Phoenix deposits as a single underground mining operation. The PEA returned a base case pre-tax Internal Rate of Return ("IRR") of 20.4% based on the current long term contract price of uranium (US$44.00 per pound U3O8), and Denison's share of estimated initial capital expenditures ("CAPEX") of CAD$336M (CAD$560M on 100% ownership basis). Exploration results from the subsequent drilling programs have not been incorporated into the resource estimate or the PEA. The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the preliminary economic assessment will be realized. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. On July 19th, 2016 Denison announced the initiation of a Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS") for the Wheeler River property and the complimentary commencement of an infill drilling program at the Gryphon deposit to bring the inferred resources to an indicated level of confidence.

As previously announced on January 10, 2017, Denison has entered into an agreement with its Wheeler River Joint Venture partners, Cameco and JCU, to fund 75% of Joint Venture expenses in 2017 and 2018 (ordinarily 60%) in exchange for an increase in Denison's interest in the project to up to approximately 66%. Under the terms of the agreement, Cameco will fund 50% of its ordinary 30% share in 2017 and 2018, and JCU is expected to continue to fund its 10% interest in the project.

About Denison

Denison is a uranium exploration and development company with interests focused in the Athabasca Basin region of northern Saskatchewan. Including its 60% owned Wheeler River project, which hosts the high-grade Phoenix and Gryphon uranium deposits, Denison's exploration portfolio consists of numerous projects covering over 330,000 hectares in the infrastructure rich eastern Athabasca Basin. Denison's interests in Saskatchewan also include a 22.5% ownership interest in the McClean Lake joint venture, which includes several uranium deposits and the McClean Lake uranium mill, which is currently processing ore from the Cigar Lake mine under a toll milling agreement, plus a 25.17% interest in the Midwest deposit and a 63.63% interest in the J Zone deposit on the Waterbury Lake property. Both the Midwest and J Zone deposits are located within 20 kilometres of the McClean Lake mill.

Denison is also engaged in mine decommissioning and environmental services through its Denison Environmental Services division and is the manager of Uranium Participation Corp., a publicly traded company which invests in uranium oxide and uranium hexafluoride.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information contained in this press release constitutes "forward-looking information", within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and similar Canadian legislation concerning the business, operations and financial performance and condition of Denison.

Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes", or the negatives and/or variations of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur", "be achieved" or "has the potential to". In particular, this press release contains forward-looking information pertaining to the following: planned drilling activities; expectations regarding further studies on material properties, including the PFS; expectations regarding Denison's ownership interests and continuity of agreements with its partners; and exploration, development and expansion plans and objectives. Statements relating to "mineral reserves" or "mineral resources" are deemed to be forward-looking information, as they involve the implied assessment, based on certain estimates and assumptions that the mineral reserves and mineral resources described can be profitably produced in the future.

Forward looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made, and they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Denison to be materially different from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. Denison believes that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be accurate and may differ materially from those anticipated in this forward looking information. For a discussion in respect of risks and other factors that could influence forward-looking events, please refer to the factors discussed in Denison's Annual Information Form dated March 23, 2017 under the heading "Risk Factors". These factors are not, and should not be construed as being exhaustive. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking information contained in this press release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Any forward-looking information and the assumptions made with respect thereto speaks only as of the date of this press release. Denison does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information after the date of this press release to conform such information to actual results or to changes in Denison's expectations except as otherwise required by applicable legislation.

Cautionary Note to United States Investors Concerning Estimates of Measured, Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources: This press release may use the terms "measured", "indicated" and "inferred" mineral resources. United States investors are advised that while such terms are recognized and required by Canadian regulations, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission does not recognize them. "Inferred mineral resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian rules, estimates of inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of feasibility or other economic studies. United States investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of measured or indicated mineral resources will ever be converted into mineral reserves. United States investors are also cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource exists, or is economically or legally mineable.

Contacts:

David Cates

President and Chief Executive Officer

(416) 979-1991 ext. 362



Sophia Shane

Investor Relations

(604) 689-7842

Follow Denison on Twitter: @DenisonMinesCo




SAN DIEGO, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 06/06/17 -- Global Payout, Inc. (OTC PINK: GOHE) (the "Company") is pleased to announce it has finalized a Customized Licensing Agreement (the "agreement") for the use and exclusive white labeling of its Global Reserve Platform with Companies Trade & Service LTD ("CTS"), a London based VAT recovery and FOREX processing service provider.

With this agreement, the Company will white label the Fintech solutions available within its Global Reserve Platform to provide CTS with an integrated software solution. This software will give CTS an opportunity to more effectively process and manage business-to-business related VAT recoveries, as well as FOREX processing for the SME's and global companies they service worldwide.

The Company contends that this agreement is an important first step into the growing arena of VAT recovery. A multitude of global enterprises are actively seeking Fintech solution services to gain better control over what is often a complex process that requires a major investment of time and resources, and can also contribute to lost revenue when not managed properly.

"We are very excited to have executed this licensing agreement with Companies Trade & Service," said Global Payout President, William Rochfort. "Both our companies recognize the growing need in our global economy for improved processes to more effectively manage the myriad of challenges that are associated with VAT recovery. The integration of our Global Reserve Platform with the existing processes CTS utilizes for VAT recovery will fortify the back-end of this process for them and thereby maximize their ability to issue recoveries back to their clients more efficiently than ever before," Mr. Rochfort remarked further.

The Company will remain focused on exploring additional ventures and opportunities in the VAT recovery sector. The Company contends that its Global Reserve Platform can be effectively leveraged towards streamlining the VAT recovery process through the proprietary payment solutions the platform offers.

About Global Payout, Inc.

Since the Company's inception in 2009, Global Payout, Inc., www.globalpayout.com, has been a leading provider of comprehensive and customized prepaid payment solutions for domestic and international organizations distributing money worldwide. In 2014, Global introduced its first online payment platform called the Consolidated Payment Gateway (CPG), which allowed its enterprise clients to transfer money to international bank accounts, mobile accounts, and prepaid card accounts. The development of the CPG became the foundation for the introduction of its new, state of the art FINTECH payment system in 2017, for both online and mobile applications to allow account holders to maximize an expanded suite of financial services and minimize operational costs. Global will continue to offer their FINTECH payment system to many vertical markets for support of foreign currency exchange and digital currency, including ongoing support of the banking industry and international governments.

Forward-Looking Statements: Except for historical matters contained herein, statements made in this press release are forward-looking statements. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, words such as "may", "will", "to", "plan", "expect", "believe", "anticipate", "intend", "could", "would", "estimate", or "continue", or the negative other variations thereof or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Also, forward-looking statements represent our management's beliefs and assumptions only as of the date hereof. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Global Payout, Inc.

www.globalpayout.com



CONTACT:

Public Relations and Media Contact:

541-359-6717

INVESTORINFO@GLOBALPAYOUT.COM




VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - June 06, 2017) - Endeavour Silver Corp. (TSX: EDR) (NYSE: EXK) announces it has acquired 100% interests in two small but prospective mineral property groups, Calicanto and Veta Grande, located in the historic silver mining district of Zacatecas in Zacatecas state, Mexico. For map click here.

All of the properties host old mines and/or known silver-gold veins that were underexplored by modern methods and are being acquired for their near-term mine exploration and development potential, given their proximity to Endeavour's El Compas Mine and La Plata plant, also located in the Zacatecas district.

Bradford Cooke, Endeavour CEO and Director, stated: "We are very happy to add these new properties to our exploration portfolio in Zacatecas. The two transactions confirm there are good opportunities to consolidate a larger mineral land position in Zacatecas, one of the largest historic silver mining districts in Mexico. Drilling is now underway at the Calicanto properties and we expect to permit and drill the Veta Grande properties later this year."

Note that all technical data reported in this news release are historical in nature and Endeavour Silver has not independently verified them; therefore, these data should not be relied upon.

Calicanto Properties

The Calicanto properties were purchased from Arian Silver Corporation for US$400,000. They cover 75 hectares over five known, silver-gold-lead-zinc veins -- Calicanto, Vicochea, Nevada, Misie and Buenaventura -- within an area of 1.2 by 1.2 kilometres (km).

The veins were discovered around 1600, and supported small scale, high-grade production of silver off and on for about 350 years. The mines were historically developed down to approximately 150 metres (m) depth by seven old shallow shafts, and they were closed in the mid 1950s. The upper mine workings are still open but the lower mine workings are now flooded.

In the past 10 years, Arian drove two short ramps into the Calicanto and Buenaventura veins, drilled 16 core holes totaling 3,149 m with encouraging results. Highlights of the properties are as follows:

Calicanto Highlights

100% interest subject to a 3% NSR royalty

Well located and readily accessible adjacent to both the city of Zacatecas and the access road to Endeavour's recently leased La Plata 500 tonne per day (tpd) government plant

Excellent infrastructure including grid power, water, labour, and services, with a land access agreement already in place for exploration and exploitation

Five veins each with histories of small scale production, each traceable for over one km, averaging 1-3 m thick containing mineralized zones grading 100-300 grams per tonne (gpt) silver, 1-3 gpt gold, 1-3% lead-zinc

Historic resources previously estimated in the Calicanto vein from underground sampling by SGM, the government geological survey

Positive drill results by Arian included intercepts grading 8.54 gpt gold and 97 gpt silver over 4.50 m true width in the Calicanto vein, 7.17 gpt gold and 1,055 gpt silver over 4.70 m at Misie, and 0.9 gpt gold and 409 gpt silver over 1.60 m at Vicochea

Potential to add new, shallow, small scale but high-grade resources in four veins by additional drilling along strike and down dip and develop near term production close to our plant in a stable, attractive jurisdiction with great infrastructure and no known social or security issues

Positive synergies with Endeavour's El Compas mine development project in Zacatecas

Veta Grande Properties

The Veta Grande properties were purchased from IMPACT Silver Corp. for US$500,000 by issuing 154,321 Endeavour common shares at US$3.24 per share. They cover 152 hectares over six known, silver-gold-lead-zinc veins plus 14 hectares of surface lands covering the dormant Santa Gabriela 200 tpd processing plant and tailings facility.

The properties are located in the vicinity of one of the largest veins in the Zacatecas district, the Veta Grande vein, and cover the Nueva Granada splays to the Veta Grande vein and several other subparallel veins. The properties saw historic, small scale, high-grade production as shown by old mine workings and dumps. Access to the old workings is limited and many are now flooded, but historic sampling of dumps and trenches returned values up to 1,070 gpt silver with significant lead and zinc values.

The Santa Gabriela processing plant is located adjacent to Endeavour's La Plata plant five km north of the city of Zacatecas and it last operated between 2006 and 2009 as a 200 tpd flotation toll mill. The plant has been dormant since that time and none of the concessions have seen modern exploration.

Veta Grande Highlights

100% interest with no underlying royalty

Well located and readily accessible adjacent to both the City of Zacatecas and the access road to Endeavour's recently leased La Plata 500 tpd government plant

Excellent infrastructure including existing tailings storage facility, grid power, water, labour, and services

Several vein systems each with histories of small scale production, each traceable for over one km, averaging 1-3 m thick containing high grade mineralized zones



The Nueva Granada concession covers the main San Jose and Armado splay veins off Veta Grande. Historic samples from the San Jose vein returned values ranging to a high of 444 gpt Ag over 1.10 m (true width) in channel samples (average 239 gpt Ag over 0.74 m true width) and up to 1,070 gpt Ag in old mine dumps (average 407 gpt Ag). The Armado vein trends 100 m west and runs parallel to the San Jose vein. Historic channel samples collected from the surface exposures of the Armado vein assayed 237 gpt Ag over 1.92 m (true width) and 1,320 gpt Ag over 0.30 m (true width). Sulphide bearing samples from old mine dumps assayed up to 358 gpt Ag. In addition, several other splay veins branch off Armado providing additional exploration targets.



The Anaconda Group of concessions cover portions of historic veins that trend parallel to the main Veta Grande vein, many of which have seen historic, small scale production. Historic samples from surface dumps returned 310 gpt Ag, 24.2% Pb and 8% Zn from a high-grade stockpile.



The San Pascual concession is the site of the historic San Pascual Mine which last saw small scale production over 20 years ago. The shaft is flooded, however historic sampling of mine dumps adjacent to the shaft returned 875 gpt Ag. Samples from other dumps assayed 525 gpt Ag.



The Alianza vein lies on the Alianza concession where historic production was reported to grade 4 gpt Au, 400 gpt Ag, 3% Pb and 2% Zn.



The Cancer concession hosts the Providencia vein. A large adit exposes a 1.25 m wide vein with silicified breccias where historic samples from dumps and vein material returned up to 649 gpt Ag.



The contiguous Milagro and Leo concessions lies approximately 500 m north of the Cantera Vein system, one of the three principle veins in the Zacatecas silver district; the others being Mala Noche and Veta Grande. Samples from surface exposure of veins and old mine workings returned values averaging 158 gpt Ag.



Potential to add new, shallow, high-grade resources from numerous veins by drilling along strike and down dip and develop near term production close to the La Plata plant in a stable, attractive jurisdiction with great infrastructure and no known social or security issues

Positive synergies with Endeavour's El Compas mine development project in Zacatecas

Mr. Dale Mah, B.Sc., P.Geo., is the Qualified Person who reviewed and approved the technical disclosure in this news release.

About Endeavour - Endeavour Silver is a mid-tier precious metals mining company that owns three high grade, underground, silver-gold mines in Mexico. Since start-up in 2004, Endeavour has grown its mining operations organically to produce 9.7 million ounces of silver and equivalents in 2016. We find, build and operate quality silver mines in a sustainable way to create real value for all stakeholders. Endeavour Silver's shares trade on the TSX (EDR) and the NYSE (EXK).

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States private securities litigation reform act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Such forward-looking statements and information herein include but are not limited to statements regarding Endeavour's anticipated performance in 2017 including changes in exploration and mining plans and the timing and results of various activities. The Company does not intend to, and does not assume any obligation to update such forward-looking statements or information, other than as required by applicable law.

Forward-looking statements or information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Endeavour and its operations to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such statements. Such factors include, among others, changes in national and local governments, legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments in Canada and Mexico; financial risks due to precious metals prices, operating or technical difficulties in mineral exploration, development and mining activities; risks and hazards of mineral exploration, development and mining; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, risks in obtaining necessary licenses and permits, and challenges to the Company's title to properties; as well as those factors described in the section "risk factors" contained in the Company's most recent form 40F/Annual Information Form filed with the S.E.C. and Canadian securities regulatory authorities.

Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions management believes to be reasonable, including but not limited to: the continued operation of the Company's mining operations, no material adverse change in the market price of commodities, mining operations will operate and the mining products will be completed in accordance with management's expectations and achieve their stated production outcomes, and such other assumptions and factors as set out herein. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or information, there may be other factors that cause results to be materially different from those anticipated, described, estimated, assessed or intended. There can be no assurance that any forward-looking statements or information will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements or information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or information.

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2017/6/5/11G140436/Images/Concessions_Map_Zacatecas-b2842d1e326999eea270c2f1a6005f0c.jpg

Contact Information

For more information, please contact:

Meghan Brown

Director Investor Relations

Toll free: (877) 685-9775

Tel: (604) 640-4804

Fax: (604) 685-9744

Email: mbrown@edrsilver.com

Website: www.edrsilver.com
NEW YORK, NY and BANGKOK, THAILAND -- (Marketwired) -- 06/06/17 -- Energy Impact Partners LP (EIP) today announced the addition of PTT Public Company Limited (PTT), Thailand's leading energy company, as the latest investor in its Nexus strategic partner network. PTT joins Southern Company, National Grid plc, Xcel Energy Inc., AGL, Avista Corp., Fortis Inc., Ameren Corp., Great Plains Energy Inc., Madison Gas and Electric Co., and TEPCO as Nexus Partners working collaboratively to identify innovative products, technologies, and business models within the emerging energy economy.

"We are honored to join EIP's Nexus strategic partner network and become part of a global coalition so firmly rooted in effecting transformational change in the energy industry," said PTT President and CEO Tevin Vongvanich. "EIP's global utility network gives us the opportunity to collaborate across national boundaries and to bring the most innovative and beneficial energy solutions to Thailand and South East Asia."

EIP CEO and Managing Partner Hans Kobler commented, "Energy Impact Partners is pleased to add PTT to our Nexus strategic partner network. PTT has led the way for energy innovation in Thailand for over three decades, and its commitment to growth and sustainability is a sign of continued excellence. As the only Thai company listed among Fortune Global 500 Companies, PTT offers EIP and our portfolio companies unique leverage in the region. Their insights will help build the global energy infrastructure of tomorrow."

EIP is an investment firm that strategically invests in innovative technologies, services, and products throughout the electricity supply chain from generation to consumption. The firm's most recent investments include CIMCON Lighting, a provider of smart city lighting, communications and management solutions; and Arcadia Power, developer of a software system that helps utility customers offset energy consumption with renewable energy inside an advanced billing platform.

About Energy Impact Partners

Energy Impact Partners is a collaborative strategic investment firm that invests in companies optimizing energy consumption and improving sustainable energy generation. Through close collaboration with its strategic investor base, EIP seeks to bring the best companies, buying power and vision in the industry to bear on the emerging energy landscape. EIP's partners include Southern Company, National Grid, Xcel Energy, Ameren, Great Plains Energy, Fortis Inc., AGL, Avista Corp., Madison Gas and Electric Co. TEPCO, and PTT. For more information, visit http://www.energyimpactpartners.com.

About PTT Public Company Limited

PTT Public Company Limited operates through investments in subsidiaries, joint ventures, and associates (PTT Group), which are engaged in upstream and downstream petroleum, coal, power and infrastructure businesses. To learn more, visit http://www.pttplc.com/en/pages/home.aspx.

Contact info:

Eugene Hunt

Trevi Communications for Energy Impact Partners

Email Contact

(978) 750-0333



Energy Impact Partners, LLC

Email Contact

(212) 899-9700




HORSHAM, PA -- (Marketwired) -- 06/06/17 -- Phenom People, the leader in Talent Relationship Marketing, announced Gold Sponsorship of the HR Tech World inaugural show in the United States. The event is taking place June 14-15 at the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco, Calif.

The Phenom People Talent Relationship Marketing (TRM) Platform leverages the best practices of e-commerce and customer relationship management to create a unique and hyper-personalized experience enabling phenomenal people to find their dream job and organizations to find top talent. As a Gold Sponsor and exhibitor at HR Tech World San Francisco, Phenom People will demonstrate some of the latest platform features including the Phenom Talent Clipper, in-depth talent analytics capabilities and recruiting bots.

"We are excited to be an exhibitor and Gold Sponsor at HR Tech World San Francisco this year," said Mahe Bayireddi, CEO at Phenom People. "Well-known as a global event focused on the future of work, HR Tech World is a place where some of the brightest and most innovative minds in HR tech gather to share transformative ideas. We are thrilled to be a part of the event and to show the huge advancements we are making in the HR tech space."

HR Tech World is recognized globally as the leading event on the future of work. The growing community that surrounds the event influences over 40 million employees globally. No other community has such a powerful impact on shaping the future of work through technology.

Phenom People will be exhibiting at Booth No. 108. For more information on the event, please visit https://www.hrtechcongress.com/sanfrancisco.

About Phenom People

Phenom People, the leader in Talent Relationship Marketing, helps companies attract phenomenal talent through personalized digital experience. The Phenom People Talent Relationship Marketing platform automates the complex process of driving awareness, interest, engagement, and acquisition for qualified talent. Phenom People helps some of the largest brands in the world attract phenomenal talent including AMN Healthcare, Citrix, Deloitte, General Motors, Hershey, Informatica and IPG Media.

To learn more about Talent Relationship Marketing, please visit www.phenompeople.com.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA and BIRMINGHAM, AL -- (Marketwired) -- 06/06/17 -- Shipt, the fastest growing online grocery marketplace, today announced that it has raised a $40M Series B financing led by Greycroft Partners, with participation from e.ventures and Harbert Venture Partners. The company aims to provide service in 100 metro areas within the next year, giving more people with access to grocery delivery. The round follows a $20M Series A financing closed less than one year ago.

Shipt's unique approach to grocery e-commerce has propelled it to 47 metro areas and over 20 million households in under two years. With a membership model and focus on planned deliveries rather than on-demand, Shipt's average basket size of $110 is over three times the in-store average. Shipt is currently delivering millions of orders per year. Shipt partners with leading national and regional retailers that include H-E-B, Meijer, Costco, Whole Foods and ABC Fine Wine & Spirits to offer a variety of members' favorite brands and products. With this new round of funding, Shipt plans to maintain a rapid pace of new market expansion, forge new partnerships with retailers and brands, and preserve its commitment to member satisfaction.

"At Greycroft, we invest in talented entrepreneurial teams who are attacking big problems," said Ian Sigalow, Co-Founder and Partner at Greycroft. "Shipt set out to transform the way people think about grocery shopping, and in the process they turned a service that was previously available to only a small subset of the population into an affordable luxury for millions of households. The company has shown an impressive ability to scale as it expands to new markets, and most importantly, it does a phenomenal job of retaining and delighting customers, which is the key factor in every young business."

Shipt launched in 2014 after CEO and founder Bill Smith drew inspiration from a visit to the grocery store with his children. He was driven to create an intuitive, more efficient way to accomplish the weekly shopping trips with which many families struggle. Founded in Smith's hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, Shipt became an instant hit among busy families who enjoyed the convenience of trustworthy grocery delivery. The company now has offices in Birmingham and San Francisco.

"Grocery shopping is one of those activities that everyone has to do, but often feels like a chore. Shipt's goal is to give people back the hours they would normally spend at the grocery store so that they can focus on the things that matter most to them," said Smith. "Not only is our mission to simplify life for our members, we also aim to create flexible, enjoyable opportunities for our team of thousands of Shoppers. We know that our team's passion and dedication to providing delightful service is a major key to our success."

Mathias Schilling, Managing Partner at e.ventures, said, "Shipt has quickly become a staple in many homes across the country. The company's rapid growth, winning business model and team, and commitment to delivering a superior customer experience have positioned it as a leader in the grocery delivery market. We look forward to ongoing collaboration with Shipt as we work towards continued scale and success."

Through the Shipt app, members are able to browse a selection of groceries, household goods and alcoholic beverages offered by retailers that partner with Shipt. The Shipt app allows members to note any preferences, choose a one-hour delivery window and pay for their order, all through one seamless shopping experience.

Shipt then connects members with a community of Shoppers who hand pick their items and deliver them as soon as one hour after the order is placed. Shipt memberships are available for an annual fee of $99 and members have access to unlimited free deliveries. To sign up for Shipt and learn more about the service, visit Shipt.com.

Shipt previously raised a $20M Series A round led by Greycroft Partners, e.ventures and Harbert Growth Partners. Prior to that, the company raised a $3M Seed round.

About Shipt

Shipt, the nation's fastest growing online grocery marketplace, partners with leading retailers to deliver groceries via a community of shoppers and a convenient app. Since its founding in 2014, Shipt has been rapidly expanding and now offers quality, personalized grocery delivery to over 20 million households in nearly 50 markets across the country. Shipt offers unlimited grocery deliveries to members for $99 per year. The company currently has offices in Birmingham, AL and San Francisco, CA. For more information, visit Shipt.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Caroline Brayson

Email Contact

(415) 625-8555




MUNICH, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

On April 25, 2017, the Dusseldorf District Court in Germany has rendered judgments in favor of Nichia Corporation ("Nichia") maintaining three preliminary injunctions against Everlight Electronics Co., Ltd. ("Everlight") for infringement of Nichia's YAG patent EP 936 682 (DE 697 02 929). The preliminary injunctions concern the white LED products "334-15/X1C5-1QSA", "334-15/T2C2-1TVB" and "XI3535-KT577J1-03201-000P" manufactured by Everlight and distributed in Germany.

On January 19, 2017, Everlight had filed opposition against three decisions of preliminary injunctions granted earlier ex parte (i.e. without prior hearing of Everlight) by the Dusseldorf District Court (File Nos. 4a O 104/16, 4a O 112/16, 4aO113/16). The patent infringement of Everlight and the preliminary injunctions were maintained by the court with its judgment of April 25, 2017. The court further did not have any doubts about the validity of Nichia's YAG patent with regard to the nullity action of Everlight's German subsidiary Everlight Electronics Europe GmbH as submitted by Everlight to the court.

In its judgment, the Dusseldorf District Court ordered the further enforcement of the preliminary injunctions to be dependent on providing a security in the amount of EUR 250,000 per each preliminary injunction. In the meantime, these securities have been provided by Nichia and all three preliminary injunctions were served again on Everlight.

The three injunctions are preliminary measures which Everlight can still contest with judicial remedies.

Nichia seeks to protect its patents and other intellectual property rights and takes actions against alleged infringers in any country where appropriate and necessary.

Contact information:

Public Relations, Nichia Corporation

Tel:+81-884-22-2311

Fax:+81-884-23-7717


- Foreign investors' confidence strengthened

BANGKOK, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Thailand's ranking in the A.T. Kearney Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Confidence Index 2017 has been improved to 19th ranking thanks to the country's long-term economic potential and committed support from the Thai government, including attractive investment promotion incentives and tools.

China ranked 3rd in the index while Japan ranked 6th and Singapore ranked 10th.

The Index indicated that investor confidence in Thailand is growing as 21% as the respondents in this year's survey said they were optimistic about Thailand's economic outlook over the next three years. This is contributed mainly to the country's commitment to provide pleasant environment for investors, especially in terms of regulatory improvement, political and economic stability and investment promotion.

Respondents also cited the Board of Investment's detailed plans to provide tax and non-tax incentives as major factors convincing them of long-term confidence in the country. Not to mention the government's clear economic and social development plan aiming at increasing national competitiveness.

Mrs. Hirunya Suchinai, Secretary General of the Board of Investment (BOI), said: "The improved ranking shows that investors' confidence in Thailand is increasing. We see this trend growing steadily considering increasing FDI applications."

FDI applications to Thailand in 2016 grew by 69% in both number of projects and in dollar terms compared to that in 2015. Most of the investment went to software industry, one of the target industries under the Thai government's goal to move the country towards digital economy. Meanwhile, significant investment has also been injected into automotive and parts industry, which is one of Thailand's core strengths.

In addition to the government's many public infrastructure projects investment that significantly improve investors' confidence, BOI has introduced various measures to enable investors to make decision easier.

Among others are promotional incentives for R&D, people development and technology and innovation sectors. Maximum incentives plus additional 1-3 year tax holiday are given to those investing in such areas. Meanwhile, the government has put more emphasis on people development by encouraging partnership and cooperation among Thai organizations, both in the government and private sectors, and foreign investors to support people development through trainings, as well as apprenticeship, technology and knowledge transfer.

Thailand Board of Investment also set up a one-stop service center to facilitate visa and work permit application that promotes the inflow of foreign skilled workers and experts.

In early 2017, two important acts were enforced. The amended Investment Promotion Act allows BOI to provide new incentives, such as an extension of corporate income tax from currently up to 8 years to 13 years, an extension of 50% tax reduction for up to 10 years and import duty exemption on goods imported for R&D purpose.

The Competitive Enhancement Act, meanwhile, provides financial support and corporate income tax exemption for up to 15 years and granted capital for projects that meet the specific criteria of investment promotion.

"The Index reflects the fact that BOI is on the right track. Our measures and incentives, which are developed based on investors' insight, have strong weight in their decision making process," said Hirunya.

For more information, please contact

Apichaya Sophonratana

Tel: +662-553-8111 Ext. 6932

Email: Thailandinvestmentyear@gmail.com or visit www.boi.go.th

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/520082/BOI_Logo.jpg
TORONTO, ONTARIO and NEW YORK, NEW YORK -- (Marketwired) -- 06/06/17 -- Just over one year ago, on May 9, 2016, Canada's new harmonized takeover bid regime, as set out in National Instrument 62-104 Takeover Bids and Issuer Bids, came into effect. The new rules stipulate three key bid features:

-- Bids must remain open for at least 105 days, except that the time may be reduced to not less than 35 days with the approval of the target or in the event of friendly competing transaction; -- Bids must be for at least 50% of the target's outstanding shares, excluding any shares held by the bidder; and -- Bids must remain open for an additional 10 days beyond the initial expiry once all bid conditions have been met.

Laurel Hill, Canada's leading shareholder communications firm, has acted as Information Agent for six of the seven unsolicited bids since the new rules took effect and, as such, is uniquely positioned to provide insights on the impact of the new rules.

With this in mind, we are pleased to release our case study "Happy Anniversary NI 62-104! A case study in Canada's new takeover bid regime". The study reviews the recently completed hostile bid by Total Energy Services Inc. for Savanna Energy Services Corp., the only hostile bid in the last year that involved a share exchange and the only successful bid that played out to its end without the support of the target board.

David Salmon, President of Laurel Hill, notes: "We are now one year out from the new rules and, while the number of hostile bids has not declined as many anticipated, there has been a trend towards all-cash deals and we are also seeing targets employ increasingly creative defensive tactics. On the other hand, this particular case underlines the fact that successful bids involving share exchanges can still be made. The case also underscores the importance and the impact of shareholder lock-ups."

The case study can be accessed at the company's website at http://www.laurelhill.ca/case-study-ni-62-104/

About The Laurel Hill Advisory Group

The Laurel Hill Advisory Group is North America's only independent, cross border Shareholder Communications firm, focusing on Proxy Solicitation, Information Agent, Depositary, Escrow and Escheatment solutions. Our team's experience has resulted in Canada's best proxy contest win record for the past 9 years. We are regularly engaged on high profile, complex and contentious situations involving M&A, restructuring, and corporate governance issues. Cross border operations allows us to effectively reach shareholders regardless of their location - Canada, US and globally. For more information, please visit us at www.laurelhill.com.

Contacts:

David Salmon

604-620-2224

dsalmon@laurelhill.com




With the driver going through four red lights, the chase was on. At least for 6.8 miles.

Speeds reached over 80 mph Monday evening before the vehicle Chippewa Falls Police were chasing went into a driveway at 3248 90th St. and crashed into trees.

The result was Mark A. Schneider, 49 of Eau Claire being arrested on charges of second-degree recklessly endangering safety with a vehicle, a felony charge of fleeing officer, hit and run of an attended vehicle, and a Wisconsin Department of Corrections warrant.

Schneider was also give a citation for intoxicated driving first offense. Wisconsin is the only state that gives tickets for first time intoxicated driving, instead of considering it a criminal offense.

It will be up to the Chippewa County District Attorneys office to decide whether to file charges against Schneider.

According to Chippewa Falls Police:

Police received a complaint at 6:21 p.m. about a possible intoxicated driver in a blue 2003 Dodge Caravan driving erratically through the city after nearly striking the vehicle of the person making the complaint.

Officers coordinated their response and found Schneider driving in the area of downtown Chippewa Falls. The vehicle Schneider was driving went through two red traffic lights before officers tried to stop him..

Schneiders van accelerated and ran a third red light at Bay and River streets and then went through a fourth at West River and Main streets, nearly hitting another vehicle.

Schneider continued going westbound on West River Street and hit a curb on Wagner Street, blowing out a tire on the vans front passenger side. The van continued on West River and reached speeds of 70 mph. Then, near Fleet Street, the van hit an occupied vehicle that had pulled off the road, causing moderate damage to that vehicle. The person inside the struck vehicle was not injured.

Schneider then drove at speeds of over 80 mph on West River and County X before going into the driveway on 90th Street and crashing into trees.

Schneider complained of a leg injury but refused medical treatment. He was taken into custody without additional incident.

The Wisconsin State Patrol helped the police department with the crashes. The Chippewa County Sheriffs Office and the Chippewa Falls Fire and Emergency Services also assisted the police department.
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 06/06/17 -- Osisko Mining Inc. (TSX: OSK) ("Osisko" or the "Corporation") is pleased to announce that it has filed the Project Description with the federal government (Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency or "CEAA") and the Preliminary Project Information with the Quebec government (Ministere du Developpement durable, de l'Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques or "MDDELCC") for the Windfall Lake project. The Project Description report is available at www.osiskomining.com. Following review of both documents, CEAA and MDDELCC will provide Osisko with guidelines for executing the project impact assessment.

John Burzynski, President and CEO of Osisko commented: "Submission of the Project Description and the Preliminary Project Information to the federal and provincial governments represents the first step in the Environmental Approval Processes for Windfall. We look forward to consulting with all stakeholders as the design of the Windfall Lake project evolves."

Osisko also received approval from the MDDELCC for the mine water treatment system. This certificate of authorization ("CA") allows Osisko to begin dewatering the previously existing ramp in order to conduct advanced exploration, through extending the ramp that was commenced by previous operators.

Mr. Burzynski continued: "Receipt of the CA for the ramp dewatering activities is an exciting step in the advancement of the next phase of exploration. After rehabilitation of the existing ramp, it will allow us to continue to drive forward into the mineralized zones, as well as conduct further exploratory drilling from underground in conjunction with the surface drilling program."

The Corporation is currently evaluating the Windfall Lake gold project as a potential underground mining operation. Osisko is well-funded with approximately $190 million in cash and equity investments, and is carrying out an intensive definition drilling and large-scale exploration campaign on Windfall and the surrounding area. An updated NI 43-101 resource estimate on the Windfall Lake project is planned for release in the second half of 2017. Osisko has commenced collection of environmental baseline data in the vicinity of Windfall and intends to collect additional data along the potential haul road and around the proposed site of a mill complex near an existing industrial property (the former Domtar Corporation pulp and paper mill) in Lebel-sur-Quevillon, Quebec (the "Site").

About Osisko Mining Inc.

Osisko is a mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration, and development of precious metal resource properties in Canada. Osisko holds a 100% in the high-grade Windfall Lake gold deposit located between Val-d'Or and Chibougamau in Quebec and holds a 100% undivided interest in a large area of claims in the surrounding Urban Barry and Lebel-sur-Quevillon areas, a 100% interest in the Marban project located in the heart of Quebec's prolific Abitibi gold mining district, and properties in Ontario, including the Jonpol and Garrcon deposits on the Garrison property. Osisko continues to be well financed with approximately $190 million in cash and investments. Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd. (TSX: OR)(NYSE: OR) is a significant shareholder of the Corporation with approximately 14% ownership.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation that is based on expectations, estimates, projections and interpretations as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, interpretations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "interpreted", "management's view", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking information and are intended to identify forward-looking information. This forward-looking information is based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of management of the Corporation, at the time it was made, involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Osisko to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information.

Such factors include, among others, risks relating to the timing to obtain feedback, and the nature of the feedback to be received, in relation to the Project Description filed with the federal government (Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency) and the Project Notice filed with the provincial government (Ministere du Developpement durable, de l'Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques); feasibility of the Site as a potential mill complex to process mineralized material (if any) from the Windfall Lake gold deposit; the timing and ability to evaluate, if at all, the Site location through the environmental assessment process and to prepare, if at all, feasibility studies for the Windfall Lake gold project; the Site being located on Crown land; the advantages, if any, of the Site over construction at Windfall Lake; receipt of the CA for the ramp dewatering activities in relation to the next phase of exploration, including further exploratory drilling from underground in conjunction with the surface drilling program; the timing and ability, if at all, to extend the ramp and conduct advanced exploration; the timing and ability if at all, to prepare a technical report in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects in respect of a resource estimate on the Windfall Lake gold project; the use of environmental baseline data; the ability of Osisko to complete further exploration activities; the ability of the Corporation to obtain required approvals and complete transactions on terms announced; the results of exploration activities; risks relating to mining activities; the global economic climate; metal prices; dilution; environmental risks; and community and non-governmental actions. Although the forward-looking information contained in this news release is based upon what management believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, Osisko cannot assure shareholders and prospective purchasers of securities of the Corporation that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking information, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended, and neither Osisko nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of any such forward-looking information. Osisko does not undertake, and assumes no obligation, to update or revise any such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information contained herein to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be required by law. This news release has been translated into French. Any discrepancies between the English and French versions of this news release, including in this "Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information", shall be resolved in favour of the English version.

Contacts:

John Burzynski

President & Chief Executive Officer

(416) 363-8653




VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 06/06/17 -- Riverside Resources Inc. ("Riverside" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: RRI)(OTC PINK: RVSDF)(FRANKFURT: R99), is pleased to report initial results from the Company's first-phase exploration program at the Cecilia Project (the "Project") located in northeastern Sonora, Mexico. Riverside's exploration team is targeting epithermal gold-silver mineralization hosted by a felsic flow-dome complex, which is similar in age and composition to volcanic structures such as the large Pitarrilla and San Julian silver deposits found in the State of Durango.

The sampling done to date has been concentrated at the North Breccia and Central zones, the two highest priority gold targets presently known on the property (see Figure 1 below). Thirty-three (33) of the 91 samples collected at Cecilia (approximately 36% of the total) yielded gold assays greater than 0.5 g/t gold (Au), with five samples assaying greater than 3 g/t Au. The three best rock-chip assays were 113.7 g/t Au with 288 g/t silver (Ag), 58 g/t Au with 207 g/t Ag and 8.42 g/t Au with 87.8 g/t Ag.

The sampling has also shown that silver mineralization is more strongly developed in the altered rocks than was reported by previous operators. Nineteen (19) of the 91 samples have silver contents greater than 100 g/t Ag, six of these samples yielding assays that were greater than 200 g/t Ag and the maximum silver assay was 310 g/t Ag. The silver-to-gold ratio of the epithermal mineralization appears to increase as mineralized structures are sampled at progressively lower elevations, which is characteristic of some of the major epithermal Ag-Au dome complexes of Mexico.

Riverside's President and CEO, John-Mark Staude, stated: "We are pleased with the consistency and exploration values exceeding previous sampling in these areas on the Cecilia Project. The high-grade gold and silver assays at the North Breccia and Central zones of Cerra Magallanes validates our precious metal flow-dome model and brings us a step closer to a potential discovery. We are in the field continuing exploration at Cecilia and anticipate additional results in the near future as we strive to develop a mineral discovery for our shareholders."

To view Figure 1: Cecilia with Highlighted Gold Target Areas and Geochemical Results, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1096606-F1.pdf

As can be seen in the district summary map (Figure 1), the Riverside rock-chip samples confirm the existence of gold mineralization in hydrothermally brecciated felsic volcanic rocks of the Cerro Magallanes flow-dome complex.

Additional Details:

One key objective of the ongoing rock-chip sampling program is to confirm the existence of zones of gold-bearing hydrothermal breccias and quartz veinlet stockworks that were previously identified by other exploration groups (refer to Cecilia Project/Project History on the Company's website). In addition, prospecting and rock sampling is being done in adjacent areas not previously sampled. This work is intended to expand beyond the known extents of gold mineralization and to discover new zones, with the ultimate goal of defining high-potential drill targets.

For more information on the Project, please visit the Cecilia Project page on the Company's website: www.rivres.com.

Qualified Person & QA/QC:

The scientific and technical data contained in this news release pertaining to the Cecilia Project was reviewed and approved by Locke Goldsmith, P.Geo, P. Eng, a non-independent qualified person to Riverside Resources, who is responsible for ensuring that the geologic information provided in this news release is accurate and who acts as a "qualified person" under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

The rock samples reported consisted of composites of outcrop fragments hammer-chipped across rock faces showing evidence of hydrothermal alteration. Individual sample lengths ranged from 1.1 to 3.1 metres, with 2.0 m being the most common. The samples were sent to the analytical laboratories of Bureau Veritas in Hermosillo and Vancouver where they were fire assayed for gold and analyzed for 45 major and minor elements using an ICP-MS methodology. For quality control purposes, three standard samples and one non-mineralized blank sample were included with the batch of 91 field samples.

About Riverside Resources Inc.:

Riverside is a well-funded prospect generator exploration company that leverages its 77,000 location mineral database, highly experienced and dedicated technical team and partnership network to acquire and develop high-potential projects. The Company increases the chances of discovery by advancing multiple assets simultaneously through partnerships, allowing Riverside to mitigate risk and conserve capital. Riverside has a diverse portfolio of gold, silver and copper properties throughout North America. The Company has approximately 44 million shares outstanding, and approximately $5,500,000 in cash and no debt. Riverside has additional properties available for option with more information available on the Company's website at www.rivres.com.

ON BEHALF OF RIVERSIDE RESOURCES INC.

Dr. John-Mark Staude, President & CEO

Certain statements in this press release may be considered forward-looking information. These statements can be identified by the use of forward looking terminology (e.g., "expect"," estimates", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", "plans"). Such information involves known and unknown risks -- including the availability of funds, the results of financing and exploration activities, the interpretation of exploration results and other geological data, or unanticipated costs and expenses and other risks identified by Riverside in its public securities filings that may cause actual events to differ materially from current expectations. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:

Riverside Resources Inc.

John-Mark Staude

President & CEO

(778) 327-6671

(778) 327-6675 (FAX)

info@rivres.com

www.rivres.com



Riverside Resources Inc.

Raffi Elmajian

Corporate Communication

(778) 327-6671 / TF: (877) RIV-RES1

relmajian@rivres.com

www.rivres.com




MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 06/06/17 -- Mason Graphite Inc. ("Mason Graphite" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: LLG)(OTCQX: MGPHF) is pleased to announce material progress in its permitting process related to the Lac Gueret project with the acceptance (la "recevabilite") of its Environmental Impact Study ('EIS") by the Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment, and the Fight against Climate Change ("MDDELCC"). The EIS, originally filed in November 2015, will now be rendered public in its complete form. A summary was presented to the hosting populations and made publicly available in June 2016, summary on which they provided questions and comments which were taken into consideration in the final version of the EIS.

From a process standpoint, the file now progresses towards the Bureau d'audiences publiques sur l'environnement ("BAPE") (public hearing office on the environment). This government body will make available to the hosting populations the EIS in its entirety for a prescribed period of 45 days, at the end of which the Minister will receive a factual report on the conduct of the information and consultation period. The Minister will then determine whether a formal public hearing process is required prior to the determination of the project's eligibility to receive its final general certificate of authorization.

Mason Graphite has already conducted, in the last 4 years and more actively in the last 18 months, several general and focused information meetings with the active participation of the communities of Baie-Comeau and Pessamit. Based on those interactions, Mason Graphite indicates that the local support seems to be positive. Therefore, the timeline triggered by this milestone should allow Mason Graphite to achieve its goal of commencing construction later this year. The 45-day information period will commence on June 13th.

Benoit Gascon, President and CEO of Mason Graphite, commented: "On behalf of everyone at the Company, I would like to thank everyone involved at the MDDELCC for their work and continued assistance throughout this process. The Company would also like to thank the communities of Baie-Comeau and Pessamit for their engaged and active participation which makes possible the social engagement necessary to sustainable development. The Company also recognizes the support provided by the Societe du Plan Nord and the RMBMU (Reserve mondiale de la biosphere de Manicouagan-Uapishka)."

UPDATE ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF A ROAD SEGMENT TO MASON GRAPHITE'S SITE IN BAIE-COMEAU

In a prior communication, Mason Graphite indicated that a contract had been awarded by the City of Baie-Comeau for the construction of a 1.2 km road segment, along with all related services, linking the Company's plant site, in the Industrial Park Jean-Noel-Tessier, to the neighboring highway. The Company is pleased to report that significant progress has been made such that access to the plant site should be completed before Mason Graphite begins construction. This road segment is Government funded and its construction has been specifically advanced for Mason Graphite.

About Mason Graphite and the Lac Gueret Project

Mason Graphite is a Canadian mining and processing company focused on the development of its 100% owned Lac Gueret natural graphite deposit located in northeastern Quebec. The Company is led by a highly experienced team that has over five decades of experience in graphite production, sales, and research and development. For more information, visit www.masongraphite.com.

Mason Graphite Inc. On Behalf of the Board

"Benoit Gascon, CPA, CA", President & Chief Executive Officer

Cautionary Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. All information contained herein that is not clearly historical in nature may constitute forward-looking information. Generally, such forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to: (i) volatile stock price; (ii) the general global markets and economic conditions; (iii) the possibility of write-downs and impairments; (iv) the risk associated with exploration, development and operations of mineral deposits; (v) the risk associated with establishing title to mineral properties and assets; (vi) the risks associated with entering into joint ventures; (vii) fluctuations in commodity prices; (viii) the risks associated with uninsurable risks arising during the course of exploration, development and production; (ix) competition faced by the resulting issuer in securing experienced personnel and financing; (x) access to adequate infrastructure to support mining, processing, development and exploration activities; (xi) the risks associated with changes in the mining regulatory regime governing the resulting issuer; (xii) the risks associated with the various environmental regulations the resulting issuer is subject to; (xiii) risks related to regulatory and permitting delays; (xiv) risks related to potential conflicts of interest; (xv) the reliance on key personnel; (xvi) liquidity risks; (xvii) the risk of potential dilution through the issue of common shares; (xviii) the Company does not anticipate declaring dividends in the near term; (xix) the risk of litigation; and (xx) risk management.

Forward-looking information is based on assumptions management believes to be reasonable at the time such statements are made, including but not limited to, continued exploration activities, no material adverse change in metal prices, exploration and development plans proceeding in accordance with plans and such plans achieving their stated expected outcomes, receipt of required regulatory approvals, and such other assumptions and factors as set out herein. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information. Such forward-looking information has been provided for the purpose of assisting investors in understanding the Company's business, operations and exploration plans and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is made as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake to update such forward-looking information except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:

For more Information:

Simon Marcotte, CFA,

Vice-President Corporate Development

+1 (647) 801-7273

info@masongraphite.com



For more information relating to local communities:

Luc Veilleux, CPA, CA,

Executive Vice-President and CFO

+1 (514) 289-3582

info@masongraphite.com




VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 06/06/17 -- Mother Lode Property Highlights

-- Historic resource of 430,000 ounces at 1.6 g/t gold(i) -- Total of 172 exploration drill holes outlining historic resource -- Past heap leach production of 34,000 ounces gold at an average grade of 1.8 g/t -- Numerous drill intersections of +2 g/t gold over +10 metres in thickness -- Past mining operation fully reclaimed with State and Federal sign off

(i) Quoted historical resource numbers are not NI 43-101 estimates

Corvus Gold Inc. ("Corvus" or the "Company") - (TSX: KOR) (OTCQX: CORVF) announces the agreement to acquire the Mother Lode property in Nevada from Goldcorp USA Inc. (Figure 1). Corvus Gold plans to purchase 100% of the Mother Lode property, covering approximately 250 acres and containing a historic (non-NI-43-101 compliant) resource of 8.5Mt at a grade of 1.6 g/t gold totaling 430,000 ozs of gold. In addition, Corvus Gold staked two additional adjacent claim blocks to Mother Lode totaling 1,040 acres, covering areas of exploration and development potential. The Mother Lode property approximately 10 kilometres from Corvus Gold's North Bullfrog project with potential for a large satellite operation.

To view Figure 1, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1096594_fig1.jpg

Terms of the transaction include:

-- Issuance of 1,000,000 Corvus Gold common shares (with a deemed price of $0.81 per share, based on the closing price on June 5, 2017, with the closing of the transaction expected to occur on June 9, 2017) -- The property is subject to an NSR in favour of Goldcorp. The NSR pays 1% from production at the Mother Lode property when the price of gold is less than USD $1,400/ounce and an additional 1% NSR for a total of 2% NSR when gold price is greater than or equal to USD $1,400/ ounce

Jeff Pontius, President and CEO of Corvus said, "The acquisition of the Mother Lode property is an important addition to Corvus Gold. Mother Lode hosts a series of thick, shallow dipping, stacked mineralized bodies averaging 1.6 g/t gold. These mineralized bodies are open for expansion along with a number feeder structures averaging over 3 g/t gold. We intend to initiate a substantial exploration and resource development program at Mother Lode this summer. Corvus Gold is also on track to complete its update of the North Bullfrog resource and Preliminary Economic Assessment study this fall. 2017 will be an important year for Corvus Gold with several major company expansion projects taking place."

Mother Lode Opportunity

The Mother Lode deposit was mined in the late 1980's when gold price was about $400/ounce. Low gold prices made the operation uneconomic and resulted in the closure of the operation in 1989 after less than 3 years in operation which produced 34,000 ounces of gold. The Mother Lode project is similar in age to the historic Bullfrog Mine and the newly discovered North Bullfrog project and is hosted in both Tertiary volcanic-sedimentary rocks and Paleozoic sedimentary rocks. The mineralization occurs as low angle, north dipping, near surface, tabular bodies of mixed sulfide and oxide mineralization. Key structural controls in the deposit appear to be a series of north northwest high angle structures which have acted as conduits for mineralizing fluids (similar to the YellowJacket deposit at North Bullfrog). An important untested target for additional high-grade mineralization is the intersection of the major, low angle east-northeast trending Fluorspar Canyon Fault Zone and the high-angle N-NW trending feeder structures approximately 50 metres below the existing Mother Lode deposit.

Nearly all of the 172 development and exploration drill holes on the property were drilled vertically and are less than 200 metres deep. This vertical drilling pattern was not optimum for defining the steeply dipping, high-grade structural systems, although some did intersect a couple of these zones (ML-086: 24m @ 4.4g/t Au; D-442: 24m @ 5.1g/t Au; D-445: 18m @ 7.4g/t). The current deposit has three defined tabular bodies that are all currently open for expansion down dip and to the west.

The current Mother Lode land package is limited in size, but potentially adequate for possible satellite mining project and surface processing facilities. Corvus is also considering alternatives where higher-grade mineralization could be trucked to the planned Corvus mill facility at the North Bullfrog Project which is approximately 20 miles away by road. Preliminary column test, heap leach metallurgical work on the deposit indicates heap leach potential for the lower grade material. The Mother Lode project has excellent access lying along a major county graveled road and with grid power three kilometres away.

As Corvus Gold geologists and engineers review the extensive digital and hard copy database the Company will provide project and exploration target updates over the coming months. Corvus Gold has begun exploration and is planning to start the initial phase of exploration drilling on the Mother Lode project in the fall of this year.

The Toronto Stock Exchange has granted conditional approval to the issuance of the Corvus Gold common shares under the transaction.

The historic estimates for the Mother Lode property 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 estimates as a current mineral resource.

About the North Bullfrog Project, Nevada

Corvus controls 100% of its North Bullfrog Project, which covers approximately 72 km2 in southern Nevada. The property package is made up of a number of private mineral leases of patented federal mining claims and 865 federal unpatented mining claims. The project has excellent infrastructure, being adjacent to a major highway and power corridor as well as a large water right. The company also controls 65 federal unpatented mining claims on the Mother Lode project which totals 522 hectares which it owns 100% of.

The North Bullfrog project includes numerous prospective gold targets at various stages of exploration with four having NI 43-101 mineral resources (Sierra Blanca, Jolly Jane, Mayflower and YellowJacket). The project contains a measured mineral resource of 3.86 Mt at an average grade of 2.55 g/t gold and 19.70 g/t silver, containing 316.5k ounces of gold and 2,445k ounces of silver, an indicated mineral resource of 1.81 Mt at an average grade of 1.53 g/t gold, and 10.20 g/t silver, containing 89.1k ounces of gold and 593.6k ounces of silver and an inferred resource of 1.48 Mt at an average grade of 0.83 g/t gold and 4.26 g/t silver, containing 39.5k ounces of gold and 202.7k ounces of silver for oxide mill processing. The mineral resource for the mill process was defined by Whittle optimization using all cost and recovery data and a breakeven cut-off grade of 0.52 g/t gold. In addition, the project contains a measured mineral resource of 0.3 Mt at an average grade of 0.25 g/t gold and 2.76 g/t silver, containing 2.4k ounces of gold and 26.6k ounces of silver, an indicated mineral resource of 22.86 Mt at an average grade of 0.30 g/t gold and 0.43 g/t silver, containing 220.5k ounces of gold and 316.1k ounces of silver and an inferred mineral resource of 176.3 Mt at an average grade of 0.19 g/t gold and 0.67 g/t silver, containing 1,077.4k ounces of gold and 3,799.2k ounces of silver for oxide, heap leach processing. The mineral resource for heap leach processing was defined by Whittle optimization using all cost and recovery data and a breakeven cut-off grade of 0.15 g/t.

Qualified Person and Quality Control/Quality Assurance

Jeffrey A. Pontius (CPG 11044), a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"), has supervised the preparation of the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for this news release and has approved the disclosure herein. Mr. Pontius is not independent of Corvus, as he is the CEO & President and holds common shares and incentive stock options.

Carl E. Brechtel, (Nevada PE 008744 and Registered Member 353000 of SME), a qualified person as defined by NI 43-101, has coordinated execution of the work outlined in this news release and has approved the disclosure herein. Mr. Brechtel is not independent of Corvus, as he is the COO and holds common shares and incentive stock options.

The work program at North Bullfrog was designed and supervised by Mark Reischman, Corvus Gold's Nevada Exploration Manager, who is responsible for all aspects of the work, including the quality control/quality assurance program. On-site personnel at the project log and track all samples prior to sealing and shipping. Quality control is monitored by the insertion of blind certified standard reference materials and blanks into each sample shipment. All resource sample shipments are sealed and shipped to ALS Chemex in Reno, Nevada, for preparation and then on to ALS Chemex in Reno, Nevada, or Vancouver, B.C., for assaying. ALS Chemex's quality system complies with the requirements for the International Standards ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 17025:1999. Analytical accuracy and precision are monitored by the analysis of reagent blanks, reference material and replicate samples. Finally, representative blind duplicate samples are forwarded to ALS Chemex and an ISO compliant third party laboratory for additional quality control.

For additional information on the North Bullfrog project, including information relating to exploration, data verification and the mineral resource estimates, see "Technical Report and Preliminary Economic Assessment for Combined Mill and Heap Leach Processing at the North Bullfrog Project, Bullfrog Mining District, NYE County, Nevada" dated June 16, 2015 as amended and restated May 18, 2016 which is available under Corvus' SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.

About Corvus Gold Inc.

Corvus Gold Inc. is a North American gold exploration and development company, focused on its near-term gold-silver mining project at the North Bullfrog and Mother Lode Districts in Nevada. In addition, the Company controls a number of royalties on other North American exploration properties representing a spectrum of gold, silver and copper projects. Corvus is committed to building shareholder value through new discoveries and the expansion of its projects to maximize share price leverage in a recovering gold and silver market.

On behalf of

Corvus Gold Inc.

Jeffrey A. Pontius, President & Chief Executive Officer

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and US securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements regarding the potential for new deposits and expected increases in a system's potential; anticipated content, commencement and cost of exploration programs, anticipated exploration program results, the discovery and delineation of mineral deposits/resources/reserves, the potential to develop multiple YellowJacket style high-grade zones, the Company's belief that the parameters used in the Whittle pit optimization process are realistic and reasonable, the potential to discover additional high grade veins or additional deposits, the potential to expand the existing estimated resource at the North Bullfrog project, the potential for any mining or production at North Bullfrog, planned exploration and development programs at Mother Lode, potential production plans for the Mother Lode project, and potential resources at the Mother Lode project are forward-looking statements. Information concerning mineral resource estimates may be deemed to be forward-looking statements in that it reflects a prediction of the mineralization that would be encountered if a mineral deposit were developed and mined. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct.

Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, variations in the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located, variations in the market price of any mineral products the Company may produce or plan to produce, the Company's inability to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required for its activities, the Company's inability to produce minerals from its properties successfully or profitably, to continue its projected growth, to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to implement its business strategies, and other risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company's 2016 Annual Report on Form 10K and latest interim Management Discussion and Analysis filed with certain securities commissions in Canada and the Company's most recent filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). All of the Company's Canadian public disclosure filings in Canada may be accessed via www.sedar.com and filings with the SEC may be accessed via www.sec.gov and readers are urged to review these materials, including the technical reports filed with respect to the Company's mineral properties.

Cautionary Note Regarding References to Resources and Reserves

NI 43-101 is a rule developed by the Canadian Securities Administrators which establishes standards for all public disclosure an issuer makes of scientific and technical information concerning mineral projects. Unless otherwise indicated, all resource estimates contained in or incorporated by reference in this press release have been prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 and the guidelines set out in the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (the "CIM") Standards on Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserves, adopted by the CIM Council on May 10, 2014 (the "CIM Standards") as they may be amended from time to time by the CIM.

United States investors are cautioned that the requirements and terminology of NI 43-101 and the CIM Standards differ significantly from the requirements and terminology of the SEC set forth in the SEC's Industry Guide 7 ("SEC Industry Guide 7"). Accordingly, the Company's disclosures regarding mineralization may not be comparable to similar information disclosed by companies subject to SEC Industry Guide 7. Without limiting the foregoing, while the terms "mineral resources", "inferred mineral resources", "indicated mineral resources" and "measured mineral resources" are recognized and required by NI 43-101 and the CIM Standards, they are not recognized by the SEC and are not permitted to be used in documents filed with the SEC by companies subject to SEC Industry Guide 7. Mineral resources which are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability, and US investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of a mineral resource will ever be converted into reserves. Further, inferred resources have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and as to whether they can be mined legally or economically. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of the inferred resources will ever be upgraded to a higher resource category. Under Canadian rules, estimates of inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of a feasibility study or prefeasibility study, except in rare cases. The SEC normally only permits issuers to report mineralization that does not constitute SEC Industry Guide 7 compliant "reserves" as in-place tonnage and grade without reference to unit amounts. The term "contained ounces" is not permitted under the rules of SEC Industry Guide 7. In addition, the NI 43-101 and CIM Standards definition of a "reserve" differs from the definition in SEC Industry Guide 7. In SEC Industry Guide 7, a mineral reserve is defined as a part of a mineral deposit which could be economically and legally extracted or produced at the time the mineral reserve determination is made, and a "final" or "bankable" feasibility study is required to report reserves, the three-year historical price is used in any reserve or cash flow analysis of designated reserves and the primary environmental analysis or report must be filed with the appropriate governmental authority. U.S. investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our latest reports and registration statements filed with the SEC. You can review and obtain copies of these filings at http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml. U.S. Investors are cautioned not to assume that any defined resource will ever be converted into SEC Industry Guide 7 compliant reserves.

This press release is not, and is not to be construed in any way as, an offer to buy or sell securities in the United States.

Contacts:

Ryan Ko

Investor Relations

Email: info@corvusgold.com

Phone: 1-844-638-3246 (toll free) or (604) 638-3246




Blue Earth Diagnostics, a molecular imaging diagnostics company, today announced that several presentations related to fluciclovine F 18 injection will be occurring at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Annual Meeting (SNMMI), from June 10-14, 2017 in Denver, Colo. Presentations will cover topics including clinical utilization, product development and manufacturing, clinical research, and biological characterization. In addition to these presentations, a special program, "Fluciclovine Live Reader Training," will be held immediately prior to the Annual Meeting and led by SNMMI. Details of fluciclovine F 18 presentations by Blue Earth Diagnostics and its collaborators are listed below.

Sunday, June 11, 2017 Presentation: AxuminTM (Fluciclovine F 18): Current status and future clinical applications Session Title: CMIIT Emerging Technologies: Updates on NETSpot, Axumin and a Look to the Future of O15 Water Session Time: 4:30 6:00 PM MT Presentation Time: 5:00 5:30 PM MT Presenter: Jonathan Allis, D. Phil. Location: Room 203

An extensive amount of scientific research continues on fluciclovine F 18, and the presentations highlighting these investigations follow.

Sunday, June 11, 2017 Poster Title: Production of Fluciclovine F18 (FACBC) on a Siemens PETNET GN Platform* Session Title: Special MTA: Novel radiochemistry and chelation posters Presenter: Michael S. Haka, PhD Presentation Time: 7:00 8:30 PM MT Location: Exhibit Hall C Publication No.: 893

Monday, June 12, 2017 Poster Title: Fluciclovine (18F) is a marker for high-affinity glutamine transport ASCT2- mediated amino acid transport in breast cancer* Session Title: MTA: Oncology: Basic, Translational and Therapy (Basic Science) Posters Presenter: Eugene J. Teoh, MRCP FRCR Presentation Time: 3:00 4:30 PM MT Location: Exhibit Hall C, Room Hall C Publication No.: 1028 Poster Title: 18F-fluciclovine PET/CT in comparison with 11C-choline PET/CT for nodal staging in prostate cancer* Session Title: MTA Prostate Posters Presenter: Lucia Zanoni, MD Presentation Time: 3:00 4:30 PM MT Location: Exhibit Hall C Publication No.: 1076

Tuesday, June 13, 2017 Poster Title: Bayesian penalised likelihood reconstruction of fluciclovine (18F) PET for imaging of recurrent prostate cancer: semi-quantitative and clinical evaluation* Session Title: MTA II: Image Generation Posters Presenter: Eugene J. Teoh, MRCP FRCR Presentation Time: 2:45 4:15 PM MT Location: Exhibit Hall C Publication No.: 1368

Wednesday, June 14, 2017 Session Title: SS84: Technical Advances and Quantification II Presentation Title: Impact of PSF reconstruction on clinical trial qualification and patient SUVs* Presenter: Paul E. Kinahan, PhD Session Time: 8:00 AM-9:30 AM MT Presentation Time: 8:20 AM MT Location: 603 Publication No: 717

In addition, the following presentations will be part of independent continuing education programs at SNMMI.

Monday, June 12, 2017 Session Title: CE30: Integrating Newly Approved Radiopharmaceuticals in Your Clinic Presentation: Are You Ready to Mingle with F-18 Fluciclovine?* Presenter: William C. Lavely, MD Session Time: 10:00 11:30 AM MT Presentation Time: 10:30-11:00 AM MT Location: Mile High 1D-F

Wednesday, June 14, 2017 Presentation: Fluciclovine: Its Use in Breast Cancer* Session Title: CE94: Teaching Old Radiopharmaceuticals New Tricks Presenter: Gary Ulaner, MD Session Time: 8:00 9:30 AM MT Presentation Time: 8:20 8:40 AM MT Location: Mile High 4E 4F

*Note: Axumin (fluciclovine F 18) injection is indicated for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging in men with suspected prostate cancer recurrence based on elevated blood prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels following prior treatment. Axumin (fluciclovine F 18 is not approved for use in patients with breast cancer or primary prostate cancer in either the USA or Europe.

Blue Earth Diagnostics invites participants at this year's SNMMI Annual Meeting to visit the company at Exhibit Booth 808.

U.S. Indication and Important Safety Information About Axumin

INDICATION

Axumin (fluciclovine F 18) injection is indicated for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging in men with suspected prostate cancer recurrence based on elevated blood prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels following prior treatment.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

Image interpretation errors can occur with Axumin PET imaging. A negative image does not rule out recurrent prostate cancer and a positive image does not confirm its presence. The performance of Axumin seems to be affected by PSA levels. Axumin uptake may occur with other cancers and benign prostatic hypertrophy in primary prostate cancer. Clinical correlation, which may include histopathological evaluation, is recommended.

Hypersensitivity reactions, including anaphylaxis, may occur in patients who receive Axumin. Emergency resuscitation equipment and personnel should be immediately available.

Axumin use contributes to a patient's overall long-term cumulative radiation exposure, which is associated with an increased risk of cancer. Safe handling practices should be used to minimize radiation exposure to the patient and health care providers.

Adverse reactions were reported in 1% of subjects during clinical studies with Axumin. The most common adverse reactions were injection site pain, injection site erythema and dysgeusia.

To report suspected adverse reactions to Axumin, call 1-855-AXUMIN1 (1-855-298-6461) or contact FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch

Full Axumin prescribing information is available at www.axumin.com

About AxuminTM (fluciclovine F 18)

Axumin (fluciclovine F 18) injection is a novel product indicated for use in positron emission tomography (PET) imaging to identify suspected sites of prostate cancer recurrence in men. Recurrence of prostate cancer is suspected by an increase in prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels following prior treatment. PET imaging with Axumin may identify the location and extent of such recurrence. Axumin was developed to enable visualization of the increased amino acid transport that occurs in many cancers, including prostate cancer. It consists of a synthetic amino acid that is preferentially taken up by prostate cancer cells compared with surrounding normal tissues, and is labeled with the radioisotope F 18 for PET imaging. Fluciclovine F 18 was invented at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga., with much of the fundamental clinical development work carried out by physicians at Emory University's Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences. Axumin was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in May 2016, following Priority Review, and is the first product commercialized by Blue Earth Diagnostics, which licensed the product from GE Healthcare. The molecule is being investigated by Blue Earth Diagnostics for other potential cancer indications, such as glioma.

About Blue Earth Diagnostics

Blue Earth Diagnostics is a molecular imaging diagnostics company focused on the development and commercialization of novel PET imaging agents to inform clinical management and guide care for cancer patients in areas of unmet medical need. Formed in 2014, Blue Earth Diagnostics is led by recognized experts in the clinical development and commercialization of innovative nuclear medicine products. The company's first approved and commercially available product is Axumin (fluciclovine F 18), a novel molecular imaging agent approved in the United States and European Union for use in PET imaging to detect and localize prostate cancer in men experiencing suspected biochemical recurrence. Blue Earth Diagnostics is funded by Syncona, an investment company listed on the London Stock Exchange (LON: SYNC). For more information, visit: www.blueearthdiagnostics.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170606005356/en/

Contacts:

For Blue Earth Diagnostics (U.S.)

Priscilla Harlan

Vice President, Corporate Communications

(M) 781-799-7917

p.harlan@blueearthdx.com

or

Media

Sam Brown Inc.

Mike Beyer

(M) 312-961-2502

mikebeyer@sambrown.com

or

For Blue Earth Diagnostics (UK)

Val Jones PR Ltd

Dr. Val Jones

(M) +44 (0) 7917 175 192

v.jones@blueearthdx.com
Rapid Building Inspections Provides Thorough Building and Pest Inspections for their Clients

BRISBANE CITY, AUSTRAILA / ACCESSWIRE / November 7, 2017 / The founders of Rapid Building Inspections are pleased to announce that they have recently expanded into Brisbane City. Thanks to their new location, the friendly and experienced team from Rapid Building Inspections is proud to provide quality and affordable building inspections Brisbane residents can count on.

To learn more about Rapid Building Inspections and their new building and pest inspections in Brisbane, please visit http://www.rapidbuildinginspections.com.au/QLD/BrisbaneBuildingPestInspection.

As a company spokesperson noted, everyone at Rapid Building Inspections is excited to service the city of Brisbane, which is one of the biggest cities in Australia.

"We are all looking forward to helping people in the North, South, CBD and all in between all Brisbane," the spokesperson noted.

As the founders of Rapid Building Inspections understand, buying a property will be one of the biggest investments most people will ever make. That is why they are devoted to delivering easy-to-read reports that will help buyers make the right decision about a property.

From building inspections and providing thorough condition reports, to pest inspections that determine if a property is infested with bugs or other vermin, Rapid Building Inspections always uses industry RBI experts to carefully inspect a property. In addition, the inspectors only use the latest thermal imaging and moisture technology that is available to do their work.

"Our condition reports are following Australian Standards and are recognised by real estate agents and solicitors," the spokesperson noted, adding that the report will give people the peace of mind to make an informed decision about purchasing a property.

"It may even help you dodge a bad deal that could cost you thousands in repairs."

In addition to being thorough, Rapid Building Inspections, which opened about 10 months ago, also prides themselves on being fast. People will receive their reports within 24 hours of the inspection, or they will get their money back.

About Rapid Building Inspections:

Need a comprehensive condition report but don't want to spend a fortune? Rapid Building Inspections can send an industry recognised RBI expert to inspect the property. They will zero in on any potentially expensive problems or, fingers crossed, provide a concise report that shows the property is sound. For more information, please visit http://www.rapidbuildinginspections.com.au/.

Rapid Building Inspections Brisbane

Lvl 1, Brisbane Club Tower

356 / 241 Adelaide Street

Brisbane QLD 4000

Phone: 07 3164 7600

Contact:

Rapid Building Inspections Brisbane

admin@rocketfactor.com

07 3164 7600

SOURCE: Rapid Building Inspections
HOUSTON, TX and HASSELT, BELGIUM -- (Marketwired) -- 06/06/17 -- TrendMiner today announced that they have signed a partnership agreement with Capula. As a value-added reseller partner of TrendMiner, Capula will now be able to provide TrendMiner's advanced analytics software to its local customers.

Meeting the need for self-service industrial analytics

TrendMiner, winner of the 2017 Frost & Sullivan Entrepreneurial Company of the Year Award for predictive analytics, has a rapidly expanding global customer base. As demand for the TrendMiner solution accelerates, the company is expanding its partner network to provide local support. The addition of Capula as a partner forms part of TrendMiner's roadmap to deliver the highest quality customer service to its growing market in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Niels Verheijen, TrendMiner VP Global Sales, commented following the announcement: "We're really pleased to have Capula join TrendMiner as a partner. As the global demand for our software grows, it is important to expand our local support with partners who value our customers as much as we do. Capula shares our commitment to leveraging technology to deliver innovative solutions that enhance our customers' profitability."

Helping industry succeed in transformation

Capula is a leading UK-based integrator of the OSIsoft PI Systems across a wide variety of market sectors including Power Generation, Utilities, Pharmaceutical, Chemicals and the Oil & Gas sector. An Imtech company, Capula is a trusted organization with customers including Scottish Power, National Power, EDF Energy, Huntsman, Yorkshire Water and E.ON.

As a partner of TrendMiner, Capula will now be able to offer its customers the advanced analytics needed to support their journey to digital transformation, a critical advantage during the transition to Industry 4.0.

Alastair Norman, Business Manager for the Operational Intelligence Sector of Capula, stated: "We are proud to confirm our partnership with TrendMiner. TrendMiner delivers exactly the kind of pioneering solutions that our customers need to gain advantage in the digital world. We look forward to partnering with a software provider that delivers transformative solutions."

About Capula

Capula is a leading system integration provider that focuses on delivering transformative technologies to optimize operations and create a platform for success. Their independent philosophy allows them to offer insightful perspectives and broad knowledge of technologies from leading manufacturers in the automation arena. Capula is part of Imtech, a large, independently owned and managed technical services provider who deliver for clients across the UK and Ireland, specializing in mechanical and electrical engineering and technical facilities management. Learn more at www.capula.co.uk

About TrendMiner

TrendMiner delivers Discovery, Diagnostic and Predictive Analytics software for the process industry. TrendMiner software is based on a high-performance analytics engine for process data captured in time series. Through an intuitive web-based client, process engineers and operators can easily search for trends themselves using pattern recognition and machine learning technologies. The TrendMiner plug and play software adds value immediately after deployment, eliminating expensive investments in big data infrastructure and long implementation projects. TrendMiner software can improve efficiency and quality, reduce waste and energy consumption, and optimize production performance across divisions. TrendMiner, founded in 2008, is a software company with global headquarters in Hasselt, Belgium and offices in the Netherlands, Germany, Spain and the U.S. Visit us at: www.trendminer.com

Media Contact



Dawn Fontaine

Ripple Effect Communications

Email Contact

508-353-3777




WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Crude oil futures fell further Tuesday morning amid speculation that global oil production will continue to rise in 2018 thanks to robust output from the U.S. U.S. drillers have added rigs for 20 weeks in a row, and with President Donald Trump reversing bans on Arctic exploration, analysts expect even more output in the coming years. Meanwhile, OPEC's deal with Russia to curb supplies has had almost no effect on prices. Tensions in the Middle could make it difficult to follow through with the supply quota plan, anyways. Saudi Arabia and Egypt have cut all diplomatic ties with the Qatar, accusing Doha of being in cahoots with Iran. WTI light sweet crude oil was down 20 cents at $47.12 a barrel. Traders will be paying attention to U.S. inventories data over the next few days. The American Petroleum Institute releases its weekly report this afternoon, while the Energy Information Administration has the government's numbers tomorrow morning. Inventories have been easing from record highs over the past two months. 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.
OAKLAND, CA -- (Marketwired) -- 06/06/17 -- Sharp Electronics Corporation's Energy Systems and Services Group (Sharp) and CivicSolar, a leading national full service solar distributor, announced today that CivicSolar is now offering Sharp's SmartStorage energy storage system through its vast distribution network of solar PV installers. Sharp and CivicSolar's first project will be with technology developer and systems integrator Forecast Energy. The project features a 120 kW/160 kWh SmartStorage system plus a 313.5 kW solar system and Forecast Energy's proprietary forecasting platform that has been installed at Channel Lumber, one of the largest lumber companies in the Bay Area.

"It's a privilege to have been selected by Forecast Energy for the Channel Lumber project and by CivicSolar as a distribution ally, which will see them promote our SmartStorage system to their network of 3,500 customers," said Carl Mansfield, General Manager and Founder of Sharp's U.S. based Energy Systems and Services Group. "CivicSolar will broaden our reach to their vast network of customers in the solar industry and will bring our SmartStorage solution to customers that are facing expensive peak demand charges. We anticipate teaming with both CivicSolar and Forecast Energy on future solar plus SmartStorage projects."

Sharp's intelligent energy storage solution paired with solar PV systems works synergistically to reduce energy usage for commercial properties. Sharp's SmartStorage system is designed to pull power from the SmartStorage batteries rather than from the utility at the times of highest demand (which are the most expensive rates) and is particularly suited for properties in parts of California where commercial utility customers are paying up to 50 percent of their energy bills toward demand charges. Channel Lumber paid $172,385 in demand charges alone over a one year period.

"We provide solar developers and installers with the products and services they need to succeed, so bringing a new energy storage technology into the mix requires a high level of evaluation," said Stuart Fox, VP of Technical Sales for CivicSolar. "Sharp's SmartStorage system is available with a 10-year demand reduction performance guarantee and asset management service agreement. With Sharp's solid reputation backing their system, our installer network will have confidence in Sharp's SmartStorage solution and their 10-year service agreement. That is already being demonstrated by our initial installation."

A detailed analysis of Channel Lumber's energy usage profile estimates that the solar plus SmartStorage system will bring $160,466 in energy and demand savings annually -- an estimated 62 percent reduction in Channel Lumber's total bill. Forecast Energy selected Sharp's SmartStorage system and was the integrator and installer for the entire project.

"After evaluating a number of systems, we chose solar plus Sharp's SmartStorage energy storage system because it provides our customer with better, cleaner power along with greater flexibility in their energy management and it integrates incredibly well with our solution stack," said Paul O' Sullivan, COO of Forecast Energy. "We are thankful for the team at CivicSolar for bringing us high quality and industry-leading energy products, and in this case a reliable, brand-name solution backed by a 10-year performance guarantee, giving us confidence in our selection."

About Sharp Electronics Corporation's Energy Systems and Services Group

Sharp Electronics Corporation (SEC) is the U.S. division of Sharp Corporation, a worldwide developer and manufacturer of one-of-a-kind premium technology products. SEC's Energy Systems and Services Group (ESSG) focuses on developing innovative energy management products for the U.S. market. ESSG introduced the SmartStorage behind-the-meter energy storage system, an energy storage solution designed to reduce peak demand usage for commercial and industrial buildings. Sharp's industry-first 10-year performance guarantee is included with their 10-year operations and maintenance service agreement, an option available for all SmartStorage system installations. Sharp's integrated SmartStorage solar hybrid solution is available with no money down financing options. For more information, visit: https://www.sharpsmartstorage.com/.

About CivicSolar

CivicSolar is a leading national solar equipment distributor in the US. CivicSolar distributes a full range of solar equipment to thousands of contractors throughout the United States, Caribbean, and Latin America, enabling solar installers to easily and cost-effectively design, sell and install solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. CivicSolar accelerates the adoption of solar and advanced energy technologies by delivering quality equipment, engineering, financing, and competitive pricing for every job. CivicSolar differentiates itself through a service-oriented culture and technology platform which helps deliver higher reliability, efficiency, and responsiveness from offices in Oakland, CA, Boston, MA, and Austin, TX. For more information, please visit www.civicsolar.com.

About Forecast Energy

Founded in 2012, Forecast Energy is a leading provider and developer of Energy Optimization solutions for commercial customers worldwide. The company designs, develops and implements scalable energy solutions to reduce customer's energy costs, increase power capacity and improve overall power quality in large scale commercial and industrial facilities. Forecast Energy's solutions are enabling energy optimization and efficiency in projects in California, Hawaii, Pennsylvania and overseas in the United Kingdom. Forecast Energy brings solutions in Solar and Storage design and implementation, energy forecasting, power harvesting and conditioning, Smart Monitoring and demand management, HVAC and lighting Optimization. Headquartered in Point Richmond, California. Please visit www.forecastenergy.com.
NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwired) -- 06/06/17 -- Clearbrook Global Advisors, a privately held, independent investment management firm, today announced the promotion of Thomas E. Deegan to Chief Operating Officer, responsible for overseeing the operational growth of the firm and its expanded product offerings. Mr. Deegan is based in the firm's New York headquarters and reports to Elliott Wislar, Chief Executive Officer.

Since joining Clearbrook in 2014 as Managing Director, Mr. Deegan has been instrumental in leading the firm's mission of introducing innovative solutions for institutional clients that meet their financial goals. Prior to joining Clearbrook, Mr. Deegan was the independent Trustee for the Stamford Policemen's Pension Fund where he was responsible for overseeing the investment selection and management of the $200MM+ pension fund. Prior to Stamford Policemen's Pension Fund, Mr. Deegan was a Founding Partner and Chief Operating Officer of GlobeOp Financial Services, a provider of outsourced middle, back-office and fund administration services to the hedge fund community.

"Clearbrook is and always will be a strategic advisor and consultant that prides itself in listening to client's concerns and creating investment solutions that meet their financial needs based on their feedback and our fund management expertise," said Mr. Wislar. "Tom has demonstrated his commitment to sharing in the firm's vision of collaborating with clients and putting their best interests first by managing and introducing investment solutions that can generate positive investment results."

Mr. Deegan added, "I have worked with Clearbrook from both the client and consultant side and I am fortunate to be part of a firm that continues to prove their reputation as an innovative partner that collaborates with managers to provide clients with investment strategies that are in line with their financial goals."

Mr. Deegan received his MBA from Iona College in New Rochelle, N.Y. and a B.E. in Electrical Engineering from Manhattan College in Bronx, New York.

About Clearbrook

Clearbrook provides comprehensive, objective investment advice and solutions to institutional investors worldwide, across all asset classes, for both discretionary and non-discretionary mandates. With approximately $28 billion in assets under advisement, our business model is founded in independent thinking, disciplined research and analysis, and vision tempered with experience. Our culture is client driven, focusing on customized investment solutions for each client's unique objectives and needs. We bring actionable insights to every meeting, beginning with our first presentation. For more information, please visit www.clearbrookglobal.com.

Media Contact:

Rosalia Scampoli

+1-212 404 2395

rscampoli@LJOPR.com




President Trumps decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement is the biggest failure of leadership in American history. But there are Republicans in Congress who previously demonstrated their willingness to lead on climate change, and the moment has arrived for them to step up again.

Last month, three GOP senators committed an act of political courage by putting environmental stewardship above partisan politics.

In the waning days of the Obama administration, the presidents team issued a rule to limit the amount of methane released during oil and gas operations on federal land. Methane is a greenhouse gas with heat-trapping properties at least 30 times more powerful than carbon dioxide, and so the rule had the effect of mitigating climate change.

The House of Representatives had already repealed the methane rule. Swift repeal was anticipated in the Senate. What was not anticipated was the integrity of three senators who had previously taken action in the hope of preserving a stable climate.

Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Susan Collins of Maine, and John McCain of Arizona cast the deciding votes that prevented the repeal measure from moving forward. The turn of events caught both industry and environmental advocates by surprise, but this is not the first time these Republicans have stepped up where climate change is concerned.

In 2009, Lindsey Graham committed what many believed was political suicide when he collaborated with then-senators John Kerry and Joe Lieberman to draft a Senate version of the cap-and-trade bill that had narrowly passed the House. He came under relentless attack back home in South Carolina and spent the next four years beating back challengers to retain his seat.

Susan Collins worked with Washington state Democrat Maria Cantwell to introduce the Carbon Limits and Energy for American Renewal (CLEAR) Act in December of 2009. The CLEAR Act was a simplified version of cap-and-trade with most of the revenue returned to households, an approach that came to be known as cap-and-dividend. Like the Kerry-Lieberman bill, the CLEAR Act languished and died in the 111th Congress. Despite her leadership with the CLEAR Act, Collins received little acknowledgment or appreciation back home and has since refrained from any major initiatives on climate change.

And John McCain? He teamed up with Lieberman to introduce the Climate Stewardship Act in 2003, but his bill was defeated 55-43. Undaunted, he tweaked the bill and reintroduced it in 2005, though it fared no better. Any other politician would have cut his losses at this point, but McCain tried once more in 2007. It never got to the floor. Since then, McCain, like Graham and Collins, hasnt touched any significant legislation to deal with carbon emissions.

But with their vote to block repeal of the methane rule, Graham, Collins and McCain have stirred the embers of their once-burning passion to preserve a world that is hospitable to future generations. That is the legacy these three hoped to achieve years ago, a legacy that is still within their reach.

Support is growing within conservative circles for a simple, market-based approach to reducing carbon pollution, one that would make regulatory solutions unnecessary. Its called carbon fee and dividend, and it works like this:

Apply a fee to fuels based on the amount of carbon dioxide they will emit when burned. Increase the fee over time, thereby creating the price signal to transition to cleaner sources and uses of energy and to increase energy efficiency. To shield families from the economic impact of rising energy costs, return all the revenue from the carbon fee to every household as equal shares. To maintain a level playing field for American businesses  and to encourage other nations to follow our lead  apply an adjustment fee on imports coming from nations that do not have an equivalent carbon price.

Earlier this year, a similar policy was proposed by a group of conservatives under the Climate Leadership Council. The authors included former Secretaries of State George Shultz and James Baker, as well as former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, pretty good company for any Republican.

Graham, Collins and McCain were once champions on climate change. With Trumps announcement to withdraw from the Paris accord, its time for them to reassert their leadership on this issue by introducing and fighting for a revenue-neutral fee on carbon. They were ahead of their time years ago, but it appears their time has come.
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - June 06, 2017) - In a new, first of its kind analysis of combined offline and online consumer conversations, Engagement Labs released its TotalSocial rankings on the top performing household consumer brands in the U.S. The analysis finds that all of the brands in the household consumer packaged goods category perform better offline (face-to-face conversations) than online (social media).

The rankings are based on Engagement Labs' proprietary TotalSocial data, which continuously measures the most important drivers of brand performance with respect to social media and word of mouth conversations.

Colgate, the TotalSocial leader in the category, takes the top spot due to its above-average scores across the board. In particular, the brand's strong offline TotalSocial performance stands well ahead of the rest of the field. More specifically, Colgate is among the top performers in the category with regard to offline sentiment as well as offline brand sharing, suggesting that its media and marketing initiatives are making their way into people's word of mouth conversations. However, the same is not true for online brand sharing, where the brand falls behind others. Therefore, in order for the brand to increase its visibility on social media, there needs to be more shareable social content that resonates with its followers.

According to the Engagement Labs' report, a number of these household consumer brands have above-average offline volume scores, indicating that consumers speak about these brands quite frequently face-to-face. On the other hand, they have well below-average online volume scores, which present an opportunity for these brands to better engage with its customers via social media. However, one exception is Tide. Tide has the highest online score which can be attributed to its CleanPledge campaign, which encouraged consumers to be energy efficient when it comes to doing laundry. As part of the campaign, the Company donated $250,000 to WWF's global conservation efforts.

In general, consumers say positive things about household consumer brands, as sentiment is quite strong for this market segment. Dawn, ranked six on TotalSocial, has the highest sentiment in the category both online and offline.

"People often assume that the top performing social brands come only from 'sexy' categories like technology or automotive or media, which are often associated with new, break through innovations. The truth, however, is that brands in any category can earn high consumer engagement. And we see that with some of these household consumer brands, especially Colgate," said Ed Keller, CEO of Engagement Labs.

Keller continued, "It is more important than ever for brands to humanize themselves and be in touch with consumer's emotional interests, such as environmental issues -- which is what we see with Dawn's cause marketing campaign 'Save Wildlife' where Dawn has donated more than 100,000 bottles of dishwashing liquid, which has been proven to be the most effective when cleaning oiled animals, to its wildlife partners, and Tide's WWF global conservative efforts. While everyday household items are a necessity, creating impactful marketing campaigns will enable brands to connect with consumers and remain part of their conversations, both online and offline."

To learn more about Engagement Labs or its TotalSocial insights, and how to increase your brand's word of mouth in real life and online, reach out at: totalsocial@engagementlabs.com.

About Engagement Labs

Engagement Labs (TSX VENTURE: EL) is the world's first TotalSocial  company, offering intelligent data, analytics and insights for marketers. We are leaders in tracking, measuring and benchmarking the impact of conversations happening around a brand and industry -- both online and offline. Consumer conversations are a proven driver of critical business outcomes, including sales. The patent pending TotalSocial data solution provides brands with unique insights and powerful analytics to understand online and offline social impact and drive business results. TotalSocial demonstrates to marketers how their online and offline conversation compare and contrast and helps identify areas of competitive opportunity or significant emerging threats. TotalSocial is an "always-on" proprietary scoring system, based on the most important drivers of brand performance: Volume, Sentiment, Brand Sharing and Influence. TotalSocial was built on the pillars of Engagement Labs' patented social media measurement tool and the world's only offline word of mouth tracking system for brands and tracks 500 brands within the U.S. across 17 major industry categories, and 350 brands in the UK.

To learn more visit www.engagementlabs.com / www.totalsocial.com.

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2017/6/2/11G140324/Images/Top_10_TotalSocial_Consumer_Packaged_Goods-c5d529d914ccb6aaaaee0d1ab171170c.jpg

For media inquiries please contact:



Kate Tumino / Amrita Singh

KCSA Strategic Communications

ktumino@kcsa.com / asingh@kcsa.com

212-896-1252 / 212-896-1207
ROUYN-NORANDA, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 06/06/17 -- Explor Resources Inc. ("Explor" or "the Corporation") (TSX VENTURE: EXS)(OTCQB: EXSFF)(FRANKFURT: E1H1)(BERLIN: E1H1) is pleased to announce the acquisition of 1 mining claim (8 units) totalling 128 hectares situated in the Porcupine Mining division, District of Cochrane, Wark Township, Ontario. This additional claim is east of the open pit Mine.

Explor Resources Inc. will pay a total of $2,000 and issue 400,000 common shares for an Option to acquire a 100% interest in the additional Kidd Township claim. The seller has retained a 2.0% NSR in the property. This acquisition is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

The Corporation's Kidd Township Group of Properties are located to the North, South, West and East of the Kidd Creek open pit Mine, located approximately 20 km north of Timmins, Ontario. This additional claim is to the eastern portion of the Kidd Township group of properties, and to the east of the open pit Mine site. This acquisition increases Explor's land position in the area to 2934.7 hectares. The most obvious topographical feature in the area is the open pit mine, located in the central portion of Explor's Kidd Township group of Properties.

The property is located in a Greenstone Belt composed mainly of sequences of Meta-Volcanic rocks cut by faults and deformation zones that lie in a NW-SE direction. There are many suites of Mafic Volcanic rocks as well. Excellent access to the property is provided by Hwy 655.

Exploration drilling completed by Explor to date has revealed a Major Fault Structure running to the west of the open pit Mine in a NW-SE direction. A thorough review of all existing geophysical data appears to support these findings. Drilling by Falconbridge in 1998 to the southwest of the open pit Mine (Hole # K26-01) returned 4.7m in which 4 of the 5 samples returned Zinc values from 4200 - 8900 ppm and Copper values that ranged from 700 - 2280 ppm. The Magnetic Anomaly associated with these results appears to continue onto Explor's property holdings. A series of untested AEM (Airborne Electromagnetic) conductors detected on the Kidd Township group of properties to the west, south and southeast of the existing Kidd Creek Mine clearly warrant further investigation. Explor Resources Inc. is currently planning an exploration and drill program on the Kidd Township group of properties.

The newly acquired claim is approximately 4 km to the East of the open pit mine site. Clearly, the newly acquired claim appears to be on the same Syn-volcanic Collapsed Structure as the Kidd Creek Mine and the Chance Deposit. The open pit mine located to the west of the newly acquired property has produced 152,600,000 tonnes of Base Metal Ore (Cu-Zn-Pb-Ag) since it began production in 1966.

This acquisition is being made in support of Explor's belief in the "Cluster Effect of VMS (Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide) Deposits". Well known examples of the cluster effect of VMS Deposits are the Bathurst Mining Camp where 47 deposits have been found to date, including the Brunswick No.12 and the Brunswick No.6 Mines where more than 130,000,000 tonnes of Base Metal Ore has been produced to date; and the Noranda Mining Camp where 18 deposits have been found to date, with 68,100,000 tons of Base Metal Production from the Horne Mine and Quemont Deposits alone. The presence of Mafic and Felsic rocks on the Kidd Township Properties with anomalous zinc and copper supports the opinion that additional VMS Deposits exist in the immediate vicinity of the Open pit mine.

Chris Dupont P.Eng is the qualified person responsible for the information contained in this release.

Explor Resources Inc. is a publicly listed company trading on the TSX Venture (EXS), on the OTCQB (EXSFF) and on the Frankfurt and Berlin Stock Exchanges (E1H1).

This Press Release was prepared by Explor. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the Policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) has reviewed or accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

About Explor Resources Inc.

Explor Resources Inc. is a Canadian-based natural resources company with mineral holdings in Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick. Explor is currently focused on exploration in the Abitibi Greenstone Belt. The belt is found in both provinces of Ontario and Quebec with approximately 33% in Ontario and 67% in Quebec. The Belt has produced in excess of 180,000,000 ounces of gold and 450,000,000 tonnes of cu-zn ore over the last 100 years. The Corporation was continued under the laws of Alberta in 1986 and has had its main office in Quebec since 2006.

Explor Resources Flagship project is the Timmins Porcupine West (TPW) Project located in the Porcupine mining camp, in the Province of Ontario. The TPW mineral resource (Press Release dated August 27, 2013) includes the following:

Open Pit Mineral Resources at a 0.30 g/t Au cut-off grade are as follows: Indicated: 213,000 oz (4,283,000 tonnes at 1.55 g/t Au) Inferred: 77,000 oz (1,140,000 tonnes at 2.09 g/t Au) Underground Mineral Resources at a 1.70 g/t Au cut-off grade are as follows: Indicated: 396,000 oz (4,420,000 tonnes at 2.79 g/t Au) Inferred: 393,000 oz (5,185,000 tonnes at 2.36 g/t Au)

This document may contain forward-looking statements relating to Explor's operations or to the environment in which it operates. Such statements are based on operations, estimates, forecasts and projections. They are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and may be beyond Explor's control. A number of important factors could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements, including those set forth in other public filling. In addition, such statements relate to the date on which they are made. Consequently, undue reliance should not be placed on such forward-looking statements. Explor disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, save and except as may be required by applicable securities laws.

A map is available at the following address: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/Map_Explor.pdf

Contacts:

Christian Dupont, President

888-997-4630 or 819-797-4630

819-797-1870 (FAX)

www.explorresources.com

info@explorresources.com




INDIANAPOLIS, IN -- (Marketwired) -- 06/06/17 -- Equities First Holdings, LLC (EFH), a provider of alternative shareholder financing, celebrates 15 years of success this month. The vision of founder and CEO Al Christy, Jr., EFH has successfully completed more than 700 transactions and delivered nearly $1 billion USD to clients over the past 4 years. Christy credits his success to hard-won experience, patience, and the discipline of conforming to his own tested loan and investment guidelines.

EFH continues to expand thanks to an investment model that takes advantage of the natural, organic cycles in the market. Before launching EFH in 2002, Christy spent years studying market patterns and using his own funds to test loan and investment strategies. Over time, he developed a methodology that has continued to yield returns for EFH and provide low cost capital for clients:

1. Discipline -- Success relies on staying within the boundaries of the EFH model. EFH applies its own rules and guidelines tested over time, and does not deviate from the model.

2. Integrity -- EFH is committed to always doing the right thing the right way. That commitment continues to serve the firm and its clients in an industry under close scrutiny by regulatory agencies, and was the genesis for EFH's mantra -- a higher level of lending.

3. Patience -- Success takes time. Since the market must be allowed to complete its natural cycle in order for reward to follow risk, EFH builds patience into the terms of its deals to help maximize returns and success.

"Securities-based lending is not a new or untested concept," said Christy. "It is a long-standing financial tool used by companies, governments, and financial institutions every day. And while securities-based lending may be offered by financial planners, investment advisers, banks, and others as a viable option for clients to raise capital, very few financial institutions, including large commercial banks, can offer non-recourse features or loans with a low cost of funds. We have a successful track record because we live and breathe equities-based lending every day."

EFH has been able to expand its business model to eight markets. Christy has determined that market performance and the motivations of people who drive those markets is universal, and the same practices and disciplines that are successful in the U.S. are successful overseas as well.

About Equities First Holdings

Since 2002, Equities First Holdings, LLC has provided clients with alternative financing solutions, supplying capital against publicly traded stock to enable clients to meet their personal and professional financial goals. EFH provides capital against shares traded on public exchanges around the world while offering clients competitive loan-to-value rates and low costs of capital. The company has completed more than 700 transactions since its inception, and deployed nearly $1 billion to clients over the past 4 years alone.

EFH is a global company with offices in nine countries, including wholly owned subsidiaries Equities First (London) Limited, Equities First Holdings Hong Kong Limited, Equities First Holdings Singapore Limited, and Equities First Holdings (Australia) Pty Ltd. For more information, visit, www.equitiesfirst.com.

DISCLAIMER

This release is intended for Professional Investors use only, and does not constitute an offer, stated or implied, of any type. Equities First Holdings, LLC and all of its subsidiaries work exclusively with individuals classified as Professional or sophisticated investors. The Equities First Holdings platform is not intended for Retail investors.

Contacts



Media Enquiries

Brandon Russell

+1 317 429 3500

media@equitiesfirst.com



Other Enquiries

info@equitiesfirst.com




TULSA, OK--(Marketwired - June 06, 2017) - RJD Green (OTC PINK: RJDG), announced commercial contracts awarded Silex Holdings division for 2018 and recent construction trends for their region.

RJD Green Inc. announced the awarding of three commercial contracts for natural stone countertops and related products, completing in 2018. The contracts total $234,000 in revenue. One of the projects is in Kansas and another is in Missouri, giving Silex their first projects in those states.

The compilation of various permit reporting outlets indicates the new home permits will reflect an increase as much as 20% for 2017 over 2016 in Oklahoma, Silex's primary market. Commercial projects, other than multi-family, are projected to increase by over 12% for the same time periods.

Ron Brewer, CEO of RJD Green Inc. states, "The commercial contracts awarded Silex continues the progression in our commercial business segment, and reflects our efforts in geographic expansion. The growth analysis reports for Oklahoma allow Silex to cautiously continue our expansion efforts with further assurance of a stable market."

About RJD Green, Inc.

The Company operates as a holding company with a focus of acquiring and managing assets and companies. RJD Green operates in three divisions: RJD Green Healthcare Services Division, which holds interest in IoSoft Inc, a company that provides discrete payment technologies, services and software that can be integrated into targeted offerings for healthcare provider networks, hospitals, healthcare payers and individual providers: Earthlinc Environmental Services Division, which provides green environmental services and technologies; Silex Holdings Division, which is engaged in specialty construction and industrial manufacturing and fills a market niche between the Home Depots and local contractors. Silex offers installed granite/other counter tops, cabinets and related products to the residential builder, commercial contractor, remodel contractor and retail customer. Visit http://www.rjdgreen.com

Forward-looking Statement:

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain as they are based on current expectations and assumptions concerning future events of future performance of the company. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are only predictions and speak only as of the date hereof. In evaluation such statements, prospective investors should review carefully various risks and uncertainties identified in this release and matters set in the company's SEC filings. These risks and uncertainties could cause the company's actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements.

For additional information contact:

Ron Brewer

CEO

ronb@rjdgreen.com

(918) 551-7883



Douglass Baker

OTC PR Group

corp@otcprgroup.com

(561) 807-6350
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 06/06/17 -- Revelo Resources Corp. ("Revelo" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: RVL) is pleased to announce that it has signed a Letter of Intent ("LOI") with Hochschild Mining PLC ("Hochschild"), which gives Hochschild the option to earn a 100% interest in Revelo's gold-silver project at Loro located in northern Chile, in exchange for investments and drilling commitments in the ground, cash payments, and a royalty on future production. The agreement is subject to due diligence and the signing of definitive documentation in Chile within 60 days.

The LOI allows Hochschild to earn a 100% interest in the Loro Project over a maximum of five (5) years in exchange for a series of in-ground investments and/or drilling commitments totalling US$13 million and/or 30,000 metres, and a series of cash payments to Revelo totalling US$5.3 million.

After exercising the option, Hochschild must also pay a further US$15 million in cash together with a NSR Royalty on future production to Revelo of 1%.

Revelo will operate Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the exploration program from its Chilean base, subject to programs and budgets agreed with Hochschild. Hochschild has the right to request that Revelo continues to operate the exploration program beyond the end of Phase 2, subject to mutual agreement.

Tim Beale, President and CEO of Revelo, commented: "We are excited to see a significant commitment from Hochschild to explore the Loro project in a timely manner. Additionally, the agreement allows Revelo to actively participate in the exploration program in its early phases, and operate the program from its Chilean base."

Loro, which is a new discovery, is located in an important precious metals mineral district in northern Chile and is situated just 25 Km south of the important El Penon mine, which has produced several million ounces of gold and hundreds of millions of ounces of silver over the last 20 years or so.

ADDITIONAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN REVELO & HOCHSCHILD

Revelo is currently recovering from Hochschild some properties being abandoned by Hochschild at its Victoria copper-gold project located along the principal northern Chile copper belt, midway between La Escondida and El Salvador districts.

Revelo currently holds a 2% NSR royalty interest over Hochschild's Victoria property, and Hochschild currently holds a 2% NSR royalty interest over portions of Revelo's Cerro Buenos Aires, Las Pampas and Cerro Blanco properties (previously, collectively, "Las Pampas" - see news release dated April 8th, 2013).

Revelo and Hochschild have agreed that in exchange for Revelo awarding a 1% NSR royalty to Hochschild over the properties being recovered from Victoria, currently called Victoria Sur, Hochschild will reduce the existing NSR royalty over portions of Cerro Buenos Aires, Las Pampas and Cerro Blanco from the current 2% to 1%.

DETAILS OF THE LOI AT LORO

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Investment Drilling Cash Payments Commitment(i) Commitment(i) to Revelo (US$ millions) (Metres) (US$ millions) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2017 Property On Signing Payments ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Phase 1 - 0-18 months 2.0 5,000 0.05 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Phase 2 - 19-36 months 3.0 10,000 0.10 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 37-48 months 4.0 15,000 0.15 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 48-60 months 4.0 Open 5.00 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hochschild can exercise Option to earn 100% of Loro ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 84 months 5.00 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Earlier of start of production or 120 months 10.00 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Totals 13.0 + 30,000 20.30 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- NSR Royalty to Revelo on Mineral Production of 1% (Uncapped, no buy-back, ROFR in favour of Hochschild) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- (i) Investment Commitment and/or Drilling Commitment

Hochschild will also assume responsibility for paying an underlying NSR production royalty to BLC SpA in Chile, which is 2% on precious metals and 1% on base metals. Revelo will transfer to Hochschild a right to buy back half of this royalty (1% of precious metals and 0.5% of base metals) from BLC SpA, which would require Hochschild paying C$5.0 million to BLC SpA at any time up to 5 years from the start of mineral production.

ABOUT LORO

Loro consists of approximately 4,800 Ha of 100% owned tenement and is located along the highly productive "Paleocene" Mineral Belt in northern Chile that contains several important gold, silver and copper mines and projects. Loro is situated along trend and just 23 kilometers due south of the multi-million ounce series of precious metals veins of the El Penon mining camp owned and operated by Yamana Gold, and also lies immediately east of Revelo's large Las Pampas property that also has potential for epithermal precious metals veins, and its Cerro Blanco property that has potential for porphyry copper deposits.

Loro is characterised by numerous out-cropping and sub-cropping, red hematite-quartz veins and veinlet zones, with typical low-sulfidation epithermal textures including colloform banding, bladed textures, breccia textures, and the presence of amethyst. These characteristics are similar to those originally encountered at surface in the El Penon mining district. Veins sampled to date are anomalous in gold and silver (See news releases dated April 14th, 2016 and November 15th, 2016), and pathfinder elements such as arsenic and antimony indicate relatively shallow levels of erosion. Geological mapping over the Loro project continues to find new, sub-cropping veins, veinlet zones and hydrothermal breccias, associated with a series of dacitic and andesitic dome complexes aligned along an approximately north-south trend. Regional airborne magnetics data suggests a large magnetic low feature may indicate a much larger altered felsic dome at depth.

For further details of the Loro Project please refer to the Loro Project page on Revelo's website (http://www.reveloresources.com/projects/loro).

Dr. Demetrius Pohl, Ph.D., Certified Professional Geoscientist (CPG), an independent consultant, is the Company's Qualified Person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosures for Mineral Projects of the Canadian Securities Administrators, and has approved the written disclosure of the technical information contained in this news release.

ABOUT REVELO

Revelo has consolidated an outstanding portfolio of 25 projects prospective for copper, gold and silver located along proven mineral belts in one of the world's top mining jurisdictions - Chile. Revelo's total exposure to mineral tenements in northern Chile is around 300,000 hectares, of which about 65,000 hectares (3 projects) are subject to 3rd party exploration expenditures.

Revelo is a Canadian company and is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX VENTURE: RVL). For more information, please visit Revelo's website at www.reveloresources.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Timothy J. Beale, President & CEO

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT

This news release contains certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical fact, that address events or developments that Revelo expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential", "indicate" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although Revelo believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements.

Contacts:

Revelo Resources Corp.

Chiara Orrigoni

Investor Relations Manager

+1 604 687-5544

info@reveloresources.com

www.reveloresources.com




ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND -- (Marketwired) -- 06/06/17 -- Ithaca Energy Inc. (TSX: IAE) (LSE: IAE)

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART IN, INTO OR FROM ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS IN THAT JURISDICTION.

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION AS STIPULATED UNDER THE MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU NO. 596/2014).

Ithaca Energy Inc.

Compulsory Acquisition by Delek and Cancellation from trading on AIM and TSX

6 June 2017

Ithaca Energy Inc. (TSX: IAE) (LSE: IAE) ("Ithaca" or the "Company") confirms that the compulsory acquisition of Ithaca common shares by Delek Group Ltd through its affiliate DKL Investments Limited completed on 5 June 2017. Accordingly, the cancellation of the trading of Ithaca's shares on AIM shall take effect at 7:00 a.m. (London time) on Wednesday 7 June 2017.

- ENDS -

Enquiries: Ithaca Energy Les Thomas lthomas@ithacaenergy.com +44 (0)1224 650 261 Graham Forbes gforbes@ithacaenergy.com +44 (0)1224 652 151 Richard Smith rsmith@ithacaenergy.com +44 (0)1224 652 172 FTI Consulting Edward Westropp edward.westropp@fticonsulting.com +44 (0)203 727 1521 RBC Capital Markets Matthew Coakes matthew.coakes@rbccm.com +44 (0)207 653 4000 Martin Copeland martin.copeland@rbccm.com +44 (0)207 653 4000 Cenkos Securities Neil McDonald nmcdonald@cenkos.com +44 (0)207 397 8900 Beth McKiernan bmckiernan@cenkos.com +44 (0)131 220 9778

About Ithaca Energy

Ithaca Energy Inc. (TSX: IAE) (LSE: IAE) is a North Sea oil and gas operator focused on the delivery of lower risk growth through the appraisal and development of UK undeveloped discoveries and the exploitation of its existing UK producing asset portfolio. Ithaca's strategy is centred on generating sustainable long term shareholder value by building a highly profitable 25kboe/d North Sea oil and gas company. For further information please consult the Company's website at www.ithacaenergy.com.

About Delek

The Delek Group, Israel's leading integrated energy company, is the pioneering leader of the natural gas exploration and production activities that are transforming the Eastern Mediterranean's Levant Basin into one of the energy industry's most promising emerging regions. Having discovered Tamar and Leviathan, two of the world's largest natural gas finds since 2000, Delek and its partners are now developing a balanced, world-class portfolio of exploration, development and production assets. Delek's head office is located at 19 Abba Eban Blvd., P.O.B. 2054, Herzeliya 4612001, Israel.

Cautionary Statement

This announcement may contain, in addition to historical information, certain forward-looking statements related to the Company, including anticipated future events and circumstances, including in particular, but not limited to, statements relating to the compulsory acquisition of Ithaca shares by the Offeror, certain financial benefits expected to result from completion of the compulsory acquisition by the Offeror, the proposed cancellation of admission to trading on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange, the proposed voluntary delisting from the TSX, if and when Ithaca will make an application to cease to be a reporting issuer and the intentions, plans and future actions of the Company, the Offeror and Delek. Forward-looking information is provided to assist the reader with understanding the Company's expectations, plans and priorities for future periods or with respect to applicable events. Readers are cautioned that such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. This information is based on the estimates, beliefs and assumptions of the directors and management of the Company regarding the markets in which the Company operates. In some cases, forward-looking information may be identified by words such as "anticipate", "believe", "could", "expect", "plan", "seek", "may", "intend", "will", "forecast" and similar expressions.

Such forward looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements of Ithaca to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward looking statements. Many of these risks and uncertainties relate to factors that are beyond Ithaca's ability to control or estimate precisely, such as future market conditions, changes in regulatory environment, the result of the application to cease to be a reporting issuer and the behaviour of other market participants. Some of these risk factors are largely beyond the control of the Company. These are not necessarily all of the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any of the Company's forward-looking statements. Other unknown and unpredictable factors could also impact its results. Ithaca cannot give any assurance that such forward-looking statements will prove to have been correct. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this announcement. Ithaca disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

For additional information on assumptions used to develop forward-looking information and risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking information, please refer to the "Risks and Uncertainties" section of the Company's Management Discussion & Analysis for the period ended 31 December 2016 and the "Forward-Looking Statements" and "Risk Factors" sections of the Company's Annual Information Form for the year ended 31 December 2016, which are available under the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval. Such an offer may only be made pursuant to an offer and takeover bid circular filed with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada and pursuant to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any other applicable jurisdiction. The distribution of this press release in or into certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law and therefore persons into whose possession this press release comes should inform themselves about, and observe, such restrictions. Any failure to comply with the restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities law of any such jurisdiction.

Contact:

RNS

Customer Services

0044-207797-4400

rns@londonstockexchange.com

http://www.rns.com




FDA clearance and CE marking granted

10th U.S. regulatory clearance received for the JAZZ product range

Regulatory News:

IMPLANET (Paris:IMPL) (OTCQX:IMPZY) (Euronext: IMPL, FR0010458729, PEA-PME eligible; OTCQX: IMPZY), a medical technology company specializing in vertebral and knee-surgery implants, today announces that it has obtained marketing clearance from the U.S. and European regulatory authorities to market its new JAZZ braid.

The new JAZZ braid is an improved version, designed in response to surgeon feedback since initial launch in late 2013. Technical characteristics have been optimized, with part of the band now ultrasonically bonded, further improving the Band's handling and stability. Compatible with the current instrument system, the braid will continue to interface with the proprietary JAZZ tensioning system.

"Innovation is a key driver of Implanet's development strategy. With this in mind, and in order to continually meet the requirements of the surgical community, we are launching an optimized version of the JAZZ Braid, the central component of our technological platform in all Implanet products: JAZZ Band, JAZZ Lock, JAZZ Claw, JAZZ Frame and JAZZ Standalone", says Nicolas Marin, Implanet's Chief Marketing Officer.

Ludovic Lastennet, CEO of Implanet, adds: "The commercial launch of this new version of the JAZZ braid follows the granting of the 10th successive 510(K) clearance by FDA, which strengthens our leadership position in this segment. Always attentive to customer feedback, we are continuing to develop and market new products at a quarterly pace, thus continuing to strictly adhere to our roadmap. This new braid heralds impending upgrades to our technological platform focused on simplifying surgical procedures and facilitating the use of JAZZ in new surgical indications

About IMPLANET

Founded in 2007, IMPLANET is a medical technology company that manufactures high-quality implants for orthopedic surgery. Its flagship product, the JAZZ latest-generation implant, aims to treat spinal pathologies requiring vertebral fusion surgery. Protected by four families of international patents, JAZZ has obtained 510(k) regulatory clearance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States and the CE mark. IMPLANET employs 48 staff and recorded 2016 sales of 7.8 million. For further information, please visit www.implanet.com.

Based near Bordeaux in France, IMPLANET established a US subsidiary in Boston in 2013.

IMPLANET is listed on Compartment C of the Euronext regulated market in Paris.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170621006295/en/

Contacts:

IMPLANET

Ludovic Lastennet

CEO

Tel.: +33 (0)5 57 99 55 55

investors@implanet.com

or

NewCap

Investor Relations

Florent Alba

Tel.: +33 (0)1 44 71 94 94

implanet@newcap.eu

or

NewCap

Media Relations

Nicolas Merigeau

Tel.: +33 (0)1 44 71 94 98

implanet@newcap.eu

or

AlphaBronze

US-Investor Relations

Pascal Nigen

Tel.: +1 917 385 21 60

implanet@alphabronze.net
Luxoft, a global IT service provider, today announced that it will demonstrate its latest Digital Cockpit, Autonomous Driving and Connected Mobility services at CES 2018 in Las Vegas at the Luxoft Suite (Floor 30, Room 103) in the Venetian Hotel from January 9 12, 2018.

A future where electric, driverless and connected cars are a mainstay on the roads across the world is all but here. This revolution is changing the way vehicles are designed, engineered, manufactured and used today and Luxoft enables carmakers and suppliers to join this revolution by co-creating smart solutions that accelerate the development and deployment of next-generation car technologies.

Luxoft's demonstrations at CES will take place at its Suite in the Venetian Hotel as well as at the booths and meetings rooms of its various collaborators including Intel, Ford and The Qt Company during the conference. Each demonstration will showcase the latest technology solutions driving innovation at world leading OEMs in the automotive sector.

These include next generation pixel-to-silicon hardware and software solutions, Human Machine Interface (HMI) systems and connected car services designed and engineered by Luxoft.

Luxoft's demonstrations at CES include:

Automotive Reference Platform

Triton UI The New Automotive Reference UI for Qt Automotive Suite

AllView II HMI Demonstrator

Populus UI Design, Development and Deployment Tool

Autosar adaptive Demonstrator including Timing Analysis

SDL translator demonstrator

For more information download the CES Brochureor visit the website.

Luxoft is looking forward to meeting with industry analysts, thought leaders, sourcing advisors and media representatives at CES, please email us at Press@Luxoft.com to arrange a meeting.

About Luxoft

Luxoft (NYSE:LXFT) is a global IT service provider of innovative technology solutions that delivers measurable business outcomes to multinational companies. Its offerings encompass strategic consulting, custom software development services, and digital solution engineering. Luxoft enables companies to compete by leveraging its multi-industry expertise in the financial services, automotive, communications, and healthcare life sciences sectors. Its managed delivery model is underpinned by a highly-educated workforce, allowing the Company to continuously innovate upwards on the technology stack to meet evolving digital challenges.

Luxoft has more than 13,000 employees across 42 offices in 21 countries within five continents, with its operating headquarters office in Zug, Switzerland. For more information, please visit the website.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release of Luxoft Holding, Inc ("Luxoft") contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements include information about possible or assumed future results of our business and financial condition, as well as the results of operations, liquidity, plans and objectives. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "believe," "may," "estimate," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "should," "plan," "expect," "predict," "potential," or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. These statements are subject to, without limitation, the risk factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in Luxoft's Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended March 31, 2017 and other documents filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission by Luxoft. Except as required by law, Luxoft undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements for any reason after the date of this news release whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

All trademarks are recognized and are the property of their respective companies.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171221005615/en/

Contacts:

Luxoft

Patrick R. Corcoran

Global Director, External Relations

212-964-9900 ext. 2453

Press@luxoft.com

Twitter: @Luxoft
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA -- (Marketwired) -- 06/06/17 -- Editors Note: There is a photo associated with this press release.

enso, a mission-driven creative company, today unveiled the results of its 2017 World Value Index, an anticipated annual report that benchmarks 150 organizations by measuring and ranking each brand's overall World Value(i), as perceived by people.

The report's findings are based on a survey of a nationally representative sample of 3,000 people, across 19 audience demographics and psychographics. Of the survey questions, trust, personal values and cultural political influences were considered while polling people's perceptions of all brands. Key findings in this year's World Value Index include:

-- Age, gender, income, political leanings and global outlook appeared to highly influence brand mission perception and support: Marlboro ranks last among the general population, but not for Boomers and Traditionalists -- Nonprofits were more resonant with people than the year before: New additions to World Value Index's top 10 list for 2017 were primarily nonprofits, and Goodwill and Girl Scouts of the USA claimed the top two spots, beating Amazon, Google and Microsoft -- Starbucks is the most politically polarizing brand: while it ranks #75 with the general population, Republicans rank them as #103 and Democrats rank them as #18 -- Twitter, Uber and Starbucks are brands poised to reach and activate millennials who are active on social media and like to take concrete action on issues important to them -- People generally believe in the ability for businesses to make a positive impact but only 41 per cent trust business leaders to do what is right

"In an era when measuring companies by shareholder value is not good enough - for employees, customers or communities - the World Value Index measures the value of brands to everyday people. Against a backdrop of low trust in business leaders, we're seeing forward-looking, purpose-oriented brands rise to the top, and some historic brands fall, particularly with younger people," said Sebastian Buck, enso's co-founder and strategic lead.

The list of top-10 organizations whose mission and purpose are perceived as creating the most world value included nonprofits (Goodwill), brands traditionally associated with social impact and purpose (Dove), as well as brands providing practical value to people through their products and services (Amazon, Google). See below for the top-10 ranking brands:

1. Goodwill 2. Girl Scouts of the USA 3. Amazon 4. Save the Children 5. Google 6. World Wildlife Fund 7. YMCA 8. Microsoft 9. Dove 10. Subway

This year, new entrants to the top-10 list included Save the Children, World Wildlife Fund, YMCA, and Subway, which bumped off household names like Kellogg's, PayPal, Disney, Kraft and Johnson & Johnson.

(i)World Value is based on four segments of a brand's purpose or mission:

-- High awareness of brand's purpose -- Strong relevance of brand's purpose to people's values -- Brand's purpose is a strong motivator in garnering support -- Brand's purpose is a strong motivator in triggering purchases

Download the 2017 World Value Index Report here.

Download the 2016 Brand World Value report here.

Background and Methodology

Developed by enso, the World Value Index is a nationally representative, comprehensive survey of 3,000 Americans on perception, awareness, and behaviours in response to the purpose and mission of organizations and brands. enso commissioned Quadrant Strategies, a research-driven consultancy that works with Fortune 100 and Fortune 50 companies, political leaders around the world and major nonprofits, to field surveys with various demographic representative samples of the U.S. populations ages 18 and up. It tested brands spanning a mix of industries and company sizes, ranging from start-ups to established companies.

The 19 audience segments surveyed included the general population, elites (people who are college educated and earn more than $100,000 per year), millennials and Gen Z, Gen X, Baby Boomers, social and purpose, tech-positive, tech-skeptic, moms, dads, environmentally engaged, young and social, nonprofit engaged, Democratic, Republicans and Independents. Each brand was scored based on answers to four questions related to awareness of purpose, alignment with purpose, active support and impact on purchase. The index score for each brand was calculated based on awareness of purpose plus alignment with purpose plus impact on purchase multiplied by active support.

The 2017 report marks the second annual World Value Index, and demonstrates the influence of sociopolitical climate on people's perception and trust of large organizations.

About enso

enso is a mission-driven creative company. We build mission-driven brands and Shared Mission initiatives that drive social impact at scale. Five years ago, we set out with the belief that the future of marketing is people and brands with shared values working together to drive business success with positive impact. Today, we are leading the paradigm shift from the campaign mindset, traditionally developed by marketers around a brand's singular mission, to Shared Mission initiatives, where the ultimate goal is not the success of one organization, but rather the achievement of a mission that serves all stakeholders.

Based in Los Angeles, our client partners include Google, Khan Academy, Atlantis, OfferUp, Omidyar Network, Everytable, and The Nature Conservancy. Through our network of Shared Missionsm collaborators, enso has built a new framework for collective action and cross-sector solutions to the urgent problems of our time. Recent missions have included rebuilding trust in neighborhoods, creating abundant internet access for everyone, establishing the basic right to literacy, generating wealth by solving the climate crisis, and transforming a mega resort by fostering a flourishing culture and ecology in which the entire country operates. For more information, please visit enso.co.

About World Value Index

The World Value Index is an annual report that explores a new way to measure brand value, ranking 150 well-known organizations according to the extent people are aware of, and willing to actively support, the organization's purpose and mission created. The World Value Index is developed by enso, a mission-driven creative company, in partnership with research consultancy Quadrant Strategies, to help brands people see as most valuable and are most motivated to support.

To read the full report, go to http://enso.co/worldvalue.

To view the photo associated with this release, please visit the following link: http://www.marketwire.com/library/20170606-Top10Graphic-gr.png

Contacts:

Media contact:

Melissa Orozco / Esther Tung

Media Relations

604.558.1656

enso@yulupr.com




Latest release includes innovations that integrate real-time e-Billing analytics and Microsoft Office



AUSTIN, Texas, 2017-06-06 15:00 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mitratech, the leading provider of legal, compliance, and operational risk software solutions, unveiled today the availability of the latest release of one of its leading enterprise legal management (ELM) solutions, eCounsel.



eCounsel allows legal teams to be in complete control of their legal operations, delivering integrated matter management, e-Billing, and spend management with robust reporting and a comprehensive document management system.



For the first time, corporate legal departments will be able to take advantage of real-time e-Billing analytics. The integration of Viewabill with eCounsel enables organizations to significantly drive legal spend savings. And, legal departments will also benefit from increased efficiency and productivity with the next-generation Microsoft Office integration, called Mitratech Office Link.



Viewabill provides corporate legal teams real-time insight into their law firms' activities and time entries through web and mobile app access by integrating with law firm time and billing systems. With the integration of eCounsel and Viewabill, corporate legal departments can now leverage real-time law firm time entries to facilitate collaboration, improve relationships, and optimize legal spend. Only Mitratech's legal management solutions provide access to law firm time entries against your matters prior to the invoice being created. Legal teams are now empowered to track, understand, and communicate with their law firms, and with notifications and integrated reporting it makes it even easier to stay informed.



Mitratech Office Link dramatically increases user adoption and advances the functionality that has been core to eCounsel. It enables the most common and repetitive matter management tasks to be performed seamlessly where lawyers and their legal staff are spending most of their time - within Microsoft Outlookand Microsoft Office tools. With Mitratech Office Link, users can view matter summary pages, easily review invoices, including approval/rejection workflow, and take advantage of bi-directional calendaring - all within Microsoft Outlook.



This release is the result of input from a working group of over 20 eCounsel clients who helped to shape the direction of the features and functionality. T-Mobile's Senior Manager of Legal Operations, Winston Yeung, was part of that working group and commented: "The relationship we have built with Mitratech and the eCounsel product team has been invaluable to our success as a legal department. From participating in working groups, to contributing to their long-term roadmap, to the ability to streamline our legal operations with technology by our side, eCounsel has allowed us to lead the charge as innovators in our space."



"Our approach to innovation is driven by our unmatched experience and knowledge of the legal function, our tight partnership with our clients, and the desire to enable our clients to advance their legal operations function," said Mitratech CEO, Jason Parkman. "Mitratech is committed to investing in innovation and this eCounsel release is a great example."



Microsoft Office and Outlook are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States.



ABOUT MITRATECH Mitratech is a market-leading provider of legal, compliance, and operational risk solutions for more than 1,200 organizations of all sizes across the globe, representing almost 40 percent of the Fortune 500, and over 500,000 users in over 160 countries. Mitratech's portfolio of enterprise legal and risk management software includes: legal matter management, spend management, e-Billing, legal hold, contracts management, risk management, policy management, audit management, and health & safety management. To learn more, visit www.mitratech.com.



Media Contacts: Mitratech Bree Goodall bree.goodall@mitratech.com T. +44 (0)20 3664 6686

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By todays standards, Im a slow learner. My computer skills are minimal, I dont own a cellphone (how could I talk and drive at the same time?), and I still believe that a handshake is sufficient to make a deal between two people.

Bear with me. Im reading from my notes from a 2005 presentation that I made to a group of rural folks in the Madison area. And so I ask: What will it be?

According to Dr. Phil, the first four minutes of every day are the most important in our daily lives. Those opening minutes set the stage for the rest of the day. And as Dr. Phil would say, You either contribute to, or contaminate, a relationship. What will it be?

I chuckled as a re-read my opening remarks to the group. I led off with a cheery Good Morning and the fact that I wished to share some personal things with the audience. Life is more than Scenic Places, Pretty Faces and Great Legs. Therell be some slides but this is not a travelogue. Life has offered many lessons from the west side of the tracks (where I grew up), to the frozen slopes of Korea, to the oil-rich fields of Alaska ... combined with a good sprinkling of Tom Sawyer adventures along the Mississippi River, Viking/Packer battles and building a 5-story muskie. All sorts of people have added a dash of love, humor and guidance along the way. I have been richly blessed.

As I look back a dozen years ago, I remarked that I can generally sort out the angels and saints in my life. I am gullible at times; naive too. But thats part of life. I dont see life as set out in neat numbered boxes. Life is an everyday challenge.

I did confess that I believe in a higher power that I call God. I believe that the good in people exceeds the bad. And I left room for one nearly full page of personal comments such as Not invincible. I can cry. Im emotional and I have deep-seated feelings for people. Climbing the ladder of success isnt important. I enjoy periods of quiet. And Im beginning to see the abuses that are, and have taken place, for many years against women, Native Americans, Blacks and others.

To much information? Maybe so. But what about some of the people who came into my life or I into their lives? Definitely inspiring and sharing and giving.

Sig Olson said: I go in there (meaning the Boundary Waters) to iron out the wrinkles in my soul. George Eliot offered this: What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other? And I offer thanks to Mary, a Dean of Students in San Francisco, for this wisdom:

Everything I need to know about life I learned from Noahs Ark.

One: Dont miss the boat.

Two: Remember that we are in the same boat.

Three: Plan ahead because it wasnt raining when Noah built the ark.

Four: Stay fit.

Five: Dont listen to critics. Just get on with the job that needs to be done.

Six: Build your future on high ground.

Seven: Travel in pairs for safetys sake.

Eight: Speed isnt always an advantage.

Nine: When stressed, float a while.

Ten: Remember, the ark was built by amateurs and the Titanic by professionals.

Eleven: No matter the storm, when you are with God, there is always a rainbow waiting.

Theres a delightful scene in Peter Pan. Peter has just flown through the air. The kids try to fly, too, but cant. They ask Peter, How do you do it? Peter says, Think lovely thoughts. They will lift you up into the air.
CRESCO, PA -- (Marketwired) -- 06/06/17 -- NSAV Holding, Inc. (OTC: NSAV), announced today that the Company is launching significant hemp operations in China. This will include both growing facilities and providing state of the art technology to its Chinese hemp partners. The NSAV hemp project will be based at one of the Companies' two current Shanghai locations and be a joint venture with the international Chinese conglomerate AMC Shanghai. NSAV is also in talks with a leading U.S. hemp technology company to participate in the project. China is the world's largest producer of hemp. While the U.S. is the globe's largest consumer of hemp. The U.S. legalized hemp at the federal level in 2014 and the Company feels this is the perfect time to enter this booming industry.

Further, China is the world's largest producer of cannabis sativa seeds, accounting for nearly 40% of global production. In addition, Chinese companies have 309 out of the 606 patents filed around the world that relate to cannabis and hemp. These statistics, combined the Company's foothold in China, provide NSAV with a major advantage over it competitors in the global hemp market.

James Tilton, president of NSAV stated, "I am thrilled that we will be a major force in the Chinese hemp arena. I envision NSAV as a bridge between the U.S. and China hemp markets."

NSAV's vision is the establishment of a fully integrated technology company that provides turnkey technological solutions to the legal medical cannabis and hemp industries, as well as other areas of the medical industry. Over time, the Company plans to provide a wide range of services such as software solutions, e-commerce, advisory services, financial services, patents and trademarks and information technology.

For further information please contact NSAV at 1 (570-595-2432) or info@nsavholdinginc.com

The NSAV corporate website can be accessed at http://nsavholdinginc.com

The NSAV Twitter account can be accessed at https://twitter.com/NSAV_MJTechCo

The NSAV Facebook account can be accessed at https://www.facebook.com/NSAVHolding/

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created thereby. Investors are cautioned that, all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including without limitation, the ability of NSAV Holding, Inc. to accomplish its stated plan of business. NSAV Holding, Inc. believes that the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements contained herein are reasonable, any of the assumptions could be inaccurate, and therefore, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements included in this press release will prove to be accurate. In light of the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward- looking statements included herein, the inclusion of such information should not be regarded as a representation by NSAV Holding, Inc. or any other person.

For further information please contact:

NSAV

1 (570-595-2432)

info@nsavholdinginc.com




SUDBURY, ON / ACCESSWIRE / June 6, 2017 / Frontier Lithium Inc. (TSX.V: FL) (the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has signed an Exploration Agreement with North Spirit Lake First Nation ("NSLFN" or "the Community") regarding the Company's mineral exploration activities on its PAK Lithium Project (the "Project") in the Red Lake Mining District, Northwestern Ontario.

Under the signed Exploration Agreement, the Company will continue to conduct mineral exploration with the support of the Community. The agreement promotes unity and a mutually beneficial and respectful relationship between Frontier Lithium and the Community. It allows for the exploration of its current and additional (if any) mining claims or properties that the Company may acquire an interest in - all for which are located within the Traditional Territories of North Spirit Lake First Nation, Deer Lake First Nation and Sandy Lake First Nation (as defined in the signed Exploration Agreements, see press October 21, 2016).

The agreement recognizes and respects the Aboriginal and Treaty rights and interests of the Community with their constitutional and other legal rights. Frontier and all three signatory communities desire to maintain open and friendly, cooperative, on-going communications with a positive working relationships.

"The signed agreement is of particular importance to Frontier as North Spirit Lake First Nation has shown patience and perseverance in order to ratify this agreement," commented Trevor Walker, President and CEO of Frontier. "Frontier would also like to formally thank the three strong and independent communities that neighbour the PAK Lithium Project of North Spirit Lake First Nation, Deer Lake First Nation and Sandy Lake First Nation for coming together with Frontier by focusing on our common goals and mutual values."

The agreement also states that the parties agree that it is their common objective to assist community members to benefit from business opportunities associated with Exploration Activities undertaken by Frontier Lithium and that assuming the Pre-Feasibility Study is positive, the Parties commit to make best efforts to develop an Impact Benefit Agreement (IBA).

The agreement is in line with the Company's commitment to build sincere relationships with our neighbouring communities. We have an active interest and respect for all people and we understand the social, environmental and economic implications of our activities.

Company Contact Information

Trevor R. Walker, President

2736 Belisle Drive

Val Caron, ON.

P3N 1B3 CANADA

T. +001 705.897.7622

F. +001 705.897.7618

Media Requests

Joseph Mansourian

Manager, Communications & Branding

2736 Belisle Drive

Val Caron, ON.

P3N 1B3 CANADA

T. +001 705.618.0070

F. +001 705.897.7618

About Frontier Lithium Inc.

Frontier's goal is to become a low-cost, fully integrated lithium and tantalum producer through development of the PAK lithium deposit in Ontario, Canada. Frontier maintains a tight share structure with management ownership exceeding 30% of the Company. CAD $4 million of exploration work has been conducted from 2013 to 2016 on the deposit which boasts its lithium in a rare, high-purity, low-iron spodumene. The Company has adopted a staged growth approach to exploration and development in order to avoid unnecessary share dilution - a strategic imperative for the Company. The initial target market is the glass-ceramic industry which consumes roughly one-third of global lithium supply and is currently faced with monopolistic conditions, coupled with major lithium producers increasingly directing output toward supporting battery manufacture.

Ceramic/glass customers prefer to source technical-grade (low-iron) spodumene concentrate in excess of 7% lithium oxide (Li2O), if available, to avoid inferior lower grade petalite concentrates, or paying much higher prices for battery grade lithium compounds that require chemical plants costing hundreds of millions of dollars.

The PAK lithium deposit remains open in all directions and Company Management believes the resource can be developed into a world-class operation. The Company is currently conduction pre-feasibility to produce lithium concentrates. If production of lithium concentrates can be established from Frontier, the possible second stage of investment and longer term prospect is to further process some of PAK's output to produce the higher purity lithium compounds required for lithium battery technologies used in the electrification of transportation and electric grid storage applications.

For additional information, please visit the company website at www.frontierlithium.com.

About the PAK Lithium Project

The PAK Lithium Project lies close to the boundary between two geological sub-provinces of the western Superior geologic province in northwestern Ontario and hosts a rare metals pegmatite deposit. The deposit is an LCT (lithium- cesium- tantalum) type pegmatite. These types of pegmatites have been the principal source of hard rock lithium, tantalum, rubidium and cesium ores mined in the world but there are comparatively few commercially-viable deposits.

Frontier is actively exploring its 100% owned project which contains the Pakeagama Lake pegmatite. The PAK deposit is one of the highest grade lithium mineral resources in North America which has a current Measured and Indicated Resource of 7.89 million tonnes of 1.73% Li2O equivalent (eq.) and Inferred Resource of 295,600 tonnes of 1.35% Li2O eq. which has a technical/ceramic grade spodumene with low inherent iron (below 0.1% Fe2O3). The deposit has adjacent zones that are enriched in tantalum and rubidium. Frontier is also evaluating the phased co-production of tantalum and mica-product concentrates once lithium mineral production has been commercialized.

The deposit now has a known 500m strike length with an estimated true width varying from 10m to 125m with a sub-vertical orientation. The resource remains open to depth and along strike to the northwest and southeast.

SOURCE: Frontier Lithium Inc.
Canopy Accelerator Cohort Companies Snapp Digital & WhoIsHappy to Partner with CannaSys

DENVER, CO / ACCESSWIRE / June 6, 2017 / CannaSys, Inc. (OTCQB: MJTK) (CannaSys), a marketing, branding, and technology company, today announced initial market traction with the impending full release of the Citizen Toke SMS marketing platform. CannaSys officially welcomes Herbal Alternatives and Pineapple Exchange dispensaries of Denver to the Citizen Toke Beta Partner Program, which allows partnering dispensaries early access to the platform.

Patrick Burke, CannaSyss current Chief Operating Officer and incoming Chief Executive Officer, commented: "We are very excited to work with our growing group of beta launch partners to perfect our technology and make it as valuable as possible for both the user and our customers."

Citizen Toke offers exclusive, instant, gamified promotions in the cannabis space, powered by SMS. Citizen Toke is the most efficient means for retail centers to communicate exclusive promotions to their consumers and to extend brand awareness to current and potential customers.

Additionally, CannaSys is collaborating with two companies from Canopy Accelerator of Boulder, Colorado - Snapp Digital and WhoIsHappy

Snapp Digital (www.snappdigital.com) is an advertisement distribution and management company that has achieved significant traction offering on-demand digital advertising within dispensaries.

WhoisHappy (www.whoishappy.com) is a geolocated social network connecting cannabis consumers to exchange information, share feelings, find useful information about consumption, and locate cannabis business establishments around the world.

"We see a massive opportunity to expand the Citizen Toke user base while incentivizing dispensaries to partner with the platform through the natural synergies between Snapp, WhoIsHappy and CannaSys," commented Patrick Burke. "All three companies have found innovative solutions to create opportunity out of the problems that hinder marketing and communication within the cannabis industry, and this is a great time to expand by building off each of our strengths."

CannaSys and its board and senior management remain committed to creating long-term shareholder value and will provide timely updates to shareholders as they occur.

About Cannasys, Inc.

CannaSys is a technology solutions, marketing, and branding company. Its core products are delivered software as a service to facilitate point-of-purchase transactions and customer relationship marketing solutions. CannaSys plans to develop, acquire, and build strategic relationships with other businesses in order to bring additional solutions to market. For more information, please visit www.cannasys.com.

About Snapp Digital, LLC

Snapp Digital is a Software as a Service (SaaS) platform that automates the entire advertising process on Digital Signage (TV Screens) inside retail businesses. Everything from selling and managing ad inventory, to ad approvals, an online buying portal, uploading and managing ad content, and automatically deploying ads across multiple screens. Snapp Digital has recently introduced a new technology that categorizes customers by persona allowing advertisers the ability to see which ads are working and who they are reaching so they can better target their ads. For more information, please contact us at sales@snappdigital.com or visit www.snappdigital.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This release includes forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including continued acceptance of CannaSys' products, increased levels of competition for CannaSys, new products and technological changes, CannaSys' dependence on third-party suppliers, and other risks detailed from time to time in CannaSys' periodic reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contact:

CannaSys, Inc.

Patrick G. Burke

Chief Operating Officer

Tel: 720.724.7515

Email: patrick.burke@cannasys.com

Web: www.cannasys.com

SOURCE: CannaSys, Inc.
ELKO, NV / ACCESSWIRE / June 6, 2017 / Lithium Corporation (OTCQB: LTUM) ("LTUM" or "the Company"), a North American company focused on lithium and graphite for the growing energy storage sector, is pleased to announce that its permit application in support of the proposed trenching at the Company's BC Sugar property has been approved by the British Columbia Ministry of Energy and Mines. LTUM is looking to ground truth frequency domain EM anomalies that resulted from a geophysical survey conducted in the area in 2015. Preliminary work consisting of access upgrade, prospecting, and a brief geophysical survey will be conducted shortly, with trenching to follow in the late summer 2017.

Trenching on the prospect in the area of the "Weather Station" showing in 2015 intercepted a broad zone of mineralization with a core area of almost 30 meters where weathering was as deep as 8 meters subsurface, and average grades were 2.73% graphitic carbon. After establishing that weathered, easily extractable graphite mineralization exists on the property; the Company is looking to determine which areas on the property are most prospective for the development of larger deposits of this style of mineralization.

Elsewhere, Lithium Corporation is continuing to work on its generative program for lithium-brine mineralization in Nevada, and is looking to commence work on its British Columbia Tantalum-Niobium properties shortly.

About Lithium Corporation

Lithium Corporation is an exploration company based in Nevada devoted to the exploration for energy storage related resources throughout North America, and looking to capitalize on opportunities within the ever expanding next generation energy storage markets. The Company maintains a strategic alliance with Altura Mining, an ASX listed natural resource development company that is currently developing its 100% owned world-class Pilgangoora lithium pegmatite property in Western Australia.

Contact Info

Tom Lewis, CEO

Lithium Corporation

775-410-2206

info@lithiumcorporation.com

Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This current report contains "forward-looking statements," as that term is defined in Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Statements in this press release which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements and include any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future.

Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among others, the inherent uncertainties associated with mineral exploration and difficulties associated with obtaining financing on acceptable terms. We are not in control of minerals prices and these could vary to make development uneconomic. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release, and we assume no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the beliefs, plans, expectations and intentions contained in this press release are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions will prove to be accurate. Investors should consult all of the information set forth herein and should also refer to the risk factors disclosure outlined in our most recent annual report for our last fiscal year, our quarterly reports, and other periodic reports filed from time-to-time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Lithium Corporation

(OTCQB: LTUM)

1031 Railroad St. Ste 102B Elko NV 89801

(775) 410-5287

www.lithiumcorporation.com

SOURCE: Lithium Corporation
TOKYO, JAPAN--(Marketwired - June 06, 2017) - Frameworx, Inc., a Daiwa House Group company, which develops distribution systems (headquartered in Shizuoka prefecture, president: Jun'ichi Akiba) and YRP Ubiquitous Networking Laboratory (Located in Tokyo and Kanagawa, directed by Ken Sakamura, Dean of Information Networking for Innovation and Design (INIAD) at Toyo University) will hold a second annual contest, "Next Generation Logistics Open Data Contest."

The official entry period is from Friday, April 28, 2017 to Wednesday, September 27, 2017. The results of the contest will be announced and an awards ceremony will be held in November 2017.

The awards will total five million Japanese Yen, the contest will solicit new proposals for applications, web services, reports, and "gadgets" in several categories of logistics essential in an era when Artificial Intelligence (AI) is used by developers, researchers, students, and others.

Frameworx is working to streamline the operation of robots transferring goods inside warehouses as well as the dispatching of trucks using AI in order to solve the chronic issues in the logistics sector, such as man-power shortages and fierce competition in the industry. The data for distribution, warehouses, HEMS (Home Energy Management System), and census data is released as open data. New proposals for logistics that takes advantage of information communication technology (such as AI) are widely sought.

Complete 2017 contest entry information and details (in English) can be found at: http://contest.frameworxopendata.jp/index-e.html

To review the 2016 contest winning entries, please go to: http://contest.frameworxopendata.jp/award-2016-e.html

2017 Next Generation Logistics Open Data Contest Overview

Schedule

Entry period: Friday, April 28, 2017 through Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Awards ceremony: November 2017 (Tentative)

Submissions

The contest calls for submissions (applications, web services, and gadgets) that use the data about distribution, warehouses, HEMS, and census data provided by Frameworx. Study reports are called for in the "Study Category."

Contest Categories

The contest calls for applications, web services, gadgets, and study reports in the following three categories:

* Business Category

Useful applications for logistics tasks (planning of shipping goods from warehouses, transportation and delivery by trucks, setting up logistics centers, etc.) are solicited.

* AI Category

Applications that use Artificial Intelligence and/or machine learning that utilize released open data are solicited.

* Study Category

Study reports on economy, transportation, and related fields of interest, based on the data regarding distribution, warehouses, HEMS, census, and applications that are useful for conducting such studies are solicited.

Winner Selection

Winners will be selected by the following judges:

Chief Judge: Ken Sakamura (Dean of INIAD, Toyo University)

* Jun'ichi Akiba (President of Frameworx, Inc.)

* Osamu Ogasawara (Fellow of SAKURA Internet Inc.)

* Tatsuya Urakawa (Managing Executive Officer, Sales Department, General Construction Division, Daiwa House Industry Co., Ltd.)

Prizes

Total amount of the prizes will be five million Japanese Yen.

* First Prize: Two million Japanese Yen

* Second Prizes: 500,000 Japanese Yen each (4 winners)

* Honorable Mentions: 100,000 Japanese Yen each (10 winners)

Open Data to Be Released

The following data related to the logistic systems of Frameworx will be released to those who register as a contestant.

* How to use the data is now published in "Frameworx Logistics Next Generation Open Data Contest Developers Site"

* Logistics data

The record acquired from digital tachometers from the delivery trucks of Daiwa Logistics Co., Ltd. and Hacobu Co., Ltd., will be released. The data is updated weekly during the contest period, including information on the positions of the delivery trucks.

* Warehouse data

Real shipping data from warehouses of online retailers of cosmetics and shoes, including the data from the warehouse management system "iWMS" (packaged system solution of Frameworx) will be released.

* HEMS data

Data owned by Daiwa House such as the electricity, gas, and water usage of families in individual houses will be released. No personal data that can identify an individual is included.

* Census data

Eighteen types of statistics data, shown in map meshes, will be released. The data includes population by gender and age, population of over 15 years old, by gender and marital status, type of households, number of households (with a particular number of members), etc.

Eligibility

* Those who agree to the Application Rules.

* Any party, including individuals, groups and corporations.

* There are no restrictions on nationality, age, resident area, etc. Minor applicants must obtain the permission of their guardian.

* Single parties (including a group, and/or a corporation) may submit two or more applications. A contestant may belong to two or more application groups.

Application Rules

* The open data from Frameworx shall be used.

* The submission to the contest must be released to the public free of charge. (Details of the application method and how to make the submission accessible to the public will be announced on the contest website.)

URL

http://contest.frameworxopendata.jp/index-e.html

Organizer: Frameworx, Inc., a Daiwa House Group company

Co-sponsor: YRP Ubiquitous Networking Laboratory

Special Cooperation: Daiwa House Industry Co., Ltd.

Cooperation: INIAD collaboration Hub for University and Business (cHUB), Toyo University

Supporting Organizations: Daiwa Logistics Co., Ltd. / Microbase Inc. / Hacobu Co., Ltd. / Luxembourg Trade and Investment Office in Japan

The Japanese announcement and registration is at the following contest website.

http://contest.frameworxopendata.jp/index.html

About Frameworx, Inc.

Frameworx, Inc., a Daiwa House Group company, specializes in the logistics, and provides ICT services and consulting services based on the self-developed Warehouse Management System (WMS). Currently, it aims to solve the issues the logistics industry faces such as efficient delivery and manpower-saving by utilizing the latest ICT including AI in various manners.

URL: http://www.daiwahousegroup.com/frameworx/

About YRP Ubiquitous Networking Laboratory

YRP Ubiquitous Networking Laboratory (UNL) promotes research and development in ubiquitous computing and the IoT (Internet of Things) technology, in which many objects in our surroundings are embedded with small computer nodes with sensors and actuators that communicate with each other and operate in a cooperative manner to offer sophisticated services to human users. URL: http://www.ubin.jp/

About Information Networking for Innovation and Design (INIAD), Toyo University

INIAD fosters human resources who can create new services and objects cooperating with others in different fields with computer science at the core. It provides four courses; Information Networking Computer Science & Engineering, Information Networking Digital Design, Information Networking Business Innovation and Information Networking Social Infrastructure. In the first year, all students learn the basis of computer science including programming and communication skill. The third-year students acquire collaboration skills through team hands-on practices that span courses. URL: http://www.iniad.org/

About INIAD cHUB

INIAD cHUB promotes cooperation between INIAD, Toyo University and the outside world. With a view to cooperation with government and non-profit organizations, it aims to collaborate with for profit and/or non-profit "businesses" in many socially important business activities, such as services and activities for an open movement approach. It is referred to not as the usual simple phrase of "industry" in general "industry-university cooperation" but as a "collaboration Hub for both University and Business."

For general inquiries about the contest, please contact the following:



Secretariat for Frameworx Next Generation Logistics Open Data Contest

YRP Ubiquitous Networking Laboratory

E-mail: support@frameworxopendata.jp



Press contact for this press release

YRP Ubiquitous Networking Laboratory

Contacts: Mr. Kashiwa, and Mr. Bessho

Phone: +81-3-5437-2270

E-mail: press@ubin.jp
RADIANT clinical study evaluating safety and performance outcomes of HLT's Meridian Valve and Pathfinder II Delivery System for severe aortic stenosis

MINNEAPOLIS, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --HLT, Inc. today announced the first U.S. patient implants in an early feasibility clinical study to assess the safety and performance outcomes of the Meridian Transcatheter Aortic Valve and Pathfinder II Delivery System in patients with severe aortic stenosis who are at high risk for surgery.

The implant procedures were completed at New York University's Langone Medical Center byMathew R. Williams, M.D., associate professor, Cardiothoracic Surgery; director,Heart Valve Center; chief, Adult Cardiac Surgery; director, Interventional Cardiology; and U.S. principal investigator of HLT's RADIANT clinical study.

The RADIANT trial is a prospective, non-randomized, single-arm, multicenter study that will enroll up to 20 high-risk patients with severe aortic valve stenosis. The endpoint will evaluate all-cause mortality at 30 days. Patient follow-up will occur at one, six and 12 months and annually to five years.

"The first U.S. implants of our Meridian valve marks a significant milestone in our drive to advance TAVR therapy to meet the needs of patients facing valve replacement who are at high risk for open-heart surgery," said Kevin Bassett, HLT general manager. "We are extremely pleased to work with Dr. Williams and the entire NYU team at their progressive transcatheter valve center."

Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a less invasive treatment option as compared to surgical valve replacement for these patients. During a TAVR procedure, a compressed replacement valve is advanced, via a catheter (hollow tube) placed in a blood vessel in the upper leg, to the beating heart. "The HLT TAVR design enables us to fully assess valve function prior to releasing the valve in the heart, reposition it to achieve optimal performance prior to final release or retrieve it if necessary," said NYU's Dr. Williams. "As a result, our first procedure with the Meridian valve could be performed quickly and easily. In addition, the level of control that the system provides enabled us to perform the procedure under conscious sedation rather than general anesthesia."

Precise positioning of the new valve is critical to ensure good hemodynamics (blood flow and pressure), avoid leakage around the valve's base and deliver optimal patient outcomes. However, HLT data reveals in up to 25 percent of cases, physicians settle for less-than-ideal positioning because of challenging patient anatomy and disease.

"The Meridian Valve is also uniquely designed with a flexible wire frame to support the leaflets and a shorter height with minimal extension into the left ventricle," said Robert Wilson, M.D., HLT chief scientific and innovation officer and founder.

For more information on the HLT TAVR system, including a video animation, please visit www.hltmedical.com

Editor's note: To download an image of the Meridian Valve, go to http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hlt-announces-first-patient-enrollments-in-a-feasibility-study-of-a-new-transcatheter-aortic-valve-replacement-system-300433920.html

About HLT

HLT, Inc., is a clinical phase medical device company focused on transcatheter aortic valve replacement therapy that will provide physicians increased procedure confidence, control during the implant procedure and improved patient outcomes. HLT's Meridian Transcatheter Aortic Valve is designed to conform to the natural structure of the heart, and its Pathfinder II Delivery System provides physicians control over valve placement in a beating heart, as well as flexibility to reposition or fully retrieve the valve before release.

HLT is headquartered in Maple Grove, Minn. Its team of 90 employees works alongside its sister company ACIST Medical Systems, a pioneer and market leader of advanced contrast delivery and imaging systems for interventional cardiology. The privately held companies are part of the Bracco Group, an international leader in diagnostic imaging based in Milan, Italy. For more about HLT, visit www.hltmedical.com.

About Bracco Group

Bracco has headquarters in Milan, Italy, and was founded in 1927. It is active in the healthcare sector through Bracco Imaging (diagnostic imaging), ACIST Medical Systems and HLT (cardiology) and the Centro Diagnostico Italiano diagnostic clinic. It has around 3,400 employees and annual total consolidated revenues of over $1.38 billion USD (1.3 billion Euro). Bracco operates in more than 100 countries worldwide. To learn more about Bracco Group, visit www.bracco.com.

For Investigational Use Only. Not Available for Sale in Any Geography.

Contact: Peggy Malikowski

763-416-7511

Peggy.Malikowski@hltmedical.com
JERUSALEM (dpa-AFX) - In a unanimous vote, the Senate approved a resolution on Monday that includes language calling on President Donald Trump to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The Senate voted 90 to zero on the resolution to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem following the Six Day War. Ten Senators, including five Democrats and five Republicans, did not vote. The resolution includes a provision calling on the president to abide by a Clinton-era law calling for the embassy to be moved to Jerusalem. The 1995 law allows the president to issue six-month waivers of the move, and Trump became the latest chief executive to issue such a waiver last week. Trump promised to move the embassy to Jerusalem during the presidential campaign but delayed the move last Thursday. A White House statement said Trump made the decision to maximize the chances of successfully negotiating a deal between Israel and the Palestinians, who both claim Jerusalem as their capital. 'But, as he has repeatedly stated his intention to move the embassy, the question is not if that move happens, but only when,' the White House said. Ahead of the vote, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ken., said passage of the resolution would serve as yet another indication of the U.S. commitment to standing by its Israeli friends. 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.
HONG KONG, CHINA and CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 06/06/17 -- The Board of Directors of Sunshine Oilsands Ltd. ("the Corporation" or "Sunshine") (HKSE: 2012) hereby announces the following:

INCREASE IN SHAREHOLDING IN THE COMPANY BY CHAIRMAN AND MAJOR SHAREHOLDER

The Corporation was informed by its major shareholder, Mr. Sun Kwok Ping ("Mr. Sun"), the executive director and chairman of the board of directors (the "Board") of the corporation, that on June 6, 2017, Mr. Sun acquired a total of 5,000,000 shares of the corporation through on-market purchases for an aggregate consideration of HK$1,450,000.

Mr. Sun is confident about the future prospects of Sunshine and the oil industry and believes that there will be continued growth and development of the corporation. Mr. Sun does not rule out the possibility of further increasing his shareholding in Sunshine as he feels appropriate in the future, subject to compliance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements. As a result of the acquisition, Mr. Sun holds 1,277,202,500 shares in the Company, representing approximately 23.26% of the issued share capital of the Company.

ABOUT SUNSHINE OILSANDS LTD.

The Corporation is a Calgary based public corporation listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since March 1, 2012. The Corporation is focused on the development of its significant holdings of oil sands leases in the Athabasca oil sands region. The Corporation owns interests in approximately one million acres of oil sands and petroleum and natural gas leases in the Athabasca region. The Corporation is currently focused on executing milestone undertakings in the West Ells project area. West Ells has an initial production rate of 5,000 barrels per day.

FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This announcement contains forward-looking information relating to, among other things, the plans and expectations of the Corporation. Such forward-looking information is subject to various risks, uncertainties and other factors. All statements other than statements and information of historical fact are forward-looking statements. The use of words such as "estimate", "forecast", "expect", "project", "plan", "target", "vision", "goal", "outlook", "April", "will", "should", "believe", "intend", "anticipate", "potential", and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the Corporation's experience, current beliefs, assumptions, information and perception of historical trends available to the Corporation, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to those associated with resource definition and expected reserves and contingent and prospective resources estimates, unanticipated costs and expenses, regulatory approval, fluctuating oil and gas prices, expected future production, the ability to access sufficient capital to finance future development and credit risks, changes in Alberta's regulatory framework, including changes to regulatory approval process and land-use designations, royalty, tax, environmental, greenhouse gas, carbon and other laws or regulations and the impact thereof and the costs associated with compliance. Although the Corporation believes that the expectations represented by such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions and factors discussed in this announcement are not exhaustive and readers are not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as the Corporation's actual results April differ materially from those expressed or implied. The Corporation disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, subsequent to the date of this announcement, except as required under applicable securities legislation. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this announcement and are expressly qualified by these cautionary statements. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing lists are not exhaustive and are made as at the date hereof. For a full discussion of the Corporation's material risk factors, see the Corporation's annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2016 and risk factors described in other documents we file from time to time with securities regulatory authorities, all of which are available on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange at www.hkexnews.hk, on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com or on the Corporation's website at www.sunshineoilsands.com.

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited and The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited take no responsibility for the contents of this announcement, make no representation as to its accuracy or completeness and expressly disclaim any liability whatsoever for any loss howsoever arising from or in reliance upon the whole or any part of the contents of this announcement.

This announcement appears for information purpose only and does not constitute an invitation or offer to acquire, purchase or subscribe for securities of Sunshine Oilsands Ltd.

By Order of the Board of Sunshine Oilsands Ltd.

Sun Kwok Ping, Executive Chairman

As at the date of this announcement, the Board consists of Mr. Kwok Ping Sun, Mr. Hong Luo, Dr. Qi Jiang and Mr. Qiping Men as executive directors; Mr. Michael John Hibberd, Ms. Linna Liu and Ms. Xijuan Jiang as non-executive directors; and Mr. Raymond Shengti Fong, Mr. Gerald Franklin Stevenson, Ms. Joanne Yan and Mr. Yi He as independent non-executive directors.

(i) For identification purposes only

Contacts:

Sunshine Oilsands Ltd.

Mr. Hong Luo

Chief Executive Officer

(1) 403-984-1450

investorrelations@sunshineoilsands.com

www.sunshineoilsands.com




ALBANY, New York, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Transparency Market Research has released a new market report titled "Polyimide Films Market (Application- Wires and Cables Insulation, Flexible PCB and Others) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2016-2024." According to the report, the global polyimide films market was valued at US$ 927.7 Mn in 2015 and is expected to reach US$ 1770.1 Mn by 2024, expanding at a CAGR of 7.5% from 2016 to 2024.

Polyimide Films (PI) which is manufactured from polyimide resin, is best known for its electrical and thermal properties. It is used widely in electronics industry for insulation and manufacturing flexible circuits. Also, polyimide films can be used for high temperature applications. The increasing demand for lightweight heat and fire resistant insulation films which also helps in space savings in aerospace, aircraft industry is likely to increase the demand for polyimide films during the forecast period.

Key applications of polyimide films include flexible PCB, wires and cable insulation, others (barcode, labels). In terms of volume, in 2015 flexible PCB accounts for more than 70% share of the global polyimide films market and is likely to be a highly lucrative segment during the forecast period. Wires and cables insulation is expected to expand significantly during the forecast period due to the lightweight of polyimide films which help in weight savings in aircrafts. The market of polyimide films is anticipated to be hampered by its tendency to shrink when hydrolyzed and high cost of processing. Polyimide films are used for making pressure sensitive adhesive tapes, which are used in the electrical and electronics industry. Due to heat and fire resistant properties of the polyimide film, the tape can be used to insulate wire and cables of automotive components, satellites, motors, generators, and electrical submersible pumps.

Get Sample PDF Report Brochure: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=24746

The global polyimide films market is anticipated to expand during the forecast period. In terms of volume, Asia Pacific held more than 40% of the global polyimide films market in 2015 owing the huge electronics industry in China, Japan, and Taiwan. North America is likely to follow Asia Pacific in terms of consumption. It is likely to expand due to huge aerospace industry in the region. Europe is also forecasted to expand during the forecast period.

The key players of polyimide films market include Kaneka Corporation, DuPont, SKCKOLONPI Co. Ltd, Anabond Limited, Taimide Tech Inc., I.S.T. Corporation, Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, UBE Industries Ltd, Toyobo Co. Ltd. DuPont and SKCKOLON PI are anticipated to be some of the leading manufacturers of polyimide films. Manufacturers are augmenting their production capacity to meet increasing demand from end user industries. Also, manufacturers of polyimide films are investing huge amounts in R&D for developing polyimide films which is shrinkage free.

Browse Research Press Release: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/pressrelease/polyimide-films-market.htm

The report segments the global polyimide films market as:

Polyimide Films Market - Application Analysis

Flexible PCB

Wires and Cables Insulation

Others (Barcode, Labels)

Polyimide Films Market - Regional Analysis

North America U.S. Canada

Europe Germany France UK Spain Italy Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific China Japan India ASEAN Rest of Asia Pacific (APAC)

Latin America Brazil Mexico Rest of Latin America (LATAM)

Middle East & Africa GCC South Africa Rest of Middle East & Africa (MEA)

&

Browse Other Market Research Report:

Battery Separator Films Market: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/battery-separator-films.html

About TMR

Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The company's exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMR's experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.

TMR's data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.

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VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 06/06/17 -- Canada Carbon Inc. (the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: CCB), (FRANKFURT: U7N1) is pleased to announce it is planning for an approximately 3,000 metre ("m") drill program on its Miller Project that is expected to begin in mid June 2017. The drill results should increase the confidence in the resource modeling beyond the boundaries of existing indicated resources (see news release dated December 14th 2016). The Company will then proceed to update its mineral resources, to be determined by SGS Canada, Blainville, Quebec.

The drill program will only be performed in selected areas away from wetlands and environmentally sensitive zones identified in our environmental assessments, to ensure that any further discoveries will also have a minimal impact on the environment as we continue to assess options for mine optimization. The map of the current indicated and inferred resources and the areas that could be drilled can be found at: http://www.canadacarbon.com/images/Miller_Drill_Map_Jun2017.jpg. One important goal of this drill program is to enhance the near-surface indicated graphite resource category which may allow the Company to maintain or improve its current economic projections (as stated in the Company's Preliminary Economic Assessment filed April 14th, 2016 on SEDAR) within a smaller and shallower open pit operating plan.

The proposed 3,000 m drill program will include between 24 and 40 holes to variable depths between 75 and 125 m each. Depending on drill results, the Company may expand the drill program beyond 3,000 m. Downing Drilling from Hawkesbury, ON, and Foradrill from Gatineau, QC, were selected to perform the drill program, which will be managed by SL Exploration Inc. The core will be logged, split and prepared under the supervision of its geologists, who will also manage the QA/QC program. Samples will be sent to Actlabs, Ancaster, ON for graphite assaying using preparation code RX1-Graphitic (Samples undergo drying, crushing up to 90% passing through a #10 square-mesh screen, riffle splitting (250 gram) and pulverized by crushing to 95% passing a 105 micron square-mesh screen.) and assaying code 4F-C-Graphitic (Multistage furnace treatment and infrared absorption, with a 0.05% detection limit).

The drill targets and collar locations will be prepared by SGS Canada (Blainville) in the coming weeks. The existing geological model of the Miller deposit includes areas with open mineralization in all directions, including higher grade zones (1% Cg and over) that will be targets for this drill program. Additionally, in-fill drilling will be performed in areas where past drill sample density supported only inferred graphite resources (see news release dated December 14th 2016). SGS Canada will prioritize in-filling in higher grade zones before working in lower grade areas. The updated geological model developed to support the revised resource calculation in the Technical Report filed to SEDAR on January 27, 2017 revealed that higher graphite grades were hosted in marble and skarn units proximal to contact with paragneiss bands, which are themselves open along strike and to depth. These contact zones constitute a new type of drill target, and if confirmed by drilling, could lead to a significant increase in the number of holes completed during this summer's drill program.

The Company also is planning further drilling to increase its knowledge of the continuity and quality of the white marble zone which is expected to be quarried to yield blocks and slabs of architectural stone. Both existing and newly acquired marble core samples will be digitally scanned for colour and consistency, which will be used to develop a three-dimensional model for quarry planning purposes.

Canada Carbon Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mr. R. Bruce Duncan remarked, "The Miller white marble has sparked interest in the dimensional stone industry, due to its unique characteristics. The marble has excellent colour and appearance, is easy to work, and polishes to a high lustre. We look forward to further developing marble interest as we conduct public consultations and advance in obtaining the required permits and environmental certificate of authorisation."

Canada Carbon has established a dedicated page on its website to host final environmental and other assessment reports, which will be updated as new information becomes available. The Miller Project Reports page can be accessed from the website home page, or by opening this link: https://www.canadacarbon.com/miller-project-reports . The Company will provide periodic updates via newspaper ads and flyers delivered to GSLR residents, and will hold further public meetings from time to time as the results of the Project feasibility study are made public and the quarry and mine permit applications are considered.

QUALIFIED PERSON

Steven Lauzier, P.Geo. OGQ, a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 guidelines, has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release.

CANADA CARBON INC.

R. Bruce Duncan, CEO and Director

"Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release."

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: This news release contains forward-looking statements, which relate to future events or future performance and reflect management's current expectations and assumptions. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Investors are cautioned that these forward looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially from those expected. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and, except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. All of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements and by those made in our filings with SEDAR in Canada (available at www.sedar.com).

Contacts:

Canada Carbon Inc.

E-mail inquiries: info@canadacarbon.com

(604) 685-6375

(604) 909-1163 (FAX)




DUBLIN, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Global Micro-Invasive Glaucoma Surgery (MIGS) Devices Market (By Target, By Surgery, By End User, By Region, By Country): Opportunities and Forecast (2017-2022) - By Target, By Surgery, By End User, By Region, By Country" report to their offering.

Over the recent years, the global Micro-Invasive Glaucoma Surgery industry has been growing rapidly as the global sales of iStent device by Glaukos which was the only commercially available device in United States has witnessed rapid growth post its FDA approval in 2012. Globally, the growth in micro-invasive glaucoma surgery device market is driven by several MIGS devices entering the market in next five years, rising number of glaucoma patients and rapidly aging population.

The market chiefly driven by several MIGS devices entering the market in next five years, rising number of glaucoma patients and rapidly aging population, high safety profile and reduced dependency on prescription eye drops.



Among the targets, Trabecular Meshwork currently dominates the Micro-Invasive Glaucoma Surgery market. Among the surgeries, Stand Alone Glaucoma surgery is projected to witness fastest growth. In terms of End User, Ambulatory Surgery Centers is predicted to grow at a higher rate than HOPDs (Hospital Outpatient Departments). Among the regions, Asia Pacific is predicted to advance at the highest rate, mainly driven by large glaucoma population and expansion of MIGS device in the region.



Key Topics Covered:



1. Research Methodology



2. Executive Summary



3. Strategic Recommendations



4. Product Overview



5. Global Micro-Invasive Glaucoma Surgery Device Market: Growth and Forecast



6. Global Micro-Invasive Glaucoma Surgery Devices Market - By Target



7. Global Micro-Invasive Glaucoma Surgery Devices Market - By Surgery



8. Global Micro-Invasive Glaucoma Surgery Market: Analysis By End User



9. Global Micro-Invasive Glaucoma Surgery Devices Market: Regional Analysis



10. Market Dynamics



11. Market Trends



12. Porter's Five Forces Analysis



13. SWOT Analysis



14. Policy and Regulatory Landscape



15. Company Profiles



- Alcon

- Allergan

- Glaukos

- Ivantis

- Santen Pharmaceuticals



For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/pwwqc8/global

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

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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.
LimFlow SA developer of minimally-invasive technology for the treatment of end-stage critical limb ischemia (CLI), a severe form of peripheral artery disease (PAD), today announced the expansion of the company's senior management team. Sophie Humbert, PhD, has been appointed to the role of chief operating officer (COO) and Thomas Engels, III, assumes the role of vice president of clinical affairs. The Paris-based company also announced the opening of its first U.S. office in Silicon Valley, California.

Sophie Humbert brings to LimFlow more than 15 years of experience in the medical technology industry and a strong track record of bringing innovation from ideation to market. Prior to joining LimFlow, Sophie was the COO of Arterial Remodeling Technologies (Terumo). There, she helped the company earn a CE Mark for its first-generation bio-resorbable cardiovascular stent and develop its second-generation, drug-coated bio-resorbable stent. Previously, Sophie was CEO at CermaVein, where she led the company through CE marking and to commercialization in several markets. Sophie holds a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Geneva, a Master's degree in Management from EM Lyon and a Pharma doctorate from the University Claude Bernard in Lyon.

Thomas Engels possesses more than 20 years of clinical research experience for pharma, biotech, and medical devices, with 15 years in interventional cardiology. Prior to joining LimFlow, Thomas was vice president of clinical affairs for Claret Medical, Micell Technologies and CardioKinetix, taking the companies' novel devices through trials to achieve CE Mark, European post-marketing safety surveillance, Chinese (CFDA) approval and de novo FDA clearance. Previously, Thomas was director of clinical research for 10 years at Abbott Vascular, where he managed its global portfolio of interventional cardiology studies. He holds a BS from Louisiana State University and MBA degrees from the Columbia Business School and the Haas School of Business at University of California, Berkeley.

"Sophie and Thomas bring impressive experience in the cardiovascular space and a track record of achieving clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones for new technologies. Their addition to the company demonstrates our commitment to hiring the top talent in the industry," said Dan Rose, chief executive officer of LimFlow.

He continued, "We are also excited to expand our operation into the U.S. to support our ongoing U.S. clinical work. By locating our first office in Silicon Valley, we have chosen a location with a heritage of innovation that reflects our mission of transforming the treatment of CLI globally."

In April, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the company's Investigational Device Exemption for a feasibility study of the LimFlow Percutaneous Deep Vein Arterialization (pDVA) System.

About LimFlow SA

LimFlow is a private, venture-backed medical device company transforming the treatment of Critical Limb Ischemia, a growing clinical need in the face of the prevalence of diabetes, heart disease and an aging population. The LimFlow Percutaneous Deep Vein Arterialization (pDVA) is designed to bypass blocked arteries in the leg and rush oxygenated blood back into the foot. For many patients, restoring perfusion in the lower limbs resolves chronic pain, improves quality of life, promotes wound healing and prevents major amputation. For more information, visit www.limflow.com.

CAUTION: The LimFlow technology is approved for investigational use only in the United States. The LimFlow System received the CE Mark in October 2016 and is currently available commercially in Europe. The LimFlow System has not been approved for sale in the USA, Canada, or Japan.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170606006145/en/

Contacts:

Chronic Communications, Inc.

Michelle McAdam, 949-545-6654

michelle@chronic-comm.com
SINGAPORE -- (Marketwired) -- 06/06/17 -- Plunify, supplier of field programmable gate array (FPGA) timing and performance software based on machine learning techniques, today introduced Kabuto to minimize and eliminate performance errors.

Kabuto joins Plunify's InTime for time closure and performance optimization to solve critical design problems for a variety of markets, including data center, advanced driver assistance systems and high-frequency trading. "Our machine learning features for timing closure and optimizing FPGA designs enables our users to outperform their competitors," remarks Harnhua Ng, Plunify's chief executive officer and co-founder.

Plunify will exhibit at the Design Automation Conference (DAC) in Booth #1631 June 19-21 from10 a.m. until 6 p.m. at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas. It will offer continuous demonstrations of its complete product portfolio.

Introducing Kabuto for fixing RTL Code Performance

Kabuto, the Japanese term for "helmet," protects FPGA designs from performance errors by recommending register transfer level (RTL) code fixes based on timing path and RTL code analysis. It reads critical-path information and pinpoints corresponding source code segments, analyzes them and then proposes RTL fixes.

For instance, Kabuto can identify the need to pipeline a design, suggest the exact lines of code to be modified and ensure that dependencies are checked properly. Unlike linting tools, Kabuto recommends fixes for bad timing paths at the register transfer level.

Added Capabilities to InTime

As FPGAs and design flows become more complex, the number and difficulty of critical timing and performance issues increase exponentially. InTime timing closure and performance optimization addresses these challenges using a unique data-driven approach and helps engineering groups achieve their design timing goals. It learns and infers the best tool parameters, such as synthesis options, place & route options and placement locations, for a design. InTime uses statistical modeling and machine learning capabilities to draw insights from the data to improve quality of results.

The latest version offers improved timing control and performance capabilities. An Auto Placement feature now supports Quartus Prime Pro 17.0, Quartus 17.0, Vivado 2017.1. InTime runs fully automated on the user's servers or in a cloud computing environment.

The latest capabilities enable customers to build their own proprietary design database, ensuring that the more an engineering group uses InTime, the smarter the group's learning database becomes, further accelerating the time to design closure.

While InTime is used primarily for timing closure, Plunify's algorithms can be applied to critical variables like power and area as well.

Availability and Pricing

InTime is shipping now, as is a beta version of Kabuto.

Pricing is available upon request.

Plunify has a successful track record with engineering groups across many different types of FPGA designs. It has sales in Australia, China, India, Japan, Singapore and the United States with a variety of customer service options including on-site training, hotline support and consulting services.

About Plunify

Solutions from Plunify enable designers to meet FPGA design performance targets, shorten product time to market and reduce development costs with no disruption to existing workflows. It solves complex chip design timing and performance problems through machine learning techniques for a variety of markets, including data center applications and applications such as advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and high-frequency trading (HFT). Plunify's portfolio includes the EDAxtend chip design platform, InTime timing closure tool and Kabuto performance RTL advisor.

Engage with Plunify at:

Website: www.plunify.com

Twitter: @plunify

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/plunify

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Plunify

Plunify's blog: http://blog.plunify.com

All trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

For more information, contact:

Nanette Collins

Public Relations for Plunify

(617) 437-1822

Email Contact




NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwired) -- 06/06/17 -- DigitalOcean, the cloud for developers, today launched Cloud Firewalls, a free service that secures Droplets (cloud servers) by reducing the surface area of a potential attack. Developers can deploy the service in seconds without installing or configuring any software, and define what ports are visible on their Droplets to minimize risk. Along with DigitalOcean's free Monitoring Service launched in April 2017, Cloud Firewalls is a key part of DigitalOcean's continuous effort to add value back to developers by allowing them to deploy and scale applications of any size.

"We are committed to helping developers build great software. This includes offering a simple and automated way to secure their infrastructure," said Julia Austin, CTO of DigitalOcean. "Teams of engineers depend on DigitalOcean to stay true to our commitment to simplicity, and Cloud Firewalls ensures they can easily manage their production workloads securely, at scale."

Developers with a large number of Droplets will find it much easier to secure their applications with Cloud Firewalls. It scales automatically from one Droplet to thousands and provides a central location to define and apply access rules to prevent unauthorized traffic from reaching them. Users can leverage tagging to group and organize any number of Droplets, and use them to define how each group of Droplets is secured.

Cloud Firewalls gives users the ability to whitelist which ports are open and which IP ranges, tags, Droplets or load balancers can access them. Users can configure the service easily and quickly through the dashboard or on the command line with doctl. They can also leverage DigitalOcean's API to automate tasks and build integrations. Official client libraries are available in Go and Ruby. Rules can be changed in one place and instantly applied to every Droplet that is tagged and the service is available in every region to all Droplet customers at no additional cost.

Supporting Quotes

Stackpoint.io co-founder and CEO Matt Baldwin, a DigitalOcean partner, said: "Users of our Kubernetes management platform build and manage production clusters daily on DigitalOcean, making it one of the most popular cloud solutions among our operators and developers. With Cloud Firewalls, users can now be assured their critical services are protected without the headache of iptable complexity or having to run their own firewall outside of the Kubernetes environment."

Charles King, Principal Analyst of Pund-IT, said: "Applications on the Internet are often vulnerable to threats due to exposed data, and filtering out unwanted and malicious traffic offers developers an easy way to protect their software. DigitalOcean's new free Cloud Firewalls service provides developers with a faster way to setup and effectively secure their infrastructure at scale. Since they spend less time worrying about potential attacks, developers have more time to write great software."

Additional Resources

Read the blog on What's Shipping Next on DigitalOcean: https://www.digitalocean.com/company/blog/2017-whats-shipping-next-on-digitalocean/

Read the blog on Cloud Firewalls: https://blog.digitalocean.com/cloud-firewalls-secure-droplets-by-default

Read the tutorial on how to use Cloud Firewalls on DigitalOcean: https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/an-introduction-to-digitalocean-cloud-firewalls

About DigitalOcean

Founded in 2011, DigitalOcean is a cloud platform company focused on simplifying the complexities of infrastructure for software developers. DigitalOcean has become the second largest and fastest growing cloud computing platform in the total number of public facing apps and websites, according to Netcraft.com. The company has raised $123 million in funding from Andreessen Horowitz, Access Industries, IA Ventures, CrunchFund, and Techstars. The company is headquartered in New York City with datacenter regions throughout the world. For more information, simply visit http://www.digitalocean.com or follow @digitalocean.

Image Available: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/frame_mw?attachid=3145832


CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwired) -- 06/06/17 -- Fasken Martineau is pleased to announce that Gary Cochrane and Scott Sangster have joined its Calgary office today as Partners in the Banking & Finance group.

Gary Cochrane's practice specializes in representing domestic and international banks and financial institutions in connection with every aspect of financing transactions. Gary has acquired expertise in project finance for construction, oil & gas, and real estate developments. He also advises on matters relating to loan transactions, receivership and corporate reorganization. Scott Sangster's practice focuses on helping lenders, institutional or otherwise, effectively and efficiently implement a wide variety of debt financing transactions including complex inter-creditor and priority arrangements.

"We are pleased to welcome Gary and Scott to the Firm. Their experience and knowledge will greatly benefit our clients," said Clarke Barnes, Fasken Martineau's co-Managing Partner for the Calgary office. "The addition of Gary and Scott will be a tremendous asset to Calgary's Banking & Finance group, which is an important area of focus for the Calgary office," added Robert Maxwell, Fasken Martineau's co-Managing Partner for the Calgary office.

The Firm's Banking & Finance Practice Group provides advice to and represents a broadly based and diversified number of providers and consumers of credit around the world. In light of the unique risk-oriented nature of a financial institution's business and the highly regulated environment in which it operates, Fasken Martineau recognises the importance of providing timely and seamless services to fully protect clients' legal interests. The Firm's lawyers are able to access considerable resources and draw on the expertise of their colleagues for their particular know-how.

About Fasken Martineau

Fasken Martineau is a leading international business law and litigation firm. With more than 700 lawyers, the firm has offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, London and Johannesburg. For additional information, please visit the firm's website at www.fasken.com.

Contacts:

Fasken Martineau

Genevieve Chalifour

Media Relations Specialist

+1 514 871 5987 or +1 514 554 1594 (mobile)

gchalifour@fasken.com

www.fasken.com




SEOUL (dpa-AFX) - Defense Secretary James Mattis stressed Friday that the U.S. is seeking a diplomatic solution to the crisis with North Korea and is not looking to go to war with the reclusive communist country. The comments from Mattis came as he visited the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea ahead of President Donald Trump's trip to the region next week. 'As Secretary of State Tillerson has made clear, our goal is not war, but rather the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean peninsula,' Mattis said. Mattis argued that North Korea's efforts to advance its nuclear weapons and missile programs threaten regional and world peace despite unanimous condemnation by the United Nations Security Council. Speaking to U.S. and South Korea troops, Mattis said the two counties are doing everything they can to solve the issue diplomatically. 'Ultimately, our diplomats have to be backed up by strong soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines,' Mattis said. 'So they speak from a position of strength, of combined strength, of alliance strength, shoulder to shoulder.' Trump is scheduled to make his first trip to Asia as president next week. The trip will include a stop in South Korea to meet President Moon Jae-in. 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.
Pursuant to article L-223-8 II of the French "code de Commerce" and 223-16 of the AMF's General Regulations.

Regulatory News:

Median Technologies (Paris:ALMDT):

Total number of shares 11,678,889 Number of real voting rights* (excluding treasury shares) 11,652,115 Theoritical number of voting rights* (including treasury shares**) 11,661,869

(*) Class E preference shares are non-voting

(**) pursuant to article 223-11 of the AMF's General Regulations

About Median Technologies: Median Technologies provides innovative imaging solutions and services to advance healthcare for everyone. We leverage the power of Imaging Phenomics to provide insights into novel therapies and treatment strategies. Our unique solutions, LMS for lesion management and iBiopsy for imaging phenotyping, together with our global team of experts, are advancing the development of new drugs and diagnostic tools to monitor disease and assess response to therapy. Median Technologies supports biopharmaceutical sponsors and healthcare professionals around the world to quickly and precisely bring new treatments to patients in need, with an eye on reducing overall care costs. This is how we are helping to create a healthier world.

Founded in 2002, based in Sophia-Antipolis, France, with a US subsidiary in Boston, Median has received the label "Innovative company" by the BPI and is listed on Euronext Paris' Alternext market (ISIN: FR0011049824, ticker: ALMDT). The company is eligible for the PEA-PME SME equity savings plan setup and has received the label Pass French Tech Promotion 2016-2017. Median Technologies has been awarded the 2017 Tech 40 Label and has joined the EnterNext Tech 40 Index. Median is a member of the Bpifrance Excellence Network. More information: www.mediantechnologies.com

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170606005058/en/

Contacts:

Median Technologies

Fredrik Brag, CEO

+33 4 92 90 65 82

fredrik.brag@mediantechnologies.com

or

Press - ALIZE RP

Caroline Carmagnol Wendy Rigal

+ 33 1 44 54 36 66

median@alizerp.com

or

Investors - ACTIFIN

Ghislaine Gasparetto

+33 1 56 88 11 11

ggasparetto@actifin.fr
IRVINE, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 6, 2017 / Khang & Khang LLP (the "Firm") announces a securities class action lawsuit against Citizens Financial Group, Inc. ("Citizens Financial" or the "Company") (NYSE: CFG). Investors, who purchased or otherwise acquired shares between March 18, 2016 and March 29, 2017, inclusive (the "Class Period"), are encouraged to contact the Firm before the June 26, 2017 lead plaintiff motion deadline.

If you purchased Citizens Financial shares during the Class Period, please contact Joon M. Khang, Esq., of Khang & Khang LLP, 18101 Von Karman Avenue, 3rd Floor, Irvine, CA 92612, by telephone at (949) 419-3834 , or by e-mail at joon@khanglaw.com.

There has been no class certification in this case yet. Until certification occurs, you are not represented by an attorney. You may choose to take no action and remain a passive class member.

According to the Complaint, throughout the Class Period, Citizens Financial made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: the Company's employees were falsifying information related to the Citizens Checkup program; that the Company's reported Citizens Checkup figures were exaggerated; and that as a result of the above, Citizens Financial's statements about its business, operations, and prospects were false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times.

On March 29, 2017, the Wall Street Journal reported that some of the Company's employees acknowledged that employees faked "financial checkup" meetings with customers. Citizens Financial stated that the "Citizens Checkup" program resulted in 400,000 scheduled appointments in 2016, but the report stated that former employees said they falsified information due to the Company's pressure to meet certain program expectations. Upon release of this information, the Company's stock price fell materially, which harmed investors according to the Complaint.

If you wish to learn more about this lawsuit, or if you have questions about this notice or your rights, please contact Joon M. Khang, a prominent litigator for almost two decades, by telephone at (949) 419-3834 , or by e-mail at joon@khanglaw.com.

This press release may constitute Attorney Advertising in certain jurisdictions.

Contact:

Joon M. Khang, Esq.

Telephone: 949-419-3834

Facsimile: 949-225-4474

joon@khanglaw.com

SOURCE: Khang & Khang LLP
Calling All Children to Pray: North Korean Children Need to Meet Jesus Contact: Rachel Hamel, Corporate Communications Manager,

Child Evangelism Fellowship,

636-456-4321 ext 1177



WARRENTON, Mo., June 6, 2017 /



Children are meeting Jesus in over 74,000 Good News Clubs around the world, being discipled in the Word of God and getting connected with churches. But it is illegal to share the Gospel in North Korea. Pray that God will make a way for boys and girls in North Korea to learn about Jesus through Good News Club. One day Good News Clubs will be meeting in North Korea and all glory will go to God. How encouraging it will be when children around the globe see how God answered their prayers for GNCs in this country!



The eyes of the world are on North Korea. "God has given me a strong burden to mobilize millions of boys and girls around the world to pray for the children in North Korea," says Reese Kauffman, president of CEF. These children need, "to be able to attend a Good News Club and hear about Jesus." Children in Ghana, Senegal, Cuba, USA, and all over the World are fervently praying for the children of North Korea. Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 19:14). God will make a way for boys and girls in North Korea to learn about Jesus through Good News Club.



Digital resources to encourage children in your church with the urgent call to pray for the children of North Korea are available upon request. For more information about Good News Club visit



Child Evangelism Fellowship is an international, nonprofit, Christian ministry that has been teaching the Bible to children since 1937. CEF has 400 offices in the USA and is organized in most nations of the world, with over 3,400 paid staff and hundreds of thousands of volunteers. In its last ministry year, CEF ministered to over 20 million children in its face-to-face teaching ministries.



Share Tweet Contact: Rachel Hamel, Corporate Communications Manager,636-456-4321 ext 1177WARRENTON, Mo., June 6, 2017 / Christian Newswire / -- Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) is calling on Christians worldwide, especially children, to pray that God will throw open the doors of North Korea to Good News Clubs (GNCs). Good News Clubs are illegal in North Korea; however, CEF has a strategy in place and is ready to enter the country with ministry when the doors open.Children are meeting Jesus in over 74,000 Good News Clubs around the world, being discipled in the Word of God and getting connected with churches. But it is illegal to share the Gospel in North Korea. Pray that God will make a way for boys and girls in North Korea to learn about Jesus through Good News Club. One day Good News Clubs will be meeting in North Korea and all glory will go to God. How encouraging it will be when children around the globe see how God answered their prayers for GNCs in this country!The eyes of the world are on North Korea. "God has given me a strong burden to mobilize millions of boys and girls around the world to pray for the children in North Korea," says Reese Kauffman, president of CEF. These children need, "to be able to attend a Good News Club and hear about Jesus." Children in Ghana, Senegal, Cuba, USA, and all over the World are fervently praying for the children of North Korea. Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 19:14). God will make a way for boys and girls in North Korea to learn about Jesus through Good News Club.Digital resources to encourage children in your church with the urgent call to pray for the children of North Korea are available upon request. For more information about Good News Club visit www.goodnewsclub.com Child Evangelism Fellowship is an international, nonprofit, Christian ministry that has been teaching the Bible to children since 1937. CEF has 400 offices in the USA and is organized in most nations of the world, with over 3,400 paid staff and hundreds of thousands of volunteers. In its last ministry year, CEF ministered to over 20 million children in its face-to-face teaching ministries.
DUBLIN, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "North America Oil & Gas Pipeline Market By Application (Midstream, Downstream, Upstream), By Type (SAW, Seamless, ERW, Polyethylene & Composites), Competition Forecast and Opportunities, 2012-2022" report to their offering.

According to North America Oil & Gas Pipeline Market, Competition Forecast and Opportunities, 2012-2022, North America oil & gas pipeline market is projected to reach $ 15.21 billion by 2022.

In 2015, natural gas was the second largest energy source and accounted for 31.50% share in primary energy consumption. United States become a net exporter of LNG in 2016, with nearly 50 BCF of LNG being exported to Brazil, Chile, UAE, China, France and Japan, during January to June 2016. In North America, Canada accounted for 77.40% of total proved oil reserves, while the US garnered 81.9% of total proved gas reserves in 2015, according to BP statistical report.

US accounts for around 24.4 TCM of shale gas reserves, followed by Mexico (19.3 TCM) and Canada (11 TCM). US and Canada are the centers of shale gas developments in North America, due to factors like accessible formations and large proven reserves. Moreover, these countries have advanced drilling and fracturing technologies, piping and refining infrastructure, which provides easy access to the markets. Magnitude of upstream exploration and production taking place in North America is anticipated to surge oil & gas pipeline market in North America in the coming years.

Few of the leading players in North America oil & gas pipeline market include Kinder Morgan Inc., Chevron Corporation, ConocoPhillips, National Oilwell Varco, EVRAZ North America and General Electric.



North America Oil & Gas Pipeline Market, Competition Forecast and Opportunities, 2012-2022 discusses:



Market Size & Share Forecast

Regional and Country Market Analysis

Segmental Analysis - By Application (Midstream, Upstream & Downstream), By Type (SAW, ERW, Seamless, Polyethylene % Composite) and By Region Changing Market Trends & Emerging Opportunities

Competitive Landscape

Market Trends & Developments



Crude Oil Prices Influencing Investments in Pipeline Infrastructure

Digitalization in Pipeline Infrastructure

Expansion in City Gas Distribution Network

Surging Drilling Contracts and Exploration Investments

Demand from Downstream Applications

Development of Shale Gas and Synthetic Natural Gas

Rising Production from Offshore Fields

Key Topics Covered:



1. Product Overview



2. Research Methodology



3. Analyst View



4. Global Oil & Gas Pipeline Market Outlook



5. North America Oil & Gas Pipeline Market Outlook



6. Market Dynamics



7. Market Trends & Developments



8. Competitive Landscape



- Chevron Corporation

- ConocoPhillips

- EVRAZ North America

- General Electric

- Kinder Morgan Inc.

- National Oilwell Varco



For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/tlpl73/north_america_oil





Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Most of the tech giants in America have joined a grand coalition of U.S. businesses, cities, states and Universities that pledged to continue to work toward reducing carbon emissions despite the U.S. government's withdrawal from the Paris Agreement on climate change.



A coalition called 'We Are Still In' sent an open letter to the international community and parties to the Paris Agreement saying that in the absence of leadership from Washington, states, cities, colleges and universities, businesses and investors, representing a sizable percentage of the U.S. economy will pursue ambitious climate goals, working together to take forceful action and to ensure that the U.S. remains a global leader in reducing emissions.



Mayors of 125 cities, Governors of 9 states, 902 businesses and investors, and 183 colleges and universities are on board the movement led by philanthropist and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg. 19 state attorneys general also joined the coalition.



The signatories include over 20 Fortune 500 companies, including Apple, eBay, Gap Inc., Google, Amazon, Intel, Microsoft, and Nike, in addition to hundreds of small businesses.



They represent the broadest cross section of the American economy yet assembled in pursuit of climate action.



By declaring that 'we are still in,' the signatories are putting the best interests of their constituents, customers, students and communities first while assuring the rest of the world that American leadership on climate change extends well beyond the Federal government.



The international community, led by Barack Obama, made a scathing attack of the U.S. President's decision last week to pull the nation out of the Paris climate pact.



It makes the United States one of only three countries in the world who aren't a part of the Agreement. Syria and Nicaragua are the other countries.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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TransUnion, Klarna, Groupon and JCB Join Global CardLinx Membership

The CardLinx Association ("CardLinx"), the leading, global organization driving online-to-offline (O2O) commerce through card-linking, loyalty and digital marketing, today announced three, exclusive forums focusing on data-driven commerce and AI. New CardLinx members include TransUnion, Klarna, Groupon and JCB. These new members join existing members Facebook, Microsoft, Rakuten/Ebates, Sumitomo Mitsui Card Company, Mastercard, AirBnb, Shop Your Way, First Data and FIS among others.

"CardLinx Forums have become the epicenter of the global O2O ecosystem, producing some of the industry's most productive and forward-thinking new products, partnerships, mergers and acquisitions," said Silvio Tavares, CardLinx President and CEO. "The ascendance of artificial intelligence, deep learning and the internet of commerce things has made our forums and membership more intrinsically global and the de facto leaders in shaping the rapid changes to retail and commerce."

Spanning the globe, CardLinx Forums are highly anticipated and promote thought leadership and multi-industry collaboration. Keynotes and attendees include key industry players from a variety of industries such as Bank of America, UBS, Microsoft, Samsung, Mastercard, Rakuten and Hilton Worldwide.

Online-to-Offline Commerce: From Asia to America and Back

The CardLinx Asia Forum will be held on February 6, 2018 at the ANA InterContinental Tokyo. For more information and to register visit: http://bit.ly/CLXap18

Advantage Retail: How IoCT and AI Is Expanding the Definition of Retail

The CardLinx Europe Forum will be held on March 14, 2018 at the Marriott County Hall Hotel in London. For more information and to register visit: http://bit.ly/CLXeu18

Ecosystem of One: How Personalization and AI Are Re-shaping Digital Commerce

The CardLinx San Diego Forum will be held on April 10, 2018 at the Manchester Grand Hyatt. For more information and to register visit: http://bit.ly/CLXspg18

In addition to the CardLinx Global Forums, CardLinx advances the mission of expanding frictionless commerce and payments through interoperability and standards work groups. Three work groups currently address key industry challenges:

The Merchant Data Reporting Work Group is solving the challenge of attribution reporting for card-linked offers while boosting the data/transparency on consumer spending. This work group is chaired by Discover.

The CLO Debit Work Group is developing card-linking interoperability for debit networks. This work group is chaired by Augeo.

The CardLinx Asia Council is addressing the overall card-linking infrastructure in Japan by coordinating merchant identification and SKU-level data matching. This work group is chaired by Sumitomo Mitsui Card.

About The CardLinx Association

The mission of the CardLinx Association is to promote the growth of online-to-offline commerce and card-linking by fostering cross-industry collaboration, developing industry services and instituting common standards. CardLinx hosts collaborative, interactive forums around the world and curates industry leading technical work groups for the development of interoperability for commerce. Learn more at cardlinx.org.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171116006144/en/

Contacts:

CardLinx

Ming Lacey, 917-340-7251

PR Director

ming@cardlinx.org
COLUMBUS, OH--(Marketwired - June 06, 2017) - AMETEK Solidstate Controls (SCI), a leader in highly customized Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) systems, today introduced its first safety-related, Pulse-Width-Modulation (PWM)-based, UPS systems designed to meet the highly specialized and rigorous requirements of the Nuclear Power industry. The Nuclear Digital ProcessPower  (NDPP) surpasses other UPS systems on the market by providing a smaller footprint, higher levels of self-diagnostics, enhanced system monitoring, and control.

"The NDPP utilizes the same reliable microprocessor design techniques found in our field-proven Industrial PWM product families. The key difference is in the digital control and monitoring software, which have been developed specifically for safety-related applications and have undergone an intensive Verification and Validation (V&V) evaluation process to meet the exacting standards of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)," comments Dan Huey, SCI product manager.

SCI's NDPP Class 1E UPS system is designed and tested in accordance with the NRC audited 10CFR50, Appendix B Software Quality Assurance program, which conforms to IEEE standard 1012-2004 Standard for Software Verification and Validation, and other NRC-endorsed standards.

"To ensure maximum security against cyber-attacks, measures were taken to develop and test software and firmware exclusively within a secure environment. During operation, the NDPP 1E UPS product line offers advanced monitoring, data capturing, and event logging capability without the need for external communication with other plant safety systems. Those design considerations were implemented to maintain safe and secure operation for nuclear safety-related applications," adds Huey.

The addition of the NDPP to its already proven ferroresonant UPS and inverter systems and battery chargers gives SCI a formidable line-up of products to meet any situation in the Nuclear 1E and non-1E market. Industry demand for a UPS unit with superior performance and smaller footprint, coupled with state-of-the-art system monitoring, control and diagnostics, has been met by SCI with its NDPP product-line.

Enhanced safety features include an isolated user-interface and seismic bracing, along with the employment of electromagnetic interference (EMI) suppression, and isolation transformers designed for a 40-year operational life.

Solidstate Controls has more than 40 years of proven experience supplying and servicing power protection products to more than 75 percent of the U.S. nuclear power generating stations as well as a large global footprint of commissioned equipment.

To demonstrate its commitment to the Nuclear Power Industry, SCI regularly sponsors a biennial Nuclear Owner's Group Conference at its headquarters in Columbus, Ohio. Attendees from around the world discuss a myriad of topics from power plant design and safety, to battery monitoring, and a host of issues pertaining to the operation and power protection for their plants. The meeting to be held in Columbus this year on June 7-9 is the 9 th edition of the event.

For more about the NDPP and other AMETEK Solidstate Controls nuclear-grade power protection products and services, visit www.nuclearups.com.

About AMETEK Solidstate Controls:

Solidstate Controls is a recognized leader in highly customized Inverters and UPS systems for critical processes involving harsh environments such as power generation (including nuclear and fossil fuel), petrochemical, and oil and gas facilities.

Solidstate Controls has administrative, engineering, manufacturing and testing operation at its world headquarters in Columbus, Ohio. SCI is a unit of AMETEK, Inc., a leading global manufacturer of electronic instruments and electromechanical devices with annual sales of approximately $4.0 billion.

For additional information, visit: www.solidstatecontrolsinc.com.

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2017/6/6/11G140513/Images/ametek-22d30fb9705d83f5889f8ef8d3b9c62b.jpg

Media Contacts:

Kirsten Woodard

kirsten@masterplanpr.com

(714) 366-6003

or

Brittany Charnley

Brittany@masterplanpr.com

(949) 235-7465
ARNPRIOR, ON / ACCESSWIRE / June 6, 2017 / Plaintree Systems Inc. (the "Company") (CSE: NPT) today announced that it has completed the sale of assets and business of Arnprior Fire Trucks Corp. (AFTC), which constituted the Company's business of the manufacturing of high end fire and emergency vehicles (the "Fire Truck Business"), to 9584358 Canada Ltd. o/a Eastway Fire and Rescue Vehicles ("Eastway"), all as more fully described below.

Sale of Fire Truck Business

The Company and Eastway entered into an asset purchase agreement (the "Purchase Agreement"), dated May 25, 2017, pursuant to which Eastway agreed to acquire the Fire Truck Business from the Company as a going concern. The purchase price paid by Eastway consisted of nominal cash consideration and the obligation for Eastway to complete the outstanding existing fire truck contracts. Eastway has also agreed to a lease to use the Company's premises to carry on the business for a one year period. Following the transaction, the Company will cease the operations of the Fire Trucks Business.

David Watson, the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented by stating, "AFTC built a very high quality firetruck and had an excellent reputation in the business. However, due to the very competitive nature of the firetruck business in Ontario, AFTC was never able to maintain the volume of trucks required to attain profitability. Combining Eastway and AFTC operations should allow Eastway to reach the sales volumes required. Plaintree will benefit from the lease arrangement and subcontracting out its production floor assets."

About Plaintree Systems Inc.

Plaintree has two diversified product lines consisting of Specialty Structures and Electronics. The Specialty Structures Division includes the former Triodetic Group, with over 40 years of experience, is a design/build manufacturer of steel, aluminum and stainless steel specialty structures, such as commercial domes, free form structures, barrel vaults, space frames, and industrial dome coverings, Spotton Corporation, a design and manufacturer of high end custom hydraulic and pneumatic valves and cylinders, and the recently acquired Madawaska Doors, a design and manufacturer of premium solid wood doors. The Electronics Division includes the legacy Hypernetics, Summit Aerospace USA Inc., and Plaintree free space optics (FSO) businesses. Plaintree's FSO systems transmit data at high speeds using beams of light instead of traditional radio frequency, which can suffer from congestion. Hypernetics was established in 1972 and is a manufacturer of avionic components for various applications including aircraft antiskid braking, aircraft instrument indicators, solenoids, high purity valves and permanent magnet alternators. Summit Aerospace USA Inc. provides high precision machining to the aerospace and defense markets. Our facility includes 5 axis CNC precision machining of complex castings and large ring parts such as turbine and assembly shrouds, as well as assembly and pressure seals. Summit will support requirements from concept, prototype and throughout production.

Plaintree's shares are traded under the symbol "NPT." Shareholders and Investors can access Company information on CSE's website and receive full Company disclosure monthly. For more information on Plaintree or to receive stock quotes, complete with trading summaries, bid size and ask price, brokerage house participation, insider reports, news releases, disclosure information, and CSE and SEDAR filings, visit the CSE website at www.thecse.com or the Company's website at www.plaintree.com.

Plaintree is publicly traded in Canada on the CSE (NPT) with 12,925,253 common shares and 18,325 class A preferred shares outstanding.

This press release may include statements that are forward-looking and based on current expectations. The actual results of the company may differ materially from current expectations. The business of the company is subject to many risks and uncertainties, including changes in markets for the company's products, delays in product development and introduction to manufacturing and intense competition. For a more detailed discussion of the risks and uncertainties related to the company's business, please refer to documents filed by the company with the Canadian regulatory authorities, including the annual report of the Company for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2016 and related management discussion and analysis. Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this news release.

For further information: (613) 623-3434 ex 2223, Lynn Saunders.

SOURCE: Plaintree Systems Inc.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - June 6, 2017) - DNI Metals Inc. (CSE: DNI) (FSE: DG7N) (OTC Pink: DMNKF) ("DNI" or the "Company") On a recent trip to Madagascar, the management, directors, an investor and an advisor visited the Madagascar's main port only 50 kms from DNI's permitted graphite deposit on the country's main paved highway.

Infrastructure such as roads and ports are critical to any industrial project as transport and logistics costs represent a very significant portion of the final delivered cost. As noted in the CIM Best Practice Guidelines for Industrial Minerals, proximity and access to key infrastructure is critical to determining if a project even merits exploration.

In particular the guidelines note the following: "Markets for industrial minerals are significantly affected by location and transport factors." - and - "If the mineral deposit is in a remote location, distant from transportation infrastructure and customers, so that there may be no realistic market or development potential for the mineral, the mineral deposit cannot be classified as a mineral resource or mineral reserve."

The weathered nature of the rock being Saprolite, the infrastructure in this part of Madagascar and the ability to obtain a mining permit were the key attractions for DNI to purchase the Vohitsara graphite property.

DNI with its partner, Cougar Metals (CGM.ASX / "Cougar") are currently undertaking drilling and trenching on the Vohitsara property, with the goal of developing a NI 43-101 resource study.

Cougar must complete a PEA ('Preliminary Economic Assessment') to NI43-101 standards in order to earn into DNI's Vohitsara graphite project.

Additional drilling has been completed over an additional area of observed graphite mineralisation to the southwest of the main target area. Twelve (12) holes were recently completed in this area. All 12 holes contained graphite, nine holes contained strongly anomalous observed flake graphite. Samples are being dispatched for assay at time of this press release. This is an exciting development for the Company due to the fact that the SW Zone is only 200 metres from the paved national highway and lies adjacent to the Main Zone access road.

The rig has been moved to the Main Zone and a new higher volume air compressor has been brought to site to increase the drilling speed.

According to Euronews, "Madagascar's Port of Toamasina is the economic heart of the country. It alone sees three quarters of the island nation's maritime trade. In recent years the port has transformed and modernized, meeting the most stringent international standards and is set to receive more and more investment in coming years."

Jean Berthin, the General Manager Conventional Goods Bulk Handling ('SMMC') - Toamasina said: "We reviewed the handling, storage and security procedures taking into account two things: modernization and standardization of the operating system. Our objective is to create and to put in place an efficient center for port logistics. That is how we will increase traffic and thus keep our customers satisfied," he continued.

As a result, almost everything at Toamasina is now computerized, from the movement of containers to customs operations. A method that was developed through a partnership between Madagascan authorities and large private shipping companies.

It is believed that Toamasina is rated one of the top five ports in sub-Saharan Africa in terms of productivity. Extensive transformation work is due to begin next year as the JICA investment funnels into the area.

See https://www.jica.go.jp/english/news/press/2016/170324_01.html , where it states the investment influx to be up and towards $500 million dollars.

This investment should create a new storage area and extend the breakwater. But most importantly, the expectation is to lengthen the dock by five hundred metres, thereby increasing the 'draft', essentially the distance between the waterline and the bottom of a vessel's hull. Increasing the draft to 16m will allow larger vessels carrying heavier loads to utilize the port resulting in a significant increase in annual turnover for the facility.

Michael Ratrimo, the Director of Madagascar International Container Terminal Services (MICTSL) said: "The investment will really help the Madagascar economy. There will be many more ships and aircraft arriving, which will result in reduced per-unit costs and a proportionate boosting of the local economy."

There are also plans to adapt the infrastructure of the port to fit the ever-changing economic environment. Madagascar is currently developing utilization of the island's abundant natural resources. In addition, the country intends to capitalize on the booming Southern shipping route to Asia, Africa and Latin America.

About DNI Metals

Certain advisors and directors of DNI have significant operational experience at historical hard rock graphite mines in Canada (e.g. Ontario and Quebec) and Australia.Between them, they have built three (3) processing plants and designed two (2) others; all, which were shut down in the 1990,'s due to increased Chinese competition. Keith Minty, director, worked at Cal Graphite near Kearny, Ontario.

It was our team's understanding of the high production and capital expenditure costs associated with so-called "hard rock" graphite mining that inspired DNI to search for saprolite-hosted graphite deposits.

Certain parts Madagascar and Brazil, produce graphite from weathered material called saprolite.

According to Dictionary.com, saprolite is described as:

"Soft, thoroughly decomposed and porous rock, often rich in clay, formed by the in place chemical weathering of igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary rocks. Saprolite is especially common in humid and tropical climates. It is usually reddish brown or grayish white and contains those structures (such as cross-stratification) that were present in the original rock from which it formed."

DNI owns a commercially permitted Saprolite-hosted graphite deposit in Madagascar; located 50 kms from the country's main seaport. The deposit is located less than two (2) kms from the paved national highway. DNI intends to develop the Vohitsara project, should the economic viability and technical feasibility be established. DNI has not yet established mineral resources or mineral reserves supported by a PEA or mining study (PFS or FS).

DNI also has a graphite wholesale business where it buys and sells high quality graphite. This business has shown a steady increase in volume over the past year.

Steven Goertz (MAusIMM, MAIG), who is a qualified person, approved any technical disclosure in this news release.

DNI - Canadian Securities Exchange

DMNKF - OTC

Issued: 59,798,949

For further information, contact:

DNI Metals Inc. - Dan Weir, CEO 416-595-1195

DanWeir@dnimetals.com

Also visit www.dnimetals.com

We seek Safe Harbour. This announcement may include forward looking statements. While these statements represent DNI's best current judgment, they are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to vary, including risk factors listed in DNI's Annual Information Form and its MD&A's, all of which are available from SEDAR and on its website.
CHARDON, OH -- (Marketwired) -- 06/06/17 -- Rustic Pathways, the leading provider of authentic travel, service learning, and adventure programs for young adults, today announced it has expanded its partnership with Thrival Academies to bring international travel experiences to more low-income public school students starting in July 2017. With the recent approval from the Indianapolis Public Schools Board of Education, a 20 student pilot program for Thrival Academies will launch this fall, and Thrival is on track to launch Thrival Academy: Indy, an Innovation Network School in Indianapolis, in fall 2018.

"Rustic Pathways is committed to creating a world where travel is an essential part of every education," says Chris Stakich, CEO of Rustic Pathways. "Often international education is only available to higher-income students. Through this partnership, we are able to send students to Thailand to engage in a rigorous academic program, with the added benefit of deep cultural immersion, for the same cost of sending them to school in their home towns. We are thrilled to continue our partnership with Thrival Academies, not only in Oakland but in Indianapolis as well."

The expansion into Indianapolis stems from the success of Thrival Academies' Oakland flagship site, where in the 2016-2017 school year in partnership with Oakland Unified School District (OUSD). Eleven Oakland high school juniors participated in the personalized, credit-bearing, and globally-focused academic program that included three months of study abroad in South East Asia. After completing their program abroad in April 2017, Oakland Thrival students have flourished and demonstrated tremendous growth socially and academically this year, including an average of two years of reading growth across the cohort. This academic growth, bolstered by student testimonials that express personal growth, indicates that this educational program model is a transformative opportunity for traditionally underserved youth.

This extension of Thrival Academies with Rustic Pathways will bring an extraordinary opportunity to students in underserved areas, who otherwise may not have the chance to travel outside of their cities. The students will gain critical non-cognitive skillsets including empathy, grit, confidence, creative thinking, problem solving, and self-awareness.

"It has been incredible to see the impact of our educational program model this year," says Emma Hiza, Executive Director of Thrival Academies. "I am grateful to our staff, students, and families for their efforts this year and to Oakland Unified School District for their partnership. We are thrilled to be expanding to Indianapolis next year to continue to serve more students and families and look forward to working in other cities in the future. The successes of our Oakland pilot and the launch of our Indianapolis expansion site are important first steps in our work to create a scalable solution to bring equity into study abroad."

Through their globally focused, interdisciplinary curriculum, students in the program will not only earn a full year of their required high school credits, but also study abroad for three months of the school year through Thailand and Laos. Students engage in a rigorous, culturally immersive, project-based, and experiential curriculum throughout the year. The program model helps students take charge of their own learning and engage in a culturally responsive education abroad.

About Rustic Pathways

Education. Travel. Philanthropy. Believing in the transformative power of travel for the past 30 years, Rustic Pathways offers students more than 100 opportunities across 21 countries, including summer travel, spring break, gap year, college, and Critical Issues programs. These programs give students the opportunity to travel and give back to the local community during their personal time. As a result, in 2016, Rustic Pathways impacted 37,491 lives around the world. For more information, visit www.rusticpathways.com

About Thrival World Academies

Thrival World Academies is a network of study abroad public high schools providing students from underserved communities access to personalized and culturally immersive education abroad. For more information, visit http://www.thrivalacademies.org
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 06/06/17 -- Westhaven Ventures Inc. (TSX VENTURE: WHN) is pleased to announce that ground geophysics has commenced at its 19,012 hectare Shovelnose gold property, located within the prospective Spences Bridge Gold Belt (SBGB), approximately 30 km south of Merritt, British Columbia.

Westhaven has engaged Peter E. Walcott & Associates Limited of Coquitlam, B.C. to survey approximately 50 line kilometres of ground magnetics. The purpose of this program is to increase the resolution of the survey to 50-m line spacing to help uncover favorable structures at the Tower, MIK and Alpine zones where drilling has traced a broad zone of near surface, lower grade gold-silver mineralization. At present the major structural direction(s) are not fully known and demagnetized linear features may be related to major structures. It is essential to determine structural controls in order to drill target structural zones that may be associated with additional zones of gold-silver mineralized veins.

There is evidence of a significant mineralized alteration system within the property where float samples grading 119 g/t gold (Au) and 273 g/t silver (Ag), veins in trenches grading 66 g/t Au, and drill intercepts of higher grade intervals including 16.7 g/t Au over 0.5 metres and 4.95 g/t Au over 0.6 metres have been encountered.

For further information on the Shovelnose Gold Property, please visit: http://westhavenventures.com/projects/shovelnose-gold/details/

On behalf of the Board of Directors

WESTHAVEN VENTURES INC.

Gareth Thomas, Director

About Westhaven Ventures Inc.

Westhaven Ventures Inc. is a Canadian based exploration company focused on the acquisition and exploration of prospective resource properties. Westhaven is focused on advancing its Shovelnose, Prospect Valley and Skoonka gold projects in British Columbia. Westhaven trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the ticker symbol WHN.

Qualified Person Statement

L. John Peters, P.Geo., who is a Qualified Person within the context of National Instrument 43-101 has read and takes responsibility for this release.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:

Westhaven Ventures Inc.

604-681-5558

www.westhavenventures.com




MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 06/06/17 -- Earth Alive Clean Technologies Inc. (CSE: EAC)(CSE: EAC.CN)(CNSX: EAC) ("Earth Alive" or the "Company"), a leading Canadian Clean-Tech company, developer and manufacturer of state-of-the-art microbial technology-based products for sustainable agriculture and mining, is pleased to report that it has gained registration in Ukraine for the sale of its organic and patent-pending biofertilizer, Soil Activator.

Agriculture is a significant sector of Ukraine's economy, representing 14% of total GDP in 2015.(1) Miguel Monroy, Director of Business Affairs for Earth Alive, said, "The registration process was challenging, but Ukraine is a strategic starting point for Earth Alive in Eastern Europe. It has enormous potential for agricultural growth, and actively seeks to expand its productivity in sustainable ways."

Ukraine has 32.5 million hectares in arable crops,(2) which benefit from the country's rich soil resources. The main crops are wheat, sunflower and corn, and a significant 800,000 hectares are dedicated to fruit and vegetable production. Earth Alive's Chief Agronomist, Simon Neufeld, stated, "Soil Activator has a proven track record of increasing production and economic returns in a broad range of field and horticultural crops, including corn. Ukraine is perfectly positioned to benefit from Soil Activator as the country seeks to expand its agricultural output while protecting its soil and water resources."

Initial commercialization and distribution in Ukraine is underway, and product has been shipped to the region. Farm applications have already begun for the current growing season, including on-farm commercial tests in corn by a very large Ukrainian agroindustrial company.

Michael K. Warren, Chief Executive Officer, concluded, "Registration in Ukraine gives Earth Alive new visibility in the European market, and begins the company's expansion in this dynamic region."

About Earth Alive Clean Technologies:

Earth Alive aims to be a key player in world markets of environmentally sustainable industrial solutions. The company works with the latest innovations in microbial technology to formulate and patent innovative products that can tackle the most difficult industrial challenges, once only reserved to environmentally harmful chemicals and additives. The Company is focused on environmental sustainability in the agriculture industry, and dust control for the mining industry.

For additional company information, please visit: www.earthalivect.com

The CSE has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. The CSE does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward Looking Information

Except for statements of historical fact, this news release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" occur. Although Earth Alive believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the statements. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

(1) World Bank national accounts data, and OECD National Accounts data files. Online: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NV.AGR.TOTL.ZS?locations=UA

(2) FAOSTAT. Online: http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/country/230

Contacts:

For media information and interview requests

Mr. Michael Warren

(e) mwarren@earthalivect.com

(p) 438-333-1680



For investor relations

Mr. Frederick Chabot

(e) frederick@contactfinancial.com

(p) 438-863-7071




VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 06/06/17 -- Strongbow Exploration Inc. (TSX VENTURE: SBW), ("Strongbow" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that Siltbuster Process Solutions Ltd. ("SPS") and Nomenca Ltd. ("Nomenca") have been engaged to undertake Process Specification and Outline Design Works for a water treatment plant at Strongbow's South Crofty project located in Cornwall, UK. Strongbow successfully completed water treatment trials in March 2017 and subsequently has submitted an application to the Environment Agency for a mine water discharge permit. Upon receipt of the water discharge permit, the project will be fully permitted.

The water treatment plant will be designed to treat 25,000 cubic metres of mine water per day and enable dewatering of the mine workings in the South Crofty project area.

Richard Williams, the Company's CEO, commented:

"This is an important step in the development of our South Crofty project and will enable Strongbow to begin construction of the water treatment plant, subject to financing, as soon as we receive the discharge permit from the Environment Agency. The Company expects to receive the discharge permit later this year, and commence dewatering of the mine in the first half of 2018, as planned."

SPS, based in Monmouthshire, UK, was responsible for overseeing the recent successful water treatment trials at South Crofty. SPS has extensive experience in the design, construction and operation of mine water treatment plants, including plants at Wheal Jane, Hemerdon, Dawdon (all in the UK) and Strieborna in Slovakia. SPS will be responsible for providing the process specifications for the plant and the outline design. They will also provide technical support during the detailed engineering and construction phases and be responsible for commissioning the plant.

Nomenca, based in St. Austell, UK is a subsidiary of North Midland Construction Plc and operates in a variety of industries as a specialist Mechanical, Electrical, Instrumentation, Control and Automation (MEICA) Contractor providing consultancy services, design and construction, operation and maintenance of assets. Nomenca has extensive experience in both the mining and water treatment sectors having undertaken multiple projects for Imerys, Wolf Minerals and South West Water. Nomenca will initially be undertaking target costing and outline design works for the treatment plant, which is expected to lead into the detailed engineering and construction phases.

About South Crofty

The South Crofty project includes a past-producing underground tin mine located in Cornwall, UK. Mining in the area dates back approximately 400 years. Mining at South Crofty ceased in 1998, following 13 years of sustained low metal prices. The South Crofty project has a valid mine permit (until 2071) with surface and underground planning permissions.

Strongbow acquired South Crofty in July 2016 and has since published a NI 43-101 mineral resource estimate, see report for details, and a Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") on February 16, 2017. The mine is presently flooded but recent water treatment trials have demonstrated that the water can be successfully treated to a quality sufficient to permit safe dewatering of the mine. A water discharge permit application was lodged with the Environment Agency in April 2017 and is expected to be awarded in September 2017, which should enable mine dewatering to commence in Q2 2018.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Richard D. Williams, P.Geo

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" including but not limited to statements with respect to Strongbow's ability and the timing to obtain an increase to the water discharge permit for the South Crofty tin project, the estimated time required to complete mine dewatering, the design and treatment capabilities of the proposed water treatment plant and technical assumptions included in the PEA.

No assurances can be given that mining of the South Crofty project will be technically or economically viable. Such estimates are expressions of judgment based on knowledge, mining experience, analysis of drilling results and industry practises. Valid estimates made at any given time may significantly change when new information becomes available. While the Company believes that the resource estimates included in the NI 43-101 technical report prepared for the South Crofty project are well established, by their very nature, resource estimates are imprecise and depend, to a certain extent, upon statistical inferences which may ultimately prove unreliable. If such estimates are inaccurate or are reduced in the future, this could have a material adverse impact on the Company.

Forward-looking statements, while based on management's best estimates and assumptions, are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: risks related to receipt of regulatory approvals, the successful integration of acquisitions; risks related to general economic and market conditions; risks related to the availability of financing; the timing and content of upcoming work programs; actual results of proposed exploration activities; possible variations in Mineral Resources or grade; failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; accidents, labour disputes, title disputes, claims and limitations on insurance coverage and other risks of the mining industry; changes in national and local government regulation of mining operations, tax rules and regulations.

Although Strongbow has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Strongbow undertakes no obligation or responsibility to update forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

Contacts:

Strongbow Exploration Inc.

Irene Dorsman

(604) 671 0632

idorsman@strongbowexploration.com



Pretium Communications

Sherman Dahl

(250) 558-8340



Blytheweigh (Financial PR/IR - London)

Tim Blythe Tim.blythe@blytheweigh.com

Camilla Horsfall Camilla.horsfall@blytheweigh.com

Nick Elwes Nick.elwes@blytheweigh.com

+44 (0) 207 138 3204




IRVINE, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 6, 2017 / Khang & Khang LLP (the "Firm") announces a securities class action lawsuit against Barrick Gold Corporation ("Barrick" or the "Company") (NYSE: ABX). Investors who purchased or otherwise acquired shares between February 16, 2017 and April 24, 2017, inclusive (the "Class Period"), are encouraged to contact the Firm in advance of the July 10, 2017 lead plaintiff motion deadline.

If you purchased shares of Barrick during the Class Period, please contact Joon M. Khang, Esq., of Khang & Khang LLP, 18101 Von Karman Avenue, 3rd Floor, Irvine, CA 92612, by telephone at (949) 419-3834 , or by e-mail at joon@khanglaw.com.

There has been no class certification in this case yet. Until certification occurs, you are not represented by an attorney. You may choose to take no action and remain a passive class member as well.

According to the Complaint, during the Class Period, Barrick made materially false and/or misleading statements, and failed to disclose: that the pipes and safety systems at the Veladero mine were not robust enough to prevent gold-bearing solution spills; that Argentinian authorities would restrict the addition of cyanide to the Veladero mine's heap leach facility and require remedial work; that these developments would impact the production capacity of the Veladero mine; that as a result of the above, Barrick's Veladero mine production guidance and total gold production guidance were overstated; and that as a result of the above, the Company's statements about its business, operations, and prospects, were false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times. On April 24, 2017, Barrick revised its full year guidance, stating that "[f]ull-year gold production is now expected to be 5.3-5.6 million ounces, down from our previous range of 5.6-5.9 million ounces." Barrick attributed about two-thirds of the decrease to the planned sale of 50% percent of its Veladero mine. The Company also revised Veladero-specific guidance, forecasting full-year production of 630,000-730,000 ounces at Veladero, compared to its previously-issued guidance of 770,000-830,000 ounces. Upon release of this news, Barrick's stock price fell materially, which harmed investors according to the Complaint.

If you wish to learn more about this lawsuit, or if you have any questions concerning this notice or your rights, please contact Joon M. Khang, a prominent litigator for almost two decades, by telephone at (949) 419-3834 , or by e-mail at joon@khanglaw.com.

This press release may constitute Attorney Advertising in certain jurisdictions.

Contact

Joon M. Khang, Esq.

Telephone: 949-419-3834

Facsimile: 949-225-4474

joon@khanglaw.com

SOURCE: Khang & Khang LLP
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - June 6, 2017) - XBRL Canada is pleased to announce that it will be holding a Workshop on June 19, 2017 from 8:30 AM - 1:00 PM at the Offices of CPA Canada 9th floor, 277 Wellington St, Toronto, Ontario.

The Workshop will be geared towards SEC Reporting Issuers and address the SEC announcements on March 1, 2017 regarding XBRL for IFRS Reporting Issuers and the SEC announcement regarding Inline XBRL.

Rule 33-9002 of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires all US domestic and foreign private issuers who submit financial reports using US GAAP or IFRS to the SEC to provide financial statement information in XBRL (Extensible Business Reporting Language). While US GAAP filers have been providing XBRL versions of their reports for many years now, IFRS filers were unable to comply because of the lack of a supported IFRS taxonomy.

In March, 2016, the SEC announced support of the IFRS taxonomy, a move that brings into force the SEC rule for IFRS users.

In this session, you will learn:

How the SEC's support for the 2016 IFRS Taxonomy means IFRS Filers will be required to provide XBRL, and when. What filers and those that support them need to know about Rule 33-9002, the EDGAR Filer Manual, and other resources to help prepare XBRL files. About Inline XBRL, and plans that may impact all XBRL filers, including experienced US GAAP Filers and new IFRS Filers.

The workshop will be presented by an internationally known XBRL specialist who has been involved in educating the XBRL community on behalf of XBRL International, XBRL US and XBRL Canada for many years.

CPA Credit is available for this event.

To Register for this event, click here or visit http://xbrl.ca/63-slider/176-slide-4

About XBRL Canada

XBRL Canada (www.xbrl.ca) is the Canadian jurisdiction of XBRL International and largely funded and administered by CPA Canada. The purpose of XBRL Canada is to provide support and encouragement for the adoption of eXtensible Business Reporting Language in Canada. XBRL is widely used around the world and recognized as the leader in advanced electronic business and financial reporting.

To strive towards its goals, XBRL Canada holds seminars and webinars and issues various publications, including its bi-monthly Newsletter. It also leads projects to test and explore XBRL usage in various settings.

For further information, please contact: XBRL Canada, Gerald Trites, Project Director, (416) 602-3931, Email: gtrites@cpacanada.ca
Technavio market research analysts forecast the global power transformers market to grow at a CAGR of more than 7% during the forecast period, according to their latest report.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170606005829/en/

Technavio has published a new report on the global power transformers market from 2017-2021. (Graphic: Business Wire)

The market study covers the present scenario and growth prospects of the global power transformersmarketfor 2017-2021. The global power transformers market can be segmented into liquid-immersed and dry-type, based on the type of insulating medium being used. The liquid-immersed segment accounted for more than 73% of the market share in 2016.

This report is available at a USD 1,000 discount for a limited time only: View market snapshot before purchasing

Buy 1 Technavio report and get the second for 50% off. Buy 2 Technavio reports and get the third for free

Technavio analysts highlight the following three market drivers that are contributing to the growth of the global power transformers market:

Modernization of existing transformers

T&D expansion leading to increase in transformer installations

Expansion in renewable power generation capacity

Modernization of existing transformers

Factors such as the increase in installation of new transformers and the replacement of old transformers with new ones are fueling the growth of the global power transformers market. Much of the T&D infrastructure globally needs renovation, mainly because the existing networks are unable to meet the growth in the demand for power. There is a need to replace the old systems with new ones as well as the need to expand the existing infrastructure.

"Smart grid networks are also being increasingly used in many countries. A smart grid refers to an electricity network that delivers an economical, sustainable, and secure electricity supply by intelligently integrating the actions of all users, whether they are consumers, generators, or those capable of both in an efficient manner," says Gaurav Mohindru, a lead analyst at Technavio for unit operationsresearch.

The use of innovative products and services along with intelligent metering, monitoring, control, communication, and self-healing technologies enables a smart grid system to perform a variety of roles. The use of smart grid systems has enabled utilities to focus on the installation of more power transformers for the effective transmission of electric power.

T&D expansion leading to increase in transformer installations

APAC is one of the regions that is undergoing far-reaching changes in many ways. Countries including China, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, India, Japan, and Australia, are experiencing substantial economic growth along with industrial development and commercialization. Therefore, the demand for power in these countries is also increasing.

Industrial development has a direct impact on urbanization, which results in increased construction activities in the residential and commercial sectors. India has one of the fastest rates of urban development worldwide due to the rapid population growth and rising disposable incomes. China is also experiencing a similar urbanization trend.

"This has spurred activity among private and public power sector companies in many regions to commence projects of planned network capacity expansion which entails the setting up of several power stations, substations, and distribution stations. This will result in the need for more step-up and step-down power transformers," says Gaurav

Expansion in renewable power generation capacity

In 2014, China and the US each accounted for about one-fifth of the global power generation capacity. Most of the significant expansion activities are taking place in renewable energy. To meet stringent carbon emission goals and reduce the dependence on depleting fossil fuel resources, may countries are adopting renewable sources of energy like wind and solar.

Many end-users have embraced alternative forms of energy instead of depending on power generators that operate on fossil fuels. Solar power, wind power, and other forms of renewable energy are becoming increasingly popular among all categories of electricity end-users. In 2016, the total wind power installed across the European Union was 142 GW, as per Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC). Onshore installed capacity was approximate 92% while the remaining was based on offshore facilities.

Browse Related Reports:

Global Traction Transformers Market 2017-2021

Global Air Source Heat Pump Market 2017-2021

Global Gas Compressors Market 2017-2021

Become a Technavio Insights member and access all three of these reports for a fraction of their original cost. As a Technavio Insights member, you will have immediate access to new reports as they're published in addition to all 6,000+ existing reports covering segments like engineering toolstest and measurement, and construction. This subscription nets you thousands in savings, while staying connected to Technavio's constant transforming research library, helping you make informed business decisions more efficiently.

About Technavio

Technaviois a leading global technology research and advisory company. The company develops over 2000 pieces of research every year, covering more than 500 technologies across 80 countries. Technavio has about 300 analysts globally who specialize in customized consulting and business research assignments across the latest leading edge technologies.

Technavio analysts employ primary as well as secondary research techniques to ascertain the size and vendor landscape in a range of markets. Analysts obtain information using a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches, besides using in-house market modeling tools and proprietary databases. They corroborate this data with the data obtained from various market participants and stakeholders across the value chain, including vendors, service providers, distributors, re-sellers, and end-users.

If you are interested in more information, please contact our media team at media@technavio.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170606005829/en/

Contacts:

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media Marketing Executive

US: +1 630 333 9501

UK: +44 208 123 1770

www.technavio.com


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Treasuries showed a notable move back to the upside during trading on Tuesday following the pullback seen in the previous session.



Bond prices moved higher early in the session and remained firmly positive throughout the day. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, slid by 3.5 basis points to 2.147 percent.



The ten-year yield more than offset the 2.3 basis point increase seen on Monday, falling to its lowest closing level in almost seven months.



Treasuries benefited from concerns about rising tensions in the Middle East amid news Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt have severed diplomatic ties with Qatar.



The four Arab nations recalled their ambassadors from Qatar and closed all land, sea and air borders, accusing the energy-rich nation of supporting terrorism and destabilizing the region.



President Donald Trump appeared to take credit for the diplomatic crisis in a series of posts to Twitter, pointing to his recent trip to the Middle East.



'So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off,' Trump tweeted. 'They said they would take a hard line on funding extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!'



The news out of the Middle East added to uncertainty ahead of key events later this week, including the U.K. election, the ECB meeting and former FBI Director James Comey's congressional testimony.



Nonetheless, trading activity was somewhat subdued, as a lack of major U.S. economic data kept some traders on the sidelines.



The economic calendar remains relatively quiet on Wednesday, potentially leading to choppy trading ahead of several key events on Thursday.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
Regulatory News:

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170606006570/en/

Appendice Consolidated Equity

In Q1 2017, the group recorded a net gain of 278 million resulting from the restructuring of SoLocal Group's (Paris:LOCAL) debt. This gain resulted mainly from a positive non-monetary difference of 300 million between the carrying amount of debt converted into equity instruments and the fair value of these instruments in compliance with IFRIC 19.

I. Improvement of the consolidated accounting equity following the financial restructuring

In Q1 2017, the group recorded a net gain of 278 million resulting from the restructuring of its debt. This gain resulted mainly from a positive non-monetary difference of 300 million between the carrying amount of the debt converted into equity instruments and the fair value of these instruments in accordance with IFRIC 19, less costs related to the financial restructuring of 24 million and the accelerated amortization of borrowing costs related to the former debt, for 11 million, plus a tax credit on corporate income tax of 12 million.

It is recalled that, as foreseen in the financial restructuring plan, interest payments on bank and bond debts accrued at 31 December 2016, amounting to 32 million, had been postponed to the date of implementation of the financial restructuring plan and were paid on 13 March 2017.

II. Disputes related to the financial restructuring plan

The judgment of the Nanterre Commercial Court of 22 December 2016, which resulted in the amendment of the Company's accelerated financial safeguard, was the subject of a third-party objection.

In the course of that procedure, the Commercial Court of Nanterre declared that the third-party opposition was ungrounded. After an appeal of that decision, the Court of Appeal of Versailles confirmed on 11 May 2017 the decision of the Commercial Court of Nanterre.

The Company was also sued before the Commercial Court of Nanterre in order to obtain a decision on the merits to nullify the resolutions made by the General Meeting of 15 December 2016. The Commercial Court de Nanterre, by judgment of 26 April 2017, rejected these requests.

The application in summary proceedings to suspend the implementation of resolutions 1 to 7 submitted to the General Meeting of 15 December 2016 (regarding the financial restructuring) was rejected by the Chairman of the Commercial Court of Nanterre. By a decision of 9 March 2017, the Court of Appeal of Versailles confirmed the order of the President of the Commercial Court of Nanterre of 13 January 2017.

With these latest court rulings, the Company has won all its disputes and has not to its knowledge any other recourses engaged against the financial restructuring of the Company.

About SoLocal Group

SoLocal Group, European leader in local online communication, reveals local know-how, and boosts local revenues of businesses. The Internet activities of the Group are structured around two business lines: Local Search and Digital Marketing. With Local Search, the Group offers digital services and solutions to clients which enable them to enhance their visibility and develop their local contacts. Thanks to its expertise, SoLocal Group earned the trust of some 490,000 clients of those services and over 2.4 billions of visits via its 4 flagship brands (PagesJaunes, Mappy, Ooreka and A Vendre A Louer) but also through its partnerships. With Digital Marketing, SoLocal Group creates and provides the best local and customised content about professionals. With over 4,400 employees, including a new orders force of 1,900 local communication advisors specialised in five verticals (Home, Services, Retail, Health Public, BtoB) and Internationally (France, Spain, Austria, United Kingdom), the Group generated in 2016 revenues of 812 millions euros, of which 80% on Internet and ranks amongst the first European players in terms of Internet advertising revenues. SoLocal Group is listed on Euronext Paris (LOCAL). More information may be obtained at www.solocalgroup.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170606006570/en/

Contacts:

SoLocal Group

Press

Delphine Penalva, +33 (0)1 46 23 35 31

dpenalva@solocal.com

or

Edwige Druon, +33 (0)1 46 23 37 56

edruon@solocal.com

or

Alexandra Kunysz, +33 (0)1 46 23 47 45

akunysz@solocal.com

or

Investors

Emmanuelle Vinel, +33 (0)1 46 99 41 80

evinel@solocal.com

or

Sebastien Nony, +33 (0) 1 46 23 49 03

snony@solocal.com
For the fourth year in a row, Northside Festival will feature several Dutch creatives in the fields of content, innovation and music.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170606006577/en/

Dutch Presence at Northside Festival (Photo: Business Wire)

A selection of Dutch entrepreneurs, innovators and artists from a wide array of disciplines are participating in Northside Festival. The Netherlands is a founding country partner of Northside, and has consistently added an abundance of knowledge and talent to the festival.

"During this collaboration, the Dutch participation is strongly represented in Williamsburg by a wide array of disciplines, from music to tech to innovators," said Scott Stedman, co-founder of Northside Media Group. "The Dutch were the first to enhance our partnership, emphasizing the international component of this incredible creative exchange."

Cultural Attache, Jan Kennis adds, "Over the past years Northside developed into a serious player in the North American field of innovation, media and music. I am happy we could partner with them early on and I am curious and excited to see where it will go in the upcoming years."

Music

During Northside Festival, Amber Arcades will showcase her new songs and introduce American audiences to her lightly psychedelic guitar pop with baroque and krautrock influences. Her album "Fading Lines," which was released via Heavenly in June 2016, was made in Brooklyn with The Green Men producer Ben Greenberg.

Mixer

Northside Festival and the Consulate General of the Netherlands will collaborate again for a networking event at the McCarren Hotel rooftop on Friday, June 9. Register yourself and come by between 6:00 and 8:00 p.m. for drinks in a beautiful setting and mingle with other innovation leaders and festival VIPs. Furthermore, DJ Moods will spin the decks at this inspiring happening.

Innovation

During Northside Innovation, Ricardo van Loenen, co-founder of B. Amsterdam and B. NYC, will participate in the following panel: "Entrepreneurial Cross-Pollination: Connecting Global Tech Ecosystems." A diverse panel of NYC- based and European entrepreneurship leaders will discuss the impact of the international community on the robustness of NYC's tech ecosystem. The panelists will share their experience helping European companies expand to the US/NYC market and share insights on key issues and opportunities facing NYC as it further strengthens its status as the global tech hub. The panel takes place in the Wythe Screening Room on Wednesday, June 7 at 10.30 a.m.

Circus Family's TRIPH installation

Circus Family will display the TRIPH installation at the Williamsburg Hotel TNT Content Stage during the Northside festival. "Circus Family consists of a family of audiovisual designers with a passion for bringing challenging projects to life, using design, moving image, music and interactive technology. The interactive installation TRIPH consists of modular shapes containing programmable LED lights. Each shape is built with separate blocks. The shapes are made of wood, fabric and mirrors. Inside the interior of the shapes are controllable LED strips and sensors that measure movement."

Join all things Dutch during Northside Festival. Celebrate with us in Brooklyn!

Made possible by Dutch Culture USA (a program of the Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York) and Northside Festival Brooklyn.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170606006577/en/

Contacts:

New York Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

Vera Kuipers, 1-646-557-2231

vera.kuipers@minbuza.nl
LAVAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 06/06/17 -- Urbanimmersive Inc. ("Urbanimmersive", "UI" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: UI)(OTC PINK: UBMRF), a real estate content marketing platform, is pleased to announce the signing of a 5-year affiliate program agreement (the "Agreement") with ID-3 Technologies ("ID-3"), a leading Quebec real estate website provider, for the use of Urbanimmersive's real estate content marketing platform (the "Solution") for 100% of their real estate customer business transactions. All customer business transactions taking place on the platform will grow Urbanimmersive's top-line revenue and Urbanimmersive will then take a transaction fee in line with its current pricing model on each transaction generated through its platform. The real estate division of ID-3 generated contractual annual recurring revenues of approximately $1 million for the last fiscal year.

ID-3 is the leading Quebec real estate website providers, currently offering integrated solutions for online visibility and promotion, customized management and electronic commerce over the internet, specifically tailored to the real estate brokerage market. ID-3 is serving more than 3000 real estate agents in the province of Quebec, Canada.

"I am thrilled with this latest Affiliate Agreement with ID-3 because it empowers every Marketplace's participant's business potential," stated Ghislain Lemire, CEO of Urbanimmersive. "The Affiliate Agreement with Urbanimmersive will allow ID-3 to promote and sell the services of the growing network of Urbanimmersive's Marketplace photographers therefore becoming a predominant one stop shop agency in Quebec from day one. The synergy goes both ways. This Affiliate Agreement will also allow Urbanimmersive's growing network of affiliated photographers to promote and sell ID-3 website products and services therefore increasing every vendor revenues." added Mr. Lemire

The Affiliate Agreement with this real estate website developer is an example of how Urbanimmersive's Affiliated business model can rapidly leverage the Company's Content Marketing platform revenue. By allowing real estate website developers to easily integrate Urbanimmersive's visual content marketplace to their website product offerings and generate revenues from it, this affiliate program allows Urbanimmersive to reach more real estate professionals quickly with the strategy to bring the solution as the standard in the industry for the production and publication of original real estate content.

The Affiliate Agreement will also allow ID-3 to use Urbanimmersive's real estate blog content management solution. Using an Application Programming Interface (API) developed by Urbanimmersive, ID-3 will incorporate UI's white labelled written content solutions into their clients' website. In doing so, their customers get a blog section on their real estate website and have access to all features and services offered by Urbanimmersive's real estate blog solution. Urbanimmersive's written content solution includes on demand real estate articles writing, proofreading, translation services and a library of exclusive real estate blog content articles ready to publish. Such as the visual content marketplace, all writing transaction services taking place on the Company's blog content management solution will grow Urbanimmersive's top-line revenue and Urbanimmersive will then take a transaction fee in line with its current pricing model.

Furthermore, the Agreement will provide ID-3 customers with a privileged access to the new Urbanimmersive's real estate property description vocal transcription feature recently announced by Urbanimmersive in collaboration with Atmanco (TSX VENTURE: ATW) (see press release dated May 31, 2017).

Jocelyn Archambault, CEO of ID-3 said, "It's such an achievement for a platform to ramp up so quickly in the real estate market so that when we were approached by Urbanimmersive, we knew we had to seriously considered the affiliated program and the decision to proceed became obvious. We are very excited to join this transformative real estate content marketplace developed by Urbanimmersive and have clear intentions to actively participate in its historical success."

Many visual content providers have recently joined Ui's affiliated program (see press releases) but ID-3 is the first real estate website developers to join Urbanimmersive Marketplace's Affiliate Program bringing with them contractual recurring revenues. The Affiliate Program is offered to providers ready to use Urbanimmersive's Marketplace solution for 100% of their real estate business transactions. The Affiliate Program offers a white label ordering interface, presenting only services offered by the developers or by other Marketplace's content providers selected by the developers. It also provides a dashboard to manage bookings and payments from incoming customer phone calls, emails and SMS.

Pursuant of this game-changing Agreement for the Company and in consideration for the Affiliate's exclusive use of Urbanimmersive's Solution and the transfer by the Affiliate of its customers on the Solution, subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval, Urbanimmersive will issue to the Affiliate 1,066,667 common shares of the Company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol UI. V (the "Issued Shares"), for a total equity value of $160,000 based on the closing price on the TSX-V of C$0.15 for Urbanimmersive's shares. The transaction has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies. In addition to any statutory restriction, all Issued Shares issued will be subject to a mandatory holding period and restriction on the transfer of eighteen (18) months and one day from the Issue Date.

About Urbanimmersive

Urbanimmersive is a content marketing marketplace for real estate professionals. The Company connect real estate professionals, photographers and writers in order to simplify and optimize original content production workflow. Urbanimmersive enables its customers to leverage their marketing investment while increasing productivity, competitiveness, their web visibility, consumer engagement with their brand and ultimately, their revenue.

The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Certain statements in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking information that involves various risks and uncertainties. Such statements relating to, among other things, the prospects for the company to enhance operating results, are necessarily subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which are significant in scope and nature. These uncertainties may cause actual results to differ from information contained herein. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. These and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements are based on the estimates and opinions of the management on the dates they are made and expressly qualified in their entirety by this notice. The Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements should circumstances or management estimates or opinions change. For additional information with respect to certain of these and other assumptions and risk factors, please refer to the last Corporation's MD&A filed with the Canadian securities commissions. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release represent our expectations as of the date hereof. We disclaim any intention and assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.

Contacts:

Urbanimmersive Inc.

Ghislain Lemire

President & CEO

514-394-7820 X 202

ghislainlemire@urbanimmersive.com

www.urbanimmersive.com



For investor relations,

Contact Financial Corp.

Frederick Chabot

438-863-7071

frederick@contactfinancial.com




TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 06/06/17 -- Euro Sun Mining Inc. (TSX: ESM) ("Euro Sun" or the "Company") reports, in accordance with the policies of the Toronto Stock Exchange, that the nominees listed in the management information circular dated May 8, 2017 for the 2017 Annual and Special Meeting of shareholders of Euro Sun (the "Meeting") were elected as directors of the Company. Shareholders at the Meeting also approved the appointment of the Company's auditors and approved the Company's rolling stock option plan. A total of 27.5% of all the issued and outstanding shares of Euro Sun were represented in person or by proxy at the Meeting.

Detailed results of the vote for the election of directors held at the Meeting on June 6, 2017 in Toronto, Ontario, are set out below.

Election of Directors

The shareholders approved the election as directors of the persons listed below, based on the following vote:

----------------------------------------------------------------- Nominee % Votes For % Votes Withheld ----------------------------------------------------------------- Stan Bharti 98.74% 1.26% ----------------------------------------------------------------- Guy Charette 92.30% 7.70% ----------------------------------------------------------------- David C. Danziger 92.34% 7.66% ----------------------------------------------------------------- G. Scott Moore 99.72% 0.28% ----------------------------------------------------------------- Justin Reid 99.25% 0.75% ----------------------------------------------------------------- Matthew Simpson 92.28% 7.72% ----------------------------------------------------------------- Peter Tagliamonte 99.67% 0.33% -----------------------------------------------------------------

Stock Option Plan

Shareholders voted 90% in favour of the approval of the Company's stock option plan and all unallocated options, rights and entitlements thereunder, with 10% of shareholders voting against the plan.

Euro Sun's board would like to express its gratitude to its shareholders for their high levels of participation and support.

About Euro Sun Mining Inc.

Euro Sun is a Toronto Stock Exchange listed mining company focused on the exploration and development of its 100%-owned Rovina Valley gold and copper project located in west-central Romania, which hosts the second largest gold deposit in Europe.

Caution regarding forward-looking information:

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, without limitation, statements regarding the election of directors. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including risks inherent in the mining industry and risks described in the public disclosure of the Company which is available under the profile of the Company on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the Company's website at www.eurosunmining.com. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

Contacts:

Euro Sun Mining Inc.

Investor Relations

info@eurosunmining.com

+1 416.309.4299




RIVIERA BEACH, FL--(Marketwired - June 06, 2017) - Cancer patients and volunteers at the American Cancer Society's Palm Beach headquarters are breathing purified air thanks to a donation by RGF Environmental Group Inc. (RGF). The company has improved the air quality at the building through the donation of eight REME HALOS and five Guardian Air QR+ units. The 21,000 square foot three-floor building is used each year by thousands of staff, cancer patients, caregivers, volunteers and supporters.

Prior to RGF's donation, the building had a noticeable musty odor and air samples from seven indoor locations throughout the space tested positive for bacteria and mold. To eliminate the problem, RGF donated and installed the units into the building's 13 air handlers. The air handlers throughout the building were primarily 2-5 ton residential units located in the ceiling with CFM ranging from 800-2000. The Guardian Air QR+ was installed on the smaller units and the REME HALO on the larger units. The entire air-conditioned space was treated, including the lobby, conference room, computer server room, occupied and unoccupied office areas, storage areas and walkways.

Two months after installation, air samples were tested from the same seven indoor locations throughout the space. Mold was reduced by 100%, and bacteria was reduced by 67%. The musty odor was completely gone.

"Our building has a fresher, cleaner feel than ever before. The significant reduction in particulate, mold, microbes and VOCs has greatly improved the environment for our valued staff, volunteers and cancer patients" said Chris Snyder, American Cancer Society Florida's Director of Estate and Gift Planning.

RGF's patented PHI-Cell technology, tested and validated by third party independent labs and universities, proactively reduces bacteria, mold and viruses in the air and on surfaces by 99%, while also decreasing odors, smoke and VOCs. In addition, through bi-polar ionization, the REME-HALO  has the added benefit of reducing airborne dust and particles.

About the American Cancer Society

The American Cancer Society is a global grassroots force of more than three million volunteers saving lives and fighting for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. As the largest voluntary health organization, the Society's efforts have contributed to a 20 percent decline in cancer death rates in the U.S. since 1991, and a 50 percent drop in smoking rates. Thanks in part to our progress, nearly 14 million Americans who have had cancer and countless more who have avoided it will celebrate more birthdays this year. We're determined to finish the fight against cancer. We're finding cures as the nation's largest private, not-for-profit investor in cancer research, ensuring people facing cancer have the help they need, and continuing the fight for access to quality health care, lifesaving screenings, clean air and more. For more information, to get help, or to join the fight, call us anytime, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org



About RGF

RGF Environmental Group, Inc., a U.S. engineering, design and manufacturing firm based in South Florida, manufactures over 500 environmental products and has over 2,000,000 systems installed worldwide. The company is represented in 33 countries providing the world with the safest air, water and food without the use of chemicals. RGF maintains a Research and Development staff that is involved in FDA, USDA and University Environmental Studies and continuously improves existing systems and develops new award-winning products.

For more information, go to www.rgf.com or contact RGF Environmental Group, Inc. 1101 West 13th Street, The Port of Palm Beach Enterprise Zone, Riviera Beach, Florida 33404 USA Tel: (561) 848-1826 or (800) 842-7771; Fax (561) 848-9454.

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2017/6/6/11G140540/Images/ACS_Building-25455720aae0b50d93d8376bf6afe6f2.jpg

Contact:

Kelly Kendrick

kkendrick@rgf.com

Tel: 561.848.1826
CALGARY, ALBERTA / ACCESSWIRE / June 6, 2017 / Emerald Bay Energy Inc. (TSX-V: EBY) (the "Company" or "Emerald Bay") today announced that the Company has entered into a Loan Agreement (the "Loan") with L&K Tire Inc. (the "Lender"). The aggregate credit facilities under the Loan provides for the ability of Emerald Bay to borrow up to $6,225,000. The Loan will have an interest free period until October, 2017, at which point the Loan will bear interest at a rate equal to the Prime Rate plus 1.5% per annum. The Loan shall be payable upon demand being made by the Lender. The Loan is secured over all the assets of the Company.

The initial proceeds of the Loan will be used to repay existing loans and payables, totaling approximately $1,925,000, to KD Lendingco Ltd. and Tire Oil & Gas. The balance of the Loan, approximately $4,300,000, will be used for future acquisitions of oil and gas interests in South Texas and Alberta.

The Loan is subject to the acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange.

Emerald Bay is also pleased to announce that it recently became a member of the 8020 Connect community. 8020 Connect (www.8020connect.com) is the investment industry's newest social investor network, developed to deliver corporate information to shareholders, investment industry experts and like-minded investors, while enabling these group members to interact with one another and with the Company's management team.

Through the 8020 Connect shareholder and investor network, Emerald Bay can communicate its corporate message and update advancements and financial information to all shareholders and investors in a timely and effective fashion. The 8020 Connect social media component provides direct interaction with shareholders, allowing the Company to respond to questions and inquiries directly or through our private investor group forums. The 8020 Connect network will also allow Emerald Bay to expand its audience to interested investors and industry experts worldwide.

About Emerald Bay

Emerald Bay Energy Inc. (EBY) is a diversified energy company with oil producing properties in southwest Texas, as well as natural gas and electricity generation projects in Central Alberta, Canada. EBY is the operator of the Wooden Horse and Nash Creek Projects in Guadeloupe, Texas, where the Company currently owns a 27.78% working interest in those projects. In addition, the Company has numerous non-operated working interests in oil and gas properties in Central Alberta. The common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "EBY." Please visit www.ebyinc.com for more detail.

For further information, please contact:

Emerald Bay President, Shelby D. Beattie, by telephone at (403) 262-6000 or by email at info@ebyinc.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: Emerald Bay Energy Inc.
home World Al-Shabaab overtakes Boko Haram as Africa's deadliest terrorist group in 2016

Somalia-based terrorist group Al-Shabaab has overtaken Nigeria's Boko Haram as Africa's deadliest militant group, according to new figures from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED).

The data, compiled by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, showed that Al-Shabaab was responsible for 4,281 casualties in 2016, compared to 3,499 by Boko Haram. The third group on the list was the Islamic State militant group, which was responsible for 2,350 deaths that year, Africa News reported.

Al-Shabaab, which has ties to al-Qaeda, is largely operational in Somalia with some incursions in neighboring Kenya.

The group was responsible for the attack that killed nearly 150 students in Kenya's Garissa University College in April 2015. In 2013, Al-Shabaab militants carried out a three-day siege, killing 67 people, at a shopping mall in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi.

Last year, The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) declared Al-Shabaab as a transnational security threat in the East Africa region.

The Somali National Army is leading the fight against the insurgent group with support from the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), Kenyan Defence Forces (KDF) and Ethiopian troops.

AMISOM has been able to push Al-Shabaab out of urban areas and into the countryside in recent years, while U.S. drone strikes have managed to kill senior leaders, including the former Al-Shabab chief Ahmed Abdi Godane, who formalized the group's ties with Al-Qaeda.

However, Al-Shabaab has ramped up its attacks across Somalia over the past year, and it has carried out several major raids on AMISOM bases.

In January 2016, the group attacked the El Adde base, where almost 150 Kenyan soldiers were killed. The militants have regularly carried out suicide bombings in and around government buildings and hotels, and a gun attack was recently launched by the terror group on a popular beach, according to Newsweek.

Boko Haram, which has been named as the deadliest group in Africa until 2014, has suffered some defeats from the Nigerian military over the recent months.

The Nigerian-based insurgent group has a split leadership, with long serving Abubakar Shekau leading one part and Abu Musah Al Barnawi leading the other part. In contrast, Al-Shabaab is led by Abu Ubaidah, who has a US$6 million bounty on his head.

Despite the escalation of Al-Shabaab's operations, Boko Haram historically remains the most dangerous group based on the number of casualties between 2010 and 2016. According to the ACLED data, Boko Haram has killed 29,360 people during the period, while Al-Shabaab has killed 18,070 people.
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 06/06/17 -- Pangolin Diamonds Corp, ("Pangolin" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: PAN) announces that it proposes to settle outstanding debt in the aggregate of $75,000.00 (the "Debt") owed to two officers and one arm's length creditor of the Company. The Company intends to issue an aggregate of 1,500,000 common shares (the "Debt Shares") at a deemed price of $0.05 per share to settle the Debt in full (the "Debt Settlement"). The Debt Settlement is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV"). The Debt Shares, if issued, will be issued in reliance on certain prospectus exemptions available under applicable securities legislation and will be subject to a hold period of four months and one day in accordance with applicable securities legislation and TSXV requirements.

The Company also announces that its board of directors have approved the granting of 515,000 options under its Stock Option Plan to a director, officer and consultant, each share under option having a 5 year term and exercise price of $0.10.

Pangolin Diamonds Corp. - Contact Information

For more information on Pangolin Diamonds Corp, please refer to the website at http://pangolindiamonds.com.

Follow us on Twitter: @pangolindiamond

Find us on Facebook: Pangolin Diamonds Corp.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:

Pangolin Diamonds Corp.

Scott Young

Investor Relations

Phone: +1.705.888.2756

Email: syoung@pangolindiamonds.com



Pangolin Diamonds Corp.

Graham C. Warren

Chief Financial Officer

Phone: +1.416.594.0473

Fax: +1.416.594.1630

Email: gwarren@pangolindiamonds.com




VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 06/06/17 -- Senator Minerals Inc. (TSX VENTURE: SNR)(OTC PINK: SNRAF)(FRANKFURT: T1KA) ("Senator" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the Company has entered into a standstill agreement with Gunnar Minerals Corp. ("Gunnar Minerals") pursuant to which Gunnar Minerals has agreed that the Company will have the exclusive right to acquire a controlling interest in the Carter Lake Uranium Project. The standstill allows the Company to continue to move forward with due diligence on the project with a view to completing the acquisition in the near term.

The Carter Lake Uranium Project is located in the southwestern corner of the Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan. The project covers approximately 1113 hectares on the Carter Lake Corridor, an exploration zone adjacent to the prolific Patterson Lake Corridor, which hosts two of the most significant uranium deposits in the basin: Nexgen's Arrow Deposit and Fission's Patterson Lake South Deposit. The project lies near the eastern edge of the Clearwater Domain, approximately 21 kilometres northeast of the Patterson Lake property, which has a reported resource estimate of total of 2,011,000 tonnes of 1.83% U3O8 containing 81,111,000 pounds of U3O8 including the R780E High Grade Zone estimated to contain 45,079,000 pounds U3O8 at 18.22% U3O81 and inferred mineral resources are estimated to total 785,000 tonnes at 1.57% U3O8 containing 27,157,000 pounds of U3O8 including the R780E High Grade Zone estimated to contain 13,898,000 pounds U3O8 at 25.06% U3O81. (Fission Uranium Corp. PEA September 14, 2015). Nexgen Energy Ltd. has reported (March 31, 2017) that the Arrow Deposit's Mineral Resource comprises an indicated mineral resource of 179.5 M lbs of U3O8 within 1.18M tonnes grading 6.88% U3O8, and an inferred mineral resource of 122.1 M lbs of U3O8 contained within 4.25 M tonnes grading 1.30% U3O8.

The Carter Lake Uranium Project, which borders Purepoint/Cameco/AREVA's Hook Lake Project to the east, has basement depths estimated at between 400-500 metres, within the general discovery range of the McArthur River mine. The principal exploration target at Carter Lake is approximately 4.7 kilometres of subsurface conductive anomalies, identified in a 2006 MegaTEM survey and a 2008 VTEM survey, both completed by ESO Uranium Corp. The anomalies are interpreted as a conductive horizon, at or above the unconformity and which may be indicative of hydrothermal enrichment.

For further information concerning the Company's proposed acquisition of the Carter Lake Uranium Project, readers are encouraged to review the Company's news releases of April 24th and 25th, and May 29th. Completion of the acquisition remains subject to due diligence and negotiation of definitive documentation. Readers are cautioned that there can be no assurance that the acquisition will be completed in a timely fashion or at all.

Peter Born, P.Geo., a Qualified Person, has reviewed and approved the disclosure of technical information within this news release.

Tim Fernback

President & CEO

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Statements in this release that are forward-looking information are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors disclosed here. Information provided in this document is necessarily summarized and may not contain all available material information. All such forward-looking information and statements are based on certain assumptions and analyses made by management in light of their experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors management believes are appropriate in the circumstances. These statements, however, 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 information or statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements include those described under the heading "Risks Factors" in the Company's most recently filed MD&A. The Company does not intend, and expressly disclaims any obligation to, update or revise the forward-looking information contained in this news release, except as required by law. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information or statements.

Contacts:

Tim Fernback

604-340-3774




TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 06/06/17 -- Following today's announcement on childcare, the OFL is calling on the government to ensure public funding for all childcare spaces in Ontario.

"There's no doubt that creating a system of affordable childcare requires public investment," said OFL President Chris Buckley. "Families across this province are struggling to make ends meet. Affordable childcare, if it is publicly funded provides quality care for children and well-paid steady work for the daycare staff."

The OFL urges the government to move quickly to develop a system of universal, affordable, publicly funded childcare in Ontario to help close the gender wage gap and support families across the province.

"Providing affordable childcare is proven to increase the earning power of women in families. However, child care jobs are often part-time, contract, and low waged, adding to the number of precarious workers in this province," said OFL Secretary-Treasurer Patty Coates. "All child care spaces in this province must be publicly funded and run if they are to help families and combat the rise of precarious work."

The OFL's www.MakeItFair.ca campaign takes on issues of inequality in the workforce, and coincides with the province's "Changing Workplaces Review." The campaign gives voice to unions' demands for across-the-board changes to the Employment Standards Act and the Labour Relations Act that would improve standards for every worker and make it easier for them to join a union.

The OFL represents 54 unions and one million workers in Ontario. For information, visit www.OFL.ca and follow @OFLabour on Facebook and Twitter.

Contacts:

Meagan Perry

Director of Communications

Email: mperry@ofl.ca

Phone: 416-894-3456




Expansive Views of Fireworks with Food and Open Bar

NEW YORK, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- On Tuesday, July 4, 2017, the Empire State Building (ESB) will host the Ultimate 4th of July celebration from 7:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. This exclusive annual event offers breathtaking views of the Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular from the world-famous 86th floor open-air Observatory with an open bar and light hors d'oeuvres.

The Observatory will be closed to the general public from 7:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. to provide ticket holders an exclusive premium experience. TV screens and speakers on the 86th floor will allow guests to tune into the broadcast presentation. Ticket holders will also be given VIP private access to the 80th Floor "Dare to Dream" exhibit for a reception, including hors d'oeuvres and premium open bar served by STATE Grill and Bar, the fine dining restaurant located at ESB on 33rd Street.

Tickets are $350 each and are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Tickets must be purchased or gifted online at www.empirestatebuilding.com/july4 or in advance at the ESB ticket office.

The Empire State Building Facebook page (www.facebook.com/EmpireStateBuilding) will also give fans a chance to win one (1) pair of tickets to this exclusive event. Followers of the ESB Facebook page will be asked to describe why they should win the opportunity to view the Independence Day fireworks from this one-of-a-kind vantage point. The contest ends on Friday, June 9 at noon ET, and the winner will be announced on Monday, June 12, via ESB's social media channels.

In addition to hosting the Ultimate 4th of July celebration, the ESB will shine its world-famous tower lights in dynamic red, white and blue flourishes on July 4.

About the Empire State Building

Soaring 1,454 feet above Midtown Manhattan (from base to antenna), the Empire State Building, owned by Empire State Realty Trust, Inc., is the "World's Most Famous Building." With new investments in energy efficiency, infrastructure, public areas and amenities, the Empire State Building has attracted first-rate tenants in a diverse array of industries from around the world. The skyscraper's robust broadcasting technology supports major television and FM radio stations in the New York metropolitan market. The Empire State Building was named America's favorite building in a poll conducted by the American Institute of Architects, and the Empire State Building Observatory is one of the world's most beloved attractions as the region's #1 tourist destination. For more information on the Empire State Building, please visit www.empirestatebuilding.com, www.facebook.com/empirestatebuilding, @EmpireStateBldg, www.instagram.com/empirestatebldg, www.youtube.com/esbnyc or www.pinterest.com/empirestatebldg/.

About Empire State Realty Trust

Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: ESRT), a leading real estate investment trust (REIT), owns, manages, operates, acquires and repositions office and retail properties in Manhattan and the greater New York metropolitan area, including the Empire State Building, the world's most famous building. Headquartered in New York, New York, the Company's office and retail portfolio covers 10.1 million rentable square feet, as of March 31, 2017, consisting of 9.4 million rentable square feet in 14 office properties, including nine in Manhattan, three in Fairfield County, Connecticut and two in Westchester County, New York; and approximately 708,000 rentable square feet in the retail portfolio.

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PLYMOUTH, MN--(Marketwired - June 06, 2017) - TruStone Financial Federal Credit Union welcomes two new branch managers to their eastern Wisconsin locations, Teresa O'Brien as the Oak Creek Branch Manager and Dan Dzikowski as the Cudahy Branch Manager. Both new managers have impressive backgrounds within the financial industry and will play essential roles on their TruStone Financial teams.

Teresa joins TruStone Financial with nearly 20 years of financial institution experience from her tenure at an Illinois-based credit union. "Teresa brings a wealth of credit union knowledge and management experience to our Oak Creek branch," stated Kacie Osten, Director of Wisconsin Branches.

Dan is highly qualified as well with more than 25 years in the financial services industry. Most recently, Dan served as TruStone Financial's Assistant Branch Manager in Cudahy. Regarding Dan's promotion, Kacie remarked, "Dan's dedication and commitment to our membership during his previous role as the Assistant Branch Manager will serve him well in his new role. We are thrilled to have Dan lead his team."

The Oak Creek branch is located at 2121 East Rawson Avenue. Also in Wisconsin, the Cudahy branch is located at 5570 S. Packard Avenue. Both neighborhood credit union locations offer a full selection of convenient banking services and solutions.

About TruStone Financial

TruStone Financial is one of the fastest growing credit unions in the Midwest with assets of $1.19 billion and exceeding 105,433 members. There are 14 branches across Minnesota and Wisconsin. The credit union is headquartered in Plymouth, Minnesota. For more information and full membership criteria, visit TruStoneFinancial.org.

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2017/6/6/11G140560/Images/Teresa_O_Brien-3a53e6771c0bb0d6ae2e656e7a56f400.jpg

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2017/6/6/11G140560/Images/Dan_Dzikowski-4df57c6d538bb3d69583bf99f45d54b1.jpg

Contact:

Katie Grindeland

Senior Vice President, Director of Marketing and Communications

Phone: 763.595.4002

Email contact


Digital Pharmacist Inc., an Austin, Texas-based digital health company, closed a $6.5m series B financing.

The round was led by Activate Venture Partners and LiveOak Venture Partners.

The new funds will be used to accelerate adoption of the companys platform and build new products that improve patient outcomes.

Led by Chris Loughlin, chief executive officer, Digital Pharmacist powers the digital, communication and adherence solutions for 6,000 pharmacies, national pharmacy wholesalers, hospital systems and pharmaceutical brands

Four million patients use the companys products every month.

Digital Pharmacist, which has offices in Newark, New Jersey, is a partner of the National Community Pharmacy Association.

FinSMEs

06/06/2017
The RealReal, a San Francisco, CA-based authenticated luxury consignment company, closed a $50m growth equity financing.

Private equity firm Great Hill Partners made the investment, bringing the companys total funding to $173m. In conjunction with the funding, Michael Kumin, Managing Partner of Great Hill Partners, will join The RealReals Board of Directors.

The company intends to use the funds to continue scaling operations and category expertise, and to expand its Luxury Consignment Offices and retail concepts.

Founded in 2011 by CEO Julie Wainwright, The RealReal operates an authenticated luxury consignment service with certified experts inspecting every single item including womens and mens fashion, fine jewelry, watches, fine art, and home.

The company operates Luxury Consignment offices in six US cities that offer free fine jewelry and watch valuations from certified gemologists, as well as consignment service.

In 2017 alone, The RealReal is expected to pay consignors nearly $300 million from the resale of their luxury items, the majority of which, they will spend back in the primary market, continuing the luxury lifecycle.

FinSMEs

06/06/2017
Shares of Adani Enterprises rose over 6 percent on BSE, after invetors cheered the company's investment approval for the Carmichael mine and rail projects in Queensland.

Intra-day, the stock surged over 7 percent to touch a high of 126.10.

At 12:50 pm , Adani Enterprises shares were traded at Rs 124.70, up 6 percent from previous close.

The counter has witnessed hectic trading activity, with over 33 lakh shares changing hands on BSE so far, as against two-week average volume of 16.70 lakh shares on BSE.

The stock has been attracting investors' attention over the past one month, rising nearly 4 percent as against 5 percent gain in Sensex. Further, the counter has outperformed the benchmark index in the last quarter, surging over 20 percent compared with 8 percent rise in Sensex.

"The project has Final Investment Decision approval, which marks the official start of one of the largest single infrastructure and job-creating developments in Australia's recent history," Adani Chairman Gautam Adani said in a statement.

The company has said the project, at an initial cost of $4 billion, would pay billions of dollars in royalties and taxes, create jobs and export coal to India help bring electricity to rural regions.

The Australian project is expected to generate 10,000 direct and indirect jobs, while pre-construction work likely to start in next few months.

The Carmichael coal mine project has been dogged by delays, facing opposition from several environmentalist groups as well as members of the indigenous community.

Green groups are opposed to the project, saying carbon emitting fossil fuels should be phased out to tackle climate change.

The Adani group entered Australia in 2010 with the purchase of the greenfield Carmichael coal mine in the Galilee Basin in central Queensland, and the Abbot Point port near Bowen in the north.

With agency inputs
Adani Enterprises said on Tuesday that it has given final investment approval for the Carmichael mine and rail projects in Queensland.

"The project has Final Investment Decision approval, which marks the official start of one of the largest single infrastructure and job-creating developments in Australia's recent history," Adani Chairman Gautam Adani said in a statement.

The company has said the project, at an initial cost of $4 billion, would pay billions of dollars in royalties and taxes, create jobs and export coal to India help bring electricity to rural regions.

The controversy-hit Carmichael coal mine project is one of the world's largest. The project, which involves dredging 1.1 million cubic metres of spoil near the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park to be later disposed off on land, received approval in April for a water licence from Queensland state government.

The 400-kilometre railway line would link Carmichael coal mine in Queenslands Galilee Basin to the port at Abbot Point, north of Bowen town.

The company signed a 74 million dollar landmark deal with Australian steel group Arrium on 4 May to buy steel for the rail line.

In December, Adani had applied for the loan to build the line through the North Australian Infrastructure Facility (NAIF), which was set up to encourage private sector investment in the region, it said.

According to rules, NAIF can only support projects that are "unlikely to proceed or will only proceed at a much later date, or with a limited scope, without financial assistance", the report said.

Meanwhile, Adani Australia has been advised by Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten that the Australian Labor Party will offer bipartisan support to the Commonwealth governments amendments to the Native Title Act, the company said in a statement.

Shorten, who in the past has extended his support to the project, was opposed to the granting of a Commonwealth loan, the ABC reported.

The proposed railway line would be open to other users, with Minister for Northern Australia senator Matt Canavan saying it had the potential to spur at least another three mining ventures. "The level of wealth that could be unlocked is comparable to that of the Hunter Valley or the Bowen Basin," Canavan said.

The Carmichael coal mine project has been dogged by delays, facing opposition from several environmentalist groups as well as members of the indigenous community.

Green groups are opposed to the project, saying carbon emitting fossil fuels should be phased out to tackle climate change.

The Adani group entered Australia in 2010 with the purchase of the greenfield Carmichael coal mine in the Galilee Basin in central Queensland, and the Abbot Point port near Bowen in the north.
The disinvestment plans of national carrier Air India are back in news and the government is making all the right noises.

Making a case for the sale of the airline, union finance minister, Arun Jaitley said in Dialogue@DDNews programme, "In this country, if 87 or 86 percent flying can be handled by the private sector... then they can also do 100 percent." Jaitley further said about Rs 50,000 crore of tax-payers' money that has been pumped into the airline so far could have been invested to improve the education sector.

Indeed a valid point, especially considering India's education budget has remained at a lowly 0.5 percent of GDP over the last few years.

What Jaitley said is by and large correct. A look at the air traffic data available from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) shows that Air India's market share has been on a declining course. From 20.2 percent in 2013-14, the airline's market share shrank to 17.8 percent in 2015-16. according to DGCA data.

Of the 10.38 crore passengers carried by Indian carriers in 2015-16, Air India accounted for 1.85 crore, Jet Airways 2.33 core and budget carrier IndiGo 3.31 crore. IndiGo has witnessed a steady increase in its market share from just 14.1 percent in 2010-11 to 32 percent in 2015-16.

Firstpost did an analysis of various parameters of three leading airlines in the country--Air India, Jet Airways and Indigo--in the context of Air India's selloff plan. Air India and Jet Airways are full service carriers while IndiGo is a budget carrier that is making profit and by far the best performer in the sector.

Air India's revenue growth has largely been in single digits over the last six years. Only once did the company post a double digit growth of 21.2 percent - in 2013-14. Meanwhile, its private sector counterparts Jet Airways and IndiGo have mostly witnessed double digit growth. IndiGo is an outlier with consistently showing growth above 15 percent and up to 65 percent.

When it comes to net profit, IndiGo is the one which has consistently been in the black. Jet Airways has witnessed an improvement in the 2015-16 and 2016-17, posting profits. Air India has been consistently in loss. However, the good news is that the company has been steadily improving its financial position from 2013-14. In 2016-17, the company is expected to narrow its loss to Rs 1,989 crore from Rs 6,280 crore in 2013-14. In 2015-16, the loss stood at Rs 3,837 crore. The improvement has been attributed mainly to benign crude oil prices. However, that's a minor reprieve because its accumulated losses as of 2016-17 is a whopping Rs 43,370 crore. And also, with the rising geo-political tensions in the Gulf region, it remains to be seen whether the company will indeed be able to retain the momentum.

The one figure that has turned out to be the millstone around the national carrier's neck is gross debt. As of 2015-16, its debt stood at a whopping Rs 51,000 crore. To put it in perspective, the number is 5.5 times of Jet Airways debt of Rs 7,223 crore and 16 times that of IndiGo's Rs 3,201 crore. Now you know why the government is struggling with the white elephant that is Air India.

This is one parameter in which Air India is scoring better. The company has managed to reduce the number of staff from 26,921 in 2011-12 to 12,880 in 2015-16. In 2011-12, the company saw a surge from 12,654 the year earlier due the now-controversial merger of Indian Airlines with it. However, Air India has been steadily reducing the headcount since then. The sharpest drop took place from 2014-15 to 2015-16. As of 2015-16, Jet Airways has 14,576 staff and IndiGo 12,362.

Air India's fleet size is almost the same as Jet Airways and IndiGo. While the fleet of Air India and Jet Airways has a mix of various aircraft, IndiGo has just one type - A320. This leaves IndiGo in a better position financially, according to experts because it does not need various kinds of engineering and maintenance support.

Another matrix where Air India is witnessing a major improvement is employees per aircraft. From a high of 436 in 2010-11 (when Jet Airways' corresponding figure stood at 185 and IndiGo's just 94), the number has declined to a decent 120 in 2015-16 for Air India. This is almost at par with IndiGo.

An analysis of the breakup of the employee data, throws up interesting findings. In absolute terms, the number of pilots and co-pilots has decreased for Air India from 1,543 in 2011-12 to 1,411 in 2015-16. However, as a proportion of total staff, the pilots and co-pilots strength has increased from just 5.7 percent to 11 percent during the period. Meanwhile, for Jet Airways and IndiGo, the proportion has been consistently in double digit level. In 2015-16, the two private airlines had 13.3 percent and 14.1 percent of their total staff as pilots and co-pilots.

The number of cabin crew witnessed a decline in Air India in 2014-15 and 2015-16 to 2,321 and 2,116 while the private counterparts had a higher number of around 3,000. As a proportion of total staff strength, Air India's cabin crew remains below 16 percent. However, Jet Airways and IndiGo have 20-30 percent of their total staff as cabin crew. The lower number of cabin crew is likely to affect the onboard services of the national carrier. According to Gokul Chaudhri, leader - direct tax, BMR & Associates LLP, the services in an Air India flight has never been on par with the private sector rivals. "However, it also has to be found out whether Air India staff is getting the same level of training and motivation that Jet and IndiGo staff are getting. That too will impact the service quality," he said.

Air India's maintenance and overhaul staff have seen a drastic decline to just 913 in 2015-16. However, this is because it has transferred staff under this department to subsidiary Air India Engineering Services. Before the transfer, the proportion of maintenance staff to overall headcount was much higher - nearly 30 percent. In comparison, Jet and IndiGo have had only around 15 percent and below 10 percent staff for this function.

One intriguing fact as far as Air India's staff count analysis is concerned is the high number of ticketing and sales personnel. As of 2015-16, the company had 4,577 for this operation, which forms 35.5 percent of the total staff strength. In comparison, Jet has 1,092 and IndiGo just 65. "The lower sales personnel for private sector players could be because they are using technology better than Air India. For consumers, what matters most is accessibility and prices. Quality of technology and algorithm is better for the private sector. It is not about the personnel sitting behind the counter," Choudhri said.

Available seat kilometer (ASK) per employee is an indicator of efficiency both in terms of capacity planning and utilisation of work force and is calculated by dividing average seat kilometers by number of employees. For Air India, this number was better at 3.61 million in 2010-11, that is before Indian Airlines merged with it. Post the merger, the number fell drastically while the private sector consistently maintained better numbers. In 2015-16, Air India has managed to improve this matrix to pre-merger level at 3.96 million. This is now better than Jet Airways and IndiGo. The reason for Air India's improvement is the steep reduction in its workforce.

Passenger load factor or PLF is one of the key parameters in the aviation industry. A higher PLF implies that an airline is successful in selling available seats. However, higher PLF may not result in higher operating profit. And when it comes to Air India, despite the higher number of ticketing and sales personnel, its PLF is lower at 75.5 percent compared with Jet's 82.6 percent and IndiGo's 84 percent. Choudhri says what needs to be observed now is how Air India is using its Dreamliner fleet in its long-haul international segments. This could help the company better its performance going forward. After the San Francisco non-stop flights, Air India has plans to start more such flights in the near future. "To Washington from 7th July, Stockholm from 15th August and Los Angeles from 1 September to be followed by Tel Aviv, Dallas and Nairobi sometime later during the year 2017 itself. Air India spreads its wings far and wide," chairman and managing director Ashwani Lohani posted on Facebook recently.

Revenue per employee is an indicator of productivity of human resource of an airline and is calculated by dividing operating revenue by number of employees. The reduction in workforce has helped Air India to improve on this matrix too, just as in the case of ASK. At Rs 1.55 crore in 2015-16, the company has a clear lead over Jet Airways and IndiGo.

So also is the case with the number of departures. Despite having the same fleet size as the private sector counterparts, Air India has the lowest number of departures. This may mean that the state-run carrier is under utilising its aircraft. According to Choudhri, aircraft on the ground signifies an airline's inefficiency.

Air India's operating revenue per revenue passenger stands at Rs 5.19 in 2015-16. In the previous three years, this was above Rs 5.5. The state-run airline's figure is lower than Jet Airways and higher than IndiGo, which is a budget carrier.

From the above numbers, one thing is clear: The state-run carrier is improving its performance of some of the matrices. The biggest problem is its debt.

"It is true that the state-run company is improving its performance. But the government must disinvest it. It should function without being a state-run entity and there is scope for improvement. And as far as debt is concerned, the government will have to write off some of it. Globally, all airlines have gone through trying times and the shareholders have had to take a hair cut. Here, the government is the shareholder. There is no point in being hesitant. Debt is a creation of the past. We should look at the future," Choudhri said.
Mumbai: Global beverages major Coca-Cola India said on Monday that it will invest US $1.7 billion along with its partners in the agri-ecosystem of the country over the next five years as part of its fruit circular economy initiative.

"We are planning to invest around US $1.7 billion, out of which US $800 million will be for procurement of fruit-based material for use in the product and US $900 million will be the investment on manufacturing lines, juice bottling infrastructure and fruit processing plants and equipment and agriculture interventions," Coca-Cola India and Southwest Asia President T Krishnakumar told reporters.

He said the investment would be in three parts. "We will be investing to increase the yield of the farmer as well as the yield of the fruit. We will be investing in fruit processing infrastructure and filling. This will be jointly invested by us, our bottling partners as well as our processing partners," Krishnakumar added.

The company said an estimated 2 lakh farmers would benefit from the 5-year road map of sourcing fruit pulp and fruit concentrate derived out of 2.10 million tonnes of fruit.

"We have started with mosambi and oranges and have started process on litchi and pomegranate. We source mango from India and have also started sourcing guava and banana. We believe that starting from last year, in about 10 years time, we will be able to increase the amount of fruit that we use by about 10 times," Krishnakumar said.

He added that the investment behind horticulture will be in four parts -- by adding fruit juice in sparkling drinks, more fruit-based drinks, new offerings and exporting the fruit pulp and concentrates to other countries.

"For our global brand Fanta, we are adding 5 percent orange juice and in the next two months it will become 10 percent," according to Krishnakumar.

The company procures and exports raw materials and ingredients worth 280 million from India to 44 countries.

Coca-Cola India launched Minute Maid Pulpy Mosambi and has sourced more than 1800 tonnes the fruit from Jalna in Maharashtra for the first phase of production.
New Delhi: Online food ordering and delivery firm Foodpanda has signed up Shah Rukh Khan as its brand ambassador.

The brand association will be commenced by a brand new TVC to be launched later this week on all platforms, Foodpanda said in a statement.

The company, however, did not provide any details of the deal.

"We feel that this brand association between Foodpanda and Shah Rukh will provide further impetus to our determination to change the way India eats," The company's CEO Saurabh Kochhar said.

The company will continue to keep a strong focus on strengthening food ordering and delivery experience, he added.

Foodpanda currently has menus from over 12,000 restaurants across more than 100 cities in India, available on its app and website.
New Delhi, Jun 5 (PTI) Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) urged the government to reconsider its decision to tax rough diamonds under the GST, saying that such

a move was a "retrograde" step.

Diamonds are the key raw material for gems and jewellery exports business. Rough diamonds have been kept out of the purview of taxes even in various Asian countries which are globally competitive, it said.

"It is difficult for gems and jewellery exporters to pay 0.25 per cent and then initiate process for refunds, etc," GJEPC Chairman Praveenshankar Pandya said in a statement.

For a segment wherein 95 percent of the output is exported, and, whose global footprint is under constant stress from other competitive economies, an upfront levy of GST on rough imports, which was hitherto exempted, would invariably cause a major setback to the trade and impact India's significance in the global markets, he said.

He said that "taxing diamonds is a retrograde step and not in sync with equivalence policy" and urged the government to reconsider its decision.

Seeking the government to provide some relief to the sector, Pandya urged the government to keep transactions carried out through the Diamond Dollar Accounts (DDA) at zero and exempt GST rough and polished diamonds used the purpose of or in furtherance of exports.

He also sought GST exemption on imported gold, platinum and silver as input (from the nominated agencies/ banks/foreign buyer) for the purpose of manufacture and export.

GJEPC however welcomed the the governments move of keeping GST rate of 3 percent on gold and jewellery.
Any geo political tensions in the Gulf region can have a bearing on India's economy, primarily because the country is dependent on the region for energy imports.

The present situation, wherein many countries severing their ties with Qatar accusing it of supporting terrorism, has not yet evolved into a full blown crisis. With Qatar expressing its willingness to discuss issue with the regional rivals, there is a small hope that the issue could be resolved before spiralling out of hand.

According to a Reuters report, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Yemen and Egypt cutting their relationship with Qatar has opened up the worst rift in years among some of the most powerful states in the Arab world.

However, India has officially said that the developments will not be impact the country.

"There is no challenge arising out of this for us. This is an internal matter of GCC (Gulf Coordination Council). Our only concern is about Indians there. We are trying to find out if any Indians are stuck there," Foreign Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj told reporters on Monday.

Here's a look at India's trade relations with all the key players involved in the development:

The country received $62.7 billion dollars remittacnes in 2016, of which around $40 billion was from the Gulf countries. Overall remittance to the country had fallen 8.9 percent in 2016 from 2015. The decline in remittances has been attributed to various factors including low oil prices and weak economic growth in GCC and Russia.

India's trade with the UAE has been on a decline. From $75.5 billion in 2012-13, the total trade has fallen to $52.8 billion in 2016-17. The UAE is India's second biggest export market after the US.

With Saudi Arabia too the total trade has fallen drastically from $48.6 billion in 2013-14 to $25 billion in 2016-17.

With Iran, India's trade has been steady, barring 2015-16 when it fell to $9 billion. In 2016-17, it has bounced back to $12.9 billion.

The total trade with Iraq too has fallen due to a decline in imports from the country. Imports fell from $19.2 billion in 2012-13 to $11.7 billion on 2016-17.

The trade with Qatar is also falling. In 2013-14, the total trade between the nations stood at $16.7 billion. It fell to $8.4 billion in 2016-17.

India's total trade with Kuwait has declined too. From $18.2 billion in 2013-14, it has come down to just $5.9 billion.

However, trade with Oman has largely remained steady around $4 billion. The trade had hit $5.7 billion in 2013-14, the highest in the last five years.

With Bahrain, the total trade has been tepid at around $1 billion. In 2016-17, it fell to $765 million.

(With inputs from Rajesh Pandathil)
New Delhi: Over 1.1 crore aspirants have been trained through various schemes since the launch of the government's ambitious Skill India mission in July 2015, Union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy said today.

Sharing the achievements of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) as the NDA government completes three years in office, Rudy said more than 5.9 lakh candidates have registered for the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme.

When asked about the National Sample Survey Organisation's data which showed that only 2.2 percent Indians received formal vocational training, Rudy said that

benchmarks adopted for sampling were inadequate.

"I approached the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. You will be surprised to know that the benchmarks adopted for sampling of skills were completely inadequate ... they were only covering the skills based on higher education, engineering, industrial skills," Rudy said.

"We have urged them to completely change the benchmarks adopted and I am confident that the data which will come this time will reflect the efforts of the government towards improving the skills," the minister added.

The NSSO data released in 2015 showed that among persons of age 15-59 years, about 2.2 percent received formal vocational training and 8.6 percent received non-formal vocational training.

Over 1.1 crore people were trained under the schemes run by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship but the number does not include those trained under skilling schemes and initiatives run by other central ministries.

Asked about reports of irregularities in the outcome of the UDAAN scheme to provide professional training to Kashmiri youth, the minister said there are issues involved but more or less that scheme had been successful.

"There are hiccups which are taking place now because of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir. We will be able to sort it out," Rudy said.

Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Rajesh Agarwal, said that of the 22,000 people who have been trained under UDAAN in the last five years, 14,694 have been offered jobs.

"Many of them have taken jobs. There is a dropout because many a times people who get trained do not take up the job offer because of climatic conditions and other issues. It is wrong to say that there is a scam or something like that," Agarwal said at a press conference here.

Besides, asked about the skilling target of 15 crore by 2022 given to the National Skill Development Corporation, Agarwal said the target was an outcome of the 2009 policy for skill development and has been done away with by the ministry.

"There is no such target which has been given to the NSDC because we have realised we cannot run after numbers, it is the quality which is more important," Agarwal said.

Asked about the monitoring mechanism to stop fraudulent practices, Rudy said a handful of organisations claiming to be PMKVY agencies promising jobs to unemployed youth were taking money and duping the public in the name of Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.

"Such advertisements were found more in vernacular dailies. We condemn such practices and have filed FIRs against them," the minister said and cautioned the public at large to be vary of such frauds and check for the right affiliated centres before joining.
Homegrown auto major Tata Motors on Monday said the head of its commercial vehicles division Ravindra Pisharody has resigned citing personal reasons. Satish Borwankar has been given additional charge as Chief Operating Officer (COO).

Pisharody has been holding the position of Executive Director (Commercial Vehicles) since June 21, 2012, having joined Tata Motors as vice-president Commercial Vehicles (Sales & Marketing) in 2007.

Pisharody has submitted his resignation as Executive Director (Commercial Vehicles) and as a Director of the company and its associated companies for personal reasons, Tata Motors said in a BSE filing.

His resignation comes at a time when Tata Motors has witnessed sales of its commercial vehicles slowing down in the domestic market.

The company's CV sales grew by just 0.45 per cent to 3,05,620 units in 2016-17.

In May 2017, the company's overall commercial vehicles sales in the domestic market were at 23,606 units, down 13 per cent from the same month last year.

Prior to joining Tata Motors, Pisharody was with Castrol Ltd, a subsidiary of BP. He had also worked with Philips India in various roles.
NEW YORK: Bob Dylan has completed his Nobel course requirements.

The Swedish Academy announced Monday that it has received the mandatory lecture from the 2016 literature winner, enabling Dylan to collect 8 million Swedish kronor ($922,000) in prize money. Spokeswoman Sara Danius described Dylan's talk in a news release as "extraordinary" and "eloquent." Nobel Prize officials said the 26-minute talk was recorded on Sunday in Los Angeles and an audio clip is posted on the academy's website, www.nobelprize.org.

Danius said its delivery to the academy meant that "the Dylan adventure is coming to a close". Dylan, widely regarded as the most influential songwriter of his time, received the Nobel Literature diploma and medal in April but was still required to give a speech to receive the money. Dylan took weeks to publicly acknowledge even winning the prize, announced in October and greeted with both joy and dismay that a rock star had received an honor previously given to William Faulkner, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Alice Munro among others. He did not attend December's Nobel ceremony in Stockholm and his acceptance remarks were read by the United States Ambassador to Sweden, Azita Raji.

Dylan's songs have drawn on literary influences from Beat poetry to Anton Chekhov and his recording was a celebration of books and music and of the common language among art forms. In a warm, raspy delivery, with lounge-style piano in the background, he called Buddy Holly his first musical hero, praised his "imaginative verses" and remembered seeing him in concert not long before Holly died in a 1959 plane crash.

"Something about him seemed permanent and he filled me with conviction," Dylan said of seeing Holly on stage. "Then out of the blue, the most uncanny thing happened, he looked at me right straight there in the eye and he transmitted something, something I didn't know what. It gave me the chills."

Dylan said that folk songs were his earliest musical vocabulary, but that books such as Ivanhoe and Don Quixote helped shape his view of the world and inspire him to write songs "unlike anything anybody had ever heard." From the start, he believed in absorbing classical texts and the vernacular of the day.

He discussed three works at length: Moby Dick, (a reminder we "see only the surface of things"), All Quiet On the Western Front (in which "death is everywhere, nothing else is possible") and The Odyssey, a "strange, adventurous tale" he likened to such modern pop songs as Simon & Garfunkel's "Homeward Bound". He concluded by noting that Shakespeare's words were meant to be spoken, "Just as lyrics in songs are meant to be sung, not read on a page."

"And I hope some of you get the chance to listen to these lyrics the way they were intended to be heard: in concert or on record or however people are listening to songs these days," he said. "I return once again to Homer, who says, 'Sing in me, oh Muse, and through me tell the story.'"

Listen to the full speech by Bob Dylan here:
Bank Chor, the new comedy from Y-Films, the youth wing of Yash Raj films, has been steadily releasing songs from its OST.

The fourth song from the film has now been released as well.

Titled 'BC Rap Knockout: Mumbai vs Delhi', the track takes the form of a rap battle between two teams  one from Delhi and one from Mumbai. The song is a musical bout with both teams throwing barbs at each other about their respective cities, but done as banter through rap punches. Olympian boxer Vijender Singh leads the Delhi side in the rap battle whereas Bank Chor lead actor Riteish Deshmukh captains Team Mumbai.

'BC Rap Knockout' is a thumping, energetic number. Incidentally, the theme of the song reflects one of the running gags in the film  Riteishs character Champak, who hails from Chinchpokli, is shown constantly squabbling with his sidekicks Genda and Gulab, who hail from NCR, about which is better: Mumbai or Delhi.

Watch the song here:
Washington: Comedian Bill Cosby attended the first day of his trial for alleged sexual assault of Canadian Andrea Constand, one of more than 60 women who have filed criminal charges against him.

The 79-year-old remained silent during the the trial, which began on Monday amid strong security measures at the Norristown courthouse, outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, reported Efe.

The trial, which will go on for about two weeks, focuses on Constand, who claims that in early 2004 Cosby invited her to his mansion in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, and gave her some pills which made her dizzy, and which allowed him to abuse her.

Constand, 44, is expected to testify at the trial, although it is not yet known when.

Instead, another woman testified on Monday. Known only by the alias Kacey, she said that in 1996 Cosby invited her to a hotel in Los Angeles, California, drugged and paralysed her, and later abused her  a story that Constand as well as dozens of other women claim to have happened to them as well, Efe reported.

The comedian's defence, led by lawyer Brian McMonagle, objected to Kacey's testimony at the trial as they believe it was not relevant to Constand's case or the "romantic" relationship that, according to them, Cosby and Constand had.

Cosby has repeatedly rejected the allegations of sexual abuse and claimed that his relationship with Constand was consensual, although he said that he used drugs as a lure to attract women but never as a tool to incapacitate them.

Allegations of sexual abuse by Cosby date back to the 1960s and are too old to be prosecuted, so prosecutors believe that Constand's case can be crucial to prove the alleged sexual assaults that dozens of women suffered for years.

Cosby is charged with three counts of sexual abuse, each carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of $25,000.
George Clooney and Amal Clooney are now parents of twins and the couple are doing fine.

The Clooneys welcomed Ella and Alexander on Tuesday morning, they announced in a joint statement. Both children, born at a hospital in London, are happy, healthy and doing fine.

The couple's publicist confirmed the new to ABC News.

"This morning Amal and George welcomed Ella and Alexander Clooney into their lives. Ella, Alexander and Amal are all healthy, happy and doing fine," a rep for the actor said in a statement.

Clooney, 56, and lawyer Amal Alamuddin, 39, married in 2014 in Venice. These are the first children for both.

No other details were immediately available. The Clooneys had been living in London while awaiting the arrival of their babies.

He was recently in the news when he surprised an elderly fan of his from Britain by showing up at her assisted living facility with flowers and a card to wish her a happy birthday.

The 55-year-old popped in for a chat and a picture with admirer Pat Adams on Sunday at the Sunrise of Sonning Retirement and Assisted Living Facility in Reading. Linda Jones, a worker there, posted a picture of herself and the beaming pair on Facebook.

Jones wrote: The lady in the picture, loves George Clooney and mentions everyday how she would love him to meet him, especially as he lives so near to where I work.

A letter was sent to Clooney asking if he could make a dream to come true.

Clooney owns a home near the facility in Berkshire.

(With inputs from agencies)
Bollywood actress Mamta Kulkarni and her partnr Vicky Goswami were officially declared as proclaimed offenders in the Rs 2,000 crore ephedrine drug haul case on 6 June, 2017 by the sessions court in Thane, near Mumbai.

The court issued a proclamation order which ruled that the duo  who were the main accused in the mammoth ephedrine scam  were officially absconding and were thus listed as offenders in the case.

Sagar Suresh Powale and Mayur Suresh Sukhdare were two drug peddlers that were arrested by the Thane police on 12 April, 2016. They were found with Rs 12 lakh-worth of the ephedrine drug. Upon further questioning, they revealed where they had sourced the drug from, which led the police straight to a factory in Solpaur that was then raided by a team of officers.

The factory, Avon Life Sciences Pvt Limited contained close to 20 tonnes of ephedrine, the value of which amounted upto Rs. 2,000 crore.

It has been a year and the prime accused is still on the run. While her partner Vicky Goswami was arrested by the US DEA in Kenya, Kulkarni is still on the run. She is suspected to have left Kenya now and we are trying to locate her, a police officer said.

In simultaneously linked developments, the Thane police sought the court's order to get the permission to destroy the seized goods that are presently lying in Avon Life Sciences Pvt Limited.

Manoj Jain, one of the directors of the company, along with being one of the primary accused in the scam, had stated earlier that the seized goods were of no use and had zero commercial value. However in a recent development he seems to have changed tack, telling the court that the goods may have medicinal value.

According to the police, ephedrine was being diverted from Avon Life Sciences to a Kenya-based drug cartel which was headed by Goswami, where it was used to make the party-drug Methamphetamine. So far, 14 people have been arrested that have links to the case.

Kulkarni was a part of many successful Bollywood movies such as Sabse Bada Khiladi, Naseeb, Karan Arjun and Baazi in her heydays.

The last time that Kulkarni was seen on the silver screen was in the movie Chhupa Rustam: A Musical Thriller, which also starred actress Manisha Koirala and Sanjay Kapoor.
ROME One of three jihadis who killed seven people in London last week told Italian police he wanted to be a terrorist when they kept him from travelling to the Middle East last year, an Italian prosecutor said on Tuesday.British police named Moroccan-Italian Youssef Zaghba, 22, as one of the perpetrators of the June 3 attack, the third carried out by Islamists in Britain in as many months.Zaghba, whose Italian mother lives near the city of Bologna, was stopped at the airport there in 2016 when he was trying to fly to Turkey, city prosecutor Giuseppe Amato told broadcaster Radio24. "A person going to Turkey with a backpack aroused some suspicion, also because he told the agent who checked him that he wanted to go and be a terrorist, then he corrected himself," Bologna prosecutor Giuseppe Amato told broadcaster Radio24. Turkey has been routinely used by radical Islamists as a route into areas of Syria controlled by Islamic State.

Investigators confiscated Zaghba's computer but did not have proof of a crime so they had to return the device and pointed him out to London as a possible suspect, Amato said."We did not have the elements to prove that he was a terrorist. Some of his behaviour made him suspicious."

British police said Zaghba had not been a subject of interest for them or the domestic intelligence agency MI5 before he and two others launched their attack.They rammed a van into pedestrians on London Bridge, then ran into the Borough Market area, and slit throats and stabbed people indiscriminately before they were shot and killed by police.Zaghba's mother, who is a convert to Islam, told police she was worried about her son when she went to collect him after he was stopped at the airport, an investigative source said.

Italian media said Zaghba was born in the Moroccan city of Fez in 1995, and had broken off relations with his Moroccan father. He lived in Morocco for much of his life but made short visits to his mother.At the time of the attack, Zaghba was working in a London restaurant, Italian media said. He spent a total of 10 days in Italy in the past year and a half, Amato said. Near Zaghba's mother's house in Fagnano, 20 km south-west of Bologna, close family friend Franca Lambertini said the young man had gone to London to find work."He was very good. A serious boy who was very good," Lambertini said outside her front door. (Reporting by Valentina Accardo, Isla Binnie, Antonella Cinelli and Reuters TV; Writing by Isla Binnie; Editing by Larry King; Editing by Crispian Balmer)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Timothy Gardner

| WASHINGTON

WASHINGTON The United States must lead in the global transition to clean energy or risk losing influence in South Asia and Africa, a coalition of retired U.S. generals and admirals said in a report released on Tuesday.Energy, whether oil and natural gas, or wind and solar power and advanced batteries, is an important part of the economic power Washington has that can influence developing economies, said the report by CNA Military Advisory Board, called Advanced Energy and U.S. National Security. (bit.ly/2r1StT2) Along with diplomatic and military power, economic power, including energy technology and trade, underpins national security, said the report, funded by the Tellus Mater Foundation and the Energy Foundation, groups that support the transition to cleaner forms of energy."We Americans need to get our butts in gear," Lee Gunn, a retired Navy vice admiral, who helped write the report, said in an interview.

Washington has developed relations in the Middle East since the early 1930s when oil exploration began in Saudi Arabia, and a large part of its military presence in the region has protected the flows of petroleum to the West.But as the world's energy needs grow and spread to new regions and as consumers become open to new technologies, the United States must also adapt, said the report, which the authors discussed with security and defense officials in the Trump administration.

Russia and Iran, two countries not always friendly to Washington, are positioning themselves to meet burgeoning oil and natural gas demand in India and China. For example, a nearly $13 billion agreement giving Russian state oil firm Rosneft and its partners a 98 percent share of India's Essar oil company is expected to close this month.Meanwhile, China and countries in Europe are leading the way in investing in clean energy in Africa and India, where energy demand is expected to grow strongly for decades.

"The transition to advanced energy is underway and will proceed with or without the active participation of the U.S. government, or technology, or in terms of manufacturing," Gunn said.The report did not mention the Paris Agreement on climate which President Donald Trump last week pulled the United States out of. It recommended that the evolving global energy landscape should be fully integrated into U.S. national security and national defense strategies. It also said the federal government should share investments with the private sector in advanced energy projects. (Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by James Dalgleish)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
New Delhi: Liquor manufacturers from Bihar on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court seeking a clarification on its 29 May order granting time till 31 July to dispose of old stocks of alcoholic beverages worth more than Rs 200 crore outside the state.

A vacation bench of justices Ashok Bhushan and Deepak Gupta said that it would hear the matter on Wednesday after senior lawyer Salman Khurshid, representing the liquor manufacturers, mentioned the matter before it.

Khurshid told the bench that the apex court's 29 May order mentioned about time to destroy the stock but it did not indicate anything about its export.

"The issues were about the export and destruction of old stocks. The 29 May order indicates destruction but the issue of export is not there in the order," he said.

In the 29 May order, the apex court had said, "Time to destroy/drain the stocks is extended up to 31 July, 2017. It is made clear that no further extension will be granted in future."

Earlier, the court had extended the 30 April deadline for disposing of old stocks to 31 May. This included raw material fixed by the Nitish Kumar government which had imposed the ban on liquor in the state from 1 April, 2016.

On 29 May, the counsel representing the manufacturers had submitted before the apex court that the firms would be incurring huge losses if they were not allowed to dispose of their existing stocks of alcoholic beverages outside Bihar.

The state government had opposed the demand for extension of time, claiming the firms were indulging in illegal liquor trade.

The apex court had on 31 March granted time until 31 May to these companies to dispose of the old stocks and directed them to follow the resolution passed by the Bihar government on disposal of stocks following the imposition of prohibition in the state.

The Bihar government, which has prohibited consumption, stocking and sale of liquor in the state, had on 30 March passed a resolution by which it has allowed the companies to export their old stocks to other states.

The state government had granted time to export the excisable and non-excisable articles till 30 April, after which they will not be able to do so.

On 7 October, 2016, the apex court had stayed the operation of Patna High Court judgement quashing the state's law banning sale and consumption of all types of liquor, saying liquor and fundamental rights "do not go together".

The Bihar government has challenged the high court verdict of 30 September, 2016, which had quashed the notification banning consumption and sale of liquor in the state.

However, after the law was set aside, Bihar government had come out with a new law banning sale and consumption of liquor which was notified on 2 October, 2016.

It had notified the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2016 to ensure that the ban on sale and consumption of alcohol including Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) as well spiced and domestic liquor, continued in the state.

The Patna High Court had on 30 September, 2016 quashed the notification banning consumption and sale of alcohol in the state, saying it was ultra vires to the Constitution.

The Grand Secular Alliance government in Bihar had first banned manufacture, trade, sale and consumption of country-made liquor since 1 April, 2016, but later imposed a blanket ban on all types of liquor, including foreign liquor, in the state.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday described the BIMSTEC regional bloc that binds India and its subcontinental neighbours with Thailand as one of the fastest growing regions in the world.

"Ever since its inception in 1997, BIMSTEC, representing one-fifth of humanity, has striven to bring benefits of development to its people. Today, we have one of the fastest growth rates of any region. We have made considerable progress, although much more needs to be done," Modi said in a message on the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the bloc.

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) comprises Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

The main objective of BIMSTEC is technical and economic cooperation among south Asian and southeast Asian countries along the rim of the Bay of Bengal.

With the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) virtually rendered ineffective as a bloc, largely due to non-cooperation on the part of Pakistan in a number of areas, India has been giving more importance to BIMSTEC in recent times.

In his message, Modi referred to the BRICS-BIMSTEC Outreach Summit hosted by India in Goa last year and said: "Our collective resolve to impart fresh momentum to BIMSTEC has provided hope and optimism. BIMSTEC not only connects south and southeast Asia, but also the ecologies of the great Himalayas and the Bay of Bengal."

He said that the BIMSTEC countries, with shared values, histories, ways of life, and destinies that are interlinked, represent a common space for peace and development.

"For lndia, it is a natural platform to fulfill our key foreign policy priorities of 'Neighbourhood First' and 'Act East'," the prime minister said.

"I am happy to note that we are implementing the robust agenda that we agreed on in Goa, to achieve greater connectivity, trade, people-to-people contacts, and sustainable use of resources."

Modi also thanked Nepal, the current Chair of BIMSTEC, for its leadership, and Bangladesh, for hosting the Bimstec Secretariat in Dhaka.
Agra: A BJP worker was shot dead by two brothers over a financial dispute in Mehra Naharganj village of Fatehabad area in Agra, police said on Tuesday. The attackers were travelling in the same car with BJP worker Nathuram Verma on Monday night. The trio was returning from the village when the brothers Samar and Sudhir Singh fired several rounds at him, killing him on the spot, they said.

Agitated by the attack, local people caught the brothers and lynched Sudhir, whereas Samar managed to flee.

Police officers, who reached the spot to control the situation, were also assaulted and pelted stones by the enraged villagers and a police vehicle was set ablaze.

Superintendent of police Dinesh Chandra and district magistrate Gaurav Dayal rushed to the spot and sought additional force from various police stations to bring the situation under control.

Chandra said police teams have been formed to identify the persons who assaulted the policemen. Police officers have been deployed in the village to thwart any untoward incident.

He said a hunt is on for Samar and investigation is underway.

Police sources said the motive behind the killing is stated to be a dispute over benami assets worth several crore rupees belonging to Baba Munshidas, who was found murdered on 26 May.
On Monday, the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre came under immense criticism after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided residences of NDTV's co-founder Prannoy Roy, wife Radhika Roy and others. Apart from senior journalists and several opposition leaders, the Editors Guild of India issued a statement on Monday saying that the "entry of police and other agencies into the media offices is a serious matter."

Forthright Editors Guild of India statement today on CBI raids on NDTV pic.twitter.com/CYcnU5vbZV  Shekhar Gupta (@ShekharGupta) June 5, 2017

Signed by the president of the guild, Raj Chengappa, the statement said that the body "condemns any attempt to muzzle the media and calls upon the CBI to follow the due process of law and ensure there is no interference in the free functioning of news operations".

The CBI on Monday searched the residence of Prannoy Roy in Delhi and three other locations for allegedly causing losses to a private bank, a move termed by NDTV as a "witch-hunt" based on "same old" false accusations. The investigation agency has registered a case against Roy, his wife Radhika and RRPR Holdings for allegedly causing losses of Rs 48 crore to ICICI Bank, CBI sources said. In a statement on the CBI action, the channel said ruling party politicians could not "stomach" the "independence and fearlessness" of NDTV's team. "The CBI raid is merely another attempt at silencing the media," it said. The channel expressed shock that the CBI conducted raids on NDTV offices and the owners' residences without conducting a preliminary enquiry. "This is a blatant political attack on the freedom of the press as sources confirm that under pressure, the CBI has been compelled to file an FIR based on a shoddy complaint by a disgruntled former consultant at NDTV," it said. Responding to the raids, various political parties and members of the media fraternity also expressed shock at the agency's decision. Senior politicians and journalists came out in full support of NDTV and lambasted the government for setting a 'disturbing trend'.

Shocked at the raids on Dr @PrannoyRoyNDTV's house. He is highly respected and reputed. Disturbing trend  Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) June 5, 2017

We strongly condemn raids on Dr Roy n NDTV group. Its an attempt to silence independent and anti-establishment voices  Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) June 5, 2017

With inputs from agencies
In secret, behind locked gates, our Nation's Oldest City dumped a landfill in a lake (Old City Reservoir), while emitting sewage in our rivers and salt marsh. Organized citizens exposed and defeated pollution, racism and cronyism. We elected a new Mayor. We're transforming our City -- advanced citizenship. Ask questions. Make disclosures. Demand answers. Be involved. Expect democracy. Report and expose corruption. Smile! Help enact a St. Augustine National Park and Seashore. We shall overcome!
Early Monday morning the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), India's top law enforcement agency, raided the homes and offices of NDTV founders Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy acting on a complaint filed by Sanjay Dutt, the director of Quantum Securities Ltd. The complaint states that Quantum Securities Ltd is a shareholder of NDTV and alleges that RRPR Holding, a company formed by Prannoy and Radhika (which holds their shares in NDTV) along with unknown officials of ICICI Bank Ltd, committed financial crimes which caused a pecuniary loss of over Rs 48 crore to ICICI Bank and calls for an investigation. A copy of the First Information Report registered with the CBI is here.

CBI FIR -1 by Firstpost on Scribd

Monday evening, NDTV released an updated statement, which said:

"This is a blatant political attack on the freedom of the press as sources confirm that under pressure, the CBI has been compelled to file an FIR based on a shoddy complaint by a disgruntled former consultant at NDTV called Sanjay Dutt, who has been making false allegations and filing cases in courts of law with these false allegations. So far, he has not obtained a single order from any of these courts."

The FIR reproduced the complaint, filed verbatim by Quantum Securities Ltd. The complaint is dated 28 April 2017; however, the FIR was registered on 2 June, 2017 and there appears to be nothing more in the FIR apart from the complaint and its annexures. It was filed a day after NDTV anchor Nidhi Razdan asked BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra to leave her programme, during which he accused her channel of having "an agenda".

Strangely though, the CBI had more than a month to investigate the complaint before the registration of the FIR but it appears the agency did little by way of investigation before documenting the alleged crime. Even those basic documents missing from the complaint were not collated before the raids took place. The documents have been alluded to in the complaint itself but stand missing.

These include a Settlement Agreement that RRPR Holdings signed with ICICI Bank to settle a loan granted to the company. The FIR has been registered to investigate offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act,1988 and the public officials involved are 'Bank Officials'. If the CBI is not going to go after the bank officials concerned but after NDTV instead, one wonders how this investigation is being handled.

(Editor's note: The CBI has since issued a clarification that the allegations are "not regarding the default in loan repayment; but relate to the wrongful gain of Rs 48 crore to the promoters  Dr Pranoy Roy, Smt Radhika Roy, M/s RRPR Holdings Pvt Limted and a corresponding wrongful loss to the ICICI Bank arising from their collusion and criminal conspiracy".)

Besides the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, the CBI has no jurisdiction to proceed in this present complaint as the other irregularities mentioned relate to the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992, Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 do not fall within it's ambit. The CBI has limited jurisdiction in terms of the Delhi Police Special Establishment Act, 1946. It can only investigate offences under the IPC and and under laws that have been notified under Section 3 of that that act. Except the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 none of the other charges in the complaint relate to matters which are within the jurisdiction or remit of the CBI.

The Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 is designed to allow the CBI to move against the public officials involved in this alleged crime. But the agency, after having determined that employees of ICICI Bank conspired and committed a crime, has let them remain as "unknown bank officials" and instead conducted raids on the Roys.

Last year, the ministry of information and broadcasting ordered NDTV India, the Hindi news channel, off the air for a day in a first of its kind penalty against a news channel for apparently revealing sensitive information during the Pathankot operation. However, this penalty wasn't enforced. But it was levied.

Let's be frank here. For all we know, there may be a legitimate case against NDTV and the Roys, but this government has done very little to establish their bonafides in going ahead with their investigation. Not just the timing of the raid by the CBI, but the fact that there was nothing more than one complaint on which the CBI acted upon before conducting the raid. Lastly, every matter that the CBI had taken note of in its complaint was already public information. As early as 2015, The Caravan ran an article about similar allegations but that did not invite a CBI enquiry. If one goes through the story, the details of the transaction alleged in the CBI FIR, came out much earlier, and as early as 2013 the dealings between RRPR and ICICI were receiving attention of the RBI.

The Caravan had reported that:

"In April 2013, Sanjay Dutt wrote a letter about it to the Reserve Bank of India; the central bank responded the next month saying that the loan "is already receiving our attention." "

Dutt's pleas for an investigation fell on many deaf ears Dutt seems to be a determined soul. In 2016, he moved the Delhi High Court seeking a direction that SEBI investigate his complaints. This is case No. WP (C) 984/2016. The last order on the matter adjourned it for hearing on 27 July, 2017. If one looks at this Writ Petition, you will see that the first complaint with SEBI was filed all the way back in 2013 and since then Dutt has had trouble moving the authorities to take action on his complaint.

All of a sudden though, within just about a month of Dutt asking the CBI, who have razor-thin jurisdiction in this case, he manages to get the CBI to not just register an FIR but conduct full-scale raids that garners national attention with no further information other than his own complaint, which seems surprising given the trouble Quantum has had in the past having agencies act on its complaints it has made regarding irregularities at NDTV. But in hindsight, given the RBI and SEBI are independent by virtue of their statutes and the CBI still comes some modicum under government control, it may not seem that surprising.

The investigation against NDTV looks like an attack on the freedom of the press because that's exactly what it is. Indian journalists have proven time and again that they can go toe to toe with the best in the industry. India still publishes way more newspapers than any other country and is witnessing one of the largest television markets globally. The press and the government is known to indulge in grudging respect for each other and no one would kowtow to each other nor would they demand it.

Across the northern Himalayan Hump, lie our neighbours the Chinese. The strict censorship doesn't allow any newspaper, news channel or online news magazine to publish anything without scrutiny. The press in China is an arm of the state used to achieve its development goals and to work for the "national interest".

India is not as bad as China, but things aren't that great here either. In fact, as a democracy, we should be ashamed of the levels of press freedom here. The Reporters Without Borders for Freedom of Information, ranked India 136 in 2017 in terms of press freedom out of 190 countries. Palestine came in at 135 and it is not exactly the example of a vibrant multicultural democracy. It's a war zone. Afghanistan a state that is under a Taliban insurgency stands at 120. Oman, Qatar, Gulf countries with near absolute monarchies also out rank the world's largest democracy when it comes to freedom of press.

For many, being better than the worst (China), in terms of freedom of the press, should be good enough but it should not be. India, as world's largest democracy, has to aspire to be better than the rest of the world. For in India, the press cannot be an arm of the Indian Sate and a party to the agenda, the press must always be the voice that checks state power. To give people a balanced view of the facts and allow them to make an informed opinion. Even if it means delivering consistent bad news to the government of the day. It is the job of a free press to deliver the news as it is.

If there had to be an investigation into these allegations, this was not the way to go about it at all. There are procedures in place, there has to be more than a complaint that contains old and publicly available information to begin the process of conducting raids.
New Delhi: Various press bodies on Tuesday expressed "deep concern" over the CBI raids at the residence of NDTV founder Prannoy Roy, saying they condemn any "attempt" to either "intimidate the media" or put curbs on its freedom.

"We express grave concern over the raids conducted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)... on the premises of NDTV promoters. While we maintain that all individuals and every institution have to abide by the law of the land, we condemn any attempt to either intimidate the media or put curbs on its freedom," President of the Press Club of India, Gautam Lahiri said.

The Central Bureau of Investigation had on Monday searched the residence of Roy in New Delhi and three other locations for allegedly causing losses to a private bank, a move termed by the NDTV as a "witch-hunt" based on "same old" false accusations.

In a strongly-worded statement, the umbrella press body also said, "We hope that all facts of the case, filed by the CBI, will be placed in public domain and the investigating agency will not harass the media organisation or place any kind of hindrance in the news operations of the channel."

The Indian Women's Press Corps (IWPC) alleged that the law of the land should not "apply selectively" nor should it be "used as an instrument to harass anyone including the media".

Expressing "deep concern" over the raids, it said, "A statement issued by NDTV seems to suggest that these raids and police entry were 'arbitrary and unwarranted'. Although no one is above the law, arbitrariness and intimidation undermine institutions of democracy and faith in law enforcement agencies. "

The IWPC urges the government and its institutions to help the media uphold the values of freedom of expression in a democratic society like ours, it said in a statement.

All India Newspaper Editor's Conference condemned the raid, alleging it was clearly a "case of an attack on freedom of the press".

Kashmir Editors Guild (KEG) strongly condemned the raids carried out at the residence of Roy, saying it was a "muscular manifestation" of muzzling the independent media.

NDTV in a statement on Monday had said that the channel and its promoters would fight tirelessly against this "witch-hunt" by multiple agencies.

"We will not succumb to these attempts to blatantly undermine democracy and free speech in India. We have one message to those who are trying to destroy the institutions of India and everything it stands for: we will fight for our country and overcome these forces," NDTV said.
Beijing: A day after India said it will take up the alleged violation of its airspace by two Chinese helicopters, China on Tuesday said both sides should maintain peace and stability along the borders.

"I think we should communicate and coordinate with each other through the border consultation mechanism to uphold peace and stability across the border," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said.

"I want to reiterate that China and India have disputes on their border. Chinese patrol guards have also conducted patrol," she added.

Earlier on Monday, China defended the alleged incursion by two People's Liberation Army choppers across the Indian boundary, saying Beijing could patrol in the disputed area.

Describing the flight by the choppers as "unacceptable", India's external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said that New Delhi will take up the matter with Beijing.

The two Chinese military choppers were sighted hovering over Barahoti in Chamoli district on Saturday.

Since March this year, there have been four such incursions into the Indian airspace.

Barahoti was designated as disputed area by both China and India in 1958. It was agreed that neither side would send troops in the area, which is a sloping pasture.
New Delhi: The right to life of residents of the national capital cannot be put at risk by allowing activities like encroachments, which could lead to insanitary conditions, the Delhi High Court has said.

The ruling by a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar came while dismissing a plea seeking review of the high court's 16 May order declining to stay demolition of some structures at Amir Khusro Park next to Sundar Naga.

The review plea was moved by some persons who were living inside the park and claimed to be the descendants of past caretakers of a shrine.

Terming the review petitioners as "interlopers", the court has said it was "clearly evident" that these people had encroached over the park in which they have no right, title or interest.

"The same is completely impermissible," the bench has said which noted that there were no sewage or sanitation facilities on the land in question and if habitation was permitted in the park there would be huge issues of garbage as well urination and defecation in the open area.

"No court can permit the lives of the lawful residents in the surrounding areas, as well as of the visitors to these monuments which are of international repute, to be imperiled. It is our constitutional duty to ensure that the right to life of all residents of Delhi is not imperiled if activity which would lead to increase of insanitary conditions as well as breeding of mosquitoes carrying dangerous diseases is continued or permitted," the court has said.

The bench also noted that there were complaints against review petitioners of indulging in land grabbing and also committing fraud by renting out portions of the land apart from carrying out commercial activity at the park.

"Unfortunately, the authorities or local police have failed to comply with the court orders. The police has also failed to conduct any investigation into the gross illegalities at the spot or to ensure compliance with the law," the court has said in its order dismissing the review plea.

It has directed the DCP, south-east district as well as the Station House Office of the police station concerned to investigate the complaints of fraudulent and criminal activities and to proceed in accordance with law against the persons found culpable for the illegal acts.

The court directed the police to file a status report within eight weeks regarding its investigation and listed the

matter for further hearing on 24 July.
Editor's note: The Indian Army has released a list of 12 most wanted terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir. This is the first in a two-part series that profiles these wanted men.

Days after security forces killed top Hizbul Mujahideen commander Sabzar Ahmed Bhat in an encounter in Tral area of Pulwama district, the Indian Army released a list of 12 most wanted militants in Jammu and Kashmir. A majority of these wanted men are locals who joined the militant ranks over the last few years, except for two of them who worked as 'over ground workers' for years for different militant outfits before joining them fully recently. Here is part-II face of Kashmir militancy.

Junaid Ahmad Matoo, alias Kandroo

Kandroo is a resident of Khudwani area in Kulgam in south Kashmir. On 25 June 2014, his father, Manzoor Ahmad Matoo filed a complaint at a local police station saying his son had gone missing for more than 20 days. Few days of investigation and police soon informed his father that he has been seen roaming with militants.

Matoo joined Lashkar-e-Taiba on 3 July 2015. He was among the few new age Kashmiri militants who joined Lashkar instead of Hizb, popular with Kashmiri militants.

Twelve months later Matoo, a tall, lanky figure with a flowing beard, was seen running wearing jeans with an AK 47 on the KP road in Anantnag in a CCTV footage, which showed him attacking a police post and fleeing in a car. Two policemen were killed in that attack.

Matoo, 19, was in college when he joined LeT and is now the district commander of Kulgam and category A militant, he carries a bounty of Rs 5 lakh on his head.

He was seen most recently on 8 May during the funeral prayers of a slain militant, among few militants appeared from a window of a mosque and while brandishing weapons fired several rounds in the air to pay homage to their slain colleague.

Zeenat ul Islam Shah

According to security agencies, is one of main accused in the attack in Mulu Chitragam area of Shopian that left three soldiers, including an officer and a woman dead when militants ambushed an army patrol. Six men of the 44 Rashtriya Rifles were injured.

Zeenat, 28, alias Alqama, is a resident of Sugan Zanipura in Shopian. He was recruited on 17 November 2015. He completed his Bachelors of Arts in a local college. His father is Imam at a mosque in Sogan village.

In 2008, Zeenat was arrested by special operation group of Kashmir police. During the interrogation, he admitted to working as an Overground Worker (OGW) and being in touch with militants from different organisations. He would arrange food and travel for them a long time, police sources said.

Immediately after, he was booked under PSA. He was released in 2011 after four years. Zeenat worked in his village helping his father in farming and got married during that time.

Yaseen Yatoo alias, Mansoor

Mansoor feigned his own death. In December 2015, he left home for Jammu to appear in a court hearing but his family was soon informed that he has met with an accident on "border". This was an attempt to divert the attention of security agencies. Funeral prayers (in absentia) were offered for him and tributes poured in from separatist leaders. A resident of Nagam village in Central Kashmirs Budgam district, Yatoo, 40, was in second year of Amar Singh College when he left home in 1996 to become a militant.

Earlier this year, his pictures appeared on social media showing a man reading Quran while an assault rifle rested beside him. His hair and beard had turned grey. Yatoo is one of the longest serving militants among Hizb cadres in valley.

"We did not know he was alive until my younger son was called by police last year to enquire about Yaseen," Habibullah, Yatoos father, says.

In April 2002, he joined Hizb again. On 21 November, 2002, he was arrested by BSF and subsequently released in June 2004. In March 2005, he again joined Hizb. In June 2006, Yatoo was arrested in Awantipora but was released in 2009. According to police, Yaseen was lodged under Public Safety Act (PSA) and accused of killing five civilians in 2005. In 2015, he was released again in April. He is categorised as A+ militant.

In past 20 years, Yaseen has been in and out of jail several times. He had come back home and even left militancy to join a political party. He is mostly active in Kulgam and Budgam areas.

Saddam Paddar, alias Zaid

A lanky, short bearded man in his early twenties, used to be the main attraction of Tangpora Mohalla in Shopian district. Almost every other day, he would sit with his friends and crack jokes. This is what he did most of the time before becoming a militant.

Today, Paddar is A++ category militant and district commander of Hizbul Mujahideen of Shopian. He has escaped from cordon many times. Despite hardly being educated, he is believed to be a clever militant and was among the few who enjoyed the trust of slain HM commander Burhan Wani.

After the death of Wani, he was considered to be his successor but that place was later taken by Zakir Musa. According to security agencies, he was recruited on 25 September 2015 and has been involved in many attacks, including few bank looting incidents.

When I heard (of his joining militants), I was shocked. He was a joker and would make not just us but every passerby laugh. He was a famous wicket-keeper of our village and would help his father in farming and herd sheep before becoming a militant," a friend told Firstpost.

Paddar had not even cleared his ninth class and would most of the times seen in the village square if he was not in his farms. Today when you ask friends and acquaintance what could have possibly led him to join the militancy, everyone has the same answer they are surprised.

"Until he joined Hizbul Mujahideen there was no case against him. He was known as OGW. He is a militant by conviction", a police officer says, "We never suspected that he would join militancy until his picture appeared on social media along with Burhan Wani."

Showkat Ahmad Tak, alias Huzifa



Tak was memorising the Holy Quran in a Darul Uloom in Bandipora in north Kashmir when one day, he left to join the Lashkar-e-Taiba. A short burly man in his late twenties, Tak is a resident of Panzgam village in Pulwama district. He joined militancy in October 2011 and is categorised as A++ militant. He is currently the LeT district commander of Pulwama but police says he operates on the outskirts of Srinagar, and has been an active militant from last six years.

In November 2012, Kashmir police killed a militant in a long encounter in Kulgam. There was huge drama after security forces claimed to have killed Tak. But when the body was handed over to the family of Tak, they turned it away, saying it a case of mistaken identity.

"He is operating somewhere on the outskirts of Srinagar. That is what I can tell you," Zahid Malik, SP Awantipora, told Firstpost.

Ghulam Mohammad, Taks father, says his son cleared 12th class but was not much into studies. Then one day, he decided he would go to a Darul Uloom for memorising Quran and it was there he joined militancy.

Taks friends say although he was not much religious and hardly showed any inclination for Jihad but after 10th class, he started reading "radical literature". It was after two years that he decided to join the Darul Uloom. It is not clear how Tak came into contact with militants while in Darul Uloom.

Abu Hamas

He is a Pakistani national who entered Kashmir in the middle of 2016 during the civilian unrest after the killing of Burhan Wani. According to intelligence sources, he went straight to Tral area where he joined other militants. He is categorised as A++ militant. It is not clear if he has been involved in any attack but sources say he is one among the three Jaish-e-Mohammad militants active in the Valley.

Click here to read the first part
Former Bihar chief minister and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav appeared before a special CBI court in Patna on Tuesday in connection with four pending fodder scam cases.

Patna: RJD chief Lalu Yadav appeared before a special CBI Court in Fodder scam case  ANI (@ANI_news) June 6, 2017

"The CBI had challenged the 2014 order of the Jharkhand high court quashing four pending fodder scam cases against him on the grounds that a person convicted in one case could not be tried in similar cases based on same witnesses and evidences," as reported by India Today.

The CBI had registered a case in 1996 after Rs 47 lakh was fraudulently withdrawn from the Bhagalpur treasury.

In previous instances, Yadav's family members have been summoned when his MP daughter Misa Bharti and her husband were issued summonses in connection with the income tax department's probe in Rs 1,000 crore alleged benami land deals and a tax evasion case.

Officials said the department asked Bharti, a Rajya Sabha member, and her husband Shailesh Kumar to appear before the investigating officer in New Delhi in the first week of June.

Bharti and her husband had to appear before the investigating officer in New Delhi. Tax department officials stated that had said Lalu's kin held some of the properties under their scanner in a benami way.

Benami properties are those in which the real beneficiary is not the one in whose name the property has been purchased.

The RJD chief, however, sought to put up a brave face after the raids, saying he was "not scared at all".

With inputs from PTI
In spite of the fact that the Delhi health department has taken steps to provide economically weaker sections (EWS) with free treatment in private hospitals, a defunct information disbursal system on the status of such reserved beds makes availing this benefit cumbersome.

"How would a patient eligible for free treatment know which private hospital has beds vacant and which does not," said Ashok Aggarwal, lawyer and social activist.

He said that since a resident of any state in India  whoever is economically weak  is eligible for free treatment in these hospitals in Delhi, a pro-active information disbursal system is necessary.

"Many patients from Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar are referred to private hospitals in Delhi. But which hospitals in Delhi will they be referred to, if the data about availability of free beds is not in public domain?" Aggarwal asks.

Aggarwal adds that it is the responsibility of the Delhi government to ensure that the beds reserved for private hospitals remain occupied.

In the year 2007, the Delhi High Court had ordered the hospitals which had received an allotment of land from the Delhi government to reserve 10 percent of their beds for free treatment to EWS. The high court also formed a monitoring committee to ensure a proper disbursal of benefits.

Aggarwal, who is a member of the committee told Firstpost that there are 43 such private hospitals in the capital that have a total of 635 beds reserved for economically weaker sections.

Earlier, Delhi health minister Satyendra Jain had announced that the state government will take on itself the responsibility of monitoring of occupancy of free beds.

"Delhi government has a stake in these institutions," he said.

Much to the satisfaction of the poor patients, the health department also introduced an online monitoring system for EWS beds in private hospitals in the year 2014.

"Online booking of free bed (s) will facilitate the smooth transfer of critical and non-critical indoor EWS patients to identified private hospitals," SCL Das, the then principal secretary health said.

The official also added that 78 patient welfare officers had been appointed in Delhi government hospitals to man helpdesks, identify EWS patients and facilitate their referral and assist public in getting information on access to health services.

"The online booking system really worked well. A patient would get information about vacant beds on the website of the health department and apply for a bed according to his convenience. But a year ago, suddenly, uploading of information in the health department's website stopped," he complained.

The member of the monitoring committee added that this has caused a serious issue in the implementation of the high court order.

"The very motto of the order was to facilitate free admission and free exit to and from the hospitals. The health department has also recently eased availing of this benefits by issuing a circular, ordering the hospitals to admit patients even if they give only an undertaking that they belong to the EWS," he said.

Earlier, the health department issued an order not to admit patients in this category on the basis of income certificates submitted by them. But later the government reinstated the norm of accepting income certificate or an undertaking by the patient as valid proof of income.

As per present rules, anyone who earns minimum wage or less than that is eligible to avail this benefit.

"But after the information disbursal system became defunct, merely having a certificate of income or undertaking is no more enough. The patient now has to spend a considerable amount of time to find a hospital that has vacant beds for economically weaker sections," Aggarwal said.

To ensure hassle free and timely treatment to economically weaker sections, Aggarwal emphasised on the need to restart the online booking system of beds again.

But the health department simply passes the buck to the Delhi State Health Mission, stating that updating information of EWS beds is not the departments responsibility.

"The Mission outsourced the job of uploading information to the system to a private company. But a year ago, the agreement with the company expired. Since then, the work of updating the system with information about free beds has stopped. I hope the Mission appoints someone to resume the work," said Hem Prakash, additional director health.

Firstpost tried to contact the Delhi State Health Mission office but was told that the Mission officials do not entertain the media.
Chants of death to the dictator grow louder as Iran protests intensify The protests in Iran that were sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini have now entered the 42nd day. The demonstrations are more powerful than ever and so is the crackdown by Iranian authorities. Thousands of mourners defied heightened security measures as they made their way to Aminis burial site in
Ranchi: Jharkhand government will soon formulate rules for charging additional tax on people who own more than one vehicle.

"Those keeping more than one vehicle have to pay more tax for the second one. Regulations will be formulated soon," Chief Minister Raghubar Das said on Monday.

An official release quoting the chief minister said increasing number of vehicles are a problem to the traffic system as well as pollution.

A task force will be set up for coordination among all departments and it will work for an environment audit under the leadership of the Chief Secretary, Das said.

"Increasing temperatures are a cause of concern for us, which is also changing our life style," the CM said while addressing a programme on forest, environment and climate change on the occasion of World Environment Day.

Stating that Jharkhand has a tradition of worshipping nature and the Sarna society remains a worshipper of nature, Das said the state government is committed to protect nature.

"If we don't realise now, then the world will not be liveable and the next generation will not spare us," he said.

The government has made many acts, but now actions are required, the chief minister said.

Das said the state government is also encouraging clean energy.
In a horrific incident of honour killing, a 21-year-old pregnant woman was allegedly burnt alive on Saturday night by her parents in Karnataka's Bijapur district.

According to a report in The News Minute, Banu Begam and a 24-year-old Dalit man Sayabanna Sharanappa Konnur, both residents of Gundakanala village, were in a relationship. After the girl's parents refused to accept their marriage, the couple decided to elope to Goa. They returned home after she got pregnant, with the hope that they will have to accept their marriage.

However, the parents did not accept it. They wanted her to leave Sayabanna. After the couple refused, they were brutally assaulted by her family members.

International Business Times quoted Talikote Deputy Superintendent PK Patil as saying, "Banu's parents wanted her to leave Sayabanna and the boy's father was also not too pleased either. On Saturday night, when the couple refused to give in to their families' demands, Sayabanna's father, along with Banu's mother, brother and sister brutally assaulted him."

Sayabanna managed to escape with bite marks all over his body but Banu Begam could not escape. When Sayabanna returned with police, the family members had set her on fire.

Sayabanna received minor injuries while trying to douse the fire but was unsuccessful.

As per The Hindu, police have arrested her brother Akbar; Ramzanbi (mother), Davalbi (sister), and Jilani (sisters husband). They have been booked for murder and assault.
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The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is probing the role of some top separatist leaders in fuelling the unrest in Kashmir, including those who had given up arms and even started a dialogue with the Central government, led by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Others under the scanner comprise former militant commanders and even those who have been provided security by the state government.

So far, names of at least 10 top pro-freedom leaders, including close associates of Hurriyat Conference (G) chairman, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, have surfaced in the probe initiated by NIA, to investigate their role in getting money from Pakistan to fuel the unrest in Kashmir. Here are the key separatist leaders facing a probe:

Zafar Akbar Bhat: Chairman of the Salvation Movement, Bhats Bag-i-Mehtab residence was raided by the NIA on Saturday. Bhat is a former divisional commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen militant outfit and along with slain chief commander, Abdul Majeed Dar, had given the call for a unilateral ceasefire in 2000.

New Delhi had responded to the ceasefire by initiating a dialogue with the Hizbul commanders, with the then home secretary Kamal Pande starting the first-ever direct talks with the militants. The ceasefire was also reciprocated by Hizbul's top leadership but was withdrawn later. Bhat remained under security cover till 2010, but his security was withdrawn by the government subsequently as he became part of anti-government protests.

Nearly two years after unidentified gunmen killed Abdul Majeed Dar at his residence in Sopore, Bhats brother Haji Abdul Gani Bhat was killed by gunmen at his residence. Some 15 associates of Bhat were also killed by gunmen. Bhat described the raids as unfortunate. "These raids are only meant to harass us... we were the first to start the dialogue with New Delhi and have never shied away from talks," he said.

Shahid-ul-Islam: A former militant commander, Shahid had renounced the armed struggle earlier and joined the Awami Action Committee (AAC) party led by Mirwaiz Umer Farooq. NIA sleuths raided the Sanat Nagar residence of the Hurriyat leader in the wee hours on 3 June and recovered many documents, including his housing loan papers, insurance papers, and cell-phones as well as the photographs of his visit to Pakistan.

Sources in Hurriyat said that Shahid has been maintaining the security cover provided by the state government and the raids left his entire family surprised. Hurriyat said in a statement earlier that the raids were carried out to create a fear psychosis among his family members. Shahid is also the media advisor of Hurriyat. AAC secretary, Syed Rehman Shams, said that the raids were carried out at the house of Shahid, who has been associated with both Hurriyat as well as AAC for a long time.

Mehraj Kalwal: A former militant commander of the Hizbul outfit, Kalwals Budgam residence was also raided by the NIA. Kalwal is associated with Geelani and had earlier been a close aide of Democratic Freedom Party (DFP) chairman and Hurriyat, Shabir Ahmad Shah.

Kalwal heads Hurriyat (G) in Srinagar and remained associated with Shabir Shahs Peoples League. He was earlier also associated with a separatist outfit of a former militant commander, Tehri Ke Kashmir. Kalwal is considered to be very close to Geelani and has been a vocal supporter of Kashmirs secession from India.

Nayeem Khan: A former militant commander, Khan was recently suspended by Geelani from Hurriyat after he was caught on camera admitting to having received funds from Pakistan. Khans Parray Pora residence was raided by NIA officials and he was also questioned by the investigating agency in Delhi.

He was also a close associate of Shabir Shah and after he developed differences with him, he floated his own separatist outfit, National Front. Khan was a commander of Muslim Janbaz Force and had joined militancy after giving up his engineering job. His wife teaches at Kashmir University and runs a civil society group, which has been advocating the upholding of "human rights of people of Kashmir."

Peer Saifullah: One of the most trusted associates of Geelani, Saifuallah was a militant of the Hizbul outfit before he joined Tehri Ki Hurriyat. He is Geelani's personal assistant and is believed to be advising him on many issues.

His Rawalpora residence was raided and though not much cash was recovered from his residence, he remains under NIA watch because of his close links with Geelani. Saifuallah was the battalion commander of Hizbul and was widely influenced by the pro-Muslim ideology of Jamat to take a plunge into militancy.

Ayaz Akbar: Akbar was associated with Jamat-i-Islami, but after differences developed between Jamat and Geelani over the mode of running the Kashmirs resistance movement, he joined Geelani. He is the spokesman of Hurriyat (G) and has been often seen with Geelani in public protests and press conferences. All the statements which are issued to the media are cleared by him. His residence near Batmaloo, Maloora was also raided. According to his associates, the NIA sleuths seized a laptop from him.

Others who are under the NIA scanner include Geelanis son-in-law, Altaf Fantoosh, who is secretary public relations of Hurriyat (G). He was associated with the student wing of the Jamat. NIA has also questioned Farooq Ahmed Dar alias Bitta Karate, who is heading one of the factions of Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) and has earlier served many years in prison for his anti-India activities.
Confined to her home for the last one year Neetha P Nambiar (30), an Ayurvedic medical practitioner has lost all hope that she will be able to open her clinic that was forced to down its shutters a year ago.

A group of CPM activists had allegedly barged into her clinic in Kalliyasseri in Keralas northern district of Kannur and destroyed furniture and other equipment and threatened to kill her if she opened it again.

On the first anniversary of the attack, she had written an open letter to Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan pleading him to intervene and help open her clinic. Almost two weeks passed she is yet to hear from the chief ministers office.

The young womens fault: Her mother Bhanumati Vidyadharan had contested the 2015 local body election as a Congress candidate. Though her mother lost to her CPM rival she had managed a good share of the votes. This angered the party men.

Her clinic was attacked more than ten times and it was finally locked on the day Vijayan was sworn in as the chief minister last year. In party village she cant do this, she was bluntly told by local Marxist leaders.

Nothing new in Kannur where the party enjoys brute majority - it continues to ostracise people who refuse to toe its line. The party is the boss and it has a say in everything.

Neetha said her travails began in May 2015 when she started her clinic in a rented building in the village. Soon she developed a minor hitch with a hotel working on the same premises over sharing common facilities like power and water. But later it was solved through discussions.

"But when my mother contested as the Congress candidate in Kalliyasseri panchayat CPM leaders raked up the old issue and started provoking other shops in the vicinity. A local woman leader of CPM even approached the State Womens Commission against me citing frivolous charges," she said explaining her two-year-long trauma to Firstpost.

She said she had approached the police a number of occasions but they refused to entertain her complaint fearing the wrath of local leaders. "I dont know what to do. When some of my patients started coming to my house for consultation party workers forcibly prevented them," she said adding that she had approached a couple of Ayurveda hospitals in nearby areas for a job but all shut their doors citing her rift with the dominant party of the area.

"They want to spoil my career for no fault of mine. In a country like ours everyone has a right to pursue their profession and follow their ideology and belief. It is the beauty of our country. But the party still believes in politics of annihilation and revenge," she said.

Then Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president VM Sudheeran and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president Kummanam Rajasekharan had visited her promising all help but she couldnt reopen her clinic due to the hostile situation.

However, the CPM district leadership has denied any role of the party men in the issue. "A tiff has been prevailing between the doctor and some women who are running a hotel on the same premises. It is wrong to give a political interpretation to a minor issue, said party district secretary P Jayarajan.

The chief ministers office maintained that it was not aware of the issue. Upset, she is now planning to write to CPM central leadership and human rights commission.

Congress leaders said she was victimised for not toeing the party line.

"The CPM seldom tolerate contest in party villages during local body elections. If anybody dares to enter the fray, the party browbeats them into withdrawing their candidature. But this time Neethas family stood strong. This irked party men. We will support her," said Kannur DCC president Satheesan Pacheni.

This is not an isolated incident in Kannur, the cradle of the communist movement in Kerala. Many who quit CPM and join other parties are attacked and tortured. Two Dalit women at Thalaserry had to face the brunt of her fathers decision to quit the CPM and contest the local body elections on a Congress ticket in November 2015.

When N Rajan, refused to yield to their pressure, the party men started harassing his daughters Akhila (30) and Anjana (25). When the two went to the party office to question the harassment and smear campaign against them, the party men sought to implicate them in a murder attempt case.

On the party workers complaint, the two women were called to the police station under the pretext of recording their statement and were taken to the court and remanded in judicial custody. The arrest of the girls, which came a month after the party assumed power, had triggered a nationwide outrage and the National Commission for SC/ST chairman PL Punia had sought a report from the state government.

A senior Congress leader at Kannur said that the harassment was part of the strategy adopted by the CPM to deter the cadres from leaving the organisation. The party often resorts to physical violence to counter their political opponents. More than 250 people have lost their lives due to political violence in the district in the last three decades.

The CPM also does not spare those who breach into their fortresses. A Dalit woman autorickshaw driver at Payyanur was hounded by male auto drivers belonging to the CPM-affiliated Centre for Indian Trade Unions (CITU) since 2004 after she dared to join their trade.

They attacked Chithralekha, who belongs to Pulaya caste, and her husband and damaged her auto rickshaw several times after she joined the auto stand controlled by the CITU at Edatt, on the outskirts of Payyannur.

The male auto drivers were angry with her because she weaned away their women passengers, especially Muslim women. Another reason was her marriage with a man from Thiya community belonging to a party family.

Chithralekha staged a 122-day-long dharna outside the district collectorate in 2014 and a 20-day sit-in in front of the state secretariat at Thiruvananthapuram in February last year forcing the then Oommen Chandy government to rehabilitate her in another village.

The Dalit woman was hounded even after she moved away from her native village. Her auto was damaged allegedly by a CPM worker a month after she called off her agitation in the state capital.

In Delhi party leaders carry a polished and reformed face. They lead protests against atrocities against Dalits in educational institutions like JNU. But in party villages in north Kerala they follow Stalinist policies of annihilation and prosecution. It is time for the party to remember the West Bengal setback," said a Dalit leader of north Kerala citing rising attacks against Dalits in Kannur district.
Bhopal: Violence broke out on Tuesday during a farmers' protest in Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh following which curfew was clamped in Pipalya Mandi area and prohibitory orders imposed in other parts of the district, officials said.

According to unconfirmed reports, two farmers were killed after police open fired on violent protesters in Bhai Parshnath area but Mandsaur collector SK Singh denied it.

"Curfew has been clamped in Pipalya Mandi police station area and in the rest of the district section 144 of CrPC has been imposed," Singh told PTI over phone.

When asked about reports of death of two farmers, Singh said he does not have any such information.

Farmers in western Madhya Pradesh are protesting since 1 June demanding minimum support price for their farm produce, among other things.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday said his government was taking all necessary steps to address the issues of the agitating farmers.

A price stabilisation fund of Rs 1,000 crore would be set up to purchase the farm produce at the minimum support price (MSP), he had said.
Though the farmers' strike that began on 1 June has been called off in Mumbai, some factions remained dissatisfied with the decision. The farmers had gone on strike demanding loan waivers and in protest against the construction of the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi expressway. However, confusion reined on the strike in rest of Maharashtra because of lack of consensus as they have been irregularly called off.

The strike had received mixed responses since the start, with Nashik and Ahmednagar responding well to the protest; however, it received a moderate response in Pune, Kolhapur, and Solapur, which were at the forefront of the strike, The Times of India reported. The report further mentioned that there was a rise in prices of vegetables. But the rise was due to the confusion over the strike and not due to the lack of supply.

According to the Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha, the strike continues in some parts of Maharashtra, reported Live Mint, whereas on Saturday, the Kisan Kranti Jan Andolan Samiti called the strike off in Ahmednagar district. Markets in Nashik and Ahmednagar districts remained closed for the fifth consecutive day, starting from 1 June.

Pune APMC joint secretary Arvind Jedhe said, Arrival of fruits and vegetables is down by 65 percent. That is because protesting farmers have stopped vehicles headed to Pune APMC. But arrival of other commodities is almost normal." Jedhe was quoted as saying the Live Mint.

To pacify the farmers, social activist Anna Hazare supported the farmers, urging them to protest peacefully. Hazare added that he was ready to intervene on the farmers' behalf. However, no resolution could be arrived at "with the agitating farmers and their leaders," according to The Times of India.

News 18 reported that farmers' representatives met in Nashik on Sunday. In the meeting, several resolutions were passed, with one being "Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis should implement the farmers' demands instead of just giving assurances."

With more meetings to be held on 7 and 8 June, Chandrakant Bankar, convener of the committee, urged more traders and transporters to participate in the protests, as per the report.

A farmer leader from Nashik also blamed the BJP government for sabotaging their protests. Hence, a bandh on Monday was held across protesting regions, except Mumbai.

The farmers, however, found support from the Shiv Sena who have been very "vocal about (their) disappointment over the BJP government on the farmers issues as well as on the delay in announcing the loan waiver," Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena MP, reportedly stated.

The Shiv Sena has severely criticised Fadnavis in its editorial, Saamana, mentioning that The chief minister has been successful in creating doubts and suspicions about the farmers agitation. But attempting to break the protests is not a victory. It is a failure, as reported by Hindustan Times.

The protests now seem to be heading in an uncertain direction, with political parties solely using the incident to gain mileage. The Times of India reported that the farmers indulged in violence and a section of them indulged in stone-pelting as well. Milk and vegetables were also thrown in various districts. But despite such wastage, talks with the chief minister have made no progress.
Mumbai: The Shiv Sena on Tuesday warned its ally Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to take lessons from the ongoing farmers strike in Maharashtra and cede to their demands or else the "lava of farmers' pain" will create havoc for it.

The Sena also claimed that the government was mulling to close down internet services in Nashik and asked if it compares "Nashik with unpeaceful Kashmir and protesting farmers with the anti-nationals who throw stones at the army".

"The fire of farmers anguish cannot be doused merely by making promises. Monday's Maharashtra bandh was a challenge to the government. If appropriate lessons are not learnt by the government, the lava of farmers' pain will create havoc for it," the Sena said in an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana.

The Sena said that this is only a beginning of the fight for farmers' rights and that this stir would go on until the last of demands are met by the government.

It added that the Sena will continue to support the strike until the end.

The Sena said that instances of violent protests should be seen as an outburst of farmers' anger towards government apathy.

"Will farmers be understood at least now ?" it questioned.

The edit also noted that the government will slowly feel the pinch of the unity of farmers and will be forced to give in to their demands of a complete loan waiver and a good price for their agricultural produce.
Farmers' protest at Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh took a violent turn after police opened fire on the protestors killing one farmer and injuring four, media reports said.

#MadhyaPradesh: One farmer dead, three injured in police firing in #Mandsaur.  ABP News (@abpnewstv) June 6, 2017

Internet services in Mandsaur, Ratlam and Ujjain remain suspended following farmers' protests. The Rashtriya Kisaan Mazdoor Sangh has called for a state-wide shutdown on Wednesday, ANI reported.

MP: Internet suspended in Mandsaur, Ratlam & Ujjain due to farmers' protest. Rashtriya Kisaan Mazdoor Sangh calls for state-wide bandh tmrw  ANI (@ANI_news) June 6, 2017

Farmers' protests have continued unabated in many parts of western Madhya Pradesh even as Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday said his government is taking all necessary steps to address the issues of the agitating farmers. "This government is farmers' government. All necessary steps have been initiated to address farmers' concerns," PTI quoted Chouhan as saying.

On Monday, protesters pelted stones and damaged several two-wheelers as police used lathi-charge to disperse them. Effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chouhan were burnt.

With inputs from agencies
Aizawl: The first meeting of the newly-formed Peace Accord Review Committee discussed proposals to implement some of the terms of the Mizo Peace Accord, which were yet to be fulfilled.

The discussion at the meeting, chaired by Mizoram Chief Minister Lal Thanhawla on Monday, revolved around the proposals of the Peace Accord MNF Returnees Association (PAMRA), an association of the former underground Mizo National Front (MNF) militants.

The three PAMRA members, who were included in the committee as invitees, proposed that ex-gratia should be paid to the kin of all those killed during the 20-year long disturbance triggered by the declaration of independence from the Indian Union by the MNF in March 1966.

Providing land and housing assistance to the former underground personnel also figured at the meeting with the PAMRA representatives, who urged the state government to submit the proposals to the Centre.

Though the Mizo accord was inked on 30 June 1986, the former underground personnel said that many of the terms and conditions of the peace agreement were yet to be met by the Centre.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday asked top bureaucrats to identify concrete goals to be achieved by 2022, particularly focusing on the development of 100 most backward districts in a mission mode through short time frames.

Modi, while interacting with all the secretaries to the government of India, asked them to rise above the "administrative mechanisms of earlier centuries" and work beyond the "silos" of their respective ministries for the development of the country.

He told them that they had an opportunity to transform the lives of one-sixth of humanity, a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said.

Underlining that institutions must be made "outcome-oriented", the prime minister asked the bureaucrats to identify concrete goals to be achieved by 2022, the 75th anniversary of Independence.

He called for a mission mode approach to the 100 most backward districts in India and said specific goals should be set on various parameters in definite short time frames for these districts, the PMO said.

While asking the bureaucrats not to work in silos, Modi said the some of the best results in the last three years had been achieved when the entire government machinery worked in unison, as a team.

In this regard, he cited examples such as financial inclusion (Jan Dhan Yojana) and universal immunization (Mission Indradhanush), the PMO said.

On 'Swachhta Abhiyan', the prime minister said, "the biggest groundswell of support has come from the people, and that is driving change at the administrative level."

Turning to the planned roll-out of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime from 1 July, he said it would mark a "turning point" in the countrys history.

He asked the secretaries to proactively prepare for this transformation, to ensure a smooth transition, the statement said.

The prime minister told the bureaucrats that "the world is looking at India differently today and this is a unique opportunity which should not be missed. Let us build mechanisms to meet global expectations."

Ministers Rajnath Singh, Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj and Nitin Gadkari also addressed the secretaries.

Earlier, the secretaries made some suggestions on various sectors of governance, the PMO said.
New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal has taken exception to the delay of six years in finalisation of the Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) and directed the Ministry of Environment and Forests to sit with all the coastal states to decide the issue.

Terming the stand taken by the MoEF on delay in CZMP as "unsatisfactory", the green panel expressed strong disapproval over the Ministry's submission that the states were not cooperating in the matter.

"To say the least, that the stand taken by the Ministry is unsatisfactory. The notification was issued by MoEF in 2011 requiring declaration and notification of the CZMP in relation to the respective coastal states," a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar said.

"All that is brought to our notice is that the states are not coordinating. It is evident that despite lapse of more than six years the hazardous line which is a very foundation of the preparation of CZMP, has not been fixed," the bench added.

The tribunal directed the MoEF Secretary to convene a meeting of all the principal secretaries of Environment of the coastal states within two weeks.

It directed the Surveyor General of India to be present in the meeting.

"In that meeting the entire course of action for finalisation of hazardous line as well as notification of CZMP is to be adopted. In relation to which all the Coastal States shall be called and whichever State not cooperating with the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change the same shall be recorded. The minutes of the meeting shall clearly record facts in that regard," the bench, also comprising Justice RS Rathore, said.

The green body, in its order dated 31 May, had directed the MoEF Secretary to ensure that the minutes of the meeting are filed before the tribunal, in advance, before the next date of hearing and asked all the coastal state governments to fully cooperate in deciding the issue.

The matter is fixed for next hearing on 14 July. The NGT had earlier said the authorities were primarily shuffling the blame between the states and the Centre, with the execution of the direction being "kept in abeyance" without any justifiable reason.

The direction came on a plea filed by one Mehdad and others seeking expeditious framing of CZMP for different states and union territories.

Coastal zone management involves managing the coastal areas to balance environmental, economic and human health activities.
New Delhi: India on Monday ruled out any meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif when the two will be in Kazakhstan this week, and asserted that Pakistan cannot take Kashmir issue to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Taking a tough stance on ties with Pakistan, Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj said "talks and terror cannot go together" while articulating strategy of India which was based on three pillars in dealing with that country. She also emphasised that India was engaged with other countries on the issue of cross-border terrorism.

"No meeting is scheduled either from their side or from our side," Swaraj told a press conference on completion of three years of the government.

She was asked if Modi and Sharif will meet on the sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit at Astana, Kazakhstan on 8-9 June.

Asked about reported remarks of a Pakistani law officer that Islamabad will take the Kashmir issue to ICJ after India approached the global court in Kulbhushan Jadhav case, the minister said, "Pakistan cannot take Kashmir issue to ICJ. The Shimla agreement and Lahore declaration are very clear on Kashmir issue that it can only be resolved bilaterally. The two countries are bound by these bilateral agreements."

She also referred to some cases pending at other courts such as Hyderabad Nizam funds case in the UK court and issues pertaining to Indus Waters Treaty before the World Bank.

Rejecting suggestions that the government had a "flip-flop" policy in handling Pakistan, she said India is very clear that "it wants to hold dialogue, resolve all issues bilaterally without mediation from any third country, organisation or anyone else. But at the same time terror and talks cannot go together."

The minister also emphasised that the government was asking other countries not to see cross-border issue or terrorism emanating from Pakistan from the prism of India but see if the international terrorism was in anyway linked with that country. "Finally, where was Osama bin Laden found? In Pakistan," she said, adding it was time to finalise the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism at the UN and define terrorism.

On Pakistan's contention that it will raise jurisdiction on the merit of the Jadhav case, she said India has a very strong argument and it will win the case. She also made it clear that India's case was based on Pakistan's violation of Vienna Convention under which consular access was not only "essential but compulsory".

India has made 16 requests to Pakistan to grant access to Jadhav, who was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of "involvement in espionage and sabotage activities" against the country.

Pakistan claims its security forces arrested him from its restive Balochistan province on March 3 last year after he reportedly entered from Iran.

However, India maintains that he was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Navy and approached ICJ to save his life.
The Piano Man Jazz Club in Safdarjung Enclave in south Delhi found itself in a controversy after it scheduled a performance by a music band called 'Bhangijumping'. The band was scheduled to perform on 5 June.

Social media slammed the club for supporting a band that offended the sentiments of Dalits.

After the club distributed pamphlets with the band's name, members of the Dalit community staged a protest and called out everyone to boycott the club. They pointed out that they were being casteist and derogatory.

According to The Huffington Post, 'Bhangi' is a derogatory term coined by the upper castes to refer to manual scavengers and the Scheduled Castes. It is a slur that is used to describe something as 'unclean' or 'untouchable.'

A band called "Bhangijumping"?

What is wrong with you guys?

And Piano Man, seriously, why feature this band?https://t.co/9w2vlYfhar  Omair Ahmad (@OmairTAhmad) June 5, 2017

Round Table India - The Piano Man outrage: Calling out casteist mentality in elite circles https://t.co/5sVe7YgW0q  kuffir nalgundwar (@kuffir) June 6, 2017

Wtf is wrong with @TPMcafes? You think it's completely cool to host an event titled BHANGIJUMPING? Casteist slurs are now cool haan? Shame.  Shobha (@Shobha_SV) June 3, 2017

Casteism is so normalized in our society that most often people don't realize they're part of the problem. #TPMJC #Bhangijumping #casteism pic.twitter.com/RrIBa1xicF  Priyanka (@autumnrainwish) June 6, 2017

An online petition was also started on change.org that demanded the shutting of the jazz club to stop the hate crimes against the Dalits. The post criticised the band for "undermining the social and legal connotations" of using the casteist slur.

In The Huffington Post report, Arjun Sagar Gupta, the owner of Piano Man is quoted as saying that their Facebook page started receiving comments about the casteist band name. However, band member Akshay Kapoor said that he was not aware about the Bhangi community and wanted to only rhyme the name with 'bungee jumping.'

The Indian Express reported that Kapoor sent them a mail commenting on the issue. He was quoted as saying: "It was ignorant on my behalf and it hurts me to see what this issue has turned into, all because of a personal choice that I made. I was genuinely unaware and highly ignorant on naming my band what I did. I did not intend to hurt people and did not take into consideration the sensitivity of the matter.

In a clarification that Gupta posted online, he urged people to focus on the artistic sentiment and not be "small-minded." He mentioned that the intention of the band was not to hurt anyone and said that he had asked the band members to change the name.
Images of turtles, albatrosses and other marine species dying on account of plastic in our oceans have been doing rounds in recent years. Many of us have been pained but most of us seem to have done little. Two shocking incidents this year not only underscored this but also gave us a final warning. A warning to act now or to face a future not very different from that of these species. The first is a whale on the Norwegian shore which was so sick it had to be euthanised; 30 plastic bags (besides other garbage) were found in its stomach. The second is the publication of a report on Henderson Island. More than 37 million pieces of waste plastic were found on an uninhabited island recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its ecology! Plastic that could be traced to any of us.

Scratching even the scratch of this plastic mess, we have created, brings forth scary facts. An article by Jennifer Lavers and Alexander Bond says Each piece of plastic ever made still exists somewhere in the world. Plastic is with us to stay and will be in the oceans for millennia to come. To give an idea of the scale they add More than 350m tonnes of plastics are manufactured each year and that number is only going up. A report by the Ellen McArthur Foundation states at least 8m tonnes of plastics leak into the ocean each year  which is equivalent to dumping the contents of one garbage truck into the ocean every minute. If no action is taken, this is expected to increase to two per minute by 2030 and four per minute by 2050 and that Without significant action, there may be more plastic than fish in the ocean, by weight, by 2050.

All this makes it clear that there is no magical place called away which the plastic goes to after we throw it. It continues to exist on the planet and will sooner or later re-enter our lives. Bestowing epithets and giving tags to places seldom helps. Protected Areas are not as safe as we have made ourselves believe. If anything will make a difference  in todays world  it is our lifestyles.

Understanding where this plastic trash comes from is not very difficult. A simple mental note of our daily actions will give an idea of our role in strangling life on the planet. The list is long but even if we take just three uses in our daily lives we will comprehend the extent of the problem. One, not many of us refuse the plastic bags (when free) and only a few carry reusable bags. In addition, for many a charge of Rs 2 or Rs 5 on the bags is not a deterrent enough while for others it is an exercise of rights to take the bags. Two, people buy plastic bottles without giving a second thought and it is difficult to not come across them today wherever we move. They are akin to a curse on our environment today. Three, plastic bottles and glasses are present everywhere  restaurants and food courts, airports and stations, and tea-stalls and snack shops. For guests coming home for dinner and religious functions too we now use plastic utensils. To put these in perspective two million single-use plastic bags are used each minute and more than hundred million plastic bottles are used each day - almost none of them are recycled.

So what can we do? The crux is to avoid plastic. Irrespective of location or size of our city or town or how we fare on other life indicators we will need to decrease our use of plastic. We will need to make changes to our lifestyle rather than wait for science to develop magical organisms that can eat plastic! This does not warrant any rocket science we just need to adhere to the basics. In other words, it is neither too complicated nor too difficult. To begin with we need to believe that we can do it. Plastics will not suddenly vanish but we can decide on the plastic in our lives. Our willingness and intentions are crucial. We will also need to accept that this will result in some discomfort. Nothing in life, which is useful, comes for free. The cost for a better planet will include time and efforts.

And how? Curbing use is possible. France has become the first country in the world to ban disposable plastic cups, plates and other utensils. It used to trash more than 4.7 billion plastic cups each year. Besides laws and their implementation, we could focus on the approach. Given the extent of the mess we are in our intellectualising on the kind of plastic involved or the efforts it takes to recycle will be akin to wondering about the extent of chlorine in the swimming pool when we are drowning in one. Even in France only one percent plastic cups were re-cycled! Our focus, including that of the Swachchh Bharat campaign, is on disposal. Once we use, we discard and ensure that it does not become an eyesore. We need to change gears and focus on the stage where we generate trash.

How about moving beyond the tokenism of the Earth Hour and Bike to Work Day kind, and beyond conferences which themselves end up generating plastic trash? How about we begin to do what we can to get ourselves out of the plastic disaster we find ourselves in? To slowly but surely alter our lives  personal and professional?
Saharanpur: Police on Monday thwarted an attempt by a women's group to stage a demonstration against alleged wrongful arrest of some innocent Dalits in connection with caste clashes in Saharanpur.

Mahila Adhikar Manch had threatened to stage a demonstration against the arrest of some "innocent" Dalits in connection with violence and clashes in various parts of Saharanpur since 5 May.

The Manch claimed that some Dalits arrested were innocent and it had planned to submit a memorandum to the district administration in this regard.

But the police and the paramilitary personnel deployed at the entrances of the district headquarters allowed people to enter only after vetting them.

Additional SP Prabal Pratap Singh said the forces were deployed as a preventive measure and no organisation had sort permission for a demonstration.

Violence first broke out in Saharanpur about a month ago following a procession to mark Ambedkar Jayanti. On 5 May, a person was killed and 15 people were injured in clashes between Dalits and upper caste 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.
New Delhi: Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said that US president Donald Trump's statement withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement had come as a shock for India but he was sure that America would rethink its decision.

Inaugurating a two-day national level conference on 'Capacity Building of State Disaster Response Force-2017', Singh said it was cause of concern for India and the world community if a country thinks only about its own interests.

"The US President's statement on Paris agreement has come as a shock for us and the international community. I am sure the US will rethink its decision", he said.

It has to be seen, the home minister added, in what circumstances the US president made the statement on the Paris accord.

Announcing the US withdrawal from the Paris deal on 1 June, Trump claimed that India had made its participation in the agreement "contingent on receiving billions and billions and billions dollars in foreign aid".

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj rejected Trump's comment on Monday and said that India has signed Paris climate pact not because of pressure from any country or due to the lure of money.

"Our signature in the pact was not because of greed, it was not because of fear. We signed it due to our commitment to protecting the environment. India will continue to be part of it irrespective of whether the US remains in it or not", Swaraj told reporters while speaking on three years of the Modi government.
Jalandhar: Bhim Army founder Chandrasekhar, who is evading arrest since May's caste-violence in Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, has said he is willing to surrender if 37 "innocent" Dalits are released on bail.

Speaking to PTI-Bhasha at a hiding place about 50 km from here, the 30-year-old alleged that the Uttar Pradesh police was not arresting the real culprits but was going after "innocent people".

He alleged that cases of atrocities against the Dalit community were on the rise since chief minister Yogi Adityanath took over.

"I feel that the UP government has failed to address the issues of the Dalits. The chief minister has lost control over the police and the administration. There have been more cases of atrocities against the Dalits in the past two-and-a-half months as compared to last one year," he said.

The Bhim Army shot to the limelight after the 5 May clashes between Dalits and Thakurs at Shabbirpur village in Saharanpur in which one person was killed and several injured.

Chandrasekhar is one of the key persons wanted in connection with the caste violence and the Uttar Pradesh police on Monday announced a reward of Rs 12,000 for information on his whereabouts.

"Instead of arresting the real culprits of the Saharanpur violence, the police has arrested innocent people and put them behind bars. This has resulted in growing anger among the Dalits," the advocate-turned-activist claimed.

Asked if he would surrender, he claimed to have earlier reached out to the Delhi Police and the magistrate to turn himself in. He said they refused to arrest him.

"Now I want that 37 innocent dalits who are in jail be released on bail. Only then will I surrender," he said.

On the Shabbirpur clash, he claimed that the dalits were threatened that they would be shot dead if they intervened in the procession that was to be taken out by the Thakurs.

"When we informed the police about it, a rumour spread that our community was protesting the rally. In retaliation, the houses of the Dalits in the village were torched. It seemed the attack was planned and the youth was caught in the violence," he said.

It didn't take much time for another rumour to spread that the youth had been killed by the Dalits, the Bhim Army founder said.

On the youth's death, he said, "Initially, the police said he was shot dead. Later, the post-mortem said he died of suffocation."
Sushma Swaraj is probably the only Union minister who commands certifiable respect among her followers on social media. When it comes to leaders and ministers from the ruling BJP government, Swaraj again stands out. While other ministers from the Narendra Modi cabinet tweet because they-have-to kind of a way, Swaraj connects with people in need as their own. However, enough has been spoken about Swaraj's online presence.

In this digital age, and in the rush to read a 140-worded tweet, we unknowingly have forgotten one of the most illustrious qualities which Swaraj possesses  her oratorial skills  one of the many reasons she was hailed as a perfect choice to handle the tricky foreign ministry when the Modi government thumped its way to power in 2014. Swaraj, along with her colleague and Union minister Arun Jaitley, together formed a formidable opposition team to counter the then United Progressive Alliance government.

In September 2016, after her robust and lucid speech at the United Nations General Assembly,even the prime minister acknowledged Swaraj's beautiful public speaking skills.

Congrats to EAM @SushmaSwaraj for a firm, effective & fine articulation of a wide range of global issues at #UNGA. https://t.co/9ZgwAbfPDr  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 26, 2016

In December 2016, Swaraj underwent a kidney transplant. When she returned to Parliament in March this year, the excitement of the photographers and camera colleagues at Parliament's main entrance just before noon was akin to Budget Day when everyone waits for the finance minister's arrival. As she walked into the Lok Sabha, she was greeted by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Opposition leader Malikkarjun Kharge and almost instantly, the entire House clapped.

"Thank you Madam, Kharge-ji. I want to thank the entire House for their good wishes. It is because of your blessings and my faith in Krishna that I have completely recovered and returned to be here," Swaraj had said.

The debate that day was about the issue of crimes against Indians in the US.

In her statement, Sushma was aggressive as ever, taking a swipe at the Congress and Kharge who had alleged the government was "sitting idle". Terming these crimes "acts of individuals, Sushma said India would not issue any advisory against travel to the US and added India has noted widespread condemnation of these incidents by the US leadership, both in the administration and the Congress, including by President Donald Trump. "The fact that broad sections of the American society have expressed their deep sorrow and regret over these incidents reassures us that despite these individual incidents, the American society values the people-to-people engagement of our two countries," said Swaraj, showing flashes of the oratorial skills she is well known for.

Once the speech was over, Mahajan lauded her, "Bahut dino baad aap ki damdaar awaaz is sadan mein goonji hain (your strong voice has echoed in the House after a long time)". As Sushma left, BJP members scrambled to walk her out.

Second instance where Swaraj proves that she is like no other cabinet leader, is when in April this year, the minister of external affairs tore through Pakistan for the farcical military court trial and its capital sentence to former Indian Navy officer Kulbhushan Jadhav. Her speech was indicative that India is drawing fresh red lines to take on its neighbour in the strongest possible ways.

Swaraj warned the Pakistani government that if the death sentence is carried out by them, it will be regarded as an act of pre-meditated murder and if they proceed on this matter there could well be consequences to the bilateral relations between the neighbouring countries.

"Our position on this matter is clear. There is no evidence of wrongdoing by Shri Jadhav. If anything, he is the victim of a plan that seeks to cast aspersions on India to deflect international attention from Pakistans well-known record of sponsoring and supporting terrorism. Under these circumstances, we have no choice but to regard the sentence, if carried out, as an act of pre-meditated murder."

She didn't mince her words while making a statement in both Houses of Parliament on an issue which was emotionally-charged and one which inflamed passions in the country.

"It is extraordinary that a decision is suddenly announced awarding a death sentence in this case when previous exchanges with India itself underlines the insufficiency of evidence. To make matters even more absurd, three hours after the death sentence was announced, the Indian High Commission received an official communication from the Foreign Ministry of Pakistan reiterating the Pakistani proposal for conditional consular access. That tells us a lot about the farcical nature of the alleged proceedings which have led to an indefensible verdict against an innocent kidnapped Indian," Swaraj said in Parliament.

On Monday, Swaraj reiterated India's stand against terrorism and while she was on the topic, she reminded us what inherently makes Swaraj. When asked about Pakistan and the case of Kulbhushan Jadhav, Swaraj said this:

"We don't spend so much time, energy on Pakistan. For us, Pakistan is any other country. Remember three issues: we want to resolve all issues through dialogue, dialogue will be bilateral and terror and talks cant go simultaneously. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took an out-of-the-box initiative to fly down to Lahore. We are not going one step forward, two step backward on Pakistan... Pakistan can no way take the Kashmir issue to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), it can only be resolved bilaterally. We are very clear, no third-party mediation in talks with Pakistan. As long as the case filed in ICJ is not resolved, Kulbhushan Jadhav cant be given capital punishment."

This was not the first time Swaraj was tearing Pakistan apart for its hypocrisy. But soon after Pakistan, it was China's turn.

"China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is about sovereignty. Kashmir is an integral part of India, no question of compromise. Our policies are not to counter any country but we agree on connectivity in principle. Has it been made through consultations? Did it compromise territorial integrity? We cant accept a road through Kashmir which we consider as an integral part of India."

She blew our minds with her uninhibited and downright unreserved attitude was when she ripped through the Chinese administration after reports surfaced about a suspected Chinese helicopter was sighted flying above Indian territory in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand.

"This is the first such airspace violation. We can understand even ground incursion as it can be a mistake. But this is unacceptable. We will take it up with Beijing," Swaraj told the media on Monday.

When asked about the Donald Trump administration pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement and the US president mentioning India as a nation which is part of the accord only for the benefits, Swaraj said:

"What Trump said is not the reality. We have signed the Paris accord not under any pressure nor for any money ...to say we did it for money, I totally reject that. India had signed the Paris agreement neither under any pressure nor for the lure of funds. We did it due to our commitment. Whether the US stays or not, we will remain committed to the Paris climate deal."

Even though it looks like we are done curating her best speeches ever since she came back after her surgery, the list is far from over.
The Tripura Board of Secondary Education (TBSE) will announce the results for the Madhyamik Class X board examination 2017 on Tuesday after 9 am. The results can be checked on the official websites: tbse.in or tripuraresults.nic.in.

The TBSE issued a notification regarding the date of declaration of results on Friday on their official website, tbse.in.

Once the results are declared, the candidates can also opt to get their grades via text message by sending TBSE10 <space> Roll number to 54242.

If the students are unable to visit the official websites due to increased web traffic, they can visit alternate result portals like examresults.net and indiaresults.com.

This year, around 23,000 candidates appeared for the TBSE Madhyamik Class X exam, which was conducted from 2 March to 4 April, News18 reported.

The results for TBSE HS Class XII (Science) 2017 were declared on 20 May.

Steps to obtain results:

Log on to the official websites: tbse.in or tripuraresults.nic.in.

Click on the link for 'Madhyamik results 2017'.

Enter your roll number and click 'submit' to check your detailed grades.

Download the result and take a printout for future reference.

As has been observed over the course of the past few weeks, the dates and times of result announcements have been frequently changed. The information above has not been independently verified. However, this article will continue to be updated to reflect official updates as and when they come in.
Gurgaon: Three persons allegedly raped a woman after throwing her nine-month-old daughter off an autorickshaw leading to the child's death in Gurgaon, police said on Monday.

According to the 23-year-old woman, she was going to her parents' house in Khandsa village in Gurgaon at around midnight on 29 May with her daughter after an argument with her husband.

She took a lift in an autorickshaw in which three persons were already sitting. She told the police that the accused started molesting her as soon as she sat in the vehicle.

As she resisted and her daughter started crying, they threw the infant out of the vehicle.

The child succumbed to injuries, a Gurgaon police official said.

The victim told the police that she was raped by the accused inside the autorickshaw on the old Khandsa road in Gurgaon, close to the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway.

The official said that the woman, a resident of a village near IMT Manesar here, had initially told the police that the accused had thrown her child out of the autorickshaw. However, later she told them that she was raped also by the three.

"A case of murder and sexual assault has been registered. We are investigating the matter as woman alleging gangrape has refused to undergo medical examination," a senior police officer said.

Notably, the latest incident comes close on the heels of another incident in which two women were allegedly raped at Yamunanagar and Ambala in Haryana, police said.

Two horrific incidents of rape also shook Haryana last month.

While the body of a 23-year-old woman, who had been gang-raped and murdered, was found on the outskirts of Rohtak, a 26-year-old was gang-raped in a moving car in Gurgaon and abandoned in a semi-conscious state near her house.
A gradual breakdown of the public/private domain is evident in the fact that women are being welcomed into spheres that were previously dominated by men. On 5 June, the Indian Army, one of the largest in the world, announced that it is ready and willing to recruit women in combatant positions. Combatant positions in the military were, for a long time, considered the domain of the man, and this announcement is nothing but incredible in a world where gender barriers are coming down vigorously to allow for a more tenable integration of the public and private spheres.

Army chief General Bipin Rawat stated that the procedure to hire women in combat roles is moving swiftly. Speaking to PTI, he said, "I am looking at women coming in as jawans. I am going to start it soon. Firstly, we will start with women as military police jawans... We have already started the process and women will now have an opportunity to show their grit and strength in taking up challenges in combat roles and shattering the glass ceiling." If this procedure is indeed adopted, India will join the league of elite nations such as Britain, Finland, Germany, Australia, Canada, the US, Denmark, France , Norway, Sweden and Israel, that recruit both women and men in combat roles in their armed forces.

It is not that women were isolated from the battlefield altogether  but until now, women have served in the army in gender-stereotyped care-giving and mediation roles such as the medical, legal, educational, signals and engineering wings. Combat positions were always off-limits because of limitations in logistics and perspective. In the same vein, last year, the Indian Air Force inducted three women as fighter pilots. The recruitment took place a year after the government decided to open the stream to women on an experimental basis.

While on the face of it, this move may sound overwhelming and might reflect the shattering of the glass ceiling in India, if it is not implemented with caution and sensitivity, there is a likelihood of a massive failure on the part of the government. At this point, the initiative sounds like a display of State feminism on the part of the Indian Army. For instance, Rawat wants to recruit them as 'jawans'  a term that is used for men, and a term that does not have a gender-neutral alternative and a term that might mean the erasure of the concept of gender in wartime.

And as path-breaking as the move sounds, the question remains: Will women be treated as and expected to behave as men in the forces? Placing a woman in a male-centric, masculine environment is a not a feminist move. What would be progressive is to adapt the environment during combat and training to suit the needs of all individuals, irrespective of their gender. As the record has indicated, women are integrated into mainstream sectors and industries with the expectation that they will compromise in the male-dominated environments without negotiating for a change. Such partial integration is not affirmative, and especially not accommodative of the narrative of struggle that is fundamental to the women in India.

Another problem is whether gender sensitisation would do any good towards potentially minimising and preventing crimes against women 'jawans' by male counterparts or superiors. Armies function on a mix of chauvinism, fragile patriarchy and deeply-ingrained prejudices at the ground level that might give way to sexual violence against the recruited 'women jawans'. How will the administration of the Indian Army deal with this? There needs to be strategic thinking around this  a blind implementation of a gender-blind or male-centric policy will only do more harm than good.

Most importantly, it would be wise to think about how best to change the way women are viewed during wars, and whether that would impact the recruitment plans of the Indian Army. So far, women have been dehumanised; often considered the victims of war, sometimes they even served as the spoils of war  even in wartime, women are objectified ruthlessly. The concept of gender roles is almost impossible to isolate from the domain of war  and therefore, the idea of women in war is distinctly separate from women at war. As International Relations expert Joshua Goldstein states, "Because of the feminisation of noncombat, the presence of women in combat might upset the male soldiers. Women often participate actively as codependents, so to speak, facilitating mens militarised masculinity."

Finally, I would raise the pertinent question of security of these women during wartime. In conflict zones, due to socialisation, men tend to assume the role of 'protectors' of women, as well as the role of demonstrators of power and this is where the dichotomy of "our women" and "their women" comes in, and because of this, women combatants might be victims of wartime sexual violence. A concern here is that when a nation is unable to protect women inside their homes, and is reluctant to legalise marital rape to prevent and redress crimes against women in the private sphere, will it be able to make conflict and wartime safer for women combatants? A nation that condones and normalises sexual assault by a husband or intimate partner, may also end up normalising wartime sexual violence.

Perhaps we should put our heads together and consider whether we are ready for such a bold step of recruiting women in the Indian Army? The decision maybe path-breaking from a strategic conflict perspective, but from a gendered lens, there appears to be an inherent flaw in the plan.
By Sharanya Gopinathan

Every time women make some headway into a generally male-dominated field, we all feel nice and satisfied, and the reportage around it gives us clear feel-good vibes. Like when we read about Madhya Pradeshs first female truck driver, or Lalitpurs only female tractor driver, or Karnatakas first female bus driver (yes, were seeing a weird pattern too).

Advances like these are always worthy of immediate congratulation, and a recent development in the Indian Army has garnered a lot of attention in pretty much the same way.

On 4 June, Army General Bipin Rawat said that the process to allow women in combat positions in the Indian Army is now underway  women will initially be recruited to the military police, and then into other positions. Currently, women are allowed in legal, medical, educational, signals and engineering wings of the Army, but not in active combat roles. This move is working to change that.

This move isnt totally out of the blue. Weve been hearing a lot of similar things lately. Last month, the government announced that it would raise all-woman battalions of police as a direct response to the viral images of girls throwing stones in Kashmir. On 30 December, it was reported that Karnataka would form an all-women battalion of police to deal especially with riot control. Last month saw reports that the Air Force was "wooing" women recruits with new ads.

Maybe its because I work at a feminist magazine and spend a good portion of my day trawling through the comments that misogynists leave on feminist Facebook posts, but the first thought that came to mind when I saw this new move was that Mens Rights Activists would probably be happy to hear this. Every Indian MRA has memorised a list of seven complaints to prove that the world is actually biased against men, and right after they talk about men committing suicide more often than women, and before they get to how the laws concerning evidence in rape cases are unfairly biased against them, they faithfully spout a line or two about how only men die in wars and only men are assigned to active combat duty. It wasnt just MRAs who were happy with this move: There have been think pieces written in the past lobbying for it, and the mainstream media is hailing this move as a sign of women breaking gender barriers. Nowhere is there a hint of a suggestion that this could be anything but a good thing.

But as a general rule, when a move concerning women seems like it will satisfy MRAs, its a good idea to take two steps back and think about the whole issue just a little bit deeper. And unlike the Bharat Mata Ki Jai brigade would have you believe, issues involving the army are never just plain black and white.

So can feminism and the armed forces ever go hand-in-hand? Should we celebrate it with the ease and uncomplicated feelings with which we celebrate women driving all the vehicles and going up in space?

This is where I start to feel a bit confused. While Im all for women being represented in fields that are currently dominated by men, theres a strong voice in my heart that says that war and feminism are pretty much incompatible. Some of the most basic principles of feminism are based on ideas of peace, community, cooperation, freedom, autonomy, non-violence and the breaking down of power structures. Just as importantly, wars have always had a disproportionately horrifying impact on women, and there are gruesome stories from Kashmir, Manipur, Assam, Sri Lanka, Rwanda, South Sudan, the CAR, Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan to prove it. This is not a statement without exception, but feminism is supposed to be inherently suspicious of things that bring on violence  patriarchy, jingoism, power hierarchies, militarisation.

The army, on the other hand, is designed for war  it was their original purpose and continues to be what they are trained and prepared for. Even in times of peace, they are tools in the nationalist project; another idea that doesnt bode well for women and is firmly rooted in patriarchal ideas of conquering and belonging. Like the name implies, none of the Armed Forces are peaceful bodies: from police to the para-military to the military, being in any armed force implies having violent power and control over a subject, and even when that power lies dormant or unused, the idea of someone having it at all is something that should make feminists pretty uncomfortable.

Its not like that power actually does lie unused, though. We dont like to see ourselves as a particularly militarised country, but that could just be because we like to pretend that were blind sometimes. India is extremely militarised for a democracy: The Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), which gives disproportionate powers and impunity to the army, is in place in eight states in our republic, with drastic consequences for women, including rape and murder at the hands of the army.

In India, we have a rich tradition of women spearheading movements to protest army excesses through AFSPA. The most famous were of the Manipuri Mothers, who took off their clothes in public in 2004 to stage a protest against the murder and possible rape of Thangjam Manorama, a young Manipuri woman who was murdered by the Armed Forces. Irom Sharmila went on hunger strike for over 16 years to protest AFSPA after 13 members of her village were murdered by the Armed Forces. Throughout those 16 years, she was continually arrested and force-fed through a tube shoved up her nose. In the aftermath of the December 2012 Delhi gang rape, women took to the streets of Delhi in protest against state inaction around public safety of women, where they were beaten, lathi-charged and blasted with water cannons by the police.

At this point, its doubly important to revisit the fact that violent tools of the State are not necessarily our friends. Nobody could have expected the Delhi police to turn on women protesting in the aftermath of a rape. The women of Iraq never imagined a violent invasion by the US army that led to the creation of their worst nightmare, Islamic State . The existence of armed forces is an inherent threat of violence waiting to happen against women. The Indian police, but also police worldwide, are no strangers to actively participating in violence against women, whether by tacit acceptance of the actions of others, or by actively participating in violence against women themselves. This is the truth about any armed body that imagines itself to be in the service of the state, and the army is no exception.

Of course, its a complex issue, and nothing about the military, the state and women is as cut and dried. It remains a discriminatory fact that there are no women in active combat roles in the armed forces, and its true that there are women who want to be in these roles. There are women already serving in the CRPF and police forces, for reasons from as diverse as patriotism to the prospect of a good salary and pension. We cannot say that these women are antithetical to feminism, nor is it fair to label them deluded victims of patriarchy, who dont know any better and have no agency of their own.

But when we celebrate the entry of women in the armed forces as a larger, socio-political move that is a positive step for all women, perhaps were forgetting to look at the big picture, and to think of what this means in the long term. If we take this step as a good one, what happens when we take it to its logical extreme: If we were to imagine a future 10 years from now, would we be excited to think of all-woman battalions oppressing the people of Manipur, Assam and Kashmir? The thought doesnt strike me as palatable or desirable. How does it make you feel to imagine such a future? Does it feel like were winning the battle but losing the war?

Violence, by the way, isnt purely the States domain, although the State does have legal monopoly over it. While the right-wing frequently lauds the States violence, or at least its potential violence, the left-wing is sympathetic to the violence of insurgents and rebel forces. Just like violence has different effects on different people, it takes on different meanings depending on who exercises it.

If the inherent nature of the army is violence, and if violence is something that is both incompatible with feminism and that has uniquely horrifying effects on women, what does it mean to enlist more women in such an organisation? Theres a lot here to unpack before we throw a party celebrating womens entry into this traditionally male field. Were all for women facing better employment prospects, but do we really need them to be hired as agents of violence and the patriarchy?

The Ladies Finger (TLF) is a leading online womens magazine delivering fresh and witty perspectives on politics, culture, health, sex, work and everything in between.
General Bipin Rawats statement on Sunday (4 June) that the Indian Army is all set to open up combat positions for women has been widely welcomed as a recognition of nari shakti (women power).

I am looking at women coming as jawans. I am going to start it soon. Firstly, we will start with women as military police jawans, the army chief said in an interview to PTI, giving details of the move to allow women in the male-dominated positions in the army.

In a sense, Rawat is only implementing the Narendra Modi governments decision last year to grant women the combat role in the armed forces. In fact, the implementation of the decision can be said to be quite delayed as more than a year ago, in February 2016 to be precise, President Pranab Mukherjee  who is also the supreme commander of the Indian armed forces  had told Parliament in his pre-budget address that the government would recruit women for combat roles across the military. My government has approved the induction of women as short-service commission officers and as fighter pilots in the Indian Air Force. In future, my government will induct women in all the fighter streams of our armed forces, he had said, adding in our country shakti, which means power, is the manifestation of female energy. This shakti defines our strength.

However, before describing Rawats or for that matter the Modi governments move as a radical one that will lead to gender parity in what is essentially the worlds most male-dominated profession, a reality check is in order. Women were first inducted into the Indian Armed Services way back in 1927 as nurses (military nursing service). Then they entered as doctors (medical officers). It was only in 1992 that the women entered other branches in the armed services, but mostly under Short Service Commissions (SSC), for 10 years, with a possible four-year extension if they so chose.

The Permanent Commissions (PC) for the women officers that exist at the moment include the armed forces medical services, legal and education corps in the three services, the accounts branch of the air force, and the traffic controllers in the navy.

However, following the Delhi High Court order in March 2010, the Indian Air Force has granted PC to 22 SSC women officers as a one-time exception. In other services, the question of PC to women officers is pending before the Supreme Court. Overall, in both the SSC and PC, the women officers constitute about 5 percent in our armed forces  around 3.5 percent in the army, 4 percent in the navy and 10 percent in the air force. It seems that the air force is little bit more liberal compared to its sister services, be it in the number of women recruited or the nature of roles offered to them. Last year, the IAF became the first service to offer three women officers (Avani Chaturvedi, Bhawana Kanth and Mohana Singh) combat roles as fighter pilots on an experimental basis; if found successful performance-wise during evaluation, more women fighter pilots will be inducted into our squadrons. As it is, the IAF already has quite a few women pilots to fly helicopter and transport aircraft.

In other words, unlike the IAF, the Indian Army and the Indian Navy do not give their women officers combat-roles as yet. The army chiefs recent statement does not alter this situation as he says to start the trend at non-officer level  at the level of military-police jawan. In the navy, women officers are not posted in submarines and battle ships.

There have been three basic reasons that have been often cited against offering women officers combat roles. First, it is said that because of physical or biological reasons, women officers cannot sustain the rigour or enduring powers required in the rough terrains of the battlefields. Being smaller and lighter than their male counterparts, these women officers have almost half the latter's upper body strength and 25-30 percent less aerobic capacity. Besides, the female skeletal system is more prone to fractures. Psychologically more kind-hearted and compromising, the women fighters cannot take tough decisions easily, particularly while dealing with ground forces as fighter pilots (bombing them for instance). They also need more space and privacy (separate toilets and sleeping arrangements) which can be premium, particularly in platforms like submarines.

Secondly, it has been seen that most women officers like peace-time postings with their families. They need more leaves from duty to attend to the ailing family elders and childrens education, let alone the normal maternity leaves from time to time (we do not have the system that prevails in some countries that prohibit their women officers to have babies while performing the combat-roles). That is why, so this line of argument goes, women officers in our armed services should be in roles that do not require physical hardships such as commanding troops, flying fighter jets and manning battle ships and submarines. Instead, they can do more meaningful roles as nurses, doctors, engineers, architects, intelligence officers, cyber experts and legal officers, roles that are as important as the combat ones for the armed forces.

Thirdly, and this is the most important argument against women combatants, is their possible physical abuse or molestation by the enemy in case they are wounded or taken as prisoners. Even otherwise, as the American example proves (the women constitute more than 20 percent of the total strength of the American forces), those women in the combat roles often complain of sexual abuses by their male colleagues, evident from the rising cases of such complaints in military tribunals and courts.

But then, on the other side, there have been compelling arguments why women must not be deprived of the combat roles. During the World War II, the then Soviet Union employed thousands of women officers inside even the battle tanks. In any case, there are at least 25 countries, many of them advanced like the United States, Canada, Germany, Australia, South Africa and Israel and Russia, which formally permit women in combat positions. Even Pakistan allows women as fighter pilots.

Similarly, it is argued that the question of women being brutalised if captured cannot be overstretched (even though in many cases it is true) as todays women officers opting for combat roles know what their challenges are and they are prepared for all eventualities as long as they do not affect their resolve or the primary objective of overpowering the enemies. We have in this regard an excellent book Band of Sisters: American Women at War in Iraq (2007) by Kirsten Holmstedt; the book has 12 stories of American women on the front line including America's first female pilot to be shot down and survive, and a 21-year-old turret gunner. The book concludes that women combatants can rise to any occasion like their male counterparts.

It may be noted in this context that it is not necessary that every officer allowed combat roles actually fights. As Major General Raj Mehta (retd), one of our thinking veterans, says, It seems obtuse and archaic to demand that both sexes should be tested by the same yardsticks and female physiology remain the overriding factor in determining womens combat worth. In an Indian tank regiment of around 650, for instance, only about 200 soldiers actually enter combat as tank crews; with another approximately 200 involved in supporting tasks where the risk of close combat is lesser though still real. That leaves about 250 soldiers who, though in the combat zone, will rarely be involved with war-fighting. The implication is clear; women pitched into a combat zone do not have to be like the boys.

Viewed against the above arguments and counter-arguments, it can be said that Rawats statement on Sunday or President Mukherjees assertion last year does not mean that combat positions in the country are going to be flooded with women, particularly when their number is minuscule in the Indian Armed Forces. But the move by the Modi government reflect that there is an attempt to change the mindset among the rank and file of the armed forces, raised with a history of caution and conservatism, in favour of gender sensitisation.
It is tempting to treat the purported call of Zakir Musa  former Hizbul Mujahideen militant and now someone trying hard to give the trouble in Kashmir a strictly Islamic colour  to the Muslims of India to launch jihad against cow vigilantes with some disdain. After all, the Muslim community in India has shown no inclination to be swayed by such calls earlier and Musa is too insignificant a character to influence its opinion.

His exhortation that the conflict in Kashmir be treated as a religious, not political, one has met with rebuff from all important stakeholders in the Valley including the Hurriyat and even the militant outfit Hizbul to which he originally belonged. His traction among local Kashmiris is limited, forget his power to make the community respond to him across the country.

But then his call should be approached with care. He nuances it with emphasis on gau rakshaks. He makes a general call for fight against infidels but stresses more on Muslims getting united to fight back tormentors. He does not make it sound like a war cry against the governments recent policy on cattle. He mentions the amount of blood being spilled in the name of protection of the cow and exhorts the community to exact revenge. He appears to be trying to exploit the anger against the action of cow vigilantes against Muslims and garnishes with a few other stray incidents where Muslims have been victims.

He could be laughed off but there can be no denying that the cow vigilantes have provided those trying to instigate the community into violent action a potent handle. The government looking the other way as the former continue unhindered with no sense of fear only aggravates the matter. The situation can get particularly volatile in places like Kashmir where resentment against the government runs high. Militants desperately trying to give the conflict the shape of a religious war may make cow their rallying call. Its ironical, but the humble cow could become the greatest polarising agent in the country, the most unusual source of a potential vicious cycle of violence.

The point here is not to draw an apocalyptic picture based on the four-minute audio message attributed to Musa but to highlight the possible dangerous repercussions of the activities of the cow vigilantes. Musa makes his intention clear when he says Muslims should be ashamed of their cowardice and their refusal to raise their voice against injustice. The actions of cow vigilantes and the states reluctance to rein them amplifies the aspect of injustice and unfairness. When a community as a whole is convinced that it is being treated unfairly, the reaction could be explosive. Musas message is aimed at pushing them towards that feeling. There could be others following him soon.

Its clear that no one loves those cow protectors. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself has called most of them anti-social elements who commit crimes all night and don the garb of gau rakshaks in the day. Not many right-wingers see these people as healthy for the ideological cause. But the general repulsion against them has not resulted any visible tough action. From Akhlaq in Dadri to Pehlu Khan in Alwar they continue their vigilantism. The aim of which is not necessarily protection of cow but intimidation of the minority community. Does anybody really want them to flourish? Well, if theres a larger design it is not discernible yet.

But if the government is really serious about controlling them, it should send the message loud and clear. Theres anger in the Muslim community. It is better it is not allowed to take a dangerous turn. Otherwise, people like Musa would step in to fish in troubled waters.
The Zika virus, a public heath emergency that continues to grow, has the potential to cause widespread harm to the health of people in affected areas. India has been upgraded to a country where there is "ongoing transmission that is no longer in the new or re-introduction phase but where there is no evidence of interruption", from one which only has the vector with no current transmission, in the WHO Zika database, triggering the need for thorough investigation as most cases remain asymptomatic, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned.

The WHO Zika situation report reclassified India as category two  "area either with evidence of virus circulation before 2015 or area with ongoing transmission that is no longer in the new or re-introduction phase, but where there is no evidence of interruption"  on 24 May from category four  "area with established competent vector but no known documented past or current transmission"  on 13 April.

"Following the first case, India immediately strengthened surveillance, testing thousands of blood samples and detected two more Zika cases,"

"One has to investigate thoroughly to find cases since most infections go unnoticed since they are asymptomatic in four out of five people with Zika virus," Monika Gehner, technical officer, Zika emergency risk communications at WHO's headquarters told Firstpost in an email interview.

"WHO has been anticipating, and repeatedly stated in its situation reports, that all countries with Aedes mosquitoes are potentially at risk for local mosquito-borne Zika virus transmission," Gehner added.

Zika, that spreads through mosquito bites from the aggressive Aedes aegypti  which also causes dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever and West Nile virus  or through sexual transmission, travelled to more than 50 countries and territories last year. In a relatively short span of time, it dramatically changed its profile from a benign disease, that has been around for long, to an alarming one by its association with birth defects.

"WHO strongly encourages all countries with Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, whether they ever had Zika virus transmission or not, to enhance early warning systems for Zika and related severe neurological complications," she added.

The Indian government has reported three laboratory-confirmed cases of Zika virus disease in the Ahmedabad district of Gujarat last month.

Although the first case was detected in November last year, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare notified the United Nations (UN) health agency on 15 May, 2017.

A report in The Hindu states that the 'Vibrant Gujarat Summit was a factor in the decision to keep the Zika incidence under wraps.'

"Going in, the government could not have known that the cases won't rise. We reached out to the Health Ministry the day that question was raised in Parliament. It took two months to get the data from the government," the report said, quoting a senior official from WHO's South East Asia office.

However, the Union ministry has maintained that the reason to not go public with the Zika cases was to avoid panic, and also because the numbers did not rise.

Under the International Health Regulations (IHR) of 2005, a legal instrument that is binding on all WHO member states, governments are required to notify WHO of events related to Zika and related complications.

According to IHR, countries must report to the UN of a public health event that meets any two of the following four criteria, regardless of whether there is a declared 'public health emergency of international concern' by the WHO or not: Is the public health impact of the event serious; is the event unusual or unexpected; is there any significant risk of international spread; is there any significant risk of international travel or trade restrictions.

Zika was declared a public heath emergency of international concern by the WHO for eight months from February last year due to its rapid spread and the relation between Zika and the birth defect known as microcephaly triggering travel alerts, especially for expectant mothers.

The United States Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently said that one in 10 pregnant women with Zika infection had a fetus or baby with Zika-related complications in 2016.

For instance, microcephaly  a condition in which the baby's head is much smaller than normal, often causing severe developmental delays  "occurred about 33 times as often in pregnancies with Zika infections than in the pre-Zika years".

But this is not the only birth abnormality associated with the Zika virus. Last year, the CDC made a list that includes microcephaly, neural tube defects and spina bifida, cataracts and optic nerve abnormalities (among other eye defects), and dysfunctions of the central nervous system, including the Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), where the body's immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system.

More alarmingly, the effects of the virus is sometimes not evident at birth and may develop later for which the United States' national health agency recommends that infected pregnant women should get screened, which includes brain imaging with an ultrasound or a CT scan  these brain defects are sometimes detected around 18 to 20 weeks, and often much later than that. This has re-ignited debates on the legality of abortion at late stages of pregnancy.

During the Zika outbreak in the United States last year, such was the alert level that the United States government had advised that men who have been exposed to the virus use a condom if they have a pregnant partner or abstain from sex altogether, during the entire duration of pregnancy.

The three cases that have been notified by the Indian government includes the case of a 22-year-old pregnant woman in her 37th week of pregnancy, a 34-year-old woman who tested positive after the delivery of her child and a 64-year-old man.

According to a study by the Science magazine, exposure to dengue virus increases the likelihood of getting a Zika infection.

Even though the virus has been detected in India since the 1950's, there was no laboratory confirmed case until now.

"What any country that has got the Aedes and within the dengue belt should be concerned about is the possibility of the Zika virus arriving and that is what surveillance should be for, that is, the Zika virus arriving," Bruce Aylward, WHO's assistant director-general, warned governments of the dengue regions last year, at a press conference in Geneva.

"If there is Zika then they should be putting in place the capacity to detect any change in the neurological conditions that have been temporally or geographically associated with it in other areas," he added.
New Delhi: JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav condemned alleged firing on farmers in Madhya Pradesh, which left at least two persons dead, and accused the BJP government of treating peasants as "enemies and terrorists".

He said that the farmers in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh have been demanding fair price and loan waiver for the last few days but state governments had remained unmoved.

"Instead of giving them solace, the government has attacked farmers agitating for genuine demands. Situation is that the Madhya Pradesh government has disconnected the cell phone and internet connections. It shows that the ruling party is treating farmers as enemy and terrorists which is regrettable," the JD(U) leader said.

Five persons were killed Tuesday as the farmers' agitation turned violent in Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh, prompting the authorities to clamp curfew in the trouble-hit area.

Some eyewitnesses alleged that the victims suffered bullet wounds, but Mandsaur district authorities denied that police fired on the protesters, who were on a rampage.

Attacking the BJP, Yadav said before coming to power at the Centre the party had assured farmers that it will pay them 50 percent more minimum support price (MSP) than the cost of production but the fact is that they continue to sell their produce at much less, even less than the MSP.

Suicide by farmers have increased sharply in the last three years especially in Maharashtra, he said, adding that it went up 41 percent in 2015.

"At this moment of tragedy I can only advise the government to change its style of functioning and be careful for the welfare and interest of farmers as three years of its rule have been very depressing for them," Yadav said.

The government should give remunerative prices to farmers for their produce, he said.
The CBI raids on NDTV network's co-founder Prannoy Roy's premises is reminiscent of the Emergency days, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Tuesday.

In a statement issued in Thiruvananthapuram, Vijayan said the CBI raids at the residences of Prannoy Roy and his wife Radhika Roy were a ploy by the Narendra Modi government to "silence and scare those against the Centre".

"The central government is using the enforcement agencies and the CBI to wreak vengeance and it reminds me of what happened during the Emergency days. This is a clear example of trying to gag the media and all should come out against this high-handedness," he said.

The CBI on Monday conducted raids on Roy's houses in Delhi and Mussoorie over an alleged bank loan default. Radhika Roy is the sister of CPM politburo member Brinda Karat.

On Tuesday, the Press Club of India expressed "concerns" over the raids and said that it condemned "any attempt to intimidate the media or curb its freedom".

"We express grave concern over the CBI raids on NDTV premises," PCI president Gautam Lahiri said.
Nawanshahr: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MP Prem Singh Chandumajra on Monday accused the Amarinder Singh-led Punjab government of "befooling" the people and "running away" from its poll promises.

Addressing a press conference in Nawanshahr, the Anandpur Sahib MP termed the government's decision to abolish 'kurki', a practice under which mortgaged land is auctioned to recover loans under section 67-A of the Cooperative Societies Act, 1961, as a "mere drama", claiming that the section had nothing to do with 'kurki' of land of defaulting farmers.

"Under the section, a defaulting farmer can be put behind bars directly for 40 days or till he paid his dues on the orders of a deputy registrar," he said, adding that in 1986, during his tenure as cooperative minister, he had announced that there would be no 'kurki' of farmers' lands.

A committee set up by him under the chairmanship of Manohar Singh Gill for reforms in the cooperative sector had introduced sections 63B and 63C in the act to enable the Cooperative Department to order 'kurki' of lands of those farmers, who had defaulted on payments, and the sections were being used till date for recovery of loans, said Chandumajra.

He added that if the government was really sincere in helping out the beleaguered farmers, it should have abolished these sections.

The Akali leader hit out at the chief minister for saying he would not succumb to the pressure from the media and opposition parties demanding the resignation of state cabinet minister Rana Gurjit Singh, who is facing allegations of impropriety.

He also expressed concern over the "increasing" gang wars in the state ever since the Congress came to power.

Chandumajra said the SAD-BJP combine would not allow the government to "run away" from its poll promises, "as was the case regarding farm loan waivers", and would oppose its policies and programmes by staging protests at all the district headquarters on 9 June.

This would be followed by protests by the SAD-BJP MLAs, MPs and core committee members on 14 June, when they would also meet the Governor with a charter of their demands.

If the government still did not "mend its ways", they would gherao it in the Assembly and stage protests in the Parliament, before taking to the streets, he added.
The Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting is underway at party president Sonia Gandhi's residence. The CWC is likely to "discuss organisational issues, presidential election, political situation, Opposition unity, vendetta politics by the Narendra Modi government, beef controversy and Kashmir's deteriorating situation," according to a report in ANI.

A discussion on Rahul Gandhi becoming Congress president was slated but did not take place, according to Ghulam Nabi Azad, who held a press conference.

Azad also congratulated ISRO for launch of their most powerful rocket on behalf of the CWC.

Congress sarkar ne jo sapna dekha tha ISRO ke liye wo saakaar hota dikh raha hai: GN Azad after Congress Working Committee meeting in Delhi pic.twitter.com/M21WkJ5NSG  ANI (@ANI_news) June 6, 2017

Commenting on the NDA government, Azad said, "Nothing besides fear has been witnessed during the three years of NDA government." He added, "Dalits, Scheduled Castes, and women are becoming victims of this fear. It has become difficult for girls to step out of their homes. No one received employment from the government, when it promised two crore jobs in one year. Masons, carpenters, and labourers now do not have employment, so now employment has decreased."

Sonia Gandhi, during the meet, said that the Modi government wanted to eliminate the "essence of India."

We must be ready to protect the idea and essence of India, which this government is seeking to extinguish: Sonia Gandhi in CWC meet  ANI (@ANI_news) June 6, 2017

Gandhi also stated that the NDA government had been successful because of UPA's policies.
New Delhi: The CPM politburo on Tuesday discussed the issue of party general secretary Sitaram Yechury's re-election to the Rajya Sabha, with its Kerala unit members opposing the pitch for the same by their West Bengal counterparts, sources in the Left party said.

The politburo is currently in session.

Yechury is a two-time Rajya Sabha MP. His current tenure will end in August. As per the CPM convention, a person is not sent to the Upper House of Parliament for more than two terms.

The Marxist leader himself had said that he will follow the norm concerned.

The West Bengal unit of the Left party though in its meeting held on 2 June decided to write to the party's central committee seeking a third term for Yechury. "The issue came up for discussion, but there was no conclusion reached. The Kerala unit was opposed to the idea," a source in the party said.

Six Rajya Sabha MPs from Bengal will retire in July. As per the strength of the parties in the Assembly, the TMC can send five MPs and Congress one to the Rajya Sabha.

The Congress though has said that it is ready to give up the seat to CPI(M) only if Yechury contested it, sources in the Left party said.

The CPM-led Left Front has 32 MLAs in the West Bengal Assembly, the Congress has 44 and the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) has 211.
Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat has found an unlikely adversary in former general secretary of CPM Prakash Karat.

The Indian Armed Forces are considered to be one of the most professional forces and have stood the test of time for political neutrality and bravery. The CPM, however, thinks otherwise.

An editorial published in the latest issue of Peoples Democracy, understandably written by its editor Prakash Karat, blasts the serving army chief for alleged "blind adherence" to civilian government and comes out with a verdict that the Indian Army under the current dispensation "has let down the high professional standards of the army" and predicts that "the army itself will suffer irreparable damage".

The tone and tenor of the editorial is insulting and demoralising to the army, to say the least. The editorial published with the headline 'Damaging the Army Image' should be taken as the official line of the party.

Karat's disparaging remarks on the Indian Army and condemnation of Major Nitin Leetul Gogoi's action in Kashmir becomes significant considering he is a top-ranking leader of the CPM, a party which is among the seven national parties and that rules two states in the country. His or the party's remarks can't just pass as an irresponsible statement of a Left group.

The editorial begins with a definitive depreciative statement against the army chief: "The remarks made in an interview by the Army Chief of Staff, General Bipin Rawat, about dealing with civilian protestors in Kashmir exemplifies all that is wrong with the way the Modi government is dealing with the situation there."

It looks as though the CPM's anger stems from the fact that the army is not looking kindly at stone-pelters in Kashmir Valley when they come out in large numbers to obstruct the security forces action against terrorist. The Left parties have been supportive of the Hurriyat, but the separatists don't share the same sentiments towards the Left leaders. In September last year, Hurriyat hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani refused to meet CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury and CPI leader D Raja, who had come with a few other people. They were turned away from the gates of Geelani's home in Srinagar. The Left leaders swallowed their pride but continued to bat for the separatists.

The content of CPM's editorial will be music to Pakistan's ears and will probably be a talking point. The CPM leaders, however, are aware of the potential damage their thought process or their written words against the nation's army can cause. The armed forces in Kashmir Valley are faced with the most difficult challenge and despite provocations of all kinds, from Pakistan-sponsored stone-pelters, they have shown exemplary restraint.

In the face of a volatile mob of stone-pelters, Major Gogoi's split-second decision to tie an alleged stone-pelter over the bonnet of a jeep and drive away to protect the lives of a number of poll officials, paramilitary and military personnel, without firing a bullet drew praise from some quarters. Gogoi had to face police and military inquiry. While the controversy around the incident was still raging, the army chief decided to honour him and thereby, restored the morale of Gogoi and the rest of the Indian army. The decision was welcomed by many as it signaled that the army and the government have decided to discard the kid gloves while dealing with stone-pelters.

The CPM, however, termed Gogoi's action as "shocking", "wrongful" and "serious violation".

Pointing at Rawat's quote  This is a proxy war... It is played in a dirty way... That is where innovation comes. You fight a dirty war with innovation  the CPM editorial states: "The way Farooq Ahmad Dar, who had gone to vote in the Srinagar bypoll, was caught and tied to a jeep as a deterrent to stone pelters was a shocking incident. The army chief of staff, by commending this act, has let down the high professional standards of the army."

The Left front ideologue didn't have a word to say about the most compelling circumstances under which Gogoi had to take the unconventional step. It looks as though the Left parties think that the Kashmiri protestors have the right to pelt stones, make life threatening moves but the armed forces are bound by ethics, and cannot take action even in self-defence.

Karat is also agitated over Rawat's warning that the army would treat all those who do not support army operations or obstruct them during encounters as overground workers of terrorists. For CPM, Rawat's assertion that it was easier for the army to deal with those who had taken weapon against it than those pelting stones as the army knows how to deal with terrorists, is "needless provocation" and "displays an attitude which is unbecoming of a senior army officer." For the CPM, the violence in Kashmir perpetrated by terrorists and stone-pelters is not an anti-national act, but part of political protest.

CPM's criticism of the army chief aside, it is critical that the Narendra Modi government and the armed forces are on the same page while dealing with the situation in Kashmir.

"Unfortunately, the army chief is reflecting the views of the Modi government which seeks to suppress the people of Kashmir, who are voicing their political protest, through the sole reliance on use of force. Not only the people of Kashmir but the army itself will suffer irreparable damage due to the governments blind adherence to the use of coercive force against the civilian population," the editorial says.

The CPM perhaps does not realise the consequences of a situation when the armed forces start defying the civilian government. Pakistan should come as ready reference to CPM on that count. But the party leaders are so blinded by their distaste for the Modi government at the Centre that it does not mind berating the Indian Army.
Political equations between Lieutenant-Governor Kiran Bedi and Chief Minister V Narayanasamy in Puducherry have been tense for a while now.

In January this year, Congress and DMK MLAs demanded that the Centre recall Bedi, accusing her having a "dictatorial" style of functioning which bypassed the elected legislature.

Bedi had last month met Home Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi and apprised him of the "constraints" she faced in serving the Union Territory.

Last year, Bedi had threatened to quit and leave the Union Territory if there was no improvement in the situation.

But what began the latest open conflict between Bedi and Narayanasamy was the issue of post-graduate medical courses in Puducherry.

Bedi had on 30 May conducted a surprise inspection of the counselling process by the Centralised Admission Committee in Puducherry and directed officials to ensure that 50 percent of seats available under government quota were filled and not given to private colleges or under all-India quota.

After that, Narayanasamy had last week criticised Bedi for her directions to officials involved in the ongoing counselling process for post-graduate medical courses and had accused her of adopting a "misleading approach" on the matter.

Making a statement in the state Assembly on 2 June, he had alleged that Bedi was criticising ministers and officials on social media and that she should stop making "derogatory remarks".

This row intensified on Monday as Bedi asked whether Narayanasamy wanted a rubber stamp or a responsible administrator for the post of lieutenant-governor whereas the chief minister accused Bedi of paralysing the administration.

"The chief minister desired a lieutenant-governor who is a mere endorser and a person who may let wrongs happen even when people are suffering injustice," PTI quoted Bedi as saying. "He wants a lieutenant-governor who is just an onlooker and passes time and enjoys benefits of expensive establishment called Raj Nivas without meeting people or questioning officers and would do what he tells even in writing," she said in a Whatsapp message in a group comprising media persons and eminent personalities.

"People are crying for justice, students and parents are crying for admissions as per the orders of Government of India and higher judiciary," she said, asking who would hear them and speak for them.

She said Raj Nivas was now becoming their last hope.

"Does he want a rubber stamp or a responsible administrator?" she said.

Later on Monday, members belonging to the ruling Congress, the DMK and the opposition AIADMK (Amma) alleged in the Puducherry Assembly that Bedi had been making unbridled comments against the ministry, officials and legislators.

They asked the chief minister to ensure that effective steps were taken to end the trend of the lieutenant-governor criticising the elected representatives.

R Siva (DMK) and Government Whip RKR Anandaraman drew the attention of the House to the "objectionable" comments of the lieutenant-governor and referred to the WhatsApp message.

Welfare Minister M Kandasamy said, "Bedi has been intolerant towards the elected ministry."

"She is projecting herself as a mouthpiece of the BJP."

"Nothing could be done by government ever since she became the lieutenant-governor," the minister claimed.

He also appealed to Speaker V Vaithilingam to arrange for a joint meeting of all Puducherry MLAs with the president, prime minister and Union home minister to apprise them of the "hurdles" Bedi has been creating in smooth functioning of the government.

Responding to the MLAs' views, Narayanasamy said it was indeed "disturbing that Bedi has been making "uncontrolled comments against the ministry, officials and legislators."

"She is paralysing the work of the elected ministry in Puducherry," he said.

Several important decisions of the Cabinet were left hanging following the return of files by the lieutenant-governor, he added.

Narayanasamy said no official should hereafter accompany Bedi during her weekend visits to constituencies without getting prior permission from the concerned ministers.

"I would only appeal to the legislators to picket the lieutenant-governor whenever she comes to their constituencies without intimating them," he said, maintaining that she was "only after publicity" by making such visits.

He took strong exception to Bedi "trying to paint a bad image about the government among the public".

He also read out statutory provisions to drive home the point that a lieutenant-governor can only aid and advise elected ministry and could not overstep her limits on any count.

Opposition AINRC member NSJ Jayabal, however, said the "whole chaos in the government has arisen because of failure of the elected ministry to do administrative works properly."

This irked Naryanasamy who levelled allegations against the previous AINRC government and asked Jayabal to come out with firm evidence before finding fault with the government.

When the chief minister was criticising Bedi, AIADMK (Amma) legislature party leader A Anbalagan wanted a resolution to be passed to recall her.

Siva wanted the speaker to adjourn the proceedings and adopt a resolution urging the Centre to intervene and punish Bedi.

Vaithilingam asked members to first prepare the resolution and place it on the table of the House.

With inputs from PTI
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday accused the Centre of waging a war against the country's farmers.

"In Bharatiya Janata Party's new India, our farmers get bullets when they ask for their rights. This government is at war with the farmers of our country," Gandhi tweeted.

Gandhi's comments came after two farmers were killed and several others injured in Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur district, in alleged police firing on protesting farmers. The farmers were demanding loan waivers and fair prices for their produce.

Late on Monday night, protesting farmers in Mandsaur district tried to break the gates of a railway crossing and disrupt rail traffic as part of their protest.

According to eyewitnesses, the police opened fire when the protesting farmers indulged in stone-pelting.

Meanwhile, the farmers' strike in Madhya Pradesh continued for the sixth day on Tuesday, affecting supplies of milk and vegetables across the state.
The Congress on Tuesday accused the Narendra Modi government of "crushing voices of dissent" and attacked it over its performance in the last three years, calling it a "hero on TV and zero on the ground".

Briefing reporters after a meeting of the Congress Working Committee, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said the government had failed to fulfil its promises to various sections, including the youth and farmers.

He alleged that government machinery was being used to "silence voices of dissent".

"Whether it is political parties, print media or electronic media, the government does not respect voices of dissent. It seems it does not respect democracy," Azad said.

The meeting of CWC, which is the highest decision-making body of the Congress, was chaired by Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Azad, who was accompanied by Congress leaders Mukul Wasnik, AK Antony and P Chidambaram, said the government may celebrate its three years and congratulate itself on television, but its performance has been disappointing.

"This is a government of slogans and publicity. It is a hero on TV and zero on the ground," Azad said.

He said there was an atmosphere of fear among the Dalits, Scheduled Tribes, minorities and weaker sections.

"Even the media which does not toe the government line, how it has been dealt with, we saw yesterday," Azad said.

He was referring to CBI searches on Monday at the house of NDTV network's co-founder Prannoy Roy for allegedly causing financial losses to a private bank.

"Yesterday, we were seeing shamelessness. People have vanished with thousands of crores of bank money, what happened in Rs 50 crore that the government got rattled?" Azad said.

The CBI had registered a case against Roy, his wife Radhika, a private company and conducted searches at his south Delhi residence and his house in Dehradun for "loss of Rs 48 crore to ICICI Bank".

Azad alleged that women did not feel safe in the country. He said BJP leaders had talked of generating two crore employment opportunities every year, but youth were actually losing jobs.

He said farmers had been promised minimum support price that was 50 percent over the input cost.

"The promises have proved to be false," he said, adding that a large number of farmers commit suicide every year in the country.
New Delhi: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi is likely to be elevated as party chief at the culmination of party's organisatonal polls in October, party sources said on Tuesday.

They said Congress president Sonia Gandhi may step down ahead of Rahul's likely elevation.

The party on Tuesday released a schedule for the organisational elections which entail election of Congress president by 15 October.

The schedule was released after a meeting of Congress Working Committee (CWC), the highest decision-making body of the party.

The Congress had deferred the organisational elections after Sonia's five-year term as party chief ended in 2015.

Sonia became party chief in 1998 and is the longest-serving party president.

There have been demands from within the party that Rahul, who became its vice-president in 2013, should take over party reigns from his mother Sonia.

But the Congress faced a series of electoral reverses after its debacle in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, in which Rahul was the party's lead campaigner.

Even as the party has faced mounting electoral challenges, its poor electoral run has led to repeated speculation about the timing of Rahul's elevation.

Party sources said Rahul's likely elevation will mark a generational change as it prepares for the the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

The likely elevation will be weeks before the Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat where the Congress faces tough challenge from the BJP.

The sources said the likely elevation at the end of organisational elections will also fit in with Rahul's emphasis on fostering internal democracy in the party. Sonia has also been dealing with some health issues of late.

In her remarks at the CWC meeting here, Sonia said the ongoing organisational elections must be completed with utmost speed and sincerity.

According to the election schedule, Congress membership drive has be completed by 15 May and election of presidents of booth committees by 20 August.

Elections of block Congress chiefs, members of district congress committees and members of pradesh congress committees has to be concluded by 4 September.

The elections of president, vice-president, treasurer and executive panel of district congress committees has to be completed by 15 September and that of these posts in the pradesh congresss committees (PCC) by 15 October.

Elections of All India Congress Committee members by the respective PCCs and of the Congress president also has to be concluded by 15 October.

According to the schedule, members of the CWC will be elected by AICC members at the party plenary, for which dates will be decided later.
New Delhi: The Congress Working Committee, the highest decision-making body of the party, will meet in New Delhi on Tuesday where it is likely to discuss the current political situation in the country and the issue of forging a larger opposition unity.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi will chair the meeting which will be held at her residence. She had skipped the last meeting which was chaired by Rahul Gandhi.

Meeting after a gap of seven months, senior members of the CWC are likely to discuss the raging issue of cow vigilantism and also the declining economic condition, party sources said.

They said the CWC is expected to ratify the schedule for organisational polls. According to the schedule, the next Congress president has to be elected by 15 October.

The CWC is meeting at a time when the Congress is seeking to unite opposition parties ahead of the presidential election.

It wants a broad coalition of opposition parties in place ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to take on the BJP. The BJP and its allies have gained in strength since the Narendra Modi government was formed in May 2014.

The CWC members had in November unanimously expressed "strong sentiment" for Rahul's elevation for the first time and may take it further. At the 7 November meeting, all members, including former prime minister Manmohan Singh and senior leader AK Antony, had made a strong pitch for Rahul to take over the reins of the party.

The Congress president has created a record by being at the helm of the 130-year-old organisation for nearly two decades since late Sitaram Kesri's ouster by the CWC in early 1998.

Rahul was appointed party vice president in January 2013 at Congress's brainstorming session in Jaipur.
Chennai: In an escalation of differences in the ruling AIADMK (Amma), its Deputy General Secretary TTV Dinakaran on Monday questioned the diktat of Chief Minister K Palaniswami's camp that he keep away from party work.

Finance Minister D Jayakumar, representing the Palaniswami camp, which had revolted against Dinakaran and jailed party chief VK Sasikala in April, asked the deputy chief to keep away from the party affairs.

However, Dinakaran, who has come out on bail in the EC bribery case last week, shot back asking who gave them the authority and said only the party general secretary had the powers to remove office-bearers.

Jayakumar was reacting to Dinakaran's assertion last week that he will continue party work, in contrast to his announcement in April after the revolt by the ministers that he would keep away from the party.

It was the party's unanimous view to hold on to its stand of having no dealings with Dinakaran, Sasikala and their associates, he told reporters in Chennai.

Earlier, Dinakaran, called on Sasikala, serving term in the disproportionate assets case, at the Parappana Agrahara prison in Bengaluru.

"Dinakaran today met Sasikala at our prison. However, I do not have any information about what transpired between the two leaders," a Parapanna Agrahara prison official told PTI.

A close associate of Dinakaran, however, said the leader discussed the current developments within the party with Sasikala.

Before proceeding to meet her, Dinakaran in Hosur, bordering Karnataka, repeated his earlier claim that the ministers had revolted against him out of some fears.

On his return from Bengaluru, he said that Sasikala asked him to wait for two months to see if the ministers could facilitate a patch-up as assured by them with the rebel group led by O Panneerselvam.

Jayakumar said Dinakaran should stick to the assurance he had made in April to keep away from party.

"We are firm, and we are clear. We have no truck with him, we are not dependent on him," he said.

He said Dinakaran, Sasikala or their associates were not "in the background. He (Dinakaran) should stick to his stand that he will keep away from party," Jayakumar said.

Hitting back, Dinakaran asked "I don't know who gave the authority (to ask him to keep off) to those 20-30 ministers." He mocked at Jayakumar for taking up "sky-high" powers of the party general secretary.

He said only the party general secretary had the power to remove office-bearers. Since she was imprsioned, the next in command (deputy general secretary) was he and he has the powers to do so.

Jayakumar, flanked by ministers including KA Sengottaiyan, said top party functionaries and ministers held deliberations following Dinakaran's repeated assertions to continue party work after he returned from a Delhi prison.

Questing Jayakumar and other ministers, Dinakaran said by two months, Sasikala told him that both factions would come forward to work under the "general secretary," if they realised the "true situation" and when their "fear" faded.

"I have accepted it and decided to wait for two months," he said, adding Sasikala had told him what to do just in case things did not fall in place by sixty days.

Dinakaran said when the ministers in April had announced that they were "keeping him out of party," it was said by them that only then it would help the patch-up bid.

The leader, who was arrested by CBI for his alleged attempt to bribe Election officials to get the AIADMK symbol, said he agreed to keep off to help the ministers work for a merger.

"Even after 45 days there is no development. Everyday, they (both factions led by K Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam) are attacking each other in the media and causing set back to the party and the government," he said.

He reiterated that the ministers were acting out of fear, adding only time will tell what those fears were.

Jayakumar, however, said, "We (Chief Minister and Ministers) are leading Amma (Jayalalithaa) government without anybody being in the background and there is no doubt about it."

Though he affirmed that "no party leader will meet Dhinakaran," some ruling party MLAs were seen with him during his Bengaluru visit.
Belgian police arrested 12 people in a series of raids across Brussels on Tuesday over suspected links to the March 2016 attacks on the capital, prosecutors said.

Police searched 14 properties across the city and took the suspects for "thorough questioning", the federal prosecutor's office said.

The arrests were "within the framework of the inquiry" into the attacks on Zavantem Airport and the Maalbeek metro station in which 32 people were killed and more than 200 injured, the prosecutor's office said in statement.

"The investigative judge shall decide in the next few hours on their possible further detention," it said.

The Brussels suicide bombings, which were claimed by the Islamic State group, were carried out by a jihadist cell that was also behind the November 2015 terror attacks in Paris.

Tuesday's arrests come just four days after the brother of Oussama Atar, the fugitive suspected plotter of the Paris and Brussels attacks, was charged with leadership of a terrorist group.
By Estelle Shirbon and Antonella Cinelli

| LONDON/ROME

LONDON/ROME British police on Tuesday named the third of the jihadis who killed seven people in a knife and van attack in London, and an Italian investigative source said he had been flagged to Britain as a potential risk after moving to England last year.The fallout from the attack has eclipsed other issues in the British political campaign ahead of Thursday's parliamentary election, with both the ruling Conservatives and opposition Labour Party battling to defend their records on security.In particular, the revelation that at least one of the attackers, Khuram Butt, was known to security services has raised concerns that they lack the resources to prevent attacks.Butt, a 27-year-old British national born in Pakistan, had appeared in a British TV documentary broadcast last year called "The Jihadis Next Door".Saturday night's rampage, in which three men drove into pedestrians on London Bridge before slitting throats and stabbing people in the bustling Borough Market area, was Britain's third Islamist attack in as many months.British police said the third assailant was Youssef Zaghba, 22, and that he had not been a subject of interest for them or the MI5 domestic intelligence agency.An investigative source told Reuters in Rome that Zaghba, who had a Moroccan father and Italian mother, had been stopped at Bologna airport in 2016 on suspicion of being on his way to Syria, and carrying material about Islamic extremism on an electronic device.A second source said Italian authorities had flagged him up to British authorities after he moved to England last year.Zaghba had lived in Morocco for much of his life but had made short visits to Italy to see his mother in Bologna.POLLS NARROWING

As details about the jihadists have emerged, Prime Minister Theresa May has faced questions about her record of overseeing cuts to police numbers when she was interior minister.The latest opinion poll on voting intentions, by Survation for ITV, had the Conservatives' lead over Labour narrowing to just one point from six points in the same poll a week earlier.

The prevailing view among pollsters remains that May's party, who have been in government since 2010, will win a majority. But a campaign email signed by May told Conservative supporters: "With the polls tightening and with just two days to go until polling day, we need to go all out with one final push."Less than two weeks before the London Bridge attack, a suicide bomber had killed 22 adults and children at a pop concert in Manchester and, in March, five people died after a car was driven into pedestrians on London's Westminster Bridge.Police had already named Butt and Rachid Redouane, a 30-year-old who claimed to be Moroccan and Libyan, as two of the London Bridge attackers. Butt, Redouane and Zaghba were shot dead at the scene of the attack by officers within eight minutes of police receiving the first emergency call.The first of the dead to be named were Canadian Christine Archibald and Britons James McMullan and Kirsty Boden. The 48 injured included people from Britain, France, Spain, Australia and New Zealand.Boden's family issued a statement on Tuesday, saying she had been a nurse and had tried to help the injured:

"As she ran towards danger, in an effort to help people on the bridge, Kirsty sadly lost her life."A minute of silence was held nationwide at 11 a.m. to honour all the victims.MAY V CORBYN

Before the recent attacks, Brexit and domestic issues such as the state of the health service and the cost of care for the elderly had dominated the election campaign.When May called the election in April, her Conservatives led in opinion polls by 20 points or more.But an announcement - made before the Manchester and London Bridge attacks - that they planned to make some of the elderly pay more for their care saw that lead start to shrink, and the trend has continued. Surveys now put the Conservatives ahead by between one and 12 points.

Security has become the number one issue and both main parties issued statements on Tuesday portraying their own positions on policing and intelligence as the most robust.As interior minister from 2010 to 2016, May oversaw a drop of 20,000 in the number of police officers in England and Wales, which Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said should never have happened and warranted her resignation.But the MI5 domestic intelligence service has seen its budget increase and has plans to expand to 5,000 officers from 4,000 over the next five years, MI5 chief Andrew Parker said last year.Corbyn himself has faced repeated questioning over his own past views and actions on security matters. He has been criticised for voting against counter-terrorism legislation and expressing reservations about police responding to attacks with "shoot-to-kill" tactics. Since the attack, he has said he fully supported the actions of the police.Corbyn has also faced fierce criticism for past sympathies with the Palestinian group Hamas, Lebanon's Hezbollah, and Sinn Fein, the political arm of the Irish Republican Army, a guerrilla group that waged a violent struggle to take Northern Ireland out of the UK.At campaign stops on Tuesday, May was questioned almost exclusively about issues related to terrorism.Asked whether the financing of terrorism was brought up in April when she met the leaders of Saudi Arabia, a major buyer of British arms, she said: "We talked to Saudi Arabia on a whole number of issues around the question of terrorism."And foreign minister Boris Johnson looked uncomfortable when asked by a journalist about an as-yet unpublished government report on the financing of terrorism, which British media say focuses on Saudi Arabia.Johnson said he could not comment on the confidential document, but added: "I think you are making a valid point about ... the role of other countries, governments or not, in funding, wittingly or not, funding groups that are ... responsible for terrorism." (Additional reporting by Kate Holton, Elizabeth Piper and William James, and by Gavin Jones in Rome; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Kabul: Afghanistan's president Ashraf Ghani has again invited the Taliban to peace talks, calling it their "last chance" to give up their 16-year insurgency and join the political process.

Ashraf Ghani spoke at the opening of the so-called Kabul Process, a gathering of 23 nations, the European Union, United Nations and NATO intended to discuss security and political issues in the country.

"If Taliban wants to join peace talks, the Afghan government will allow them to open an office, but this is their last chance," Ghani said.

The Taliban has steadily expanded its reach since United States and NATO forces formally concluded their combat mission at the end of 2014 and transitioned to a support and counterterrorism role.

Past attempts at peace talks have failed. The Taliban has refused to negotiate with the government until all foreign forces leave, and still refer to themselves as a government in exile, angering authorities in Kabul.

There have been multiple attempts to launch peace talks between the Afghanistan government and the Taliban, but all have faltered. The most recent initiative, brokered by Pakistan, collapsed and spawned even more public distrust and animosity between Kabul and Islamabad.
Sydney: Australia has ordered an inquiry into espionage laws and foreign government interference amid growing concerns about Chinese influence in the country's politics, it emerged on Tuesday.

The move follows an investigation that discovered the nation's spy agency had warned the country's political elite two years ago about taking donations from two billionaires with links to the Chinese Communist Party.

The probe, by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Fairfax Media, said that despite being cautioned both the Liberals and Labor continued accepting substantial sums of cash.

Their investigation showed that property developers Huang Xiangmo and Chau Chak Wing, or their associates, had donated around $6.7 million to political parties over a decade.

Chau is an Australian citizen while Huang's citizenship application has been stalled by Australia's spy chiefs, ABC said. Both reportedly have connections to the ruling Communist Party.

The investigation, aired on Monday evening, said intelligence agencies had major concerns that China was interfering in Australian institutions and using the political donations system to gain access.

"Early last month, I asked the attorney-general to review our espionage laws, to review our laws relating to the activities of foreign governments in Australia and he is going to present a report on what changes we may need to make," Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told reporters.

"But we take it very, very seriously. The sovereignty of Australia, the sovereignty of our democratic processes, free from foreign interference is a matter of the highest concern," he added.

The revelations come with Russia accused of interfering in the American and French political systems.

Attorney-General for Australia George Brandis said he was examining whether espionage offences in the criminal code were adequate.

"The threat of political interference by foreign intelligence services is a problem of the highest order and it is getting worse," he said.

"I will be taking legislative reforms to Cabinet with a view to introducing legislation before the end of the year."

Labor leader Bill Shorten said the party no longer wanted money from Chau or Huang.

The ABC said Chau declined to answer questions because he was travelling while Huang said in a statement it was regrettable the broadcaster "would seek to question my motives and undermine my reputation based on recycled news reports, dubious assertions and innuendo".
Beijing: China has clamped strict controls on the scale of sea reclamation, a move experts said was aimed a containing unbridled commercial development.

China's State Oceanic Administration (SOA) on Monday set eight indexes on sea development, including the rate of sea utilisation, rate of coastal utilisation, investment intensity and ratio of sea reclamation.

Any application that does not conform to the requiremen of the eight indexes will be sent back for re-examination, the SOA said in a statement.

It said the restrictions are aimed to improve the efficiency of sea utilisation, achieve sustainable development with the minimum use of oceanic space and promote intensive exploitation of coastal resources.

As the cost for sea utilisation is far lower than land utilisation, Chinese companies have developed a craze for investment on sea reclamation, driven by huge profits.

The SOA's move is aimed at containing reclamation an better managing sea resources, Wang Yamin, a professor with the School of Oceanography at Shandong University, told The Global Times.

"Over-reclamation will harm coastal ecosystem and cause decline in oceanic species. In some places, it may lead to siltation of channel at ports," Wang said.

Some local governments may collude with enterprises for commercial gains. Whether the SOA's rule can be effective in curbing reclamation depends on the relationship between local governments and enterprises and their choices in seeking balance between development and environmental protection, Wan said.
Ever since the Fifth Generation leadership came to power in China in 2013, there have been many dramatic events in the country. As one knows, there are three pillars on which every country runs  the executive, military and economy. All three pillars are going through turbulent times in China.

Just prior Xi Jinping's ascension to power Bo Xilai, who was a possible contender, was purged. When the present leadership came to power, the Politburo Standing Committee was reduced from nine to seven. Of that seven, five were of such an age that they could have only one term instead of the customary two. These incidents were indicative of the unpredictable path that the Fifth Generation leadership would take.

Of the three pillars, executive runs the country and is responsible for its citizens.Under Xi, the campaign against corruption has gained tremendous momentum. This has created upheavals both in the civil administration and the armed forces. The anti-corruption campaign has led to inaction by the bureaucracy for fear of being prosecuted subsequently.

Xi is also said to be promoting his loyalists. The promotion of Cai Qi in May this year as party chief of Beijing is a case in point. Qi has been promoted five times in quick succession in the last three and a half years. The reason that is being attributed to his quick promotions is his association with Xi, when the latter was the party secretary in Zhejiang province.

The 19th Party Congress is scheduled to meet in October this year in Beijing, to decide on the leadership that will run the country for the next five years. A report in The Economist said that, "Since the start of 2016, Chinas president, Xi Jinping, has replaced 20 of the Communist Partys 31 provincial secretaries, as the most powerful leaders at that level are known. He has also shuffled 27 of the provincial governorships (governors are second-in-command). For local leaders, April was the cruellest month: ten jobs changed hands". There is a feeling that in the run-up to the Party Congress in October, people close to Xi are being placed in the 'correct' positions.

Secondly, Chinas neighbourhood is witnessing uneasy relationships with China. Japan, South and North Korea, Taiwan, and the other countries who are claimants of the disputed areas in the South China Sea are not comfortable.

To Chinas west, another political issue came to light. Chinas Civil Affairs Ministry standardised the names of six places in Arunachal Pradesh, with Chinese characters and Tibetan names. Chinese give names to places in two ways. One is as per the phonetics of the name and the second is as per the meaning of the name. For example, the name Shigatse is given the name Rikaze. Beijing is known as the North Capital. Chinese have different names for other cities in India also.

Chinese have different names for other cities in India as well. Even though the present issue of naming places may not be very significant by itself, that it has come on the heels of the visit of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Arunachal Pradesh has not helped in understanding this issue.

The third issue is the East and South China Seas. There was a tougher stand by the Xi administration on both the issues. China declared an Air Defence Identification Zone in the East China Sea on 23 November, 2013. Though a defensive measure, it created tensions in the East China Sea and the Senkaku Islands. Chinas defiance of the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruling on 26 July, 2016, and her subsequent behaviour on the issue has got the better part of the world worried about the Freedom of Navigation in this global commons.

On their part, the Chinese have aggravated the issue by trying to promulgate a law on the passage of ships. Japan Times reported on 18 February, 2017, that China is soliciting public opinion on revisions to the countrys 1984 Maritime Traffic Safety Law. The new draft would empower maritime authorities to prevent foreign ships from entering Chinese waters if they are deemed a risk to "safety and order", and enable China to designate specific areas and temporarily bar foreign ships from passing through those areas according to their own assessment of maritime traffic safety. They have also deployed missiles and other defence related equipment on the seven reclaimed reefs in the South China Sea.

Though a legacy issue, Xi ordered sweeping reforms of Chinas armed forces, the scale and depth of which has been unprecedented in China.

In the higher defence organisation, the four departments (General Staff Department, General Political Department, General Armament Department and the General Logistics Department) through which the Central Military Commission (CMC) of China exercised command and control over Chinas armed forces, have been converted into six offices, six departments and three commissions that will function directly under the CMC.

The seven military regions, into which the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) was organised, have been converted to five Joint Theatre Commands. A headquarters for the ground forces, which was not existing till now, has been created. The Second Artillery Corps, that possesses all the conventional and nuclear missiles of China, has been upgraded to a full-fledged service like the army, navy and the air force.

A new force, called the PLA Strategic Support Force, has also been created. This force has been tasked to look after all issues related to space and information warfare  including cyber, electronic warfare and psychological operations.

A Joint Logistics Support Force has been established. This force will provide logistic support to all the services. A reduction of 3,00,000 personnel from the PLA was announced by Xi in September 2015. From these large-scale changes, it can be clearly seen that the entire armed forces of China are getting transformed.

The recession of 2008 hit the Chinese economy hard. Till then, Chinas economic growth was based on the export model. Foreign investors started pulling their money out of China. The crisis that gripped the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2015 resulted in the flight of foreign currency.

From a forex reserve of $3.9 trillion dollars, it is now hovering around US$ three trillion, a flight of approximately a trillion dollars from Chinas economy. The recession created another problem for China, of excess capacity.

One of the reasons for the One Belt One Road (OBOR) Initiative of China is the excess capacity that China had for cement, steel, glass etc.

Today, all the economic activity and infrastructure projects in China are oriented towards this initiative. There are problems coming up in the execution of the project. India was conspicuous by its absence in the summit. The seven Arab countries cutting ties with Qatar on 4 June, 2017, is likely to affect Chinas plans for the OBOR project in the region.

The China-European Union (EU) summit, which was held on 2 June, 2017, revealed the apprehensions of the EU. Catherine Wong, in her article in South China Morning Post, mentioned a European diplomat saying that "the initiative is about promoting globalisation which is positive. But it comes with Chinese characteristics. So, it is not really a market-oriented, liberal, rules-based globalisation that we would like to see. It seems to be more about hierarchy."

It is worth noting that representatives of many European countries did not sign the trade declaration at the OBOR summit in Beijing in May this year. Only time will tell whether Chinas move to put all her eggs in the OBOR basket is a prudent one.

Thus, China as a country is in a state of flux. The jury is still out on why Xi chose to place China in such a predicament and how China will come out of it.
In one of the great paradoxes that define the India-China relationship, the violation of Indian airspace by Chinese choppers on Saturday is, all at once, important and inconsequential. This is not a logical impossibility but the truest representation of the current state of affairs between the two countries.

It is a 'minor incident' because this is the fourth Chinese airspace incursion since March, yet it is crucial because this is the first time China has entered Indian airspace through Uttarakhand.

It is significant because it keeps alive the border dispute and is intended to send a message: That we cannot take Chinese compliance with Line of Actual Control for granted. It is China's way of telling us that among all other things that remain unresolved in bilateral ties, boundary dispute features pretty high up the order.

Yet, it is insignificant in the larger scheme of things because both countries have a robust mechanism in place to deal with one of the major irritants.

The interesting thing about the latest incursion, as always with China, is the timing. Consider carefully and it gives us a clue why China deployed two Zhiba series of attack helicopters to violate Indian airspace in the Badahoti area of Uttarakhand's Chamoli district on Saturday morning.

Both choppers reportedly hovered between three to five minutes before flying back, raising apprehensions among Indian security establishment that these were on a possible a reconnaissance mission to capture troop formation.

Now Badahoti, an 80-kilometre sloping pasture, is officially listed as a disputed area since 1958. Indian jawans, under a unilateral decision taken by the Centre in 2000, patrol in civilian outfits and do not carry weapons.

According to a report in The Indian Express, Chinese troops did not enter the 545-kilometre 'middle sector' (under which Badahoti falls) even during the 1962 war. During intense negotiations on India-China border dispute, India unilaterally offered not to carry arms to three posts: Badahoti, Kauril and Shipki in Himachal Pradesh.

Security experts are apprehensive that China, by violating the 'middle sector' which they didn't transgress even during the war, is testing India's tolerance and seeking to alter ground realities through its time-tested strategy of incrementalism. This isn't anything new. Beijing engaged Islamabad in a joint patrol of Chinese-Pakistani troops in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) last year in a blatant violation of One India policy.

Indrani Bagchi pointed out in The Times of India that this was part of China's plan, consistent with its strategy in South China Sea and PoK to "inch forward, but altering the ground situation irrevocably on the way. In fact, the PLAs frequent incursions/ transgressions (whatever you will) also have the same aim of marking territory. China is using both infrastructure and political tools to make Pakistan own PoK."

China has been, for decades, trying to modify the Himalayan frontier and increase its sphere of influence. The question is: Why now? For answers, we need to examine what happened on Friday, a day before the reported Chinese incursion took place.

In Russia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was making the case for an inter-connected and inter-dependent world during his speech at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum while sharing the stage with Russian president Vladimir Putin. Answering a question as to why India abstained from joining China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Modi pointed out that the project violates India's sovereignty but stressed equally that despite some disputes, both India and China are mature enough not to focus on discord and are rapidly increasing areas of collaboration for a mutually beneficial relationship.

"It is true that we have a border dispute with China. But in the last 40 years, not a single bullet has been fired because of it," said the prime minister, according to a report in The Times of India. The comment made instant headlines in Indian media.

A few hours after Modi's speech indicating that the India-China border dispute is not a deterrent to better bilateral ties, China sent two attack helicopters to the 'middle sector' transgressing the Line of Actual Control through Uttarakhand. The timing of the incursion leave little room for doubt that instead of a reconnaissance mission, the choppers were on a political mission: Sending the message that the border dispute remains alive and India can never take it for granted.

We saw the same manipulation in September 2014, when Chinese president Xi Jinping sat on a swing with a newly elected Indian prime minister in Ahmedabad while PLA troops advanced into the Chumar sector in eastern Ladakh and stayed put for more than a fortnight despite India lodging a strong protest.

The reason behind China's apparently dichotomous behaviour is explained aptly by former National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon in his book Choices: Inside the Making of Indian Foreign Policy. "China wished to emphasise to the new Indian prime minister its military dominance and ability to embarrass India on the border; that it was not so preoccupied by its troubles with Japan and Vietnam in the East and South China Seas as to need to make concessions to India; and that peace on the border is fragile, and China should not be taken for granted. In other words, the third explanation is that the PLA movements were an early attempt to establish psychological dominance over a new Indian government."

In keeping with this behaviour, China's foreign ministry spokesperson on Monday praised Modi's speech in St Petersburg, saying "we welcome that".

This juxtaposition of alternate realities is the cornerstone of China's foreign policy. The incursion in Uttarakhand, an unprecedented foray into the middle sector, therefore, is both important and inconsequential.

China is telling us it is dangerous to make assumptions when it comes to border dispute  a signal it must have read in Modi's well-intentioned encomium in Russia  and yet through a coordinated foreign ministry statement, appeared to allay any fears of escalation in conflict.

China is aware, as much as India is, that any military action on either side is counterproductive to both nations' interest, ambition and trajectory of growth.
Washington: US President Donald Trump has renewed his call for a travel ban to protect Americans from "certain dangerous" countries after the latest terror attack in London. However, he did not name the countries he considers "dangerous".

On Monday night, Trump tweeted this out to his 31.6 million followers on Twitter

That's right, we need a TRAVEL BAN for certain DANGEROUS countries, not some politically correct term that won't help us protect our people!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017

The president posted a series of tweets earlier on Monday morning, saying the Department of Justice should have pushed forces initial order rather than the "watered down, politically correct version" he submitted to the Supreme Court.

People, the lawyers and the courts can call it whatever they want, but I am calling it what we need and what it is, a TRAVEL BAN!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017

People, the lawyers and the courts can call it whatever they want, but I am calling it what we need and what it is, a TRAVEL BAN!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017

The Justice Dept. should ask for an expedited hearing of the watered down Travel Ban before the Supreme Court - & seek much tougher version!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017

In any event we are EXTREME VETTING people coming into the U.S. in order to help keep our country safe. The courts are slow and political!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017

Trump's executive order with regard to travel ban for people coming from six Muslim majority countries - Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen - has been shot down by the US judiciary. Meanwhile, the White House ruled out a new executive order in this regard.

"Not that I'm aware of. But the President is going to continue taking aggressive steps every single day to protect the people in this country," said the White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary, Sarah Sanders.

"The President is very focused on exactly what that order spells out, and that's protecting Americans, protecting national security. And he has every constitutional authority to do that through that executive order, and he maintains that and that position hasn't changed in the slightest," she said.

She said Trump cares about national security.

"He cares that we call it national security and that we take steps to protect the people of this country. It's real simple. Everybody wants to get into the labels and the semantics of it, but the bottom line is hes trying to protect the citizens of this country," she said.

"The danger is extremely clear. The law is very clear. And the need for this executive order is very clear. And the President's priority in protecting the people is very clear. Full stop," Sanders said in response to a question.

On Saturday night, three knife-wielding attackers in fake suicide vests unleashed a terror rampage in the British capital, plowing a van into pedestrians on the iconic London Bridge before stabbing revellers in nearby Borough market, killing seven people.
On Monday, US president Donald Trump took to Twitter, referred to his executive order on immigration as a "travel ban", and seemed to publicly chastise his justice department for submitting a "watered down and politically correct version" to the US Supreme Court.

The Justice Dept. should ask for an expedited hearing of the watered down Travel Ban before the Supreme Court - & seek much tougher version!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017

Trump then went even further:

That's right, we need a TRAVEL BAN for certain DANGEROUS countries, not some politically correct term that won't help us protect our people!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017

To quote former vice-president Joe Biden: "This is a big f$%^$% deal."

Trump's tweets have put the US justice department and his aides in a seemingly impossible position: Trying to characterise the executive order as something other than a "travel ban" while the US president loudly proclaims otherwise to his millions of Twitter followers.

CNN reported that early in the administration, White House press secretary Sean Spicer chided reporters for calling Trump's plan a travel ban. "When we use words like travel ban, that misrepresents what it is," Spicer said during a 31 January press briefing.

Spicer has also made it a habit of saying "The president's tweets speak for themselves." Indeed.

Incidentally, Spicer has been absent from press briefings of late, a fact which was chalked up to the fact that the White House does not having a communications director and that he had to take up "extra responsibility."

It will be fascinating to see when Spicer next holds a press conference and how he tries to spin the president's latest tweets, which, remember speak for themselves.

Meanwhile on Monday, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders, answering questions from reporters about why Trump was publicly contradicting his aides, did her best to dodge the issue, telling reporters that Trump "isn't concerned with what you call it," and that he was only worried about protecting Americans.

Sanders said the president had asked the justice department to pursue an expedited hearing at the Supreme Court, adding that Trump "wants to go as far and as strong as possible under the Constitution to protect the people of this country." Still, she said he'd signed the revised ban "for the purposes of expediency" and wasn't considering a third version of the ban.

The justice department, meanwhile has found itself in an almighty legal tangle before the courts. They have been arguing that the executive order on immigration was based on credible national security concerns unrelated to religion, and his campaign statements should be ignored. Remember, candidate Trump had called for a "Muslim ban".

Those comments came back to haunt him by the time he became president in January, after the courts halted his initial order which banned travel from seven majority-Muslim countries and indefinitely halted entry to Syrian refugees, calling it unconstitutional.

Trump begrudgingly scaled back the order by removing Iraq from the list and making the Syria refugee ban only temporary, but that order was blocked by the courts, too, who stated that his order was "rooted in religious animus and intended to bar Muslims from this country."

Meanwhile, conservative commentator and one-time Trump booster Joe Scarborough mocked the US president for his tweets on his MSNBC show, calling him a "dope", discussed how the administration was having trouble keeping their story straight on whether it was or was not a "travel ban". He ended his show by thanking Trump for watching the program.

When is a travel ban not a travel ban? Trump WH in their own words. pic.twitter.com/xZo6ntGCJI  Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) June 5, 2017

With inputs from AP
Washington: The US does not need India, China and France telling it what to do on the issue of Paris Climate agreement, American ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has said, strongly supporting the controversial decision of President Donald Trump to withdraw from the landmark accord.

Trump last week withdrew the US, the second largest polluter after China, from the Paris Agreement. He said that India would get billions of dollars for meeting its commitment under the 2015 Paris Agreement along with China and gain a financial advantage over the US.

He had put the US in league with two other nations -Syria and Nicaragua - who have not signed onto the deal agreed by over 190 other nations.

"I think the rest of the world would like to tell us how to manage our own environment and I think that anybody in America can tell you that we're best to decide what America should do. We don't need India and France and China telling us what they think we should do," Indian-American Haley was quoted as saying by CBS News.

Responding to a question on global reaction to Trump's decision, Haley said countries should continue doing what's in their best interest.

"They should continue doing what's in the best interest. And if the Paris agreement was something that works for them, that they can achieve, they should do that," Haley said.

Haley defended Trump's decision saying business could not be run under the kind of regulations imposed by the Paris Climate deal.

"There's a reason that President Obama didn't go through the Senate to get this cleared, because he couldn't. The regulations were unattainable. I mean you could not actually have a business run under the regulations that we had," she said.

She said that the US is conscious about the environment and it will continue to do its part in protecting climate change.

"We know that there are issues with the environment. We know that we have to be conscious of it. But we can't sit there and have Angela Merkel telling us to worry about Africa. She should continue doing her part. We're going to continue doing our part. We're going to continue encouraging other countries to do what they think is in the best interests of them. But American sovereignty matters," Haley said.

The top American diplomat said that Trump believes the climate is changing, and he does know that pollutants are a part of that equation.

"He believes that climate is changing and he believes pollutants are part of that equation. He is absolutely intent on making sure that we have clean air, clean water, that he makes sure that we're doing everything we can to keep America's moral compass in the world when it comes to the environment," she said.

"We've done that in the past. We'll do it in the future. It's what the US does. It's what we'll continue to do," she added.
Washington: Trump's 140-character musings Monday may have undercut his own efforts to persuade the Supreme Court to reinstate his revised travel ban, which Trump called a "watered-down, politically correct" version of what he'd originally sought.

The Justice Dept. should have stayed with the original Travel Ban, not the watered down, politically correct version they submitted to S.C.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017

Just as Trump's Justice Department is arguing the ban doesn't target Muslims, legal experts said the president seems to be suggesting the opposite. Those who oppose the travel ban said Trump's Tweetstorm, ironically, helps their case. Neal Katyal, the former acting solicitor general representing Hawaii in its lawsuit against the ban, said it was as if Trump was his co-counsel. "We don't need the help but will take it!" Katyal wrote in his own Twitter post.

Its kinda odd to have the defendant in HawaiivTrump acting as our co-counsel.We don't need the help but will take it! pic.twitter.com/8ehqkLkOY2  Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) June 5, 2017

The courts in January halted Trump's initial order, which banned travel from seven majority-Muslim countries and indefinitely halted entry to Syrian refugees.

Trump begrudgingly scaled back the order by removing Iraq from the list and making the Syria refugee ban only temporary, but that order was blocked by the courts, too.

At the heart of the legal wrangling is whether Trump's proposed ban violates the Constitution by discriminating on the basis of religion. As a candidate, Trump called for a "Muslim ban," comments that came back to haunt him as president when the courts determined that even his scaled-down order was "rooted in religious animus and intended to bar Muslims from this country."

4th Circuit Court of Appeals says Trump immigration order was rooted in religious animus and intended to bar Muslims from this country"  Michael Pope (@MichaelLeePope) May 25, 2017

Not so, the Justice Department has argued, insisting the temporary ban is based on credible national security concerns unrelated to religion, and his campaign statements should be ignored. But Stephen Vladeck, a University of Texas law professor, said Trump was making that argument much less tenable by calling the revised order "politically correct."

The President is saying the government should put back the "stronger," not "politically correct" version that was clearly unconstitutional.  Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) June 5, 2017

"These tweets are basically winking at his supporters to say, obviously, I'm only doing this so that the courts will uphold it," Vladeck said. "It makes it harder to argue this is not a Muslim ban, and more importantly, it makes it harder to argue that the president's statements should be irrelevant."

In a series of early-morning tweets, Trump bashed the Justice Department for its decision to ask the Supreme Court to review the second version of the ban  which he signed.

"The Justice Dept. should have stayed with the original Travel Ban, not the watered down, politically correct version they submitted to S.C.," Trump said.

He urged the Justice Department, which he oversees, to seek a "much tougher version" of the order.

The Justice Dept. should ask for an expedited hearing of the watered down Travel Ban before the Supreme Court - & seek much tougher version!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017

Hoping to shore up the order's legal underpinnings, both the White House and Trump's Homeland Security chief have insisted it's not actually a "travel ban," criticizing reporters for mischaracterizing it.

"When you use words like 'Travel Ban,' that misrepresents what it is," the White House press secretary told reporters on Jan 31.  Steven Portnoy (@stevenportnoy) June 5, 2017

But Trump on Monday was having none of it.

People, the lawyers and the courts can call it whatever they want, but I am calling it what we need and what it is, a TRAVEL BAN!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017

"People, the lawyers and the courts can call it whatever they want, but I am calling it what we need and what it is, a TRAVEL BAN!" Trump wrote. He pounded the point home Monday night, tweeting, "That's right, we need a TRAVEL BAN for certain DANGEROUS countries, not some politically correct term that won't help us protect our people!"

That's right, we need a TRAVEL BAN for certain DANGEROUS countries, not some politically correct term that won't help us protect our people!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017

The inconsistency put White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders in a delicate spot Monday afternoon as questions streamed in about why Trump was contradicting his aides. His Twitter missive notwithstanding, Sanders insisted Trump "isn't concerned with what you call it," only with protecting Americans.

White House deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said today Trump "isn't concerned with what you call it." https://t.co/vGx4hFIcZQ  Jon Passantino (@passantino) June 6, 2017

Sanders said the president had asked the Justice Department to pursue an expedited hearing at the Supreme Court, adding that Trump "wants to go as far and as strong as possible under the Constitution to protect the people of this country." Still, she said he'd signed the revised ban "for the purposes of expediency" and wasn't considering a third version of the ban. Trump argues the ban is crucial for safeguarding American security, and he has intensified his push for it in the wake of the weekend vehicle and knife attack in London that left seven people dead and dozens injured. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack. The second-guessing about Trump's Twitter strategy extended to the husband of one Trump's senior advisers. New York lawyer George T. Conway III, whose wife is White House aide Kellyanne Conway, wrote that online statements "may make some ppl feel better," but won't help win a Supreme Court majority. "Sad," he said on Twitter, borrowing a phrase from Trump's own Twitter.

These tweets may make some ppl feel better, but they certainly won't help OSG get 5 votes in SCOTUS, which is what actually matters. Sad. https://t.co/zVhcyfm8Hr  George Conway (@gtconway3d) June 5, 2017



Conway had been considered for at least two high-ranking Justice Department jobs, including solicitor general, the government lawyer who represents the president at the Supreme Court.

Josh Blackman, a law professor at South Texas College of Law in Houston, called Trump "the worst client" for the solicitor general.

The President is his own worst enemy and quite possibly the worst client the SG has ever had. pic.twitter.com/Xs0IW8ueU9  Josh Blackman (@JoshMBlackman) June 5, 2017

"When you're a lawyer what you want is your client to stay silent," he said.

Trump has the authority to order the Justice Department to pursue a different strategy. It's unclear whether the president has conveyed his requests to the department in a forum other than Twitter. The Justice Department declined to comment.

Trump has used attacks around the world to justify his pursuit of the travel and immigration ban, one of his first acts since taking office. The original order, signed at the end of his first week in office, was hastily unveiled without significant input from top Trump national security advisers or relevant federal agencies.

After that order was struck down, the administration decided to write a second directive rather than appeal the initial ban to the Supreme Court. The narrower would temporarily halt entry to the U.S. from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.

If anything, the Supreme Court may be more likely to hear the case in light of the tweets, to determine once and for all how far the president's power goes, said Peter S. Margulies, a law professor at Roger Williams.

It's unclear when it will make that decision.
London: The mayor of London says he doesn't care about the repeated insults he has received from the president of the United States, asserting Tuesday that he "really couldn't be bothered about what Donald Trump tweets."

Mayor Sadiq Khan, who made history as the British capital's first Muslim leader, has repeatedly been targeted by Trump on Twitter. After Saturday's attacks in the London Bridge area that claimed seven lives, for example, Trump panned the mayor for telling the public there was "no reason to be alarmed" by the atrocity.

In fact, Khan was referring in his televised remarks to the presence of armed officers on the capital's streets. When the British press ridiculed Trump's out-of-context quote, the president returned to Twitter to accuse the media of buying the mayor's "pathetic excuse."

Reporters repeatedly asked Khan for his thoughts on Trump outside the headquarters of London's Ambulance Service, where he observed a minute of silence Tuesday to honor of the victims of the attacks.

The 46-year-old mayor, who assumed office in May, 2016 after serving in Parliament, generally praised the "special relationship" between the United States and Britain. He calmly explained his opposition to Trump's proposed travel ban on visitors from several Muslim countries. But he dropped a hint of annoyance when asked about Trump's social media jibes.

"I don't know how to tell you this, but I really don't care," he told The Associated Press.

Trump's extraordinary attacks on the popular mayor of a grieving city have disgusted many Londoners, reigniting opposition to a state visit by the American president to the United Kingdom planned for later this year. Prime Minister Theresa May invited Trump a week after his 20 January inauguration.

Khan is among those who have asked the government to reconsider the invitation, describing the state visit as "inappropriate" given the president's months-long push for a travel ban for passengers from several Muslim majority nations.

Trump's comments also discomfited many in the United States. They drew an implicit rebuke by the acting US ambassador to the UK, who praised Khan's "strong leadership" on Twitter.

Although the spat is embarrassing, Trump's state visit  which according to traditional practice would include staying at Buckingham Palace as a guest of the queen  does not appear to be in any jeopardy.

British foreign minister Boris Johnson  Khan's predecessor as mayor of London  told BBC radio Tuesday that "the invitation has been issued and accepted and I see no reason to change that."

Addressing Trump's proposed plan to bar millions of people from Muslim majority countries from entering the United States, which the president said had been vindicated by the attacks, Khan told the AP he found the idea antithetical to American values.

"There are literally millions and millions of Muslims around the world who love America. They love Britain, they want to come here to study, to be a tourist, to start up a business, to work, to learn. Why would you want to stop them coming?" Khan said.

"We saw on Saturday night some of the people in the health service, some of the consultants, surgeons, were Muslims surgeons, some of them people who'd come to this country from Muslim majority countries," the mayor continued. "They helped save lives, they reduced the death toll, some of the police officers, some of the armed response teams, who help keep our cities safe, are Muslims.

"What have you got against them?"
In less than 48 hours since the London terror attack, US president Donald Trump once again launched an attack on London mayor Sadiq Khan on Twitter accusing him of offering a "pathetic excuse" for comments that Trump earlier misconstrued about policing in response to Saturday's attack, which left seven people dead.

Pathetic excuse by London Mayor Sadiq Khan who had to think fast on his "no reason to be alarmed" statement. MSM is working hard to sell it!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017

Khan had told Londoners there was "no reason to be alarmed" about an increased police presence in the coming days. Top British officials, including British prime minister Theresa May came to Khan's defense following Trump's comments.

"I think Khan is doing a good job and it's wrong to say anything else  he's doing a good job," May said during a press conference on Monday. A spokesperson for Khan responded to Trump's tweets on Monday, saying, "Nothing has changed since yesterday." "The mayor is focused on dealing with Saturday's horrific and cowardly attack and working with the police, the emergency services and the government to keep London safe," he said. Following Trump's tweets, Khan's office pointed out Trump's obvious misinterpretation of the mayor's quotes and urged the British government to cancel the US president's planned visit, according to The Guardian. I dont think we should roll out the red carpet to the President of the USA in the circumstances where his policies go against everything we stand for, Khan was quoted as saying. According to Independent, Khan also said that Trump is trying to "divide communities." The report further added that the United States Conference of Mayors also issued a statement in solidarity with the London mayor. The United States Conference of Mayors stands today united with Mayor Sadiq Khan of London and the people of London. We send condolences to family and loved ones of those dead and injured, said the group, added the report. Meanwhile, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said on Monday that Trump was not "picking a fight with the mayor of London at all." She also pushed back against criticism that the president had mischaracterised Khan's remarks, saying "the media wants to spin it that way." Asked if Trump was criticising the mayor of London because he is Muslim, Sanders said that was "utterly ridiculous." The war of words was the latest episode in a long simmering conflict between Trump and Khan, a Muslim who was elected as London's mayor in May 2016. After his election last year, Khan tweeted criticism of then-candidate Trump's rhetoric, saying his "ignorant view of Islam could make both our countries less safe. It risks alienating mainstream Muslims." Trump later challenged Khan to an IQ test during an interview on ITV. The Atlantic, in its report, traces back the feud between Trump and Khan back to his campaigning days as the presidential candidate. The report stated that following the terror attacks in Paris and California's San Bernardino, Trump had called for a total ban on Muslims entering the US. After Khan became the mayor of London in 2016, in a scathing piece in The Observer, Khan accused the then prime minister of Britain David Cameron and Zac Goldsmith, Khans Conservative rival for using " fear and innuendo to try to turn different ethnic and religious groups against each other  something straight out of the Donald Trump playbook." Khan, in an interview with the Time magazine, even said that if Trump becomes the president, he will be stopped from entering the US to which Trump told The New York Times that there will be exceptions to his travel ban. Khan, who is the son of a Pakistani immigrant, openly endorsed Hillary Clinton as the presidential candidate and told the BBC that Trump was "ignorant view of Islam could make both our countries less safe." In March this year, Trump's son Donald Trump Junior joined the fight when he tweeted this:

You have to be kidding me?!: Terror attacks are part of living in big city, says London Mayor Sadiq Khan https://t.co/uSm2pwRTjO  Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) March 22, 2017

As per The Atlantic, Trump Jr's twitter outburst was in response to Khan's statement that terror attacks are "part and parcel of living in a big city and that "major cities around the world have got to be prepared for these sorts of things to happen when people least expect them."

State heads are not known to engage with local leaders but when it comes to Trump nothing is conventional. Though Trump has been panned for his criticism of Khan, following the London terror attack, the fight between Trump and Khan is probably far from over.

With inputs from agencies
Washington: The Paris climate pact did not hold countries like India accountable on greenhouse emissions as they did not have to take steps until they received USD 2.5 trillion in aid, a top US official said on Tuesday.

"When you look at the decision made in Paris, Russia, India, China.. . India didn't have to take any steps until they received USD 2.5 trillion of aid. China didn't take any steps until the year 2030. We front-loaded all of our costs, costing jobs, up to 400,000 jobs in the manufacturing sector alone," said Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt.

Pruitt said this in an interview to MSNBC a day after India strongly refuted American allegations that India's actions on climate change was contingent upon it receiving aid.

"Anyone who suggests that we signed the Paris Agreement for money or under pressure is absolutely wrong. We did not. And whether America remains in it or not, we will stay in it," Swaraj told reporters at a news conference in New Delhi on Monday.
Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera said on Tuesday Saudi Arabia's decision to shut its office in the kingdom as part of the diplomatic crisis in the Gulf was "unjustified".

In a statement, the global news channel condemned Riyadh's move and called on Saudi Arabia to allow its journalists to continue to work "free of intimidation and threats".

"We firmly believe these are unjustified measure(s) by the authorities in the kingdom against the network and its operations," the statement said.

"In spite of restriction(s) imposed on the network, Al Jazeera will continue to cover the news and current affairs from the region and beyond (in a) balanced objective manner".

As well as closing the office, Saudi Arabia withdrew the channel's licence needed to broadcast.

It also accused Al Jazeera of promoting "terrorist groups" and supporting rebels in Yemen.

The move came as Saudi Arabia, along with other Gulf states and Egypt, severed ties with Qatar.

Separately, beIN Sports, a subsidiary satellite network of Al Jazeera, went offline in the United Arab Emirates, which was also among those to cut relations with Qatar.

Al Jazeera, one of the largest news organisations in the world, has long been a source of conflict between Qatar and its neighbours, who accuse the broadcaster of bias and fomenting trouble in the region.

Egypt has accused Al Jazeera of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood, which it blames for violence after Egypt's military ousted the movement from power in 2013.

Three Al Jazeera journalists, including a Canadian and an Australian, were detained in Egypt between 2013 and 2015, triggering international protests.
Washington: US president Donald Trump on Tuesday linked the move of Gulf countries to isolate Qatar to his recent West Asia trip, showing little sympathy for the plight of the Gulf emirate despite its role as a hub for US military operations in the region.

On Twitter, he related his comments regarding intolerance of radical ideology to the recent Gulf diplomatic crises.

During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017

Saudi Arabia and several Arab allies, including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, cut diplomatic ties and transport links with Qatar on Monday, accusing the Gulf state of supporting extremism.

The dispute comes less than a month after Trump visited Saudi Arabia and called for a united Muslim front against extremism.

The US military uses a vast air base in Qatar as a crucial hub for its military operations in the region, now focused on the fight against the Islamic State group.

US secretary of state Rex Tillerson called on Gulf states Monday to stay united and work out their differences.

Energy-rich Qatar has long had strained ties with its neighbors but the move by Riyadh and its supporters shocked observers, raising fears the crisis could destabilize an already volatile region.

The Gulf states and Egypt banned all flights to and from Qatar and ordered Qatari citizens to leave within 14 days.
Contrary to the belief that the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has some sort of executive authority over its members, this is singularly untrue. It is more of a courtesy extended to an organisation that functions as a clearing house.

Consequently, IATAs disapproval of the ban on flying to Qatar by specific airlines as integral to the boycott by six nations is more of a request.

IATA members are not duty-bound to listen to these recommendations, and much like the International Court of Justice (ICJ), it is out of mere courtesy that the IATA director general is given a hearing. Nothing is binding. You do not even have to be a member of IATA to use some of its services: You can pay as you go.

There have been occasions where IATA has taken up causes after it was accused of being toothless  one major issue being the noise at Heathrow Airport  it fought the good fight to have the decibel level reduced. But largely, it sticks to bringing out major reports on aviation trends and market fluctuations as well as passenger and cargo projections.

Bringing out The Global Passenger Forecast Report is one of IATA's main tasks. The report explains future trends in passenger numbers by means of three key demand drivers: Living standards, population and demographics, price and availability. IATA's mission  to represent, serve and lead the industry  explains its honorary status.

IATA has been a rallying point during crises as disparate as the volcanic ash cloud over Europe, the MERS and bird flu problem, terrorism and the economic downturn. But its main attention is always on profitability and ensuring that the bottom line for the industry is robust. As an essentially trade organisation this is understandable but again, carries no fiat and the airlines being addressed do not need its permission to ground their aircraft as part of a larger picture.

IATAs concern over the blocking of carriers is centered on the ripple effect and how this major move will impact travel around the world. The swiftness of its announcement calling on the concerned carriers to resume flying into Doha is based entirely on this aspect.

When IATA'S director general Alexandre de Juniac says, "We are not in favour of the ban. We would like connectivity to be restored as soon as possible," what he is actually means is that this situation will hurt the bottom line. Much of the subcontinental labour force flies into Doha via UAE and moves from Doha to Riyadh and Jeddah. The absence of flights will take away many of their options.

Again, travel between the Gulf Cooperation Council is adversely affected. While one can understand that leaving out Qatar will hit business hard, it must also be appreciated that such a decision must not have been made lightly and without considering all the ramifications.

Indeed, IATAs fear are justified. More airlines could join the boycott and there could be reciprocal reactions from airlines representing countries that might support Qatar, creating a total impasse. Especially since the bloc of nations who have taken this decision in the interest of their collective and singular security have included overflights in the ban. That means other airlines cannot use airspace over these nations to get to Doha and move on to the West.

While IATA supports airline activity and helps formulate industry policy and standards, it can be the voice of reason. However, it cannot impose a solution. What must worry it the most is that the longer this crisis continues, the more difficult it will be to resolve it.
West Asian countries including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain on Monday cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting extremism, in the biggest diplomatic crisis to hit the region in years.

Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj said India didn't foresee any problems for its bilateral relations in the Gulf as it "is an internal matter of GCC (Gulf Coordination Council)", The Times of India reported. "Our only concern is about Indians there. We are trying to find out if any Indians are stuck there," she said, avoiding to comment on the political situation in the region, the report added.

"They (Gulf nations) have done this before, we hope things will get better soon," Swaraj said.

International travel for Indians to and from Qatar is unlikely to be affected as flights from India take the Persian Gulf route to Doha, News18 reported. The limits placed on air space access by the Saudi-led group will not have any impact over the Persian Gulf, the report said.

But for Indians living in Qatar, cross-country travel within the Gulf might prove to be difficult for some time, the report added, which might force many to re-route their travel to these countries.

Although local officials are trying to reassure citizens that there is no need for panic, a food-shortage situation is being predicted by many as Qatar depends heavily on importing food. With Saudi Arabia imposing a de-facto food blockade, Indians might face trouble procuring food supplies in the coming weeks.

The population of Indians living and working in Qatar is estimated to be over 6,50,000, which is almost twice the number of native Qataris in the country, the report said. Another report said that the bulk of the Indian expat community in the Arab countries has traditionally been from Kerala. Of the estimated 6.5 lakh Indians now in Qatar, around three lakh are from Kerala.

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday wrote letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj seeking the Centre's intervention to ensure the safety of the Indians residing in Qatar.

Meanwhile, the diplomatic storm in the Arab countries is also being looked at as an opportunity for Indian expatriates living in Qatar. As Qatari employees are being forced out of neighbouring Gulf countries, and a similar trend takes place in Qatar, leading to job opportunities, The Indian Express reported.

Indians could fill the jobs vacated by the citizens of these 6 nations. I think it would be an opportunity for Indians and expatriates from entire South Asia, the report quoted Dr S Irudaya Rajan, chair professor, Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs research unit on international migration at the Centre for Development Studies, as saying.

Life and services cant come to a standstill. Fresh labour will be required. This would be a short-term gain for Indians, Dr Rajan said.

India and Qatar share very strong economic ties, with Indian exports to Doha crossing the billion-dollar mark to touch $1.05 billion in 2014-15 and total bilateral trade reaching $15.67 billion. India takes over 90 percent of its natural gas import from Qatar. In addition, Qatar is in the process of building a domestic airine in India.
Kuwait City: Kuwait's emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah left for Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for talks aimed at resolving a diplomatic crisis between Qatar and other Arab nations.

The official KUNA news agency said the emir left for the western port city of Jeddah at the head of a high-level delegation including the foreign and information ministers.

The emir was aiming to mediate in the dispute between Qatar and its Gulf neighbours led by Saudi Arabia, lawmakers in Kuwait City said earlier.

"We pray to God to help him succeed in achieving Gulf unity," veteran MP Ali al-Deqbasi said during a parliamentary session.

The Kuwaiti ruler played a pivotal role in mediating a compromise in a 2014 diplomatic dispute between Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Gulf states.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt and Yemen on Monday cut diplomatic ties with fellow Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member state Qatar.

Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, has delayed a speech planned for broadcast on Al-Jazeera at the request of the Kuwaiti ruler, the Qatari foreign minister said.

Sheikh Sabah has urged his Qatari counterpart "to exercise restraint" and "give efforts aimed at containing tensions between brothers a chance," said the Kuwaiti news agency KUNA.

Kuwait, also a GCC member, did not join its neighbours in severing ties with Qatar.
Manila: The Philippine government temporarily suspended the deployment of Filipino workers to Qatar on Tuesday, fearing food riots and other potential problems amid the diplomatic crisis gripping the tiny Gulf nation, the labour secretary said.

Labour Secretary Silvestre Bello said there was no plan yet to repatriate the more than 200,000 Filipino workers in Qatar.

"If anything happens and they run out of food and food riots take place, definitely our overseas Filipino workers will be the first victims," Bello said.

"We need to adopt preparatory measures to meet the possible exigency," he added.

Filipino officials and recruitment agencies have been asked to ensure that Filipino workers in Qatar are safe and have adequate food stocks.

The Philippines is a major labor supplier, with about a tenth of more than 100 million Filipinos working abroad because of inadequate jobs and other opportunities at home.

Saudi Arabia and three other Arab powers severed diplomatic ties with Qatar on Monday and moved to isolate it, accusing it of supporting terrorist groups and backing Iran.

Qatar has long denied supporting militant groups.

Saudi Arabia closed its land border with Qatar, through which the international travel hub imports most of its food, sparking a run on supermarkets.
Kathmandu: Nepal has expressed concerns over the situation of its workers employed in the Gulf nations after seven countries, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt and Libya, cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates took the largest number of Nepali migrant workers in the year 2015-16, the Department of Foreign Employment of Nepal said.

A total of 320,360 Nepalis reached these three countries for employment while a total of 3,146 reached Bahrain in 2015-16, Xinhua news agency reported.

Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said it was monitoring the situation following the diplomatic stand-off among Gulf nations.

"We have instructed Nepali embassies in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Egypt to assess the situation for Nepali migrant workers," MoFA spokesman Bharat Raj Paudyal said.

Rohan Gurung, the general secretary of Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies, said, "Question has arisen over what happens to Nepalis working in branches of Qatari companies in other countries which severed ties with Qatar."

He also said that until Qatar Airlines and Himalayan Airlines which have direct air connectivity with Doha increase number of flights, movement of Nepali migrant workers to Qatar may come down.

However, Nepal's Ministry of Labour and Employment said that it is yet to assess the impact of a diplomatic stand-off between Qatar and other Gulf countries on the Nepali migrant workers.

"We have not seen much impact immediately because there are not many Nepalis who have to travel from one country to another for employment," said Govindamani Bhurtel, spokesperson of the Ministry.
Doha: Amid the biggest diplomatic crisis in the Gulf after four Arab nations cut ties with Qatar  accusing it of destabilising the region with its support for Islamist groups, its state-owned flag carrier has begun diverting its flights to Europe, North America and North Africa via Iran instead of Saudi Arabia, flight monitoring services said on Tuesday.

All Qatar Airways routes to the West would now pass through Iran and Turkey airspace, Efe news quoted the Flight Radar and Flight Aware websites.

Qatar Airways has offered all its customers an alternative route or refunds on their flights.

The cutting of diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain on one side and Qatar on the other has resulted in the closure of the airspace of these countries to Qatari flights.

The only country that broke off with Doha but did not close its airspace to Qatari flights was Egypt.

The most affected by the changes were those destined for the Mediterranean countries  Italy, Morocco or Cyprus  whose usual routes are now diverted several thousand kilometres.

The Qatar Airways announced on Monday the suspension of its flights to the four Arab countries after they accused Doha of supporting terrorism and undermining stability in West Asia.
By Omar Fahmy and Mostafa Hashem

| CAIRO

CAIRO As one Arab state after another announced it was severing ties with Qatar, the tiny Gulf monarchy's flagship television channel Al Jazeera did not react like other broadcasters -- it updated its news ticker but its presenters said nothing.It was only when the Qatari foreign ministry released a statement saying it was facing a campaign of lies and fabrications aimed at putting the Gulf Arab state under guardianship that the channel came to life on the topic."This has been planned since 2014 but only came out after the Riyadh summit," said Mohamed al-Mosfer, one of the many Qatari analysts the channel had on to comment, referring to a meeting last month attended by U.S. President Donald Trump.The Arab world's strongest powers cut ties with Qatar on Monday over alleged support for Islamists and Iran.Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain coordinated their move, while Yemen, Libya's eastern-based government, and the Maldives joined in later.Al Jazeera did not focus on the statements and comments coming out of those countries, instead giving air time to the U.S. and Turkish foreign ministers and an adviser to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani -- all urging dialogue.The channel is at the centre of the controversy. Arab rulers accuse Qatar of using its multi-million-dollar franchise as a mouthpiece to attack them.Local media in the countries that cut ties speculated it would be shut down in an effort by Qatar to appease its angry neighbours, but while journalists working there are rattled by the crisis, they think their station will survive."Everybody is shocked at the escalation but no one thinks the channel will close, said one journalist with Al Jazeera English. "It is something the Qataris will not give up."

Later that night Al Jazeera focused on news coming out of Washington indicating Trump wanted to see the Gulf rift healed, as well as Kremlin statements calling for unity in the fight against militancy.A White House statement saying Trump would work to smooth things over between Arab Gulf states played for over an hour on Al Jazeera screens. Saudi and Emirati channels ignored it.When a senior Trump administration official told Reuters several of Qatar's actions worried its Gulf neighbours, Al Jazeera disregarded it. Other Gulf channels gave it prominence.INFLUENCE AND ENEMIES

The channel cheered on the 2011 Arab Spring revolts, particularly in Egypt, but now faces aggressive competition in its home region, and suspicion from many governments over air time given to Islamist groups in Syria, Libya and elsewhere.Al Jazeera's spectacular growth took place under former Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani who, unlike other Gulf Arab leaders, backed Middle East protest movements and played mediator in a host of wars. Under his son and current ruler Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Qatar has toned down its foreign policy.Founded in 1996 as part of Qatari efforts to turn economic power into political influence, Al Jazeera offered free-wheeling, uncensored debate of a kind rarely seen on Arab televisions.Its talk shows hosted guests who challenged the wisdom of Arab rulers and adopted the role of supporter of the dispossessed. Reporters broke with a widespread taboo of the Arab news media by interviewing Israeli officials.

Funded by Qatar's royal family, Wadah Khanfar, a Palestinian journalist who was director general of the network between 2006-2011, helped turn the Arab satellite channel into a world network with millions of viewers and more than 20 channels broadcasting in languages including Arabic, English and Swahili.With Al Jazeera's expansion came unprecedented influence in the Arab world, but also new enemies.Egypt views Al Jazeera as critical of its government, and the channel has been banned there since 2013. Al Jazeera says it is an independent news service giving a voice to everyone in the region. Egyptian security forces have arrested several of its reporters and last year a Cairo court recommended the death penalty for two of them, charged in absentia with endangering national security by leaking state secrets to Qatar. Three others had previously been sentenced to between seven and 10 years in jail on charges including spreading lies to help a "terrorist organization" -- a reference to the banned Muslim Brotherhood -- but were later freed.Saudi Arabia shut down the channel on Monday."Al Jazeera condemns the measures taken by Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Culture and Information to close the Al Jazeera Media Network's office and withdraw the operating license," said a spokesman in Qatar. (Reporting by Omar Fahmy and Mostafa Hashem; Additional reporting by Tom Finn in Doha; Writing Ahmed Aboulenein; Editing by Catherine Evans)

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By William James

| BLACKPOOL, England

BLACKPOOL, England When Britain's election campaigning began, Peter Anthony, a candidate for the Conservatives, was hopeful that he could win in Blackpool, a working class town on England's north-west coast. Though the seat he is standing for has been held by left-leaning Labour for 20 years, Anthony felt change was in the air."I'm very optimistic," he said last month, adding that the response he was getting from voters was "completely different" from the election in 2015.Early polls suggested the centre-right Conservatives, led by Prime Minister Theresa May, could achieve an overall landslide, possibly even a majority as decisive as those held by Margaret Thatcher, Britain's first woman prime minister from 1979 to 1990. But in the past few weeks the Conservatives' lead  about 20 percentage points when the election was announced  has fallen. May's campaign stumbled over a U-turn on social care policy, and she declined to take part in televised debates with her opponents. Meanwhile, the main opposition Labour party, led by Jeremy Corbyn, proposed increases in public spending that grabbed the attention of voters.On Saturday a van and knife attack that killed seven people in the heart of London shifted the focus to security. Corbyn criticised May's record as interior minister of cutting police numbers, and May said Corbyn was weak on terrorism.Recent surveys have shown the Conservatives ahead of Labour by between 1 and 12 percentage points. Different poll models give a wide range of projected results. Some predict May will increase her majority, but one projection suggests she could lose parliamentary seats. Pollsters warn that much still depends on the level of voter turnout.Anthony remains optimistic. A key reason: Last year, he, like the majority of Britons, backed the campaign to take Britain out of the European Union. "It's very, very difficult to find someone who didn't support leaving the EU," said Anthony as a train on the city's landmark rollercoaster, the Big One, clattered around the tracks behind him. His town is one of around 50 places where Labour's majority is small enough for Conservatives to target voters who wanted out of Europe. The Conservatives, long more eurosceptic than Labour, have the largest chunk of pro-Brexit support, studies have shown. In particular, the Conservatives have picked up votes from the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), which got nearly 13 percent of the vote in the 2015 election. UKIP now languishes at about 4 percent in the polls.

As the June 8 poll approaches, Brexit has partly receded as an important divider between the main parties. Last week Corbyn set out Labour's approach to the issue, making plain that he, like May, sees no going back on Brexit. There was "no doubt," he said, that Britain would leave the EU.However, May has said she is willing for Britain to leave the EU without a deal if negotiations fail, while Corbyn has said he would not leave without an agreement.MAY'S STUMBLE

It was in Blackpool in 1968 that a young Margaret Thatcher gave a speech to the Conservative Party conference on the theme "What's wrong with politics?" Her answer - too much government  came to influence Britain for decades.But May is no Thatcher. The launch of her party manifesto on May 18 was widely seen as nudging the Conservatives leftwards in a bid to seize the centre ground. The manifesto adopted some of Labour's previous policy proposals, including a promised cap on energy prices and new rights and protection for workers in the gig economy. While Labour's campaign slogan is "For the many, not the few," May has promised a country that works, "not for the privileged few, but for everyone."

She has proposed new rules on business, including measures to restrict top-level executive pay, guarantee worker representation on boards, and new limits on "aggressive asset-stripping or tax avoidance" in takeovers. "We do not believe in untrammelled free markets," the Conservative manifesto says. "We reject the cult of selfish individualism." But in a bid to balance the nation's finances as well as be more inclusive, the Conservatives also floated one policy that caught voters' attention. The party proposed that more of the costs of caring for the sick elderly should come from the sale of their homes. The new plan was quickly dubbed a "dementia tax" in the media. There was a furore and May backtracked. While May had campaigned on a slogan of "strong and stable government," the spotlight turned onto her willingness to make U-turns. The party's "strong and stable" mantra was widely mocked on social media.At a press conference, May said "nothing has changed." A spokesman said: "Categorically, we haven't done a U-turn." But the Conservatives' lead in the polls began to erode. RADICAL OUTSIDER

Under Corbyn, Labour has moved away from the centre ground once occupied by Tony Blair, who won three elections for the party between 1997 to 2005. A veteran from the trade union movement, Corbyn has a track record of radical activism, often voting against the government when Labour was in power, and he still presents himself as an outsider. His manifesto promises include nationalisation of energy and water supplies, investing 250 billion pounds ($320 billion) over 10 years in infrastructure, more staff for the National Health Service, police and fire services, an end to tuition fees for students, more free childcare, extra holidays, and higher taxes on business and the top 5 percent of earners. He has courted young people and won hundreds of thousands of followers on social media. Labour traditionally polls well among young people and about a million new voters aged 18 to 24 have registered to vote since the election was announced. Turnout may prove crucial. Past experience indicates that the young are far less likely to vote than the elderly, who favour the Conservatives. Corbyn, 68, began the campaign lowly rated as a leader and potential prime minister by many voters - and even by some of his own party candidates. On May 22 the Labour contender in Sedgefield, the constituency which sent Blair to parliament, wrote a note to his constituents, saying: "I am no supporter of Theresa May and I am no supporter of Jeremy Corbyn  the only people I support are you."But recently Corbyn's ratings have improved. In a survey late last month by YouGov, a pollster, 35 percent of respondents rated Corbyn favourably, up from only 22 percent a month previously. An adviser in Corbyn's campaign said his improved ratings reflected how broadcasters must give balanced coverage of campaigning and that "many voters are seeing the real Jeremy and Labour's policies unfiltered for the first time, and many are liking what they see."($1 = 0.7750 pounds) (Editing by Sara Ledwith and Richard Woods)

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The UN human rights chief reiterated his request for unconditional access of his office to the troubled regions of India-administered Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan-administered Kashmir warning that the denial of access will eventually lead to various forms of remote monitoring by his office and making the reports public.

Despite repeated high-level requests to India and Pakistan, permission for my staff to have unconditional access to both sides of the Line of Control in India-administered Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan-administered Kashmir has still not been granted, and we continue to receive reports of increasing violence, civilian casualties, curfews and website blackout, the UN high commissioner for human rights Zeid Raad al-Hussein said in a speech opening a three-week UN Human Rights Council (HRC) session on Tuesday.

He had made the same request to the nuclear-armed neighbours in the last HRC session in March.

As this council is aware, where the human rights situation appears critical, and where access is repeatedly denied to my office, the only option open to us may be to conduct various forms of remote monitoring. So long as refusals to enable access persist, I will be compelled to consider reporting publicly and regularly on their findings, he added referencing the Kashmir situation among a host of other country situations including in Turkey, Venezuela, Democratic Republic of Congo and Crimea.

In a strong statement that will presumably ruffle feathers in diplomatic circles, al-Hussein took on politicians who defy international laws and their own constitutions speaking of the brazen absence of shame among growing number of politicians worldwide.

When thug-like leaders ride to power, democratically or otherwise, and openly defy, not only their own laws and constitutions, but also their obligations under international law, where is their shame? Do they not feel disgusted with themselves when they incite or condone acts of violence and bigotry? the top UN human rights official said.

Making an oblique reference to the Filipino presidents recent "joke" that every soldier should be limited to three rapes of village women each, have they no conscience? al-Hussein asked.

In recent sessions, the UN rights chief has been naming countries at the HRC who have not been cooperating or selectively cooperating with his office or where there have been rights violations of concern to the UN.

I am told repeatedly we should not be "naming and shaming" states. But it is not the naming that shames. The shame comes from the actions themselves, the conduct or violations at issue, he said in his speech.

He asked for cooperation from Myanmars government for the new fact-finding mission on the country headed by noted Indian advocate Indira Jaising, for full and unmonitored access to the Rakhine state where we believe the violations of human rights have been horrifying in the extreme.

Calling it absolutely unacceptable, al-Hussein asked governments to put an end to hate campaigns against UN experts in light of recent incidences against Special Rapporteur on Iran Asma Jahangir, Special Rapporteur on Myanmar Yanghee Lee and Special Rapporteur on Summary Executions Agnes Callamard .

While praising considerable efforts by Australia, Brazil, Chile, Georgia, Italy, Mexico, Tunisia and the US to cooperate with human rights mandate holders, al-Hussein called on the US to grant access to the Special Rapporteur on Torture to Guantanamo Bay detention centre.

Though China has invited four UN experts to the country in the past seven years, these missions have faced challenges with regard to the necessary freedom of movement and access to independent civil society.

al-Hussein began his speech with the Palestine-Israel issue that is bound to irritate the American government even more  the US has consistently lashed out at the HRC for an anti-Israel bias. The Donald Trump administration has even threatened to withdraw from the HRC owing to this chronic bias.

Yet it is also undeniable that today, the Palestinian people mark a half-century of deep suffering under an occupation imposed by military force, al-Hussein told the HRC.

The sine qua non for peace  the end of the occupation  must now be brought about, and soon, he added.

Though the Israelis also have suffered grievously, they have long had their state.

Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN, reiterated in her brief statement to the HRC that it is hard to accept that though the council has never considered a resolution on Venezuela, yet it adopted five biased resolutions in March against a single country, Israel.

It is essential that this council address its chronic anti-Israel bias, if it is to have any credibility, said Haley.

Only 33 governments including Canada, the US, China, Russia, Bhutan are up-to-date with their treaty body reporting while as many as 280 initial reports have never been submitted after having ratified a treaty or a related protocol.

To achieve progress in human rights takes a great deal more than the flourish of a signature at the bottom of a document, al-Hussein said.
By Ori Lewis

| JERUSALEM

JERUSALEM An Israeli panel approved plans on Tuesday for the first new Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank in two decades, Israeli media reports said, drawing Palestinian condemnation and defying repeated international appeals to avoid such measures.If confirmed, the plans, which media said also envisage the construction of some 1,800 other settler homes in the West Bank, are likely to deliver a further serious blow to efforts to revive the moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace process.A spokeswoman for the military-run Civil Administration in the West Bank of which the panel is a part declined to comment on the reports. Peace Now, an Israeli anti-settlement group that monitors settlement activity in the West Bank, could not immediately confirm the reports but said the panel was due to discuss further building plans for the occupied territory on Wednesday.The reported move follows an Israeli government decision in March to build the new settlement, known as Amichai. It will house some 300 settlers evicted in February from another settlement called Amona.

Israel's Supreme Court ordered the removal of the Amona settlers after ruling that their homes had been built illegally on privately-owned Palestinian land. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to re-house them at a new site in the West Bank.According to the media reports, the panel approved plans to build 102 homes at the Amichai site for the Amona settlers. Plans for another 1,800 dwellings in several existing settlements were also ratified, the reports said."GREEN LIGHT"

Palestinians, who seek to establish a state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital, reacted angrily to the reports."When President (Donald) Trump visited the region, and didn't mention anything about the settlements, the Israeli government thought that it is a green light to continue expanding settlements against all international laws," Wassel Abu Yussef, an official of the Palestine Liberation Organization, told Reuters.

The U.S. president did not speak publicly about the settlements during a May 22-23 visit to Jerusalem and the West Bank, though he urged Israeli and Palestinian leaders to "make a deal" for peace that would entail compromise and tough decisions.At a White House meeting with Netanyahu in February, Trump appeared to catch the Israeli leader off-guard when he urged him to "hold back on settlements for a little bit".Most countries view settlements that Israel has built on land captured in the 1967 Middle East war as illegal. Israel disputes that and cites biblical, historical and political links to the West Bank, as well as security interests.About 400,000 settlers and 2.8 million Palestinians live in the West Bank. (Writing by Ori Lewis; Editing by Gareth Jones)

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Kabul: The death toll from a devastating truck bomb in Kabul's diplomatic quarter last week has jumped to more than 150, President Ashraf Ghani told an international peace conference in the capital on Tuesday.

Kabul has been on edge since the bombing in the highly fortified area last Wednesday, the deadliest in the city since 2001.

"Over 150 innocent Afghan sons and daughters were killed and more than 300 wounded were brought to hospitals with burns and amputations," Ghani said. Previously, officials had put the number of dead at 90.

Four more people were killed on Friday when hundreds of protesters incensed by the bombing clashed with police, prompting officials to force them back with live rounds fired in the air, tear gas and water cannon.

The protesters, holding a sit-in for a fifth day on Tuesday near the bombing site, have demanded the resignation of Afghanistan's security chiefs, including national security adviser Hanif Atmar a demand that Ghani has turned down.

And on Saturday, at least seven people were killed when suicide bombers tore through a row of mourners who were attending the funeral of one of the protesters, the son of an influential Afghan senator.

No group has claimed the attacks, but the government has blamed the Taliban-allied Haqqani Network for Wednesday's bombing.
A recent wave of violent terrorist attacks in the Afghan capital of Kabul has not only claimed dozens of lives, but also left the country in panic as growing chaos could undermine new diplomatic opportunities. Kabul is preparing to host a conference  called 'The Kabul Process' by President Ashraf Ghani  in which 20 nations including the US, Saudi Arabia, India and China will participate. The conference  that kicks off on Tuesday is going to be the first of its kind, bringing fruit to Ghanis diplomacy with regard to ending the Afghan conflict. During his tenure, Ghani has been successful rallying support for Afghanistan from critical stakeholders involved in the ongoing violence in the country.

Ghani has successfully proved to the US and the world that Pakistan is continuing to use coercive means through the Taliban in order to dictate its terms to the Afghan government. Even Saudi Arabia, one of Pakistans closest allies since the 1970s has been slowly distancing itself from Pakistan. The US Senate and government have already been debating declaring Pakistan a sponsor of terrorism. Even China, Pakistans all-time patron, feels threatened by Islamic fundamentalism being nurtured by the Pakistani military. The Eiffel Tower turned its lights off to mourn the Kabul attack and the Australian Parliament stood in a moment of silence for the victims of the attack  an unprecedented international mobilisation for the Afghan cause.

Even though Ghani has been successful in his foreign policy, there are major lapses within the Afghan government that have not been addressed by him. For example, the security sector is the major government institution that has suffered badly from corruption. Due to unprofessional leadership, Afghan forces lost a record number of soldiers in the ongoing war last year. Former Mujahideen and ethnic leaders have continued to dominate the military, intelligence and police, hence failing to foil basic warfare tactics and terrorist attacks. The US too has repeatedly reiterated how corruption in security apparatus could cause immense harm. That grave challenge has seriously undermined the governments efforts at entrenching stability and prosperity for the people.

On the other hand, some warlords who were former high-ranking officials in the government, pose serious threats to the government should they be sacked. They keep threatening the government unless given privileges and authority. That indicates that Afghanistan is still individual-centered, and as a nation over the past 16 years, has not been able to build government institutions that would defy individuals threatening law and order. Following the bombing in Kabul on 31 May, people were protesting against the government that failed to ensure the security of the people.

Some Jamiat-e-Islami leaders like Ahmad Zia Massoud also participated in the protest against the government that turned violent. The protest was hijacked by a few individual to inflict strain on the government and further the tension in Kabul in their struggle for power, according to one of the main organisers of the protests, but their protests were aimed at democratic demands not toppling the government.

However, the peace conference on Tuesday will be a great opportunity for Ghani to get the participating nations to place sanctions on Pakistan for sponsoring terrorism. The Kabul attack was carried out by the Haqqani Network, based in Pakistan, according to the Afghan government. Zalmay Khalilzad, an Afghan-born American diplomat, tweeted:

Either Pakistan ends terrorist sanctuary or we consider attacking terrorist bases there. #POTUS #Afghanistan #Pakistan  Zalmay Khalilzad (@realZalmayMK) May 31, 2017

In addition, we need to start the process for designating Pakistan as state sponsor of terrorism. #POTUS #Afghanistan #Pakistan  Zalmay Khalilzad (@realZalmayMK) May 31, 2017

Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah too should take advantage of the current political and security chaos, and bring radical reform to the security sector  which is only possible if they support NATO. Rank promotions in the police and military should be halted until a transparent bureaucratic channel is created; former officers that maintain ethnic loyalties should be gradually removed, and new officers with no political allegiance to any party should be promoted. Ghani called the interior ministry the most corrupt in Afghanistan. Now is a chance for him to undo that corruption.

It is critical for Ghani to curb domestic loopholes in order for his foreign policy to be successful. On the other hand, the US should take a lead role in the conference to mobilise support for 'the Kabul Process' and reaffirm its pledge to Afghanistan by supporting major reforms and eradicating corruption.

The fight against terrorism cannot be won if countries continue to distinguish between 'good' and 'bad' terrorists. Afghanistan is under a direct attack from terrorism that is subsidised across the border, an insurgency that is armed, trained, equipped and funded from across the border. The US and world must not only recognise the struggle of Afghans that are at the forefront of a war that is imposed upon them, but also support the Afghan government in stopping the countries that proliferate insurgency in the region.

The ongoing war is no more just an Afghan war, it will have regional and global repercussions if not tackled at its roots.

The Afghan nation has been through worse calamities, but it stood its ground. However one cannot solely count on Afghans' resilience. If the US and allies fail to address the root cause of terrorism now, it will push Afghanistan into further chaos and instability and by the same token, people will raise questions over the status of the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) between Afghanistan and the US. Therefore, Washington must push Pakistan to stop using terror and fundamentalism as its foreign policy tool.

Aziz Amin Ahmadzai writes on political and security in South and West Asia. He is a Chevening Scholar and a former Afghan government official. He tweets @azizamin786.

Samim Arif is a Fulbright scholar and researcher. He tweets @samimarif
Washington: United States national security advisor Lieutenant-General HR McMaster has assured Afghanistan president Ashraf Ghani that America stands in solidarity with the Afghan government after the deadly terror attacks in Kabul last week.

McMaster condemned the terror attacks in the strongest terms and noted that the United States stands in solidarity with the Afghan government and people, the White House said.

"Lieutenant General McMaster underscored America's steadfast support for the national unity government, and he recognised that because terrorists are seeking to divide the Afghan people, it is more important than ever, in the face of such adversity, to remain united and be strong in our resolve to achieve the security and peace that the people of Afghanistan deserve," the White House said in a statement.

McMaster wished Ghani and all Afghans best wishes for Ramadan and expressed confidence that the Afghan people would overcome this difficult period and defeat their enemies.

"He expressed admiration for the courageous Afghan security forces who, every day work to confront the enemies of all civilised people," the White House said.

Meanwhile, Republican congressman Walter Jones asked United States president Donald Trump not to increase the number of troops in Afghanistan.

"I'm absolutely opposed to it, because if you increase the number of American troops that means the number of Americans to be killed and wounded goes up. And again, I come back to the point, what have we accomplished? We spent over $800 billion. We are very close to $1 trillion in the past 16 years," Jones told PJ Media in an interview.

"We've had over 2,200 Americans killed and 20,000 wounded. What have we accomplished? In fact, (Hamid) Karzai, the former leader of Afghanistan, is now trying to get the Russians to negotiate with the Taliban so he can go back into power," Jones said.
Seven people were killed and 48 others were injured in a terror attack in the British capital on Saturday night when a van smashed into pedestrians on London Bridge before three assailants went on a stabbing spree.

The attackers were shot dead by the police at the scene.

London's Metropolitan Police on Monday named Khuram Shazad Butt and Rachid Redouane as two of the suspected attackers.

Khuram Butt, the terrorist who had appeared in a documentary

Butt, 27, was a British citizen born in Pakistan who was known to security services and even featured in a documentary entitled The Jihadis Next Door, that aired on British television last year, reported AP.

Butt's neighbours identified him from the film's footage on Monday, pointing to a scene in which he is shown participating in a provocative prayer session at Regents Park, near London's biggest mosque helping to display a black flag covered in white Arabic lettering similar to the one used by the Islamic State group, which took responsibility for the attack.

Butt is also seen in the film sprawling on the lawn and nodding as he listens to a sermon in which the speaker tells those gathered: "This is not the real life, my dear brothers. This is a passing time for us."

As details about Butt emerged, they prompted questions of whether he could have been stopped sooner.

Butt's apparent zealotry had led one neighbour, Erica Gasparri, to contact police about 18 months ago.

The 42-year-old mother of three was working at a local school when she noticed Butt, who was also known as Abu Mohamed, meeting with local children and trying to draw them into his radicalism.

"It was wrong what he was doing," Gasparri said. "He kept talking about the Islamic State. I got very angry."

Salaudeen Jailabdeen, who lived near Butt, said the alleged assailant had once been ejected from a local mosque for interrupting an imam. Another neighbour, Michael Mimbo, said he saw the van used in the attack near his home on Saturday, but didn't see who was behind the wheel. He said the vehicle was seen going the wrong way down a one-way street and was later seen speeding off, followed closely by a small red car.

Rachid Redouane, who had seen his ex-wife hours before the attack

broadcaster RTE reported that Redouane had an Irish residency card and had lived in Dublin, according to AFP.

Authorities also told AP that Redouane alternately used the surname Elkhdar and used two different birthdates that would make him either 25 or 30.

Reouane married in Ireland in 2012 and the couple later moved to the UK, according to The Telegraph. His 38-year-old wife never converted to her husband's faith and one of Redouane's friends later revealed that the couple split up because they clashed over how to raise their daughter.

Neighbours of Redouane's wife said that he was seen visiting his wife only three hours before the attack.

One of the neighbours even told The Telegraph that he had stood next to the terrorist in a lift as he went up to his wife's apartment.

"I've seen him four or five times, he's come here often to see his daughter. He didn't say a word, we just stood there silently until we got to his floor. It was only the next day when my mate told me about the attacks that I realised it was him. It's scary you know. I don't like the fact that my kids were living in the same block as this guy," the report quoted him as saying.

As details of Redouane's Irish links were revealed, a Muslim imam and scholar based in Britain alleged that authorities had repeatedly ignored his warnings about local activists from the Islamic State.

Prime Minister Theresa May said the attackers were driven by "Islamist extremism", and the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for Saturday's rampage.

Both men lived in Barking, an ethnically diverse part of east London where police carried out several raids on Sunday and Monday.

With inputs from agencies
London: A new search was underway Tuesday in a neighbourhood near the home of two of the London Bridge attackers, hours after police said they had freed everyone detained in the wake of the rampage that left seven dead and dozens wounded.

The attack, the third in Britain in three months, has raised questions over the government's ability to protect Britain following cuts to police numbers in recent years. The issue has become a key one in the run-up to Thursday's general election.

Theresa May, who called the snap election in hopes of strengthening her mandate for discussions over Britain's exit from the European Union, has come under fire for the cuts to police numbers over recent years.

A string of opinion polls over the past couple of weeks have pointed to a narrowing in the gap between her Conservative Party and the main opposition Labour Party. London police said all 12 people held since the attack late Saturday from the Barking neighborhood in the east of the city, have been freed.

A new search was underway in Ilford, just north of Barking, as authorities tried to determine whether the group had accomplices.

One of the attackers, Khuram Shazad Butt, had appeared in a documentary "The Jihadis Next Door" and was known to investigators but police said he was not believed to be plotting an attack. The second man, Rachid Redouane, had not aroused any suspicions.

Police have not released the identity of the third. The three, who were wearing fake suicide vests, were shot dead during the attack.

Questions remain over whether investigators had the resources to look into complaints such as those leveled by Butt's neighbours about his attempts to radicalise children and whether crucial opportunities were missed that could have saved lives.

Saturday's attack was the third in as many months involving suspects who had been on the radar of British authorities. All three have been claimed by the Islamic State group.

The country's official terror threat level remains at "severe," one notch down from the highest.

It had been set at "critical" in the days after the Manchester concert bombing on 22 May that killed 22 people: Reflecting a judgment that an attack might be imminent because accomplices with similar bombs might be on the loose.

It was lowered once intelligence agencies were comfortable this wasn't the case. Authorities have said the London attack was apparently unconnected to the Manchester bombing.
London: US president Donald Trump once again criticised London mayor Sadiq Khan on Monday over his response to a deadly attack on the city, while the British public and politicians lauded the mayor for his handling of the aftermath.

Trump accused Khan of making a "pathetic excuse" over his statement urging Londoners not to be alarmed by the presence of additional police on the streets in response to the attack. But British prime minister Theresa May said Khan was doing a "good job", echoing public sentiment across London.

Three jihadis drove a van into pedestrians on London Bridge on Saturday night before running into the bustling Borough Market area where they slit people's throats and stabbed them indiscriminately. Police shot dead all three attackers.

Khan had said on Sunday morning that people would see an increased police presence on the streets of the capital and should not be alarmed by that.Trump mocked Khan's comment on Sunday, suggesting in a tweet that the mayor was downplaying the attacks. A spokesman for Khan responded that the mayor "has more important things to do than responding to Donald Trump's ill-informed tweet that deliberately takes out of context" his remarks.

Trump's comments drew widespread scorn in Britain but the US leader went on the attack again on Monday, saying in a tweet: "Pathetic excuse by London Mayor Sadiq Khan who had to think fast on his 'no reason to be alarmed' statement. MSM is working hard to sell it!" Trump wrote. MSM referred to mainstream media.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said she did not think it was fair to characterise Trump's tweets as "picking a fight" with Khan, who is the first Muslim elected as London mayor."The point is, there is a reason to be alarmed. We have constant attacks going on, not just there but across the globe, and we have to start putting national security and global security at an all time high," she told a White House briefing.

Khan said he had been too busy dealing with the fallout from the attack to respond directly to the tweet. Khan, who belongs to the opposition Labour Party, is popular in London and his response to Saturday's killings has been widely praised as dignified.

May, the Conservative Party leader, was asked earlier on Monday about Trump's criticism of Khan."I think Sadiq Khan is doing a good job and it is wrong to say anything else," she said. Khan's statement on Sunday morning condemned the attack and gave a number of details about what had happened and what measures were being taken in response.

"Londoners will see an increased police presence today and over the course of the next few days. No reason to be alarmed. One of the things the police, all of us need to do is make sure we're as safe as we possibly can be," Khan said.

Not the first clash

In his Sunday tweet, Trump commented: "At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is 'no reason to be alarmed!'"It was met with a barrage of criticism in both Britain and the United States, with former Vice President Al Gore among many public figures who accused Trump of misrepresenting what Khan had said.

A YouGov poll of 1,000 Londoners published on Monday found that Khan was more trusted than both May and national Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to make the right decisions about keeping Britain safe from terrorism."My focus from Saturday night has been working with the police the emergency services and the government to deal with the horrific attack on Saturday," Khan told Sky News when asked about Trump's latest tweet."I just haven't got time to respond to tweets from Donald Trump. I've got better and more important things to focus on." The two men have

The two men have a history. During the US presidential election campaign, Khan was among many people who spoke out against Trump's proposed ban on Muslims entering the United States, an idea he said would play into the hands of extremists.During a visit to Chicago in September last year, Khan endorsed Trump's

During a visit to Chicago in September last year, Khan endorsed Trump's opponent, Hillary Clinton.In March, after an attack by an Islamic militant that left five people dead in Westminster, central London, Trump's son Donald Trump Jr. issued a tweet that criticised Khan.

Trump Jr. wrote "You have got to be kidding me?!" above a link to an article reporting comments Khan had made months earlier. In the article, Khan was reported as saying that being prepared for terror attacks was "part and parcel" of living in a major city.
By Michael O'Boyle

| TOLUCA, Mexico

TOLUCA, Mexico Mexico's ruling party fended off a leftist challenger in a major state election seen as a test run for a presidential vote next year, propelling the country's peso currency to its strongest level since U.S. President Donald Trump was elected.But the Institutional Revolutionary Party's (PRI) 3 percentage-point margin of victory in the central State of Mexico, the country's most populous, was a close call for President Enrique Pena Nieto, whose party has ruled it for nearly nine decades. A narrow defeat will not end, or even dampen, the aspirations of leftists led by veteran Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, an early favorite for next year's presidential race as the contender of the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) party. His young party accused the PRI of vote buying and other dirty tricks, and may launch legal challenges in the weeks to come.With nearly 98 percent of returns in from polling booths, PRI candidate Alfredo del Mazo had 34 percent of the vote compared with 31 percent for MORENA candidate Delfina Gomez."We are going to challenge (the results) at many booths where illegal returns were sent, and we believe that with this we could reverse the outcome," said MORENA secretary general Yeidckol Polevnsky. In other statewide elections, also held on Sunday, the PRI lost in the western state of Nayarit and narrowly won in Coahuila, which borders the United States."The PRI struggled to hold on to the gubernatorial seat in both the State of Mexico and Coahuila, which have traditionally been very favorable electoral battlegrounds, and suffered significant losses in Nayarit and in the municipal election in Veracruz," said Goldman Sachs economist Alberto Ramos. "This does not bode well for the PRI in the presidential election next year," Ramos added.Still, markets reacted positively to the news that the PRI was bound to retain power in Mexico State. The Mexican peso MXN=MXN=D2 gained nearly 2 percent in Monday morning trade, on the setback for Lopez Obrador, a sign of ongoing market distrust of the combative leader who has opposed economic liberalization in Mexico.

The result also gave a boost to OHL Mexico (OHLMEX.MX), the Mexican unit of Spanish construction firm OHL, whose share price rose by as much as 9.5 percent.Investors fear that Lopez Obrador and other opposition leaders, who have accused OHL Mexico of helping to finance the PRI in the State of Mexico, could go after the firm's lucrative contracts if they are elected to power. OHL Mexico has rejected the allegations.HISTORY OF CHALLENGING RESULTS

The PRI is battling widespread anger at corruption and rising violent crime under Pena Nieto as the countdown starts for the July 2018 presidential election. Lopez Obrador has alleged fraud in past elections, and he vowed to scrutinize the results from every voting booth.

"We will never resort to violence, but we are going to firmly defend this country's democracy," he said in a video message. Gomez, the candidate, said she would not protest the result on the streets.Known as AMLO, the silver-haired politician earned the ire of many Mexico City residents after the 2006 presidential vote when he brought parts of the capital to a standstill with mass protests, saying he had been robbed of victory by center-right candidate Felipe Calderon."The lengths that Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador goes to challenge the result will have an important bearing on his presidential candidacy," said Nicholas Watson of Teneo Intelligence.Prosecutors are probing the circumstances of piles of pig heads dumped on Saturday near MORENA offices and at polling stations in several municipalities.Also under investigation were telephone threats and fake electoral literature warning of attacks - tactics used to dissuade people from voting.

Encompassing many populous neighborhoods on the edge of Mexico City, the State of Mexico is home to one in eight Mexican voters and it has long been a source of strength and financing for the PRI.Del Mazo, however, had a poor showing compared to his predecessors despite his family's dominance in the state's politics. He secured barely half the share of vote and a fraction of the margin of victory that the current governor won six years ago with the backing of Pena Nieto, himself a former governor of the state whose own popularity has since plunged.CORRUPTION, VIOLENCE WEIGH ON PRI

Failing to put a stop to corruption scandals and struggling to tame brutal gang violence has cost the party dearly.Mexico's attorney general's office said on Sunday a former state governor for the PRI, Roberto Borge, had been arrested at Mexico's request in Panama on corruption charges. Borge, an ex-governor of Quintana Roo, encompassing the resort of Cancun, has previously denied wrongdoing.Lopez Obrador's State of Mexico campaign was hurt by a failure to ally with others in the opposition and references by rivals to crisis-hit Venezuela, which the PRI argues mirrors his economic model. He denies the accusation. The campaigner has opposed the opening of Mexico's energy sector to private capital, a key reform under Pena Nieto, but no longer vows to reverse it.Linking Lopez Obrador to late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez has helped rivals beat him to the top job in two previous bids at the presidency.Victory for Lopez Obrador in 2018 could push Mexico in a more nationalist direction at a time of tension with the United States, with U.S. President Donald Trump riling Mexicans with threats to tear up the North American Free Trade Agreement and build a border wall. (Additional reporting by Anthony Esposito, Frank Jack Daniel, Dave Graham, Anahi Rama and David Alire Garcia; Editing by W Simon and Mary Milliken)

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Iraq: About 100,000 children are trapped in extremely dangerous conditions in the remaining Islamic State-held enclave in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, the United Nations said on Monday.

Children were being used as human shields by the insurgents or were caught in crossfire during battle, the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) said in a statement.

Some had been forced to take part in the fighting. Hospitals and clinics had come under attack, it said. "We are receiving alarming reports of civilians including several children being killed in west Mosul," UNICEF said. "Some were reportedly killed as they desperately tried to flee the fighting which is intensifying by the hour."

A Reuters TV crew on Saturday saw the bodies of dozens of civilians, including children, lying in a frontline street, apparently killed while fleeing the enclave.

Iraqi government forces retook eastern Mosul in January and began a new push on 27 May to capture the remaining Islamic State-held enclave in the city's western side.

The Mosul offensive started in October with air and ground support from a US-led international coalition. It has taken much longer than expected as the militants hide in the middle of civilians.

About 700,000 people, about a third of the pre-war population of Mosul, have already fled, seeking refuge either with friends and relatives or in camps.

"Attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure including hospitals, clinics, schools, homes and water systems should stop immediately," UNICEF said.
United States envoy Nikki Haley on Tuesday urged the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to throw out abusive regimes and end what she called its "anti-Israel bias", warning that its credibility was at stake.

Haley did not explicitly threaten to quit the body if Washington's concerns were not addressed, a prospect that first emerged in February in a leaked letter by secretary of state Rex Tillerson.

But Haley used her speech, the first by an American United Nations ambassador to the Geneva-based council since its creation in 2006, to put the body on notice.

"The United States is looking carefully at this council, and our participation in it," she said.

"Being a member of this council is a privilege, and no country who is a human rights violator should be allowed a seat at the table," Haley added.

United States concerns about the United Nations rights body predate president Donald Trump's election, and Washington has long denounced an agenda item dedicated exclusively to criticising Israel.

It has also raised concerns about a nomination process that has seen authoritarian governments elected to one of the 47 rotating seats.

While Haley has escalated those criticisms since becoming United Nations ambassador, her speech on Tuesday was mild compared to recent remarks, including an assault she levelled in a 2 June Washington Post opinion piece.

Writing in The Post, she asked, "whether the Human Rights Council actually supports human rights or is merely a showcase for dictatorships that use their membership to whitewash brutality".

She argued that a system allowing regional blocs to nominate members which were then rubber-stamped by the General Assembly had turned the council into "a haven for dictators".

She cited Cuba but directed the heaviest fire at Venezuela, where two months of anti-government protests have left dozens dead.

Haley doubled down on attacking Venezuela on Tuesday, urging Caracas to "voluntarily step down from its seat... until it can get its own house in order."

In a side event hosted by the United States, Haley claimed that the council "has no excuse" for allowing Venezuela to hold a seat.

Turning to Israel, Haley reiterated United States' concerns about what it considers the country's unfair treatment.

"It is essential that this council address its chronic anti-Israel bias, if it is to have any credibility," she said.

Israel is the only country with a dedicated rights council agenda item, known as Item 7.

Israel and its allies have denounced the council for allowing majority-Muslim states to spearhead resolutions at every session denouncing abuses against the Palestinians.

Haley said Tuesday that the United States had identified "some areas for significant strengthening" of the council and praised past resolutions that gave "hope to people who are fighting for justice".

She was planning to outline specific reform proposals later on Tuesday in a speech at the Graduate Institute in Geneva, she added.

The head of Human Rights Watch's Geneva office, John Fisher, agreed that a reformed membership process would make the rights council stronger.

"All states from all regions should work together to end backroom deals on closed voting slates," he said in a statement. "It's the best way to keep serial rights abusers off the council."

In addition to Venezuela  where protesters have accused president Nicolas Maduro's government of systemic repression  Burundi also sits on the council, despite several recent reports detailing gruesome abuses perpetrated by state security agents.

In his speech opening the session, United Nations rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein also upbraided some council members  including Indonesia, Egypt and the Philippines  for restricting international investigations into alleged abuses.
Washington: US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has said the international community is "concerned" about Russian poll meddling and that Moscow should know there are "consequences" for interfering in US elections.

"I can tell you, the international community is concerned about Russia's meddling within all of their elections," Haley said on CBS News' "Face the Nation" in an interview on Sunday.

"But they're concerned about Russia for a lot of reasons. And so we'll continue to keep our eye on them. And when we can work with them, we want to try and do that. But when we can't, we're going to hold the line."

The Indian-American lawmaker  when asked why sanctions aren't being imposed on Russia  emphasised the US isn't going easy on Russia.

"Well, I think that, you know, they're going through the motions of the investigation," Haley said.

"I could tell you we've taken actions against Russia in the UN Security Council. We've stood strong on the sanctions in their situations with Ukraine. We called them out in their association with the Assad regime."

"We're going to continue to call them out as we need to," Haley continued.

"At the same time, we are trying to see if we can have talks with them on how to better come in line in the Syrian conflict. We're working with them on counter-terrorism. But if we see Russia doing anything wrong, we're going to tell them."

Haley said that she will support whatever Congress decides to do in terms of sanctions against Russia.

Pressure was mounting on US officials to take a tougher stance on Russia, even as Trump himself is reluctant to criticise the Kremlin and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the report said.

Haley also had tough words for North Korea. Tensions between the US and North Korea continue to mount amid the latter's frequent missile tests. The temperature of the North Korea situation right now is "volatile", Haley said.

"I think what you can see is that we have worked very closely with China," Haley said.

"China has really stood up in putting the pressure on North Korea. And yesterday the Security Council voted to increase sanctions on individuals and entities that are related to those ballistic missile tests," she said.
PARIS A man armed with a hammer shouted "this is for Syria" before attacking police officers on Tuesday outside France's Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, the interior minister said.The assailant wounded one officer before he was shot and wounded by other officers. The Paris prosecutor's office swiftly began a counter-terrorism investigation.Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said the attacker was carrying the identification card of an Algerian student. He said preliminary information indicated the attacker had acted alone.Dozens of armed police sealed off the area and the cathedral in central Paris that is visited by millions of tourists every year was locked down while the security forces secured the area. It is the first attack since President Emmanuel Macron won last month's election and comes days before a parliamentary poll in which opinion surveys show Macron on course to win a landslide majority. His rivals portrayed him as weak on security during the presidential campaign.

"Situation under control, one policeman injured, the assailant was neutralised and taken to hospital," Paris police said on Twitter.France is under a state of emergency after a wave of militant attacks since early 2015 that have killed more than 230 people across the country. Soldiers patrol its streets alongside police to guard tourist sites, government buildings and events.

Hundreds of tourists were inside the cathedral when the attacker struck.One holidaymaker inside Notre Dame posted on Twitter: "Not the holiday experience wanted. Trapped in Notre Dame Cathedral after police shoot a man. We are with our 2 terrified children."Karine Dalle, a spokeswoman for the Paris diocese, told BFM TV 900 people were inside the cathedral as police secured the area.

Both France and Britain have suffered a spate of militant attacks in recent months. In London, militants on Saturday drove a van at high speed into pedestrians on London Bridge before stabbing night revellers on the street and in nearby bars, killing at seven people and wounding dozens. That followed a suicide bombing in Manchester that killed 22 people.In France, days before the first round of the presidential election in April, a policeman was shot dead and two others wounded. Islamic state claimed the attack as well as those in London and Manchester. In September, three women were arrested after police found a car laden with gas cylinders abandoned near Notre Dame. The interior ministry at the time said it was likely an attack had been imminent. (Reporting by Maya Nikolaeva and Emmanuel Jarry, editing by Larry King; Writing by John Irish and Richard Lough)

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Washington: Pakistan is still a sanctuary for the Taliban and the Haqqani network and more of a threat than an ally, a top US think tank has said, while asserting that the Trump administration should make it clear to Islamabad that it will face sanctions if it continues to support them.

"Afghanistan is currently doing badly both in the fighting and in its civilian politics, governance, and poverty. Pakistan is still a sanctuary for the Taliban and Haqqani network and more of a threat than an ally," the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said in a report released on Monday.

Authored by Anthony H Cordesman, CSIS's Arleigh A Burke, Chair in Strategy, the report said there has to be a better strategy and a better approach to both the military and civil dimensions of the war to provide a reason to stay.

"No commitment should be open ended. The Afghans have to do far more, and do it far better, to justify each future year of US commitment," the report said.

"The United States should make it clear to Pakistan that it faces a total end to aid, and the imposition of sanctions, if it continues to support the Taliban and tolerate the Haqqani network," it said.

Russia should be told that any end to US sanctions will depend on it not supporting the Taliban, and the Unites States should reach out to China to make it clear that Chinese cooperation in dealing with Afghanistan and Pakistan can serve both Chinese and American interests, the report said.

CSIS said the US should make it totally clear that it will conduct a public annual review of its commitments to Afghanistan and the Afghan performance.

"It should make it clear that it can and will leave in the face of Afghan failure. If necessary, the United States should make good on such a threat," it said.

"It should send a clear message to all 'partner states' that they must meet reasonable standards of performance. The United States should never bully its allies, but it also should not be bullied  or let nations slip into the kind of overdependence that ultimately undermines rather than aids them," the CSIS said.
Beijing: California governor Jerry Brown predicted Tuesday that President Donald Trump's decision to pull the US out of the Paris Climate Accord will prove only a temporary setback to reducing greenhouse gas emissions because "disaster still looms" unless the world moves urgently on the issue.

Brown told Associated Press during his visit to a clean energy conference in Beijing that China, European countries and US state governors will for now fill the gap left by the federal government's move to abdicate leadership on the issue.

"Nobody can stay on the sidelines. We can't afford any dropouts in the tremendous human challenge to make the transition to a sustainable future," Brown said. "Disaster still looms and we've got to make the turn."

Trump's decision to leave the Paris accord has drawn heavy criticism within the US and internationally, including in China. The president argued that the Paris agreement favours emerging economies such as China's and India's at the expense of US workers.

Without mentioning Trump by name, Brown told attendees at a forum on electric vehicles that "there are still people in powerful places who are resisting reality, who are resisting the obvious science that we know governs our lives."

Later, when asked by the AP what could prompt the US to return to the forefront of climate change efforts, Brown replied, "Science, facts, the world, the marketplace."

Chinese Science and Technology Minister Wan Gang and Brown signed an agreement on behalf of their respective governments calling for greater collaboration on countering climate change. Wan did not publicly address Trump's move on the accord, which has been ratified by almost 150 countries.

Brown signed similar collaboration agreements over the past several days with leaders in two Chinese provinces, Jiangsu and Sichuan.

The US has long been a leader in the clean energy arena, driving innovations in electric cars, renewable power and other sectors of the industry. California, with the largest economy of any U.S. state, as well as some of the strictest climate controls, has been at the forefront of the sector.

Although China has in recent years overtaken the US as the world leader in renewable power development, it has struggled to integrate its sprawling wind and solar facilities into an electricity grid still dominated by coal-fueled power plants.

At the same time, Chinese leaders face growing public pressure at home to reduce the health-damaging smog that blankets many urban areas.

The government has pledged that greenhouse gas emissions will peak no later than 2030 under the Paris pact, and start to fall after then. It has canceled the planned construction of more than 100 new coal-fired power plants and plans to invest at least $360 billion in green-energy projects by the end of the decade. Its consumption of coal fell in 2016 for a third consecutive year. It could meet its 2030 target a decade early.

US Energy Secretary Rick Perry also is due to attend this week's energy meeting in Beijing. Observers say delegates from other countries will be listening closely to the former Texas governor to gauge how Trump administration policies will shape global energy trends.

Trump is a strong advocate of boosting US fossil fuel industries, in particular coal mining, which suffered a steep decline in production during the tenure of former President Barack Obama.

Cheap natural gas and tighter pollution restrictions toppled coal from its dominant position in the US power sector over the past decade and experts say it unlikely to regain that position regardless of what Trump does. China is by far the world's largest user of coal, which accounts for almost two-thirds of its energy use and has made it the number one emitter of climate-changing greenhouse gases.

Perry is from a state that is known for its oil production, but which also has emerged as a leader in renewables development. Texas has some of the largest wind farms in the country and a fast-expanding solar sector.
Paris: Paris police is engaged in a security operation near Notre Dame Cathedral after a French police officer shot and injured a man who attacked him with a hammer outside the cathedral on Tuesday, media reports said. The police urged passers-by to stay away from the area.

The police department tweeted about the operation on Tuesday afternoon but did not provide any details. A large number of police cars filled the area on the Ile de Cite island in the River Seine in the centre of Paris.

Police sealed off the area in front of the cathedral after the incident. French TV reported about panicked tourists fleeing for cover.

The attacker shouted "this is for Syria" before being shot, French interior minister Gerard Collomb said. He was also found to be carrying kitchen knives and had a document identifying him as an Algerian student, the authenticity of which authorities were checking, Gerard Collomb told reporters.

France is under a state of emergency and on its highest possible level of alert following a string of terror attacks that began in 2015, which have killed over 230 people.

In the last fatal attack, a policeman was shot and killed on Paris's prestigious Champs-Elysees Avenue on 20 April, three days before the first round of the presidential election.

Major attacks in France targeted the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine in January 2015 and in November that year, gunmen and suicide bombers attacked sites around Paris including the Bataclan concert hall, killing 130 people.

Then in July 2016, a radicalised Tunisian man drove a lorry at high speed through a Bastille Day fireworks display on the Nice waterfront, killing 86 people.

Since then there have been a series of smaller attacks, often targeting security forces.

With inputs from agencies
In what could be called an unprecedented escalation of tension between Qatar and its Gulf neighbours, the regional leaders seems to have reached the point of no return. The crisis involves the regional security order in which Iran, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas and the entire spectrum of political Islam has been unanimously identified as the most hostile and destabilising of players. Qatar and its leader Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa is seen as a key ally of players of political Islam, friendly with Iran, and a spoiler of the regional security vision that UAE and Egypt have been jointly advancing.

One thing is very clear, these steps are not meant for a negotiated outcome of the crisis; this is to coerce the Qatari decision-makers to change their policies. Emirati commentator and prominent artist Sultan Sooud al-Qassemi writes in Newsweek that the many non-negotiable demands by the Gulf States include the reigning in of the misuse of Qatari-linked charitable organisations, cessation of incitement against the Egyptian State and reconsidering Qatars ties with their Iran. The list of demands includes the expulsion of all Muslim Brotherhood leaders and their Hamas affiliate figures from Qatar, along with Azmi Bishara and Islamist writer Yasser Al-Za'atra.

Should Qatar accept all or some of these demands depends on what Doha can gain and lose from this crisis. It is true that the crisis is not heading towards a military intervention as of now, but there is a clear objective to get rid of the irritants persisting in Qatar-Gulf relations for quite some time. As long as trust is not restored between the key members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, these tensions will keep resurfacing every now and then.

The key demands that the four Arab countries have put forward to Qatar are, however, problematic and less assuring for a durable trust restoration. Qatari support to the Islamist opposition forces in all Arab countries is a serious issue. Islamist forces have been used by each and every government in the region. In Jordan and Morocco, they have been coopted; in Hosni Mubaraks Egypt, they were given limited access to political life; in Yemen, they were used to defeat Houthis when the Houthis fell out with Saudis in 2011. It is very difficult to imagine that any country is really willing to or capable of completely expelling Islamists from political life. in 2013, the Salafis were used against the Brotherhood to topple down the elected president Mohammad Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood.

On Iran also, Qatar is not the only country. Kuwait and Oman maintain close diplomatic links with Iran. In 2016, Egypt resumed its trade ties with Iran and has increased its political interaction, although they have fallen just short of starting full diplomatic relations. According to a European Union report, UAE is the fourth largest trading partner of Iran  accounting for 23.6 percent of Iranian trade. In 2007, at the GCC Summit held in Doha, the UAE president Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed held a closed-door meeting with then Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It is known that the Gulf States' inability to stop the invasion of Iraq still remains the biggest reason for instability and insecurity.

Qatars sheltering of Islamists or the Brotherhood seems to be a secondary reason as each country maintains some level of contact with them. The major difference, irreconcilable perhaps, is their respective vision for regional security.

Whether Saudi Arabia and more particularly King Salman was willing to escalate the crisis to this level is still doubtful. Qatar and Saudi Arabia had come to a common platform after the Saudi embassy was attacked in Iran and since then, the two sides have improved their relations. The Saudis are unhappy with the way Egypts Abdel Fattah el-Sisi had been handling Egyptian affairs, particularly Egypts support to a Russian veto of the French resolution on Syria. Riyadh had called the Egyptian vote painful, according to Al-Arabiya. Egypt and Saudi Arabia have several differences over Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya and Sudan. Egypts rapprochement with Bashar al-Assad, whose support to former Muammar Gaddafi loyalists in Libya and secret contacts with Iran and Yemens Houthis had made Saudi-Egyptian relations trickier.

Two years after the Saudi military operation in Yemen, the Saudi economy has started showing signs of fatigue. King Salmans ability to bargain and take decisive steps seems to have weakened. The Iranian threat, exaggerated occasionally, is exploiting Saudi resources. Amid a weakening Saudi economy and political leadership, there is a steady rise of an assertive UAE and its ambitious leader Mohammad Bin Zayed, who enjoys immense support from el-Sisi.

It is not just coincidence to see Khaled Al-Tuwaijri  former head of the Saudi Royal Court, who has been leading a quiet life since his dismissal by King Salman in 2015  start tweeting in favour of King Salman. In his tweets on Monday night, he showered praise on King Salman for his uncompromising decision-making. Tuwaijri has the strong backing of bin Zayed. His return to public life will mean an end of the brief policy shift King Salman had executed by removing pro-el-Sisi, and pro-Emirates advisors from the royal court in 2015.

In Syria, the Gulf States are mostly excluded from the peace process, particularly from the Astana dialogue. UAEs claims for regional leadership will get more credibility if UAE is able to dictate the outcomes in Yemen and Libya. Egypt and UAE have steadily brought up former Gaddafi loyalist General Khalifa Haftar to challenge the internationally-recognised Government of National Accord. Qatar stands opposed to UAE ambitions in Yemen and Libya. If the UAE tried to reinstal Ali Abdullah Saleh, Qatar would favour the Houthis. The Saudis have been clearly sidelined in Yemen and Libya by none other than the UAE and Egypt.

The crisis seems to be poorly planned as all extreme measures have been adopted in just one round leaving Qatari consciences deeply humiliated regardless of options they choose in their compromise.

Qatar will try to come out from the crisis by offering some symbolic sacrifices  expelling a few Islamists and Hamas leaders, but the prolonged hostility from its neighbours will force Qatar to find more reliable neighbourhood and security assurances, which would require a gradual but imminent exit from the current Gulf Security Architecture.

It is not clear whether this crisis is to really remove threats originating from Iran, Hamas, Brotherhood, or to assert UAE-Egyptian leadership over Saudi Arabia. As there are many unresolved issues among the anti-Qatar bloc, the current show of unity has to pass many crucial tests.
Moscow: Russia scrambled a fighter jet on Tuesday to intercept a nuclear-capable US B-52 strategic bomber it said was flying over the Baltic Sea near its border, in an incident that had echoes of the Cold War.

The appearance of the B-52, a long-range bomber that first went into service in the 1950s, irked Moscow. A Russian foreign ministry official said the plane's appearance in Europe would not help ease tensions between the West and Russia.

A former Russian air force commander called the move "disrespectful." Russian air defence systems detected the US bomber at around 1000 Moscow time as it was flying over neutral waters parallel to the Russian border and sent a Sukhoi Su-27 jet to intercept it, the Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement. "The Russian SU-27 crew, having approached at a safe distance, identified the aircraft as an American B-52 strategic bomber and escorted it" until such time as it changed course and flew away from the border area, the ministry said.

Russia said the SU-27 took off from its Baltic Fleet air defence unit, which is based in the European exclave of Kaliningrad. NATO members such as Britain regularly report scrambling jets to intercept Russian nuclear-capable bombers flying close to their airspace. It is less common for Russia to report using its fighters for the same reason.

In a separate incident, Russia said on a MiG-31 jet fighter had intercepted a Norwegian patrol plane over the Barents Sea. Russia's defence ministry identified the plane as a P-3 Orion anti-submarine aircraft.

The Russian defence ministry complained that the Norwegian plane had flown close to Russia's state border with its transponders switched off. The Norwegian military confirmed the encounter, but said it was "normal".Moscow was more put out by the B-52's appearance.

The state-backed Sputnik news agency cited a foreign ministry official, Mikhail Ulyanov, as saying Moscow believed a number of US B-52s had recently been transferred from their base in Louisiana to Britain to take part in military exercises."The fact that NATO forces are converging near Russia's borders and carrying out military exercises supported by strategic bombers from the USA capable of carrying nuclear weapons hardly helps de-escalate tensions in Europe," Sputnik quoted Ulyanov as saying.US forces are engaged in various exercises with Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and other partner nations as part of the Saber Strike war games.

The United States is also taking part in the annual BALTOPS naval training exercise in the Baltic Sea which runs until 16 June.

Pyotr Deinekin, a former Russian air force commander, was cited by the Interfax news agency as saying that he could not recall the last time a B-52 had flown over the Baltic Sea and that the incident raised troubling questions."Such behaviour does not deserve respect," said Deinekin, who said Russia needed to establish what weaponry the B-52 was carrying.

The B-52 was designed to attack Moscow's most vital targets via the North Pole in the event of a nuclear war when the Soviet Union still existed, Deinekin said. "Strategic bombers should not fly so close to our land borders," he said.
Colombo: Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has said that he will convene an international donor conference to coordinate assistance for rebuilding the island nation's flood-hit areas.

"We hope to be able to convene this international donor conference," Sirisena told a government conference on Monday night.

He said that all international aid pledged so far would be used to rebuild the homes destroyed in the recent landslides and floods triggered by monsoon rains.

"We will have all money received from international donors in one bank account and use. We will invite all donors to the conference," he said, without announcing dates for the conference.

Sri Lanka received support from several countries during the recent floods with immediate response and relief from India, China, Pakistan, the US, EU, Japan and Australia.

According to the Disaster Management Center, 2,545 houses have been fully damaged while more than 15,000 others have been partially damaged.

At least 212 died and 79 still missing in the country's worst torrential rains since 2003 that displaced nearly half a million people. More than 500 millimeters of rain devastated 14 of the 25 administrative districts.

There are 21,000 families housed in 202 welfare centers with nearly 700,000 people affected.

The Meteorological Department said that worst affected districts of Ratnapura, Kalutara, Galle, Kegalle, Matara, Nuwara Eliya and Hambantota districts would see average rain fall during June. Yet landslide warnings will be in effect for all districts.

According to authorities, over 89,000 wells are contaminated. With close to 50 per cent of people using wells for their daily needs in the affected areas, access to clean water is urgently needed, the relief agencies said.

The UN Humanitarian Country team has launched an Emergency Response Plan with support from UN agencies, local and international NGOs, officials said.

The World Food Programme (WFP) said it was preparing to assist 75,000 of the most vulnerable people in the hardest-hit flood areas for a two month period. This is in addition to 25,000 people who need assistance in drought affected areas.

The south of the island has experienced heavy rains with flooding, while drought conditions prevail in the north. The WFP is seeking an additional $2.6 million bringing the total funding required to assist those affected by the

drought and the floods to $5.7 million.
By Tom Finn and Sylvia Westall

| DOHA/DUBAI

DOHA/DUBAI U.S. President Donald Trump took sides in a deep rift in the Arab world on Tuesday, praising Middle East countries' actions against American ally Qatar over Islamist militants even though the tiny Gulf state hosts the largest U.S. air base in the region.Trump wrote on Twitter that a recent trip he made to the Middle East was "already paying off" and cast an anti-Islamist speech he made in Saudi Arabia as the inspiration for a decision by Arab powers to sever ties with Qatar in protest at what they say is the Gulf nation's support for terrorism.Qatar vehemently denies the accusations against it."So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!" Trump wrote on Twitter.U.S. officials were blindsided by Saudi Arabia's decision to sever diplomatic ties with Qatar in a coordinated move with Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), current and former officials in Washington told Reuters. The United States was not informed of the decision until just before it was announced, the State Department said.Even as Trump applauded the Arab countries' move, the Pentagon on Tuesday renewed praise of Qatar for hosting U.S. forces and its "enduring commitment to regional security."Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis declined to answer a question about whether Qatar supported terrorism, saying: "Im not the right person to ask that. I consider them a host to our very important base at al Udeid."Some 8,000 U.S. military personnel are stationed at al Udeid in Qatar, the largest U.S. air base in the Middle East and a staging ground for U.S.-led strikes on the Islamic State militant group that has seized parts of Syria and Iraq. Trump's tweet appeared at odds with comments from U.S. officials who had said on Monday that the United States would quietly try to calm the waters between Saudi Arabia and Qatar because Qatar is too important to U.S. military and diplomatic interests to be isolated.Qatar has for years parlayed its enormous gas wealth and media strength into broad influence in the region. But Gulf Arab neighbours and Egypt have long been irked by its maverick stances and support for the Muslim Brotherhood, which they regard as a political enemy.Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said on Tuesday that Qatar needed to take several steps, including ending its support of Palestinian militant group Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, to restore ties with other key Arab states, which also cut transport links.

"We've decided to take steps to make clear that enough is enough," Adel Al-Jubeir told journalists in Paris. He said the "fairly large cost" on Qatar's economy would convince it to change its policies. The campaign to isolate Qatar disrupted trade in commodities from crude oil to metals and food, and deepened fears of a possible shock to the global gas market, where it is a major player.Qataris crowded into supermarkets to stock up on goods, fearing shortages.Maersk (MAERSKb.CO), the world's biggest container shipping line, said it was unable to transport goods in or out of Qatar because it could not take them through the UAE port of Jebel Ali. MEDIATION AND CONSEQUENCES

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said the United States is communicating with all the parties in the Middle East "to resolve issues and restore cooperation" over the Qatar dispute. "The U.S. still wants to see this issue de-escalated and resolved immediately, in keeping with the principles that the president laid out in terms of defeating terror financing and extremism." Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber al-Sabah flew to Saudi Arabia for talks with King Salman bin Abdulaziz, Saudi and Kuwaiti state media reported, but gave no details on the discussions. Kuwaiti state news agency KUNA said the emir left Saudi Arabia later at night, but gave no details on the talks.Russian President Vladimir Putin told Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani in a phone call that crisis situations should be solved by politic and diplomatic means, "in dialogue", the Kremlin said.The rift has affected global oil prices, hit travel plans and sown confusion among businesses.Saudi Arabia's central bank advised banks in the kingdom not to trade with Qatari banks in Qatari riyals, sources said.

Oil prices LCOc1 CLc1 fell on concern that the rift would undermine efforts by OPEC to tighten output.Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani told Qatar-based Al Jazeera TV that Qatar would not retaliate, hoping Kuwait would help resolve the dispute."We are willing to sit and talk," he told CNN later, and said his country was "protecting the world from potential terrorists". A Qatari official said the rift was pushing Doha in the direction of leaving the six-state Gulf Cooperation Council, "with deep regret".The split among the Sunni Muslim states erupted last month after the summit of Muslim leaders in Saudi Arabia, where Trump denounced Shi'ite Iran's "destabilising interventions" in Arab lands, where Tehran is locked in a tussle with Riyadh for influence.Bans on Doha's fleet using regional ports and anchorages threatened to halt some of its exports and disrupt those of liquefied natural gas.Traders on global markets worried that Riyadh's allies would refuse to accept LNG shipments from the Gulf state, and that Egypt might even bar tankers carrying Qatari cargoes from using the Suez Canal as they head to Europe and beyond.Saudi Arabia's aviation authority revoked the license of Qatar Airways and ordered its offices to be closed within 48 hours. Flight tracker websites showed Qatar Airways flights instead taking a circuitous route, mostly over Iran. Qatar's stock market slid to its lowest close since January 2016 and the Qatari riyal came under pressure. (Reporting by Ahmed Tolba in Cairo, Aziz El Yaakoubi, Tom Arnold, Hadeel Al Sayegh, William Maclean and Celine Aswad in Dubai and Phil Stewart and Doina Chiacu in Washington; Writing by Alistair Bell; Editing by Andrew Roche and James Dalgleish)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Tom Finn and Sylvia Westall

| DOHA/DUBAI

DOHA/DUBAI U.S. President Donald Trump took sides in a deep rift in the Arab world on Tuesday, praising Middle East countries' actions against American ally Qatar over Islamist militants even though the tiny Gulf state hosts the largest U.S. air base in the region.Trump wrote on Twitter that a recent trip he made to the Middle East was "already paying off" and cast an anti-Islamist speech he made in Saudi Arabia as the inspiration for a decision by Arab powers to sever ties with Qatar in protest at what they say is the Gulf nation's support for terrorism.Qatar vehemently denies the accusations against it."So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!" Trump wrote on Twitter.U.S. officials were blindsided by Saudi Arabia's decision to sever diplomatic ties with Qatar in a coordinated move with Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), current and former officials in Washington told Reuters.Even as Trump applauded the Arab countries' decision, the Pentagon on Tuesday renewed praise of Qatar for hosting U.S. forces and its "enduring commitment to regional security."Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis declined to answer a question about whether Qatar supported terrorism, saying: "Im not the right person to ask that. I consider them a host to our very important base at al Udeid."Some 8,000 U.S. military personnel are stationed at al Udeid in Qatar, the largest U.S. air base in the Middle East and a staging ground for U.S.-led strikes on the Islamic State militant group that has seized parts of Syria and Iraq. Trump's tweet appeared at odds with comments from U.S. officials who had said on Monday that the United States would quietly try to calm the waters between Saudi Arabia and Qatar because Qatar is too important to U.S. military and diplomatic interests to be isolated.Qatar has for years parlayed its enormous gas wealth and media strength into broad influence in the region. But Gulf Arab neighbours and Egypt have long been irked by its maverick stances and support for the Muslim Brotherhood, which they regard as a political enemy.

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said on Tuesday that Qatar needed to take several steps, including ending its support of Palestinian militant group Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, to restore ties with other key Arab states, which also cut transport links."We've decided to take steps to make clear that enough is enough," Adel Al-Jubeir told journalists in Paris. "Nobody wants to hurt Qatar. Qatar has to choose whether it must move in one direction or another direction".The campaign to isolate Qatar disrupted trade in commodities from crude oil to metals and food, and deepened fears of a possible shock to the global gas market, where the tiny state is a major player. Qataris crowded into supermarkets to stock up on goods, fearing shortages.Maersk (MAERSKb.CO), the world's biggest container shipping line, said it was unable to transport goods in or out of Qatar because it could not take them through the UAE port of Jebel Ali. MEDIATION AND CONSEQUENCES

Gulf Arab officials said Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber al-Sabah would meet Saudi Arabia's King Salman hoping to heal the rift, which has affected global oil prices, hit travel plans and sown confusion among businesses.A number of banks in the region began stepping back from business dealings with Qatar. Saudi Arabia's central bank advised banks in the kingdom not to trade with Qatari banks in Qatari riyals, sources said.Oil prices LCOc1 CLc1 fell on concern that the rift would undermine efforts by OPEC to tighten output.Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani told Qatar-based Al Jazeera TV Qatar would not retaliate, hoping Kuwait would help resolve the dispute."We are willing to sit and talk," he told CNN later, and said his country was "protecting the world from potential terrorists".

A Qatari official said the rift was pushing Doha in the direction of leaving the six-state Gulf Cooperation Council, "with deep regret".Qatar's leader, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, spoke by telephone overnight with his counterpart in Kuwait and, in order to allow Kuwait to mediate, decided to put off a planned speech to the nation, the minister said.The split among the Sunni Muslim states erupted last month after the summit of Muslim leaders in Saudi Arabia, where Trump denounced Shi'ite Iran's "destabilising interventions" in Arab lands, where Tehran is locked in a tussle with Riyadh for influence.Bans on Doha's fleet using regional ports and anchorages threatened to halt some of its exports and disrupt those of liquefied natural gas.Traders on global markets worried that Riyadh's allies would refuse to accept LNG shipments from the Gulf state, and that Egypt might even bar tankers carrying Qatari cargoes from using the Suez Canal as they head to Europe and beyond.Saudi Arabia's aviation authority revoked the license of Qatar Airways and ordered its offices to be closed within 48 hours. Flight tracker websites showed Qatar Airways flights instead taking a circuitous route, mostly over Iran. Qatar's stock market slid to its lowest close since January 2016 and the Qatari riyal came under pressure.Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi said on Tuesday his country was "not part" of the dispute.The measures are more severe than during a previous eight-month rift in 2014, when Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE withdrew their ambassadors from Doha, again on the grounds of alleged Qatari support for militant groups. (Reporting by Ahmed Tolba in Cairo, Aziz El Yaakoubi, Tom Arnold, Hadeel Al Sayegh, William Maclean and Celine Aswad in Dubai and Doina Chiacu in Washington; Writing by Alistair Bell; Editing by Andrew Roche and James Dalgleish)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Rodi Said and Tom Perry

| HUKOUMIYA, Syria/BEIRUT

HUKOUMIYA, Syria/BEIRUT The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Tuesday it had launched a battle to capture Raqqa, Islamic State's de facto Syrian capital, piling pressure on the jihadists whose self-declared caliphate is in retreat across Syria and Iraq. SDF spokesman Talal Silo told Reuters the operation started on Monday and the fighting would be "fierce because Daesh (Islamic State) will die to defend their so-called capital".The assault overlaps with the final stages of the U.S.-backed attack to recapture the Iraqi city of Mosul from Islamic State. It follows months of advances to the north, east and west of Raqqa by the SDF, which includes Arab and Kurdish militias.Islamic State captured Raqqa from rebel groups in 2014 and has used it as an operations base to plan attacks in the West. Silo said the assault had begun from the north, east and west of the city, which is bordered to the south by the River Euphrates.The commander of the Raqqa campaign, Rojda Felat, told Reuters SDF fighters were attacking the al-Mishlab district at the city's southeastern outskirts, confirming an earlier report by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. "The coalition has a big role in the success of the operations. In addition to warplanes, there are coalition forces working side by side with the SDF," Silo said by phone from the Hukoumiya farms area, 10 km (6 miles) north of Raqqa, where the SDF later declared the start of the assault.A Reuters witness at the location could hear the sound of heavy shelling and air strikes in the distance.The U.S.-led coalition said the fight for Raqqa would be "long and difficult" but would deliver a "decisive blow to the idea of ISIS (Islamic State) as a physical caliphate".HARD FIGHTING

"Its hard to convince new recruits that ISIS is a winning cause when they just lost their twin 'capitals' in both Iraq and Syria," a coalition statement cited Lt. Gen Steve Townsend, the coalition commanding general, as saying."We all saw the heinous attack in Manchester, England," said Townsend. "ISIS threatens all of our nations, not just Iraq and Syria, but in our own homelands as well. This cannot stand."

"Once ISIS is defeated in both Mosul and (Raqqa), there will still be a lot of hard fighting ahead," he said.Security officials in the West have warned of increased threat of attacks such as last month's Manchester suicide bombing and Saturday's attack in London as Islamic State loses ground in Syria and Iraq. Both attacks were claimed by Islamic State. An Arab group fighting with the SDF, the Syrian Elite Forces, which was established in February, had entered al-Mishlab with coalition air support, its spokesman Mohammed al-Shaker said by phone. "The Syrian Elite Forces one or two hours ago entered the first quarter of Raqqa, which is al-Mishlab quarter, via the eastern front," he said. The Observatory said the SDF had captured some buildings in the al-Mishlab area and Islamic State fighters had withdrawn from parts of the district. The Observatory also said an attack was underway against a military barracks, Division 17, on the northern outskirts of Raqqa.The U.S.-led coalition has said 3,000-4,000 Islamic State fighters are thought to be holed up in Raqqa city, where they have erected defences against the anticipated assault. The city is about 90 km (56 miles) from the border with Turkey.

The SDF includes the powerful Kurdish YPG militia.Fighting around Raqqa since late last year has displaced tens of thousands of people, with many flooding camps in the area and others stranded in the desert.CIVILIAN DEATHS

The U.N. human rights office has raised concerns about increasing reports of civilian deaths as air strikes escalate.The Raqqa campaign has "resulted in massive civilian casualties, displacement and serious infrastructure destruction" so far, it said in a May report. Islamic State militants have also reportedly been preventing civilians from leaving, it said.

The U.S.-led coalition says it tries to avoid civilian casualties in its bombing runs in Syria and Iraq and investigates any allegations. It is unclear how many civilians remain in Raqqa. U.N. humanitarian spokesman Jens Laerke told Reuters that, for its planning purposes, the U.N. estimates there are approximately 160,000 people left in Raqqa city, but said this was not a formal estimate. Humanitarian aid organisation International Rescue Committee said 200,000 people were still trapped inside, and warned civilians in Raqqa risk being killed by Islamic State snipers or mines if they try to flee but could be used by the militants as human shields if they remain."The IRC has seen a drop in the number of people escaping Raqqa over the past week," its Middle East Director of Public Affairs Thomas Garofalo said, adding this may indicate Islamic State intended to use them as human shields. The Raqqa campaign has been the source of tension between the United States and Turkey, which fears growing Kurdish influence in northern Syria and has lobbied Washington to abandon its Kurdish YPG allies.The YPG has been the main partner for the United States in its campaign against Islamic State in Syria, where the group is also being fought in separate campaigns waged by the Russian-backed Syrian government and Free Syrian Army rebel groups. The United States last week said it had started distributing arms to the YPG to help take Raqqa.The SDF has said it will hand control of Raqqa to a civilian council after its capture, as in other areas the SDF took from Islamic State.The SDF and YPG control a swathe of northeastern Syria from the Iraqi border to the city of Manbij on the western banks of the Euphrates. The main Kurdish groups and their allies have established autonomous administration in the areas under their control, which they aim to preserve in any peace deal. (Reporting by Rodi Said in Syria, Tom Perry and Ellen Francis in Beirut; Additional reporting by Mahmoud Mourad in Cairo, Lisa Barrington in Beirut and Tom Miles in Geneva; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By William James and David Milliken

| LONDON

LONDON Police on Tuesday named the third of the jihadis who killed seven people in a knife and van attack in London, someone an Italian prosecutor said had been flagged to British authorities as a potential risk after he moved to England last year.The attack has eclipsed other issues in the political campaign for Thursday's parliamentary election, with both the ruling Conservatives and opposition Labour Party battling to defend their records on security.Prime Minister Theresa May, facing accusations she starved police of resources, said she could seek to overturn human rights protections that make it hard to deport or detain suspected militants when there is insufficient evidence to prosecute them.The revelation that at least one of Saturday's attackers, Khuram Butt, was known to security services has raised concerns that they lack the resources to prevent attacks.Butt, a 27-year-old British national born in Pakistan, had appeared in a British TV documentary broadcast last year called "The Jihadis Next Door".Saturday night's rampage, in which the three men drove into pedestrians on London Bridge before stabbing people in the bustling Borough Market area, was Britain's third Islamist attack in as many months.The identity of the third attacker was revealed by police on Tuesday as Youssef Zaghba, a 22-year-old who had not been a subject of interest for them or the domestic intelligence agency MI5.But an Italian prosecutor said Zaghba, who had a Moroccan father and an Italian mother, had been stopped at Bologna airport in 2016 on suspicion of being on his way to Syria, and told police he wanted to be a terrorist.The prosecutor said Italy had lacked the evidence to prosecute Zaghba, but had warned Britain about him.Zaghba lived in Morocco for much of his life but had made short visits to Italy to see his mother in Bologna.POLLS NARROWING

As details about the jihadists have emerged, May has faced questions about her record of overseeing cuts to police numbers when she was interior minister.

However, she received some comfort from the first major poll conducted after the attacks, which showed the Conservatives' lead over Labour widening by 1 percentage point to 7 percent. "Labour's campaign surge appears to have crested as our final poll of the campaign is the first to see the Tory (Conservative) lead expand rather than contract," Opinium's head of political polling, Adam Drummond, said.Earlier on Tuesday, a poll conducted by Survation for ITV before the London attack, had the Conservatives' lead over Labour narrowing to just one point from six points in the same poll a week earlier.The prevailing view among pollsters remains that May's party, which has been in government since 2010, will win a majority. A campaign email signed by May told Conservative supporters: "With the polls tightening and with just two days to go until polling day, we need to go all out with one final push."Less than two weeks before the London Bridge attack, a suicide bomber killed 22 adults and children at a pop concert in Manchester and, in March, five people were killed when a car drove into pedestrians on London's Westminster Bridge.Police had already named Butt and Rachid Redouane, a 30-year-old who claimed to be Moroccan and Libyan, as two of the London Bridge attackers.

Irish state broadcaster RTE reported on Tuesday that Redouane had been refused asylum in Britain but had been able to move legally after marrying in Ireland in 2012. Britain and Ireland have reciprocal residency rights.Butt, Redouane and Zaghba were shot dead at the scene of the attack by officers within eight minutes of police receiving the first emergency call.The first of the dead to be named were Canadian Christine Archibald and Britons James McMullan and Kirsty Boden. The 48 injured included people from France, Spain, Australia and New Zealand.London police said late on Tuesday that they feared a French tourist, 45-year-old Xavier Thomas, had been thrown into the River Thames by the attackers' van and drowned. His girlfriend was seriously injured in the collision.Boden's family said she had been a nurse and had tried to help the injured."As she ran towards danger, in an effort to help people on the bridge, Kirsty sadly lost her life," they said in a statement.

A minute's silence was held nationwide at 11 a.m. (1000 GMT) to honour all the victims.MAY VS CORBYN

Before the recent attacks, Brexit and domestic issues such as the condition of the state-run health service and the cost of care for the elderly had dominated the election campaign.When May called the election in April, her Conservatives led in opinion polls by 20 points or more.But an announcement - made before the Manchester and London Bridge attacks - that they planned to make some of the elderly pay more for their care saw that lead start to shrink, and the trend has continued. Surveys now put the Conservatives ahead by between one and 12 points.Security has become the number one issue and both main parties issued statements on Tuesday portraying their own positions on policing and intelligence as the most robust.As interior minister from 2010 to 2016, May oversaw a drop of 20,000 in the number of police officers in England and Wales, which Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said should never have happened and warranted her resignation.But MI5 has seen its budget increase and has plans to expand to 5,000 officers from 4,000 over the next five years, the intelligence agency's chief, Andrew Parker, said last year.Corbyn has been criticised for past sympathies with militant groups, voting against counter-terrorism legislation and expressing reservations about police responding to attacks with "shoot-to-kill" tactics. Since the attack, he has said he fully supported the actions of the police.At campaign stops on Tuesday, May was questioned almost exclusively about issues related to terrorism.Asked if the financing of terrorism was brought up in April when she met the leaders of Saudi Arabia, a major buyer of British arms, she said: "We talked to Saudi Arabia on a whole number of issues around the question of terrorism." (Additional reporting by Kate Holton, Elizabeth Piper and Kylie MacLellan in London, by Valentina Accardo and Antonella Cinelli in Rome, and by Padraic Halpin in Dublin; Writing by Estelle Shirbon and David Milliken; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Robin Pomeroy)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
New York: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has strongly condemned the terrorist attacks in London, saying perpetrators of the "unjustifiable violence" must be quickly brought to justice.

"The Secretary-General expresses his solidarity with the people and the Government of the United Kingdom as they fight terrorism and violent extremism", said a statement by a UN spokesperson, which denounced the deadly incidents.

He also expressed Guterres' condolences to the families of the victims and wished the injured for a swift recovery. Seven people were killed and dozens more injured when a van sped across London Bridge on 3 June, ramming numerous pedestrians.

After the van came to a halt, the attackers stabbed several people in the capital's Borough Market, a crowded weekend gathering spot. The three assailants were later shot by the police.

This is the third deadly incident in the UK that authorities have attributed to terrorists in as many months, following a deadly attack near the Houses of Parliament in March, and nearly two weeks after a suicide bombing outside an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester.

"This is a struggle in many parts of the globe that compels the international community to join up efforts to bring to justice those who use such inhuman tactics while also protecting and promoting the fundamental values, rights and principles that terrorists so fervently seek to undermine", the statement concluded.

Police in London named two of the three suspects in the van and knife attack near London Bridge. They identified 27-year-old Khuram Shazad Butt, a British citizen born in Pakistan and Rachid Redouane who had claimed both Libyan and Moroccan nationality.
Beirut: A United States-led coalition air strike killed 21 civilians as they tried to escape the Islamic State group's Syrian bastion of Raqa, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said.

"The civilians were boarding small boats on the northern bank of the Euphrates River to flee southern neighbourhoods of Raqa," said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman on Monday.

He said women and children were among the dead but he could not immediately give a specific number.

Thousands of civilians have fled the northern city as a seven-month offensive by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an Arab-Kurdish alliance, closes in.

The SDF is now several kilometres from Raqa's east, west, and north, and has sealed off routes into the city from those three fronts.

Their assault has been backed by air strikes from the Washington-led coalition bombing Islamic State in Iraq and Syria since 2014.

Russian aircraft have also carried out bombing raids against Islamic State convoys fleeing the city.

According to the Britain-based Observatory, the latest coalition raid took place on Monday morning.

"The toll may continue to rise as some of the wounded are in critical condition," the monitor said.

The activist collective 'Raqa is Being Slaughtered Silently' also reported the strike, saying it hit people "waiting near the river and others on boats (who) were trying to cross."

It said civilians had been escaping Raqa by crossing the Euphrates River via boat, after the two main bridges leading out of the city were destroyed.

Syria's conflict erupted in March 2011 with widespread protests against the regime, but it has since morphed into a multi-front war that has left 3,20,000 people dead.

The United States military has said coalition air strikes in Iraq and Syria had "unintentionally" killed 484 civilians, but observers say the number is much higher.

The Observatory has given a toll of around 1,500 civilians in Syria alone since the coalition began striking there on 23 September 2014.

The monitor recorded the coalition's deadliest month for Syrian civilians between 23 April and 23 May, with 225 civilians killed.

Reports of civilian casualties in the air campaign have swelled in recent weeks.

On 20 May, United States Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said president Donald Trump had instructed the Pentagon to "annihilate" Islamic State in Syria in a bid to prevent escaped foreign fighters from returning home.

The president has "directed a tactical shift from shoving Islamic State out of safe locations in an attrition fight to surrounding the enemy in their strongholds so we can annihilate Islamic State", Mattis said.

But the Pentagon has denied that its rules of engagement have changed and insists that the coalition continues to strike only "military-appropriate targets".
Editor's Note: This article was originally published on 5 June after the Borough High Street attack. It is being updated and republished in light of Thursday night's terror attack in Barcelona that saw a van mow down pedestrians in a tourist area, killing 13 and injuring 100.

On Thursday afternoon, a van drove down a promenade in the busy central Barcelona area of Las Ramblas, moving from side-to-side running over scores of pedestrians. While 13 people were killed, the attack left several victims in its wake and induced widespread panic. Josep Lluis Trapero, a senior police official for Spain's Catalonia region confirmed the horrible reality of the attack to reporters that this was no road accident or case of a driver losing control of his vehicle. "It was clearly a terror attack, intended to kill as many people as possible," he said late on Thursday.

But before that, it was on 22 May that a series of events set into motion a trend of vicious, brutal, up-close-and-personal manifestations of violent extremism in Western Europe.

That's 22 May, 2013, in case you were wondering, and not 22 May this year  which is when the bombing at an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena took place  to which a reference is being drawn. On that day four years ago, the British Army's fusilier Lee Rigby was run over by a vehicle and then hacked to death by Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale.

In a video shot immediately after the heinous act of butchery, Adebolajo  with bloodied hands still wielding the cleaver and knife  was recorded on video by a bystander as saying, "You people will never be safe... You think (then prime minister) David Cameron is gonna get caught in the street when we start busting our guns? Do you think politicians are going to die? No, it's going to be the average guy, like you and your children."

The video did the rounds of television channels across the world and attained the sort of 'virality' most clips of this nature tend to these days.

And in the four years since Rigby's gruesome murder, three tools have emerged as the new weapons of terrorism: blades, vehicles and cameras.

New weapons of terrorism: Part one

Let's examine the blades and vehicles part first, since these are the most visible weapons being deployed.

26 February, 2016 - Hannover: A German-Moroccan teenager stabbed a policeman in the neck, injuring him, at the city's busy train station. Investigations found that the 16-year-old girl had been influenced by Islamic State propaganda.

14 July, 2016 - Nice: Forty-one-year-old Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel used a truck to mow down revellers watching a seaside fireworks display to mark Bastille Day. Eighty-four were killed, while hundreds of others were injured.

18 July, 2016 - Berlin: A 17-year-old Afghan refugee attacked passengers on a German train with an axe, injuring at least four people.

26 July, 2016 - Normandy: Two armed men stormed a church in Saint Etienne du Rouvray, slit the throat of an elderly priest and wounded several others.

19 December, 2016 - Berlin: Twenty-three-year-old Anis Amri drove a truck into a crowded Christmas market, killing 12 and wounding over 50 people. While there was nothing concrete to suggest it was an act of terror, local authorities concluded it was 'probably' a terror attack.

3 February, 2017 - Paris: A machete-wielding man was shot dead while trying to attack a group of soldiers guarding the Louvre. While this attack was foiled, it's frightening to consider what could have happened if he had been able to run amok amidst the sort of crowds that flock to the Louvre.

22 March, 2017 - London: Fifty-two-year-old Khalid Masood mowed down pedestrians on Westminster Bridge  killing four and wounding many others  in his car, before driving into the steel fence around the Parliament building and stabbing a policeman to death.

7 April, 2017 - Stockholm: Rakhmat Akilov, an Uzbek seeking aslyum in Sweden, killed four and injured around 15 people when he drove a truck into pedestrians along a busy shopping street.

And this brings us to Saturday night's attack at London Bridge and Borough Market that saw seven people lose their lives, with a further 48 left injured. The modus operandi appears to be similar to that of the 22 March Westminster Bridge-Parliament attack, in which the attacker indiscriminately mowed down pedestrians, before crashing the vehicle and taking to the street on foot, wielding blades.

The choice of weapon here is closely linked to the concept of the 'lone wolf', highlighted by this article. The author rightly argues that "(a) lone terrorist is far less likely to trigger an alarm or come under the police scanner". And even if the actions of these perpetrators are brought to the attention of the police, it's likely they are set aside because law enforcement authorities tend to focus on more tangible and immediate threats. Case in point: One of the terrorists involved in Saturday night's attack had twice been reported to the police in connection with his radicalisation. Similarly, Masood, who carried out the Westminster Bridge attack, had been "investigated in relation to concerns about violent extremism", according to Prime Minister Theresa May, but was a 'peripheral figure' in the present day's intelligence picture.

And in order to keep a low profile, knives and motor vehicles play an important role.

Unlike the US, firearms are very hard to come by for civilians in Western Europe, particularly in the UK. Knives, on the other hand, are freely available in all departmental stores and can be purchased without raising so much as an eyebrow. Unlike IEDs, self-destructing vests or even firearms, no training is required for how to cause pandemonium with knives. As for motor vehicles, training is provided by governments of all countries and ability is certified in the form of a driver's licence.

The common elements here are that both these tools create nearly as much fear and paranoia as an explosion in the vicinity, and the fact that neither knives nor vehicles require the sort of training that can only be provided in terror camps, which means that potential perpetrators can stay under the radar until they actually carry out the act. There's no travel history, no suspicious cash transactions and nothing linking them to terrorist entities. And this is aside from the fact that these tools are cost-effective for the terrorist and the organisation in whose name the act is being carried out.

New weapons of terrorism: Part two

Obviously, there is a very minuscule number of people who will get into motor vehicles and intentionally plough through a crowd of innocent civilians before setting upon them with machetes, in the absence of some sort of external stimulus. And that is where the third of these new weapons of terrorism  cameras  come in. The word 'camera' refers not only to the actual device, but to the entire process of documentation and propaganda-creation. Propaganda is by no means a new concept; it has existed for as long as human beings have been familiar with the written and spoken word. However, it's the speed with which today's propaganda is created, received, absorbed and executed that is the unique part.

Considering the availability of mobile phones with high-quality cameras, rapidly increasing internet speeds and the variety of social media websites on which videos can be published, the growing instances of self-radicalisation show that potential terrorists need not even leave their homes  never mind traipsing all the way to Muridke  to become beholden to a cause, no matter how misguided. And most extremist videos that go online tend to go viral in hours, demonstrating that there's a ready audience for this sort of content. All within a matter of hours.

This 'instant propaganda' then works in two ways.

First, it motivates, inspires and brainwashes some into carrying out violent acts for a cause they deem to be noble.

Second, it frightens others to view the world through this prism. In other words, wittingly or unwittingly, what this surfeit of knife and vehicle attacks has ensured is that every case of a 'hit-and-run' or a stabbing (perhaps even as part of a simple mugging) will be viewed as a potential terror strike. A case in point was the 25 July, 2016 incident in Reutlingen near Stuttgart, wherein a machete-wielding 21-year-old killed a pregnant woman in broad daylight. The local police eventually ruled out terrorism, but for the first few hours, it was believed that another terror attack was underway. And striking fear into the hearts and minds of the public at large is half the battle won for most terrorist groups like the Islamic State, much like Adebolajo said in his chilling words to the camera.

So what's the solution?

Should knives be sold after background checks? Should there be similar checks carried out for everyone who passes a driving test? Should the internet be subject to complete government surveillance?

None of these are the answer. Treating the symptom, in this case the low-intensity manner in which terror attacks are being carried out, has never been the solution. Unfortunately, when it comes to treating the disease, we're still a long way from discovering a cure. It's back to the drawing boards.
The UK is racing to negotiate a new free trade agreement (FTA) with India in record time in order to double trade by 2030. Industry players with an ear to... Read More
This blog covers software patent news and issues with a particular focus on wireless, mobile devices (smartphones, tablet computers, connected cars) as well as select antitrust matters surrounding those devices.
Operational efficiency sounds like a term that would be used in the American military. But its also a benefit that the Cloud offered to the United Service Organizations (USO), based in Arlington, Virginia, which serves more than 4.9 million active duty, guard and reserve military service members and their families by keeping them connected.

We use the Cloud to run all of our business apps, to bind together our employee footprint, explained Eli Hertz, USO vice president of information technology. The Cloud allows us to do this in a scalable, economical way that we couldnt do otherwise. This is very important to us as a nonprofit.

The USO has 500 employees and 30,000 volunteers who work together to provide services at more than 200 physical locations around the world. These services include providing a comforting place where service members and their families can connect via internet or telephone, play a video game, watch a movie, have a snack or just relax. Last year, the USO made more than 11 million service connections, including 7.1 million center visits. As Hertz explains, this data was easier to ascertain, thanks to the Cloud.

Check ins used to be a piece of paper that we would tally up to measure usage, and it took staff at our 200 locations to aggregate for insight. It took a lot of lift from the organization to understand how we are being used, said Hertz. Now, 90 percent of our time is spent thinking how we can serve people better and 10 percent is used to aggregate information that used to take 80 percent of our time.

As Hertz said, with the Cloud, Operational efficiency is improved.

USO clients can now check in on a new app that the organization is rolling out. A soft launch recently at 20 centers resulted in 450 downloads and more than 300 check ins. As adoption increases, we are able to turn up the infrastructure quickly, as we need it, said Hertz of the Cloud app. Without big up-front expenses, we can experiment and find out how people are using the app.  As we watch consumption, we can hit a button and buy the capacity we want and need, as we need it.

Additionally, with the Cloud app, surveys are easier to obtain, giving service members the ability to respond directly to the USO about their experiences. This gives the USO critical information that can help them quickly improve their connections with service members. It is important for us to understand what our customers think of us, said Hertz.

We used to ask them once a year. Now we get real-time feedback with no aggregation time. We get a constant indication of how they rate us and insight into how were doingdeployed in the Cloud.

One month into a complete transition of moving their entire business infrastructure to the Cloud, the USO is realizing benefits, said Hertz. We are able to deploy different sized servers and scale our infrastructure in a heartbeat, he said. The Cloud has enabled us to do it quicklyand to innovate.
James Mitchell, author of Enhanced Interrogation, says the terrorist considered the mastermind behind the 9/11 attack believed extremists would use Americas religious freedoms and political correctness to their advantage.

Immigrants would move into the country, feed themselves on our welfare system while they spread their Jihadi message and then when the time is right, rise up and attack within, Mitchell said of a conversation he had with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, aka KSM, around the 2004-05 time period.

In an interview with the FOX Business Network, Mitchell said the terrorist predicted an increase in lone wolves and small group terrorist attacks.

Im paraphrasing -- this obsessive political correctness act as a cloaking device that would allow people to come into our country and spread this Islamic ideology, and setup the kind of networks that would be required to pull of terror attacks without ever breaking any of our laws."

In his discussions with more than a dozen terrorists, Mitchell, who water boarded three 9/11 suspects, explained that the system in which the Islamic ideology is taught in the Salafist sect makes recruiting new members into a terrorist organization easier..

There is actually a piece of malware thats embedded so to speak in the ideology itself. And that is, that Allah has already declared an unending war against nonbelievers, and that its the responsibility of every Muslim, everywhere in the world to defend Islam, to attack his enemies, and to spread through Sharia by requiring that people convert, subjugate themselves, be enslaved or be slaughtered, Mitchell said.

This belief, along with the notion that theres this open-ended mandate to do this thats not constrained by the historical context in which the person wrote those documents that, that applies now as equally as it did then, gives way to a false narrative enabling the recruitment of young people in the Jihadist lifestyle, Mitchell added.

On Saturday, three jihadists rammed pedestrians with a vehicle on the London Bridge before taking to the streets wielding knives, which left seven people dead and dozens more injured.

The attack comes less than a month after the suicide bombing at an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena, which killed 22 people and injured more than a hundred others.

When asked why people of the Islamic faith believe it is a religion of peace, Mitchell said KSM told him The world will be at peace when everyone has converted to our version of Islam, been subjugated as second-class citizens, enslaved or slaughtered. So, Islam the way I practice it is spreading peace throughout the world.
In the latest sign of the powerful sea change engulfing the retail industry, J. Crew announced this week legendary CEO Millard Mickey Drexler is stepping down as chief executive at the once American fashion icon fewer than two weeks after admitting he misjudged how technology would upend the retail industry.

Drexler, who led the company for more than a decade and has long been regarded for his fashion acumen, most recently oversaw 10-straight quarters of same-store sales declines (a similar trend that forced him out of Gap (NYSE:GPS) 15 years ago). Amid the wreckage, last month the company trimmed jobs at its corporate headquarters while earlier this year Jenna Lyons, the longtime creative force behind the brands neon colors, bold prints and classic styles, stepped down.

Drexler, though, isnt alone in his recent struggles to navigate the choppy waters of physical retail. Many once-titans of the industry  like Macys (NYSE:M), JCPenney (NYSE:JCP), Sears (NYSE:SHLD) and Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) have trimmed their store counts, while others like Bebe, WetSeal, the Limited, and American Apparel have shut their doors for good as they battle sliding in-store sales amid the still-growing popularity of online shopping.

The landscape has been pretty littered since January, said Michael Klein, director of retail industry strategy at Adobe (NYSE:ADBE).

While the physical retail industry likely wont disappear, analysts say it will start to look a whole lot different in the next three to five years. The retailers of the future must master the art of blending offline transactions with in-store experiences while leveraging technological innovations.

It cant just be technology for technologys sake [in store]. It needs to work and it needs to work on a scalable fashion, Klein said.

While more and more stores today embed technology into the shopping experience  say, a monitor that displays more color or size options of a particular good, or a mirror that can capture 360-degree views of a garment  the technology is often slow to load, clunky to use, or worse, wont work at all.

To do technology integration right, it needs to be frictionless, Klein said, adding that the current mix most retailers use simply isnt compelling enough for todays consumers. He pointed to the morning email deluge most people wake up to each day  50% off this product, an extra 20% off this sale, or a free gift with purchase. To stay trendy, companies have even started including emojis in their subject lines in an effort to cut through the noise and reach their targeted consumers.

Email is very short sighted, Klein said. Its that quick hitbut the after effects can be pretty bad: How have we conditioned these customers [to sales] and how are we making it so consumers wait for deals? I have a 20-year old at home and hes figured out he can put stuff in his shopping cart, wait a day or two, and hell get an email that his cart was abandoned [and a discount offer in order to finish the sale], he said.

Know the customer

Despite the digital growing pains, there are ways for retailers to be successful in this environment where once loyal consumers are now fickle and often equipped with a credit card and a mobile device. While promotional emails might have worked once upon a time, the most important thing companies need to realize is as in-store experiences become integral to interactions, consumers  not brands  will be in charge of the relationship, said Mark Larson, national leader of KPMGs consumer and retail practice.

The successful retailers are ones that are truly customer centric. They built their entire enterprise from the front office to the middle office and the back office on their customerlarge retail organizations have lost sight of that, he said, adding that more pain is likely to come for sprawling brands with large real-estate portfolios.

The physical store will continue to be an important part of the customer experience but the number of stores will continue to shrink. Were clearly overbuilt. The size of those stores that will continue to exist will shrink as well and the role of the store is going to change, Larson said.

Brands like mens retailer Bonobos and eyewear maker Warby Parker have demonstrated success can come in reverse of the traditional retail model that dictated a brand had to start in the physical world before moving online. The new model allows companies to gather data on their shoppers in order to truly know who theyre targeting, how much theyll spend, where theyre buying, and how much at what time.

The traditional physical-store model will likely continue to shift more toward showrooms for customers who still want the chance to touch and feel an item before making a purchase.

The challenge there, though, is making sure company logistics and supply-chain models can deliver a product to the customer on a reasonable timeline  a concept thats been completely upended by e-commerce giant Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) that has the ability to deliver purchases to many consumers the same day they click the buy button. The cure could lie in acquisition strategies for companies who dont have the time or ability to build new capabilities from the ground up. Walmarts (NYSE:WMT) Jet.com buy helped the worlds biggest retailer quickly grow its e-commerce business to meaningfully rival Amazon.

While department stores face an uphill battle in this environment, Larson said retailers in the off-price category, like TJX (NYSE:TJX) brands TJMaxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods, are largely insulated from the trend since they provide a different but equally compelling experience for consumers.

Indeed, TJX in the first quarter opened 50 new stores and outlined plans for a brand-new home concept store alongside a blueprint to open 250 stores this year and potential to grow its fleet to 5,600 stores.

[Off-price retailers have] been shielded somewhat from the Amazon, e-commerce effect because [those stores] are delivering value and their customer is more focused on value. Theyve been very successful in that realm without having to do much online, he said.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross extended the deadline to finalize a deal on sugar prices with Mexico Monday, a pivotal agreement that could both sidestep a potential trade war and clear a key obstacle for NAFTA talks later this year.

Ross extended the deadline to Tuesday, saying that while the discussions have been productive, the two parties need just 24 additional hours to iron out details.

aThe two sides have come together in quite meaningful ways, but there remain a few technical details to work out,a Secretary Ross said. aWe are quite optimistic that our two nations are on the precipice of an agreement we can all support, and so have decided that a short extension of the deadline is in everyoneas best interest.a

The U.S. Commerce Department threatened last month to slap Mexican sugar imports with heavy tariffs, as well as anti-dumping and countervailing duties, if terms were not renegotiated by June 5.

Details about the agreement were not immediately available, however solidifying negotiations will be a pivotal step forward for the two nations that have sparred over the commodity since at least 2008.

The deal is set to address a 2014 agreement that eliminated steep anti-dumping subsidies on Mexican sugar and instead supplemented them with a price floor, preventing a trade war at the time. U.S. refiners requested a review of the policy last year, claiming the agreement failed to stop Mexican producers from undercutting U.S. businesses. Mexican farmers have hit back in recent months, saying the United States is dumping high-fructose corn syrup into their markets.

The sugar trade has also been one of the most contentious cross-border commerce activities between the United States and Mexico under the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, which has allowed Mexico to export sugar into the U.S. duty-free.

The White House said last month it intends to renegotiate NAFTA following a 90-day review period. Many experts believe both governments, as well as Canada, are watching the sugar deal as a bellwether of what is to come when the three countries meet to work out a new trade deal.

The Trump administration has taken a hardline approach to what it perceives as trade imbalances with other countries as well. It has cracked down on steel dumping from China, as well as soft lumber imports from Canada, among other commodities.
Tesla Inc. was riding high as it hosted its annual shareholders' meeting Tuesday.

The automaker's shares are trading at record levels, and it has surpassed General Motors and Ford in market value. It's about to introduce its first mass-market electric car, the Model 3 sedan, as well as a line of solar panels that look like roof tiles.

CEO Elon Musk is also enticing fans with new vehicles, including a semi-truck it plans to show this fall and the Model Y SUV, which he said will go on sale in 2019.

But the company is not without its challenges. Or, as Musk put it at the hour-long meeting, "Tesla's like a drama magnet."

Here are three issues Musk addressed at the meeting.

CORPORATE STRUCTURE: Shareholders voted Tuesday to continue electing Tesla's board members to three-year terms, rejecting a proposal to elect them annually.

A group of Connecticut pension funds had called for annual elections, saying it would improve accountability. They also say conflicts of interest "plague" Tesla's board. Musk's brother, Kimbal, is a board member. Tesla's lead independent director, Antonio Gracias, also serves on the board of Musk's rocket company, SpaceX, and is the CEO of a private equity fund backed by Musk.

But shareholders sided with Tesla, which says its mission requires long-term strategic planning and three-year terms ensure that board members aren't distracted by short-term returns. Official results of the vote will be released within a few days, the company said.

MODEL 3: The Model 3 is Tesla's first non-luxury sedan, with a starting price around $35,000. Production is on track to start next month, Musk said. Tesla is aiming to make 5,000 Model 3 sedans per week by the end of this year and 10,000 per week in 2018.

Tesla hasn't said how many people have put down $1,000 refundable deposits for the Model 3, but Musk said Tuesday people who put down a deposit now won't get a car until the end of 2018, indicating it could be close to 500,000.

Whether Tesla can meet its production goals is an open question. The company's vehicles have often faced delays getting to market. Its last new vehicle, the Model X SUV, was delayed nearly 18 months. Musk says the Model 3 is much simpler to make, but 14-year-old Tesla has no experience producing and selling vehicles in high volumes. Tesla made just 84,000 cars last year. Bigger rivals like GM, Volkswagen and Toyota routinely sell more than 10 million per year.

"It's crazy hard to make cars," Musk said Tuesday. "There's 10,000 unique items, and it only moves as fast as the slowest item."

Even if the Model 3 is on time, servicing all those vehicles will still be a challenge. Model S and Model X owners are already worried about having to share Tesla's Supercharger stations with an influx of new cars. And while Tesla is promising to increase its network of stores and service centers by 30 percent this year, it began 2017 with just 250 service centers worldwide. That leaves many potential owners miles from a service center.

Musk says a new fleet of mobile service trucks will be deployed to help customers who are far from service centers. Tesla also plans to double its global high-speed charging points to 10,000 by the end of this year and increase them by another 50 percent to 100 percent in 2018.

COMPETITION: Until now, Tesla has owned the market for fully-electric vehicles that can go 200 miles or more on a charge. But that's changing. GM beat Tesla to the mass market with the Chevrolet Bolt, a $36,000 car that goes 238 miles per charge. Audi plans to introduce an electric SUV with 300 miles of range next year; Ford will have one by 2020. Volkswagen plans more than 30 electric vehicles by 2025.

Automotive competitors like Mercedes and Volvo  not to mention tech companies like Google and Uber  can also match Tesla's efforts to develop self-driving vehicles. And they have deeper pockets. Tesla has had only two profitable quarters in its seven years as a public company.

Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas, who has a $305 price target on Tesla's stock, says investors need to consider whether Tesla should continue to operate as a stand-alone market disruptor or if it should merge with a bigger entity, like Apple.

But Musk gave no hint that Tesla is worried about competition or is planning a merger. He said Tesla, which is based in Palo Alto, California, is actively considering three other plant sites and could ultimately build 10 or 20 assembly plants to meet demand. At least one of those will be built by 2019 to manufacture the Model Y, he said, because Tesla's current plant in California is "bursting at the seams."

Tesla shares rose more than 1.5 percent to close at $352.85 Tuesday.
The nations second largest health insurance company, Anthem (NYSE:ANTM), will extract itself from the majority of the ObamaCare market in the state of Ohio by 2018, the company announced Tuesday, raising questions about the future of its exchange participation.

"The individual market remains volatile and the lack of certainty of funding for cost sharing reduction subsidies, the restoration of taxes on fully insured coverage and, an increasing lack of overall predictability simply does not provide a sustainable path forward to provide affordable plan choices for consumers," Anthem said in a statement Tuesday.

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Tuesday Anthems exit from Ohio is another example that ObamaCare continues to collapse.

Anthem the only state-wide insurer left in the state of Ohio announced it will be pulling out of every countys ObamaCare exchange, leaving 19,000 Ohioans without any options, he said.

The decision could leave 20 counties within the state without access to coverage under the Affordable Care Act, according to The Wall Street Journal. The insurer will continue to offer plans in one Ohio county, but not through the ObamaCare exchanges.

Due to uncertainty over the future of the health care law, volatility in the marketplace and exorbitant price increases, insurers have increasingly withdrawn from the ObamaCare marketplace over recent months. Anthem, one of the largest remaining insurers left on the exchanges, currently serves more than 1.1 million ObamaCare consumers under its BlueCross BlueShield plans. Aetna (NYSE:AET) and Humana (NYSE:HUM) both announced already this year that they will not be offering coverage for customers on the marketplace in 2018, citing instability in the marketplace and the damaging costs of exchange participation.

As Anthem pointed out in its statement Tuesday, a shrinking ObamaCare marketplace is only exacerbating instability for insurers and consumers.

Planning and pricing for ACA-compliant health plans has become increasingly difficult due to the shrinking individual market as well as continual changes in federal operations, rules and guidance, the company said.

The deadline for insurance companies to submit premium rates for next year is approaching later this month.

Anthem currently offers plans in 13 other states across the country. The companys CEO Joseph Swedish said during a speech in New York last month that he was weighing whether to remove the company entirely from the Affordable Care Act marketplace. Subsidies for cost-sharing reductions, or insurers reimbursement for providing discounted care to low-income individuals, have been a critical topic for insurance companies. The provision is being challenged in court by Republicans, though the Trump administration put off a ruling last month and has committed to continue funding them until a decision is reached.

The GOP-led effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, called the American Health Care Act, narrowly passed the House of Representatives last month and will be sent next to the Senate for amendments.
Drugmaker Perrigo said on Monday that Chief Executive John Hendrickson planned to retire, an announcement that came a little more than a year after the company veteran got the top job.

Perrigo did not specify when Hendrickson would leave, but said he would stay on until a replacement was appointed and for a 60-day transition period after that.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Randall Stanicky, who earlier on Monday downgraded his rating on Perrigo to "underperform", noted that the announcement was a surprise.

Hendrickson, who joined Perrigo in 1989, became CEO in April last year after Joseph Papa left to join Valeant Pharmaceuticals International.

That change followed a few months after Perrigo convinced investors to reject an unwanted takeover offer from Mylan, in part by citing its potential to perform well on a standalone basis.

Since then, Perrigo has largely disappointed investors, reducing its earnings forecast on more than one occasion in response to pressure on its generic drugs business and disappointing performance of its Omega Pharma unit.

The results prompted activist hedge fund Starboard Value to pressure the company to sell assets to unlock value for shareholders.

Perrigo agreed in February to give Starboard representation and to sell the company's royalty stream from the multiple sclerosis drug, Tysabri, for up to $2.85 billion.

"The change adds further near-term uncertainty to the story and came as a surprise as we had talked to him last week and did not get the sense a decision to retire was imminent," Stanicky wrote in a client note.

Hendrickson's planned retirement will be the company's second top level executive departure in about three months after Chief Financial Officer Judy Brown stepped down in February. The company has been operating with an interim finance head since.

The Ireland-based company gave a buoyant first-quarter report last week in which it said it was up-to-date with its regulatory filings.

The company had delayed it annual filing to review past accounting practices, specifically how it had recognized revenue from Tysabri sales.

Perrigo's shares were down 2.5 percent at $70 after the bell on Monday. Since Hendrickson's appointment, the stock has fallen about 26 percent.

The company said it had formed a committee to search for Hendrickson's replacement.

(Reporting by Ankur Banerjee, additional reporting by Laharee Chatterjee; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Andrew Hay)
Updated

General Motors (NYSE:GM) shareholders easily defeated a proposal to split the automakers stock into two classes and backed all 11 board members at an annual meeting Tuesday.

A mere 9% of investors voted for the stock-split plan, which was put on the table by activist hedge-fund manager David Einhorn. Excluding shares owned by Einhorns Greenlight Capital (NASDAQ:GLRE), the plan was struck down by 96% of the vote.

In another win for GM in the activist fight, each of its 11 directors were re-elected with between 84% and 99% of the vote, according to the company.

Einhorn, who controls a 3.6% stake in GM, wanted to see two classes of common stock focused separately on quarterly dividends and earnings growth, saying the move would lift the stock price. GM argued that creating dual stock classes would threaten its credit rating and provide no benefits for its core businesses.

We decided to bring a creative idea to GMs shareholders and nominate directors to help fix GMs inefficient capital structure and unlock significant value for all shareholders, Einhorn said in a statement. We are disappointed that shareholders have elected to maintain the status quo. We congratulate GMs management on their win today.

Like Ford (NYSE:F), GM has come under some scrutiny on Wall Street amid new competition from Silicon Valley and concerns over softer U.S. sales. Ford abruptly replaced CEO Mark Fields with Jim Hackett, its mobility chief, after facing tough questions from investors last month.

GM Chairman and CEO Mary, who spoke during a press conference before Tuesdays annual shareholder meeting, said the sluggish stock gives her more resolve to bolster GMs lineup of cars, trucks and SUVs, according to reports.

Shareholders voted against a proposal to separate the chairman and CEO roles, both of which are currently held by Barra.

In contrast to Ford, GM has managed to boost profits this year by capitalizing on lucrative trucks and cutting costs, despite weaker new-vehicle sales across the industry. Analysts also see GM, the nations largest automaker by sales, leading its Detroit rivals in self-driving cars and other technology programs.

GM is an investor in Lyft and works with the ride-hailing firm on driverless vehicles, envisioning a fleet of self-driving cars for an on-demand ride service. Maven, GMs app-based car rental service, has expanded its footprint in major cities. And GM recently launched the Chevrolet Bolt, a long-range electric vehicle, beating Teslas (NASDAQ:TSLA) Model 3 to market.

In addition to investments in new technology, Barra has pushed GM to rid itself of underperforming businesses. GM reached a deal earlier this year to sell its money-losing European division, which includes the Opel and Vauxhall brands, to Frances PSA Group for $2.2 billion. The company later announced that it would stop selling vehicles in India and South Africa.
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The United States and Mexico finalized a deal on sugar prices Tuesday  potentially clearing a key hurdle as the two countries look toward NAFTA discussions later this summer  but not everyone is on board with the agreement.

The terms of the deal include requiring Mexico to change the proportions of raw vs. refined sugar that it exports to the United States, increasing the price at which the commodity must be sold and accepting increased enforcement measures and penalties.

The deal aims to prevent Mexico from dumping the commodity into U.S. markets and undercutting U.S. businesses, but U.S. producers and farmers have concerns over whether it goes far enough toward preventing that.

U.S. sugar farmers and producers are concerned that the agreement in principle contains a major loophole in the section dealing with additional U.S. needs. Mexico could exploit this loophole to continue to dump subsidized sugar into the U.S. market and short U.S. refineries of raw sugar inputs, Phillip Hayes, a spokesman for the American Sugar Alliance, said in a statement Tuesday.

The group also said the sugar industry has already lost $4 billion thanks to unbalanced trade with Mexico and 142,000 domestic jobs are at risk across 22 states.

While Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said he had gotten the Mexican side to agree to nearly every request made by the U.S., he said he would work with the industry over the next couple of days while finalizing the draft.

The deal was set to address a 2014 agreement that eliminated steep anti-dumping subsidies on Mexican sugar and instead supplemented them with a price floor, preventing a trade war at the time. U.S. refiners requested a review of the policy last year, claiming the agreement failed to stop Mexican producers from harming U.S. businesses. Mexican farmers have hit back in recent months, saying the United States is dumping high-fructose corn syrup into their markets.

The sugar trade has been one of the most contentious cross-border commerce activities between the United States and Mexico under the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, which has allowed Mexico to export sugar into the U.S. duty-free.

The White House said last month it intends to renegotiate NAFTA following a 90-day review period. Many experts believe both governments, as well as Canada, are watching the sugar deal as a bellwether of what is to come when the three countries meet to work out a new trade deal.
Days after President Trump took a beating from business leaders over the decision to exit the Paris climate accord, some of those same CEOs are optimistic the president's pro-growth policies on cutting taxes and layers of regulation will pay off for the U.S. economy.

CEO confidence is the best its been in three-years, as tracked by the Business Roundtable CEO Economic Outlook Index for the 2Q, which compiles projections over the next six months. The index rose to 93.9 up from 93.3 in the first quarter. Executives plan to boost capital spending, and expect sales to rise. While plans to hire saw a slight pullback from the 1Q, the group described the dip as modest. This is the second survey since President Trump took office.

We remain optimistic that tax reform is achievable said JPMorgan Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon (NYSE:JPM) and Chairman of the Business Roundtable in discussing the survey. Delaying tax reform, he warned, will likely mean CEOs will pull back on capital spending, which drives hiring.

Last week, Dimon joined other roundtable members General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt (NYSE:GE), and Walmart CEO Doug McMillon (NYSE:WMT), in publically expressing disappointment over the Paris climate decision. Disney CEO Bob Iger (NYSE:DIS) and Tesla CEO Elon Musk (NYSE:TSLA), non-members, announced they would defect from the Presidents advisory councils after the decision.

Even though Trumps plans to cut taxes and regulatory red tape by watering down bills including Dodd-Frank remain fluid, the administration is staying on message.

Were focused on economic growth, this is about creating jobs, this is about creating economic growth, were focused on a middle income tax cut, were focused on simplifying taxes and were focused on making sure that business taxes are competitive again said U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin during an interview with FOX Business Lou Dobbs last Friday.

CEOs want a substantially lower corporate tax rate and importantly a shift to a territorial system of taxation, said Joshua Bolten, Business Roundtable President and CEO, which he said would drive hiring.

Despite ongoing optimism from his cabinet members, CEOs see the economy growing just 2% this year, according to the survey.

The latest snapshot of how CEOs feel comes as President Trump kicked-off "infrastructure week," in which he is spreading his message to improve the nations airports, roads and bridges. Monday he pledged to overhaul air traffic control with a plan to privatize the system.

"The previous administration spent over $7 billion trying to upgrade the system and totally failed. Honestly, they didn't know what the hell they were doing, a total waste of money, $7 billion plus. Its time to join the future, he said during a speech at the White House.

Wednesday he is expected to speak along the Ohio River in a push to improve the nations inland waterways and dams.

Suzanne OHalloran is Managing Editor of FOXBusiness.com and a graduate of Boston College. Follow her on @suzohalloran
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Tuesday that despite softening growth, China will remain an economic powerhouse for the foreseeable future, as well as an essential ally in the effort to deter North Korea from developing its nuclear capacity.

[Chinas] growth is clearly slowing down  [but] relative to the developed world its still quite high, Mnuchin said at a U.S.-China Business Council event in Washington Tuesday. Obviously their growth rates are higher than ours  they have a large economy that is growing significantly, indicating the sheer size of its economy will be enough to keep it afloat for years to come.

Mnuchin went on to say he is not particularly concerned by any aspect of Chinas economy over the near-term, which includes Beijings handling of its currency. Chinas economy expanded at a rate of 6.9 percent in the first quarter of 2017, slightly faster than expected. Last years average growth rate of 6.7 percent was the slowest pace in 26 years.

The Treasury Secretary reiterated the Trump administrations goal of spurring 3 percent domestic GDP growth, saying he doesnt believe critics who insist that pace is unachievable.

Another point Mnuchin drove home is his focus on the Terrorism Financing and Intelligence department within the Treasury, where North Korea has become a key consideration and China a critical ally.

North Korea is obviously a big concern of ours, particularly with some of the recent activity there, Mnuchin said. [China is] an important part of the solution there.

Mnuchin said President Trump and President Xi are having important discussions related to North Korea and sanctions. Trump has made no secret that he believes China, which acts as a key economic lifeline for North Korea, can play a big role in deterring Kim Jong-uns militarization.
The North Carolina and Michigan state legislatures are both set to take up bills aimed at loosening laws regulating gun owners, an intensifying trend across the country where Republicans control the vast majority of state governments.

In North Carolina, a bill is up for a vote this week that would expand rights for Second Amendment advocates in a variety of ways, including no longer requiring citizens to obtain concealed carry permits and lowering the age limit to carry a concealed weapon from 21 to 18. The bill, known as House Bill 746, would also eliminate the need for gun safety courses as a prerequisite to carry a concealed firearm. Unlike bills passed in some other states, firearms would not be permitted on the grounds of the State Capitol. It is already legal to openly carry a firearm in North Carolina.

The NRA supports the bill, saying in a statement, "this legislation would establish that carrying a concealed firearm without a permit is legal in North Carolina, just as carrying openly without a permit has always been."

However, numerous activist groups and lawmakers have voiced opposition.

We are going to be living in an 'Old West' type of society, North Carolina Democratic State Rep. Garland Pierce told FOX Business Tuesday. I support peoples gun rights  [but this bill will result in] too many guns in the hands of too many folks, first of all, who have no training. I dont think all of them will be responsible [especially] when you get down to 18 [year-olds].

Meanwhile, in Michigan, a separate, but similar, piece of legislation is moving through the state legislature that both removes the need for gun owners to obtain a concealed carry permit and eliminates the training requirement. This bill has been approved by a House panel and will be up for a vote shortly in the Republican-controlled chamber.

The trend toward loosening gun rights has spread across the nation, as a historically high number of state legislatures are controlled by Republicans. In April, Iowa approved a massive expansion of gun rights, which included granting citizens the right to defend themselves with force, even deadly force, in public if they feel threatened.

President Donald Trump continues to speak out for gun rights, taking a moment on Sunday to defend gun owners in the wake of the fatal London terror attacks Saturday night.

Do you notice we are not having a gun debate right now? That's because they used knives and a truck!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2017

On the other side of the aisle, however, lawmakers are urging caution against loosening restrictions too generously.

We dont want to create a panic attitude where everyone runs out and gets a gun  Everybody fears everybody right now, Rep. Pierce said.
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt says President Trumps decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate accord puts the country's priorities in the right place, telling the FOX Business Network's Stuart Varney, "what we ought to be focused on Stuart is exporting the innovation and technology that weve been using for decades to reduce our CO2 footprint, not agreeing to targets that cant be met.

Pruitt says the U.S. has reduced its C02 footprint without the Paris agreement.

People dont realize this but were at pre-1994 levels right now in this country with respect to our C02 footprint and weve reduced our C02 footprint by 18-plus percent since the year 2000 and weve done that through innovation and technology, not because of a deal cut in Paris.

Pruitt says the EPA is shifting its priorities to a new model that focuses on a mix of energy sources that lead to a reduction in C02 emissions.

I think where the EPA has made a mistake historically is theyve tried to pick winners and losers in the energy mix. And what we ought to be focused on is fuel diversity in generating electricity, from coal, to natural gas, to hydro, to nuclear and we can do that in a way that reduces that CO2 footprint.

Pruitt saw the Paris agreement as putting the U.S. at a disadvantage globally.

We led the world, we have nothing to be apologetic about. You know, what Paris represented was an apologetics view, setting artificial targets that contracted our economy, that put us at a disadvantage with China and India and Europe, thats the reason they want us to stay in it.

Pruitt didnt see reducing CO2 emissions and growing the U.S. economy as mutually exclusive, telling Varney, Absolutely we should be focused on upon using the greatest innovative technology to keep emission levels low in all areas and also growing an economy.

Though Pruitt conceded a human impact on global warming, he questioned the modeling used in measuring the impact.

The modeling that has been used over the last several years is absolutely been questionable. What we do know is human activity contributes to warming, what we do know is its very difficult to measure with precision the amount of human activity contributing to the warming.
In a meeting between members of the Senate Republican Conference and the Senate health care working group, members got a first look at a menu of ideas on how to move forward with replacing the Affordable Care Act.

The working group presented their proposals through a PowerPoint presentation on Capitol Hill, including some that mirror those in the American Health Care Act, the House health care bill that was passed in May, while also offering some key differences to the original bill, according to meeting attendees.

One of the ideas that came out of the meeting is to allow states to apply for waivers for essential health benefit coverage.

Under Obamacare, the essential health benefit mandate forced health insurance companies to offer mandatory coverage for things like maternity services and mental health care.

However, beyond that there are some key concepts within the blueprint that already have some conference members feeling skeptical about even the possibility of this becoming a bill that could be brought to the floor for a vote.

One possible point of contention that some Senate members are already taking issue with is that under the proposed health care outline, insurance companies will not be able to waive coverage for pre-existing conditions, according to those who were at Tuesdays meeting, which if passed, would be a major counterpoint to what the House passed in May.

The other major concern for some Republicans is that the working group offered to keep in place the Obamacare community rating regulations, which disallowed health insurance companies from charging different premiums regardless of geographic area, age, gender or health status.

Numerous Republican conference aides told FOX Business that they do not believe the proposal will be able to make it to the Senate floor, with one source saying this blue print wont be able to become a bill.

Other Senators publicly expressed their doubt about Tuesdays presentation and where the health debate goes from here.

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) threw cold water on the Senate being able to pass a health care bill as he left the meeting, telling reporters Were stuck. We cant get there from here, Graham said. Im very leery of a healthcare bill passing the Senate that can get through the House. Weve already lost Rand Paul, so were down to 51.

Meanwhile Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) seemed positive about the ongoing health care talks when he talked to reporters following a conference lunch with Vice President Mike Pence. We're getting close to having a proposal to whip and take to the floor, McConnell said.
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Former mixed martial arts standout War Machine  who was convicted of sexually assaulting and kidnapping his ex-porn star girlfriend  was sentenced on Monday to life in prison with possibility of parole after 36 years.

The fighter, who legally changed his name from Jonathan Paul Koppenhaver during his MMA career, had faced a life sentence without parole following his conviction in March for brutally attacking ex-girlfriend Christine Mackinday  better known as former porn star Christy Mack  and her male companion Corey Thomas after finding the couple in bed in her Las Vegas home.

Appearing before the court Monday, a tearful Mack said that she did not know how long of a sentence would make things feel right, but that no amount will stop her from fearing for her life.

I dont know if my life will feel complete in 12 years or 30 years and neither do you, but I do know when he gets out he will kill me, Mack said.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Jacqueline Bluth asked District Judge Elissa Cadish to sentence Koppenhaver to 32 years to life in prison.

Prior to being formally sentenced, Koppenhaver addressed the court, saying he regretted the attack every day and that something was not right in his head, plain and simple. He also asked Cadish if she received a letter he sent to the judge.

Theres not a day that goes by that I dont seriously regret all of the things that I did, Koppenhaver said. I was a very, very lost and very empty person.

Click for more from the New York Post.
Andrea Constand, Bill Cosby's chief accuser, took the stand on Tuesday and described for the first time in her own words how she says the 79-year-old comedian sexually abused her in 2004.

The entertainer is charged with sexually assaulting Constand.

She took the stand at around 3 p.m. and arrived at the Pennsylvania courthouse about an hour earlier.

The 44-year-old was wearing a light blue blazer and a white shirt. She leaned into the mic as she described her occupation as a massage therapist and stated she currently lives in Toronto.

Constand said the comedian groped her after giving her three blue pills that left her paralyzed and helpless.

"In my head, I was trying to get my hands to move or my legs to move, but I was frozen," Constand, a former employee of the basketball program at Temple University, Cosby's alma mater, said in their long-awaited courtroom confrontation. "I wasn't able to fight in any way. I wanted it to stop."

Constand said Cosby gave her pills he claimed were a natural remedy to ease her stress about a looming career change.

"They're your friends. They'll take the edge off," she quoted him as saying. Constand then described feeling woozy after about 20 minutes, with blurred vision, slurred words, and legs that felt like rubber. Cosby then reportedly sexually violated her.

Afterward, Constand said, "I felt really humiliated and I felt really confused."

Cosby, sitting across the room at the defense table, leaned in to listen, whispered to his lawyer and, at times, shook his head.

Constand revealed she told her mother about the alleged incident, prompting both women to call Cosby. She claimed Cosby eventually apologized to her and her mother. When Constand asked what type of pill Cosby gave her, he reportedly responded he'd write it down on a piece of paper and mail it to her.

Constand added she felt somewhat relieved after Cosby apologized on the phone, but she still didn't know the name of the mysterious pill.

Approximately 60 women have accused Cosby of sexually assaulting them since 1965, but Cosby is charged in just one case, involving Constand.

Cosby, his good-guy reputation already in ruins, could get 10 years in prison if convicted of aggravated indecent assault.

Before Tuesday, Constand had never spoken about Cosby in public, barred from doing so under the terms of a confidential settlement they reached in 2006. Her deposition from that lawsuit remains sealed.

Stewart Parsons, a Detective Constable in the Toronto Police Department who is also Constand's brother-in-law, also testified in court Tuesday. Parsons stated that almost immediately, he told the family Constand needed to hire a lawyer in 2005 to represent her and look after her best interest.

Prosecutors opened their case on Monday by calling another woman to the stand, Kelly Johnson, to show the former "Cosby Show" star had a habit of drugging women and then molesting them.

Johnson, of Atlanta, testified on Day 1 she lost consciousness shortly after Cosby pressured her into taking a large, white pill. She said once she awoke, Cosby was naked and forced her to sexually gratify him with her hand.

Johnson's mother, Pattrice Sewell, testified Tuesday that her daughter was distraught during a telephone call in 1996, fearing Cosby was trying to get her fired from her job working for the comedian's agent. A few weeks later, Sewell said, Johnson disclosed that she had woken up next to Cosby in bed with her clothes askew.

The defense has attacked Johnson's credibility over discrepancies in her accounts, including the year it occurred. Cosby grinned at the defense table as she struggled to explain them.

Sewell, who prosecutors hoped would help corroborate Johnson's story, said they didn't go to police at the time because her husband, a Los Angeles detective, feared the ordeal that would ensue.

Johnson told a similar story in 1996, when she gave sworn testimony in a deposition attached to a worker's compensation claim.

Joseph Miller, a workers' compensation lawyer, testified Tuesday he was taken aback when Johnson said she had been drugged and violated by Cosby. He said Johnson made the disclosure while pursuing a claim that she had developed debilitating stress from her secretarial job.

Miller said Johnson was tearful as she described waking up on a bed with her dress pulled down and her breast exposed  details that matched the story Johnson told on the stand.

But Miller's timeline differed somewhat from Johnson's. He said she testified in 1996 about going to Cosby's home after the alleged assault. Johnson said on Monday that that meeting happened beforehand.

Cosby's lawyers have argued that deceased witnesses, lost evidence and fading memories make it nearly impossible for them to defend the comedian against the 12-year-old complaint.

Detective Dave Mason of Durham Police in Canada also testified Tuesday. On January 13, 2005 he responded to a call for a sex offense incident at Constand's home, who reportedly knew Cosby. According to Mason, he didn't recall Constand being upset, but rather "a little embarassed."

Prosecutors this week plan to call a toxicologist to discuss the effects of drugs like quaaludes, a powerful sedative, and the cold and allergy medicine Benadryl, both of which Cosby has acknowledged giving women before sexual encounters.

The disgraced comedian arrived for the second day of his sexual assault trial wearing a dark suit, using a cane and without the visible support of friends or family members. His wife Camille did not join her husband as his trial began Monday, but he was accompanied by Keshia Knight Pulliam who played his daughter Rudy on "The Cosby Show."

Fox News' Lissa Kaplan and Tamara Gitt and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
When the body of Sister Cathy Cesnik was discovered in January 1970 two months after her sudden disappearance, many were shocked to learn a popular nun who taught English and drama at Archbishop Keough High School in Baltimore had been brutally murdered.

Nearly 50 years later, no one seems to know who could have killed the 26-year-old, but filmmaker Ryan White has since uncovered several shocking clues.

[SPOILER ALERT: The remainder of this article contains spoilers about Netflix's "The Keepers."]

In his seven-part Netflix documentary titled The Keepers, viewers discover how several former Catholic schoolgirls alleged to have endure sexual abuse at their school and how Cesnik promised to helped them, until she ended up dead.

Fox News: Many people are calling The Keepers the next Making a Murderer. How do you feel about the comparison?

White: Look, Making a Murderer was extremely popular, so to be mentioned in the same breath as them is flattering... Our films are very different and mine focuses on the victims, and in that way it might be harder for a lot of viewers to watch because youre bearing witness to a lot of pain and trauma but I think all of us would agree that our common goal is to correct injustice. Im OK with the comparison.

Fox News: What inspired you to create this film?

Ryan White: My connection to the story is a personal one. I come from a big Catholic family in Baltimore and my aunt was actually Sister Cathys student. She is the one who introduced me to the story.

AMY SCHUMER'S NETFLIX SPECIAL SLAMMED BY VIEWERS

Fox News: Youve mentioned how you never set out to solve a murder.

White: We just knew this film wasnt going to solve a mystery that was 45-years-old. And while we were investigating the case, we realized this was also a story that seemed to have been deliberatively buried We never set out to make this film so we can announce who killed Sister Cathy.

However, now that the documentary has been released to the world, I do fully believe now the murder could be solved. Im hoping the series could lead to more people coming out with definitive answers for Sister Cathys family.

Fox News: Were you ever hesitant in putting your focus on a documentary that may question the Catholic church?

White: I grew up Catholic, and I had a very positive experience in the Catholic church. And I think the secrets of abuse and cover-ups within the Catholic church are widely known at this point. I didnt see this as a documentary that would ever be against the Catholic church.

I was surprised and disappointed during the filmmaking process that the Archdiocese of Baltimore seemed so resistant to participate. I was extremely disappointed in their reaction towards the series. I thought they would come out a lot more compassionately and their reactions so far have been much more of an attack mode. As a Catholic, its been a very disappointing experience from the beginning because that was never the intent. I dont consider The Keepers an anti-Catholic movie. I consider it a movie against child abuse and cover-ups of child abuse.

ORSON WELLES FINAL FILM TO BE RELEASED BY NETFLIX

Fox News: What were some of the things that surprised you about Sister Cathy in learning about her life before the murder?

White: Its interesting. As a filmmaker, youre constantly digging into peoples backstories that you usually get all sides of that person.

With Sister Cathy, I only heard glowing things about her I havent even heard a bad story where she was mean to someone or selfish. All portrayals of Sister Cathy from her friends, her students, her family  theyre almost of an angel. I truly believe she would had left a huge impact on the world if her life wasnt taken from her so soon.

Fox News: After the film was made, was there any movement in the investigation?

White: Right after the trailer was released, the Baltimore press picked up the story of Father Maskells body being exhumed by the Baltimore County Police. They tested him for his DNA to see if it was a match from what was found in the crime scene. They recently released the results and it was not his DNA. But that was a very positive movement made by the Baltimore County Police.

Fox News: It was also reported the Baltimore Police Department recently created a crime-reporting forum for those involved in the story. Why has it taken so long?

White: I dont know! But Im so pleased by that, and its Baltimore City Police. The murder investigation is with Baltimore County because thats where Cathys body was found. But the high school was located in Baltimore City. So any abuse cases that may have happened would have to be reported to Baltimore City.

What I noticed within the three years of making this documentary was that theres a lot of confusion and fear by survivors on how they can report their cases. But Im very pleased they created a system that makes it easier, more seamless, and safer for women to come forward with their accounts.

NETFLIX SPOKESPERSON SAYS PRINCE DISCUSSED REALITY SHOW

Fox News: Do you think well ever find out who killed Sister Cathy?

White: I hope we do. I dont think its too late to find out. I probably began the project thinking it was too late to find out, but I dont believe that now I believe her family deserves justice. And part of that is being able to name who killed Sister Cathy.

Fox News: Throughout the making of The Keepers did you ever have any suspicions of who might have done it?

White: Yeah, I mean one of the biggest surprises in making the documentary was, as you can see in episode five, two families popped up, both with very similar secret narratives of how their uncles may have committed this murder I was also on that journey where I was wondering if I was being tossed a curveball but I do think there are people out there that may have answers.

Fox News: Whats next for you?

White: Right now, Im deciding on my next project. At the moment, Im completely dedicated to The Keepers.

Fox News: Do you see yourself tackling another true crime mystery?

White: Im not drawn to true crime specifically. Im more drawn to the human side of it. It was Sister Cathy who drew me to The Keepers. If I found another story ... I believe has that resilient human spirit at the center of it, and it just so happens to be a true crime, then absolutely. But Im not ever going to be picking my projects based on a crime or a murder.
Cooper Hefner had an unusual request for his mom Kimberley Conrad on Mother's Day  to recreate her August 1988 cover nearly 29 years later.

The 25-year-old chief creative officer of the mens magazine asked the 54-year-old model to be part of a shoot that would celebrate former Playmates from the 70s-90s. The collection of past and present covers went live on Sunday.

Im from Alabama originally, but I grew up in west Vancouver. The sweetness comes from the south! I moved to Los Angeles and  boom  there it was, recalled Conrad. Hef and I started dating, got married, had kids, and the rest is history.

PLAYBOY RETURNS TO NUDITY

Conrad also dismissed an ongoing rumor about her time at the Playboy Mansion.

There was a common misconception that I put the whole kibosh on the partying at the Mansion, she explained. It had nothing to do with me. The Playmates still came over, but it was nice to have them call and say, Hi! Im coming up! Let the office know. It was still wide open. It was still the ultimate restaurant and health club with a 24-hour membership.

"We never refused anyone, ever. But its nice to know that theres going to be people in your house when youre coming downstairs in the morning. It was always an open door and open gate.

PLAYBOY NAMES BROOK POWER 2017 PLAYMATE OF THE YEAR

Hefner and Conrad married in 1989, the same year she was named Playmate of the Year. They separated in 1998 and she moved into a home next door to the Mansion with the couples two young sons.

After more than a decade of separation, the now 91-year-old founder of Playboy filed for divorce in 2009. Hef has since married again. In 2012 he wed then-26-year-old Crystal Harris.
An Alabama police sergeant -- dressed in his full uniform -- said he bit into an Arbys Classic Roast Beef sandwich during his shift last week and found a 1-inch bolt hidden inside the meat.

I don't know how you make a sandwich with a bolt that large in it and not be intentional,'' Sgt. Patrick Crosby, of the Birmingham police, told AL.com. I can't wrap my head around that."

Cosby said the incident happened Thursday when he was working late in Birmingham. He went through the drive-thru of the fast-food restaurant in his city car.

He said it was clear they knew he was an officer. He said when he took a bite of the sandwich he discovered the massive bolt sitting there.

I'm playing this out in my head,'' he said. I wondered if it was intentionally done. Cosby said he heard from Arbys officials on Saturday.

A regional manager told him the bolt came from a malfunctioning meat cutter. AL.com reported that employees slice and weigh the meat while making each sandwich. The vice president of the company also called Cosby and told him the same thing.

Christopher Fuller, a senior vice president with Arbys, told the paper that he was sure no one was targeted in this instance.

We have a long-standing tradition of supporting our men and women in uniform, and we are currently working with the guest to resolve the matter, Fuller said.

The Jefferson County Health Department visited the Arbys on Monday and told Cosby the bolt came from a faulty cutter and that the restaurant had experienced previous problems in the past.

They're alleging it's not intentional, but I don't see how that makes it on to a sandwich, Cosby said. I just know that 100 percent of the people who have seen the picture, many who have been in the restaurant business for 30 years, say there's no way it's not intentional.

Click for more from AL.com.
Walk into the tasting room at Service Brewing Co. in Savannah, Ga., and youll come to a wall where youre invited to write your answer to a simple question:

How Do You Serve?

Youll also find a corkboard where military members, first responders and other members of the community pin their symbols of service, ranging from Army Ranger tabs to civil service patches.

Thats because Service Brewing Co., located in a sprawling warehouse by the Savannah River that once served as a paper and cleaning supply company, makes more than pale ales, pilsners and IPAs. By honoring service to country and community, it produces good citizens, too. The company has 23 investors, 20 of whom are military veterans, many of whom company founder Kevin Ryan worked with during his time in the Army.

BUDWEISER BRINGS BACK 'AMERICA' BOTTLES TO SUPPORT US ARMED FORCES

Our name, Service, has many meanings, said Ryan, a West Point graduate who trained soldiers as an infantry officer in Alaska and Colorado and went on to command two companies in Iraq, bringing all of his troops safely home.

It recognizes my colleagues and my service to our country, the service that soldiers before us provided to their country and the dedication of Service Brewing Co. to give back to charities that support people who service their country and community.

Ryan left the military and returned to civilian life in 2004, a transition he described as a huge, scary leap. I was leaving a life I knew for 12 years.

He worked at various jobs in New York and South Carolina until February 2012, when his fiancee, Meredith Sutton, gave him a home brewing kit on Valentines Day. Two years later, that gift became the impetus for launching Service Brewing.

Being veteran-owned and operated is great, Ryan said. We are disciplined in our approach to business and brewing. Andwe work with the community, local chefs, farmers and retailers.

Today the company has six full-time and seven part-time employees, with many veterans in key positions, including Master Brewer. Ryan also runs an internship partnership with U.S. Special Operations Command Care Coalition.

The names of the beers brewed by Service also reflect the company's military heritage. There's Rally Point Bohemian Style Pilsner, Battlewagon Double IPA, Ground Pounder Pale Ale and even a season Gun Bunny Witbier.

Service opened up its space not only for brewing, but for tastings and tours, and it donates a dollar from every tour admission to charity.

We support a lot of grassroots nonprofits, Ryan said. We help them with establishing a presence, so more people can learn about what theyre doing.

The brewerys first charity was The 200 Club, which supports families of fallen firefighters and policemen. It went on to donate to such foundations as Homes for Our Troops, K-9s for Veterans, Second Harvest, Toys for Tots and local schools.

Its last fundraising initiative, the Chatham Savannah Authoritys Tiny House Project for homeless people, wrapped up in May. Its a project that makes small homes for homeless veterans, said Ryan. Since July, We gave $1 for every tour of the brewery. We gave and raised over $15,000 for the project.

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Currently, Service Brewing is raising funds for the SD Gunner Fund, which places service dogs with veterans, children with special needs and schools. Its president and founder, Britnee Kinard, had a career in business before she dedicated herself to caring and advocating for wounded veterans. Her child has autism and her husband has PTSD, and she began training service dogs for her family, Ryan said. Now shes turned it into a charity.

Service Brewing is also rooted in community involvement. It recruited 22 local artists to design innovative, patriotic beer tap handles.

Throughout history, artists have documented our war heroes, famous battles; their narrative in paint, sculpture, and other media brings quality to the world, said Ryans fiancee, Sutton, the companys co-owner and director of creative marketing. This was our way of tipping our hat to artists and their contribution to our history.

The brewery will expand the project this year to add to Services collection of tap handles, Ryan said.
It turns out domestic diva Martha Stewart gets late night food cravings just like the rest of us.

In a recent interview with Town & Country, the Martha and Snoops Potluck Dinner Party host shared some of her guilty pleasure foods-- and they arent what youd expect from the culinary master.

It's a spoon of really good organic peanut butter, or a slice of American cheese from my housekeepers drawer. I steal American slices sometimesin the plastic, its so horrible," Stewart told the magazine. "But its such a good snack."

When shes not snacking on peanut butter or sneaking slices of procesed cheese, Stewart reaches for something a little more unusual when hunger strikes.

MARTHA STEWART ADMITS TO SEXTING, FREQUENTING NUDE BEACHES ON 'ELLEN'

I eat pickled herring as a late-night snack before I go to bed because its savory and good. I like liverwurst, and I know how bad it is now. I love squeezing it out of the tube and just eating calves' liverwurst, she told Town & Country.

Stewart has also talked previously about her love of hot dogs, which shes been a fan of since childhood.

Growing up with humble means in New Jersey, Stewart's family didnt have much money to eat out at restaurants, but if they saved up, they would get hot dogs and hot fudge sundaes, according to Bon Appetit.

Turns out, Stewart never outgrew this childhood tradition and still finds time to indulge in a hot dog on her way home from work.

"After a long day with no dinner, sometimes I have to stop and get a hot dog," she told Bon Appetit. "I commute to Bedford [a suburb of New York City] every day, which is an hour away, so if I'm coming home from work at 11 o'clock at night, one of my drivers will bring us to Papaya King on the Upper East Side.

She added, "That's an evil thing I do."

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So if youre Martha Stewart, how do you top your hot dog?

Sauerkraut and mustard are her go-to toppings, but Stewart created her own hot dog at Pinks in Los Angeles that features relish, onions, bacon, chopped tomatoes, sauerkraut and a drizzle of sour cream.
Members of the Hungry Howies in Holland, Michigan recently made quite the delivery for a long time customer.

Adrian Van Nieuwland loved his pizza, and for years he made his usual order, a medium three cheeser pleaser with butter cheese crust.

He had one order and that was his order every time. When it popped up on the screen you knew Adrian ordered, said Assistant General Manager Amanda Ortiz.

But towards the end of May, the crew at Hungry Howies noticed Adrian stopped calling.

After not getting in touch with Van Nieuwland on the phone, employees went to his home to check on him.

They went to his house to check on him and found him laying on the floor. And they werent sure how long hed been down there, said Hungry Howies driver Gabbe Raqib.

Family members say Van Nieuwland had been on the floor for about a day, unable to get up. They also say his cellphone was out of reach.

Van Nieuwland was taken to the hospital, where the Hungry Howies employees visited him.

We went the night he went to the hospital, we went there a few hours after he got admitted, said Ortiz. He seemed to be doing great. We joked around. I gave him the gift card and said youre probably hungry.'

Family members say Van Nieuwland was in the hospital for eight days but eventually passed away.

Employees at Hungry Howies say while theyre sad for the loss, theyre happy they were able to help their longtime customer and friend and that he didnt pass away alone.

Its tragic and my heart breaks for him. But if anything Im just happy that we stopped him from dying alone, on the floor of his house, said Raqib.

Family members tell FOX 17 that he slipped into a coma and that Van Nieuwlands family members were surrounding him when he passed away and they are thankful that the Hungry Howies employees took action to help him.

Its more than pizza to us because our customers are our family. Thats our family, said Ortiz.

More from Fox 17 West Michigan.
Beer is having a bad time.

Global alcohol sales fell 1.3 percent last year, led by a 1.8 percent decline in beer sales, according to new data from International Wine and Spirits Research, a London-based industry group.

The strongest performing categories were spirits, which saw a 2.25 per cent increase, up from the five-year average of 0.79 per cent, and wine, which was up 2.2 percent, compared with the five-year average of 0.18 percent.

5 THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT BEER

Mixed drinks, meanwhile, swung back into fashion, with sales growing by a modest 0.4 percent, after five years of average annual declines of 3.45 percent.

Cider sales grew by 1.54 percent, but that was a sharp slowdown on the five-year average of 7 percent growth a year.

ISWR magazine editor Alexander Smith told the Financial Times the drop was surprising given the improving global economy. Global gross domestic product rose 3.1 per cent last year and is expected to rise 3.6 per cent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund, which would typically correlate with higher alcohol consumption.

That, allied with the growing global population of legal drinking age consumers, should, theoretically, have led to growing global alcohol consumption, but it didnt, Smith told the Financial Times.

The fall was largely blamed on economic weakness in some emerging markets and increasing regulations. Sales of sprits held largely steady at 0.3 per cent growth, although global vodka sales fell 4.3 per cent largely due to a 9.3 per cent fall in recession-hit Russia.

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ISWR said the beer drop was mainly due to weakness in China, which is the worlds biggest beer market by volume, but was also affected by other major economies. Beer sales fell 4.2 percent in China, 5.3 percent in Brazil and 7.8 percent in Russia.

One bright spot was gin, with sales increasing by 3.7 per cent globally, largely led by strong European sales. Drinks giant Diageo, which owns Tanqueray gin, told the Financial Times per capita consumption of alcohol in the developed world had been dropping for three decades.

However, there is a clear and sustained trend of consumers drinking better  not more, the company said. This is supported in the IWSR data with the growth of global spirits, particularly whisky, gin and tequila.

This story originally appeared on news.com.au.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration on Tuesday warned of a new side effect of the nation's opioid crisis affecting police and first responders: accidental overdoses.

Law enforcement officers and paramedics are increasingly coming in contact with synthetic opioids such as fentanyl that can be dangerous and deadly, prompting the DEA warning and updated guidance nationwide.

In the new video campaign, acting DEA Administrator Chuck Rosenberg and two local police detectives from New Jersey appear on the video to urge law enforcement personnel who come in contact with fentanyl or fentanyl compounds, up to 50 times more potent than heroin, to take the drugs directly to a lab.

The two detectives were recently exposed to a very small amount of fentanyl, and say in the video, I thought I was dying. It felt like my body was shutting down.

Exposure to an amount equivalent to a few grains of sand can kill you," Rosenberg warns in the video. "You can be in grave danger even if you unintentionally come into contact with fentanyl. This message about fentanyl could save your life or the life of a colleague, so please listen.

While the DEA does not keep data quantifying the problem, first responders handling evidence or helping overdose victims are more frequently reporting breathing problems, dizziness and even loss of consciousness, according to Rosenberg.

Last month, an Ohio police officer accidentally overdosed on fentanyl after accidentally getting the deadly drug on his uniform during a traffic stop.

Over Memorial Day weekend, a Pennsylvania police officer came in contact with a powdery substance while searching a suspects car, resulting in an accidental overdose.

Rosenberg cautions police not to field test any substance they suspect may contain fentanyl, and reminds them that police dogs are also vulnerable, so police K-9 handlers must also be careful.

Something that looks like heroin could be pure fentanylassume the worst, he said. Dont touch these substances or their wrappings without the proper personal protective equipment.

The DEA first issued a nationwide alert on fentanyl in March 2015, a year when more than 33,000 people died from heroin, fentanyl and other opioid drugs. The preliminary numbers for 2016 show an increase to almost 60,000 deaths, which would be the largest annual increase in American history.

The opioid epidemic nationwide has caused havoc and heartbreak for our children, friends and neighbors, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said in a statement. Any fentanyl exposure can kill innocent law enforcement, first responders and the public. As we continue to fight this epidemic, it is critical that we provide every tool necessary to educate the public and law enforcement about the dangers of fentanyl and its deadly consequences.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
In October of my junior year of high school, I was at the top of my cross-country game. I was running five to six days a week, knocking more and more time off my mile split, and gearing up for a big race that would finally prove I had what it took to hit varsity status. So when opportunities arose to run a few extra miles and push myself harder, I took them without a second thought.

Then came the day of the race. Id been noticing some pain and throbbing in my shins for a few days, but assumed I just had shin splintssomething Id dealt with many times in the past. So before my event, I popped a couple of Ibuprofen and visualized myself totally dominating the race. Spoiler: Thats not what happened.

When the race started, I took off and headed to the front of the pack. I kept up my pace as I wove through the trail, adrenaline surging through my body. That is, until about mile 1, when my runners high was interrupted by an excruciating pain in my left shin.

I tried to ignore it, unwilling to give up just yet. But the pain only got worse, and soon I was limping. Girls passed me left and right, but I kept hobbling my way across the grassy path until I reached the finish line and collapsed.

Fast forward through two doctor's visits, an X-ray, and a bone scan. The verdict was that I had seven small stress fractures in my left shin.

My case is certainly nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, ABPM-certified podiatrist Melissa Lockwood, DPM, says nearly one in five runners she sees is for a stress fracture. But why do young, healthy people end up with this injury? Here, she explains what causes stress fractures, and shares tips for preventing and treating them.

RELATED: 7 Running Injuries and How to Avoid Them

What is a stress fracture?

Stress fractures are characterized as "overuse injuries." They occur when a bone experiences repeated, unusual force, says Dr. Lockwood, who's based in Bloomington, Illinois: For example, when runners increase their distance and speedbasically anything that changes the amount of pressure theyre putting on the body.

Dr. Lockwood typically sees these injuries happen in the metatarsals, which are the small bones right behind your toes, and the lower leg (as in my case). According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, more than 50% occur in the lower leg.

While stress fractures are associated with running, they can also be caused by regular force, if the bones are weakened by other problems, such as osteoporosis or another systematic problem like an eating disorder, adds Dr. Lockwood. Research suggests women are more susceptible, possibly because they're more prone to the above-mentioned conditions.

But really, stress fractures can affect anyone. Dr. Lockwood got one in her foot after walking around Disney World all day. (See her X-rays below.)

What are the symptoms of a stress fracture?

The biggest thing is to watch for increased pain with increased activity, says Dr. Lockwood. Meaning it doesn't hurt so badly first thing in the morning, but then the more youre on it throughout the day, or after you go for a run, the pain gets worse, even excruciating.

Unlike a strain or pull, the ache associated with stress fractures doesn't tend to resolve itself after a couple of days, or go away with rest. So if you still feel a throbbing pain after sitting down, thats also pretty good indicator.

But diagnosing a stress fracture can get a bit tricky: Typically you cant see a stress fracture on an X-ray until two weeks after the initial injury. For that reason doctors often order other tests, like an MRI or bone scan, to identify the injury.

If a patient describes stress fracture symptoms, Dr. Lockwood always treats it as one, she says, unless she figures out an alternative explanation.

RELATED: 4 Ways to Ward Off Shin Splints

How can you prevent a stress fracture?

Once youve had one stress fracture, it puts you at greater risk for another, says Dr. Lockwood. [Insert un-amused emoji here] But luckily, there are a number of smart strategies you can use to keep your bones healthy.

For starters, invest in solid sneakers. If youre a runner, head to a running store and find a pair that works optimally for your stride and foot type.

Its also crucial to retire your shoes after a certain amount of use, Dr. Lockwood warns. Either toss them based on time (no more than 6 months) or miles (no more than 300).

And whether youre an athlete or not, if youve suffered a stress fracture in the past, you may want to consider getting custom orthotics to make sure youre moving with the right biomechanics, says Dr. Lockwood.

At the time of my own injury, I was stupidly wearing a pair of sneakers that were past their expiration date. So please, dont make the same mistake, and actually pay attention to your shoes!

Dont get discouraged

After my injury, I felt really down. I worried that my body wasnt cut out for running, and that this was a sign I needed to throw in the towel.

But as Dr. Lockwood puts it, having stress fractures does not mean your running career is over. It may mean you need to change how youre training, whether thats adjusting the distance or frequency of your runs, or running on softer surfaces (think grass vs. concrete).

For me, getting back into running entailed everything Dr. Lockwood mentioned: scaling back my runs, paying better attention to my form, and regularly swapping out my shoes. Today running is still a huge part of my lifestyle. I even run-commute to work sometimes. But I'm much better about listening to my body now, and taking notice when it needs a break.

If you sense that something is off with your body, dont sit and wait to get it checked, says Dr. Lockwood. Or rather, dont run and wait.

This article originally appeared on Health.com.
For years, George refused to talk about it. Whenever I pressed him, I would be met with silence, or a brief outburst of nothing more than staccato words: bangalores, shingle, terror, dead men everywhere. George, you see, as a young US Army officer, landed on Omaha Beach during the famed D-Day invasion of Europe 73 years ago, on June 6, 1944.

The last time I saw him, on Christmas Day 1998, he looked at me with misty eyes, threw down the rest of his bourbon and said that D-Day will forever be remembered as the greatest day of the 20th century. George, like so many members of his generation, is no longer with us, but on this anniversary of Operation Overlord, his words resonate strongly. And so they should.

In the late spring of 1944, World War II was in its fifth year in Europe. The German Army had suffered defeats in North Africa, Sicily and in the battles of Stalingrad and Kursk in Russia. But, the formidable Wehrmacht still controlled Europe from the Russian steppes to the Norwegian fjords to the English Channel.

Several months before, in the autumn of 1943, Hitler had discerned that the main threat to Germany loomed not out of the East, but the West. In Fuehrer Directive Number 51, he proclaimed, I can no longer justify the further weakening of the West in favor of other theaters of war. I have therefore decided to strengthen the defenses in the West.

He appointed Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, The Desert Fox, to reconstruct the fortifications along the Atlantic Wall. Like the Fuehrer, Rommel believed that the invasion, when it came, could only be halted on the beaches. In just two years, the German Army had shifted from a blitzkrieg doctrine to a defensive posture hiding behind Rommels vaunted Festung Europa.

Despite around-the-clock Allied strategic bombing, Germanys industry was producing arms and munitions at the highest capacity since the war began. Hitlers insane fantasies of wonder weapons were becoming a reality as V-1 rockets, ME-262 jet fighters and the mammoth Tiger tank rolled off of German assembly lines.

In occupied Poland and Russia, the Nazis Final Solution (the complete genocide of European Jewry) was proceeding on schedule. Reichsfuehrer Heinrich Himmler had promised Hitler that by 1945 almost all of Europes Jews would be dead.

In Western Europe, millions of subjugated people, living in a nightmare world of starvation, deportation and summary execution awaited their resurrection from tyranny. They would not have much longer to wait.

At 1600 on June 5, 1944, General Dwight D. Eisenhower met once again at Southwick House with his key subordinates: Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, Gen. Omar Bradley, Air Marshal Arthur Tedder, Air Vice Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory, Adm. Bertram Ramsey, Maj. Gen. Kenneth Strong (SHAEF G-2) and RAF Group Capt. J.M. Stagg, his meteorologist. The night before, Stagg had predicted horrible weather conditions for the English Channel and the Normandy coastline. Ike had delayed the invasion for 24 hours. Now, Staggs forecast was more optimistic. The weather would clear, providing marginal conditions for up to 48 hours. After consulting with his commanders and staff and pausing to think on his own, Ike stared at his subordinates and said, Okay, lets go.

Within an hour of Ikes decision to go, the BBC began to broadcast its nightly messages personnel to the French Resistance. But, on this night, several of the messages were codes for the Maquis to begin sabotage operations. Two of them were: Blessent mon Coeur dune langeur monotone (Wounds my heart with a monotonous languor) Jean a une longe moustache. (John has a long mustache.)

Those in the French Resistance knew that the hour of liberation was at hand. On the evening of June 5, 1944, the troops of the Allied Expeditionary Force quickly received word of Ikes decision to go. Each man knew he bore a gigantic responsibility. The success of Operation Overlord would determine the freedom of a continent, and of the world for years to come.

The men of D-Day knew they could not fail. There was no substitute for victory. Winston Churchill knew the price of failure too. If we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science." Churchill knew that with victory, All Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands.

Operation Overlord commenced at just after midnight on June 6. As British Glider troops secured Pegasus Bridge near Caen, the American airborne armada was on its way to the Cotentin Peninsula. The 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions had orders to secure the various causeways and roads connecting Utah and Omaha Beaches to the Normandy interior.

Within minutes of crossing the Normandy coastline, the vast air armada ran into thick clouds and intense anti-aircraft fire. Many of the 870 C-47s carrying both divisions separated from their V-of-V formations and became lost, with each plane flying seemingly blind toward the drop zones.

As the enemy fire intensified, disoriented pilots began to unload the airborne troops. In the dead of night, many of the paratroopers landed alone, miles from where they were supposed to be. Separated from their buddies, their officers, their platoons, even their divisions, the paratroopers nevertheless began to move out to their objectives. Some of them located other soldiers from their companies. Some fought with troopers from another division. Some fought alone.

As dawn broke on June 6, the Allied fleet opened-up on the German coastal defenses with naval gunfire and rockets. Under the impression that the bombardment had killed or wounded a large percentage of the German defenders, the troops of the 4th, 29th and 1st Infantry Divisions, and the 2nd and 5th Ranger Battalions, boarded Higgins landing craft.

Allied intelligence had claimed that the U.S. 29th and 1st Divisions would face the crippled German 716th Division  and only one battalion from that unit at that. Intelligence was dead wrong. Three battalions from the veteran 352th Infantry Division were dug in defending the area known as Omaha Beach.

Then a navigational error caused the 4th Infantry Division to land a mile south of its intended target. Utah Beach was lightly defended and became a quick success. Eyeing a tactical opportunity, Brig. Gen. Teddy Roosevelt Jr. ordered his commanders to start the war from right here.

By 0700, Omaha Beach had become a shambles. Gen. Bradley, who as commander of the 1st U.S. Army was responsible for the Utah and Omaha Beach landings, considered at one point pulling out of Omaha and shifting the incoming forces to Utah. Troops were pinned down at the waters edge by intense machine gun fire. Zeroed mortars and 88s picked off disembarking soldiers like sitting ducks. But, still the men landed and attempted to move inland.

By noon, thousands of casualties littered Omaha Beach. Many soldiers huddled against the rocky shingle awaiting a certain fate. But others knew that they had to achieve a breakthrough. They had to get through the draws, climb the bluffs and destroy the machine gun nests and the pillbox crews.

One by one, junior officers and young sergeants inspired their men to get off the beach. Using Bangalore explosives, they blew obstacles and opened narrow gaps in the barriers. As the men moved inland, they set off numerous anti-personnel mines. Paths of dead and wounded men marked trails to follow.

By late afternoon, the U.S. forces had finally secured Omaha Beach. Across the Allied front, forces were gaining a small foothold in Normandy. D-Day succeeded not because of a brilliant plan, not because of special intelligence, and not because of technology. D-Day succeeded because of the ingenuity of 18-year-old-privates, the bravery of 22-year-old junior officers and the innovation of their commanders. D-Day succeeded because everyone knew the stakes at hand. They knew that to live in a world conquered by the Nazis was not an option.

What if the men of D-Day had failed?

It would have taken the Allies perhaps another year to launch a second cross-channel invasion. By that time, the Germans would have been equipped with thousands of their new jets. The V-1 and V-2 rockets would have wreaked extreme havoc on London and Southern England. The Final Solution would probably have been completed. German scientists, although behind the Allies in the race for the atomic bomb, may have gained precious time to create their own device.

Worst of all, Adolf Hitler would have continued to walk this earth.

In 1964, on the 20th anniversary of D-Day, CBS newsman Walter Cronkite  who as a young UPI reporter had landed behind enemy lines that night in a troop-carrying glider  interviewed Eisenhower on Omaha Beach. Gazing at the coastline, the former allied commander and retired president recalled why that mammoth invasion was different from famous battles in ancient history:

Its a wonderful thing what those fellows were fighting for and sacrificing for, what they did to preserve our way of life. Not to conquer any territory, not for ambitions of our own. But to make sure that Hitler could not destroy freedom in the world. I think its just overwhelming. To think of the lives that were given for that principle, paying a terrible price on this beach alone. But, they did it so the world could be free. It just shows what free men will do rather than be slaves.

Perhaps correspondent Ernie Pyle most eloquently expressed what we owe these men today, more than seven decades later. In a column, written on June 12, 1944, Pyle said: I want to tell you what the opening of the second front entailed, so that you can know and appreciate and forever be humbly grateful to those both dead and alive who did it for you.

The glory of D-Day will never die.
Editor's note: The following column originally appeared in The Hill newspaper and on TheHill.com.

Will Democrats win any of these special Congressional elections?

Republicans won the May special election for Montanas congressional seat even after their candidate throttled and body-slammed a reporter. The upcoming special election in Georgia remains close even with a weak Republican candidate.

So, what will it take for Democrats to start winning?

First, the Montana fisticuffs showed that Republicans can react volcanically to questions about President Trumps failed effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare. Their candidate went ballistic when the reporter, Ben Jacobs of The Guardian, asked about the projected higher premiums and fewer people insured under Trumps healthcare plan.

Second, last weeks poor jobs numbers and Trumps lack of progress on tax reform offer more evidence that the GOP lacks a strong record for its candidates to run on.

And, third, the Democratic base is fired up. With Trumps withdrawal from the Paris climate deal, the party is definitely unified in its fury at him.

But with the president retaining strong support among his GOP base, are these hopeful signs just mirages similar to the illusions that led Democrats to think Trump could never be elected president?

Is there any concrete reason to think that the nations politics have changed enough to give the Democrats the 24 seats they need to take control of the House and set themselves up to defeat Trump in 2020?

In Montana, the Democratic candidate lost by only six points while Hillary Clinton, the partys 2016 presidential nominee, lost by 20. That margin narrowed even as the GOP outspent the Democrats. And most people voted long before the Republican, Greg Gianforte, resorted to violence.

Daily Kos Elections reports that, as of May 25, there had been 18 special elections for Congressional and state legislative seats. Democrats have done better than Clinton in 12, averaging a margin of 11 percentage points better than their 2016 presidential nominee.

That led Kyle Kondik, the managing editor of the Crystal Ball newsletter from the University of Virginias Center for Politics, to conclude: Democrats can point to overall special election trends that suggest the opportunity for significant gains next year if they can be replicated on a nationalized scale.

That forecast fit with Clintons prediction at a tech conference last week that it is certainly realistic for Democrats to win the House majority in the 2018 midterm elections.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee announced last month that it was expanding the targets for GOP-held House seats in 2018 beyond the 23 districts currently represented by a Republican but won by Clinton. They are now aiming at an incredible 79 seats.

Before he withdrew from the climate deal, Trumps approval rating was underwater by 14 points: Gallup reported last week that the presidents job performance was approved by 40 percent of the country, while 54 percent disapproved.

And dont forget the FBI, special counsel and congressional probes into the Trump campaigns ties to Russia, which could totally derail any GOP policy agenda before the 2018 races.

A Politico/Morning Consult Poll last week found that 43 percent of voters want impeachment proceedings right now.

A Quinnipiac University poll last month found the president with the support of just 29 percent of self-described independents  a group with which he had scored plurality support last November.

But all that is noise inside a political bubble unless there is a winning message from Democrats that goes beyond another dose of fury at Trump and speaks directly to voters.

Last week brought news that a group of Democrats had formed the Peoples House Project to elect left of center candidates. The new groups goal is to give Democratic candidates in the Midwest and rural areas a new look, with a jobs-first focus and free from Republican attacks on the party as a coalition of elites, young people, and minorities.

It will allow them to say, Im a different kind of Democrat,  said Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), who supports the effort.
President Trumps response to the terror attack in London this past weekend did more to politicize the issue than respond to terror in a firm, unifying, and proactive way.

Rather than sending words of support, Trump took the opportunity to criticize Londons Mayor Sadiq Khan and use the attack as a platform to support his travel ban.

Trump and Khan  the first Muslim mayor of London  engaged in a public argument on Twitter regarding Trumps mischaracterization of Khans statement on increased police activity.

Khan attempted to dismiss the Twitter feud with Trump and focus on the aftermath of the attack, and was greeted by more invectives from the president criticizing his response.

We must stop being politically correct and get down to the business of security for our people, Trump tweeted. If we don't get smart it will only get worse[.] Then later, regarding the stagnation of his travel ban, In any event we are EXTREME VETTING people coming into the U.S. in order to help keep our country safe. The courts are slow and political!

Trumps tweets were inflammatory. Rather than simply offering words of support  as he did in his more empathetic statements in reaction to the attacks in Manchester earlier this month, and Westminster in March  he is pushing forward with his own agenda, one of the only world leaders who has used the attack as a call to action.

More to the point, though, he is beginning to use international events to promote is own domestic agenda.

By focusing on the attacks in the U.K., he is hoping to garner greater support for his travel ban, as well as other national security issues like the wall on the southern border. He views these attacks as opportunities to push his plans forward, regardless of the fear it stirs in the American public.

His comments towards Islam and terror, for instance, dominate the news cycle and hinder leaders like Khan from effectively responding to the attacks. All while continuing to play into his favor on the domestic side as he hopes the Supreme Court will uphold his travel ban.

This is not the first time that Trump has tied politics and terrorism. On a more domestic level, Trump has said he will cut federal funding to sanctuary cities. One of the largest of these is New York City, which currently receives $190 million in funding from Homeland Security. NYPD Commissioner James ONeill has called the funding the backbone of our entire counterterrorism apparatus. By threating to remove funding over a difference of ideology, Trump is at risk of putting all of New York City at risk of a terror attack.

As Trumps recent international trip has shown, he is determined to forge stronger relationships with Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt  partnerships that will be critical to addressing the threat of terror both here at home and abroad. Relationships with our European allies  specifically our NATO partners  remain somewhat fragile, though clearly working cohesively with all our allies to drive out extremism globally is the best path forward.

Yet Trump continues his strategy of belittling and punishing those who disagree with him. He continues to target groups as a whole for the nations problems and attempts to scapegoat the Islamic community for the global terror threat. This is the type of behavior that will only continue to radicalize fringe groups and will not bring us anywhere closer to a safer world.
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt defended the Trump administration's decision to withdraw from the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change Monday night, dismissing the accord as "all hat and no cattle."

In an appearance on "The Story with Martha MacCallum," Pruitt pointed out that the agreement was criticized by environmentalists because "it did not hold China and India accountable" to reduce their carbon emissions.

"India didnt have to take any steps in the agreement to reduce [carbon dioxide] emissions until they received $2.5 trillion in aid," Pruitt said. "China didnt have to take any steps until the year 2030."

Meanwhile, Pruitt added, the U.S. would have seen "up to 400,000 jobs lost under the Paris Agreement and $2.5 trillion of [GDP] over ten years while China and India take no steps."

Pruitt also said American companies should focus on building on their progress in reducing emissions.

"From 2000 to 2014, we reduced our [carbon dioxide] footprint by over 18 percent, but yet the previous administration went to Paris and was apologetic," he said. "And [President Trump] said, 'No longer. Were going to make sure that we put America first.'"
A federal contractor was arrested over the weekend and accused of leaking a classified report containing "Top Secret level" information on Russian hacking efforts during the 2016 presidential election.

Reality Leigh Winner, 25, appeared in U.S. District Court in Augusta, Ga., to face one charge of removing classified material from a government facility and mailing it to a news outlet, the Justice Department said Monday.

Winner's arrest was announced shortly after the Intercept website published a story detailing how Russian hackers attacked at least one U.S. voting software supplier and sent so-called "spear-phishing" emails to more than 100 local election officials at the end of October or beginning of November.

The Justice Department did not specify that Winner was being charged in connection with the Intercept's report. However, the site noted that the National Security Agency (NSA) report cited in its story was dated May 5 of this year. An affidavit supporting Winner's arrest also said that the report was dated "on or about" May 5.

The Intercept contacted the NSA and the national intelligence director's office about the document and both agencies asked that it not be published. U.S. intelligence officials then asked The Intercept to redact certain sections. The Intercept said some material was withheld at U.S. intelligence agencies' request because it wasn't "clearly in the public interest."

The report said Russian military intelligence "executed cyber espionage operations against a named U.S. company in August 2016 evidently to obtain information on elections-related software and hardware solutions, according to information that became available in April 2017."

The hackers are believed to have then used data from that operation to create a new email account to launch a spear-phishing campaign targeting U.S. local government organizations, the document said. "Lastly, the actors send test emails to two non-existent accounts ostensibly associated with absentee balloting, presumably with the purpose of creating those accounts to mimic legitimate services."



The document did not name any state.



The information in the leaked document seems to go further than the U.S. intelligence agencies' January assessment of the hacking that occurred.

The Washington Examiner reported that Winner worked for Pluribus International Corporation and was assigned to a U.S. government facility in Georgia. She had held a top-secret classified security clearance since being hired this past February. The affidavit sworn by FBI agent Justin Garrick said that she had previously served in the Air Force and held a top-secret security clearance.

Late Monday, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange tweeted his support for Winner.

Winner's attorney, Titus Thomas Nichols, declined to confirm whether she is accused of leaking the NSA report received by The Intercept. He also declined to name the federal agency for which Winner worked.

"My client has no (criminal) history, so it's not as if she has a pattern of having done anything like this before," Nichols told the Associated Press in a phone interview Monday. "She is a very good person. All this craziness has happened all of a sudden."

Garrick said in his affidavit that the government was notified of the leaked report by the news outlet that received it. He said the agency that housed the report determined only six employees had made physical copies. Winner was one of them. Garrick said investigators found Winner had exchanged email with the news outlet using her work computer.

Garrick's affidavit said he interviewed Winner at her home Saturday and she "admitted intentionally identifying and printing the classified intelligence reporting at issue" and mailing it to the news outlet.

Asked if Winner had confessed, Nichols said, "If there is a confession, the government has not shown it to me."

House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, praised the arrest in an appearance on Fox News' "The Story with Martha MacCallum."

"When you have classified information, you cannot put that out there just because you think it would be a good idea," Chaffetz said. "I want people in handcuffs and I want to see people behind bars."

Chaffetz also criticized federal agencies for failing to protect sensitive information after a series of high-profile leaks.

"They have hundreds of thousands of people that have security clearances," Chaffetz said. "There are supposed to be safeguards in there ... But how many times do we have to see this story happen? They obviously dont have the safeguards."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.


The top-ranking diplomat at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing has abruptly resigned, telling colleagues he is leaving the foreign service over disagreements with Trump administration policy, U.S. officials said Monday.



State Department officials familiar with David Rank's resignation said he announced his retirement Monday at a town hall meeting of embassy employees and cited President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord as a reason.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.



The department confirmed Rank's retirement, saying it was a "personal decision" but offered no details about his reasons for stepping down.



Rank was a 27-year career foreign service officer with experience in Afghanistan, Taiwan, Greece and Mauritius.



He was No. 2 at the embassy, in charge pending the arrival of Trump's new ambassador to China, former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, who was confirmed by the Senate last month.



Rank's resignation was first reported by John Pomfret, editor-at-large for the website, SupChina.



Trump announced America's withdrawal from a global climate change pact last week. That kept an election campaign promise, but fanned fears of the U.S. abdicating its global leadership role and shunning international consensus on the world's most pressing issues. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was among Trump's advisers who had been quietly lobbying for the U.S. to stay in the pact.



Cooperation with China on combating climate change was often cited by the Obama administration as an area in which Washington and Beijing were able to work together, despite tensions in other areas of the relationship.



China and the U.S. are the world's two largest emitters of man-made carbon dioxide, considered a top cause of climate change, and agreement between them on capping emissions helped pave the way for the Paris agreement among more than 190 nations.
Former FBI Director James Comey is set to give his long-awaited testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday, in a session that could go down as one of the most-watched and dramatic Hill hearings in recent memory.

Senators will have a mountain of questions for the ex-FBI boss who was fired by President Trump and is now at the center of speculation over whether the president pressured him to stifle Russia-related investigations.

Asked Tuesday about the upcoming hearing, President Trump simply said: "I wish him luck."

Heres what you need to know:

Hearing Details

There are actually two Senate Intelligence Committee hearings to keep an eye on this week.

The first will be Wednesday at 10 a.m. ET, featuring: Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein; Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats; Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe; and National Security Agency Director Adm. Mike Rogers. The hearing technically is on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, and witnesses are expected to testify on laws regarding the collection of foreign intelligence. They will likely face questions about Section 702, which authorizes the intelligence community to target communications of non-U.S. persons located outside the U.S. for foreign intelligence purposes.

While the hearing is set to focus on FISA, the witness panel is rich with people close to the ongoing probe of Russian meddling and potential Trump campaign coordination with Russian officials. Should the hearing delve into that topic, it will serve as a prelude to the big event on Thursday.

Thats when, at 10 a.m. ET in the Senate Hart Building, Comey will testify before the same committee.

The testimony will be carried live on Fox News Channel and FoxNews.com and could last hours.

Why Is Comey Testifying?

The Intelligence Committee has been looking into the Russia issue since early January, in an effort to review the details that informed the intelligence communitys official assessment issued before the Trump administration took office.

It is in this context that the committee originally sought to hear from him on May 11  however, Comey was fired by Trump in advance of that hearing and McCabe took his place.

Now, Comey is set to return, and the context is much different.

Senators will want to know about the Russia controversy, but will also have questions about the raft of reports regarding the circumstances of his firing. The New York Times reported last month that Trump told Russian officials the firing relieved great pressure. The Times also reported that Comey penned a memo saying Trump had earlier pressed him to drop the investigation of former National Security Adviser Michel Flynn (which Trump has denied).

Reports suggest that Comey indeed is expected to tell the committee that Trump asked him to drop the Flynn probe.

What Lawmakers Want to Know

Perhaps foremost on senators minds will be what Trump personally told Comey over the last several months. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., a member of the committee, indicated Tuesday that colleagues will ask the fired FBI boss if they can see the memo and notes he produced around the time of his firing, and noted they could issue a subpoena for those documents.

The official story from the White House last month was that Trump fired Comey after receiving a recommendation from Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein, who felt Comey was unfit to continue leading the nations crown jewel of law enforcement, after his handling of the Hillary Clinton email case last year.

Trump himself has since indicated he was planning to fire Comey regardless of the DOJ recommendation.

Who to Watch

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., and Ranking Member Mark Warner, D-Va., have sought to lead their committees investigation in a bipartisan fashion, trying to avoid the kind of turmoil facing their counterparts on the House side.

They will both give opening statements for the hearings Wednesday and Thursday. The Comey hearing will be a key test of whether they can keep the investigation on course, and prevent it from becoming another venue for partisan warfare.

Sen. Feinstein is another member to keep an eye on Thursday. Feinstein told Fox News that Comey wants to testify, which is always helpful with a witness. She could prove to be a probing questioner, having said on CBS Face the Nation last month that the reason for Comeys firing needs to be clear.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is another member to watch, as a Republican who shows little compunction about questioning the administration. She said on Face the Nation that it is so important for the committee to hear from Comey.

The acting director of the FBI also said that thered not been an attempt to influence the investigation, Collins said. And yet, we hear of all these memos ... all of these dinners and meetings between President Trump and the former FBI director. So we need to hear directly from Mr. Comey on these important issues.

Fox News Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan escalated his war of words with President Trump late Monday, suggesting the U.S. presidents planned state visit to Britain should be canceled.

Speaking on Channel 4 News, Khan said Britain should not be rolling out the red carpet to the president of the USA in the circumstances where his policies go against everything we stand for, when asked whether the visit should be called off.

The comment comes amid a spat between the two leaders in the wake of Saturdays London terror attack. Trump initially had criticized Khan for a post-attack quote in which the mayor said there was no reason to be alarmed. Khans comment was in the context of a broader quote regarding a bolstered police presence, but Trump on Sunday night suggested the mayor was downplaying the terror attack itself.

At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is no reason to be alarmed! Trump wrote.

Khan brushed off Trumps initial censure, with his office saying the mayor has more important things to do than respond to Donald Trump's ill-informed tweet that deliberately takes out of context his remarks urging Londoners not to be alarmed when they saw more police  including armed officers  on the streets.

Trump took a more direct shot Monday morning, calling the statement a pathetic excuse by Khan.

Its unclear whether the dispute will have any broader implications for the visit agreed to during Prime Minister Theresa Mays January visit to Washington.

No date has been set, and British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson reportedly said Tuesday he saw no reason to cancel the Trump trip.

But Khan, who made a similar call to block Trump's visit back in February, suggested in the Monday interview he sees his stance as one of tough love for an important ally.

I think one of the things, when you have a special relationship it is no different from when you have got a close mate. You stand with them in times of adversity but you call them out when they are wrong, he said. And there are many things about which Donald Trump is wrong.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley on Tuesday issued a tough warning and a short list of changes that are the minimum necessary to resuscitate the notorious U.N. Human Rights Councila 47-nation, that includes China, Cuba, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela among its members, and which singles out Israel for condemnation.

But Haley, the first U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. to address the Geneva-based body, stopped short of an outright threat of withdrawal if change is not forthcoming, and made most of her demands for change during a later speech at a nearby university rather than before the Council itself, which tamped down the possibilities of diplomatic uproar.

NIKKI HALEY'S CHALLENGE: UN MEDDLING IN OUR ELECTION AND UN 'HUMAN RIGHTS'

There was no doubt, however, that Haley meant business, as she declared at the Graduate Institute of Geneva that the Councils inaction on a wide range of human rights abuses mean that it has failed, which re-enforces our growing suspicion: that it is not a good investment of our time, money, and national prestige.

Among other things, she demanded that the Council must act to keep the worst human rights abusers from obtaining seats via an essentially rigged system of regional representation, and choose members in an open vote rather than through secret balloting to that the rest of the world knows who is supporting human rights violators for membership.

Haley also demanded that the Council abolish its permanent Agenda Item Seven, which calls for regular examination of the human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories, which serves as a regular forum for diatribes against Israel. No other country is selected by the Council for such treatment.

As one result, Haley noted, the Council has passed more than 70 resolutions targeting Israel. It has passed just seven on Iran. This relentless, pathological campaign against a country that actually has a strong human rights record makes a mockery not of Israel, but of the Council itself.

NIKKI HALEY SAYS SYRIAN REGUGEES SHE MET DURING OVERSEAS TRIP 'WANT TO GO HOME'

What the U.S. would do if the Council failed to act, however, was mostly left unstated. Haley declared only that the U.S. will not sit quietly while this body, supposedly dedicated to human rights, continues to damage the cause of human rights.

During her earlier speech at the Council, where she invited members to her Geneva Institute oration, Haley confined herself to observing diplomatically that the U.S. government is looking carefully at this Council and our participation in it, and sees some areas for significant strengthening that would make the body more effective, more accountable, and more responsive.

She also said it was crucial for the Council to pass the strongest possible resolutions on the critical human rights situations in Syria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Belarus, and Ukraine, and specifically called for the increasingly brutal Marxist government of Venezuela to voluntarily step down from its seat on the Human Rights Council until it can get its own house in order.

Underlining the last point, Haley also attended a U.S. sponsored side event at the Human Rights Council session that gathered an array of human rights activists and academics to decry the Venezuelan governments crackdown on waves of protest against the regime of President Nicolas Maduro.

The Venezuelan government is in the midst of destroying human rights and democracy in Venezuela, she said at the event.

Then she added, after once again noting Venezuelas Human Rights Council membership: The Human Rights Council has no excuse. It cannot consider itself the worlds leading human rights organization and continue to ignore the violations and abuses that are occurring in Venezuela.

In the past, however, the Council has shown that it can. Whether the group will take Haleys extremely strong hint to heart, along with her other minimal demands for reform, remains to be seen.
The chairman of the House oversight committee told Fox News Monday night that fired FBI Director James Comey must produce memos he allegedly wrote detailing conversations with President Trump in which the president asked Comey to drop the investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, told "The Story with Martha MacCallum" that he looked forward to Comey's testimony Thursday before the Senate intelligence committee, but added, "we actually have to see the documents themselves ... I haven't seen them. [Rep.] Trey Gowdy [R-S.C.] hasnt seen them. Were not aware of anybody in Congress who has actually seen these unless theyve been given to Senate intel in the last 48 hours or so and nobody knows about it."

According to Chaffetz, Comey could be compelled to produce the memos, since they are federal documents.

"You cant just put that in your back pocket and walk it home," Chaffetz said. "Are there truly classified material in there? You cant walk out of the building with classified information. I dont care if youre the former FBI Director or anybody else."

Chaffetz added that if Comey claims Trump leaned on him to stop the Flynn investigation, he must also explain why he denied there was pressure from the White House to halt the counterintelligence investigation into links between Russia and Trump's campaign.

"Why is it that you publicly testified under oath that there was no political interference?" Chaffetz asked rhetorically. "Why is it that your replacement ... testified under oath that he had seen no political influence happening whatsoever? As Director Comey had previously said, this is a big story if that had happened. But where is the evidence of that happening?"
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Tuesday that the U.S. relationship with Russia is at a low point, and he was directed by President Trump to rebuild the relationship and not allow the political turmoil over possible Russian ties to the Trump campaign to impede his task.

Tillerson, who was in Wellington, New Zealand, said he couldn't comment on the details of the Russia investigations or whether they could bring down the administration because "I have no direct knowledge."

"He's been quite clear with me to proceed at whatever pace and in the areas I think we might make progress," Tillerson said. "I really am not involved in any of these other issues."

Tillerson -- who, as CEO of Exxon Mobile, was once granted a friendship honor from Russian President Vladimir Putin -- has had at times a rocky start in his relationship with Russia. The most friction so far has been how to best approach Syria.

In May, shortly after a U.S. airstrike in Syria, Tillerson said Russia has been either complicit or simply incompetent in its 2013 commitment to prevent Syria from obtaining chemical weapons.

Tillerson went on to address Trump's provocative tweets, including those in which he criticized London's mayor after three assailants killed seven people and wounded dozens in the London Bridge area over the weekend.

"The president has his own unique ways of communicating with the American people, and the world," Tillerson said. "And it's served him pretty well, and I don't intend to advise him on how to communicate. That's up to him."

Tillerson said he was pleased by reports that some British imams were refusing to offer funeral prayers for the London attackers.

"That is what has to be done," he said. "Only the Muslim faith can handle this."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
President Trumps recent tweets about his controversial travel ban -- now before the U.S. Supreme Court -- could hurt his own case, with the administration's legal opponents already threatening to use the statements to their advantage.

"Here at the ACLU, we think you should keep using social media," the American Civil Liberties Union tweeted Tuesday, after saying a day earlier they might use Trump's tweets in court.

"Yes, we may incorporate @realDonaldTrump's tweets about the ban into our Supreme Court argument," the ACLU said Monday.

The Trump tweets give courtroom foes an opportunity to seize on mixed messages out of the administration regarding the evolving set of executive orders.

Trump unleashed a series of tweets starting Sunday night that took direct aim at DOJ attorneys, chiding them for not pursuing his original executive order and instead throwing their legal weight behind a watered down version.

The Justice Dept. should have stayed with the original Travel Ban, not the watered down, politically correct version they submitted to S.C., Trump tweeted on Monday.

Trumps tweets came just a few days after the Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to lift lower court rulings that blocked the executive order suspending travel from six mostly Muslim countries.

Some experts say Trumps comments give an opening for the other side to argue the order is a full-blown ban and that it discriminates based on religion.

Multiple Trump aides including Kellyanne Conway and White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer have repeatedly defended the executive order as a temporary pause in travel and not a ban. However, Trumps tweets in all capital letters refer to the executive order as a TRAVEL BAN on certain DANGEROUS countries and said anything short of a ban would jeopardize the safety and security of Americans.

Even the husband of Kellyanne Conway argued Monday that the tweets could handicap the departments ability to do its job.

George Conway wrote on Twitter that Trumps tweets may make some ppl feel better, but they certainly wont help OSG (Office of Solicitor General) get 5 votes in SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States), which is what actually matters. Sad.

The White House pushed back. Asked Monday whether the Trump team was concerned about the tweets tainting the case, Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said not at all.

But Doug Schoen, former adviser to President Bill Clinton, told Fox News that Trumps tweets slamming his own lawyers could create problems.

To second guess your own side in the context of an ongoing fight, using language that is not helpful  it doesnt make any sense, Schoen, a Fox News contributor, said.

Trump's tweets came after the government filed briefs with the high court last week urging justices to ignore polarizing and fiery comments Trump made multiple times during the campaign about the need for a Muslim ban.

They argued taking that oath marks a profound transition from private life to the nations highest public office, and manifests the singular responsibility and independent authority to protect the welfare of the nation that the Constitution reposes in the president.

Cecilia Wang, deputy legal director at the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing challengers to the ban from Maryland, argued Trumps tweets undermine the governments claims that both executive orders are not bans but merely temporary travel restrictions on a small group of nations.

With his four tweets this morning, the president is basically reaffirming whatever his intent was in the beginning, Wang told USA Today.

Neal Katyal, a former acting U.S. solicitor general and the lead attorney representing challengers in a case from Hawaii, weighed in on Twitter that Trumps actions were working in favor of Katyals case.

We dont need the help but will take it! he tweeted.

Former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who served under President George W. Bush, told the Huffington Post that Trumps actions presents a challenge that the Department of Justice will have to deal with.

Trumps initial executive order, rolled out seven days after taking office in January, banned travel from seven mostly Muslim countries. The order sparked protests at airports around the country and brief detentions of hundreds of travelers. It was met with immediate resistance from the courts, with several federal district judges issuing orders blocking aspects of it.

On March 6, Trump issued a revised order that temporarily suspended travel of from six mostly Muslim countries: Yemen, Syria, Sudan, Somalia, Iran and Libya. The original ban included Iraq. The revised order also cleared up who the ban applies to, when it would go into effect and did not single out refugees from Syria by barring them indefinitely as the original version had.

Regardless of changes, both orders were challenged in court on claims they were discriminatory on the basis of religion.
From his handling of a probe into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to his investigation into Russian meddling in the election, former FBI Director James Comey has long been a punching bag for President Trump.

After Comey left the FBI, Trump accused him of leaving the agency in "tatters." And as Comey released his explosive tell-all book, Trump called for the former FBI boss to be "prosecuted" for allegedly leaking information and lying under oath to Congress.

"He is a weak and untruthful slime ball who was, as time has proven, a terrible Director of the FBI," Trump said in April. "It was my great honor to fire James Comey!"

But while Trump has publicly hit the nations former chief investigator hard, his public opinion throughout his presidency and campaign hasn't been all bad.

Criticism

On Comey's Capitol Hill testimony

On Dec. 7, Comey testified behind closed doors, despite previously seeking an open hearing. He was expected to answer a variety of questions  from his decision not to recommend any criminal charges against Hillary Clinton for her private server scandal in 2016 to the FBI's investigation into potential Russian collusion during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Comey tweeted days before his testimony that it was "hard to protect [his] rights without being in contempt," so he agreed to "sit in the dark." House Republicans apparently weren't satisfied at the conclusion of Comey's questioning and indicated they may want to bring Comey back, according to reports.

Trump, too, was clearly frustrated.

"It is being reported that Leakin' James Comey was told by Department of Justice attorneys not to answer the most important questions," Trump tweeted afterward. "Total bias and corruption at the highest levels of previous Administration. Force him to answer the questions under oath!"

On Clintons emails

Trump has often tweeted about Comeys involvement in the FBIs investigation into Clintons use of a private email server during her tenure as secretary of state, saying his handling of the probe has left the FBI in tatters.

Hillary and the Dems loved and praised FBI Director Comey just a few days ago. Original evidence was overwhelming, should not have delayed! Trump tweeted in October 2016.

Before Comey was officially sacked, Trump said Comey was the best thing that ever happened to Clinton because he gave her a free pass for many bad deeds.

After the FBI confirmed Comey had drafted a statement about Clinton before the investigation was completed, Trump took to Twitter to lambast the former FBI chief even more.

Wow, FBI confirms report that James Comey drafted letter exonerating Crooked Hillary Clinton long before investigation was complete. Many people not interviewed, including Clinton herself, Trump tweeted. Comey stated under oath that he didnt do this  obviously a fix? Where is Justice Dept? Trump tweeted.

As it turned out, James Comey lied and leaked and totally protected Hillary Clinton. He was the best thing that ever happened to her! he said.

He's also said Comey, along with others, have "committed many crimes."

On Comeys firing

Trump fired Comey on May 9, 2017 and sent his FBI chief a short, impersonal letter to make him aware of his termination.

Trump predictably took to Twitter to defend the firing.

James Comey will be replaced by someone who will do a far better job, bringing back the spirit and prestige of the FBI," Trump said the morning after the firing.

Comey lost the confidence of almost everyone in Washington, Republican and Democrat alike. When things calm down, they will be thanking me! Trump added.

On the Russia investigation

Comey told Trump that he was not under investigation by the FBI, Trump said in a May 2017 interview with NBC News.

I said, if its possible would you let me know, am I under investigation? He said, You are not under investigation, Trump said.

When asked if he was angry with Comey over his investigation into Russias meddling in the presidential election, Trump just said he want[s] somebody thats competent to lead the FBI. He added that he is a big fan of the FBI.

Trump reportedly called Comey crazy and a nut job during a conversation with Russian officials in the Oval Office the day after Comeys firing, according to The New York Times.

I just fired the head of the FBI. He was crazy, a real nut job, Trump said according to a document of the meeting obtained by the Times. I faced great pressure because of Russia. Thats taken off.

And when it comes to his former national security adviser Michael Flynn, Trump has denied asking Comey to stop his investigation into potential wrongdoing.

I never asked Comey to stop investigating Flynn. Just more Fake News covering another Comey lie! Trump tweeted on Dec. 3.

On Comey's memo

As Comey has promoted his new memoir, titled "A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership," Trump called the former FBI head a "slimeball" and dubbed him "Slippery James Comey."

"Slippery James Comey, a man who always ends up badly and out of whack (he is not smart!), will go down as the WORST FBI Director in history, by far!" Trump said on social media.

He also criticized the book for not answering certain questions, such as: "how come he gave up Classified Information (jail), why did he lie to Congress (jail), why did the DNC refuse to give [Clinton's email server] to the FBI (why didn't they TAKE it), why the phony memos," among other things.

Trump has also denied asking Comey for his loyalty, something Comey detailed in his memoir.

On stopping government leaks

Trump has several times expressed his disappointment with Comey and the FBI not being able to stop national security leakers  and even accused the former FBI boss of leaking as well.

The FBI is totally unable to stop the national security leakers that have permeated our government for a long time. They can't even find the leakers within the FBI itself. Classified information is being given to media that could have a devastating effect on U.S. Trump tweeted in February 2017.

Trump also threatened Comey against leaking, himself, information to the media.

James Comey better hope that there are no tapes of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press, Trump tweeted.

His tweet came after The New York Times reported Trump asked for Comeys loyalty during a private dinner, which Comey declined to give. The New York Times cited sources who said they knew about the details of the dinner through Comey.

Later, after Comey told Fox News the memos he shared with his legal team did not constitute a leak of classified information, Trump took to social media to call him "either very sick or very dumb."

Is everybody believing what is going on. James Comey cant define what a leak is. He illegally leaked CLASSIFIED INFORMATION but doesnt understand what he did or how serious it is. He lied all over the place to cover it up. Hes either very sick or very dumb, he wrote.

Praise

On Clintons emails

While the president eventually castigated Comeys handling of the probe into Clintons private email server, Trump initially praised him for investigating Clinton at all.

It took a lot of guts, Trump said in October 2017 of Comeys decision to reopen the Clinton investigation.

I have to give the FBI credit. That was so bad what happened originally, Trump said after the FBI did not recommend charges be brought against Clinton by the Justice Department.

It took guts for Director Comey to make the move that he made in light of the kind of opposition he had where theyre trying to protect her from criminal prosecution, Trump said.

I was not his fan, but Ill tell you what  what he did, he brought back his reputation, Trump continued.

He also encouraged Comey then to hang tough.

On the Russia investigation

In prepared remarks released ahead of Comeys testimony in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee in 2017, Comey confirmed reports that Trump asked the FBI to lay off his former national security adviser as the department investigated Russias influence on the 2016 presidential election. But Comey also confirmed that he did reassure the president that Trump was not under investigation.

Trump was pleased by Comeys admission.

The president is pleased that Mr. Comey has finally publicly confirmed his private reports that the President was not under investigation in any Russian probe, Trumps lawyer said in a statement. The President feels completely and totally vindicated. He is eager to continue to move forward with his agenda.
The alleged leaker accused of feeding a classified report to an online news site has a colorful history on social media that lays bare her political leanings as an environmentalist who wanted to "resist" President Trump.

Reality Winner, a 25-year-old Air Force veteran, is a contractor with Pluribus International Corporation assigned to a federal facility in Georgia, where she allegedly leaked a classified intelligence report containing Top Secret Level information. The report, according to the Department of Justice, contained classified defense information from an intelligence community agency.

While the DOJ did not say which site published the information, the charges were announced just as The Intercept published details of a National Security Agency report on Russian hacking efforts during the 2016 presidential election.

According to the Justice Department, Winner admitted to printing a classified intelligence document despite not having a need to know, and with knowledge the report was classified. Winner further admitted removing the report from her office space and mailing it to the news outlet, according to the criminal complaint.

Why go through all the trouble and risk?

The Justice Department does not speak to motivation, but Winners social media pages indicate she was a passionate environmentalist who shared Bernie Sanders material online and held some anti-Trump views. She shared numerous articles and comments against the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines (which Trump has moved to revive) on her Facebook page, even posting a letter she sent to the office of Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga.

Repeat after me: In the United States of America, in the year 2017, access to clean, fresh water is not a right, but a privilege based off of ones socio-economic status, Winner wrote in a Facebook posting about four months ago.

Winner also posted using the hashtag #F---ingWall, in an entry about Trump silencing the Environment Protection Agency.

Winner also posted in February, before Trump revived construction on the Dakota Access Pipeline: You have got to be s---ting me right now. No one has called? The White House shut down their phone lines. There have been protests for months, at both the drilling site and outside the White House. Im losing my mind. If you voted for this piece of s---, explain this. Hes lying. Hes blatantly lying and the second largest supply of freshwater in the country is now at risk. #NoDAPL #NeverMyPresident #Resist.

And in one telling post before the general election, she wrote, "On a positive note, this Tuesday when we become the United States of the Russian Federation, Olympic lifting will be the national sport."

As for non-political interests, her social accounts also suggest she's a workout buff and donates to veterans' and children's charities.

Air Force officials confirmed that Winner served active duty from December of 2010 to last December. It was not immediately clear if she was ever deployed. Winner was a cryptologic language analyst, requiring fluency in at least one foreign language which was not divulged. Winner attained the rank of senior airmen, E4, and was last stationed at Ft. Mead in Maryland.

The Justice Department did not specify whether Winner is being charged in connection with the Intercepts report, but the site noted the NSA report cited in its story was dated May 5 of this year -- the affidavit released by the DOJ supporting Winners arrest also said the report was dated on or about May 5.

Exceptional law enforcement efforts allowed us to quickly identify and arrest the defendant, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said on Monday. Releasing classified material without authorization threatens our nations security and undermines public faith in government.

Rosenstein added: People who are trusted with classified information and pledge to protect it must be held accountable when they violate that obligation.

Winner has held a top secret clearance during her employment at Pluribus International Corporation. She has been employed at the facility since mid-February.

Late Monday night, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange tweeted his support for Winner.

Alleged NSA whistle-blower Reality Leigh winner must be supported. She is a young woman accused of courage in trying to help us know, Assange posted on Twitter.

On Tuesday, The Intercept released a statement saying they had no knowledge of the identity of the person who provided them with the classified documents.
Craters as wide as 12 city blocks on the Arctic seafloor were put there by giant eruptions of underground methane gas.

Some of these craters had been discovered in the early 1990s, but only now have scientists mapped the features in detail. Researchers have discovered that there are many more craters than first believed  more than 100 giant ones and perhaps thousands of smaller pockmarks  and that these features probably formed about 11,600 years ago. This happened as the retreat of ice sheets destabilized frozen gas under the seafloor. Some mounds of frozen gas exploded, creating the craters still seen today.

"It's an analog for events that could take place in the future around contemporary ice sheets," said study researcher Karin Andreassen, a marine geologist and geophysicist at the Arctic University of Norway in Troms. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas , Andreassen said, so studying these undersea eruptions is important for understanding how they might affect the climate. [ 8 Ways Global Warming Is Already Changing the World ]

Frozen methane

Andreassen and her colleagues were funded through the Research Council of Norway with grant money earmarked for understanding methane release from the seafloor. It's well-known that methane bubbles up from the sediments under the ocean in the Arctic, Andreassen told Live Science, but these small seeps don't reach much higher than 650 feet (200 meters) into the water column above the ocean bottom. The gas dissolves back into the ocean water before it can reach the atmosphere.

Explosive methane eruptions might be much different. Andreassen and her team took the research vessel Helmer Hanssen to the Barents Sea off the northern coast of Norway. The researchers used a variety of techniques, such as collecting seafloor sediment samples. They also beamed acoustic and seismic signals to the ocean floor and subsurface and used the echoes to map the contours below.

The researchers discovered more than 100 giant craters, each up to 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) wide and nearly 100 feet (30 meters) deep, in an area of 170 square miles (440 square km). The scientists also discovered many previously undiscovered mounds, known as pingos . These pingos are lumps of methane hydrate, or methane gas frozen within a lattice of water molecules.

Exploding pingos

It's these pingos that can explode when the conditions are right. Andreassen and her colleagues used mathematical modeling to figure out what kind of pressures, temperatures, water depths and other factors are required to keep the methane hydrate locked in the subsurface, and under what conditions the gas explodes.

Their findings told the story of how the craters came to be. During the icy Pleistocene , which began 2.5 million years ago, an enormous ice sheet more than a mile (2 kilometers) thick covered the Barents Sea. As this sheet ebbed and flowed and scraped along the seafloor, it altered the pressures on deep reservoirs of gas far below the sea surface. The gas, mainly methane, moved upward into shallower sediments, Andreassen said. There, it was stable within the upper 1,444 feet (440 m) of the subsurface, frozen as methane hydrate and capped under the pressure of the ice sheet.

But then the ice started to retreat about 17,000 years ago. The release of pressure allowed deeper hydrates to bubble up and travel to shallower sediments. Eventually, Andreassen said, this cycle led to the creation of pingos made of a thin, concentrated layer of methane hydrate under great pressure from the gas below. When the methane-hydrate crust finally gave way, the underground gases erupted out like shaken champagne.

"We think that the forces must have been enormous," Andreassen said.

The eruptions left behind the craters seen today. The researchers obtained further confirmation of the date of these eruptions by looking at ice scours on the seafloor. These scours indicated that the eruptions happened as the ice sheet was retreating, but while there was still ice in the area, the researchers said. Individual gashes from icebergs dragging their bottoms can be seen in some craters. [ Gallery: An Expedition into Iceberg Alley ]

Atmospheric effects

Such giant eruptions could very well have sent methane spewing into the atmosphere, Andreassen said, but there is not yet proof that the exploding pingos did, in fact, do so. Nor does anyone know whether the methane released affected the climate, she said. (Methane is 84 times more effective at trapping heat than carbon dioxide in the first decades after its release, so smaller amounts can cause greater warming relative to carbon dioxide.)

Exploding pingos can't happen just anywhere that ice is retreating, Andreassen said  big underground gas reservoirs must be present, too. There are areas today where that combination exists, though. The east coast of Greenland is one example, Andreassen said, along with the many Arctic basins north of Siberia and some portions of Arctic Alaska and the northwest Canadian interior.

If a pingo collapsed tomorrow, though, there's no guarantee humanity would notice. These areas are remote and largely unmonitored, Andreassen said.

"These are vast areas," she said. It takes weeks by boat to reach Greenland even from Norway, she added.

Nevertheless, the researchers said they plan to hunt for more craters and mounds around Greenland and to the north, east and west of the Barents Sea.

"We definitely know that [the eruptions] were important for the changes in the chemistry of the ocean, but we don't know yet how important it was with regard to the atmosphere and the climate," Andreassen said. "That is something we need to explore."

Original article on Live Science .
With North Korea's bellicose rhetoric escalating by the day -- on Wednesday a spokesman said its military has been cleared to wage a nuclear attack -- the annual U.S. training exercise Foal Eagle continues just over the border.

Foal Eagle, which began March 1 and will run through April 30 in conjunction with South Korea, includes a nuclear attack submarine, F-22s and B-2 Stealth bombers, and the nuclear-capable B-52s Stratofortress, a veteran aircraft that can drop the largest array of weapons in the U.S. inventory.

The behemoth is the biggest bomber that the Air Force flies. It's so big that it takes 32 airmen more than 12 hours to wash one. The B-52 can do just about anything from nuclear weapon deployment to close air support.

And this American classic has been making headlines a lot lately.

Beyond the annual Foal Eagle training exercise, Americans across the nation were outraged when "The Amazing Race" used the wreckage of a B-52 shot down in Vietnam as a prop recently, asking contestants to sing communist songs. CBS later apologized for the insensitive show.

It's served the military well for more than half a century.

Inside an American classic

Capable of flying at altitudes of 50,000 feet, the aircraft has a 185-foot wingspan and is nearly 160 feet long. The long-range B-52 heavy bomber flies at subsonic speeds and provides a global strike capability.

Just how fast is that? Built by Boeing, this aircraft can fly at Mach 0.86 -- thats 650 miles per hour.

Precision guided missiles, gravity and cluster bombs are just a few of the payloads the B-52 can deliver against targets  a single B-52 can launch a whopping 70,000 pounds of mixed ordnance.

The latest version, the B-52H, can carry up to 20 air-launched cruise missiles, or nuclear weapons for precision delivery anywhere in the world.

The aircraft plays other critical roles beyond attack such as providing critical surveillance and monitoring capabilities.

According to the Air Force, just two B-52s can monitor 140,000 square miles in a mere two hours -- thats like scanning an area larger than the size of Great Britain and Newfoundland combined.

The aircraft can be kitted out with electro-optical viewing sensor systems and forward-looking infrared.

Remarkably, the B-52 has unlimited combat range. The bomber can be refueled while in flight. A KC-135 Stratotanker, for example, can deploy to keep a mission going. Without refueling, it has a range of around 8,800 miles.

In 1989, modernizing updates began, incorporating GPS and adaptations to carry 2,000-pound munitions, according to the Air Force. Developing a full array of advance weapons is also underway.

New avionics, electronic defense and offensive systems, and more powerful engines updates will continue to enhance the aircrafts utility.

Only the H model is still in the Air Force inventory with aircraft assigned to the Air Force Global Strike Command at the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot AFB in North Dakota and the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale AFB in Louisiana.

B-52Hs are also assigned to Air Force Reserve Command's 307th Bomb Wing at Barksdale.

Maintaining 50-year-young legends

Some of the B-52s are 50 years young -- meaning the dedication of crew chiefs and maintenance crews has been essential to maintaining this legendary aircraft.

After 450 hours or 24 months, the bombers parts are checked and rechecked. Subjected to a thorough intensive inspection, damaged pieces and key components are replaced.

Often 120 people will work around the clock.

These teams have ensured that the B-52s get airborne and return safely. They have kept the versatile aircraft in service for almost 60 years.

Proud Deployment History

Entering service in 1954, the B-52 Stratofortresses have been operating for nearly 60 years.

There are different models of the B-52: the B-52A first flew in 1954, and the B model entered service in 1955. Six years later in 1961, the first of 102 B-52H's was delivered to Strategic Air Command.

The B-52s delivered a whopping 40 percent of all the weapons dropped by all the coalition forces during Desert Storm, according to USAF statistics.

During Operation Enduring Freedom, they provided close air support through the use of precision-guided munitions.

In a single 2003 Operation Iraqi Freedom night mission, the B-52Hs launched approximately 100 conventional air launched cruise missiles.

The Air Force regularly deploys the B-52s with a bomber program based in Guam.

Every year, the B-52s participate in a number of training exercises.

The Global Strike Challenge, for example, is an opportunity for teams 96th Bomb Squadron setting up a a B-52H, aerial refueling training, flying mission at the range and landing.

War week is another exercise where B-52s work on aerial refueling, weapons tactics and high altitude maneuvering.

In Red Flag, another exercise with longstanding US allies, attack, air superiority, defense suppression are practiced to improve rapidly standing up combat and cooperation with partners.

Ballet dancer turned defense specialist Allison Barrie has traveled around the world covering the military, terrorism, weapons advancements and life on the front line. You can reach her at wargames@foxnews.com or follow her on Twitter @Allison_Barrie.
The enchanting blue and green lights of an aurora dance above the city lights of Northern Europe in a stunning new image taken by an astronaut in space.

In between mission tasks and scientific experiments aboard the International Space Station (ISS), French astronaut Thomas Pesquet has captured some amazing images from the orbiting outpost. In a recently shared snapshot by Pesquet, the aurora borealis can be seen in the top right corner of the frame, with the sparkling lights of Northern Europe's cities in the foreground.

Auroras, also known as the northern or southern lights (northern lights occur in the Arctic Circle while southern lights occur in the Antarctic Circle), occur when particles from the sun interact with Earth's magnetic field. [ Aurora Photos: See Breathtaking Views of the Northern Lights ]

According to NASA scientists, the solar particles can cause electrical current changes in the magnetic field, sending energetic particles into the upper atmosphere. When these particles interact with the gases in the upper atmosphere, those gases become charged. When this gained energy is released, the aurora glows. That is, as the gases give up the energy, they release photons (light particles) of specific wavelengths, creating the rich blue and greenish hues.

This wasn't Pesquet's first sighting of the northern lights from the ISS. The astronaut first caught an auroral display on Jan. 18, 2017, and snapped a photo of the light show, reported Space.com.

"It is literally a visual representation of the Earth's magnetic field protecting all living beings from space radiation," Pesquet wrote of the aurora on Flickr.

Along with taking his stunning photography, Pesquet has performed about 50 scientific experiments aboard the ISS, according to the European Space Agency. Pesquet's mission "Proxima"  named for the sun's closest star and continuing a tradition of naming French astronauts' missions after stars or constellations  ended this week. Pesquet and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy returned to Earth today (June 2).

A three-person crew made up of cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin and NASA astronauts Peggy Whitson and Jack Fischer will operate the station until the arrival of three new crewmembers later this summer, according to NASA.

Original article on Live Science.
A watery World War II gravesite has been explored for the first time.

An Italian naval ship sunk in World War II was recently discovered and photographed by a team led by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.

The IT Artigliere was located in March under more than 12,000 feet of water in the Mediterranean Sea by the Petrel research vessel, according to a Tuesday release by Allens Vulcan, Inc., a private company that looks to save endangered species, address climate change, improve ocean health, explore new frontiers, research how the human brain works and build sustainable communities.

MARINES COULD DEPLOY ROBOTS TO STORM FUTURE BEACHES

"The Artigliere is in amazingly good condition other than the fact she was sunk in a war," said David Reams, Senior Director for Paul Allens maritime operations. "She's upright and easy to identify. At 3,700 meters down, the water is very cold and has little oxygen so there was very little corrosion or encrustation."

Italian Naval authorities were informed and provided with the location and data to confirm the identity of the wreckage, the release said. The IT Artigliere was sunk after being damaged in the October 12, 1940 Battle of Cape Passero. During its engagement with the British Navy, its commander and most of its crew were killed. The Petrel crew implemented protocols respectful of the war gravesite and the wreckage was left undisturbed, according to Vulcan.

In 2015, Vulcan teams located the wreck of the Japanese battleship Musashi and the historic bell of the British Navys HMS Hood.
A double amputee from Florida is suing American Airlines for placing him under arrest after they mistook his hobbled walk for that of a drunk, he alleges.

Michael Mennella, whose lower legs were amputated in 2011 following a car accident, claims that American Airlines failed to provide him with a wheelchair when he arrived for a business trip from Miami to Las Vegas on Aug. 28, 2016. Mennella further asserts that American's actions resulted in a series of events that eventually got him thrown off his flight and arrested  because the flight crew couldnt distinguish between a disabled man and an intoxicated individual.

According to the Miami New Times, Mennellas lawsuit  which was filed in a Miami federal court  accuses American Airlines of brutish misconduct.

MAN WITH PROSTHETIC LEG CLAIMS AIRLINE ASKED HIM TO MOVE

When Mennella arrived at Miami International Airport to retrieve a wheelchair he requested in advance of his flight, Mennellas lawsuit claims. The chair wasnt there and American told Mennella they had no record of his request. Left with no choice but to use prosthetics, which Mennella claims cause him pain, he walked himself down the jetway and onto his flight with no help from American Airlines employees.

Once aboard the aircraft, Mennella says a flight attendant wouldnt even help him stow away his prosthetics in an overhead bin, reports The Daily Beast.

She flatly refused to help Mr. Mennella with this simple task, instead leaving it to another passenger who assisted Mr. Mannella in taking his ticketed seat, the lawsuit alleges.

BUMPED FROM A FLIGHT? KNOW YOUR RIGHTS BEFORE YOU FLY

After the plane took off from Miami, Mennella reportedly asked for some ice water and/or aspirin to soothe his legs, but was denied; he then trudged toward the back of the plane to ask another attendant for water. According to his lawsuit, Mennella was once again ignored and, upon returning to his seat, a member of the American Airlines crew audibly called him a drunk due to his hobbled walk. Soon, the entire flight was diverted to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in order to have him removed.

Prior to landing, the airline allegedly told airport police that Mennella was "intoxicated to the point of needing medical attention," stated a police report included with his lawsuit.

Upon landing, however, police determined that Mennella was not intoxicated and released him from custody. He eventually boarded a different flight to Las Vegas.

Along with his lawsuit, Mennella also provided the court with an email American Airlines sent him following the flight, in which they described him as disruptive and unruly and defended their decision to remove him from the plane.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS

A representative for American Airlines provided a statement to Fox News regarding the incident, but declined to give further comments on Mennellas case.

American is committed to providing a positive and safe travel experience to all of our customers, said the airline. We are looking into the concerns raised by Mr. Mennella.

Its unclear what damages Mennella seeks in his lawsuit, but the Miami New Times says that hes accusing American Airlines of negligence, defamation and damage to his reputation.
Donald Vidrine, one of two BP supervisors on the Deepwater Horizon when the drilling rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, has died in Louisiana at age 69.

Robert Habans, an attorney who defended Vidrine against federal manslaughter charges in the deaths of 11 rig workers, said his former client died Saturday. An obituary posted online by Martin & Castille Funeral Home said Vidrine died at his Baton Rouge, Louisiana, home after battling cancer for three years.

The deadly rig explosion off Louisiana's coast unleashed the nation's worst offshore oil spill, with an estimated 134 million gallons of crude spewing into the Gulf over the course of nearly three months.

Vidrine and fellow rig supervisor Robert Kaluza were indicted in 2012 on manslaughter charges, but the case eventually fizzled after a judge threw out some of the manslaughter charges and prosecutors elected to drop the rest.

Vidrine pleaded guilty in December 2015 to a misdemeanor pollution charge and was sentenced to 10 months of probation. A jury acquitted Kaluza following a trial in which Vidrine testified as a government witness.

Justice Department prosecutors accused the two BP "well site leaders" of botching a key safety test and disregarding abnormally high pressure readings indicating signs of trouble ahead of BP's well blowout in April 2010.

Defense attorneys cast them as scapegoats. A series of investigations by industry experts and regulators blamed the deadly disaster on a complex web of mistakes by multiple companies and individuals.

A prosecutor who questioned Vidrine during Kaluza's trial asked him if he did something wrong on the night of the explosion.

"I probably didn't press hard enough," Vidrine testified, according to a transcript. "I mean, I thought I had, but I probably didn't press hard enough to get more information or questioned some of the information I got."

Kaluza offered his condolences to Vidrine's family in a statement released Monday by his own lawyer, Shaun Clarke.

"Don was a very experienced, knowledgeable and conscientious deepwater offshore drilling supervisor that passed away far too soon," Kaluza said.

Actors portrayed both men in "Deepwater Horizon," an action movie about the disaster starring Mark Wahlberg. John Malkovich portrayed Vidrine in the film, which opened last September.

The Justice Department launched a sweeping and costly criminal investigation after the rig explosion. The government secured a landmark criminal settlement with BP and record civil penalties against the London-based oil giant.

But none of BP's onshore engineers or top executives faced criminal charges. And the charges against four BP employees unraveled before skeptical jurors and judges, resulting in acquittals or plea bargains involving lesser crimes and no prison time.
Senate Democrats are pressing the businessman President Donald Trump nominated to be ambassador to Japan for answers about the vetting of former national security adviser Michael Flynn, according to congressional aides.

William F. Hagerty served as director of presidential appointments for Trump's transition team. One aide said Democrats on the Foreign Relations Committee want to know "who knew what and when" about Flynn's background. The aides were not authorized to speak publicly about the requests to the Tennessee businessman and requested anonymity.

Speaking to reporters Monday, Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said "questions for the record" were sent to Hagerty before Congress left for a weeklong Memorial Day break. Coons said he thought Hagerty did well during his confirmation hearing last month. But Coons said he was unaware until recently of Hagerty's role in the staffing of Trump's administration.

"I think how his nomination proceeds will in some part depend upon what those answers are," Coons said.

Flynn is a central figure in the investigation being conducted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into contacts between the Trump campaign and Russia. The House and Senate Intelligence committees also are examining Russia's meddling in the election.

Flynn agreed late last month to provide documents to the Senate panel after previously invoking his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination in declining an earlier subpoena.

Flynn was fired by Trump in February, less than a month after Flynn filled the key national security post. The move came because of revelations that he misled Vice President Mike Pence about his communications with Russia's ambassador to the United States.

Between June 2015 and Jan. 20 of this year, Flynn accepted tens of thousands of dollars from a Russian state-sponsored television network. He later worked as a foreign agent on behalf of a Turkish businessman, while also serving as a top Trump campaign adviser.

Hagerty is a founder and the managing director of Hagerty Peterson & Company, a private equity investment firm in Nashville, Tennessee, according to a brief biography on the company's web site.

He took a leave of absence last year to serve as director of presidential appointments for the Trump transition team. As director, Hagerty was "responsible for the planning and execution of the process to effect the largest leadership transition in the world  one that ultimately encompasses over 4,000 presidential appointments," the bio reads.

___

Reach Richard Lardner on Twitter: http://twitter.com/rplardner
Jurors in suburban Philadelphia are to resume deliberations Tuesday in the case of a man accused of sexually assaulting six girls in the same family, fathering two children by one of them.

Jurors deliberated for five hours Monday following closing arguments in the Bucks County trial of Lee Donald Kaplan, 52, on numerous charges of rape of a child, statutory sexual assault and other offenses.

Authorities said the mother of the girls, nine daughters and her two grandchildren had been living with Kaplan when a neighbor's tip led them to search his Feasterville home last year.

Authorities allege the parents "gifted" the oldest girl to Kaplan because he helped them financially, and he fathered her two children, one of them when she was 14. The girl is now in her late teens.

Deputy District Attorney Kate Kohler said in her closing argument that Kaplan "brainwashed" the woman and her family, casting himself as a prophet, and created a world in which "child rape was the norm." He said the sisters became his "little slaves," helping to run his business, cook for him and satisfy his sexual desires.

"They existed for one reason and one reason alone, and that was to satisfy him whenever he wanted and however he wanted," Kohler said.

Several girls testified last week that Kaplan had sex with them and they considered him to be their husband. A 9-year-old testified that Kaplan began molesting her when she was 7 and the defendant told her not to tell anyone. The girls' mother testified that she knew about the sexual activity but believed "it could be a good thing."

Defense attorney Ryan Hyde said the family considered Kaplan married to the oldest girl and he never abused the others. He said they lied at the insistence of their incarcerated mother and reversed initial statements denying abuse to help get her out of jail. Hyde also characterized his client as having been taken advantage of by the family following his generosity.

"He's quirky, and by quirky I mean weird," Hyde told jurors. "But does that mean he's a pedophile?"

The children's parents are awaiting sentencing on child endangerment convictions.
Three people were killed and two others were injured in a shooting near an elementary school outside of Salt Lake City Tuesday afternoon, police said.

Sgt. Jason Nielsen of the Sandy City Police Department said adults and juveniles were involved in the incident, FOX 13 Salt Lake City reported.

A public information officer for Sandy Police said the shooter is one of the three people confirmed dead.

The shooting took place around 4 p.m. outside a residential area, according to Sandy Police. The shooting happened in an area about 30 miles south of downtown Salt Lake City.

Resident Colby Corbett was in his backyard waiting for his 8-year-old son to walk home from school when he heard 20 to 30 gunshots within a few seconds.

"I was panicking bad," Corbett said. "I thought it was like a gun battle."

Corbett said he was relieved when his son arrived soon after, coming from the school and in the opposite direction of the gunfire. His son, Anthony, said he wasn't worried because he thought the gunshots were fireworks.

A nearby school, Brookwood Elementary School, was placed on lockdown, according to Canyons District.

Brookwood Elementary has been placed on lockdown while police investigate an incident happening away from campus, a tweet from the school district said.

The school later lifted the lockdown, and is now serving as a family reunification point.

"Because the incident occurred after school had let out for the afternoon, many students found shelter in neighboring homes and businesses," the school district tweeted.

Read more from FOX 13 Salt Lake City.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Visitors to a cemetery in Oklahoma said they made a shameful discovery there: American flags in a pile on the ground, and tossed in a trash bin.

Julia Gallagher said she went to the Bixby Cemetery on Sunday and saw that the symbol of America was no longer flying next to the graves of the veterans buried there.

TEXAS FATHER, DAUGHTER WALK TO SCHOOL ON FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN, LAST DAY OF HIGH SCHOOL

No flag should ever end up in the trash can, she told KJRH. Any veteran would be disheartened.

Gallagher took photos of the flags and shared them on Facebook.

I can feel my father behind me with his arm around me telling me Im doing the right thing, she said. We cant discard our flags like we do our veterans now.

Bixby resident Noelle Waller saw the social media post and drove to the cemetery southeast of Tulsa.

I literally burst into tears when I saw the flags in the dumpster, she told the news station, adding that she grabbed all the flags and loaded them into her car. The only choice for them is to be destroyed and it needs to be done correctly.

CALIFORNIA HOMELESS VETERANS MOVE INTO APARTMENT BUILT FROM RECYCLED SHIPPING CONTAINERS

The city, who owns the cemetery, said in a statement: Mowing of the Bixby Cemetery is performed by a third-party contractor. The contract includes removal and disposal of decorations left in place longer than permitted by city code.

It continued: Unfortunately this year, the flags that were included as part of some Memorial Day displays were not taken down in accordance with accepted practices for removing American Flag decorations. The contractor has apologized for this error and agreed to gather all of the flags improperly handled and deliver them to the VFW for proper treatment.

Waller, who plans to give the flags to Boy Scouts to retire them properly, said: The way they handled it was very disrespectful and quite frankly unacceptable.
A Southern California grandmother accused of a stabbing attack that killed a 1-year-old girl and wounded two other relatives is now in custody after a search that stretched on for hours, police announced Tuesday.

Nicole Darrington-Clark, 43, was the suspect in Monday's attack that left her 1-year-old granddaughter dead and critically injured her daughter and 5-year-old granddaughter in Colton, about 60 miles east of Los Angeles, police said.

After the attack, Darrington-Clark bolted from the apartment she shared with the victims, according to investigators. Neighbors who responded to the mother's screaming pleas found the grisly scene and wounded children in the apartment.

Neighbor, Tim Hill told Fox 11 the children's mother was "bloodied and hysterical" after the attack. "Her mother is coming down toward my apartment with a knife still in her hand bloody knife blood on her shirt."

INDIANA MAN SUSPECTED OF KILLING 3 IN HOME IS FOUND DEAD

Police said they caught the grandmother in San Bernardino Tuesday morning.

In 2005, she pleaded guilty to stabbing her 14-year-old son and throwing her 10-year-old daughter out of a moving minivan. Neither child was seriously injured.

But a judge found Darrington-Clark not guilty by reason of insanity and sent her to a mental hospital.

VIDEO: KILLER IN ORLANDO WORKPLACE SHOOTING IDENTIFIED

A longtime friend of Darrington-Clark told the Riverside Press-Enterprise she was released a few years ago.

"I Facetimed with her a few days ago, and I was worried about her," the friend, Cindy O'Neal, said. "I never thought she would do anything like this. I hope they do find her so she can't hurt anyone else or herself."

It wasn't immediately clear when or why she was released from the mental hospital and whether the daughter in the 2005 attack is the same one critically injured Monday. Police did not immediately reply to a message seeking answers to those questions.

Investigators did not know the motive for the latest attack, Colton police Cpl. Ray Mendez said Monday.

Police decided they couldn't wait for paramedics and took the girl to the hospital, Hill said.

Darrington-Clark should be considered armed and dangerous and may be driving a black Hyundai Sonata, police said.

"I'm sad," Williams said. "I feel like my soul left my body because this is disgusting."

Click for more from Fox 11.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A judge held a juror in contempt and declared a mistrial Tuesday in the case of a North Carolina church minister charged in the beating of a congregant who says he was attacked to expel his "homosexual demons."

Superior Court Judge Gary Gavenus immediately sentenced the juror, Perry Shade Jr., to 30 days in jail and a $500 fine. Gavenus said Shade brought in three documents Tuesday and handed them out to his fellow jurors. One of the documents was North Carolina case law.

Gavenus said he wasn't sure when a new trial would be scheduled for Brooke Covington, 58, a longtime minister at Word of Faith Fellowship in Spindale, North Carolina. Covington faced up to two years in prison if convicted on charges of kidnapping and assaulting former member Matthew Fenner in January 2013.

"This juror has impaired the integrity and fairness of the trial ... therefore I am removing this juror and declaring a mistrial," Gavenus said.

The audience gasped. Fenner dropped his head.

"I instructed the jurors over and over again not to do research," said the judge, who then stared at Shade.

"You are in direct criminal contempt," Gavenus said, ordering the bailiff to handcuff Shade, 71.

"Thirty days in jail and $500 fine. You are under arrest. Get him out of here," Gavenus said.

During jury selection last week, Shade said Covington's lawyer, David Teddy, once represented him in a case, but he didn't elaborate. Prosecutors and Teddy allowed Shade to be on the jury.

Prosecutors and witnesses were prohibited by a judge's order from discussing the case, but Fenner's friends and family were quick to respond.

"He's been waiting for justice for four years and now we're going to have to start all over. It's unfair to him," said former church member John Cooper.

Linda Reider, Fenner's aunt, said her nephew is hurt and disappointed.

"He's disgusted at the jury. It took a lot of courage for him to come forward in the first place. There were so many roadblocks put in place. Now this. But his family and friends will stick behind him. We won't give up."

Covington, whose trial began May 30, was the first of five church members to face trial in the case. Each defendant will be tried separately.

Fenner, 23, said he was leaving a prayer service Jan. 27, 2013, when nearly two dozen people surrounded him in the sanctuary. He said they slapped, punched, choked and blasted him  a church practice that involves intense screaming  for two hours as they tried to expel his "homosexual demons."

As part of an ongoing, two-year investigation into abuse of Word of Faith Fellowship congregants by church leaders, The Associated Press interviewed four former church members who said they witnessed Fenner's assault.

Earlier Tuesday, a man was charged with harassing the jurors.

Chad Metcalf, 35, was brought before Gavenus in handcuffs after he allegedly told the jury in a hallway to reach a verdict.

Gavenus said Metcalf could face 39 months in prison, and set bail at $100,000.

Rhonda Johnson, who said she is Metcalf's mother, told the AP in a message that her son was probably joking. She also said he isn't affiliated in any way with Word of Faith Fellowship.

Johnson said it was "absolutely crazy for them to do this" to her son because he probably didn't know not to talk to jurors and meant no harm.

Several former church members who were in the courtroom told the AP they didn't know or recognize Metcalf.

Court records show a man by that name had a court date Tuesday on a charge of driving with a revoked license. It wasn't clear if Metcalf has an attorney, and calls to a telephone number listed for him weren't answered.

During closing arguments, prosecutor Garland Byers said Fenner was held against his will and attacked.

"In the name of religion, you don't assault people. You don't get to hurt people. You don't get to confine people," he said.

"They were trying to scare him straight, and I hate using that terminology," Byers added.

Teddy countered that Fenner had been subjected to blasting before and had also participated in the form of prayer when it was used on others.

"He requested the prayer. He consented to the prayer. And I submit to you, he knew what was coming," Teddy told the jurors.

Teddy said Fenner wanted to punish the church for condemning his homosexuality.

"That is a cause, not a crime," he said.

Based on exclusive interviews with 43 former members, documents and secretly made recordings, the AP reported in February that Word of Faith Fellowship congregants were regularly punched, smacked, choked, slammed to the floor or thrown through walls in a violent form of deliverance meant to "purify" sinners by beating out devils.

Fenner said he joined the sect with his mother and brother in 2010. He said he fled after being attacked.

The AP's investigation also revealed that congregants were ordered by church leaders to lie to authorities investigating reports of abuse and that two assistant district attorneys and a veteran social worker were among those who coached congregants and their children on what to say to investigators. After the AP report, the prosecutors, including one who is a son-in-law of a church founder, left their jobs, and the social worker resigned.

The sect was founded in 1979 by Jane Whaley, a former math teacher, and her husband, Sam, a former used car salesman. Under Jane Whaley's leadership, Word of Faith Fellowship grew from a handful of followers to its current congregation in North Carolina, and another nearly 2,000 members in churches in Brazil and Ghana. It also has affiliations in other countries. Whaley is not charged in this case.

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Associated Press researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York contributed to this report. Mohr reported from Jackson, Mississippi.

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Read more of AP's investigation of the Word of Faith Fellowship here: http://apne.ws/2lmuzDA

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The AP National Investigative Team can be reached at investigate@ap.org

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This story has been corrected to say Perry Shade Jr., not Terry Shade Jr., in the second paragraph.
Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly indicated that President Donald Trump's son-in-law and top adviser Jared Kushner and his communications with Russia are part of a wide-ranging probe by the Justice Department's special counsel.

Kelly defended Kushner at a Senate hearing amid reports that he attempted to establish a "back-channel" communication between Russia and Trump's presidential transition team. Under Democratic questioning, Kelly said "we have to make the assumption  and I will  that Jared Kushner is a great American."

Kelly said back-channel talks have been common in U.S. diplomacy, but indicated that the matter is under investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller as part of his probe into contacts between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Kelly made the comments the same day that former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn turned over about 600 pages of documents to the Senate intelligence committee. The panel is conducting its own investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

A congressional aide said the Senate intelligence committee's investigators received the documents Tuesday afternoon and immediately began reviewing the information. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the committee's sensitive work.

Flynn had previously invoked his Fifth Amendment protection from self-incrimination in rebuffing an earlier subpoena from the committee. After the panel narrowed the scope of that subpoena and issued additional ones for records from two of his businesses, Flynn agreed to turn over some documents.

In addition to the Senate panel, Flynn is also under investigation by other congressional committees as well the special counsel over his contacts with Russia. Among those contacts under scrutiny is a December meeting that Flynn participated in with Kushner and Sergey Kislyak, Russia's ambassador to the U.S.

On Tuesday, Montana Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat, zeroed in on Kushner, saying he believes the conduct of the president's son-in-law is "unacceptable" and raises red flags. Noting that "there's all sorts of stuff going on here," Tester asked Kelly "to find out what the hell is going on."

As Tester persisted, Kelly repeated, "again, I think we have to make the assumption...."

Tester cut him off, asking: "But don't you think we should ensure that that assumption is correct?"

"Well sure," Kelly said. "And I think there are numerous investigations that are looking into this. I think it's part of the Bob Mueller investigation, and I think there's a number of congressional committees looking into it."

Also Tuesday, a senior Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee wrote Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to clarify the scope and authority of Mueller's role and asked Rosenstein to ensure that the probe is free of political interference.

"It is of paramount importance that Mr. Mueller's investigation proceed unimpeded by any officials who may have a conflict of interest or other ethical bar, or by political interference of any kind," wrote Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y.

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Associated Press writer Chad Day contributed to this report.
A Chicago hotel and restaurant workers union has created a cellphone ringtone that's meant to curb arrest and deportation of immigrants.

Unite Here Local 1 launched the Spanish-language ringtone on its website over the weekend, and advertisements promoting it are planned throughout the month.

The ringtone aims to let immigrants know they have the right to remain silent and ask for an attorney if immigration agents arrest them.

"[The union is] using technology to notify every immigrant in this city: you've got rights," organizing director Angel Castillo told the Chicago Sun-Times.

NEBRASKA SCHOOL DISTRICT HELPS REFUGEE STUDENTS WITH TRAUMA

The jingle, in Spanish, says: If immigration comes to arrest you, keep calm. You have the right not to sign anything and not to say anything. You have the right to remain silent, also the right to ask for an attorney.

The campaign comes amid stepped up federal actions and policies implemented by President Donald Trump. Several immigrant rights groups have stepped up similar know-your-rights training.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
As the involuntary manslaughter trial of Michelle Carter gets underway, prosecutors allege she badgered and berated her depressed boyfriend into killing himself through a relentless barrage of text messages and final phone calls that sealed his fate.

But defense lawyers argue the Massachusetts woman was struggling with her own mental health issues as a troubled 17-year-old under the influence of anti-depressants and that her messages, regardless of content, were protected free speech.

The body of 18-year-old Conrad Roy III was discovered in his pickup truck on July of 2014. He had died as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning, parked in a K-Mart lot.

MASSACHUSETTS WOMAN ACCUSED IN TEXTING SUICIDE CASE WAIVES RIGHT TO JURY TRIAL

Prosecutors say the investigation that followed showed Carter encouraged Roy's research into how to commit suicide, mocked him when he delayed his death, instructed him to follow through, promised to console his family and then played the grieving girlfriend in the days that followed.



Assistant District Attorney Maryclare Flynn highlighted a multitude of disturbing texts sent between the teenagers, including one from Carter on the day of Roy's suicide that read: "You can't think about it. You just have to do it."

Flynn charged that as Roy's truck was filling with carbon monoxide and he fled the vehicle, filled with fear, Carter told him, during a phone call "to get back in."

Prosecutors say she listened as he cried and took his last breath.

Carter's defense attorney, Joseph Cataldo, argued that Roy's death was a suicide, tragic and sad. But, he argued, it was not a homicide.

PROSECUTOR: WOMAN IN TEXTING SUICIDE CASE WANTED ATTENTION

Cataldo argued that she was "involuntarily intoxicated" via the use of antidepressants leading up to Roy's suicide. She had sought treatment at McLean Hospital, one of the area's top facilities for psychiatric care, and in the month prior to Roy's death urged him to do the same. Cataldo pointed to a troubled family life and noted Roy's own history of depression, saying he had attempted suicide several times.



He noted that the two teens had seen each other in person only a handful of times after first meeting during a Florida vacation in 2012. Their relationship prospered over text message and through phone calls. At the time of his death, Cataldo said Roy had not met-up with Carter in more than year.

The defense argues that Carter's words were free speech and that she is not responsible for another troubled teenager's decision to take his own life.

Roy's mother was the first witness called by the prosecution. Lynn Roy acknowledged that her son had previously attempted suicide and had long suffered from anxiety. He had been hospitalized several times for treatment. She recalled their final day together, including a long walk down a local beach, chatting and joking. Later that evening he drove off in his truck.

Earlier this week, Carter waived her right to a jury trial and chose instead to have Judge Lawrence Moniz hear the case. She is facing up to 20 years in prison.


More than a year after Michael Flynn, President Trump's former national security adviser, pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI, he still hasn't been sentenced.

Flynn, 60, pleaded guilty in December 2017 to making false statements to the FBI regarding his talks with a Russian ambassador. Flynn was scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 18, but Judge Emmet G. Sullivan delayed it  after tearing into Flynn.

"Arguably, you sold your country out," Sullivan told Flynn, saying he would not hide his "disgust" or "disdain" for the offense.

Ahead of his sentencing, Flynns lawyers maintained he had devoted his career to his country and taken responsibility for an uncharacteristic error in judgment. Flynn is a retired three-star Army general who served as Trumps national security adviser for nearly a month at the beginning of his administration.

SHOCKING SCALE OF RUSSIA'S SINISTER SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN AGAINST US REVEALED

Special Counsel Robert Mueller released key documents on Dec. 14 regarding the FBI's interview with Flynn. The documents include then-FBI deputy director Andrew McCabes notes after talking with Flynn to arrange his interview with the FBI.

"The seriousness of the defendants offense cannot be called into question, and the Court should reject his attempt to minimize it. While the circumstances of the interview do not present mitigating considerations, assuming the defendant continues to accept responsibility for his case ... his cooperation and military service continue to justify a sentence at the low end of the guideline range," Mueller concluded in a document replying to Flynn's sentencing memorandum.

Heres a look at how Flynn  who was one of the more polarizing characters in Trumps administration  is involved in the Russian investigation.

Why did Flynn leave the White House?

Flynn resigned as Trumps national security adviser in February 2017 over revelations that he misled Vice President Mike Pence about his communications with Russias former ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak.

I have nothing to be ashamed for and everything to be proud of, Flynn told Fox News at the time.

How is he connected to the Russia investigation?

Despite earlier statements to the contrary, Flynn discussed sanctions former President Barack Obama imposed on Russia with Kislyak.

He pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about conversations he had during the presidential transition period and is expected to become the first White House official punished in the special counsels ongoing probe into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 election.

Muellers team filed a memorandum suggesting Flynn deserved a lenient sentence  with possibly no prison time  because of the substantial help he offered as part of several ongoing investigations. Overall, Flynn sat for 19 interviews with the special counsels office and other Justice Department officials.

MCCABE REVEALS 'ONE THING' THAT STOOD OUT FROM HIS FATEFUL CALL WITH FLYNN

Given the defendants substantial assistance and other considerations set forth below, a sentence at the low end of the guideline range, including a sentence that does not impose a term of incarceration  is appropriate and warranted, the memo states.

Flynns lawyers said he has expressed genuine contrition for the uncharacteristic error in judgment and has a deep respect for the law.

What do we know about his lobbying work?

Aside from Russia, Flynn is also involved in a separate investigation into Turkish lobbying work headed by prosecutors in Virginia, according to The New York Times.

Flynns former lobbying firm is being probed for work they did on a campaign against Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish cleric and green-card holder living in Pennsylvania. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Gulen of being behind a botched coup and has sought his extradition. Gulen has denied the allegations, and U.S. officials have rebuffed Turkey's extradition demands, citing a lack of evidence.

Flynn Intel Group, Inc., carried out $530,000 worth of lobbying and research work for several months, including during the end of the 2016 campaign.

Anything else?

Flynns attorneys have pointed out that two FBI officials involved in interviewing Flynn have since been investigated themselves for misconduct. FBI counterintelligence agent Peter Strzok, who interviewed Flynn, was fired a year later over anti-Trump text messages. Then-FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, who had arranged the interview but wasn't present for it, was fired for what the Justice Department called a lack of candor involving a media leak.

Fox News Alex Pappas, Gregg Re and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The gunman who opened fire at an Orlando factory had planned to kill five of his former coworkers by singling them out and shooting them before turning the gun on himself, investigators confirmed on Tuesday.

John Robert Neumann Jr., 45, had at least one "negative relationship" with one of his former co-workers at Fiamma Inc., whom he singled out and gunned down Monday, Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said. Neumann, who later killed himself as responding officers were heading to the business, was an army veteran who was discharged in 1999. He was fired from the RV awning manufacturing company back in April.

Police had confronted Neumann once before at the factory, when he was accused of battering a co-worker in June 2014. The co-worker said Neumann punched him in the back of the head knocking him to the ground, according to the incident report. But the co-worker later said Neumann chased him and then hit him on the back of the head.

The co-worker, who had no visible injuries, stated "he had problems in the past with John but thought they were resolved," the sheriff's office incident report said.

No charges were filed in the 2014 incident after both men were interviewed. The co-worker was not among Monday's victims, Demings said. Aside from the 2014 incident, Neumann also had a criminal history "minor in nature," with arrests for possession of marijuana and DUI.

Neumann walked into Fiamma Inc. off Forsyth Road in Orange County about 8 a.m. Monday and opened fire, Demings said. Deputies arrived two minutes later after a woman called 911 from the tile business store across the street.

"All she kept saying was he was holding a gun and told her to get out," said. Yamaris Gomez, the tile store's owner.

Shelley Adams told The Associated Press her sister, Sheila McIntyre, called her from the building's bathroom during the shooting and was very upset. She kept repeating "My boss is dead. My boss is dead," Adams said.

Officials found three men and a woman dead at the scene. A fifth person, a man, was rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Seven people survived the shooting.

The five victims were later identified as Robert Snyder, 69, Kevin Clark, 53, Brenda Montanez-Crespo, 44, Kevin Lawson, 46, and Jeffrey Roberts, 57.

Fiamma Inc. released a statement on Tuesday saying she was "heartbroken" by the deadly and tragic attack.

"The company is heartbroken following the unspeakable attack upon our loved ones and employees. In these dark hours we ask for thoughts and prayers for all the victims of this tragedy and their families.," the statement read.

INVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER CHARGES IN GHOST SHIP WAREHOUSE FIRE

Officials believe Neumann was the only gunman and there was no indication he was going to carry out the attack, according to Demings. Neumann paused at least once to reload his gun and most of the victims were shot in the head and some of them suffered multiple gunshot wounds, Demings said.

"This violence is frustrating. The only way we have a fighting chance is to ask the public to report any suspicious activity," Demings said.

The FBI was on the scene assisting local police on the investigation, a spokesperson from the bureau told Fox News. But Demings said authorities could not "connect the incident to any global terrorism."

SUSPECT IN KILLINGS OF 3 AT INDIANA HOME IS DEAD

Florida Gov. Rick Scott said in a statement that he has been briefed on the situation.

"Over the past year, the Orlando community has been challenged like never before," Scott said.

"Ann and I are praying for the families who lost loved ones today. I ask all Floridians to pray for the families impacted by this senseless act of violence. I will remain in contact with the Orlando law enforcement community throughout the day as more information is made available," the statement read.

The shooting comes a week before the one-year anniversary of the Pulse nightclub massacre, also in Orlando, where 49 people were fatally shot by Omar Mateen, an Islamic extremist.

Fox News' Kathleen Reuschle, Catherine Herridge and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A Pennsylvania man was found guilty on Tuesday of sexually abusing six girls from the same family, including one who was "gifted" to him by her parents, authorities said.

A jury convicted Lee Kaplan, 52, of Feasterville, guilty of all 17 counts after a two-day deliberation, Bucks County District Attorney's Office said. He faced multiple charges of child, statutory sexual assault and other offenses.

"The verdict was perfect and just," District Attorney Matthew D. Weintraub said on Tuesday.

A neighbor's tip led authorities to Kaplan's house in suburban Philadelphia last June where they discovered the mother of the girls, her nine daughters and two grandchildren, living there. The parents of the girls, Savilla and Daniel Stoltzfus, had "gifted" their eldest daughter, who was 14 at the time, to Kaplan in exchange for financial help, authorities alleged. He fathered two children  now ages 1 and 4  with the teen.

GIRLS TESTIFY ABOUT SEX ABUSE BY MAN WHO GOT THEM AS 'GIFT'

At the time of the arrest, Kaplan was only charged with sex crimes related to the "gifted" girl. Authorities later uncovered more evidence that led to additional charges.

Several of the girls, who are now between ages 9 and 19, testified in the trial last week and said they had sex with Kaplan for years and considered him as their "husband." A 9-year-old girl testified that Kaplan began molesting her when she was 7 and the defendant told her not to tell anyone.

Savilla Stoltzfus also admitted that she knew about Kaplan's sexual activity with her daughters but believed "it could be a good thing."

"I always trusted him that whatever goes on is a good thing," she said Wednesday, adding that she had no regrets because "we had a good life."

Kaplan denied the charges and maintained that he only had sexual relations with the girl he had the children with, according to Fox 29 Philadelphia.

GRANDMA SUSPECTED IN STABBINGS THAT KILLED GIRL ARRESTED

Deputy District Attorney Kate Kohler argued that Kaplan "brainwashed" the woman and her family, casting himself as a prophet, as he sought "power, manipulation and control." She said the "six children became his sex toys."



The girls' parents are still awaiting sentencing. The mother pleaded guilty to child endangerment charges last month. David Stoltzfus entered a no-contest plea, acknowledging that prosecutors had enough evidence to support the charges.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Click here for more from Fox 29.
Two Maryland high school students were found shot and killed Monday night on the eve of their graduation ceremony.

Montgomery County Police identified the students as Shadi Adi Najjar, 17, and Artem Ziberov, 18, and they both attended Northwest High School in Germantown.

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND ANNOUNCES UNITY PLEDGE TO FIGHT HATE

The two teens were found in a car dead with gunshot wounds in Montgomery Village. Police are investigating a motive and are waiting for the medical examiners report.

MICHIGAN STATE FOOTBALL PLAYERS CHARGED WITH SEXUAL ASSAULT

Ziberov was slated to attend the University of Maryland after high school, Paul Wagner, Ziberovs stepfather, told Fox 5.

They were both excellent students who had a positive impact on those around them, Jimmy DAndrea, Northwest High School Principal, said in a message to the community.

Click for more from Fox 5.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.


Authorities say a woman has fatally shot a New Jersey Transit bus driver in a parking lot and then killed herself.

Prosecutors in Gloucester (GLAH'-stur) County say the shooting happened Tuesday afternoon in the parking lot of a bus depot in Washington Township.

They say 44-year-old Woodbury resident Piacenta Jackson shot 45-year-old Sicklerville resident Ryon Reynolds. They say Jackson then shot and killed herself in nearby Mantua Township.

The bus depot was shut down, but buses continued to operate.

Investigators haven't said what the relationship was between Jackson and Reynolds. But his aunt, Rose Reynolds, tells NJ.com that he and Jackson had dated but he had broken off the relationship.
The Russian military said it scrambled a fighter jet Tuesday to intercept and escort a U.S. strategic bomber flying over the Baltic alongside the Russian border.

Russia's Defense Ministry said Russian radars spotted an aircraft flying along the border and a Su-27 fighter took off to intercept it. It said the Russian pilot identified the plane as a U.S. B-52 bomber and escorted it at a safe distance until it flew further away from the Russian border.

U.S. Lt. Col. David Faggard, a spokesman for U.S. Forces Europe, said the B-52 was conducting a routine mission in international airspace over the Baltic when it was intercepted by the Russian fighter. Such intercepts happen routinely, Faggard said.

The bomber, normally based in Barksdale, Louisiana, is currently stationed at RAF Fairford in Britain in support of NATO exercises.

The B-52 had its transponders on and would have been identifiable to air traffic controllers at the time of the encounter, Faggard said.

In a separate incident, a Russian MiG-31 fighter jet was dispatched Tuesday to intercept a Norwegian maritime surveillance aircraft flying over the Barents Sea near the Russian border, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

Both Russia and NATO routinely scramble their fighters to intercept each other's planes flying over international waters.

In September, a Russian fighter jet flew within 10 feet (3 meters) of a U.S. Navy surveillance aircraft, in what American officials called an unsafe intercept over the Black Sea. In another dramatic incident last year, Russian jets buzzed over the USS Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea, coming within 30 feet of the American warship.

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Frank Jordans and David Rising in Berlin contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump has scheduled a speech addressing religious conservatives around the same time that former FBI director James Comey is expected to testify before Congress.

The Faith and Freedom Coalition's "Road to Majority" conference announced Tuesday that the president had agreed to address the annual gathering Thursday.

Faith and Freedom spokesman Lance Lemmonds says the president is expected to speak at 12:30 p.m. EDT.

Comey is scheduled to testify Thursday before the Senate intelligence committee beginning at 10 a.m. that day.

His appearance will mark Comey's first public comments since he was abruptly fired by the president last month.

Other speakers expected to address the Faith and Freedom event are Vice President Mike Pence, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
The United States called on Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday to initiate a special investigation into the gruesome March killings in Congo of two United Nations experts from the U.S. and Sweden and their interpreter.

The U.N. is conducting a board of inquiry into the deaths of American Michael Sharp and Zaida Catalan of Sweden. But U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley the Trump administration wants a special investigation  which would be a criminal investigation.

Haley said in a statement that the United States will also support a resolution in the Human Rights Council in Geneva to establish a commission of inquiry into human rights violations in Congo's central Kasai region, where the killings took place. The Trump administration is considering pulling out of the council and she is scheduled to address its members Tuesday.

Haley said Sharp, Catalan and their families "deserve justice."

"We owe it to their legacy to end the human rights abuses being carried out by armed groups and (Congo's) government against the Congolese people," she said. "We hope other nations will join us in supporting a U.N.-led investigation and Human Rights Council-led inquiry into these horrific acts."

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the United Nations has repeatedly called on the Congolese government "to conduct a complete and thorough investigation into the murder of our colleagues and the fate of the four Congolese men who accompanied them." He said those responsible for the murders must be brought to justice and stressed that the government "has the duty and responsibility to carry out a criminal investigation."

But Dujarric stressed that the United Nations Secretariat "cannot substitute (for) the criminal justice system of a sovereign country."

The U.N. board of inquiry is expected to issue a report and recommendations by the end of July, he said. "We stand ready to support any investigative mechanism set up by the relevant inter-governmental bodies," he added.

The two U.N. experts and interpreter Betu Tshintela went missing while investigating human rights abuses in Congo. Their bodies were found in a shallow grave.

The Congolese government later obtained a cellphone video showing them being killed. The government blamed members of the Kamwina Nsapu militia who are active in Kasai, where at least 400 people have died since August.

Congolese authorities have launched an investigation and said late last month they have 16 suspects in connection with the murders.

Six suspects appeared in a Congo military court in Kananga, the provincial capital of Kasai Central, on Monday to answer charges. Two are accused of murder and four of facilitating the escape of suspects.

Congolese Attorney General Flory Kabange Numbi said last month that authorities have also opened an investigation into whether former government minister Clement Kanku played a role in inciting violence in the Kasai provinces. Kanku was one of the people being investigated by the U.N. team that was killed.

The announcement came after The New York Times cited an audiotape of Kanku allegedly condoning the violence, at one point saying: "It's good that we burn everything."
Afghanistan's president said Tuesday that last week's suicide truck bombing in the heart of the capital killed more than 150 people, making it the deadliest single attack in the country since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion to topple the Taliban.

The attack added to growing concerns about whether Afghan forces can defeat the Taliban or an increasingly destructive Islamic State affiliate without further aid from U.S. and international forces, which formally concluded their combat mission at the end of 2014, switching to a support and counterterrorism role.

No one immediately claimed the bombing, but Afghanistan has alleged Pakistani involvement, accusations denied by Islamabad.

President Ashraf Ghani spoke at the opening of the so-called Kabul Process, a gathering of 23 nations, the EU, U.N. and NATO to discuss security and political issues in the country. He again invited the Taliban to peace talks, calling it their "last chance" to give up their 16-year insurgency and join the political process.

"If Taliban wants to join peace talks, the Afghan government will allow them to open an office, but this is their last chance," Ghani said.

The Taliban have steadily expanded their reach over the last two years, seizing control of several districts in different parts of the country. Past attempts at peace talks have failed. The Taliban have refused to negotiate with the government until all foreign forces leave, and still refer to themselves as a government in exile, angering authorities in Kabul.

The U.S.-backed government is also struggling to combat an IS affiliate that has carried out a series of major attacks. Ghani said that over the past two years as many as 11,000 foreign fighters have joined the group.

Ghani also renewed his criticism of neighboring Pakistan, saying it was waging an "undeclared war of aggression" against his country. The two countries have long accused each other of turning a blind eye to militants operating along their porous border, and their forces exchanged fire over a border dispute last month.

Afghan security forces say they are still investigating, but that the explosives used appear to have originated in Pakistan.

Pakistan's Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz rejected the allegations, which he said were part of a "malicious agenda" to damage relations between the two countries.
A gunman in Australia who shot a man dead and held a woman hostage had been on officials' radars years ago when he stood trial for plotting a terror attack in Sydney, but eventually was acquitted, police said Tuesday.

Yacqub Khayre, 29, was one of two men cleared by a jury of plotting a suicide attack at a Sydney army base in 2010. Three people were convicted of conspiracy in that plot, which police thwarted before it could be executed.



Khayre, a Somali refugee, shot and killed a Chinese-born Australian man in the lobby of an apartment building Monday. He held a woman hostage and called police, threatening to kill her if they intervened. He also called a local TV station to say "This is for Al Qaeda," according to workers there.

Police tried to negotiate with Khayre before he walked out of the building and opened fire, injuring three officers. Khayre was later shot dead by police.

LONDON TERROR ATTACK: BRITISH OFFICIALS MISSED WARNING SIGNS AHEAD OF RECENT ASSAULT

Authorities said they were investigating the incident has an act of terror, but Victoria state police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said the gunman appeared to have acted alone and not as part of any ongoing plot or threat.

"There is nothing that we've found thus far that would suggest to us that this was anything that was...planned or done in concert with others," Ashton said.

However, Khayre had an extensive and violent criminal record leading up to Monday night's seige. He was sentenced in 2012 to 5  years in prison on convictions including aggravated burglary after beating a woman in her home. He was initially denied parole after serving a minimum three years but was released on Dec. 8, Deputy Police Commissioner Shane Patton said.

Khayre was also required to wear a satellite-positioning ankle bracelet as a condition of his parole. Police were not advised that Khayre had removed or disabled the bracelet until the siege started, Patton said.

NOTRE DAME HAMMER ATTACK SUSPECT YELLED 'THIS IS FOR SYRIA'; TERROR INVESTIGATION LAUNCHED

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said he would speak with state leaders Friday about changing state laws so that dangerous criminals are not released from prison early on parole.

"There have been too many cases of people on parole committing violent offenses of this kind," Turnbull told reporters.

During Monday's attack, Khayre spoke about Al Qaeda in phone calls to police and to Seven Network television. The Seven Network said it had received a phone call Monday afternoon from the woman in the room, telling the station she was involved in a hostage situation.

"We asked her more information, at that point a man came on the same line and said 'This is for IS, this is for Al Qaeda,'" Seven news director Simon Pristel said.

"We asked for more information and that's when he hung up," Pristel added.

Officials believe the gunman may have plotted to lure police into an ambush, However it was too early to know if the gunman set out to target police or "seized the opportunity he thought was presented to him," Ashton said.

He added that there was nothing to link the violence with a van and knife attacks in London in which three assailants killed seven people.

Ashton said there was nothing to link the violence with a van and knife attacks in London in which three assailants killed seven people.

Police did not regard the Islamic State group's claim of responsibility for the Melbourne violence as evidence that it was planned.
Terrorists involved in each of the three recent Islamist assaults on Britain were known to authorities prior to the attacks that claimed a combined 34 lives, but in each instance British authorities failed to act in time to stop the fiendish plots.

British officials have acknowledged Westminster Bridge attacker Khalid Masood, Manchester bomber Salman Abedi and London Bridge terrorist Khuram Butt were on police radars for links to Islamic extremism. But in each case the men were apparently not viewed as sufficient threats to merit more attention.

Separately, Italian intelligence operatives told Politico Europe on Tuesday that Moroccan-born Youssef Zaghba, another member of the London Bridge terror trio, was detained while trying to fly from Italy into Istanbul  likely bound for ISIS-controlled territory in Syria  in March 2016.

When asked why he was flying to Turkey, Zaghba reportedly replied: "I'm going to be a terrorist."

Italian officials said they warned Moroccan and British authorities about Zaghba, however, British police on Tuesday issued a statement that Zaghba was not a police or MI5 subject of interest.

Butt was openly supportive of ISIS, appearing in a British television documentary last year called The Jihadis Next Door. In the footage, hes seen praying near an ISIS flag and with a radical Muslim leader whos a close associate of jailed hate preacher Anjem Choudary. Despite his extremist associations and activities, however, British police said he was not viewed as a serious threat before the London Bridge massacre.

Masood had a variety of criminal convictions prior to his own van and knife attack on a British bridge in March; however, he hadnt been convicted on any terror charges. Still, British Prime Minister Theresa May said MI5 had investigated Masood for suspected extremism  but the intelligence outfit did not appear to grasp the depth to which Masood had been indoctrinated into extremist Islam.

After Abedi blew himself up in a suicide attack outside an Ariana Grande concert in May, British media outlets reported several people had told authorities before the horrific attack that Abedi may have exhibited terrorist leanings. In light of the news, MI5 was conducting its second review into how it missed the threat posed by Abedi.

Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale, who in 2013 decapitated a British soldier on a London street after running him over with their vehicle, were also known to police, and Adebolajo later claimed security services had tried to recruit him as an informant.

The pool of potential attackers authorities must sort through is massive. Britain has somewhere north of 20,000 people suspected of jihadi affiliations at one time or another, 3,000 of which are currently being investigated.

Britain is not alone in failing to identify jihadis, either.

Yacqub Khayre killed a man and took a woman hostage in Melbourne on Monday before calling a local television station to claim he was acting in the name of ISIS and Al Qaeda, The Herald Sun reported. It later emerged that Khayre, who was shot and killed by police, was acquitted of plotting a suicide attack in 2009.
At least seven people were killed in an explosion at the entrance of a mosque in western Afghanistan Tuesday, an Afghan official said.

A bomb planted in a rickshaw detonated at the entrance gate of the main Sunni mosque in Herat City, located in the western part of Afghanistan, just before 3 p.m. local time, Afghanistan's Ministry of Interior Affairs said.

At least 16 other people were injured in the blast. Afghan officials said a funeral was being held in the mosque at the time.

The Ministry of Interior Affairs said it condemned the "terrorist attack."

AFGHAN PRESIDENT SAYS LAST WEEK'S BOMBING KILLED OVER 150

On the same day, a rocket struck the Indian diplomatic compound in Kabul. No one was injured.

The incidents comes just after Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani announced the "Kabul Process," an initiative to "secure international consensus to end transnational financing of terrorism."

Last week, a massive suicide truck bombing in the country's capital left more than 150 people dead and 300 others injured. It was the deadliest single attack in 16 years since the U.S. invaded to topple the Taliban.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi, once one of the world's richest men who was implicated in the Iran-Contra affair, has died. He was 81 and had been suffering from Parkinson's disease.

A statement from his family says Khashoggi died in London on Tuesday.

Khashoggi was notorious for his lavish lifestyle. He was estimated to be worth some $4 billion at the peak of his wealth in the 1970s.

Khashoggi was a man of connections. His nephew Dodi Fayed was Princess Diana's paramour.

His family says he "combined commercial acumen with an over-riding loyalty to his country, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. His work always furthered the interests of his country."
A man with a hammer cried "This is for Syria" before bashing a police officer in the head outside Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris Tuesday, a top official revealed, as a terror investigation was under way.

The hammer-wielding man also had two kitchen knives and "other unsophisticated weapons" with him before charging toward officers patrolling the esplanade in front of the cathedral, French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said. The wounded officer fired at the unnamed suspect twice, injuring the attacker who was later hospitalized, French police confirmed to Fox News. The specific conditions of both men were unclear.

The suspect had been threatening several policemen and passersby at the time, according to Collomb. Just before 5:30 p.m. local time, the operation was over.

Paris prosecutors have opened a counterterrorism investigation.

Paris has been under high security after a string of Islamic extremist attacks in recent years. In February, a man attacked soldiers outside a shopping mall near the Louvre. He was heard yelling "Allahu Akbar" before soldiers shot and injured him. Another attacker opened fire on a police van on Paris' Champs Elysees in April, killing one and seriously wounding two others. Police shot and killed the attacker in that situation.

TIMELINE OF RECENT TERROR ATTACKS AGAINST THE WEST

French President Emmanuel Macron planned a special security meeting to examine new counterterrorism measures, including extending the country's state of emergency, Collomb said.

Paris police intially wrote on Twitter around 4:30 p.m. local time that there was a "number of police" in the area and urged people to avoid the world-famous cathedral as the incident unfolded. The French U.S. embassy alerted American citizens to "avoid the area and follow advice of authorities" following the incident.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo tweeted that she saluted the police officers' "courage."

Witnesses described a dramatic police operation in the tourist-filled area. Lawrence Langner, a 73-year-old American visiting the neighborhood just across the Seine River from the cathedral, told The Associated Press that he suddenly heard a commotion and two detonations like gunshots.

On social media, people reported that they were "trapped" in the cathedral for an incident outside. One person in the cathedral said officers instructed them to "raise their hands." French police later said they would be letting visitors out after conducting security checks.

Large numbers of police cars filled the area on the Ile de Cite island in the River Seine in the center of Paris.

Manuel Valls, the former prime minister of France, wrote on Twitter he "extended [his] full support to the police assaulted."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A private security guard shot dead an Arab demonstrator during anti-police riots in central Israel early Tuesday, police said, in the latest violent confrontation threatening to stoke tensions between Arabs and Jews in Israel.

Local residents denied police claims that the demonstrators posed a life-threatening danger to the officers, and accused them of being light on the trigger. In January, police shot dead a 47-year-old Arab schoolteacher they initially called a terrorist, but later acknowledged they may have erred in shooting him.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said clashes broke out after police came to arrest a local resident in the Arab town of Kfar Kassem. He said the man resisted and then other local residents attacked the police, managing to free the suspect.

He said hundreds of rioters then burned three police vehicles and hurled rocks while masked men attacked the local police station. A security guard stationed there felt a threat to his life and opened fire, killing a local resident, he said.

Ayman Odeh, head of the Arab Joint List in the Israeli parliament, said the violence was a result of a heavy-handed police policy toward Arabs.

"The police killed another Arab man," he told Israel's Army Radio. "The police treat Arabs as enemies, not as citizens."

Arabs make up a fifth of Israel's population. They enjoy full citizenship but frequently face unfair treatment in areas like jobs and housing. They often complain of second-class status, while many Israeli Jews view them as disloyal because they largely sympathize with the Palestinians.

Police have recently launched a greater effort to combat crime in Arab towns and villages, with a special emphasis on collecting illegal arms.

Odeh noted that since the watershed deadly clashes between Arab protesters and police in October 2000, 55 Arab citizens have been shot dead by police compared to just four Jewish Israelis.

"Unfortunately, the police have not internalized that these are citizens," he said.
Three days after the London Bridge attack, many are still trapped in the agony of not knowing whether their loved one is dead or alive  or among the dozens who are so seriously injured that they are unconscious.

Ignacio Echeverria is one of at least four people who were in the vicinity of Londons Borough Market during Saturdays attack and have not been located yet.

The 39-year-old employee at HSBC bank was last seen confronting one of the terrorists as he was stabbing a female victim.

They saw him lying on the floor on the sidewalk after defending someone with his skateboard, his father wrote on Facebook.

Echeverria's family said that he was probably not carrying any ID documents as he had been returning home from playing sports. They have been asked for Echeverrias fingerprints.

Not a good sign," Joaquin Echeverria, the father, posted on Monday.

YOUSSEF ZAGHBA NAMED AS THIRD LONDON ATTACKER

Ignacio's father told The Associated Press that the family was flying to London from Madrid, Spain on Tuesday to join other relatives. He said authorities had not shared any information with them.

British police have said the identification of the remaining victims is being slowed down by the fact that many are foreigners.

Seven people were killed and more than 50 injured in the attack, but only two of the dead have been identified so far.

The other people missing are Australian Sara Zelenak, 21, and two middle-aged Frenchmen: Xavier Thomas and Sebastien Belanger.

London police said Tuesday Thomas may have been thrown into the River Thames by the killers' speeding van.

The Metropolitan Police force appealed for information about 45-year-old, who was walking with his girlfriend over the bridge when the attack began.

James McMullan, 32, has not been seen since Saturday night but is believed to be among the dead.

"He was on the verge of signing his first contract, a $1.5 million deal, his father said, as quoted by the Telegraph.

"It will radically change the face of education - I am going to continue his work. My son really was an exceptional man."
The mayor of London says he doesn't care about the repeated insults he has received from the president of the United States, asserting Tuesday that he "really couldn't be bothered about what Donald Trump tweets."

Mayor Sadiq Khan, who made history as the British capital's first Muslim leader, has repeatedly been targeted by Trump on Twitter. After Saturday's attacks in the London Bridge area that claimed seven lives, for example, Trump panned the mayor for telling the public there was "no reason to be alarmed" by the atrocity.

In fact, Khan was referring in his televised remarks to the presence of armed officers on the capital's streets. When the British press ridiculed Trump's out-of-context quote, the president returned to Twitter to accuse the media of buying the mayor's "pathetic excuse."

Reporters repeatedly asked Khan for his thoughts on Trump outside the headquarters of London's Ambulance Service, where he observed a minute of silence Tuesday to honor of the victims of the attacks.

The 46-year-old mayor, who assumed office in May 2016 after serving in Parliament, generally praised the "special relationship" between the United States and Britain. He calmly explained his opposition to Trump's proposed travel ban on visitors from several Muslim countries. But he dropped a hint of annoyance when asked about Trump's social media jibes.

"I don't know how to tell you this, but I really don't care," he told The Associated Press.

Trump's extraordinary attacks on the popular mayor of a grieving city have disgusted many Londoners, reigniting opposition to a state visit by the American president to the United Kingdom planned for later this year. Prime Minister Theresa May invited Trump a week after his Jan. 20 inauguration.

Khan is among those who have asked the government to reconsider the invitation, describing the state visit as "inappropriate" given the president's months-long push for a travel ban for passengers from several Muslim majority nations.

Trump's comments also discomfited many in the United States. They drew an implicit rebuke by the acting U.S. ambassador to the U.K., who praised Khan's "strong leadership" on Twitter.

Although the spat is embarrassing, Trump's state visit  which according to traditional practice would include staying at Buckingham Palace as a guest of the queen  does not appear to be in any jeopardy.

British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson  Khan's predecessor as mayor of London  told BBC radio Tuesday that "the invitation has been issued and accepted and I see no reason to change that."

Addressing Trump's proposed plan to bar millions of people from Muslim majority countries from entering the United States, which the president said had been vindicated by the attacks, Khan told the AP he found the idea antithetical to American values.

"There are literally millions and millions of Muslims around the world who love America. They love Britain, they want to come here to study, to be a tourist, to start up a business, to work, to learn. Why would you want to stop them coming?" Khan said.

"We saw on Saturday night some of the people in the health service, some of the consultants, surgeons, were Muslims surgeons, some of them people who'd come to this country from Muslim majority countries," the mayor continued. "They helped save lives, they reduced the death toll, some of the police officers, some of the armed response teams, who help keep our cities safe, are Muslims.

"What have you got against them?"
British police on Tuesday named the final member of the terror trio that murdered seven people on Saturday in a knife and van attack before police shot the jihadis dead -- and the news comes as more than 130 Muslim religious leaders were refusing to say funeral prayers for any members of the ISIS cell.

Youssef Zaghba, a Moroccan-born Italian man, was identified Tuesday morning as the final member of the trio that descended upon the London Bridge on Saturday. The other two attackers were named Monday as Khuram Shazad Butt and Rachid Redouane.

The decision by the Muslim leaders was seen as an "unprecedented" move because the funeral ritual is typically performed on a deceased Muslim no matter the person's past actions. The group of religious leaders have urged others to join them in declining to pray for the dead killers.

We, as Muslim imams and religious leaders, condemn the recent terror attacks in Manchester and London in the strongest terms possible, the Muslim leaders said in a statement. Coming from a range of backgrounds, and from across the U.K.; feeling the pain the rest of the nation feels, we have come together to express our shock and utter disgust at these cold-blooded murders. We are deeply hurt that a spate of terror attacks have been committed in our country once more by murderers who seek to gain religious legitimacy for their actions. We seek to clarify that their reprehensible actions have neither legitimacy nor our sympathy.

East London Mosque and London Muslim Centre Chairman Muhammad Habibur-Rahman said the decision was made because those who perpetrate terrorism: you are against the very core teaching of Islam and of our Prophet Muhammad. His statement continued, Your misguidance will lead you to destruction, and God willing you will utterly fail in your evil aims.

The decision underscores a warning President Trump issued to the Islamic world last month. Speaking in Riyadh before the leaders of 50 Muslim majority countries, Trump told warned terrorists that taking innocent lives would not lead to eternal paradise. If you choose the path of terror, your life will be empty, your life will be brief, and your soul will be fully condemned.

BELLWETHER: TERROR ON THE BALLOT IN BRITAIN

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also applauded the move. He said he was encouraged by the imams and said that the decision means "they're condemning their souls" since the funeral prayer asks for forgiveness of the dead. And that is what has to be done.

Khuram Butt, one of the attackers, was raised in the U.K. but lived in Pakistan for years, The Telegraph reported. Officers searched his former family home in Mujahidabad, southeast of Islamabad, and questioned his uncle, according to the newspaper.

Mak Chishty, the Metropolitan police commander of engagement, said, according to The Guardian, that it is time for Muslims to counter the scourge of terrorism, extremism and hatred that we have in our communities at present.

VIDEO: LONDON SUSPECT APPARENTLY SHOWED UP IN ISIS DOCUMENTARY

Chishty, the highest-ranking officer in the department of Muslim faith, said, It is the Islamic duty of every Muslim to be loyal to the country in which they live. We are now asking questions to understand how extremism and hatred has taken hold within some elements of our own communities.

ISIS has claimed responsibility for Saturday night's brazen attack that started on London Bridge, then continued in the streets surrounding Borough Market. A total of seven civilians were killed. The three believed attackers were killed. Police have 11 people in custody on suspicion of violating the Terrorism Act, but they haven't been named or charged. Others who had been arrested were released without being charged.

The country's official terror threat level had been set at "critical" in the days after the Manchester concert bombing on May 22 that killed 22 people  reflecting a judgment that an attack might be imminent because accomplices with similar bombs might be on the loose.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who is Muslim, wrote in The London Evening Standard, Along with the overwhelming majority of the Muslim population, I am disgusted by this act, I want to send a crystal-clear message around the world: The sick and wicked ideology of these evil extremists is no form of Islam that I recognize. I unequivocally denounce them and their twisted beliefs.
Potent new synthetic opioids that mimic the effects of heroin and morphine are a growing health threat in the European Union, the bloc's drug agency said Tuesday.

The Lisbon-based European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction also expressed concern in its annual report about a rise in drug overdose deaths in 2016 for the third consecutive year.

Young people are exposed to increasing numbers of new and dangerous drugs, according to the agency. They include powerful synthetic opioids that are now also available as liquids and nasal sprays.

"With only small volumes needed to produce many thousands of street doses, new synthetic opioids are easy to conceal and transport, posing a challenge for drug control agencies and a potentially attractive commodity for organized crime," the European Drug Report said.

On average, the agency identified more than one new psychoactive substance coming onto the EU black market each week in 2016. At the end of last year, it was monitoring more than 620 new psychoactive drugs that had appeared in recent years.

Europe's most commonly used illicit drugs are cocaine, MDMA  also known as ecstasy  and amphetamines.

The annual report also included the results of two surveys of 15- and 16-year-olds in the EU and United States, which indicated a decline in drinking and smoking tobacco among the school students, while cannabis consumption remains largely unchanged.
The Pentagon said the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State terror group struck pro-government forces Tuesday in southern Syria after they entered an area near a coalition base.

The attack took place near Tanf, Syria after forces supporting Syrian President Bashar Assad entered the area with a tank, artillery, anti-aircraft weapons, other vehicles and more than 60 soldiers.

A senior U.S. defense official told Fox News the pro-regime forces got between "25 to 55 kilometers" from the well-known training base.

The U.S. then carried out multiple airstrikes on these forces after multiple warning shots were fired, flyers were dropped and two calls were placed to the Russians on a de-confliction hotline, the official said.

The U.S. military took "a variety of steps to deescalate and warn" the forces, the official said, adding they "were asked to leave."

When the forces did not withdraw, U.S. warplanes bombed them around 11 a.m. ET. The Pentagon statement didn't further identify the targeted forces.

President Trump was briefed on the incident, officials told Fox News.

In recent weeks, officials have complained about various militants refusing to leave an area near Tanf, Syria where the U.S. and its partners train Syrian rebels there to fight ISIS.

Last month, the coalition struck similarly described forces in the same area after pro-Syrian regime forces advanced "a significant distance" into the de-confliction zone.

Fox News' Jennifer Griffin, John Roberts, and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
The third London Bridge attacker was identified Tuesday as a 22-year-old, Moroccan-born Italian who had been previously stopped by security forces who suspected he was bound for Syria and reportedly notified U.K. authorities, according to British police and Italian media.

Youssef Zaghba was the last member identified of the trio of jihadis who killed seven people on Saturday night during a van and knife attack in London. All three were shot dead by police minutes after the deadly terror assault began.

Zaghba's mother, Valeria Collina, who reportedly converted to Islam and lives near Bologna, claimed she tried and failed to keep her son from radical friends. "He had the Internet, and from there he got everything," she told Italian newsmagazine L'Espresso.

Italian intelligence operatives notified British and Moroccan authorities after Italian cops stopped Zaghba in March 2016 at Bologna Airport bound for Istanbul, Italian security officials told Politico Europe. That he was headed for Turkey could indicate Zaghba intended to travel across that countrys border to Syria and into ISIS-controlled territory, and Italian officials suspected as much, according to Il Corriere della Sera.

The Islamic State terror network took responsibility for the weekend attack, the third major incident to hit Britain in recent months. Italian officials seized Zaghba's cellphone and discovered some jihadi content and identified as a likely foreign fighter, Il Corriere della Sera reported, however, he was eventually released -- even after he told authorities he was traveling so he could become a terrorist.

But in a Tuesday news release, British police said Zaghba "was not a police or MI5 subject of interest."

Bologna prosecutor Giuseppe Amato said Zaghba was tracked every subsequent time he was in Italy following the March 2016 encounter, however, "there weren't elements of proof that he was a terrorist," so no arrest occurred.

Zaghba, along with previously identified attackers Khuram Shazad Butt and Rachid Redouane, lived in east London.

Zaghba was the youngest of the three attackers. Butt was a 27-year-old of Pakistani descent with well-known jihadist tendencies and Redouane was 30 and claimed to be Moroccan and Libyan.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A U.S.-backed Syrian force launched a major offensive on the northern city of Raqqa on Tuesday in an attempt to capture the de facto capital of the Islamic State terror group after three years of control.

Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces and Syrian Arab Coalition partners began moving toward the de facto capital of ISIS in November. Clashes under the cover of U.S.-led coalition led fighters to the northern and eastern gates of the city last week. Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said fighters in the city couldn't leave because all the bridges across the Euphrates have been disabled.

Lt. Gen. Steve Townsend, commanding general the Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve, told Fox News the operation, in conjuction U.S. special operations troops as advisors, is expected to be long and difficult, but it would deliver a blow to the idea of ISIS as a physical caliphate. It could also be a major turning point in the war against the extremists.

"It's hard to convince new recruits that ISIS is a winning cause when they just lost their twin 'capitals' in both Iraq and Syria," Townsend told Fox News.

NOTRE DAME HAMMER ATTACK SUSPECT YELLED 'THIS IS FOR SYRIA'

"We all saw the heinous attack in Manchester, England," Townsend said. "ISIS threatens all of our nations, not just Iraq and Syria, but in our own homelands as well. This cannot stand."

There are an estimated 55,000 Syrian Defense Forces, including 26,000 Syrian Kurds.

Airstrikes likely carried out by the U.S.-led coalition began on Monday, killing 21 people, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Raqqa is currently surrounded from the east, north and west, and opposition activists have reported intense shelling and airstrikes on the city since Monday night, which killed at least 12 people.

On Tuesday, airstrikes also by U.S.-led coalition killed 12 people, including women and children, state news agency SANA reported.

LONDON ATTACK: BRITISH OFFICIALS MISSED WARNING SIGNS

Davis said "Raqqa will be important step" in defeating the Islamic State group.

Today is Day 1 of the effort to defeat ISIS in Raqqa," Davis said.

"We know that Raqqa as a capital of the caliphate was where the external operations were planned, especially plots against Europe and the West."

ISIS captured Raqqa in January 2014, one of the first cities the terrorist group gained control. It has been home to some of the most prominent leaders, including those who planned the November 2015 Paris attacks and other international assaults. However, it has lost much of its territory it initially claimed over the years due to campaigns led by several Syrian and Iraqi forces.

Davis admitted that most of the leadership and bureaucratic functions and propaganda organs of IS had already moved out of Raqqa down the Euphrates River Valley to Mayadin and Deir al Zour, estimating only several hundred fighters remaining in the city.

The extremists are not expected to give up its hold on Raqqa easily. ISIS has been fortifying its positions in Raqqa for months, setting up barriers and hanging sheets of cloth over main streets to provide cover from warplanes.

Iraqi forces launched an offensive to capture the northern city of Mosul, the largest held by ISIS, in October, and heavy fighting is still underway there.

A belt of land mines and militant checkpoints circle Raqqa. Inside, all the men have been ordered to wear the jihadi garb of baggy pants and long shirts in order to make it more difficult to distinguish militants from civilians.

Fox News' Alexandra Rego, Jennifer Griffin and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
What could possibly go wrong?

I was 122 meters (400 feet) up on the Eiffel Tower, with Paris spread out in all its glory in miniature beneath me. And it was my turn to jump.

Gulp.

The opportunity to zip line from the world's most-visited tower seemed too good to turn down. Until I tried it.

___

Editor's note: John Leicester has reported from France for The Associated Press since 2002. This week, he got to try zip lining off the Eiffel Tower. This is his account of his wild ride.

___

Yes, I had a sturdy, tightly strapped safety harness. And, yes, the steel cable strung from the famous tower's second floor across to a small platform 800 meters (2,600 feet) away looked rust-free and taut enough. Still, it was a long, long, long way down.

Best not think about it. Let's just cross this off the bucket list. One, two, three. Go!

Into the void.

Only my screams drowned out the thumping of my heart in my ears.

What a buzz. Not quite the raw adrenaline high of parachuting, but a very decent second-best.

After the initial rush of fear, there was time on the way down to fall in love all over again with Paris: its stunning tapestry of grey roofs and landmarks simply magnificent under the blue skies and gray-white clouds. There, above Montmartre, the Sacre-Cour basilica! And over there, the golden dome of the Invalides where Napoleon is entombed ! The Seine River glittered in the sun like a diamond necklace.

What, from the second floor of the 128-year-old tower , looked like colonies of colored ants far below turned out to be people, soaking up the sun on the green grass of the Champ de Mars park that stretches away from the tower's giant iron feet.

I flew right over them, with the zip line  and me  both emitting high-pitched squeals. Looking up at the noise, people cheered. Thanks for the encouragement!

The minute or so of flight, reaching a top speed, organizers said, just shy of 100 kph (60 mph) zipped past in what felt like the blink of an eye.

At the bottom, my first thought: Please, can I do that again?

Jean-Luc Wong, a 20-year-old student from Paris, said it was the best thing he has ever done, "something I'll never forget." He won a tweeting contest for the right to jump. Others signed up via the website of the sponsor, fizzy water firm Perrier, and were lucky enough to be picked in a draw.

"The adrenaline, the speed, the surroundings. Fantastic," Wong said. "It's a bit scary but once you've launched off, you just soak it up and admire. Incredible."

Organizers said people had previously zip lined from the first floor of the 324-meter (1,063-foot) -tall tower  meaning they leaped from a more pedestrian 57 meters (187 feet) up  but that this was the first time a line had ever been strung from the second floor, where the sensation of height is more powerful.

Others, in the past, have been far more daring. A British couple parachuted from the tower's top deck, 276 meters (905 feet) up in 1984. A New Zealander bungee-jumped off the second floor in 1987. Some stunts ended tragically. Franz Reichel, a mustachioed Austrian tailor, leapt from the first deck in 1912 to test a tent-like parachute coat he had invented and is said to have died of fright before hitting the ground, gouging a deep hole.

Glad I didn't think about him when my turn came.

The zip line opened Monday and will operate for just one week until Sunday, with 100 flights planned per day.
The Gents Place Accelerates Franchise Development In Texas With Expansion Into Houston

Mens Grooming & Lifestyle Club Signs Six-unit Deal Agreement To Further Expand Brands Presence Throughout Texas

June 05, 2017 // Franchising.com // DALLAS - The Gents Place, a lifestyle club bringing mens grooming to the next level, announced today it signed a six-unit franchise development agreement to expand the concept into the Houston market. New franchisee, Jeff Stocks, will plan on opening the first location in the River Oaks neighborhood in Fall 2017. Stocks will also target other communities in and around Houston, including Galleria, City Centre, Washington/Heights, Katy and Rice/West University neighborhoods. This agreement is part of The Gents Place aggressive expansion plans to grow the brands presence throughout the state and beyond, with an ultimate goal of opening 150 clubs in the next five years.

The concept is rapidly growing in Texas with locations in Dallas, Frisco and Southlake, we are beyond thrilled to be expanding the brands presence further throughout the state to include the Houston market, said Ben Davis, founder and president of The Gents Place. Jeffs business leadership, experience and acumen made him the perfect candidate to develop the market beginning with these six locations and capitalizing on the growing trend for mens grooming in the area.

Arriving on the heels of a robust career in finance and law, Jeff brings more than three decades of business savvy, philanthropy and innate entrepreneurial spirit to The Gents Place. Jeff has been recognized in the community for his volunteer legal work focused on providing pro bono legal services to children who come to the country without their parents. Jeff has most recently worked as the Chief Financial Officer of a Houston-based industrial services company, bringing his c-level leadership and executive vision to the rapidly growing brand.

What appealed to me most about The Gents Place was how they have so perfectly tapped into this very underserved market  male grooming  a growing and thriving $5 billion plus industry, said franchisee Jeff Stocks. The brands innovative views on business, service and leadership are what ultimately sealed the deal for me. Im confident that the gentlemen who live and work in the Houston area are going to be as passionate about this concept as I am. The Gents Place strives be apart of each and everyone of their clients success stories.

The Gents Place prides itself on having one of the most unique service menus in the industry, epitomizing the exclusivity of an old-world speakeasy paired with an upscale, welcoming country club atmosphere. Not only can guests enjoy an incredible hair service and shave in the best mens grooming and lifestyle clubs in town, but also they can take advantage of all of the luxuries of a modern spa. In addition to offering mens grooming services, The Gents Place is a purveyor of hard-to-find retail goods from all over the world including its proprietary Rascal line of products, Truefitt & Hill, and Lakme, among others.

The company currently has three lifestyle clubs in North Texas (Dallas, Southlake and Frisco), a location in Leawood, Kansas in addition to the development of locations in Chicago and Austin. The company is seeking qualified franchisees to join the brand and currently has opportunities nationwide in markets such as Texas, Georgia, Florida, California, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, and Virginia. The brand is aggressively targeting Atlanta, and South Florida for franchise expansion.

Prospective single- and multi-unit franchisees should possess a minimum net worth of $400,000 and liquid assets of at least $175,000. Candidates should have strong business, management and/or marketing experience. Franchisees can expect their initial investment to be between $440,955  $705,980, including a $40,000 franchise fee. The Gents Place franchisees are provided with an array of tools to position them for success, including franchisee and management training; a proprietary web-based management system; ongoing, hands-on training for club employees to learn our unique grooming methods, management and administration of a club; and advertising, marketing and public relations support. Additionally, The Gents Place provides assistance with site selection and construction.

To learn more about ownership opportunities with The Gents Place, contact Bret Franson, director of franchise development at bfranson@tgpfranchising.com or visit http://www.tgpfranchising.com. Financing is available through the Small Business Administration for qualified franchisees. For more information visit https://www.franchiseregistry.com. Follow The Gents Place on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the latest news and trends.

The Gents Place's robust franchise growth is backed by Elevated Brands, a brand management and development company established by the principals of Massage Heights, a membership-based, therapeutic services franchise. In 2016, Elevated Brands invested in The Gents Place to help grow the brand nationally through the franchising model.

About The Gents Place

The Gents Place is the next level in mens grooming and lifestyle club that helps gentlemen look and feel their most confident best. Founded in 2008, the company has grown to include lifestyle clubs in Dallas, Southlake and Frisco, Texas, as well as Leawood, Kansas. The Gents Place provides luxury men's grooming services in addition to straight razor shaves, shoe shines and hand and foot repairs in a refined and timeless environment. For more information on The Gents Place, visit thegentsplace.com

About Elevated Brands

Elevated Brands is the brand management and development company established by the principals of Massage Heights, the membership-based, therapeutic services franchise company. The company provides emerging lifestyle concepts with the tools and strategic planning needed to grow their brands through the franchising model. Through its leadership teams deep franchise experience in the health and wellness space, Elevated Brands is on track to build a family of lifestyle brands that are dedicated to the well-being of those they serve. Its current portfolio includes Massage Heights Franchising, Summit Franchise Supply and The Gents Place.

Media Contact:

Courtney Whelan

Account Executive

Fish Consulting, LLC

O: (954) 893-9150

C: (954) 818-5724

SOURCE The Gents Place

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Build-A-Bear Workshop Adds A Little More Heart To Summer

With New, Non-Traditional Experiences At Movie Theaters, Family Destinations And More

Pop-up Shops and On-location Experiences Rolling Out for Summer 2017

ST. LOUIS - June 6, 2017 // PRNewswire // - This summer, Build-A-Bear Workshop (NYSE:BBW) fans can find the brand's one-of-a-kind experience in a variety of new and exciting locations, from select AMC Theatres and Carnival Cruise Line ships to Gaylord Hotels and Beaches Resorts.

Build-A-Bear Workshop Pop-Up Shops at Select AMC Theatres

Build-A-Bear Workshop seasonal pop-up shops opened in late March at select AMC Theatres locations in Florida, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The in-theater shops offer an abridged version of the traditional Build-A-Bear Workshop store experience. Movie-goers can make their own furry friends - including characters from some of the summer's hottest movies - and watch them come to life at the mini stuffer before choosing from a small assortment of clothing, accessories, scents and sounds, each sold separately. A selection of pre-stuffed plush are also available for patrons in a hurry to catch the previews. Ten additional pop-up shops opened June 1 at AMC locations in Texas, Kansas and Missouri.

Carnival Cruise Line Presents Build-A-Bear Workshop At Sea

The Carnival Cruise Line Build-A-Bear Workshop At Sea experience, which launched in summer 2016, is now available aboard all 25 Carnival ships. Building upon Carnival's position as the family cruise leader hosting nearly 800,000 kids a year, Build-A-Bear Workshop At Sea provides children of all ages an opportunity to make their own cuddly bear that can be customized with a variety of outfits and accessories, from tutus and high-top sneakers to, appropriately enough, vacation wear like bathing suits and sunglasses. The selection also includes a signature Carnival bear, Carnival tees and backpacks, and an exclusive Make-Your-Own Dr. Seuss' Cat in the Hat.

Build-A-Bear at Beaches Resorts

Build-A-Bear Workshop and Beaches Resorts have partnered to elevate the ultimate family-friendly vacation offered at all three of the company's luxurious resorts. The first Build-A-Bear Workshop Beaches experience opened in December 2016 at Beaches Turks and Caicos, and two additional locations will open this month in Jamaica at Beaches Negril and Beaches Ocho Rios. Vacationers can choose from a wide selection of Build-A-Bear Workshop furry friends, outfits and accessories - including bathing suits and sunglasses as well as special Beaches backpacks, hoodies, tees and more.

Build-A-Bear at Gaylord Hotels

As part of the magical winter wonderland experience at Gaylord Hotels during the 2016 holiday season, Build-A-Bear Workshop offered visitors the opportunity to make their own furry friend. On Memorial Day weekend 2017, Build-A-Bear Workshop returned to Gaylord Palms Resort in Orlando, Fla.; Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville, Tenn.; and Gaylord Texan Resort in Grapevine, Texas, offering even more furry-friend fun through Labor Day 2017 as part of the resorts' annual SummerFest event. Several signature teddy bears, licensed characters and more are available and completely customizable with the perfect summer outfits and accessories.

"Whether it's catching a movie at AMC Theatres, taking a Carnival Cruise Line cruise, or hanging out at Beaches Resorts and Gaylord Hotels, summer is a great time for families to travel and make memories together," said Sharon Price John, president and CEO, Build-A-Bear Workshop. "As we approach our 20th birthday, we are offering new and expanded experiences from Build-A-Bear Workshop in even more places. Each of these partners offers our unique make-your-own-furry-friend experience in hot spots where families will be going this season to spend time together and be entertained."

For more information about Build-A-Bear Workshop, follow the brand on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram. For a list of all Build-A-Bear Workshop locations and to find a store near you, visit buildabear.com.

About Build-A-Bear

Celebrating 20 years of business in 2017, Build-A-Bear is a global brand kids love and parents trust that seeks to add a little more heart to life. Build-A-Bear Workshop has approximately 400 stores worldwide where Guests can create customizable furry friends, including company-owned stores in the United States, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Puerto Rico, the United Kingdom and China, and franchise stores in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Mexico and the Middle East. The company was named to the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list for the ninth year in a row in 2017. Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (NYSE:BBW) posted a total revenue of $364.2 million in fiscal 2016. For more information, visit buildabear.com.

Contact:

Maria Lemakis

(314) 423-8000, ext. 5367

MariaL@buildabear.com

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit: [http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/build-a-bear-workshop-adds-a-little-more-heart-to-summer-with-new-non-traditional-experiences-at-movie-theaters-family-destinations-and-more-300469480.html].

SOURCE Build-A-Bear Workshop

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Five Fredericksburg-area breweries took home accolades from the 2017 Virginia Craft Beer Cup awards, held by the Virginia Craft Brewers Guild on Monday.

This year 356 beers in 24 categories were entered in the competition.

The Virginia Craft Beer Cup recognizes brilliant independent craft beer and the creativity of the brewers that make it all happen, said Brett Vassey, president and CEO of the guild.

Adventure Brewing took home second place in the Czech lager category for its Classic lager.

Im really excited for the medal we won in the Czech lager category, said co-owner Tim Bornholtz. I think it is one of the more difficult beers to brew correctly, and this is confirmation that were on the right track.

He said the Fredericksburg beer scene has expanded to include a number of quality breweries.

With Fredericksburg having almost 10 breweries theres no room for bad beer, he said. And this competition proved that everyone in Fredericksburg is making great beer. It was fantastic to see our friends win medals.

Red Dragon Brewery won second place in the British pale ale category with its Cook Lane beer. Tom Evans, co-owner of Red Dragon, said it was the first time they could enter a beer for the awards.

We are excited, he said. English ales are our strength ... and Fredericksburg is becoming a mecca for beer tourism.

Evans said Cook Lane is named for the original location of Timothy Taylor brewery in England, which makes one of his favorite British beers. Red Dragons beer was made using the same strain of yeast the British brewery uses.

In the historical, alternative and American wild ale category, Spencer Devon Brewing received second place for its OlGoseanna.

It speaks volumes for the quality and level of expertise we have here, said Shawn Phillips of Spencer Devon. Weve all been working hard to make Fredericksburg a beer destination.

Strangeways Brewing, located in Richmond, will soon open a Fredericksburg location. It won third place for its Helles Frozen Over beer in the pale malty European lager category.

Tonie Stevens of Strangeways said it is good for early craft beer adopters.

She said with a smaller, 10-barrel system in Fredericksburg, the brewery will be able to experiment here more than it ever has.

Maltese Brewing Company won third place for Wood Aged and Smoked Beers with its Barrel Aged Joes Stout.
A vote that was forecast to be close turned out to slam dunk Tuesday as Culpeper County became the last jurisdiction in its area to adopt a pretrial services program.

The issue, which had been batted around for two years and came out of the Board of Supervisors rules committee with no recommendation, wound up passing by a 70 margin after some heavy hitters came out in favor of the program.

I see it as the right thing to do, said Commonwealths Attorney Paul Walther, who told supervisors that he had seen the programs benefits while working three years in Fauquier County.

The program allows officials to assess prisoners and release until their cases can be heard those who do not pose a threat to public safety or flight risk. Walther said the program helps innocent people and allows law enforcement officials to keep track of the location and drug habits of other suspects.

Wenonah Petersen, representing the Culpeper County Bar Association, told the supervisors, Everyone on the front lines tells me this is an important issue. She presented a petition signed by nearly every Culpeper defense attorney asking that the program be instituted.

Petersen added that it makes a defense attorneys job more difficult when a suspect who cant make bail is held in a regional jail 40 miles away.

Pretrial, according to probation director Andrew Lawson, will make more than half the nonviolent suspects eligible to get out of jail and remain at their jobs while their cases are resolved. That could reduce the inmate population, which would drastically lower the number of taxpayer dollars being spent to farm prisoners out to regional jails as far away as Albemarle County and Front Royal.

Last year, Culpeper spent $830,000 to keep prisoners elsewhere and $950,000 is budgeted for that purpose in fiscal 2018.

Lawson said that if 20 inmates use the pretrial program, it will pay for the $233,000 cost. Forty inmates would likely cut the $950,000 figure in half.

Pretrial would also reduce the overtime dollars spent for deputies to bring prisoners from regional jails to Culpeper courts for appearances that sometime last only five minutes.

Both Circuit Judge Susan Whitlock and juvenile court Judge Frank Somerville sent letters supporting the program.

While almost every supervisor had indicated support for the pretrial program from the outset, several had pulled back when it became clear that state funds provided to jurisdictions that entered the program years ago were no longer available.

County Administrator John Egertson said his correspondence with Virginia officials indicated that if Culpeper went into the program on its own, the county might not get state money if it became available.

Still, with money already budgeted for the program in the fiscal year that begins July 1, the supervisors decided to go ahead and take their chances. Most felt that the state would do the right thing in the end.

Lawson said it would take about four or five months to get the program up and running. His office will hire three new employees to administer it.

If it is not paying for itself in three or four years we can do away with it, said Supervisor Bradley Rosenberger.

Bill Chase agreed, but added, From everything I have heard, it will work.

In other business Tuesday, supervisors voted to transfer $113,000 from the sheriffs jail fund to his capital improvement fund to replace two wrecked cruisers. The board also approved a $10-a-year lease for New Pathways to use part of the old Carver Regional High School campus for a machinists school.

Human Services Director Lisa Peacock also received permission for her office to partner with Madison, Orange, Fauquier and Rappahannock counties to take over the Healthy Families program, which was dropped by the Rappahannock Rapidan Community Services Board.

During its evening meeting, the Board of Supervisors placed nine gravel roads that need paving on the Virginia Department of Transportations six-year road plan.

Those rural roads include two sections of Dove Hill Road, as well as Docs, Oak Shade, Old Orange, Indian Run, Settle School, Kettle Club, Cedar Run and Fields Mill roads.

The Board had hoped to use VDOT revenue sharing money to pave several of the roads, but the Commonwealth Transportation Board deleted that pot of funds this year.

The county will reapply in October in case funds are made available next year.
Local environmentalists have begun offering a series of Green Talks at the Red Dragon brew pub on Princess Anne Street in Fredericksburg.

Kathleen Harrigan, director of Friends of the Rappahannock, kicked off the event Monday night by discussing the impact of federal budget cuts on environmental education and restoration programs. The second talk, scheduled for July 10, will be delivered by Dr. Sudhir Nagaraja and will deal with the harmful effects of plastics on children.

The talks begin at 7 p.m. and are followed by a question-and-answer period. They are free and open to the public and no purchase is required.

Organizers say the talks are designed to help area residents understand how to help solve looming environmental problems. Their goal is to have a discussion in an informal setting that focuses on ideas, strategies and solutions instead of politics.

We are in one of the most polarized times in our democracy. My hope is that we can find common groundboth liberals and conservatives love being on the water, or hunting or fishing or birdingand that we can start to have a more meaningful dialogue about what it takes to clean up the streams that feed the Rappahannock and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay, said the Chesapeake Bay Foundations Ann Jurczyk, who is one of the organizers.
A King George County farm is at the top of the list of sites where the Virginia horse racing industry would like to build a racetrack.

The Virginia Equine Alliance is doing initial studies of Powhatan Plantation, a 1,000-acre farm off Port Conway Road, past Hopyard Farm off State Route 3. The farm is owned by Achille Guest, son of the late Raymond Richard Guest, a horse breeder who won some of the most coveted prizes in the world of racing, according to his 1992 obituary in The Washington Post.

The elder Guest also served in the Virginia Senate and as U.S. ambassador to Ireland.

The Virginia Equine Alliance, along with the Virginia Horsemens Benevolent & Protective Association, would lease the farm from Guest, if Powhatan is chosen as the site for thoroughbred racing. The groups would pay all costs associated with building a track.

Its still in the very early stages, but its a beautiful property, and it has a lot of advantages, said Jeb Hannum, executive director of the Virginia Equine Alliance.

The Virginia horse racing industry has been looking for possible places to resume thoroughbred flat-track racing after Colonial Downs closed in October 2014. Halfway between Richmond and Williamsburg, Colonial Downs was considered one of the best turf tracks in the country, according to newspaper stories about the facility.

As the industry looked at other sites for off-track betting, Morven Park in Leesburg emerged as a strong possibility. But plans for a racetrack were scrapped earlier this year because an equestrian center is being built at the parkand the facility lacks sufficient water, according to a story in the Richmond TimesDispatch.

Thats not a problem at the King George farm, Hannum said. Guest has an irrigation system in place at his training track. Powhatan also has more than 600 acres of rolling pastures, eight main paddocks, 10 pens and 40 stalls, according to the farms website.

The alliance doesnt have a lease with Guest, just an understanding that we can do some preliminary studies and an analysis of his property to see if its feasible and within our budget to build a track, Hannum said.

Because negotiations are in the early stages, the alliance has not approached any King George County officials about the plans or filed any paperwork.

Parimutuel gambling, a betting system in which all bets of a particular type are placed together in a pool, is allowed in Virginia in localities where its been approved by the locality or if the wagering is run under a charitable license. The latter would be the case with the Virginia Equine Alliance. Because its this category, the alliance would be limited to 14 days of racing per year.

Crowds could range from 2,000 to 3,000 people in the beginning to up to 10,000 as popularity increases, Hannum said.

The plantation was built in 1829 by Edward Thorton Tayloe, according to the farm website. From its docks on the Rappahannock River, the Powhatan Plantation traded with ships from England.

In 1952, the elder Guest developed the training center at Powhatan Plantation for the purpose of breaking and training yearlings. He owned, raced and bred thoroughbreds in England, Ireland, France and the United States, and his racing colors were chocolate brown and pale blue.

Probably the best horse to carry the Powhatan colors in American racing was Tom Rolfe, winner of the 1965 Preakness Stakes. Tom Rolfe also was considered the leading colt of his generation and won 3-year-old American champion male honors in 1965.
The Little Fork Volunteer Fire & Rescue Companys Technical Large Animal Rescue Team experienced a memorable Memorial Day when it was called out of town to help its first-ever camel.

The team received the call after 1 p.m. on May 31 that Newt, a 15-year-old Bactrian camel, had fallen down in his stall days earlier and still couldnt get up. A veterinarian and his owners had tried everything to get him up and also to find the problem, but to no avail. The worry was that if Newt remained down for another night that it would damage his legs.

In spite of it being a holiday, the local volunteers with Little Fork, headquartered in Rixeyville in Culpeper County, started toward the camels home in the Nokesville area of Prince William County.

While en route our crew began research on camel characteristics and defense mechanisms. This was our first camel incident! said Little Fork Chief Doug Monaco.

Plan A involved removing the stall wall, moving the camel onto his side and onto the rescue glide, pulling him outside and then using a Becker sling to lift him with a large tractor. The camel watched intently, chewing carrots as the rescue commenced and the straps were placed beneath him.

Newt decided that he did not want to lay on his side, but through pulling straps and coercion we got him onto the rescue glide in the same upright position, this became Plan B, Monaco said.

The camel was so laid- back it was determined that he did not need to be sedated. Once the large beast was situated on the rescue glide, the crew attempted to pull him through the barn door, but a slight bump was just enough to cause the camel to slide off the mechanism.

We stopped and rearranged the wide straps to pull him back onto the glide which is now Plan C. All crews began pulling the straps and Newt began to slide forward back onto the glide. It was at this time that Newt initiated Plan D (on his own) deciding to help by raising up with his rear legs, standing up and walking away, Monaco said.

He said the operation was a complete success made possible with help from friends at Prince William County Department of Fire & Rescue, the countys animal control officer, veterinarian Julia Gibson from Catlett Animal Clinic and her assistant.

When we last saw Newt he was chewing on some carrots while being given a bath in a wash stall by his owners, Monaco said.

The Little Fork Volunteer Fire & Rescue Companys Technical Large Animal Rescue Team does its work based entirely on community donations. Donate to the volunteer company at littleforkvfrc.org.
First-term Irmo Mayor Barry Walker announced Sept. 26 that he had tested positive for the coronavirus. The mayors wife, Susan, also got COVD-19, Walker said on social media. As you know Im a kidney patient and require weekly dialysis, Walker wrote. This virus compromises my immune syste Read moreWhat You Missed: Irmo Mayor Barry Walker gets COVID-19
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Knights cooking breakfast

COLUMBUS -- Knights of Columbus Council 938 will host a breakfast from 7:30-11:30 a.m. Sunday at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 3115 Sixth St.

The meal will feature pancakes, sausage and hash browns for $6.50 for adults and $4 for kids. Carry-out will be available. Proceeds will support youth activities.

Museum holding open house

SCHUYLER -- The Schuyler Historical Society will hold an open house from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday.

The museum is located at 309 E. 11th St. The Annex, 1112 C St., is the former Schuyler Sun building, and has many printing presses and equipment on display. Both locations will be open to the public.

Tractor show in Columbus

COLUMBUS -- The 26th annual Antique Tractor and Gas Engines Show will be held Saturday and Sunday in Pawnee Park.

Hours are 8 a.m.-dusk on Saturday and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sunday. Bring your antique tractors, vintage vehicles and treasures to share. The event will also include country music, a flea market, crafts and demonstrations. Admission is free.

Event kicks off Duck sales

COLUMBUS -- A special kickoff event for the 20th annual Columbus Area United Way Lazy River Duck Run will take place 4-6 p.m. Thursday in the parking lots of Slumberland, 2268 33rd Ave., and Pinnacle Bank East, 210 E. 23rd St.

Both locations will have food, activities and a special sale on duck tickets. Seven tickets can be purchased for $25, and everyone who buys tickets at the event will be entered to win one of 20 $20 gift cards to local restaurants.

The event will also be a stop on the chamber's Something Good Summer Series. Attendees can enter their drawing for more than $2,000 and snag some great "Something Good Columbus" merchandise.

This years top Duck Run prizes include $10,000 cash, an ATV, groceries for a year and a Nintendo Switch. All proceeds of the Duck Run benefit the United Ways partner agencies, direct programs and community partnerships.

To learn more about the United Way Duck Run, visit ColumbusUnitedWay.com/Duck-Race.

Man sentenced for crash

PAPILLION (AP)  A 22-year-old man has been sentenced for the crash death of a 20-year-old woman in eastern Nebraska.

Colin Larsen was given two years of probation. He was sentenced Monday in Sarpy County District Court in Papillion. Court records say he pleaded no contest to misdemeanor vehicular homicide and careless driving. Prosecutors dropped several other charges in exchange for Larsen's pleas.

The records say Larsen lost control of his pickup truck on Dec. 20, 2015, while driving along U.S. Highway 31 in Springfield. It rolled and landed on its roof, fatally injuring Larsen's passenger, Tiffany Hofmeister. She lived in Lincoln.
The UKs first new oilseed crushing plant in decades could cut delivery costs for nearby farmers when it opens in the autumn.

International commodity trader RCMA is building a 25m facility, hosted on storage co-op Camgrains Stratford-upon-Avon site.

The plant, which is expected to start running later this year, will crush 100,000t of seed a year.

RCMA has said it will process only UK-grown rapeseed, and produce high-quality, fully traceable edible oil and animal feed.

See also: Too many varieties hold back national OSR yield

Camgrain, which has the leasehold on the site, will invest in machinery and share running costs for moving seed from its stores to the crusher.

For the first year, all the seed will be exclusively sourced from Frontier Agriculture, Camgrains marketing partner, RCMA confirmed to Farmers Weekly.

Camgrain managing director Philip Darke said the new facility would help co-op members, who would not have to pay to ship stored grain to a plant further afield.

He said this principle, of bringing processors nearer stores, was being applied across the crops Camgrain handled.

We want to work closer with our customers to make them more efficient, Mr Darke said. When our members are delivering their crops to Camgrain, they are delivering to the market. They do not have to move it again.

The sites location is unusual, inland and more than 100 miles from the existing large crushing sites on the coast in Kent and Liverpool.

RCMA Stratfords capacity will be equivalent to just 5% of UK rapeseed production, according to levy board AHDB. This is based on the national crop improving from 1.8m tonnes in a difficult 2016.

Important area

But the plant could particularly help farmers in the immediate region, AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds lead analyst Jack Watts said. The West Midlands was becoming a more important rapeseed area, as growers in the East had been hit by flea beetle and dry autumns in the past few years.

It will be perhaps more of a localised impact [for the farm price] than a national impact, Mr Watts said.

Farmers able to sell into [the new plant] may be able to benefit from a reduced haulage cost to the marketplace. And that marketplace is fairly committed to home-grown oilseed rape. It is away from other demand competition and is in the middle of quite a big supply area.

The site would be the first new crushing facility built in the UK since the 1980s, several sources said.

It will also include a biomass combined heat and power plant, which will power the factory.

This is a milestone in UK oilseed processing, said RCMA Group chairman Doug King. We have commissioned a highly sustainable approach to processing, reflecting our commitment to a more environmentally friendly decision.
A Norfolk farmer who crashed his tractor into a car killing a woman has been convicted for the second time of causing death by dangerous driving.

At a re-trial, Henry Bett, 28, of Hall Lane, Thornham, was found guilty of killing 43-year-old Rebecca Brown when his green Fendt tractor collided with her Fiat people carrier on West Acre Road, Castle Acre, in December 2013.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said Mrs Brown was killed when Mr Betts tractor struck the Fiat head-on, crushing the drivers side of the vehicle.

See also: Tractor drivers could face voluntary roadworthiness test

Mr Bett, a director of family arable business Thornham Farms, was originally convicted of causing death by dangerous driving at Peterborough Crown Court (PCC) in July 2015, and received a three-and-a-half year prison sentence and a five-year driving ban.

However, the Court of Appeals overturned the conviction in September 2016 and released him on bail to await a retrial.

Mr Bett, the son of former Norfolk police and crime commissioner Stephen Bett, was re-convicted by a majority of 10 to two following the five-day trial at Cambridge Crown Court. He will be sentenced on 15 June at PCC.

Wholly avoidable

Following the trial, detective inspector Scott Egerton, from the Essex Police serious collision investigation unit, which investigated the crash, said: Rebecca Brown lost her life in circumstances that were wholly avoidable and Henry Bett will have to pay the price for his dangerous driving.

All road users, especially those driving larger vehicles, need to consider other people; particularly those who are more vulnerable than themselves.

Adrian Foster, CPS chief crown prosecutor, said Mr Bett had at least 100m of visibility leading up to the point of the collision in which he should have seen Mrs Browns vehicle and been able to avoid it.

He added the evidence presented at trial showed Mrs Brown had slowed and pulled over on to her nearside verge in order to give Mr Bett room to pass.

(Mr) Bett was travelling in the middle of the road and failed to take any or sufficient steps to avoid a collision with Mrs Browns vehicle.

Following the collision, the tractor continued some 45m down the road before coming to a halt, said Mr Foster.
Story Highlights 45% of Americans identify as Democrats or lean Democratic

38% of Americans identify as Republicans or lean Republican

Largest Democratic advantage since April 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In an encouraging sign for the Democratic Party's election prospects in 2018, its edge in party affiliation over the Republican Party has grown to seven percentage points, the largest it has been in over two years. During the late summer and fall of 2016, Democrats averaged a three-point advantage.

These results are based on Gallup Daily tracking throughout May. Overall, 45% of U.S. adults self-identify as Democrats or say they are independents who lean Democratic, while 38% identify as Republicans or lean Republican.

The growing Democratic advantage in recent months is mostly attributable to a decline in Republican affiliation rather than an increase in Democratic affiliation. Since November, the percentage of Republicans and Republican leaners has fallen four percentage points, while there has been a one-point rise in Democratic identification or leaning. The Republican decline has been offset mostly by a three-point increase in the percentage of Americans with no party preference or leaning.

President Donald Trump's unpopularity is likely a factor in the Republican Party's falling fortunes. The president's job approval rating generally has held near 40% since February -- well below average for presidents historically, and especially for those in their first few months in office.

Democrats last had a seven-point advantage in Gallup's Daily tracking trend in April 2015, about the time several national figures, including Hillary Clinton, were announcing their candidacy for president. Gallup polling from that time found Clinton to be the best-liked of the potential candidates in both parties, although the poll was conducted just as news of her use of a private email server was emerging. That controversy continued to mount and dogged her candidacy throughout the campaign.

The last time Democrats had a lead larger than seven points in Gallup's tracking trend was September 2009, President Barack Obama's first year in office, when the lead was nine points. That month, 47% of Americans identified as Democrats or leaned Democratic, and 38% identified as Republicans or leaned Republican. Democrats consistently enjoyed double-digit advantages in 2008 and 2009 as the unpopular Republican President George W. Bush finished out his term and was replaced by the highly popular Obama.

After his first year in office, Obama rarely managed majority approval ratings, and the gap in party affiliation between the two parties was generally small.

Implications

Party identification and political independents' party leanings are major predictors of individual vote choice. At the national level, party affiliation is related to the outcomes of midterm elections. The current seven-point Democratic edge in party affiliation is similar to what it was in 1998 and 2006, the two strongest Democratic years among the most recent midterm elections.

If Democrats can maintain a significant advantage in Americans' party preference over the next 17 months, it would serve them well in the 2018 midterm elections.

The opposition party to the president usually fares better than the president's party in midterm elections, and the opposition has done especially well when the president has low job approval ratings. With Trump's approval ratings stuck near 40%, Republicans are understandably nervous about the party's prospects in 2018.

However, the current party affiliation data indicate that Democrats are not necessarily expanding their base as much as they are benefiting from a decline in the Republican base. Expanding their own base would strengthen Democrats' ability to offset usual Republican advantages in voter turnout and put them in a better position to win the seats they need to have a majority in one or both houses of Congress.

These data are available in Gallup Analytics.
COLUMBUS  A 34-year-old Columbus man is accused of driving to local parking lots for drug deals while taking along a go-between to make some of the methamphetamine drops and collect cash from buyers.

Trent Miller must have thought he was taking precautions to escape detection by law enforcement.

What he didnt know was the go-between was sealing the drug transactions over the course of about six weeks in February and March with an undercover informant equipped with a digital recording device.

Miller will be arraigned Tuesday in Platte County District Court on five counts of distribution of methamphetamine and two counts of possession of meth.

The distribution charges are Class II felonies, each punishable by up to 50 years imprisonment. The drug possession charges are 2A felonies, each carrying a maximum penalty of 20 years behind bars.

Miller has been in custody at the county jail since May 4 on a $350,000 bond, 10 percent allowed for release.

A Columbus Police and Nebraska State Patrol investigation of the case began around mid-February in a fast-food restaurants parking lot and ended in the same parking lot in late March.
A Pinch of Salt: The election is over, I think, so what now?
Jessica Bucher describes her life as a crazy, wild, unstable ride.

She has some cause for that description: the Crescent Valley High School seniors path to graduating next week has included dealing with suicidal thoughts, the chaos of being raised by a schizophrenic, hoarder single mother, friends who pressured her to use drugs and alcohol, spending five months in a crisis shelter and a drawn-out custody battle between her mother and her current guardians.

Bucher, who grew up in Boise, Idaho, with her mother, first came to Crescent Valley near the end of her freshman year. Her older half-siblings, who had been adopted by Bill and Lisa Vander Stelt of Shedd, were CV students and they convinced their mother to let them visit for spring break.

After seeing the conditions in which Bucher was living in, the siblings convinced their mom to let Bucher finish her freshman year with them in Oregon, with a plan that she was to return in the summer. Bucher did not return and was declared a runaway.

Ive had a life full of instability, and thats why I didnt want to go home, she said.

Bucher said there was drug use at home and her mother kept her isolated in a house that had grown increasingly cluttered since her grandparents had died.

No one ever came over, she said. I realized my house was different from others.

But in Oregon with her siblings and their parents, she said she got to experience life with a normal loving family for the first time.

(Lisa) got me clothes and gave me nice things. She took care of me. She gave me food." With the Vander Stelts, she said, I could actually eat anytime I wanted to.

Lisa Vander Stelt said she took in Buchers siblings after dating their father, and she has known Bucher since she was about 5, and always assumed one day she would take her in.

It was a no-brainer to take them in, she said, adding that she doesnt understand people who are intimidated by the idea of taking in kids who need it.

Bucher said her mother often told her that she only had value based on how much attention men paid to her. Because of that, Bucher said, she had low self-esteem and tried to be whatever the people around her wanted her to be so they would like her. This often meant getting drunk with her friends or doing drugs.

It still weighs on me because I did such stupid stuff for such stupid reasons, she recalled.

Bucher said before she came to Oregon she was looking for love from other people that she wasnt getting at home, and she had suicidal thoughts.

Although she did not want to return home, she did eventually decide to visit her mother to retrieve some belongings near the start of her sophomore year, accompanied by Bill Vander Stelt.

When Bucher went home, she said, her mother acted in a normal fashion until Bucher was inside the house. That's when her mother slammed the door and refused to let Bucher leave.

She basically trapped me inside, Bucher said.

Bill Vander Stelt recalled Buchers mother taking her into the house alone, then he heard screaming a few minutes later.

It tore me up inside, he said of the experience, adding he wished hed said "no" to the visit. But in the end it allowed us to get legal guardianship.

Eventually the police were called. Bucher said the police could tell something wasn't right at the house. But since her mother had sole custody of her, she was allowed to put Bucher in a crisis center instead of letting her return to Oregon.

She ended up in the shelter with nothing but the clothes on her back.

I remember crying and being hysterical, she said. Thats where I ended up living the next five months.

Bucher said the center was a difficult place to live, but she learned a lot of empathy listening to the stories of the traumas other kids went through.

Eventually, the Vander Stelts were able to get custody of Bucher. Because she had lived in Oregon for more than six months, the issue was decided in Oregon courts and her mother didnt show up for proceedings. Bucher testified herself by phone.

I told the judge I would always love my mother and she loved me, but she wasnt fit to be my mother right then, she said.

Two days later she was back in Oregon. She was able to get enrolled back at Crescent Valley, and she spent her junior year making up all the credits shed missed going back and forth between Oregon and Idaho high schools.

Bucher has done a lot of typical teenager things since returning: she got a job with the Boys & Girls Club of Corvallis, shes made friends, she worked at a summer camp, shes saving up to do a volunteer project overseas, she got a boyfriend, she broke up with the boyfriend and now shes making plans to attend Linn-Benton Community College.

Eventually, she wants to transfer to a university, although shes not sure where yet, and shes got a lot of career paths shes considering. Some of those career paths include working with kids.

Bucher said while shes had difficult experiences in her life, they have helped make her adaptable. She feels ready for the next steps in life.

Im strong and thats because of those bad experiences Ive had, she said.

Annika Bay, a Crescent Valley counselor, said Bucher has put in a lot of work to get on track for graduation and overcome her past.

She is so inspirational," Bay said. "She is the one who I connect other students to as a mentor. She is the definition of not being defined by her past.
In a recent editorial, we worried that the legislative session was showing troubling signs that it was bogging down. That editorial mentioned how one of the big pieces of legislation lawmakers needed to deal with, a multibillion-dollar package of improvements to the state's transportation infrastructure, hadn't been introduced yet.

Those words were true when they were written. But last week, the transportation bill (House Bill 2017; get it?) emerged, clocking in at 298 pages. (The online version of this editorial features a PDF version of the entire thing.)

"It feels good to have something out there for people to shoot at," Sen. Lee Beyer told The Oregonian. Beyer is co-chairman of the special transportation committee that has been laboring on the bill for more than a year.

There's no doubt that the state's roads, bridges and other transportation infrastructure need plenty of work, and this 10-year plan lists a variety of projects around the state, including money that could be spent on improvements of Highway 20 between Albany and Corvallis. The bill also proposes adding auxiliary lanes to Interstate 5 as it runs through the mid-valley.

In general, the bill seeks to offer relief to highly congested areas (hello, Portland!) and to invest in seismic upgrades to the state's bridges and roadways.

But the same issue that prevented the 2015 Legislature from passing a transportation package may haunt this proposal: Republicans back then wanted to repeal Oregon's low-carbon fuel standard, better known as the Oregon Clean Fuels Program. Because Republicans thought the program would increase the price of fuel, they objected to what they said would amount to a second increase at the pump to pay for the transportation bill.

Well, guess what: The 2017 version of the transportation bill also calls for an increase in the gasoline tax, from 30 to 44 cents. The bill also proposes an increase in fees for vehicle registration; a 3 percent tax on new bicycle sales; an 0.1 percent employer payroll tax to pay for public transit projects; and an 0.75 percent tax on new and used vehicle sales. The plan also envisions additional taxes and fees in the Portland area and raises the possibility of tolls on Interstate 205 and Interstate 5 at the Washington border.

But raising taxes requires a three-fifths majority in each chamber of the Legislature, and so some Republican support will be required. Republicans have backed off calls to repeal the Clean Fuels Program  but now want modifications to make it clear to consumers how much the program costs them and to control those costs. Are Republicans looking for ammunition to take another run in a later session to repeal the program? That's our guess. On the other hand, would it be nice to know exactly how much the program has added to your fuel bill each time you fill up? Yes.

Senate Democrats have signaled they're willing to make those changes, according to a recent story in The Oregonian. House Democrats may be a different story; Speaker Tina Kotek told the newspaper that changing the Clean Fuels Program may cause some Democrats in the House to withdraw their support of the transportation bill.

In the 2015 session, legislators were astonished that Republicans held the line on the gas tax increase; not one supported it, and so the negotiations on that session's transportation bill crashed and burned. Since then, another two years have gone by without a substantial investment in Oregon's crumbling infrastructure.

There's still plenty of time for legislators to enact this transportation bill in this session. What's not clear yet is whether they have the will to craft the compromises that will be necessary for passage. (mm)


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Department stores want change : Disagreement over Sunday opening hours

Bonn A campaign by department stores like Karstadt and Kaufhof for extended Sunday opening hours has been met with scepticism in Bonn.

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Susanne and Thomas Leopold work on Friedrichstrae surrounded by greetings cards, Christmas cribs and hand-made items from the Erz Mountains. Their shop, Geschenke Leopold, is open six days a week, closing only on Sundays. As in most other states, shops are only allowed to open on four Sundays every year in North Rhine Westphalia. And the Leopolds think this is enough.

The couple does not think much of an initiative by some department stores like Karstadt and Kaufhof, who want to be able to open their businesses on Sundays if they choose. Karstadt boss Stephan Fanderl said recently in Cologne that the aim was to end discrimination against inner city retailers. Sunday is one of the most important days for online business. However, they not asking to open on every Sunday of the year.

While large department stores may benefit, other traders are sceptical. So far, we havent got much out of opening on Sundays, explains Thomas Leopold. In our business, we benefit at most in the run up to Christmas. His wife, Susanne, adds: Weve got children at home and they would also like to see us sometimes.

Sunday is a time for community and family

The Protestant church in Bonn also believes Sunday should be a time for community and family. We, as churches, think it is best when Sundays have a special character, says Minister Joachim Gerhardt from the Protestant Churches. It is not that we want to keep the mid-morning free for our church service goers  church services usually start earlier.

The citys Catholic deans office has a similar view. Sunday has been a day of rest since the year 321, says spokesman Reinard Sentis. It is a sign of our freedom, that we allow ourselves the luxury of a work-free day. A relaxation of opening hours would reduce time together with family and friends and could affect society.

An agreement between the city, the business community, the Protestant and Catholic churches and the unions means that in Bonn shops usually only open on three of the possible four Sundays in any year. It is difficult to say what retailers in Bonn think of increased Sunday openings. It is hard for Maike Reinart from the City-Marketing association to give her members opinion. We are actually already happy and satisfied that we have three of the four possible Sunday openings, she says.

Frequent union complaints

The service industry union Verdi has frequently protested against Sunday openings in Germany in recent months. The administrative court in Dusseldorf recently allowed a claim by Verdi and prevented a Sunday opening in two areas of Dusseldorf. The union referenced current laws and the protection of workers.

The retail association for Bonn/Rhine-Sieg/Euskirchen believes such claims are the reason for an unpleasant situation, says managing director Adalbert von der Osten. It provides uncertainty for trade associations, business, local authorities and customers. The retail association does not want anything to do with the demand made by the department stores at the moment, saying they want legal certainty and that shop opening laws are currently on much too shaky ground.
Amerika Haus, Cologne : New director hoping for more US members

Dr Benjamin Becker, new director of Amerika Haus e.V. NRW. Foto: Privat

Cologne Dr Benjamin Becker hopes to attract more US members to Amerika Haus, which aims to foster German-US relations. Upcoming events include a talk in English in Bonn on chemical weapons use in Syria and Iraq and a fourth of July barbecue in Cologne.

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Dr Benjamin Becker (34) was recently appointed as the new director of the Cologne-based Amerika Haus e.V. NRW. A staunch supporter of transatlanticism, Dr Becker was most recently a head of division at the German-American Fulbright Commission, where he was responsible for special programmes. He was born in the Rhineland and is delighted have returned to Cologne, where he studied English and history at university.

Formed ten years ago as a public-private partnership and a legacy institution of Amerika Haus Cologne which opened in 1955, Amerika Haus e.V. NRW aims to strengthen German-US relations through a programme of around 30 to 35 events annually in NRW focussing on relevant political, cultural and economic issues.

In what Dr Becker calls, these challenging but very interesting times, in which there is a heightened interest in the US, he is keen to use Amerika Haus events as a neutral platform to present and discuss current general political topics.

Dr Becker says there are around 12,000 US citizens living in NRW and although many of the events are in German, he also wants to attract more US members to the organisation. Those who understand German but who may not be confident enough to speak it are encouraged to participate in English. There is also an upcoming lecture and discussion in English on June 12 at the Uniclub in Bonn on chemical weapons use in Syria and Iraq and their impact on global security.

New projects for 2017 include Junges Amerika Haus (Young America House), which aims to attract more young people to discuss transatlantic topics as well as a new networking and support initiative for start-ups. Dr Becker points out that within Germany, Cologne, for example, has the second highest ratio of digital start-ups among its companies, just behind Berlin. We want to put added focus on the effect of digitalisation on peoples lives, he says.

But there is also room for social and cultural events. Recent examples include a performance by dancers from the Paul Taylor American Modern Dance Company to music from Handel and the Indiana Jazz Exchange, an annual jazz concert resulting from close contacts between jazz musicians in Cologne and Indianapolis, which is now in its fifth year. The annual fourth of July festivities are also a highlight and this year there is a barbecue, music and fireworks at the Long Island Grill and Bar in Cologne, which Dr Becker hopes to enjoy with many transatlantic friends.
Bonn weather : Strong winds forecast for Bonn and the region

Bonn/Region After the long Whit weekend, the weather will get worse and the weather service has issued warnings of strong winds in Bonn and the Rhine-Sieg area. But its looking more hopeful for the end of the week.

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The Whitsun week will temporarily end the heat wave. There were no more record-breaking temperatures over the long weekend with the GA weather station showing 21.8 degrees Celsius at 1.30pm on Whit Monday.

On Tuesday, the weathermen are expecting strong to stormy gusts of wind. The German Weather Service has issued a warning of strong winds in Bonn and the Rhine-Sieg area. Gusts will reach 55 to 75 kilometres per hour and could reach 80 kilometres per hour.

The weather service has warned of possible dangers, such as individual branches falling. Pedestrians should be careful of items falling during the storm. The warning is for the period from 9am to 8pm. Temperatures will not exceed 20 degrees Celsius and it will remain mostly cloudy.

On Wednesday, there will be more gusts of wind during the day, but it will remain mostly sunny with isolated showers. On Thursday and Friday there will be a mix of sun and cloud with maximum temperatures of 23 degrees Celsius.
Theatre review : Successful debut for English-speaking theatre group

Bonn A new English-speaking theatre group Moving Targets staged its first production at the weekend - a moving family portrait of broken relationships.

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Shattered remains. Nothing else is left of the Hausmanns. Shattered remains and a house that seems as ruined as the family itself; loveable and charming but full of unsolved problems. The newly formed Bonn theatre group Moving Targets has brought Stephen Beresfords play The Last of the Hausmanns to the German stage for the first time in an entertaining and moving debut. The English-speaking production at the Brotfabrik thrilled the audience thanks to extremely strong character depictions.

At the centre of events is mother Judy (brilliant: Janine Lockwood-Brusa), a former hippie who welcomes her two children home after a small cancer operation. They each have their own problems: homosexual Nick (Philipp Gierenstein) is addicted to drugs, alcohol and unattainable men, while Libby (Esther Takats) cannot hold onto her constantly changing partners and has an equally difficult relationship with her rebellious daughter Summer (Clara Clasen) as her mother had with her. Then there is a doctor (Mike Nyandeika) and a young pool boy (Ben Heering) who has designs on Libby and who is desired by Nick. A situation which can only lead to disaster.

As excellent as the whole cast is, giving a lot of shape to the broken family, it is Lockwood-Brusa who holds the whole play together. Although Judy sometimes lives in a dream world and does not see the suffering of the son she idolises or Libbys despair as the only one who is trying to stop the family sliding into poverty, she is as a result the only happy character in the whole play.

Lockwood-Brusa portrays this with fantastic ease and insouciance, cheerfully chatting and constantly drinking, always candid and always present. But the performance becomes really strong when Judys health drastically deteriorates and Lockwood-Brusa is so tormented on a couch that it almost breaks your heart. Such an intense performance is perfect theatre. It says something for the whole cast that they can keep up with this standard, especially Esther Takats, who understands how to call on a whole range of emotions and whose Libby is a strong counterpart to Judy.

Truly a terrific production. We can only hope that further productions will follow in the future.
Article

Protecting the worlds oceans  an important goal of Germanys climate diplomacy

The worlds oceans are vital to our survival. They regulate the global climate and are a source of food and income for billions of people. Only a very small part of the seas enjoys legal protection, however. Our diplomats are working in New York right now to change this state of affairs.
Huawei will unveil a new smartband Honor Band 3 on June 12 News oi -Samden Sherpa Huawei has another smartband in the works - the Honor Band 3.

It looks like Huawei is gearing up to launch a new smartband in the market soon.

Well, the company has just released a poster or more likely a teaser on the Chinese micro-blogging site Weibo and the image kind of gives us an idea that Huawei has been working on a new smartband. While the poster doesn't reveal much, it seems that the company will unveil the new Honor Band 3.

Interestingly, the poster also reveals the date for the launch of this new product. The date given is June 12 and this coincides with the Honor 9 launch event as well. Basically, Huawei will be announcing both the products at the same event.

Talking about some of the expected features of this new smartband, Honor Band 3 could likely come with IP67 rating, meaning the smartband will be water resistance. Moreover, Huawei also released a budget friendly smartband the Honor Band A2 just a few weeks back. This smartband came with features like OLED screen, heart-rate sensor, exercise tracker, sleep tracker as well as pedometer. Apart from these, the device could also be connected to smartphone via Bluetooth to receive various notifications about the user's daily activities.

Likewise, the upcoming Honor Band 3 is also expected to come with an OLED display and should flaunt similar features. However, it is also expected that this smartband will be a more premium product. In terms of pricing, the Honor Band 3 is expected to be costlier than the Band A2 which is priced at 200 Yuan (approx Rs. 1,897).

If Huawei will bring this device to the market, then it will likely go up against Xiaomi's Mi Band 2 and other smartbands from popular brands. If you have missed it, reports suggest that Xiaomi is also gearing up to launch a new smartband possibly the Mi Band 3 in the market soon.

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Hurricane Hunters take part in Navy operational demonstration

By Maj. Marnee A.C. Losurdo, 403rd Wing Public Affairs / Published June 05, 2017

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. (AFNS) -- While their typical mission is gathering weather data for the National Hurricane Center, the 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron "Hurricane Hunters" spent May 30 to June 1, 2017, providing weather information for the Navy's first Gulf of Mexico oceanography unmanned systems operational demonstration.

The Navy partnered with the Hurricane Hunters, and other agencies and academia such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Southern Mississippi, to demonstrate unmanned capabilities and explore joint opportunities in support of national defense.

"Partnering with the Air Force for the demonstration was really the perfect marriage because we both work continually to understand the constantly changing atmosphere," said Navy Rear Adm. Tim Gallaudet, the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command commander and Oceanographer of the Navy, who flew with the Hurricane Hunters May 31 to learn more about their mission. "It is the mission of Task Force Ocean to ensure that the U.S. Navy maintains a competitive advantage in our ability to exploit the ocean environmentand our close partnership with the Air Force ensures we do just that."

Gallaudet, who led the demonstration, directs and oversees more than 2,500 military and civilian personnel who collect, process and exploit environmental information to assist Fleet and Joint Commanders in all warfare areas to make better decisions faster than the adversary.

"The 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron was thrilled to be asked to participate in this naval demonstration," said Lt. Col. Kaitlyn Woods, the 53rd WRS chief meteorologist. "This joint training opportunity has reinforced that the data we provide ensures the Navy has a better picture of how environmental factors can impact the Navy fleet and their operations."

In preparation for the event, the Hurricane Hunters dropped two profiling floats and three surface drifter buoys April 12, providing the devices time to drift into the operational demonstration area. These unmanned systems measured ocean conductivity, temperature and depth. During the demonstration, the Hurricane Hunters flew a 1.5 hour mission each day of the demonstration, releasing up to six dropsondes at precoordinated points along the operational demonstration track. The dropsondes, along with the Stepped Frequency Microwave Radiometer on the wing of the aircraft, provided temperature, pressure, humidity and atmospheric wind data during the event. This weather information was relayed to the Naval Oceanographic Office, who input the data into ocean and atmospheric models for operational use.

All operations and observations collected by various agencies during the event were input into a common operational picture presented to community leaders at the Gulfport Combat Readiness Training Center-Battlefield Airmen Center June 1. Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant also announced the creation of the Governor's Ocean Task Force during a ceremonial executive order signing.

"What we will do is not only look at the military application, but the commercial applications to help build the economy and add more jobs on the Mississippi Gulf Coast," said Bryant.

For the Hurricane Hunters, participating in this first-of-a-kind event was an opportunity to exhibit their mission.

"The demonstration showcased our joint capability," said Maj. Brad Roundtree, a 53rd WRS pilot. "We not only have the ability to collect data for National Hurricane Center forecasts, but can also enhance the capability of other units by providing weather information for operational use."

(Kaley Turfitt, Commander, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command Public Affairs, contributed to this article.)

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1. U.S. acceptance of coexistence as the only alternative to atomic war.

2. U.S. willingness to capitulate in preference to engaging in atomic war.

3. Develop the illusion that total disarmament of the United States would be a demonstration of moral strength.

4. Permit free trade between all nations regardless of Communist affiliation and regardless of whether or not items could be used for war.

5. Extension of long-term loans to Russia and Soviet satellites.

6. Provide American aid to all nations regardless of Communist domination.

7. Grant recognition of Red China. Admission of Red China to the U.N.

8. Set up East and West Germany as separate states in spite of Khrushchev's promise in 1955 to settle the German question by free elections under supervision of the U.N.

9. Prolong the conferences to ban atomic tests because the United States has agreed to suspend tests as long as negotiations are in progress.

10. Allow all Soviet satellites individual representation in the U.N.

11. Promote the U.N. as the only hope for mankind. If its charter is rewritten, demand that it be set up as a one-world government with its own independent armed forces. (Some Communist leaders believe the world can be taken over as easily by the U.N. as by Moscow. Sometimes these two centers compete with each other as they are now doing in the Congo.)

12. Resist any attempt to outlaw the Communist Party.

13. Do away with all loyalty oaths.

14. Continue giving Russia access to the U.S. Patent Office.

15. Capture one or both of the political parties in the United States.

16. Use technical decisions of the courts to weaken basic American institutions by claiming their activities violate civil rights.

17. Get control of the schools. Use them as transmission belts for socialism and current Communist propaganda. Soften the curriculum. Get control of teachers' associations. Put the party line in textbooks.

18. Gain control of all student newspapers.

19. Use student riots to foment public protests against programs or organizations which are under Communist attack.

20. Infiltrate the press. Get control of book-review assignments, editorial writing, policymaking positions.

21. Gain control of key positions in radio, TV, and motion pictures.

22. Continue discrediting American culture by degrading all forms of artistic expression. An American Communist cell was told to "eliminate all good sculpture from parks and buildings, substitute shapeless, awkward and meaningless forms."

23. Control art critics and directors of art museums. "Our plan is to promote ugliness, repulsive, meaningless art."

24. Eliminate all laws governing obscenity by calling them "censorship" and a violation of free speech and free press.

25. Break down cultural standards of morality by promoting pornography and obscenity in books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, and TV.

26. Present homosexuality, degeneracy and promiscuity as "normal, natural, healthy."

27. Infiltrate the churches and replace revealed religion with "social" religion. Discredit the Bible and emphasize the need for intellectual maturity which does not need a "religious crutch."

28. Eliminate prayer or any phase of religious expression in the schools on the ground that it violates the principle of "separation of church and state."

29. Discredit the American Constitution by calling it inadequate, old-fashioned, out of step with modern needs, a hindrance to cooperation between nations on a worldwide basis.

30. Discredit the American Founding Fathers. Present them as selfish aristocrats who had no concern for the "common man."

31. Belittle all forms of American culture and discourage the teaching of American history on the ground that it was only a minor part of the "big picture." Give more emphasis to Russian history since the Communists took over.

32. Support any socialist movement to give centralized control over any part of the culture--education, social agencies, welfare programs, mental health clinics, etc.

33. Eliminate all laws or procedures which interfere with the operation of the Communist apparatus.

34. Eliminate the House Committee on Un-American Activities.

35. Discredit and eventually dismantle the FBI.

36. Infiltrate and gain control of more unions.

37. Infiltrate and gain control of big business.

38. Transfer some of the powers of arrest from the police to social agencies. Treat all behavioral problems as psychiatric disorders which no one but psychiatrists can understand.

39. Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose Communist goals.

40. Discredit the family as an institution. Encourage promiscuity and easy divorce.

41. Emphasize the need to raise children away from the negative influence of parents. Attribute prejudices, mental blocks and retarding of children to suppressive influence of parents.

42. Create the impression that violence and insurrection are legitimate aspects of the American tradition; that students and special-interest groups should rise up and use united force to solve economic, political or social problems.

43. Overthrow all colonial governments before native populations are ready for self-government.

44. Internationalize the Panama Canal.

45. Repeal the Connally reservation so the United States cannot prevent the World Court from seizing jurisdiction over nations and individuals alike.
Strikes Continue Against ISIS Targets in Iraq, Syria

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, June 5, 2017  U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, conducting 23 strikes consisting of 70 engagements, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.

U.S. Central Command continues to work with partner nations to conduct targeted airstrikes in Iraq and Syria as part of the comprehensive strategy to degrade and defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS.

Officials reported details of the latest strikes, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.

Strikes in Syria

In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 20 strikes consisting of 38 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Abu Kamal, two strikes destroyed an ISIS wellhead and an ISIS oil manifold.

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, six strikes destroyed 90 ISIS oil barrels, 10 ISIS oil refinery stills, five vehicles, four ISIS oil separation tanks and three ISIS wellheads.

-- Near Raqqa, 11 strikes engaged nine ISIS tactical units and destroyed four fighting positions and five vehicles.

-- Near Tanf, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed two tactical vehicles and two ISIS vehicles.

Strikes in Iraq

In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted three strikes consisting of 32 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Mosul, three strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units; destroyed 15 fighting positions, two rocket-propelled-grenade systems, two medium machine guns, an ISIS tactical vehicle and an ISIS staging area; damaged six fighting positions and a vehicle-borne bomb; and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit.

June 3 Strikes

Additionally, five strikes were conducted in Syria and Iraq on June 3 that closed within the last 24 hours:

-- Near Raqqa, Syria, three strikes engaged six ISIS tactical units, destroyed 10 fighting positions and damaged an ISIS-held building.

-- Near Mosul, Iraq, two strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units; destroyed 14 fighting positions, a vehicle-borne bomb, a vehicle-borne-bomb staging area and a supply route; and suppressed a fighting position.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

These strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to destroy ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The destruction of ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria also further limits the group's ability to project terror and conduct external operations throughout the region and the rest of the world, task force officials said.

The list above contains all strikes conducted by fighter, attack, bomber, rotary-wing or remotely piloted aircraft; rocket-propelled artillery; and some ground-based tactical artillery when fired on planned targets, officials noted.

Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike, they added. A strike, as defined by the coalition, refers to one or more kinetic engagements that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single or cumulative effect.

For example, task force officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIS vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against a group of ISIS-held buildings and weapon systems in a compound, having the cumulative effect of making that facility harder or impossible to use. Strike assessments are based on initial reports and may be refined, officials said.

The task force does not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target.

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U.S. Department of Defense

Press Operations

News Transcript

Presenter: Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop, Minister for Defence Marise Payne, Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson, and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis. June 05, 2017

Opening Remarks by Secretary Mattis, Secretary Tillerson, Minister Bishop and Minister Payne at the 2017 AUSMIN Conference in Sydney, Australia

MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS JULIE BISHOP: Minister Marise Payne and I are delighted to welcome you to Sydney on this beautiful day for the annual Australia-U.S. Ministerial consultations.

And this is apparently the 27th AUSMIN meeting but we probably have morea most important agenda to deal with today, one of the most important in many years.

And we meet a day after the shocking events in London, and I know that we've spoken to our counterpart, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, to express our deep condolences to the British people and the British government for yet another barbaric terrorist attack.

And the issue of countering terrorism will be high on our agenda today. The global terrorist threat is ever evolving, we've seen brutal attacks in a number of European cities, we've thwarted attacks here in Australia, and so we want to discuss that with you, the links back into the Middle East, the role we're playing with you in Iraq and Syria, and also in Afghanistan.

We are united in our resolve to defeat ISIS, the Islamic State Terrorist organization and its ilk, and there are also significant challenges in our region that we want to discuss with you today and share perspectives and insights and ideas on how to deal with some of those challenges but of course there are also many opportunities.

We will no doubt focus on the North Koran threat and what we together can do to curb that behavior.

So we have a very broad agenda, a lot of matters to discuss today. Ours in a unique partnership, with a century of shared military history and we have one of the closest strategic and economic partnerships that any two countries could aspire to. So we are delighted to welcome you here for your first AUSMIN and I'll ask my colleague Senator Payne to add her words of welcome.

MINISTER FOR DEFENCE MARISE PAYNE: Thank you very much Julie and good morning gentlemen, welcome to my hometown! It's a pretty good way to start the morning, I said to Jim we tried to flip the switch on the weather and it seems to have gone well as a plan.

But on the beautiful grounds of this government house here in Sydney on the shores of Sydney harbor it's a great pleasure to host you with Julie for this AUSMIN visit. Jim and I had the opportunity to catch up from time to time in the last few months, from Brussels to Copenhagen to Singapore to Sydney, in no short measure.

So we are working very hard to maintain and to grow what is already a strong defense partnership. Our alliance, our Australia-U.S. alliance, is and will continue to be the Australian government's highest strategic priority and we made that very clear in our government's white paper in 2016. It's the cornerstone of a very strong bilateral relationship which is founded on our shared values, our shared interests and our very close friendship.

This year we commemorate the 75th anniversary of the battle of the coral sea, and we've literally commemorated it from one side of the world to the other, from New York harbor to Townsville in North Queensland and Adm. Swift joined us in North Townsville for that commemoration a month or so ago.

And next year of course, we acknowledge 100 years of (inaudible) as His Excellency the ambassador has cast in stone almost literally in Washington, 100 years of Australia and US forces sharing the battlefield in every major conflict since World War I.

And today we continue to share that effort in Iraq and in Afghanistan and now broader Middle East engagement to support those very important governments in the region to protect our shared interests for a safe and secure Middle East.

We look forward to continuing to work with the US government, with you both in our capacities as defense and foreign minister in that fight against Daesh, and the threats to the safety and security of our region more broadly.

For Australia, from our perspective today it's important that we do discuss ISIS's links in Southeast Asia, violent extremist organizations and the risk that returning foreign fighters who may endeavor to resume positions in their own countries might pose in this region. They'll come back with battlefield skills, they'll come back with hardened ideology, they'll come back angry, frustrated, and we need to be very aware of that.

So your visits today are a very important message to the strength of our engagement, we welcome you both and we look forward to a very productive discussion.

SECRETARY OF STATE REX TILLERSON: Thank you so much Foreign Minister Bishop, Senator Payne, for hosting this year's AUSMIN in a very beautiful surrounding and one which I think will really lend itself to the serious issues we have to discuss today.

As you know this relationship between the U.S. and Australia, which now approaches a century and really formalized in the treaty of 1951, but it's really built around the most fundamental values, our commitment to freedom, democracy, rules based order for the world and that has been cemented in these bonds of shared sacrifice over the two great wars of the last century and as you've pointed out, to continuing conflicts today, this common fight we share against the most heinous of actions we've seen most recently in London yet again.

The shared sacrifice, the shared commitment, that is really what has sustained this relationship, and we have much to discuss in this session today both regionally, but as you've pointed out globally as well, as to how we promote those most fundamental values and secure the environment for people to pursue their own pathway towards freedom and democracy.

Australia has such an important role to play regionally in the Pac islands area to promote these same values and assist these emerging countries as they take their own walk, we hope towards a greater freedom and democracy and securing an environment in which they can do that, were very committed to working in our continued working relationship in that regard.

Importantly also, our economic relationship, because that really undergirds our ability to carry out our security activities jointly, so we look forward to having further discussions around our economic and trade relations which are already quite healthy and strong, but we want to have further discussions around how we further strengthen that as well as strengthening the economic activity for the region, again to help these emerging countries secure their own pathway forward.

So again, thank you very much for hosting today's talks. I look forward to having very, very important in-depth discussions about how we can continue to work collaboratively, successfully as we have for so many years and continue that collaboration, so thank you.

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE JIM MATTIS: Secretary Bishop, Minister, I would just endorse everything you said, we don't take this alliance for granted.

It takes work, and that's what we're here to do, work with you, I would also note that we are united as I said in our resolve, even against an enemy that thinks that by hurting us, they can scare us.

Well, we don't scare. And so we're here to work together in a manner that protects the freedom and the values that we share together and we're committed to passing those freedoms onto the next generation intact.

I would also point out that relationships either get stronger or weaker - they don't stay the same, and we're here as a commitment that we are going to strengthen further a relationship that's in both our nation's best interest.

I would also add that in the U.S. military's view, your military is,as we look at it from Lone Pine, the Long Tan and certainly from the jungles to the deserts where we have fought together, we have enormous respect for that military, it is a great ally through good times and bad and I think it's a leadership role of Australia is demonstrated by your military, whether it be the Solomons or other areas here in a part of the world that needs your stabilizing influence and we intend to be supportive of that. Thank you very much again for hosting and we look forward to working (inaudible).

http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Transcripts/Transcript-View/Article/1202399/

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U.S. Department of Defense

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News Transcript

Presenter: Secretary of Defense James Mattis, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Australian Defense Minister Marise Payne June 05, 2017

Press Availability With Secretary of Defense James Mattis, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Australian Defense Minister Marise Payne

FOREIGN MINISTER BISHOP: Good afternoon. On behalf of the Minister for Defense Senator Marise Payne, I would like to say how delighted we've been to host U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis for our annual AUSMIN meeting, the Australian-U.S. Ministerial consultations, here in Sydney.

This is a very important opportunity for Australia and the United States to share perspectives and insights and discuss strategies and ideas and ways in which we can continue to cooperate and work together to promote peace and stability and security in our region and globally.

We are the strongest of friends and allies. We have a shared military history going back 100 years, and today, we work as closely as two nations can operate in terms of promoting peace and stability and security.

We meet just days after the shocking terrorist attacks in London, and we stand resolute in our determination to fight terrorism and to fight the poisonous ideology that gives rise to these brutal attacks so often on innocent civilians. We discussed the issue of counterterrorism activities given that we're seeing strains of Islamic terrorism in our region. The ongoing conflict in the southern Philippines, in Mindanao, is a matter of deep concern.

We also discussed our region, Southeast Asia, our relationship with countries in our region. We discussed challenges on the Korean Peninsula, in particular the destructive behavior of North Korea in its nuclear and missile weapons testing, and what we can do together and with other nations to curb this behavior and the risk that it poses, not only regionally but globally.

We discussed regional cooperation in areas of maritime disputes, notably the South China Sea, and we urge all nations to resolve their disputes peacefully and in accordance with the international rules-based order. We had a very productive discussion on the Pacific and how we can work more closely together in the Pacific  our neighborhood, our part of the world.

In discussing operations and policies and strategies further afield, we focused on joint efforts in Afghanistan, in Iraq, and Syria, where we are determined to restore peace and stability to the Middle East and rid the world of the terrorist scourge that it has presented and is evolving.

We took the opportunity to discuss a whole range of issues where the United States and Australia have a similar view. In fact, we are like-minded in our worldview. We share values, interests, priorities, and outlooks, and this AUSMIN has reaffirmed once more the strength of the bilateral relationship between Australia and the United States.

Secretary Tillerson and I also had the opportunity to discuss bilateral issues on trade, on investment, and other areas where Australia-U.S. interests coincide.

So all in all, it was a very productive, useful, important discussion between counterparts, between friends, and we look forward to going to the United States in 2018 for the next AUSMIN meeting. In the meantime, we'll continue to work with our counterparts. Rex and Jim have become good friends we've met on a number of occasions now, and Marise and I look forward to deepening and strengthening this already extraordinary partnership.

Secretary Tillerson, (inaudible).

SECRETARY TILLERSON: Thank you, Julie, and good afternoon, everyone. And let me begin, of course, by thanking Foreign Minister Bishop and Defense Minister Payne for their hospitality and for hosting this session of AUSMIN. Minister Bishop was one of my first counterparts that I met with when she traveled to Washington, and that began a very, very productive dialogue that has continued certainly through today. Secretary Mattis and I obviously look forward to having dinner this evening with Prime Minister Turnbull, and we know we're going to have a very fruitful exchange in that sense as well.

We had very productive meetings today, as Foreign Minister Bishop described to you. We covered a broad range of topics that are important to both of us, obviously clear that our longstanding friendship with Australia will continue to remain strong.

Our shared values of freedom, democracy, a rules-based order, are long bonds that have been formed in the sacrifices that we have made together over the past century through two world wars, and continue to stand shoulder to shoulder in upholding these values of freedom and democracy and a rules-based order evident today in our joint efforts in this fight against terrorism.

Today, we also speak with one voice in calling for North Korea to abandon its illegal nuclear weapons program. China and other regional partners should also step up their efforts to help solve this security situation which threatens not just that region but really presents a threat to the entire world.

The U.S. and Australia also reaffirmed our commitment to freedom of navigation and overflight and other lawful uses of the seas, particularly the South China Sea and elsewhere, to ensure unimpeded flow of lawful commerce and a rules-based order. We oppose China's artificial island construction and their militarization of features in international waters.

China is a significant economic and trading power, and we desire a productive relationship, but we cannot allow China to use its economic power to buy its way out of other problems, whether it's militarizing islands in the South China Sea or failure to put appropriate pressure on North Korea. They must recognize that with a role as a growing economic and trading power comes security responsibilities as well.

Australia and the U.S. will work together to support democracy, the rule of law, and respect for human rights, and that includes defending the rules-based order which the Asia Pacific region depends upon.

We are certainly grateful for Australia's commitment to defeating ISIS in Iraq and Syria, wherever else they may show their face, and certainly their face is appearing in the region. Countering violent extremism, stemming the flow of foreign terrorist fighters, and shutting down propaganda arms online remains a shared goal for both the United States and Australia.

We reaffirm the strong state of bilateral defense, security, and intelligence cooperation under our alliance, as well as the strength of our bilateral security relationships with Japan, and our commitment to enhancing that trilateral cooperation. I'll leave it to Secretary Mattis to tell you more about these discussions.

We also share with Australia a keen interest in ensuring our economic policies advance prosperity at home as well as abroad. Australian companies employ almost 100,000 Americans, and American companies in Australia employ about 335,000 Australians. Good trade policies mean good jobs for both of our peoples.

On behalf the United States, I'm grateful to the government and the people of Australia for hosting our delegation and for a spirit of cooperation that's benefited both of our nations, and has for decades, and will continue in the future, and as Foreign Minister Bishop said, we look forward to continuing the dialogues among our staffs while we make our way to next year's AUSMIN in Washington, D.C.

So again, thank you, and I'll turn it to Senator Payne.

DEFENSE MINISTER PAYNE: Thank you very much, Rex, Julie, Jim, ladies and gentlemen, and I want to begin by thanking their excellencies the governor and Mrs. Hurley for their hospitality and enabling us to have this AUSMIN meeting here in the beautiful government house in Sydney.

I'd like to also join Minister Bishop in thanking both Jim and Rex for an excellent day of discussions here for AUSMIN 2017. Jim and I, in fact, have been hanging out all weekend at Shangri-La, in Singapore, where we met with our key regional counterparts, an excellent preparation, if I might say, for some of the discussions we had here today about our engagement in the Indo-Pacific.

What today's meeting has again underscored is the strength and the breadth of our unique relationship. As my colleagues have indicated, we covered a very wide range of topics, including North Korea, the Middle East, and other matters of global strategic importance, through to the very tactical aspects of how Australia and the United States as defense partners particularly can work together to achieve our common goals both globally and in the region.

In particular, we have reaffirmed our joint commitment to the force posture initiatives in Northern Australia as a tangible contribution to the stability, the security, and the prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region. We look forward to continuing to work together on the development of those force posture initiatives, and indeed, to engaging with a number of our regional neighbors in that context.

As I said, both at the Shangri-La Dialogue which Secretary Mattis and I attended on the weekend and also here today, countering the threat of violent extremism is very much at the front of our minds. The attacks that have occurred in recent days and weeks around the world are further reminders  as if that were needed  of the new reality in which we live. And during today's AUSMIN meeting, we strengthened our resolve to defeat those who wish us harm.

We are both committed to defeating Daesh in Iraq and in Syria and to preventing its spread around the world, including in the Indo-Pacific region. For us, that means addressing the prospects of returning foreign fighters, if that happens, and also in the Australian context, our whole-of-government actions to deal with broader counterterrorism issues.

As Secretary Tillerson has said, we reaffirmed our condemnation of North Korea's ongoing provocations, which pose a grave threat to both global and regional security. We are committed to working very closely together with  together and with our regional partners, to impose greater costs on the regime for that destabilizing behavior.

This AUSMIN meeting has been a great opportunity to build upon our already close working relationship with the new U.S. administration. We have met in other international locations, in the United States, and I really want to thank both Secretary Mattis and Secretary Tillerson for traveling to Sydney to join us here today, and we look forward to continuing productive discussions.

SECRETARY MATTIS: Well, thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, as you've already heard, we stand here before you representing the strongest possible military alliance. This is one that has stood together through thick and thin and through generations, and I would just say that Australia has also proven to be a friend that tells us what we need to hear, not necessarily what we want to hear. And it was heartening today to find that we again share an appreciation of the security situation both regionally and worldwide.

The danger that we have faced over many, many years has built a sense of respect between our forces. I would remind you that after 9/11, when thousands of innocent people were murdered in America, including Australians, it was the Australians that were first to join us in the desert of Afghanistan in those uncertain days after 9/11, and we remain grateful for Australia's alliance with us. Today, we still stand together in that fight, and certainly, our sympathies, our respects are with the people of London; of Marawi, Philippines; of Kabul, Afghanistan; of Cairo, Egypt  the list goes on  Jakarta. And we stand together. We do not allow ourselves to be intimidated at all. Australia, as always, punching above its weight in defense of our values and freedom, and these are values and freedoms that we intend to pass on to the next generation intact, and we are committed again today to assessing how we're going to work together to do so.

I would add that your 2016 defense white paper, we have reviewed it in Washington and it's a model for other nations coming to grips with today's security challenges, and I am confident that it's a blueprint for keeping the Australian forces at the top of their game.

We believe that our Australian-American partnership is a foundation for stability and peace not only in this region, but more broadly, and we are going to ensure between our forces that our diplomats' voices are always backed up by skillful, by ethical, and by fierce force of arms.

Thank you very much, and we look forward to your questions.

MODERATOR: David Wroe.

QUESTION: Thanks, everyone. David Wroe from the The Age and Sydney Morning Herald newspapers. Secretary Mattis, you have flagged a new  a different strategy, a different tactic, I should say, in the fight against ISIS: one of annihilation, which, among other things, is aimed at preventing the escape and return of foreign fighters. I just wonder if you could talk through for us what the practical endpoint of that tactic is. Are we talking about going into these areas and systematically killing people who may pose a future threat? What happens if that involves a greater risk to civilian casualties or some other unforeseen outcome which would complicate your military tactics? We've always been told that you can't bomb an ideology into submission. Are you concerned at all that by focusing on individuals, you might inadvertently strengthen the ideology?

And just for the Australian side, could you tell us please, either Minister Bishop or Payne, what Australia's view of this new tactic is? What does it mean for our involvement, our military involvement in the Middle East? Does it mean we need to change our rules of engagement or are they covered by the current rules?

SECRETARY MATTIS: Well, the  President Trump, when he came into office, wanted an accelerated campaign against the enemy. This is an enemy against all civilization. It's the reason there are 66 nations that have joined the campaign besides the Arab League, the European Union, Interpol, and NATO, and in this campaign where before we were shoving them from one town to another and just falling back, we now take the time to invest now and to make certain that foreign fighters cannot escape for return to Paris, France, to Australia, to wherever they came from, and bring their message of hatred and their skills back to those places and attack innocent people.

But I would also add that in the midst of all this, we have changed not one bit of our rules of engagement. We have relented not one bit in terms of trying to do everything humanly possible to protect the innocent on the battlefield, because the battlefield the way the enemy has chosen to fight is also a humanitarian field from our point of view, and it is indeed ISIS that forces innocent people to stay where they choose to fortify.

So our intent is to do everything possible to keep them alive, to protect them, but at the same time we're going to have to take that caliphate down or the attacks that you've seen going on around the world that you all have reported on will continue. This is not the end state. The end state is where we work together for a reconciliation, for what the diplomats will have to do, but clearly, the enemy has got to be taken out by military means where they are powerful enough to cause these attacks on others, and we can't sit idly by and let them hold it.

I think that answers your question.

FOREIGN MINISTER BISHOP: The Australian Government has made it clear that any Australian citizen that supports in any way terrorist organizations such as ISIS or al-Qaida or any of their franchises is breaking Australian law, and if they seek to travel to conflict zones in the Middle East, in Iraq and Syria, then not only are they breaking Australian laws but putting their own lives at risk as well as adding to the misery and suffering of the people of Iraq and Syria.

We have (inaudible) forces supporting, advising, assisting Iraqi Security Forces and others, and they are essentially fighting against the coalition if they continue to support terrorism. Should they survive and seek to return to Australia, they will be monitored, they will be tracked, and they will be subjected to the Australian laws should they return to Australia. And I'd ask Senator Payne to add to that.

DEFENSE MINISTER PAYNE: Thank you very much, and (inaudible), thank you for the question. We absolutely support the approach that the international coalition led by the United States is taking. Our absolute preference is, as far as possible, to make sure that those who have left their countries to fight in the name of Daesh or ISIS in the Middle East are not able to return to those countries and perpetrate any of their atrocities in those areas.

So as far as possible, if we can ensure that, that is our preference. But we don't  we have to be prepared to deal with the eventuality that  if those returning foreign fighters, if that arises. We would be negligent if we did not turn our attention to that, as the foreign minister has said, under Australian law, and the preparations that we have made during recent months and in fact the last year. We will use all the force of Australian law to deal with those people.

Importantly, however, one of the things that we have also discussed today is the challenge that is faced as to other countries in our region  for Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, for the Philippines, and so on. And in the context of that discussion, we have indicated to our counterparts both individually and over the weekend at Shangri-La that we will support them in their efforts to address the prospect of returning fighters as well. They are  we're  you have the world's most populous Muslim nation to our north. President Widodo and his cabinet have exemplified a sensible, moderate approach to Islamic terrorism in our neighborhood. Similarly Malaysia; similarly the Muslim communities of a number of our other  of those other countries in our region. We need to be able to engage with them in a constructive way and make sure that where possible, we insist and provide tools that enable them to challenge this threat too.

MODERATOR: Gardiner Harris, New York Times.

QUESTION: Gardiner Harris from The New York Times. Secretary Tillerson, the Australians have spent years of diplomatic effort negotiating pacts to address their deep concerns over trade and climate, but the Trump administration tossed those pacts aside. Now, after rejecting their priorities and work, you're here asking Australians to make specific and concrete sacrifices for your priorities in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and North Korea. What specific promises have you brought on trade and climate to ensure that Australians do not interpret "America first" to mean America the selfish, America the boorish, or America the go-it-alone?

And for the Australians, Mr. Trump yelled at Prime Minister Turnbull in their first conversation. He pushed aside the Montenegrin prime minister at a NATO meeting. He launched a Twitter attack on Germany, one of the U.S.'s closest allies. He just insulted the mayor of London after a terror attack on that city. Do these tactics give you pause in your efforts to improve relations with the U.S., or do the President's words and behavior not matter in international relations?

SECRETARY TILLERSON: Are you sure you don't have more? (Laughter.)

QUESTION: No.

SECRETARY TILLERSON: Okay. The fact that the Trump administration has examined agreements that were entered into by the prior administration but never taken to the American people or taken to our Congress to get an assessment of their view of those agreements does not define the trading relationships between the United States and Australia nor other relationships on issues that are of mutual importance: climate change, certainly national security (inaudible) for us today. We have a very strong trading relationship with Australia today. I think if you look at the total of foreign direct investment by the United States in Australia, as well as our actual trade, we are the largest trading partner by those two measures with Australia. My expectation is that's not going to change, and we look forward to continue strengthening those relationships on trade with Australia, already a very important trading partner.

I think the President's decision to exit the climate accord  again, it was his judgment that that agreement did not serve the American people well and it did not serve their future economic interest. I have  but I think the President indicating his desire to reexamine, enter into discussions with others, perhaps a new construct of an agreement indicates his recognition that the issue is still important and that he wants to stay engaged on the issue. He's not walking away from it, he's simply walking away from what he felt was an agreement that did not serve the American people well.

So again, I think in our relationship with Australia we will continue to have shared interests in addressing these daunting challenges that face us all, and so that, I think, is how we see the relationship going forward, and there are so many other areas of such strong mutual interest and cooperation that there's no doubt that we will continue to address the two issues that you raised in a very cooperative way.

FORIGN MINISTER BISHOP: I should point out that Australia has its own views on our priorities and our interests. As it happens, they align so often with those of the United States. We have a similar worldview. We have shared values, shared interests. But Australia always takes our own national interest into account when we, for example, respond to the terror threat that is so (inaudible) in Syria. We take our own interests into account when we're dealing with regional threats and risks, like the behavior of North Korea. We see North Korea as a threat to our region as much as we see it as a threat globally. And we certainly are absolutely aligned with the United States in supporting the rules-based order, and we make up our own mind about when Australia should act, when Australia should be involved in defense and security operations. As it happens, the United States and Australia share similar views.

In relation to Twitter, I understand that it has a maximum of 140 characters. So we deal with the President, with his cabinet, and with the U.S. administration on what they do, what they achieve, what their strategies are, and how we can work together in close and deep cooperation to uphold that international rules-based order and to bring peace, stability, and prosperity to our part of the world as the United States has guaranteed and assured for the last 70 years.

In relation to the Paris Agreement, Australia took a decision in August of 2015 that we would put forward targets in accordance with the Paris Agreement that were environmentally and economically sound for Australia, and we will continue to, I believe, meet our targets under the Paris Agreement. And again, it is a decision taken by our cabinet in the interests of our economy and our citizens. And I believe that through meeting our targets  environmentally and economically sustainable measures  we will be on the path to ensuring affordable, reliable, low-emissions energy for the Australian people. But we certainly appreciate the United States' innovation and ingenuity that allows us to embrace the technologies and the innovative approaches the United States brings to the area of environmental and energy policy.

MODERATOR: Greg Jennett, please.

QUESTION: Greg Jennett from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. I direct this primarily at the visiting secretaries, and it's somewhat broader than Gardiner's question. Can you explain or reconcile to Australian audiences an apparent contradiction in the administration? Your business here today is to build alliances and relationships, and at least there is an impression abroad of isolationism expressed, some would argue, through the climate change decision or even through statements made by the executive at the NATO gathering.

So Secretary Tillerson, do you acknowledge that there are in this region pockets of doubt about U.S. consistency, and what do you do to address them?

And Secretary Mattis, you do seem to have convinced the Australian prime minister at least on matters relating to the South China Sea. He made comments in Singapore about finding new sources of leadership to help the United States. So the question is what forms of leadership relating to the South China Sea do you seek from Australia?

SECRETARY TILLERSON: First, let me respond in terms of those concerns. That's why we're here. That's why we traveled to the region and that's why we engage with our counterparts. I've had two direct engagements already with members of ASEAN in Washington, D.C. We're going to be very active in the East Asia Conference, also in APEC. The President's already indicated he intends to participate.

So in terms of addressing those concerns, this is how we address it, is to travel to the region and to meet with our counterparts and to talk about all the issues that are important to them and hear from them the concerns they may have about where the administration is positioned relative to whether it be security issues or economic and trade issues. And we have had very good dialogue in all of those contacts.

So I think  I hope  the fact that we are here demonstrates that that is certainly not this administration's view or intention to somehow put an arm  put at arm's length those important allies and partners in the world.

SECRETARY MATTIS: As far as your question to what form of leadership are we looking for from Australia, I would put it in traditional Australian terms. It's adherence to international law. It's the normal leadership by example that Australia has demonstrated over  really since its founding as a modern nation. It's the sort of thing where people work together to solve problems, where we sit down and define problems and then look at what are the rules of the road, and then we abide by them. It's a matter of finding common cause and then finding a way to address everyone's interests in the most effective manner possible. And Australia has proven its ability to do this and be a beacon of hope for people and the world; I would add, to be a contributor to security in the region, to stability in the region, from the Solomon Islands effort a few years ago to all the other humanitarian operations that they've been engaged in. It's mostly a matter of leadership by example, would be the short answer to your question.

MODERATOR: Bob Burns with the last question, please.

QUESTION: Thank you. Bob Burns, Associated Press. A question for Secretaries Tillerson and Mattis, something that's  I'm told that today while you were here for these discussions, which is that the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt have announced they are cutting diplomatic ties with Qatar, and I wonder if you could explain what you believe are the implications of this for the fight against Islamic extremism and also for solidarity in the coalition against Iran?

And if I could also ask you about something that's related to the Central Command region, to all four of you, which is Afghanistan, which you all mentioned. Secretary Tillerson, as the administration reviews its options for how to turn things around in Afghanistan, what is your view on the wisdom of committing more U.S. troops and other resources to a conflict that has been a stalemate for years? And I'd like to ask the same question of Secretary Mattis.

And for your Australian counterparts, you've said that you're willing to contribute more troops in Afghanistan. I think you got quoted as saying perhaps 30, and I'm wondering whether you would consider going beyond that in other ways and (inaudible) in Afghanistan?

Thank you.

SECRETARY TILLERSON: Well, let me just make a brief comment on the late breaking news that you just referred to in terms of diplomatic relations between GCC countries and Qatar. I think, as I understand it from what I've read since the actions were taken, I think what we're witnessing is a growing list of some irritants in the region that have been there for some time, and obviously they have now bubbled up to a level that countries decided they needed to take action in an effort to have those differences addressed. We certainly would encourage the parties to sit down together and address these differences, and we  if there's any role that we can play in terms of helping them address those, we think it is important that the GCC remain unified. I do not expect that this will have any significant impact, if any impact at all, on the unified  the unified fight against terrorism in the region or globally. All of those parties you mentioned have been quite, quite unified in the fight against terrorism and the fight against Daesh and ISIS, and have expressed that most recently in the summit in Riyadh.

As to the Afghanistan policy which is still under development and review, so there is no conclusion and I will leave it to Secretary Mattis to answer more directly what the military plans are for this year to stabilize Afghanistan. I think clearly, though, what we do understand is we can never allow Afghanistan to become a platform for terrorism to operate from. And so our commitment to Afghanistan is to ensure that it never becomes a safe haven for terrorists to launch attacks against the civilized world or against any other part of the world or any of their neighbors. And so this is really a question of what is the end state and how do we reach that end state, and that's part of the policy review that is still under development so I don't want to go further than I would say the thinking currently in the administration is, but other than to say we are committed to ensuring Afghanistan does not become that platform from which terrorist activities can be launched. And let me turn to Secretary Mattis to respond.

QUESTION: But I was asking in your view 

SECRETARY MATTIS: In regards to the implications for the counter-ISIS fight, I am positive there will be no implications coming out of this dramatic situation at all, and I say that based on the commitment that each of these nations that you just referred to have made to this fight. As far as the situation vis-a-vis Iran, I believe Iran's actions speak louder than anyone's words, and they are going to incite the international community in that region to try to block them in the various destabilizing efforts that they are undertaking right now, from Syria, where Assad remains in power today because of Iran's actions, to Yemen, where they have been contributing in an unhelpful way to a war that is marooning millions of people and leaving them vulnerable to starvation and health problems and violence. So I think it's Iran's actions that will speak most loudly, and the diplomatic situation, it will probably take some time  I don't know how long  but it will be resolved.

As far as Afghanistan goes, as Secretary Tillerson said, the policy is under review, but at the same time we're up against an enemy that knows that they cannot win at the ballot box, and you think  we have to sometimes remind ourselves of that reality. That's why they use bombs, because ballots would ensure they never had a role to play, and based upon that foundation, that they cannot win the support, the affection, the respect of the Afghan people. We will stand by them. They've had a long, hard fight, and Australia has been in this one from the very beginning, and the fight goes on. But the bottom line is we're not going to surrender civilization to people who cannot win at the ballot box.

QUESTION: Thank you.

DEFENSE MINISTER PAYNE: Thank you. Thank you very much for that. I think Jim put that particularly well, if I might say, at the end there. Australia does currently have 270 personnel both in (inaudible) and the NATO mission, and Australia is particularly a (inaudible) of the Australian  Afghan national officer academy, and that is from our perspective the continuing  continuation of our longest contribution to any military campaign in Australia's history. So we regard it as a very significant one, and I want to acknowledge and pay tribute to the Australian men and women of the ADF who are in Afghanistan now dealing with  no matter what their task is  what is a very complex security environment, as we have seen evidenced again in the last few days. They continue a contribution which  of which we are very proud.

In terms of the enhancement of that contribution of 30 personnel, as you have indicated, that is in general accord with the nature of the request that we received from NATO, which was indeed supported by the United States, and we are very comfortable with that. As a nation, we make the second largest non-NATO contribution to the people of Afghanistan, and we are in the top 10 financial contributors to Afghanistan through the (inaudible).

So these are a strong indication of Australia's preparedness to be engaged in what is an ongoing international fight against violent extremists and against terrorists. I agree completely with Jim: they can't win a ballot, so they use weapons to try and fight their way out. That's not something we are ever prepared to see take hold in Afghanistan again. As Secretary Tillerson also says, it must never be allowed to be a platform for terrorism as it was in the past, and we will continue to make that contribution. It's why we made the announcement that we made last week.

As the United States and the NATO support mission develop their approach, we will engage in those discussions, as we always do, and we will play our  we will make our own views known, play our part, and any further decisions are a matter for time  consideration at that time.

QUESTION: Can I follow up my question to Secretary Tillerson? I actually asked you what your view was on the wisdom of adding more U.S. troops and resources to Afghanistan. I'm aware of the fact that the policies are under review, but what is your view on that?

SECRETARY TILLERSON: I would reserve my answer until the policy review is completed. It needs to be thought of in that context.

MODERATOR: Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.

http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Transcripts/Transcript-View/Article/1202872/

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Montenegro joins NATO as 29th Ally

NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

05 Jun. 2017

Montenegro became NATO's newest member on Monday (5 June 2017), upon depositing its instrument of accession to the North Atlantic Treaty with the US State Department in Washington DC. At a ceremony marking the occasion, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg underlined that Montenegro's accession to the Alliance contributes to international peace and security, and sends a strong signal that NATO's door remains open. The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Dusko Markovic and by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Montenegro Srdan Darmanovic and was hosted by the United States Undersecretary for Political Affairs Thomas A. Shannon.

"Today, Montenegro joins NATO with a seat at the table as an equal, with an equal voice in shaping our Alliance, and its independence guaranteed," the Secretary General said. Mr. Stoltenberg noted that NATO will benefit from Montenegro's insight into the Western Balkans "and the professionalism, bravery and dedication of its men and women in uniform". He stressed that NATO's collective pledge, Article 5, has kept Allies safe for almost seven decades.

Allied Foreign Ministers signed Montenegro's Accession Protocol in May 2016, after which all 28 national parliaments voted to ratify Montenegro's membership. A flag-raising ceremony for Montenegro will take place at NATO Headquarters on 7 June 2017.

Today marks NATO's first enlargement since 1 April 2009, when Albania and Croatia joined the Alliance.

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UK, France, US Sign Trilateral Submarine Agreement

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS170605-10

Release Date: 6/5/2017 11:07:00 AM

From U.S. Naval Forces Central Command Public Affairs

MANAMA, Bahrain (NNS) -- Naval leaders from the United Kingdom, France and the United States signed an agreement June 1, designed to increase coordination for anti-submarine warfare activities of the three countries as they operate in the 5th Fleet area of operations.

Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) Vice Adm. Kevin M. Donegan signed the trilateral agreement with Vice Adm. Louis-Michel Guillaume, commander, French Submarine and Strategic Oceanic Forces (ALFOST) and Rear Adm. Robert K. Tarrant, commander, Operations of the Royal Navy, at Donegan's headquarters in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

This agreement follows the signing of a document by Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson, First Sea Lord of the United Kingdom Adm. Sir Philip Jones, and French Chief of Naval Staff Adm. Christophe Prazuck, in London March 27.

In that document, the three chiefs of their respective navies affirmed their commitment to enhanced interoperability.

"We believe this increased trilateral cooperation will help secure a future that is not only in the interests of our three nations, but in the common interests of our allies, partners and all like-minded nations who are committed to peace, prosperity and maritime security," an excerpt from the statement read.

"This agreement expands upon the 2017 trilateral maritime talks between the leaders of our respective navies and codifies a practical framework on how we will operate in the 5th Fleet area of operations when it comes to coordinating anti-submarine warfare operations," Donegan said. "This agreement lays the groundwork for executing more operations together and enhancing cooperation in the undersea domain. The end result is safer, more effective operations that work in the best interest of all three countries."

"Our nations have operated regularly in close cooperation for many years, but the agreement signed today, which followed the trilateral meeting of our respective Chiefs of Navy in March, allows our navies to reach a standardized level in anti-submarine warfare coordination across the region," Guillaume said. "We thus will have right away in the 5th Fleet area of operations a high-level basis of cooperation to improve our operational results in undersea warfare."

The U.S., U.K. and French navies regularly operate together in the 5th Fleet. France has deployed its nuclear aircraft carrier FS Charles de Gaulle twice to the Arabian Gulf in support of Operation Inherent Resolve. In 2015, a French admiral, embarked on Charles de Gaulle, commanded NAVCENT's Task Force (TF) 50, a U.S. task force. A Royal Navy admiral also assumed command of TF 50 last November while embarked aboard the amphibious helicopter carrier HMS Ocean. Additionally, both navies have had ships serving as part of TF 50 and with the Combined Maritime Forces in the region.

U.S. 5th Fleet's area of operations encompasses about 2.5 million square miles of water area and includes the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean. The expanse is comprised of 20 countries and includes three critical choke points at the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal and the Strait of Bab al Mandeb at the southern tip of Yemen.

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China rejects U.S., Japanese officials' remarks on South China Sea, Taiwan

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 08:16, June 05, 2017

BEIJING, June 4 -- China on Sunday expressed strong dissatisfaction with and firm opposition to "irresponsible remarks" made by the U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada on the South China Sea and Taiwan issues during the just concluded Shangri-La Dialogue.

Stressing China has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha islands and their adjacent waters, spokesperson Hua Chunying said China has always been committed to peacefully solving disputes through consultation and negotiation with countries directly concerned.

China has always respected and maintained the freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea in accordance with international law. Meanwhile, China firmly opposes certain countries' sabre-rattling in the region under the excuse of that freedom, which threatens China's sovereignty and security, Hua said.

China's construction projects on the Nansha islands are aimed at improving working and living conditions of staff there while better fulfilling its international obligations, Hua said.

She said necessary defense facilities built in a sovereign state's territory represents its self-protection and self-defense rights, and has nothing to do with the so-called "militarization".

The situation in the South China Sea has improved and shown positive development momentum, Hua said, citing the success of the first meeting of the China-Philippines bilateral consultation mechanism, and the agreement between China and ASEAN countries on the framework for the Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea.

Hua said China hopes relevant parties will fully respect efforts made by countries in the region and play a constructive role in maintaining peace and stability in the South China Sea.

Regarding the Diaoyu Island issue, Hua said the island and its adjacent islets have been part of China since ancient times, so it is legal and justified for the Chinese official ships to patrol and conduct law-enforcement activities in relevant waters.

"China is firmly determined to safeguard its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights," Hua said, adding that the country's patrol and law-enforcement activities will continue.

Calling the Japanese side's remarks "running counter to the fact" and "not worth mentioning", Hua said China urges Japan to make constructive efforts to ameliorate China-Japan ties.

Talking about the Taiwan issue, Hua stressed China's position has been "clear and coherent".

She said China has always opposed the so-called "Taiwan Relations Act," which was unilaterally formulated by the United States, and asked the United States to abide by the one-China policy and principles enshrined in the three joint communiques.

China urges the United States to stop selling arms to Taiwan and terminate any official exchanges so as to guarantee the development of bilateral relations.

Hua also reaffirmed China's "clear and coherent" position on the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) issue, urging relevant countries to immediately stop the deployment of THAAD.

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Saudi-Qatar diplomatic dispute escalates

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 15:49, June 05, 2017

DUBAI, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The political tug-of-war between a Saudi-led group of Arab countries and the Gulf state of Qatar escalated on early Monday when Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt said they cut their diplomatic relations with Doha after a week of tit-for-tats and accusations on "terrorism support."

The announcement by the Saudi-led coalition to severe diplomatic ties with Qatar marks the culmination of a year-long dispute between some Gulf Arab states and Qatar.

Since the outbreak of the Arab turmoil, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in particular along with the UAE and Bahrain have been accusing the ruling Qatari family Al-Thani of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt which gained power after its leader Mohamed Morsi was elected President of Egypt in 2012 following the fall of the Mubarak regime in February 2011.

The differences escalated earlier after U.S. President Donald Trump and Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz pledged a united stance against Iran, accusing the Islamic Republic of sponsoring "terrorism" in Yemen, Lebanon and elsewhere in the Middle East.

Shortly after, Qatar's state news agency QNA released a statement by Qatar's Emir Al-Thani saying Iran was an "Islamic power," a statement which Qatar later denied claiming QNA's website was "hacked."

Relations between Qatar and the other Gulf Arab states suffered an eight-month breach in 2014 over the kingdom's support for the Muslim Brotherhood.

The diplomatic rift came just days after the Riyadh summit, where U.S. President Donald Trump called on the Sunni Arab nations to isolate Iran and ensured his Arab allies that Iran would "never have a nuclear bomb."

The UAE and Saudi Arabia accuse Iran of funding and arming Shiite Houthi rebels in war-torn Yemen, where a Saudi-led pan-Arab military coalition has been fighting the Houthis in favor of the legitimate government of Abdu-Rabbu Mansour Hadi since March 2015.

Qatar is also part of this coalition. On Saturday, Qatari media reported that at least four of its soldiers have been killed during operations in Yemen. Qatar and Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman are part of the 1981-founded union Gulf co-operation council (GCC).

Earlier last week, the UAE and Saudi also blocked the Qatari government-owned news channel Al Jazeera and its Arabic and English website.

The UAE government said in a statement earlier today released by WAM "The United Arab Emirates regrets the policies taken by the Qatari authorities that lead to the rupture among the peoples of the region. It affirms its adult respect and appreciation for the brotherly people of Qatar for its ties of ties, relations, history and religion."

This diplomatic crisis marks a new low point within the GCC since 1992 when a shooting at the Saudi-Qatari border left two Qatari and one Saudi dead.

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Yemeni government cuts diplomatic ties with Qatar over supporting "extremist groups"

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 19:13, June 05, 2017

ADEN, Yemen, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The internationally recognized government of Yemen announced Monday the severing of diplomatic ties with Qatar following similar decisions made by Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Libya and the United Arab Emirates.

According to a statement issued by Yemen's Official Saba News Agency, "the decision of severing diplomatic ties with Qatar took place as a result of Qatar's clear actions and its links with the groups behind the Shiite Houthi coup."

The statement accused Qatar of "providing support for different extremist groups in Yemen, in contradiction with the main goals announced by the Arab countries in helping the legitimate government."

Yemen government statement also backed the decision of ending Qatar's participation in the Saudi-led, anti-Houthi Arab coalition.

The Saudi-funded Arabiya TV channel confirmed in its breaking news dispatch that Yemen's government officially severed relations with Qatar in a clear support for the decisions declared by a number of Arab countries earlier in the day.

Qatar was a member of the Saudi-led Arab coalition and participated in the military campaign in Yemen since March 2015.

Yemeni observers say that the unprecedented tension in the region may badly affect the recent crisis in Yemen.

Earlier in the day, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, Libya and the United Arab Emirates announced the severing of diplomatic ties with Qatar, as they accused the Gulf state of supporting terrorism.

The official Saudi news agency SPA said in a statement that Riyadh cut diplomatic ties and closed borders with its neighboring country Qatar that is "supporting terrorism and extremism."

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China rejects 'irresponsible' US remarks on South China Sea

Iran Press TV

Mon Jun 5, 2017 4:42PM

China has denounced as "irresponsible remarks" what US Secretary of Defense James Mattis said about Beijing's "militarization" of the South China Sea during a security forum at the weekend.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying made the comment in a statement late on Sunday after Mattis accused China of showing "contempt" for other nations' interests and disregarding international law.

The Pentagon chief had also mentioned in the Singapore defense summit that the "construction" and "militarization" of artificial islands in the South China Sea would undermine regional stability.

Hua, reacting to Mattis' remarks, said, "China has indisputable sovereignty over the (Spratly) Islands and their adjacent waters," adding that the sovereign activities undertaken by Beijing had nothing to do with militarization.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said countries around the South China Sea had tried to lower tensions, but others outside the region "have been bent on going against the trend, making repeated erroneous remarks, ignoring the facts and confusing black from white with entirely ulterior motives."

"China is resolutely opposed to this and urges the concerned parties to stop issuing irresponsible remarks and fully respect the efforts of the countries in the region to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea and play a constructive role in this regard," she said.

Hua further noted that China had always respected freedom of navigation but opposed shows of military force in the South China Sea in the name of such exercises as threats to China's sovereignty and security.

Last Wednesday, a US Navy warship sailed within 12 nautical miles of a disputed South China Sea island controlled by China, the first such challenge to Beijing since US President Donald Trump took office.

China has repeatedly warned the United States against any military activities in the South China Sea.

The South China Sea is located between China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei and hosts one of the world's busiest waterways and is believed to be rich in mineral and gas deposits and fishing grounds. The neighboring countries have long disputed the ownership of the territories in the water body, through which about $5 trillion of global sea-borne trade passes each year.

However, Beijing claims all the contested sea, including waters and rocks close to the shores of neighbors, and has been building artificial islands and installing military equipment on them, including on some reefs in the Spratly chain, which are also claimed by Manila.

The regional military presence of the United States, which always takes sides with China's rival claimants in the disputed waters, has been a source of concern for China's leadership.

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Qatar slams campaign of lies, regrets Arab states' decision to cut ties

Iran Press TV

Mon Jun 5, 2017 3:54PM

Qatar has expressed "regret and utter surprise" over the move by a number of Arab states to close their borders and airspace and sever diplomatic relations with Doha, stressing that the Persian Gulf kingdom has been subjected to a campaign of lies.

Qatar's Foreign Ministry, in a statement published on Monday, announced that the decisions by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt to cut diplomatic ties were unjustified and based on false claims and assumptions.

"Qatar has been the target of a systematic incitement campaign that promoted outright lies, which indicates that there was a prior intent to harm the state," the statement said.

It further reaffirmed Doha's dedication to the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council, stressing that Qatar respected the sovereignty of all other member states and had not interfered in their domestic affairs.

"Qatar is also dedicated to its obligation in the war on terrorism and extremism. It is clear that the media campaign against Qatar has failed, especially in [Persian] Gulf nations, which explains this escalation," the statement pointed out.

It added, "The fabrication of a media crisis used to increase pressure against Qatar is evidence that there are no legitimate causes to take the decision to cut ties."

"The goal is clear, enforcing guardianship over our country which is a blatant violation of our sovereignty, which is completely unacceptable. The statement released by the three GCC nations makes it clear that the relentless fabricated media campaign against Qatar was pre-planned."

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain all cut off diplomatic contact with Qatar on Monday morning, after officially accusing it of "sponsoring terrorism." The administration of Saudi-backed and resigned Yemeni president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, Libya and the Maldives later joined the camp in ending diplomatic ties.

Russia, Pakistan, India not to cut Qatar ties

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that Moscow had no intention to meddle in the Arab states' decision to break off diplomatic relations with Qatar.

"Russia's position is that the current diplomatic rift in the Persian Gulf region is a concern of each country involved," Lavrov said, adding that while Russia does not rule out the occurrence of disputes, the country is "never happy" to see problems in relations between states.

"We are interested in keeping good relations with everyone, especially in the region, where the most important thing is to focus all efforts on fighting the common threat, which is that of international terrorism," the Russian foreign minister said.

Lavrov also had a phone conservation with his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, on Monday, calling for the resolution of differences between Qatar and other Arab states through talks, Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a conference call with reporters that a "stable and peaceful" situation in the Persian Gulf was in Russia's interest, hoping that the current diplomatic row between Qatar and Arab states would not influence "the common determination and resolve in the joint fight against international terrorism."

Indian Foreign Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj also said that New Delhi would not be impacted by some Persian Gulf countries cutting off diplomatic ties with Qatar.

"There is no challenge arising out of this for us. This is an internal matter of GCC. Our only concern is about Indians there. We are trying to find out if any Indians are stuck there," she told reporters.

Separately, a spokesman for the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said on Monday that Islamabad had no immediate plans to sever diplomatic ties with Doha.

"At the moment there is nothing on Qatar issue, (we) will issue a statement if some development takes place," Nafees Zakaria said.

Turkey says ready for mediation

Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday that Ankara wanted a peaceful solution to the diplomatic rift between Arab states and Qatar.

"It's a development that really saddened all of us. There could be problems between the countries but dialogue must prevail in all circumstances," he said at a joint press conference in Ankara with his German counterpart, Sigmar Gabriel.

Cavusoglu underlined that Ankara was ready to do its best to help resolve the dispute.

Arab League head regrets spat between Qatar, Arab states

In another development on Monday, Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit regretted the suspension of diplomatic relations between Qatar and regional Arab states.

"Aboul Gheit is sorry things reached this point between several Arab states and is concerned about the ramifications these differences will have on joint Arab work," his office said in a statement.

Aboul Gheit also expressed hope that Arab states would overcome their differences and present a united front against common threats to their national security.

He called on all sides to return to agreements reached in 2014, the last time matters between Qatar and its neighbors had reached a tipping point, Reuters reported.

Qatar tells citizens to leave UAE in 14 days

The developments come as the Qatari Embassy in Abu Dhabi has called on citizens to leave the UAE within 14 days to comply with the UAE's decision to break off relations with Doha.

"Qatari citizens must leave the UAE within 14 days, in accordance with the statement issued by the concerned Emirati parties. Those who cannot travel directly to Doha should go through Kuwait or Oman," the Embassy tweeted.

Saudi Arabia shuts down Qatar's Al-Jazeera office

In a separate development, Saudi Arabia on Monday shut the local office of Qatar's Al-Jazeera news channel amid escalation of tensions between two Persian Gulf states.

"The Ministry of Information closed the office of the Al-Jazeera channel and withdrew the license it was granted," the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

The kingdom accused the Qatari channel of promoting "terrorist groups."

Separately, beIN Sports, a subsidiary satellite network of Al-Jazeera, went offline in the United Arab Emirates, Reuters quoted an official in the UAE.

"We are getting a lot of calls regarding this... (the channels) are currently off air in the UAE," said an official at the DU telecommunications company, without elaborating as to why.

More reactions pour in

Furthermore, some Egyptian banks have halted transactions with Qatari financial institutions in light of Cairo's announcement that it had cut ties with Qatar.

Four unnamed Cairo-based bankers said there had been no official communication to banks from the Central Bank of Egypt, and the cessation of dealings with Qatari banks came on internal orders from management.

Some banks even stopped accepting Qatari Riyal, while others froze some treasury transactions. They, however, excluded the opening of letters of credit required for imports.

Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris also asked compatriot businessmen to withdraw their investments from Qatar, and put an end to business dealings with the Persian Gulf state.

Additionally, Egypt's flag carrier, EgyptAir, joined the UAE's Etihad, Emirates and FlyDubai airlines in suspending flights to the capital of Qatar after their countries cut off diplomatic ties with Doha.

Also on Monday, the Saudi-led Arab coalition fighting Yemen's Houthi Ansarullah movement expelled Qatar from the military alliance, alleging Doha's support of "al-Qaeda and Daesh, as well as dealing with militias."

The administration of Saudi-backed Hadi later supported the expulsion, accusing Qatar of "dealing with militias and supporting extremist groups in Yemen."

Saudi Arabia has been leading an invasion of Yemen from the air, land, and sea since March 2015 in an attempt to reinstate Hadi, a staunch ally of Riyadh, and to undermine the Houthi Ansarullah movement. The Riyadh regime has, however, failed to reach its goals despite suffering great expense.

The military aggression has claimed the lives of more than 12,000 people, mostly civilians, raising concerns among international rights organizations and the United Nations.

Those organizations have been repeatedly calling on Saudi Arabia and its partners in the war to end the indiscriminate targeting of areas in Yemen.

The aggressor regimes have also imposed a total embargo on Yemen, causing severe shortages of food and medicine. A recent cholera epidemic has been blamed on those shortages.

Separately, the Maldives defended its measure to sever diplomatic ties with Qatar.

"The Maldives took the decision because of its firm opposition to activities that encourage terrorism and extremism," the tiny Indian Ocean archipelago nation said in a statement.

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Montenegro finally joins NATO amid Russia's anger

Iran Press TV

Mon Jun 5, 2017 1:1PM

Montenegro officially joins NATO, a move which many say could undermine Russia's bid to keep its foothold in southeast Europe.

On Monday, preparations were underway in Washington hosting a welcoming ceremony for Montenegro to officially join NATO and become the 29th member of the Western military alliance.

The accession comes to the dismay of Russia, which holds historic influence over Montenegro. Russia has warned tourists against visits to Montenegro while imports of food stuff have been banned from the country.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova recently said that "there is an anti-Russian hysteria in Montenegro."

She added that Russians may be exposed to risks like "arrests for suspicious reasons or extradition to third countries" if they visit the Slavic country. Moscow has also vowed that it would retaliate politically.

Ethnic Russians comprise a fourth of Montenegro's population of 620,000. Many members of the community have been against Montenegro's accession to NATO while the rest believe that the country should have remained neutral in dealing with Russia and the West.

"If we were neutral all the time, why shouldn't we continue with it so that we keep good relations with America, Russia and all the other countries?" said Mirko Bozovic, a resident of Montenegro's capital Podgorica.

The government has, however, defended the move as a stabilizing measure while denying that it could discourage Russian tourists from visiting the country.

"One of the reasons we are joining NATO is to create greater stability, not only for Montenegrin citizens, but also for foreign investors and tourists," former Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic said. "Therefore, our goal is to bring even more Russian tourists," added Djukanovic, who has been one of the driving forces behind Montenegro's NATO bid over the years.

Strahinja Bulajic, an official in the pro-Russia opposition Democratic Front, also reacted to Montenegro's membership in NATO and described it as a sad moment in the country's history.

"Today, Montenegro is being annexed like never before in its history ... Today is one of the most shameful days in Montenegrin history," the official said.

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Indian troops says 4 suspected militants killed in Kashmir attack

Iran Press TV

Mon Jun 5, 2017 8:40AM

Indian forces have killed four suspected militants in the Bandipora district of New Delhi-controlled Kashmir amid rising tensions in the disputed Himalayan region.

Bhavesh Chaudhary, the spokesman for India's Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), said Monday that the militants were trying to storm a paramilitary camp in the town of Sumbal, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from Srinagar, the main city in Kashmir's Indian-controlled part.

The four militants fired automatic rifles and lobbed grenades as they approached the CRPF camp, but soldiers at the sentry post intercepted them and engaged the militants in a firefight, Chaudhary said.

There was no independent confirmation of the attack and no group has yet issued any statement about the incident.

Since the 1947 independence from British rule, the disputed Kashmir region has been a bone of contention between India and Pakistan, which both claim sovereignty over the region.

Public opposition to Indian rule in Kashmir is deep and is now principally expressed through street protests marked by youths hurling stones at government forces.

The situation in Kashmir has been tense since late May, when Indian forces killed Sabzar Ahmad Bhat, a senior leader of the pro-independence Hizbul Mujahideen group, in his hometown of Tral.

The killing sparked violent protests in parts of Kashmir, leaving one civilian dead and dozens of others wounded.

Autonomy-seeking groups in Indian-controlled Kashmir have been fighting for the portion of Kashmir under Indian administration to become either an independent region or merged with neighboring Pakistan.

India blames Pakistan for the unrest, accusing Islamabad of training and arming anti-India forces. Pakistan denies the accusation.

The protests in Indian-controlled Kashmir have largely been suppressed by New Delhi's forces in recent years.

Nearly 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict and the ensuing Indian crackdown, which is conducted by hundreds of thousands of Indian troops deployed to the region.

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Colombian FARC threatens to delay peace agreement

Iran Press TV

Mon Jun 5, 2017 4:38AM

Rebels with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have threatened to hold off their demobilization, accusing the government of "repeatedly breaking" the terms of their peace deal.

"After the government's repeated non-compliance with the Peace Agreement, the FARC is going to seek international monitoring," rebel leader Rodrigo Londono Echeverri, aka Timoleon Jimenez or Timochenko, warned on Twitter on Sunday.

Earlier, Timochenko had said that he was considering postponing demobilization.

It is not yet clear what the FARC rebel leader exactly meant by seeking international monitoring as the peace agreement is already being overseen by United Nations representatives.

This is while President Juan Manuel Santos had said earlier that the government would stick to the plan and go ahead with the peace process based on the timetable.

"That is our commitment and we will fulfill it," said Santos, adding that the peace process is "irreversible."

The peace deal aims to end Latin America's longest-running conflict, which began in 1964 and has dragged on ever since, between the Colombian government and FARC, the country's biggest rebel group FARC.

The two conflicting sides signed a peace deal in August 2016 after four years of negotiations in the Cuban capital, Havana.

Colombians, however, rejected the peace deal in a referendum, forcing President Santos and FARC leaders to ink a new version of the peace accord, which was sent to Congress for ratification later that year instead of holding a second plebiscite.

Under the terms of the agreement, the rebels were due to have surrendered their weapons to international overseers by the May 30 deadline in a 180-day process, but the group said the process may take another two months.

The deal turns the guerrilla group into a Marxist political party after demobilization, while the government would make a raft of reforms meant to eliminate rural inequality and political exclusion, which are viewed as the root causes of the half-century conflict.

The conflict in Colombia dates back to 1967, when FARC as well as the ELN, another rebel group, took up arms for rural land rights.

The government says the conflict has left at least 260,000 fatalities and forced more than seven million people to leave their homes.

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Saudi, UAE, Bahrain, Egypt cut ties with Qatar

Iran Press TV

Mon Jun 5, 2017 2:57AM

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt have cut diplomatic ties and all land sea and air contacts with Qatar, accusing the Persian Gulf country of supporting terrorism and interfering in their internal affairs.

Riyadh took the lead on Monday to sever relations and other countries fell in line after an official source said the kingdom "urges all brotherly countries and companies to do the same."

A Saudi official cited by SPA said the country decided to "sever diplomatic and consular ties with Qatar, and to close all land, sea and aviation ports" in order to "protect its national security from the dangers of terrorism and extremism."

The "decisive" measure, the Saudi statement said, was due to "gross violations committed by authorities in Qatar over the past years."

The United Arab Emirates gave Qatari diplomats 48 hours to leave the country, citing their "support, funding and embrace of terrorist, extremist and sectarian organizations," state news agency WAM reported.

Bahrain news agency said the tiny kingdom was cutting ties with Doha over its insistence on "shaking the security and stability of Bahrain and meddling in its affairs."

Egypt accused Qatar of supporting "terrorist" organizations, including the Muslim Brotherhood which it has been cracking down on since the 2013 coup against the country's first ever democratically-elected leader, Mohamed Morsi.

Meanwhile, a Saudi "coalition" waging a war in Yemen said it was ending Qatar's membership. The measure, it said, was due to Doha's "practices that strengthen terrorism, and its support to organizations in Yemen, including al-Qaeda and Daesh, as well as dealing with the rebel militias."

Qatar regretted the decision, saying "the measures are unjustified and are based on claims and allegations that have no basis in fact." Doha-based Al Jazeera TV quoted Foreign Ministry as saying that the decisions would "not affect the normal lives of citizens and residents."

"The aim is clear, and it is to impose guardianship on the state. This by itself is a violation of its (Qatar's) sovereignty as a state," the ministry said in a statement, referring to the severance of ties as an "incitement campaign based on fabrications, which reflects an intention to harm Qatar."

Pakistan, another member of the "coalition" which has recently tried to distance itself from the Saudi group's anti-Iran agenda, made it clear that the country had no plans to cut diplomatic ties with Qatar.

UAE carriers Etihad, Emirates and flydubai said they would suspend flights to and from Doha from Tuesday. Qatar Airways said it has suspended all flights to Saudi Arabia with immediate affect.

Trump factor

The crisis follows US President Donald Trump's visit to the region last month, marked by the signing of a record $110-billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the visit was aimed at getting Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations in the region to stand in "unity" with Israel and confront Iran.

After Trump's visit, tensions escalated between Riyadh and Doha because of an article in Qatar's state-run news agency in which the emir was quoted as criticizing the US, Saudi Arabia, and their client states for attempting to stir up tensions with "Islamic power" Iran.

The Qatari government quickly deleted the comments, saying the state agency had been hacked but the official denial failed to stop the rift between the Persian Gulf Arab countries from widening.

Saudi media then viciously attacked Qatar, accusing it of having "betrayed" the other Arab countries particularly at a time when they had attempted to stage a show of "unity" against Iran in a much-publicized and extravagant series of events in Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates also blocked Qatari websites and broadcasters. Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani later said the country was being targeted in a "hostile media campaign, which we will confront."

Prelude to invasion?

Qatar, home to the forward headquarters of the US military's Central Command and some 10,000 American troops, long has faced criticism from its Arab neighbors over its support of the Muslim Brotherhood which has another admirer in Turkey.

Western officials have also accused Qatar of allowing or even encouraging funding of Takfiri extremists like al-Qaeda's branch in Syria, once known as the Nusra Front. Saudi Arabia and the UAE similarly stand accused of supporting other Takfiri groups and the escalation exposes an underlying bitter rivalry among the neighbors for influence.

Former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh was quoted as saying that the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Qatar is rooted in "accumulated differences from the past even though both countries are followers of the Wahhabi school."

Wahhabism is the radical ideology dominating Saudi Arabia, which is freely preached by government-backed clerics there and inspiring terrorist groups such as Daesh and al-Qaeda.

Prominent Palestinian journalist Abdel Bari Atwan said in a Twitter post that the diplomatic rupture is a "prelude" to a military action against Qatar.

"The next move may be a military offensive to change the regime in Qatar. It's a war planned months ago," wrote the editor-in-chief of the Rai al-Youm news website.

Underlying rivalry

Recent reports have suggested Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were divided over their role in Yemen on which they have been waging a deadly war for more than two years now.

In a recent interview with Middle East Eye online news portal, Saudi-backed former Yemeni president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi accused the UAE of acting "like an occupation power in Yemen rather than a force of liberation."

Yemeni sources have revealed that the United Arab Emirates was trying to establish control over the strategic island of Socotra in the Arabian Sea, which Hadi had rented out to the country for nearly a century.

Tensions have taken a turn for worse under Saudi Arabia's new rulers who have adopted an aggressive policy, waging a destructive war on Yemen, severing relations with Iran and assisting militants in Iraq and Syria to topple their governments.

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Afghan Foreign Minister Calls For Dismissals Of Top Security Chiefs After Kabul Attacks

RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan June 05, 2017

Afghan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani has called for the dismissal of the country's top security chiefs after a wave of deadly attacks in the capital, Kabul.

Rabbani, speaking at a press conference in Kabul on June 5, said the attacks in the past week that killed or wounded over 600 people in the city had raised questions about the "security institutions and their abilities."

A deadly bombing in Kabul on May 31 killed at least 90 people and wounded more than 460, at least five people were killed and around 20 wounded on June 2 in deadly clashes between police and protesters, and at least seven were killed and around 100 injured after three suicide bombers detonated their explosives at a funeral on June 3.

The attacks in Kabul have exacerbated tensions between rival ethnically based political groups in Afghanistan.

Rabbani, who heads the mainly ethnic-Tajik Jamiat-e Islami political group, attended the funeral but escaped unhurt.

He blamed "terrorists within the system," suggesting elements in the government were behind the attack.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the two deadly attacks in Kabul, with the Taliban denying any involvement.

The National Directorate of Security (NDS), the country's main intelligence agency, said the suicide bombers who attacked the funeral were trained at the Mawlawi Ahmad madrasah, or religious school, in the southwest Pakistani city of Quetta.

The NDS has also blamed the Kabul bombing on May 31, the deadliest in the city since the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, on the Pakistan-based Haqqani network, which is allied to the Afghan Taliban.

Rabbani specifically called for the dismissals of National Security Advisor Hanif Atmar, Interior Minister General Taj Mohammad Jahid, Defense Minister Tariq Shah Bahrami, and intelligence chief Masoom Stanekzai.

He also demanded an investigation into the funeral blasts and called for President Ashraf Ghani to fully implement the national unity government agreement, including creating the position of prime minister for Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, who is a member of Jamiat-e Islami.

The national unity government led by Ghani and Abdullah was brokered by Washington after the disputed election of 2014.

Police have locked down much of Kabul city, with armed checkpoints and armored vehicles patrolling the streets, although several dozen protesters on June 5 continued a peaceful sit-in near the blast site. Several other sit-ins were being held in other parts of the city.

Kabul will host a multinational peace conference on Afghanistan labelled the "Kabul Process," on June 6.

Representatives of around two dozen countries will attend the meeting, which aims to build international support for ways to restore security in the country.

With reporting by Tolo News and AFP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-minister- rabbani-dismissals-security-chiefs/28529667.html

Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Montenegro Officially Joins NATO At Ceremony In Washington

RFE/RL June 05, 2017

WASHINGTON -- Montenegro officially became the 29th member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) at a ceremony in Washington on June 5.

Prime Minister Dusko Markovic officially handed over Montenegro's accession instrument at the ceremony in the State Department's Treaty Room in the U.S. capital.

Markovic said his country's membership was an indication that "never again will anyone else decide our fate behind our back as it was in the past."

U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Tom Shannon, who attended the ceremony, said Montenegro had asserted "its right to choose its alliances openly even in the face of concerted foreign pressure."

The small Balkan country joins at a time when the alliance created to counter Soviet aggression looks to curb Russian attempts to increase its influence in Eastern Europe.

Montenegro was previously a close ally of Russia, but its decision to join NATO has outraged Moscow.

Nestled on the Adriatic Sea between Croatia and Albania, the tiny country and its $69 million annual defense budget may appear to have little military value.

Its army of some 2,000 soldiers will barely make a ripple in NATO forces, but its 293-kilometer coastline is a strategic parcel of real estate -- the penultimate piece in the Adriatic puzzle.

With the former Yugoslav republic securely in the fold, NATO will control the entire coast of the Adriatic, from the heel of Italy's boot to the rugged shores of Greece, except for a 20-kilometer stretch of land held by Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Montenegro's accession "reaffirms to other aspirants that NATO's door remains open to those countries willing and able to make the reforms necessary to meet NATO's high standards, and to accept the risks, responsibilities, as well as benefits of membership," the U.S. State Department said in a statement.

Montenegro's accession also marks the end of a long and often arduous road to membership that the Kremlin has repeatedly tried to derail.

Moscow has said in various contexts that Podgorica's NATO course runs counter to hundreds of years of "fraternal relations" between the two mostly Slavic, Orthodox Christian nations.

Russia also wields considerable economic power, as it is the largest investor in the Balkan country and an estimated 7,000 Russian nationals permanently reside in the nation of about 620,000.

Russians own about 40 percent of the country's desirable Adriatic Sea coast and Russian tourists account for as much as one-third of overnight visits in Montenegro.

Despite all its saber rattling, analysts said it is unlikely Moscow will take any real action over Montenegro's accession.

"The Kremlin isn't ready to commit significant resources to keep Montenegro out of the U.S. orbit," said Maksim Samorukov, an analyst at the Moscow Carnegie Center.

Montenegro's flag is to fly over NATO headquarters in Brussels for the first time on June 7.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/montenegro-joins- nato-russia-outraged/28529932.html

Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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In Giant Step Toward West, Montenegro Joining NATO On June 5

RFE/RL's Balkan Service June 05, 2017

Montenegro will take a giant step toward integrating with the West when it officially becomes the 29th member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) at a ceremony in Washington on June 5.

The small Balkan country is joining at a time when the alliance -- created to counter Soviet aggression -- looks to curb Russian attempts to increase its influence in Eastern Europe.

Prime Minister Dusko Markovic is to officially hand over Montenegro's accession instrument at a ceremony at noon in the U.S. capital.

Montenegro's flag is to fly over NATO headquarters in Brussels for the first time on June 7.

Montenegro has achieved a "civilizational turning point, attaching itself to the Western system of values," a government statement said in announcing the ceremony.

Nestled on the Adriatic Sea between Croatia and Albania, tiny Montenegro and its $69 million annual defense budget may appear to have little military value.

Its army of some 2,000 soldiers will barely make a ripple in NATO forces, but its 293-kilometer coastline is a strategic parcel of real estate -- the penultimate piece in the Adriatic puzzle.

With the former Yugoslav republic securely in the fold, NATO will control the entire coast of the Adriatic, from the heel of Italy's boot to the rugged shores of Greece, except for a 20-kilometer stretch of land held by Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Montenegro's accession "reaffirms to other aspirants that NATO's door remains open to those countries willing and able to make the reforms necessary to meet NATO's high standards, and to accept the risks, responsibilities, as well as benefits of membership," the U.S. State Department said in a statement.

Montenegro's accession also marks the end of a long and often arduous road to membership that the Kremlin has repeatedly tried to derail.

Moscow has said in various contexts that Podgorica's NATO course runs counter to hundreds of years of "fraternal relations" between the two mostly Slavic, Orthodox Christian nations.

Russia also wields considerable economic power, as it is the largest investor and an estimated 7,000 Russian nationals permanently reside in the nation of about 620,000.

Russians own about 40 percent of the country's desirable Adriatic Sea coast and Russian tourists account for as much as one-third of overnight visits in Montenegro.

Despite all its saber rattling, analysts said it is unlikely Moscow will take any real action over Montenegro's accession.

"The Kremlin isn't ready to commit significant resources to keep Montenegro out of the U.S. orbit," said Maksim Samorukov, an analyst at the Moscow Carnegie Center.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg will also participate in the Washington ceremony to welcome Montenegro as the alliance's newest member.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/montenegro- nato-29th-member/28529136.html

Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Putin Denies U.S. Election Meddling, Compromising Material On Trump

RFE/RL June 05, 2017

Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking on a prime-time U.S. TV program, has again denied that Moscow interfered in the presidential election last year and said that the Kremlin has no compromising material on President Donald Trump.

Putin used an interview aired on June 4 on NBC's Sunday Night With Megyn Kelly to distance himself from the controversy over suspicions of Russian meddling, which has caused turmoil in Washington and seriously set back his stated hopes of improving badly strained ties with the United States.

He played down ties with a central figure in U.S. probes into the matter, saying that he "didn't even really talk to" Michael Flynn, who advised Trump during his campaign and served as his national security adviser for a few weeks before being forced out.

Putin said reports that he had any damaging information that could be used to compromise Trump were "just another load of nonsense. Where would we get this information from?"

Putin, who said last week that Russian hackers could have taken steps to interfere in the U.S. election for "patriotic" reasons but has repeatedly denied any state involvement, asserted that there was no need for Russia to seek to sway the results, suggesting it would be meaningless in the long term

"We don't even have to do that," Putin said. "Presidents come and go, and even the parties in power change, but the main political direction does not change."

In January, the U.S. intelligence community issued an assessment that "Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the U.S. presidential election," with goals including undermining faith in the U.S. democratic system, denigrating Clinton, and improving Trump's chances of winning the presidency.

U.S. officials and many observers believe that Putin wanted to decrease Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton's chances of election because she publicly took a tough stance over issues including Russia's record on human rights and democracy and its aggression in Ukraine, and strongly advocated continuing sanctions over its seizure of Crimea and its involvement in the war, whicht has killed more than 9,900 people in eastern Ukraine.

Putin has chilly relations with Clinton and accused her of encouraging antigovernment protests in Russia in 2011, as he was preparing to return to the presidency after four years as prime minister.

Trump, by contrast, made clear during the campaign that he would seek to improve relations with Russia and increase cooperation against terrorism -- something Putin has long called for.

Putin and Trump have at times voiced admiration for one another, but Putin said that he never had a "special relationship" with the U.S. president.

"We didn't have any relationship at all," he said. "There was a time when he used to come to Moscow. But you know, I never met with him. We have a lot of Americans who visit us."

The FBI and the U.S. Congress are investigating the contacts between Russians and the Trump campaign and transition team, including for any signs of collusion by associates of Trump with what U.S. intelligence officials say were Russia's aims in the election.

Putin also said he had very little contact with Flynn, whose contacts with the Russian ambassador to Washington are among the factors that led to the probes, even though they sat next to each other at a dinner in Moscow in December 2015.

"When I came to the event for our company, Russia Today, and sat down at the table, next to me there was a gentleman sitting on one side," Putin told Kelly in a reference to state-backed channel RT.

"I made my speech. Then we talked about some other stuff. And I got up and left. And then afterward I was told, 'You know there was an American gentleman. He was involved in some things. He used to be in the security services.'

"That's it. I didn't even really talk to him...That's the extent of my acquaintance with Mr. Flynn," Putin said.

A longtime Soviet KGB officer, Putin usually seems to take pride in his attention to detail, knowledge of people he meets with, and thorough preparations for talks and other events.

Flynn was forced out by Trump in February after less than a month on the job following claims he misled Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with Sergei Kislyak, Russia's ambassador to the United States, during the transition period after Trump's election on November 8. He has also been accused of not reporting his meeting with Putin and income from Russian sources, such as payments from RT.

Putin also said he had no knowledge of a report by multiple U.S. media outlets of a proposal by Trump's son-in-law and key adviser Jared Kushner to set up a secret communications channel with the Kremlin.

"I don't know about this proposal. No proposal like that came to me," he said.

Putin's comments were translated from Russian into English for the broadcast. The Kremlin released a Russian transcript on June 5.

While denying that Russia interfered in the U.S. election, Putin accused the United States of interfering in foreign elections.

"Put your finger anywhere on a map of the world, and everywhere you will hear complaints that American officials are interfering in internal electoral processes," he said.

Analysts say Putin frequently seeks to deflect allegations against Russia by trying to turn the tables and ascribe similar actions to the accusers.

He bristled when asked about reports of long-standing corruption and repression of dissent in Russia.

"Why do you feel you have the right to ask us these kinds of questions? And do it all the time? To moralize and to give us lessons on how to live?" Putin said.

"We're ready to listen to comments when it is done constructively, with the goal of establishing a relationship, creating a common environment. But we will absolutely not accept when these sorts of things are used as an instrument of political conflict," he said.

With reporting by NBC, AP, Bloomberg, Reuters, and AFP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/putin-flynn-interview-nbc- russia-united-states-trump/28528004.html

Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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United Arab Emirates severs relations with Qatar

Saudi Press Agency

Monday 1438/9/10 - 2017/06/05

ABU DHABI, Ramadan 10, 1438, June 05, 2017, SPA -- The United Arab Emirates has issued the following statement:

"The UAE affirms its complete commitment and support to the Gulf Cooperation Council and to the security and stability of the GCC States. Within this framework, and based on the insistence of the State of Qatar to continue to undermine the security and stability of the region and its failure to honour international commitments and agreements, it has been decided to take the following measures that are necessary for safeguarding the interests of the GCC States in general and those of the brotherly Qatari people in particular:

1-In support of the statements issued by the sisterly Kingdom of Bahrain and sisterly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates severs all relations with the State of Qatar, including breaking off diplomatic relations, and gives Qatari diplomats 48 hours to leave the UAE.

2-Preventing Qatari nationals from entering the UAE or crossing its points of entry, giving Qatari residents and visitors in the UAE 14 days to leave the country for precautionary security reasons. The UAE nationals are likewise banned from traveling to or staying in Qatar or transiting through its territories.

3-Closure of UAE airspace and seaports for all Qataris in 24 hours and banning all Qatari means of transportation, coming to or leaving the UAE, from crossing, entering or leaving the UAE territories, and taking all legal measures in collaboration with friendly countries and international companies with regards to Qataris using the UAE airspace and territorial waters, from and to Qatar, for national security considerations.

The UAE is taking these decisive measures as a result of the Qatari authorities' failure to abide by the Riyadh Agreement on returning GCC diplomats to Doha and its Complementary Arrangement in 2014, and Qatar's continued support, funding and hosting of terror groups, primarily Islamic Brotherhood, and its sustained endeavours to promote the ideologies of Daesh and Al Qaeda across its direct and indirect media.

While regretting the policies taken by the State of Qatar that sow seeds of sedition and discord among the region's countries, the UAE affirms its full respect and appreciation for the brotherly Qatari people on account of the profound historical, religious and fraternal ties and kin relations binding UAE and Qatari peoples."

--SPA

12:43 LOCAL TIME 09:43 GMT

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Bahrain severs relations with Qatar

Saudi Press Agency

Monday 1438/9/10 - 2017/06/05

Manama, Ramadan 10, 1438, June 05, 2017, SPA -- Based on the insistence of the State of Qatar to continue to undermine the security and stability of the Kingdom of Bahrain and to interfere in its domestic affairs, as well as on the escalation and incitement of its media and its support to acts of terror and to financing armed groups associated with Iran to carry out subversive attacks and spread chaos in the Kingdom in flagrant violation of all agreements, covenants and principles of international law without any regard to values, law, morals or consideration of the principles of good neighbourliness or pledge to the premises of Gulf relations, and the denial of previous commitments, the Kingdom of Bahrain announces the severing of its diplomatic relations with the State of Qatar in order to preserve its national security.

Bahrain is also withdrawing its diplomatic mission from Doha and giving all members of the Qatari diplomatic mission 48 hours to leave the Kingdom and the completion of the necessary procedures.

Bahrain is also closing its airspace, ports and territorial waters to air traffic and shipping to and from Qatar within 24 hours of the announcement of the statement.

The Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain is banning its citizens from traveling to Qatar or staying there. It regrets that Qatari citizens are not allowed to enter or transiting through Bahrain.

Qatari residents and visitors are therefore given 14 days to leave the Kingdom in order to avoid any hostile attempts or activities that may exploit the situation, despite our pride and confidence in our brethren among the Qatari people and their love for their second country.

--SPA

12:49 LOCAL TIME 09:49 GMT

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Libya Severs Diplomatic Relations with Qatar

Saudi Press Agency

Monday 1438/9/10 - 2017/06/05

Tripoli, Ramadan 10, 1438, Jun 5, 2017, SPA -- The Government of Libya decided to sever diplomatic relations with the State of Qatar.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs at the provisional Government, Mohammed Al-Dairi said in a press statement that "His country has decided to sever its relations with the State of Qatar in solidarity with our brothers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom of Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and the Arab Republic of Egypt" .

He pointed out that Qatar's record in its repeated and numerous attacks on the dignity of the Libyan people after February 17 events has always angered large sectors of the Libyan people.

--SPA

14:20 LOCAL TIME 11:20 GMT

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'Unacceptable': India Slams China for Alleged Airspace Violation

Sputnik News

17:49 05.06.2017(updated 18:02 05.06.2017)

India has toughened its stand on the alleged violation of its airspace by two Chinese PLA helicopters which landed in Barahoti area of Chamoli in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand. India has termed it unacceptable and said it will raise this issue with China.

New Delhi (Sputnik)  India claims that two Chinese Ziba series attack helicopters hovered over Indian territory of Barahoti for four minutes on Saturday. After the reported violation of air space, the Indian Air Force announced it would launch a probe into the incident.

"This is true that two Chinese helicopters landed in Uttarakhand. We can understand the logic behind mistakes by troops in the backdrop of unresolved border issues. This is the first such airspace violation. This is unacceptable. We will take it up with China," Sushma Swaraj, India's Minister for External Affairs, said in New Delhi.

Swaraj did not divulge the process by which issue will be raised with Beijing but promised, "101% issue is going to be raised with Beijing." Over the last three months, China has allegedly violated airspace three times.

"In principle, China and India have territorial disputes in the eastern section of the China-India border," China said earlier in the day.

"Chinese military carry out regular patrols in the relevant areas. We hope that the two sides will make joint efforts to maintain tranquility and peace of the border area," Hua Chunying, spokesperson, Chinese foreign ministry, said.

India and China listed an 80-sq-km sloping pasture of Barahoti as disputed areas and both the forces have been carrying out patrol out of uniform. India assumes that Chinese forces may patrol the territory to take photographs in order to locate the deployment of forces in the areas.

 Sputnik

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Seriously? Lithuania Begins Fence Construction on Border With Russia

Sputnik News

11:42 05.06.2017(updated 13:10 05.06.2017)

Lithuania announced it is starting to build a fence on the Russian border on Monday.

VILNIUS (Sputnik)  Lithuania will begin its construction of a 44.6 kilometer (27.7 mile) long fence on the Russian border on Monday, the country's State Border Guard Service announced.

"On Monday, the construction of a protection fence will begin on the border with Russia. By the end of this year, the fence on the Lithuanian side will be constructed at the stretch of 44.6 kilometers," the statement of the agency's press service said.

The cost of the construction project is estimated to be 1.3 million euros ($1.5 million), with funds being allocated from the state budget. The segmented metal security fence will be up to 2 meters (6.5 feet) high and will feature additional equipment, according to the Border Guard Service statement made in May.

The May statement specified that the fence will extend from the junction of the Lithuanian, Polish and Russian borders toward the Lithuanian town of Vistytis and up to the Nemunas River. The 109 kilometer long border section beyond the Nemunas has previously been equipped with technical surveillance systems.

The construction is due to be finished by December 20.

 Sputnik

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Yemen Severs Diplomatic Relations With Qatar

Sputnik News

10:09 05.06.2017(updated 13:11 05.06.2017)

The government of Yemen has cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, thus following a similar decision by Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

"Yemeni government cuts diplomatic ties with Qatar," the Al-Arabiya broadcaster said in its breaking news dispatch. "Yemeni gov't also confirms Arab coalition suspends Qatar's participation."

Sanaa accuses Doha of supporting Shiite Houthi rebels and other radical groups in the country.

"This takes place after Qatar's actions and its links with the groups behind the coup, as well as its support for extremist groups in Yemen, became clear," the government statement published by Yemen's Saba news agency reads.

On June 5, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates severed diplomatic relations with Qatar citing security concerns over Doha's alleged support for terrorism.

The Sauid-led coalition has been fighting Houthis in Yemen since spring 2015.

Libya has made a similar step earlier in the day.

In response, the Qatari Foreign Ministry rejected the Arab states' accusations and expressed regret over their move, saying that the measures are "unjustified."

The row between the countries intensified one week after the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh, when the Qatari news agency posted a speech supporting the building relations with Iran on behalf of the country's emir. Afterwards, the official representative of the Qatari Foreign Ministry said that the agency's site was hacked and the emir's speech was published by hackers and had nothing to do with the Qatari leader.

However the Arab states considered this refutation to be unconvincing and continued to insist that the words about the normalization of relations with Iran really belonged to the emir. The relations between Iran and the Arab states of Persian Gulf, especially Saudi Arabia, are strained due to the differences of positions on a range of regional conflicts.

 Sputnik

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Four Arab States Cut Diplomatic Ties With Qatar

Sputnik News

07:25 05.06.2017(updated 13:01 05.06.2017)

Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates on Monday decided to sever diplomatic ties with Qatar.

CAIRO (Sputnik)  Bahrain was the first state to make an announcement. According to the official statement published by the Bahrain News Agency, Manama's move has been motivated by Doha's persisting attempts to destabilize situation in Bahrain.

"Due to the insistence of the State of Qatar in further destabilizing security and stability in the Kingdom of Bahrain and interference in its affairs, continuing the escalation and incitement media and supporting armed terrorist activities the Kingdom of Bahrain announces the severance of diplomatic relations with the State of Qatar," the statement read.

Bahrain gave Qatari diplomats 48 hours to leave the territory of the kingdom. Also, Manama suspended air and sea communication with Doha and banned citizens of Qatar from visiting Bahrain, and prohibited its citizens from living and visiting Qatar.

Minutes later, Riyadh, Cairo and Abu Dhabi made similar statements while Saudi Arabia and Egypt also suspended air and sea communication with Qatar.

"The Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt has decided to sever diplomatic relations with Qatar because of the continued hostility of the Qatari authorities towards Egypt," the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said.

Simultaneously, the Saudi-led coalition has announced the cancellation of the Qatari participation in the military operation in Yemen citing Doha's support of al-Qaeda and Daesh terror groups.

The conflict between Qatar and its neighbors occurred one week after the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh, when the Qatari news agency posted a speech on behalf of the country's emir in support of building relations with Iran.

At the summit, Saudi Arabia on behalf of all the guests condemned Iran for its hostile policies and threatened with an adequate response. Later, the official representative of the Qatari Foreign Ministry said that the agency's site was hacked, and the speech on behalf of the emir was published by hackers and has nothing to do with the Qatari leader.

However, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain considered this refutation to be unconvincing and continued to insist that the words about the normalization of relations with Iran really belong to the emir.

 Sputnik

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Saudi Arabia Cuts Diplomatic Relations With Qatar Following Bahrain

Sputnik News

05:41 05.06.2017(updated 13:01 05.06.2017)

Saudi Arabia reportedly severed diplomatic relations with Qatar.

Saudi Arabia on Monday announced severing diplomatic relations with Qatar, state news agency reported. Saudi Arabia also announced that it was cutting air and sea contact with Qatar.

"The Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, exercising its sovereign rights guaranteed by the international law, and protecting national security from the dangers of terrorism and extremism, decided to sever diplomatic and consular relations with the State of Qatar," the statement read.

Qatari citizens were given 14 days to leave Saudi Arabia following the severing of ties.

Also, it has been announced, that the Saudi-led coalition cancelled Qatar's participation in Yemen operation, citing al-Qaeda support.

The statement comes just after Bahrain announced cutting diplomatic relations with Qatar.

A statement, delivered by the official Bahrain news agency also stated that the country was cutting air and sea contact with its fellow Gulf Arab state and that it was giving its citizens in Qatar fourteen days to leave the country.

 Sputnik

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Bahrain Severs Diplomatic Relations With Qatar

Sputnik News

05:20 05.06.2017(updated 13:01 05.06.2017)

Bahrain announced that it is cutting diplomatic relations with Qatar.

Bahrain on Monday announced cutting diplomatic ties with Qatar citing ongoing attempts to destabilize security in the country, Bahrain News Agency said in a statement Monday.

"Due to the insistence of the State of Qatar in further destabilizing security and stability in the Kingdom of Bahrain and interference in its affairs, continuing the escalation and incitement media and supporting armed terrorist activities the Kingdom of Bahrain announces the severance of diplomatic relations with the State of Qatar," the statement read.

Qatar citizens given 14 days while Qatar diplomats given 48 hours to leave Bahrain.

After the announcement, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt also announced severing diplomatic relations with Qatar.

 Sputnik

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Remarks at the Ceremony for Montenegro's Accession to the North Atlantic Treaty

Remarks

Thomas A. Shannon, Jr.

Under Secretary for Political Affairs

Montenegrin Prime Minister Dusko Markovic and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg

Treaty Room

Washington, DC

June 5, 2017

UNDER SECRETARY SHANNON: Thank you very much, John. And good morning and welcome to all of you to the Department of State and to the Treaty Room. John indicated the dignitaries we have here today, and we're delighted to have all of you here. So many have you have played such an important role in reaching this important date. And as was noted by the foreign minister and by the ambassador, this is many years in coming. So this has been  like building a cathedral, this has been a process in which many people have played an important role.

But we want to extend an especially warm welcome to NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg. Thank you, sir, for being here today. And obviously, to Montenegro's leaders, to its Prime Minister Markovic, to its Foreign Minister Darmanovic, to Monenegro's ambassador here in the United States, to our ambassador in Montenegro. And to those of us, some who can't be here today but would have liked to, people like Toria Nuland, people like Sandy Vershbow. I don't know if Doug Lute is here today, but if so, these are people who played very important roles in this. But to our guests from NATO and from Montenegro, I want to thank you here. You do us great honor with your presence.

Over decades, the promise of NATO membership and broader Euro-Atlantic integration has advanced our security, our democratic values, and our respect for the rule of law. It has served as an incentive for nations to pursue difficult reforms. This policy has yielded clear results, and that is why NATO allies unanimously agreed to welcome Montenegro into the alliance.

Montenegro has taken NATO's guidance and mentorship to heart and implemented meaningful reforms including force structure transformation and modernization and upgrading operational capabilities. We greatly appreciate that Montenegro takes seriously the financial commitment will undertake with NATO membership.

On May 25, NATO leaders met in Brussels and agreed that allies should develop national plans by the end of the year for implementing the 2014 Wales pledge to aim to reach 2 percent of GDP towards defense spending and 20 percent of defense budgets on necessary capabilities by 2024. Montenegro is on track to allocate 1.72 percent of its GDP in 2017, and its long-term defense development plan envisions reaching 2 percent by 2024.

Montenegro has been a reliable partner and force provider to NATO, the EU, and UN missions. It has contributed to NATO's operations in Afghanistan for six years and contributed over $1 million in the last two years towards the sustainability of Afghan security forces.

We also appreciate that Montenegro has been an active contributor to the 67-member defeat ISIS coalition. All NATO allies are members of the coalition, and on May 25, NATO leaders agreed that NATO would formally join the coalition and that NATO would do more in the fight against international terrorism. Montenegro should be commended in particular for asserting its sovereign right to choose its own alliances even in the face of concerted foreign pressure. As President Trump said in his February 28th remarks to a joint session of Congress, "America respects the right of all nations to chart their own path."

Montenegro's accession sends a strong message of strength to the region and makes clear to our allies that the United States remains as committed as ever to the principle of collective defense as enshrined in Article 5 of the Washington Treaty. In a strong demonstration of U.S. support for Montenegro's membership, the U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly, 97-2, on March 28 to ratify Montenegro's accession protocol.

NATO's strength is based on not only on its military might, but also on our allies' shared commitment to the fundamental values enshrined in the Washington Treaty, democracy, individual liberty, and the rule of law. Montenegro's accession also affirms to other aspiring members that NATO's doors remain open to those countries willing and able to make the reforms necessary to meet NATO's high standards, and to accept the risks and responsibilities as well as the benefits of membership. Montenegro's accession is an important stepping stone toward our vision of a Europe whole, free, and at peace.

Thank you all again for joining us here today. Thank you.

(Applause.)

MODERATOR: Foreign Minister Darmanovic will now present the instrument of accession to Under Secretary Shannon.

(The instrument was presented.)

MODERATOR: And now I'd like to introduce Prime Minister of Montenegro Markovic.

PRIME MINISTER MARKOVIC: (Via interpreter) Dear Deputy Secretary of State, dear Secretary-General, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, dear friends and allies, today is a big day for Montenegro, a day when my country is becoming a NATO ally. That is a historic event for a country and a nation which endured enormous sacrifices in the 19th and 20th centuries in order to defend their right to a free life, the right to decide on our own future, the right to be recognized by the world under our own name, and with our national symbols.

History has shown us that when we say Montenegro, these are the phrases that cross our mind: "the smallest country and an enormous sacrifice." Nearly a hundred years after it was deleted from the political map of Europe and at the end of the World War I and 11 years since restoration of its independence, Montenegro is again a part of global politics. We are celebrating today the fact that it will never happen again that someone else decides instead of us and our state, behind our back, as it was the case in the past.

Today, we are also formally becoming a part of the most powerful and most successful alliance in history which decides on the most important issues of today's world. Membership in NATO means permanent stability for us with Euro-Atlantic democratic values embedded in the society and economy geared towards further prosperity.

Allow me to extend my gratitude to our host country, the United States of America, gratitude to President Trump, to the Senate, for the staunch and continuous support for our membership in NATO, gratitude to Vice President Pence, Secretary Tillerson, and the entire State Department, who have been very helpful throughout this entire process in enabling us to be at this place today. I'm also grateful to all of you who are here today to share our satisfaction.

From the moment of reinstatement of our relations back in 2006, the United States has been a staunch, reliable, and precious partner of Montenegro in achieving the vision of a Euro-Atlantic and European country. This is also confirmation of something that has never been questioned  that Americans remain committed to the stability and security of the Western Balkans and Europe. We are very grateful to the NATO and esteemed secretary-general who is with us today.

Dear Mr. Stoltenberg, dear Jens, you have been actively supporting us all this time with vision and friendly advice. Montenegro will know how to prove that it is a trustworthy partner.

As an ally, Montenegro will continue working, reinvigorated towards that goal, so as to reach the standard of 2 percent allocations for the defense budget by 2024 and to develop a national plan by the end of this year, because we believe that equitable burden-sharing is important for the functioning of the alliance. We will be contributing to NATO deterrence and defense policy, counterterrorism, projecting stability, as well as to overseas operations and missions. We will be a strong advocate and partner in the alliance's refocusing on the Western Balkans and further integration of the countries of the region into NATO.

I firmly believe that this is a historic day for NATO too. Facing the new and grave challenges, the alliance's admitting the 29th member show increasingly that the open-door policy is alive and that it works well as a beacon of hope to all of those who want to share its values and standards.

Ladies and gentlemen, since this day, June the 5th, 2017, we are an ally that will enjoy the benefits provided by the collective system of security with major responsibility to continue together with you unwaveringly and committedly to work towards durable peace, stability, and security of Europe and the world. This is a task that will be passed on to the next generations.

Allow me to send a message to the citizens of my country from this place: Let us unite and let us seize this opportunity to make Montenegro a country where people will live better lives with even higher level of democracy, rule of law, and equal opportunities for all. We primarily owe it to ourselves, but we also owe it to our allies who understood and supported, acknowledged, and accepted a small Balkan country as an equal partner. Let us be wise for the sake of our future as much as we were brave in our heroic past.

May Montenegro be eternal, may our alliance be eternal. Thank you. (Applause.)

MODERATOR: And now, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

SECRETARY-GENERAL STOLTENBERG: John, thank you so much. Prime Minister Markovic, Under Secretary Shannon, excellencies, ambassadors, ladies and gentlemen, in April 1949, just a short distance from here, the 12 founding members of NATO Alliance signed the Washington Treaty. At that ceremony, President Truman said, "In this pact, we hope to create a shield against aggression and the fear of aggression  a bulwark which will permit us to get on with the real business of government and society, the business of achieving a fuller and happier life for all our citizens."

Since then, NATO's shield has been extended to cover 28  now 29 nations in Europe and North America, enabling almost a billion people to live that fuller and happier life. We are an alliance of democracies and we have at times different political perspectives, but together, we rise above those differences and unite around a common purpose: to stand with each other, to protect each other, and, if necessary, to fight to defend each other. Article 5, our collective defense pledge, is the core of our alliance  a unique bond that has kept our nations safe for almost seven decades. Today, our commitment to the alliance is as strong as ever, not just in words but also in deeds. We see a stronger U.S. military presence in Europe, and Europe and Canada investing more in defense.

Today, Montenegro joins NATO with a seat at the table as an equal, with an equal voice in shaping our alliance and its independence guaranteed. In turn, NATO benefits from Montenegro's insight into the Western Balkans and the professionalism, bravery, and dedication of its men and women in uniform  troops who serve with our Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan. Montenegro's accession is good for Montenegro. It is also good for the stability of the Western Balkans, and it's good for international peace and security.

Since NATO's founding, keeping our door open to new members has been one of our greatest contributions to international peace and security. Montenegro's accession sends a signal to other states that seek membership that if a country truly reforms, if it promotes democracy, strengthen the rule of law, modernizes its armed forces, and contributes to our collective defense, it too can join the alliance.

Sixty-seven years ago, President Truman said that people with courage, ambition can still determine their own destiny. Today, Montenegro has determined its own destiny to join NATO and to follow the path of freedom and peace.

So I congratulate you, Prime Minister Markovic. (Speaks in Montenegrin.) (Applause.) Welcome, Montenegro.

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UN chief Guterres meets with Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders

5 June 2017  Following a meeting with the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced that they had agreed on the need to reconvene the Conference on Cyprus in June, in line with the 12 January statement of the conference.

"All agreed that the chapter on security and guarantees is of vital importance to the two communities," Secretary-General Guterres said at a press stakeout at the UN Headquarters, in New York, alongside the Greek Cypriot leader, Mr. Nicos Anastasiades and the Turkish Cypriot leader, Mr. Mustafa Aknc.

"Progress in this chapter is an essential element in reaching an overall agreement and in building trust between the two communities in relation to their future security," he added.

The leaders also agreed to continue in parallel the bi-communal negotiations in Geneva on all other outstanding issues, starting with territory, property and governance and power-sharing.

The UN chief and the leaders also agreed that all issues will be negotiated interdependently, as per the joint declaration of 11 February 2014.

Further in his remarks, Mr. Guterres said that his Special Adviser, Espen Barth Eide, would engage with all participants in the preparation of a common document to guide the discussions on security and guarantees, based on the outcome of the meetings of the conference on Cyprus in Geneva and Mont Pelerin.

In the follow-up to this meeting, the Secretary-General will reach out to the other participants of the conference: Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom and the European Union as an observer.

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Afghan Peace Conference Comes Amid Rising Terror, Political Tensions

By Ayaz Gul, Noor Zahid June 05, 2017

Afghanistan's beleaguered president, Ashraf Ghani, will host an international conference Tuesday in a fresh bid to develop "wider consensus" on how to end an increasingly deadly conflict in the country and collectively fight cross-border terrorism.

The government has named its new regional peace initiative "the Kabul Process" conference but the first meeting is taking place amid worsening national security and deepening political tensions.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmad Shakeb Mustaghani told reporters Monday that authorities are determined not to allow domestic challenges to hamper their efforts.

He said Afghanistan's neighbors, such as Iran and Pakistan, are among the confirmed participants. The spokesman also said others taking part include the United States, Russia, India, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Britain, the United Nations and European Union.

"And our security institutions have also assured the government of putting enough security measures in place in order to ensure the security of this meeting," said Mustaghani.

Events of the past week, however, have overshadowed what is being described as a key step toward promoting Afghan peace and security.

Two suicide bombings and deadly anti-government protests in Kabul have killed nearly 120 people and wounded around 600 more. The bloodshed started with a massive truck bomb explosion that ripped through the diplomatic section of the capital on Wednesday, May 31.

No group has claimed responsibility for the either attack, but analysts say they may mark a turning point.

"The attack was so large that it changed the situation qualitatively," Zalmay Khalilzad, a former U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan and Iraq told VOA. "So many Afghans were killed and injured it cannot be treated as business as usual. Afghanistan should no longer have patience for such action."

The violence outraged residents and political opponents who took to the streets to demand Ghani resign. Several demonstrators were killed Friday in clashes with security forces.

Political divisions

Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani, head of a major party in the ruling coalition, Monday linked his cooperation with the Ghani government to the removal of heads of all security institutions, including the national security adviser.

He maintained they all failed to prevent the violence and fired at innocent protesters.

"There is no doubt that the situation, both political and security situation in particular, is not good. The inhuman terrorist act that took place on Wednesday...is a clear example that there is a big problem with the heads of the security institutions. They should be removed," Rabbani said.

On Saturday, the foreign minister and key members of his Jamiat-e Islami party, including Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, were attending the funeral of one of the victims of the deadly protests when a triple suicide bombing struck the service.

Most of the top leaders miraculously escaped unharmed, but an angry Rabbani, in a press conference, accused elements within the coalition government of playing a role in facilitating the attack.

Presidential spokespeople, without directly responding to Rabbani's accusations, dismissed them as "politically" motivated, saying a high-profile investigation into the violence is under way and the government urges all parties to await the outcome.

Pakistan Blame

While Afghan governing partners are locked in political confrontation, the state intelligence agency (NDS) has accused the Haqqani network, a key Taliban ally, of plotting Wednesday's suicide bombing in cooperation with Pakistan's spy agency (ISI).

Islamabad has rejected the charges as baseless and unfounded, saying Pakistan "in the strongest terms" has condemned the Kabul terrorist attack. He also dismissed allegations that Taliban insurgents are using Pakistani soil for orchestrating the violence.

Instead of indulging in a blame game, Afghans must share evidence with Pakistan so it could take "the required action," said foreign policy advisor, Sartaj Aziz, on Sunday.

"This accusatory approach is instigated by those who have no interest in peace and stability in Afghanistan and their malicious agenda is to damage Afghanistan-Pakistan relations and the cooperation initiatives recently gaining momentum," Aziz asserted.

Attacks highlight need for talks

While some in Afghanistan rejected holding talks immediately following the brutal attacks, Barnett Rubin, associate director of the Center on International Cooperation at New York University and writer of several books on Afghanistan, said the situation highlights the need for dialogue.

"You hold peace conference during a war. War means bloodshed and killing and unpredictable events. There are also many people who want to continue the war. Hence it's inevitable that peace conference will meet under such circumstances."

Michael Kugelman, a South Asia specialist at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, said that although last week's bombing has raised internal political divisions, it could lead to a greater push for a peace deal.

"The attack underscores just how horrible things are and that reconciliation is the only way forward to bring an end to the constant bloodshed in AfghanistanThe situation on the ground is growing increasingly critical, and clarity about U.S. plans has never been more necessary," Kugelman said.

The extent of the U.S. role in Afghanistan has been under review by the Trump administration, which is expected to announce its strategy soon.

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Japan Pushed World Leaders to Warn China Over Maritime Expansion

By Ralph Jennings June 05, 2017

On paper, all of the world's seven richest nations warned last month against militarization of the contested South China Sea, where Beijing is building up small islets for combat aircraft and radar systems.

But analysts believe it was Japan that pushed the Group of Seven nations for the warning as it vies with China for political influence around Asia.

Japan is concerned

"I think in recent times Japan has been trying to make use of various regional and international forums to, for lack of a better word, publicize China's military expansion and its associated activities," said Collin Koh, maritime security research fellow at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. "So I think in this context using the G7 is a particularly timely platform."

The G7, which includes Japan as well as the United States and several Western European countries, expressed "concern" about the East and South China Seas in a leadership communique from the May 26-27 event in Italy. The G7 is "strongly opposed to any unilateral actions that could increase tensions," it said, and "we urge all parties to pursue demilitarization of disputed features."

China is engaged in militarization of the South China Sea

China, though not named in the statement, leads in militarization of the resource-packed, 3.5 million-square-kilometer South China Sea that runs from its southern coast to Borneo. Reclamation work estimated at 3,200 acres has expanded islets in the Paracel and Spratly chains to support naval and air force facilities.

Japan has a particular stake in the dispute. It does not claim the sea but vies with Beijing for alliances with Southeast Asian countries that do have claims.

Japan and China separately dispute a tract of the East China Sea, which lies east of Shanghai. Tokyo controls the disputed area and eight uninhabited islands. China passed ships near the islands on more than 30 days last year to assert its claims, in some cases prompting Japan to scramble planes.

China further resents Japan over what it sees as unsettled issues from its World War II-era occupation of Chinese territory.

Japan wants to be a player in the South China Sea

"The Japanese prime minister is very steadfast on the position that Japan needs to have a principled position in the South China Sea," said Yun Sun, senior associate with the East Asia Program under Washington-based think tank the Stimson Center.

With the United States taking a low-key approach on the issue for now, she said, "I think Japan is probably the most concerned about what China is doing."

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was "leading discussions" at the G7 meeting on "maritime security," among other issues, the website of his country's foreign ministry says.

"When China was mentioned in the discussions, Prime Minister Abe stated the importance of relations with China and also that the G7 should urge China to play a constructive role in the international community," the ministry says.

US backing off for now

Japanese officials may be especially worried because U.S. President Donald Trump has sidelined the South China Sea issue since taking office in January, said Alexander Huang, strategic studies professor at Tamkang University in Taiwan.

Tokyo and Washington have historically worked together on checking China's expansion, but Trump now wants China's help containing North Korea and is considered unlikely to rile Beijing as they cooperate.

Japanese leaders have used forums under the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to issue "warnings" and senior-level meetings in Europe "to air those views and canvass for support for its cause," Koh said.

China upset with G7 warning against militarization

China called the G7's statement "irresponsible." It probably resents the G7 for reviving the issue, Huang said.

"Basically the Chinese wanted this issue to just die down. So if G7 did not mention anything about the South China Sea, that would be the best case scenario for China," Huang said. "I think China believes they are doing something about it, and it's not necessary to bring about this issue at this moment."

Since a world arbitration court in The Hague ruled last year that Beijing lacks a legal basis to its claim over about 95 percent of the South China Sea, the Communist government has sought talks with four Southeast Asian countries whose exclusive economic zones overlap waters that Beijing calls its own.

Specifically, it has offered development aid to the Philippines, discussed maritime cooperation with Vietnam and pumped money into Brunei and Malaysia. China and ASEAN agreed in May to a framework for a code of conduct that would eventually prevent mishaps in the sea.

Partly in response to China, committees in Japan's ruling party have drafted a revision to the Self-Defense Forces Law to give the military more powers than just to be a self-defense force as established after World War II.

"We do see actually some signs of easing of tensions, but I think Japan wouldn't want people to forget that while all these negotiations are taking place, the fact is that China has been continuing with the buildup," Koh said.

The G7 leaders added in their statement they want a "peaceful settlement of maritime disputes through diplomatic and legal means, including arbitration."

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Cease-fire in Effect in South Sudan's War-torn Yei River State

By Halima Athumani June 05, 2017

A cease-fire has taken effect in South Sudan's war-torn Yei River state. The deal was signed Sunday in Uganda between a breakaway faction from the SPLA in opposition and the government. But top opposition SPLM-IO leaders say they do not recognize the deal.

A peace agreement for Yei River state came after a four day joint military committee meeting in Kampala to discuss a cessation of hostilities, permanent cease-fire, national dialogue, and the opening of all roads leading to and from Yei town in South Sudan.

The key agreement was the Sudan People's Liberation Army in opposition agreed to declare a permanent cease-fire and for both sides to ensure Yei River State is not a battleground.

Brigadier General Hillary Edson Yakani represented the SPLA in opposition and explained some of their demands.

"We have seen there are a lot of challenges, especially from the behavior of some military persons who were misusing their positions in mishandling our citizens, so this is one of our greatest demands, asking the government to bring in a well-balanced national army who will really handle people with all the respect and what is required of a national army," said Yakani.

Lead government negotiator Major General Marshal Stephen Babanen says the agreement signed Sunday is going to be fully operational in 18 weeks, including the integration of the former rebels into the national army.

"As we have signed the agreement and the permanent cease fire, they are going to move to pre-assembly areas which will take them one to two weeks and then in the said week they will go to the assembly areas where all the activities of screening, training and integration will take place," he said.

But when VOA contacted the main opposition SPLM-IO deputy spokesman Colonel Lam Paul Gabriel he said they do not recognize the group led by Brigadier General Yakani. Gabriel said those who signed the "fake" peace deal are individuals who deserted opposition leader Riek Machar.

But Yakani says he represents more than 16,000 armed troops in Yei River State.

"When we went to the bush we did not sign a document with Riek Machar, but we all went to the bush because there was problem, so now that we are coming back, we command the forces in Yei River State, it is not Riek Machar who commands the forces," he said.

The agreement was a result of a request from South Sudan's President Salva Kiir to Uganda's Yoweri Museveni.

The grassroots peace initiative process follows a January visit to Yei by Kiir.

Yei was a headquarters of the SPLA during the struggle with Sudan and has been at the heart of the fighting in South Sudan. The U.N. human rights office released a report in May alleging pro-government forces killed at least 114 civilians in and around Yei town from July 2016 to January 2017. The army has denied those allegations.

Yei town was considered mostly peaceful until the flare-up of violence in July 2016, following Machar's departure from Juba. Since that time, many residents have fled, often to refugee settlements in neighboring Uganda.

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IDPs Flee Cameroon Camps After Militant Attacks

By Moki Edwin Kindzeka June 05, 2017

Hundreds of internally displaced persons in northern Cameroon are deserting camps near the Nigerian border, saying they no longer feel safe after a series of suicide bombings.

The Kolofata central mosque on Cameroon's northern border with Nigeria is now a sanctuary for 70 people who began escaping a nearby IDP camp last Friday, after two suicide bombers disguised as refugees begged for food and blew themselves up.

Nearly a dozen people, including the bombers, were killed and 30 people were wounded.

Forty-year-old Samari Bakassia lost his wife in the attack. Bakassia says he fled the IDP camp with their two-month-old baby because their safety could not be guaranteed.

He says they are scared and are now relying only on God to save them from terrorists.

According to Cameroon's government, about 150 people deserted the camp that had housed about 500 Cameroonians who were fleeing increasing attacks by Boko Haram militants.

In another incident, two female suicide bombers blew themselves up when a self-defense group identified them as attackers headed to the camp. The bombers killed a member of the self-defense group and wounded at least a dozen people.

Doctor Vohod Deguime says 17 women and three children, one younger than 2 months old, are among the wounded who have come from Kolofata and Mora in the past 24 hours. He says those patients refuse to return to the IDP camp once their treatment ends.

It is the first time such attacks on IDPs have been reported. Most such incidents have targeted refugee camps for foreign nationals escaping Boko Haram. Last year, the Cameroonian government reported that suicide bombers were posing as refugees to attack the Minawao refugee camp, which hosts at least 65,000 Nigerians. Soldiers were then deployed to the area and access to the camp strictly controlled.

The governor of the far north region of Cameroon, Midjiyawa Bakari, says IDP camps need similar security measures, especially since five of 23 suicide bomb attacks recorded this year have occurred during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan that began several days ago.

Bakari is calling for vigilance, saying suicide bombers in disguise are trying to deceive Muslims engaged in acts of charity required by the Quran. Boko Haram is still very active, he says, and no one should be deceived that the terror group has been defeated.

Authorities are condemning the acts of barbarism that have increased during this period of fasting and intensive prayer, Bakari says, adding that self-defense groups should be created in all mosques and public places to assist the military in tracking suspects.

The United Nations says that about 200,000 Cameroonians  70 percent women and children  have been displaced by the ongoing Boko Haram conflict.

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6 Countries, Including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE Cut Diplomatic Ties With Qatar

By VOA News June 05, 2017

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen and Maldives cut diplomatic ties Monday with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism.

Qatar's Foreign Affairs Ministry said the measures are "unjustified and are based on baseless and unfounded allegations."

The countries said they would withdraw their diplomatic staff from gas-rich Qatar and cut air and sea traffic to the country. Qatar Airways announced a suspension of flights to Saudi Arabia.

Egypt gave the Qatari ambassador 48 hours to leave Cairo, while the Persian Gulf states gave Qatari citizens 14 days to leave their countries.

Saudi Arabia, which leads a coalition of nations fighting in support of Yemen's government, also said Qatar's forces would be withdrawn from that fight.

The Saudi state-owned SPA news agency said Qatar "embraces multiple terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at disturbing stability in the region, including the Muslim Brotherhood, Islamic State, and al-Qaida, and promotes the message and schemes of these groups through their media constantly."

"Qatar has been exposed to an instigation campaign based on allegations that amounted to absolute fabrications, which proves that there are premeditated intentions to cause damage to the state," Qatar's Foreign Ministry said. It further accused the nations involved of seeking to impose "guardianship" over Qatar.

US offers help to address tensions

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said he does not expect Monday's actions to have an impact on the fight against terrorism in the region or globally. He urged all of the parties to address their disagreements.

"I think what we're witnessing is a growing list of some irritants in the region that have been there for some time," Tillerson said, "and obviously they have now bubbled up to a level that countries decided they needed to take action in an effort to have those differences addressed."

Tillerson said that if there's any role the U.S. can play "in terms of helping them address those" issues, "we think it is important" that the Gulf Cooperation Council "remain unified."

Dana Shell Smith, the U.S. ambassador to Qatar, also shared messages on Twitter that she and her embassy's account originally wrote in October 2016 expressing U.S. support for Qatari efforts to combat terrorist financing.

The U.S. military's Central Command maintains a presence at the al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar.

Hints of Monday's six-nation split with Doha emerged last month when Qatar contended that hackers were behind the release of false remarks attributed to Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, the Qatari leader, that were published on the Qatar News Agency website.

The reports quoted him questioning U.S. hostility towards Iran, claiming "tensions" between Qatar and the United States and suggesting President Donald Trump might not remain in power for long.

Qatar said it had been the victim of a "shameful cybercrime." Despite Doha's official denial, media outlets in several Gulf countries reported the emir's comments as fact.

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What Is Happening in Qatar?

By VOA News June 05, 2017

What happened Monday?

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen and Maldives cut diplomatic ties Monday with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism.

Qatar's Foreign Affairs Ministry said the measures are "unjustified and are based on baseless and unfounded allegations."

What triggered action?

Last month, reports quoted Qatari leader Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani as questioning U.S. hostility toward Iran and claiming "tensions" between Qatar and the United States. Those reports were published on the Qatar News Agency website.

Qatar said it had been the victim of a "shameful cybercrime." Despite Doha's official denial, media outlets in several Gulf countries reported the emir's comments as fact.

Back story:

Although Qatar claims the posted comments were false, the country has long been seen by its neighbors as supporting Islamists in the region - particularly the Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Islamist political group outlawed by both Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain recalled their ambassadors from Doha before in 2014 over its backing of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, a Brotherhood member. Eight months later, the envoys returned when Qatar forced a number of Brotherhood members to leave the country.

How nations reacted:

United States: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said he does not expect Monday's actions to have an impact on the fight against terrorism in the region or globally. He urged all of the parties to address their disagreements.

Tillerson said that if there's any role the U.S. can play "in terms of helping them address those" issues, "we think it is important" that the Gulf Cooperation Council "remain unified."

Saudi Arabia: "(Qatar) embraces multiple terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at disturbing stability in the region, including the Muslim Brotherhood, ISIS (Islamic State) and al-Qaida," Saudi state news agency SPA said. Saudi Arabia also shut down Qatar-based Al Jazeera news' local office Monday, according to state media.

Egypt: Through its state news agency said that Qatar's policy "threatens Arab national security and sows the seeds of strife and division within Arab societies according to a deliberate plan aimed at the unity and interests of the Arab nation."

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U.S., Kuwait Seek To Bridge Split Between Qatar, Other Arab States

RFE/RL June 06, 2017

The United States and Kuwait are seeking to bridge a diplomatic split that opened up between Qatar and several Arab states over allegations that Doha supports extremism.

Qatar's foreign minister said early on June 6 that Kuwait is trying to mediate the dispute, which includes charges that Doha supports Iran and Shi'ite rebel groups in the region backed by Tehran.

In a speech broadcast on Al-Jazeera television, Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman al-Thani said Doha will refrain from escalating the dispute, which prompted the cutoff of diplomatic relations, trade, and air traffic between the two sides on June 5.

He called for "a dialogue of openness and honesty" to resolve the crisis and pledged that Qatar will not allow the standoff to harm relations with the United States, which maintains a major air base in the small Gulf state.

"Our relationship with the United States is strategic," said Abdul Rahman. "There are things we do not agree on, but our areas of cooperation outnumber those of contention."

U.S. officials said they are seeking to calm tensions between the two sides, while Kuwait has sought to act as a emissary between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which led the move among Arab states to cut off ties with Doha.

The dispute comes two weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump visited Saudi Arabia, called for a united Muslim front against extremism, and singled out Iran and its allies as sources of tensions in the region.

Kuwait and Oman were among a handful of states that did not join the move to isolate Qatar and Iran, Saudi Arabia's archrival. Joining the Saudis were Bahrain, Libya, Egypt, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, and the Maldives.

The Saudi-led coalition battling Iran-backed rebels in Yemen also took part, saying it had expelled Qatar from the group for providing "support to [terrorist] organizations" there.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on June 5 called for dialogue to resolve the conflict.

"Neighbors are permanent; geography can't be changed. Coercion is never the solution," Zarif said on Twitter.

Another Iranian official said his country will export food to Qatar by sea, as Saudi Arabia on June 5 cut off the peninsula state's sole land border across which food is trucked in, causing panicked Qataris to rush to supermarkets to stockpile groceries.

The semiofficial Fars news agency quoted Reza Nourani, chairman of the union of exporters of agricultural products, as saying that food shipments sent from Iran can reach Qatar in 12 hours.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss the situation, after which Ankara said it is "actively involved" in trying to tamp down the crisis.

"The Middle East is not at a point where it can endure a new crisis," Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said.

With reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/us-kuwait-seek- bridge-split-qatar-saudi-arabia-gulf-arab- states-over-iran/28530761.html

Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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One of London Bridge Attackers Was Known to Police

By Jamie Dettmer June 05, 2017

British police have named two of the three men who carried out Saturday's terror attack in London.

Khuram Shazad Butt, 27, was married with two children and lived in east London for a number of years, they said. Butt was a British citizen who was born in Pakistan, moving with his parents to Britain as a toddler. Police admitted he was known to counterterror officers and the intelligence services, but officials insist there was no sign he was planning an attack.

The other named attacker was Rachid Redouane, 30. He claimed he was a Moroccan-Libyan and lived for several years in Ireland.

Assistant Police Commander Mark Rowley said an investigation into Butt began two years ago, but "there was no intelligence to suggest that this attack was being planned and the investigation had been prioritized accordingly."

The two men's names were released as Britain's security services are facing awkward questions about their surveillance policies.

Butt was a recognized Islamic State follower in the streets around his home in the Barking district, where he tried to recruit children and proselytized openly in a nearby park, sparking a complaint to police by a local resident.

Butt also appeared in a television documentary last year in which he was pictured unfurling an Islamic State banner and later arguing with police during a London protest organized by radical preacher Anjem Choudary, a convicted IS recruiter.

Insufficient response

Last month, community and mosque leaders in Manchester and neighbors of Salman Abedi, the British-Libyan who carried out the May 22 concert bombing in the city, accused the security services of missing several opportunities to identify him as a high-risk militant. At least five times, locals warned the police of their fears about the 22-year-old suicide bomber. One community worker said he contacted authorities after Abedi said being a suicide bomber was OK.

Neither Britain's domestic intelligence service MI5 nor the Manchester police responded to the claims, but lawmakers have demanded to know why Abedi was seen just as a peripheral figure and one not requiring surveillance and investigation.

Similar questions are being raised again in the wake of the van-and-knife attack in the London Bridge district of Britain's capital.

Butt's parents are reported to have been asylum seekers from Pakistan. According to local media, the man, nicknamed Abz, worked at various times for a fast-food outlet, a clothing store and the London Underground system.

A onetime friend of the alleged ringleader also told the BBC that he had warned police, alerting them to comments made about previous terrorist attacks in Britain and of his alarm at the man's increasingly extremist beliefs. The former friend said Butt was a keen follower of American radical preacher Ahmad Musa Jibril and would watch YouTube videos of the cleric.

"He used to listen to a lot of Musa Jibril," the ex-friend told the BBC. "I phoned the anti-terror hotline. I spoke to the gentleman. I told him about our conversation and why I think he was radicalized ... I did my bit, I know a lot of other people did their bit, but the authorities did not do their bit."

Security strategy review

A senior Conservative official told VOA that there is deep frustration in Downing Street about Saturday's attack and the fact that at least one of the assailants was known to the authorities. Prime Minister Theresa May promised to review Britain's counterterrorism strategy, holding out the prospects of enhanced powers for the security services and longer jail sentences for extremists. She said she wants to take a tougher line with internet providers and social media businesses that allow extremist material on their sites.

Among the measures being recommended by security chiefs, according to government officials, is the power to require those on terror watch lists to wear electronic tags, a ban on the sale of unregistered SIM cards, and a ban on immediate vehicle rentals, requiring renters to wait two hours and for rental firms to run checks on them with the police.

Police and counterterror officers launched further raids early Monday in east London. A police spokesman said "a number" of people had been detained. Local residents reported hearing bangs and gunshots during the raids. On Sunday, police arrested 12 people  seven women and five men  in connection with Saturday's terror attack. One of the men has since been released from custody.

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Trump Renews Calls for Travel Ban

By VOA News June 05, 2017

U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday he wants a quick Supreme Court ruling to reinstate his ban on travel to the United States from six majority-Muslim countries where terrorist attacks have occurred.

In a string of comments on his Twitter account, Trump attacked his own Justice Department for submitting a "watered down, politically correct" version of the ban to the Supreme Court review that would affect travel from Iran, Syria, Libya, Sudan, Yemen and Somalia. He said the agency should have stayed with an appeal of an earlier ban that also included Iraq.

"In any event we are EXTREME VETTING people coming into the U.S. in order to help keep our country safe," Trump said. "The courts are slow and political!"

Trump and administration officials have insisted his executive order limiting travel to the United States was not a travel ban, but he called it that in his latest barrage of Twitter comments.

"People, the lawyers and the courts can call it whatever they want, but I am calling it what we need and what it is, a TRAVEL BAN.," Trump said.

Minutes later, he posted: "The Justice Dept. should have stayed with the original Travel Ban, not the watered down, politically correct version they submitted to S.C."

He said, "The Justice Dept. should ask for an expedited hearing of the watered down Travel Ban before the Supreme Court - & seek much tougher version!"

Several U.S. courts have blocked Trump's order aimed at travel from the six countries after earlier blocking his first order. In part, the courts have ruled that his comments on Islamic terrorism and one-time call for a total ban on Muslims entering the country show that even his more limited block on travel to the U.S. amounts to unconstitutional religious discrimination against Muslims. He has appealed the lower court rulings to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In a string of Twitter comments Sunday, the U.S. leader vowed support for Britain in the aftermath of Saturday's deadly attack in London, criticized London's mayor and took a tough stance on fighting terrorism.

"We must stop being politically correct and get down to the business of security for our people," Trump said Sunday. "If we don't get smart it will only get worse."

He mocked London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who was elected last year and is the first Muslim to lead a major Western capital.

Trump tweeted, "At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is 'no reason to be alarmed!"

As news of the Saturday carnage spread throughout his city and the world, Khan condemned the attack, describing it as "a deliberate and cowardly attack on innocent Londoners," later saying that Britons should not be alarmed to see a greater police presence on the streets of London.

Khan's spokesman said the London mayor was too busy to respond to Trump, that "he has more important things to do than respond to Donald Trump's ill-informed tweet that deliberately takes out of context his remarks." On Monday, Trump called Khan's explanation of his remark a "pathetic excuse."

Within an hour after three attackers drove a van into a crowd of people on London Bridge and then stabbed people in a nearby commercial area, Trump said, "We need to be smart, vigilant and tough. We need the courts to give us back our rights. We need the Travel Ban as an extra level of safety!"

Trump said the United States will do whatever it can to help London and Britain combat terrorism. "WE ARE WITH YOU. GOD BLESS!" he said.

In the United States, most mass attacks involve gun violence, which typically then starts a new debate on gun ownership rights that are enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.

After the London attack, Trump noted, "Do you notice we are not having a gun debate right now? That's because they used knives and a truck!"

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India Enters Big League In Space Tech, Launches Its Heaviest Rocket Ever

Sputnik News

17:06 05.06.2017(updated 18:08 05.06.2017)

Following the agenda of achieving self-sufficiency in space technology, India launched the GSLV Mark III carrying the 3,136kg GSAT-19 communication satellite from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, on Monday.

New Delhi (Sputnik)  The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mark III weighs 640 tons, with a height of 43.43 m and will be carrying the heaviest payload ever by an Indian rocket and place it 36,000 km from earth into space.

"The GSLV Mark III would be carrying the GSAT-19 communications satellite that would help improve VSAT (very small aperture terminal) and data connectivity and other applications across the country. It is a high-throughput communication satellite that has multiple applications," Mint quoted A.S. Kiran Kumar, secretary, Department of Space and chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), as saying.

The project, however, got delayed for almost 12 years due to the collapse of the USSR, the US-led sanctions thereafter, and budgetary costs all along which forced the ISRO to focus on PSLV and GSLV.

Indian space scientists have been looking for cryogenic rocket technology since the mid-1980s. The hope of getting it via USSR buckled in 1991 with the disintegration of Soviet Union. Before 1991, the USSR didn't pass it on as part of MTCR and other Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) detente with the United States. There were multiple treaties which stopped the transfer of technology to countries that were not signatories to Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The US imposed sanctions on India first in 1974, when the first nuclear test was carried out. In 1998, India tested nuclear devices for the second time, leading to more sanctions and therefore the denial of cryogenic engine technology.

The project may have been started in the 2000s but it's the lack of engine technology which has held back such projects.

"Export controls on strategic technologies were used to prevent India from developing missile or nuclear technology. Since the early 2000s, the rationale of technology export control regimes and its dynamics have undergone some change. Despite technology controls, the West, and the US, in particular, had to recognize the new reality, that they could not entirely control the spread of technology," Rajeshwari Rajagopalan Pillai, Senior fellow and Head, Nuclear & Space Policy Initiative, at the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation, told Sputnik.

Capable of carrying a payload of 4,000 kg into the geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) at 36,000 km, and 10,000 kg into the lower earth orbit (LEO) at around 800 km, the GSLV Mark III's first successful suborbital test flight was conducted on December 18, 2014, according to the official website of ISRO.

The GSLV MK III is India's fourth generation launch vehicle with a three-stage vehicle with four liquid strap-ons which include the indigenously developed cryogenic upper stage in the third stage. The flight is also expected to boost India's manned space mission aspirations.

"The development of the GSLV Mark III relieves India of dependency on foreign players to launch its heavy satellites. With the future satellite launch market shifting towards heavy communication satellites, India has a strong incentive to master this launch vehicle. It also has the potential to be used in a future Indian human space program or deep space exploration," she said.

Earlier, on May 5, the Indian space agency launched the 2,230 kg South Asia GSAT-9 to boost connectivity among South Asian nations. The project involved eight countries which involved bringing on board Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Maldives, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Pakistan was not part of the project.

 Sputnik

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JL-9 jet rolls off assembly line for foreign trade

People's Daily Online

(People's Daily Online) 17:19, June 05, 2017

China's famous JL-9 "Shanying" fighter-trainer jet saw its first model for foreign trade roll off the assembly line in Guizhou province on June 5.

Now coded as FTC-2000, the jet has a maximum weapon load of 2 tons. It features five attaching points, which can be used for either missile loads or auxiliary tanks. It uses a hands-on throttle-and-stick operating system.

The original model, JL-9, is a two-seat fighter-trainer jet developed by Guizhou Aviation Aircraft Co. Ltd. (GAC) and the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC). It took its maiden flight in 2003, and has been serving in its original and advanced formats since then. It is capable of advanced fighter-jet training and can also conduct air-to-ground combat at a lower level.

The foreign trade version boasts some third-generation design features and has been adapted for mainly air-to-ground attack missions, with some capability in air-to-air combat.

In January, GAC signed the first export deal for the FTC-2000, Beijing Youth Daily reported.

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India Test-Fires Next Generation Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile

Sputnik News

21:42 05.06.2017

Indian defense scientists successfully test-fired homegrown quick reaction surface-to-air missile from the defense base located in the eastern coastal state of Odisha on Sunday afternoon. The missile has been developed by the Defence Research & Development Organisation and manufactured by Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL).

New Delhi (Sputnik)  It was the first test of a canister-based missile which is well known as search & kill missile because it is capable of destroying short-range missiles, tanks and bunkers at a range of 15 kilometers. The test of short-range weapon system was conducted on Sunday afternoon and it gave desired results.

"Ejection from a canister mounted on a rotatable truck-based launch was smooth and traveled along the pre-designated trajectory before hitting the set target at distance," a defense source in New Delhi told Sputnik.

The Indian Army plans to deploy these quick reactions surface-to-air missile systems along the western border, which will supplement slightly longer range Akash surface-to-air missile developed by BEL. Last month, the Indian defense ministry had approved two regiments of 25 kilometer-range Akash missiles for the Army.

Though quick reaction surface-to-air missile Trishul is already available to the Indian armed forces, scientists expect that a next generation quick reaction missile will provide more lethality to the forces after induction. Trishul can be used as an anti-sea skimmer from a ship against low-flying attacking missiles. It employs dual thrust propulsion stage using high-energy solid propellant in a managing steel flow chamber, and is operated on command guidance initially with Ka-band gathering and then transferred to the tracking radar. It has necessary electronic counter-counter measures against all known aircraft jammers.

 Sputnik

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Indian Army Ready to Draft Women Into Combat Roles

Sputnik News

13:50 05.06.2017

General Bipin Rawat announced Monday that Indian Army will soon start drafting women into combat roles. Currently, the Army doesn't allow women to assume combat positions and restricts them to work in medical, educational, legal, signal and engineering wings.

New Delhi (Sputnik)  Women get combat roles in Russian, American, German, Canadian, British, Australian, Danish, Finnish, French, Norwegian, Swedish and Israeli armies. The Indian Army has cited operational concerns and logistical shortcomings for keeping women out of combat roles. The Indian Air Force, however, has allowed women to assume fighter positions in 2016 and inducted three women fighter pilots. The Indian Navy is considering the idea of deploying women on warships.

"I am looking at women coming as jawans (soldiers). I am going to start it soon. Firstly, we will start with women as military police jawans," Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat told an Indian news agency. "We have already started the process to recruit women for combat roles," he said.

While the decision was cheered on social media and the like, experts advised caution. "Indian Army will induct women into the combat arm and initially women will be inducted as soldiers for military police duties. Their duty will be policing the army cantonment," Major General (Rtd) A K Siwach told Sputnik. "As of today, they will be first inducting as a women soldier in the military police and then in a gradual fashion they will be taken into combat arms," Major General (Rtd) A K Siwach told Sputnik.

 Sputnik

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MP: Arak heavy water plant waiting for redesigning

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, June 5, IRNA -- "Arak heavy water plant maintenance is the first step of redesigning its structure,' said Rapporteur of Iranian Parliament's Foreign Policy and National Security Commission Hossein Naqavi Hosseini on Monday.

"The International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) quarterly report on Iran's nuclear activities was a confirmation that Iran has been committed to its obligations, based on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), without the least deviation," Naqavi Hosseini added.

The historical nuclear agreement was signed in 2015 by Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany. According to JCPOA, Iran accepted to curb its nuclear program in return of sanctions relief.

The IAEA reaffirmed in its quarterly report on Friday that Iran had been committed to JCPOA.

The MP added that according to the JCPOA, Arak heavy water plant was shut down for maintenance as the report of IAEA confirmed, and it needs to be redesigned by one of the members of the group 5+1 and signatory countries of the nuclear deal according to the landmark agreement.

He went on to say that the agreement of redesigning the plant has been inked with China, but it has yet to be implemented.

As for the US lack of commitment to JCPOA implementation, Naqavi Hosseini said that the US should be back on the track of full implementations of the nuclear deal.

He pointed out that the IAEA's latest report was the official document confirming Iran's compliance to the agreement, therefore the other parties to the deal should also remain committed. However, the MP stressed as the situation is now contradictory, Iran can complain against West's disloyalty.

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100,000 children in dangerous conditions in Iraq's Mosul: UNICEF

Iran Press TV

Mon Jun 5, 2017 1:38PM

The UN has warned that children are bearing the brunt of the intensified fighting between government forces and the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

Peter Hawkins, representative of the United Nations International Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Iraq, estimated on Monday that 100,000 girls and boys were still living under extremely dangerous conditions in the Daesh-held Old City neighborhood and other areas.

The UN agency is receiving "alarming reports" of civilians being killed, including children, in the city's western half, he added.

The UNICEF representative didn't give a specific number of children killed in the crossfire.

The official called on the warring sides to "protect the children and keep them out of harm's way at all times, in line with their obligations under humanitarian law."

"Children's lives are on the line. Children are being killed, injured and used as human shields. Children are experiencing and witnessing terrible violence that no human being should ever witness," Hawkins said in a statement.

"In some cases, they have been forced to participate in the fighting and violence," he added.

Iraqi government forces, backed by volunteer fighters, are in their last push to drive the Daesh terrorists out of the remaining pockets of territory in the Old City, where narrow streets and a dense civilian population are complicating the fight.

On Monday, Hashd al-Sha'abi fighters wrested full control over 9 villages west of Mosul.

Iraqi army soldiers and volunteer fighters from the Popular Mobilization Units have made sweeping gains against the Takfiri elements since launching the Mosul operation on October 17, 2016.

The Iraqi forces took control of eastern Mosul in January after 100 days of fighting, and launched the battle in the west on February 19.

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Pakistani troops kill 12 militants southwestern Balochistan province

Iran Press TV

Mon Jun 5, 2017 1:53AM

Pakistani government forces have killed some 12 militants in the country's southwestern Balochistan province.

On Sunday, the Pakistani army announced that the militants had been killed during operations which were carried out in the province's Mastung district.

Last month, at least 25 people were killed in Mastung when a bombing was carried out near a mosque in the town shortly after Friday prayers.

The Takfiri Daesh terrorist group claimed responsibility for the bombing, which was apparently meant to target the convoy of Deputy Chairman of Senate Abdul Ghafoor Haideri as it exited the mosque. Local reports said Haideri had suffered minor injuries in the blast. He was transferred to provincial capital Quetta for treatment.

Pakistan's Balochistan province has seen several gun and bomb attacks over the past couple of years.

In May, ten construction workers were killed in an attack by gunmen the province.

Pro-Taliban militants and some Baloch militant groups have carried out numerous attacks against security forces as well as civilians despite frequent offensives by the Pakistani army.

Thousands of Pakistanis have lost their lives in bombings and other militant attacks since 2001, when Pakistan entered an alliance with the US in the so-called war on terror. Thousands more have been displaced by the wave of violence and militancy sweeping across the country.

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South Korea suspends senior official over US missile system report

Iran Press TV

Mon Jun 5, 2017 3:6PM

South Korea's newly-elected President Moon Jae-in has suspended a senior defense official for deliberately failing to report the "unauthorized" US deployment of additional missile launchers in the country.

Moon's office announced the suspension of Deputy Minister for Defense Policy Wee Seung Ho on Monday after an investigation found that the official had ordered the ministry not to write clearly about the four additional launchers of the controversial Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system in policy reports.

In a televised news conference, presidential spokesman Yoon Young-chan quoted the deputy minister as saying that he withheld the information because the South Korean and US military chiefs had decided not to publicize the four launchers' arrivals.

Denouncing Wee's action as "something that we cannot tolerate," Yoon said the official had planned to verbally report about the four launchers but failed to do so.

Last week, Moon expressed "shock" after hearing about the existence of the additional launchers and directed his senior secretary for civil affairs and the head of National Security Office "to find the truth behind the unauthorized entry of the four rocket launchers."

A THAAD battery is capable of firing up to 48 interceptor missiles and consists of six truck-mounted launchers, fire control and communication equipment as well as a powerful X-band radar.

Seoul agreed last year to install the US-built missile system as deterrence against potential threats from North Korea. Two missile launchers were already deployed in South Korea's southern county of Seongju, and the existence of four more had been widely suspected but never declared.

The two launchers had arrived in South Korea before Moon took office on May 10 and are currently stored at a US military base in the country.

The installation was agreed by the government of Moon's predecessor Park Geun-hye, who was impeached and ousted over a corruption scandal.

During his election campaign prior to the May 9 election, Moon had urged a parliamentary review of the controversial deployment.

North Korea has strongly denounced the deployment. Russia and China have, too, expressed deep concern over the controversial deployment of the American missile system on the Korean Peninsula.

Chinese officials argue that the US system would interfere with their radars and could pose a threat to Chinese security. Moscow has also warned that the deployment would only fuel tensions in the region.

Moon, meanwhile, reportedly intends to put the deployment on hold, saying that it should be discussed and approved by lawmakers before being fully ruled out.

The US maintains nearly 29,000 military servicemen stationed in South Korea, claiming they act as deterrence against potential aggression from North Korea.

The North, under an array of sanctions for its missile and nuclear programs, however, says it is developing arms as deterrence against the US threat. North Korea has also said it would not abandon its missile and nuclear programs unless the US ended its hostility toward Pyongyang.

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By 2020 All Missile Units of Russia's Ground Forces to be Equipped With Iskander

Sputnik News

16:46 05.06.2017(updated 19:07 05.06.2017)

By the end of 2020, all missile units of Russia's Ground Forces will be equipped with the Iskander-M mobile ballistic missile system, while the rocket artillery brigades will have the Tornado-S state-of-the-art multiple launch rocket system, according to chief of missile and artillery troops Maj. Gen. Mikhail Matveevsky.

"By 2020, we are planning to complete the complex of measures aimed at the qualitative modernization of the structure and the effective combat strength of these corps of Russia's Ground Forces and equip them with the state-of-the-art armaments to the extent not less than 70 percent," Maj. Gen. Mikhail Matveevsky said on Monday.

"All the missile units will be re-equipped with the Iskander-M (NATO reporting name SS-26 Stone) mobile ballistic missile systems and the rocket artillery brigades  with state-of-the-art multiple launch rocket systems Tornado-S," he elaborated.

The Iskander-M is a mobile ballistic missile system designed to destroy a wide variety of ground targets at a range of up to 500 kilometers (over 300 miles).

On Saturday, the Russian Defense Ministry released footage of the first launch of an Iskander-M missile launch outside of Russian territory.

The launch was conducted as part of the Russia-Tajikistan joint drills dubbed "Dushanbe-Counterterror."

During the final stage of the exercises, the Missile Forces military destroyed simulated terrorists, while located 140 kilometers from the 'enemy' target.

The Russian Ground Force's artillery brigades will begin receiving state-of-the-art Koalitsiya-SV self-propelled guns with innovative multi-round simultaneous impact firing capabilities, able to deliver several volleys at various trajectories to engage a target at the same time.

Koalitsiya-SV self-propelled guns will serve as the blueprint for robotized artillery systems in the future, Maj. Gen. Matveevsky elaborated.

"We can speak about creating fully robotic artillery systems that perform tasks without human intervention in the future," he said.

He highlighted the self-propelled gun's unmanned combat compartment and its automated guiding and armament loading capabilities.

Russia's anti-tank sub-units will continue receiving state-of-the art Khrizantema-S and the Kornet Anti-Tank Guided Weapons (ATGW), which are designed to detect and destroy the existing and future main battle tanks (MBTs), armored tanks, low-flying aerial targets, lightweight surface targets, and field fortifications, including steel shelters and bunkers, in both day and at night under all weather conditions. The weapons offer a high-rate of fire and are protected against electronic countermeasures.

"The new state program is also aimed at the development of advanced weaponry with radically new operational and combat capabilities. This will create pre-conditions for the weaponry which will surpass the existing samples by one or even two generations," Matveevsky concluded.

 Sputnik

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The Sky is the Limit: Russia to Upgrade Su-35S Jets Based on Syria Experience

Sputnik News

10:54 05.06.2017

Russia will make its advanced supermaneuverable Su-35S fighter jets even better.

KOMSOMOLSK-ON-AMUR (Sputnik)  Russian Su-35S fighter jets will be developed in 2017 given the experience of its combat use in Syria, Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov said.

"This year's aircraft will be developed on the basis of all the drawbacks and the Syrian experience According to our pilots who are working in Syria, it [Su-35S] is one of the best jets in the world in terms of its flight and technical efficiency today," Borisov said during his visit to the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association (KnAAPO), part of the Sukhoi Aviation Holding Company in the Russia's Far East.

The deputy defense minister specified that before, the jet had technical glitches with its displays and lights, which were later fixed. Foreign customers are paying more attention to the Su-35S due to its technical features, he added.

The Su-35S is a 4++ generation multi-role fighter, an upgraded version of the Su-27 fighter with features comparable to a 5-generation aircraft. A distinctive feature of the aircraft is the modern navigation and radio communication systems and new engines with an increased thrust.

Since September 2015, Russia has been conducting an anti-terror campaign in Syria, a nation that has been engulfed in civil for over six years, at Syrian President Bashar Assad's request.

 Sputnik

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Fine Catch: Russian Su-27 Fighter Jet Intercepts US B-52 Bomber Over Baltics

Sputnik News

13:49 06.06.2017(updated 15:44 06.06.2017)

Russia's Su-27 fighter identified and escorted an American B-52 strategic bomber over the Baltics.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The Russian Defense Ministry said it scrambled a Su-27 air superiority fighter over the Baltics on Tuesday to intercept and escort a US B-52 strategic bomber that approached its borders.

"The crew of the Russian Su-27, in approaching the aerial object at a safe distance, identified it as a US B-52 strategic bomber and escorted it," the ministry said in a statement.

The incident over the neutral waters of the Baltic Sea took place at 07:00 GMT, the ministry said. The Su-27, which serves as part of the Russian Navy's Baltic Fleet air defense patrol, returned to its airfield after carrying out the operation.

 Sputnik

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Syrian Defense Commander: IS Struggling to Hold Raqqa

By VOA News June 06, 2017

Islamic State jihadists struggled Tuesday to remain in control of land in and around Raqqa after holding the territory for more than two years, a leader of the Syrian army told VOA.

Mahmud Ismail, a senior commander in the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), said coalition forces had liberated "tens of villages and cities, including strategic Tabqa city and two major dams," since the U.S.-backed forces launched an offensive earlier in the day.

"Until today we have advanced slowly because the safety of the civilians is very important for us, and we have taken every measure to ensure the life of civilians," he said. But he added that the SDF had "momentum" and that IS could not resist as it once did.

The SDF has been working since November to encircle Raqqa, the de facto capital of Islamic State, which the militants have held since 2014.

Boats destroyed

According to the Reuters news agency, coalition fighters destroyed nearly 20 boats that IS was using to ferry jihadists across the Euphrates to join the fight.

Spokesman Colonel Ryan Dillon told Reuters the coalition used both air and artillery strikes to aid in the initial assault on Raqqa, taking out at least 12 fighting positions and dozens of vehicles.

"This is not the first time we have struck barges and watercraft that have moved across the river to support the operations that ISIS is doing in and around Raqqa," he told Reuters, using another Islamic State acronym.

Lieutenant General Steve Townsend, who commands the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, said the battle for Raqqa would be long and difficult, but will "deliver a decisive blow" to IS's claim of holding a physical caliphate, according to a coalition statement.

"It's hard to convince new recruits that ISIS is a winning cause when they just lost their twin 'capitals' in both Iraq and Syria," Townsend said.

Iraqi forces, with coalition support, are also working to oust the remaining Islamic State fighters from their main Iraqi stronghold of Mosul.

The coalition said in its statement that it would continue providing equipment, training, intelligence and logistical support to the SDF during the Raqqa offensive, and that the SDF had encouraged civilians to leave the city.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the war in Syria, said Tuesday that SDF fighters had attacked both the eastern edge of Raqqa and a military base on the northern side of the city.

Raqqa has been the subject of intense speculation and tension among the various entities fighting in Syria, with the government and SDF expressing a desire to lead the fighting, and Turkey opposing the role of the SDF and its large contingent of Kurdish fighters whom Turkish officials consider terrorists.

The U.S.-led coalition said the SDF had indicated that when Raqqa was retaken, it would be turned over to local civilians, not held by the group.

Syria analyst David Lesch, a history professor at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, said the issue of who was in charge would be a key issue going forward.

"Many, many questions still remain to be answered, and still will probably be the subject of a diplomatic battle in terms of who controls Raqqa once it is liberated," he told VOA. "Will it be the Syrian Democratic Forces? Will turkey have a role? Will the Syrian regime have a role? What will Russia do in this case?"

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Turkey to strip 130 people of citizenship on terror charges

Iran Press TV

Mon Jun 5, 2017 5:50PM

Turkey says it will revoke the citizenship of 130 overseas nationals, including the US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, over allegations of terror activities and crimes against the constitutional order, unless they return to the Anatolian country within a three-month period beginning from June 5.

According to Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency, citing a notice by the Interior Ministry published in the Official Gazette on Monday, pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) legislators Faysal Sariyildiz and Tugba Hezer, and former HDP lawmaker Ozdal Ucer, were also included in the released list.

Shortly after the attempted coup in mid-July last year, Ankara blamed Gulen of masterminding and orchestrating the botched putsch, in which some 250 people lost their lives and about 2,200 sustained injuries. However, Gulen, 76, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, since 1999 and strongly opposes Ankara, denies any involvement in the coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Furthermore, the Turkish government, has branded the Gulen's movement, as the "Fethullah Terrorist Organization (FETO)." Ankara has also tried for a number of times to convince Washington to extradite Gulen, but all to no avail.

A few days after the coup attempt, Turkey imposed a state of emergency, under which 150,000 people, most of whom accused of supporting the so-called FETO, have been sacked or suspended from the public sector, including teachers, academics, doctors and members of the armed forces. The state of emergency has been renewed three times.

More than 50,000 people have also been imprisoned on suspicion of having links to the coup and the FETO.

The notice further said the suspects should return to Turkey within the time limit and apply to the "relevant authorities" upon their arrival.

More than a dozen of HDP's legislators are already behind bars in Turkey, including opposition party's co-leaders, Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag, facing hundreds of years inside for alleged links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is perceived by Ankara as a terrorist group and is in a middle of a bloody war with the Turkish government.

Meanwhile, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu claimed that a trend had commenced in Europe for spy agencies to employ journalists for espionage activities.

Turkish top diplomat, who made the remarks during a joint presser with his German counterpart in Ankara, also commented on the case of German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yucel, whom Turkey held in police custody in February over a charge of spreading terrorist propaganda.

"Our independent judiciary is carrying out the process. The judiciary will make the decision on Yucel," Cavusoglu added.

Ankara is under fire, both inside and outside of the country, for mounting heavy post-coup crackdown. Turkish authorities argue that measures are necessary due to the gravity of the failed putsch, however, critics President Erdogan is using the coup as a pretext to muzzle dissent and purge opponents.

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Turkish Forces Killed 46 PKK Militants in Late May's Anti-Terror Operation

Sputnik News

18:50 05.06.2017

46 militants linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) during 483 anti-terrorist operations in late May were killed by Turkish security forces, while other 170 PKK members were detained, according to local media.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  Turkish security forces have killed 46 militants linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) during 483 anti-terrorist operations in late May, local media reported Monday, citing Turkey's Interior Ministry statement.

According to the Daily Sabah newspaper, 170 PKK members, 43 Islamic State (ISIL or Daesh, outlawed in Russia) suspects and 1,128 supporters of the Fethullah Gulen Terrorist Organization (FETO) were also detained on May 22-29.

Turkey was hit by dozens of terrorist attacks throughout 2016 carried out by Daesh and the PKK, listed as a terrorist organization in Turkey. The majority of terrorist attacks were directed against Turkish security forces engaged in violent clashes with PKK militants in eastern parts of the county striving to create their own independent state, as the Kurds represent the largest ethnic minority in the country.

 Sputnik

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Cybersleuths Say Convoy Movements Show Link To MH17 Plane Crash

RFE/RL June 05, 2017

A team of open-source researchers investigating the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 has published reports linking the movements of Russian military equipment to the plane's downing.

The reports, released on June 5 by Bellingcat, track the locations of vehicles including the Buk missile launcher that the British-based research group says was involved in the July 2014 downing of MH17.

Focusing on information gleaned from drivers, Bellingcat published censored photos of drivers and the convoys of trucks that it alleges moved the equipment into place in the weeks before the airliner crashed during a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, killing all 298 passengers and crew.

"An uncensored version of the report including full names and uncensored photographs has been shared with the MH17 Joint Investigation Team (JIT)," Bellingcat said, referring to the international team that has investigated the crash.

Bellingcat's previous reports had already identified Russia's 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade as being the likely source of the missile that investigators say brought down the jet.

But the new reports add to a growing body of circumstantial evidence suggesting Russian complicity. This includes personal information about Russian military officers and enlisted soldiers who Bellingcat alleges specifically knew of, and possibly even manned, the Buk-M1 surface-to-air missile system believed to have brought down MH17.

International media, including the Associated Press, have pinpointed Buk-M1 systems in the eastern Ukrainian town of Snizhne on the day of the plane's downing, and accompanying soldiers who spoke with accents that seemed to be from Moscow and other regions in Russia.

Russian Denials, Alternate Theories

Russia has strenuously denied the fighters it supports in eastern Ukraine were responsible or that it supplied the missile system. A leading separatist commander initially appeared to take credit for firing a missile and downing a Ukrainian jet, but those claims on social media were later removed.

Russian officials have also put forth myriad alternate theories, including claims that MH17 was downed by a missile fired from a Ukrainian fighter jet, in what Kremlin critics say is a disinformation campaign aimed to muddy the waters.

The 298 victims of the MH17 crash, many of whom were Dutch, are among at least 9,900 people the UN says have been killed since the conflict between the Russia-backed separatists and Kyiv's forces began in eastern Ukraine in April 2014.

The conflict broke out as Russia, which seized Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in March 2014, was fomenting separatism across eastern and southern Ukraine after Moscow-friendly Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych fled to Russia in the face of protests.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-mh17-bellingcat- report-photos-drivers-convoys/28529566.html

Copyright (c) 2017. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Helsinn Group signs Exclusive Agreement with Purdue Pharma (Canada) for the Distribution and Licensing Rights of Aloxi (palonosetron hydrochloride) in Canada

Lugano, Switzerland and Pickering, Canada, June 6, 2017 - Helsinn Group and Purdue Pharma (Canada) today announce that they have signed a distribution and licence agreement granting Purdue Pharma (Canada) exclusive rights to distribute, promote, market and sell ALOXI (palonosetron hydrochloride) in Canada.

ALOXI is an anti-emetic (5-HT 3 receptor antagonist) authorized for sale by Health Canada in adults for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV)i.

ALOXI is approved in over 70 countries worldwide, including the United States, European countries and Japan.

Riccardo Braglia, Helsinn Group Vice Chairman and CEO, commented: "ALOXI has helped to provide relief from CINV to patients across the world and, through this agreement with Purdue Pharma (Canada) we hope to extend its benefits to a greater number of patients in Canada. We are also pleased to be able to broaden our relationship with Purdue/Mundipharma Network, a trusted partner that we work with in many countries across 5 continents and look forward to working with them in Canada".

Dr. Craig Landau, Purdue Pharma (Canada) CEO added: "Patients deserve access to medicines and treatments that help them manage their symptoms so they can participate fully in the things that matter most to them Purdue Pharma (Canada) already offers medicines that benefit patients with cancer who also suffer from pain. Now, we can also help those who suffer from CINV. ALOXI is a natural addition to our expanding portfolio."

ihttp://purdue.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Aloxi-English-PM.pdf

END

About the Helsinn Group

Helsinn is a privately owned pharmaceutical group with an extensive portfolio of marketed cancer care products and a robust drug development pipeline. Since 1976, Helsinn has been improving the everyday lives of patients, guided by core family values of respect, integrity and quality. The Group works across pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices and nutritional supplements and has expertise in research, development, manufacture and the commercialization of therapeutic and supportive care products for cancer, pain and inflammation and gastroenterology. In 2016, Helsinn created the Helsinn Investment Fund to support early-stage investment opportunities in areas of unmet patient need. The company is headquartered in Lugano, Switzerland, with operating subsidiaries in Switzerland, Ireland and the US, a representative office in China as well as a product presence in approximately 190 countries globally.

For more information, please visit www.helsinn.com

About Purdue Pharma (Canada)

Purdue Pharma (Canada) is a research-based pharmaceutical company with its headquarters, R&D operations, and manufacturing located in Pickering, Ontario. The company is a leader in the research and development of medicines for the treatment of pain and central nervous system disorders (ADHD) and a growing pipeline of prescription and over the counter products. Privately held, Purdue Pharma (Canada) is independently associated with the worldwide Purdue/Napp/Mundipharma network of companies.

For more information, please visit our website www.purdue.ca

For more information:

Helsinn Group Media Contact:

Paola Bonvicini

Group Head of Communication

Lugano, Switzerland

Tel: +41 (0) 91 985 21 21

Info-hhc@helsinn.com

Please visit www.helsinn.com

www.helsinn.com We are on Twitter. Follow us @HelsinnGroup

Purdue Pharma Canada:

Sarah Robertson, Director of Communications

Pickering, Ontario (CANADA)

media@purdue.ca
Vancouver, June 6, 2017 - Osprey Gold Development Ltd. (TSXV: OS) (the "Company" or "Osprey") is pleased to announce it has located and acquired an extensive package of digitized historical data encompassing all four our its current Nova Scotia property assets, namely the Goldenville Gold Project, Lower Seal Harbour Project, Gold Lake Project, and Miller Lake Project.

The historical data comprises diamond drill logs, ground geophysical surveys, and other surface geochemical data. These data sets have been compiled by D. R. Duncan & Associates Ltd. ("Duncan & Associates") and comprise historic assessment data that was not previously in the public domain. Duncan & Associates will be reprocessing the raw data. This dataset encompasses work conducted by various operators dating back to 1975.

"A huge amount of labour and hours went in to digitizing and compiling these data sets. We're looking forward to being able to go through everything in detail. Geophysical and geochemical data will be reprocessed and incorporated to enhance our current and future exploration programs, including drill targeting at our Goldenville Gold Project ("Goldenville"). Data acquired for Lower Seal Harbour, Gold Lake, and Miller Lake includes diamond drill assays, surface geochemistry, and geophysics; these datasets will be utilized to generate targets for future programs on these projects," said company President Cooper Quinn. "The raw survey and data quality is excellent, so I'm excited to see what targets we can generate from the geophysics using new processing and computing techniques."

As previously announced, Osprey field personnel are currently undertaking surface mapping and geochemical sampling at Goldenville; results from the previously unlogged and un-assayed 2014 drill core are pending.

About Goldenville and Osprey

Osprey is focused on exploring four historically producing gold properties in Nova Scotia, Canada. Osprey has the option to earn 100% (subject to certain royalties) in all four properties, including the Goldenville Gold Project, Nova Scotia's largest historic gold producer. Goldenville hosts a current NI 43-101 Inferred Resource of 2,800,000 tonnes at 3.20 grams per tonne ("g/t") gold for 288,000 ounces of gold (2,800,000 tonnes at 4.96 g/t gold for 447,000 ounces of gold uncapped) near the town of Sherbrooke, NS. All four properties in Osprey's current portfolio have a history of high-grade gold production.

The technical information in this release has been reviewed and approved by Perry MacKinnon, P.Geo, a 'Qualified Person' under NI 43-101. Additional information regarding Osprey and the Goldenville property is available under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com and at www.ospreygold.com.

For further information please contact:

ON BEHALF OF Osprey Gold Development Ltd.,

"Cooper Quinn"

Cooper Quinn, President and Director

For further information please contact Osprey at (236)521-0944 or cooper@ospreygold.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

All statements in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, are "forward-looking information" with respect to Osprey within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Osprey provides forward-looking statements for the purpose of conveying information about current expectations and plans relating to the future and readers are cautioned that such statements may not be appropriate for other purposes. By its nature, this information is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or specific and which give rise to the possibility that expectations, forecasts, predictions, projections or conclusions will not prove to be accurate, that assumptions may not be correct and that objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be achieved. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to exploration findings, results and recommendations, as well as those risks and uncertainties identified and reported in Osprey's public filings under Osprey's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. Although Osprey has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Osprey disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise unless required by law.


Sudbury, Ontario (FSCwire) - Frontier Lithium Inc. (TSX.V: FL) (the Company) is pleased to announce that it has signed an Exploration Agreement with North Spirit Lake First Nation ("NSLFN" or the Community) regarding the Companys mineral exploration activities on its PAK Lithium Project (the "Project") in the Red Lake Mining District, Northwestern Ontario.

Under the signed Exploration Agreement, the Company will continue to conduct mineral exploration with the support of the Community. The agreement promotes unity and a mutually beneficial and respectful relationship between Frontier Lithium and the Community. It allows for the exploration of its current and additional (if any) mining claims or properties that the Company may acquire an interest in - all for which are located within the Traditional Territories of North Spirit Lake First Nation, Deer Lake First Nation and Sandy Lake First Nation (as defined in the signed Exploration Agreements, see press October 21, 2016).

The agreement recognizes and respects the Aboriginal and Treaty rights and interests of the Community with their constitutional and other legal rights. Frontier and all three signatory communities desire to maintain open and friendly, cooperative, on-going communications with a positive working relationships.

"The signed agreement is of particular importance to Frontier as North Spirit Lake First Nation has shown patience and perseverance in order to ratify this agreement, commented Trevor Walker, President and CEO of Frontier. Frontier would also like to formally thank the three strong and independent communities that neighbour the PAK Lithium Project of North Spirit Lake First Nation, Deer Lake First Nation and Sandy Lake First Nation for coming together with Frontier by focusing on our common goals and mutual values.

The agreement also states that the parties agree that it is their common objective to assist community members to benefit from business opportunities associated with Exploration Activities undertaken by Frontier Lithium and that assuming the Pre-Feasibility Study is positive, the Parties commit to make best efforts to develop an Impact Benefit Agreement (IBA).

The agreement is in line with the Company's commitment to build sincere relationships with our neighbouring communities. We have an active interest and respect for all people and we understand the social, environmental and economic implications of our activities.

Company Contact Information

Trevor R. Walker, President

2736 Belisle Drive Val Caron, ON. P3N 1B3 CANADA

T. +001 705.897.7622

F. +001 705.897.7618

Media Requests

Joseph Mansourian

Manager, Communications & Branding

2736 Belisle Drive Val Caron, ON. P3N 1B3 CANADA

T. +001 705.618.0070

F. +001 705.897.7618

About Frontier Lithium Inc.

Frontiers goal is to become a low-cost, fully integrated lithium and tantalum producer through development of the PAK lithium deposit in Ontario, Canada. Frontier maintains a tight share structure with management ownership exceeding 30% of the Company. CAD $4 million of exploration work has been conducted from 2013 to 2016 on the deposit which boasts its lithium in a rare, high-purity, low-iron spodumene. The Company has adopted a staged growth approach to exploration and development in order to avoid unnecessary share dilution  a strategic imperative for the Company. The initial target market is the glass-ceramic industry which consumes roughly one-third of global lithium supply and is currently faced with monopolistic conditions, coupled with major lithium producers increasingly directing output toward supporting battery manufacture.

Ceramic/glass customers prefer to source technical-grade (low-iron) spodumene concentrate in excess of 7% lithium oxide (Li2O), if available, to avoid inferior lower grade petalite concentrates, or paying much higher prices for battery grade lithium compounds that require chemical plants costing hundreds of millions of dollars.

The PAK lithium deposit remains open in all directions and Company Management believes the resource can be developed into a world-class operation. The Company is currently conduction pre-feasibility to produce lithium concentrates. If production of lithium concentrates can be established from Frontier, the possible second stage of investment and longer term prospect is to further process some of PAKs output to produce the higher purity lithium compounds required for lithium battery technologies used in the electrification of transportation and electric grid storage applications.

For additional information, please visit the company website at www.frontierlithium.com

About the PAK Lithium Project

The PAK Lithium Project lies close to the boundary between two geological sub-provinces of the western Superior geologic province in northwestern Ontario and hosts a rare metals pegmatite deposit. The deposit is an LCT (lithium- cesium- tantalum) type pegmatite. These types of pegmatites have been the principal source of hard rock lithium, tantalum, rubidium and cesium ores mined in the world but there are comparatively few commercially-viable deposits.

Frontier is actively exploring its 100% owned project which contains the Pakeagama Lake pegmatite. The PAK deposit is one of the highest grade lithium mineral resources in North America which has a current Measured and Indicated Resource of 7.89 million tonnes of 1.73% Li2O equivalent (eq.) and Inferred Resource of 295,600 tonnes of 1.35% Li2O eq. which has a technical/ceramic grade spodumene with low inherent iron (below 0.1% Fe2O3). The deposit has adjacent zones that are enriched in tantalum and rubidium. Frontier is also evaluating the phased co-production of tantalum and mica-product concentrates once lithium mineral production has been commercialized.

The deposit now has a known 500m strike length with an estimated true width varying from 10m to 125m with a sub-vertical orientation. The resource remains open to depth and along strike to the northwest and southeast.

To view this press release as a PDF file, click onto the following link:public://news_release_pdf/FrontierLithiumJune62017.pdfSource: Frontier Lithium Inc. (TSX Venture:FL)

To follow Frontier Lithium Inc. on your favorite social media platform or financial websites, please click on the icons below.

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Copyright  2017 Filing Services Canada Inc.
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Jun 6, 2017) - Canada Carbon Inc. (the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:CCB), (FRANKFURT:U7N1) is pleased to announce it is planning for an approximately 3,000 metre ("m") drill program on its Miller Project that is expected to begin in mid June 2017. The drill results should increase the confidence in the resource modeling beyond the boundaries of existing indicated resources (see news release dated December 14th 2016). The Company will then proceed to update its mineral resources, to be determined by SGS Canada, Blainville, Quebec.

The drill program will only be performed in selected areas away from wetlands and environmentally sensitive zones identified in our environmental assessments, to ensure that any further discoveries will also have a minimal impact on the environment as we continue to assess options for mine optimization. The map of the current indicated and inferred resources and the areas that could be drilled can be found at: http://www.canadacarbon.com/images/Miller_Drill_Map_Jun2017.jpg. One important goal of this drill program is to enhance the near-surface indicated graphite resource category which may allow the Company to maintain or improve its current economic projections (as stated in the Company's Preliminary Economic Assessment filed April 14th, 2016 on SEDAR) within a smaller and shallower open pit operating plan.

The proposed 3,000 m drill program will include between 24 and 40 holes to variable depths between 75 and 125 m each. Depending on drill results, the Company may expand the drill program beyond 3,000 m. Downing Drilling from Hawkesbury, ON, and Foradrill from Gatineau, QC, were selected to perform the drill program, which will be managed by SL Exploration Inc. The core will be logged, split and prepared under the supervision of its geologists, who will also manage the QA/QC program. Samples will be sent to Actlabs, Ancaster, ON for graphite assaying using preparation code RX1-Graphitic (Samples undergo drying, crushing up to 90% passing through a #10 square-mesh screen, riffle splitting (250 gram) and pulverized by crushing to 95% passing a 105 micron square-mesh screen.) and assaying code 4F-C-Graphitic (Multistage furnace treatment and infrared absorption, with a 0.05% detection limit).

The drill targets and collar locations will be prepared by SGS Canada (Blainville) in the coming weeks. The existing geological model of the Miller deposit includes areas with open mineralization in all directions, including higher grade zones (1% Cg and over) that will be targets for this drill program. Additionally, in-fill drilling will be performed in areas where past drill sample density supported only inferred graphite resources (see news release dated December 14th 2016). SGS Canada will prioritize in-filling in higher grade zones before working in lower grade areas. The updated geological model developed to support the revised resource calculation in the Technical Report filed to SEDAR on January 27, 2017 revealed that higher graphite grades were hosted in marble and skarn units proximal to contact with paragneiss bands, which are themselves open along strike and to depth. These contact zones constitute a new type of drill target, and if confirmed by drilling, could lead to a significant increase in the number of holes completed during this summer's drill program.

The Company also is planning further drilling to increase its knowledge of the continuity and quality of the white marble zone which is expected to be quarried to yield blocks and slabs of architectural stone. Both existing and newly acquired marble core samples will be digitally scanned for colour and consistency, which will be used to develop a three-dimensional model for quarry planning purposes.

Canada Carbon Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mr. R. Bruce Duncan remarked, "The Miller white marble has sparked interest in the dimensional stone industry, due to its unique characteristics. The marble has excellent colour and appearance, is easy to work, and polishes to a high lustre. We look forward to further developing marble interest as we conduct public consultations and advance in obtaining the required permits and environmental certificate of authorisation."

Canada Carbon has established a dedicated page on its website to host final environmental and other assessment reports, which will be updated as new information becomes available. The Miller Project Reports page can be accessed from the website home page, or by opening this link: https://www.canadacarbon.com/miller-project-reports . The Company will provide periodic updates via newspaper ads and flyers delivered to GSLR residents, and will hold further public meetings from time to time as the results of the Project feasibility study are made public and the quarry and mine permit applications are considered.

QUALIFIED PERSON

Steven Lauzier, P.Geo. OGQ, a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 guidelines, has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release.

Canada Carbon Inc.

R. Bruce Duncan, CEO and Director

"Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release."

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS: This news release contains forward-looking statements, which relate to future events or future performance and reflect management's current expectations and assumptions. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Investors are cautioned that these forward looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially from those expected. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and, except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. All of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements and by those made in our filings with SEDAR in Canada (available at www.sedar.com).
Please note the review below may contain minor spoilers - I've done my best to keep them to a minimum.

Having not made a film since 2013s Garbage, writer and director Phil Volken returns to the big screen - or small screen I should say - with his largest project yet, as a holiday turns into horror show in Extortion.

Heart surgeon Kevin (Eion Bailey) - who has the acting spirit of Nicholas Cage trapped within him - his wife (Julie played by Bethany Joy Lenz) and young son Andy (Mauricio Alemay) are all packing their car and looking forward to a much needed break in the Caribbean. All set and raring to go, Kevins approached by the local neighbour who wishes to thank him for saving his wife, whilst giving ode to the danger the Caribbean can present - what a buzzkill for a family before a holiday.

Finally at their exotic destination and perusing the sights, the trio decide sunbathing and lounging around like most tourists isnt quite for them, as Kevin ventures to the local dock to find the most shady looking owner with the most rickety boat he can find. With a local found and having got his boat licence within 20 seconds - maybe this is how he got his surgeon's licence too - he rides out to sea with an exuberant family in tow as they scope out a deserted island. Frolics were had and its time to return back to the mainland, sadly the boat wont start, and its at this point Kevin realises he knows nothing about boats - nor anything not heart related. But it could be worse he muses to his wife and child as theyre trapped on an island and berated from an overbearing sun, we could have run into that guy from Captain Phill- ah f--.

Aiming to conjure up a mix of 2003s Open Water and 2015s No Escape, Extortion starts out simple and convincing enough, and when I mean starts out Im referring to around the opening 10 minutes or so, before descending into a deep dive of absurdity and never letting up on the throttle - Extortion is truly the epitome of a movie youll catch on tv a few years from now whilst flicking through the channels one day. Thats not to say Extortion is bad from a technical point of view, filming in a gorgeous Puerto Rico, the views are literally to die for and used to create a sense of authenticity that for the most part work well enough, though Extortion finds it hard to escape the budget feel it presents on screen in both performances and the script - which is plainly dire. The worst major sin that Extortion treads, is playing everything so strait-laced, if it had stepped back and realised it had in fact created Carry On Caribbean wed all have an infinitely better experience. Alas, Extortion believes it's presenting a thrilling experience, keeping us glued with its consistently far fetched twists and turns - one in particular had me having to pause the film for a good 5 minute chuckle. Aside from Danny Glover - who plays a bumbling Police detective, with the film committing another sin by omitting the now iconic line Im too old for this shit - there really isnt any known actors within Extortion, at least none youll know by name. Plucked from the world of television, their performances ooze the same exuberance of a shit show they know they're in - but hey, at least they got a holiday out of it. One man though actually puts in a half decent performance, that being Barkhad Abdi, a man youll most likely recognise as the pirate antagonist in 2013s Captain Phillips, a brand he's now seemingly carrying with him, becoming Hollywood's go to Mr Pirate bad guy. There's definitely a nugget of an idea within Extortion, sadly the execution leaves a lot to be desired, with a film ultimately destined for the bargain bin at your local Asda.

Special Features Behind The Scenes - A roughly 7 minute long vignette showcasing writer and director Phil Volkens vision of his film Extortion and the beautiful Puerto Rico location they are shooting within. He highlights the trouble of shooting on water and scouting the location. For a straight-to-DVD film, Extortion doesnt exactly shine in the special features department, but honestly wanting to see more of the film should be the last thing on your mind.

Whilst great in idea, Extortion fails in its execution, quickly descending into outright comedy - albeit totally against its will - with a script that falls into the trap of a constantly escalating disaster movie - to comedic effect - and tv-movie performances that feel phoned in for the most part, that its beautiful location can't manage to subvert.

If youre looking for a smart thriller then steer your boat well clear, but if youre a cinematic masochist who doesnt mind a film so bad that it's fun to laugh at, then Extortion might be right up your dock.

A DVD review copy of Extortion was provided by the distributor for review purposes.
The District of Columbia has experienced aneconomic and population boom over the last decade, but not all of its residents have benefited.Its poorest neighborhoods, Wards 7 and 8, have suffered sharp declines in median income and spikes in unemployment while the city overall has enjoyed a more than 20 percent increase in its median income between 2000 and 2012. All across the District, black residents haven't bounced back from the recession, even as other racial groups have met or surpassed pre-recession earnings and employment levels.The reasons for these racial and geographic disparities are numerous and complex. But one is education (or a lack thereof).According to one analysis , the high school graduation rate in the citys poorest wards was 10 percent lower than in D.C. as a whole in 2006. Its estimated that about 21 percent of the District's working-age population lacks a high school diploma and 20 percent cannot read a newspaper.It's a problem that a group of students at Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy set out to alleviate by offering free adult education and career development services at a library in one of the poorest wards. But to do that, they first had to address a different issue."A lot of people might have kids they cant leave to go to programs like this," says Catherine Lyons, one of the four students who crafted the proposal.To accomodate those parents, Lyons and her classmates proposed pairing adult literacy and career services with child tutoring. The idea, called Leveraging Libraries, won $1,000 and was a finalist at the annual Public Policy Challenge hosted by the University of Pennsylvanias Fels Institute of Government and Data show that people without a high school diploma earn significantly less over the course of their lives than people who graduate. On average, dropouts earned just under $25,000 a year in 2012 while people who finished earned $35,000.Lyons says the goal of the program will eventually be to help participants get their GED, but it will start at the most basic levels, helping people gain crucial literacy and numeracy skills.What we realized is that adult basic education is the first hurdle people have to get over. People without a high school diploma or equivalent cant even participate in a lot of career programs because you need a GED to do so, Lyons says. So instead of doing another workforce development space, why dont we think even more basic than that?The three students who crafted the idea have spent the past several months speaking with stakeholders and searching for partners all over the D.C. area, including libraries and literacy organizations that already provide these kinds of services.They're hoping to roll the program out at Dorothy Height Libraryin Ward 7within the year, and if it's successful, they want to expand to libraries all over Wards 7 and 8.But the group first has to secure more funding, potentially from the citys existing budget for libraries. Lyons says the library has been very receptive to their ideas so far, but if the money through the city doesn't come through, they will likely begin searching for grant funding.Although many of the program's details have yet to be worked out, one thing is certain: Something must be done about the Districts employment crisis. The Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce estimates that by 2020, the Districts jobs will require the highest concentration of post-secondary education in the country, which means employment prospects for people without a high school diploma are only getting worse.
Any insurers that leave New York's health insurance exchange will be banned from participating in the state's Medicaid program or contracting with any state agencies under regulations Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced yesterday.Cuomo also will make all insurers who do business on the state's exchange guarantee the 10 essential health benefits required by the federal Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. "We will not stand idly by as ultra-conservatives in Washington try to roll back the progress we have made to expand access quality, affordable health care, putting our most vulnerable New Yorkers at risk," Cuomo said in a statement.Cuomo also said the state will take steps to prevent any discrimination based on gender, age or pre-existing conditions.A bill already narrowly approved in the House would allow states to opt out of the 10 essential benefits, which include things like hospitalization, maternity and pediatric care, lab work, and mental health and addiction services. It's unclear what will happen to the bill in the Senate. More than 1 million New Yorkers have obtained insurance as a result of Obamacare.The New York Health Plan Association, which represents insurers, said banning plans from participating in Medicaid if they withdraw from the insurance exchange could create more uncertainty for New York insurers than the proposals under discussion in Washington, D.C.
Nevada Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval has signed legislation that will require new school buses to be equipped with seat belts.More than a dozen children were injured in a school bus crash last month in Las Vegas, and in the last seven months, students in Massachusetts and Tennessee have been killed or injured in school bus accidents.The Nevada legislation, which was passed overwhelmingly by the Legislature, requires that any new school bus purchased by a school district on or after July 1, 2019, be equipped with a shoulder-harness-type safety belt assembly for passengers.Nevada joins six other states  California, Florida, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York and Texas in enacting laws requiring seat belts on the big yellow school buses that most students ride. In Louisiana and Texas, however, the requirements are contingent upon funds being appropriated by the state, and that hasnt happened.Advocates for seat belts on school buses say they should be required to protect children from being seriously injured or killed in crashes. Opponents say school buses are already very safe and question whether children can quickly unbuckle and evacuate in some emergencies. School districts also are concerned about the estimated $7,000 to $10,000 cost of adding seat belts to a new bus.
Description

GIS  06 June, 2017: The Knowledge Exchange  Feed your mind at lunchtime, an interactive session targeting members of the public, organised by the National Productivity and Competitiveness Council (NPCC) will kick off on Wednesday 07 June 2017. The theme chosen is How to manage the fear of being unsuccessful in life. The event will be held in the conference room of the NPCC at The Catalyst building, Ebene.

This initiative is in line with the objective of the NPCC to raise awareness and trigger thinking on several issues affecting the daily lives of people. It aims at unveiling the challenges and find solutions to issues that hamper productivity and efficiency in a persons daily activities, on both personal and professional fronts.

The Knowledge Exchange will be guided by a resource person of the NPCC during the knowledge sharing session. Participants will then be encouraged to debate and exchange views on the issue to find the potential solutions during their lunchtime.

These sessions, which will be held free of charge on a monthly basis, target the public during lunchtime given that most people are free during this time.
(TNS) -- State officials announced a major push on Friday to multiply renewable energy sources in New York, saying they were soliciting proposals from companies to build solar farms, windmills and other projects with enough combined power to provide electricity to about 350,000 homes.The announcement came one day after President Trump vowed to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate accord - a decision that prompted Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other dismayed U.S. leaders to affirm the commitments by their own states and cities to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. New York already had set an ambitious goal last year of having half of the state's electricity generated by renewable sources instead of fossil fuels by 2030, with an initial target of around 26 percent this year.The push that officials outlined on Friday aims to fuel the rapid proliferation of green technology like the solar farm that recently went into operation on Orange County-owned property, a flotilla of panels spread across 10 acres between the county jail and the Emergency Services Center. Two agencies - the New York Power Authority and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority - each will solicit bids from energy developers, in hopes of stimulating 40-60 large-scale projects and a combined power generation of 2.5 million megawatt-hours per year.The announcement served as an overt rebuttal to the White House from a potential 2020 presidential candidate."As the federal government abdicates its responsibility to address climate change - at the expense of our environment and economy - New York is leading the nation in advancing a clean energy future," Cuomo said in the press release.State officials described the effort as a $1.5 billion investment in clean energy, but no state funding is involved. The developers would make that investment and recover it from customers on their electric bills over time. Officials predicted the expansion of green energy sources would create 40,000 jobs by 2020.The solar panels now being used on Orange County's property in Goshen were installed by SolarCity, an 11-year-old company based in California and led by Elon Musk - also a founder of the Tesla car maker. SolarCity representatives, pitching the project to county lawmakers in 2015, said it would generate 2.4 megawatts of electricity - enough to power 1,000 homes - and save the county about $250,000 on its electric bills in its first year, through a fixed rate on a 20-year contract, according to published reports. The county didn't pay anything to install the panels.Orange and Rockland Utilities, which provides electrical service in that area, currently has 5,339 customers in Orange, Rockland and Sullivan counties that use solar power, with a total capacity of 53.5 megawatts, company spokesman Mike Donovan said Friday. The bulk of that solar service - 3,012 customers and 33 megawatts - is in Orange.Statewide, there is about 800 megawatts of solar capacity today. State officials say they hope to double that amount to more than 1,600 megawatts by the end of next year.
(TNS) -- Raquel Urtasuns first day of work as Ubers newest self-driving car leader came in the midst of a major upheaval at the ride-hailing company.Facing a potentially devastating lawsuit accusing the startup of stealing rival Waymos autonomous vehicle technology, Uber also has seen an exodus of top talent and a court order barring its top self-driving car engineer from working on a key piece of technology. But when Urtasun started May 1 as head of Ubers new self-driving car division in Toronto, she was focused on the big picture  putting autonomous vehicles on every road.Shell start small, though. Her first step will be scaling up the Toronto team shes now in charge of, and traveling to Ubers other Advanced Technologies Group offices to get to know her new co-workers.Urtasun responded to this new organizations questions via email. Her answers have been lightly edited for length and clarity.Q What do you think transportation will look like 10 years from now?A Our ultimate hope for the future is that we can turn every journey into a shared one using a combination of ride-sharing (both in the traditional sense and via self-driving) and mass transit, because sharing will be a cheaper and more convenient alternative to individual car ownership.Mass urbanization is one of the defining trends of our generation. There is so much that is great about living in a city today. And by embracing shared modes of transportation we can make all cities less congested and polluted; with more space for people and parks; and where everyone, wherever they live and whatever their income, has access to affordable, reliable transportation.Q When can we expect fully autonomous Ubers that can be driven safely on city streets without a human behind the wheel?A Its still very early days. Self-driving Ubers have vehicle operators in the front seat for safety, as they require human monitoring and intervention in conditions like bad weather.Q What role do you see Uber playing in the future of transportation?A Even when these technology issues are fixed, we believe ride-sharing will be a mix for a long time  with rides provided by drivers and self-driving Ubers. This is because of the limits of self-driving global software and the skyrocketing demand for better transportation that drivers are uniquely able to solve. And the past has shown that technology creates new work opportunities, while disrupting existing ones.Q Whats the biggest challenge that stands in the way today of mass implementation of driverless cars?A One of the biggest challenges we have is changing the way people think about cars and the way weve traditionally designed our cities around them. There are at least 1 billion cars in the world today. But the problem is not so much cars themselves. Its how we use them: individually.All of this individual car use comes at considerable public cost to the environment and public safety. And sadly, thats just just 4 percent of the problem, because cars sit idle 96 percent of the time in the U.S. alone. Thats where ride-sharing comes in and why its so important.Were already seeing attitudes begin to change. In America, 10 percent of Uber riders under 30 say that theyve either given up their car or are no longer planning to buy one. And were just getting started.Q Most of Ubers tech and leadership roles go to men, as is the case in many tech companies  women fill 15 percent of tech roles and 22 percent of leadership roles at Uber  and the company has come under fire recently over allegations of sexual harassment. What does it mean to you to be a woman joining the team in this context?A I joined Uber because of the team theyve built. Everyone is working toward the same goal as mine of making self-driving a reality. By taking a leadership role I hope to inspire more women to work in this domain and take leadership roles.Q Theres been some turmoil in Ubers self-driving car program recently, with the departure of several key people, a lawsuit accusing Uber of stealing Waymos self-driving technology, and Anthony Levandowski, the engineer at the heart of that lawsuit, stepping down from the head of the Uber team. Why did you decide to come on board in the midst of this uncertainty, and how do you think those factors will impact your work?A Im focused on developing the software that allows self-driving cars to see  recognizing objects so they can navigate the world smoothly and safely.Im confident in the teams ability to succeed in implementing self-driving technology at scale. The more I got to know the team, the more sure I was that ATG was the right place for me. The promise of self-driving is core to Ubers mission of providing reliable transportation, everywhere, for everyone. While it wont happen overnight, self-driving will be an important part of the future of transportation  a future which we intend to lead.Q What will Ubers new self-driving group in Toronto look like, and how will it fit into the companys larger plans?A Toronto has emerged as an important hub of artificial intelligence research, which is critical to the future of transportation. By setting up shop at the MaRS Discovery District, we hope to draw from the regions impressive talent pool as we grow, helping the dozens of researchers we plan to hire stay connected to the Toronto-Waterloo Corridor. I joined ATG with eight of my students and postdocs Ive been working with for several years, and well be hiring several dozens more folks to come aboard. Well work with our counterparts across the U.S. to bring our self-driving Uber pilot program to scale.Q Will Uber roll out a self-driving car pilot program on Toronto streets?A While Id love to bring passengers operations to Toronto, were not planning to launch a self-driving Uber pilot at this time.2017 the San Jose Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) oversees two essential aspects of aviation: regulating the physical planes and their equipment, and operating air traffic control (ATC), which guides planes in and out of the nations 378 commercial airports. On June 5, the White House issued a set of principles for privatizing the FAA's air traffic control functionality.The plan introduced by Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao and Congressman Bill Shuster, R-Pa., would create a private, nonprofit corporation to operate, manage and control ATC nationwide. The entity would be managed by a board composed of stakeholders includingrepresentatives from major airline corporations, labor and advocates among others.If the plan were approved, it would be one of the largest transfers of U.S. public assets to the private sector, according to the. Nearly 35,000 employees are currently in roles that may be affected. The ATC workers union, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, has endorsed the action, after receiving collective bargaining rights, and wage and benefits guarantees.While explaining the action, Trump relied on arguments that the private sector could handle the duties more efficiently."Today we're proposing to take American air travel into the future, finally," he said, lamenting on the state of ATC, calling the "ancient, broken, antiquated" and "horrible" system "stuck, painfully, in the past." He also said his reforms would make it safer and more reliable.The ATC has a long history of criticism, and airlines have lobbied for its privatization for more than 30 years. The argument is that private ownership can ease the pains of procurement and federal budgetary disputes. According to NPR , Trump was also influenced by his personal pilot, who has complained about how out of date and inefficient the agency is.Some of that reputation has been bolstered by the troubled NextGen program that was meant to modernize equipment and practices. Approved in 2003, the program has turned into an ongoing maintenance and replacement initiative to phase out old and outdated equipment. Trump has not been shy about criticizing the program. "Honestly, they didn't know what the hell they were doing," he said.A similar plan was introduced during the Clinton administration in 1994 that would have had a similar effect on the system. While defending the position, Trump invoked Canadas experience in the creating a private nonprofit air-traffic corporation, NavCanada.Opponents have already pumped the brakes on the plan, arguing that putting ATC in the hands of the few could lead to further domination of large aviation companies. Also, the purported efficiencies are not widely accepted. There does not appear to be conclusive evidence that any of these models is either superior or inferior to others or to existing government-run air traffic services ... a 2017 report by the Congressional Research Service noted.While nothing has gone into effect, the actions taken were largely symbolic. The ideology does fall in line with the rest of the Department of Transportations (DOT) ethos of emphasizing private control of infrastructure. Under Chao, the DOT has championed the public-private partnership model as a way to fix the countrys failing roads and bridges.
(TNS) -- The House of Representatives on Monday gave final legislative approval to a bill that would establish a pilot program in Stamford and three other Connecticut communities to test autonomous vehicles. It would also create a task force that would examine the legal complexities posed by this new technology."We heard a lot about autonomous vehicles,'' said Rep. Devin Carney, R-Old Saybrook. "They are the wave of the future so I think it would be good public policy for us to understand more about how we can use them beneficially for our citizens."The bill, which passed the Senate in late May, now heads to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy for consideration.The Democratic governor supports the proposal, saying it will put Connecticut at "the forefront of [an] innovative, burgeoning industry.Autonomous vehicles are already being tested in several states throughout the country, and we cannot allow our state to be outpaced as this technology grows. The final language of this legislation, which was overwhelmingly approved with bipartisan votes, includes specific qualifications through limited and controlled testing areas,'' Malloy said. "By adopting this legislation, we will show this growing industry and those around the country that we embrace and promote innovation in Connecticut.Companies ranging from Google to Ford have invested heavily in developing autonomous vehicles.The new technology raises a host of legal issues for the task force to examine.Rep. Christy Carpino of Cromwell said she is not generally a fan of task forces. But "there are some issues that are too big to jump into without studying first" and autonomous vehicles fall into that category, she said.
(TNS) -- The Bay Area is home to incredible technological innovation, so it is surprising that San Francisco has taken a decidedly anti-tech stance lately.First, Supervisor Jane Kim announced that she was exploring the option of imposing a robot tax on firms that displace human workers with automation. Then, Supervisor Norman Yee proposed banning delivery robots from city sidewalks. This does not sound like the city that has benefitted so much from such technological advances.Kims proposal would use the financial penalty of taxation to try to slow the adoption of certain kinds of automation, while directing revenue to subsidize education for displaced workers.We dont want to become a Third World country where theres a big divide between the very rich and the very poor, Kim told Fast Company.It seems that that ship has already set sail, though. The citys Human Services Agency released a study in 2014 that put San Franciscos income inequality on par with Third World nations like Rwanda and Guatemala.Even so, income inequality alone is a poor measure of prosperity. After all, we should celebrate if the poor get richer, even if the rich get richer at a faster rate (thus increasing the income inequality gap), because everyone is better off than they were before.And who is to determine the proper rate of automation, or which types are harmful? Why, hordes of government bureaucrats, of course.But stifling innovation and increasing government welfare subsidies, thus providing less incentive for displaced workers to invest in developing new skills and finding new jobs, is certainly not a recipe for economic success  for entrepreneurs or for workers.Yees solution to new technology is even more extreme. Just as new automated delivery services are being tested and improved, Yee wants to kill the efforts before they can get off the ground. He reportedly discovered that a pilot autonomous delivery program was being operated  gasp!  without permits or regulation.Discussions with police and other agencies revealed that regulation would be nearly impossible to enforce, however. So, for me, then, the regulation becomes: They shouldnt be on the sidewalks, Yee told Wired. In other words, we cant micromanage it just the way we want, so were going to ban it for everyone.Our public spaces should not be commercialized, Yee added in a separate interview with CBS San Francisco. This is a curious argument, given that human delivery services use public roads all the time. And, as a police spokesman told Wired, the threat is really no greater than a worker pushing a dolly down the sidewalk. There is no evidence of extraordinary safety issues, or that any issues could not be handled by existing laws.New technologies certainly can disrupt job markets and our day-to-day experiences, but that has always been the case with progress. Is it better to prop up old technologies that stifle innovation and make businesses less competitive on a national, or international, scale?It is not a coincidence that the tech industry has prospered so much while being one of the more lightly regulated industries in the state. San Francisco lawmakers should ask themselves what Silicon Valley would look like if we had adopted government restrictions like their proposals 10 or 20 or 30 years ago.
Bernie Ecclestone has questioned his successor's apparent 'all change' approach to running F1.

With the Liberty Media takeover, long-time F1 supremo Ecclestone, 86, was replaced as chief executive by Chase Carey and two deputies.

On the fact that three men are now doing the former work of one, Ecclestone told Blick newspaper: "That is almost a compliment. But it's now a completely different way of thinking and working."

For one thing, chief Carey has not been shy to criticise Ecclestone's formerly dictatorial style.

"I have to live with that (criticism)," Ecclestone said.

"Maybe I should have changed more things," he added, "as the Americans seem to now be about changing everything.

"For me it was always clear: I wanted to run Formula One Management so that it makes a profit for the shareholders. And in the end, the shares were so high that this was the reason it was purchased by the Liberty group."

When asked what his relationship with Carey is like today, Ecclestone answered: "Well, he doesn't need me. He says he knows what he is doing.

"And he has surrounded himself with people who also claim to know what they are doing," he added.

Recently, Ecclestone criticised the new regime's focus on social media, and now he says all that free content is upsetting the TV broadcasters.

"A lot of the TV stations are unsettled and annoyed," he claimed.

Asked if that's a problem, Ecclestone said: "Yes. We have contracts with these stations which are very exclusive.

"But right now it looks like you can get formula one without paying anything."

Ecclestone was also always opposed to working with Ross Brawn, who is now Carey's sporting deputy.

The Briton said: "Ross never had an insight into our business. He worked as an engineer with Flavio Briatore at Benetton. Then he went to Ferrari, and I don't want to talk about how he later ran his team.

"But he does not have the big picture of politics and commercial processes," Ecclestone insisted.

However, he also says Brawn is "not an idiot", and agrees that F1 is still able to thrive and succeed in the new era.

"And I will be the first to congratulate those responsible," said Ecclestone. "But it is not there yet."

When asked what advice he would give Carey, Brawn and co, he answered: "Why should I recommend anything to these gentlemen? They have different views, as I said before."

But Ecclestone said he always argued against the unpopular 'power unit' engines, and said the faster cars of 2017 were his idea.

When told that the races in 2017 have been exciting so far, Ecclestone said: "Right, but that had nothing to do with the new leadership.

"Two years ago I decided to go for a new regulation. With wider tyres and wider cars. This has changed the situation for the better."

Finally, Ecclestone said he still goes to work every day. "I go to my office very early, and often leave very late. I keep my rhythm."

(GMM)
Mario Isola has played down rumours of an 'Italian' conspiracy to help Ferrari dominate in 2017.

Mercedes' Toto Wolff spoke recently about an "Italian mystery", regarding how well this year's Ferrari works on the similarly Italian-made wide slicks.

Pirelli chief Isola told the Italian publication F1Sport: "On the 'Italian mystery', I have spoken with Wolff several times.

"He just said that Ferrari has learned to use the tyres better than Mercedes is able to do so at the moment," he said.

"Ferrari has developed a very balanced car, in a year where the secret is to be able to have both the front and the rear tyres in the working window."

Isola said Pirelli worked hard to develop tyres that are 'easy' for all the teams to use, but he also admitted: "It is not easy, but formula one is not easy.

"It is a sport with the highest technology, and this year every hundredth of a second counts when two teams are so close."

(GMM)
Construction work on the new Mountain View Middle School and Winding Creek Elementary School continues on a steady pace and is expected to be completed on schedule, construction managers told the Cumberland Valley School Board on Monday night.

Site manager Ryan Terizzi and general manager Kevin Nestor of Massaro Construction Management Services LLC presented board members with an update about construction of the two schools thats currently underway at Lambs Gap and Bali Hai roads in Silver Spring and Hampden townships.

Site work for the 140,000-square-foot elementary school began this year, with completion slated for June 2018. Construction began on the 237,400-square-foot middle school soon after, with completion scheduled for March 2019.

Were generally on schedule, Nestor told the board.

On May 1, Lobar Construction began installing the elementary schools stone sub-base and vapor barrier in an eastern portion of the building, followed by a foundation and concrete slabs. Workers continued the process for several other building sections last month.

Basically, theyve completed the (buildings) foundation, Terizzi said.

Within the next two weeks, workers plan to finish installing concrete slabs in an unfinished section of the elementary school and start building the first floor walls, Terizzi said.

Also last month, York Excavating began placing fill to provide a level surface for the middle schools base. The company also graded the site for the middle schools parking lot. Silvertip Inc. is laying sewer lines for both schools. Terizzi said he expects that workers will begin laying the middle schools building foundation by July.

On May 22, Pennsylvania-America contractors installed pipe sleeve for a pedestrian tunnel that will run between the two schools. Heavy concrete gutters for the tunnels interior were then set by a crane.

On May 26, Pennsylvania-American contractors began laying water pipes. In the next two weeks, workers are expected to continue underground utility installation and complete electric pole relocation, continue water line installation, and continue a fill and grading process on the middle school grounds.

Good work, school board member Bud Shaffner told the construction managers.

Michael Willis, the districts director of business and support services, said on Monday night that a traffic detour on Bali Hai Road is expected to remain in effect until September as work continues on the pedestrian tunnel, motorist roundabout and other transportation matters.
In what appears to be part of an ongoing crackdown on row offices, the Cumberland County Commissioners announced today that they had issued a written reprimand to an elected official and adopted a new policy on use of county resources.

The reprimand was, quite obviously, issued to Clerk of Courts Dennis Lebo, who has been involved in an ongoing dispute with the countys administration over what constitutes political use of the county email system.

I received [the reprimand], Lebo said. I know now what they believe to be political use, and if I had known then what I do now, I wouldnt have done it.

The commissioners release also stated that they shared details regarding the email use with the District Attorneys Office, to determine if any legal action may be warranted.

The Sentinel reported on an ongoing rift within the local Republican establishment, centering on Lebo, after it was revealed that he had used his county email system to compose his application for the GOPs Clerk of Courts nomination.

The correspondence also showed that Lebo had asked his first deputy to review his materials prior to sending them on to the countys Republican Committee.

Lebos email records had been obtained by South Middleton Supervisor Bryan Gembusia, who publicly accused Lebo of misusing taxpayer-funded resources, both electronic and personnel.

In 2015, Gembusias sister ran for the Republican nomination to Cumberland County treasurer against John Gross, another long-time local official. Gembusia had made a case regarding email misuse against Lebo and Gross at that time as well, as reported in the Sentinel.

Shortly after last months primary election, the countys Human Resources Department sent out an email asking incumbent elected officers to provide a list of all staff who had taken time off on Election Day, and what purpose was listed for any absence requests. The email stated that the commissioners want to review staffing levels as they relate to elections.

The email appeared to be in response to allegations that staff members of elected officers were being expected to support their superiors politically, including doing campaign work. County Chief Clerk Larry Thomas said concerns had been brought to himself and the commissioners regarding certain offices staffing levels on and around elections.

The countys new Policy on Time and Resources, approved by the commissioners on Monday, establishes a list of activities prohibited during compensated time, meaning any time during which an employee is being paid to complete their county job functions.

The first item on this list is engagement in political activities. The policy extends not just to personnel time, but also to the countys capital resources, including electronic services such as email.

However, its unclear how, if push came to shove, the county would be able to enforce such a policy when it comes to elected officers.

The clerk of courts, treasurer, prothonotary and other elected positions are what are known as row officers. These officials are elected by county voters, and are quasi-independent from the rest of the county government.

This setup is largely unique to Pennsylvanias commonwealth system. Pennsylvanias state budget allocates a certain amount to each county to support the activities of each row office, whose existence and function is defined by the commonwealth code.

Beyond this state allocation, however, the operation of the row offices is a county expense. This includes the cost of county infrastructure such as computers and buildings, which row officers must typically sign a contract to use.

It also includes staffing  although row officers have the power to hire and fire, their staff still falls under the countys jurisdiction for labor requirements, and any operating losses are covered by county taxes.

Cumberlands IT contract for its row officers already states that political activities on the county email system are forbidden. But it also states that the county allows incidental personal usage if it is reasonable and does not interfere with work.

Lebo said he believed his actions were not forbidden under his county IT contract, since he was not soliciting the public directly, and that correspondence with his deputy was covered as incidental personal use.

I dont think the policy was clear before, and I dont think what I did was a political activity, Lebo said. But Id be a fool to keep doing it now that I know this is how theyre interpreting it.

The issue with the countys new policy, however, is that it defines activities on compensated time. Because state law defining row offices is essentially nonexistent, there is no actual requirement that row officers put in a certain amount of hours.

It is an admittedly nebulous concept, Thomas said. We cant make them work certain hours. But the idea is if theyre here in the office or at any venue carrying out the duties of the office per se  as opposed to getting re-elected  these rules should apply. We needed something out there to put people on notice and give us something to refer to on a policy basis.

The countys row offices generally do a good job of keeping their political elements out of county operations, Thomas said.

This was stuff that was brought to us from the outside about some specific instances, Thomas said.
Under the partnership, nuTonomy and Lyft will align their respective technology platforms to gather valuable research and insights into all aspects of ensuring a passengers comfort and safety during an AV ridefrom routing and booking to the performance of the driving system and how it interacts and communicates with the rider.

By combining forces with Lyft in the US, well be positioned to build the best passenger experience for self-driving cars. Both companies care immensely about solving urban transportation issues and the future of our cities, and we look forward to working with Lyft as we continue to improve our autonomous vehicle software system. Karl Iagnemma, CEO and Co-founder of nuTonomy

The collaborative R&D effort will take place in Boston, MA, where nuTonomy has been testing its self-driving electric cars since the beginning of the year. (Earlier post.) The tests are being conducted in Bostons Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park and the adjacent Seaport and Fort Point neighborhoods. An engineer from nuTonomy rides in each of its vehicles during testing to observe system performance and assume control if needed.

Through its testing program in Boston, nuTonomy is building on the knowledge it has gained from the road tests and public trials it has been conducting in Singapores one-north business district since last August. nuTonomy plans to launch its self-driving mobility-on- demand service in Singapore in 2018. (Earlier post.)

Following the initial phase of this partnership, Lyft and nuTonomy will consider expanding it in ways that will yield additional learning and data about the ideal function, performance and features of an autonomous mobility on demand service that could be deployed in cities to tackle the difficult challenge of urban driving.

Founded by Drs. Karl Iagnemma and Emilio Frazzoli of MIT, nuTonomy has developed the first-of-its-kind complete solution for providing point-to-point mobility via large fleets of self-driving cars; this includes software for autonomous vehicle navigation in urban environments, smartphone-based ride hailing, fleet routing and management, and controlling a vehicle remotely through teleoperation.
NASA has given the green light to three teams of NASA researchers working on different aspects of Unmanned Aircraft Systems. The trio of investigations are part of NASAs Convergent Aeronautics Solutions (CAS) project and are expected to take between 24 and to 30 months to complete.

Our idea is to invest a very modest amount of time and money into new technologies that are ambitious and potentially transformative. They may or may not work, but we wont know unless we try. Richard Barhydt, NASAs acting director of the Transformative Aeronautics Concepts Program (TACP)

The studies will explore whether and how it might be possible to:

Build a path toward safe inclusion and certification of autonomous systems in aviation. Autonomous systems, such as self-driving cars and future UAS, rely on learning algorithms that adapt to new goals and environments. The idea is to develop autonomy-enabling algorithms that lay a foundation for establishing justifiable confidence in machine decisions and, ultimately, lead to certification of autonomous systems.

Develop new methods and technologies for a remotely-piloted drone to make sure its fit to fly before every single flight. The idea is to verify the aircraft is structurally and mechanically sound, and that all its onboard systems have not been damaged or hacked in some way. If its not sound, the aircraft will ground itself.

Use quantum computing and communication technology to build a secure and jam-free network capable of accommodating hundreds of thousands of drones flying each day. Because of the manner in which data is organized and processed, quantum computing enables certain computations and communications to be done much more efficiently than a regular computer. For example, quantum computers may be able to solve certain problems in a few days that would take millions of years on the average computer.

The three studies were selected by a team of NASA aeronautics managers, led by recently retired TACP Director Doug Rohn, who made their decisions after hearing proposals offered by the principal investigators.

To be considered, research teams had to form on their own, represent multidisciplinary talents, and have members from more than one of NASAs aeronautics centers in Virginia, California and Ohio.

The three selected proposals join five that were selected in 2016 and six that were selected in 2015.
A sharp-eyed reader rightly pointed out over the weekend that our Saturday editorial on the removal of Confederate monuments in New Orleans got something wrong.

The Battle of Liberty Place wasnt a battle at all.

It was an armed insurrection by a white supremacist organization, the Crescent City White League.

And it occurred on Sept. 14, 1874, nine years after the Civil War ended.

And, unlike our own 1898 Wilmington insurrection, it didnt seek to overthrow a city government; it went after the state of Louisiana, fueled by anger over the outcome of an election and the new political clout of freed slaves.

Fumed a prominent Democrat, Charles Gayarre, We are completely under the rule of ignorant and filthy negroes scarcely superior to the orang outing.

So a paramilitary force made up mostly of Confederate veterans routed an outnumbered  and predominantly black  force of police and state militiamen in what was then the state capital of Louisiana (it had been moved from Baton Rouge, which fell to Union forces during the Civil War).

The insurgents took control of the Armory, the statehouse and downtown New Orleans for three days. Then federal troops arrived and restored order.

It could have been much worse.

Less than a year earlier, on April 13, 1873, in Colfax, La., 80 black men were killed by white Democrats in what is widely known as the Colfax Massacre.

In any case, Liberty Place is fondly remembered by many.

A 35-foot obelisk was placed on Canal Street to commemorate the event 1891.

To erase any doubt about the thinking behind the uprising, a plaque was added to the monument in 1932 that made it clear that the Liberty Place victory was a triumph for white supremacy.

It read (the brackets are mine; the parentheses are in the actual inscription):

"[Democrat John] McEnery and [Davidson B.] Penn having been elected governor and lieutenant-governor by the white people were duly installed by this overthrow of carpetbag government, ousting the usurpers, Governor [William Pitt] Kellogg (white) and Lieutenant-Governor (Caesar) Antoine (colored). United States troops took over the state government and reinstated the usurpers but the national election of November 1876 recognized white supremacy in the South and gave us our state."

To put it even more plainly, this was a monument to a rebellion against an established government under a banner of racism and white supremacy ... and some people didnt understand why it needed to go?
So, what if?

We just learned that Russian military intelligence "executed cyber espionage operations against a named U.S. company in August 2016 evidently to obtain information on elections-related software and hardware solutions."

So, what if we also find out that they took the next step and actually manipulated the vote?

Far-fetched? Not anymore. As the probe of Russia's interference in our presidential election widens and deepens, who would rule out any possibility?

Other than our president and his most ardent followers, who say this is all fake news made up by Hillary Clinton supporters who can't get over losing the election. Today, the president tweeted:

"Sorry folks, but if I would have relied on the Fake News of CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, washpost or nytimes, I would have had ZERO chance winning WH"

Right. A National Security Agency contractor was just arrested for leaking fake documents? I don't think so.

One of Russia's aims, in this case and where it conducts similar meddling, is to undermine confidence in democratic systems of government.

But we also know that the Russians wanted to tilt our election toward Donald Trump. And that there were many suspicious contacts between Trump campaign associates and Russians during and after the campaign.

To what extent the Russians might have succeeded isn't known. They certainly hurt Clinton's effort by releasing hacked Democratic emails and spreading anti-Clinton fake news on the internet.

Did they also mess with vote tallies? We need an answer, and we certainly need better protections against this kind of aggression.

Suppose there were a conclusion that the Russians did more than influence the election, that they manipulated actual votes in a way that gave Trump his narrow victories in a few key states?

What impact would that have on Trump's status as president?

Legally, perhaps none.

There is no provision in our Constitution or laws to deal with that.

Once the Electoral College ballots were cast and presented to Congress, Trump was officially elected president. Once he took the oath of office, be officially became president.

I don't believe he could be removed from office because of what the Russians did to help his campaign.

It's another matter if anyone in Trump's campaign conspired with the Russians to make this happen. Such individuals would be exposed to criminal charges.

But even that wouldn't lead to Trump's removal unless Trump himself participated, which strikes me as unlikely.

Or if he knows about it now, in which case he might be considered an accessory after the fact and engaged in a cover-up or obstruction of justice. There's plenty of evidence he's tried to stop investigations into these matters.

If that were proven, he certainly would be ousted. That would raise a good question about succession: Should Mike Pence benefit given that his election as vice president was tied to Trump's as president? Shouldn't they both be removed together, making Speaker Paul Ryan the president?

Well, let's go back and say it will be established that the Russians did a great deal to help Trump's campaign but that Trump is innocent of any involvement. Many of his associates are implicated, but Trump's position is safe  legally.

Politically, it would be a different story. Depending on how he handles it, this could cripple Trump's presidency.

What should he do? He should forcefully denounce Russia for its attack on our election and take further punitive action. That's what any president should do. He should defend the United States from all enemies, foreign and domestic.

What will Trump do? I'm afraid he'll continue to parrot Russian denials over the findings of U.S. intelligence agencies.

And how suspicious is that?
KERNERSVILLE - Lowes Foods will open a new supermarket June 21 at 240 Market View Drive in the new Main Street Market shopping center.

It replaces the store at 535 Nelson St. at Piney Grove Plaza, which will close.

The 49,000-square-foot store will employee approximately 150 people.

Like all of our Lowes Foods stores, our new Kernersville store will be very focused on supporting all things local, Lowes Foods president Tim Lowe said. Our commitment to local includes offering produce sourced through our partnership with more than 200 local farmers and featuring a wide assortment of unique local products found throughout the store.

The new store features Lowes Foods Originals in-store concepts new to the Triad such as Bread Crumb, an artisan bakery producing fresh breads 4:30-7:30 p.m. daily, Smokehouse, which offers daily rotations of wood-smoked meats, and Sammy's, which offers grab-and-go signature sandwiches, create-your-own pizzas and paninis.

The store offers an assortment of organics, prepared foods, bulk foods and online shopping.

The store will also include The Beer Den, a concept popular in other stores in which shoppers can browse the store's craft beer and wine selection and even sip a draft beer or glass of wine while shopping. The Beer Den fills growlers with seasonal brews.

The store's Community Table is a gathering space that also doubles as a place for recipe sampling and children's activities.

Shoppers will be allowed to pick sprigs of fresh herbs growing at the store's front.

Lowes Foods is a North Carolina-based grocery chain with nearly 100 stores in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.
Four days after I covered UNCGs new bike share program (with story and video because I am a true double threat in journalism, I remain fascinated by LimeBike, the company involved in this venture.

I chose to keep last week's story short and straightforward  how the program works, where to find the bikes, how much it costs, things like that. But theres one line in the story  (LimeBike) picked Greensboro to be its first U.S. market for its bike share program  that hinted that theres a lot more to this story than what I had space to write about.

By more, I mean the term dockless, accusations of bike-dumping and big-time venture capital.

If youve been to New York recently, you probably saw people cruising around town on those blue Citi Bikes. You probably also noticed these huge bike racks where you can pick up and return the bikes. In the bike share argot, those racks are called docking stations  like something youd plug your laptop or cell phone into. (Im guessing theyre called docking stations instead of, oh, bike racks, because bike share programs seem to go hand-in-hand with the tech world.) Anyhow, LimeBikes system is dockless. Riders can pick up and drop off these GPS-equipped bikes anywhere, not at designated racks.

 These dockless systems are rare in the United States but are a big deal elsewhere, especially in China. This Reuters story explains why Chinese dockless bike share businesses might turn out to be the next Uber for bikes. This story from the Guardian tells how startups named Mobike, Ofo and Bluegogo are aggressively battling for Chinese market share.

 A common tactic in the Chinese bike share wars: a company shows up in town, Uber-like, and dumps a truckload of bikes all over the city. That approach didn't go over too well in San Francisco, which already supports a bike share program and wanted its regulation to stay ahead of innovation. (Thats probably why during the LimeBike event last week I heard the word partnership almost as often as the word bike.)

 If you think LimeBike is some sort of cute passing fad, Id caution you not to dismiss it so quickly. In March, LimeBike got $12 million in venture capital money to get started. The lead investor was Andreessen Horowitz (profiled here in the New Yorker in 2015). The Andreessen in the firm's name is Marc Andreessen, who helped create the first widely used web browser (Mosaic, in case you forgot) and co-founded Netscape. Hes a huge player in the tech world, and I bet hes betting on LimeBike because he sees it as a disruptive transportation technology  not just bike shares but cars, too.

In other words, there's a lot going on with those lime green bikes over at UNCG. You might want to pay attention.

Want to make sure you see these blog posts? Like me on Facebook, and follow me on Twitter.

Have something to say? Email me at john.newsom@greensboro.com.
Americas Got Talent

8 p.m. (WXII)

Tyra Banks hosts as performers take the stage in the hopes of impressing the judges in this new episode.

Mel B, Howie Mandel, Simon Cowell and Heidi Klum decide whether the acts are good enough to move on in the competition for a $1-million prize.

Forged in Fire

9 p.m. (HISTORY)

The competitors are challenged to construct a weapon out of junkyard steel in this new episode.

Being able to create edged-weapon mastery is key as they race to beat the clock. Few withstand the brutal testing required to make it to the next round.
RALEIGH  Gov. Roy Cooper has become the ninth U.S. governor to join in support of the global Paris Agreement that aims to reduce pollution.

According to a news release from the Governor's Office, Cooper signed an open letter Tuesday to the international community pledging to help. More than 1,000 signatories including governors, mayors, colleges and universities, and businesses have signed the letter.

President Donald Trump announced Thursday his intention to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate accord, a landmark global agreement to lower greenhouse gas emissions and minimize the harm from climate change.

Pulling out of the Paris Accord is wrong for our country, our children, and the generations to come, Governor Cooper stated in the release. North Carolinas commitment to clean air and a healthy environment will remain a priority despite the lack of forward thinking leadership from the current Administration.

The governors of California, Connecticut, Oregon, New York, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington, and Hawaii also signed the letter.

On Friday, Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan joined nearly 100 other mayors from across the U.S. as part of the Mayors National Climate Action Agenda.
The U.S. Supreme Court said little Monday about the N.C. state House and Senate districts challenged as unconstitutional racial gerrymanders. Yet, it said a lot:

The judgment is affirmed.

With that brief order, unsigned but indicating no dissent, the court upheld last years ruling by a panel of three federal judges that struck down 28 districts drawn by Republican legislators in 2011. Three of those districts  one Senate, two House  lie in Guilford County.

This is the second Supreme Court repudiation of North Carolina redistricting since May 22. In the first case, a 5-3 majority found that two congressional districts, the 1st and 12th, packed in too many black voters. Todays case involves similar issues but pertaining to state legislative districts.

In a separate per curiam opinion  meaning unsigned and unanimous  the Supreme Court rejected the remedy ordered by the federal panel, saying it was based on minimal reasoning. It told the panel to conduct a more thorough analysis.

Those judges had allowed the 2016 legislative elections to proceed under the existing districts but ordered new districts drawn in time for a special election in November 2017.

Although this Court has never addressed whether or when a special election may be the proper remedy for a racial gerrymander, obvious considerations include the severity and nature of the particular constitutional violation, the extent of the likely disruption to the ordinary processes of governance if early elections are imposed, and the need to act with proper judicial restraint when intruding on state sovereignty, the Supreme Court wrote. Those are the factors the lower-court panel now must weigh when it revisits the question of remedy.

A strong remedy is needed. Legislators went seriously wrong in 2011 when they created congressional and state House and Senate districts. Notably, they pushed and pulled as many black voters as they could into a few districts  many more voters than necessary to elect black representatives. Because more than 90 percent of black voters choose Democratic candidates, this gerrymandering thinned Democratic voters from adjoining districts, leaving them more white and more Republican. This strategy has helped Republicans win super-majorities in the state legislature and 10 out of 13 U.S. House seats in subsequent elections. No state has implemented partisan gerrymandering more effectively than North Carolina.

The next elections, whether this year or in 2018, should be much different. The Supreme Court has forcefully said the Republican strategy isnt acceptable. Voters cant be segregated within a system of political apartheid  blacks crammed into their districts and whites left to dominate others. Legislators who won their seats in elections with predetermined outcomes, therefore, lack legitimacy and should have to run in fair districts soon.

Twenty-eight districts cant be fixed without changing many other districts on their borders. The process of finding a remedy must move quickly  in time for special elections this year.

Correction

A editorial in Saturdays editions mischaracterized the Battle of Liberty Place in New Orleans. It was an armed insurrection by the Crescent City White League against state government on Sept. 14, 1874.
The recently released U.S. Census Bureau data on 2016 population growth in cities and their outlying areas arrives at one inescapable conclusion: suburban communities which once offered relief from overcrowded urban areas are rapidly growing. And with that growth comes more urban sprawl. Larger swaths of wide open spaces will vanish as residential and commercial development plow under agricultural land and environmental habitats. Queens College demographer Andy Beveridge calls the phenomena boomburbs.

As expected, the most dramatic growth occurred in the suburban West and South. Among the fastest-growing among cities with 50,000 or more inhabitants were in outlying Dallas, Salt Lake City, Phoenix, Nashville and Houston. Texas was particularly hard-hit. Four of the top five growth cities, as measured by percentage increases, were located in the Lone Star State.

While the population growth rate in major cities slowed in comparison to the suburbs, it still advanced. New York City added 21,171 people and remained the nations largest city with 8.4 million people, more than twice the total of the second largest municipality, Los Angeles. New York City has a crushingly high population density, 27,000 persons per square mile. Along with NYC, Phoenix, San Antonio and Seattle made up the top five in net population growth. All five had population increases of 20,000 or more. Chicago, another major metropolis, doubtlessly hurt by its reputation as Americas murder capital, netted just 5,900 new residents.

Raw numbers and percentages do a poor job of reflecting what unsustainable population growth truly means. Demographers at NumbersUSA, a nonpartisan, nonprofit Washington, D.C.-based organization that advocates for lower population, crunched the Census data, and came up with more tangible methods of calculating growths costly consequences. Findings from its analysis of growth-hammered Texas showed that the state adds about 455,000 people to its population every year, or about 8,750 each week. More people obviously means more roads must be built, 2,500 annually, and more houses constructed, 115,000 per year. Gone are Texas croplands, forests, fields, and prairies, and the wildlife that once inhabited them. In their place, to the delight of developers and growth-is-good proponents, is cement.

U.S. population growth is accelerating at a rate found only in Third World countries, and immigration is its chief driver. According to the Census Bureau, 82 percent of population growth is attributable to immigrants and their U.S.-born children. And projections are that, assuming current immigration policies remain unchanged, of the 117 million that will be added to the population by 2060, 88 percent will be directly related to federal immigration policies.

This isnt immigrant-bashing. New immigrants need roads to drive on, houses to live in, and schools to send their children to learn. But it is an indictment of current and past administrations that refuse to include the population variable in their debates about legislation that would increase immigration. Twenty years ago, President Bill Clinton reviewed his sustainability task forces report. President Clinton concluded that reducing immigration is a sensitive issue, but nevertheless a necessary part of population stabilization.

As it turned out, no one listened to President Clinton either then or since, and U.S. population continues ever upward.
GREENWICH  The League of Women Voters of Greenwich is gathering Wednesday night for its annual meeting and presentation of its prestigious Mary Award to Caroline Adkins.

The award is named in memory of Mary Lou Woods and Mary Sullivan, who were active and visible both in the League and the Greenwich community.

Adkins was chosen for the 2017 recipient for her 30 years of membership and service in the League and for her work as a mental health specialist.

A psychologist with a doctorate from Columbia University, Adkins is a professor-emeritus at Hunter College and works in the state as a mental health specialist and advocate for mental health legislation.

Caroline has been a very faithful member of the board, League steering committee member Jara Burnett said. Shes really contributed. Shes always been able to handle difficult situations well and is a wonderful, wonderful person.

Adkins is part of the Leagues steering committee after having previously served as a member of the organizations Public Health Committee and the Executive Committee. As steering committee secretary, she has an active voice in setting policy for the League, making program decisions, setting goals, overseeing communications with the board and community and developing and implementing formal studies on community and political issues, Burnett said.

Adkins will be leaving the steering committee but staying on as board secretary; the award is meant as a tribute and a thank you, she said.

The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. at the Riverside Yacht Club and will be followed at 6:30 p.m. with a reception, then dinner and the award at 7:30 p m. The League, a non-partisan and non-profit organization, presents the Mary Award yearly at the event.

The dinner will feature keynote remarks from Julie Varughese, medical officer for Americares, which was founded in Connecticut. She will speak about her work for the health-focused relief and development organization, which responds throughout the world to help people after a disaster or those living in poverty.

During such a polarized age, we wanted to do something different and talk about the work that Americares does all over the world, Burnett said.

Tickets are still available for $90 with patron tickets at $100. Information about tickets is available online at www.lwvg.org. The dinner is open to the public.

kborsuk@greenwichtime.com
GREENWICH  The Riverside School PTA is lobbying the Board of Education for permission to fund renovation of the elementary schools cafeteria this summer.

Riverside Principal Christopher Weiss and PTA co-presidents Dina Murphy and Jenn Wolfe told school board members last week it will take $75,000 more than the current 2017-18 gift cap of $139,748 to finish the project at the school.

The cafeteria, or cafe as Riverside calls it, has been a long-standing concern over the past few years, said Weiss. Theres these hard plastic seats that kids sit on ... its very uncomfortable to sit at the regular tables for more than 20 minutes, and the kids are there 30 minutes. What we found is it lends itself to the kids always wanting to stand up.

The PTA wants to replace the tables and chairs in Riversides cafeteria, add sound proofing to the room, repaint it and replace the AV system. The districts facilities team is already doing work on the cafeterias lights and ceiling this summer.

The acoustics are not good in the room, said Weiss. We just thought that changing the atmosphere entirely ... if we did it all at once, it would really just change the whole dynamic of the room and it would allow this very, very peaceful and much more enjoyable and comfortable experience for the students.

Renovating the Riverside cafeteria is a low priority for the district, said Jim Hricay, managing director of operations for Greenwich Public Schools. The district administration endorses the project, if funded by the PTA, he said, but would not opt to pay for the renovation itself at this time.

The Board of Education did not vote on the gift cap exemption Thursday, but asked the Riverside PTA to present a more precise quote for how much the renovation will cost at Thursdays meeting.

Several school board members expressed concerns that the renovation would create a facility inequity among schools.

The challenge is, with playgrounds, with facilities, with having a nice space to eat your lunch in a stress-free environment, that doesnt exist everywhere, said BOE member Lauren Rabin. You create this disparity when (one) schools PTA can fund it and others cant. I would like to see a little bit of priority given to just equalize the experience of facilities in other schools.

Of all Greenwich PTAs, Riverside is one of the top fundraisers. In fiscal year 2014-15, the Riverside PTA had a total revenue of $186,838, according to IRS tax forms filed by the nonprofit; only Old Greenwich and Glenvilles PTAs raised more that year. Meanwhile in the same year, New Lebanon, Western and Central Middle schools PTAs had revenues less than $35,000 each.

We have elementary schools that are older and have similar needs and may not have the capability that this school is blessed with, to be able to do this nature of work, said BOE member Peter Bernstein.

School board chair Peter Sherr favored the gift cap exemption for Riverside.

Addressing the PTA co-presidents, he said, I dont know why you guys are not beating a path to our door when we will have easily spent over $100 million once we do New Lebanon, in so-called schools that cant raise their own money. I think in the end of the day, we as a board even all this stuff out. It all washes out in the system over time. And if you guys are generous enough to help us do a project that we wouldnt have necessarily done otherwise, and it helps the kids in school, Hallelujah, we should take the money.

Thats how we saw it, Murphy said.

At Riverside, PTA funding pays for live musical performances during student lunch periods, field trips around Connecticut and New York, a STEM fair and an Arts Field Day with workshops with professional artists.

The Riverside PTA will donate about $125,000 in total gifts to the school this fiscal year, Murphy and Wolfe said, and they anticipate spending the same amount next year, before the cost of the renovation.

The North Mianus School PTA was granted an exemption to the gift cap in 2015-16 so t it could purchase a new playground for the school. It donated $149,285 in total to the school that year.

emunson@greenwichtime.com; Twitter: @emiliemunson
GREENWICH  As a follow up to previous meetings at Hammonasset State Park and Groton, Conn., the state is hosting another Long Island Sound Blue Plan meeting in New Haven Tuesday.

The next quarterly advisory board meeting will be from 7 to 9 p.m. tonight, in the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority building at 90 Sargent Drive in New Haven. The public is welcome to attend and contribute in the creation of the LIS Blue Plan. The plan is slated to go into effect in 2019, offering a comprehensive map of all activity and life in the sound to ensure traditions are preserved and that wildlife is protected.

This is really looking at the spatial use of the Long Island Sound, said Greenwich Conservation Director Denise Savageau on Monday. How you physically allow something to happen on the water. So you could have conflicting uses, you could have shellfish beds where a marina should be ... There have alwys been some conflicts, but now there are other types of uses coming into play, like energy.

The planning is to ensure existing traditional human uses in the sound  for commerce, recreation, national security and navigation  and wildlife are preserved. New uses are being proposed, and Savageau said energy is of particular concern. When pipelines and alternative energy projects request approval, there is no definitive way to see how the changes will affect the Long Island Sound right now.

Greenwich, as a coastal Connecticut town has a number of LIS stakeholders ranging from those who rely on the sound for business to casual beach-goers. The plan, when in effect will provide a map of what is happening on the towns coast, and DEEP said that contributions from the public are essential. The people living on and using the sound know best what is done there and what is important to their communities.

The importance of stakeholder participation is essential for success, said DEEP Commissioner Rob Klee at Avery Point during a film screening of Ocean Frontiers III in April.

There have been meetings across the state to discuss what marine spatial planning is and why DEEP is trying to put a map together for the sound. The Blue Plan Advisory Committee wants to hear from anyone who wants to be a part of the project, to contribute any uses they know of  fishing areas, navigation areas, wildlife areas, where people gather to socialize  while it continues to collect existing records and available data.

We want to ensure we have a better plan that acts, recognizes and understands the special knowledge that stakeholders and users of the sound have, Klee said. All those folks have some ownership of the plan to make sure that the plan is successful.

Tonights meeting will offer updates on the Yale Environmental Protection Clinic and plans for a summer intern and Coastal Fellow. More information on funding from the EPA Long Island Sound Study and the Long Island Sound Futures Fund will also be discussed.

Its interesting because the Long Island Sound is the public trust, said Savageau, and its this big piece of open space  and all of a sudden if its not open space anymore, I think thats worth discussion. I think from the energy perspective, it really is something we need to pay attention to.

E: jturiano@greenwichtime.com; T: @jturianoGT; IG: @greenwichgreen
What would you do if you suddenly needed 85 people to complete a manual data project across thousands of documents? How would you make that happen in the United States? Its not impossible, but it wouldnt be easy, particularly if you didnt have the office space for them or if you wanted those 85 people to work collaboratively.

Companies commonly outsource specific tasks or projects to save money. While its true that offshore workers can often be paid significantly less than American workers, affordability is only part of the equation -- and often not the most important.

Related: 3 Companies Putting Remote Workers in Surprising Roles

We set up offshore teams in the Philippines, Eastern Europe, Malta, Brazil, Grand Cayman, Columbia, Argentina and Ireland. In fact, about 40 percent of our 225 people are overseas.

Here are my tips for successfully managing remote teams.

1. Vet for strong English language skills.

English as the global language of business works to your advantage when creating offshore teams. We hired 70 team members in the Philippines, where English is very common.

2. Designate team leaders.

Whether they work on development or data processing, members of our Philippines team need strong language skills to understand the nuances of native English. We stress the importance of strong English language skills in the job description, and we ensure job candidates have those skills during interviews and practical tests before theyre hired.

Each offshore team is self-directed by a location-specific team leader who oversees daily operations. They understand cultural differences between the United States and their local country and have been with us long enough to know how to incorporate our company goals into their offices culture. Team leaders work regularly with our U.S.-based team to ensure continuity across the company.

3. Secure data with strong passwords.

There are rising concerns about the security of data in the hands of foreign contractors. Some 85 percent of Indian outsourcing companies said they experienced information security breaches in the previous year, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers study.

Foreign governments are trying to handle these concerns. In 2011, Indias IT Ministry adopted Information Technology Privacy Rules. In the Philippines, theres a push for legislation to protect the integrity and confidentiality of personal information collected from clients in compliance with international privacy standards.

ConsumerAffairs imposes the strictest U.S. privacy laws on all employees, whether or not they are working abroad. We dont send private customer data overseas. Contractors and employees login to our secure site, which protects privacy and gives management the opportunity to monitor content as well as activity.

I also recommend using password management software like OnePassword or LastPass. This forces employees to use a different password for every site and automatically generates passwords that are gibberish rather than an actual word or phrase.

Related: 6 Things You Must Do to Effectively Manage Remote Workers

4. Use Upwork.

Upwork is a distributed global marketplace of workers who bid on jobs. We use Upwork to vet job candidates and test new markets before we hire. We assign work as a test to drill down to candidates with advanced language skills.

5. Enable telecommuting.

Well spend a little extra money to hire three employees at a time in order to choose the best candidate. After all, you dont really know if someone is as talented as they say they are until theyre working for you. The platform also pays salaries internationally by converting currency.

Allowing remote employees to work from home eliminates overhead costs because there is no need to build or rent an office center. Wherever theyre located, offshore teams use their own telephones and computers. The cost of maintaining a payroll department is absorbed by Upwork.

6. Build a global communication infrastructure.

7. Annually visit offshore locations.

Allowing remote workers to telecommute can also offer them a better work-life balance so they can be happy, productive employees.The goal with a remote team is to feel like theyre sitting next to you, not halfway around the world. Offshore teams used to communicate primarily using email and Skype, but we use Slack to communicate with remote teams in real time. We switched to Slack because it offers file sharing, private channels, direct messaging, calling and email features more efficiently than Skype and email alone. It integrates seamlessly within our operating system.

One challenge of managing remote teams is helping them feel connected to your company. Making an annual appearance to our remote offices strengthens the connection to ConsumerAffairs and brings team members together.

For instance, leadership travels to the Philippines for five days every year. We host a retreat at a resort with sleeping quarters so the entire team can stay over. Its a fun five days, and its a way for everyone to meet each other. We have a party and engage in team building activities like rock climbing, volleyball or go-karting. I also sit with team leaders for a strategic planning meeting to review company goals.

Related: 6 Characteristics of Successful Remote Employees

Conclusion.

We also invite remote workers to visit our office. Last summer we hosted our team of remote developers for a week. They travelled from around the world, and our U.S.-based team enjoyed getting to know them and showing them around town after hours.Whether stateside or abroad, we work to keep employees engaged and enthusiastic about achieving the companys vision. With some thoughtfulness and help from technology, it wont matter if employees are in your backyard or halfway around the world.

Related:



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Mobile online marketing is now synonymous with online marketing. More users consistently use mobile devices today than connected ones. In late 2016, Google began testing a mobile-first index. When they rollout and begin using the index, search engines will look to the mobile version of your website before the desktop version to determine ranking.

Websites without a mobile version or with a poorly optimized mobile website will slip even further in search engine results pages (SERPs) as the rollout encompasses more sites. The good news is that some mobile SEO tasks are very easy to do yourself.

If your content performs inconsistently across mediums, youre missing an audience engagement opportunity. Mobile SEO, much like traditional SEO, is about creating and tagging content in a way that makes it stand out online. Use this list of DIY mobile SEO tips to protect your brand from search engine penalties and maintain online visibility:

1. Create a Google My Business listing.

One of the most important listings businesses owners can create, Google My Business accounts are free and simple to set up. Fill out the information to the best of your ability, and include as many images of your business as possible. When people enter a search for your business online or via a Google app, they will likely see this information first. Make it count.

Related: How to Set Up 'Google My Business' for Your Small Business

2. Frequently review all directory listings.

Beyond the Google My Business account, mobile users may use other websites and applications to find your brand. Frequently review and update all listings for your business online. Update listings on Yelp, local websites, TripAdvisor, Facebook, Angies List, the Better Business Bureau and other popular business directories. These listings will ensure searchers reach the right information when they search for your name.

Related: 7 DIY SEO Tactics for Companies Not Ready to Hire a Consultant

3. Get social.

On mobile devices, social media sites drive a significant amount of traffic. Around 80% of social media users spend their social media time on mobile devices. If you want to maintain visibility with mobile users, prioritize your social media marketing strategy. Use platform-specific advertising, engage with users, and/or post prolifically to ensure your brand stands out.

Related: Is Amazon's 'Merch' the Next Big Thing?

4. Take advantage of plugins.

If your business uses WordPress or another platform, take advantage of the plugins designed to make your mobile site more user friendly. WordPress offers plugins to improve site speed, optimize images, and take care of other important mobile SEO tasks. WPtouch is a somewhat ubiquitous WordPress plugin that will create a Google-approved mobile-friendly version of your website. If youre not currently using a professional to update and optimize your website, look into how plugins can help you maintain visibility online.

Related: 20 Crucial WordPress Plugins

5. Use keywords for content visibility.

Mobile users search differently than desktop users. Optimize for mobile keyword searches to keep your content in front of the right people. While you can purchase tools to find the right keywords for your content, you can find keyword comparisons by device in Googles Search Analytics.

Related: 3 Tools to Uncover Your Competitor's Keywords

6. Optimize images.

To improve page loading times on mobile devices, optimize images for mobile users. If you dont use a plugin to help with images, identify the ones that present a problem using a page speed tool and then compress or change the dimensions for faster loading times.

Related: 5 Ways to Optimize Your Ecommerce Campaigns

7. Prepare your content for mobile.

In addition to searching differently on a mobile device, many people digest content differently. Readable and scan-friendly content tends to work better on mobile devices, but testing is the only way to know for sure. Consider using a basic A/B test format to determine which types of mobile content perform better.

Related: So, What's the 'X-Factor' in the A/B Testing Formula? (Infographic)

8. Optimize for local searches.

You may not want to dive into detailed code optimizations that can boost search rankings, but you may want to consider a few basic activities. To optimize for local searches, include both the city and state in title tags, the URL, the H1 heading, and Meta description.

Mobile SEO will soon trump desktop SEO. Consider working with a professional or attempting a DIY head start today to ensure your site maintains visibility in mobile and desktop searches. A few simple tweaks can boost your digital presence and bring local customers to your door.

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Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
The premise sounds almost too good to be true: Taking a nap in the middle of the day might end up making you more productive. Of course, avid nappers will attest to feeling better after taking such a break, but members of that group are naturally more likely to believe in the power of naps.

Related: Why You Should Let Your Employees Nap at Work

Similarly, people who have chosen not to nap -- from fear that the downtime will eat into their working hours -- will naturally be inclined to believe that naps are a waste of time.

So, where does the truth lie?

Sleep and productivity

It should come as no surprise that sleep and productivity are tightly interconnected. If you get the recommended amount of sleep each night (seven to nine hours for most adults), you'll be more alert, more focused and equipped with a better memory.

Of course, one in three American adults aren't getting the sleep they need to achieve peak productivity, and that rate is even higher among entrepreneurs, who often work long hours to reach their goals. Napping has been shown to help mitigate the effects of sleep deprivation, and is therefore a helpful aid in restoring your productivity to optimal levels.

According to a study fueled by data from the American Time Use survey, healthy sleep patterns are correlated with productivity in the form of higher wages. Sleeping just one additional hour every week correlates with an increase in short-term wages of about 1.5 percent, and long-term wages of about 4.9 percent. That's a massive jump just for taking one extra hour-long nap a week.

The evidence for naps

Scientists still don't have a firm grasp for exactly how naps function in relation to our sleeping habits, but there is some evidence that links naps, specifically, to working benefits. For example, one study by the University of Michigan randomly assigned 40 adult participants to two groups. One group took a 60-minute nap, and the other watched a nature video; for the "napping" group, the researchers found the following results:

Less impulsive behavior. Napping participants were less likely to engage in impulsive behaviors, such as engaging with distractions or moving off-task.

Napping participants were less likely to engage in impulsive behaviors, such as engaging with distractions or moving off-task. Higher tolerance for frustration. When trying to complete a difficult puzzle, napping participants were less likely to exhibit signs of frustration and other negative emotions.

When trying to complete a difficult puzzle, napping participants were less likely to exhibit signs of frustration and other negative emotions. Improved focus and alertness. As expected, napping participants showed higher levels of focus and alertness.

Related: Why You Should Learn to Nap Like a Pro

Results like these likely come as no surprise, considering that the benefits of a 90-minute long nap are comparable to those of a full night's sleep, in some cases.

Sleep has been shown to be a facilitator of learning and long-term memory: Taking an extended nap midday can help you remember things you've recently learned. Also,an extended midday nap has been shown to boost mood and alertness -- even more than a dose of caffeine.

The downsides of napping

Not all the evidence for naps is positive, however. If you aren't careful about how you nap, you could end up with sleep inertia. This happens when you wake up at an inopportune time in your sleep cycle, so your body wakes up incompletely and unexpectedly. As a result, you feel groggy and drowsy, and more tired than you did before you took the nap in the first place.

There's also some limited evidence that midday naps can be harmful for large-scale productivity. Spain, for example, is famous for its workday centerpiece: a midday break called a siesta, after which workers return to their jobs and remain there into the evening hours.

This working schedule was recently the center of some controversy, when politicians noted that Spaniards work more hours and are still less productive than workers in neighboring countries with a conventional 9-to-5 schedule. This evidence is limited, and was not formally studied.

How to nap effectively

Overall, naps can be a good thing for your productivity -- and your health -- but there are some precautions you'll need to take to get the right benefits:

Get the timing right. Napping after a long day of work, when you only have 30 minutes of work left, probably won't help you. If you're going to nap, make it a midday occasion, to make the most of your post-nap energy boost.

Napping after a long day of work, when you only have 30 minutes of work left, probably won't help you. If you're going to nap, make it a midday occasion, to make the most of your post-nap energy boost. Set an alarm. If you sleep too long, you'll experience sleep inertia. If you don't sleep long enough, you won't get the benefits of the nap. Aim for between 60 and 90 minutes of sleep time, but feel free to experiment. What works for you may be different from what works for others.

If you sleep too long, you'll experience sleep inertia. If you don't sleep long enough, you won't get the benefits of the nap. Aim for between 60 and 90 minutes of sleep time, but feel free to experiment. What works for you may be different from what works for others. Get quality sleep. If you're going to sleep, sleep well. Find a comfortable, dimly lit area that won't interrupt you with noise or distractions. Take off your shoes, clear your mind and ask not to be disturbed.

You don't need to nap every day to see an increase in productivity, nor does napping guarantee higher productivity. Try using napping as a tool to make up for sleep deprivation you may face on a regular basis, and strive for all-around healthier sleep habits.

Related: 4 Science-Backed Ways to Increase Productivity

When implemented consistently, napping can help you get more done every day -- and you'll feel better, too.

Related:

Will You Actually Be More Productive If You Take a Nap Every Day?

Getting Out of a Professional Rut

11 Unexpected Things That Are Stealing Your Sleep



Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
Last month in Washington, D.C., I had the opportunity to take part in the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the China and Israeli states, jointly hosted by both countries ambassadors to the United States.

The event included the screening of a documentary that told the tragic and inspiring story of the 25,000 European Jewish refugees who were able to escape Nazi occupation and found refuge in Shanghai, China, during World War II. The evening was an important reminder of the power of diplomacy, but also the profound impact of acceptance, compassion, and a sense of human dignity.

While the purpose of the gathering was to celebrate Chinese and Israeli relations, it also underscored the unique and unbreakable bond between the United States and Israel. Our commitment to shared values and interests, to the tenets of democracy, including rule of law, the protection of human rights, freedom of speech, and the freedom from persecution because of religious beliefs. In both nations, through good times and bad, these things are held to be self-evident.

For Israel, staying true to these values has meant constantly balance its quest for ideals against the requirements of national survival. These challenges remain acute: Hezbollah, Hamas, Iran, even the Islamic State, all pose threats to Israels security. As an immigrant, I spent the first seven years of my life living in Taiwan. I know first-hand what it means to live in the constant shadow of a more powerful enemy. Unlike any other democratic nation in the world, Israel has withstood an unprecedented number of terrorist acts within its borders and launched by her neighbors. The United States must ensure that Israel has the ability to maintain its own self-defense and to protect her citizens from such vile attacks.

Israels leaders and the Jewish diaspora must have full faith and confidence that U.S. support is resolute and unshakeable. With a change in administrations can come uncertainty. We must ensure there is no ambiguity in the United States support of Israel. A renewed effort by the United States to revive the moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace process would be an unmistakable demonstration of that commitment.

By reaffirming our commitment to a just Israeli-Palestinian peace, we reaffirm our commitment to Israels survival as a homeland for the Jewish people. We also assure our allies in the region and elsewhere that we stand with Israel. Peace in the Middle East is possible if both sides are willing to engage in direct negotiations and be willing to make concessions. The United States should use its diplomatic skills to work with the countries in the region to encourage the Palestinian Authority and Israel to return to the negotiating table.

Americas commitment to Israel today is more than a strategic interest and it even extends beyond our shared values. It also reflects the resolve of U.S. leaders since World War II to atone for the fact that the wartime ports of the United States  unlike Shanghai and many other cities around the world  were closed to Jews fleeing Hitlers Germany. Since then, the Americas moral duty to ensure the survival of a Jewish homeland has been clear. No single step the United States could take would be more important to accomplishing that goal than reviving peace talks.

State Sen. Tony Hwang, R-Fairfield, is an assistant Senate Republican leader.
When it's finally time to get off the starting blocks and buy a new home, one of the first thing most folks do is ... the math. How much do you need to in order to get a placeand how much do you need in order to keep it?

People tend to focus an awful lot on that towering down payment. Then they carefully calculate their closing costs and monthly mortgage payments. Maybe they'll even factor in the cost of a plush new sofa, and a hot new SUV to park in the driveway. But before they settle into sweet domestic bliss, they really need to come to grips with something else, too: the true costs of homeownership.

Because they aren't aways so obvious.

Property taxes, leaky roofs, home insurance, and termites  oh my. Truth be told, there are all sorts of hidden costs that could turn your bargain basement deal into a den of financial horrors. Unless, that is, you go in with eyes open wide. We're here to help! Our data team at realtor.com ran the numbers to figure out the cities with the highest hidden costs of homeownership, all in the interest of helping fend off major coronary episodes once the bills come in.

Before you panic and renew your lease, remember that in most places, buying still beats renting in the long runeven with all the costs of ownership included. You're building equity, remember?

The bottom line is: Be prepared for all the costs of ownership. Financial adviser Jenna Rogers with Mission Wealth Management often advises first-time home buyers to make a list of all the expenses that are expected for at least the first year.

"Open a new savings account, and designate it as the 'home account,'" Rogers says. "Send the necessary amount to this home account every month. That way, when you have to pay property taxes, for example, you've already had the cash build up."

Still, those costs can vary dramatically, depending on where you live. We ranked the 100 largest metropolitan areas by the following criteria:

Property tax rates

Home insurance premiums

Remodeling costs

Maintenance and repair costs

Hourly rate of housekeepers, home cleaners, gardeners, and landscapers

Pest control costs

Electricity, heating oil, and natural gas bills

Household goods, like a 40-inch flat-screen TV, laundry detergent, and toilet paper.

Hidden cost No. 1: Property taxes



Property taxes are one of the biggest home expenses you'll have after a mortgage. Long-time homeowners have gotten used to this harsh reality, but newbie homeowners could be surprised to discover just how costly their tax bills can be, especially in the Northeast.

And sometimes, property taxes can seem surprisingly high. Homeowners in the Buffalo, NY, metro area, which covers the upstate counties of Erie and Niagara, pay a whopping 2.9% of their home's value in tax. Rochester, Buffalo's next-door neighbor, has a 2.8% rate on average.

Despite their top-ranking property tax rates, though, those cities did not make our overall top 10 list, because their cost of living is otherwise pretty low.

So what determines the home tax rate in a given area? They're set and collected by state, county, or municipal agenciesin fact, multiple agencies often tax the same property. They're tied to home values in an area, and used to pay for services, such as schools, and fire and police departments. That's why they can be tough to predict. For example, some cash-strapped cities will charge a higher rate in order to fund better services.

And sometimes, they're just indicators of ultra-expensive markets. Property taxes are particularly high in the New York metropolitan statistical area, which spans New York City, as well as Jersey City and Newark in New Jersey. Homeowners there pay an average of $7,300* in property tax, roughly 2% of their home's value. (Metropolitan statistical areas, as defined by the federal Office of Management and Budget, are highly populated areas made up of one or more city cores, surrounded by suburban and rural communities that share economic ties.)

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That's way over the national average of just over $2,100, according to the Census Bureau.

This is where the equation gets simpler: "In states where you have wealthier people with more expensive homes, that tends to drive property taxes higher," says John Buhl, spokesperson for the Tax Foundation, a Washington, DC-based think tank.

The heavy tax burden is among the leading reasons that taxpayers are fleeing New Yorkthe state is losing more residents than any other, according to a study by newgeography.com.

Connecticut also has two metros that made our top 10, mostly because of high tax rates. Homeowners in metro Bridgeport pay 1.7% of their home's value in tax, and those in metro New Haven pay 2.1%. Because the Bridgeport metro area stretches into wealthy Fairfield County enclaves like New Canaan and Greenwichwhere hedge-fund managers and CEOs drop millions on real estatethe area has an average property tax bill of nearly $7,000 a year.

Texas, with its sprawling properties and famously affordable real estate, has surprisingly expensive property taxes. The Lone State doesn't collect income taxes, meaning that the government relies more heavily on property taxes to fund agencies and services. The tax rate in Houston is 1.8%.

Hidden cost No. 2: Home insurance



Even if you're a gambler at heart, home insurance is indispensable when it comes to protecting major assets. And they don't get much larger than a home. For those who take out a mortgage, it's required by the lender. For everyone else, insurance is highly recommendedwho wants to risk a six-digit loss? Because stuff happens.

Florida, with a long coastline that bears the brunt of hurricanes and tropical storms, has the country's highest average home insurance cost, at $298** per month. That's nearly three times the national average of $102, according to Insurance.com. The pricey premiums add to the financial burdens of homeowners in Cape Coral and Miami, which both rank high on the list.

Insurance also takes a big bite out of the paychecks of New Orleans homeowners. Think two names: Katrina and Rita. After those hurricanes, not being able to find affordable insurance has become a hurdle for home buyers, especially first-timers. Why do they call this place the Big Easy again?

"In high flood-risk neighborhoods, the insurance is so expensive that it's nearly impossible for a young couple to buy," says Richard Jeansonne, a broker at French Quarter Realty in New Orleans. "With mortgage, flood insurance, and other expenses, it's just not something they can afford."

Because the cost of flood insurance is based on on the elevation of the house, buying a home on higher ground reduces the premium. Homes along the Mississippi River, like in the French Quarter and Uptown neighborhoods, are built on an elevated riverbank and are therefore cheaper to insure.

Everythings bigger in Texasand so are insurance premiums. After all, Texas residents are susceptible to a myriad of perils, from hailstorms to tornadoes to wildfires to floods. All the risks amount to an average of $162 in home insurance every month. Ouch!

In disaster-prone areas, homeowners could get a discount on insurance for securing the foundation and installing a metal roof, according to Insurance Council of Texas spokesman Mark Hanna. A good security system and close proximity to highly rated fire departments also reduce the premium. And maintaining a high credit score can lower your insurance rates toosort of a housing win-win.

Hidden cost No. 3: Maintenance and remodeling



One of the biggest fears of cash-strapped homeowners everywhere: an issue they might not have noticed, like a leaky roof or cracked foundation, will snowball into a catastrophe, and cost a fortune to repair.

No wonder conventional real estate wisdom (CREW) dictates that you should set aside 1% of your home's value for maintenance each year. But the real amount depends on the condition and location of your home. Repairs to storm-beaten New Orleans homes cost $31,650 on average, among the highest in our study.

In addition to repairs, homeowners need to continue investing in their homes to maintainor better yet, increasevaluations. That's why American homeowners are shelling out more and more on improvements. In 2016, they spent $361 billion, according to the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. That's up 13.5% from the previous peak in 2007.

Serious renovation, of course, goes way beyond picking out curtain patterns in Home Depot. A standard kitchen remodel project costs around $21,680 nationally, and even repainting a home's interior costs around $1,700, according to HomeAdvisor's True Cost Guide. And the number goes up exponentially where labor and material costs are high. In Los Angeles, the average cost of kitchen renovation is $31,177.

"When the house price is higher on average, it feels more justifiable to spend more on the house itself," says Brad Hunter, HomeAdvisor chief economist. "Somebody in Los Angeles and San Francisco is going to be willing to pay a lot more on a kitchen than, say, Provo, Utah."

Hidden cost No. 4: Utility bills



Homeowners can't forget those bills for water, power, and trash that arrive each month. If you're moving from an apartment to a home for the first time, know that the increase in square footage can pack a real punch, in a bigger utility bill.

Connecticut homeowners spend the most on heating oil, at $104 a month, according to a WalletHub analysis. In the Bridgeport metro, heating oil plus natural gas and electricity totals $309 a month, the highest in our study.

Florida's sunny climate means that residents aren't likely to have high heating bills. But the summer heat and humidity means that Floridians are likely to be cranking those air conditioners. Homeowners in Cape Coral pay some of the country's highest electricity bills, at $216 a month. Not too far away, in Miami, they pay $184 a month for electricity.

In Hawaii, electricity is produced by petroleum-fired power plants. As you might imagine, petroleum must be shipped onto the islands, adding to the cost of productionand utility bills. Frugal homeowners usually install solar panels. This helps to cut down on their electricity bills, which average $172 a month in Honolulu.

Hidden cost No. 5: Domestic labor



After a few months lugging canister vacuums up and down two flights of stairs, you may finally give up and decide to hire someone to maintain your sanity. But don't underestimate the price of this peace of mind.

The average rate of a housekeeper is $12.50 an hour across the country, according to Care.com, an online marketplace for housekeepers and care providers. If you hire a housekeeper for three hours every month, that adds up to $450 a year.

Depending on where you live, the rate could also go up considerablyto $15 an hour or above in New York, America's most expensive city.

Dealing with pests like mice, termites, cockroaches, and bedbugs costs $178 on average, according to HomeAdvisor. In Honolulu, the cost goes up to almost $300. The cost of living in paradise vermin-free is steep.

Mowing the lawns and blowing leaves are traditionally DIY projects, but they're easy ones to neglect. Before you know it, your nosy neighbor has already blabbed to the neighborhood association, and fines are accruing. Bummer! The cost of outsourcing varies, depending on lawn size and the extent of the work. On average, homeowners spend about $156 on lawn services, according to HomeAdvisor.

Does it make sense to shell out for such upkeep? Says financial adviser Rogers, "It's really all a matter of budgeting, and finding out what's most important to you."

* Property tax rates are calculated using the U.S. Census Bureau's median tax and median home value. For every metro area, tax rates are the average of all counties within the metro boundary. The boundary is defined by the Office of Management and Budget.

** Average cost of insurance refers to policies on a $200,000 home with a $1,000 deductible and a $100,000 liability.
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Two D-day veterans were invited to a special tea to mark the 73rd anniversary of the historic invasion.

The pair of former Royal Navy officers were invited to attend the tea by members of the Armed Forces Event Team in the resort, as June 6 not only marked the anniversary of the Normandy Landings, but also signified that there are 25 days until Cleethorpes celebrates National Armed Forces Day.

North East Lincolnshire Council Mayor Ron Shepherd was honoured to welcome the veterans, Walter Marshall and Bill Taylor, to the Knoll House along with Chris Shaw and Alex Baxter from the Armed Forces Event Team, feeling that we can never comprehend the sacrifices made by armed service personnel.

Mr Shepherd said: We have gathered here today to celebrate the anniversary of D-Day in conjunction with our countdown to Armed Forces Day.

(Image: PA)

North East Lincolnshire Council, along with the people of the borough are keen to show our support for military personnel, and it is an honour to meet with these veterans here today.

We can never comprehend the sacrifices they made and what they went through, and recent times have made us even more aware of their importance, and I am very thankful and grateful for those who put their lives on the line to ensure our freedoms.

Bill Taylor, 91, Chief Foreman in the Royal Navy, was an active member during the Normandy landings on Sword Beach, helping to provide communications from the beach, back to those overseeing the invasion from the sea, using a portable generator.

He has two vivid memories from the assault.

The first thing that really took me back that day was the sheer amount of aircraft in the sky, there must have been three or four hundred flying overhead, it really was an amazing sight.

The second is enormous bombardment from the naval vessels hitting the beach prior to the landings, it was such a huge explosion, very noisy.

When I think back to the day I was only 18, and it all seemed like one big adventure, and when I think back to it now it just doesnt seem like I was actually there.

I served with the Navy for 22 years, finishing in 1965, and during that time they took me all over the world, a few different times, and I have seen everything from the Persian Gulf to New Zealand and the Far East.

It is actually a bit of an accident that I have ended up in Grimsby, but while I was serving on another vessel after the war my family were settled in the marriage quarters here, and once my family were settled with school and education I didnt want to leave.

As a former serviceman it felt natural that I would go into the security sector, where I worked for Birds Eye for 25 years. I have had a bit of a crazy life, but I have enjoyed every minute of it, and if I were to do it all again I wouldnt change a thing.

Walter Marshall, former Lieutenant in the Royal Navy, having joined when he was just 14, was another veteran of the historic landings, but actually arrived in Normandy three days prior to provide reconnaissance and intelligence for the invasion.

He says that he still remembers the traumatic day when he and thousands of other young men landed on Gold Beach, and spoke of the terrible scenes that he witnessed that day.

He said: It really was very traumatic, absolutely terrible, and anyone who says otherwise is telling porkies.

The opening bombardment was just deafening, as we helped pave the way for 50th infantry to get ashore, and our ship drew so much fire that I have no idea how it wasnt sunk.

When the boys started landing on the beach I have never seen such a horrible sight in all of my life, as the sea turned red with blood, and young lads had to push through the bodies of fellow soldiers just trying to get on land.

(Image: PA)

I stayed on fighting in Normandy until September 19, then I spent a lot of time fighting against the Japanese on the eastern front, working on a number of different submarines, and hardly getting a moments rest as submariners were in such short supply.

I actually left the last British submarine to be sank in the war just a few days before it happened, when sadly a depth charge struck it killing all 59 men aboard.

I would say that I have lived a great life, even during the war, and following it I have done some great things, eating dinner with the Royal Family on a few different occasions, even sitting opposite the Queen on one occasion.

It was actually just the other night my wife Marlene, who has been my pearl of wisdom throughout my life, and I were talking about the things we have been through, and I really wouldnt change a thing.
Aquavits Arctic Birds Nest dessert continues to be a major Instagram draw. Photo: Liz Clayman

David Posey discovered the power of Instagram almost by accident. Before his heavily anticipated new restaurant Elske opened in Chicago, Posey posted a picture to his personal account, a shot of his hand holding the new key to the building. Surprise: The post racked up likes, further stoked excitement about the project, and caused the restaurants still-dormant Instagram account, which hadnt yet posted a single photo, to flood with followers. When Elske opened, Posey and his partner, co-owner and pastry chef Anna Posey, built Instagram right into their work routines. Anna handles the composed Instagram posts; David handles the relatively new, and more fleeting, Instagram Stories.

This dedication to Instagram wont surprise anyone whos seen lines snaking around city blocks for things like Black Tap milkshakes, cookie-dough stores, and rainbow bagels. Historically, however, the Instagram Effect has largely existed in the realm of cheap eats and novelty foods. Its only been recently that esteemed chefs have embraced the platforms marketing potential, designing their dining rooms and inventing menu items tailor-made for Instagramming.

Im realizing more about its power every day, says Mario Batali, who oversees 27 properties around the world, and who will probably have opened a few more restaurants in the time it takes you to read this. Batali has watched Instagram become an integral part of his restaurants. At his smaller restaurants, such as Casa Mono, Batali says that the impact of a great Instagram post can be immediate: We often post about a daily special inspired by the Greenmarket  say soft-shell crab with ramps, and then see people walk in to order it, as a direct result of having seen the post.

Its a small thing, but its something of a seismic change in fine dining. It wasnt so long ago that chefs at high-end restaurants banned pictures  even cell-phone pictures  from their dining rooms. Batali used to forbid taking photos in the dining room at Babbo. He says that today his stance has changed not because of any grand philosophical shift, but because new technology makes taking photos less intrusive: In the case of a blogger in 2008, it meant a light kit and a tripod  it would disturb every other person in the dining room, he remembers. Now, its un-invasive and requires no lighting at all.

The idea that restaurants would allow pictures at all very quickly gave way to owners actively courting Instagram attention. The chefs Grub spoke to for this story were reluctant to put hard numbers against a viral dish  and it likely varies too much among restaurants and dishes  but its undeniable that new restaurants lighting is designed to make food look better (wed wager all those white-marble tabletops are no coincidence, either), and chefs now craft dishes specifically for social-media appeal. Its the golden age of food porn. Batali himself describes the jamon de la Bellota globe  slices of Spanish ham wrapped around a spherical candle that burns with a lardo flame  at La Sirena as an Instagram juggernaut. Another dish, large-format paella served tableside, is what used to be called a Kodak moment  now its Instagram fodder.

Emma Bengtsson, the executive chef at Aquavit in New York, says she wasnt aiming for social-media fame, but also wasnt surprised when one of her desserts, the Arctic Birds Nest  an edible nest adorned with chocolate twigs, freeze-dried raspberries, brownie dirt, shredded halvah, and fresh flowers  became a viral sensation. I dont think any of us were surprised by its popularity  its such an intricate dessert, says Bengtsson, who also credits an ingredient that had its heyday in the 80s: A little gold leaf doesnt hurt, either.

Bengtsson, though, says her approach is less about creating dishes specifically for social media, and more about evolving the style that has always informed her food: The importance of plating is not anything new, she says. With every dish, we strive to create a composition so beautiful that you almost dont want to touch it  whether its going on Instagram or not.

Enrique Olvera, who runs Cosme and Atla in New York City, has proven repeatedly to have one of the industrys most finely tuned instincts for which dishes will make an impression on Instagram. He claims not to have changed his cooking style for social media, but Cosmes duck carnitas and its signature dessert  corn-husk meringue with corn mousse  are both like the gold standard of Instagram hits, continuing to show up on feeds all over the world.

Olvera says that kind of Instagram success can be a double-edged sword. Restaurateurs must now live up to expectations raised by carefully composed, heavily filtered pictures of their best dishes. Consistency has always been highly prized in the worlds best restaurants, and now chefs are serving diners who have a picture of each dishs Platonic ideal open on their phones, comparing it to the meal theyre eating in real time. It is a powerful tool to attract people to your restaurants, Olvera explains, but it doesnt end there. The food and experience have to surpass any expectations built up by online imagery.

Despite their reservations, most high-end chefs have embraced social media wholeheartedly. Vartan Abgaryan, the chef and partner at 71Above in downtown Los Angeles, says that he has yet to see any real downside to Instagram in his kitchen or dining room. At first, he was charmed when he noticed people tagging their friends to make dinner plans in the comments of the pictures of food, before he realized what a powerful marketing tool was at his disposal and hired someone full time to manage and monitor his restaurants Instagram presence.

Abgaryan has put a lot of thought into what makes a dish a hit on the internet: It has to actually get someone to stop for a moment. There are some very beautiful food pictures and they do nothing, then a picture of a single oyster could make you stop and really take a look. Whatever he does, it works. That lone oyster has become one of the restaurants most Instagrammed dishes. And even if you have never even heard of 71Above, its likely youve seen its popular dish of blonde morels, peas, Parmesan cream, hazelnut, and smoked honey and sorrel on your Instagram feed.

Youve also, perhaps, seen a few knockoffs of that morel dish, too. In the dark ages before Instagram  in 2009, for example  chefs would have to go to the restaurants themselves, or wait until a cookbook came out, to experience a dish or technique that had spread by word of mouth. Now, Posey points out, Noma posts a new dish, and you can start to see copies within days. For better or worse, part of the allure of high-end dining has always been a certain level of mystique and exclusivity. Fine dining is, by design, not for everyone. Armchair eaters watch entire tasting menus unfold on their phones, and take video tours of storied dining rooms they know they will never visit. Even if you didnt land a coveted table at Nomas Mexico pop-up  or have $2,000 lying around to bankroll the experience of traveling to Tulum and eating there  you were never more than a few taps away from seeing the full expanse of the dinners there.

It can be a satisfying, if frustrating, vicarious experience to scroll past perfectly coiled octopus and awe-inspiring grilled pumpkins. Along with the usual pangs of hunger were sharper pangs of FOMO. Ill admit to looking at probably hundreds of pictures, and the slight depression that came with knowing Id never actually eat any of it quickly set in, reminding me of something Bengtsson said when we spoke: You cant taste a raspberry through the phone.
-   , 3  : -   2  , 17  ;     
ABC could be in for an unappetizing verdict. Photo: USDA

Attorneys gave opening statements yesterday in the defamation trial over ABCs 2012 expose on pink slime. The lawsuit, which was brought by Beef Products, Inc., a former industry heavyweight that claims the report almost single-handedly ruined its business, is one of the largest ever against a media company. Gawker lost $130 million against Hulk Hogan; BPI is seeking $1.9 billion in damages, and thanks to an idiosyncratic law in South Dakota, where the trials being held, that amount could triple if ABC is found guilty, bringing the total to almost $6 billion. ABCs report hinged on the big reveal that 70 percent of supermarket ground beef contained lean, finely textured beef, which today is better known as pink slime thanks to ABC. Its effectively a cheap filler product made from low-quality chunks of meat thats blasted with ammonia to destroy any bacteria.



After ABCs series ran, BPI faced a backlash, and ultimately had to lay off 700 workers and close three of its processing plants. According to The Hollywood Reporter, company lawyers presented BPI as a small-town American success story ruined by ABC in Mondays opening statements. Through game-changing technology, founder Eldon Roth, a South Dakotan who never graduated high school, revolutionized the beef industry by giving consumers leaner, enviro-friendlier beef at an affordable price, they said. Life was great, then ABC ran its pink slime expose.

BPI argues that term was only used to sensationalize ABCs report. It connotes something disgusting, inedible, an attorney told jurors, then showed them a picture of LFTB and said, It physically doesnt look like slime. Part of BPIs claim rides on how many times ABC used the phrase, which across all platforms was 350.

ABC contends there was no actual malice, which BPI will have to prove to win the case. Its lawyers made sure to note yesterday that Rush Limbaugh and The Daily, a now-defunct news app owned by Rupert Murdochs News Corp, attacked LFTB long before ABC did.



A loss could have grave consequences for ABC. Its serious enough that the networks parent company, Walt Disney, actually wrote a warning about it into its regulatory filing. The Company is not able to predict the ultimate outcome of this matter, it says, nor can it estimate the range of possible loss. The trial is expected to last several months.


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The Galaxy J3 (2017) welcomes company - the 5.5 Galaxy J7 (2017) and the 5.2 Galaxy J5 (2017). All of them run Android 7.0 Nougat with Samsung's custom UI on top.

Note that Samsung seems to have jumped the gun with this announcement, the J5 and J7 are not up on the company site yet (well, not where they should be, anyway).

The Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017) boasts splash resistance (IP54), which the other two lack. Its also the only one with a 1080p screen (5.5), though the whole family comes with Super AMOLED panels. Plus, it uses a modern USB-C port (the other two have microUSB).

Beyond that, there are many similarities within the new J series. They stick to the Galaxy S7-like design (no S8 Infinity display magic). Both the J7 and J5 have a fingerprint reading Home keys below their screens, 5.2 720p for the J5.



Samsung Galaxy J7 (2017) in Black and in Gold

The main cameras are identical, 13MP main camera with 1080p video capture and a bright f/1.9 aperture. For selfies, you get an impressive 13MP camera with its own flash.

Processing power is similar, both are based on the Exynos 7870 chipset (14nm, 8x A53, Mali-T830 MP2) and both have 16GB of storage. However, the J7 has 3GB of RAM while the J5 only has 2GB. Battery capacity differs as well, 3,600mAh and 3,000mAh respectively.

The Galaxy J5 (2017) will come first (by the end of the month) at 280 while the Galaxy J7 (2017) should launch in July for 340.

The Galaxy J3 (2017) is already available on AT&T, but its coming to Europe in August. Curiously, it comes with a different design (the back) and slightly different specs. It should cost 220. It has a 5 720p Super AMOLED screen, quad-core processor, but the Euro model is much better specced than the AT&T one (it's practically a different phone). You get a 13MP f/1.9 main camera (vs. 5MP) with a 13MP selfie with flash (vs. 2MP), slightly more RAM (2GB vs. 1.5GB), NFC, a slightly smaller battery (2,400mAh vs. 2,600mAh).

Via (in Dutch)
Samsung could be working on the first Exynos 9xxx series chipset. Rather than a flagship-grade chip, this is a mid-ranger aimed at the Snapdragon 660. Then theres the Exynos 7872, which is something of a Snapdragon 650 alternative.

Exynos 9610

Dubbed Exynos 9610, this chip will be made on the established 14nm LPP process (which was used in the Exynos 8890 for the Galaxy S7). It will have an octa-core processor based on ARMs Cortex-A73 and A53 (four of each). For one reason or another, Samsung didnt use its custom Mongoose cores for this one (the S660 does use Qualcomms Kryo cores).

Anyway, the new chipset should have ARMs new Mali-G72 GPU (three cores), which is 25% more energy efficient than the G71 and boasts advanced VR and machine learning support.

Samsung also added a Cat. 13 LTE modem, matching the 600/150Mbps speeds of the Galaxy S7 chip. In essence, this seems to be one of 2016s best chipsets reborn for the mid-range market. It should be available in the final quarter of this year, so we should see devices with it either before the holidays or shortly after.

Exynos 7872

The Exynos 7872 is a rare hexa-core processor from Samsung. It will also be built on a 14nm process (probably LPP) and will feature only two big cores - Cortex-A72 in this case - along the cluster of four Cortex-A53 cores.

The GPU is also from the previous generation, Mali-G71 (and only a single core of it). Similarly, the LTE modem is a modest Cat. 7 (300/100Mbps).

Its interesting to note that this modem supports all Chinese carriers (a first for Samsung) and an insider alleges that a Chinese maker already has plans to use the Exynos 7872. It makes for a nice alternative to the Exynos 7880, though we may never see it outside of China (where it should deliver carrier-free action on a budget).

Source 1 (in Chinese) | Via | Source 2
Published on 2017/06/06 | Source

Added episodes 7 and 8 captures for the Korean drama "Bad Thief, Good Thief" (2017)

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Directed by Jang Joon-ho, Oh Kyeong-hoon

Written by Cha I-yeong, Son Yeong-mok

Network : MBC

With Ji Hyun-woo, Seohyun, Kim Ji-hoon-I, Lim Ju-eun, Ahn Kil-kang, Jung Kyung-soon,...

50 episodes - Sat, Sun 22:00

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A story of thieves who affect the authorities that manipulate Korea. It serves to bring satisfaction to those who are frustrated at the reality of the world.

Broadcast starting date in Korea : 2017/05/13

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Published on 2017/06/06 | Source

Added final episodes 15 and 16 captures for the Korean drama "Chicago Typewriter" (2017)

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Directed by Kim Cheol-gyoo

Written by Jin Soo-wan

Network : tvN

With Yoo Ah-in, Lim Soo-jung, Go Kyung-pyo, Kwak Si-yang, Jo Woo-jin, Yang Jin-sung,...

16 episodes - Fri, Sat 20:00

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Writers from the 1930s are reincarnated in the present as a best-selling writer in a slump, an anti-fan, and a ghostwriter.

Broadcast starting date in Korea : 2017/04/07

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The headlines Friday morning seemed to say it all: President Donald Trump had announced that the United States is pulling out of the Paris Climate Accord. On the side of one of the national papers was a story about Apple and altered reality. Down at the bottom was an article about studying Klingon. Similarly, on "Good Morning America" I learned everything there must be to know about ethics and celebrity coverage, via the Jennifer Garner-Ben Affleck divorce. It all seemed to point to one overarching theme: distraction.

Add some other "d" words: disconnect; disarray; danger; depression; despair. And maybe we're beginning to see why Americans voted for Trump as something different.

So, about Paris. Whether you enthusiastically agree with his move or ardently oppose it, consider this: Don't allow the president's decision to let you off easy.

Just about a week ago, the president and the first lady visited Pope Francis at the Vatican. Among the gifts exchanged: The pontiff gave the Trump a copy of "Laudato, Si," his letter on creation. It's widely described as dealing with climate change, which in many ways, misses the point entirely. In that letter, the pope urges us to see all of creation as worthy of good stewardship. The oceans and the skies, yes, but the human body and soul, too.

In "Laudato Si," Pope Francis cites the pope emeritus, Benedict. "He observed that the world cannot be analyzed by isolating only one of its aspects, since 'the book of nature is one and indivisible,' and includes the environment, life, sexuality, the family, social relations, and so forth. It follows that 'the deterioration of nature is closely connected to the culture which shapes human coexistence.' Pope Benedict asked us to recognize that the natural environment has been gravely damaged by our irresponsible behavior. The social environment has also suffered damage. Both are ultimately due to the same evil: the notion that there are no indisputable truths to guide our lives, and hence human freedom is limitless."

Francis continued: "Benedict urged us to realize that creation is harmed 'where we ourselves have the final word, where everything is simply our property and we use it for ourselves alone. The misuse of creation begins when we no longer recognize any higher instance than ourselves, when we see nothing else but ourselves.'"

He also writes about his namesake, Saint Francis: "I believe that Saint Francis is the example par excellence of care for the vulnerable and of an integral ecology lived out joyfully and authentically. He is the patron saint of all who study and work in the area of ecology, and he is also much loved by non-Christians. He was particularly concerned for God's creation and for the poor and outcast. He loved, and was deeply loved for his joy, his generous self-giving, his openheartedness. He was a mystic and a pilgrim who lived in simplicity and in wonderful harmony with God, with others, with nature and with himself. He shows us just how inseparable the bond is between concern for nature, justice for the poor, commitment to society, and interior peace."

In the way Pope Francis lays it out: All of creation is an invitation to see how "God speaks to us and grants us a glimpse of his infinite beauty and goodness."

The point is: The Paris opt-out is not just about a climate treaty. As has been noted before this column, even environmental activists in the left had their problems with this accord. The outrage in response to Trump's decision may once again expose our perennial problem: seeing the federal government and nebulous international forces as the source of our salvation. The decisions you and I make today have a power that is much greater than we realize.

Whatever your view of Trump's move, it could provide an opportunity to consider how we can begin again, not wedded to political agendas, but with an insistence on using our freedom to its greatest potential. The climate treaty wasn't ever going to make us look around and see everything as a gift calling us to better stewardship. If the president reads the encyclical, he might see something that could do that, however. A nation of people who claim to care about some of the most fundamental things would do well to lead the way, free of distraction and despair.

Kathryn Jean Lopez is senior fellow at the National Review Institute, editor-at-large of National Review Online and founding director of Catholic Voices USA. She can be contacted at klopez@nationalreview.com
Located just off U.S. 67 at the intersection of Fairgrounds and East Woodlawn drives, almost directly behind Hefner Furniture & Appliance store, is a wooded area that will soon begin to change somewhat dramatically, as the long-anticipated project to extend Fairgrounds Drive and install recreational trail heads into St. Joe State Park finally begins.

The extension of Fairgrounds Drive will lead directly to a new parking lot, which will be connected to a new set of two trail heads that will take hikers, bikers and off-road-vehicle (ORV) enthusiasts onto the existing trails inside the boundaries of St. Joe State Park  providing instant access to the parks secluded woodland trails.

Park Hills city officials have been making plans for the two related projects for a number of years, with much of the funding already obtained from grant programs, including $150,000 to construct the ORV trail head from the Recreational Trails Program and other grant monies from the Missouri Transportation Finance Commission.

The project will begin with the extension of Fairgrounds Drive and the installation of needed utility services up to the new trailheads section.

We got the bids in, said Mayor Daniel Naucke, and they were a lot less than what we figured on and budgeted for  under $300,000. So the project will be done all with the construction contractor. We will not have to use any city employees for anything.

Naucke said the city council voted to award the project to CE Contracting, Inc. which is based in Ste. Genevieve, and a date for a groundbreaking ceremony will be announced soon.

Were shooting for mid-June to start moving the trees and the dirt and start moving into the park, he said. Water and sewer will be put in as we go.

In addition to the extension of Fairgrounds Drive and the trail sections themselves, plans include a parking area for visitors in a section that will allow for the installation of expanded parking if the trail heads prove as popular as anticipated.

The new trail heads will provide park visitors, especially hiking, biking and ORV enthusiasts, with another option for enjoying the extensive trails available at St. Joe. Located just off a major highway, the finished project is expected to become a popular entrance into the state park, which receives between 600,000 to more than 800,000 visitors every year.

According to a study conducted by Growth Services Group (GSG) last year for the City of Park Hills, about 60 percent of those visitors ride ATV/ORVs and prefer to use the woodland trails over the sand flats (60 percent to 40 percent, respectively). With instant access to their favored trails, located less than a minute off the highway, the option is likely to become first choice for many park visitors.

Plans to build a hotel near the new trail heads are also in the works. A feasibility study commissioned by city officials last year (conducted by GSG) revealed promising results for further economic development in the direct vicinity of the trail heads. In addition to other visitors to the Parkland, about 15 percent of St. Joe State Parks overnight visitors choose to find accommodations outside of the park.
[Niinisto] announcing his willingness to run as the candidate of a constituency association represents such a departure from the National Coalition that it can be regarded as him reaching out to the left, Tuomioja reasons on Facebook.

The Social Democratic Party should seriously consider endorsing Sauli Niinisto for a second term as the President of Finland, views ex-Minister for Foreign Affairs Erkki Tuomioja (SDP).

Niinisto and the Social Democrats, he adds, may not see eye-to-eye on economic and social policy but do so on foreign and security policy  areas that fall within the remit of the president.

The Social Democrats generally have no issue with how Niinisto has performed the presidential responsibility of leading foreign and security policy, but we have been able to support him without reservation, he reminds.

The Social Democratic Party is one of the four parties that have yet to decide on its candidate for the presidential elections of 2018.

Eero Heinaluoma (SDP), an ex-Speaker of the Parliament, announced his decision not to throw his hat into the presidential ring on Monday. Antti Rinne, the chairperson of the opposition party, simlarly said he will be unable to stand in the elections due to the first round of the elections coinciding with the provincial elections.

Itd be impossible to combine the presidential candidacy and the duties of the party chairperson, Rinne explained to MTV on Monday.

The Social Democrats should nevertheless seek to nominate their own candidate for the elections, he stated before conceding that the nomination is likely to be postponed until August.

Tuomioja also reminds that the partys candidate in the previous presidential elections, two-time Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen (SDP), received no more than seven per cent of the vote, failing to advance to the second round of voting.

It is unlikely, he says, that the party will fare better next year.

The Social Democratic Party is not a small party, and we have a genuine interest in having an impact on the election results. We do have a longline of accomplished party members  both men and women  to nominate. All of them can fill the role of a presidential candidate well, but only few clearly possess the expertise and experience required from the President of the Republic, he writes.

Niinisto is an overwhelming favourite heading into the presidential elections. Ilta-Sanomat on Thursday reported that the incumbent president is currently the pick of almost three-quarters (72%) of the public, a vote share that would make him the first candidate in the history of direct presidential elections to win the presidency in the first round of voting.

The first round of voting is set to take place on 28 January and the possible second round on 11 February, 2018.

Finlands first nine presidents were voted into office by a college of popularly elected electors. The first direct presidential elections in the country were held in 1994, when Martti Ahtisaari (SDP) won the elections to succeed to Mauno Koivisto (SDP).

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Photo: Jussi Nukari  Lehtikuva

Source: Uusi Suomi
Both Pera and Talvivaara were ruled to have provided misleading or outright false production forecasts to investors in 20122013.

Pekka Pera, the chief executive of Talvivaara, has been sentenced to an eight-month suspended prison term and issued a fine of 8,800 euros for security markets information offences by the District Court of Helsinki.

Pera was on trial for a total of ten securities market-related offences. The District Court of Helsinki, however, acquitted him of seven and partially rejected one of the ten charges brought against him on Friday.

A number of other former executives of the zinc and nickel miner were similarly found guilty of securities market-related offences: Talvivaaras ex-director of mining operations was handed a suspended prison sentence of six months for abusing insider information and two other former senior executives fined for failing to comply with disclosure requirements.

Talvivaara, in turn, was ordered to pay a fine of 50,000 euros and return any profits generated as a result of the illegal activity to the state. The company says in a press release it will continue to examine the ruling and suggests it is likely to file an appeal with the Helsinki Court of Appeal.

The company filed for debt re-structuring with the District Court of Espoo in 2013 and divested all of its tangible assets, including its zinc and nickel mining operations in Sotkamo, to the state-owned special purpose company Terrafame in 2016. Talvivaara was consequently reduced to a shell company.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Photo: Markku Ulander  Lehtikuva

Source: Uusi Suomi
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I WAS born and live in Oxfordshire and graduated from Oxford University and the London School of Economics.

My career has focused on building sustainable employment and science-based enterprises and tackling global threats, including climate change. I am a director and former president of Midcounties Co-operative, a former chair of finance for Oxford City Council and a school governor.

Our country is the sixth richest in the world but homeless people sleep in the street, parents queue at food banks and the NHS, schools and care crumble because a corrupt political system hugely favours the rich and powerful. MPs set their own rules and have a vested interest in loose regulation and an obsolete electoral system and in pleasing party donors and newspaper owners.

The choice on June 8 is not just between the most right-wing Conservative and the most left-wing Labour manifestos since the Eighties, there is a better way.

The first British Radicals battled against huge odds but, in the end, rotten boroughs, the slave trade, restrictions on belief and men-only voting were abolished because the public woke up and demanded change. Instead of fighting for the futile honour of coming a distant second, good people should demand:

l A new programme of reform (www.radicalparty.uk)

l Elections where every vote counts.

l MPs to meet standards of integrity at work that normal people take for granted

l Honest acknowledgement that fairness demands better public services, which we must all help to pay for.

If elected, I would serve as a conscientious and trustworthy MP for the Henley constituency. I would fight for a fairer Britain, sound economics and defence, funding for our NHS, schools, care services and science and against the folly of a hard Brexit. And I would campaign tirelessly on your behalf to clean up politics and give power back to the electorate.
A MOTORISED rising bench has been installed at a public convenience in Henley so disabled visitors can be changed more easily.

The 4,500 device is attached to the wall of the disabled lavatory at the Leichlingen Pavilion in Mill Meadows and is hinged so it can be stored away when not in use.

Carers for disabled people can pull it out then use a handset to raise or lower it, allowing them to work at a height that is comfortable for them.

Henley Town Council, which owns the toilets, wanted to install the bench as part of a 100,000 refurbishment which was completed in 2014 but did not have the money. It has instead been funded by the Rotary Club of Henley Bridge and Rotary UKs Thames Valley district office. A plaque will be installed to thank the club.

The bench was provided by Kilncraft, of Sheffield, based on the estimate that it provided three years ago.

It was officially unveiled on Friday by Mayor Kellie Hinton with town councillors Sam Evans and Stefan Gawrysiak, former councillor Jeni Wood, who originally came up with the idea, and Mike Pooley, chairman of the Henley Regatta for the Disabled.

Councillor Gawrysiak and Mrs Wood are members of the Rotary club. Mrs Wood said: Before this was installed, people had to be changed on the floor which isnt particularly dignified. This is the only public bench of its kind for at least 50 miles so hopefully it will make Henley more accessible to visitors and encourage other towns to follow suit.

Cllr Gawrysiak said: This is a fabulous example of how Rotary works in the community. Where we see a need, we will do everything we can to meet it and were very grateful to everyone who supported us.

The Mayor said: This is going to be well-used and will save a lot of peoples time and energy so were very thankful to Rotary and to the councils parks services team who will maintain it. Jane Holmes, founder of Henley Regatta for the Disabled, who has a 15-year-old disabled daughter, Kitty, said: It is absolutely great that this facility has been provided in Henley and I applaud Jeni Wood for making it happen.

Toileting provision is something that people take for granted, and rightly so, but of course there are disabled residents and visitors who need extra special facilities. These are sometimes provided at special events but its the everyday need that often isnt considered.

Now people with all levels of disability can enjoy a day out in Henley without having to go home after a couple of hours to have their care needs met. I very much hope that other towns follow Henleys example.
Britain has been hit by an "unprecedented" wave of terror attacks and one atrocity may be triggering the next, London's top police officer has warned.

Scotland Yard chief Cressida Dick said authorities were confronting a "new reality" after three deadly assaults in 10 weeks.

In the latest outrage, three terrorists killed seven people and injured dozens more in the London Bridge area on Saturday.

Murderous

The incident followed murderous strikes in Westminster and Manchester in March and last month respectively, and Ms Dick, whose policing career spans more than 30 years, said the flurry of attacks was "unprecedented in my working life".

Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility for the London Bridge rampage, while the attack has sparked fears that Britain is in the grip of a spate of copycat incidents.

Ms Dick said it was "certainly a possibility" that the attacks were triggering the next one.

"The rhetoric that has been coming from IS and other organisations has been to encourage people to take action into their own hands, to use low-tech methods," she said.

"Undoubtedly, when people see something which appears from their perverted point of view to be successful, some people will be inspired by that, so that is most certainly a possibility."

Counter-terrorism police and security services have launched a huge investigation for the third time in a matter of weeks.

Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley urged anyone with information about the latest attack to come forward.

"The police and our partners are doing everything we can across the country to help prevent further attacks and protect the public from harm," he said.

"At any one time, MI5 and police are conducting around 500 active investigations involving 3,000 subjects of interest.

"Additionally, there are around 20,000 individuals who are former subjects of interest, whose risk remains subject to review by MI5 and its partners.

"The security and intelligence services and police have stopped 18 plots since 2013, including five since the Westminster attack two months ago."

Meanwhile, large concrete barriers have been installed at Waterloo, Lambeth and Westminster bridges in London.

Police have also been guarding the capital's main bridges in order to stave off any potential copycat attacks.
A Muslim imam has warned that an Islamic terrorist attack could happen here and "a cancer of hate" is being allowed to flourish in some Irish Muslim communities.

Shaykh Dr Umar Al-Qadri, of the Islamic centre in Blanchardstown, West Dublin, said he has been giving warnings for years that not enough is being done to prevent young Muslims from being radicalised in this country.

Speaking to the Herald, he said he never encountered London Bridge attacker Rachid Redouane, who lived in Rathmines until last year.

However, the imam said the second attacker identified by British authorities - Khuram Shazad Butt - looked "familiar" and may even have visited Dublin.

He said news that Redouane had been living in Dublin was "absolutely shocking and worrying".

"But it's something that I have been saying for the past few years and now it's confirmed.

"I have been warning publicly that there are individuals here that are extremists and somehow they are being provided with a safe haven by certain Muslim leaders," he said.

"By safe haven I mean that they are not being called out, they are not being identified, they are not being excluded, not being excommunicated from the community."

Hatred

Dr Al-Qadri makes reference to a Facebook page, which he claims incites hatred.

"It's a very, very bad [Facebook] page. It promotes hatred. Whatever it promotes it has nothing to do with Islam. It promotes a perversion of Islam. It promotes distorted views."

He said he had never heard of Redouane.

"His name did not ring any bells. But I have seen the picture of the guy of Pakistani origin. That face is so familiar that I have definitely seen him somewhere in Dublin," he said.

"The one with the long beard - I think I saw him in Dublin."

When asked where he saw him, he replied: "I don't know. I think I could have seen him anywhere. But that is a face I have seen before."

Asked if a terrorist attack could happen here, he replied: "I believe that these extremists live in Ireland. This is a safe haven for them. So it would be very stupid of them to actually do something here because they would be raising the alarm and everything would be uptight, the security and all that.

"But I think, at the moment, they have so much hatred that I would say that it is possible and God forbid that it happens. That would be my greatest concern."

A garda spokesperson declined to comment on whether Butt had entered Ireland or not.
A father-of-two refused to pay for food he took from the shelves and ate while drunk in a convenience store.

Con Sheridan then "lashed out" with "unparliamentary language" at gardai who were called to deal with him.

The 47-year-old became belligerent towards shop staff and gardai during the incident in Dublin city centre.

Judge Michael Walsh fined him 200 after Dublin District Court heard he had apologised and was ashamed of his behaviour.

Sheridan, of Vincent Street South, in the south inner city, pleaded guilty to stealing groceries last March 30 and also admitted public intoxication and using threatening and abusive behaviour.

Sgt Gail Smith said Sheridan went to Centra on Dame Street at 12.50am on the night in question.

Annoying

He was in a drunken state and took 6.90 worth of food and ate it then refused to pay.

Staff called gardai, and when they arrived and spoke to Sheridan he became aggressive towards them.

His behaviour was "annoying" and he was told again to pay for the food.

"Choice phrases were used to the gardai," Gda Sgt Smith said.

Judge Walsh said he would take it that it had been "unparliamentary language".

Sheridan accepted he had been belligerent, said Stephen O'Mahony, defending.

He was "embarrassed, ashamed and remorseful" over his actions.

The accused was currently working full-time, Mr O'Mahony said.

"He appears to have lashed out at members of An Garda Siochana who were trying to assist him," Judge Walsh said.
Dublin District Court heard gardai came across a fight between two men on Harcourt Street last March 31

A UCD student punched a garda in the face while the officer was trying to break up a street fight outside a nightclub, a court heard.

Eoghan Corkery (20) swung his arm while struggling with another man when he struck the garda, who was trying to separate them.

Corkery, who had been drinking vodka on the night and had "no great memory" of what happened.

He left without a criminal record after paying 400 to charity. Judge Fiona Lydon struck the case out.

Corkery, of Curryhills, Prosperous, Naas, Co Kildare, pleaded guilty to assaulting the officer in Dublin city centre.

Dublin District Court heard gardai came across a fight between two men on Harcourt Street last March 31.

In the course of separating them, the garda said he received a punch to the face.

He confirmed to the accused's lawyer that this had happened "in the course of a struggle with the other man".

"He swung his arm out and hit you in the face, it wasn't a direct punch," the lawyer said.

Apologise

"He probably didn't realise I was a garda at the time and he called in to the station the next night to apologise," the garda replied.

Corkery was single and a second-year finance student in UCD, his lawyer said.

On the night in question he had been out drinking and had vodka, which was something he did not normally drink.

He had attended a nightclub and outside there was an altercation.

He was not involved initially, but then two of his friends were surrounded.

The defendant had "no great memory" of it.

He pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and had no previous convictions of any kind.

His lawyer asked Judge Lydon to consider leaving Corkery without a conviction.

He said the defendant was taking the case very seriously and what happened was "definitely out of character".

He had money in court to donate to charity and was "a man you won't see again in court".

His parents were in court with him and were "very concerned".

"In all the circumstances and in fairness to the accused, he does deserve an opportunity," said Judge Lydon.

She struck the charge out after the 400 was paid to the Peter McVerry Trust.
RTE presenter Maura Derrane has spoken of a forthcoming charity trip to Rwanda.

The mum-of-one told the Diary she expects to find being in the African country an emotional experience.

She's travelling there with charity Bothar as she does her part for a good cause and visits some of the projects it's supporting.

The country was left devastated by the 1994 genocide, which saw a million people killed over a three-month period in the conflict between the Hutu and Tutsi people.

TV3's former crime reporter will be putting on her journalist hat for the trip and looking at how Bothar has helped Rwandans in recent years.

"I was in India with the Hope Foundation about six years ago. I visited Kolkata and that was a sad place, you heard a lot of very harrowing stories," said Maura.

"But I think the Rwanda story is very positive. It's hard to believe that it's been just 23 years since the war and yet you have neighbours living happily side by side who would have been killing each other before.

"It's a very strange scenario and yet they have learnt to live with it. I suppose you have to look forward - there's no other choice but to move on."

She will be joined by a cameraman on her trip and plans to show some footage from her time there when the Today show comes back in September.

Break

"It's a very productive charity, Bothar," said Maura.

"They send live animals over to families who desperately need them and they get to rear them in a sustainable way. So we're going to go over to see all the work that they do."

The Galway woman has been enjoying a well-earned break since filming ended on the latest season of the Cork-based afternoon show that she co-presents with Daithi O Se.

She recently flew to Menorca, from where she posted a picture of her looking fabulous in a one-piece swimsuit on the beach.

"I haven't worn a bikini since I had Cal two years ago, but a one-piece swimsuit is grand, it holds you all together," she said.

"Ten years ago I'd wear an itsy-bitsy bikini no bother, but your body changes after a baby. I'm happy enough in a swimsuit, though."

Maura also had her first holiday abroad without her son with TD John Deasy after flying to the Spanish holiday island with her sister Rita.

"I came back fresh and so excited to see him. I want to do it every year now," she said.

Maura and the Today show team had a party in Dublin's NoLIta recently after chalking up their most successful season to date, with some shows pulling in 300,000 viewers.
Even in the midst of chaos and horror, while the police were screaming at pedestrians to run and the dead and injured had yet to be removed from the streets, there was cause for quiet optimism in London.

All over the city, in bars, cinemas and clubs, the night went on as before.

Those reading the news on Saturday night on their phones were not entirely as before, of course.

Three days after the attack, it's still too soon to shrug off the atrocity with the insouciance of the battle-hardened veteran, though sadly that day will come.

Primitive

There can be no victory over the terrorists in choosing not to overreact to each monstrosity, whether as sophisticated as Manchester's or primitive as in Borough Market.

These terrorists were dead before there was any reaction. No future terrorist who shares their intent is concerned about the effect of their crimes.

They are no more cowards and losers than heroes or martyrs.

They are plain and simple nihilists to whom killing is the be all and, more so, the end all. Sticks and stones won't hurt the bones of those rendered corpses by police bullets, so why waste bravado on empty words?

But there is a victory for Londoners in adapting to this reality as quickly and without histrionics as they appear to be doing.

The attacks will not stop. The more Islamic State (IS) sees its 'caliphate' being swept into the dustbin of history, the more home-grown disciples in Britain will lash out.

In medical terms, this brand of terrorism is not a cancer. It can neither be cured by surgery nor kill what people are.

It has killed individuals, each of whom it is a duty to mourn and a privilege to remember. But, to a democratic society, this is a chronic condition, like diabetes, that people must learn to manage.

This is a time to be heart- broken for the victims, disgusted by the perpetrators and happy that it's only the usual suspects of professionally deranged clickbait practitioners who conflate the nihilistic insanity of a minute few with the beliefs of a global religion followed by more than a billion.

No one should go overboard in congratulating themselves, as Mancunians or Londoners or Britons, for not wanting to punish Muslims for these crimes.

That's the very least people should expect of themselves.

Ravings

But we all should be relieved that the basic principles of natural justice and common decency remain impervious, for now, to the ravings of Donald Trump.

In some ways, urban life will have to change. Like anyone diagnosed with diabetes, city- dwellers will have to adapt to alleviate the symptoms.

Security will become more rigorous, armed police more visible, queues for public events more tiresome, but the changes will be constricted to inconvenience so long as people hold their nerve.

This won't be easy. As I write this, my 20-year-old son pops his head round the door to say he's thinking of going to Camden Market or a gallery near Leicester Square tube station.

He notices the involuntary grimace, and though I quickly insist that a grown man shouldn't change his plans to assuage a neurotic father, he sweetly decides to take a book to a local park instead.

Every parent, every child, every partner will fret a bit more than usual about those they love from now on.

Some, but very few, will have their worst fears realised.

But unless the UK succumbs to a mass collective failure of nerve, as it never did during the Blitz, cities will retain their essential freedoms.

That won't be as a deliberate rebuke to potential terrorists whose willingness to die puts them beyond caring.

It will be because this is what people with incurable but manageable conditions do. They take every sensible precaution, dwell on the disease as little as necessary and get on with the messy business of living as well and pleasurably as they can.
RICHMOND, Va.  Bristol, Virginia will receive part of a $935,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Nutrition Service that will provide students and their families with food over the summer months, according to a written statement from Gov. Terry McAuliffes office.

The award, dubbed the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) for the Children Demonstration Project, will provide food for about 9,000 children in nine Richmond schools and eight Southwest Virginia school divisions with increased food security.

First Lady Dorothy McAuliffe said that summer is a difficult time for food-insecure families.

The program, which is in its second year, will provide families with much-needed relief and demonstrate that new, innovative programs can move Southwest Virginia toward ending childhood hunger once and for all.

A study conducted by Feeding America Southwest Virginia found that on average there is a food budget shortfall of over $17 per person each week in the Commonwealth.

Feeding America Southwest Virginia has served the 26 counties and associated municipalities that make up Southwest Virginia for three decades. It distributes more than 20 million pounds of food annually to nearly 400 partner agency soup kitchens, rescue missions and food pantries.

President and CEO Pamela Irvine said that the research continues to show that Feeding America Southwest Virginias mission is critical to the lives of those in our region facing hunger.

Residents who were already struggling find themselves struggling even more, she said. In areas such as Virginias coalfields, the challenging economic conditions mean even more people face food insecurity than in previous years.

The participating school divisions in Southwest Virginia are Bristol, Buchanan County, Galax, Grayson County, Lee County, Scott County, Smyth County and Tazewell County. Families of students eligible for free or reduced-price school meals and in the participating Richmond schools, will receive $30 a month in benefits during the summer to improve food security.

The participating Richmond schools are Albert Hill Middle, Bellevue Elementary, Blackwell Elementary, J.E.B. Stuart Elementary, Miles Jones Elementary, Oak Grove Elementary, Overby-Sheppard Elementary, Thomas H. Henderson Middle and Westover Hills Elementary.
DC AG filing civil suit vs. Commanders, Snyder, NFL, Goodell

The attorney general for the District of Columbia says his office is filing a civil consumer protection lawsuit...
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Stansted is set to increase the maximum number of passengers it can handle by 10 million per year - making it the second busiest airport in the UK.

The massive increase  which equates to an extra 11,000 flights each year  has been revealed in a request submitted to Uttlesford District Council.

The request for a scoping opinion - the authority's formal view on what issues an Environmental Statement should contain  is being asked for ahead of a planning application to "facilitate making the best use of the existing single runway".

This will include amending the existing cap on the number of passengers.

In a statement to Uttlesford DC Stansted Airport added it wants raise the cap from 35 million passengers per annum to approximately 44.5 million, as well as a associated increased in aircraft movements from the existing permitted total of 274,000 to around 285,000.

It would make Stansted the country's second busiest airport behind Heathrow  leapfrogging Gatwick which in 2016 handled 43.1 million passengers and 275,633 flights.

Although there is no plans for a second runway yet, the planning application will ask for permission for additional airfield infrastructure, comprising two new links to the runway, six additional stands on the mid airfield and three additional stands on the north eastern end of the airport.

Alistair Andrew, planning manager for the airport, said in a statement: "It should be noted that at this time no significant adverse environmental effects are predicted as a consequence of the proposed development.

"However, the core topics of surface access transport, noise, air quality, socio-economics, carbon, climate change and health will be considered in detail in the Environmental Statement."
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Critically acclaimed actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who will soon be seen in Tiger Shroffs dance movie - Munna Michael, has said he cannot dance as well as other young heroes of Bollywood, but he can try to match up with them.

Nidhhi Aggrwal (L), Tiger Shroff (C) and Nawazuddin Siddiqui strike a pose. (AFP)

He was speaking at the trailer launch of Munna Michael on Monday. I wont be able to play a dancing hero. But yes, I would love to play a hero in any film. I think Tiger and our whole team helped me to dance a little bit in the film. I think somehow I manage just 5 per cent of Tigers level, Nawazuddin said.

Asked about his experience of working with Nawazuddin, Tiger said, I think with every character, Nawaz bhais body language changes, and that is a sign of a good actor. I learnt a lot from him as an actor during the shooting of the film.

The action dance movies female lead Nidhhi Agerwal is making her debut. She said: I am very lucky to be a part of this film where I got a chance to work with Nawaz sir. He is a very down-to-earth person and patient on set. Matching up dance steps with Tiger was very tough, but I tried my best.

Clarifying rumours that all is not well between him and the films director Sabbir Khan, Tiger said, I think that was a PR stunt. I did my first film with him, and that time he was my guru, a mentor, and now he is like my brother.

Sabbir also cleared a rumour of Shraddha Kapoors special number in the film, saying: Not that I know of.

Produced by Viki Rajani, Munna Michael is releasing on July 21.

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Filmmakers Khushbu Ranka and Vinay Shukla have decided to lock horns with the chief of Censor Board of Film Certification, Pahlaj Nihalani, who has refused to certify their film, Arvind Kejriwal: An Insignificant Man, unless they get an NOC (No Objection Certificate) from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. However, the two have refused to give in to the arbitrary demands of the CBFC chief.

There is no such rule that we have to get an NOC. He has set impossible conditions to release our film and we cannot agree with them. There is no legit basis of these demands. Such arbitrary demands are made to intimidate filmmakers, says Shukla.

Apart from seeking NOCs, Nihalani has also asked for six cuts in the film.  We are not going to go ahead with the cuts either. He wants us to remove the names of political parties such as BJP and Congress, he adds.

The two are exploring other ways to get a release for their film in India and dont rule out going to court for the same. We are still figuring out how we can get beyond this. We are small filmmakers and dont have that much financial backing. Even the film is crowd-funded. But we are not going to bow down. We will go to court if theres a need but we want to be sure about it, says Ranka.

The filmmakers say they have received overwhelming support from the industry and the people.  We spoke to Amol Palekar Sirs wife Sandhya (who has filed a petition in Supreme Court challenging pre- censorship in films) who has encouraged us to continue our fight and told us that his demands are completely arbitrary. Then on social media as well, people have been supporting us. Thus, I wont say we are alone in this, Ranka adds.

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After Siddharth Roy Kapoor and Kamal Hassan, Bollywood actor Salman Khan is the latest from the film industry to express his feelings over the Goods and Services Tax (GST). When asked about governments decision for announcing 28 percent tax slab under the GST for cinema, the 51-year-old actor said, Whatever the government has done, they must have done it with proper planning.

Salman Khan launches e-cycle on behalf of Being Human part in a promotional event in Mumbai. (AFP)

To mark the world Environment Day, the Sultan star launched two battery-powered bicycles under his Being Human brand.

Both the variants of the Being Human E-Cycle - BH27 and BH12 - are available in four colours, white, yellow, red and black. Additional variants will be available for sale in a few months.

While addressing the media, Salman said, People often drop the idea of using cycles when they have to travel long distances because of the effort involved. With the pedal assist and rechargeable motor support Being Human E-Cycles make it easy and practical to cycle across both urban and not-so-urban areas.

Salman Khan, Arpita Khan Sharma along with her son Ahil during the launch of Being Human electric bicycles in Mumbai on June 5. (IANS)

These bicycles have a maximum speed of 25 km/hr. Both the variants present at the event were priced at Rs. 40,000 and Rs. 57,000.

On the work front, Salman Khan will be next seen in Kabir Khans Tubelight, alongside Sohail Khan and late actor Om Puri.

The flick is slated to release on June 23.

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With Bollywood superstar Salman Khan confirming that he is venturing into the smartphones business, industry experts on Monday welcomed his new venture -- though with a bit of caution.

Salman Khan and Atul Gupta, MD and CEO during the launch of Being Human electric bicycles in Mumbai on June 5. (IANS)

Khan, who owns the Being Human clothing brand, told IANS in an e-mail interview from Mumbai: We have just started our entry into the category, we need to be careful. If people buy our products and like it, we will see. We are starting the smartphones in small numbers and we hope to have minimum losses and maximum gain.

According to earlier media reports, the Bollywood superstar is targeting at the entry- to middle-level smartphone segment (which is anywhere between Rs 8,000-Rs 20,000).

Bhaijaans range of mobiles will surely be the most Wanted! He is capitalising on his personal popularity to start this new business. How he will be able to build it into a sustainable enterprise remains to be seen, Jaideep Mehta, Managing Director, IDC South Asia, told IANS.

Khan commands a huge fan base in India that can be leveraged.

Salman Khan, Sohail Khan, Arbaaz Khan and Ahil during the launch of Being Human electric bicycles in Mumbai on June 5. (IANS)

For the smartphone to be successful, it will have to be different from the current offerings in the market. The differentiating can be on any of the software or hardware going into the phone. A price point of below Rs 10,000 will make the phone accessible to a number of users looking for an upgrade from a cheaper device, Shobhit Srivastava, Research Analyst, Mobile Devices and Ecosystems, Counterpoint Research, told IANS.

The Bollywood star is not alone.

Reportedly a strategic investor in the home-grown technology and Internet of Things (IoT) company Smartron, Sachin Tendulkar has just launched srt.phone (srt is interpreted as Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar here).

This is the third device in less than a year from Smartron, earlier ones being the t.phone and t.book.

The company, however, is yet to prove its mettle in the domestic market. Its a two-way strategy for connecting with the youth and building a community. Firstly, smartphones somehow connect with todays youth and creating such a product line connotes connecting with the youth community. Secondly, this will open up a channel for Salmans fan club to access exclusive Salman content and go for huge content consumption, Faisal Kawoosa, Principal Analyst (Telecoms) at CyberMedia Research (CMR), told IANS.

Salmans fan club will definitely give it a leg up but, in the long run, the brand needs to differentiate itself to stand out in the crowd, added Krishna Mukherjee, another analyst with CMR.

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Indias Adani Enterprises gave final investment approval on Tuesday for its $4 billion Carmichael coal mine and railway in Australias north, shifting the focus to fund raising for the controversial project.

Adani, which hopes to secure a A$900 million ($670 million) government loan, said in a statement it had given final investment decision approval to build what would be Australias biggest coal mine.

We are committed to this project, Adani Chairman Gautam Adani said.

The Carmichael mine has faced years of delays amid opposition from environment groups who argue it will contribute to global warming and damage the Great Barrier Reef, leading some banks to rule out any role in funding.

Announcing an intention to invest is a far cry from having the finance to do so, said Julien Vincent, executive director of environmental finance organisation Market Forces. Greenpeace Australia Pacific said the announcement was a PR stunt.

The project is located in the remote Galilee Basin, a 247,000 square-kilometre (95,000 square mile) expanse in the central outback that some believe has the potential to become Australias largest coal-producing region.

Adani said the project would create 10,000 direct and indirect jobs, with pre-construction works starting in the next few months. Coal from the mine will be exported to India.

Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said Australias third biggest state had been hit by a global resources downturn and Adanis decision would help mining firms.

Adanis decision is a vote of confidence not just in the Queensland economy, but in Queensland people, she said.

However, one energy analyst said the huge project would drive down thermal coal prices if it was built, putting pressure on local rivals.

The Queensland government probably doesnt appreciate that they could lose thermal mines in Queensland for the sake of bringing in this one, said the analyst, who asked not to be named as he was not authorised to comment on Adani.

The Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility, the federal agency that will decide whether to grant the government loan to Adani, was not immediately available for comment.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi today said the countrys growth has slowed down mainly due to demonetisation and the economy was running on just one engine of public spending.

The status of the economy was discussed at the meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the highest decision- making body of the main opposition party here.

Gandhi, who chaired the meeting, talked about the failure of demonetisation, saying it has affected the countrys growth.

She highlighted that Manmohan Singh had predicted a fall in growth due to the note ban announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8 last year.

She said the GDP figures proved that the former prime ministers forecast that demonetization would slow down economic growth was correct.

Singh, in his intervention at the meeting, talked about the decline in the economic growth as depicted in the last quarter GDP numbers.

He said the slowdown was primarily due to demonetisation. and expressed serious concern over the situation, particularly the impact of the growth slowdown on job creation.

The former Prime Minister, an acclaimed economist himself, said the Gross Value Addition (GVA) is the true sub-measure of economic activity and it has experienced a steep and sustained fall.

Private sector investment has collapsed and the economy is running on just one engine of public spending, he said at the meeting.

Singh said the GVA growth of industry has fallen from 10.7 per cent in March 2016 to just 3.8 per cent in March 2017, a decline of nearly seven percentage points of growth.

The most worrisome aspect of all this is the impact on job creation. Jobs have been extremely hard to come by for the youth of the nation, he said.

Gandhi in her speech said, The governments experiments and policies are characterized by poor planning and shoddy implementation. They have been disastrous for our social and economic fabric.

She said demonetisation was touted as a great success, but till today the government refuses to disclose how much of the demonetised currency in circulation was actually returned to banks.

It isnt that the Reserve Bank of India has forgotten how to count money; it is that the actual numbers show that the scheme was a disaster, she said.

Gandhi also attacked the Make in India campaign saying it failed to create jobs or attract investment and unemployment was rampant in the country.

The former Prime Minister noted that the construction industry, which is one of the largest employment generators in the country, has suffered contraction.

This, he said, implies loss of millions of jobs for the nations workforce.

At the party briefing after the CWC meet, senior spokesperson Ghulam Nabi Azad said the Congress had raised the issue of demonetisation both outside and inside Parliament.

Azad said Manmohan Singh and former Finance Minister P Chidambaram had said that note ban will have a bad effect on the economy and will affect GDP.

But the government rejected all our claims and it has to now admit within a year that the GDP has suffered a loss and how much loss the country has to suffer in last three years, said the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha.
In late March, when the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government in Uttar Pradesh announced a crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses, Indias beef export was at its peak, like in previous years.

But a month later, the volume of beef (buffalo meat) exports fell drastically, down by as much as 35.5%.

Official data shows that while 1,37,687 tonnes of beef was exported in March 2017, the figure came down to 86,119 tonnes in April 2017 -- a drop of 51,568 tonnes in just a month.

The data put out by the Union ministry of Commerce and Industry also suggests that the April export this year is nearly 11,000 tonnes less than the corresponding period last fiscal.

In annual terms, India, which has been vying with Brazil for the top spot in global beef exports for many years now, did better till March, the end of the previous fiscal.

Exporters claim the recent attacks by vigilantes on cattle transporters coupled with the crackdown on illegal slaughterhouses, has hit the industry badly. Some say that the trade has gone down by almost 50%.

The crackdown has affected exports drastically, said Fauzan Alavi, director of Allana Sons, one of the countrys largest beef exporters.

Adding to their woes is the latest notification of the Union government banning the sale of cattle for slaughter. As per this order, traders and cattle markets can buy or sell the bovines only for agricultural purposes.

If we compare previous years trade, our business has gone down by Rs 600 crore, which is nearly half of our business, Alavi added

India registered a double digit rise in exports of buffalo meat between 2011 and 2014. In 2015, it became the worlds top beef exporter and in 2016 it continued to retain its position.

Sirajudin Qureshi, managing director of Hind Agro, another leading meat exporter, said movement of meat from slaughterhouse has ground to a halt across the states for fear of vigilantes.

Beef exports generally go up after January as the demand for cheaper Indian beef increases in the South-east Asian countries in the months preceding Ramzan.

Just when things had started settling down after demonetisation, the controversy over cow slaughter erupted after the UP state election. We have seen sales dropping by more than half in the last few months. Transporting meat has become a cause for concern and stocks are lying idle, said Arshad Ali, a Delhi-based buffalo meat packer.

However, Ajay Sahai, DG & CEO, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), said: There has been a little dip in exports to Vietnam and other markets but there has been no significant dent in Indias exports to these markets during April-March, 2016-17.

While India does not supply cow meat, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) classifies buffalo meat as beef. According to USDA, India and Brazil were the top beef exporters in 2015-16, each with 19.6 % share of the global exports.

UP, which accounts for over 40% of the countrys bovine meat exports, is one of the main production centres. Besides UP, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Punjab also deal in buffalo meat production.

(With input from Mahua Venkatesh and Suchetna Ray)
The Trump Organization, which for years focused on high-end, luxury real estate, on Tuesday announced a new foray into the domestic hotel market with a chain of middle-of-the-range hotels.

The venture was inspired by travels by the Trump children on father Donald Trumps presidential election campaign last year, when they were introduced to lackluster hotels in the US hinterland, The New York Times reported.

The new line will be called American Idea and three agreements have been signed for properties in the Mississippi Delta area, announced Trump Hotels, which is part of The Trump Organization.

American Idea hotels will be an alternative, for both guests and hotel developers, looking for an answer to the run-of-the-mill offerings currently in the midscale space, Trump Hotels announced. Guests will enjoy local flavor and genuine service in an environment that pays respect to the unique culture of each destination, it added.

The New York Times reported that during the campaign, the Trump children would report back about thousands of supporters attending rallies and what they saw as a chance to build a line of hotels standing out from standardized options.

I said, Thats brilliant, Trump Hotels CEO Eric Danziger told the newspaper. The reality is we should have something in those kinds of locations.

Mississippi, the southern state where the first hotels are slated to open, voted for Trump over Democrat Hillary Clinton by a margin of nearly 18%.

But Danziger rejected the idea that the electoral map would become a blueprint for picking future locations, the Times reported.

There is no political thought to it, Danziger was quoted as saying by the newspaper, adding that there could be many hundreds of American Idea hotels in both Republican and Democratic voting areas.

The Trump Organization is run by the presidents adult sons, but the commander-in-chief refused to divest fully from the firm, coming under fire from political opponents and ethics experts.
DEHRADUN: The Congress workers on Tuesday came out on the street for the first time in more than two and half months of the BJP governments rule to protest against the Centres approach on CBI investigation against the alleged National Highway-74 land scam .

They protested against the Trivendra Singh Rawat governments move to go back on its own commitment announced earlier for a CBI probe into the much publicised NH-74 land scam. Congress leaders burnt effigies of the state government in front of collectorates at all 13 district headquarters.They also submitted memorandums addressed to President Pranab Mukherjee to the district magistrates, urging him to expedite the CBI probe into the scam.

The government is not tired of speaking of zero tolerance against corruption but it is now going back on the chief ministers announcements to hold a CBI probe in the land acquisition scam as the Union minister (Nitin Gadkari) of the concerned department doesnt want it. This will be first ever occasion in the history of Indian democracy that a CBI investigation recommended by a state government doesnt reach to its logical end. But we will not let it die and raise its voice from every platform, Pradesh Congress Committee president Pritam Singh said.

The Trivendra Singh Rawat government has taken a series of anti-people decisions in the past two and half months of its rule. There is no sign of new development activities while the government is taking back door exit on a CBI probe in the land scam.

Singh asked the Centre to clarify why it was shying away from a CBI probe into the scam. Irregularities worth nearly Rs 300 crore were detected in the acquisition of farmland for the construction of the proposed NH-74 in Udham Singh Nagar district between 2011-2016. Farmland was shown to be non-agricultural to increase the compensation amount by at least 20 times to benefit chosen stakeholders and beneficiaries, he alleged.

The Congress leader also criticised the state government for transferring an official on the basis of whose report the CBI probe was recommended. With PTI inputs
DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand Ecotourism Corporation will submit a proposal to the Centre for launching two tourism circuits under the Swadesh Darshan scheme.

Uttarakhand plans to develop Thano-Sanjay Jheel-Chaurasi Kutia-Ranichauri-Dhanolti-Devalsari and Chila-Rasiyabad-Sneh-Kolhuchaur-Kanvashram circuits connecting Rishikesh, Rajaji National Park, Haridwar, Tehri, Mussoorie and Kotdwar. Covering the three circuit concepts of Himalayan, ecotourism and wildlife, the proposal is at its final stage. Officials are working on the expenditure involved in developing these places. The proposal will be submitted this month.

The Union ministry of tourism had launched the Swadesh Darshan scheme for developing theme-based tourist circuits across the country. Under the scheme, Northeast, Buddhist, Himalayan, Coastal, Krishna, Desert, Tribal, Ecotourism, Wildlife, Rural, Spiritual, Ramayana and Heritage circuits have been identified for development.

Forest rest houses in the two identified circuits will be linked to a few tourist spots under the proposal. Rasiyabad forest rest house in Chiriapur range of Haridwar forest division was built in 1889. Close to Jhilmil Jheel, home to endangered Swamp Deer, the rest house will welcome tourists for a comfortable stay.

Similarly, Thano rest house in Dehradun forest division is a vintage bungalow built in 1890. An 8-km uphill trek from the rest house leads to a dilapidated rest house of Madan bungalow from where one can get a birds eye view of Doon valley. Frequented by wild animals, the Thano rest house is a promising tourist destinations located in Doon division.

The concept of tourism under both circuits revolves around our forest rest houses. Some rest houses are historic which will be connected with some important tourist spots, Uttarakhand Ecotourism Corporation managing director Anup Mallik told Hindustan Times.

The funds sought under the project will be used for renovation and for providing better facilities to tourists. Local people will be engaged for various activities such as housekeeping, kitchen and others.

According to the scheme guidelines, tourism circuits shall be identified on the basis of current tourist traffic, connectivity, potential and significance attached to the sites and holistic tourist experience. It further emphasises on theme based tourism - religion, culture, heritage, leisure and others.

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With power shortage haunting residents of the national capital again, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has revived his governments proposal to penalise distribution companies for unscheduled cuts.

Electricity consumption touched 6,526 MW on Tuesday afternoon, surpassing the previous days record of 6,361 MW. This development threw power utilities into a tizzy, even as consumer complaints increased by nearly four times over a period of one week.

Alarmed by the spurt in blackouts across the capital, Kejriwal again brought up the proposal despite the Delhi high court striking it down last year on the grounds of not acquiring then lieutenant governor Najeeb Jungs nod. The proposal, which mandates monetary reimbursements ranging from Rs 25 to Rs 100 per hour for households if distribution companies  or discoms  fail to take corrective measures against power outages lasting over two hours, will be taken up at his weekly meeting with lieutenant governor Anil Baijal on Wednesday.

Data accessed by HT revealed that as many as 11,612 power-related complaints were registered by Delhiites from 6 am on June 5 to 6 am on June 6 alone. Of these, 37 pertained to outages that lasted from two to six hours. Officials said the citys three discoms receive around 4,400 complaints on a typical peak-summer day.

Cracking the whip on power utilities, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said discoms will have to inform consumers about both scheduled and unscheduled power cuts in advance through SMSes and messages posted on their respective websites.

While government officials said the power demand this season could touch 6,750 MW, Sisodia maintained that the Delhi government has made arrangements to meet a demand of up to 7,500 MW. He attributed the outages to local faults such as tripping of transformers and distribution cables due to overheating, and damages done by other agencies while carrying out development projects.

In his directions to chief secretary MM Kutty, Kejriwal has also sought that the capacity of discom call centres be increased to handle public complaints. The chief minister has asked the power department to record, transcribe and analyse each complaint call for public satisfaction. He has sought a report on outages every day at 11 am, Sisodia said.

Experts, however, believe the government should prioritise ways to curb power consumption by Delhiites. A hike in power demand is expected from a city with an increasing population. However, spreading awareness on power conservation  including the use of energy-saving gadgets  is the need of the hour, said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director, Centre for Science and Environment.

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Students of Jamia Milia Islamia staged a protest against an Iftar party organised by Muslim Rashtriya Manch, the RSSs Muslim wing, on Monday evening.

MRM had invited RSS leader and MRM patron Indresh Kumar as the chief guest at the Iftar party in the university. Even as students were holding a protest against his visit, Kumar said triple talaq is a sin and suggested that eating meat is a disease.

From Prophet Adam to the last Prophet, and even (the Prophet Muhammads wife) Aisha, never ate gosht. Meat is a disease. Milk is the cure and treatment... According to their advice, those who sacrifice animals, slaughter it and eat it, in a way are eating poison, are eating diseases. They had said this should not be done. With this they also said that, at Iftar the drinks that are served, use milk in it, he said. Talking about triple talaq he said, When talaq is a sin, and is disliked by god, is a paap, then shouldnt triple talaq be a mahapaap?

The students, meanwhile, decided to stage a counter Iftar opposite the venue. They later alleged that they were not allowed to get to the venue as the Delhi Police had blockaded the area.

The RSS has made comments that hurt Muslim sentiments in the past, and now they are staging an Iftar party. We will not allow this on our campus, said Ehtmam, a Jamia student present at the protest site.

This was a popular opinion that echoed in posters outside Gate No 7 of Jamia. Iftar inka bahaana hain. Sanghwaad phailana hain, was a prominent slogan raised by the protesters.

Kumar, however, tried to speak for tolerance at the planned Iftar party There are some tenets of Islam...One of it is lakum deenukum wa liya deen. Each person should live according to their own religion... This is what is called secularism in English, he said.

Students at Jamia Milia Islamia University protest against the Iftar party organised by Rashtriya Muslim Manch. (Burhaan Kinu/HT PHOTO)

He also said that nationalism and patriotism are basic tenets of Islam adding that one is encouraged to love and protect their country and even sacrifice their life at its alter. This is the path of Iman, and those who have Iman will be granted Jannah (heaven), he added.

Kumar also said that through the MRM they had asked their Muslim brothers to plant more trees during Ramzan and asked Muslims to give up meat during the holy month.

The protesters were seen to get rowdy when confronted with blockades, and the police had to resort to minor force. Student leaders alleged that seven students had been detained by the Delhi Police, but Romila Baaniya, DCP (South-east), denied the allegation.

Some students claimed that people, who were not a part of the Jamia student community, had also joined the protest and had tried to incite violence.

Of course the police will react with force if the crowd seems to be getting violent. However, it was not students who were doing this, they were just the ones who got caught for it. I personally saw a man, much too old to be a student, push the barricade, shove a cop and then run to the back of the crowd, claimed Safoora Zargar, one of the many students who had gathered to protest the Iftar party.

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Exposing loopholes in the security at the Delhi international airport, a former airport employee used a forged pass to enter the premises thrice before being caught by the Customs for allegedly helping gold smugglers.

The accused, Mohammed Nasir, used to work with a company at the Delhi airport and had a valid airport entry pass till October 2016. After he left the job, he made a replica of the pass and used to gain access to the airport.

On May 25, Customs nabbed a passenger and a former staff member with 24 gold bars worth Rs 80 lakh. Investigation revealed that Nasir, who was helping the passenger in dodging Customs check, had left the job and was using a forged pass. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) was informed and they got him arrested, a senior police officer said.

Questioning revealed how Nasir had taken advantage of cracks in the security arrangement at Delhi airport.

Nasir disclosed that he worked in a company at the airport and got the AEP (Airport Entry Pass) in 2016. When he left the job last year, he forged the entry pass with the help of his co-accused, who is still at large.

The case is under investigation and source of forgery is being ascertained, DCP (airport) Sanjay Bhatia said.

Sources said that Nasirs employer did not deposit his AEP after he quit, which could have prevented the security breach. The accused scanned the old AEP, changed the dates and pasted the old hologram on it.

The Bureau for Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), which frames rules related to aviation security, has also reviewed the security as it is they who prepare the pass design and claim that it cannot be forged.

It has a hologram and security feature making it impossible to forge. Usually, people change the date and get caught. But in this case, he prepared a scanned copy of the pass which is a cause of concern. We are in the process of issuing new passes to employees and have asked the CISF to check these passes carefully, said a BCAS official.

The BCAS had planned to install biometric system at the entry gate to check unauthorised entry, but the plan is gathering dust. To ensure such cases are not repeated, the Delhi Police have asked the companies to deposit the AEP after staff is off-duty.

We have told the companies to deposit AEP when staff leaves so that they dont get the chance to replicate it. Many staff are found involved in gold smuggling and airlines and CISF has been asked to carry out random checks when they leave the duty, the Delhi Police officer said.

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A car cleaner crushed a woman, who was five months into her pregnancy, and injured another when he was allegedly trying to drive a car in north Delhis Ashok Vihar on Tuesday morning.

A police officer said Krishan, 25, turned the car on to move it around the corner so that he could clean it properly. However, he couldnt control it and hit two women construction workers, killing one of them.

Panicked, Krishan abandoned the car and fled, but was soon arrested, said Milind Dumbere, DCP (North-West).

The victims have been identified as 21-year-old Pooja and her relative Kamlesh, 30. Pooja was declared brought dead at a hospital while Kamlesh is in a critical condition at AIIMS trauma centre, the officer said.

The two women had been camping at a construction site around 15 metres across the road. They were cooking lunch when the car rammed them. According to eyewitnesses, the impact of the hit was such that the cars safety bags opened.

Police said the car belongs to a businessman in Ashok Vihars E-Block. He had hired Krishan for cleaning the car daily. Police said it appears that Krishan had been given the car keys so that he could clean the car interiors.

Krishan wanted to clean the rear portion and he decided to drive it a little ahead. He turned on the car, shifted the gear and pressed accelerator. But he was unable to apply the brakes in time, said Vikas Kumar, ACP (Ashok Vihar).

In a similar incident in 2012, a secret joyride by a car cleaner in a Maruti Swift Dzire belonging to an under secretary in the MEA had ended up killing two friends in south Delhis Gulmohar Park.
His coat buttons are open, his hands are crossed behind his back and his face is turned towards the Nepal embassy. But his clothes are splattered with bird droppings.

Today is Alexander Pushkins birthday. His bronze statue stands high on one side of central Delhis Mandi House square. Unless you are looking for it, you will not be able to spot it.

Pushkin died in 1837. Almost 150 years later, he became responsible for the success of a Delhi writer  Vikram Seths first novel The Golden Gate was written in verse, after Pushkins Eugene Onegin.

The back of the statues pedestal has a few crudely etched Russian words along with the number 1988. Was this the year Pushkin was installed here?

A quick Google search reveals that the statue was unveiled during Russian president Mikhail Gorbachevs three-day visit in November, 1988. A statue of Lenin, too, was unveiled during the same trip in Nehru Park. The erstwhile USSR is history, and Lenins theories seem to find few takers today. But Pushkin lives on in the hearts of all those who love good storytelling. If you are one of those, drop by today with some flowers.
Doctors from across the country took part in a rally in Delhi on Tuesday morning to demand among others a stringent central law to curb increasing cases of violence against them by kin of patients.

However, the Chalo Dilli movement did not affect any services in hospitals, but enjoyed wide support from doctors across the country, with doctors from all states -- around 400 doctors from Kerala, 350 from Gujrat, 300 from Maharashtra, 300 from Punjab among others-- coming to the capital to join the rally.

Around 10,000 doctors gathered at Rajghat with 100 ambulances after marching from 13 locations in the city.

All the doctors who were off duty participated in the movement, said Dr Pankaj Solanki, national president of the Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA). No services were affected in any of the government hospitals in Delhi, he said.

Private hospitals such as Indraprastha Apollo hospital shut down their out-patient department till 2 pm.

The OPD functioned normally but morally we were supporting the movement, said sources from Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, where the emergency services were also running as usual.

We did not call for a country-wide strike because we did not want to affect the patient care, said IMA president Dr KK Aggarwal.

According to a report in the Lancet journal, 75% doctors in tertiary care hospitals face physical or verbal violence at work at least once in lifetime, with over 40% of them facing it in 2016.

In March, after three incidents of violence were reported in three days, more than 3,000 resident doctors, working in the emergency, out-patient departments and wards, went on strike for five days in Maharashtra.

Taking cognisance of the alarming trend, the Centre had constituted an inter-ministerial committee in 2015 to suggest measures to ensure safety of the doctors. The committee had recommended the need for a Central Act with stringent provisions like making violence against doctors as non bailable offence to deal with the problem.

Many states already have such laws.

The IMA will submit a list of 20 demands to the union health minister JP Nanda, which will include a call to the government to stop criminal prosecution of doctors over administrative issues and discrepancies in paperwork like in the case of PC-PNDT (pre-conception, pre-natal diagnostic technique act).

It also wants the government to amend the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010, so that small clinics are not forced to register as corporations.

Facilities that have even a single bed can be asked to register as an establishment, but if all neighbourhood clinics are forced to register as corporations, it will spike the cost of treatment at these centres, said Dr KK Aggarwal.
A staunch devotee of Tibetan saint Pema Lingpa led the police to the couple who had allegedly stolen the saints 900-year-old idol from Arunchal Pradesh a week ago, investigators said.

The devotee, whose identity the police refused to reveal, was one of the many prospective customers contacted by the accused couple in north Delhis Majnu Ka Tilla.

The sellers had received offers of as much as Rs 1.25 crore for the idol, but they would not settle for anything less than Rs 1.4 crore, the police said.

If they couldnt get the price in Delhi, they planned to travel to Tibet where they were sure to find a suitable customer because of the idols religious significance, said Madhur Verma, DCP (crime).

The devotee was aware of the idol theft. So, when he learnt about it, he posed as a customer and played along with the sellers. Once he was sure that the idol was the one stolen in Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, he tipped off the state police, said a senior investigator.

The Arunachal Pradesh Police immediately sought help from their counterparts in Delhi after which a crime branch team was tasked with the recovery.

Dressed in plain clothes, we waited at Majnu Ka Tilla to spot the suspects. As soon as the informer saw the couple, he pointed them out to us. We intercepted them and seized a bag from them in which the idol was hidden, said Sanjay Sehrawat, ACP (Crime).

According to the police, the idols theft on May 31 had threatened to create religious unrest in Tawang. The alleged thieves, Ngawang Tsundue and his live-in partner Lobsang Gakey Sherpa, were aware of its significance.

The accused couple is a native of Tibet. Tsundue, 29, had arrived in India in 2009 and had spent his initial years in Dharamsala where he worked with a herbal drugs firm.

It was there that he first met the daughter of the Head Cheepa (Head Lama) of the Sangyeling Gompa, a monastery in Tawang. The two got married in 2011, but the couple got divorced in 2016.

The divorce left Tsundue a bitter man seeking revenge against the Cheepa and his family, police alleged. Ever since the divorce, he was allegedly planning to steal the idol. He knew that the Cheepas reputation would be marred if the idol was stolen from his residence, said Verma.

A few months ago, he entered into a relationship with Sherpa, a 26-year-old woman living in Punjabi Basti in Majnu Ka Tilla. Once he realised that he could trust her, he shared his plan with her.

Together, they left for Tawang a fortnight ago and broke into the Cheepas home on May 31 while the Cheepa and his family were away in Kullu to attend a festival. They then brought the idol in a bag to Guwahati in a Tata Sumo car before catching a train to Delhi.
Statistics shows that crimes against women are on the rise. Given this, any move by a government to increase womens safety should be welcomed. But Uttar Pradeshs anti-Romeo squads, set up by chief minister Yogi Adityanath with the aim of protecting women from public harassment, has been in the news for the wrong reasons.

Police personnel were appointed to these squads which started operations in March, but soon the initiative was hijacked by fringe groups that misused this for moral policing and in some cases targeting minorities.

If this was not enough, an investigative report by a TV news channel recently exposed these squads indulging in extortion and falsely implicating innocent people.

Its alarming to see that police officers, meant to protect and serve society, run extortion rackets and misuse their power to falsely implicate innocent people.

Corruption in any form needs to be condemned and its causes need to be rooted out  this is all the more important if this corruption is among those meant to prevent it.

While the intention behind Mr Adityanaths initiative is praiseworthy, the anti-Romeo squads have proved to be counterproductive. Far from protecting women, this initiative has opened a Pandoras box: The media report proves that officers meant to safeguard the law are abusing it. It has also encouraged fringe, vigilante groups to take the law into their hands and attack young couples, even reviving the love-jihad bogey to target a particular community.

It is not too late for the chief minister to disband the squad, because, so far, it has done more damage than good. We do not need squads that double as mercenaries for public safety, and we do not need moral policing to dictate the way our youth conduct themselves.

Good, sensible policing at the grassroots level can ensure that law and order is maintained. Programmes like the anti-Romeo squads do not help in reducing crime and, in turn, end up giving India a bad name. A State-sanctioned squad whose duty is to round up couples and harass youngsters should have no place in an India which wants to be perceived as progressive and inclusive.

The Yogi government must not only take action against errant cops but also consider dissolving these anti-Romeo squads.
The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is among the countrys largest research and development organisations. This year a letter from the director general has informed all of its 38 that they will have to generate their own funds to keep the labs running. This has been the trend since 2015, when as part of the Dehradun Declaration, the CSIR decided that about 50% of its budget would have to be raised from external sources. This, coupled with the 7th pay commission requirements, has left the CSIR with only Rs.360 crore instead of the usual Rs.1,400 crore annual budget for research labs this year. All indications are that this fund crunch is expected to continue in the years to come.

Higher science in India is already a very under nourished area. In many colleges and universities, even basic equipment and materials are hard to come by. The state of labs in premier universities for masters and doctoral scholars leaves much to be desired. At a time when countries such as China and South Korea are increasing the funding allocated to cutting edge research in science, Indias cutting the budget will make it that much harder to compete in an international stage. This puts additional pressure on CSIR-funded research labs to raise funding from the industry. The pressure to conduct research in only those areas which are profitable and can be sold to the industry will make it harder for scientists to focus on areas of fundamental research in core sciences that may or may not have profitable applications.

In attempting to make academic research more industry-friendly, the government and CSIR must not lose track of the ultimate aim of research which is to push the boundaries of human understanding and scientific knowledge. Fund cuts to higher education, be it in the sciences or in the liberal arts and humanities, will only make it harder for researchers to continue to work in the country. Many scholars will look to other countries with better funding to migrate to. In order to prevent such a brain drain, there needs to be more investment in research, not less. Countries such as China have special incentives for researchers who wish to return to their country to pursue research. India must also strive to provide a conducive environment for advanced research.
One of the reasons for the dismal pass percentage of just 38.83 in the Class 12 Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) could be attributed to shortage of teachers in Arunachal Pradesh, especially for science, maths and English. A much better performance of the government-run schools in the districts which share a long border with China-occupied Tibet could perhaps prompt authorities to take a closer look at whats going wrong in the state.

Arunachal Pradesh does not have a state education board. This frontier north-eastern state thus follows the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) that conducts the annual Class 12 or All India Senior School Certificate Examination.

This years Class 12 results in the state were declared on June 1. A mere 5,443 of the 14,016 students who appeared for the exams were successful, with the pass percentage working out to 38.83%.

The success rate of private schools across the states 21 districts averaged 82.70% with East Kameng district scoring the highest of 100% and Papum Pare the lowest of 60.75%.

But government-run higher secondary (HS) schools, the performance chart revealed, located closer to the McMahon Line separating India and Tibet, did better than those farthest from it.

Arunachal Pradesh has 84 government-run HS schools.

Tawang district, at the core of Beijings claim on Arunachal Pradesh, topped the list of government schools with a success rate of 72.54%.

The district has only two such schools  one each in headquarters Tawang and Lumla  and of the 244 students who appeared for the exam, 177 passed.

Government schools in Upper Siang and Kurung Kumey districts, both sharing a long border with Tibet, followed Tawang with a success rate of 68.60% and 57.14%, respectively.

Anjaw in southern Arunachal Pradesh, which bore the brunt of the Chinese attack in 1962 along with Tawang, too put up a decent performance with 52.76%.

But the performance in government schools in more accessible districts such as Longding and East Kameng has been disappointing. The two districts averaged 17.45%.

Officials have attributed the poor performance to a combination of three factors  shortage of language, science and mathematics teachers, no-detention policy for students for up to Class 8 under the Right to Education Act, and non-creation of teachers post in schools upgraded to higher secondary.

We have taken up these issues with the government. Hopefully, they will be addressed soon for improving the school results in Arunachal Pradesh, possibly the worst in the northeast, Marken Kadu, joint director of school education, told HT from Itanagar.

Districts sharing a long border with Tibet have been better off in terms of teachers and quality of students.

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It is 1:30 am as I sit down to type this. It took me 15 minutes to fill out the Delhi University Admission Form, which is an achievement considering that it took other people almost an hour. Theres a simple reason for this: most people prefer to fill the form in the morning or the evening with their parents peering over their shoulders telling them to apply ECA Indian Music for a prize they won in Class 4. Not me, though. I started working on the DU Admission Form at 1:12 am, with my parents fast asleep in the next room. But then again, its not my form Im filling. Its Nirmals.

This form is the result of a years preparation, and of late, many weeks (if not months), of research on the previous years cutoff lists. We have multiple lists: of colleges sorted by their distance from her home, of cut-offs sorted by course and then by college, even by the advantage or disadvantage she will get in each college for each course. There is a list for everything down to the last detail. Weve scoured the DU website for information and dates. We have a strategy of sorts in place, a game-plan if you will.

But who, you might ask, is Nirmal?

Not my sister. Not a junior from school that Im fond of. In fact, a year ago, I didnt know her. And it was only last month that I learned that her name isnt even Nirmal, its Sonia. Nirmal, you see, is the daughter of a woman who irons clothes in H-Block, Saket, and everyone calls her Nirmal.

Her father passed away years ago, and her brother is paralysed from the waist down by a particularly virulent form of TB. I have hazy memories of him running around delivering clothes when I was very young, but thats about it. Her mother cant read and write, but shes doing everything she possibly can to make sure that Nirmal can. Theyre an odd pair, the two of them - they rarely talk, but you can sense the sort of mental and emotional support each is to the other. Im friends with both of them, and in my third week of college, it was Nirmals mother who taught me how to iron a salwar when I came to Delhi.

Tonight, as I select the 19 courses that she could potentially study in DU (we choose most of the courses available), I remember one Friday when I sat on the charpoy with Nirmal watching her mother iron the creases of a bright yellow salwar. With all the arrogance of a first-year college student, I remember asking Nirmal the course she wanted to do. BCom, she said. Math hai? (did you have math as a subject in Class12) I asked. Lene nahie di, school ne, (My school did not let me take up the subject), she said. With a sinking feeling in my stomach, I told her what everyone else knows, Math ke bina lene nahie denge (they wont let you take BCom without math).

I can understand, of course, why the school refused to let her study math. Her teachers, in their wisdom, must have decided that she wouldnt be able to bear the burden and pressure of math. What frustrates me, though, is that there is no one to tell kids like Nirmal that she needs to have math if she wants to do BCom or economics honours. Or that physical education is absolutely useless as an additional subject because it wont be counted in her Best Four. These are things that no teacher bothers to tell kids like her, because they just assume that Nirmal, and students like Nirmal, wont get the marks to make it to any college, let alone DU. Had someone given her some good advice, Nirmals decent 79% in her Class 10 Boards (shes a student of Ishani Govt Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya in Delhi) could have easily become an 85% (by conservative estimates).

But I digress.

Last year, I changed subjects thrice in my college, Lady Shri Ram (LSR), in Delhi : LSR sociology in the first cutoff, LSR history in the second and LSR English in the fourth. Each time, my father went with me to LSR, laptop charged and internet dongle switched on, the payment gateway already open on his desktop. And each time, he shelled out at least Rs15,000 to secure my admission. It seemed like a small sum to me - and anyway, it would get refunded eventually.

Now, as I wait anxiously for the first cutoff to be declared, I am hoping against hope that Nirmal will get the college and course of her choice in one go. Fortunately, another neighbour, Mohit, an engineer working in Gurgaon, is willing to help with Nirmals fee payment. So the first list admission wont be a problem. The problem will arise in subsequent lists, if and when we decide to change subjects or colleges - because if the deposit isnt refunded early enough, Mohit, who is also on a budget, might not be able to help. And in each list, this problem will only become more acute. I try not to think about this when I fill the form.

But that, then, is my privilege asserting itself. I can afford to not think about it. Nirmal and her mother cant. And while my father thought nothing of traipsing all over Delhi with me  from my Stephens interview to my LSR admissions, Nirmals mother cant do that. Distance isnt the only problem. Who will look after her brother? Who will iron the clothes? In the deadly heat that defines the admission season, there is no way that Nirmal and her mother can go from one to south Delhi college to the other, her brother in tow, withdrawing admission from one college and taking it somewhere else.

Nirmal isnt the only one in this position; there must be thousands like her. And thats the tragedy of every admission season in DU: people who will actually benefit most from admission to, and education in, a DU College are systematically pushed to the periphery first by the lack of moderation of marks between boards (its easier to score in some state boards, but that is never taken into account), then by Annexure II/List-A (or some such thing) of the Admission Guidelines and finally by DU itself.

Quality higher education at affordable prices shouldnt be such a rare commodity, but it is. And in this mad rush for seats, it is kids like Nirmal who have the most to lose- even subsidized education doesnt come cheap, if it comes at all. Their effort pales in comparison to the likes of Raksha Gopal who have been born into privilege, because for DU at least, only the number on the mark sheet matters- the effort that goes behind that number, the number of hours spent under the lamp-post studying, the sheer distance from home to school, the clothes ironed just to afford a help-book for Accountancy, all of these numbers are worthless.

One day perhaps, I dont know when, but one day, someone will finally find a solution to this. But until then, it is the system that wins, and shall keep winning against Nirmal. And Nirmal shall wipe the sweat from her annoyingly pimple-free forehead and keep fighting, keep struggling. Shes no heroine, but this kids tough. Shell make her own way. But the point is, and I cannot iterate it enough, she shouldnt have to struggle for something so basic. One day, things will be better.

For me and Nirmal though, its a long, long wait to that day.

The author is a second-year student of Lady Sri Ram College for Women in Delhi and a mentor to HT Campus Journalists, Batch of 2017.
A move is afoot to replace textbooks meant for Uttar Pradesh Secondary Education Board students with the ones published by the NCERT, following a direction to this effect from the Yogi Adityanath government in the state, a senior official said in Allahabad on Tuesday.

We received a communication in May from Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma, who also holds the secondary education portfolio, with the direction to introduce NCERT books into our curriculum, Additional Secretary (Administration), UP Board, Shiv Lal said.

He said the changes, which will bring the curriculum of UP Board at par with the CBSE, are likely to come into force with the academic year 2018-19.

This implies that those writing their Class 10 and Class 12 exams in 2019 will comprise the first batch of students to be facing their tests under the new system.

Only subjects like Krishi (agriculture) for both High School and Intermediate Vyavsayik (business studies) for Intermediate will not have NCERT books since there is a considerable difference between the UP Board and the CBSE when it comes to syllabuses for these subjects, he said.

The process will be set in motion soon with meetings of our committees on textbooks and curriculum. The proposed changes will thereafter be vetted at a meeting of the Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad (secondary education council), which would be presided over by the director, Secondary Education. Thereafter, the draft proposal will be sent to the government for approval, Lal said.

Millions of students appear for Class 10 and Class 12 exams conducted by the UP Board every year. Last year, 32.6 lakh students had appeared for their high school exams while the number for Intermediate was 29.2 lakh.

Results for the current academic year (2016-17) will be declared on June 9.
The rail overbridge (RoB) on the northern peripheral road (NPR) at Basai missed its second deadline too due to the unavailability of chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar to inaugurate it. The chief minister had announced May 15 as the ROBs first deadline during his visit to the city on April 15. Later, the Haryana urban development authority (Huda) set its second deadline for June 1.

Huda has completed engineering works on the RoB, but officials are now waiting for the CM to confirm the date of his next availability. It has set a fresh deadline of June 15.

Superintending engineer (SE), Huda, Naresh Pawar, said, We will hopefully be able to open the ROB for traffic by June 15. It is ready to be opened on our part and there is no harm in opening it for traffic movement. The final inauguration by the CM will be done later.

The ROB measuring 1,300 metres (or 1.3km) has been built on the NPR to connect sectors such as 37 C and D with sectors 100 and 102. It will also expedite traffic movement across new sectors such as 37 C and D and sectors 81 to 115 that are separated by the Delhi-Gurgaon-Rewari railway line and a drain.

Khattar had inspected the ROB and the Basai flyover and expressed his desire to inaugurate the new ROB by May 15 and ordered widening of the flyover that is also built on the same railway line.

The delay in opening the ROB has worried buyers in projects along NPR. They had hoped that the bridge would add value to the upcoming residential and commercial projects in new sectors along the NPR, which is also known as Dwarka Expressway.

Dheeraj Babbar, a buyer in Ramprastha City Project, Sector 37 D, said, It is great that the ROB on Basai road has been completed one month ago. But, sadly, it is not operational yet. I am looking forward to it as it will help improve connectivity of the upcoming sectors in that area and make them more habitable.

Infrastructure is not a luxury in Gurgaon that awaits inauguration by a celebrity. The ROB has already been delayed by a year. We hope Huda puts it to use right away if the technical clearance has been given by the engineering wing. The delay will only result in worry for homebuyers, said Gaurav Prakash, founder member of the Dwarka Expressway welfare association.

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Beijing: Zou Yi remembers the day clearly, December 1, 2015. A thick smog had enveloped Beijing city. He took a photograph and posted it on WeChat, Chinas version Facebook. It received 130 million hits.

There was so much smog, you couldnt do anything, you could not see anything, he recounted, sitting at a Beijing cafe.

The smog that persisted for days was the worst the city had seen in many years and even the authorities could not turn a blind eye. For the first time, the Chinese government declared a Red Alert because of the dangerous levels of air pollution.

The photograph that Yi took that smoggy day in December was just one of thousands that he has taken over 4 years. Every day since 2013 he has taken a snap of the Beijing TV Centre building from the window of his 13th floor apartment. He posts a photograph of his morning view on Chinas social media platforms Wechat and Weibo daily.

It is a record, to raise awareness about air quality, he said. Yi left a career as an engineer working in many conflict-ridden parts of the world from Pakistan to Liberia, to devote himself full-time to the task of documenting Beijings struggle with poor air quality. I have to find the truth, to present the facts.

The snaps of the Beijing TV Centre are an immensely valuable resource for anyone studying air pollution because it provides an unbroken record of pollution from the same spot. Though Yi only posts atleast one photograph a day, he takes around 200-300 photographs from different parts of the city and has built a repository of over 400,000 photos from Beijing.

Not content with merely documenting the air pollution problem Yi decided to use his archive for an even more ambitious project. Two years ago he conceived the idea for a mobile application for analysing air quality based on photographs.

The tool applies deep learning techniques, overlaying images taken by Yi over the years with actual air pollution data for the particular day, which helps the software read any image for air quality information. Users can take a snap on the app and get instantaneous air quality measurements. For now, it analyses the images for PM 2.5 (particulate matter that is 2.5 microns or less in size) levels that is one of the most insidious kinds of air pollutants.

A Global Burden of Disease study estimated that 1.6 million people died in China in 2015 from outdoor air pollution-related health impacts. In India, the number is 1.1 million.

India now approaches China in the number of deaths attributable to PM2.5, said the report by the Health Effects Institute and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

On a recent afternoon, Yi held up his phone to capture a highrise in north Beijing, generating readings that he then compared with the governments air quality data for that day. The values of the official data for PM 2.5 concentration were significantly lower.

For the longest time, the Chinese government did not make air quality data easily available to the public. In 2008, the American embassy in Beijing started to release air quality measurements from their own rooftop air-quality monitor. It was aimed at Americans living in the city but the air quality tweets went out every hour, ruffling Beijing residents.

In a tweet from November 19, 2010, the U.S. embassy termed the air quality in Chinese capital crazy bad, it had shot outside bounds of the air quality index that U.S. Environment Protection Agency prescribes. By then there was already a growing awareness among Chinese citizens demanding that the government at least acknowledge the problem and do something about it.

In the initial years, the Chinese government data vastly varied from U.S. embassy dispatches leading the public to wonder if they were being misled. Yi said that these days the measurements from the government are mostly in line with the American embassy. But issues still remain.

A long-standing debate around air pollution monitoring has to do with the location of monitoring stations. Yi believes air pollution should be measured in places where it affects people the most; in heavily populated city centres and residential areas rather than far corners of cities and towns.

At a conference earlier this year an official from the Central Pollution Control Board, Indias apex pollution regulator, suggested that media discussions about Delhis air pollution were biased because they quoted readings from monitoring stations in the worst-polluted areas. The placement of the monitors can actually also present a rosy picture. Yi explained how the discrepancy in his readings and the official air quality data could be explained by the fact that the Chinese governments monitoring station could be located in a leafy park, where air quality was likely to be better.

His method of capturing air pollution data puts the power literally in peoples hands. They can capture air pollution at any spot by clicking a photograph.

About 6 months ago Yi launched Beijing AirNow, a non-governmental organisation, which works with scientists across the world. The photo- documentation initiative that he started in Beijing has now expanded to 20 Chinese cities and 7 international cities with the help of volunteers and collaborators. New Delhi is not one of the cities on the list yet, but Yi is keen to reach out to potential partners in Indias capital.

The software is still undergoing validation, but he hopes to release it for the public in a few months. He will distribute it free he said because it is a public service for him. While he wants millions of people across the world to make use of his app the real intended beneficiaries are somewhat closer home. I am doing this not for myself but for my children, he said.

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Amal Clooney gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl, on Tuesday, her husband George Clooneys publicist said, the first children for the international human rights lawyer and her movie star spouse.

Amal Clooney and the Oscar-winning star of films like Oceans Eleven and Three Kings married in Italy in 2014, making them one of the worlds biggest celebrity couples.

A post shared by etalk (@etalkctv) on Jun 6, 2017 at 9:28am PDT

This morning Amal and George welcomed Ella and Alexander Clooney into their lives. Ella, Alexander and Amal are all healthy, happy and doing fine, publicist Stan Rosenfield said in an email.

He added cheekily, George is sedated and should recover in a few days.

Rosenfield did not say where the twins were born but the couple appear to have been spending much of their time recently in England, where they have one of several homes.

A post shared by The Fashion Hideaway (@fashionhideaway14) on Jun 6, 2017 at 9:36am PDT

People magazine reported on Tuesday that former U.S. President Barack Obama visited the Clooneys at their home in the countryside west of London on May 27.

Amal Clooney, 39, and George Clooney, 56, adopted a low profile during her pregnancy, keeping the news private for months before it was confirmed in February by the actors close friend, Matt Damon.

Since then, the couple, who have homes in England, Italy and the United States, have said little about the pregnancy.

George Clooney canceled a visit to Armenia for a humanitarian event this past weekend, saying in a message to organizers that if I came there and my wife had twins while I was there, I could never come home.

Amal Clooney has largely continued her work as a human rights lawyer, addressing the United Nations in March and urging the international community to investigate crimes committed by Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.

Despite their silence, celebrity news media outlets have speculated for months about the sex of the twins, where they would be born and in which country they will be raised.

On Tuesday, social media lit up with congratulatory messages. Ella and Alexander was among the top trending topics on Twitter in the United States.

Welcome to the world Ella and Alexander Clooney. You have made it better already and I hope one of my children has a fling with you one day, tweeted Krista (@KristaCoffin).

My birthday will now be known as Clooney twins day, wrote Andrea Brown (@andmbrown).

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Hollywood actor Roger Smith, who brought glamour to the TV detective genre as a hip private eye on 77 Sunset Strip, has died. He was 84.

FILE - In this Feb. 15, 1961 file photo, actors Roger Smith, from left, Carolyn Komant and Efrem Zimbalist Jr., tune up for their parts in the TV series "77 Sunset Strip," in Los Angeles. (AP)

Jack Gilardi, who is the agent of Smiths widow, actress Ann-Margret, has said the actor died Sunday morning at a Los Angeles hospital after battling a terminal illness. No other details about his cause of death were available.

FILE - In this May 8, 1967 file photo, actors Ann-Margret and Roger Smith cutting the cake on their wedding day in Las Vegas. (AP)

He starred on the detective show from 1958 to 1963. Its formula of handsome young investigators in a picturesque location spawned a host of knockoffs, including Hawaiian Eye.

He survived two serious illnesses to have a second career as manager of his wife, entertainer Ann-Margret. Under his guidance she lost her sex kitten stereotype and was nominated for two Oscars.

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At least five farmers were killed and several injured in Madhya Pradeshs Mandsaur district on Tuesday when police fired on protesters demanding better prices in the drought-ravaged region that recorded a farm suicide every five hours in 2016-17.

Angry farmers ransacked and set ablaze a police outpost after the firing as the administration clamped curfew on Pipalia town, the epicentre of violence, rushed extra forces and withdrew internet services to tamp down on social media rumours fanning violence.

Throughout the day, the BJP government denied any police firing and confirmed the five deaths only in the evening.

There were two incidents at Pipalia. In one of the incidents police had to fire in self-defence when a mob gheraoed the police station. In the other incident, the police fired when there was firing from the mob, home minister Bhupendra Singh said.

Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced a judicial inquiry into the firing and compensation of Rs 1 crore each to the kin of the dead and Rs 5 lakh each to the injured. One member of the dead farmers families will also be given a government job.

The discontent in the foodbowl states of Madhya Pradesh and neighbouring Maharashtra, where too farmers have launched an agitation over similar demands, has come as a fresh challenge for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has made farm sector reforms a priority for his government.

This govt is at war with the farmers of our country, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi tweeted.

From last February to mid-February this year, at least 1,982 farmers and farm labourers committed suicide in MP, an average of one suicide every five hours, data from the National Crime Records Bureau show.

MP farmer agitation: How the crisis unfolded June 1: Farmers begin a ten-day-long agitation in Madhya Pradesh demanding better price for their produce June 4: Clashes break out between police and farmers in Sehore, Indore and Bhopal districts, leaving six policemen injured June 4 afternoon: A delegation of Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), which is affiliated to saffron parivar, defers farmers agitation following a meeting with chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Ujjain June 4 evening: Enraged by the announcement of BKS, other two major organisations spearheading the agitation - Rashtriya Kissan Mazdoor Sangh and Bharatiya Kisan Union - say agitation had not been called off or deferred. They decided to intensify the agitation  CM Chouhan announces MP government will procure onions at a cost of Rs 8 per kg. State BJP president Nandkumar Singh Chauhan announces farmers will honour the CM for his stand. But BKS distances itself from the felicitation June 5: CM Chouhan hurriedly calls a press conference, blaming a few people for giving a wrong direction to farmers protest. CM announces Rs 1000 crore price stabilisation fund in scenarios where prices destabilise following bumper crop  Farmers take out a vehicle rally from Double Chowki, over 20 kms from Indore city. The rally is, however, stopped by the police on the outskirts of Indore June 6 afternoon: Security personnel fire on protesting farmers in Mandsaur district, killing five of them. Ruckus follows as enraged farmers block road and ransack properties June 6 evening: Rashtriya Kissan Mazdoor Sangh announces MP bandh on Wednesday till 2 pm  CM Chouhan announces judicial inquiry into the Mandsaur firing incident Farmers begin a ten-day-long agitation in Madhya Pradesh demanding better price for their produceClashes break out between police and farmers in Sehore, Indore and Bhopal districts, leaving six policemen injuredA delegation of Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), which is affiliated to saffron parivar, defers farmers agitation following a meeting with chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in UjjainEnraged by the announcement of BKS, other two major organisations spearheading the agitation - Rashtriya Kissan Mazdoor Sangh and Bharatiya Kisan Union - say agitation had not been called off or deferred. They decided to intensify the agitationCM Chouhan announces MP government will procure onions at a cost of Rs 8 per kg. State BJP president Nandkumar Singh Chauhan announces farmers will honour the CM for his stand. But BKS distances itself from the felicitationCM Chouhan hurriedly calls a press conference, blaming a few people for giving a wrong direction to farmers protest. CM announces Rs 1000 crore price stabilisation fund in scenarios where prices destabilise following bumper cropFarmers take out a vehicle rally from Double Chowki, over 20 kms from Indore city. The rally is, however, stopped by the police on the outskirts of IndoreSecurity personnel fire on protesting farmers in Mandsaur district, killing five of them. Ruckus follows as enraged farmers block road and ransack propertiesRashtriya Kissan Mazdoor Sangh announces MP bandh on Wednesday till 2 pmCM Chouhan announces judicial inquiry into the Mandsaur firing incident

The incident can also impact assembly elections in neighbouring Gujarat, Modis home state, as four of the five killed farmers were Patidars, an influential community that has backed the BJP for decades but has in recent years shifted support.

The BJP came to power with the promise of welfare of farmers and poor...All that the farmers were demanding was help from the government and in return they received bullets, said Hardik Patel, a Patidar leader who led a weeks-long agitation seeking reservation in Gujarat last year.

Hundreds of farmers had gathered at Pipalia town in Mandsaur, 350 kilometres from state capital, Bhopal, as part of a 10-day-long demonstration for higher crop prices that cover their input costs, a loan waiver and a farm package to tide over losses incurred by drought.

Sources said many farmers were angry at the lack of government response and torched several vehicles forcing security personnel to fire at the crowd. Bullet injuries killed one on the spot and the wounded were taken to a local hospital. The rest died on way to hospital.

The state Patidar Samaj president Mahendra Patidar said the bodies will not be cremated till the chief minister Chouhan visits Mandsaur.

The Mandsaur incident is very sad and unfortunate and has greatly distressed me. The administration was always given instructions to hold discussions with farmers and talk to the farmers participating in the agitation with understanding and in good faith. But anti-social elements entered the scene, Chouhan said.

Congress parliamentarian Jyotiraditya Scindia also condemned the incident, saying it took place on the watch of a chief minister who boasts of being a farmers son.

Several farmers organisations called a stateside shutdown on Wednesday. Congress said it will support the strike.

Madhya Pradesh is considered a BJP bastion where the saffron party is in power for 14 years. But the government is facing snowballing protests by farmers, who say they cannot afford to sell produce at below-par prices for a third straight season and want the administration to create a safety net.

(With input from Mustafa Hussain in Neemuch)

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Opposition BJP leader Jagdish Shettar on Tuesday demanded the Karnataka government announce farm loan waiver in the wake of the severe drought and warned of an agitation if the demand was not conceded.

Terming the government as anti-farmer , he accused it of inefficiency in handling the drought situation in the state.

If government doesnt announce the loan waiver, we will stage a protest with lakhs of people at Vidhana Soudha (the state secretariat), BJP leader Jagdish Shettar said.

BJP and its leaders are touring the state to study the drought situation. Everywhere farmers are demanding farm loan waiver. If government doesnt announce the loan waiver, we will stage a protest with lakhs of people at Vidhana Soudha (the state secretariat), Shettar said.

Agitation is inevitable, if government doesnt agree, he said during a short term discussion about the drought situation in the Assembly.

Shettar questioned why the government is not able to take a firm decision to write off farm loans despite such a severe drought.

Farm loan waiver will give the much needed respite to farmers who are in distress and will build self-confidence in them, he said.

Calling the government anti farmer, Shettar questioned as to why the chief minister has lost compassion towards farmers.

He pointed out that the Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra governments have waived farm loan worth Rs 36,000 crore and 30,000 crore respectively.

State governments there have done it on their own and the Centre did not come to their rescue as being projected, he said.

Why our chief minister who is in the office for fifth year unable to do what has been done by UP and Maharashtra CMs?, he asked.

He questioned the government for pointing fingers at the Centre on loan waiver and said the present central government has released highest relief under Calamity Relief Fund (CRF) in the last 10-15 years.

Referring to the failures of the government in drought management like providing employment and drinking water to those in distress, the former chief minister said NREGA wages are not being paid within seven days, resulting in farmers exodus from their villages in search of jobs.
A 99.9 percentile in Class 12 is a ticket to top-flight colleges and a lucrative career. For 17-year-old Varshil Shah, who comes from a middle-class family, it is a dream come true.

But Varshil has chosen a different path. He is ready to renounce the world to be a Jain monk.

The teenager from Ahmedabad in Gujarat will take diksha  a religious ceremony that marks the initiation of Jain monks and nuns  on June 8, his uncle, Nayanbhai Suthari, said on Tuesday. The ceremony will be held in Gandhinagar.

Varshil was among the toppers when the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board announced the result on May 27.

There were no raucous celebrations. Varshil, whose family follows Jainism, shuns limelight and keeps to himself. In fact, it was his uncle who spoke to HT.

The result is as per expectations, but to attain and maintain peace, I think renouncing the world is the only way, his uncle quoted Shah as saying.

His mother Amiben Shah and father Jigarbhai, an income-tax official, are happy with the path chosen by their son.

The couple raised their two children  Varshil and his older sister Jainini  in complete simplicity. The family closely follows the Jain principle of Jivdaya, or compassion for all living beings.

The use of electricity is restricted in the Shah household. The family believes many aquatic animals are killed in the process of power generation, which is also against the Jain vow of ahmisa, or non-violence.

The Shahs dont keep a television or a refrigerator at home. Electricity is used only when it is necessary, during the night especially when the children are studying.

His scores didnt surprise Varshil but unlike other toppers of the school-leaving exam, his mantra for success is different.

A peaceful mind ranks way above hard work for Shah. Before the school year began in 2016, he met a group of Jain monks who helped him concentrate and score high.

But he was set on the spiritual path three years ago.

He came in contact with Surat-based Munni Shri Kalyan Ratna Vijayji three years ago. He was only waiting to complete his school (before taking Diksha), Suthari said on Tuesday.

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The leopards last victim was a man enjoying a late night smoke by a road that runs through Uttarakhands Rajaji national park. The cat pounced on him from behind, dragging the body a few hundred feet before clawing him apart. The mangled remains, discovered when dawn broke on May 3, were never identified.

That same night, forest personnel spotted a feline figure stealing a drink from the pond behind the forest department guesthouse in a patch of forest that clutches the Gangas western bank. The fear of humans had faded from the leopards old heart. Soon, it was surrounded, tranquilised, and later transported to an animal protection centre in nearby Chidiyapur.

An examination later revealed worn out canines, a sign that it could no longer launch ferocious attacks needed to score a meal. So it had resorted to easy prey: humans and their cattle which are available in plenty around the park, according to officials.

Shrinkage, fragmentation and deterioration of habitats are the main reasons why human-wildlife conflict is on the rise in India, according to a new draft wildlife action plan prepared by the environment ministry.

For the 8 leopards cramped into a 10 sq km area of forest land that borders the road in Rajaji survival means a constant struggle for space  especially with humans.

This is also true of other wild animals that frequently cross paths with humans. Railways, roads and power lines dont just dissect forests; they bring humans into wildlife habitats and push animals into human settlements. Encounters dont always end in pretty photographs.

Rajaji national park was patched together in 1983 from three sanctuaries: Rajaji, Motichur and Chilla. While the Motichur and Rajaji sanctuaries lie west of the Ganges, Chilla was on its east.

A national highway and a railway line connecting Haridwar and Dehradun run along the river banks cutting through the Chilla Motichur wildlife corridor. On three sides, the park is boxed in by voraciously expanding cities: Rishikesh, Haridwar and Dehradun.

In places where human settlements have gnawed away at habitats, wildlife corridors or narrow strips of forest land connect fragmented habitats. The corridor connecting Chilla and Motichur has withered rapidly over the decades, leaving animals stranded in more ways than one.

Since Rajaji park was declared a tiger reserve two years ago, tigers have become the centre of attention. There were 16 tigers in the park in 2014 and forest officials are keen to boost their numbers. Uttarakhand has a significant tiger population (340) but most of them are in the neighbouring Corbett tiger reserve.

There are two tigresses that inhabit a patch of forest to the west of the Ganga. The remaining 30 tigers live to the east of the river, but no tiger has braved to cross the river or the roads and peoples settlement in many years. Park officials are mulling an expensive proposal to air drop five tigers, two males and three females, into their territory from Corbett, hoping cupid strikes.

In the capture of the man-eater leopard, two of Rajajis resident domesticated elephants, Radha and Rangili led the charge. Their wilder counterparts  over 300 in Rajaji  however, have to roam in the wild for water sources. Most of the perennial water holes are located in Chilla, which is across the river, and criss-crossed by road and rail tracks.

In 2001, the plight of elephants hit national headlines when an elephant calf was struck by a train. The mother stood guard as her baby lay dying. When it mercifully died two days later, she was reportedly seen trying to revive the calfs corpse.

Deaths of elephants due to train accidents have assumed alarming proportion in recent past.

That year, various government departments came together and decided that a stretch of the tracks would be made a special caution zone where trains would slow down considerably and the department along with volunteers from the Wildlife Trust of India, patrolled the stretch.

Between 2002 and 2012 no elephant deaths were recorded on the railway track.

Across the country, the situation remains grim. Over 200 elephants have been killed by trains in the last 30 years. Deaths of elephants due to train accidents have assumed alarming proportion in recent past, SS Negi, director general (forests), said in a letter to state chief wildlife wardens.

Dipankar Ghose, director, species and landscapes division, at WWF-India, blamed poorly planned infrastructure projects for the deaths. Railways are only part of the problem.

In 2011, Supreme Court had directed construction of three flyovers to divert traffic from the roads that cut through three major animal corridors, of which the most important is the Chilla-Motichur one. Six years on, the flyovers remain under-construction. To deal with swelling volume of traffic a highway expansion is currently underway to make it a six-lane highway.

Bivash Pandav, a scientist at the Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India, said the government should push for immediate completion of the flyovers.

While Rajaji is struggling with the intensification of human intrusions into animal habitats, Corbett, one of the most protected and oldest parks of the country, is contending with a plan to construct a national highway that cuts through its core area.

The BJP that came to power in Uttarakhand this year has promised to convert a dirt road shut to public transport into a national highway, reducing the distance between Kotdwar in Pauri Garhwal and Ramnagar in Kumaon from 162 km to about 90 km and saving about two hours.

The apex court, however, intervened, saying the road could come only if it did not harm the wildlife and ecology of the park.

Recognising the reality that roads and railway tracks are here to stay  as major roads traverse 26 of Indias 50 tiger reserves  the Wildlife Institute of India released guidelines recently for the execution of linear developmental projects like roads and highways so they have minimal impact on ecology and wildlife.

All the development mitigation is done as an afterthought, WII director VB Mathur noted, This has to change.

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Fifteen persons were arrested from Bengaluru on Tuesday and demonetised currency totalling Rs 5.75 crore was seized from them, police said on Tuesday.

This followed the search of a car parked in front of a hotel at Basavanagudi on a tip, deputy commissioner of Police SD Sharanappa told reporters here.

The three persons were arrested on charges of trying to exchange scrapped currency totalling Rs 2.15 crore, he said.

A car, a two-wheeler and two mobile phones were seized from Iqbal Mohammad, 40, S. Rajesh, 30, and Ravindranath, 44, all from Bengaluru.

Later, P Sadashiva, 38, and E Harsha, 40, were arrested on the PES College Main Road along with old notes totalling Rs 1.12 crore. Two mobile phones were seized from them.

Two persons were caught in Gandhi Bazaar while trying to exchange Rs 50 lakh in scrapped notes. A sport utility vehicle and two mobile phones were seized from J Suresh, 32, and R Raghunandan, 32.

Four persons were held in Subramanyapura area with demonetised notes totalling Rs 98 lakh. They are C H Bharath, 21, K Srinivas, 50, both from Bengaluru; S R Srinivasamurthy, 48, and M R Chandre Gowda, 31, from Chikballapur district.

Bengaluru residents V Murali, 39, G. Balaji, 36, Shafiq Ahmed, 39, and M Manjunath, 25, were arrested and Rs 1 crore in scrapped notes were seized from them apart from a car.

All the 15 have been booked under the Specified Bank Notes (Cessation of Liabilities) Act, 2017.

Similar seizures of scrapped notes and arrests were made in the city earlier too.

On March 23, two men were arrested with demonetised notes totalling Rs 1.28 crore. On March 28, four men were arrested with old notes totalling Rs 4.98 crore.

On April 2, 14 men were arrested with demonetised notes adding up to Rs 9.1 crore. On April 15, former corporator V Nagarajs residence and office were raided and demonetised notes totalling Rs 14.8 crore were seized.

On April 29, seven persons were arrested with Rs 96.9 lakh in scrapped currency. And on June 5, five persons were held with Rs 2.50 crore in old notes.
Suspended intermediate topper of the Bihar board, Ganesh Kumar, has admitted to the police during interrogation that he fudged his age and also adopted unfair means during the examination.

Ganesh, 42, had mentioned his age as 24 while appearing in the Bihar board Class 12 exams.

During interrogation, Ganesh told the police that he did everything with the help of one Sanjay Kumar, a go-between, who charged money for it. "Sanjay had even arranged the birth certificate and enrolled him in class 8 of Sanjay Gandhi high school, Laxmania in Samastipur earlier, the police said.

Police said Ganesh was interrogated in front of Sanjay and the principal of Sanjay Gandhi high school Dev Kumari. The principal reportedly admitted her fault in admitting Ganesh, despite knowing facts about him, said an officer.

Police said the special police teams were conducting raids in Patna and Samastipur in search of touts involved in the racket," he added.

Kumari, her husband Ramkumar Choudhary, and their son Gautam Kumar were sent to Beur jail late on Monday evening after interrogation.

The Patna police had taken Ganesh on 24-hour remand for interrogation on Monday evening. Police had arrested him on June 2 after he was called to the Bihar School Examination Board for clarifications over his age.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi hit out at the Modi government on Tuesday, saying there is a brazen campaign to straitjacket the whole country into a regressive and narrow-minded world view.

Chairing a meeting of the Congress Working Committee, the partys highest decision-making body, Gandhi also asserted that the Congress must be ready to protect the essence and idea of India which this government is seeking to extinguish.

The meeting, which was attended by party vice president Rahul Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh, discussed the current political situation and the upcoming presidential election.

On the upcoming presidential poll, Gandhi said it was essential that the person to be elected to the high office should protect the Constitution.

In a few weeks we will be electing the President and vice-president of our republic. In times such as these, it is even more essential that those who occupy this august office protect the Constitution, she told Congress leaders.

Gandhi said that former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Rahul Gandhi other colleagues have met the leaders of like-minded parties to decide on a candidate for the presidential election.

Top Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, P Chidambaram, Ambika Soni, Janardan Dwiwedi and other CWC members were also present at the meeting.
China on Tuesday said it will stick to its two-step approach for admitting non- NPT countries such as India into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) while declining to comment on New Delhis efforts to urge Moscow to convince Beijing about its bid to join the bloc.

Since Russia and China share good relations, it should talk to China. We are not asking them to put pressure on China, but use its good offices, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj told a news briefing on Monday about how India planned to get into the 48-member group that controls trade in nuclear know-how.

Chinas foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying did not make a direct reference to Swarajs statement but reiterated Chinas stand on the admission of countries that are signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The application for accession by non-NPT countries is a multilateral question and should be addressed on the basis of consensus of the NSG members. China and other members, including Russia, maintain close communication and we also maintain that we should act in accordance with the principles of the NSG, Hua said.

She explained the two-step approach, which China proposed last year.

We have stressed our position many times on this issue. Our position remains unchanged. We support in principle the consensus, transparent and open intergovernmental (resolution of the) problem through the two-step method, she said.

First, to reach a non-discriminatory resolution that applies to all non-NPT countries and then to discuss the applications of each non-NPT country. At the plenary session in Bern, China wishes to conduct constructive discussion.

On Monday, Chinas assistant foreign minister Li Huilai said the NSG was more complicated than we previously imagined.

China wants the NSG to have thorough consultations for a non-discriminatory and universally applicable solution to all the countries, Li said days ahead of a possible meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Astana on June 8 and 9.

China is willing to work with the Indian side to deepen political trust, expand win-win cooperation, and contribute to regional stability, world peace, and development, he said.

The NSG issue is expected to be among the top talking points if Modi and Xi meet in Astana. India and Pakistan will formally join the SCO at the summit.
A civilian was killed after security forces allegedly fired to disperse people protesting against a cordon and search operation in south Kashmirs Shopian district on Tuesday, police sources said.

Shopian district health official confirmed the casualty and identified the man as Adil Ahmed, the son of one Farooq Magrey. He was hit in the chest by the bullet and was brought dead to the hospital, a senior official said. Locals said he was 22 years old.

A police statement said security forces cordoned off some houses on a specific input regarding the presence of militants at Ganawpora in Shopian.

During the search operation an unruly mob started heavy stone pelting on the forces and also a brief exchange of fire took place, it said, adding a search operation was on.

Although the police statement said Adil died of a bullet injury, it did not specify the cause of the injury.

The militancy-hit state has been rocked by months of unrest and stone pelting over alleged human rights abuses.

The Valley witnessed a fresh spell of protests after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Sabzar Bhat last month. Curfew was imposed and a shutdown observed for three days after the killing of Bhat and an accomplice.

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CRPF and Jammu and Kashmir police officers and troopers were commended on Tuesday for foiling an attack on a paramilitary units camp in Bandipora the previous day, killing four Lashkar-e-Taiba militants of foreign origin.

State director general of police SP Vaid and CRPF director general Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar visited camp in Sumbal and congratulated the personnel posted there for their quick response and courage.

Police and paramilitary troopers fought together to thwart the pre-dawn attack on the CRPF 45 Battalion camp.

The forces worked together and fought bravely to keep the people and camp safe, Bhatnagar said.

A CRPF statement said paramilitary officers and personnel along with the deputy superintendent of police, the station house officer and a constable were awarded the director generals commendation disc and certificate for their swift and gallant action.

Police are ascertaining the identity of the militants and investigating when they infiltrated the state.

DGP Vaid said the militants dont seem to be from here and are from LeT.

The bodies were buried late Monday night in a graveyard demarcated for unidentified militants in neighbouring Baramulla district. There were reports of public unrest in Bandipora as residents sought the bodies for burial.

Union home minister Rajnath Singh said on Monday the attackers intended a prolonged siege and extensive damage as they were heavily armed with automatic rifles, grenades and incendiary material such as petrol, and were carrying dry ration.
The Congress Working Committee (CWC), the partys highest decision-making body, is meeting on Tuesday to ratify the schedule for its organisational elections.

Congress sources said party chief Sonia Gandhi is chairing the meeting that is also expected to discuss the upcoming presidential polls. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi was also present.

For its part, the Congress is trying to unite the opposition parties not only for the presidential elections but also to take on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

The CWC is likely to give the ex-post facto approval to the organisational polls, a requirement under the Congress constitution.

Some states, including Uttarakhand and Assam, have also demanded creation of additional organisational units and the CWC is likely to give sanction to the move. As per the election commission deadline, the main opposition party has to complete its internal polls by December 31 this year.

The meeting comes seven months after the CWC had on November 7 last year unanimously appealed to Rahul Gandhi to take over the reins of the grand old party. As many as 32 CWC members requested 46-year-old Gandhi, who was appointed vice-president at the partys Jaipur chintan shivir or brainstorming session in January 2013, to assume the top post. Rahul Gandhi had presided over the gathering in absence of Sonia Gandhi who skipped the meet because of ill health.

As per the fresh poll schedule circulated by the partys central election authority to all the state units and office bearers, the elections for the post of the Congress president will take place between September 16 and October 15.

Once the party chief is chosen, it will be followed by the elections to the CWC at the plenary session in November-December. According to the Congress constitution, 12 of the 25-member CWC have to be elected by All India Congress Committee (AICC) members, and the rest are appointed by the party president.

The fresh poll schedule has been divided into five phases. While the first stage comprising enrollment of new members will end on August 20, the second phase of polls to elect block presidents will conclude on September 4. The third segment ending on September 15 will witness the elections to district presidents followed by state chiefs in the fourth phase from September 16 to October 15.

The plenary session will mark the completion of the fifth and final phase of the organisational elections.

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The death of three farmers during a protest in Madhya Pradeshs Mandsaur snowballed into a major political row on Tuesday with the ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress trading blame for the states crippling agricultural crisis.

State chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan advised farmers to be patient and blamed the Congress for inciting violence. In a series of tweets, Chauhan declared Rs 10 lakh for the families of the deceased and called the incident unfortunate, ordering a judicial probe into the firing. The Congress wanted to give the movement political colours.. the Congress has made the protests violent, he said.

His comments came two hours after police allegedly fired upon a massive protest by farmers to demand better crop prices and a loan waiver, killing three people.

Minutes after news broke, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi attacked the BJP government. This govt is at war with the farmers of our country, he said.

His party colleague and former state chief minister Digvijaya Singh called for a strike and asked for Chouhans resignation.

                digvijaya singh (@digvijaya_28) June 6, 2017

But Chouhan, who has ruled Madhya Pradesh for three straight terms, didnt back down. He called for farmers to not be provoked and said his government stood by farmers and would find a solution through dialogue.

Firing on distressed farmers in #Mandsaur shows complete apathy of BJP led MPGovt towards them. Farmers most marginalized in country today, Swaraj Abhiyan chief Yogendra Yadav said.

The Samajwadi Party also declared Rs 2 lakh to the kin of the deceased farmers, news agency ANI reported.

Farmers are crushed by a burden of debt because of the policies of the Modi and Shivraj governmentsthis is a matter of shame for the state, Congress leader Kamal Nath said in a statement.

Madhya Pradesh is considered a BJP bastion where the saffron party has been in power for 14 years. But the government is facing snowballing protests by farmers, who say they cannot afford to sell produce at below-par prices for a third straight season and want the administration to create a safety net.

Three farmers died every day last year in Madhya Pradesh, data from the National Crime Records Bureau showed. The reasons for the suicides, according to the NCRB data, were attributed to farming-related issues like crop failure, inability to sell their agricultural produce, inability to repay loans as well as other factors like poverty, property disputes, marriage-related issues, family problems and illness.
Union home minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday the US President Donald Trumps statement about his country exiting the Paris climate agreement came as a shock and that India is hopeful that the United States would rethink its decision of withdrawing from the accord.

Speaking at the two-day conference on Capacity Building of State Disaster Response Force 2017 in New Delhi, Singh said it was a cause of concern for India and the world community if a country thinks only about its own interests.

The US presidents statement on Paris agreement has come as a shock for us and the international community. I am sure the US will l rethink its decision, he said.

The home minister said it had to be seen in what circumstances the US president made the statement on the Paris accord.

Trump announced last week he was withdrawing the US from the Paris accord, saying it was bad for his country and its economy but kept the door open for a new transaction on terms that are fair to America.

Trump named India and China among the reasons he called the Paris climate change deal, agreed by more than 190 nations, unfair to the US.

The US president said the deal was not tough enough on China and India. China will continue polluting for a staggering number of years, he said, referring to its self-determined mitigation target.

He also said India makes its participation contingent on receiving billions, billions and billions of foreign aid from developed countries and while the United States was expected to cut production of coal under the accord, India could double it.

On Monday, Union external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj rejected the charge and said India did not sign the Paris climate pact under pressure from any country or for the lure of money.

Our signature in the pact was not because of greed, it was not because of fear. We signed it due to our commitment to protecting the environment ... India will continue to be part of it irrespective of whether the US remains in it or not, Swaraj told reporters.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said last Friday India is committed to protecting the climate, irrespective of the Paris agreement, but avoided a direct reference to the US withdrawing from the international deal.

Modi said India has traditionally been respecting nature and desisted from exploiting it while addressing the St Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Paris or no Paris, our commitment to preserving the climate is for the sake of future generations, Modi said.
Citing its depleting political strength, the BJP on Tuesday mocked at the Congress, saying its working committee should ponder if it was left with any working hand instead of the work of Modi government.

After Congress chief Sonia Gandhi rapped the three-year rule of the government, the BJP targeted her son and deputy Rahul Gandhi claiming that the countrys youths except one, a snide reference to Congress vice-president, were happy with the ruling partys work.

Rejecting the Congress chiefs charge that there was fear in the country under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra invoked 1984 anti-Sikh riots and the Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi and said that fear prevailed in those times, not now.

If there is fear now, then it is among the dishonest, he said.

Sonia Gandhi need not worry about the Modi governments work. Due to its pro-poor policies people have realised what they lost during the 10-year rule (of the UPA) and what they have got under the three-year rule (of the NDA). They have shown their support to it often, he said.

Targeting Rahul over his reported remarks that he was reading holy Hindu scriptures to take on the RSS and the BJP, Patra said he needed to read such books to understand a virtuous party like the BJP, while people needed to read book of scams to understand the Congress.

He is such a leader that he will read out even from a ration card if his script writers gives it to him and asked the Congress Working Committee (CWC) to be concerned about his future.

The BJP leader also attacked Congress leaders P Chidambaram and Kapil Sibal for their criticism of the armys action to use a man as a human shield in Kashmir.

He said the CWC should have sacked Mani Shankar Aiyar for shamelessly laughing at separatist leader SAS Gilanis alleged remarks that India was in control of Kashmir due to its army.

In reference to the criticism of the CBI raids on the premises of NDTV co-founder, Patra said the government would not come in the way of enforcement agencies whether the matter involved one paisa or Rs 1,000.

Taking a dig at the Congress on its claim that the governments work was visible on the media and not on the ground, he said it was the other way round as people have been supporting the BJP due to its work and rejected the opposition party.

It is in fact the Congress which is visible on TVs but not on the ground. It got merely seven seats in Uttar Pradesh and the BJP 325, he said.

Patra said only one family prospered during the UPA rule, claiming that it was due to only one familys progress that both Sonia and Rahul were out on bail in a case, in reference to the National Herald case.
The Kerala high court on Tuesday thwarted an attempt by the state government to reopen bars closed in the wake of a Supreme Court order banning liquor outlets along national highways.

The court pulled up the government for trying to reopen liquor outlets by citing an earlier order delivered under a different context. It ordered the government to refrain from opening any bars until all the petitions in this regard are disposed of.

The government was planning to reopen all the bars along the Kannur-Kuttipuram route by citing an earlier high court order, which stated that there was no problem with opening licensed liquor outlets on the stretch because its national highway status was annulled through a government notification.

The court slammed the government for trying to reopen the liquor outlets by misinterpreting a previous order. The verdict was welcomed by the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council and main Opposition Congress.

Last week, the government had liberalised its liquor policy by taking away the power of local bodies to regulate the establishment of liquor outlets. Following this, the Congress and other Opposition parties called on governor P Sathasivam to petition against the dilution of the liquor policy.

The previous Congress-led United Democratic Front regime had made significant changes to the liquor policy, permitting only five-star hotels to serve Indian-made foreign liquor. This virtually led to the closure of 700 bars across the state. Later, a Supreme Court order on closing liquor shops along national highways forced many more to shut shop.

Last week, Kerala finance minister Thomas Issac admitted that the thriving tourism industry in the state was adversely affected by the liquor policy.
More than two dozen people including eight police officials were injured in a clash between Hindus and Muslims following alleged lewd remarks passed on women in a Ranchi village, police said on Tuesday.

The clashes erupted in Sukurhutu, located 12 km from Ranchi district headquarters, around 8pm on Monday. People from both communities threw stones at each other and damaged houses.

Armed with sticks and swords, the rioters turned on a small contingent from Kanke police station which reached the village within 15 minutes of the flare-up.

Kanke police station in-charge, inspector Rajiv Ranjan, was struck on the head with a stone and had to be taken to hospital. With the local police team outnumbered, around 300 additional personnel were rushed to the spot and they cordoned off the village.

Rioters damaged Ranchi sub-divisional magistrates vehicle. (HT Photo)

Rioters threw stones at police personnel and damaged vehicles, said police, adding that they had to resort to a cane-charge.

Ranchi senior superintendent of police Kuldeep Dwivedi said 64 people from both communities were arrested for allegedly instigating the flare-up. An FIR has been lodged against more than 100, including unidentified people, in the incident.

The district administration clamped prohibitory orders in the village on Tuesday. The situation is well under control, said Dwivedi.

Police said the trouble started when a group of youngsters, suspected to be high on either drugs or alcohol, allegedly passed lewd comments on women returning from the village pond.

Around eight policemen were hurt in the incident, said Ranchi sub-divisional officer Bhor Singh Yadav. The incident is being investigated and action will be taken against those involved.

The district administration clamped prohibitory orders in the village on Tuesday. (HT Photo)

Sukurhutu witnessed violence even as another Ranchi locality, Bargai, limped back to normalcy after communal clashes.

On May 2, at least a dozen people were injured in clashes between two communities in Bargai. The fight broke out after a group of about 350 people attacked a marriage procession when it reached near Bargai mosque. Police registered an FIR against 39 persons after the clashes.

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The Allahabad high court has agreed to hear a plea to commute the death sentence given to Surinder Koli, who confessed to killing, raping and eating the flesh of several children at a house in Noidas Nithari village a decade ago.

Koli challenged the death sentence given last December by a CBI court in Ghaziabad in the 2006 rape-and-murder case of 11-year-old Nisha, saying there was inordinate delay in implementing his sentence. This was the seventh case in which Koli was held guilty.

In six cases, he was given the death sentence but the Allahabad high court last year reduced the punishment to life in jail in one of the cases  the rape-and-murder of 11-year-old Rimpa Halder.

Koli and his employer Moninder Singh Pandher, a Noida businessman, were arrested in 2006 for the gruesome killing of several children and dumping their remains in the backyard of Pandhers house at Nithari village in Noida.

Police recovered 17 skeletal remains of children from the house that was dubbed by the media as the house of horrors.

A lower court sentenced Koli to death in 2005 for the murder of Halder but his hanging was stopped in 2014 in a midnight hearing by the Supreme Court. The same year, the top court held that inordinate delay in execution of death convicts was a ground for commuting the sentence to life.
A sub-group formed by opposition parties for the upcoming presidential poll is likely to meet within a week to come up with a consensus candidate for the post.

This was stated by leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad after the meeting of the Congress Working Committee, where the issue came up for discussion.

The upcoming election of the President and Vice President of India was briefly discussed because very recently we had an all-party meeting, he said, noting that Congress president Sonia Gandhi had hosted a lunch for senior leaders of opposition parties in Parliament.

It was decided during that meeting that we should have a small sub group and that sub group should discuss as to how to go about the presidential and vice presidential election, he said.

The Congress chief has initiated talks on the presidential elections and is seeking to unite all opposition parties on the issue to put up a consensus candidate against the NDA nominee.

We will have a meeting of this sub-group in a weeks time, Azad said when asked when this group would meet.

Sources said the date of the meeting as also its members are yet to be decided.

They that the opposition leaders have asked NCP supremo Sharad Pawar to coordinate on the issue with various parties

The sub-group was formed after deliberations with leaders of 17 opposition parties at Sonia Gandhis lunch last month to chalk out a strategy and come out with a consensus candidate.

Earlier in her speech at the CWC, Sonia Gandhi said in a few weeks the country will be electing the President and Vice President of India and like-minded parties should find such a candidate who could occupy the high offices and act as a protector of the Constitution.

In times such as these, it is even more essential that those who occupy this august office protect the Constitution.

Dr Manmohan Singh, Rahul, other colleagues and I have met the leaders of like-minded parties to find commonly acceptable candidates for these high offices. A subgroup of representatives has been constituted to take this forward, she said at the meeting.

Sources said that the Presidential polls will be held in July, which will be followed by elections for the post of Vice President in August.

President Pranab Mukherjee is completing his tenure on July 24, while Vice President Hamid Ansaris second term ends on August 10.

The sources said though no consensus has emerged on the name, the parties are working on it.

Among some prominent names doing the rounds are Gopal Krishan Gandhi, Sharad Yadav and Sharad Pawar, besides Meira Kumar. Sharad Pawar has, however, announced that he is not in the race.

There is also talk of a second term for incumbent Pranab Mukherjee, as proposed by Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, but that may not happen till the ruling dispensation proposes his name.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) may have urban roots, but it has now decided to back farmer agitations and reach out to rural people across the country to expand its base for future elections.

In an annual meeting chaired by national convenor Arvind Kejriwal last Sunday, the AAP national executive (NE)  the partys second-highest decision-making body  decided to launch nationwide protests over agrarian distress from June 10. The plan to woo rural voters was spurred by its encouraging performance in interior regions of agriculture-dominated Punjab in the February assembly elections, and its relatively steep slide in the Delhi municipal elections last month.

The NE had assembled to discuss the partys future roadmap in the backdrop of its poor performance in the Delhi municipal polls, where it won a measly 48 of 270 seats in three corporations, and the Goa assembly elections, where it drew a perfect zero.

The party had hoped to form the government in Punjab, but it ended up winning just 22 of 117 seats in alliance with the Lok Insaaf Party. Most of these were rural constituencies.

We are encouraged by our experience in Punjab, AAP national secretary Pankaj Gupta told Hindustan Times. Our target is to create a farmers movement wherever state governments are insensitive to their plight.

The NE passed a resolution that the government should be made to waive off farmers debt, just as it waives off loans for corporate houses, party leader Sanjay Singh said. The party will join the ongoing farmers agitations in Maharashtra, and then start one in Punjab to highlight the 60 alleged suicides that have occurred there since Amarinder Singh took over.

The partys Madhya Pradesh unit had initiated similar protests last month. Future agitations in the state will prominently feature the alleged killing of three farmers by police in Mandsaur district on Tuesday.

Gupta identified AAPs focus areas as Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. The three states will go to the polls only in late 2018, giving the party enough time for organisation-building activities.

While AAP has taken a number of steps to regain lost support in Delhi, its leaders also believe that focusing on rural areas will prepare party cadres for the long haul. It has toned down social media campaigns in favour of building the party from booth-level upwards, on the lines of its organisational structure in the Capital.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet this week on the sidelines of SCO summit in Astana, amid growing differences between the two countries over a host of issues, including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and NSG.

Efforts were on through diplomatic channels to arrange a meeting between the two leaders, informed sources told PTI here.

The summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) being held on June 8-9 in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, is special for India as it would be formally admitted into the China dominated six-nation grouping along with Pakistan.

Till now China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are the groups full members. Afghanistan, Belarus, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan have observer status.

The admission of India and Pakistan will enlarge the groups footprints for the first time to South Asia from Central Asia.

Chinese officials say that Beijing attaches importance to the Modi-Xi meeting as this would be the first this year and taking place after India boycotted the high-profile Belt and Road Forum held here last month in which 29 world leaders took part.

India abstained from the summit to highlight its concerns over the USD 50 billion CPEC which is part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and passes through Gilgit and Baltistan in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

China is vocal about its stand to block Indias admission into the 48-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) besides moves to list JeM leader Masood Azhar as terrorist by the UN.

After Astana, Modi and Xi are also expected to cross paths at the G20 summit to be held next month in Hamburg, Germany followed by Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) summit to be held in Xiamen, China in September.

Their Astana meeting would be followed by lengthy process of high level consultative meetings between BRICS countries starting with the foreign ministers this month.

Minister of State for External Affairs Gen V K Singh was expected to attend the BRICS Foreign Ministers meeting to be held here on June 18-19.

It will also be followed by a meeting of the National Security Advisors on July 27-28 here. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, who is also Indias Special Representative for the Sino-India border talks, was expected to attend the meeting.

This is the first time that the BRICS Foreign Ministers meet is being held far ahead of September summit following suggestion from the host country, China.

Finance Minister of the BRICS countries are also due to meet.

While the outcome of these meetings cannot be judged, they provide numerous platforms for leaders and officials of India and China to discuss a way out their differences and step up cooperation, officials said.
On a July morning two years ago, a patrol team in the Corbett Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand set out on its daily round. They had been out only a few minutes when Jai Kishen (42), who was lagging behind the others, sensed movement behind him. In a flash, a tiger was upon him.

Kishen miraculously survived the attack. His elder brother, Hari Ram was not so lucky. Last year in April, Hari was killed by a tiger when he had gone out to extinguish a forest fire in the night.

For these guards, life at its worst means dodging forest fires, only to fall into the mouth of a tiger. If a wild animal doesnt maul you first, there is always the threat of a disease looming in the jungles.

Both Kishen and his brother are daily wagers, the kind that Indias wildlife management system depends on heavily. Of the 50 tiger reserves in the country, 37 out of 38 for which data is available with the Wildlife Trust of India have high vacancies for the formal staff.

The manpower shortage which is sometimes as high as 70% like in Jharkhands Palamau  is covered by employing people on a daily wage. It is cheaper and convenient.

They are a labour force that is poorly paid, under-trained and doing most of the dangerous jobs in some of the most hostile environments.

Forest personnel often compare themselves to army men. But there is an important difference  the army doesnt rely on contract labour to protect the nations borders.

Contract workers are the lowest in the pecking order in the forest management system. Above them are the forest guards who are full-time government employees, a job that comes with higher and regular income.

Pay Low, Very High Allocation

Kishen has given 15 years to this job and earns Rs 6,000 a month. Most temporary guards, even those who worked at a national park for decades, earn as little as Rs 4,000-10,000 a month. In May, Kishen also has not been paid for three months  a phenomenon not unusual for daily wagers.

Many contract workers aspire for permanent government jobs, but with eligibility requirements demanding a minimum of class 10 or 12 pass, they cant even think of applying for it formally.

The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) did a study to fix an economic value of six selected tiger reserves in India: Corbett, Kanha, Kaziranga, Periyar, Ranthambore and Sunderbans.

Annual benefits for the six reserves were estimated at almost Rs 8,000 crore and the stock benefits, including from firewood, tourism and carbon reserves was valued at almost Rs 1,50,000 crore. In this years budget, the allocation for Project Tiger was Rs 345 crore.

These astronomical sums seem out of line with the paltry wages paid to those protecting the countrys seemingly invaluable resources.

Dealing with Hostile Environment

Forest guards, both the regular and temporary cover large swathes of forest land. There are about 200 forest guards, both temporary and permanent at the Rajaji National Park, with each guard covering anywhere between 500 to 1,000 hectares.

Even if he walks a month, he cannot cover such a beat, director of the park Sanatan Sonkar said of the guards.

During monsoons, the parks are closed to public, but the guards remain as numerous rivulets gush forth.

We walk for kilometres just to get our ration, says Harpal Singh (47), who became permanent guard five years ago after 20 years of service as a temporary worker at Rajaji National Park. Some states allow contract workers to become regular employees under limited time scheme but this is not a standard practice across the country.

Forest guards spend weeks, sometimes months away from their families in shelters that even lack basic amenities like power and drinking water.

In the face of menacing threats, the training and equipment given to the frontline staff seems woefully inadequate. Over the years, poaching has become a heavily militarized activity and conservation techniques have evolved. But very little has been done to help forest guards keep pace with changing realities.

Death & Assurance

In life, their hardships might be almost similar but in death the distinction between a regular forest guard and just a hired hand becomes even more glaring. Many state forest departments offer the permanent staff relief in the event of death or injury, but not to contract workers.

Some non-governmental organisations are stepping in to fill the gap.

This year, WWF-India launched an ex-gratia scheme for frontline staff in partnership with ICICI Prudential and has partnered with Apollo Hospitals to provide medical treatment to guards and other forest staff on a case-by-case basis.

The Wildlife Trust of India also has an ongoing ex-gratia scheme, which was launched in 2001 and has benefited 115 families in 23 states.

However, these schemes have limited scope.

Special Tiger Protection Force

The problem of an inadequate force has not gone entirely unnoticed. The Corbett is gearing up to set up a special task force that will comprise well-trained educated young men. The reserve is also reorganising the beats, so that the area under each forest guard is of a manageable size.

But Kishen will not be part of it, the Corbett is hiring younger guards for the force. Despite the attack and his brothers death, he will continue to serve as a guard. I have four children. Who will feed and take care of them? he asks.

Singh at Rajaji echoed the sentiment. If we get scared how will we take care of our children?

He is relieved to have become a permanent employee five years ago as he knows his family will receive some assistance from the government if something happens to him.

Kishen has no such assurance but he remains bound to the troubled forests. The forest has taken so much away from us, but where else will we go?

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Facing criticism over the killing of farmers in Madhya Pradesh, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday appealed for peace even as he accused the opposition Congress party of instigating violence during a protest in Mandsaur district.

Five people were killed --- allegedly by law enforcement officials --- after the farmers agitation turned violent, prompting the authorities to clamp curfew in the trouble-hit area. Hundreds had gathered at Pipalia town as part of a 10-day demonstration for higher crop prices that cover their input costs, a loan waiver and a farm package to tide over losses incurred by drought.

In the past 11 years, there have been countless decisions made for the welfare of farmers. The various demands of the farmers have been fulfilled, Chouhan told news agency ANI.

I appeal to my fellow brothers to maintain peace. I am deeply pained by the turn of events today.I stand by families in this hour of grief. pic.twitter.com/B8ayw2jQc8  ShivrajSingh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) June 6, 2017

He ordered a judicial probe into the killings after holding a meeting with senior civil and police officers. The CM announced an aid of Rs 1 crore each to the victims families. He said those injured will get Rs 5 lakh each.

But the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party came down heavily on the BJP-led state government.

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi said the government was at war with farmers and feeding them with bullets for demanding their rights.

MP farmer agitation: How the crisis unfolded June 1: Farmers begin a ten-day-long agitation in Madhya Pradesh demanding better price for their produce June 4: Clashes break out between police and farmers in Sehore, Indore and Bhopal districts, leaving six policemen injured June 4 afternoon: A delegation of Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), which is affiliated to saffron parivar, defers farmers agitation following a meeting with chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in Ujjain June 4 evening: Enraged by the announcement of BKS, other two major organisations spearheading the agitation - Rashtriya Kissan Mazdoor Sangh and Bharatiya Kisan Union - say agitation had not been called off or deferred. They decided to intensify the agitation  CM Chouhan announces MP government will procure onions at a cost of Rs 8 per kg. State BJP president Nandkumar Singh Chauhan announces farmers will honour the CM for his stand. But BKS distances itself from the felicitation June 5: CM Chouhan hurriedly calls a press conference, blaming a few people for giving a wrong direction to farmers protest. CM announces Rs 1000 crore price stabilisation fund in scenarios where prices destabilise following bumper crop  Farmers take out a vehicle rally from Double Chowki, over 20 kms from Indore city. The rally is, however, stopped by the police on the outskirts of Indore June 6 afternoon: Security personnel fire on protesting farmers in Mandsaur district, killing five of them. Ruckus follows as enraged farmers block road and ransack properties June 6 evening: Rashtriya Kissan Mazdoor Sangh announces MP bandh on Wednesday till 2 pm  CM Chouhan announces judicial inquiry into the Mandsaur firing incident Farmers begin a ten-day-long agitation in Madhya Pradesh demanding better price for their produceClashes break out between police and farmers in Sehore, Indore and Bhopal districts, leaving six policemen injuredA delegation of Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), which is affiliated to saffron parivar, defers farmers agitation following a meeting with chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in UjjainEnraged by the announcement of BKS, other two major organisations spearheading the agitation - Rashtriya Kissan Mazdoor Sangh and Bharatiya Kisan Union - say agitation had not been called off or deferred. They decided to intensify the agitationCM Chouhan announces MP government will procure onions at a cost of Rs 8 per kg. State BJP president Nandkumar Singh Chauhan announces farmers will honour the CM for his stand. But BKS distances itself from the felicitationCM Chouhan hurriedly calls a press conference, blaming a few people for giving a wrong direction to farmers protest. CM announces Rs 1000 crore price stabilisation fund in scenarios where prices destabilise following bumper cropFarmers take out a vehicle rally from Double Chowki, over 20 kms from Indore city. The rally is, however, stopped by the police on the outskirts of IndoreSecurity personnel fire on protesting farmers in Mandsaur district, killing five of them. Ruckus follows as enraged farmers block road and ransack propertiesRashtriya Kissan Mazdoor Sangh announces MP bandh on Wednesday till 2 pmCM Chouhan announces judicial inquiry into the Mandsaur firing incident

Senior Congress leader and Chhindwara MP Kamal Nath said: The farmers agitation has started the process of dislodging of the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government in the state.

AAP Madhya Pradesh in-charge Gopal Rai said the incident reflected anti-farmer mentality of the BJP, who remembered farmers only during elections. They have not been able to fulfil a single poll promise made during the elections.

Reaching out to the farmers, CM Chouhan said those killed on Tuesday were our people. I can understand the pain of their families, he said, promising a government job each to the families of the victims.

Please maintain peace. The government is with farmers, Chouhan said, reiterating some people were trying to vitiate the atmosphere.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday set the tone for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, asking party workers to get ready to protect the essence and idea of India and warned that the BJP-led government was now shifting its 2014 manifesto promises.

Addressing a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), Sonia expressed concern over an increase in lynch mobs and claimed there is a brazen campaign to strait-jacket the whole country into a regressive and narrow-minded world-view.

We are not far from the 2019 elections. We must be ready to protect the essence and idea of India, which this government is seeking to extinguish, the Congress president said.

The Congress is trying to unite opposition parties ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls to take on the BJP and demolish the invincibility aura of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. To this end, we must strengthen our organisation. The ongoing organisational elections must be completed with the utmost speed and sincerity, Sonia said.

Former prime minister Manmohan Singh and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi were also present at the nearly two-hour long meeting during which the CWC ratified the schedule for the internal polls that the party has to complete by December 31.

At the CWC meeting this morning with Congress President, former PM Dr Manmohan Singhji & senior leaders pic.twitter.com/UCfuZWwCDA  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) June 6, 2017

According to the schedule, elections for the post of Congress president will take place between September 16 and October 15.

The Congress chief was unsparing in her attack on the Modi government. Where there was harmony, there is discord. Where there was tolerance, there is provocation. Where there was relative calm, as in Kashmir, there is growing confrontation, tension and fear. Where there was economic potential, there is stagnation, she said.

Widely interpreted as an indirect reference to the beef ban and triple talaq issues, she said, There is an assault on livelihoods and food habits of those who follow different tenets and beliefs... Women, Dalits, tribals, minorities and other oppressed people are facing perilous times.

Again without directly mentioning Mondays CBI raids on NDTV, Sonia said, Whether it is politicians, institutions, students, civil society or the media, there is growing intolerance and active persecution of divergent voices...

She said the Modi government was shifting the manifesto promises it should have fulfilled by 2019 to 2022 . It is just not demonetisation. Make in India failed to create jobs and attract investment. Unemployment is rampant. Farmers are in distress forcing them to commit suicide.

She also came down heavily on the Centre and the PDP-BJP government in J&K saying, They are systematically alienating and antagonising the local population especially the youth. A divisive agenda is being followed which has undone years of goodwill.

For his part, Rahul kept up his attack on the RSS and the BJP, saying they are out to disturb communal harmony in India.

During the meeting, the ex-PM Singh expressed serious concern over the slowdown of the countrys growth and said it is mainly because of demonetisation that has impacted job creation.

He also said that the economy is running on just one engine of public spending.

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Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday blamed the Centre and the PDP-BJP government in Jammu and Kashmir for the current unrest in the border state, accusing them of colossal failure and systematically alienating the local population in the Valley.

The fresh offensive by the Congress against the BJP over the crisis in Kashmir came even as former chief minister Omar Abdullah alleged that the Centres unfortunate failure to reach out and build bridges of reconciliation and peace with the youth in the Valley has created a political vacuum.

Emphasising that the current crisis in Jammu and Kashmir was due to the colossal failure of the government, Gandhi said the insensitive handling of the situation by both the state and central governments is systematically alienating and antagonising local population, especially the youth.

A divisive agenda is being followed which has undone years of goodwill and progress, she told a meeting of the Congress Working Committee(CWC) in New Delhi.

Addressing a youth convention of National Conference party in Srinagar, Omar said the youth of the state are being suffocated by the repressive policies of the PDP-BJP government while the looming uncertainty has created a sense of despair and hopelessness among them.

The Central governments unfortunate failure to reach out and build bridges of reconciliation and peace with our youth has created a political vacuum, he said.

The youth of the state are being suffocated by the policies of the present government. The looming uncertainty in the state coupled with the confrontational approach of the PDP-BJP government has created a sense of despair and hopelessness among the youth, he claimed.

Referring to the unrest in the Valley, Omar said that in this grim atmosphere, the youth is being robbed of their right to dream of a dignified and prosperous future.

He said the youth is feeling cheated as promises made to them were either broken or unapologetically abandoned.

The same promises were then bartered without any inhibitions for personal and familial political empowerment of a few people while our hardworking, honest and sincere young men and women were let down and left to the mercy of uncertainty and turmoil, he said.

Due to this treachery, the trust deficit has been further widened to an extent where scepticism on the ground far overshadows the utility of any rhetoric the Government has to offer, the NC working president added.

Separately, the CPI(M) criticised army chief Gen.Bipin Rawat over his recent remarks defending use of human shield in Kashmir Valley, saying the comments reflected the views of the Modi government which seeks to suppress locals.

It claimed that the army and Kashmiris will suffer irreparable damage due to the governments blind adherence to the use of coercive force against civilians in the Valley.

Unfortunately, the army chief is reflecting the views of the Modi government which seeks to suppress the people of Kashmir, who are voicing their political protest, through the sole reliance on use of force, former CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat said.

Karat made the remarks in an editorial in the latest issue of party mouthpiece Peoples Democracy. Not only the people of Kashmir but the army itself will suffer irreparable damage due to the governments blind adherence to the use of coercive force against the civilian population, he added.

Speaking to PTI last week, Gen.Rawat had said that it would have been easier for the armed forces to deal with the protesters in the Valley had they fired weapons instead of hurling stones at the security personnel.

Rawat had also defended the actions of Maj.Leetul Gogoi, who had used a local Farooq Ahmad Dar, as a human shield.

Karat observed that Gen.Rawat allegedly made no distinction between young protestors throwing stones and armed militants. To taunt protestors to take up arms, so that the army could deal with them appropriately is a needless provocation and displays an attitude which is unbecoming of a senior army officer, he added.

Karat further said the army chiefs remarks exemplify all that is with the way the Modi government is dealing with the situation there. The army chief of staff, by commending this act, has let down the high professional standards of the army, the Marxist leader added.
Continuing his attack on RJD president Lalu Prasad and his family members for alleged acquisition of landed properties through murky deals, senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi on Tuesday levelled a fresh accusation, claiming that one Lalan Choudhary gifted his property worth Rs 30.8 lakh in Patna to former chief minister and RJD leader Rabri Devi.

Making the allegation, Modi demanded that chief minister Nitish Kumar should get investigated the circumstances under which Choudhury was forced to gift his property to Devi.

Talking to newsmen on the sidelines of his Janata Darbar here, Modi said Choudhary gifted to Rabri Devi on January 25, 2014 his pucca house, measuring 1,088 square feet, at Naya Tola under Danapur police station in Patna.

Citing documents related to the deed details, he said Choudhary had bought the said property for Rs 3,97,000 on March 30, 2009.

Modi asked Lalus family to disclose the identity of Choudhary and explain the circumstances under which a man from Siwan gifted his immovable asset to Devi. The family should also make it public how the deal benefited Choudhary and from where he (Choudhary) got the money to buy the property, he added.

Lalus family should clear the doubts or else people will believe that it is benami property bought in the name of Lalan Choudhary, he said.

Benami properties are those in which the real beneficiary is not the one in whose name the property has been purchased.

The former deputy chief minister said since the matter fell under the jurisdiction of the Bihar government, Kumar should order a probe to go into it.

Modi had launched his first attack on the Lalu family, pertaining to acquisition of illegal property on April 4. I have many more matters to reveal, which I will do in the days to come, he quipped.

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A village scavenger who claimed to have been visited by Lord Shiva in his dreams was arrested in Telangana for digging up a national highway in search of a lingam, police said on Tuesday.

The self-styled seer, Lakhan Manoj (30), was arrested on Monday after he deployed an earth-moving machine to dig a 15-feet well on the National Highway 163 that connects Hyderabad and Warangal.

A village sarpanch, a municipal vice chairman and a local Congress leader were also taken into custody for helping Lakhan, who claimed he was asked by Lord Shiva to look for the lingam, police added. The incident happened at Pembarthi of Jangaon district

Religious beliefs and superstition drive lakhs of people in India to self-styled religious leaders, who claim to represent god and have divine powers, rationalists say. Over the past few years, several seers have landed in jail on different charges, including fraud and sexual assault of followers, most of them illiterate villagers.

How can these village elders believe him and take up digging of the road? We have booked cases against them....We shall fill up the pit with the help of Roads and Buildings department and recover the cost from the villagers, Jangaon deputy commissioner of police T Venkanna told HT.

He quoted Lakhan as telling villagers that Lord Shiva has been visiting him in dreams for the last five years and asking him to dig up the earth at a particular spot near Pembarthi, where a Shiv Lingam was buried at a depth of 12 feet.

The phallic-shaped lingam  made of stone or metal  is worshiped as a representation of the Hindu god.

Lord Shiva asked me to see that a temple is constructed there, but the villagers did not take me seriously. But I used to come here and perform pujas to the lord, police quoted Manoj as saying.

After convincing the villagers, he started digging with the help of an earth-moving machine hired by villagers, resulting in a traffic jam on the national highway.

The police initially hesitated to stall the excavation but intervened when Manoj tried to dig deeper.

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Senior BJP leader and Union minister Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday slammed former CPM general secretary Prakash Karat for finding faults with the Indian Army and sympathising with Kashmiri stone pelters.

He also took a strong exception to a recent article by scholar Partha Chatterjee which purportedly compares Army chief Bipin Rawat to General Dyer, infamous for the Jalianwala Bagh massacre.

These people have sympathy for a stone pelter. They do not have sympathy for people who are leaving their family and fighting for the cause of the country, Naidu said in Mumbai in response to Karats statement.

Karat had on Monday said, Unfortunately, the Army chief is reflecting the views of the Modi government which seeks to suppress the people of Kashmir (who are voicing their political protest) through sole reliance on use of force.

Naidu accused the CPM leader of overlooking the help which terrorists receive from Pakistan.

He (Karat) will not see the force used by Pakistan- inspired terrorists. Unfortunately, he is only trying to find faults with the Indian Army which is doing a great job to protect the unity and integrity of our country and secure our citizens. The neighbour (Pakistan) is abetting, aiding, funding and training terrorists, the Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister said.

Major Gogoi (who ordered a man to be tied to an army jeep to prevent stone pelting) did a great job of saving the lives of Election Commission officials and a local constable from a stone pelter, he said.

Also, the article by scholar Partha Chatterjee comparing Chief of Army Staff Gen Rawat with General Dyer is atrocious, height of perversion and idiotic comparison, the senior BJP leader said.

Majority of Indians support the Army which is reflected by the public support for the forces on social media on the issue, the Union minister added.
Gulf crisis: Seven countries cut off ties with Qatar over terrorism links, 7 lakh Indians could be hit

Seven countries, led by Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, on Monday severed ties with Qatar, accusing it of backing terrorism and opening up a rift among some of the most powerful Arab states that could have repercussions for the Indian economy and expatriates. Bahrain was the first to snap ties, followed by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Yemen, Libya and the Maldives. As Saudi Arabia closed its borders and snapped land, air and sea links, residents rushed to supermarkets to stock up on food. Qatar is home to an estimated 700,000 Indians  whose remittances in 2015 were worth $3.98 billion. Sources said there was no panic in the expatriate community.

Read the story here.

Iran offers to export food to Qatar by sea as residents rush to stock supplies

An Iranian official said his country can export food to Qatar by sea, as Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations moved to isolate the gas-rich nation after severing diplomatic ties and accusing it of supporting terrorism. The semi-official Fars news agency quoted Reza Nourani, chairman of the union of exporters of agricultural products, as saying on Monday that food shipments sent from Iran can reach Qatar in 12 hours. Qatar shares its only land border with Saudi Arabia, and relies heavily on food imports, much of it from Gulf countries.

Read the story here.

CBI raids NDTVs Prannoy Roy, wife over bank fraud, channel cries witch-hunt

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) searched on Monday the offices and homes of NDTV founder Prannoy Roy over allegations of defrauding a bank, a move the news broadcaster denounced as a witch-hunt to muzzle free speech. A case was registered by the banking fraud division of the CBI against NDTVs Prannoy Roy and his wife Radhika. The ED and Income Tax department have been investigating the news channel since 2014.

Read the story here.

China defends flights by choppers in Chamoli area, welcomes Modis remarks

China on Monday defended its military helicopters hovering over Chamoli district of Uttarkhand, saying it has a territorial dispute in the eastern section of the frontier with India even as welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modis remarks that not a single bullet has been fired in four decades despite the border row. Responding to reports that the Chinese helicopters had violated Indian airspace, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said: In principle China and India have territorial disputes in the eastern section of the China-India border.

Read the story here.

India-US ties progressing, engaged with Trump govt on H-1B visa issue: Swaraj

External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday said India-US ties are progressing under the Trump administration as they were during the Obama presidency and the pace had not slowed down. Addressing a press conference on key initiatives of her ministry in three years of the Modi government, Swaraj also described the proposed changes in H1B visas as a matter of concern. Swaraj covered a range of subjects, including China, Pakistan and the situation in Qatar during the conference.

Read the report here.

WhatsApp chats land three law students of Sonepat univ in prison for rape

Detailed and explicit WhatsApp conversations between a rape victim and three law students of a private university in Haryana proved crucial evidence for their conviction by a trial court, show documents made available on Monday. It was a rare instance of electronic data used as evidence to nail the accused in India, which has seen a sharp rise in video clips of sexual assaults circulated through social media and messaging apps.

Read the story here.

ISRO launches Indias heaviest rocket GSLV Mk III, hopes it can carry humans into space

India successfully launched its heaviest-ever rocket GSLV-Mk III on Monday which it hopes will eventually be able to carry astronauts into space, a feat that only Russia, the United States and China have achieved, space agency ISRO said. The Indian Space Research Organization said the 43-metre (140-foot) Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk III rocket lifted off at 5:28 pm from Sriharikota, an island off the coast of Andhra Pradesh, and placed a communication satellite into orbit. Scientists hugged each other and cheered as the 640-tonne rocket lifted off.

Read the story here.

Another BJP leader resigns in Meghalaya, says beef-eating part of states culture

The North Garo Hills district BJP president Bachu Marak resigned on Monday from the party. Bachus resignation comes four days after West Garo Hills district president Bernard Mark made an exit from the party on the issue of beef ban. I cannot compromise on the sentiments of the Garos. As a Garo, it is my responsibility to protect the interest of my community. Beef-eating is part of our culture and tradition. Imposition of BJPs non-secular ideology on us is not acceptable, Bachu said after resigning from the party.

Read the story here.

Dont fall into BJPs diversionary tactics, Rahul Gandhi tells minority leaders

Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi asked leaders belonging to minority communities on Monday to keep the focus on the partys development agenda and not fall into the trap of the BJP-led governments diversionary tactics that it uses to distract public attention from its failures. Interacting with 130 leaders of minority communities from across the country, Gandhi told them to take the Congress ideology to every household in the country. The Congress vice-president also discussed with them ways to strengthen the organisation and how to expand the partys outreach at all levels.

Read the story here.

Pakistan-born Khuram Butt, Moroccan-Libyan Rachid Redouane identified as London attackers

Scotland Yards counter-terrorism command on Monday evening released the names and photographs of two of the three men shot dead by police following the terrorist attack on London Bridge and Borough Market. It named the two as Khuram Shazad Butt, a 27-year-old born in Pakistan, and 30-year-old Rachid Redouane of Moroccan and Libyan descent. Both of them are from Barking, east London. Inquiries are ongoing to confirm the identity of the third attacker, the police said. All three were shot dead by armed officers within eight minutes of the first call on Saturday night.

Read the story here.
The Yogi Adityanath cabinet in Uttar Pradesh decided on Tuesday to rename Mughalsarai railway station near Varanasi after RSS ideologue Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya.

A meeting of state cabinet was held under the chairmanship of chief minister Adityanath Yogi that gave its approval for the renaming of the station.

Cabinet minister Siddharth Nath Singh said the state government would send a proposal to Union railway ministry to change the name of the railway station.

Upadhyay had died under mysterious circumstances while travelling in a train at Mughalsarai station on February 11, 1968. Mughalsarai is one of the busiest stations of the Eastern Railway.

The BJP government is celebrating the birth centenary of Upadhyaya and several programmes are being organised across the state.

Singh said the state government had planned to launch several schemes in accordance with the antyodaya ideology propagated by Upadhyaya.

The central government was also formulating schemes according to it, he said.

Earlier in April, the Yogi Adityanath government had decided to name the Agra airport after Upadhyay.
Till yesterday, the mood in Rahul and Roshni Sharmas homes was festive. After a grand engagement in February, the couple was to wed in November and preparations were on in full swing. Overnight, everything has changed. Shocked relatives poured in, their expression sombre.

Both Rahul and Roshni lost their lives along with three other relatives early on Tuesday morning when a heavily-loaded truck overturned and collapsed on the car they were travelling in.

They were supposed to get married in November. After the engagement, several relatives from both the families would continue to visit. Rahul recently went to Europe to meet his sister. We have no words to express how utterly shocked we are after this tragedy, said Ajay Sharma, a relative.

Sharma was one of the many relatives from both the families who had the stressful task of being present at the SMS Hospital mortuary as postmortem was conducted on the five bodies.

Rahul had studied jewellery designing as his family was engaged in the business of cutting semi-precious stones. Roshni, too, had an interest in designing and had studied it in college.

Relatives told HT that Rahul had returned from Europe around eight days ago and the families were going out for shopping and outings. They had decided to go to Nahargarh early on Tuesday morning, which ultimately ended up becoming their undoing, said another relative.

Among the deceased was Jyoti, a mother of two and the sister of Roshni, who recently arrived from Bhopal where her husband owns a business.

Her husband will arrive from Bhopal and other relatives are also coming to Jaipur. Most of us cant believe that they are no more, said Murari Agarwal, a family friend.
Tragedy struck Jaipur early on Tuesday morning when five members from two families were killed as a heavily loaded truck overturned and collapsed on the car in which they were travelling.

For over the next three hours the car remained buried underneath the vehicle with even the rescuing authorities having no idea on the human casualties.

According to the police, the truck was loaded with several tones of salt and the sacks scattered all over the place after the accident.

Preliminary investigation suggests that the incident happened a little after 4:00am on Tuesday near the Chomu House circle. After the police were intimated, a crane was brought in to lift the truck. It was after 6am that we discovered the car buried under the vehicle, said station house officer Kamal Nayan of the accident police station (south).

After the bodies of the five passengers were taken out from the badly-mangled car, they were identified as from two families living in Malviya Nagar and Surajpol area of the city.

The police said that the car was being driven by Rahul Sharma (22) who was travelling with his fiance Roshni Sharma (21), her sister Jyoti Sharma (33) and cousins Avantika (18) and Nitesh Sharma (20).

Both Rahul and Roshni got engaged on February this year and their wedding was supposed to take place on November.

The driver and helper ran away after the accident and couldnt be traced. Several teams have been constituted to arrest the men and we are also registering a case against them, said Nayan.

The police said that prima facie it appears that the owner of the truck lives in Bharatpur district and efforts are also being made to contact him.

It took the police several hours to rescue the bodies from underneath the truck with the help of crane and other equipment.

According to the police, the reason behind the accident appears to be the speeding by the truck driver.
The Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) has quoted a 14-year old order for the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government to ask the Mamata Banerjee administration to shift five cattle markets beyond 8 km from the Indo-Bangladesh border since the presence of the markets near the international border is creating hurdles for the Border Security Force (BSF) to tackle smuggling from India to Bangladesh.

The administrative order was passed in 2003 by the state government in consultation with the Centre to shift the cattle markets beyond eight kms over a period of five-six years. But it remained unimplemented as by 2008-09 the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government was in turmoil following land agitation in Singur and Nandigram.

Read: No need to follow Centres order banning cattle sale, Mamata tells Bengal officials

Sources in the state secretariat told HT that chief minister Mamata Banerjee is reluctant to abide by the Centers request. She thinks relocation of these traditional markets will cause immense incovenience to the traders.

The relation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee is passing through an all-time low. (HT Photo)

On June 2, the state government received a letter from the MHA directing it to implement the 2003 order. The markets in question are Pakua (Nadia district), Dhulian and Krishnapur (Murshidabad) and Panchpota and Katihat (North 24 Parganas).

If the Centre insists on relocation, the chief minister will again get the opportunity of alleging that the Union government is interfering in states affairs, said a bureaucrat who requested anonymity.

The subject of cattle markets is especially sensitive in Bengal as this state has served as the gateway to smuggling of the animal to Bangladesh and of the estimated 1.8 million to 2 million animals smuggled, most of it goes through the border of Bengal.

Read: Beef politics: Mamata, Pinarayi Vijayan up ante against cattle trade rules

There are 20 cattle markets throughout Bengal, but only five fall within eight kilometers from the Indo-Bangladesh border. Incidentally, the biggest cattle market is in Pandua of Hooghly district.

BSF personnel patrolling the Bangladesh border in West Bengal. Stretches of the border are still unfenced that are used by cattle smugglers for their trade. (HT Photo)

On May 26, the Union ministry of environment, forests & climate change came out with a notification banning cattle trade in open market throughout the nation for the purpose of slaughtering. However, Mamata Banerjee, vehemently opposed it and said that the Union government deliberately came out with the notification during the Ramzan month to create communal disturbance.

They have the temerity to say where cattle markets will be located, Mamata Banerjee said at a press conference.

Incidentally, that order prohibits setting up of a cattle market within 50 kms of international borders.

Read: RSS Muslim wing to hold cow milk parties for Iftar, says healthier than beef

Like Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vaijayan, Mamata Banerjee also asserted that her government will not implement the Centres May 26 order. The chief minister also said that the she would try to forge a consensus among all non- BJP and non- NDA forces to get united in opposing the ban notification. I am sure than any secular party would oppose this ban, she said.

The association of tanneries also opposed the ban, claiming that the order will spell doom for the leather industry that has huge export potentials.

On Tuesday, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority came out with figures showing Indias buffalo meat exports in April 2017 declined 11.4% to 86,119 tonnes from what it was a year back.

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Cow slaughter and cattle smuggling in Uttar Pradesh will invite action under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) and Gangster Act, chief minister Yogi Adityanath said on Tuesday, giving police the power to detain people for an year on mere suspicion.

The directive to invoke the acts was issued by director general of police Sulkhan Singh on Monday, officials said.

The decision to slap NSA and Gangster Act against cattle smugglers and cow slaughter was taken in the general interest of the state and the people, Adiytanath told reporters.

During assembly election people demanded ban on cow slaughter and cattle smuggling. It was also one of the election promises of the BJP. The state government will not allow anyone to take liberties with the laws, he said.

Since sweeping to power in March, the BJP government led by the priest-turned-politician has launched what it says is a crackdown on illegal slaughter houses and cattle smuggling.

Critics say the governments move was aimed at targeting the Muslim and Dalit communities which are mainly involved in cattle trade.

The UP government directive came days after the Centre issued a controversial rule that outlawed sale of cattle for slaughter at animal markets and triggered a political storm in India. The Madras high court later ordered a four-week stay on the notification.

Millions of Hindus consider the cow to be holy and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)  the idelogical mentor of the ruling BJP  has been pushing for a countrywide ban on bovine slaughter.

Opposition parties say the Centres rule violates individual rights and will hurt millions of cattle and meat traders.

Under the NSA, the district magistrate has powers to keep a person under detention for up to a year. Under the Gangster Act, a person can be imprisoned between 2 to ten years and slapped with a fine of up to Rs 5,000 or more.

In his order, the DGP asked district police chiefs to take strict action to check cattle smuggling and also to activate local intelligence units for information gathering.

Regular patrolling should be organised on highways and the police should check trucks. Genuine traders should not be harassed but smugglers should not be spared, he said. The DGP also asked police not to extort money from transporters.

Cattle traders, however, said the state governments decision could led to harassment.

The new order has given immense power to the police and they may misuse it for money. The state government should constitute a committee, which should include cattle traders and farmers, to check misuse of the directives. The order may leave an adverse impact on cattle trade as well, he said.

A government body said on Tuesday, Indias buffalo meat exports dropped by 35% in April over the March figures, mainly attributed to the crackdown in UP, the countrys largest meat producing state.

Data released by the directorate general of commercial intelligence and statistics (principal commodities) of the ministry of commerce and industry show a drop of more than 51,000 tonnes in April exports, compared to March.

(With inputs from HT Correspondent, Delhi)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi led top politicians and BJP leaders as well as several chief ministers, including those from non-BJP ruled states, in wishing Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on his 45th birthday.

But, the wishes from top leaders was all there was to the Yogi birthday that otherwise was a very low-key affair, quite in contrast to the high profile birthday celebrations of chief ministers that UP has witnessed over the last two decades or so.

Governor Ram Naik, who had earlier broken from protocol to visit former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on his birthday, went to the 5 Kalidas Marg official residence of Yogi to greet him. Yogis ministers followed, some visiting the CM at his residence and others, including union ministers, preferring to greet him on twitter.

The CMs twitter handle promptly reciprocated to all the greetings that kept pouring in through the day during which Yogi planted saplings, launched apps and helpline to report illegal felling of trees before rushing to Aligarh where he launched several projects.

Former UP CM Mayawati, who courted controversy by wearing a currency garland on her birthday and former CM Mulayam Singh Yadav rode a Victorian era buggy especially ordered for him by his party mate Azam Khan led the list of high profile leader who used to celebrate their birthdays with pomp and show.

Former UP CM Akhilesh Yadav who was present during Mulayams grand birthday celebration in Rampur in 2014 had avoided ostentatious birthday celebrations himself. He had instead ordered government primary and upper primary schools, including Kasturba Balika Vidyalayas, to celebrate birthdays of students. In 2016, a government order too was issued asking government schools to celebrate birthdays of school students on the last Saturday of every month. Former chief ministers ND Tiwari and Kalyan Singh too were known to celebrate birthdays but the lavishness with which Maya and Mulayam preferred to celebrate theirs had few parallels, a BJP lawmaker told HT.

Kalyan Singh, who is now the Rajasthan governor, makes it a point to be in Lucknow on his birthday.

Some felt that Yogi seeking plant 10 trees commitment from farmers as return gift and deputy chief minister Keshav Prasad Maurya along with several senior BJP leaders planting trees was also to pay tribute to late union minister Anil Madhav Dave who had in his will said, he would prefer trees being planted in his memory more than anything else.

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Social activists criticised the state governments move to provide Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) to malnourished children, calling it a contractor-driven scheme, which will cost the state Rs100 crore. They pointed to a pilot involving 14 children, of whom only two showed improvement.

Under this scheme, a paste is given to all malnourished children.The food paste consists of peanut butter, sugar, vegetable oil and milk providing the kids 500 calories.

Targeting the states women and child welfare department, activists involved in the malnutrition eradication programme expressed shock that despite the disastrous results of the pilot at Nandurbar, the department is adamant to go ahead with the RUTF scheme. In the pilot project, out of the 14 malnourished children, just two improved while the other 12 remained malnourished. As long as the food paste packets are served, children gained weight but after the paste was stopped, they started losing weight again, said Purnima Upadhyay, coordinator, Jan Arogya Abhiyaan.

She alleged that several children became addicted to the sweet paste and refused to eat freshly cooked home food. Both the Supreme Court and Centre guidelines say Mahila Mandals and self help groups need to be roped in to provide local nutritious food to the malnourished children. But here we can see the whole scheme being tailor-made to suit the contractor, said Brian Lobo, an activist who works for malnourished children at Palghar.

The state provides nutritious food to the malnourished children between the age of 6 months to 6 years. This is done through the Anganwadis and village child development centres (VCDC) at the village level. Here the fresh food meals were given to children under supervision and it cost it Rs18 crore annually. However two years ago, the state abolished the VCDC saying that they had no funds to finance this scheme.

Minister of state for women and children welfare Vidya Thakur refused to comment. I am currently in a programme and cannot talk now, said Thakur.

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With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Maharashtra government battling a wave of farmers protests, its allies Shiv Sena and Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana have been backing the protesters and criticising the BJPs policies.

The Shiv Sena said the state government, of which it is a part, has not fulfilled its pre-election promises to farmers and is trying to divide them to stop the protests. All politicians should learn a lesson from the strong backing that the state-wide farmers strike is getting. Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray has already said he stands firmly behind farmers. This is just the beginning. The party will stand with farmers till their very last demand is met, said Sena MP Sanjay Raut.

Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatanas Raju Shetti has also been outspoken about the BJP governments policies towards farmers despite minister of state for agriculture Sadabhau Khot being a senior leader of the outfit.

Over the past two months, Shetti and the Shiv Sena have often joined forces, first for the procurement of tur dal at minimum support prices to prevent losses to farmers, then in their opposition to acquisition of agricultural land for the Mumbai-Nagpur expressway and most recently in their demand for a complete farm loan waiver.

Shetti said, We have always pursued farmers interests. Even the Shiv Sena has always had the best interest of farmers at heart, so on this subject the two outfits are natural allies against the governments unfair policies. We are actively considering snapping support to the BJP if the government doesnt meet farmers demands.

The Shiv Sena also lashed out at the state government in an editorial in the partys mouthpiece, Saamana, saying it is ridiculing farmers and trying to divide and rule.

The Sena criticised the chief ministers attempt to quell the agitation by promising a loan waiver for small and marginal farmers in phases, saying it will not help a large number of burdened farmers in the Vidarbha-Marathwada region with landholdings of over two hectares.

The CM has been successful in creating doubts and suspicions about the farmers agitation. But attempting to stop the protest is not a victory. It is a failure, read the editorial.

It said the government will have to take responsibility even if a single farmer commits suicide before October 31, the deadline set by the state government to firm up a decision on the loan waiver.

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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will review Shivar Samwad (Dialogue with Farmers), the campaign it recently undertook across 43,000 villages in Maharashtra, at chief minister Devendra Fadnavis residence in Malbar Hill.

The review comes ahead of party president Amit Shahs visit to Maharashtra on June 16, 17 and 18. The visit, part of his all-India 95-day campaign tour, will look at the partys strength across all states. He is expected to meet some state leaders, functionaries and even booth level workers to assess how prepared the BJP is for the 2019 polls.

Speculations are rife that the meeting of senior ministers was a strategy to ward off criticism from ally Shiv Sena on the ongoing farmers agitation. However, sources in the party said that the meeting had been scheduled for a long time to discuss their own campaign.

We will discuss the ongoing farmers agitation in the meeting, but the media is making it look too big. The response to this strike has been limited, given that our CM has promised a loan waiver. We may discuss a state-wide strategy to handle the sustained campaign to malign us, so that its not only the CM who is defending the government, said a BJP minister.

Some workers in the party feel that Fadnavis is being targeted by the Opposition. However, the farmers agitation spread out even after the BJP had undertaken a grassroot-level campaign to reach out to the rural mandate and discuss agriculture issues and concerns.

BJP leaders refuted this. Our campaign was successful because our leaders held effective talks with people. This strike has little substance and more politics. It is limited to one or two districts and has no resonance across the state, despite the picture portrayed by the media, said BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari.

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The Bombay high court, in an interim order on Tuesday, permitted three clubs and a store in Pune to resume operations, after the Supreme Court order banning the sale of liquor along highways shut them down.

The court also directed the state government and the Pune administration to submit details, on the basis of which they had identified establishments that needed to be shut down.

The order came after these establishments alleged that they had been sealed although they were not located within 500m along state or national highways.

The petitioners, the Residency club, the Poona club, the Ladies club, and Dorabjee and Co.(the store) said that the excise department notice issued on May 18 this year, asking them to close down, was erroneous.They said that they were located along Bund road in Pune city, which wasnt a notified national or state highway.

The government pleader, however, said that Bund road was a state highway and the petitioners were located about 101m from it.

The court, however, directed the state to produce an official document or proof to support its statement.

The bench noted that some other restaurants from Pune had also approached the court last month challenging the excise department notice on similar grounds. It has sought an explanation from the state and the Pune administration by June 22, this year.

In the meanwhile, it directed that the four establishments that approached court on Monday be allowed to operate.

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Congress upped its criticism of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday with the partys Maharashtra chief Ashok Chavan demanding a special session of the legislature to discuss a farm loan waiver in the state. Also, former minister Anand Sharma asked for a white paper on the countrys finances.

Reiterating the Congress demand for a complete farm loan waiver in Maharashtra, Chavan said, The BJP government should rethink its stand and call a special session of the legislature to grant a loan waiver for Maharashtras farmers. Chavan was speaking at a press conference in Mumbai, where Sharma and chief of Congress Mumbai unit Sanjay Nirupam was also present.

The former chief minister also criticized chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and Minister of State for Agriculture Sadabhau Khot for trying to divide farmers.

Meanwhile, Sharma targeted the central government by saying the BJP is celebrating its three-year anniversary with great fervour when the countrys finances are in doldrums, unemployment is high and farmers are being driven to commit suicide.

The BJP should tell people exactly how many of its pre-election promises it has been able to implement. At the same time, the government should publish a white paper on the countrys finances, Sharma said. He added that the government has not fulfilled even a single promise and only paints a rosy picture through glossy advertisements using public money and brands anyone a traitor who raises questions on its governance.

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Graduation season is upon us! With friends and relatives expected to spend a record $5.6 billion on gifts, knowing what not to buy is perhaps just as important as knowing what you should gift your grad. Unless you want your gift to end up in the garbage bin as soon as it's socially acceptable, heed the advice in this handy guide.

Graduation Trinkets

Unless you're a grandmother, you are not permitted to buy a teddy bear in a cap and gown  or any other tchotchke bearing the year of your giftee's graduating class. Such items are usually sewn together by children in Third World countries, and make a quick trip from the card store to the garage sale to the landfill.

SEE ALSO: 11 Great Gifts for Grads That Are Actually Useful

AmEx/Visa/MasterCard Gift Cards

If cash seems impersonal, what makes a gift card preloaded with currency more thoughtful? Though your grad may appreciate having some spending money, unless they are the goodiest of goody-goodies, you know they will not be spending it on anything pragmatic. You might as well just buy them a case of beer.

Oh, the Places You'll Go! (and Other Inspirational Books)

There was a time, a very short period of time  the year 1990, to be exact  when buying Dr. Seuss' last published work was a quirky, fun gift. These days, it is a meaningless, cliched gesture. And don't bother with similar inspirational titles, as they are sure to simply be donated.

How-To Books

Unlike the above, books with information on how to do stuff might come in handy. Thing is, all that information is on the internet these days. Save some trees and skip it.

Trendy Electronics

Each year, there is always some new gizmo or gadget that's seen as a must-have item. After a few months, there's either something better or it turns out we never needed it to begin with. If your potential gift fits this description, put it back on the shelf and walk away.

SEE ALSO: 8 Best Credit Cards for College Students

A Tablet

We were tempted to throw tablets in with the category above. As they continue to be seen as a useful item, we're singling them out. It's highly likely that your graduate's phone can do everything a tablet can do, and if not, it's better done on their laptop.

Stuff the College Provides

While gifts like a gym membership or a desk might seem thoughtful, your grad probably won't need them. After all, the college they'll be attending will have a gym where they can work out, and dorms equipped with desks. If you're unsure whether your gift would be redundant, you can always contact the school.

Readers, what do you think? Are there other things you wouldn't buy a grad? Let us know in the comments!
The Dongri police recently booked four minors for raping a 14-year-old inside a childrens remand home in Dongri.

The accused had allegedly been sexually assaulting the boy for two months. The police had registered a case but sent the boys to the same remand home. The accused are of 14, 16 and 17 years.

The accused and the rape survivor are kept in different floors now, said senior inspector Nitin Bangale from Dongri police station. The children can, however, come across each other during meal breaks as they have food in a common area. We are keeping an eye on the accused and have taken special precautions to ensure that they do not reach out or harm the boy again, said the inspector.

The incident came to light after an NGO working for childrens welfare conducted a seminar on sexual harassment at the home in May end. The boy approached one of the NGO officials after the seminar and told him about the assault.

According to the police, the boy was first raped by the 17-year-old accused in April while he was taking a shower. He also threatened the survivor of dire consequences if he revealed the matter to anyone.

In April, the accused was joined by three others, a 16-year old and two 14-year-olds, in raping the minor again.

An officer from Dongri police station said, The officials from the NGO brought the boy to us and we registered a case against the four accused.

The survivor was brought to the remand home after the Malwani police caught him in a theft case.

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While a 57-year-old founder and trustee of a prominent Andheri school, and a nursery teacher, were booked for allegedly raping a three-year-old student, 230 people have died because of swine flu in Maharashtra this year.The Shiv Sena in their mouthpiece Saamna questioned whether the government had taken note of the farmers frustration demonstrated through the six consecutive day of strikes, while the strike also drew attention to the changing aspirations of those not so well off. Also, An eight-year-old girl, who was comatose for over a month after she was hit by a wooden tava thrown from the 13th floor of a multi-storeyed building in Mumbai Central was discharged on Monday.

Here are todays top five picks:

1. Mumbai school trustee booked for raping 3-year-old: What we know about the case

A 57-year-old founder and trustee of a prominent Andheri school, and a nursery teacher, were booked for allegedly raping a three-year-old student on the premises. While the school principal has refused to comment on the incident, he said that they are cooperating with the police.

2. Dont ignore fever, stomach ache: Swine flu claims 230 lives in Maharashtra this year

A total of 230 swine flu, or H1N1, related deaths have been recorded in Maharashtra this year, making it a pressing public health concern for state officials. Last year, the virus had claimed 26 lives, and the statehad recorded 82 cases. Most cases have been recorded at Pune, Nashik, Ahmednagar and Aurangabad. Mumbai has recorded three deaths this year.

3. Mumbai girl hit by tava thrown from 13th floor back home after 2-month stay in hospital

An eight-year-old girl, who was comatose for over a month after she was hit by a wooden tava thrown from the 13th floor of a multi-storeyed building in Mumbai Central was discharged on Monday. Hazequa Kapadia went home after a two-month long stay at the hospital. Her miraculous recovery had her family shedding happy tears.

4. Mr minister, why shouldnt our farmers wear jeans?

Nearly a decade before Narendra Modi lured aspirational India to his side, I got a very practical lesson from my mothers maid. I had scoured the markets of Dadar and Girgaum for a nav-vari saree as a Diwali gift for her. But when I presented it to her with great expectation of her appreciation for my efforts, I was utterly taken aback as she summarily rejected that beautiful cotton nine-yard saree. I do not wear sooti (cotton), she told me flatly. More modern fabrics like nylon was her aspiration and silk would have been a bonus.

5. Maharashtra farmers will not be soothed by mere assurances, says Shiv Sena

After it backed a state-wide bandh of Maharashtras farmers against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government, the Shiv Sena on Tuesday warned that the strike has shown that farmers will not be soothed by mere assurances, and that the fight has just begun. In an editorial in the partys mouthpiece, Saamana, the Sena questioned whether the government had taken note of the farmers frustration demonstrated through the six consecutive day of strikes.
Mumbai

The sessions court on Tuesday asked the prosecution and the registrar to give copies of the CCTV footages in a CD or in a pen drive to the accused booked in the alleged fake encounter of gangster Sandeep Gadoli at a Mumbai hotel last year.

The six accused  four Haryana police officers, Gadolis alleged girlfriend Divya Pahuja and her mother Sonia  had sought copies of the CCTV footage taken from the hotel where the alleged encounter had occurred. The accused claimed instead of attaching the footage, the police only added a transcript of the footage with the charge sheet.

Read:Accused cops want copy of CCTV footage of the incident

The prosecution had objected to the plea alleging that the defence may try to manipulate the footage and the accused might changes the content. After hearing both sides, it was decided that the CD containing the CCTV footage from the hotel would be played before the registrar and compared with the transcripts provided by the prosecution. The CD would be handed over to the accused only after it matched the transcripts. However, the needful is yet to be done.

The defence on Tuesday pressed for the compliance of the order passed by the sessions court in April, following which the court has again asked the prosecution and the registrar to give copies of the footage to the accused.

The case

Gadoli was allegedly killed by the Gurgaon police in a fake encounter at Andheri Metro Hotel on February 7, 2016.

A team set up by the Mumbai police, which investigated the case, relied heavily on the footage recorded by the CCTV cameras installed in the hotel.

In one of the recordings, Haryana policemen can be seen telling the hotel staff that they were from Delhi.

The accused asked the staff about the hotels occupants and demanded to see their identity cards. As per one of the footages, after entering the hotel, an officer fired six rounds at Gadoli in nine seconds, the sound of gunshots was recorded by a CCTV camera.

The recording also shows constable Vikram Singh placing a gun near Gadolis body.

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Another year, another monsoon, the same old Mithi trouble.

If you have followed HTs monsoon audit over the years  in which an expert panel identifies clogged drains and bad roads that could spell trouble for Mumbaiites during the monsoon  you know how this story goes. If youre reading this for the first time, well tell you all about the annual problem.

Issue persists

On July 26, 2005, Mumbai drowned in 944mm of rain. The deluge, referred to since as 26/7 in the manner of a terrorist attack, killed more than 500 people. The downpour had caused a clogged, polluted Mithi river to overflow as it was unable to carry rain water to the sea.

Ten years later, on June 19, 2015, just a fraction of that downpour brought the city to a halt. The Mithi rivers level rose to 2.5 metres (the danger mark is 2.7 metres), and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) started evacuating people from the nearby shanties.

READ: Will repeat 2016 flood-free monsoon feat, says Mumbai civic body

On June 2, 2017, when HTs expert panel visited the Mithi River in BKC, and four other nullahs in the western suburbs, they found the situation was dangerously the same. Shrubs and garbage were seen floating, and silt had not been cleared of a river that flows through most of the densely populated western suburbs and central Mumbai.

Worse this year

The expert panel found the status of Mithis cleaning worse this year, compared to the years before. The BMC has completed just 20% of the cleaning work till May 25, data from the civic body showed. Last year, it had completed 76.09% of the work.

Usually, the cleaning is at a better stage, when compared to other drains. This year, its condition is as bad as the rest, said Raj Kumar Sharma, an activist and one of the panellists.

Shrubs usually stick to the walls of the nullah. But we saw floating shrubs, which is a definite sign the work is incomplete. It will clog the drains and prevent water from flowing out to sea, said DK Pathak, a former engineer with the solid waste management department.

Why it matters

Desilting and unclogging the Mithi river and other major drains is important as it increases their depth, and capacity, to hold rainwater. In fact, a probe into why Mumbai flooded in 2015 unearthed two major scams in the BMCs storm water drains and the roads departments. Civic officials and contractors were allegedly involved in cutting corners and doing shoddy cleaning work. Action was taken, but two years later, it seems to have had little impact on the crucial process. The BMC has promised Mumbai wont flood this year. But experts said a lot more needs to be done to ensure this  more clean-up rounds, removing shanties along nullahs, building retaining walls to keep water in check and widening the drains to increase their capacity.

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After it backed a state-wide bandh of Maharashtras farmers against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government, the Shiv Sena on Tuesday warned that the strike has shown that farmers will not be soothed by mere assurances, and that the fight has just begun.

In an editorial in the partys mouthpiece, Saamana, the Sena questioned whether the government had taken note of the farmers frustration demonstrated through the six consecutive day of strikes. These questions still remain unanswered. It will be in everyones benefit if the government can reply to these questions at the earliest, the party said, adding that the few incidents of street rage, wreckage, verbal fights, farmers shaving off their hair and the Sholay-style protests should not be seen as violence and stunts, but a measure of the farmers grievances and frustration.

However, instead of taking note of the incidents, the Devendra Fadnavis-led government clamped down on Internet services in Nashik, the epicentre of the strike. It is as if the district is like the troubled state of Kashmir, and farmers are like traitors, pelting stones at Indian soldiers, the Shiv Sena said, taunting its ally, adding that the Sena will continue to whole-heartedly back the farmers till their last demand is met.

Maharashtras farmers have been agitating for the past five days, crippling supply of vegetables, fruits and milk in some parts, mainly demanding a complete loan waiver and a minimum support price for their produce.

Attempting to quell the protests, the state government last week promised a loan waiver for small and marginal farmers, assuring them that it will firm up a decision by October 31.

The Shiv Sena, which has been in constant conflict with the BJP and is looking to strengthen its rural presence, has backed the agitating farmers and joined opposition parties in criticising the government despite being part of it.

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The state government will not get any help from the Centre to shoulder the burden of Rs30,000 crore farm loan waiver assured by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis last week.

Union urban development minister M Venkaiah Naidu, who was in the city on Tuesday, ruled out the possibility of financial aid by the Centre to the government. He said the Centre has already informed the chief minister and his colleagues, who had visited Delhi, about the situation.

States such as Uttar Pradesh, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have announced loan waivers on their own and Maharashtra will have to do the same, Naidu told mediapersons.

Fadnavis declared loan waiver for small and marginal farmers by October 31 to quell farmers agitation, which began on June 1. The CM said the decision is likely to benefit 31 lakh farmers, who were unable to access crop loans for the past four to five years owing to bad loans. The state is likely to spend about Rs30,000 crore or more to write off these loans.

The Centres move assumes significance considering the weak finances of the state. Maharashtra has one of the highest debt in the country and is estimated to touch Rs4.13 lakh crore by the next fiscal. This year, the state will spend Rs50,772 crore in just debt servicing  repayment of some of the original loan and its interest. It has also projected borrowings of Rs38,893 crore, figure that is now expected to spiral. The state is likely to cut down on development spending and is also exploring sale of government plots to raise money.

State finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said, After July 1, once the GST comes in to effect, the state government will have no power to impose any taxes or cess. The only thing we can do is save money wherever possible.

He, however, added that the states financial status was improving with each passing year. The state tax revenue has risen by 14%. The government is also expecting a rise in its non-tax revenue. We are ready to implement the decision, Mungantiwar said.

Meanwhile, Fadnavis said they are adopting a system implemented by Andhra Pradesh government to ensure only the needy avail the loan waiver benefit.

The system ensures only one member from each family avails the waiver, in case there are multiple accounts. It means only the deserving ones will get the benefit, he said.

The CM also said this would be the biggest loan waiver in the history of Maharashtra.

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An eight-year-old girl, who was comatose for over a month after she was hit by a wooden tava thrown from the 13th floor of a multi-storeyed building in Mumbai Central was discharged on Monday. Hazequa Kapadia went home after a two-month long stay at the hospital. Her miraculous recovery had her family shedding happy tears.

Her father, Faizan Kapadia, who runs an automobile repair shop, said God answered their prayers. She has come back home during Ramdan, which is a sign that her health is only going to improve from now on. She was unconscious after the incident and now she is back home, throwing flying kisses to all of us, he said.

She is such a brave young girl, and it was her willingness to get better that gave us the strength to help her, he said.

On March 31, Hazequa, a resident of Agarpada, was on her way home from her tuition class when the tava fell on her head from the thirteenth floor of high rise, according to police investigations.

Hazequa was operated at Bombay Hospital. Marine Lines, where doctors performed brain surgery on her. They pushed out a part of her skull bone, which had fragmented and pierced into her brain.

The impact of the injury had affected the centre of her brain. The fibre tracts which transmit signals to other parts of the brain were disturbed, which had resulted in complete cessation of all activities, said Dr Keki Terul, professor and head, neurosurgery, who performed the surgery.

She is now able to obey all commands and can sit with support. She also eats soft food. After her tracheostomy procedure, she may get her voice back too, but will need extensive rehabilitation therapy to walk, Dr Terul had told HT.

Now as Hazequa enjoys the festival with her family, she will have to undergo the rehabilitation therapy at Nair Hospital, Mumbai Central, her father said.

Read: In coma for a month, after utensil fell on her, 8-year-old is recovering quickly: Doctors
A team of Mumbai crime branch officials has reached Delhi to verify claims of an arrested man in connection with a government posting scam. Ravindra Singh Yadav, who is from Delhi, allegedly boasted of his contacts with central ministers.

Crime branch officials are also scrutinising chat and call records of the five arrested people. According to police, they duped several IPS and IAS officers by offering them plum postings.

On May 31, the Mumbai crime branch raided a five-star hotel near domestic airport in Vile Parle (East) and arrested four men: Vidyasagar Hirmukhe, 47, a deputy secretary and general manager of Mahanand Dairy; Vishal Ombale, 40; Kishor Mali, 38 ;and Ravindra Singh Yadav. The fifth man identified as Kamlesh Kanade was arrested on Sunday. He was in touch with Hirmukhe.

The five men are in police custody till June 7. Mali is from Solapur and Ombale from Pune. They have known each other from a long time and visited Delhi together earlier when they met Yadav.

If required, a police team will also visit Solapur and Pune to search residences and offices of Mali and Ombale, added a senior crime branch officer.

The scam was unearthed when a couple of weeks ago Mali learnt that Solapur superintendent of police Namdev Chavan wanted to be transferred to Navi Mumbai, said a source. Mali promised him that he can help.

Mali spoke to Chavan several times told him that the main boss ( referring to Ravindra Singh Yadav) had come from Delhi and was staying in a hotel near the domestic airport in Mumbai. The meeting was fixed and they decided to meet on May 31 evening, said the official.

During their telephonic conversation, Chavan suspected something was amiss, so he alerted a senior officer of the crime branch. A police team laid a trap at the hotel and nabbed the four men. They also found Rs6.70 lakh with the men.

Yadav has used names of several ministers of Delhi to show his influence during the meeting with Chavan. He claimed that he is into real estate business so a police team has gone to verify his claims, said the official.
A 57-year-old founder and trustee of a prominent Andheri school, and a nursery teacher, were booked for allegedly raping a three-year-old student on the premises. While the school principal has refused to comment on the incident, he said that they are cooperating with the police.

Here are five things we know about the case:

1) According to the police, the incident took place late last year. The teacher took the girl to the trustees room, where he sexually assaulted her, the police said. This amounts to rape under the section 376 (2) of the Indian Penal Code.

2) The school principal refused to comment on the case, but said that they are cooperating with the police. The complaint was lodged by the parent. We are giving the cops whatever they want, the principal said. According to allegations in the FIR, earlier this year, the girls mother noticed a change in her daughters behaviour and began questioning her. The girl then told her mother about the assault, the police said.

Read: Trustee of prominent Mumbai school booked for raping 3-year-old student

3) On May 18, the mother filed a rape case under section 376 (2) and relevant sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act against the trustee and the teacher. The FIR also mentions the accused sexually assaulted another three-year-old boy. The boys parents have been contacted by the police to verify the allegation.

4) The police have also spoken to the trustees wife, who expressed shock over the allegation, but has supported her husband. She said he will soon return to India.

5) The girl has undergone a medical test, the police said. On Monday, around 3pm, the founder-trustee sent an email to parents, after the news of the police complaint was telecast. As (the school) grows and expands sharing light on education, the darkness of the material world also clings to us, read the statement.The statement further said, In the same way that I prepare (the school) students for the unexpected, I am preparing myself to face the unexpected so that truth will ultimately prevailI am confident that in due course it would be revealed and clarified that the accusation is unfounded.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Tuesday told the Bombay high court that the revised draft for the development plan (DP) will be published within six weeks of the general bodys approval.

It also assured the Muslim community of H/West ward of a cemetery, once the draft was approved.

Work on the revised draft has been completed, the BMC said in an affidavit.

It has asked for eight weeks to place a copy of the published draft before the court and added that the BMC plans to publish it in two months, after which objections and suggestions on the draft will begin.

BMC counsel Anil Sakhare filed the affidavit in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) by Mohammed Furqan Mohammed Ali Qureshi, a real estate developer from Bandra. The PIL said that there a cemetery was needed in H/West ward, which had a Muslim population of 1.72 lakh. There had been 4,794 Muslim deaths in eight years in the ward, which comprises Bandra (West) and Khar (West). The petitioner said that he had approached the BMC for a Sunni cemetery but it had fallen on deaf ears, and so he had moved court.

The BMC affidavit came after the court ordered a temporary freeze on a 47-hectare plot in Bandra Reclamation, part of which was being used for a casting yard and temporary labour accommodation for Metro-3 workers.

The court ordered all authorities to maintain the status quo after the BMC failed to show how much of the land would be reserved in its draft DP for the cemetery. In the affidavit, the civic body has said that it would earmark a plot measuring 3,000 sqm for the cemetery.
Parents of some 20 students of a school in Mumbra on the outskirts of Mumbra are alleging that their children, who were on a Ramzan fast, were made to stand in the sun for an hour and then sent home on foot as punishment for not cutting their hair.

The schools principal said he had disciplined students as they had flouted the schools strict rule that hair had to be cut very short and that he did not know which of the students were observing the Ramzan fast. The parents said their children didnt get haircuts because it was Ramzan and criticised the principal for making the students walk home. They said he should have provided them the school bus or asked the parents to pick them up.

The incident took place on Tuesday when the Symbiosis Convent High School re-opened for the new academic year.

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A mother of a ninth class student, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, As it is Ramzan, most parents do not wish to cut their childrens hair. We know the rule, however since it was first day and Ramzan we thought of waiting till Eid. However the school principal shortlisted the students who did not cut their hair, made them stand outside the school for one hour. Later he took their bags and told them to go home.

She said her son, who takes uses the school bus, was forced to walk three to four kilometres on an empty stomach. He was so tired that he slept the whole day. Like him most students were fasting and had to walk home.

Another parent said the school appeared more concerned about the length of the students hair than their academic capabilities. The students in ninth class cannot speak in English or Marathi, however the management is not bothered about their progress. We agree it was our mistake, however the school could have given a warning or issued z milder punishment. After seeing my son today I called the school and inquired as to why didnt they provide the school bus or at least call the parents instead of putting the students to such ordeal?

Speaking to Hindustan Times, the schools principal, Kamalraj Dev, asked: How will I know which student was fasting and who wasnt? The students and parents know the school rule very well, but still did not follow it. There were around 20 students who did not cut their hair and my only aim was to discipline them. I did not punish them seeing their religion. Moreover I did not tell them to go home, but told them to find a salon, get a haircut and come to school. We havent done anything wrong.

Parents argued that the students had no money as they travelled by school bus and thus had to no option but to walk home instead of going to a salon.

Read more: Nine-year-old locked in cupboard for four hours as punishment in UK school

Varanasi: Girls allegedly forced to run without skirts for not doing homework

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Exams as well as results can be equally stressing for a student, but the stress reaches new heights when results are delayed. Looking at the speed at which the University of Mumbai (MU) is working on the assessment of sixth semester answer papers, colleges are worried that announcement of results might take another month, if not more, as many teachers are still waiting to receive an SMS from the university to start the digital assessment of answer booklets.

According to the process as mentioned by MU, we are supposed to wait for an email first, followed by an SMS which informs us about the login IDs and password for each individual teacher. Most of us have received the email but are still waiting for the SMS, said a professor from the BMM department. With no word from MU still about this process, most colleges have already started classes for the next academic year. We cant be sitting and wasting time, so we plan to finish the portion for our current batch and head for assessment as and when called to do so, she added.

Most third year (sixth semester) exams got over in April this year and as per rules, results were supposed to be announced within 45 days. However, almost two months later, university officials are not even aware of how many papers have been scanned or assessed as yet. Scanning of papers is still on, but we cannot be sure of the final figures. We have ensured that assessment of papers begins simultaneously, said Anil Patil, director, Academic Planning and Development, MU. This is despite the fact that the main aim of introducing digital assessment was to have easy access to daily updates on the number of answer booklets that have been scanned and assessed.

In March, when the MU vice chancellor Sanjay Deshmukh had announced the introduction of on-screen assessment, the plan was to scan over 19.5 lakh answer booklets and finish its assessment within 45 days. However, with scanning still on and most teachers still waiting to start assessment, principals fear results might take much more time.

This means students who are aiming at higher education institutes abroad will face a tough time, with most foreign universities already starting their admissions process. With no results in hand, our students will be unable to apply for a seat in time, which is unfair on them, said Anju Kapoor, principal of UPG College in Vile Parle. She added that many teachers from the Bachelor of Mass Media (BMM), Bachelor of Management Studies (BMS) and other courses of her college have not yet received an SMS from the University to start assessment of papers. Looks like results will not be out for another month, she added.

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The Sakinaka police recently booked two unidentified persons for allegedly duping a 47-year-old Bombay hospital nurse of Rs7 lakh. No arrests have been made.

The woman, who is a resident of Asalfa village in Sakinaka, paid the amount towards customs duty for a gift which was sent by a man from London,said an officer. She befriended him on Facebook.

She told the police that she received the friend request in October last year.

An officer from Sakinaka police station said, The two became friends and even shared their phone numbers. They chatted and spoke on the phone.

In November, the man allegedly told her that he was sending a Diwali gift for her  an offer she refused to accept. But he said he had already dispatched the gift.

A woman who posed as a customs officer threatened to jail the nurse if she failed to pay the duty towards the gift, said the officer. The nurse consulted with the London man who assured her that he would to repay the amount.

The fake customs officer threatened the nurse and said the gift contained illegal gold, laptop and money from the UK, added the officer. Scared, the victim borrowed money and paid Rs7 lakh in eight different transactions. After each transaction, the fraud would ask the nurse to pay import duty for a different item.

The nurse realised her mistake in December when the fake officer and the man switched off their phones.

In the last week of January, the man asked for monetary help, claiming that he was arrested by the Delhi police. But she confronted him and asked him if he was from the UK how come he was arrested from Delhi. He hung up on her, added an officer. The cyber police are trying to trace the fake officer and the man.

The nurse submitted a written application on January 27, which was later converted into an FIR last week.

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Nearly a decade before Narendra Modi lured aspirational India to his side, I got a very practical lesson from my mothers maid. I had scoured the markets of Dadar and Girgaum for a nav-vari saree as a Diwali gift for her. But when I presented it to her with great expectation of her appreciation for my efforts, I was utterly taken aback as she summarily rejected that beautiful cotton nine-yard saree. I do not wear sooti (cotton), she told me flatly. More modern fabrics like nylon was her aspiration and silk would have been a bonus.

But soon she was even rejecting the kashtha sarees that we were used to seeing maids in. One Diwali she expressed the desire for a gol saree  the usual five yards that the rest of us drape. Even my own maid who had been working for me for a decade went from washing cars in the building and gladly accepting hand-me-downs to rejecting the utensils amd clothes I tried to pass on to her recently. Gingerly wading through my clothes with one finger, she pulled out a chiffon dress and said, If you can give me more of this, at least my younger daughter will be happy. They do not want the kind of cottons that you usually wear.

She soon left my employ after her older daughter, who had found a job as a housekeeper in a in SoBo hotel, insisted she no longer wash cars and utensils and moved her mother from a slum dwelling to what maids in Bombay refer to as towers  cement and concrete buildings with toilets inside the home. My new maid has asked me for jeans for her daughter and I have begun to realise that there is no line  except perhaps a bank balance  that divides the slum dwellers from those in high-rises or villagers from urban Indians any longer.

So I wondered how Hansraj Ahir, Minister of state for Home in the Modi government at the Centre, should not have caught on and understood the aspirations of a growing India. Responding to the farmers strike that has put both the central and state governments on notice, Ahir contemptuously dismissed the striking farmers as Frauds because  hold your breath!  they were wearing pants and shirts!

You cannot be wearing jean pants and T-shirts and pretending to be farmers, he said last week. That has added insult to injury as farmers were already angry with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for what they believed was him taking them for a ride. Fadnavis had steadfastly refused to waive off loans of farmers and even a day before the strike got underway, he had been tough in stating if they stopped the supplies of milk and vegetables, the government could always bring these from neighbouring states. The import of the strike dawned upon him only when these supplies actually stopped coming into the cites and it was not quite easy to source the produce from other states as farmers, particularly in Madhya Pradesh which is a major source of vegetables, too resorted to a similar strike. The government then promptly inked a midnight deal on June 2, promising the loan waiver and hoping they would call off the strike. That did not happen, however. Farmers affiliated to the Kisan Kranti Morcha threw out the members they thought had been selling them short and even burnt an effigy of Minister of state for agriculture Sadabhau Khot, whom they blamed for misleading farmers and attempting to entice and lure some of their members with various forms of gratification.

When I spoke to a farmer from Kopargaon on the second day of the strike, his anger had been focused entirely on the chief minster. But now he is hopping mad that Ahir should think farmers in jeans and shirts are all frauds or that they do not have a right to the kind of clothing that the rest of India aspires to.

Have these netas not gone from Gandhi topis and khadi pyjamas to suits and boots, he asked in great anger. What do they expect us to be  living in mud huts and eating off the floors?

In fact, there are very few farmers these days who might wear the traditional dhoti and pheta that Ahir probably expects them to. Tractors, which have replaced the traditional bullocks, are easier to ride in trousers and the farmers too wish to catch up with urban dwellers.

Their aspirations are not to be scoffed at.

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Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Tuesday his government was willing to discuss the farmers issue with anyone provided they do not have a political agenda as they continued their protests even after he announced a farm loan waiver for small and marginal farmers in the state.

Most of the people staging protests are not real farmers. They are political workers. I am willing to talk with anyone to resolve the problems of farmers but not those who have political intentions, Fadnavis said as the agitation entered the sixth day.

The chief minister held talks with the representatives of various farmers groups on Saturday and promised to waive off loans farmers with land holding up to five acres following protests in western and central Maharashtra.

Most of the people staging protests are not real farmers. They are political workers. I am willing to talk with anyone to resolve the problems of farmers but not those who have political intentions, Fadnavis said.

The Maharashtra government is likely to end up spending about Rs 30,000 crore to write off these loans. The decision that will come into effect by October 31 is expected to benefit 31 lakh farmers, who have not been able to access crop loans for the past four to five years.

Fadnavis added he would set up a committee of government officials, which will have farmers representatives, to work out details of the loan waiver. He also promised a mechanism to ensure that the farmers are protected against falling prices of agricultural commodities.

While several representatives called off their strike following Fadnavis assurance, some farmers outfits decided to continue with the agitations and even organised a Maharashtra bandh on Monday.

These outfits  now joined by late Sharad Joshi led Shetkari Sanghatana and BJP ally MP Raju Shetti led Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana  are demanding for a complete farm loan waiver for all the 1.34 crore farmers in the state.

The opposition Congress-Nationalist Congress Party, as well as BJP ally Shiv Sena, are demanding complete loan waiver.

It is still getting a response in parts of the state mostly in western, central (Marathwada) and a few districts in north Maharashtra. Farmers came out in groups on streets and highways expressing solidarity and tried to block trucks carrying vegetables and milk to cities such as Mumbai and Pune.

The protest may also affect Mumbais supply of vegetables, fruits and milk as milk collection in Kolhapur, the biggest milk producing district in the state, as farmers there decided not to collect milk as a mark of protest. The shortage in supply may once again result in a steep rise in the prices of vegetables and fruits.

In a related development, a 21-member core committee comprising all prominent farmers leaders in Maharashtra and agricultural experts will meet in Nashik on Tuesday to chalk out the future course of the agitation.

According to reports, NCP chief Sharad Pawar called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi apparently to seek his attention to the farmers agitation in Maharashtra.

Fadnavis also has called a meeting of BJP ministers late in the evening to discuss the situation.

He has two challenges at hand. First, to put an end to the agitations and second, mobilise Rs 30,000 crore for the loan waiver. The state is not exactly in a good financial condition with a debt of over Rs 4 lakh crore. Fadnavis has even explored the option of assistance by the Centre but the latter is not keen.

Union urban development minister M Venkaiah Naidu, who was in Mumbai on Tuesday, categorically ruled out any loan waiver package or aid by the Centre to the state to write off the loans.

Uttar Pradesh, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have announced loan waivers on their own and Maharashtra will have to follow the same, Naidu told reporters.
The Ghaziabad development authority is now focusing on planned development in its area. The authority intends to give a last chance to residents to regularise properties by submitting layout map for approval. In this connection, the GDA will hold camps in all its eight zones.

Kanchan Verma, vice-chairperson of the authority, said the camps will be held in areas where residents are yet to obtain map approvals for house construction. The officials have ordered a survey and are scanning planning department files to identify areas where there are major violations of map approval.

Once the survey report is in, we will start camps in respective zones. All our officials from the town planning department and enforcement wing will be present at the camps. Residents can get map approvals from these camps and also pay compounding charges, if any, Verma said.

We expect that residents with houses up to 300 square metres can get the map approval the same day. These camps are intended for those who have made construction but not got their maps cleared. This will also help the authority generate revenue. We have also directed a survey of properties where commercial activities are running in residential areas. Such activities are not permissible and suitable action will be taken after the survey, she said.

The directions to identify and crack down on unauthorised structures come from the state government. As per the building bylaws, commercial activity is not permitted in residential areas.

Ghaziabad has nearly 8,000 such commercial establishments running in residential areas and officials expect the numbers to rise. A survey was conducted during the previous government but a fresh survey has been ordered. Officials expect the number to rise this time.

The first survey was conducted on the directions of the Allahabad high court in September 2013. The high court had come down heavily on the development authority and directed GDA to seal all buildings/shops, including banks, private schools and nursing homes, running on land earmarked for residential use.

The directions were also applicable to premises for which leases were executed for residential use and for which zonal regulations did not permit a commercial usage.

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The Ghaziabad development authority (GDA) has sent a report to the district administration about the land use of the plot where a retired IAS officer allegedly buried his wifes body. The site is located in Indirapuram locality and the residents had objected to the burial.

Following the incident on Sunday, police and administrative officials went to the house of retired bureaucrat, Tulsi Gaur, who told officials that the burial was done in accordance with his wifes last wish.

She had succumbed to an ailment at a Delhi hospital and was buried on Sunday allegedly at the vacant plot owned by the family in Indirapuram.

We have sent the report that one of the three plots was in the name of Sheela Gaur, the deceased. The other two plots are in the names of members of the extended family. In our report, sought by the administration, we have submitted that the plot has residential land use and is meant for residential purposes only, said Kanchan Verma, GDA vice-chairperson.

Now, it will be up to the administration to take a decision on the issue, she said.

But the GDA officials are in a fix on whether burials can be allowed on a residential plot or not. Officials of the town planning department, on condition of anonymity, said the bylaws permit only residential activity but dont specifically say anything about burials.

For the purpose of last rites, cremation and burial, the Master Plan allocates specific spaces. Such activities should be undertaken only at these sites, the officer said.

According to the GDA, the three plots were allotted to Gaur and two others in 2000.

On Monday, residents of Shri Krishna Lane RWA at Shakti Khand II, Indirapuram, met Verma and raised objections over the alleged burial.

Since Sunday evening, the police have also deployed personnel at the site to prevent any escalation of law and order due to objection by residents over the alleged burial. An inquiry is being conducted by additional district magistrate (city).

We have sought the opinion of legal experts. We cannot interfere in the issue without a court order. Suo motu, the administration has no power to interfere. Still, the inquiry is underway and the ADM is trying to find out the legalities, said Ministhy S, district magistrate.
A 24-year-old woman was allegedly thrown off the fourth floor of a building by her husband in Ghari Chaukhandi area of Sector 122 on Saturday. The woman sustained severe head injuries and has been admitted to Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi for advance treatment.

The police said Babitas husband Amar Singh, 26, allegedly pushed her off the building where they were living on rent. On Saturday, around 11pm, Singh allegedly took Babita to the rooftop and pushed her off.

She sustained injuries in the head, arms and spine, the doctors told the police. Babitas family members, who live in Bulandshahr, were informed by Singh on Sunday.

The couple got married in February 2016 and has an eight-month-old daughter. It is suspected that Babita was pregnant at the time of the incident, the police said.

Around 4am, Amar called me and told me that Babita has been thrown off the roof by a ghost. We reached Prakash hospital and doctors asked us to shift her to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi. We asked him what he meant by a ghost and then he kept changing his version, said Babitas brother Satinder.

Satinder later went to the police station and filed a complaint against Singh, who works in a private company in RK Puram, Delhi, as office assistant .

Satinder alleged that Singh has been demanding dowry from them.

In the complaint, the family members alleged that the couple had a fight on May 26 the family was called Ghari Chaukhandi to intervene and patch up the matter. The complaint states that Babita was beaten up by Singh that time.

Zaheer Khan, SHO, Phase 3 police station, said, On the basis of the brothers complaint, we have registered a case of attempt to murder. The matter is being investigated. The truth will be known only after Babita regains consciousness.

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I cannot help but feel nostalgic with Qatar being in the news. Its two years since I returned from the desert kingdom after 12 years there, but a piece of my heart still longs for the land marked by pockets of extravagant opulence and periodic tales of human misery.

It is also the place where I gained international work exposure and a modicum of financial stability.

As memories keep flooding, I have in my prayers the many friends I have left behind in Doha. Most of them have been busy for the past day, rushing to nearby groceries and supermarkets to stock up on food, water and whatever that is necessary to survive the blockade thrust on the nation by regional neighbours, led by Saudi Arabia.

There are more than 650,000 Indians in Qatar and my friends tell me most are doing fine at the moment. No one is panicking, though all are anxious about the future.

My sense is that the situation in Qatar is far from apocalyptic. It is far from being what it was in Kuwait during the first Gulf war when tens of thousands of Indians had to be evacuated in the wake of the kingdom being invaded by Iraq.

Qatar is tiny in size and driving from one end of the country to the other along its butter-smooth highways take no more than two hours. But its might  both financial and in shaping public opinion  is unmatched in the region.

Its $335 billion sovereign wealth fund is testimony of its very deep pockets. Though one-third the size of Kerala, its the richest country in the world with the highest GDP per capita at $129,726. Powered by huge gas reserves and a sparse population  2.6 million of which some 90% are expatriates  Qatar faces no such economic challenges as its budget-deficit neighbour Saudi Arabia is confronted with.

Qataris are pampered with government largesse and hardly need to work. Those who work earn more than double of what more qualified expat professionals do.

Its neighbours therefore have plenty to be envious of Qatar, including its Al Jazeera media network with an ability to dictate the narrative and stoke passions in Arab streets. The channel is normally soft when it comes to covering events within Qatar, but pulls no punches while covering the rest of the region. Al Jazeera is run professionally, but its regional coverage does reflect Qatars foreign policy.

Buoyed by its financial muscle and media outreach, Qatar has perfected the art of throwing punches much beyond its weight. Historically overshadowed by the Saudis, Qataris are driven by a blinding desire to be counted. It explains why they have a finger in almost every pie: from sheltering leaders of the Palestinian armed outfit Hamas to providing refuge to members of the Taliban. Controversies allow Qatar to flourish.

This controversy too will pass, though the concerted attempt by Saudi Arabia, Egypt and others may just leave it a bit chastised.

As for the Indian population, the crisis is a moment of some inconvenience and nothing more. Indians with blue-collar jobs earn enough to take care of themselves. Those engaged as workers and drivers are in any case ill-paid and used to hardships. In all likelihood, heavens will not fall with countries ganging up to isolate Qatar.

(The author spent more than a decade in Qatar as a journalist. Views expressed are personal. He tweets as @Rubenbanerjee)

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It is a pity that supercop KPS Gill (who died last week) could not serve long enough in Chhattisgarh where he was sent to advise the State Government on dealing with Maoist terror. In any case he was not given hands-on responsibility there. He was never comfortable with being a backroom boy since he always led from the front. In dealing with the vicious insurgency in Punjab, his formula was simple: Kill them before they kill you.

Arguably, the nature of Chhattisgarhs Left-wing infantile disorder generated by a Maoist brains trust, is very different from what India faced in Punjab. First, the disturbances in the jungles of Bastar are directed by certain intellectual masterminds. In other words, there is an ideological veneer to the Naxalites campaign here. Second, working assiduously on tribals living in isolation from an emerging India, the Maoists successfully persuaded many of them to confront and destroy all instruments of the state. Accordingly, tribals are trained to target not just the security forces but also government offices, schools, hospitals and even contractors building roads in the remote interiors.

The tragedy is that many poor, illiterate tribals have been brainwashed into believing that the Indian state is encroaching on their traditional way of life and livelihood. Howsoever absurd that claim may be, the fact is that either out of fear or misplaced conviction, many foot soldiers of the Maoist cadre believe in that theory.

Mao Zedong had theorised: People are the sea and we are the fish. As long as we swim in the sea we can survive. Something similar is the case with the Maoists of Chhattisgarh. In this scenario, frontal combat with the enemy is impossible. To quote another dictum of Mao: When the enemy attacks we retreat. When the enemy camps, we harass. This is precisely what the masterminds of the insurrection have been doing successfully in killing security forces personnel when they break for lunch during transit marches.

The key to winning the battle against the Maoist leaders is intelligence and that is in short supply here because of the terror they have created in these remote areas. Besides, the Maoists are helped by the army of overground sympathisers in cities like Delhi who are ready to pounce on security forces whenever encounters take place. No mention is ever made of the innocent tribals liquidated under orders of the kangaroo courts. Due to the atmosphere of fear it is difficult for reliable information of Maoists movements, whereas they seem to have accurate details of security forces transit plans.

Overground sympathisers accomplished a great victory when they got the courts to intervene to disband the highly effective Salwa Judum movement backed by the state government. That movement was aimed at securing villages from Maoist terror and enabling villagers to cultivate their fields under police protection.

In the long run, there is no effective alternative to Salwa Judum, whatever new name may be given to it. Clubbing villages together within secure perimeters and providing gainful employment to tribal youth has to be the governments mission. Simultaneously, political parties need to come together, as they did for Salwa Judum to help build tribal leadership to counter the evil influence of Maoism, which has been destructive in the extreme.

With the terrorists targeting schools it is obvious they want to keep the tribals in the bondage of illiteracy and abject poverty so they can provide cannon fodder to the insurrectionists. It is common knowledge that tribal women are routine abducted and forced into sexual slavery to the Maoist leaders. This deserves wider publicity.

The government also needs to chart out a lucrative surrender policy which should include the relocation of surrendered tribals outside Bastar. The police must reorient its policies and be accepted as a friendly rather than confrontationist force. The police must systematically separate the chaff from the grain. Hardcore Maoists must be dealt with using an iron hand , while weaning away tribals from their influence. The problem is particularly acute in a place called Abujh Madh where contractors and government officers have hitherto exploited tribals, especially the women. The government has to give exemplary punishment to its staff if found to indulge in such practices.

Most important, tribals must be convinced that their future lies in the regions development. But to convince them of the future, a sustained ideological battle must be waged to intellectually cripple their overground sympathisers particularly in certain dens of subversion and anti-Indianism, such as JNU.

Chandan Mitra is editor of The Pioneer and has been two-time Rajya Sabha MP from the BJP

The views expressed are personal
Crime is a very big problem in India, as big a problem, according to a recent survey, as lack of employment opportunities, corruption and terrorism. Yet state and local governments have limited information on who is being victimised or when and where crime occurs. The official records on crime are insufficient to gauge the scale of the problem because of severe and widespread under-reporting. The correction of any malady requires accurate diagnosis of the disease; similarly, to address the problem of crime we must begin with better data.

IDFC Institute conducted a survey of 20,597 households in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai on crime incidence and safety perceptions for the period of a year. The survey, titled Safety Trends and Reporting of Crime (SATARC) asked households whether they had been the victim of a crime in the past year, their experiences with the police, their perceptions of safety and about behavioural changes they may have made to avoid crime.

Theft was the most prevalent of the surveyed crimes across the four cities. About 8% of people in Delhi reported being a victim of a theft. The proportions were 4% in Mumbai and 2% in Chennai and Bengaluru. Yet only 6-8% of victims of theft lodged a first information report (FIR) with the police in the four cities. It is this fraction of cases that is finally reflected in the official records, leaving the remaining 92-94% unreported.

The official records undercount theft because less than half of victims approach the police and only a handful of those end up filing an FIR. In Delhi, 45% of theft victims approached the police of which 16% lodged an FIR. The proportions were 32% and 19% in Mumbai, 20% and 40% in Chennai and 18% and 42% in Bengaluru, respectively. The main reasons for not approaching the police, across the four cities, were lack of evidence, fear of being caught in police or court matters, the perception that the police may not entertain their complaint as well as the perception that the crime was not of a serious nature. The survey did not delve into the reasons for low FIR registration.

What the survey tells us is that the true rate of crime may be very high compared to official records. A low official crime rate may not necessarily mean a lack of crime. Instead, it may simply reflect a lack of faith that the police can or will do anything about the problem. This is a problem both for the victims and for the police. When victims dont report, the police cant effectively target and prevent crime. Victimisation surveys give the police a better understanding of crime and thus help to bridge the gap between the people and the police, benefitting both.

The survey also has good news. A large proportion of victims who lodged an FIR were satisfied with the police. Of those who registered an FIR, about 52% and 55% of the victims were satisfied in Delhi and Mumbai, respectively. These proportions were higher at 82% in Chennai and 70% in Bengaluru. The main reasons for satisfaction were attentiveness and promptness with which the police dealt with the situation. Dissatisfaction was primarily due to the long wait in registering the FIR or refusal from the police while registering the FIR. Survey findings can be used to bolster and reward such strengths, in addition to overcoming identified weaknesses.

The US and the UK created victimisation surveys in 1973 and 1982, respectively, while others like, Australia institutionalised annual crime surveys more recently in 2008-09. Many victimisation surveys, however, including the pioneering US survey, are only national in scope. The SATARC survey data done by the IDFC Institute is available at the police zone level so it can help the police to understand what crimes are occurring, against whom and where. The survey can be further improved by creating an annual one implemented locally throughout the country.

Such surveys complement official crime records by identifying crimes that are not reported to the police, recognising those most vulnerable to crime, evaluating peoples attitude towards the police and courts, and assessing the impact of crime on quality of life. Better policing and safer streets start with better data. Read the key findings from the survey here: http://bit.ly/2qAMQyB Neha Sinha, Avanti Durani and Rithika Kumar are, respectively, Assistant Director and Associates at IDFC Institute, a Mumbai based thinktank
In the wake of growing protests, Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) on Tuesday announced the dates for compartmental examinations and scrutiny of copies to allow a large number of intermediate students, who either failed in two subjects or were dissatisfied with their marks, a chance to improve their results.

Soothing tempers Failed inter students to take exams in two subjects for the first time Video conferencing with DMs and DEOs to facilitate the process Scrutiny fee reduced to Rs 70 from Rs 120, free in case of zero marking Examinee data not hacked, may have been accessed from cyber-cafes 13 FIRs against those seeking money, some arrests also made BSEB seeks info on checking of answer sheets by ineligible examiners

BSEB chairman Anand Kishor said, Compartmental exams will be conducted between July 3 and 13, while scrutiny of papers will commence from June 9. Priority will be given to those who have appeared in competitive examinations and the process will be completed by June 30.

We have decided to constitute a three-member committee, headed by chief vigilance officer Sudhir Kumar, to review whether the practice of using home centres for practical examinations should continue. The committee has been asked to submit its recommendations in two weeks, he added.

All such students, who had registered themselves for intermediate examinations, but could not fill their forms this time will also get an opportunity to appear in the exam. For them, it will be treated as special examination and the results will be issued accordingly, he clarified, adding, The window for online forms will be open from June 8 to 14.

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Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad on Tuesday appeared in a special CBI court in Patna over his alleged involvement in a multi-crore fodder scam case, a government lawyer said.

Another former Bihar chief minister Jagannath Mishra will also appear in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court on Tuesday. Mishra is another accused in the scam.

Lalu Prasad and Mishra were on bail after serving jail term in Ranchi in another fodder scam case.

The case relates to withdrawing Rs 47 lakh fraudulently from the Bhagalpur treasury. The CBI had registered a case in this regard in 1996. Later, it filed a chargesheet naming 44 accused including Lalu Prasad and Mishra.

Last month, the Supreme Court had ruled that Lalu Prasad will have to stand trial in all the four fodder scam cases setting aside a Jharkhand High Court order that had dropped conspiracy charges against the former Bihar Chief Minister.

The fodder scam relates to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 900 crore by the animal husbandry department from various district when Lalu Prasad was the chief minister.
A motorcycle-borne criminal shot at and injured an owner of a pathology laboratory at Line Bazar locality under town police station of Purnia district, about 368 kms north-east of Patna on Tuesday morning.

The injured, Manthan Kumar Sinha, 30, was undergoing treatment at a private health facility. He was reported to be out of danger.

Sinha said a man came to his centre posing as a patient who wanted to get his blood test done. He shot at me from close range while I was writing down his particulars. Luckily, the bullet left grazing my shoulder, said Sinha.

Police suspect the incident to be an outcome of business rivalry.

Station House Officer (SHO), additional town police station, Menka Rani, said: We are looking into the matter and the criminal will be nabbed soon.
Though ranked the cleanest city in the north India by Swachh Survekshan-2017, the City Beautiful has an ugly underbelly. Its grubby grain, fruit and vegetable markets scored a measly 39 marks, much below other grain markets in the north like that of Kullu, which was declared the cleanest with 60 marks.

The Hindustan Times did a reality check of the Chandigarhs fruit and vegetable market in Sector 26 and found it in a shabby state with heaps of filth piled all over.

The sites of the weekly apni mandis also continue to be in a messy state. No one cares to clean up the sites after the weekly mandis get over. The less said the better about the meat market in Sector 21. The nauseating stench coupled with flies and stray dogs make it visitors nightmare.

GRAIN MARKET

Though the authorities claim the market is cleaned twice a day, the grain and fruit market in Sector 26 is dotted with garbage. Built up over a sprawling 26 acres in the 1950s, the market is structured in the form of large sheds and shops, both big and small. But encroachment by shopkeepers and vendors alike have eaten into the open corridors, making the market a chaotic affair. Add to it the practice of dumping the waste on the spot and you have a market lined with rotting vegetables and slush.

The garbage bins are almost always overflowing and even the space outside the shops is littered with leftovers. Even though the UT administration claims to have been organising special cleanliness drives to keep the area clean, the market doesnt show signs of such initiatives. A little rain is enough to turn it into a pool of slush impossible to navigate on foot.

Sanitation workers cleaning garbage after the apni mandi at Sector 40 in Chandigarh on Thursday. (Sikander Singh/HT Photo)

Rajendra Kumar, secretary of the Market Committee Chandigarh, claims the market is cleaned up twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. Besides the MC sweepers, we have also deployed a private contractor.

Kumar blames the shabby state of the market on overcrowding. One showroom has been partitioned into several shops. Every day, the market sees around 150 trucks carrying wet and dry supplies. Traders grouse that the loading and unloading adds to the litter. The secretary rues that they do not have the powers to penalise the litter bugs. There are not as many bins as the number of shops, which also make people dump the leftovers out in the open, grumbles Kumar.

APNI MANDI

The farmers market or apni mandis are local fruit and vegetable markets introduced by the UT administration in collaboration with the Punjab Mandi Board and MC to help the locals get fresh produce straight from the farmers. The all-day market is held at various spots in the city once a week, and is quite a hit with the locals.

But of late, the mandis have begun to leave behind a trail of garbage. For one, they seem to follow a separate set of rules with no check on the use of polybags, which are banned in Chandigarh. Though as many as 400 stalls are set up at the makeshift mandis arranged on vacant grounds, there is no attempt by the apni mandi committees to arrange for bins.

When the mandis started operating in 1996, farmers used to set up stalls at the designated spots. After the MC took over, it started registration of farmers and vendors between Rs 25 and Rs 60. The Punjab Mandi Board fixes the rates of vegetables at the mandis that function from 10am to 9pm at different spots on rotation. A part of this mandi is used by the MC for setting up a day market by vendors. The Chandigarh Market Committee also hosts seven apni mandis.

More than 6,000 people visit these mandis. A day after the apni mandi, there is an unbearable stench in the area due to piles of garbage strewn all around. The MC functionaries say the market committee in charge is supposed to get the area cleared by next morning. They hire private contractors to get the mess cleared. The Punjab Mandi Board staff, however, claim that the MC fails to get the area cleaned up and leaves the cleaning to the mandi board.

The Secretary, Apni Mandi, Chandigarh, Aslam Mohammed, who represents the Punjab Mandi Board says, One contractor has been hired to get the area cleaned by 10 am next morning. A supervisor of the mandi board goes to check the ground. We find it unclean at least three to four times a month. The contractor is then penalised and issued a notice.

How these markets clean up their act In Sector 26, the market committee has deployed 15 safai karamcharis. Apart from that a private contractor has also been entrusted with the task of clearing the garbage. The contractor has employed 20 safai karamcharis who sweep twice a day. In all, 45 safai karamcharis are deployed in the Sector 26 market. Every day, 35 tonnes of garbage is generated in Sector 26. As many as five trolley are used for picking up garbage in the grain marker. In the apni mandis, the Punjab Mandi Board and Chandigarh Market Committee have hired private contractors who deploy five sweepers for cleaning up the mess by 10 am the next morning. In Sector 21 market, the shopkeepers themselves get the cleaning done; the MC has also deployed three sweepers.

STENCH OF MEAT

You can smell the Sector 21 meat market even before you see it. Though planned as a modern, air-conditioned and hygienic market for meat, it is a stinky place with dogs, flies and slush making a visit a suffocating experience. The market consists of 18 shops peddling chicken, fish, mutton and pork. Lack of cleanliness is the bane of this market which sees around 400 visitors every day.

The shopkeepers blame the stench and filth on the inadequate number of safai workers deployed in the area. Regulars also feel the same. Gurvinder Kaur, a resident of Sector 21, said whenever she visits the market, she is forced to cover her face. The market is so unclean, it doesnt seem it has any regular sweepers.

Another resident Baljeet Jhajj underlined the importance of keeping the market clean to avoid an outbreak of disease.

NO ONE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS MESS?

Officials played the blame game over cleanliness in the meat market. Medical Officer of Health Dr P S Bhatti under whose jurisdiction this area falls, when contacted, said I am not responsible for the meat market cleanliness. The Joint Commissioner, Manoj Khatri, will know better. But Khatri said, We are responsible for cleaning the sectors and the market areas from outside. The garbage from meat market is sent to a bio-methination plant. Inside the market, the shopkeepers are responsible for its hygiene. A shopkeeper in the market said, We get the market cleaned on our own, and have hired safai karamacharis for this purpose. We seldom see any MC employee here..

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Tension again kept its date with the Golden Temple on June 6, the anniversary of 1984 Operation Bluestar. In the past, the solemn occasion was marred by confrontation and even violent clashes between the Sikh radicals and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) that manages the shrine.

Things didnt go out of hands this time, but a band of radicals did create a ruckus by disrupting the customary speech of Akal Takht jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh. Pro-Khalistan slogans rent the shrine. HT unravels the politics behind the recurring spat in the Harmandir Sahib:

Why do radicals assemble at Akal Takht on June 6?

Though politically marginalised, splinter radical factions rally at the highest temporal seat to resurrect their faded relevance as flag-bearers of ideology and legacy of militant preacher Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. In doing so, they try and strike a chord with the Sikhs who, even 33 years after the army action, nurse the pain of tragic events at their holiest shrine.

Who are the key espousers of the radical cause?

Its a loose grouping of Shiromani Akali Dal faction led by Simranjit Singh Mann, United Akali Dal, Dal Khalsa and Sikh Students Federation and a few fiery religious preachers. Otherwise at daggers drawn, they are united by radical streak and a strident opposition to the moderate and mainstream Shiromani Akali Dal which controls the SGPC.

Why did radicals protest at Akal Takht today?

For the second year in a row, radicals ire was directed against the Akal Takht jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh who, they say, has lost the trust of Sikh community after his flip-flop on pardon to the Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim over an allegedly blasphemous act that had offended the Sikhs. In 2015, hardliners had rejected the SGPC-recognised head priests and announced a parallel set of head priests including Jagtar Singh Hawara who is in jail after his conviction in the 1995 assassination of then Punjab chief minister Beant Singh Singh.

SGPC rejected the radicals move and has resisted pressures to remove Giani. Though SGPC was the organiser of the show, radicals opposed jathedar delivering from the Akal Takht pulpit his sandesh ( ceremonial message) to the Sikhs. Instead, they wanted the parallel acting Akal Takht jathedar Dhian Singh Mand, former Lok Sabha MP, to do that. SGPC didnt allow that, leading to a tense rumpus at Akal Takht.

What did SGPC do prevent the face-off?

In the run-up to June 6, SGPC chief Kirpal Singh Badungar held meetings with radicals, calling for a solemn commemoration. But, they put a rider that Giani shouldnt be allowed to speak- a demand SGPC didnt accept. Taking a tough stand, Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal dubbed the radical jathedars as Congress agents. Incidentally, Damdami Taksal, a venerable Sikh seminary once headed by Bhindranwale, kept distance from radicals as it is alligned with the Shiromani Akali Dal.

What did the Capt Amarinder Singh govt do to prevent clash in the Golden Temple?

Unlike the previous Badal government, Capt Amarinder Singh didnt order pre-emptive detention of radical leaders, but it beefed up security around the Golden Temple by deploying seven companies of CRPF and Rapid Action Force and sent out a strong message to hot-headed elements against confrontation. Inside the shrine, the authorities worked in tandem with SGPC task force to rein in radicals. A firm and tactful handling paid off.

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Mansa Devi police have booked a constable for causing death due to negligence after 200 villagers from Saketri laid siege to the police station on Monday. The villagers alleged that their 23-year-old ward, mechanic Aslam, of Pinjore, was killed due to the cops actions at check-post (naka) in the village on May 31. Aslam died at Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh on Sunday late night.

The cop, Balkar Singh, had stopped Aslam and his friend, Khalil, 21, at the naka as they were driving their bike without a helmet. According to the police, the driver Aslam was also drunk and was speeding. When stopped, he lost balance and struck his head against the road.

Aslams brother contested this claim. They fell down because the cops stopped them. This is the Muslim month and Ramzan and my brother was not drunk.

The deceased Aslam (HT Photo)

The pillion rider Khalil, a student, broke his right leg.

Khalil, who is bedridden, said they fell off the bike as one of the constables caught hold of the bikes handle and did not allow them to stop properly.

Police took Aslam to Government Medical Hospital in Sector 32, Chandigarh, from where he was shifted to the PGIMER.

Mansa Devi SHO Suraj Chawla said the cop had been booked under Section 304-A (death due to negligence) on a complaint from the deceaseds kin. He added that a probe was on to ascertain the role of the second cop on duty at the naka that day for his involvement in the case. The body had been handed over to the kin after post-mortem.

Assistant commissioner of police Munish Sehgal, said, There are grey areas in the case. Action will be taken, if cops are at fault.

He added, For now, all cops have been issued guidelines not to forcibly stop commuters. If they flee from a naka, the cops will note their vehicle number. A fine will be posted at the registration address of the vehicle.

Harjinder Singh, from Saketri, a relative of Aslam, said, The police have turned nakas into points of corruption and stop people unnecessarily to extort money.
A pet project of the previous Akali government, senior secondary residential schools for meritorious students  aimed to impart quality education to weaker sections  will charge Rs 200 as registration fee from young aspirants seeking admission to Class 11.

The admission will take place through a common entrance test in all 22 districts on June 25.

This is for the first time the Society for Promotion of Quality Education for Poor and Meritorious Students has asked the students to pay Rs 200 to be able to register online. After carrying out admissions without any test for the first two years (2014-15 and 2015-16), the authorities conducting a test for the first time last year, but no fee was charged.

The meritorious schools project director, Maj Gen KAS Bhullar (retd), has issued a letter to all district education officers (DEOs, secondary) that carries details about the admission process, including the new provision of registration fee.

On being contacted by HT, the project director said: The Punjab School Education Board has to pay for paper printing, conduct of the exam and collection and correction of papers. This is the reason, a nominal fee of 200 will be charged from the students for the entrance exam.

There are 10,378 students of government, Dashmesh and Adarsh schools in the state who have scored 80% or above in the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) Class-10 examinations this year and are eligible for 4,650 seats at the nine meritorious schools.

These schools provide free education and accommodation to the students, while preparing them for entrance examinations of prestigious institutes of engineering, management, law, and medicine within and outside the state.

In the recently declared PSEB Class-12 results, the meritorious schools recorded a pass percentage of 98.3% as compared to 62.4% recorded statewide.

No info on SSA website

Even as the online registration for admission to the meritorious schools is set to begin tomorrow, the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) website is yet to upload the details of the test. Sushil Kumar, a parent, said: My daughter has scored 88% in Class 10 and wants to take admission in the Ludhiana meritorious school. I have been checking the SSA website for the past one week, but cant find any information regarding registration for the test.

REGISTRATION BEGINS TODAY

First session of the residential schools for meritorious students began in 2014. Till now, two batches have completed Class 12.

Schools: Nine (Amritsar, Bathinda, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, SAS Nagar, Patiala, Hakumat Singh Wala village in Ferozepur, Ghabdhan village in Sangrur district and Talwara in Hoshiarpur)

Classes: 11 and 12 (applications sought only for Class 11)

Benefit: Education and accommodation is free; students are prepared for entrance examinations of prestigious institutes of engineering, management, law, and medicine within and outside the state

Seats: 4,650 (150 at Hoshiarpur school offering humanities; 500 each in other eight schools offering medical, non-medical and commerce)

Who can apply: Students from the states government schools, besides those from Adarsh and Dashmesh schools

Eligibility: Above 80% score in Class 10

Online registration: 9am onwards, June 6

Deadline: 5pm, June 20

Fee: Rs 200

Where to apply: www.ssapunjab.org

Helpline No.: 0172-5212318, 5212332 (9am-5pm)

About the test

Common entrance test: June 25

Question paper: Bilingual (English and Punjabi)

Subjects: English, mathematics and science for all streams

Total marks: 150 (50 marks each subject)

Qualifying marks: At least 33% in each subject, overall 50%

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Kannada actor Avantika Shetty has accused producer K Suresh of harassing her on the sets of Raju Kannada Medium.

She also said she was booted out of the project without any notice and hasnt been paid her dues despite completing the film.

The actor took to Facebook and Twitter to tell her ordeal. Asking are women really safe in the film industry?, Avantika revealed how she has become another objectification by some men in the industry, reports Mid Day.

In her long post, Avantika goes on to say she regrets signing a film with Suresh. She says: I recently read an article with fabricated content provided by Mr Suresh. It ruthlessly maligns my name, making all sorts of baseless allegations and projects my character in poor light, a trait which has remained intact and will remain so all my life.

She further explained: The problem started from the very first schedule of the film when I sensed that it wasnt my performance the producer and the director were really bothered about. I obviously ignored them and remained totally engrossed in giving my best to the character.

She had almost completed the film and only a very small portion which was to be shot in Bangkok was left when she was unceremoniously asked to go back to Mumbai citing average performance, Avantika said.

The actor further went on to add that she was asked to leave soon after she asked the producer about a bounced cheque.

Half of my dues werent cleared, a presented cheque bounced and I was certain that the producer will release the film without me dubbing for it. Luckily for me, having an exclusive right to dub is part of the contract I signed with the producer, she added

She goes on to say that she has approached the court in Karnataka and has sent a detailed letter to Karnataka Film Chamber.

Read her complete post here:

I hope no other girl has to go through this.............. pic.twitter.com/JX4roj1WcN  Avantika Shetty (@avantikashetty1) June 3, 2017

ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop
The Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) on Tuesday dismissed New Delhis concerns over its military helicopters violating the Indian air space, hours after external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said the incident would be raised with Chinese authorities.

China on Monday defended its military helicopters hovering over the Barahoti region in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand over the weekend, saying it has a territorial dispute in the eastern section of the frontier.

Official sources in New Delhi said the two Zhiba attack helicopters, which returned to the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) after about five minutes, could have carried out an aerial photography of Indian troops during a possible reconnaissance mission. The Indian Air Force is probing the incident.

A brief PLA statement said reports from India were wrong about the incursion.

The Chinese military was conducting routine training activities on the Chinese side of the LAC. The Indian print (media) reports do not match the facts, the statement said in Chinese.

The PLA denial comes after Swaraj emphatically said on Monday the matter would be raised with competent Chinese authorities.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying on Monday said: In principle, China and India have territorial disputes in the eastern section of the China-India border.

She had also indicated the helicopters were on the Chinese side of the LAC.

Chinese military carry out regular patrols in the relevant areas. We hope that the two sides will make joint efforts to maintain tranquillity and peace of the border area, she said.

On previous occasions, Chinese helicopters entered 4.5km into Indian territory, an area that China claims as its own and recognises as Wu-Je.

Barahoti is one of three border posts in the sector, comprising Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, where Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) troops are not allowed to carry weapons and are in civilian clothes under a unilateral decision made by the central government in June 2000.

In 1958, India and China listed Barahoti, an 80 sq km sloping pasture, as a disputed area where neither side would send troops. During the 1962 India-China war, PLA did not enter the 545-km middle sector, focussing on the western (Ladakh) and eastern (Arunachal Pradesh) sectors.
President Donald Trump says that West Asian leaders complained about the Gulf state of Qatar when he demanded an end to support for radical ideology that encourages terrorism.

In a tweet on Tuesday, Trump did not take a position on the decision by Saudi Arabia and three other Arab nations to sever diplomatic relations with Qatar but appeared to suggest it was understandable.

During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!, Trump tweeted.

Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates announced Monday they would cut diplomatic ties. Yemens internationally backed government, which has lost the capital and large portions of the war-torn country, also cut relations with Qatar, as did the Maldives and one of conflict-ridden Libyas competing governments.

Trump met with Qatars emir during the presidents visit to Saudi Arabia last month.

We are friends, weve been friends now for a long time, havent we? Trump asked at the meeting. Our relationship is extremely good.

The biggest diplomatic crisis in the Persian Gulf since the 1991 US-led war against Iraq pits several nations against Qatar, which is home to some 10,000 American troops and a major US military base. Airlines suspended flights and residents nervous about the peninsulas lone land border closing cleaned out grocery store shelves.

Kuwait is trying to mediate the Gulf crisis between Qatar and its Arab neighbours, Qatars foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said In an interview with Doha-based satellite news network Al-Jazeera.

Meanwhile, the Philippines announced it will temporarily suspend the deployment of Filipino workers to Qatar. Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello said the ban took effect Tuesday, but there is no plan yet to repatriate the more than 200,000 Filipino workers in Qatar. More than 1 million Filipinos reside and work in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain.
Four people, including three NGO workers, were killed on Tuesday when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in eastern Kenya, a local government official said, in the latest such attack in the country.

We have four people dead from the incident that occurred between Dadaab and Doble, said the regional commissioner Mohamud Saleh.

Three of those killed were employed by an NGO called Adeso, which was founded by a Somali activist and receives funding from the US and European Union for its work in the Horn of Africa, according to its website.

The incident occurred near the town of Dadaab -- home to one of the worlds largest refugee camps.

A string of roadside bomb attacks, mostly claimed by Shabaab Islamists, have left more than 20 police officers dead in the region bordering Somalia in just over two weeks.

Inspector general Joseph Boinnet of the Kenyan police warned that more such attacks were likely during the holy month of Ramadan.

Since 2007, the Al-Qaeda linked Shabaab has fought to overthrow successive internationally-backed governments in Somalia but began attacking Kenya in 2011 after Nairobi ordered its troops into Somalia to fight the militants.

Kenyan soldiers are now part of a 22,000-member African Union mission fighting there.

In 2013, Shabaab gunmen raided a shopping mall in the capital Nairobi killing 67 people, and in 2015 a similar attack on a university in Garissa left 148 dead.
The death toll from a truck-bomb explosion in Kabul last week has reached more than 150 people, President Ashraf Ghani said on Tuesday, making it the deadliest attack in the Afghan capital since the ouster of the Taliban in 2001.

The blast occurred when a sewage truck packed with what Ghani called military-grade explosives detonated at the entrance to a fortified area of that city that includes foreign embassies and government buildings.

We were not the only targets, the entire diplomatic community was the target of this attack, Ghani told foreign diplomats gathered for a conference in Kabul.

Graphic showing the diplomatic quarter area of Kabul, where more than 150 people were killed in a truck bomb on May 31. (AFP)

Previous official estimates had put the death toll at about 90, with more than 460 wounded.

All of those killed were Afghans, and Ghani paid specific homage to 13 policemen who stopped the truck as it tried to enter the fortified district and were killed in the blast.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which sparked violent anti-government protests.

Several protesters were killed in clashes with police on Friday, and at least a dozen people were killed when suicide bombers attacked the funeral for one of the dead protesters on Saturday.
A fatal shootout claimed by the Islamic State group was being treated as a terrorist attack, Australian police said Tuesday, as the prime minister condemned it as shocking and cowardly.

A man of Somali background was killed in a gun battle with police when he opened fire following an hour-long standoff after taking an escort girl hostage at a serviced apartment block in the city on Monday evening.

It is alleged 29-year-old Yacqub Khayre, linked to a 2009 terror plot targeting an Australian army barracks, had first murdered a Chinese-born Australian man working as a receptionist in the foyer.

Police said he made statements around al Qaeda and called a local television station making similar comments, reportedly: This is for IS, this is for al Qaeda.

Were treating this as a terrorism incident, Victoria Police chief commissioner Graham Ashton said, but added that investigations were still ongoing into whether it was planned or random.

Were not seeing anything indicating that hes got some message from overseas to do this at all but, again, early days. Weve got material thats seized. Well go through that and work it out.

We dont yet know if this was something he was really planning or whether it was just an ad hoc decision that hes made just to go off tap like this.

The Amaq news agency -- which is affiliated with the so-called Islamic State group -- carried a statement claiming responsibility.

The executor of the Melbourne attack in Australia is a soldier of the Islamic State and he carried out the attack in response to appeals to target citizens of coalition states, it said.

Ashton said IS always tend to jump up and claim responsibility every time something happens and it was too early to determine whether they were involved.

Authorities had responded to reports of an explosion at the building -- which turned out to be a gunshot -- in the affluent beach suburb of Brighton and arrived to find a dead body in the foyer.

Subsequently he (Khayre) came out of the apartment with a shotgun and commenced to fire at police at the entry-way to the apartments... Ashton said.

Hes exchanged gunfire with police and has been fatally shot by police at the scene.

The escort escaped unharmed but three police were hurt in the firefight, although their injuries were not life-threatening.

Known criminal

Yacqub Khayre walks from a court appearance in Melbourne, Australia in this December 23, 2010 picture. Police on June 5, 2017, shot dead Yacqub Khayre after he held a woman hostage inside an apartment building in Melbourne. (REUTERS)

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the attack underlined the need to be constantly vigilant.

This terrorist attack by a known criminal, a man who was only recently released on parole, is a shocking, cowardly crime, he said.

It is a terrorist attack and it underlines the need for us to be constantly vigilant, never to be deterred, always defiant, in the face of Islamist terrorism.

Australian officials have grown increasingly concerned over the threat of extremist attacks.

They say they have prevented 12 attacks on home soil since the threat level was raised in September 2014, including a foiled Christmas Day plot in Melbourne last year, with more than 60 people charged,

But four have gone ahead, including the murder of a Sydney police employee in 2015 by a 15-year-old boy.

Khayre, whose parents were refugees from Somalia, was known to police and had a long criminal history.

He was charged and acquitted over a foiled plot to attack the Holsworthy Army barracks in Sydney in 2009.

Three of his co-accused were found guilty of planning the terrorist assault as payback for Australias military action in the Middle East.

Khayre was released on parole late last year after serving time for intent to cause injury and arson, which Turnbull said was a concern given his background and something that would be reviewed.
Much opposition was raised inside and outside Britains Parliament earlier this year over a proposed visit by US President Donald Trump following his remarks about alleged no-go areas in London and elsewhere, but Saturdays terror attack has renewed the opposition.

Nearly two million people signed an online petition seeking to stop Trump making a state visit after he was invited during Prime Minister Theresa Mays trip to the US in January. No date has yet been finalised for the visit.

The latest opposition comes after Trump sought to ridicule the response of London mayor Sadiq Khan to last weeks terror attack, in which seven people were killed. His Twitter tirade against Khan did not evince a response from May, who confined herself to saying Khan was doing a good job as mayor.

Khan, who initially chose to ignore Trumps comments on the ground that he had more important things to do, called on the May government to cancel the proposed visit. Trump, he said, was wrong on many things.

I dont think we should roll out the red carpet to the president of the USA in the circumstances where his policies go against everything we stand for. When you have a special relationship it is no different from when you have got a close mate, he told Channel 4.

You stand with them in times of adversity but you call them out when they are wrong. There are many things about which Donald Trump is wrong.

Trump made much news in the British media after suggesting that leaving the European Union would be a good thing before the June 2016 referendum. His plans to impose a ban on Muslims from certain countries and leaving the Paris agreement have been widely criticised here.

Historically, Britain and the US have what is called a special relationship.

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Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon has put her lifetime dream of independence centre of her partys election campaign, but critics say it is an obsession that has blinded her to other key issues.

Since emerging onto the national stage during the 2015 election campaign, Sturgeon has earned a reputation as a combative street fighter, frequently clashing with Prime Minister Theresa May over Brexit and Scotlands role in the negotiations.

Her leadership helped the SNP sweep 56 of Scotlands 59 seats in 2015, easing the pain of defeat in the previous years independence referendum.

Sturgeon, 46, said at the time that the vote was a once in a generation event, but Britains vote to leave the European Union in June 2016 -- a decision opposed by most Scots -- has raised the spectre of another referendum.

Unhappy with Mays tough stance on Brexit negotiations, Sturgeon in March announced that the Scottish government would seek authority to hold a second independence referendum before Britain is set to leave the EU in 2019.

May accused Sturgeon of playing games and said the SNP had tunnel vision over independence.

Kezia Dugdale, the Scottish Labour leader said Sturgeon wakes up every day thinking of a way to engineer another referendum, adding that she was neglecting key issues such as child poverty as a result.

A recent poll showed that only 37% of Scots wanted a second referendum, but Sturgeon remains popular and her party is expected to retain around 50 of its seats.

Her profile has also gone global, with Forbes naming her as one of the worlds 100 most powerful women.

Queen of Scots

A former lawyer labelled Queen of Scots by some media, Sturgeon cuts a distinctive figure with her short hair and colourful tailored suits, and argues for socially conscious policies she says Labour has left behind.

She was born in the industrial town of Irvine, southwest of Glasgow, in 1970 to an electrician father and a mother who remains active in local SNP politics.

She joined the SNP aged 16, becoming politicised in the 1980s under Conservative prime minister Margaret Thatcher, widely disliked in Scotland.

She studied law at Glasgow University and stood unsuccessfully for the House of Commons in 1992, aged just 21, before starting her career as a lawyer.

When the Scottish Parliament was created in 1999, Sturgeon entered major league politics as one of its first wave of lawmakers.

Her nickname at that stage was nippy sweetie -- Scots slang for a pushy person.

Since 2007, the SNP has been in power in Scotland and Sturgeon, married to the partys chief executive Peter Murrell, was health minister for much of that time.

Her mother Joan -- herself an SNP politician -- once joked about her daughters hard-working tendencies: She can relax -- theres always one eye on the phone, but I think shes fairly relaxed.

The phone is never switched off -- many of my family can vouch for that.

Sturgeon was put in charge of the partys campaign for the 2014 independence referendum.

After 55 percent of voters rejected independence, Sturgeon took over as SNP leader from her mentor Alex Salmond, who had dominated the party for a quarter of a century, becoming Scotlands first female leader.

In her spare time, Sturgeon admits to relaxing with a glass of red wine and watching reality tv talent show X-Factor.
French police shot and injured a man who attacked an officer with a hammer outside Pariss Notre Dame cathedral Tuesday, while shouting this is for Syria.

Police sources said the officer sustained only minor neck injuries in the assault, which comes with France on high alert after jihadists killed seven people in London on Saturday.

The suspect later claimed to be a soldier of the caliphate of the Islamic State group, according to a source close to the investigation.

The policemans colleague opened fire on the man, hitting him in the chest in panicked scenes around the Gothic cathedral that is one of Frances most visited tourist attractions.

The man lay bleeding on the ground as police sealed off the area and searched for possible accomplices.

About an hour after the attack he was taken to hospital and police declared the situation to be under control.

Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said the man had shouted this is for Syria as he lunged at the officer.

He said the man had also been carrying kitchen knives and was found in possession of a card identifying him as an Algerian student.

Anti-terrorist prosecutors were put in charge of the investigation.

A witness told AFP he heard someone shout very loudly.

Then there was a crowd surge and people panicked. I heard two shots and saw a man lying on the ground in a pool of blood, he said.

Notre Dame, which is situated on the banks of the Seine river in the heart of Paris, draws 13 million visitors a year.

Over 1,000 people were inside the cathedral at the time of the attack.

Authorities in Paris asked the public to stay away from the area.

Pictures on social media showed people sitting in the pews with their hands in the air -- apparently at the request of police.

Andre Finot, the cathedrals head of communications, described the situation as calm. People are talking to each other, praying and continuing their visit, he said.

In September, Notre Dame was already the scene of a scare after a car full of gas canisters was found parked nearby.

The car was tracked to an all-female terrorist cell, allegedly acting on the orders of Syria-based Islamic State jihadists.

Renewed state of emergency

Tuesdays incident comes three days after extremists used a van and knives to crush to death and kill seven people enjoying a night out in London. One of the victims was French.

France is still under the state of emergency imposed after the November 2015 attacks in Paris, when Islamic State jihadists killed 130 people in a night of carnage at venues across the city.

President Emmanuel Macrons new centrist government recently announced plans to extend the emergency measures in November, drawing some criticism from rights groups.

The authorities have pointed to a string of attacks since January 2015 that have claimed the lives of over 230 people as justification for boosting the powers of the police.

While France has been Islamic States main target in western Europe, the focus in recent weeks has shifted to Britain.

Two weeks before the London attack, a suicide bomber killed 22 people including seven children at a concert by US singer Ariana Grande in the northwestern English city of Manchester.

The last fatal attack in France dates to April 20, when a policeman was shot dead on Pariss prestigious Champs-Elysees avenue, three days before the first round of the presidential election.

Previous major attacks targeted the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine in January 2015 and in November that year, gunmen and suicide bombers attacked venues around Paris including the Bataclan concert hall, killing 130 people.

Then in July last year, a radicalised Tunisian man drove a lorry at high speed through a Bastille Day fireworks display on the Nice waterfront, massacring 86 people.

Since then there have been a series of smaller attacks, often targeting security forces.
The British government on Tuesday stood by an invitation for US President Donald Trump to make a state visit to the UK as London Mayor Sadiq Khanunder attack from the White House said the offer should be scrapped.

The invitation has been issued and accepted and I see no reason to change that, Foreign Minister Boris Johnson told BBC radio.

Prime Minister Theresa May, asked by The Sun newspaper whether the controversial trip would go ahead, answered Yes.

But Khan, in an interview with AFP, reiterated his view that the invitation was premature. State visits are given to world leaders who have had distinguished service, who have a track record, he said.

In the circumstances where Donald Trump as president had a Muslim ban, had changed the policies of the USA, the longstanding policies around refugees, in the circumstances where many British people disagree with many of Donald Trumps policies, we shouldnt be having a state visit, he said.

Khan said the United States and Britain were close allies and they should continue to work closely together.

But one of the things about a special relationship, its like having a best friend you stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them in times of adversity but you call them out when theyre wrong, and you tell them when they are wrong. And I think on many, many things, Donald Trump is wrong, he said.

State visits are considered top-level events typically honouring visitors with banquets, speeches to lawmakers and business chiefs and an audience with Queen Elizabeth II.

May made the invitation to Trump just seven days after he took office, a decision that prompted accusations that Britain, its global influence set to be weakened by Brexit, was kowtowing to the new US leader.

By contrast, Mays predecessor David Cameron gave the invitation to then president Barack Obama more than a year into his administration.

More than 1.8 million people have signed an online petition saying Trump should not make the state visit as it could cause embarrassment to the monarch.

In other comments, May and Johnson both defended Khan for his reassurances to Londoners after the attacks.

Trump, in a series of tweets, lashed Khans handling of the Saturday night terror attack, mocking the mayor for telling the public there was no reason to be alarmed over armed police on the streets.

At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is "no reason to be alarmed!"  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2017

Do you notice we are not having a gun debate right now? That's because they used knives and a truck!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2017

People, the lawyers and the courts can call it whatever they want, but I am calling it what we need and what it is, a TRAVEL BAN!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017

The US president then dismissed criticism that he had taken Khans remarks out of context, accusing Khan of coming up with a pathetic excuse to defend himself.

I think Donald Trump is wrong in what he said about Sadiq Khan in the aftermath of the London Bridge attack, May said at a press conference on the campaign trail ahead of Thursdays election.

Johnson said separately: He is entirely right to say what he said to reassure people of his city about the presence of armed officers on the streets.
An Indian-origin man in Britain has been jailed for 20 months and disqualified from driving for four years after being found guilty of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

Majinder Singh, 25, from Hayes, west London, was sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court, where the judge was told how he and three passengers had been on a night out in the Wembley area.

Officers were called to Iron Bridge, Southall, at approximately 05:00 hrs on Saturday, 10 September 2016 to reports of a road traffic collision which injured three men. A black Hyundai coupe was involved in a collision with two parked cars, a Scotland Yard statement said.

The driver made off from the scene prior to the arrival of police leaving two of the occupants trapped inside, one of whom received life threatening injuries. Singh was subsequently arrested on suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, the statement added.

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US President Donald Trump waded into a rapidly-escalating Gulf crisis Tuesday, suggesting ally Qatar -- home to the largest US military base in the Middle East -- is funding extremism as he tacitly backed a diplomatic blockade of the emirate.

Trump said his trip to the Middle East was already paying off as regional leaders followed through on their promise to take a hardline on funding militant groups.

So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism! Trump said in a series of Twitter posts.

So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding...  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017

...extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017

Trump last month visited Saudi Arabia during which he addressed the leaders of 50 Muslim countries, including Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Members of the Gulf Cooperation Countries signed a memorandum of understanding with the US to make it illegal in their countries for raising funds for terrorist and extremist organisations.

Trump also slammed the mainstream American media.

Sorry folks, but if I would have relied on the Fake News of CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, washpost or nytimes, I would have had ZERO chance winning WH, he said in yet another tweet.

The FAKE MSM is working so hard trying to get me not to use Social Media. They hate that I can get the honest and unfiltered message out, he wrote.

A day earlier, the White House had said that Trump is committed to have conversations with all of the people involved in that process, with all of those countries.

We want to continue to de-escalate that. And at this point, were continuing to work with each of those partners, the White House Principal deputy press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters
A top secret US report showing that hackers from Russian military intelligence tried repeatedly to break into US voting systems before last years presidential election raised new alarms on Monday about the extent of Moscows meddling.

But the alleged leak of the National Security Agency (NSA) document by one of the tens of thousands of private contractors to US spy agencies, barely one month after the report was written, became the newest embarrassment for the US intelligence community.

Keen to crack down on a flood of leaks, almost immediately after the report was published, the Trump administration announced the arrest of intelligence contractor Reality Leigh Winner, 25, on charges of violating the espionage act.

Releasing classified material without authorization threatens our nations security and undermines public faith in government. People who are trusted with classified information and pledge to protect it must be held accountable when they violate that obligation, deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein said in a statement.

Hacking by Russias GRU

The NSA report was published Monday by The Intercept, an online news website which focuses on national security issues. It depicted a hacking operation tied closely to Moscows GRU intelligence directorate that targeted private US companies providing voter registration services and equipment to local governments.

The operation, which potentially threatened the integrity of the US vote, went on for months, until just days before the November 8 election, according to the document.

The NSA did not conclude whether the hackers had any effect on the outcome, The Intercept said. But US intelligence officials have repeatedly said vote tallies were not affected in the election, in which President Donald Trump beat Democrat Hillary Clinton in a shock upset.

The Intercept said the NSA document was dated May 5, and did not say how they acquired it. But barely an hour after its report appeared, the Department of Justice announced the arrest of Winner, an employee of a national security contractor in Augusta, Georgia, for leaking top secret information to an online news outlet.

While neither the information leaked or the outlet were identified in the arrest documents, the information was also described as a report dated May 5. Intelligence officials have confirmed to US media that Winners case was linked to The Intercept.

Asked about her arrest, Intercept spokeswoman Vivian Siu said the NSA document came to them anonymously. The Intercept has no knowledge of the identity of the source, she said.

Hacking targeted local voting operations

The NSA report expanded on US allegations that Russian President Vladimir Putin directed a concerted effort, involving hacking and disinformation, to interfere with the 2016 election to help Trump.

Russian General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate actors ... executed cyber espionage operations against a named US company in August 2016, evidently to obtain information on elections-related software and hardware solutions, the NSA report says, according to The Intercept.

The report shows that, by trying to steal log-in credentials and using spear-fishing emails to plant malware, the hackers obtained and maintained access to elements of multiple US state or local electoral boards.

How successful that effort was, and what kind of data may have been stolen, remains an unanswered question, the NSA report says.

Florida-based VR Systems, whose electronic voter identification system was in use in eight states, was a target of the Russian hacking effort. In a statement the company said it had alerted its customers when it became aware of the phishing effort, and that none fell for it or were compromised.

Phishing and spear-phishing are not uncommon in our society, it said. We have policies and procedures in effect to protect our customers and our company.

VR Systems also stressed that none of its products are used for recording or tabulating votes.

Trump angry over leakers

Winners arrest was the first for leaks of classified information under the four-month-old Trump government. Besieged by leaks of his policies, conversations, and especially on the investigation into links between his campaign advisors and Russia, Trump has ordered Justice Department officials to take severe actions against leakers.

According to reports, in February Trump told then-FBI director James Comey to consider arresting journalists who publish leaked classified information.
Veteran Nepalese politician Sher Bahadur Deuba is set to become Nepals prime minister for the fourth time on Tuesday after the main opposition party decided to end the obstruction of parliament.

Nepal Parliament is conducting election to the post of Prime Minister in the afternoon.

Deuba, 70, is the sole candidate to contest in the prime minister election as the main opposition UML or any other party didnt register their candidacies. Deuba has the support of more than 50% of the lawmakers needed for his election to the top post.

He needs to secure 297 votes in the 593-strong Parliament to prove his majority during Tuesdays election, and with the NC-Maoist Centre alliance enjoying 287 seats in Parliament and four other parties supporting the alliance having 21 seats, it looks plain sailing for Deuba.

The election was earlier slated to be held on Sunday but was postponed to Tuesday after the main opposition CPN-UML launched a protest over re-election in a ward.

However, now with the main opposition party agreeing to end obstruction of the parliament, Nepali Congress (NC) President Deuba is become the countrys 40th prime minister.

The CPN-UML decided to end House obstruction after the ruling parties agreed to hold local elections in the remaining four provinces on June 28 and the provincial and parliamentary elections by January, 2018.

We decided to end the obstruction in parliament after the ruling parties agreed to commit in the House to hold elections in the remaining four provinces and not repeating any irregularities, said former UML chairman Jhal Nath Khanal after the meeting between the government and the Opposition.

As per the Constitution, a candidate must secure a simple majority in parliament to get elected as the head of the government. CPN-Maoist Centre, Madhesi Peoples Rights Forum Democratic, Rastriya Prajatantra Party and other fringe parties have agreed to vote in favour of Deuba.

Deuba is likely to form a small Cabinet on Wednesday which will be expanded in a few days and some of the Madhesi parties are also likely to join the coalition. The responsibility of conducting the second phase of local level election will rest upon Deuba.

Outgoing Prime Minister Prachanda of the CPN (Maoist Centre) proposed Deubas candidacy while senior NC leader Ram Chandra Poudel seconded the proposal at the Parliament Secretariat which on Friday published the schedule to elect the new prime minister on majority basis.

Prachanda resigned on May 24 after a brief stint of nine months, honouring a power sharing understanding with the ruling coalition partner Nepali Congress to hand over the countrys leadership to the largest party in Parliament.

Deuba served as the prime minister from 1995 to 1997, from 2001 to 2002, and from 2004 to 2005. Deuba was sacked by the then King Gyanendra Shah in 2005 over failure to hold elections and bring Maoist rebels to a round table negotiation.
Prime Minister Theresa May is seeking re-election as a tough leader to take Britain through Brexit, but her strong and stable image is under close scrutiny after a string of terror attacks and campaign missteps ahead Thursdays vote.

May won praise in many quarters for her initial responses to the Manchester concert bombing and Saturday nights rampage in London, which left seven people dead.

But by focusing much of her Conservative partys campaign on her rival Jeremy Corbyns security credentials, she has faced accusations of politicising the attacks.

A U-turn on a key manifesto proposal to fund elderly social care was also damaging, while some voters also expressed irritation that she called the snap vote despite promising not to.

The election is Mays first since taking office after last years referendum vote to leave the European Union, when she replaced David Cameron with little opposition.

From the outset, the 60-year-old vicars daughter presented herself as a steady hand on the tiller.

Despite having campaigned to stay in the EU, she promised that Brexit means Brexit -- and in March, formally began the two-year process of leaving the bloc.

She promised to cut immigration and fight for those who feel left behind by globalisation, an approach that won her support from voters across the political spectrum.

But the election has exposed an awkward manner with the public and a reliance on soundbites.

Rivals have accused her of policy-making by slogan and lashed her for refusing to engage in head-to-head TV debates.

In a rare unscripted encounter with a voter that was filmed and went viral, May responded to a woman angry about welfare cuts with bland campaign slogans.

Other questions have swirled around the failure of the security services to thwart jihadists after three terror attacks in three months.

As the polls narrowed, some Tories questioned the wisdom of basing their partys campaign around Mays strong and stable leadership.

In the final stretch, the party slightly amended its messaging, focusing more on the Conservatives rather than May herself.

Difficult woman

A colleague once labelled May a bloody difficult woman, a description she has highlighted to prove she will be tough in Brexit talks that begin after the election.

She has held up her past negotiations on security and home affairs with the EU as proof she can get things done.

But her anti-immigration rhetoric and a warning that she will walk away from the talks if she does not get the deal she wants have not always gone down well in European capitals.

After the row over social care, which followed a U-turn over taxation in the March budget, one interviewer said: If I was sitting in Brussels... Id think shes a blowhard who collapses at the first sign of gunfire.

The care row shone a light on Mays habit of relying on a few trusted advisors, which saw even cabinet ministers excluded from discussion over parts of the Tory manifesto.

May, who has represented the wealthy London commuter seat of Maidenhead since 1997, says she does not gossip about people over lunch, but gets on with the job.

Good, solid Conservatism

As Britains second female prime minister, May is often compared to the first, Conservative Iron Lady Margaret Thatcher -- but she has struck a markedly different tone.

She says government should be used to improve the lives of ordinary people, and her manifesto rejected untrammelled free markets and the cult of selfish individualism.

May has never been afraid of challenging her party -- as Conservative chairwoman in 2002, she famously warned that the Tories were seen as the nasty party.

But she insists there is no such thing as Mayism, only good, solid Conservatism.

The prime minister credits her outlook on life to her very happy childhood in a vicarage, where she was obliged to meet a variety of people from different walks of life.

She studied geography at the University of Oxford, before working in finance, including at the Bank of England.

She met her husband Philip, a banker, at university, after reportedly being introduced by future Pakistan premier Benazir Bhutto.

Not long after their marriage, Mays vicar father died in a car accident, followed a year later by her mother, who had multiple sclerosis.

In 2013, May revealed she has type 1 diabetes but insisted it would not affect her career.

It was a question of head down and getting on with it -- a message she is hoping voters will heed on polling day.
The top-ranking diplomat at the US embassy in Beijing abruptly resigned, telling colleagues he was leaving the foreign service over disagreements with Trump administration policy, US officials said on Monday.

State department officials familiar with David Ranks resignation said he announced his retirement Monday at a town hall meeting of embassy employees and cited President Donald Trumps decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accord as a reason.

The department confirmed Ranks retirement, saying it was a personal decision but offered no details about his reasons for stepping down.

Mr Rank made a personal decision. We appreciate his years of dedicated service to the State Department, US embassy spokeswoman Mary Beth Polley told AFP.

Polley said the embassy informed Chinas foreign affairs ministry on Monday that Jonathan Fritz would be serving as charge daffaires.

Rank was a 27-year career foreign service officer with experience in Afghanistan, Taiwan, Greece and Mauritius.

He was Number 2 at the embassy, in charge pending the arrival of Trumps new ambassador to China, former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, who was confirmed by the Senate last month.

Ranks resignation was first reported by John Pomfret, editor-at-large for the website, SupChina.

Trump announced Americas withdrawal from a global climate change pact last week. That kept an election campaign promise, but fanned fears of the US abdicating its global leadership role and shunning international consensus on the worlds most pressing issues.

Secretary of state Rex Tillerson was among Trumps advisers who had been quietly lobbying for the US to stay in the pact.

Cooperation with China on combating climate change was often cited by the Obama administration as an area in which Washington and Beijing were able to work together, despite tensions in other areas of the relationship.

China and the US are the worlds two largest emitters of man-made carbon dioxide, considered a top cause of climate change, and agreement between them on capping emissions helped pave the way for the Paris agreement among more than 190 nations.
US President Donald Trump has opted not to set up a war room in the White House to serve as a rapid-response team to answer accusations involving an investigation into his campaigns ties to Russia, a White House official said on Tuesday.

Any such rapid-response team, the official said, is instead likely to be a function of Trumps outside counsel, Marc Kasowitz.

White House officials had been discussing the possibility of hiring former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski to spearhead an internal war room to battle the various controversies emanating from a Justice Department probe into contacts between Trump aides and Russia.

If it exists, it wont be here, the White House official told Reuters. It would most likely be outside the White House.

But it is possible, the official added, that the White House could beef up its rapid-response operation as it does some retooling of Trumps communications effort.

The official said it made more sense from a legal standpoint to have any Russia war room operation outside of the White House.

Trump fired James Comey, former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, on May 9 amid accusations that the president was trying to squelch a federal probe into the Russia claims.

Comey is to testify before the US Congress on Thursday to lay out the details of his conversations with the president about Russia before the firing.

Trump has called the probe a witch hunt and said there was no collusion between his campaign and Russia.
Over 130 imams and Muslim religious leaders in the UK have refused to perform the traditional Islamic funeral prayer for the London Bridge attackers, saying their indefensible actions were completely at odds with the teachings of Islam.

Imams and religious leaders from across the country and a range of schools of thought came together to issue a public statement condemning the recent terror attack in London and conveying their pain at the suffering of the victims and their families.

In an unprecedented move, they not only refused to perform the traditional Islamic prayer for the terrorists - a ritual that is normally performed for every Muslim regardless of their actions - but also called on others to do the same.

Consequently, and in light of other such ethical principles which are quintessential to Islam, we will not perform the traditional Islamic funeral prayer over the perpetrators and we also urge fellow imams and religious authorities to withdraw such a privilege, the group of more than 130 imams and Muslim religious leaders said in a statement.

This is because such indefensible actions are completely at odds with the lofty teachings of Islam, the statement said.

Three knife-wielding attackers on Saturday had unleashed a terror rampage here, ploughing a van into pedestrians on the iconic London Bridge before stabbing revellers in a nearby market, killing seven people. The three attackers had been shot dead.

The move by the imams and the religious leaders came as senior Muslims and community leaders said they will redouble efforts to root out extremism in their communities after the attack in London.

The Metropolitan police commander for engagement, Mak Chishty, the highest-ranking officer of Muslim faith, called for a step-change -- a different direction and a different movement to counter the scourge of terrorism, extremism and hatred that we have in our communities at present.

Chishty, in a statement he read out on behalf of Muslim communities, said, It is the Islamic duty of every Muslim to be loyal to the country in which they live. We are now asking questions to understand how extremism and hatred has taken hold within some elements of our own communities.

Harun Khan, the secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain umbrella organisation, expressed his anger over the London Bridge attack, saying, We want to do something about it.

That is why we agree with the prime minister that things must change. Enough is enough. We are ready to have those difficult conversations, as equal citizens with an equal stake in this fight, he was quoted as saying by The Guardian.
Some call it minority appeasement UK style, but come elections and Hindu temples and gurdwaras get visits from top leaders to court the increasingly influential votes of the British Indian community. So it was in the build-up to Thursdays election.

Prime Minister Theresa May visited the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan temple with her husband Philip May, and performed the abhishek ritual, while Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was at the Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha, wearing a saffron turban.

Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband Philip May at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan temple in northwest London. (HT Photo)

The former Labour leader, Ed Miliband, held an arti thali on the eve of the 2015 elections in one of the most widely shared images in the Indian community. Former prime minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha Cameron were not far behind, hot-footing to Indian places of worship.

It is minority appeasement, UK style, laughs Mumbai-origin Shamsuddin Agha, president of the Indian Muslim Federation UK. They are after votes, we have no objection to that, we come from a multicultural, multilingual country, he told Hindustan Times.

Its the same idea behind what we call minority appeasement that in India. British leaders will go to temples, gurdwaras, mosques for votes. It is good that they realise the importance of votes of the Indian community.

Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn at the Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha. (Twitter)

Mays visit to the temple in Neasden, northwest London, has evidently gladdened hearts. Her Conservative Party has been wooing the community since 2005 under Cameron, which resulted in a substantial section voting for the party in 2010 and 2015 elections

"I say to all British Hindus and Indians, come with me as we make Britain the worlds great meritocracy. Come with me as we build a truly global Britain, and help me build those vital links with India. Come with me as we build a stronger, fairer and more prosperous vision for us all, May told nearly 2,000 worshippers in the temple.

Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn eating at the langar or community kitchen of the Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha. (Twitter)

Her visit was hailed by the National Council of Hindu Temples (NCHT), which made clear its preference for the party in a statement. The Conservative Party is seen to be closer to the influential Hindu-Sikh lobbies opposed to the anti-caste discrimination law in Britain, which is currently undergoing public consultation.

Whether British Hindu voters vote for PM Theresa May who performed Abhishek with Britain's Hindus and whose party has elevated Indian origin parliamentarians to cabinet and ministerial positions, or whether they vote for Jeremy Corbyn who snubbed PM Modi's parliamentary address and whose grandees are determined to foist caste labels upon British Hindus, it is critical that British Hindus do vote, NCHT said in a statement.

Corbyn was introduced in the gurdwara by senior Labour leader Virendra Sharma, who held the Ealing, Southall seat with a majority of 18,760 in 2015.

He said: "I urge all of you to do everything you can in this borough to win every single one of the constituencies in this borough and the ones around because to get a Labour government, we need to make gains as well as holding what we have.

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The US justice department on Monday announced the arrest of an intelligence contractor for leaking a classified document, hours after a news outlet published an article based on information disclosed in it.

This was the first instance of arrest for unauthorised disclosure of classified information under the Donald Trump administration, which has felt under attack from an onslaught of leaks embroiling it a number of controversies.

Reality Leigh Winner, 25, a federal contractor working at an intelligence community facility in Georgia, was charged with removing classified material from a government facility and mailing it to a news outlet, the justice department said.

She was employed with Pluribus International Corporation, which had assigned her to a US government agency facility in Georgia, and she had been working there since February.

The justice department said Winner held a top secret clearance during that time. On or about May 9, Winner printed and improperly removed classified intelligence reporting, which contained classified national defence information from an intelligence community agency, and unlawfully retained it, the justice department said.

Approximately a few days later, Winner unlawfully transmitted by mail the intelligence reporting to an online news outlet.

The department said the news outlet, The Intercept, ran an article based on information provided by an anonymous source that Russian interference in the 2016 US election went much deeper than previously reported or known.

The Intercept reported two cyberattacks in which hackers for Russian military intelligence, GRU, tried to access voter registration records in August and 100 election officials through spear phishing just days before polling.

The US has accused Russia of meddling in the 2016 election to defeat Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and help Trump win, alleging personal animus between President Vladimir Putin and Clinton.

Moscow has denied the allegations and Putin has dismissed personal involvement in it at multiple forums, including an interview that aired over the weekend. But, he has said, patriotically minded hackers might have acted on their own.
The US justice department on Monday announced the arrest of an intelligence contractor for allegedly leaking a classified document related to Russian interference in the 2016 elections.

This was the first arrest for unauthorised disclosure of classified information under the Donald Trump administration that has been hit by an onslaught of leaks, embroiled it in an unceasing cycle of controversies, most of it pertaining to the Russia probe.

Reality Leigh Winner, 25, a federal contractor working at an intelligence community facility in Georgia, was charged with removing classified material from a government facility and mailing it to a news outlet, the justice department said.

The news outlet, The Intercept, ran a news story on Monday that Russian interference in the 2016 US election went much deeper than was previously reported or was publicly known, based on information it said was provided by an anonymous source.

It reported that there were two cyberattacks in which hackers for Russian military intelligence, GRU, tried to access voter registration records, targeting private company that sells voter-registration software in August and more than 100 election officials through spear phishing just days before polling.

Winner was employed with Pluribus International Corporation, which had assigned her to a US government agency facility in Georgia, and she had been working there since February.

The justice department said Winner held top secret clearance during that time. On or about May 9, Winner printed and improperly removed classified intelligence reporting, which contained classified national defence information from an intelligence community agency, and unlawfully retained it. Approximately a few days later, Winner unlawfully transmitted by mail the intelligence reporting to an online news outlet, a justice department statement said.

The administration is likely tested severely in this connection when sacked FBI director James Comey testifies about his conversations with Trump on the Capitol Hill on Thursday. The White House was expected to block him invoking the presidents executive privilege, but has said it wont.

The White House also continues to be buffeted by backlash to Trumps decision to pull the US out of the Paris climate accord. The acting US ambassador to China has resigned in protest, just days before Trumps nominee Terry Brandstad is expected to take charge.

But its the Russia probe that poses the administration the bigger challenge. Federal and congressional investigations are underway into Russian meddling in the elections and allegations of members of Trumps campaign team colluding in it. Trump has steadfastly denied any personal involvement in it, but has made clearly in recent remarks he could speak only for himself.

US intelligence community has accused Russia of meddling in the 2016 election to defeat Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and help Donald Trump win, alleging personal animus between President Vladimir Putin and Clinton going back to her days as secretary of state.

Moscow has denied the accusations and Putin has dismissed personal involvement in it from multiple forums, including an interview that aired over the weekend. But, he has said, patriotically minded hackers might have acted on their own, without the governments backing.
The Pentagon on Tuesday renewed praise of Qatar for hosting a vital US air base and for its enduring commitment to regional security, sticking to a message of reassurance even as President Donald Trump, via Twitter, applauded a decision by Arab powers to cut ties to the Gulf ally.

It was the latest example of the tightrope that US officials are walking as Trumps tweets raise questions about existing US policy and the carefully scripted talking points used to explain it.

In the case of Qatar, the stakes are high. More than 11,000 US and coalition forces are deployed to or assigned to al Udeid Air Base, from which more than 100 aircraft operate.

Of those 11,000, nearly 1,000 work in a combined air operations centre that helps oversee missions for campaigns in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, the military says.

US officials had said on Monday that the United States would quietly try to calm the waters between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, arguing that the small Gulf state was too important to US military and diplomatic interests to be isolated.

But Trump, wading into the worst split between powerful Arab states in decades, said on Tuesday his trip to the Middle East was already paying off with leaders there taking a hard new line in accusing Qatar of funding of militant groups.

The Pentagon, which seeks to steer clear of political matters, was unable to reconcile Trumps support for Qatars isolation with its own praise for its commitment to regional security.

Asked directly about the disconnect, spokesperson Navy Captain Jeff Davis told a news briefing: I cant help you with that.

We continue to be grateful to the Qataris for their longstanding support for our presence and their enduring commitment to regional security, Davis said, adding the United States had no plans to alter its presence in Qatar.

The US envoy to Qatar, Dana Shell Smith, retweeted on Monday a message from October in which she praised the US partnership with Qatar, citing real progress to counter terrorist financing.

US Air Force secretary Heather Wilson told a Senate committee on Tuesday she was not concerned about the US air base in Qatar and added that American operations continued without interruption.

The Pentagon also declined to answer a question about whether Qatar supported terrorism, the accusation made by Arab states who appeared to now have the political backing of the US President.

Davis, sticking to US military-related matters, said: Im not the right person to ask that. I consider them a host to our very important base at al Udeid.
US tech giants, government leaders, investors, universities, and companies have agreed to fight global warming by reducing carbon emissions and honour the Paris Agreement on climate change, days after US President Donald Trump announced his decision to withdraw from the landmark deal.

Various companies like Apple, Google, Facebook, Intel and Microsoft are among the hundreds of businesses that declared their intention to continue working toward reducing carbon emissions.

The firms who were noticeably absent were Oracle, IBM, and all the major telecommunications providers.

In the absence of leadership from Washington, states, cities, colleges and universities and businesses representing a sizeable percentage of the US economy will pursue ambitious climate goals, working together to take forceful action and to ensure that the US remains a global leader in reducing emissions, the coalition, which now consists of more than 1,000 entities, said in a statement on Monday.

The US joined the Paris agreement in 2015. Nearly 200 countries are part of the accord and have agreed to fight global warming by reducing carbon emissions. Scientists anticipate climate change could push the Earth to dangerous temperatures much sooner with US retreat from the pledge because the country burns so much energy.

The coalition, calling itself We are still in, includes leaders from nine states, 125 cities, 902 businesses and investors, and 183 colleges and universities. The effort is led by philanthropist and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg.

In the absence of a supportive federal coordinating role, these actors will more closely coordinate their own recarbonisation actions, Bloomberg wrote in a letter to the United Nations secretary-general.

Collectively, they will redouble their efforts to ensure that the US achieves the carbon emissions reductions it pledged under the Paris Agreement.

Trumps withdrawal from the pact drew swift condemnation from several tech giants last week, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, who said he spoke with Trump earlier in the week in an effort to persuade him not to withdraw from the pact.

In addition to Cook, the CEOs of Google, Facebook, Microsoft, HP, Intel and Tesla also asked Trump to stay in the agreement. Elon Musk, founder of Tesla and SpaceX, made good on his threat to leave several of the presidents advisory councils if the president pulled the US out of the climate deal.

Cities and states across the US, governors and over 200 mayors have vowed to keep fighting climate change and adopt clean energy technologies, despite President Donald Trumps decision to withdraw the country from the Paris Climate Agreement.

We Are Still In represents the most serious attempt yet by local officials, business executives, and private-sector leaders to buck the Trump administrations decision, which sent political shockwaves around the world.

Participants vowed to meet the Paris agreements target of limiting global warming to well below 2 degree Celsius, or 3.6 degree Fahrenheit, above preindustrial levels by 2100. They also pledged to accelerate the transition to renewable energy.

In the US, it is local and state governments, along with businesses, that are primarily responsible for the dramatic decrease in greenhouse gas emissions in recent years, the group wrote in an open letter to the international community.

Actions by each group will multiply and accelerate in the years ahead, no matter what policies Washington may adopt, they wrote.

The new coalition includes dozens of university and college leaders, including the chancellors of six University of California campuses, the president of New York University, plus schools from many states in between the coasts.

A total of 19 attorneys general joined the group, including New York AG Eric Schneiderman and Massachusetts AG Maura Healy, both of whom are investigating Exxon Mobil for allegedly deceiving investors on the companys climate risks

The coalition intends to submit a Societal Nationally Determined Contribution to the UN, which will be called Americas Pledge and account for the climate-fighting efforts of US cities, states, businesses, and other subnational actors.

It would be rare, if not unprecedented, for a coalition like this to formally join a UN treaty meant for nations to sign.
Veteran politician Sher Bahadur Deuba was on Tuesday elected Nepals prime minister for the fourth time with the support of nearly two-thirds of the members of the 593-strong Parliament.

The 70-year-old Nepali Congress president returned to the top post 12 years after he was removed by then King Gynendra Shah.

Deuba was the sole candidate in the election for the post of prime minister as the main opposition Communist Party of Nepal-UML and other parties did not put up candidates.

He received 388 votes while 170 votes were cast against his candidacy. A total of 558 were cast and Deuba needed 297 votes to prove his majority.

Immediately after his election, Deuba said his priorities would be holding elections to local government bodies and implementing the new Constitution. On the foreign policy front, he said he would maintain good relations with India and China.

The election became necessary after Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Centre leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda quit the post of prime minister last month under a power-sharing deal with Deubas Nepali Congress, the largest party in Parliament.

As the nation needs advanced political agreement to complete some historic tasks and keep the political and moral ground intact, I am supporting the candidacy of Deuba as per the understanding reached with the Nepali Congress, said Prachanda.

Deuba received wide-ranging political support during the voting and his victory was almost certain. Among the parties that backed Deuba, who has long-standing democratic credentials, were CPN-Maoist Centre and Madhes-based parties.

He became Nepals 40th prime minister. He earlier served as prime minister during 1995-97, 2001-02 and 2004-05. Deuba was sacked by King Gyanendra Shah in 2005 for failing to hold elections and to bring the Maoist rebels to the negotiating table.

Earlier, the CPN-UML decided to end its obstruction of the proceedings in Parliament after the ruling parties agreed to hold elections to local government bodies in four provinces on June 28 and the provincial and parliamentary elections by January 2018.

Deuba is expected to form a small Cabinet on Wednesday and some Madhesi parties are likely to join the coalition.

In addition to facing huge domestic political challenges, Deuba will have to build on the work done on the foreign policy front by Prachanda, who had almost brought relations with India and China back on track.

Two Madhes-based parties clinched separate deals with Deuba and Prachanda on Tuesday. Though they agreed to vote for Deuba, the parties are yet to decide on joining the government.

The former research fellow at the London School of Economics will lead Nepal for nine months and experts say this could be the most challenging phase of his political career.

Born into a simple family from the far west of Nepal, Deuba is widely considered as one of the luckiest political leaders in the country. A long-time member of the socialist movement, he has strong political connections to India and the West.
Two 12-pounder Napoleons stand west of the Old Hagerstown Pike at Antietam National Battlefield, opposite David Millers famed Cornfield. They are not there for ambiencethey mark the positions of Battery B, 4th U.S. Artillery, during its heroic early-morning stand at the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862.

Though a Regular Army battery, the guns were not manned that day by tough, crusty veterans. In fact, only seven of the batterys 100 members were Regulars. The rest were infantrymen detached from Brig. Gen. Abner Doubledays 1st Division, 1st Corps. The batterys captain was 27-year-old Joseph Boyd Campbell, an 1861 West Point graduate. The other officer, 2nd Lt. James B. Stewart, was a Scottish immigrant, who enlisted in the battery in 1851 and rose steadily in rank. Five noncommissioned officers were Regulars, but the rest of the men came from the 2nd, 6th, and 7th Wisconsin; 19th Indiana; and 23rd and 35th New York Infantry.

On the morning of September 17, Battery B, armed with six 12-pounder smoothbores, followed Doubledays advance along the Hagerstown Pike toward the Miller Farm and unlimbered in a plowed field. The battery moved in support of Brig. Gen. John Gibbons 4th Brigadethe 2nd, 6th, and 7th Wisconsin and 19th Indiana, soon to earn the moniker Iron Brigadewhich was spearheading the Union attack. Gibbon ordered Campbell to send forward Stewarts two-gun section to a position in front of Millers barn, west of the pike.

[quote style=boxed float=left]The Confederates kept coming, fighting like mad men. But Battery B did too, paying a stiff pricenine killed and 31 wounded.[/quote]

By the time Stewart brought up his guns, Gibbons infantry was already fiercely engaged with Confederates just south of the Cornfield. Rising ground in front limited Stewarts view, and Gibbon believed Stewarts section would have a better field of fire if it moved forward to a slight ridge 100 yards farther south. He sent his aide, Lieutenant Frank Haskell, galloping to Stewart with orders. As Haskell rode up, Stewart noticed large bodies of enemy troops coming out of the woods several hundred yards in front to counterattack Gibbon. Since advancing seemed madness to Stewart, he told Haskell, I wish you would give my compliments to the general and tell him, as I have cover for my men and horses, I do not think a move of seventy-five or one hundred yards is any advantage to artillery. Haskell, however, didnt interpret orders, he only delivered them. Stewart moved his guns forward as instructed.

After Stewarts crews unlimbered and swung their guns into action, nearby Confederate infantry rose and poured fire into them, killing and wounding 14 of the 17 cannoneers and killing Stewarts horse. Undeterred, Stewart ordered the survivors to take cover while he raced back to the Miller barn, where he had left his caissons. He ordered the drivers to help crew the guns. The drivers did not want to leave the horses, Stewart recalled, but the lieutenant made them dismount, with his section soon firing shrapnel into the flank of the Rebel counterattack. Gibbon brought the 19th Indiana and 7th Wisconsin up through the West Woods on Stewarts right. The combined front, flank, and rear fire forced the Confederates to retreat.

Quickly assessing the damage that Stewarts section had suffered in advancing, Gibbon ordered Campbell to bring up the rest of the battery. Campbell brought the guns down the Hagerstown Pike at a gallop and unlimbered to Stewarts left, with the far left gun setting up within the pike itself. Years later, Major Rufus Dawes of the 6th Wisconsin wrote: It was a great fault to advance the battery where Gibbon ordered it, because the position was so exposed and forward. Gibbon might have agreed with the latter, but he placed Battery B at this point of danger because he wanted its firepower close to the front, where it could inflict maximum damage.

Campbells guns had no sooner unlimbered than the tide of battle abruptly turned. Brigadier General John B. Hoods Division counterattacked from the West Woods and drove back Doubledays advance. To Campbells men, the first sign of major trouble was the sight of Doubledays infantry running back into the corn, quickly followed by Hoods screaming troops. Campbells guns, loaded with canister, blasted the rapidly advancing Confederates. Artillery rounds containing more than 140 iron balls, each about one inch in diameter, tore great gaps in the enemy line but failed to break the charge.

The Confederates found cover by a fence lining the pike. Miller had allowed a dense growth of briars and brush to grow up along this fence, giving the Southerners excellent cover as they poured murderous fire into the Union battery. Campbell was hit in the neck, shoulder, and side; his horse shot seven times. Stewart took over, only to get hit by a spent ball. He concealed the wound, however, fearing he would lose command of his beloved battery.

Despite the canister fire, Hoods men advanced to within 15 yards. Even when the battery fired double canister, the Confederates kept coming, fighting like mad men, according to one 7th Wisconsin soldier. But those in Battery B did, too. All but two were shot down at the gun in the road; 1st Sgt. John Mitchell was struck and injured as one of his guns recoiled. Nearly every gunner manning the two pieces on the right was killed or wounded, yet two men from that section reportedly crawled on their hands and knees several times from the limber to the piece and loaded and fired those guns in that way until they had recoiled so far that they could not use them anymore. Sergeant Joseph Herzog was so badly wounded that after being carried back to an emergency hospital he pulled his revolver out and deliberately blew his brains out.

Even General Gibbon helped crew a gun. When he noticed that the men working the piece in the road had the elevation screw improperly set so their canister charges flew harmlessly over the Confederates heads, he jumped off his horse and personally set the screw properly. The piece wreaked havoc in the enemy ranks while sending fence rails flying high into the air.

With Union infantry support, Hoods attack was finally repulsed, but Battery B paid a stiff pricenine killed and 31 wounded, the highest loss of any battery during the battle. After the war, two members of the battery received Medals of Honor. With characteristic modesty, Stewart concluded his after-action report: [T]he behavior of my men was all that could be desired. Indeed.

Scott Hartwig writes from the crossroads of Gettysburg.
During the Vietnam conflict my military occupational specialty was 94B, food service specialist, or simply put, Army cook. Ask veterans what they think about military chow, and you get an answer between love and hate. But this article isnt about the quality of Army food. Its about the craziness and chaos that occurs when cooks, soldiers in basic training and kitchen help mix and mingle in the small and dangerous quarters of an Army mess hall kitchen.

Like many Vietnam-era vets I was drafted in 1969. I found the envelope with orders to report for an armed forces physical examination in our mailbox at Kings Park on New Yorks Long Island the same day I received an acceptance letter from a community college, a bit too late for a military deferment. That summer I attended Basic Combat Training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. We trained to fight in Vietnam, and by the end of basic training we were ready for action.

Somewhere along the way I filled out a paper that asked what kind of military job I wanted. I picked cook as my first choice because my mother suggested that occupation. She believed cooks ate well and rarely got shot at. Her words of wisdom made sense to me.

At the end of basic training, I received orders to report to Fort Lewis, Washington, after a two-week leave. I was to receive on-the-job training as an Army cook.

On the Job in Washington

After a few weeks with family I flew to Washington state and landed at Sea-Tac Airport in Seattle. I took a bus to Fort Lewis about 35 miles away and reported to my permanent duty station: E Company, 4th Battalion, 1st Brigade. E Company was a basic training company for new inductees. My job was to work in the mess hall and serve two to three meals a day to 250 basic trainees and company staff. The first order of the day, every day, was to fire up huge coffee pots. I can still recall the wonderful smell of freshly percolated coffee wafting throughout the mess hall at 4:30 in the morning.

Author Mark Mathosian takes a break from the kitchen behind the officers club in Goppingen, Germany. (Courtesy of Mark Mathosian)

The mess hall was extremely quiet before dawn, and with no one around it was our little fiefdom. We turned the radio up loud and listened to a youthful Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5 belting out their hits. We ate well, as did the trainees. For breakfast we served eggs, bacon, sausage, grits, toast, coffee, rolls, fresh fruit and occasionally creamed ground beef on toast, the classic American military dish humorously referred to as SOS, or st on a shingle. Milk, chocolate milk, fresh coffee and orange juice were always offered. If trainees asked for a little extra food, we gave it to them. We always cooked a bit more than we needed, and on most days there were leftovers.

For lunch and supper we served steaks, roasted chicken, pork chops, all types of vegetables, freshly baked breads and rolls, and pies we made ourselves, including apple, peach and blueberry.Supplies came in once or twice a week on 2-ton cargo trucks and were unloaded at the back door.

I never accepted the concept that Army food was bad. The food products were high quality. If the food didnt taste good, it was because the cooks screwed up. Lazy or negligent cooks gave Army chow a bad reputation. However, we took pride in our cooking and never received complaints. Trainees loved our meals as did the permanent duty staff. We even won a monthly Best Mess award for all of Fort Lewis, and our photos were published in the base newspaper.

I prospered at E Company and was promoted to the rank of specialist 4 and first cook. That meant I was in charge of the mess hall when the mess sergeant was away. Things went smoothly, but every once in a while we had mishaps. They usually involved a KP.

Chaos in the Kitchen

KP stands for kitchen police or kitchen patrol. This term has been used in the U.S. military since at least the early 1900s. Every day four or five trainees at Fort Lewis were assigned to work with us in the mess hall as KPs, a job also referred to a mess duty. Sometimes KP was assigned as a form of punishment, but in most cases KPs were assigned by a rotating roster because we needed help throughout the day.

These trainees monitored the eating area as dining room orderlies, scrubbed pots and pans, peeled potatoes on the back patio, and did whatever else was needed to get us through a meal. I showed them kindness. They were already having a tough time during basic training, and I didnt want to add to their woes. I was determined to make the mess hall a friendly place. KPs had to work hard, but they were treated with respect. I wanted them to know that Army life wasnt that bad once they got away from their demanding drill instructors.

There was much to do and little time to do it when preparing a meal for hundreds of people rushing through a chow line. Cooks and KPs worked in tight quarters, and we had to be careful not to get in each others way.

Mistakes and false moves led to disasters.

Army kitchens are filled with tools and equipment like sharp knives, hot ovens and griddles, boiling water, and deep fat fryers filled with sizzling grease. As cooks we learned to maneuver carefully and respect each others space and the dangerous equipment. We moved cautiously over frequently mopped wet and slippery concrete floors. KPs were not entirely aware of the dangers lurking in the kitchen. Most had never been in a hectic commercial kitchen before. We did our best to brief them, but words only go so far.

One day we were preparing lunch at about 11a.m. I was cutting sandwich meats and cheeses, and another cook was working over the deep fat fryer preparing french fries. KPs were milling around doing other tasks. They normally were not allowed to touch knives or hot pots, but they could get food cans from the storage room and items from refrigerators and freezers. That morning I needed two cans of mixed vegetables and asked a KP to get them from the storage room. He came back carrying two large, commercial-size vegetable cans.

The Cereal That Wasnt

On his way to the worktable he slipped and bumped into the cook working over the deep fat fryer. The cook didnt see him coming and his arm went into the hot grease up to his elbow. I looked up when I heard him yelp and was shocked when I realized what had happened.

The cook was yelling and cursing loudly as the KP stood motionless with a deer in the headlights look. The cook was obviously furious, and I could see by the look in his eyes he was about to do something nasty to the KP.

I shouted to the KP, Get out! He looked at me, realized what I said and bolted for the back door of the mess hall. I rushed to help the cook and wiped the hot grease off his arm with a rag.

Luckily, the grease was not yet boiling. The cook came away with little more than a superficial skin burn, and the KP got out of kitchen duty. We didnt see that KP for the rest of the day. I think he was too scared to come back to the mess hall, and we had a few laughs about the incident at the end of the day.

One morning I was manning a griddle making fried eggs, bacon and pancakes. Trainees were on line in front of me, and when they reached my post I asked them how they wanted their eggs: sunny side up, scrambled or over easy. To keep the griddle lubricated I had a bowl of thick coagulated grease on the counter to my left. I dipped my spatula into the grease bowl and spread the grease across the griddle before cracking eggs onto it. I did this quickly to keep the line moving. This day I went to dip my spatula in the bowl of grease, and it was gone. What the heck?

I looked around, and it was nowhere to be found. I decided to do a quick investigation. I walked into the dining room and spotted my bowl of grease next to the tray of a trainee eating eggs. What are you going to do with that? I asked. The trainee looked up, surprised to see me standing there and responded, Eat it.

Do you know what that is? I asked. Yes, he said, hot cereal.

His eyes bulged when I told him it was a bowl of grease. Fortunately, he had not yet put a spoonful into his mouth, although that would have been funny. Another time a bowl containing four raw eggs was missing. A trainee took it, thinking he had a bowl of canned peaches. Events like that broke up the monotony of the day.

Occasionally, as a practical joke, we would send a KP off on a fake journey. We told him to go to the next companys mess hall and borrow a meat stretcher. There is, of course, no such thing as a meat stretcher. This joke has been going on since World War II. Cooks at the other mess halls always went along with the joke, saying, No, we dont have one, but if you go to Company A you can borrow one from them. The KP would be sent to the next mess hall down the road.

The search for a meat stretcher might go on for the entire day, and the victim of the prank could walk for miles. Sometimes, we didnt see him again during our shift. We would even forget that we sent him out. If a trainee caught on to the joke, he would come back early, and we would have a good laugh. We tried to have a little fun in the kitchen. However, occasionally things got ugly, as you will see.

An American Cook in Germany

After about nine months at Fort Lewis, I received orders for Germany. I didnt know it then, but President Richard Nixon was cutting back on troop deployments to Vietnam. The war was beginning to wind down as America prepared to pull out of the conflict altogether. The flight to Germany was filled with other soldiers. We arrived at the Frankfurt am Main International Airport, and I was ordered to report to Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the 4th Armored Division, just outside the quaint city of Goppingen in the Stuttgart region of Baden-Wurttemberg in southwestern Germany.

Our base camp was Cooke Barracks. During World War II, the base was a German Luftwaffe training facility, and from 1945 to 1949 it was a camp for refugees and other displaced people. In 1949, the U.S. Armys European Command changed the name to honor Charles H. Cooke Jr., a captain in the 32nd Field Artillery Battalion who was posthumously awarded the Silver Star Medal for his actions when the unit landed at Gela, Sicily, on July 11, 1943.

I traveled to Goppingen by train and took a taxi to the 4th Armored Division headquarters, where I reported to the company commander. He ushered me off to an almost empty barracks to await orders. Two days after arriving I met with Lt. George Chapdelaine, who asked many questions about my temperament and cooking skills. I soon found out why.

A day after the interview I was ordered to pack my duffel bag. Outside waiting for me in a Jeep was Chapdelaine. He was in charge of the officers club and chose me to work there. The club, just off base, was a German officers club during World War II.

At the entrance, above the door, there had been a sculpture of an eagle with a swastika in its talons. After the war most of the swastika was chiseled off. That was quite poetic, leaving the eagle in place with a broken Nazi symbol.

Chef Urban shows an Army cook how to make hors doeuvres for a 1970 Christmas banquet at the Cooke Barracks Officers Club. (Courtesy of Mark Mathosian)

I worked in the clubs kitchen along with a German chef. I had my own room on the second floor. I thought we had it good at Fort Lewis, but that was nothing compared with officers club amenities. The facility had a nightclub with bartenders, waitresses and even slot machines. We had a commercial-size kitchen, restaurant-style dining room with a huge fireplace and a massive ballroom for banquets and parties. The food we served ran the gambit from chateaubriand steak with bearnaise sauce to Maine lobsters. Beverages included beer, wine and liquor. The officers ate well, and we did too.

Chef Urban was amazing. (I am not sure if Urban was his first or last name. We never bothered to ask.) He could cook anything. His Mexican meals were my favorites. German veal dishes like Wiener schnitzel were also delicious, as were the German pastries and strudels he made from scratch. We were in culinary heaven.

International Staff  International Disputes

The work crew in our kitchen seemed like it was designed by the United Nations. It consisted of four American cooks (including myself); a German chef; a kitchen helper from Greece named Nick; and a kitchen helper from Spain. The Spaniard had one glass eye that always seemed to be looking in the other direction when he was speaking. The Army cooks spoke English, of course. The chef communicated in broken English and German. Nick spoke Greek and broken English. The Spaniard spoke only Spanish. We often used sign language more than anything else. Sometimes it got really hot in the kitchen, in more ways than one.

We were all young GIs full of gusto. We were cocky and thought we knew it all. The chef was older and wiser, so he stayed out of the shenanigans younger people naturally get into.

The kitchen help was another story altogether. Nick appeared to have an attitude of superiority because he was Greek, and he liked to boss the Spaniard around even though he wasnt officially in charge of him. The Spaniard was quiet and moody, and because he didnt speak English, Greek or German, he kept to himself. He and Nick didnt get along at all. I also suspect he thought the cooks and Nick were talking behind his back because Nick was friendly and we were often laughing while we worked. In truth, we never talked behind the Spaniards back. We considered him to be just like us, simply trying to do his job and get on with life.

One day all hell broke loose in the kitchen. It was late in the day, and we were all stressed from a busy supper meal. We were sweaty, dirty and tired. Most people dont realize how dirty you become working in a commercial kitchen. Food sticks to you and mixes in with your sweat. Overall, you are a mess. You smell bad and dont resemble at all the nice meals you send out to patrons. Basically, at the end of the day you are disgusting.

By the end of this particular day tempers got short. No one was in the mood for anyone elses crap. I was behind a large stainless steel table cleaning it with a soapy sponge. The chef was wrapping up and putting his tools away. The other cooks were milling around, doing various chores. Nick and the Spaniard were in the dishwashing area cleaning silverware, plates and glasses.

From where I was standing I could see and hear Nick and the Spaniard talking. Voices were rising, and it became obvious they were having a disagreement. This was nothing new. Then, as usual, the Spaniard became quiet. He ran out of words to say, and again, as usual, Nick seemed to win the argument. However, the Spaniard was much madder than we knew. All of a sudden Nick started screaming at the top of his lungs and began running through the kitchen with the Spaniard in close pursuit. Nick ran past me faster than any human ever did before, and the Spaniard was hot on his trail. I realized that the Spaniard was swinging a meat cleaver over his head.

He was chasing Nick around the kitchen with the meat cleaver, just waiting to get close enough to sink it into the Greeks head. Nick had the fear of God in his eyes. He knew he was about to meet his maker and this was one argument he was going to lose. The Spaniard held that cleaver high and his one good eye was fixed on Nicks skull.

The rest of us were momentarily shocked. What should we do? No one wanted to take Nicks place at the other end of the meat cleaver. Still, logic prevailed. The next time they circled our worktable we jumped on the Spaniard. With a little effort we wrestled the meat cleaver from his hand, pushed him to the ground and sat on him. After a while he calmed down, and we let him up. After all, he wasnt mad at us. It was Nick he was after. Nick headed out the back door of the club and didnt come back until the next morning. By then everything was back to normal. Nick and the Spaniard didnt get into another argument for at least three weeks.

Mark Mathosian, who was a specialist 4 in the Army, is a retired financial frauds investigator, a writer and a public speaker. He lives in Advance, North Carolina.

Published in the August 2017 issue of Vietnam magazine.
A near-death experience changed his presidency and led to the most important steps ever taken to reduce the threat of nuclear war.

Ronald Reagan had learned to read audiences during decades of public speaking, so it didnt take him long to perceive the one he addressed on March 30, 1981, as skeptical, even unfriendly. He opened with a joke, as he usually did, but it barely got a chuckle from the crowd attending the national conference of the building trades division of the AFL-CIO. Nor were the union men impressed when Reagan pointed out that he was a lifetime member of an AFL-CIO affiliate, the Screen Actors Guild.

Organized labor was a Democratic constituency, and though some unions had crossed the line to endorse Reagan and the Republican ticket in 1980, 600,000 construction workers were out of work when the president stepped to the lectern. Their representatives were not satisfied by what he told them of his economic plans. Speech not riotously received, the president noted wryly after the event.

Reagan left the Washington Hilton and walked toward his waiting car. As he was about to get in, he heard what sounded like firecrackers. His security detail immediately recognized the noise as gunshots, and one member of the Secret Service, Jerry Parr, reflexively shoved Reagan into the presidential limousine, pressing him down on the floor. A second agent pushed Parr in on top of Reagan. From his awkward position, Parr ordered the driver to pull away.

Neither Reagan nor Parr realized that the president had been hit. Reagan felt a sharp pain but thought it was a rib broken by Parrs rough handling. He told Parr, who directed the driver to George Washington University Hospital. Reagan insisted on walking into the emergency room but fainted from loss of blood before he got inside. Within moments doctors would discover a bullet wound and take action to save the president.

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Failed assassination, changed presidency

The failed assassination attempt by John Hinckley Jr., a disturbed drifter, dramatically changed the dynamic of Reagans presidency. No other president in American history had recovered from a gunshot wound sustained while in office, and Reagans survival generated a wave of public sympathy that boosted his popularity and gave crucial momentum to his conservative political agenda early in his first term. It also prompted some unusual behavior on the part of Reagan and his wife that his aides carefully shielded from the public. Nancy Reagan began to consult a secret outside adviser whose karmic predictions affected virtually every move and decision that the Reagans made for the next seven years. Most profoundly, the assassination attempt heightened the presidents sense of destiny. It made him realize how fleeting life is, and how little time a president has to make his mark. From that realization followed his historic summit talks with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and the most important steps ever taken to rid the world of the threat of nuclear war.

Am I dying? Reagan asked fearfully as an attendant placed an oxygen mask over his face. An internist assured him he would be fine. I cant breathe, Reagan said. My chest hurts.

The senior doctor in the emergency room, still thinking Reagan might have merely a broken rib, listened to the patients lungs. The right lung sounded normal but the left was failing to inflate. The doctor ordered Reagan rolled onto his right side.

It was then that he saw the bullet wound, an inconspicuous slit beneath Reagans left armpit. Hinckley, who had become obsessed with the actress Jodi Foster after seeing her portray a teen prostitute in the movie Taxi Driver and hoped to impress her with his daring act, had fired six shots at the president. One gravely wounded James Brady, Reagans press secretary. The second hit a police officer; the third, a member of the Secret Service. Two others did no damage, but the sixth ricocheted off the presidents car and struck Reagan under the left arm. The doctors discovered no exit wound and concluded that the bullet remained within the patients body.

Critical surgery

The emergency room trauma team went to work. They drained the blood that was constricting Reagans breathing, and with intravenous fluids helped restore his blood pressure. As he began to breathe more easily, the president regained the stage presence that was part of his political persona. Looking at the medical team gathered around him, he quipped to Jerry Parr, I hope they are all Republicans.

The bullet had lodged close to Reagans heart. The surgeons briefly considered leaving it there, lest their efforts to remove it cause greater harm, but decided to operate. As the anesthesiologist readied Reagan for sedation, the president realized he had a fresh audience and, with a smile, repeated his earlier political quip. The chief surgeon responded, Today, Mr. President, we are all Republicans.

The operation was tricky but successful. The chief carefully withdrew the bullet, and then the surgeons repaired a damaged artery and the presidents left lung. Reagan was sewed up and dispatched to recovery.

WhOs in Charge?

Meanwhile, an unscripted drama was unfolding at the White House. James Baker, Reagans chief of staff, had received a call from his deputy, Michael Deaver, saying Reagan had been shot and was in serious condition. Baker hurried to the hospital, where he was joined by Edwin Meese, the presidents counselor and the third member of the White House troika. The three pondered whether to invoke the 25th Amendment, which permits a transfer of authority to the vice president when a president is incapacitated. But Vice President George H.W. Bush was out of the city and wouldnt arrive back for some hours. Who would have responsibility for the country until then?

Secretary of State Alexander Haig thought he knew the answer. Haig watched White House spokesman Larry Speakes struggle with reporters questions about the presidents status and prognosis. Haig was in the White House at the time and was troubled by the vague responses. He thought they might cause Americas foes to think no one was in charge in Washington.

Haig impetuously decided to intervene. He dashed into the briefing room and seized the lectern. His face flushed, he explained the chain of command. Constitutionally, gentlemen, you have the president, the vice president and the secretary of state, in that order, he said. Should the president decide he wants to transfer the helm, he will do so. He has not done that. As of now, I am in control here, in the White House, pending return of the vice president and am in close touch with him. If something came up, I would check with him, of course.

Haigs statement was supposed to calm the country, but it had just the opposite effect. His facts were wrong. The secretary of state was not third in line. The speaker of the House and the president pro tempore of the Senate preceded him. Haigs authoritative sound bite, I am in control here, combined with his well-known ambition, lent the impression that this former four-star general was mounting some kind of coup.

The White House corrected Haigs misstatement and declared that the president was, in fact, in charge. The secretary of state never recovered from his rash performance that day. Reagans closest advisers lost their trust in him, and in the summer of 1982 the president allowed Haig to resign.

Nancys Fears  and the astrologer

Nancy Reagan worried chronically about Reagan, and the shooting naturally intensified her anxiety. Nothing can happen to Ronnie, she wrote in her diary while her husband was recovering in the hospital. My life would be over. Even as the immediate danger passed, Nancy couldnt stop fearing for his life. She couldnt eat. She couldnt sleep. Always slender, she grew thin and then gaunt. She prayed. She cried. She sought advice from friends.

One who offered a suggestion was Merv Griffin, the television host, whom she knew from Hollywood. He mentioned that he had recently talked with Joan Quigley a San Francisco astrologer, Nancy recalled later. He had talked to Joan, who had said she could have warned me about March 30. According to Merv, Joan had said, The president should have stayed home. I could see from my charts that this was going to be a dangerous day for him. Nancy remembered her response to Griffin. Oh, my God! she said. I could have stopped it!

Nancy, with the acceptance of her husband, had consulted astrologers for years, dating back to Reagans stint as governor of California. She called Quigley, who offered sympathy and support. Additional conversations ensued, until Nancy found herself consulting Quigley as to which days were auspicious for the president and which days threatening. The astrologer sent her celestial prognostications to Nancy, who used them to arrange the presidents schedule.

Virtually every major move and decision the Reagans made during my time as Chief of Staff was cleared in advance with a woman in San Francisco who drew up horoscopes to make certain that the planets were in a favorable alignment for the enterprise, Donald Regan, successor to James Baker as chief of staff, wrote in his memoir, For the Record.

Quigleys role was a closely guarded secret. Michael Deaver knew, as did Baker and then Regan. And the world learned about Quigley after Don Regan resigned in 1987following friction with Nancy over various matters, including the influence of an astrologer on the daily routine of the leader of the Free Worldand wrote his book. Reagan was embarrassed; Nancy was incensed. Reagans critics had a field day with the revelation.

Emerging a different man

On the surface, the aftermath of the shooting was distinctly positive. A month later, Reagan stepped again onto the public stage. He rode to Capitol Hill to address a joint session of Congress on his priority issues of taxes and spending. His election victory the previous November had given him a mandate to try to cut both, but the Democrat-controlled House kept putting up roadblocks.

Not on this day, however. As the president entered the House chamber every senator and representative leaped up to give him an ovation. The shooting had threatened not merely the life of the president but the democratic principle that politics is conducted without violence. The applause was a collective sigh of relief. Reagan worked the aisle like the old pro he was, accepting congratulations on his recovery.

He played the moment for all it was worth. At the lectern, Reagan cracked a joke about his near demise, thanked the congressional members for their prayers and paid tribute to Thomas Delahanty, the wounded police officer, and James Brady, whose wife, Sarah, sat in the gallery. He read from a letter a little girl sent him: I hope you get well quick or you might have to make a speech in your pajamas.

Reagan let the laughter mingle with the tears. The legislators, even the Democrats, were in his hands. There they remained when he turned to the substance of his address: the need for tax reductions and budget cuts. Thanks to some very fine people, my health is much improved, he said. Id like to be able to say that with regard to the health of the economy. And he would be able to say it if Congress joined him in the fight the American people had elected him to lead.

difficulties and destiny

Reagan didnt get everything he wanted from the legislature. Spending proved harder to trim than taxes. Nor was his success entirely a result of the magnanimity that followed his return from the brink of death. Yet, three months later, when he put his signature to the biggest tax cut in American history, few denied that good feelings for the wounded president had been central to the accomplishment. Journalist David Broder had never seen anything like the popular embrace of Reagan after the shooting. He was politically untouchable from that point on, Broder said. He became a mythic figure.

He also became a figure touched by the hand of God. Or so Reagan interpreted his brush with death. Reagan had always been religious, but in a fairly conventional way. His shooting caused him to reconsider. He asked himself why he had been spared, when he could easily have died. He concluded that God had a reason. Whatever happens now I owe my life to God and will try to serve him in every way I can, he wrote in his diary while in the hospital.

The more he thought about it, the more he grew convinced that God wanted him to rid the world of nuclear weapons. Reagan had long been appalled by the specter of nuclear destruction that had hung over humanity since 1945, and he wondered whether he might be the one to banish it. He decided to give it a try. Perhaps having come so close to death made me feel I should do whatever I could in the years God had given me to reduce the threat of nuclear war, he recalled later. Perhaps that is the reason I was spared.

Reaching out to the Soviets

He acted at once on this conclusion. He wrote a personal letter to Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, assuring him that the United States had no aggressive designs against the Soviet Union. As a goodwill gesture he lifted a grain embargo imposed by Jimmy Carter after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. And he called on Brezhnev to join him in working toward better relations between the superpowers. Should we not be concerned with eliminating the obstacles which prevent our people from achieving their most cherished goals? he asked.

He got no good response from Brezhnev, who was ailing and died the following year. The two subsequent Soviet leaders, Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenko, didnt live long enough to respond to Reagans entreaties. And even as he was reaching out to Moscow, Reagan put military pressure on Americas strategic rival. In 1983 he called the Soviet Union an evil empire, deployed Pershing and Cruise missiles in Europe and proposed an American missile-defense systemdubbed Star Wars by its critics.

Then, in 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev took charge in the USSR and Reagan found the negotiating partner he had been looking for. Gorbachev shared Reagans vision of a world without nuclear weapons, and in a series of summit meetings they moved their countries toward deep cuts in nuclear arms.

Fighting the cold warriors

Many in the U.S. foreign policy establishment, old-school Cold Warriors including former president Richard Nixon, viewed any serious arms-control initiatives with the Soviets as naive and risky. But Reagan was getting to know Gorbachev, and sensed both his sincerity and his desperate desire to reduce the USSRs crippling military spending. At their 1986 summit in Reykjavik, Iceland, Reagan and Gorbachev broached the possibility of getting rid of nuclear weapons entirely. It would be fine with me if we eliminated all nuclear weapons, Reagan told Gorbachev.

That didnt happen, but a breakthrough nonetheless came in December 1987, when the two leaders signed the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which abolished intermediate- and short-range nuclear missiles. Reagan no longer considered the Soviet Union an evil empire, based on his many talks with Gorbachev, and he said so publicly.

Additional dramatic cuts in the nuclear arsenals of both countries would come later with the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. By then both Reagan and Gorbachev had left office. But the genesis of START, which eliminated some four-fifths of all strategic nuclear weapons, lay in the crucial talks between Reagan and Gorbachev. And the roots of these, in turn, lay in the moment when a madman nearly assassinated the 40th president of the United States.

H.W. Brands most recent book is The Man Who Saved the Union: Ulysses Grant in War and Peace.
William T. Sherman had many opportunities to capture Augustas ordnance complex

And didnt even try

In the June issue, we published Part 1 of author Ted Savas account of Georgias Augusta Arsenal in which he described the arsenals founding and operation. Here in Part 2, he argues that Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman could have shortened the war if he had attacked the arsenal in 1864.

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Union Armys failure to capture the Augusta Powder Works and its associated arsenal was perhaps the greatest strategic mistake of the entire Civil War. The Confederacy could not have survived for any significant length of time without the powder mill. Few scholars seem to realize that fact, however, despite the passage of more than 150 years and extensive documentary evidence.

Colonel George W. Rains, who oversaw the erection of the powder worksthe Souths largest industrial project of the war and the Confederacys only reliable large-scale source of gunpowderunderstood the citys significance more than any other officer or politician in gray. In what could only have been hair-pulling frustration, he spent much of the war pleading with his Richmond superiors to defend it properly.

Fortunately for Rains, the Federals inexplicably never targeted Augusta. The Union brass knew of its importance, and Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant empowered Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman with discretionary orders to destroy it during the 1864 March to the Sea. For eight long months, Sherman enjoyed one opportunity after another to raze the powder mills and arsenal and end the war. But he failed to do so.

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he first hint of Augustas vulnerability occurred in November 1861 when Federal troops landed just 128 miles away on Tybee Island at the mouth of the Savannah River. A Union gunboat thrust up the river could have imperiled Augusta, and Rains warned Richmond that the loss of the powder works would be a matter of no small injury to the state and Government. Rains immediately conferred with Robert E. Lee, who at that time commanded the Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, about blockading the river below Augusta. In February 1862, Rains arranged for the placement of water obstructions 45 miles downriver at Shell Bluff. An 8-inch Columbiad, nearly worthless 6-pounder iron guns, and rifle pits were positioned to fire down the river, but his numerous pleas for troops to man the posts vanished within Richmonds bureaucracy.

Richmond suggested that Rains supply his own men, but the commander retorted that the city of Augusta had almost exhausted itself in sending volunteers to the war.There is no chance of a force being raised here. Chief of Ordnance Josiah Gorgas understood and supported Rains efforts, and George Randolph, secretary of war until November 1862, reluctantly directed that troops be stationed there, but the matter was never acted upon. Forced once again to rely on his own ingenuity, Rains began raising companies of clerks from the Augusta workforce, but despite its importance, Shell Bluff was never routinely garrisoned.

[quote style=boxed float=left]I have drawn the attention of the War Department to the defenseless condition of this city and have exerted myself in every possible waywithout success.  George W. Rains to C.S.A. Secretary of War James Seddon, July 23, 1863[/quote]

Augustas vulnerability to a mounted raid became obvious in early May 1863 when Union Colonel Abel Streights cavalry raid ended in disaster just west of Rome, Ga. Augusta was not Streights objective, but the fact that Union troopers could cover hundreds of miles before being stopped was not lost on Rains. The Union high command, however, ignored the tutorial of possibilities that had galloped unchecked across the Southern landscape. So too did the brain trust sitting in Richmond, which continued to ignore Rains pleas for assistance.

On July 23, 1863, the perpetually frustrated Rains dispatched a scathing letter to Secretary of War James Seddon. Enemy cavalry was within striking distance just 90 miles away in Pocotaligo, S.C., warned Rains, and yet the facility remained essentially unguarded. The extreme value of the city of Augusta, including the Government works, to the Confederacy is so apparent that it does not require that I should draw attention thereto. The upset officer continued that he had frequently, drawn the attention of the War Department to the defenseless condition of this city and have exerted myself in every possible waywithout success.

Rains went on to presciently point out that the enemy has seen the error of operating on the extremities, and are now prepared to strike at the vital organs in Georgia. The loss of Augusta, he schooled Seddon (and by extension, President Jefferson Davis), would be fatal to the Confederacy.

When local men refused to organize because they could be called up for service away from Augusta, Rains pleaded once more with the war secretary to exempt the militia from Confederate service. This time Seddon agreed. Rains organized 20 local companies by the end of the year. Most of the men, however, were government clerks, the old and the young, and others unfit for frontline service. Augusta remained essentially defenseless as the calendar slipped into 1864.

Other problems mounted. The Army of Tennessee lost a great amount of ordnance during its rout on Chattanoogas Missionary Ridge in November 1863. Rains supplied that battered army with many complete artillery batteries, hundreds of thousands of artillery and small arms rounds, and tons of gunpowder. Without Rains effort, the Army of Tennessee would not have been able to resist the coming Union spring offensive into Georgia.

That offensive began in early May 1864 when Sherman moved his army group in northern Georgia against General Joseph E. Johnstons Army of Tennessee. Two days earlier, the Army of the Potomac pushed across the Rapidan River in central Virginia and engaged Robert E. Lees Army of Northern Virginia in the Wilderness. The dual thrusts, with other associated movements, triggered a nearly ceaseless series of engagements that would not end until the Confederacys final surrender.

After a bitter summer of fighting, Atlanta fell on September 2. Its capture sent a tidal wave of panic gushing 130 miles eastward to engulf Augusta. Sherman was well aware of Augustas importance to the Confederate war effort and on September 20 he wrote Grant that Augusta housed the only powder-mills and factories remaining in the South. It seemed to be only a matter of time before he paid the city a visit.

Rains meanwhile was frantically trying to replace Lt. Gen. John Bell Hoods ordnance train that was destroyed at Atlanta. Rains employed women at the Augusta Arsenal to make up for a shortfall of male workers, and turned out 75,000 cartridges a dayin addition to tons of gunpowder, thousands of artillery shells, hand grenades, and other desperately needed items.

While Rains toiled, Sherman planned. The Union commander put the torch to Atlanta on November 15 and, with four infantry corps and a large division of veteran cavalry, marched east across a broad front into the bowels of the state. Several important munitions centers, including Augusta and Macon, were now within easy reach. The exterior wings of Shermans command could have taken or destroyed both cities with ease.

Rains and other Confederate authorities had no way of knowing that Sherman would feint at Macon and Augusta to divide the paltry number of Rebel soldiers available to oppose him, and then drive through the yawning gap to link up with the Union Navy at Savannah. That decision was the biggest strategic mistake of his career, and he would repeat the same mistake under nearly the exact same circumstances three months later. The consequences would lengthen the war by months and increase the casualty lists by many tens of thousands of men.

When Sherman left Atlanta, Augusta remained unprepared to meet the Union threat. The citys light earthen defenses remained inadequate and unfinished, and they were so ineptly designed that they would not have saved the powder works even had they been fully manned. Few soldiers, however, were available to defend Augusta. Troops of all stripes were being rushed to the city, but by November 20 only 2,000 locals and convalescents were present. Augustas military commander, Brig. Gen. Birkett Fry, sent a disquieting telegram to Richmond two days later: I can as yet count only 4,000 for defense here. He ended his message with the pessimistic observation that the people show little spirit.

Very few of Frys men were veteran frontline troops. Now in a panic, Richmond scrambled to act. The War Department cast a wide net in search of generals, including Braxton Bragg, William Hardee, and Richard Taylor. Davis ordered these men and others to report to Augusta. Veteran infantry, artillery, and cavalry were required, however, not a cabal of squabbling mediocrities and hand-wringing politicians issuing proclamations and prayers. The odds of mustering a successful defense of the city had already passed.

The very real threat of losing the Confederacys only reliable source of gunpowder left Rains with two very unattractive alternatives: remain in Augusta or move the mills. Staying put seemed to guarantee the powder works destruction. Moving, however, required finding another suitable location not in the path of a roving Union army or a column of cavalrywhich was probably impossible at this late date. Rains also had to consider the mills delicate and irreplaceable equipment. Southern railroads were notorious for misplacing and damaging machinery.

Even if such a move was successful, the entire works would have to be reassembleda process that would take weeks if it could be done at all. Rains made the decision to mobilize all of his workers for a gargantuan assignment: the dismantling of the Augusta Powder Works and the transfer of its vital machinery via the South Carolina Railroad over the Savannah River to Columbia, S.C.

While Rains organized for the move, he also worked to produce as much saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal (the three ingredients of gunpowder) as possible before the evacuation. The disassembling of the machinery began on November 21. Within just a few days the crucial components were inside railcars in Columbia.

To the Confederates astonishment, Sherman bypassed Augusta and reached the outskirts of Savannah on December 10. Rains and his crew quickly returned to Augusta and began to unload and reassemble the machinery. Despite their best efforts, production did not begin again until Augusta had been offline for 34 critical days.

Two months later in February 1865 Sherman repeated his error, marching into the Carolinas while once more using two citiesthis time Augusta and Charleston, S.C.to divide meager Confederate forces and march between them. Sherman had again avoided Augusta and tramped northward. The puzzled Rains had spent a few days tearing down equipment, but when he realized Sherman had no intention of visiting, he put it back together a second time.

[dropcap]F[/dropcap]ew historians have seriously questioned Shermans strategic decisions from midsummer 1864 through February 1865. Fewer still have deeply researched just what was at stake during the Atlanta Campaign, the March to the Sea, and during the early days of Shermans 1865 Carolinas Campaign. Augusta is rarely mentioned in books and articles, and the existence and importance of the powder mills and arsenal are almost never discussedeven in passing.

There is no evidence that Shermans biographers or authors who have written on his 1864-65 campaigns grasp what Augusta meant to the Confederacy. Nor is there proof they have even cast a glance at Augustas voluminous ordnance records, let alone extrapolate their meaning to the war at large to properly judge the consequences of Shermans decision-making. After the war, Sherman took some criticism about his failure to destroy Augusta, and he defended himself by claiming that he didnt want to get bogged down in a fight there. Besides, he argued, there was no need to take Augusta when he left Atlanta because he intended to destroy the railroads Rains needed to ship his gunpowder. Shermans casual rebuttal is not only untrue but illogical.

First, the destruction of Augusta was well within the objective of Shermans orders. A month before the opening of the Atlanta Campaign, Grant wrote to his western general: You I propose to move against Johnstons army, to break it up, and to get into the interior of the enemys country as far as you can, inflicting all the damage you can against their war resources [emphasis added]. Most historians ignore that final highlighted clause. Grant also gave Sherman carte blanche as to how to conduct his operations: I do not propose to lay down for you a plan of campaign, but simply to lay down the work it is desirable to have done, and leave you free to execute it in your own way [emphasis added].

Second, Augusta was within Shermans reach for some eight months, from summer 1864 through February 1865, while the city was largely undefended with virtually no garrison and few earthworks and forts. The city was just 130 miles east of Atlanta and linked by rail. Sherman was aware of the wide-ranging cavalry thrusts. He ordered one of his own in late July 1864 when he tasked Maj. Gen. George Stoneman to ride around Atlanta, wreck the Macon Railroad, and cut off the city. Stoneman didnt follow orders and met defeat near Maconbut covered more than 100 miles.

By mid-July the Confederate Army of Tennessee was pinned against Atlanta. Knowing Augustas fundamental value, why didnt Sherman detach a mixed-arms strike force and end the war by destroying the powder works? Sherman didnt even try to use the resources at his disposal to destroy the Souths sole-source gunpowder-producing city, and no record exists that he (or Grant or President Lincoln, for that matter) ever gave it serious consideration.

Indeed, Sherman casually dismissed the effort in his memoir: I had long before made up my mind to waste no time on either [Macon or Augusta]. He went on to make the nonsensical argument that when he left Savannah to march north in early 1865, he again bypassed Augusta because The enemy occupied the cities of Charleston and Augusta, with garrisons capable of making a respectable if not successful defense.

Sherman seems to have thought it made more sense to expend his efforts from May to September 1864 directly fighting a formidable Confederate army across more than 100 miles of difficult terrain in the hope of capturing the heavily defended and fortified city of Atlanta. Instead he could have launched a faster offensive to Augusta with minimal interference.

Third, contrary to his postwar boast, Sherman had no idea when he set out on the March to the Sea in November 1864 that he would be in a position three months later to cut the railroads feeding Augusta. Sherman intended to board ships in Savannah and sail for Virginia! It was not until the Union general was on the coast, and only after a lengthy discussion with Grant, that the plan was settled on to march through the Carolinas. It was only then that the vital railroads leading to the wars last major battlefields were finally (and sometimes temporarily) cut.

Augustas central location required the clipping of every line on all points of the compass, and the garrisoning of troops along those broken lines, in order to blockade Rains mills effectively. Sherman could not have known exactly where he would be months in advance, and he never developed a plan to isolate Augusta until at least early 1865, if even then.

Finally, the day-to-day ordnance records kept from summer 1864 through April 1865 record in painstaking detail that Rains continued to produce and ship gunpowder and other munitions across the South. Rains organized work parties to repair destroyed rail lines, and he reconnected sizable portions of the crucial network west and south of Augusta with repaired rails and wagon routes. The enterprising officer also used wagons to bypass destroyed sections of track. Rains efforts kept the Confederate armies in the field and made possible every major battle fought from the fall of 1864 through the end of the war east of the Mississippi River.

During this period Rains shipped nearly 100,000 pounds of gunpowder to Richmond where Lees besieged army was fighting for its life. The last recorded monthly shipment was as late as January 1865. More Augusta powder almost surely reached Richmond from before and after that date, but those records have been lost. Lee was able to fight to hold Richmond and Petersburg for as long as he did, and then scratch his way west to Appomattox, because Sherman left Augusta standing after July 1864.

Some 400,000 pounds of gunpowder were dispatched to other points in the Confederacy during this period, including North Carolina. The powder and some of the munitions used to defend Wilmington at Fort Fisher, for example, and the powder that made possible the Confederate resistance in the Carolinas under General Johnston, were shipped from Augusta to those locations long after Sherman could have destroyed the mills.

[dropcap]S[/dropcap]hermans decision to leave Augusta standing from July through September 1864 was, at best, a strategic oversight. His decision to ignore Augusta a second time as he marched without serious opposition for Savannah, however, must be categorized as an egregious eyes-wide-open blunder. His decision to repeat that grand mistake during the last February of the conflict is simply inexplicable. Shermans choices lengthened the Civil War and resulted in the deaths and maiming of untold numbers of men on both sides as surely as it extended the suffering of civilians.

In light of Shermans orders, the importance of Augusta, and the existence of the powder mills ordnance records, it is time to reevaluate the true impact of Shermans Atlanta Campaign, his March to the Sea, and the early days of his Carolinas operations on the course of the war.

Both this and the June 2017 article on the powder works are adapted from, Never for Want of Powder: The Confederate Powder Works in Augusta, Georgia, co-authored by Ted Savas.
Exotic animals have been the victims of illegal wildlife trade all over the world. Southeast Asia has been cited where most illegal activities in regards to animals take place. Animals are bred in captivity to be sold on the black market for their horns, tusks, paws, skins, and scales to name a few for medicinal and decoration purposes.

About a decade ago, a 12-square-mile plot situated in the northern Bokeo Province has been developed. The place has been known as the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone and can be found across Thailand's Mekong River. A Hong Kong-based company inked an agreement to rent the place with the Laotian government in order to develop it.

Chinese citizens are the major owners, staff, and clients of the establishment that became a duty-free complex which offers rare vices not found in their hometowns. Additionally, Chinese and other patrons may find here exotic animal merchandise including products derived from tigers.

According to conservationists, the complex which includes a zoo is a matter of fact a farm to raise animals intended for slaughter. These animals which are usually raised and bred in captivity are used in the illegal animal trade where tigers are being exchanged. This practice is much the same in Thailand where animals are illicitly mutilated for their meat, bones, and other parts which are believed to have medicinal properties.

The Kings Romans Group runs the casino and different businesses including hotels, ring for both cock fighting and bull fighting. The huge duty-free complex also houses a shopping center just like in Chinatown and a zoo where the tigers are kept as reported by The New York Times.

"Farming tigers for trade confuses consumers and stimulates demand," said Grace Ge Gabriel, Asia regional director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare. "The increased market demand for tiger parts also fuels poaching of tigers in the wild, because wildlife consumers prefer animals caught in the wild."

For some time now, the Kings Romans' 'large complex have few tourists visiting the site. However, restaurants still offer expensive exotic menus consisting of bear paws, pangolin, and sauteed meat of tiger which could cost $45 a plate. These bizarre foods are often matched with tiger wine which is a combination of the felines' sex organs, bones or the whole skeletons saturated for many months.

Tigers are not the only animals which parts are being eaten or drunk. A recent report exposes that Chinese farms kept approximately 10,000 bears legally for their bile. Bear bile is a component used in traditional medicine and is gathered using a tube which is implanted in the bear's gall bladders or across a hole in their guts.

As of now, about a third from the 285 bears has been saved from bile farms and now lives at a rehabilitation center. Non-profit group, Animals Asia adopted the animals some of which have lost their limbs, an indication of being caught in traps in the wild.

@ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Nov. 3, 1932  May 31, 2017

Doris Marie Gouldsmith, age 84, died peacefully at her home in Lebanon on May 31.

She was born in a country farmhouse near the small town of Buckholts, Texas, to Willie and Ina (Rackley) Larza.

At age four, following her mothers death from tuberculosis, Doris went to be raised by her grandparents, Henry and Nettie Rackley, taking their last name as her own.

She attended school in the small town of McFarland, California, graduating from high school in 1951.

That summer on a trip to Oregon and Washington, Doris met Leroy Edward Gouldsmith in a cherry orchard in The Dalles and they began their courtship by mail. They were married December 3, 1951 in Las Vegas, Nevada, and enjoyed almost 53 years of happy life together.

They settled in Redding, CA, in 1960. In Redding, Doris was a member of the Assembly of God Church and active in womens ministries.

As a leader in the Golden Acres 4-H Club, she taught cooking, canning and sewing classes. She was also a precinct worker for the Shasta County Elections Dept.

In 1975, Roy, Doris and son, Ed, moved to Lebanon. They owned and operated Brownsville Feed and Seed until 1983.

From 1984-1990, Doris worked part-time for Pacific Coast Producers in Oroville, California. Other employers include Izzys Food Prep Kitchen in Albany and Pennington Seed Co. in Lebanon.

She and Roy also enjoyed several winters in Arizona.

Since 2005, Doris actively attended Lebanon Mennonite Church, where she enjoyed fellowship, Bible studies and serving on the kitchen crew. The friendships made there were counted as a wonderful blessing in her life.

Doris was truly a Proverbs 31 woman. The work ethic that began as a child picking cotton enabled her to become successful as a wife, mother and business woman. The combination of her independent spirit and courage allowed her to meet and prevail over many challenges in her life.

She not only exhibited amazing courage during the five years of cancer from which she is now free, but was a tremendous encouragement to others.

She was the keeper of a beautiful home, where she enjoyed extending hospitality to both family and friends. Her legacy of cooking expertise will live on in the lives of her children and grandchildren as they continue the pie-making, bread-baking, potato salad-perfecting and canning skills she taught them.

Having a family was a top priority for Doris. Spending time with them, especially at the Oregon coast, was a priceless gift.

Doris is dearly loved by and will be missed tremendously by her children Sharla Neitz of Sun Valley, Nevada, Carol and Jeff Knott of Redding, and Ed and Michelle Gouldsmith of Albany; grandchildren Wally Neitz and Missy Tarpey of Sun Valley, Rebecka and Roy Bruffett of Anchorage, Alaska, Rachel Knott of Redding and Hannah Knott of Ellensburg, Washington; and great-grandson Ryan Odsather of Anchorage.

She was preceded in death by her parents; grandparents; husband, Roy; and son-in-law, Walter Neitz.

Graveside services, officiated by Pastor Brent Kauffman, will be held 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 10, at the Lebanon IOOF Cemetery. Huston Jost Funeral Home is handling arrangements.

In lieu of flowers contributions in her memory may be made to Samaritan Evergreen Hospice, c/o Huston-Jost Funeral Home, 86 W. Grant St., Lebanon, Oregon, 97355
Boosie Badazz is no stranger to prison, having spent nearly five years behind bars in the Louisiana State Penitentiary. While that stint surely led to some many troubling experiences, Boosie revealed one that has haunted him for years  witnessing an act of gay sex.

I remember when I was down in Angola [Prison] I walked in on a n***a riding a n***a dick from the backThat n**a had a n***a ankles riding that bitch from the back, man. I aint know about the Coke can in the shower, you heard me? A n***a aint even tell me. I walked straight in, six in the morningn***a riding that dick. I said I want to go home, man.

Its clear that the incident left Boosie truly disgusted, as evidenced by his vitriolic tone. He goes on to label the lovers as sick and nasty motherfuckas before further ranting about their proclivities. Another n***a riding a n***a dick? says Boosie, incredulous. Takin that bitch??? Fuckin the shit outta that ni***a in that bitch.

The clip has already garnered a fair share of controversy for its homophobic nature, but its hard to be surprised as Boosie has made no secret of his disdain for homosexuals.

Boosie
The iconic actor is going to release an album of classical music album this September.

At 67 years of age, Bill Murray took to the stage for his first ever music gig this weekend, as he performed music from his upcoming album New Worlds. The album is a selction of literary readings by Murray set to chamber music from a trio of musicians.

However, Murray also showed that he has a set of pipes on him as well, as he launched into a cover of Van Morrisson's 'Will I Ever Learn To Live In God' for a delighted crowd in Dresden, Germany.

Unglaublich! ? #billmurray #vanmorrison #dresdnermusikfestspiele #kulturpalastdresden A post shared by Steffi (@cutting_ice_to_snow) on Jun 4, 2017 at 9:41am PDT

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Murray has previously linked up with the musical producer of LAte Night with David Letterman to record a cheerful little pop tune called 'Happy Street' which can be heard below.
The pair have added an extra date, on the 29th of January, due to the high demand for tickets.

The synth-pop veterans are coming to the Olympia to promote their seventeenth studio album, Would Be Gone. They were originally scheduled to play just one night, but due to the level of interest in their gig, they added a second date a few days ago, which promptly sold out, so now we have a third!

it will be Erasure's fourth Irish show this year, as they are playing the Aviva Stadium on June 17, as support for Robbie Williams, before striking out on their tour of the UK, Ireland and Europe to promote Would Be Gone. The 3 Olympia dates, on the 29, 30 and 31 will commence the tour, before the pair embark on 24 subsequent dates around the UK and Germany.
Perhaps opening the set with a song where the hook goes it might be over soon was tempting fate.

Justin Vernon of Bon Iver was quick to commend fans for braving the rain and soon he was battling it himself as soggy equipment ground the show to a 15-minute halt.

It had been a triumph until then, with the first half of the set focusing on 22, a Million material - the heavily-autotuned vocal layering of 715 - CRKS an early highlight.
Ireland's biggest little festival just added a whole host of new acts, including Le Galaxie as headliners.

The festival, which takes place at Tullamore Castle from August 4-6, have revealed their latest additions to their lineup, which include but are not limited to Le Galaxie, Denney, Hiva Oa, Liza Flume, Oddsocks, Bad Sea, Bitch Falcon, Daithi, Dublin Ukulele Collective, Dreaming of Jupiter, Floor Staff and Hot Cops.

Bedlam and Abstract are providing the DJs for the caste rave on Friday and Saturday, with Boot and Kats, Deadwax, and Heroes in Hiding spinning tunes among many others.

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The English rock duo are set to embark on their biggest tour yet this autumn.

Royal Blood have confirmed details of two exciting support bands for their forthcoming arena tour. Comeback kings At The Drive In will join the bill at all of the tours UK and Ireland dates after releasing their long-awaited new album inter alia last month, while Black Honey  highlighted as the top band to watch by Kerrang!  open on all UK and European shows.

The tour represents Royal Bloods biggest headline tour to date and includes a huge Dublin show at the 3Arena. The tour will be in support of Royal Blood's eagerly anticipated second album How Did We Get So Dark?, which is out on June 16.

Tickets go on sale from 9am this Friday June 9th from Ticketmaster outlets and www.ticketmaster.ie

Full tour dates below:

October

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28th  Lisbon, Campo Pequeno

November

2nd  Milan, Fabrique

3rd  Zurich, Halle 622

9th  Paris, Zenith

10th  Amsterdam, AFAS Live

11th  Antwerp, Lotto Arena

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13th  Cardiff, Motorpoint Arena

14th  Reading, Rivermead

16th  Manchester, Arena

17th  Leeds, First Direct Arena

18th  Birmingham, Barclaycard Arena

20th  London, Alexandra Palace

24th  Glasgow, The SSE Hydro

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25th  Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena

26th  Dublin, 3Arena

28th  Bournemouth, BIC

29th  Brighton, Centre
To the uninitiated, The Cute Hoors were one of the more interesting of the crop of Irish rock groups that sprang up in the late 80s, hoping to emulate the success of U2. Not that they were pale imitators of Bono and co. Always slightly shambolic and knowingly uncool, the Hoors enjoyed some modest success (tours of the UK and Europe, chart placings, MTV appearances, etc.) before disbanding in 1992.

A quarter of a century on, the original line-up of vocalist Doctor (Sean) Millar, bassist Mark Megannety, guitarist Phil Martin and drummer Mark Hugget has re-formed. Sounding slightly less frenetic than in days of yore, and a whole lot more world weary, the rootsy Hair Like Blood is a relatively straightforward rock n roll affair, with a hint of country.

Theyre all talented players and the album grooves along nicely. Whats really great about it, however, is the lyrics. The supremely gifted Doctor Millar has long been acknowledged as one of Irelands greatest songwriters (Alcohol Problem remains an all-time favourite of mine). As titles such as Broken Hearts And Dishwashers and Youre Ruining Everything suggest, hes sounding as jaundiced and melancholic as ever here.
(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook said the company has helped U.K. officials investigate terror attacks, while reiterating his dismay over U.S. plans to quit the Paris agreement on climate change.

"We have been cooperating with the U.K. government not only in law enforcement kind of matters but on some of the attacks," Cook said during a Bloomberg Television interview on Monday. "I cannot speak on detail on that. But in cases when we have information and they have gone through the lawful process we dont just give it but we do it very promptly."

A third attack in the U.K. in less than three months has put more pressure on technology companies to prevent their products and services from being used by violent extremists. Cook didnt specify which attacks led to the companys cooperation. Apples high privacy standards and tough encryption have been criticized by law enforcement officials and the company clashed last year in court with the FBI over the issue.

Cook said on Monday that Apples encryption is misunderstood. "It doesnt mean no information. Metadata exists and thats very important for building a profile," he added. "The reality is that cyberattacks on people and governments, these affect your safety and security."

Cook also said he didnt join any of U.S. President Donald Trumps business advisory councils because he thinks those groups arent "terribly productive."

It wasnt about not wanting to advise on something that we thought should be heard, he added. Cook said he will continue to advise the president on matters that are important to him and the U.S., such as the Paris climate accord. Trump decided last week to pull the U.S. out of the pact.

He didnt decide what I wanted him to decide, Cook said of the president. He decided wrong. Its not in the best interest of the United States what he decided.

Cook spoke after Apples Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, California, where the company unveiled a new internet-connected speaker called HomePod and updated its Siri digital assistant to wed users more tightly to its growing slate of products and services. Apple also rolled out augmented reality tools for developers, and showed off new AR features that use iPhone cameras. This technology superimposes graphics and other information onto a persons view of the world.

"The area Im personally excited about is AR," Cook said. "This is profound. As we get the developer release out well be the largest AR platform in the world."

The new iPhone, due later this year, is expected to have several new AR features, while people familiar with the situation have told Bloomberg that the Apple is weighing an expansion into digital glasses that may use AR.

Cook said smartphone growth and innovation are "in the early stages."

"The things that drive quantum leaps is core technology. When I think of all the things that are going to change I think were just getting started," he added.

(Updates with comments on U.K. cooperation in first and second paragraphs.)

--With assistance from Candy Cheng

To contact the reporters on this story: Alex Webb in San Francisco at awebb25@bloomberg.net, Emily Chang in San Francisco at echang68@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tom Giles at tgiles5@bloomberg.net, Andrew Pollack

2017 Bloomberg L.P.
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Sunrun, the largest independent rooftop solar company in the United States, says it will enter Texas seeking to take advantage of a state with plenty of sunshine and grab a share of a largely untapped market.

Residential solar power in Texas has been slow to catch on, hampered by a lack of policies that other states have used to encourage the growth of the industry. Texas offers no state incentives and has no net metering law, which requires utilities to buy back excess power produced by residential systems.

But plunging solar panel prices have made rooftop solar more attractive for Texans, as have retail electricity companies that offer rebates or bill credits for residential solar power producers.

Sunrun, based in California, is just the latest company to enter a market seen by the solar industry as having great potential for growth. It follows another California company, SolarCity, and homegrown firms, such as Sunnova of Houston.

Sunrun will offer solar panel systems for lease or purchase in Texas, as well as offer financing. In a partnership with Think Energy, a retail electric company, Sunrun also will offer credits toward customers' bills in exchange for extra electricity generated.

More Information Top 5 solar providers in Houston Sunnova: Offers solar panels for lease or to buy. SolarCity: Partnered with MP2 Energy, offers solar panels for lease or to buy. Green Mountain Energy: Will partner with homeowners who have solar panels and offer bill credits and rebates. Texas Solar Outfitters: Sells and installs solar panels. Sunrun: Offers panels for purchase or lease, and bill credits. Source: www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2016-top-texas-solar-contractors/ See More Collapse

As a part of the plan, rates for solar energy will be locked in for 20 years and retail power rates will be locked in for five, said Michael Grasso, the company's chief marketing officer. The idea is to offer a simpler way to buy electricity in Texas' crowded and often confusing retail electricity market.

"Texas is the largest and most competitive electricity market in the U.S.," Grasso said. "Most Texans have literally hundreds of energy plans to choose from that are offered through dozens of companies, with no one having a simple, locked-in rate for the long term."

Nationally, solar power had a banner year in 2016. Texas ranked among the top 10 states in installed solar capacity, but solar still accounts for a tiny share of the state's electricity production. Solar accounted for about 1,200 megawatts of the generating capacity in Texas, compared with more than 20,000 megawatts for wind.

In the U.S., utility-scale solar increased an average of more than 70 percent a year between 2010 and 2016 to about 21,500 megawatts, with about half of that capacity coming online in the last two years. (That's compared with around 82,000 megawatts of installed capacity in the U.S., according to a February report from the American Wind Energy Association.)

The expansion of utility-scale solar projects - greater than one megawatt, or enough to power 200 homes on a hot Texas day - has driven most of the national and local gains in solar power capacity.

In Texas, rooftop solar has been slow to grow outside of cities like Austin, which offers net metering and financial incentives for solar users. But ownership of rooftop solar has become more attractive as solar panel prices have fallen. Most homeowners pay between $2.87 and $3.85 per watt to install a solar panel, about $2 less per watt than four years ago.

An average-sized solar system costs between $10,000 and $13,400, after tax credits, according to energy website energysage.com.

In Houston, MP2 Energy has partnered with SolarCity to offer a bill credit based on a home-owner's electricity plan. Green Mountain Energy, a retail electric company, also offers a bill credit for extra energy generated.

An average customer generating 433 kilowatt-hours of excess energy would get a credit of $44.52 a month, according to Green Mountain.
In one of the epicenters of damage from Houston's 2016 Tax Day flood, planners have drafted a list of specific improvements they hope to have funded by federal money slated for allocation this summer.

The North Houston District, formerly the Greenspoint District, commissioned among the most advanced hydrological study yet conducted in Houston after floods last spring forced area residents to evacuate apartment complexes floating in canoes, air mattresses and even a refrigerator.

The district is now citing that $75,000 study as it vies for its share of federal flood money that will be allocated throughout Harris County in June or July.

"Through this study we think we have some good projects to spend that money on," said Robert Fiederlein, vice president at the North Houston District. "We have a pretty good idea of what needs to be done. Now it's the political battle to secure the funding."

RELATED: The trouble with living in a swamp: Houston floods explained

Solutions include millions of dollars to buy out apartment complexes, renovate Greens Road and turn former residential areas into flood control basins.

Dylan Baddour

It took an exhaustive analysis from a high-powered computer to attain that insight. Just like the advent of LIDAR revolutionized drainage understanding almost two decades ago, new computing power allows engineers to model how water flows over the complex surface of the land, instead of simply modeling how it enters and moves through the system of drainage pipes.

"Advances in technology have allowed us to now do this type of analysis," said Derek St. John, an engineer with Lockwood Andrews and Newnam and the principal author of the study. "We can evaluate the complete drainage system and understand where they're experiencing flooding."

The difference is between one- and two-dimensional analyses. One-dimension shows how water would enter the multitude of inlets to the drainage system, then travel in one direction down pipes and into bayous. Two-dimensional analysis includes the ground, modeled to account for coverings like concrete, buildings, forests or grass that would change the way water moves. All of that overland flow previously had to be estimated.

Pipes too small

What the study reveals for the Greenspoint area: really enormous problems. The pipes are too small, the lots and roadways are not adequately designed to direct water out of developed areas and large apartment complexes are built at the bottom of a large basin that naturally collects water.

Those problems owe themselves to a more primitive past - until the mid-1980s, countywide drainage criteria called for smaller pipes than are required today and didn't mandate use of roadways to convey floodwaters to the nearest waterway.

The Tax Day torrent hit Greenspoint in two charges, the first of which struck shortly after midnight with 4.9 inches of rain in one hour, filling the drainage pipes and ditches to their brims but retreating before dealing catastrophic damage. The rain returned around 4:30 a.m. with 5.2 inches in about 1.5 hours falling on a drainage system already at capacity.

The more intense downpours that fell upstream in the northwest county were raging down Greens Bayou, picking up speed until they moved too quickly to make a southward turn in the bayou's path, and instead blasted westward over the bank at about 1,900 cubic feet per second.

RELATED: Exasperation overflows as hundreds gather for Bear Creek flooding panel

It filled Greens Road, which was already surrounded by substantial pooling, fueling a westward current hundreds of yards wide that flowed at 2,800 cubic feet per second over a floodplain covered in hundreds of buildings. The water made for the low point near Greens and Hardy Street, the site of Arbor Courts apartments, where residents paddled their way to safety atop whatever would float.

Melissa Phillip/Staff

Stiff limitations

Potential solutions face some stiff limitations.

For one, the district can't just put more water into Greens Bayou, as that would force it out of bank downstream. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, with help from the Harris County Flood Control District, plans to widen 11 miles of Greens Bayou over the next decade or more, but even that wouldn't create enough space to receive more water from Greenspoint. The district is also currently overseeing construction of two detention basins totaling 460 acres upstream from Greenspoint, scheduled for completion in 2018. The study included a model of the Tax Day flood with those basins completed to assess their impacts, finding they would have decreased the water level at the Arbor Courts apartments from 4.79 feet to 4.33 feet. So the area requires a local solution.

The basis of that solution, Fiederlein hopes, will be city buyouts of Arbor Court and the neighboring Biscayne apartments, which should be demolished and turned into floodwater detention.

"Buying out an apartment complex is kind of a big deal," Fiederlein said. "It's not going to be cheap."

He estimated between $7 million and $9 million to buy the apartments and between $3 million and $4 million to turn them into basins that double as parks.

RELATED: How to fix the Houston floods

In addition, the district recommends upsizing the drainage pipes beneath Greens Road, Imperial Valley Drive and Hardy Street - a tedious process which requires ripping up the streets and replacing small pipes with larger ones that run to the newly created detention basin. Fiederlein estimated those improvements could cost $10 million.

He hoped for funding from Harris County's $61 million share of a $150 million federal flood recovery grant administered through the Texas General Land Office in March of this year. The county's community services division has until Aug. 1 to announce allocation of that money, a spokesperson said. Allocation will depend on factors including community input, levels of unmet needs, amount of flood damage sustained, numbers of low income residents and more.

"We could probably use all of Harris County's $61 million," Fiederlein said. "But of course we know that won't happen."
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued United Labor Unions Local 100, alleging the union engaged in race discrimination by firing two newly hired black union organizers, but retaining a white organizer who didn't perform as well.

The union represents food services, custodians, teacher aides and bus drivers in public schools in Houston.

The federal agency, which filed the lawsuit last week in federal court in Houston, alleged that the union treated the black employees differently because of their race and justified the firing of the two by citing a recruiting quota the union did not communicate to all workers or apply equally across the board.

"None of it's true," said the union's field director Orell Fitzsimmons, a longtime Houston labor leader. "We've been standing up for poor people for 30 years."

Fitzsimmons recounted years of organizing food service workers, school workers and others to boost the minimum wage and improve working standards. He added that he has not been served with the lawsuit. The union has about 800 members in the Houston area.

The EEOC alleged that Fitzsimmons hired Maurice Roberts and Rosalind Holt in May 2014 only to fire them soon after for failing to meet a quota of recruiting five new union members within their first two weeks on the job or face termination. The two workers, however, contend they were never told about the minimum recruitment quota, according to the EEOC.

Roberts recruited three new union members while Holt recruited two.

A white employee hired at the same time but did not recruit any new members during his first two weeks of employment, according to court records, but he was not fired.

The EEOC said in the lawsuit that Fitzsimmons admitted during the commission's investigation that he didn't tell the new white employee or any other non-black union organizers that they would lose their jobs if they failed to meet the "alleged minimum quota," according to the agency's lawsuit.

Fitzsimmons, according to the lawsuit, told the EEOC during the investigation that he treated the white employee more favorably because he was a "guy (like him) trying to make it in life and in need of an opportunity."

The white employee ended up quitting a few days later after the union did not reimburse him for gasoline expenses and mileage during his first two weeks on the job, according to court records.

Fitzsimmons denied the specific allegations.

RELATED: Labor leader stays on the job despite losing charter

The EEOC is seeking an unspecified amount of back wages and damages for Roberts and Holt.
J. Scott Applewhite/STF

The Supreme Court on Monday made it tougher for the government to recover ill-gotten gains from people convicted of securities fraud, ruling that such recoveries are subject to a five-year statute of limitations.

The unanimous ruling could hamstring prosecutors trying to recoup huge sums of money in cases where alleged fraud has been going on for decades before authorities file charges.
Joel Kotkin, the California-based Houston booster whose Center for Opportunity Urbanism sings the praises of sprawly cities, is out with a manifesto on the New Heartland, capital H: The belt of states running north from Minnesota and Ohio south to Texas and Florida. Everything, that is, besides the West, the Northeast, and the Mid-Atlantic.

The reason? Those states are historically America's manufacturing, agricultural, and energy production centers. "While every region contributes to American prosperity, the New American Heartland has the potential to play an outsized role in powering economic growth in the twenty-first century," reads the introduction to the report, co-authored by Michael Lind, a scholar at the New America think tank.

It's a well-written argument, full of maps and statistics, and certainly will appeal to the sector of the population accustomed to railing against "coastal elites." But it mischaracterizes the nation's more important economic divide: Not between the the coast and the "heartland," but rather between urban and rural areas. Whether in New York or Texas, metropolitan areas are pulling ahead of the vast exurban country that surrounds them.

As Kotkin's report points out, places like Cleveland, Nashville, Kansas City, and of course Houston have attracted oodles of new companies and educated young people in recent years, rivaling the growth rates of tech boomtowns such as Seattle and San Francisco. But between all those hubs, in Wisconsin and Washington state alike, lie tiny towns where industry has left and agriculture no longer requires the large workforce it once did, as the Wall Street Journal recently explored at some length.

RELATED: The re-education of Richard Florida

Economic development policy, therefore, would be better focused on bringing economic opportunity to those sparsely-populated areas  and helping people move to where it already exists.

Now, Kotkin is not wrong to advocate for a greater focus on what economists call the "traded" sector: production of goods for export. The Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank, has spent a lot of time researching advanced manufacturing, which incorporates enough technology to compete with countries where wages are lower. But for that very reason, it won't be enough to rebuild the middle class, either in urban areas or across the rural expanse.

"With the coming waves of automation and productivity technology, not to mention continued right-to-work and the use of staffing companies, I worry about where broad, traded-sector prosperity will come from in these states," says Mark Muro, policy director of Brookings' Metropolitan Policy Program, after reviewing Kotkin's report. "We need it badly, but even the most successful advanced manufacturing growth isn't going to deliver a ton of jobs."

Even energy production, which has generated thousands of well-paid jobs, is likely to require fewer people in the future, as companies devise ways to do the work without the inconvenience of constantly staffing up and down. (Which is why Kotkin is also unwise to take swipes at climate regulations, which could fuel new jobs in clean energy even as they slow the growth of fossil fuels.)

RELATED: Where is economic growth going to come from?

Nobody has quite solved the mystery of where the jobs of the future will come from. In the face of that uncertainty, you could argue that the more important focus is making sure wherever new jobs come from, that they be stable and well-paid, rather than insecure and intermittent.

Meanwhile, Kotkin is also not wrong in his conclusion that the best way to foster growth is to invest in education and infrastructure, from airports to highways, rather than chasing new companies with tax breaks and subsidies. Offering incentives might lead to a few new factories, which could employ a few people in far-flung areas.

But better education and infrastructure  perhaps more focused on transit and renewable-friendly electricity grids  could be just as powerful in urban areas, which have already taken on natural momentum from coast to coast. Dynamic cities like New York and Seattle, currently choked by high housing prices, should open themselves up with faster construction and stronger policies to support affordable housing.

That way everybody can have access to a middle class life  wherever they consider the Heartland to be.
I found myself short of breath and having palpitations. I thought it must be the altitude.

I was in Cusco, Peru, about 11,000 feet above sea level, nervously sipping my mate de coca, a bitter tea made from coca leaves that takes a little getting used to but helped us adjust to the effects of the altitude. In reality, I was just excited to be going on a unique travel experience: the maiden voyage of The Belmond Andean Explorer, South America's first luxury sleeper train, by Peru Rail. Peru Rail also operates the Hiram Bingham, a luxury train that makes day trips from Cusco to Machu Picchu.

The Belmond Andean Explorer is pulled by two massive Peru Rail locomotives that haul its 18 wagons comfortably across the Andes. The train accommodates up to 48 passengers, providing a personal concierge approach with staff available to handle guests' needs 24/7.

Passengers have three types of rooms to choose from, each with its own private bathroom and shower. There's the ultra-spacious Double Bed Cabin (141 square feet), the Twin Bed Cabin (80 square feet) and the Bunk Bed Cabin (60 square feet). Also on the train are two large sit-down dining areas, a boutique, library, piano bar, cocktail lounge and an observation car with open-air seating that makes it easy to mingle, unwind and enjoy the breathtaking vistas and stunning Peruvian Andes.

At the station in Cusco, we were greeted by Lorenzo Sousa, chairman of Peru Rail, founder and major stockholder of Peru Belmond Hotels and my longtime friend, who invited me to take this trip. He made a warm welcoming speech and gave everyone a friendly handshake. Then the festivities began with a group of native dancers and musicians getting everyone in the mood to get aboard.

Inside the train, champagne was served, and we stopped to admire the design by Inge Moore from MUZA Lab of London. The interior was designed to connect with the Peruvian Andes. For example, Moore said, the colors and textures of Peruvian nature are seen in the soft ivory alpaca tones and the Andean slate greys and woven textures and handicrafts.

The train, built in the first half of the 20th century, was brought from Australia to Peru. Sousa had it renovated but kept the style of its early years. The decor, from lamp fixtures to the designs on the ceiling of the cabins, took me back to that era. I was quickly brought back to the present, though, because the Belmond Andean Explorer put every modern amenity at my fingertips - everything except Wi-Fi, but in the end, that didn't matter.

Then the whistle of the train sounded while its engines roared, and suddenly everything began to move past our eyes.

Finally we were gliding along the Peru Rail, waving goodbye to the dancers and greeting new friends on board, sipping specialty drinks such as pisco sours and Manhattan iced teas.

It seemed life could not get any better, but in the coming days, it would.

All the food on the train is gourmet. It is prepared by chef Diego Munoz, one of Peru's best, in collaboration with Belmond Hotel Monasterio, in Cusco. "We have taken every precaution to have not only the most delicious food on board, but to also be able to represent each region our guests will travel to," Sousa said.

"Peru has to be experienced not only visually, but also through the palate. Our menu has been carefully made so that the food is not only delicious, but not so heavy, because when you are traveling to altitudes as high as 15,000 feet above sea level, the last thing you want to do is have your digestion interrupted."

Its common for many people to feel the effects of the soroche - Peruvian for altitude sickness - because the train travels to such high elevations. For this the Belmond Andean Explorer has outfitted every room with an oxygen tank plus a nurse is on board around the clock as an extra precaution. I personally felt well all the time, probably because I have been crossing the Andes since I was a child.

The train offers several package trips - one-night and two-night adventures. I was on a two-night.

On the first day of our journey from Cusco, our first stop was Raqch'i, with its majestic ruins including the Temple of Wiracocha, which is believed to be the largest single roof structure in the Incan Empire. We were able to walk inside these marvels of architecture and experience how advanced the Incas were in urban planning. I had time to buy souvenirs from local artists and made it back to the train just in time for tea.

Tea was muna, an aromatic selection of Inca herbs that perfectly complemented the variety of sweet cakes that came with it.

Day 2 brought an early-morning call to catch the mesmerizing sunrise over Lake Titicaca before enjoying breakfast on board: two eggs over easy and a selection of local cheeses with Serrano bread. This bread is like the Inca focaccia except in smaller portions, and a bit sweeter and crunchier.

We left the train and took a boat ride to the famous floating islands of Titicaca and its inhabitants. We were greeted on shore by smiles, and the tour guide showed us the fascinating work the Uros (or Urus) do with totora, the grass twigs that are harvested from the lake and served to make the foundation of the islands.

Our journey continued to the incredible island of Taquile, where time has barely touched life. By now, I was really getting hungry, and just in time, we were treated to a typical Taquileno meal at the only restaurant on the island. This was an opportunity to savor fresh trout with home-grown steamed vegetables, fresh cheese, the traditional choclo (Peruvian giant corn), rocoto sauce (hot, very hot!) and the most incredible quinoa soup.

The restaurant is on top of a hill on Collate beach. Traditional dancers performed for the group while we took a short hike across the mountain back to the other side of the island (the walking helped after eating so much). Our boat was waiting, and in half an hour we arrived back at the Belmond Andean Explorer, just in time for tea.

I met many interesting people and had wonderfully engaging conversations. One was with Jorge Chavez, a famous economist from Peru; another was Augusto Larco, who was the life of the party with his great sense of humor and wit. I also met a young couple, Juan and Alexa, who not only danced but played instruments with the band.

We had a delicious dinner, local clay-baked pork over a bed of sweet applesauce, a delicious combination matched with a glass of Cabernet and capped off with ice cream made with lucuma - a Peruvian fruit - and served over a bed of melted chocolate. My day complete, I went to my cabin for a warm shower and some much-needed sleep.

Day 3: It was a 5 a.m. call for the brave ones among us who were willing to get out of bed, jump off the train and hike to Lake Saracocha to be completely blown away by the most spectacular sunrise I've ever seen. This surreal living painting lasted only 20 minutes, but the colors and reflections were unforgettable.

After breakfast, we went to the Sumbay Caves. The weather was dry and hot, so I took a water bottle and prepared to hike down a canyon with our tour guide to visit the 8,000-year-old cave paintings.

Slowly walking back up, resting at times to catch my breath, I made it to the train for our final destination: Arequipa, called The White City for its enchanting white-stone buildings, antiquities and romance. Arequipa is one of the most important cities in Peru, known for incredible cuisine. One of the dishes I highly recommend is their traditional crawfish gumbo called chupe de camarones. It's huge, so one regular portion can easily serve two people.

At Arequipa, the Belmond Andean Explorer came to its final stop. Our luggage was waiting for us at curbside. Sorry to go, we disembarked while musicians and dancers performed.

Hugs and exchanges of contact information were occurring when it suddenly hit me: All this time, I never thought about picking up my phone; there was no need for it. Sometimes, we don't enjoy the moment because we feel we have to record it.

I would like to experience The Belmond Andean Explorer again. I will remember the images out my window, the colorful moving tapestries of land, meeting humble people who were warm and loving, enjoying the company of new friends, being pampered in every conceivable way by an attentive staff.

Here's my advice: Use your phone only to take photos on the Belmond Andean Explorer. Keep everything else to yourself.

Marco Ruiz is an illustrator and designer at the Miami Herald. He has visited more than 50 countries.
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The piece: "Say Tha Mar Gyi, Myanmar"

The artist: Lynsey Addario

Where: FotoFest, Silver Street Studios, through July 15

Why: According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, the world had 65.3 million displaced people in 2015. Almost a third of them, 21.6 million, were officially considered refugees. And only 107,100 were resettled.

Last December, the Pew Research Center put slightly more comprehensible numbers to the worst refugee crisis the world has ever known, reporting that nearly 1 in every 100 people on earth are displaced from home. A number that is expected to grow.

Nothing humanizes a situation, though, like a great photograph.

Who can forget Nilufer Demir's 2015 image of the drowned 3-year old Alan Kurdi on a beach after the boat carrying him, his family and other refugees capsized on its way to Greece? Years from now, that photo could be a 21st-century icon in the vein of Nick Ut''s "Napalm Girl" from 1972  except, of course, that Kurdi, unlike Phan Thi Kim Phuc, can't be around when he's grown to tell his story.

A print of Demir's photograph is included in "Refugee," the Annenberg Space for Photography show on view at FotoFest. But the project had even more ambitious origins: the Space dispatched five leading photographers to five continents to capture the scope of the refugee experience, from the terrifying to the hopeful.

Lynsey Addario, Omar Victor Diop, Graciela Iturbide, Martin Schoeller and Tom Stoddart all produced compelling work, bringing their own ways of working and documenting to their commissions. Everyone they met has amazing stories to share.

Addario's photographs keep me engaged the longest. Exquisitely composed and lit with the sensibility of Old World paintings, they project both extreme intimacy and an epic narrative. She focused on the Rohingya Muslims of Myanmar, an ethnic minority in an ardently Buddhist country who have been called the world's most unwanted and persecuted people.

And their plight doesn't show signs of abating, in spite of international human rights organizations' repeated complaints to Myanmar's leaders that Burmese security forces have killed and raped Rohingya people and destroyed their property. More than 140,000 Rohingya fled in 2012, and many of those who did not escape still live in extreme conditions, confined to camps and subjected to forced labor.

Addario approaches the documentary format as fine art, creating images that have metaphoric possibilities. Take the pretty young woman in the image "Say Tha Mar Gyi, Myanmar." Crouching at the kettle above a small fire in her family's lean-to home, not quite gazing at the photographer, her hair in a pink scarf, she could be Johannes Vermeer's "Girl with a Pearl Earring."

A few rays of light filter through the dirty air above her, like something you'd see in a religious painting: Is that hopeful, or does it emphasize the blackness of all that's behind her, the stark reality of a home that looks less inhabitable than barns I've seen?

A privileged Westerner might have a hard time grasping that such conditions constitute "living." The subject of the image is simply surviving, but heroic at the same time.

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When the theme for the 2017 Pride Parade was announced on February 9, gay eyebrows arched across the city.

"This year's theme for the Houston LGBT Pride Celebration is Wonderland. Inspired by Lewis Carroll's quirky fantasy world, this year's theme is primed for your imagination," the email declared. "Escape the craziness of today's real world and step through the looking glass to ... WONDERLAND!"

The response on social media was swift. "The world is going to Hell, and Pride's theme this year is WONDERLAND!" declared one veteran activist aghast at the committee's seeming obliviousness to the tsunami of anti-gay animus roaring out of Austin and Washington, D.C.

Parade organizers seemed unabashed. In another email, they asserted, "Pride Houston always promises to be a party, so registering to participate should not be a chore."

PRIDE MARCHES, like the gay pride movement, didn't start as a party. The first gay pride march took place in New York City on June 28, 1970  a direct result of the Stonewall Rebellion, which launched the modern gay rights movement in 1969, and unleashed tremendous political energy.

As activist Fred Sargent recalled in a 2010 essay for The Village Voice, "We had no idea how it would turn out. We weren't even certain we would be granted a permit ... ."

"I stayed at the head of the march the entire way, and at one point, I climbed onto the base of a light pole and looked back. I was astonished; we stretched out as far as I could see, thousands of us. There were no floats, no music, no boys in briefs. The cops turned their backs on us to convey their disdain, but the masses of people kept carrying signs and banners, chanting and waving to surprised onlookers."

Veteran LGBT activist Ray Hill recalls the first formal gay pride march in Houston was held in 1976, and attracted around 120 participants.

GRAY MATTERS: How Montrose became gay

"Then came Anita," he says  referring to the Houston visit, a year later, by anti-gay crusader Anita Bryant. Bryant galvanized thousands of protesters to take to the streets of downtown Houston.

Othell O. Owensby Jr./Houston Chronicle

Even so, the pride parade was not yet the mainstream institution that it is today, attracting hundreds of thousands of Houstonians, gay and straight. It was hedonistic, but with a political edge. In those early decades, simply existing as a gay person was a defiant political statement

"In the 1980s, we used to beg the politicians to be in the parade," recalled Jack Valinski, who served as the executive director of Pride and famously led it to becoming a nighttime march in 1997.

Those days seemed long gone recently, while Annise Parker, an out lesbian, served as Houston's mayor, and when the parade moved from Montrose, traditionally the city's LGBT neighborhood, to downtown. Churches, corporations and families marched in the parade. Pride Week had begun to seem like uncontroversial fun  the LGBT version of St. Patrick's Day.

Donald Trump's election changed all that.

OTHER CITIES are not in a mood to party. Most notably, Los Angeles has decided to jettison the floats, and ditch the glitz and the glam of its venerable pride parade in favor of an old-fashioned protest march.

"We're getting back to our roots," Brian Pendleton, a board member of Christopher Street West, which organizes the LA Pride Parade, told The Los Angeles Times. "We will be resisting forces that want to roll back our rights, and politicians who want to make us second-class citizens."

Resistance is in the air. On Sunday, June 11, tens of thousands of LGBT Americans and their straight friends will descend on Washington, D.C., for the National Equality March for Unity and Pride, a protest organized in response to the policies of the current presidential administration. From Austin to Seattle, a series of satellite marches across the nation is planned to coincide with the main event in Washington.

GRAY MATTERS: Attacks on LGBT Texans are everywhere. Here's what you can do.

Like so many marches in The Age of Trump, this one emerged organically on Facebook, the brainchild of an otherwise anonymous citizen: David Bruinooge, 42, of Brooklyn, who was moved by the hundreds of thousands of Americans who turned out for the Women's March on January 21.

"I was watching the events unfold on TV, and I was very proud and inspired by all the women, the strong women in our country who were kind of taking this to the street and getting their voices heard," he told the Washington Blade. "And in the back of my mind as an openly gay man I thought the gay community should be doing something like this to follow up on the momentum."

IN HOUSTON, New York, and across America, pride parades were forged and flourished in the crucible of anti-gay oppression and political struggle. Now is no time for them to abandon that proud history of political resistance.

Jerry Click/HP staff

Enraged by the Supreme Court's decision in favor of marriage equality in 2015, Republicans in the Texas legislature declared war on LGBT people in the last legislative session, introducing 24 pieces bills designed to discriminate against LGBT Texans, ranging from allowing adoption agencies to block loving LGBT families from serving as foster parents to sanctioning lawyers, pharmacists and nurses to refuse to provide services to queer citizens.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Senator Lois Kolkhorst have lead a vicious jihad against transgender Texans with Senate Bill 6, which, in essence, seeks to bar transgender people from public spaces.

Pride Houston is making history in 2017 by honoring Houston activist Lou Weaver as the parade's first transgender male grand marshal. Over the last five months, Lou has spent weeks in Austin, battling indefatigably against waves of bad legislation that would relegate transgender Texans to second-class citizenship.

I urge the Pride Committee to pay homage to Lou's activism and embrace the parade's rich history of political struggle. Jettison the escapist theme. Rally Houston Pride marchers under a new theme that responds to this particular political moment in the Lone Star State: "Standing Tall with Transgender Texans."

Andrew Edmonson has served as chairman of the Houston Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, and on the board of the Houston chapter of the American Marketing Association.





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Parker Peddicord has been ailed by ADHD and autism symptoms since he was a toddler, when his parents began noticing him becoming socially anxious, unable to focus and uninterested in many tasks.

Parker would barely sleep some nights and frequently forget simple things. He began seeing a therapist at age 3.

By his early teens, Parker's difficulties had improved. He still struggled socially, but his parents, Laura and Bob Peddicord, were hopeful that Parker could one day live independently. Yet one significant question remained unanswered: As someone with special needs, how difficult would it be for Parker to obtain a driver's license?

They soon found out.

The Safeway Driving school, a franchise with a location in Katy, offered training specific to people with special needs arising from conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Parker enrolled about two years ago when he was 16.

"We are older parents, so that's one of the things we worried about. You never know what might happen," said Laura Peddicord, 54. "You worry about if something happens to you, will they be able to take care of everything they need to? Because almost everything involves driving."

Nationally, one in 68 children has autism, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Scientists, psychologists and specialists at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia published a study this year that found one in three adolescents with autism spectrum disorder acquire a driver's license, compared to more than four in five for other adolescents.

Safeway Driving is the only privately operated driving school in Houston to offer a program specifically for people with special needs, according to Rick Nussle, owner of the school's Katy location in Cinco Ranch. Safeway has more than 15 locations throughout Houston, with Nussle having begun his branch about three years ago.

Safeway uses a program through Social Motion Skills, a consultant for businesses that deal with autism. The program offers students with special needs extra content while training, in-car acclimations, added one-on-one time and options for added training.

For students like Parker, the course can be a lifeline to independence.

It's changed everything, he said.

"It's very hands-on," Parker said of the program. "They helped me all the way through it. They were very patient with me."

Now 18, Parker drives his silver Honda Accord almost daily to his job at a Kroger supermarket in the Katy area. He enjoys picking up doughnuts from a shop near his family's east Katy home and is able to drive himself to therapy sessions in uptown Houston.

Nussle's school has served about 15 people with special needs. Some of them have been adults.

But why are there not more driving schools throughout Houston offering similar services?

Other schools "want to get as many kids through as fast as they can because that's how they make their money," Nussle said. "I've seen schools with four kids in a car at the same time. At Safeway, we do max two kids. I just don't think enough parents know this is out there, or they don't think their kids will be able to drive."

Not enough people realize the service is needed, Laura Peddicord said. It also can be too costly for parents of children with special needs who have to pay for added driving hours. At Safeway, for example, added instruction can cost up to about $2,000, while a basic package for the average student costs roughly $400.

At the same time, the course can seem priceless, Laura Peddicord added.

"It was very important to us because he is a little different (than other kids)," she said. "And it's not that he shouldn't be driving, but it's just that it's different for him. It's reassuring that there was someone to work with him on that."
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GALVESTON - Lalo Ojeda has lived with hurricanes all his life.

He was 14 when Hurricane Carla inundated Galveston Island in 1961. He evacuated as Hurricane Rita barreled toward the coast in 2005, then rode out the devastating Hurricane Ike in his Galveston home in 2008.

But Ojeda is watching the hurricane season that begins Thursday with more concern than usual. The retired Coast Guard employee worries that rising sea levels could make the next hurricane more destructive than those he's lived through.

"That's really scary to me," the 70-year-old said.

A study released this month shows that rising sea levels threaten to make storm surges more dangerous, seemingly reinforcing Texas officials' push for federal funding for a storm-surge barrier, or Ike Dike, to protect Galveston.

"Every storm surge today reaches higher because it starts from a higher level, because sea level is higher," said study co-author Ben Strauss, a scientist who is vice president for sea level and climate impacts for Climate Central, a group of scientists and journalists dedicated to climate change awareness. "A small amount of sea-level rise can lead to an unexpectedly large increase in damages to most kinds of structures."

Brian Streck, 62, a retired Galveston firefighter, has watched high tides creep into the streets around the house at the edge of West Galveston Bay, where he has lived for 37 years.

He has no patience for climate-change deniers who doubt seas are rising.

"I've witnessed it," Streck said.

More Information Hurricanepreparedness Galveston: gcoem.org Brazoria: brazoriacountytx.gov See More Collapse

High tides once flooded the streets around his home about twice a year; the flooding in the last decade has increased to a dozen times a year.

"I've considered selling this place because eventually I'm going to have a lake house," he said.

Rise accelerating

Scientific studies have established an acceleration in sea-level rise because of a warming atmosphere. Coal and oil burning and the destruction of tropical forests have increased heat-trapping gases that have warmed the planet by 1.8 degrees since 1880. Earth has been losing 13,500 square miles of ice annually since 1979, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Sea levels are generally rising faster along the Texas Gulf Coast and the western Gulf than the average globally, according to a January study by NOAA.

"The western Gulf is experiencing some of the highest rates of relative levels of sea-level rise in the country," said NOAA oceanographer William Sweet, lead author of the study. "The ocean is not rising like water would in a bathtub."

Sea-level rise is making storm surges larger, said John Nielsen-Gammon, Texas state climatologist at Texas A&M University in College Station.

"Compared to a storm that would have hit, say, 30 years ago, the additional storm surge we are talking about is on the order of ... about 7 inches," Nielsen-Gammon said.

The NOAA study found sea levels rising at more than double the rate estimated during the 20th century, increasing to more than 0.13 inch annually. NOAA made six projections of sea-level rise, from low to extreme, and found the global mean level under the lowest projection could rise 2.3 inches by 2020 and 3.5 inches by 2030. The extreme projection shows a 4.3-inch rise by 2020 and a 9.4-inch rise by 2030.

Severe flooding likely

The rate of sea-level rise even under the lowest projection would increase the chances of severe flooding on the Texas Gulf Coast from storm surges or other causes from once every five years to once every two years by 2030 under the extreme projection, and 2060 under the low prediction.

"We're not talking much longer than a mortgage cycle," Sweet said. "I just bought a house, I've got a 30-year note. That's 2047."

By 2100, sea level is expected to rise between 1.3 feet and 8.2 feet, the NOAA study predicts; Galveston Island and most of the Texas coast would be swallowed up under the latter scenario.

Sweet said the lower levels were more likely, but added, "We ultimately don't know how much heating will occur."

He warned there was no guarantee rising sea level wouldn't match the extreme prediction.

The effects will be felt as far away as Austin, according to a recently released study by Mathew E. Hauer, who heads the Institute of Government's applied demography program at the University of Georgia. Hauer's study found that sea-level rise would force thousands from their homes along the Texas Gulf Coast as well as coastal areas nationwide.

The study estimates Houston and Austin each would absorb 250,000 refugees from sea-level rise by 2100.

The hardest hit would be Galveston County, where Hauer estimates 124,000 people could be forced from their homes. Rising water would force about 108,000 from their homes in Jefferson County, 42,000 in Brazoria County and 30,000 in Harris County, Hauer said.

The Climate Central study estimated 14,000 homes in Galveston could be inundated by sea-level rise.

More intense storms

Apart from sea-level rise, climate change is expected to cause hurricanes to be more intense and produce more rain, according to the NOAA.

"In our view, there are better-than-even odds that the numbers of very intense hurricanes (Categories 4 and 5, with winds of 130 mph or more) will increase by a substantial fraction," according to an overview of research by NOAA scientists.

The number of hurricanes each season would likely remain the same or decrease, the overview determined.

Funding for efforts to slow or halt sea-level rise generated by climate change was slashed in a recently released President Donald Trump administration budget.

Trump has called climate change a hoax, but a White House official said Friday that his views were evolving after recent talks with European leaders. His budget cuts Environmental Protection Agency funding by 30 percent, more than any other agency.

Texas officials have asked Trump to put a proposed $15 billion storm-surge barrier on his list of infrastructure improvements, but there is no guarantee Congress will fund the project.

Even if Congress pays for the barrier system - which would shield Brazoria, Galveston, Harris, Chambers, Jefferson and Orange counties - work couldn't begin until 2021 at the earliest.

NOAA is predicting 11 to 17 named storms this season, which runs from Thursday to Nov. 30, five to nine of them hurricanes and two to four Category 3 or higher hurricanes.

According to emergency officials in Galveston and Brazoria counties, little can be done to offset the increasingly larger storm surges and reduce the likelihood of more destructive hurricanes.

One is unlucky number

Forecasts of hurricane frequency don't matter, said Garret Foskit, Galveston County's emergency management coordinator. What matters is if one hits your community, Foskit said.

"One is the unlucky number," he said.

No matter the predictions, people who live in a hurricane's path "are still going to have to do the same things," Foskit said. "They are still going to have to leave, they are still going to have to move their stuff."

Ojeda said he learned the hard way during Ike that it's important to prepare.

"I'm a true believer that you learn by your mistakes," he said. "I told the wife to buy more canned goods, dry stuff."

He owns two emergency generators after going for nearly two weeks without electricity after Ike.

If a major hurricane approaches, he plans to evacuate.

Said Ojeda: "If a 200 mph hurricane hits this island, there is not going to be (anything) left."

(This story previously said that sea level could rise to 31 feet by 2100 in the most extreme prediction. The story was corrected to 8.2 feet. The prediction of 31 feet is for 2200.)
For President Donald Trump to succeed with his plan to place the air-traffic system outside government, he will need to win over lawmakers like Jerry Moran, a deeply conservative Republican senator from Kansas.

So far, it doesn't look good for the president.

"I remain entirely opposed to privatizing air traffic control," Moran said Monday in an interview just hours after Trump unveiled one of the signature elements of his plan to revamp U.S. infrastructure.

The president delivered a fiery denunciation of the existing flight-monitoring system and urged Congress to place it under a nonprofit corporation funded by new fees. But opposition of lawmakers like Moran -- who represents a state that is home to private-plane manufacturers -- combined with near-universal hostility to the idea by Democrats, makes it all but impossible to reach the 60 votes needed for passage in the Senate.

"I would say slim to none," Craig Fuller, an aviation consultant who has monitored the fight over air-traffic control for years, said of the proposal's chances. "I think it's very difficult to get it done for a number of reasons."

For one thing, there is a split in the industry. Airlines such as American Airlines and Southwest Airlines cheered the president's plan. But groups representing private-plane manufacturers, such as General Dynamics' Gulfstream Aerospace, which worry about the service smaller airports would receive, issued statements saying it would have a negative impact on aviation.

The Trump plan was originally championed by one of the few lawmakers who has been able to move bipartisan legislation in recent years, Republican Rep. Bill Shuster of Pennsylvania. But it faces a fractured base in his own party and opposition from powerful friends on Capitol Hill.

In the past year, normally stalwart Republican groups such as anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform and the conservative Heritage Foundation have raised objections to the plan. Republican Sen. Thad Cochran of Mississippi, the leader of the powerful Appropriations Committee, wrote a letter opposing the air-traffic proposal in February.

"That would be very difficult to pass in the Senate," said another Republican opponent, Sen. James Inhofe of Oklahoma. Inhofe said he would like to see changes in the proposed fees and other provisions before he could support it.

The chief labor groups that would be impacted were also divided. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association union, which had for years opposed separating the system from FAA, cautiously endorsed the plan introduced last year in Congress. The union issued a statement Monday saying it's reviewing Trump's plan.

The Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, which represents FAA technical workers, opposes the Trump plan. Several large airline unions, including the Air Line Pilots Association, backed it.

So far, the person holding much of the power over the bill in the Senate, John Thune, the South Dakota Republican chairman of the Commerce, Science and Transportation committee, stopped short of endorsing the measure in an emailed statement Monday. He said he was seeking "bipartisan support as well as a consensus among the aviation community."

Shuster last year succeeded in getting the air-traffic measure passed from the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which he chairs. It was never brought up before the full House after the Senate let it die.

Shuster said he's "not naive" and recognizes that the proposal will be difficult to pass. Still, Trump's backing was an important milestone and he'd received many texts and emails Monday from other lawmakers who were now focused on it, he said.

"Presidential leadership on an issue is incredibly important, especially when you're trying to do something as transformational as we're doing with the FAA," he said.

The president's tough tone -- he called the Federal Aviation Administration's existing flight-tracking system "broken, antiquated, horrible" -- isn't likely to sway anyone on the fence, said Doug Heye, a consultant who worked in the U.S. House for former Republican Majority Leader Eric Cantor.

"As long as we have this constant barrage of tweets and outrage du jour, it makes Congress' job of moving legislation that much harder," Heye said.

Having the president behind the effort will help sway some congressional Republicans, but it's not clear it will allay the concerns of many others and the White House proposal introduces some new potential opposition, said Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon, the top Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

The proposal, for example, would allow the private corporation and not Congress to determine what fees are charged to use the system, DeFazio said.

"I don't think that's going to reassure the general aviation community, the business community, the cargo community, the drone community," he said.

Still, for proponents of the plan, some of whom have been pushing for it for decades, seeing a high-profile endorsement from the president was encouraging.

Strong support from the president and members of Congress are a good sign that "really transformative" structural change in air traffic could succeed, said Will Ris, former senior vice president for government affairs at American Airlines.

"For the first time since the Clinton administration, there is a firm commitment to getting this done," Ris said in an interview. "Nothing that is really worth doing is easy. The fight is engaged and the momentum has shifted significantly."

--Bloomberg contributors: Mary Schlangenstein and Anna Edgerton
A nationwide group of college and university leaders coming out in support of the Paris climate accord on Monday was notable for what it lacked: any representation from Texas universities.

The letter drew more than 180 signatures from public and private higher education leaders in the wake of President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the U.S. from the international agreement last week. Signatories pledged to continue to support climate action.

Presidents and chancellors from Bar Harbor, Maine to San Diego, said they would "remain actively engaged with the international community" to keep the U.S. in line with global climate goals, like moving to a clean energy economy.

Most universities that responded were clustered on the U.S. coasts, and several states had no college or university president sign onto the letter. Still, the letter attracted high-profile institutions, including Columbia University in New York, Pennsylvania State University and Michigan State University.

Mayor's name on letter

Outside of academia, about 900 businesses and more than 130 city, state and county government leaders signed on - including Mayor Sylvester Turner in Houston. Two Texas community colleges near Dallas are signatories, but no Texas university president signed the open letter, titled "We Are Still In."

Not Texas A&M University, whose atmospheric sciences faculty have warned that continued rising temperatures could present challenges for society and ecosystems. Not the University of Texas at Austin, whose Environmental Science Institute hosts interdisciplinary research on climate science. Not the University of Houston, whose professors study potential effects of climate change on everything from litigation to the atmosphere's composition. Not even private Rice University, whose president David Leebron has been vocal on social issues.

Dependent on state revenue, public universities may be reluctant to take positions that contradict their state's political views, national consultants said. Sen. Ted Cruz urged Trump to withdraw from the agreement, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton thanked Trump for his decision on Paris last week.

J.B. Bird, UT-Austin spokesman, said only the system's chancellor or Board of Regents chairman can weigh in on political or controversial matters, if it would appear that the statement represents the university or system's point of view. Foreign policy falls into that category, he said.

UH spokesman Mike Rosen said the institution is "more likely to take positions on things that affect what we do directly," like Trump's travel ban that initially blocked citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the U.S. UH, he said, is "not in the business of taking positions on every single political issue."

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"There's no connection" between UH's research on climate science and campus sustainability initiatives and deciding whether to sign the letter, Rosen said in an email.

Texas A&M did not respond to requests for comment, and Leebron was unavailable for comment, a Rice spokesman said.

Considering ramifications

Second Nature, a Massachusetts nonprofit, reached out directly to hundreds of universities nationwide, urging them to sign, said Timothy Carter, that group's president. It also opened an online portal for individual institutions to submit signatories without that outreach.

"In the absence of leadership from Washington, states, cities, colleges and universities and businesses representing a sizable percentage of the U.S. economy will pursue ambitious climate goals, working together to take forceful action and to ensure that the U.S. remains a global leader in reducing emissions," the letter reads.

This letter is the first known multi-sector statement on climate, Carter said.

"It's not just a sector coming out, or an individual institution, which you often see," he said. "There are complementary roles that each of those sectors play in the global system that we're a part of."

Universities' commitments in support of the climate agreement, he said, are "critical" because they have huge operations, conduct climate research and teach future leaders.

But these institutions, especially public universities, must consider external pressure before their leaders take a position on national issues, higher education consultants say.

"I think it's rare that a president doesn't consider how the legislature might react to something they say or do," said Teresa Valerio Parrot, a Colorado-based communications consultant who works with public and private universities. A president would also consider faculty, board member and student opinions, she said.

Regents and right-wing groups sometimes criticize presidents' statements on social issues from campus leaders because their institutions are viewed as too left-leaning, said Simon Barker, a managing partner at Blue Moon Consulting Group, which specializes in higher education.

"There is this broader concern that universities, particularly in this climate, are becoming overly politicized," he said. "This is really ramped up post-Trump."

Reluctance 'not surprising'

Those pressures didn't stop UT System Chancellor Bill McRaven from expressing his views on the U.S. withdrawal last week.

Though McRaven did not sign the letter - a spokeswoman said he was not aware of it until Monday - he came out against Trump's decision at an event last week sponsored by the Texas Tribune.

"I am absolutely in favor of the Paris climate accord, make no mistake about that," he said. "It gets back (to) a broader issue about leadership. Is this the way we want the nation to lead, by pulling out of the accord?"

Climate scientists at Texas campuses said they understood why their universities didn't sign the letter.

"It's not surprising that university presidents would be reluctant to take a political stand, no matter their point of view," said John Nielsen-Gammon, Texas' climatologist and a Texas A&M University professor. "The travel ban and restrictions on visas impacted (universities) very directly.  Pulling out of the Paris agreement doesn't affect universities' direction, except that it affects the environment, so it affects everyone. It's not specific to the university."

Susan Hovorka, a senior research scientist at UT-Austin's Bureau of Economic Geology, said that she has signed similar letters, but she makes it clear that she is representing her own views, not the university's.

UT-Austin President Gregory Fenves, she said, "gets to decide what fights he wants to fight  (He) probably has many things to struggle with, including the university's relationship to the state government."

UT-Austin and other Texas universities are "doing the deed" of good climate research even if their university leaders don't outwardly take a position, said Hovorka, who studies how to reduce atmospheric greenhouse gas.

"As a member of the staff," she said, "I respect that."
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AUSTIN - Like Willie Nelson sang in "The Party's Over," a controversial plan by state leaders to build a Texas State Music Museum in Austin had its lights turned out.

Two separate bills that would have established the new museum in the state Capitol complex, in part of a new government office building across from the Bullock State History Museum, died in the Legislature before it adjourned last Monday - burying a plan endorsed by Gov. Greg Abbott and other top officials.

It also ended, at least for now, a push by Austin officials to get bragging rights for the state music museum over Houston. In fact, the death of the legislation is re-energizing supporters of a long-planned music museum in the Bayou City to push ahead with their plans.

It's also seen as a boost by others who operate or support music museums statewide. A group of nearly 40 private music museums across Texas that protested the Austin project say the dispute has spurred them to establish a statewide network to showcase the state's colorful and rich music in ways that a single museum cannot.

"This has not been a doomsday. It has been an epiphany for everyone on the value of the music business in Texas," said Stephen Williams, a founding member of the Museum of American Music History, a coalition of more than 50 organizations, private collectors and families who he said has been working for years to get the museum located in Houston.

"We're now energized. We're moving ahead with our own project that will make this a statewide effort, not just something in Austin," he said

Unlikely to move ahead

Williams and others who operate or support the dozens of private music museums in Texas said a meeting is planned in July at the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in Carthage to organize those plans. Many of them felt the push for the new Austin attraction was government overreach.

For their part, officials at the State Preservation Board - the state agency that was to oversee the development of the new museum - say they are still reviewing the results of the legislative session.

Aides to Abbott, who chairs the agency's board, said there are no plans to move ahead with the project.

"The bills didn't pass. It's not going to happen right now," said state Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, a sponsor of the Senate bill that would have established the museum in Austin.

Several bills in previous legislative sessions that were to spur development of a state museum also died.

Lively mix of genres

Texas has a rich music history, ranging from the influences of German and Czech immigrants that brought dance halls, oompah bands and polka to the state in the 1800s, to a mix of Mexican folk songs, bluegrass and country songs brought in immigrants from Eastern states. Then there are rhythm and blues, jazz, conjunto, Texas swing and other music styles.

That history was developed in small towns and cities in every corner of Texas, where small museums celebrate and highlight that past. There's Turkey, where the Bob Wills Museum is located. And San Benito's Freddy Fender Museum and the Buddy Holly Center in Lubbock, along with Arlington's Texas Blues Museum and the Light Crust Doughboys Hall of Fame and Museum in Hillsboro.

There's even a privately funded Texas Music Museum already in Austin, located less than a mile from where the new museum was to be built.

Most are privately run, and their supporters saw the state proposal for a museum in Austin as a threat to their future.

"Instead of approaching us to be a part of something, they would have undercut us," said Thomas Kreason, executive director and curator of Irving's Texas Musicians Museum. It bills itself as "the premiere conservatory of Texas music history" and was established in 2004.

Kreason, who opposed the state plan during a March legislative hearing in Austin, said the current museums want to create an alliance not only to increase public awareness about Texas' history but to thwart any future moves by state officials to rekindle the museum project.

By rallying support to their cause, through a social media campaign and lobbying of local officials to support them, the private museums said they were able to defeat this latest attempt to centralize Texas music history.

When the Austin project was announced, state and local officials pitched it as something that would complement the capital city's self-proclaimed status as the "Live Music Capital of the World."

It was to have been part of a new museum district near the Capitol - with the Bullock and the Blanton Museum of Art - in a project that was to have cost taxpayers nothing. It would have been managed by a new nonprofit foundation that was to have raised its own funding through gate admissions, donations, events rentals and gift shop sales. Abbott was to have named the board of the private foundation.

New site could be here

In Houston, Williams sees the death of the legislation as a signal for his group to move ahead with plans for their museum, which was to receive a $10 million federal grant from the state several years ago. That money was never released because of politics in Austin, he said, but the designation of Houston as the site for a museum showcasing Texas' music history still stands.

"We're going to start fundraising again, because our plans are shovel-ready, and plan to get our project going," he said. "Our plan is to be an entry point for this trail of music museums all around Texas. A lot of our music history happened within 100 miles of Houston, so it's the natural place for the Texas Music Hall of Fame."

And the spring controversy in Austin over the two bills that didn't pass?

"It's shown everyone how important this project is," Williams said, "and why one state museum in Austin was a bad idea."
Carrollton Police Department

A North Texas high school science teacher accused of filming students while they undressed recently appeared in front of a grand jury, according to the Carrollton Police Department.

George Edwin Thomas III, 54, was arrested in March and charged with six counts of invasive visual recording.
This past weekend a Texas A&M student captured photos of her grandmother doing a wicked keg stand at a graduation party that quickly went viral.

Madison Munoz, 20, told Chron.com that the family was gathering to celebrate the graduation of her brother from an Arlington-area high school.
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WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump on Monday endorsed a proposal to privatize air traffic control, seizing on a decades-old idea as proof he is advancing the ambitious infrastructure rebuilding plan he promised during his campaign but is still months from delivering.

At an East Room event that was choreographed like the elaborate ceremonies for approving major legislation, Trump signed a memo and letter to Congress outlining his principles for overhauling the nation's air traffic control system. He handed out pens to lawmakers who had been invited to attend, and reveled in several rounds of applause.

But Trump's announcement did not have any binding effect and is all but certain to be rejected by Democrats.

And he did not take any action on Monday toward a broader $1 trillion infrastructure spending initiative to rebuild the nation's crumbling infrastructure, including some of the nation's old and inefficient airports, a subject he spoke about many times as a candidate.

His advisers say that package is months away, though Trump had said in April it would be ready last month.

Instead, the aviation outline was based on principles that have been debated for years and were introduced as legislation last year. It is an initiative that DJ Gribbin, an infrastructure specialist at his National Economic Council, called "low-hanging fruit" that is ready for action by Congress.

It was the first announcement in a week's worth of infrastructure events the White House has planned to showcase the president's commitment to a marquee campaign pledge - in the absence of any concrete legislative movement toward achieving it.

The blueprint Trump unveiled would have spun off air traffic control from the Federal Aviation Administration within three years. His proposal was modeled closely on stalled legislation that introduced last year by Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa., the chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

"Today, we're proposing to take American air travel into the future, finally," Trump said at the reception attended by Shuster and other lawmakers, as well as airline industry officials and past secretaries of transportation from Republican administrations.

Trump promised that the new system to track airplanes with global positioning satellites would "dramatically improve" the current method of radar and radio signals, and result in fewer delays, a safer system and lower costs for passengers. "This new entity will not need taxpayer money, which is very shocking when people hear that - they don't hear that too often," Trump said.

Democrats have denounced Trump's plan, arguing that it would saddle travelers with higher costs and allow private businesses to reap the profits while leaving underserved areas without much-needed improvements.

"The entire focus of the president's infrastructure proposal is on privatization, which sounds like a nice word, but when you scratch beneath the surface it means much less construction and far fewer jobs, particularly in rural areas," said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the Senate minority leader. "It means Trump tolls from one end of America to the other, and huge profits for financiers who, when they put up the money, want to be repaid by the average driver, worker and citizen."

White House officials said the plan to privatize a key piece of the nation's transportation backbone was a template for the president's vision for his broader infrastructure plan. He envisions the federal government drastically scaling back its role in funding the building and modernization of the country's physical structures, and relying more on private companies and localities to pay for it.

Trump has also proposed substantial reductions in infrastructure spending as part of his 2018 budget, including a 12 percent cut to the Department of Transportation and a 16-percent cut at the Army Corps of Engineers, which builds canals, dams and flood protection structures throughout the U.S.

The aviation proposal has drawn support from the association representing air traffic controllers and other industry players, including pilots.

"The status quo is unacceptable," Jon Weaks, the president of the Southwest Airlines Pilots' Association, who attended the White House announcement, said in a statement. "By expediting modernization, Mr. President, we will indeed make American aviation great again."

But it raised concern among some aviation organizations that the Trump administration might not provide the money necessary to truly modernize air travel in the United States.

"Any plan to reform air traffic control must address the significant infrastructure needs of airports," said Kevin Burke, the president of Airports Council InternationalNorth America. "We cannot modernize one aspect of our aviation system and settle for the status quo for another, especially the foundation on which our aviation system is built."
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AUSTIN - No one knows when Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will face trial on securities fraud charges. Or where the trial will be held. Or who will be the judge.

The case is tied up in state courts nearly two years after a grand jury in Paxton's home county indicted the high-ranking Republican, accusing him of encouraging colleagues and friends to invest in a North Texas tech startup without telling them he would earn a recruiting commission.

Special prosecutors late last week asked the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to weigh in, potentially delaying the case further as the justices untangle who has jurisdiction to settle a fight over whether to remove the Tarrant County state district judge overseeing the case.

"It illustrates what will happen when you have vigorous counsel on both sides who have considerable resources and a case involving a number of difficult issues," said George Dix, a professor of law at the University of Texas at Austin.

Here's a breakdown of the case against Paxton and its status:

The basics

Paxton, 54, faces two first-degree felony criminal charges of securities fraud and one third-degree charge of failing to register with the state as an investment adviser. Paxton, who began his political career in the state House of Representatives in 2003, contends he is the victim of a political witch hunt. He has fought the charges since his indictment eight months after assuming the attorney general's office in 2015. He raised $329,000 for his defense team, and has spent the last two years in court, challenging everything from the integrity of the grand jury to where the trial should be held.

In that time, he twice convinced a federal court to dismiss similar civil charges against him by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

If found guilty in criminal court, he could face up to 99 years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines.

While Paxton fought his case, campaign contributors and allies took on his accusers and prosecutors, filing a lawsuit to stop officials in Paxton's home of Collin County from paying three Houston lawyers assigned to prosecute the case.

The fight over paying the prosecutors, who last submitted a $200,000 invoice in January, remains in flux as the 5th Court of Appeals in Dallas sorts through the legality of denying the payments. To date, the prosecutors have submitted invoices totaling more than $500,000.

It was concern about people behind the fight over back pay that led Tarrant County Judge George Gallagher to move the case from Paxton's home turf to Harris County, acquiescing to the prosecutors who had argued Paxton's allies blitzed TV and radio airwaves to taint the jury pool in the attorney general's favor.

Although the trial was to commence May 1 in Collin County, Gallagher ruled in April to move the case to Harris County and set a September trial date.

Hours later, Paxton's legal team told the court it wanted a new judge and said they would refuse to sign paperwork allowing Gallagher to follow the case to Harris County.

Gallagher told the Houston Chronicle he intended to stay on the case.

Paxton then asked the Harris County District Clerk's office to submit the case for random assignment to a local judge.

When that failed, Paxton's team argued Gallagher should not have presided over the case in 2017 because his temporary assignment had expired last year, and insisted the case be returned to Collin County.

Paxton scored a victory when the 5th Court of Appeals in Dallas ruled last month that Gallagher gave up oversight of the case when he transferred it to Harris County. Special prosecutors quickly asked the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to step in.

What's next?

The prosecutors contend in legal documents that a Harris County appeals court should decide whether Gallagher stays on the case. They also argue the Legislature never meant for defendants like Paxton to opt for a new judge by refusing to sign paperwork.

"I would agree that it probably wasn't their intent but certainly that's how that was written," said Melissa Hamilton, visiting criminal law scholar at the University of Houston Law Center. "When statutory language is clear, (judges) don't want to go to legislative intent."

Upholding the decision would mean a prosecutor or defendant who does not agree to a change of venue could have the power to boot a judge off a case, she said.

Should the special prosecutors lose, Paxton would be assigned a new judge in Harris County, throwing into question how long it will take for the jurist to get up to speed and set a date for a trial.

Attorneys on both sides of the case are under a gag order Gallagher reissued days before moving the case to Harris County, and are unable to comment.

If the court tackles the issue, it further could delay Paxton's criminal trial. Special prosecutors plan to try Paxton first on the lesser charge of failing to register with the state as an investment adviser before conducting a second trial on his securities fraud charges.

Anyone planning to challenge Paxton for the attorney general's spot would need to file candidacy paperwork by December. Fellow Republicans who want to challenge him only are likely to go after the incumbent if they think the trial has left him damaged, said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston.

"That won't happen until a trial occurs or until there's some kind of verdict in the case," Rottinghaus said. "In a way, the delay has benefited him by pushing off those decisions until potentially after the filing deadline."

On the other hand, he said, if the case is delayed too long and someone runs against him, the trial could pose an imaging nightmare for the incumbent.

"When you're running for re-election, you don't want to juxtapose you in and out of courtroom on trial for criminal acts right at the time voters are thinking about whether or not to re-elect you."
Delivering water

Regarding "Tainted tap water" (Page A16, May 12), the referenced lead violations in Flint, Mich., arise, in part, from water chemistry controls needed for an antiquated distribution system containing lead. An affordable solution might be to declare existing distribution systems that are in violation as unsafe for carrying water for human consumption.

The costs of making both tap water for human consumption and agricultural water for use in the production of food are staggering. Water districts can meet municipal regulations for distributing safe drinking water by delivering potable water other ways. Home delivery systems are becoming more economical. An infrastructure for distributing drinking water in bottles is already thriving.

The costs and benefits of having separate distribution system for human consumption and to produce food and other purposes should be investigated.

Bob Birchak, Spring

Stepping back

Regarding Trump withdrawing from the Paris climate accord ("'We're getting out'" Page A1, Friday), only two other nations do not support the Paris accord: Syria and Nicaragua.

Nearly 200 supporting nations may protect the climate better without obstructionist U.S. delegates, but I am sad that my beloved country is not being a reliable partner. The withdrawal cannot be completed until after 2018 elections, in which the average U.S. citizen will speak loudly enough to be heard. Until then, individuals, cities, businesses and states can oppose climate-destructive federal policies and can make their own climate-protective changes that are often profitable and beneficial for health and job prospects.

Jane Shinn, Houston

Immigration

Regarding "Out of time" (Page A1, Saturday), I am appalled. Just how does deporting Juan Rodriguez and destroying his family make America great again?

I am embarrassed at the heartlessness that currently runs rampant at nearly all levels of government in the United States.

To the Rodriguez family: I am heartbroken for you. Please accept my apology for our government. I am certain your fate is NOT what is desired by the majority of citizens.

Rachel Hinds, Pearland

Science fiction

Regarding "Emirates' lofty goal: Build a city on Mars" (Page A16, Sunday), so the United Arab Emirates hopes to build on Mars a "fully functioning city of 600,000 by 2117." The irony is that the money for this project will presumably come from the UAE's production of oil, which along with other carbon-based energy forms is steadily making the planet uninhabitable.

Projections are that by 2100 there will be more than 11 billion people on Earth. I wonder what's going to happen to the ones who can't get on the ship.

David Bradley, Spring

Listless agenda

Regarding "Time running out for Republicans to succeed with legislative agenda" (Page A2, Sunday), Texas Sen. John Cornyn says the Republicans need to "work harder" to pass their laws, but maybe they should listen to the trite maxim and work smarter.

Instead of ramming Trump's campaign promises as laws, they could formulate some workable policies.

A shotgun wedding doesn't have a honeymoon period.

Bob Gayle, Houston
About six years ago, a Texas resident visited Minnesota three times to talk with its Somali community. Not just any Texas resident: This was Andrew Wakefield, the doctor disgraced for his widely condemned 1998 study claiming a connection between autism and the measles vaccine. Dozens of studies have since proven Wakefield wrong, but scientific fact hasn't stopped him from continuing to spread harm.

That harm is very real and obvious today. Minnesota's Somali community saw its vaccination rate plummet by more than half, to 42 percent in 2014. And recently, 69 Minnesotans, most of them young children, most of them Somali, almost all of them unvaccinated, had fallen sick with measles.

Measles is a potentially deadly illness. About a fourth of the stricken Minnesota children had to be hospitalized. One in a thousand measles patients will suffer the serious side effect of encephalitis, or brain swelling, and there are many other possible complications. And measles is so swift-spreading that 90 percent of the unvaccinated people who are exposed will fall ill. Only 3 percent of vaccinated people catch the disease.

The situation in Minnesota might seem remote, but the parallels to the current situation in Texas shouldn't be overlooked. Yes, the childhood vaccination rate in this state is higher than 90 percent, but it is in Minnesota, too. The problem is that pockets of low vaccination appear in both states. At least three Texas schools - two private and one charter - have vaccination rates that appear to be below 70 percent. That is far too low for protecting our children. Some unvaccinated children have serious medical issues that preclude being vaccinated; they are entirely vulnerable to diseases that sweep through a community.

No one even knows how low the rates might have fallen at traditional public schools, because the state doesn't report those numbers. The only numbers available are the overall rates for the entire school district.

The Minnesota outbreak shows us Texans how easy it is for a vulnerable population to be misled by disinformation campaigns. With no way to ensure that the Somali community was hearing the other factual, science-based story, it was all too likely that young children would be seriously sickened. That could happen here.

Texas is unfortunately one of the strongholds of anti-vaccine sentiment, perhaps not surprising considering that Wakefield lives in our midst. So far, state lawmakers have refused to take even the most basic steps to fend off a Minnesota-like scenario. Bills died this legislative session that would have allowed parents to view the vaccination rates at individual public schools - would you want your child attending a school with a 42 percent immunization rate? - and that would have had parents take a simple online course to educate them about immunization before they could send their children to school unvaccinated.

Vaccine advocates and educators are not giving up, not by a long shot. The Immunization Partnership, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and many other groups will continue to provide the facts about vaccination, and we hope parents will seek information. We will press forward with education campaigns, because knowledge is the best antidote to baseless fears.

McGee is chair of the advocacy committee for The Immunization Partnership, a statewide nonprofit organization that aims to eradicate vaccine-preventable diseases.
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NC-03-- the Outer Banks and most of the state's coastal plain from the Virginia border south of Norfolk down past New Bern and Jacksonville. It's a very red district, R+11, and Walter Jones has been congressman there since 1994 (a year after he switched from Democrat to Republican). Romney beat Obama there, 59% to 41% and Trump did even better-- 60.5% to 36.9%-- last year. Jones did even better-- beating Democrat Ernest Reeves 67.2% to 32.8%.





Jones is a principled, libertarian-leaning social conservative. He votes for progressive legislation quite a lot. In fact his 41.18 ProgressivePunch crucial vote score for 2017 is the highest of any Republican-- by far-- and better than 17 House Democrats-- DINOs like Kyrsten Sinema (AZ-11.11), Henry Cuellar (TX-16.67), Collin Peterson (MN-16.67), Dan Lipinksi (IL-22.22), Tom O'Halleran (AZ-27.78), Josh Gottheimer (NJ-27.78), Ron Kind (WI-27.78), Ami Bera (CA-27.78), Stephanie Murphy (FL-29.41), Kurt Schrader (OR-29.41), Scott Peters (CA-33.33), Jim Costa (37.50), Raul Ruiz (CA-38.89), Lou Correa (CA-38.89), Jacky Rosen (NV-38.89), Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-38.89).





Ryan-- and Boehner before him-- have consistently struck out against Jones, penalizing him in committee assignments and encouraging right-wing nut jobs to run against him in primaries. Last year a deranged Trumpist, Phil Law, ran against Jones in the GOP primary and managed to win just over 20% of the Republican vote. A sleazy right-wing lobbyist, Taylor Griffin, also ran and he nearly got 15% of the primary vote. Reeves, the Democrat, raised no money for the general election but in the primary Griffin spent $345,966 and Law spent $145,404. (Jones spent a total of $693,517 for the primary and general.)





The Republican Establishment hatred for Jones seems to endear him to his own constituents, who like his independence. He's the most anti-war of all the Republicans in Congress and is famous for once telling a conference of Ron Paul supporters that "Lyndon Johnsons probably rotting in hell right now because of the Vietnam War, and he probably needs to move over for Dick Cheney." A few days ago he told PJMedia that Congress should stop funding the war in Afghanistan . He opposes Trump sending more troops and opposes the idea of "trying to build empires around the world." He also pointed out that Congress hasn't had a debate about the war in Afghanistan since 2001. Jones:

Im absolutely opposed to it, because if you increase the number of American troops that means the number of Americans to be killed and wounded goes up. And again, I come back to the point, what have we accomplished? We spent over $800 billion dollars. We are very close to $1 trillion in the past 16 years.



We've had over 2,200 Americans killed and 20,000 wounded. What have we accomplished? In fact, [Hamid] Karzai, the former leader of Afghanistan, is now trying to get the Russians to negotiate with the Taliban so he can go back into power. Its now like the Wild West that is wilder than it has ever been by increasing the number of troops, all youre doing is increasing the odds of American troops being killed or wounded.



History has proven it doesn't work going back to the Roman Empire. I mean, anybody that knows history-- that's what [former Marine Corps Commandant] Gen. Charles Krulak has said to me many times-- if you know history, you will know that no one is going to change Afghanistan. It is a tribal nation.



More important than the money is young men and women are being killed and wounded and Congress has a constitutional responsibility to debate and vote about sending our young men and women to war, but we don't do debates like those anymore. Yes, there have been efforts by Democrats and Republicans to put amendments on appropriations bills with money going to Afghanistan, but really no policy debate at all.



We've written [Paul Ryan] letters, we talked to him personally and he has not [asked the committees of jurisdiction to mark up a new Authorization for Use of Military Force]. This is going to be an effort of trying to get more and more members of Congress of both parties to come together for no other reason but to say after 16 years is it now a time to debate the issues of our country and our military in Afghanistan, and whats the definition of victory? After 16 years we have no definition of victory. Were saying you, not the president, but you have the authority as leader of the House to permit your members of the House to meet their constitutional responsibility of debating war. It's not up to the president, it's up to the Speaker of the House and he hasnt done it."

Matt Coffay and Jenny Marshall, progressive Democrats, running for Congress on the opposite side of North Carolina, both supports with what Jones is trying to accomplish. "I firmly agree with Rep. Jones' opposition to a troop and spending increase in Afghanistan," Matt told us, "and second his suggestion that Congress hold an open debate about our military involvement there. After maintaining a decade and a half-long military presence, it's long past time that we reassess-- in Jones' words-- how exactly we define "victory" in Afghanistan. America ought to have the smartest, sleekest, most efficient, and most effective military in the world. A troop increase in Afghanistan won't get us any closer to that goal. And neither will defense spending increases, unless the spending is done intelligently. The new defense budget proposed by Trump includes the construction of 84 new fighter jets, to the tune of billions of dollars for taxpayers--but do those jets really keep us safer? Threats to the United States continue to evolve, and beyond Jones' call to reexamine Afghanistan, I believe we also need to reexamine how and where we're allocating our defense spending across the board. Are we spending money to keep Americans safer, and to make our military the best in the world? Or are we spending money for the benefit of the military-industrial complex?"

Jenny added that "The U.S. has spent 1.7 Trillion dollars in direct war appropriations over the last 15 years, but counting the cost of war in dollars neglects the human loss of life and the lingering effects once the bullets have stopped flying. Nita Crawford from Brown University states 'A full accounting of any wars burdens cannot be places in columns on a ledger, from the civilians harmed or displaced by violence, to the soldiers killed and wounded, to the children who play years later on roads and fields sown with improvised explosive devices and cluster bombs, no set of numbers can convey the human toll of the wars.' Yet, we can know the numbers of the ever-rising death toll. 3,407 US and Allied troops, 3,540 US Contractors, 406 humanitarian workers and journalists, 31,419 civilians in Afghanistan alone. The numbers for the wounded are staggering. So, when the war hawks beat their drums remember that war must be the last option because the cost is just too high."

Back in 2001 there was only one member of Congress with the guts to say NO to Bush and Cheney and their bloodlust when it came to attacking Afghanistan: Oakland Democrat Barbara Lee. She is the model of courageousness in Congress and an inspiration to anyone thinking about taking a difficult vote of conscience. Last night she told us she admires Walter Jones' own efforts in ending the Afghanistan debacle. "Congressman Jones has been a steadfast leader in the effort to rein in our endless wars and hes completely right. After a decade and a half in Afghanistan, its past time to learn there is no military solution to this conflict. We will continue to urge Speaker Ryan to allow Congress to hold a debate and vote on the repeal of the 2001 AUMF, which is nothing more than a blank check for endless war. Additionally, we will keep demanding that President Trump listen to the war-weary American public and bring our troops home."

If iron worker and union activist Randy Bryce-- who was unanimously reelected by the Wisconsin Democratic Party to head their veterans division this past weekend-- beats Paul Ryan in the 2018 midterms, he will be another Democrat with the kind of guts it takes to cast votes of conscience, the way Barbara Lee did. He told us that "Under a Democratic President, Osama bin Laden was taken out. Under Republican leadership, the key to the Oval Office has been handed over to the Russians. What do we have left to gain in Afghanistan after 16 years? Trump made a promise to rid the world of ISIL within 30 days of taking office. Time is up." He continued:
Sojern Teamed Up With Google To Look At Inbound Travel Trends To Japan. In Our New Report, We Discuss Mobile & Cross-Device Trends, Last-Minute Planning Patterns, And Market Growth Trends. Here Youll Get Key Takeaways To Reach Inbound Travelers To Japan.

Sojern Teamed Up With Google To Look At Inbound Travel Trends To Japan. In Our New Report, We Discuss Mobile & Cross-Device Trends, Last-Minute Planning Patterns, And Market Growth Trends. Here Youll Get Key Takeaways To Reach Inbound Travelers To Japan.

With a goal to bring in 40 million annual visitors to Japan by 2020, the country is poised to become a tourism powerhouse. To work on achieving this goal, travel experts from around the world descend on Tokyo for WIT Japan and North Asia. In preparation for this event, Sojern and Google Google explore Japan travel trends to produce a new report. Here we highlight a few of the key insights and takeaways from this collaborative project.

The Diverse Demand For Travel To Japan

According to previous travel analysis, Japan and Tokyo are the fastest-rising destinations for US travelers, And the trend holds: the US appears as the fourth largest searching origin market. Europeans also show interest in travel to Japan. The UK and Germany are both on the list of top 10 searching origin markets.

Yet, the majority of travelers coming to Japan are from nearby APAC countries. Taiwan, Hong Kong, and South Korea claim the top search spots.

Knowing which markets are most interested in travel to Japan allows travel marketers to hone their efforts and ad spend accordingly. It also signals places where you can try new channels or tactics to untap new audiences.

Japans Biggest Competition At Home & Abroad

When considering travel to Japan, APAC travelers most often search for South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong, and China in addition to Japan. Interestingly, European and American travelers are most likely to consider the US as a destination alongside Japan, indicating that shoppers from origins farther away are looking for a similar travel experience rather than destination.

Japan travel trends demonstrate that though tourism is growing, theres tough competition from both regional and international destinations. Consider using video to inspire travelers to choose your brand, destination, or offering with video.

How Mobile Is Making Waves For Japan Travel Trends

Travelers from APAC are becoming increasingly mobile-first, with 44% of in-region Google.com travel queries for Japan coming from mobile phones. American travelers are more likely to rely on desktop when researching for travel to Japan, but still, 34% of all Japan travel queries from the US are generated on mobile.

The share of mobile intent increases from 27% of all searches during weekdays to 36% on weekends. Desktop dominates the share of bookings to Japan, with mobile bookings spiking on the weekend.

The drop in users on mobile as they move from search to booking indicates tourists traveling to Japan engage heavily in mobile while planning their trip, but are likely to move cross-device further down the funnel. Consider implementing a multi-platform strategy that engages with travelers as they move across devices and during all stages in the travel funnel to capture these smartphone searchers.

Want to learn more about Japan travel trends? Download the full report.

About LLuvia

LLuvia Rodriguez is Sojern's Senior Data Insights Analyst. Born and raised in San Francisco's Mission District, LLuvia studied Physics and Electrical Engineering at UCSD and Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Previous to Sojern, LLuvia researched stellar intensity interferometry. Nowadays, she's busy advocating for beautiful data viz at Sojern, playing Zelda, and hanging with her cat, Tesla.

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 2022 Hospitality Trends
In rural Alberta, there's a debate brewing over student dress codes  and, of course, it's girls' outfits that have come under fire.

A note appeared in the halls of Breton High School recently, telling girls to dress conservatively to avoid distracting boys.

'When you wear little to no clothing and dress provocatively because its 'too hot out' or because you think its 'attractive,' you are putting boys at risk of having a distracting working environment and saying, 'your clothing is more important than their education,'" the note read.

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"Instead of dressing like a THOT, value the male education and dress conservatively."

Urban Dictionary defines THOT as slang acronym for "that ho over there."

Parents told Global News that the poster was put up by students in response to an earlier note that appeared in the girl's bathroom.

"When you interrupt a girls school day to force her to change her clothes, or send her home because her shorts are too short or her bra straps are too visible, you are telling her that making sure boys have a 'distraction free' environment is more important than her education," that note read.

"Instead of shaming girls for their bodies teach boys that girls are not sexual objects!!!"

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Wild Rose School Division superintendent Brad Volkman told the Edmonton Journal that both signs were written by students and quickly taken down.

In a note sent home to parents, Principal Lara Jollymore said the use of the "inappropriate" 'THOT' acronym was being addressed and students were being reminded to be respectful when expressing their opinions, reports Global News.

Jollymore said the school will continue to enforce the dress code.

"Instead of shaming girls for their bodies teach boys that girls are not sexual objects."

According to the 2016-2017 student handbook, skirts and shorts must be longer than arms length, and the inseam of shorts must be at least one hand-length long. As well, the code says all underwear, cleavage, navels and bra straps must be covered.

On Virgin Radio Edmonton's Facebook post discussing the issue, most people argued that it shouldn't be up to the girls to ensure boys aren't becoming distracted, and that girls should not be policed for what they wear:

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This isn't the first time dress codes have made headlines in Alberta.

Schools in both Calgary and an Edmonton came under fire in 2016 for dress codes that students said shamed girls for wearing comfortable clothing, especially in the warmer summer months.
The Canadian Press

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer used Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's recent appearance on a popular U.S. morning talk show as political ammunition on Tuesday.

Scheer rose in the House of Commons during question period to point out comments Trudeau made on "Live with Kelly and Ryan" in Niagara Falls, Ont. on Monday about security and the fight against terrorism.

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"Yesterday the prime minister articulated his sophisticated thoughts on the threats of global terrorism. He told Americans that it was super important to invest in investigative national security stuff," Scheer said, as some Tory MPs started shaking their heads and laughing.

"He then described the impact of violent acts of terror, saying Canadians are able to respond to 'bad things happening' without 'falling into a bad space.'"

"After abandoning our fight against ISIS and cutting our armed forces, can the prime minister tell Canadians what kind of stuff he's investing in and how he plans to keep those positive vibes coming to keep us out of a bad space?"

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Trudeau rose to repeat the message he expressed during the interview with Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest, mainly that Canadians expect him to strike a balance between security and defending their rights.

"I'm glad the leader of the opposition's new duties haven't kept him from his daytime TV watching."  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Before he did that, however, he lobbed a zinger right back at Scheer.

"I'm glad the leader of the Opposition's new duties haven't kept him from his daytime TV watching," Trudeau said, as Liberal MPs started laughing. (It was a genuine desk-slapper for Adam Vaughan.)

Question period's classic soundtrack of heckles and murmurs kicked in during Trudeau's statement, leading House Speaker Geoff Regan to call for some order. He said he realized some members were in a "party mood."

Scheer didn't let Trudeau get the last laugh. The Tory leader rose to say that the TV interview was "the only place" he could find Trudeau after a week of not seeing him in question period.

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Scheer won the Conservative leadership race in late May but only had his first exchange with the PM in the House on Monday.

Trudeau's sitdown with Ripa and Seacrest was a mostly fluffy conversation that touched on Trudeaus choice of socks and occasional disregard for shirts. The chat did veer into the serious, however, when the PM noted how he disagreed with U.S. President Donald Trump on the environment.

With files from Ryan Maloney

Also on HuffPost
With Torontos housing market showing signs of cooling, and Vancouvers days of heady price increases now well behind it, a new top dog is emerging in Canadas real estate market: Montreal.

The city posted record-high sales in May, jumping 15 per cent from the same month a year ago, according to data released Tuesday by the Greater Montreal Real Estate Board. That's the highest volume the city has seen since before the financial crisis of 2008-9.

This was an exceptional month of May on Montreals residential real estate market, Mathieu Cousineau, president of the GMREB Board of Directors, said in a statement.

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Single-family home prices have risen six per cent in the past year. While that sounds like peanuts compared to the double-digit price growth seen recently in Toronto, its quite a change for Montreal, whose housing market had been treading water for several years.

As recently as January, the citys real estate board was predicting 1-per-cent price growth for the coming year. It now expects a 6-per-cent pace.

After the Ontario government introduced a 15-per-cent foreign buyers tax for the Greater Toronto Area, many observers started wondering if Montreal, long left out of Canadas real estate frenzy, would be the next target for foreign buyers.

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The city had already been attracting wealthy migrants from Europe, particularly France, which has been experiencing an exodus of millionaires.

But so far, theres little evidence of a rush of Asian investors seeking to avoid the foreign buyer taxes in Toronto and Vancouver.

Montreal saw a bit more Asian investors following Vancouvers introduction of the tax last year, CMHC Montreal analyst David LHeureux told Bloomberg last week.

But at the moment I dont think it has a significant impact on demand, he said.

Whether or not that changes with Torontos foreign buyer tax, introduced in April, remains to be seen.

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In the meantime, strong job growth and increasing migrant numbers are behind Montreal's accelerating market, Paul Cardinal of the Quebec Federation of Real Estate Boards said in a report last month.

All the same, Montreal remains considerably more affordable than Toronto or Vancouver. The median price of a single-family home rose to $319,000 in May, a fraction of the $1.1-million average price recorded last month in Toronto, and the $1.56-million benchmark price in Vancouver.
Canada is once, again, one of the safest countries in the world.

According to the 2017 Global Peace Index (GPI), which was published by the Institute for Economics and Peace, Canada is the eighth safest out of 163 countries.

To determine this, 23 factors were used to rank countries based on how peaceful they are. These included homicide rates, violent crimes, the impact of terrorism and deaths from internal conflicts. The countries were then each given a peace score. The smaller the number, the more peaceful the country.

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This is the second year in a row that Canada has ranked at number eight. However, thanks to this scoring system, we can see that the country has become slightly more peaceful in the past year. In 2016, Canada had a GPI score of 1.388 compared to this years score of 1.371.

Canada scored the best when it came to factors related to internal conflicts, such as intensity and deaths resulting. Violent crimes and political instability were two others that scored well, too. Each of these was only given a one out of five. This low score means the Great White North lacks these things, which is certainly good.

However, it is interesting to note that Canada has actually become less peaceful in the past five years overall, according to the Global Peace Index. In 2012, the country ranked at number four, behind Iceland, Denmark and New Zealand. But the following year, it dropped to eighth place and has been dabbling between seventh and eighth ever since.

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According to the 2017 GPI, Canadas eighth place ranking this year is due to a number of factors. Access to weapons, violent demonstrations, weapons exports and perceptions of criminality all scored two or higher out of five.

Additionally, the impact of terrorism scored 1.9, despite Canada having only one incident that was deemed a terrorist attack by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The incident happened in January when a shooting occurred in a Quebec City mosque, killing six people and injuring eight others.

Compared to Canada, both the U.K. and the U.S. are far behind on the peace-level scale. Although improving, the U.K. only ranks at 41 compared to 47 last year, while the U.S. has dropped 11 spots to number 114.

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This year, Iceland (unsurprisingly) ranked at number one for the 10th year in a row!

Here are the top 10 safest countries in the world and where they ranked in 2016:

1. Iceland (#1 last year)

2. New Zealand (#4)

3. Portugal (#5)

4. Austria (#3)

5. Denmark (#2)

6. Czech Republic (#6)

7. Slovenia (#10)

8. Canada (#8)

9. Switzerland (#7)

10. Ireland (#12)

Overall, the 2017 GPI found that the world is 0.28 per cent more peaceful than it was last year. This was driven by a drop in state-sponsored violence, including torture and extrajudicial killings, and a decrease in the murder rate, BBC reports.

But while 93 countries became more peaceful in 2017, 63 have become less peaceful.

Among the most dangerous countries in the world are Afghanistan, Iraq and South Sudan. Additionally, Syria was deemed the most dangerous for a fifth consecutive year.

Visit the 2017 Global Peace Index to learn more.

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My wife and I are in our 50s with careers, are caregivers to our 3 children who live at home, are caregivers to our own parents who are in their 80s, and wait a minute, are caregivers to my grandmother who is 102 years old. True story. What gives? Most likely the health of the caregiver.

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We've become a nation of caregivers. According to Statistics Canada, our aging population is fuelling caregiving needs across the country. By 2030, seniors are projected to account for 25% of our population. We now bear the responsibility of caring for the elderly, the sick and our children in addition to holding down full-time jobs. Many caregivers are so overburdened that they have no choice but to put careers on hold. I thought I would share with you some knowledge we have around this issue, for you to consider:

-More than 8 million Canadians provide informal care to a family member or friend.

-More than 1 million caregivers are older than 65.

-44% of caregivers between the ages of 45-64 care for both a parent and children.

-The number of seniors requiring care is set to double over the next 15 years.

-39% of caregivers look after the needs of their parents, 8% care for a spouse.

-35% of Canada's workforce provides informal, unpaid work while working.

-6 million caregivers take time off work to provide care.

-10% of caregivers spend more than 30 hours per week providing care.

-80% of all care given to seniors in the community and 30% of services to seniors in institutions are provided by informal caregivers.

-The economic value of caregivers is astounding: caregivers who look after seniors save Canada's health care system between $24 to 31 billion annually.

*Data provided by CARP

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It's estimated that every year Canada loses the equivalent of nearly 558,000 fulltime employees from the workforce due to their inability to manage the conflicting demands of paid work and care (The Vanier Institute). These employee losses can cause tremendous disruption to the workplace and can negatively impact a business.

Caring for a caregiver is not only an act of human kindness but it makes very sound business sense. It can enhance your organization's image and reputation, facilitate recruitment and increase retention. Employee wellness and wellbeing increases productivity and job performance, boosts morale and inspires loyalty.

Trying to meet your employees' responsibilities as caregivers and their obligations to the job is a Herculean task. Many caregivers lack the skills and resources to cope with the demands and as a result caregiving can take a toll on their mental and physical health. There are many ways that you can support your caregiver employees, such as providing:

-EAP services

-Flexible hours

-Work-from-home options

-Job sharing

-Parental/compassionate leave

Flexibility is of paramount importance when trying to accommodate your caregiver employees. Each case will be different and should be evaluated on its own merit, so it is important to have the conversation with your staff to ensure they feel heard and considered. It takes effort, but it benefits both the employer and the employee.

Providing needed care for caregivers is an ongoing issue that is bubbling to the surface now. Do you have a plan in place for supporting employees who are caregivers?

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The statistics are staggering. Universities are overwhelmed by the demand for help they cannot meet. Too many of their students, far from living the best days of their lives, are living the last days of their lives.

In 2012, Queen's University was moved by six student suicides to prepare a white paper on creating a robust mental health strategy. This year, Guelph University has had staff going door-to-door in student residences to check on the mental health of their students, following four student suicides there. Tragic suicides are, however, but the tip of an enormous iceberg while, as in an iceberg, much of the danger is hidden from view. And the extent of the danger is hard to believe.

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The Canadian Mental Health Association tells us that suicide is the second leading cause of death in the 15-24 age group. The National College Health Assessment released in 2016, found that 59.6 per cent of students experienced feeling hopeless in the previous 12 months, while 44.4 per cent felt so depressed they could not function. Thirteen per cent seriously considered suicide, and 2.1 per cent attempted it.

It is clear that strenuous efforts need to be made to prevent mental illness as well as to cure it. And here, the universities need to look hard at themselves, and at their part in creating the problems they now seek to solve, for they exercise profound influence over the high school years of the students they admit.

The students are having problems in universities for a variety of reasons, but lack of resilience and insufficiently developed strength of character are high on the list.

Unhappily, the entrance requirements of universities seek evidence for none of these things. Marks are all that matter, and those only in 'academic' subjects. So the high school students give scant effort to those courses designed to address life-skills, such as British Columbia's Planning 10 and Graduation Transitions programs. Mandatory they may be, but neither students, their parents, nor the schools that secretly give a fig for their place in the "rankings," take them seriously enough. Indeed, the battle for marks leads students to stop doing many of the things that would keep them mentally healthy and build the necessary resilience in them -- things like music lessons, team sports, significant volunteerism, reading for pleasure, art, hiking, climbing, backwoods expeditions and so on.

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And what are they doing instead? Either working hard to earn marks that matter by doing excessive homework, spending hours with tutors, losing sleep and neglecting relationships, or idling their time away knowing they will be given the marks they need by schools keen to boost their university admissions statistics, but not concerning themselves with what happens to their students thereafter!

Neither case augurs well for the university years.

Fortunately, it seems some helpful initiatives have begun. In 2016, Harvard Graduate School of Education published Making Caring Common, a paper endorsed by Admissions Officers at some 80 leading universities. The paper suggests that the admissions process can counteract a narrow focus on personal success and promote in young people greater appreciation of others and the common good and offers recommendations in three areas:

1.Promoting more meaningful contributions to others, community service and engagement with the common good.

2.Assessing students' ethical engagement and contributions to others in ways that reflect varying types of family and community contributions across race, culture and class.

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3.Redefining achievement in ways that...reduce excessive achievement pressure.

Perhaps even more influence will be garnered by the new Institute on Character and Admission which presents its mandate as follows:

Recent years have brought serious concern about the pathologies of American education: resentment of "high-stakes" testing; young men and women pushed to win the competition for a small number of slots at the most selective colleges or private schools; high levels of depression and suicide among students at every level; an admissions system perceived to reward students with cognitive ability at the expense of students with an array of character strengths.

Finally, it appears, there is an appetite for authentic, on-the-ground steps to change the way we do things. With all the rhetoric about what's wrong and for all the general calls to fix the system, a dedicated group of impatient people are aligned with Thoreau's comment that "There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root." The Institute is a culmination -- and gathering -- of this momentum.

The Institute accepts that character strengths are crucial to assessing candidates and that the prevailing college admissions process must change in order to find the most promising candidates for academic and vocational success. This is the Institute's mandate.

Here at The Westside School, where we have completely re-imagined high school, we believe strongly that the pre-requisite for a successful good life is a strong moral character, so we make every effort to help our students develop one. We applaud those who are having significant success in convincing universities and others that demonstrable strength of character should be an important factor in admissions' decisions: it is, after all, to judge from the growing concern about the mental health of students, clearly an important factor in post-admission success.

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Co-authored by Jonn Axsen, associate professor at Simon Fraser University

Imagine walking into a car dealership. You ask to test drive a new, gasoline-powered SUV. The dealer replies, "sure, but we don't have any. It will take four weeks to get here, it won't be an SUV, and probably not the colour or trim you want. But this compact car is practically the same. Want to try that instead?"

This sums up the experience of most people who are thinking about buying an electric vehicle -- no inventory, long wait lists, little variety and unenthused sales people who direct consumers back to a conventional car.

Not to say that things aren't changing. Canadians are getting excited about electric vehicles, with over 30,000 of them sold to date. New chargers are popping up in many cities and automakers are announcing new models every day. The car of the future is here, right?

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Not quite. Nationally, electric vehicles still make up only one per cent of new vehicle sales. Experts like the International Energy Agency tell us that in order to keep global warming below 2C, we need to increase zero emission vehicle sales to at least 40 per cent over the next two decades.

So how do we get to that electric mobility future? The biggest missing piece is strong government policy at the national and provincial level. There's now hope as Canada begins to develop a national Zero-Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) strategy under the Pan-Canadian Climate Framework.

Otherwise, many other pieces are coming together. To start, electric vehicle technology has been improving rapidly. The newest generation includes fully electric cars that cost less than $40,000 and can go up to 380 km without a drop of fossil fuel. Or, the option of plug-in hybrids like the Chevrolet Volt, that has a gasoline engine as backup, are available and selling relatively well among Canadians. Examples of electric or plug-in hybrid minivans, crossovers and small SUVs are now being made, in addition to a growing number of sedans, hatchbacks, and luxury vehicles.

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All in all, electric vehicle technology is not limited to the small car stereotypes from decades ago. Sadly, many of the models that are available to states like California, Massachusetts and Oregon are not available throughout most of Canada, but we'll come back to that in a moment.

On the consumer side, current research shows that significant demand is already there. Studies from the Sustainable Transportation Action Research Team (START) at Simon Fraser University show that about one-third of households in Canada looking to buy a new vehicle would buy an electric vehicle --

so long as it was available in the make and model that they wanted.

On the policy side, leading provincial and municipal governments across the country are stepping up. Many cities are doing everything in their power to advance electric vehicles, as exemplified in the City of Vancouver's 2016 EV Ecosystem Strategy.

Already ahead of the curve, Vancouver started requiring new homes to be built with EV charging circuits in 2011 to allow homeowners to charge their vehicles at home. Those requirements are evolving with a greater focus on neighbourhoods lacking adequate access to home and public charging. Imagine being able to charge your car as you're doing your grocery shopping or waiting for swim lessons to finish. It eliminates that extra stop at a gas station to refuel and is about one-fifth the cost of gasoline or the equivalent of 25 cents per litre.

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But cities can only do so much, especially when it comes to one of the biggest barriers to electric vehicles currently in Canada: the lack of supply. This includes a limited variety of makes and models, little to no inventory on dealer lots and absent sales efforts at many dealerships. If that plug-in hybrid minivan you want is not yet available in Canada, what are the chances you'll wait instead of going back to fossil fuels? To address that problem, we need supply-focused policy from the national and provincial governments.

Quebec is the only Canadian jurisdiction to-date to step up and mandate that 15 per cent of all vehicle sales in the province be zero emissions by 2025 and 30 per cent by 2030. By introducing their Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate, Quebec joined the leadership of California and 10 other "ZEV States", sending a clear signal to automakers. START's electric vehicleReport Card, released last November, rated Quebec's ZEV mandate as the most effective electric vehicle policy in Canada.

British Columbia now has the opportunity to follow suit as the new agreement between the B.C. NDP and B.C. Green Party includes implementation of the Province's 2015 Climate Leadership Team's recommendations. Not surprisingly, these climate experts recommended the development of a Zero Emission Vehicle Mandate in B.C.

The biggest opportunity for a true "win" for electric mobility in Canada sits with our federal government. Their intention to create a national ZEV strategy was announced earlier this year. Canadian policymakers are learning from California's ZEV mandate, viewed by many as being successful in channeling electric vehicle innovation and supply in the state and supporting the very creation of Tesla Motors. In setting clear sales requirements for electric vehicles, Canada would send a signal to automakers, dealers, local governments and other stakeholders to keep the current momentum rolling into a substantial transition to electric mobility.

In summary, many pieces of the puzzle are falling into place. Vehicle technologies are emerging to meet the needs, and prices are continuing to fall, while cities and provinces are building the infrastructure.

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What we don't have is the availability and variety of electric vehicles for any interested consumer to take home. It's time for national and provincial governments to step up to the plate.

Ian Neville is the Climate Policy Analyst for the City of Vancouver and the lead author of Vancouver's EV Ecosystem Strategy. John Axsen is an Associate Professor in Sustainable Transportation and Energy and the Sustainable Transportation Action Research Team at Simon Fraser University. For enquiries, please contact renewablecity@vancouver.ca.

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Written by Elaine Rapp, a social worker in Sunnybrook's Odette Cancer Program.

Patients often ask me whether or not they should tell their children about their cancer diagnosis and what words to use when doing so.

While telling your children about your cancer diagnosis is indeed a personal decision, it is my professional opinion that children should know about your cancer diagnosis and be told in an age-appropriate way.

Your child is a part of the family, and your cancer diagnosis is something that will affect the whole family. Children are a very important part of the entire story.

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Your child, even if young, will likely pick up on the stress and worry that will fill your home when you face a cancer diagnosis and treatment. And very often, their imaginations are much wilder than the truth. Being honest with your children about your diagnosis will help them maintain trust in the adult world. Keeping this a secret from them at such a critical time could damage that trust they have in the adult world.

So firstly, if you have received a cancer diagnosis and have children, speak to your co-parent, spouse or a trusted friend / family member and make a plan of how, when and where you will talk to them about that diagnosis and what it means.

Call it what it is

Avoid saying: "Mommy has a boo-boo." Or "Dad isn't feeling well." Call it cancer. It isn't the same as a scraped knee or a cold, so let's use the correct word. Explain to them what cancer is and you can even use pictures of cells and how they work in your body.

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Your child may have questions now, or an hour from now or even days from now. Remind them that they can ask you anything at any time and that you will always tell them the truth. They should know that they live in a home where all questions will be answered and that there are no secrets.

Talk about side effects. If you will be on chemotherapy, explain that chemotherapy is a very strong drug used to get rid of or slow down the cancer. The drugs are so strong that they might make you feel sick or throw up or make your hair fall out. It's not the cancer doing that; it's the drugs.

I always recommend touching upon 3 more Cs in the conversation:

You will always be cared for and loved, no matter what happens.

for and loved, no matter what happens. This is not contagious .

. You didn't cause this in any way.

Be honest and explain that some things will be different in your home. You won't have as much energy to play and you may not be able to do all the things you used to do, and that you hope that this will be temporary.

Your child might ask you "Are you going to die?" Children's sense of time is very different from the adults' perception of time. Be honest. You could say something like, "I am not dying now. Should anything change, I will always let you know."

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It takes a village

It's important that you open the line of communication with your child's school. Talk to the teacher or principal about what you and your family are facing. Even if you are a private person and hesitate to make your diagnosis known, talking to the school is in your child's best interest. The school can offer your child an important support system.

Connect with a social worker at the hospital for individual, couples or family appointments. Connect your child with the social worker through your child's school.

Sometimes I recommend taking your child -- depending on their age -- to an appointment with you. They can meet the nice, friendly doctor or nurse and see that things are OK at the hospital. Trust your parental instinct. If you think this might be a good idea for your child, speak to a social worker.

Here are some resources:

Read more about living with cancer from Sunnybrook experts at health.sunnybrook.ca

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It should be common knowledge that Israel's military occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory comes with rampant human rights abuses. This situation has been carefully documented over the years by Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Israeli organization B'tselem, and many others.

After 50 years of this occupation, it's important for Canadian taxpayers -- who have a government that considers itself to be a close friend of Israel's -- to understand how we may be implicated in the perpetuation of these injustices. The military occupation, after all, which was meant to be temporary, appears to be entrenching itself as a permanent fixture after 50 years. There is no end in sight.

Let's look back further than 50 years ago to get a sense for how this situation began.

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At the turn of the 20th century, Jewish settlers from Europe began arriving in large numbers in what was then known as Palestine. Many fled violent persecution, while others immigrated to Palestine for ideological reasons.

The leadership of these settlers in Palestine sought to establish a Jewish-majority state in the land. There was a problem, though: a thriving society populated by hundreds of thousands of people -- from different faiths and backgrounds -- already inhabited the country.

An organization called the Jewish National Fund (JNF) was created by European Jews in 1901, and was tasked with purchasing land in Palestine, which was to be held, and used exclusively for, Jewish settlers. Once this desired Jewish-majority state was established -- in the aftermath of the forced displacement of at least 700,000 Palestinians who were already living there -- the JNF was tasked with transforming the scenery of the depopulated country into a European landscape.

Using non-native species such as pine and eucalyptus trees, the JNF established parks and forests over the ruins of depopulated and demolished Palestinian villages, which have erased the traces of Palestinian habitation. These endeavours have also prevented the Palestinians who were living on these lands for generations from returning to their properties.

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As a Canadian, here's where you come in. The JNF refers to its branch in Canada, JNF Canada, as one of its many offices abroad. JNF Canada solicits millions of dollars in donations a year from Canadians, and through its registered charitable status, is able to issue tax receipts for these donations. This means that Canadian taxpayers are subsidizing JNF Canada's activities.

Is this Canadians' idea of charitable activity?

While JNF Canada has supported some worthy causes in Israel, these cannot distract from their central role in "greenwashing" Israel's theft of Palestinians' land. And through sponsoring forests and parks that go into the Occupied Palestinian Territory, JNF Canada is implicating Canadians in the entrenchment of Israel's military occupation.

JNF Canada describes their main project, Canada Park, as the flagship project of Canadians in Israel. Established over the lands and ruins of depopulated and demolished Palestinian villages from 1967, the project is located on militarily occupied Palestinian territory, beyond Israel's internationally recognized border -- otherwise known as the Green Line (or the 1949 Armistice Agreement Line).

Between June 6 and 7, 1967, Israeli forces expelled roughly 10,000 peaceful Palestinians from their hometowns in the West Bank; the villages were subsequently demolished, and the villagers were turned into internally displaced persons or refugees. Canada Park was established in the area in 1973, conveniently concealing these crimes, and preventing the villagers from returning to their lands. This is in violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, to which both Canada and Israel are signatories, and which is embedded in Canadian law.

Israel's Separation Barrier, ruled as illegal by the International Court of Justice in a 2004 advisory opinion, is located nearby, ensuring that the park falls on the Israeli side of the barrier, becoming, in effect, a part of Israel. Canada's official policy deems the route of the barrier to be illegal, since it goes beyond the Green Line.

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Is this Canadians' idea of charitable activity? Palestinians from the villages now covered over by Canada Park have been demanding the right to return to their properties for 50 years, but due to Canada Park, they are unable to exercise their rights. Meanwhile, JNF Canada denies (p.9) the historical presence of the Palestinian villages over which Canada Park is situated, and has continued fundraising towards the park in recent years.

According to the Israeli NGO Zochrot, 46 of 68 JNF parks and forests are located on the ruins of Palestinian villages destroyed by Israel. In the words of JNF official Michal Katorza, "...a large portion of JNF parks are on lands where Palestinian villages used to stand, and the forests are intended to camouflage this."

JNF Canada-sponsored Yatir forest goes over the Green Line (p.9) into the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and like Canada Park, changes the physical character of the territory in clear violation of international law.

You can even see how the Separation Barrier snakes around the trees of JNF Canada-sponsored Yatir Forest, on the Palestinian side of the Green Line.

Other examples of projects sponsored by JNF Canada going beyond the Green Line include Begin Park, built over the ruins of the Palestinian villages of al-Qabu and Ras Abu 'Ammar, and Gilo Forest and Park, situated beyond the Green Line in illegally annexed East Jerusalem.

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JNF Canada regards all of illegally annexed East Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank as permanent parts of Israel. Canada's official policy, and virtually the entire international community, would beg to differ.
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According to Theresa May's speech in response to the terrorist attack in London on Saturday night, we need to have 'difficult and embarrassing conversations' about 'Islamist' extremism and radicalisation. In saying so, I felt that she was insinuating that the Muslim community has up until now been shying away from the issue at best, and being complicit with terrorism at worst. In my view, it is an insult and an indication of utter ignorance to suggest that Muslims in Britain are afraid of talking about terrorism or confronting radicalisation. Let's get one thing straight - British Muslims hate terrorism and extremism as much British non-Muslims, if not more, and we talk about it a lot more.

Firstly, we are just as likely to be caught up in a terrorist incident as non-Muslims, and so are no less afraid of terrorist attacks and no less horrified by them. We are more likely to be part of the medical teams that help save lives of victims, as we make up a large proportion of NHS workers. My family is a case in point: my younger sister was trapped with friends near London Bridge while the incident was taking place, which was terrifying for the whole family as we couldn't get in touch. Meanwhile, my older sister who is a doctor at St Thomas's left in the middle of the night to help with the casualties at her hospital. However, we are the ones who are blamed for being 'part of the problem', as this is how the government presents the issue. What they don't say is that we are also the victims of terrorism, and to a much larger extent than non-Muslims.

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It is our children that are being targeted for recruitment, to blow themselves up, to fight and die in wars abroad, to commit crimes that will end up in their death or incarceration. The government does nothing to address the brainwashing that is taking place on the internet, akin to grooming by paedophile gangs. Just as victims of online child abuse are treated as just that - victims - so we should understand that young, innocent, impressionable (and often vulnerable) minds are being deliberately warped and controlled by powerful propaganda machines based abroad but with easy access to every laptop, tablet and mobile in the country. If something like this was happening to white British youngsters, it would be presented in an altogether different light, that much is undeniable.

It is our children who are being treated like criminals at younger and younger ages, by teachers, social workers and the culture of mistrust and paranoia fostered by the PREVENT programme. Rather than helping youngsters better understand the confusing world we live in, they are constantly being asked to make a choice - are you British or are you Muslim? We may as well ask Theresa May, are you the Prime Minister or are you a woman? Such questions do nothing to help guide young minds through the muddy waters of identity and adolescence, and further fuel the false notion of a 'clash of civilisations'. If anything, it makes young Muslims feel less 'British', less accepted, less valued by their society for who they are. That is a sad, sad thing.

British Muslims are much more likely than non-Muslims to be affected by terrorism abroad; we have relatives living in places facing far worse terrorist attacks, on a much more regular basis and bigger scale. Just one day before the London attacks, 100 people were blown to pieces in a huge explosion in Kabul. For them there were no concerts, no vigils, no 'I heart Kabul' profile pictures. Muslims in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, and Nigeria are being blown up, decapitated, tortured, kidnapped, raped and enslaved by ISIS, the Taliban, Boko Haram and the like. What we saw in Manchester and London is not even a tiny taste of the daily horrors that Muslims around the world experience. What many people don't realise it that 95% of people killed by 'Islamic' extremists are Muslim. So how is it conceivable that we are somehow ok with it? We are more scared, more sad and more angry.

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Not only are we victims of 'Islamic' extremism at home and abroad, but we also have to contend with racism and right-wing extremism on our doorstep. It is our faith that has been conflated to such an extent with terrorism that now identifying as a Muslim comes laden with stigma and fear of being discriminated against, or worse, accused of being an apologist for terrorism. For the first time in my life, I now think twice about giving my last name, as I fear judgment and suspicion. Born and raised in London, I am now 'the Other'.

We are the ones who feel the full force of a racist backlash each time a terrorist attack happens. We are the ones who are made to feel guilty, on the defensive, anxious that our children will be picked on in the playground, or that our colleagues are whispering behind our backs. We are the ones who are abused, sworn at, spat at, pushed, punched, kicked, beaten and even killed on British streets. Our homes and places of worship are petrol-bombed and have faeces posted through their doors.
Dan Kitwood via Getty Images

The most important thing to understand about Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Change agreement is, whilst it undeniably damages the rest of the world, it does most damage to America itself.

Just after Trump was elected, but before his inauguration, I met up with Jonathan Pershing the US Special Climate Envoy under Obama. I sympathised with him about the president elect's stated policy to take the US out of the Paris agreement. But Pershing was calm, focused and surprisingly un-phased. "It's gone way beyond the federal programme" he told me. "It's business and cities and States that are leading the way in the US now."

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What Pershing made clear was that far from protecting American jobs, Trump would be preventing American workers from being at the forefront of the next great industrial revolution. In fact many Coal States actually already have more jobs bound up with renewables than in coal itself.

Climate change must be approached as an opportunity to transition our economy to a zero carbon future. Business understands this even when governments don't.

This is what makes Labour's climate offer so compelling. We have integrated our climate policy with our entire Industrial Strategy, with our National Infrastructure Programme, with our plan for carbon neutral homes and electric vehicles, and with our national & regional investment banks.

We recognise the need for government to provide a clear and stable regulatory framework so as to release the investment power of business in order to deliver progressive public policy.

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We recognise the link between environmental failure and social injustice. When the energy sector is privatised and deregulated, it not only tends to pollute more, it also charges the poorest more per unit!

If we fail to invest in insulation, people on low incomes have to choose between heat and food. That's why our manifesto rejects Conservative plans - to take away the winter fuel allowance and by contrast promise to insulate for free the homes of our ex-servicemen through our Homes for Heroes program. It is also why we will promote regional energy companies and grids to deliver cheap clean energy for local people.

Unlike the Tories - who are allowing fracking under our National Parks! - we will ban fracking altogether. Our ban will protect swathes of the country from drilling practices which have caused devastation to water supplies and wildlife in the US. And it will not lock us into a fossil fuel infrastructure long after we need to have transitioned to renewables.

Under Labour, at least 60% of the UK's energy will come from zero carbon or renewable sources by 2030, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs in the process and making Britain greener and fairer. Our local energy generation initiatives, will put power back into the hands of communities, funded by a new national investment bank.

A Labour government, if elected next week, would actually BE the greenest government ever. No huskies! No sound bites! Just straightforward sensible policies.

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For many of us June is a significant month. In the UK it's the start of summer (that's if we get one!), in New Zealand (where I live) it's the official start of winter (which is pretty much a British summer) and most importantly it's a month closer to Game of Thrones returning to our lives (yes I am one of those people)! So, as you can see, June is a pretty important month. However, did you realize that June is also Men's Health Month?

What and why do we have Men's Health Month? The 'what' part will be answered later on and the why part is simple... Because men are crap at looking themselves and I have the facts to prove it.

Worldwide the average life expectancy of men is 68 years. However, that drops to worrying 58 years of age when looking at when a man's health will begin to decline. In comparison, the average life expectancy of women is 73 years who tend to see a decline in health around 65 years of age, that's almost 10 years' difference! The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared that women on average are living longer and have a better-quality life when compared with men.

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In the men's world health ratings (2015), the UK ranked a miserable 16th spot (79.4 years) when looking at the average male life expectancy and New Zealand rank 10th (80 years). Because all males are competitive, Switzerland are 1st, who boast a life expectancy of 81.3 years. Now personally, the living forever part doesn't bother me at all, we are mortal that's a fact. However, how men are dying and the healthy life expectancy catches my attention. Imagine knowing that at 58 years old your ability to lead a life without any major health complications is highly unlikely and I find it deeply disturbing. What I struggle to get is that we know more about the human body than ever before and our healthy expectancy is decreasing.

When breaking this down further I decided to find out just how exactly men were dying in the UK and New Zealand, the results I found were concerning and surprisingly similar.

Men in NZ (Not ranked in order)

Heart disease or stroke

Diabetes

Lung cancer

Bowel, Colon or Prostate cancer

Suicide

Motor accidents

Men in UK

Heart disease or stroke

Lung cancer

Suicide

Bronchitis

Bowel, Colon or Prostate cancer

Motor accidents

Now is it me or do most these causes of death seem to be preventable? It seems to me that lifestyle, mental factors, stress, lack of education and the good old fashioned masculinity/social perceptions are the primary culprits.

For example, the amount of times I have been referred to as a 'girl' or a weirdo who is an obsessed health nut is quite amazing, all because I choose not to drink alcohol, eat 'real food' and lead a healthy lifestyle. When I originally decided to change my health focus I was met with a lot of criticism from family, friends, and clients. They all declared that "real men don't act like this", even to the point where I struggled to have a social life because they saw me as 'boring' and they wanted the 'old Ben' back. So, just imagine what is like for other males who want to become healthy and not prepared to deal with the flack from their mates.

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In comparison, females are miles ahead when it comes to being more in tune to their bodies. Females are prepared to visit the doctors if there is something wrong, talk to their friends and family about personal issues, learn about their bodies, seek alternative health practices, and tend to opt for a healthier lifestyle. Women understand the importance of being healthy but most importantly feeling good. This is demonstrated with the data between men and woman: this is why leading health specialists are devoting their careers on improving female's health and well-being, because women listen!

So, what is Men's Health Month?

It is a month where men come together and begin to talk and raise awareness of preventable health problems and diseases. To help educate men in disease prevention or early detection of illnesses for males of all ages. It's the perfect opportunity to share your story and pay it forward to allow men to be inspired and do something about their own health and well-being.

To help as many people as possible, I am doing my part by promoting this excellent cause all month. I will be posting weekly videos that will be on YouTube or other social media outlets and setting up times for free consultations for men who are interested in knowing about their health, either online or face to face. It's about time men began to 'man up' and began to look after themselves #menstarttalking.
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The integration of migrants and refugees is a crucial component of our domestic social cohesion, and when it is done well benefits us all. However, while all political parties have promised to uphold the UK's treaty obligations toward refugees only the Liberal Democrats directly address the need to treat immigration as an issue of social cohesion and state explicitly their intent to increase the UK's intake of refugees. Labour and Plaid Cymru commit to accepting a 'fair share' of refugees but do not expand on this. Plaid Cymru explicitly support restarting the Dubs amendment, which would bring 3,000 unaccompanied refugee children to the UK. While the Labour Party promise not to scapegoat immigrants, they offer fewer concrete policies to help immigrants and refugees integrate compared to the Liberal Democrats.

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The Conservatives promise to reform current asylum procedures, pledging to prioritise those who seek asylum from overseas rather than those who have reached the UK but are the only party that commit to reducing the country's refugee intake.

This is what the 2017 party manifestos have to say about refugees and asylum:

The Conservative Party

The Conservatives promise that Britain will remain a 'place of sanctuary' for those fleeing violence and persecution, but also makes the argument that those able to reach the UK and seek asylum are less vulnerable than those who remain in regions of risk. This is presumably the basis on which the manifesto also commits to reducing the number of asylum claims made in the UK. Instead, a Conservative Government would increase regional assistance to people in need. No further commitments are offered to address existing refugee populations in Europe or around the world.

This policy marks a continuation of the previous government's efforts to dissuade migrants and refugees from leaving crisis-effected regions. While the Conservative manifesto commits to further helping those in conflict areas, it is unclear whether this too would simply be a continuation of advocating resettlement in neighbouring countries rather than hosting refugees here in the UK.

The Labour Party

Labour criticise current refugee policies make the important distinction that refugees are not migrants and promise that they will 'not scapegoat migrants' nor discriminate based upon race or faith. Labour pledge to end indefinite detentions, differentiate between migrant labour, international students and family attachment and terminate the existing income threshold for bringing family members. To protect and bolster public services in areas of large migration, they pledge to restore the Migrant Fund, which was terminated during the last parliament, and to review refugee housing. While the manifesto advocates for the UK to take 'our fair share of refugees,' no indication is given as to what the UK's 'fair share' might be.

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The Lib Dems

The Liberal Democrats provide the most comprehensive set of policies to protect and expand the rights of refugees seeking sanctuary in the UK. The Lib Dems are the only party to make guaranteeing 'safe and legal routes' to the UK a priority. They promise to expand the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme and commit to taking in 50,000 Syrian refugees during the next parliament. They also advocate re-opening the Dubs scheme and giving child refugees admitted to the UK indefinite leave to remain. The Lib Dems also suggest reforming family reunion rules to make joining UK-based relatives easier. The manifesto proposes ending indefinite immigration detention and making it possible for asylum seekers who have been in the UK for six months to search for work. The responsibility for the UK to offer asylum to those fleeing persecution on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity is also stressed.

On immigration more broadly, the Lib Dems use inclusive rhetoric, saying 'immigration broadens our horizons and encourages us to be more open, more tolerant' and commit to 'making the case for immigration.' They promise to remove students from official immigration statistics, establish a Migration Impact Fund for helping local communities to deal with new migration and increase government support for English language classes.

The Green Party

The Green Party promise a 'humane immigration and asylum system' and to take responsibility for Britain's role in causing current flows of migration. However, they do not specify the number of refugees that the UK should take in.

Their LGBTQIA+ manifesto demands an immediate stop to deportations of LGBTQIA+ refugees. More broadly, the manifesto promises to end detention for refugees waiting for their cases to be processed, protect the right of appeal, and remove barriers to working. They also pledge to implement the recommendations of the former Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration, John Vine, on sensitive questioning and evidence-based assessment.

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The Gender Equality manifesto recommends that vulnerable women not be detained. It also recommends funding for 'integrated support' for refugees, basic needs for asylum applicants being secure, and caps for application wait times.

The United Kingdom Independence Party

Refugees and asylum seekers are scarcely mentioned in the UKIP manifesto. UKIP simply promise to 'comply fully with the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and honour our obligations to bona fine asylum seekers.' They offer no estimations of a suitable number of refugees to take nor offer any other details.

However, UKIP present many proposals that would reduce the rights of migrants in the UK, and do so under its rhetorical banner of promoting social cohesion. They propose initiatives that would widen the legal and normative gap between British nationals and foreign nationals, advocating for restrictions on healthcare, employment and family reunion. They also propose stricter penalties and deportation for any foreign nationals who have committed crimes within the UK. In order to foster greater social cohesion, UKIP pledge to 'test the social attitudes of migration applicants' in their proposed points-based system. Immigration and religious extremism are frequently addressed as part of the same problem and as threatening social cohesion. This conflation is used to legitimise UKIP's proposals regarding migrants in the UK.

The Scottish National Party

The SNP argue that the last UK government's response to the refugee and migration crisis fell 'far short of their humanitarian and moral duty.' SNP MPs will urge the next UK government to take action on recent recommendations of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Refugees including implementing a National Refugee Integration Strategy that ensures all agencies coordinate support for refugees and helps refugees take part in, and contribute to, our society. They back an immediate reversal of the Dubs Scheme for unaccompanied children to ensure safe and legal routes are open. Furthermore, the SNP propose that the Dublin Regulation process be simplified, reformed, and properly implemented so that those with family in the UK can be more easily reunited with them. The SNP pledges to work to reform current system for housing asylum seekers, urging the government to work with local communities and councils over private contractors. The manifesto highlights need for reform of asylum system concerning LGBTI+ asylum seekers.

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Plaid Cymru

On the issue of immigration, Plaid Cymru propose a Welsh Migration Advisory Service to specifically handle immigration concerns within Wales but a strategy for immigration in Wales is not set out in detail. Commitments are made to uphold the Dubs amendment and criticisms are directed at the last Westminster government for not taking its 'fair share' of refugees, although no explicit proposals for Wales to take more refugees are made. Plaid Cymru advocate for international students to be excluded from overall migration statistics.

This blog is based on findings of a full review of the party manifestos and their commitments to tackling identity-based violence at home and abroad and can be read here:http://tinyurl.com/manifestoreview2017
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The union I have the privilege of leading, Unite, is glad that the questions of trust and leadership are now centre-stage in this election.

For the past seven years, the Conservatives have run this country. We know exactly what they do when they are in power - the money is mismanaged and our vital public services are made threadbare. We can trust them to do it all over again.

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The Tories have run an appalling campaign unworthy of a party seeking government. The woman who seeks to be prime minister has been hiding from any unscripted contact with the voters, refusing a head to head with Jeremy Corbyn. And they have contemptuously put to the electorate a manifesto with no costings, no vision and more holes than a Swiss cheese.

In less than a fortnight, this country will begin the talks that will see us exit Europe. The laws and arrangements that have governed us for forty years will be changed; we need to be able to trust that they will be changed for the better.

Already, Theresa May has turned her back on the single market with potentially devastating consequences for Unite members and their communities. Jobs in defence, aerospace, the food and car industries - the future of workers today and tomorrow - all depend on our government acting in the people's interests at the negotiating table.

But her 'no deal is better than a bad deal' claim abandons workers. Her party's shameless toot on a very large dog whistle in her thirst for Ukip's lost voters is not leadership, it is rampant irresponsibility.

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In contrast Labour is the only party that can unite the country over this most divisive issue. To the 52%, Labour says we will end freedom of movement, regulate migration and go after the greedy rogues who have lined their pockets with the wages of exploited workers - changing the miserable race to the bottom culture into a fair rate for the job society.

To the 48%, Labour is saying we will build a more positive partnership with the world's biggest single market. To the whole country, Labour says `your jobs, your communities, are our priorities'.

As the country processes the horrific events of recent weeks, the issues of trust and leadership take on a new poignancy.

The reality of Mrs May's time in government that she has been more concerned about the cutbacks bottom line than the defence of the thin blue line.

Back in November 2015, this union was warning that her then department's would shrink one of the country's biggest police forces to the smallest size in its history. Four in every five police community support officers, the men and women on the beat, would be sent to the dole. More cuts are on their way.

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Today I hear that the police forensic analysis service, the very experts needed to comb through the wreckage from last Saturday night to point the way to a more secure future are, under the Conservatives, underpaid, under-valued and under-resourced..

In an attempt to distract from the failings of keeping Britain secure under her watch, the Prime Minister declared `enough is enough'. Yes, Prime Minister - no more cuts, no more gambling with public safety. Enough really is enough.

Jeremy Corbyn is 100% correct on this: you cannot have the policing we need for this day and age on the cheap.

But Unite is not the only body who understands that the Tories will never put the people first. The Square Mile's backing for Mrs May's Tories is not because they swallow the empty nonsense about them being the 'workers' party'. Quite the opposite. They know that with Mrs May in Number Ten there will be no move to end their corporation tax giveaway, or curb City excesses in order to shorten the queue at the foodbank.

And those 3billion Tory tax breaks for the rich? We'll Corbyn's Labour has a much more noble and public-spirited use for the taxpayers' money - putting 10,000 new police officers on our streets.

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With a quiet determination, Jeremy Corbyn has forced the real issues of today onto the agenda, exposing the Tories' shifty campaign and their failure to offer any answers to the crisis engulfing the living standards of ordinary people.

He has exposed this Iron Lady for all to see - and there are more than a few dents and a fair bit of rust on this model.

In dignified and impassioned public appearances, Jeremy has offered something that is just not in the Tory lexicon: hope. But it is hope supported by a careful and costed plan to rebuild our country.

He has proved himself to be a man of the people but also a leader of the people - he inspires a belief that a better world really is possible.

So yes, we now really do have a choice. It is between a man who wants our children to have the chances and opportunities they deserve, and a woman who won't rule out tax rises for struggling workers, whose policies divide and do not mend, and who refused six times to give an honest answer about the scale of her police cuts.

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This Thursday, please take a moment. Ask yourselves that question: who really can be trusted to do right by the people of this country?

There really only can only be one answer. Labour - for the many, not the few.
On Saturday night seven people died due to a terrorist attack on London Bridge and nearby Borough Market. Three perpetrators have been said to be yelling, "This is for Allah!"

It did not take long for the polar opposite groups to come out on social media and express how they feel as they usually do after every attack. The first group consists of people that want Muslims to apologise for the incident, to condemn violence and do something about 'Islamist terrorism'. They want all 1.6 billion Muslims to be made accountable for what a handful of men did, and believe that the responsibility lies with them to take action within their own community. The second group consists of Muslims (and non-Muslims) that argue that Islam does not condone acts of violence against innocent people and those of the Islamic faith should not be blamed; that they too are humans and are saddened by the loss of lives i.e. stating the absolute and utter obvious.

People have created a "them and us" narrative. The media has painted a picture in everybody's heads of desert people thirsty for the blood of 'infidels'. This is despite the fact that the vast majority of ISIS', and other related groups, victims are Muslim which is conveniently forgotten by many.

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In the last ten days of Ramadan alone, dozens have died in Muslim countries due to terrorism. On the same day as the London Bridge attacks, at least 20 people were killed from a bomb blast during a funeral in Afghanistan. Iraq too saw bloodshed less than a week ago when a car bomb went off in an ice-cream parlour killing 14 people.

Dozens of Muslims have died in a week and a half alone because of these terror groups, yet they are being made to apologise for their own oppressor's actions.

Governments seem to believe that terrorism will stop terrorism. So they drop bombs on Muslim countries where these violent groups operate. Not only are Muslims being ruthlessly killed by ISIS but also western powers. ISIS members strap bombs to their bodies and blow themselves up in public places whilst the west drops drones knowing that there will be immense collateral damage.

Those in Muslim countries are being terrorised by all sides on a regular basis. The outrage is gone and their suffering has become the norm; people have become desensitised to seeing a brown man covered in blood and a brown woman screaming over her dead children's bodies.

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Muslims across the globe are living in fear because of what a few men that happened to be Muslims have done. How can these acts of terror be labelled as 'Islamist' or 'Islamic' terrorism when almost all of the perpetrators had been known to drink and engage in other haraam (forbidden) acts, and never attended their local mosques or had been banned from them entirely

Simply mentioning God's name in Arabic does not make a terrorist act Islamic. By referring to these people as 'Islamists' and 'jihadists', people like Therese May are choosing to ignore the root of these problems.

Foreign policy.

Since 1980, western wars have killed over 4 million Muslims; over 1 million alone during the invasion of Iraq in 2001.

Many reports have shown that the war in Iraq in particular has caused an increase in terrorism. The British government is currently bombing Iraq and Syria, and their weapons are being used in Yemen by the Saudis. How can we not expect there to be consequences?

Jeremy Corbyn was not wrong when he said, "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." Muslim communities across the world have been making the same argument for years.

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After the Manchester attacks, ISIS declared that the bombings were, "...in response to their [non-Muslims] transgressions against the lands of the Muslims." The British government has to start facing cold hard facts. These political acts of terror are being coated in religion and people are being made to believe that these attacks are happening out of the blue. The government needs to reform its foreign policy.
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When atrocity happens right in the middle of an election campaign it is a knee jerk reaction for some to say that the event should be referenced by neither party and that, out of respect, for the victims no attempt to make political capital should be undertaken.

While I applaud the humanity of respecting the dignity of the victims, I disagree with the principle of divorcing real life horror from the polling booth. Politics is not a separate entity to our lives, it is the foundation of our everyday existence. It is our health, our education, our finances, our environment and our safety. We cannot separate politics from real life because politics is real life.

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It is therefore with this in mind that I say the recent terror attacks in Manchester and London are relevant to the vote you will cast this Thursday and indeed should be high on your agenda when deciding which political party to cast your vote for. I will go further and say we owe it to the victims, both the survivors and the deceased, to cast our votes for the party who will do the most to prevent a recurrence of these evil acts of hate and who will invest the most into keeping our country safe.

Theresa May has proven she does not consider keeping our country safe to be a priority for her Conservative government. The Guardian have reported that since 2010 when Mrs May became the Home Secretary the number of police officers in our country has fallen by 21,500. The bombing of the London bus, the first major act of terror by ISIS on UK soil took place in 2005. The terror threat promised by this extremist hate group has grown exponentially year on year. Yet the reaction to this threat by the Conservative government has been to drastically reduce the number of police officers on our streets.

After the murders on London Bridge on Saturday Mrs May has now (conveniently in the week of the election) decided that "enough is enough". She tells us that there has been far too much tolerance of extremism in the UK . This is empty rhetoric. There is no tolerance of extremism in the UK. Muslims and non Muslims alike have condemned terror and the senseless hate agenda of ISIS and its affiliates. Instead of admitting her own error of judgement in cutting police at the time when the country needs them the most, Mrs May is pushing back the blame onto the people of Britain. Apparently it isn't her inability to fund defence that is to blame for our innocents being massacred - it is our fault for tolerating extremism. "Terrorism breeds terrorism," she tells us. We don't know what that means, she doesn't know what that means. It is the desperate soundbite of a woman who has badly let her country down but doesn't have the backbone to admit it.

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What Mrs May fails to mention when indignantly mouthing her platitudes is the fact that far from tolerating extremism the people have actually been reporting it. The Manchester bomber was allegedly reported to the authorities on five separate occasions .That is five separate opportunities where Salman Abedi could have been prevented from killing innocent children. Five separate reports that were ignored and never followed up. This isn't the people tolerating extremism, it is clear evidence of Mrs May not putting enough resources into the system to prevent terrorism. This view is shared by Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour party who have called upon Theresa May to resign.

The big red Conservative herring of the week has been Mrs May frantically trying to scapegoat social media in an attempt to take the heat off her own inadequacies. While our anti hate group Resisting Hate certainly agree that Twitter, Facebook, What's App etc. play a massive role in the spread of hate speech, organised acts of terror are a different matter. Much of the communication takes place on purpose built social systems on the dark web. At a pinch a government may just about manage to regulate the mainstream social media sites (though given the opposition from the technology industry even this is unlikely) but they will never be able to regulate the internet. This is another meaningless sop to a public Mrs May hopes is naive enough to swallow her bluster.

The Conservatives will tell you that the reason they have not been able to maintain the required number of police officers (and indeed the reason why so many public services are woefully underfunded) is because there is not enough money in the budget to afford them. This is fiscal mismanagement at its worst and typical of a government who seeks to curry favour with the elite at the expense of the people. Mrs May refuses to increase income tax for high earners and turns a blind eye to the number of businesses paying low or even no corporation tax (In 2014 six of Britain's ten biggest firms paid no corporation tax). There is no money in the budget because time and time again the Conservatives have proven themselves to be too afraid of losing votes to tax the people whose contribution could make a real difference to the running of the country.

I think we could all be forgiven for wondering what impact a fully staffed police force would have had on these recent acts of terror if Mrs May had had the balls to demand the taxes to fund it.

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Tim Farron does not think gay sex is a sin. Nor does he think that homosexuality is a sin. However, until recently, he was far from clear on the matter. Farron has never explained why he voted against legal protections for the LGBT+ people in 2007. In 2015, asked if he thought homosexuals were sinners Farron replied gnomically, 'We're all sinners.' Following this foray into theological pontification, he performed a U-turn, parrying more recent questions on the grounds that political leaders should not 'pontificate on theological matters.'

Farron is entitled to his views on gay sex - whatever they may be. Assuming he does not indulge in hate speech, he is entitled to express himself openly, to campaign and build support for his vision. He's equally entitled to duck the issue, or tell barefaced lies. However, and this is crucial, as politician in a democracy he should be scrutinised, and held to account.

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Yet, the way in which journalists have pressed Farron to give a straight (if that's the right word) answer, has caused outrage in some parts of the media. Blogging for the Spectator, Melanie McDonagh accused journalists of conducting a 'witch hunt'. For David Robertson, writing in Premier Christianity , the Lib Dem leader was the latest victim of the 'thought police.' For others, including Rod Liddle, the Farron affair shows there is more than a whiff of intolerance in modern politics.

These criticisms are profoundly wrongheaded. The claim that 'liberal' journalists form some kind of 'Thought Police' is just so much hyperbole. George Orwell's fictional Thought Police arrested, tortured and executed their victims. O'Brien describes Winston Smith's ultimate fate thus: 'You will be lifted clean out from the stream of history. We shall turn you into gas and pour you into the stratosphere.' The journalists who have interviewed Farron have no such ambition. Whatever Farron's view on gay sex, no one is suggesting that he should lose his liberty, his life, his right to think or speak freely. Nor do the journalists interviewing Farron have the right to crush him under heavy rocks until he answers their questions, unlike Salem's zealous inquisitors.

Another argument against the 'liberal press', is based on the notion that interviewers want to uncover Farron's beliefs. On this account, journalists should restrict themselves to enquiring about policy. To enquire about what a politician really feels is verging on the totalitarian because it aims to search the heart, rather merely scrutinise actions. This is a more subtle criticism, but it is no less flawed. Beliefs and actions are bound together. Farron's decision to abstain on the Marriage - Same Sex Couples Act was surely based on his beliefs. Indeed, following his abstention it seems reasonable to enquire after his motives.

What of David Shariatmadari's demand, that on entering government Farron 'should be watched like a hawk for any hint of discriminatory law-making'? This is surely punitive? The first thing to note is that Shariatmadari does not claim that thinking gay sex is sinful should be a bar to entering government. The second that Shariatmadari does not assume a necessary connection between Farron's personal views and anti-gay legislation. Is it reasonable for Shariatmadari to be concerned that Farron might show some sympathy for restricting LGBT+ rights? The short answer is yes. Not only did Farron abstain on equal marriage, he voted against the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations, which outlawed many types of discrimination, including the denial of access to public services, on the grounds of sexuality.

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What about the claim of intolerance? Farron is seeking re-election as a law maker. While he has every right to vote according to his conscience, to make a public case for his position, to seek to lead public opinion, voters have every right to scrutinise him and hold him to account. There is nothing intolerant in asking would-be leaders of government where they stand on an issue as important as LGBT+ rights. Indeed, if democracy is to function properly, citizens have a duty to scrutinise their representatives. Moreover, voting against Farron because of his track record on LGBT+ rights, or his refusal to account for that record, or his reticence to speak sincerely about his views, cannot be construed as a punishment, for the simple reason that Farron has no God-given right to his seat in Parliament.

If the campaign against 'witch hunts' and 'intolerance' is not really a defence of fundamental freedoms, how should it be understood? My controversial answer is that it's a form of populism. Dr Sophia Rosenfeld of the University of Pennsylvania has argued convincingly that populism is best understood as position which starts from the assertion that 'the people' (specifically an in group) have been robbed by an 'elite' (usually a coalition of people with some kind of power and a minority group). Importantly, populists claim that 'the people' have been robbed of the right to organise society according to 'common sense', as they see it.

The beef against 'intolerant liberals' in much of the coverage of Farron fits this model. What is really at stake is the ability of social conservatives to define marriage and human sexuality according their 'common sense' view. Moreover, they have been 'robbed' of this right by a coalition of metropolitan liberals and a minority group: the LGBT+ community. What Liddle et al. want, then, is not free and open debate, but a return to a Britain in which the nature of marriage and sexuality was unquestioned. Indeed, their big grievance is that Farron was asked to explain himself at all.

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Originally posted here.

For many, The Guilty Feminist is not 'new' news. With over thirteen thousand followers on Twitter and almost fifty episodes, it's fair to say that a lot of people are already onto it. It's covered everything from activism to ethical clothing, using humour to discuss wide-ranging and often thorny feminist issues. So I went along to the live recording of a fundraising episode for my party, the Women's Equality Party.

Being a special episode, there was a certain buzz about it from the beginning. Featuring Sarah Pascoe as a guest host, along with regular host Deborah Frances-White, and WEP co-founder Catherine Meyer. We gathered in a room in central London, full of enthusiasm for the possibilities for women's futures.

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For one thing, it was a space for women to be funny. All too often, women are talked over in group conversations, or laughed at, rather than being appreciated for their humour. 'Oh, she's so funny,' could be synonymous for anything ranging between 'she's a massive weirdo' or 'she's not very pretty.' From 'token' appearances of female comedians on TV, as if they're some sort of endangered species, to female comedy films that tend to just be the same as men's roles but starring females, women being funny in their own right just aren't given that much space.

But it wasn't just the humour that left me feeling buoyed up by the experience. It was something a bit like solidarity. A version of what I felt on the Women's March back in January. That all the people there believed in the same thing, had similar experiences to mine.

There's also something to be said for feeling safe. Being at the recording reminded me of the time when, at the tender age of 19, I went to my first gay club. Now, of course, I'm far less likely to get male attention. Partly because I fall outside the accepted 'fit' demographic, but also because they probably sense I'd tell them to bugger off. But back then, the boobs were propped up, the face painted, so much attention to detail. Largely (how my current self cringes) to get noticed. A glance, a chat, who knows, maybe I would meet someone special? You know, like loads of people do when pissed in a club. Imagine, then, the freedom of being in a room mostly full of males, with absolutely no chance whatsoever that any of them would pay me any kind of sexual attention. It was liberating. I danced like an idiot, made lots of friends, and generally had a far better time than I ever did when 'out on the pull.' Just like at The Guilty Feminist. But with less men. And less Kylie. But the same sense of safety and security was still there.

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After the initial stages of the podcast, attention turned to the Women's Equality Party. As their representative for Wood Green, Nimco Ali put it, never have I read a manifesto and so wholeheartedly agreed with every single thing on it. Viewing politics through the lens of equality, it soon becomes clear that it would lead to massive benefits for all.

Take, for example, their pledge to give 40 hours of free childcare to everyone with a child below school age. Per week. It sounds too good to be true, but a bit of number crunching soon reveals that, for those who want to take it, the boost to the economy and the revenue from tax from those now working would very quickly cancel out any 'losses.' And that's just the beginning. Imagine if domestic abuse were treated with the same severity as other violent crime, if sexual harassment and assault became not a case of 'boys will be boys' but treated as the crime it is, and became a complete taboo. The country would be like one big gay bar.

But people are scared of voting for the things they believe in. Fear of 'fracturing' the left, or being duped into believing that an austere, biting system that penalises the most vulnerable is the best way to secure a good economy. If that were true, Norway would be a third world country. Those places that invest in their own people more tend to have not only the strongest economies but also a much happier population.

Let's not be eaten up by cynicism. We need to insist that the people who represent our voice in Parliament are people who are more like us. Choose people that believe what you believe, for they will carry you with them to the place where the big decisions are made.

It doesn't have to be serious. The Guilty Feminist reminds us that there's always something to laugh about. Make yourself smile on the 8th June. And if you haven't listened to it yet, where have you been? Check it out here. You can even hear Deborah Frances-White talking to me in the WEP episode!

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Well, we got there in the end. Sort of. It has taken Theresa May two full days to say "I think Donald Trump is wrong in what he said about Sadiq Khan, in relation to the terrorist attacks on London."

A meek, one sentence response that typifies May's approach to tackling divisive rhetoric: lacklustre and feeble.

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May's cowardice and lack of political will to call out Trump's hate is yet another example of how bigotry has been mainstreamed in our political and public discourse.

Even now, May's words barely scratch the surface when it comes to addressing Trump's disgraceful and bigoted behaviour towards our Mayor Sadiq Khan, and the wider Islamophobia such rhetoric fuels in the form of hate speech and hate crime in our country.

Just hours after the attacks on Saturday, Donald Trump misquoted our Mayor and tweeted: "At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is "no reason to be alarmed!". When corrected and informed that Sadiq Khan was referring to extra police presence on streets, Trump proceeded to say: "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!".

As well as criticising Sadiq Khan, Trump lost no time in using the tragedies in London to advocate for his own Muslim Ban, tweeting: "We need to be smart, vigilant and tough. We need the courts to give us back our rights. We need the Travel Ban as an extra level of safety!".

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There is little room to doubt that Trump singled out Sadiq Khan because of the Mayor's personal faith and identity. Targeting Sadiq Khan while simultaneously advocating for the Muslim ban highlights the racism that underlines Trump's accusations. He was effectively saying: "See what I told you? Of course the Muslim mayor failed to confront Islamic extremism?". Sadiq Khan previously stood up to Trump over the Muslim ban, so Trump is wasting no opportunity to bully our Mayor and stigmatize him as a threat and as someone who is sympathetic to terrorists. This is the exact same dog whistle politics endorsed by the Tory party during the Mayoral election campaign.

It is worth noting that in the aftermath of the Manchester bombing, Trump did not see fit to treat the Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham in the same manner. One is left to conclude that this is because Andy Burnham is a white man and is not a Muslim.

For those who question that this is not a racist attack on the Mayor of London - the context, choice of target, and the promotion of Trump's Muslim Travel Ban should put this argument to bed.

Yet still our Prime Minister has not managed to recognise Trump's Islamophobic bullying for what it is.

May refuses to criticise Trump for seeking to gain political capital on his Muslim Ban by conflating Muslims with terrorists on the back of a devastating tragedy in London. Her disingenuous response fails to recognise Trump's weaponisation of our Mayor's faith and identity.

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May has spent much of the election campaign harping on about upholding "British values"; it is a shame, then, that she was so unwilling to stand up for these values of equality and decency.

For those who believe that a few tweets from the President has no real life implications for us here in the UK, we say look at the rising Islamophobia, fear and reported hate crime in our country following the terrorist atrocities. Words matter, especially when they come from the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

It is also telling that May has made no comment on the surge in hate crime reported by police forces across the country since the atrocities in London and Manchester. Mere hours after the London attack on Saturday a man in Luton was knocked unconscious and called a terrorist in an attack which had him hospitalised; similarly in Manchester a mosque was set alight the day after the Manchester arena attack. These are just two examples of the hundreds of hate crimes reported since the attacks.

We are two days away from an general election in a deeply polarised country. We need a Prime Minister who will confront hate and division head on, especially when this hate is coming from her closest political ally.
ADRIAN DENNIS via Getty Images

I know you're angry.

I know you're frustrated.

I know the political class has abandoned you; and elites look down upon you.

You're worried about housing. You're worried about jobs. You're worried about NHS waiting lists, schools for your kids, local services and fair wages.

Your communities are forgotten. Your services, run-down; and the promise of a decent life for a hard day's work has been forced out-of-reach.

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You've played by the rules. You've worked hard. You've done your best to provide security for your family... but the goalposts keep moving.

This has to end.

On 23rd June, 2016, you voted for a different future.

A future ruled not by an out-of-touch, distant Elite; but by your own politicians, putting your interests first.

But it's not happening.

Politicians take us for granted. Promises remain unfulfilled.

350 million a week for our NHS. Funding for public services. Better jobs. Decent housing. But the Conservatives have failed to deliver this. They've put you at the bottom of the pile.

In 2015, they took advantage. They promised you an EU referendum: all you had to do was vote for them.

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They've been taking you for a ride ever since.

Public sector cuts, zero hours contracts, A&E closures, longer waiting lists, fewer police on our streets and bigger class sizes have made life harder and, at times, even desperate.

Your communities have been abandoned and, in many cases, they're no longer safe.

The Conservatives have abused the Brexit vote. They've taken the result as a blank cheque to do whatever they want: and they've abandoned you in the process.

This has to change.

Only two parties can deliver Brexit: the Conservative Party, or the Labour Party.

Theresa May has been clear she could walk away with "no deal."

She has promised to leave the single-market, end freedom of movement and refuse EU citizens their rights to remain in the UK (if "necessary"). A clean-break with the EU... but not a responsible one.

However, it's not only Theresa May promising a clean-break with the EU. Jeremy Corbyn has also pledged to leave the single-market, end freedom of movement and rule-out a second referendum. It's in the Labour manifesto. Labour backs Brexit.

And yet, unlike the Conservatives, Labour has a plan to leave the European Union without affecting British jobs.

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If Theresa May and her Conservative government walk-away without a deal then our economy would suffer; causing each family to lose an average of almost 2,000.

By refusing to guarantee EU citizens their rights, Theresa May is putting our economy at risk and our communities in danger.

We need a government which will put workers first - and it is only the Labour Party which has pledged to do this.

Being prepared to walk away with no deal is a direct threat to our living standards and another example of the Tory threat this country faces.

Under a Labour government, freedom of movement would end. European Courts would have no impact on our sovereignty. We would make our own laws. Control our own borders. We would be free from from Brussels.

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But we would protect our economy. Protect our jobs. Protect our communities and our families from the economic devastation the Conservative Party would impose through a bad deal.

As Jeremy Corbyn said, "no deal is a bad deal. It is the worst of all deals."

Take the power back

Just as Nigel Farage took the fight to the European establishment, Jeremy Corbyn is taking the fight to one closer to home.

The Conservative Party has always served the elites: that's why many of you rejected it and voted UKIP in 2015. You wanted an alternative.

But it wasn't just the Tories who suffered: over the course of the last decade, Labour lost millions of voters; many of whom to UKIP.

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Labour lost touch with its roots. It abandoned the working-class. It left its communities behind.

But not anymore.

On June 8th, one of two Parties will win: the Conservatives, or Labour. Both Parties are committed to Brexit: but only one Party is committed to you.

Today, we have a real alternative. A Labour Party for the many, not the few, and a manifesto which will put your economic security first through a clear and decisive Brexit.

Labour will introduce the 10 minimum wage, provide free school lunches for Primary pupils, reduce class sizes to less than thirty, reverse the bedroom tax and end work capability assessments. Labour will ban zero hours contracts, give workers more rights at work, build one million new homes and ensure at least half are affordable. Labour will invest an extra 6 billion a year in our NHS, remove privatisation from our health system, invest 8 billion in social care, protect pensions and provide free education for everyone who wants it, no matter what your age, so no one is restricted by their ability to pay.

On June 8th, you have a choice: elect a radical Labour government - committed to Brexit - led by Jeremy Corbyn - putting our jobs and security services first: or elect a Conservative government, led by Theresa May, who is willing to sacrifice jobs, inflict further cuts to public services, continue to privatise our NHS and protect the gang of millionaires bankrolling her election campaign.

On Thursday, take one last swipe at the elites - Re-Brexit this country - take back the power they stole from you and prove - yet again - that the establishment will not dictate the course of this country and it is we - the people - who will determine its future.

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JUSTIN TALLIS via Getty Images

For any Conservative supporter, the recent narrowing of the polls and extraordinary rise in support of Corbyn is most likely a big worry. However, ignoring YouGov's prediction of a hung parliament, all major polling companies are still predicting a large Conservative majority. So with just four days to go until we vote, it is still almost certain that we will have a Conservative majority government with Theresa May as Prime Minister come June 9th.

Yet, the prospect of Jeremy Corbyn moving into 10 Downing Street as Prime Minister has never been more likely. A poll out on Friday suggests that 40% of the public plan on voting Labour, with the Conservatives 5 points ahead. This is higher than Ed Miliband ever achieved as Labour leader, and disproves the idea that the public wouldn't stomach voting for Labour under Corbyn. Suddenly, Corbyn has become credible. While he's far from winning a majority of seats in this election, five years down the line it isn't out of the question.

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After modern elections, it is usually expected that the leader of the losing party steps down. Despite increasing Labour's share of the vote, in 2015 Miliband lost seats and resigned the day after Britain voted. But Corbyn is different. He remains leader despite an overwhelming vote of no confidence in him by his MPs, and has been elected twice in just two years after Owen Jones challenged him for the leadership. The Labour-supporting Mirror newspaper has called on him to resign, as have a large number of left-leaning political commentators. Yet throughout all of this, he has maintained steady support from his core fan group Momentum, and has managed to remain leader even as the polls put the Conservatives 20 points ahead. If he is able to increase Labour's share of the vote, Corbyn will be able to use that to show there is public support for his hard-left policies (even if Labour loses seats).

Corbyn now looks electable. He's improved his public appearance and public speaking, and is starting to come across better. Although public opinion of him remains unfavourable, polling shows this is slowly reversing. This is coinciding with Theresa May losing favourability with the public. If this trend continues - and there is no reason to suggest it won't, especially as Theresa May will inevitably struggle with Brexit - we could be entertaining the prospect of Corbyn winning in 2022.

Moreover, Corbyn's policies are popular. Nationalising the railways has overwhelming public support, as does his plans to abolish tuition fees. Corbyn is more trusted on the NHS than the Conservatives and the same is true of education. At the moment, people see Theresa May as being more trustworthy on managing Brexit and the economy. Combined with Jeremy Corbyn's past, which regularly comes up to haunt him, May is the more credible option. But after another five years of Conservative government, this could easily change.

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April 6

Hugo A. Rincon Caracoza was bound over to district court on three counts of possession of burglary tools and one count of buying, possessing or receiving stolen property.

May 18

Merle Vance Blair pleaded guilty to one count of trespassing and one count of resisting a public officer and was sentenced to serve 48 hours in jail on both counts consecutively and was given credit for time served.

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Jason Hintze was bound over to district court on four counts of sexual assault against a child under 14, two counts of lewdness with a child under the age of 14 and one count of incest.

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Rhiannon Nicole Junker was bound over to district court on one count of possession of a controlled substance.

May 19

Jacqueline Gulla was bound over to district court on two counts of obtaining and using personal identity information of another for unlawful purpose; two counts of making, uttering or possessing a fictitious bill, note or check; and one count of burglary.

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Rhiannon Nicole Junker was bound over to district court on one count of possession of a controlled substance.

May 25

Darrell Mark Anderson was bound over to district court on one count of unlawful act related to human excrement or bodily fluid by prisoner in lawful custody and one count of battery on a protected person.

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Cayden Maury Burke was bound over to district court on one count of communicating a bomb threat.

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Madel Rocio Cecena-Gonzalez was bound over to district court on one count of trafficking in a controlled substance, one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, and one count of using a controlled substance in the presence of a child.

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Roman Cervantes pleaded no contest to one count of disturbing the peace and was ordered to pay $640 in fees and fines.

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Genaro Landero Fonseca was bound over to district court on one count of possession of a controlled substance.

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Tony Luangrath pleaded guilty to one count of use or possession of drug paraphernalia and was sentenced to 120 hours in jail with credit for time served and ordered to pay $640 in fees and fines.

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Alvin Levern McElveen was bound over to district court on one count of selling or attempting to sell a controlled substance and one count of possession of a controlled substance.

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Jasmine Ortiz was bound over to district court on two counts of possession of a controlled substance.

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Edgar Alonso Serrano was bound over to district court on one count of battery on a protected person and one count of assault on a protected person.

May 26

Brian Cord Linge was bound over to district court on one count of child abuse or neglect with substantial bodily or mental harm and three counts of child abuse or neglect.

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Joseph Andrew Morris was bound over to district court on three counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to promote or assist a criminal gang.

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Frank Eddie Stricker was bound over to district court on one count of possession of a controlled substance and one count of trafficking in a controlled substance.

May 30

Francisco Rosales Barajas was bound over to district court for driving under the influence, third offense.

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Hugo A. Rincon-Caracoza was bound over to district court on one count of possessing or receiving a stolen vehicle, one count of driver evading or failing to stop on signal of a peace officer endangering other persons or property, one count of attempt to possess a controlled substance with intent to sell, and one count of manufacturing, importing, or using a dangerous weapon.

May 31

Stephen A. Irizarry pleaded guilty to one count of convicted person registration and fingerprinting requirements and one count of driving without a valid drivers license and was sentenced to serve 48 hours in jail with credit for time served and ordered to pay $470 in fees and fines.

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Gainhart Samuelson Jr. pleaded no contest to one count of reckless driving with disregard of safety of person or property, first offense, and was given a suspended sentence of 180 days in jail, ordered to complete 50 hours of community service, and ordered to pay $1,140 in fees and fines.

June 1

Lorraine Borland pleaded guilty to one count of failure to maintain travel lane and one count of reckless driving with disregard of safety of person or property and was ordered to complete DUI school and pay $1,440 in fees and fines.
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She's the only Independent candidate standing in any of the parliamentary seats in Hull and the East Riding.

But Michelle Dewberry is determined to make an impact at the polls.

The TV commentator has gone back to her childhood roots by standing in Hull West and Hessle having been born and brought up in the constituency.

She said: "I think too many people in this city are confused about who to vote for.

"Lots of people have voted Labour, perhaps because their Dad did, but now they don't want Jeremy Corbyn.

"Lots of people want Brexit but they don't want the Tories so what do you do?

"I am standing as an independent candidate to solve that dilemma because I am a Brexiteer, I want Brexit, so I would vote for Theresa May on that but I would fight the Tories based on some of the savage cuts they are doing here.

"Labour has got too much of a power monopoly in the city, on the councils and the MPs, and it's time to change and be shaken up.

"I will bring good ideas and the best people from across party to fight issues and make those issues work for us and, finally, I'm a Hull girl born and bred, no London party leader will tell me what to do.

"The only people I will report to is you."
Superior Court Briefs: May 31 - June 1

Cases heard before Judge Edward McDonough on Wednesday, May 31.

Antoine Crichlow, 39, of Pittsfield pleaded guilty to single counts of strangulation or suffocation, assault and battery on a family or household member, intimidation of a witness, and threat to commit a crime, to wit: assault and battery upon a public employee.

He was ordered to serve concurrent two and a half year sentences at the Berkshire County House of Correction on the strangulation, assault and battery, and intimidation of a witness charges. He was given a concurrent six-month sentence for the threat to commit a crime charge.

Crichlow assaulted a 32-year-old woman in Pittsfield on January 13 and January 14, 2016, and threatened a police officer on January 14, 2016. Two counts of rape were dismissed by the state.

Cases heard before Judge Edward McDonough on Thursday, June 1.

Jacob Frusciente, 25, of Pittsfield had a not guilty plea entered on his behalf on a single count of possession of heroin with intent to distribute.

He was ordered to be held at the Berkshire County House of Correction on $2,500 cash or surety bail. The charge stems from the execution of a search warrant at his home on March 10, 2017.

Jovan Rodriguez, 20, of Pittsfield had not guilty pleas entered on his behalf on single counts of trafficking in cocaine, possession of a large capacity firearm during the commission of a felony, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, illegal possession of a large capacity weapon, illegal possession of a large capacity feeding device, illegal possession of a firearm, illegal possession of a loaded firearm, reckless endangerment of a child, and failure to stop for a police officer.

He was ordered to be held at the Berkshire County House of Correction on $20,000 cash or $200,000 surety bail. The charges stem from a motor vehicle stop in Pittsfield on April 17, 2017.

Jeremy Paul, 39, of Pittsfield had not guilty pleas entered on his behalf on two counts of illegal ownership of a firearm, two counts of improper storage of a firearm, and single counts of armed career felon, and possession of ammunition without a firearm identification card.

He was ordered to be held at the Berkshire County House of Correction on $10,000 cash or surety bail. The charges stem from the execution of a search warrant at his home on April 28, 2017.

Fabian Hernandez, 34, of Pittsfield had not guilty pleas entered on his behalf on two counts of improper storage of a firearm, and single counts of possession of a sawed-off shotgun, armed career felon, illegal ownership of a firearm, possession of ammunition without a firearm identification card, and possession of suboxone.

He was ordered to be held at the Berkshire County House of Correction on $50,000 cash or surety bail. The charges stem from the execution of a search warrant at his home on April 28, 2017.

Kayla Malloy, 29, of North Adams pleaded guilty to single counts of possession of heroin with intent to distribute, and conspiracy to violate drug laws.

She was ordered to serve six months of a one-year sentence at the Hampden County House of Correction and placed on probation for two years. The charges stem from a motor vehicle stop in North Adams on June 27, 2016.

Carey Pilot, 44, of Pittsfield had not guilty pleas entered on her behalf on single counts of trafficking in cocaine, possession of a large capacity firearm during the commission of a felony, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, illegal possession of a large capacity weapon, illegal possession of a large capacity feeding device, illegal possession of a firearm, and illegal possession of a loaded firearm.

She was ordered to be held at the Hampden County House of Correction on $10,000 cash or $100,000 surety bail. The charges stem from a motor vehicle stop in Pittsfield on April 17, 2017.

Benjamin Robertson, 21, of Pittsfield had a not guilty plea entered on his behalf on a single count of armed robbery while masked.

He was released on personal recognizance. Robertson is accused of robbing an employee of Domino's Pizza as he attempted to make a night deposit at Citizen's Bank in Pittsfield on May 8, 2017.

Deidra Walker, 30, of Port Jervis, N.Y. had a not guilty plea entered on her behalf on a single count of trafficking in heroin.

She was ordered to be held at the Hampden County House of Correction on $10,000 cash or surety bail. Walker is accused of being in possession of the drug when she was arrested in Pittsfield on March 26, 2017.

Brian Baras, 30, of Canaan, Conn. pleaded guilty to a single count of possession of heroin with intent to distribute.

He was ordered to serve two and a half years at the Berkshire County House of Correction. The charge stems from an incident in Sheffield on March 8, 2016.Sup
ELKO  A teacher at Wells Elementary School was arrested Monday afternoon on charges of engaging in sexual activity with high school students at Wells Combined School.

Tennille Whitaker, 40, has been charged with eight counts of sexual conduct with a pupil. According to Elko County Undersheriff Ron Supp, there are two alleged victims between the ages of 16 and 18 who were high school students at the time the contact occurred.

Whitaker has been working with the school district full time for 11 years. She was released from jail Tuesday afternoon on $160,000 bail.

Elko County School District Superintendent Jeff Zander said keeping students safe is the districts highest priority.

The teacher has been placed on administrative leave with pay pending full investigation and were fully cooperating with the sheriffs office to facilitate the investigation, he said. The Elko County School District takes this very seriously and we have policies in place to prohibit this type of conduct. As I stated earlier, the safety of our students is the highest priority.

The school district plans to keep Whitaker on paid administrate leave to prevent her from trying to return to work before the investigation is complete.

The alleged incidents occurred over a two-year span, with some incidents occurring on school grounds. The Elko County Sheriffs Department began investigating the allegations in October of last year after receiving a tip from a concerned parent who noticed Whitaker was behind closed classroom doors with a student and thought it was inappropriate.

The school district began conducting its own investigation in February, speaking to teachers and faculty at Wells Combined School. Students who were interviewed for the investigation claimed they were unaware of any sexual activity between Whitaker and students.

Even though she had not yet been charged, the school district issued a written warning to Whitaker that reinforced the districts policy regarding professional boundaries between staff and students.

Both the sheriffs and the school districts investigations met with resistance.

Nobody was really willing to testify or give a statement that said yes, this happened, Zander said.

Supp said the investigation is ongoing and wanted to encourage anyone with more information to reach out.

At this point in the investigation we have two students that have been involved but we think there are possibly more, he said. The investigation is still ongoing so we would ask anybody that has any further information on any possible victims or anybody that has any information to contact our detective division at our sheriffs office.

Because it was difficult to get witnesses to come forward the sheriffs department had to gather a lot of information on its own.

According the school district, there was no information shared between the sheriffs department and the district.

Supp said the investigation was somewhat unconventional.

We did some unconventional investigation. We did a lot of surveillance and some things like that and we were able to gather a lot of information that led us to circle around and we finally got down to the arrest yesterday.

In light of the arrest, the school district may reexamine its social media policy. It is unclear if Whitaker made contact with students on social media and there are already rules in place prohibiting contact between students and teachers on social media, but Zander said it may be time to update the guidelines.

A lot of these particular issues that were dealing with have to do with social networking and relationship-building from a social networking side of things, he said. We have a policy in place to try to expressly prohibit those conversations taking place that create personal relationships ... we will probably bring this policy back to the board of trustees to expand that policy somewhat.

While the school district works to create more stringent guidelines regulating student-teacher interaction, the sheriffs department is still looking to get people to come forward regarding any inappropriate interaction Whitaker may have had with students.

Supp said even small pieces of information can help turn a case.

If there are any other witnesses or any other victims or anything out there, regardless of how small or how big it is, wed ask them to call us, he said.
A bill that could have helped Elko Regional Airport attract air service to Reno failed to make it through the Nevada Legislature by deadline, as did a bill to help Spring Creek water users, but West Wendover now has a chance to open a medical marijuana dispensary.

Assemblyman John Ellison, R-Elko, provided an update several hours before the session was expected to conclude.

Theyre going to kill that, Ellison said regarding the airport bill. They will also kill AB109, which would have required the Nevada Public Utilities Commission to conduct a general consumer session in Elko County for Spring Creek water customers.

Ellison expected the Legislature to go until the midnight deadline Monday. He said a diesel gas tax bill, SB439, that would bring revenue to Elko and other rural counties for road improvements also was dead.

Anything about rural Nevada probably wont pass, he said, remarking that prisoners in Nevada institutions are making out better than rural Nevada. A bill will allow prisoners to have electronic tablets, Ellison said.

Its just a bad session. We came down here to work for the people, but the leadership is not controlling the bills, he said.

State Sen. Pete Goicoechea, R-Eureka, said the lack of leadership in both houses has really turned a bad session into a dysfunctional session.

Elko City Manager Curtis Calder said Monday afternoon that he could only assume the airport bill, SB363, wont make it by deadline. He said no funding had been identified for the bill and a move to set up the airport commission without funding failed in committee.

Goicoechea said the airport bill clearly doesnt have the support to get through the session.

It will be impossible. We have only six hours left, he said early Monday evening.

The bill had proposed providing $1 million a year for two years to establish a fund for 80 percent grants to rural communities to attract air service, with the communities providing the other 20 percent in funds or in-kind matches.

The Reno airport and smaller cities would have qualified under SB363, which Ellison and Goicoechea co-sponsored.

In general, I think rural Nevada got kicked in the teeth, Calder said.

The bill that gives West Wendover the chance to have a medical marijuana dispensary opened in the city, SB487, made it through the Senate Sunday night and the Assembly Monday afternoon.

This bill has the language in it (Section 30) which will allow municipalities in counties of less than 100,000 population to petition directly to the state for the site licensing for medical marijuana, West Wendover City Manager Chris Melville said.

We needed that language in place in order to move forward with medical marijuana in West Wendover. The governor has not yet signed the bill but we are assuming he will, Melville said Monday.

West Wendover is looking at one dispensary that would including a growing facility.

Goicoechea said he didnt support the bill, however, because in it the county doesnt havent any say.

Also still pending before the midnight deadline was AB52, which would streamline exploration permitting for lithium in brine. The Nevada Division of Minerals was closely watching the bill.

Obviously, we are hoping it gets a vote, division Administrator Richard Perry said in an email Monday.

Although rural Nevada didnt fare well in the 2017 session, legislators who represent the Elko area had a few successes.

Goicoechea proposed a bill that would allow jail inmates to choose how their pets should be housed while the inmate is incarcerated. It already has been signed by the governor.

Another bill proposed by Goicoechea that pertains to hunting from helicopters also has been signed by the governor. The bill requires airports and heliports used in the transportation of hunters to be accessible by a public road.

Ellison said legislators passed his critical bill for business, AB123, that addresses limited liability companies. Without passage, he said LLC businesses may have left Nevada for a friendlier state.

He said Elko attorney Rich Barrows testified a lot in support of the bill.

Earlier, a bill proposed by Ellison requiring slow drivers to keep to the right on four-lane highways was signed by the governor.

Goicoecheas bill to provide help with petroleum tanks, especially for small gas stations, also passed.

Among the water bills that came before the Nevada Legislature this session, SB51 has been signed by the governor. State Engineer Jason King earlier characterized the bill as modernizing language for adjudication of water rights.

Sandoval also signed AB209 regarding water forfeitures. The bill adds additional criteria the state engineer must consider to whether an extension of time request from the holder of water rights is necessary.

Goicoechea said SB47 on water forfeiture issues also just passed. The bill deals with notification regarding beneficial use of water.




This Isnt Our Last Love Letter



Dear Don Don,

Way back in 92



I walked into the room and knew



Never felt this way before



I shook your hand while gazing into your eyes



And the feeling grew



As I took a seat I knew



A love that would have my heart



Forever



I knew



Way back in 92





They say love at first sight doesnt always last or isnt true



We were the exception to that rule



Our love had no where to hide



A spark set fire



As if this is how the universe started





I never doubted our love or what we could do



Together we grew



Forming a bond everlasting



That became our glue



My euphoria was YOU



Im eternally grateful for the love and life we shared



For how fortunate we were :



to have and to hold

through sickness and in health

Til death do us part



Until we are together again



This isnt our last love letter



I love you with all my heart and soul



Yours forever,



Deirdre (Mrs. Hank Snow)





Im fortunate to have fallen in love with, marry and make a life with the sharpest, coolest, funniest, most rare, bad ass, tender loving, loyal man on the planet, my husband Don Imus.









A True American Hero

I dont know why it has been so hard for me to write about my dear friend Don Imus.



I certainly know what he meant to me, my family, my charity, my hospital and the millions of fans that listened and loved him for so many years.



I keep reading all the beautiful condolences that people are writing about how much a part of their lives were effected by listening to him over the years.

But what most people dont talk enough about is what he did for all of us.

In every sense of the word, he was an American Hero. His work with children with so many different illnesses and his dedication to their future was unmatched by anyone I have ever known or heard about.



Besides raising over $100,000,000 for so many causes, he took care of young people for over 20 years in a state where he could not breathe. Along with his incredible wife Deirdre, he created a world where children were not defined by their disease. That was a miracle! He was a miracle.

I will miss him ever day for the rest of my life.

I was blessed to be a part of his and Deirdes life.

No one will ever do what he did.

I love you Don Imus - A TRUE AMERICAN HERO





David Jurist

IMUS IN THE MORNING

FIRST DAY BACK!
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Banksy has cancelled his offer of a print giveaway for voters who could prove they voted against a Conservative candidate in the General Election.

The street artist had posted on his website announcing he would give a new, limited-edition artwork to people in seats from six Bristol constituencies.

The new piece - a version of his famous 'girl with a red balloon' where a Union Jack flag replaced the red heart - was set to be released on 9 June, the day after the election.

"Simply send in a photo of your ballot paper from polling day showing you voted against the Conservative incumbent and this complimentary gift will be mailed to you," the statement on Banksy's website said.

A "lawyers note" added: "This print is a souvenir piece of campaign material, it is in no way meant to influence the choices of the electorate, has no monetary value, is for amusement purposes only and is strictly not for resale. Terms and conditions to follow, postage not included".

However Banksy has now cancelled the giveaway after an investigation was launched by Avon and Somerset Police, who said they had received "a number of complaints".

A spokesman said: "It is a criminal offence under the Representation of People Act 1983 for any voter to accept or agree to accept a gift or similar in return for voting or refraining from voting.

"Any person participating in an offer to receive a gift is at risk of being prosecuted."

A new statement on Banksy's website titled 'Product Recall' reads: "I have been warned by the Electoral Commission that the free print offer will invalidate the election result.

"So I regret to announce this ill-conceived and legally dubious promotion has now been cancelled."

(Banksy (Banksy)

The Electoral Commission, which oversees UK elections, warns that bribery "where someone directly or indirectly gives any money or procures any office to or for any voter, in order to induce any voter to vote or not vote", is an electoral offence.

Charity Crimestoppers has been warning voters to be aware of electoral fraud during the election.

Its website reads: "It's illegal to offer money or gifts to voters, directly or indirectly, to get someone to vote a certain way, or not to vote at all."
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Terry Gilliam just can't catch a break, it seems.

The visionary director has finally finished work on The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, after a long 17-year journey which saw the initial shoot shut down by a flooded set and a herniated disc, before complex legal battles and collapsing funding impeded further attempts to re-launch production.

Finally, it's all come to an end. Gilliam took to Facebook to announce that, "after 17 years, we have completed the shoot of The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. Muchas gracias to all the team and believers. Quixote Vive!"

Recommended Terry Gilliam will finally get to make Don Quixote with Adam Driver

However, the director is already facing issues anew, with allegations that the famed Convent of Christ in Tomar, central Portugal, was damaged during the project's shoot there; local broadcaster RTP has made claims of chipped masonry, broken roof tiles, and uprooted trees.

The Guardian reports the Portuguese government is investigating the claims of damage to the convent, a Unesco world heritage site and former stronghold of the Knights Templar.

However, Gilliam commented on his Facebook post that the claims were "ignorant nonsense". He wrote that the location was "one of the most glorious buildings I have ever seen. Everything we did there was to protect the building from harm... and we succeeded. Trees were not cut down, stones were not broken."

He added: "There was not an iota of disrespect involved. People should begin by getting the facts before howling hysterically." His agents have declined to comment on the situation.

Ukbar Filmes, the Portuguese production company used at the location shooting, acknowledged that there was some damage, which was catalogued by the convent officials who monitored the filming.

The damage included six modern roof tiles and four small chips in masonry, which will be restored, as stated by Ukbar Filmes to the Associated Press. However, the trees were planted during the making of another film and officials consented to their removal at the end of the shoot.

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote stars Jonathan Pryce as the titular hero, Adam Driver, and Olga Kurylenko. The film is set for a 2018 release.
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Mike Nichols' classic California movie The Graduate turns 50 this year, and Studiocanal has given it the 4K restoration treatment, the new version of the film playing for two weeks at BFI Southbank in London as part of its Dustin Hoffman season.

It was created from the 35mm original camera negative by the Criterion Collection with the approval of Nichols, the colour timing referencing a previous colour grading that had been supervised by Grover Crisp at Sony Pictures and the 5.1 surround-sound remix being created using the 35mm magnetic tracks and the original soundtrack recordings at Chace Audio.

Earning Nichols an Oscar for Best Director, introducing Simon & Garfunkel's music to new listeners and capturing the mood of disaffected youth in the 60s, The Graduate has had an enduring cultural impact.

With a fresh, pristine and vibrant look in 4K, the restoration will be released on special edition DVD, Blu-ray and EST with a ton of new special features on 24 July following the theatrical run.

Official synopsis:

Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman) has just finished college and is already lost in a sea of confusion as he wonders what to do with his life. He returns to his parents luxurious Beverly Hills home, where he idles away the summer floating in the pool and brooding in silence. He is rescued from the boredom when he is seduced into a clandestine affair with a middle-aged married friend of his parents, Mrs Robinson (Anne Bancroft). That liaison is soon complicated by Benjamins infatuation with her college-age daughter Elaine (Katharine Ross).
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After Prime Minister Theresa May announced in April that she would hold a general election on 8 June, the first celebrity endorsements were for Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the Labour Party. And they came from an unlikely source: Britains thriving grime scene.

The spontaneity and extent of the endorsements, most of them appearing within a day or two of Mays announcement, caught people by surprise. Jme, a grime star and the founder of the Boy Better Know label, instructed his 700,000 Twitter followers to vote. Professor Green, a popular rapper and television host, posted a long endorsement on Instagram. Akala followed a string of tweets in support of homie Jeremy Corbyn with an op-ed essay in The Guardian.

On the face of it, Corbyn, a teetotal, vegetarian, 68-year-old bicyclist, and these hip, young MCs make for unlikely allies. But the pairing makes sense: like rap music in the United States, grime emerged from some of the poorest parts of the country, dilapidated inner-city housing projects.

Corbyns left-wing policy proposals  like increased spending on public housing and free university education  are exactly what poor Britons, ethnic minorities and urban youth have been waiting to hear from a politician.

Stormzy, who scored a number one album in March with his debut Gang Signs and Prayer, put it best when he endorsed Corbyn last year: My man, Jeremy! I dig what he says, the MC said. I feel like he gets what the ethnic minorities are going through and the homeless and the working class.

Grime star Jme sits down with the Labour leader to discuss the forthcoming general election (Jeremy Corbyn/Twitter)

As grime MCs and their fans have generated support for Labour ahead of the vote, they are proving why Corbyns centrist critics within the party might be wrong about their leader  and showing how the party could someday find a path to victory.

Since Corbyns grassroots campaign and resounding victory in the 2015 Labour leadership election, the attacks from the news media, as well as from many Labour MPs, have been histrionic. Corbyn and his supporters are regularly described as out of touch leftists. Even at the start of his campaign, Corbyn was forced to deny that he epitomised an Islington elite running (and ruining) the Labour Party, a reference to the north London borough Corbyn has represented since 1983, an area with affluent neighbourhoods alongside extreme poverty.

The smears have continued. Alan Johnson, a former senior Labour minister and Tony Blair ally, has railed against worse than self-indulgent and tyrannical left-wingers, mainly middle-class people who are not going to feel any difference with changes of government. These attacks from the right wing of the party paint Corbyns supporters as affluent, elitist urbanites, out of touch with traditional working-class Labour voters who have been left behind by globalisation. This demographic  at least according to its ventriloquists  is angry about immigration, pro-Brexit and socially conservative, and hates the vegetarian intellectuals who have taken over Labour.

Jme (right) performing with Wiley at Red Bull Culture Clash in 2014 (Getty)

It is true that many areas that historically voted for Labour also voted to leave the European Union in last years referendum, even though a majority of Labour voters supported remaining in the union.

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But Labours current difficulties have their roots in decades of complacency in the partys right wing. The people of South Wales will always vote Labour because theyve got nowhere else to go."

Tony Blairs right-hand man Peter Mandelson supposedly said of the partys mining heartlands in the mid-1990s. (The quote may be apocryphal but it certainly encapsulates the Blairite attitude.) It turned out that working-class voters did have somewhere else to go: Ukip.

The Labour Party has for too long been ignoring an existential crisis, following the haemorrhaging of much of its working-class vote to Ukip, as well as to the Scottish National Party. The received wisdom is that since the Brexit referendum, with Ukips goal essentially achieved, these white working-class voters in former industrial areas will be mopped up by the Conservatives.

Stormzy has said he digs what Jeremy Corbyn has to say (PA)

But Corbyns response has been to offer those voters more socialism  rather than more xenophobia. And it seems to be working.

Moreover, analysis of Corbyns support shows that the idea that it is largely composed of privileged lefties is nonsense: Research into the average income of supporters of the four 2015 Labour leadership candidates found Corbyns to be poorer than the general population and significantly poorer than the supporters of his more centrist rivals. By another metric, the proportion of Corbyn supporters with upper-middle-class managerial or professional jobs was also found to be significantly smaller than the proportion among supporters of his three rivals.

After 18 months of internal mutinies and rough treatment from a hostile press, Corbyns Labour began the election campaign desperately far behind the Conservatives in the polls. But a strong campaign and a popular election manifesto seem to be closing the gap. After starting the campaign polling 24 points behind its rivals, now, according to some polls, Labour is projected to be bested by the Conservatives by just a few points.

Rapper and television host Professor Green posted an endorsement for Corbyn on social media (Getty)

Labour needs both ex-miners in south Wales who voted Leave in the referendum as well as urban youth who have never voted. Corbyns team has presented a bold, unabashedly socialist programme that targets deprived postindustrial communities and big-city grime MCs alike, with tax hikes for the richest, a huge spending program on social housing, a big increase in the minimum wage, the abolition of university fees and a ban on unpaid internships, among other things. Immediate polling has found overwhelming support for these policies.

But for Labour to achieve a shock as big as Donald Trumps presidential victory, it needs an unprecedented high youth turnout on 8 June.

Akala has tweeted out his support for homie Jeremy Corbyn (Rex)

To this end, homemade posters and fliers have started appearing in parts of London with a grime for Corbyn message. The music scene has been rallying around youth voter registration. Turnout is historically low among 18- to 24-year-olds and in the black community, the two demographics that make up grimes core fanbase. These two groups are also far more likely to vote Labour.

Halfway through the campaign, a new website, www.grime4corbyn.com, started up and promised free tickets to a secret grime show for anyone registering to vote. Jme met Corbyn for a televised conversation about youth engagement with politics. AJ Tracey, another young MC, recorded an official pro-Labour video, while fellow rising star Novelist specifically endorsed Corbyn for being in touch with ordinary people. This surge to get young people registered before a 22 May deadline seemed to work, with about a million people under 25 registering in the past few weeks. With an electorate of around 45 million, they could swing several key seats.

Political change doesnt always come from politicians, does it? Corbyn asked Jme when they met recently. To provide a seismic shock to the British establishment, the Labour leader will be counting on the grime scene to prove him right.

Dan Hancox @danhancox is the author of The Village Against the World

 New York Times
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Hours before The Mighty Hoopla, a day festival showcasing the cheesiest of pop music and the finest of Londons queer night culture, terrorists killed seven people in London Bridge.

On Sunday morning the cordoned-off area in London Bridge  where pedestrians usually spill onto the road gorging on street food and bustling about the busy station  was deserted save for armed police, a forensics tent, curious members of the public and news reporters.

The Mighty Hoopla team assured ticket-holders on social media that the event, five miles away in east Londons Victoria Park, would go ahead, with a nod from the Metropolitan Police. But at that spot beside the river it was difficult to see how anyone could possibly muster up the positivity to enjoy a line-up of guilty pleasures including All Saints, Will Young and Sophie Ellis-Bextor.

Approaching the event, the sound of a crowd singing at the top of their voices to The Spice Girls Say Youll Be There on a sound system floated in the air. It was clear that the crowd was determined to make this event a unrelenting and unshakeable celebration of love, freedom, diversity and life.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor performs at The Mighty Hoopla in east London (Richard Isaac/Rex/Shutterstock) (Richard Isaac/REX/Shutterstock)

And what a joyous celebration it was. Drag queens tottered across the grass in platform heels, meticulously planned outfits, and coiffed wigs. The crowds faces were plastered with multi-coloured glitter and gems, whatever their gender.

There were rainbow-coloured fur coats here and giant poms poms in green, yellow and pink pinned onto clothes and into hair there. The organisers could hardly have imagined how loaded with meaning the event would have become, nor the crowd their outfits such acts of defiance.

The curators  who include the capitals nightlife giants Guilty Pleasures, club kids Sink the Pink, and the team behind Hackneys self-described gay super-pub The Glory  ensured a second didnt go by without some excuse for festival-goers to be singing and dancing with wild abandon.

Late queer icons George Michael and Prince were honoured by DJ sets of their music at packed-out The Tiny Dancer and The Grand tents, respectively, where euphoric members of the crowd spilled out onto the grass as they hollered their lyrics - most significantly Michaels Freedom! 90.

And at The Grand, veteran garage duo Artful Dodger treated their audience to a set of nostalgic hits and covers with an unmistakably London sound from Daniel Beddingfields Gotta Get Thru This, Heartbroken by T2 and Baby Cakes by 3 of a Kind.

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But, the Sink the Pink stage was where the big-hitters of the day played, including former X Factor competitor Fleur East, who delivered a short but sweet set to an excitable but not-quite-packed out tent. Sure, no one really knew the words to her track Day in LA, but as soon as East called on the audience to solidify as one in light of the deadly attacks, they roared in support. And the sea of bodies moving to her rendition of Pharrells Uptown Funk proved that all anyone wanted to do was dance to their favourite guilty pleasures.

Perhaps a little more experienced in stripping sets of the newer tracks no one really wants to hear, Sophie Ellis-Bextor delivered back-to-back hits by storming through Murder on the Dancefloor, Get Over You and Groovejet (If This Ain't Love).

Sink the Pink drag queen Rodent DeCay at The Mighty Hoopla (Rex) (Rex Features)

In between sets, Sink the Pink drag queens and club kids dressed to the nines paraded the stage. But owing to a lack of big screens on either side of the tent and the sheer size of the crowd, the stunning details of their outfits and wonderfully sharp humour was lost a little in a way they wouldnt be in a more intimate setting, despite their undeniable efforts.

Overall, the audience was clearly appreciative that the event went ahead regardless of Saturday nights attack. Jack Moolark, a 28-year-old shop designer and Tom Howser, a 30-year-old art director, both based in London, chimed that nothing was going to put them off from attending The Mighty Hoopla.

Its been an amazing day, Howser told The Independent. This sort of event is what should be happening. Its promoting a good message. It has been such a nice end to a shitty weekend.

Two other crowd members who identified themselves as Gary, 56, and Yanesh, 39, added that while they were initially worried about the security and that they might witness a repeat of Saturdays atrocities, but they attended because they wanted to keep going and said that the atmosphere was great.

The day ended with a buoyant and glitter-drenched headline set from electronic trio Years and Years. To the delight of the crowd with impressive levels of stamina for enthusiastic dancing, highlights included a cover of Britney Spears Toxic, where Olly Alexander was paraded around the stage on a giant red throne.

This tent loves you! Alexander announced mid-set as he urged queer people to stick together and help one another through tough times. Number-one hit 'King' wrapped up the set, for which Alexander stripped into gold hotpants, revealing his glittery torso, and piggy-backed dancers across the stage. What a perfect way to stick two, extremely sparkly, fingers up to hatred.
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Former FBI director James B. Comey will testify under oath before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday 8 June, a highly-anticipated political event which could have little impact, or could just be the catalyst for the beginning of Donald Trump's impeachment.

Mr Comey's testimony is set to begin at 10am in Washington DC (3pm in the UK), will be made public and should be very easy to watch.

The Independent will be carrying it live on our Facebook page, with live streams also expected on YouTube.

As for televised coverage, ABC, CBS have already confirmed they will break up their daytime programming to bring Americans the testimony live, anchored by George Stephanopoulos and Charlie Rose respectively.

Update: Also NBC, ABC, PBS and Fox, Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, CNN, MSNBC, Bloomberg, CSPAN and CNBC. Many without commercials.

In the UK, BBC News and BBC Parliament will broadcast the hearing, with coverage starting at 3pm.

Mr Comey's testimony follows a meeting with newly appointed special counsel for the Russia investigation and former FBI colleague Robert Mueller, who may have asked Mr Comey not to discuss matters classified and pertinent to his investigation.

Nevertheless, Mr Comey will likely be pressed by the committee on whether President Trump asked him to pledge loyalty and to end the probe into Michael Flynn. There will also be questions about the studious memos of Trump interactions he reportedly kept, which could lead to further revelations.

The US Dollar has hit a seven-month low ahead of the testimony.
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Austerity cuts may have contributed to lower rates of teenage pregnancy in England. It may seem a surprising result, but that is what our analysis of cuts by local authorities to teenage pregnancy programmes has concluded.

Between 2007 and 2015, the under-18 conception rate in England almost halved. Some commentators, such as The Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee, have credited this decline to the 1999 Teenage Pregnancy Strategy. Running until 2010, the strategy saw hundreds of millions of pounds distributed to local authorities with the aim of expanding access to birth control and sex and relationships education.

These services have been a significant victim of recent government cuts, with spending falling by over 70 per cent since 2008. This has led politicians and organisations working in the field to argue that decreases to conception rates would be put at risk. We tested this proposition in our paper, published in the Journal of Health Economics. Contrary to expectations, we found that, if anything, cuts have led to fewer teen pregnancies.

Our analysis compares changes in teenage pregnancy rates with changes in annual expenditure on teenage pregnancy services for 149 English local authorities between 2008 and 2014. The extent and timing of cuts varied significantly across areas. This meant we were able to test whether areas that reduced spending the most experienced smaller declines in pregnancy.

To our surprise, we found the opposite. Authorities making bigger cuts saw relatively larger decreases in both birth and abortion rates among teenagers. The effect was not huge  a 10 per cent reduction in expenditure was associated with a decrease of just 0.25 per cent in the under-18 conception rate  but it was strongly significant.

Correlation does not necessarily mean causation. It may be that areas that implemented the biggest cuts were those where conception rates would have gone down anyway. Although we cannot completely rule out this possibility, the results held up well to a battery of statistical tests and controls for other factors that might explain the correlation, such as education, poverty and the local political party in control.

Our results stand in contrast to those in a paper by Kaye Wellings and colleagues, recently published in The Lancet. They found that areas that received more funding under the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy experienced bigger reductions in under-18 conceptions.

However, their research is limited by the fact that funding was closely related to initial conception rates. Areas where conception rates were highest have seen the biggest falls. But the researchers were unable to distinguish the effect of funding from that of broader trends in teenage behaviour, which may have affected areas with higher starting conception rates the most. By focusing instead on changes in both expenditure and pregnancy rates, we are able to make this distinction.

The Akerlof explanation

How can we explain our findings? Many years ago, Nobel prize-winning economist George Akerlof showed how easier access to contraception could lead to an increase in risky sexual behaviour, which could ultimately increase, rather than decrease, unplanned pregnancies.

Policymakers have ignored Akerlofs argument to their cost. A review of one of the most comprehensive teenage pregnancy programmes in England found that young women on the scheme were more likely to report pregnancy than those in a control group. Research in both the UK and the US has found that easier access to emergency birth control has not reduced teenage pregnancy or abortions, but has led to increases in sexually transmitted infections.

Policymakers need to use some caution when interpreting our results. We find that cuts to teenage pregnancy services, to date, have not increased conceptions. If the least effective projects have been cut first, it may be that further cuts to services would have different effects. Perhaps there will also be long-term consequences that we have not yet been able to observe. Though economic theory and evidence suggest reduced access to contraceptives will have worse effects in the short term.

Nobel prize winner, George Akerlof

Most importantly, it may not be possible to generalise the finding that cuts in public expenditure can be achieved without negative consequences. For example, Oxford Universitys Rachel Loopstra and colleagues recently concluded that cuts to local authority spending on housing services and social care have contributed to increases in homelessness and in old-age mortality rates.

This begs the question: why have teenage mothers been disappearing so quickly? One factor brought up in our research, and in previous research, is improvements in educational attainment  something which tends to increase aspiration and make early pregnancy less attractive.

Another, more speculative, explanation is the rise of generation sensible (possibly abetted by the growth of social media and lower childhood exposure to lead in petrol). Many countries, including the US, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, have seen decreases in teenage pregnancy similar to the UK. Teenagers in these countries now smoke and drink less, take fewer drugs, and are less likely to commit crimes. Sex may be another risky activity they are turning away from.

David Paton is the chair of industrial economics at Nottingham University Business School, University of Nottingham; Liam Wright is a research assistant at the University of Sheffield. This article was originally published on The Conversation (theconversation.com)
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When it comes to world-leading health legislation, you might expect it to come from Sweden, which is famous for citizen engagement in the health service, or a large global power. You probably wouldnt expect it to come out of Wales. And yet, the countrys devolved government is close to enacting another innovative law aimed at bettering the health of its people.

Wales is no stranger to being the first of the UK nations to enforce legislation that benefits both human health and the environment. Since October 2011, there has been a minimum 5p charge on carrier bags in the country  a move which was followed by Northern Ireland in 2013, Scotland in 2014 and England in 2015.

In 2015, a ban on smoking in cars with passengers aged under 18 years old was enacted, which was again followed by their English neighbours. Scotland enforced a similar law a year later, while Northern Ireland has recently completed a consultation on its provision.

Nor does it lag behind on a global scale: the pioneering Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 has been described by the United Nations as world-leading. Among other things, its seven well-being goals aim to make Wales a healthier place, where physical and mental well-being are maximised and in which choices and behaviours that benefit future health are understood.

Recommended The health cost of cutting free school lunches is too much

Though the new Public Health (Wales) Bill includes specific provisions for banning smoking in hospital grounds, placing a duty on the Welsh government to produce a national obesity strategy and making pharmacy services more responsive to community needs, the fact that it puts Health Impact Assessments (HIAs) on a statutory footing is the most interesting and important feature.

Health in all policies

This latest public health law will make Wales the first country in the world to have statutory HIAs. At present, only the Australian state of Tasmania and the Canadian provinces of Quebec and British Colombia have mandatory HIAs.

HIAs are a pre-decision assessment of the effects of proposed action  regulations, policy, programmes or projects  by public bodies on human health. Its a health in all policies approach. HIAs will seek to maximise the positive health effects of the proposed action and will put forward proposals to mitigate the negative effects. The law will apply to, among others, the Welsh government, local authorities and local health boards, and they will be required to publish their HIAs and take account of them when making decisions.

The British Medical Association (BMA) Wales has been campaigning for statutory HIAs since 1994: it sees them as an opportunity to make Wales an international leader in public health  not just of individuals but of entire communities. In their view, it is an opportunity to address the broader environmental factors which influence health. It is a preventative approach to stop ill health occurring in the first place.

Wales is no stranger to innovative health legistlation (Shutterstock)

The scale of HIAs can vary but they often involve risk assessment, data analysis and a literature review. Stakeholder involvement, such as the involvement of the medical profession and citizen engagement, is also important. At present, public bodies in Wales are required to carry out numerous impact assessments on things such as equality  so why is another one needed? Quite simply because health is not so directly assessed under these as it would be under the planned HIAs.

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), required under European Union law, for example, ensures that planning decisions are made considering environmental effects. Human health considerations are included, but many think that the EIAs dont give sufficient consideration to human environmental health issues. In fact, research carried out by BMA UK has found that only 28% of EIAs give consideration to human health hazards.

Accountable for health

HIAs also make provision for individuals to challenge public bodies if they think they are not carrying them out effectively: if they can show they are personally affected by a decision they can bring an action for judicial review. If there are implications for the wider public, then an application for judicial review would have to be brought by a representative group.

In addition, HIAs enforcement could be placed under the power of the future generations commissioner  currently Sophie Howe  a post created by the aforementioned Well-being of Future Generations Act. The commissioner already has the power to review how public bodies are taking account of the long-term impact of their decisions so it would be a natural fit.

There is no shortage of ambition when it comes to the principles underlying public health legislation passed by the Welsh Assembly. It shows a belief in the ability of law to bring about social change. However, laws can produce unintended consequences as well as beneficial effects. If HIAs are to be a success then there will have to be commitment through political will, effective management at all levels of the HIA process and active participation from stakeholders  including citizens. Ultimately, they can only be as good as the methods which are used to identify health hazards.

But this could be a great leap forward in protecting the health of the nation, and one which the UK and rest of the world would do well to consider following.

Richard Owen is an associate professor at Swansea University. This article was originally published on The Conversation (www.conversation.com)
State Democratic Party spokesperson Stewart Boss on the progress achieved under Democratic majorities during the 2017 legislative session:

Majority Leader Ford and Speaker Frierson deserve high praise for working across the aisle to get results while following through on their Nevada blueprint to empower working families with good-paying jobs, stronger public schools and access to health care. From stopping school vouchers and bringing back solar energy jobs, to protecting LGBT youth, defending womens access to health care and so much more, Democrats have delivered on a common-sense, forward-thinking agenda. Nevadans should be proud of the progress achieved in 2017 under Democratic majorities.

While some legislation is pending with Governor Sandoval, heres what Democrats have already accomplished:

Blocked an extreme school vouchers plan

Made a huge investment in Nevadas public schools

Passed permanent funding to improve workforce training programs and apprenticeships

Brought the rooftop solar market back to Nevada

Passed the nations strongest pharmaceutical transparency legislation

Allowed women to pick up a 12-month supply of birth control at once

Codified the Affordable Care Acts womens health protections into state law

Established a state-funded family planning grant program

Put an initiative on the 2018 ballot to eliminate the pink tax on feminine hygiene products and diapers

Required employers to provide accommodations for pregnant workers and nursing moms, and banning pregnancy discrimination in the workplace

Ratified the Equal Rights Amendment for women in Nevada

Banned the use of widely discredited conversion therapy on LGBT youth

Required foster parents to undergo training on raising LGBT kids

Created mobile units to expand access to mental health care

Approved a state-level fiduciary standard to require all financial advisors put their clients best interests before their own

Closed loopholes often exploited by the payday and title loan industry

Enacted ban-the-box legislation to help ex-offenders re-enter society

Allowed ex-offenders who complete probation to apply for their court records to be sealed

Restored voting rights for ex-felons who have served their time

Put an initiative on the 2018 ballot for automatic voter registration at the DMV

Enacted one of the nations toughest marijuana packaging laws to protect Nevada kids

Mothers Against Drunk Driving on the passage of SB 259, which would make Nevada the 30th state to require ignition interlocks after a drunk driving offense:

MADD is grateful to the Nevada Legislature for recognizing that ignition interlocks are the only technology available to stop someone from driving drunk, said Debbie Zelinski, Program Coordinator for MADDs Northern Nevada Affiliate. These lifesaving devices have preventing 2.3 million attempts to drive drunk across the nation over a 10-year period. We know they will save lives in Nevada.

SB 259 requires anyone arrested with a .08 blood alcohol concentration (BAC) and above to use an interlock for 90 days after an arrest or not drive at all.

Assembly Republican Leader Paul Anderson on the Opportunity Scholarship vote in the Assembly Monday afternoon:

Opportunity Scholarships have been an important ingredient to educational success since they were first made law during the 2015 session. We were honored to have lead the charge on their creation and funding last session, and to have again led the charge to increase those opportunities for Nevada families and students to the tune of $20 million. The legislation passed today will make Nevada one of the leading school choice states in the country, and is a huge win for parents and students working hard to get the best education available. A quality education in Nevada should not belong only to the top 1 percent. In addition, the $25 million for the University of Nevada Las Vegas Medical School will help those students beyond high school and into college, making UNLV one of the premier higher education medical programs in the country. Politics aside  this deal puts students and families first, and that has been our priority throughout this legislative session.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving on the passage of SB 259, which would make Nevada the 30th state to require ignition interlocks after a drunk driving offense:

MADD is grateful to the Nevada Legislature for recognizing that ignition interlocks are the only technology available to stop someone from driving drunk, said Debbie Zelinski, Program Coordinator for MADDs Northern Nevada Affiliate. These lifesaving devices have preventing 2.3 million attempts to drive drunk across the nation over a 10-year period. We know they will save lives in Nevada.

SB 259 requires anyone arrested with a .08 blood alcohol concentration (BAC) and above to use an interlock for 90 days after an arrest or not drive at all.
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Independent craft brewer BrewDog is handing out free beer while also taking on the pollsters ahead of the Thursdays general election.

The company, which was launched in 2007 in a garage in Scotland by two 24-year olds and is now valued at 1bn, said this week that it is launching an alternative election poll.

The political scene could do with more candour and honesty and recent political polls have been spectacularly off target, so were running the first ever poll with added craft beer, said James Watt, one of the founders of BrewDog.

Staff of the brewer will take to the streets outside the companys bars on Wednesday to ask members of the public who they will be voting for. Respondents will then be rewarded with a free can of beer.

An election is a key moment for those that feel marginalised or under represented to stand up and be counted; so we want to encourage and reward those making their voices heard on 8 June, Mr Watt added.

BrewDog said that the data from their poll will be collated on 7 June and that it intends to call the result of the election before polling stations open on Thursday. It will also hand out free beer on election day itself - a move to further encourage voter turnout.

To claim a free can of BrewDogs Punk IPA, voters can take a picture of themselves outside their polling stations and show that picture to staff at any BrewDog bar.
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A global financial trade body has said it has grave concerns over EU plans to force the relocation of the 930bn (810bn) per day clearing business from London to the EU after Brexit.

The Futures Industry Association, warned on Tuesday that it strongly believes that moving the clearing of transactions denominated in euros would be severely detrimental to the economic interests of the EU.

It would fragment these markets, raise costs for end users, and weaken the stability of the financial system, and we therefore oppose such a policy, the FIA said.

The European Commission is preparing proposals that would impose restrictions on Londons huge market for clearing euro-denominated financial transactions.

According to official documents seen last month by The Independent, these would force UK operators of clearing houses to either relocate to mainland Europe or to be directly regulated by European authorities.

Clearing is a process whereby trades go through an organisation known as a clearing house which holds collateral centrally and ensures transactions go ahead in the event of a default. It is designed to prevent a domino effect where the default of one counterparty causes a string of losses for others.

Clearing is a crucial part of the financial infrastructure and London is the dominant centre in Europe. Around 70 per cent of euro-denominated trades, with a notional value of 930bn (792bn), are cleared in the capital each day, according to a 2016 House of Lords report.

The FIA said the location of clearing activity should be, driven by legitimate market forces operating within a regulatory framework suited for a global market.

It went on: The euro is one of the worlds great reserve currencies. If it is to maintain this status, it should be traded freely and openly. Policymakers should proceed with caution on possibly restricting the use of the euro currency.

The FIA adds its weight to a number of influential voices warning against a power grab by other EU nations. Last month Xavier Rolet, chief executive of the London Stock Exchange, said a proposed move could cost investors 100bn (83bn) over five years.

The LSE boss said that moving clearing, which is estimated to support up to 100,000 jobs would, fragment global markets, making them less efficient.

Also last month, Icap founder Michael Spencer told the BBCs Today Programme that ending euro clearing in London could damage Europe as well as the UK.

Brexit Concerns Show all 26 1 /26 Brexit Concerns Brexit Concerns Brexit will put British patients at 'back of the queue' for new drugs Brexit will put British patients at the back of the queue for vital new drugs, the Government has been warned  forcing them to wait up to two years longer A medicines regulator has raised the alarm over a likely decision to pull out of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), as well as the EU itself. ealth Secretary Jeremy Hunt dropped the bombshell , when he said he expected the UK would quit the EMA  because it is subject to rulings by the European Court of Justice. Getty Images Brexit Concerns London to lose status as 'gateway to Europe' for banks One of Germanys top banking regulators has warned that London could lose its status as gateway to Europe for the banking sector after Britain quits the European trading bloc. Andreas Dombret, who is an executive board member for the BundesbankGermanys central banktold a private meeting of German businesses and banks earlier this week in Frankfurt that even if banking rules were equivalent between the UK and the rest of the EU, that was still miles away from [Britain having] access to the single market, the BBC reports. Jason Hawkes Brexit Concerns Exodus The number of financial sector professionals in Britain and continental Europe looking for jobs in Ireland rocketed in the months after the UK voted to leave the European Union Shutterstock Brexit Concerns Brexit is making FTSE 100 executives richer Pay packages of many FTSE 100 chief executive officers are partly tied to how well share prices are doing rather than the CEOs performance -- and some stocks are soaring. ritish equities got a boost since the June vote because the likes of Rio Tinto, Smiths Group and WPP generate most sales abroad and earn a fortune when they convert these revenues back into the weakened pound. Sterlings fall also made UK stocks more affordable for overseas investors. Rex Brexit Concerns Theresa May: UK to leave single market Theresa May has said the UK "cannot possibly" remain within the European single market, as staying in it would mean "not leaving the EU at all". Getty Brexit Concerns Lead campaigner Gina Miller and her team outside the High Court Getty Brexit Concerns Raymond McCord holds up his newly issued Irish passport alongside his British passport outside the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit PA wire Brexit Concerns SDLP leader Colum Eastwood leaving the High Court in Belfast following a judges dismissal of the UK's first legal challenges to Brexit PA wire Brexit Concerns Migrants 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 Brexit Concerns Migrants leave messages on their tents in the Jungle migrant camp Getty Brexit Concerns The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (Adra) which distributes approximately 700 meals daily in the northern Paris camp states that it is noticing a spike in new migrant arrivals this week, potentially linked the the Calais 'jungle' camp closure - with around 1000 meals distributed today EPA Brexit Concerns Migrant workers pick apples at Stocks Farm in Suckley, Britain Reuters Brexit Concerns Many farmers across the country are voicing concerns that Brexit could be a dangerous step into the unknown for the farming industry Getty Brexit Concerns Bank of England governor Mark Carney who said the long-term outlook for the UK economy is positive, but growth was slowing in the wake of the Brexit vote PA Brexit Concerns The Dow Jones industrial average closed down over 600 points on the news with markets around the globe pluninging Getty Brexit Concerns Immigration officers deal with each member of the public seeking entry into the United Kingdom but on average, 10 a day are refused entry at this London airport and between 2008 and 2009, 33,100 people were detained at the airport for mainly passport irregularities Getty Brexit Concerns A number of global investment giants have threatened to move their European operations out of London if Brexit proves to have a negative impact on their businesses Getty Brexit Concerns Following the possibility of a Brexit the UK would be released from its renewable energy targets under the EU Renewable Energy Directive and from EU state aid restrictions, potentially giving the government more freedom both in the design and phasing out of renewable energy support regimes Getty Brexit Concerns A woman looking at a chart showing the drop in the pound (Sterling) against the US Dollar in London after Britain voted to leave the EU Getty Brexit Concerns Young protesters outside the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, to protest against the United Kingdom's decision to leave the EU following the referendum Getty Brexit Concerns Applications from Northern Ireland citizens for Irish Passports has soared to a record high after the UK Voted in favour of Leaving the EU Getty Brexit Concerns NFU Vice President Minette Batters with Secretary of State, Andrea Leadsome at the National Farmers Union (NFU) took machinery, produce, farmers and staff to Westminster to encourage Members of Parliament to back British farming, post Brexit Getty Brexit Concerns The latest reports released by the UK Cabinet Office warn that expats would lose a range of specific rights to live, to work and to access pensions, healthcare and public services. The same reports added that UK citizens abroad would not be able to assume that these rights will be guaranteed in the future Getty Brexit Concerns A British resident living in Spain asks questions during an informative Brexit talk by the "Brexpats in Spain" group, about Spanish legal issues to become Spanish citizens, at the town hall in Benalmadena, Spain Reuters Brexit Concerns The collapse of Great Britain appears to have been greatly exaggerated given the late summer crowds visiting city museums, hotels, and other important tourist attractions Getty Brexit Concerns The U.K. should maintain European Union regulations covering everything from working hours to chemicals until after the government sets out its plans for Brexit, said British manufacturers anxious to avoid a policy vacuum and safeguard access to their biggest export market Getty

He said: I havent heard the Japanese phone up and say were not having yen cleared in London or the Australians phoning up and say enough of you clearing our dollars, well have that back.

So, this proposal in Europe to repatriate euro clearing to the eurozone, is nothing more than a real nasty piece of economic nationalism and protectionism.
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Some commercial banks in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have suspended business with Qatari banks as a result of a major diplomatic spat in the region, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing banking sources.

The sources said that lenders were holding off doing business until they receive more guidance on the dispute from their respective central banks on how to deal with the rift.

They also said that the central bank of the UAE had asked banks in the country to provide details of their exposure to banks in Qatar and that the central bank of Bahrain had taken a similar step. They reportedly told banks that they have until Thursday to provide that information.

Recommended This is why Saudi Arabia and its allies suddenly cut ties to Qatar

Reuters reported that the UAE central bank did not respond to a request for comment and Bahraini central bank officials could not immediately be contacted for comment.

Earlier this week, five Arab states  Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Bahrain and Yemensaid that they had cut diplomatic relations with Qatar, severed land, air and sea travel and are expelling Qatari citizens giving them 48 hours to depart.

Qatar's main stock exchange suffered its worst day in around seven years on Monday and the country's sovereign bonds and currency sold off dramatically too.

The Saudis and their allies are demanding, in effect, that Qatar end its independent foreign policy and tame or shut down its Al Jazeera television station.

They say that Qatar is complicit with Iran in supporting terrorism.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar have long been rivals. Despite Qatars small size, its great wealth and vast gas reserves have given it significant influence in the region.
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Senior NHS managers are discussing secret cost-cutting plans to be announced after the General Election  measures that one chief executive described as the most extreme and difficult to hit the health service they had ever seen.

Extended waiting times, ward and service closures, and the withdrawal of public funding for some treatments are among the proposals in a new national savings drive designed to cap NHS spending, a leak has revealed.

Health bosses have been told to think the unthinkable when devising measures to save money in their regions, according to the Health Service Journal (HSJ).

The truly shocking scale of the proposed cuts and closures represent a death knell for the values of the NHS, said Louise Irvine, the GP hoping to unseat Jeremy Hunt on Thursday.

Dr Irvine, who is standing for the National Health Action Party in the Health Secretarys constituency South West Surrey, told The Independent it is fundamentally dishonest of the Conservatives not to have brought it up before the election.

Somebody leaked this because they want to sound the alarm, she said. If people are voting they have a right to know this is on the cards.

The controversial measures are being discussed privately between top officials from NHS England and NHS Improvement and health managers in 14 areas of the country with the highest levels of overspending.

 Question Time: I have been waiting since 2015 for NHS mental health counselling

It is critical that regions which are significantly out of balance now confront the difficult choices they have to take, warned a letter to health service bosses in East Cheshire about the money-saving programme known as the capped expenditure process.

National targets such as the 18-week limit for planned surgery could be under threat because among the changes under consideration is drawing out waiting times for non-urgent care  including potential breaches of NHS constitution standards, reported the HSJ.

There are also proposals to increase waiting times in areas where delays are currently lower than average, an idea Dr Irvine called callous.

Even services that are coping now and seeing people in a reasonable time, which is surely a good thing  they want to make those waiting lists longer, too, she said. Deliberately making waiting times longer for services which currently have shorter waiting times is really callous, in my view.

Dr Louise Irvine is said to have the best chance of defeating Mr Hunt (National Health Action Party)

Other ideas under consideration as part of the programme, which aims to ensure NHS spending meets budget targets for this year, include limiting the number of operations carried out by non-NHS providers to make sure funding stays within the health service, which could limit patients choice of providers.

NHS funding could also be withdrawn for new and recently-approved treatments and those considered low value  adding to the list of prescription items such as cough medicine and gluten-free food that patients were made to pay for earlier this year.

The closure or downgrading of services, in some cases to major hospital departments such as A&E and maternity, selling land and reducing staffing while attempting to maintain enough emergency care capacity to deal with the busy winter period are also among the changes on the cards.

The managers have been asked to first consider how they can save money elsewhere, but half of those that spoke to the HSJ said they were also proposing difficult decisions, with one warning they could challenge the value base of NHS leaders.

Labours Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth said the leak showed the NHS cannot survive five more years of a Tory government.

We now know if the Tories are re-elected on Thursday we'll see hospital wards closed, waiting times growing, treatments rationed and staff cut, he said.

The fact that NHS bosses have described this as the 'most extreme and difficult NHS finance process they had experienced' and would 'challenge the value basis of the NHS' will make chilling reading for patients and their families who deserve the very best levels of care.

Liberal Democrat Health spokesperson Norman Lamb said these savage proposed cuts to frontline services show why we cannot allow Conservative underfunding of the NHS to continue.

The Conservatives did not immediately respond to The Independents request for comment.

The 14 areas asked to enact the cuts are: Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset; Cambridgeshire and Peterborough; Cheshire (Eastern, Vale Royal and South); Cornwall; Devon; Morecambe Bay; Northumbria; North Central London; North Lincolnshire; North West London; South East London; Staffordshire; Surrey and Sussex; Vale of York and Scarborough and Ryedale.

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

Former NHS Trust chairman and health policy commentator Roy Lilley asked: Is this what the end looks like? in response to news of the plans.

Health managers are being driven into a corner. There is not enough money in the system to deliver what is being asked of it. Framing a bleak future, as part of an incoming Ministers induction pack, is a cunning plan, he wrote in a blog post.

An NHS England spokeswoman told the HSJ: Within their fair share of the NHS budget, local doctors and hospitals are planning how best to deliver services to patients focussing on the priorities of the public, including modern cancer care, expanded mental health and convenient GP services.

While many options will have been considered locally, the choices of which options to pursue are still to be evaluated and agreed and would require national sign-off in due course.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned the NHS faces an incredibly challenging five years after the general election on 8 June.

All three major political parties have promised to increase health spending, but all the proposals fall well short of the 4 per cent average annual increase in health spending, fuelled by Britain's growing and ageing population, the increasing prevalence of chronic conditions and the development of expensive new technologies and drugs.
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Sadiq Khan has felt the wrath of Donald Trump more frequently than any other British politician. While Prime Minister, Theresa May, and Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, have managed to avoid the receiving end of the American Presidents frequent and vociferous Twitter tirades, Mr Khan has been rather less fortunate.

The most recent example of President Trump rebuking the London Mayor after the London Bridge terror attacks was by no means an isolated incident. The politicians feud with each other arguably stems back to a year and a half ago when Mr Trump announced he would ban all Muslims from entering the US.

Back in December 2015, the Republican frontrunner called for all Muslims to be banned from entering the US in the wake of a deadly mass shooting in San Bernardino in California

At the time, a campaign press release said: "Donald J Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on.

Just a few months later, in May 2017, Mr Khan was of course elected as the first Muslim mayor of London. At the time, Mr Trump said he was happy London had elected Mr Khan and suggested the Labour politician was likely to be part of the exception to his plans for barring Muslims.

When pressed about how his proposed ban would affect Mr Khan, he said: There will always be exceptions.

I was happy to see that, the billionaire property developer said of Mr Khans election. I think its a very good thing, and I hope he does a very good job because frankly, that would be very, very good.

Probed about what he meant, Mr Trump said: Because I think if he does a great job, it will really - you lead by example, always lead by example. If he does a good job and frankly if he does a great job, that would be a terrific thing.

But Mr Khan, who is from Tooting in south London, rejected Mr Trumps proposal for him to be exempted from the Muslim ban.

"I don't want to be the exception to be allowed to go to America," Mr Khan told the BBC at the time. "It's not about me. It's about my friends, family and others from all around the world."

He also said he was supporting Mr Trump's Democrat rival, Hillary Clinton, saying: I hope she trounces him.

In another interview at the time, he also said: If Donald Trump becomes the President, Ill be stopped from going there by virtue of my faith, which means I cant engage with American mayors and swap ideas.

London Attack victims Show all 8 1 /8 London Attack victims London Attack victims Christine Archibald, a Canadian woman who was killed in the latest London attack PA London Attack victims James McMullan, 32, who is believed to be one of victims who died in the London Bridge terror attack after his bank card was found on a body at the scene PA London Attack victims Australian nurse Kirsty Boden, aged 28. a staff nurse at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital in London, England, who died in the 03 June 2017 terror attack on London Bridge and Borough Market EPA London Attack victims Darren Mole Twitter / DarrenMole London Attack victims Oliver Dowling and his girlfriend Marie Bondeville were injured in the london terror attacks Facebook London Attack victims Candice Hedge London Attack victims Alexandre Pigeard, from Normandy, was knifed to death at Boro Bistro after three terrorists went on the rampage on Saturday night DoyouBuzz London Attack victims Geoff Ho Facebook

It was not until the Westminster attack in March of this year that Mr Khan again had friction with the Trump family. After the attack, President Trumps eldest son, Donald Jnr, launched into a scathing attack on Mr Khan, sharing a six-month-old story by The Independent on Twitter which quoted the Mayor of London saying terror attacks were part and parcel of living in a global city.

Trump Jnr, an executive of the Trump Organisation, said: You have to be kidding me?!

It was not clear whether Trump Jnr read Mr Khans actual article before misconstruing the London Mayors comments. It also was unclear whether he was aware the six-month-old piece bore no relation to the attack outside the Houses of Parliament and instead centred on Mr Khans reaction to a bombing in the Chelsea neighbourhood of New York.

Mr Khan responded by refusing to talk about Trump Jnrs scornful tweet in two separate interviews, saying: "I've been doing far more important things over the last 24 hours."

But the most recent source of friction between the pair has come in the wake of the recent London Bridge attacks and after Mr Trump wrongly claimed the mayor had said there was no reason to be alarmed about the risk of terror attacks in London.

At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is no reason to be alarmed! the former reality TV star said on Twitter. However, the mayor had been referring to the increased police presence in the capital and in no way telling people they should not be alarmed by the atrocities themselves.

After Mr Khan's spokesperson said that the US President had deliberately taken his remarks out of context, Mr Trump doubled down, tweeting: 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 London Mayor has now said the UK should not roll out the red carpet for President Trump.

Speaking to Channel 4 News from the vigil held on Monday night for the victims of the attack, Mr Khan said he did not think Mr Trump should be welcomed to the UK for a state visit, arguing he goes against everything we stand for.

When asked why he thinks Mr Trump has something against him, Mr Khan replied: Well look, since Saturday Ive been working with the police, the emergency and the Government with others to deal with the horrific attack.

I just havent got the time to respond to tweets from Donald Trump.
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One of the London Bridge attackers posted a message on WhatsApp claiming that with hardship, comes ease, it has been revealed as investigations continued into how the trio of suspected Isis supporters planned the atrocity.

Khuram Butts WhatsApp profile picture included verses of the Quran reading, speak justice, speak kindly, speak politely, speak fairly, speak gently, speak graciously, speak not in vain, the Mirror reported.

Butt, a father-of-two who formerly worked on the Tube and at KFC, last used the encrypted messaging service shortly before 7pm on Wednesday, three days before he was shot dead by police in the bloody rampage.

On his profile, he wrote a message on 10 May that read: ALLAH says (Quran 94:6) - Indeed, with hardship, comes ease.

Butt, who was known as Abz by unsuspecting neighbours, was known to MI5, had appeared in a documentary on British Islamists and had been reported to police over extremist comments.

Despite the concerns, he was able to work on the London Underground at stations including Westminster, Canada Water and West Kensington last year, but reportedly failed his probation period over poor attendance.

Encrypted messaging apps are being scrutinised by security services after several terrorists across Europe used them to communicate with Isis fighters and announce their attacks.

Khalid Masood, who carried out the Westminster attack, sent a WhatsApp message minutes before ramming his car into pedestrians claiming that he was waging jihad in revenge against Western military action in the Middle East, The Independent revealed.

Police are probing the links between Butt, fellow attacker Rachid Redouane and a third man who has not yet been identified, with known extremists in London.

New searches are underway at a property linked to the perpetrators in Ilford, following raids on their homes and those of relatives in Barking and East Ham.

Redouane, who claimed he was from Morocco and Libya, married his British wife in Ireland in 2012 and moved from Dublin to London with their baby daughter.

It is not clear when he arrived in Ireland or how long he stayed but it is believed he used Irish jurisdiction to get a European Union permit allowing him to be in the UK.

Redouane returned to Ireland again in 2015, again for an unknown length of time, but Taoiseach Enda Kenny said he was not one of a small number of radicals under surveillance.

London Bridge Terror Attack Show all 16 1 /16 London Bridge Terror Attack London Bridge Terror Attack Armed police on Borough High Street as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Armed Police talk to members of the public outside London Bridge Hospital as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Police Officers outside the Barrowboy and Banker Public House on Borough High Street as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Armed Police talk to members of the public outside London Bridge Hospital as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Armed police on Borough High Street as police deal with a 'major incident' at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Emergency services near the scene of the incident Screengrab London Bridge Terror Attack People run down Borough High Street as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge Reuters London Bridge Terror Attack Emergency services arrive at the scene near Borough market at London Bridge Carl Court/Getty Images London Bridge Terror Attack Emergency personnel on London Bridge as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Police sniffer dogs on London Bridge as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack A second helicopter lands on London Bridge as police are responding to three incidents in the capital, amid reports that a vehicle collided with pedestrians on London Bridge, Scotland Yard said. Officers are dealing with reports of stabbings in Borough Market, where armed officers attended and shots were fired. They are also at an incident in the Vauxhall area PA London Bridge Terror Attack Police attend to an incident on London Bridge in London REUTERS London Bridge Terror Attack Police attend to an incident on London Bridge in London, Britain Reuters London Bridge Terror Attack A police officer escorts members of the public to safety at London Bridge Getty Images London Bridge Terror Attack Police attend to an incident on London Bridge in London, Britain Reuters London Bridge Terror Attack Police attend to an incident near London Bridge in London, Britain Reuters

An Irish security source described the killer as having extensive immigration history related to the UK.

He also used the name Rachid Elkhdar, and claimed to be six years younger than his real age of 30.

Friends of his wife told the Daily Mail they became estranged when she refused to convert to Islam and Redouane attempted to impose his extremist beliefs, including banning the young child from watching television in case it made her gay or going to dance classes.

His wife complained on social media over Redouanes infrequent visits to their daughter, but neighbours said he returned to their home in Barking at around 7pm on Saturday  three hours before launching the attack in London Bridge.

The trio rammed a hired van into pedestrians before rampaging through pubs and bars surrounding Borough Market, stabbing passers-by.

They killed seven victims and injured dozens more before being shot dead by armed police within eight minutes of the first 999 call.

Isis claimed responsibility for the atrocity, as well as the Manchester bombing and Westminster attack, saying it had been carried out by a unit of Islamic State fighters.

The group has called for supporters to launch intensified terror attacks around the world during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, as it seeks to maintain momentum while suffering heavy losses in Syria and Iraq.
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The third victim of the London Bridge terror attack has been named as Kirsty Boden, an Australian nurse who ran towards danger to help people during the deadly onslaught.

The 28-year-old is among the seven people who were killed when three terrorists rammed a white van into people in the London Bridge area, before exiting the vehicle and stabbing people at random in Borough market.

Ms Boden worked at Guys Hospital in London Bridge. Her family have asked for privacy, and paid tribute to her in a statement, calling her the most outgoing, kind and generous person who loved to help others.

Recommended The innocent victims who were killed in London Bridge terror attack

Kirsty was loved and adored by her family, friends and boyfriend, they said.

She was the most outgoing, kind and generous person, who loved to help people. Helping people was what she loved to do in her job as a nurse and in her daily life.

As she ran towards danger, in an effort to help people on the bridge, Kirsty sadly lost her life.

We are so proud of Kirstys brave actions which demonstrate how selfless, caring and heroic she was, not only on that night, but throughout all of her life. Kirsty  we love you and we will miss you dearly.

Ms Boden was a member of Guys Hospital and worked as a staff nurse in Theatres Recovery.

 Thousands join together for vigil after London Bridge terror attack

Dame Eileen Sills, chief nurse at Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust said Ms Boden was an outstanding nurse who her colleagues described as one in a million.

I cannot put into words how sad I am that we have lost one of our own, she said. Kirsty was an outstanding nurse and a hugely valued member of the staff team in Theatres Recovery, described by her colleagues as one in a million who always went the extra mile for the patients in her care.

Our thoughts at this time are with her family, her loved ones and our staff who have lost a dear friend and colleague.

Canadian woman Christine Archibald and James McMullan, a 32-year-old man from London, have also been named by their families as victims of Saturday nights attack. Frances foreign minister confirmed one French citizen was killed at the time. The victim has not been named.

A total of 48 people were injured by the terrorists in London Bridge, with 18 understood to still be in a critical condition in hospital.

The three terrorists carrying out Saturday nights attack were shot dead by police within eight minutes of the alarm being raised.

Police have named the three attackers as 22-year-old Youssef Zaghba, believed to be an Italian national of Moroccan descent; Khuram Shazad Butt, a 27-year-old Pakistan-born British citizen who was known to police and MI5; and Rachid Redouane, a 30-year-old man who claimed to be Moroccan and Libyan.
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The bloody rampage that left seven people dead and dozens injured on a busy Saturday night in London Bridge is the latest atrocity to be tied to Anjem Choudarys network of extremists, it has emerged.

Khuram Butt, who wore an Arsenal shirt and hoax suicide vest to carry out the slaughter, had been reported to authorities repeatedly over alarming comments and behaviour.

Experts warn that his transformation from apparently non-violent extremist to terrorist could be echoed by countless British Islamists brought to a tipping point by the ideology espoused by hate preachers.

Butt was spotted alongside Choudary, who has subsequently been jailed for inviting support for Isis, at a protest following the murder of Lee Rigby in 2013.

Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of anti-extremism group the Ramadhan Foundation, said Butt flanked Choudary as he defended a murder carried out by one of his own followers.

Mr Shafiq, who was conducting interviews nearby in Westminsters College Green, went to challenge Choudary, Butt and another supporter.

I went to confront him and Butt shouted out murtadd [apostate from Islam], he told The Independent.

 London terror attack suspect named

He and Choudary were together  they came together and they left together.

I didn't pay much attention to Butt at the time, he was just mouthing off at me.

Mr Shafiq later recognised the aggressor in a documentary on British Islamists broadcast last year, and again when he was named among the London Bridge attackers.

Butt made no attempt to hide his identity while appearing in Channel 4 programme The Jihadis Next Door, alongside a group of known extremists led by Choudarys former deputy Mohammed Shamsuddin.

He was shown joining a public prayer towards a black flag associated with Islamist groups including Isis and al-Qaeda, then shouting at police alerted by concerned passers-by.

It was one of several incidents reported to authorities, who have not confirmed claims that Butt was the subject of calls to the anti-terror hotline.

Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said the father-of-two was known to police and MI5, but because the probe into him did not reveal evidence of attack planning he was prioritised accordingly.

London Bridge attacker Khuram Shazad Butt, also known as Abz, in Channel 4s The Jihadis Next Door in 2016 (Channel 4)

Butt most probably came to the attention of security services because of his association with Choudary, Shamsuddin and other remnants of the banned Al-Muhajiroun terrorist group.

A former member of the organisation who now works for counter-terrorism group Quilliam International, Adam Deen, said Butt had been reported to police for attacking one of his colleagues.

Recommended Rudd and Johnson in cabinet clash over London terror attack

Dr Usama Hasan, Quilliams head of Islamic studies, was at an event marking Eid in July last year when Butt approached.

He spotted [Dr Hasan] at the festival and proceeded to attack him and verbally assault himbecause he worked for Quilliam, Mr Deen told The Independent.

He said the incident was reported to police but witnesses did not know Butts identity at the time.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police would not confirm if the attacker was reported or when, saying: We have looked back and some of the claims made in the media we do not recognise. But there have been some calls.

That information is important and we are grateful to the people who ring in.

But being radicalised is not enough to support a criminal prosecution.

London Bridge Terror Attack Show all 16 1 /16 London Bridge Terror Attack London Bridge Terror Attack Armed police on Borough High Street as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Armed Police talk to members of the public outside London Bridge Hospital as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Police Officers outside the Barrowboy and Banker Public House on Borough High Street as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Armed Police talk to members of the public outside London Bridge Hospital as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Armed police on Borough High Street as police deal with a 'major incident' at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Emergency services near the scene of the incident Screengrab London Bridge Terror Attack People run down Borough High Street as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge Reuters London Bridge Terror Attack Emergency services arrive at the scene near Borough market at London Bridge Carl Court/Getty Images London Bridge Terror Attack Emergency personnel on London Bridge as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Police sniffer dogs on London Bridge as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack A second helicopter lands on London Bridge as police are responding to three incidents in the capital, amid reports that a vehicle collided with pedestrians on London Bridge, Scotland Yard said. Officers are dealing with reports of stabbings in Borough Market, where armed officers attended and shots were fired. They are also at an incident in the Vauxhall area PA London Bridge Terror Attack Police attend to an incident on London Bridge in London REUTERS London Bridge Terror Attack Police attend to an incident on London Bridge in London, Britain Reuters London Bridge Terror Attack A police officer escorts members of the public to safety at London Bridge Getty Images London Bridge Terror Attack Police attend to an incident on London Bridge in London, Britain Reuters London Bridge Terror Attack Police attend to an incident near London Bridge in London, Britain Reuters

When we receive information we will act on it and we will do all we can to establish if there is any evidence of criminal activity.

But Mr Deen warned that the line between non-violent and violent extremism had become blurred in the UK.

What were seeing is the aftermath of two decades of grassroots movement of the Islamist ideology, he said.

Were seeing reverberations of young Muslims being attracted to these calls to violenceoften when followers are non-violent it is not because they dont believe in it, but as a form of strategy.

Mr Deen said former leaders of Al-Muhajiroun would not carry out attacks themselves because it was strategically important to stay out of prison and continue propagating messages in support of violence.

He described Choudary, a former solicitor, as very au fait with the law until he was finally jailed last year, while several close associates remain at large under bail conditions restricting their communications and social media use.

Among them is Shamsuddin, who has been arrested numerous times on terror charges but has so far evaded jail.

He succeeded Abu Rumaysah, real name Siddhartha Dhar, as the extremist groups leader after he skipped bail and took his family to join Isis in Syria in 2014.

Rumaysah became prolific for taunting British authorities on social media and posting photos of his children with Isis flags and guns, and is believed to have appeared as the masked British militant in a 2016 execution video following the death of Jihadi John.

Siddhartha Dhar holds an assault rifle and his infant son soon after his arrival in Syria

Another key member of Choudarys network is Abu Haleema, a hate preacher who admitted communicating with a teenager who plotted to behead police on Anzac Day in Australia.

There is no indication that Shamsuddin or Haleema were linked to the London Bridge attack, but it is one of numerous atrocities and plots carried out by members of their network.

Fusilier Rigbys killer, Michael Adebolajo, joined protests alongside Choudary and other terrorists linked to al Al-Muhajiroun include 7/7 bomber Mohammad Sidique Khan, Mikes Place attacker Omar Khan Sharif, Kashmir suicide bomber Bilal Mohammed, Territorial Army petrol bomber Amer Mirza and the men behind plots to attack Royal Wootton Bassett and the London Stock Exchange.

Research by the Henry Jackson Society (HJS) think-tank found Choudary and his associates have inspired more than 100 British jihadis, including a quarter of all Islamist terror offenders in the UK between 1998 and 2015.

Mr Shafiq said he had reported Choudary many times before he was imprisoned, as his followers staged provocative protests and spread extremist propaganda calling for an Islamic state governed by Sharia law.

Theyre all the same clique, he added. They were part of al- Muhajiroun and when that was banned they set up a lot of other groups under different namesglorifying terrorism.

He was critical of claims by Theresa May that there was far too much tolerance of extremism in the UK, adding: British Muslims have been so intolerant of Choudary and his cronies, but police and intelligence agencies have done absolutely nothing.

He was free to roam about spreading his hateful ideology for too long.

Mr Deen said existing counter-terror laws were not being used to their full extent to combat the spread of extremism.

Women hold placards during a march and rally in east London December 13, 2013. They were participating in a rally organised by British Islamist Anjem Choudary condemning use of alcohol and promoting Shariah law (Reuters) (REUTERS)

In Butts case its just negligence, given the fact someone was so open about their views and activities, which had been reported on a number of occasions, he added.

Neighbours said he tried to radicalise their children in a local park in east London, while he had been thrown out of a local mosque for claiming voting was un-Islamic, but Butt was still able to work on the Tube at stations including Westminster, Canada Water and West Kensington last year.

Transport for London said Butt was employed for just under six months as a trainee customer services assistant until October last year, when colleagues claimed he was dismissed for poor attendance.

Nikita Malik, a senior research fellow at the HJS, said the link between Butt and fellow attackers Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba was not yet clear but many Isis supporters committing attacks or travelling to Syria have acted in groups.

She said radicalisation remained largely a social phenomenon, despite online propaganda creating a "fertile breeding ground" alongside charismatic hate preachers.

Its difficult to discern where the level of violence comes in, Ms Malik said.

The rate at which an individual can go from sympathising to actually committing a violent act can be incredibly short, a matter of months.

Authorities are beginning to realise that the scale of the problem is far larger than the 3,000 people they have listed as potential terroristsa number of people are at a tipping point.

Ms Malik warned that although Isis prolific propaganda output has become a dominant focus from authorities, it does not reach supporters in a vacuum.

When Isis claims an attack, it is not always responsible for reaching out and training these individuals, she said.

There are groups who are already in the UK causing people to normalise these beliefs.
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One of the many heroes of the London Bridge terror attack has spoken of the moment he was stabbed in the neck as he tried to face the attackers down and defend his friends.

Journalist Geoff Ho was left in intensive care after attempting to take on the terrorists in Borough Market on Saturday night, but revealed he was on the mend just days later after undergoing surgery for his injuries.

Friend Steve Dyson visited the journalist in hospital on Monday and reported that Mr Ho is now able to speak and is recovering so well he has decided to join Tinder.

Just been to see Geoff Ho in hospital, he wrote in an online post, The Mirror reported.

Hes now able to talk, is in good spirits and doing really well.

He has also realised that due to his new found fame and hero status, its now time to strike and download Tinder.

We love you Geoff, and are thankful youre doing well.

Mr Ho, the business editor of the Sunday Express, has given a vivid account of how he stood up to the terrorists on Saturday night, minutes after helping a lone bouncer fight off two men in a separate incident outside the Southwark Tavern.

He had already posted his this isnt happening on my watch statement on Facebook describing the fight where he helped the bouncer when he walked into Borough Market.

 London Bridge terrorists: What we know so far

At that point I thought job done, now for beer and food, Mr Ho said in a statement.

"I went the five doors down the street to Black & Blue. Within two minutes of my leaving the Southwark Tavern and posting 'not on my watch' on Facebook, the terrorist attackers arrived at the restaurant.

"Most of my friends and the staff hid under tables but one of my friends was frozen behind me. I knew I had to face the attackers down, they were armed and I had the best chance of delaying them until the police arrived or they'd get everyone.

"I had to shield my friends and the people there. Then I noticed they had what looked like suicide vests on. I tried to slow them, they attacked. It happened so quickly.

Geoff Ho being, injured, being led away from the attack (Ayes Gokkaya/screengrab)

"The b****** in the Arsenal shirt came at me first. I think I got a hit in on one of them, but either he or his accomplice got me with a shot to the throat.

"They got my friend who was behind me with a minor stab wound in the face and hands and ran off. I picked up my friend and bundled him into the storeroom.

"I called the police and within moments they arrived. I gave the police descriptions of the three and we were evacuated."

Mr Ho said he had been told by doctors that he would make a full recovery from his injuries, adding: "Also, I want to make it clear that many of my friends are Muslim.

"The people who attacked me were not representative of Islam. I stand in solidarity with my Muslim brothers and sisters."

He urged people to donate to a fund for the British Red Cross and London Air Ambulance.

Additional reporting by Press Association
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The third London Bridge attacker has been named as 22-year-old Youssef Zaghba.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said Zaghba was believed to be an Italian national of Moroccan descent

"He was not a police or MI5 subject of interest," he added, despite claims Italian authorities had alerted the UK.

Italian intelligence sources told the Corriere della Sera newspaper he made visits to his mother in the northern Italian city of Bologna.

Reports said Zaghba, who was born in Fez in 1995, attempted to fly to Turkey and travel onwards to Syria last year but was stopped at Bologna airport.

He reportedly told police officers at the time: "I'm going to be a terrorist."

Italian intelligence agencies had tipped off authorities in both the UK and Morocco about his movements, it was claimed.

After the attempt failed, Zaghba reportedly moved back to Britain and got a temporary job at a restaurant in London.

 Timeline: Police release 12 people held after London atrocity and name two attackers

Metropolitan Police previously identified attackers Khuram Butt and Rachid Redouane but said inquiries continued to confirm Zaghba's identity on Monday.

"Detectives are particularly keen to hear about places they may have frequented and their movements in the days and hours before the attack."

All three men were shot dead by armed police within eight minutes of the first 999 call to Saturday night's attack.

The trio ploughed a hired van into pedestrians on London Bridge before rampaging through bars and pubs surrounding Borough Market stabbing passers-by, killing seven people in injuring dozens more.

Butt, 27, was a British citizen who was born in Pakistan and gave his name as Abz Zeitan to acquaintances.

Redouane, 30, formerly lived with his wife and baby daughter in Ireland and had claimed to be Moroccan and Libyan. He also used the name Rachid Elkhdar, claiming to be five years younger.

Khuram Shazad Butt, left, and Rachid Redouane, who were shot dead by police after the London Bridge terror attack (Metropolitan Police)

Authorities are investigating how the trio planned the atrocity, despite Butt being known to police and MI5, having being reported to the anti-terror hotline and appearing on a documentary on British Islamists.

Zaghba was identified as searches continued at homes linked to the perpetrators, with a 27-year-old man arrested in Barking on Tuesday morning.

Twelve other men and women arrested as part of the investigation have all been released without charge.

Isis claimed responsibility for the massacre, as well as the Manchester bombing and Westminster attack, saying it had been carried out by a unit of Islamic State fighters.

The group has called for supporters to launch intensified terror attacks around the world during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, as it seeks to maintain momentum while suffering heavy losses in Syria and Iraq.
Madrid has a new symbol. On Monday, city officials inaugurated pedestrian traffic lights depicting women and same-sex couples. Madrid needed to have this acknowledgment on its streets, said Mayor Manuela Carmena . Traffic lights are intended to take care of citizens, and they had to reflect the citys diversity.

Passersby taking pictures of the new traffic lights in Madrid. EFE

A total of 288 new lights will go up at 72 intersections across the Spanish capital, at a cost of 21,747.

The move builds on an earlier initiative in the Andalusian city of San Fernando de Cadiz, which put up its own same-sex traffic lights in February of this year. And in March 2016, Valencia introduced female characters on some of the lights regulating its pedestrian crossings.

When I saw the new lights, it made me think of Berlin

Toni Poveda, Gay Pride coordinator

Madrid Mayor Carmena said it was important for the city to recognize its own diversity through lights depicting children, men, women and couples, instead of individuals. Carmena and a contingent of councilors from the ruling leftist Ahora Madrid coalition personally surveyed the new lights during a tour of the city center.

The full installation will not be completed until June 26. We are going to act progressively in order to reach all the districts, said Ines Sabanes, a city official in charge of environmental and mobility affairs. Through this action, and in partnership with social groups and parties, we are creating a symbolic element that conveys a message of diversity, which is a symbol of our capital, she said.

There are also plans to introduce crosswalks with stripes painted in the colors of the rainbow flag, said Jesus Generelo, president of the Spanish Federation of LGTB Collectives (FELGTB).

Other cities El Pais In 2015, Vienna installed 47 traffic lights depicting gay and straight couples to illustrate the Austrian capital's tolerant attitude in a year when it was organizing the Eurovision song competition. Other cities soon followed suit: Linz and Salzburg in Austria, Munich in southern Germany, and even London, which installed some in Trafalgar Square for the June 2016 Gay Pride festival.

Up until last year, city agencies in Madrid  governed by the Popular Party conservatives for 24 consecutive years  had never flown the rainbow flag during the Gay Pride celebrations, which are taking place in Madrid between June 23 and July 2. This year, the Spanish capital will serve as the host for the international LGBTQ World Pride event, as well as for Euro Pride.

Its been 40 years since the first street demonstrations in Spain to defend the communitys rights, said Boti Rodrigo, an activist. Where we once used to be scared walking down the streets, we can now see ourselves represented in them. A lot of things have been achieved thanks to the activist fight, and also thanks to the political change that made this municipal government possible.

When I saw the new lights, it made me think of Berlin, said Toni Poveda, the FELGTB coordinator for World Pride, alluding to Ampelmann, the East Germany-created, hat-wearing traffic light symbol that survived beyond reunification and is still seen on Berlins city streets.

In fact, some people in attendance at Mondays inauguration asked whether any t-shirts, bags and magnets with the new symbol will be available, much as Ampelmann products are on sale in the German capital. We want this to be a new icon of Madrid, said Poveda.

English version by Susana Urra.
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The death toll from the London Bridge terror attack has risen to eight after detectives recovered a body from the River Thames.

Terrorists rammed a white van into pedestrians on London Bridge on Saturday before stabbing revellers in nearby Borough Market.

Police shot and killed the three perpetrators within eight minutes of the alarm being raised, but 48 people had already been injured.

French national Xavier Thomas is believed to have been hit by the van and thrown off the bridge in the onslaught. His body was recovered from the Thames near Limehouse on Tuesday.

Recommended How the London Bridge and Borough Market terror attack happened

There are 15 victims still in critical care, who have all been identified, the Metropolitan police said.

Canadian Christine Archibald was the first victim to be identified following the atrocity.

The 30-year-old was on the bridge with her fiance Tyler Ferguson when she was hit by the van.

Mr Fergusons sister, Cassie Ferguson Rowe, said her brother held Ms Archibald in his arms as she died.

Ms Archibald worked in a homeless shelter in Canada before moving to Europe to be with her fiance, her family in Castlegar, British Columbia, said in a statement.

Canadian Christine Archibald was killed on London Bridge (Twitter)

She would have had no understanding of the callous cruelty that caused her death, they said.

They asked those who want to honour her to volunteer their time or donate to a homeless shelter and to tell them "Chrissy sent you."

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau said he was heartbroken to learn of Ms Archibalds death.

The second victim of the London Bridge terror attack to be named was James McMullan, whose family revealed his identity ahead of official confirmation.

James McMullan's death was revealed by his family

Melissa McMullan, his sister, made a tearful statement in the centre of the capital on Monday saying she believed the 32-year-old had died.

This morning we received news from police that my brothers bank card was found on one of the bodies from Saturday nights brutal attack, but they are unable to formally identify him until the coroners report begins tomorrow," she said.

We would like to send our condolences to the relatives and loved ones of all the people who lost their lives, our thoughts are with them also at this time.

We would like to thank all the members of the services who did their utmost to serve and protect the population of London from these deranged and deluded individuals.

Her family said Kirsty was 'loved and adored by her family, friends and boyfriend' (Kirsty Boden via Met Police)

While our pain will never diminish it is important for us all to carry on with our lives in direct opposition to those who would try to destroy us, and remember that hatred is the refuge of small-minded individuals and will only breed more.

This is not a course we will follow, despite our loss.

Australian Kirsty Boden ran towards people being attacked to try to help them before herself being killed, according to a statement released by her family.

Kirsty was loved and adored by her family, friends and boyfriend. She was the most outgoing, kind and generous person who loved to help people. Helping people was what she loved to do in her job as a nurse and in her daily life," the statement said.

Le Parisien daily newspaper named the dead man as 36-year-old Sebastian Belanger (Facebook)

As she ran towards danger, in an effort to help people on the bridge, Kirsty sadly lost her life. We are so proud of Kirstys brave actions which demonstrate how selfless, caring and heroic she was, not only on that night, but throughout all of her life. Kirsty  we love you and we will miss you dearly.

We will not be making any further comments on this tragedy and ask everyone, especially the media, to give us the privacy we need to grieve away from the public eye.

Reports said the 28-year-old was a healthcare worker who had lived in London for some time.

Australia's minister for foreign affairs has confirmed that two of its nationals were killed in the attack.

The family of Australian Sara Zelenak, who has not been seen since she was separated from friends on Saturday night, have said she died in the attack. Friends and family have posted tributes to her online, with her father Mark Wallace sharing a video of her, stating: "I really miss that funny little laugh".

Xavier Thomas pictured with his girlfriend Christine Delcros has not been seen since a van rammed into pedestrians on London Bridge on Saturday (Facebook)

Two French citizens are understood to have been killed in the attack.

One man who died has not been publicly identified, though French media have named him as 27-year-old Alexandre Pigeard.

Boro Bistro manager Vincent Le Berre told Brittany news outlet Le Telegramme that Mr Pigeard was attacked by a terrorist the bar during the onslaught.

"I managed to escape him, but my friend Alexandre did not have that chance. He was hit in the neck with a knife," he said.

Mr Pigeard was reportedly from Normandy but had lived in London for over two years.

Candice Hedge, injured victim of London Bridge attack (Facebook)

A 36-year-old French chef Sebastien Belanger has been confirmed dead. He was understood to have also been drinking in the Boro Bistro bar at the time of the attack. French media have reported his family are travelling to London to identify a body which is believed to be his.

The girlfriend of French tourist Xavier Thomas was on the bridge with him when he was apparently struck by the van, and was seriously injured herself.

Frances foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian seven other French nationals were among the victims taken to hospital following the attack. Four of them are in a serious condition.

Ignacio Echeverria, a 39-year-old banker, is still missing after he attempted to help an injured woman in Borough market, according to an account given by a friend to his father Joaquin Echverria.

Four police officers were wounded in the attack. Scotland Yard said an off-duty Metropolitan Police officer and a British Transport Police (BTP) officer were in hospital with serious injuries, but neither is believed to be in a life-threatening condition.

Geoff Ho was injured after he tried to defend his friend from the terrorists (Geoff Ho/Facebook)

The unnamed BTP officer was reportedly one of the first responders to the scene and received stab wounds to his face, head and leg after attempting to take the terrorists on while armed with nothing but a baton.

The off-duty Met police officer was stabbed as he rugby-tackled one of the terrorists in an attempt to overpower them during the attack.

Daniel ONeill had been at a pub with his girlfriend when he was stabbed by one of the attackers.

His mother Elizabeth said her 23-year-old son has a seven-inch wound running from his belly to his back after one of the attackers said: This is for my family, this is for Islam, and stabbed him.

Australias prime minister Malcolm Turnbull says four of the countrys citizens were injured in the attacks, two of whom the government has very real concerns about.

Two of those injured have been named as Candice Hedge from Brisbane, who was stabbed in the neck, and Andrew Morrison from Darwin, who has received stitches for a wound and was on his way home to Australia.

Ms Hedge, 31, was in a bar with her boyfriend when she was stabbed. She awoke from a coma in hospital, and has received stitches after the knife missed her main arteries and windpipe. She wrote on Facebook that she was in a bit of pain but I will survive.

Geoff Ho, the business editor of the Sunday Express, was stabbed in the throat when he tried to help a bouncer who was being attacked. He was placed in intensive care and has undergone surgery for his injuries.

"Don't know whether it was stupid or noble to jump in and break up the fight outside the Southwark Tavern, but two a*******s trying to do over the lone bouncer on the door isn't happening on my watch, he wrote on Facebook.

Oliver Dowling, 32, from New Zealand, is reportedly in a coma after being stabbed multiple times in the attack. He is understood to have been stabbed in the face, neck and stomach, and underwent four hours of surgery for his injuries.

Mr Dowlings girlfriend, Marie Bondeville, was also reportedly hurt.

Spains foreign ministry confirmed that one of its citizens was injured on Saturday night and said the victims wounds had been described as not serious.

Additional reporting by agencies
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Fears are growing for a missing French national caught up in the London Bridge terror attack after witnesses said he may have been thrown into the River Thames.

The Met Police issued a fresh appeal for information about Xavier Thomas who has not been seen since Saturday's attack.

The 45-year-old was walking south on the bridge with his girlfriend Christine Delcros when a van ploughed into pedestrians.

Ms Delcros was seriously injured after she was hit by the van and now witnesses say Mr Thomas may also have been struck by the vehicle and propelled into the water below.

Specialist officers from the Marine Police Unit and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) have been searching the river since the night of the attack.

Seven people were killed and 48 injured in the knife and vehicle assault on London Bridge and Borough Market's nearby bars and restaurants.

Three victims have been named so far and further identifications will take place over the coming days, according to police.

Recommended The innocent victims who were killed in London Bridge terror attack

30-year-old Canadian Christine Archibald was the first to be named. She was on the bridge with her fiance Tyler Ferguson when she was hit by the van.

The second victim of the London Bridge terror attack to be named was 32-year-old Londoner James McMullan, whose family revealed his identity ahead of official confirmation.

Australian Kirsty Boden was also killed after she ran towards people being attacked to try to help them, according to a statement released by her family.
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Sadiq Khan has said the UK should not roll out the red carpet for Donald Trump after the US President relaunched his attack on the London mayor's response to the city's terrorist atrocity.

Mr Trump reignited his feud with Mr Khan on Monday, just hours after wrongly claiming the mayor had said there was no reason to be alarmed about the risk of terror attacks in London.

Speaking to Channel 4 News from the vigil held on Monday night for the victims of the attack two days earlier, Mr Khan said he did not think the US President should be welcomed to Britain for a state visit, saying he goes against everything we stand for.

When asked by Channel 4s Cathy Newman what he thinks Mr Trump has against him, Mr Khan replied: Well look, since Saturday Ive been working with the police, the emergency and the Government with others to deal with the horrific attack.

I just havent got the time to respond to tweets from Donald Trump.

When then asked whether he would like the state visit to be cancelled, Mr Khan said: I dont think we should be rolling out the red carpet to the President of the USA in the circumstances where his policies go against everything we stand for.

When you have a close relationship its no different from when you have a close mate. You stand with them in times of adversity, but you call them out when their wrong. And there are many things about which Donald Trump is wrong.

It comes as Theresa May faced calls to scrap Mr Trumps visit to Britain following the US Presidents latest attack on Mr Khan, accused by Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron of being a supine leader and urged by Labour MP David Lammy to "show some bottle".

Earlier, the Prime Minister three times refused to directly criticise Mr Trumps comments about the Mayor of London when questioned by journalists on the campaign trail, ducking the questions twice before eventually saying: I think Sadiq Khan is doing a good job and its wrong to say anything else.

On Saturday, within hours of the London Bridge murders, the US President tweeted: At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is no reason to be alarmed!

 Sadiq Khan: You do not commit these disgusting acts in my name

In fact, Mr Khan had said: My message to Londoners and visitors to our great city is to be calm and vigilant today. You will see an increased police presence today, including armed officers and uniformed officers. There is no reason to be alarmed by this.

On Monday morning, Mr Trump published a new tweet saying: Pathetic excuse by London Mayor Sadiq Khan who had to think fast on his 'no reason to be alarmed' statement. MSM is working hard to sell it.

In a sign of contempt for the US President across America, Mr Trump's second attack on the London mayor came as every mayor in America sent Mr Khan a message of support and solidarity.
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Amnesty International has called on the UK to ban the import of all goods produced in illegal Israeli settlements and use its influence to stop human rights abuses against Palestinians.

The rights organisation said such a move would help put an end to multimillion-pound profits that have fuelled mass human rights violations against the Palestinians.

To mark the 50th anniversary of Israel's occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, Amnesty has launched a campaign calling on all countries to stop settlement goods from reaching their markets and prevent their companies from operating in settlements or trading in settlement goods.

Israeli settlement building in the West Bank and East Jerusalem over the 1967 Green Line is considered illegal under international law and has been condemned by the United Nations and European Union.

It is also considered a major obstacle to creating a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

Despite this, hundreds of millions of pounds' worth of goods produced in Israeli settlements built on occupied Palestinian land are exported internationally each year, Amnesty said.

 Trump: Israelis and Palestinians are 'reaching for peace'

The organisation also said Israeli and international businesses had enabled and facilitated settlement construction and expansion.

Amnesty accused Britain of shamefully standing by as Israel has destroyed Palestinian homes and profited form their land and natural resources.

Settlement goods imported to the UK include oranges, dates, spring water and halva desserts.

The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Show all 10 1 /10 The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Medics evacuate a wounded man from the scene of an attack in Jerusalem. A Palestinian rammed a vehicle into a bus stop then got out and started stabbing people before he was shot dead AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Israeli ZAKA emergency response members carry the body of an Israeli at the scene of a shooting attack in Jerusalem. A pair of Palestinian men boarded a bus in Jerusalem and began shooting and stabbing passengers, while another assailant rammed a car into a bus station before stabbing bystanders, in near-simultaneous attacks that escalated a month long wave of violence AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Getty Images The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Palestinians throw molotov cocktail during clashes with Israeli troops near Ramallah, West Bank. Recent days have seen a series of stabbing attacks in Israel and the West Bank that have wounded several Israelis AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Women cry during the funeral of Palestinian teenager Ahmad Sharaka, 13, who was shot dead by Israeli forces during clashes at a checkpoint near Ramallah, at the family house in the Palestinian West Bank refugee camp of Jalazoun, Ramallah AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies A wounded Palestinian boy and his father hold hands at a hospital after their house was brought down by an Israeli air strike in Gaza Reuters The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Palestinians look on after a protester is shot by Israelis soldiers during clashes at the Howara checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus EPA The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies A lawyer wearing his official robes kicks a tear gas canister back toward Israeli soldiers during a demonstration by scores of Palestinian lawyers called for by the Palestinian Bar Association in solidarity with protesters at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, near Ramallah, West Bank AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Undercover Israeli soldiers detain a Palestinian in Ramallah Reuters The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Palestinian youth burn tyres during clashes with Israeli soldiers close to the Jewish settlement of Bet El, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, after Israel barred Palestinians from Jerusalem's Old City as tensions mounted following attacks that killed two Israelis and wounded a child

Kate Allen, director of Amnesty International UK, said: The UK should do the legally and morally right thing and introduce a ban on the import and sale of all goods produced in the Israeli settlements.

For decades, Britain and the rest of the world has shamefully stood by as Israel has destroyed Palestinians homes and plundered their land and natural resources for profit.

The Israeli settlements are illegal  by extension, all settlement goods are tainted by illegality. The UK should no longer be party to this.

Far-right Israeli nationalists fly the Israeli flag in Jerusalems Old City on Jerusalem Day last month (AFP/Getty) (AFP/Getty Images)

Amnesty argued Israel's policy of settling Israeli civilians on occupied Palestinian land has led to a wide range of human right violations.

These include displacing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, demolishing tens of thousands of Palestinian homes and properties and appropriating at least 100,000 hectares of Palestinian land.

In addition, Amnesty alleges Israel has also unlawfully seized control of Palestinian natural resources such as water, fertile land, stone quarries and minerals, and diverted these to benefit settlement industries to produce products, materials and goods that are often exported abroad.

The Independent has contacted the Israeli embassy in London for comment.
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The revelation of the identity of the third man who carried out the London Bridge murders has highlighted an added international dimension to the terrorist plot, as well as raising fresh claims of a serious failure of intelligence.

The naming of Youssef Zaghba has also once again raised the Isis factor in the attack.

The Italian of Moroccan background had sought to join the group in Syria just as Pakistani-born Khuram Butt had once planned to do from Britain.

Both failed to reach the caliphate, but both ended up as neighbours in east London, from where they planned and brought jihad to the streets of this country.

Italian authorities informed their British counterparts in April last year about Zaghbas efforts to join Isis. When stopped the previous month at Bologna airport en route to Turkey, from where he intended to cross the border into Syria, the 22-year-old reportedly declared: I am going to be a terrorist.

London Bridge Terror Attack Show all 16 1 /16 London Bridge Terror Attack London Bridge Terror Attack Armed police on Borough High Street as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Armed Police talk to members of the public outside London Bridge Hospital as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Police Officers outside the Barrowboy and Banker Public House on Borough High Street as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Armed Police talk to members of the public outside London Bridge Hospital as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Armed police on Borough High Street as police deal with a 'major incident' at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Emergency services near the scene of the incident Screengrab London Bridge Terror Attack People run down Borough High Street as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge Reuters London Bridge Terror Attack Emergency services arrive at the scene near Borough market at London Bridge Carl Court/Getty Images London Bridge Terror Attack Emergency personnel on London Bridge as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Police sniffer dogs on London Bridge as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack A second helicopter lands on London Bridge as police are responding to three incidents in the capital, amid reports that a vehicle collided with pedestrians on London Bridge, Scotland Yard said. Officers are dealing with reports of stabbings in Borough Market, where armed officers attended and shots were fired. They are also at an incident in the Vauxhall area PA London Bridge Terror Attack Police attend to an incident on London Bridge in London REUTERS London Bridge Terror Attack Police attend to an incident on London Bridge in London, Britain Reuters London Bridge Terror Attack A police officer escorts members of the public to safety at London Bridge Getty Images London Bridge Terror Attack Police attend to an incident on London Bridge in London, Britain Reuters London Bridge Terror Attack Police attend to an incident near London Bridge in London, Britain Reuters

UK officials were sent details of his arrest and incriminating material found in his possession and from a search of a place where he had been staying. Yet, while confirming that Zaghba was one of the killers, Scotland Yard stated: He was not a police or MI5 subject of interest.

The Italian authorities had also informed their counterparts in Morocco about Zaghba. A huge number of the major attacks in Western Europe have involved terrorists with Moroccan connections. Another of the three London killers, Rached Redouane, was also from Morocco.

Mohammed Abrini, a Belgian of Moroccan background, who played a key part in attacks in Paris and Brussels, had visited England to raise funds. A Birmingham resident, Zakaria Bouffasil, of Moroccan and Belgian background, was charged and convicted of funding international terrorism.

During Boffasils trial, evidence was presented from a Belgian police interview with Abrini in which he says that his terrorist cell had decided not to carry out an attack in the UK because security here was too tight. With three major attacks in three months, there will be a perception that Islamist terrorists have found a way to get past that British security shield.

The security agencies are already facing criticism for supposed failures over the attacks in Manchester, Westminster and London Bridge.

Questions are being asked, in particular, about why nothing was done to stop Khuram Butt, despite the fact he was reported to the police on two separate occasions for expressing approval of terrorist attacks and accessing online preaching and attempting to indoctrinate children.

According to members of his family, Butt had planned to travel to Syria in 2015 to join Isis. He was dissuaded from doing so, it is claimed, because his wife Zahra was pregnant at the time.

He continued to mix in hardline Islamist circles and appeared in a Channel 4 documentary, The Jihadis Next Door, about the presence of vicious Muslim extremists in British cities. He was seen in the programme among a group of men unfurling the black flag of Isis and then in a confrontation with the police.

Butt, who had worked at one stage for Transport for London, was an associate of Anjem Choudary, who is now serving five and half years in prison for supporting Isis.

 London Bridge terrorists: What we know so far

It is claimed that he knew Siddhartha Dhar, a Hindu who converted to Islam and joined Isis in Syria. But Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley stated: There was no intelligence to suggest that this attack was being planned and the investigation had been prioritised accordingly.

Work is ongoing to understand more about them, their connections and whether they were assisted or supported by anyone else.

Recommended Third London terror attacker named as Youssef Zaghba

Zaghba, who has a Moroccan father and an Italian mother, grew up in Morocco but came to stay with his mother in Italy after his parents separated.

He was stopped at Bologna airport on 15 March last year travelling with just a backpack, very little money and a one-way ticket to Istanbul; crossing the border from Turkey into Syria had become a regular route for those seeking to join rebels fighting the Bashar al-Assads regime. He had told his mother that he was catching an internal flight to Rome.

A search revealed that his mobile telephone contained propaganda videos, Salafist religious tracts and evidence of his desire to take part in jihad. All that, as well as details of additional incriminating material found in a search of his mothers home, was passed on to British security agencies in May last year, according to Italian authorities.

An Italian court, Tribunale del Riesame, ruled there was insufficient evidence to charge Zaghba with terrorist offences and he could not be deported because he held Italian nationality. But he was placed on a watch list and his name was circulated to a number of countries, including the UK.

A senior former British security official said: It is rather odd that two men who did not know each other, one in Bologna, the other in Barking, tried to join Daesh (Isis) and ended up living near each other in London.

The investigation will need to look at whether this was a pure coincidence or whether they had got in touch with each other and were following Daesh instructions  which have been often repeated  to carry out acts of jihad in Europe if one couldnt get to Syria.
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Boris Johnson has backed Donald Trump's state visit to the UK, despite the US President's attack on London Mayor Sadiq Khan in the wake of the weekend's terror strike.

The Foreign Secretary said he saw "no reason" to withdraw the invitation, after Mr Trump accused Mr Khan of making a "pathetic excuse" for the atrocity which left seven dead.

Prime Minister Theresa May also refused to criticise the President's words yesterday, even though the Mayor of New York Bill de Blasio branded them unacceptable.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Johnson said: "The invitation has been issued and accepted and I see no reason to change that."

Mr Johnson did say he thought Mr Khan was "entirely right" to make a statement after the attacks in which he sought to calm and support Londoners.

But the London Mayor's words provoked an attack from the White House with Mr Trump taking to Twitter to say: "Pathetic excuse by London Mayor Sadiq Khan who had to think fast on his "no reason to be alarmed" statement. MSM is working hard to sell it!"

Ms May faced calls to cancel the invitation to Mr Trump in the wake of his comments, but refused to take a critical line on the President.

At an election campaign press conference, the Prime Minister had to be asked three times before saying it would be "wrong" to have attacked Mr Khan in the wake of the attacks, but still stopped short of criticising the Presidents' comments directly.

 Donald Trump slams Sadiq Khan on London terror attack

After the 9/11 attacks UK politicians gave their support to then New York Mayor Rudi Giuliani, who even received an Honorary Knighthood for his role supporting the city's people.

Current New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has thrown his weight behind Mr Khan, saying that his counterpart in London has done an "extraordinary job".

At the time of Mr Trump's comments, Mr Khan refused to get involved in the row, with a spokeswoman pointing out that he was "focused on dealing with Saturdays horrific and cowardly attack". He later accused the President of trying to divide communities.
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Nick Clegg has become the first senior British politician to back plans for Britons to keep EU citizenship after Brexit if they wish  calling the idea very attractive.

The next British government should work with Brussels to allow people to retain a more meaningful connection with the European Union, the former Liberal Democrat leader said.

The call came as Mr Clegg said Theresa May  if she wins the election  will be to blame if the Brexit negotiations collapse soon after they start in less than two weeks time.

He said the Prime Minister was guilty of a spectacular failure of leadership by failing to prepare the British public for the inevitable, enormously painful compromises to come.

Mr Clegg also warned that the recent visits to the EU by the leaders of China and India  when they neither came to the UK nor bothered to speak to Ms May  laid bare how Britain was already losing importance.

Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliaments Brexit coordinator, has urged Ms May to allow associate citizenship for people in the UK angry at losing EU privileges.

It would allow Britons to retain free movement to live and work across the EU, as well as a vote in European Parliament elections.

Mr Verhofstadt believes the idea has captured the imagination and hopes of young people, in particular, who are desperate to keep the right to move to other EU countries.

After delivering a speech insisting voters could still stop a self-destructive Brexit, Mr Clegg said he had discussed continued EU citizenship with Mr Verhofstadt.

It is, of course, self-evidently a legally fraught concept, but its one that he wants to persist with and I think he should be given every encouragement and support to do so.

I think the idea of trying to offer people some way of retaining a more meaningful connection with the European Union is something that is very attractive to many people.

However, the plan has already been opposed by some Leave-supporting MPs and groups who have urged Ms May not to make it part of the Brexit negotiations.

On the prospect of the Brexit negotiations breaking down  with the two parties far apart on the divorce bill and the rights of EU citizens in the UK  Mr Clegg said it had been unthinkable immediately after the referendum.

Now, he added: The chances of it collapsing altogether are much, much higher than I could have ever possibly imagined.

Insisting that collapse would be of Theresa Mays making, Mr Clegg said: You cannot say we are not going to abide by European rules, but we want to have effortless access to your databases.

We want frictionless trade, but to hell with the customs union and the single market.

The former Deputy Prime Minister accused Ms May and Jeremy Corbyn of colluding in a pact of silence to avoid discussing Brexit during the election campaign.

Mr Clegg argued tariff-free trade with the EU could be negotiated, but could not come close to compensating for losing single market membership  a crucial fact the Labour leader does not understand.
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Diane Abbott is facing fresh criticism after she struggled to answer questions in yet another interview  this time about a recent report on improving Londons terror preparedness.

Asked about the recommendations made by Lord Harriss October 2016 inquiry, of which there were 127, the Shadow Home Secretary could not name one.

Do you think some of the things he said in there were prescient and should be acted on, asked Sky News presenter Dermot Murnaghan.

Ms Abbott replied that it was about preparedness and resilience and that we needed to act not necessarily on every specific recommendation.

Asked to be more specific, particularly on the bullet points Lord Harris had included, Ms Abbott said it was an important review and we should act on it.

Mr Murnaghan then asked what she thought about the reports recommendations on police forces, to which Ms Abbott replied: What the idea that they should work more closely together?

The presenter pointed out that Lord Harris had suggested they amalgamate, to which Ms Abbott said there might be resistance.

Have you actually read the report? asked Mr Murnaghan, to which she replied that she had.

But when she was asked about the physical resilience, Ms Abbott said she thought it was important. Mr Murnaghan pointed out the report was talking about putting up barriers.

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

It comes just over a month after Ms Abbott was criticised for underestimating the number of net losses Labour has suffered in local elections in a television interview with ITN.

After if she knew the number of net losses so far for Labour, the shadow Home Secretary said: At the time of us doing this interview, I think the net losses are about 50.

The interviewer corrected her, saying: Theyre actually 125 net losses so far.

Viewers quickly took to social media to criticise the gaffe.

That came within days of her car crash interview with LBC, which saw Ms Abbott struggle to give clear numbers on Labours plan to add 10,000 new police officer roles.

She gave several estimates for how much the new officers would cost, ranging from 300,000 to 80m.
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Labours Diane Abbott pulled out of two major election debates on Tuesday following a string of embarrassing bungled interviews.

Ms Abbott was set to go head-to-head with Home Secretary Amber Rudd on a BBC Radio debate but withdrew due to illness, she later pulled out of a hustings hosted by the London Evening Standard.

It came after yet another difficult interview in which she struggled to answer questions about her own home affairs brief, with her leader Jeremy Corbyn facing questions over whether she would be up to a job in government.

The BBC announced that shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry would stand in for Ms Abbott on Radio 4's Woman's Hour programme and Standard editor George Osborne later confirmed she would not appear at his newspaper's election event in the capital.

In an interview with Sky News on Monday night, Ms Abbott said it was time to revisit the advice in a report into London security by the former Metropolitan Police Authority chairman Lord Harris, but was then unable to give any of the specific details of it.

Asked which part she was endorsing in the uncomfortable interview, she simply replied: I just think its about preparedness and resilience.

Ms Abbott denied reports that the Labour leader and shadow chancellor John McDonnell were taking steps to keep her off air for the remainder of the election campaign.

I am here. I have just come from doing another media interview. Im going on to do another media interview. There is no truth in the idea Im not in the media, she told Sky.

 Diane Abbott gives excruciating interview over cost of Labour police pledge

In a previous excruciating interview Ms Abbott struggled with figures around Labours policy of introducing 10,000 new police officers, and later appeared ill-briefed over the losses the party suffered in local elections.

Despite claims that Ms Abbott was ill, a picture emerged on Twitter of her near the BBC's offices shortly before the radio debate was due to happen, leading the Conservatives to accuse Labour of trying to hide the shadow Home Secretary to prevent her from making any further gaffes.

International Development Secretary Priti Patel said: Jeremy Corbyn wants to make Diane Abbott Home Secretary in just two days but is hiding her away from voters.

The woman who would be in charge of our police and the intelligence services cannot even be trusted by Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell to go on the airwaves to explain their shocking record on national security.
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A Conservative MP repeatedly failed to quote the minimum wage in a bumbling interview, apparently making two guesses before being told the correct figure.

In an interview on the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire show, Andrew Mitchell, the candidate for Sutton Coldfield in Birmingham, suggested the minimum wage for people over the age of 25 was 6 an hour.

The former chief whip then made a second guess, asking if it was 8 an hour.

The Government's national minimum wage is 7.50 an hour.

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

Questioned by Ms Derbyshire in her "van share" series on what he thought the minimum wage was, Mr Mitchell avoided the question and said: "We hope it will be up to 9."

Pushed further, he said: "It's less than 9."

Ms Derbyshire said: "Correct. What is it?"

Appearing to make a guess, Mr Mitchell said: "It's err, about 6."

Giving him a stern look, Ms Mitchell told him: "That is way out."

"There must be people in your constituency who are on the minimum wage," she added.

After being asked if he wanted to know the figure, Mr Mitchell said: "What is it, 8?"

Later in the interview, Mr Mitchell was unable to answer a questions about how many council homes the Conservatives built last year (6,800) or how many people were on the housing waiting list (1.2 million).

But he did admit to owning three properties.
A Spaniard who runs a bar in Londons Borough Market has become one of the heroes of Saturdays terrorist attack after a video emerged showing him letting people into the premises, shutting the doors, and briefly holding back one of the approaching attackers.

Sergio Farina, who is originally from the northwestern Spanish region of Galicia, has been living in London for the last 16 years according to Diario de Pontevedra, the regional daily that released the video footage.

The images show Farina stepping outside his bar, Arthur Hoopers, to see what is going on. He then decides to bring the sidewalk tables inside and shut the glass doors before the attackers approach. Several people can then be seen coming inside the premises, seeking refuge from the assailants.

It was lucky he [the attacker] was not more persistent, because I dont know what would have happened

Sergio Farina's brother

But there was a problem: something was obstructing the roller blind, which failed to come down completely. As he was trying to fix the glitch, Farina got stuck between both entrance doors at the very moment when one of the knife-wielding terrorists was attempting to come inside.

There was a scuffle as the two men pushed and pulled at the door. In the video voice-over, Farinas brother explains that it was lucky he [the attacker] was not more persistent, because I dont know what would have happened.

Meanwhile, another Spaniard who reportedly stood up to one of the assailants in a separate incident, Ignacio Echeverria, remains missing. The Spanish government has also confirmed that a Spanish man known to have been injured in the attack is Alejandro Martinez, a graduate student who suffered chest, wrist and hand wounds, but whose injuries are not life-threatening.

English version by Susana Urra.
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Theresa May will be dragged down by a Black Wednesday-style crisis within months of her expected election triumph, Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron has predicted.

In a close-of-campaign interview, Mr Farron warned the Prime Ministers joy would be shortlived  because Brexit would overwhelm her, just as a disastrous European policy swamped John Majors premiership.

In late 1992, public opinion turned sharply against a Conservative Prime Minister, five months after his own election victory, when sterling crashed out of the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM).

Recommended May and Corbyn are in a conspiracy of silence over Brexit

Later, the Treasury estimated that the unsuccessful fight to keep the pound in the ERM had cost taxpayers 3.4bn  wrecking the Tories reputation for economic competence.

In the same way, Mr Farron said, the folly of Ms Mays Brexit policy would quickly be exposed, forecasting an early collapse of the exit negotiations.

She may win a landslide like Margaret Thatcher but, within a matter of months, she will be in the same sort of mess that John Major and [Chancellor] Norman Lamont were in after Black Wednesday, he told The Independent.

Early on, it will become clear that any free trade deal hinges on adjudication by the European Court of Justice  and I cant see how she has any wriggle room, politically, to deliver that.

At a campaign event this week, the Prime Minister vowed: I am very clear that the European Court of Justice and its jurisdiction in the UK is going to be ended.

Mr Farron said there could be an attempt to fudge the issue, with adjudication by a body linked to the ECJ, but added: The Tory party would tear itself to bits over that.

The chances of her getting that past the likes of Dominic Raab and David Davies  let alone the Bill Cashes of this world  are absolutely zero.

The Lib Dem leader added that business would be horrified by the failure, at the same time as the public was recoiling over fresh cuts to schools, the police and health services.

Already, two-thirds of headteachers are making redundancies  and thats before it becomes apparent that we are heading, not for a hard Brexit, but for a granite Brexit, Mr Farron said.

Its almost impossible to see how Theresa May doesnt have the sort of year that, by Christmas, leaves her looking like John Major and Norman Lamont.

Asked if that meant he believed the UK leaving the EU with no deal was now inevitable  which Ms May has said she would accept  Mr Farron replied: I suspect it is.

The interview took place as Mr Farron travelled across the Pennines to Yorkshire, at the end of what appears likely to be a hugely disappointing campaign for his party.

Far from gaining large numbers of seats  thanks to angry Remain-backing voters  the Lib Dems are fighting to cling onto the nine they have, marooned in single figures in the polls.

Last week, Mr Farron pointed to his opposition to the dementia tax as his big offer, apparently downgrading his calling card at the start of the campaign  a second referendum on any final Brexit deal.

But he denied he had switched tack, saying a further referendum, 1p on income tax to rescue the NHS and social care and fighting the dementia tax had always been his three points throughout the campaign.

Im confident we will be the only opposition party making gains  although, given that both Labour and the SNP will contract, they may not be saying much, the Lib Dem leader said.

On his own seat of Westmoreland and Lonsdale, Mr Farron said: I have never taken it for granted  if I had I would deserve to lose  but its looking very good, for what its worth.
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To have two consecutive prime ministers who have both done the naughtiest things they have ever done in fields in Oxfordshire is not on the face of that unlikely.

But Theresa May is a full 10 years older than her predecessor, a fact that renders real the horrifying possibility that her own misdemeanour, running through fields of wheat, much to the upset of a local farmer, could have occurred at the very same alleged moment that David Cameron was allegedly at an alleged undergraduate party, allegedly doing his, (also we must presume, much to the upset of a local farmer).

The sheer panic on Ms Mays face, when asked by ITVs Julie Etchingham to name the naughtiest thing she had ever done, is subject to many interpretations. She knows MI5 deleted the files years ago on her youth running Heythrops most notorious drug gang out of her fathers vicarage, so we must conclude she didnt suddenly fear getting rumbled for that.

It could be the rising fear that she would have nothing at all to say, having never done anything naughty at all, not even once, but then you must recall that this is a woman who had Immigrants Go Home vans driven round racially sensitive neighbourhoods.

Well, nobody is ever perfectly behaved are they? she said, building surely to the confession that, yes, constantly saying youll do one thing, like, for example, not call a general election, and then doing it would not be an example of perfect behaviour, but then deciding to play it safe and just say. I mean, you know, I have to confess, when me and my friends sort of used to run through the fields of wheat, the farmers werent too pleased about that.

There are also presumably one or two members of her party with rather stern views on the rights or wrongs of blowing a 20-point poll lead, but given most of such people refer to the leader of their party as mummy, they will know it is not right for baby to imagine mummy doing anything naughty.

That the likely future prime minister has never done anything naughtier than through a wheat field is just another bit of data to throw in the old election prediction pot, the contents of which have surely never appeared browner than in 2017. It is only a few hours until a face starts to appear.

It is a longstanding tradition that departing prime ministers donate a few books for the shelves of the Cabinet room in 10 Downing Street. Thus far only Margaret Thatcher has ever bequeathed her own autobiography. Should Theresa May leave the same strange gift, one thing is certain. If she is walking back in through that door on Friday morning, there will be significantly more naughty deeds to come. In Brussels this time, and these ones will really wind up the farmers.
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Voters will be heading to the polls in the snap general election between 7am and 10pm on Thursday. Here The Independent has compiled a guide on what to keep an eye out for on the night of the election and the early hours of Friday morning as the 650 parliamentary constituencies across the UK declare their results.

You can see a full list of declaration times here.

10pm

Voting closes in the general election and exit poll released. This is more reliable than opinion polls as it measures how thousands of people actually voted. While the exit polls underestimated the Conservatives lead at the last election, they were spot-on in 2005 and 2010.

11pm

Sunderland and Houghton will be hoping to hold onto its title as the first seat to declare. It announced the result at the last election at 10.48pm and its here you will see clips of teenagers frantically passing ballot boxes to each other in a race against time.

At the last election, Labours candidate Bridget Phillipson won 55 per cent of the vote and many will be looking at the seat for an indication of a swing on the evening (partly because there will be no other result to examine at this point). If youre planning on pulling an all-nighter, now is the time to grab a coffee  and possibly a quick nap.

1am

Putney, a strongly pro-EU seat, is expected to declare at this time. During the last parliament the Education Secretary Justine Greening held the seat. This seat could provide a good indication as to whether the Conservative Brexit strategy as in anyway harmed the party in areas which voted heavily to Remain.

Nuneaton is also expected around the same time. At the last election, David Cameron said the result here was the moment he realised the exit poll was accurate and he was on course for victory. Mr Corbyn should be making gains by this point if he expects to visit Buckingham Palace for tea with the Queen and move his cat, El Gato, to Downing Street on Friday morning.

1.30am

This is the point when we will start to discover whether Ms Mays gamble to hold the election has paid off. At this time Labour seats, including Tooting, Wrexham, and Darlington will declare. If the PM makes gains here, it will indicate a dismal result for Labour. Darlington has been Labour since 1992 but the Ukip vote here at the last general election was greater than the majority, so it could swing to the Tories should Ukip voters switch allegiances. But if Ms May fails to gather momentum she could be in for a grim morning.

2am

Results will begin coming through much faster by this point, with 33 constituencies expected to announce their results at this time. They include Thurrock  a three-way marginal  and Peterborough, which the Conservatives should be holding if they are on course for victory. Tory Jackie Doyle-Price had a slim 500 vote majority at the last election.

Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, will also learn at this time whether she has held onto her seat in Hastings and Rye. At the last election she had 44 per cent compared with Labours 35 per cent.

2.30am

Jeremy Corbyns ultra-safe seat of Islington North will declare, alongside his ally and shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry. Comrades in Islington North returned Mr Corbyn to parliament at the last election with 60 per cent of the vote share. He should be expecting to build on this. But there could be worse news elsewhere. The City of Chester  Labours most marginal seat (majority: 93)  is expected to declare.

Jeremy Corbyn hosts an election rally in Glasgow (Getty) (Robert Perry/Getty Images)

3am

A raft of other seats will also declare at this time, including Angus Robertsons Moray seat in Scotland. According to the Electoral Calculus projector, the SNPs Westminster leader could lose his seat in what could be a significant setback for Nicola Sturgeons party.

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farrons Westmorland seat will also be among the dozens of seats also set to announce at this point.

3.30am

Tony Blairs former seat of Sedgefield will announce at this time, with some believing it could be on a knife-edge. One of the only pro-Leave Labour candidates, Kate Hoey, will also discover whether she has retained her seat in Vauxhall or whether voters in the heavily Remain area decide to punish her.

4am

By this point there should be a good indication to the extent of the Liberal revival  or lack of one. The partys strategy of wooing the 48 per cent  those who voted to Remain  will be highlighted as Sir Vince Cable, the former Coalition minister, will learn whether he has won back his Twickenham seat lost at the last general election.

Clive Lewis, a Corbyn ally and former frontbencher, will also learn his fate in Norwich South. He was nearly 8,000 votes ahead of his Tory rival at the last election but Ukip won 4,539 votes.

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

Key allies of Corbyn, including Diane Abbott and John McDonnell, who both have healthy majorities, will be making speeches at this point too. Cabinet beasts such as Boris Johnson, Philip Hammond and David Davis will also be waiting for their constituencies to declare.

One to look out at this time will also Richmond Park where Zac Goldsmith is standing again under the banner of the Conservatives. He lost the by-election last year to the Lib Dems after resigning from the party over its position on Heathrow and stood as an independent.

4.30am

The Prime Ministers constituency of Maidenhead is expected to declare at this time. Around two-thirds of the seats will be in by this time so May should have a clear indication whether she will be heading back to Downing Street or be hiring a removal van to collect her possessions in the morning.

Theresa May on the campaign trail (Getty) (Getty Images Europe)

Nick Clegg, who faced a credible challenge at the last election from Labour, will also be preparing to give a speech in Sheffield Hallam at this time. His voter share decreased by 13 per cent in 2015.

5am

Ukip leader Paul Nuttall will learn whether he has emerged victorious (or facing his second parliamentary defeat) at this time when Boston and Skegness declares. If the pollsters are correct, and Ukip voters do indeed flock to the Conservatives, then Nuttall could be in for a particularly bleak morning. Expect questions to loom over his leadership of the party should he fail to win this seat.

Ukip leader Paul Nuttall could be in for a dismal morning (PA)

6am

Caroline Lucas, the co-leader of the Green Party, will learn whether Brighton Pavillion has returned her as the MP for the constituency. The Liberal Democrats have decided not to stand here to help Lucas, who is already hugely popular in the area.

The former employment minister Esther McVey, who is running in George Osbornes former seat of Tatton is also expected to be returned as an MP.

7am

If the timings are correct then all but six seats will have been declared. If a result is not clear by this point then Ms Mays gamble to call the election will have been a historic miscalculation.
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The Conservative lead over Labour has been slashed to a single point, according to a new opinion poll which suggests the election race is neck and neck.

The Survation poll for Good Morning Britain (GMB) put the Tories on 41.5 per cent with Labour on 40.4 per cent.

If such a result were replicated on Thursday it would put the Conservatives' majority in Parliament in jeopardy.

But opinion polls by other leading polling firms have given wider leads for the Conservatives in recent days, ranging as high as 11 and 12 points.

The Conservatives had a 17-point lead with the pollster at the start of May, but Labour's rise reflected a campaign which more than half of those polled thought had been better than Theresa May's.

The latest poll was conducted on Friday and Saturday, before an attack in London by Islamist militants killed seven people and injured 48.

 Election will go ahead Thursday says PM

In the previous Survation poll for ITV, published a week ago, the Conservatives had a lead of six points.

But a separate Survation poll, published on Saturday for the Mail on Sunday, also gave the Conservatives a one-point lead.

The latest poll put the Liberal Democrats on 6 per cent and Ukip on 3 per cent.

It was based on interviews with 1,103 people and the data was weighted to be representative of all UK adults.

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

Three weeks ago, a series of surveys showed Ms May was on course for a landslide parliamentary majority which she called to secure a strong mandate for Brexit talks.

But her campaign began to struggle after she proposed a plan to make elderly people pay for more of their social care, a so-called "dementia tax," even though she moved quickly to say there would be a limit on the amount of costs that people would face.

It remains unclear whether Saturday's terror attack will have an impact on the election.

The Conservatives' lead over Labour continued to fall after a suicide bombing in Manchester on 22 May, but polling firms have linked the narrowing to the rival parties' policy proposals rather than the attack.

Fifty per cent of respondents in the poll thought Ms May would make a better prime minister than Jeremy Corbyn, but his credibility as a potential leader of the country has risen to 36 per cent from 15 per cent in early May.

Several other polls are due to published before voters go to the polls on Thursday.
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An overwhelming majority of people agree with Jeremy Corbyn that British involvement in foreign wars has put the public at greater risk of terrorism, according to a new poll.

The exclusive ORB survey for The Independent found 75 per cent of people believe interventions in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya have made atrocities on UK soil more likely.

The poll  conducted before Saturday nights devastating attack  comes after Mr Corbyn was lambasted for suggesting foreign policy decisions were linked to terrorism in the UK and that the war on terror had failed.

The deadly strike at London Bridge and Borough Market, the third attack in Britain in as many months, has seen security dominate the final days of the election campaign, with cabinet ministers squabbling over whether it could have been stopped.

Recommended Corbyn condemns foreign wars while RAF send Love from Manchester bomb

Theresa Mays record as Home Secretary has been questioned and she has faced a call to resign over the matter from Mr Corbyn, not to mention a former aide to ex-Prime Minister David Cameron.

In the wake of the Manchester attack, which killed 22 people last month, the Labour leader highlighted the potential role foreign military interventions play in increasing the likelihood of atrocities in the UK.

Despite experts like Baroness Eliza Manningham-Bullerformer, a former MI5 chief, and Baroness Pauline Neville-Jones, ex-chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee, expressing similar views, he was accused by Conservatives of making excuses for terrorism.

But the ORB survey for The Independent found three-quarters of people  taking in all age groups, political persuasions and social classes  agreed Britains military involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya had increased the risk of terrorist acts.

Within that, some 68 per cent of Tory voters agreed foreign wars have enhanced the risks of terrorism at home. So did 80 per cent of Labour supporters and 79 per cent of people that voted for the Liberal Democrats in 2015.

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

On the campaign trail on Tuesday, Conservative cabinet ministers Amber Rudd and Boris Johnson  who have a history of antagonism  clashed after it emerged that one of the London Bridge attackers was allowed to slip through the net.

When Foreign Secretary Mr Johnson made the comment, Home Secretary Ms Rudd, responsible for the security services, hit back: Its not really for me, or for the Foreign Secretary, to say how that happened or what happened.

The fallout from the London Bridge massacre, which left seven dead, has also seen former police officers attack heavy cuts suffered by forces across the country  with official figures showing a drop of 20,000 since Ms May took charge at the Home Office in 2010.

Jim Gamble, former head of Special Branch in Belfast, said there were now fewer eyes and ears on the street, former Met senior inspecting officer Peter Kirkham said the police service was in crisis due to cuts, while a serving officer writing for The Independent said Saturdays attack was in part a consequence of the reductions.

Questioned over Ms Mays responsibility and whether she should resign, Mr Corbyn said earlier this week: Indeed I would.

Theres been calls made by a lot of very responsible people on this, who are very worried that she was at the Home Office for all this time, presided over these cuts in police numbers and is now saying that we have a problem  yes, we do have a problem, we should never have cut the police numbers.

 General Election polls and projections: June 6

It followed a similar call from David Camerons former policy guru Steve Hilton who accused Ms May of shifting blame and said she should resign over security failures.

The Prime Minister was repeatedly challenged over her record as Home Secretary at an election campaign event in London on Monday in which she told reporters: Cressida Dick [Met Commissioner] has said that the Metropolitan Police are well resourced  and they are, she has said they have very powerful counter-terrorism capabilities  and they do.

We have protected counter-terrorism policing budgets, we have funded an uplift in the number of armed police officers.

Despite Labours promise to recruit an extra 10,000 officers, the ORB poll conducted before Saturday found that twice as many people, some 44 per cent, believe the Conservatives have the best policy on security, including terrorism and defence, compared to Labours 21 per cent.

With Mr Corbyn hit with constant questions over his approach to the UKs nuclear deterrent, even 19 per cent of Labours voters from 2015 believe the Tories have the best policy on security, as do 36 per cent of those who voted Liberal Democrat last time.

Seven out of 10 over-65s said the Tories have the best security policies, while only 9 per cent named Labour. The only age group to give Labour a lead on the issue was 25 to 34-year-olds.

Despite the terror deaths in the middle of the election campaign, security does not appear likely to be a major influence when people decide how to vote.

Only 8 per cent said it will be the most important issue  fewer than Brexit, the economy, the NHS and who is the best candidate for prime minister  but more than the number citing social care and education. However, the London Bridge attack, coming so close to polling day, could change that.

ORB interviewed online 2,038 people adults aged 18+ throughout the UK on 31 May and 1 June
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Conservative cabinet ministers Amber Rudd and Boris Johnson have clashed amid recriminations over how one of the London Bridge attackers was allowed to slip through the net.

In a live radio debate Home Secretary Ms Rudd suggested Mr Johnson had tried to rush in and attribute blame after it emerged the terrorist was not being watched despite having appeared in a TV programme on extremism.

Earlier in the day Foreign Secretary Mr Johnson claimed members of the public would read Tuesday's news headlines about Khuram Butt and think, "how on earth could we let this guy slip through the net?"

Recommended Ringleader Khuram Butt was known to security services before rampage

Ms Rudd, who is responsible for overseeing the security services, later responded saying: "It's not really for me, or for the Foreign Secretary, to say how that happened or what happened.

Mark Rowley has already said that we will be looking at these elements of it. Like any incident you look and see if there's anything to learn. I can say that without putting any sort of suggestion of blame.

Its very easy to rush in and say what went wrong.

The Conservatives were eager to move the election campaign back on to Brexit on Tuesday, but revelations about the London terror attacks continued to dominate the news  including that Butt was known to MI5 before he went on his rampage.

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

Butt had even appeared in a Channel 4 documentary, The Jihadis Next Door, about the presence of violent extremists in British cities. He was seen in the programme among a group of men unfurling a black Islamist flag and then in a confrontation with the police.

Mr Johnson said earlier on Tuesday morning: People are going to look at the front pages today, and they are going to say how on Earth could we let this guy slip through the net?

How could it possibly happen, how can he be on a Channel 4 programme and then committing atrocities like this?

 London terror attack suspect named

That is a question that will need to be answered by MI5 and by the police as the investigation goes on  I cant answer that question now.

There is still bad blood between the two Tory big-hitters after they clashed during the EU referendum debates, with Ms Rudd saying of Brexiteer Mr Johnson: Boris, he's the life and soul of the party. But hes not the man you want to drive you home at the end of the evening.

Amid a row about figures, she then went on to add: I fear that the only number Boris is interested in is No 10.
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When Theresa May called the election, I asked if Labour might be heading for its worst defeat since 1931. It has not worked out like that. Although Conservative support rose in the days before the Prime Ministers announcement and remained high for the next four weeks, Labours support has grown steadily throughout the entire seven-week campaign.

Are we too obsessed with polls?

The one thing everyone agreed after the 2015 election was that journalists had become too obsessed with opinion polls, and had allowed them to dictate the news headlines too much. One of the big stories of the last election campaign was what Ed Miliband would do if he needed Scottish National Party support in a hung parliament: that was pushed by polls pointing in that direction that turned out to be wrong.

Im not sure about that criticism, because the only way Miliband was likely to win would have been in a hung parliament, so it was fair to ask what he would have done about it. But, yes, an obsession with who is up and down in each poll is a distraction from the question of which team is better placed to govern the country.

That said, the trends in the polls have been so strong in this election  the trends hardly moved during the 2015 campaign  that things are clearly happening, so let us try to work out what they might be.

 General Election polls and projections: June 6

What happened when Theresa May called the election?

Theresa May, like a bolt out of the blue, called the election on 18 April. Oddly enough, Tory support was already rising to above 45 per cent before she did so. I have no idea why. After her announcement, Labour support strengthened. I assume this was a partisan reaction to an unexpected election. People who had been unenthusiastic about Jeremy Corbyns leadership, telling pollsters they didnt know how they would vote in an election that was probably three years away, suddenly reverted to their Labour allegiance.

Did the manifestos change anything?

The polls started to move again after Labours draft manifesto was leaked on 11 May, five days before its official launch. That was when Labour support really started rising and the Conservatives started to decline. A lot of attention was paid initially to the plans to renationalise the Royal Mail, railways and energy, followed up after the official launch with abolishing tuition fees and free childcare.

Recommended Jeremy Corbyn should get rid of Diane Abbott now

These all proved popular, and the Conservative counter-attack on how it was all going to be paid for was feeble. Then Theresa May got into trouble of her own with the launch of her manifesto on 18 May. The plan to force pensioners to pay for care visits in their own home out of the value of their property went down badly. Even if only one in six pensioners will ever need home visits, six out of six fear they might and they all have adult children who worry about it too.

All the while, the three minor parties drifted downwards, Ukip showing the most dramatic decline, but with the Lib Dems and the Greens also squeezed.

Labours rise continued, even if the decline in Tory support slowed, and the terrorist bombing in Manchester on 22 May did nothing to stop the gap between the two parties narrowing. Some of the polls suggest that the Tory lead has stopped shrinking as we entered the final week of the campaign, but the average of the most recent polls suggests that Mays lead is no greater than the margin of David Camerons victory two years ago, which gave him a slender majority of just 12.

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

Which polls should we believe?

The big question now, though, is which of the polls, now spread between a Tory lead of one point (Survations online poll on Sunday) and one of 12 points (ComRes for The Independent on Saturday), is a better guide to the vote on Thursday.

On this it is worth looking at this blog post by Nigel Marriott, a statistician, who is currently predicting a majority for the Conservatives of 100 seats.

Chart by Nigel Marriott, showing difference between modeller polls (blue) and self-reporters (red)

Marriott divides the polls into two groups. One, which he calls the self-reporters, including Survation, which give more weight to whether voters say they will vote, and another, called the modellers, which downplay what voters say about their likelihood to turn out and assume they will turn out roughly as their age and social group did last time. The problem is that Survation assumes that young people will turn out at about the same rate as older people (because that is what they tell Survation), which is unlikely, although their voting intentions are given less weight through other adjustments the company makes.

Wherever the parties end up on Thursday, the one thing that is clear is that Labour has had a good campaign and the Tories a poor one, and that Corbyn is unlikely to secure the worst result for the party since 1931.
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Nick Clegg will accuse Theresa May of putting the safety of Britons at risk after Brexit, after she failed to explain how the police will retain access to EU anti-terror information.

The former Liberal Democrat leader will condemn the Prime Minister for vowing to pull the UK out of the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice (ECJ)  whatever the cost.

Outside the ECJ, Britain is likely to lose the right to share data through the Europol enforcement agency and the Schengen information system, which holds the names of 8,000 suspected terror suspects.

On Monday, Ms May was asked if she had an alternative plan to keep the national security data flowing but simply referred vaguely to trying to agree appropriate oversight of the information.

Instead, the Prime Minister vowed: I am very clear that the European Court of Justice and its jurisdiction in the UK is going to be ended.

Delivering a major speech on the threats posed by Brexit, Mr Clegg will say: How will Britain be kept safe after Brexit?

Theresa May has vowed to pull Britain out of the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice, a decision which means we would no longer have access to vital EU-wide databases of criminal activity.

So where are the contingency plans when our police forces find themselves unable to check the databases of 28 EU countries at the touch of a button? If only she would deign to tell us, then maybe we could judge.

Mr Clegg, now the Lib Dems Brexit spokesman, will also accuse the Prime Minister of a breathtaking U-turn on the security implications of EU withdrawal.

Just last year, a not-so-distant era when Theresa May made perfectly rational arguments against leaving Europe, she warned that being in the UK makes us more secure from crime and terrorism, Mr Clegg will add.

At the weekend, The Independent revealed that data experts fear the Government is failing to recognise the danger to businesses and the fight against terrorism from losing information-sharing rights.

Britain risks a wait of up to three years to be granted an adequacy decision from Brussels, threatening to stop the flow of data immediately unless a temporary deal can be struck.

Crucially, separate agreements may have to be struck with individual police forces and intelligence services  with the danger that vital information will fall between the cracks, one expert said.

Furthermore, Sir Julian King, the European commissioner responsible for security, has also warned Britain will have to give way on ECJ oversight.

In April, a Home Office minister, Baroness Williams of Trafford, was unable to say what the transition arrangements might look like, when quizzed by a House of Lords committee.

In his London speech, Mr Clegg is expected to criticise a pact of silence between Ms May and Jeremy Corbyn, neither of whom have properly explained their plans for Brexit.
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Just 48 hours ahead of a national election, two districts of the same name illustrate the yawning political and economic divisions between different parts of Britain.

In the Kensington area of the northern city of Liverpool, a two-bedroom terraced house costs around 50,000. In glitzy Kensington, London, a similar property could cost 100 times more.

What I know of Kensington in London is very different from the rough and tumble of here, said Barbara Tickner, 87, who works in a church in Liverpool.

Londons Kensington is famous for its parks, upmarket shops and museums that attract millions of tourists each year. Its multimillion-pound mansions house a cosmopolitan population, while royalty lives behind the gilded gates of Kensington Palace.

The district in Liverpool receives few international visitors, although cheap housing has made it popular with students. Ahead of Thursday's election, locals there expressed worries over the economy and immigration.

As they have for decades, the two neighbourhoods are likely to vote in opposite ways.

Tale of two Kensingtons Show all 7 1 /7 Tale of two Kensingtons Tale of two Kensingtons A combination picture shows customers as they stand outside The Lister Hotel pub in Kensington, Liverpool (top) and customers as they stand outside The Churchill Arms pub in Kensington, London Reuters Tale of two Kensingtons A combination picture shows tins of food on a shelf in a shop in Kensington, Liverpool (top) and tins of food on a shelf in a shop in Kensington, London Reuters Tale of two Kensingtons A combination picture shows a worker as she walks along the high street in Kensington, Liverpool (top) and people as they walk along a high street in Kensington Reuters Tale of two Kensingtons A combination picture shows a woman as she walks past a building displaying Labour Party election posters in Kensington, Liverpool (top), and a man as he walks past a house displaying a Conservative Party election poster in Kensington, London, Britain Reuters Tale of two Kensingtons A combination picture shows people as they walk along a street in Kensington, Liverpool (top) and a man as he walks along a street in Kensington, London Reuters Tale of two Kensingtons A combination picture shows a derelict building behind gates in Kensington, Liverpool (top) and Kensington Palace behind gates in Kensington, London, Britain Reuters Tale of two Kensingtons A combination picture shows a woman as she sits in The Lister Hotel pub in Kensington, Liverpool (top) and people as they sit in The Churchill Arms pub in Kensington, London Reuters

London's Kensington has voted Conservative since the 1970s, and a precursor seat, Kensington South, was one of the party's safest seats in the years after the Second World War.

I'm voting Conservative, and being in Kensington, hopefully it's a sure vote. It always has been, and I'm sure it will be, said Sheena Williams, speaking in the bustling Churchill Arms pub.

She praised the area's quality of life: We've got a very good police force, very good ambulance service. We're very lucky.

Williams also backed Theresa May's approach to Britain's forthcoming exit from the European Union, and said she hoped May would get on with leaving. Brexit negotiations with the bloc are due to begin at the end of June.

In the referendum held a year ago, the London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the city of Liverpool both voted strongly to remain in the EU. But the districts are otherwise poles apart politically.

Liverpool Wavertree is a safe seat for Labour and equally unlikely to change hands on Thursday, although some more marginal seats close to the city are being targeted by the Conservatives.

Drinkers in the Sheil Pub are less optimistic than their London counterparts, however, and local residents expressed disaffection with their circumstances.

Over the past 10 years, there's been a very big change around here, said Steven Thomas, who owns a locksmiths on the high street.

I'm not against immigration, but it's just a culture change, and then the pubs go down, because no one is using the pubs, and there's a knock-on effect.

Thomas said that while the local Labour party listened and did good work in the area, he was unconvinced by Jeremy Corbyn, who has been accused of being out of touch with the party's core voters. He's not really a leader, he said.

Ricky Gray, a customer of the Sheil, said he used to support Labour but hadn't voted for about 25 years.

I have voted before, but I would never vote again in my life. They don't do nothing for anyone.

London's Kensington has become increasingly affluent in recent decades, but not everyone is happy about the changes.

It's changed enormously. The area over there, Notting Hill, was a slum when I first got here, said Pierce Carlson, 87, a US citizen who moved to Britain in 1971. You didn't want to live in Notting Hill back then. That's been improved.

But he said the main beneficiaries of government policies were the richest, who benefit from lower taxes, when more should be put into public services.

It depends on who they're doing it for. If they're doing it for Russian millionaires  they're very happy. But the post office, the health service, they aren't sufficient, and they should spend money on them.

Even London's Kensington, where Russian and Middle Eastern billionaires have poured money into the property market, has pockets of poverty. The borough of Kensington and Chelsea contains areas that are among the 10 per cent of most deprived neighbourhoods in the country.

A woman who makes her living cleaning some of the upscale houses, and who declined to be named, said that politicians did not take people like her into account when making decisions.

If you're rich and you've got the money, they'll do anything, she said. We've just had enough. Everything we work for is taken away.

Reuters
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Theresa May has finally criticised Donald Trump over his comments about Sadiq Khan following the London Bridge attacks, two days after the President's outburst.

The Prime Minister had previously avoided condemning Mr Trumps comments outright and instead opted for praising Mr Khan when she had been quizzed about the issue.

Ms May has finally responded to the tweets directly and described them as being wrong.

I have been very clear that what Donald Trump has said about the Mayor of London is wrong," Ms May told Sky News.

"We have worked with Sadiq Khan in responding to this attack. He has been at the two Cobra meetings I have chaired, she added.

Following the London Bridge attack, Mr Trump reignited his feud with Mr Khan and wrongly claimed the Mayor had said there was no reason to be alarmed about the risk of terror after the incident.

Pathetic excuse by London Mayor Sadiq Khan who had to think fast on his "no reason to be alarmed" statement. MSM is working hard to sell it! Mr Trump tweeted.

Mr Khan refused to get involved in the row and said he was "focused on dealing with Saturday's horrific and cowardly attack".

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

Following the comments there had been calls for Ms May to cancel Mr Trumps state visit to the UK.

Tim Farron, the Liberal Democrat leader, condemned Ms Mays supine relationship with the President.

"Sadiq Khan has shown dignity and leadership. Theresa May absolutely must withdraw the state visit. This is a man insulting our national values at a time of introspection and mourning, he said.

Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, has hinted he could delay Mr Trumps contentious state visit to Britain later this year if he is elected Prime Minister this week.
Over a year and a half after concluding a mission that lasted nearly 14 years, Spain is considering a return to Afghanistan following a request made by the United States to its allies. The goal is to reinforce military presence to support the Afghan government, which is unable to effectively control the country. Spain currently keeps no more than a couple dozen troops at NATOs general headquarters in Kabul.

Spanish troops in Qala-i-Naw (Afghanistan) in October 2012. Claudio Alvarez

However, the Spanish Defense Ministry has several options on the table, including an extension to its mission in Turkey, where missile batteries are deployed against a potential attack from Syria.

According to The Washington Post, the US is planning to send 3,000 more troops to Afghanistan, which means the other allies would have to contribute 2,000 to bring the total up to 5,000.

For Spain, it would be relatively easy to expand its contingent of instructors in Kabul

The NATO-led Resolute Support Mission, which advises, assists and trains Afghan security forces and institutions, currently numbers 13,500 military personnel from 39 countries. The new figure would represent a 35% increase.

For now, the Spanish Foreign Ministry is not keen for Spain to revisit a mission that has already cost 3.7 billion and the lives of 99 troops and two interpreters.

In October 2015, Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria traveled to the Herat military base, east of Afghanistan, on a symbolic trip to lower the Spanish flag. After that, Spains presence in the country was reduced to around 20 individuals, after a high of 1,500 troops.

For Spain, it would be relatively easy to expand its contingent of instructors in the capital, but it would be a lot more difficult to redeploy them elsewhere in the country, as this would require a separate protection force.

One of the options being considered by the Defense Ministry is refusing to send more troops to Afghanistan, but compensating by extending the presence of Patriot missile batteries in the Turkish locality of Adana, near the border with Syria.

Spain has contributed one missile battery and 140 military personnel to NATOs Operation Active Fence mission in a commitment dating back to January 2015, but which is scheduled to end in December. For now, no other ally has volunteered to replace the Spanish contingent there.

This would be simpler than sending troops to Afghanistan at a time when Spains armed forces are already involved in around 15 operations.

A US request M.G. "We have a shortfall of a few thousand soldiers to complete our mission," said General John Nicholson, commander of the US and Allied troops in Afghanistan, at a February hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington DC. A few weeks later his superior, General Joseph Votel, commander of United States Central Command, told the same committee that the Pentagon was drawing up a new strategy to halt Taliban and ISIS, or so-called Islamic State, expansion in the region, and that this would require additional forces to make the mission to advise and assist the Afghan government more effective. Although the White House has not officially approved these plans yet, Washington has addressed its allies, Spain included, to test their willingness to contribute troops to this reinforcement effort, government sources have confirmed.

English version by Susana Urra.
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The terrorist attacks in Paris in November 2015 had international implications for policing, illustrating that whatever happens globally affects you locally. Following the attacks, EU heads of state approved a Europol initiative to establish the European Counter Terrorism Centre in January 2016. Its aim was to perform a similar role to the UKs Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre based in MI5 headquarters, which has been in operation since 2003.

In the UK, this coincided with a spending review and autumn statement, in which then-chancellor George Osborne pledged to protect police budgets in real terms, and increase counter-terrorism budgets by 30%. It was this decision that the Conservative party confirmed to The Conversation that May was referring to in her election interview.

While Osbornes decision in 2015 to protect police budgets was extremely welcome within a service that was anticipating further cuts, work by the Institute for Fiscal Studies has catalogued how total police spending had already fallen by 14% or 3.7% a year in real-terms between 2010-11 and 2014-15. Looking at the governments new commitment, the same researchers have indicated that police budgets are estimated to remain broadly flat in cash terms between 2015-16 and 2016-17.

Osbornes protection of police budgets was also conditional. All police forces were expected to increase their firearms capability, as a means of meeting the terrorist threat.

Forces also receive a counter-terrorism grant, but all forces receive varying amounts depending on the policing budget formulas. While the total grant stood at 579m in 2010-11, it dipped slightly to 564m in 2015-16 and rose to 633m in 2017-18.

The key partner in counter-terrorism is the security service, MI5, which since 2004 has witnessed enhanced budgets and expansion. In the wake of the London 7/7 attacks in 2005, regional Counter Terrorism and Intelligence Units were also established across the country. Although these are made up of a number of different security agencies, they are effectively led by the police.

Numbers down

After the election of the Conservative-led coalition government in 2010 and Mays appointment as home secretary, the police service sustained sequential cuts to funding. This resulted in the loss of 17,000 police officers by December 2015. In the Sky/Channel 4 interview, May admitted that the number of police had decreased from 141,850 in 2010 when the Conservatives came in to 124,000 in 2017.

Given the reductions in police staffing levels, police forces have been forced to reduce their support functions, such as Intelligence Units. For example, Merseyside now has one centralised Intelligence Unit rather than one in each division. My understanding is that these cuts have had direct implications for frontline work, especially neighbourhood policing.

Yet neighbourhood policing had been the one policing strategy that the police service got right in recent years: increased visibility, modest reductions in crime and disorder and the fear of crime, have culminated in the public feeling safer. Due to the cuts overseen by Mays Home Office, that key element which can help defeat terrorism is almost a distant memory.

Verdict

May is correct to say that counter-terrorism budgets have been protected  since November 2015  but this includes the security service not merely the police service. The police endured successive reductions in budgets after 2010, which she oversaw as home secretary. Remember that between July 2011 and August 2014 the threat level was set at moderate and counter-terrorism policing did not have the profile it does currently. Mays agenda during this time was to impose sequential cuts to funding and impose changes to working practices, the fruits of which are now being witnessed in neighbourhoods.

This article originally appeared in The Conversation.

Read the original article
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Bill Cosby offered his victim pills that he said would help her "relax" before sexually abusing her once she was incapacitated by the drug, a court heard.

The 79-year-old entertainer is charged with sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his home in the Philadelphia suburbs in 2004.

She is one of dozens of women who have accused Cosby of sex assault but hers is the only case recent enough to be subject to criminal prosecution.

The first witness, Kelly Johnson, told the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pennsylvania, that Cosby had given her a pill in a Los Angeles hotel suite in 1996

Recommended Cosby trial begins as dozens of women claim he sexually assaulted them

She said she initially hid the pill under her tongue but that Cosby checked to see if she had swallowed it.

She later woke up disoriented and partially clothed in Cosby's bed with the comedian behind her, grunting, before he forced her to touch his genitals, she said.

"I was trying to say something," she said. "I don't know if I was actually speaking."

Her emotional testimony was intended to persuade jurors that Cosby demonstrated a pattern of behaviour when he allegedly attacked Constand in 2004.

The entertainer's lawyer, Brian McMonagle, claimed she offered much different details during a 1996 deposition, including that the assault occurred in 1990, six years earlier than she testified on Monday.

He also suggested she used drugs in the 1990s, which she denied, and accused her of having "selective amnesia" after she could not recall details of her deposition or her medical leave from her employer following the Cosby incident.

Earlier, prosecutor Kristen Feden said the case was about "trust, betrayal, and the inability to consent".

"This is a case about a man, this man, who used his power and his fame and his previously practised method of placing a young trusting woman in an incapacitated state so he could sexually pleasure herself, so she couldn't say no," Ms Feden said.

Cosby sat among a group of supporters  including former Cosby Show co-star Keshia Knight Pulliam  in the front row of the Montgomery County courthouse. Notably missing from the group was his wife, Camille Cosby.

Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Winner of his first Emmy for 'I Spy' is Bill Cosby being congratulated by his wife Camille held at Americana Hotel, 1966 Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby in 'I Spy', 1960s Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby in July 1973 in Perth Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor in 'California Suite', 1978 Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby and Elmo in Sesame Street, 1989 Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby poses for a picture with Florence Griffith-Joyner in June 1989 Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Comedian Bill Cosby back in 1992 Rex Features Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby A scene from a 1992 episode of 'The Cosby Show' AP Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby US Monica Seles breaks into laughter as she jokes with comedian Bill Cosby during a celebrity match in the stadium at the US Open for the Arthur Ashe AIDS Challenge on 27 August 1995 Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby meets Toronto Blue Jays' All-Star Joe Carter after the Stars played the Stripes in the Celebrity All-Star game which preceded workouts for the 67th All-Star Game at Veterans Stadium on 8 July 1996 in Philadephia Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Co-hosts Oprah Winfrey and Bill Cosby joke with each other during the opening of the 2000 Essence Awards 14 April 2000 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby jokes with baseball great Hank Aaron after they both received the Presidential Medal of Freedom Award from U.S. President George W. Bush during a ceremony on 9 July 2002 at the White House in Washington Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby poses backstage after winning the 'Bob Hope Humanitarian Award' during the 55th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Shrine Auditorium on 21 September 2003 in Los Angeles Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby 'Tonight Show' host Jay Leno and comedian Bill Cosby laugh during a surprise visit by Cosby to sign a Harley-Davidson motorcycle that Leno is using to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Katrina at NBC studios on 9 September 2005 in Burbank, California Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby speaks during a taping of 'Meet the Press' at the NBC studios on 14 October 2007 in Washington Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby at the 12th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the John F. Kennedy Center on 26 October 2009 in Washington Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby speaks at the National Action Network's 20th annual Keepers of the Dream Awards gala in New York on 6 April 2011 Reuters Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby during the 100th anniversary celebration of the Beverly Hills Hotel & Bungalows supporting the Motion Picture & Television Fund and the American Comedy Fund, 2012 Getty Images Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby speaks onstage at the Thurgood Marshall College Fund 25th Awards Gala on 11 November 2013 in Washington Bill Cosby: Career in pictures Bill Cosby Bill Cosby performs at the Treasure Island Hotel & Casino on 26 September 2014 in Las Vegas

Throughout the opening arguments, the legally blind former comedian leaned forward in his seat, listening intently.

At one point, Mr Cosbys defence attorney, Brian McMonagle, gestured toward him.

When you look at him, what do you see? Mr McMonagle asked the jury. "Be the juror you would want if it was your grandfather, or your son or you."

Prosecutors meanwhile, attempted to show a darker side of the comedian, based largely on Ms Constands testimony about the night in question.

"The last words she remembers is, 'I'm going to let you relax,'" Ms Feden told the jurors. "And then as she went in and out of consciousness, she witnessed her body being used to sexually gratify the defendant."

Mr McMonagle, in response, attempted to cast doubt on Ms Constands version of events. He told jurors that the 44-year-old had changed her story multiple times, changing the date of the encounter from mid-March to mid-January, and initially claiming she had not spoken to Mr Cosby after the encounter. Mr Monagle says phone records show the two spoke 72 times after the incident.

The lawyer then relayed Mr Cosbys recollection of the encounter: She wasnt paralysed. She wasnt incapacitated. We were together. It was romantic.

Sexual assault is a terrible crime, Mr Monagle added. The only thing worse than that is the false accusation of sexual assault.

The defence was allowed to call one additional accuser to the stand to testify. The woman, known publicly only as Kacey, claimed Mr Cosby drugged and assaulted her when she was working for his talent agency in 1996.

Kacey told the jury Mr Cosby invited her over for lunch at his hotel one day, and told her to meet him as his bungalow. When she arrived, she said, he forced her to take a pill that made her feel like she was underwater. Then he forced her to touch his penis.

Kacey says she reported the alleged assault to her parents, and eventually took her case to a lawyer.

"He asked me if I wanted to be followed and become tabloid fodder, she said.

Mr Cosbys highly-publicised trial is expected to last two weeks.
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Fox News has been forced to apologise to viewers after Katie Hopkins suggested Britain should introduce internment camps for suspected terrorists live on air.

The Mail Online columnist, who was recently axed by LBC radio station, called for the British authorities to immediately round up 3,000 people on the watch list.

Hopkins, a former Apprentice contestant who has risen to fame for her inflammatory, anti-immigrant opinions, argued the British government would not have the stomach or the political will to implement internment camps but nevertheless argued it was imperative for them to do so.

We do need internment camps, the controversial columnist told Fox and Friends on Sunday.

Before, I wouldve bought the idea that, no, this gets more people radicalised. You know, thats not the solution. But weve gone beyond the tipping point. I tell you this country cannot take another attack.

She added: We need to hear 650 jihadis that returned to the UK are going to be incarcerated and deported and we need to hear that Saudi-backed Mosques and extreme hate preachers and Imams within those mosques are also going to be shut down and reported.

The UK has not used internment camps on a mass scale since they arrested 1,981 Northern Irish people who were suspected to be linked to violent republicanism in the 1970s. Many argue the move inadvertently boosted IRA recruitment.

Appearing earlier on the show, Nigel Farage argued that while calls for internment would continue to grow he had serious reservations about the prospect.

The former Ukip leader said: Im concerned that if we do intern 3,500 people we might create more martyrs within that community. We did this with suspected IRA terrorists in Northern Ireland 30 years ago and it led to more recruits in the IRA. Im not sure that is the right route myself.

London Bridge Terror Attack Show all 16 1 /16 London Bridge Terror Attack London Bridge Terror Attack Armed police on Borough High Street as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Armed Police talk to members of the public outside London Bridge Hospital as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Police Officers outside the Barrowboy and Banker Public House on Borough High Street as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Armed Police talk to members of the public outside London Bridge Hospital as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Armed police on Borough High Street as police deal with a 'major incident' at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Emergency services near the scene of the incident Screengrab London Bridge Terror Attack People run down Borough High Street as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge Reuters London Bridge Terror Attack Emergency services arrive at the scene near Borough market at London Bridge Carl Court/Getty Images London Bridge Terror Attack Emergency personnel on London Bridge as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack Police sniffer dogs on London Bridge as police are dealing with a "major incident" at London Bridge PA London Bridge Terror Attack A second helicopter lands on London Bridge as police are responding to three incidents in the capital, amid reports that a vehicle collided with pedestrians on London Bridge, Scotland Yard said. Officers are dealing with reports of stabbings in Borough Market, where armed officers attended and shots were fired. They are also at an incident in the Vauxhall area PA London Bridge Terror Attack Police attend to an incident on London Bridge in London REUTERS London Bridge Terror Attack Police attend to an incident on London Bridge in London, Britain Reuters London Bridge Terror Attack A police officer escorts members of the public to safety at London Bridge Getty Images London Bridge Terror Attack Police attend to an incident on London Bridge in London, Britain Reuters London Bridge Terror Attack Police attend to an incident near London Bridge in London, Britain Reuters

Right-wing cable TV outlet Fox News immediately sought to distance themselves from Hopkins comments and branded them reprehensible.

Host Clayton Morris said: Earlier on the show, we had a couple of guests mention the word internment, the idea of internment camps, as a possible solution to this.

I think I made it well-known my feeling on that, which I find reprehensible, but on behalf of the network, I think all of us here find that idea reprehensible here at Fox News Channel. Just to be clear.

His co-host Pete Hegseth added: No suggestions of that.

Hopkins agreed to leave LBC at the end of May after she came under fierce criticism for calling for a final solution to Islamic terrorism in the wake of the Manchester Arena terror attack that killed 22.

"22 dead - number rising. Schofield. Don't you even dare. Do not be a part of the problem. We need a final solution #Machester," Hopkins wrote on Twitter.

The Metropolitan Police immediately received complaints about Hopkins since-deleted tweet which appeared to be a reference to the Nazi term for the Holocaust  Nazi Germanys mass murder of six million Jews.

Hopkins left The Sun in 2015 after writing a column that compared migrants to cockroaches" and "feral humans" and said they were "spreading like the norovirus". The remarks prompted more than 400 complaints to press regulator Ipso and she became the victim of a petition calling for her to be sacked.
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At least 10 prospective students of the Harvard Class of 2021 have reportedly had their admissions rescinded from the highly competitive university after allegedly posting offensive memes in a group Facebook chat.

Several members of the newly admitted class allegedly created a group chat, at one point titled Harvard memes for horny bourgeois teens, where they posted jokes about sexual assault, the Holocaust, and the death and abuse of children.

Emails obtained by the college newspaper show the school started investigating the chat group in mid-April.

The Admissions Committee was disappointed to learn that several students in a private group chat for the Class of 2021 were sending messages that contained offensive messages and graphics, an Admissions Office to some prospective students read.

Prospective students suspected of belonging to the group were asked to submit a statement to explain their contributions. About a week later, at least 10 received notification that their acceptance had been revoked, according to The Harvard Crimson.

Harvard Public Affairs and Communications official Rachael Dane told The Independent that the university does not comment publicly on the admissions status of individual applicants.

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

Colleges and universities frequently start Facebook groups where admitted students can connect before arriving on campus.

Members of the Harvard Facebook group initially started a public messaging group for admitted students to share pop culture memes, participants told The Crimson. From there, a few admitted students allegedly started a private chat, for more subversive posts.

Students who wanted in to the private group had to post provocative memes in the public group in order to prove themselves, group members told The Crimson.

This was a just-because-we-got-into-Harvard-doesnt-mean-we-cant-have-fun kind of thing. Cassandra Luca 21, who joined the first meme group but not the second, said.

(Facebook/Harvard Memes for Elitist 1% Tweens (Facebook/Harvard Memes for Elitist 1% Tweens)

Posts in the private group included jokes directed at different racial and ethnic groups, including one that referred to the hanging of a Mexican child as pinata time. The nature of the groups jokes eventually began to disturb some of its members, according to screenshots of conversations obtained by The Tab.

Some people replied with lol, a fire emoji or omg and found them either funny or shocking, said Jessica Zhang, who joined and then left the group. More and more people began leaving the chat when they saw those memes.

A disclaimer in the Class of 2021 Facebook page reminds admitted students that the school reserves the right to withdraw an offer of admission ... if an admitted student engages in behaviour that brings into question his or her honesty, maturity, or moral character.

The school previously investigated reports of admitted students posting offensive content in a Class of 2020 GroupMe message thread. Posts included racially-charged jokes, and jokes mocking feminists. The admitted students who posted these messages were not disciplined by the school.

Just this year, a meme-sharing group for current students sparked controversy when students used it to mock Asian tourists, and even engage in personal attacks.
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Breitbart has sacked an editor who made a number of inflammatory anti-Muslim remarks in the wake of the London Bridge terror attack which left seven dead and dozens injured.

Katie McHugh, who has written hundreds of articles for the far-right news site, sparked fierce criticism after she argued terrorist attacks would not take place in Britain if there were no Muslim residents.

Ms McHugh said: There would be no deadly terror attacks in the UK if Muslims didn't live there."

Pej Vahdat, an Iranian-American actor who is best known for playing Arastoo Vaziri in crime drama Bones, responded to her tweet by saying: Youre a real moron.

Ms McHugh then hit back by wrongly identifying his ethnicity and claiming: Youre an Indian.

Other critics pointed to the fact Ms Hughs initial tweet overlooked the long history of deadly terror attacks in the UK carried out by the IRA, a predominantly Catholic group, between the late 1960s and the late 1990s.

A number of Breitbart colleagues, who chose to remain anonymous, also attacked Ms McHugh for her Islamophobic comments. Speaking to CNN anonymously on Sunday, one said they found them appalling while another branded them terrible.

Ms McHugh, a former writer for conservative site The Daily Caller, announced the news of her sacking via Twitter on Monday, saying: Breitbart News fired me for telling the truth about Islam and Muslim immigration.

The journalist also shared a link to a crowdfunding page titled Support Katie McHugh: Fired from Breitbart for telling the truth. The fundraising page claimed it would use the funds amassed to pay for her medical bills and living costs while unemployed.

Crowds gather for vigil honouring victims of London Bridge attack Show all 8 1 /8 Crowds gather for vigil honouring victims of London Bridge attack Crowds gather for vigil honouring victims of London Bridge attack John Loughrey lays down flowers in Potters Fields Park, central London in honour of the London Bridge terror attack victims PA Crowds gather for vigil honouring victims of London Bridge attack People queue to lay flowers after a vigil for victims of Saturday's attack in London Bridge, at Potter's Field Park in London AP Crowds gather for vigil honouring victims of London Bridge attack Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan (centre) British Home Office Secretary, Amber Rudd (right) and British Shadow Labour Home Secretary (left) Diane Abbott arrive with flowers EPA Crowds gather for vigil honouring victims of London Bridge attack PA Crowds gather for vigil honouring victims of London Bridge attack Floral tributes left for victims of Saturdays London Bridge attack AP Crowds gather for vigil honouring victims of London Bridge attack People pay their respects, leaving floral tributes after a vigil for victims of Saturdays attack in London Bridge AP Crowds gather for vigil honouring victims of London Bridge attack People queue to honour those killed on Saturday. Police have arrested several people and are widening their investigation after the attack AP Crowds gather for vigil honouring victims of London Bridge attack Tributes lie outside City Hall in London EPA

The writer refused to apologise for her comments about the London Bridge attacks, insisting she deserved a pay raise rather than to be fired.

She said: I said nothing wrong. As President Donald Trump says, if we dont get smart, it will only get worse".

This is by no means the first time she has made inflammatory remarks about race. She once told her 19,000 Twitter followers: "Mexicans wrecked Mexico and think invading the USA will magically cure them of their retarded dysfunction. Lol."

It is rare for Breitbart, a publication which has been accused of writing racist and misogynist articles, to dismiss its employees for their controversial views. Although one exception is the case of Milo Yiannopoulos. In February, the alt-right figurehead, who was one of the sites most high-profile writers, was forced to resign from the publication after his apparently pro-paedophilia remarks resurfaced in an old podcast.

Breitbart, the most widely-read Conservative site in the US, was founded by conservative commentator Andrew Breitbart in 2007 and was later expanded by senior Trump aide Steve Bannon.

The chief strategist, who is a former executive chairman of the site, declared the publication "the platform for the alt-right after taking the reins around four years ago and transforming the agenda from ultra-conservatism to anti-establishment, anti-immigrant, nationalist and overtly pro-Trump during the presidential election.

Breitbart, which has published comment pieces titled Political Correctness Protects Muslim Rape Culture and Birth Control Makes Women Unattractive and Crazy, has gained growing access to the White House since Mr Trump entered office.

The publication was dubbed Trumpbart before Mr Trump took office, with the President giving a number of interviews to the site in the build-up to the election, boosting its traffic to a 124 per cent spike in 2016.
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A young woman accused of encouraging her boyfriend to kill himself, was playing a "sick game", a court has been told.

The hearing in Massachusetts heard that Michelle Carter, who faces a charge of involuntary manslaughter charge, allegedly texting her boyfriend to  among other things  just do it before, he took his own life in 2014. At the time he was 18, and she was 17.

In her opening statement, prosecutor Maryclare Flynn accused Ms Carter of sending dozens of text messages and making phone calls too. In them, Ms Carter encouraged her boyfriend to kill himself, even instructing him to get back in the car he had filled with carbon monoxide fumes, the court heard.

Ms Flynn accused Ms Carter, who is now aged 20, of bringing about her boyfriends death so she could play the grieving girlfriend.

However, Ms Carters defence lawyer said her boyfriend, Conrad Roy, was on this path to take his own life for years, and that his girlfriend had urged him to get treatment.

"It was Conrad Roy's idea to take his own life, it was not Michelle Carter's idea, said attorney Joseph Cataldo. This was a suicide, a sad and tragic suicide, but not a homicide."

This is the first involuntary manslaughter indictment the Massachusetts Supreme Court has considered on the basis of words alone. The arguments, experts say, will come down to one crucial point: whether Ms Carter directly caused the death of Mr Roy with her texts and calls.

The state has got to show not just that there was encouragement, but that Ms. Carter killed this young man with her words, and thats a really significant obstacle for the prosecution, Matthew Segal, of the ACLU of Massachusetts, told The New York Times.

Just because Ms. Carters conduct may have been wrong, doesnt mean theres necessarily a law in Massachusetts that made it a crime, he added.

Unlike many other states, Massachusetts does not have a law against encouraging someone to kill themselves.

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

If the prosecution is successful, however, they could secure up to a 20-year sentence, putting the 20-year-old Ms Carter behind bars until age 40.

The case is being tried without a jury in juvenile court, because Ms Carter was a minor when Mr Roy killed himself.
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The man with the world's largest Star Wars collection has asked fans to help him recover 200,000 dollars' worth (155,000) of memorabilia allegedly stolen by a friend.

Luke Skywalker actor Mark Hamill and Peter Mayhew, who played Chewbacca, have helped spread the word after collector Steve Sansweet made his claims public on Monday.

The Guinness World Records holder said he became aware in February that more than 100 items, many of them rare and important pieces, were taken in 2015 and 2016.

Fellow collector Carl Cunningham, 45, of Georgia, USA, was charged with felony grand theft in March.

Recommended 40 years on and Star Wars continues to spark our imaginations

Mr Sansweet, who runs non-profit museum Rancho Obi-Wan in Petaluma, California, said the incident is emotionally devastating.

He wrote on his website: I have known Carl for many years, considered him a good and trusted friend, and played host to him at my home numerous times.

I, and the staff at Rancho Obi-Wan, are devastated that he is the alleged perpetrator of the thefts.

Mayhew described the news as despicable and urged fans to get the word out.

Hamill tweeted:

Mr Sansweet has more than half-a-million unique items and took the world record in May 2015 when 93,260 were audited and categorised.

He called for collectors and fans to get in touch with information.

Press Association
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Donald Trump has announced his proposal to privatise the US's air traffic control system, part of his vision for a massive infrastructure overhaul that Democrats say could leave important assets in the hands of powerful corporations and special interest groups.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer blasted Mr Trumps infrastructure proposal, arguing that financiers would profit while average citizens will be stuck with the bill for projects aimed at trying to improve the nations waterways, roads and airports.

The administration's plan means Trump tolls from one end of America to the other, and huge profits for financiers who, when they put up the money, want to be repaid by the average driver, worker and citizen, Mr Schumer said.

Recommended Trump attacks Democrats for key government vacancies

Along with projects focused on rebuilding highways and waterways, Mr Trump wants to create a nonprofit corporation to take over the role of tracking and guiding airplanes, a task that is currently under the purview of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Trumps ideas for privatising air traffic control  which recycle a tired Republican plan that both sides of the aisle have rejected  would hand control of one of our nations most important assets to special interests and the big airlines, said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

In the White Houses East Room on Monday, with airline company executives in attendance, Mr Trump said the proposal is taking American air travel into the future.

Calling the current system ancient, broken, antiquated and horrible, the President said his reforms would make it safer and more reliable. He also asserted that moving the system to a private non-profit corporation will help speed up the shift from using land-based radar to more precise GPS tools, allowing more direct routes to reduce costs and fuel consumption for airlines.

The FAA has been transitioning toward a GPS system for several years, but it's not scheduled to be fully implemented until at least 2020.

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

The President also slammed the Obama administration for investing money in an attempt to upgrade the system, an effort that totally failed, Mr Trump said.

Honestly, they didnt know what the hell they were doing, he said. A total waste of money.

Mr Trumps plan would need congressional approval, and both Republicans and Democrats in the past have expressed wariness about transferring the air traffic control duties from the government to a corporation.

Last year, a similar bill championed by Republican congressman Bill Shuster, chairman of the House Transportation Committee, never made it to a vote on the House floor. The White House used Mr Shusters bill as a guide to form its proposal.

While major airlines and the air traffic controllers' union are generally supportive of the proposal, certain trade groups  such as the National Business Aviation Association and the General Aviation Manufacturers Association  have said that private air traffic management would give big airline companies too much power and could threaten private aviation in smaller communities.

In a call with reporters, Mr Trump's chief economic adviser Gary Cohn asserted that there is money to make sure that rural airports get protected.

Democrats, preferring a much larger infusion of government money, have expressed scepticism over Mr Trumps overall infrastructure plan for its heavy reliance on private funding.

Mr Trump has proposed to set aside $200 billion (154 billion) over 10 years for infrastructure, which critics have said is not the big spending that Mr Trump promised during his campaign. According to the Presidents budget request, the funds would be used to encourage companies, as well as state and local governments, to invest at least $800 billion in US infrastructure projects.

Calling it a broken promise of Mr Trumps budget request, Democratic congressman Brendan Boyle asserted that the proposal falls short of the $1 trillion Mr Trump pledged during the campaign, one of his few promises that received support from Democrats.

Mr Schumer declared on the Senate floor that President Trumps campaign promises on infrastructure are crumbling faster than our roads and bridges.

During a House budget committee hearing, the White Houses Budget Director Mick Mulvaney repeatedly emphasised that private capital investment is more effective and more accountable than government investment. But Mr Schumer says the White Houses focus on privatisation means less construction and far fewer jobs, particularly in rural areas.
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Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement on climate change has reportedly prompted the Acting US Ambassador to China to resign from his post because.

David Rank, who has served in the foreign service since 1990, assumed his position in January 2016 and was set to stay until Terry Branstad arrived later this month.

But it was said he "could not deliver" the news that Mr Trump had decided to withdraw the US from the accord, which has been signed by 195 countries and ratified by 147.

The US leader removed the US from the agreement which nearly 200 countries signed in an attempt to limit global warming and reduce greenhouse gas emissions late last week.

Anna Richey-Allen, a spokeswoman for the State Department's East Asia Bureau, said that Mr Rank "made a personal decision" and did not confirm that it was due to the Paris Agreement withdrawal.

He worked in the Beijing embassy when China signed a bliateral deal with the US under the Obama administration just ahead of the Paris signing.

It was considered a historic deal between two of the world's largest polluters.

China estimated they would need until 2030 to reach a "peak" of carbon emissions  mostly through inexpensive coal burning  in order to build up their economy to a point where they can afford to start transitioning to more renewable sources of energy.

After that time, the country will begin to reduce carbon emissions and increase the proportion of renewable sources of energy. They are already a leader in solar panel production and renewable energy investments throughout the world.

Chinese President Xi Jinping had urged Mr Trump to keep the US in the Paris accord, but said that his country and France must "protect" the deal.

Jon Pomfret a California-based journalist who has written extensively on China took to Twitter to say that Mr Rank held a meeting with his staff because Mr Rank "could not deliver" the statement that the US had withdrawn from the Paris accord.

Jonathan Fritz, the embassy's economics councillor, would serve as charge in his place, Ms Richey-Allen said.

Mr Branstad, the former governor of Iowa, was confirmed by the Senate for the Ambassadorship in late May 2017. He is expected to take up the role later this year.

On the day Mr Trump decided to withdraw the US, Richard Gowan, a UN expert with the European Council on Foreign Relations, told The Independent the he may not care, but he has just created an astonishing opportunity for the Chinese to assert themselves in the UN system.
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An official in Flint, Michigan, has been forced to resign after a recording of him using a racial slur to describe residents of the city surfaced.

Phil Stair, a longtime employee of the Genesee County Land Bank, resigned after water activist and independent journalist Chelsea Lyons released the tape. Mr Stair, a white man, had made the comments while Ms Lyons was with him driving to a restaurant, according to Truth Against the Machine, an organisation where Ms Lyons is a reporter.

Flint has the same problems as Detroit  f*****g n*****s dont pay their bills, believe me, I deal with them, Mr Stair is heard saying in a recording.

Recommended Flint families risk losing homes after refusing to pay for dirty water

The release of the recording led the former sales manager to resign from his position at the Land Bank, which Ms Lyons said she is concerned with because it is Flints largest property owner. The agency takes over tax-foreclosed properties before conducting demolitions, rehabilitations, and sales on the homes. The Land Bank is a non-profit organisation whose stated mission is to "restore value to the community" through the rehabilitation of those properties in cooperation with stakeholders "who value responsible land ownership."

The Land Bank is taking up all of the properties in Flint... They are pushing people out of the neighbourhood, Ms Lyons told Michigan Live.

Flints ongoing water crisis has led many to express concern that more and more homes will be foreclosed as residents struggle to pay their water bills, and their property taxes. At least a third of the properties in the city are already vacated, foreshadowing a wave of blight that could overtake the city in coming years.

Even with that seemingly imminent catastrophe rushing over the horizon, fiscal realities have pushed the government to resort to seemingly desperate measures that have had the potential to push people out of their homes even quicker.

Earlier this year, for instance, the city sent out notices that unpaid water bills would result in tax liens that could have wrenched houses out of the hands of more than 8,000 residents who havent paid their bills  even though the water is still so toxic that it is virtually unusable at this time. That proposal was blocked that effort for a year by the city council amid uproar.
The Ibero-American University in Mexico City has condemned the current  climate of violence against the practice of journalism and freedom of expression in the country, in a scathing statement in which it also decried the silence of the authorities in the face of aggression toward, and intimidation and murder of, journalists .

Graffiti and a wreath in memory of journalist Javier Valdez. Juan Cedillo (efe)

More information El mundo academico mexicano denuncia la impunidad ante las muertes de periodistas

The killings of reporters, the text continues, are happening in ever more open, shameless and visible manners, which is prompting these practices to multiply and become normal, adds the university, considered to be one of the best in the country for the study of communication and journalism.

Despite promises made by Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto to strengthen security measures so as to protect the journalism profession, the Communication department at the university believes that there is a lack of political will to establish the true causes and reasons behind the violence.

Since the year 2000 a total of 126 journalists have been killed in Mexico

As the university points out, since the year 2000 a total of 126 journalists have been killed in Mexico, and in 2017 alone Cecilio Pineda, Maximino Rodriguez, Ricardo Monlui, Filiberto Alvarez, Miroslava Breach, Javier Valdez and Jonathan Rodriguez have been murdered, without the facts [of the cases] being established.

Attacking the press means attacking the very heart of democracy, reads the statement, which also praises the profession as being a service to society that counteracts the possible abuses of hegemonic powers and protects democracy.

The university, which stresses what it considers the inefficiency of the state attorneys and special prosecutors created to pursue these crimes, laments that the permissive climate in the face of these unpunished aggressions is causing concern and insecurity among the journalism profession to rise.

Not even the high profile of professionals in the trade is a guarantee of safety

Not even the high profile and the visibility of the professionals working in the trade is a guarantee of safety, the university argues, citing the case of Javier Valdez, the winner of the CPJ International Press Freedom Award in 2011.

Meanwhile, the European Federation of Journalists, which is made up of delegates and journalism unions from 32 European countries, has unanimously called on the Mexican government to bring an end to impunity for crimes against the press, to put a stop to widespread criminal acts against reporters and to pursue and bring the killers to trial.

English edition by Simon Hunter.
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US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said the US is "reviewing its participation" in the Human Rights Council over what said is the group's "chronic anti-Israel bias".

The Geneva-based Council made up of 47 member countries is beginning a three-week session and Ms Haley said the US sees some areas for significant strengthening in the group.

The council's critical stance of Israel has long been a contentious issue for the US, Israel's main ally. Ms Haley has said in the past that Israel is the only country permanently on the bodys calendar.

The council's members have taken a strong position against Israel's continued occupation of territory seized in the 1967 Six-Day War, its treatment of Palestinians, and its building of Jewish settlements.

Most countries in the UN system and international bodies consider the settlements illegal since they are built in areas Palestinians consider part of an eventual independent state.

Ms Haley used Venezuela's alleged human rights violations as an example of anti-Israel bias. She noted the council pursued five resolutions against Israel in its March session but none against the government of President Nicolas Maduro.

If Venezuela cannot [address human rights issues], it should voluntarily step down from its seat on the Human Rights Council until it can get its own house in order. Being a member of this council is a privilege, and no country who is a human rights violator should be allowed a seat at the table," she said.

Ms Haley is set to host a side event in Geneva specifically regarding the South American nation, where at least 65 people have died and hundreds have been injured in continued anti-government protests since the end of March.

Venezuela responded to Ms Haley's comment, saying the forum needs to be free of politicisation and double standards.

The US ambassador also called on the council to vote on resolutions against Syria, Eritrea, Belarus, Ukraine and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Some activists urged Washington to focus on abuses at home. It's hard to take Ambassador Haley seriously on US support for human rights in light of Trump administration actions like the Muslim ban and immigration crackdowns," Jamil Dakwar, director of the human rights program at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), told Reuters.

The US must get its own house in order and make human rights at home a priority  then, it can begin to credibly demand the same of other countries abroad.

Despite remaining allies, former President Obama had an icy relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In fact, in late December 2016 during the waning moments of the Obama administration, the UN Security Council passed a resolution condemning Israel's settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Then-UN ambassador Samantha Power chose not to veto the resolution as was normal procedure for the US.

Comparatively, Donald Trump and Mr Netanyahu seem to have a far friendlier relationship according to foreign policy experts. The Israeli leader recently hosted the US President during Mr Trump's first foreign trip.
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Over a thousand mayors, businesses, investors, and academic institutions have signed a pact to continue fighting climate change in the US despite Donald Trumps withdrawal from the Paris Agreement.

Last week, Mr Trump pulled out of the Paris accord, stressing that it puts American workers at an economic disadvantage and that it is unfair for the US economy.

The We Are Still In initiative represents $6.2 trillion of the US economy - composed of bipartisan drivers of the real economy, Lou Leonard, World Wildlife Funds Senior Vice President of Climate Change and Energy, told The Independent.

Recommended Trump confirms withdrawal from Paris Agreement on climate change

Several business leaders including managers of multi-billion dollar pension funds, the CEO of Shell, and former Exxon Mobil CEO and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had urged Mr Trump to stay in the Paris accord.

Twenty Fortune 500 companies, including Apple, eBay, Gap Inc., Google, Intel, Microsoft, Nike, and several universities are among the signatories to the initiative as well.

It is a wide cross-section of the US, all coming together to say Mr Trumps decision is out of step with what is happening outside of Washington.

The signers all understand that the Paris Agreement is a blueprint for job creation, stability and global prosperity...to create jobs, spur innovation, promote trade and ensure American competitiveness, they said in a statement.

Mr Leonard said that though these cities would be able to combat climate change faster and more fully with the help of state and federal governments, the wide variety of partners in the initiative is important to note.

These new partners can do something creative to green their local economies, said Mr Leonard.

He explained that the reason the initiative is crucial is that decisions about transportation, ports - some large, international shipping hubs, urban planning, and land use are all made at the local government level.

These are the areas where changes need to be made to push the US to a zero carbon future, Mr Leonard said.

Some mayors and companies that signed on are in states that have not committed to fighting climate change. Only 13 Republican and Democratic governors have done so thus far.

Mr Leonard said though that may be an issue, policies about sustainable agriculture, for instance, become less and less political at the local level.

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

For instance, he pointed to the number of mayors and actors representing the Mississippi River Valley, the breadbasket of America that runs through several Republican states, as evidence that local leaders understand climate changes economic impact better than most.

In addition to this initiative, 211 mayors from around the country have signed a similar pledge to create a clean energy economy, according to a statement from Mayors National Climate Agenda.

Cities represented include San Diego, California and Miami Beach, Florida, both contending with rising sea levels and coastal erosion.

Mayor of Detroit Mike Duggan also signed despite his citys reliance on the auto manufacturing industry. Detroit has been in an economic downturn for several years and Mr Duggan and others feel job re-training and clean energy programmes will play a role in an economic renaissance for the city.

During his address announcing the withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, Mr Trump cited the decline in the coal industry - which has actually been in decline since before the 1970s.

The head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Scott Pruitt said during a news conference that the goal of withdrawal was to export American clean coal and the innovation and technology used in the US natural gas energy to teach the world how the US does it better.

Mr Trump also said he was elected to represent the citizens of Pittsburgh not Paris.

Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto responded via Twitter that his city will follow the guidelines of the Paris Agreement for our people, our economy & future.

While data on national carbon emissions and some large companies has been identified, local data is more scant. It is unclear at this point whether partners in these initiatives alone will be enough to meet the US targets of reducing carbon emissions 26 to 28 per cent below 2005 levels by the year 2025.

Quantifying the carbon emissions reductions pledges of these non-government and sub-national actors is the next phase, according to Mr Leonard.

Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, a United Nations Special Envoy on Cities and Climate, has sent a letter to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change saying that Americans are still committed to the Paris Agreement.

He also launched an effort with local governments and non-state actors to formally quantify the combined - and overlapping - emissions reduction pledges, which will be known as America's Pledge, and submit the report to the UN, Reuters reported.
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Donald Trump's administration has proposed a new regulation that would allow employers to deny birth control coverage to their female staff.

Current law requires companies to provide contraceptive coverage for female employees, with limited exceptions for private businesses with sincerely held religious beliefs. The new proposal would allow any employer to apply for an exemption.

[The regulation] essentially allows any employer, any insurance company, and any university that provides contraceptive coverage to claim a religious or moral exemption to covering their employees, Diana Rhodes, director of public policy at Advocates for Youth, told The Independent.

The Trump administration's draft proposal, dated 23 May, is currently under review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

An OBM review is the final step before the regulation is made official. But the rule could take effect immediately after being published.

Birth control is one of the eight essential health benefits that employers are currently required to cover under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), known as Obamacare. The ACA does allow private companies with sincerely held religious beliefs to opt out of providing such coverage - but the Obama administration never figured out how to do so without requiring religious institutions to fill out burdensome paperwork.

The newly proposed regulation would avoid this problem by allowing all employers  even publicly traded, for-profit companies  to opt out with a simple heads-up to the government.

The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Show all 9 1 /9 The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the media White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer takes questions during the daily press briefing Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Union leaders applaud US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order withdrawing the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington DC. Mr Trump issued a presidential memorandum in January announcing that the US would withdraw from the trade deal Getty The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Mexico wall A US Border Patrol vehicle sits waiting for illegal immigrants at a fence opening near the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas. The number of incoming immigrants has surged ahead of the upcoming Presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, who has pledged to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. A signature campaign promise, Mr Trump outlined his intention to build a border wall on the US-Mexico border days after taking office Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and abortion US President Donald Trump signs an executive order as Chief of Staff Reince Priebus looks on in the Oval Office of the White House. Mr Trump reinstated a ban on American financial aide being granted to non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, provide abortion referrals, or advocate for abortion access outside of the United States Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the Dakota Access pipeline Opponents of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines hold a rally as they protest US President Donald Trump's executive orders advancing their construction, at Columbus Circle in New York. US President Donald Trump signed executive orders reviving the construction of two controversial oil pipelines, but said the projects would be subject to renegotiation Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and 'Obamacare' Nancy Pelosi who is the minority leader of the House of Representatives speaks beside House Democrats at an event to protect the Affordable Care Act in Los Angeles, California. US President Donald Trump's effort to make good on his campaign promise to repeal and replace the healthcare law failed when Republicans failed to get enough votes. Mr Trump has promised to revisit the matter Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Donald Trump and 'sanctuary cities' US President Donald Trump signed an executive order in January threatening to pull funding for so-called "sanctuary cities" if they do not comply with federal immigration law AP The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and the travel ban US President Donald Trump has attempted twice to restrict travel into the United States from several predominantly Muslim countries. The first attempt, in February, was met with swift opposition from protesters who flocked to airports around the country. That travel ban was later blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The second ban was blocked by a federal judge a day before it was scheduled to be implemented in mid-March SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP/Getty Images The controversial orders Donald Trump has already issued Trump and climate change US President Donald Trump sought to dismantle several of his predecessor's actions on climate change in March. His order instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to reevaluate the Clean Power Plan, which would cap power plant emissions Shannon Stapleton/Reuters

The draft regulation, as written, would exempt any entity possessing religious beliefs or moral convictions against the coverage required by the mandate, regardless of its corporate structure or ownership interests.

The regulation would also allow insurers themselves to opt out of covering birth control, although no insurers have yet said they will do so. It also requires employers to provide separate insurance plans for employees who do not wish to receive contraceptive coverage.

After the ACAs passage, the number of women of childbearing age paying out-of-pocket for contraceptive coverage dropped from more than 20 per cent to less than four per cent, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

In 2013 alone, it saved women $1.4bn (1.08bn) on birth control pills, according to the National Womens Law Center.

Requiring women to pay for their own birth control, Ms Rhodes pointed out, could force some women to take it less frequently - or not at all.

The Republican Party's latest health care proposal, meanwhile, has been estimated to increase the cost of pregnancy by 425 per cent. The liberal think tank Center for American Progress warned the womens health care premiums could jump by up to $17,060 following a single completed pregnancy.

The Trump regulation would also bypass usual guidelines requiring all regulations from federal agencies to be submitted for public comment before taking effect.

The departments of labour, treasury, and health and human services have decided, the draft says, that it would be impracticable and contrary to the public interest to delay putting these provisions in place until a full public notice and comment process is completed.
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Donald Trump is reportedly planning to live-tweet former FBI Director James Comey's Congressional testimony.

Mr Comey is scheduled to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee on 8 June - in public and closed door sessions - to speak about the ongoing FBI investigation into alleged ties between the Trump campaign team and Russia as well as possible Russian interference with the US election.

Mr Trump fired Mr Comey on 9 May and faced backlash for the unexpected decision from Democrats and Republicans alike.

Normally federal employees at such a high level with decades of experience like Mr Comey has are given the opportunity to resign rather than being sacked. However the White House leaked his termination letter which stated that Mr Trump thought Mr Comey eroded "public trust and confidence" in the FBI.

Mr Comey is also expected to testify about memos he wrote while Director which allegedly detailed conversations he had with the President.

The New York Times reported that in at least one conversation Mr Trump asked Mr Comey to "let it go" with regards to the FBI investigation into former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn's allegedly receiving illegal payments from the Turkish government.

The National Archives and Records Administration asked the White House to save all of the President's tweets, even those deleted, to be part of their records. Former President Obama's official Twitter account has entered the archive as well.

The President appears to favour the micro-blogging social media site as a way to communicate with the public, often sparking controversy with his remarks on a range of issues. The Washington Post reported that Mr Trump wants to be the one "driving the process" during Mr Comey's testimony.

Senior aide Kellyanne Conway recently criticised the media for having this obsession with covering everything he says on Twitter and very little of what of he does as President."

Mr Trump recently taunted the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan in the wake of the London Bridge attack and praised Saudi Arabia for cutting ties with Qatar over funding terror groups.

During his term in office, he has not yet live-tweeted any events.
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Donald Trumps tweets in response to the London Bridge terror attack could foreshadow a dictatorial reaction by the US leader to attacks on American soil, a former speechwriter for Barack Obama has suggested.

Following the truck and knife attack in the UK that left at least seven people dead and 48 people injured, Mr Trump tweeted we must stop being politically correct and get down to the business of security for our people. If we don't get smart it will only get worse.

The President also criticised the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, for saying there is no reason to be alarmed, apparently after hearing the comment taken out of context on Fox News.

Mr Trump was responding to remarks made by Mr Khan on Sky News, in which the mayor advised the public not to be concerned if they saw more police on the streets of London over the next few days.

No reason to be alarmed  one of the things the police and all of us need to do is make sure were as safe as we possibly can be, the mayor said.

In another tweet, Mr Trump wrote: Do you notice we are not having a gun debate right now? That's because they used knives and a truck!

Jon Favreau, who served as the White House Director of Speechwriting under President Obama, tweeted in response: It's hard to read Trump's tweets this morning and not think that we're one domestic attack away from the most dangerous version of this guy.

In another series of tweets on Monday morning, Mr Trump called for a tougher executive order on immigration intended to temporarily bar citizens of six predominantly Muslim countries from entering the US.

The President declared that the Justice Department should have fought for his original order, instead of the watered down, politically correct version that has been submitted to the Supreme Court.

The Trump administration dropped its appeal of the Presidents first travel ban issued in January, after the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in California deemed the order unconstitutional.

Mr Trump then issued a heavily revised ban in March aimed at defeating court challenges, but has still not been successful.

Last month, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Virginia upheld the block on the order, a decision that the administration is now appealing against to the Supreme Court.

The Presidents suggestion that the Justice Department  which is part of his administration  should have presented a tougher order to the highest court in the land, despite his original order failing, seems to indicate a lack of understanding of US law and checks and balances of government.
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In the words of his ballet teacher, Yehuda Maor, there is something very special about teenager Amir Shah.

The Mumbai youngster was pouring all his energy into dancing hip hop, when Maor, a ballet master, asked him to join his ballet class. I dont know how the ballet theory got into this kid's body, said the Israeli American teacher. And he knew everything. He learned the language very naturally.

Two years later, the 15-year-old is at the threshold of something rather amazing. The welders son has received a rare invitation to study at one of the worlds leading ballet schools, located in New York - if he can raise the funds for his air travel, visa and lodgings.

Yehuda Maor said he didn't know where the youngster got his talents (Janey Lee) (YouTube)

I sometimes think if I didn't have ballet, I would not have anything, the teenager says in a video posted on a GoFundMe page. I didnt know ballet could take me so far. I didnt realise I could become a ballet dancer.

The teenager has received an invitation from the American Ballet Theatres Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School in New York City. Among the ABTs principal dancers are Misty Copeland, Stella Abrera and Marcello Gomes.

A spokeswoman, Kelly Ryan, told The Independent that the teenager had been accepted for the year course after auditioning by video. "We're expecting him to start this [autumn]," she said.

 Transgender former racing driver who has become Royal Ballet School scholar practices for exams

It was not the first time, the teenager had been invited to study in the US. Previously he received invitations from the Joffrey Ballet School in New York and the Oregon Ballet Theatre school. But he was unable to take up the offers become of visa issues.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. 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Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. 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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

Amir, whose story was reported by The Better India, is now trying to raise $15,000 for the trip to America. Most recently, the total stood at $2,218.

The teenager said his hero was Danil Simkin, a Russian-born principal dancer with the ABT. I really hope I can become a principal dancer, he said. I will keep pushing until I get there.
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Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on Tuesday police were treating a deadly siege in the southern city of Melbourne as an act of terrorism after a claim by the Isis group that one of its fighters was the gunman responsible.

Police shot dead gunman Yacqub Khayre, who they said had a long criminal history, on Monday after he killed a man in the foyer of an apartment block in Melbourne, Australias second-largest city, and held a woman hostage inside.

Senior officials confirmed that Khayre had been acquitted of a plot to attack a Sydney army base in 2009 and was on parole for a violent home invasion at the time of Mondays siege.

This terrorist attack by a known criminal, a man who was only recently released on parole, is a shocking, cowardly crime, Mr Turnbull told reporters in the capital, Canberra.

It is a terrorist attack and it underlines the need for us to be constantly vigilant, never to be deterred, always defiant, in the face of Islamist terrorism, he said.

Australian police also said they were investigating the siege as an act of terrorism after Isis claimed responsibility for the attack via its Amaq news agency. Police identified Khayre as a 29-year-old Australian of Somali heritage.

Amaq said the attack was launched because of Australias membership in a US-led coalition fighting against the militant Islamist group in Syria and Iraq.

Police said they were investigating whether Khayre had any established links with the group.

Yacqub Khayre leaves court in Melbourne, Australia, 23 December 2010 (EPA)

Victoria state Police Commissioner Graham Ashton said earlier Khayre had arranged to meet a female escort at a block of serviced apartments in the beachside Melbourne suburb of Brighton on Monday.

After shooting and killing a staff member when he arrived, Khayre then held the woman hostage for several hours before he burst out of the building and engaged police in a firefight, during which he was killed.

The woman was unhurt but three police officers suffered gunshot wounds that were not life-threatening, Ashton said.

Turnbull questioned why Khayre was not behind bars after a string of offences.

Khayre first came to the attention of Australian counter-terrorism police in 2009, when he was one of five men accused of plotting an attack on Sydneys Holsworthy Army base to kill soldiers. Three of the men were convicted, while Khayre and the fifth man were acquitted.

The Victorian Supreme Court was told during that case that Khayre had been a worshipper at a Melbourne mosque and at a nearby prayer hall regarded by police as an incubator of extremist ideology.

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

Court documents show Khayre migrated as a child with his family to Australia through a Kenyan refugee camp. He was recognised as a refugee under Australias humanitarian migration programme and later became an Australian citizen, police said.

Forensic investigators were at Khayres family home in Melbournes suburban Roxborough Park, according to a Reuters witness. Police said they were also conducting reassurance patrols to calm the neighbourhood.

Australia, a staunch ally of the US, has been on heightened alert for attacks by home-grown militants returning from fighting in the Middle East, or their supporters, since 2014. Police have foiled several major plots in recent years.

In December 2014, a gunman killed one hostage during a 17-hour siege at a popular Sydney cafe. Another hostage was killed by fragments of a bullet fired by police who stormed the cafe and killed the gunman, who was not affiliated to any militant groups and acted alone.

Six people were arrested over a plan to set off bombs in Melbourne on Christmas Day last year.

Reuters
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Afghanistan's president said Tuesday that last week's suicide truck bombing in the heart of the capital killed more than 150 people, making it the deadliest single attack in the country since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion to topple the Taliban.

The attack added to growing concerns about whether Afghan forces can defeat the Taliban or an increasingly destructive Islamic State affiliate without further aid from US and international forces, which formally concluded their combat mission at the end of 2014, switching to a support and counterterrorism role.

No one immediately claimed the bombing, but Afghanistan has alleged Pakistani involvement, accusations denied by Islamabad.

President Ashraf Ghani spoke at the opening of the so-called Kabul Process, a gathering of 23 nations, the EU, UN and NATO to discuss security and political issues in the country. He again invited the Taliban to peace talks, calling it their "last chance" to give up their 16-year insurgency and join the political process.

"If Taliban wants to join peace talks, the Afghan government will allow them to open an office, but this is their last chance," Ghani said.

Recommended At least 12 dead in triple suicide bombing at funeral in Kabul

The Taliban have steadily expanded their reach over the last two years, seizing control of several districts in different parts of the country. Past attempts at peace talks have failed. The Taliban have refused to negotiate with the government until all foreign forces leave, and still refer to themselves as a government in exile, angering authorities in Kabul.

The U.S.-backed government is also struggling to combat an IS affiliate that has carried out a series of major attacks. Ghani said that over the past two years as many as 11,000 foreign fighters have joined the group.

Ghani also renewed his criticism of neighbouring Pakistan, saying it was waging an "undeclared war of aggression" against his country. The two countries have long accused each other of turning a blind eye to militants operating along their porous border, and their forces exchanged fire over a border dispute last month.

Afghan security forces say they are still investigating, but that the explosives used appear to have originated in Pakistan.

Pakistan's Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz rejected the allegations, which he said were part of a "malicious agenda" to damage relations between the two countries.

AP
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A suspected bomb outside a mosque in the Afghan city of Herat killed at least seven people and wounded 15 on Tuesday, police said, the latest casualties in a particularly bloody week in Afghanistan.

Officials in the western city believe explosives were hidden in a motorcycle left in a parking area outside the Jama Masjid, a large mosque dating from the 12th century, known for its intricate blue tiles.

Abdul Ahad Walizada, spokesman for Herat police, said at least seven people were killed and 15 wounded as they made their way to the mosque for prayers.

Near the border with Iran, Herat is one of Afghanistan's largest cities.

The attack came after a spate of violence in Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, where on Wednesday more than 150 people were killed and hundreds wounded in a suicide truck-bomb attack.

Several protesters were killed in clashes with police on Friday at the bomb site, and at least a dozen people were killed when suicide bombers attacked the funeral for one of the dead protesters on Saturday.

Reuters
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Donald Trumps flagship hotel in the nations capital has received more than $270,000 in payments from a lobbying firm tried to Saudi Arabia, as the country seeks to overturn a US anti-terrorism law.

Newly filed lobbying reports reveal that the Trump International Hotel, located barely a stones throw from the White House, received the money from Qorvis MSLGroup. The payments were for hotel rooms and catering services for dozens of US veterans who the lobbying firm retained as part of a campaign to influence politicians.

The Daily Caller said disclosures filed with US Justice Department under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, show that Qorvis MSLGroup paid $190,272 to Trump International for lodging expenses, $78,204 for catering, and $1,568 for parking.

 Saudi Arabia cuts ties with Qatar over terror links

The website said the payments were just part of a huge effort by the Saudi authorities to lobby against the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, or JASTA.

Last year, over repeated opposition from Barack Obamas government, the US Congress passed a bill that would allow families of the victims of the September 11 attacks to sue Saudi Arabia for any alleged role in the plot.

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

A total of 15 of the hijackers who targeted New York and Washington were Saudi citizens, though the country has denied any such role in the events and has threatened to hit back financially at any prosecutions. It is lobbying to ease the laws provisions.

In a statement issued by the Trump Organisation, officials said they would donate any profits from the transactions at the end of the year.

Critics of Mr Trumps refusal to establish a blind trust for his economic assets, believe the disclosure of Saudi spending will spark fresh debate about his decision retain ownership of his real-estate and branding empire.

Last month, Mr Trump visited Saudi Arabia, the first stop on the first foreign trip of his presidency, where he delivered a keynote address to representatives of more than 50 nations in which he spoke of the need to confront terrorism.

Before he took office, Mr Trump pledged to donate foreign profits from his hotels to the US Treasury. However, reports say the Trump Organisation is not trying to comprehensively identify all foreign profits to its hotel business, according to a company policy document recently provided to the House Oversight Committee.

To fully and completely identify all patronage at our properties by customer type is impractical in the service industry and putting forth a policy that requires all guests to identify themselves would impede upon personal privacy and diminish the guest experience of our brand, the Trump Organisations document said.
Its what biology says: boys have a penis. Girls have a vulva. Say no to gender indoctrination. This is the controversial message emblazoned on a bus by the ultra-conservative group Hazte Oir (Make yourself heard), and which once again was to be seen on the streets of Madrid on Tuesday.

The Hazte Oir bus in Madrid on Tuesday. KIKE PARA

Just a few months ago, the same vehicle was fined and immobilized by the City Council, although at that time the anti-transsexual message was slightly different: Boys have a penis. Girls have a vulva. Dont let them fool you. If you are born a man, you are a man. If you are a woman, you will continue to be so.

Despite the change in message, the rejection of the groups slogan was the same on the streets of the capital

But despite the change in message, the rejection of the groups slogan was the same on the streets of the Spanish capital today.

Homophobes, Let us live in peace, You are being provocative, were just some of the shouts from dozens of people aimed at the Hazte Oir activists, shortly after the bus parked at around 12.45pm near the Puerta del Sol. Some, such as Guillermo Sola, who is homosexual, or Alejandro, who is transsexual, explained that they could not remain impassive on seeing the bus on the streets of the city.

I am gay and Im also a person, and as such I respect everyone apart from those who insult us and discriminate against us every day, said Sola.

Im transsexual and this bus does not respect me, said Alejandro, 29. The message it carries offends me, because its dictatorial.

Some passers-by, however, voiced their support for the slogan on the bus.

Today we end the first stage of the freedom bus, said Ignacio Arsuaga, the president of Hazte Oir. With it we have tried to get parents and citizens to see the extent to which in Spain laws are being approved that impose gender ideology in schools, sexual indoctrination, many times without parents even knowing it. The president of the association also said that the message that they want to transmit to the politicians is that they should leave the children alone.

The motorhome that replaced the bus when it was impounded in Madrid. Carlos Rosillo

On the route that the bus has taken through 11 autonomous regions a lot of politicians have threatened us and have even physically attacked the vehicle and its passengers, Arsuaga added. For this, above anyone else, we blame members of Podemos, he said, in reference to the new left-wing anti-austerity group. The bus made a stop in Madrid today at the Podemos headquarters to hand over 18,000 signatures to the party leader, Pablo Iglesias, to call on him to condemn the violence that, on many occasions, has been headed up by the partys regional general secretaries.

With a placard in her hand, Amelia, a member of Hazte Oir, made her opinion clear. In no case is the message on the bus offensive, she argued. Isnt it obvious that girls have a vulva and boys have a penis? Its something natural, we are not saying something that is nonsense.

Isnt it obvious that girls have a vulva and boys have a penis?

Hazte Oir member Amelia

No one at the Podemos headquarters opened the door for the religious group, prompting them to leave. The bus later made stops at Spains Congress building and the Education Ministry.

As well as its tour of Spain, the Hazte Oir bus even made it as far as New York, where it was damaged by those in disagreement with its message and spray-painted with graffiti.

The origins of the bus campaign date back to January, when the transgender support group Chrysallis launched an awareness campaign in northern Spain using the slogan: There are girls with penises and boys with vulvas. Hazte Oir responded with an online petition to have the campaign pulled, which failed. The next step was their bus campaign.

Hazte Oir was set up in 2001 by lawyer Ignacio Arsuaga and has campaigned noisily against abortion rights, as well as attacking LGBT groups and womens associations, using terms such as the gay inquisition and the dictatorship of gender. The organization says it has almost 7,000 members and revenue of 2.6 million from supporters.

A Madrid court has ruled that Hazte Oir has close links to El Yunque, a far-right group in Mexico that has organized demonstrations against gay rights there. Hazte Oir was approved by the Spanish Interior Ministry in 2013 as a not-for-profit association.

English version by Simon Hunter.
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Donald Trump has appeared to side with Saudi Arabia in its diplomatic stand-off with Qatar, referencing his recent trip to the Saudi capital of Riyadh in which he vowed to crack down on Islamic extremism.

During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar  look! the US president tweeted on Tuesday.

Mr Trumps post was followed up with two more a few hours later reading, So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding... extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!

Saudi Arabia, along with Gulf neighbours the UAE and Bahrain as well as Egypt, took an unexpected decision to isolate the tiny kingdom on Monday in a coordinated severing of diplomatic ties, alleging the energy-rich state funds terror groups. The row could have manifold economic and political effects for the Middle East, as well as alter the course of the region's many conflicts.

On Tuesday, supermarket shelves across the country were empty after panic buying and Doha's Hamad International Airport was eerily quiet as the first concrete effects of the rift were felt.

A statement from Monday carried on SPA, the Saudi state news agency, accused Doha of harbouring "terrorist and sectarian groups that aim to destabilise the region including the Muslim Brotherhood, Isis and Al-Qaeda," as well as alleged Iranian-backed Shia militia activity in east Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Suggestions Qatar is abetting Shia Iran - the majority Sunni Gulf's arch-rival - are particularly sensitive. Doha has dismissed the claims as "baseless."

The Qatari Government will take all necessary measures... to thwart attempts to influence and harm the Qatari society and economy, a statement from the foreign ministry said.

 Saudi Arabia cuts ties with Qatar over terror links

It went on to describe the crisis as being fuelled by absolute fabrications stemming from last month's hacking of Qatars state-run news agency.

The row has been caused in part by backlash over Qatars decision to rescue 24 members of the royal family, as well as two Saudi nationals, who were kidnapped by Shia paramilitaries while on a hunting trip in southern Iraq - a deal exclusively revealed by The Independent in April.

Dohas agreement to pay the extraordinary $500m (389m) ransom greatly angered its Gulf neighbours, who have long accused it of funding or otherwise supporting controversial groups and meddling in regional affairs, particularly through state-owned broadcaster al-Jazeera.

Robert Fisk: Qatar's the star  and Washington is worried Show all 3 1 /3 Robert Fisk: Qatar's the star  and Washington is worried Robert Fisk: Qatar's the star  and Washington is worried 511843.bin AFP/GETTY IMAGES Robert Fisk: Qatar's the star  and Washington is worried 511844.bin EPA Robert Fisk: Qatar's the star  and Washington is worried 511845.bin AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Iran, which Mr Trump singled out as a key source of funding and support for extremist groups during his two-day trip to Riyadh last month, is a secondary target of the decision by Saudi Arabia and its allies.

For its part, Tehran has accused the US of setting the scene for this week's growing spat during Mr Trumps visit to Saudi Arabia.

What is happening is the preliminary result of the sword dance, Hamid Aboutalebi, deputy chief of staff of Iran's President Hassan Rouhani, tweeted, in a reference to a traditional ceremonial dance that took place during the welcome ceremony on the president's arrival.

Mr Trump met with leaders and envoys from 50 Muslim countries during the 20-21 May visit to Riyadh, where he gave a speech on the importance of the international community working together to stamp out extremism.

The US maintains a military base in Qatar home to some 10,000 troops.

In a statement on Monday, US Central Command said that the deepening row - which has effectively shut down Qatar's airspace and land and sea borders - would have no effect on planned US military flights or operations.
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At least 21 civilians have reportedly died fleeing intense US-led bombing and artillery fire as the battle for the capital of Isiss so-called caliphate finally begins.

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Kurdish-Arab coalition announced on Tuesday that an assault on Raqqa from the north, east and west began on Monday, and troops had already managed to enter the citys eastern gate.

Families trying to escape the all-out attack were killed on Monday night on boats on the Euphrates River, both Syrian state media and opposition war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Women and children were reportedly among the dead.

Unverified reports from local sources said another 12 were killed in strikes last Friday.

 Women secretly capture life inside Raqqa

While Fridays deaths were not definitively confirmed by either US Central Command or sources on the ground, they would not be out of the ordinary. AirWars, a non-profit monitor which tracks the international coalitions war against Isis, said there has been a 400 per cent increase in civilian casualties caused by US-led bombing since the twin assaults on Raqqa and Mosul in neighbouring Iraq got underway last autumn.

The battle for Isiss last stronghold of Raqqa  designed to dovetail with the final stages of the campaign for Mosul  is expected to be long and bloody.

In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Show all 30 1 /30 In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian family arrives at a checkpoint, manned by pro-government forces, at the al-Hawoz street roundabout, after leaving Aleppo's eastern neighbourhoods Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian woman, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, reacts as she stands with her children in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood, after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-regime fighters, gesture as they drive past resident fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood , after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-regime fighters, gesture as they drive past residents fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood, after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian pro-regime fighter speaks with a child, as residents flee violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood. Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops AFP/Getty Images In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Smoke rises as seen from a governement-held area of Aleppo, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian soldiers targeting rebels-held areas in the eastern neighborhoods in Aleppo, Syria. According to media reports, the army is now holding on 99 percent of Aleppois eastern neighborhoods EPA In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-government forces patrol Aleppo's eastern al-Salihin neighbourhood after troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian soldiers rest following the battle at al-Sheik Saeed neighborhood in Aleppo, Syria EPA In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian pro-government fighter walking past closed shops in the Bab al-Nasr district of Aleppo's Old City. Once renowned for its bustling souks, grand citadel and historic gates, Aleppo's Old City has been rendered virtually unrecognisable by some of the worst violence of Syria's war Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria The crucial battle for Aleppo entered its 'final phase' after Syrian rebels retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances. The retreat leaves opposition fighters confined to just a handful of neighbourhoods in southeast Aleppo, the largest of them Sukkari and Mashhad Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian civilans arrive at a checkpoint, manned by pro-government forces, at the al-Hawoz street roundabout, after leaving Aleppo's eastern neighbourhoods. Syria's government has retaken at least 85 percent of east Aleppo, which fell to rebels in 2012, since beginning its operation Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian civilians flee the Sukkari neighbourhood towards safer rebel-held areas in southeastern Aleppo Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrians celebrate in the government-held Mogambo neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, after rebel fighters retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrians celebrate in the government-held Mogambo neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, after rebel fighters retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances. The fall of Aleppo would be the worst rebel defeat since Syria's conflict began in 2011, and leave the government in control of the country's five major cities Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian refugee Aliya inside the tent where she lives with her husband and ten children in a camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian refugee women and children outside the entrance to their tents in the refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA Wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA Wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee woman outside the entrance to the tent where her family live, in the refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A vehicle drives past a mosque at night in Idlib, Syria. Picture taken with a long exposure Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Damaged buildings stand in the rebel-controlled town of Binnish in Idlib province, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria The night sky is seen through damaged windows in the rebel-controlled town of Binnish in Idlib province, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Damaged buildings stand in the rebel-controlled area of Maaret al-Numan in Idlib province, Syria Reuters

The Kurdish-Arab coalition of ground fighters has been slowly tightening the siege around jihadi militants in the northern city since November, assisted by coalition air strikes.

Those strikes have intensified in recent weeks  and caused more and more civilian deaths in the process. According to data from AirWars, at least 220 civilians are estimated to have been killed in May alone.

Western coalition bombing of Isis targets is conducted without the consent of the Syrian government, with which the US does not have official diplomatic ties, and has long been criticised by human rights groups for causing unnecessary loss of life.

Central Commands own tally of civilian casualties is usually far lower than estimates made by NGOs and monitors on the ground.

We have been expressing concern for some months already at the steeply escalating death toll before the assault proper began yesterday, Chris Woods, AirWars director, told The Independent.

We would not have expected this six months ago. All we can do, going on the data we have, is assume that some protections for civilians may have been lifted for the Raqqa assault.

US President Donald Trump promised on the election campaign trail to to focus his foreign policy on eliminating the group, and his administration has given the Pentagon greater executive control over anti-Isis military operations.

Defence Secretary James Mattis said last week that the US is accelerating the tempo of the fight against Isis and the battle has shifted from attrition to annihilation tactics.

While US forces operating in Syria and Iraq do do everything humanly possible to prevent the loss of innocent life, civilian casualties are a fact of life in this sort of situation, he added.

Faced with a fight to the death with no prospect of surrender, Isis are more likely than ever to use Raqqas 220,000 civilians as human shields.

Weve already seen in Mosul the coalition using very high concentrations of firepower on densely populated areas, Mr Woods continued. The concerns we have for Raqqa are even greater.

Unlike in the battle for Mosul, the US and SDF forces are not local, do not know the area, and are not working with a cooperative government.

The ensuing lack of access for humanitarian agencies and international media means that both ground and air force actions will not be subject to the same level of scrutiny as the US-backed Iraqi coalition forces.

There has been a worrying number of civilians killed from coalition airstrikes across Raqqa in recent months and the UN reported schools and health clinics in the city were hit by air strikes in April.

Given the large number of people still trapped in Raqqa it is essential the upmost care is taken to prevent further civilian casualties, Thomas Garofalo, the International Rescue Committee's Middle East director of public affairs, said in a statement.

Up to half of Raqqas population is expected to flee the fighting in coming months, facing Isis snipers and improvised explosive devices as well as the threat of Western bombing. Coalition leaflets dropped on the city have urged civilians to leave their homes - but war monitors and NGOs are calling on US-backed forces to do more to ensure residents safety.

These civilians are caught between two very heavily armed forces, Chris Woods of AirWars said. We need provisions such as humanitarian corridors, or how are they going to be protected? What the coalition has done so far is not enough.
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Israel had a secret plan to detonate a nuclear bomb in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula in the event it faced defeat during the 1967 Middle East war, according to newly released documents.

The besieged nation planned to set off the atomic weapon atop a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula as a warning to Egyptian and Arab forces with the hope of intimidating them into backing off.

The revelation could undermine Israel's decades-long policy of nuclear ambiguity.

But the operation was never carried out, as Israel vanquished its enemies in six days.

 Trump: Israelis and Palestinians are 'reaching for peace'

The contingency plans were called a "doomsday operation" by Itzhak Yaakov, a retired brigadier general who was the chief liason between the Israeli military and the civilian defence industries, including those overseeing the nuclear project.

The Nuclear Proliferation International History Project of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington unveiled a website devoted to "Operation Shimshon," the code name for the hastily arranged contingency plan of placing an improvised nuclear device in Sinai to be detonated upon the prime minister's orders.

The operation's name, Hebrew for Samson, invoked the biblical figure of great power and aimed to scare Arab armies into halting their offensive should Israel face what was feared to be an existential threat.

In a series of interviews in 1999 with Avner Cohen, a leading scholar of Israeli nuclear history, Mr Yaakov detailed how he came up with the plans at his superiors' urging and how a pair of helicopters was chosen for the mission along with forces from the elite Sayeret Matkal unit.

The selected landing site was a mountain in eastern Sinai, about 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the large Egyptian military complex in Abu Ageila. There, the semi-assembled "spider" device was to be connected with its nuclear core and linked to ignition wires.

The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Show all 10 1 /10 The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Medics evacuate a wounded man from the scene of an attack in Jerusalem. A Palestinian rammed a vehicle into a bus stop then got out and started stabbing people before he was shot dead AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Israeli ZAKA emergency response members carry the body of an Israeli at the scene of a shooting attack in Jerusalem. A pair of Palestinian men boarded a bus in Jerusalem and began shooting and stabbing passengers, while another assailant rammed a car into a bus station before stabbing bystanders, in near-simultaneous attacks that escalated a month long wave of violence AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Getty Images The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Palestinians throw molotov cocktail during clashes with Israeli troops near Ramallah, West Bank. Recent days have seen a series of stabbing attacks in Israel and the West Bank that have wounded several Israelis AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Women cry during the funeral of Palestinian teenager Ahmad Sharaka, 13, who was shot dead by Israeli forces during clashes at a checkpoint near Ramallah, at the family house in the Palestinian West Bank refugee camp of Jalazoun, Ramallah AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies A wounded Palestinian boy and his father hold hands at a hospital after their house was brought down by an Israeli air strike in Gaza Reuters The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Palestinians look on after a protester is shot by Israelis soldiers during clashes at the Howara checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus EPA The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies A lawyer wearing his official robes kicks a tear gas canister back toward Israeli soldiers during a demonstration by scores of Palestinian lawyers called for by the Palestinian Bar Association in solidarity with protesters at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem's Old City, near Ramallah, West Bank AP The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Undercover Israeli soldiers detain a Palestinian in Ramallah Reuters The IsraeliPalestinian conflict intensifies Palestinian youth burn tyres during clashes with Israeli soldiers close to the Jewish settlement of Bet El, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, after Israel barred Palestinians from Jerusalem's Old City as tensions mounted following attacks that killed two Israelis and wounded a child

"You've got an enemy, and he says he's going to throw you to the sea. You believe him," Mr Yaakov said, according to a transcription of his taped interview with Mr Cohen.

"How can you stop him?" he asked. "You scare him. If you've got something you can scare him with, you scare him."

The distance of the site from Egyptian population centres, and the relatively small size of the device, indicated that the plan was meant to send a message of deterrence, rather than inflict heavy damage.

Egyptian prisoners of war holding their hands aloft after being rounded up by Israeli forces in the Sinai desert following the Six-Day War (Central Press/Getty Images)

In an accompanying essay, Mr Cohen concludes Israel's leadership did not seriously consider conducting a nuclear demonstration.

But he said Mr Yaakov's testimony was significant since it revealed that Israel had the capability to improvise a nuclear explosive device in June 1967.

Israel maintains a policy of nuclear ambiguity, neither confirming nor denying the existence of an arsenal, but it is widely believed to possess hundreds of nuclear bombs.

Israeli officials have often hinted that the country possesses nuclear capabilities, and a former employee at Israel's nuclear reactor served 18 years in Israeli prison for leaking details and pictures of Israel's alleged nuclear weapons program to a British newspaper in 1986.

The Wilson center's project was first reported by the New York Times. Israel's Foreign Ministry had no comment.

Israeli Centurion tank corps prepare for battle during the Six-Day War (Three Lions/Getty Images)

However, Michael Oren, deputy minister, former ambassador to the United States and a historian who has written extensively about the 1967 war, said he was convinced it never happened.

Mrr Oren said Mr Cohen's paper relied on a single source, which was highly unusual among serious researchers.

"It's not sound history," he said.

"I also interviewed Yitzhak Yaakov and I wasn't convinced that his story held water. Tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of classified documents from the Six-Day War have been released," he said, "and there is not even one shred that supports Avner Cohen's version.

"If there was something, we would have found additional evidence."

Mr Yaakov died in 2013 at the age of 87.

Mr Cohen said he promised Mr Yaakov he would publish his story at some point and said the 50th anniversary of the 1967 war this week seemed the appropriate time.
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The US will quietly try to calm the waters between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, current and former US officials have said, arguing that the small Gulf state was too important to US military and diplomatic interests to be isolated.

US officials were blindsided by Saudi Arabia's decision to sever diplomatic ties with Qatar in a coordinated move with Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, the current and former officials said.

In announcing the decision to cut ties, Saudi Arabia accused Qatar of providing support to Shi'ite Iran, which is in a tussle for regional supremacy with Riyadh, and to Islamist militants.

Washington has many reasons to want to promote comity within the region. Qatar is host to the largest US air base in the Middle East at Al Udeid, a staging ground for US-led strikes on Isis that has seized parts of Syria and Iraq. US President Donald Trump has made defeating Isis a priority of his presidency.

Further, Qatar's willingness to welcome organisations such as Hamas, which Washington brands a terrorist group, and the Taliban, which has fought US forces in Afghanistan for more than 15 years, allows contacts with such groups when needed.

There is a certain utility, one US official said on condition of anonymity. There's got to be a place for us to meet the Taliban. The Hamas (folks) have to have a place to go where they can be simultaneously isolated and talked to.

The current and former US officials said they were unable to identify precisely what may have triggered the four countries' coordinated decision to cut ties, which was later followed by Yemen, Libya's eastern-based government and the Maldives.

They said the Saudis may have felt empowered by the warm embrace that Trump gave them when he visited Riyadh in May and adopted a harsh anti-Iran stance.

My suspicion is (they felt) emboldened by what Trump said on his visit and... that they feel they have got some kind of backing, said a former US official. I don't know that they needed any more of a green light than they got in public.

A senior administration official told Reuters the United States got no indication from the Saudis or Emiratis in Riyadh that the action was about to happen. The White House said on Monday it was committed to working to de-escalate tensions in the Gulf.

In Riyadh, Trump made an impassioned appeal to Arab and Islamic leaders to drive out terrorists, while singling out Iran as a key source of funding and support for militant groups.

US officials in multiple agencies stressed their desire to promote a reconciliation between the Saudi-led group and Qatar, a state of 2.5 million people with vast natural gas reserves.

We don't want to see some kind of permanent rift and I suspect we won't, said the senior Trump administration official on condition of anonymity, adding the United States would send a representative if the Gulf Cooperation Council nations met to discuss the rift with Qatar.

The GCC includes six wealthy Arab nations: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.

There's an acknowledgement that a lot of Qatari behaviour is quite worrisome not just to our Gulf neighbours but to the US, said the senior administration official. We want to bring them in the right direction.

Marcelle Wahba, a former US ambassador to the UAE and the president of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington think tank, said the United States had leverage but would use it discreetly.

The US will step up to the plate. How we will do it? I think it will be very quiet and very much in the background, she said. I doubt very much we will sit on the sidelines and let this crisis get more serious.

Qatar's backing of Islamists dates to a decision by the current ruling emir's father to end a tradition of automatic deference to Saudi Arabia, the dominant Gulf Arab power, and forge the widest possible array of allies.

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Qatar has for years presented itself as a mediator and power broker for the region's many disputes. But Egypt and the Gulf Arab states resent Qatar's support for Islamists, especially the Muslim Brotherhood, which they see as a political enemy.

We are engaging with all of our partners... to find a way to reassemble some GCC unity to support regional security, said another US official, saying it was critical to maintain the fight against terrorism and extremist ideology.

Reuters
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I do not think the siege of Raqqa will be as long as Mosul, says Awad, an Arab fighter in the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), who belongs to a military unit attacking Raqqa, the de facto capital of Isis in Syria. In an exclusive interview with The Independent, he says that we are advancing quickly and the geographical nature of Raqqa is different from Mosul.

The SDF has launched the crucial battle for Raqqa, a city with a population of 300,000 on the north bank of the Euphrates, after a long delay imposed by threats of military intervention by Turkey, which denounces the 45,000-strong SDF as terrorists dominated by the Syrian Kurds. The Turkish priority is to prevent the consolidation of a quasi-independent Kurdish statelet in northern Syria. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim today hinted strongly at Turkish military intervention, saying that we will immediately give the necessary response if we come across a situation in Raqqa ... that threatens our security.

Awad, 32, comes from Raqqa but fled to Tabqa to the west of the city last year before it was captured by the SDF and four months ago joined the SDF, which the US says has 13,000 Arab fighters in its ranks. In a phone interview, he gives a vivid description of conditions on the front line, which the SDF Raqqa Operations Room says is 3km away from Raqqa to the west and north and 1km away to the east. The US estimates that there are between 3,000 and 4,000 Isis fighters in Raqqa, who are isolated there because US coalition air strikes on 3 February destroyed the last two bridges linking it to the south bank of the Euphrates. The fighters can only cross the river by boats, but they would then be vulnerable to air attack.

They [Isis] are mostly withdrawing [into Raqqa], though some are fighting fiercely and do not leave their positions until they are killed, says Awad. We killed dozens when we liberated al-Mansoura [west of Raqqa] and Baath Dam [on the Euphrates, renamed Freedom Dam by the SDF]. In addition, we repelled many counter-attacks by Isis since the Tabqa battle until now.

The SDF captured the Tabqa Dam, the largest in Syria at the southern end of Lake Assad, and the nearby town of Tabqa, 25 miles west of Raqqa, on 10 May, ending a stalemate that had lasted for several weeks. The US decided in May to give the SDF additional military assistance including armoured cars, anti-tanks weapons, mortars and heavy machine guns, despite strong opposition from Turkey. The Turkish government had claimed that its proxy forces inside Syria, backed by the Turkish army, could replace the SDF as the main US military ally in Syria against Isis, but the US did not consider this a realistic option.

Though Isis units have been retreating in the face of SDF advances and US-led air strikes, the jihadis are still resisting strongly. Awad says that last week, Isis fighters attacked us from behind in a village called Abu Qebab, east of Raqqa. They were hiding in a tunnel that had not been checked yet by our comrades. In that attack, we surrounded them from two sides and killed about 10 of them.

The state of play in late May, as the SDF closed in on Raqqa from the north, east and west. Baath Dam has since been captured and the SDF says it is within 1km of the city to the east (GraphicNews)

It should become clear in the next few days if Isis will try to defend Raqqa strongly and risk losing many of its experienced fighters. In Mosul, Isis has fought skillfully using an innovative mix of urban guerrilla tactics that has withstood Iraqi government forces for seven months. When Isis was previously fighting for two other big cities, Ramadi and Fallujah, in Anbar province west of Baghdad, it resisted most strongly in the villages and countryside around them, but not in the built-up areas in the city centres.

But in Mosul, where the siege began on 17 October last year, Isis fighters have reversed this approach, holding the periphery of the city lightly and concentrating its fighters in the centre. It tries to avoid its positions being identified from the air and destroyed, by using a mixture of mobile sniper teams, swiftly changing their positions by means of holes cut in the walls of houses, along with suicide bombers in vehicles, mines, booby traps and mortars. This has succeeded in slowing down and inflicting heavy casualties on the advancing Iraqi security forces.

In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Show all 30 1 /30 In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian family arrives at a checkpoint, manned by pro-government forces, at the al-Hawoz street roundabout, after leaving Aleppo's eastern neighbourhoods Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian woman, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, reacts as she stands with her children in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood, after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-regime fighters, gesture as they drive past resident fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood , after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-regime fighters, gesture as they drive past residents fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood, after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian pro-regime fighter speaks with a child, as residents flee violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood. Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops AFP/Getty Images In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Smoke rises as seen from a governement-held area of Aleppo, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian soldiers targeting rebels-held areas in the eastern neighborhoods in Aleppo, Syria. According to media reports, the army is now holding on 99 percent of Aleppois eastern neighborhoods EPA In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-government forces patrol Aleppo's eastern al-Salihin neighbourhood after troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian soldiers rest following the battle at al-Sheik Saeed neighborhood in Aleppo, Syria EPA In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian pro-government fighter walking past closed shops in the Bab al-Nasr district of Aleppo's Old City. Once renowned for its bustling souks, grand citadel and historic gates, Aleppo's Old City has been rendered virtually unrecognisable by some of the worst violence of Syria's war Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria The crucial battle for Aleppo entered its 'final phase' after Syrian rebels retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances. The retreat leaves opposition fighters confined to just a handful of neighbourhoods in southeast Aleppo, the largest of them Sukkari and Mashhad Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian civilans arrive at a checkpoint, manned by pro-government forces, at the al-Hawoz street roundabout, after leaving Aleppo's eastern neighbourhoods. Syria's government has retaken at least 85 percent of east Aleppo, which fell to rebels in 2012, since beginning its operation Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian civilians flee the Sukkari neighbourhood towards safer rebel-held areas in southeastern Aleppo Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrians celebrate in the government-held Mogambo neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, after rebel fighters retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrians celebrate in the government-held Mogambo neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, after rebel fighters retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances. The fall of Aleppo would be the worst rebel defeat since Syria's conflict began in 2011, and leave the government in control of the country's five major cities Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian refugee Aliya inside the tent where she lives with her husband and ten children in a camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian refugee women and children outside the entrance to their tents in the refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA Wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA Wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee woman outside the entrance to the tent where her family live, in the refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A vehicle drives past a mosque at night in Idlib, Syria. Picture taken with a long exposure Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Damaged buildings stand in the rebel-controlled town of Binnish in Idlib province, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria The night sky is seen through damaged windows in the rebel-controlled town of Binnish in Idlib province, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Damaged buildings stand in the rebel-controlled area of Maaret al-Numan in Idlib province, Syria Reuters

Isis may use the same tactics in Raqqa and seek to draw out the siege, but the city is a geographically smaller and less populous than Mosul which had a population of 1.3 million before the siege. Awad does not believe that the siege of Raqqa will be as prolonged as in Mosul and suspects that the determination of the Isis defenders may not be as high as in Iraq. He says that the SDF made two calls last month for Isis to surrender, but those that did so were locals. No foreigners have surrendered so far.

Some of the Isis units are composed of foreigners who cannot blend into the local population, or expect much mercy, if they surrender. I have been told by our officers that all the Isis snipers killed by our forces are foreigners, says Awad. We lost some of our commanders because of these snipers and a few days ago one of our snipers killed an Isis sniper when we fought in Mansoura, west of Raqqa.

 Syrian army 'crosses into Raqqa province'

The firepower and military expertise of the SDF is much enhanced by US support: The US-led coalition air strikes and forces are working efficiently with us, we have many American experts who train our commanders and officers and instruct them in using new technical devices. We also have heavy weapons and armoured vehicles. Every week we receive many weapons on the three fronts around Raqqa. This supply of modern weapons, and expertise on how to use them, will determine not only the fate of Raqqa but the future ability of the Syrian Kurds to stand up to Turkish military intervention or action by President Bashar al-Assads forces, which are advancing into Isis-held eastern Syria.

The offensive by the SDF, whose military punching power comes primarily from the combat experienced YPG Kurdish militia backed by US air strikes, will determine who in the long term holds northern Syria. If Turkish troops cross the border into Kurdish held territory in Syria, then the Kurds have made clear that the attack on Raqqa would cease. An alternative strategy for Turkey would be wait before intervening in the hope that the SDF will become entangled in a long struggle for Raqqa in which it suffers serious casualties. The Turks may also calculate that once the SDF and the Syrian Kurds have defeated Isis, the US will have no more use for them and will return to its traditional alliance with Turkey.
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The US-backed campaign to capture Isis de facto capital of Raqqa in Syria has officially started, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has announced, marking the beginning of the end of the so-called caliphate.

The three-fronted attack was launched from the north, east and west of the city on Monday, spokesperson Talal Sillo told Reuters by telephone on Tuesday. Troops have already managed to enter the city's eastern gate.

Isis took advantage of the chaos of Syria's complex war to seize territory and sweep into neighbouring Iraq in 2014, imposing its extremist beliefs and brutal rule on civilians since.

 Women secretly capture life inside Raqqa

The Kurdish-Arab SDF coalition of ground fighters has been slowly tightening the siege around jihadi militants in the northern city of Raqqa since November, assisted by US-led coalition air strikes.

In May, the SDF captured the nearby town and dam of Tabqa after Isis fighters reportedly agreed to surrender, retreating to Raqqa, the sole remaining stronghold in the area.

The Pentagon confirmed last week that shipments of arms including AK-47s and small calibre machine guns as well as vehicles and ammunition were on their way to the SDF ahead of the battle for the city.

Despite initial indications he was willing to work with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to defeat Isis, US President Donald Trump has doubled down on the policy of his predecessor Barack Obama, backing the SDF and other Kurdish fighters instead.

In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Show all 30 1 /30 In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian family arrives at a checkpoint, manned by pro-government forces, at the al-Hawoz street roundabout, after leaving Aleppo's eastern neighbourhoods Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian woman, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, reacts as she stands with her children in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood, after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-regime fighters, gesture as they drive past resident fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood , after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-regime fighters, gesture as they drive past residents fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood, after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian pro-regime fighter speaks with a child, as residents flee violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood. Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops AFP/Getty Images In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Smoke rises as seen from a governement-held area of Aleppo, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian soldiers targeting rebels-held areas in the eastern neighborhoods in Aleppo, Syria. According to media reports, the army is now holding on 99 percent of Aleppois eastern neighborhoods EPA In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-government forces patrol Aleppo's eastern al-Salihin neighbourhood after troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian soldiers rest following the battle at al-Sheik Saeed neighborhood in Aleppo, Syria EPA In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian pro-government fighter walking past closed shops in the Bab al-Nasr district of Aleppo's Old City. Once renowned for its bustling souks, grand citadel and historic gates, Aleppo's Old City has been rendered virtually unrecognisable by some of the worst violence of Syria's war Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria The crucial battle for Aleppo entered its 'final phase' after Syrian rebels retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances. The retreat leaves opposition fighters confined to just a handful of neighbourhoods in southeast Aleppo, the largest of them Sukkari and Mashhad Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian civilans arrive at a checkpoint, manned by pro-government forces, at the al-Hawoz street roundabout, after leaving Aleppo's eastern neighbourhoods. Syria's government has retaken at least 85 percent of east Aleppo, which fell to rebels in 2012, since beginning its operation Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian civilians flee the Sukkari neighbourhood towards safer rebel-held areas in southeastern Aleppo Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrians celebrate in the government-held Mogambo neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, after rebel fighters retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrians celebrate in the government-held Mogambo neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, after rebel fighters retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances. The fall of Aleppo would be the worst rebel defeat since Syria's conflict began in 2011, and leave the government in control of the country's five major cities Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian refugee Aliya inside the tent where she lives with her husband and ten children in a camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian refugee women and children outside the entrance to their tents in the refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA Wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA Wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee woman outside the entrance to the tent where her family live, in the refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A vehicle drives past a mosque at night in Idlib, Syria. Picture taken with a long exposure Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Damaged buildings stand in the rebel-controlled town of Binnish in Idlib province, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria The night sky is seen through damaged windows in the rebel-controlled town of Binnish in Idlib province, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Damaged buildings stand in the rebel-controlled area of Maaret al-Numan in Idlib province, Syria Reuters

Syria's Kurdish militias are the most effective ground force against the jihadist movement, although continued US support has angered Nato ally Turkey, which views them as terrorists. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Tuesday that Ankara "would not hesitate to retaliate" if the US-backed operation posed any threat to Turkey.

The Kurds have been helped by international coalition bombing since 2014, although rights groups such as Amnesty International have consistently criticised the US-led air strikes for causing unnecessary loss of human life.

UK-based war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that at least 21 civilians had been killed - likely by bombing - as they fled intense fighting in Raqqa on Monday night.

 Iraqi forces launch push to retake western Mosul from IS

Operation Euphrates Wrath - as the campaign is known - is designed to dovetail with the fight to liberate the city of Mosul from Isis in neighbouring Iraq.

Mosul, once the largest city under Isis' control, is about to fall to Iraqi coalition forces after eight months of bitter street-by-street warfare. SDF forces hope to cut off the last fighters fleeing west over the border before they reach Raqqa.

The loss of both cities will effectively spell the end of Isis' so-called caliphate, although it is unlikely the militants will go quietly in their final battle.

Observers expect the jihadi organisation to mount a full-scale insurgency in both Syria and Iraq after it ceases to be a land-holding force in the two countries, and to step up terror attacks around the world.
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Saudi Arabia has shut down all Qatar Airways offices in its kingdom and revoked the airline's licences, according to the state news agency, as the diplomatic row between the tiny kingdom and its Gulf neighbours widens.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt cut off diplomatic ties with Doha in a coordinated move on Monday, followed by the internationally recognised governments of Yemen and Libya as well as The Maldives.

Delays and cancellations at airports across the region as the travel ban came into force on Tuesday were the first concrete effects of the escalating crisis.

 Saudi Arabia cuts ties with Qatar over terror links

More than 30 flights leaving Doha were cancelled and pictures and videos which emerged of the city's Hamad International Airport showed it to be eerily quiet.

A total of 27 flights from Dubai to Doha were also cancelled, according to various operators' websites. Qatar Airways, for its part, also suspended all flights to its three Gulf neighbours and Egypt "until further notice".

As well as air travel, land and sea borders have also been severed, leading to food and other supply shortage fears. Foreign diplomats have been recalled and Qatari citizens abroad have been given 14 days to leave the affected countries.

The spat could have a huge economic and political impact on the Middle East - including the regions many conflicts.

The unprecedented row has been caused in part by backlash over Qatars decision to rescue 24 members of the royal family, as well as two Saudi nationals, who were kidnapped by Shia paramilitaries while on a hunting trip in southern Iraq - a deal exclusively revealed by The Independent in April.

Dohas agreement to pay the extraordinary $500m (389m) ransom greatly angered its Gulf neighbours, who have long accused it of funding or otherwise supporting controversial groups and meddling in regional affairs, particularly through state-owned broadcaster al-Jazeera.

A statement from Riyadh formally cutting ties on Monday accused Doha of harbouring "terrorist and sectarian groups that aim to destabilise the region including the Muslim Brotherhood, Isis and Al-Qaeda."

10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Show all 10 1 /10 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In October 2014, three lawyers, Dr Abdulrahman al-Subaihi, Bander al-Nogaithan and Abdulrahman al-Rumaih , were sentenced to up to eight years in prison for using Twitter to criticize the Ministry of Justice. AFP/Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In March 2015, Yemens Sunni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi was forced into exile after a Shia-led insurgency. A Saudi Arabia-led coalition has responded with air strikes in order to reinstate Mr Hadi. It has since been accused of committing war crimes in the country. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Women who supported the Women2Drive campaign, launched in 2011 to challenge the ban on women driving vehicles, faced harassment and intimidation by the authorities. The government warned that women drivers would face arrest. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Members of the Kingdoms Shia minority, most of whom live in the oil-rich Eastern Province, continue to face discrimination that limits their access to government services and employment. Activists have received death sentences or long prison terms for their alleged participation in protests in 2011 and 2012. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses All public gatherings are prohibited under an order issued by the Interior Ministry in 2011. Those defy the ban face arrest, prosecution and imprisonment on charges such as inciting people against the authorities. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In March 2014, the Interior Ministry stated that authorities had deported over 370,000 foreign migrants and that 18,000 others were in detention. Thousands of workers were returned to Somalia and other states where they were at risk of human rights abuses, with large numbers also returned to Yemen, in order to open more jobs to Saudi Arabians. Many migrants reported that prior to their deportation they had been packed into overcrowded makeshift detention facilities where they received little food and water and were abused by guards. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses The Saudi Arabian authorities continue to deny access to independent human rights organisations like Amnesty International, and they have been known to take punitive action, including through the courts, against activists and family members of victims who contact Amnesty. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Raif Badawi was sentenced to 1000 lashes and 10 years in prison for using his liberal blog to criticise Saudi Arabias clerics. He has already received 50 lashes, which have reportedly left him in poor health. Carsten Koall/Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Dawood al-Marhoon was arrested aged 17 for participating in an anti-government protest. After refusing to spy on his fellow protestors, he was tortured and forced to sign a blank document that would later contain his confession. At Dawoods trial, the prosecution requested death by crucifixion while refusing him a lawyer. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Ali Mohammed al-Nimr was arrested in 2012 aged either 16 or 17 for participating in protests during the Arab spring. His sentence includes beheading and crucifixion. The international community has spoken out against the punishment and has called on Saudi Arabia to stop. He is the nephew of a prominent government dissident. Getty

The Saudis also accused Doha of supporting Iran-backed "terrorist activities" in the country's east, as well as Shia-majority Bahrain. Any suggestion that Qatar is aiding and abetting Shia Iran - the majority Sunni Gulf's arch-rival - is particularly sensitive.

In a statement from the Qatari Foreign Ministry Doha called the accusations "baseless" and what amounts to a siege of its borders "a violation of [Qatar's] sovereignty.

Iran, which US President Donald Trump singled out as a key source of funding and support for extremist groups during a two-day trip to Riyadh last month, is the secondary target of Mondays decision by Saudi Arabia and its allies.

 What happened when US officials were asked why they criticised Iran but not Saudi Arabia

On Monday Iran accused Mr Trump of laying the groundwork for the falling out by disturbing the balance of power in the Gulf with his overt backing of Saudi Arabia.

The Qatari authorities have reached out to Kuwait as a mediator, it was reported Tuesday - the first tentative steps towards reconciliation in the spat, the worst to affect relations in the Gulf in decades.

Ruler Sheikh Sabah IV is reportedly preparing to fly to Riyadh for talks with Saudi King Salman.

Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, is expected to publicly address the crisis in a s speech later on Tuesday.
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Very soon, DC Comics may have to create a new superhero based on him.

Fresh from dressing-down Londons mayor in the aftermath of the London Bridge attack and criticising his own Justice Department for not defending his Muslim travel ban, Donald Trump has now claimed he may have lit the flame that will end the horror of terrorism.

In a series of tweets, the US President sided with Saudi Arabia in its diplomatic stand off with Qatar, and suggested that he had been told it was the source of much radical Islam.

During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar - look, he wrote.

So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding....extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism.

Mr Trumps comments on Twitter were his first reference to the falling out between Qatar and major Arab nations over Dohas alleged support of Iran and Islamist groups, allegations that Qatar strongly denies.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed relations with Qatar and closed their airspace to commercial flights on Monday, in what Reuters said was the worst split between powerful Arab states in decades.

Mr Trumps comments will complicate its relationship with Qatar, home to the USs largest concentration of military personnel in the Middle East, at Al Udeid Air Base. The base, located 20 miles south-west of Doha, is the location of around 11,000 US military personnel.

 Saudi Arabia cuts ties with Qatar over terror links

In 2016, the base was used as staging ground to fly B-52 airstrikes against Isis targets in Iraq and Syria. Early in the Afghanistan campaign, F-16 fighters and E-8C Joint Stars reconnaissance planes that monitor ground units were based there, along with refuelling tankers, CNN said.

The split among the Sunni states erupted last month after Mr Trump attended a summit of Muslim leaders hosted by Saudi Arabia, where he denounced Shiite Irans destablising interventions in Arab lands, where Iran and Saudi Arabia are rivals.

During that summit, Mr Trump held a bilateral meeting with Qatars Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. 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A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. 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Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

Reuters said Gulf Arab officials have reported that Kuwaits emir, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber al-Sabah, will meet Saudi Arabia's King Salman, in an effort to heal the damaging rift which has affected global oil prices, hit travel plans and sown confusion among bankers in the region.

In a sign of the potential consequences for the Qatari economy, a number of banks began stepping back from business dealings with Qatar. Saudi Arabias central bank advised banks in the kingdom not to trade with Qatari banks in Qatari riyals, sources said.

Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani told Al Jazeera TV that Qatar will not retaliate, hoping Kuwait will help resolve the dispute. It wants to give Kuwaits ruler the ability to proceed and communicate with the parties to the crisis and to try to contain the issue.

Qatar's leader, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, spoke by telephone overnight with his counterpart in Kuwait and, in order to allow Kuwait to mediate, decided to put off a planned speech to the nation, the foreign minister said.
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More than 80 allegedly unlawful attacks in Yemen have been carried out by the Saudis, human rights activists have discovered, and some attacks have used UK-made bombs.

Since the spring of 2015, Saudi Arabia has launched what campaigners described as a devastating aerial campaign, targeting areas crowded with civilians including schools, hospitals, weddings and markets.

Many of those attacks, which allegedly breach international law, used bombs and cluster munitions made in the UK, worth 3 billion to the UK economy over the past two years.

The Campaign Against Arms Trade has challenged the UK Government over its alleged complicity in human rights crimes in Yemen, where more than 10,000 civilians have died as of January, and the verdict is pending.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd said she was confident the verdict would be in the governments favour.

Kristine Beckerle, Yemen and Kuwait Researcher at Human Rights Watch, said Yemen is struggling from war, famine and cholera and the UK should stop selling arms to the Saudis.

Its not just a question of the right thing to do, its also a question of legal liability, she said.

 Independent candidate claims Amber Rudd shut down his speech about arms sales to Saudi Arabia

Asked if the coalition air strikes could breed terrorism in Yemen, she replied: Do those conditions make it very, very difficult for civilians to live and get on with their lives? Absolutely. Impossible.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd, when questioned during a BBC leaders debate last week on the issue, replied that selling arms was good for our industry.

On the BBC Womans Hour radio debate on Tuesday, Ms Rudd added that the UK had the toughest form of export licences in the world and the UK sold arms in a way that was robust and correct.

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

She was also questioned on the funding links to terrorism.

Well, weve managed to reduce that, the funding links, she said.

We are always watchful to make sure that their [the Saudis'] influence, where its bad, is going to be limited, but you say that we should somehow distance ourselves from them because of their human rights approach to women and other elements  how do we do that, how do we change that? By influencing. By engaging.

 The child victims of Yemens civil war

Conservatives are being pushed to make public a report, commissioned by former Prime Minister David Cameron, that investigates whether Saudi Arabia funds terrorist groups. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said the report was confidential, and Ms Rudd said the report was never meant to be seen.

In the wake of several terrorist attacks on UK soil, Theresa May said people needed to have "frankly embarrassing conversations".

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn responded on Twitter: We need to have some difficult conversations, starting with Saudi Arabia & other Gulf states that have funded and fuelled extremist ideology."

 Caroline Lucas asks Amber Rudd 'how can you sleep at night' when dealing arms with Saudi Arabia

Since Saudi Arabia has been subject to direct attacks from al-Qaida starting May 2003, the country has become much more involved in combating extremism and in partnership with western allies.

But Adam Coogle, Middle East Researcher from Human Rights Watch, told The Independent that the Kingdom's new anti-terrorism apparatus  including a dedicated court and rehabilitation centre  was also being used to quash dissent and punish human rights activists.

While Saudi Arabia may be affecting to help fight groups like Isis and al-Qaida in the country and in the region at large, there are very problematic ways in which Saudi clerics and government officials continue to propagate a very extremist, narrow interpretation of Islam that castigates non-Sunni Muslims as unbelievers, he said.

To be clear I would never accuse Saudi Arabia of supporting or funding Isis as there has never been any evidence to suggest this is true, but if you look at the way Saudi [school] textbooks describe Shia Muslims and the way Isis talks about them, theres not a lot of difference.

The US has also sold $100 billion in arms to the Kingdom during the Barack Obama administration, and Mr Trump negotiated a further $100 billion deal in May.

Mr Trump finalised the deal in Riyadh, before giving a speech on how to fight radical Islamic extremism and terrorism around the world. Saudi Arabias human rights violations in Yemen were not mentioned at the conference.
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At 3.34am local time, Emirates flight 848 departed from Doha to Dubai  the last link between these two Middle Eastern hubs until a furious diplomatic row ends.

On a normal day there are almost 20 flights each way between the Qatari airport and Dubai, making it the busiest route in the region. But from 4am today, they are all grounded  along with dozens of other departures and tens of thousands of passengers.

Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have cut military and diplomatic ties with Qatar, alleging the country has been supporting extremist groups.

 Saudi Arabia cuts ties with Qatar over terror links

Airlines including Emirates and Etihad have been told to stop flying to Qatar. Emirates announced: As instructed by the UAE government, Emirates will suspend its flights to and from Doha, starting from the morning of 6 June 2017, until further notice.

All customers booked on Emirates flights to and from Doha will be provided with alternative options, including full refunds on unused tickets and rebooking to alternate Emirates destinations.

Recommended US moves to diffuse diplomatic tensions between Saudi Arabia and Qatar

The fare-comparison website Skyscanner is listing complex and expensive one- and two-stop connections between Doha and Dubai, rather than the usual 70-minute hop.

Saudi Arabia's closure of airspace to Qatar Airways planes seriously affects the airlines connections with Africa. The overnight arrival from Johannesburg, QR1368, was routed via Oman and Iran to avoid Saudi airspace.

While as signatories to the 1945 International Air Services Transit Agreement, Bahrain, Egypt and the UAE are obliged to allow overflights, the evidence from flight paths monitored by The Independent shows that Qatar Airways is avoiding their airspace.

Live image of flights over the Persian Gulf shows Qatar Airways aircraft (yellow icons) avoiding Saudi and Emirati airspace (FlightRadar24)

Flight QTR 1149's route from Muscat (highlighted) takes a lengthy detour through Iranian airspace (FlightRadar24)

The worlds longest flight, from Doha to Auckland, became even longer with a lengthy diversion over Iran.

Early arrivals at Doha on Tuesday morning displayed on FlightRadar24 showed a range of sub-optimal routings. The arrivals from Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth took a northern course over Pakistan and Iran rather than the direct track across the UAE. They all approached Doha from the north, arriving late in Doha.

Qatar Airways flight 1149 from Muscat in Oman took an extremely circuitous route to avoid UAE airspace, initially heading east, away from Doha, before turning north-west to Iran.

Qatar Airways flies from Heathrow, Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh to Doha. These routes are unlikely to be affected, with aircraft using Turkish and Iranian airspace. But the vast majority of passengers transferring to onward flights. With aircraft flying circuitous routes and picking up delays en route, the potential for disruption of the complex hub and spoke operation is significant.

The Independent has asked Qatar Airways how British passengers are likely to be affected, but has not yet had a response.

Air Transport World reported that Qatar Airways CEO, Akbar al-Baker, abandoned an airline chiefs event, the IATA annual general meeting, to return to Doha. He is reported to have flown back on Monday on a private jet.

It is unclear what the effect will be on other airlines flights. Qatar Airways is the biggest shareholder in British Airways parent company, IAG, with one-fifth of the equity. BA flight 123 from Heathrow to Doha arrived on time, after flying over Turkey and Iran.

A reciprocal ban by Qatar on aircraft from the countries which have imposed the restrictions will not have a significant effect on operations.
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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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The news that the third London Bridge terrorist was an Italian national suggests that the European ideal of the free movement of people is now over. For the United Kingdom, it was going to end anyway when we left the European Union, but the effort to counter terrorism means that it is likely to be over across the continent within a matter of years.

Of course, this does not follow in a direct line. Most of those responsible for terrorist murders in this country are home-grown, just as they are in France and Belgium. And we must never allow terrorist outrages to feed xenophobia or anti-immigrant sentiment. One of the heroes of the London Bridge attack was Florin Morariu, the Romanian baker who hit one of the murderers with a crate. In London and Manchester, the attacks have united people who have been born here and drawn here, as Tony Walsh, the Mancunian poet, put it.

However, the story of Youssef Zaghba that is emerging, of a young man born in Morocco with Italian citizenship who had lived in Ireland, would probably have led to greater restrictions on movement in and out of the UK even if the country had not voted to leave the EU. The Italian intelligence services claim to have tipped off the British authorities about Zaghba after he was stopped at Bologna airport and prevented from travelling to Istanbul last year.

The same pressure to keep closer tabs on terrorist suspects is being felt across Europe. The Schengen Agreement, the EU no-passport zone, has been repeatedly suspended between various countries in recent years.

 London Bridge terrorists: What we know so far

The Independent regrets the curtailing of the European dream, the freedom of which Caroline Lucas, the co-leader of the Green Party, in particular speaks so movingly, to live, love and travel across the continent. But all European states recognise that their first responsibility is to protect their citizens.

Many of the leaders of the EU, Angela Merkel prime among them, speak resolutely of the four freedoms of the Union: of goods, capital, services and people, and of their indivisibility. But there is a fifth freedom that cannot be ignored, and that is the freedom from the fear of murder. Free movement is already constrained in practice, not least by a system of surveillance and watch lists, so what will happen in the coming years is a matter of degree rather than of principle. It is a shame that movement will become more constrained rather than less, but the peoples of Europe will demand it.

The post-war European dream will have to adjust to new threats. Despite some of the more colourful warnings from David Cameron in the EU referendum campaign last year, the modern security threat in Europe is no longer that of war between nations, but of terrorism.

The great paradox of Brexit is that it is part of a movement that is happening across Europe. In many ways, the British referendum concerned the wrong question at the wrong time. If Mr Cameron had been more resilient in fending off his internal opposition in the Conservative Party, it could be that restrictions on freedom of movement over the next few years might have made the referendum unnecessary.

As it is, it looks as if we will have to observe the end of the one of the founding principles of the EU from the outside.
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Two weeks ago, as part of the Centre for Jewish Nonviolence, I helped lead a delegation of 130 diaspora Jews to the West Bank to undertake solidarity work with Palestinian communities on the ground. Having spent most of my adult life educating and campaigning in my own Jewish community for an end to support for the Occupation, it felt necessary to take part in something that was more than words.

As part of our trip, we participated in an action organised by a historic coalition of Israeli, Palestinian and International activists to establish the Sumud Freedom Camp.

The anniversary of the Six Day War begins this week. While most Jewish diaspora communities see the war of 1948 as nothing short of a miracle, the consequences and repercussions of Israeli victory in 1967 gives rise to discomfort at the now 50 year old Occupation that continues to disrupt the lives of millions of Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza strip up until today.

Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Show all 12 1 /12 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict The fire in my heart is beyond my ribs. You left me beloved - Soliman Shaheen, 15 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict Let me get enough of you, as Im still hungry for your smile my son - Soliman Shaheen, 15 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict They besiege me in my homeland so I flew to heaven - Rodaina Al Agha, 16 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict And I am still facing the pain all by myself - Lama Shakshak, 15 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict My brother, I watched you go while my heart was tearing - Helen Mo'amar, 16 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict My new doll is lonely in the rubble - Ayah Sha'ath, 16 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict When a soul hugs another soul they never split, even in death - Ismail Matar, 16 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict Everyone is gone and I stayed alone to make the world witness the injustice done to me - Hamza Shaheen, 16 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict The hand that carries the arms carries roses too - Madeeha Al Majayda, 15 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict My eyes tell you about a dream that overcame the fence - Soliman Shaheen, 15 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict A childhood caught in an unjust siege - Hadeel Quidh, 16 Remembering the Israel-Gaza conflict Remembering Israel-Gaza conflict All the details are torn after you - Hamza Shaheen, 17

The village of Sarura in the South Hebron Hills was displaced in the late 1990s after the Israeli Defence Forces declared the area a military firing zone. On the hill opposite our camp sits the settlement outpost of Maon. In a system where our Jewishness and international status gives us privileges of safety, and of freedom of movement, we must capitalise on that in order to show the reality and injustice of the Occupation in 2017. Through working with and being guided by our Palestinian partners on the ground, we are able to demonstrate solidarity and support in a way that shifts the norms of conversations around this issue in our home communities and within this type of activism.

Since the action on the 19th May, the IDF and the civil administration have attempted to shut down the camp multiple times and yet it still stands. On the second night we were there, they came and disrupted a peaceful barbeque, pushing and shoving activists who sang Jewish psalms we will build this world with love. They stole the generator and our tents, and stopped to take a few selfies in the process, but made no arrests. The experiences of aggression activists felt that night is just one example of the kinds of intimidation that Palestinian communities face on a daily basis in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. I am certain that the only reason the situation did not escalate was the presence of Jewish bodies.

To be clear, this is not about hating Israelis, or hating Palestinians. It isnt down to individuals, though often this conflict feels deeply personal. But at the end of the day, this is about systems.

The Occupation is systematic. It necessitates daily indignity and violence towards Palestinians in order to maintain a status quo that prioritises Israeli sovereignty. Its numbingly bureaucratic, overwhelmed by permits, checkpoints and court orders. Its a 99.75 per cent conviction rate of Palestinians who are tried in the military courts. Its Israeli teenagers in uniforms with rifles, roughing up elderly men who just want to live on their land. This is not the Israel I learnt about as a child; these are not supposed to be the actions of the most moral army in the world. But it is the reality.

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Whether we agree with it or not, some of these things are happening in the name of Judaism. Its a bastardised, radicalised form of it, but it is happening nonetheless. And as someone who cares so very deeply about this place and the people who live in it, what I need from my Jewish community is bold leadership that stands against the violence that is done in the name of our people.

When Bibi Netanyahu stands on a podium and says that he speaks on behalf of the Jewish people, we have a responsibility to respond. When the Israeli government gives the green light for new settlement expansion, we have a responsibility to act. And when the IDF returns one again to Sarura with bulldozers to destroy it, we must say not in our name.

There is an idea within Jewish texts that justice lies at the heart of what it means to be a part of this world. In the Torah we are taught Tzedak tzedak tirdof  justice justice you shall pursue. The Occupation has become a Jewish tragedy. Being part of a resolution that is based on a shared humanity and dignity of Palestinians and Israelis? Thats our Jewish responsibility too.
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Parliamentary elections are being held in both Britain and France this month, with the spectre of terrorism dominating the polls. Great cities on each side of the Channel have suffered horribly because of acts of immense evil in recent weeks, and it is quite right that all candidates want to stake their claims to combatting the scourge.

What will not assist in the fight, however, is the bombast of influential figures using the barbarity to further their own poisonous agendas. The way in which they fit depraved and psychotic killers inspired by a monstrous corruption of Islam into their own extremism is as cynical as it is destructive.

Such commentators want to divide society by spreading collective guilt to millions of Muslims who are repulsed by organised crime, which is exactly what terrorism is. They ignore centuries of intensely violent dissent in both Britain and France, to pretend that it all started with the unspecified arrival of their detested enemies.

London Attack victims Show all 8 1 /8 London Attack victims London Attack victims Christine Archibald, a Canadian woman who was killed in the latest London attack PA London Attack victims James McMullan, 32, who is believed to be one of victims who died in the London Bridge terror attack after his bank card was found on a body at the scene PA London Attack victims Australian nurse Kirsty Boden, aged 28. a staff nurse at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital in London, England, who died in the 03 June 2017 terror attack on London Bridge and Borough Market EPA London Attack victims Darren Mole Twitter / DarrenMole London Attack victims Oliver Dowling and his girlfriend Marie Bondeville were injured in the london terror attacks Facebook London Attack victims Candice Hedge London Attack victims Alexandre Pigeard, from Normandy, was knifed to death at Boro Bistro after three terrorists went on the rampage on Saturday night DoyouBuzz London Attack victims Geoff Ho Facebook

Never mind that Irish Catholics were behind the vast majority of murderous terrorism in the UK prior to 2005. Forget that mainly white Christian officers of the terrorist OAS Secret Army Organisation targeted men, women and children in mainland France with guns and plastic explosives as they tried to prevent Algerian independence in the 1960s. That the very word terrorism was coined in the French capital to describe the atrocities that grew out of the idealism of the 1789 Revolution is also conveniently ignored.

No, according to the furious bigots, terrorism begins and continues with Muslims, and the solution is a reduction in their very presence in Europe. Thus they call for internment and deportations. The overlap between Muslims and those from ethnic minority backgrounds is too much to resist among those pursuing reactionary policies underpinned by hate.

The most high-profile offender in this respect is, of course, Donald Trump, the hugely deceitful American President who falsely claimed that there were police no-go-zones in Britain and France. This was while he was enthusing about a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.

During a few days when mass shootings claimed five lives in Orlando, Florida, and eight in Mississippi, adding to yearly gun crime death tolls that are infinitely higher than any linked to jihadi terrorism, Trump used the London stabbings to bait the citys Muslim Mayor. He tweeted that Sadiq Khan has said there was no reason to be alarmed by the murder of seven people, and the wounding of 48 others last Saturday night. What Khan had actually said was that Londoners should not be alarmed by the increased police presence on their streets following the carnage.

 Sadiq Khan reacts to London attack

Such vicious social media attacks on Sadiq Khan not only diminished Trumps claim to being a world statesman, but was further evidence of the US faker-in-chief promoting racist ideas rooted in absolute fantasy. They are the kind pursued by plenty of politicians in France and Britain.

Marine Le Pen, the Front National leader, will next week once again try to become an MP following 24 years of abject failure, all the while expressing her deep antipathy towards perceived aliens. She was roundly defeated in the presidential elections by Emmanuel Macron, but she is now back all over the media, endlessly conflating terrorism with immigrant communities.

In fact, just as Americans are seven times more likely to be killed by right-wing extremists than those driven by an obscene perversion of Islam, one in three terrorism suspects arrested in the UK last year was white and thus did not conform to the cliche of the dark-skinned fiend defiling western civilisation. As the self-styled proud and patriotic British Muslim Khan pointed out, terrorism has nothing to do with the true values of Islam either. On the contrary, it is an aberration caused by a range of factors, all of which need to be approached with dispassionate pragmatism.

Far closer controls on Englishmen who, as in the case of London murderer Khuram Butt, reveal their extremism in TV documentaries called The Jihadi Next Door would be an obvious start. So too would be preventing delinquents like Manchester-born bomber Salman Abedi from travelling backwards and forwards to Libya, a country ultimately turned into a terrorist training ground by the disastrous Anglo-French led military campaign there in 2011. It is politicians who recognise such alarming facts, and are prepared to deal with them responsibly, who deserve success in the forthcoming elections in both France and Britain.
The Masjid Maryam mosque in Galway was attacked by stone throwers on Monday

The imam of a mosque in Ireland which was attacked by stone throwers on Monday night has said he is committed to weeding out extremists.

One window in the Masjid Maryam mosque in Galway was smashed as about 100 people gathered for prayers for Ramadan at 11pm on Monday night.

In the wake of the London attacks Imam Ibrahim Ahmad Noonan had called for all imams to be vetted by authorities, including background checks and for potential links to extremism.

But he also said there is an onus on imams to be more proactive in checking members of their congregations for extremist leanings.

"I'm committed to rooting out extremism in Ireland. I'm committed to it. This is my country. I'm not going to allow these people to get seeded into this country," Mr Ahmad Noonan said.

Two males, believed to be in their late teens or early 20s, were seen running from the Mosque following the stone throwing.

Gardai are examining CCTV footage of the attack.

The Iman, who was born in Waterford, raised Catholic and converted to Islam 26 years ago, said he is considering asking some women and children to stay away from the mosque for a few days for safety reasons.

"Everyone was quite shaken, including myself, and quite upset that it happened while we were praying, especially the ladies and children," he said.

"It's a kind of realisation - we all linked this to what happened in London."

A Garda spokesman said the incident was being investigated as a case of criminal damage.
QBE Insurance is to set up a post-Brexit base in Brussels, according to reports in the Financial Times. Photo: Bloomberg

QBE Insurance is to set up a post-Brexit base in Brussels, according to reports in the Financial Times.

The move will be seen as a further upset to Dublins hopes of becoming a post-Brexit insurance hub in Europe, after Lloyds announced in March that it had also chosen Brussels as its post-Brexit base.

Meanwhile CNA Hardy, a specialist commercial insurance provider, has confirmed that it will establish a European subsidiary in Luxembourg to ensure it can continue to operate across the EU post-Brexit.

CNA Hardy confirmed that the process of setting up the Luxembourg subsidiary has already began and should be completed by 2019.

The news comes just a day after the decision of UK-based RSA to set up a subsidiary in Luxembourg to look after its German, French, Spanish, and Dutch business.

In May this year JP Morgan announced that it would be moving staff to Dublin in a move to secure its EU business post-Brexit, however the banking giant warned of Dublins binding constraint in respect of its infrastructure, including housing, schools and transport.

Read more: More firms will follow JP Morgan - Kenny

Dublin had previously been seen as the city of choice for major insurers due to a number of factors including its legal system and close proximity to London. However the city has been losing out to other European cities including Frankfurt, Luxembourg, and Brussels.

Brussels is pretty compelling for us as our biggest existing European business is in Belgium, Richard Pryce, ceo of QBEs European operation, told the Financial Times.

Pryce went on to say that the decision was not a difficult one for the insurer to make.

(Additional reporting by Reuters).
Galway Co Council has voted unanimously to support a motion which would see farmers given the right to sell a site on their land.

The man behind the proposal, Independent Councillor Michael Fahy says its impossible to get planning in his area of south Co Galway and says his idea it would do wonders for the rural areas across the country.

The move would help keep post offices, schools and GAA clubs going in rural areas. These are all things that give an identity to a community.

Cllr Fahy said the scheme would also be a huge cash boost for hard pressed farmers who would spend the money in the local area anyway further boosting local shops and businesses. He also said the proposal would see thousands of jobs created in the construction sector.

According to Fahy, key to the proposal which would be on a once off basis is that planning permission on the site would be guaranteed. He said this would give piece of mind to both parities.

Its heart breaking when I cannot help people to get planning permission because of the current rules and said there was too much red tape in system.

Fahy said he has seen no opposition locally to the plan and pointed to unanimous support from Galway Co Council.

This is not about damaging the scenic qualities of a local area. There is nothing nicer than seeing local bungalows or two story houses in the countryside.

Ireland has been recognised for its hospitality for years in this way. When foreign tourists are looking for directions they stop and ask in a local house. This has always been the case and should continue to be, he said.

It comes as the Irish county with some of the most stringent planning restrictions on one-off housing will have to immediately revise its county development and local area plans and loosen up planning restrictions, councillors have said.

The warnings are being sounded in the wake of a ruling from the European Court of Justice which found that locals only type clauses are contrary to European law.

Thousands of holiday and second homes were built in the Kerry countryside during the so-called boom and zoning in Kerry has been engineered to prevent urban generated pressure, with a complete ban on outsiders in the rural settlement strategy in pressurised areas under the 2015-2021 county development plan.

There is a complete ban too on one-off holiday and second homes in the countryside, while holiday homes are confined to villages to protect the landscape and to try to undo some of the sporadic deterioration of the boom.

Occupancy clauses of least seven years are a condition of planning for applicants.

People from adjacent townlands can fall into the 'outsider' category, such are the restrictions under the county development and local area plans, councillors say.

People, although originating from the area, who are not working locally have no hope of planning in the countryside under current restrictions.

Killarney Independent councillor Donal Grady who two weeks ago drew managements attention to the ruling said the development plans will have to be changed immediately. And he fears the council may be sued by applicants who were turned down for planning  or people who wanted to sell sites to get out of financial difficulty.

The prohibitions are totally illegal, Cllr Grady said.

The matter came to light following a meeting of Cllr Gradys independent councillor grouping and he and other councillors have taken legal advice and been told the ruling is applicable in Kerry and other counties, he said.
Digital health company HealthBeacon has announced the creation of 20 new jobs at its Dublin base.

The new jobs, announced as part of a visit led by An Taoiseach to Chicago, support the launch of HealthBeacons technology expansion into North America.

The new roles will be include IT roles, software developers, project management and customer service executives and will bring the total HealthBeacon headcount to 37.

We are delighted that the growth of HealthBeacon in Ireland will enable our expansion into North America, creating a hub that delivers key Irish technology to the healthcare market, Jim Joyce, ceo of HealthBeacon, said.

HealthBeacon connects real life data about a patients behaviour and can provide powerful clinical insights and targeted interventions to improve treatment and outcomes.

Read more: Pharma company MSD Ireland announces 330 new jobs for Cork and Carlow

The technology, which is currently available in Europe, will expand its' operations into the USA over the next two years driving medical technology growth and development between the countries.

The expansion of the platform will provide access to the technology globally in Europe, North America, South America and the Middle East.

Commenting on the job announcement, An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny said the expansion of HealthBeacon underlines Irelands position as a hub for high-end technology. Mr Kenny went on to say that the Government would continue to make policies to ensure that businesses such as HealthBeacon could continue to thrive in Ireland.
The Ireland Funds, in partnership with NDRC, has launched the Business Plan Competition 2017 (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The Ireland Funds, in partnership with NDRC, has launched the Business Plan Competition 2017, offering funding and mentoring to emerging young entrepreneurs under the age of 35.

Students and recent graduates from Ireland are invited to submit technology proposals for the competition that are at pre-investment stage.

Up to 10 individuals or teams will then be selected to take part in three days of workshops, bringing their business ideas from concept to pitch, receiving mentoring and feedback throughout the process.

There will be a final pitching event and three prizes will be awarded. The winner will receive a 10k cash prize and the opportunity to pitch for a place on an NDRC investment program.

There will also be a 5k prize for finishing second, while the person or team which finishes third will receive prize money of 1k.

The competition aims to nurture creativity and hone entrepreneurial skills amongst emerging and early stage entrepreneurs.

Read more: Exclusive: Sneak peek inside the new Iconic Offices - where bespoke luxury meets co-working

The Business Plan Competition aims to hone skills amongst budding young entrepreneurs, who play a crucial role in developing local industries, attracting investors and creating jobs in Ireland, Bill McKiernan, president at WSM Capital, LLC and founder of CyberSource, said.

The competition has led to considerable success for a number of the previous entrants, with the 2016 winners, Sothic BioScience, travelling around Europe meeting investors over the past 12 months.

They are currently submitting a proposal for Horizon 2020 SME instrument funding.

Read more: The five most dreaded interview questions  and how to answer them!

Meanwhile the 2016 second runners up, GlowDx, are working towards their 2019 launch in Latin America. Their goal is to revolutionise how infectious diseases are treated in developing countries, with modern molecular diagnostics.

Growing a culture of digital entrepreneurship is a key goal of NDRC and a competition like this is a great way to start stimulating those individuals and teams who may have a good idea but are not sure of its potential. Gary Leyden, commercial director at NDRC, said.

The competition, which is now in its sixth year, is open for entries until June 13.
Last of the Summer Wine actor Peter Sallis, who was also famous as the voice of Wallace in Wallace and Gromit, has died aged 96, his agents have announced.

Jonathan Altaras Associates released a statement saying: "It is with sadness that we announce that our client Peter Sallis died peacefully, with his family by his side, at Denville Hall on Friday, June 2."

Mr Sallis became a household name in the UK as mild-mannered Norman Clegg in the comedy Last Of The Summer Wine, Britain's longest-running sitcom.

But his role playing lovable inventor Wallace in Nick Park's animated films made his voice known around the world.

Mr Park, whose Wallace and Gromit films The Wrong Trousers (1993) and A Close Shave (1995) were both Oscar winners, paid tribute to Mr Sallis, who died in the Denville Hall retirement home for actors in Northwood, north west London.

He said: "I'm so sad, but feel so grateful and privileged to have known and worked with Peter over so many years. He was always my first and only choice for Wallace."

He added: "He brought his unique gift and humour to all that he did, and encapsulated the very British art of the droll and understated.

"Working with Peter was always a delight and I will miss his wry, unpredictable humour and silliness - that started the moment he greeted you at the door, and didn't stop when the mic was switched off."

The actor's Norman Clegg character featured in the first series of Last Of The Summer Wine, which aired back in 1973.

And fittingly, it was the Peter Sallis character who had the last word when the final episode was screened in 2010.
Trinity College's front square has been decorated with a powerful large scale work by street artist Joe Caslin.

The mural, commissioned by the Trinity Creative Challenge, is the first of a three part series called The Volunteers which aims to highlight the importance of volunteering in areas including drug addiction, mental health, and direct provision.

The project aims to highlight endemic issues that impact Irish society and her people through the portrayal of emblematic volunteers," says Joe.

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"I believe the artist has a valued place in Irish society and that we are cultivators of empathy. Our role is to be observant at all times and to do our best to create and feedback. To hold a mirror up; to advocate and to provoke.

This particular drawing, like all projects I have undertaken, has been personally poignant. I am driven by what I believe in and by the life I have been given.

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"Addiction courses through my family and circle of friends in various guises. I would consider this to be true to most Irish households. Some addictions are tolerated and some are not. Some celebrated and some made criminal and suffer life-long punishment.

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"Addiction is an illness and has no place in the courts. We can do better.

The artwork features Rachel Keogh, an activist in recovery from heroin addiction, Independent Senator and activist Lynn Ruane, and Fiona O'Reilly, the managing director of SafetyNet.

A short film will accompany the artwork will be released in the coming weeks.

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Dace Zarina and Sara Gibadlo died in a fire in their accommodation in Leuven

Belgian prosecutors are seeking a jail term for the director of the Irish College in Leuven in relation to a fire which killed two Irish students in 2014.

Director of the Leuven Institute for Ireland in Europe, Malachy Vallely has been accused of using his apartment as a "cash cow" for 23 years by renting it back to the college.

Following the request for a one year jail term, the prosecutor has said that he "should have been an ambassador for his country" but instead acted as an anti-social "slum landlord".

They also told the court that the fire safety in the apartment was completely lacking.

The Leuven court was told that there was no smoke alarm in the bedroom in which the two students died, nor was there a smoke alarm in the room of another student whose cigarette must have started the fire. One fire extinguisher in the building was empty and the other one was 10 years old.

Both Mr Vallely and the Irish college were accused of neglect. Mr Vallelys lawyer outlined in court that Mr Vallely's apartment would have registered with the local municipality and over the years it had 200 police visits. During these visits it was never suggested that the was a failing in fire regulations.

Lawyers for Mr Vallely and the Irish College denied the accusations and said that they cant bear responsibility for the deaths.

They suggested the two students may have died due to the alcohol consumption since they did not respond as quickly to the alarm when it was raised by another student on the same floor.

The two women shared a room on the top floor of the building, when the fire broke, an Irish student in a neighbouring room alerted the two women, the court heard.

Dace Zarina and Sara Gibadlo were later found dead in the adjoining bathroom with high levels of carbon monoxide poisoning and their death was caused by the heat.

The court heard that the Velux window in the students' bedroom was too high for them to escape through.

At the start of the hearing, 22-year-old student Shane Bracken, who is charged with involuntary death due to a lack of due caution, said he had gone to bed after a night out.

He told police at the time that he had smoked in his room.

He later said he could not recall if he had smoked on that night.

Lawyers for the Gibadlo family said there was no other explanation as to the cause of the blaze that the fact that it had been started by Mr Bracken's cigarette.

The court adjourned until 5 September, when a verdict will be delivered.
Foreign Minister of Armenia to participate in the Fifth Paris Peace Forum

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Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans provided 136 million AMD support for the overhaul of the Myasnikyan statue, which was in unsafe state of disrepair

Believe me, as a representative of a country which uses the Schengen system very often, it is quite important. Vardanyan

I really look forward to having answers from the Azerbaijani side for these alleged gross human rights violations: Secretary General

I call on Armenian and Azerbaijani parliamentarians to use this Assembly as an agora of opportunities President Tiny Kox

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EU and CoE call on two Member States that have not yet acceded to this Protocol  Armenia and Azerbaijan  to do so without delay

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This criminal act is another proof that the Armenophobia policy. Tatoyan

Nikol Pashinyan, Nancy Pelosi discuss a number of issues related to the Armenian-American agenda and regional developments

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Criminal damage to the ancient Granard Motte national monument is being investigated by gardai.

A large hole was discovered at the protected 12th century Co Longford structure and reported to gardai on Thursday, prompting speculation that people may have been trying to steal from the site.

Granard Motte and Bailey were built in 1199 by Knight Richard de Tuite as part of an attempt to extend Norman control over Ireland.

It stands 152m above sea level and there are plans to develop the site into a heritage park and visitor centre.

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A garda spokesman told Independent.ie: "Gardai in Granard are investigating an incident of criminal damage to a monument Granard Motte which occurred at Church Quarter between 25/06/17 and 01/06/17, reported to gardai on the 1st June 2017.

"No arrests have been made and investigations are ongoing."
Closing garda stations and replacing gardai with community officers is leaving us more vulnerable to terrorists, former Justice Minister Dermot Ahern claimed this morning.

He said that we need to be prepared in case there's a terrorist attack here and we must ensure our security services are adequately staffed and trained.

Mr Ahern (FF) was speaking after it emerged that one of the men involved in an attack London on Saturday night - in which seven people died and dozens more were injured - lived in Dublin for a while.

Speaking on Newstalk Breakfast, Mr Ahern said: "I'm not surprised, from 2004 until 2011 I was Minister for Foreign Affairs and subsequently Minister for Justice, over those years I was regularly briefed by An Garda Siochana about the ongoing paramilitary threats in the country, homegrown terrorists and from outside, mainly jihadis.

"In fairness there was always a focus on specific individuals who were of concern...

"I make that point because in fairness the gardai have been on top of this, when you see what's happening in the UK, you see the response and that's what we should be focusing on - the response to these events, to make sure that we have the resources.

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"I don't say this in any political way but when I left as Minister for Justice in 2011 there were 14,500 gardai, now there's only about 12,500.

"I'm not blaming anyone from a political point of view, there was a recession, that's the reality and numbers had to be cut.

"That's why the Templemore facility wasn't built in those years either because the money was diminishing but now that there's a bit more it should be a matter of priority and I think more investment needs to go into this area."

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Mr Ahern added: "I do worry about some of the comments that are being made about splitting An Garda Siochana into silos.

"One of the crosses of the gardai is this community policing, you cannot beat the garda on the beat who knows the community, the more you take that away, the more it will suffer.

"Thankfully we're a relatively small country, it's very hard for these people to live anonymously, it's more difficult in a country as big as the UK.

"When I was in Justice I refused to close garda stations because you are taking people out of the community, as if it's nothing to do with jihadis but it does because they're the ones who will know and are on the ground."

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Mr Ahern also defended our immigration and asylum systems, saying that people need to be well vetted for our safety.

He said: "Gardai are always worried that Ireland would be used as a stepping stone for attacks on the UK, particularly with common travel and the relationship with the UK, the borders, we're always conscious that Ireland could be used as a stepping stone for jihadis.

"You have some some groups saying that Ireland has a very low level of success for asylum seekers applications and immigrants coming in but that's for a very valid reason.

"Gardai and immigration services are very careful about attempts by people trying to come into this country.

"Genuine asylum seekers are absolutely no problem..

"But our immigration services need to be extremely careful and those coming into this country need to be really well vetted."

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He also claimed that he was warned that the UK security forces were monitoring thousands of potential terrorists up to 12 years ago.

He said: "At th end of a meeting in London Gordon Brown pulled myself and Bertie Ahern aside and said that he had just got a security briefing, and that as far as he was concerned Northern Ireland was solved.

"From a security point of view he said his government focus almost exclusively on the almost 2,500 home grown potential, second generation suicide bombers who were living in the UK.

"I have to say in the intervening years the UK has been extremely lucky, in my view.

"Huge work has been done in counter-terrorism and intelligence to prevent these events form happening but obviously as we saw in the last few weeks they're there and those chilling words have come back to haunt us to a certain extent.

"That was said in the aftermath of the 2005 London bombings, where you'll remember at least 50 people were killed."
The growth in enrolments is fuelling the demand for more second-level schools and, as the pupils come through to the Leaving Cert, will also add to pressure for college places. Stock photo: PA

The population boom has pushed the number of students sitting the Junior Cert exams to their highest level for years.

Overall, 121,470 candidates are entered for the Leaving or Junior Cert exams, starting in schools and other examination centres around the country tomorrow.

The 59,394 Leaving Certificate students - including 2,814 taking the Leaving Cert Applied - show little change from last year. However, the 62,076 Junior Cert candidates, the highest for at least 15 years, reflect the rising wave of second-level enrolments.

Junior Cert entries are up almost 1,500 from 60,652 in 2016, a surge that will start showing in the Leaving Cert in two to three years.

Second-level school pupil numbers will continue to grow until the mid 2020s, arising from the relatively high birth rates in Ireland since the late 1990s.

The growth in enrolments is fuelling the demand for more second-level schools and, as the pupils come through to the Leaving Cert, will also add to pressure for college places.

Rising school-leaver numbers is one of the factors in the debate around the need for a sustainable funding model for higher education.

Running the State exams is a major logistical exercise, with a total of four million Leaving and Junior Cert papers with up to 50 million individual A4 pages, prepared for 5,170 standard exam centres.

The process of handing over locked boxes containing the exam papers to centre superintendents has been going on over the bank holiday weekend. As well as the normal examination centres, the State Examinations Commission (SEC) also provides special centres for students with particular needs.

Last year, there were 10,685 special centres set up for 16,764 candidates - 14pc of the overall exam cohort - who needed supports, such as a scribe or a laptop, to enable them to do the exams. Special centres may also be set up in hospitals to cater for candidates who have had an accident or unexpected surgery.

There has been an ongoing rise in the number of students with difficulties with reading, written language or co-ordination, who are awarded what is known as a reasonable accommodation to enable them to get through the exams and to show their academic ability.

Between 2013 and 2016, the number of special centres rose from 9,610 to 10,685.

This year sees a Leaving Cert exam in Slovenian for the first time. As well as the traditional languages, the SEC also provides exams in other, non curricular languages, if there is a demand from even one student.

Non-curricular languages are not a feature of the normal school curriculum, but will be provided subject to certain criteria, including that the student is from an EU member state, has studied for the Leaving Cert and is also taking Leaving Cert English.

A total of 1,500 candidates have entered for one of the non-curricular languages, almost half of them, 726, taking Polish, followed by Lithuanian and Romanian. Others are Dutch, Portuguese, Latvian. Hungarian, Czech, Slovakian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Finnish, Estonian, Danish and Swedish.
Students in subjects such as chemistry and physics now face practical exams. Stock Image

Practical exams in Leaving Certificate science subjects are finally on the horizon.

Government curriculum advisers have recommended 90-minute laboratory-based practicals in biology, chemistry and physics, to be worth 30pc of the marks for those subjects.

An overhaul in Leaving Cert science subjects is part of wider moves to ensure school-leavers and graduates in Ireland are equipped with necessary skills for the modern age.

It is almost 11 years since the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) started work on a shake-up of the science curricula and, in 2014, it sent its final recommendations to the Department of Education.

Now, in a sign the department is ready to go ahead with the changes, it recently asked the State Examinations Commission (SEC) to conduct school trials in the practicals to assess the feasibility of introducing them into the assessment regime.

The practicals would allow students to demonstrate what they know in a real-life way, rather than relying solely on written exams, for which many depend on rote learning.

The overall changes proposed for the three Leaving Cert subjects, both in terms of a new syllabus and the practicals, allow for continuity with the more inquiry-based focus on teaching and learning now being implemented in science at junior cycle.

Read more: Forget cramming, get a good night's sleep instead to ace exams

The new specifications for science subjects, at both Junior Cert and Leaving Cert, put an emphasis on the application of knowledge in real-world contexts. In other words, students should be able "to do" rather than only "to know".

The junior cycle changes in science were introduced for first years last September, as part of the ongoing reforms, and the first students to experience these will complete junior cycle in 2019.

Sixth-year students in 30 schools will participate in the trials for the practicals in October, before a final decision on their inclusion into the assessment regime.

The SEC is due to deliver a report on the trials to the department by February and, even if there is no further delay, it is likely to be 2021 at the earliest before the first practicals take place, as the new syllabus would be introduced for fifth years.

That time scale would allow for the first cohort of students to have experienced the junior cycle reforms to progress to similarly modernised syllabuses for physics, chemistry and biology at Leaving Cert level.

The practicals proposed for the Leaving Cert would be assessed by external examiners, not the students' own teachers, so avoiding the sort of dispute that has arisen around some of the junior cycle reforms.

The changes are regarded as long overdue and received a broad welcome in an extensive consultation process that the NCCA conducted as part of its deliberations.

Recent reports from the chief examiner about the performance of candidates in Leaving Cert science exams have drawn attention to their shortcomings.

Reflecting on the 2013 chemistry exam, the chief examiner stated "the ability of candidates to perform experiments safely and co-operatively, select and manipulate suitable apparatus and make accurate observations and measurements cannot be determined in a written paper."

Concern about the present sole reliance on written exams in the science subjects also emerged during the NCCA consultation on changes, where it found "much criticism of the expectation on learners to learn material off by heart", arising from its consultations about the changes.
A MAN has been arrested by gardai after being found in possession of documents linked to London attacker Rachid Redouane (30).

The Moroccan man, who is understood to be working here as a waiter, was detained in Co Limerick yesterday evening.

He was arrested under the Theft and Fraud Offences Act 2001 by detectives from the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB).

A garda spokeswoman said: "A man was arrested on the evening of the 5th June 2017 for offences under the Theft and Fraud Offences Act 2001 and was detained under Section 4 of Criminal Justice Act 1994. He has since been released without charge and A file is being prepared for the DPP."

The story was first reported in the 'Limerick Leader' this afternoon.

A senior source has said that the arrested man was in possession of a PPS number which was previously linked to Rachid Redouane.

"This does not appear to be terror-related and the individual being questioned may have been unaware until now who's documentation he was using. Documents baring a PPS number linked to Redouane were found, and were used for employment rather than anything more sinister," the source said.

"At this stage gardai have nothing to suggest that he was ever even in contact with Redouane," the source added.

Rachid Redouane (30) was a pastry chef who was first recorded being in Dublin in 2012 along with his wife Charisse O'Leary (38), who is originally from the UK.

Security sources have stated the terror attacker lived at an apartment block in Rathmines, south Dublin, with Ms O'Leary.

He had lived with his wife and young child on and off for four years.

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Redouane and Ms O'Leary married in Ireland in 2012, before moving to the UK. They returned to Ireland in 2016 before leaving again in March of that year, records show.

Pictured: London Bridge terror attack suspect who lived in south Dublin

Authorities have not yet established how and when he originally entered Ireland before his marriage, and believe that he made several return trips to pass UK immigration checks.

A source added that their marriage appeared genuine, and not for financial gain or to secure residency in this jurisdiction.
Criminal John Gilligan has finally handed the keys of two properties to the Criminal Assets Bureau after a battle lasting 20 years.

This includes the bungalow beside the equestrian centre at Jessbrook, Co Kildare, which Gilligan had desperately tried to hold on to.

The Irish Independent has learned the Dublin gangster passed on the keys to the two properties on Sunday night.

The homes had been seized by CAB after Gilligan had fought a number of legal battles to keep hold of them.

A third house that was seized is already in control of CAB and being rented out.

The Jessbrook equestrian centre built by Gilligan has previously been seized and sold.

The Gilligans have been frantically emptying out the secluded bungalow beside Jessbrook in the townland of Mucklon near Enfield, Co Kildare, after losing their Supreme Court appeal to keep it and the two other properties - a house on Corduff Avenue in Blanchardstown and another at Willsbrook View in Lucan.

Gilligan's wife Geraldine and daughter Tracey had been living at the Jessbrook bungalow for more than 30 years, and his son Darren was living in the Blanchardstown house.

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The CAB had control of the Lucan house and rented it out, but will now also gain ownership of it since the February ruling of the Supreme Court.

Gilligan later asked the Supreme Court for a two-year stay on the seizure order, claiming he has no income and would be left homeless.

The 65-year-old said he was engaging with local authorities to try to get accommodation.

But the court only granted him a three-month stay, which means he has to vacate the properties by June 6.

Gilligan, who served 17 years for drug trafficking, has been hiding out at the Jessbrook house, as well as addresses in the UK, following two attempts to murder him since he was released from jail in 2013.

He spent 17 years in prison for trafficking and is believed to have ordered the murder of 'Sunday Independent' journalist Veronica Guerin in 1996.

Meanwhile, in a bid to avoid homelessness the Gilligans have rented out a house in Roscommon.

It is understood the property is located beside a piggery and the Gilligans have been complaining about the smell to locals.

"It seems they came here in a bit of a hurry knowing the deadline to give back their properties was looming, but they only got the waft from the pig slurry after they did the deal and started moving in," a local source revealed.

"We're told they think they smell is obnoxious, but the locals are used to farmyard smells here." Gilligan recently wrote online that he has attempted to access Jobseeker's Allowance.
IRISH Rail passengers may face the threat of widespread travel chaos during the summer and autumn after the company warned it could not afford pay rises.

The National Bus and Railworkers Union issued the threat of industrial action after Irish Rail said it would be "trading recklessly" if it accepted union claims for wage hikes of at least 3.75pc a year.

Irish Rail predicted it will end up just 2m short of insolvency this year.

It said its financial position is worse than Bus Eireann's and it will lose 6m this year and will shoulder a deficit of 159m, in a submission to the Labour Court.

General Secretary of the NBRU Dermot O'Leary accused Irish Rail and the government of playing Russian roulette with public transport.

He said they were running the risk of widespread travel chaos during the summer and autumn.

Mr O'Leary said successive governments have cut vital state funding by over 39pc since 2008.

He said passenger numbers are back at Celtic Tiger levels, there have been significant increases in revenue, 25m payroll cuts and a 19pc cut in staffing.

The union leader said this was in direct contradiction with the company's "so-called" insolvency threat to workers seeking a pay rise.

"What we are actually witnessing here is a systematic attack on state-owned public transport companies and workers," he said.

"The recent Bus Eireann dispute clearly demonstrated that an agenda exists within government circles to drag the CIE companies and their workforce through a series of industrial disputes in order to feed a pro-privatisation agenda.

"It is long since passed time that those who provide support for this government cried halt to this Russian roulette transport policy, before we are forced into a summer and autumn of chaos across our railways."
An Irish Imam has revealed that he warned the Irish government two years ago that extreme radicals were spreading their messages of hate in Ireland.

It has emerged that one of the men who carried out an attack in London on Saturday night married a British woman in Dublin in 2012 and lived in Rathmines.

Rachid Redouane had Irish identification on him when he carried out the atrocity with two others.

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Shaykh Dr Umar Al-Qadri, of the Islamic centre in Blanchardstown, said two years ago the Irish Muslim Peace and Integration council launched an anti extremism declaration and guide to prevent radicalisation within the Muslim community. He said he warned at this stage about dangerous islamists spreading hate messages Ireland.

Dr Al-Qadri was invited by the European Commission to speak on this subject at a Ministerial conference.

However, in Ireland, from the Department of Justice or from any other department I have both been contacted so far to share my views. It is proven now, two years later, unfortunately what I said was true.

Many people have unfortunately been killed by somebody who was living in Ireland. Ireland was for him a safe haven where he was able to live and he was able to spread his ideology. We do not know so far to what extent he was able to radicalise others.

Dr Al-Qadri said he did not know this man and he has spoken to other Moroccan men living in Dublin and they too, say they do not know him.

It seems that this person was keeping a low profile.

Asked did he know Khuram Butt, the other man involved in the London attack, Dr Al-Qadri said: I dont know him personally but his face is familiar. His face, it seems that I have seen him in Dublin but again I dont know him personally.

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However Dr Al-Qadri said he did know of other Muslim radicals operating in Ireland.

I know a number of other individuals that are still living in Ireland, spreading their hate narrative on social media as well as offline. These individuals must be monitored by the Department of Justice.

He said these people need professional help and they need to be radicalised.

If we cannot put these people behind the bars then what the state can do is give them de-radicalisation training so that they can be de-radicalised. If that is not happening and these people are free to talk and spread their very, very dangerous ideas to other Muslim youths.

He added: Im afraid that these individuals themselves may not plot something because they know they are being monitored but they inspire others to commit an atrocity.
Detector dog Alfie who assisted with the seizure in Rosslare

Over 1 million worth of tobacco was seized by Revenue Officers on Monday morning.

Officers at Rosslare Europort in Co Wexford discovered more than two tonnes of tobacco when they stopped and searched a Polish-registered truck that was arriving from Cherbourg in France.

The truck, which is understood to have contained plastic, was stopped and searched as part of a routine operation with the help of Detector Dog Alfie.

The driver, a man aged in his 40s, was questioned and his vehicle and the illegal tobacco were seized.

Investigations are ongoing with a view to prosecute.

The black market tobacco has a retail value of over 1 million and represents a potential loss to the Exchequer of around 800,000.

Anyone who has any information about the smuggling or sale of contraband tobacco is urged to contact Revenue in confidence on free phone number 1800 295 295.
Mohamed Aissani originally from Algeria near the former home of Rachid Redouane Photo: Tony Gavin

A Muslim man who lives in the same area as London Bridge terror killer Rachid Redouane has told of his shock at the horror attack.

Redouane was living in Rathmines, South Dublin when he married Charisse O'Leary on November 7, 2012.

The well-kept property on the corner of the quiet leafy suburb seems in stark contrast with the image of the man who would gang up with two others to kill, maim and butcher scores of innocent people in last Saturday night's atrocity.

There was nobody at home in the building today when Independent.ie called, and neighbours who did answer said they could not remember him.

But his marriage certificate shows that it was at this address in the Square that Redouane made his home with O'Leary.

The marriage document shows that Redouane was born on July 31, 1986, the son of Kabboura Warsaq and Lahcen Redouane.

His occupation is listed as a pastry chef.

Charisse Ann O'Leary, who split with Redouane later and who publicly denounced the Manchester suicide bombing, was born in July 1978.

The couple had one child together.

Their marriage took place in the Registrar's Office at Sir Patrick Duns Hospital on Lower Grand Canal Street in Dublin 2, witnessed by Charisse's mother and a man named Khalil Chadili.

Muslim neighbour Mohamed Aissani, who has lived in the area for ten years and is now an Irish citizen, said he did not recognise the picture of Rachid Redouane and thinks he only lived in Rathmines for a short time.

"If he was from the Algerian community I would know him because I am of Algerian myself. I know a few guys who are North African but this guy in particular I believe he did not live here for long," he said.

He said he was shocked that someone like Redouane could carry out the attack he was involved in.

"I am a Muslim myself, and Islam is against this. These people do not represent Islam or their country. This is against religion, this is a personal act, nothing to do with religion," he said.

"Some people might think that because a terrorist act never happened here that Ireland might be a place where there are sleeping cells, which this guy sounds like he was from, but I don't think Ireland is a place with sleeping cells. This is my opinion, but I'm sure the authorities in this country know what they are doing.

"So far, because Ireland wasn't hit by terrorism, I think this shows the authorities are doing a good job to protect the people, both foreign and Irish, because terrorism doesn't care where you are from. Terrorism hits Muslims themselves," he added.

Asked if he thought the attitude of Irish people to Muslims has changed since the recent upsurge in terror attacks in the U.K. Mohamed said some people's attitudes have changed, but not in general.

"Most Irish people are educated enough to know that these acts don't represent Muslims or Islam. Muslims have been living in Ireland for so many years, and love this country - I have lived in Ireland more than my own country," he said.

Alex Harkness (25), who lives in the basement flat of the house, said it is a bit scary that someone who committed such murder could have lived in the house before her, but that it "wasn't too surprising in this day and age".

"I wondered why there were all these cameras outside and I haven't really read the news this morning, so we figured out there must be something happening in this area," she told reporters.

"On the inside the house has been all cleaned out since it was renovated, so you wouldn't know anything of its past.

"It's going to be a mental processing thing now that we know he lived here," she added.
An investigation is underway after an Irish mosque was attacked during prayers overnight.

Members of the Masjisd Maryam Galway mosque were in the middle of their ceremony during the religious month when they heard "very loud bangs".

A number of windows were smashed during the attack shortly after 11pm on the centre which is located on the Monavea Road in Galway.

Imam Ibrahim Noonan said a number of rocks were thrown and when they went outside they saw two young men fleeing the scene.

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He told RTE Radio One that he believed the attack was connected to the terror attacks in London and Manchester in the last two weeks.

He wrote on Twitter: "Truly sad while men, women, children were praying when I was leading prayer, we were attacked."

He said they were remembering Allah at the time.

Nobody was injured in the incident but Mr Noonan said many members are "upset and shaken".

In the wake of the London attacks Imam Ibrahim Ahmad Noonan had called for all imams to be vetted by authorities, including background checks and for potential links to extremism.

But he also said there is an onus on imams to be more proactive in checking members of their congregations for extremist leanings.

"I'm committed to rooting out extremism in Ireland. I'm committed to it. This is my country. I'm not going to allow these people to get seeded into this country," Mr Ahmad Noonan said.

The Iman, who was born in Waterford, raised Catholic and converted to Islam 26 years ago, said he is considering asking some women and children to stay away from the mosque for a few days for safety reasons.

"Everyone was quite shaken, including myself, and quite upset that it happened while we were praying, especially the ladies and children," he said.

"It's a kind of realisation - we all linked this to what happened in London."

A Garda spokesman said the incident was being investigated as a case of criminal damage.
Leo Varadkar wants a major overhaul of the role of Fine Gael deputy leader in a bid to boost party membership numbers and recruit more young people to its ranks.

It's understood that no decisions have yet been made as to who will fill the post that will become a more powerful position in the party.

However, Mr Varadkar's defeated leadership rival Simon Coveney and another minister, Heather Humphreys, are among those under consideration for the job.

Mr Coveney is also being linked to the role of Tanaiste.

The next deputy leader will be tasked with broadening the party's membership to bring in more women and younger people as well as increase its numbers in urban areas.

A source said: "One of Mr Varadkar's big priorities was to reflect the fact that Ireland is now a much younger cosmopolitan society, whether you live in the country or the cities.

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"He thinks Fine Gael should be reflecting that and will be a big responsibility of whoever becomes deputy leader."

The new deputy leader will also be expected to play an active role in selecting candidates for elections and expanding the numbers of the membership base overall.

They will also have responsibility for driving Mr Varadkar's reform agenda, which he set out in a document he published during the leadership contest.

Dr James Reilly, a Fine Gael senator, served as deputy leader under Taoiseach Enda Kenny.

Mr Varadkar is expected to be elected Taoiseach by the Dail when it returns from a week-long break next week.

Before then, however, Mr Varadkar will hold a series of meetings with Independent TDs supporting the Government, including the five members of the Independent Alliance.

Communications Minister Denis Naughten is set to meet Mr Varadkar tomorrow. A source said Mr Naughten won't seek to renegotiate the Programme for Government, but he wants requests he made for improvements to health services in Roscommon honoured in the lifetime of the Government.

Children's Minister Katherine Zappone, meanwhile, is set to seek additional resources for childcare, after last week stating publicly that she will be pushing for extra funding in Budget 2018.

Clare Independent TD Michael Harty, who has been supporting the Government, was quoted at the weekend saying he feels like he's been "taken for granted" over the last year. Mr Varadkar is also going to meet him. A spokesman said of the planned meetings: "This is a good opportunity to discuss their priorities and hear their concerns."

Mr Varadkar will also meet Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin. He has pledged the 'confidence and supply' deal between his party and Fianna Fail will be honoured.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny has expressed disappointment at US President Donald Trump's stance on the Paris climate agreement and said "scientific facts" cannot be ignored.

Speaking in Chicago, Mr Kenny said the facts on climate change speak for themselves and that Mr Trump was ignoring the problem rather than tackling it.

He was in Chicago on a two day trade mission where he met Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel as well as city business leaders and representatives from Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland.

During a discussion yesterday morning at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Mr Kenny said Mr Trump's decision was unfortunate.

"Paris is movable, but Paris is not removable," he said.

"You can't ignore accuracy of scientific facts and it's disappointing to put it lightly that America chose this route," he said.

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"Secretary (Rex) Tillerson is talking in Australia today saying that America is continuing to look at this and negotiate this in a different fashion but clearly scientific facts speak for themselves."

Read more: 'He lies all the time' - Bernie Sanders uses first Irish visit to lambaste Trump

In the evening Mr Kenny attended a reception with the Irish community at the Drake Hotel in Chicago's Tony Gold Coast.

Mr Kenny said he is "happy to pass on the responsibility to the next generation" and a new leader.

He added: "You can't be right all the time, you have to have the humility (to say) I don't have the answers all the time."

It wasn't strictly business for Mr Kenny, though, as he attended the U2 concert at Soldier Field on Sunday. Bono gave a shout-out to Mr Kenny during the show, thanking him for being a "graceful leader".
New Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar is being urged by supporters to stamp his authority on the party as he prepares to be elected Taoiseach.

He is facing demands to sack Health Minister Simon Harris, a close ally of Mr Varadkar's rival for the leadership, Simon Coveney.

The Sunday Independent can reveal Mr Coveney's supporters are pushing for the Housing Minister to be appointed Tanaiste after securing almost two-thirds of the membership's support in the leadership contest.

Mr Varadkar is also to come under intense pressure from some key political allies to sack Simon Harris as they believe they "cannot trust" the Health Minister.

However, Mr Harris's position in Cabinet could be saved if Mr Coveney insists his most senior supporter be retained.

Mr Varadkar is also to consider a radical overhaul of government departments which could see the Department of Justice split to allow the creation of a Department of Home Affairs for the first time in the history of the State.

It has also emerged Paschal Donohoe is expected to become the most powerful Cabinet minister, with responsibility for both the Department of Finance and Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

The departments would not be merged but Mr Donohoe would have sole responsibility for the two portfolios. It is also expected a number of junior ministers would be appointed in the two departments to take up some of the workload.

Mr Varadkar's advisers yesterday insisted there will "definitely be a new look to the Cabinet" as the 38-year-old new leader prepares to make history by becoming the youngest and first openly gay Taoiseach.

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Last night, Mr Varadkar spoke by phone with Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin and they agreed to speak again this week.

It is not expected Mr Varadkar will face opposition from either Independent TDs in Government or from Fianna Fail when he is proposed as Taoiseach in two weeks' time.

But the new Fine Gael leader is facing the toughest challenge of his political career as he moves to reward loyal supporters who weighed in behind him during the divisive election contest.

Mr Varadkar and Mr Coveney met yesterday to discuss the Housing Minister's future at the Cabinet table.

Supporters of both Mr Varadkar and Mr Coveney yesterday said the Housing Minister deserved to be appointed to the position of Tanaiste after his resounding victory among the Fine Gael membership. One Varadkar supporter said Mr Coveney "can have what he wants - except Finance".

The news will come as a blow to the current Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald.

Asked if he would appoint Mr Coveney as Tanaiste after his election victory last Friday, Mr Varadkar said: "We have a Tanaiste, it's Frances Fitzgerald and I think she's doing an excellent job."

After his meeting with Mr Coveney yesterday, a spokesman for Mr Varadkar said: "It was a positive and constructive meeting where they discussed Mr Varadkar's plans for the party and the country."

Asked if Mr Coveney would be promoted to Tanaiste, the spokesman said: "Cabinet formation is under consideration."

Mr Coveney's spokeswoman said: "The focus is on putting a Government together and the intensive work around that, not on individual positions - anything further is just speculation."

Meanwhile, two senior ministers who supported Mr Varadkar yesterday called for the new party leader to sack Simon Harris from Cabinet.

One minister told the Sunday Independent Mr Varadkar should "leave him in Health or get rid of him". And another minister dismissed the suggestion that Mr Varadkar will be "seen as vindictive" if he sacks Mr Harris.

The minister said "Leo needs to trust his Cabinet 100pc" and added: "Peace can be made with Simon Coveney in other ways and will be."

However, one of Mr Varadkar's senior advisers insisted Mr Harris was "an effective Minister for Health" and said he did not believe he would be axed from the Cabinet.

There were also demands yesterday from within Fine Gael to appoint Minister of State for Regional Economic Development Michael Ring to a full Cabinet position. Supporters of the Mayo junior minister said there "would be war" if Mr Varadkar did not appoint a minister from the west of Ireland.

"He cannot fill his Cabinet full of ministers from Dublin and Leinster after we got hammered in the west at the last election," a Fine Gael source said.

The new Taoiseach is widely expected to appoint his campaign director Eoghan Murphy, who is currently a Minister of State in the Department of Finance, to the Cabinet. Carlow Kilkenny TD John Paul Phelan has been tipped to replace Regina Doherty as the Government Chief Whip. However, Ms Doherty is expected to be promoted to another department.

Minister of State at the Departments of An Taoiseach and Defence Paul Kehoe, who sits at Cabinet, is expected to be rewarded for the key role he also played in Mr Varadkar's campaign.

To make room for new ministers and accommodate those currently around the Cabinet table, Mr Varadkar will consider a landmark overhaul of government departments. With Mr Donohoe set to oversee the Department of Finance and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, Mr Varadkar will be able to create a new Cabinet position.

It is understood central to Cabinet discussions will be a proposal to split the Department of Justice which has been under siege with Garda scandals for the past four years. It has been proposed that Ireland should follow other European countries and have a Department of Home Affairs, which would oversee the police force and security, along with a separate government department with responsibility for the judiciary and other legal affairs.

"It would be like in the UK where you have the lord chancellor and the home secretary. The lord chancellor does the legal stuff and the home secretary does security," a source said.

There was no suggestion from Mr Varadkar's team last night that he would be sacking any of the current Cabinet ministers. There was some speculation Jobs Minister Mary Mitchell O'Connor may face being demoted.

However, one of Mr Varadkar's advisers said: "Mary's role in the campaign is fully acknowledged." Tanaiste Fitzgerald could lose her title as the deputy to the Taoiseach but is expected to remain in Cabinet. Education Minister Richard Bruton is in line for promotion and Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan may remain in his position.
One of the three attackers that killed seven people in London on Saturday was refused asylum in Britain but was able to remain there through a European Union residence card granted in Ireland.

British police on Monday named Rachid Redouane, a 30-year-old from Barking in east London who claimed to be Moroccan and Libyan, as one of the three attackers shot dead during the knife and van attack.

Enda Kenny confirmed that one of the attackers lived in Ireland for a time but did not attract the attention of law-enforcement.

Redouane was refused asylum in Britain but was granted a '4 EU FAM' residence card after getting married in Ireland in 2012, which allowed him to apply for a permit to remain in Britain when he left Ireland, according to RTE.

A '4 EU FAM' card grants a non-European Economic Area family member permission to stay in the EU.

Ireland has a common travel area with Britain that allows the freedom of movement of people within the two islands as well as the rights to reside, work and access public services. It hopes to maintain the bilateral system, which predates its EU membership, after Britain leaves the bloc.

Britain's Home Office and gardai declined to comment on the report.

Rachid Redouane was a pastry chef who was first recorded being in Dublin in 2012 along with his wife Charisse O'Leary (38), who is originally from the UK.

Security sources have stated the terror attacker lived at an apartment block in Rathmines, south Dublin, with Ms O'Leary.

He had lived with his wife and young child on and off for four years.

Redouane and Ms O'Leary married in Ireland in 2012, before moving to the UK. They returned to Ireland in 2016 before leaving again in March of that year, records show.

In a statement this evening the Tanaiste and Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald said:

"I met the Commissioner and other members of Garda senior management last night. Commissioner OSullivan outlined the ongoing Garda contacts with their counterpart agencies in the UK.

"The expert threat assessment is that while an attack here is possible it is unlikely, and there is no specific information in relation to any threat to Ireland from international terrorism. The level of threat from this source is kept under constant and active review by An Garda Siochana. The Gardai have in place the necessary operational measures in terms of intelligence, a well-trained and equipped special intervention capability and other national support resources. They are supported in this, as needed, by the considerable skills and resources of the Defence Forces.

"The necessary resources and supports are being given to An Garda Siochana. Additional dedicated funding for countering terrorism was provided last year to address identified operational needs in terms of equipment and training. In addition a dedicated Armed Response Unit for the Dublin Region was established, there is increased overtime and ongoing accelerated recruitment with appropriate training."
Most Irish people of a certain age equate the month of June with one feeling: the grim spectre of exams looming large. For around 120,000 school children, the wait is over. In the next couple of weeks, the fruits of their labour are either ripe for picking, or will wither on the vine.

For their parents, who recall all too well the taste of low-level panic on their tongue (and probably still have nightmares about Maths Paper 1 to this day), exam day can be every bit as stressful. And when it comes to divining a fine line between motivating and aggravating, things can get very fraught at home.

Paul Gilligan, CEO of St Patrick's Mental Health Services, says: "Every young person approaches this life event differently... Unfortunately, giving advice that suits every single person is not possible, but we do know that these exams can be anxiety provoking for many young people and their parents."

Psychologist David Carey observes: "If you have one of those children who shines in exams, that's a wonderful thing, but with others who are better as free thinkers, you have to help them understand that they have to comply a little with the social norm, which is in this case, exams.

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"But ultimately, it's about reminding them to do the best they can, and to focus on the efforts made."

Speak only when spoken to

According to Carey, most parents would do well to simply keep calm and carry on. Hammering home the idea that exams are the singular most important event in a young person's life is well, a bit ill advised.

"The one thing you don't do (during exams week) as a parent is get involved, asking incessantly if they're studying, as that will only raise their anxiety levels," he says. "The vast majority of young people will study according to how their own brain works. And motivating your kids to study should have started well before this week."

For Beatrice Dooley, vice president of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors, silence is, indeed, golden.

"As a parent, you have survived the Leaving Cert, you know everything, you are older, wiser and your child should listen to you, right? Wrong," she says.

"As to when to help, the answer is simple - only when asked, otherwise reverse swiftly off stage. My advice is, for the next few weeks speak only when spoken to. Listen to your offspring even when they are silent. Say supportive stuff like 'I understand, that must be really difficult for you. I hear what you are saying. Would you like a cup of tea?' And then leg it. Things like door slamming, muttering, swearing, cursing, dirty looks, eye rolling, erratic mood swings and staring into space can be (overlooked)."

Focus on practicalities

Rather than impart their own wisdom on exam taking, parents can offer support during exam time in much more practical ways.

"Your job as a parent is to hide your anxiety, not transfer it on to them," notes Enda O'Doherty of StudySkillsIreland.com.

"Be the rock and the support and say things like, 'I'm so proud of you. Keep going.' Don't be the one to initiate post-mortems on exam day. On a more practical level, drive your child to the exam in loads of time (and have a Plan B in case of diversions), and on exam week, offer them the meals that you know that they like, almost as a small treat."

Adds David Duffy, education and research officer with the Teachers' Union of Ireland: "Some level of exam stress is inevitable and can be useful in spurring you on to perform at your best. However, if (students find themselves) becoming excessively stressed, eg losing sleep or becoming upset, then students and parents/guardians should talk.

"The simple act of a student telling people how they're feeling at the moment can often go a long way to relieving the pressure."

Encourage breaks

During revision, taking a breather is the best way to make sure that students don't feel overwhelmed.

"Usually five minutes every 35 minutes or alternatively 10 minutes every hour," says David Duffy. "Trying to plough through material without a break results in a lack of concentration."

Mindfulness is an easy and instantaneous way to ensure that youngsters don't feel overwhelmed by exams. Relaxation exercises can be as simple as sitting comfortably, closing the eyes, clenching fists while taking deep breaths, and then releasing breath and hands very slowly.

"As teachers, we are starting to talk to kids about wellbeing and mindfulness, and it's something that parents need to know, too," says Aine Devlin, co-founder of examrevision.ie.

"I think that not making things focused on the exams all the time is a really good way to boost confidence. As parent, talk to them about the small goals they have made. Just that sense of gratification will help them feel as though they are on the right track."

Bedtime reminders

"Parents need to be supportive too in how much sleep their child is getting," adds Devlin.

"Many parents will tell their kids to go to bed, and will hear back, 'But I need to study! Why are you telling me to stop studying!' But it's a parent's responsibility to ensure that the student goes to bed at a decent time, and that internet and devices are switched off 20 minutes before bed."

Lead by example

Far from leaving a student in isolation to cram in their bedroom, keeping the lines of communication open is hugely important.

"As students get more stressed and tense, we will notice that we have less patience than usual, their fuse is shorter and they tend to get upset more easily," observes Gilligan. "This is a totally normal response to the pressure and anxiety of such a large event. Make sure as a parent that your child knows that you love them."

Ultimately, taking a more relaxed approach to exams as a parent is a good way to lead by example. That way, students are more likely to let go of stress, anxiety and fear.

"Exams have been hyped up so much as a defining moment," Carey notes. "I don't deny the fact exams have some relevance in a person's life, but no one really asks, once you leave college, how you ever did in school exams.

"We may think of it as being hyped up to the level of national obsession, but exam performance has nothing to do with how happy or well-adjusted kids are, or how valuable people are as contributing members of society."

Beatrice Dooley's tips for students

* If you're the perfectionist: "Remember the Leaving Cert is just a stepping stone to the next stage, you just need to get the points you need and to satisfy specific and minimum subject requirements for your course of choice. Try to enjoy the experience of going in to the exam and showing off all of your knowledge after all your hard graft."

* If you're the high achiever: "Consider time management. Is there one subject that you are spending a huge amount of time on to the detriment of others? For example, are you spending one hour on one subject nightly and three hours on the other six overall? You have so much information in your head your biggest danger is that you might get lost in the detail."

* If you're the grafter: "Do you know that personality and emotional intelligence are extremely important contributing factors to success in the workplace not to mention life? Do not be afraid to let your personality shine through in your answers."

* If you're the anxious student: "Every time you catch yourself worrying, say 'DELETE'. Imagine you are walking into the exam, you feel good, you slept well and you are feeling confident. When you notice your mind wandering, try to stay present. Instead of worrying about stuff that has not yet happened, focus on what is actually happening."
When Paul McLoone (62) spearheaded an initiative to get a new oncology unit going at a regional hospital, he had no idea that one day it would become pivotal to his own health. But that's how it is with the vagaries of life.

His career is also no exception to the rule that anything and everything is possible. Following a happy childhood in Co Donegal, Paul moved to Dublin to take up a clerical position with the Eastern Health Board. "They recruited about 200 of us at the same time," he recalls. "We were all between the ages of 18 and 20. So we ended up having a great time. That's where I met my future wife, Marie Howe, who was also a clerical officer."

Having married in romantic Kilkea Castle near Marie's family home in Co Laois, the McLoones chose to go north, where Paul landed a job at Sligo General Hospital. The following year - 1986 - their son Ciaran was born; he was soon followed by Aisling, and then Shane.

Meanwhile, Paul was steadily moving up through the ranks, until 1995, when he was appointed general manager of the hospital. "I loved working there," he says. "Because I felt I was doing something worthwhile for our own community. One of my main challenges was to accommodate a new oncology unit. We did it on a small budget and recruited a new team."

Another exceptional challenge came Paul's way some years later, when he was appointed CEO of North West Ireland Tourism. "That, to me, was a dream job," he says, "because I was promoting a region I truly love." Naturally, Paul was expected to travel to meetings in his catchment area. In 2006, while on a visit to Monaghan, he was involved in a minor motor accident, which resulted in a painful arm. Once he got home, he went to see the family doctor. But it turned out that doctor was away, so Paul was seen by a locum.

"Having prescribed anti-inflammatories, the locum then suggested I have a full check-up, given that I was over 50," explains Paul. "We started with a colonoscopy, as I had mentioned a touch of rectal bleeding, which I'd put down to stress or haemorrhoids. Up until then, I'd been reluctant to mention it to anyone. I'm now embarrassed that I was embarrassed about that," he admits. A week later, Paul learned that some "suspicious" polyps had been discovered during the colonoscopy. Soon after, a formal diagnosis of bowel cancer was made, so he was admitted to Sligo Regional Hospital.

"The surgeon removed about four feet of intestine and then successfully reconnected the two ends," he explains. "I was able to go back to work eight weeks later. After that, I went for regular check-ups at the oncology unit I'd helped to set up." However, his sense that all was well again was soon shattered, when just a few months later, around Christmas time, he got a call asking him to return to the oncology department. During routine tests, they had discovered that the cancer had spread to Paul's liver.

Paul was referred to St Vincent's University Hospital in Dublin, where they specialise in this form of cancer. In the meantime, he and Marie were so rattled, they invested some of their savings in getting second and third opinions. In the end, they became convinced that the team at St Vincent's offered the best care possible. Early in 2008, a resection was performed, which involved the removal of the part of the liver that was affected by cancerous cells.

Once he had recovered sufficiently, Paul returned to Sligo General for six months of out-patient chemotherapy. This, he says, was an incredibly daunting prospect. So he decided to return to work. "It was a distraction, but after three months I had to stop," he says. "My mind was all over the place and I was exhausted from all the side effects of the chemo."

Paul says another difficult aspect of this journey was dealing with the loss of fellow cancer patients; those who didn't make it, in spite of valiant efforts by their medical teams. "It was heartbreaking; like going to war and losing some of your buddies," says Paul.

An additional blow was the loss of Peter Mulligan, his friend and walking companion for over 20 years. "Peter died very suddenly of heart failure in 2008," says Paul. "He always insisted that, no matter what my health problems, I kept walking. His death was a terrible blow."

The following year, Paul faced yet more uphill battles when cancer cells were again found in his liver. So, it was back to St Vincent's for more surgery. This time, Paul felt absolutely and utterly defeated.

"After that surgery, my spirit was totally broken. I was at my very lowest point," he recalls. "But three days later my surgeon told me the biopsies were clear of any cancer cells." Paul was so elated, he discharged himself from hospital and went home to Donegal that very night, a decision that proved somewhat foolhardy, as he got an infection that took three months to resolve.

Four years ago, Paul had yet another skirmish with cancer when his prostate developed abnormal cells. This time, he had brachytherapy, which involved implanting 90 radioactive seeds, which slowly released radiation into his prostate gland, destroying the cancerous cells.

Nowadays, Paul is the picture of robust good health. He and Marie have become inveterate travellers and have visited, among other places, Australia, New Zealand, China, Africa, the US and South America. Throughout his many ordeals, Paul did his best to remain positive. He also prayed to his late parents and to his brother Philip, who died from cancer when he was just 26 years old.

A large part of what kept Paul going was the love and support he got from his wife, their children and extended families and friends. "Marie and the kids were like rocks to me throughout all that time. They were amazing," he says. He will also be eternally grateful for the support he got from the Irish Cancer Society (ICS). "The nurse there gave me wonderful advice and useful techniques to deal with the various issues - especially the emotional ones," says Paul. "Everyone deserves first-class treatment and the ICS tirelessly fights for that."

For further information on bowel cancer and to take the online Bowel Health Checker see cancer.ie/reduce-your-risk/bowel-cancer-awareness/online-bowel-health-checker
When the current owners of Carn Lodge first viewed the property in 2006, they had no intention of buying the place. "To be honest," they say, "we went to steal some (or a whole lot of) design ideas. We had passed the house while it was being built and really loved the design."

It was one of a number of local houses built by a small-scale German developer Jurgen Siewer, and designed by the local firm of MacGabhann Architects, and it looks for all the world like a period property. It is also built to a very high-spec - the roof is tiled in original blue Bangor slates, says the owner, the hardwood double-glazed windows were made by an artisan in Gweedore, the stairs were bespoke and made in NI, the cornicing was custom-made in Dublin.

"I can remember the day," he says of that first viewing, "as we approached Carn Lodge through the tree-lined drive. My wife's breathing changed and when we knocked on the front door, she was literally having palpitations. As the estate agent came up the hall to open the door, she whispered, 'This is it - I could definitely live here'."

The couple had been looking for a site with sea views and shore access to build their own home. Their two eldest sons had already flown the nest, and their third was 'in the departure lounge'. "We were beginning to think about safe, magical and fun places for grandkids to visit and explore." But they were also looking for a space that would encourage creativity. "My wife is a published poet, writer, mentor and workshop facilitator, and she always dreamt of having her own workshop and performance space - a writer's retreat."

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Carn Lodge ticked all the boxes. It had all the appeal and character of a period property, but none of the maintenance headaches. No draughts, leaks or damp. "My wife wouldn't go back for a second viewing. She said, 'I'm not going back to be disappointed if we don't get it'." In fact, she didn't return until the contract was signed.

And for the 10 years since, as well as being a family home, Carn Lodge has hosted writers and poets looking for peace, quiet and encouragement to write.

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The property comes with 3.54 acres of woodland and lawns that run down to the shores of Lough Swilly and comes with paths that run along a boundary stream. Those in search of a restoration project can busy themselves with rebuilding the two old flax mills, known as the Mill Race, that were once powered by the stream.

Carn Lodge sits just outside the pretty Heritage Town of Ramelton in Co Donegal, and is on the Wild Atlantic Way, making it a good base from which to explore the coastline, or hike in nearby Glenveagh National Park or Ards Forest Park.

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From the exterior, the house has the air of a prosperous Victorian property, but it also has New England touches, such as the wraparound verandah and a double conservatory.

Inside, the proportions are generous, with a fine entrance hall, complete with cornicework, ceiling rose and mahogany bannister. It also includes a guest WC. There are three reception rooms that boast 3m-high ceilings set off with cornicework, and with wooden floors throughout. The drawing room and living room have open fireplaces. A study doubles as the dining room, although the kitchen, at 4.84m x 4.80m, is large enough to accommodate stools at the granite-topped island counter. There are double doors leading on through to the conservatory where, the vendors say, they have sited their breakfast room as it catches the morning sun.

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On the first floor, there are three bedrooms, including the dual-aspect master with en suite and a second bedroom with en-suite shower room. The second-floor bedrooms have pitched ceilings- the floor houses three more bedrooms, the family bathroom and a large games room. A double garage with loft is ideal for conversion to provide extra accommodation, either as space for staff or as a granny flat, subject to planning permission. The property currently extends to 396sqm, but also comes with planning for an additional 140sqm, which is valid until 2020.

There are plenty of attractions in the area - including the beach at Rathmullen, 11km away, and an idyllic stretch of beach at Portsalon, 20 minutes' drive away. Derry Airport is 50 minutes' drive, Dublin Airport is 258km, and Letterkenny, with its shopping, restaurants and amenities, is 15 minutes' drive away. The property would suit a commuter working in Letterkenny, although, with its access to the coastline and parks of Donegal, it might also appeal to the foreign market.

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The vendors are staying local, and intend to downsize and build their own home. "We have had the workshops, the seminars, the storytelling and recitals, the weddings, the births, the graduations and the grandchildren," they say. "Retirement beckons. And new beginnings."

Back in 2006, Carn Lodge was priced at 2.2m and, at its current asking price of 850,000, represents significant value for money.

Agent: Sherry FitzGerald Rainey (074) 912 2211

Viewing: By appointment
Things didn't get off to an auspicious start. My friend was struck down by a nasty bug, and cried off coming, so I faced a weekend of wandering in the wild west toute seule.

Coming over all Pollyanna-ish, I focused on the positive: OK, I'd be alone for the duration, but what better opportunity to enjoy some real me-time? A solo run in search of Zen, if you will, with a side of adventure to add spice.

First stop en route to Delphi was Glengowla Mines, in Oughterard, Co Galway (glengowlamines.ie), owned by the Geoghegan family, who have restored and excavated it. My other half had advised this 'pit' stop, as, in addition to being a working farm and a show mine, Glengowla is the location for the award-winning TG4 series An Klondike, on which he'd worked, and the set for fictional gold rush town of Dominion Creek is still in situ.

The genial Johnny Caine gave me the tour. He has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the mine, its history and the array of minerals and artefacts found within. The marble mine shafts, which resemble something out of an Indiana Jones movie, have yielded many treasures; striated with veins of calcite and quartz, this mine, which was abandoned in 1865, is home to very rare, octahedral crystals of fluorite, while formations of lead and silver are dotted on the concave walls that still bear the marks of the long-dead miners' chisels.

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Johnny, who himself is from Yorkshire mining stock, lights a candle daily in one of the chambers as a tribute to miners worldwide, past and present. Mine tour over, Johnny kindly showed me around the forge, the powder house and the film set, pointing out various wild flowers and a fox's den as we walked in the spring sunshine.

I could happily have spent several more hours being beguiled by Glengowla's charms - you can pan for 'gold', see a live sheep herding demo, peruse the many artefacts and mineral specimens, and view their seismograph, which is so sensitive, it picked up vibrations from a recent earthquake in Chile - but Delphi was calling.

Delphi Resort is near the Connemara village of Leenane, and situated in arguably the most spectacularly beautiful landscape in the country, positioned alongside Killary Fjord, and between the Sheeffry Hills and the mighty Mweelrea. The vivid colours of the west - green, purple, ochre, yellow, blue - never fail to stimulate the senses; it's a healing palette.

Delphi Resort blends beautifully with the rugged vista; the structure itself has shades of a hobbit house about it, with its undulating, organic curves. Inside, it's all stone, spalted wood and soft, earthy tones, and, as I walked the undulating corridor to my room, I felt the strain of the long drive begin to melt away.

Delphi offers a wide variety of accommodation, but I was going full-pamper-throttle, so my digs for the duration was a Laura Ashley-designed suite, with an enormous bed and an even bigger bath, which I promptly filled to the brim with bubbles and hopped in, glass of chilled vino in one hand, complimentary box of Marlene's Chocolate Haven chocs in the other. Bliss. After a leisurely dinner in the 814 Bar of luscious sea bass and more ice-cold wine, I headed to bed, sated and happy to dream of the adventures the morning might bring.

The next day, fortified by excellent eggs and strong coffee, I met TJ, my kayaking instructor, in the lobby, and set off for my maiden voyage. There is a skill in using your paddle correctly, and TJ was clear and patient in his instruction, but while I wasn't fast or graceful, I made a decent fist of it, and motored out across the fjord, increasing in confidence with every stroke - although TJ kindly gave me a tow when the wind whipped up and my aching arms were no longer equal to the task.

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Local lore - possibly apocryphal - has it that 45-metre deep Killary Fjord, the only proper one in Ireland, served as an occasional temporary haven for U-boats and submarines during the war, although there are also tales of local fishermen throwing stones and eggs in anger at British naval vessels lurking in the inlet.

TJ told how the fjord is also part of the Famine Trail - the area around Delphi was badly affected, and a monument in nearby Doolough marks where many perished in the spring of 1849, having walked miles in horrendous conditions to be assessed for continuation of their 'outdoor relief', and then being forced to return from whence they came without having received any food or assistance. The terraces where potatoes were grown, away from the waterlogged land further down, are still visible on the sides of Killary Fjord.

Next up was zipwiring, and the affable Ian provided much-needed reassurance to cajole me over the swaying treetop bridges I had to cross to reach the zipwire's start point. I normally feel gawky and awkward doing anything remotely sporty, but Ian and TJ put me instantly at ease and inspired such confidence that I voluntarily traversed again the oh-so scary bridges to complete a second, utterly exhilarating whizz down the zipwire. I headed back to base with a massive grin, high on adrenaline and achievement.

It was soon pampering o'clock, so after a delicious soup and sambo in the resort's Wild Atlantic Cafe, I hit the spa for a steam and a sauna, followed by a 45-minute organic Voya seaweed bath. Heaven.

After a snooze and an hour's reading, it was time for dinner in the 814 Restaurant, which has a panoramic view of the fabulous outdoors. My day's exertions had left me decidedly peckish, so I tucked in with relish to a goat's cheese tartlet, followed by a moreish baked aubergine lasagne and a naughty side of chunky chips. I toddled back to my room, full as a tick and slid under the crisp white sheets into dreamland.

Next day, after an early morning walk along one of the many gorgeous tracks and a hearty breakfast, I sadly bade farewell to divine Delphi.

Once again, I broke the journey home in Oughterard, first stopping off at Sullivan's Country Grocer (facebook.com/sullivangrocer) to pick up some of their sublime sourdough bread, baked in-house - still warm from the oven! - then down the street to Vincent Coyne's Rocky Mountain High (091 557608) to purchase a folding camping stool for an upcoming trip. Vincent, who also runs a small campsite in Cornamona, is a fount of bushcraft knowledge - in the space of five minutes, he showed me three ways to make a fire with a few logs and a piece of wire - and is one of those rare people who, after a few minutes in their company, you feel like you've known them all your life. As he packed up my stool, my eyes picked out a framed Tolkien quote on the far wall; it read, "Not all who wander are lost".

Indeed.

Get there

The current rate for Delphi Resort is from 54pps B&B per night.

Lush, dramatic and spectacular, Delphi Resort is set in a truly unique part of the world, surrounded by some of Ireland's most beautiful and awe-inspiring scenery. Combining an indulgent spa, cosy four-star hotel and a range of dining experiences, it offers the finest fresh and local foods. Delphi Resort is designed to offer a welcoming pause from the world, and a fantastic base from which to explore the rugged beauty of the West of Ireland, try your hand at activities, with up to 20 to choose from, such as kayaking on Killary Fjord and the Zip 'n' Trek tree top adventure. There are adventures that family and friends can enjoy together or indulge in some relaxation in a picturesque setting at the Delphi Spa. For further details, contact: Delphi Resort, Leenane, Connemara, Co Galway, tel: (095) 42208, or see delphiresort.com.

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The revelation that one of the three terrorists responsible for the latest London attack may have been living legally - and unnoticed - in Ireland for a number of years is the first time a direct link has been established between an act of Isil terrorism in Europe and this country.

What we know so far is that an Irish ID card, possibly issued by the Garda National Immigration Bureau, was found on one of the men shot dead by police after the trio went on an eight-minute killing frenzy in central London on Saturday night.

It appears that the card was issued to a Moroccan man, named as Rachid Redouane, who was married and lived in the Rathmines area nine months ago.

As gardai and their colleagues in Scotland Yard continued their efforts to establish that the attacker and the ID holder are one and the same, Taoiseach Enda Kenny acknowledged yesterday that the man issued with the ID was neither known to gardai nor on a list of suspected Islamist radicals.

Up to this point the specialist Garda Counter Terrorism International (CTI) unit and its international counterparts had concluded that the activities of a hardcore group of Isil supporters were involved in providing logistical assistance to Isil fighters trying to join the war in Syria and Iraq.

It is known that one individual who was deported from Ireland to Jordan last year had been the leader of a ring specialising in providing finance and travel documents to jihadist fighters.

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A small but not insignificant number of naturalised Irish citizens are known to have fought and died for Isil in the war in Syria and Iraq.

But if it is established beyond doubt that the man registered as living in the Irish Republic was one of the London terrorists then this is a game changer and will inevitably focus international attention on our State security apparatus which has been described as not fit for purpose. If Ireland is now being used as a sleeper base from which to launch attacks through the UK's backdoor it will ramp up pressure on our security services and also give cause for a hard post-Brexit Border.

That the Garda Commissioner convened an emergency meeting with her security chiefs yesterday morning certainly underlines the magnitude and potential ramifications of this development.

It was reinforced by the comments of the presumptive Taoiseach Leo Varadkar who said he plans to establish a high-powered cabinet committee to assess the State's preparedness for an attack based on the UK's Cobra committee.

A significant portion of the investigation of the London attack will now inevitably focus on Ireland: specifically to establish how this man became radicalised and if he is part of an underground Islamist network secretly operating here.

The ongoing scourge of Isil-inspired attacks across Europe illustrates the overwhelming task faced by the security services everywhere. To paraphrase the IRA's response to its own terrorist campaign in the UK: the State must be lucky all the time.

While security services across Europe have prevented many major attacks, the sporadic, indiscriminate and unpredictable nature of this new terror phenomenon makes it virtually impossible to prevent others taking place: inevitably the chaotic nihilists can breech the most robust security infrastructures.

But this raises the burning question for Ireland: is our security and emergency services suitably robust and calibrated to respond adequately?

The answer, based on extensive interviews with former Garda and Army intelligence officers, is a resounding no.

Years of systematic cost-cutting has left the Garda and the Defence Forces depleted of resources and experienced personnel.

The deficiencies in the Garda intelligence network were laid bare when a gang of men armed with AK47s and dressed as a Garda Swat team stormed the Regency Hotel in broad daylight.

The mission of the Hutch mob was to wipe out their former allies, the Kinahans, in a spectacular display of narco-terrorism.

If gardai were not prepared for an incident between two major criminal gangs when it was well-known that a dramatic escalation in their feud was on the cards, how can we expect them to be on top of an anonymous, low-key jihadi?

The rapid and co-ordinated response from the London emergency services was, to say the least, impressive and the result of extensive planning and practice. Armed police officers surrounded and shot dead the three men eight minutes after the first 999 calls were made. No such co-ordinated and planned response exists in Ireland.

The representative groups for the rank-and-file and mid-ranking gardai have warned many times that they are not resourced or trained to deal with a major terrorist attack of the type that have become a depressingly regular sight on our TVs.

Following the Isil attacks in Paris in November 2015 the Government announced a doubling in the size of the Army Ranger Wing, which has still not taken place.

The Government's assessment of the current terror threat to Ireland is that while one is possible, it is "unlikely".

Now the question is whether that conclusion is based on hope or a competent security infrastructure. Let's hope we never have to find out.
Terrorists along with their supporters and mentors in Isil would like nothing more than a low turnout in the UK general election on Thursday. It would show that their heinous actions are working, literally terrorising many people to stay away from polling stations.

They don't believe in democracy anyway, yet use its freedoms to peddle their message of hate. Hopefully, the voters will come out in their millions to exercise their rights and show that, for all its faults, democracy is still the best political system we have.

It is also to be hoped that moderate voices continue to make it abundantly clear that the perpetrators of the dreadful killings in London and Manchester were not acting in the name of the vast majority of Muslim families.

The attacks will prompt calls for greater surveillance and is already leading to strong criticism of Theresa May for presiding over drastic cuts in police numbers when she was home secretary.

Jeremy Corbyn, who has undergone a political transformation in recent weeks, has demanded her resignation as prime minister. It's a politically opportunist call, but still embarrassing for the leader of a Conservative Party which has always prided itself as being strong on law and order.

Here in Ireland there is no room for complacency. This was brought home to us by the disclosure that one of the three London bombers lived in Rathmines for some time. He may well have been radicalised elsewhere, but our security services should get the resources needed to keep track of what the Taoiseach calls a "small number who are being monitored in respect of radicalisation".
Halle Berry attends the 16th Annual Chrysalis Butterfly Ball at a Private Residence on June 3, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Halle Berry attends the "Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art Of The In-Between" Costume Institute Gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 1, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)

Halle Berry attends the 16th Annual Chrysalis Butterfly Ball at a Private Residence on June 3, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Actor Halle Berry attends the 16th Annual Chrysalis Butterfly Ball at a Private Residence on June 3, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Halle Berry at the 16th Annual Chrysalis Butterfly Ball on June 3, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Chrysalis Butterfly Ball)

Halle Berry has denied she's expecting another child after she was pictured holding her swollen-looking stomach.

The 50-year-old Oscar-winner was one of the guests of honour at the Chrysalis Butterfly Ball on Sunday night, dazzling in a silver sequin fitted dress. And Hollywood being Hollywood, it was assumed that Berry was pregnant.

Like all women proud of their most recent meal, she seemed to cradle her belly, but as she wrote on Instagram later, she was simply cradling the steak and fries she consumed before the event.

"Can a girl have some steak and fries," she wrote after, poking fun at the rumours.

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Similarly, earlier this year Eva Longoria was subjected to the same pregnancy rumours when she was pictured on holidays with a not completely flat stomach (the horror!) putting it down to some cheese.

"I saw some pictures of myself really fat on a boat. I have to tell you all I did was eat cheese," she said in April.

"Everybody is saying I'm pregnant and I'm not I was just lactose intolerant apparently. I just had to share because my whole family is calling me asking me if I'm pregnant. Yes I look pregnant, but it was just a ball of cheese, a ball of cheese in my stomach."

Bravo, ladies.
Business guru and reality TV start Duncan Bannatyne tied the knot this weekend with his girlfriend of two years, Nigora Whitehorn.

The Dragon's Den star (68), represented his roots by wearing full Scottish attire including tartan kilt and sporran, which he topped off with a red bowtie.

The Uzbekistan-born bride opted for a stunning sheer-back, one-shoulder white mermaid style gown for the first day's ceremony, and wore traditional Uzbek attire for the celebrations on the second day.

The couple exchanged vows in celebrity holiday haunt Quinta do Lago in Portugal, where the multi-millionaire businessman owns a home. Guests included fellow 'I'm a Celeb' star Gillian McKeith, Bannatyne's six children and Whitehorn's young daughter Gabby.

my beautiful mother on a beautiful day A post shared by london sw7 (@gabbywhitehorn) on Jun 4, 2017 at 1:00pm PDT

The groom's daughter Abi Victoria said she was excited about the nuptials and indeed about welcoming her step mother's family into her own.

On one photo she posted to Instagram she said "I have a brand new sister", to which the bride's daughter responded "I 'm glad to be part of the family!!"

Congratulations to my dear friends Nigora and Duncan Bannatyne on their wedding last night in ever sunny Portugal #duncanbannatyne #nigorawhitehorn #bannatynewedding we had a blast, more partying today on wedding day 2 @duncan.bannatyne @wnigora A post shared by Camilla Crown Designs (@camilla_crown_designs) on Jun 4, 2017 at 2:07am PDT

"It was a perfect family wedding and I was overwhelmed by how beautiful Nigora looked," the groom told the UK's Daily Mail, "our wedding was filled with love, laughter and happiness.

"My new Uzkbek family are generous, caring, giving people and I am proud to be part of what is to me a wonderful new world. I feel very blessed and look forward to our life together as husband and wife."

The gorgeous bride @wnigora @duncan.bannatyne #bannatynewedding #nigorawhitehorn #duncanbannatyne A post shared by Camilla Crown Designs (@camilla_crown_designs) on Jun 4, 2017 at 2:40am PDT

"I am so proud to be Mrs Duncan Bannatyne," bride Nigora added.

Bannatyne, who lives in Teesside in North-East England met now-wife Nigora on a trip to the dentist, after he split from his second wife Joanna McCue.

Second day of Uzbek-Scottish wedding #uzbekwedding #duncanbannatyne #nigorabannatyne #happymoment A post shared by Irina (@irinaizm) on Jun 4, 2017 at 3:47pm PDT

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The couple became engaged during a holiday to Monaco last year.

Their nuptials were met with warm wishes from many, including Bannatyne's first wife Gail who sent the happy couple a message via social media.

Traditional bowing ceremony of the bride to the husband and her new family #bannatynewedding @wnigora @duncan.bannatyne A post shared by Camilla Crown Designs (@camilla_crown_designs) on Jun 5, 2017 at 10:31am PDT

"Wishing @DuncanBannatyne and @wnigora_nigora lots of love and happiness for the future. Have a amazing day! xx" she wrote.

This will be the entrepreneur's third marriage.

"I am so happy to have married my love, best friend and soul mate," he said.
For most people, 'etiquette' is just basic common sense, and skimming through a list of dos and don'ts before attending a wedding isn't their best use of time at all.

But for others, it seems, there is very much a need to familiarise themselves with how to behave during an occasion they've probably seen more than one example of in their lifetime, and a quick run down of definite don'ts could be well worth a look.

Notepads at the ready, then. Here are seven things to avoid doing if you want to stay on the newlyweds' good side after the big day...

1. Don't propose to your partner during the speeches

One would assume this goes without saying but after the weekend's story of the best man who took his wedding speech as an opportunity to announce a pregnancy and also propose to his girlfriend, it seems some points on etiquette need to be very much stressed.

Don't try to make the day about yourself, this day is for the happy couple and the happy couple alone (lord knows they've probably done, and paid, enough to deserve it). By all means have a heartfelt conversation about the future with your other half in private but ask them to marry you in you own time, and leave the pregnancy announcements until at least a day later.

2. Equally important, don't end your relationship with your partner during the speeches

There's nothing like a friend's wedding to make you feel completely loved up and appreciative of your own wonderful relationship with your adoring partner. Equally there's nothing like witnessing two people madly in love to shine a light on how absolutely toxic or dead-in-the-water your own relationship is, bringing you crashing to the conclusion that it must end and it must end right this second.

Whatever you're feeling, resist the urge to make any major relationship decisions during your friend's important (and expensive!) day. Keep everything light and convivial and out of the couple's way, and deal with your own relationship woes in your own time.

3. Don't wear a big white dress

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There are some absolutely stunning white summer dresses on the high street at the moment, and with the blurred lines between bridal and regular occasion wear now a real and genuine issue, that's exactly where they should stay when it comes to weddings. While dress codes have certainly become more fluid concepts for modern weddings (and no, that doesn't mean you can get away with your sweats or sexy Lycra gym gear) one rule remains for the wedding guest wearing white: Don't.

There has certainly been a trend lately of bridesmaids and the mother of the bride wearing off-white, cream or ivory to the wedding, but that issue will already have been well thrashed out between those in the bridal party behind closed doors.

4. Don't just 'bring along' a plus one

Quite a bizarre practise for Irish wedding guests sees people simply 'bringing along' uninvited extras to a wedding celebration and assuming that they can squeeze them in somewhere. These guests are probably unaware of course of the absolute military precision to which weddings are actually planned these days, whereby every succulent centrepiece, chalkboard sign and candy buffet bag has been counted, signed off and registered on a big bride's book somewhere and any changes to the their setting will immediately set off alarm bells in a hairless coordinator's office.

If you haven't been given a 'plus one' on your invites, you're going solo, end of, and don't even think about asking! On that note make sure you RSVP, and do so in a timely matter (eg before the date specified on the invite). Late RSVPs post all sorts of issues that if you're not getting married yourself, you need not know about.

5. Don't take the wedding as an opportunity to air your grievances

Weddings are very much family affairs, and often the only time that members get to see each other for an extended period... usually over a couple of celebratory beverages. They are often also the times when issues that have been bubbling below the surface can come to a head.

Not the time.

Leave your family feuds at the door and do your best to avoid getting into a situation where words are exchanged.

6. Don't post dodgy pics on social media

It seems couples are either displaying personal hashtags for the world and its mother to follow, or they're issuing an outright ban on phones, pigeon carriers, smoke signals and any other means of communication with the outside world during their big day. Whether the wedding is pro or anti social sharing, one thing for sure is there's no need to share any dodgy snaps you might have taken online. Everybody is well aware these days of how an image can go viral, so if anything occurred, funny or otherwise at the wedding, check with the couple if it's okay to share the 'lol's. Perhaps more importantly, don't go posting photos of the bride and/or groom when they're not looking their best. Nobody wants to be mates with that guy.

7. Don't assume your kids are invited

The second-degree burn-inducing hot potato that is 'children at weddings' is one of the most divisive issues when it comes to big day politics. Some people say it wouldn't be a wedding without them, others are absolutely horrified at the thought of them running around among the white linen tables and floral arches unsupervised. Whatever you think of children being invited to a wedding, just don't assume they are if they aren't mentioned on the invite. That goes for babies, toddlers, teenagers and your already-wed children. If their name's not on the list they're not getting in.
Its been a couple of months now since Anthony Joshuas stunning victory over Wladimir Klitschko, and the heavyweight champions next opponent looks like hes lined up.

Promoter Eddie Hearn has been working to get AJs next fight confirmed, and seemed to state a rematch with the Ukrainian was pretty much a done deal.

I feel like its Wladimir Klitschko, he told Sky Sports. The situation is the fight is happening unless we are told otherwise by Bernd Boente and Wladimir Klitschko, who have a meeting this week.

The decision is in Klitschko and his managers hands, but Hearn expects a rematch for Joshuas WBA super and IBF titles.

Nigeria, Dubai, America and Cardiff are being looked at to potentially host the bout, but even if Klitschko chooses not to fight AJ again Hearn has another fighter in mind  mandatory IBF challenger Kubrat Pulev.

Hearn said: We cant not fight Pulev, hes not going to go away and were not looking to shirk that fight.

If we dont fight Klitschko, the Pulev fight will 100 per cent be next. If we do fight Klitschko, the Pulev fight will 100 per cent be next after that. I think the IBF know that.

It looks like well see AJ back in the ring before long.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillersons New Zealand trip lasted just a few hours, but it was packed with drama as locals protested against his visit.

Reports suggest Tillerson was flipped the bird by many people as he arrived at Premier House in Wellington to meet Prime Minister Bill English.

Whilst there, Tillerson defended Donald Trumps recent decision to pull out of the Paris Agreement. Stuff.co.nz reports that he said: On Paris I think the president again felt it was simply not an agreement that served the American people well.

The former CEO of ExxonMobil did however assert Americas commitment to reducing greenhouse gases.

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Regardless, Greenpeace protesters were taking a stand against Americas decision to walk away from the Paris Agreement.

They scaled a crane near Parliament and hung a banner saying: Climate Denial, Huuge mistake! RESIST

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Despite the rain, protesters turned out in force. Water-filled condoms were even thrown at an effigy of Trump.

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And many New Zealanders were loving the spirit behind the protest.

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This reaction is perhaps unsurprising considering how unpopular Trump is in New Zealand  a Massy/Stuff survey found that of 40,000 Kiwis asked, only 15.2% would have voted for Trump.
Two people have so far been named as victims of Saturdays terror attack in London which claimed seven lives.

These are the confirmed victims of the attack and a further four people who have been reported missing since Saturday night.

Christine Archibald

30-year-old Archibald died in her fiances arms after being struck by the speeding van on London Bridge. She was from Canada.

Her family said she would have had no understanding of the callous cruelty that caused her death.

James McMullan

32-year-old McMullans sister said police have told her his bank card was found on a body at the scene of the attack.

Melissa McMullan told Sky News While our pain will never diminish, it is important for us all to carry on with our lives in direct opposition to those who wish to destroy us and remember that hatred is the refuge of small-minded individuals and will only breed more.

Words will never be able to match his essence, there will only ever be one James. Nowhere else will you find such humour and a unique personality, someone who puts friends and family above all others. He was an inspiration.

She added police told her they were unable to formally identify him until the coroners releases a report on Tuesday.

A French citizen

Foreign affairs minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said that a French citizen was killed in the attack, although he is yet to be named.

French newspapers reported that the man was from St Malo, Brittany, and worked in a bar in the London Bridge area.

These are the people who have been missing since the attack.

Sebastien Belanger

Belangers girlfriend Gerda Bennet said Belanger has not been seen since the attack.

I have emergency over here guys! My boyfriend is missing for 24h after London Bridge terror attack, she posted, adding on Monday: I still have no news.

His friends have set up a page on the social networking site in an attempt to find him.

Xavier Thomas

Thomas and his girlfriend Christine Delcros are said to have both been caught up in the attack, with Delcrois now in hospital, but Thomas still missing.

Nathalie Cros Brohan said on Facebook her sister Delcros was injured and taken to hospital, while Thomas is yet to be found.

I call on all those who have news of #Xavier #Thomas who is missing, she posted. Were terribly worried.

Sara Zelenak

Australian Zelenaks friends have appealed for help to find her on social media.

Pri Goncalves said on Facebook she was the last person to see her on Saturday night.

She wrote: I called her a lot of times but she never picked up the phone. She hasnt been seen since the attack and we are all scared, worried but hoping she will be all right.

Ignacio Echeverria

Family members have appealed on social media to trace the 39-year-old Spaniard.

Joaquin Echeverria wrote on Facebook he had been seen defending someone with his skateboard, adding: We keep looking for Ignacio, disappeared in the London attacks. We pray for the better. We would really appreciate any news.
Every vote is supposed to count in a general election  but there is one constituency where that does not feel like the case for many when they head to the polls.

Buckingham is the seat of John Bercow, the Speaker of the House of Commons, and convention dictates the main political parties do not put forward candidates to stand against him.

Not only does it deny constituents the chance to vote Conservative, Labour or Liberal Democrat, but some feel it also denies them proper representation in Parliament. The Speaker is unable to take part in debates, vote on motions  with the exception of when votes are tied  or speak on behalf of his constituents in the Commons.

It is a situation that has left many feeling disenfranchised.

When Bercow announced he would be standing again for the Speakers seat, Buckingham constituent Phil Harriss reignited a petition he created some years ago called Give Us A Voice, Not A Speaker!

It has gained around 4,500 signatures and the freelance writer hopes it will prompt the new Government to take a simple step towards modernising Parliament by passing an act ensuring that a by-election be held in the Speakers seat after the Speaker is appointed.

Harriss told the Press Association: Voters in Buckingham havent had democratic representation in Parliament since 2009 and their outrage is growing. As well as being undemocratic, the convention is iniquitous and archaic.

My children are reaching an age when they are just starting to vote. They are likely to feel completely disillusioned with the political system if their vote counts for nothing and they are not given the opportunity to support the major political parties.

Harriss is not alone.

Childrens lawyer Jane Page  who has lived in the constituency for 28 years  echoes their calls, adding the lack of opposition is dangerous in any democracy.

She said: I feel completely disenfranchised at the moment, both in terms of national and local politics.

Software designer and foster carer Tony Moore, 45  whos been a Buckingham constituent for 12 years  said: You dont get parties not putting candidates up because they havent got a chance of winning the seat so why should one MP with one particular job get such an advantage?

In 2015, the only parties to stand against Bercow were Ukip and the Greens.

Those two parties are standing again this year, along with independent candidate Scott Raven.

The 25-year-old teacher decided to run for the Buckingham seat because he believes the speakers tradition of depriving their constituents of an MP who can represent them nationally is a tradition that needs urgent attention.

He said: We all have a duty to step up and add positively to society. Im also hoping to get more people engaged in the political process who would otherwise feel disenfranchised.

Raven says his main policy focuses on education, health care and housing.

Im especially trying to encourage younger people to get involved by showing them that their opinions and beliefs are just as important and valued as everybody elses.

So how can the Government ensure constituents gain meaningful representation in Parliament, while maintaining the speakers impartiality?

Harriss suggests once a speaker is elected, he or she should resign their seat, forcing a by-election in that constituency that could be fought by all parties.

This alternative has been floating around for some time although Moore believes forcing constituents into another ballot battle would induce election fatigue.

Page suggests: Perhaps the only fair and democratic way forward is for the Speaker to be just that  the Speaker  and not be be a constituency MP but possibly a retired MP  someone who is focused on his position as Speaker.

Then perhaps all constituents in the UK will be afforded proper representation, and a voice through their MP.

A spokesperson for the Speaker told the Press Association Bercow himself tried to address the issue.

He added: Following the 2010 election, Mr Bercow asked the House of Commons Procedure Committee to look into the Speakers Seat convention.

The committee did so, and decided in favour of preserving the status quo. Any change to the Speakers seat would be a decision for the House of Commons, and not the Speaker.

And despite their unhappiness with the situation, many people in Buckingham admire Bercow and the job he does.

Caroline Carthew, 47  an office manager for a local business whos lived in Buckingham for 11 years  said: I feel that he is a great MP. He is given a tough time by some people as to his assumed lack of influence and inability to table issues directly. But in my experience he often can get the access you need to the right person, minister, department.

This sentiment is shared by many others, including Harriss who says he admires the position the Speaker has taken on political prisoners, gay rights and President Trump, and wishes there were more independently-minded MPs like Bercow in Parliament.

But Harriss does not believe that makes up for constituents having no voice in the Commons.

He said: If Bercow wins this election, the people of Buckingham constituency will have no representation in Parliament for the next five years, as the Speaker has no vote there.

When various political campaigns ask me to write to my MP, I reply to them, Whats the point?
The classified report was published online by The Intercept

A US federal contractor has been arrested following the leak of a classified intelligence report that suggests Russian hackers attacked at least one voting software supplier days before last year's presidential election.

Shortly after the release of the report by The Intercept on Monday, the Justice Department announced it had charged a government contractor in Georgia with leaking a classified report containing "top secret-level" information to an online news organisation.

The report the contractor allegedly leaked is dated May 5, the same date as the document The Intercept posted online.

The report suggests election-related hacking penetrated further into US voting systems than previously known.

The classified National Security Agency report does not say whether the hacking had any effect on election results. But it says Russian military intelligence attacked a US voting software company and sent spear-phishing emails to more than 100 local election officials at the end of October or beginning of November.

US intelligence agencies declined to comment and a Kremlin spokesman denied the report.

The document said Russian military intelligence "executed cyber espionage operations against a named US company in August 2016 evidently to obtain information on elections-related software and hardware solutions, according to information that became available in April 2017".

Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, denied the allegations on Tuesday, saying the Kremlin did not see "any evidence to prove this information is true".

He said Moscow categorically denies "the possibility" of the Russian government being behind it.

The hackers are believed to have then used data from that operation to create a new email account to launch a spear-phishing campaign targeting US local government organisations, the document said.

"Lastly, the actors send test emails to two non-existent accounts ostensibly associated with absentee balloting, presumably with the purpose of creating those accounts to mimic legitimate services," it said.

The information in the leaked document seems to go further than the US intelligence agencies' January assessment of the hacking that occurred.

"Russian intelligence obtained and maintained access to elements of multiple US state or local electoral boards," that assessment said.

The Department of Homeland Security "assesses that the types of systems Russian actors targeted or compromised were not involved in vote tallying".

The Intercept contacted NSA and the national intelligence director's office about the document and both agencies asked for it not to be published.

US intelligence officials then asked The Intercept to redact certain sections. The Intercept said some material was withheld at the agencies' request because it was not "clearly in the public interest".

In its announcement of the arrest, the Justice Department said Reality Leigh Winner, 25, of Augusta, Georgia, has been charged in US District Court with copying classified documents and mailing them to a reporter with an unnamed news organisation.

Prosecutors did not say which federal agency Ms Winner worked for, but FBI agent Justin Garrick said in an affidavit filed with the court that she had previously served in the Air Force and held a top-secret security clearance.

Ms Winner's lawyer Titus Thomas Nichols declined to confirm whether she is accused of leaking the NSA report received by The Intercept.

"My client has no (criminal) history, so it's not as if she has a pattern of having done anything like this before," Mr Nichols said.

"She is a very good person. All this craziness has happened all of a sudden."

In affidavits filed with the court, Mr Garrick said the government was notified of the leaked report by the news outlet that received it. He said the agency that housed the report determined only six employees had made physical copies, and Ms Winner was one of them.

Mr Garrick said investigators found Ms Winner had exchanged email with the news outlet using her work computer.

The affidavit said Mr Garrick interviewed Ms Winner at her home on Saturday and she "admitted intentionally identifying and printing the classified intelligence reporting at issue" and mailing it to the news outlet.

Mr Nichols said: "If there is a confession, the government has not shown it to me."

AP
BRITISH Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has said there is "no reason" to cancel Donald Trump's state visit despite the US President's attacks on London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

Mr Khan has led calls for the planned state visit to be scrapped after President Trump fired off a series of critical tweets over the Mayor's handling of the London Bridge terror attack, mocking Mr Khan's comments that there was "no reason to be alarmed" over troops on the streets.

The president then brushed aside criticism of his original posting, tweeting: "Pathetic excuse by London Mayor Sadiq Khan who had to think fast on his 'no reason to be alarmed' statement."

Mr Johnson, a former London mayor, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The invitation has been issued and accepted and I see no reason to change that, but as far as what Sadiq Khan has said, about the reassurances that he has offered the people of London, I think he was right to speak in that way."

He went on: "I do not wish to interpose myself into a row between the Mayor of London and the President of the United States, I've been there myself, I've done that.

"What I will say is that as a former holder of Sadiq's office is that I think he is entirely right to say what he said to reassure people of his city about the presence of armed officers on the streets."

Expand Close Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan arrives in Potters Field Park for an event for the victims of Saturday nights attacks. Photo: Reuters / Facebook

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Whatsapp Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan arrives in Potters Field Park for an event for the victims of Saturday nights attacks. Photo: Reuters

Mr Khan previously said that Mr Trump was wrong about "many things" and that his state visit should not go ahead.

Asked about the spat with Mr Trump, Mr Khan told ITV1's Good Morning Britain: "We're not kids in a playground, he's the president of the US. I'm too busy to respond to his tweets, isn't he busy?"

He denied he was stoking up a feud which went back to 2016, when the mayor described the then presidential candidate's calls for a ban on Muslim entry into the US as "ignorant".

"It takes two to tango. I'm not tangoing with this guy, I've got better things to do," said Mr Khan. "From Saturday until now my focus has been dealing with the aftermath of the horrific attack. Working with the police, security services, the Government; that's why I've not responded to the tweets from Donald Trump."

Expand Close US President Donald Trump at the White House yesterday. Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images / Facebook

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Asked why he opposes a state visit, Mr Khan said: "Let's not overdo it, I'm not in a war with Donald Trump. I've been clear that we have a special relationship with the USA, it's very important we have a close relationship with the president, whoever he is.

"My point about the state visit was this - state visits are given to leaders of countries who are respected and have done their dues and earned a state visit and in the circumstances where there is the Muslim ban in place, in the circumstances where he changed the refugee programme, I thought it was inappropriate and premature.

"That's not to say that Prime Minister May was wrong to go and see President Trump, it's not wrong. That's not to say we shouldn't have close relationships with the USA. Some of the messages of support I've received from not just US mayors, US politicians but ordinary Americans has just raised my spirits. But every day in London Americans contribute to our economy, contribute to our way of life and culturally."

Speaking on Sky News, Mr Johnson said Mr Khan was "saying something really very reasonable and sensible about how there was no need for the public to be alarmed by the presence of armed officers on the streets".

He said: "This is, frankly, a trivial controversy by comparison with the enormity of what happened on Saturday night and the importance of getting the right response."

Mr Johnson added that Mr Khan had a "perfect right and indeed a duty" to speak up for London.
An Imam has warned that an Islamic extremist terrorist attack could happen in Ireland and a "cancer of hate" is being allowed to flourish in some Irish Muslim communities.

Shaykh Dr Umar Al-Qadri, of the Islamic centre in Blanchardstown, Dublin, said last night that he has warned repeatedly that more needs to be done to stop young Muslims being radicalised in Ireland.

He said the London Bridge atrocity and reports one of the killers had lived in Dublin were "absolutely shocking and worrying".

"But it's something that I have been saying for the past few years and now it's confirmed," he told the Irish Independent.

"I have been warning publicly that in Ireland there are individuals that are extremists and somehow they are being provided with a safe haven by certain Muslim leaders.

"By safe haven I mean that they are not being called out, they are not being identified, they are not being excluded, not being excommunicated from the community.

Expand Close Shaykh Dr Umar Al-Qadri. Photo: Gerry Mooney / Facebook

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"In fact, they have the freedom to come to the mosques to spread their cancerous ideology to others in the Muslim community."

Asked if a terrorist attack could happen in Ireland, he replied: "I believe that these extremists live in Ireland.

"This is a safe haven for them. So it would be very stupid of them to actually do something here because they would be raising the alarm and everything would be uptight, the security, and all that.

"But I think, at the moment, they have so much hatred that I would say that it is possible and God forbid that it happens. That would be my greatest concern."

Dr Al-Qadri said he did not know Rachid Redouane, who spent a period living in Rathmines in south Dublin.

Meanwhile, residents in leafy Rathmines have expressed their shock and surprise after it emerged Redouane had lived in the area in recent times.

Sue Manchesney (44), of Rathmines, said: "I think it's really scary that he lived here. It's such a small community.

"My husband is French and tells me an attack can happen anywhere.

"His brother lived over a restaurant in Paris that was attacked by terrorists and a lot of people he knew were killed in the restaurant.

"It's very worrying to think one of the attackers could be living on our own doorstep. London, Dublin, or anywhere in the world could be next to be attacked."

Claire O'Dwyer (24), a researcher who lives in Rathmines, said: "I don't believe that the fact one of them was living in Rathmines makes this area any less safe than anywhere else.

"You are much more likely to be killed crossing the road than being killed by a terrorist.

"I don't think that people should be feeling any more fearful after getting the news one of them lived here.

"I think the chances are really low that anything will happen here."

Read more - London terror attacks: Everything we know so far as first victim named and IS claims responsibility

IT specialist Gareth Wescott (34), who is originally from the UK, said it will take leadership to curb extremist ideologies spreading.

He added: "I am a Londoner who has been living in Rathmines for the past 10 years.

"I'm surprised at the news about him living in Rathmines but I wouldn't feel over-alarmed about it.

"I grew up in a very diverse neighbourhood in London and I don't think anyone here should feel any panic.

"We need balanced responsible leadership now and I think that is lacking when you think about the tweets of Trump, who just creates more divisions."
An Irish ID card, possibly issued by the Garda National Immigration Bureau, was found on one of the men shot dead by police

One of the London Bridge attackers, who was carrying an Irish identity card when he was shot dead by police, is believed to have used this country as a back door entry into the UK.

Last night Garda security and immigration officers were carrying out background checks on the man named as Rachid Redouane and, in particular, on his activities while he was living here.

Anti-terrorist officers in London are continuing to check whether he was the owner of the identity card and have not made any official request yet to gardai to supply them with a background report on the man named in the document.

The man, who is Moroccan-born, sought unsuccessfully to be granted asylum in the UK but then came here and in 2012 married a UK-born woman.

Redouane (30) used his marriage to an EU citizen to be granted residency status.

The man listed an address in Rathmines in south Dublin while he completed a series of required tests and checks to convince the Garda National Immigration Unit (GNIB) and the Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) that he should be granted an identity card.

Expand Close Metropolitan Police undated handout photo of Rachid Redouane who has been named as one of the men shot dead by police following the terrorist attack on London Bridge and Borough Market. Photo: Metropolitan Police /PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Metropolitan Police undated handout photo of Rachid Redouane who has been named as one of the men shot dead by police following the terrorist attack on London Bridge and Borough Market. Photo: Metropolitan Police /PA

He did not come to the notice of any Garda unit in relation to criminal or terrorist-related activities during his stay here and there is no evidence that he was radicalised while living here.

Redouane came back here for a short time last year to update his status. Shortly after that, he separated from his wife.

Under European Treaty rights, a person from outside the EU may qualify for residency here or, ultimately, citizenship. Last night the authorities were establishing whether the man obtained EU treaty rights by applying through registered post to the relevant unit of the residence division of INIS.

A decision on a residence card can take up to six months to be reached and in the meantime, the applicant can be issued with a temporary immigration stamp on their passport for a maximum of six months.

It is understood that the man's wife gave birth while he was living here and he later moved to the UK.

While those background checks were being carried out yesterday, Garda Commissioner Noirin O'Sullivan chaired a meeting of her security and intelligence units at Garda headquarters for more than three hours. She had also chaired a similar meeting on Sunday.

During the talks, it was agreed that Ireland's terror threat level should remain at moderate, meaning that an attack is possible but not likely. The threat level was raised to moderate from low in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo attack in January 2015, and has not changed.

Stringent efforts are made to find out the background status of all applicants for asylum or residency status.

Under the so-called Dublin Convention, applications for asylum should be lodged at the first port of entry within the EU.

So, as an island state this should technically reduce the numbers seeking asylum here.

However, many turn up without any documentation and this complicates efforts to find out if the applications and allegations of torture made by some claimants are genuine.

A lot of them arrive outside the offices of INIS and GNIB without any evidence of how they have arrived in this jurisdiction.

The number of asylum seekers has dropped dramatically from the initial influx of 12,000 in 2002, to less than 3,000.

Statistics that show only one in 10 applicants is successful and the direct provision system, as well as refusal of the right to work, recently overturned in the Supreme Court, are also seen as factors in the drop.
The British government will consider new powers to block access to extremist websites if internet companies fail to act over online radicalisation, Theresa May has made clear.

The British prime minister said last night that her preferred option to combat extremism being spawned online was for internationally agreed regulation, but if that fails she is prepared to go it alone.

Mrs May also said Muslim women should be free to choose whether to wear burkas but risk being treated as "second-class citizens" if they do not learn English.

She said it was vital for Muslim women to be able to "participate fully in our society" after making a speech in which she called for better integration of minority communities as one of the solutions to combating terrorism.

Mrs May has said that the internet can provide a "safe space" for terrorist recruitment, and the perpetrators of Saturday's attack on London are said to have become radicalised after watching videos by hate preachers online. Mrs May secured an agreement at last month's G7 summit for world leaders to put pressure on Facebook, Google and other internet companies to address the problem and stop material such as bomb-making manuals being circulated online.

Mrs May said: "I think it is important we do get together internationally and look at the possibility of regulating cyberspace because what has developed as generally a huge benefit for people, is being misused because it's being used as a tool in helping to put together attacks."

However, Mrs May said she would bring in legislation to make Britain "the safest place for people online" if she did not secure the agreements she is seeking. Aides confirmed that Mrs May has not ruled out the idea of legislation that would enable the government to block access to extremist material.

She said one of her first priorities if she is re-elected on Thursday will be to set up a Commission on Counter-Extremism to review ways of preventing radicalisation. ( Daily Telegraph London)

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]
Stephen Hawking, regularly referred to as the world's smartest man, has backed Jeremy Corbyn.

The Conservatives would be a "disaster" for public services, the world-renowned astrophysicist said.

Im voting Labour because another five years of Conservative government would be a disaster for the NHS, the police and other public services," he said, after a meeting with Cambridge MP Daniel Zeichner.

The official endorsement comes soon after Professor Hawking used the same word about Jeremy Corbyn, though for very different reasons.

"I regard Corbyn as a disaster," he said. "His heart is in the right place and many of his policies are sound, but he has allowed himself to be portrayed as a left wing extremist.

The cosmologist has supported Labour for much of his life and backed Mr Zeichner, his local Labour candidate, at the 2015 election. This time around he is competing with Lib Dem Julian Huppert, who won the seat from him in 2010 but went on to lose it again in 2015.

I was delighted to meet Professor Hawking again and receive his support for my re-election and a Labour government," Mr Zeichner said.

( Independent News Service)
Not known for acts of wild abandon, Theresa May has revealed the "naughtiest" thing she ever did as a child.

In a wide-ranging interview with Julie Etchingham of ITVs Tonight programme, the Prime Minister addressed issues including her record on security following the terror attacks in Manchester and London, and Brexit.

The interview also covered aspects of Ms May's personal life, touching upon the difficulty she faced with the death of her parents shortly after she was married.

When discussing her childhood, Mrs May, who has previously described herself as a "goody two shoes", told ITV she was "bookish as a child" and enjoyed learning.

"I was an only child, so of course I didn't have brothers and sisters who I was playing with and so obviously I had friends but sometimes had to just go our and, sort of, do things on my own," she said.

After being asked the naughtiest thing she had ever done, Mrs May, who grew up in Sussex, initially seemed at a loss to think of an occasion she had stepped out of line.

"Oh, goodness me. Well, I suppose... gosh. Do you know, I'm not quite sure. I can't think what the naughtiest thing...," she said.

But upon being encouraged by her interviewer, the apparently sheepish PM said: "Well, nobody is ever perfectly behaved, are they? I mean, you know, there are times when ... I have to confess, when me and my friend, sort of, used to run through the fields of wheat."

The farmers werent too pleased about that, she added.

In the final days before the general election Ms May is attempting to push the Conservatives campaign past the issue of police cuts from her years as Home Secretary after Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called for her to resign over the issue in the wake of the recent terror attacks.

She is expected to attempt to bring the focus of the campaign back on to Brexit, putting forward plans for a board of trade that would push business leaders efforts in the UK to seek out new trade opportunities abroad, and to promote British products.

The opportunities for our economy from Brexit are great, and I am determined the benefits of new jobs and prosperity will be spread equally across the United Kingdom  helping to build a stronger and more united country, she will say.
File photo: People walk past the entrance to the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris REUTERS/Charles Platiau//File Photo

A man has been shot and injured by police in Paris after attempting to attack an officer with a hammer near Notre-Dame Cathedral.

It is understood the attacker went after the officer while he was on patrol on the esplanade in front of the cathedral. The officer then used his weapon to shoot the attacker, who was taken to hospital.

The incident happened at around 4.30pm local time on Tuesday, and large numbers of police cars filled the area on the Ile de Cite island in the Seine River as passers-by were urged to avoid the scene.

Witnesses described a dramatic police operation in the tourist-filled area.

Lawrence Langner, a 73-year-old American, said he suddenly heard a commotion and two detonations like gunshots.

Journalist David Metreau, who said his office overlooks the square that fronts Notre-Dame, tweeted there were two blasts that sounded like shots. He posted a photo of a body on the ground.

Police said the operation was over about an hour after it started.

Paris remains under high security after a string of Islamic extremist attacks in recent years, including several targeting police officers and security personnel.

In April, an attacker opened fire on a police van on the Champs Elysees, killing one and seriously injuring two others. The attacker was shot dead by police.
A gunman who killed a man and took a woman hostage before dying in a police shoot-out had been acquitted of plotting a terror attack at a Sydney army base years earlier, Australian police said.

The siege on Monday at an apartment building in a Melbourne suburb was being treated as an act of terror, but Victoria state police chief commissioner Graham Ashton said the gunman appeared to have acted alone and not as part of any ongoing plot or threat.

"There is nothing that we've found thus far that would suggest to us that this was anything that was ... planned or done in concert with others," Mr Ashton said.

The gunman, Yacqub Khayre, 29, was one of two men acquitted by a jury in 2010 of plotting a suicide attack in Sydney. Three people were convicted of conspiracy for that plot, which police thwarted before it could be executed.

Khayre, a Somali refugee, served prison sentences for arson and violent crimes unrelated to extremism before being paroled in November, Mr Ashton said.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said he would speak with state leaders on Friday about changing state laws so that dangerous criminals were not released from prison early on parole.

"There have been too many cases of people on parole committing violent offences of this kind," Mr Turnbull told reporters.

On Monday, Khayre booked an appointment with an escort in an apartment building in Brighton and arrived carrying a shotgun, sparking a two-hour siege.

Police were called after neighbours heard the shotgun discharge as Khayre killed a Chinese-born Australian man employed by the escort agency in the lobby.

Khayre then called police to say he had a hostage in an apartment and made threats to her if police intervened. They tried to negotiate with him before Khayre walked out of the building firing the shotgun.

One police officer was shot in the neck and ear and two officers suffered wounds to their hands, but none of the wounds was life-threatening, Mr Ashton said. The woman was not harmed.

Khayre spoke about al Qaida in phone calls to police and to Seven Network television, and Mr Ashton said the gunman possibly had plotted to lure police into an ambush. But it was too early to know if the gunman set out to target police or "seized the opportunity he thought was presented to him last evening," Mr Ashton said.

Mr Ashton said there was nothing to link the violence with a van and knife attacks in London.

Police did not regard the Islamic State group's claim of responsibility for the Melbourne violence as evidence that it was planned.

The Seven Network said it had received a phone call on Monday afternoon from a distressed woman who said she was involved in a hostage situation.

"We asked her more information, at that point a man came on the same line and said, 'This is for IS, this is for al Qaida'," Seven news director Simon Pristel said.

"We asked for more information and that's when he hung up," Mr Pristel added.

Police said the Melbourne siege was the fifth terrorist incident in Australia since the threat level was lifted in September 2014. Another 12 plots were disrupted.

AP
The financial district of Doha, Qatar, as a diplomatic crisis isolates the nation (Saurabh Das/AP)

Kuwait has begun mediating a diplomatic crisis in the Gulf after several Arab nations cut ties with Qatar, moving to isolate the energy-rich travel hub from the outside world.

US President Donald Trump appeared to back those isolating Qatar over allegations it supports terror groups and its relations with Iran.

Qatar has denied funding extremists and its foreign minister struck a defiant tone, even after worried residents were seen panic-buying in grocery shops in the capital, Doha.

Qatar relies heavily on food imports, especially those coming over its border with Saudi Arabia, and the Arab nations opposing it have cut off their land, sea and air routes into the country.

"On this scale, it's unprecedented," said Hatoon al-Fassi, a Saudi historian of Gulf Affairs and Women's Studies at Qatar University.

The biggest diplomatic crisis in the Persian Gulf since the 1991 US-led war against Iraq pits several nations against Qatar, which is home to some 10,000 American troops and a major US military base.

While the US military has said it would not change its posture at Qatar's Al-Udeid Air Base, Mr Trump wrote a series of tweets calling into question his commitment to the peninsular nation.

"During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology," he tweeted. "Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!"

He later tweeted: "Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!"

Mr Trump, who travelled to Saudi Arabia for a recent conference of Arab nations, told Qatar's ruler at the time that "we've been friends now for a long time". Qatari officials declined to immediately comment.

In an earlier interview with Doha-based satellite news network Al-Jazeera, Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said Kuwait's ruler had asked Qatar's emir to delay giving a speech about the crisis late on Monday night.

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani "received a call from the emir of Kuwait asking him to postpone it in order to give time to solve the crisis," Sheikh Mohammed said.

Still, the minister struck a defiant tone, rejecting those "trying to impose their will on Qatar or intervene in its internal affairs".

The state-run Kuwait News Agency reported Kuwaiti ruler Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al Sabah spoke with Qatar's emir on Monday evening and urged him to give a chance to efforts that could ease tensions. The call came after a senior Saudi royal arrived in Kuwait with a message from the Saudi king. An Omani diplomat travelled to Qatar on Monday.

Sheikh Sabah left on Tuesday night for Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, the Philippines announced it will temporarily suspend the deployment of Filipino workers to Qatar. Labour Secretary Silvestre Bello said the ban took effect on Tuesday, but there is no plan yet to repatriate the more than 200,000 Filipino workers in Qatar. More than a million Filipinos reside and work in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain.

Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates announced on Monday they would cut diplomatic ties with Qatar. Yemen's internationally backed government, which has lost the capital and large portions of the war-torn country, also cut relations with Qatar, as did the Maldives and one of conflict-ridden Libya's competing governments.

Football's governing body Fifa has said it remains in regular contact with Qatar, which will host the 2022 World Cup. Qatar just finished one of the stadiums that will host the tournament, though others have yet to be built.

Saudi Arabia, the powerhouse among those cutting ties to Qatar, said it did so due to the country's "embrace of various terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at destabilising the region," including the Muslim Brotherhood, al Qaida, the Islamic State group and militants supported by Iran in the kingdom's restive Eastern Province.

Qatar has long denied funding extremists, although Western officials have accused it of allowing or even encouraging funding of Sunni extremists like al Qaida's branch in Syria, once known as the Nusra Front.

The Gulf countries ordered their citizens out of Qatar and gave Qataris abroad 14 days to return home to their peninsular nation, whose only land border is with Saudi Arabia. The countries also said they would eject Qatar's diplomats.

The nations also cut air and sea traffic between them and Qatar. Trucks carrying food have begun lining up on the Saudi side of the border, apparently stranded.

Qatar Airways, one of the region's major long-haul carriers, has suspended all flights to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain until further notice. On its website, the carrier said the suspension of its flights took effect on Tuesday and customers are being offered a refund.

Saudi Arabia meanwhile said it had revoked Qatar Airways' operating licences and closed the airline's offices in the kingdom.

The Saudi ports authority said Qatari-flagged shipping vessels are barred from docking. It said it ordered shipping agents not to receive any vessels owned by Qatari companies or Qatari nationals and not to unload any goods from Qatar.

AP
US President Donald Trump for a second day lashed out at London's mayor on Twitter in the wake of a deadly terror attack in the city.

Mr Trump stated on Twitter yesterday that London Mayor Sadiq Khan had offered a "pathetic excuse" and "had to think fast on his 'no reason to be alarmed' statement".

Mr Trump's tweet renews his mischaracterisation of Mr Khan's statement to London residents following a vehicle and knife attack that left seven people dead and dozens injured. The mayor had told London residents not to be concerned by a stepped-up police presence in the city after the incident.

In a Sunday tweet, Mr Trump mischaracterised Mr Khan's remarks by suggesting the mayor had said there was "no reason to be alarmed" about the attack itself. Mr Khan's spokesman said he was too busy to respond to Mr Trump's "ill-informed" tweet. Yesterday, a spokesman for Mr Khan responded to the latest statement from Mr Trump, saying: "Nothing has changed since yesterday." He said: "The mayor is focused on dealing with Saturday's horrific and cowardly attack and working with the police, the emergency services and the government to keep London safe."

Earlier yesterday, before the president's latest outburst, British Prime Minister Theresa May was pushed hard before saying Mr Trump was "wrong" to attack Mr Khan. After avoiding several attempts by reporters to get her to condemn the US president, Mrs May was asked what it would take for her to criticise Mr Trump.

Instead, she reiterated her disappointment over his decision to pull out of the Paris agreement on climate change. After some further heckling, she went further. "Sadiq Khan is doing a good job," she told a news conference in central London. "It's wrong to say anything else."

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The war of words was the latest episode in a long simmering feud between Mr Trump and Mr Khan, a Muslim who was elected as London's mayor in May 2016. After his election last year, Mr Khan tweeted criticism of then-candidate Mr Trump's rhetoric, saying that his "ignorant view of Islam could make both our countries less safe. It risks alienating mainstream Muslims." Mr Trump later challenged Mr Khan to an IQ test during an interview on ITV.
President Donald Trump's decision to pull the US out of the Paris climate accord will prove only a temporary setback to reducing greenhouse gas emissions because "disaster still looms" unless the world moves urgently on the issue, California governor Jerry Brown has said.

Speaking during a clean energy conference in Beijing, he said China, European countries and US state governors will for now fill the gap left by the federal government's move to abdicate leadership on the issue.

"Nobody can stay on the sidelines. We can't afford any dropouts in the tremendous human challenge to make the transition to a sustainable future," Mr Brown said.

"Disaster still looms and we've got to make the turn."

Mr Trump's decision to leave the Paris accord has drawn heavy criticism within the US and internationally, including in China.

The president argued the deal favours emerging economies such as China and India at the expense of US workers.

Without mentioning Mr Trump by name, Mr Brown told attendees at a forum on electric vehicles that "there are still people in powerful places who are resisting reality, who are resisting the obvious science that we know governs our lives".

Later, when asked what could prompt the US to return to the forefront of climate change efforts, he replied: "Science, facts, the world, the marketplace."

Mr Brown and Chinese science and technology minister Wan Gang signed an agreement on behalf of their respective governments calling for greater collaboration on countering climate change.

Mr Wan did not publicly address Mr Trump's move on the accord, which has been ratified by almost 150 countries.

Mr Brown has signed similar collaboration agreements over the past several days with leaders in two Chinese provinces, Jiangsu and Sichuan.

The US has long been a leader in the clean energy arena, driving innovations in electric cars, renewable power and other sectors of the industry.

California, with the largest economy of any US state, as well as some of the strictest climate controls, has been at the forefront of the sector.

Although China has in recent years overtaken the US as the world leader in renewable power development, it has struggled to integrate its sprawling wind and solar facilities into an electricity grid still dominated by coal-fuelled power plants.

At the same time, Chinese leaders face growing public pressure at home to reduce the health-damaging smog that blankets many urban areas.

The government has pledged greenhouse gas emissions will peak no later than 2030 under the Paris pact, and then start to fall.

It has cancelled the planned construction of more than 100 new coal-fired power plants and plans to invest at least 280 billion in green energy projects by the end of the decade.

Its consumption of coal fell in 2016 for a third consecutive year, and it could meet its 2030 target a decade early.

US Energy Secretary Rick Perry is also due to attend this week's energy meeting in Beijing. Observers say delegates from other countries will be listening closely to the former Texas governor to gauge how Trump administration policies will shape global energy trends.

Mr Trump is a strong advocate of boosting US fossil fuel industries, in particular coal mining, which suffered a steep decline in production during the tenure of former President Barack Obama.

AP
Larry Thompson, pictured in Washington in 2002, is heading up the independence team looking into VW following the engine emissions scandal (Toyokazu Kosugi/AP)

The independent monitor overseeing Volkswagen's efforts to prevent a repeat of its diesel emissions scandal has said his "initial impression" is that the company is making a serious effort to change its ways.

Former US deputy attorney general Larry Thompson must certify the policies and practices Volkswagen is putting in place to ensure compliance with anti-fraud and environmental laws.

The appointment of an independent monitor was a condition of Volkswagen's guilty plea to US criminal charges.

Mr Thompson said his "initial impression is that the company is taking this very seriously and is not waiting for the monitor" to make proposals.

Volkswagen has agreed to pay up to 25 billion US dollars (19.3 billion) to settle civil and criminal cases in the US related to its emissions scandal, in which it equipped cars with software to cheat on diesel emission tests.

Seven former Volkswagen employees were criminally charged, one of whom has pleaded guilty. At the time the company's agreement to plead guilty was announced in January, US prosecutors did not exclude charging more people.

Volkswagen also faces criminal investigations and investor lawsuits in Germany.

Mr Thompson, 72, said he and his staff of about 22 will be reviewing documents, interviewing employees and making recommendations in what he said would be "a dialogue" with the company.

He said the team would work out of offices at Volkswagen's headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany, and Herndon, Virginia, where the company has its US corporate base. They may also visit the headquarters of Volkswagen's Audi division in Ingolstadt, Germany.

Mr Thompson said his team will speak to people who have left the company since the scandal broke in September 2015, but he declined to say whether that would include former chief executive Martin Winterkorn who resigned days after the US Environmental Protection Agency announced its notice of violation.

Mr Winterkorn has testified in the German parliament that he did not know about the software cheating until shortly before the scandal became public.

Mr Thompson said he and Volkswagen will "work towards the common goal of making this company better".

His mandate during his three-year term is to review the company's attempts to change its procedures and culture, including by empowering employees to speak up.

"I will have complete access to the company's information" during that process, he said. At the end, he will report on whether the company has implemented effective safeguards.

His review, he said, looks to the company's future conduct and does not aim primarily at uncovering past wrongdoing since the company has admitted it is at fault. But assessing what happened "will be part of our report, why it happened and what is being done to make sure it doesn't happen again".

He noted that Volkswagen was "not only a large company, it's a complex company" with an array of brands and more than 600,000 employees working in more than 100 countries.

"It's a big task to get my arms around all of this," he told journalists in Volkswagen's high-rise offices overlooking the Wolfsburg factory.

"We have a long road to go... I think the company wants to get this behind it."

AP
Farhan Akhtar who played the character Imraan Qureshi in one of the most loved films 'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara' has taken off to Spain again!

The actor has taken some time off and has planned this mini trip of sorts with a little help from his friends.

Farhan has also met his old friend Claudia and others, in Spain and is exulted about it. The actor has also posted an image on his Facebook page and wrote,"Meeting old friends .. Claudia worked on ZNMD and Dil Dhadakne Do..#festival#primaVera#musiclove#funtimes #barcelona"

Meeting old friends .. Claudia worked on ZNMD and Dil Dhadakne Do.. #festival #primaVeraA https://t.co/ByWzSPOaAt  Farhan Akhtar (@FarOutAkhtar) June 2, 2017

Farhan has some really fond memories of the place as 'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara' was extensively shot in Spain, the actor is surely going to feel nostalgic with a bucket full of memories rushing back as he shares a special bond with the country.

ZNMD had gone off to become one of the most loved films of all times!. In fact after the release of the film, Spain had suddenly become the top destination for people to plan their ideal vacation with either friends or family!

Farhan had also shared an interesting image on his social media account saying, which read, "Off to Spain next week to get high with a little help from my friends...bring it On!! #funtimes #skydivempuriabrava #ultimateplayground.. some days back, It seems as if the actor just like the film, this time around too has some adventures planned!

The actor left Tuesday night. Farhan recently has finished shoot for his upcoming film 'Lucknow Central' which is all slated to release this September!
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From his hairy chest, being Khiladi Kumar on-screen to now becoming the king of suave, Akshay Kumar's journey in films and off-screen is nothing short of an inspiration.

Bollywood's action star completed a rollicking 25 years and his transformation has left many spellbound. Here's taking a look at how Akshay went on to becoming a thinking woman's action hero and broke many stereotypes!

1. From Bhatia to Kumar! There's more to Akshay Kumar than his hairy chest

Twitter

Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia was not always what you see him today. Akshay is now treated as a romantic hero, a patriot and even someone who has a brilliant comic timing but way back when he made his debut, Akshay's middle name was Khiladi Kumar.

Khiladi screengrab

When he began his acting career in the 1990s, he primarily starred in action films and was known for his appearances in the "Khiladi series."What started from Khiladi in 1992 ended recently with Khiladi 786 in 2012.

Akshay Kumar has been a self-made man who despite having a hairy chest and Khiladi tag gained fame for his drama, romance and comedy roles which proved that over the years he's become an all rounder and boy, we are glad.

2. Akshay proved nepotism didn't exist in the 90s

Mohra screengrab

While the Khans always needed 'Prem' and 'Rahul' as a famous character to keep them going, Akshay Kumar has never had one single character name to himself which was a patent.

Not many know but Akshay Kumar worked as a background dancer in various films and even modelled for Ad films before he was signed for a lead role by producer Pramod Chakravarthy for the movie Deedar.

Deedar poster

Many of his initial films received poor reviews until Mohra which went on to become the highest-grossing film of the year. With many Bollywood stars currently complain of not getting the right break in the film fraternity, Akshay made his debut alongside Randhir Kapoor's daughter Karisma Kapoor, Salim Khan's son Salman Khan and proved there has never been such thing as nepotism existing in his life and that a guy from Chandni Chowk can be a huge star.

3. Akshay upgraded his fashion to another level

india.comThere is no denying that Akshay Kumar's fashion sense has evolved over the years. The actor was not always good looking or the best dressed one in the industry. He has been in Bollywood for the past 25 years and has undergone major changes, such as his hairy chest is now a thing of the past.

india.com

He even coloured his hair for Namaste London but thankfully, that's gone too. And now cut to 2017, Akshay continues to be suave with the fittest body at the age of 49, only striving to be the biggest heartthrob of the country.

An important day in my life with the most important people in the world to me, my family #NationalFilmAwards A post shared by Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) on May 3, 2017 at 4:40am PDT

4. From grooving to Su Su Aa Gaya Main to promoting Swach Bharat

Little did Akshay know while dancing on Su Su Aa Gaya from Tarazu, that he would join PM Modi's Swach Bharat drive and make 'Toilet', a star in his next big flick. The former short-order cook and martial arts instructor-turned-film star supports every cause that is close to his heart and we are glad that we don't hear songs like this in his movies anymore.

5. From a playboy to a doting father and a darling husband

He was the original ladies man of Bollywood who broke many hearts after he tied the knot with Twinkle Khanna. The actor has had a colourful history in his personal life. There were reports of him dating Shilpa Shetty, Raveena Tandon and Rekha to name a few. Akshay and Raveena Tandon's love story blossomed on the sets of Mohra, while Shilpa and Akki were up, close and personal during Main Khiladi, Tu Anari.

Remember the song, Churake Dil Mera. Well, the country found them one of the hottest couples of B-town but Akshay chose to marry someone most unexpected.

Filmi beat

He got married to the now most celebrated columnist of India, Tina Khanna aka Mrs Funnybones. The two tied the knot right after Twinkle's Mela bombed. Akshay-Twinkle are rarely seen at award functions or talk shows but she made a rare exception and came on last season's Koffee With Karan, where Akshay took Karan Johar, his wifey and his audience by surprise.

Twitter

Akshay sang a song for her on the talk show and even slow danced with her and went on to prove that 15 years into the marriage is just a number. They are the most sorted Bollywood couple with no controversies, no flings and no dramas (not that we know of).

6. Bollywood's man for all seasons

He is the most bankable star of the Bollywood industry right now. The man does not need an Eid or Christmas release. He is one actor who doesn't have just one release per year. He is everything, Khans are not and it's totally working for him. In a career spanning 25 years, Akshay Kumar has earned the reputation of being a versatile actor and a bankable star.

Keeping a mix of comedy and patriotic films, Akki is maintaining a beautiful balance on the silver screen and in his bank balance. The actor even got his first ever national award for Rustom recently.

InUth

A trade source says, "Take 2016 alone. He started the year with 'Airlift', a realistic account of Indians being rescued from Kuwait after the Iraqi invasion in 1990. He followed it up with 'Housefull 3', a slapstick comedy, and then 'Rustom', based on a true incident that rocked the nation in 1959. Not one to rest on his laurels, the actor constantly pushes the envelope. And at the core, he knows that cinema must entertain."

7. Lastly, our very own stunt man with no body double.

Twitter

Khiladi Kumar, Akshay can be solely credited for revolutionising fight sequences in Bollywood.This Taekwondo and Muay Thai expert, when debuted in Bollywood in the early 1990s, brought a completely new form of action for movie buffs. Be it Mr Bond, Elaan, Mohra, Keemat, Main Khiladi Tu Anari or the Khiladi series, the action was 'never seen before', 'never attempted before' kind. His style included martial arts - a combat form which was pretty unknown to Bollywood till the 90s.

Twitter/Brothers

Now, Akshays life seems to have come full circle, as the actor has set up a unique initiative  an insurance scheme for the stuntmen and stuntwomen of Bollywood.

Akshay is a complete package for Bollywood. He knows his moves right, his stunts perfect, acting on point and lastly he's only becoming younger with every passing year. Here's hoping that Akshay continues to slay us on the silver screen for the next 25 years. And thank you Mr. Khiladi, for the last 25 years.
While some people collect stamps. a collector in Singapore likes ants. So he has commissioned a group of youngsters to find an elusive winged insect.

With luck, they will find a queen ant to lay eggs and start a colony. Singapore, a tropical city-state home to more than 40 ant species, has a small but growing community of ant collectors.

1. Denise Ong, 20, looks for ants at an underpass near the central business district in Singapore.

reuters

Shining their flashlights into the darkest corners of Singapore, a small group of ant hunters searches for an elusive winged insect.

With luck, they will find a queen ant to lay eggs and start a colony under the watchful eye of a collector.

2. Eric Tan lifts his son Leland, 14, as they try to catch queen ants at a public housing estate.

reuters

"You can search for a few hours without finding anything at all. So, it's really luck," Leland Tan, 14, said after he hit the jackpot, and found two queen ants in one night.

3. Dave Thong, 20, looks for ants attracted to the light near a vending machine in Singapore. The country now has a small but growing community of ant collectors.

reuters

Ants Singapore, a Facebook group that has grown to 380 members since last December, aims to connect "ant lovers and even those who are interested in keeping ants." Followers share tips on catching and breeding ants, do-it-yourself ant farms and links to videos such as the giant killer ants in "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."

4. A woman checks her test tube after catching a queen ant at a public housing estate.

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5. A curious resident looks at ants caught by a group of enthusiasts.

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6. Chris Chan, an ant collector, holds up a queen ant at a house he rented to keep his ants in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

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While most ants in Singapore are harmless, the insects are often regarded as a nuisance. That is something Chris Chan is hoping to change.

7. A view of a formicarium or ant farm, belonging to an enthusiast who rented a house to keep his ants.

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8. Ignatius Low, 13, and his mother Margaret Wong look for queen ants at a public housing estate.

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9. Enthusiasts catch ants with a test tube in Singapore.

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10. Denise Ong, checks her test tube after catching an ant near the central business district in Singapore.

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11. Dave Thong, looks for ants that are attracted to lights at a park in Singapore.

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12. People check walls for ants at a public housing estate in Singapore.

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13. Dave Thongh looks at a trail of ants at a park.

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14. People shine torch lights to check wall surfaces for ants at a public housing estate.

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15. Ignatius Low and his mother Margaret look for queen ants.

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16. Denise Ong, catches ants on a pedestrian bridge near the central business district in Singapore.

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17. Denise checks lamps for ants as joggers run past in Singapore.

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18. Dave Thong looks for ants in a public toilet at a park.

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19. A view of ant larvae and ants feeding on honey belonging to an ant collector.

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20. An ant catcher shows the containers he uses for catching ants in Singapore.

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21. A close up of a Carebara Diversa queen ant in Singapore.

reuters
Operation Blue Star is remembered as one of the worst chapters in the history of independent India. It is not often when you get to see a state and its army against its own citizens. However, the separatist movements in Punjab rose to scary levels and hence the Indira Gandhi government decided to storm the holiest site of the Sikhs. June 6, 1984, is indeed remembered as a bloody day by both the Sikhs community who believe that their religious sentiments were outraged and also by the security agencies, who believe that they had no option but to root out people with separatist sentiments. Today, on the 33rd anniversary of Operation Blue Star, heres everything you need to know about it:

post.jagran

1. One of the factors that led to Operation Blue Star can be traced back to the Khalistan movement, which was a Sikh nationalist movement that wanted to create an independent state for Sikh people.

2. Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was a strong supporter of an independent-Punjab and also a highly influential person among the Sikh youth. One of the primary aims of the Operation was to remove Bhindranwale and his supporters who had occupied the Akal Takht complex and the Golden Temple in Punjabs Amritsar. And so through the Operation, then PM wanted to regain control of the temple.

BCCL

3. There were two folds to the operation  the first one was called Operation Metal, which was restricted to eliminating armed militants from the Golden Temple.

4. Operation Metal was followed by Operation Shop, which was across Punjab to find suspects.

5. The entire operation lasted for 10 days, from June 1 to June 10, 1984.

BCCL

6. One June 1, the Indian Army attacked Guru Ram Das Langar inside the Temple, where around 8-10 people were killed.

7. By June 3, Punjab was under curfew and military personnel were deployed around the state. All entries and exists to the Golden Temple were cordoned off.

Indiatoday

8. A portion of the Temple, Ramgarhia Bungas, was bombed on June 4, and militants were attacked. The government appointed Gurcharan Singh Tohra, former head of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee to negotiate with Bindrawale, which failed.

9. On June 5, BSF and CRPF attacked the south-west parts of the Golden Temple, and on June 6, the army destroyed Akal Takhat with tanks.

10. By June 7 1984, the Indian Army had gained complete control over the Golden Temple.

Indiatoday

11. Congress government faced a lot of criticism, and continues to do so, for attacking the most holy place for Sikhs the way it did. After gaining control of the temple, Punjab remained under curfew and all journalists were barred from entering the state.

12. Four months after the attack, on October 31 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards. They fired 33 rounds of bullets on her body.

BBC

13. There were widespread anti-Sikh riots across India following her killing. Around 3,000 Sikhs died in these riots  mobs with iron roads, knives and kerosene were dispersed looking for Sikhs.

14. The terror didnt stop there  on June 23, 1985, Air India Flight 1985, flying from Montreal to London to Delhi was bombed mid-air killing all 329 passengers.

15. A few years later happened Operation Black Thunder  it ran for two years from 1986 to 1988 to flush out remaining Khalistan militants using the Golden Temple as a base.

These events were indeed very bloody and remain as bad memories with people. It remains a tough call to choose between the government action which is considered disproportionate and the actions of the Sikh separatist which invoked the fears of yet another partition of the country.
Thanks to the budding startup culture that we all now know that making money is not a piece of cake.

It gets a lot worse before it gets better, but for this cook who surprisingly ventured into a full-fledged business route, the worse only lasted 8 months, even less.

Amit Bahadur, a former cook to the Punjab Power Minister Rana Gurjeet, took his textile firm's turnover from a modest Rs 20 crore to Rs 103 crore in eight months.

Gurjeet Singh/ Daily Post

He's also inviting loads of controversies created by the Rs 1,026 crore mining auction. Recently, when the company released its balance sheet of R.J. Texfab where Amit is in charge, the parity in revenues came to everyone's notice.

Amit became the director of the company back on 8th August 2015, a time when the firm stood at a lowly in accordance with today's standards.

punjabikhurki

It a business worth Rs 3.9 crore in 2013-14 and Rs 20.38 crore in 2014-15.

However, its revenue shot up to Rs 103.81crore in 2015-16.

Prior to Bahadur, the firm's profit was just Rs 14,503 in 2014-15 and after he joined, the profit was Rs 4.39 lakh after tax deductions. One of its biggest expenses was Rs 67 lakh towards packaging goods manufactured by the company.

dailypost

Bahadur is one of the four people, who are either working in Gurjeet's sugar mills or have been employees in the past, and have collectively won mining contracts worth Rs 50 crore despite their annual income not exceeding Rs 6 lakh, reports TOI.

Company's documents also reveal that in 2015, the company gave an unsecured loan of Rs 1.12 crore to the power minister and some Rs 75 lakh to Gurjeet's sons Rana Inder and Rana Ranjit Singh.
After the Centre banned cow slaughter across India, the UP government has decided to book the cow smugglers under the National Security Act (NSA).

PTI

The directive has been issued to all district police chiefs by the state DGP Sulkhan Singh. "NSA and Gangsters Act is to be invoked against those involved in cow slaughter and trafficking of milch animals for slaughter," the DGP's order said.
India reached another milestone with the successful launch of the heavyweight GSLV Mk3 rocket. More than a decade in the making, the first fully operational development flight of Indias biggest rocket was a resounding success.

isro

The rocket made another record, by lifting the heaviest satellite ever launched from Indian soil. The GSAT-19 communication satellite weighs 3,163 kg and will serve the country for 10 years. Read more

1. Here Is How Major Gulf Countries Severing Ties With Qatar Will Impact India

With major Arab countries like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severing ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting ISIS and Al Qaeda, Doha stares at the abyss.

AFP

Apart from supporting terrorism, Doha has been isolated by Gulf countries in wake of its support to Muslim Brotherhood, the world's oldest Islamist movement and countries like Saudi Arabia also see Qatar as a support to arch-rival Iran. Read more

2. Here Are 11 People Who Are Working Hard To Reverse The Effects Of Climate Change

Leaders and people can deny climate change all they want, but they will be acting in delusion because science cannot be denied. In order to counter the looming effects of climate disaster, everyone has to get involved - it has to become a grassroots movement.

northeast tourism

Here are 10 people and organisations, who are bettering the world for all. Read more

3. Hyderabad Woman Sold For Rs 3 Lakh In Oman, Becomes A Victim Of Torture, Sexual Harassment

Four months ago, 36-year-old Rubeena Fatima from Hyderabad couldn't believe her luck. She was being offered Rs 80,000 for just a one month's job at a wedding in Dubai.

TOI

Cut to June, Rubeena's trip has metamorphosed into a nightmare not just for her but her family as she has become yet another victim of torture, sexual harassment and forced captivity in an alien land after being allegedly sold for Rs 3 lakh. Read more

4. Heroic Woman Blocks Terrorist & Saves 20 People In London Attack By Barring Door With Her Body

A taxi driver's account of a woman, who saved 20 people in the London attack by barricading a restaurant door and barring a terrorist from entering, has won thousands of hearts. In doing so, the woman saved the people from being killed as she shielded the door with her body and aided in their escape from the back door.

sky news

The cabbie, Aksha Patel, explained how the woman acted as a barrier for "a few seconds" and helped Londoners to escape from the rear of the Black and Blue restaurant. Read more

5. Two Dead, Three Cops Injured, Woman Hostage Rescued In Dramatic Melbourne Siege

Australian police today shot dead a gunman in the city of Melbourne who had been holding a woman hostage. The police added that they were investigating if the incident was linked to militant activity.

Twitter

Australia, a staunch ally of the United States and its escalating action against Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, has been on high alert for attacks by home-grown militants returning from fighting in the Middle East or their supporters. Read more
One-third of the food produced in the world is thrown away, said Janez Potocnik, co-chair of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) International Resource Panel.

AP/representational image

He made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the first World Forum of the circular economy (WCEF2017) which convened in Helsinki and attracted some 1,700 experts from 90 countries.

Potocnik also said that nearly 800 million people are hungry in the world, while over 2 billion people are obese, calling for public policy and political will to solve the problem. He said migration problem is one of the repercussions caused by the imbalance of resources.

"We should refocus from addressing the consequences to the reasons that lead to economic and social imbalance", he said.

ap/representational image

Matti Vanhanen, Finland's former prime minister and the chairman of the supervisors of Sitra, noted that over half of the participants were business people.

He told them to proceed "even when politicians make wrong decisions".

Mikko Kosonen, CEO of Sitra, said the global business has realised that sustainable development is in their interest. He could not see tangible political opposition either, but he added at the press briefing that "he did not know about the US".

Kosonen predicted circular economy will be a new achievement Finland will be known for, along with the basic income scheme now being worked on. He recalled the welfare state and general free education as earlier milestones.

reuters/representational image

Mari Panzer, director of the carbon neutral circular economy at Sitra, said the fund first started the project with encouraging the sale of surplus school food in a Finnish town. Finland offers free school lunches but the unused food had customarily been thrown away. The system later widened to hundreds of schools.
Just a few days ago, gruesome videos of dogs in Chinese slaughterhouses went viral. In the video, the animal activist implores a man from killing a dog. But the heartless man demanded 170 (Rs. 14,000), making it impossible for the activist to save the innocent pooch.

Amid this gory tradition of killing dogs for meat in China, there are few animal lovers who are trying to make a difference. More recently, Twitter user Xingyi Danielle, posted a heartwarming story about how her father stopped a dog from being sold for meat in China.

A month ago my dad bumped into a grp of men selling live dogs to dog eaters and he bought one home out of pity. Look at him now!! pic.twitter.com/GDhbieLydR  DA NIELLE (@xingyidanielle) 20 May 2017

Xingyi Danielles father was walking down the street when he saw the helpless pooch trapped in a bag, ready to go under the knife.

Twitter/ @xingyidanielle

The brutal scene burnt the deepest cores of his heart and he couldn't stand the sight of the dog being tortured. And so Danielles father paid $90 and adopted the dog on the spot.

 Twitter/@xingyidanielle

As soon as he got home, her father snapped this photo of the dog trapped inside a sack. According to the wesbite Dodo, he named the pup Doggo and has temporarily sheltered him at his office until he moves to an animal-friendly neighbourhood.

Twitter/ @xingyidanielle

And out of all the unfortunate pooches out there, Doggo is lucky to have escaped death at the hands of heartless butchers, all thanks to one kind move by a stranger.

A few weeks ago, animal activists in China tried to eradicate the barbaric Yulin festival, by imposing a temporary ban, fine of up to 100,000 yuan (nearly $15,000) and arrest. Yet the practice still seems to be going on, unabated.
A company in Switzerland has set up what is, in essence, a gigantic artificial tree capable of sucking out carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and repurposing it.

Images courtesy: Climeworks

The Climeworks AG facility in Zurich is the worlds first ever commercial plant capable of capturing CO2 from the air on an industrial level. Its creators say the plant can draw about 900 tons of the gas from the air annually, after which it can be piped and sold to greenhouses to grow vegetables.

The amount of carbon dioxide the plant draws annually is approximately the same as the amount emitted by 200 cars in the same time. Of course, its a mere fraction of what climate change analysts hope to draw from fossil fuel-powered plants across the world, but it is a promising start. Climeworks says its goal is to capture 1 percent of global CO2 emissions, using approximately 250,000 such plants.

Highly scalable negative emission technologies are crucial if we are to stay below the 2-degree target [of the rise in global temperatures] of the international community, Climewporks co-founder and managing director Christoph Gebald told the magazine Science.

Climeworks sits atop a waste heat recovery facility, that provides it with power. Fans push the air through a filter system that singles out the carbon dioxide, and then pipes it to a nearby greenhouse to produce vegetables like tomatoes and cucumbers. The captured CO2 could have other applications too, like for use in manufacturing aerated drinks.

Gebald and Climeworks co-founder Jan Wurzbacher established Climeworks in 2009 after first working on the technology during their postgraduate studies in Zurich. Climeworks first plant is intended to run as a three-year demonstration, though the company plans to launch additional ventures next year, including attempting to bury the gas underground.
Whats Happening in the Persian Gulf

By Derek Davison

June 06, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - Early Monday morning, five Arab states Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemenalong with the Maldives , broke all diplomatic and physical ties with the Persian Gulf emirate of Qatar. All six countries say they are withdrawing their diplomats from Qatar within 48 hours and expect Qatari diplomats to reciprocate within the same time frame, and other Qatari nationals in those countries have two weeks to leave. Those countries have also cut all land, sea, and air contact with Qatarmeaning, among other things, that Qatars land border with Saudi Arabia is now closed, airlines from those six countries will no longer fly into Qatar, and Qatar Airways flights have been barred from their airspace.

In its official statement explaining this move, Riyadh noted Qatars grave violations against Saudi Arabia and Bahrain:

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has taken this decisive decision as a result of grave violations being committed by the authorities in Doha over the past years in secret and public aiming at dividing internal Saudi ranks, instigating against the State, infringing on its sovereignty, adopting various terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at destabilising the region including the Muslim Brotherhood Group, Daesh (ISIS) and Al-Qaeda, promoting the ethics and plans of these groups through its media permanently, supporting the activities of Iranian-backed terrorist groups in the governorate of Qatif of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom of Bahrain, financing, adopting and sheltering extremists who seek to undermine the stability and unity of the homeland at home and abroad, and using the media that seek to fuel the strife internally; and it was clear to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia the support and backing from the authorities in Doha for coup Al-Houthi militias even after the announcement of the Coalition to Support the Legitimacy in Yemen. The Kingdom has also taken this decision in solidarity with the Kingdom of Bahrain being subjected to terrorist campaigns and operations supported by the authorities in Doha.

The statement offered no evidence in support of these charges, only one of which (Qatars support for the Muslim Brotherhood) is well documented. The charge that Doha has been aiding Houthi militants in Yemen is particularly interesting given that Qatari soldiers have been participating in, and reportedly suffering on behalf of , the Saudi-led, anti-Houthi military coalition. In response, Qatars government declared that there was no legitimate justification for this move and argued that it was an effort to impose guardianship on Qatar and thus was a violation of its sovereignty.

This is a fast-developing story, but certain core elements of it appear to have taken shape.

A History of Shaky Relations

Saudi Arabia and Qatar have had a love-hate relationship for over two decadesa fact acknowledged in Mondays statement from Riyadh: Since 1995, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its brothers have made strenuous and continued efforts to urge the authorities in Doha to abide by its commitments and agreements. The Saudis didnt select that date at random. In 1995, the former Emir of Qatar, Hamad b. Khalifa Al Thani, overthrew his father, Khalifa b. Hamad Al Thani, in a bloodless coup. Sheikh Hamad abdicated in 2013 in favor of his son, Tamim, who is the current Qatari ruler. Hamads decision to maintain friendly relations with Israel (Qatar broke off those relations over the 2009 Gaza War) was a source of tension with the Saudis. For several years the two countries also disputed the precise location of their land border, before finally reaching an agreement on its location in 2008. Mondays events come out of this years-long tension.

The immediate cause of the diplomatic break can be traced back to the 2011 Arab Spring. Unlike Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which quickly opposed any revolutionary movements that threatened established Arab autocracies, Qatar decided to bet on the revolutionaries and used some of its vast fossil-fuel wealth to support them. In particular, Sheikh Hamad decided to throw its weight behind Muslim Brotherhood movements in Egypt, Libya, and elsewhere, building off of his long-standing support for Brotherhood branches around the Arab world, including Hamas. This represented a radical shift from Hamads previous no problems foreign policy, which presumably reflected Hamads desire to increase Qatars prominence on the geopolitical stage commensurate with its financial clout. Under Hamad, and then Tamim, Qatar has adopted a number of foreign policies that have at times, placed it at odds with its fellow Gulf states:

Qatar was an early supporter of Egypts Arab Spring uprising and the elected Muslim Brotherhood-led government that succeeded former dictator Hosni Mubarak. Doha pumped an estimated $10 billion into Mohamed Morsis government and lined up deals to sell natural gas to Egypt and help rebuild the Suez Canal. In contrast, Riyadh, which historically loathes the Muslim Brotherhood, has poured at least $12 billion into Egyptian coffers since the military coup that overthrew Morsi and brought Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to power in 2013. Qatars support for Morsi explains why the Saudis initiated this boycott and why Egypt joined it.

Qatar supported the now-defunct General National Congress in Libya. The Islamist GNC, based in Tripoli was one of two competing governments, alongside the House of Representatives based in Tobruk, that contested control of Libya after the Arab Spring-driven fall of Muammar Gaddafi. It has since been driven mostly out of the picture by the countrys internationally recognized Government of National Accord, also based in Tripoli. The UAE, in contrast, supported and continues to support the secularist Tobruk government (which has also announced that it has broken off ties with Qatar, but since its not a recognized government the impact of that decision is minimal). For a time the two Gulf states were effectively fighting a proxy war in Libya that helped destabilize that country and contributed to tensions in the Gulf.

Qatar has also played an active role supporting and arming Syrian rebel groups, includingallegedly extremist groups like the al-Qaeda-linked Nusra Front (also known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham or Hayat Tahrir al-Sham) and even the Islamic State (ISIS or IS). Its possible that this has contributed to inter-Gulf tensions. But as the Saudis have allegedly been supporting these same rebel groups its hard to see what the problem would have been. However, in April, Qatar was reportedly behind a negotiated settlement to evacuate four besieged Syrian towns, a deal Doha reportedly reached through negotiations with Iran. Qatars cordial relationship with Iran, in addition to its support for the Muslim Brotherhood, is one of Riyadhs chief grievances.

Qatar has also long supported Hamas, whose biggest foreign patron has consistently been Iran. And with the Saudis coming together with Israel over their shared hostility toward Iran, Riyadh would certainly not have viewed that support for Hamas favorably.

Theres one other elephant in this room, which is Qatars support of the Al Jazeera network. The Saudis and Emiratis in particular have long criticized the news channel for promoting Muslim Brotherhood voices and for criticizing the policies of other Gulf states. After announcing the diplomatic cut off on Monday, Riyadh shut down Al Jazeeras local offices.

This is not the first time these tensions have come to a boiling point. In March 2014, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE cut diplomatic ties with Qatar over Dohas support for Egypts Muslim Brotherhood. They did not sever land, sea, and air contacts with Qatar, but it did take eight months for relations to finally be restored. More recently, the Saudis and Emiratis objected to alleged remarks given by Sheikh Tamim at a commencement ceremony, in which the Qatari Emir was said to have spoken favorably of Iran, Hezbollah, and Hamas while denigrating Saudi and American foreign policy. Although the Qatar News Agency reported this speech, the Qataris insist that QNA was hacked and that the speech never took place. Nonetheless, both Saudi and Emirati state media have reported on the speech and expressed anger over its contents, apparently refusing to believe Qatars hacking explanation.

The Washington Factor

Mondays diplomatic crisis also has roots in President Donald Trumps recent visit to Riyadh. During his trip, Trump fully embraced the Saudis anti-Iran, anti-political Islamist view of the region, and that support has emboldened the Saudis to take a harder line against Arab states that deviate from their foreign policy aims :

You have a shift in the balance of power in the Gulf now because of the new presidency: Trump is strongly opposed to political Islam and Iran, said Jean-Marc Rickli, head of global risk and resilience at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy. He is totally aligned with Abu Dhabi and Riyadh, who also want no compromise with either Iran or the political Islam promoted by the Muslim Brotherhood.
Russia-gates Mythical Heroes





The mainstream U.S. media sells the mythical integrity of fired FBI Director Comey and special Russia-gate prosecutor Mueller, but the truth is they have long histories as pliable political operatives, writes ex-FBI official Coleen Rowley.



By Coleen Rowley

June 06, 2017 " Information Clearing House " -Mainstream commentators display amnesia when they describe former FBI Directors Robert Mueller and James Comey as stellar and credible law enforcement figures. Perhaps if they included J. Edgar Hoover, such fulsome praise could be put into proper perspective.

Although these Hoover successors, now occupying center stage in the investigation of President Trump, have been hailed for their impeccable character by much of Official Washington, the truth is, as top law enforcement officials of the George W. Bush Administration (Mueller as FBI Director and James Comey as Deputy Attorney General), both presided over post-9/11 cover-ups and secret abuses of the Constitution, enabled Bush-Cheney fabrications used to launch wrongful wars, and exhibited plain vanilla incompetence.

TIME Magazine would probably have not called my own disclosures a  bombshell memo  to the Joint Intelligence Committee Inquiry in May 2002 if it had not been for Muellers having so misled everyone after 9/11. Although he bore no personal responsibility for intelligence failures before the attack, since he only became FBI Director a week before, Mueller denied or downplayed the significance of warnings that had poured in yet were all ignored or mishandled during the Spring and Summer of 2001.

Bush Administration officials had circled the wagons and refused to publicly own up to what the 9/11 Commission eventually concluded, that the system had been blinking red . Failures to read, share or act upon important intelligence, which a FBI agent witness termed  criminal negligence  in later trial testimony, were therefore not fixed in a timely manner. (Some failures were never fixed at all.)

Worse, Bush and Cheney used that post 9/11 period of obfuscation to roll out their misbegotten war on terror, which only served to exponentially increase worldwide terrorism .

Unfulfilled Promise

I wanted to believe Director Mueller when he expressed some regret in our personal meeting the night before we both testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee. He told me he was seeking improvements and that I should not hesitate to contact him if I ever witnessed a similar situation to what was behind the FBIs pre 9/11 failures.

A few months later, when it appeared he was acceding to Bush-Cheneys ginning up intelligence to launch the unjustified, counterproductive and illegal war on Iraq, I took Mueller up on his offer, emailing him my concerns in late February 2003. Mueller knew, for instance, that Vice President Dick Cheneys claims connecting 9/11 to Iraq were bogus yet he remained quiet. He also never responded to my email.

Beyond ignoring politicized intelligence, Mueller bent to other political pressures. In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, Mueller directed the  post 9/11 round-up  of about 1,000 immigrants who mostly happened to be in the wrong place (the New York City area) at the wrong time. FBI Headquarters encouraged more and more detentions for what seemed to be essentially P.R. purposes. Field offices were required to report daily the number of detentions in order to supply grist for FBI press releases about FBI progress in fighting terrorism. Consequently, some of the detainees were brutalized and jailed for up to a year despite the fact that none turned out to be terrorists .

A History of Failure

Long before he became FBI Director, serious questions existed about Muellers role as Acting U.S. Attorney in Boston in effectively enabling decades of corruption and covering up of the FBIs illicit deals with mobster Whitey Bulger and other top echelon informants who committed numerous murders and crimes. When the truth was finally uncovered through intrepid investigative reporting and persistent, honest judges, U.S. taxpayers footed a $100 million court award to the four men framed for murders committed by (the FBI-operated) Bulger gang.

Current media applause omits the fact that former FBI Director Mueller was the top official in charge of the Anthrax terror fiasco investigation into those 2001 murders , which targeted an innocent man (Steven Hatfill) whose lawsuit eventually forced the FBI to pay $5 million in compensation. Muellers FBI was also severely criticized by Department of Justice Inspector Generals finding the FBI overstepped the law improperly serving hundreds of thousands of national security letters to obtain private (and irrelevant) metadata on citizens, and for infiltrating nonviolent anti-war groups under the guise of investigating terrorism.

For his part, Deputy Attorney General James Comey , too, went along with the abuses of Bush and Cheney after 9/11 and signed off on a number of highly illegal programs including warrantless surveillance of Americans and torture of captives . Comey also defended the Bush Administrations three-year-long detention of an American citizen without charges or right to counsel.

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Up to the March 2004 night in Attorney General John Ashcrofts hospital room, both Comey and Mueller were complicit with implementing a form of martial law, perpetrated via secret Office of Legal Counsel memos mainly written by John Yoo and predicated upon Yoos singular theories of absolute imperial or war presidency powers, and requiring Ashcroft every 90 days to renew certification of a state of emergency.

The Comey/Mueller Myth

Whats not well understood is that Comeys and Muellers joint intervention to stop Bushs men from forcing the sick Attorney General to sign the certification that night was a short-lived moment. A few days later, they all simply went back to the drawing board to draft new legal loopholes to continue the same (unconstitutional) surveillance of Americans.

The mythology of this episode, repeated endlessly throughout the press, is that Comey and Mueller did something significant and lasting in that hospital room. They didnt. Only the legal rationale for their unconstitutional actions was tweaked.

Mueller was even okay with the CIA conducting torture programs after his own agents warned against participation. Agents were simply instructed not to document such torture, and any war crimes files were made to disappear. Not only did collect it all surveillance and torture programs continue, but Muellers (and then Comeys) FBI later worked to prosecute NSA and CIA whistleblowers who revealed these illegalities.

Neither Comey nor Mueller  who are reported to be  joined at the hip   deserve their current lionization among politicians and mainstream media. Instead of Jimmy Stewart-like G-men with reputations for principled integrity, the two close confidants and collaborators merely proved themselves, along with former CIA Director George Slam Dunk Tenet, reliably politicized sycophants, enmeshing themselves in a series of wrongful abuses of power along with official incompetence.

It seems clear that based on his history and close partnership with Comey, called one of the closest working relationships the top ranks of the Justice Department have ever seen, Mueller was chosen as Special Counsel not because he has integrity but because he will do what the powerful want him to do.

Mueller didnt speak the truth about a war he knew to be unjustified. He didnt speak out against torture. He didnt speak out against unconstitutional surveillance. And he didnt tell the truth about 9/11. He is just their man.

Coleen Rowley, a retired FBI special agent and division legal counsel whose May 2002 memo to then-FBI Director Robert Mueller exposed some of the FBIs pre-9/11 failures, was named one of TIME magazines Persons of the Year in 2002. Her 2003 letter to Robert Mueller in opposition to launching the Iraq War is archived in full text on the NYT and her 2013 op-ed entitled  Questions for the FBI Nominee  was published on the day of James Comeys confirmation hearing. This piece will also be cross-posted on Rowleys Huffington Post page.)

Relevant links:

http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,20020603,00.html

http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/911Report_Ch8.pdf

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/21/us/nationalspecial3/fbi-agent-testifies-superiors-didnt-pursue-moussaoui.html

http://www.truth-out.org/archive/component/k2/item/68973:the-iraq-effect-war-has-increased-terrorism-sevenfold-worldwide

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3322308/Number-people-killed-terrorists-worldwide-soars-80-just-year.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/05/politics/full-text-of-fbi-agents-letter-to-director-mueller.html

https://oig.justice.gov/special/0306/full.pdf

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/18/us/immigrants-suit-over-detention-after-9-11-is-revived.html

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/1970/01/19/one-lingering-question-for-fbi-director-robert-mueller/613uW0MR7czurRn7M4BG2J/story.html

http://www.ocregister.com/2017/05/21/comey-mueller-bungled-big-anthrax-case-together/

https://www.mintpressnews.com/anthrax-russiagate-muellers-special-counsel-appointment-raise-concern/228317/

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/government_programs-jan-june07-patriotact_03-09/

http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/DOJ/story?id=4444329

https://www.aclu.org/news/fbi-counterterrorism-unit-spies-peaceful-faith-based-protest-group

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/09/opinion/questions-for-the-fbi-nominee.html

https://theintercept.com/2016/02/25/fbi-director-james-comey-who-signed-off-on-waterboarding-is-now-losing-sleep-over-an-iphone/

http://www.newsweek.com/ali-soufan-breaks-his-silence-77243

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/05/19/gregg-jarrett-why-robert-mueller-should-resign-as-special-counsel.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/05/10/want-a-special-prosecutor-to-replace-james-comey-history-might-change-your-mind/?utm_ter4091053795m
The wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Buhari, has expressed gratitude to Nigerians for their support to President Muhammadu Buharis Administration.

Aisha travelled to the UK on Tuesday, May 30, to meet her husband who has been in London for a medical trip.

She conveyed the appreciation of the president to Nigerians for their constant prayers and support and said he would soon be with them as he was recuperating fast.

The presidents wife thanked Nigerians for their steadfastness in the face of challenges facing the country.

She also called for prayers and cooperation of Nigerians for the Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, toward achieving the mandate of the Buhari administration as contained in the APC manifesto.

Aisha also urged Nigerians not to relent in their prayers for the progress of the country.

Source: ( NAN)
The First lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,Mrs. Aisha Buhari, returned from London, United Kingdom, one week after she travelled to visit her husband, President Muhammadu Buhari who is receiving medical treatment in the British capital.

According to a statement by the Director of Information to the Wife of the President, Suleiman Haruna, on arrival at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja on Tuesday, Mrs. Buhari conveyed the Presidents appreciation to Nigerians for their constant prayers.

She was further quoted as saying that Buhari will soon return to join Nigerians as he is recuperating fast.

Mrs. Buhari was also said to have called on Nigerians to continue to be strong in the face of challenges and to support the Federal Government in implementing the agenda for which the present administration was elected.

Mr. President thanked the acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo for his loyalty and called on Nigerians to continue to support the acting President in his effort to actualise the mandate of the All Progressives Congress, Mrs. Buhari was further quoted as saying

Mrs. Buhari left the country last week Tuesday, three weeks after her husband embarked on his latest medical vacation that started on May 7.

Source: ( Punch Newspaper )
Around 30 Cameroonian soldiers fighting the Nigerian jihadist group Boko Haram were arrested after a demonstration to demand the payment of bonuses and some leave, the defence ministry said Monda y.

The soldiers on Sunday set about stopping traffic with barricades on national route number one, the ministry said in a statement broadcast on state radio.

The men were demanding that they be immediately relieved from duty, as well as the payment of bonuses for international soldiers in line with those granted to their comrades from UN peacekeeping missions, the statement said.

The soldiers were transferred from the Zigue area in the far north to capital Yaounde where they were placed under arrest and a judicial investigation was opened, the ministry said.

Traffic along the northern route was restored.

Cameroonian soldiers engaged in the fight against Boko Haram often complain about their conditions, but this is the first time a group have demonstrated for leave or greater pay.

Though Boko Haram was born in Nigeria, the Islamic State-affiliated group has carried out frequent attacks in Cameroon, Chad and Niger, prompting the formation of a 10,000-strong regional force to fight back.

Some 200,000 Cameroonians from the far north region near Nigeria have left their villages in fear of the violence.
Actor, George Clooney and wife Amal Alamuddin today, Tuesday 6th June have welcomed their twins, a boy and a girl, according to a witty statement they issued through their spokesman, Stan Rosenfield.

This morning Amal and George welcomed Ella and Alexander Clooney into their lives. Ella, Alexander and Amal are all healthy, happy and doing fine. George is sedated and should recover in a few days.

Over the last several years the world has watched Clooney reverse his positions on what hed never, ever do: Settle down, marry again (he was married to actress Talia Balsam from 1989 to 1993) or have kids.

That all changed in 2013 when the actor met Amal Alamuddin, a Lebanese-British human rights lawyer, and proposed in April of the following year
Dammy Krane will be languishing behind bars for a while as the court begins hearing of his case of grand theft.

Embattled Nigerian artiste, Dammy krane, appeared in court today for his bail hearing in the 9-count fraud charges leveled against him in the U.S.

He was in court with Chukwuebuka, his accomplice.

Chukwuebuka, who is claiming to be Dammy kranes show promoter, filed paperwork saying that he is indigent. According to our source, the court looked at his papers and it was found that he has no money or property in any bank. He was thereby kept in jail till 22nd of June, 2017.

On his part, Dammy krane pleaded not guilty and paperwork was provided to his defense attorney, showing what police found on his phone. None of his family members or record label representative was in court yesterday.

Also, the court wants proof that the money to be paid for his bail, is from a honest source. The two suspects now have a new defense attorney, a free one from government, by the name Fan Li. Both accused are back in jail till their next hearing.

Meanwhile, an inside source confirmed to us that there is a big development in a federal court, coming soon, with new charges. Details of the impending charges are not yet clear but it looks like they are arising as a result of the same kind of fraud committed across state lines.
A lawyer identified as Yewande Oyediran, with the Oyo State Ministry of Justice, who is standing trial for allegedly stabbing her husband, Lowo, to death, has denied killing him.

The defendant claimed she had a misunderstanding with her France-based husband on February 2, 2017, when the it was Lowo that threatened to kill her, when the case came up again at an Oyo State High Court, Ring Road, Ibadan.

While being led in evidence by her lead counsel, Mr. Leye Adepoju, Oyediran said her husband sustained injuries when they had a disagreement and had to be treated in a hospital.

She explained that the fight was as a result of a call she received from a woman who claimed that she had a child for her husband.

She said, My husband confirmed it and we quarrelled over it, but we settled the issue.

However, after a few hours, he started hitting me with a plank. He was angry about the injuries and threatened to retaliate. I managed to escape, but he followed me outside with a knife.

Our landlord helped me out of his grip. I rushed to our landlords flat with my husband hot in pursuit. Suddenly, I saw him fall on his back.

I rushed back and tried to pull him up only to see blood gushing out of his neck. I shouted for help and the landlord and his wife, together with his son, and a doctor whose clinic was on our street, tried to apply first aid.

My landlord and I went to our neighbour, Mrs. Olubunmi Onipede, to help me take him to a hospital.

Asked if she was responsible for her husband death, Oyediran said, I did not kill my husband. I love my husband, even if we quarrelled, it wouldnt be to the point of death, she replied.
The wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Buhari, has expressed shock over the demise of the Executive Director, United Nations Populations Fund, Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin.

Mrs. Buhari, who sent a condolence message through her tweeter handle on Monday, said that the news of Osotimehins death came as a shock.

She, therefore, prayed almighty God to grant the family and UNFPA the fortitude to bear the loss.

Aisha said, The news of his death came as a rude shock and his passing away is a great loss to us all.

Myself and the Future Assured team mourn his demise; he will indeed be greatly missed.

I pray Almighty God to grant his family, the UNFPA the fortitude to bear this irreplaceable loss.

Source: (NAN)
The former Speaker of Plateau State House of Assembly, Mr. John Dabwan has landed himself in serious trouble after a court ordered for his arrest.

A Jos High Court on Monday issued a bench warrant for the immediate arrest of former Speaker of Plateau State House of Assembly, Mr. John Dabwan.

The order was given by Justice Felomina Lot after revoking the bail he granted to Dabwan in a case of issuance of a dud cheque in the sum of N3.8m. The former speaker allegedly issued the cheque to a Jos-based businessman, Mr. Theophilus Omhagie.

The accused was granted bail in this case based on self-recognizance, but he has failed to show up or send any representative.

His refusal to come to court in this matter goes to show that the accused has no respect or regard for the court; it is indeed a slap on this honourable court.

I hereby revoke the bail earlier granted to him and order for his immediate arrest and handover to the nearest police station, Lot said.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the prosecution had submitted that Omhagie offered services to Dabwan in 2016. Prosecution counsel, Mr. E. A. Inbgbenoine, told the court that Dabwan issued a Sterling Bank cheque to Omhagie on October 3, 2016.

However, on presenting the N3.8m cheque across the counter, it turned out to be a dud cheque, he said.

The case has been adjourned till June 20 for further hearing.
The controversial writer took to twitter about three minutes ago to solicit for fund for her legal team. She says day 5 of her appearance in court will be in two weeks and she wants people to donate towards her legal expenses.

But wait, why should people donate. Aunty Kemi is rich now.

Have you forgotten how she told us they pay her thousands of dollars per tweet? Lol. And even one time showed off cash like that?. So why does she need money from struggling Nigerians? Why? This just takes us back to that Mocheddahs post; don;t claim to be who you are not.

By the way, we are happy she is back. No one deserves a prison, not even Kemi. Wetin she talk no too pass her mouth, plus make the actress sef fear God. Didnt Cossy call her out? Sue Cossy now, sue her.

May be she wont expose you all. God has not given anyone power to use ito brag o. SMH!
Renowed jounalist, Kemi Olunloyo,after her release from the custody of Police has posted on her Instagram post, she said she intends to be a political activist until her defamation case with the Federal Government is over.

She had held a press conference earlier today.

Olunloyo, who was recently released after spending 81 days in Port Harcourt prison, has been informing the public of her daily activities via her social media handle.

The outspoken blogger was arrested and charged in a Federal High Court in Rivers State for alleged cyber crime, based on a story she published online and believed to have slandered a Port Harcourt-based Pastor, David Ibiyeomie.

According to her post shared on Instagram: Effective today, I become a #politicalactivist. I will return to #Journalism after my defamation case is over.

FRN seized my travel passport as part of my bail conditions. It is tied to my job,

Olunloyo also said she plans to testify before the Senate on press freedom and prison reform.

For now, Im planning to testify at the Senate on #pressfreedom #prisonreform#journalismisnotcybercrime.

See photos from her press conference and the Instagram post:
A 28-year-old Kenyan lesbian seeking asylum in Sweden has had her application rejected simply because the countrys migration board does not believe her sexual orientation.

Nairobi Wire reports that Lucy Murugi fled from Kenya two years ago after her family turned their backs on her. But later got help through a cousin who helped get a visa and accommodation in Stockholm, Sweden.

Speaking to Swedish journalists, Lucy said that she applied for asylum but was rejected by the Swedish Migration Board 14 months later because she failed the interviews that form the basis for the credibility of the assessment.

According to her, the Migration Boards questions were almost incomprehensible to her: I did not understand anything. No one told me what to expect. What I would do or say, or at least give me some guidelines, she said.

Asked what it feels like not to be believed, she said: It feels horrible and disappointing. It breaks down one. You realize that you made a mistake somewhere and when you try to fix it so you will rarely get a second chance.

Lucy now fears she might be deported back to Kenya where homosexuality is criminalized and punishable by up to 14 years in prison.

She further alleges her name has been released as a lesbian in the infamous Ugandan Tabloid Red Pepper among 200 African homosexuals.
A man is being made to pay for his criminal act after storming Shoprite in Lagos to make away with bottles of wine.

Tajudeen Balogun, a 26-year-old man, was on Monday brought before an Ikeja Magistrates Court for allegedly stealing two bottles of wine valued at N65, 200.

NAN reports that Mr. Balogun, a residing in Ikorodu, near Lagos, allegedly stole the wine at the Shoprite in the Ikeja Shopping Mall at Alausa.

The prosecutor, Clement Okuoimose, said the accused committed the offence on May 28.

The accused came into the mall under the pretext of buying some goods and stole two bottles of Laurent wine and hid them inside his shirt.

When he got to the entrance, the security men stopped him for checking and they discovered the items under his shirt.

He was handed over to the police, the prosecutor said.

The offence contravened Section 287 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Section 287 prescribes three-year jail term for stealing.

Mr. Balogun, however, pleaded not guilty to the offence and was granted bail in the sum of N50, 000 with two sureties in like sum.

The Magistrate, Y.O. Ekogbulu, adjourned the case until June 28 for mention.
After the release of renowned journalist and blogger, Ms Kemi Olunloyo, from the Port Harcourt Prison on Monday, she hasnt stopped to lamented about the poor condition of Nigerian prisons.

Olunloyo, who is the daughter of a former governor of Oyo State, Dr Omololu Olunloyo, pointed out that the prison system in the country needed urgent reform.

Olunloyo was arrested in Lagos in March and arraigned at the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, for alleged cybercrime.

She was said to have published a story believed to be capable of defaming a cleric, Pastor David Ibiyeomie.

Olunloyo, who finally regained her freedom around 3pm, told newsmen that she met ex-Biafran and Niger Delta agitators in the prison.

She said, the prison is a big newsroom, but Nigerian prisons need reform. I met ex-Biafrans and Niger Delta agitators in the there.

It was gathered that Olunloyos inability to fulfill her bail terms kept her longer than necessary in the prison, where she was remanded by the Federal High Court.

Olunloyo and a publisher were earlier arraigned in a High Court before she was rearrested and taken to the Federal High Court.

Source: ( Punch Newspaper )
The Joint Task Force protecting oil facilities in the Niger Delta has killed two kidnappers in a multiple raid on kidnappers hideouts.

The task force also rescued one of the kidnapped victims.

Commander of the JTF, Rear Adm. Suleman Apochi, made the disclosure at a news conference in Yenagoa on Tuesday.

The commander spoke through his Chief of Staff, Col. Jibril Abdullahi.

Apochi said that the security outfit also arrested five suspects for vandalising oil installations.

He said that the vandals had disrupted oil production by sabotaging the Tebidaba-Ogboinbiri-Brass pipeline, operated by Italian oil major Agip.

Apochi noted that the success recorded by the joint military operation was traceable to the support given by Niger Delta residents.

Our efforts in tackling the activities of pipeline vandals resulted in the arrest of suspected vandals that detonated dynamites, resulting to the breach of an oil facility located at Tebidaba-Ogboinbiri-Brass pipeline in Bayelsa State.

Following the incident, troops acted on a tip-off, spotted the suspected hideout at a fishing camp along Isonogbene in Southern Ijaw, where three suspects were arrested for complicity in the vandalism.

Similarly, troops deployed at Beneside location in Ekeremor LGA also apprehended two suspects alleged to have been responsible for the sabotage and theft of wellhead 6 actuator device, an oil wellhead tool.

Their criminal action led to the disruption of the operations of the oil firm. The wellhead is currently under repairs.

He explained that in another development, troops deployed at Omoku forest in Rivers, responding to a distress call, engaged suspected kidnappers in a gun duel, leading to the rescue of a kidnapped victim.

Apochi said the engagement led to the death of two of the suspected kidnappers, while the rescued victim was currently receiving treatment in a medical facility in Port Harcourt.

He said that troops also raided a suspected pirates hideout at Eleme in Rivers, where the suspects escaped but troops recovered several items, including weapons.

According to him, items recovered include 23 rounds of 7.62 mm Ball special ammunition, electricity generating set and a 40-horse power Suzuki speed boat.

Source: (NAN)
It is no longer news that Dammy Krane has been arrested by police in the United States for credit card fraud and related charges. Hours after his arrest became public discourse, tweets rolled out from his Twitter handle claiming there are three sides to the story and even promising fans new material where he plans to share his own side of the story.

Social media has been rife with different reactions from Nigerian celebs on the Dammy Krane credit card saga.

Nigerian OAP Freeze wrote on Instagram:This gentleman is a good person. One of the most respectful young people I know. One mistake doesnt define him. The pressure on entertainers, especially the young ones is unimaginably enormous. Born into a nation where money is king doesnt help either. Young people, please dont bow to societal pressure to conform, be yourself, money is not the only currency you can spend so dont engage in fraudulent activities to get it! he said

An Insider who prefers anonymity said there is no hope for him again. In his words: He never quite broke in to the industry. He cant be described as an A-list artiste, he doesnt even count as B-list, so theres no hope for him again, in my opinion. Add the struggle to blow to this huge scandal, people will surely steer clear from him and his music.

Popular eclectic Nigerian OAP and hype-man Dotun wrote on Twitter: I have always loved this Kid Dammy Krane. I have spoken to him on many occasions. I feared for him a lot, I cannot believe it.

Source: Instagram
Nigerian troops have achieved a milestone in the sanitization of the Niger Delta region riddled with crimes and the sabotage of the local economy.

Troops of Operation DELTA SAFE have nabbed suspected vandals that detonated dynamites resulting to the breach of an International Oil Company facility located at TEBIDABA  OGBOINBIRI  BRASS pipeline in the outskirt of IMGBIBA Community of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

The arrest was disclosed by Commander Operation Delta Safe Rear Admiral Apochi Suleiman during a press conference held today at the Headquarters of Operation Delta Safe in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.

He stated that following the incident, troops acted on a tip-off about a suspected hideout at a fishing camp along ISONOGBENE where 3 suspects namely; Mr Ayebemi Dressman, Mr Inimotimi Abule and Mr Epemege Frank were arrested in connection with the vandalism at Peremebari Community of Bayelsa State

Rear Admiral Suleiman, who was represented by Colonel Danjuma Abdullahi added that during a similar operation, troops deployed at BENESIDE location in Ekeremor Local Government area of Bayelsa State also apprehended 2 suspects, Mr Bibowa Anemi and Mr Ngoriduwa Gomogo alleged to have been responsible for sabotage and theft of a wellhead 6 actuator device, an oil wellhead tool belonging to one of the International Oil Companies. Their criminal action led to the disruption in the operations of the oil company. The wellhead is currently under repairs.

He revealed that in another development, troops deployed at Omuku Forest in Rivers State acting on a tip off, swiftly responded and engaged some suspected armed kidnappers in a gun duel leading to the rescue of the kidnapped victim and the death of 2 kidnappers. The rescued victim is currently receiving treatment in a medical facility in Port Harcourt.

According to the commander troops raided a suspected pirates hideout at Elema, Rivers State. Although no arrest was made during the raid, several items were recovered. The items include; 23 rounds of 7.62mm Ball Special ammunition, one generating set and a 40 Horse Power Suzuki speed boat engine amongst others he said.

He used the opportunity to commend the general public and the press for all the support given to Operation DELTA SAFE in its effort to protect oil and gas infrastructure, deter and prevent militancy, sea robbery, crude oil theft and other forms of criminality within the joint operations area that could impact negatively on economic activity in Niger Delta region.

Read Admiral Suleiman appealed to members of the public to provide timely information to troops in order to get rid of notorious criminals from the region.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has told Nigerians that the policies of the Federal Government will encourage local manufacturing of products, including cars.

This was made known by the minister at the factory of Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company in Nnewi, Anambra State on Monday.

Mohammed said that the policies would favour companies like Innoson, which are manufacturing products locally.

He said that the company was already putting Nigeria on the global map of vehicle manufacturing countries of the world.

The minister stated, Having toured this factory today, I make bold to say that Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company Limited is a trailblazer in the automotive industry and a shining example of what Nigeria is capable of achieving if it looks inwards and taps into the boundless energy and ingenuity of its people.

True to its name, Innoson is a manufacturing company, not an assembly plant. It is exactly what the brains behind the National Automotive Industry Development Plan have in mind when they rolled out that policy, which is to curtail the dependence on imports and ensure the growth of the Nigerian automotive industry, using local resources.

The minister said that the company was living up to the governments aims of creating jobs, conservation of foreign exchange and acceleration of technical development.

He recalled that the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, in collaboration with the Ministry of Information and Culture, recently commenced the made-in-Nigeria campaign.

The Chairman, Innoson, Chief Innocent Chukwuma said that the firm, which began operation in 2009, had manufactured about 11,000 vehicles, including buses, pick up vans, SUVs, sedans, and garbage compactors, among others.

Meanwhile, the newly appointed Director-General, National Automotive Design and Development Council, Mr. Jelani Aliyu, has said the agency will soon commence the design of local vehicles that will reduce the preference of Nigerians for foreign brands.

He stated this in a chat with journalists in Abuja on Monday.
Some residents in Bayelsa State staged a protest in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, demanding the immediate and unconditional release of convicted Edmund Ebiware.

Ebiware was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2013 for his alleged involvement in the October 1, 2010 Abuja bombing that claimed the lives of 12 persons.

An Abuja Federal High Court, presided over by Justice Gabriel Kolawole, had found him guilty on three counts, including having foreknowledge of plans to carry out the bombing without alerting the authorities.

A few days ago, the same court that sentenced Ebiware, reportedly quashed the treason charge against Charles Okah, the suspected mastermind of the Independence Day bombing.

The protesters, under the aegis of Free Edmund Ebiware Concerned Nigerians, claimed that the convict was innocent.

They demanded his unconditional release from the Kuje Prison, saying with the quashing of treason charge against Okah, the accessory charge against Ebiware was of no effect.

Some of the placards displayed by the protesters, read, President Buhari, free my husband, Edmund Ebiware was unjustly jailed for treason, among others.

Spokesman for the protesters, Mr. Miebi Bribina, said the Federal Government, under former President Goodluck Jonathan, allegedly convicted Ebiware on trumped-up charges.

Bribina, a House of Representatives candidate in the 2015 general elections, said, Ebiware was sentenced to life imprisonment for accessory to treason. Now, the question is this: How can you sentence an accessory to treason when the main culprit (Charles Okah) has not been sentenced?

The accessory is to what then? That is the first question begging for answer. Before you sentence an accessory, the main culprit must have been sentenced. But our brother, Ebiware, was sentenced to Kuje Prison for seven years on trumped-up charges.

The same Justice Gabriel Kolawole that sentenced Ebiware for accessory said last week that Charles Okah, suspected to be the mastermind of the bombing, was not guilty of treason. The court said the life of former President Goodluck Jonathan was not threatened, and that Jonathan was never in that place that day. Now, the charge of treason against Okah has been quashed.

How can you sentence a person for an accessory to nothing? It means that the charge of accessory is null and void.

Today, we declare Ebiware as a law-abiding citizen and a young Niger Deltan that was involved in the process of bringing peace to the Niger Delta through the Amnesty Programme.

He called on the justices of the Court of Appeal to reverse the conviction of Ebiware since Justice Kolawole that sentenced him for accessory had by his judgment declared that the crime never took place.

He also appealed to the Presidential Committee on Prerogative of Mercy to look into the case and recommend to President Muhammadu Buhari to declare clemency for Ebiware.

He added, Ebiware is innocent; he is a responsible young man with a wife and children, and with an aged mother of over 70 years old. He was the breadwinner of his family.

A former member of the House of Representatives, Boulos Indowarei, who also took part in the protest, said Ebiware was suffering for an offence he did not commit.

Ebiwares wife, Ify, who spoke amid sobs, said life had been a hell for her and their two children.

Ify said, It has not been easy staying without a husband for seven years and my kids growing up without their father for seven years.

I appeal to the Federal Government to look into the injustice meted out to my husband and set him free.
It is the end of the road for a shameless Nigerian pastor who operated a fake maternity and baby factory in Aba.

Policemen from the Abia state police command have arrested and paraded a pastor who operated a church and a medical centre which has been converted into a baby factory at number 252 Faulks road Aba.

According to The Nation, the pastor who gave his name as Christopher Adebanya Tochukwu and other suspected criminals, the Commissioner of Police (CP) Leye Oyebade said that the pastor has been raping the pregnant girls at his medical centre.

Oyebade said that when one of the girls was interrogated she claimed that the pastor has been raping them and in one of his attempt to rape one of the girls, he was stabbed on the neck by the victim with a glass object she laid her hands on.

He said that one of the girls who gave her name as Imeobong Udoh under interrogation alleged that her two months old baby she delivered there was forcefully taken away from her by the wife of the pastor and sold to an unknown person.

The Abia CP said that his men from Ariaria police station who went for the operation was able to rescue a two weeks old baby girl who has been taken to a motherless babys home for care and custody.

In an interaction with Blessing Ariet, she said that the pastor tried to rape her and when she refused that he started beating her with belt leaving several marks on her body.

She said that there was a time when he attempted to sleep with her forcefully but had to stop, When his wife came suddenly into the room she was kept and he pretended that he was examining her stomach.

The other girl who gave her name as Ikechukwu Jane said that the wife of the pastor who is now as large is aware of her husbands raping of the girls in the medical centre, The wife said that when he sleeps with the girls that the babies in our womb are being fed naturally.

Oyebade said that the operatives of Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the command stationed at Obehie division arrested Godspower Emeka aged 28 years of Orji street Obehie for allegedly stealing Mercy Emeka aged 3 years of the same address.

He said that Mercy was sold to Kelvin Ogbunigwu aged 35 years of Omuma in Rivers state for the sum of N150,000, The baby who has been recovered and the suspect who sold her is her uncle.

When The Nation spoke with the Emeka, he said that the load of feeding eleven children in their family was becoming too much, So when one of my friends Ogbunigwu came and told me that there is someone who would buy the baby I sold her to him.

When asked why did he not sell one of his children since he said that he is married with children, he said, It is the devil and I regret my actions and plead that my sister should forgive me for my devilish action.

Oyebade said that the strategy the command has out in place in fighting heinous crimes has started yielding fruits as has his men under Ndiegoro division intercepted and engaged a five man armed robbery gang in a gun duel very close to a first generation bank in Aba.

He said that after the gun battle, Two of the hoodlums were gunned down, while three of the suspects escaped their operational car a Nissan Laurel with registration number AE 221 ARG and other items were recovered.

The CP also paraded several other suspected criminals including burglars who specializes in breaking of shops, including recovery of fire arms from suspected armed robbers.
The Counselling Ambassador Organisation has urged undergraduates to seek counselling rather than committing suicide when they are confronted with challenges.

The head of the organisation, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika, said this at the 10th annual concert of the TCAO tagged, Berachah 2017.

It would be recalled that students of the University of Lagos and Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, reportedly committed suicide in March and April 2017 respectively.

She complained that counselling departments were available in most institutions but many students refused to take advantage of them.She said, Students should learn to seek the service of a counsellor. Many institutions have this already. Suicide is not a solution to depression. If you are depressed, meet a counsellor for guidance.
Serial entrepreneur, Toyin lawanis baby daddy, Lordtrigg has been arrested by the Lagos State police.

According to the reports, the 25-year-old is currently at the Jakande police station, Lekki, Lagos, for not paying his hotel bills at the Golden Bird Hotel in Ilasan, Lekki.

After much persuasion to pay up and they refused, the owner of the hotel this morning called in the police to arrest them.

While two of them are on the run, Lordtrigg and one of his friends were arrested. He is currently in police detention at the Ilasan Police station in Jakande in the Ajah axis of Lagos.

It was gathered that they have been staying at the hotel for six months without paying.

Source: Naijaloaded
An undergraduate of Benue State Polythenic identified as Emmanuel Akola was accused of being a cultist and member of a notorious group terrorizing the community.

The 20 year old is also alleged to be a friend to the four suspected armed robbers recently killed in the area by the vigilante.

Akola, who also goes by the alias 2green, was in Otukpa with his grand mother when he was informed that his friends had been killed by the vigilante group.

On getting to the school, the deceased searched for the corpses of his friends without any result.

He decided to sit by the school gate, believing that he might see someone to make inquiries.

Some vigilante group, probably acting on information approached him and asked him who he was waiting for.

2green was said to have told them that he was waiting for his friends. The vigilante members later asked him to show them his house.
This is an artist's rendering of KELT-9b and KELT-9. KELT-9b is a gas giant 2.8 times more massive than Jupiter but only half as dense. KELT-9b orbits a star, KELT-9, which is more than twice as large and nearly twice as hot as our sun. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt (IPAC)

A newly discovered Jupiter-like world is so hot that it's stretching the definition of the word planet.

With a day-side temperature of 4,600 Kelvin (more than 7,800 degrees Fahrenheit), planet KELT-9b is hotter than most stars, and only 1,200 Kelvin (about 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit) cooler than our own sun.

In an article in this week's issue of Nature, an international research team led by astronomers at Ohio State University and Vanderbilt University describes a planet with some very unusual features. The article is titled A giant planet undergoing extreme ultraviolet irradiation by its hot massive-star host.

Two Lehigh University astronomers  Joshua Pepper , assistant professor of physics, and doctoral candidate Jonathan Labadie-Bartzcoauthored the study, which was also presented at the spring meeting of the American Astronomical Society.

KELT-9b is a gas giant 2.8 times more massive than Jupiter but only half as dense, because extreme radiation from its host star has caused its atmosphere to puff up like a balloon. And because it is tidally locked to its star  as the moon is to Earth  the day side of the planet is perpetually bombarded by stellar radiation, and as a result is so hot that molecules such as water, carbon dioxide and methane can't form there. The properties of the night side are still mysterious  molecules may be able to form there, but probably only temporarily.

It's a planet by any of the typical definitions based on mass, but its atmosphere is almost certainly unlike any other planet we've ever seen just because of the temperature of its day side, said Scott Gaudi, professor of astronomy at Ohio State University and a leader of the study.

KELT-9b orbits a star, dubbed KELT-9, which is more than twice as large and nearly twice as hot as our sun.

KELT-9 radiates so much ultraviolet radiation that it may completely evaporate the planet, said Keivan Stassun, a professor of physics and astronomy at Vanderbilt who directed the study with Gaudi. Or, if gas giant planets like KELT-9b possess solid rocky cores as some theories suggest, the planet may be boiled down to a barren rock, like Mercury.

That is, if the star doesn't grow to engulf it first. KELT-9 will swell to become a red giant star in about a billion years, said Stassun. The long-term prospects for life, or real estate for that matter, on KELT-9b are not looking good.

A possible UV-fueled tail

Given that its atmosphere is constantly blasted with high levels of ultraviolet radiation, the planet may even be shedding a tail of evaporated planetary material like a comet, Gaudi added.

While Gaudi and Stassun spend a lot of time developing missions designed to find habitable planets in other solar systems, the scientists said there's a good reason to study worlds that are unlivable in the extreme.

As has been highlighted by the recent discoveries from the MEarth collaboration, the planet around Proxima Centauri, and the astonishing system discovered around TRAPPIST-1, the astronomical community is clearly focused on finding Earthlike planets around small, cooler stars like our sun, said Gaudi. They are easy targets and there's a lot that can be learned about potentially habitable planets orbiting very low-mass stars in general.

On the other hand, because KELT-9b's host star is bigger and hotter than the sun, it complements those efforts and provides a kind of touchstone for understanding how planetary systems form around hot, massive stars, Gaudi said.

Stassun added, As we seek to develop a complete picture of the variety of other worlds out there, it's important to know not only how planets form and evolve, but also when and under what conditions they are destroyed.

A tiny dip in stellar brightness

How was the new planet found?

In 2014, astronomers using the KELT-North telescope at Winer Observatory in Arizona noticed a tiny drop in the star's brightnessabout half of one percent that indicated that a planet may have passed in front of the star. The brightness dipped once every 1.5 days, which means the planet completes a yearly circuit around its star every 1.5 days.

Subsequent observations confirmed the signal to be due to a planet, and revealed it to be what astronomers call a hot Jupiterthe ideal kind of planet for the KELT telescopes to spot.

KELT is short for Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope. Astronomers at Ohio State, Vanderbilt and Lehigh University jointly operate two KELTs (one each in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres) in order to fill a large gap in the available technologies for finding extrasolar planets.

Other telescopes are designed to look at very faint stars in much small sections of the sky, and at very high resolution. The KELTs, in contrast, look at millions of very bright stars at once, over broad sections of sky, and at low resolution.

It's a low-cost means of planet hunting, using mostly off-the-shelf technology: while a traditional astronomical telescope costs millions of dollars to build, the hardware for a KELT telescope runs less than $75,000.

This discovery is a testament to the discovery power of small telescopes, and the ability of citizen scientists to directly contribute to cutting-edge scientific research, said Pepper, who built the two KELT telescopes.

The astronomers hope to take a closer look at KELT-9b with other telescopesincluding Spitzer, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), and eventually the James Webb Space Telescope. Observations with HST would enable them to see if the planet really does have a cometary tail, and to determine how much longer that planet will survive its current hellish condition.

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Besides Vanderbilt, Ohio State and Lehigh, American partner institutions include Fisk University, Pennsylvania State University, the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network, University of Notre Dame, NASA Ames Research Center, Bay Area Environmental Research Institute, Swarthmore College, IPAC, Brigham Young University, University of California-Santa Cruz, University of Wyoming, Louisiana State University, University of Louisville, Spot Observatory in Nashville, Westminster College, Kutztown University, University of Hawaii, University of Washington, Texas A&M University, Wellesley College, and the Winer Observatory in Sonoita, Arizona. International team members are from Denmark, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Switzerland, Australia, Germany and South Africa.

The study was largely funded by the National Science Foundation through an NSF CAREER Grant, NSF PAARE Grant and an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. Additional support came from NASA via the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Exoplanet Exploration Program; the Harvard Future Faculty Leaders Postdoctoral Fellowship; Theodore Dunham, Jr., Grant from the Fund for Astronomical Research; and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.
The Long Run Stock Market (and Sentiment Results) HedgeFundTips.com - 1 hour ago We are only mid-way through a secular bull market driven by Millenials housing and family formation.

Cotton Firms up for Midday Barchart - Thu Nov 10, 11:47AM CST Front month cotton futures are off their early session lows and working near UNCH for midday. December contracts are 11 points in the black, with 9 to 13 point losses in the spring delivery months. USDAs... CTZ22 : 86.38s (-0.14%) CTH23 : 84.56s (-0.20%) CTK23 : 83.97s (+0.21%)

Hogs Fading through Thursdays Midday Barchart - Thu Nov 10, 11:47AM CST Lean hog prices are down by 35 to 75 cents across the front months. The USDA National Average Base Hog Price was $3.54 weaker on Thursday morning to $84.21. The CME Lean Hog Index was down by another 60... HEZ22 : 84.875s (-0.47%) HEJ23 : 94.225s (-0.42%) KMZ22 : 95.675 (+0.24%)

Thursday Gains in Cattle Market Barchart - Thu Nov 10, 11:47AM CST Feeder cattle futures are on the rally with 55 cents to $1.40 gains through midday. Fat cattle futures are trading 7 to 75 cents in the black as well on the weaker grain market. USDA confirmed some moderate... LEZ22 : 153.075s (+0.99%) LEG23 : 155.025s (+0.57%) LEJ23 : 158.500s (+0.46%) GFX22 : 178.625s (+0.51%) GFF23 : 181.700s (+1.14%)

Double Digit Soybean Losses through Midday Barchart - Thu Nov 10, 11:47AM CST So far the Thursday soy market is down 1.6% to 1.9% with 24 to 28 1/2 cent losses. Meal prices are 2.5% to 3% weaker at midday. BO prices are gaining 15 to 84 points through midday. FAS Export Sales data... ZSX22 : 1430-4s (-2.00%) ZSPAUS.CM : 13.9297 (-2.00%) ZSF23 : 1423-0s (-2.00%) ZSH23 : 1428-0s (-2.01%)

Wheat Prices Weaker through Midday Barchart - Thu Nov 10, 11:47AM CST Midday wheat futures are down another 3 to 11 cents across the complex. SRW futures in Chicago are giving back 0.4% to 0.7% so far. KC HRW futures are down by 0.7% to 0.8% at midday. Spring wheat futures... ZWZ22 : 803-4s (-0.37%) ZWH23 : 825-6s (-0.24%) ZWPAES.CM : 7.3619 (-0.41%) KEZ22 : 925-2s (-0.51%) KEPAWS.CM : 8.8355 (-0.51%) MWZ22 : 931-4s (-0.72%)

Corn Red at Midday Barchart - Thu Nov 10, 11:47AM CST Nearby corn futures are trading 6 1/4 to 8 3/4 cents in the red. For December that is near the low for the day, and the lowest prints since mid/late August. USDA announced a private export sale of 209,931... ZCZ22 : 653-2s (-1.69%) ZCPAUS.CM : 6.5103 (-1.76%) ZCH23 : 659-4s (-1.64%) ZCK23 : 659-4s (-1.64%)

Coffee Jumps as the Dollar Plunges Barchart - Thu Nov 10, 11:45AM CST December arabica coffee (KCZ22 ) this morning is up +5.80 (+3.51%), and Jan ICE Robusta coffee (RMF23 ) is up +2 (+0.11%). Coffee prices Thursday recovered from early losses, with arabica coffee sharply... KCH23 : 167.70s (+3.30%) RMF23 : 1,827s (+0.44%)
Update 6/20/17  City Line Capital has acquired Fort Knox Self Storage in Winston-Salem, N.C. The transaction was in partnership with CSG RE and marks the fifth storage facility City Line has purchased since its February launch. The property at 2550 Peters Creek Parkway comprises 68,562 rentable square feet in 625 units, according to a press release.

The facility features a mix of climate-controlled and traditional units, along with surface parking spaces. It was 91 percent occupied at the time of purchase. Itll be rebranded under a new name and operated by third-party management firm Storage Asset Management, the release stated.

We are excited to enter the Winston-Salem market and look forward to continuing our growth in the Carolinas, Schontz said. We plan to make several physical enhancements to the facility and look forward to continuing to deliver top-notch self-storage service to the tenants of this high-quality facility.

In addition to permanent residents, the facility serves the student population from the areas surrounding colleges and universities, including the University of North Carolina School of Arts, Wake Forest University and Winston-Salem University.

6/5/17  City Line Capital LLC, a newly formed real estate investment firm specializing in self-storage assets, has acquired its first four properties. The company closed in March on a facility in Colorado Springs, Colo., and has added assets in Louisiana, Pennsylvania and Texas in the last 30 days, according to a press release. Together, the sites comprise approximately 175,000 square feet in 1,600 units. Theyll all be operated by third-party management firms.

Among the purchases was Central Self Storage in the New Orleans suburb of Harvey, La., which was purchased from Pegasus Group. The facility at 2520 Destrehan Ave. comprises 57,464 square feet in 497 units. Built in 1985, the asset was fully renovated in 2013, according to a press release from JLL Capital Markets, the commercial real estate and finance firm that represented the seller in the transaction.

The Harvey property, about 10 miles south of New Orleans, includes one single-story building and a pair of two-story structures. The renovation converted 130 traditional units to climate-controlled spaces. Other improvements included a remodel of the management office, door replacements, the installation of an elevator and repainting, the JLL release stated. The property also features electronic access control, a 24-hour kiosk and fencing. Access to the facility is off Lapalco Boulevard, a four-lane thoroughfare with an estimated daily traffic count of 49,000 vehicles.

Pegasus was represented in the deal by JLL Managing Directors Steve Mellon and Brian Somoza as well as Greg Riera, senior vice president.

City Line has six other self-storage properties under purchase contracts totaling another 500,000 square feet, the release stated. The company was launched in February to acquire and manage self-storage assets across the United States. The group has said it intends to acquire $200 million in self-storage property this year.

We look forward to building upon this success as we accelerate our level of growth to become recognized as one of the most active investors in this asset class, said Alex Meshechok, managing partner of City Line and managing director of partner firm CSG RE.

JLL is a full-service global provider of capital solutions for real estate investors and occupiers. Last year, the firm completed about $136 billion in finance transactions and sales acquisitions. The firms capital-markets team closed more than 1,400 deals in 2016, with a production volume of more than $56 billion.

Based in Walnut Creek, Calif., and founded in 1988, Pegasus Group is a real estate investment and management company specializing in self-storage. It owns and operates 49 self-storage facilities in 10 states under the Central Self-Storage brand.

Based in Philadelphia, City Line was launched by former brokers Matt Hardiman, Rick Schontz and Matt Weckesser in partnership with CSG RE, the real estate acquisition arm of New York investment bank CSG Partners LLC. The companys acquisition criteria include assets in primary and secondary markets of at least 40,000 square feet, though smaller properties may be considered if they offer expansion opportunities, according to the company website.
Inside Self-Storage (ISS) and Janus International Group have released a new publication titled, Case Study: Top Self Storage Proves Why It's Tops in Miami. The free downloadable PDF explores how the self-storage operator revitalized an underperforming Florida property through renovation.

The study explains the challenges Top Self Storage faced prior to the rejuvenation project, including a lack of curb and consumer appeal, and the need to expand. It also provides details about the property makeover, including the various enhancements that were made, such as new doors and hallways, an improved rental office, advanced technology, and more.

This and other case studies can be downloaded from the Whitepapers page of the ISS Resource Center. Another recent Janus whitepaper, R3: Renovate, Remodel or Retrofit for Retention, Revenue and Real (Estate) Value, can be downloaded from the same page.

Headquartered in Temple, Ga., Janus has eight U.S. locations as well as manufacturing facilities in Europe and Mexico. The company is owned by Saw Mill Capital Partners LP, a New York-based private equity investment fund managed by Saw Mill Capital LLC.

For more than 25 years, ISS has provided informational resources for the self-storage industry. Its educational offerings include ISS magazine, the annual ISS World Expo, an extensive website, the ISS Store, and Self-Storage Talk, the industrys largest online community.
National Storage Affiliates Trust (NSAT), a Maryland real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in self-storage, continues to expand its presence in Florida. The company recently acquired Stor-N-More Self Storage in Tampa for $19 million through its affiliate, NSA Property Holdings LLC, according to a press release from SkyView Advisors, the investment-sales and advisory firm that represented the seller, Crosstown Stor-N-More LLC. The property comprises 117,655 net rentable square feet in 1,105 units.

Built on 7.02 acres in 2008, the facility includes 880 climate-controlled units and 70 spaces for vehicles and miscellaneous use, the release stated. The purchase price equates to $161.91 per square foot.

The population is 70,128 within a three-mile radius of the property and jumps to 164,162 when the radius is expanded to five miles, according to the release. This property is a high-quality, class-A facility in a prime location, said Ryan Clark, director of investment sales at SkyView.

The Stor-N-More website rolls over to Hide-Away Storage, which would suggest the facility will be branded under the Hide-Away name. Hide-Away became NSATs seventh participating regional operator (PRO) a year ago. It contributed its 14 properties comprising about 1 million rentable square feet to the REITs self-storage portfolio for approximately $115 million. In March, NSAT signed an agreement to add Florida-based Personal Mini Storage as the REITs eighth PRO. Personal Mini manages 40 facilities in mid-Florida comprising approximately 2.7 million rentable square feet.

SkyView is a boutique firm specializing in self-storage acquisition, development, facility expansion and renovation, refinancing, and sales. Based in Tampa, the firm also has offices in Cleveland and Milwaukee.

Headquartered in Greenwood, Colo., NSAT is a self-administered and -managed REIT focused on the acquisition, operation and ownership of self-storage properties within the top 100 U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas throughout the United States. The company has ownership interest in 456 storage facilities in 23 states. Its portfolio comprises approximately 28 million net rentable square feet. It's owned by its affiliate operators, who are contributing their interests in their self-storage assets over the next few years as their current mortgage debt matures.
Peterborough, ON (June 5, 2017)- With a pair of events run so far, the Ontario Modifieds Racing Series powered by Torque Builders Inc. has seen two first-time main event winners find their way to victory lane. Fans of the popular open-wheeled tour will be looking to see if the trend continues when the 2017 schedule resumes on Saturday, June 10th at Canadas Toughest 1/3-Mile Paved Oval.

After a stretch of very impressive showings last season, Duane Cinnamon took the checkered flag Saturday, May 20 at Sunset Speedway, while it was Brad Stevensons turn to step into the spotlight at this years first Peterborough Speedway event Saturday, May 27. With the young terms point standings incredibly close, Randy Hollingsworth, who along with Rick Warnes and Bill Pickford make-up the OMRS group of officials, says its anyones race to win.

Weve had about a dozen teams take the green flag at each of our shows this year, Hollingsworth said. The field is strong and were still expecting some new runners to be part of the action in weeks to come. After missing the first two events on this years tour following his trip to Bristol Motor Speedway, Stu Robinson Jr. is expected to be in the starting line-up at Peterborough.

Hollingsworth says that with just over 75 points separating the top runners in the standings and the on-track competition incredibly tough throughout the field, it isnt surprising that there have been first-time winners in seasons opening events.

Ontario Modifieds Racing Series Notebook: As part of the driver development program with Peterborough Speedway, OMRS will host its annual Test-A-Mod day prior to the Saturday, June 10th event. From 11:00 til 2:00, drivers from other divisions will get the chance to take some laps in one of the popular open-wheeled machines.

Ontario Modifieds Racing Series Point Standings (after May 27/17)

Duane Cinnamon 126

Brad Stevenson 120

Chris Burrows 114

Connor James 112

Randy Hollingsworth 110

Robert Warnes 110

Richard Warnes 106

Craig Stevenson 95

Willow Barberstock 84

John Baker Jr. 80

Mark Gordon 50

Fans can find full series details at www.facebook.com/OMRS. Clarke Motorsports Communications is proud to represent Ontario Modifieds Racing Series 2017 season.

Prepared by: Jim Clarke, Clarke Motorsports Communications/First Draft Media

clarkemotorsports@hotmail.com, www.facebook.com/clarkemotorsports

613.968.6410
A high court justice ruled that ICAPs former head of global e-commerce wasnt eligible to get out of his non-compete clause under British employment transfer rules.

Former ICAP executive Dean Berry has lost his attempt to wriggle out of a non-compete clause imposed by his former employer, in a case that could have made it more difficult for some UK employers to enforce non-compete agreements.

The legal battle hinged on interdealer broker ICAPs sale to Tullett Prebon in December 2016, which Berry believed allowed for him to be released from his obligations, as he was being transferred to a new employer under the UKs Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment rules  known as the TUPE regulations  which are designed to protect employees benefits and pension arrangements in an instance when one company buys another, among other things. Were it successful, the case could have led to numerous other cases in a similar vein. ICAPs win can be seen as a victory for UK employers, as it means employees must honor their non-compete obligations, even if the company is sold to another organization during the time the employee works there.

Macfarlanes, the law firm representing ICAP, said todays High Court ruling was significant for financial firms across the City and beyond. Jonathan Arr, partner at the firm, said that had Dean prevailed, it would likely have opened the door to a number of further claims and substantial uncertainty as to the state of the law.

Berry had been the chief executive of ICAPs global e-commerce division until he resigned in July 2016 to join arch rival BGC. Under the terms of his non-compete agreement, he was placed on paid leave until July 21, 2017. He was not permitted to work elsewhere while on leave at full pay.

Berrys legal team argued that his non-compete agreement was unenforceable because his employer had been sold to Tullett Prebon in December 2016. Berry claimed that the sale permitted him to be free of his obligation because he could refuse to be transferred to a new employer under the TUPE regulations. But the judge did not agree.

I reject the defendants TUPE argument and hold that the defendant remains subject to his contract of employment, said High Court Justice Neil Garnham in his ruling.

We welcome the Courts decision to hold Mr. Berry to his contract, a spokesman for ICAP said in an e-mailed statement. The lengths to which the employee and BGC were prepared to go to effect an early exit from the employment contract meant there was no alternative other than to litigate to protect our business, our employees and the services we provide to our clients.

The ruling means Berry can no longer work for BGC until the non-compete agreement expires in July. But ICAP was unsuccessful in its attempt to secure a second injunction, to prevent Berry from taking client relationships with him to his new employer, ICAP rival BGC. Were it successful, this injunction could have also significantly altered employment contracts in the UK. To counter this claim, Berrys legal team argued that ICAP should be made to prove that certain client relationships were cultivated and developed specifically by him.

In Tuesdays ruling, Justice Garnham said ICAPs case to secure an injunction was weak in the extreme, adding that he was unconvinced that any significant evidence of client relationships had been established.

Some of the most high-profile figures from the broking world turned up in court to give evidence in the case. Don McClumpha, chief executive officer of global broking for ICAP parent company TP ICAP, and Sean Windeatt, CEO of BGC Group, were among those called to the stand.

In a statement, a spokesman for BGC said the company welcomed Justice Garnhams recognition that Windeatt was entirely reasonable to take commercial view of the application of the TUPE rules. The spokesman added that the judge had rejected the claim that BGC had procured or induced Berry to breach his contract with ICAP.

Berry declined to comment.

An earlier version of this story misstated Dean Berry's role. He was previously chief executive of global e-Commerce. The story has been updated to reflect this.
In the first eight days of May, both chambers of the Texas legislature passed a historic bill  the Houston Pension Solution  that aims to reform the municipal, police, and firefighters pension funds in Texass largest city. It was the first time in 16 years that a pension reform bill for Houston had passed in either the House or the Senate, and it left one group feeling ripped off.

The Houston Firefighters Relief and Retirement Fund doesnt like the terms of the proposal  which reduces future benefits to fix the $8.2 billion unfunded liability faced by the citys three public pensions  because its taking the biggest hit even though its the least underfunded.

Although the fund represents just 18 percent of the total unfunded liability, the firefighters are expected to take about 35 percent of the total future benefits reduction, according to Joe Gimenez, a spokesman for the firefighters pension. Making matters worse, he says, there are fewer firefighters than police and municipal employees, meaning that each firefighter would see a bigger reduction in benefits than either of the other types of city employees.

Its robbing Peter to pay Paul, says Nick Salem, president of the Houston Retired Firefighters Association.

Heres a look at the numbers. The Houston Municipal Employees Pension System is 47 percent funded, the Houston Police Officers Pension System is 77 percent funded, and the firefighters pension is 89 percent funded, according to the plans latest financial statements. The municipal pension has more than 27,000 members, the police fund has almost 9,000 members, and the firefighters pension has about 7,000 members, the statements show.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and the citys finance director did not respond to phone calls and emails seeking comment. A spokeswoman for the city pointed to the mayors previous statements on the matter.

In a letter to the Texas House dated May 3, Turner wrote that police and municipal employees have a system that allows them to retire with 70 to 80 percent of their salaries after 40 years of service, whereas firefighters can draw nearly three times as much. The citys annual audit shows that Houston does not have the money to pay these benefits, Turner said.

Houstons pension challenges are real. Our citys financial future is at stake, Turner said in the letter. Its time to solve this problem by working together to create a sustainable pension for all employees.

Houston will address past underfunding by issuing $1 billion in pension obligation bonds, $750 million of which will be allocated to the police fund and $250 million to the municipal fund, according to the citys January presentation to the State Pension Review Board. Its another point of contention for the firefighters, Salem says, who note they will be expected to make cuts without seeing any of the proceeds from the bond offering. Turner said in his letter that because police and municipal employees had previously adjusted their benefits and willingly deferred payments from the city, the bonds will be issued as catch-up funding for the two pensions.

The new bill will also lower the assumed rate of return for all three pensions to 7 percent  down from 8 percent for the police and municipal funds and 8.5 percent for the firefighters fund. And it will introduce a corridor rule that will cap Houstons contribution to 5 percent above expected costs over the next 30 years. Houston will be the first city to use the corridor rule, says Josh McGee, vice president of public accountability at the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, which has funded research on public pensions. The concept addresses one of the critical points of pension reform, he says, which is to reduce downside risks for taxpayers.

Under the rule, if Houstons contribution rises above the cap, the pension plans will be required to cut benefits to a certain level. But the lack of precedent for the corridor rule is precisely what worries the firefighters, Salem notes: No one knows exactly how this will work.

On May 21 a SenateHouse conference committee tasked with reviewing the bill removed an amendment, written by Representative Dwayne Bohac of Houston, that would have exempted currently retired firefighters from the benefit cuts. On May 23 the revised bill was passed by the Texas Senate, freeing it to move on to a vote in the House. If approved by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, it will take effect as soon as July 1.

Until then, Salem plans to meet regularly with the retired firefighters, more than 300 of whom he says are living below the poverty line even with their pension checks. At a recent pension retirees barbecue, Salem recalls being approached by a Houston firefighters 92-year-old widow who was worried about potential cuts to her pension check: She said she was going to have to cut her medicine in half.
Better-than-expected economic data and the election of French President Emmanuel Macron has created a renewed sense of optimism for European integration, fund managers say.

Investors in the Eurozone are more optimistic than at any time since the financial crisis, according to Sentix data.

A Sentix poll measuring the mood of investors in Europes single currency area has risen on positive economic data from the region, as well as more optimistic attitudes toward Eurozone countries previously considered to be struggling, such as Greece and Italy, according to the latest monthly data released Tuesday.

Fund managers say the election of President Emmanuel Macron in France has delivered a renewed sense of optimism for European integration when coupled with better-than-anticipated economic data in the weaker parts of the Euro area.

The economic news flow remains positive, as seen in the most recent unemployment numbers, said Ahmed Behdenna, a multi-asset fund manager at Aviva Investors. Political news flow has often weighed on market sentiment towards the Eurozone, but thats also improving, he said.

The Sentix research was conducted among 953 investors globally, 261 of which were institutional investors. Theyre asked each month to give their views of the economy based on an economic clock that sets zero as neutral. High negative numbers indicate an increased likelihood of a recession, while high positive numbers mean an economic boom is likely.

The average score from institutional investors rating the Eurozone economy was 40.5 this month, up from 39.5 in May and 19.5 in January. While the score from individual investors was lower, registering at 31.5, their optimism this year has similarly risen.

Nicholas Wall, portfolio manager at Old Mutual Global Investors, said those investing in Europe are ultimately making a call on European politics, and the market may have priced in too much European political risk at the start of the year.

European solidarity appears higher than it has been at any time since the Brexit vote, he said. To some degree, Brexit has united European politicians. This is helped enormously by the positive-growth environment seen in most European countries as political discontent tends to fade as unemployment drops and wages improve.

Despite the positivity, some contrarian investors believe that volatility is likely in the immediate future, as the beginning of the Brexit negotiations, the German election and the Italian election are all on the horizon.

Trevor Greetham, head of multi asset at Royal London Asset Management, said the U.K.s decision to leave the European Union is unlikely to cause a global recession, but he does believe it will have an impact on European investor sentiment.

I think we will see swings in sentiment from Brexit, which could be a reason for some wobbles this summer, Greetham said. If you have a Tory majority, [U.K. Brexit Secretary] David Davis is pretty much saying that his first action in a negotiation is to walk away.

Adam Laird, head of ETF strategy for Northern Europe at Lyxor, agreed that theres reason to be cautious about optimistic survey results.

We have heard more investors looking at choosing their countries rather than going for broad markets in Europe, he said.
This content is from: Portfolio

The online used car dealer has hit a new low, making it the most profitable short of the year.
Australias brokers have spoken and the results are in for Insurance Business magazines fifth annual Brokers on Insurers report.The Brokers on Insurers survey asked brokers to rate the performance of several insurers across 11 areas including turnaround times, overall service level and BDM support. Allianz was rated the insurer of the year after picking up the gold medal for its online platforms, premium stability and brand recognition and silver for its commission structure, training and development and turnaround times  claims. CGU was rated the second best insurer of the year after receiving the highest rating for commission structure and product range and QBE came in third as a result of its overall service level and BDM support.The Brokers on Insurers survey is available in issue 6.03 of Insurance Business magazine, out now.
Insurers are scheduled to meet with communities in Brisbane and northern NSW
A Brisbane-based insurer has tagged Queensland's compulsory car insurance system as having the most uncertainty among the state-based markets in which it operates, even as it continues to run a very profitable scheme, it has been reported. Suncorp , which was previously described as exaggerating concerns by the regulator, released its comments as the Government examines CTP reforms.A government-backed committee has already called for immediate action on insurers' super profits, which evidence revealed was almost four times higher than the scheme intended.At an analyst briefing last week, Suncorp insurance chief Anthony Day said: In Queensland... were still working through with the government about what the reforms should really be, and that there were a lot of unknowns, The Courier-Mail reported.Queensland is probably where theres most uncertainty at the moment, he said.He pointed to the regulator slashing the allowable price down to an annual $352 for cars, with one price reduction following the launch of a national injury scheme, the report said.That was meant to be improved through scheme redesign, which weve not seen yet, he said.Weve seen two more (price reductions), due to different... assumptions between the regulator and some insurers.Having said that, were still running a very profitable scheme and have done for some time.The insurance chief said he was more confident that the reforms would bring the company stronger profits.The changes under review include charging riskier drivers more, defining benefits to be provided for at least six months, and limiting minor-injury claims, The Courier-Mail said.UBS analysts recently told clients that the NSW reforms would largely offset challenges in Queensland. Queensland should account for 32% of Suncorp's gross premium revenues for CTP in 2018 as compared to 58% in 2012, the report said.
Insurer RSA has become the latest insurer to announce its intention to set up a new office in Luxembourg in response to Brexit.The country seems to be heavily favoured by insurers looking to set up a hub in order to continue doing European business post-Brexit. Insurers AIG FM Global and Hiscox have all made moves to establish Luxembourg hubs, and the head of the countrys trade promotions body recently said he was preparing for even more insurers to join them, according to a report by the Daily Telegraph.Many financial services firms in the EU are hurrying to set up overseas hubs, anticipating a loss of passporting rights once Brexit takes effect.Up to 10 people will work in RSAs Luxembourg office, which will be the headquarters for the companys existing EU offices in France, Belgium, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands, the Telegraph reported. Am RSA spokesperson said that the company chose Luxembourg because it was an ideal location with an experienced regulator and multinational expertise.While Brexit is not a major issue for RSA, the move allows the sensible reconfiguration of the branch network in light of the UKs exit from the EU, she said.
Healthcare claims that breach the million-dollar mark continue to rise, according to Sun Lifes latest catastrophic claims report covering data from 2013-2016. Among other things, the insurance giant found that the number of multi-million-dollar claimants increased 68% from 114 to 192 during that four-year period.While multi-million-dollar cases make up a small number of overall claimants, the firm said they are a greater proportion of reimbursement dollars. In 2016, multi-million-dollar cases made up 2.2% of claimants but generated 23% of total stop-loss reimbursements.Over the four-year period, total costs for catastrophic claims reached $6.1 billion, with $2.7 billion paid in stop-loss reimbursements.The firm found that cancer dominates the top 10. Based on dollar amount and percentage of total stop-loss claims, malignant neoplasms and leukemia/lymphoma/multiple myeloma (cancers) took spots one and two on the list, representing more than a quarter (26.7%) of total stop-loss reimbursements from 2013-2016.Of the top-10 conditions, the highest claim was $3.2 million, for malignant neoplasm (cancer). For breast cancer  the most common form of cancer in the US  an average paid claim amounted to $147,100.IV medications tracked in the study pushed up costs  When looking at data on intravenous drugs, the report showed they accounted for 48% of total paid charges on the top five highest-dollar claimants. Of the 562 claimants exceeding $1 million between 2013 and 2016, 45 generated more than $1 million in high-cost intravenous medications.Health insurance is for the unexpected. Providing full coverage for catastrophic medical events without lifetime limits as designed under the Affordable Care Act is the right thing to do, said Dan Fishbein, president of Sun Life Financial US.An unintended result of removing caps under employer plans has been a steady rise in the frequency of multi-million-dollar claims fueled by life-saving treatments and drugs. While this benefits all of us, the overall increase in healthcare costs underscores the need for self-insured employers to plan for and manage catastrophic, high-cost claims so they can continue offering affordable health benefits to their employees, he added.
It turns out insurers know war better than Hollywood studios. At least, thats the decision of a federal judge in a case that could mean NBCUniversal is out nearly $7 million.A California federal court has granted a summary judgment to Atlantic Specialty Insurance Company in a legal battle between the insurer and the studio, according to the Hollywood Reporter.At the root of the $6.9 million dispute is the 2015 mystery-thriller, Dig. Set in Jerusalem, the now-defunct show was about an American FBI agent investigating a death.The show was filming in Israel in 2014 when real life intruded. In June of that year, three Israeli teenagers were kidnapped and killed. When the teens bodies were found, Israel blamed Hamas militants for the deaths. Hamas responded by firing rockets into Israel, which in turn retaliated with an invasion of Gaza. By the time a cease-fire was declared in August of 2014, about 2,220 Palestinians, 67 Israeli soldiers, and six Israeli civilians were dead, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The events are popularly known as the 50-Day War, although no war was officially declared.The conflict, obviously, made the area unsafe for visitors. In July, NBCUniversal decided to move the production of Dig out of Israel. The show completed filming in New Mexico and Croatia.At issue is the studios attempt to get Atlantic to cover extra expenses incurred during the filming. Atlantic refused coverage, saying that war was excluded under its policy, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The studio sued, maintaining that the Hamas rocket attack was terrorism, not actual war.Atlantic accused NBCUniversal of ignoring the reality of warfare in the modern age. The insurer compared the 2014 conflict to the events of 9/11.While approximately 3,000 people died on 9/11, approximately 2,200 died in the 50 Day War and an additional 11,000 Palestinians were wounded and over half a million people were displaced, the insurers lawyer said. The events of 9/11 occurred on a single day, while the conflict between Israel and Hamas lasted for a full 50 days.  Other comparisons between these two horrible events need not be made to state the obvious: war is war.NBCUniversal argued that Atlantic was conflating war and terrorism, which would mean that an insured who pays for terrorism insurance is not getting the benefit of its bargain if coverage is precluded by the war exclusions.However, US District Court Judge Percy Anderson agreed with Atlantic, issuing a summary judgment on the insurers behalf. The judge said a more detailed opinion would be issued later, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Replace the Independent Member with Insurance Expertise as the voting Financial Stability Oversight Council member.

Coordinate federal efforts on the prudential aspects of international insurance matters.

Represent the US in the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) and assist in the negotiations of covered agreements.

Consult with state insurance regulators regarding insurance matters of national importance and prudential insurance matters of international importance.

Assist the Treasury in administering the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act.

A national association of insurance agents has reiterated its opposition to a provision in the CHOICE act that would create the Office of the Independent Insurance Advocate within the Treasury Department. This comes before the House is expected to vote on the act on June 08.The CHOICE Act is designed to roll back the regulatory overreach of the Dodd-Frank Act, said PIA National Executive Vice President & CEO Mike Becker. Unfortunately, it also contains a provision that would create a new, expansive and unnecessary federal insurance bureaucracy. The Independent Insurance Advocate could quickly become a federal insurance czar with no supervision, positioned to usurp our strong and effective system of state insurance regulation. It runs counter to the purpose of shrinking the federal footprint.According to the legislation, the IIA office will come from a merger of the Treasurys Independent Member with Insurance Expertise, and the Federal Insurance Office. The IIA will be appointed by the president for a six-year term, subject to the approval of the Senate.Among other things, the CHOICE Act said the IIA will:If one were to draft a proposal to extend the reach of the federal government over the insurance industry, this provision of the CHOICE Act would fit the bill, said PIA national vice president of government relations Jon Gentile. Its disappointing and frankly inexplicable for the CHOICE Act, which removes power from Washington in so many ways, to be used to increase the federal role over insurance.
The following is an opinion article from Brian Reardon of PwC . The views expressed within the article do not necessarily reflect those of Insurance Business.Personal success in the ever-changing world of workers compensation, or anywhere else for that matter, results primarily from a strong commitment to three very fundamental concepts: flexibility, foresight, and strategic thinking.At the recent American Society of Workers Comp Professionals (AmCOMP) 19th annual meeting in Las Vegas, I spoke with four industry leaders, all of whom reiterated the importance of these seemingly simple but challenging principles.According to Jeremy Attie, CEO of New York Compensation Rating Board, while the sands of workers compensation trends and regulation may be shifting, its always going to be a service-based economy in which leaders adjust to micro changes, as well as the way the industry is moving at a macro level. And clear communication will always be a best practice.Moreover, given the growth of artificial intelligence, which promises practically immediate claims processing, flexibility, foresight and strategic thinking are more important than ever. AI isnt science fiction, nor is its impact on the industry. For example, a Japanese insurance company replaced much of its staff with IBMs Watson early this year.Theres considerable discussion about how US-based insurance companies are reacting to the technological innovation that has led to insurtech companies like Lemonade (which claims that AI and behavioral economics power it). Lemonade announced last year that it had set the worlds record for a claims payment: three seconds. Talk about an industry disruptor!These developments validate Bill Donnells advice on adaptability and staying relevant. Donnell, the CEO of National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI), said learning new skills and technology is crucial. Given the virtual certainty of disruptors in the industry, the best thing to do is get out in front of them. If, for example, claims adjustors fear theyre going to lose their jobs to AI, then they might want to consider going back to school to learn how to be someone who writes the codes that may put them out of work. Or, if the circumstances are right, they might want to make a bolder move by taking a junior role in a start-up company that gives them room to grow.However, Lanny Hubbard, CEO of the Montana State Fund, warned against being too quick to jump from job to job. Achieving a short-term goal may feel good at the moment, but it can seriously undermine long-term success. For Hubbard, the path to success is achieved by keeping a steady hand on the tiller, moving your career at a stable pace, and building a strong foundation of technical skills and knowledge of new systems.For Millennials hungry for advancement who consider making big, quick jumps, 18 months may seem a long time on the job. Hubbard asserts thats risky thinking. Most employees are better off taking their time, building complementary skills, and advancing methodically. He also notes that being a job hopper can damage an individuals reputation. Hubbards perspective fits neatly with the advice from the CEO of Gramercy Risk Management, Bill Fishlinger, to be an expert.Theres a lot for people in workers comp to think about in terms of where the industry is heading. But, flexibility, foresight and strategic thinking remain winning concepts. As the industry leaders I spoke with advised, industry stakeholders need 1) to communicate clearly, 2) be experts at their jobs, 3) be ready to learn the new technology that is changing the industry, and 4) be wary that short-term goals dont sabotage long-term success.Brian Reardon MBA, ARM, AIS, is a member of PwCs Claims & Insurance Operations Practice. He has over 13 years of P&C experience, and has worked on all sides of the industry, including carrier, TPA, broker, and employer. He holds multiple industry designations and an MBA in Insurance and Risk Management from St. John's University.
A woman who was driving a car that crashed into a popular Dewey Beach restaurant, igniting a fire that burned the eatery down, has been ordered to pay $241,000 and serve two years of probation.

Media outlets report that 37-year-old Michelle Small of Wyoming, Del., was sentenced Friday. She had pleaded guilty in April to driving under the influence and criminal mischief.

Police say on Aug. 9, Small lost control of her speeding car and plowed into Eds Chicken and Crabs. Authorities say the crash severed a propane line and sparked a fire.

The restaurant, which had been at the same location for some 40 years, was destroyed. The owner has not rebuilt or reopened at another location.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
A record year for catastrophic disasters, from the Fort McMurray fire to floods in Quebec, have put Canadian home insurers to the test in 2017. According to the J.D. Power 2017 Canadian Home Insurance Study, a spike in major claims has created significant challenges for insurance carriers, with Western regional carriers as a group experiencing a 10-point year-over-year decline in customer satisfaction with the claims process.

J.D. Powers found that a number of insurers turned the situation to their advantage, or their customers, and still provided laudable customer service.

Catastrophic claims on the scale of what weve been seeing over the past few years in Western Canada, and over the past several weeks in Quebec, have put a tremendous strain on insurance carrier resources, affecting everything from longer than average claim payment cycles to customers experiencing greater annual premium increases, said Valerie Monet, director of the insurance practice at J.D. Power. Though the immediate effect of these spikes in claims is felt most by regional carriers, some leaders in the industry have found ways to buck that trend by providing truly great customer experiences even in periods of significant operational stress.

In the overall relationship customers have with their insurer, claims represent a small component of customer satisfaction since not every customer files a claim. So, while claims satisfaction may be slightly down for regional carriers as a result of increased claim volume in the West, customer satisfaction still has improved overall by 37 points (on a 1,000-point scale) due to insurers significantly improving non-claims interactions through their website, local agent/broker and customer service representatives.

The annual study examines customers satisfaction with their homeowners insurance company by examining five factors (in order of importance): non-claim interaction; policy offerings; price; billing and payment; and claims. The non-claim interaction factor includes three subfactors: local agent or broker; call center service representative; and website. Satisfaction is calculated on a 1,000-point scale.

Key Findings

Western regional carriers challenged by Fort McMurray fire: While smaller, regional insurers typically outperform national carriers, claim satisfaction among Western regional carriers as a whole declines 10 points in 2017 to 796 from 806 last year. Conversely, claim satisfaction for national carriers in the Western region has increased 22 points year over year to 805. These changes in satisfaction may reflect capacity constraints put on regional carriers operating in Western Canada stemming from the Fort McMurray fire, which was the largest insured disaster in Canadian history.

Disconnect between perceived and actual coverage: It is too soon to assess exactly how the recent floods in Quebec will affect customer satisfaction, but the study does find a disconnect between perceived and actual coverage for flood damage. Nearly half (48 percent) of respondents in Quebec say they have overland flood coverage; however, the Insurance Bureau of Canada estimates only 10-15 percent of Canadian homeowners actually have such coverage.

One key is to manage expectations: While overall satisfaction among those in the Western region who have had to make a claim is lower compared to those in the Atlantic/Ontario region and Quebec (773, 789 and 812, respectively), average satisfaction scores for carriers in the West that provided a timeline for the claim process and met that timeline is 823.

When dealing with losses on the scale of the Fort McMurray fire, the logistical challenges faced by carriers can be overwhelming, Monet said. But those companies that follow best practices for proactive customer communications can still achieve superior levels of customer satisfaction. This has huge implications for carriers currently dealing with an influx of calls stemming from the flooding in Quebecregardless of whether the customer is covered.

Study Rankings

The Co-operators ranks highest in the Atlantic/Ontario region with a score of 794, followed by Economical Insurance (792) and Allstate (784).

RSA Insurance ranks highest in Quebec with a score of 842, followed by La Capitale (832) and The Personal (828).

Portage Mutual Insurance ranks highest in the Western region with a score of 801, followed by The Co-operators (791) and BCAA (788).

The 2017 Canadian Home Insurance Study is based on responses from 7,422 homeowners insurance customers. The study was fielded in February-March 2017.

Study Rankings

Overall Customer Satisfaction Index Ranking (Based on a 1,000-point scale) Atlantic/Ontario Region JDPower.com Power Circle RatingsTM For Consumers The Co-operators 794 5 Economical Insurance 792 5 Allstate 784 4 Intact Insurance 782 4 The Personal 781 3 belairdirect 780 3 RBC Insurance 779 3 Region Average 778 3 Wawanesa 775 3 State Farm 771 3 Aviva Insurance 769 2 Travelers 768 2 RSA Insurance 767 2 TD Insurance 761 2 Johnson Insurance 755 2 Quebec JDPower.com Power Circle RatingsTM For Consumers RSA Insurance 842 5 La Capitale 832 4 The Personal 828 4 Promutuel 814 4 SSQ General 813 4 Region Average 804 3 Industrial Alliance 800 3 Desjardins General Insurance 798 3 Aviva Insurance 797 3 TD Insurance 792 2 belairdirect 791 2 Intact Insurance 788 2 Western Region JDPower.com Power Circle RatingsTM For Consumers Portage Mutual Insurance 801 5 The Co-operators 791 4 BCAA 788 4 Alberta Motor Association 782 4 SGI Canada 781 4 Intact Insurance 775 4 Region Average 763 3 Wawanesa 754 3 TD Insurance 745 2 Economical Insurance 743 2 Peace Hills General Insurance 741 2 Johnson Insurance 729 2 Aviva Insurance 723 2

Power Circle Ratings Legend

5  Among the best

4  Better than most

3  About average

2  The rest

Source: J.D. Power

Topics Carriers Claims Flood Homeowners Canada
City officials are cooling the coals on front porch grilling in Detroit.

The Detroit News reports that the City Council has updated its outdoor fire code to ban outdoor cooking under a roof or an enclosed area.

The ordinance was approved last month and aims to prevent accidental fires when grills tip over or flames lick too close to homes.

Grills or outdoor cooking devices only are permitted in side and back yards. They also must be at least 10 feet from a property line.

Deputy Fire Commissioner Dave Fornell says violators likely will receive initial warnings, followed by fines.

Fire inspectors will respond when complaints are received. Fornell says the ordinance may be a little inconvenient for some  but it does make things much more safer.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The first of tens of thousands of U.S. lawsuits went to trial on Monday in Kansas against Swiss agribusiness giant Syngenta over its decision to introduce a genetically engineered corn seed variety to the U.S. market before China approved it for imports.

The lawsuits allege Syngentas move wrecked an increasingly important export market for U.S. corn and resulted in price drops that hurt all producers. Court filings show Syngenta aggressively marketed the seeds even when it knew Chinese approval was going to be a problem.

Plaintiffs experts estimate the economic damage at about $5 billion, though Syngenta denies its actions caused any losses for farmers.

The trial in Kansas City, Kansas, involves four Kansas farmers representing roughly 7,300 farmers from that state, according to William Chaney, an attorney for the plaintiffs. It will mark the first test case. The second, involving about 60,000 cases, goes to trial July 10 in a state court in Minnesota, where Syngentas North American seed business is based in suburban Minneapolis. The two cases are meant to provide guidance for how the complex web of litigation in state and federal courts could be resolved.

Syngenta decided to commercialize its Viptera brand of genetically modified corn seeds before China approved importing it. Syngenta invested over $100 million and 15 years in developing Viptera, which has a trait called MIR162 that protects against pests such as earworms, cutworms, armyworms and corn borers.

With U.S. government approval, Syngenta began selling Viptera in the U.S. for the 2011 growing season. But China didnt approve it until December 2014.

Court papers show that Syngenta initially assured stakeholders that China would approve MIR162 in time for the 2011 crop. But the date kept slipping. Some exporters sent shipments containing the trait to China anyway. After two years of accepting them, China began rejecting them in late 2013.

One expert working for the plaintiffs estimated the damage to U.S. farmers to be $5.77 billion; another pegged it at $4.68 billion.

Most plaintiffs didnt grow Viptera, but China excluded their grain, too, because elevators and shippers typically mix grain from large numbers of suppliers, making it difficult to source corn that was free of the trait. So they say all farmers were hurt by the resulting price drop.

The Kansas litigation has been consolidated before U.S. District Judge John Lungstrum in Kansas City, Kansas, where the trial is scheduled to take at least 20 days.

The Kansas trial and the one in Minnesota will serve as bellwether trials, which courts often use when there are large numbers of lawsuits concerning similar legal issue. Attorneys can see how juries react and determine whether to settle other cases or take them to trial.

A few thousand other less advanced cases have been consolidated with a federal judge in Illinois, while lawsuits by grain handlers including Cargill and Archer Daniels Midland are pending in Louisiana.

Syngenta attorney Mike Jones said the company sold a legal product fully approved for sale in the U.S. and other key importing countries, and that it complied with industry standards for international marketing. The company also argues that Chinas rejection had no meaningful impact on U.S. corn prices.

Syngenta points to U.S. Department of Agriculture figures showing that China was just a small market for U.S. corn in 2010 when Syngenta launched Viptera. The company says it was larger market forces, and not Chinas decision, that drove prices down.

Jones said corn prices fell sharply in 2013, even before China rejected its first shipment, because of a bumper U.S. crop that brought prices down from record highs. Jurors will see evidence that the rejections conveniently let the Chinese walk away from contracts they signed when prices were much higher, he said.

Yale-educated John Watson Lungstrum was appointed to the federal bench in 1991 by then-President George H.W. Bush. He is a Kansas City, Missouri, native, national merit scholar and Army veteran who got his law degree from the University of Kansas, where he served as editor-in-chief of the schools law review. He served as the Kansas districts chief federal judge from 2001 through 2007.

The Kansas trial comes as ChemChina  a state-owned conglomerate also known as China National Chemical Corp.  closes in on its $43 billion acquisition of Syngenta. Chinese companies are engaged in a multibillion-dollar global buying spree to acquire technology and brands to improve their competitive edge as explosive growth in their home economy slows.

Associated Press writer Steve Karnowski contributed to this report from Minneapolis.

Related:

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits USA Agribusiness China Kansas
MJ Insurance recently hired Michaela Neal, Margaret Gloyeske and Jacob Jones in Indianapolis, Ind., where the independent agency is headquartered.

Neal, an intern in the risk management department during the Spring semester, continues on with the MJ team as risk transfer specialist trainee. In her new role, she will be working with the risk transfer team to provide client service support and enhance client relationships through proactive initiatives.

She recently graduated from Butler University with a degree in risk management and management information systems. There, she was a participant in the MJ Insurance Student-Run Captive Program, where she gained hands-on experience by creating and updating insurance financial reports, implementing loss control techniques and underwriting real loss exposures.

Gloyeske will join MJ as a client executive, where she will lead the development and execution of client benefit plan strategies. Gloyeske brings more than 20 years of leadership and business management expertise.

Prior to MJ, she was the director of lawyer and consultant recruiting at Faegre Baker Daniells LLP where she was responsible for recruiting and onboarding experienced attorneys and associates for the law firm.

Jones joins the employee benefits team as a consultant, where he will proactively drive sales and service by providing innovative solutions to clients benefits and risk management needs.

Previously, Jones worked as a sales consultant at Gregory & Appel Insurance, working with clients of all sizes and industries.

MJ Insurance is a property-casualty and employee benefits agency that, since 1964, has grown from a two-person start-up to an agency with more than 140 employees in both Phoenix and Indianapolis.

Source: MJ Insurance
The U.S. property/casualty insurance industry, which has been facing rising claims bills for extreme weather events, mostly reacted with silence to President Donald Trumps decision to withdraw the country from the Paris climate change accord.

While corporate leaders from finance, energy, technology and other sectors spoke out last week against and in favor of Trumps announcement, no leading U.S. insurance executives did so.

Most U.S. insurance industry representatives, including leading insurers and insurer trade groups, opted for silence when asked for reaction by Insurance Journal.

The Property Casualty Insurers of America Association (PCI) issued a statement while the American Insurance Association (AIA) and Reinsurance Association of America (RAA) declined comment following Trumps announcement.

Most who declined comment said they do not comment on political issues.

The Insurance Information Institute (III), the major communications organization for the industry, refrained from comment as well.

Most of those who declined comment said they do not comment on political issues. Its not really in our wheelhouse, said one of the groups.

In response to Insurance Journals request, PCI issued a statement by Dave Snyder, PCIs vice president for international policy, that did not mention the actual Paris agreement or the U.S. withdrawal: Insurers are experiencing increasing losses due to extreme weather events. Considering this, it is particularly important for societies, individuals and communities to focus on reducing their risk of loss from such events through adaptation and mitigation.

Among the few speaking out were two Europe-based reinsurers critical of the decision.

Breaking the silence on Twitter, Anthony Kuczinski, president and CEO of Munich Reinsurance America, called the Paris agreement a very important step in mitigating global warning and its risks and labeled the withdrawal by the U.S. a serious blow to mitigating global warming.

Swiss Re, one of several companies like Munich Re that has been out in front in efforts to combat climate change, said that more than 20 studies it has done since 2009 across the globe have found that annualized losses of from 1 to 12 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) result from climate risks. The insurer posted a statement on social media. Swiss Re very much regrets President Trumps decision to withdraw from the historic Paris climate accord, the insurers post said. It called the Paris agreement a key enabler to adopt pre-emptive actions to combat climate change.

We Are Still In

According to Ceres, a business and public interest group advocating for sustainability and action against climate change, The Hartford, Munich Re America, Swiss Re and Allianz have in the past publicly expressed support for the Paris agreement. Ceres also noted that Allianz and The Hartford are among the more than 1,000 executives and firms signing a new We Are Still In initiative pledging to meet the goals of the Paris agreement.

Over 1,100 businesses, as well as nearly 300 institutional investors with over $17 trillion in assets, urged President Trump to keep America in the Paris Agreement, Ceres said in a statement for Insurance Journal. In the wake of the deeply unfortunate announcement of a withdrawal from that agreement, Ceres expects to see corporate and investor demands for  and commitments to  climate action to only grow stronger.

State Regulators

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), representing state insurance regulators, declined comment.

However several insurance regulators reacted publicly. California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones called Trumps decision one of the worst abdications of United States leadership and vowed to continue to require insurers in his state to disclose publicly their investments in oil, gas and coal and encourage them to divest from thermal coal.

Similarly, Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler criticized the pullout as short-sighted and also vowed to continue to require insurers that do business in Washington to report their climate risk annually. Trumps efforts to undermine our environment carry a steep price that will be paid for generations to come, Kreidler warned.

The U.S. insurance industrys reluctance to speak out at this time is consistent with the sectors lack of attendance at the Paris summit that led to the global climate accord. According to an Insurance Journal report citing Ceres, the U.S. insurance industry was conspicuously absent in Paris, with the exception of a PCI representative and one state regulator.

Talking Climate Change

Despite the politics, insurance and reinsurance carriers and executives have addressed climate change over the years, including in 2014 when 66 insurance executives signed The Geneva Associations statement of principles acknowledging the role insurance can play to tackle climate-related risks. Those signing included CEOs of U.S.-based carriers AIG, Berkshire Hathaway and ACE (now Chubb), as well as leaders of foreign insurance companies.

Frank Nutter, president of the RAA, has stressed the need for the industry to follow the science of climate change, even as it attempts to avoid the divisive politics in the U.S. over the issue. He has noted that European reinsurers like Munich Re, Swiss Re, Zurich and Allianz have been outspoken about their views on climate change.

There is a clear divide between what largely are European-based companies and the U.S. companies in how they perceive climate change, Nutter told Insurance Journals Don Jergler in an interview in January, 2016.

A commercial lines claims expert for Nationwide Insurance recently told Insurance Journal about how the company has experienced a 26-percent increase in average severity over the three-year period of 2014 to 2016 compared with the seven-year period between 2007 and 2013. It has also recorded a 14-percent increase in unique commercial catastrophe events when comparing those same time periods. When asked whether this was climate change at work, the executive demurred.

I dont know that Im in a position to comment on that, but certainly theres no question that the winters that weve seen in the Midwest and east of the Mississippi are much warmer than we have seen in many years, he said. And I think anytime we see that type of warm weather, especially the Midwest and East, its going to make for some very disruptive weather patterns, which are very difficult to forecast.

Even if many arent talking the talk about Paris, more insurers are now walking the walk by disclosing their climate risks to regulators. A 2016 report by Ceres credited Allianz, Swiss Re, Erie, Nationwide, The Hartford and Munich Re as carriers with climate risk management best practices.

The report, Insurer Climate Risk Disclosure Survey Report and Scorecard, evaluated the quality of responses from insurance companies in the annual National Association of Insurance Commissioners Climate Risk Disclosure Survey. Twenty-two of the insurers studied  including 13 based in the U.S.  earned a high quality rating. Overall the results showed marked improvement from responses analyzed in a report issued two years ago, according to Max Messervy, one of the authors of the report and the insurance program manager at Ceres.

Heritage View

Some analysts have viewed the Paris agreement as opening up opportunities for insurers to develop new insurance products and to work with governments in developing countries on new insurance programs.

This opens up an unprecedented opportunity for the industry to start a very positive, open dialogue with the government towards development of sound, scalable and sustainable insurance programs, as part of which significant amount of innovation can happen, Mayram Golnaraghi, a climate risk expert with the think tank The Geneva Association, said in March 2016 about the Paris agreement.

In her report Golnaragh claimed that by 2020 the reinsurance sector will not only be providing a wider range of risk-transfer solutions, but also will be supporting emission reduction efforts and transitioning to a low-carbon economy through its investment strategies as well as actively managing its carbon footprint.

But in speaking on climate change, President Trump cited Heritage Foundation research on the Paris agreement, including the claim that compliance with the agreement could ultimately shrink Americas GDP by $2.5 trillion over a 10 year period.

The Heritage Foundation claims that the Paris climate accord would cost as many as 400,000 jobs, reduce family income by $20,000 and raise household electricity costs by up to 20 percent  all without delivering any practical environmental benefit.

After Trump made his announcement about the Paris accord, the Heritage Foundation praised him for demonstrating resolute leadership and claimed the Paris agreement would mean egregious regulation, cronyism, and government spending that would harm the American economy.

Its the exact opposite of the Make America Great Again agenda Pres. Trump promised to pursue, Heritage energy and environment expert Nick Loris wrote in a statement. Au revoir to the Paris agreement indeed.

The Wall Street Journal applauded Trumps move in an editorial, calling the Paris accord a pledge of phony progress.

Related:

Topics Carriers USA Europe Reinsurance Property Casualty Climate Change Market Allianz Swiss Re
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled that church-affiliated hospital systems do not have to comply with a federal law governing employee pensions, overturning lower court decisions that could have cost the hospitals billions of dollars.

The court ruled 8-0 that church-affiliated organizations are exempt from the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, a 1974 law that forces private employers to follow rules aimed at protecting pension plan participants.

The ruling was a victory for New Jersey-based Saint Peters Healthcare System, Illinois-based Advocate Health Care Network and California-based Dignity Health, which had faced separate employee lawsuits accusing them of wrongly claiming a religious exemption under ERISA.

Federal agencies had long interpreted the law as exempting not just church plans but also those of church-affiliated organizations.

The employees challenged that view, in effect accusing the hospital systems of being big businesses posing as church organizations in order to avoid minimum funding and reporting requirements under ERISA.

The three hospital systems maintained that their religious affiliation made them exempt from ERISA. St. Peters is affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church. Dignity operates both Catholic and non-Catholic hospitals. Advocate is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Writing for the court, Justice Elena Kagan said the laws religious exemption applies to plans whether they were established by churches themselves or organizations affiliated with the churches.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor agreed with the ruling based on the text of the law. But, in a separate opinion, she wrote that she was troubled with the outcome, noting that some church-affiliated organizations operate for-profit subsidiaries, earn billions of dollars in revenues and compete with companies that must comply with ERISA.

Sotomayor suggested that the U.S. Congress take action, adding that scores of employees  who work for organizations that look and operate much like secular businesses  potentially might be denied ERISAs protections.

The ruling is the latest in which the justices endorsed the idea that certain businesses deserve wider latitude because of religious considerations. In 2014, the justices sided with Hobby Lobby, a retailer owned by conservative Christians, that objected to a federal requirement that it pay for insurance coverage for womens birth control, saying that violated a U.S. law protecting religious freedom.

Three separate regional federal appeals courts had ruled against Saint Peters, Advocate and Dignity in separate cases, refusing to dismiss employees lawsuits against them.

Hundreds of hospitals and hospital systems have claimed the exemption since 1980, when Congress amended ERISA to extend what is known as the church plan exemption, originally only for churches, more broadly to certain religiously affiliated entities.

The plaintiffs were seeking retroactive penalties for past violations of ERISA, which the hospitals said could add up to hundreds of millions or billions of dollars.

Justice Neil Gorsuch, who joined the court after the arguments were presented in the case, did not participate in Mondays decision.

(Reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham)

Topics USA
Dallas-based wholesale insurance broker Towerstone Inc. has promoted George Schneller to executive vice president, a newly created position, and hired Joy Keller as vice president and director of small commercial.

Schneller joined Towerstone in 2007 and advanced quickly in the company from claims, client service roles and production to his current role of executive vice president. Prior to joining Towerstone, Schneller practiced at a litigation firm in Dallas, where he handled a diverse range of cases in the areas of contract law, construction law and commercial litigation. In his current role, he will oversee the second newly created position responsible for small commercial services.

Keller comes to Towerstone with more than 25 years of insurance and financial services experience. Previous positions include executive vice president of a Texas wholesale division, corporate CFO and CPA for a national accounting firm overseeing financial services companies. In her most recent MGA role, she was responsible for more than 30 individual surplus lines contracts and was projected to place more than $4 million in annual premium with her preferred carrier partners.

Headquartered in Dallas, Towerstone employs more than 50 associates and has additional offices in San Antonio, Birmingham, Ala., and Michigan. It is affiliated with Independent Insurance Agents of Texas, Lloyds of London, the Association of Energy Service Companies and the National Association of Professional Surplus Lines Offices.

Source: Towerstone
Hoping to stop people from doctor shopping for highly addictive painkillers, Louisiana lawmakers have ordered physicians to consult a statewide prescription monitoring program before prescribing opioid drugs.

The Senate has unanimously approved minor changes the House had made to Sen. Fred Mills bill and sent the legislation to Gov. John Bel Edwards desk. Edwards has publicly supported the measure, which he hopes will help fight the countrys opioid epidemic.

The monitoring program already exists, but doctors had not previously been required to use it. Under the bill, physicians still will not have to access the system if they are writing a prescription for seven days or less, or if the patient is in the hospital.

Louisiana has the nations sixth-highest opioid prescription rate.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Louisiana Drugs
Note: This article originally ran in the Texas Tribune.

Thanks to new money and oversight from the Texas Legislature, the state can now pursue workers compensation fraud cases without relying on an unusual and much-criticized funding deal between a private insurance company and the Travis County district attorneys office.

The fix comes nearly two years after The Texas Tribune and the Austin American-Statesman revealed the controversial relationship between Texas Mutual Insurance Co., the largest provider of workers compensation insurance in Texas, and government prosecutors in Austin. Under the exclusive funding deal, which stretched back at least to the early 2000s, the giant insurer paid millions to fund a four-person team to investigate and prosecute alleged crimes committed against the company.

The joint Tribune/Statesman series sparked widespread criticism and prompted Travis County authorities to adopt changes in an interim contract with Texas Mutual. That deal allowed other insurance companies to have their cases heard while routing all referrals through the Texas Department of Insurance. But Texas Mutual agreed to keep funding the unit until Sept. 1 of this year  just enough time for state lawmakers to come up with a new source of money during the 2017 session.

Now, under a provision quietly tacked onto the budget adopted by the Legislature late last month, the state will fund the prosecutorial unit with a two-year, $675,000 appropriation. The money will come from the maintenance tax collected from workers compensation insurers.

The legislative fix was the brainchild of Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, who wanted to maintain robust prosecution of workers compensation fraud without relying on a single company or creating real or perceived conflicts of interest.

Weve come up with a way to properly address fraud, and weve come up with a way where it doesnt look like pay to play, and done it in a transparent way that is consistent with the way fraud prosecutions beyond just workers comp happen in the rest of the state, Watson said. I consider it a big win.

Travis County District Attorney Margaret Moore said shes happy her team will continue to play a key role in prosecuting workers compensation fraud.

It seems like an excellent solution, and I commend Senator Watson for putting it together, said Moore, who took office in January. Our goal is that the work continue to get done.

Under the terms of the original contract, Texas Mutual made the referrals, provided the investigators and directly paid all the bills for the prosecutorial unit. The authority for the arrangement stemmed from Texas Mutuals history as a state-created entity, but the deal remained even after the company converted to regulated mutual insurance company, owned by policyholders.

Now when a company or individual has reason to suspect workers compensation fraud, the complaints are referred to the Texas Department of Insurances Division of Workers Compensation for an initial investigation. If the division believes the case warrants prosecution, it sends it to the Travis County DAs workers compensation fraud unit.

The last step, made possible by Watsons action on the state budget, is replacing the private funding with state dollars.

Ryan Brannan, commissioner of workers compensation at the Texas Department of Insurance, said hes working to get a memorandum of understanding in place with the Travis County DAs office to change the funding source and make the existing team state employees instead of county employees.

He said hes hoping for a seamless transition to a system that will inspire more confidence in the units fraud prosecutions.

This adds a check into the system and creates some transparency, which I think is always healthy. Anytime you have a neutral third party evaluating potential instances of fraud, and its not coming straight from a carrier, youre going to get better investigations, Brannan said. Youre going to get better analysis and hopefully better prosecutions as a result.

Moore, the district attorney, added: The point is to do a good job prosecuting workers comp fraud, and the Department of Insurance folks assure me that they have been happy with the work the Travis County district attorneys office has been doing, and the Texas Mutual people tell me the same thing.

Terry Frakes, Texas Mutuals senior vice president for public affairs, said the inclusion of state workers compensation fraud investigators has made a positive impact on the process and the new arrangement will keep that in place.

I think it will work, Frakes said. I think everybody is committed to seeing that it works.

Disclosure: Texas Mutual Insurance Company and Margaret Moore have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune. A complete list of Tribune donors and sponsors is available here.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2017/06/06/private-insurer-will-no-longer-fund-fraud-prosecutions/.

The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans  and engages with them  about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.

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Topics Carriers Texas Workers' Compensation Fraud
The Insurance Council of Texas and the Association of Fire and Casualty Companies in Texas Annual Mid-Year Symposium will feature a panel discussion on cybersecurity, the growing cyber market for insurers, and the threats associated with doing business in the digital age.

This year marks the 25th Anniversary for the symposium; it will be held July 12 and 13 in Austin.

Participants in the July 13 cyber security discussion include:

Rachel Simon, Chubbs product manager for Public Officials Liability and Educators Legal Liability and deputy product manager for Miscellaneous and Real Estate Professional Liability. Simon is responsible for developing and updating underwriting guidelines, drafting coverage enhancements, monitoring profitability, training the underwriting team and developing and driving distribution and marketing strategies. She is also responsible for underwriting and negotiating complex accounts and establishing and maintaining a broad network of brokerage and industry relationships.

Simon joined Chubb in January 2014 as the professional liability manager for the Dallas and Houston regions responsible for the underwriting and profitability of miscellaneous professional, technology, cyber and privacy, public officials and educators legal, media, employed lawyers, and architects and engineers liability in the territory.

Louis Barton, executive vice president and director of operational risk management and cyber risk awareness for Cullen/Frost. Barton has been a Frost banker since 1996. Additional responsibilities include third party risk management governance and corporate privacy. He is an instructor with the American Bankers Association and was an instructor at the Bank Operations Institute. Previously, Barton participated in special White House activities during the Clinton administration intended to bolster public confidence in the banking system.

The Cybersecurity Panel will be moderated by ICT Executive Director Albert Betts, Jr. Betts has served as executive director of ICT since March 2014. Prior to joining ICT, he was a partner at the law firm of Thompson Coe Cousins and Irons LLP, practicing in the firms Insurance Law and Governmental and Legislative Advocacy Group. He served as the first commissioner of workers compensation for Texas from 2005 through 2008. Prior to being appointed commissioner, Betts served as chief of staff for the Texas Department of Insurance.

Source: Insurance Council of Texas

Topics Cyber Texas
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has approved the following companies to participate in the August Citizens Property Insurance Corporation take-out period.

For the Aug. 22, 2017 Personal Residential Take-Out Period:

National Specialty Insurance Company  approved to remove up to 4,520 personal residential policies (Coastal Account)

 approved to remove up to 4,520 personal residential policies (Coastal Account) Southern Oak Insurance Company  approved to remove up to 15,000 personal residential policies (5,000 Personal Lines Account/10,000 Coastal Account)

This approval brings the total number of potential personal and commercial residential policies approved for take-outs in 2017 to 89,244; the actual number of policies removed from Citizens so far in 2017 was 12,276 as of April 18. These take-outs are part of ongoing depopulation efforts to reduce the number of policies in state-created Citizens and transfer them back into the private insurance market. Policyholders who receive a take-out offer may choose to remain covered by Citizens through the opt-out process.

The companies approved to participate in a personal residential and/or commercial residential take-out along with the number of policies approved for removal are available on the OIR webpage. Typically, monthly approvals are posted to this webpage within a week of Citizens deadline for OIR to issue an approval.

Source: Florida Office of Insurance Regulation

Topics Florida
Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc., a property and casualty insurance holding company, announced that its insurance subsidiaries, Heritage Property & Casualty Insurance Co. and Zephyr Insurance Co., have completed the placement of their 2017-2018 reinsurance programs. The programs are incorporated into one reinsurance structure and are allocated amongst traditional reinsurance, collateralized reinsurance, catastrophe bonds issued by Citrus Re and coverage by the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (FHCF).

According to a statement by the company, the new program provides first event reinsurance protection for catastrophic losses of up to $1.75 billion in Florida and up to $731 million in Hawaii, with multiple event coverage up to $2.62 billion. Heritage said the amount exceeds the requirements established by the companys rating agency, Demotech, Inc., the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation and the Hawaii Insurance Division.

Bruce Lucas, Chairman and CEO of Heritage, said the 2017 reinsurance treaty is a significant improvement over the 2016 treaty, adding that catastrophe reinsurance costs were reduced by over $20 million, or 8.3 percent, while treaty terms and conditions were improved. The first event retention was reduced from $40 million to $20 million and our ground up retention for second event coverage is $16 million.

We continue to minimize our reliance on state government sponsored reinsurance and maintained our participation in the FHCF at 45 percent. Our new program was placed on a cascading basis which provides greater horizontal protection in a multiple small events scenario and features additional coverage enhancements, Lucas said. In addition, Heritage expanded its use of multi-year, fully collateralized catastrophe bonds and has $687.5 million in catastrophe bond coverage today.

Heritages estimated net cost for the 2017-2018 catastrophe reinsurance program is approximately $223 million. The total estimated cost for per risk and facultative coverage is projected to be an additional $7 million. The primary factors causing the decrease from last year are the proactive exposure management executed by Heritage over the past 12 months coupled with significantly improved pricing.

Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc. is a property and casualty insurance holding company headquartered in Clearwater, Fla. Its subsidiaries, Heritage Property & Casualty Insurance Company and Zephyr Insurance Company, write approximately $565 million and $58 million, respectively, of personal and commercial residential premium through a large network of experienced agents. Heritage currently writes property and casualty insurance policies in Florida, Hawaii, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.

Topics Catastrophe Florida Reinsurance Property Casualty Property Casualty
Un ottobre da sogno per Antonio Conte: lex ct della Nazionale italiana, attualmente alla guida del Chelsea, nelle ultime quattro gare di Premier League ha collezionato solo successi, conditi da 11 reti segnate e addirittura nessuna incassata. Numeri da record che non sono certo passati inosservati alla Federazione inglese, la quale ha conferito al tecnico leccese lambito premio di Manager del mese.

Unavventura oltremanica iniziata in sordina, quella di Conte, pur a fronte di tre vittorie nelle prime tre gare di campionato. A far vacillare, anche se solo per un momento, le certezze del patron del club londinese, Roman Abramovich, i risultati conseguiti tra la 4a e la 6a giornata, coincisi con un pareggio sul campo dello Swansea City e, soprattutto, con le due pesanti sconfitte subite dal Liverpool, sul terreno casalingo di Stamford Bridge, e dallArsenal. In particolare, la debacle interna coi Reds, aveva irritato non poco il numero uno russo, poiche occorsa proprio nel giorno della sua 250esima partita da presidente della societa.

Come detto, solo un momento. Dopo lincontro dellEmirates, il tecnico salentino cambia modulo, adottando un piu equilibrato 3-4-3 e inserendo elementi di corsa come lo spagnolo Pedro. Una svolta totale perche, di li in poi, il Chelsea inanellera solo e soltanto vittorie: 2 gol allHull City e al Southampton in trasferta, 3 ai campioni dInghilterra del Leicester e 4 allo United in casa, con un meraviglioso numero zero nella casella delle reti subite. Un fantastico poker, ottenuto tra l1 e il 29 ottobre. Un cambio di marcia sbalorditivo, confermato dal 5 a 0 rifilato ai toffees dellEverton nel primo match di novembre, e una scalata che, man mano, ha portato i blues al secondo posto in classifica, a soli 2 punti dal Liverpool capolista.

E allora, non poteva mancare il riconoscimento di migliore allenatore del mese, ottenuto surclassando tecnici del calibro di Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool), Arsene Wenger (Arsenal) e Mark Hughes (Southampton). Tanta, ovviamente, la soddisfazione: E un grande onore e voglio condividerlo con i giocatori e con la societa  ha dichiarato Conte sul sito ufficiale della Premier League -. E la prima volta che lavoro in un altro Paese, con una cultura diversa, e portare la propria filosofia non e facile, ma ora sono contento di questa scelta.

A completare la festa, la premiazione del fantasista belga, Eden Hazard, come miglior giocatore di ottobre. Due risultati importanti per il club, ottimo incentivo per la rincorsa al trono dei campioni, occupato dal Leicester di Ranieri. Il prossimo appuntamento per l11 di Conte sara al Riverside Stadium, tana del Middlesborough neopromosso. Il tempo di festeggiare e gia finito.
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Breaking AI Stock News: GBT's (OTCPK: GTCH) Facial and Body Recognition Patent Application Received a Notice of Allowance

San Diego, CA - November 9, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) GBT Technologies Inc. (OTC PINK: GTCH) with GBT Tokenize Corp. ("GBT/Tokenize") received a notice of allowance for its facial and body recognition non-provisional patent application.

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Breaking EV Stock News: Mullen (NASDAQ: MULN) Enters into Agreement with Newgate Motor Group, one of Ireland's most Recognized Auto Groups, to Distribute the Mullen I-GOTM in Ireland and United Kingdom

BREA, Calif. - November 9, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Mullen Automotive, Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN), an emerging electric vehicle manufacturer, announces today that it has entered into an agreement to appoint Newgate Motor Group, one of Ireland's most recognized dealership groups, as marketing, sales, distribution and servicing agent for the Mullen I-GO in Ireland and the United Kingdom.

Top AI Stock News - Investor Idea

Breaking AI Stock News: GBT's (OTCPK: GTCH) AI Driven Financial Technology Patent Application Received a Notice of Publication

San Diego, CA - November 3, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) GBT Technologies Inc. (OTC PINK: GTCH) received a notice of publication for its financial software patent application.

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Breaking AI Stock News: Intellagents, a FatBrain AI (OTCQB: LZGI) Company, Announces Hiring of Insurtech Industry Veteran as Chief Revenue Officer

NEW YORK, NY - November 2, 2022 (Investorideas.com Newswire) FatBrain AI (LZG International, Inc.) (OTCQB: LZGI), the leader in powerful and easy-to-use artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for star enterprises of tomorrow, announces the hiring of Euan King, an experienced and respected Insurtech industry leader as Chief Revenue Officer for insurance technology-focused subsidiary Intellagents.

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Apple has finally turned it up to 11. Apple showcased iOS 11 to the word at their WWDC 2017 Keynote. While it wont be available to customers till Fall 2017, we do have a lot of information about whats in the iOS 11 update. Plus, developer betas are now available and well be digging through them. Its clear that iPad is the biggest focal point of iOS 11 but that doesnt mean there arent useful and meaningful updates for iPhone users. In fact, updates to features are plentiful. Here are the 10 best.

1. Redesigned Control Center

After years of putting this up on our wishlist, Apple has finally given us the redesigned Control Center. And based on the first look, it seems a bit weird but well know more once we have the hands-on with iOS 11 beta.

Control Center is now free-form and doesnt have pages anymore. But instead, has tiles you can interact with. 3D Touch on a tile to expand it full screen, like you do in folders in Home screen. 3D Touching the toggles card, for example, shows options for Cellular Data and Personal Hotspot toggles as well.

This gives you better access to controls and detailed information. The toggles tile is editable and youll be able to add toggles for Low Power Mode, Alarms, Notes and more by going to Settings -> Control Center.

2. iMessages, Siri and Photos Data in iCloud

Apple finally seems to be confident enough in iCloud to give it the responsibility to sync your all your iMessages, your personal Siri intelligence and scanned metadata in Photos app. This is a big step for Apple and it could be the end of a lot of frustrations that were caused because multiple Apple devices always seemed to be their own little islands of data. Apple is of course playing catch up here with competitors like Google but still, its a much welcome feature.

Now, Siri on your Mac and iPhone will work in the same way. And more importantly, your new Mac wont spend 3 days spinning its fans because it has to reindex your entire Photos library again.

3. Redesigned Messages App Drawer

iMessage Apps were the biggest focal point in iOS 10 release but that hasnt exactly gone well for Apple. There are multiple reasons why. For one, sometimes it makes sense to use the full-fledged app instead of a little iMessage app. The second was that its just too confusing to discover and use iMessage apps.

Apple is trying to fix the latter with the iOS 11 update. Now, youll be able to see a new pane of horizontally scrollable apps right below the text-input box, in the bottom of a conversation. And theyll stay there always.

4. Do Not Disturb While Driving

Apple is releasing a version of Do Not Disturb that could literally end up saving lives. Once enabled, iOS 11s Do Not Disturb While Driving feature automatically recognizes when youre in a car and basically disables notifications and only shows a blank screen. You can 3D Touch the notification and select Im not driving to disable this mode for the current drive.

Apple is doing some clever stuff to automatically engage this. Either by recognizing your car stereos Bluetooth or by figuring out that youre in a moving car by blasting Wi-Fi frequencies. Its pretty cool stuff.

As this technology is built on top of Do Not Disturb, you can let certain contacts through. The feature will also automatically reply to messages saying youre currently driving.

5. Siri Intelligence And More SiriKit Apps

Siri is a lot smarter in iOS 11. Its also better looking and better sounding. Theres a new visual UI update and a new voice update to make the the assistant sound more natural. Theres a new male voice as well. Siri is also coming with Translation support in beta (for Chinese, French, German, and Italian, and Spanish).

Siri can also proactively do things for you. It can look at what youre doing in Safari and suggest other related things to do. For example, adding a calendar event for a concert ticket you just bought.

The biggest feature is an update to SiriKit. Apple will now allow more developers to access Siri. Task management and note taking are officially supported. So youll be able to add task to Todolist or take notes in Evernote all without ever opening the apps.

6. App Store Redesign

iOS 11 brings the first total redesign of the App Store since the App Store launched, 9 years ago. You can see what it looks like in the screenshots below. The design language is similar to that of Apple Music, with big and bold titles, large images, and a lot of horizontal swiping between sections.

Apple is also introducing a new Today app that could be a great way for user to find new apps and games every single day. Apple will be featuring apps with rich media like videos and stories. Theres also a new App of the Day and Game of the Day sections.

Apps and Games now have their own tabs. App Store will also feature in-app purchases directly in the tabs. The detailed app view is also redesigned.

7. Person to Person Apple Pay

Apple Pay now supports Venmo like, person to person payment. The feature comes integrated in Messages as an iMessage app so youll be able to quickly send money to the person youre talking to. It uses your integrated Credit Card and you authenticate using Touch ID.

When youre receiving money, it goes directly into your Apple Pay Cash card. This is like your virtual wallet. You can use this money to make purchases, send money to other users or transfer to your bank.

8. Live Photos Editing

Apple is making Live Photos a lot more interesting. Youll be able to extract a frame from live photo, trim it, mute the audio, loop it or add a bounce effect. The loop effect lets you repeat a live photo, like a GIF. The Bounce effect adds a rivese effect instead.

9. Maps Gets Indoor Mapping

Apple Maps also saw an update today. With Apple adding indoor mapping for 100 Malls all over the world. When navigation, users will also get lane guidance when making turns.

10. Unified Notification Center

While this isnt the Notification Center overhaul we were looking for, theres now a unified Notification Center in both the Lock Screen and Home Screen. What this means is youll be able to pull missed notifications right in the Lock Screen by swiping down.

Bonus: ARKit and All The APIs

A constant theme in WWDC Keynote was the technologies that went along with the features. The big one is of course Apples official entry in the AR race. Apple is doing this by releasing another Kit  ARKit. This will let developers use iPhones cameras, processor and motion sensor to create AR experiences.

Apple is also opening up more parts of the app up to developers. With MusicKit for Apple Music, Apple is giving access to Apple Music catalog to third party developers. Vision API does the same for Camera app.

Check out the video to get a glimpse of the new iOS 11 features in action:

There are a lot more little new features in iOS 11 that well be covering in detail over the next week. So make sure you check in periodically.

What do you think of the new features in iOS 11? Are you satisfied with the updates? Share with us in the comments below.
For new project in Iraqi Kurdistan, Gazprom Neft has started discussions. Chief Executive Officer of the Russian oil major, Alexander Dyukov, has revealed this information.



He said, "A delegation of Kurdistan autonomous district of Iraq is participating in the forum. We will discuss current status of projects implementation. In particular, we are discussing potential new projects in the territory of Iraqi Kurdistan."



He also added that the company plans to continue creating production capacities despite the agreement reached in Vienna by the OPEC countries and countries outside of the cartel on reducing oil production.

He mentioned, "In any case, we will continue to create capacities that, perhaps, will not be used now. We believe that the demand for oil will grow. When OPEC decides that demand has increased and we can offer the market more oil, we will have capacities that will be able to give us this."



The companys Deputy CEO for Economics and Finance Alexei Yankevich said earlier that Gazprom Neft, despite agreement between Russia and OPEC to reduce oil production, maintains production plan of 89.2 mln tons of hydrocarbons for 2017. "Our production plan totals 89.2 mln tons - and we stick to that plan," he said at the time.

He noted, "89.2 (mln tons) includes and takes into account the deal on the extension of the agreement."



Gazprom Neft can restore the volume of oil production within a few weeks after the OPEC on oil cuts agreement expires, he said. "I do not see any problems. We would be able to restore oil production within a few weeks," he said.



Low production cost helps the company to invest for aggressive expansion plans. He notably mentioned, "We are absolutely stable, and if the price reaches $20, we will continue to extract oil, invest."

Dyukov added that this is due to the company's low production costs that even at the Prirazlomnoye oilfield on the Arctic shelf reach around $10 per barrel. Gazprom Neft and with Halliburton (a US multinational corporation, one of the world's largest companies providing services in the oil and gas industry) will sign an agreement on improvement of the quality of oil reserves later today.

According to him, the production will be located in Russia, on the oil production sites of Gazprom Neft.



Gazprom Neft is mulling technological cooperation with Saudi Aramco, he went on. CEO said, "Were considering this cooperation. Give us some time, well probably make an agreement on this kind of cooperation."

According to Dyukov, the issue is only about technological cooperation. "We saw certain technical and research potential (during the visit to Saudi Arabia - TASS)," he said.

Earlier Russias Energy Minister Alexander Novak said that Saudi Arabia and Russian companies are discussing a number of joint oil and gas projects.



Russias Energy Ministry reported that the sides had held talks focusing on cooperation in the area of technological cooperation. Novak noted an increasing interest of Russian oilfield services companies to the market of Saudi Arabia. The Minister also mentioned the creation of joint R&D centers on the development and introduction of technologies in such areas as oil and gas production, oilfield services and transportation of crude hydrocarbons among promising projects.



He mentioned that Gazprom Neft is still interested in the development of Erginskoye oil field and will apply for participation in the auction.

He concluded, "We still have time (to apply - TASS), we said that it is interesting, we will file our application."



| Soruce: TASS | By S.Seal
Islamic states defeat in Iraq is a good thing for Iraq without any doubt. The country can now focus on other issues that have made it a financially crippling nation. For Iraq, the long term test will be how it sustains relations with its surrounding Arab countries through trade and freedom of movement. For economic reasons, Iraq has to rely on Anbar province and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to ensure Iraqs primary gateway to the world remains open.



Anbar is the largest province of Iraq and it shares border with three countries. Those countries are Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Jordan. Due to IS control, Fallujah and Ramadi are completely demolished. Deep distrust among the Iraqis in this province is high.



Violence remains a threat to both Iraqi security forces and civilians in Anbar. In April, an attack at Rutba had killed 10 troops of Iraqi force. Rutba was captured by the extremists in May 2014 who quickly proceeded to seize the border.



Iraq has taken measures to enhance security along the highway connecting Baghdad to Jordan. In the month of March, joint effort between Iraqi We Are Coming, Nineveh Operations Command and the Iraqi East Anbar Operations unit had led to arrest of top IS leaders.



IS has become weak in Iraq, though spillover of violence due to Syrias civil war is concerning for Iraq. Hundreds of Syrian government troops, bolstered by some-3,000 Iranian-backed Shia militia troops, along with tanks, have moved into the desert town of Sabaa Biyar near where the Syrian, Iraqi, and Jordanian borders meet.

The move, likely made by the Assad regime to secure the Damascus-Baghdad highway, was met with a deadly US airstrike on a pro-Assad militia convoy.

This was done to prevent the regime from closing in on the US Special Forces that are based at the al Tanf border facility in Syria near the Jordanian and Iraqi border. It is now appears that the US intends to prevent the Syrian government from reestablishing its own land route to its ally, Iran.

Despite wariness amongst the Jordanian security establishment of Irans recent activities near the border and Iraq becoming part of the Iranian land corridor, Jordan has taken some tentative steps towards normalizing relations with Damascus after the Syrian Civil War.



Jordans military officials have paid visits to Damascus and Moscow along with being the only predominantly Sunni Arab country to attend peace talks in Astana.

Establishing a solid trade relationship with Jordan will be paramount since the majority of the Sunni world remains apprehensive of forging a new relationship with Iraq due to the heavy presence of Iran in the country.

The regional conflicts have taken their toll on Jordans economy. With a slow growth rate and an extremely high budget deficit, the Kingdom has struggled to attract tourism and to satisfy an increasingly restive youth. However, Jordan has not only remained stable, it has also successfully managed to retain its place in Washingtons foreign policy arena, especially with the arrival of the impulsive Trump Administration.



King Abdullah has so far done well at maintaining the US-Jordan strategic relationship as well as guiding the new president through the nuances of Middle East politics. Baghdad will likely follow Jordans lead as it navigates its fresh relationship with the White House.

The Hashemite Kingdom has been a primary point of entry into conflict-ridden Iraq since the US occupation. Government development projects, military personnel, business travelers, and cultural exchanges programs between the West and Iraq all typically are funneled through Jordan. Due to Iraqs conflicts, many Jordanians regard the Iraqi refugees with a strong dose of suspicion. Iraq is still heavily dependent on Jordan as a gateway to the outside world, since the long isolated country has few other options.



Iraqs relationship with Jordan is paramount due to the misgivings of its southern neighbor, Saudi Arabia. For instance, Iraqs southern neighbor, Saudi Arabia, famously contracted Airbus Group to build a 600 mile border barrier along the Iraqi border. Recently, however, relations have slowly been looking up with the Saudis. Iraq was pleased that the Arar gateway to Saudi Arabia, almost 280 miles south of Ramadi, reopened in the summer of 2016. The flow of Iraqi religious pilgrims was able to continue for the first time since the start of the 2003 Iraq War. Relations are far from perfect, however.

The recent release of a Qatari hunting party from the countrys royal al-Thani family, facilitated in conjunction with a population transfer deal in Syria along with ransom payments to the Iraqi Shia militia Kataib Hezbollah will make future dealings will the Arab Gulf States difficult. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had expressed disappointment on the incident.



| Soruce: Global Risk Insight | By S.Seal
Dr Fouad Kadhim Shati Al Musawi, Deputy Minister for Ministry of Higher Education and Science and Technology, Iraq, and Mr Dazhu Yang, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Technical Cooperation, have signed agreement for Iraqs Country Program Framework (CPF) for the period of 20182023. Mr. Oudai Al Khairallah, Ambassador of the Republic of Iraq was present in that ceremony.



A CPF is the frame of reference for the medium-term planning of technical cooperation between a Member State and the IAEA and identifies priority areas where the transfer of nuclear technology and technical cooperation resources will be directed to support national development goals.



Since 1959, Iraq is a member of IAEA. For 2018 to 2023 period, eight major priority areas have been identified, and they are: Decommissioning and Radioactive Waste Management, Environment, Nuclear and Radiological Emergency, Strengthening of the Regulatory Infrastructure, Water Resources Management, Nuclear Medicine and Radiotherapy, Food and Agriculture and Radiation Technologies industrial application.



| Soruce: IAEA |
The first ladies of Bravo are finally back!are back for season twelve which premieres on Bravo on Monday, July 10 at 9pm/8c! The OG of the OC, Vicki Gunvalson, returns along with Tamra Judge, Shannon Beador Meghan King Edmonds, Kelly Dodd, Lydia McLaughlin, who's returning to the show after a three year hiatus. They are joined by new housewife, Peggy Sulahian. Check out the official Season 12 trailer, cast bios and photos below!Bravo Medias original series that started the hit franchise The Real Housewives of Orange County is back for an emotionally-charged new season, premiering Monday, July 10 at 9 pm ET/PT. Returning for season 12 are Vicki Gunvalson, Tamra Judge, Shannon Beador, Meghan King Edmonds and Kelly Dodd along with familiar face, Lydia McLaughlin (Season 8) who is back to mend broken friendships in the OC. With wounds still fresh from last season, the ladies draw their lines in the sand. They are joined by new housewife Peggy Sulahian, marking the 100th housewife to join the franchise. When brought into the mix of Orange County, she ends up ruffling feathers on both sides of the fray, resulting in unexpected fireworks. For a sneak peek, go to: http://www.bravotv.com/the-real-housewives-of-orange-county/season-12/videos/your-first-look-at-rhoc-season-12 Season 11 was the most-watched season in series history with 3 million total viewers and over 2 million P25-54, growing 11% and 10% respectively from the prior season, according to Nielsen Live+7 data.This season, things are looking up in Vickis life-- her relationship with new beau Steve is getting serious, her business is expanding and she finally has her daughter Briana and grandbabies back in the OC. Except, Vicki and Tamra still find themselves at a major crossroads in their decade long friendship. Tamra, still filled with anger and resentment from last seasons accusations, struggles to find forgiveness. Her feud with the OG of the OC has pushed her even closer to God as she reconnects with her old friend Lydia over bible study. Back into the fold, Lydia tries to reclaim her title of Friendship Whisperer by attempting to mend fences with Vicki and Tamra, but quickly realizes that being Switzerland will be easier said than done.The residual stress from last years bus ride from hell leaves Shannon in a vulnerable state as she tries to refocus her energy on getting into shape, keeping the spark alive in her marriage and caring for the newest member of the Beador clan, dog Archie. New mom Meghan finds motherhood rewarding but difficult as she struggles with lack of sleep, post-partum hormones and Jimmy being an overbearing father. Meanwhile, for Kelly, her marriage to Michael is still complicated, but when Tamra and Shannon befriend her, it makes everyone around her question what her motives are.Meet the housewives:Fearless and confidenthas a mouth as big as her heart. With her penchant for gossip and drinking champagne, there is never a dull moment around her. Originally hailing from Arizona, her fiery Latin lineage and unfiltered opinions definitely brought the heat to the OC when she joined the cast in season 11. With her marriage to Michael still complicated, Kelly finds time to focus on herself this year, as she goes under the knife, undergoing vaginal rejuvenation and a breast reduction. With the ladies, Kelly maintains her strong friendship with Vicki, but when Tamra and Shannon befriend her, it makes everyone around her question what her motives are.joins The Real Housewives of Orange County in Season 8. Lydia is the granddaughter of Canadian media mogul Geoff Stirling, founder of NTV, the first 24-hour television station in Canada. Lydia and her husband Doug live in Dana Point with their two sons, 4-year-old Stirling and 2-year-old Maverick. This young, kooky mother always puts her family and faith first, but in her spare time, she and her husband channel her grandfathers entrepreneurial spirit by running a magazine highlighting the glamorous life in Southern California.makes her way back to Orange County with husband Jimmy, new dog Girly Girl and daughter Aspen, who was born on Thanksgiving Day. Jimmy is a doting father and never misses an opportunity to inform Meghan on how to parent, much to her chagrin. She finds motherhood rewarding but difficult as she struggles with lack of sleep, a corrective helmet for Aspen's head, post-partum hormones and Jimmy's hectic travel schedule. Not one to be defeated by shortcomings, Meghan is determined to be a working mom and continues to expand her businesses, creating her own personal line of candles.Born in Armenia,lives a life of luxury in the exclusive Crystal Cove community with her custom wheel mogul husband Diko, and their three children  daughters Giovanna, 19, Gianelle, 17 and son Koko, 9. After losing her mom to breast cancer at the age of 51, Peggy made the difficult decision to undergo a double mastectomy when doctors recently found a lump in her breast. As she prepares for reconstructive surgery, she wastes no time inserting herself into the drama, but often finds herself lost in translation amongst the women.Born and raised in Southern California,joined the cast in season nine bringing her unflinching honesty and unconventional ways. Shannon is still reeling from last years bus ride from hell, and the residual stress has affected her not only emotionally, but physically. She believes her unexpected shift in weight has taken a toll on her body and her marriage, as David grows seemingly detached. This season, Shannon tries to refocus her energy on getting into shape and keeping the spark alive in her marriage, but also takes the time to pursue her life-long dream of opening an organic restaurant. To add to her full plate with three teenaged daughters, she also takes on caring for the newest member of the Beador clan, dog Archie.A cast member since season three,finds herself at a major crossroads in her decade long friendship with Vicki as she enters season 12. Filled with anger and resentment from last season's accusations in Ireland, Tamra struggles to find forgiveness with Vicki and Kelly. After winning her fitness competition last year, the fit mom finds a new race to train for with husband Eddie. Tamra finally makes some headway in her estranged relationship with her oldest daughter Sidney, who she has not seen in over three and half years, and prays that she will be invited to her daughter's high school graduation.The "OG of the OC,"has appeared on The Real Housewives of Orange County since the beginning. This season, her relationship with new beau Steve is getting serious as they start talking about marriage. With her daughter Briana and grandbabies settled into their newly finished home, Vicki has taken on the role of Briana's "OC Husband" while Ryan waits to be discharged from the Marines back in Oklahoma. Vicki's businesses are also growing as COTO Insurance merges with a partner to form COTO Insurance & Financial, leading to a stressful office move. But unresolved tensions between her, Tamra and Shannon still remain.Season 12 premieres on Monday, July 10 at 9pm/8c on Bravo. For International TV Listings, click here!Source/Photo Credit: Bravo
The Independent Alliance are demanding more free votes within Government if Leo Varadkar is to secure their votes to become Taoiseach next Tuesday, write Daniel McConnell and Elaine Loughlin of the Irish Examiner.

The group  Ministers Shane Ross, Finian McGrath, John Halligan and Kevin Boxer Moran, along with whip Sean Canney  met with the Taoiseach-elect Leo Varadkar in Government Buildings on Tuesday night to discuss their agenda.

The group are also insisting that they are not prepared to depart from the Programme for Government, despite Mr Varadkar's call to merge the Universal Social Charge with PRSI.

They said they would stick to the Programme for Government which commits to the abolition of the much hated Troika tax.

We want to see where he stands on the USC, said Mr Moran. During the hustings the lads were talking about keeping the USC but the Programme for Government talks about phasing it out.

Mr Halligan added: The Programme for Government has to be implemented in its entirety. Part of that was the abolition of the USC and we are sticking by that.

In relation to free votes, Mr Ross said the Government has been strained over arguments around free votes and he said it is the Alliance's policy to have a free hand as much as possible.

We are certainly going to be looking for more free votes as we found that was a sore point last year. Any issues which are not in the Programme for Government and are not bound by Cabinet responsibility should be free votes, Mr Ross said.

Mr Ross said the group are also seeking the swift passage of legislation which has become clogged in the system which he described as unsatisfactory.

On next Tuesday we are going to vote for Leo Varadkar for Taoiseach provided we see they get the priority we feel they deserve, he said.

Tomorrow, the other independent ministers Denis Naughten and Katherine Zappone along with Dr Michael Harty of the Rural Alliance will meet with Mr Varadkar and his advisors.

The meeting between Mr Varadkar and the Alliance lasted for more than 90 minutes. The meeting was described by Mr Varadkar as "positive and constructive".

"The wide ranging discussion lasted for an hour-and-a-half and focused on how to make further progress on commitments in the Programme for a Partnership Government. Particular issues discussed included legislation to prioritise, matters which will be fast tracked, and where free votes will apply," his spokesman said.

All matters discussed are already contained within the Programme for Government. Minister Varadkar will now discuss particular issues raised with the relevant line Ministers in advance of a subsequent meeting with the Independent Alliance before the weekend, he added.

In a separate statement, the Alliance said the meeting was 'very constructive and very satisfactory'.

"The group stressed the need to accelerate various pieces of recent legislation as negotiated in the Programme for Government. Among the issues discussed included Brexit, rural affairs and infrastructure. The group will hold a second meeting with Mr Varadkar at the weekend," their spokeswoman said.

Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin will also be meeting with Mr Varadkar and his team tomorrow.

He too is to say completely insufficient progress has been made in addressing numerous issues contained in the Confidence and Supply arrangement agreed between Fine Gael and Fianna Fail last year.

Among the issues he will raise are the housing crisis, access to health services, the crisis in third level education and broadband.

Mr Martin is also to press for the need to prioritise additional spending on services over tax cuts on a 2:1 basis in October's budget.

We now need to see a major step change in the energy applied by Government to addressing these issues. The Irish people need to see delivery and a marked improvement in access to and quality of services, Mr Martin said.
Kuwait is trying to mediate a diplomatic crisis in which Arab countries have cut diplomatic ties to Qatar and moved to isolate the energy-rich, travel-hub nation from the outside world, Qatar's foreign minister said.

The biggest diplomatic crisis in the Persian Gulf region since the 1991 US-led war against Iraq pits several nations against Qatar, which is home to some 10,000 American troops and a major US military base.

Airlines suspended flights and residents nervous about the peninsula's lone land border closing cleaned out grocery store shelves.

In an interview with Doha-based satellite news network Al-Jazeera, foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said Kuwait's ruler had asked Qatar's ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to hold off on giving a speech about the crisis today.

"He received a call from the emir of Kuwait asking him to postpone it in order to give time to solve the crisis," Sheikh Mohammed said.

Still, the minister struck a defiant tone, vowing his nation rejected those "trying to impose their will on Qatar or intervene in its internal affairs".

Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates announced on Monday they would cut diplomatic ties.

Yemen's internationally backed government, which has lost the capital and large portions of the war-torn country, also cut relations with Qatar, as did the Maldives and one of conflict-ridden Libya's competing governments.

The move came just two weeks after US president Donald Trump visited Saudi Arabia and vowed to improve ties with both Riyadh and Cairo to combat terrorism and contain Iran.

US secretary of state Rex Tillerson said the move was rooted in long-standing differences and urged the parties to resolve them.

Football's governing body Fifa said it remained in regular contact with Qatar, which will host the 2022 World Cup. It did not elaborate.

Saudi Arabia said it was cutting ties due to Qatar's "embrace of various terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at destabilising the region", including the Muslim Brotherhood, al Qaida, the Islamic State group and militants supported by Iran in the kingdom's restive Eastern Province.

Egypt's foreign ministry accused Qatar of taking an "antagonist approach" toward Cairo and said "all attempts to stop it from supporting terrorist groups failed".

Qatar long has denied funding extremists, though Western officials have accused Qatar of allowing or even encouraging funding of Sunni extremists like al Qaida's branch in Syria, once known as the Nusra Front.

The Gulf countries ordered their citizens out of Qatar and gave Qataris abroad 14 days to return home to their peninsular nation, whose only land border is with Saudi Arabia. The countries also said they would eject Qatar's diplomats.

The nations also said they planned to cut air and sea traffic. Doha-based satellite news network Al-Jazeera reported trucks carrying food had begun lining up on the Saudi side of the border, apparently stranded. The Qatar Stock Exchange fell more than 7% in trading on Monday.

Qatar Airways, one of the region's major long-haul carriers, has suspended all flights to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain until further notice. On its website, the carrier said the suspension of its flights would take effect on Tuesday and customers are being offered a refund.

The route between Doha, Qatar and Dubai is popular among business travellers and both are major transit hubs for travellers between Asia and Europe. FlightRadar24, a popular airplane tracking website, said Qatar Airway flights already had started to be affected.

"Many of Qatar Airways' flights to southern Europe and Africa pass through Saudi Arabia," the site said. "Flights to Europe will most likely be rerouted through Iran and Turkey."
A tiger that killed a keeper at a Cambridgeshire zoo will not be put down, bosses said.

The decision not to kill the animal has been "fully supported" by the family of victim Rosa King, who died following the incident at Hamerton Zoo Park.

An investigation is ongoing into the 34-year-old's death, which was described as a "freak accident" by the zoo.

Rosa King was killed by the animal in an enclosure at Hamerton Zoo in Cambridgeshire #SNT pic.twitter.com/tzXuqf9TWl  Sky News Tonight (@SkyNewsTonight) May 30, 2017

The park said yesterday: "After extensive consultation with the staff at the zoo, we have decided not to put down the tiger. This decision has been fully supported by Rosa's family.

"We are awaiting the findings of the investigation to fully understand what happened before we take further action on this matter.

"If we receive regulatory or professional guidance to the contrary, we will review our position."

Following her death, Ms King's family said she "lived and breathed a vocation that meant the world to her".

Cambridgeshire Constabulary said they were called to Hamerton Zoo Park at 11.15am on May 29 to reports of a serious incident.

"A tiger had entered an enclosure with a keeper. Sadly the female zookeeper died at the scene," a spokesman said.

The force said it did not believe the incident was suspicious. The tiger was not harmed and a joint investigation with Huntingdonshire District Council is ongoing.

In July 2013 keeper Sarah McClay died after being mauled by a Sumatran tiger at South Lakes Safari Zoo in Cumbria.

The zoo was fined 255,000 at Preston Crown Court in June last year following the 24-year-old employee's death in May 2013.
The UK does not start the negotiations from a position of strength. Brexit will have a bigger impact on the UK economy than the EU. The agenda and timeline for the talks is being set by the EU and the UK does not have a veto on the final terms of any deal. Prime minister Theresa May has stated that no deal is better than a bad deal.

However, two-thirds of UK trade is with the EU or countries that have free-trade deals with the EU. It is hard to envisage a worse outcome for the UK than if it leaves the EU with no deal.

The consequences for the UK are likely to include the introduction of tariffs as well as burdensome customs checks, slowing down trade, increasing costs, and disrupting supply chains. The EUs chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, has also pointed to the risk of serious disruption to air traffic, as well as to extreme uncertainty for more than 4m citizens  UK citizens living in the EU and EU citizens living in the UK.

The EU will also be affected by Brexit, in particular Ireland. Mr Barnier has indicated that no deal is not the EUs scenario. The EU has set out a clear framework and timeline for the talks, as well as some key conditions to reach an agreement.

It envisages three stages to the negotiations, which it says must be carried out in the right order. The EU insists the first stage of the negotiations must deal with removing uncertainty created by the UKs decision to leave the EU. It has three issues in mind: Guaranteeing the rights of EU citizens living in the UK and UK citizens living in the EU; agreeing on the divorce bill the UK will pay to cover its outstanding liabilities; and the issue of the new borders of the EU, specifically in the North.

Once an agreement in principle is reached on these issues, the negotiations can move on to stage two, covering a new partnership between the EU and the UK.

A key part of this partnership will be a free-trade agreement. Unlike other free-trade deals, this is likely to involve regulatory divergence rather than convergence, as the UK is leaving the single market.

The EU is insisting that divergence does not turn into regulatory dumping. Thus, guaranteeing a level playing field for trade, with common rules and regulations that are legally enforceable, is a key condition for the EU of any trade deal, something that may not appeal to the UK. It will take a number of years to negotiate a comprehensive free trade deal. However, if the broad outlines of a deal can be agreed, then the EU has indicated that the talks can move to stage three. This covers the transitional arrangements that will need to be put in place in the period between when the UK leaves the EU in March 2019 and a full trade deal is agreed.

The EU has indicated that any transitional arrangements must be subject to EU law and respect the single market, which again may not appeal to the UK, but would minimise disruption to trade. It is clear a long, hard road has to be travelled in the Brexit talks, with many hurdles to be cleared, if a deal is to be done.

Oliver Mangan is chief economist at AIB
Scotland Yard last night confirmed that Khuram Shazad Butt and Rachid Redouane were two of the three men who carried out the attack which left seven people dead.

Redouane, who was 30 and claimed both Moroccan and Libyan descent, was found by police who searched his body to be carrying an identity card issued by immigration authorities which gave an address in Rathmines, Dublin, as his place of residence. He also used the name Rachid Elkhdar, claiming to be six years younger.

He is understood to have married English national Charisse Redouane OLeary in Ireland in 2011, before travelling to Britain. They had a one-year-old child together. Redouane may have worked as a pastry chef here.

Ms OLearys home was raided in the aftermath of the attacks. It appears that the couple had split before or shortly after the birth of their child. The couple are believed to have returned to Ireland for a short time in 2016.

The possibility that Redouane used Ireland as a means to gain easy entry to the UK is being investigated. Gardai keep 30 to 40 Islamic extremists under surveillance here. However, it is understood that Redouane was not on any watchlist here.

Gardai have carried out several arrests in recent weeks of individuals suspected of fundraising and organising for Islamic terrorist movements.

In the UK, all 12 people arrested in connection with the London Bridge attack were released without charge last night.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, British home secretary Amber Rudd and shadow home secretary Diane Abbott with members of the public observing a minutes silence. Picture: Yui Mok/PA

Muslim leaders here have said they had no knowledge of Redouane and that he had not come to their attention.

Dr Ali Selim of the Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland said he had never personally him, nor had anyone in the community that he had spoken to.

Imam Yahia Al-Hussein of the Islamic Foundation of Ireland also said he was also surprised by the reports that the terrorist had Irish links and that it had caused anger and upset amongst the Irish Muslim community.

Mor than 130 imams religious leaders from diverse backgrounds have refused to perform the funeral prayer for the London attackers in an unprecedented move.

Shaykh Dr Umar Al Qadri, head imman of the Al-Mustafa Islamic Educational and Cultural Centre Ireland, told the Irish Examiner that the perpetrators of the London attacks do not represent Islam, and that Ireland should introduce tougher laws to put radicals behind bars for a longer period. He said there should be legislation to send people like that back where they came from and that any radicalised person put in prison should be forced to attend de-radicalisation centres with Muslim scholars, even when they go into prison they must willingly undergo de-radicalisation.

Dr Al Qadri said he absolutely supports incoming Taoiseach Leo Varadkars plan to introduce a UK-style Cobra Government anti-terrorism unit in Ireland, as there are extremists in Ireland.

Stressing radicals do not represent Muslims in this Ireland, he said: They distort opinions of Muslims from many centuries ago. A real jihad is to work to prevent extremism. We cant just stay silent.

The other terrorist has been named as Khuram Shazad Butt, a 27-year old British citizen who was born in Pakistan. Along with Redouane, he lived in Barking, east London.

British police said Butt was known to the security services, but there was no evidence of attack planning by him. While formal identification is yet to take place, detectives believe they know the identity of the attackers. They believe two of the men are Khuram Shazad Butt and Rachid Redouane, both from Barking, east London. All three men were confronted and shot dead by armed officers within eight minutes of the first call. Inquiries are ongoing to confirm the identity of their accomplice, he said

Butt was known to the police and MI5, and had been reported him to an anti-terror hotline.
One thing you can conclude is that retailers are trying to boost margins after a very difficult period, said Mr McQuaid.

The comments by the Merrion Capital chief economist come as the Kantar Worldpanel poll of Irish supermarkets shows that, as the first anniversary of the Brexit vote looms, grocery prices have barely fallen at all.

According to Kantar, 30,000 grocery items in Irish supermarkets fell an average 0.2% in the 12 weeks ending May 21 from the same period in 2016. The euro has soared almost 11% since the Brexit vote, which ought to have helped push down grocery prices by significant levels.

Retailers import a huge range of grocery items from across the Irish Sea.

Dermot OLeary, chief economist at Goodbody, said overall Irish inflation was still well below UK inflation rates.

Other factors [are] at play too, he said. It is likely that the low value of sterling will keep goods inflation in check over the coming 12 months.

Despite price deflation, the Kantar survey shows that the Irish grocery market, which rings up about 10.3bn in annual sales, has grown.

With the average price per pack falling slightly, growth has been driven by households buying extra items, with the average shopping basket increasing in size, said Kantar.

Own-label goods now account for over half of all Irish grocery spend.

With 22.5% of the market, SuperValu kept its lead in the Irish supermarket wars over Tesco in second place, which edged out Dunnes Stores in third, according to Kantar.
Speaking in Chicago during a two-day trade mission, Mr Kenny said Rachid Redouane was never identified as a threat in this country.

Idenity documents found by British police on Mr Redouanes body on Saturday night indicate he spent time in Ireland, and may have been living in the Dublin suburb of Rathmines for a short period last year.

In addition, the 30-year-old  who British police told the Irish Examiner claimed to be Moroccan and Libyan  is understood to have married British national Charisse Redouane OLeary in Ireland in 2011, before travelling to Britain.

The couple, who have a one-year-old child and separated last year, are believed to have returned to Ireland for a short time in 2016.

Speaking in Chicago, Mr Kenny said: In this case, these facts are being checked, but my understanding is this individual was not a member of that small group [of Irish-based people being monitored].

The comment came as Garda Commissioner Noirin OSullivan held a three-hour meeting on the London attacks with senior officers in Dublin, resulting in her instigating some fresh safety measures, including putting armed garda support units on standby in Irish cities.

Gardai are also continuing to assist British authorities on checking for information on Mr Redouanes history such as how he arrived in Ireland and whether he used his marriage here to enter Britain; whether he had residency here or a garda immigration registration card; and if he was Moroccan, Libyan or from elsewhere.

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald last night released a statement saying there is no specific threat to Ireland and gardai appropriate operational measures are in place.
Dr Ali Selim of the Islamic Cultural Centre of Ireland said he had never personally heard of the man identified as Rachid Redouane, who claimed Moroccan nationality, nor had anyone in the community that he had spoken to.

I never heard that name before and it is not familiar to anyone I have spoken to, so if he was in Dublin, he was not in contact with the community, he said.

It would be strange not to know someone from Morocco if they were attending the Mosque. We have quite a few people from North Africa, in particular from Algeria, but you can count the number of Moroccans on one hand.

Imam Yahia Al-Hussein of the Islamic Foundation of Ireland said he was also surprised by the reports that the terrorist had Irish links.

I dont know of him and there is anger and upset that someone associated with something so awful and terrible as happened in London might have been in Dublin, he said.

Its unimaginable that a person would kill innocent people in the name of Islam when this is completely against the teaching of Islam.

Redouane, who was around 30 years old, was carrying an identity card issued by immigration authorities which gave an address in Rathmines, Dublin, as his place of residence.

If correct, the documents suggest Redouane was in Ireland sometime between 2014 and 2016, and that he was married to an English woman, with whom he had a daughter. It appears the couple split either before or shortly after their child was born.

The possibility Redouane planned the London attacks while living in Ireland has caused major concern among gardai who keep 30 to 40 Islamic extremists under surveillance.
Unlike Britain, where the public are banned from owning some breeds, in Ireland there are merely restrictions on ownership.

The Control of Dogs Regulations 1998 imposes additional rules in relation to the following breeds (and strains/cross-breeds) of dog: American pit bull terrier; English bull terrier; Staffordshire bull terrier; Bull mastiff; Dobermann pinscher; German shepherd (Alsatian); Rhodesian ridgeback; Rottweiler; Japanese akita; Japanese tosa; Bandog.

The rules state that those dogs, strains and crosses of them, must be kept on a short strong lead by a person over 16 years who is capable of controlling them. They must also be muzzled whenever they are in a public place and wear a collar bearing the name and address of their owner at all times.

However, there is no restriction on having the animals free to roam on private property.

Teresa McDonagh had gone to the house near Moycullen, Co Galway to visit relatives on Sunday afternoon. She was set upon by the two bull mastiffs which inflicted fatal injuries. The dogs have since been put down.

Gillian Bird of the DSPCA said bull mastiffs were bred in the 19th century as guard dogs. They are a fantastic dog. They are an amazingly loving and devoted dog, she told Newstalk. But as with any dog, if somebody enters what they perceive to be their property and their territory they can react in a very negative way.

She said issues arose when dogs were not socialised as puppies or are deliberately trained to be aggressive and territorial.

We need to see some sort of requirements, that if you have a dog you should notify people about it outside your property so that people visiting be made aware of a dog.
The Black Castle, which is in the heart of Thurles town centre, has been in private ownership for many years, but it has just gone on the open market along with a commercial building which links it directly to the main square, which will make it very accessible.

Locals want it turned into a visitor attraction and believe it would get a lot of spin-off of business from the nearby Rock of Cashel, which attracts more than 300,000 visitors a year.

The campaign is being led by local county councillor Jim Ryan, who is urging the OPW and Tipperary County Council to purchase it.

Mr Ryan said that although built in the 1600s, the castle is in good nick and could easily be converted into a visitor centre, which could be marketed as part of Irelands Ancient East attractions.

The castle was first occupied by Lady Elizabeth Poyntz, known as Lady Thurles, and her husband, Viscounct Thomas Butler.

Their son, the Duke of Ormond, is directly related to Prince Charles.

Lady Thurles is also related to the Hamilton family, who married into the Spencer family and therefore the bloodline includes Princess Diana, who died in a car crash in Paris in 1997.

Princess Diana was the 12th cousin, twice removed, of Lady Thurles.

Lady Thurles died in 1673. At her own request, she was buried inside a church on the site, which was built over and now known as St Marys Church of Ireland Church.

A polished commemorative limestone plaque within the church building recalls this historic period.

Locals feel that the double royal connection is a real seller, especially as the future heirs to the British throne will always have the Thurles lineage.

Thurles has suffered a lot of job losses in recent years and locals believe the visitor centre would help boost the local economy.

The Rock of Cashel is only down the road and wed be hoping to attract some of the visitor there to Thurles, said Mr Ryan.

Given the important history of the castle it would make a good addition to the tourism market in the town.
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WE LIKE to claim were neutral, but the reality is far different.

The Americans use Shannon as a base for shipping troops to fight in Afghanistan, the RAF protects our skies and we make belligerent noises when Russian military aircraft enter our airspace  but our silence is deafening when anyone else does.

Its not just recently that we adopted a behind the scenes bias. During the Second World War, then taoiseach Eamon DeValera ensured that all German military personnel found in Ireland were sent to a detention camp. However, Allied aircrews who crash-landed here were quietly sent across the border to fight another day.

While the British were grateful for that, they were sore that DeValera didnt enter the war on their side and Churchill saw red when the taoiseach offered his sympathy to the German people after Hitler killed himself in his Berlin bunker in 1945.

In the intervening years, Ireland has managed to largely keep its head down when it came to been seen to be on one side or the other.

In fact, the role of the army in UN operations in the Congo, Lebanon, etc portrayed us as a neutral and friendly nation which just wanted to stop other countries kicking the crap out of each other.

Eyes were then raised when the US, a long-standing good friend, decided it needed to use Shannon as a base to transit its troops to the likes of Iraq and Afghanistan. Surely this was a significant shift away from neutrality?

The power of the US dollar and the Irish diaspora there must have had a significant bearing on the Irish governments decision to allow the Yanks to use the airport as a base.

Exactly what passes through there remains a well-guarded secret and while some groups continue to protest about it the public seems largely not to care.

Then theres our nearest neighbour with whom relations have never been better.

In fact, theyre so good that a few years ago the Government decided to enter into a secret deal with the British which has only recently emerged.

Last August, this newspaper revealed that British fighter jets would shoot down aircraft in Irish airspace if they are hijacked by terrorists for a 9/11-style attack.

Civil servants from the Department of Defence and Department of Foreign Affairs, together with the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), entered into a bilateral agreement with British counterparts: the RAF, the Civil Aviation Authority, the Ministry for Defence, and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The Defence Forces were not consulted on the matter, despite the RAF saying they should have been.

The agreement allows the RAF to conduct armed operations in Irish sovereign or Irish-controlled airspace in the event of a real time or envisaged threat of a terrorist-related attack from the skies on either this country or a neighbouring state.

It suits both sides.

Thered been a major clamour for the upgrading of the Air Corps after it emerged they hadnt the capability to even shadow aging Russian Bear bombers which were straying into our area of control while invisible to radar.

The Soviet-era bombers could fly faster and higher than anything the Air Corps had.

A shortage of pilots, aging planes and no jet fighters meant we couldnt prevent incursions by the Russians, or anyone else for that matter.

It was little wonder that then minister for defence Simon Coveney didnt see the need to buy jet fighters. Why would he as the British were there in case anything serious developed in our skies.

And the British werent just doing this to give a friend a dig-out.

The advent of fanatical Islamic State terrorists make another 9/11 type a very real possibility.

If an aircraft was hijacked in Irish airspace it could be crashed into the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace or elsewhere.

The British would need to intercept it before such a catastrophe took place and although we have surface-to-air missiles, by the time weve deployed them the hijacked aircraft will probably be out of range.

Then theres the Russians.

The RAF has been playing cat and mouse with Russian bombers around the North Atlantic for the past few years as tensions between the two countries have increased.

On two occasions in 2015 Russian TU-95 Bear bombers attempting to shake-off the pursuing RAF jets flew down the west and southern coast of Ireland.

On the first occasion they entered into our area of airspace control, but didnt enter our sovereign airspace.

The problem was that they were flying with their transponders off, so they were not identifiable on other aircraft radar.

The fact that they flew cloaked through one of the busiest air lanes in the world caused considerable alarm as they could have crashed into a passenger aircraft.

The Government was highly miffed and told the Russians in no uncertain terms that this was unacceptable.

This threat from a nation which didnt have any jets to shadow the Bears wasnt about to cause Vladimir Putin and his colleagues any sleepless nights.

So just a few weeks later it happened again.

The Irish Aviation Authority this time let it be known that the bold Ruskies intrusion into our area of control had led to the grounding and diversion of commercial jets to prevent a mid-air collision.

However, the IAA then refused to say how many such incidents occurred in recent years and if other superpowers such as the Britain and America had been involved in cloaked flights over our skies.

One could deduce from that we lean in a certain direction.

Any shift from the purely humanitarian approach to saving migrants in the Mediterranean Sea to a more aggressive mission will require Cabinet and Dail approval, according to the Department of Defence.

It seems strange that the same department has repeatedly refused to comment on the deal with the RAF and there was no sanctioning of that by the Dail.

It doesnt make sense that the Naval Service is operating outside of the EUNAVFOR mission, especially as 25 other EU states are in it.

EUNAVFOR is taking a more robust approach to people-smugglers and Islamic State, which is benefitting financially from hapless migrants.

On the other hand there is little doubt that a number of Irish people will worry about the navy possibly coming into conflict with IS and what repercussions that might have for this country.

Every time there is a terrorist outrage in neighbouring countries we sympthaise with their plight and offer solidarity.

Unfortunately, we are not immune to attack either. Some security experts believe it is not a question of if, but when one occurs here.

Islamic State fighters are unlikely to differentiate between so-called neutral Ireland and the British, or other predominantly Christian countries in Western Europe.

Already far more migrants have tried to get to Italy this year than in the comparable period for 2016. If this trend continues it will outstrip all records to date.

So, too, is the unfortunate likelihood that more migrants will end up drowning than ever before.

Security experts argue that the West cant stand by anymore and allow this slaughter to continue to happen. They have to put boots on the ground in Libya to prevent migrants being jammed into deathtrap vessels.

In the meantime the Naval Service has been operating outside the safety in number of EUNAVFOR in an area which is becoming increasingly volatile.

Islamic State and a host of different militias are fighting for control in Libya. Some are UN-backed and some Russian-backed.

Naval Service personnel are never happier than when theyre saving lives and are genuinely proud of what theyve done.

It seems likely that the Government will give serious consideration to joining the EU mission.
THE image of a special-forces helicopter landing on London Bridge on Saturday night raised the question of whether the British capital is becoming more dangerous  or is in fact better defended than ever.

The attack, which killed seven people, was the second time in three months that London has come under attack after a similar assault on the Britsih Parliament in March.

British prime minister Theresa May has been accused by Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn of failing to protect the public by starving the police of funds. And yet, the three terrorists who carried out the London Bridge attack were dead within eight minutes of the incident starting after police officers  who are generally unarmed in the UK  fired 50 rounds.

Four years ago, it took 15 minutes for police to arrive on the scene when an off-duty soldier was attacked by two Islamic extremists. Even then, they shot to wound  rather than kill  the assailants.

The fact that the response time to these attacks was really quite quick, and the authorities didnt hesitate to shoot these individuals down, is a reflection of the fact that the police are on the front foot, said Raffaello Pantucci, director of international security studies at the Royal United Services Institute in London.

We have a fantastic capability in this country and weve always been able to develop it, change it in response to the threat, Metropolitan Police commissioner Cressida Dick said in a BBC Radio interview.

Its more than just the style of policing thats evolved as the city adjusts to a new brand of do-it-yourself terrorism that involves tiny cells rather than sprawling support networks. The face of London has changed, too, as bollards, railings and subtler forms of protection have been placed near landmarks and on footpaths.

Theres a lot of conversation about the security landscape and how to make even benches a protective feature so that it doesnt make everyone feel like they are living in a fortress, said Brooke Rogers, reader in risk and terror at Kings College London.

Ive seen the testing of some of these bollards and they actually drive very large trucks into them.

Police are stepping up drills and security on the streets as the challenge facing them continues to shift. Terrorists are using cars and knives, as they did Saturday night and in the March attack outside Parliament, which are harder to pick up in advance than explosives.

Whereas in the past, there was a much stronger sense of organisation with a network component, according to Florian Otto, head of Europe and Central Asia analysis at Verisk Maplecroft, its now much more atomised with jihadists radicalising in isolation from organised groups.

We seem to be facing a threat that is posed by people with largely a domestic focus, although there are some international dimensions, said Dick.

Were dealing with people who are volatile, unstable, many of them, people who are prepared to use low-tech methods and sometimes go from thinking about the idea to actually carrying out an attack in a very short space of time. So this is very, very challenging.

Security services catch far more would-be-attackers than they miss. The security and intelligence agencies disrupted five credible plots since the Westminster attack, May said on Sunday. British home secretary Amber Rudd said last month that security forces are looking at 500 different plots and monitoring about 3,000 people on a top list of suspects. Another 20,000 people feature on a lower-level list of people who have been probed at some point but are deemed less of a threat.

It really is safer than ever, Rogers said. In terms of the level of preparedness  the plans that have been put in place, the strategies, the practicing that takes place so that organisations can work together  all of the tools they have to respond mean were more prepared than ever.

While police are fighting the renewed threat from Islamist terror, their budgets have been squeezed by austerity  something thats become an election issue. On Mays watch as home secretary, the number of police officers in England and Wales declined by about 15%. British Home Office figures show London has lost some 1,750 officers since the Conservatives came to power in 2010. With four days to go until the general election, May is promising greater powers for police, while Corbyn is pledging an increase in numbers.

As the election campaign increasingly turned to focus on terror, Londoners were taking the attacks in their stride. Cafes, underground trains and restaurants were full, even as London Bridge remained cordoned off..

If something did happen here, whos going to stop it? asked Laura Winner, 33, a market- stall holder in Brick Lane, east London. Its just an open road. Youve just got to get on with it. They want you to be scared.

Patricia Green, 69, was carrying on as normal. She said she has worked in Brick Lane  an area famous for being home to successive waves of immigrants over the centuries  since 1953.

Londoners are used to it, she said. For most of the people in London now, its just a way of life for them.
THE Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation hosted a conference on the future of work last month.

In her address, Minister Mary Mitchell OConnor quoted research which forecast that 65% of children in primary school today will work in jobs which currently do not exist.

Not only is the economy changing, so too are the political and international institutions which have created, for better or for worse, the world as we currently know it.

The future is unknown and, therefore, uncertain. Education policy has to navigate this uncertainty. It has to prepare young people for their future lives as citizens, parents, workers and job creators  in a digital society.

At the same time, education must sustain young peoples wellbeing in the here-and-now as well as ensuring that culture, values and knowledge are passed on, shared and re-shaped between the generations.

In this context, we must ask deep questions: What is the purpose of education today? How can we ensure young peoples wellbeing and happiness? How do we prepare them for a world where exponential change is the norm? Such questions are not just the prerogative of educators. They concern all of society  especially those who set the public agenda. What happens in education today shapes the society and economy of tomorrow.

We have got the fundamentals right

Irish second-level education is internationally acknowledged as being of high quality. Successive OECD PISA reports (Programme for International Student Assessment) shows that Irelands 15-year olds achieve above average in literacy, maths and science. In 2015, Ireland ranked third out of 35 countries for literacy, including digital literacy, and 13th out of 35 countries for both science and maths.

PISA also found that Irish students feel a strong sense of belonging at school: this is vital for their wellbeing and their motivation to learn.

Second-level education is also ahead on other indicators in the EU 2020 Strategy. The latter aims to ensure that the school drop-out rate not exceed 10% by 2020: Irelands rate is currently 8.1%. The EU target that at least 40% of the population aged 30-34 years successfully complete third level education is already surpassed by Ireland: at 52.6%, Ireland currently has the highest rate in the EU.

Moving beyond quantitative evidence, there is also strong system evidence from Department inspection reports of public satisfaction with schools. Commissioned research by the Teaching Council similarly found high levels of trust and satisfaction with the teaching profession.

The work of the Teaching Council itself is focused on maintaining the quality of the teaching profession from initial teacher education, to professional standards and lifelong learning.

Another strength in our education system is the role of the statutory National Council for Curriculum and Assessment in ensuring an ongoing process of curriculum review and reform from early childhood to the end of second level education. Notwithstanding the ongoing ASTI objections to aspects of the new Junior Cycle Framework, the process of curriculum change is, in the main, dynamic and ongoing.

However, we need to look at systemic problems. Complacency has no place in our education system which is constantly charged with meeting new  and enduring  societal problems. From my perspective as Education and Research Officer with the ASTI, I would identify the following areas as priorities if our second level schools are to realise our aspirations for our young people.

Eliminate educational disadvantage

Bestsellers such as Thomas Pikettys Capital in the Twenty-first Century, and The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always do Better, by Richard G Wilkinson and Kate Pickett, are part of a growing body of evidence on rising inequality. The proportion of children in Ireland (aged 0 to 17) at risk of poverty fell to 30.3 % in 2014 but remains higher than the EU average of 27.8%. The current policy for educational disadvantage  DEIS  focuses on schools with high numbers of disadvantaged students.

However, the majority of students at risk of educational disadvantage are not enrolled in DEIS schools. We need appropriate interventions in non-DEIS schools so that no child is left behind because of their family circumstances.

Invest in our school infrastructure Department projections indicate that from 2016 to 2025 second-level enrolments will grow by 19%  over 65,000 additional students in the system. We need new schools, but we also need to seriously look at existing schools; overcrowding in classrooms and corridors, and the lack of space for non-traditional classroom learning are quality issues. In particular, ASTI research by Millward Brown has underlined the inadequate facilities in science laboratories.

The latter will increasingly become apparent when new practical assessment tasks are introduced for Leaving Cert science subjects in the next school year.

Do change better

The gap between policy development and policy implementation is increasingly acknowledged as one of the reasons why education systems are either slow to adopt new practices or adopt them in a piecemeal fashion.

There is a real need to examine this conundrum in the Irish context. If the ASTI dispute on the Junior Cycle teaches us anything, it is that we need to look for better ways to engage teachers in the dialogue on innovation.

Teachers do not want their students to be the guinea pigs for experimentation. We need to examine how schools can engage in curriculum innovation while not undermining students learning or classroom relationships.

Invest in teachers lifelong learning

A proper framework for teachers lifelong learning must be developed which is underpinned by concrete supports to (i) ensure that the courses available to teachers are relevant to their work and to their personal development needs, and (ii) that they are financially accessible. Recent research by RED C for ASTI found that the biggest barrier to further learning for recently qualified teachers was the abolition of qualification allowances.

A key area for teacher learning relates to the digital revolution in our childrens lives.

Ensure that teaching remains an attractive career

There is consistent international evidence as to the quality of the Irish teaching profession. That quality is underpinned by several factors: High standards of initial teacher education and induction; continuous professional development; working conditions and level of pay. Almost a decade of austerity has seriously eroded the latter and it is now the number one priority for new entrants to the profession.

A differential salary structure for new entrants to the profession is eating away at the attractiveness of teaching as a career for our best and brightest graduates. Coupled with pervasive job insecurity, it has the potential to damage the future quality of the teaching profession. It is the number one political priority for the ASTI.

Moira Leydon is education and research officer with the Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland (ASTI)

TOMORROW:

What other countries do, with a focus on Finland.

Also, students and stress  about 75% of teenagers describe pressure to excel in exams.
At a Discover 2017 conference today, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE) made a bevy of additions to its server lineup, including what it describes as the first server to embed security functions into the silicon of forthcoming Proliant Gen 10 series servers based on Intel x86 processors.

Mark Potter, senior vice president and CTO for HPE, says that HPE has been able develop a silicon root of trust that makes use of HPE Integrated Light Out firmware running on a chip developed by HPE that ensures servers do not execute any compromised code. In addition, Potter notes that encryption and breach detection technologies are now built into servers configured with the HPE security chip as well. Given the level of sophistication of recent IT security attacks, Potter says, its apparent new approaches to IT security are now required.

We have to think differently about security, says Potter.

Along with improving the overall security of its servers, HPE today also says customers will be given access to tuning tools that will allow them to adjust processor clocks to meet the needs of various types of workloads, while also unveiling a Project New Stack, an approach to managing IT across hybrid cloud computing environments that will leverage embedded analytics to help IT organizations significantly increase utilization rates of both on-premises servers and cloud infrastructure services. Those capabilities are intended to extend the reach of HPEs overall HPE Synergy software-defined infrastructure initiative that it refers to as Composable Infrastructure.

New updates to HPE Synergy announced today include compute modules that support 25/50 and 100G Ethernet links, faster storage provisioning, and an update to HPE OneView that further automates the management of firmware updates, while at the same time tightening integration with Cisco, Red Hat, Mesosphere and ServiceNow. HPE also announced it intends to develop a toolkit for HPE OneView that will enable customers to take automations developed using the Redfish application programming interfaces (APIs) and apply them via the HPE OneView framework.

HPE is also making available an HPE Persistent Scalable Storage Module that provides access to terabytes of memory that can be used as persistent storage.

In addition, HPE announced it will bundle ClearOS, a distribution of Linux specifically designed for small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMBs) on low-end servers, in recognition of the fact that interest in Linux in that segment of the IT market is growing.

Finally, HPE announced extensions to its pay-as-you-go licensing models designed to improve utilization rates and more closely align spending with actual consumption.

Clearly, HPE is making a series of investments designed to differentiate its servers on multiple levels. The issue now will be getting IT organizations to appreciate those investments before rivals figure out how to catch up.
The long, awkward silence is always the first sign that a previously over-confident hacker realizes he's suddenly become the victim. It happens every time.

The malicious hacker had been firing his ion cannon at my network address trying to overwhelm my home computer and internet connection. I had sent him an email the day before letting him know that I knew who he was, what he did for a living (he was a budding wedding photographer), his name (Rick), and that he was newly married to a beautiful girl. Thats enough to frighten off most hackers, but sometimes, like Rick, they persist.

On his private, Tor-protected instant messaging channel, Rick was telling his buddies that he was getting ready to launch an even bigger distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack against me. He had been using a child-like hacker tool, but now he was thinking of paying a professional hacking service to attack me.

DDoS attacks, where hundreds to hundreds of thousands of otherwise innocent computers and devices can be directed to attack one targeted victim, can be devastatingly hard to stop  not just for me, but for anyone, nearly any company. The sustained flood of malicious network traffic consisting of billions of unwanted digital bits can knock all but the biggest and richest companies (think Google) off the internet. Once they start, the victim (in this case, me) can be kicked off the internet for several days.

I broke into his messaging channel and told him to knock it off. The hesitancy in his reply let me know that I had caught him off guard. He responded by calling me several unprintable names and accused me of being someone already a member of his hacker forum. When I replied that I wasn't, he renewed his taunting and said I would regret breaking into his private forum. I politely asked him to quit trying to attack me because I had to real work to get done.

The next night around the same time, I could tell by the sluggishness of my internet connectivity that the threatened DDoS attack was starting to happen. If I didnt do something soon I was going to be out of commission for days. So, out of pure frustration of having to meet a work deadline, I hacked into his computer.

I had identified the computer and software he was using (this is known as fingerprinting in the hacker world), and I knew he was using an outdated firewall to protect it. One of my favorite hacker techniques is to break into computers and companies using the very software and devices they think will protect them. So, using a known vulnerability in that firewall, I broke into his computer, modified a file, and left a new script behind. I then connected to him on his messaging channel and told him to check out my work.

My work was a file that would have reformatted his computers hard drive and destroy everything on it if he rebooted his computer. I had remarked the fatal lines out of my script so that it was currently harmless. But I could have removed literally three characters (i.e., rem) and rendered the previously harmless script quite deadly, at least to his computer.

The DDoS attack stopped immediately. The obviously humbled remote hacker came back online to the chat channel and incredulously asked, Man, how did you do that? Finally, he was talking like a normal human with all the false swagger gone. I replied, Rick, theres a lot of hackers who are better than you. Stop your malicious hacking and use your skills to do good. Spend more time with your new hot wife. One day you may mess with the wrong guy or agency. This is your wake-up call.

With that, I dropped the chat channel and started to get to work on my day job. Its not the first time that I had to do a little offensive hacking to get another hacker to leave me alone, and Im certainly not the only one with the skills to do so. In fact, the best, smartest hackers I know are the good guys and girls, not the malicious creeps who plague our digital lives. Im a 30-year computer security veteran, always out fighting the good fight, along with tens of thousands of others just like me. Our adversaries are, on average, less smart than we are.

This is not to say that all malicious hackers are dumb. Thats not the case. Its just that the vast majority arent overly bright; they are average. In a given year, Ill see maybe one or two smart hackers do things that no one else has ever done before. But most malevolent hackers I come across arent brilliant or creative. They simply use tools, techniques and services that other smarter hackers previously created. Far from being the mythic hackers that Hollywood celebrates, most are regular, run-of-mill rubes who couldnt code an emoji icon.

If you want to meet a really smart hacker, talk to a cybersecurity defender. They have to be experts in their technology and able to figure out how to stop all the threats that are trying to take it down. They are the hidden Henry Fords and Einsteins of our digital society. While the media is portraying rogue hackers as the smarter element, the defenders are tightening the net and helping to stop and arrest more of them than ever.

Right now hacking is almost risk-free

Like the Tommy Gun-toting bank robbers of the early 1900s, hackers today are very successful. The riches of our digital society have been accumulating faster than the needed protections. And the chances of being caught, much less arrested, for cybercrime were nearly zero. A hacker could steal millions of dollars with almost no risk.

Rob a real bank and the chances are youll get less than $8,000 and you'll probably be arrested (55 percent of bank robbers were identified and arrested in 2014, the latest year for which FBI statistics are available) and go to jail for years. The negative risk/reward ratio contributes to there being fewer than 4,000 U.S. bank robberies each year.

Contrast that with cybercrime. The FBI says it receives over 22,000 cybercrime complaint reports each month, and there are likely many more crimes being committed. The average reported loss is almost $6,500, and from over 269,000 criminal complaints, only 1,500 cases were referred to law enforcement. Although the FBIs most recent annual reports didnt include conviction rates, its 2010 report, with a similar number of complaints and referred cases, resulted in just six convictions. That's one jailed cyber criminal for every 50,635 victims, and these are just the cases reported to the FBI.

Steal a million dollars online and youll enjoy your newfound wealth with almost no worry. The difficulty of collecting legal evidence of the crime, jurisdiction issues (Russia and China are not going to respect United States search warrants and arrest requests anytime soon), and law enforcements cybercrime enforcement abilities make it a low-risk venture. And, as I said before, you don't have to be smart to be a successful hacker. Any kid or crime syndicate can do it. All you need to know is a few tricks of the trade.

The secret of hacking

The secret to hacking is there is no secret. Hacking is like any other trade, like a plumber or electrician, once you learn a few tools and techniques, the rest is just practice and perseverance. Most hackers find missing software patches, misconfigurations, vulnerabilities, or social engineer the victim. If it works once, it works a thousand times. Its so easy and works so regularly that most professional penetration testers (i.e., people paid to do legal hacking) quit after a few years because they no longer find it challenging.

In my 30 years of professional penetration testing, Ive hacked into every single company Ive been hired to legally break into in three hours or less. That includes every bank, government agency, hospital and type of business. I barely got out of high school, and I flunked out of an easy college with a 0.62 grade average. Lets just say Im no Rhodes scholar.

On a scale of one to ten, with ten being the best, Im maybe a six or seven, and I can break into nearly anything. Ive worked with hackers that Ive thought were tens, and they almost universally think of themselves as average. They can list off the people they think are tens. And so on. This is to say that a lot of people can hack into anything they want to. Theres no official count of hackers in the world, but the number is easily in the upper tens of thousands. Luckily, most of them are on the good side.

The people who hack the hackers

The people who fight hackers and their malware creations cover the gambit of computer security jobs, including penetration testers, fixers, policy makers, educators, product developers, security reviewers, writers, cryptographers, privacy advocates, securers, threat modelers, and other computer security wonks in all fields.

Here are some of the interesting computer security defenders I cover in my latest book, Hacking the Hackers:

Brian Krebs

Krebs is a long-time investigative journalist who is famous for bringing down some of the webs most notorious criminal gangs. He routinely identifies previously anonymous malicious hackers by name, often leading to their arrest. Krebs learned to speak and read Russian so he could track and report on Russian cybercrime companies and syndicates. He is so successful that hackers routinely try to have him arrested by SWAT teams by sending drugs, fake currency and false hostage reports. His best-selling book Spam Nation was a takedown of the Russian spam industry and revealed that sometimes our own legitimate industries are intentionally allowing more cybercrime to occur because it benefits them financially. Anything Brian Krebs writes is worth reading.

Bruce Schneier

As the creator of multiple trusted encryption ciphers, Schneier is considered the father of modern computer cryptography. He is the top industry luminary in the computer security field and regularly speaks to Congress and to the biggest media outlets. Today, Schneier is mostly concerned with human issues behind computer security failures. I consider reading anything Schneier writes a mandatory part of any computer security education.

Dr. Dorothy Denning

Professor emeritus at the Naval Postgraduate School, Denning was an early computer security pioneer, creating seminal works on computer encryption, intrusion detection, cyberwarfare and access control. She invented the Lattice security model, which underlies many modern access control models. She was concerned about (and writing about) cyberwarfare before there was cyberwarfare.

Kevin Mitnick

The worlds most famous hacker, once prevented from even using a phone, Mitnick has long been out of prison and gone legit. Today, he is the CEO of his own computer security defense company and regularly writes about the threats of social engineering and privacy invasions. Many former malicious hackers cant be trusted, but Mitnick is an exception.

Michael Howard

Howard, and friends, created a secure software programming method known as the Security Development Lifecycle (SDL), which is now used by hundreds of companies around the world to decrease the number of bugs in their software that can be exploited by hackers. Most early SDL critics now use it after years of seeing how well it worked.

Joanna Rutkowska

Polish computer security expert, Joanna Rutkowska, gained fame for releasing the details of her Blue Pill attack, which revealed a hacker method so ingenious and difficult to stop or detect that defenders are still happy that hackers arent using it yet. She decided she couldnt trust any of the publicly available operating systems to be secure enough, so she created her own reasonable secure OS called QubesOS. The worlds most talented spies and privacy advocates use her operating system.

Lance Spitzner

Spitzner is considered the father of the modern honeypot. A honeypot is any fake computer asset (e.g., computer, router, printer, etc.) that exists solely to detect malicious hacking activity. Honeypots are considered one of the best defenses any company can deploy for early warning detection. Today, Spitzner works for SANS, one of the worlds most trusted computer security organizations, teaching companies how to successfully respond quickly to malicious computer breaches.

Cormac Herley

Herley is a computer security researcher whose craving for data is turning the computer security industry on its ear. Using real data, he is disproving long-held security dogma, such as the effectiveness of long and complex passwords. Herley proved that using long, complex and frequently changed passwords is not only not helpful, it is likely causing more problems than it solves. His research and conclusions are so revolutionary that it is likely going to be ten years before we see the majority of his recommendations being implemented.

Michael Dubinsky

The constantly attacked state of Israel is known worldwide for turning out very good computer security software. Dubinsky, an Israeli, is a senior product developer for a product that is known for detecting the previously undetectable. His product detects sneaky, otherwise hidden, hackers going after a companys crown jewels  and it is getting better faster than the attackers.

These smart defenders are part of a massive army of white hat hackers who are making it harder and harder to maliciously hack each year. A critical mass is starting to build and within the next decade online cybercriminals will likely to become as rare as traditional bank robbers. They will still exist, but there will be far fewer of them and they will be far more likely to be identified and prosecuted.
Over the next five years, the demand for IT workers will get a big boost from an unlikely source: manufacturers looking for networking pros who can help them run the industrial internet of things (IIoT).

Manufacturers in the US, Germany, Japan and China are on the cutting edge of something called Industry 4.0, which is digital transformation applied to manufacturing  bringing with it all the change, opportunities and challenges that represents. And it includes IoT devices that contribute to the manufacturing process.

+Related: What is Industry 4.0?

According to the PwC's 2016 Global Industry 4.0 Survey, manufacturers across a broad spectrum of industries plan to invest $907 billion per year for five years into Industry 4.0 initiatives.

"A major focus of this investment," the report states, "will be on digital technologies like sensors or connectivity devices, as well as on software and applications like manufacturing execution systems (MES). Companies are also investing significantly in training their employees, hiring new specialists and driving organizational change."

Needed: broad IIoT skills

To make this vision a reality will take skilled IT people and technologists. And it won't be just programmers and developers: network engineers will be needed to connect everything together and make sure it keeps working. Then, of course, there is a massive cyber security component. Every newly connected device potentially represents another vulnerability.

Agood way to envision all the skills that could be required to bring about an Industry 4.0 transformation is to think about IoT in the context of a highly-autonomous assembly line. It could include 3D printers and other additive manufacturing techniques running alongside computer numerical controlled (CNC) lathes and newer machines capable of executing highly variable, multi-step processes using robotic vision and artificial intelligence.

Add in cobots  collaborative robots that work alongside humans -- and you have a technology landscape that calls not only for multiple skills sets but, in many instances, the blending of those skills to cut across silos and specializations to create whole new categories of technology professionals  ones who understand the convergence of operational technologies and information technologies, said Tanja Reuckert, executive vice president for SAP's IoT & Customer Innovation Unit and the vice chair of the Industrial Internet Consortium's (IIC) steering committee.

"I believe now is the time we have to think cross-discipline or multi-discipline," said Reuckert. "When you talk about the internet of things, people say it is about digitizing the thing. It's actually about digitizing the business process. So I think engineers, network specialist, application developers, big data architects, UI [user interface] designers, business people need to talk to each other and understand each other."

Because of this, many employers will have trouble defining exactly what skills or set of certifications they will need. Industry 4.0 is going to demand that teams of people come together to solve interrelated challenges. Specialists will still be required, of course, but they will also have to broaden their knowledge base to include not just other IT technologies but also the operational technologies like robotics and process automation that make factories and assembly lines work.

According to a 2016 Boston Consulting Group survey, this already is a major challenge. "[R]egardless of company size, respondents cited hiring talent and acquiring new capabilities as the most critical enablers for Industry 4.0 adoption. As one executive explained, 'The needed capabilities dont currently exist in our company, and we believe theyll be hard to find.'"

So, with that in mind and in no particular order of importance, here is a short list of the in-demand IT skills manufacturers will need as they begin their Industry 4.0 transitions.

Top 5 IT Skills Needed for Industry 4.0
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Another Herbalife Ltd. financial guidance update yielded Monday a mixed response from analysts, investors and critics.

The company confirmed an increase in diluted and adjusted diluted earnings per share for the second quarter and fiscal 2017, as well as a decrease in volume and net sales for both periods.

Herbalife, which has more than 1,000 employees at its Winston-Salem manufacturing plant, also reported it has exceeded criteria set last year as part of the $204 million settlement of what the Federal Trade Commission termed the companys unfair and deceptive practices. The FTC required Herbalife to be able to show annually that at least 80 percent of U.S. retail purchases were made by documented customers.

Investors put their focus on the sales decrease guidance, sending the share price down as much as 8.5 percent before it closed off 6.7 percent at $68.99.

For their part, critics of Herbalife, as well as some analysts, said they expected lower sales in part because of the additional FTC regulatory restrictions.

The share price has been on a roller coaster ride over the past month. It hit a 52-week high of $74.12 on Friday, recovering completely from a 6 percent drop on May 23 spurred by the abrupt departure of a key Herbalife Chinese executive. The 52-week low is $47.62.

On May 5, Herbalife disclosed fiscal 2017 diluted earnings in a range of $3.25 to $3.65, up from the initial forecast of $2.95 to $3.35 a share. Adjusted earnings range was set at $4.05 to $4.45, compared with $3.65 to $4.05 a share.

On Monday, the company raised the fiscal 2017 diluted and adjusted earnings range by 5 cents on each end.

For the second quarter, the company raised diluted and adjusted by 10 cents on both ends to 75 cents to 95 cents diluted and 95 cents to $1.15 cents.

However, the company projects net sales to be off between 2 percent and 6 percent in the second quarter, and up between 0.5 percent and 3.5 percent for the full year.

On May 5, Herbalife said net sales would be down between 0.5 percent and 4.5 percent for the second quarter, with full-year sales up between 3 percent and 6 percent

The company believes that the second quarter of 2017 will be the most challenging quarter of the year from a comparative perspective given that last years second-quarter volume was the largest in the companys history, according to the statement.

Richard Goudis, who took over as chief executive Thursday, said 90 percent of May domestic sales, representing more than 3 million retail transactions, were made by documented purchasers.

Herbalife has said that adhering to the FTC requirements has been a critical positive in terms of collecting new marketing data, such as pricing, buying preferences and consumer purchase trends.

Goudis said the company has had about 400,000 customers convert or signed up as preferred members in the U.S. since the program began in October. The program allowed those customers to buy Herbalife products at a discount without to sell the products themselves.

These figures should put an end to any questions regarding demand for our nutrition products and the strength of our go-to-market business model, Goudis said.

Later in the statement, the company said it notes, however, these results are based on the companys records and are subject to the review of the independent compliance auditor.

The recent ups and downs in the share price come nearly 4 years after Herbalife received the first corporate reputation body blow from billionaire hedge-fund activist Bill Ackman.

Ackman made public his claim that Herbalife operates as a pyramid scheme on Dec. 19, 2012  the same date the company confirmed its plans for a $130 million plant in Winston-Salem.

Timothy Ramey, an analyst with Pivotal Research Group, said Monday that the FTC goal of 80 percent documented purchasers is not a cliff, but if they sustained less than 80 percent in the May-December period of 2017 or subsequent periods, Herbalife would be obliged to reduce payouts under the compensation plan.

While we expected this result (of 90 percent), we didnt expect it to be achieved so soon. We believe it will be relatively likely that receipted consumption is 95 percent or so.

Ramey took a little dig at Ackman and other short-sellers by saying the Herbalife guidance must be terribly disappointing.

Remember that the short thesis on Herbalife shares lies in demonstrating two ideas: it is an illegal pyramid scheme because no one really buys product for the product merits alone  they buy product to qualify for compensation; and regulators will recognize the sham of the company and will shut it down, Ramey said in mocking the arguments of Herbalifes detractors.

Ramey said he would not change his earnings forecast since we were already expecting soft sales and above-guidance earnings.

Joe Agnese, an analyst with research firm CFRA, lowered his fiscal 2017 guidance by 15 cents to $4.40.

We see near-term sales pressured in the U.S. due to disruptions caused by the implementation of new distributor tools and processes, and by weak sales trends in Mexico, Agnese said.

But we see growth more stable in other global markets. We now see 2017 sales growing 2 percent, down from our previous expectation of 4.5 percent growth.

Other potential disclosed regulatory and legal investigations involving Herbalife involve the Securities and Exchange Commission and U.S. Justice Department.

The SEC and the Department of Justice have requested from the company documents and other information relating to the companys anti-corruption compliance in China, the company disclosed in a May 4 quarterly filing. The company is conducting its own review. The company is cooperating with the government and cannot predict the eventual scope, duration or outcome of the matter at this time.

Herbalife said in a statement there are no active state attorney general investigations that the company knows of.
About 20 demonstrators protested Monday about the recent deaths of two inmates at the Forsyth County Jail, saying that county officials must be held responsible for the circumstances that demonstrators believe contributed to the deaths.

The protesters gathered briefly at Merschel Plaza on West Fourth Street, holding signs and chanting. They moved under a parking deck off West Third Street when it started raining.

The rally ended after they marched to the jail.

The demonstrators chanted slogans such as, No justice, no peace, Its our duty to fight for our freedom, and Money and jobs for education, not for for mass incarceration.

Stephen Antwan Patterson, 40, died in the jail on May 26.

A detention officer entered Pattersons cell and determined that he wasnt breathing and had no pulse.

Efforts to revive Patterson were unsuccessful.

A relative has said Patterson had a history of high blood pressure and expressed concern about the medical care that he received at the jail.

On May 2, Deshawn Lamont Coley, 39, also died inside the jail. Coley died after he suffered a medical condition, the Forsyth County Sheriffs Office said.

Coleys widow said that Coley told her that the jail medical staff wasnt properly treating his asthma before his death.

Coley wanted to go to a hospital, but the jail staff treated him inside the jail, the family said.

The State Bureau of Investigation and the Forsyth County Sheriffs Office are in the midst of investigating both deaths.

Sheriff Bill Schatzman said in an interview last week that the two deaths appeared to be an unfortunate natural occurrence and that he had seen nothing so far to make him think that the mens cases had been mishandled.

Before the rally, Effrianguan Muhammad, Winston-Salems representative to Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, said he has spoken to Pattersons mother about her sons death.

No mother should have to bury their child, Muhammad said.

Muhammad and Tony Ndege, an organizer with Black Lives Matter Winston-Salem, told the demonstrators that Forsyth County officials, including the Forsyth County Sheriffs Office, must be held accountable.

We are all human beings, and we deserve to be treated humanely, Ndege said.
The state Senate passed Monday a House bill that would require newspapers to provide workers compensation coverage and pay unemployment insurance tax for carriers.

However, its not clear if the House will go along with the Senates May 24 insertion of the newspaper carrier language into House Bill 205 at the direction of Sen. Trudy Wade, R-Guilford.

The bill initially focused solely on prison inmates, passing 109-4 on March 9.

Newspapers have considered carriers as independent contractors per state law for more than two decades.

The Senate approved HB205 by a 29-14 margin on third reading after voting 32-13 in favor on Thursday. Sen. Joyce Krawiec, R-Forsyth, voted against the bill, while Sen. Paul Lowe, D-Forsyth, had an excused absence.

The bill returns to the House for review.

There is some support in the House, but I dont believe it is the majority of the House, Rep. Donny Lambeth, R-Forsyth, said Monday of the Senate version.

We will generally look at the reason for this and if there is an IRS requirement that this is necessary.

Wade said Thursday the bill rectifies the unfair misclassification of newspaper delivery workers and salespeople as independent contractors.

The bill levels the playing field by deleting a special carve-out in the Workers Compensation Act that prevents these workers from being classified as employees of their publications entitled to benefits ... as long as multiple criteria are met.

Wade said she was partially inspired to include the newspaper carriers by a five-part series in 2014 by The News & Observer of Raleigh and The Charlotte Observer.

The series focused primarily on contractors, particularly in the construction industry, treating full-time employees as independent contractors and neglecting to pay unemployment insurance, payroll taxes and workers compensation coverage for them.

Critics of the practice responded to the series by urging lawmakers to make the state Industrial Commission enforce rules on violating businesses.

We appreciate our states news media for shedding light on the far-too-common practice of employee misclassification in North Carolina, Wade said.

Surely, the same industry that brought the problem to our attention will recognize this inconsistency between what they report and editorialize on and what they practice, and support this important reform to protect their own hard workers.

The N.C. Press Association opposes HB205.

Phil Lucey, the NCPAs executive director, said Monday that HB205 as amended threatens to kill jobs.

The livelihood of newspaper carriers, who deliver papers as a second or third income, may be eliminated by many newspaper publishers simply unable to afford the burdens imposed by HB205 to retain the services of their historically classified independent contractor-carriers.

Wades amending of HB205 is the second time she has targeted newspapers in the current session.

On April 26, Senate Bill 343 passed the Senate by a 30-19 vote. The bill, with Wade as primary sponsor, would give local governments the option to post their legal notices on their own websites in addition to or in lieu of newspapers.

That bill has not been acted upon by the House since being sent April 27 to the chambers Rules, Calendar and Operations committee.

The legal notices tend to include home foreclosure disclosures filed by attorneys, as well as government zoning proposals, economic development packages and public meetings.

The notices would have to be filed in the same timely fashion as with newspapers, with counties being allowed to charge a fee for some notices. Counties would have to commit to having sufficient staff to maintain the website and complete affidavits addressing legal notices.

Meanwhile, House Bill 572, a compromise bill based on a Florida law, would require newspapers to publish paid print legal notices for free on their websites at a size similar to the print notice, and establish an email alert registry. HB572 has one Democratic co-primary sponsor.

HB572 received a favorable recommendation April 26 by the Committee on Rules, Calendar and Operations and was sent to the full House.

However, the bill was pulled from the House calendar later that day and sent back to the committee, where it has not been acted upon since.

Rep. Chris Malone, R-Wake, said April 26 that a stalemate benefits the newspaper industry but perhaps just temporarily.
With decades of teaching experience in several capacities in Texas and over the past three years with The Flowertown Blossoms in Summerville, Anicia D. Brown is dead set on handing youngsters the tools to master stage acting and production, while also imparting impactful life lessons along t Read moreFlowertown Blossoms preaching the value of teamwork
06/05/2017





JSUs Little River Canyon Center is pleased to announce its fourth annual "Bluegrass on the Rim music festival on Saturday, June 10, 5-10 p.m., at the Canyon Center in Fort Payne.

Festival attendees will enjoy top bluegrass performers as they play authentic mountain music guaranteed to resonate with die-hard bluegrass fans as well as followers of folk, country, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll.

The talent line-up this year is phenomenal, said Pete Conroy, director of the Little River Canyon Center. We are featuring nationally known bluegrass talent, including Kelli Johnson and 4 in the Fire, Solid Blue and Foggy Hollow Review. We also give a warm welcome back to our host Glen Williams.

Featured acts will include:

Kelli Johnson and 4 in the Fire: No stranger to the music industry or Bluegrass on the Rim, Kelli Johnson has partnered with Americana band 4 in the Fire to create Christian music that defies labels and blends genres.

Watch Video

Solid Blue: This Huntsville based act provides driving traditional bluegrass music mixed with unique arrangements of contemporary songs that highlight the tight harmony vocals and instrumental talent of its members.

Watch Video

The Foggy Hollow Review: This unique blend of musicians from several genres, all hailing from the Appalachians, present traditional tunes featuring the members vast musical backgrounds.

Watch Video

In addition to enjoying great performances, guests will be treated to the beauty of Little River Canyon.

Our giant outdoor concert stage is designed for big shows, complete with multi-color LED stage lighting, said Conroy. Its pretty special, but nothing compares to the natural backdrop of Little River Canyon National Preserve.

Gates will open at 5 p.m. Guests should arrive early to claim a place for their lawn chairs or blankets. Barbecue will be available for purchase.

Advanced tickets are $12 per person and $20 the day of the show. JSU student tickets are $5 in advance with a valid student I.D. Children ages 12 and younger, accompanied by an adult, will be admitted for free. Purchase tickets online or on-site the day of the show. Proceeds help fund environmental education programs at Little River Canyon Center.
Fugitive ex-governor of Quintana Roo, Mexico, Roberto Borge, was arrested on Monday in Panama. Borge, a member of President Enrique Pena Nietos ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), was taken into custody on charges of corruption. He was wanted [AP report] in connection with the sale of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of state properties. Borge denies all charges. The ex-governor was apprehended with the aid [Reuters report] of Interpol [official website] as he was preparing to board a flight to Paris. Mexico is asking Panamanian prosecutors for his extradition. Borge is the third [BBC report] fugitive former governor to be arrested this year after several of those accused of corruption went on the run.

Mexico has been plagued with corruption scandals in the past year further complicating the countrys drug crisis. Attorney General Edgar Veytia of the state of Nayarit, Mexico, was arrested [JURIST report] on charges of international narcotics trafficking conspiracy, according to court documents filed by federal officials in March. In January UN Special Rapporteur Michel Forst delivered [JURIST report] a preliminary report recommending to Mexico authorities improvements concerning the protection of human rights defenders after reports [JURIST report] of disappearances in Mexico began to surface. In September the Mexican Supreme Court overturned [JURIST report] two state anti-corruption laws that would have allowed departing governors to choose prosecutors in charge of investigating corruption allegations against them. In June the Mexican Congress passed several anti-corruption bills [JURIST report] that would increase the severity of penalties for corruption charges.
The US Supreme Court [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] Monday in Town of Chester v. Laroe Estates, Inc. [SCOTUSblog materials] that as-of-right intervenors must have independent Article III standing to intervene under Rule 24(a)(2) [LII materials]. Justice Samuel Alito delivered the opinion of a unanimous court. In 2012 Steven Sherman, a land developer, filed suit against the Town of Chester for obstructing plans for a subdivision, costing Sherman $5.5 million and nearly bankrupting him. Laroe, Shermans investor, filed to intervene when the court of appeals remanded the case. Laroe argued that under New York law, it is the equitable owner of the Real Property at issue in Shermans suit and sought damages for the taking of Laroes interest in the subject real property. The court concluded that because Laroe sought damages different from those sought by Sherman, they must produce their own standing to proceed.

The Supreme Court granted certiorari in January and heard arguments [JURIST reports] in April.
Jewel Heists Happen  And The FBI Has A Special Team To Investigate Them

Dallas, 06/06/2017 /SubmitPressRelease123/

Jewel thefts may sound like crimes that belong in big budget Hollywood movies, but they happen in real life. They happen so often, in fact, that the FBI has a special team devoted to investigating crimes involving jewels and precious art.

Comprised of 16 agents, the Art Crime Team is tasked with addressing art and cultural property crimes. Since it was created in 2014, the FBIs Art Crime Team has recovered nearly 15,000 stolen items valued at over $165 million.

2009 Art Theft Made International Headlines

In 2009, two thieves dressed in regular business suits stole $65 million in jewelry from a famous diamond store in London. According to an ABC News report, the robbery took place in the daytime and is considered one of the biggest jewel heists in British history.

And the incident is far from isolated. In 2003, thieves stole $189 million worth of diamonds, gold, and jewels from a bank in Belgium. What made the story so sensational is that the bank in question is considered one of the worlds most secure. With 10 layers of security, including heat detectors, radar, and a magnetic field, its designed to be impenetrable. Investigators were able to track down the thief by using DNA evidence.

In 1990, thieves stole over a dozen rare masterpieces from a museum in Boston. The works are valued at between $300 million and $500 million. The thieves gained access to the museum after hours by dressing as police officers and claiming they were investigating a noise complaint. The crime has never been solved, and the art has never been recovered. The paintings include a Vermeer, three Rembrandts, and five paintings by Degas.

Jewelry and Art Theft Is a Federal Crime

The theft of jewels and art is a serious federal crime punishable by high fines and lengthy prison sentences. Federal authorities maintain international databases of suspects and convicted criminals connected to art and jewel thefts. Technology has made it easier for police to track down suspected thieves.

The Importance of Working with an Experienced Texas Federal Criminal Defense Lawyer

If youve been charged with something as serious as a jewel or art theft, you shouldnt leave your case to chance  or unskilled hands. The federal statutes that address the theft of fine art and jewelry impose harsh penalties on those who are convicted. Protect your future by contacting a knowledgeable Texas federal criminal defense lawyer about your case.

Sources:

http://www.brodenmickelsen.com/

2600 State St Dallas, Texas 75204

Main Phone: (214) 720-9552

source: http://www.brodenmickelsen.com/blog/jewel-heists-happen-fbi-special-team-investigate/

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Dallas, TX, USA, 06/06/2017 /SubmitPressRelease123/

Tiger Woods was recently arrested in Florida for what Florida law calls Driving Under the Influence (DUI). In Texas, we call this driving while intoxicated (DWI). Texas has a crime called DUI, but it applies to people under the legal drinking age who have a detectable amount of alcohol in their system, even if they are not intoxicated.

Mr. Woods was found asleep in his car with the engine running. When police officers woke him up, he said some incoherent things and apparently failed some field sobriety tests. He gave a breath sample that showed he had no alcohol in his system. He made a public statement blaming his condition on a combination of prescription medication. What does all this mean about whether he was guilty of DWI or DUI?

First, the fact that he was not actually driving his car when the police found him does not matter. DWI and DUI laws usually refer to operating a motor vehicle, and operating is usually defined as being in control of a running motor vehicle. Because the car was running, and Mr. Woods was alone in the car and at the wheel, he is considered to be in control of it. If the car had not been running, but Mr. Woods was alone, asleep, and intoxicated and in the drivers seat, he could still be arrested for DWI or DUI, but at trial, the State would have to prove that he drove the car to wherever he was found and that he was intoxicated at the time he was driving the car.

Second, the fact that Mr. Woods had no alcohol in his system does not mean he is not guilty. DWI and DUI laws usually do not require that the intoxication must be due to alcohol. In Texas, for example, intoxication is defined as the loss of a persons normal physical or mental capabilities because of ingestion of alcohol or other substances, or a combination of alcohol and other substances, OR a blood/alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent or more. So, in Texas, it is possible to be intoxicated even if you have no alcohol in your system. The key is that the person must have lost their normal physical or mental capacity. After all, the point of DWI and DUI laws are to protect the public by preventing people from driving who are not able to drive safely. Someone who has taken something other than alcohol can be just as dangerous a driver as someone who is drunk.

The fact that Mr. Woods was incoherent and failed field sobriety tests is strong evidence that he was intoxicated. If the case goes to trial, a jury would be able to watch a videotape of Mr. Woods talking and doing the field sobriety tests, so they would be asked to decide if the video shows that he had lost his normal physical or mental capacity. Slurred or incoherent speech and poor balance can be enough.

Mr. Woods put out a statement that the cause of his condition was a combination of prescription drugs that had an unexpected effect on him. Strictly speaking, that is not a legal defense. DWI and DUI laws do not require that a person has to try to become intoxicated or want to be intoxicated. They just require that the person be intoxicated. So, why would Mr. Woods put out a statement like this?

Mr. Woods is, of course, a public figure who wants to protect his public image as much as possible. In effect, he is saying that he is less blameworthy if his intoxication was unintentional than if he was drinking because he wanted to feel the effect of alcohol. In other words, he seems to be saying, Its not like I was out partying and was irresponsible and started driving.

But could his defense that he was the victim of a combination of medications really help his case? If he is correct that the combination of medications caused him to be intoxicated unexpectedly, a prosecutor might be willing to reduce the charge to something like obstruction of a roadway.

A prosecutor is not simply going to accept his explanation, though. If there was no blood test to show what was really in his system, a prosecutor is going to want to know exactly what he claims to have taken, and a prosecutor will ask medical or pharmaceutical experts whether the combination he claims could really produce his condition. A prosecutor would also probably want to get prescription records to see whether he was really taking what he claims and in the quantity he claims, and whether he had been taking the medications before, so that he would know how they would affect him.

If I were defending Mr. Woods, I would consult with a medical or pharmaceutical expert as soon as possible to make sure that what Mr. Woods claims to have been the cause of his condition was really capable of producing it. If it was not, I would not use it as a defense, because if a prosecutor, a judge, or a jury is convinced that a person is both guilty and lying to try to get out of what they did, the person will end up worse off.

Being a criminal defense lawyer does not mean that you accept whatever your client says. All experienced DWI defense lawyers know that their clients will ultimately be worse off if their defense turns out to be a lie.

As a former federal prosecutor, I know that it is invaluable to be able to think like a prosecutor in order to test what a client is telling you. Clients may not like it at first, because no one likes to be challenged, but most ultimately understand that it is in their best interest. For Mr. Woods sake, I hope the DUI defense lawyer he hires will approach his case this way. Otherwise, the result in his case could be a bad one, both in terms of any punishment and in terms of publicity.

If you or a loved one have been charged with DWI in the Dallas area, you should strongly consider hiring someone who really knows the ins and outs of the law. Contact DWI defense attorney John Helms at (214) 666-8010 or fill out the online contact form. You can discuss your case, how the law may apply and your best legal options to protect your rights and freedom.

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(214) 666-8010

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The French effort in the field of asylum right remains much lower than in Germany. This country replenishes a demographic deficit that generates unfilled jobs. France is trying to improve its asylum system, making it more efficient for decisions to be made more rapidly. The deadlines for granting asylum are currently around one year but should be reduced by half. The french public opinion remains very reserved with regard to refugees and economic emigrants. The French authorities are quite cautious on this issue. Many believe that immigrants generate unfair competition. However, they occupy jobs that the French refuse to perform such as the collection of household garbage in large cities or the employment of seasonal workers in the agricultural field.Political leaders, intellectuals and elites must be pedagogical. They must explain the migratory phenomena to avoid any risk of amalgamation. To do this, one must have the courage to speak and explain the reality of what is happening on the ground. Political refugees are not illegal immigrants attracted by unscrupulous employers. They are persecuted citizens in their countries, with no alternative but to flee.The reports of the Plenary Sessions of the FEMISE 2017 Annual conference are know available on the FEMISE website at the link below :
BROKEN BOW  An Aurora mans case that had just been bound over to Custer County District Court on Friday has been dismissed.

Ross Carstensen, 41, was charged with five counts of felony child pornography after he was accused of creating a fake Facebook account and luring young women and asking for and obtaining nude photos in 2015. According to the arrest warrant affidavit, those charges stemmed from an investigation into a Hamilton County sexual assault case.

Carstensen was set for a preliminary hearing on June 8, but on Friday chose to waive that hearing and his appearance. He was set for an arraignment at 9:30 a.m. June 22 in Custer County District Court and had been released on bond.

According to court records, District Judge Karin Noakes dismissed the child pornography case on Monday afternoon with prejudice. A case that is dismissed with prejudice means it is closed and cannot be brought back into the court.

The Nebraska Attorney Generals Office was contacted concerning the case, but did not immediately respond.
According to a city of Broken Bow press release, a ribbon-cutting ceremony and dedication will be at 10 a.m. at the Broken Bow city square.

A Broken Bow Chamber of Commerce Grow Award also will be presented at 10 a.m. at the city square to Hunters Towing and Repair LLC of Berwyn.
Updated 8:16 a.m.

Rescue crews are believed to have found the body of the canal drowning victim west of the Kearney RV Park on Avenue M shortly after 8 a.m. Tuesday.

Crews resumed the search around 7:20 a.m. Tuesday after looking for the victim for over four hours Monday afternoon and evening.

Updated 9:26 p.m.

A man who may have drowned in the Kearney Canal has still not been found by rescue crews.

The search for the man has been postponed until tomorrow (Tuesday) morning at 7 a.m.

Rescue crews were called to respond to reports of a possible drowning at 4:18 p.m. today (Monday) in the canal under Talmadge Street and Second Avenue, according to police radio traffic.

A white male with long gray hair in a braid and a reported leg or hip injury was last seen six minutes before the report was called in, according to scanner reports. Responding officers found a bike and clothing on the embankment.

Rescue crews launch kayaks from a launch point on 2nd Avenue into Kearney Canal to search for a possible drowning victim. pic.twitter.com/CCkM6X8QWq  Amanda Push (@AmandaPush) June 5, 2017

The dive teams were dispatched about 4:28 p.m., and rescuers used kayaks and airboats to help search for the man. Rescuers also used drones in their search and lowered the canal water levels, according to scanner traffic.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
KEARNEY  A mans body was pulled from Turkey Creek shortly after 8 a.m. today after he reportedly disappeared Monday afternoon.

Members of the Kearney Volunteer Fire Department dive and rescue team found the man in debris in the creek about three-fourths of a mile east from where he was last seen near the water Monday afternoon. He disappeared where the creek passes under Second Avenue north of Talmadge Street, Kearney Police Department Sgt. Dennis Byrne said.

The body was described by police radio traffic at the time as being that of a white man with long gray hair in a braid and a reported leg or hip injury. He was last seen at about 4:10 p.m. Responding officers found a bike and clothing on the embankment.

Rescue crews were on foot and all-terrain vehicles and used kayaks, john boats, the Nebraska State Patrol helicopter, a drone and the dive and rescue team in their search Monday. Nebraska Public Power District also reduced water flows from the Kearney Hydro Plant and further upstream Monday to allow first responders better access to the water.

The search was called off at about 9 p.m., and resumed shortly after 7 a.m. today.

An autopsy will be conducted. Byrne declined to identify the man pending notification of relatives.

He declined to say whether foul play was involved. The incident remains under investigation.

This could be anywhere from an accidental slip, to a medical incident, to suspicious. We just dont know, Byrne said late this morning.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Kearney police at 237-2104, the Buffalo County Sheriffs Office at 236-8555, Crimestoppers at 237-3424 or KPDs Facebook page.

@HubChic
HOLDREGE  The Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District Board of Directors has approved applying to the Water Sustainability Fund for two groundwater recharge projects.

One would include expanded infrastructure in five wetlands areas in the Rainwater Basin, including the Funk Waterfowl Production Area. Partners in the project would include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Tri-Basin Natural Resources District and Ducks Unlimited.

The second project would include construction of a pipeline from the Phelps Canal to an area managed by the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program that would enhance groundwater returns to the Platte River.

Both projects would use excess flows from the Platte River, when available, during non-irrigation season and would require new water appropriations for groundwater recharge from the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources. Both are also subject to additional approval by, and agreements with, the respective partners.

Also at Mondays meeting, Civil Engineer Cory Steinke reported that Lake McConaughy has been slowly rising in the past several days as inflows have exceeded 4,000 cubic feet per second.

The reservoirs elevation was 3,256.5 feet above sea level, and it held 1.49 million acre-feet, which is 86 percent of capacity, Monday with the potential for another foot or two increase in the near future. Inflows could exceed 5,000 cfs in the coming days.

Steinke also reminded the directors  as well as cabin-owners at Johnson Lake  that it may become necessary to make 2,500 acre-feet of space in Johnson Lake to hold rain and rejected irrigation water. That would keep the lake at the lower end of normal levels.

The plan is meant to reduce flows on the Platte River below the Overton measuring gauge during the least tern and piping plover nesting seasons, thus reducing the chances of flooding nests located on sandbars.
KEARNEY  Robert D. Bob Arnold, 84, of Kearney died Friday, June 2, 2017, at Kearney Regional Medical Center.

Services will be at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at Living Faith Fellowship Church. Burial will be at Kearney Cemetery with military honors by Kearney American Legion Post 52, Kearney Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 759 and the Nebraska National Guard Military Honors Team.

There will be no visitation. The casket will be closed.

Horner Lieske McBride & Kuhl Funeral and Cremation Services is in charge of arrangements.

Memorials are suggested to the Kearney Buffalo County Goodfellows or Living Faith Fellowship Church.

Visit www.hlmkfuneral.com to leave a tribute or message of condolence.
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Independent physician groups and solo physicians have been the historic bedrock of medical practice. While it is true that there is intense pressure on the single-physician group, and this market is shrinking, independent physicians are here to stay. Some single practice physician groups may merge with larger groups, some physicians will break off from the large contract groups, but there is no plan on them becoming extinct.

Independent physician groups have been staffing hospitals for decades. For these physicians, their practice and hospital is their home and community. They have worked at the same hospital serving the same patient population through hospital name changes, remodels, the managed care age, the ACA age and several administration turnovers. They survived.

One method to protect the independent physicians is to bond together. Independent Emergency Physicians Consortium (IEPC) found a method to unite independent emergency physician groups to provide the best of both worlds  small independent group practice and large group collaboration.

There are many myths that claim that independent groups are an endangered species. We disagree.

Myth 1. Bigger is better. In a recent article in KevinMD, hospital mergers were called a political mistake. Consolidation resulted in higher prices, decreased access, and decreased quality.

Myth 2. Medical staff needs to be vertically integrated. Says who? Do you believe that doctors cannot get along and align incentives unless their paycheck comes from the same source? There are numerous examples of physicians getting along and working together for common hospital goals without a trendy name such as vertical integration.

Myth 3. Larger groups have economies of scale. Really? Small groups have the lowest overhead of any organization. They do not need management fees, recruiters, expensive advertisement, regional medical directors or other layers of management. They can negotiate just as effectively or better for services. Independent groups can pass on savings to their providers. The provider salaries are not considered as expenses, but rather as profit. No one cares more about your money than you. Independent emergency providers are more intimate with their expenses and profits.

Myth 4. You need a single negotiator. Why? To negotiate what? Independent groups have a vested interest in their business and their hospital as a top customer. The groups can align their incentives with the hospital for quality care. One administrator can speak to two or 10 physician owners and get even stronger results than a single large contractor.

Myth 5. Larger groups have better throughput and satisfaction matrix. Throughput depends on efficiencies and resources invested by the hospital, not the doctors. Satisfaction correlates most with waiting times. The same doctor working at a smaller ED will get better scores when working at a larger site. There is no correlation between types of management groups and satisfaction or throughput. Where physicians work is much less important than how satisfied they are in their work environment. There are many practice options and we want physicians to be fulfilled in their job and realize they save live and help suffering every day. This is important for physicians across our county in every setting and every business model. The independent group practice is one practice model, and we do not plan on going away.

Roneet Lev is director of operations, Scripps Mercy Hospital Emergency Department, San Diego, CA, and a member of SanDiegoSafePrescribing.org.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
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Choose your battles carefully, goes the old saying. My physician colleagues would do well to heed that advice. For the past several years, physicians in many states have been engaged in battles with nurse practitioners in their respective states who are seeking to remove antiquated regulations. These regulations preclude nurse practitioners from practicing to the full extent of their education, as recommended by the Institute Medicine report: The future of nursing, leading the challenge.

In 23 of 50 states, nurse practitioners have full scope of practice. In these states, nurse practitioners do not have to work within the old guidelines that restrict patient access to care. Such guidelines require physicians to sign off on a host of paperwork that creates bottlenecks in an already overburdened system, leaving patients without necessary durable medical equipment, such as oxygen or wheelchairs.

Allowing nurse practitioners full scope of practice would remove the pseudo boundary that exists between NPs and physicians pitting us against each other, when in fact, we are on the same team.

Instead of fighting with each other, we should band together to challenge the insurers and pharmaceutical companies that are governing the way we practice and in doing so, driving physicians out of primary care.

Just think of how powerful our lobbying efforts would be if we joined forces. We could battle Mylan who raised prices on the EpiPen 500 percent, to $600. (Although they did lower it to $300 after hundreds of thousands of petitions were submitted and protesters gathered outside their headquarters. The same Epi-pen costs $69 in England.) Or with companies like Turing where the greedy CEO raised the price of Daraprim, an anti-infective drug used in treatment of toxoplasmosis, from $13.50 a pill to $750 a pill in one day.

In practice, we work as a team. We need each other. So, whats at stake here? Well, physician opponents think that nurse practitioners lack the education and training to provide comprehensive care to patients. Research has dispelled that myth. The National Governors Association conducted outcome studies on chronic diseases in patients treated by both NPs and MDs in those states where NPs have full scope of practice. The study found that outcomes were equivalent in both groups. And a study looked at hospital admission rates of nursing home patients cared for by physicians and nurse practitioners and found them to be much lower in the group cared for by NPs.

Physicians also oppose removal of barriers to practice because they say, we are all part of the same team, and view full scope of practice authority as a threat to the team model, with NPs opening private practices. Nurse practitioners in restricted states are able to operate private practices now so long as they hire a collaborating physician. This is often the case in psychiatry. A colleague of mine was left high and dry when her collaborating psychiatrist moved out of state and almost had to close her practice, denying several patients access to care.

By removing false barriers to practice, such as the not-adhered-to guidelines requiring physicians review medications, therapeutics and lab results ordered by NPs  all content covered in NP school would allow the team to focus on what truly matters: patient care. Physician time would be better spent on tasks that their education has prepared them to do, rather than complete requisite paperwork for home care, durable medical equipment or disability exams. And our time as a team would be better spent joining forces to battle big-pharma and other profit-driven businesses.

In Massachusetts, a bill will be submitted again this year. I am hoping my physician colleagues will support it.

After all, arent we working for the same team?

Margaret Ackerman is a nurse practitioner.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
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As Southern states entertain legislation granting nurse practitioners independent practice rights, there are some finer details which deserve careful deliberation. While nurse practitioners are intelligent, capable, and contribute much to our healthcare system, they are not physicians and lack the same training and knowledge base. They should not identify themselves as doctors despite having a doctor of nursing practice (DNP) degree. It is misleading to patients, as most do not realize the difference in education necessary for an MD or DO compared to a DNP. Furthermore, until they are required to pass the same rigorous board certification exams as physicians, they should refrain from asserting they are doctors in a society which equates that title with being a physician.

After residency, a physician has accrued a minimum of 20,000 or more hours of clinical experience, while a DNP only needs 1,000 patient contact hours to graduate. As health care reform focuses on cost containment, the notion of independent nurse practitioners resulting in lower healthcare spending overall should be revisited. While mid-level providers cost less on the front end; the care they deliver may ultimately cost more when all is said and done.

Nurse practitioners already have independent practice rights in Washington State. In my community, one independent NP has had 20 years of clinical experience working with a physician prior to going out on her own. Her knowledge is broad, and she knows her limits (as should we all); she prominently displays her name and degree clearly on her website. This level of transparency, honesty, and integrity are essential requirements for working in healthcare. Below is a cautionary tale of an independent DNP elsewhere whose education, experience, and care leave much to be desired. I thank this courageous mother for coming forward with her story.

After a healthy pregnancy, a first-time mother delivered a beautiful baby girl. She was referred to Dr. Jones, who had owned and operated a pediatric practice focused on the whole child for about a year. This infant had difficulty feeding right from the start. She had not regained her birth weight by the standard two weeks of age and mom observed sweating, increased respiratory rate, and fatigue with feedings. Mom instinctively felt something was wrong, and sought advice from her pediatric provider, but he was not helpful. This mother said basically I was playing doctor, as she searched in vain for ways to help her child gain weight and grow.

By two months of age, the baby was admitted to the hospital for failure to thrive. A feeding tube was placed to increase caloric intake and improve growth. I have spent many hours talking with parents of children with special needs who struggle with this agonizing decision. It is never easy. A nurse from the insurance company called to collect information about the supplies, such as formula, required for supplemental nutrition. Mom was so distressed about her daughters condition, she could not coherently answer her questions. As a result, the nurse mistakenly reported her to CPS for neglect and a caseworker was assigned to the family.

Once the tube was in place, the baby grew and gained weight over the next three months. At five months of age, mom wanted to collaborate with a tube weaning program to assist her daughter with eating normally again. A 10 percent weight loss was considered acceptable because oral retraining can often be quite challenging. As this infant weaned off the tube, no weight loss occurred over the next two months, though little was gained. She continued to have sweating with feeds and associated fatigue. On three separate occasions, mom specifically inquired if something might be wrong with her daughters heart and all three times Dr. Jones reassured her nothing was wrong with her heart.

However, Dr. Jones grew concerned about the slowed pace of weight gain while weaning off the feeding tube. Not possessing the adequate knowledge to recognize the signs and symptoms of congestive heart failure in infants, he mistakenly contacted CPS instead. After being reported for neglect a second time, this mother felt as if she was doing something wrong because her child could not gain weight. This ended up being a blessing in disguise, however, because the same CPS worker was assigned and recommended seeking a second opinion from a local pediatrician.

On the first visit to the pediatrician, mom felt she was more knowledgeable, reassuring, and did not ignore my concerns. The physician listened to the medical history and upon examination, heard a heart murmur. A chest x-ray was ordered revealing a right-shifted cardiac silhouette, a rather unusual finding. An echocardiogram discovered two septal defects and a condition known as total anomalous pulmonary venous return (TAPVR), where the blood vessels from the lungs are bringing oxygenated blood back to the wrong side of the heart, an abnormality in need of operative repair.

During surgery, the path of the abnormal vessels led to a definitive diagnosis of scimitar syndrome, which explains the abnormal growth, feeding difficulties, and failure to thrive. This particular diagnosis was a memorable test question from my rigorous 16-hour board certification exam, administered by the American Board of Pediatrics. If one is going to identify themselves as a specialist in pediatrics, they should be required to pass the same arduous test and have spent an equivalent time treating sick children as I did (15,000 hours, to be exact).

A second takeaway point is to emphasize the importance of transparency. This mother was referred to a pediatric doctor for her newborn. His website identifies him as a doctor,  and his staff refers to him as the doctor. His DNP degree required three years of post-graduate education and 1,000 patient contact hours, all of which were not entirely pediatric in focus. His claim to have expertise in the treatment of ill children is disingenuous; it is absolutely dishonest to identify as a pediatrician without actually having obtained a medical degree.

The practice of pediatrics can be deceptive as the majority of children are healthy, yet this field is far from easy. Pediatricians are responsible for the care of not only the child we see before us, but also the adult they endeavor to become. Our clinical decision making affects our young patients for a lifetime; therefore it is our responsibility to have the best possible clinical training and knowledge base. Acquiring the aptitude to identify congenital cardiac abnormalities is essential for pediatricians, as delays in diagnosis may result in long-term sequelae such as pulmonary hypertension which carry with it a shortened life expectancy.

Nurse practitioners have definite value in many clinical settings. However, they should be required to demonstrate clinical proficiency in their field of choice before being granted independent practice rights, whether through years of experience or formal testing. In addition, the educational background of the individual treating your sick child should be more transparent. When it comes to the practice of medicine, the knowledge and experience required are so vast that even the very best in their field continue learning for a lifetime.

Raising our children is the most extraordinary undertaking of our entire lives. Parting advice from this resolute mother is to trust your gut instinct, and no matter what, keep fighting for your child. Choosing a pediatrician is one of the most significant decisions a parent will make. This child faced more obstacles than necessary as a result of the limited knowledge base of her mid-level provider. A newly practicing pediatrician has 15 times more hours of clinical experience treating children than a newly minted DNP. When something goes wrong, that stark contrast in knowledge, experience, and training really matters. There should be no ambiguity when identifying oneself as a doctor in a clinical setting; it could be the difference between life and death.

Niran S. Al-Agba is a pediatrician who blogs at MommyDoc. This article originally appeared in the Health Care Blog.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
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The opioid overdose epidemic was the centerpiece of U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price, MDs West Virginia listening tour recently. While the tour was billed as an opportunity to gain knowledge on the epidemic, his response to his observations illustrates just how difficult it is to change attitudes and beliefs with information alone.

In response to Herculean state-based and volunteer efforts to keep people alive  not to mention efforts to get the latest evidence-based medical treatments to a population of young people who are dying at unprecedented levels, and to women, for whom heroin overdose deaths have tripled in the last few years  Price stated that medication for the treatment of opioid use disorder may be just substituting one opioid for another, and were not moving the dial much, according to the Charleston Gazette-Mail.

Prices statement defies decades of scientific research and practical advancements in the treatment of opioid use disorder. Indeed, he sounds like he just stepped out of his neurobehavioral science lecture hall in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he attended medical school 40 years ago.

Two of Prices recognized goals of treatment are to help individuals become productive members of society and realize their dreams. Evidence-based research supports the use of medications to achieve these goals.

Evidence shows that treatment with medication is effective in treating opioid dependence and reducing drug-related disease and criminal recidivism. Additionally, studies have shown that individuals receiving treatment with medication were 75 percent less likely to die from a drug overdose than those not receiving treatment with medication. Additionally, treatment with medication episodes has been associated with lower total health care expenditures than behavioral treatment without medication, with savings ranging from $153 to $223 per month.

And by the way, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, only an estimated 20 percent of individuals with opioid use disorder who need treatment receive it.

The addicted brain is complex, and its diseases not totally understood. But the science is clear: an addiction is not a character flaw or a moral failing, and the use of medication to treat this brain disorder is not just a mere crutch or substitution scheme.

Opioid use disorder requires long-term, multifaceted disease management. Treatment is most successful when medications are given along with family involvement and psychosocial support, ranging from individual case management, to psychotherapy, to 12-step programs. Vocational, housing, and legal assistance also help. Counseling and will-power are important, but alone rarely succeed at helping the opiate-addicted individual achieve long-term remission.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 91 people die of an opioid-related overdose every day. Overdose deaths are at an all-time high, and millions more are sick and dying from opioid use disorder; people who could respond to medically-based treatment if it were available. Research shows that fewer than half of private-sector treatment programs offer medications approved for the treatment of opioid use disorder; and of patients attending programs offering such medications, only a third actually receive them.

Many people with addiction are not able to access treatment that includes effective medications because of beliefs, not facts; ignorance, not information; and biases, not individualized care. Stigma and its attendant discrimination, and sometimes a subtle desire to punish rather than treat with compassion, are the sources of these reactions. These beliefs encourage a unitary response of blocking the brain receptors so that patients are unable to experience the effects of heroin and prescription drugs, rather than using medications that occupy those receptors to prevent withdrawal and encourage recovery. The ignorance continues age-old practices which deny access to modern advances in medications and delivery systems and arbitrarily limit the dose or duration of treatment, if and when allowed. These biases allow policy makers and funders to define the acceptable and permissible, rather than letting the physician and patient arrive at a plan that meets the individualized needs of the patient and is informed by the latest research and practice.

Aside from the excess morbidity and mortality caused by addiction, this disease tears apart the fabric of our families, communities, and country. It also devastates health care professionals when we must witness the deadly results of misinformation, discrimination, and senseless barriers to treatment. Modern medicine is not delivered under standards developed in response to a decades-old medical education. We expect physicians to regularly update their understanding as research evolves  and so too must our fund of knowledge. While Secretary Price should represent the best of our knowledge and ideals in health care, no one expects him to know everything in medicine. We do, however, expect him to surround himself with individuals who are familiar with what is needed to address the largest health care crisis in our lifetime. And, we expect him to advocate for that which can work, for all.

Genie Bailey is an associate clinical professor of psychiatry and human behavior, Brown University, Providence, RI. Andrea Grubb Barthwell is founder and chief executive officer, EMGlobal LLC.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
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Single-payer health care remains the holy grail for Democrats seeking the ultimate in command and control government. Wealth redistribution on a previously unimaginable scale. The nanny state government controlling all aspects of everyones life, as few human activities dont influence health in some way.

Congressional Democrats are locked and loaded with federal legislation expanding Medicare to everyone. Specifically, this bill would provide, all individuals residing in the United States and U.S. territories with free health care. Interesting wording. Individuals residing in the U.S., not legal residents in the U.S., meaning, free medical care for anyone from anywhere, with any disease or medical condition, if they are physically within the U.S. This would include illegal immigrants.

The bill was introduced by Democratic Rep. John Conyers on Jan. 24, just four days after President Trump was inaugurated. I must hand it to the Democrats. Their pet issue, ready to go, only 30 pages in length, even though it will go nowhere in a Republican-controlled Congress.

Contrast with the Republicans, railing against Obamacare for the past seven years, endless promises of repeal and replace if voters give them control of the House. Then the Senate. Finally, the White House. Why not a repeal bill, four days after inauguration, which is all the Democrats needed? Instead several months later, the House passed Obamacare-lite, barely, after initially postponing the vote due to political infighting.

Even now the non-repeal and replace bill is in jeopardy based on how the CBO might score the bill. Again, Democrats had legislation introduced immediately. And if they had Congressional majorities and a Madam President, this would have been signed into law before Valentines Day. Rather, four months into the largest majority Republicans have enjoyed in almost a century, they have accomplished nothing on health care reform, instead fretting over Trump, James Comey, and mythical Russian collusion.

If Congress cant even tie their shoes, let the states take a shot at reform. As Mitt Romney said, the states can each be a laboratory of democracy, testing novel reform ideas on a smaller scale before thrusting a bad idea, such as Obamacare, on 300 million Americans.

Vermont was the first to try a single-payer plan. The ideal state for single payer. Home to Ben and Jerrys. Democrats as far as the eye can see, including one of the major single-payer proponents, socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders. How did that turn out in the land of Chunky Monkey?

Not well. Legislation was signed into law. But then reality hit. The price tag was more than the entire state budget, funded by a tax hike above and beyond Bernies wildest dreams. The governor wisely pulled the plug, rather than bankrupting his state, sending business east, west and south to more friendly states. Strike one.

Last year Colorado placed a single-payer plan on the ballot, hopefully sweeping victoriously into law by the same landslide that was supposed to elect Hillary Clinton. Despite no evidence of Russian collusion in the Colorado vote, single-payer lost by a 4 to 1 margin. Not just a landslide. But a tsunami and meteor strike as well.

Colorado faced the same problems as Vermont. A price tag as large as the entire state budget. Requiring tax hikes large enough to double state revenue. Enough to give Colorado the highest state tax rates in the nation. Coloradans decided to stick with legal marijuana rather than voting to raise their taxes so high that they could barely afford a pack of cigarettes. Strike two.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me a third time, call me California. The state that cant maintain vital infrastructure such as the Oroville Dam is ready to provide free health care to 40 million residents, and another 2 million illegals. Are Californias numbers better than in Colorado or Vermont?

California has a current budget of about $180 billion, including a projected deficit. The cost for a single-payer plan, unlike in Colorado and Vermont where the cost was equal to the budget, is more than twice the California budget with a $400 billion price tag. This new health care scheme would in effect triple the state budget. Good luck with that.

California already has the highest state income tax at 13 percent. This is on top of federal income tax, property tax, sales tax, and who knows what other taxes and fees that are squeezed out of Californians. Need to triple state revenue? Guess what happens to state income tax rates?

Employers will be off the hook for health insurance costs, but will these savings be passed on to employees? Employers may not be so quick to share their savings as their personal taxes will be going up, too. And such a pay raise bumps many workers into a higher federal tax bracket. I dont see any winners here.

If tax revenues are insufficient, just pay doctors less right? Until they leave the state. Cant you pay hospitals less? Sure, until they close their doors. Then come the wait-lists. Waiting for not enough doctors or hospital beds. Dont believe me? Just look across the pond at the British National Health Service to see exactly how this plays out under a government-run single-payer system.

The state that wasted $7 billion on a failed attempt to house the homeless is ready to spend more than twice its yearly tax revenue on free health care for all. Bernie Sanders wants California to lead on health care. Lead to where? Bankruptcy? Insolvency? Turning a once-prosperous state into Venezuela? Strike three.

Brian C. Joondeph is an ophthalmologist and can be reached on Twitter @retinaldoctor. This article originally appeared in the American Thinker.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
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Xiaomi Redmi 4 to go on sale today via Amazon



The newly launched Xiaomi Redmi 4 (Review) will go on sale in the country on Tuesday at 12pm IST. It will be available via Amazon India and Mi.com. To recall, the Redmi 4 was launched at a starting price of Rs. 6,999, with two other higher priced and specced variants. The smartphone was launched in India in the middle of May, comes in three variants in the country - the 2GB RAM and 16GB inbuilt storage base model is priced at Rs. 6,999, the 3GB RAM/ 32GB storage at Rs. 8,999, and the 4GB RAM/ 64GB storage at Rs. 10,999. The top Xiaomi Redmi 4 variant will not be available in India until the end of June.



Amazon India is offering some launch offers on the Redmi 4, including discounts on Mi Cases (down to Rs. 349 from Rs. 499), 12-month Hungama Music and 3-month Hungama Play subscriptions, and Rs. 200 credit on the Kindle app. The company has also detailed a 45GB free data offer from Vodafone. Redmi 4 buyers will need to purchase a 1GB or higher 4G data pack or plan, and will get 9GB of free data for up to five recharges or monthly rentals. On Mi.com on the other hand, the company is offering 10 percent SuperCash on all Mi Products with MobiKwik, and 5 percent cashback on EMI with SBI Credit Card. Read More...


Kilkenny was in mourning this morning following the death of George Leahy, Riverview, Kilkenny City.

Georgie, as he was more popularly known, died peacefully at his home following a lengthy illness.

He was 78 years of age, and he admitted in an interview only months ago, that had his health been better he would still be managing a GAA team.

That was Georgie Leahy, hurling man extraordinary, helper of others, giver of himself, spreader of the religion of hurling that he believed in absolutely.

Georgie was the sole selector/trainer/manager when his own club, James Stephens became the first Leinster team to win the All-Ireland club senior hurling final in 1976. Later, in 1991, he managed Glenmore to All-Ireland club victory.

Georgie was a selector with Kilkenny All-Ireland winning teams at senior, under-21 and minor level. He also managed several other county teams, including Laois, Offaly, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford and Carlow.

And he brought success to most areas he went as he brought his hurling magic to who knows how many other clubs, including Galmoy, Tullaroan, Barrow Rangers (Paulstown), Mooncoin, Conahy Shamrocks and Castletown (Laois).

He was one of the greatest servants ever of Kilkenny hurling, and hurling in general, insisted Kilkenny County Board chairman, Ned Quinn when paying tribute to Mr Leahy. He was a very, very giving person who earned respect everywhere he went.

Georgie worked with people at every level of the GAA, and he treated everyone with respect and always saw nothing but good in people.

To his wife, Rita and family we extend our deepest sympathy, he added.

Funeral Arrangements

Reposing at his home from 2pm on Wednesday (7th June) with Rosary at 8pm. Removal on Thursday morning to St. Patrick's Church, Kilkenny, arriving for Requiem Mass at 12 noon. Funeral afterwards to Foulkstown Cemetery. Family flowers only. Donations, if desired, to Cois Nore and the Carlow Kilkenny Home Care Team. House private on Thursday please.
Kingstree, SC (29556)

Today

Showers and thundershowers likely. Potential for heavy rainfall. High 67F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms. Potential for heavy rainfall. Low 66F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
When it comes to air travel, long lines, delays, lost baggage and bumpy flights happen. So do overbooked flights. But no one expects to suffer physical harm when they balk at giving up their seat.

But youre on thin ice if you dont follow the airlines rules. When you book a flight, you agree to the rules in the airlines contract of carriage, which cant be negotiated. If you do something that offends or upsets them, or fail to follow the directions of the flight crew, you can be denied boarding or removed from the plane, says Arthur Wolk, a Philadelphia-based aviation lawyer. For more details about your rights, check the Department of Transportations consumer guide to air travel (opens in new tab).
By Susan Mathew

June 6 (Reuters) - Australian shares tumbled on Tuesday, with negative sentiment on the financial sector spilling into all sectors ahead of a central bank policy decision.

The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 66.767 points, or 1.2 percent, to 5,687.7 by 0312 GMT.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is expected to stand pat on its 1.5 percent cash rate at its monthly policy meeting later in the day. "Generally the market is down today because of banks and some profit taking in the utilities and the property sector," said Bill Keenan, general manager of direct equities research at broker Lonsec. "The utilities sector especially have had a very good run in the past few sessions."

Keenan said the RBA will hold rates, declining to raise them "because the growth rate of the economy is not that strong at the moment".

Overnight, the leads from Wall Street were negative with declines in Apple pulling Wall Street lower. Data showing a narrowing current account deficit in Australia, at its smallest in more than 15 years last quarter, also failed to cheer the market. The financial sector, out of favour since the imposition of a bank levy by the Australian government on the "Big 4" banks and Macquarie , declined, with its index 1.2 percent lower.

Each of the Big Four lost more than 1 percent on continued fear the levy will hurt profits. Utility companies AGL Energy and Origin Energy lost 2.5 percent each.

Basic material stocks also continued to fall, with Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals down 0.5 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively, as iron ore and copper fell. BHP , which has significant oil interests, dropped up to 1.4 percent, its lowest in nearly four weeks, hurt further by declines in oil prices.

Energy stocks followed suit with the index 1.6 percent lower as Woodside Petroleum shed 1.1 percent and was on track for an eighth straight daily loss.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index was 0.3 percent higher.

Gains were led by the industrial sector as Air New Zealand and Auckland International Airport both rose more than 3 percent.

The financial sector led the losses. with the New Zealand-listed shares of Westpac and ANZ both down more than 3 percent.

For more individual stocks activity click on (Reporting by Susan Mathew in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Ambar Warrick; Editing by Richard Borsuk)
By Ben Blanchard and Chris Mfula | BEIJING/LUSAKA

Zambia has detained 31 Chinese nationals for illegal mining in the African country's copper belt but has failed to provide strong proof of their crimes, a senior Chinese diplomat said as he lodged a complaint.

Lin Songtian, the Chinese Foreign Ministry's director-general for African affairs, told a Zambian diplomat in Beijing that China understood and supported actions to crack down on illegal mining, the ministry said in a statement late on Sunday.

However, Zambia had not only not provided strong proof of the crimes of the 31 detained but had also detained a pregnant woman and two victims of malaria, Lin said.

"China expresses serious concern and resolute opposition to this," the ministry cited Lin as saying.

Zambia's Home Affairs Minister Stepehen Kampyongo said he held a meeting with Chinese Embassy officials on Monday over the matter but declined to give further details, saying Zambias immigration department was handling the matter.

Immigration department chief Moolo Milimo told the Times of Zambia that the 31 Chinese, who were arrested in the copperbelt town of Chingola, would be deported, according to the newspaper's online edition.

"We have taken the position that the 31 Chinese who were arrested in Chingola on Saturday have to be deported to their country for failure to conform to the laws of the country (Zambia)," Milimo said.

China hoped Zambia could handle the incident appropriately and as soon as possible, and release the innocent, Lin said.

The government has always asked Chinese companies and citizens to respect the laws of the countries where they operate, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Monday.

China, however, opposes "selective" law-enforcement actions against its citizens, she told a daily news briefing.

"China will continue to pay close attention to developments in this case," she added.

Chinese companies have invested more than $1 billion in copper-rich Zambia but there has been animosity, with some Zambian workers accusing firms of abuses and underpaying.

In 2012, Zambian miners killed a Chinese supervisor and seriously wounded another in a pay dispute at a coal mine.

Zambian police charged two Chinese supervisors at the same coal mine with attempted murder two years earlier, after the shooting of 13 miners in a pay dispute.

Resource-hungry China is investing heavily in Africa, a supplier of oil and raw materials such as copper and uranium, but critics have warned its companies take with them their poor track record on workers' rights and environmental protection.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Chris Mfula; Editing by Paul Tait/Clarence Fernandez/Susan Fenton)
By Elias Biryabarema | KAMPALA, JUNE 5

Widespread corruption at the Ugandan government's mines department, including using bribes to secure licences, is stifling investment in the sector and eroding benefits for Ugandans, a human rights group said on Monday.

London-based Global Witness said it had conducted an 18-month investigation that uncovered evidence of bribery at the Directorate of Geological Survey and Mines (DGSM) and use of political connections to secure licences.

The directorate, under the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, oversees the mining sector, including issuing exploration and production licences and enforcing rules.

Ministry spokesman Yusuf Masaba said officials could not respond to the allegations until they had read the report.

"I have not read the report and we don't know what is contained in the report so we cannot comment," he said.

Global Witness said some exploration licenses had been granted in protected wildlife areas, including in Bwindi National Park which has the largest remaining concentration of mountain gorillas.

"Corruption ... at the DGSM is systemic and goes from some junior officials all the way to the top," its report said.

"It is routine for investors to pay certain directorate employees a fee to ensure that mining applications meet all requirements."

Corruption and mismanagement were "stifling investment and preventing local communities from seeing any benefits," the report said.

Global Witness said it had been told by the commissioner of the DGSM that "corrective measures" had been taken after the Ugandan government produced two reports on mineral licences in 2011/2012.

Despite these assurances, however, Global Witness said it had been told by several sources that bribery was still commonplace.

Government surveys have shown the existence of various minerals in Uganda, including gold, base metals, uranium, rare earths, iron, titanium, vermiculite and diamonds.

But the east African country has struggled to attract major investors to develop the sector which remains largely dominated by small-scale miners.

Paying bribes, embezzlement and misuse of public funds are common in Uganda and prosecution, especially of high level culprits, is rare.

Critics of President Yoweri Museveni, 72, have long accused him of turning a blind eye to venality, particularly by his supporters as a way of buying their loyalty. Officials deny those accusations.

Last year Museveni acknowledged that corruption was a problem in Uganda, and said he would take personal charge of tackling it.

Global Witness said its investigations found that DGSM staff were frequently paid by licence applicants to process paperwork.

"Indeed, if you do not pay or employ someone in the directorate, your licence applications are likely to be declined," the report said.

Global Witness said a wide gap between Uganda's domestic gold production and exports suggested some gold was probably being smuggled into the country from conflict areas like eastern Congo.

Between mid-2009 and mid-2015, Uganda's annual gold exports fluctuated between near zero to just under $40 million, according to central bank data. Gold exports rocketed to $204 million in the financial year ended in July 2016. (Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; editing by George Obulutsa and Adrian Croft)
FRANKFURT, June 6 (Reuters) - Bayer AG said it was further reducing its stake in plastics and chemicals subsidiary Covestro from 53.3 percent, part of a plan to sever ownership ties completely over the medium term.

As part of three separate transactions, the German drugmaker said on Tuesday it had started placing 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) in Covestro shares on the open market in an accelerated bookbuilding procedure after the market close on Tuesday.

In addition, Bayer is offering 1 billion euros in bonds that are exchangeable into Covestro shares maturing in 2020.

Finally, Bayer said it would deposit 8 million Covestro shares, a stake of close to 4 percent based on Thomson Reuters data, in Bayer's pension trust in the near future.

That stake would be worth about 530 million euros, based on Tuesday's closing price.

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger; editing by David Clarke)
By Dion Rabouin

NEW YORK, June 6 (Reuters) - Non-resident capital inflows to emerging markets should reach $970 billion this year, a 35 percent increase from 2016, the Institute of International Finance said in a report released on Tuesday.

The projection follows a strong first quarter for emerging market investment that saw the strongest portfolio inflows since 2014. The IIF's projection is $290 billion higher than its estimate just four months ago, shortly after Donald Trump took office as U.S. president and the organization listed possible American protectionism as its top threat to emerging market portfolio flow growth.

The risk of trade friction between the U.S. and Mexico and China, has waned significantly, said Hung Tran, IIF's executive managing director, as has the risk of the U.S. Federal Reserve quickly tightening monetary policy.

"Looking back at the first five months of the year, it is clear that near-term threats of trade conflict have subsided significantly," Tran said. "All the threat of naming China as currency manipulators, the increase in tariffs, abandonment of NAFTA did not come to pass."

The IIF projects non-resident inflows to increase by $252 billion this year from 2016.

"Assuming ongoing improvement in global and EM growth and a gradual, well-communicated path of Fed tightening through 2018, we are now a bit more optimistic on EM capital flows," Tran said.

Non-resident portfolio inflows are expected to rise to more than $1 trillion in 2018, IIF also said, the first time inflows have breached that level since 2014.

Capital inflows from non-residents had fallen to a 12-year low in 2015.

Despite the rebound in capital inflows from foreigners, IIF anticipates overall net capital outflows from emerging markets, led by resident capital outflows from China.

The organization expects resident capital outflows to hit $892 billion this year, a decline by $141 billion from 2016, and for outflows to reduce further in 2018.

Outflows from China alone, which leads emerging market economies in capital leaving local markets, rose to a record $725 billion last year.

"All of this moderation is due to China, which has used capital controls to clamp down on outward investment with some degree of success," said Scott Farnham, IIF's senior research analyst, global macroeconomics, in the report.

All told, the institute is expecting to see overall net capital outflows, which includes resident and non-residents from emerging markets, of $130 billion. It had estimated outflows from its group of 25 emerging market economies would total $490 billion this year in its February report.

(Reporting by Dion Rabouin; Editing by Bernard Orr)
ATHENS, June 6 (Reuters) - Aegean Airlines grew passenger traffic on its domestic and foreign routes by 8 percent in April to May compared with last year, starting the summer season on a strong footing, Greece's largest carrier said on Tuesday.

Aegean, a member of the Star Alliance airline group, flies a young fleet of 61 aircraft, mostly Airbus A320 jets.

"The strong investment in the Athens network, coupled with strong demand for (flights) to Greece this year, have yielded a very good start to the summer season," Aegean's Chief Executive Dimitris Gerogiannis said in a statement.

The carrier flew a total of 2.1 million passengers in the two month period. Passenger traffic on its international flights grew 15 percent year-on-year to 1.2 million passengers.

Aegean said load factors improved by eight percentage points to 79 percent compared to the same period last year.

(Reporting by George Georgiopoulos, editing by Louise Heavens)
NAIROBI, June 6 (Reuters) - The Monetary Policy Committee of Kenya's central bank will meet to set lending rates on July 17, the bank said on Tuesday. At its meeting in late May, the policymakers held the bank's benchmark lending rate at 10.0 percent. (Reporting by George Obulutsa)

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.
JOHANNESBURG, June 6 (Reuters) - South Africa's Deputy Finance Minister Sfiso Buthelezi said on Tuesday he was dismayed by a media report alleging he improperly benefited from tenders during his time as chairman of the state-owned rail services company. Allegations of government corruption have escalated this week after local media began reporting on more than 100,000 leaked emails they say show inappropriate interference in the issuing of lucrative tenders. "The Deputy Minister would like to once again reiterate and place it on the record that he has never used his position ... to influence procurement decisions in favour of any company associated with him or his family," Buthelezi's office said in a statement.

(Reporting by Joe Brock; Editing by Tiisetso Motsoeneng)

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.
BRATISLAVA, June 6 (Reuters) - Here are news stories, press reports and events to watch which may affect Slovak financial markets on Tuesday.

ALL TIMES GMT (Slovak Republic: GMT + 2 hours) =========================ECONOMIC DATA========================

Real-time economic data releases.................. Summary of economic data and forecasts......... Recently released economic data................ Previous stories on Slovak data.......... **For a schedule of corporate and economic events: ========================NEWS====================================

PROTEST: Thousands of Slovaks rallied in Bratislava on Monday to protest against corruption and demand the resignation of the interior minister over his ties with a developer under investigation for tax fraud.

Story: Related stories: BOND AUCTIONS: Slovakia will offer two bonds maturing in 2026 and 2037 at an auction on June 19, the debt agency Ardal said on Monday.

Story: Related stories: IMMIGRATION: The Czech Republic will halt taking in migrants under an EU scheme to share asylum seekers who arrived in Greece and Italy, citing security concerns, the government agreed on Monday.

Story: Related stories: For real-time stock market index quotes click in brackets:

Warsaw WIG20 Budapest BUX Prague PX Main currency report TOP NEWS -- Emerging markets News editor of the day: Jan Lopatka on +420 224 190 474

E-mail: prague.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com

(Reporting by Prague Newsroom)
LJUBLJANA, June 6 (Reuters) - Slovenia will probably not go ahead with plans to sell a stake in the country's largest bank, state-owned Nova Ljubljanska Banka (NLB), at present, Deputy Prime Minister Karl Erjavec said on Tuesday.

Slovenia had committed to sell 50 percent of NLB this year and another 25 percent in 2018 in exchange for the European Commission's approval of state aid for the bank in 2013.

Privatisation coordinator Slovenian Sovereign Holding asked the government last week to set the price range for the planned initial public offering of NLB but Erjavec said he expected the government to decide against going forward with the sale at its session on Thursday.

"I believe the process of the sale will probably not continue," Erjavec told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of the governing coalition.

Erjavec, whose Desus party is a junior member of the coalition, signalled that he believed that the price likely to be achieved in the NLB sale was too low.

"The standpoint of Desus party is that the sale could go through if the price was right, if taxpayers would be repaid and if we would also earn something," he said.

Erjavec had said previously that the sale should bring in at least 1.55 billion euros ($1.75 billion) - the size of the state capital increase for NLB in 2013 - but analysts believe Slovenia could at most get some 1 billion euros for the whole bank.

The European Commission has not revealed what steps it would take if Slovenia failed to sell NLB but a Commission spokesperson told Reuters that the EU executive was in contact with Slovenian authorities.

Slovenia has been reluctant to sell its major banks over the past decades so the government still controls about 45 percent of the banking sector. ($1 = 0.8870 euros)

(Reporting by Marja Novak; Editing by Adrian Croft)
HANOI, June 6 (Reuters) - Here's a snapshot of Vietnamese dong exchange rates in the official and unofficial markets, indicative SJC gold prices in Hanoi and interbank offered rates at 0415 GMT.

June 6 USD/VND mid-point 22,403 USD/VND interbank 22,720/22,723 USD/VND unofficial 22,700/22,730 SJC gold (mln dong/tael) 36.33/36.55

Interbank offered rates Overnight 2.0-2.6

1 week 2.4-2.7

1 month 3.4-3.7

3 months 4.2-4.5

NOTES: As of Jan. 4, 2016, the State Bank of Vietnam has begun setting the mid-point rate on daily basis, allowing dollar/dong transactions to move in a band of +/- 3 percent around the mid point. The dong's exchange rate against other currencies is not restricted by a band. Interbank offered rates are the latest indicative bid/ask prices, quoted from market sources.

One tael is equivalent to 37.5 grams or 1.21 troy ounces. SJC gold prices are quoted by state-owned Saigon Jewelry Co.

For more interbank rate fixings released at 0400 GMT, click on .

For Vietnam market overview click on: Vietnam's bonds market auctions: Bonds auction results: (Compiled by Hanoi Newsroom; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
MADRID, June 6 (Reuters) - The Bank of Spain's head said on Tuesday the Spanish economy could grow faster in 2017 than previously forecast, possibly above 3 percent.

"It can't be ruled out that the growth estimated for this year will be greater than anticipated a few months ago, and could even be above 3 percent," Luis Maria Linde said in a speech at Spain's Senate.

In April, the Bank of Spain forecast that 2017 growth would be 2.8 percent. The next official forecast is due next week.

Spain's economy picked up steam in the first three months of the year thanks in part to strong exports, defying expectations that growth could fade in 2017. (Reporting by Sarah White; Writing by Angus Berwick; Editing by Jesus Aguado)
NEW YORK, June 6 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury yields fell on Tuesday as investors piled into low-risk bonds on worries about a trio of events on Thursday: Britain's general election, the European Central Bank's policy meeting and former FBI director James Comey's testimony before a Senate panel. Longer-dated yields decreased to their lowest levels since Donald Trump's U.S. presidential win last November with the benchmark 10-year yield last at 2.140 percent, which was down 4 basis points from late on Monday.

(Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

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.
By Tom Finn and Sylvia Westall | DOHA/DUBAI

U.S. President Donald Trump, wading into a deep rift among Arab states, said on Tuesday his trip to the Middle East was "already paying off", as governments there took a hard new line in accusing Qatar of funding militant groups.

The campaign to isolate Qatar was disrupting trade in commodities from crude oil to metals and food, and deepening fears of a possible shock to the global gas market, where the tiny Gulf state is a major player.

Trump's blunt remarks cast the anti-Islamist speech he gave at a Riyadh summit in May as the inspiration for a decision by Arab powers to sever ties and transport links to Qatar in protest at what they say is its support for terrorism.

"So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!" Trump said on Twitter.

In fact, U.S. officials were blindsided by Saudi Arabia's decision to sever diplomatic ties with Qatar in a coordinated move with Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), current and former officials in Washington told Reuters.

Trump's comments on the rift between Qatar and other Arab nations over its alleged support for Iran and Islamist groups came as the leader of Kuwait traveled to Saudi Arabia to try to mediate.

He said, in apparent reference to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, that leaders he met on his trip had warned him Qatar was funding "radical ideology" after he had demanded they take action to stop financing militants.

Qatar vehemently denies the accusations against it.

U.S. officials said on Monday the United States would quietly try to calm the waters between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, saying that Qatar was too important to U.S. military and diplomatic interests to be isolated.

Some 8,000 U.S. military personnel are stationed at al Udeid in Qatar, the largest U.S. air base in the Middle East and a staging ground for U.S.-led strikes on the Islamic State militant group that has seized parts of Syria and Iraq.

U.S. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson told a Senate committee on Tuesday there was no threat to the base and that U.S. operations continued without interruption.

There are also deep financial and business links between the two countries based on Qatar's leading role as a gas producer.

Ordinary Qataris crowded into supermarkets to stock up on goods, fearing shortages.

Maersk MAERSKb.CO, the world's biggest container shipping line, said it was unable to transport goods in or out of Qatar because it could not take them through the UAE port of Jebel Ali.

MEDIATION AND CONSEQUENCES

Gulf Arab officials said Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber al-Sabah would meet Saudi Arabia's King Salman hoping to heal the rift, which has affected global oil prices, hit travel plans and sown confusion among businesses.

A number of banks in the region began stepping back from business dealings with Qatar. Saudi Arabia's central bank advised banks in the kingdom not to trade with Qatari banks in Qatari riyals, sources said.

Oil prices fell on concern that the rift would undermine efforts by OPEC to tighten production.

Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani told Qatar-based Al Jazeera TV Qatar would not retaliate, hoping Kuwait would help resolve the dispute.

"We are willing to sit and talk," he told CNN later, and said his country was "protecting the world from potential terrorists".

A Qatari official said the rift was pushing Doha in the direction of leaving the six-member state Gulf Cooperation Council, "with deep regret".

Qatar's leader, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, spoke by telephone overnight with his counterpart in Kuwait and, in order to allow Kuwait to mediate, decided to put off a planned speech to the nation, the minister said.

The split among the Sunni states erupted last month after the summit of Muslim leaders in Saudi Arabia, where Trump denounced Shi'ite Iran's "destabilizing interventions" in Arab lands, where Tehran is locked in a tussle with Riyadh for influence.

Qatar has for years parlayed its enormous gas wealth and media strength into broad influence in the region. But Gulf Arab neighbors and Egypt have long been irked by its maverick stances and support for the Muslim Brotherhood, which they regard as a political enemy.

FEARS FOR GAS SUPPLIES

Bans on Doha's fleet using regional ports and anchorages threatened to halt some of its exports and disrupt those of liquefied natural gas.

Traders on global markets worried that Riyadh's allies would refuse to accept LNG shipments from the Gulf state, and that Egypt might even bar tankers carrying Qatari cargoes from using the Suez Canal as they head to Europe and beyond.

Saudi Arabia's aviation authority revoked the license of Qatar Airways and ordered its offices to be closed within 48 hours, a day after the kingdom, the UAE and Bahrain closed their airspace to Qatari commercial flights.

Flight tracker websites showed Qatar Airways flights instead taking a circuitous route, mostly over Iran.

Some Saudi Arabian and UAE commercial banks were shunning Qatari banks, holding off on letters of credit, banking sources told Reuters on Tuesday.

With an estimated $335 billion of assets in its sovereign wealth fund and its gas exports earning billions of dollars every month, Qatar has enough financial firepower to protect its banks.

Its stock market slid to its lowest close since January 2016 and the Qatari riyal came under pressure.

The Saudi, UAE and Bahraini governments have forbidden their citizens from traveling to Qatar, residing there or passing through it, They have instructed their citizens to leave Qatar within 14 days and given Qatari nationals 14 days to leave their territories.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi said on Tuesday his country was "not part" of the dispute.

The measures are more severe than during a previous eight-month rift in 2014, when Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE withdrew their ambassadors from Doha, again on the grounds of alleged Qatari support for militant groups.

(Reporting by Ahmed Tolba in Cairo, Aziz El Yaakoubi, Tom Arnold, Hadeel Al Sayegh, William Maclean and Celine Aswad in Dubai and Doina Chiacu in Washington; Editing by Andrew Roche)
ANKARA, June 6 (Reuters) - Agriculture Minister Faruk Celik said on Tuesday Turkey expected wheat production to rise 6 percent in 2017 from a year earlier, while barley production was seen up 12 percent this year. In a written statement, Celik said the Turkish Grain Board (TMO) will begin purchases as of Tuesday with the aim of meeting producers' storage and financing needs.



(Reporting by Nevzat Devranoglu; Writing by Daren Butler)

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.
DUBAI, June 6 (Reuters) - Many UAE banks have stopped providing new loans to their clients to buy bonds of Qatari companies and state entities, sources familiar with the matter said, as banks turn cautious on Qatari credit in the wake of the growing Gulf rift.

Leverage for corporate bond purchases is a fairly common practice that banks provide to their affluent or high net worth customers.

"Local banks have stopped providing leverage on Qatari bonds," said a source familiar with the matter.

A second source said the banks had decided to stop the service to cut risk following the decision by some Gulf Arab states and Egypt to sever diplomatic ties with Qatar. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Yemen and Egypt accused Qatar of supporting terrorism, opening up the worst rift in years among some of the most powerful states in the Arab world.

The cautious approach of the banks could have an impact on secondary market activity for Qatari bonds as high net worth buyers vanish, banking sources said.

The sources declined to be identified because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

(Reporting by Saeed Azhar, editing by Louise Heavens)
(Adds quote, details)

By Camillus Eboh

ABUJA, June 6 (Reuters) - Nigeria's government is seeking approval from lawmakers to borrow $1.5 billion from international lenders to fund projects in a number of the country's states, a letter by the acting president said on Tuesday.

The OPEC member, which has Africa's largest economy, is grappling with its first recession in 25 years which was largely brought on by low oil prices and the impact of attacks on energy facilities in the Niger Delta.

Crude sales makes up two-thirds of government revenues which are then shared among the country's 36 states.

In a letter read out in both chambers of parliament, acting president Yemi Osinbajo requested that external borrowing for infrastructure projects in some Nigerian states should be earmarked for "accelerated consideration".

"The request for the separation of the state projects became imperative in view of the current economic reality in the country and the pressing need of these states to provide infrastructural and social amenities for their citizens," stated the letter.

President Muhammadu Buhari handed over power to Osinbajo when he travelled to Britain on medical leave on May 7 for what his office described as medical tests. Buhari's wife on Tuesday said he was recuperating quickly from the undisclosed ailment. (Writing by Alexis Akwagyiram; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Pritha Sarkar)
By Corina Pons

CARACAS, June 6 (Reuters) - A Venezuelan state-owned bank is offering $5 billion worth of sovereign bonds maturing in 2036 at a discount of up to 80 percent to several Wall Street funds, according to a lawmaker and a finance industry source.

The move is part of the embattled socialist government's strategy to raise fresh funds to support the crisis-stricken economy by selling bonds, gold and shares in oil projects.

A potential deal, coming on the back of a controversial sale of state oil company bonds to Goldman Sachs last month, would likely heighten opposition criticism that Wall Street is handing President Nicolas Maduro a lifeline amid a bruising economic crisis and major anti-government protests.

The sovereign debt securities, held by state-owned Banco de Venezuela since their issuance in late 2016, were offered in early May to Goldman Sachs, but the U.S. bank rejected the deal, financial sources told Reuters.

"Now they are being offered to funds in New York, instead of to large banks, with a discount of up to 80 percent," said opposition lawmaker Angel Alvarado, who tracks the negotiations between Nicolas Maduro's administration and Wall Street and was informed of the offer by sources in New York.

"They're still holding fire sales," he added, criticizing the potential deal with Maduro's cash-strapped administration.

Opposition lawmakers, economists and lawyers have campaigned to cut off financing for Maduro, sending letters to the heads of 13 major banks and flagging the reputational risk of working with Caracas. But in May, Goldman Sachs and Nomura bought some $2.9 billion in bonds from Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA, via intermediaries, and at a discount of up to 70 percent, the U.S. bank and sources close to the Japanese bank said.

Banco de Venezuela is also seeking to sell its bonds through intermediaries, including Hong Kong-based Haitong Securities, which coordinated the physical issuance of the bonds in 2016, a New York-based financial source familiar with offers said.

"Bonds similar to 2036 are in the market with (a price of) between 35 and 38 percent (of their original price)," said the source familiar with the talks. "But they are offering them at a 20 percent because the securities have not been dematerialized and require a bank with the infrastructure for that process."

Several analysts and traders believe that Venezuela has not been able to sell the bonds so far because they were issued physically and cannot be traded electronically.

Banco de Venezuela and Haitong Securities did not immediately respond to a request for information from Reuters.

In a potential worry hovering over these deals, White House officials told Reuters this month that the Trump administration is concerned about any action by U.S. companies that provides a financial boost to Venezuela's government. (Reporting by Corina Pons; Writing by Alexandra Ulmer; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank have expressed their support for the government's draft law on reforming the pension system of Ukraine, the press service of the Social Policy Ministry of Ukraine reported.

"The process of negotiations was completed by the prime minister of Ukraine, who participated in the talks with IMF Mission Chief [for Ukraine] Ron Van Rooden. The negotiations resulted in the adoption of a balanced, comprehensive document based on the best world practice and providing responses to those challenges and problems that the Ukrainian state and society are currently facing," the ministry said in a statement released on Sunday morning.

The Social Policy Ministry also thanked experts from the IMF and the World Bank for their help in drafting this bill and published the originals of the letters of both international institutions.

On June 2, Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said he expected the government bill on the pension reform to be considered at a meeting of the National Reform Council next week.
Naftogaz Ukrainy CEO Andriy Kobolev predicts that the calculation of the compensation that is due to the Ukrainian company under a separate ruling by the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce in the dispute with the Russian gas monopolist Gazprom will take two to three months.

"We have managed to revise the price starting from 2014, which means that Gazprom will have to compensate us a certain amount for all the gas that Naftogaz bought from the Russian Gazprom starting from that date. The final calculations of the compensation by both parties will take about two to three months, according to my estimates," he said on the air of the "1+1" Channel.

At the same time, Kobolev added that the first ruling dealt with supplies of natural gas, and now they are awaiting a decision in the gas transit dispute, which should appear by the end of June. However, the Naftogaz CEO said the ruling may be passed later.

If Gazprom refuses to comply with the decision of the Stockholm Arbitration, this will be unprecedented, he added.

In addition, Kobolev said Gazprom has property abroad, which could be arrested through courts.

The Naftogaz head also stressed that the ruling issued on May 31 by the Stockholm Arbitration Court is separate, not an intermediate decision, as Gazprom presents it.

"They (Gazprom) do not use the correct term, this ruling is not an interlocutory decision, this ruling is separate and it clearly says that we will not pay for the gas which Ukraine did not take, but for which Russia insists we should pay under the 'take-or-pay' principle," he explained.

As reported, on May 31 the ruling of the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce in the dispute between Naftogaz Ukrainy and Gazprom gave Naftogaz a right to demand a reduction in the gas price under a contract with the Russian monopolist based on market conditions, and also canceled the requirements of Gazprom to NJSC Naftogaz Ukrainy based on the principle "take or pay" and completely canceled the ban on Ukraine's re-export of gas.
Ukraine's Infrastructure Ministry Minister Volodymyr Omelyan has supported the idea of curtailing bus and railways travel to and from the Russian Federation and establishing a visa regime with that country.

The Kyiv-based Interfax-Ukraine news agency reports Omelyan told this to journalists on Tuesday, June 6.

"As a citizen of Ukraine I support the idea," Omelyan said, adding it was up to Ukraine's government to make the final decision.

Omelyan, meanwhile, denied rumors Ukraine had already decided to stop railway travel to and from Russia.
By Rachel Lee



President Moon Jae-in's initiatives to improve ties with North Korea have come to a halt following the North's refusal of offers by South Korean civic groups to resume exchanges.



Pyongyang called on Seoul, Tuesday, to instead fulfill inter-Korean summit declarations signed on June 15, 2000, and Oct. 4, 2007, to promote bilateral cooperation and reconciliation and reduce military tensions.



After the liberal government came to power, it planned to be flexible about private sector exchanges in resuming inter-Korea relations. The unification ministry has approved 15 civic and religious organizations' requests for contact with North Koreans for humanitarian aid.



The groups include the NGO Green One Korea which wished to discuss joint moves to conserve forests, the Council of South and North Korean Historians which wished to discuss preservation of cultural assets, the World Taekwondo Federation which wanted to hold a joint conference with the North, and the Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation also looking to hold a conference.



But North Korea rejected the overtures Monday, citing Seoul's backing for U.N. Security Council sanctions adopted to punish Pyongyang's recent missile provocations.



The North's Rodong Sinmun reported that the South's approval of humanitarian assistance and civilian exchanges, which the previous conservative governments cut off, does not necessarily mean cross-border ties will improve.



"Whether to abide by the inter-Korean summit declarations shows whether the South wants improvement in inter-Korean relations or that it seeks fratricidal conflict," it said. "In solving the deteriorated relations between the two Koreas and seeking unification, nothing can replace the declarations."



While the North rejected the Moon government's gesture to improve relations, observers say it remains to be seen whether ties between the two Koreas will improve after the South Korea-U.S. summit slated for the end of this month.



"The North thinks the South has put greater importance on its relations with the U.S. than those with the North," said a member of a civic group which has sought inter-Korean exchange programs.



In that respect, joint statements that may be issued during the summit will play a key role in Seoul-Pyongyang ties, he added.



Some experts say any statements may fall short of North Korea's standards as the international community is not easing sanctions on the country following Pyongyang's continuing provocations.



Kim Yeon-chul, a professor at Inje University, said it will be difficult to find a breakthrough in improving relations with Pyongyang as the two Koreas have different ways of approaching and resolving these issues.



Kim said Seoul puts a greater emphasis on civilian exchanges, but for Pyongyang, cooperation between the two governments comes first.



"Rather than rushing to restore ties, it seems it's more important for the new government to set the principles of civilian exchanges and come up with a more detailed North Korea policy," the professor said.



The two Koreas held their first summit in June 2000.



The Park Geun-hye government stopped almost all civilian exchanges with the North following Pyongyang's fourth nuclear test early last year.




By Jun Ji-hye



The Moon Jae-in government's decision to conduct a full-scale environmental impact study on the placement of a U.S. anti-missile unit here may strain ties between the two countries, experts said Tuesday.



The move could help prevent Seoul-Beijing relations from going from bad to worse, but would not improve them substantially, they said.



President Moon ordered the Ministry of National Defense, Monday, to conduct an extensive environmental survey of the site for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province, rather than a smaller environmental assessment that the ministry had originally planned.



This put the brakes on the ministry and the U.S. Forces Korea's (USFK) plan to fully deploy the missile defense system by the end of the year. A full-scale survey will most likely delay the deployment until next year.



Park Won-gon, an international relations professor at Handong Global University, said Moon's order will probably anger the U.S.



"By ordering the survey, the Moon government is sending the U.S. a message that it thinks negatively about the THAAD deployment and is trying to delay the installation," Park said. "This could also cause misunderstanding that in the end the Moon government is moving to cancel the deployment."



The decision to install THAAD was made last July under the former Park Geun-hye administration.



Prof. Park said U.S. President Donald Trump may express his displeasure during a summit with Moon scheduled for later this month in Washington.



"If the two sides fail to resolve the issue, the situation will become much tougher," he said.



Kim Yeoul-soo, an international politics professor at Sungshin Women's University, noted that Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin who visited South Korea last week claimed that Washington had transparently proceeded with the deployment. Durbin also implied that the U.S. could use the budget allocated to the THAAD deployment somewhere else if Seoul did not want the missile defense system on its soil.



"The comment might have been a diplomatic way of saying that the U.S. is feeling uncomfortable about the Moon government's approach to the THAAD issue," Kim said.



He added that Washington's displeasure would be obvious even if the Moon government keeps insisting that the U.S. fully understands Seoul's position.



Mending ties with China?



Experts also pointed out that the government's move to delay the deployment could have been aimed at improving strained relations between South Korea and China.



China has been strongly opposed to the THAAD installation, claiming it seriously harms the country's national interests. Beijing has taken various economic and cultural retaliatory actions including cutting off mutual exchanges.



Prof. Park said, however, that China is unlikely to stop its retaliatory measures simply because Seoul is trying to delay the deployment as Beijing's position has been very clear  it wants the cancellation of the THAAD deployment.



"What Seoul needs to do now is to ask the U.S. to persuade China," he said. "Delaying the deployment will not resolve anything."



Kim said the THAAD deployment here is one of the factors testing the leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping, noting that China probably wants the deployment put on the backburner until October when the Communist Party Congress is scheduled.



"Moon may know this," Kim said. "So, he will probably attempt to delay the deployment at least until October even though he is taking a risk on relations with the U.S."



Kim expressed a cautiously optimistic view, saying if Xi's term is successfully extended for a further five years at the congress, Beijing would then change its position and accept THAAD to some extent.



Moon's order for the extensive environmental survey came after Cheong Wa Dae conducted an investigation into the ministry's failure to include the arrival of four additional THAAD launchers in its reports to the new government. The presidential office suspected that it might have been aimed at evading the full-scale survey.



When announcing the results of the investigation, Monday, Moon's chief press secretary Yoon Young-chan said the presidential office found out that ministry attempted to avoid the extensive survey by dividing the 700,000 square meters of land it would provide to the USFK for the deployment.



The law stipulates that installing military facilities in land greater than 330,000 square meters requires a full-scale environmental survey. Yoon said the ministry decided to provide 320,000 square meters of land first, and the rest afterwards.




By You Soo-sun



Seoul is the third most popular city for international meetings in 2016, according to the Union of International Associations (UIA), Monday.



According to the UIA's annual International Meetings Statistics Report, Seoul came in third for the second consecutive year in the number of international meetings held. The UIA is a nonprofit research institute based in Belgium.



According to the report, Seoul hosted 526 meetings last year, behind only Brussels which hosted 906 meetings and Singapore with 888.



On the national level, Korea ranked first by holding 997 international meetings followed by Belgium and Singapore. Fifty-three percent of these meetings were located in Seoul, followed by Busan and Jeju Island.



The city government welcomed the results.



"Despite the relative disadvantages of Seoul's infrastructure compared to other cities, the city government was able to see such successful results by collaborating with partners and also continuing to develop its MICE industry," the city said in a statement. MICE stands for Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events.



The city government has endeavored to strengthen Seoul's international position and thereby its tourism, most notably by rolling out a master plan for MICE in 2013. Under the plan, the city government has been developing existing infrastructure as well as new venues that can hold large conferences.



The International Meetings Statistics Report, first published in 1960, is an annual report that presents statistics about international meetings. The report includes a selective list of meetings, organized or sponsored by international organizations that appear in the Yearbook of International Organizations and on the International Congress Calendar.








By Choi Ha-young





Hong Joon-pyo

Yet another factional dispute is looming in the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) following former presidential candidate Hong Joon-pyo's bid for party leadership and the Park Geun-hye loyalist faction's opposition to it.

Hong, who left for the U.S. after his election loss, returned home Sunday. He virtually threw his hat in the ring to become the chairman of the conservative party. "I will be with the citizens to protect the value of freedom in Korea," he posted on Facebook Monday.

But some LKP lawmakers who support former President Park are fiercely reacting to his move. Even though Hong had joined hands with them during the presidential election, the former South Gyeongsang Province governor burned his bridges with them afterward, saying they were unseen like "cockroaches" when Park was impeached.

"If Hong is elected, we will be bullied in public, backed by only 3 to 4 percent of the people," Hong Moon-jong, a four-term LKP lawmaker, said in a radio interview Monday. "Among the already small number of supporters, if he excludes the supporters of the pro-Park faction which he calls cockroaches, would he serve for 1 percent of the people?"

Hong Moon-jong emphasized that the main opposition should embrace the people rather than exclude certain groups.

From the pro-Park faction, Rep. Won Yoo-chul hinted at his bid for the chairmanship. The party convention to elect its new leader and members of the decision-making Supreme Council is slated for July 3.

After the May 9 poll, the conservative party's support rate has hovered around 12 percent, way below the 24.03 percent which Hong Joon-pyo earned in the election. In sharp contrast, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea is enjoying its highest ever popularity with a 54.9 percent approval rating according to Realmeter.

"Amid the dog-eat-dog disputes among the LKP members themselves, conservative citizens don't care much who clinches the party leadership," political analyst Hwang Tae-soon told The Korea Times.

"While President Moon Jae-in is strongly pursuing his reform drive, the LKP looks quite absurd. As the largest opposition party, it should regain public support by taking a reasonable stance in preparation for Moon's possible missteps, rather than being obstinate."
Land being used by the U.S. Army Garrison Yongsan will be returned to Korea by the end of the year and turned into a public park. Many cases of oil contamination on the base have been exposed since the early 2000s./Yonhap

By Kim Se-jeong



The Seoul Metropolitan Government is organizing a forum on oil contamination in the soil of U.S. Army Garrison (USAG) Yongsan in central Seoul, Thursday, in an effort to pressure the U.S. to clean the site before its relocation is completed.

The city said the forum has enormous backing from citizens.

"We're organizing this knowing there's support coming from the public," a city official said.

In May, the city conducted a survey of 3,040 Seoul residents, and 65 percent responded that the U.S. military should be held responsible for cleaning up any oil contamination and must do it before the land is returned  the United States Forces Korea(USFK) headquarters and Eighth Army headquarters are currently relocating to Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, which is expected to be finished by the end of the year.

The city's move comes after a court ordered the Ministry of Environment to reveal the results of two inspections of the U.S. military base  it conducted three inspections but only released the results of the first one to the public.

The forum is also intended to pressure the central government  the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs  to put pressure on the USFK to share data on past contamination records and to clean the site. "To solve this problem, action from the central government is critical," the official said.

One motivation for the city is money. So far, the local government has paid 7 billion won for cleanup operations outside the base's perimeter. After the U.S. military moves out, the city will turn the area into a public park. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation estimates the onsite cleanup would cost 103 billion won. Environmental groups' estimates are more than 1 trillion won.

Green Korea, an NGO advocating for a cleanup paid for by the U.S., welcomed Seoul's move.

"It's time for Seoul to act when the central government isn't doing anything," said Yoon Sang-hoon, an activist from Green Korea.

Oil contamination at the Eighth Army headquarters on USAG Yongsan was first reported in the early 2000s. In 2001, the city discovered a huge contamination spot near the camp during the construction of Noksapyeong Subway Station. The U.S. military rejected a request by the city government and civic groups to run a comprehensive investigation into the alleged base leak. They only settled on a promise by the U.S. military to clean up its own mess.

Other leak cases kept being reported  the Ministry of Environment has since received official reports of five.

The central government came under criticism over these.

Despite pressures to hasten the Yongsan Relocation Plan (YRP), it refused to act, saying the U.S. was not required to reveal the information according to the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). The environment ministry even refused to share the test results with the public, triggering lawsuits by civic groups, who argued the government should do whatever it could to get the U.S. military to act when it comes to public health.

In April, Green Korean revealed the American military had been aware of at least 84 leaks on USAG Yongsan between 1994 and 2015  seven of which involved at least 3.7 tons of oil.

Benzene, a chemical believed to cause cancer, was found in 10 spots around the camp, and the amount, at the worst area, was 2.44 milligrams per liter, 162 times over the accepted limit.
By Ko Chang-nam





The 2017 Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)'s annual meeting in Jeju is scheduled to be held from June 16 to 18. The meeting is AIIB's flagship event and this year's meeting is the second one following the Beijing meeting the previous year.

Over 2000 delegates, including governors and finance ministers of member countries as well as presidents of central banks, representatives of international organizations, businessmen from infrastructure-related industries and financial institutions, and participants from civil society organizations and leading experts from a range of fields are expected to take part in to talk about how to build a better and more sustainable future.

The AIIB is a multi-lateral development bank (MDB) which is aimed at fostering sustainable economic development, creating wealth and improving infrastructure connectivity in Asia by investing in infrastructure and other productive sectors, and its headquarters are located in Beijing, the People's Republic of China. This year's annual meeting is the first one to be held outside China. The theme of this year's annual meeting is "Sustainable Infrastructure." The program will be composed of the annual meeting and various international seminars, investment fora, business meetings and exhibitions to share knowledge and opinions about infrastructure development.

Therefore, the 2017 AIIB Jeju meeting is a very important opportunity for the AIIB itself and for Jeju Island. Through this opportunity, the Republic of Korea is expected to play a leading role in the development of infrastructure and the discussion of economic growth in Asia as a host country of the meeting.

Meanwhile, the Jeju Island Governor made a presentation on a "Carbon-free Island" project at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris, France. Jeju Island will transform itself into a carbon-free island by replacing its entire fleet of cars with electric vehicles and meeting 100 percent of its energy needs through renewable energy sources by 2030, and it will be in line with the AIIB's theme of "Sustainable Infrastructure" at its second annual meeting.

In this context, Jeju Island is emerging as the foothold of "Sustainable Infrastructure." including electric vehicles, smart grid and its related industry in Korea. In January, the Jeju Island Governor made a presentation on the "Jeju Green Big Bang" project at the Davos World Economic Forum, and it is an ambitious project aimed at the 4th industrial revolution in the field of electric power systems, reducing greenhouse gas and promoting industrial development.

In addition, Jeju Island is advancing a project of constructing its second international airport because the existing Jeju international airport has already reached its capacity. Taking this opportunity of hosting the 2017 AIIB Annual Meeting, the Jeju Island Governor and the residents of the island have high hopes that the AIIB will finance the second Jeju International Airport project.

In conclusion, the AIIB's second annual meeting will serve as a platform for the AIIB to firmly position itself as a multilateral development bank mandated in infrastructure development, and Jeju Island is expected to firm up its position as the center of "Sustainable Infrastructure" and "Green Infrastructure" in Korea and abroad, thus boosting economic growth and international cooperation in the field of infrastructure development.





The writer is a former Economic Affairs Officer of the United Nations ESCAP (Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific). Write to kcn1204@hanmail.net
By Park Jae-hyuk





LVMH Chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault will come to Korea today to attend Thursday's opening ceremony for the "Volez, Voguez, Voyagez  Louis Vuitton" exhibition at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul.

He is expected to meet CEOs of Korean retail giants, including Shilla's Lee Boo-jin, Shinsegae's Chung Yoo-kyung, Lotte's Shin Dong-bin and Hyundai Department Store's Chung Ji-sun, during his two-day stay here.

The Korean chief executives are competing to win the French billionaire's heart, so as to place the luxury brand in their downtown duty free shops.

Considering the brand's declining popularity in Korea, however, Arnault may have to try his best to recover Louis Vuitton's fame, rather than just being satisfied with the warm welcome from the retail giants.

He is required to realize that Koreans are no more blind adorers of foreign luxury brands and Louis Vuitton seems to be one of the biggest losers.

Unlike in the past, foreign luxury brands are not so attractive for Korean duty free stores as demonstrated by the fashion accessories zones for new duty free stores in the second passenger terminal at Incheon International Airport, which will open in October.

Bidding for spaces in the zone has failed four times, due to the fast decline of Chinese tourists and the resultant slump in sales and profits.

The Incheon International Airport Corp. (IIAC), which originally aimed to accommodate the top 20 global luxury brands including Louis Vuitton and Chanel, retracted the plan.

Unfortunately for Arnault, duty free operators already know that luxury fashion brands are not popular anymore in airports.

After a continuous falloff of its sales at Incheon, Louis Vuitton's sales revenue now lags behind those of KT&G, Sulwhasoo and KGC.

Although newly selected downtown duty free licensees still seek to attract Louis Vuitton for their survival, conditions can also change for them, because Chinese tourists are not visiting the stores amid a missile defense system dispute between Beijing and Seoul.

What is worse, the brand has been losing luster among Korean consumers over the past six years.

Its designs, after-sales service, pricing policies and corporate social responsibility donations have been disappointing, so Korean consumers have turned their backs on Louis Vuitton.

According to industry officials, Louis Vuitton has seen its sales growth rate fall at major department stores here for years. Its sales contracted last year while Hermes and Chanel chalked up double-digit growth.

But still, Louis Vuitton is seemingly failing to come up with proper measures to grapple with the challenges.

The chairman's schedule in Korea is shrouded in secrecy, as the company only mentions the exhibition ceremony as an official event that he will attend.

If the chairman wants to continue to rake in profits here as before, he is strongly recommend to study sincerely ways to win the hearts and minds of the Korean people. So far, so bad.
During Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin's visit to Thailand he met with his counterpart Don Pramudwinai, the two officials signed a trade pact and a legal assistance agreement, Ukraine's Foreign Affairs Ministry has reported.

During the meeting, the sides expressed interest in activating bilateral ties and exchanged views on a wide variety of international and regional issues.

"The sides agreed upon a schedule for political contacts in the near turn and agreed to conduct a second round of political consultations on the level of deputy foreign ministers, as well as to hold a meeting of an intergovernmental joint commission for bilateral cooperation," the FM's press release said.

During the talks the sides agreed to deepen cooperation within the framework of international organizations as well as long-term cooperation, first and foremost, in trade and economic bilateral relations.

Following the talks the sides signed an agreement between Ukraine and the Kingdom of Thailand on mutual legal assistance in criminal cases and a trade agreement. The agreements will significantly facilitate bilateral contacts between law-enforcement agencies and business between the countries.

"Implementation of corresponding measures of intergovernmental agreement on mutual legal assistance in criminal cases will significantly improve the level of coordination between law-enforcement agencies in the investigation of criminal offenses committed in Thailand and Ukraine," Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said.

The trade agreement with Thailand, which is Ukraine's main trading partner in southeastern Asia, opens additional possibilities for mutually beneficial, pragmatic cooperation between the two countries in the economic and investment sectors of both countries. Trade turnover between Ukraine and Thailand in 2016 totaled $600 million, with a positive balance of $255 million in Ukraine's favor.

Aimed at developing contacts between businessmen, the creation of joint enterprises and representative commercial offices in both countries, the intergovernmental trade agreement provides for the launch of a joint commission on trade issues chaired by Ukraine's Minister of Economic Development and Trade and Thailand's Commerce Minister. The commission will study opportunities for broadening and diversifying bilateral trade and economic relations.
By Deauwand Myers





Now that Korea's presidential election is over, Korea's relationship with the North will be analyzed anew.

In evaluating the North, some perspective on how it came to be, and its deep animosity towards the West, and the United States in particular, should be explored.

Most Americans, indeed, most Westerners, know precious little about the aptly titled "Forgotten War." What little they do know are the broadest of strokes: over 3 million dead; a bifurcation of North and South Korea; decades of hostility; and an uneasy armistice between the two Koreas.

The Korean War is far more complex than that. After War World II, the Soviet Union and the US split Korea into spheres of influence, as was done with East and West Germany. The opposing ideologies of the US and the USSR, culminating into the Cold War, lead to there ever being a North and South Korea.

Korea's first president, American-backed President Syngman Rhee, was a rightist politician who brutally suppressed leftists and advocates of rapprochement with North Korea. This spurred the puppet regime of Kim Il-sung to unilaterally attack the South.

The onslaught thereafter is well documented, at least the outlines. But as with World War II, America fails to fully account for the brutality by which it attacked the North. About 20 percent of North Koreans, mostly citizens, were incinerated by constant and indiscriminate bombings led by America and its allies. More bombs were detonated over North Korea by America than in all of Japan and Germany during World War II.

This level of civilian death would be considered a war crime had the US lost. But America is the so-called indispensible nation, so, just as American war atrocities during WWII are glossed over, or even hidden, from public record (and scrutiny), the same can be said about the Korean War.

Unlike America, North Koreans are keenly aware of the brutality and carnage wrought upon them by America and its allies during the Korean War. This, along with the normal and constant brainwashing, indoctrination, and deification of the Kim family and the North Korean state by the DPRK's propaganda apparatus, makes for a toxic mix wherein the North and America know little about each other.

All of this is critical to understand, because without this knowledge, Korea, the North, and America are doomed to perpetual distrust and eventual military conflict.

The aforementioned brutality of the Korean War, and the decades of hostilities and famine and abject poverty do not, in any way, exculpate the evil of the Kim Regime.

Make no mistake, Kim Jong-Un and his father and grandfather, are and were brutal, amoral, cruel, and venal dictators of the highest order. While Mr. Kim gets fatter by the day, most of his population, as in earlier times, suffers in poverty so stark that malnutrition and starvation is still a common form of death in the DPRK.

Further, as I've written before, North Korea sees nuclear armament as its only card to play. The very survival of its government depends on possible nuclear conflict erupting if Korea and America ever militarily engage.

Dialogue is a tactic, not a means to an end. The DPRK will never give up nuclear weapons. As such, morally, geopolitically, can the West, and the international community at large, live with allowing North Korea to exist in perpetuity, with its bleak human rights record, gulags, summary executions, torture, and abject poverty, coupled with its nuclear proliferation to anyone willing to risk secret associations with it (take Syria, for example)?

It should be noted that North Korea began its nuclear weapons program in earnest in the 1980s. U.S. President Reagan, supposedly the great communicator and defeater of communism, allowed a rogue regime to acquire, in short order, rudimentary nuclear weapons technology.

The proceeding American presidential administrations, of both major political parties, have more or less watched as the DPRK becomes ever more sophisticated in its development of said arsenal. Eventually, the North will be able to deliver nuclear-tipped missiles to Korea, Japan, and yes, America.

The question, then, is: how crazy is Mr. Kim and crew? Like Iran, surely, it understands any actual use of a nuclear weapon against America or its allies will mean its complete and immutable destruction.

Should we base foreign policy on whether or not dictators are sane, or just sick?

Most probably, a war of some consequence, and then the removal of the Kim Regime, may be the only way to end the DPRK. We've waited for an orderly collapse of said regime for at least a generation; no such luck. All the while, North Korean nuclear scientists have been feverishly working on a credible and reliable nuclear deterrent.

Unfortunately, for all of us, President Trump is in office.

My advice: invest in lead suits.

Deauwand Myers holds a master's degree in English literature and literary theory, and is an English professor outside Seoul. He can be reached at deauwand@hotmail.com.
By Bernard Rowan





Last week, Donald Trump announced the United States will leave the Paris climate accord. This action pleases some of his constituents. It's raised a greater firestorm of criticism throughout much of the world. I'm afraid it signals to many an abdication of global leadership, creating various power vacuums.



Trump advances unreasonable positions that threaten years of careful efforts and show a needless, reckless part of his foreign policy vision. What do I mean? It's a sad day when China trumps American influence by default. True, America has a horrible record of exempting itself from international protocols and accords. But Trump's bellicose style brings resentment of American exceptionalism to a head. It now stands as one of the greater causes of decreasing American power and influence globally. It hurts the credibility of a country to ask her peers to do more than she does herself.



Leaving Paris leaves others to chart the future. That's fine in one sense, since the good of environmental justice and sound energy policy trumps nationalism. However, given the importance of American economic and political interests worldwide, it's also a step backwards of great proportions. Better examples will occur by actions of other nations and multilateral organizations.



The United States and other countries face significant internal cultural pressures from conservative and traditional voters. Growing social diversity and growing immigrant populations are challenges. The threat of global terror continues. Wobbly economies, falling real incomes for citizens, and frustrated expectations for younger adults and youth also rank as causes for discontent.



Under Obama and Clinton, the United States gave impulse to these currents through the failed experiment called the Arab Spring. It unleashed great misery and social costs for the planet by meddling in the internal affairs of Arab and Muslim states. I don't think Donald Trump aspires to convert other countries to American-style democracy. He's an isolationist. "The Donald" coins on resentment of wealth and nonnative peoples. Though unreasonable, it joins for many with a feeling that American internationalism is expensive, dangerous, and hurts regular folk.



Where and when I grew up, the Jesus movement-type Christian cult leaders, Tony and Susan Alamo were local isolationists. Their followers leafleted cars in church parking lots with pictures of Thatcher, Reagan, and the Pope, naming globalism as a perversion. Trump panders to this thinking, I'm afraid. Playing to countless dispossessed Americans, he blames others for the decline in American incomes and wealth. There's also the willingness to blame other Americans too, if they look, think, and feel differently than the in-group.



Trump's posturing lacks the support of facts. Leaving off environmental policy vectors pleases a distinct minority of economic interests locally but finally will cost Americans (and the world) much more, both locally and globally. The days of coal power (as one example) are passing. It won't be so long before the days of petroleum and oil power go the way of coal. By pulling out of Paris, as it were, Trump lulls American political culture into a false sense of security. He can protect and produce more investment in the coal industry, but its market share will continue to decline for broader reasons. Bullish and stubborn behavior hastens the fall.



China, India, Europe, and many other nations, including Korea, will continue to innovate. They will continue to propose the environmental technologies of tomorrow and reap the benefits of insisting on next generation solutions. Trump promises more coal, more oil, and more isolation from advancement. America falls behind, again and further, to the delight of present-day Luddites. It's a bad day.





Bernard Rowan is associate provost for contract administration and professor of political science at Chicago State University. He is a past fellow of the Korea Foundation and former visiting professor at Hanyang University. Reach him at browan10@yahoo.com
BAT's tobacco heating device, glo / Courtesy of BAT Korea

By Lee Hyo-sik

British American Tobacco (BAT) plans to launch its smokeless cigarette, glo, in Korea in the second half of 2017 to catch up with its rival Philip Morris, which began selling its IQOS here Monday.

With the IQOS attracting keen attention from local smokers, BAT Korea has been rushing to take necessary steps to make glo available as soon as possible.

IQOS and glo, both comprising of a tobacco holder and a recharger, do not produce harmful smoke because they heat, not burn, tobacco sticks to generate a vapor that contains nicotine, according to the companies.

BAT Korea said Tuesday it has completed the construction of its second and third plants in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province.

The new facilities will produce Neostiks, tobacco sticks for glo, for Korea, Japan and other Asian markets, serving an export hub for the London-headquartered multinational tobacco giant. The Sacheon plant currently exports about 43 percent of its output to 13 countries.

The company invested 200 billion won ($178 million) to build the second and third plants and added 200 new workers to its payroll.

Through the latest expansion, the factory is capable of producing 40 billion sticks annually and further establishes itself as BAT's global manufacturing center for Asia, according to BAT Korea CEO Tony Hayward.

"The Sacheon factory is expected to not only take up the role of an export hub of Asia but also a global manufacturing hub of specially designed tobacco Neostiks, made exclusively for our tobacco heating product (THP), glo," Hayward said. "BAT has high expectations for the expansion of the Sacheon plant, which is already assessed to be one of the best of the company's manufacturing plants. BAT Korea is committed to launching glo in Korea and offering made-in-Korea products to local adult smokers."

The company expects glo to become a game changer in the tobacco industry, saying the innovative product will be a huge hit once it becomes available for Korean consumers.

"Since being released in Sendai, Japan, last December, glo's market share there has reached over 7 percent, indicating it has been well received by Japanese consumers," a BAT Korea official said. "We believe the same thing will happen in Korea."

Since early May when Philip Morris announced a plan to launch the IQOS here, BAT Korea has been scrambling to obtain state approval for glo, as well as taking other administrative and legal measures to put it on the market as quickly as possible.

"We do not know exactly when we can have glo available in Korea. But we are doing everything we can to speed up the process," the official said.

He said glo will be priced at 80,000 won and packs of 20 Neostiks at about 4,300 won.

In comparison, Philip Morris sells the IQOS for 120,000 won and the HEETs, its tobacco sticks, at 4,300 won via CU convenience stores in Seoul.

Since the IQOS and HEETs were first introduced in Japan in September 2015, more than 2 million people now use them in more than 25 countries.

According to Philip Morris, IQOS produces about 90 percent less harmful chemicals and leaves no ash and fewer odors on smokers.

The device is made up of a charger about the size of a mobile phone and a holder that resembles a pen. A tobacco stick is inserted into the holder, which then heats it to temperatures up to 350 degrees Celsius. The tobacco vapor released contains nicotine, tobacco flavors and a number of other chemicals.
In this April 2012 photo, employees of an auto part remanufacturing factory at Daedeok Science Town in Daejeon inspect scraps. / Korea Times file



By Ko Dong-hwan

The city of Daejeon will work with 10 companies to reduce fine dust in the atmosphere that has recently sparked nationwide alerts.

The city and the makers of tires, animal feed, paper, auto batteries, aluminum and tobacco sheets, and a combined heat/power plant, signed the deal Monday in celebration of World Environment Day.

They agreed that when a fine dust warning is issued they will limit or stop their operations and spray water on areas surrounding their buildings to reduce dust.

They also will apply stricter standards to hazardous discharges and install preventive systems, and introduce electric vehicles and use sustainable fuels to run machinery. In return, the city will help the companies adopt eco-friendly technologies.

"Since we cannot shut down our factory even temporarily, we will minimize the use of problematic Bunker C fuel oil and replace it with sustainable fuel until March 2018," an official from the Daejeon Combined Heat & Power Plant, one of the companies, said.

The city is looking to reduce fine dust by 30 percent by 2020 and will encourage people to buy electric cars and motorcycles and scrap 10,000 aged diesel-fuel vehicles.
The issue of appointing acting minister Ulana Suprun as Health Minister will be taken up after approval by parliament of laws for reforming Ukraine's health care system, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's representative in Ukraine's parliament and member of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc (PPB) faction Iryna Lutsenko has said.

"I think after we are able to pass health reform  and we have set ourselves the ambitious task of voting on the measures in their second reading this summer  we will be able to calmly consider the candidature of Suprun for health minister," Lutsenko said during an interview with the Inter TV channel on Friday evening.

"Ulana Suprun, who has many positive traits, must show deputies a result. And we must see this result in the Rada," Lutsenko said.

Lutsenko, who is deputy head of the PPB faction in parliament, said deputies on Tuesday will have the opportunity to recommend amendments to the draft law on health care reform.

As earlier reported, Poroshenko's press service said it would forward the health care reform bill to parliament. The bill contains new rules for medical care in rural areas. The presidential administration said it hopes the measure is passed before lawmakers go on summer recess.

Earlier, on May 18, parliament decided not to table draft laws relating to health care reform for adoption because some deputies formed a working group to improve them.
New wing of Okhmatdyt hospital for children to begin work in Nov or Dec

A new wing of Kyiv-based National Children's Specialized Okhmatdyt Hospital will be operational in November or December this year, Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has said.

"It's 26,000 square meters of space, which will be finished in November or December," Groysman told journalists on Tuesday.

Groysman said it would take about six months to complete the construction, purchase and install new equipment. Major construction work will be completed by July 15.

The prime minister said one of the main tasks is to call tenders to buy the medical equipment.
Gazprom considers the Stockholm arbitration tribunal's preliminary ruling in a dispute with Ukraine's Naftogaz to be favorable.

"Have you read the ruling? I have and the balance according to this ruling is positive for Gazprom," the Russian gas giant's deputy CEO, Alexander Medvedev, told reporters.

He denied a claim by Ukraine that the tribunal had canceled the gas contract's so-called "take or pay" clause, which was the foundation for the bulk of Gazprom's claims.

"I will just touch on one issue. [The Ukrainian side claims that] the arbitration decision cancels take or pay. This is not so. It did not cancel take or pay. I will not tell you what in fact is there, but there is no cancellation of take or pay," he said.

"This is such a public manipulation. Work is underway. We have always respected and do respect arbitration decisions. There is time for discussing the preliminary conclusions, I think. The Ukrainian side will also provide some comments," Medvedev said.

Commenting on when the final ruling is expected, he said: "June 30 is the date for submitting objections and comments. This does not mean that the final conclusion will come immediately after June 30. All the more so, as you are aware, the tribunal can frequently shift the date for announcing a ruling, as a rule not sooner but later. It is a complex issue. It demands serious work."
The partners in the Nord Stream 2 project have signed an agreement on deficit financing for construction of the gas pipeline in the event that project financing is insufficient.

The deal was made on June 2 at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, which was attended by the heads of companies participating in the project. Representatives of French energy company Engie told reporters that they were signing financial documents on Nord Stream 2 but did not provide details.

"The agreement on deficit financing regulates obligations to provide credit to Nord Stream 2 AG in the event that no or insufficient project financing (up to 70% of total expenditures on the project or up to 6.65 billion euros) is raised at a rate of EURIBOR + 5.75% to 6.75% per annum (depending on the amount of financing)," Russian gas giant Gazprom said in a statement.

The maximum duration of the deficit financing agreement is 15 years after project financing is raised or after December 31, 2019.

The parties in the deal are project company Nord Stream 2 AG, Gazprom, Glas Trust Corporation Ltd. (credit agent), Engie Energy Management Holding Switzerland AG, OMV Gas Marketing Trading & Finance B.V., Shell Exploration and Production (LXXI) B.V., Uniper Gas Transportation & Finance B.V., and Wintershall Nederland Transport and Trading B.V.
Experts are calculating compensation amounts for Ukraine based on the decision of the Tribunal at the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce in the case involving NJSC Naftogaz Ukrainy and Russia's Gazprom gas monopoly, Naftogaz CEO Andriy Kobolev has said.

"The final amount will be the product of the work of experts during three working months. The amount will then be included in the final verdict of the tribunal," Kobolev said during an interview with TV Channel 5 aired on Sunday evening.

Kobolev said Ukraine had not compensated Gazprom for more than $2 billion of gas purchases, according to the older, inflated price.

"We did not pay Gazprom for gas acquired in previous times for the sum of around $2.2 billion. No we will be able to say exactly how much compensation will receive for what volumes of gas paid for since 2014. That amount will be decreased significantly," he said.

The amount of decrease, according to Kobolev, will only be known after the tribunal's decision.

As reported, on May 31 the ruling of the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce in the dispute between Naftogaz Ukrainy and Gazprom gave Naftogaz a right to demand a reduction in the gas price under a contract with the Russian monopolist based on market conditions, and also canceled the requirements of Gazprom to NJSC Naftogaz Ukrainy based on the principle "take or pay" and completely canceled the ban on Ukraine's re-export of gas.
PRESS RELEASE

Trump Begins Infrastructure Week: How Would China Do It?

June 5, 2017 (EIRNS)President Donald Trump today began an "infrastructure week," actually a two-week period in which the President plans to make presentations in Washington and in the country about raising the level of the crumbling U.S. economic infrastructure. He began by calling for a new air traffic control system guided by satellite global positioning systems rather than ground-based radars; he proposed to achieve that by putting air traffic control into a non-profit corporation both paid for and controlled by commercial airlines, but overseen by the Federal Aviation Administration. Both the airlines and the air traffic controllers union support this action.

Later this week the President will speak in Cincinnati about waterways infrastructure, including locks and dams; and at the Transportation Department in Washington about rail and road infrastructure. His Administration will talk roughly about adding $200 billion in Federal infrastructure investments over 10 years. But the President will be implicitly opening up a great national mission which will require more than 10 times that investment. And by estimates from China, the worlds great builder of modern infrastructure now, it will require up to $8 trillion in investments.

The new economic system being created by Chinas Belt and Road Initiative is, in fact, the dynamo that America can join up with to "get it done." And large investments can come from there as well.

Perhaps the worst infrastructure problem in the nation is the nightmare Summer threatened by the ongoing breakdown of transportation systems in the greater New York City areathough there are grim competitors elsewhere.

But the evidence of the past 20 years of Chinas development and outreach is clear: If this breakdown were occurring around Beijing, the whole transport system would be transformed, with new high-speed and even mag-lev metro lines connecting out into national high-speed networks, in two years at most!

In fact, just that is being done with the bigger Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei metropolitan region in China right now, begun only late last year (see below). Why not in New York?

If Americanswhose nation was first with a trans-continental railroad, first with nuclear energy, first to go to the Moonbelieve this can be done here, the United States should join up with the new economic order being created with the great infrastructure projects of the New Silk Road.

That will require a mobilization to create a national bank, a source of national credit for new infrastructure; and restoring Glass-Steagall bank separation to break Wall Streets control of commercial bank lending. But above all it will require restoring the belief that the United States can do what is being done all along the Belt and Road Initiative.

Last Nov. 29, EIR reported:

China To Build Intercity Rail for Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei

Chinas National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced Nov. 28, 2016 that

"The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is going to serve as a new pole of growth for the Bohaai [Yellow Sea] Rim, and the safe and effective railway system shall connect the metropolitan area,"

said Cheng Shidong, a transport official with the NDRC.

Hebei is the province which surrounds the adjacent cities of Beijing and Tianjin. The new intercity rail system will be modeled on the Tianjin-Baoding (a city in Hebei south of Beijing) and Tianjin-Beijing high-speed rail lines which have already eased traffic in Beijing and facilitated development of the region. Four other cities in Behei will be connected in the gridShijiazhuang, Tangshan, Qinhuangdao, and Langfang.

Gao Mingming, who is in charge of the railway network plan, said the inter-city high-speed railways will "help phase out non-essential functions in Beijing and promote industry distribution in the region." He said railway stations will be constructed in cities or counties with a population over 100,000. A railway service will also be provided between Beijing Capital International Airport and the new airport which is now under construction.
As ride-hailing leader Uber struggles to develop robot car technology on its own, arch-foe Lyft is busy teaming up with others.

On Tuesday, Lyft said it will work with driverless software company NuTonomy to develop fleets of driverless vehicles. The two will focus not just on the robot sensor system but on routing, booking, and on how the system interacts and communicates with the rider.

On an experimental basis, real ride hailing passengers in Boston will be picked up by driverless cars, although a human will be sitting behind the wheel to take over if the robot has problems.

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The plan is to build out driverless fleets for on-demand transportation when the technology and regulations are ready. Market analysts expect that to happen within five to 10 years.

Its the latest big deal for Lyft. Last month, the San Francisco company announced a partnership with Waymo, the driverless car project of Google parent Alphabet. Waymo develops whats called a full stack of driverless technology, including software and hardware, and is considered an industry leader.

Uber, meantime, is battling in federal court with Waymo, which has accused Uber of stealing trade secrets for its self-driving car project. Uber last week fired Anthony Levandowski, whom it hired from Waymo last year to run its self-driving car project. Levandowski allegedly stole 14,000 documents from Waymo, including trade secrets. Uber has denied it made use of that information.

Mike Ramsey, an automotive analyst at market research firm Gartner Inc., said the Lyft-NuTonomy linkup contrasts with Ubers go-it-alone approach.

Lyft is saying we are agnostic to the [driverless] provider. Uber thinks it has to own this technology, he said. Ive never understood why.

The market for driverless cars is generally thought to be enormous: prognostications put revenues at tens of billions to hundreds of billions a year over the next decade. Its not at all clear yet which companies will benefit most.

Were seeing the formation of partnerships between automotive companies, tech companies and ride hailing companies, said Karl Iagnemmo, NuTonomys chief executive. These alliances are going to determine who wins in the market.

Lyft appears to be focusing on its core competencies in ride-hailing. Along with the NuTonomy deal, Lyft announced an open platform program where driverless software and hardware companies can experiment on Lyft vehicles.

At Lyft, we imagine a world where car ownership is optional and cities are designed for people instead of cars, Chief Executive Logan Green said in a prepared statement

Founded by professors at MIT, the Boston company has been fairly low-key in the U.S., though its running an ambitious test of driverless taxis in Singapores One North business district.

The company describes its specialties as autonomous vehicle navigation in urban environments, smartphone- based ride hailing, fleet routing and management, and controlling a vehicle remotely through teleoperation.

General Motors has invested $500 million in Lyft, but the NuTonomy project will use the electric Renault Zoe.

russ.mitchell@latimes.com

Twitter: @russ1mitchell
A major shoe dropped in the battle to preserve the Affordable Care Act on Tuesday, as Anthem, the nations second-largest health insurer, announced it is withdrawing entirely from the individual market in Ohio.

The move will leave 18 counties without an insurer in the ACA exchanges, leaving an estimated 10,500 Anthem customers high and dry  most of them in Appalachia, among the poorest parts of the state.

Anthem said in its announcement that the principal causes of its withdrawal are the shrinking individual market as well as continual changes in federal operations, rules and guidance.

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[The] increasing lack of overall predictability simply does not provide a sustainable path forward to provide affordable plan choices for consumers.  Anthem explains its withdrawal from Ohio

Thats a reference to the uncertainty surrounding President Trumps vagueness about whether he will approve subsidies for deductibles and co-pays for the poorest Obamacare enrollees and whether his administration will continue enforcing the ACAs individual mandate in 2018.

The increasing lack of overall predictability, Anthem said, simply does not provide a sustainable path forward to provide affordable plan choices for consumers.

Anthems withdrawal from Ohio follows high-profile abandonments of the Obamacare exchanges by major insurers UnitedHealth, Aetna and Humana, all of which cited multimillion-dollar losses in that market when they first announced they were considering pullbacks last year.

United, however, had never been a major participant in the individual market. And according to a federal judge who rejected an Aetna-Humana merger earlier this year, Aetnas complaint about financial losses was partially a smokescreen to conceal that it was using the threat of withdrawal to pressure the Obama administration into allowing the merger to go through. Instead, the administration sued to block the deal.

Anthems action in Ohio is its first withdrawal from a state thus far, but bodes ill for customers in the 13 other states where it offers ACA plans, including California.

More important, it underscores the costs that insurance customers across the country will face unless Trump and the Republican majorities in Congress take action to shore up the individual market. Instead, theyve been undermining it at every turn.

The costs of their action  or inaction  are being documented by insurance executives and regulators in an increasing number of states.

The most detailed look at the impact of government policies under Trump and the Republican Congress comes from Covered California, the states ACA exchange.

Under normal conditions, Covered California says, it would expect a premium increase of about 9% for next year. That includes 7% based on increased medical costs and a one-time 2% increase reflecting the reimposition of a health insurer premium tax that was suspended through this year. Thats close to the average 7% annual increase for Covered California plans since the exchanges launch in 2014.

In that case, Covered California enrollment would remain stable at about 2.4 million people, about half of whom receive premium subsidies.

If the cost-sharing reduction payments are eliminated and the administration stops enforcing the individual mandate requiring everyone to carry insurance, however, enrollment would fall and prices would soar.

Enrollment would drop to about 2.07 million. The average premium increase would be 42%, not 9%. More than half of the additional premium would result from non-enforcement of the mandate, which would leave older and sicker enrollees in the insurance pool while allowing younger and healthier residents to bail out without penalty. The rest of the increase would come from the loss of cost-sharing reduction payments because insurers would be bound to continue offering low-income residents lower deductions and co-pays, but wouldnt receive money from the government to make up the difference.

The premium increase caused by these policy changes would result in a worse risk mix and higher premiums, Covered California says, as healthier, lower-risk consumers are priced out of coverage. The burden would fall hardest on buyers with household income above 400% of the federal poverty line, or $98,400 for a family of four. The shock would be cushioned for those below that level, as premium subsidies rise in tandem with premiums.

Californias exchange would remain relatively healthy, however, compared to some other states. Thats because California has been an aggressive supporter of the ACA, keeping enrollment high through marketing and outreach and managing health plan offerings to maintain competition and keep costs low. Eleven insurance companies compete statewide, though not all offer plans in every county. Still, 92% of consumers in the state can choose from at least three insurers, and none has fewer than two choices.

Californias estimate of premium increases because of government policies is matched by those in other states where premium applications have started to flow from insurers.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, for instance, on May 25 announced a 22.8% premium increase for 2018. But most of that hike was caused by fears that the cost-sharing reduction payments would not be made next year. If the federal funding were secure, the company said, it would have sought an average increase of just 8.8%.

If the individual mandate is repealed and cost-sharing reduction payments are not made, however, insurers estimate they would seek an increase of 36.3%.

Although the ACAs critics assert that such increases are the residue of the original law, indications contradict that. Both the Congressional Budget Office and Standard & Poors expect the 2018 markets to be stable under existing policies. The instability reflected in double-digit premium increases is entirely the result of Trumps failure to ensure that the cost-sharing reductions are paid and the GOPs inconclusive efforts at repeal. Under those conditions, more shocks in more states are undoubtedly coming.

Keep up to date with Michael Hiltzik. Follow @hiltzikm on Twitter, see his Facebook page, or email michael.hiltzik@latimes.com.

Return to Michael Hiltziks blog.
The Intercept, a journalism website funded by eBay billionaire Pierre Omidyar and run by investigative journalists Glenn Greenwald and Jeremy Scahill, produced an important scoop Monday.

Its article, drawn from a classified National Security Agency document the Intercept said it received anonymously, exposed a months-long Russian intelligence cyber effort against elements of the U.S. election and voting infrastructure. Absent the websites publication, we might never have learned about the Russian attack aimed at a U.S. vendor of voter registration systems.

The pages appeared to be folded and/or creased, suggesting they had been printed and carried out of a secured space.  FBI affidavit regarding Reality Winners arrest but is it the whole story?

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But about an hour after the article was posted online, federal agents arrested a federal contractor named Reality Winner, 25, and charged her with violating government security laws, specifically removing classified material from a government facility and mailing it to a news outlet. The Intercept isnt identified in the governments announcement of the arrest, but she appears to be the alleged leaker.

The question is how the government identified her so quickly, and the answer may be that she was inadvertently outed by the Intercept itself. Thats because the website posted an image of the leaked document containing an almost-invisible code applied by the printer that produced the document sent to the Intercept. The digital watermark identified the printer model and serial number, along with the time and date then document was printed out.

Because the NSA logs all printing jobs on its printers, it can use this to match up precisely who printed the document, observes cybersecurity expert Rob Graham of Errata Security.

If thats so, its a case of what John LeCarre would label poor tradecraft  an inadvertent exposure of your own source. Its also a reminder that documents produced or reproduced digitally often carry concealed fingerprints that can reveal to trained examiners a lot more than one might think.

Thats a lesson warranting the attention of not only secret agents and investigative reporters, but businesses exchanging documents with clients, vendors, or competitors.

In a statement on its website Tuesday, the Intercept said the document was provided to us completely anonymously.  Although we have no knowledge of the identity of the person who provided us with the document, the U.S. government has told news organizations that Winner was that individual. It declined further comment, including our question about why the authorities may have focused their investigation on Winner.

The Department of Justice has been cagey about how Winner was outed so promptly. In an affidavit filed with her arrest, the FBI says it examined the pages the Intercept shared with the government in seeking comment. The FBI says it determined that the pages appeared to be folded and/or creased, suggesting they had been printed and carried out of a secured space.

The agency says it determined who at the NSA had access to the document, and that of that group of six, Winner had been in email contact with the News Outlet.

Erratas analysis suggests the task might have been even easier.

The pattern of yellow dots left by the printer is visible on the image when displayed on any high-quality computer screen, especially if slightly tweaked for color. The pattern can be manually inserted in a matrix found on the Electronic Frontier Foundations website here, which will produce the decoded information  printer model, serial number, and date and time of print.

As Graham observes, inattention to embedded metadata in Microsoft Word and PDF documents and other material has caused dangerous and embarrassing exposures in the recent past.

Graham recommends reproducing sensitive documents on a black-and-white printer rather than color before posting, to obscure the yellow dots, though some commenters on his website say thats not good enough. A better option is not to reproduce the image at all, but retype it on a blank file. Sometimes the best security approach in the digital world is low-tech, for the same reason that if youre concerned that your computer password could be hacked, take the information you want to secure, lock it in a safe and pocket the key.

Keep up to date with Michael Hiltzik. Follow @hiltzikm on Twitter, see his Facebook page, or email michael.hiltzik@latimes.com.

Return to Michael Hiltziks blog.

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Satellite television giant Dish Network has been ordered to pay $280 million in penalties for violations of the National Do Not Call Registry laws and invading the privacy of American consumers, the U.S. Justice Department said Tuesday.

A federal judge in Illinois ruled this week that Colorado-based Dish Network was liable for the telemarketing violations of third-party call centers hired by the satellite TV company to lure subscribers.

U.S. District Judge Sue E. Myerscough of the Central District of Illinois, who presided over a five-week trial, concluded that Dish knew, or should have known, that its actions were illegal.

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Dishs reckless decision to use anyone with a call center without any vetting or meaningful supervision demonstrates a disregard for the consuming public, Myerscough wrote in a 475-page opinion issued Monday.

She said the $280-million penalty  which the U.S. Justice Department said was the largest ever for telemarketing violations  was appropriate. Dish caused millions and millions of violations of the Do Not Call Laws, and Dish has minimized the significance of its own errors in direct telemarketing and steadfastly denied any responsibility for the actions of its [retailers], the judge wrote.

California will receive $53.25 million of the award because many of the people called were California residents who had listed their telephone numbers with the do-not-call registry, California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra said.

As families gather around the dinner table each night, they shouldnt be bombarded by unwanted telemarketing calls, Becerra said, adding that Dish also violated state telemarketing laws.

Dish said it would appeal.

The court is holding Dish responsible for telemarketing activities conducted by independent third parties, including in circumstances where such third parties intentionally hid their telemarketing efforts from Dish, a Dish spokesman said in a statement. The penalties awarded in this case radically and unjustly exceed ... those found in the settlements in similar actions.

An investigation by the Federal Trade Commission determined that Dish had violated provisions that prohibit telemarketing calls, and so-called robocalls, to phone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry. The FTC referred the case to the U.S. Department of Justice, which filed a lawsuit against Dish in 2009, along with the attorneys general of California, Illinois, Ohio and North Carolina. The matter went to trial before Judge Myerscough in January 2016.

meg.james@latimes.com

Twitter: @MegJamesLAT
The golden age of television has brought production roaring back to the Los Angeles area, with streaming companies and cable channels shooting year-round to fill viewers insatiable demand. But producers are facing an unintended consequence of the surge in local shoots  a shortage of soundstage space.

From Hollywoods famed backlots to the stages that dot the Santa Clarita Valley, local facilities are having trouble keeping up with the bounty of TV production, with occupancy levels at some studios reaching new highs.

Industry insiders said the crunch is the result of a convergence of factors. Not only are producers bringing shows back to L.A. to take advantage of Californias expanded tax incentives, they also are facing unprecedented competition for space from streaming companies like Netflix and Amazon, as well as new-media outlets such as Buzzfeed, which are ramping up production of original shows and signing long-term leases at local facilities.

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Further contributing to the shortage is the lack of new studio construction. As the value of land continues to rise in L.A., developers see acreage-hogging soundstages as a poor investment.

Many studios in the L.A. area are legacy facilities, some dating back to the silent film era. As a result, the number of new lots isnt keeping up with the rise in demand.

Soundstages have historically run at a utilization rate of about 70%. Today, many are running at close to 100%, said Carl Muhlstein, international director at the commercial real estate firm JLL, where he works with many L.A. production facilities.

For the first time in a long time, tenants like Netflix are signing long-term, 10-year leases, Muhlstein said. This is unusual because they usually did it on a production-by-production basis.

A more crowded market means that renters can expect to pay more. For example, at L.A. Center Studios, where the acclaimed AMC series Mad Men was filmed, rents have increased 3% annually in the last three years after nearly a decade of being flat.

Soundstage users have less clout in negotiating, Muhlstein said.

Last year, Netflix signed a 10-year lease at Sunset Bronson Studios, one of three studio facilities owned by the L.A.-based Hudson Pacific Properties, the largest independent owner of stages in Hollywood. The streaming giant also leases the adjacent office tower that recently opened and serves as its L.A. headquarters.

Long-term studio leases are likely to become more common in the future, said Bill Humphrey, senior vice president at Hudson Pacific, who oversees its Hollywood studio facilities.

People need to lock down their needs of production, Humphrey said. Netflix and Amazon dont own stages. And they dont necessarily want to own stages.

He said utilization at Hudson Pacifics three Hollywood lots  including Sunset Gower and the recently acquired Sunset Las Palmas  is in the 90% range, a historic high for the properties. In addition to streaming companies, the stages host spillover productions from nearby facilities like CBS Studios.

In a sign of rising demand, Hudson Pacific last month acquired Sunset Las Palmas  formerly known as Hollywood Center Studios  for $200 million. The historic lot was the former home of United Artists, where Mae West, the Marx Brothers and Cary Grant made pictures.

Theres competition for the stages, Humphrey said. Its not dissimilar to the housing market, where seven people might want one property.

The scarcity is exacerbated by the slow pace at which the major Hollywood studios  including Walt Disney Co. and Paramount  are expanding their own backlot facilities. The studios often face arduous approval processes that include environmental and traffic-impact studies.

Disney revealed plans in 2009 for a new production facility for ABC Studios at its Golden Oak ranch near Santa Clarita and received county approval four years later. But the project remains in limbo, with groundbreaking delayed and no completion date in sight. Disney did not respond to a request for comment.

Paramount received L.A. city approval in October to expand its historic Melrose Avenue lot. But the massive project, which comes with a $700-million price tag, will be slow in relieving congestion as construction rolls out over 25 years.

Experts say regulatory red tape and costs motivate many Hollywood studios to lease off-site soundstages.

The bottleneck in demand is due in part to Californias expanded tax incentive program, which began in July 2015 and is set to run for five years. The incentives are designed to reverse the flight of productions from California to states such as Georgia and Louisiana, which offer lucrative financial enticements to filmmakers.

The California film and TV tax credit program tripled funding to $330 million annually, the majority of which goes to TV production.

The states tax breaks have lured popular series, including Foxs Lucifer, FXs Legion and Netflixs The OA. Other shows that have relocated from other states include HBOs Veep and Ballers.

On-location production shoots in the L.A. area rose 6.2% in 2016 from the previous year, with TV comprising the biggest portion of productions, according to data from FilmL.A., the nonprofit group that oversees film permits in the city and county. The data only represent location filming on streets, not on certified soundstages.

Once the incentives were announced, demand definitely picked up, said Sam Nicassio, president of L.A. Center Studios, which operates six soundstages. Recent streaming tenants include the Amazon series Hand of God and the Netflix movie Bright.

Nicassio said L.A. Center Studios stages are running at 100% capacity.

Valencia Studios has been equally busy. All six of its stages are devoted to the long-running CBS series NCIS. Owners are planning to open a new lot in Chatsworth this year called Crimson Studios, which will reside in a converted complex and double the companys size.

We think there is a demand, said Richard Reilly, co-owner of Valencia Studios. The tax credits are a significant factor in terms of where people want to shoot. I think people would much rather shoot here than travel and live out of temporary housing.

The founders of Vista Studios, which recently opened in Playa Vista, are also hoping to capitalize on rising demand. The facility consists of four stages geared for multi-camera TV production and live broadcasting.

There was an unfulfilled need, said co-founder Randall Heer, adding that the vast majority of local soundstages are located east of the 405 Freeway.

Much of the need for space comes from short-form online videos produced by new media outlets such as Buzzfeed and the Disney-owned Maker Studios. They are pumping out content to satiate the millennial generations bottomless appetite for short clips they can watch on mobile devices.

In 2016, on-location production for online videos in L.A. rose 46% from the previous year, a larger percentage gain than TV and film production, according to FilmL.A.

Buzzfeed is one of the biggest local producers of online videos and currently leases all of Siren Studios facilities on Sunset Boulevard.

More content is being created, and that has created more demand for our spaces, said Dean Gavoni, CEO at Siren Studios.

Local movie production hasnt rebounded to the same degree as TV. Georgia still outranks California in terms of attracting major films, thanks to more generous incentives, according to a recent report from FilmL.A.

But L.A. has attracted a handful of major movies. Warner Bros. A Star Is Born, starring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, has been shooting throughout Southern California in recent days. Amazon Studios drama Beautiful Boy, starring Steve Carrell, has also been filming in L.A.

david.ng@latimes.com

@DavidNgLAT

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M.S.L. lottery operator LLC considers unreasonable its inclusion in the sanctions list, M.S.L. Vice President Yevhen Vlasenko has said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine.

"In connection with a lack of grounds for including M.S.L. lottery operator in the so called "sanctions list," the company appeals to the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) with the request to exclude M.S.L. from the list of legal entities that are subject to sanctions," he said.

According to Vlasenko, M.S.L. lottery operator appeared in the sanctions lists for the third time (the first time is dated September 16, 2015, the second one on October 17, 2016). On the initiative of M.S.L. shareholders, the Security Service of Ukraine opened criminal proceedings and conducted an investigation into the establishment of facts and actions that could be grounds for applying sanctions to the operator. As a result, the criminal proceedings were closed in March 2017 due to absence of violations.

Vlasenko specified that the main owner of M.S.L. lottery operator is Evolot Limited (Cyprus), the ultimate beneficiary is Cypriot citizen Markos Shiapanis, and the company does not have "Russian roots."

Vlasenko told Interfax-Ukraine the share of M.S.L. in the market currently stands at about 25%, whereas in 2013 it was 80-85%.
Businesses and advocates for workers are forming a rare alliance against President Trumps proposal to overhaul the way the government investigates workplace discrimination, part of what his critics say is a broader swipe at decades of civil rights protections.

Trump wants to merge the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission with a lesser-known agency that also enforces laws on equality in the workplace. The EEOC is an independent agency that investigates discrimination complaints against private businesses. The second agency  the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs  polices discrimination among federal contractors. The administration contends that combining the two would reduce duplication by offering one door for workers to bring discrimination complaints.

Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, the only Latino in Trumps Cabinet, is expected to be asked about the proposal Wednesday when he appears at a House hearing on the agencys budget.

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Employers allies, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, fear the proposal would create something of a super enforcement agency with overwhelming investigatory and punitive powers.

If you take these two agencies and put them together, the concern is youd have a perfect storm, a nightmare scenario for employers, said Mickey Silberman, who defends employers and contractors in government investigations for the law firm Jackson Lewis P.C. in Denver.

But workers rights organizations predict the opposite would happen, viewing Trumps new combined agency as a way to make enforcement so onerous it happens less effectively.

Wed be going backward in terms of enforcement, which honestly I believe is the intention, said Paula Brantner, an employment lawyer and senior advisor to the Workplace Fairness advocacy group.

Especially sensitive is the political question of whether Acosta will defend a budget that would cut the number of employees in civil rights enforcement offices at his agency.

In 2012, while he was dean at the Florida International University law school, Acosta  whose parents are Cuban immigrants  staked out a position starkly different from Trumps on immigrants who are in the country illegally. We need them here. They provide construction jobs. They provide agricultural jobs, said Acosta, who previously served as head of the Justice Departments civil rights division.

The National Womens Law Centers Emily Martin said she hoped that Acosta would continue to emphasize the importance of civil rights protections for low-wage workers and workers of color, but added, certainly the budget that he will be defending does not clearly speak to that.

Armed with subpoena power, the EEOC resolved more than 97,000 cases in fiscal year 2016 and took in nearly 92,000 new ones. The budget document says the number of new cases probably would drop slightly. The backlog of unresolved cases also is expected to gradually decline, to 60,000 cases in fiscal year 2020 from more than 73,000.

The second agency, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, is part of the Labor Department. The budget proposes reducing staff to 440 employees from 571 and merging it with the EEOC, for a saving of just over $17 million.

Like most presidents budget proposals, Trumps looks headed for the political graveyard as the Republican-controlled Congress gears up to propose its own spending plan. So far, Republicans arent leaping to support Trumps proposal for merging the agencies.

Advocates for racial, gender and sexual equality say that Trumps budget is rife with examples supporting their suspicions about a reduced government role enforcing civil rights.

The budget would eliminate at least 10% of key civil rights enforcement positions across the government, advocates estimate.

In addition to cuts at the Labor Department, Trump has proposed cutting posts at the Education Departments Office for Civil Rights and the Legal Services Corp., which helped more than 2 million low-income individuals with legal representation last year, advocates said. Additionally, Trump proposes deleting the Environmental Protection Agencys environmental justice program, which addresses environmental and health concerns in minority, low-income and tribal communities. The administration says such concerns would be addressed by other parts of the EPA.

Its a death by 1,000 cuts of the progress that weve made in this country, said Vanita Gupta, who headed the Justice Departments Civil Rights Division under President Obama. You have to view these budget proposals against the larger backdrop of a really systematic rollback on civil rights.

The budget presents them all as cost-cutting measures.

Republicans have long assailed the EEOC for inefficiencies, particularly its backlog.

These are men and women who turned to the federal government for help and got lost in an inefficient bureaucracy, Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-Ala.), the chairman of the subcommittee on workforce protections, said during a May 23 hearing.
California energy officials are, for the first time, rethinking plans to build expensive natural gas power plants in the face of an electricity glut and growing use of cleaner and cheaper energy alternatives.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power announced Tuesday that it has put a hold on a $2.2-billion plan to rebuild several old natural gas power plants while it studies clean energy alternatives to meet electricity demands. And the California Energy Commission may decide as early as Thursday to halt a natural gas project in Ventura County.

The scrutiny comes after a Los Angeles Times investigation found that the state is operating with an oversupply of electricity, driven largely by the construction of gas-fueled generating plants, leading to higher rates. The states power plants are on track to be able to produce at least 21% more electricity than needed by 2020, according to the Times report.

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Californians are footing a $40-billion annual bill while using less electricity, paying $6.8 billion more than they did in 2008 when power use in the state was at its all-time high. Electricity consumption has since fallen and remained largely flat.

Utilities in California have been on a years-long building binge, adding new natural gas plants even as the nations electricity system has undergone significant change.

Where utilities once delivered all electrical services from huge power plants along miles of transmission lines, the industry now must consider power delivered to the electric grid not only from its own sources, but also from solar systems and batteries at homes and businesses.

At the same time, utilities have been aggressively upgrading or rebuilding their aging natural gas plants  a move critics have said is unnecessary because consumers are using less power and clean energy technology is making those plants obsolete.

The DWP and energy commission moves involve as many as seven natural gas plant projects proposed for Southern California, from Oxnard to Carlsbad, at a cost of more than $6 billion.

Reiko Kerr, the DWPs senior assistant general manager of power systems, said given the changes in the energy world, the assessment is necessary to protect ratepayer dollars and the environment.

The whole utility paradigm has shifted, Kerr said in an interview. We really are doing our ratepayers a disservice by not considering all viable options.

Were just looking at everything, she said. What can help us solve this reliability, renewable and greenhouse gas challenge that we all have?

State and local governments have felt a heightened sense of urgency to deal with climate change after President Trump decided last week to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate accord.

California already has mandated that at least 50% of the states electricity come from clean energy sources by 2030. Senate leader Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles) wants to increase that to 100% by 2045.

Building or overhauling natural gas plants throughout Southern California, environmentalists argue, isnt helping achieve those goals.

The DWPs move to delay plans for the fossil fuel plants, which seemed all but set to be built, came as a surprise to clean-energy advocates, who hailed the decision.

This is a great first step toward smart energy investments that save customers money, ensure the lights stay on and protect our health and environment, Graciela Geyer of the Sierra Club said.

The environmental group said that if the utility had moved ahead with the $2.2-billion investment in repowering natural gas plants, it would have blown an irreparable hole in the city and the states hopes to achieve 100% generation from clean energy sources.

Angela Johnson Meszaros, attorney at EarthJustice, said in a statement: As our city struggles with the worst smog weve seen in years, we appreciate that LADWP is taking some much-needed time to reassess its plans to build fossil fuel power plants. We look forward to the day that LADWP announces that we are going to power our city with 100% clean energy.

The gas-fired generating units slated for demolition and rebuilding are at the Scattergood, Haynes and Harbor electricity plants, which range from 34 to 67 years old.

As a group, the three plants have generated less than 20% of their combined capacity since 2001. The Harbor facility has operated on the low end at just 7%, while Haynes ran on the high end at 22%.

The old model, the old legacy clunkers, wont get us into the future we want, DWPs Kerr said.

DWP staff members told the utilitys commissioners Tuesday that their analysis of possible alternatives would be completed no later than early 2018.

Separately, the California Energy Commission this week is evaluating whether to halt a natural gas project in Ventura County after the states electric grid operator offered to conduct a study of clean energy alternatives to the roughly $250-million project on Mandalay Bay in Oxnard.

An energy commission committee has been deliberating since a hearing Monday during which Southern California Edison and the projects developer, NRG Energy, argued that a study is simply a delay tactic that probably would kill a project needed to ensure reliable electric service.

The California Independent System Operator, which runs the states electric grid, told the energy commission that it would take three to four weeks to conduct its study on alternatives to the Oxnard natural gas project.

Here we have an actual offer by the ISO to do such an analysis, Ellison Folk, a lawyer representing the city of Oxnard, told the energy commission as she pushed for the study. Its view that this is an analysis worth doing is something worth taking seriously.

Energy commission members reviewing the study proposal are scheduled to meet again Thursday to consider the offer.

The board of governors for the California Independent System Operator made the unusual offer at its May 1 meeting to conduct a eleventh-hour study of clean-energy alternatives to building a new natural gas plant.

If were going to be moving forward with a gas plant at this time, in this juncture, in the context of everything thats going on, not evaluating other alternatives that are viable, noncombustion alternatives, is a missed opportunity, Angelina Galetiva. a commission board member, said during the May 1 meeting.

Los Angeles Times data editor Ben Welsh contributed to this report.

ivan.penn@latimes.com

For more energy news, follow Ivan Penn on Twitter: @ivanlpenn

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UPDATES:

5:10 p.m.: The article was updated with the California Energy Commissions pending decision and additional analysis.

This article was originally published at 2:05 p.m.
Uber has fired 20 employees after an independent investigation into harassment claims, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.

The San Francisco-based ride-hailing giant launched two separate investigations in February, one led by former U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric Holders firm, Covington & Burling, to examine Ubers workplace practices, and another more narrow investigation led by law firm Perkins Coie to look into allegations of harassment.

The firings were the result of the Perkins Coie findings, a source told The Times.

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At a meeting for all Uber employees Tuesday, Perkins Coie said it received 215 complaints and took action in 100 instances, the person said. Some complaints are still under investigation.

Employees were told that those fired were terminated for a range of reasons, including sexual harassment, bullying, retaliation and discrimination. Perkins Coie did not reveal the names of those who were fired, the source said. Uber did not respond to a request for comment.

The terminations come at a critical time for Uber as it attempts to put behind it recent high-profile executive departures, allegations of a sexist and toxic work culture, and a once-praised reputation for being a bullish rule-breaker that has since become a liability.

The firings announced Tuesday were the first concrete steps by the company  which has more than 12,000 employees, hundreds of thousands of contract drivers across the U.S. and a private valuation hovering around $70 billion  to correct its course, according to business experts.

The number of employees fired en masse for poor behavior is unprecedented, particularly given the seriousness of the claims, said Jason Schloetzer, a professor at Georgetowns McDonough School of Business who specializes in corporate governance. And it means that more people will be paying attention to Holders report about Ubers workplace culture, parts of which are expected to be made public next Tuesday.

These dismissals confirm the smoldering nature of this internal crisis Uber has been facing, and Holders report will give us an idea of how broad that crisis is and the level of seriousness Uber is going to take in dealing with it, Schloetzer said.

Uber hired Holder in February to lead an investigation into a former employees claims that the company failed to discipline a manager who mistreated female employees, and that the company had ignored complaints of sexual harassment. Uber set up a hotline where workers could report allegations of wrongdoing and Perkins Coies lawyers monitored those complaints.

That former employee, Susan Fowler  an Uber software engineer from November 2015 to December 2016  accused the company of systemic workplace harassment, discrimination and cover-ups. In a lengthy blog post on her personal website in February, she alleged that a manager had propositioned her and, despite saving copies of their correspondence, human resources failed to discipline him.

I was told by both HR and upper management that even though this was clearly sexual harassment and he was propositioning me, it was this mans first offense and that they wouldnt feel comfortable giving him anything other than a warning, Fowler said.

Fowlers blog post also alleged that Ubers human resource department systemically covered up sexual harassment complaints. She said during her time at Uber, she spoke with many female employees who felt mistreated by some men at the company, and that some of the women even had stories about reporting the exact same manager I had reported, and had reported inappropriate interactions with him long before I had even joined the company.

It became obvious that both HR and management had been lying about this being his first offense, Fowler said.

Ubers chief executive, Travis Kalanick, in February condemned the behavior Fowler described, saying that it was abhorrent and against everything Uber stands for and believes in.

In a memo to employees, he said he would bring on Holder to conduct an independent investigation into the incidents detailed in the blog post. Uber board member Arianna Huffington also flew to San Francisco in the days after Fowlers blog post to oversee the investigation as the company went into damage control.

I view it as my responsibility to hold the leadership teams feet to the fire on this issue, Huffington said in a statement.

But before the results of Holders investigation were published, Huffington defended Uber in March, telling CNNs Quest Means Business that sexual harassment was not a systemic problem at the company.

Yes, there were some bad apples, unquestionably, she said. But this is not a systemic problem.

The results of the Perkins Coie investigation, though, would suggest that it is, with close to 10% of employee complaints leading to terminations.

Business experts said the firings were a step in the right direction, but the company has a lot more work to do if it wants to avoid customer and employee attrition and prevent a stigma from hanging over the company.

Holders report is expected to include recommendations on what Uber needs to do next. According to Schloetzer, medium to long-term strategies could include putting in place polices and processes to protect employees from bad behavior, and more closely vetting potential employees to ensure troublemakers arent hired.

Uber has spent the first half of the year dealing with a string of scandals. The companys more recent troubles include customer backlash over Kalanicks involvement with President Trumps business advisory panel (Kalanick has since left the panel); a poorly timed tweet during presidents ban on travel from a number of majority-Muslim countries that spurred the #DeleteUber movement, which resulted in some 200,000 customers deleting the Uber app from their phones; video footage of Kalanick berating an Uber driver; a lawsuit from a Google-owned self-driving car start-up alleging that Uber stole the companys trade secrets; and a string of high-profile departures.

After the months of turbulence, Kalanick pledged to get leadership help by hiring a chief operating officer. The company has not yet said whether it has filled the role, but announced two separate high-profile hires this week, including former Apple executive Bozoma Saint John, who will work on the companys branding, and Harvard Business School Professor Frances Frei, who will serve as Ubers senior vice president for leadership and strategy.

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UPDATES:

4:25 p.m.: This article was updated to include commentary from business professor Jason Schloetzer.

12:45 p.m.: This article was updated to add new information about the Uber investigation and context about the companys recent struggles.

This article was originally published at 11:45 a.m.
In turbulent times, history itself becomes a source of suspenseful drama, as anxious citizens look to the past to predict what fresh hell is in store for them.

Hold These Truths, a solo drama written by Jeanne Sakata and starring Ryun Yu, recounts one mans experience of the national stain of Japanese internment during World War II. The drama, which opened Sunday at Pasadena Playhouse, seems to speak directly to current headlines about terrorism and President Trumps controversial travel ban.

But this history, in which national security is pitted against civil liberties, is always urgently relevant. When Lewis Segal reviewed the plays premiere (under a different title) for The Times in 2007, he began with the following words: At a moment in our history when American justice and perhaps even our sense of national purpose have eroded from the governments response to an outside threat, Dawns Light: The Journey of Gordon Hirabayashi, couldnt be more timely.

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The lessons of our constitutional missteps are never learned for good. They must continually be relearned. Which is why I wish the current White House, along with young people throughout the nation, could be compelled to attend a performance of Hold These Truths.

The story of Gordon Hirabayashi, an American-born college student of Japanese ancestry who challenged the executive order demanding mass incarceration of all people of Japanese heritage on the West Coast after the attack on Pearl Harbor, reminds us that it is precisely when our bedrock values are hardest to defend that we must stand most firmly behind them.

The play, which is the product of interviews the playwright conducted with Hirabayashi as part of her research, may be earnestly laid out. This isnt a probing character study. Rhetorical flourishes at the beginning and end seem stilted, and the personality tidbits that are introduced feel a bit forced. Director Jessica Kubzansky probably should have cut the cutesy byplay between Yu and the audience.

Sakata succeeds best when simply laying out the facts of the story. What makes what happened to Hirabayashi so painful is that it contradicted the democratic principles that inspired his patriotic love and loyalty despite the racism he and his family were subjected to. But his belief in justice never wavers even when the Supreme Court betrays his understanding of cherished constitutional precepts.

Yu, who is reprising his performance, slips into his character at various stages of his life with the same ease with which he dons Hirabayashis comfortable college cardigan. The actor radiates goodwill without seeming soppy.

Certain character traits may be illustrated with the broadness of an Afterschool Special. But Yu easily wins over our trust and affection. More important, the moral comes through loud and clear: If Americans such as Hirabayashi have to be rounded up, then no one in America should ever feel safe.

Kubzanskys clean staging on a set by Ben Zamora (who is also responsible for the attractive lighting) provides an effective showcase for us to engage with this history. Hirabayashis tale once again couldnt be more timely. For those right now agonizing that America is failing to live up to its ideals, Hold These Truths gives hope that the arc of the moral universe does indeed eventually bend toward justice.

         

Hold These Truths

Where: Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molino Ave.

When: 8 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays, 4 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays; ends June 25

Tickets: $25-$115

Information: (626) 356-7529 or www.PasadenaPlayhouse.org

Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

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charles.mcnulty@latimes.com

Follow me @charlesmcnulty

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A list of celebrities had jobs on their minds at the 16th Butterfly Ball, the June 3 benefit for Chrysalis, which helps homeless and low-income individuals to attain self-sufficiency through finding and keeping jobs.

Dont kill me off in Season 4, joked the nights emcee, Jussie Smollett of Foxs Empire, after giving an onstage shout-out to audience member Gary Newman  the co-chairman and co-chief executive of Fox Television Group.

Emcee Jussie Smollett, from left, Chrysalis Butterfly Ball co-chairwoman Donna Langley and actor-writer-director Jordan Peele. (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images for Chrysalis Butterfly Ball) (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Credit too long, see caption)

By way of introducing honoree Peter Cramer, Halle Berry said the Universal Pictures president of production has made so many great movies with so many great people  except one person. She then pointed to herself and in her own amusing way cited her hiring advantages. I have my own trailer, she said. I do my own hair and makeup  I do my own stunts  I dont eat much at lunch.

Zendaya speaks at the 16th Chrysalis Butterfly Ball. (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images for Chrysalis Butterfly Ball) (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Credit too long, see caption)

The event

The Chrysalis Butterfly Ball honored Cramer, fashion designer Rosetta Getty and actor-producer Balthazar Getty, Academy Award-winning recording artist Common and Chrysalis client Raymond Davis. The event took place at the Mandeville Canyon estate of Susan Harris and Hayward Kaiser. Presenters included Berry, Patricia Arquette, Zendaya and Chrysalis President and Chief Executive Mark Loranger.

Molly Sims and producer Scott Stuber. (Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images for Chrysalis Butterfly Ball) (Matt Winkelmeyer / Credit too long, see caption)

The scene

Actress Molly Sims and producer Scott Stuber hosted the cocktail party on the expansive front lawn, where DJ Daisy ODell provided the musical backdrop; a video team asked guests to define Chrysalis for a social media project; and cameras flashed as celebrities posed for photos. Ceremonies later took place under the stars, and before the evening ended, Common, Smollett and Maimouna Youssef all performed.

Rosetta and Balthazar Getty accept the Spirit of Chrysalis Award at the Chrysalis Butterfly Ball. (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images for Chrysalis Butterfly Ball) (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Credit too long, see caption)

The quote

After his exit from the purple carpet, we caught up with the multifaceted Balthazar Getty, who talked of his recent experience at a Chrysalis office.

I was really lucky, Getty said. Right when I walked in, a bell was rung because someone got a job. The whole staff and everybody else stopped everything so they could recognize the person whos moving on.

Dania Ramirez, from left, Russell Simmons, Halle Berry and honoree Raymond Davis. (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images for Chrysalis Butterfly Ball) (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Credit too long, see caption)

The crowd

Those spotted at the event included actors Eric Dane , Jordan Peele, Jason Bateman , Soleil Moon Frye, James Van Der Beek and Claire Forlani; music mogul Russell Simmons; producer Brian Grazer; chef Curtis Stone; and Chrysalis board Chairwoman Jill Baldauf. Universal Pictures Chairwoman Donna Langley, Evolution Medias Rick Hess, Creative Artists Agencys Josh Lieberman, WMEs Richard Weitz and Butterfly Ball founder Rebecca Gayheart-Dane served as event co-chairs.

The scene at the 16th Chrysalis Butterfly Ball. (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images for Chrysalis Butterfly Ball) (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Credit too long, see caption)

The numbers

The event raised $1.8 million with tickets for the 800 guests starting at $1,250 while tables ranged up to $50,000. According to organizers, each year more than 4,000 people visit one of the three Chrysalis centers in Los Angeles County, and 2,300 clients found jobs this last year.

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UPDATES:

9:20 a.m.: This article was updated with additional details about the amount of money the Chrysalis Butterfly Ball raised.

This article was originally published at 5 a.m.
USC names retired aerospace executive Wanda Austin as acting president, announces Nikias departure By Harriet Ryan USC appointed a retired aerospace executive as interim president and laid out a detailed plan for selecting a permanent leader Tuesday, ending speculation about whether outgoing President C.L. Max Nikias might remain in the post. Nikias, embattled over his administrations handling of a campus gynecologist accused of sexually abusing patients, relinquished his duties after a meeting of USCs board. The trustees tapped one of their own, Wanda Austin, an alumna and former president of the Aerospace Corp., to temporarily run the university. The trustees also approved the formation of a search committee and the hiring of firm Isaacson, Miller to coordinate the selection of a successor. A second search company, Heidrick & Struggles, will also advise trustees. Read More Facebook

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Ex-student sues elite Brentwood School after teacher is charged with sexually abusing him By Richard Winton A former student sued the elite Brentwood School on Monday in the wake of a female teacher being charged with repeatedly having sex with the minor, alleging that other faculty members encouraged the unlawful behavior and failed to report it to authorities. The lawsuit accuses the private school, whose students include the children of many of Hollywoods elite and L.A.s powerful, of acting negligently and allowing Aimee Palmitessa to abuse and batter the teenager sexually. The suit alleges that the student was abused in summer 2017 after one of the schools counselors offered words of encouragement to the then-17-year-old, identified in the suit as only John Doe, to engage in an illegal relationship with the teacher. Read More Facebook

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Civil jury vindicates fired Montebello school executives in whistleblower case By Howard Blume The Montebello school district is in dire straits  at risk of insolvency and under apparent criminal investigation. An outside audit in July found some teachers earning more than $200,000 a year, as well as improper raises, excess paid vacation time and inappropriate overtime, sick leave and car allowances. Fixing the district and pinpointing blame could take time. Read More Facebook

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L.A. schools fall short on safety measures, new report warns By Howard Blume After the mass shooting at Floridas Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February, Los Angeles school officials reassured parents that much had been done to keep local schools safe. California had tougher gun laws, after all, and the school district paid close attention to students mental health. But a new report issued Monday by a panel convened to take a close look offers some cause for concern, flagging inconsistent campus safety measures, thinly spread mental health staff and inadequate coordination between the school district and other public agencies. With the stakes this high, we must strive to do better, said L.A. City Atty. Mike Feuer, who assembled the panel. Read More Facebook

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L.A. school district says more are graduating, but rate may not show it By Howard Blume The L.A. Unified School District has hopes of continuing its winning streak this year with another record graduation rate, but the official numbers may not show it. A senior district administrator warned the board Tuesday that graduation rates were likely to decline 2% to 3% across the state, even though L.A. Unified is likely doing better than ever in producing graduates, he said. The issue is that the state will now count high school students who transfer to adult school as dropouts, said Oscar Lafarga, who heads the districts office of data and accountability. Previously, schools treated these students as though they had simply enrolled in another high school, he said. Read More Facebook

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Betsy DeVos to California: Not so fast on that federal education plan By Joy Resmovits In April, Californias top education officials breathed a sigh of relief. After months of debate and back-and-forth with Betsy DeVos staff, they had finalized a plan to satisfy a major education law that aims to make sure all students get a decent education. The state focused on aligning its plan to fulfill the requirements of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act with Californias Local Control Funding Formula, which gives extra money to districts to help students who come from low-income families, are in the foster system or are English learners. But this week, DeVos team said not so fast. Jason Botel, the U.S. Department of Educations principal deputy assistant secretary, sent California education officials a letter asking for more information in such areas as measuring student progress, graduation rates and English learners. In an unsigned statement, the California Department of Education declared itself surprised and disappointed because officials thought  after a meeting with federal officials in Washington  that they were on the right track to get approval. Now the Every Student Succeeds Act plan will be up for discussion once again at the July meeting of the State Board of Education. The U.S. Department of Education has already approved most state plans. Every Student Succeeds is the Obama administrations 2015 replacement for the No Child Left Behind Act. Facebook

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L.A. school board sets a new goal: prepare every grad to be eligible to apply for Cal State or UC By Sonali Kohli Last month, Los Angeles school board president proposed a spate of highly ambitious mandates aimed at ensuring that every district graduate be eligible to apply to one of the states public four-year universities by 2023. By the time the L.A. Unified school board unanimously approved the resolution Tuesday, the original language had been watered down. The goal is no longer that in five years 100% of students meet the long list of benchmarks, which include not just college eligibility for graduates but first-grade reading proficiency and English fluency by sixth grade for all students who enter the district in kindergarten or first grade speaking another language. The original college-readiness goal, for example, called for 100% of all high school students to be eligible to apply to one of the states four-year universities. Now the goal seems to offer more wiggle room: Prepare all high school graduates to be eligible to apply to a California four-year university. Read More Facebook

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We have been hurt. More women say they were mistreated by USC gynecologist By Richard Winton USC student Anika Narayanan says she vividly recalls her first appointment with Dr. George Tyndall at the campus health center, alleging that he made several explicit comments during an examination she felt was inappropriate and invasive. When she came back for a second visit in 2016 after a nonconsensual sexual encounter, he allegedly chastised her, she said in a civil lawsuit and at a press conference Tuesday. He asked me if I had forgotten to use a condom again,  said Narayanan, 21. At one point, she said, Tyndall asked if I did a lot of doggy style,  she said. Read More Facebook

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L.A. Unified gives inspector general brief contract extension By Howard Blume The Los Angeles school board on Tuesday extended the contract of Ken Bramlett, its inspector general, by three months, though his job is far from secure and questions remain about the future direction of his watchdog office. Board members also unanimously promoted Vivian Ekchian, who had been the runner-up for the superintendents job, to deputy superintendent  the districts No. 2 position. Both moves had elements of peacemaking between different factions on the board. Read More Facebook

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USCs handling of complaints about campus gynecologist is being investigated by federal government By Harriet Ryan The U.S. Department of Education announced Monday that it has launched an investigation into how the University of Southern California handled misconduct complaints against a campus gynecologist, the latest fallout in a scandal that has prompted the resignation of USCs president, two law enforcement investigations and dozens of lawsuits. In revealing the inquiry by the departments Office of Civil Rights, officials rebuked USC for what they alleged was improper withholding of information about Dr. George Tyndall during a previous federal investigation. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, who has been criticized for taking a less vigorous approach to examining sexual misconduct than predecessors, called for a systemic examination of USC and urged administrators to fully cooperate. Read More Facebook

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Judge to sentence woman and her boyfriend for the murder of an 8-year-old that led to L.A. child welfare reforms By Marisa Gerber A woman and her boyfriend are expected to be sentenced Thursday for the torture and murder of an 8-year-old boy whose killing in 2013 provoked public outrage, prompted sweeping reform of Los Angeles Countys child welfare system, and led to unprecedented criminal charges against social workers who handled the childs case. Pearl Sinthia Fernandez, 34, faces life in prison without the possibility of parole for her role in the death of her son, Gabriel. A jury decided last year that her boyfriend, Isauro Aguirre, 37, should be executed. When paramedics arrived at the boys Palmdale home in May 2013, Gabriel had slipped out of consciousness. He had a fractured skull, broken ribs, burned skin, missing teeth and BB pellets embedded in his groin. A paramedic would later testify that every inch of the boys small body had been abused. Read More Facebook

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L.A. Unifieds spending out of step with similar school systems, task force says By Howard Blume The Los Angeles school district is out of step with similar school systems, spending more on teachers pay and health benefits and less on activities that could enhance student learning, according to a new report by an outside task force. The L.A. Unified School District Advisory Task Force did not make specific recommendations, but instead posed a series of questions it said the district needs to answer to make sure its funding is aimed at providing a full opportunity for all students to succeed. What were trying to say is: Lets put the data on the table. Lets look at the truth. Lets be transparent and here are the numbers, said task force member Renata Simril. This is not to say that  we should cut teachers salaries. Read More Facebook

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Top USC medical school official feared dean was doing drugs and alerted administration, he testifies By Paul Pringle A former vice dean of USCs Keck School of Medicine testified Tuesday that he feared the schools then-dean, Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito, could be doing drugs and expressed concerns about his general well-being to the universitys No. 2 administrator before Puliafito abruptly left his job in 2016. Dr. Henri Fords testimony at a hearing of the state Medical Board marks the first suggestion that any USC administrator had suspicions about Puliafitos possible drug use before he stepped down. A Times investigation in 2017 found Puliafito led a secret second life of using illegal drugs with a circle of young criminals and addicts. Puliafito testified about his behavior at the hearing Tuesday, saying he took drugs with one young woman on a weekly basis. Ford said that he decided to alert USC Provost Michael Quick after receiving reports in early 2016 that Puliafito was partying in hotels with people of questionable reputation, and that he came to worry about his mental stability. Read More Facebook

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Why L.A. Unified may face financial crisis even with a giant surplus this year By Jessica Calefati With more than half a billion dollars socked away for next school year, the Los Angeles Unified School District hardly seems just two years from financial ruin. Its a scenario that is especially tough to swallow if youre a low-wage worker seeking a raise or a teacher who wants smaller classes. But budget documents show that todays $548-million surplus cannot be sustained  and that even basic services face steep, seemingly unavoidable cuts because of massive problems barreling the districts way. Theres a disconnect between the rosy short-term picture and what we know is coming, said board member Kelly Gonez. Read More Facebook

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We have failed: Top USC officials try to reassure students amid gynecologist scandal By Joy Resmovits Top administrators at USC are reaching out to students in the wake of misconduct allegations against the universitys longtime gynecologist, acknowledging failings and vowing reforms as they try to address growing outrage over the revelations. Several USC deans have sent out messages trying to reassure students and faculty that the university is committed to changing. We have failed, wrote Jack H. Knott, dean of USCs Sol Price School of Public Policy, in a May 24 letter. What happened is antithetical to everything we know is right. Read More Facebook

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Rick Caruso is named chair of USCs trustees, vows swift investigation of gynecologist scandal By Thomas Curwen The University of Southern Californias board of trustees has elected mall magnate Rick Caruso to be the new chair of the board, giving fresh leadership as the university navigates a widening scandal involving a longtime campus gynecologist. The move marks the latest effort by USC to address the case, which has sparked a criminal investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department and dozens of civil lawsuits. More than 400 people have contacted a hotline that the university established for patients to make reports about their experience with Dr. George Tyndall. In his first act as chairman, Caruso announced that the white-shoe L.A. law firm OMelveny & Myers would conduct a thorough and independent investigation into the gynecologists conduct and reporting failures at the clinic. He set an ambitious timeline for the review, pledging it would conclude before students return for the fall semester. Read More Facebook

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UC Berkeley students persistence helps win more liberal rules for in-state tuition By Teresa Watanabe Ifechukwu Okeke thought shed be a shoo-in for in-state tuition when she was admitted to UC Berkeley for fall 2016. She had moved to the United States from Nigeria in 2012 to go to Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga. By the time she got her acceptance to transfer to UC to study molecular and cell biology, she had lived in California four years. She had a California drivers license, bank account and rental records as proof. UC Berkeley, however, ruled she was a nonresident  which meant she would have to pay nearly $27,000 more. Read More Facebook

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State medical board calls former County-USC doctor a sexual predator, suspends his license By Matt Hamilton A UCLA cardiologist has been temporarily stripped of his medical license after state regulators described him as a sexual predator who assaulted three female colleagues when he was working and training at L.A. County-USC Medical Center. Read More Facebook

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Global California 2030 aims to get more students learning more languages By Joy Resmovits Tom Torlakson (Andrew Seng / Associated Press) Outgoing state Supt. of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson on Wednesday announced a new statewide effort to encourage students to learn more languages. Called Global California 2030, its goal is to help more students become fluent in multiple tongues. Torlakson said that by 2030, he wants half of the states 6.2 million K-12 students to participate in classes or programs that lead to proficiency in two or more languages. By 2040, he wants three out of four students to be proficient enough to earn the State Seal of Biliteracy. Torlakson announced the initiative at Cahuenga Elementary School, which offers a dual-language immersion program in English and Korean. Californias public school students speak more than 60 languages at home, and 40% come to school with knowledge of a language other than English. Torlakson called his plan a call to action that invites parents, legislators, educators and community members to pool resources to expand language offerings in schools and get more bilingual teachers trained. He said the state already is working with Mexico and Spain to expand a teacher-exchange program. Fluency, the plan argues, can help students succeed economically  and language acquisition can help their overall critical thinking. The initiative builds on Proposition 58, a ballot initiative passed in 2016 that undid an earlier requirement that English learners be taught in English-immersion classes unless their parents signed waivers. Torlakson recently visited Mexico and met with that countrys education secretary. They later signed a pact to increase collaboration, particularly in language education. This [Global California 2030] is great follow-through on Toms part and very important, Patricia Gandara, a UCLA education professor who hosted the Mexico meeting, said in an email. It hands over a plan to move forward in an area in which California has a unique advantage, but must seize the opportunity. Facebook

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Jury convicts man of murder in 2015 slaying of UCLA student found inside her burning apartment By Marisa Gerber A jury on Tuesday convicted a man in the 2015 slaying of a UCLA student found dead inside her burning apartment  a gruesome stabbing case that led to a fierce rebuke of the police response amid concerns that the killing could have been prevented. The panel deliberated for about six hours before finding Alberto Medina, 24, guilty of murder, arson, burglary and animal cruelty. On Sept. 21, 2015, firefighters found the charred body of Andrea DelVesco inside her apartment after responding to the complex a block from campus. The 21-year-old student  an Austin, Texas, native known to her sorority sisters as a fearless giver who befriended others with ease  was stabbed at least 19 times, authorities said. Read More Facebook

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LAPD begins sweeping criminal probe of former USC gynecologist while urging patients to come forward By Adam Elmahrek The Los Angeles Police Department said Tuesday it is investigating 52 complaints of misconduct filed by former patients of USCs longtime campus gynecologist as detectives launch a sweeping criminal probe into the scandal that has rocked the university. LAPD detectives also made an appeal for other patients who feel mistreated to come forward, noting that thousands of students were examined by Dr. George Tyndall during his nearly 30-year career at USC. More than 410 people have contacted a university hotline about the physician since The Times revealed the allegations this month. Tyndalls behavior and practices appear to go beyond the norms of the medical profession and gynecological examinations, said Asst. Chief Beatrice Girmala. We sincerely realize that victims may have difficulty recounting such details to investigators. We are empathetic and ready to listen. Read More Facebook

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At L.A.'s only school for the deaf, parents want leaders who speak the same language By Anna M. Phillips Ever since her son was 6 months old, Juliet Hidalgo has been bringing him to the Marlton School, a low-slung building in Baldwin Hills that for generations has been a second home for deaf and hard-of-hearing students in Los Angeles. Marlton staff taught Hidalgos brother and sister, both of whom are deaf. The school was where her deaf son learned to make the signs for milk and food. Hidalgo had planned to enroll her daughter, taking advantage of a popular program that allows hearing children to learn American Sign Language alongside their deaf siblings. But after more than a decade of involvement, she and other family members are considering withdrawing their children. They are not alone. Read More Facebook

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Fueled by unlimited donations, independent groups play their biggest role yet in a California primary for governor By Ryan Menezes An unprecedented amount of money from wealthy donors, unions and corporations is flowing into the California governors race, giving independent groups  unrestricted by contribution limits  a greater say in picking the states chief executive than ever before. The groups have already spent more than $26 million through Thursday, the most ever spent by noncandidate committees in a gubernatorial primary, according to a Times analysis of campaign finance reports. California elections have always been expensive, and the future is even more expensive, said Jack Pitney, a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College and a former state Republican leader. The stakes are very real. Read More Facebook

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2 hurt in Indiana middle school shooting; suspect in custody, authorities say By Associated Press Authorities say two victims in a shooting at a suburban Indianapolis school are being taken to a hospital and the lone suspect is in custody. Bryant Orem, a spokesman for the Hamilton County Sheriffs Office, said in a news release that the victims in Friday mornings attack at Noblesville West Middle School are being taken to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis and their families have been notified. He says no other information is available about the victims. Orem said the suspect is believed to have acted alone and was taken into custody. No additional information about the suspect was made public. Read More Facebook

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For new L.A. schools chief Austin Beutner, some key unions are giving no honeymoon period By Howard Blume In the less than two weeks since Austin Beutner took charge of Los Angeles schools, unions representing teachers and administrators have staged a job action and a protest. Theyve made it clear that they will not give the new superintendent the traditional honeymoon period, and they are bashing him for his wealth and lack of experience running either a school or a school district. Beutner is a billionaire investment banker with zero qualifications, local teachers union President Alex Caputo-Pearl told members in a phone alert urging them to participate in a Thursday afternoon rally in Grand Park. The board is saying that billionaires who made their money blowing institutions up and making money off it know best  not the education professionals who have dedicated our careers to working with students. Read More Facebook

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Pressure grows on Board of Trustees amid USC gynecologist scandal By Paul Pringle USCs large and powerful Board of Trustees is coming under growing pressure to provide a stronger hand as the university faces a crisis over misconduct allegations against the campus longtime gynecologist that has prompted calls for President C.L. Max Nikias to step down. Allegations that Dr. George Tyndall mistreated students during his nearly 30 years at USC have roiled the campus, with about 300 people coming forward to make reports to the university and the Los Angeles Police Department launching a criminal investigation. USC is already beginning to face what is expected to be costly litigation by women who say they were victimized by the physician. So far, the trustees to whom Nikias reports have expressed sympathy for the women who have come forward and launched an independent investigation while also publicly backing the president. Read More Facebook

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UC regents approve leaner budget for Janet Napolitano By Teresa Watanabe University of California regents on Thursday unanimously approved a leaner, more transparent budget for President Janet Napolitano, moving to address political criticism over the systems central office operations. The $876.4-million budget for 2018-19 reflects spending cuts of 2%, including reductions in staffing, travel and such systemwide programs as public service law fellowships, carbon neutrality and food security. Napolitano shifted $30 million to campuses for housing needs and $10 million to UC Riverside to support its five-year-old medical school. She also permanently redirected $8.5 million annually to help enroll more California students, as required by the state. Read More Facebook

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USCs Academic Senate calls on university president to resign after a series of scandals By Matt Hamilton The body that represents USCs faculty called on President C.L. Max Nikias to resign Wednesday in the wake of relevations that the universitys longtime gynecologist faced years of accusations of misconduct by students and colleagues at the campus health clinic. The Academic Senate took the vote late Wednesday afternoon after a fiery town hall meeting attended by more than 100 faculty members, many of whom voiced outrage over Nikias and the Board of Trustees leadership. The vote came a day after the trustees executive committee stood firmly behind Nikias, saying it has full confidence in his leadership, ethics and values. At the town hall meeting, Senate President Paul Rosenbloom said he did not think Nikias or Provost Michael Quick committed wrongdoing but that the university president deserved criticism for a lack of transparency. Read More Facebook

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Californias public universities on the way to getting a big longed-for boost in funding By Teresa Watanabe The University of California and California State University systems are poised to get major funding boosts that will help them enroll thousands of additional state students and eliminate the need for tuition increases in the coming school year. A key Assembly budget panel on Wednesday approved $117.5 million in new funds for the UC. A Senate panel approved a similar sum last week. The same committees recently approved even more funding for the Cal State system. Read More Facebook

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UC regents to scrutinize Janet Napolitanos office budget in a step toward stronger oversight By Teresa Watanabe University of California regents this week plan to scrutinize the budget of President Janet Napolitano, whose office came under political fire last year for questionable spending and murky accounting. Regents will vote on the proposed $876.4-million budget for 2018-19 during their two-day meeting, which starts Wednesday, at UC San Francisco. They also will discuss state funding, financial aid, online education and transfer student policies. Board Chairman George Kieffer said regents are stepping up to exert stronger oversight of the presidents office after a blistering state audit last year found financial problems including an unreported $175 million budget reserve. Read More Facebook

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State legislative panels approve major funding boost for Cal State By Teresa Watanabe After months of intensive lobbying, Cal State University has convinced two key legislative panels to approve funding to enroll nearly 11,000 more students, hire more faculty and expand housing aid to those without shelter this fall. An Assembly budget panel on Tuesday approved $215.7 million more for Cal State, adding to Gov. Jerry Browns proposed $92.1 million general fund increase. A Senate budget panel approved a similar increase last week. The extra funding  which went beyond Cal States own request to the Legislature of $171 million  is still subject to final budget negotiations with Brown. But the actions by the Senate and Assembly panels amount to a demand from Democrats that the governor hike higher education spending. Cal State University is the workhorse undergraduate university serving hundreds of thousands of Californians, said Assemblyman Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento), who heads the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance. We need more graduates for the California workforce and higher education is the ticket to the middle class. Cal State Chancellor Timothy P. White hailed the actions, but said it was too soon to celebrate. The CSU has a singular focus on helping students earn high-quality degrees sooner, and the entire university community has rallied to reinforce that message to our states lawmakers, he said in a statement. The actions taken thus far by the Assembly and Senate are promising and show that our message is being received, but there is still work to be done. Funding for the University of California was not taken up Tuesday as originally scheduled. McCarty would not comment on sticking points but said he was confident that a resolution would be reached this week. Were looking to provide resources above whats in the governors budget, but negotiations are ongoing, he said in an interview. State per-student funding is not what it once was, leaving both Cal State and the UC in a tough financial squeeze. Both systems raised tuition last year after a six-year freeze on higher costs. For this year, Cal State had asked for funding to enroll an additional 3,621 students, but both the Senate and Assembly panels approved three times that amount. Cal State, the largest public university system in the nation, turned away 32,000 eligible students last year because its campuses werent able to accommodate them. The panels asked that at least $50 million of the extra funding be used to hire more tenure-track faculty to help boost graduation rates. The Assembly panel also approved one-time funding of $5 million to ease hunger on campuses and $14 million for rapid rehousing pilot projects at three campuses, offering needy students rental support and short-term case management. Other items approved include $5 million to support the CSU Long Beach Shark Labs research on sharks and beach safety and $2 million for equal employment opportunity practices. This post has been updated to include comments from Assemblyman Kevin McCarty and Cal State Chancellor Timothy P. White. Facebook

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Faculty members call for USC president to step down: He has lost the moral authority to lead By Matt Hamilton Two hundred USC professors on Tuesday demanded the resignation of university President C. L. Max Nikias, saying he had lost the moral authority to lead in the wake of revelations that a campus gynecologist was kept on staff for decades despite repeated complaints of misconduct. Read More Facebook

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Gun battle, negotiations lasted 15 minutes before Texas school shooter was apprehended, sheriff says By Molly Hennessy-Fiske Minutes after a school shooter opened fire in an art class last week, killing 10 people and wounding 13, including a local police officer, fellow officers returned fire in a protracted gun battle before isolating the suspect, the local sheriff said Monday. Galveston County Sheriff Henry Trochesset praised first responders as well as Santa Fe Police Officer John Barnes, who was working as a resource officer at the school the day of the shooting. Their actions, he said, prevented the attack from spreading to other classrooms and potentially claiming additional victims. As officials continue to probe last Fridays shooting at Santa Fe High School, students are worried about returning to the scene of the attack when classes resume next week. Read More Facebook

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6 women sue USC, alleging they were victimized by campus gynecologist By Richard Winton Six women filed civil lawsuits Monday alleging that a longtime gynecologist at the University of Southern California sexually victimized them under the pretext of medical care and that USC failed to address complaints from clinic staff about the doctors behavior. One woman alleged Dr. George Tyndall forced his entire ungloved hand into her vagina during an appointment in 2003 while making vulgar remarks about her genitalia, according to one of the lawsuits. Another woman alleged that Tyndall groped her breasts in a 2008 visit and that later he falsely told her she likely had AIDS. A third woman accused the doctor of grazing his ungloved fingers over her nude body and leering at her during a purported skin exam, the lawsuit states. The wave of litigation comes as USC continues to grapple with the scandal, which legal experts said could prove costly to the university as scores of former patients come forward about their experiences with the gynecologist. Read More Facebook

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Fatalities reported in Texas high school shooting; suspect arrested, officials say By Associated Press Houston-area media citing unnamed law enforcement officials are reporting that there are fatalities following a shooting at a local high school Friday morning. Television station KHOU and the Houston Chronicle are citing unnamed federal, county and police officials following the shooting at Santa Fe High School, which went on lockdown around 8 a.m. The Associated Press has not been able to confirm the reports. The school district has confirmed an unspecified number of injuries but said it wouldnt immediately release further details. Assistant Principal Cris Richardson said a suspect has been arrested and secured. Read More Facebook

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This student followed the new L.A. schools chief on his first-day tour Melissa Barales-Lopez, a senior at Garfield High School followed Supt. Austin Beutner on his first day on the job, as he toured a variety of programs around the Los Angeles Unified School District. Heres what she took from the experience. LAUSD students and staff alike are looking for a personal champion, someone who will address and improve the difficulties afflicting their education.  What LAUSD students need is someone whos willing to listen and learn, someone who can understand the current issues affecting their schools and act to efficiently amend them, someone who can unlock the full potential of LAUSD students and enable them to reach their goals. During the entirety of his first day, superintendent Austin Beutner did indeed demonstrate a willingness to learn. Posing questions to teachers and students, Beutner engaged with the student communities he encountered to gain a better comprehension of the minutiae and nuances that distinguish each school inside an overwhelmingly large district. From inquiries about Grand View Boulevard Elementary Schools dual language program to questions regarding the services of LAUSDs after-school program, Beyond the Bell, Beutner revealed he has a lot to learn about the system. But, Beutner also showcased a willingness to tackle challenges head-on on his first day. Read More Facebook

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USC let a gynecologist continue treating students despite years of misconduct allegations By Matt Hamilton For nearly 30 years, the University of Southern Californias student health clinic had one full-time gynecologist: Dr. George Tyndall. Tall and garrulous with distinctive jet black hair, he treated tens of thousands of female students, many of them teenagers seeing a gynecologist for the first time. Few who lay down on Tyndalls exam table at the Engemann Student Health Center knew that he had been accused repeatedly of misconduct toward young patients. The complaints began in the 1990s, when co-workers alleged he was improperly photographing students genitals. In the years that followed, patients and nursing staff accused him again and again of creepy behavior, including touching women inappropriately during pelvic exams and making sexually suggestive remarks about their bodies. Read More Facebook

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Cal State trustees to discuss Browns latest budget proposal, which they say still falls $171 million short By Joy Resmovits Just how much money does California State University need to serve its students? In recent years, this question has been front and center for the nations largest public university system. Cal States leaders say that to keep their campuses quality from slipping, they need much more money than the state is giving them. This year, theyre also at odds with Gov. Jerry Brown on the question of whether any extra money should come in one-time bursts or be ongoing. Read More Facebook

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On his first day as L.A. schools chief, Beutner plans a day of visits across the district By Howard Blume L.A. Unifieds new superintendent, Austin Beutner, will kick off his first day of work on Tuesday with a choreographed tour of the nations second-largest school district, from the San Fernando Valley to Carson. His day is scheduled to begin at 5:15 a.m. at a school bus depot and end more than 12 hours later at a parent meeting at Garfield High School. Along the way, Beutner is expected to be joined by school district administrators, L.A. Unified board members and the vice president of the union that represents school bus drivers. Though he will be covering a lot of ground, Beutners tour has him skipping Tuesdays school board meeting, when board members are expected to discuss labor negotiations in closed session. Read More Facebook

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Cal State trustees to discuss Browns latest budget proposal, which they say still falls $171 million short By Joy Resmovits Just how much money does California State University need to serve its students? In recent years, this question has been front and center for the nations largest public university system. Cal States leaders say that to keep their campuses quality from slipping, they need much more money than the state is giving them. This year, theyre also at odds with Gov. Jerry Brown on the question of whether any extra money should come in one-time bursts or be ongoing. Read More Facebook

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Why a handful of rich charter school supporters are spending millions to elect Antonio Villaraigosa as governor By Ryan Menezes California voters have seen a barrage of sunny television ads in recent weeks touting former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosas record on finances, crime and education, aired by Families & Teachers for Antonio Villaraigosa for Governor 2018. But the group is, in fact, largely funded by a handful of wealthy charter-school supporters. Together they have spent more than $13 million in less than a month to boost Villaraigosas chances in the June 5 primary  at a time when his fundraising and poll numbers are lagging. Reed Hastings, the founder of Netflix, jump-started the group with a $7-million check, by far the largest donation to support any candidate in the election. Their efforts are part of a broader proxy war among Democrats between teachers unions  longtime stalwarts of the party  and those who argue that the groups have failed low-income and minority schoolchildren. Read More Facebook

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Talking schools with L.A. Unifieds new superintendent By Anna M. Phillips Austin Beutner, who officially starts Tuesday as the new superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, is taking on a famously difficult job at a particularly difficult time. The school board is divided and did not back him unanimously. The nations second-largest school district has deep-seated problems, including declining enrollment, lagging academic achievement and rising pension and healthcare costs that eat away at its budget. The 58-year-old former investment banker and former L.A. Times publisher has years of experience in the financial world but none as an educator. Earlier this week, he sat down with the Times education team to discuss the challenges facing the district, which has about 60,000 employees and 500,000 students in traditional public schools. He did not talk about his plans  saying repeatedly, stay tuned  but he spoke in broad terms about his mindset in approaching the tough decisions ahead. Read More Facebook

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Suspect detained, authorities search campus after reports of armed man at Palmdale high school By James Queally One person has been detained after a report of an armed man at a Palmdale high school sparked a massive law enforcement response Friday morning. The suspect was spotted at 7:05 a.m. on the campus of Highland High School in Palmdale, according to Sheriffs Department spokeswoman Nicole Nishida. The person was detained in a nearby parking lot, according to Nishida, who did not know whether that person was an adult or juvenile. Deputies at the scene are clearing the school methodically, and students will be transported home via school buses once the campus is deemed safe, Nishida said. Read More Facebook

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The education of Bertha Perez: How a UC Merced custodians disenchantment led to a political awakening By Robin Abcarian Its the third day of a three-day strike, and UC Merced custodian Bertha Perez is taking a break from a picket line at the universitys unremarkable entrance, an intersection with stop lights. Photos from other UC campuses this week have shown big crowds of striking service workers  members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees  marching and chanting pro-labor slogans as they try to force the University of California back to the negotiating table. But here, at UC Merced, whose handful of big buildings rise from a flat expanse of farmland, the picket line is tiny, maybe two dozen workers and a few students. Its not a big-city-style show of force. Then again, a union sympathizer is banging relentlessly on a snare drum, so its noisier than youd expect. Read More Facebook

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Ref Rodriguez resigns from teacher credentialing commission By Howard Blume Ref Rodriguez appears during a court appearance. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times) Los Angeles school board member Ref Rodriguez has resigned from the states Commission on Teacher Credentialing, which oversees the integrity and quality of Californias teachers. Rodriguez faces felony and misdemeanor charges for political money laundering. Separately, his former employer, a charter school organization, has accused him of improperly authorizing checks to a nonprofit under his control. Rodriguez has denied wrongdoing. Rodriguezs resignation from the state body was effective May 4, days after he cast a crucial vote as part of a narrow majority that voted to authorize contract negotiations with Austin Beutner to become superintendent of the L.A. Unified School District. Beutners first official day on the job is Tuesday. Rodriguez remains in his $125,000-a-year position on the Los Angeles Board of Education. The mission of the state body is to ensure integrity, relevance, and high quality in the preparation, certification, and discipline of Californias teachers. Critics had questioned Rodriguezs continued service on the commission, given that teachers can be suspended from work if they face criminal charges. They also can lose their jobs for lapses in personal behavior, such as excessive drinking, with the potential to affect their performance. Police in Pasadena arrested Rodriguez on a Friday afternoon in March for public drunkenness. He was not charged in the incident and has apologized. The state commission reviews teacher discipline cases and can take action to remove a teachers credential to work in a California classroom. The commission has 15 members. Rodriguezs departure was disclosed in a one-sentence announcement on the agencys website. Facebook

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School board members request for restraining order against blogger is rejected By Priscella Vega An Orange County Superior Court judge on Wednesday denied a school board members petition for a permanent restraining order against a Huntington Beach blogger. Attorney Jeffrey W. Shields filed the petition on behalf of Ocean View School District trustee Gina Clayton-Tarvin, 46, who alleged in court documents that Charles Keeler Johnson, 56, has threatened her on social media and at school board meetings, causing her to fear for my own safety and for that of my immediate family members. Johnson, who goes by Chuck and publishes HBSledgehammer.com, said the trustee tried to stifle his freedom of speech. He also contended that Clayton-Tarvin took his blog posts and Facebook comments too seriously and out of context, saying anyone who is afraid of metaphors has serious issues. Read More Facebook

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Deal with workers averts one-day strike that could have shut down L.A. schools By Howard Blume Los Angeles school district and union officials announced a contract agreement Tuesday night that averted a one-day strike planned for next week. The pact, which runs through June 2020, removes one labor problem from the desk of incoming Supt. Austin Beutner  whose first day on the job would have coincided with the strike. Plenty of other challenges remain. Read More Facebook

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UC labor strike expands with show of support from more unions By Teresa Watanabe Fong Chuu is a registered nurse who has assisted with countless liver transplants, kidney surgeries and gastric bypasses during 34 years at UCLA. Working with her are scrub technicians who sterilize equipment, hand medical instruments to the surgeon and dress patient wounds. They are a team, Chuu says, which is why she walked off her job Tuesday in support of those technicians and other members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299. The 25,000 member AFSCME local, the University of Californias largest employee union, launched a three-day strike Monday. Read More Facebook

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We are humans too: Voices of UCLAs striking custodians, hospital aides and imaging technicians By Joy Resmovits Demonstrators parade in front of Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) This week, thousands of UC employees are staging a three-day strike for better pay and working conditions. On Monday, more than 20,000 custodians, cooks, lab technicians, nurse aides and other members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299 walked off their jobs. By Tuesday, two more unions joined in sympathy strikes. The union and UC reached a bargaining impasse last year. The university has said it wont meet the workers demands. The strikers said they wanted better pay, more equity in the allocation of work, stable healthcare premiums and an end to the universitys use of contract workers. These are their stories. Read More Facebook

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Massive UC workers strike disrupts dining, classes and medical services By Joy Resmovits A massive labor strike across the University of California on Monday forced medical centers to reschedule more than 12,000 surgeries, cancer treatments and appointments, and campuses to cancel some classes and limit dining services. More than 20,000 members of UCs largest employee union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299, walked off their jobs on the first day of a three-day strike. They include custodians, gardeners, cooks, truck drivers, lab technicians and nurse aides. Two altercations involving protesters and people driving near the rallies were reported at UCLA and UC Santa Cruz. At UCLA, police took a man into custody Monday after he drove his vehicle into a crowd, hitting three staff members. They were treated for minor injuries at the scene and released, said Lt. Kevin Kilgore of the UCLA Police Department. Read More Facebook

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Sen. Kamala Harris to skip UC Berkeley commencement in support of striking workers By Teresa Watanabe California Sen. Kamala Harris has canceled plans to deliver UC Berkeleys commencement address this weekend in support of UC workers who are on strike over wages and health benefits. Due to the ongoing labor dispute, Sen. Harris regretfully cannot attend and speak at this years commencement ceremony at UC Berkeley, said a statement from Harris office issued Monday. She wishes the graduates and their families a joyous commencement weekend and success for the future. They are bright young leaders and our country is counting on them. UCs largest employee union, the 25,000-member American Federation of County, State and Municipal Employees Local 3299, launched a three-day strike Monday and had earlier called for a speakers boycott. The union and university reached a bargaining impasse last year and subsequent mediation efforts have failed to produce an agreement. The union is asking for a multiyear contract with a 6% annual pay increase while the university is offering 3% annual increases over four years. UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ will deliver the keynote address instead, the university announced. About 5,800 students are expected to participate in the ceremony Saturday. Facebook

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School mural depicting Trumps bloody, severed head sparks controversy By Gary Warth A Chula Vista school mural that depicts the bloody, severed head of President Trump on a spear sparked a controversy that prompted officials to cover it and issue a response distancing themselves from the work. The statement also said the artist will alter the painting. We understand that there was a mural painted at the event this past weekend that does not align with our schools philosophy of non-violence, read the statement from MAAC Community Charter School director Tommy Ramirez. We have been in communication with the artist  who has agreed to modify the artwork  to better align with the schools philosophy. Read More Facebook

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New blackface incident at Cal Poly prompts calls for state investigation By Kim Christensen Cal Poly San Luis Obispo officials have asked the state attorney generals office to investigate after a new photo of a white student in blackface surfaced on a fraternity groups private Snapchat. I am outraged, Cal Poly President Jeffrey D. Armstrong said in a video address Friday to the campus. These vile and absolutely unacceptable acts cannot continue. We must not allow these acts to define us as an institution. Armstrong said the latest photo was intended to imitate an incident last month in which a white member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity was photographed at a party wearing blackface. Read More Facebook

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More than 50,000 UC workers set to strike this week but campuses will remain open By Teresa Watanabe More than 50,000 workers across the University of California are set to strike this week, causing potential disruptions to surgery schedules, food preparation and campus maintenance. The systems 10 campuses and five medical centers are to remain open, with classes scheduled as planned. UCs largest employee union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299, plans to begin a three-day strike Monday involving 25,000 workers, including custodians, gardeners, cooks, truck drivers, lab technicians and nurse aides. Read More Facebook

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New L.A. schools chief Beutner pledges to listen, learn and take action By Howard Blume New Los Angeles schools Supt. Austin Beutner proved Wednesday that hes a quick learner even without an education background. Like countless public officials before him, he appeared at an important event  his first speech and news conference  with a photogenic background of students. His message  that he would put those students first  seemed heartfelt if hardly original. Nor was it a huge surprise that he pledged to push cooperatively but unflinchingly to improve the districts academic performance and stabilize its finances. As an introduction, Beutner, a former investment banker who made a fortune on Wall Street, offered little flash, but that was partly the point. Read More Facebook

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In a school lockdown, one student takes stock of the stressful scene At the beginning of lunch one day late last month, Duarte High School, Northview Middle School, and California School of the Arts-San Gabriel Valley were advised by the Los Angeles Sheriffs Department to go into lockdown mode due to police activity in the immediate area. Phalaen Chang, a junior at the California School of the Arts, wrote a series of notes on her iPhone while she sat in a room with her classmates. By the time the lockdown ended an hour later, she wrote, she knew which of her friends would hold open the door for others, be the ones calming others down, be the ones barricading the doors. She knew that all of them have the potential to be such strong people. Read More Facebook

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Tale as old as time: L.A. Unified superintendent pick follows a historical pattern of outside-the-box choices By Joy Resmovits L.A. Unified has long gone back and forth between picking insiders and outsiders to run the nations second largest school district. The choice of Austin Beutner, announced Tuesday, places the district squarely back in the outsider camp  months after a consummate insider, Supt. Michelle King, announced that she had cancer and would not return to the job. Check out this timeline of former L.A. superintendents to see how the school board members have changed their minds, sometimes favoring leaders who come from the world of education and sometimes executives from elsewhere, recruited to shock the system into change. At one point, the district hired someone from the military  retired Navy Vice Adm. David L. Brewer III, who served as superintendent from 2006-2008. In hiring Brewer, board members had opted for a non-educator  largely because they sought a fresh thinker, unwedded to the bureaucracy, unafraid to make bold, even unorthodox moves, reads a 2008 Times story. Facebook

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Austin Beutner named superintendent of Los Angeles schools By Howard Blume Austin Beutner, a philanthropist and former investment banker, on Tuesday was named superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nations second-largest school system. His selection was the biggest move yet by a Los Angeles school board majority elected with major support from charter school advocates. The decision came after lengthy public testimony, most of it in support of the other remaining finalist, interim Supt. Vivian Ekchian, who is well known within the school system. Beutner, 58, has no background leading a school or school district. Less than 2 years ago, a school board with a very different balance of power named Michelle King, a former teacher who rose through the district throughout her career, to L.A. Unifieds top job. Read More Facebook

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Hearing delay gives both sides more time in Ref Rodriguezs potential trial By Howard Blume Ref Rodriguez and his attorneys will have more time to prepare their defense against charges of political money laundering, a judge ruled Monday. The preliminary hearing in the case had been scheduled to begin May 9, but that date will now be pushed back to July 23 per the ruling from L.A. Superior Court Judge Deborah S. Brazil. Rodriguez, 46, faces three felony charges of conspiracy, perjury and procuring and offering a false or forged instrument, as well as 25 misdemeanor counts related to the alleged campaign money laundering. Read More Facebook

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L.A. school board poised to name Beutner as superintendent By Howard Blume The Los Angeles Board of Education is poised to select philanthropist and former investment banker Austin Beutner to be the next superintendent of the nations second-largest school system. Barring a last-minute development, the only mystery is whether Beutner emerges with four or five votes from the boards seven members. Terms of his contract already have been under discussion, according to sources close to the process who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak. The selection of Beutner, 58, who has no experience managing a school or a school district, would be a signal that the board majority that took control nearly a year ago wants to rely on business management skills instead of insider educational expertise. Read More Facebook

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Teacher walkouts in Arizona and Colorado continue national debate on money for schools By Michael Livingston Following the lead of teachers who walked off the job in other states in recent weeks, thousands of teachers and their supporters took to the streets in Arizona and Colorado for the second day in a row to demand better pay and more funding for education. Read More Facebook

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Three decades before the #MeToo movement, UC San Diego led the way against sexual assault By Teresa Watanabe When Nancy Wahlig first started her fight against sexual assault, one company was marketing a capsule for women to stash in their bras and then smash to release a vile odor. Because of the very nature of society, the only person who can prevent rape is the woman herself, read a 1981 advertisement for the Repulse rape deterrent. Ideas about how to prevent sexual violence have come a long way since then, and Wahlig has helped lead that evolution on college campuses. In 1988, she started UC San Diegos Sexual Assault Resource Center (SARC), the first stand-alone program at the University of California. Today, she remains the systems most senior specialist. Read More Facebook

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Andres Alonso withdraws from consideration for L.A. schools job By Howard Blume Andres Alonso, believed to be one of three remaining finalists to lead the Los Angeles school system, has withdrawn from consideration. The remaining known candidates in the confidential search are former investment banker Austin Beutner and interim Supt. Vivian Ekchian. Alonso, 60, announced his decision on Twitter on Thursday night, saying he had notified the L.A. Unified School District on Monday. The exit of Alonso, the former Baltimore schools chief, seems to solidify the front-runner status of Beutner, who also was a former L.A. Times publisher and a Los Angeles deputy mayor. He held each of those positions for about a year. Read More Facebook

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Heres why the apparent increase in autism spectrum disorders may be good for U.S. children By Karen Kaplan The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder among American children continues to rise, new government data suggest. And that may be a good thing. Among 11 sites across the U.S. where records of 8-year-olds are scrutinized in detail, 1 in 59 kids was deemed to have ASD in 2014. Thats up from 1 in 68 in 2012. Normally, health officials would prefer to see less of a disease, not more of it. But in this case, the higher number is probably a sign that more children of color who are on the autism spectrum are being recognized as such and getting services to help them, according to a report published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Read More Facebook

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UC shelves tuition increase for now, in hopes of getting more state funding By Teresa Watanabe University of California regents will not vote on a tuition increase next month, shelving the plan for now in hopes that state lawmakers will come through with more funding. Raising tuition is always a last resort and one we take very seriously, UC President Janet Napolitano said Thursday in a statement. We will continue to advocate with our students who are doing a tremendous job of educating legislators about the necessity of adequately funding the university to ensure UC remains a world-class institution and engine of economic growth for our state. Last week, Cal State Chancellor Timothy P. White said the 23-campus system no longer would consider a plan to raise tuition for the 2018-19 academic year. But unlike Cal State, UC officials have not taken a tuition increase off the table entirely. Read More Facebook

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A chemical spill, unchecked eyewash stations, poor training: Audit details Cal States lax lab safety By Joy Resmovits In May 2016, two bottles tumbled off a poorly supported shelf and broke, leading to a chemical spill in a Sacramento State University lab. The liquid got onto one students legs and soaked anothers feet. Five employees cleaned up the mess, even though no one knew for sure what it was and whether it was dangerous. They called fellow employee Kim Harrington, their union representative, to let her know what happened. Read More Facebook

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After blackface incident, minority students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo say they dont feel welcome By Hailey Branson-Potts Aaliyah Ramos was walking through the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo campus last year when a prospective student approached her. Ramos was the only black person, the young woman said, that she and her mother had seen that day. They asked about the quality of education and the diversity of the student body. Ramos, a mechanical engineering student, didnt want to sugarcoat the truth: Cal Poly long has been predominantly white. But she told the young woman  who also was black  that she didnt want to discourage her from applying, because that wouldnt help with diversity at a school where only 0.7% of students are African American  the lowest percentage of any university in the California State system. Read More Facebook

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El Camino Real Charter High School in Woodland Hills wins the 2018 U.S. Academic Decathlon By Carlos Lozano El Camino Real Charter High School in Woodland Hills has won the 2018 U.S. Academic Decathlon, officials said. The winner was announced early Saturday at a ceremony in Frisco, Texas. More than 600 students from the U.S., Canada, China and the United Kingdom gathered there over the last three days to compete in the 37th annual U.S. Academic Decathlon. Congratulations to El Camino Real Charter High School for another impressive victory, said Vivian Ekchian, interim superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Your academic stamina and competitive spirit to win is remarkable. The entire L.A. Unified family is so proud of you. Read More Facebook

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Anticipation mounts as L.A. school board meets over superintendent selection By Howard Blume The Los Angeles Board of Education is reconvening in closed session Friday at noon as anticipation mounts about the choice of the next leader of the nations second-largest school system. The presumed front-runner is former investment banker and philanthropist Austin Beutner, but interim Supt. Vivian Ekchian and former Baltimore Supt. Andres Alonso also are in the running. Most district insiders appear to be rooting for Ekchian, who has spent her entire career in education within the school system. After her 10 years as a teacher, her roles have included head of human resources, chief labor negotiator and regional administrator for campuses in the west San Fernando Valley. Shes managed the district since September, when then-Supt. Michelle King went on medical leave and chose Ekchian to fill in for her. King, who is battling cancer, never returned and announced her retirement in January. Numerous influential civic leaders have urged  and pressured  the board to select Beutner. Also lending their weight have been advocates for charter schools, which are independently operated, growing in number and competing for students with district-operated campuses. Four of the seven board members  enough to control the outcome  were elected with major financial support from charter supporters. Beutner has two ongoing connections with the L.A. Unified School District. The first is his leadership of an outside task force that is making recommendations on how to improve the school system. The second is his charity, Vision to Learn, which supplies glasses to low-income students. The charity and the school system are in a dispute at the moment over who is responsible for delays in providing services to students as part of a $6 million contract, half of which is paid for by L.A. Unified. Unlike Ekchian and Buetner, Alonso, who currently teaches at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, has no deep-seated local constituency, but the prospect of his selection has generated some excitement. While in Baltimore, Alonso was recognized for pushing for progress at low-performing schools, and for being willing to take strong action. While in Baltimore, he also weathered a test-score cheating scandal and occasionally rocky relations with the teachers union. But by the time he resigned, after six years, he and union leaders seemed to be working together without rancor. Leaders of some community groups have split from the pro-Beutner camp. They worry that Beutners approach to confronting the districts financial problems could shut out their voices or involve severe economic cutbacks that would undermine programs that are helping students. Some prefer Ekchian; some Alonso. Theyve been reluctant to speak out publicly because theyll have to work with whoever is selected, but they have tried to get the ear of board members. On Friday morning, one leader of a community group decided to come out in favor of Alonso. L.A. Unified has the opportunity to bring in an instructional leader of color with a history of success, said Alberto Retana, president and chief executive of Community Coalition, which works on behalf of low-income students and families in South Los Angeles. If we have a shot at that, we should go for it  because its in the best interests of our kids and of our community. Retana said his statement was not meant to criticize Beutner or Ekchian but to alert board members that there also is community support for Alonso. Facebook

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Cal State leader shelves proposed tuition hike: Its the right thing to do, but its not without risk By Joy Resmovits Cal State, the nations largest public university system, will no longer consider a plan to raise tuition for the 2018-19 academic year, Chancellor Timothy P. White announced Friday. The decision is a bet that Sacramento will come through in the end. If Cal State loses that bet, it could mean cuts to campus programs. White said in an interview that Californias economy is strong enough that families should not be shouldering the burden of higher college costs. Read More Facebook

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L.A. students to participate in national walkout activities on Friday By Joy Resmovits Students are taking to the streets again Friday to protest gun violence on the 19th anniversary of the Columbine school shooting. Starting at 10 a.m., students at many schools will spend 13 seconds honoring the 13 people  12 students and one teacher  killed on that day in Littleton, Colo. After that, theyll participate in a host of different activities. Within L.A. Unified, one school is having an open-mic event for students to talk about school violence, and lawmakers are visiting campuses to hear students thoughts. According to a central hub for organizing the protests  written by the students of Ridgefield High School in Connecticut  the walkouts are intended to drive the political change necessary to curb school violence. The day is also a time for students to interact on an elevated platform they have never had before, the site states. It is a day of discourse and thoughtful sharing. Bringing together communities and students to get a national discussion rolling. Organizers have suggested using the event to convey the importance of curbing gun violence to legislators. They are encouraging students to push legislation that would ban assault weapons and tighten up rules around who can buy guns and how. Over 2,500 schools nationwide are expected to participate. In L.A., some students  at campuses including Eagle Rock High School, the Ramon C. Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts and Bravo Medical Magnet  plan to walk out. Students from various schools expect to join area marches, including those in Santa Monica and Huntington Park. Other schools are hosting career days and voter registration drives. At 1 p.m., students plan to start a rally in front of L.A. Unified headquarters. For the record: An earlier version of this article stated that 12 teachers and one student were killed in the Columbine shooting. The opposite is true: twelve students and one teacher died. Facebook

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Stabbing of popular student devastates South El Monte High School; teen friend suspected in slaying By Sonali Kohli When administrators at South El Monte High School called Jeremy Sanchezs parents to say he never showed up for class Wednesday, his father began to worry. It was unusual for the 17-year-old junior to miss school, so his father filed a missing persons report and assembled two of Jeremys close friends to look for the popular student-athlete. Their search took them to a scenic stretch of the San Gabriel River Trail, where one of the friends  a 16-year-old boy  made a tragic discovery. Among the bushes in the riverbed near Thienes Avenue and Parkway Drive was Jeremys body, punctured with stab wounds, according to Lt. John Corina of the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department. Read More Facebook

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Racist fliers spark outrage at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo By Alene Tchekmedyian Soon after Neal MacDougall arrived on the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo campus Tuesday, the professor noticed university police standing outside a restroom near his office. A racial slur against African Americans had been scrawled in red marker on a stall wall. Later, he discovered a series of racist fliers pinned up next to his door. Someone had also slashed posters hed hung outside his office supporting students in the country illegally. The discovery was the latest controversy on the prestigious campus  which the president said is less than 55% white  that MacDougall said demonstrates a culture of racism at the university. Last week, photographs emerged of white fraternity members, including one in blackface, flashing gang signs. Read More Facebook

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The superintendent waiting game, paying for L.A.'s College Promise, Princetons slave history: Whats new in education By Joy Resmovits Acting LAUSD superintendent Vivian Ekchian is a finalist for the permanent job. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) In and around Los Angeles: The L.A. Unified school board spent 10 hours interviewing and discussing candidates for superintendent. When they adjourned after 10 p.m., they said they would reconvene on Friday. Who is paying for Mayor Eric Garcettis much-touted College Promise, a program that promises two years of community college for LAUSD grads? In California: The Legislature is considering a proposal that would boost K-12 education funding for black students. When the cost of living is taken into account, California has the highest rate of child poverty. Nationwide: The families of two children killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School are suing Alex Jones and Infowars for saying the school massacre never occurred. Princeton will name two spaces  an arch and a garden  after slaves who lived or worked on the campus. Facebook

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L.A. school board meets privately with finalists and debates choice for school district leader By Howard Blume The Los Angeles Board of Education adjourned late Tuesday after spending more than 10 hours interviewing candidates and trying to reach a decision on who would be the next leader of the nations second-largest school system. When the meeting finally recessed at 10:11 p.m., a spokesman announced only that the school board would reconvene Friday at noon. Going into the days meetings, there were apparently four finalists, according to sources who could not be named because they were unauthorized to speak. Read More Facebook

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Two Sandy Hook families sue Alex Jones and Infowars for saying the school massacre never happened By David Altimari Families of two children killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School have filed lawsuits in Texas against controversial radio host Alex Jones for continually claiming the massacre never happened. Neil Heslin, the father of Jesse Lewis, and Leonard Pozner and Veronique De La Rosa, whose son Noah Pozner died in the massacre, filed separate lawsuits late Monday in Travis County, Texas. The lawsuits allege that Jones defamed the parents by constantly calling them crisis actors and insisting the shooting was a false flag operation; they also claim Jones accusations have led to death threats against the Sandy Hook families by Jones followers. Read More Facebook

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Beutner emerges as a top pick for L.A. schools superintendent amid last-minute jockeying By Howard Blume Austin Beutner has emerged as a leading contender to run the Los Angeles school district, with backers saying he is smart enough and tough enough to confront its financial and academic struggles. Though he does not have a background in education, the former investment banker has in the last year examined some of the districts intractable problems, serving as co-chair of an outside task force with the support of then-Supt. Michelle King. Sources inside and outside the school district said Beutner appears to have more support on the seven-member board than other finalists, and his name could come up for a vote as early as Tuesday. Read More Facebook

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Challenge at Chicago school construction site: Watch for 38,000 unmarked graves By Nereida Moreno A 15-year effort to build a school in Chicagos Dunning neighborhood is underway with an unusual complication: Construction workers are taking careful steps to avoid disturbing human remains that may lie beneath the soil. The $70-million school is to be built on the grounds of a former Cook County Poor House, where an estimated 38,000 people were buried in unmarked graves. Among the dead are residents who were too poor to afford funeral costs, unclaimed bodies and patients from the countys insane asylum. There can be and there have been bodies found all over the place, said Barry Fleig, a genealogist and cemetery researcher who began investigating the site in 1989. Its a spooky, scary place. Read More Facebook

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Oklahoma teacher walkout winds down despite lawmakers failure to meet demands By Washington Post Oklahomas largest teachers union has announced an end to a walkout that has drawn thousands of educators out of classrooms and to the state Capitol demanding greater investment in the states schools, which have endured the nations steepest funding cuts. The announcement Thursday from the Oklahoma Education Assn. does not necessarily end the protests at the Capitol, as teachers not affiliated with the union vowed to stay longer. Instead of a walkout, the union and school districts across the state have said they plan to send delegations of teachers to Oklahoma City to keep the pressure on lawmakers. Teachers and their supporters have also promised to push education issues to the forefront of November elections, when the state chooses a new governor. As school districts begin to reopen, the protests may lose steam. The Legislature is not in session Friday, and observers are waiting to see what happens Monday, when lawmakers return. Read More Facebook

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Most Californians are worried about school shooting threats and oppose arming teachers, survey finds By Joy Resmovits Hamilton High School student Aiyana Dabriel holds a sign during a March 14 walkout in support of the Parkland shooting victims. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) Most Californians are worried that a school shooting like the one that occurred in Parkland, Fla., in February could shed blood closer to home, a new survey found. Some 73% percent of adults and 82% of public school parents said they were very concerned or somewhat concerned about school shootings. The Public Policy Institute of California surveyed 1,704 adults in the state by phone just after the March for Our Lives protest against gun violence. Latino and black respondents were significantly more likely to be concerned about school violence than white or Asian respondents, the institute found. Two-thirds of adults and public school parents said they opposed letting more educators carry weapons in school. The response differed across party lines, with 86% of Democrats and 69% of independents voicing their opposition, while 60% percent of Republicans said they would support a measure to arm educators. The poll, which had a margin of error of 3.2% in either direction, also asked Californians about school funding, educational issues in the governors race and the impact of immigration enforcement on students. You can find the full results here. Facebook

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Californias largest virtual charter school network agrees to contract with its teachers By Anna M. Phillips Nearly four years after teachers at Californias largest online charter school voted to unionize, they have reached a deal to increase pay and create job protections, according to a spokesman for the California Teachers Assn. The contract, which is still tentative and subject to ratification, is a victory for the teachers union. Although charter schools are publicly funded, most are privately managed and their employees arent protected by labor contracts. Under the terms of the contract  the result of years of negotiation and legal wrangling  approximately 500 teachers working for California Virtual Academies will no longer be at-will employees who can be dismissed for almost any reason. Their average salary will rise to just over $45,000, according to union estimates, a figure that remains far below the norm for traditional public school teachers. Still, it is an improvement over the previous average of $38,000. The accord also places a limit on the number of students each teacher is responsible for monitoring in online homeroom classes. Were very satisfied with the gains we made, said teacher Brianna Carroll, president of California Virtual Educators United. I think were going to see some extraordinary changes in our schools. According to Carroll, teachers at California Virtual Academies  better known as CAVA  had grown frustrated with the organizations foot-dragging and were making preparations to go on strike when CAVAs leadership agreed to the deal. CAVA and K12, the Virginia-based for-profit company linked to its schools, did not immediately respond to an email Tuesday asking for comment. The network currently operates nine virtual charter schools across California. In 2016, the charter network agreed to pay $8.5 million to settle claims of false advertising, misleading parents and inadequate instruction. The state attorney generals office had also accused K12 of controlling the charters for its own financial benefit. Neither CAVA nor K12 admitted to wrongdoing in the settlement. A year later, the state imposed a $2-million fine on CAVA after an audit found that it had misspent public funds. The network disputed the findings. Facebook

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School board approves a new formula for funding high-need schools By Sonali Kohli L.A. schools will soon get more money if they are located in neighborhoods with such problems as high levels of gun violence and asthma. The Los Angeles Unified school board voted unanimously Tuesday to adopt a new formula to determine how to dole out some funding to schools, based not only on the characteristics of the student populations but on the traumas that affect the communities around campuses. The new formula will be applied to $25 million in funding next fiscal year and about $263 million annually in future years  a small part of the districts $7.5 billion annual budget. Read More Facebook

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Protesters demand Ref Rodriguez resignation outside school board meeting By Sonali Kohli Students, parents, teachers and UTLA marching outside the board meeting chanting "Ref resign" pic.twitter.com/W0LRWZSIXY  Sonali Kohli  (@Sonali_Kohli) April 10, 2018 A few dozen parents, students and teachers marched outside the Los Angeles Unified School Board meeting Tuesday, some calling for board member Ref Rodriguez to resign the week after news broke that he was taken into custody on suspicion of being drunk in public at a Pasadena bar and restaurant. Rodriguez was not cited or charged in that incident, but was held for more than five and a half hours before being released. The school board member faces felony and misdemeanor charges for political money laundering. He is accused of getting more than two dozen people people to donate to his campaign for his school board seat with the understanding that he would reimburse them. He stepped down from his post as school board president after he was charged last fall, but he did not give up his seat on the board. He has pleaded not guilty to three felony counts of conspiracy, perjury, and procuring and offering a false or forged instrument, as well as 25 misdemeanor counts related to the alleged campaign money laundering. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May. He cant give his full focus to our students, said Rebecca LaFond, a Highland Park parent whose three children marched with her as she chanted, Ref resign. One daughter marched in front of her, using a drum stick to hit the bottom of a gallon-size empty water jug. Our kids deserve someone who has the utmost ethical standards representing them, LaFond said. The protests continued into the board meeting, where some addressed Rodriguez directly, calling on him to step down during public comment portions of the meeting. Rodriguez, through his chief of staff, declined to comment. Some parents outside the board meeting did not know about the charges against Rodriguez but came out to protest the possibility of sharing their school campuses with charter schools. Protesters also oppose colocation  not all of the parents are here to ask Ref Rodriguez to step down pic.twitter.com/1Co8zQ9zSi  Sonali Kohli  (@Sonali_Kohli) April 10, 2018 Cynthia Martinez said her son, who goes to Christopher Dena Elementary School in Boyle Heights, has been bullied in the past by students from a charter school sharing the campus. She said she didnt know who Rodriguez was. Some parents and teachers are worried about losing computer labs, robotics rooms and fitness centers if they are required to share their campus with charter schools, said Ilse Escobar, a parent community organizer for United Teachers Los Angeles. The issues of Rodriguez and colocation are related, Escobar said. Rodriguez is part of a majority on the school board elected with financial backing from charter school supporters, and many parents, she said, feel that the school board is compromised if he is a part of it. Staff reporter Howard Blume contributed to this post. Facebook

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Delaine Eastin tries to gain momentum in the California governors race, one voter at a time By Seema Mehta Delaine Eastin was a sophomore in high school when a drama teacher urged her to try out for a part in The Man Who Came to Dinner. She hesitated until he told her: This is a metaphor for your whole life. If you never try out, you will never get the part. Eastin auditioned and won the role. Decades later, the advice sticks with the former state schools chief, this time in her unlikely run for governor. Despite calls for more women in leadership roles in state politics following sexual misconduct allegations in Sacramento, Eastin has been largely overlooked in the race, lagging far behind her Democratic rivals in fundraising and the polls. Read More Facebook

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Arizona high court rejects in-state tuition for DACA recipients By Associated Press Young immigrants granted deferred deportation status under a program started by President Obama are not eligible for lower in-state college tuition, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Monday. The unanimous ruling will affect at least 2,000 students attending the states largest community college district and hundreds more at other colleges and the states three public universities. The Maricopa County Community Colleges District and state universities said they would begin raising tuition immediately for the coming school year. Read More Facebook

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New York high school students injured when bus strikes overpass By Associated Press A charter bus carrying teenagers returning from a spring break trip Sunday night struck a bridge overpass on Long Island, seriously injuring six passengers and mangling the entire length of the top of the bus. The crash happened shortly after 9 p.m. Sunday on the Southern State Parkway in Lakeview, according to New York State Police. One of the six injured passengers had very serious injuries, said State Police Maj. David Candelaria. Thirty-seven other passengers suffered minor injuries. Read More Facebook

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Some good news for California in national student test scores By Joy Resmovits Every two years, the nations fourth- and eighth-graders are tested in math and reading  and newly released results from last years tests give California at least a little reason to be pleased. The 2017 results  out Monday night  were mostly flat nationwide compared with 2015, though the average score in eighth-grade reading went up. But while that improvement largely came from the increased scores of the highest-performing students, California eighth-graders showed some reading progress from the lowest levels to the highest. Read More Facebook

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Under state control, Inglewood school districts financial picture worsened By Anna M. Phillips When Eugenio Villa agreed to return to the Inglewood schools for a second tour last summer, he knew the district remained one of Californias most troubled. Inglewood Unified had been nearly insolvent when it was taken over by the state Department of Education in 2012. Six years later, its enrollment was still declining. Its school buildings were tired  some edging into decrepitude. Its test scores and graduation rates were still below the state average. And the public was out of patience. Still, Villa, who had signed back on as the districts chief business official, was shocked at what he found when he arrived in June 2017. Two years earlier, he had left the school system on what he thought was firm ground. Read More Facebook

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Charter school group drops two lawsuits against L.A. Unified By Howard Blume A charter schools advocacy group last week announced that it would end two long-running lawsuits in which it was seeking more classroom space and construction money from the Los Angeles school district. The decision, the California Charter Schools Assn. said, reflects better relations between charter schools and the L.A. Unified School District. But the move also suggests that the litigation, which already contributed to significant gains for area charters, was unlikely to produce much more. It takes time, money and effort to litigate, said Ricardo Soto, general counsel for the charter group. Maybe its better to see if we can find the time and opportunity for collaboration. Read More Facebook

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L.A. school board member Ref Rodriguez is arrested on suspicion of public intoxication By Richard Winton Los Angeles school board member Ref Rodriguez was arrested recently on suspicion of being drunk in public at a Pasadena restaurant, the latest trouble for an elected official who faces political money-laundering charges. Pasadena police took Rodriguez into custody on March 16, according to city spokeswoman Lisa Derderian. Officers arrested Rodriguez at about 4:30 p.m. at the Yard House restaurant and bar at the Paseo Mall and held him in jail for more than five-and-a-half hours. Rodriguez was ultimately released without being cited or charged, Derderian told The Times. Other details about the arrest were not available, she said. Read More Facebook

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Kentucky teachers rally at Capitol over state budget By Associated Press Thousands of Kentucky teachers filled the streets near the state Capitol in Frankfort on a cold, overcast Monday to rally for education funding. Teachers and other school employees gathered outside the Kentucky Education Assn. a couple of blocks from the Capitol chanting, Stop the war on public education and holding or posting signs that say, Weve Had Enough. Were madder than hornets, and the hornets are swarming today, said Claudette Green, a retired teacher and principal. Read More Facebook

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Derick Ion Almena and Max Harris took over the aging warehouse in Oakland with hopes of creating an affordable space for artists and musicians to live and work in the Bay Areas overheated housing market.

But prosecutors said what they actually created was a deathtrap.

Almena, the manager of the so-called Ghost Ship, undertook a series of unregulated construction projects that turned the industrial space into illegal dwellings, charging residents $300 to $1,400. Authorities say the men filled the building from floor to ceiling with tapestries, pianos and furniture, turning the Ghost Ship into a tinderbox.

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On Dec. 2, 2016, nearly 100 people piled into the warehouse for a concert, and Harris, the venues creative director, blocked off a stairwell that served as a secondary exit, authorities said. So when a fire began burning through all the debris, prosecutors allege, concertgoers and residents had only one way out  a narrow, rickety staircase. Thirty-six people could not make it out and died in one of the deadliest fires in modern California history.

Alameda County prosecutors capped a six-month investigation into the deadly blaze on Monday when they charged Almena and Harris with 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter, saying their management of the Ghost Ship was not simply negligent, but criminal.

Dist. Atty. Nancy E. OMalley said Monday that Almena and Harris knowingly created a fire trap, with inadequate means of escape. They then filled that area with human beings.

Prosecutors said both men repeatedly lied to police when asked if anyone was living inside the Ghost Ship, and neither outfitted the building with fire suppression equipment or smoke alarms. Several people had warned Almena of the obvious fire hazard, according to the court filing.

The Ghost Ship fire sparked crackdowns on illegally converted warehouses across California and shed light on the struggles of artists to afford rent in big cities like San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles.

It also created a scandal at Oakland City Hall amid revelations that residents and neighbors had complained for years about dangerous conditions at the warehouse without much action from city officials.

The criminal charges come amid continued questions about why the city didnt do more to close the Ghost Ship and what actually caused the fire.

Investigators from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives spent weeks combing the charred husk of the warehouse, but much of the evidence they would have needed to determine a cause was swallowed by flames, prosecutors said Monday.

Almenas attorneys  Jeffrey Krasnoff, Kyndra Miller and J. Tony Serra  have previously said they believe the fire started in an adjacent building and spread to the Ghost Ship. They have also argued that the agencies investigating the fire have a conflict of interest because they are also defendants in wrongful death suits brought by the victims families.

We believe that these charges represent no less than a miscarriage of justice, and we are confident that this attempt to make a scapegoat out of our client will fail, the attorneys said in a statement.

Almena made a brief appearance Monday afternoon in a Lake County courtroom following an arrest. He was held on $1 million bail. It was unclear whether Harris had legal representation.

Both men face 39 years in prison if convicted, according to Alameda County Assistant Dist. Atty. Teresa Drenick.

Almena, 47, was the subject of intense criticism in the wake of the blaze, with many current and former tenants telling news outlets he knew of the squalid and dangerous conditions inside the building but failed to address them.

He bristled at the idea that he was responsible for the fire during an interview with NBC last year.

Im incredibly sorry and that everything that I did was to make this a stronger and more beautiful community and to bring people together, he said at the time. People didnt walk through those doors because it was a horrible place.

Public records released in February showed the warehouse had been subject to at least 10 code enforcement complaints and that city officials had visited the building numerous times, but failed to go inside.

Shelley Mack, a former tenant who moved out before the fire and provided investigators with her account of conditions inside the warehouse, said she was relieved that criminal charges were filed, but believes there is still plenty of blame to go around.

Almena took out a five-year lease on the building in November 2013, and quickly began to use it as a rental space, despite the fact that the warehouse was not zoned for residential use, according to a probable cause statement filed Monday. Almena also moved into the building with his wife and three children.

He soon encouraged tenants to use non-conventional building materials to create their living spaces, according to the court filing. Much of it was flammable and probably served as kindling during the fatal blaze.

Almena substantially increased the risk to those living, working or visiting the building by storing enormous amounts of flammable material inside the warehouse, the court filing read.

On the night of the fire, Harris decision to block one of the warehouses two exits proved disastrous, prosecutors said. The buildings power failed shortly after the fire erupted, leaving those fleeing to navigate a darkened, rickety, wooden staircase, which some witnesses compared to a gang plank, as they raced for safety.

All 36 victims died of smoke inhalation. They ranged in age from 17 to 61.

We continue to mourn the loss of the 36 young and vibrant men and women, 36 members of our community who should be with us today.  Alameda County Dist. Atty. Nancy E. OMalley

We continue to mourn the loss of the 36 young and vibrant men and women, 36 members of our community who should be with us today, OMalley said.

It remains unclear whether anyone else will face charges in the blaze, including building owner Chor N. Ng. Asked if the investigation was closed, Drenick said the district attorneys office would comment only on the charges filed Monday.

Ngs attorney declined to comment.

Almena and his wife, Micah Allison, have been described as wanderers who once organized their lives around eccentric festivals like Burning Man in the Nevada desert. He was convicted of receiving stolen property in 2015 and is on probation until 2019.

Harris, a 27-year-old tattoo artist who also went by the names Max Ohr and Warlord, lived in the structure. He previously told the East Bay Times that he reported problems with the warehouses electrical system to the property owners.

Harris sought financial aid on social media in the weeks after the fire, while openly musing about creating a similar creative space somewhere else.

In no way do I mean to take away from the tragedy and loss by seeking to get back on my feet and heal, he wrote in a Dec. 28 Facebook post. His GoFundMe campaign raised more than $2,000 for his recovery.

Despite prosecutors description of Harris as the buildings creative director, he previously told The Times he was merely an artist and resident at the Ghost Ship.

Convicting the men on manslaughter charges will be no simple task, legal experts said. Jean M. Daly, a former prosecutor in Los Angeles and San Francisco who led arson units in both cities, said prosecutors will need to prove Almena and Harris knew the deadly fire was a possibility.

The fact that prosecutors cannot prove how the fire began could also be problematic, Daly said.

They have an undetermined origin and cause and that is a problem for prosecutors, she said. That is an awful tough case to make.

Former Los Angeles Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley, however, said Almena and Harris behavior is likely to resonate with jurors.

It is not so much the cause of fire that matters. Much more important is recklessness in having that building packed with stuff and occupied in violation of just about every safety code in the city and the state, he said.

Outside the warehouses remains, hearts bearing the names of the 36 fire victims hang from a weeping willow tree of twisted iron branches and votives. Its base was still crowded with jars and vases filled with fresh flowers on Monday.

St. John reported from Oakland. Queally and Winton reported from Los Angeles.

james.queally@latimes.com

richard.winton@latimes.com

paige.stjohn@latimes.com

Follow @JamesQueallyLAT, @LAcrimes, & @paigestjohn for more criminal justice news in California.

ALSO

Oakland officials well aware of problems at Ghost Ship before fire killed 36, records show

Were all kind of searching. Mourners make pilgrimages to the Ghost Ship from Oakland and beyond

The L.A. DIY community contemplates a post-Ghost Ship life
Ukraine in January-May 2017 doubled natural gas imports compared to the same period in 2016, to 5.953 billion cubic meters, according to data from PJSC Ukrtransgaz.

In particular Ukraine in January-May 2017 imported 4.929 billion cubic meters from Slovakia, 532.8 million cubic meters from Hungary, and 490.7 million cubic meters from Poland.

In May 2017 gas imports amounted to 1.190 billion cubic meters, which is 12.3 times more than in May last year (96.4 million cubic meters).

Ukraine has not been importing natural gas under a contract with PJSC Gazprom since November 26, 2015, purchasing it exclusively on its western border.
The owner of the worlds largest private Star Wars collection is calling on the Force for help in locating more than 100 pieces of rare memorabilia that were recently stolen.

After a fellow Star Wars collector and close friend was charged with stealing his prized artifacts, Steve Sansweet of Petaluma, Calif., announced Monday that he now is looking to find the memorabilia, most of which has been resold.

In a letter to Star Wars fans and collectors posted on his website, Sansweet said vintage items valued at more than $200,000 were purloined in late 2015 and 2016 from Rancho Obi-Wan, his museum on a rural property in Sonoma County where he stores the valuable collection.

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It is our goal to resolve this situation as quickly as possible and to continue to use the collection at Rancho Obi-Wan to Inspire through the Force despite the destruction caused by one person, he said in the letter.

Among the stolen items were boxed action figures, which Sansweet described as rare and important pieces.

If it werent for a fellow collector who was trying to track down his own rocket-firing Boba Fett action figure after it was stolen, the massive theft at Rancho Obi-Wan might not have been discovered.

That collector posted news of the theft of the action figure on his website, according to Sansweet.

A toy dealer who had purchased the Boba Fett figure saw the post and came forward with a detailed list of memorabilia he had bought from Carl Cunningham, Sansweets friend. The list included a large number of collectibles from Sansweets private collection.

Sansweet said that without the dealers help, we might still not know of the theft or its extent.

In March, Cunningham, a 45-year-old Georgia resident, was charged with one felony count of grand theft, according to the Sonoma County district attorneys office.

After an arrest warrant was issued, Cunningham turned himself in on March 24 and posted $25,000 bail, said Sgt. Spencer Crum, a spokesman for the Somona County Sheriffs Office.

Cunningham stole the items during three visits to the museum in 2016, Crum said.

During the investigation, detectives found emails between Cunningham and Sansweet describing the theft, Crum said. In them, Cunningham agreed to return the stolen items to Sansweet, he said.

Detectives also discovered that Cunningham had created PayPal accounts and posted several advertisements offering Sansweets collectibles for sale on Star Wars memorabilia websites, Crum said.

He did sell a bunch of the memorabilia, the sergeant said.

Sansweet said Cunningham sold all the items. He said Cunningham sent him lists of what he stole and approximately when the items were stolen. Cunningham also apologized, Sansweet said, and told him, hed try his best to make it up to me.

Cunningham could not be reached for comment.

According to Sansweet, Cunningham is a fellow Star Wars collector and R2-D2 builder. Sansweet said he had known Cunningham for many years and considered him a good and trusted friend. He said he frequently hosted Cunningham at his home.

I, and the staff at Rancho Obi-Wan, are devastated that he is the alleged perpetrator of the thefts, Sansweet said. Not only have important items been stolen from the collection, but also our time, energy and ability to trust unconditionally have taken a blow.

Sansweet, who retired from Lucasfilm in 2011, has been collecting Star Wars memorabilia for more than 37 years. With more than 93,000 items audited and catalogued, his collection has been featured in Guinness World Records as the worlds largest Star Wars memorabilia collection since 2014. Overall, Sansweet said, his collection has about 400,000 items.

The year that Sansweet retired, the museum also became a nonprofit corporation. It provides guided tours for Star Wars enthusiasts.

Anyone with information about the stolen items is urged to contact the museum at tips@ranchoobiwan.org.

To read the article in Spanish, click here

veronica.rocha@latimes.com

Twitter: VeronicaRochaLA

UPDATES:

2:30 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from the Somona County Sheriffs Office.

This article was originally published at 1:25 p.m.
Wearing thick rouge and her trademark pink wigs, Jan Crouch was the abiding face of the Trinity Broadcasting Network, offering Christian-inspired guidance to help viewers around the world improve their lives.

But in recent weeks, jurors in an Orange County courtroom saw a different side of Crouch  who co-founded the evangelical network with her husband, Paul Crouch Sr.  after a granddaughter accused her of turning her back when she reported she was sexually abused.

Carra Crouch said that in 2006, at age 13, she was sexually assaulted in an Atlanta hotel room by a 30-year-old Trinity employee. When she told her grandmother, Jan Crouch blamed her for what happened and never reported the incident to police, Carra Crouch alleged.

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On Monday, the jury awarded Carra Crouch $2 million for her years of emotional trauma and future suffering, finding that Jan Crouchs response caused outrageous harm.

This is important. Carra Crouch needed someone to say, Its not your fault,  said her attorney, David Keesling. She was never able to come to grips with the fact she was not to blame.

Michael King, an attorney for Trinity, said the nonprofit organization was inclined to appeal.

Jan and Paul Crouch have died since the lawsuit was filed in 2012, but they disputed their granddaughters allegations, which were among a cluster of legal actions that have drawn negative publicity to the Costa Mesa-based televangelism empire.

Its a shame Jan Crouch is not here to defend herself, King said. He insisted Jan Crouch was not informed of the alleged sexual assault, and instead was told of spurned sexual advances made by the Trinity employee. Her position was, if she knew something, she would have acted.

Carra Crouch, now 24, said in her lawsuit that in 2006, she was attending a fundraising telethon for Trinity in Georgia when the employee coerced himself into her hotel room and ordered wine from room service. Next, he pressured her to drink and then offered a glass of water, which she contends was laced with a sedative.

When she awoke the next morning, she said blood was on the sheets and her body was sore, which indicated she had been molested and raped, according to the lawsuit.

Shortly after, she went to her grandmothers Newport Beach estate and told her what had happened. The elder Crouch became enraged and upbraided her granddaughter, according to court papers.

Why would you have that man in your room? Why would you let this happen? her grandmother said, Carra Crouch testified.

The Trinity employee was soon fired and he was not arrested or charged with a crime.

The lawsuit said that under Californias child protection laws, an ordained minister such as Jan Crouch was required to report the suspected sexual abuse to police.

King, the lawyer for Trinity, countered at trial that Jan Crouch was told about the incident in her capacity as a grandmother, not as a Trinity employee, so the mandatory reporting requirement did not apply.

Jurors agreed that Jan Crouch was acting as a grandmother but still faulted her.

The jury ultimately determined that Jans response  by blaming and castigating Carra, by saying words beyond all realm of decency  constituted outrageous conduct, said Keesling, Carra Crouchs lawyer.

Jurors found that Jan Crouch was liable for 45% of her granddaughters emotional harm, which makes Trinity Christian Center of Santa Ana, the TV networks parent organization, responsible for $900,000 of the verdict. Carra Crouchs mother was found to be liable for 35%, and the man who allegedly assaulted her liable for the rest, but since neither was named in the suit, they will not be forced to pay, Keesling said.

Lawyers said the unusual split of the verdict will likely be an issue for an appellate court.

Founded in 1973 by Jan Crouch and her husband, Trinity gained viewers by preaching the gospel of prosperity  a theology in which material wealth is bestowed upon the faithful. Today, it bills itself as the worlds largest Christian TV network and is run by one of the couples sons, Matt Crouch.

The network has seen controversy before. In 2010, the network reached a confidential settlement with a broadcast engineer who claimed he was discriminated against because he was gay. In a separate case, it paid a $425,000 settlement to a former employee who said he had a homosexual encounter with Paul Crouch Sr., who denied the claim.

Five years ago, other family members went public with allegations of fiscal improprieties, which the organization denied.

matt.hamilton@latimes.com

Click here for a Spanish version of this story

ALSO

Trinity Broadcasting sells its ornate Costa Mesa headquarters to developer

Crystal Cathedral enters a new era as it transforms into Christ Cathedral

Robert Schuller eulogized as pastor who spoke the peoples language

UPDATES:

June 6, 1:05 a.m.: This story was updated to clarify what happened to the Trinity employee in the case.This story was originally published at 9:45 p.m. June 5.
In the nearly three years since women began stepping forward en masse to accuse Bill Cosby of sexual assault, none ever achieved what most abuse victims wish for: a day in court.

No longer.

Andrea Constand took the witness stand at the Cosby trial Tuesday and faced off against her alleged attacker in a dramatic moment that has long been called for by survivors of sexual violence.

There, wearing a dark-colored coat, brown tie and white shirt, Constand said, gesturing, when asked to point out the entertainer who is accused of violating her at his Philadelphia-area mansion. He glanced down quickly at his clothing, then sat stoically.

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With that, the 44-year-old massage therapist from Toronto embarked on an emotional and detailed account of a friendship that began when she met Cosby while running operations for the womens basketball team at Philadelphias Temple University in 2002, and continued through half a dozen dinners and social engagements in which he mentored her for a sports broadcasting career, till the night in January 2004 when she says he gave her with three pills and penetrated her with his fingers.

The testimony offered a full account, under oath, of a narrative similar to what other women had expressed only in scattered op-eds and TV appearances, often about encounters dating back many decades. It brought to the fore an accuser who had been shrouded in shadow, and seized back a cultural text that, with the accusations leveled at Bill OReilly and the boasts made by Donald Trump, many felt had too often focused on the aggressor instead of the aggrieved.

Cosby is charged with three counts of aggravated indecent assault against Constand and could face a decade in jail if hes found guilty. But for a moment in a suburban courthouse Tuesday afternoon, legal outcomes took a back seat to the importance of testimony, as a woman offered a first-person lens onto the evolving dynamic between a mega-celebrity and his alleged sexual assault victim.

He was a Temple friend, somebody I trusted, a mentor, and somewhat of an older figure to me, Constand said of the entertainer, who served as a trustee at the Pennsylvania school.After meeting Constand via a mutual friend, Cosby started calling her on her university-issued cellphone about issues such as renovations to the teams facilities. Constand described the ways Cosby would soon come to inquire about her personal life and eventually act like a patron. He would introduce her to important people  machers in the Philadelphia restaurant business, figures of distinction in the citys university community, even a television writer and agent in New York, on trips he partly subsidized. She showed her appreciation by calling on him often and even giving him gifts  bath salts, Temple apparel.

See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour 

But Constand also recounted details that raised red flags, at least in retrospect. In an Ontario lilt, she told of the time he invited her to his show at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut and asked her to his room to share baked goods, then lay back on the bed and brushed his knee against her leg. Or a series of awkward dinners, in which Cosby would invite her to his mansion and have the chef prepare a meal that she would then eat by herself, with Cosby popping in only occasionally to check on her.

Constand appeared upbeat and relaxed as she entered the courtroom, and increasingly serious and impassioned as her testimony wore on. By the time she got to the January 2004 night, the tension had become almost cinematic.

What are they  are they natural? Are they herbal? she recalled saying when Cosby handed her three blue pills after a dinner at his home.

He said put them down [your throat]. Theyre your friends; theyll take the edge off, she said.

Constand was dubious. So many, she asked? She says he nodded and she told Cosby she trusted him  in their conversations about basketball they had discussed herbal supplements  and swallowed them all.

Things soon went awry, she testified: I began slurring my words. I told Mr. Cosby I had trouble seeing him  that I could see two of him. My mouth was very cottony. She said stood up and found that her legs could barely support her.

He led her to the couch, helped her lie down and provided a pillow for support, and she lost consciousness, she testified. An indeterminate amount of time later, she said, she was jolted awake by physical contact: I felt Mr. Cosbys hands groping my breasts under my shirt. I also felt his hand inside my vagina moving in and out. I felt him take my hand and place it on his penis and move it back and forth.

Why didnt she stop him? a prosecutor asked.

I wasnt able to.

Push him away?

In my head I was trying to get my hands to move or my legs to move but I was frozen and those messages didnt get there.

She said she could only retreat into her own mind. I wanted it to stop, she said on the stand, her voice cracking. I felt really humiliated. I just wanted to go home.

Constand said she finally was able to summon the strength at about 5 a.m. She rose and prepared to walk out the door, back to her car. She said Cosby was waiting for her in the kitchen, and offered her a muffin and tea. She had a few bites and sips, then left.

Lili Bernard, a Bill Cosby accuser, leaves the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa. (Eduardo Munoz Alvarez / Associated Press)

The very presence of Constand in the courtroom was a plot twist even to those whove been following the 18-month array of legal proceedings against Cosby. Constand had become a kind of spectral presence  cited, debated and even psychoanalyzed, but never appearing in court.

Even Tuesday, few expected to see her. Just before she appeared, her brother-in-law, a Canadian police officer, was called to testify about how he learned of the allegations, a tangent that made her seem more remote than ever.

The prosecutions announcement a few minutes later that they were calling Constand to the stand, and so early in the trial  it was just the second day  caused a gasp in the gallery. It was such a surprise that even the judge, Steven T. ONeill, didnt know she would testify, and at the end of the day rebuked the prosecution for not informing him. Prosecutors said they had told the defense, but Cosbys lawyers all shook their head and mouthed, We didnt know.

On the stand, the prosecution sought to preempt one line of attack by the defense: why Constand had maintained contact with Cosby after the alleged assault. She said she had done so only because he continued to call about Temple business and she feared losing her job.

Prosecutors also asked why she had taken a year to come forward. If I went to the police, I thought Mr. Cosby would retaliate and try to hurt me, Constand said. What had happened to me  it was overwhelming.

The cross-examination of Constand, which began late Tuesday afternoon before adjournment for the evening, sought to suggest there are had been romantic contact between the two before the night of the alleged incident.

You were alone in a hotel room with a married man, defense lawyer Angela Agrusa said of the Foxwoods evening.

The defense also spent time pointing out inconsistencies between the details of her testimony and a police report, such as in the circumstances preceding the alleged incident.

Constand explained during the direct examination why the accounts didnt always square: I was just really confused. I had a lot going through my mind.

Whether Constands testimony will resonate with the jury in the way the prosecution hopes remains to be seen  experts were debating the matter after court adjourned for the day. At least in part it will depend on the rest of the cross-examination. But strategic issues were not on the minds of many people at the trial Tuesday.

Outside the courthouse, as evening crept in, Lili Bernard, a co-star of Cosbys on The Cosby Show who accuses the actor of assaulting her, spoke to reporters about the testimony of Constand, whom shes come to know over the last few years.

Shes seldom emotional, said Bernard, who had sat in the back of the courtroom wearing a We stand in truth button and holding pink gladioluses in solidarity with Constand. To hear her talk about something I never heard her talk about, to see her cry, was really difficult for me.

But what I witnessed today in the courtroom is something she taught me, the activist artist added. Even in the most vulnerable state you can find courage.

steve.zeitchik@latimes.com

Twitter: @ZeitchikLAT

ALSO

As Bill Cosby trial begins, an O.J. Simpson-like constellation of race, celebrity, power and gender converges

How the breakout of Wonder Woman did  and didnt  play in Gal Gadots native Israel

Even before the train killings, Portland was embroiled in conflicts over hate and racism

UPDATES:

7:20 p.m.: The story was updated throughout with afternoon testimony.

1:10 p.m.: The story was updated with Andrea Constands testimony.

This story was originally posted at 11:15 a.m.
A Las Vegas Metropolitan Police officer will be criminally charged in the death of an unarmed black man last month outside the Venetian casino, authorities said Monday.

Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said Kenneth Lopera was expected to be charged with involuntary manslaughter and oppression under the color of office  each count carrying a maximum sentence of four years in state prison.

The charges stem from an early-morning incident on May 14 when 40-year-old Tashii Brown approached Lopera and an unidentified officer at a coffee shop at the Venetian. Brown was described as acting erratically and told officers he was being chased. But then he took off and Lopera ran after him  activating his body camera in the process.

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What his video captured  as did other surveillance footage  was Lopera, who has said he thought Brown was trying to hijack a vehicle, firing his Taser seven times. He then punched Brown and administered a chokehold once he was lying on his stomach. When Brown was subsequently unresponsive, CPR was administered and he was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

On Monday, the Clark County coroner and medical examiner ruled Browns death a homicide.

The coroners office said the autopsy results found the cause of death to be asphyxia due to police restraint procedures. It said other significant conditions included methamphetamine intoxication and an enlarged heart.

The charges are the result of the coroners findings, along with evidence gathered from video surveillance, body-worn cameras and witness statements, Lombardo said Monday. It should be noted that officer Lopera did not provide a statement to the force investigation team, which is responsible for the criminal investigation of this incident.

Andre Lagomarsino, a lawyer representing the Brown family, said family members believed first-degree murder charges were called for and werent satisfied with the two lesser charges announced Monday. He said they also wanted to see charges filed against the security guards who aided Lopera in the arrest.

Tashii got a death sentence, Lagomarsino said.

The case sparked protests on May 28, leading to a short blockage of the Las Vegas Strip and about a dozen arrests. It also renewed calls by the local chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union and NAACP to ban the use of chokeholds by Las Vegas police.

Authorities have said Lopera used a mixed martial arts chokehold that differs from the chokehold technique approved for use by the department.

Lagomarsino said the family was still grieving over Browns death and his mother was receiving his ashes Monday after a memorial service on Saturday.

He said the family planned to file a civil lawsuit against the department, but would probably wait until after the criminal trial and internal investigations were completed.

Lopera, 31, joined the force in 2012, entering as a corrections officer.

He was booked at Clark County Jail on Monday and bailed out by the Las Vegas Police Protective Assn. about an hour later on $6,000 bail.

Steve Grammas, president of the association, said Lopera had been prepared for the worst-case scenario.

We dont believe he shouldve been charged at all, Grammas said. But we will be standing by him.

The sheriff said a full report on the incident would take about two months to complete.

david.montero@latimes.com

Twitter: @davemontero

UPDATES:

6:40 p.m.: The story was updated with details of Loperas employment and booking and a statement from the Las Vegas Police Protective Assn.

The story was originally published at 6:05 p.m.
Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. Its Tuesday, June 6, and heres whats happening across California:

TOP STORIES

Ghost Ship charges

Derick Ion Almena and Max Harris took over an aging warehouse in Oakland with hopes of creating an affordable space for artists and musicians to live and work in the Bay Area. Prosecutors said what they created was a death trap that killed 36 people when the Ghost Ship caught fire. Almenas lawyers say hes being scapegoated. Los Angeles Times

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Plus:

--Who are the two Ghost Ship captains charged in the deaths of so many? Los Angeles Times

--Charges bring little comfort for the loved ones of victims. East Bay Times

-- The families of Ghost Ship victims have a new target: Pacific Gas & Electric. SF Gate

A poet for these times

Vanessa Tahay stands just 4 feet, 11 inches, but her words pack a punch. She is a poet, and at 18, considered among the best in Los Angeles. The high school senior has performed and competed not just here but also in San Francisco and Washington, D.C. She has found her voice in an age of uncertainty. Los Angeles Times

New homes proposed by the highway

A real estate developer, possibly with help from his state Assemblyman, is looking to build homes on an old Caltrans property. The homes would go next to the interchange of the 91 and 110 freeways, and this proximity to crowded highways has people worried. Los Angeles Times

L.A. STORIES

Voting time again: Voters will head to the polls today to pick L.A.s next congressman in an under-the-radar special election. Los Angeles Times

A changing law: Heres what you need to know about Californias traffic proposal decriminalizing most tickets. Los Angeles Times

A tragedy: A Los Angeles firefighter died Monday morning, two days after he fell from an aerial ladder during a training exercise in downtown L.A. Los Angeles Times

Renter beware: Here are 10 of the worst landlords in Los Angeles. Bad operators today are those that look only at the potential of the property, not the property itself, said Daniel Gomez, director of code enforcement at the Housing and Community Investment Department of Los Angeles. Curbed LA

IMMIGRATION AND THE BORDER

Dangerous crossing: About 450 unidentified bodies have been found in Imperial County since the 1990s. Most were immigrants trying to hike, climb or swim their way to the American Dream. The Desert Sun

Sweet deal? President Trump narrowly avoided escalating a trade war with Mexico when the two countries reportedly reached a deal in a dispute over trade in sugar on Monday. Though this is just the first battle, the agreement averted steep U.S. duties and Mexican retaliation on imports of American high-fructose corn syrup ahead of the renegotiation of NAFTA. Reuters

POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

The spitballs are flying: Jose Huizar, a longtime ally of Antonio Villaraigosa, has decided to back the former L.A. mayors rival John Chiang for California governor. Los Angeles Times

Not so fast: California state senators have passed a single-payer healthcare bill, but Times columnist George Skelton concludes its going nowhere fast. Los Angeles Times

More housing fast! A bill to increase affordable lodging on Californias coast has passed in the state Assembly and is now being considered in the Senate. KPCC

A new challenger: Pediatrician Mai Khanh Tran is entering the race to unseat Rep. Ed Royce (R-Fullerton) in Californias 39th Congressional District. Los Angeles Times

Let the selling begin: California cities and counties are getting revved up and ready for legal recreational cannabis use. Bloomberg

CRIME AND COURTS

Life sentence handed down: A businessman was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole during an emotional court hearing on Monday for the 2015 murder of a woman who was blasted in the face with a shotgun as she walked with her boyfriend to a restaurant in Hollywood. Los Angeles Times

Convictions in jail beating: Three correctional deputies were convicted of second-degree murder Thursday in the 2015 jail-cell beating of a mentally ill inmate at Santa Clara Countys Main Jail. San Francisco Chronicle

May the force be with you: A California collector has been charged in the theft of $200,000 worth of vintage Star Wars action figures. Associated Press

THE ENVIRONMENT

A battle in Baja: The worlds smallest porpoise has caused a big battle in Baja California. Los Angeles Times

CALIFORNIA CULTURE

Very cool! Take a look inside the L.A. Arts Districts Engine Co. 17. Once a firehouse, its being turned into a hotel, and the doors were opened for a three-day sample sale for Clare V, the Silver Lake-based accessories retailer. LA Observed

The Anders family in conversation: Allison Anders and her mom, Tiffany, are the freest women in Hollywood. Lennyletter

Prepping for the summer. Heres whats new at amusement parks in Southern California this season. Orange County Register

What a generous guy: This billionaire once thanked two of his employees with $1-million checks. Los Angeles Times

CALIFORNIA ALMANAC

San Diego and Los Angeles area: partly cloudy Tuesday and Wednesday. San Francisco area: cloudy Tuesday, partly cloudy Wednesday. Sacramento: sunny Tuesday, partly cloudy Wednesday. More weather is here.

AND FINALLY

Todays California Memory comes from Elliot Brill:

An article some months ago about the Jack London House in Hollywood reminded me of the few years in the mid-1960s I spent renting an all-metal house almost opposite that interesting home with its bas relief of Jack London on its front wall.

Many fundraising parties were held at 5151 La Vista Court for the Young Democrats in the Johnson-Goldwater election year. But the thing I remember most about living there was waking up one night, and it being amazingly still. All I heard was a cracking sound. When I fully woke, I saw that a very bright orange glow was coming through the windows of my house. I opened the front door, and saw gigantic flames leaping skywards from the old ice ring just opposite on North Van Ness Avenue. Fire trucks arrived, sirens screaming, but it was too late to save the large wooden structure. I soon left for an extended trip to Europe. When I returned 11 months later, I moved into West L.A. I returned only once to view my old rented premises, walking by Jack London House with its wonderful features, for the last time.

If you have a memory or story about the Golden State, share it with us. Send us an email to let us know what you love or fondly remember about our state. (Please keep your story to 100 words.)

Please let us know what we can do to make this newsletter more useful to you. Send comments, complaints and ideas to Benjamin Oreskes and Shelby Grad. Also follow them on Twitter @boreskes and @shelbygrad.
The Legislatures recent rejection of a proposed statewide ban on plastic foam takeout containers (SB 705) was disappointing and surprising, considering that it happened hours before California lawmakers were excoriating President Trump for the environmental shortsightedness of pulling out of the Paris climate accord. Even more perplexing was that the same day the California Senate voted down the ban, it passed a bill that would require 100% of the states power to come from renewable sources by 2045.

Do legislators believe that only part of the environment is worth protecting? Or is the opposition from business groups just too strong to be denied?

We hope not, because even if polystyrene plastic foam isnt an existential threat on par with climate change, it is still the source of tons of non-biodegradable microplastic accumulating in the worlds oceans and waterways  and in the stomachs of seabirds and fish who eat them.

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The scourge of plastic foam (which many people refer to by the brand name Styrofoam) is also a drain on the publics wallet. State and local governments spend millions of dollars each year to collect plastic foam litter from beaches, roadsides and storm drains. Virtually none of the foam cups, plates and clamshell containers that Americans use by the billions each year are recycled.

The environmental and economic costs have prompted 100 California cities and counties to ban food vendors and retailers from handing out polystyrene foam. The result is a patchwork of different local polystyrene restrictions. Santa Monica bans food service containers, while San Franciscos polystyrene law extends to retail products like foam coolers. Los Angeles only attempt to rein in plastic foam were restrictions at city facilities that passed nearly a decade ago, and they dont seem to be enforced.

Granted, a statewide ban is preferable to 100 different versions. But if such a law couldnt pass in a year when Californias leaders were doubling as defenders of the global environment, it may take 100 more city bans to force legislators to take it seriously. So bring them on. L.A. City Councilmen Paul Koretz and Bob Blumenfield stood in support of SB 705 at a public rally last month. Now they should put their words into action and push the states largest city be the next one to say no to plastic foam.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
To the editor: Before rushing to judgment on President Trumps decision to repudiate the Paris climate accord, one should know what the agreement is. Oren Cases op-ed article describes the accord as nothing more than wishy-washy pledges and another international bureaucracy with no power to hold any member to its pledge. (The Paris agreement got the logic of climate action all wrong. Good riddance, Opinion, June 2)

The only good that can come of it is that the members agree to meet once in awhile and talk about climate warming. Thats something political leaders are good at, talking and doing nothing.

That being said, pollution is a real problem, and Trump should show the world how to grow our economy without contributing to pollution. We solve our pollution problems, we create jobs, and we solve global warming.

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Gerald Sozio, Los Angeles

..

To the editor: The op-ed by Cass, a senior fellow at the right-wing Manhattan Institute, repeats the claim made by the Trump administration that an analysis at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology showed that fully complying with the Paris accord would reduce temperatures in the year 2100 by only 0.2 degrees Celsius.

On June 2, MIT released a statement that this claim is misleading and that the 0.2 degrees figure referred to the difference between the Paris accord and the previous Copenhagen agreement. The study found that implementing the Paris accord compared to no agreement would result in a reduction of 1 to 1.8 degrees Celsius.

Further reduction will occur if countries strengthen their commitments after 2030, as the accord encourages them to do.

This is another example of the opponents of the accord relying on misinformation to make their case, since the information is not on their side.

Jeff Cohlberg, Rolling Hills Estates

..

To the editor: Thank you to The Times and especially Cass for reveling the truth about the Paris accord. If the general public would do a little investigation instead of relying on Leonardo DiCaprio for their information they might learn a great deal.

I am actually surprised that The Times published this article. It has given me a little bit of hope for more truthful articles in the future.

Susan Lachemann, Nipomo, Calif.

..

To the editor: Cass complains that under the Paris accord, the U.S. would have been required to make more effort at greater risk than other countries.

Fairness is an appealing argument, and whether or not an agreement is fair to the United States speaks to Trump supporters. Still, the fairness argument breaks down when both overall and per-capita carbon emissions are considered.

China is the worlds foremost emitter of carbon; the U.S. is second. On a per-capita basis, however, U.S carbon emissions are twice that of China and many times greater than most nations. True fairness would dictate that the U.S, China and other developed nations make stronger commitments to lowering carbon outputs as we are collectively contributing more to climate change.

We should worry less about whether the U.S. is getting a fair deal and more about the future of the planet.

Marjorie Popper, Solvang

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
What if Thomas Jefferson had written brief, daily letters to the public attacking his political enemies for every tiny slight, either real or imagined? What if Abraham Lincoln had sent off a constant stream of telegrams to newspaper editors complaining that reporters picked on him and printed fake news? What if Franklin Delano Roosevelt had made unannounced, middle-of-the-night radio broadcasts in which he spouted crazy conspiracy theories and maligned American allies?

Had those great presidents done such things, we would not now think of them as being so great. It also would have been big news in any era if the president of the United States carried on any mode of spontaneous communication in which he showed himself bereft of good judgment, oblivious to facts and seething with personal grudges.

That being the case, it is now bizarre and pathetic that various spokesmen for the current resident of the White House are excoriating the news media for taking note of Donald Trumps tweets. Monday on the Today show, Trumps indefatigable defender, Kellyanne Conway, condemned the medias obsession with covering everything he says on Twitter and very little what he does as president.

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1 / 51 la-1491523602-y7ephyarj1-snap-image (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 51 la-1491368625-0bgh58ihw8-snap-image (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los angeles Times) 6 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 10 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 11 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 12 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 13 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 14 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 15 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 16 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 17 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 18 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 19 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 20 / 51 Trump inspires millions to take to the streets -- to oppose him. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 21 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 22 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 23 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 24 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 25 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 26 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 27 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 28 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 29 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 30 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 31 / 51 Top of the Ticket cartoon (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 32 / 51 Cartoon caption contest winner at the DENT conference in Sun Valley, Idaho: Jon Duval, executive director of the Ketchum Community Development Corporation. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 33 / 51 Old radicals and big media descend on Selma (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 34 / 51 Horsey imagined the creation of the Ann Coulter phenomenon in this cartoon from 2007. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 35 / 51 This David Horsey drawing is a reconfiguration of a cartoon he first published in 2006. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 36 / 51 Donald Sterling, owner of the L.A. Clippers, should give Cliven Bundy a call. After Sterling loses his NBA franchise and the deadbeat Nevada rancher loses his cattle, the two old racists will both need a buddy. Maybe they can team up together and open an all-white rodeo. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 37 / 51 Besides sending a chill up the spine of the international community, Vladimir Putin has accomplished one other thing by seizing Crimea and threatening the rest of Ukraine: Putin has brought back the bear. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 38 / 51 The right-wing insurrection at the Bundy ranch in Bunkerville, Nev., has taken another weird turn with new revelations about the family history of Cliven Bundy. (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 39 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 40 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 41 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 42 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 43 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 44 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 45 / 51 David Horsey / Los Angeles Times (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 46 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 47 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 48 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 49 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 50 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times) 51 / 51 See full story (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times)

Leave aside the reality that newspapers and television news are immersed in coverage of what Trump does, Conway evades the truth that a presidents personal pronouncements  especially those that are not vetted by a communications team  are always news because they have a real world impact.

Oddly, that point was reinforced later on Monday by none other than Conways husband, George Conway, a successful attorney who had, just days before, turned down a big job running the civil division of Trumps Justice Department. While carefully expressing support for his wife and her boss, Conway sent out a series of tweets saying Trump was undermining his own lawyers by tweeting about the executive order barring travel from certain Muslim countries that is now being reviewed by the Supreme Court.

At 3:25 Monday morning (why is he up at that hour?), Trump tweeted: People, the lawyers and the courts can call it whatever they want, but I am calling it what we need and what it is, a TRAVEL BAN!

Four and a half hours later, Conway responded: These tweets may make some ppl feel better, but they certainly wont help [the solicitor general] get 5 votes in SCOTUS, which is what actually matters. Sad. A couple of hours later, he followed up, tweeting that it cannot be stressed enough that tweeting on legal matters jeopardizes the presidents own agenda.

It is unlikely this warning will be taken to heart by Trump. He seems incapable of reining himself in, even when it does not serve him well. As the investigations into alleged ties between his presidential campaign and Russian spies have been ramping up, he has tossed off tweets that have contradicted messages from his White House communications team and bordered on admissions of obstructing justice.

Trumps most appalling tweets, however, are those he unleashed against the mayor of London in the last few days. In the aftermath of the horrific terrorist attack Saturday night on London Bridge and at the nearby Borough Market, Mayor Sadiq Khan issued a statement saying Londoners had no reason to be alarmed by the heavy police presence. Trump chose to ignore the context of Khans words and tweeted: At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is no reason to be alarmed!

Immediately, British leaders of all political stripes rose to Khans defense. The news media made clear the intent of the mayors full statement. Yet, in spite of the reaction (perhaps because of the reaction and because Trump can never ever admit he is wrong), Trump followed up with another tweet: Pathetic excuse by London Mayor Sadiq Khan who had to think fast on his no reason to be alarmed statement. MSM is working hard to sell it!

Is Trump incapable of reasoned thought? Has he no sense of decency? Was he childishly indulging a personal grudge against Khan who, during the presidential election, had shown disfavor for Trump? Does he not understand that, in the midst of a human tragedy in the capital of Americas closest ally, it is a truly disgusting thing to be spouting peevish insults?

Kellyanne Conway is wrong. Paying attention to Trumps tweets is very important. Those little bursts of uncensored thought provide the clearest window into the mind of the strange man who represents us all to the world.

David.Horsey@latimes.com

Follow me at @davidhorsey on Twitter
Gov. Jerry Brown doubles down on California measure changing recall process, calling it eminently reasonable By Christine Mai-Duc State Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Compton), left, and Gov. Jerry Brown talk about funding for projects under the state transportation bill, SB1, at Cal State Dominguez Hills in Carson. (Christian K. Lee/ Los Angeles Times) The partisan volleys have continued this week in the effort to recall state Sen. Josh Newman (D-Fullerton) over his vote to pass an increase in the gas tax. Those seeking to recall Newman submitted more than enough signatures needed to qualify the measure for the ballot, if theyre all deemed valid. Newman supporters looking to halt the recall filed a lawsuit Thursday, claiming signature gatherers had misled voters. And Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill that makes changes to long-standing recall rules, an effort that Republicans have decried as an attempt by Democrats to rig the system to protect one of their own. Brown seemed to double down on that measure Friday at a press conference at Cal State Dominguez Hills, where he discussed the new gas tax, calling the new recall process eminently reasonable. The measure allows voters up to 30 days to remove their signature from a recall petition and creates a new process to review costs associated with a recall election. Brown said the bill provides an opportunity for people who have been hoodwinked to change their mind. Its all about truth and giving people the opportunity to make sure that their vote and their signature is knowingly given, Brown. The only people who would be against that are people who wanted to fool people and dont want to test it in court or in the light of day. .@JerryBrownGov responds to GOP criticism of budget trailer he signed that could make Newman recall harder. Calls it "eminently reasonable." pic.twitter.com/hSsmIPiHtP  Christine Mai-Duc (@cmaiduc) June 30, 2017 Browns comments came after a roundtable discussion in which he and state Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Compton) spoke about the importance of directing transportation dollars raised by the gas tax increase to businesses owned by women, minorities and people who are disabled. Brown cast it as part of a larger question of equality and opportunity in America. But the discussion took place even as Brown mused about efforts to repeal the controversial tax package, which is expected to raise $52 billion over 10 years for road repairs and other transportation projects. If people want to not fund the roads, then they can put something on the ballot and maybe change things, Brown said. But I think most people in California want to fix the roads. Assemblyman Travis Allen (R-Huntington Beach), who is running for governor, has filed a ballot measure to repeal the gas tax. Brown dismissed a recent poll by the Institute of Governmental Studies at UC Berkeley, which said that a majority of registered voters oppose the gas tax increases Brown and legislators recently approved. That was a poll that said, Do you want to raise a tax? Brown said. Of course people are going to say no. Brown added that when voters are given concrete situations like education and roads, theyre more likely to support tax increases. I think Californians are always leery of taxes. Im leery of taxes, Brown said. You want to drive around on gravel roads? Ive got a gravel road out in front of my house in the country. Its not bad. But I dont think thats what people want. I think they want real, paved roads  and to have paved roads youve got to spend real money. Times staff writer Patrick McGreevy contributed to this report. Facebook

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San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer says he wont run for governor, dashing hopes of GOP leaders By Phil Willon San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer speaks during a news conference about the San Diego Chargers in 2015. (Gregory Bull / AP) Republican San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, who has been lobbied intensely by GOP leaders to run for California governor, on Friday rejected the idea and vowed to serve out his second term at city hall. Both House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) and state Republican Party Chairman Jim Brulte had urged Faulconer to run. A fiscal conservative and social moderate who has demonstrated crossover appeal by winning over Democrats, Faulconer has been seen as the GOPs strongest potential gubernatorial candidate, and one who could help Republicans in down-ballot races if he was at the top of the ticket in 2018. But Falconer nixed the idea of a gubernatorial bid in a Facebook post Friday afternoon, saying he was deeply honored by so many encouraging him to run. Its a testament to the people of San Diego, and the progress weve made to create a fiscally responsible, prosperous city that is moving in the right direction. I made a pledge last year to serve out my second term as mayor, and thats exactly what Im going to do, Faulconer said in the post. He was facing pressure to enter the race and GOP insiders who were familiar with his thinking believed he was leaning toward running. Faulconer ultimately decided not to run because he did not see a certain path to victory, according to a top state party official who did not want to be identified because they were not authorized to speak for the San Diego mayor. The last time a GOP candidate won a statewide race was in 2006. The governors race already has attracted a handful of Republican candidates, but none with Faulconers political stature. They include conservative Orange County Assemblyman Travis Allen and Rancho Santa Fe venture capitalist John Cox. Speculation is mounting that former state Assemblyman David Hadley plans to announce a run. The Democratic heavyweights in the race include Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and state Treasurer John Chiang. A strong GOP top-of-the-ticket candidate would be expected to increase Republican turnout next fall. Faulconers decision not to run could impact some hotly contested congressional races in California, and potentially affect Republican efforts to retain control of the House of Representatives. If a Republican gubernatorial candidate fails to make the general election, creating a Democrat-on-Democrat race in November 2018, that could depress GOP turnout and affect those targeted congressional races. It leaves the Republicans without an obvious front-runner that the donors would have confidence in, said GOP strategist Rob Stutzman, who previously advised former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and 2010 GOP nominee Meg Whitman. But it still depends on the nature of the race next November. Its too early to say. Update 4:21 p.m.: This story was updated with reaction about Faulconers decision and more information about the 2018 election. This story was originally published at 3:30 p.m. Facebook

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Assembly Democrats denounce threats made after single-payer healthcare bill was sidelined Facebook

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Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom blasts National Rifle Assn. recruitment video, saying it could lead to violence By Seema Mehta (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom called on the National Rifle Assn. to take down a controversial new video that he argued villanizes political rivals and could lead to violence. Come after politicians. Come after policy makers. Come after ME, Newsom wrote on his Facebook page Thursday. But do not implicitly call for demonstrations of force against your fellow Americans in a country that is already reeling. You are powerful. People are listening to you. And your message could lead to tragedy. The NRA video, which urges people to join the organization, was posted earlier this month and features conservative commentator Dana Loesch talking about political rivals who she argues use the media, schools and Hollywood for sinister purposes. The video features footage of police clashing with protesters and a bloodied Trump supporter, and flashes images such as the Hollywood sign, Disney Hall and the Los Angeles Times building as Loesch repeatedly invokes an unnamed opponent she refers to as they. Loeschs concluding remarks in the minute-long video have drawn the most ire. The only way we stop this, the only way we save our country and our freedom, is to fight this violence of lies with the clenched fist of truth, Loesch said. Im the National Rifle Assn. of America, and Im freedoms safest place. Newsom is a longtime foe of the NRA. He was a primary sponsor of Proposition 63, a ballot measure voters approved in November that requires background checks to purchase ammunition, bans possession of high-capacity magazines and other gun-safety efforts. On Thursday, the NRA claimed victory when a federal judge, at their attorneys request, granted a preliminary injunction blocking a related law that would have required Californians to get rid of large-capacity magazines by Saturday or face fines and potential jail time. Newsom, the states lieutenant governor, wrote that he felt a chill down my spine when he watched the video. He said while he and the NRA have long disagreed, the video crosses the line of appropriate political debate. He described it as dangerous because it tells viewers that our fellow Americans are to be feared  and even worse. How does this video advance debate? How does it bring people together for common ideals? How does it do anything but cast Americans as enemies to be defeated in a cynical ploy to sell as many weapons as possible? he wrote. Facebook

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Tired of exporting campaign cash, these politicos are putting California first By Mark Z. Barabak Air Force One leaves California after another fundraising foray. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) California feeds the world with its bounty, fuels the economy with its innovation, fires the imagination with its creativity. There is one export, though, that is far less celebrated: the unceasing torrent of outbound campaign cash. For political fundraisers, California has long been the Big Rock Candy Mountain, excavated, mined and, ultimately, shafted by candidates of both parties who use the boodle to run for president in Iowa or New Hampshire, or Congress in East Podunk. Now, Democratic efforts are underway to put California first, directing more campaign cash from whence it came by focusing on seven targeted House districts in the Central Valley and southern part of the state. Read More Facebook

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Federal judge blocks California gun law By Patrick McGreevy A handgun is displayed with 10- and 15-shot magazines. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) A federal judge Thursday granted a request by attorneys for the National Rifle Assn. to block a law that requires Californians to dispose of large-capacity ammunition magazines by Saturday or face fines and possible jail time. U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez wrote in San Diego that the rights of voters who approved Proposition 63 in November have to be balanced against the rights of gun owners. If this injunction does not issue, hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of otherwise law-abiding citizens will have an untenable choice: become an outlaw or dispossess ones self of lawfully acquired property, Benitez wrote. That is a choice they should not have to make. C.D. Michel, an attorney for the NRA and state gun owners, welcomed the decision, which allows a lawsuit to be decided on its merits before the law takes effect. My clients are pleased the Court affirmed that the Second Amendment is not a second class right, and that law abiding gun owners have a right to choose to have these magazines to help them defend themselves and their families, Michel said in a statement. Read More Facebook

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Two California Democrats join with House Republicans to vote for Kates Law By Sarah D. Wire There would be tougher penalties for people repeatedly caught crossing the border illegally, and millions of dollars less in federal funds for so-called sanctuary jurisdictions such as Los Angeles under two House immigration bills approved Thursday. Both bills would fulfill President Trumps campaign promises if they became law, but the Senate has killed similar legislation and is unlikely to be able to reach the 60-vote requirement to pass the bills. The House voted 257 to 167, with 24 Democrats crossing party lines, to pass Kates Law, which would create harsher mandatory minimum prison sentences for people who repeatedly enter the U.S. illegally. It is named after Kathryn Steinle, who allegedly was shot and killed in San Francisco in 2015 by Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, a Mexican immigrant who had repeatedly entered the country illegally and was released from jail by sheriffs officials despite a request by immigration officials to keep him behind bars. Two California Democrats, Reps. Jackie Speier of Hillsborough and Eric Swalwell of Dublin, joined Republicans in voting for the bill. Swalwell grew up with Steinle and is still in touch with her family, he said. This bill is not perfect, and its shameful that the Republicans did not allow any debate. But it does improve our ability to punish individuals who repeatedly break the law and to deter those who may do so, he Swalwell said in a statement. Read More Facebook

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Committee unexpectedly opens door to Rep. Barbara Lees push to end military force authorization By Sarah D. Wire (Paul Morigi/Getty Images) In September 2001, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) was the only member of Congress to object to an Authorization for the Use of Military Force, a resolution in response to the terrorist attacks that paved the way for the war in Afghanistan. In the 16 years since, the resolution has been used by President George W. Bush, President Obama and now President Trump as justification for more than 35 military actions in nearly 20 countries around the world -- which means those presidents have not gone back to Congress for new permission to send troops into harms way. On Thursday, the House Appropriations Committee opened the door to ending that 2001 authorization when it added Lees amendment to a Defense Department measure. Congress would have 240 days to debate a new authorization. At the end of that time the 2001 authorization would be repealed. Lee has lobbied hard just to get to this first step, which was approved by a voice vote in the Republican led committee. Ive been working on this for years and years and years. Im just really pleased that Republicans and Democrats today really understood what Ive been saying and Ive been explaining for the last 16 years, and that is, this resolution is a blank check for perpetual war, Lee said. Committee members broke into applause after the unexpected vote. Lee said Thursday she plans to personally call Speaker Paul Ryan and make the case for keeping her amendment in the bill when it gets to the House floor. The public wants to see a debate, Lee said. Our young men and women in harms way need to know their Congress is supporting them and backing them up, or not. Facebook

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Volkswagen submits revised plan for installing charging stations as part of emission-cheating settlement By Chris Megerian (Markus Schreiber / Associated Press) Volkswagen would build more electric vehicle charging stations in disadvantaged communities under an updated plan being submitted to state regulators on Thursday. The companys subsidiary, Electrify America, revised its proposal after an earlier version was rejected as inadequate by the California Air Resources Board. The proposal is the first phase of an $800-million investment in the state, one piece of a much larger settlement over Volkswagens cheating on vehicle emission rules. Although the money is expected to yield hundreds of new charging stations and boost Californias efforts to foster the market for electric cars, its also been a source of controversy. State regulators want 35% of the money to be spent in disadvantaged communities, a target endorsed by the Legislature as well. Electrify America CEO Mark McNabb said, We will strive hard to hit it. The updated plan adds Fresno to the list of metropolitan areas, which already included Los Angeles and Sacramento, where charging stations would be installed. It made sense to get out into the Central Valley, McNabb said. We thought that was an improvement we could make to the plan. Facebook

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Californias top elections officer to Trumps voting fraud panel: No By John Myers (Dylan Stewart / HS Insider) President Trumps voter fraud commission will not be getting the names and addresses of Californias registered voters. The panels request was denied on Thursday by Secretary of State Alex Padilla, who said it would only legitimize false claims of massive election cheating last fall. Padilla refused to hand over data, including the names, addresses, political party and voting history of Californias 19.4 million voters. Kris Kobach, the secretary of state of Kansas who serves as vice chairman of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, sent letters to all 50 states on Wednesday for information he said would help the group examine rules that either enhance or undermine the American peoples confidence in the integrity of federal elections processes. Padilla, though, suggested the effort is little more than a ruse. I will not provide sensitive voter information to a commission that has already inaccurately passed judgment that millions of Californians voted illegally, he said in a written statement. Californias participation would only serve to legitimize the false and already debunked claims of massive voter fraud made by the President, the Vice President, and Mr. Kobach. Last November, Trump tweeted that California was one of three states where serious voter fraud took place in the general election. No state or local elections official has found any evidence to back up the presidents assertion. Kobachs request says the panel seeks only publicly available information. Basic information about California voters is routinely shared with journalists, political campaigns and researchers after a written request and payment of a fee. The letter asks for data including information regarding any felony convictions, information regarding voter registration in another state, information regarding military status, and overseas citizen information. Padilla also criticized the selection of Kobach to help lead Trumps commission, accusing the Kansas official of past efforts at racial profiling and suppressing voter turnout. His role as vice chair is proof that the ultimate goal of the commission is to enact policies that will result in the disenfranchisement of American citizens, Padilla said. The presidential commissions first meeting is scheduled for July 19. Facebook

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Supporters of state Sen. Josh Newman sue to stop effort to recall him, alleging voters have been misled By Patrick McGreevy Sen. Josh Newman (D-Fullerton) faces a recall. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Supporters of state Sen. Josh Newman filed a lawsuit Thursday seeking to stop a recall campaign against the lawmaker, alleging that signature gatherers have misled voters and the petition contains false information. The Democratic legislator from Fullerton faces a recall funded by the California Republican Party for voting with other lawmakers to increase the states gas tax and vehicle fees to raise $5.2 billion annually for road repairs. On Tuesday, the state party announced it had submitted 84,988 signatures to election officials, some 20,000 more signatures than would be needed if officials determine they are valid. The lawsuit against Secretary of State Alex Padilla was filed in Sacramento Superior Court by three residents of Newmans Senate district and paid for by the campaign against the recall. It alleges that signature gatherers misled voters to sign the petitions by saying they would repeal the car tax. The petition gathering campaign has misrepresented the nature of the petition by informing voters that it will Stop the Gas Tax when it will not, the lawsuit says. These statements are intentionally misleading statements of fact that are false beyond dispute and mislead voters The legal complaint, which also names several signature gatherers, alleges that the notice of intent to file the petition is inaccurate in saying that the tax bill provides billions of dollars for mass transit in Northern California without Newmans district benefiting from the revenue. The bill itself does not earmark where money will go, but the intent of lawmakers was that Newmans district would benefit, the lawsuit says. The lawsuit asks that the circulation of the petition be stopped and the recall effort, using the petition as drafted, be halted. This suit is about nothing less than the integrity of our election process; a recall election simply should not be certified when signatures were gathered based on lies to voters, said James Harrison, an attorney who filed the lawsuit. Former San Diego City Councilman Carl DeMaio, an organizer of the recall, said the lawsuit is without merit. Josh Newman refuses to accept accountability for his disastrous vote to raise the car and gas tax and instead has chosen to blame others for the recall against him with lies and frivolous lawsuits, DeMaio said. Facebook

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State to pay $2.9 million to three men wrongfully convicted in Los Angeles cases By Patrick McGreevy Kash Delano Register outside a Los Angeles restaurant in November 2013 after his release from prison. (Christina House / For The Times) The state Senate has approved payment of $2.96 million to settle three claims by men who were wrongly convicted for crimes in Los Angeles and served time in prison before they were exonerated. The approval of the payments, amounting to $140 for each day served behind bars, next goes to Gov. Jerry Brown. The largest payment  $1.7 million  goes to Kash Delano Register, who said he was wrongfully convicted of a 1979 murder because of a flawed LAPD investigation. He served 34 years in prison. In 2013, the Los Angeles County Superior Court ordered that Register be released from prison after it found he had been denied due process of law and a fair trial because material exculpatory information and evidence was not disclosed. The court acted after lawyers and students from Loyola Law School cast doubt on the testimony of a key prosecution witness. The Los Angeles County district attorneys office later dismissed the charges, and Register was found by the court to be factually innocent. The Senate payment for 12,427 days served in custody is in addition to a $16.7-million settlement paid to Register by the city of Los Angeles. The Senate also voted Thursday to pay $886,760 to Luis Vargas, who spent more than 17 years in custody before a court ruled him factually innocent of a 1998 rape. In 2012, DNA evidence from one of the victims showed that a suspect known as the Teardrop Rapist, not Vargas, was the perpetrator of the rape. The third payment, $340,620, goes to Reggie Cole, who was found factually innocent after serving time in prison for the shooting death of a man outside a South Los Angeles house of prostitution in 1995. Facebook

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Public affairs strategist Fiona Hutton hosts fundraiser for Antonio Villaraigosa By Phil Willon Antonio Villaraigosa in July (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) Los Angeles public affairs strategist Fiona Hutton is hosting a San Fernando Valley fundraiser for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Antonio Villaraigosa in July. Hutton, who has worked on a number of statewide campaigns, also raised money for Villaraigosa during his successful campaign for mayor of Los Angeles in 2005. The July 25 fundraiser is being held at Huttons office in Studio City. Tickets run $1,000 apiece. To be a co-host, itll cost $10,000. Along with serving as president of her company, Fiona Hutton & Associates, Hutton sits on the board of directors of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. Facebook

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California joins other states asking the Trump administration for information on how its enforcing immigration law By Patrick McGreevy Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra wants more information on federal enforcement of immigration laws. ( Andrew Harnik / Associated Press) A group of nine state attorneys general, including California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra, filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday seeking records that would clarify how the Trump administration is enforcing federal immigration law. The request seeks the number of immigration detentions, deportations and detainer requests, and the rationale for each, as well as clarifying information on whether Trump is following through on comments that he will not target young people who were brought to the country illegally by their parents. The attorneys general also want to know whether immigrants in the country illegally have been detained at schools, hospitals and places of worship, which the state officials feel should be off-limits for enforcement. Mixed messages from the Trump Administration on immigration enforcement are sowing confusion and increasing anxiety among immigrants, Becerra said in a statement. Today we ask the Administration to tell us what it is doing in this area. The data could be used in a barrage of legal challenges the states have filed against federal immigration policies. Becerra noted that immigration-related arrests have increased nearly 40% since Trump became president, and there is concern that some of the arrests have included young people who were given a deferral from deportation under the Obama administration. The Presidents Executive Orders, and the steps taken by the Department of Homeland Security to implement those orders, have generated new fears and uncertainties in immigrant communities across the country, the attorneys general wrote in the request for information. The other states represented in the request are New York, Illinois, Washington, Massachusetts, Iowa, Maryland, Oregon and Hawaii. Facebook

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This is why Californias Legislature cant fix the states housing problems By Liam Dillon An apartment complex in Hollywood (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) For 50 years, California has had a law that aims to encourage developers to build housing. But the law has failed at helping stem the statewide shortage of homes that drives Californias affordability problems. The reason? The law requires cities and counties to produce prodigious reports to plan for housing  but it doesnt hold them accountable for any resulting home building. Cities and counties resent the law. To avoid complying, theyve asked the state to let prison beds count toward their low-income housing goals, among other things. And despite knowing about the laws weaknesses for decades, state lawmakers have provided no incentive, such as a greater share of tax dollars, for cities and counties to meet their housing goals. Read More Facebook

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Californias attorney general joins the fight against President Trumps sanctuary city order By Patrick McGreevy Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra led a group of 10 states Wednesday in filing an court brief supporting San Francisco and other California communities that challenged President Trumps executive order to withhold federal funds from sanctuary jurisdictions. After the local governments won a preliminary injunction against the order, the Trump administration asked the courts to dismiss the cities lawsuit. The brief filed by Becerra argues that public safety is improved when local law enforcement agencies focus on crime prevention instead of helping federal authorities enforce immigration laws. The Trump Administration does not have the right to coerce states, counties or municipalities to do the federal governments job, Becerra said in a statement. Californias state and local law enforcement officials are in the business of public safety, not of deportation. Threatening public safety funding to compel localities to do immigration work is a dangerous game that undermines public safety. Facebook

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California Supreme Court leaves in place decision upholding cap-and-trade system By Chris Megerian Mary Nichols, chairwoman of the Air Resources Board, oversees the cap-and-trade program. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) After more than four years, a legal challenge to Californias cap-and-trade program has reached an unsuccessful conclusion. The end came on Wednesday when the California Supreme Court declined to consider an appeal from business groups who consider the program to be an unconstitutional tax. The program requires companies to buy permits to release greenhouse gases, a system intended to provide a financial incentive to reduce emissions. The law that provided the programs foundation was not passed with a two-thirds vote in the Legislature, the legal threshold for new taxes, sparking lawsuits from the California Chamber of Commerce and the Pacific Legal Foundation. A state appeals court rejected their arguments in April, but they appealed. Business groups were also concerned the decision was too broad and could open the door to additional taxes. Despite the states victory in court, there are other legal questions around cap and trade. Gov. Jerry Brown is pushing lawmakers to extend the program past 2020 with new legislation. With this Supreme Court victory, now its up to us to take action extending Californias cap-and-trade system on a more permanent basis, Brown said in a statement. This story has been updated with a statement from the governor. Facebook

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Rohrabacher on meeting with Manafort while he was a foreign agent: It was a nice little dinner By Sarah D. Wire (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) When former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort belatedly filed as a foreign agent on behalf of a pro-Russian Ukrainian political party this week, he listed a meeting with just one U.S. politician  Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of Huntington Beach. Manaforts years-late filing with the Justice Department details $17 million in political consulting work he did between 2012 and 2014 for the Party of Regions, a Ukrainian party considered friendly with the Kremlin. Rohrabacher told the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday that the March 2013 meeting happened over dinner at the Capitol Hill Club, a popular Washington Republican social club. He said Manafort billed it as a chance to get reacquainted decades after they worked together in the 1970s on President Reagans campaign. Still, he assumed Manafort had an agenda. I assume when old friends call me up and are wanting to get reacquainted and stuff I always assume they are in some way under contract with somebody, Rohrabacher said. Rohrabacher, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats, has long been known for encouraging improved relations with Russia, something thats made him an outlier in the Republican Party. He said Russia and the Baltic states probably came up during dinner, but it wasnt the focus of their conversation. We discussed a myriad of things, a lot of personal stuff, a lot of different analysis of the politics of the day, Rohrabacher said. It was a nice little dinner. Three days later, Manafort contributed $1,000 to Rohrabachers reelection campaign. Manaforts modest donation didnt stand out, Rohrabacher said. Ongoing FBI and congressional investigations into Russian attempts to interfere in the 2016 election, and how the Trump campaign may have been involved, have heightened interest in any connections American politicians may have had with the Russian government or its proxies. Rohrabachers opponents immediately began fundraising off the revelation that Manafort met with the congressman while serving as a foreign agent. Democrat Harley Rouda, whos running for Rohrabachers seat in 2018, called it embarrassing in a solicitation email Tuesday. We need someone who cares more about Orange County and America than supporting Russia and Putin, Roudas email stated. Facebook

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Democrats block Republican legislators proposal for forensic audit of UC Office of President By Patrick McGreevy Two months after a state audit found mismanagement at the University of California, Democratic state lawmakers on Wednesday blocked a Republican legislators proposal to have auditors go back in and look deeper at spending, this time with an eye for possible criminal activity. Assemblyman Dante Acosta (R-Santa Clarita) said the follow-up examination was justified after an audit in April found the UC Office of the President had failed to disclose a $175-million budget surplus to the Board of Regents and the public, was paying excessive salaries and expenses and had inadequate financial safeguards in place to prevent abuse. The lack of controls, the audit concluded, was putting millions of dollars at risk of abuse. I am fighting to return trust in the institution of the UC Office of the President for students, parents, faculty and staff, Acosta said. Only complete transparency can accomplish that goal. However, no Democratic lawmakers on the Joint Legislative Audit Committee voted to authorize a new audit, so the motion failed. Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance) said the university administration should be given time to address the recommendations of its recent audit. I believe this request is premature, he said. State Auditor Elaine Howle said Wednesday in response to a legislators question that she did not find any evidence of misuse of funds. We didnt see anything nefarious, Howle told the panel. UC President Janet Napolitano said funds were not hidden, but she has agreed to adopt policies to make the budget process more transparent. Monica Lozano, chairwoman of the UC Board of Regents, told the legislative committee Wednesday that a new audit is unnecessary and may interfere with the systems implementation of recommendations from the last audit, including the hiring of an accountant to look at UC spending. Facebook

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Single-payer healthcare advocates protest at Capitol with a message for Californias Assembly speaker: Shame on you! By Melanie Mason View Twitter post Backers of a measure to establish a single-payer healthcare system in California rallied at the Capitol on Wednesday to renounce Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount), who shelved the bill last week. Several hundred demonstrators, many affiliated with the California Nurses Assn., the legislations sponsor, convened in the Capitol rotunda, where they unfurled a banner that blared Inaction = Death, before handing off signs with written complaints to a member of Rendons staff. The rally, on the heels of a smaller demonstration at Rendons district office on Tuesday, is a sign of how single-payer backers continue to seethe after the bill, SB 562, stalled on Friday. Patty Estefes, a retired nurse from San Jose, said the campaign for single-payer heathcare, in which the government would cover all residents healthcare costs, was her passion. Rendon sabotaged SB 562 and we want to take the knife out, said Estefes, explaining her sign, which had an image of the California grizzly bear stabbed in the back with a blade labeled Rendon. The image has become popular among supporters of the bill, although other Democrats have said the violence of the image makes them uneasy. View Twitter post A depiction of violence in any form is unacceptable and inappropriate. #StandwithRendon #StrongerTogether #DeathThreatsUnacceptable pic.twitter.com/KLF8nNvxdZ  Rudy Salas Jr (@rudysalasjr) June 27, 2017 Meanwhile, another union leader, Robbie Hunter of the powerful State Building and Construction Trades Council of California, chimed in Wednesday with support for the state Assembly speaker. Working people have real fights, and they are not with a labor champion like Anthony Rendon, said Hunter, who denounced the criticism from single-payer advocates as unfair and unwarranted attacks. Facebook

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Garcetti and Schwarzenegger urge cities and states to lead fight against climate change in Trump era By Michael Finnegan Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti on Wednesday called on cities and states to lead the nations fight against global warming as the federal government begins to reverse its climate change policies. The Republican former film star  who signed a landmark 2006 law to reduce Californias carbon emissions  and the Democratic mayor spoke out against President Trumps denial of climate science at a forum at Creative Artists Agency in Century City. Both argued that steps taken by cities and states to promote renewable energy could largely make up for the Trump administrations withdrawal from the worldwide Paris agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Facebook

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California voters could decide in 2020 whether to remove mandatory punishment for falsifying U.S. citizenship records By Jazmine Ulloa A proposed California law would let state voters decide in November 2020 whether to remove the mandatory punishment for a person who falsifies citizenship documents. The legislation by Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra (D-Pacoima) would make the crime a wobbler, meaning prosecutors would have the discretion to charge suspects in such cases with either felony offenses or lower-level misdemeanors. That, supporters say, would bring the penalties in line with those for similar crimes committed by legal residents who falsify government records, such as drivers licenses. Assembly Bill 222 moved out of the Senate Public Safety Committee on Tuesday with a 5-2 vote along party lines. An amendment added Tuesday places the issue on the ballot in November 2020. Bocangera said the measure was introduced as a response to President Trumps hard-line stance on immigration and would reverse part of Proposition 187, a 1994 California ballot measure to deny public services to immigrants in the country illegally. The bill would repeal provisions in the penal code that require a person to serve an automatic five-year mandatory prison sentence or pay a $75,000 fine if they are convicted on charges of manufacturing, distributing or selling false documents to conceal someone elses citizenship or residency status. It has the support of the Los Angeles County district attorneys office, which says there are far more serious crimes that carry substantially lower penalties. Today, if an underage college student uses a fake ID to purchase a six-pack of beer, he or she can be charged with a misdemeanor, Bocanegra said in a statement. However, if an immigrant is caught using that same fake ID, he or she is automatically charged with a felony and is subject to five years in prison. Facebook

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Its all good: Gov. Jerry Brown (again) signs a budget without any vetoed spending By John Myers Gov. Jerry Brown, signs bills in his Capitol office on Oct. 9, 2015. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Gov. Jerry Brown holds two unique records when it comes to state budgets. No governor has signed more of them, and none in modern times have been as hesitant to veto items they dont like. In the budget he signed on Monday, Brown made no changes. Its not the first time. This was Browns second consecutive budget in which he took no veto actions, and his third veto-free budget since 1982. Governors have line-item veto power to erase budget expenditures, decisions that arent subject to review by the Legislature. Previous chief executives have used their unilateral power far more often, a way to trim spending from a variety of state budget-related programs. State documents show former Gov. George Deukmejian holds the modern record for the most budget changes, issuing 367 line-item vetoes on July 21, 1983. In total amount of spending, the record belongs to former Gov. Pete Wilson, whose budget vetoes in 1998 added up to more than $1.9 million. Brown also has the distinction of issuing fewer vetoes of stand-alone legislation of any governor in the last half-century, suggesting its a sign of respect for the legislative branch of government. The governors signature on the latest state budget sets in place $183.2-billion in spending, covering a wide range of programs and services while setting aside more in cash reserves than ever before. Read More Facebook

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Campaign to recall freshman state senator submits more than enough signatures to qualify for the ballot By Patrick McGreevy State Sen. Josh Newman (D-Fullerton) at the Capitol on April 20. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) The campaign against state Sen. Josh Newman has turned in more than enough signatures to force the freshman Democrat from Fullerton into a recall election. Republican Carl DeMaio, a lead organizer of the effort, said the group submitted 84,988 signatures on Tuesday. More signatures are being collected but only 63,500 registered voters in the 29th Senate District are needed to put the recall question on the ballot. It shows that there is an unbelievable grass roots movement to fire Josh Newman for his disasterous vote to support an increase in the gas tax, said DeMaio, a conservative radio talk show host from San Diego. The recall drive was complicated by recently enacted legislation that allows voters to ask that their signatures not be included in the recall petitions if they felt they were misled. Elections officials in Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties must now determine whether there are sufficient valid signatures to qualify the recall. Mike Roth, a spokesman for the campaign against the recall, said special interests including Chevron have helped fuel a misleading petition drive. The recall petition is a costly power grab by out-of-district special interests that wont save taxpayers a dime and wont solve any problem voters care about, Roth said. What it will do is cost up to $3 million in tax dollars that would be better spent on our schools and public safety. Facebook

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In massive shake-up, Gov. Jerry Brown breaks up Californias scandal-plagued tax collection agency By Patrick McGreevy In a move that triggers the most dramatic shake-up of the California Board of Equalization in its 138-year history, Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation Tuesday that strips the embattled state tax collection agency of most of its powers and duties as officials scramble to create an entirely new department by July 1. The board is the target of an investigation by the state Department of Justice, and its employees and members have been accused by auditors of mismanagement, including putting $350 million in sales taxes in the wrong accounts and improperly interfering with decisions to open field offices and transfer staff. The governor signed a bill that pares the state board from an agency with 4,800 workers to one of 400 employees, shifting the other staff engaged in the collection of sales and excise taxes to a new California Department of Tax and Fee Administration. The elected, five-member Board of Equalization will also give up its role hearing taxpayer appeals to a new Office of Tax Appeals, leaving the board to advocate for taxpayers and continue setting rates for gas taxes and pipeline levies, and making sure counties fairly assess property taxes. Anticipating the governors action, officials had already started work to create a new state department by July 1. Its a short period, acknowledged Marybel Batjer, secretary of the California Government Operations Agency, who is coordinating the changes. The new department will be headed by a director appointed by the governor and requiring state Senate approval. Brown will also appoint a chief deputy and chief counsel. The recruitment is underway for those positions, Batjer said, adding that the transition will continue after July 1, obviously. Not every i will be dotted and t crossed between now and July 1. We will do our mighty best to do the most important things before July 1. Learn more on the history of the state board and whats next. Facebook

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Gov. Jerry Brown approves a $183-billion state budget, though a few details are unfinished By John Myers (Justin Sullivan/Getty) Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday signed into law a $183.2-billion budget, a spending plan with significant boosts for public schools and a variety of programs to help Californias most needy residents. While the blueprint depends on a series of other related bills that havent reached his desk, Browns action largely ratifies the plan approved by the Legislature and ensures the state will have a budget in place for the new fiscal year that begins Saturday. This budget provides money to repair our roads and bridges, pay down debt, invest in schools, fund the earned income tax credit and provide Medi-Cal health care for millions of Californians, Brown said in a written statement released by his office. The budget boosts total state and local spending on K-12 education and community colleges to $74.5 billion, roughly $11,000 per pupil in the coming school year. It also increases funding for the University of California and Cal State University systems, and provides additional money for preschool and child care programs. Brown and lawmakers agreed to devote a portion of new tobacco tax dollars to higher payments for doctors and dentists that treat patients in Medi-Cal, the states healthcare program for the poor. Divvying up the dollars generated by last falls Proposition 56 was among one of the most contentious issues during spring budget negotiations. The budget sets aside additional money in the states rainy-day reserve fund, growing the contingency account to $8.5 billion. Brown, who rarely uses his line-item veto power in trimming budgets, left entirely intact the plan ratified by the Legislature on June 15. While the governor signed 15 budget-related bills Tuesday, a handful of other related bills have yet to make their way to his desk. Those include a plan to make an extra $6-billion payment to the California Public Employees Retirement System, or CalPERS, borrowing the money from surplus state revenues. The plan was approved by the state Senate on Monday. Facebook

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Gov. Jerry Brown says GOP healthcare bill cuts right into the heart of what is already a divided nation By Sarah D. Wire Californias senators, Kamala Harris, left, and Dianne Feinstein. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) One in three California residents are covered by Medicaid, and California is thought to have the most to lose if Republicans gather enough votes to roll back major aspects of the Affordable Care Act. California would see the nations biggest increase in uninsured people by next year and face a $24-billion budget shortfall by 2026 because of reduced Medicaid funding, Californias Democratic senators and Gov. Jerry Brown warned during a call with reporters on Tuesday. The Californians call was just one of dozens of events House and Senate Democrats held Tuesday to try to stir up anger over the bill. Brown called the bill divisive, saying it puts tax cuts for the wealthy above healthcare for the poor. This is such a political bill, he said. This bill will be the most divisive maneuver, cutting right into the heart of what is already a divided nation. The bill would increase the number of people without health coverage by 22 million and push up medical costs for millions of other poor and sick Americans, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. After pledging to pass the bill this week, Senate Republicans abruptly delayed a vote until after the July Fourth recess. A handful of Republicans have announced they are leery of the bill, saying it either goes too far or doesnt go far enough, and the White House is lobbying them to get on board. Every major medical association has come out against the bill, which was written by a small group of senators behind closed doors. Sen. Kamala Harris said the bill is being rushed to the Senate floor without hearings, debate or much time for senators to review it. Its absolutely wrong, it is harmful and it is unconscionable. The bill would restructure our nations entire health care system, she said. Sen. Dianne Feinstein said its not enough to amend the existing GOP bill, and Congress needs to start over instead. She said 10 or 12 Republican senators need to defect so the bill is not revived after a few changes, as a similar bill was in the House. I am optimistic that it is doable to kill it, Feinstein said. Its the most indefensible bill Ive actually seen in 24 years in the Senate. Facebook

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National Republicans target California water needs in new ads against House Democrats By Sarah D. Wire The National Republican Congressional Committee is going after five California Democrats for votes on a water issue. The online ads are identical except for one line tailored to target each Democrat: Reps. John Garamendi of Walnut Grove, Ami Bera of Elk Grove, Salud Carbajal of Santa Barbara, Raul Ruiz of Palm Desert and Scott Peters of San Diego. They specifically are about the Democrats voting against a bill to funnel dam permits through a single federal agency in an effort to speed up new water storage projects. Tell Congressman Garamendi to stop letting politics get in the way of our water, one ad says. Sponsored by Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Elk Grove), the bill passed the House last week, with a 233-180 largely partisan vote. Democrats need 24 seats to regain control of the House, and are expected to focus their attention in the midterms on tying Republicans to President Trump. Their list of seats they need to flip includes 9 of the 14 California seats held by Republicans. The ads, which will run online for the next week, could be the first glimpse of an NRCC strategy of trying to keep the focus on local issues in the 2018 election. California Democrats want to help radical environmentalists more than their drought-stricken constituents. If Democrats continue to sit on their hands and let this chance to capture much-needed water float on by, the NRCC will hold them accountable, said spokesman Jack Pandol. Facebook

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Only a few California counties may use the new state law for sending every voter a ballot in the mail By John Myers A broad effort to close thousands of California neighborhood polling places in favor of absentee ballots and multi-purpose vote centers has yet to find traction beyond a handful of counties. Data collected by Secretary of State Alex Padillas office concludes only two counties have a plan in place to implement the sweeping change in state election law enacted last year. As many as 14 counties can do so in 2018, with Los Angeles County and others able to switch to the system in 2020. Change is hard, said Jill LaVine, registrar of voters in Sacramento County, one of the counties that has already approved adoption of the system to swap polling places for a limited number of vote centers offering several different election services. Meanwhile, leaders in the county that has done the most planning to move toward changing its election system -- Orange County -- have rejected the new law for 2018. Read More Facebook

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Nurses union uses the image of a California bear stabbed in the back after single-payer bill is blocked Facebook

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Rep. Grace Napolitano to miss House votes for several weeks while husband receives cancer treatment By Sarah D. Wire Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-Norwalk) will miss House votes while her husband, Frank Napolitano, undergoes chemotherapy and radiation to treat esophageal cancer, her spokesman said. The congresswoman, 80, easily beat out former Democratic state Assemblyman Roger Hernandez of West Covina in the November election. She said in April that she would seek reelection in 2018, and her husbands health does not change her plan to seek an 11th term, spokesman Jerry ODonnell said. Napolitano has missed the last two weeks of House votes, though shes working some from the district, and is expected to remain in California for several more weeks to care for her husband during the treatment, ODonnell said. He did not know for sure how long Napolitano would be gone, but it is possible she might make it back for some votes during the seven-week-long treatment, he said. Napolitano said by phone she will try to return if the House votes again on the GOP health care bill. I intend to be back at work soon, Napolitano said. The House leaves Friday for a one-week break and leaves again at the end of July for the August recess. Napolitano suffered a minor stroke in 2016 that affected her ability to write and slightly slowed her walk. For the record, 8:47 a.m.: An earlier version of this post identified the type of cancer Napolitanos husband has as lung cancer. It is esophageal cancer. 8:47 a.m., June 27: This post has been updated with a quote from Napolitano. 2:45 p.m. This post has been updated to correct how many terms the congresswoman has served. 2:26 p.m. This post has been updated with more details about when Napolitano might return. This post was originally published at 2:06 p.m. Facebook

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After a career in the majority, Jimmy Gomez prepares for life in the minority in Washington By Sarah D. Wire (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) Congressman-elect Jimmy Gomez has spent his entire political career as a member of the majority party. When hes sworn in as central and northeast Los Angeles newest member of Congress in the coming weeks, hell be the most junior Democrat  194th out of 194  in Congress. Hell have to find a path forward in a Congress dominated by the opposing party. Even if Democrats win back control, hell have hundreds of more senior and just as eager colleagues ahead of him in line. Read More Facebook

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Rep. Maxine Waters focuses on GOP healthcare bill at packed town hall By Andrea Castillo (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times) Rep. Maxine Waters, who spoke Saturday at a packed town hall meeting in Gardena, said she worries some Americans will be forced to do what her family did if the Republican healthcare bill passes. Senate Republicans have pledged to pass a bill before the July Fourth holiday. To illustrate why she believes everyone should have access to comprehensive healthcare, the Los Angeles Democrat said she and her 12 siblings never saw a physician or a dentist their entire childhood. I was born at home in St. Louis back in the day when it was hard for minorities to get into hospitals, she said. Read More Facebook

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This former Jeff Denham challenger wont run again, but hes launching a committee to elect Democrats By Christine Mai-Duc Two-time congressional challenger Michael Eggman says he wont try for a third campaign against Republican Rep. Jeff Denham (Turlock), but hes hoping to help Democrats running against the him. Eggman, a beekeeper and farmer, announced Monday that hes starting a political action committee to help oust Republicans in seven seats, including Denhams in the Central Valley, which Democrats have targeted for 2018. The committee, Red to Blue California, filed papers with the Federal Election Commission in March but so far hasnt reported raising any money. Andrew Feldman, a spokesman for the PAC, said the group has taken in about $50,000 and its goal is to raise at least $7 million in the 2018 cycle. Eggman will serve as chair of the committee. In a statement, Eggman said that while he lost last year, I learned a heck of a lot on the way. Now as Donald Trump threatens to upend the very fabric of what makes our country great, Im doing my part to join the resistance. In addition to Denhams seat, the committee will target Republican Reps. Steve Knight (Palmdale), David Valadao (Hanford), Ed Royce (Fullerton), Mimi Walters (Irvine), Dana Rohrabacher (Huntington Beach) and Darrell Issa (Vista). All seven were reelected in districts won by Hillary Clinton in the presidential election. The committee also plans to use some of the money to promote down-ballot candidates in each of the districts as a way of building a base of Democratic candidates. Eggman, a beekeeper and farmer who received a rare endorsement from Barack Obama in the Democrats unsuccessful quest to take back the House last year, lost to Denham by 5% in November. Spending in that race topped $14 million. Six Democrats have already filed to run in Denhams 10th Congressional District, including Josh Harder, a venture capital executive whose campaign manager worked for Eggman in 2016. Facebook

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California Politics Podcast: Theres a powerful new ally of those who support a sanctuary state By John Myers Supporters of an ambitious California effort to limit law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities begin the week with a prominent new ally. On this weeks California Politics Podcast, we take a look at the impact of Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck endorsing the sanctuary state bill thats now under consideration in Sacramento. We also discuss the decision by Assemblyman Travis Allen (R-Huntington Beach) to run for governor, and how his conservative politics could have a big effect on how Republican voters view their choices in 2018. Im joined by Times staff writer Melanie Mason and Marisa Lagos of KQED News. Facebook

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California wont be passing a single-payer healthcare system any time soon  the plan is dead for this year By Melanie Mason View Twitter post A high-profile effort to establish a single-payer healthcare system in California sputtered on Friday when Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) decided to shelve the proposal. Rendon announced late Friday afternoon that the bill, SB 562 by state Sens. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) and Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), would not advance to a policy hearing in his house, dampening the measures prospect for swift passage this year. SB 562 was sent to the Assembly woefully incomplete, Rendon said in a statement. Even senators who voted for SB 562 noted there are potentially fatal flaws in the bill, including the fact it does not address many serious issues, such as financing, delivery of care, cost controls, or the realities of needed action by the Trump Administration and voters to make SB 562 a genuine piece of legislation. Rendon took pains to note that his action does not kill the bill entirely  because it is the first year of a two-year session, it could be revived next year. But the move is nonetheless a major setback for legislation that has electrified the Democratic partys progressive flank. The California Nurses Assn., the bills sponsors and the states most vocal advocates for single-payer, blasted Rendons decision as cowardly. Acting in secret in the interests of the profiteering insurance companies late Friday afternoon abandons all those people already threatened by Congress and the Trump administration, Deborah Burger, the unions co-president, said in a statement. Burger continued: The people of California are counting on the Legislature to protect them now, not sometime next year, and as polls have shown Californians support this proposal by a wide majority. A solution to this health care emergency could be at hand; Speaker Rendon is standing in opposition. In a joint statement, Lara and Atkins, the measures authors, said they were disappointed the robust debate about healthcare for all that started in the California Senate will not continue in the Assembly this year. This issue is not going away, they added. Gov. Jerry Brown, who had signaled wariness about the proposals costs, said in a statement that Rendon made the case that theres clearly more work to do before anyone is in a position to vote on revamping Californias healthcare system. I recognize the tremendous excitement behind the measure, but basic and fundamental questions remain unanswered, Brown said. Updated at 6:44 p.m.: This article was updated with a comment from Gov. Jerry Brown. Updated at 5:38 p.m.: This article was updated to include comments from the California Nurses Assn. and the measures authors. This article was originally published at 4:38 p.m. Times staff writer Patrick McGreevy contributed to this report. Read More Facebook

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California politicians are in Dallas despite new ban on state employees traveling to Texas By Patrick McGreevy Sen. Ricardo Lara (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) A day after California banned state employees from going to Texas on official business, a group of politicians from the Golden State was in Dallas on Friday for a major conference. California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra on Thursday announced he was prohibiting state employees from traveling at state expense to Texas and three other states that he determined have approved laws that discriminate against gay and transgender people. Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens), who is openly gay, is among those attending the annual gathering of the National Assn. of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO). A spokesman said he is using his own money, not taxpayer funds. Lara voted for the bill that enacted the travel ban. Lara felt participating in a panel discussion on immigration was important amid debate over Gov. Greg Abbotts signage of a controversial immigration law that bans sanctuary cities for immigrants in the country illegally, spokesman Michael Soller said. Texas just passed one of the nations most anti-immigrant laws with Senate Bill 4, and California went down this road with Proposition 187 more than 20 years ago, Lara said in a statement. With LGBT and immigrant rights under assault across the country, I thought it was important to join other Latino leaders and show Californias example. Like Lara, West Hollywood Mayor Pro Tem John Duran made plans to attend the Dallas convention well before Becerra announced the travel ban, which does not apply to non-state employees. Duran is the national chairman of NALEO and said the conference was scheduled for Dallas three years ago. I dont know about the LGBT laws in Texas or AG Becerras call for a boycott -- I am not only LGBT but also Latino, Duran said in an email, adding he is very angry over Texas SB 4, which requires law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration officials in enforcing immigration laws. I am here supporting my elected official colleagues in Texas from Austin, Houston, San Antonio and Dallas who are joining together to sue the state of Texas, Duran said. Being a Californian who worked against Gov. Pete Wilsons Prop 187 -- I have experiences and strategies to share with them. Facebook

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Texas responds to California LGBT travel ban, saying Golden State firms fleeing over taxation and regulation By Patrick McGreevy A day after California officials said they are banning state workers from traveling to Texas on official business, an aide to Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott returned a verbal volley claiming mistreatment of businesses. On Thursday, California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra said Texas and three other states were being put on a list of states that had adopted laws seen by Becerra as discriminatory to the LGBT community and therefore were off-limits for state-sponsored travel. That drew a response Friday from John Wittman, Abbotts press secretary. California may be able to stop their state employees, but they cant stop all the businesses that are fleeing over taxation and regulation and relocating to Texas, Wittman said. Becerra put Texas on the travel-ban list after the governor signed HB 3859 last week. The new law allows foster care agencies to deny adoptions and services to children and parents based on sincerely held religious beliefs. Becerra said the measure allows agencies to discriminate against children in foster care and potentially disqualify LGBT families from the states foster and adoption system. A spokesman for Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin also criticized California officials. It is fascinating that the very same West Coast liberals who rail against the Presidents executive order, that protects our nation from foreign terrorists, have now contrived their own travel ban aimed at punishing states who dont fall in lockstep with their far-left political ideology, said Woody Maglinger, Bevins press secretary. Updated at 1:35 pm to include comment from Woody Maglinger. Facebook

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Rep. Tom McClintocks bill to streamline dam permits passes House largely on party lines By Sarah D. Wire Dam permits would be funneled through a single federal agency in an effort to speed up new water storage projects under a bill that passed the House on Thursday. Sponsored by Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Elk Grove), the 233-180 vote was largely along partisan lines. Reps. Jim Costa (D-Fresno), Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana) and six other Democrats joined with Republicans to pass the bill. McClintock said the various local, state and federal agencies that must sign off on new projects dont have to communicate or set deadlines, and often require redundant information from permit applicants, which can make the application process drag on for years and drive up costs. Dam applications can go on endlessly, McClintock said after the vote. A lot of these projects become cost prohibitive. He pointed to a dam project proposed by the town of Foresthill in his district as an example. Conflicting demands from several federal agencies about a plan to install a spillway gate on the dam at the Sugar Pine Reservoir have driven up the cost, he said. The project application is still under review. So a $2-million project that was a heavy lift for a little community, but within reach, becomes an $11-million cost-prohibitive boondoggle, McClintock said. Under the bill, the Bureau of Reclamation would coordinate with other federal agencies on all aspects of a dam application and set deadlines for deciding whether to approve a project. Democrats who voted against the bill said the bureau would be able to set arbitrary deadlines for the at-times lengthy environmental reviews required for water projects, which could undermine reviews required by laws like the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Water Act. Fixing the process isnt just about saving some headaches or a few hours of time. This is about making sure millions of people in California and across America have the water they need and deserve, said Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield). Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) has filed similar legislation in the Senate, and McClintock said he is cautiously optimistic it will pass. Facebook

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Gov. Jerry Brown says Senate healthcare bill has same stench as House version Facebook

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Travis Allen, a conservative and controversial Orange County lawmaker, jumps into California governors race By Phil Willon Conservative Orange County Assemblyman Travis Allen (R-Huntington Beach) is jumping into Californias 2018 race for governor, a move that could splinter the GOP vote in what promises to be a crowded and competitive race. Travis, elected to the Legislature in 2012, said he decided to run because of the years of wasteful spending and dictatorial policies pushed by Jerry Brown and the Sacramento Democrats. I am running to be the next governor of California to take back our state for the forgotten ordinary citizens of California, who will no longer tolerate the squandering of our incredible natural abundance of people, economy, and resources by limousine liberals beholden to ravenous public sector union bosses and extremist environmentalists, Travis said in a statement announcing his campaign. Outspoken and controversial, Travis has filed a ballot measure to repeal the recently approved gas tax and sponsored legislation requiring voters to show photo ID. Allen has faced criticism for claiming that a new law that barred police from arresting people under 18 for soliciting sex or loitering with intent to commit prostitution was an effort to legalize child prostitution. The purpose of the law was to treat minors as victims of sex trafficking rather than offenders. Allen, 43, worked as a certified financial planner before he ran for the Legislature. His Assembly district includes all or portions of Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley and Garden Grove. Allen will face stiff competition from fellow Republican John Cox, a Rancho Santa Fe venture capitalist who already has put $3 million of his own money into his campaign. Former GOP Assemblyman David Hadley of Manhattan Beach also is exploring a run, and former Los Angeles Rams football player Rosey Grier announced plans to jump into the race but thus far has not established an official campaign. The race also has attracted a cadre of Democratic heavyweights, including Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and state Treasurer John Chiang. Delaine Eastin, a former state legislator and state schools chief, is also running. In California, Democrats hold a 19-percentage point advantage over Republicans in voter registration, a strong head wind against GOP candidates running for statewide office. Because of the large field of Democrats in the race, a Republican could have a good shot of finishing in the top two in the June 2018 primary if they can put together GOP support. But Allens entry into the race could divide Republican voters, reducing the odds of a GOP candidate making it to the November general election. The first- and second-place finishers in the primary advance to the general election regardless of their party. Facebook

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Coastal panel spawned by 1930s oil scandal now a player in governors race By Michael Finnegan (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times) When John Chiang joined the State Lands Commission, it quickly became a platform to showcase his environmental record, starting with his 2007 vote to block construction of a shipping terminal for liquefied natural gas in Ventura County. The commission has served the same purpose for Gavin Newsom, who often uses his seat on the panel to remind Californians that he opposes offshore oil drilling. Now that both Chiang and Newsom are running for governor, they are drawing rare attention to the little-known but powerful State Lands Commission, which oversees 4 million acres of land beneath California waters. Read More Facebook

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Ballot measure to expand L.A. County Board of Supervisors advances By Patrick McGreevy State Sen. Tony Mendoza, D-Artesia, wants to expand the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors from five to seven members. Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press ( Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors would be expanded from five to seven members and an elected chief executive post would be created under a measure recommended Wednesday by a state Senate panel despite opposition from the county. Two members of the countys 2015-16 civil grand jury testified that the group felt the current government is inadequate for a county of more than 10 million residents. They said that if the county was a state, it would be the eighth-largest state in the country based on population. The board is too small to adequately serve the diverse needs of county residents, grand jury member Molly Milligan told the Senate Governance and Finance Committee, before its 5-1 vote to recommend Senate Constitutional Amendment 12. The proposed statewide ballot measure was introduced by Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia). The proposal was opposed by Phyllis Marshall, the chief legislative representative for Los Angeles County, who noted that the proposal would allow voters statewide to decide the governance structure for one county. Voters in other counties do not have sufficient knowledge to vote on a constitutional amendment to change the governing structure of Los Angeles County, Marshall told the panel before the measure was sent to another policy panel on its way to a possible full Senate vote. Facebook

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Kimberly Ellis blames Democratic Party hacks for losses in Tuesdays congressional races By Phil Willon Kimberly Ellis (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Kimberly Ellis, who has challenged the results of the California Democratic Party leadership election she lost, blamed party establishment hacks who are the worst in the biz for losses in congressional races in Georgia and South Carolina on Tuesday. Ellis, a progressive Bay Area Democrat who tapped into a wellspring of disaffected Bernie Sanders backers, on Tuesday night sent a tweet saying that it was time for a new coalition. That drew a sharp rebuke from veteran Democratic operative Bob Mulholland, who has criticized Ellis for not conceding. Ellis blamed her narrow May loss to Eric Bauman for state Democratic Party chairperson on voting irregularities. Ellis, who lost the race by 62 votes,has called on the party to conduct an independent audit of the election. Bauman rejected that request, saying the party already has a process in place to review contested elections. The partys compliance review commission, made up of six members who were appointed during former chairman John Burtons tenure, is currently reviewing the election. On Friday, Bauman announced that the party hired the law firm of Olson Hagel & Fishburn LLC to oversee, advise and counsel the commission during the inquiry. Let's thank Jon Ossoff, his staff and the thousands of volunteers for their effort. Let's ignore Trump and Kimberly Ellis attacks on Ossoff.  Bob Mulholland (@Chico_Bob) June 21, 2017 Facebook

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These legislators are trying to make sure Jimmy Gomezs replacement in the Assembly is a woman By Christine Mai-Duc As soon as Congressman-elect Jimmy Gomez announced he was running for Congress, his Assembly colleague Cristina Garcia got to work. Garcia, a legislator from Bell Gardens who became chair of the Womens Legislative Caucus in December, called Gomez, other Assembly members, and labor and environmental groups to make it clear: If Gomez won the 34th Congressional District and vacated his Assembly seat, her priority would be electing a woman in his place. With Gomez headed to Washington after his June 6 win, Garcia said its time to put her groups plan into action. Its simple, said Garcia in a recent interview. As long as we dont have parity, were going to fight at every opportunity to try to get another woman in office. Women hold 17 out of 80 seats in the state Assembly and nine of 40 of the state Senate seats. On Wednesday morning, the Democratic arm of the womens legislative caucus announced it was endorsing Wendy Carrillo, a Democrat who ran in the 34th District primary against Gomez, and who is the only woman running to replace him so far. I am impressed by her ongoing activism for environmental justice, womens rights, LGBTQ rights, immigrants and social justice movements that are the bedrocks of a progressive democracy and welcome the tenacity she will bring to further promote these issues in the state Legislature with a womans perspective, Garcia said in a statement. Eight other candidates have filed to run for or have announced campaigns for Gomezs 51st Assembly District. The election date and its accompanying filing deadlines have not yet been set, mainly because Gomez has not stepped down, so another woman could still jump in. But Garcia is hoping her caucus announcement will head that off. If the 34th Congressional District race is going to teach us any lessons, its that we dont have the luxury of having multiple women split the field, Garcia said. More than a dozen women ran in the crowded primary to replace Xavier Becerra in the central Los Angeles District. None of them won more than 10% of the vote. So Garcia and her colleagues havent just been talking about their mission; theyve been trying to shape the field of candidates, too. Garcia said she reached out to former 34th District hopefuls to gauge their interest, solicited names of potential female candidates from interest groups, and had conversations with half a dozen women who were considering jumping in. Garcia said she didnt discourage any women, but was up front with them about the challenges each might face. Shes also encouraged women who expressed interest to work it out among themselves in hopes that they could unite behind one female candidate. Its a somewhat new tactic for the womens caucus, which has struggled to unite on political endorsements in the past and is hoping to flex more muscle in Sacramento. We are being more strategic now, Garcia said. It cant just be like, I like you and you have a great heart. Thats not good enough. You have to put in the work and be able to build a coalition and win. Carrillo said it was unfortunate that none of the women in the 34th District race made it past the primary. But, she added: Men dont get asked the question of whether theyre worried about splitting the vote. The outcome in the congressional primary, Carrillo said, had more to do with a lack of money flowing to many of the womens campaigns, something she hopes to remedy. Ive learned a lot ... [about] just what it takes to build coalitions and how best to move forward in terms of having a strategy to win, Carrillo said. Ultimately, the voters are going to decide based on issues, Carrillo said. I think that I bring a very unique perspective, having grown up in the district, in terms of advocating for labor and for education and for healthcare and all the issues that residents care for. ------------ FOR THE RECORD June 21, 2:53 p.m.: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Cristina Garcia became chair of the Womens Legislative Caucus in January. She took over the position in December. ------------ Facebook

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Prompted by San Bernardino shooting, House passes bill to require reports to Congress after terrorist attacks By Sarah D. Wire Evacuated workers pray on the fairway of the San Bernardino Golf Club shortly after the 2015 mass shooting at the nearby Inland Regional Center. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times) Intelligence agencies would have to make recommendations to Congress on how to stop the next domestic terrorist attack under a bill inspired by the 2015 San Bernardino shooting. The bill, which passed the House on Tuesday without opposition, requires the Homeland Security secretary to submit a report to Congress within one year of a terrorist attack in the U.S. The report, which would be unclassified, must include details of what happened and recommendations for laws or policies that can be changed to prevent a similar attack. It would also include input from the attorney general, FBI director and the head of the National Counterterrorism Center. Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Redlands), who represents San Bernardino, filed the bill about a year after the Dec. 2, 2015, shooting in which 14 people were killed and 22 were wounded by a married couple at the Inland Regional Center. Aguilar told The Times that individual members of Congress shouldnt have to press agencies for details about what happened after an attack. By nature every terrorist event is unique, and so we need something to prod the agencies to tell us why its unique and what we can do better, Aguilar said. There is no current requirement for the agencies to submit a report to Congress after a terrorist event. We think that it makes sense to do that and that it will help us learn from these events and become smarter about it. After the San Bernardino attack, the Justice Department worked with the Police Foundation, a Washington-based research group, to create a report, but it was aimed at training law enforcement on responding to an attack. We think there are more lessons to be learned, but that only happens when those agencies work with Congress on what we can change, Aguilar said. The bipartisan bill was backed by nine other Californians: Reps. Ken Calvert (R-Corona), Paul Cook (R-Yucca Valley), Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana), Nanette Barragan (D-San Pedro), David Valadao (R-Hanford), Jeff Denham (R-Turlock), Steve Knight (R-Palmdale), Darrell Issa (R-Vista) and Duncan Hunter (R-Alpine). Aguilar said he is still working to line up a sponsor for the bill in the Senate. Facebook

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New super PAC targets seven California Republicans By Phil Willon Former Northern California Rep. Ellen Tauscher has launched a new super PAC targeting seven vulnerable Republicans in the states congressional delegation, hoping to aid the Democratic effort to win control of the House of Representatives in 2018. Each Republican represents a district that backed Hillary Clinton in the November election. On the Fight Back California PACs list are Reps. Jeff Denham of Turlock; David Valadao of Hanford; Steve Knight of Palmdale; Ed Royce of Fullerton; Mimi Walters of Irvine; Dana Rohrabacher of Huntington Beach and Darrell Issa of Vista. Of those, the former congresswoman served with Issa, Royce and Rohrabacher. This isnt personal, Tauscher said. But the fact is that Im a Californian, and they dont vote in the interest of my state. Tauscher represented Northern Californias 10th Congressional District for 14 years before becoming undersecretary of State during the Obama administration in 2009. Katie Merrill, the PACs political strategist, said the campaign will target the Republicans records on issues that directly affect voters in the district, such as the GOPs efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. We intend to soften the ground. So when the Democratic nominee emerges ... they are facing a significantly weakened incumbent, Merrill said. Updated at 4:02 p.m.: This story was updated to include a comment from Tauscher. Facebook

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Overhaul of Californias state tax board plagued by confusion, members say By Patrick McGreevy Board of Equalization Chairwoman Diane Harkey says there is confusion around the reorganization of the board. (Don Kelsen / Los Angeles Times) State tax board members on Tuesday said there remain a lot of unanswered questions about how their agency will transfer many of its duties to two new offices, a reorganization approved last week by the state Legislature in response to problems with the panel. About 4,400 of the state Board of Equalizations 4,800 employees will be transferred to a new California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, which will take over collection of sales and excise taxes, and an office of administrative law judges who will take over taxpayer appeals. The change was outlined by the boards executive director, David Gau, at a meeting with the panel Tuesday. I dont think anything is easy, Board Chairwoman Diane Harkey said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. I think its going to be expensive. There is a lot of confusion. Board member George Runner said there are questions about whether he can continue to hold educational events for taxpayers, while board member Jerome Horton said he wants to know whether he can continue to advocate for taxpayers. There are still some issues they need to work out, Horton said. Harkey said new bills will have to be approved with clarifying language on some issues. For instance, the newly approved legislation takes away the boards power to hear appeals after July 1 even though lawmakers want the board to continue handling the hearings until the new administrative law judges are operating Jan. 1. In addition, the board employs civil service workers who are trained for jobs that will no longer exist with the board, she said, adding that the new department is supposed to begin operating July 1. This is all still in flux. Its a huge step to take in a couple of weeks, Harkey said. Marybel Batjer, secretary of the California Government Operations Agency, has addressed the board employees, assuring them that they will be able to shift to jobs in the new department. She told The Times on Tuesday that planning has already begun for the new department, including the early stages of recruitment of its administrative staff. Meanwhile, board representatives, including Harkey, confirmed that investigators from the state attorney generals office have begun interviewing agency employees after Gov. Jerry Brown called for a probe into whether staff and resources were mishandled by the agency. Were just hearing that they are around, Harkey said of investigators. I think it scares everybody. Facebook

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Californias Clean Air Act waiver should be yanked, Trumps former environmental advisor says By Chris Megerian (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) The head of President Trumps Environmental Protection Agency may not be prepared to battle California over air regulations, but the man who led Trumps transition team for the department is ready. Myron Ebell, who works at the Competitive Enterprise Institute in Washington and helped devise Trumps environmental agenda, said California should not be allowed to set its own standards for greenhouse gas emissions from vehicle tailpipes. The state has that authority under a Clean Air Act waiver granted by President Obama, one of dozens that have been issued over the years. The waiver has to go, in my view, Ebell told journalists on Monday at a training program organized by the National Press Foundation. The problem, he said, is that the California regulations are a backdoor attempt to regulate fuel economy, a power thats reserved for the federal government. California said it would push forward on greenhouse gas rules earlier this year even though the Trump administration has opened the door to rolling them back on the federal level. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt had previously suggested that the Trump administration could try to revoke Californias waiver, but during a recent Capitol Hill hearing he said it wasnt currently under review. Ebell has denied mainstream science on global warming. But apart from the waiver he wants to see revoked, he told journalists that he didnt have a problem with California trying to reduce its own greenhouse gas emissions. I believe in competitive federalism, he said. The only problem, Ebell said, is whether Gov. Jerry Brown tries to conduct his own foreign policy and sign international treaties. Facebook

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A new audit says some California agencies sidestepped competitive bidding rules on contracts By Patrick McGreevy Two California agencies in charge of high-tech projects failed to provide proper oversight for billions of dollars in contracts awarded without competitive bidding, according to a state audit released Tuesday. State law requires the Department of General Services and the California Department of Technology (CDT) to use the competitive bidding process whenever possible to ensure fair competition and eliminate favoritism, fraud, and corruption, State Auditor Elaine Howle wrote in a letter to Gov. Jerry Brown. The investigation examined a sample of those contracts and found nine noncompetitive requests valued at almost $1 billion that agencies likely could have avoided had they engaged in sufficient planning, Howle wrote. The auditors cited approval of a request by the California High-Speed Rail Authority for a $3-million noncompetitive contract amendment to provide financial consulting services. The proposal was submitted 17 days before the existing contract was set to expire. When justifying its noncompetitive request, High-Speed Rail stated that the financial consulting services were critical to its mission and that the vendors skills were specialized and not widely available. However, it did not provide a valid reason why this vendor alone could meet the states needs, as financial consulting services are not unique, the audit found. In all, auditors estimated that the state awarded at least $44 billion in noncompetitive contracts of more than $1 million each during the five fiscal years ending June 30, 2016. The two agencies have the power to enforce contract rules but they rarely employed them, allowing agencies to continue inappropriately using noncompetitive requests, the audit concluded. State workers also allegedly wrote reports in ways that misled about which projects were competitively bid. In one case, a $3-million contract was identified as competitively bid, to which an additional $31 million in noncompetitive contracts was added through nine amendments. Amy Tong, director of the California Deptartment of Technology, agreed with the auditors recommendations, saying the agency believes that the recommendations will strengthen CDTs oversight of information technology and telecommunication procurements, especially those acquired through the noncompetitive request process. Daniel C. Kim, director of the Department of General Services, also agreed to improve the process, writing to auditors that his agency will take appropriate action to address the issues presented in the report. Facebook

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Billionaire environmental activist Tom Steyer has a big decision to make By Phil Willon Tom Steyer at a Los Angeles high school in 2014. (Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press) For months, billionaire Democratic donor and environmental activist Tom Steyer has been acting like a candidate running for governor  hobnobbing with Democratic loyalists, putting out a position paper on income inequality and continuing his aggressive efforts to combat climate change. Steyer says hes still considering jumping into the race. But he may have another target on his radar. Steyer has starting mounting his own challenge to President Trump, going so far as to call for impeachment and use his nonprofit, NextGen Climate, to encourage citizens to lobby their congressional representatives for it. Read More Facebook

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Lobbying firm fined $4,000 for violating gift limit buying dinner for former state Sen. Ronald Calderon By Patrick McGreevy Ron Calderon, shown in while still in the senate in 2014, was treated to a dinner by a lobbying firm that violated a gift limit. ( (Rich Pedroncelli / AP)) Mercury Public Affairs has agreed to pay $4,000 in fines to Californias ethics watchdog agency for violating the $10 gift limit on lobbying firms when it provided dinners worth $200 to former state Sen. Ronald Calderon and his wife. In October, Calderon was sentenced to 42 months in federal prison after he pleaded guilty in a public corruption case unrelated to the Mercury dinner. The fines proposed against Mercury by the enforcement staff of the state Fair Political Practices Commission stem from violating the $10 gift limit and failing to report that Calderons wife also received a dinner, according to the investigative report. Calderon and his wife attended an April 2013 dinner paid for by Mercury at Mastros in Beverly Hills. Also present was former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, a non-lobbyist partner of Mercury, and four other unidentified people. The violation of the state Political Reform Act was found by a random audit by the state Franchise Tax Board. Mercurys $200 gift to Sen. Calderon, while not extravagant, significantly exceeded the gift limit, the investigative report said. A central purpose of the act is to prevent improper influence by lobbyists and the acts strict gift limit on lobbying firms is intended to effectuate that purpose. The commission will vote on the fines on June 29. Facebook

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California bill aims to revive broadband privacy rules that were killed by Trump and Congress By Melanie Mason A woman works on her laptop in the Rose Main Reading Room of the New York Public Library. ( Mark Lennihan / Associated Press) Several months ago, President Trump signed into law a repeal of sweeping privacy regulations limiting what broadband providers can do with customer data. Now, an Assembly Democrat is trying to resuscitate those rules for Californians. Assemblyman Ed Chau (D-Monterey Park) unveiled a measure on Monday that would largely enshrine the sputtered federal regulations into California state law. The bill would require Internet service providers, such as Verizon, Comcast and AT&T, to get permission from customers before using, selling or permitting access to data about their browsing history. Such restrictions were crafted by the Federal Communications Commission under the Obama administration. But the FCC under Trump sought to roll back those rules before they went into effect. Congress approved the repeal in March, and the president signed it. Congress and the administration went against the will of the vast majority of Americans when they revoked the FCC rules, Chau said at a news conference, adding that with his measure, AB 375, California is goi
Militants have shelled the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and border guards using artillery in the area of Pavlopil, spokesperson of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine Oleh Slobodian has said on Facebook.

"The building of the department of the frontier service was partially damaged," a report says.

Slobodian said that at least one shell did not explode. There are no losses among the personnel of the frontier unit. The shelling was completed after 19:30.

The detachments and reserves of the Ukrainian military have been put on alert.
State Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez was elected as Los Angeles newest member of Congress on Tuesday, defeating attorney Robert Lee Ahn in a sharply contested battle for the 34th Congressional District.

Gomez will take the seat vacated by Xavier Becerra, who became state attorney general earlier this year, and will represent one of the poorest, most immigrant-heavy districts in the state, where the effects of President Trumps policies on immigration and healthcare will be acutely felt.

His election continues a decades-old tradition of Democratic Latino representation in the district, which stretches from downtown Los Angeles to Boyle Heights and incorporates Highland Park, Eagle Rock and Koreatown. If Ahn had won, he would have become the second Korean American elected to the House and the first Korean American Democrat.

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Shortly before Ahn called to concede, Gomez, 42, thanked hundreds of cheering supporters for their efforts to get him elected and pledged to represent all of his constituents after a hard-fought battle with fellow Democrat Ahn.

Today, our community said yes to California values, our progressive values, Gomez said at his election party at his Highland Park campaign headquarters. All of you here that helped me on this campaign, we are the resistance.

Initial returns had placed Gomez and Ahn in a dead heat, likely the result of Ahns aggressive early vote program that focused on registering and turning out supporters in Koreatown. Data provided by Political Data Inc. showed Korean Americans, who make up just 6% of the districts voters, made up more than a quarter of votes cast ahead of the election.

But Ahns sophisticated targeting and attempts at coalition-building were not enough to overcome Gomezs vast Democratic and Latino support, which was apparent after the election day vote significantly widened Gomezs lead.

The Ahn campaign did a magnificent job in really energizing their base in this election, said Paul Mitchell, who runs Political Data. But the fundamentals of this district, I think, are hard for anyone to overcome.  Theres this baked-in advantage for Latino candidates in those poll voters.

The district, where median household income hovers around $35,000, is majority Latino and had one of the biggest declines in the uninsured population after the passage of Obamacare. Becerra, who held the seat for more than two decades, was regarded as a fierce advocate for immigrants and the poor. He resigned the seat after Gov. Jerry Brown appointed him to replace now-Sen. Kamala Harris as Californias attorney general.

The result is likely to be a letdown for many of the districts estimated 17,000 Korean American voters, who responded to Ahns call to become more civically engaged following the 25th anniversary of the L.A. riots that left them feeling voiceless.

Speaking to supporters late Tuesday night, Ahn said they shouldnt feel discouraged. The campaign, it doesnt end here. This is just beginning for this community, he said, as a supporter shouted, All the way to the White House!

Just look around you, he continued. Theres so much to be hopeful for. Theres so much that weve started.

Although Gomez and Ahn both said they were running to represent all constituents in the district, it was expected to be a low-turnout election, and the campaigns largely targeted their own bases of support.

Ahn spent considerable time and resources registering Korean American voters and sent massive amounts of mail to Asian American voters, while Gomezs campaign concentrated get-out-the-vote efforts on the Eastside.

With few policy differences between Ahn and Gomez, much of the campaign centered on the candidates backgrounds and the approach they would take as part of the resistance movement against Trump.

Both are the children of immigrants and talked about their working-class roots. Gomezs parents are immigrants from Mexico, and his father was in the bracero program for guest workers. His parents and most of his five siblings lived in the U.S. illegally but became citizens after Gomez was born in the U.S. Hes spoken often about the multiple jobs his parents worked to make ends meet, and the time his childhood bout with pneumonia nearly bankrupted his family.

Ahns parents emigrated from South Korea in 1974. His parents worked odd jobs, at one point running a hamburger stand, and eventually built a successful real estate business. Aside from working as an attorney, Ahn also served as a commissioner on the Los Angeles Redistricting Commission and the citys Planning Commission.

As a political unknown, the 41-year-old Ahn always had the bigger challenge: Gomez already represents more than half the voters in the 34th District and received dozens of endorsements from prominent Democrats, including Becerra, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Gov. Jerry Brown.

Ahn tried to capitalize on the anti-establishment fervor that has seized both parties, calling Gomez a professional politician funded by special interests.

Gomez responded by touting endorsements from progressive groups and pointing to his record of supporting bills expanding paid family leave and backing single-payer healthcare. Those points could have been key to motivating voters in a district where Democrats make up nearly 60% of voters, and where Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders beat Hillary Clinton in last years presidential primary.

If I was so establishment, I dont think Our Revolution, that was founded and is the political arm of Bernie Sanders, would actually endorse me, Gomez shot back at a recent debate. This notion of being a corporate Democrat is just false, its silly.

He also cast Ahn, a former Republican, as too centrist and too willing to negotiate with GOP leaders in Congress.

 Jimmy Gomez speaks to supporters on election night.

In case you havent noticed, we have a numbers problem in Congress, Ahn said at the debate. Until were able to take back the House, were going to have to talk to the other side.

Both candidates said they would battle to protect the Affordable Care Act and fight against deportations that break families apart. Gomez said he would support only comprehensive immigration reform that stops funding for Trumps proposed border wall and makes permanent the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program instituted by the Obama administration. Ahn promised he would fight for a compassionate compromise on immigration and advocate closing immigrant detention centers.

On Tuesday, there were reports of many precincts without lines, and only several dozen voters before noon at some precincts.

Rick Bolton, 61, said after he voted at an Eastside precinct on Tuesday that he thought the district would be well-served by either candidate, but voted for Gomez because he was more familiar with his record. Bolton, a renewable energy executive, felt Gomezs experience would make him better positioned to become a national leader, especially on climate change.

But he also thought it was exciting to have another competitive candidate in the race. Its great to see L.A. diversify its voter base and its candidates, he said of Ahn. We need more of that.

Huong Nguyen, 34, said she liked Ahn because of his status as a political outsider. I just wanted to vote against the guy who was backed by the [Democratic] Party, Nguyen said. Gomez received endorsements from the California Democratic Party and dozens of elected officials in the establishment.

Nguyen, a screenwriter who lives in Koreatown, said shes skeptical of any one party gaining too much control, and thought it was time for some moderation and a refresh in the race. Anyone who is willing to buck trends and put country above party is who I want.

In the race for one of the poorest districts in the state, more than 75% of the candidates money came from outside the district, according to a Times analysis of campaign finance records. Large chunks of that came from ZIP Codes in Washington, D.C., Sacramento, and Beverly Hills, as Gomez raised funds in political power centers and Ahn dipped into wealthy enclaves for cash.

Overall, Ahn raised about $874,000 since entering the race in mid-January, while Gomez received about $961,000. But Ahn loaned himself an additional $490,000, giving him a major cash advantage.

Ahn and Gomez spent little on TV and radio advertisements, focusing instead on mailers and intense ground efforts to get voters to the polls. The mailers sent by both sides to voters contained increasingly negative messages as election day approached.

Times staff writers Seema Mehta and Javier Panzar contributed to this report.

Go to latimes.com/essentialpolitics for continuing updates on the results.

 The Times asks 34th Congressional District candidates Robert Lee Ahn and Jimmy Gomez six questions about their backgrounds, legislating in a Republican-controlled House, what challenges the district is facing, and their favorite restaurant in the di

christine.maiduc@latimes.com

For more on California politics, follow @cmaiduc.

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Live updates: Election day coverage

UPDATES:

June 7, 1:09 a.m.: Updated with details from Ahns concession speech and the vote count.

10:50 p.m.: Updated with Gomezs victory.

10:25 p.m.: Updated with the fact that the race was too close to call.

8:25 p.m.: Updated with the first round of mail ballot returns.

8 p.m.: Updated with information about polls being closed

6:35 p.m. This story was updated with more details from the polls.

4:00 p.m.: This story was updated with reports from the polls.

This story was originally published at 5 a.m. June 6.
During his first four months as state attorney general, Xavier Becerra positioned himself at the front of the legal vanguard against the Trump administrations actions on immigration, healthcare and climate change.

But he has said little about an issue essential to his job as Californias top cop: policing.

Becerras relative silence and thin history on law enforcement oversight after more than two decades in Congress have left civil rights advocates and police groups both hopeful and concerned about his tenure. Will Becerra become an accountability crusader or reaffirm the longstanding deference the state has given local departments, prosecutors and officers to manage their affairs?

Hes going to anger somebody, Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood said. We know that. He hasnt made those decisions yet that somebodys not going to like. But theyre coming.

Already on Becerras plate is a civil rights investigation after years of complaints about police shootings by Youngbloods department and Bakersfields. Becerra is also in charge of implementing a new law aimed at combating police racial profiling.

More broadly, Becerras opinions on officer-involved shooting investigations and public access to police disciplinary records and body camera footage could reshape how California handles law enforcement oversight at a time when the federal government is backing away from that role.

In an interview with The Times, Becerra said he expected to take a balanced approach on law enforcement issues  emphasizing that his primary goal is to make people feel secure by supporting police officers who act professionally, but holding accountable those who dont.

I don't want to be absent when the discussion is occurring, Becerra said of police accountability. I'd rather be on the field helping move the ball forward. More likely than not, you're going to find me active on policy.

Under the Obama administration, the Justice Department found systemic civil rights violations committed by police officers in Ferguson, Mo., Baltimore, Chicago and other cities following investigations spurred by police killings of black teenagers and young men. In December, federal officials began investigating police and prosecutors in Orange County amid allegations of misuse of jailhouse informants against criminal defendants.

But the Trump administration has signaled that similar interventions will be less frequent. The president and Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions have criticized the treatment of police under Obama, saying it threatened law and order. Sessions is considering rolling back police reforms negotiated in Baltimore and Chicago, and has ordered a review of ongoing probes including Orange Countys.

The dramatic change in the Justice Departments tenor has raised expectations from law enforcement and civil rights groups about how Becerra will respond. Michael Durant, president of the 69,000-member Peace Officers Research Assn. of California, which represents most rank-and-file officers in the state, said Becerra should follow Sessions lead.

Im hoping on the issue of supporting law enforcement, Atty. Gen. Sessions and Atty. Gen. Becerra will stand on the same side, Durant said.

Civil rights advocates plan to pressure Becerra to fill oversight gaps left by the federal government.

Were going to be putting him to the test, said Melina Abdullah, a professor of Pan-African Studies at Cal State L.A. and a member of the Black Lives Matter movement. Especially considering where Jeff Sessions is on all this. We cant really rely on the federal government to intervene.

The state has the power to launch civil rights investigations of police departments, but has seldom used it. The Kern County and Bakersfield probe  initiated just before Becerras predecessor, Kamala Harris , resigned to become a U.S. senator  is just the third ever undertaken.

Few details have emerged so far. Bakersfields police department has turned over numerous records to Becerras office, a police spokesman confirmed before declining further comment. Two weeks ago, state Justice Department investigators interviewed families whose relatives have been killed by officers, according to advocates in Kern County.

Activist groups and some members of the states Legislative Black Caucus criticized Harris for not being more active on policing issues, including opting against civil rights investigations after disputed police shootings and misconduct issues in Bay Area and Los Angeles departments.

Gwendolyn Woods, whose 26-year-old son, Mario, was killed by San Francisco police in late 2015, has renewed a request that Becerra investigate San Franciscos department.

When do you say humanity takes precedence over politics? Woods said during a small rally of protestors outside the Capitol last month.

Becerras office declined to comment on the Kern County and Bakersfield investigation because its ongoing. But Becerra indicated he would become more involved in police oversight if the Trump administration stepped away.

Any time the federal government fumbles and it's important for the interests and the protection of the people in this state, we'll be there ready to pick up their fumble, Becerra said.

Gwendolyn Woods, whose son Mario was killed by San Francisco police in 2015, speaks at a small rally outside the Capitol in May 2017. (Liam Dillon / Los Angeles Times) (Liam Dillon / Los Angeles Times)

The new attorney general's big decisions on police oversight

As attorney general, Xavier Becerra has been mum on policing. But he has to make some key decisions soon.

The Issue The Challenge The Status The Issue A 2015 law requires the attorney general to write rules for all California police officers to track racial and other demographic data when they stop someone. The Challenge Law enforcement groups are pushing back on the proposed regulations, saying they're overly burdensome. The Status Becerra's office expects to release revisions to the rules soon, but might not meet next April's deadline to implement them. The Issue The Department of Justice has opened a civil rights investigation into police in Kern County and Bakersfield after years of complaints about officer-involved shootings. The Challenge The investigation, initiated by Becerra's predecessor less than two weeks before she left office, is just the third civil rights investigation of a police department in the state's history. The Status The investigation is ongoing.

Those looking for insight into Becerras views on police accountability wont find much from his time in Congress. Federal lawmakers dont often have to vote on law enforcement oversight issues.

Back in the early 2000s, civil rights groups criticized Becerra and other Los Angeles Latino political leaders for a muted response to the Rampart corruption scandal in the Los Angeles Police Department. At the time, Becerra said he wasnt interested in bashing law enforcement because some officers went rogue.

.

Should Becerra want to pursue law enforcement oversight more aggressively, public opinion is moving that direction, said Fernando Guerra, director of the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University. A recent Center for the Study of Los Angeles survey found that more than two-thirds of Los Angeles County residents agree with the aims of Black Lives Matter, including almost 60% of whites.

Still, in recent years Democratic lawmakers have split on many high-profile law enforcement issues, leaving a stalemate that has favored that states strong police officer protections. California is one of three states to prohibit the release of officer discipline information, even in cases of confirmed misconduct, and a bill last year to loosen those restrictions failed. Lawmakers also have deadlocked on statewide standards for police body cameras, and most departments dont release footage outside of a courtroom.

Becerra has met repeatedly with law enforcement and advocacy groups since hes taken office to understand their concerns. That approach could help the Legislature resolve such disputes, said Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer (D-Los Angeles), who heads the Assembly Public Safety Committee.

Whether its body cameras, policing, grand juries, weve hit loggerheads in some of these and we havent been able to move it, Jones-Sawyer said. I think Xavier Becerra may be the one to break the logjam.

Becerra has yet to weigh in on one bill that could dramatically change officer-involved shooting investigations in California. The measure from Assemblyman Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento) would create a new department in Becerras office to handle these investigations if local prosecutors requested the assistance. McCarty has said he wants to sever the perceived conflict of interest between district attorneys who rely on local police for their cases. The Rev. Al Sharpton lobbied in favor of the bill at the Capitol last month, and it narrowly passed the Assembly over law enforcement opposition on Thursday. Becerra said he hasnt decided if his office should be more involved in these cases.

Becerra will have to make key decisions on another hot-button topic. Police officers across the state will soon have to track the perceived race and other demographic data when they pull over cars or stop pedestrians. The effort, created through legislation passed two years ago, is an attempt to prevent police racial profiling. Becerra is responsible for writing the regulations.

The rules were supposed to be finished before Becerra took office in January. But a proposal written by an advisory board has come under strong criticism from law enforcement groups. They expect Becerra to scale back the information that officers need to track before the rules become final.

Becerra told lawmakers during his January confirmation hearing that, as a teenager, police officers pulled him over without giving a reason while he was driving with two friends who were also Latino.

That incident, he said, informed how he sees law enforcement issues. But so has meeting with the families of police officers who have been killed in the line of duty.

Having been pulled over when I was a kid for no reason and handing a flag to the spouse of a fallen officer, somewhere in between there's a right way to do things, Becerra said.

liam.dillon@latimes.com

@dillonliam

ALSO

For attorney general nominee Xavier Becerra, immigration is a personal issue

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Deadly shootings prompt state civil rights probe of Kern County, Bakersfield policing

Updates on California politics
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
A pair of Redondo Beach residents claimed victory Sunday in the 63rd annual Mens Laguna Open at Main Beach.

Sean Rosenthal and Trevor Crabb, coming off a second-place finish in the Austin Open in May, defeated Ed Ratledge, a Huntington Beach resident, and Eric Zaun in the afternoon final, 21-15, 17-21, 16-14.

Rosenthal, Federation Internationale de Volleyballs 2012 Outstanding Player of the Year and a two-time Olympian, played in the Laguna Open for the first time, while Crabb had placed second and third in prior events, according to tournament Director Kirk Morgan.

The duo prevailed over Miles Evans and Marty Lorenz in one semifinal while Ratledge and Zaun defeated 2016 Laguna Open champions Chase Frishman and Mike Brunsting in the other semifinal.

Thirty-two teams started competition Saturday in the California Beach Volleyball Assn. double-elimination tournament.

bryce.alderton@latimes.com

Twitter: @AldertonBryce

UPDATES:

June 6, 10:25 a.m.: This article was updated with scores for the final match.

This article was originally published June 5 at 6:25 p.m.
A video has been making the rounds online showing what appears to be a rat scurrying around the inside of a cupcake store at the Americana at Brand in Glendale.

On a video uploaded to YouTube during the weekend, it appears some type of rodent can be seen running around in an empty display case at the Sprinkles Cupcakes in the upscale outdoor mall. In the video, a woman can be heard saying, Its in everything before screaming, Thats disgusting as the rat runs away.

Its unknown when the video was recorded.

Jennifer Warren, a spokeswoman for Sprinkles, said in an email that the company is taking the issue seriously and that its commitment is to the health and safety of its customers and employees.

We deeply regret that an unfortunate set of circumstances, including a structural malfunction, led to this incident, she said. Immediately upon learning of the situation, we voluntarily shut down the bakery and addressed the property with a team of food-safety experts, as well as our landlord.

The store has since reopened, and Warren said the company is confident the incident wont happen again.

According to the Los Angeles County Public Health Department, the Sprinkles in Glendale has consistently received an A rating since it opened at the Americana three years ago.

The county agency said in an email that its officials are aware of the incident and are currently investigating it.

Caruso, the company that owns the Americana, could not immediately be reached for comment.

andy.nguyen@latimes.com

Twitter: @Andy_Truc
Crescenta Valley Sheriffs Station deputies believe three suspects apprehended early Monday morning in two separate incidents occurring at neighboring Verdugo Boulevard businesses may possibly be linked to other crimes.

Lt. Mark Slater, a watch commander for the station, said Monday a deputy was on patrol on the 1900 block of Verdugo Boulevard at around 1:55 a.m. Monday, when he saw a man standing by a closed Wingstop restaurant.

As he drove by, he noticed a car out front and a guy standing at the window peering in, Slater said.

The deputy approached the area, saw a front window had been broken and detained a 19-year-old Long Beach man. Four other individuals, whod been inside the restaurant at the time of the incident, immediately ran from the store and fled on foot.

Slater said deputies searched the area, employing the assistance of the Altadena Sheriffs Station, Glendale Police Department as well as canine and aerial units, but were unable to locate the other suspects. He added that a vehicle was found at the scene containing items that possibly linked the individuals to a burglary at a Glendale Dominos Pizza earlier that morning.

Theres significant evidence we have to go through that was in the car that might help us identify the others, Slater said. There (also) may be an investigation into a bigger picture here, not just Wingstop.

At around 5:30 a.m., about an hour after deputies called off their search for the four missing suspects, a sergeant in the vicinity was flagged down by an employee of CVS in a shopping center that neighbors the Wingstop site. The employee of the 24-hour pharmacy reported two men inside were acting suspiciously.

The sergeant responded, thinking the individuals may have been the missing suspects, but eventually determined their appearance in the store had nothing to do with the incident at Wingstop. Upon questioning, however, the suspects in the CVS were found to be in possession of a vehicle containing items believed to have been stolen from other stores, Slater said.

A 27-year-old man from Tujunga and a 35-year-old Burbank man, were ultimately detained for reasonable cause of receiving stolen property, according to the watch commander, and are currently being investigated for their possible ties to other crimes.

They may be connected to some thefts in and around the area, Slater said, indicating it was still too early to determine where those other thefts may have occurred.

Its just out of coincidence that it all happened in the same area at the same time frame, he said of the concurrence of events.

sara.cardine@latimes.com

Twitter: @SaraCardine
If youre thinking about visiting Alaska this year, youre not alone. More than 1.8 million people toured the nations largest state (by area) last year, and with changes taking place in the cruise industry this year, that number may grow.

The number of visitors set a record in 2016, according to the Alaska Tourism Industry Assn. A large portion of that can be attributed to an increase in air traffic to the state, which went up by 6%, but cruise ship passengers still made up the majority of Alaskas visitors, totaling 1,025,900 last summer.

Larger ships are to traverse Alaskan waters this summer, and additional cruise companies plan to send ships to the destination, according to Cruise Lines International Assn. Alaska.

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To keep up with the demand, changes are taking place at Alaskan ports.

In May, two new cruise ship berths opened along Juneaus downtown harbor. The $54.2-million docks can accommodate a 1,000-foot ship and a 1,100-foot ship. Prior to the project, the largest ship that could dock in the harbor was 965 feet.

Among the new cruise lines sailing to Alaska this summer is luxury small-ship line Seabourn, which hasnt visited Alaska for 15 years. It plans to sail a series of 11-,12- and 14-day cruises from Vancouver, Canada, and Anchorage.

Another new cruise itinerary is being launched by Lindblad Expeditions, which plans to sail its 100-passenger National Geographic Quest on eight-day and 13-day expeditions to explore Alaskas coastal wilderness and Inside Passage.

Cruise ship volume is expected to continue to grow in 2018, when Princess Cruises, a heavyweight in the Alaska cruise market, increases its capacity.

Seven Princess ships are scheduled to sail Alaska waters on 130 cruise departures, with more than 75% of all voyages sailing to Glacier Bay National Park. The line is also set to add its first round-trip sailings from Los Angeles to Alaska in 2018.

And next year, the 4,004-passenger Norwegian Bliss is to sail weeklong trips to the destination when it debuts. Bliss, one of the 10 largest cruise vessels in the world, will be significantly larger than the ships currently sailing Alaskan waters.

travel@latimes.com

Twitter: @latimestravel

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If youve been to Havana, but havent been farther inland in Cuba, check out a fall tour that visits parts of the island nation that are often off the tourist radar.

The eight-night trip, organized by Cultural Journeys, explores eastern Cuba and its unique cities and UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including Santiago de Cuba, Baracoa and Camaguey.

Santiago, on the eastern tip of the island, is known for its vibrant music scene; the Virgin of Copper church, where three popes have prayed; and for its historic fort.

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Baracoa, isolated from the rest of the country until a road was built to it in 1964, offers a look at the islands authentic cuisine and culture. The labyrinthine city of Camaguey was built in a maze to confuse pirates and has a thriving art colony and beautiful squares lined with colonial buildings.

The tour will also visit Holguin, called the city of parks. Nearby are spectacular white-sand beaches and aqua blue waters in the area where Columbus landed in 1492.

Dates: Nov. 10-18. Other Cuba trips, each exploring different regions of the country, depart Sept. 12, Oct. 13 and 21, Nov. 10, Dec. 6 and 29 (celebrating New Years Eve in Havana), Jan. 19, and Feb. 2, 8 and 17. Trips last four to 13 days.

Price: From $2,875 per person, double occupancy (single supplement available), depending on length of tour. Includes local and U.S. guides, all accommodations, most meals, ground transportation, entrance fees and Cuban visa. Airfare to and from Cuba not included.

Info: Cultural Journeys, (562) 439-2828, www.cultural-journeys.com

travel@latimes.com

Twitter: @latimestravel

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The Swiss Embassy in Ukraine has sent 600 tonnes of humanitarian cargo to the areas of Donetsk region, which are beyond Kyiv control, according to the State Border Service of Ukraine.

"Some 30 trucks from the Swiss embassy in Ukraine have crossed through the Novotroyitske checkpoint to the uncontrolled territory," the press service of the State Border Service of Ukraine reported on Saturday.

According to the information of the Ukrainian border guards, the trucks are loaded with a humanitarian cargo with a total weight of about 600 tonnes which is intended for the residents of Donetsk region
Back in 1965, the Los Angeles Department of Airports was considering building a monorail between downtown Los Angeles and Los Angeles International Airport.

But Clarence M. Belinn, founder and president of Los Angeles Airways, had a different idea. Why not use a flying bus instead? After passengers are loaded into a bus-like lounge, a helicopter swoops in, grabs the pod and flies off to the airport.

A story by Ray Herbert in the April 4, 1965, Los Angeles Times added:

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 The sky lounge Los Angeles Airways has its eye on would be a commercial version of the Air Forces flying crane built by Sikorsky Aircraft.

A gangling aircraft, rising more than two stories off the ground, the crane is built to settle down on a passenger lounge, snuggle it securely to its underside and lift off.

With passengers already aboard the lounge, the operation would take only a few seconds. The pod would be fixed rigidly, eliminating any possibility of sway.

Belinn visualizes an aerial transit system in which a waiting lounge, already loaded at Union Station, would be detached from the helicopter minutes later on an apron at International airport. ..

A followup story by Herbert in the April 27, 1966, Los Angeles Times reported that federal backing was given for a $735,000 study into the Flying Bus concept. But noise concerns and other opposition grounded the project.

The monorail and flying bus ideas never got off the ground.

See more from the Los Angeles Times archives here
Gov. Jerry Brown met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday in a rare diplomatic coup that catapults California into quasi-national status as a negotiator with China following the decision last week by President Trump to pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord.

Their encounter underlined the extent to which Trump, as he pursues an America first foreign policy, is being sidelined on the world stage. Xi spent nearly an hour talking to Brown, one of the administrations loudest, most powerful critics on the environment.

They discussed global warming and green technology in the Great Hall of the People, a granite-columned building on Tiananmen Square reserved for high-level dignitaries, political gatherings and ceremonial occasions.

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Its highly significant that the governor of California can meet with the president of China and talk about the foremost issue of our time, Brown said, sounding especially jovial on the third day of his weeklong China tour. Its very clear he welcomes an increased role on the part of California.

Xi emphasized the states unique economic impact and encouraged California to promote ties on the local level in science, innovation and green development, according to a statement from Chinas Foreign Ministry.

Brown started his trip with visits to the southern Chinese cities of Chengdu and Nanjing, where he repeated his grim warnings about climate change and signed agreements on clean energy.

Xi has definitely given the green light for more collaboration between China and California and, I would say, other states through this subnational-level arrangement, Brown said.

Energy Secretary Rick Perry is also in Beijing for a forum of global energy ministers. The Energy Department has given no indication he will meet with Xi.

The leaders discussion appeared as much about symbolism as substance.

He vaults over the parochial sense of governor to governor, and he vaults into the world of state to nation, said Orville Schell, director of the Asia Societys Center on U.S.-China Relations in New York, who wrote a 1978 biography of Brown.

The meeting built on a relationship that started when Xis father met Brown in California nearly 40 years ago during his first round as governor. Brown greeted Xi when Xi visited Los Angeles in 2012 as Chinas vice president. They spoke again in Rancho Mirage during a 2013 summit with President Obama at the Sunnylands estate and in Seattle two years later.

California has worked with China on environmental issues for years, including zero-emissions vehicles and air pollution control. Chinese officials recently asked the state for guidance with a carbon emissions trading market they plan to launch this year.

China is making a substantial contribution, as are other places in the world, and we are stepping up the effort, Brown said.

The two met soon after the top U.S. diplomat in China resigned in protest of Trumps Paris decision. Embassy spokeswoman Mary Beth Polley confirmed the departure of David Rank  a career diplomat since 1990 who was set to be replaced by Trumps pick for ambassador  but said only that it was a personal decision.

China is making a substantial contribution, as are other places in the world, and we are stepping up the effort.  California Gov. Jerry Brown

Their conversation also took place on the first day of an international clean energy forum in Beijing, where the Paris decision threatened to turn a mundane meeting of global energy ministers into a raucous debate about national sovereignty and renewed ambitions for an ailing planet.

This is Chinas first time hosting the Clean Energy Ministerial, which began amid the citys characteristic sheen of haze. The eighth annual event resembles something between a trade show and a leadership conference. Clean tech companies camp out in over-lighted booths. Energy leaders swap ideas at lengthy panels.

The U.S. organized the first ministerial in 2010, an attempt to salvage opportunities after the 2009 Copenhagen climate talks fell apart. San Francisco hosted the event last year.

The attendance list now clearly illustrates Americas climate divide. On one side is the liberal Brown; on the other, Perry, a big-oil conservative and former Texas governor who supports the fossil fuel industry. The split gives China an opening to portray itself as an alternative global leader on green energy.

Hosting the ministerial is a big statement about where China has pledged its future and a kind of assertion of leadership, said Isabel Hilton, a founder of Chinadialogue, a website that focuses on environmental issues.

Perry arrived at the forum defensive. Trumps decision lumped the U.S. with Syria and Nicaragua, the only other countries that were eligible to sign the Paris agreement but didnt do so. China and the Obama administration negotiated the deal, and China has vowed to stay in it.

U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry speaks during the carbon capture, utilization and storage event, on the sidelines of a clean energy conference in Beijing on June 6, 2017. (Andy Wong / AP)

Were not stepping back and we havent created a void, Perry told reporters on Monday in Tokyo en route to the meeting. I hope China will step in and attempt to take the mantle away. It would be a good challenge for them.

The green push belies another truth: China is the leading emitter of greenhouse gases and the biggest global funder of new coal-powered projects. More than 60% of its energy use is tied to fossil fuels.

But the nation has also become the largest investor in renewable energy, and the worlds biggest producer of solar power. It plans to pour $361 billion into clean energy by 2020.

Theyve realized that climate change is not just a burden; it can be turned into an opportunity, said Xu Yuan, a climate change expert and professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Americas green tech companies also see opportunity.

Chinas economy is huge, their role in the world is huge, and theyre going to be leaders in this space by orders of magnitude, said Jim Wunderman, chief executive of the Bay Area Council, an advocacy group for the regions businesses, which helped host the ministerial last year and brought a delegation to Beijing during Browns visit.

The governors presence here helps make meetings possible, Wunderman said. He carries the flag for the state.

Meyers is a special correspondent.

Times staff writer Jon Kaiman and researchers Nicole Liu and Gaochao Zhang in the Times Beijing bureau contributed to this report.

Twitter: @jessicameyers

Browns first stops in China are in cities that look a lot like California

Gov. Jerry Brown, Americas unofficial climate change ambassador in the Trump era, heads to China

Gov. Browns China road trip starts on a high note with new allies and pandas

UPDATES:

4:19 p.m.: This article has been updated with background information.

This article was originally posted at 10:40 a.m.
More than 100 Muslim leaders across Britain have joined forces to denounce the actions of the three London Bridge attackers by declaring that they will refuse to perform funeral prayers for them.

In an unprecedented show of solidarity and outrage at the latest terrorist incident to hit Britain, imams across the country are also urging other Muslim leaders to follow their example.

We have always condemned all these type of atrocities, but we needed to send a strong message to these killers that what they have done is totally against the teachings of Islam, said the head of chaplaincy at Barts Health NHS Trust in London, Sheik Yunus Dudhwala, one of the 130 imams who signed the statement. I think this is the strongest message that we can send.

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There have previously been calls for the Muslim community in Britain to take tougher visible action against the perpetrators of terrorist acts, beyond just verbally condemning them. In 2015, then-Prime Minister David Cameron also angered the Muslim community by saying that it had to do more to tackle extremism and that it was time for the silent majority to stand up.

Muslims said at the time that Cameron was wrong to link a lack of social cohesion with extremism and terrorism, and they believed that they were being forced to constantly apologize for each terrorist attack carried out in their religions name.

But the frequency of the recent attacks in Britain by homegrown extremists has spurred the community into taking a more cohesive, strong stance against the actions of the terrorists, Dudhwala said.

There have been three attacks in three months, and we wanted to send a strong message that that doesnt represent the 3 million-plus Muslims in the U.K., he said. Its becoming a trend and we cant let this happen in our name, in our faiths name, and we wanted to make sure people understand that. We abhor this killing and atrocity.

The religious leaders statement was released through the Muslim Council of Britain.

Dudhwala said more religious leaders have pledged to support their decision since the announcement, bringing the number closer to 200. The group said that denying a funeral prayer was one of the strongest messages its members are able to send to the wider Muslim community in their capacity as religious leaders and scholars, because the prayer is the final moment the community offers acceptance to the deceased for the sins they may have committed.

The funeral prayer is a very important prayer, said Qari Asim, a senior imam at Makkah Mosque in the city of Leeds. Its the last prayer in which Muslims traditionally seek forgiveness from God. We will not be performing the funeral prayer, and as a result, we will not be asking for forgiveness.

We are saying they are not martyrs, they are criminals, and they are not following a path to paradise, he said.

This move will not prevent burials of the three men who mowed down pedestrians on London Bridge with a van and then knifed civilians in Borough Market, leaving seven dead and dozens injured. Once their remains are released by the coroner, their families can arrange for their bodies to be laid to rest, but the religious leaders hoped that by denying them ritual burial rights, and urging others to do the same, it would send a powerful message to anyone who thought their actions were noble.

Psychologically, we hope it will have a profound impact on the people who will be considering this type of thing because they have been misguided and misled to believe that this is an Islamic thing to do, said Sheik Asim Yusuf, an imam and religious scholar in the city of Wolverhampton. It demonstrates to a would-be person considering this type of thing that theres a profound negative consequence to this action. You are cutting yourselves off from the community of believers.

Psychologically, the whole of the Muslim community lined up against you. Psychologically, you are not considered part of this community. We hope it will give people pause, he said.

Boyle is a special correspondent.
British police on Tuesday named the third London Bridge attacker as 22-year-old Youssef Zaghba, an Italian national of Moroccan descent who lived in east London.

He was normal, happy to say buongiorno, buonasera, said Franco Bortolini, 77, an upstairs neighbor to Zaghbas mother in the village of Fagnano, near Bologna. He was a good boy, just like his mother. I never imagined something like this would happen.

Locals in the tiny Italian village said Tuesday that they could not believe the nice kid they knew was one of the three men who took part in a terrorist attack in London on Saturday.

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Police said he had not been a subject of interest to police or the intelligence service MI5, but Italian media reported Tuesday that he was previously stopped from leaving the city of Bologna for Turkey in 2016 amid concerns he was trying to get to Syria.

Officials in Italy said he was flagged as a person of risk to both the British and Moroccan authorities at the time. Zaghba was shot to death by police Saturday night in Borough Market, a popular southeast London nightspot full of bars and restaurants.

1 / 40 Charles, Prince of Wales, talks to staff during a visit to the Royal London Hospital on Tuesday, following the Saturday night terrorist attack in London. (Peter Nicholls / AFP/Getty Images) 2 / 40 Gathering south of London Bridge, menhold placards denouncing the attackers as not following Islam. (Justin Tallis / AFP/Getty Images) 3 / 40 A police forensics officer walks out of a house during a operation in Ilford, east London, on Tuesday. (Daniel Leal-Olivas / AFP/Getty Images) 4 / 40 Police forensic officers on Tuesday work on Borough High Street, close to Borough Market, where the attackers stabbed people Saturday night. (Justin Tallis / AFP/Getty Images) 5 / 40 People gather for a vigil in Potters Fields Park in London on Monday to commemorate the victims of the terrorist attack on London Bridge and at Borough Market. (Daniel Leal-Olivas / AFP/Getty Images) 6 / 40 Members of the Dawoodi Bohra Muslim community join others at a vigil at Potters Fields Park in London on Monday to commemorate the victims of the terror attack on London Bridge and at Borough Market. (Daniel Leal-Olivas / AFP/Getty Images) 7 / 40 From left: London Home Secretary Amber Rudd, Mayor Sadiq Khan and Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott hold flowers at Potters Fields Park in London on June 5, 2017, during a vigil to commemorate the victims of the terror attack on London Bridge and at Borough Market. (NIKLAS HALLEN / AFP/Getty Images) 8 / 40 People attend a vigil for victims of Saturdays attack at Potters Fields Park in London on Monday. (Tim Ireland / Associated Press) 9 / 40 Members of the Dawoodi Bohra Muslim community join others as they lay flowers during a vigil at Potters Fields Park in London. (Niklas Hallen / AFP/Getty Images) 10 / 40 People gather for a vigil at Potters Fields Park on Monday to commemorate the victims of the terrorist attack on London Bridge and at Borough Market. (Niklas Hallen / AFP/Getty Images) 11 / 40 Hundreds gather for the vigil in Potters Fields Park. (Jack Taylor / Getty Images) 12 / 40 People gather at Londons Potters Fields Park along the River Thames. (Odd Andersen / AFP/Getty Images) 13 / 40 A man reattaches a missing-person poster above floral tributes on London Bridge, after it was reopened on Monday following the Saturday night attack. (Leon Neal / Getty Images) 14 / 40 Police forensics officers work at a residential property in east London on Monday as part of their investigations into the terrorist attacks. (Daniel Leal-Olivas / AFP/Getty Images) 15 / 40 A police dog handler arrives to work during an attacks-related investigation at a residential property in east London on June 5. (Daniel Leal-Olivas / AFP/Getty Images) 16 / 40 A man leaves flowers at a tribute in the London Bridge area on June 5. (Alastair Grant / Associated Press) 17 / 40 Police forensic officers work near Borough Market in London on June 4, 2017, as police continue their investigations following the June 3 terror attack. (Niklas Hallen / AFP/Getty Images) 18 / 40 Police forensic officers work near Borough Market in London on June 4, 2017, as police continue their investigations following the June 3 terror attack. (Niklas Hallen / AFP/Getty Images) 19 / 40 Britains Prime Minister Theresa May delivers a statement outside 10 Downing Street in central London on June 4, 2017, following the June 3 terror attack. (Justin Tallis / AFP/Getty Images) 20 / 40 A police officer places a rose at the scene of last nights terrorist attack on London Bridge on June 4, 2017 in London, England. (Dan Kitwood / Getty Images) 21 / 40 A police officer stands near first-aid debris on Thrale Street on June 4, 2017 in London, England. (Leon Neal / Getty Images) 22 / 40 British police work with a detection dog after the attack. (Matt Dunham / AP) 23 / 40 Armed British police work within a cordoned-off area Sunday after the London Bridge attack. (Matt Dunham / AP) 24 / 40 Police and emergency crews attend to victims of a terror attack on London Bridge. (Daniel Sorabji / AFP/Getty Images) 25 / 40 Armed police raid The Blue Eyed Maid in Borough High Street at London Bridge. (Carl Court / Getty Images) 26 / 40 Armed police stand over two suspects shot at the scene of the terror attack outside Borough Market in central London. (Gabriele Sciotto / AFP/Getty Images) 27 / 40 Guests from the Premier Inn Bankside Hotel are evacuated and kept in a group with police on Upper Thames Street after the attack in central London. (Yui Mok / AP) 28 / 40 Police mobilize at London Bridge after reports of a van hitting pedestrians. (Will Oliver / EPA) 29 / 40 Police clear the area near Borough Market at London Bridge. (Dan Kitwood / Getty Images) 30 / 40 Counter-terrorism special forces gatherat London Bridge. (Dan Kitwood / Getty Images) 31 / 40 Armed police stand guard on London Bridge after reports of the attack. (Dominic Lipinski / AP) 32 / 40 People run down Borough High Street in London after the attack, which closed London Bridge in both directions. (Dominic Lipinski / Associated Press) 33 / 40 An officer looks through his scope on London Bridge. (Dominic Lipinski / AP) 34 / 40 Police cars block the entrance to London Bridge after reports of the attack. (Daniel Sorabji / AFP/Getty Images) 35 / 40 Emergency crews tend to the injured on London Bridge after the attack. (Dominic Lipinski / AP) 36 / 40 Police take positions on Borough High Street after the attack. (Dominic Lipinski / AP) 37 / 40 People run down Borough High Street in London after the attack on London Bridge. (Dominic Lipinski / AP) 38 / 40 An armed police officer stands on Borough High Streetin London after the attack. (Dominic Lipinski / Associated Press) 39 / 40 People walk down Borough High Street after the attack on London Bridge. (Dominic Lipinski / Associated Press) 40 / 40 Police turn out in force on Borough High Street after the London Bridge attack. (Dominic Lipinski / AP)

Zaghba was born in Fez, Morocco, in 1995, to a Moroccan father, Mohammed Zaghba and an Italian mother, Valeria Collina. Collina later left her husband to move back to Italy, taking an apartment in Fagnano, where she had family.

He was with two accomplices also from east London. Police named them on Monday as Khuram Shazad Butt, 27, a British citizen who was born in Pakistan, and Rachid Redouane, 30, who claimed to be Moroccan and Libyan.

Butt was known to British authorities, but they said they had no intelligence to suggest he was planning an attack. He had previously been featured in a documentary that aired last year on Channel 4 in Britain titled, The Jihadis Next Door.

Butt moved to the U.K. with his mother and father in 1997, according to his uncle, Nasir Dar, 60, a resident of Jhelum, about 65 miles from Pakistans capital, Islamabad.

He came back to Pakistan only twice since then, Dar told the Los Angeles Times. Once in 2008 or 2009 and last time in 2013 with his wife.

Dar said his nephew was a very private person.

His father died when he was 9 and a half years old. I visit my sisters home in U.K. almost every 2-3 years. I used to have least interaction with him as he always kept busy but he was a normal guy, Dar said.

Then by mid-2012 he became friends with some black Muslims and some Arabic-speaking Muslims, he said. He also left wearing pants, jeans and shirts and started wearing Pakistani and Arabic dress. Once during my visit to his home in U.K., I asked him the reason why he had left wearing Western clothes. He told me that Arabic and Pakistani dresses are more comfortable. I didnt investigate it more.

He started becoming more religious after his marriage back in 2013, Dar said. By then, almost 90% of his friends were only Arabic speaking or black Muslim. The family didnt paid heed as we thought becoming more religious means becoming a better human being.

Dar said Butt told him he had a son and daughter. His daughter is only 1 month old.

Dar went on to say his nephew committed a barbaric act.

My heart goes out when I think about all those families who lost their loved ones because of Khuram, he said. He was managed by some elements in the name of religion and motivated to commit such a heinous crime. The people who radicalized him were so secretive that neither his mother, brother, sister and wife, nor his neighbor could get a sense of how dangerous he had become.

He had started living separately from his mother and other siblings after his marriage, Dar said. And they knew nothing about his activities. London police arrested some of his close family members but all are released today as police didnt find any link of them in his brutal act.

Butt and the other two mowed down pedestrians on London Bridge before entering Borough Market with knives, slashing random diners and pub-goers who were enjoying a night out.

Seven people were killed and dozens injured; 32 people remained hospitalized, with 15 in critical condition.

The dead include Australian nurse Kirsty Boden, 28, who was working in Britain.

Her family said she was killed after running toward the injured on London Bridge in an attempt to help them.

We are so proud of Kirstys brave actions which demonstrate how selfless, caring and heroic she was, not only on that night, but throughout all of her life. Kirsty  we love you and we will miss you dearly, her family said in a statement.

Canadian Chrissy Archibald died in the arms of her fiance on the bridge. And the family of Londoner James McMullan say they believe he is also among the deceased after police confirmed they had found his bank cards on a body at the scene.

After the attacks, a massive security operation was swiftly launched to determine if the three men acted alone or were part of a larger network.

Authorities arrested 12 people on Sunday as part of the investigation, but they have been released without charge.

Authorities arrested two men Tuesday and are searching an address in Barking, east London.

The London Bridge attack is the third terrorist incident to hit Britain in less than three months and the second in a matter of weeks.

On May 22, a suicide bomber blew himself up as concertgoers filed out of Manchester Arena, killing himself and 22 others and injuring more than 100. Two months earlier, there was a vehicle-and-knife attack on Londons Westminster Bridge.

The spate of attacks has brought the issue of policing and security to the forefront of a general election taking place Thursday.

Theresa Mays record as home secretary, a post she held from 2010 until last year when she took over as prime minister, has been called into question as she presided over a 20,000 drop in police numbers.

The terrorist threat level remains at severe nationwide, meaning another attack is likely, and questions are being raised about how well-equipped Britain currently is to deal with these kinds of attacks.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd admitted Tuesday that it is not possible to stop all potential terrorists from following through on their plans.

A minute of silence was held across the country at 11 a.m., with office workers, motorists and emergency workers coming to a standstill in a mark of respect for the dead and injured.

Special correspondents Boyle reported from London and Sahi from Islamabad. Special correspondent Tom Kington contributed to this report from Italy.

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UPDATES:

4:00 p.m.: This article was updated with additional information about two of the attackers.

9 a.m.: This article was updated throughout with Times reporting.

4:20 a.m.: This article was updated with information about another victim.

This story was originally published at 3:50 a.m.
A hammer-wielding assailant shouting, This is for Syria!, attacked police outside Notre Dame Cathedral on Tuesday, setting off a security scramble at one of Paris best-known landmarks. But he was wounded by police gunfire before he could seriously injure anyone.

The abortive attack was the second strike in four days at a landmark in a European capital, coming on the heels of an assault that left seven people dead and dozens hurt in London. French authorities identified Tuesdays attacker as an Algerian man carrying student identification and said he was armed with two kitchen knives in addition to the hammer.

The assailant, who was hospitalized along with one police officer, apparently acted alone, Interior Minister Gerard Collomb told reporters.

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Hundreds of tourists were trapped for a time in the soaring 12th century cathedral, whose flying buttresses and stained-glass windows make it one of Paris most photographed sites. Visitors and locals alike scattered as gunfire rang out in the cathedrals broad plaza alongside the Seine river in central Paris.

Police swiftly converged on the area, shouting at passersby to stay back. Onlookers immediately began tweeting about the unfolding event.

Sounded like 2 gunshots but smelled of powder. Police everywhere as crowds flee. I'm watching the bomb squad gear up now. #paris #notredame https://t.co/XAMczIOQuB  Crabigail (@CrabbyMiller) June 6, 2017

Among the tourists taking shelter in Notre Dame was Nancy Soderberg, a former White House deputy national security advisor and ambassador to the United Nations. She was visiting the cathedral with her 16-year-old niece when a clergyman announced that there had been an incident outside.

She tweeted a dramatic photograph of visitors in the cathedral with their hands raised as police searched the building.

It was really frightening, Soderberg said by phone. No one knew what was going on, although everyone was very calm. Once they close the doors, you cant hear anything outside; theyre so thick.

After nearly two hours, a clergyman informed them that the incident was over and that they would be allowed to leave after undergoing checks. The Lords Prayer was recited in French and English.

I thought it was very well handled, but it makes you think twice, Soderberg said.

She and her niece were also in London on Saturday night when three attackers used a van to ram pedestrians on London Bridge and then slashed patrons in nearby Borough Market, although the two were in a different part of the city

I think it is a strong signal that we need to work together to get to the bottom of these issues, Soderberg said. People need to be vigilant, but we cant let [terrorists] ruin our way of life.

Locked inside #notre dame cathedral in #paris while police investigate attack outside against a policeman. All calm pic.twitter.com/Z4B8wUzPTV  Nancy Soderberg (@nancysoderberg) June 6, 2017

On a cloudy midafternoon, the esplanade outside the cathedral was crowded with tourists and vendors. A witness, David Rahul Metreau, told Frances BFMTV that he had heard two shots about 4:20 p.m., then looked down from his apartment window to see a man on the ground, surrounded by emergency personnel.

France has been under a state of emergency since the November 2015 bombings and shootings in Paris that killed 130 people. In the intervening months, there have been scattered incidents, most involving attacks on police and other security personnel.

Two months ago, a police officer was shot dead by an attacker on the Champs-Elysees. The killer was shot to death by other officers. Attacks at the Louvre Museum in February and at Paris Orly airport in March targeted soldiers.

Tuesdays episode began when the attacker approached a police officer, took a hammer from his backpack and hit the police officer over the head, police spokesman Yves Lefebvre said. Police opened fire, wounding the man in the legs.

The officers injuries were not believed to be serious, he said.

Out of long practice, authorities were quick to put out word that the incident had ended relatively peacefully. Forty minutes after the attack, the Paris prefecture of police tweeted: Situation under control. One police officer injured. The attacker has been neutralized and taken to hospital.

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They were stabbing everyone: How the London Bridge attack unfolded

World leaders close ranks on climate change: Paris agreement cannot be renegotiated

Special correspondent Willsher reported from Paris and Times staff writers Zavis and King from Los Angeles and Washington respectively.

UPDATES:

1:55 p.m.: The story has been updated with additional witness accounts.

12:05 p.m.: This story has been updated with an interview with Nancy Soderberg and other details.

9:25 a.m.: This story has been updated with man reportedly shouting Its for Syria, other details.

9:00 a.m.: This story has been updated with Nancy Soderberg tweet and comments, mention of London attack.

8:45 a.m.: This story has been updated with additional background, police statements.

8:30 a.m.: This story has been updated with additional details, staff reporting.

8:10 a.m.: This story has been updated with Paris police saying an officer shot and injured an attacker.

7:55 a.m.: This story has been updated with information on police activity in the area.

This story originally published at 7:40 a.m.
Mexican authorities moved Monday to extradite an ex-governor on corruption charges, making him the eighth former Mexican governor facing criminal charges or already convicted.

Roberto Borge, who served from 2011 to 2016 as governor of the state of Quintana Roo, which includes Cancun, the countrys major tourist destination, was arrested Sunday in Panama Citys Tocumen International Airport as he was about to board a Paris-bound flight, the Mexican attorney generals office said in a statement.

Mexican authorities had issued an arrest warrant for the 37-year-old Borge, prompting the international police agency Interpol to post a red notice alerting other nations of his wanted status.

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On Monday, Mexico began the process of seeking Borges extradition from Panama on money-laundering and other corruption charges, Alberto Elias, assistant attorney general for international matters, told the Televisa network.

Of the eight ex-governors facing charges or convicted, six  including Borge  served under the banner of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, known as the PRI.

Borge is one of three being held abroad and facing extradition. Javier Duarte, who served as governor of Veracruz from 2011 to 2016, was detained in April in Guatemala after six months on the run. Tomas Yarrington Ruvalcaba, who served as the governor of Tamaulipas from 1999 to 2004, was arrested in Florence in April. Currently in custody in Italy, he faces drug trafficking-related charges in both Mexico and the United States.

Two more are currently jailed. Mario Villanueva, who governed in Quintana Roo from 1993 to 1999, is serving a 22-year sentence on a money-laundering conviction. Andres Granier, who served in Tabasco from 2007 to 2012, is fighting corruption charges.

Still being sought by Mexican authorities on corruption charges is Cesar Duarte, who was governor of Chihuahua for the PRI from 2010 to 2016 and is now a fugitive. Authorities suspect that Duarte made his way to the United States.

The remaining two governors facing criminal proceedings were members of the rival National Action Party.

Guillermo Padres, who served in Sonora from 2009 to 20015, is fighting corruption charges from jail. Luis Armando Reynoso Femat, who was governor of Aguacalientes from 2004 to 2010, was convicted of illegal diversion of funds and sentenced to six years in prison. He remains free on bond.

Critics of the Mexican political system have long charged that being a governor or other high-ranking lawmaker amounted to a license to steal. Mexican authorities have regularly vowed to cut down on the countrys woeful history of political representatives and law enforcement authorities succumbing to corruption.

The Republic of Mexico includes 31 states and Mexico City, seat of the federal government.

patrick.mcdonnell@latimes.com

Twitter: @mcdneville

Cecilia Sanchez of The Mexico City bureau contributed to this report.
A regiment of Sunni Muslim tribal fighters successfully repelled Islamic State militants from this village about 40 miles south of Mosul last fall, forcing them to scoop up their dead in blankets and flee in a hail of gunfire.

It was nearly midnight Oct. 5, and the air was thick with smoke from fires militants had set at nearby oil fields. The Sunni fighters, allied with the U.S.-led coalition fighting to drive the jihadis out of Mosul, withdrew to an abandoned house to regroup.



For the record: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that 19 friendly fire strikes in Iraq and Syria since 2014 had been confirmed by multiple sources. They have been reported by multiple sources.

The last thing Ali Hussein Khalaf remembers was another fighter asking him for more ammunition. Khalaf reached for the bullets, and a week and a half later he woke up in a hospital. The house had been hit by friendly fire from a coalition airstrike.

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Everyone on the 19-man unit had been killed except for Khalaf.

It was so difficult for me to hear that. We were like one family, sharing the same mattress, fighting on the front lines, Khalaf, 26, said last month at his home near Kharaib Jabr, a village of 2,000.

He said he always felt comfortable with air support from the coalition. We trust them, he said.

Although there has been widespread debate over hundreds of civilian casualties associated with coalition airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, little is known about so-called friendly fire deaths and injuries. The coalition does not release monthly information about them, as it does strikes that kill civilians.

The coalition takes each of these incidents very seriously but we do not keep cumulative data on them like we do civilian casualties because they happen so infrequently, said U.S. Army Col. Joe Scrocca, a Baghdad-based coalition spokesman.

Sunni tribal commander Abdul Kareem Ahmed Shahab visited the house where he said 18 fighters were killed by a U.S.-led coalition airstrike Oct. 5. Victims families have not been notified of an investigation or compensated. (Molly Hennessy-Fiske / Los Angeles Times)

The London-based nonprofit monitoring group Airwars has not been able to independently determine how many times coalition airstrikes have mistakenly targeted allied soldiers.

We dont really know how big a problem this is, Airwars director Chris Woods said. He said his group has tracked at least 224 allied deaths from coalition strikes in Iraq in the three years since the campaign against Islamic State began and at least 35 in Syria.

The U.S. military recently announced that a misdirected airstrike in Tabqa, Syria, killed 18 coalition-allied fighters on April 11. The Americans apologized.

I dont know why they didnt do the same for us, Khalaf said.

Airwars said it found 40 reported friendly fire strikes in Iraq and Syria since 2014. Although Islamic State may have tried to inflate the numbers through propaganda, at least 19 of the strikes have been reported by multiple sources, Woods said.

Three of the strikes have been confirmed by the coalition, Scrocca said: in Tabqa, Kharaib Jabr and Fallouja.

Iraqi special forces Lt. Gen. Abdul Ghani Assadi said the strike in Fallouja on Dec. 18, 2015, killed at least nine Iraqi Shiite fighters from militias known as the Popular Mobilization Units, or, in Arabic, Hashd al Shaabi.

It happened to the Popular Mobilization Units in Fallouja because the forces on the ground gave the wrong coordinates to the jet, Assadi said.

He did not have a tally of all Iraqi troops killed by coalition airstrikes.

Without the coalition making public its findings, it can be difficult to determine whether airstrike casualties were enemy fighters, civilians or allied forces. Nur Din Kaplan, deputy chief of the Mosul city council, said a coalition airstrike mistakenly killed four Iraqi soldiers from the 16th armored division and wounded 11 more in the town of Tall Kayf about eight miles northeast of Mosul on Oct. 28.

There was a plan where forces were supposed to be, but the division went further than they were supposed to, thats why  there was a lack of communication, Kaplan said in explaining why allied troops were hit.

Scrocca said the coalition has no investigations or operational reporting from our partnered forces about any strike in Tall Kayf. Iraqi Army Col. Abbas Abdullah, who served in the area at the time, said he also had no record of an Oct. 28 strike.

But Kaplan said he was contacted by residents who witnessed the strike. He called for the coalition to investigate, to better distinguish between army troops and Islamic State militants in the Mosul area.

If you show what you did, in the future you will not make the same mistake and you will be accountable, Kaplan said.

The coalition initially didnt question the Oct. 5 Kharaib Jabr strike, considering those killed to be combatants, Woods said. But Airwars found the names of the 18 dead friendly fighters online, which The Times also verified with relatives, Khalaf and his commanders.

Scrocca said the coalition determined that partnered forces called for the strike that resulted in the unintentional death of partnered tribal forces.

Surveillance could determine that fighters were present in a target building and the area was clear of civilians, he said.

Based on this information and the assurance by partner forces that these were ISIS fighters, and not their own fighters, the strike was launched, said Scrocca, using an acronym for Islamic State. Unfortunately, the partnered ground force did not have accurate information on their friendly forces.

Scrocca said nothing in the coalitions investigation of friendly fire incidents has prompted a change in how strikes are carried out.

But he said the coalition has tried to improve how the strikes are called in.

We are helping our partners, through technical and nontechnical means, better track and report the locations of their forces so they have the most accurate picture of their forces arrayed across the battlefield and can adequately take that into account when requesting airstrikes, Scrocca said.

Sunni tribal fighters and relatives of those killed in the Kharaib Jabr strike said thats not enough.

We heard they did an investigation, but we didnt hear the results, said Sheik Ahmed Jad Allah, a local Sunni tribal commander.

A mix of Iraqi forces were fighting in the village at the time: 400 tribal fighters, plus federal police and soldiers. He didnt know which forces provided the strike location, but said, The coalition, they know who called them.

Khalida Yasin Hamid lost two sons in the strike: Ali Yasin, 26, the unit commander, and Hassein Yasin, 20. When tribal officials called to notify her, they said the two had been killed by a coalition airstrike.

The first thing I said was, How could the coalition jets make such a mistake? Hamid, 50, recalled while sitting on a patio with her grandchildren.

Hamid insisted on identifying her sons bodies, which she said she recognized despite skull fractures. Listening to her recount the experience, a tribal commander who retrieved some of the bodies began to weep.

Khalida Yasin Hamid, 50, is flanked by grandchildren Yasin, 9, and Hameen, 6, whose father was killed in an airstrike in Kharaib Jabar on Oct. 5. They share an abandoned home with relatives, including Bahaa Sager, 6, left, Sulav Hussein, 5, and Ali Sager, 5. (Molly Hennessy-Fiske / Los Angeles Times)

Hamid is unemployed, disabled, her feet partially amputated because of diabetes. Her older son was divorced, so she is now caring for his children, ages 9 and 6. Displaced from Hamids home in west Mosul, they share an abandoned two-bedroom house with 14 relatives. Hamid worries that militants know her sons died fighting them and have destroyed whats left of her house.

No investigators from the Iraqi government or the coalition have contacted her about the strike.

Khalaf, the sole survivor, said his farming family has spent more than $500 on medicine to treat his wounds. He rejoined tribal fighters five months after the strike despite injuries to his hand, leg and head. He cant hear out of his left ear and still suffers dizzy spells. He and other fighters donated to support relatives of those killed, and think the coalition should help too.

The coalition does not generally compensate strike victims, although it has made occasional sympathy payments to civilians, Scrocca said.

Those people sacrificed their lives for their country, said Khalafs commander, Abdul Kareem Ahmed Shahab, so their families deserve fair compensation.

Times staff writer W.J. Hennigan in Washington contributed to this report.

Click here for a Spanish version of this story

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Disgraced stand-up comic and actor Bill Cosby is set to make his first appearance in a Pennsylvania courtroom Monday over sexual assault charges stemming from a 2004 incident that allegedly took place at Cosby's home.

Opening statements made by Montgomery County prosecutor Kristen Feden scornfully paint Cosby as a predatory figure, who should be divorced from his popular media image, a man used his fame and influnce to take advantage of a young woman asking for his council. Members of Cosby's legal defense team used their opening statements to cast his accuser as an inconsistent liar motivated by greed.

The only thing that is worse than [sexual assault] is the false accusation of sexual assault, Cosbys attorney, Brian McMonagle, said in opening statments Monday. Its an attack on human dignity.

An employee of Temple University named Andrea Constand, of which Cosby resigned from its Board of Trustees, alleges that Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her at his home in 2004. He settled Constand's civil suit in 2006 for an undisclosed amount of money after giving deposition testimony that became public in 2015.

According to the deposition, the then 66-year-old Cosby gave 30-year-old Constand three blue pills to alleviate stress before lying on the couch with her and engaging in sex acts. Feden revealed Monday that the state's attorneys plan to introduce evidence from medical professionals who will testify that Constands symptoms on the night of the alleged assault are consistent with the effects of Quaaludes. Cosby has stated that he acquired Quaaludes to give to women with whom he wanted to have sex; his legal representatives have said the drugs were for consensual use and were commonly used and abuse during the 1970s.

Cosby has plead not guilty and was released on bail for $1 million in December 2016. The former stand-up and creator of children's show "Fat Albert" is staring down a fine of up to $25,000 per each of three counts of felony aggravated indecent assault, and a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.

Cosby was walked up the courthouse steps Monday morning by his TV daughter Keisha Knight-Pulliam who played Rudy Huxtable on "The Cosby Show" through the 1980s and has supported him through his numerous sexual assault allegations. Other members of the Huxtable clan have been less forthcoming with their support of their TV Dad.
In the month since President Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, the FBI has intensified its investigation into Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election and the possibility that it coordinated with Trump campaign officials.

On Thursday, Comey is scheduled to testify before a congressional committee once more this year, after testifying before a House Intelligence Commitee on Hilary Clinton's email server scandal during her term as Secretary of State. Under oath and just days before his ousting, Comey reiterated the Bureau's continued investigation into the Trump campiagn's collusion with Russia. He is set to have a grand stage, as all three big broadcast networks will carry the event live, before a closed-door session in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee Thursday.

DC bar will start serving drinks at 9:30am for a James Comey testimony viewing party https://t.co/o3yHONrtu8 pic.twitter.com/K3rWyFlwbG  Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) June 6, 2017

Big questions are on the table, such as: Did Comey tell the President, on three separate occasions, that he was not under investigation? Did President Trump commit obstruction of justice when he asked Comey to halt the investigation of former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn's Russian ties and can that be proven? Why didn't he report his concerns somehow? How, if at all will, these questions and answers impede or assist former FBI Director and current Special Prosectuor Robert Muller's investigation into the Russia case?

All of this comes off Monday's announcement by Deputy White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee-Sanders that President Trump would not invoke his executive privilege in barring Comey from testifying, acknowledging a massive public relations blowback and a President's limited power over a private citizen.

It remains to be seen if Comey will add new elements to the investigation unbeknownst to members of Congress and FBI officials or whether his testimony could lead to criminal charges being filed against Trump campaign officials and surrogates on the basis of obstruction of justice.
The militants have fired the positions of the Ukrainian military in Donbas 77 times over the past day, the ATO press centre said on its Facebook page on Tuesday morning.

"As a result of hostilities over the past day, four Ukrainian defenders have been injured," a report says.

In the Mariupol sector, the militants fired rocket launchers near Bohdanivka, the staff said on Facebook. Ukrainian positions came under attack of 120mm mortars in the same area, as well as near Chermalyk and Krasnohorivka, the staff said.

In addition, the militants used 122mm tube artillery near Chermalyk. Attacks on Ukrainian army positions were seen near Vodiane, Shyrokyne, Pavlopil, Novotroyitske, Hnutove, Talakivka and Maryinka, where the militants fired small arms, grenade launchers and 82mm mortars on strongholds, Kyiv said.

There were three militants' attacks on residential areas in the Mariupol sector. Two mines blasted near homes in Krasnohorivka in the morning. A number of artillery shells fired by the militants blasted in a Pavlopil residential area later in the day. The militants hit a street in Maryinka with a mounted anti-tank grenade launcher's round at about 9 p.m. The attacks did not inflict civilian casualties, Kyiv said.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian army positions in the Donetsk sector came under 26 attacks of the militants. Tensions persisted in a suburb of Avdiyivka, where the militants systematically fired 120mm and 82mm mortars, tank guns and infantry weapons on Ukrainian army positions, Kyiv said.

In the Luhansk sector, the militants mounted several attacks by use of 120mm mortars on Ukrainian defense lines near Krymske, Kriakivka and Novotoshkivske, Kyiv said.
A new website called LegalOptics is using an algorithm to analyze driving-under-the-influence cases in Florida and identify the attorneys who get the best results for each judge and case type.

The purpose of the site is to help consumers find the right attorney by providing a more-granular analysis of their records than simple win-loss rates. The system scores attorneys based on both attorney actions and case outcomes before particular judges. Attorneys who score at least 10 percent more than the average score for a particular judge are given an A grade and only they are listed on the site.

From the site:

Our system identifies the attorneys with the highest success rate for each type of case before each judge, so you know which attorney will be best able to handle your case. Our proprietary formula evaluates each attorney based on a number of factors so that you can make an educated decision about who to hire.

Launched in May, LegalOptics was founded by Sam Harden, a Florida criminal defense lawyer and programmer who also previously founded MyCourtCase and Court Date Search. Through his company Legal Analytics Corporation, Harden develops products designed to bring the power of technology to people facing the court system.

LegalOptics so far covers only cases in Floridas Hillsborough County. Harden says he will soon add Pinellas County and is working on adding others.

The system identifies the attorney in each case and then assigns a grade. The website explains how it works:

Our system identifies the attorney on each case, and then assigns each case a grade, based on a scale of 5 (worst) to 10 (best). The system averages those scores and compares each attorneys average score to the average of all private attorneys for each judge. Grades are assigned based on how much higher or lower each attorneys scores are compared to the average of all private attorneys. Grade A attorneys scored at least 10% or higher than the average private attorney score for that judge.

This chart shows the actions and outcomes it grades:

The site also compares the results of the attorneys it grades as A against results in other cases. Its data shows that A-rated attorneys achieve better results for their clients, as this chart shows:

In addition, the system compiles information on outcomes by judges. It shows the top-performing attorneys for a given judge and also shows data on outcomes for that judge.

For example, for Hillsborough County Judge John N. Conrad, 42 percent of people accused of DUI are convicted, 44 percent have their case reduced to the lesser charge of reckless driving, and 12 percent have their case dismissed. Those who are represented by an A-rated attorney in Judge Conrads courtroom avoid conviction 85 percent of the time, according to the sites data.

The site plans to make money through selling attorneys advertising and access to its data. Grading attorneys who pay for advertising may sound like it has the potential for conflict, but heres how the site explains it:

Were an attorney advertising resource, were not shy about saying that. But lets be clear about one thing: attorneys do not pay to be graded by our algorithm. They also cant pay us to receive a better average grade. Attorneys pay to claim their profile page and to get access to our court data through a data portal.

Attorneys who subscribe to the site get access to a dashboard that provides deeper analysis of case statistics and data for three Florida counties: Hillsborough, Pinellas and Pasco. Also, for attorneys who do direct advertising, the dashboard lists recent case filings for a variety of criminal and domestic case types. A planned enhancement to the dashboard will allow attorneys to search for cases by law enforcement officer.
The officers of the Russian Armed Forces are instructing Russian servicemen on the territory of Donbas as to open fire on unmanned aerial vehicles of the OSCE SMM, provided they are guaranteed to be defeated, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has said.

"Military units of the Russian Armed Forces of the first and second anti-aircraft units are actively trained to combat unmanned aerial vehicles. Special attention is paid to the study of unmanned aerial vehicles used by the OSCE SMM. The officers of the Russian Armed Forces, who conduct classes, instruct the personnel to open fire on unmanned aerial vehicles of the OSCE aircraft provided they are guaranteed to be defeated and the possibility of secret evacuation," the main intelligence department reported on Facebook page on Tuesday.

Intelligence also reports that the personnel of the advanced units of the first Army Corps (Donetsk) of the Russian Armed Forces rob the civilian population at night: in addition to material values, servicemen take food that is associated with a lack of food supply.
Secretary of the National Security Council of Ukraine (NSDC) Oleksandr Turchynov noted the importance of a balanced, impartial and responsible attitude to informing the society on the occasion of the Day of the Journalist, the press service of the National Security and Defense Council said.

"The best counteraction to Russian information aggression is the truth. Therefore professional, unbiased, objective and principled coverage of events in Ukraine and the world is extremely important both for the country itself and for the formation of our country's image abroad," Turchynov said.

He also said that the assessments and comments of journalists influence the adoption of state decisions, form public opinion and "life often depends on your word."

"It's you, each of you - chroniclers of the newest history of Ukraine, you even often create it," the NSDC secretary said.
Jun 6, 2017, 3:23am ET

Aston Martin confirms second mid-engined model

Aston Martin wants a piece of Ferrari\'s pie.

Following months of leaks, rumors, and speculation, Aston Martin has confirmed it's in the early stages of developing a mid-engined coupe.

The brand's first mid-engined model will be the Valkyrie (pictured), a high-end hypercar built in strictly limited numbers. The second model will be a lot more accessible.

"We have a slightly lower average transaction price than Ferrari, so you need something that connects your Valkyrie at 2.5 to 3 million with the rest of the group. We have an obvious blind spot where the likes of the 488 sit," company boss Andy Palmer told British magazine Auto Express.

His comments confirm Aston's second mid-engined car will be aimed squarely at the Ferrari 488 GTB, the Lamborghini Huracan, and the McLaren 720S. In other words, it will get parachuted into one of the most competitive segments of the industry.

To that end, the car will boast a driver-friendly 50:50 weight distribution, and it will make extensive use of lightweight materials like carbon fiber. Aston Martin remains a small, independent company, so using components borrowed from the next generation of the Vanquish will help it keep costs in check.

"The Valkyrie will definitely produce some of the DNA for the 488 competitor. The mid-engined car will be a composite type of vehicle, but feature some of the technology from the [new] Vanquish," Palmer said.

Aston Martin will hand over the keys to the first Valkyrie in 2019. The 488-fighting mid-engined car is tentatively scheduled to make its debut the following year, meaning it won't arrive until the 2021 model year at the earliest.

Photo by Ronan Glon.
Jun 6, 2017, 1:31pm ET

DoT set to reveal new guidelines for autonomous vehicles

\"We don\'t want rules that impede future technological advances,\" said US Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.

The US Department of Transportation is set to reveal new guidelines for autonomous vehicles in the coming months.

The industry has called for a modernized federal regulatory framework to accommodate self-driving vehicles, arguing that the current patchwork of state-level rules will be problematic as advanced autonomous systems transition from prototype development to production.

"The pressure is mounting for the federal government to do something," said US Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao at an event in Detroit, as quoted by Reuters. "We don't want rules that impede future technological advances."

Under the Obama administration, the DoT acknowledged the industry's concerns over current regulations and welcomed automakers to apply for exemptions to test new technology on public roads. The agency has been slow to introduce formal rule changes, however, which will presumably be necessary before the most advanced fully autonomous cars can be sold to the public.

It is unclear if the DoT plans to reform its rule-making process to hasten implementation of proposals without requiring years of research and review.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration views automated technologies as the "next revolution" in roadway safety, as more than 30,000 people die on US roads each year and 94 percent of crashes are connected to human error.
Jun 6, 2017, 11:06am ET

Lyft to launch driverless car service in Boston

Lyft is partnering with NuTonomy to offer driverless cabs.

Residents of Boston will soon be able to hail a driverless cab thanks to a new partnership between Lyft and NuTonomy.

Lyft announced on Tuesday that it is partnering with NuTonomy to launch a new driverless car project in Boston. The aim of the partnership is to observe and study how customers interact with robotic taxis.

"The first stage of the partnership is focused on research and development on passenger experience," Lyft CEO Logan Green told Automotive News. "The next stages could lead to thousands of NuTonomy cars on the Lyft platform.

Lyft will use NuTonomy's driverless car for the experiment. NuTonomy doesn't build self-driving taxis, but rather modifies the Renault Zoe EV for autonomous tasks. The company is already testing self-driving cabs in Singapore.

Lyft, meanwhile, is also working with General Motors to make driverless cars a reality. The two companies hope to launch a fleet of autonomous taxis sometime next year.

An exact date for the Boston project has yet to be announced, but Left says it'll be coming soon.
Poroshenko hopes for development of independent media, its integration into Europe's information space

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said he is certain that the Ukrainian independent media will develop dynamically and Ukrainian journalists will be provided the necessary security for their work in the country.

"I am sure that the declared goal of creating public television and radio stations and the reform of the state and communal press, the provision of defense for professional work of journalists and freedom of speech in Ukraine will facilitate the dynamic development of the institution of free and independent Ukrainian media, their harmonious integration into the European information space," Poroshenko said, marking Ukraine's Journalist Day.

The president underlined that freedom of speech must be "in fact untouchable."

"Ukrainian journalists today work side by side with soldiers, officers and volunteers and are defending our country against attacks by Russian terrorist groups and protecting our freedom. They are also counteracting unprecedented Russian propaganda," Poroshenko said.

Ukraine's Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman and Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Chairman Andriy Parubiy also sent their congratulations to Ukrainian journalists.

Journalist Day in Ukraine is marked on June 6.
Jun 6, 2017, 2:49am ET

Spanish company previews hybrid hypercar

Boreas wants to take on Pagani and Koenigsegg.

A brand-new Spanish automaker called Boreas has announced bold plans to take on the best-known names in the hypercar segment.

The company's first model is a little over a week away from breaking cover. Full technical specifications are still under wraps, but we know the yet-unnamed car will get a gasoline-electric plug-in hybrid drivetrain tweaked to provide over 1,000 horsepower, which has seemingly become the new benchmark in the hypercar segment. Electric-only range checks in at approximately 60 miles.

The engine was sourced from a major manufacturer and tuned in-house by the Spanish firm's engineers. A dark teaser video suggests the coupe features traditional supercar proportions, which hints that it's mid-engined. Development work was carried out by DSD Design & Motorsports, while the project's sponsors include Michelin.

Production of Boreas' first model is strictly limited to just 12 examples. Each one will be unique because buyers will be encouraged to get involved in the production process. Pricing hasn't been announced yet, but British magazine Car believes at least part of the production run is already sold out.

The model will make its global debut at Le Mans on June 14, a few days before the annual day-long race. It will then travel across the English Channel and appear at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

The involvement of big-name companies tentatively suggests we're looking at a serious attempt to take on Pagani and Koegnisegg, not another fish in the vast sea of vaporware projects. However, we won't know for sure until we see it in the metal.

Boreas Project from DSD Design & Motorsport on Vimeo.
Jun 6, 2017, 10:12am ET

Tesla aims to quadruple its retail footprint in New York

The company is currently limited to just five stores in the state, but a new bill would allow the company to expand to 20 stores.

Tesla is pushing to significantly expand its retail footprint in New York ahead of the Model 3's arrival later this year.

Regulations currently prohibit the company from operating more than five retail outlets across the entire state, limiting local sales to a few high-priority neighborhoods in the New York City area.

State legislators have introduced a bill that proposes a less restrictive limit of 20 stores.

Tesla suggests some of the new stores would be located upstate in cities such as Albany and Buffalo, according to a statement to the New York Post. The company currently operates a large solar factory near Buffalo, thanks to the SolarCity acquisition.

"We plan to invest further in sales infrastructure in New York State," the automaker promises.

Tesla's state-by-state battle against dealer franchise laws will likely heat up next year as the company attempts to ramp up Model 3 production volume across the country.
Jun 6, 2017, 9:26am ET

Toyota ranked as most valuable car brand

Toyota is once again tops in automotive brand value.

Toyota has once again emerged as the world's most valuable car brand. Toyota has occupied the top spot for 10 of the last 12 years.

With a brand value of $28.7 billion, the latest BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands ranking found Toyota to be tops in the automotive segment. However, that value is down 3 percent from last year thanks to currency exchange rates and increased labor costs.

"Toyota is seen as a reliable, quality value brand," Peter Walshe, Global BrandZ director at Kantar Millward Brown, told Automotive News Europe. "Even when it was going through its recall problems, the users were saying, What's all the fuss about, my car is fine.' Toyota has delivered great value for years.

BMW ranked second among automakers with a value of $24.6 billion, followed by Mercedes-Benz ($23.5 billion), Ford ($13.1 billion) and Honda ($12.2 billion).

Tesla was a big mover in this year's ranking, jumping two spots to No. 8, ahead of brands like Porsche and Land Rover. Tesla is valued at $5.9 billion, and that figure is expected to climb in the coming years.

"The Tesla story is interesting because it is not just the cars it offers now, it is the promise for the future," Walshe said. "There is a perception that it offers a fantastic brand experience, even among non-owners. The only other brands that I've seen have this kind of appeal before they got into mass market were Apple and Facebook.

Although Tesla may have the appeal of Apple and Facebook, they still have a long way to go to catch-up to those brands in value. Google was the overall No. 1 on the list with a value of $245.6 billion. Apple was next with a value of $234.7 billion, followed by Microsoft and its $143.2 billion valuation.
Watching William Penn Elementary School third-grader Tyden Lewis on Monday, it was hard to believe the jubilant child had ever been picked on.

As fourth-grade teacher Ashley Schellhaas mentioned his name, he pumped his arms as if raising the roof and he was all grins. But the 8-year-old has not always been so confident, mom Danielle Finch said.

At age 4, Tyden was diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis type 1, known as NF1, a genetic disorder that affects several body systems and causes skin changes, tumors and skeletal abnormalities, Finch said.

For Tyden, NF1 means he deals with scoliosis and many tumors, one which is on his optic nerve, and he's been teased over the years.

But a project by William Penn fourth-graders has turned him into the school's rock star and he gets high-fives now wherever he goes, Finch said.

"It's really boosted his confidence a lot," his mom said.

For the last four years, Schellhaas has challenged her students in math class to design a business to raise money for a charity. The kids come up with a product, business plan and then market the product.

All proceeds go to the charity of the students' choice. The kids always want to help other children and have selected the Dream Come True foundation each year, Schellhaas said. Dream recipients must have a life-threatening or life-altering illness.

This year's project became extra special when the students learned they could help Tyden, a fellow William Penn student, fulfill his dream of visiting Disney World, she said.

Students created their business, called Pop Don't Stop, and designed storage boxes and coasters out of popsicle sticks. They set a goal of $500 and the various teams set to work to make that happen.

"The amount of work they have done is commendable," Schellhaas told parents during a presentation Monday afternoon.

The fourth-graders were shocked to learn Monday that they'd shattered their $500 goal, raising $806.57. Schellhaas said she and her husband plan to match the money dollar for dollar.

That's the most any class had raised, Schellhaas said. In the prior three years, students donated a total of $1,746.95 to Dream Come True.

The Pop Don't Stop team is truly a special bunch, the teacher said.

"It's their heart that drives them," Schellhaas said. "...It's love that powered this."

Tyden will travel to Disney World in September to celebrate his ninth birthday, his mom said.

Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
A company eyeing a coveted Pennsylvania license to dispense medical marijuana earned approval Monday night for its proposed facility in Bethlehem Township.

GuadCo LLC hopes to have a state permit in hand by month's end for its Keystone Canna Remedies at 2467 Baglyos Circle, off Emrick Boulevard within Lehigh Valley Industrial Park VI in the township.

Principal Victor Guadagnino Jr. said he anticipates opening during the first quarter of 2018. He's partnering in the dispensary with his father, Dr. Victor Guadagnino Sr., a cardiologist, and aunt Joan Guadagnino, who run a nonprofit organization aiding people with the neurodegenerative disorder ataxia.

Bethlehem Township commissioners voted 3-0 to approve the dispensary under newly crafted township rules related to the state's nascent medical marijuana industry. As a legal land use, medical marijuana dispensaries and grower/processor facilities must be permitted under township law.

Victor Guadagnino Jr. and attorney Gary Asteak detailed the dispensary plan during a public hearing before commissioners and worked to address concerns, including those aired by Maria Cintron about security on-site. She is the owner and operator of Bikram Yoga Lehigh Valley next door to what would be Keystone Canna Remedies and said 75 to 80 percent of her clients have said they are considering taking their business elsewhere because of the medical marijuana dispensary proposal.

"I've invested $300,000 in my facility to make it a place of health and well-being," Cintron said.

The Guadignino family, who are from Brooklyn, N.Y., spoke with Cintron after Monday's commissioners' vote and continued trying to assure her. The family are the ones who are going to be staffing the 4,726-square-foot dispensary, Victor Guadagnino Jr. said.

Securing a state permit for dispensing medical marijuana products requires meeting strict state standards on top of township requirements, covering seed-to-sale and site security as well as operations limited to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Deliveries from a processor-grower will enter the dispensary through a rear loading dock access, with products entered into a vault and sealed until they are opened off the premises by a patient, according to testimony at Monday's hearing.

Patients will enter through a man-trap door that requires the outermost door to be closed before security allows a patient into the lobby and, then, into a consultation room. The dispensary will be under 24-hour surveillance, with motion sensors on the roof and within the facility.

Pennsylvania's medical marijuana prohibits use of marijuana in leaf or flower form. Rather it will be prescribed and dispensed in forms such as fluids for vaporization, pills, absorption under the tongue and topical ointments.

Patients seeking a prescription must have a qualifying illness and gain approval from a state-certified physician. Gov. Tom Wolf signed the law creating the program in April 2015, and the state continues to review applications for permits while refining rules of the program.

"If you take a look at the act, you've got to be pretty damn sick before you can get a prescription," Asteak said. "It's just not you've got a headache."

Any defective product is returned to the grower/processor -- "no Dumpster-diving," Asteak said -- with the state-designated seed-to-sale vendor continuing to track the material.

Any violation of state laws would endanger Keystone Canna Remedies' permit, Asteak said.

"Scrutiny is going to be pretty dramatic at all levels," he said of state monitoring of medical marijuana businesses.

Pennsylvania has allocated statewide 12 grower-processor permits and 27 dispensary permits, including two grower-processor and four dispensary permits in the Northeast region that encompasses 10 counties including Lehigh and Northampton.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Surveillance cameras helped catch a burglar in the act as he stole money from a Lehigh County Islamic center, police said.

On Monday afternoon, police say Jerry Hinton, 52, broke into the Al-Ahad Islamic Center, 1500 Ridgeview Drive in South Whitehall Township. Police said he stole more than $1,000 from four donation boxes and from an office.

A member of the center monitoring the surveillance cameras called police at 4:37 p.m. to report a burglar was in the center, and the caller gave police a description of the burglar and his car.

South Whitehall police arrived at the center and found Hinton in his car in the parking lot, police said. Hinton sped up and struck a township police cruiser, then fled into Ridgeview Drive, police said.

Hinton reached speeds of up to 70 mph as he drove onto Route 309 and then side roads, before hitting a dead end in the 4500 block of Crackersport Road, where he was arrested, police said.

Hinton, of Brooklyn, is charged with with burglary, criminal trespass, fleeing from police, theft and receiving stolen property. He was sent to Lehigh County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail.

Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
A U.S. Postal Service worker is now facing trial on charges she threatened her boss with a steak knife after being told she was suspended.

Karen Ann Keifer, of the 5900 block of Emmaus Road in Emmaus, was in district court on Tuesday for her preliminary hearing on charges of simple assault and making terroristic threats.

Following a hearing, Judge Donna Butler sent all the charges to county court. The 59-year-old Keifer is free on 10 percent of $25,000 bail.

Emmaus police were called at 8:12 a.m. Jan. 24 to the post office at 105 N. Fifth St. for a reported assault with a knife.

Jose Estrella, a supervisor at the site, told police that he and Postmaster Joyce Maurer had called Keifer to a back office to speak to her about her behavior at work.

Kiefer was told she was suspended, police said, and she promptly grabbed a steak knife off of Estrella's desk. Keifer raised the knife and pointed it at Estrella's chest from about one foot away, police said.

Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
A district judge serving Whitehall Township and Coplay in Lehigh County was pronounced dead Monday at home, authorities said.

Robert C. Halal's cause of death remained pending further investigation, the Lehigh County Coroner's Office said Monday night. The manner was also not immediately determined, and may be ruled natural, accidental, suicide, homicide or undetermined.

He was 52.

Halal was pronounced dead at 4:07 p.m. at home in the 4800 block of Main Street in Whitehall Township, by Lehigh County Deputy Coroner Richard Pender, according to a news release from the coroner's office.

An autopsy was scheduled for Tuesday, and the death was being investigated by both the coroner's office and township police.

Police were not immediately available for comment Monday night. Whitehall police Chief Michael Marks told The Morning Call he would not comment on the ongoing investigation.

Investigators had sealed off Halal's property Monday afternoon with yellow police tape, according to WFMZ-TV 69.

Halal was a district judge since 2007 and was re-elected in 2013 to a six-year term, serving District Court 31-1-07 out of his office at 3678 Crescent Court East in Whitehall Township.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Seventy-three years later, Nathan Kline can still remember the fear he felt when he saw Germans shooting at his airplane as Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944.

Eight thousand ships filled the English Channel, he recalled, and the invasion was almost cancelled due to weather, making the conditions less than desirable.

"I'm very proud to be part of the invasion," the 92-year-old Kline said Tuesday at Nazareth Borough Park during the 16th Annual D-Day Remembrance Picnic.

American flags waved and voices echoed "God Bless America" to kick off the picnic, which brings veterans, their families and the community together to remember and honor D-Day veterans.

The battle is described as "the largest invasion in history" in "the war to end all wars."

"Our freedom is not free," said Judy Greenhalgh, a member of the Lehigh Valley Chapter of the Battle of The Bulge Association that helped organize the event. "So many people sacrificed for our freedom and it's important to let them know how much we appreciate it."

Kline, a retired U.S. Air Force major from the Allentown area, wasn't the only D-Day veteran in attendance. Others included Robert Gangeware, of Wind Gap, and Richard Schermerhorn, of Allentown.

Gangeware served with the U.S. Army in the 90th Infantry Division and the 357th Infantry Regiment. Schermerhorn served with the Army's 531st Engineer Shore Regiment.

"It's something I'll never forget," the 95-year-old Shermerhorn said of D-Day, adding that the English Channel was flooded with ships for as far as you could see. Anyone who says they weren't scared is lying, he added with a chuckle.

Alongside members of the association, Eagle Scout Jack Wiener expressed his sentiments to the veterans, saying that simply thanking them would "understate the gratitude" of all Americans. He encouraged them to continue to share their experiences, as it inspires him to hear them and teaches him more than a textbook ever could.

As chapter president John Kuhn read the words originally spoken by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower on D-Day 73 years ago, the veterans choked back tears.

"The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you," Kuhn read. "...I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty, and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory."

As well as honoring D-Day veterans, other World War II veterans were asked to stand and be honored as well. Seven veterans stood and accepted the thanks of those around them. Some wore WWII hats, while another sported American flags on his walker.

Although a day of honor and celebration, attention was brought by some to the apathetic attitude toward the flag, patriotism and the nation's history.

Kuhn spoke of the importance of knowing the history, the Constitution and why Americans have the freedoms that they do. He described such knowledge as a necessity so as to not take the sacrifices of those who serve for granted.

Military re-enactor Dave Pucci further emphasized that point by addressing those who burn the American flag as a means of protest. He shared a story from when he was in college, when he asked his father what he thought of the burning of the flag. The response was eye-opening.

"Ask the veterans whose coffins were draped with that flag. If they say it's OK, than maybe I will to," he said.

With that, many in the audience nodded their heads as their eyes filled with tears.

As bugler Ed Brace played taps at the conclusion of the ceremony, veterans saluted and the flag danced in the wind.

"It was an honor (to be honored at the picnic)," Schermerhorn said. "We should never stop honoring all veterans."

Alyssa Mursch may be reached at amursch@lehighvalleylive.com. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.


Upper Nazareth Township police are piecing together how a crash occurred that killed two people last month along Route 248.

Chief William Cope said Tuesday a preliminary investigation determined an Acura driven by Jonathan Morales Lopez, 19, of the 4000 block of Scherman Boulevard in Bethlehem Township, was headed east toward Nazareth about 9 p.m. May 10.

For an unknown reason, Lopez's car drifted into the westbound lane, Cope said.

David Zellner, 71, was westbound with his wife, Brenda Zellner, 70, of the first block of South Penn Dixie Road in Upper Nazareth Township. Family members said the couple were headed home -- less than a mile away -- after having dinner.

Lopez, a Freedom High School graduate and oldest of four siblings, worked at a local pizza parlor. But it remains unclear where he was headed at the time of the accident.

Cope said the impact of the Acura was head-on with the Jeep, at the Jeep's driver's side corner. Both Lopez and Brenda Zellner were pronounced dead at the scene. David Zellner remains hospitalized in stable condition, said his daughter, Kristen Zellner of Harrisburg, on Tuesday.

A reconstruction team continues to assess if speed was a factor in the crash. The speed limit in that area is 45 mph, Cope said.

The accident occurred on a rural stretch of Route 248 outside Bath -- just east of a curve on a downgrade between Michael's School Road and Penn Allen Road. Weather at the time was clear and dry, Cope said.

"We do not believe weather played a factor at all," the chief said.

The accident included two of four fatalities in four different crashes along busy Route 248 within two months.

Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has included in the agenda bill No. 6470 on amendments to the legislation regarding the resumption of the course of Ukraine for NATO's membership, the head of the subcommittee for security of state information systems of the parliamentary committee on national security and defense, Iryna Friz (the Bloc of Petro Poroshenko faction), has said.

"The bill provides for the introduction of the necessary changes to the laws of Ukraine "On the Basics of Domestic and Foreign Policy" and "On the Fundamentals of National Security of Ukraine" for the resumption of Ukraine's purposeful pragmatic course to acquire NATO membership (as a strategic foreign policy priority of the state)," Friz wrote on her Facebook page on Tuesday.

In her opinion, such changes will make it possible to clearly define the foreign policy course of Ukraine regarding integration into NATO and will become the basis for the further development of strategic documents.

"The draft law corrects mistakes of 2006, as well as 2010, when the leadership of the state of that time excluded Euro-Atlantic integration from the agenda of Ukraine's foreign policy, which led to a critical increase in security risks, the annexation of Crimea and the war in Donbas," the MP said.
A hangar project at Lehigh Valley International Airport is getting a $6 million boost from Pennsylvania.

Gov. Tom Wolf on Tuesday announced the investment as part of $10 million in grants awarded statewide.

The money also includes $325,000 for a new general aviation terminal at Braden Airpark in Forks Township.

The Lehigh Valley International grant is for a new 53,000-square-foot hangar on the southwest portion of the airfield in Hanover Township, Lehigh County, according to the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority that owns and operates LVIA, Braden and Queen City Airport in Allentown.

Projected to cost $12 million in all, the hangar is for corporate jets and smaller general aviation aircraft. It is slated for completion in late 2018, according to the airport authority.

"This will not only bring more aircraft activity to the Lehigh Valley, but can create jobs and businesses in our community," authority Executive Director Charles Everett said in a statement Tuesday.

The funding is administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Bureau of Aviation through the Aviation Transportation Assistance Program, which is a capital budget grant program funded with bonds, according to Wolf's office.

.@GovernorTomWolf announced $10M in state investments to make safety upgrades and expand operations at 9 airports. https://t.co/h6QaEApE4Y  The Press Office (@GovernorsOffice) June 6, 2017

The program complements the state Multimodal Fund, which dedicates $6 million to aviation in this fiscal year alone. The fund was created by Pennsylvania's Act 89 transportation investment program.

"We are extremely grateful for the strong support of Governor Wolf and all of our state legislators in demonstrating their commitment to the future of aviation," Everett stated.

LVIA hosts Allegiant Air, American, Delta and United with 11 nonstop destinations to leisure destinations and major airline hubs that connect internationally. Its nonstop destinations include Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Myrtle Beach (seasonally), Newark, Orlando, Philadelphia, Punta Gorda and Tampa Bay.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
If it weren't for the happy fishermen, the scene would've fit nicely into a dystopian novel or an episode of "The Twilight Zone."

What had been Minsi Lake in Upper Mount Bethel Township, a recreational destination that drew anglers and boaters from well beyond the Slate Belt, is now a giant hole with a muddy surface.

Plant life is sparse. Old tires and rusty metal drums protrude from that surface. Only months ago, these discarded objects were deep under water.

On Monday morning, several dozen people gathered on the crest of the dam at the south end of the former lake. Some 30 feet below stood a giant puddle. To call it a pond would be generous, but perhaps apt given that few puddles could hold such a bounty of fish.

The Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission last year lifted most restrictions on how many fish anglers could pull from the lake in anticipation of it being drained.

The draining is a key component of a $3 million, multi-year project to replace the lake's nearly 50-year-old dam, which has become structurally deficient and a flood threat to nearby property.

Monday marked what commission officials believed would be the last day where enough water remained in the lake for fish to survive. So it was a great day to be fishing Minsi Lake.

Despite the drab surroundings and muggy, overcast weather, good times were had by most at the puddle.

Shortly before 11 a.m., Mark Dobos of Bethlehem Township hauled in a 7-pound, 3-ounce largemouth bass. Spectators at the dam's crest jumped out of their lawn chairs. Some crawled down the dam's embankment to get a closer look and snap photos as Dobos reeled in the fish while Marty Gerardo secured it in a net.

Gerardo planned to take the fish to a pond on private property he owns in Monroe County. As the final days of fishing have approached at Minsi Lake, he's been there to collect fish that anglers do not want to keep. He said he's transported more than 1,200 Minsi Lake fish to the pond, which he affectionately called a "retirement community" for the fish.

Gerardo was well known to the spectators watching from the dam's crest. While he celebrated the acquisition of the prized largemouth bass, an older fellow jokingly yelled out, "Marty. If you have a heart attack, do it somewhere else because I ain't giving you mouth-to-mouth."

Dobos has also been among the regulars in the last days of fishing on Minsi Lake. He estimated that the bass he caught was among the biggest recently pulled from the low water, but he did acknowledge that there were a few 8-pounders others reeled in.

He was with his son, Zachary Dobos, on Monday. The 21-year-old is on break from his studies at Gettysburg College. The family has long counted Minsi Lake among their favorite fishing spots. The elder Dobos said they will miss coming there and will probably stick with fishing streams and Lesser Lake in New Tripoli in Lehigh County's Lynn Township.

But Minsi Lake won't be dry forever. The replacement of the dam, built in 1970, will be completed over the next two years with a goal of having the new dam in place and the lake refilled by the end of summer 2019.

The fish that don't end up in Gerardo's pond or on an angler's backyard grill are being collected by the fish and game commission. Some won't make it out, the commission acknowledged in a statement.

"Fish die during any drawdown and salvage effort," said Jason Detar, chief of the commission's Division of Fisheries Management. "Some hide around structures where we simply can't reach them, and others become buried in the mud when they are slow to exit the lake with the remaining water. Anglers and the public should expect to see this."

Commission members on Monday were using nets to capture the fish flowing through the drainage valve in the dam. That valve has been the exit point of all the lake's water. It spills into a tributary of Martins Creek and the state started steadily releasing the lake's water at that spot in the spring.

Dave Arnold, the commission's area fisheries manager, was overseeing netting efforts at the valve's spillway on Monday. He credited the anglers with helping make his team's job easier.

"The anglers have been really good about removing the fish," he said. "If they take them, we have less to deal with."

The fish the commission have captured were initially bound for Brady Lake in Monroe County, but a discovery early Monday afternoon means the fish will instead go to Beltzville Lake in Carbon County, Arnold said.

The commission found alewife in the remaining water. The species, which poses a threat to the habitat at Brady, is not native to Minsi Lake and commission officials are uncertain how it made its way there. But it won't be problematic relocating them into Beltzville because of the diversity of fish there, Arnold said.

Until the dam work is complete, what remains of Minsi Lake will be off limits. But state officials have said the area surrounding the lake will be open for picnicking, hiking and other types of recreation throughout the project.

Nick Falsone may be reached at nfalsone@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickfalsone. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
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Continued demand for British brands boosted sales at a county clothing firm.

Joules, which has its head office in Market Harborough, said "continued strong brand momentum across channels and product categories" saw group sales rise nearly 20 per in the year to the end of May.

It is the company's first full financial period since it floated on AIM in May 2016.

Joules said group revenues increased to 157 million as the retailer continued to perform strongly in the first half of its financial year. This continued throughout the crucial Christmas trading period and into the second half of its financial year.

Joules said in a statement: "This strong growth is a reflection of the brand's expansion in the UK and international markets, Joules' growing customer base, and the positive customer responses to both new and core ranges across product categories throughout the period."

Retail revenue was driven by strong growth online as well as continued growth across the group's UK store estate, with 11 stores opening in the last 12 months taking the total to X.

Joules' wholesale sales also rose, by around 20 per cent, in line with management expectations and driven by strong growth in orders for the s and summer collections both its UK and international wholesale customers.

Management said gross margins were also strengthening "as a result of a higher proportion of full price sales, reflecting the strength of the Joules brand", as well as further distribution efficiencies and a favourable product mix within international wholesale business.

As a result of the group's revenue growth and improved gross margin, combined with continued cost discipline, the board said it expects to report full-year profits "comfortably ahead of its previous expectations".

Chief executive Colin Porter said: "The appeal and strength of the Joules brand continues to resonate with our loyal and growing customer base. The brand's growth continued in the second half of the financial year, building on the strong performance in H1. As a result of the brand's momentum across channels and product categories, the board anticipates reporting profits for the full year comfortably ahead of its previous expectations.

"Our focus on our brand and our customers as well as our steadfast commitment to product quality remain the bedrock for the Group's growth and success. Underpinned by these strengths, the Board has confidence that Joules' momentum will continue into FY18, despite the uncertain macro-economic outlook. This confidence is supported by the growth in our customer base and our exciting new store opening plans, as well as a robust autumn/winter wholesale order-book both in the UK and internationally."

Martin Lane, managing editor of money.co.uk said: "I'm not surprised Joules are smashing their targets. The brand has a solid identity and knows its target audience inside out.

"By originally targeting the Cotswolds and coastal towns, the brand engaged rural communities who found what they were offering genuinely useful. By matching functional wear with colourful prints they've created a fashion line that consumers can't get enough of.

"Their colourful wellies are a huge hit with a younger audience too with many snapping them up for the unpredictable weather at festivals.

"Town folk like to buy into the culture of the countryside, even in the inner cities and wellington boots are a firm fashion favourite at the moment - even though mud doesn't appear to be needed to wear them. The partnership Joules have with John Lewis will certainly be giving them a leg up and it's good to see the brand flourishing in such difficult economic circumstances."
Sinn Fein TD Brian Stanley has called on the Minister for Transport, Shane Ross, to put a public transport service in place for the rural Laois area.

His call came following the announcement by JJ Kavanagh Buses that they were reducing services on the route through Crettyard, Newtown and Ballylinan.

Deputy Stanley said the bus route from Clonmel to Dublin now needs to be covered by a Public Service Obligation.

The reduced service means that only three buses will now pick up passengers going to Dublin from these areas at 2.45 am, 6.15 am and 11.00 am, while leaving to return from Dublin at 6.45 am, 4.00 pm and 6.00 pm," he said.

Among those badly affected by these unsuitable times include people commuting to work in Athy, Naas and Dublin and students attending university and other third level institutions in the capital.

The Portlaoise-based TD said that the new timetable does not suit workers or students travel schedules.

"This reduction in bus services is not acceptable as it means the area in the East of the County will be further isolated," he added.

"This route now needs to be covered by a Public Service Obligation and I have contacted the Minister and the CEO of the National Transport Authority in this regard to demand that this is put in place, he said.
Abbeyleix basked in warm praise from President Michael D Higgins, as well as warm sunshine, when he visited its restored bogland recently.

The president strolled on the new boardwalk, guided by ecologist and local volunteer with Abbeyleix Bog Project, Fiona McGowan.

He showed particular interest in the carnivorous round leaved sundew, and bogcotton. His aides had orders by Mrs Higgins to pick some bog cotton to bring back to the Aras, she said.

President Higgins heard how the volunteers installed 17,000 dams in the bog drains since 2009, restoring moisture and new growth to the rare intact raised bog.

He also stopped at the bug hotel to chat with zoologist Ricky Whelan, chair of Laois Offaly Irish Wildlife Trust.

Earlier, President Higgins had harsh words for those who burn land illegally, in a passionate speech on the environment, at the launch of the Community Wetland Forum's plan in the Abbeyleix Manor Hotel on May 25.

I don't think we can continue to tolerate people who continue to cause environmental damage. Year after year these fires are a regular part of the agricultural calendar, without enough consequences. There is nothing romantic about breaking the law. The biggest sanction is if you know people responsible, to say 'you should be ashamed of yourselves', he said.

He praised the Abbeyleix Bog volunteers and the Community Wetland Forum.

I congratulate all who have taken the lead, who gave precious time and resources, in a shared intergenerational vision of living an ethical life in harmony with our surroundings, he said.

He praised the big number of children at the launch.

Because of this project, you will get to experience the beauty of wetlands in the future, the President said.

He hugged young Aidan Lynam from Knock NS who read a poem about Abbeyleix bog, and accepted a photo of sundew on Abbeyleix bog, from photographer Tina Claffey's son Tristan.

The launch was expertly MC'd by Heywood CS students Caoimhe O'Keeffe and Ruth Bergin, whose study of Abbeyleix Bog was shown at the BT Young Scientists fair.

The presidential endorsement is a welcome boost.

It's a fantastic recognition for the whole community's effort over the last 17 years. We hope the next generation will get involved, said volunteer Des Finnamore.

Ecologist Mark McCorry is with Bord na Mona, who gave the bog to the community.

We are delighted to give it continued support. Today shows the terrific success they have made of it, he said.
It is 'unacceptable' that hundreds of children in Laois and Offaly are on waiting lists for occupational therapy, according to a Fianna Fail TD

Barry Cowen criticised claims there are more than 900 children under the age of 18 in the Laois/Offaly area waiting for more than a year for occupational therapy assessment.

Failure to provide occupational therapy for children in need of assistance can have a detrimental impact on their overall development.

"Its simply unacceptable that over 900 children in the Laois/Offaly area have been stuck on assessment waiting lists for over a year. It clearly shows that children are being denied access to services which they need to improve the quality of their lives," he said

The TD said he has raised this issue with Minister for Health Simon Harris and have been informed that the current backlog is as a result of the reduction in the availability of Occupational Therapy resources.

He blamed "the previous Fine Gael Government's" decision to "slash spending" in the health service.

He said the Minister for Disabilities Finian McGrath has not delivered on a commitment to increase Occupational Therapy resources while at a meeting with local representatives in Offaly.

"Its deeply disappointing that Occupational Therapy services in Offaly remain chronically under-resourced, especially considering the fact that a local Government Deputy is currently a Junior Health Minister. It indicates that this issue simply isnt a priority for the current Government," he said.

The Offaly TD said Fianna Fail secured a commitment under the Confidence and Supply Arrangement to facilitate a minority Government for improved investment in healthcare. Dep Cowen said the Government needs to fulfill its side of the agreement by honouring this commitment.

"We need to see a big increase in Occupational Therapy resources. Its simply unacceptable that 900 children are currently waiting over a year for Occupational Therapy assessment, concluded Deputy Cowen.
New research from Inland Fisheries Ireland has revealed the state of fish stock levels and the different species present within the River Barrow catchment.

The River Barrow is Irelands second longest river after the River Shannon and this is the first large scale catchment wide survey undertaken in the River Barrow to assess the status of all fish species present.

The report reveals that 39% of water sites surveyed on the catchment had high or good fish status. However, moderate or below moderate levels were found elsewhere on the river which runs through north and east Laois. The river flows through the centre of Portarlington.

The ecological fish classification status of various sites was calculated as part of the survey to assist with future fisheries management plans. This included assessment of 35 of the River Barrows main channel sites and a further 83 sites within the rivers sub catchments.

Overall, High fish status was recorded on five per cent of sites and Good Fish was assigned to 34% of sites.

The positive fish status was recorded in the upper reaches of the River Barrow main channel above Mountmellick, Co Laois, downstream of weirs where flow and habitat conditions were more favourable for a larger range of fish species and generally in the middle and lower subcatchment river systems.

However, more than 60% of the sites were cited as moderate fish status or less. The main reasons for less than good fish status were poor water quality, poor habitat, the presence of artificial barriers impeding migratory fish passage and possible competition from the invasive dace species.

Further investigation of these sites will be required prior to the implementation of mitigation measures such as improvements to water quality, habitat enhancement works to improve spawning and nursery areas or tree planting to provide cover for fish.

In addition to classifying the fish status of the sites, the species of fish present were audited as part of the research. More than 10,000 fish were caught and released as part of the survey with a total of 14 fish species and one hybrid (mix) species identified.

Dace, an invasive fish species, was the commonest species in the main channel sites, followed by roach, perch and juvenile salmon, while salmon and brown trout were the commonest species in the subcatchment rivers. Pike were found in 54% of the main channel sites surveyed and brown trout were recorded at 45% of these sites. Other fish species logged included minnow, gudgeon, eel, stone loach, 3-spined stickleback and flounder as well as roach-bream hybrids.

Dr Fiona Kelly is Senior Research Officer at Inland Fisheries Ireland.

This survey is the first of its kind within this large catchment area and it tells us a great deal about what is happening on these sites. It is evident that we have an abundance of different types of wild fish species present; however we also know that there are challenges for the catchment in terms of water quality, habitat and invasive species which will need to be addressed. Ultimately, this research will inform future fisheries management and protection strategies.

Inland Fisheries Ireland encourages all stakeholders on the River Barrow to support the conservation and protection of the river, its tributaries and the species contained within it. It is also hoped that community groups will consider what they can do to improve its water quality and ecology and create a healthy water environment for the benefit of all users.

Full report here
Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada has included into its agenda bills for reforming the country's health care system.

According to the Kyiv-based Interfax-Ukraine news agency, deputies voted to include bills No. 6327 and 6327-1 (bill on state financing guarantees for medical services and medicines, submitted by the government and lawmakers), as well as bills No. 6329 and 6329-1, which would amend Ukraine's Budget Code.

Parliament Speaker Andriy Parubiy said he hoped the draft laws would be adopted this week.

"I support debating the bills on Wednesday and putting them to a vote," he said.

As earlier reported, acting Health Minister Ulana Suprun expressed the hope Ukraine's parliament on June 6 would include the draft laws involving health care in its agenda and pass them in their first reading on June 8.

The Petro Poroshenko Bloc parliamentary faction earlier supported the initiative.

A group of civil activists staged a rally outside the parliament's building on Tuesday to call on lawmakers to adopt the legislation. Participants in the picket carried signs, reading "Stop killing us," "We demand health care reform," "No bribery in hospitals," "We are for honest medicine," and "Vote for Bills Nos. 6327, 6329."
Two parking spaces at the front door of Laois Shopping Centre have been officially launched as spaces reserved for over 55 year old's in Portlaoise.

These spaces are not legally binding like disabled parking or parent and child parking. Instead, they are courtesy spaces that the public are encouraged to leave free for people who may be less mobile.

It is part of an initiative to make Laois easier to live in for older people. Laois Older People's Forum has worked alongside Laois County Council on the project.

Chairperson of the Laois Older People's Forum, Orla O'Byrne, said that Ireland is taking age action seriously and that Laois County Council have been "terrific".

"The Laois Older People's Forum meet six times a year, we have people from Killeshin, Ballylinan, Vicarstown, Rathdowney, Ballacolla and different corners of county Laois telling us what it is like to be older in those towns and how can we make those towns, villages and areas nicer to live in," Mrs O'Byrne explained.

"We want to get one or two car parking spaces at supermarkets, the Post Office, and places where elderly people will be going but have difficulty walking," she added.

The Laois Older People's Forum was formed in 2008 when a decree came from the World Health Organisation stating that instead of trying to build extra nursing homes, it is better to make it easier for people to continue to live independently and healthily.

Chairperson of Laois County Council, Tom Mulhall, said that he wanted people to "use their discretion" and leave the spaces free for others who are "not as fortunate to be as mobile".

"I would like to see it kept for people who need it and see it spread across other places like outside health centers," he added.

Manager of Laois Shopping Centre, Kevin Doyle, said they chose to get involved for the loyal people who have been customers for years.

"The reason we have come on board is because the majority of customers coming into Laois Shopping Centre have been coming in for the last 25 years, you get to know them coming in and out, you get to see the difficulties that some of them have trying to find a convenient parking space near the entrance," Mr Doyle said.

"Many people will feel like they have enough energy and will not need it but there are people who might have an ailment or they might after being in hospital and they do not have the sticker on their car for disabled parking," he added.

"We will try man it and power it for them so that there will be spaces for them. These are our customers and have been for so long, they are all local people they are all good customers and we rely on them so we are trying to make it easy and convenient for them to enjoy their day so it is not an ordeal to come in and do their shopping," he explained.

Manager for Community Development at Laois County Council, Georgina Ireland, said that the age friendly programme is for anyone over the age of 55.

"Even though you might not think at the age of 55 you are regarded as an older person, the Age Friendly programme nationally is for over 55's. If you register for the Laois Older Peoples Forum you will be entitled to a sticker which allows you to park in the courtesy spaces," she said.

To register call Geradline Delaney in County Hall on 057 86 64227.
A 32-year-old man accused of assaulting a female shop assistant in Newbridge and a number of other theft and driving offences will be jailed but his sentence will be shorter if a report from the Probation Services on him is positive.

The man, Glonti Baqar, with an address at Yellow Meadows, Clondalkin, appeared at Naas District Court on Thursday last June 1, after an initial appearance on May 25, following which he was remanded in custody.

Mr Baqar, believed to be from Georgia, pleaded guilty, to the offences on June 1.

On May 25, the Court was told he had denied assaulting a shop assistant in Donals Shop, Newbridge on May 24.

It heard then that he told Gardai: That stupid bitch is lying, I did not hit her.

This was one of a series offences on May 24, including thefts at Donals (at 4.45pm); Tesco, in Monasterevin, in Kildare town, and at Youngs Pharmacy in Edward Street and Hickeys (at 5.30pm).

He was also driving without insurance and with no driving licence at Pairc Mhuire, Newbridge.

Mr Baqar and another person fled the scene at Pairc Mhuire.

There was over a 1,000 worth of goods involved.

Judge John Lindsay was told that Garda Seamus Doyle sustained a needle prick from a syringe which had been in Mr Baqars pocket but it was not a deliberate attempt to injure the Garda.

Stephen Walsh, solicitor, representing Mr Baqar, said his client was addicted to heroin.

He also said he believed his client may well have been used...been paid to carry out the thefts.

He had been addicted to heroin for seven months.

He had left his wife and children in the UK and landed in Ireland.

He is now on a detox programme at Cloverhill.

Mr Walsh asked that Mr Baqar go back to Cloverhill to continue that treatment.

Judge Lindsay said that was a remand Court and he could not not make that order.

But he could order a Probation Services report and remand him back to Cloverhill to June 29.

Mr Walsh said he would be very grateful for that.

The judge said Mr Baqar was facing a jail term. He said it would be nine months if the report was negative, and six months if it was positive.
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Fianna Fail TD for Sligo-Leitrim, Marc MacSharry has said that he is deeply concerned at the deteriorating political situation in the state of Qatar.

"The ongoing situation is a matter of huge concern as over 1000 Irish people are currently living and working there including some people from north western counties of Sligo, Leitrim, Donegal and Cavan,"he told the Leitrim Observer.

Several countries have already broken off diplomatic relations with the country and, more worryingly, noted Deputy MacSharry, some international airlines are in the process of withdrawing services to the region.

At present Irish citizens living in Qatar only have access to a part time consular representative from the Department of Foreign Affair and Trade.

"In light of the worsening situation, I am calling on the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Charlie Flanagan to immediately establish a help line for citizens living there and for their concerned families at home on Ireland," said MacSharry.

"Additional staff are also required in country, and the Government should immediately send diplomatic personnel to Qatar's capital, Doha until greater certainty around the situation is obtained."
At some point in time, you have probably heard of the Indianapolis 500. Youre likely to be somewhat familiar with the North West 200 and if you follow rugby in even the slightest way Pro-12 wont cause you a second thought. Names and numbers often go hand-in-hand but mention Redhead300 and a scratch of the head might ensue.

Redhead300 is a charity fundraising walk for the Irish Cancer Society that will leave Derry on Saturday, August 5 and conclude 300 miles later in Crosshaven, Co Cork on Friday, August 18.

Redhead300 will pass through Ballybofey, Donegal Town, Bundoran, Sligo, Boyle, Roscommon, Athlone, Birr, Roscrea, Thurles, Fermoy and Cork.

Fergal Barr and Keith Adair will both undertake 300-mile journey on foot to the home of the convention in August and they are looking for a third volunteer to join them for the journey.

Why anyone would embark on such a journey or as Fergal describes, Crazy Charitable Crusade is anyones guess but Fergal can provide an answer.

"As for motivation, well two years ago it was the 25th anniversary of a fundraising walk I undertook to the Irish Peace Institute in Limerick and so the idea of undertaking another major challenge, whilst Im still fit enough to do so came to mind. The convention works hard to raise money for the Irish Cancer Society and somehow a fundraising-walk to support their efforts seemed not only novel but inevitable. And as I always go to the convention I just thought, why not walk to it instead of driving!" explained Fergal.

Keith has his own motivation for wallking, "Im a cancer survivor and its about giving something back. Most people have been affected in one way or another by cancer, either youve been unfortunate enough to have had cancer or a close friend or family member has suffered at the hands of it.

"I had part of my kidney removed last November, and on Friday, 4th March I had my first scan. Like all cancer survivors, I'm in remission. As I emerge from that journey, Im now of course undertaking another one  all 300 miles of it of course! I accidentally came across Fergals fundraising idea in the Derry News, and as I love to walk, and being a cancer survivor I wanted to be involved in any way possible. Therefore, I contacted Fergal, we met for a coffee, and now I'm part of the Team of 3!"

"We are currently searching for the third and final member of our team, i.e., someone who will give up two weeks to walk with us or two people who will complete a week each. We are also looking for two Guest Walkers to join us for each stage of the walk and for those who a full day might seem too much we are also looking for RedVoluntionaries who will pick a point on the journey and join us and contribute 5 for each kilometre they walk," he said.

Fergal hopes that the aptly named Redhead300 will raise at least 5000 for the Irish Cancer Society.

If you think you can support the walk in any way, be that by being part of the Team of 3, a Guest Walker, a RedVoluntionary or a Local Liaison to help with logistics and promotion in each town they pass through you can drop a mail to redhead300walk@hotmail.com. You can also find full details here or like and share the Redhead300 Facebook page. You can also follow Redhead300 on Twitter, @redhead300walk and donate here
On Monday, June 5, Palestinians and their supporters marked 50 years since the 1967 Six Day War, when Israeli forces occupied the remaining 22 percent of historic Palestine left over from the War of 1948. During this military assault, Israeli forces displaced another 350,000 Palestinians from their homes, and turned many 1948 refugees into refugees again.

How long must Palestinians wait to return to their homeland? How long until the international community exercises its political will to force Israel to comply with international law? How long until the UK and other western countries, explicitly or tacitly, end the double standard in its foreign policy and unconditional support for Israeli policies that contravene international law and deprive Palestinians of their basic human rights?

The international community is gradually losing patience with Israels occupation. U.N Security Council Resolution 2334 in December 2016, which refers to Israel as an occupying power, condemns all measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, and condemns, inter alia, the construction and expansion of settlements, transfer of Israeli settlers, confiscation of land, demolition of homes and displacement of Palestinian civilians. The Resolution furthermore states in the clearest terms that the UN Security Council will not recognize any changes to the 4 June 1967 lines, including with regard to Jerusalem, other than those agreed by the parties through negotiations.

Citing the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 and an advisory opinion of 2004 in the International Court of Justice, the Resolution also notes the international consensus that Israel cannot continue to violate its obligations as an occupying power and that it cannot continue to misbehave with impunity.

By overlooking Israels violations of Palestinian rights, successive US administrations have enabled the Israeli occupation and its violations of international and American laws. Statements about moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, or that the U.S no longer insists on a two-state solution, which has been the official U.S policy for 50 years, are detrimental to the stability in the region and to Americas international standing and credibility. There is a glimmer of hope that President Trump, in his desperation for a foreign policy success, might try and force Israel to end the Occupation and make a deal that respects the rights of all. But his apparent antipathy towards Muslims, who make up the majority of Palestinians, may override his yearning for the deal of all deals.

The international community is growing impatient with Israeli impunity, and it is for this reason that civil society, particularly in the European Union, is turning to the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement to pressure Israel to comply with international law. Meanwhile, the European Union is increasingly questioning the legitimacy of trade with illegal settlements.

As it now seems increasingly possible that there will be a large progressive contingent in the House of Commons after June 8th, Labours manifesto commitment to immediately recognise the State of Palestine is very welcome. This was voted for by 274 to 12 in the House of Commons in 2014 and supported by most Lib Dem and SNP MPs at the time but ignored by the Tory government. Its long overdue for implementation and Lib Dems should get behind it. Certainly the UK shouldnt wait to see what if anything Donald Trump manages to achieve.

Comments on this post will be pre-moderated

* John Kelly is a member in Warwick District, Secretary of the Lib Dem Friends of Palestine, and a member of the Federal International Relations Committee.
Radicalisation amongst young muslims often starts with exclusion from job opportunities, dropping out of school and/or sliding into petty crime and youth vandalism. Many famous jihadis started out as drinking, partying and stealing adolescents and youths; to be turned around abruptly like many converted sinners in many religions. It is also connected to growing up in problematic families (from which orthodox or jihadi Islam seems to offer a refuge; certainties their own family fails to offer).

And intelligence about who is at risk of such radicalization trajectories always starts with good, steady community policing; in Tim Farrons words: with information being passed on, and building up knowledge about whos who, and who needs to be kept under surveillance. Cutting police numbers outside the terrorism specialists as May claims to have done, means cutting more into ordinary community policing.

The Netherlands also has had native jihadis killing people on the street (for example the 2004 killing of muslim-mocking polemicist and filmmaker Theo van Gogh. The jihadist propaganda from the Belgian/Flemish Sharia4Belgium/Sharia4Holland-sect spilled over into Dutch public debates, inviting Anjem Choudari to a 2011 press conference.

And when ISIS was conquering Iraqi/Syrian cities, the center of The Hague saw supporting demonstrations brandishing black ISIS banners in July/August 2014, addressed in English by jihadi demagogues. Some organisers and participants of those demonstrations went to the ISIS caliphate to fight, and sent propaganda videos about their fight and the caliphate back to Dutch contacts and friends.

The Van Gogh murder, Sharia4Holland and The Hague demonstrations led to a joining-up (in 2013-4) of (a) specialist parts of Dutch local government (people from schools and local education departments, Social Services and Youth Care and Protection, (health) care workers), (b) police (community police and other police departments) and judiciary, and (c) the Reclassering (=post-prison Rehabilitation Service). The Association of Local Governments (VNG, official lobby of all local government councils and executives; also joined in. They set up Safety Houses in big cities in the 25 Safety Regions in the Netherlands (see English information video in which a plan (involving both punishment and help) is jointly drawn up for each problematic family or individual, co-ordinated by one designated person in the platform. Dealing mainly with schooling, youth delinquency and suchlike, the safety House platform has also proved useful in signaling (and alerting other participant institutions to) signs of radicalization, and youth crime turning into jihadi activism; the VNG insists on also using this platform to nip radicalization in the bud.

The advantage of the Safety House-platform is police giving and receiving information about families and individuals in situations possibly leading to people getting radicalized; and from a broad range of sources beside their own contacts and informants.

* Dr. Bernard Aris is a historian, a D66 parliamentary researcher and a LibDem supporting member.
On Thursday, June 8, at 12.00, the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency's press center will host a press conference entitled "Year since Adoption of Resolution No. 365: When Will Mockery of IDPs End?". The participants will include Deputy Representative of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Ukraine Noel Calhoun; Legal Analyst of the 'Right to Defense' Charitable Foundation Olena Vynohradova; Legal Support Coordinator at the 'Right to Defense' Charity Yulia Tralo; Coordinator for legal assistance of the 'Donbas SOS' NGO Olha Hvozdiova (8/5a Reitarska Street). Admission requires press accreditation. More information by phone: (095) 175 7672.
A YOUNG man who seriously injured his hand while smashing the front door of a house in the city centre has been jailed for three months.

Patrick Wynne, aged 21, who has an address at Millstream Court, Mill Road, Ennis pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal damage relating to an incident at Clontarf Place (off Henry Street) on March 15, last.

Sergeant John Moloney, prosecuting, told Limerick District Court the defendant smashed the glass door with a hammer and kicked it in shortly after he had an argument with his girlfriend.

Judge Marian OLeary was told around 200 worth of damage was caused and that Mr Wynne required urgent medical treatment in hospital following the incident.

Solicitor Darach McCarthy said his client, who has 19 previous convictions, underwent plastic surgery afterwards and that his hand is somewhat disfigured as a result of what happened.

The scar is a constant reminder of his ridiculous behaviour. He is his own worst enemy, he let himself down badly, he said.

When asked if compensation had been paid, Mr McCarthy said the defendant has no means whatsoever and that the prospects were very bleak.

Judge OLeary noted the defendant had been released from a prison a short time before and she commented that there was no excuse for his behaviour.

The judge requested a community service report indicating she was considering a penalty of 200 hours in lieu of a three month prison sentence.

However, when the probation officer said it would take some time to carry out an assessment, the defendant indicated he wished to serve the prison sentence.

Judge OLeary noted this and imposed a three month sentence.
A number of people have been taken to hospital following a serious road crash in County Limerick this Monday evening.

The head-on collision happened near Martinstown on the R515 between Kilmallock and Knocklong shortly before 7pm.

Gardai, HSE paramedics and two units from Kilmallock Fire Station were dispatched to the scene which is now being cleared by council workers.

A garda spokesperson confirmed a number of people have been transferred by ambulance to University Hospital Limerick for treatment.

None of their injuries are believed to be life-threatening and an investigation is underway into the circumstances of the collision,

Separately, the R463 between OBriens Bridge and Ardnacrusha has fully re-opened following an earlier accident.

CLARE: OBriens Bridge/Ardnacrusha Rd (R463) reopened between OBriens Bridge and Clonlara following a collision. https://t.co/pdsEzJTRQr  AA Roadwatch (@aaroadwatch) June 5, 2017

Emergency services including three units of Limerick Fire and Rescue and one unit from Killaloe attended the scene of the collision which happened at around 5.15pm.

There are no reports of serious injuries.
A SECURITY analyst has warned that regional cities such as Limerick are not prepared for a ISIS-style terror attack.

While there is a major incident plan for Limerick and the wider region, security analyst Tom Clonan says emergency services should be carrying out specific terror related exercise drills.

He was speaking this Monday in the wake of the terror attack in London on Saturday which claimed seven innocent lives.

Ireland has to face up to the fact that an attack is not just a threat but a distinct possibility. Irish people can no longer regard ourselves as immune, he said.

Meanwhile, gardai have played down reports that additional armed officers are set to be deployed in Limerick in light of the recent terror attacks in Manchester and London.

It was reported at the weekend that members of the recently established Armed Support Unit (ASU) would be dispatched to locations in regional cities where potential threats to national security have been identified.

While confirming that gardai are on alert with a moderate risk of a terror attack happening here, garda sources have dismissed the reports that officers from the ASU are Limerick bound.

We already have the armed regional support unit which has worked well in recent years, said one well-placed source.

Another source said he had no knowledge of such a move.

A Garda Press Office spokesperson said it was unaware of the reports and declined to comment further - citing operational concerns.

Separately, a massive investigation is underway following Saturdays terror attack at London Bridge and Borough Market.

It emerged on Monday that one of the three attackers - who was of Moroccan and Libyan descent  lived in Ireland for some time having been granted residency here.

Rachid Redouane was named by British police as one of the three men who carried out the attack on London Bridge on Saturday

It is understood the man was not known to gardai and had not come to their attention in relation to any crime or security issues.

He lived in Dublin during his time in Ireland  most recently late last year, at an apartment block in Rathmines. It has not been disclosed if he had connections with any other parts of the country.

The other attacker was named as Khuram Shazad Butt.

Speaking in Chicago on Monday evening, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said Rachid Redouane was not one of those on the garda watchlist of potential terror suspects and Islamic extremists in Ireland.

He confirmed a small number of people  believed to be around 40  are being monitored and observed in respect of radicalisation" across Ireland.

It is not known if any of those on the watchlist are living in the Limerick area.

The Department of Justice says there is no specific intelligence to suggest an imminent terror attack in Ireland.
GARDAI say a file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions following the discovery of documents at a flat in Limerick city which were in the name of one of the London terror attackers.

As first revealed by the Limerick Leader this Tuesday, the Moroccan national was arrested at a property in the city on Monday night on foot of information received from UK Police.

It is understood the documents, including a PPSN, were located during searches of the mans apartment following his arrest.

He was questioned at Roxboro Road garda station by detectives attached to the Garda National Immigration Bureau (GNIB) on suspicion of using forged documents.

He was released without charge this Tuesday afternoon.

It is believed the documents seized are in the name of one of the attackers - Rachid Redouane - who has been identified as one of the three London attackers and who lived in Ireland as recently as last year.

According to sources, gardai believe the man has been living and working in Limerick for some time and that he may have lived elsewhere in Ireland prior to that.

One line of inquiry is that he used Mr Redouane's PPSN to secure employment here.

While they do not believe the man has been radicalised, detectives are seeking to establish the authenticity of the documents and how he came into possession of them.

It is understood that one of the possibilities being explored is that the man acquired the documents after the London attacker had left the country.
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Amazing images have been released by an RAF pilot who patrolled the skies during the Cold War and Falklands conflicts.

Author Philip Keeble released the images in his book Patrolling the Cold War Skies: Reheat Sunset published by Fonthill Media.

Mr Keeble captured some stunning images just before he was about to go flying in a Tornado F5 and at 20-years-old on a Jet Provost Mk 4.



Other photographs show the author standing next to an Argentinian Pucara at Goose Green in the Falklands and another shows the University of Birmingham Air Squadron formation display team posing together.

In 1987, Keeble, was based at RAF Coningsby and was flying the Panavia Tornado F3.

Spectacular colour shots show the Tornado F3, Phantom F4 and Lightning mid-air.

Mr Keeble said: I have three RAF Form 414 in my possession - my Royal Air Force pilot's flying log books.

"These log books are a record of what aviating in the RAF during the Cold War was like.

Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will auto-play soon 8 Cancel Play now

Not so much in prose but in hard facts - facts that bring back memories of flying incidences and the events leading up to them - exciting sorties, dangerous emergencies, stupid moments, funny occasions, operational practices.

This book sets out to put flesh on those bare facts in an exciting, amusing, and anecdotal way.

"There are episodes that are capricious and rascally; while other sections have a rather more serious theme.

I risked my neck and got into more than a few scrapes. I flew very low, very high, and very fast with an imprudence that at times was right on the edge of sensibility, but come any war I was ready, willing, and able to fight for my country.

I have scared a lot of people over the years, especially my crew navigators, and for that I unreservedly apologise.

Mr Keeble was accepted for pilot training with the RAF in 1965. He went on to have a 28-year career where he flew reconnaissance and fast combat aircraft.

After leaving the force, he became a civilian military simulator instructor both in the UK and in Saudi Arabia.

His log books cover 10 different types of aircraft - from his initial days learning to fly on the Chipmunk piston trainer in 1965, right through to the final days of flying the Tornado fighter, and ending in 1994 when he retired.

Published by Fonthill Media, Patrolling the Cold War Skies: Reheat Sunset by Philip Keeble is now available on Amazon for 30.

* For more information see www.mediadrumworld.com
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Peter Sallis won the nation's heart with his work in Last of the Summer Wine and Wallace and Gromit - but not many know that it all started here in our county.

Tributes have poured in after his death on Monday, June 5 at the age of 96.

And now an aviation expert has revealed the links the actor had to the county.

Mr Sallis, who was born in Middlesex, was first stationed at RAF Cranwell, near Sleaford, during the Second World War before he became an actor.

Phil Bonner from Aviation Heritage Lincolnshire, said Mr Sallis decided to become an actor after he had failed exams in the RAF.

He said: "He was a corporal instructor at No 1 Radio School at Cranwell during the war.

"He had wanted to be aircrew at the start of the war but failed the aircrew medical and entered a ground trade.

"It was whilst he was in the RAF that he became active in amateur drama and got a scholarship to RADA after the war."

(Image: Fiona Hanson/PA Wire)

Mr Sallis was noted for his performances in the BBC series Last of the Summer Wine and became an unlikely Hollywood star as the voice of absent-minded inventor Wallace in the Oscar-winning Wallace and Gromit films.

Mr Sallis previously said it was during the war that he developed his passion for acting.

"When I went on to the stage and spoke the lines, people laughed. That night, in my bunk, I couldnt sleep.

"I had definitely caught the bug. So I decided that after the war, if I survived it, I would become an actor.

Mr Sallis was awarded an OBE for services to drama.

He died peacefully with his family by his side at Denville Hall, a retirement home for actors in North London.

Creator of Wallace and Gromit, Nick Park, said "working with him was always a delight and I will miss his wry, unpredictable humour."
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A 73-year-old Sleaford woman pleaded guilty to causing the death of a man due to a 'momentary lapse of concentration.'

Judith Upton of Bishops Road, Leasingham, Sleaford was driving down the A153 in September last year when she collided with a car driven by 80-year-old Kenneth Grief.

He died a month later from his injuries.

Upton was charged with causing his death by dangerous driving and admitted the offence when she appeared at Lincoln Magistrates' Court.

David Miles, prosecuting, said that Upton was travelling in a Ford Focus when she approached the junction at Moor Lane on the A153 and did not stop at the give way junction.

She pulled out in front of the car Mr Grief was travelling in towards with his partner Miss Adams towards Skegness. The two cars then crashed

Mr Miles read out a statement from Miss Adams which said: "It was a big shock when he (Mr Grief) died and I miss him dearly. I've lost my companion, we went everywhere together and I really feel the loss. I'm on my own now and rarely go out anywhere alone and feel a great loneliness."

Beris Brickles, in mitigation, said: "The defendant was travelling up to the junction of Moor Lane when she approached the give way sign and stopped.

"Mrs Upton then said as she looked across the junction there was a blue car ahead of the car Mr Grief was travelling in that was indicating right, and she believed that he was letting her go. She pulled out and that's when she hit the car in question."

"Mrs Upton has no previous convictions and has owned the vehicle since 2004 with no problems. She's not sure now if she will ever drive again."

Magistrates chair, Peter Veides said: "What you've had is a momentary lapse of concentration, we're all guilty of it. I'm sure you are living with those consequences as Mr Grief's family are.

"There were no aggravating factors to this offence such as speeding or driving whilst using a mobile phone, it was just a momentary lapse."

Mr Veides imposed a community order for Upton to complete 120 hours community service over the course of a year.

He also disqualified Upton from driving for two years.
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A Lincolnshire band has been booked to appear at the same festival as The Hoosiers next month.

The Band From County Hell will be supporting the international pop rock band at the Lakes Festival near Skegness.

The Band From County Hell, from Sleaford, has said it is looking forward to the annual Burgh Le Marsh festival.

Frontman, Steven Mclelland, said: We have a lot going for the band at the moment, and we have just found out that one of our songs titled The Day My Granny Died has been adapted for use by Scottish and Northumbrian pipe bands.

The tune has been featured at St Patricks day parades up and down the country this year.

We are also recording our eighth, original album which we hope will be ready for release by the end of the year.

The Celtic folk band is enjoying a busy schedule with further gigs lined up in Scotland this June, and the release of their song For Liverpool which will be available soon.

Live gigs for The Band From County Hell have seen them play from the smallest of venues to outside arenas and most notably their own show at The London Palladium.

They have appeared with bands such as The Levellers, The Stranglers, UB40 and Bellowhead and have supported Stiff Little Fingers, Hayseed Dixie and The Beat on national tour dates.

Major festivals appearances include Wychwood Festival, Rhythm Festival, Weyfest, The Bearded Theory Festival, Galtres, The Acoustic Festival of Great Britain and The Great British Folk Festival, amongst many others.

The Hoosiers are an English-American pop rock band which was formed in America but relocated to the UK where their first single Worried About Ray reached number five on the UK Singles Chart in July 2007.

The Lakes Festival starts on July 8 at 2pm and finishes with a firework display at 10.30pm.

For more information and tickets visit www.thelakesrestaurant.co.uk
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A new 60,000 initiative will see nurses deployed in Lincolnshire Police's control room to help deal with incidents involving mental health.

The initiative is being funded by the county's Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones and involves nurses from Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust supporting front-line officers.

This comes as officers on patrol are increasingly having to deal with cases which involve mental health and learning disabilities.

The team of six to seven crisis nurses will be on hand six days a week to offer advice and help officers deal with situations or direct them to alternative services.

They start at the end of June and will provide a link between the force and services such as the Rapid Response Vehicle for Lincoln and Gainsborough, mental health liaison services within A & E and the Section 136 suite.

Marc Jones said:I hope the new project will provide valuable support for officers dealing with very difficult circumstances on a daily basis as they keep our communities safe.

It is equally important that we deal with vulnerable people as sympathetically and professionally as possible and get them the services and support they need quickly.

The new crisis nurses will be on hand to help officers with the right advice, guidance and support to manage situations in the best way and to get the right help to the right place quickly.

It is hoped the new service will result in a reduction in Section 136 detentions for mental health crisis, less need for the use of force on people in acute crisis and better referrals for those experiencing episodes of ill-health.

Dr John Brewin, Chief Executive said: We are pleased to be working jointly with Lincolnshire Police in this way, and that the more vulnerable members of the community will be supported at such times of crisis.

The pilot, which will last 12 months, will be fully evaluated and if successful a full business case will be submitted for continued funding.
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A cat from Lincoln has been shortlisted as a finalist for Cat Protection's National Cat Awards 2017, after helping a schoolgirl battle bone cancer.

Eight-year-old Genie has beaten hundreds of other entries so far, and is one of three contenders in the Outstanding Rescue Cat category, which celebrates adopted cats.

Genie is being recognised for her support and inspiration she has provided Evie Henderson, 11, who lives with parents Tina and Chris in North Hykeham.

She was diagnosed with bone cancer in March 2016, and has endured many painful operations and chemotherapy, spending a lot of her time in hospital.

Throughout lengthy hospital stays, she enjoyed watching videos of Genie and told doctors she needed to get better so that she could go home and see her.

Now in recovery, Evie says: I missed her every day I was in hospital, and my family could tell she missed me. Shes my best friend and is always there when I need her.

When my hair started to fall out, it was quite upsetting, but then I realised that Genies fur was moulting too and it helped me feel like I wasnt alone. She shared all the ups and downs with me.

Dad, Chris Henderson, added: Genie has been fantastic for Evie and really kept her spirits up. Now Evie is getting better she is back at home much more, and shes over the moon to be able to spend more time with Genie. We think Genie really is one in a million.

The Cat Protection is the UKs leading feline charity, and their National Cat Awards is an annual celebration of heroic and loyal companions in the feline world.

Cats Protections awards organiser, Kate Bunting said: Cats and children frequently share a special bond, and its clear that Evie and Genie have always been close. But whats so wonderful about their story is how that special relationship provided such a tower of strength and inspiration when Evie needed it most.

We loved hearing how Evie would watch videos of Genie from her hospital bed, and wish her all the best as she continues her recovery with her faithful friend by her side.

The awards this year will also be sponsored by Purina cat food, and a three-month supply will given to the lucky winner.

Claire Robinson-Davies, Head of Corporate Communications at Purina, said: We are delighted to be part of the National Cat Awards for another year. The Awards celebrate the special bond between owners and their cat and how this has improved their lives. We have been overwhelmed by the inspirational stories shared by cat owners across the UK again this year. We wish all of the finalists the best of luck and look forward to congratulating them at the awards.

The winners will be announced during a ceremony at The Savoy Hotel in London on Thursday, 3 August.
On Thursday, June 8, at 13.30, the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency's press center will host a press conference entitled "How to Cure Pension System?" The participants will include coordinator of the New Country civil platform, President of the UNIVER investment group Taras Kozak; Board Member of the Ukrainian Association of Investment Business, Director of the ICU Group's Local Assets Management Department Hryhoriy Ovcharenko; Member of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission Oleksandr Panchenko; Board Chairman of the Ukrainian Association of Pension Fund Administrators, member of the Public Council of the Pension Fund of Ukraine Tetiana Salnikova; expert on pension provision at the Reanimation Reform Package, director general of the Ukrainian Federation of Insurance Halyna Tretiakova; expert on pension provision at the Reanimation Reform Package, director of Pension-Actuarial Consultant company Oleksandr Tkach (8/5a Reitarska Street). Admission requires press accreditation. Additional information by phone: (044) 228 6375, pavluh@uaib.com.ua (PR director at Ukrainian Association of Investment Business Liubov Pavliukh).
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KYIV. June 6 (Interfax-Ukraine)  M.S.L. lottery operator LLC considers unreasonable its inclusion in the sanctions list, M.S.L. Vice President Yevhen Vlasenko has said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine.

"In connection with a lack of grounds for including M.S.L. lottery operator in the so called "sanctions list," the company appeals to the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) with the request to exclude M.S.L. from the list of legal entities that are subject to sanctions," he said.

According to Vlasenko, M.S.L. lottery operator appeared in the sanctions lists for the third time (the first time is dated September 16, 2015, the second one on October 17, 2016). On the initiative of M.S.L. shareholders, the Security Service of Ukraine opened criminal proceedings and conducted an investigation into the establishment of facts and actions that could be grounds for applying sanctions to the operator. As a result, the criminal proceedings were closed in March 2017 due to absence of violations.

Vlasenko specified that the main owner of M.S.L. lottery operator is Evolot Limited (Cyprus), the ultimate beneficiary is Cypriot citizen Markos Shiapanis, and the company does not have "Russian roots."

Vlasenko told Interfax-Ukraine the share of M.S.L. in the market currently stands at about 25%, whereas in 2013 it was 80-85%.
The International energy sectoris going through major global transformations drivenby technological revolution, environmental and geopolitical challenges. For the second year in a row, the Forum on EnergySecurityfortheFuture: newvision, strategy, innovationbrought together global leaders, including politicians, opinion makers and businesspeople. Organized by Burisma Group in partnership with the Adam Smith Conferences, and with support from the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and the Alexander Kwasniewski Foundation Amicus Europae, the Forum was held on June 2, 2017 in Monte Carlo, Monaco. The event addressed Europes energy security withfocus on Ukraines increasing role in the European energy market.The processes taking place in the EU automatically affect Ukraine and vice versa. Such events allow Ukrainian and European leaders to share their views and expectations, as well as define instruments required to obtain European energy independence,noted the President of Burisma Group NikolayZlochevskyi. In attendance from the Ukrainian side were the Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine VolodymyrKistion,the Head of the Committee on Taxation and Customs Policy at the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Nina Yuzhanina, as well as representatives of the Cabinet of Ministers, Ministries and Departments. The Forum startedwith welcoming remarks from His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco, followed by keynote addresses from the President of Slovenia (20072012) DaniloTurkand the Prime Minister of Belgium (19992008) and the Leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe GroupGuy Verhofstadt.The panelists of the keynote session included the Vice Prime Ministerof Ukraine VolodymyrKistion,the Director of the CIAs Counterterrorist Center (1999-2002)and Ambassador at Largefor Counter-Terrorism (2002-2004) Joseph Cofer Black, the European Commissioner for Energy (2004 and 2009) AndrisPiebalgs, and the Director of the Atlantic CouncilDina PatriciuEurasia Center and the US Ambassador to Ukraine (2003-2006) John E. Herbst. They focused on the role of institutions instrengtheningEuropean energy security. The analytical market debate, moderated by the EU PlattscorrespondentSiobhan Hall, placed special emphasis onlatest trendsaffectingthe European energy market, including energy landscape changes, supply and demand dynamics and energy consumption mapping. The conference followedwith discussions on regional perspective for European energy security andthe development of effective energy infrastructure betweenthe Deputy Minister for EuropeanIntegration at the Ministry of Energy and CoalIndustry of Ukraine NataliyaBoyko, the Member of the Board of the Greek Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE) and Member at the ACER Board of RegulatorsNektariaKarakatsani, the Energy expert and Former Minister for Energy of Romania Victor Grigosescu,the CEO of the private equity investment fund PGK Ltd in Poland Bartosz Soroczynski andthe Senior Researcher at Globsec Policy Institute inSlovakia Kristian Takac. The Forum ended with a session on creating a right energy mix for the clean and secure future. The President at GERG Isabelle Moretti delivered a presentation on the current gas market situation and its challenges. The Dean of the Centre for Energy Expertise at HanzeUniversity of Applied SciencesJan-JaapAuetalked about energy market innovations. The expert on energy markets, finance,and Associate Professor at the ESCP Europe Business SchoolKostas Andriosopoulos focused on EastMed and its impact in the region. The Policy Adviser at EurogasTim Cayfordclosed the Forum with the presentation on the European energy paradigm. This event goes in line with our corporate objectives, but most importantly, it reflects values and principles that we, at Burisma Group, stand by: integrity, social responsibility and innovation. We are proud that the Forum is becoming Europes largest energy platform. Every year, more and more politicians and public figures join in to aid the cause. With the support from the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, we are hoping that our Forum will bring tangible results for the entire Europe,admitted the Head of the Organizing Committee and Advisor to the Board of Directors at Burisma Group Vadym Pozharskyi. Press office Burisma Group
Microsoft Surface Pro Release Date, News & Update: Redesign In & Out Offers Better Features, Specs Than New iPad Pro?

Microsoft Surface Pro was unveiled during a media event held in Shanghai. Most of the important details about the new device were finally revealed.

Microsoft Surface Pro Details Reveal Impressive Upgrades

Microsoft Surface Pro is the successor to the popular Surface Pro 4. The new two-in-one device apparently drops the numbering from its brand name. Meantime, while the details seem to indicate no significant changes, the upcoming laptop-tablet is expected to have an impressive upgrade.

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The new Microsoft Surface Pro has reportedly been redesigned from the inside-out to provide users with 50 percent additional battery life compared to Microsoft Surface Pro 4. In fact, based on the tech giant's internal video playback test, the new Surface Pro was able to last 13 and a half hours. According to reports, this battery life bump may be due to the seventh generation Intel Core chipset, which currently powers the device, making it entirely fanless for a little quieter performance.

Microsoft Surface Pro has also been refined as evidence in the softer edges and the cameras that blend seamlessly with the display. Meantime, the device is also much lighter, weighing in at only 0.77 kilograms and 8.5mm thin. Also, its stunning 12.3-inch PixelSense touch screen display is making a comeback to support the Surface Dial for on-and-off screen actions, Express reported.

Microsoft Surface Pro Is The New iPad Pro 12.9 Competitor

The new Microsoft Surface Pro has the same size and functions with Apple's iPad Pro 12.9. Given that, both devices are now pitted against each other.

Microsoft Surface Pro features a new hinge system on the kickstand to allow its Surface Studio mode, which means laying flat and working directly with the new Surface Pen. It is also considered as the lightest Surface Pro with its 0.77kgs.

On the other hand, the iPad Pro 12.9 measures 305.7 x 220.6 x 6.9mm and weighs in at 713g, which makes it lighter than the Microsoft Surface Pro. It boasts of a Smart Connector on the left portion that powers more accessories like the iPad Pro keyboard for those who want a laptop-tablet style, Pocket reported.

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Women with menstrual cramps in New York state could have a new option for easing their monthly pains: medical marijuana.

The New York State Assembly is considering a bill to add dysmenorrhea  the medical name for menstrual cramps  to the list of conditions for which doctors can legally authorize a patient to use medical marijuana. Under the state's law, only patients with the specific medical conditions named in the law can access medical marijuana in New York, according to Newsweek. Cancer, HIV and multiple sclerosis are among the conditions already on the list.

Severe cases of dysmenorrhea can be "debilitating," New York State Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal wrote in the bill. "Medical marijuana can alleviate many of the painful effects of dysmenorrhea." [Healing Herb? Marijuana Could Treat These 5 Conditions]

The bill, which still has several legislative hurdles to overcome, is supported by actress Whoopi Goldberg, who sells a line of medical marijuana products that are marketed specifically for period pain, Newsweek reported.

But does marijuana really help with menstrual pain?

There haven't been any rigorous studies that have shown that there's a benefit to using marijuana for menstrual cramps, said Dr. Charles Pollack, an emergency-medicine physician at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia and the director of the university's Lambert Center for the Study of Medicinal Cannabis and Hemp.

And though there are good data showing that marijuana can help people with neuropathic pain, the pain from menstrual cramps doesn't fall into this category, Pollack said. Neuropathic pain is pain related to the nerves, such as a pinched or inflamed nerve.

That said, "it's not out of the realm of the possible" that the drug could be helpful for women with menstrual cramps, Pollack told Live Science.

This is because the female reproductive tract, and, in particular, the uterus and the lining of the uterus, has an "abundance" of endocannabinoid receptors, Pollack said. The chemicals in marijuana that are responsible for its effects in the body are called cannabinoids, and can bind to these receptors.

The discovery of these receptors, for example, has led to some researchers thinking that marijuana may help women with endometriosis, Pollack said. Endometriosis is an often painful disorder in which the tissue that normally lines a woman's uterus, called the endometrium, grows outside the uterus, the Mayo Clinic says. One area of research is considering whether marijuana may help both with easing the pain of endometriosis and slowing the growth of endometrial tissue, Pollack said.

It's also possible that women with painful menstrual cramps benefit from the anxiolytic, or anti-anxiety, effects of marijuana, Pollack added.

But because of the lack of data, it's difficult to draw conclusions about the drug's effects. "There's just a paucity of data in this regard," Pollack said. And the drug may have downsides: Although it's "exceedingly unlikely" that someone will die from an overdose of marijuana, there are still questions about the possible effects of regular, long-term use, he said.

Dr. Ranit Mishori, a professor of family medicine at Georgetown University School of Medicine, told Live Science in 2016 that, "with the exception of a study in 1800s, I see no evidence in the medical literature that supports" the use of marijuana for menstrual cramps.

Although there are barriers to studying marijuana in the U.S., "the alternative isn't to recommend a treatment in the absence of evidence," Mishori said.

Originally published on Live Science.
A man in Italy who had developed psychosis  meaning he lost touch with reality  did so after consuming an herbal tea made with St. John's wort, according to a recent report of this case.

The man's condition improved after he received treatment for his psychosis, his doctors wrote in the report.

"St. Johns wort (Hypericum perforatum) has been known for centuries for its therapeutic properties, and its efficacy as an antidepressant has been confirmed by a growing body of evidence," the doctors who treated the man, at the hospital AUSL Modena in Italy, wrote in their report. But the herb's "availability without prescription, as an over-the-counter medication, raises some concern regarding its clinical management and unsupervised administration to individuals with" mental health risks, they wrote. [7 Ways Depression Differs in Men and Women]

Although there is evidence showing that the herb may reduce depression symptoms in the short term, there is no evidence of its effectiveness when it comes to long-term outcomes, said Dr. Eugene Grudnikoff, a psychiatrist at South Oaks Hospital in Amityville, New York, who was not involved in the new report. There is no evidence showing that using the herb may lead to fewer hospitalizations of patients with depression, fewer suicide attempts or suicides, or better quality of life for people with depression, Grudnikoff told Live Science.

The case in Italy involved a 25-year-old man who was admitted to the hospital after two of his friends, who accompanied him to the hospital, told the doctors that he had been acting strangely in the past few days. The man behaved as if he were under the influence of an illegal drug, the friends said. The doctors examined the patient and observed that he was having speech problems and was experiencing episodes of paranoid thinking and delusions. For example, the man believed that other people could read his mind.

The man also told his doctors he had been feeling weak and had been going through what he called "a period of distress," according to the report, published May 15 in the Journal of Medical Case Reports.

But the man's blood test results were normal, and he did not have any neurological issues. The doctors diagnosed him with a condition called schizophreniform disorder  a type of mental disorder that involves psychosis. They gave him antipsychotic medications to treat his symptoms, and two weeks after his admission, his condition improved and he went home.

Over the next three months, the man visited the local community mental health service as part of his follow-up treatment. During one of these visits, he said that he had experienced a previous psychotic episode, about nine months prior to the psychotic episode for which the authors of the new report had treated him. That earlier episode coincided with the man's abuse of marijuana, the researchers wrote. The man had seen a specialist to treat his symptoms, and that specialist prescribed an antipsychotic for him, but the man refused to take it. However, he stopped using marijuana and felt better, he said.

About three months prior to being admitted to the hospital for his latest psychotic episode, the man had started feeling weak and exhausted, and had severe stomach pain. Over time he began feeling so weary that he quit his job. He eventually saw a doctor, who determined that the man had numerous stomach erosions and an infection of Helicobacter pylori  a type of bacteria known to cause stomach ulcers.

But the man refused to take the medication that the doctor prescribed to treat those symptoms. Instead, he decided to self-medicate with tea made with St. Johns wort. The man said he had been drinking four cups of the tea per day until he was admitted to the hospital for his most recent psychotic episode. [5 Controversial Mental Health Treatments]

It is impossible to determine with certainty whether the tea caused the man's psychotic episode, the doctors wrote. But the herbal tea "could have played a determinant role in the onset" of the man's symptoms, they wrote. That's because previous research has shown that some of its compounds may interact with systems in a person's body that are involved in regulating mood.

Moreover, a few other case reports, including one published in 2004 in the journal Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical & Experimental, have implicated the herb as a potential contributor to psychosis and other psychiatric symptoms.

Originally published on Live Science.
A rectangular copper mask recently found in the southern Andes in Argentina is 3,000 years old  one of the oldest human-made metal objects from South America.

An ancient, rectangular copper mask recently found in the southern Andes in Argentina is about 3,000 years old  one of the oldest human-made metal object from South America  and its discovery challenges the accepted idea that South American metalworking originated in Peru, according to archaeologists.

Found at a site where adults and children were buried, the mask dates to approximately 1000 B.C., the scientists wrote in a study describing the find. Holes mark the position of the mask's eyes, nose and mouth, with additional small, circular openings near the edges that could have been threaded to secure it to a face or an object.

Sources of copper ore have been found within 44 miles (70 kilometers) of the location where the mask was uncovered, suggesting that it was produced locally. It is therefore highly probably that metalworking emerged in Argentina at the same time that it was developing in Peru, the researchers wrote in the study. [Photos: Journey into the Tropical Andes]

Gold objects estimated to be nearly 4,000 years old have been found in southern Peru, according to a study published in February 2008 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Bronze artifacts dating to about A.D. 1000 were previously found in the Peruvian Andes, though it is difficult for experts to say for sure if the objects originated where they were found, or if trade brought them there, Live Science reported in 2007. But evidence of local metalworking in Peru still lingers  in trace metals found in local sediments, dating to pre-Incan times, scientists also learned in 2007.

Weather during the summer rainy season exposed the metal mask  along with a collection of human bones  in a tomb near the village of La Quebrada, in northwestern Argentina, the study authors wrote. There were about 14 bodies in the burial area, with the bones all mixed together and the mask placed on top of one corner of the pile.

Nearby, a second burial area held a single occupant. The bones of a child approximately 8 to 12 years old, also dating to about 3,000 years ago, were buried with a stone bead and with what appeared to be a copper pendant, perforated by a small hole near the top.

The mask measures about 7 inches (18 centimeters) long and nearly 6 inches (15 cm) wide. Impurities in the copper are lower than 1 percent. To create the mask, someone would have hammered the metal flat while it was cold and then reheated it, according to the researchers.

The age of these metal objects  particularly the mask, crafted to deliberately resemble a human face  strongly suggests that people in the Argentinian regions of the Andes were shaping copper into artifacts earlier than previously thought, the study authors noted.

"Proof of copper smelting and annealing [a process of cooling metal slowly to make it stronger] further highlights the northwest Argentinian valleys and northern Chile as early centers in the production of copper," the researchers wrote.

"This data is essential to any narrative that seeks to understand the emergence of Andean metallurgy," they added.

The findings, which were published online June 5 in the journal Antiquity, were originally published in 2010 in the journal Boletin del Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino.

Original article on Live Science.
Astronomers have found the hottest known exoplanet, a world where temperatures exceed those on the surface of most stars.

The Jupiter-like planet, known as KELT-9b, zips around its hot host star once every 1.5 Earth days. Its orbit is so tight that the gas giant is tidally locked, always showing the same face to the star, just as the moon shows only one face to Earth.

Temperatures on KELT-9b's "day side" reach a blazing 7,800 degrees Fahrenheit (4,300 Celsius), the planet's discoverers said. That's hotter than the surface of the dwarf stars that dominate the Milky Way galaxy, and just 2,200 degrees F (1,200 degrees C) cooler than the surface of the sun. (However, temperatures in the sun's outer atmosphere, or corona, can reach about 3 million degrees F, or 1.67 million degrees C.) [Gallery: The Strangest Alien Planets]

Such extreme temperatures make KELT-9b a truly otherworldly place. For example, molecules such as water and carbon dioxide likely cannot exist in the planet's atmosphere, the researchers said.

"Its a planet by any of the typical definitions based on mass, but its atmosphere is almost certainly unlike any other planet we've ever seen just because of the temperature of its day side," Scott Gaudi, professor of astronomy at The Ohio State University, said in a statement. Gaudi is co-leader of the study announcing the discovery of KELT-9b, which was published today (June 5) in the journal Nature (opens in new tab).

The host star KELT-9 is bigger and hotter than the sun, and its intense radiation is causing KELT-9b's atmosphere to puff up: The planet is 2.8 times more massive than Jupiter but only half as dense, researchers said.

"KELT-9 radiates so much ultraviolet radiation that it may completely evaporate the planet," study co-leader Keivan Stassun, a professor of physics and astronomy at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, said in the same statement. "Or, if gas giant planets like KELT-9b possess solid rocky cores as some theories suggest, the planet may be boiled down to a barren rock, like Mercury."

Astronomers have confirmed more than 700 planets beyond our own solar system, and the discoveries keep rolling in. How much do you know about these exotic worlds?

Alien Planet Quiz: Are You an Exoplanet Expert?

The researchers discovered KELT-9b using the Kilodegree Extremely Little Telescope (KELT) at Winer Observatory in southeastern Arizona, which spotted the exoplanet crossing, or transiting, its host star's face. (There is another KELT scope in South Africa as well; the inexpensive instruments are designed to detect planets transiting relatively bright stars.)

The astronomers aim to observe KELT-9b with other instruments, including NASA's Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes and the agency's $8.9 billion James Webb Space Telescope, which is scheduled to launch in late 2018.

Hubble imagery could reveal if KELT-9b really is evaporating  if it possesses a comet-like tail  and help astronomers assess how long the planet might be able to survive as a gas giant (as opposed to a radiation-blasted core).

"As we seek to develop a complete picture of the variety of other worlds out there, it's important to know not only how planets form and evolve, but also when and under what conditions they are destroyed," Stassun said.

The research team also presented the new results yesterday (June 5) at the 230th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Austin, Texas.

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.
Reality TV star Trista Sutter, who starred in the first season of ABC's "The Bachelorette," in 2003, recently suffered a seizure while on vacation. But what makes a person suddenly experience a seizure?

On Friday (June 2), Sutter posted a photo on her Instagram feed in which she's lying in a hospital bed. "This was me yesterday. ...two hours after I had a seizure. ...two hours after I fell on my daughter's chest & she watched, along with her brother & grandparents, in confusion & horror as her mommy stared blankly off into the distance & started turning blue," Sutter wrote in the caption. Sutter was on vacation in Croatia with her family when the seizure happened.

Sutter went on to say that, instead of the adventure she had planned, "I ended up in a Croatian hospital being poked and prodded and wondering 'why me?' But today, I had to ask, 'why not me'? I'm human." [10 Celebrities with Chronic Illnesses]

(opens in new tab) A photo posted by on

Most seizures happen as a result of abnormal electrical activity in the brain, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Sometimes, a person's seizure may not be noticeable to others, or a person may appear to stare into space for a few moments while he or she has a seizure. In other cases, a seizure may cause a person to suddenly fall and experience uncontrollable muscle spasms, according to the NIH.

Seizures can have many causes. These include chemical imbalances in the body, genetic factors, brain problems that occur before birth, and brain infections, according to John Hopkins School of Medicine. In other cases, seizures can be "provoked" by certain factors, such as head trauma, brain tumors, drug abuse or a stroke.

Still, in some cases, no cause of the seizure can be found, and these are known as idiopathic seizures, the NIH says.

People may be diagnosed with epilepsy if they have recurrent seizures that are not caused by another medical condition, according to the Epilepsy Foundation. Patients may undergo several tests  such as blood tests, brain imaging and an electroencephalogram (EEG)  to determine whether they have epilepsy or another condition that caused their seizure, the NIH says.

About 20 percent of people who are referred for treatment at epilepsy centers have what are known as nonepileptic seizures, according to the Epilepsy Foundation. These seizures are caused not by abnormal electrical activity in the brain but rather psychological factors, such as thoughts, emotions or stress.

It is important to note that nonepileptic seizures are a real condition, and that people who experience nonepileptic seizures do not have voluntary control over having them, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Sutter did not discuss the cause of her seizure. She has posted several more photos to her Instagram since the incident, suggesting she is doing better. One photo of her and her husband had a caption that read, "Today was a good day. #grateful."

Original article on Live Science.
The chimps, which were raised in captivity and could not be released into habitats with wild chimpanzees, had been placed in a Liberian island sanctuary more than 10 years ago, after the NYBC ended the local research program that used the chimps to test a hepatitis B vaccine, in 2004. But the NYBC struggled to determine who would ultimately be responsible for the primates in the long term. And years later, time and money were running short.

Fortunately for the chimps, the HSUS and the NYBC reached an agreement to provide for the animals' ongoing health and medical needs, with the HSUS assuming responsibility for the chimpanzees for the duration of the animals' lives, and the NYBC contributing $6 million to the sanctuary's upkeep, HSUS representatives said in a statement. [Grooming Gallery: Chimps Get Social]

The retired chimps in Liberia have a lot of fellow retiree chimps in the U.S., ever since the National Institutes of Health (NIH) banned all research using chimpanzees in 2013. Like the chimps in Liberia, their U.S. counterparts were relocated to sanctuaries such as Chimp Haven, a facility in Louisiana, and others.

At the Liberian sanctuary, which extends over a series of river islands, there are no cages or enclosures, and the chimps live with their social groups. Food, water and medical attention are delivered by caregivers, NYBC representatives explained on the organization's website.

More than 60 chimpanzees were released to live on river islands in Liberia following the closing of a research lab where they were test subjects for a hepatitis vaccine. (Image credit: The Humane Society of the United States)

The NYBC founded the Liberia chimp colony and the hepatitis vaccine research lab in 1974. Contracts with the Liberian government designated the chimpanzees as the property of the Liberian Institute for Biomedical Research (LIBR), a division of the Liberian Ministry of Health, according to the NYBC.

Though the LIBR was expected to assume control of the chimpanzee sanctuary in 2007, as per their contracts with NYBC, that did not happen, and the NYBC continued to provide the animals with the necessities for their survival. But nearly a decade later, the NYBC couldn't afford to continue its voluntary support of the multimillion-dollar effort, representatives explained on the NYBC website.

"Unfortunately, NYBC could no longer sustain diverting millions of dollars away from our lifesaving mission of providing patients over one million critically needed blood products each year," NYBC representatives said.

Taking over the chimps' care from the New York Blood Center, the Humane Society of the United States will care for the Liberian chimps for the rest of the animals' lives. (Image credit: The Humane Society of the United States)

In 2015, the HSUS became involved in the chimpanzees' plight, culminating in the group's recent announcement that it would take on the care of the chimps for the duration of their lives. The HSUS will even construct basic shelters for the groups of primates, which include male and female chimps that range from infants to elders, according to HSUS representatives.

"The HSUS will work with its members and others to find the resources to make sure these chimpanzees know only human kindness for the remainder of their lives," Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the HSUS, said in a statement.

And the chimpanzees' life spans could be considerable; chimps are known to live to be 40 to 45 years old in the wild and as much as 60 years old in captivity, according to the National Primate Research Center at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

Original article on Live Science.
President Donald Trump is 70 years old, an age at which many people need reading glasses or other devices to aid their vision. So where are Trump's glasses?

Although Trump doesn't seem to wear them often, he has been seen donning spectacles on some occasions. For example, during the presidential campaign, Trump wore a pair of reading glasses to peruse The New York Times. On another occasion, he put on reading glasses during a stump speech to recite the lyrics of a song called "The Snake," according to Business Insider.

However, Trump's apparent lack of reading glasses has also seemed to cause problems at times. During a legal deposition last year, Trump said he could not read from a document because he did not have his glasses, adding "this is such small writing," according to CBS News. Some photos also show Trump reading without glasses using notes typed in a large font and in all caps.

Although the details of Trump's case aren't known, almost everyone experiences changes in vision as they get older.

These changes are due to a condition that comes with aging called presbyopia. People with presbyopia have trouble focusing on nearby objects, like book pages. Normally, when people look at something close up, the lenses in their eyes change shape with the help of an eye muscle, according to the Mayo Clinic. But as people age, the eyes' lenses become more rigid and less able to change shape, making it harder to focus on things that are nearby. [8 Tips for Healthy Aging]

In general, for people who can see well at far distances, the ability to read and see things close up starts to decrease around age 40, and continues to decline incrementally over the following 20 years, said Dr. Ira Udell, chairman of ophthalmology at Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine in Hempstead New York Health in New Hyde Park, New York, who has not treated Trump. When this happens, in many cases, people can simply go to the drugstore and find a pair of reading glasses that works for them, Udell said. But people who have trouble seeing at far distances may need prescriptions for distance and reading glasses, he said.

If a person needs treatment for presbyopia, glasses are not the only option. Another possibility is using "monovision" contact lenses, in which one contact lens is used for near vision and another is used for distance vision, Udell said. There are also bifocal contact lenses, similar to bifocal glasses, which can be used for both reading and seeing at far distances.

Older adults can also consider surgical options for treating presbyopia. By age 70, many people develop cataracts, which cause the eye's lens to become cloudy, affecting vision. Cataracts can be treated with surgery to remove the eye's lens and replace it with an artificial one, and doctors can also fix presbyopia while doing the cataract surgery. They can do so by implanting one new lens for seeing at distance and one for reading, Udell said. Or they can use "multifocal implants," which are artificial lens implants that are similar to bifocal glasses or contact lenses.

If a patient has presbyopia but doesn't yet need cataract surgery, there is a new surgical option known as corneal inlay implants. These ring-shaped devices improve near vision but do not affect distance vision, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In 2015, the FDA approved a corneal inlay known as Kamra, which is inserted into a pocket created in the cornea during eye surgery. However, because of the newness of the device, many doctors are waiting for more long-term data before using these implants in their patients, Udell said.

Udell stressed that there is no one-size-fits-all approach for treating presbyopia. The given treatment depends on what patients are looking for and what they want in order to best function in their everyday lives, he said. Ophthalmologists can inform patients of their options and "let them decide on what fits their needs," Udell said.

Original article on Live Science.
The ship was found more than 12,000 feet (3,700 meters) underwater along the Malta Escarpment, a fault zone offshore of eastern Sicily.

Nearly 77 years after it sank during World War II, the wreck of an Italian naval ship has been discovered in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea.

The naval destroyer, dubbed IT Artigliere, was damaged during the Battle of Cape Passero in 1940. The ship was found more than 12,000 feet (3,700 meters) underwater along the Malta Escarpment, a fault zone offshore of eastern Sicily.

The finding was announced yesterday (June 5) by Vulcan Inc., a company created by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Vulcan's research vessel (R/V) Petrel made the discovery in March, according to the company. [In Photos: WWII Ship Discovered 77 Years After Sinking]

The war grave site was left undisturbed, according to the R/V Petrel team.

"The Artigliere is in amazingly good condition other than the fact she was sunk in a war," David Reams, senior director for Paul Allen's maritime operations, said in a statement. "She's upright and easy to identify. At 3,700 meters down, the water is very cold and has little oxygen, so there was very little corrosion or encrustation."

After the R/V Petrel team uncovered the shipwreck, a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) captured images of the wreck, which showed the letters "AR" on the hull, according to a post on Allen's website. This documentation, along with the location of the wreck, enabled Italian naval authorities to confirm the sunken destroyer's identity.

The R/V Petrel uses underwater technology for a host of missions, ranging from locating shipwrecks to exploring ocean ecosystems, according to Vulcan researchers. Previous discoveries made by the vessel include the wreck of the Japanese battleship Musashi in March 2015. The R/V Petrel also provides an underwater tour of the sunken Musashi.

Original article on Live Science.
Parts of the brain of St. John Bosco are kept in glass behind the altar at the basilica of Castelnuovo, near Turin, Italy.

When pilgrims lined up in a church in northern Italy to pray before the relic of St. John Bosco, the revered founder of the Salesian religious order, on Saturday (June 3), they encountered a sign with an unexpected message: "Closed. Under construction."

However, it was clear that no construction work was going on in the church, called the basilica of Castelnuovo, located near Turin. And so, as pressure mounted over the puzzling sign, the church revealed a shocking truth: Someone had stolen preserved brain bits of a saint.

"The relic of St. Bosco has been stolen," Rev. Moreno Filipetto, a spokesman for the Salesian religious order, said in a statement. "To avoid hindering the ongoing police investigation, no other information will be provided." [Saint Science: The 10 Most Controversial Miracles]

The mysterious theft probably occurred just before the basilica's closing time on Friday (June 2), according to reports in Turin's newspaper, La Stampa. The thief, disguised as a pilgrim, likely just walked out of the church with a glass case containing pieces of the preserved brain of St. John Bosco, popularly known as Don Bosco, La Stampa reported.

Satanic rituals or ransom may lie behind the theft, according to reports in the Italian press.

Preserved brain pieces of St. John Bosco are kept at the basilica of Castelnuovo, near Turin, Italy. (Image credit: Andrea Cherchi)

"We do not really know why the relic was stolen," Filipetto told Live Science in Italian. "We have the utmost trust in the work of the police; they are working hard on the case."

However, Filipetto said he could not confirm the details of the case.

Indeed, the case is still a mystery, said Fr Francesco Cereda, vicar of the Rector Major. (Cereda is the vicar, who takes the Rector Major's place whenever he is absent or impeded; he's second from the top of this Salesian hierarchy.)

"To date, there is nothing new in the investigations regarding those responsible for the theft of Don Bosco's relics," Cereda said.

Born in Castelnuovo, Italy, on Aug. 16, 1815, Don Bosco devoted his life to helping deprived children. In 1859, he founded the Society of St. Francis de Sales, better known as the Salesians or Salesians of Don Bosco, to help the poor and homeless children during the Industrial Revolution. The religious order has grown to become the second-largest order in the Catholic Church. According to Salesian Missions, the order is regarded as the single largest provider of vocational and technical training in the world, operating more than 3,200 schools and technical training centers, more than 70 colleges, more than 90 clinics and a hospital, and more than 330 orphanages and shelters.

Don Bosco died in 1888 and was canonized in 1934 by Pope Pius XI. He is one of the most venerated saints, and each year, more than 600,000 pilgrims visit the basilica of Castelnuovo, according to La Stampa.

Body parts belonging to holy figures are often displayed in Catholic churches as "tangible elements to favor the invocation of the saint," Cereda said. "Don Bosco is loved and invoked for the young people, especially the poor and marginalized," he added, referring to invocations, or prayers.

The person who took the relic should "give it back immediately and without conditions," Monsignor Cesare Nosiglia, archbishop of Turin, said in the statement, "so that this painful page can be turned, and we can duly continue to honor Don Bosco's memory in his rightful birthplace," he added, as translated to English.

This is not the first time that thieves have targeted body parts of saints. Past raids of holy relics include the preserved heart of St. Laurence O'Toole, Dublin's patron saint, which was stolen in 2012 from the city's cathedral, as well as a vial of blood from Pope John Paul II, taken in 2014 from a chapel near L'Aquila, in central Italy.

Editor's Note: This article was updated to correct a statement saying that the vicar was the head of the Salesian order. The Rector Major has that position.

Original article on Live Science.
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The man arrested in the fatal beating of an Australian tourist on Friday outside a hotel near San Franciscos Polk Gulch neighborhood was a visitor from Southern California, police said Monday.

David Murillo, 34, of Hesperia (San Bernardino County) will face three felony charges of involuntary manslaughter, assault and battery, according to San Francisco district attorneys office spokesman Alex Bastian.

He is being held without bail at the maximum security facility at the Hall of Justice, according to county records.

The victim, 33-year-old Matthew Bate, died at San Francisco General Hospital shortly after the altercation outside the Da Vinci Villa hotel on the 2500 block of Van Ness Avenue. He was a vacationing analytical chemist from a suburb of Darwin, Australia, according to his family.

Bate was transported to the hospital after he was found suffering severe head trauma about 2:18 a.m. Friday outside the hotel, according to police.

Police found Murillo in a hotel on the same block as the Da Vinci Villa shortly after the beating, and homicide detectives questioned him, officials said.

At the conclusion of an interview with the detainee, it was determined this individual was responsible for Bates murder, a police statement said.

A source close to the investigation said that the charges stemmed from a single punch and that alcohol may have been involved.

Bate had visited Las Vegas and was traveling around California with friends from Australia, according to Australian media reports. His parents are reportedly headed to San Francisco to claim his body.

He had such a warm and kind soul and was a wonderful son, brother, uncle and friend, Bates family said in a statement.

We want to remember Matt as someone who lived to the fullest. He had a lot of great friends who will miss him dearly.

The fatal fight was the latest incident in recent years in San Francisco in which tourists have become victims of crime in areas that are ordinarily peaceful:

In February 2016, a 44-year-old British tourist was fatally stabbed in the head after two people tried to snatch his messenger bag as he walked down Post Street near Franklin Street with his niece, a Southern California resident.

In August 2016, two tourists were robbed at gunpoint in Twin Peaks.

And in August 2015, a visitor from Thailand was robbed of his camera and shot in the shoulder near the famously crooked stretch of Lombard Street in Russian Hill.

San Francisco Chronicle staff writer Rachel Swan contributed to this report.

Filipa Ioannou is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: fioannou@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @obioannoukenobi
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Regional airports expressed concern Monday that President Donald Trump's proposal to privatize the country's air-traffic control system could give airlines too much power and not protect the interests of the recreational and business pilots who use their runways.

"The airlines, which have more money, they can potentially take control," said Mike Shahan, airport director for Scholes International Airport in Galveston. "And I think it would be to the detriment to general aviation."

On Monday, Trump proposed creating a nonprofit organization that would be in charge of such operations as maximizing route efficiency, providing timely service and reducing delays. The new group ideally would free the Federal Aviation Administration to focus on safety, and it would be overseen by a board that represents airlines and other aviation stakeholders.

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"If we adopt these changes, Americans can look forward to cheaper, faster and safer travel - a future where 20 percent of a ticket price doesn't go to the government, and where you don't have to sit on a tarmac or circle for hours and hours over an airport - which is very dangerous also - before you land," Trump said in his prepared remarks in Washington, D.C.

Privatization has been widely supported by large carriers, including Southwest and United airlines, each of which has a large Houston presence. But opponents are concerned about general aviation fees that have harmed the industry in other countries with air-traffic control systems not run by the government.

A group of general aviation associations co-authored a letter to the president requesting he provide "ample opportunity for all stakeholders and citizens to carefully review, analyze and debate any proposed legislation changing the governance and funding for air traffic control."

There's also concern about giving airlines even more control over the skies.

"The industry responsible for massive IT meltdowns, sky-high airline fees and shrinking seats should not be in control of managing the most complex airspace in the world," U.S. Sen. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., and a member of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, said in a news release. "Instead of this ill-advised proposal to turn over this critical aviation safety function to a private entity, the administration should instead come up with real ways to help rebuild our crumbling infrastructure."

Airport officials in the Houston region were hesitant to give opinions on Trump's proposal until learning more specifics.

Some agreed to talk about privatization in general.

Houston Executive Airport already has a privately run tower. Executive director Andrew Perry said the tower opened in October 2014 to provide additional safety and prepare the young airport for future growth.

He said he could see a private system being more efficient, but he's also worried his airport could see fewer takeoffs and landings if the general aviation industry gets saddled with fees.

"Aviation is already expensive," added Galveston's Shahan. "Adding another tax of $25, $50, $100 per segment, it would increase the cost dramatically."

Shahan said additional fees could cause general aviation companies, including air ambulances, flight schools and charters, to lay people off.

For his airport, specifically, Shahan is worried about staffing the control tower. Scholes International Airport is part of the FAA's Contract Tower Program. The FAA pays for the controllers and the airport pays for the facility.

A privately run organization could decide to end this program, and Shahan said he isn't sure if Scholes would be able to afford to hire controllers.

"In certain things, privatization is good," he said. "I don't think so with air-traffic control services."

Scott Smith, airport director for the Conroe-North Houston Regional Airport, also is concerned about the Contract Tower Program: Would a privatized system continue this program? Would it charge additional fees? If the program ends, would the state provide grant money?

"My concern about any change in the air-traffic system is what would happen to the contract towers," he said.

The FAA has its own towers at Bush Intercontinental, Hobby and David Wayne Hooks airports. It also has a radar approach facility, which handles traffic over the greater Houston area, and the Houston Air Route Traffic Control Center, which controls tens of thousands of square miles of airspace over southeast Texas, Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico.

The Houston Airport System, which operates the city's two airports with commercial flights, said it was pleased to learn that airports would be represented on the governing board of the nonprofit proposed by the president.

"Airports are tasked with performing at safe and efficient levels daily, and it is vital that airports play a role in supporting and implementing this next important technological step forward," chief external affairs officer Saba Abashawl said in a news release.

The need to take that next technological step, however, isn't the source of disagreement. Trump, who called the system "painfully in the past," isn't alone in thinking the system needs to be modernized.

The FAA has been addressing this with its NextGen project, which uses GPS technology to enable aircraft to move more directly from Point A to Point B. The infrastructure includes a satellite-based system that will replace radars as the primary means by which air-traffic controllers track and manage aircraft.

"Our nation's infrastructure in the sky is a vital part of our economy, and the demand for air services in the United States is growing," Nicholas E. Calio, Airlines for America president and CEO, said in a news release. "The president's leadership means that we can look forward to legislation that gets government out of the way so we can modernize for the future and maintain our global leadership in aviation."

Not everyone thinks privatization will be the best way to speed up the NextGen rollout.

"I don't see why privatizing the ATC (air-traffic control) services will necessarily make that happen faster," Shahan said.
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Indicted state Sen. Carlos Uresti on Monday asked a U.S District judge to throw out federal charges that he was involved in a bribery scheme with a one-time Reeves County judge.

Uresti also filed court papers seeking to dismiss the charge that he acted as an unregistered securities broker, which was made in a separate indictment involving a bankrupt San Antonio oil-field services company.

In the bribery case, Uresti is accused of splitting with former Reeves County Judge Jimmy Galindo about $850,000 in bribes from Lubbock businessman Vernon C. Farthing III over 10 years. Prosecutors say Farthing allegedly hired Uresti as a consultant and paid him $10,000 a month, approximately half of which Uresti funneled to Galindo  who has agreed to plead guilty.

Uresti has said he is innocent of all charges.

In his motion to dismiss the two-count indictment, Uresti, a San Antonio Democrat, argues that the alleged payments to Galindo were made after he stopped serving as a county judge.

The payments from Uresti to Galindo started around Jan. 1, 2007 and continued through Sept. 30 of last year, according to the indictment. Galindo served as county judge from January 1995 to December 2006.

Uresti contends the charge that he conspired to commit bribery fails to state an offense because it does not allege the payment of bribes for future official actions, and instead only alleges gratuities allegedly paid for past actions alleged to have already been taken.

Uresti cited 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in 2013 that found gratuities are not criminalized under federal law. However, he noted other circuits have ruled otherwise. Uresti wants to preserve the issue in case the U.S. Supreme Court decides to review it.

Mikal Watts, Urestis defense lawyer, said this will be the first of several motions they file in the Reeves County case.

We dont agree at all that these were bribes or gratuities because they were legal transactions, Watts said. The motion raised specifically the issue of whether the law even applies to alleged payments made after an officialhas already acted.

In the other indictment, Uresti faces 11 charges. Hes only seeking to dismiss one of the charges in that case  that he acted as an unregistered securities broker from May 2014 to May 2015. He is accused of soliciting individuals to invest with FourWinds Logistics in violation of federal securities laws.

But Uresti argues the law doesnt apply because theres no allegation that he did any business in any state other than Texas.

The FourWinds indictment attempted to throw the kitchen sink at Uresti, but the facts dont fit the allegations, Watts said. We will continue to file motions to make the facts as alleged by the government fit the law as it exists.

Uresti could face about 200 years in prison if found guilty of all charges.
The Answers

By Catherine Lacey

FSG. 304 pp. $26

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It's no wonder Catherine Lacey's 2014 debut, "Nobody is Ever Missing," was widely admired. A smart, slightly off-kilter account of a young woman's experiences after she leaves both her husband and comfortable Manhattan life to travel aimlessly through New Zealand, it called to mind both Sylvia Plath's "The Bell Jar" and Sheila Heti's "How Should a Person Be?"

When an author's debut is a voice-driven first-person novel, there's an expectation, just or not, that her second novel will be wider in scope, more "ambitious." In many ways, Lacey's new novel, "The Answers," fits that bill. At the very least, it demonstrates that Lacey is capable of ventriloquizing well beyond the quirky-insightful voice of "Nobody is Ever Missing."

"The Answers" features a large cast, and Lacey's depictions of everyone from Kurt, a narcissistic, pseudointellectual movie actor, to Matheson, Kurt's devoted assistant, are deliciously shrewd. (One of Matheson's duties is to take Kurt's middle of the night calls. Kurt would "sleepily relay a dream while Matheson typed it into a document forwarded to Kurt's psychoanalyst.")

The responses Kurt elicits in women are also well-observed. An ex-girlfriend, for example, was repulsed by his alarm that the Sept. 11 attacks might jeopardize funding for his movie project. As they argue, Kurt's defensiveness is laced with acidity: "He realized," he tells her, "he wasn't experiencing the attack in the (BEGIN ITAL)emotionally penetrable(END ITAL) way that she was." When she begins to sob, he demands she "listen to what I'm saying for once instead of obsessing over your own emotional reality." This isn't the stuff of easy, overly broad satire - it's devastating because, damning as it is, it feels accurate.

Kurt is not the novel's protagonist, though. That would be Mary, a young woman raised in Tennessee, first by zealously religious parents who home-schooled her from a backwoods cabin and then, more conventionally, by an aunt. In her 20s, Mary developed a love of travel that has, at the outset of "The Answers," left her deeply in debt and working a dead-end job.

She is also suffering from maladies. Doctors haven't been able to help, and when the book opens, she begins a strange but apparently effective - and expensive - New Age-y treatment. To pay for her treatments, she gets involved in a high-tech experiment run by Kurt and a team of scientists, known simply as the Research Division. In the experiment, a slew of women tend to Kurt's various romantic needs while wearing sensors to track their brain activity. Mary is hired to be Kurt's "Emotional Girlfriend."

During the course of the experiment, Mary's best friend, Chandra, goes missing. Then there's a plotline concerning another of Kurt's hired girlfriends, the "Anger Girlfriend," who takes to following Mary menacingly around town. In the midst of all this, Mary goes back to Tennessee to confront her past.

Does this sound like a lot? It is. Scene by scene, the book is mostly well done. In Tennessee, for example, Mary faces her once fearsome father. Now old and broken, he tells her, "I didn't ask for this. I never asked to be alone like this. There was supposed to be a family, more children. No one was supposed to be alone." The effectiveness of this scene takes one by surprise; until this point, Mary's unusual upbringing has been referred to but not really developed, and the moment itself takes place amid a crowded jumble of plotlines.

With so many story lines, it's almost inevitable that not all are resolved by book's end. We never do find out, for example, what happened to some of the characters or how others are connected to one another. Even Mary's state of mind is a bit opaque. Instead of seeming like a clever subversion of narrative expectations, this non-resolution resolution feels like a missed opportunity. Lacey is an extremely talented writer, but "The Answers" is a little less than the sum of its many excellent parts.

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Waldman is the author of "The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P."
The Essex Serpent

By Sarah Perry

Custom House. 416 pp. $26.99

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Standing at the shoreline on a calm, moonless night, you can hear a low-pitched roar. Some say it's just the waves; others claim it's a winged monster swimming through the watery depths. But it's actually the sound of thousands of fans cheering for "The Essex Serpent," an irresistible new novel by Sarah Perry.

Last month, "The Essex Serpent" won the British Book Award, and it's already sold more than 250,000 copies, which should convince any skeptic that this slippery beast is real.

There have been sightings for months in America: tantalizing tweets, shots of its gorgeous cover on Instagram, breathless reports from tourists vacationing in London. But now the novel has finally washed up on our shores.

Admittedly, the Loch Ness Monster has better PR, but the Flying Serpent of Essex has been terrifying residents since it was first reported in 1669. Perry sets her story near that spot in a fictional village called Aldwinter more than 200 years later. In the enlightened 1890s, the creatures of mythology have been banished by the discoveries of archaeology, but - as we're still hearing today - the science remains unsettled.

That tension between science and belief persists throughout "The Essex Serpent," which is both charmingly Victorian and subtly modern. As the story opens, the good people of Aldwinter are wondering whether an earthquake has unloosed their old monster from the estuary depths. How else to explain the body of a man found on the saltings with his neck broken? Yes, it's (BEGIN ITAL)possible(END ITAL) he was drunk and tripped, but maybe he was attacked by the old scaly beast. Who's to say? Real or imagined, the serpent slithers through the public imagination, coiling around each resident's private guilt.

Into this conflicted village, Perry brings Cora Seaborne, the most delightful heroine I've encountered since Elizabeth Bennet in "Pride and Prejudice." Newly widowed, Cora is finally released from her abusive husband in London and free to spend his fortune however she pleases. She worries only that she might "betray her shameful happiness."

"I laugh when I shouldn't," she admits. "I know I don't give what's expected of me ... these last few weeks I've thought over and over that there was never a greater difference between what I ought to be, and what I am." Hearing of the recent fossil discoveries in Essex, she decides to follow in the footsteps of the paleontologist Mary Anning and see if she can't find some petrified bones of her own. Or perhaps there's something even more vital swimming around Aldwinter. After all, as Cora tells a friend, "Charles Lyell was firmly of the opinion that an ichthyosaur might turn up."

What definitely turns up is an absorbing story told in a style that's antique without being dated, rich but never pretentious. The narrative sometimes shifts into an interchange of intimate letters, a bittersweet reminder of what we gave up to send each other emoji and self-destructing snapshots. Raised on the classics and the Bible, Perry creates that delicate illusion of the best historical fiction: an authentic sense of the past - its manners, ideals and speech - that feels simultaneously distant and relevant to us.

If "The Essex Serpent" never unearths an actual dinosaur, it more than compensates by excavating the character of its extraordinary heroine, a woman determined not to let anyone repress her again. Arriving in Aldwinter, Cora meets the town's handsome minister, Rev. William Ransome, and the two of them immediately begin sparring over the evidence of things not seen. In Perry's hands, flirting is raised to elegant perfection, a clash of intellects electrified by desire. "Each considers the other to have a fatal flaw in their philosophy which ought by rights to exclude a friendship," she writes, "and are a little baffled to discover it does nothing of the kind." The Rev. Ransome decries the widow's faith in materiality; Cora mocks the minister's blindness to anything new. He's happily married with three children, but it's clear he adores this provocative, witty woman.

Indeed, everybody in the novel adores Cora - (BEGIN ITAL)I adore her(END ITAL) - and who can blame us? "Her presence," the reverend confesses to himself, "is impossible to ignore, however hard one tried." Cultured but dismissive of all pretense, beautiful but entirely unconcerned about her appearance, Cora tromps around the shore looking for bones while a parade of admirers pine for her.

Those characters caught in Cora's gravitational field allow Perry to explore a variety of political and social issues we're still wrestling with today. Cora's only child is autistic, though no such diagnosis exists to keep Cora from feeling she simply isn't a sufficiently loving mother. Her most persistent suitor is a surgeon pushing aggressively against the limits and inhibitions of medical science. His best friend hopes to alleviate the housing crisis in London, where the government, like our new administration, is determined to make sure that any assistance comes with a bitter dollop of humiliation. And Cora's female companion is a socialist trying to move uncompromised between the worlds of the rich and poor. They all circulate through the stratified society that Perry re-creates - from elegant drawing rooms to dark back alleys, from a London hospital to a country church.

By the end, "The Essex Serpent" identifies a mystery far greater than some creature "from the illuminated margins of a manuscript": friendship. That's a phenomenon we discount in romantic comedies and too often take for granted in real life. But in the fertile environment of this novel, Cora is determined to identify a species of devotion between men and women that doesn't involve subjugation. She may be digging in the past, but she's clearly looking to the future.

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Just a year after stepping down from the Washington Ballet, Septime Webre is taking the reins of the Hong Kong Ballet, where next month he will become the new artistic director, the company's board announced Tuesday.

Webre's first task will be overseeing the company's season-opening production, in August, of "Don Quixote," which has been staged by the world-renowned ballerina Nina Ananiashvili.

The new development goes a bit counter to his own life-choreography, Webre said in an interview Tuesday. After directing the Washington Ballet for 17 years, Webre had been looking forward to creating works for other companies, and "enjoying life as an artist. I knew I'd return to directing at some point, but I didn't think it would be one year later. This opportunity came up and it just felt right."

The relationship with Hong Kong Ballet, a company of about 50 dancers, grew out of a planned tour to the territory with the Washington Ballet about three years ago,Webre said. The tour fell through, but later on the agent for the trip alerted Webre to the company's search for a director. Webre will replace Madeleine Onne, director since 2009.

He describes the company's repertoire as "just ravishing," with classical full-length productions and new works by Alexei Ratmansky and Christopher Wheeldon, as well as other choreographers. He'll add his own works in future seasons.

"The scope of the company is very international," Webre said. "And I grew up as an expatriate, and there's something about being an outsider that feels comfortable to me." Webre, the son of a sugar engineer, moved with his family throughout Africa and the Caribbean during his youth.

Webre has been studying Cantonese on CD, as he drives to rehearsals for the Philip Glass opera "The Fall of the House of Usher," with the Wolf Trap Opera and CityDance, which he is directing. He has already selected the name by which he'll be known in his new home, a process that he says is traditional for Westerners coming to Hong Kong.

His new name, chosen to sound somewhat familiar (with his family name first, as is customary) while also conveying something of his essence, is Wei Seng Teen. Webre said it means "one who protects talent."

Washington will continue to feel Webre's influence. He will remain artistic director of the Halcyon Stage series, which launched in 2017. But the yearlong series has been retooled as a 10-day annual festival; the first will be in June 2018, and Webre will continue to program it. "It'll be an interdisciplinary kind of creativity-con," he said.
Ninety-nine years ago, in France's Belleau Wood, American soldiers launched their first large-scale battle in "the War to End All Wars." By month's end, after nearly 10,000 men died, the U.S. won that fight, but not before the German general Erich Ludendorff had unleashed not only machine guns, but also nerve gas.

Flash-forward a century, to last April in President Bashar al-Assad's Syria, and the world's eyes are horrified when scores of civilians die in a sarin-gas attack on the town of Khan Sheikhoun. If you saw the recent images out of Syria, as gassed children were hosed down as they gasped for life, then it is difficult to watch the new "Wonder Woman" and not be struck by a long constant in the cruel fog of war.

In director Patty Jenkins' film, in an affecting scene that sets up the third act, the Amazon warrior rides into the Belgium town that she had just saved. Where she had been hailed as a hero by the warm people of Veld, there now hangs a fog of orange gas that has wiped them out - the result of Gen. Ludendorff's fresh attack fired off from a nearby castle.

We experience the scene through Wonder Woman's shock and sorrow and rage - and it is not hard to relate to her visceral reaction.

"My mother keeps talking about that," Jenkins tells The Washington Post. "She's like: 'It's so prescient - what the movie is showing is what is actually going on right now.' "

While making the film, of course, she had no idea that the Syrian video images would be so very much with us right now.

"So much of what has happened now (there) wasn't happening cumulatively as much as it has been recently," Jenkins says of the coincidental timing. "It's shocking. It came so naturally to our World War I (setting). The fact that it keeps happening is horrifying."

World War I, given its bitter toll of stalemated trench warfare, increasingly became a race to create chemical weapons, from tear gas to chlorine gas to the especially deadly phosgene and diphosgene gases, which were launched within artillery shells.

What Wonder Woman comes upon is a mustard gas - yellow-brown in real life, but a saturated orange in the film. She wades into the fog physically unharmed because she is a goddess, but since she has only recently experienced the depths of man's inhumanity to man (and children), she comes away with different wounds.

"It's a very important story beat - Patty wants the audience to experience emotionally what the character is going through," says Matthew Jensen, the film's director of photography. "I think ultimately, we always knew that we had to stay with Diana's experience."

Jensen says showing a colored gas also allowed the filmmakers to imply the fatal toll without literally representing an "uneasy mix" of violence.

"We had to adhere to a PG-13 rating, so we had to be very judicious with images of death," he says. "And there was a moral responsibility that we felt. You can suggest so much more than by showing something directly. ... Because you can show everything now doesn't mean that you should.

(As for showing the stark gas itself, Jensen says: "We knew this scene was going to take place at dusk - it was going to have a somber and cool look - but then you have this complementary orange ... which we thought would be a very powerful image.")

What Jenkins is also trying to depict in these scenes, from a very personal place, is the moral fog of war.

"My father, interestingly, he became a fighter pilot and he did everything he could because of World War II," says the director, noting how his "pure vision" of right and wrong in the wake of that war influenced his decision to enter the Air Force in the '60s.

"When I was a kid, he was in Vietnam dropping bombs on villagers because those were his orders," Jenkins says of her father, who would be awarded a Silver Star. "And later, he was deeply conflicted about what had become of him. He wanted to be a hero. He had wanted to save the world. How was he now this person?"

Ultimately, Jenkins roots her movie not in the sweeping pageantry of military victory, but rather in the burden of a singular mission.

"This movie isn't about being a hero," the director says. "It's about the reality of how difficult and how hard (fighting) is to do. And so I try to bring the kind of weight and romance of the fighter pilot I grew up around, and having seen the struggles that they went through for being just men who couldn't save the world."
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When you turn to the local news, what do you hope to find  appealing chemistry between the anchors, veteran faces that you trust, content that is essentially fair and balanced?

This question arises after another ratings period that once again demonstrated KSATs unshakeable No. 1 status among viewers.

Yet when I watched KSATs newscasts and those of its competitors to figure out why, I witnessed generally comparable content.

Most days, the three most established English-language stations, KENS, WOAI and KSAT, lead with crime stories or, on occasion, the top political news of the day.

All feature attractive anchors, competent meteorologists and sportscasters, and they usually include a promotable investigative piece, often of the consumer or crime variety.

So whats KSATs secret to so much success? In the most recent Nielsen survey in May, the stations morning, evening and late news swept the local races as it has year after year.

Why arent more viewers invested in KENS, once the top-rated station for news, these days? After all, the CBS affiliate continues to be No. 1 in prime-time and afternoon programming. Shouldnt that translate into killer lead-ins for its newscasts?

Moreover, what keeps WOAI at the bottom? Chief newscaster Randy Beamer has been covering local news here for some 30 years, so why is he not more of a go-to anchorman? Did the ousting of his co-anchor Evy Ramos turn off some viewers?

What about the recent hubbub surrounding WOAIs owner, Sinclair Broadcast Group? Did the many articles about the perceived conservative leaning of Sinclair-owned stations make people wary of WOAI?

Hoping to understand better what people want, I posed the question on my Facebook page. Heres what I found:

Loyalty: KSAT remains a favorite because it has stood by its veterans.

Ive always appreciated how KSAT has held on to many of its on-air talent over the years ... Jessie Degollado, Marilyn Moritz, Paul Venema, Greg Simmons and Steve Browne, wrote Larry Ynman. In a business where theres a lot of turnover, I like that they do that because viewers not only connect with the solid content of their stories but also the talent.

Spriester also was singled out as the stations longtime unsung hero, an anchor who has put down firm roots in San Antonio with his wife and seems to love going out into the field .

T. J. Connolly, for instance, wrote that the newsman owns this market because he paid his dues and earned it.

(He) never gets the credit that Chris Marrou deservedly did for three decades at KENS. Chris was the BEST ... and Steve has established and secured that position in this market. San Antonio likes, believes and trusts Steve.

Local: Viewers want a stations signature anchor to be firmly planted in San Antonio.

Jeff Brady preceded Spriester at KSAT, and he and co-anchor Ursula Pari drew substantial ratings.

Since Brady returned to the air in San Antonio with KENS 1 years ago, however, that stations newscasts essentially have remained stuck in second place. Is part of this because of Brady seeming to have one foot in San Antonio and the other in Dallas, where his wife and kids still live and where he generally spends weekends?

When I asked if it matters whether an anchor is fully local, the answer on Facebook was more yes than no.

Brady didnt respond to my emails, but KENS General Manager Tom Cury did.

Jeff has lived here since he first joined KENS in January 2016, and San Antonio viewers see him during his regular weekday newscasts at 5, 6 and 10 p.m. and at community events, Cury wrote in an email.

His plan has been to have his family (wife, two kids in elementary, one kid in middle school) here in San Antonio by the fall of 2016 but life happened, Cury added.

The Bradys are getting everything ready for a transition to San Antonio, and while Jeff would certainly prefer for it to have been quicker, his family is being very wise to plan properly for all the professional and personal aspects of their relocation.

Chemistry: I have been watching the KSAT early news (anchored by Leslie Mouton and Mark Austin) for a while. Good chemistry, wrote Pat Dunlap.

She also watches KENS anchor Deborah Knapp and meteorologist Bill Taylor at 4 p.m. (They) work well together. Always upbeat.

Dunlaps view seems to be shared by many. Mouton and Austin have been a dynamic duo for years. Thats clearly one reason KSAT extended the morning reach of Mouton and Austin to the 9 a.m. hour in recent months, launching another top-rated news hour.

As for Knapp and Taylor on KENS, they enjoy each others company  and it shows.

First at Four on KENS is the steady ratings winner of the 4 p.m. half-hour and was one of the few local newscasts to show year-to-year improvement in the May ratings book.

Lack of bias: In May ratings, the audience numbers for WOAIs third-place newscasts fell a bit from where they were a year ago.

Did a spate of recent articles about its owner, Sinclair Broadcast Group, which suggested that Sinclair-owned stations are required to air content that tilts to the right, play a part?

Locals have voiced concern. Bob Stewart, for instance, said he steers clear of a station that expresses views he doesnt share. The Sinclair stations have must carry segments dictated from their home office, and they are more right-wing leaning, which is not me, Stewart wrote.

At least one such Sinclair feature is a staple of WOAIs 6 p.m. news: the Terrorism Alert Desk.

Blaise Labbe, regional news director for Sinclair stations in Texas, defended the segment, saying: Its an update on events that are happening with terrorism around the world. People are interested in that; research shows it.

True, stories about terrorism should run on the news when violence actually happens. But is a regular Alert feature really necessary? Or is it there to imply terrorism is becoming such a major part of our lives that stations need a desk devoted to it?

Is Sinclair using its stations to advance a right-wing agenda? Labbe indicated that was not the case.

If that were, he said, you would never see an NBC or CNN piece on our air. He added that WOAI has a responsibility to viewers to share all voices, liberal and conservative.

Jeanne Jakles column appears Wednesdays and Sundays in mySA.
Apple's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tim Cook attends Apple's Wolrdwide Developers Conference in San Jose, California on June 5, 2017. (Xinhua Photo)

SAN FRANCISCO, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Apple Inc. introduced Monday a music speaker, its first hardware since Apple Watch was rolled out two years ago, at an annual gathering of software developers.

To be "smart," the latest product in Apple's portfolio, known as HomePod, comes with a A8 microprocessor chip, the same power engine in the company's flagship iPhone smartphone and iPad tablet computer.

To be available on the market in December this year, the compact wireless speaker has some identical functions offered by similar products made by other companies, such as Amazon Echo, but promises to produce sound with higher quality.

HomePod is deemed a more expensive competitor of Echo, which was released two years ago.

Meanwhile, at a San Jose venue in Northern California, Apple's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tim Cook opened the Worldwide Developers Conference, or WWDC, with announcement that Prime Video, a video streaming service that is operated by Amazon.com, will be integrated into Apple TV, a digital media player and microconsole.

In addition, Cook said Apple, headquartered in Cupertino, Northern California, now has 16 million registered software developers worldwide for its consumer electronics, including smartphone known as iPhone, and 3 million of them were added last year. He claimed this year's WWDC is the largest of the kind for the technology company.

At the event, a parade of executives unveiled updates to Apple's hardware, software and mobile applications, or apps, including iMac desktop computer, MacBook laptop machine, iPad, Apple Watch, iOS software operating system and App Store. The company said its App Store has so far paid out 70 billion U.S. dollars to developers, of which 30 percent was made last year.
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Everything's bigger in Texas, including the size of catfish.

Noodling, the art of catching catfish with your bare hands, took the spotlight in North Texas last month when a pair of adventurous Texans caught an 85 pound, 2-ounce flathead catfish on Lake Tawakoni.

Nate Williams and Kelly Millsap, collectively deemed Team Adrenaline, say they have beat the prior hand fishing national record that was set in Oklahoma, which is considered the birthplace of noodling.

The Quinlan-Tawakoni News backed up the claim, saying Williams and Millsap took the title over the previous record, an 81-pound catch made in Durant, Oklahoma in 2013.

RELATED: Video: Girl goes 'redneck fishing,' catches enormous catfish with bare hands

The duo came together to catch the monster-sized fish at Lake Tawakoni's tournament on Friday, May 26. Williams said they are still in the process of hearing back from the Texas Parks & Wildlife to see if they will officially verify their catch as a record.

Though the monstrous catch could have contributed to a giant fish fry, Williams said that with fish this size, it's necessary to release it.

"We do it just for enjoyment. We want to make sure that we don't hurt the population," Williams, who is a professional noodling guide, told mySA.com.

READ ALSO: Fish bra: The latest internet trend that has women anglers going topless

When Williams first began noodling 17 years ago, he said it was just him and his friends trying to catch fish with their bare hands.

Williams said he's been teaching people to noodle since 2011, and his clientele includes Jeremy Wade, the host of Animal Planet's "River Monsters."

To reserve your spot on the boat along with the pro, visit William's Adrenaline Rush Noodling.

JThorpe@express-news.net

@jerilynnthorpe
(File photo)

Xi at summit this week expanding Shanghai Cooperation Organization

India and Pakistan will be accepted as members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization this week at a summit to be attended by President Xi Jinping in Astana, Kazakhstan. The move will make the SCO one of the biggest regional organizations, covering about half of the world's population.

Analysts said that while the increase in members may bring a bigger variety of voices in the organization, any disagreements can be resolved through communication and consultation.

The two new countries will go through official procedures to become members during the 17th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO, Assistant Foreign Minister Li Huilai said at a news conference on Monday.

Xi will make a state visit to Kazakhstan at the invitation of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev from Wednesday to Saturday. He will attend the SCO summit and the opening ceremony of Astana Expo 2017.

India and Pakistans' accession to the SCO will increase the organization's global impact and representative nature, Li said, adding that the cooperation potential and scope of the organization will be increased.

By accepting the two countries, the SCO will expand its geographical coverage to South Asia. It will account for three-fifths of the area of Eurasia, he added.

The SCO launched accession procedures for India and Pakistan in July 2015 at the Ufa summit in Russia. At the SCO's Tashkent summit in Uzbekistan in June 2016, SCO members signed the memorandum on the obligations for India and Pakistan to obtain membership in the SCO.

China will have the rotating presidency of the SCO next year. Xi will talk with other leaders at the summit about making the SCO stronger and a bigger contributor to global peace and stability, Li said.

During Xi's visit, China and Kazakhstan will sign cooperation documents in such areas as production capacity, investment, finance and trade, Li said. The two presidents will speak on a video conference call on Eurasia cross-border transportation, talking to people such as port workers in East China, he added.

Kazakhstan has played a leading role in jointly building the Belt and Road, and with China has agreed on 51 projects of production capacity, with a total investment of $27 billion, Li said.

Xing Guangcheng, a senior researcher of Russian and Central Asian studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that the incoming members of the SCO will bring more energy to the organization and increase its influence.

"Any expansion in an organization can be a double-edged sword," he said, adding that SCO members may have different interpretations of the organization and different voices may emerge in the future.

Wu Hongwei, another Central Asian studies researcher at CASS, said SCO members can cultivate cooperative potential in economics, culture and education, and reach consensus through more dialogue.
Albany

It's a question that could be asked multiple times during the legislative session each year: Is there any appetite among lawmakers for, to use a broad term, good government reforms?

As lawmakers returned to the Capitol on Monday for the final 11 days of the session, there was noise about bills that are seen as steps toward scrubbing an oft-criticized legislative process and aiding with government transparency. But whether those bills, let alone the big-ticket ethics reforms that advocates have long pleaded for, win the day before session ends June 21 remains to be seen.

The state Senate approved a bill that would require a public agency that is sued over a Freedom of Information Law request pay attorneys' fees of the person or entity who sued when the plaintiffs prevail.

"I think the one point that everybody can agree with is if we have a law in place, and if one side is not complying with the law, there should be remedies for the other side," bill sponsor Sen. Patrick Gallivan, R-Erie County, said. "And that's the simple basis of this. If state agencies have reasonable grounds under the law to deny a FOIL request, so be it ... but if they don't and they don't comply with the law, it just seems terribly unfair that somebody on the other side who is following the law should have to be harmed because of it when they've done nothing wrong."

The legislation now is set for a trip to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's desk after passing the Assembly last month.

That bill passed the Legislature in 2015 but was vetoed by Cuomo. He held that FOIL law "must apply uniformly and equitably to all parties, and ensure that both legislative and executive branches of state government are subject to the same FOIL provisions." He repeated that sentiment in his State of the State plans at the beginning of this year.

Still, the governor did sign an executive order following his veto to expedite the appeals process after a FOIL request is denied.

Also on Monday, some members of the Assembly and Senate were pressing for a bill that sponsors say would act as a roadblock for nepotism related to distribution of taxpayer dollars. That legislation would prohibit a statewide elected official or any legislator from awarding a state grant to a non-profit or business at which the elected official or anyone related to them holds a legal, official or volunteer position.

In the Assembly, where the bill is carried by Westchester County Democrat Sandy Galef, the legislation has 35 sponsors from both sides of the aisle. State Sen. Tony Avella, D-Queens, picked up the bill last month and is seeking sponsors.

In a 213-member Legislature, whether 36 lawmakers in support of a bill can get it over the hump is a question that will be answered by the end of the month.

Galef said if there is enough attention given to the bill, it could make it to the floor. That includes attention from Cuomo  whose arm twisting can turn legislation from languishing to flourishing.

"The pressure can actually come down from the governor's staff to all of us," she said.

Yet Cuomo's April outlook on reforms, including those he proposed in January, may not instill hope that the final deal to close the session will include changes to the way government goes about its business.

"Those (priorities) that weren't done in the budget, I don't know that they're feasible to get done," he said at the time. "If we didn't get it done in the budget it means you don't have the political will to get it done."

mhamilton@timesunion.com  518-454-5449  @matt_hamilton10
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A man has been arrested for allegedly shooting at a police officer in west Laredo in March and opening fire on a vehicle occupied by a woman and her five children.

Marcos Guadalupe Cruz Jr., 22, was served with several warrants Monday. He was charged with one count of aggravated assault with a firearm on a police officer, six counts of aggravated assault with a firearm and one count of violation of a protective order.

Cruz had been at a San Antonio hospital. Detectives met with Cruz at Brooke Army Medical Center on March 31.

He did not want to speak with authorities, according to court documents.

READ MORE: Name revealed of man involved in west central Laredo shooting

(Cruz) stated he did not recall anything and did not have anything to say, states the arrest affidavit.

Shots fired

The case unfolded at about 12:30 p.m. March 28 after police received reports of shots fired in the 2200 block of Madison Street.

Officer Roberto Castillo, a 14-year veteran cop, was dispatched to the scene.

When he arrived, Castillo saw Cruz on top of the hood of a red Cadillac driven by a woman. Noticing police presence, Cruz got off the vehicle and ran from the scene, police said.

Moments later, Castillo and Cruz exchanged gunfire at the intersection of Pierce Street and Santa Isabel Avenue. Cruz sustained several gunshot wounds to his lower body. Paramedics rushed him to a local hospital. He was later airlifted to a San Antonio hospital.

Prior to the shootout, Cruz had allegedly shot at the Cadillac occupied by the woman and her five children, ages 2 months to 5 years old, according to police.

RELATED: Police officer shoots and wounds man in west central Laredo firefight

Initially, she told police that Cruz did not fire a weapon but used a knife to slash the tires, according to LPD.

No evidence of knife cuts were found on all four tires, only bullet holes on the tire(s) and body of the vehicle, states the affidavit.

Prior violence

A protective order prohibited Cruz from getting close to the woman. Associate Judge Roel Gonzalez issued the order a day after Cruz was arrested on domestic violence-related charges March 13.

Cruz is no stranger to the law.

He was 17 years old when he and two other people were arrested Jan. 21, 2012, after a brawl reported in the 2700 block of Markley Lane. Cruz allegedly punched two officers, according to police.

He was charged with two counts of assault on a public servant, resisting arrest and interfering with public duties.

MORE CRIME: Warrant issued for man who shot at officer

Court documents show he received pretrial diversion, a form of supervision typically given to first-time offenders in lieu of prosecution. Upon completing a pretrial diversion program, the case is dismissed.

Cruz pleaded guilty in 2015 to possession of a controlled substance in the 49th District Court. He was placed on community supervision for three years, according to court documents.
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A man who allegedly assisted in selling marijuana for profit in a local drug trafficking organization received a nine-year prison sentence Monday in federal court.

Juan Carlos Guero Duran plead guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance after reaching a plea agreement with the government on June 20, 2016, records state.

Three additional charges of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance were dismissed as part of the agreement.

On Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Marina Marmolejo sentenced Duran to serve 112 months in prison and five years of supervision upon his release, federal court records state.

Duran worked with a criminal drug trafficking organization that sold marijuana and distributed the proceeds amongst the members of the organization, according to the plea agreement filed in his case.

READ MORE: 19 businesses in Laredo caught selling, serving minors since start of last year

Marmolejo ordered Duran to participate in a comprehensive 500 hour drug program while incarcerated as a condition of his sentence, court records state.

His sentencing came as part of a multi-year Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Investigation conducted by the DEA, Homeland Security and the U.S. Marshals Service Gulf Coast Fugitive Task Force.

The investigation garnered indictments for 12 individuals, charging them with possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance.

Co-defendants Rene Armenta, Yolanda Armenta, Jose Luis Carvajal, Juan Carlos Carvajal, Juan Ramon Castillo, Isidro Cruz-Sanchez, Hector Garcia-Rios, Rogelio Herrera, Eduardo Hurtado de Anda, Ruben Rodriguez-Rodriguez, and Pedro Vasquez previously received sentences ranging from probation to eight years in prison for their involvement.

Records state Duran conspired with co-defendants between July 1, 2013 and Nov. 24, 2015 to possess with intent to distribute at least 1,000 kilograms of marijuana.

RELATED: Laredo PD officer released from intensive care after shot in face during central Laredo shootout

During the course of the conspiracy, Duran was responsible for transporting numerous loads of marijuana from the Laredo area to other parts of Texas and beyond.

Court documents indicate agents used intercepted cellphone communications between Duran and co-conspirators to record the transport of marijuana bundles on several occasions.

Records also document large quantities of marijuana discovered during traffic stops, checkpoint inspections and searches of residences belonging to the defendants.

Some drug loads seized by law enforcement ranged in size from 31 kilograms to 319 kilograms.

These seizures took place in Atascosa, Webb and Bexar counties between July 17, 2013 and Jan. 24, 2015, according to court records.
A priest was recently arrested on the suspicion of driving drunk after he crashed into a ditch in Zapata County, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Angel Valenciano-Cancino, 38, was arrested May 10 and charged with driving while intoxicated, a misdemeanor. He is out on bond from the Zapata County Regional Jail.
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Four days after one of his signature policy achievements fell when President Trump declared the United States would withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, former Secretary of State John Kerry in San Francisco on Monday defended a second landmark of his legacy, the Iran nuclear deal.

Kerry, speaking at the nuclear non-proliferation and nonprofit Ploughshares Funds annual gala in Fort Mason, issued a call for the Trump administration to renew its role as a diplomatic leader. The former secretary warned of troubling times for democracy and said the Paris exit established a precarious precedent.

Of his own endeavors since leaving the White House in January, Kerry was vague  saying that he is working with several Bay Area organizations, which he did not name, on climate change and nuclear issues.

He also said he planned in two to three weeks to visit Vietnam to try to dissuade government officials from building a series of coal-burning power plants.

On Iran, he dinged President Trump and hard-liners in Congress who have long called for a tougher deal.

Congressional Republican leadership, who opposed the deal from the start, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, have said they support new sanctions for Iran even if the deal stays in place. Republicans argue that the Obama administrations negotiations were far too lenient and risked allowing Iran, designated as a state sponsor of terrorism, to obtain a nuclear weapon.

Though Trump promised in his presidential campaign to tear up the Iran deal, the White House signaled in mid-May that it would at least temporarily keep the agreement in place.

It doesnt make sense, folks, to risk a step that gets us nothing, Kerry said of calls to impose stricter sanctions on Iran.

The longtime politician said he was encouraged by Trumps appointments of James Mattis as secretary of defense and H.R. McMaster as national security adviser. The two, Kerry said, are good people, who ought to serve as the adults in the room.

He described U.S. oversight of Irans nuclear production as a system thats working, saying the countrys 19,000 centrifuges had been reduced about two-thirds under the agreement, as well as other measures of progress.

Trumps recent refusal to explicitly back NATOs Article 5, which mandates the joint defense of a member nation under attack, also troubled Kerry, he said. He alluded to that, as well as growing right-wing populist movements in the European Union, as signs of global stability stumbling.

Still, Kerry said the two big threats inside the United States were the Citizens United court case that stopped campaign spending limits for corporations and the process of gerrymandering.

Asked in a question-and-answer session about his 2014 remarks on climate change as a weapon of mass destruction that rivaled terrorism as a threat to the world, he said the evidence supporting the supposition has since become more clear.

All you have to do is see the torrent of water pouring off the Greenland rock, or the Antarctic ice sheet destabilized, he said. Scientists, people whose life is invested in this are telling you, This is growing in instability, and the threat is that whole parts of the ice sheet will break off.

Though he at times depicted the world as a dark place facing a growing number of complex, multinational issues, Kerry said that on the whole he remained optimistic  and certainly so when it comes to climate.

He said the more than 200 so-called Climate Mayors from major U.S. cities who have vowed to stick to Paris standards  including San Franciscos Mayor Ed Lee  were a good sign, as were dozens of states passing voluntary clean-energy laws.

Were going to exceed Paris, easily even without the backing of the federal government, he said.

And, drawing a knowing laugh from the crowd of Ploughshares donors, Kerry said the presidents withdrawal from the Paris Agreement does not take effect until the day after the 2020 election.

Michael Bodley is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mbodley@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @michael_bodley
GALVESTON  Galveston County commissioners have approved a settlement agreement for the $1.75 million purchase of Rollover Pass, advancing plans to close one of Texas's most renowned fishing spots following a long legal battle.

Commissioners unanimously voted to accept the settlement after hearing emotional pleas to keep the pass open from anglers and residents of Gilchrist, the Bolivar Peninsula community adjacent to Rollover Pass.

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"Please don't take my livelihood away," pleaded Nancy Bachman, owner of Miss Nancy's Bait Camp at the popular fishing spot.

The owners of the property, the Gulf Coast Rod, Reel and Gun Club Inc., agreed to the settlement last month. But the Gilchrist Community Association has refused to agree to the settlement and is pursuing a case in federal court.

"We did reject the settlement at the mediation," said Ted Vega, association president. Vega said he was ready to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. "We're not done by a long shot."

Winston Cochran, the attorney representing the community association in the federal lawsuit, urged county commissioners to ignore their agreement to take possession of Rollover Pass and turn it over to the Texas General Land Office for closure.

"You don't have to be bossed around by the state, you don't have to do their bidding," Cochran said.

After the public testimony, commissioners voted 3-2 against an agenda item that would have dropped the eminent-domain lawsuit and kept the pass open. The dissenting commissioners then joined the majority in approving the deal to acquire the property.

County Court-at-Law Judge Barbara Roberts on April 19 ruled that Galveston County could exercise eminent domain to take possession of Rollover Pass. All that remained was a jury trial to set the amount of compensation the county would pay the Rod, Reel and Gun Club. The county commissioners' vote Tuesday will bring an end to legal proceedings in the state courts.

Land Office spokeswoman Brittany Eck said the settlement must be finalized before the agency takes steps to close the pass. Once all the legal procedures are completed, the Land Office will complete the engineering and design and begin procuring contracts for closing the pass, Eck said.

The county sued the club at the behest of the Land Office, which has been trying to close the man-made canal linking the Gulf of Mexico with East Bay since receiving permission from the Legislature in 2009. The state said Rollover Pass was accelerating erosion on the peninsula and dumping sand into the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway that had to constantly be removed at great expense. Land Office studies also determined that closure of the pass would improve the environment.

The Land Office has no authority to use eminent domain to close the pass, but Galveston County does. The county agreed to exercise its eminent-domain right to take Rollover Pass in exchange for the Land Office's promise to build a $6 million fishing pier.

Eck said the final design for the pier will be determined after the pass is closed.

Bachman, who said 87 percent of her business is generated from fisherman at the pass, is depending on the pier to keep her business open: "If they build a pier it would be wonderful."
Tuo Zhen (L), vice minister of the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and a Kazakhstan's official attend the release ceremony of the Kazakh version of Chinese President Xi Jinping's book "Xi Jinping: the Governance of China" in Astana, Kazakhstan, on June 5, 2017.(Xinhua/Zhou Liang)

The launch ceremony of the Kazakh-language version of President Xi Jinping's book, Xi Jinping: The Governance of China, was held on Monday in the First President Library in Astana, Kazakhstan's capital.

The book demonstrates China's development theory and path, and internal and foreign policies, according to Tuo Zhen, deputy head of Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

"The publication of the Kazakh-language version of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China opens a new window to Kazakhstan people to understand more about China, and provides a new platform for both countries to communicate over issues about governance of our countries," Tuo said.

Chinese Ambassador to Kazakhstan Zhang Hanhui said the new edition offers the people of Kazakhstan a firsthand acquaintance with Xi's insights.

"Since the new book has been published before the visit of President Xi to Kazakhstan, we believe the two countries will enhance mutual trust and better strategic coordination," Zhang said.

Bachtitem Timurblatter, deputy director of the Kazakhstan Presidential Administration, said Kazakh readers will be able to better understand how Chinese people realize the Chinese Dream, and will learn about the determination of the Chinese government in the anti-corruption campaign.

The book contains 79 speeches, talks, interviews, notes and letters of the Chinese leader between November 2012 and June 2014.

More than 6.2 million copies have been distributed around the world.

The book event opens a series of activities on Sino-Kazakh cooperation ahead of Xi's visit. The China-Kazakhstan Media Dialogue, also on Monday, saw senior officials of mainstream media from both countries discuss the media's role in boosting ties between the countries.

Tuo said media from China and Kazakhstan played a significant role in enhancing Sino-Kazakh relations. Tuo encouraged media of both countries to provide more coverage of the Belt and Road Initiative and become witnesses to Sino-Kazakh friendship.
As Maria Cuevas stood on May 30 outside her north Pasadena home sweeping trash from the sidewalk, water gushed from the edge of her yard and into the street. Six days before, she and a dozen others who live in a quiet neighborhood behind Richey Elementary School called the "Mayor's Action Line" to report a water main break.

"We keep waiting, but no one comes to fix the problem," she said.'

She and others also reported that trash trucks hadn't make their weekly rounds and mountains of trash and brush lined both sides of the street.

City work crews arrived to fix the broken main on June 2, City Councilman Ornaldo Ybarra said.

The city's public works director, Robin Green, said repair crew employees work four 10-hour days Monday through Thursday, making any weekend emergency repairs problematic.

"When our workers got out there, it turned out to be a very minor break," Green said. "Normally, it only takes a day or so for us to respond to calls. But, Memorial Day weekend created a delay since we no longer offer overtime pay for repair crews to come out on Saturdays or Sunday."

Once workers arrived, the water main break was repaired in less than a day, Green said.

But Cuevas has a list of other needs for the neighborhood.

She said she hopes the city fixes potholes in the street and installs a speed bump.

"Kids like to play outside here and someone could get hurt," said Cuevas, whose husband of more than 50 years died of cancer less than a month ago. She still has a young daughter at home. She also helps care for her granddaughter.

"This road is very bad; somebody needs to fix this," she said.

Ybarra, who represents the District A neighborhood where Cuevas lives, says such problems are common in the northern part of town. He said a weeklong delay while kids walk home from school in ankle-deep water is too long.

"The way I look at it, this is an example that there's no sense of urgency when it comes to repairs and city services for north Pasadena residents," Ybarra said. "Citywide, there's been no plan for maintenance and repairs over the last eight years. Projects aren't prioritized, and it's just a matter of which way the political winds are blowing at any given moment. It's sad. I see a lot of mismanagement."

Now term-limited, Ybarra will give up his council seat next month. Daniel Vela and Felipe Villarreal are in a June 10 runoff on Sunday for the seat. "The council is supposed to provide oversight. We didn't do what we were supposed to do and this is what happens," Ybarra said. "Hopefully, the next council will provide a better set of checks and balances."

Sewage overflows

The Memorial Day water main break signals deeper problems with north Pasadena drainage infrastructure.

According to a recent Texas Commission on Environmental Quality violation report, raw sewage leaked onto the streets and yards of Pasadena neighborhoods 29 times over a one-year period.

All but two of the incidents documented between Oct. 31, 2013 and Sept. 23, 2014 were reported in north Pasadena with more than half in districts A and C. Nine locations are notated as still needing improvements to prevent further problems.

One north Pasadena resident called TCEQ officials in October 2014 to report the sewer lines under his front yard were collapsing, causing large sinkholes and damage to his plumbing system.

Public works director Robin Green said that wastewater overflows are related to heavy rains and that all the problem spots have since been repaired.

The reason most of the overflows happened in north Pasadena is because that area was developed decades before south-side neighborhoods, Green said. The infrastructure in the north side is much older, and repairs are going to be an issue going forward, he said.

Violations issued by the commission also included citations for not having properly licensed workers at the Vince Bayou Water Treatment plant, which is on the north side, for a period of more than two months. During that time, plant recording and measuring equipment wasn't properly calibrated for almost six weeks, investigators reported.

"We pay (contractor) Severn Trent to run the plant; so they will pay that portion of the fines," Green said.

In total, the city was fined $21,126 for the violations.

TCEQ commissioners are expected to gather for a workshop in the coming weeks to finalize an enforcement order related to the 29 sewage overflow incidents.
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The Woodlands College Park High School graduates are preparing for their futures, and those adventures are sure to take them in many directions.

For valedictorian Annie Zhang and salutatorian Nivva Emmi, while they are moving toward different colleges, they are both inspired by the need to do more for others.

Zhang is slated to leave Texas and attend Johns Hopkins University in the fall. She will double major in biology and history, with the intention of studying pre-medicine. While Zhang ultimately wants to attend a top 10 medical school and be a doctor, she hopes to enact political change later in life, specifically in health care.

"I'm definitely very excited about the political activism scene out there (JHU), and I'm really excited to be able to take on leadership roles and speak out about things I'm really passionate about," Zhang said.

In college, she hopes to spread awareness about rape culture on college campuses. Zhang admits public speaking "terrified" her in high school, so she hopes speaking about her passions will encourage her to speak up.

In her junior year, Zhang competed in DECA at an international level and Texas Science and Engineering Fair at a state level, among many other competitions. Discovering new ways to produce energy without depending on nonrenewable resources is also an interest of College Park's valedictorian.

Both Zhang and Emmi were part of the Academy of Science and Technology.

Like Zhang, Emmi also has a passion for humanitarian work. In her spare time, Emmi frequently volunteered with Memorial Hermann Hospital and became a shift leader. Additionally, after Emmi's summer 2016 class trip to an orphanage and refugee camp in Thailand, where she helped raise donations and supplies, she realized she wanted to lend a hand toward those in need.

"That experience really changed my life and getting to see other perspectives on what our purpose here is," Emmi said. "We have so many resources and opportunities to help other people, but we don't always take these opportunities. I've realized that we've been given these things to turn around and give back to others."

While at The University of Texas in Austin, Emmi hopes to be able to continue to help others and learn abroad during the summer.

She was accepted into the Business Honors Program and will pursue an undergraduate business management degree, before applying for medical school. The diversity and opportunities Austin offers is what encouraged Emmi to choose UT.

For those at CPHS who have yet to graduate, Emmi recommends believing the age-old saying of "Hard work pays off." She suggests to stop comparing oneself to achievements of others.

"Your efforts don't go unnoticed and you shouldn't let struggles of daily life affect your mood," Emmi said. "Once you realize your own self can change your mood, you can become a more happy, grateful and content person."
AMARILLO  Three defendants in two separate cases were sentenced Monday before U.S. District Judge Sidney Fitzwater for various methamphetamine distribution offenses. U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas made the announcement.

Judge Fitzwater sentenced Colleen Mossberger, 48, of Joliet, Illinois, to 120 months in federal prison following her guilty plea in February 2017 to one count of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. Mossberger has been in custody since the time of her arrest in September 2016.

According to documents filed in Mossbergers case, on Sept. 13, 2016, two Potter County deputies were working routine patrol on Interstate 40, in Potter County. The deputies stopped a vehicle for driving in the left lane not passing. The vehicle was occupied by Mossberger and a passenger. Mossberger and the passenger provided conflicting stories about their travels. A search of the vehicle revealed 1,316.7 grams of methamphetamine.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Potter County Sheriffs Office investigated the case.

Oscar Martin Cota, 25, of San Diego, California, was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison following his guilty plea in February 2017 to one count of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. Co-defendant Edgar Isaac Castaneda Cota, 25, a citizen of Mexico, was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison following his guilty plea also in February 2017 to the same offense. Both defendants have been in custody since their arrests in December 2016. Castaneda will be deported after serving his sentence.

According to documents filed in the case, on Dec. 10, 2016, a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper was working routine patrol on Interstate 40 in Carson County. The DPS trooper stopped a vehicle for speeding over the limit and the passenger not wearing a seatbelt. The vehicle was occupied by Cota and Castaneda. While speaking with Castaneda and Cota, the trooper noticed several indicators of possible criminal activity. A search of the vehicle revealed 6,698.9 grams of methamphetamine in the passenger side quarter panel. Cota and Castaneda were transporting the methamphetamine from California to Oklahoma in exchange for $1,500 each.

The DPS and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Frausto prosecuted the cases.
After Saturday's March for Truth, where activists called for answers on whether Russia meddled in the 2016 election, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., strolled offstage and straight into quicksand. Max Blumenthal, a dogged reporter working with the Baltimore-based Real News Network, brought Raskin on camera to ask what, exactly, Democrats wanted to know.

"We need an independent commission to get all the facts," Raskin said, offering the litany of possible Trump-Russia ties that he'd given to progressive and mainstream media for months.

Blumenthal wasn't sold. "You said that Russia attempted to hack [Emmanuel] Macron in the French elections," he said.

"Well, we know that!" said Raskin.

"The Washington Post has reported that the French cyber-intelligence agency has said that it's not true," said Blumenthal.

"Well, certainly, Macron was convinced of it," said Raskin.

"It was reported days ago," said Blumenthal.

For four minutes, until the congressman was pulled away by a staffer, an award-winning journalist with bylines at the Nation and Salon asked whether he'd been telling bellicose lies about Russia and the Trump team. "Why aren't we talking about jobs or racism?" Blumenthal asked.

That question, which has occupied much of the political left since Hillary Clinton's campaign first fingered Russia for a series of campaign hacks, has not gone away. This week, as former FBI director James Comey prepares to answer questions from the Senate Intelligence Committee, some prominent left voices warn that the party is wasting its time - or worse, that it is engaging in a new superpower slap-fight that will be used to further a hawkish agenda.

"We are in a new cold war with Russia that is totally unjustified given the facts," said Dan Kovalik, a labor lawyer and author of the "The Plot to Scapegoat Russia," officially released Tuesday. "Putin was the first international leader to call Bush after 9/11 to offer us help. I don't see them as this big enemy."

Left-wing skepticism of the "Trump/Russia" story has existed since Clinton's campaign first blamed hacks of the Democratic National Committee and campaign chairman John Podesta's emails on Russian interference. For five awkward months, Democrats from Clinton down to interim DNC chair Donna Brazile dodged questions about the contents of the emails by saying they would not comment on what appeared to be foreign meddling in the election.

"We've never had a foreign government trying to interfere in our election," Clinton said in the final televised debate with Trump - the second to include questions based on the hacked information. "We have 17 intelligence agencies, civilian and military, who have all concluded that these espionage attacks, these cyberattacks, come from the highest levels of the Kremlin, and they are designed to influence our election."

For some, Clinton was being too pat about emails that had found DNC staff growing frustrated with Bernie Sanders before the primary was over, and uncovered the contents of speeches she'd given to banks. Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein warned that Clinton might start World War III by creating a no-fly zone in Syria, antagonizing Russia. Some critics suggested that Trump, at least, was avoiding the Russia hysteria and making war less likely; some mocked the idea that Russia had been at all involved in the hacks, citing WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who questioned Clinton's "17 intelligence agencies" claim by pointing out that the number included the Coast Guard's intelligence unit.

"False thrillers will now be written about the Russians hacking the American elections," wrote director Oliver Stone last year. "Money and TV serials will be made. I've never read such hysterical junk in The New York Times (call it what it is - "fake news"), in which the editorials have become outrageous diatribes of alleged crimes by Russia."

Stone, who wrote a blurb for "The Plot to Scapegoat Russia," is now promoting his own sit-down interviews with Putin, early clips from which show Putin making eyebrow-raising arguments - "our intelligence agencies always conform to the law" - with no on-camera pushback.

Increasingly, as stories about a potential coverup of Russian contacts with the Trump campaign have ripped across the headlines, activists have worried that the party's looking for a deus ex machina end to the Trump administration instead of making a real policy argument.

"The Democrats are doing precisely what Trump is doing, arguing against things and not for anything," said RoseAnn DeMoro, the executive director of National Nurses United and the California Nurses Association, and a critic of the Democrats' Russia focus. "They don't forward policies, they react to what they conceive of as red meat. Squirrel! Squirrel! Squirrel! Invariably they make me question if they actually understand who is or should be their base."

Last month, DeMoro's nurses were at the forefront of a campaign for single-payer health care that made headlines for booing (and getting booed back by) some speakers at California's Democratic Party convention. DNC chair Tom Perez elicited groans at a party reception for saying he didn't know if Trump or Putin was the acting president. A story in the Observer, falsely claiming that House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi spent most of her speech discussing Russia - she spent more time talking health care - went viral.

"The D.C. legislators, Pelosi, etc. were trying to rally the troops around the same worn-out narrative, and it was clearly not working," said DeMoro. "They said Russia so many times that people started counting how many times Russia was mentioned in each speech."

The crux of the complaint is that Democrats, locked out of power in Washington, are focusing on Russia to the exclusion of other issues. That criticism befuddles some elected Democrats, who have seen the Russia issue boil over in their town halls, and who've simultaneously voted against most of the Trump agenda, slowing it to a snail's pace.

"People want us to keep trying to advance legislation that will strengthen infrastructure, that will affect their lives," said Sen. Christopher Coons, D-Del. "But they also say: What the heck was that? Get to the bottom of it." Asked about the idea that Democrats were being hawks toward Russia, Coons, laughed. "I'm sorry, you're concerned that our response might be too bellicose? I'm concerned that we might not be responding enough," he said.

Other Democrats said that Russia skeptics, loud on social media, were clearly outnumbered by constituents and other media voices. Stephen Colbert, who has become the highest-rated late night host since Trump won, regularly works Trump/Putin jokes into his monologues. (He apologized for one where the punchline was the president performing a sex act on the Russian president.) MSNBC, which for the first time in decades has vaulted past Fox News in ratings, is rife with Russia and Comey news.

Scott Dworkin, a Democratic fundraiser and pundit who advises the Russia-centric Democratic Coalition Against Trump, said that calls for the party to pivot off Russia were either misinformed or malicious.

"Anybody who says we shouldn't look into Russia at this point is either in it or a traitor," said Dworkin. "It's all about obstruction at this point. If there's one obstruction charge coming out of the Comey hearing, go to impeach. That's the agenda for the Democrats."

Dworkin pointed to the turmoils of Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., who stepped aside from the Russia probe despite his role atop the House Intelligence Committee, as proof that Republicans were sweating the investigation. (The Democratic Coalition has paid for a billboard in Nunes's district with the message "Hold a town hall. Let's talk about Russia.")

But to the skeptics on the left, Democrats were making little real headway. Michael Tracey, a reporter for the Young Turks news network who had Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., push past him after he asked skeptical Russia questions, asked why Democrats were so satisfied to keep searching for a smoking gun that never appears.

"This whole issue has been characterized from this lurching, ramping up of expectations that the smoking gun will be discovered imminently," said Tracey. "That's how this story has played out. It's sort of monomaniacal."
Just two days before Britain's general election, Prime Minister Theresa May had a somewhat strange confession to make.

Speaking to ITV news, May revealed that the naughtiest thing she has ever done was "running through fields of wheat" in her younger years.

"What's the naughtiest thing you ever did?" asked interviewer, Julie Etchingham.

"Oh, goodness me. Well, I suppose - gosh. Do you know, I'm not quite sure," May replied.

Etchingham pressed: "There must have been a moment when...."

"I have to confess, when me and my friend, sort of, used to run through the fields of wheat, the farmers weren't too pleased about that," May said.

In light of the prime minister's "wild" admission, Twitter, of course, erupted. Users responded with memes, sarcasm and the hashtags #FieldsOfWheat and #NaughtyTheresa

One user described the confession as "a harrowing tale from Theresa May's teenage delinquent past," while many others joined forces to mock May's response. "I remember those running through fields of wheatdays. Proper naughty!" tweeted one user.

While some were clearly amused at the prime minister's rebellious field-running days, others weren't quite so entertained. Believing that May was downplaying her "naughtiness," hundreds tweeted their own answers to the question.

"Cutting 20,000 police, 1300 armed police, 5% of MI5, lying to public about it, suppressing report on funding terrorists and report on NHS"

"home office racism vans"

"what about selling arms to Saudi Arabia"

"Goodness me. Gosh. Well, I must confess me and my friends cut police to levels that harmed our national security," wrote Dan Gilbert.

Even Scotland's first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, couldn't resist sharing May's confession with her 600,000 followers.

"Posting without comment!"
WASHINGTON - The Drug Enforcement Administration has long warned potential users of the dangers of fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid that often contributes to overdoses and is sometimes laced in heroin or cocaine.

Now they're worried about the substance's effect on a different group: The police and firefighters who might touch or inhale it incidentally while on the job.

The DEA on Tuesday released a video targeted at emergency responders who might come into contact with fentanyl, warning them to take care if they see any sort of white powdery substance.

"Assume the worst," Acting DEA Administrator Chuck Rosenberg says in the video. "Don't touch this stuff or the wrappings that it comes in without the proper personal protective equipment."

The video features two New Jersey officers who were both sickened merely by handling the drug. Officials at a news conference at DEA headquarters on Tuesday referenced an ever grimmer case of an Ohio officer who passed out about an hour after merely brushing the substance off his shirt with his bare hand. That officer had to be revived with four doses of Narcan, a drug that blocks the effects of opioids and that officers use to try to treat an overdose.

As they released the video, DEA and Justice Department officials said they were alarmed by the recent influx of fentanyl and of drug overdoses generally. In 2015, Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein said, more than 52,000 people in the United States died due to drug overdoses - 33,000 from heroin, fentanyl and other opioid drugs. He said preliminary numbers for 2016 showed an increase to almost 60,000 deaths.

"Some people say we should be more permissive, more tolerant, more understanding about drug abuse," Rosenstein said. "I say we should be more honest, and we should be forthcoming with the American people about the clear and present danger that we now face."

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has taken a hard-line stance toward drug use. Last month, he directed his federal prosecutors to pursue the most severe penalties possible, even when those included mandatory minimum sentences. That directive reversed the previous administration's charging policy and signaled a return to the so-called war on drugs.

Civil rights groups, Republican lawmakers and even the conservative Koch brothers issued swift condemnations of the policy, though the National Association of Assistant United States Attorneys, which represents federal prosecutors, embraced it.

Rosenberg said he routinely charged the "most serious readily provable offense," as Sessions had directed, during his days as a prosecutor.

"And so I think that makes sense," Rosenberg said. "We have to be thoughtful. We have to be judicious. He's not asking us to do anything but that."

---

https://www.dea.gov/druginfo/fentanyl.shtml
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said neighboring Pakistan has instigated an "undeclared war of aggression" against his nation after repeated bombings in Kabul in the past week, including one of the deadliest attacks on the capital in 16 years.

Afghanistan wants the world to make good on a promise to end state-sponsored terrorism, Ghani said on Tuesday at the opening of a conference in Kabul attended by delegates from 23 nations aimed at finding a way to peace in the war-torn nation.

While nobody has claimed the attacks in the capital, Afghanistan's intelligence service blamed the Haqqani Network supported by Pakistan's main spy agency for a bombing outside the diplomatic Green Zone in Kabul last week. The explosion killed more than 150 people and wounded more than 450. That was followed by three blasts on Saturday at a funeral attended by politicians, including Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, who shares power with Ghani and escaped unharmed.

Pakistan has long been accused of arming and supplying groups, including the Haqqani Network and Taliban that operate in Afghanistan, in a bid to assert geopolitical goals using proxy forces. Pakistan's military in turn has also blamed Afghanistan of harboring insurgents it said were responsible for a spate of bombings in February. The two nations have also engaged in cross-border clashes this year.

Security has continued to deteriorate in Afghanistan with the resurgent Taliban claiming more territory and Islamic State militants also stepping up attacks. A U.S. watchdog said last month that a record number of civilians died in 2016, 16 years after then-U.S. President George W. Bush first sent special forces to the country after the Sept. 11 attacks to topple the Taliban regime which sheltered al-Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden.

Pakistan's foreign affairs adviser Sartaj Aziz in a statement on Sunday said he "strongly rejected the baseless and unfounded allegations" that Pakistan had any involvement with the May 31 bombing. Nafees Zakaria, a spokesman for Pakistan's foreign ministry, couldn't immediately be reached for comment on Tuesday.

President Donald Trump is now mulling whether to deploy as many as 5,000 extra troops to Afghanistan to bolster the 8,400 U.S. and Afghan forces.

Ghani reiterated on Tuesday that he wants peace talks with the Taliban, but said that it wasn't an "open-ended" opportunity. He said Afghanistan wanted to build strong political and economic ties with its neighbors.

There is talk of collapse of Afghanistan's government and the country becoming a training ground for groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad, according to Manoj Joshi, a distinguished fellow at the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation.

"If there is government collapse, all countries are affected because a country the size of Germany with virtually no policing, will become an open training camp for all kinds of Islamist radicals," Joshi said. "This would be a danger for the entire world."
ROME, June 5 (Xinhua) -- A joint policing project between China and Italy was presented Monday in Rome's historic Piazza di Spagna.

A group of 10 uniformed Chinese officers, both men and women, will be patrolling busy tourist areas in Rome, Florence, Naples, and Milan jointly with their Italian colleagues for the next 20 days.

The Chinese police officers will be unarmed, mostly on foot, and have received Italian language training before coming to Italy.

"Both the Italian and the Chinese sides believe this initiative to be very useful," Deputy Police Chief Antonino Cufalo told reporters at the foot of the Spanish Steps rising from the center of the piazza.

"It is one of the most positive channels through which to develop international cooperation," said the senior officer, adding that the project is based on "visibility".

"We are certain that for the Chinese present in Italy, as for Italians present in China, the fact of being able to see friendly uniforms is very important," Cufalo said of the joint patrol project that was first launched last year on an experimental basis.

The idea is to make Chinese tourists feel safer and more at ease. This seemed to be the case for a couple from Jiangsu Province, Li Dong and his wife Luo Weiqi, both 30, who were visiting Rome for the first time.

The couple now residing in Shanghai had been in the Italian capital for eight days, and were heading home on Tuesday.

Asked what they think of the joint policing project, Li said "We think it's a great idea, because Rome and Italy are very, very strange for us."

"The language and the culture are very strange for us, so we need help," Li, a construction project manager, told Xinhua.

A policewoman from the Shanghai Public Security Bureau who is a part of the joint Italy-China patrol agreed. "The Chinese tourists were very surprised to see us here," 32-year-old Yang Yujie told Xinhua.

"Some asked us if they could take photos together with us, while others asked for directions," said Yang, who said her "passion for the uniform" led her to become a policewoman eight years ago.

"I arrived yesterday," she said. "It is my first time in Italy and in Roma -- it's a very beautiful and cultural city and country," she added.

This is not the first time Italy has engaged in joint patrols with other countries, but it is a first for China in Europe, Cufalo said.

Italy has carried out joint patrols with Croatia, Poland, and Spain in the past. However, it is the first time China has engaged in such a project with a European country, according to Cufalo.

The joint police patrols will be on hand to help Chinese citizens and travelers in Italy through June 25.
If President Donald Trump's apparent shove of the president of Montenegro was a metaphor for his travels in Europe last month, the London mayor's call for Britain to cancel Trump's state visit could be a metaphor for Europe's shove back.

In London Mayor Sadiq Khan's first real jab at the president after Trump took Khan's post-terrorist-attack reassurances to Londoners out of context, he told Channel 4 news on Monday: "I don't think we should roll out the red carpet to the president of the USA in the circumstances where his policies go against everything we stand for."

There's no indication Trump's date-to-be-determined state visit - a banquet at Buckingham Palace alongside the queen - will get canceled; it's not up to the mayor of London to decide. But Khan's comments epitomize the reality that whatever benefit of the doubt Europe had mustered for the new U.S. president is now gone. Some top European leaders have indicated over the past few weeks that they've given up on having a good relationship - or any relationship - with Trump.

Fresh off meeting with Trump in Brussels, German Chancellor Angela Merkel offered a dark assessment of Germany's relationship with a Trump-run United States. Without mentioning Trump by name, she said: "The times when we could completely rely on others are, to an extent, over."

The Washington Post later reported that when Trump was addressing his European colleagues at NATO's new headquarters in Brussels: "The normally disciplined Merkel later said it was all she could do not to make a face as Trump spoke, according to someone who traveled back to Germany with her."

Other U.S. allies in Europe have used Trump's decision to leave the global Paris climate accord as an opportunity to thumb their noses at the president.

France annotated/fact-checked the White House's promotional video on Trump's decision to leave the climate accord.

And the president of the European Union Council met with a top Chinese official, announcing: "Today China and Europe have demonstrated solidarity with future generations and responsibility for the whole planet. We are convinced that yesterday's decision by the United States to leave the Paris agreement is a big mistake."

Trump has never been big on diplomacy with Europe. Every once in a while, in an interview, he'll say a "strong Europe" is important to him. But more often than not, he's used Europe as a talking point of what NOT to do here in America. Here he is in an interview with Fox News in January, shortly after being inaugurated:

"But then you go to other countries and you look at Nice and you look at different places all over Europe and you look at what's happening with Germany, it's a mess. The crime is incredible. And we're just not going to let that happen here."

And when Trump actually went to Europe in May, The Post reported he showed more interest in berating European leaders than befriending them.

U.S.-Europe relationships have been strained before. But it's remarkable that four months into his presidency, top European leaders already seem to have given up on having a relationship with Trump.
Justin M. Myers has received an Air Force Reserve Officers Training Corps scholarship to attend the University of Kansas-Lawrence.

Scholarships are awarded based on academic achievement, extracurricular activities, physical fitness, specific performance or accomplishments and leadership abilities, as well as personal interviews.

The scholarship entitlements include tuition and fees, an annual allowance of $600 for textbooks and a monthly stipend for up to 10 months of each school year that the cadet completes at the host college or university.

Upon graduation from the host college and completion of the ROTC program, the cadet receives a bachelors degree and a commission as a second lieutenant in the Air Force. He or she also incurs a military service obligation of four years (10 years for pilots) of active-duty enlistment.

Myers is the son of Richard L. and Lorae A. Myers of Valley Falls, Kansas, and grandson of Patricia A. and Thomas L. Palmiter of Gladwin.

He is a 2017 graduate of Valley Falls High School, Valley Falls, Kansas.
Alternating lanes on Interstate 10 in Orange County will close nightly over the next four days for road striping, according to the Texas Department of Transportation.



From 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. through June 9, alternating lanes of I-19 eastbound stretching from FM 1442 and Coles Creek will be closed.
An armed man on an alleged mission to murder three of his doctors in the Bay Area was busted last week while en route from the Central Valley, officials said Tuesday.

Yue Chen, 58, rented a Nissan Rogue, packed up his two semi-automatic handguns and started off from his hometown of Visalia (Tulare County) on Wednesday with a plan to execute three physicians at their homes in the Bay Area, Palo Alto police officials said.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCRA)  A Sacramento firefighter/paramedic has been charged with a misdemeanor count of sexual battery, the Sacramento Fire Department said.

Jared Evans, 32, turned himself in Monday after a warrant for his arrest was issued, officials said. He was booked into jail and then released on a $3,000 bail.

The charges stem from an April 1 incident while Evans was on duty, the department said.

"When these allegations were brought to the attention of fire administration, we immediately notified the office of public safety and accountability and requested a full law enforcement investigation," Sacramento Fire Chief Walt White said.

According to court documents, Evans was working as a paramedic when he allegedly touched an 19-year-old woman inappropriately while she was having seizures. The woman was in the back of the ambulance and was being transported to the hospital. The incident was witnessed by a Sacramento Fire Department paramedic intern, according to the court documents.

The court documents say Evans placed his hands down the woman's shirt and pulled her right breast out of her bra while she was "completely unresponsive to pain and verbal commands, she was out." Evans then slid the woman's breast back into her shirt, later telling the intern, "Sorry man, I had to."

The documents allege Evans touched the woman against her will "for the specific purpose of sexual arousal, sexual gratification or sexual abuse," not for medical care.

The intern reported the incident to a supervisor on April 16 and police began investigating on April 18.

Police then questioned the woman on April 24, the documents show. She told investigators while her eyes were closed and she couldn't move, she could hear the paramedics and feel everything. She then went on to tell police that she heard Evans say she has big breasts. She then felt a hand go down the top of her shirt and pull out her breast.

According to court documents, the woman said she couldn't see who touched her breast.

When police questioned Evans on April 28, he denied touching the patient and making comments about her breasts, according to the documents. He did not respond to KCRA's requests for comment on Monday.

Evans is a two-year veteran of the Sacramento Fire Department. Records show he previously volunteered at the Cameron Fire Department and now lives in Placerville. Evans has been on paid administrative leave since April 21.

"The Sacramento Fire Department takes all citizen complaints seriously, and works quickly to take appropriate actions to mitigate them," White said in a statement. "Although the case is ongoing, and all facts are not yet known, the Sacramento Fire Department wants to assure the public that we are fully cooperating with the investigation, and working to bring the matter to a successful conclusion."

Evans has a court appearance scheduled for Sept. 26.

No other details have been released.

This article originally appeared on KCRA.com
Chinese detainees in Zambia (file photo)

Zambia agreed on Monday to release 31 Chinese nationals it was detaining in the African country after Beijing's diplomatic efforts to help repatriate the individuals it claims were held through selective enforcement.

According to Red Star News, a Chinese online publication, Chinese embassy staffers said Zambia agreed to release the Chinese detainees after China's Ambassador to Zambia Yang Youming work-ed with Steven Kampyongo, the Zambian home affairs minister.

"Zambia agreed to release all the 31 Chinese nationals, and the Zambian government won't prosecute them. But all 31 have to leave Zambia today, with no exceptions," the report said.

The 31 Chinese have not been expelled and can return to Zambia in the future, it said, adding that the information still needs to be confirmed.

Zambia detained the Chinese nationals working for a Chinese company and accused them of illegal mining in the country's copper belt. But the authorities failed to provide strong proof of their crimes, the Foreign Ministry has said.

"The government has always asked Chinese companies and citizens to respect the laws of the countries where they operate and does not shield illegal action," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular news briefing on Monday.

"But China opposes selective law-enforcement actions against its citizens," she said.

She said the Chinese embassy sent a working group to urge Zambia to improve treatment of the detained.

Lin Songtian, the ministry's director-general of the Department of African Affairs, told a senior Zambian diplomat on Sunday that China understands and supports actions against illegal mining. However, Zambia had failed to provide strong proof of criminal activity by the 31 workers and held a pregnant woman and two malaria patients, Lin said.

China hoped Zambia would handle the incident according to the law appropriately and release the workers, Lin said.

The Zambian diplomat said his country cherishes its relations with China and will closely cooperate with China to properly handle the case.

He Wenping, a researcher at the Institute of West Asian and African Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said China has long assisted and supported Zambia and laid a solid foundation for a good working relationship between the two nations.

"For example, Beijing financed and built the Tazara Railway in the 1970s, which gave countries including Zambia access to a seaport" in Tanzania, she said.

Civil disputes in the mining industry are a new phenomenon between the two nations and they must be handled properly, she said.
Saudi Arabia's isolation of Qatar has been brewing since 1995, and the dispute's long past and likely lingering future are best explained by natural gas.

Not only was that the year when the father of the current emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, toppled his own pro-Saudi father, it was also when the tiny desert peninsula was about to make its first shipment of liquid natural gas from the world's largest reservoir. The offshore North Field, which provides virtually all of Qatar's gas, is shared with Iran, Saudi Arabia's hated rival.

The wealth that followed turned Qatar into not just the world's richest nation, with an annual per-capita income of $130,000, but also the world's largest LNG exporter. The focus on gas set it apart from its oil producing neighbors in the Gulf Cooperation Council and allowed it to break from domination by Saudi Arabia, which in Monday's statement of complaint described Qataris as an "extension of their brethren in the Kingdom" as it cut off diplomatic relations and closed the border.

Instead, Qatar built its own ties with other powers including Iran, the U.S. -- Qatar hosts U.S. Central Command -- and more recently, Russia. Qatar's sovereign wealth fund agreed last year to invest $2.7 billion in Russia's state-run Rosneft Oil Co.

Qatar used to be a kind of Saudi vassal state, but it used the autonomy that its gas wealth created to carve out an independent role for itself," said Jim Krane, energy research fellow at Rice University's Baker Institute, in Houston, Texas. "The rest of the region has been looking for an opportunity to clip Qatar's wings."

That opportunity came with President Donald Trump's recent visit to Saudi Arabia, when he called on "all nations of conscience" to isolate Iran. When Qatar disagreed publicly, in a statement the government later said was a product of hacking, the Saudi-led retribution followed.

Trump on Tuesday threw his weight behind the Saudi-led diplomatic isolation of Qatar, calling it just punishment for the country's financial support of Iran and Islamic extremists.

"During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology," Trump said on Twitter. "Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!"

He followed with two additional tweets, claiming that his meeting with Persian Gulf Arab leaders in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia earlier this month was "already paying off."

"Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!" he said.

The U.S. had little notice from its Arab allies before their sudden move on Monday to isolate Qatar, according to two administration officials. But Trump was aware at the time of his meeting in Saudi Arabia of longstanding tensions among the Gulf nations fueled by Qatar's coziness with Iran, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Critically, Qatar's natural gas output has been free from entanglement in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, the oil cartel that Saudi Arabia dominates.

The new emir, having survived a counter-coup attempt in 1996, didn't build pipelines that would have integrated Qatar into the markets of its Gulf neighbors. Two senior Qatari government officials alleged during the trial of the coup plotters in 2000 that Bahrain helped to organize the attempt with Saudi Arabia's consent, according to a report by the BBC.

At the time, those much richer oil states saw natural gas as virtually worthless, useful mainly for injecting back into oil wells to improve extraction rates. They were willing to pay only a fraction of the world market price for LNG, according to a paper Krane co-authored with Qatar University's Steven Wright.

The sole pipeline built, the Dolphin project connecting Qatar's North Field to the United Arab Emirates and Oman, has operated at half to two thirds capacity. Contracts signed last year should fill the rest, yet the vast majority of Qatar's exports will continue to go to markets in Asia and Europe.

More recently, demand for LNG to produce electricity and power industry has been growing in the Gulf states. They're having to resort to higher-cost LNG imports and exploring difficult domestic gas formations that are expensive to get out of the ground, according to the research. Qatar's gas has the lowest extraction costs in the world.

Qatar gas wealth enabled it to develop foreign policies that came to irritate its neighbors. It backed the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Hamas in the Gaza Strip and armed factions opposed by the UAE or Saudi Arabia in Libya and Syria. Gas also paid for a global television network, Al Jazeera, which at various times has embarrassed or angered most Middle Eastern governments.

Above all, gas prompted Qatar to promote a regional policy of engagement with Shiite Iran to secure the source of its wealth.

Gas isn't the immediate cause of the current showdown, but "you can question why Qatar has been unwilling to supply its neighboring countries, making them gas poor," said Wright, the academic, speaking by telephone from the Qatari capital Doha. "There probably was an expectation that Qatar would sell gas to them at a discount price."

Adding to regional frustrations, in 2005, Qatar declared a moratorium on the further development of the North Field that could have provided more gas for local export.

Qatar said it needed to test how the field was responding to its exploitation, denying that it was bending to sensitivities in Iran, which had been much slower to draw gas from its side of the shared field. That two-year moratorium was lifted in April, a decade late, after Iran for the first time caught up with Qatar's extraction rates.

"People here are scratching their heads as to exactly what the Saudis expect Qatar to do," said Gerd Nonneman, professor of international relations and Gulf studies at Georgetown University's Doha campus. "They seem to want Qatar to cave in completely, but it won't call the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization, because it isn't. And it isn't going to excommunicate Iran, because that would jeopardize a relationship that is just too fundamental to Qatar's economic development."
One of five Port Arthur silos that has raised health concerns for nearby residents, collapsed Sunday morning.

Around 4:20 a.m., the smoldering German Pellets Texas and Texas Pellets Inc. silo, which holds wood pellets made from logs, bark, wood chips and sawdust, ruptured and collapsed, according to Port Arthur spokesperson Risa Carpenter. Officials confirmed that no one was "in the collapse zone when the collapse occurred and no injuries were reported."
WASHINGTON - Presidents invariably encounter key moments where they need to rely on scientific expertise. George W. Bush faced an anthrax attack after 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. Barack Obama faced the Gulf oil spill and the Ebola outbreak. Now President Donald Trump has made a momentous decision about climate change.

"When the crisis occurs, whether it's an oil well blowout or an emerging disease or a tunnel collapse at a nuclear facility, that's too late to get up to speed," said Rush Holt, the CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. "You want people who are up to speed before the crisis occurs."

Trump is facing down science-focused problems and issues with a key limitation: Lack of staffing. As of June 6, 2017, Trump had announced a nominee for just 7, or 15 percent, of 46 top science posts in the federal government that require Senate confirmation, according to a Post analysis.

This failure to fill top science jobs across the federal government has become even more pointed in light of his Paris choice. Recaps of Trump's decision-making process have highlighted many influences upon it, but none of them principally scientific in nature.

It's also not clear whom he would consult for advice about climate change: Trump has not appointed a presidential science adviser, nor has he appointed a head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a lead federal agency that focuses on climate change science, or a chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

Trump tweeted Monday that Democrats were "taking forever to approve my people," but that wouldn't apply in the case of these science jobs - because no one has been formally nominated yet.

Overall, Trump is moving slower on science appointments than recent past presidents of both parties.

By June 6 2009, Obama had formally announced nominees for 25 of these posts (or 26 if you include one position, the Energy Department's Undersecretary for Energy and Environment, that no longer exists).

George W. Bush, too, was ahead of Trump on science focused appointments at this time in the first year of his presidency. By June 6, 2001, Bush had sent the Senate nominations for at least 12 of them - and 14 if you count two science and technology focused positions that no longer exist.

The Post's ongoing analysis of vacant science positions is based on a National Academies of Sciences listing of the "most critical federal science and technology appointments," but is confined to Senate-confirmed posts. This list was then combined with a broader and ongoing analysis by the Partnership for Public Service of the administration's progress in filling 559 key Senate-confirmed posts in government, as well as data from the group on the timing of nominations in previous administrations.

The list does not include the Surgeon General. Trump was criticized for removing Vivek Murthy, Obama's last appointed Surgeon General, in April even though he had close to two years remaining in his term. "U.S. surgeons general are not supposed to be fired midterm," Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, D-Conn.,said at the time.

Among prominent science-focused posts, Trump has thus far named, and gotten confirmed, his commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Scott Gottlieb. Two other key officials with science-heavy portfolios at the Department of Health and Human Services have been named but not confirmed: Brett Giroir for assistant secretary for health, and Stephen Parente for assistant secretary for planning and evaluation.

In the White House, Kevin Hassett has been named to chair the Council of Economic Advisers (a post requiring expertise in economic research) and Neomi Rao has been named to head the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs within the Office of Management and Budget. Neither has been Senate-confirmed.

Finally, Trump has moved to fill two open posts at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. That rounds out his seven science focused appointments so far.

The most significant science post still unfilled is that of the presidential science adviser, a top White House official who also runs the Office of Science and Technology Policy and is supported by four Senate-confirmed associate directors. That's whose job it would be, in general, to brief the president on science and how it applies to policy.

By this time in his first year, Obama had his presidential science adviser confirmed by the Senate. That adviser, John Holdren, also had two Senate-confirmed associate directors in place. The Obama administration also had a chair of its Council on Environmental Quality, Nancy Sutley, in place in January of 2009.

Trump has also failed to fill his President's Council of Advisers on Science and Technology, a White House body whose membership does not require Senate confirmation. Obama named its co-chairs before even taking office.

Some agencies, like the Energy Department and the Department of Defense, are entirely without science-focused and technical leadership. The Energy Department currently has 7 major unfilled science posts.

In May, the understaffed department was confronted with a major science-focused challenge when a tunnel containing radioactive waste partially collapsed at the Hanford nuclear cleanup site in Washington state.

Trump has not yet named anyone to serve as the Department's assistant secretary for environmental management, the position overseeing a vast $6.3 billion annual cleanup program for the nation's nuclear waste sites, including Hanford.

The Energy Department says that no radiation was released due to the tunnel collapse, but has also admitted that the tunnel hole could have been open for days before it was noticed.

The department is "like a giant 100,000 ton aircraft carrier," said Robert Alvarez, a scholar at the Institute of Policy Studies who served in the Energy Department during the Clinton administration. "So you now have Rick Perry at the helm of this giant vessel, and he doesn't have any hydraulic lines connected to the rudder."

As with so many posts throughout the government, a career government official is filling the role of assistant secretary for environmental management in an "acting" capacity. But Alvarez suggested a Senate-confirmed assistant secretary who be better positioned to make the case to the White House or Congress for more funds to deal with the Hanford site.

"We're spending $ 2 billion a year at that site, and it definitely deserves some serious adult supervision at headquarters," he said.

Bush and Obama had already moved to fill this Energy Department post by this time in their respective administrations, and Obama's nominee, Ines Triay, had already been confirmed by the Senate.

It's important to note that for some key science posts, Trump or his administration may also have installed a person in an acting or other capacity, without formally naming that individual as the nominee or submitting a nomination to the Senate for confirmation. Or, a likely nominee may have been named in the press. Still, those appointments wouldn't be counted here.

In addition to how he has been advised on climate change, another major concern is that the Trump administration has proposed a federal budget that cuts deeply into science related funding, even as administrators of many key research-focused offices have not yet been named, much less Senate-confirmed.

For instance, Trump has not named an assistant secretary for research and development at the Environmental Protection Agency, the official who heads that agency's research arm, the Office of Research and Development. And yet nonetheless, the administration is seeking extremely deep cuts in the EPA's scientific research programs. Air and Energy research would be cut under the budget from $ 91.7 million in 2017 down to just $ 30.6 million in 2018, or more than 66 percent.

Obama formally nominated the chemist Paul Anastas to this post on May 21 of 2009.
Trump administration officials said Tuesday that President Trump was not "taking sides" in the deepening dispute among its key counterterrorism partners in the Persian Gulf, despite a morning of presidential Twitter posts congratulating Saudi Arabia - and himself - for cracking down on Qatar for alleged terrorism financing.

"During my recent trip to the Middle East, I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology," Trump tweeted. "Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!"

"So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off," he continued. "They said they would take a hard line on funding extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar."

On Monday, several of Qatar's gulf neighbors - Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain - were joined by Egypt and smaller nations in severing diplomatic ties with Qatar, ordering its diplomats and citizens to leave and threatening deeply intertwined regional trade links and air routes.

The eruption appeared motivated by years-long regional disputes rather than any recent disagreement or action. It followed a late-May visit in which Trump, while calling on the Arab and Muslim worlds to unite against the terrorist threat, heaped praise on Saudi Arabia as the regional leader.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, in New Zealand, called for dialogue among the neighbors. At the State Department, spokeswoman Heather Nauert said that "we recognize that Qatar continues to make efforts to stop the financing of terrorist groups, including prosecuting suspected financiers, freezing assets, introducing stringent controls into its banking system. They have made progress . . . but we recognize there is more work to be done."

"Let's move off this social-media thing," Nauert said of numerous questions about Trump's tweets, "because there are a lot of other important things that we need to discuss."

A senior administration official said: "We're not taking sides. If we are taking sides, we are taking the side of unity and cooperation" against terrorism. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive diplomatic issue.

Nauert and the senior official said the United States had been notified of Saudi Arabia's intention to break relations, shortly before it was announced Monday. But "I don't think the U.S. government has perfect clarity on what triggered that," the official said. "We know there have been issues between them."

The Pentagon, whose air operations for the Middle East are headquartered at a massive air base in Qatar where at least 10,000 U.S. service members are stationed, opted for balance and calming words.

"We recognize that there are differing views in the region that have gotten us to this point," it said in a statement. "United States and the Coalition are grateful to the Qataris for their longstanding support of our presence and their enduring commitment to regional security. We have no plans to change our posture in Qatar."

The statement said that restrictions Qatar's gulf neighbors have imposed on Qatari movements in and out of the region "have not impacted our air operations," including missions in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, shook his head in a Capitol hallway when shown Trump's tweets on a reporter's cellphone. "Each of these countries are people that are important to our country," he said. "Our general policy as America has been to work with each of them."

"We do have a base there that we operate out of that's very important," he said of Qatar.

During last month's visit to Saudi Arabia, where he delivered a speech to dozens of leaders from Muslim-majority nations gathered for the occasion, Trump met personally with Qatari emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad al-Thani. "We are friends. We've been friends now for a long time. . . . Our relationship is extremely good," Trump said at the beginning of the closed-door meeting. "One of the things we will discuss is the [Qatari] purchase of lots of beautiful military equipment."

The senior administration official said that Trump addressed U.S. concerns in private with the Qatari leader.

In New Zealand on Tuesday, Tillerson emphasized that all countries in the gulf region "have their own challenges to live up to that commitment to terminate support for terrorism, extremism, however it manifests itself anywhere in the world. And I would say that's true of all the GCC countries; they have their own work to do in that regard."

The GCC is the Gulf Cooperation Council, whose six members - Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar - signed a communique with Trump pledging to continue their joint fight against terrorism. The visit also culminated in what the administration said was $110 billion in arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

Small but influential Qatar has long been at odds with some of its regional neighbors over its support for the Muslim Brotherhood, which is seen by Saudi Arabia and other nations as a threat to the network of ruling monarchs and others across the region.

Qatar, the world's largest exporter of liquefied natural gas, also flexed its political influence by using its energy wealth to become a key patron of groups such as Hamas in the Gaza Strip and, in the mid-1990s, to launch the Al Jazeera media network, which has wide reach through the Arab-speaking world.

U.S. officials who monitor terrorist funding have said that gulf governments have made significant strides in ending official support for terrorist groups, although some money still flows from individuals, primarily in Kuwait and to a lesser extent from Qatar.

Saudi Arabia also has come under scrutiny for indirectly backing militant networks through groups promoting the Saudis' strict Wahhabi interpretation of Islam.

Gerd Nonneman, a professor of international relations at the Doha campus of Georgetown University, one of a number of U.S. universities with branches in the Qatari capital, said the dispute was fueled by "irritation" in Saudi Arabia and the UAE "with Qatar's independence of mind in foreign policy, including its support for the Arab Spring movements."

Qatar's backing for the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist organizations, Nonneman said in an email, has been driven by "a pragmatic calculation that these movements had considerable social traction and would likely become an important part of the post-Arab Spring era." Qatar, he noted, "also refused to join the campaign to fully isolate Iran . . . even while it furiously disagreed with Iran's policies in Syria."

The desire to isolate Iran, in addition to the fight against terrorist groups such as the Islamic State, has brought the Trump administration closer to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The administration has considered designating the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group, although it was dissuaded from immediate action by other Arab leaders, including King Abdullah in Jordan, one of several countries in which Brotherhood political parties have significant support.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, speaking Tuesday in Paris, mentioned Qatar's support for Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, saying that it "has to choose whether it must move in one direction or the other," according to Reuters.

In the wake of Monday's events, Kuwait took the lead in trying to broker a dialogue. The country's emir, Sabah Ahmed al-Sabah, headed to Saudi Arabia for talks with King Salman.

But there were signs that the feud was dividing the region beyond the gulf. Jordan, a close ally of Saudi Arabia, announced it was downgrading its diplomatic relations with Qatar and canceling the license of the local Al Jazeera office, according to the foreign ministry.

In Turkey, which has tried to mediate the dispute, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the Saudi-led actions against Qatar. "These developments, coming at a time when we need solidarity and cooperation more than ever, are no good for any country in the region," he said in remarks quoted by the semiofficial Anadolu news agency.

Qatari officials pushed back forcefully at the terrorism accusations and portrayed themselves as victims of a Saudi-led conspiracy. In a letter to U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Qatar's U.N. ambassador, Alya Ahmed al-Thani, said her country had been "a target of campaigns of fabricated accusations" and a "hidden agenda to cause harm to our country."

She referred to recently leaked emails allegedly written to the UAE's U.S. ambassador, Yousef al-Otaiba, which appear to show Otaiba trying to garner support in Washington for an anti-Qatar coalition.

---

Fahim reported from Istanbul and Raghavan from Cairo. Mike DeBonis in Washington contributed to this report.
(File photo)

SHANGHAI, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The first vessel carrying rice departed Shanghai on Monday, part of China's emergency food aid for drought-stricken Somalia.

The 2,821.75 tonne-rice, loaded in two ships, will be given to 223,500 Somali people as their provisions for four months, according to the China office of World Food Programme (WFP).

The rice is among the 2-billion-yuan (300-million-U.S.-dollar) emergency food aid plan announced by China for Belt and Road countries at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation last month.

WFP China Representative Qu Sixi said the Belt and Road Initiative would help countries to "help each other" eradicate poverty and hunger.

"WFP is extremely grateful to the Chinese government for its longstanding commitment to addressing urgent humanitarian needs to vulnerable people on the brink of famine," he said.

Half of the Somali population, including 363,000 acutely malnourished children aged under five, need urgent assistance as its drought intensifies, especially in southern and northeastern parts of the country, according to WFP.
(Photo/CGTN)

Two major state-owned enterprises stopped trading on Monday, fueling speculation over a potential merger between the two.

China Shenhua Energy Company Limited, the largest coal supplier and vendor in China, halted its trading on Monday.

The company later issued a statement, saying the halt was due to its dominant stakeholder, Shenhua Group Corp.'s possible plans to make major changes to China Shenhua.

The statement added that there might be major unstable elements in the company's future strategy.

Guodian Power Development Co., Ltd. also issued a similar note, saying its major shareholder China Guodian Corporation, one of China's largest coal-fired generators, is also planning major changes.

"To protect investors' benefit and avoid unusual fluctuations of the company's prices, Guodian Power Development has decided to halt trading from June 5, 2017," read the statement.

15 pairs of central state-owned enterprises have experienced mergers since 2012, according to Chinese financial news media Caixin.

Before the potential merger, China has 102 central state-owned enterprises, according to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC).

Caixin says that according to a SASAC meeting, this year's number of central state-owned enterprises will be reduced to under 100.

Reports have predicted the possibility of a potential merger between Shenhua and Guodian. "The statements between the two companies do not show certain connectivity, but the fact the two companies made big announcements on the same day, and the two are also on the upstream and downstream of the same industry chain indicate the possibility of a merger," said Caixin.

On June 2, a meeting held by SASAC said that mergers of central state-owned enterprises in the coal and electricity sector are one of the focuses of SOE reform this year.

In a government work report delivered by Premier Li Keqiang in March, China pledged to deepen SOE reform in 2017, promising measures such as introducing a mixed-ownership system and more efforts to make SOEs leaner, healthier, and perform better.

China Shenhua Energy Company's share price rose 2.62 percent to 22.29 yuan (3.3 US dollars) on Friday. Guodian Power Development rose 4.65 percent to 3.60 yuan on Friday (0.53 US dollars).
(File photo/Chinanews.com)

BEIJING, June 5 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Finance (MOF) said Monday it spent 1.55 billion yuan (about 228.3 million U.S. dollars) to support "red tourism" in 2016.

The funds were mainly used to promote themed tours to historical sites which educate tourists on the history of the Communist Party of China, and on renovation of such sites, according to a ministry statement.

The MOF said it will continue to fund "red tourism", to help bring more people at some underdeveloped sites out of poverty.

In another statement, the MOF said it has allocated 5.1 billion yuan to support free services at public facilities such as museums and libraries.
Public and private sectors will reduce financial costs

An Aerial view of Rongcheng in Xiongan. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Private and public ventures will help transform infrastructure projects and public services in Xiongan New Area, Hebei province.

Within the next 20 years, infrastructure investment is estimated to top 4 trillion yuan ($583 billion), Gao Ting, head of China strategy at UBS Securities Co, told the Huaxia Times.

The amount is eye-watering and illustrates the virtues of PPP.

Yang Yongheng, vice-director of the Center for Public-Private Partnership at Tsinghua University, called it an excellent way of funding by taking the strain off public sector financing.

"Public-Private Partnership has become a supplementary strategy for governments, especially local governments, to raise funds for infrastructures projects," said Yang.

"The introduction of the PPP model in Xiongan will establish a sustainable investment and financing system for the public good. This will alleviate greatly the pressure on government funds," he added.

Initially, Xiongan's infrastructure plan will cover 100 square kilometers.

This will expand to 200 square kilometers before eventually occupying 2,000 square kilometers or the size of Shenzhen in Guangdong province, according to the government.

"This plan of development will enable the public sector to harness the expertise and efficiencies of the private sector," Yang said.

Reducing government debt for a project of this size and scale also makes sense.

As for private companies, they are used to sharing financial costs through risk management and competitive procurement practices.

"We will look at new management models in the area, deepen reform of the administrative system and explore investment and financing," He Lifeng, minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, told Xinhua News Agency in early April.

"This will establish long-term stable investment and attract social capital to participate in the construction of the new area."

PPP appears to be the preferred option in dealing with major infrastructure development in China.

More than 12,000 PPP projects had been registered by the end of the first quarter of 2016 with a total investment of 15 trillion yuan, data from the China Public-Private Partnerships Center in the Ministry of Finance revealed.

"It is an innovative model under which companies and local authorities participate in the delivery of public infrastructure and services," said Yang.

Xue Lan, dean of the School of Public Policy and Management at Tsinghua University, highlighted the biggest advantage of PPP when he said it radically improved management efficiency in public service sectors.

"Working with governments, private companies, or individuals who provide investment, can franchise related fields," Xue said.

"For governments, cooperation will reduce the burden of maintenance, and increase supply efficiency of public products and services. This happens by introducing advanced technology," he added.

Still, Yang warned that the PPP model has certain flaws, despite being pushed by central and local governments.

Disputes can flair up between the public and private sectors and this can delay key projects.

"The PPP projects, which are suitable in municipal infrastructure, transport and logistics, water and sewage, should combine closely with the need of Xiongan development," Yang said.
Some weeks ago, Gov. Greg Abbott took the time to write a commentary for the San Antonio Express-News. In it, he suggested that misunderstandings about Senate Bill 4 were being used as pretexts for fearmongering. More recently an ugly confrontation between opponents of this new law and supporters of the law took place at the Texas Capitol. Tempers and rhetoric flared dramatically. This is not all the result of misunderstanding and fearmongering.

There is a long background to the latest expressions of anger and frustration. During the legislative debate, the rhetorical pitch of anti-immigrant sentiment reached high levels. As we now know, inflamed rhetoric engenders enflamed rhetoric. And, as has happened on the national level, this state law encourages the notion that the immigrant community is defined by the criminals in our midst, instead of defined by the fact that most immigrants are working families with children. These things generate fear in the immigrant community.

The public debate often makes it sound as if all immigrants are criminals because they are here without proper documentation. Overstaying a visa is not a criminal offense; it is a civil offense against a federal statute. To be an immigrant without valid documentation does not make you a criminal. Yes, immigrants without valid documents have infracted federal statute, but they are not justly lumped together with human traffickers, drug dealers and murderers.

The Catholic bishops of Texas opposed SB 4 as it was making its way through the state Legislature, and at the time of its passage encouraged the governor to veto it. The law obscures the jurisdictional boundaries between enforcement of federal statutes and enforcement of state and local laws. The law now explicitly says that local and state police may ask about immigration status at any point beginning with routine police stops. It was the inclusion of these field enforcement provisions in the law that were most vehemently opposed by the bishops as injurious to community trust in local law enforcement.

It is not the case, as the governor and others argue, that only criminals need to fear SB 4. This law promotes uncertainty and ambiguity. People are now afraid that pretexts will be invented so that they can be stopped and asked about their immigration status. Yes, the law prohibits discrimination and profiling, but the immigrant poor are not likely to have the resources or the counsel needed to defend themselves. People get stopped, and they are desperately afraid. They immediately wonder about their children, and about their own safety if deported. It is this uncertainty and potential panic at the moment of questioning that breeds fear and hurts the community fabric.

And what happens, then, when some local and state police forces are inevitably more aggressive than others in exercising this may ask option? Are they not encouraging immigrants to distrust all potential askers? And does not such uncertainty make it less likely that crimes will be reported?

The Legislature passed the bill and the governor signed it into law, and so the whole state will have to deal with the ongoing consequences. We are a nation of laws, as the governor says; unfortunately, not all our laws are good laws. Bad laws have bad effects. For the Catholic bishops, this means we will step up our efforts to inform persons of their rights, including the right to remain silent, and to make available the best advice about what to do if you are stopped and are without valid documentation. We will also work to repeal SB 4, or correct the most injurious aspects of this law. And we encourage all who oppose this law to work together in strenuous and peaceful ways toward this same end.

Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller leads the Archdiocese of San Antonio, which includes more than 700,000 Catholics. Bishop Daniel Flores is the sixth bishop of the Diocese of Brownsville, which serves 1.14 million Catholics.
About six years ago, a Texas resident visited Minnesota three times to talk with its Somali community. Not just any Texas resident: This was Andrew Wakefield, the doctor disgraced for his fraudulent 1998 study claiming a connection between autism and the measles vaccine.

Dozens of studies have since proven Wakefield wrong, but scientific fact hasnt stopped him from continuing to spread harm.

That harm is very real and obvious today. Continued targeting of Minnesotas Somali community led the vaccination rate to plummet by more than half, to 42 percent, in 2014. And recently, 69 Minnesotans, most of them young children, most of them Somali, almost all of them unvaccinated, fell sick with measles.

Measles is a potentially deadly illness. About a fourth of the stricken Minnesota children had to be hospitalized. One in 1,000 measles patients will suffer the serious side effect of encephalitis, or brain swelling, and many other complications are possible. And measles is so swift-spreading that 90 percent of the unvaccinated people who are exposed will fall ill. Only 3 percent of vaccinated people catch the disease.

The situation in Minnesota might seem remote, but the parallels to the situation in Texas shouldnt be overlooked.

Yes, the childhood vaccination rate in this state is higher than 90 percent, but it is in Minnesota, too. The problem is that pockets of low vaccination appear in both states. At least three Texas schools  two private and one charter  have vaccination rates that appear to be below 70 percent. That is far too low for protecting our children. Some unvaccinated children have serious medical issues that preclude being vaccinated; they are vulnerable to diseases that sweep a community.

No one knows how low the rates might have fallen at traditional public schools, because the state doesnt report those numbers. The only numbers available are the overall rates for the entire school district.

The Minnesota outbreak shows us in Texas how easy it is for a vulnerable population to be misled by disinformation campaigns. With no way to ensure that the Somali community was hearing the other, factual, science-based story, it was all too likely that young children would be seriously sickened. That could happen here.

Texas is, unfortunately, one of the strongholds of anti-vaccine sentiment, perhaps not surprising considering Wakefield lives in our midst. State lawmakers have refused to take even the most basic steps to fend off a Minnesota-like scenario. Bills died this legislative session that would have allowed parents to view the vaccination rates at individual public schools  would you want your child attending a school with a 42 percent immunization rate?  and that would have had parents take a simple online course to educate them about immunization before they could send their children to school unvaccinated.

Vaccine advocates and educators are not giving up, not by a long shot. The Immunization Partnership, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and many other groups will continue to provide the facts about vaccination, and we hope parents will visit these websites. We will press forward with education campaigns, because knowledge is the best antidote to baseless fears.

Dr. Lindy McGee is chair of the advocacy committee for the Immunization Partnership, a statewide nonprofit organization that aims to eradicate vaccine-preventable diseases.
It was an ugly legislative session that ended with a shoving match and war of words between lawmakers. And this will be the case no matter what a special session produces from the governors long and highly dubious to-do list, announced Tuesday. (Hint: He should have stopped at sunset legislation and school financing).

In short, the regular session was defined by mean-spirited, pointless and regressive politics. The best you could say about it is it could have been worse, something the special session may very well remedy. Bad legislation is surely ahead. The governor, for instance, wants both a bathroom bill and property tax reform legislation to be taken up in the special session. Both these items are what contributed to the mean-spiritedness of the regular session.

Unfortunately, the just-announced special session promises more of the same.

But before that special session starts, theres still time to review Texass 85th regular legislative session. Lets run through some of the highs and lows.

Sanctuary cities legal fight

The legal fight has already begun over Texas sanctuary cities ban  and San Antonio has joined that fight. The new law bans sanctuary cities and allows law enforcement to question the immigration status of people who are legally detained. It is a show-me-your-papers law that invites racial profiling and will alienate immigrant groups from police. State lawmakers and Abbott made it a priority despite the objections of many police chiefs, including San Antonios William McManus.

New anti-abortion law

Lawmakers also passed sweeping anti-abortion legislation, which will almost certainly be tied up in court. Among other things, it would require medical care providers to bury or cremate any fetal remains from abortions, miscarriages or stillbirths. Its a particularly cruel response to tragedy. Now, Abbott has directed the Legislature in special session to require women to pay a separate premium if they want their health care to cover elective abortion.

Alamo funding

A definite high. State lawmakers fully funded Land Commissioner George P. Bushs request for $75 million to reimagine and restore the Alamo. This comes in addition to a $38 million commitment from the city of San Antonio. The public funds will leverage private dollars to ensure the site is properly preserved and honored as the Cradle of Texas Liberty.

Bexar County trash service

Even a small win is a win. Trash problems in unincorporated Bexar County have long flummoxed lawmakers. State Sen. Jose Menendezs legislation will ensure no neighborhood in our metro region is blanketed in trash the way Camelot II was for years. It allows Bexar County to contract with solid waste haulers. And it requires landlords with properties in the city of San Antonios extraterritorial jurisdiction have trash service.

Menendez had a particularly strong session for a Democratic lawmaker, filibustering a faulty annexation bill from Sen. Donna Campbell. The bill would have stripped cities of a key planning tool and contributed to sprawl. Unfortunately, Abbott has asked the Legislature to bring this annexation bill back for consideration in the special session. It should again be rejected.

F on school finance

Instead of focusing on which bathrooms transgender people use, state lawmakers could have focused on funding Texas public schools. Thats what the Texas House of Representatives did, thanks to the leadership of Speaker Joe Straus, but the Texas Senate and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick didnt go along. The Senate gutted funding and inserted a school voucher proposal into school finance legislation. It was a poison pill that should not be reinserted when the Legislature considers school financing in its special session.

The irony is school funding accounts for the majority of property tax bills. Properly funding schools, then, should mitigate property taxes, which was a priority for Patrick. Instead, lawmakers passed a budget that cuts school funding by about $1.1 billion, which will be offset by local property taxes  hence the need for this item in a special session.

Straus leadership

Yet again, the San Antonio Republican stood out for his leadership skills. Straus blocked quite a bit of bad legislation, and he remained focused on substantive issues. He is an inclusive and thoughtful leader who represents and balances the interests of all Texans.

Straus must continue these efforts in the upcoming special session. Few of what the governor outlined as priorities should ever reach his desk. Mission impossible? Do your best, Mr. Speaker  and all legislators of conscience.
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Fianna Fail TD for Longford - Westmeath Robert Troy says new figures from the Department of Finance reveal the extent of the failure of the Governments Help to Buy scheme for first time buyers.

The stats show that fewer than 30 applications have been lodged in the two counties since the scheme opened in January.

Deputy Troy commented, These figures, while extremely low, are not surprising. The main impediment to first time buyers in Longford and Westmeath is not access to mortgages but a lack of supply. I, along with my party colleagues, have been warning about the severe housing shortage for months, but despite this the Government pressed ahead with this flawed scheme.

Fewer than 30 applications across Longford and Westmeath have been made over the past 5 months  this is a clear indication that it simply is not working.

 The scheme is extremely limited, as it only applies to new builds, and there have been practically no new developments constructed over the past few years. The issue here is supply and the Government is not doing enough to address the problem.

Until the Government gets to grips with housing supply, this problem will continue to grow. While construction projects are getting underway in the capital, there is very little happening outside of the Greater Dublin area and the commuter counties.

Once again rural Ireland is being left behind. Anyone coming home after spending time working abroad will also be penalised  as the scheme is effectively tax based, they wouldnt qualify for the full 20,000 refund because they wouldnt have been paying tax here.

These figures should act as a wake-up call to Ministers Noonan and Coveney and will hopefully be the catalyst for a housing plan which will get to the root of the problems being faced by first time buyers.

I will be continuing to press the issue with the relevant Ministers in the Dail, concluded Deputy Troy.
Students from Lanesboro Community College are celebrating this week after winning the Junior Energy Award at the ECO-UNESCO Young Environmentalist Awards Finals in the Mansion House, Dublin.

The students triumphed with their innovative The Winds of Change: Attitudes towards wind power in our Community project.

The project looked at the attitudes towards wind energy in the community.

The area has seen the development of two large wind farms and as a result of this, there has been a large debate over the benefits of wind farms in the area.

The group used Vox Pop as a way to start a discussion around the importance of wind farms and the attitudes towards them.

They also conducted a comparative study of real time electricity production by wind farms in Ireland, UK and Belgium to help understand the real role that wind farms have in meeting their energy needs and tackling global warming.

Ande Gray and Clara Murray, presenters of RTEjrs Pop Goes the Weekend hosted the awards.

Minister for Communications, Climate Action & Environment Denis Naughten TD, who addressed the young people at the ceremony, said: All of the young people who participated in the Young Environmentalist Awards deserve praise for creating projects that meet the environmental challenges of the present and the future.

They have designed and implemented a wide range of innovative projects that are of immense benefit to their communities and the wider society.
The Aisling Childrens Arts Festival in Longford has been awarded 7,500 by the Arts Council of Ireland.

The funds will support Aisling in a very important year as 2017 is the 20th annual Aisling Childrens Arts Festival.

As the only childrens arts festival in the midland region, Aisling has provided quality experiences for Longford's children since 1998, said a spokesperson.

Many Longford people have fond memories of Aisling shows and workshops, and we daresay there are a few art pieces remaining in pride of place in households throughout the county.

The Arts Council of Ireland, awards annual grants through a very competitive application and review process.

The festival committee would like to take the opportunity to thank the Arts Council for the grant which, it says, will help the members to continue bringing the magic of the arts to the children of Co Longford. We are very grateful for the amazing support we receive from across the county and beyond, the spokesperson concluded.
Local News, Crime, Politics

By Long Island News & PR Published: June 06 2017

Croman To Serve One Year In Rikers, Pay $5 Million Tax Settlement  Marking Significant Precedent In Effort To Combat Landlords Who Base Their Business Model On Displacement Of Rent-Stabilized Tenants.

New York, NY - June 6, 2017 - Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced the guilty plea of Steven Croman, a major New York City landlord with more than 140 apartment buildings across Manhattan, for fraudulently refinancing loans and committing tax fraud. Under the terms of his plea, Croman would serve one year of jail time on Rikers Island and pay a $5 million tax settlement  marking a significant precedent in the effort to combat landlords who base their business model on the displacement of rent-stabilized tenants.

Rarely, if ever, has a landlord been sentenced to serve time in jail for engaging in these practices. The jail time and multi-million settlement announced today send a strong message to landlords that the Attorney General will pursue anyone who engages in these types of practices to the fullest extent of the law.

Steven Croman is a fraudster and a criminal who engaged in a deliberate and illegal scheme to fraudulently obtain bank loans, Attorney General Schneiderman said. He went to outrageous lengths to boost his bottom line  including falsely listing rent-stabilized units at market rates when his efforts to displace those renters had failed. Now Mr. Croman faces a year in Rikers and a $5 million settlement  and unscrupulous landlords are on notice that well pursue them to the fullest extent of the law.

Croman entered into the guilty plea before State Supreme Court Justice Jill Konviser, to Grand Larceny in the Third Degree (a class D felony), and Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree and Criminal Tax Fraud in the Fourth Degree (both class E felonies). Croman fraudulently obtained several multi-million-dollar refinancing loans between 2012 and 2014, and committed tax fraud in 2011 by failing to withhold appropriate NY State payroll tax from certain Croman Real Estate employee paychecks. In addition to serving jail time, Croman also must pay a $5 million tax settlement to the State Department of Taxation and Finance. Croman will be sentenced on September 19, 2017.

A year-long investigation by the Attorney Generals office found that Croman purchased buildings with rent-stabilized units and, immediately after purchase, began the process of displacing rent-stabilized tenants while simultaneously attempting to refinance the initial mortgage.

The criminal referral in the Croman investigation was provided to the Attorney Generals office by the New York State Department of Housing and Community Renewals Tenant Protection Unit (TPU).

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo said, We have zero tolerance for those who seek to use harassment and intimidation to chase tenants out of their homes. The Tenant Protection Unit was created to crack down on these unscrupulous practices and this prosecution sends a clear message that New York stands united and the full force of the law will be used to ensure the rights of renters are respected and protected.

New York State Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas said, Under Governor Cuomo and Attorney General Schneiderman, we will continue to bring more resources to bear to protect more than two million rent-regulated New Yorkers. The Governors Tenant Protection Unit and our partners in law enforcement will vigorously investigate an owners questionable business practices that put profits over the safety and security of their tenants. When this happens, tenants suffer; they lose their homes and they lose their communities. I congratulate the AG and the Governors Tenant Protection Unit for another job well done in holding an owner liable for his criminal actions.

Attempting to displace families from their homes is criminal and deplorable, and should be punished to the full extent of the law. Seeing one of the citys most notorious landlords receive jail time as a direct result of his actions sends a powerful message to those who would prey on vulnerable tenants, said New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer. We applaud the Attorney Generals hard work and dedication to not only bring corrupt landlords and building owners to justice, but also continuously lay the groundwork for tougher penalties for unacceptable behavior.

Buildings Commissioner Rick D. Chandler, PE said, Blatant disregard of the law that puts profits ahead of peoples lives will never be tolerated in our city. DOB was proud to work with the Attorney General to support the successful criminal case against Mr. Croman. With our city and state partner agencies, we look forward to furthering our mission to crack down on crooked building owners.

Pursuant to the plea agreement and the defendants allocution, Croman submitted false documents to banks, including rent rolls that falsely reflected market rate rents for units that were actually occupied by rent-stabilized tenants. Croman also inflated the amount of rent charged for certain commercial spaces in his buildings in an effort to show greater rental income. Croman falsified these rent rolls in order to inflate the annual rental income of his buildings, upon which his refinancing terms are partially based.

All told, over a three-year period, Croman received more than $45 million in loans under these false pretenses.

Croman also intentionally failed to withhold New York State payroll taxes from bonus payments made to a former Croman Real Estate property manager, who was paid bonuses to get rent stabilized and rent controlled tenants out of Croman apartment buildings.

The Attorney General also has a separate civil lawsuit against Croman for allegedly engaging in harassment of rent-regulated tenants and other illegal, fraudulent, and deceptive conduct in connection with his real-estate business. That case remains ongoing.

Last week, Attorney General Schneiderman formally introduced new legislation aimed at holding the citys most unscrupulous landlords criminally accountable for Harassment of a Rent Regulated Tenant. Current state law demands prosecutors reach an inexplicably high bar in order to criminally charge landlords with that crimewhich is why in the past twenty years, not a single landlord has ever been convicted of the crime of Harassment of a Rent Regulated Tenant. Instead, prosecutors have only been able to bring criminal charges against landlords for other crimes  such as fraudulently refinancing loans and committing tax fraud, as Croman pled guilty to today.

The Attorney Generals legislation would set a more reasonable standard that removes the need to prove physical injury to a tenant, and opens the door to Harassment of a Rent Regulated Tenant prosecutions arising out of more commonplace and insidious tactics, such as turning off heat and hot water, exposing young children to lead dust, and making rent-stabilized buildings deliberately uninhabitable for current tenants and their families. The Attorney Generals legislation is sponsored by State Senator Liz Krueger and Assemblymember Joe Lentol.

The Attorney General has taken a number of other steps to combat tenant harassment and illegal practices by landlords across New York City, including:

Prosecuting the case are the Attorney Generals Real Estate Enforcement Unit Chief John Spagna and Special Counsel Travis Hill, under the supervision of Public Integrity Bureau Chief Daniel Cort and Deputy Chief Stacy Aronowitz. Chief Deputy Attorney General Jason Brown leads the Criminal Justice Division. The Attorney Generals investigation was handled by Investigators Luis Carter, Angel Laporte, Brian Metz, Edward Ortiz, Anna Ospanova, and Elsa Rojas under the supervision of Deputy Chief Investigator John McManus and Chief Investigator Dominick Zarrella. Legal Support Analyst Mollie Krent of the Public Integrity Bureau also assisted in the investigation.

TPU staff who worked on this case includes TPU Senior Attorneys Jordan Fried and Karis Rasmussen, TPU Legal Director Vernitta N. Chambers, Director of Forensic Analysis Harvey Akerman, Bureau Chief Gregory C. Fewer, and Deputy Commissioner Richard R. White.
Nature & Weather, Local News, National & World News, Politics

By Long Island News & PR Published: June 06 2017

Coalition Of Seven AGs Charge EPA With Violating Federal Law By Failing To Issue Required Safety Finding On Chlorpyrifos  Common Pesticide That Causes Well-Documented Harms To Childrens Neurological Development.

New York, NY - June 6, 2017 - New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, leading a coalition of seven state Attorneys General, announced a challenge to President Trumps Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for violating federal law regarding toxic pesticides. Chlorpyrifos, a widely-used pesticide on food crops  including those consumed by infants, young children, and pregnant women  is shown to negatively impact proper development and functioning of the central nervous system and brain.

The EPAs first job is ensuring the health and safety of New Yorkers and all Americans  especially our children. Yet the Trump administration is jeopardizing our children's health by allowing continued exposure to this toxic pesticide at levels it has not found to be safe, said Attorney General Schneiderman. If the Trump Administration wont follow the law  and put our childrens wellbeing first  we will fight back.

Joining Attorney General Schneiderman in the challenge are the Attorneys General of California, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Washington, and Vermont. Click here to read the filing.

The Attorneys General charge that the EPA failed to make a key safety finding needed to continue to allow levels of chlorpyrifos, a common agricultural pesticide, on fruits and vegetables consumed by the public. The federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (Food Act) requires EPA to revoke allowable levels  or tolerances  for pesticide residues on foods if the Agency is unable to determine that the levels are safe.

The public health dangers of chlorpyrifos are well-documented, with EPAs own scientists twice being unable to identify a safe level for the pesticide on food. In November 2015 and again in November 2016, EPA issued proposed regulations to revoke all tolerances and no longer allow chlorpyrifos to be used on food. However, in one of his first official acts, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt disregarded those proposals and decades of accumulated scientific evidence and  citing uncertainty in chlorpyrifos toxicity  issued an order putting off until October 2022, if not longer, any decision on whether to revoke or modify current food tolerances for the pesticide.

In their challenge announced today, the Attorneys General argue that the Administrators order leaving in place current tolerances for chlorpyrifos residues on food violates the Food Act because it fails to include the finding of safety required to maintain these tolerances.

Chlorpyrifos is one of the most widely used insecticides in the United States on numerous food crops, including those consumed by infants and young children such as apples, strawberries, cherries, bananas, pears, peaches, nectarines, and cherries. Residues of the pesticide have repeatedly been documented in baby foods and juices. Chlorpyrifos has been subjected to regulatory review for nearly 20 years, and its toxic harms are well-documented. The pesticide acts by inhibiting an enzyme that is key to the proper development and functioning of the central nervous system and brain. Columbia University studies have shown that children born to women exposed to chlorpyrifos during pregnancy had cognitive and motor development delays in the first 3 years, and structural changes in the brain, lower working memory and IQ scores at age seven, and movement disorders (including arm tremors) at age eleven.

In 2007, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Pesticide Action Network North America filed a petition with EPA requesting revocation of chlorpyrifos food tolerances under the Food Act. The groups later had to sue EPA to force action on the petition. In 2015 and again in 2016, EPA issued notices of proposed rulemaking to revoke all tolerances for the pesticide on food because the Agency was unable to identify a safe level of chlorpyrifos on food. Significantly, the 2016 notice stated that EPA can only retain chlorpyrifos tolerances if it is able to conclude that such tolerances are safe.

Despite EPAs certainty that it could not find the current chlorpyrifos food tolerances safe under the Food Act, on March 29, 2017, roughly a month after his confirmation, Administrator Pruitt issued an order abruptly changing position on the proposed regulations and denying the administrative petition by the environmental groups to revoke the current tolerances for chlorpyrifos on food. He effectively left the tolerances in place indefinitely.

The coalition of Attorneys General is challenging Administrator Pruitts order as a violation of the Food Act because it leaves current food tolerances for chlorpyrifos in effect without finding that they are safe. The coalition contends that the Food Act does not give EPA the authority to leave tolerances in place in the absence of a finding of safety. Their filing argues that the Act requires the Agency to either find tolerances on food safe or it must revoke or modify the current tolerances; there is no provision in the Food Act allowing the Trump EPA to do what it has done by leaving tolerances in effect but not making a safety finding.

The coalitions challenge, which was filed with EPA, requests that the Agency vacate its recent order that left chlorpyrifos residue tolerances in effect without finding them safe. The Attorneys General further request that EPA issue a final order within 60 days on the State coalitions objections and a final regulation revoking tolerances for chlorpyrifos on food.
Visitors tour Antarctica in January. According to Tuniu, a travel website, in the past Spring Festival, about 10 Chinese visitors, who are mostly from Shanghai, booked tours to the continent. Wang Yanan / For China Daily

Despite a sluggish world economy, the expanding group of wealthy Chinese, especially millennials, is showing a bigger appetite for luxury travel, adding a bit to the members' spirit of adventure.

According to The Chinese Luxury Traveler 2017 Report - jointly released on Monday by Shanghai-based Hurun Re-search Institute, which observes the rich, and International Luxury Travel Market Asia - the average upscale traveler spent 380,000 yuan ($55,855) on family travel last year, 220,000 yuan of which was devoted to shopping, up 57 percent year-on-year.

This seventh report released by the two organizations covers wealthy travelers from 12 Chinese cities. The survey polled 334 affluent Chinese with an average personal wealth of 22 million yuan.

In terms of accommodation budgets, the younger generation, who were born in the 1980s, had a budget 3,325 yuan higher than others, up 7 percent from 2015.

However, private short-stay rentals, like those provided through Airbnb, had not won equal favor among wealthy Chinese tourists. When asked if they would consider such service, 28 percent of those surveyed said no and 10 percent said it was highly unlikely.

Another 31 percent showed a neutral attitude. The lack of top-tier services at the private residences is the main reason for the luxury travelers' indifference.

Adventure travel will be the theme in the next three years, according to the survey, with around-the-world travel, polar expeditions and outdoor adventures the most popular. The generation born in the 1980s shows greater interest in these areas. About 36 percent of these young, wealthy tourists plan to visit Africa in 2017, up from the 23 percent in 2016. Meanwhile, 32 percent of them expect to fly to polar areas this year, up from the 17 percent a year earlier.

According to HHTravel, a luxury travel brand under China's largest online travel agency Ctrip, the number of consumers interested in polar trips with an average personal wealth of at least 10 million yuan has grown since 2014. Meanwhile, travel packages which include hunting in Africa promises room for growth among wealthy Chinese.

Andy Edwards, global director of brand and marketing communications of travel booking firm Agoda, also agreed that wealthy Chinese travelers seek adventurous, undiscovered destinations rather than going to common recreational resorts.

"As these high-end travelers become increasingly independent in terms of wealth, cost considerations weigh less heavily and they are able to travel more freely to the places they favor the most," said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of Hurun Research Institute.

"These choices are highly significant, as they often set the trend for future waves of tourism, with these high-end pioneers setting the benchmark," he said.
Music, Movies & Entertainment, Local News, Community, Charity & Cause, Arts & Culture, Travel & Local Attractions, Politics

By Long Island News & PR Published: June 06 2017

Location of 1969 Festival in Sullivan County Officially Recognized on State and National Registers.

Albany, NY - June 6, 2017 - Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that the site of the 1969 Woodstock Music and Art Fair, Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, has officially been placed on the State and National Register of Historic Places. The National Register is a program of the National Park Service and U.S. Department of the Interior which recognizes the significance of buildings, structures and sites throughout the country.

"Woodstock was a pivotal moment in both New York and American history, bringing together the unique art and music in an event that changed this nation's cultural and political landscape," Governor Cuomo said. "This prestigious recognition will help preserve a priceless New York landmark for current and future generations of New Yorkers."

In August 1969, more than 400,000 people traveled to Max Yasgur's dairy farm for the now-famous three-day music festival, featuring some of the most iconic musicians of all-time. Today, Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, located at the Woodstock site, inspires and educates students and visitors through the arts and humanities. The Museum at Bethel Woods explores the social, political, cultural and musical transformations of the sixties while drawing connections to the issues that continue to affect our world today. It features an award-winning permanent collection, evolving exhibits and engaging programs.

Darlene Fedun, Chief Executive Officer of Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, said, "We are thrilled to be officially placed on the National Register. We take our role as stewards of the land very seriously, and have done so since the beginning. We understand how important the festival was to American history and Sullivan County, and we use that as inspiration for all that we do. Our programming, whether it be in The Museum, in our education initiatives, on our grounds, or on our Main Stage, embodies the spirit of the '60s and Woodstock festival. Being placed on the National Register will only further our efforts and ensure that these hallowed grounds are preserved for generations to come and enjoy."

Empire State Development President, CEO & Commissioner Howard Zemsky said, "Woodstock was an influential event for both America and New York State, and the festival site is well-deserving of this recognition on the National Register of Historic Places. Just as it drew nearly a half-million people in 1969, the site still draws scores of visitors each year who reflect on the music of the festival and the heritage of the festival grounds. I congratulate Bethel Woods, and I encourage everyone to plan a trip to visit the museum and historic site."

Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commissioner Rose Harvey said, "I applaud the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts for winning this important distinction. Listing on the State and National Registers of Historic Places is an effective way to give the nationally significant concert site the recognition and support it deserves."

Through a challenge grant from the Lindsay and Olive B. O'Connor Foundation, and matching funds from National Trust for Historic Preservation and several individual donors, Bethel Woods Center for the Arts has begun the first phase of projects to enhance the sites authenticity and give heritage visitors more opportunities to explore the historic site. These projects include; the protection of several venerable old trees that witnessed the festival, propagation of the historic Message Tree so that its own offspring may one day replace it when that day comes, clearing the view shed and other improvements at the Woodstock monument, and the creation of a contemplative overlook at the top of the festival field nestled amidst a pair of black cherry trees which also bore witness to the events in 1969.

The centerpiece of the initial preservation project is the restoration of several of the footpaths that crisscrossed the Bindy Bazaar woods across Hurd Road from the festival field. These restored paths will offer visitors the opportunity to explore what was once an important vending area and crossroads of the Woodstock festival, enhancing the site experience. The colorful sign that marked the entrance to the woods during the festival will be reproduced, as will the famous, hand-painted directional signs that proclaimed the "High Way," "Groovy Way," and "Gentle Path" in the woods.

Future projects will further enhance the historic site drawing tourists from across the country and around the world. These plans include restoring the landscape contours where the Woodstock stage stood and marking the footprints of the stage and other key structures on the field, as well as developing an interactive self-guided tour of the grounds. To learn more about these projects and helping to preserve the site please visit bethelwoodscenter.org/the-museum/clr

Senator John Bonacic said, "The historical, musical and cultural significance of the 1969 Woodstock Music and Art Fair simply cannot be overstated. Bethel Woods Center for the Arts has done an incredible job of preserving that history and beauty and this designation from the National Register of Historic Places will allow Bethel Woods to continue to do so for years to come."

Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther said, "A nod to the rich history of New York State, Bethel Woods Center is deserving of this esteemed acknowledgment as it is plays an important role in the arts and culture found across the state. The Woodstock site, which was once a hub of political and artistic movement in the 1960s, will now be placed on the National Register of Historic Places, and I'd like to thank Governor Cuomo for helping make this a reality and for bringing support to this world-renowned destination in Sullivan County."

Sullivan County Legislature Chairman Luis Alvarez said, "I thank Governor Cuomo for ensuring that Bethel Woods is rightly placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Though Woodstock was only three-day festival, this recognition will ensure that its legacy will live on forever. An important site where helped shape society today, Bethel Woods Center for the Arts will continue to be a place where art flourishes and creativity thrives."

About Bethel Woods Center for the Arts

Bethel Woods Center for the Arts inspires, educates, and empowers individuals through the arts and humanities by presenting a diverse selection of culturally-rich performances, popular artists, and community and educational programming. Located 90 miles from New York City at the site of the 1969 Woodstock festival in Bethel, NY, the lush 800-acre campus includes a Pavilion Stage amphitheater with seating for 15,000, an intimate 440-seat indoor Event Gallery, the award-winning Museum at Bethel Woods, and a Conservatory for arts education programming.

Through the in-depth study and exhibition of the social, political, and cultural events of the 1960s, as well as the preservation of the historic site of the Woodstock Music and Art Fair, Bethel Woods educates individuals about the issues and lessons of the decade while inspiring a new generation to contribute positively to the world around them. The not-for-profit organization relies on the generous support of individuals, corporations, and foundations to develop and sustain programs that improve the quality of life in the region and beyond.
A coalition of anti-Islamic State groups backed by the United States has officially begun its assault on the jihadist-held city of Raqqah in northern Syria. Raqqah has been controlled by jihadist forces since 2013 and has become the de facto capital of the Islamic State inside Syria.

The US Department of Defense announced the commencement of the operation to liberate Raqqah in a news article on its website.

The offensive would deliver a decisive blow to the idea of ISIS as a physical caliphate, according to the DoD.

The push to take Raqqah is led by the Syrian Democratic Forces, which is largely comprised of the Kurdish YPG (or Peoples Defense Units). The YPG is affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has been designated as a terrorist organization by the US government for terrorist attacks throughout Turkey. The Turkish government has opposed US support for the YPG.

The US military attempts to mitigate Turkish anger over the support of the YPG by emphasizing the Syrian Arab Coalitions role in the offensive. However, there is no official group known as the Syrian Arab Coalition, it is merely the Arab component of the SDF.

The US military noted that it is providing equipment, training, intelligence and logistics support, precision fires and battlefield advice to the SDF for its Raqqah offensive. To emphaisize this point, the US military, in a separate press release that tallied air operations against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria noted that 24 strikes engaged 18 ISIS tactical units; destroyed 19 boats, 12 fighting positions, eight vehicles, a house bomb and a weapons storage facility; and suppressed an ISIS tactical unit in and around Raqqah yesterday.

The SDF and the US have shaped the battlefield in northern Syria for months in preparation to advance on Raqqah. But the final push on Raqqah could not be launched until the SDF secured the town of Tabqa and its dam, which are located about 20 miles west. The SDF seized Tabqa on May 11 after six weeks of fighting.

The SDF now controls the terrain north of the Euphrates river from Tabqa all the way to the town of Madan, which is due east of Raqqah. Madan is south of the Euphrates, remains under control of the Islamic State. Raqqah is situated north of the Euphrates, so the SDF does not need to cross the river to take the city.

The fight for Raqqah takes place as Iraqi forces are making their final push to root out the Islamic State in Mosul. The Mosul offensive began six months ago, however, the Islamic State still controls pockets within the city.

While the US military insists that the loss of Raqqah and Mosul will deal a a decisive blow to the Islamic State, the group still controls a significant amount of terrain in both Syria and Iraq. The Islamic State still occupies a large area in central and southern Syria, and continues to besiege Syrian military forces in the city of Deir al Zour. The Islamic State controls all of the Euphrates River Valley south of Madan down to the Iraq towns of Rawa and Anah.

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.
British officials publicly identified today two of the alleged terrorists responsible for the June 3 attacks on the London Bridge and Borough Market. The Metropolitan Police released photos of the men (seen above), identifying them as Khuram Shazad Butt and Rachid Redouane.

The two were shot dead by armed officers at Borough Market after exiting a van that was used to ram pedestrians on the bridge. Along with a third accomplice, who has not been named and was also killed at the market, they began wildly stabbing people before being subdued just eight minutes after authorities were called in.

While formal identification has yet to take place, detectives believe they now know the attackers identities, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement. They believe two of the men are Khuram Shazad Butt and Rachid Redouane, both from Barking, east London.

Butt, a 27-year-old, was born in Pakistan and became a British citizen. The 30-year-old Redouane claimed to be Moroccan and Libyan, but also used the name Rachid Elkhdar, with a different date of birth.

Seven people were killed in the attacks, and 48 others were hospitalized. Eighteen remain in a critical condition, according to authorities.

Butt was well-known to counterterrorism officials. According to the Guardian, Butt was associated with al-Muhajiroun, an extremist group that has been banned in the UK. Al-Muhajiroun was led by Anjem Choudary, a notorious British extremist.

In March, the State Department added Choudary to the US governments list of designated terrorists, noting his links to convicted terrorists and extremist networks in the UK. Foggy Bottom explained that Choudary pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in Sept. 2014, which led to his arrest. Choudary was acting as a key figure in ISIS recruitment drive and has vowed he will continue his recruitment activities from prison, State said.

The Islamic State claims that its fighters were responsible for the London attacks.

In 2016, Butt appeared in a Channel 4 documentary titled, The Jihadis Next Door. The documentary showed Butt (seen below) praying in Regents Park alongside fellow extremists, including Mohammed Shamsuddin, who was described as a close student of Omar Bakri Mohammed. Shamsuddin, the prayer groups ringleader, was proud of the relationship.

Omar Bakri was an influential figure in both Hizb ut-Tahrir and al-Muhajiroun, which he co-founded along with Choudary. For years, reports connected Omar Bakri to al Qaeda. For example, according to The New York Times, he warned in 2004 that a very well-organized al Qaeda-linked group was on the verge of launching a big operation in London. The July 7, 2005 bombings were orchestrated by al Qaeda in northern Pakistan, relying on local extremist networks.

Omar Bakri eventually left the UK for Lebanon, where he was reportedly imprisoned. But his students, including Mohammed Shamsuddin, continued to preach their ideology in and around London. During the Channel 4 documentary, Butt was seen unfurling a black banner generally associated with jihadis. Policemen stopped Butt, Shamsuddin, and some of their comrades after the prayer group disbanded. Authorities responded to calls concerning the flag used in the park, and Shamsuddin was shown objecting to a policemans request to search one of his comrades.

Other members of Shamsuddins group included an extremist known as Abu Haleema. Authorities subsequently tied Abu Haleema to a teenage jihadi who allegedly planned to conduct a beheading in Australia, according to the Guardian.

In another scene in the documentary, Shamsuddin and Abu Haleema laugh at beheading videos posted online by the Islamic State. Another one of their fellow extremists, a jihadi known as Abu Rumaysah (a.k.a. Siddhartha Dhar), joined the so-called caliphate in Iraq and Syria and is suspected of serving as an executioner for the group.

The Channel 4 documentary showed local Muslims clashing with Shamsuddin, Abu Haleema and their extremist friends. Men visiting a mosque nearly came to fisticuffs with them. Multiple reports indicate that concerned citizens had identified both Butt and Redouane as potential threats.

UK officials are clearly sensitive to the charge that warning signs were missed.

Mark Rowley, Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, pointed to the large number of possible threats that are being investigated at any given time.

The police and our partners are doing everything we can across the country to help prevent further attacks and protect the public from harm, Rowley said in a statement. At any one time MI5 and police are conducting around 500 active investigations, involving 3,000 subjects of interest.

Additionally, Rowley continued, there are around 20,000 individuals who are former subjects of interest, whose risk remains subject to review by MI5 and its partners.

Rowley added that security and intelligence services and police have stopped 18 plots since 2013, including five since the Westminster attack two months ago.

British officials have repeatedly pointed to these figures  including the 23,000 current and former subjects of interest  since the Manchester Arena bombing in late May.

The police arrested twelve people in connection with their investigation into the London attacks, but authorities announced today that all of them were released without charge.

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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Al Qaedas branch in East Africa, Shabaab, has increased its operational tempo in northern Kenya over the past few weeks. Dozens of people have been killed by both ambushes and improvised explosive device (IED) attacks in the Kenyan provinces of Garissa, Mandera, and Lamu.

In a statement released on Shabaabs Shahada News Agency, the groups military spokesman, Abdul Aziz Abu Musab, said that the jihadists have launched 11 attacks inside Kenya in a three week period. However, more attacks attributed to Shabaab have been reported. The majority of these incidents were perpetrated in Kenyas Garissa County near the border with Somalia.

On May 8, seven Kenyan police officers were wounded near the town of Liboi when their vehicle hit an IED. Four days later, Shabaab targeted the town of Amuma. On May 16, four people were killed near Liboi also after striking an IED. A week later, three more police officers were killed by an IED in the same town. Just a day later, five other police officers were killed near the same area. On June 2, one person was killed when Shabaab targeted the town of Fafi. Today, four people were killed by an IED in the nearby town of Kulan.

In Mandera County, attacks have also occurred with a similar frequency. Shabaab was blamed for killing two miners in a quarry in Mandera on May 12. On May 16, Shabaab militants targeted a government official in the town of Omar Jillo, killing one and abducting two. A day later, a vehicle hit an IED near El Wak. On May 24, five police officers were killed in Mandera as part of an assassination attempt on the governor of Mandera County.

While in Lamu County, eight people, including seven police officers, were killed in an IED attack in the Baure region on May 31. Two more police officers were killed by an IED later that day responding to the earlier incident. A Kenyan military convoy was targeted yesterday in Wajir County, however, no injuries were reported.

Shabaab has long conducted military operations inside Kenya, often along the border with Somalia. Many of these cross-border raids were carried out by Shabaabs Jaysh Ayman, which is responsible for these types of attacks. Shabaab was also behind a deadly terrorist attack on Garissa University in early 2015. The jihadists stormed the university and killed 148 people and wounded many more. In 2013, Shabaab also perpetrated the Westgate Mall siege in Nairobi.

The increased operational tempo comes as Shabaab has also ramped up its rhetoric against Kenya, which has battled Shabaabs forces inside Somalia for years. Two weeks ago, the al Qaeda branch released a video where its spokesman, Ali Mahmoud Rage, called on Kenyan jihadists to form an army. Speaking to Kenyan graduates of a Shabaab training camp in Somalia, Rage said You have to be the army that will conquer Kenya so that we may return to our families and relatives in a state of honor and glory. [See FDDs Long War Journal report, Shabaab spokesman calls on Kenyan jihadists to form an army.]

Shabaabs attacks and propaganda against Kenya are unlikely to slow as the group continues to gain strength. Over the past year, Shabaab has regained control of some towns and rural areas in Somalias south that it lost during an AMISOM offensive that began in 2011. In addition, Shabaab has stepped up suicide attacks and guerrilla operations both in and around the capital of Mogadishu.

Caleb Weiss is a research analyst at FDD's Long War Journal and a senior analyst at the Bridgeway Foundation, where he focuses on the spread of the Islamic State in Central Africa.

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The US military again launched airstrikes against forces loyal to the Syrian government after they entered the deconfliction zone near At Tanf in southeastern Syria. The US military is training Free Syrian Army-branded militias in the area to battle the Islamic State.

Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve, the US-led coalition created to battle the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, announced today that pro-Syrian regime forces entered the deconfliction zone with a tank, artillery, anti-aircraft weapons, armed technical vehicles and more than 60 soldiers and posed a threat to forces based there. American, British and Norwegian special forces are known to be operating at the At Tanf Garrison.

CJTF-OIR stated it issued multiple warnings before it destroyed two artillery pieces and an anti-aircraft weapon and damaged a tank.

The name of the pro-Syrian regime forces that were targeted today was not disclosed. Several pro-Syrian regime militias, including Hezbollah, the Sayyid al Shuhada Brigades, the Imam Ali Brigades, and the Abu Fadl al Abbas Brigades operate in the area.

Todays strike is the second against pro-Syrian government forces in the At Tanf area. On May 18, US aircraft struck militias after they entered the deconfliction zone. The Sayyid al Shuhada Brigades claimed it was targeted in the airstrikes and said that one of its fighters was killed, while six more were wounded.

The Sayyid al Shuhada Brigades, the Imam Ali Brigades, and Hezbollah Brigades all belong to Iraqs Popular Mobilization Force, the grouping of Iraqi militias that was formed to battle the Islamic State. All three militias are backed by Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps  Qods Force.

Iraqs Popular Mobilization Force, which was recently elevated as an official independent security institution by the government, is led by Abu Mahdi al Muhandis, who is listed by the US government as a specially designated global terrorist. In the designation, the US noted that Muhandis is a senior adviser to Qods Force leader Qassem Soleimani.

Tensions near the At Tanf crossing have risen over the past several months, as warring groups seek to control the southeastern border crossing. Iranian-back militias have clashed with US-backed Free Syrian Army-branded militias for control of the nearby Zaza junction. As the Islamic States presence along the Iraqi border shrinks, both sides are seeking to expand their influence along the borders.

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.
(Photo/Xinhua)

China and Kazakhstan should use the media to promote communication and cooperation, senior officials from both countries said on Monday at a symposium held in Kazakhstani capital Astana as Chinese President Xi Jinping prepares to visit Kazakhstan.

The event focused on how China and Kazakhstan can use journalism to strengthen bilateral ties.

Tuo Zhen, vice minister of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China, said that he hoped media organizations would report on the relationship between China and Kazakhstan in a positive light.

Media officers from both countries agreed to work together to report on President Xis visit. They will hold activities to encourage communication between Chinese and Kazakhstani journalists.

President Xi will be in Kazakhstan from Tuesday to Saturday, during which time he will attend the 17th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the opening ceremony of the Specialized Exhibition at the Astana Expo 2017.
New size, faster chips, and more storagethats just a little of what you can expect from Apples new iPad Pro lineup, unveiled during the Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday. Update 6-21-2017: This article has been updated to include more information from our review of the 10.5-inch iPad Pro, as well as a video review.

In addition to upgrading its 12.9-inch iPad Pro (which originally launched in 2015), Apple released a new 10.5-inch model that replaces the 9.7-inch iPad Pro (which launched in 2016). Heres what you need to know about the refreshed models, including all the new features, upgrades, and specs.

Whats the latest on the new 10.5-inch model?

Apple introduced a new iPad Pro size: 10.5 inches. This model replaces the 9.7-inch iPad Pro that was released in 2016. The 10.5-inch model has a screen thats 20 percent larger that its predecessor, and thanks to reduced bezels and borders, it still weighs about one pound. The new display size makes it possible for this new iPad Pro to accomodate a full-sized digital keyboard, as well as a full-sized Smart Keyboard accessory.

Apple

What does the iPad Pro cost?

10.5-inch iPad Pro:

$649 for 64GB, $779 for 64GB + Cellular,

$749 for 256GB, $879 for 256GB + Cellular

$949 for 512GB, $1079 for 512GB + Cellular

12.9-inch iPad Pro:

$799 for 64GB, $929 for 64GB + Cellular

$899 for 256GB, $1029 for 256GB + Cellular

$1099 for 512GB, $1229 for 512GB + Cellular

When can I buy them?

The new iPad Pro models are available to order now on Apple.com and will start shipping out the week of June 12. Both models will also be available that week in Apple Stores in the U.S., Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. Theyll be available to customers in India, Turkey, and United Arab Emirates later in June, and to customers in Brazil, Mexico, and South Korea in July.

Apple

What colors can I choose from?

The 10.5-inch iPad Pro comes in silver, space gray, gold, and rose gold. The 12.9-inch iPad Pro is available in silver, space gray, and gold.

What about specs?

During WWDC 2017, Apple simplified the iPad Pro line. Both sizes are now identical in terms of specs: Same chip, same brightness, same cameras, same storage options, and same speakers. So the only real difference is the size (which affects weight, screen resolution, and battery size) and the rose cold option for the 10.5-inch. Heres a brief look at what you can expect in both models:

A10x fusion chip with 64-bit architecture

4GB of RAM

Retina display with True Tone

Refresh rate of 120Hz with ProMotion

64GB, 256GB, and 512GB

12-megapixel rear camera with 4K video recording

7-megapixel FaceTime camera with 1080p HD video recording

Four speaker system

And a headphone jack!

What iOS version do they run?

The new iPad Pros ship with the latest iOS 10.3.2, but they will get a bunch of new multitasking features in iOS 11 to be released in the fall. In the meantime, you can sign up to the public beta program to start testing these iOS 11 features later this summer. If youre already in the program for iOS 10, beware that some people have spotted issues with the iOS 10.3.3 public beta 3 on the 10.5-inch iPad Pro. Apparently, the latest iOS 10.3.3 public beta has a bug that prevents Split View and Slide Over from working properly.

Whats ProMotion technology?

The iPad Pro models have a new trick up their sleeve. Apple has added a new feature called ProMotion which doubles the display refresh rate from 60Hz to 120Hz. ProMotion also helps to automatically adjust this refresh rate depending on how youre using the iPad Pro, as a way to conserve battery life.

Apple

Does the 12.9-inch model have True Tone now?

YesApple has upgraded the original iPad Pro with True Tone. This means the Pro dynamically adjusts the screens white balance based on the lighting in the room to provide more-accurate colors on a paper-white screen.

So it looks good, but what about performance?

The iPad Pro models come equipped with the top-of-the-line A10x fusion chip, plus a six-core CPU (three high performance cores and three high efficiency cores) and a 12-core GPU. This gives the new iPad Pro models 30 percent faster CPU performance and 40 percent faster graphics performance than previous Pro models with the A9x chip. In our testing with GeekBench 4, the 10.5-inch iPad Pro scored 3875 in the single-core CPU benchmark, or 28 percent better that the 9.7-inch model.

And what about battery life?

Despite improvements in speed and performance, Apple says that the 10.5-inch and the 12.9-inch model will both deliver up to 10 hours of battery life, or 9 hours if using an LTE model on a cellular connection. During our review, the 10.5-inch iPad Pro delivered on this promise.

The 10.5-inch iPad Pro has a 30.4watthour rechargeable lithiumpolymer battery, while the 12.9-inch iPad Pros battery is a 41-watt-hour.

Apple

Can they take Live Photos or Portrait pics?

The iPad Pro has camera specs modeled after the iPhone 7, so Live Photos and all their new editing functions are available. Unfortunately, the iPad Pro does not have a dual-camera system, so you cant use it to take photos in Portrait mode like on the iPhone 7.

Hows the sound quality?

The iPad Pro is equipped with four speakers, one near each corner to create an immersive soundstage experience. These speakers have also been programmed to produce a well-balanced sound, whether you are holding the iPad Pro vertically or horizontally. And a new casing design gives the Pro speakers 61 percent more back volume, a wider frequency range and up to 3x more acoustic output than previous iPads.

Do they support Apple Pencil?

Yes! Apples $99 stylus is pretty self-explanatory. You can use it to add handwritten notes to your digital documents, but its also got some cool technology that will be particularly intriguing for sketch artists.

Apple

The Apple Pencil has several sensors on both its case and the tip that can detect the position, pressure, angle, and orientation of your strokes. Draw gently on the screen to create light strokes, or press down to draw thicker lines. Two sensors on the tip work with Multi-Touch display to detect whenever youre tilting the Pencil to create a shading effect. Apple Pencil can also be used simultaneously with your fingers, too, for those who have yet to graduate past the finger painting stage.

In iOS 11, Apple reduced the latency to an industry-best: 20 milliseconds. In addition, iPad Pro users can now use the Pencil to use Markup in screenshots and in documents scanned using the Notes app. In addition, the Notes app is able to search through your notes handwritten with the Pencil.

How do I charge the Apple Pencil?

Instead of an eraser at the tip, the Apple Pencil boasts a Lighting connector. Simply take off the cap and plug the Pencil into your iPad Pro. Fully charged, Apple Pencil lasts up to 12 hours. And just having the Pencil charging for 15 seconds will get you 30 minutes of sketching time.

IDG

Do they support Smart Keyboard?

Yes! Think of the Smart Keyboard as an iPad Smart Cover but with a slim, foldable, lightweight, water-resistant, 4mm keyboard built in. In addition to using it to type, you can fold up the Smart Keyboard to prop up the iPad Pro or cover up the screen completely. Recently, Apple has added keyboard support for 30 languages, including Chinese and Japanese. It costs $159 for the 10.5-inch iPad Pro and $169 for the 12.9-inch.

How do you hook up the Smart Keyboard?

Apple has created a three-pronged Smart Connector that allows for the Smart Keyboard to be connected to the iPad without plugs, wires, or Bluetooth pairing. Its similar to how the Apple Watchs diagnostic port works. The Smart Connector allows for the seamless transfer of data and power between devices, so you wont have to charge the Smart Keyboard.

Will my old iPad Pro cases fit on the new models?

Most cases for the previous generation 12.9-inch iPad Pro should still fit the upgraded 2017 model. The camera bump is a little more pronounced, but you should still be able to squeeze it in.

As for the cases designed for the 9.7-inch iPad Pro, they will not fit on the new 10.5-inch model.

Apple

Are there any other accessories?

Yes, Apple also has new $49 Smart Covers for the 10.5-inch model in seven colors. The $59 Smart Cover for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro comes in only two colors: charcoal gray and white. In addition, Apple has brought back Leather Smart Covers to outfit the iPad Pro. The 10.5-inch Leather Smart Cover is $69 and comes in four colors. The 12.9-inch Leather Smart Cover is $79 and comes in three colors. Plus, Apple has released an all-new Leather Sleeve ( $129 for 10.5-inch and $149 for 12.9-inch) that incorporates a special spot for Apple Pencil. You can also store the Apple Pencil in its own designated case thats $29.

There are now third-party cases, as well, like the Slim Combo from Logitech.

What are the iOS multitasking features for iPad?

In iOS 9, Apple introduced three ways to view and interact with two apps simultaneously on an iPad Pro. These multitasking features have been refined and expended with each subsequent iOS release.

First, we have Slide Over, where you can choose a second app to open up as a pinned sidebar on the right or the left. Second, theres Split View, where two apps each take up half of the screen. Apple introduced the ability to drag-and-drop in iOS 11, so you can seamlessly move text, photos, files, and URLs from one app to another. Finally, Picture-in-Picture lets you watch a video or chat on FaceTime while having another app running in the background. The video screen becomes a smaller window that you can drag and resize.

Apple

iOS 11 also brought other Mac-style capabilities to the iPad, including a new Dock and App Switcher. Like on macOS, this Dock gives you quick access to frequently used apps and documents from any screen. You can then drag these apps from the Dock to the right or left side of the screen to open in Slide Over or Split View.

Theres also a new Files app that keeps all your files and documents in one place, whether theyre stored locally or in iCloud, Google Drive, or Dropbox.

iPad Pro videos: Watch it in action
UNITED NATIONS, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Top United Nations officials Monday urged coordinated global action to protect the planet when an international conference on the health of the world's oceans and seas opened here.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned governments that unless they overcome short-term territorial and resource interests, the state of the oceans will continue to deteriorate, when he addressed his first major UN conference since taking office.

UN Ocean Conference opened Monday morning with a traditional Fijian ceremony at the UN General Assembly.

"Improving the health of our oceans is a test for multilateralism, and we cannot afford to fail," the secretary-general said.

"We must jointly address the problems of governance that have held us back," he said, calling for a new strategic vision of how to govern the oceans and marine resources.

One of the main challenges, he said, is to end the "artificial dichotomy" between jobs and healthy oceans. "The conservation and sustainable use of marine resources are two sides of the same coin," he noted.

The UN chief called for strong political leadership and new partnerships, based on the existing legal framework, and concrete steps, such as expanding marine protected areas and reducing plastic waste pollution.

Among other specific actions, Guterres urged governments to allocate their promised funding for the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris agreement on climate change and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, as well as to improve data collection and share their best experience.

The United Nations is working to build partnerships with governments, the private sector, civil society and others to support those goals, and is also working with international financial institutions to allocate resources, he added.

"The time has come for us to correct our wrongful ways," President of the UN General Assembly Peter Thomson told thousands of participants including heads of state and government, business people, actors, and ocean and marine life advocates.

Thomson spoke out against "inexcusable" actions such as dumping plastic into the oceans and destroying marine life through acidification and deoxygenation.

"We are here on behalf of humanity to restore sustainability, balance and respect to our relationship with our primal mother, the source of life, the Ocean," he said.

Also speaking at the opening was Wu Hongbo, the secretary-general of the Ocean Conference, who said that without oceans and seas, there would be no life on the planet.

Wu, who is working as UN under-secretary-general for economic and social affairs, also noted that everyone must work together to achieve the goals of the conference.

The Ocean Conference, which runs through Friday, focuses on the targets outlined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

In particular among the Sustainable Development Goals, Goal 14 highlights the need to conserve and sustainably use oceans, seas and marine resources to benefit present and future generations.

The Ocean Conference will work on a political call to action, a segment on partnership dialogues and voluntary commitments. Hundreds of commitments were registered by the time the conference opened.

The conference is expected to leave a call for action backed by UN member countries, and approve a document already negotiated here in previous months, the organizers of the conference said.
A Chinese military helicopter (File Photo)

China's Foreign Ministry on June 5 dismissed reports claiming that Chinese military helicopters had violated Indias airspace, saying that the Chinese military was just carrying out regular border patrols.

Reports from India claimed that two Chinese helicopters had been seen hovering over the "Barahoti sector" of the China-India boundary, violating Indias airspace.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told reporters at a routine press briefing that Chinese border troops conducted regular patrols in relevant areas, and urged India to work with China through relevant border-related mechanisms to maintain peace and tranquility along the border area.

China's defense ministry offered a similar response the same day, denying the accuracy of the reports.

During his visit to Russia last weekend, Indian Prime Minister Modi reiterated that, despite border issues between India and China, not a single bullet has been fired in the past 40 years.

Hua said on Monday that she noted and welcomed the PMs positive remarks.

China and India are exploring a solution through the mechanism of special representatives meeting to discuss the boundary question, while also taking measures to uphold peace and tranquility in the border area, Hua added.
COLLINSVILLE-On Monday, several people saw charges against them dropped in Henry County Circuit Court.

In one of those cases, Martinsville resident Justin Lee Sowder pleaded not guilty to a charge of felonious embezzlement, and after hearing testimony and arguments. Judge David Williams dismissed the charge.

Robert Long, store manager of Monroe Muffler near Martinsville, testified that on Sept. 22, 2016, the 28-year-old Sowder, a mechanic employed there at the time, came in with a doctors note that he would need to be out of work for a few days. Long said Sowder asked if he could go from the shop area to the office area and look at a computer. Long agreed. Sowder normally was not allowed in the office area, Long testified, adding that the computer was 10 feet or less from a locked cash drawer.

Long said a few minutes after Sowder left the business, he noticed two $100 bills and a $50 bill were missing from the cash drawer. He then called police.

Investigator Mike Price testified that Sowder gave a statement saying he took at least two $100 bills without permission, that he had children at home and bills mounting up, and that the business owed him money. Long agreed that Sowder made that claim of being owed money, but said he was waiting on the corporate office to handle it.

Sowders lawyer, Christina Slate, made a motion for Judge Williams to strike, or disallow, the prosecutions evidence. Slate argued that the legal requirements to convict him of embezzlement had not been met, namely that at no time was the money entrusted to him, that he was not even working that day, and that accessing the cash drawer was not part of his job.

Henry County Assistant Commonwealths Attorney Wayne Withers argued that the prosecution did meet its burden of proof, and that by being an employee, Sowder had access to anything in the business.

Judge Williams ruled that the money wasnt entrusted or delivered to Sowder and as a result, granted Slates motion to strike, or disallow, the prosecutions evidence. As a result, the charges were dismissed.

Robbery charges dropped

Also in Henry County Circuit Court, Judge Williams dismissed charges of robbery with a dangerous weapon and grand larceny of a person against Jerome Keith Wade. The 24-year-old's address is listed in court records as both Bassett and Collinsville. He was accused of robbing a relative on Sept. 29, 2016.

The relative claimed Wade pulled a knife on him and took his pocketbook (wallet). Assistant

There was some confusion over exactly how much the relative claimed had been stolen. Commonwealths Attorney Awbrey Watts told the court Monday she thought the relative said the wallet contained $8,000 to $9,000. Investigator Wagoner with the Henry County Sheriffs Office testified that the relative told him at the first interview that between $7,000 and $8,000 was taken. On a later occasion, that same relative told Wagoner the incident didn't happen and on a third occasion, the relative said the robbery did happen, but he didn't remember how much was stolen.

The relative admitted on Monday he had given several accounts of what had happened. He claimed a family member had asked him to deny the robbery ever took place. As for the changing amount of money in the wallet, the relative said he was 84 years old and that sometimes, his mind slips.

Im telling the truth today, the relative said, after saying his wallet contained about $7,000.

According to testimony, the relative told a prosecutor that he wanted to drop the charge and did not want Jerome Wade to go to jail.

During questioning by Christina Slate, Jerome Wades lawyer, Wagoner said Jerome Wades DNA was not found on anything to speak of and the knife that supposedly was involved never was recovered.

Slate made a motion for Judge Williams to strike, or disallow, the prosecutions evidence, saying the relatives testimony was all over the place. Williams granted her motion.
First rails laid for Xinjiang's third link to outside

Workers lay track for the Korla-Golmud Railway in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region on Saturday. Que Hure / For China Daily

Workers started laying tracks on Saturday for a 1,213-kilometer railway linking the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region with neighboring Qinghai province.

The railway, which will connect Korla in Xinjiang and Golmud in Qinghai, is the third rail artery linking the region with neighboring provinces, and the first direct rail link between Xinjiang and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Golmud is a major city on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, which connects Lhasa, capital of the Tibet autonomous region, with Xining, the capital of Qinghai. The new line will offer a much shorter connection between Lhasa and Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang.

Currently, the total rail distance between the two cities is about 4,000 kilometers, including a detour to Lanzhou, capital of Gansu province. The new line will cut the journey by more than 1,000 km.

First rails laid for Xinjiang's third link to outside

The line will cut travel time between Golmud and Korla from 26 hours to 12 hours. The rails will carry passengers, traveling at a speed of 120 km per hour, as well as freight.

About 708 km of the new line are in Xinjiang. Some parts of the railway need to be built in high-altitude areas and places with little human activity, which have posed difficulties during construction, said Huang Kejun, the railway project manager.

His team plans to complete the laying of 291 km of track this year.

Construction of the this railway began in 2014 and has proceeded faster than planned. The project is scheduled to take five years, at a cost of 37.6 billion yuan ($5.53 billion). Its Qinghai section will begin operations by the end of next year.

Xinjiang already has two railways connecting the region with other parts of China. One links Urumqi with Lanzhou; the other connects Ejin Banner in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region with Hami in eastern Xinjiang.

Xinhua contributed to this story.
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''Comrade workers! Let us all get down to work, canvassing all the poorest homes, awakening and enlightening the domestic servants, the most backward workers. Let us campaign against the capitalists and the Cadets...'' Published in Pravda No. 64, June 6 (May 24), 1917.

The lists of candidates for members of the district councils have been published (in a free supplement to Vedomosti Obshehestvennovo Gradonachalstva for May 17). Unfortunately, information is given only for ten districts. Nevertheless, we have a very clear and striking picture of party alignments, a picture that deserves close study on account of its electioneering value and the light it throws on the class ties of the different parties.

Partisanship, as we know, is both a condition for and index of political development. The more politically developed and enlightened the given population or given class is, the higher, as a general rule, is its party organisation. This rule is borne out by the experience of all civilised countries. From the point of view of the class struggle that is obviously how it should be. Non-partisanship or insufficient party crystallisation and party organisation implies at best class instability (at worst, this deficiency signifies deception of the masses by political charlatans a thing that is only too well known in parliamentary countries).

What, then, do the published lists of candidates in Petrograd reveal to us in the matter of party alignments?

Altogether 71 lists have been put forward in 10 districts. The first thing we notice is that they fall into five major groups.

1. The R.S.D.L.P.the Bolsheviks. Lists have been put forward in all 10 districts. Our Party has formed a bloc with two other groupsthe Inter-District group and the internationalist Mensheviks. This bloc is strictly based on principles and is openly proclaimed in resolutions passed by our Partys Petrograd and All-Russia conferences 1. The fundamental issue in contemporary political life both in Russia and the rest of the world is that of the struggle of proletarian internationalism against the chauvinism (or defencism) of the big and petty bourgeoisie. Our Party has publicly declared its determination to work for closer relations and unity among all internationalists (see the resolution of the All-Russia Conference on uniting the internationalists against the petty-bourgeois defencist bloc).

The party of the proletariat has taken a clear, open and honest stand on the issues involved in the elections.

2. A no less clear class physiognomy is shown by the party of peoples freedom, namely, the Cadets, actually the party of the counter-revolutionary bourgeoisie. They, too, have put forward 10 party lists in all 10 districts. As we know, all the parties of the landowners and capitalists are now supporting the Cadets, but for the time being they do so on the quiet.

3. Third as regards clearly defined party alignment comes the new-fledged Radical-Democratic Party, which has put forward its lists in only 6 out of the 10 districts. This unknown party is obviously another capitalist party which hopes to pull the votes of the men in the street by non-committal promisessomething in the nature of Cadets in disguise.

4. Fourth comes a group that has put up 17 lists in 9 districtsa motley assortment of Narodniks (Trudoviks, Socialist-Revolutionaries, and Popular Socialists) and Mensheviks with the addition of the notorious Yedinstvo group in varied combinations.

A regular petty-bourgeois hodge-podge and petty-bourgeois lack of principles! Not one of these groups and parties has dared to come out in advance with an open statement of principles in support of their decision to work for closer relations and unity. They have been swept along by events, and are trailing after the chauvinists. They have all fallen into the same mire and are floundering in it like the true philistines they are. They are trying to worm themselves into each district in every way they can. If it cant be done by hook it will have to be done by crookthat is their motto.

If they are all of one mind on defencism or on supporting the coalition cabinet, then why dont they join forces to fight the elections in a united, open, political bloc recognising a set of definite principles?

The whole trouble is that the petty bourgeoisie, that is to say, the Narodniks and Mensheviks, lack principles and the spirit of party. They are all defencists and ministerialists. Yet they do not trust one another. In one district the Socialist-Revolutionaries run independently, in another they make common cause with the Popular Socialists and the Trudoviks (with people who approve of compensation for the landowners! With parties whom the S.R.s Vikhlayev, Chernov and Co. in 190607 openly accused of worshipping at the shrine of poprietary instincts!). More often than not they make common cause with the Mensheviks, sometimes with Yedinstvo, that very same Yedinstvo of which Dyelo Naroda writes in either a hostile or contemptuous tone.

Never mind! The man in the street will swallow anything! The petty bourgeois does not bother his head about partyism or principles. In the newspaper we are against Yedinstvo, but in order to get into the District Councils we are for it....

Exactly like the Mensheviks. They too, in their paper, are against Yedinstvo, and at their All-Russia conference they greeted the notorious Deutsch with shouts of disapprovala fact of which Yedinstvo complained openly. Never mind, the man in the street has a short memory. We shall act in the man-in-the-street way! In principle we are against the Deutsches and the Jordanskys, we are ashamed of them in front of the workers, but when it comes to getting a political berth for ourselves we dont mind running with these gentlemen on the same tickets!

Let all the class-conscious workers know, and let them spread the news about it among the working-class masses, that the bloc of the Socialist-Revolutionaries and all the Narodniks with the Mensheviks is a bloc of people who are trying to sneak in the Yedinstvo heroes, a bloc of people who are ashamed of their allies.

In two districts, Kazansky and Spassky, there are 110 Mensheviks or S.R.s at all. Apparently they have concealed their identity in the lists of the District Soviets, i.e., in the lists of non-party candidates (in each district the number of candidates is incomplete38 and 28 respectively against 54 and 44 of the Cadet Party and 43 and 46 of our Party). In two districts, therefore, the petty-bourgeois parties found even their motley semi-partyism too much for them, and landed for good and all in the mire of non-partyismwho cares for parties, the thing is to get elected! That, always and everywhere, has been the motto of bourgeois parliamentarians.

5. In the fifth group non-partisanship reigns supreme. They have 28 lists in 10 districts, and most of these groups exist in one district only. This is philistinism at its local narrowest. And what a mixed crowd they are! We have here a House Management, a Group of Employees in Educational Institutions, an Honesty, Accountancy, and Fairness Group (believe it or not...) and a group of Democratic Republicans and Socialist Functionaries Nominated by Non-Party Toilers, Republican Democrats, Working in the House Committees....

Comrade workers! Let us all get down to work, canvassing all the poorest homes, awakening and enlightening the domestic servants, the most backward workers, etc., etc. Let us campaign against the capitalists and the Cadets, disguised as Radical Democrats, who hide behind the Cadets backs. Let us campaign against the petty-bourgeois defencist mire of the Narodniks and Mensheviks, against their bloc, which stands for no parties and no principles, against their attempts to sneak into their joint lists the Trudoviks, the advocates of compensation, and the heroes of Plekhanovs Yedinstvo with whom even such ministerial papers as Dyelo Naroda and Rabochaya Gazeta are ashamed to be seen in the same company!

Notes

1. See pp 15960 and 294 [See Draft Resolution on the Attitude Towards the Parties of the SRs, Mensheviks, Non-Faction SDs and others] of this volume..

Source: Marxist Internet Archive.
Zhao Juyang, a woman from eastern Chinas city of Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, has finally completed a 290-day road trip. She drove a car by herself for 37,000 kilometers, crossing 25 countries.

Zhao Juyang and her car

Some professional hikers sneered at Zhao when she announced her plan, skeptical that the trip would even be possible without a clear plan. But Zhao ignored them, noting that travel is a personal experience in which the exploration of the unknown is the best part.

Nevertheless, Zhao did consider various dangerous scenarios that might occur on the trip, such as engine failure, robbery and even terrorist attacks. Her limited budget was another factor that planted a seed of doubt. However, these concerns never shook her determination, because Zhao was confident that fresh memories from the trip would not fade with age.

Zhao's route on map

After three years of preparation, Zhao finally set off from Hangzhou on June 26, 2016, driving an off-road vehicle she had bought specially for the trip. In addition to maps, her passport and a camera, she also brought a wedding dress, simply because she loves the sense of ceremony it imparts. Zhao has taken photos in the wedding dress at many famous tourist sites such as Baikal Lake and the Red Square.

\

Zhao takes a photo with a Russian man.

She has seen the beautiful stars above the sky of Inner Mongolia, and experienced fairytale-like pre-dawn scenery after waking up in a Siberian gas station. However, not all her experiences were pleasant. She once encountered a man with a machete after her car rolled into a ditch in Gabons rain forest. Fortunately, she escaped safely.

Though Zhao believes that adventures can be the highlight of peoples lives, she doesnt recommend that everyone follow her risky behavior. For her, the trip - dangerous at times - was very much a personal decision.
CNN reporter is caught up in 'fake news' row after being accused of 'setting up' a Muslim counter-terror protest

CNN has denied online claims that it 'set up' a counter-extremism demonstration behind one of its reporters.

A group from the London Fatwa Council came to the police cordon near the London Bridge terror attacks with banners proclaiming 'ISIS will lose' yesterday afternoon.

But a video which emerged of the group apparently being positioned by TV reporters led to claims online that the channel was 'creating a narrative'.

The video shows the group being ushered past the media and positioned so that cameras can see them.

CNN has denied claims it positioned anti-extremism demonstrators behind its cameras to 'create a narrative', insisting the group arrived to be seen by TV cameras

Reporter Becky Anderson mentioned the protesters' signs in her news report on the terror attack.

She said: 'Behind me you can see a sign here, hashtag 'turn to love'', hashtag 'for London', hashtag 'ISIS will lose', and flowers left in remembrance of those who left their lives.'

She called the demonstrators a 'poignant scene' and urged the camera to pause on them to viewers 'how people feel here on the streets of London'.

The man who filmed the footage, a Twitter user called @markantro, tweeted: 'CNN creating the narrative #FakeNews'

His video was shared more than 14,000 times on the social network and liked more than 16,000 times.

The man who filmed the footage, who describes himself as an 'AnarchoCapitalist', claimed white police officers left the protest scene around the time news crews were filming, leaving minority officers visible - another example, he claimed, of the footage being staged.

Former US diplomat Richard Grenell also retweeted the video, with the caption: 'This is very disturbing.'

Both CNN and the demonstrators vehemently deny that anything was staged.

Twitter users said the protesters had been brought into shot to manipulate the story

But CNN's Brian Stelter hit back, insisting they had only filmed what was already happening

They insisted the same scene was filmed by other broadcasters, including the BBC and ITV, who had positioned themselves at the police cordon.

A CNN spokesman said: 'This story is nonsense. The group of demonstrators that was at the police cordon was being allowed through by officers so they could show their signs to the gathered media.

'The CNN crew along with other media present simply filmed them doing so.'

Mohammad Raza of the London Fatwa Council, who took part in the demonstration, told MailOnline suggestions the event was staged were 'completely false'.

He said: 'Nothing was set up. We all decided to go down there. We are members of a faith foundation which includes Jewish, Christian and Muslim members.

'We went down there on our own initiative to lay flowers at the scene.'

He insisted any actions by TV crews was their own concern and his group had not been told what to do.

The row over the news channel came as US President Donald Trump launched an online attack on Sadiq Khan.

The protesters also appeared at the side of the BBC's coverage of the terror attack aftermath

The BBC panned onto the group at the same police cordon as where CNN were filming

Trump hit out after the London Mayor told people there was 'no reason to be alarmed' about an increased police presence in the coming days.

The US president tweeted: 'At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is "no reason to be alarmed!".'

This prompted Mr Khan's spokesman to state the mayor has 'more important things to do than respond to Donald Trump's ill-informed' tweet, before Mr Khan later suggested he does not regard Mr Trump's planned state visit as welcome.

Mr Trump continued to criticise Mr Khan, tweeting on Monday: '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!'

Talking about his earlier comments, Mr Khan insisted made clear that he was advising people not to be concerned by the presence of additional armed police officers on the streets of the capital in the days to come, and not playing down anxieties about the attack itself.
Glo European Windows is excited to announce the first Passive House (PHIUS) Certified Aluminum Window in the United States.

"We are excited to be the first to offer the building industry with a triple pane aluminum window that has superior performance values as well as a thin aluminum frame" says Vice President, Mark Wells. "Our spirit of innovation as a company is evident in this new PHIUS Certification."

The Certified A7 Aluminum Series is a thermally broken triple pane aluminum window, featuring a continuous layer of insulation and multiple air seals within a durable aluminum frame. Thermal performance is R-value 7 and U-value 0.142, PSI-Spacers 0.016, Solar Heat Gain Coefficient between

0.28-0.60. The A7 Aluminum Window is available in the Tilt and Turn window and Fixed window configurations, as well as a Swing Door.

"We are passionate about helping our clients meet and exceed their Passive House goals by combining beautiful design and energy efficient window construction" says President, Russ Hellem. "Our high performance A7 window is a response to just that: certified performance."

About Glo

Founded in Missoula, MT in January 2015, Glo European Windows currently delivers custom windows and doors throughout the United States. Glo European Windows is based in Missoula, MT. For more information about Glo Windows please visit the website at https://glowindows.com
Seeking Proposals from 501(c)(3) organizations; $100,000 Technology Grants Available

Montanas fastest growing tech firm, Bozeman-based Wisetail, announced today it is seeking to partner with non-profit organizations that positively impact the Arts, Outdoor Recreation & Wilderness Preservation or the Local Community & State. Also on the list of the Best Places to Work in America, Wisetail is dedicated to helping non-profits maximize their potential through $100,000 in-kind grants of software and services to bolster the impact of non-profit applicants.

Full Story: http://mailchi.mp/wisetail/news-wisetail-montanas-fastest-growing-technology-firm-announces-new-wisetail-works-grant-cycle-now-open?e=d5f1eefa51
2017-06-07 16:32:00

No time was given for this call

Contact: Join by texting SenatorDaines (one word) to 828282 or by calling any of Daines offices

U.S. Senator Steve Daines announces that he will host his sixteenth tele-town hall on Wednesday, June 7. During the tele-town hall, Daines will answer questions asked from across Montana on a variety of issues.

Montanans can join Daines tele-town hall by texting "SenatorDaines" (one word) to 828282 or by calling any of Daines offices to get registered for the event. Office locations and phone numbers are available here: https://www.daines.senate.gov.
PFL Tech Inc. is a marketing technology company that provides sales enablement and marketing automation solutions, as well asprinting, mailing, and fulfillment services. They also provide some great Montana Jobs.
CNN has denied claims it positioned anti-extremism demonstrators behind its cameras to 'create a narrative', insisting the group arrived to be seen by TV cameras (Photo from Mail Online)

CNN is being accused of creating a narrative after terrorists rammed a vehicle into pedestrians on the London Bridge and then abandoned their vehicle to continue their attack, killing seven people and wounding dozens. CNN has called the claims absolute nonsense.

The U.S. news outlet has denied claims that it set up a protest scene. But a video uploaded by Londoner Mark Antro (@markantro) seems to show CNN creating a protest scene in London. In the scene, you see protestors being told where to stand and what to do in front of cameras. American social media personality Mike Cernovich (@Cernovich) claimed that printed papers and props were brought for the protesters. According to Huanqiu, CNN was not the only media outlet to use the protest scene. Journalists from the BBC, the Associated Press, and other mainstream Western media outlets also used the scene to create their own narratives.

U.S. President Donald Trump has long accused his nations leading media outlets of mass producing fake news in order to advance their own political agendas and gain audience. Trumps eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., took to Twitter to back up his father on June 5, writing that he is not surprised by this latest example of news creation. Not at all surprising at this point. They create the narrative they want to push & sell it at all costs, he wrote, adding the hashtag #fakenews at the end.

In his tweet, Trump Jr. also included a link to a story on the Gateway Pundit, titled, CNN Creates #FakeNews in London Following Terror Attacks, Stages Anti-ISIS Muslim Protestors. One user on the site called CNN nothing but propaganda film producers. Another user called CNN a leader in FAKE news. Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to the U.S. president, called CNN one of the greatest purveyors of fake news in a recent interview with CNN.

Chinas social media users also responded to the controversy. Trump is right, CNN is fake news, a user wrote on Weibo. Trump must be laughing at the White House, wrote another Weibo user. Others joked that freedom of press must include the freedom to create fake news. China has long made the argument that press freedom in the U.S. is influenced by money and that wealthy people have the power to manipulate the mass media, which can serve as their mouthpieces.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is ready to embrace a more important role in the global arena, a yellow book report said on June 6.

The yellow book on SCO development for 2017 noted that the organization has entered a new stage of development after India and Pakistan received full membership, bringing the membership to represent 44 percent of the worlds population and 25 percent of its GDP.

The yellow book was jointly compiled by the Social Sciences Academic Press and the Institute of Russia, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Apart from India and Pakistan, SCO member countries also include China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

The expansion of membership will push the organization to switch its main focus from peace and stability in Central Asia to regional peace and stability on the Eurasian continent. It will also work to promote a more fair political and economic world order, according to the yellow book.

Many SCO members are also participants in the Belt and Road Initiative. Once the initiative is integrated with local development to promote cooperation on basic infrastructure, industrial capacity, finance and agriculture, the rising economies of the organization will witness a profound improvement in their industrial capacity and technology.

However, the yellow book also warned that the two new members, who struggle with border issues and hold some controversial stances on terrorism and extremism, may add conflict to the organization, making it harder to reach consensus on security cooperation topics.
HARBIN, June 6 (Xinhua) -- A cargo train carrying 123 China-made Volvo cars set off from Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province for Belgium on Monday, marking the start of the new China-Europe train service.

The shipment to Zeebrugge Port in Belgium also marked the first time that China has exported complete vehicles to Western Europe.

A one-way trip takes 18 days via the 9,832 km-long route, passing through Russia, Belarus, Poland and Germany along the way.

Meng Qingwen, general manager of the HAO International Logistics Co. Ltd., which operates the logistics transport, said the train service was tailor-made for Volvo's Daqing factory.

Meng said trains will run once a week on the line initially, and the number of weekly round trips may reach four to five by the end of this year, depending on the company's export needs to Europe.

The first shipment on the new line carried Volvo's flagship model, the S90L.

Volvo Car Group has moved production of its S90 models from Sweden to the Daqing plant, which has been a key part of its strategy to make China a global manufacturing and export hub. The factory in China also produced the country's first car exports to the United States in 2015.
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With their growing cargo shipments and blossoming business opportunities, freight train routes between China and Europe are steadily boosting the industrial development of Europe. The cargo transportation service is currently set to provide a substantial dividend of shared economy for people living in the countries along its routes.

Departing from 28 locations in China and covering tens of thousands of kilometers, the freight trains travel to 29 cities in 11 European countries. So far, 51 routes have been opened. Over 1,700 trains passed from China to Europe in 2016, covering a total of 17 million kilometers, or 424 times the perimeter of the earth.

The containers that have been shipped would stretch 900 kilometers if connected together, which is equal to the distance between Beijing and Nanjing, said Dong Jianmin, deputy chairman of the Organization for Cooperation of Railways, headquartered in Warsaw, Poland.

It would only take 14 days to transport cargo from Lodz to Chengdu, added the vice general manager of a Chinese factory in Lodz, Poland, adding that improved logistics have enhanced production efficiency, making his factory's products more competitive.

Erich Staake, president of the German enterprise Duisport Group, has said that China-Europe freight trains offer not only a trade route, but also connect different markets, transforming global industries and logistics. Countries along the freight routes all hope to benefit from it, Staake added.

There were just two to three China-Europe freight trains arriving at Duisport back in 2014, but now the number has increased to 20, accounting for 20 percent of the port's total capacity. According to Shan Jing, business development manager of Far East Land Bridge Ltd., which is the operator of the freight routes, the trains have injected new power into Germany's shrinking rail transportation industry. The service has also promoted the logistics industry of Duisburg, and will boost the development of more regions and industries in the future.

German railway company Deutsche Bahn shipped more than 40,000 containers via China-Europe freight trains in 2016, achieving 11.4 percent growth. The company plans to ship over 100,000 containers in 2020.

According to the National Development and Reform Commission, about 5,000 trains will run between China and Europe in 2020. By then, China-Europe freight routes will connect not only China, Europe and other countries along the routes, but will also cover East Asia, Southeast Asia and other regions.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with visiting California Governor Jerry Brown of United States at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, June 6, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

BEIJING, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping Tuesday called on California to play a bigger role in promoting exchange and cooperation between China and the United States.

He said he hoped California could continue to promote bilateral exchanges between localities and contribute more to China-U.S. cooperation in areas including technology, innovation and green development.

Xi made the remarks in his meeting with visiting California Governor Jerry Brown at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

"Since the two countries established diplomatic ties, China-U.S. relations have weathered various tests and always moved forward, bringing huge benefits to both peoples," Xi said. "Bilateral relations also contributed a lot to peace, stability and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region and the world."

China pursues a path of peaceful, open and green development, he said, calling on the two sides to enhance communication and expand cooperation to push forward the sound and stable development of bilateral ties.

Xi said local-level exchanges and cooperation were an important pillar of China-U.S. relations, hoping that the two sides could make local-level exchanges and cooperation into a new engine for the growth of bilateral relations.

He welcomed California to join the Belt and Road Initiative.

Brown said California valued the traditional friendship with China and committed itself to dialogue and cooperation with Chinese local governments.

Voicing appreciation of Xi's speech at the World Economic Forum annual meeting at Davos in January, Brown said California was willing to join the construction of the Belt and Road and was looking forward to a stronger cooperative relationship with China in trade, investment, clean technology and environmental protection.
Compared with cesarean deliveries, midpelvic forceps and midpelvic vacuum deliveries lead to higher rates of maternal and infant trauma, according to a new study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

These midpelvic operative vaginal deliveries, carried out when the baby's head is midway through the mother's pelvis, account for about 3% of singleton deliveries in Canada, approximately 10 000 deliveries per year.

Previous evidence on maternal and child injury and death after delivery with forceps or vacuum compared with cesarean delivery is inconsistent. In Canada, more than 20% of all deliveries by forceps or vacuum are midpelvic deliveries. In 2014, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists encouraged increased use of forceps and vacuum delivery to reduce rates of cesarean deliveries.

To better understand the impact of operative vaginal delivery compared with cesarean when either could be used, researchers looked at data on 187 234 singleton births in Canada, excluding Quebec, over 10 years (2003-2013). They included all midpelvic live or stillbirths via forceps or vacuum and cesarean delivery between 37 and 41 weeks gestational age. Of these, 76 755 women needed intervention because of poor uterine contractions and 110 479 because of fetal distress.

In deliveries that did not involve fetal distress, severe complications for the baby were 80% higher following midpelvic forceps and midpelvic vacuum compared with cesarean delivery. The rate of severe birth trauma was five- to ten-fold higher in deliveries by midpelvic forceps and midpelvic vacuum compared with cesarean delivery. Severe obstetric tearing occurred in 19% of women delivered by midpelvic forceps, 12% of women delivered by midpelvic vacuum, and 20% of women that delivered using a combination of midpelvic vacuum and forceps.

The study was restricted to deliveries in which the baby's head was midway through the maternal pelvis and does not apply to forceps and vacuum deliveries carried out when the baby's head has descended further down the birth canal.

"It is important to understand that similar to cesarean deliveries, midpelvic forceps and vacuum deliveries are invasive procedures with their own risks - risks that we have now quantified and that should be communicated to women who may encounter them, especially when the risk is as high as one in five," says lead author, Giulia Muraca, a doctoral researcher at the School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia (UBC). "Women who are delivered by midpelvic forceps or midpelvic vacuum should be afforded the same standard of informed consent as women who consent to cesarean delivery. Ideally, this should take place prior to labour when women are considering their birth plans."

"Our study suggests that unless we can improve our ability to select candidates for midpelvic forceps and vacuum deliveries, or improve training in such deliveries, encouraging higher rates of forceps and vacuum delivery to reduce the cesarean delivery rate could increase rates of neonatal complications, especially birth trauma, as well as maternal complications such as severe postpartum hemorrhage, and obstetric trauma such as tearing," says Giulia Muraca.

The authors stress that there are circumstances during labour, such as fetal distress, when forceps and vacuum have potential to save lives through saving time compared with a cesarean delivery.

The study was limited by the authors' inability to assess the skill level of the physician or health care provider delivering the babies.

Researchers from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC and King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia conducted the study.

Article: Perinatal and maternal morbidity and mortality after attempted operative vaginal delivery at midpelvic station, Giulia M. Muraca, MPH, Yasser Sabr, MD MHSc, Sarka Lisonkova, MD PhD, Amanda Skoll, MD, Rollin Brant, PhD, Geoffrey W. Cundiff, MD, K.S. Joseph, MD PhD, CMAJ, doi: 10.1503/cmaj.161156, published 5 June 2017.
Study results offer safe and affordable treatment option.

A Canadian clinical trial led by researchers at the University of Calgary's Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI), at the Cumming School of Medicine (CSM), shows that minocycline, a common acne medication, can slow the progress of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) in people who have recently experienced their first symptoms.

In addition to being an unexpected discovery - an acne drug benefitting a neurological disorder - the discovery is significant as it offers a safe and affordable treatment option for those with early onset MS. This discovery could impact thousands of newly diagnosed MS patients around the world.

The results of the Phase 3 clinical trial are published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The trial included 142 participants between the ages of 18 and 60 across 12 Canadian sites including: Vancouver, Burnaby, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Toronto, London, Montreal, Quebec City and Halifax.

MS is thought to be an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (brain, spinal cord). The disease attacks myelin, the protective covering of the nerves, causing inflammation and often damaging the myelin. The drug works by reducing the inflammation.

In Canada, the cost of current therapies for relapsing-remitting MS typically falls in the range of $20,000 to $40,000 per year; the minocycline treatment would cost a fraction of that at about $600 per year. In the United States, MS treatment often costs about three times as much as in Canada. Researchers say the potential cost saving will be tremendous and will improve access to treatment for people with MS.

Researchers and doctors are excited about the discovery, as there are no oral therapies approved in Canada for use at this very early stage of the disease.

The drug itself has been around for 50 years, and it doesn't need further Health Canada approval to be used as an off label prescription for MS.

"The clinical results are compelling," says HBI member Dr. Luanne Metz, the study's lead author, who is also a professor in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences at the CSM and an Alberta Health Services neurologist. "Based on these findings, neurologists will be able to prescribe minocycline for people experiencing their first symptoms of demyelination if an MRI suggests the cause will likely prove to be MS."

"Patients will now have yet another treatment option, one that does not require injections, monitoring lab work, or special authorization by their insurance company; provided they have adequate coverage to begin with. These processes can delay treatment initiation for three to four months whereas minocycline can be started immediately."

Current care for many individuals experiencing a first clinical attack suggestive of relapsing-remitting MS involves a brain MRI at about six months to determine if MS can be confirmed or treatment with injectable medications to reduce the chance that their condition will evolve to confirm MS.

"We have not cured MS, but this trial makes future treatment easy and affordable. It has global impact because there are countries where people with MS cannot be treated because of the very high cost," says V. Wee Yong, PhD, a study author from the HBI and professor in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences.

ill, 34, experienced her first sign that she could be developing MS at 27. She woke up with tingling in her hand, the numbness spread to 50 per cent of her body before she received confirmation that lesions had formed on her brain and spine. She volunteered for the two-year clinical trial and kept taking the drug after the trial ended. "Joining the trial was an easy decision and the support I received throughout the process was excellent. I believe in research. How else are we going to learn?"

Jill is now symptom free and has not been diagnosed with MS. After being on the drug for six years, Jill consulted with her physician and decided to stop taking the medication. "It is an antibiotic, and I wanted to give my body a break from all medication. I may go back on minocycline at some point. It's great to have this option."

The trial was funded by the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada and its affiliated Multiple Sclerosis Scientific Research Foundation (MSSRF). Participants in the trial who were experiencing their first demyelinating symptoms were randomized to receive 100 mg twice daily of the oral minocycline or placebo. Over six months of treatment, there was a 27.6 per cent reduction of becoming full blown MS. (The risk was 61 per cent in the placebo group and 33.4 percent in the minocycline group.) This is similar to the effects of current therapies.

"This is truly a Canadian success story in research that the MS Society of Canada and MSSRF are proud to be a part of," says Dr. Karen Lee, vice president of research at the MS Society of Canada. "These are some of the world's most experienced researchers and neurologists, who have taken an idea and brought it from bench to bedside. We are very encouraged by the results of the clinical trial and pleased that people living with MS will be provided a safe and beneficial treatment option as early in the disease as possible."

This remarkable outcome for individuals experiencing demyelinating symptoms worldwide has been over 18 years in the making. Yong, a neuroscientist, initially had the idea to test the acne medicine in an animal model since minocycline has many anti-inflammatory properties that he thought could be useful in treating MS. Soon after obtaining successful research results, in studies also supported by the MS Society of Canada and MSSRF, Yong teamed up with Metz who led the transition into a pilot clinical trial, then a Phase 2, and finally the definitive Phase 3 trial. "This study highlights the benefits of evaluating existing therapies for other indications. Minocycline is an existing acne medication which is safe, and well-tolerated and it is available for immediate clinical use," says Manitoba neurologist, Dr. Ruth Ann Marrie.

"Research has a profound impact on brain and mental health care. Drs. Yong and Metz have provided a remarkable example of how new brain health knowledge can be generated when the laboratory is bridged to the clinic," says HBI Director Samuel Weiss, PhD. "This is a spectacular outcome that will positively impact people's lives worldwide - and is a testament to the power of research excellence at the HBI and CSM."

Led by the HBI, Brain and Mental Health is one of six strategic research themes guiding the University of Calgary toward its Eyes High goals.

The early stages of this work were supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and community support. The clinical trial was supported by Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada and the Multiple Sclerosis Scientific Research Foundation (MSSRF).

Article: Trial of Minocycline in a Clinically Isolated Syndrome of Multiple Sclerosis, Luanne Metz et al., New England Journal of Medicine, doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1608889, published 1 June 2017.
BEIJING, June 6 (Xinhua) -- China welcomes Japan to cooperate more under the framework of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Tuesday.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday that Japan was ready to cooperate with China's Belt and Road Initiative under certain conditions.

Speaking at a forum in Tokyo on Asia's future, Abe said those conditions would include "harmony with a free and fair Trans-Pacific economic zone." ( "We have noticed the relevant remarks," spokesperson Hua Chunying said,noting the Belt and Road Initiative could be a new platform for cooperation and development between China and Japan.

"In the process of the Belt and Road construction, China is committed to promoting a fair, reasonable and transparent international economic, trade and investment system," Hua said, noting that China and many countries had reached agreements to carry cooperation in various fields. "The Belt and Road Initiative, which is an important international public good, as well as an open and inclusive development platform, is beneficial to all countries worldwide, including Japan."

He added that he hoped that the Japanese side could put their will to improve bilateral ties into action.
The young, wild and free Indian is always on the lookout for the next best thingthe next best gadget, the next best person to date, the next best artist and the next best party. And while we may not be of any great help on helping you to date the next best thing, we did manage to get you the next best places to party umm we got you the eight next best places to party, actually. All thanks to Gaurav Malaker, well-known indie music producer. You probably know him better, by the name, BLOT! We caught up with the artist during his stint at Dellhi's first ever Boiler Room session, presented by Budweiser. So, without much furtehr ado, here's where BLOT! likes to party in India.

1. Auro Kitchen & Bar

Where: Aurobindo Market, New Delhi

 Facebook

The owner, Ricky (Teja) lets me do whatever I want with the place and that in itself is quite encouraging, says Gaurav. I like the layout of the space too, as principle for the past couple of years I've been bringing in sound systems to make sure it's a good experience for everyone involved.

2. antiSOCIAL

Where: Khar West, Mumbai

 antiSOCIAL

It's well known for its gig scene and attracts the right crowds, almost all year through. Gaurav who has played quite a few gigs at the venue thinks it's one of the best places to be if you're in Mumbai and looking for a great place to party, with good music and killer vibes. It lists on Malakar's list of 8 places to party in India.

3. Sly Granny  The Community House

Where: Indiranagar, Bangalore

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While Indiranagar, in itself attracts the party-going crowd of Bangalore, Sly Granny is one that Gaurav recommends for the best party experience in the city. From a lazy afternoon soiree, the venue transforms nicely in the eveningson weekdays, as well as, and especially on weekends it hosts some of the most coveted parties in the city.

4. Phoenix  The Astor Hotel

Where: Camac Street Area, Kolkata

 Facebook

While there isn't an overtly pronounced nightlife culture that is prevalent in Kolkata, Phoenix at the Astor Hotel is the place to be if you're looking to party when in the City Of Joy. Not just the ambience, the setting and the vibe of the place really gets you in the mood. That, teamed with a great set of artists and music definitely does it, for Gaurav.

5. The Farm World Cafe

Where: Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad

 Facebook

One of the most active and pumping party places in the centre of all the hype and madness of Hyderabad's incredibly happening nightlife is the Farm World Cafe. And it features on the list of one of the country's best known music producers, BLOT! That in itself says something. Sure, Hyderabad does have a lot of options; but, the Farm World Cafe is one of those options that shoots right to the top of every party-goers list.

6. Summer House Cafe

Where: Lower Parel, Mumbai

 Facebook

After having established itself as a prominent venue for the best club experiences in the capital city of New Delhi, Summer House Cafe has expanded its territory to capture the Mumbai crowd, as well. And as it turns out, it's been doing a pretty phenomenal job ever since its launch earlier this year. Gaurav recommends the venue if you're in Mumbai and looking for a new and happening place to party.

7. The Tao Terraces

Where: MG Road, Bangalore

 Facebook

One of the more prominent nightclub venues in Bangalore, Tao Terraces is known to hold some of the most coveted parties the city experiences. It has a legacy that it has maintained for a while now. With the ambience, the expansive interiors also make you feel like you're about to have the party of your life and scores a spot on Gaurav's party list.

8. Beats Per Minute

Where: Gachibowli, Hyderabad

 Facebook

It's one of the cities favoured places to be for the different kinds of live music acts that the venue keeps hosting from time to time. If you're a great indie musician, chances are you've performed at Beats Per Minute in Hyderabad or are all set to in the near future. And if you're a music and dance enthusiast looking to have a good time out at a nice night venue, BPM, as it is known, is the place to be in Hyderabad. And Gaurav agrees.
JINAN, June 6 (Xinhua) -- Searchers on Tuesday pulled two more bodies out of debris, bringing the death toll to 10 in the explosion at a petrochemical company in eastern China's Shandong Province Monday morning.

Their identities are being confirmed by police, according to the emergency rescue headquarters.

Nine others were injured after a liquefied gas tanker exploded around 1 a.m. Monday, causing the fire in the loading area of Linyi Jinyu Petrochemical Company in the city's Lingang Economic Development Area.

The fire was put out at 4 p.m. Monday and the injured are not in critical condition.

Police have detained the owner of the company.

An investigation is under way.
LONDON, June 6 (Xinhua) -- The third terrorist involved in the weekend attack on London Bridge was named Tuesday in Italian media.

Reports have given his name as Moroccan-born Italian Youssef Zaghba.

Media in Italy claim Zaghba was stopped by the authorities in Bologna last year when he was en route to Syria.

The Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera said in a report that the Italian intelligence services reported Youssef's movements to their British counterparts.

British police have also identified the third attacker as Youssef Zaghba, but said the 22-year-old was not subject of M15 (Britain's security agency) interest.

London Metropolitan Police Monday released the names of the other two terrorists, Pakistan-born Khuram Butt, 27, and Rachid Radouane, 30, who were both from the Barking area of London.

All the three men confronted and shot dead by armed officers within eight minutes of the first call as the trio mowed people down on London Bridge before slashing people with knives in a frenzied attack on civilians. Their carnage left seven people dead and 48 injured.
BEIJING, June 6 (Xinhua) -- The Agricultural Development Bank of China (ADBC), the country's major policy bank, plans to lend 1.3 trillion yuan (188 billion U.S. dollars) by the end of 2020, for key agricultural projects and to industries that help with poverty reduction.

Bao Jianan, vice president of the bank, told a meeting on poverty reduction on Tuesday that the loans will be available for major agricultural producers and speciality industries.

To eradicate poverty by 2020, China must lift 10 million people out of poverty every year through developing industry, transfer of employment, relocation and social security coverage.

The ADBC has stipulated that poverty reduction loans should be no less than 60 percent of its total credit. By the end of 2016, outstanding loans totaled 901 billion yuan.

Established in 1994, the ADBC is responsible for funding projects related to growth and agriculture.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 6

Trend:

The OSCE is expected to monitor the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops on June 7, Azerbaijans Defense Ministry said June 6.

The monitoring will be held under the mandate of the OSCE chairperson-in-office personal representative along the line of contact near the Alibayli village of Azerbaijans Tovuz district, the ministry said.

On the Azerbaijani side, the monitoring will be held by Simon Tiller and Mikhail Olaru, field assistants of the OSCE chairperson-in-office personal representative.

On the Azerbaijani territories occupied and controlled by Armenian armed forces, the monitoring will be held by Andrzej Kasprzyk, ambassador and the OSCE chairperson-in-office personal representative, and his field assistants Ghenadie Petrica and Martin Schuster.

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.
The Foreign Ministry's Secretary General for International Economic Relations, Giorgos Tsipras, begins a two-day visit to Panama today, aiming to encourage Greece's economic and trade presence in new markets. He will complete his trip in Colombia, where he will remain until Friday.



In the two countries, Mr. Tsipras will meet with the Ministers and Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Trade, Agriculture and Tourism to discuss ways to strengthen institutional cooperation and create a business-friendly framework for activity in these specific markets.



He will also meet with heads of sectoral agencies and with representatives of the business world, with whom he will exchange information and proposals on specific export and investment opportunities.



Also a priority on Mr. Tsipras's itinerary are the meetings he will have with the Greek communities of Panama and Colombia, particularly since it has been decades since a Greek official visited these countries.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 6

Trend:

The Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict can be resolved only through negotiations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

Lavrov was addressing the students of the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, TASS agency reported June 6.

There is no other way except for negotiations, he said.

Lavrov stressed that despite a set of principles has already been worked out during talks, it is necessary to agree on a number of very complex details covering very sensitive issues.

But we do not stop doing our best, he said. As you know, Russia together with the US and France, is a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, as part of which we regularly meet with the sides of the conflict.

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.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 6

Trend:

President of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili has sent a congratulatory letter to President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

It is my pleasure to extend to you my most sincere congratulations on the occasion of the Republic Day of the Republic of Azerbaijan, said President Margvelashvili in his letter.

I am pleased to emphasize that regardless various challenges, Azerbaijani people have built successful, independent and prosperous country with its decent place on international arena. As Georgia attaches high importance to the enhancement of friendly relations with the Republic of Azerbaijan, I am convinced that our joint efforts through furthering and enhancing cooperation will deepen and strengthen strategic partnership and centuries-old friendship between our nations, he noted.

I would like to extend my gratitude once again for your steadfast support of Georgias sovereignty and territorial integrity, added the Georgian president. Your Excellency, please accept the assurances of my highest consideration along with my best wishes for peace, stability and prosperity of the friendly Azerbaijani people.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 6

By Elmira Tariverdiyeva  Trend:

Krzysztof Szczerski, the Polish presidents chief of staff, on Monday held talks with Azerbaijans Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov, reads a message on the official website of the Polish president.

The talks were held to prepare for an upcoming visit of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev to Poland.

The sides are expected to discuss political, economic and cultural issues during the meeting.

They will sign a joint declaration comprising a series of agreements that together will create a road map in relations between the two countries, the Polish presidents website said.

According to Azerbaijans State Customs Committee, trade turnover with Poland amounted to $18.202 million in January-April 2017.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 6

Trend:

There are all the necessary conditions to achieve such higher goals as strengthening the economic ties and supporting the integration process of member countries of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), said Azerbaijans Prosecutor General Zakir Garalov.

He made the remarks addressing the third meeting of the heads of prosecutor offices, anti-corruption organizations and ombudsmen of the ECO member states in Baku.

Garalov noted that today, there is great need for political stability, moral solidarity and partnership of Muslim states.

All this makes it necessary to develop the economies of these countries, he added.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 6

Trend:

Azerbaijan attaches great importance to establishment of multiculturalism and intercultural dialogue, said President Ilham Aliyev in his message to participants of the Third Meeting of the Heads of Anti-Corruption Organizations and Ombudsmen of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Member States, ongoing in Baku.

Ilham Aliyevs message was read out by Assistant to the Azerbaijani President for Work with Law Enforcement Bodies and Military Issues, Department Head Fuad Alasgarov on June 6.

Announcing this year as The Year of Islamic Solidarity and holding the 4th Islamic Solidarity Games reflect the significance Azerbaijan attaches to the Islamic values and the unity in the Muslim world, said the president in his letter.

Noting that the Economic Cooperation Organizations members share common history, culture and religion, Ilham Aliyev said it is positive case that Azerbaijan hosts this ECO event dedicated to the fight against corruption and human rights protection.

Being an active ECO member, Azerbaijan has hosted the organizations two summits, as well as chaired it in 2012 and 2017, said President Aliyev.

During its chairmanship, our country made significant contributions to the organizations development and deepening of cooperation, he added.

Today, Azerbaijan is a modern country, which has achieved sustainable economic development, said the presidents message.

We have had significant achievements in political, economic and social spheres. A transparent public relations system has been created in our country, and the activity of democratic institutions, human rights and freedoms have been ensured. Legislation that meets international requirements, effective operation of specialized institutional structures, and ensuring transparency in public administration are the successes of our anti-corruption policy, noted the Azerbaijani president.

A model of public services provision that we have introduced is internationally considered as the best practice to prevent corruption, he added.

President Ilham Aliyev also expressed confidence that this event of the Economic Cooperation Organization will contribute to further strengthening of cooperation.
CASEVILLE  A Huron County business, located at 6600 Main St. in Caseville, recently changed ownership.

It has also changed names  slightly. What used to be Caseville Gifts & Books is now Caseville Books & Gifts. A small change, but it was done for a valid reason.

"We decided to make it Books & Gifts, so if someone was Googling 'books in Caseville,' it would come up," said Elaine Higgins, who along with her husband, Ken, owns the used book store in downtown Caseville.

The pair have been vacationing in the Caseville area for decades, and were frequent visitors to the store. They are ardent readers.

"I love to read, but not to his level," Elaine said. "My husband is an avid reader. I would even say voracious. We have two sons, and both of them are avid readers, as well. We have always loved this store. On a whim, I asked the manager if the store was for sale. He replied that they had an appointment that afternoon to see a real estate agent. My husband and I got excited, because it's always been our goal to retire up here  we had been thinking about purchasing a business up here, and this was perfect for us. So, we made an offer."

Less than a month later, they closed the deal, and on May 12, Caseville got a new 'book lady.'

"I had a job downstate," she said. "I gave my notice as soon as we found out we were buying this place. I left the job the day before we came up and signed the papers."

The purchase of the business included the inventory.

"There are supposed to be 25,000 books in the store right now," she said. "There are two rooms upstairs that are full of boxes of books. The trailer next door has books. We also have a storage facility out back that is filled with books. I'm going to estimate there are about 40,000 or 50,000 books total."

Learning a new business can be exciting, and a bit overwhelming.

"I've been walking around trying to familiarize myself with what we sell, and what we need," she said. "I'd love to get a scanner and be able to scan and catalog all the books, which seems like a daunting job."

The shelves are filled with books of every conceivable genre. The regular clientele of the used book store will find the same diversity of choices they've seen over the past few decades.

"We have a plethora of different types of books," Higgins said. "We have a lot of cookbooks. We have summer reads and novels for people who are vacationing. We also have some historical books and books about Michigan. We have books for young readers, Harry Potter, and things like that. I would say we have just about any genre of book that you may be looking for."

Higgins doesn't plan any significant changes immediately, with the exception of setting up an Internet connection, so they can accept credit cards.

"Right now, we're cash only," Higgins said. "A lot of people don't carry cash anymore."

The store has an established customer base. People would come in year after year to pick up reading material. From time to time, they would also drop off used books. That tradition will undoubtedly continue.

"People have a love for books," Higgins said. "They want to know that, if they're getting rid of their books, they're going to a good place. They don't want to throw them away. They want someone else to enjoy them."

The previous owner, Dolores Hartman, was well known as a book lover and the customers could always count on having a large, diverse selection.

"Somebody told me these books were like her children," Higgins said. "We're going to take good care of them. We hope we can do a good job with Dolores's legacy."

The new owners plan a few small changes that will help improve the experience of looking for just the right book in Caseville Books & Gifts.

"We have a little kid's area," Higgins said. "I'd like to put a table in there for the little guys, so they can keep busy while mom and dad are shopping. I would like to change the display a little from time to time, to feature different books ... we have some Jimmy Buffet books, and I want to feature those for Cheeseburger."

Higgins is looking forward to her first summer as the proprietor of Caseville Books & Gifts. She enjoys meeting new people and intends to see that their reading needs are met.

The store will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, Friday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Those hours may change as the tourist season gets underway.

Although the ownership has changed, customers are sure to find the same assortment of quality reading material they've come to expect from Caseville's used book store.
BAD AXE  It had been nearly two decades since Matthew S. Bentley, a convicted 1997 Bad Axe murderer, set foot inside a Huron County courtroom.

But his opportunity for a new trial came Monday during a motion for reconsiderations hearing.

That motion was eventually denied.

Bentley, now 34, was 14 years old when he shot and killed a 54-year-old Bad Axe woman inside her home in September 1997. He was convicted of felony murder, first-degree home invasion and weapons-felony firearms.

Bentley was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole  a mandatory sentence at that time related to the crime.

During Mondays hearing, defense attorney Douglas R. Mullkoff argued his client had ineffective appellate counsel and presiding judge, M. Richard Knoblock, failed to instruct the jury to consider a charge of voluntary manslaughter.

Voluntary manslaughter is defined as a person intentionally killing another, but acting out of passion or anger before he or she had time to calm down. The charge is distinct from murder because the killer acted when his or her thinking was disturbed by emotional excitement that caused them to act without thinking twice.

For the reasons stated in my briefs, Im asking you vacate these convictions and order a new trial, Mullkoff told Huron County Circuit Judge Gerald M. Prill.

David Wallace, of the Huron County Prosecutors Office, reviewed pieces of the 1998 trial transcript which showed Bentley broke into the victims house, found a gun and later loaded it, was confronted by the victim and then Bentley shot and killed her.

Wallace said the jury was given instructions for first- or second-degree murder, but the jury decided second-degree didnt apply.

The jury is basically saying, We wouldnt have found him guilty of anything less, Wallace explained, and later requested Prill deny the motion.

Mullkoff informed Prill in the state of Michigan, juries are not aware of penalty guidelines when determining a verdict. He also said had the jury been able to consider a manslaughter charge, they wouldnt have been able to return a felony murder conviction.

Prill briefed the court with several testimonies from witnesses during the trial, all of which stated the victim saw Bentley inside her home, and he shot and killed her. Prill ruled there was a lack of good cause for the court to vacate the convictions and denied a new trial.

However, a phone pretrial was scheduled for June 19 for resentencing.

When Bentley was sentenced in 1998, the crime called for a mandatory life sentence in prison without the possibility of parole. In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that life sentences without parole for juveniles are unconstitutional.

His resentencing guidelines will be a default minimum sentence of 25 years to a maximum 60 years.

Bentley is currently serving his time at Thumb Correctional Facility in Lapeer. He has been incarcerated since Aug. 31, 1998.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 7

Trend:

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has congratulated Azerbaijani people on the occasion of the Republic Day.

"On behalf of the American people, I want to extend my sincere congratulations to the Azerbaijani people on the commemoration of their Republic Day.

The United States and Azerbaijan share a strong partnership, built through years of cooperation on energy and security issues as well as dialogue on democratic principles. As the month of Ramadan begins, I also congratulate Azerbaijan on its rich history, including the establishment of the first Muslim-majority parliamentary republic 99 years ago. Then, as now, you had a vision and worked to make it a reality. The United States encourages efforts to build a more secure and prosperous nation that respects the fundamental freedoms of its people. We also remain committed to the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The United States looks forward to even greater cooperation with Azerbaijan across all areas of our relationship in the years to come" said Rex Tillerson in his letter.
QUANTICO, Virginia -- After 20-year-old recruit Raheel Siddiqui died last March in an apparent suicide at boot camp, Marine Corps investigators found that his rough treatment at the hands of a senior drill instructor "likely provided the impetus" for the tragic act.

But authorities at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina, had already linked the same drill instructor, since identified as Gunnery Sgt. Joseph Felix, to disturbing accusations of hazing a year prior, allegedly involving another Muslim recruit who was stuffed into an industrial dryer and interrogated.

Now, the commander of 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, Lt. Col. Joshua Kissoon, may face criminal charges for failing to keep Felix from training recruits while the first investigation was ongoing.

Kissoon was removed from his post March 31, 2016. While the firing came just weeks after Siddiqui's death, it was unrelated to that tragedy. Instead, officials say, it was connected to prior allegations, including an Inspector General report finding evidence of whistleblower retaliation.

Kissoon faces charges of failure to obey a lawful order, two specifications of willful dereliction of duty, three specifications of false official statement, and six specifications of conduct unbecoming an officer.

Col. Paul Cucinotta, the former commander of Parris Island's Recruit Training Regiment, which oversees all four training battalions, testified during an Article 32 preliminary hearing Monday that he had given a directive to move Felix and two other accused drill instructors to non-training duties until the investigation into the dryer incident was completed.

Both Cucinotta and his senior enlisted adviser, Sgt. Maj. Nicholas Deabreu, were removed from their posts in the wake of Siddiqui's death and subsequent allegations of hazing. Both testified for the prosecution Monday under a grant of immunity.

Cucinotta said he had intended to keep accused drill instructors away from training, given the egregious nature of the allegations, expressing his wish in a meeting at which Kissoon was present.

"I said something along the lines of, 'These Marines will not go back on the deck in terms of leading a platoon until the investigation is complete,' " Cucinotta said.

A Jan. 24, 2016, email update from Cucinotta's executive officer, Lt. Col. Christopher Lynch, reiterated this recommendation. Lynch had read a draft copy of the investigation and confirmed the allegations were serious.

"The drill instructors should be sat down," Lynch wrote, according to testimony at the hearing.

Cucinotta said he didn't recall specifically if at that point he had ordered the drill instructors implicated in the case to surrender their belts and campaign covers, the distinctive markers of their position.

"I had already resolved in my head that they were not training recruits," he said.

Initially, Felix was placed in an administrative post within 3rd Battalion. But he was eventually installed as a senior drill instructor with the battalion's Kilo Company, according to testimony.

Cucinotta said he did not become aware that Felix was training recruits again until the day after Siddiqui's death, when he met the drill instructor at the battalion and spoke with him.

There were several points of ambiguity raised during the hearing. One was an email from Deabreu that appeared to suggest there was not enough evidence to prosecute the drill instructors in the hazing probe, raising the possibility they would receive only an adverse administrative counseling, known in the Marine Corps as a 6105.

Another was the definition of "sat down" with regards to the drill instructors. Deabreu said it wasn't clear the term always entailed removing the Marines from their posts, although he said a DI who had been "sat down" should not be supervising Marines.

Kissoon's civilian attorney, Colby Vokey, also noted that drill instructors were in chronically short supply at Parris Island, establishing in testimony that Kissoon had asked for regular updates on the hazing investigation because of the impact it had on unit manning.

Cucinotta described Kissoon as a proficient officer who cared about his Marines and communicated with him regularly about the welfare of 3rd Recruit Training Battalion.

After Siddiqui's death, Cucinotta said he confronted Kissoon frankly about his decision to reinstate the drill instructor.

"I asked him, why didn't we talk about that," Cucinotta recalled. "[Kissoon] said, 'Had we talked about that, I would have tried to convince you to let [Felix] come back.' "

The hearing into allegations against Kissoon continued into Monday evening. Once it is complete, the preliminary hearing judge, Col. William Brown, will make a decision whether to recommend sending the charges to court-martial or to dispense of the case some other way.

Felix is set to face court-martial this summer at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, on charges including hazing, maltreatment, and drunk and disorderly conduct.

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at@HopeSeck.
The Air Force on Monday unveiled a tiered bonus system to combat a chronic pilot shortage, with bonuses of up to $455,000 over 13 years for fighter pilots.

And while the benefit clearly takes aim at fighter pilots, it's also designed to target aviators across a number of platforms, including drones, and for periods of as short as one year.

"Pilot retention right now is in a crisis when it comes to fighters, and we're changing around the way we do incentive pay," Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said in announcing the initiative during a breakfast in Washington, D.C. The bonus "will encourage pilots to stay where they are needed most," she said.

The new Aviation Bonus Program is an expansion of Aviator Retention Pay and puts into place the cap authorized for the incentive under the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA. It also details for the first time the "tiered" benefit, with specific amounts based on specialty area.

$35K a Year for Fighter, Drone Pilots

Fighter and drone pilots are slated to receive the highest maximum bonus of $35,000 a year, while special operations combat systems officers the least at $10,000.

Here's a look at the different tiers for the bonus, according to figures released by the Air Force:

Tier 1 -- Fighter Pilot (Air Force Specialty Code: 11F)

Bonus eligibility based on one-year, two-year, five-year, nine-year, or up to 24 years of aviation service (13-year maximum) commitments.

Maximum annual bonus: $35,000.

Tier 2 -- Bomber Pilot (11B)/Special Operations Pilot (11S)/Mobility Pilot (11M)

Bonus eligibility based on one-year, two-year, five-year, or nine-year commitments.

Maximum annual bonus: $30,000.

Tier 3 -- C2ISR Surveillance Pilot (11R)/Combat Search and Rescue Pilot (11H)

Bonus eligibility based on one-year, two-year, or five-year commitments.

Maximum annual bonus: $28,000.

Tier 4 -- RPA Pilot (18X/11U/12U/13U)

Bonus eligibility based on a five-year commitment.

Maximum annual bonus: $35,000.

Tier 5 -- Combat Search and Rescue Combat System Officer (12H)

Bonus eligibility based on a five-year commitment.

Maximum annual bonus: $20,000.

Tier 6 -- Fighter Combat Systems Officer (12F)/Bomber CSO (12B)

Bonus eligibility based on a five-year commitment.

Maximum annual bonus: $15,000.

Tier 7 -- Special Operations Combat Systems Officer (12S)/C2ISR Surveillance CSO (12R)

Bonus eligibility based on a five-year commitment.

Maximum annual bonus: $10,000.

Related Links:

Upcoming Deadline

The Air Force Personnel Center on Tuesday will begin notifying airmen eligible to receive the bonus. Officers have until Oct. 1 to decide whether they want to extend their service, an Air Force spokeswoman told Military.com.

"You're only eligible to take one of these bonuses if your service commitment is expiring in fiscal year 2017," the spokeswoman said.

Officials said there is a benefit to extending career time sooner rather than later.

For example, with fighter incentive pay of $35,000, "if you lock in for, say, nine years, you'll get the bonus" no matter what, the spokeswoman explained. But "if you do just a one-year to the two-year sign up, OK great, you'll get it for those," but an unpredictable budget cycle the following year could torpedo another chance for an annual bonus.

The spokeswoman said shorter commitments work best for airmen who are considering a career change but may still be on the fence about when they want to exit the service.

No Enlisted Pilot Bonuses Yet

While enlisted personnel have begun flying the RQ-4 Global Hawk, they are not currently eligible for the same aviation bonuses, the spokeswoman said. Depending on career field, enlisted bonuses work through a different, re-enlistment bonus system, she said.

In September, then-Air Force Chief Master Sgt. James Cody said enlisted drone pilots -- who became eligible to fly the Global Hawk in 2015 -- will qualify for the same bonuses the Air Force plans to offer its officers. But not yet.

"There aren't any enlisted eligible, and there won't be for a couple years until they come up on their commitment," the spokeswoman said.

Only those officers whose service commitments expire in fiscal 2017 are eligible. Colonels and colonels-select; airmen recalled under the Voluntary Recall to Active Duty (VRAD) Program; inter-service transfers; and rated officers who are medically disqualified from aviation service are also ineligible for the bonus incentive, the service said.

'Where the Need Is Most Critical'

The fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act allowed the Air Force to increase aviation retention pay from $25,000 to $35,000 per year and flight pay up to $1,000 per month "as needed to address manning shortfalls and challenges," the service has said in a release.

In passing the legislation, lawmakers in Congress instructed the Air Force not to "just take this $35,000 and give it to every [pilot] -- do give it to the people who need to be given" up to that amount, the spokeswoman said.

When releasing the fiscal 2018 budget submission last month, service officials said the bonus caps wouldn't be altered but that levels would vary based on career fields.

Wilson, the Air Force secretary, said "The bonuses are higher for where the need is most critical."

-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214.
Question: Our CEO has said she wants us to hire more veterans. Unfortunately, our advertising, marketing, and outreach is not producing any viable candidates. How can we improve our success rate in attracting qualified military veteran job applicants?

Answer: Congratulations on making the smart decision to hire veterans! You will soon see the benefits of recruiting, hiring and engaging with veteran talent are far greater than the frustration you are experiencing right now.

Lets look at ways you can improve your success rate in attracting veterans:

1. Sell the Why

Are you selling the vision of the company and the work you do? Veterans are very mission-driven and are passionate about serving a purpose in their civilian career. If you are recruiting for a warehouse manager, for instance, are you focusing your job postings on the tactical requirements of the job, or do you highlight your needs for strong leadership skills, people skills, and attention to detail. How does a warehouse manager serve a purpose in ensuring your products are safely delivered to customers? Is the warehouse manager responsible for the development of a diverse team? Using language that speaks to a sense of team, collaboration and leadership will attract a veteran applicant.

Similarly, your recruiters should be able to clearly communicate the companys why  what mission or purpose does the company serve? How does the company culture support this purpose? When your recruiters can articulate the greater purpose of the company, veteran applicants will see the appeal.

2. Go Where the Veterans Are

When recruiting any candidate, its important to go where they are. To be around veterans, consider recruiting on local military bases or installations. Often, service members want to stay in the location of their last duty station, and when they separate from the military they will look for a job nearby.

Similarly, there are veteran-specific job fairs and career gatherings. At these events, youll be surrounded with job seekers from all branches and all jobs. You should be very specific about the positions you are seeking to fill, with a clear picture of the skills, backgrounds, and experiences the ideal veteran candidate will need to have to successfully compete for those jobs.

Also, consider veteran-related community organizations. Many local organizations provide support, guidance and resources to connect veterans to employers, and may have a highly desirable job applicant pool from you to choose from.

3. Use Online Tools

Social networking provides tremendous insight and opportunity to position your open jobs and source candidates. Consider positing your open positions into military-specific job boards and forums online where veterans will see them. Just as with a job fair, be very detailed about the background, military experiences, and training youre looking for from a qualified applicant. The more you can tell the applicant about the requirements, the better the results.

Sourcing online is proven highly effective for civilian and veteran candidates. Look for keywords in the military background that relate closely to the position youre hiring for. In some cases, the candidate might not be skilled at translating their previous career into a civilian language. The more you can help them with that, the better your sourcing results.

4. Train your recruiting partners on reading resumes

In many cases, a military veterans resume might read differently from a civilian applicants. If the veteran has not adapted and translated their skills and training into civilian language, it will be hard to see how their background qualifies them for the jobs youre seeking to fill. Train your recruiters on basic understanding of skills, experience, terms, and technology used in a military context so they can see the parallels.

Then, in screening candidates, be sure to ask veteran applicants to describe their skills more fully. Encourage the candidate to expound on situations which required hard and soft skills, not just technical training.

5. Make it known that you want to attract and hire veterans

When you attend a networking meeting, community event or social gathering, let your colleagues and friends know youre looking to hire veterans. The veteran community is tight knit and loyal; they will help you spread the word.

Similarly, add marketing onto your website and Careers page making it obvious that you encourage veteran candidates to apply. Be sure to use accurate terminology, language and images to attract veterans.

Sourcing and attracting veteran job applicants might seem challenging, but once you figure out the formula that works for your company, you will create a momentum within the veteran community. Treat them right, look beyond the resume, and when you hire them, ask who else they know who might be interested in working at your company. Then, enjoy the MANY benefits of engaging with veteran talent!
Dear Ms. Vicki,

My husband and I have been married for three years. When we married, we made the agreement to live separately -- temporarily -- to give me time to finish nursing school and my eldest daughter time to graduate. His duty station was four hours away.

Now that he has moved to a duty station 13 hours away, he has called all bets off and wants everyone to drop everything and move to be with him.

My eldest daughter is a junior in high school, and this would cause her to change schools her senior year. My daughter is a total introvert, and this would be quite difficult.

There are no nursing schools for me to attend where he is, not to mention the loss of credits I would suffer. It would pose a financial strain on me because the job market is so poor there.

I am asking him for one more year for me and the girls, but he is refusing. He says if we don't move out there by this summer, he and I are over.

No matter what compromise I offer, he refuses. He is being totally inflexible. He has even said that if I am not going to come out to stay permanently, he prefers me not to visit.

Am I wrong for feeling that my husband is being unfair and unreasonable? I want our marriage to work, and we have been apart for a long time. If we made it this far, one year to achieve major goals should not be too much to ask. Or is it?

Yours truly, Mama Doesn't Always Know Best

Dear Mama,

I don't think you are being unreasonable. It's one more year for you to complete nursing school and for your daughter to graduate.

Transitions can be very tough on military children. This could be a terrible experience for your daughter, given her temperament and enrolling in a new school in her senior year.

We were fortunate, having children and handling all of the PCS moves. Our sons loved it, but they are very extroverted. I know many people whose children have experienced the opposite. Moving has caused them to become more introverted and even depressed.

Just thinking of your daughter, I don't blame you if you stay where you are to give her time to graduate.

You are in nursing school, fulfilling a desire that you've had for a long time. Moreover, you are almost at the finish line. Therefore, if you move now, you will have to wait to finish because you said there are no nursing schools near his base and, if you enroll somewhere else, you will definitely lose credits.

As a result, I totally understand that you want to finish nursing school where you are. Having a nursing degree and your license will open up many doors for you. It will be the perfect portable degree for a military spouse, and you may consider higher education in nursing as well. The occupational outlook and the pay are great.

This brings me to my next point: Surely your husband knows there is a lot at stake here. I think he understands the concerns for your daughter, but I think he may have some more fears where you are concerned.

I think you should try to explore any fears he may have. For example, some men don't like it when their wives are capable of earning great salaries that may be comparable to or more than theirs. Maybe your husband fears he may become less important the more education you earn and the more income you earn.

He may even have a fear that you are being unfaithful so he is being unreasonable about you moving where he is. He might just be lonely for you.

I don't know what the reason or the answer is. I do think he is being unreasonable when this is a very dire situation and very important. Let me know what you decide to do.

Sincerely, Ms. Vicki
Azercell Telecom LLC continues to provide its support to SABAH groups.

Azercell Academy representatives conducted a training course about Develop your own brand and Presentation skills. The two-day training course which brought together some 30 students covered the topics of career planning, CV/resume writing, preparing for interview, presentation skills etc.

The participants were awarded certificates at the end of the training course.

Azercell has a solid history of cooperation with SABAH groups. Last year 50 percent of places in Baku were allocated for SABAH groups under Student Bursary Program. One of the 5 teams qualified for 6-months-long incubation program in Barama Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center consisted of SABAH students. Introductory visit to Azercell Plaza was organized for this student at the end of 2016. They attended winter sessions about Introduction to GSM technologies, Product Management and Develop your own brand.

At the same time, HR Department staff conducted training sessions for students under SABAH Career Winter School in Guba on February 17-20. SABAH groups was established in academic year 2014/2015 in 7 universities with the initiative of the Ministry of Education.

For more information, please contact [email protected]
Rector of Baku Higher Oil School (BHOS) Elmar Gasimov met with delegation from Angola led by the Oil Minister Jose Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos. The delegation also included Executive Director of Angolan Oil Company Sonangol, President of Executive Commission Paulino Xeronimo.

Having welcomed the guests, the Rector Elmar Gasimov spoke about importance of ties between Azerbaijan and Angola in the field of education and emphasized that rebuilding of the relations between two countries in this sphere would serve interests of both states. He put forward a proposal to initiate education of Angolan students at BHOS. As Elmar Gasimov informed, the Higher School new campus provides all necessary conditions for effective learning and comfortable accommodation of the students. In addition, they have opportunities to undertake an internship at various SOCARs facilities.

Angolan Oil Minister Jose Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos told about scholarship program for Angolan students implemented by the Oil Ministry and the Sonangol company. He expressed his interest in sending Angolan students to study in Azerbaijan. The Minister assured that he would provide all necessary support for implementation of this initiative. Jose Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos also told about new project launched by the Angolan Oil Ministry. This project aims at establishment of a higher educational institution for training of highly qualified engineers for the country oil and gas industry, and experience of the Higher School can be very useful for its implementation, he said.

The visit of the Angolan delegation to the Baku Higher Oil School was arranged within in the course of the guests participation in the 24th International "Caspian Oil and Gas 2017" exhibition and conference held in Baku.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 6

Trend:

Baku Higher Oil School (BHOS) took part in 24th International Caspian Oil & Gas Exhibition and Conference 2017 held in Baku. Printed, photo and promotional materials telling about BHOS development and achievements were presented at SOCAR exhibition stand. The President of the Azerbaijan Republic Ilham Aliyev attended the opening of the Caspian Oil & Gas Exhibition and visited SOCARs stand. The head of the state was provided with detailed information about the company work, projects, educational and training programs, BHOS activities and its new campus at Bibiheybat. Materials exhibited by the Higher School attracted strong interest from the visitors including foreign guests.

BHOS Rector Elmar Gasimov participated in the opening of the exhibition and International Caspian Oil & Gas Conference held on June 1-2 at JW Marriott Absheron Baku hotel. At the conference plenary session covering issues of the use of digital process and technologies, the Rector made a speech entitled Application of digital technologies at Baku Higher Oil School has a significant contribution in training of highly qualified specialists.

Having provided brief information about BHOS development, structure, teaching process and scientific activities, Elmar Gasimov told about the opening of the Higher School new campus equipped with the most advanced technologies according to the highest international standards, and about BHOS cooperation with large transnational companies and leading universities from other countries. In his presentation, the Rector spoke about modern digital technologies and programs used in all spheres of BHOS activities. They include, among others, Library Management System and EBSCO Discovery services integrated with Institutional Repository based on DSpace platform; Internet services provided by Turnitin company and related to detection and prevention of plagiarism; Vision HW  Moodle Learning Management Systems; Biometric Electronic Registration System, and various tools and technologies covering all fields of the educational process.

The International Caspian Oil & Gas Exhibition and Conference co-organized by ITE Group and its partner Iteca Caspian is the largest oil and gas event in the Caspian region. This year, it has brought together nearly 300 companies from 30 countries. The conference provides the delegates with the opportunity to gain insight on the prospects and challenges for the industry in the Caspian Region, get new information about modern technologies, and expand options for international collaboration in the oil and gas sector.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 6

By Maksim Tsurkov  Trend:

A draft law on the creation of a free trade zone (FTZ) in Azerbaijan will be submitted to the countrys parliament until late 2017, Taleh Ziyadov, director general of Baku International Sea Trade Port CJSC (Port of Baku), told reporters in Baku.

He reminded that in 2016, an agreement was signed with Dubai Port World (DP World) company, which has completed all the work and presented the draft law to the Azerbaijani government.

An important factor in the successful operation of the FTZ is the legal regime. A draft law was prepared, and Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on the creation of a working group headed by Vice-Speaker Valeh Alasgarov in order to coordinate it and conduct the state expertise. The process of coordination and examination will continue within three months, and I hope that by the end of this year this draft law will be submitted to the Azerbaijani parliament, added Ziyadov.

He also noted that the meeting with Turkish Ambassador to Azerbaijan Erkan Ozoral, who visited the port in Alat, where he became acquainted with conditions, was held in a positive way.

Ziyadov said that the figures for transshipment of trucks through the Baku International Sea Trade Port are growing.

In 2016, a 100-percent growth was demonstrated in the number of trucks as compared to 2015, and about 23,000 trucks were sent from Turkey to Central Asia and vice versa. During the four months of this year, we have already sent more than 10,000 trucks in both directions. This is a very positive trend, and we hope that it will continue, added 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.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @MaksimTsurkov
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 2

By Anvar Mammadov  Trend:

Azerbaijan Deposit Insurance Fund (ADIF) will repay a loan of five million euros, provided by Germanys KfW Development Bank, ADIF head Azad Javadov told Trend June 2.

He said the loan was taken in 2010 as part of ADIFs capitalization program.

"At the last meeting of the Funds Supervisory Board, it was decided to repay the loan, as we no longer need these funds," Javadov noted.

The loan was taken for a period of 40 years.

ADIF has been operating since August 13, 2007.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 6

By Azad Hasanli  Trend:

The Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) may reduce the discount rate to 12 percent in 2018, according to Dutch ING Banks Russia & CIS macro outlook report.

Currently, the CBA discount rate is 15 percent.

ING Bank experts noted that the discount rate in Azerbaijan will not change during 2017.

Earlier, CBA Chairman Elman Rustamov said it is planned to discuss the issue of revising the discount rate in mid-June 2017.

The CBA last revised its discount rate in September 2016 and increased it to 15 percent.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 6

Trend:

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has signed an order to provide funding to improve water supply for irrigation and drinking in 136 residential areas across the country.

Under the presidential order, 10.5 million manats are allocated from the Presidential Contingency Fund to Azerbaijan Irrigation and Water Industry Company for digging 150 sub-artesian wells to improve irrigation of cultivable lands and supply of drinking water for nearly 375,000 people in 136 residential areas in 36 cities and districts.
[June 06, 2017] The Weather Company and Rogers Media to Bring Most Accurate Weather Forecasts to Canada

ATLANTA, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Weather Company, an IBM Business (NYSE: IBM) and Rogers Media announced today an agreement to provide weather information and content customized specifically for the Canadian market. With this agreement, The Weather Company will provide in-depth weather data and forecasts, as well as curated content, across Rogers Media properties. In turn, Rogers Media will provide locally relevant articles, photos and video content across the Canadian versions of The Weather Channel app and website (weather.com) to provide residents with the most pertinent information possible. The Weather Company and Rogers Media will also align to enhance advertising across both companies' properties, with Rogers leveraging its ad sales capabilities to monetize The Weather Channel properties in Canada. Rogers Media is one of Canada's leading media companies with 25 TV stations, 53 radio stations, nine publications, and more than 90 digital media properties, reaching millions of Canadians. The Weather Company has more than 160 meteorologists and provides hyperlocal forecasts for over 2.2 billion locations across the globe every 15 minutes. Recently named the most accurate forecaster in the world by a third-party forecast analyst, The Weather Company offers an unparalleled level of forecasting expertise and weather information. To ensure Canadians receive the most up-to-date weather information, The Weather Company will provide localized current condition information and three-day forecasts via a widget across Rogers Media properties. In addition, national and local marketers will have access to Weather's innovatve data-driven advertising solution, WEATHERfx, across both companies' properties. WEATHERfx is an automated targeting platform that helps marketers determine the best time and place to serve ads by leveraging the impact of weather conditions on emotions to deliver messaging, products and services that potentially influence a consumer's purchasing behavior.



"Canadians from coast to coast are affected by varying and often intense weather conditions. As a result, it's crucial for us to provide timely and reliable information to help them make better decisions  to properly plan their day, travel more efficiently, and take action to remain safe in the face of severe weather," said Domenic Venuto, general manager, consumer division, The Weather Company. "Working with Rogers Media allows us not only to serve hyperlocal weather information to millions of Canadian consumers, it also allows us to offer the most relevant local news and information to those using The Weather Channel digital properties." "Our priority is to offer our customers the information and services they want and need, when they need it most. The weather affects many of us every day. We plan our lives around it. With that in mind, we want to ensure we're providing our audiences with the most reliable and accurate information possible  which is why we turned to The Weather Company," says Al Dark, senior vice president of sales, Rogers Media. "Working with The Weather Company gives our audience peace of mind that they'll have access to the right information at the right time, while also providing local advertisers with actionable insights to better serve and engage users."

The Weather Company, an IBM Business

The Weather Company, an IBM Business, helps people make informed decisions  and take action  in the face of weather. The company offers the most accurate, personalized and actionable weather data and insights to millions of consumers, as well as thousands of marketers and businesses via Weather's API, its business solutions division, and its own digital products from The Weather Channel (weather.com) and Weather Underground (wunderground.com). The company delivers tens of billions of forecasts daily. Its products include a top weather app on all major mobile platforms globally, a network of 250,000 personal weather stations, a top-20 U.S. website, one of the world's largest IoT data platforms, and industry-leading business solutions. Weather Means Business. The world's biggest brands in aviation, energy, insurance, media and government rely on The Weather Company for data, technology platforms and services to help improve decision-making and respond to weather's impact on business. For more, visit theweathercompany.com. About Rogers

Rogers is a leading diversified Canadian communications and media company that's working to deliver a great experience to our customers every day. We are Canada's largest provider of wireless communications services and one of Canada's leading providers of cable television, high-speed Internet, information technology, and telephony services to consumers and businesses. Through Rogers Media, we are engaged in radio and television broadcasting, sports, televised and online shopping, magazines, and digital media. Our shares are publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RCI.A and RCI.B) and on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: RCI). To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-weather-company-and-rogers-media-to-bring-most-accurate-weather-forecasts-to-canada-300468896.html SOURCE The Weather Company, an IBM Business

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Baku, Azerbaijan, June 6

By Elena Kosolapova  Trend:

The severance of diplomatic relations between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, as well as other OPEC countries, will not affect implementation of the OPEC+ agreement to reduce oil production, said Andrey Polishchuk, analyst at the Russian subsidiary of Raiffeisen Bank.

Qatar is not a major oil producer. It produces only about 600,000 barrels per day. For comparison, Saudi Arabia produces more than 10 million barrels per day. So everything depends more on Saudi Arabia here. Saudi Arabia was the initiator of extending the agreement. And I think it will not change its plans, he told Trend.

Bahrain earlier broke off diplomatic relations with Qatar. According to Bahrains official statement, it happened due to Qatars intervention in Bahrains internal affairs. Afterwards, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Yemen, Libya and Maldives also severed diplomatic relations with Qatar.

The analyst pointed out that severing diplomatic relations with Qatar by those countries will surely affect the OPEC activities, but not in terms of compliance with the terms of the agreement to cut oil production.

He noted that judging by the fact that the agreement to curtail oil production was complied with well enough in the previous six months, there should not be problems with its implementation in the next nine months as well.

If the deal is complied with in the next nine months, one can expect certain recovery in prices due to the growth in demand, according to him.

Now, the global oil demand is rapidly growing and I think that this growth rate will be maintained for years to come, Polishchuk said. The growth in demand should partially remove the surplus of oil from the market. Thus, the balance of supply and demand in the market must be found approximately in the first half of 2018.

Meanwhile, the analyst said that the oil prices are unlikely to grow above $60 per barrel.

Speaking of the prospects of another OPEC deal extension in nine months, he noted that this will not be necessary if some balance is found by that time.

OPEC and non-OPEC countries held a meeting in Vienna May 25 to make a final decision on extension of the oil output cut deal reached in 2016. The oil producers agreed to extend oil output cuts for nine months. Azerbaijan also supported the decision.

In December 2016, OPEC and non-OPEC producers reached their first deal since 2001 to curtail oil output jointly and ease a global glut after more than two years of low prices. That time, OPEC agreed to slash the output by 1.2 million barrels per day from Jan. 1, while non-OPEC oil producers such as Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Russia, Sudan, and South Sudan agreed to reduce output by 558,000 barrels per day starting from Jan. 1 for six months, extendable for another six months.

On May 25, it was agreed to extend the production adjustments for a further period of nine months, with effect from July 1, 2017.
Grapes on the vine at at Petoskey Farms Vineyard & Winery

At 12 Corners Winery

The vines growing at Petoskey Farms Vineyard & Winery

This article is one of a series of stories about Michigans agricultural economy. It is made possible with funding from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. After 16 years of wedding anniversary trips to Michigan wine country, Tracie and Andy Roush decided to turn their annual vacation into a career.Andy Roush had worked in finance most of his life and Tracie Roush worked in marketing and home remodeling. They lived far from wine country in Rochester. But in the early 2010's they decided to make a change, and opened Petoskey Farms Vineyard and Winery in Petoskey in 2014.Tracie Roush was fascinated by the idea of recreating the memorable atmosphere of the many Michigan wineries she and her husband had visited."It's always relaxing," she says. "Generally, there's a view and you kind of forget about life for a while, the craziness of corporate America and that rat race that a lot of us run. We thought, 'What a dream to do that and create that leisure experience for our customers.'"The Roushes are just two of the many Michiganders who have been enticed to join the Michigan wine industry in recent years. The Michigan Wine and Grape Industry Council has approved 35 new wineries in the state just in the past five years. In that same period of time, the federal government has approved the state's fifth distinct wine-growing district, known as an American Viticultural Area, in the northern tip of the lower peninsula where Petoskey Farms can be found.While the Michigan wine industry has expanded steadily in recent years, it would seem there's still ample room for growth. California's famous Napa Valley is home to over 450 wineries despite being only twice the size of the Leelanau Peninsula, which has 26 wineries. What's more, having a group of wineries in the same area is generally a benefit to business. Clusters of wineries become tourist destinations, like the Leelanau Peninsula Wine Trail, the Pioneer Wine Trail, and the Lake Michigan Shore Wine Trail.The Michigan wine industry's newcomers are opening their businesses out of a deep passion for both their home state and its wines. Tracie Roush says she and her husband took classes in viticulture (grape production) and enology (the study of wine and winemaking) and volunteered in vineyards and wineries on the weekends before fully committing to opening their own winery."There was nothing we didn't like about it," she says. "We loved being out and working in the fields. We loved to be in the tasting room talking with customers. We loved making the product. There were no roadblocks. It was always green lights."While the Roushes are newer to the trade, some of Michigan's newly minted winery owners have been working with grapes and wine for a long timealthough in contexts much different from owning a full-blown winery.Glen Greiffendorf is the vineyard and winemaking manager for 12 Corners Winery , which opened in South Haven in 2012. Having grown up on a grape farm for Welch's grape juice in Baroda, Greiffendorf started experimenting with making Concord grape wine when he was in his 20s."I would just drink it right out of the jug," Greiffendorf says with a laugh. "Now it's way more refined. We actually use a glass."Greiffendorf went on to take a production job at Fenn Valley Vineyards in 2007, where he learned the trade of winemaking before being asked to join 12 Corners. Greiffendorf grew up with Lemon Creek Winery and Tabor Hill Winery essentially in his backyard, and he was inspired by seeing the Lake Michigan Shore Wine Trail take shape."All of a sudden there were 10 more wineries and I was just one of the guys on the wine trail, going and visiting these places," he says. "I knew all the production guys and the owners and that's when I thought, 'Wow, that seems like a fun career.'"Michael Wells, owner of Tecumseh's Black Fire Winery , made his first wine from grapes in his parents' Detroit backyard when he was 16 years old. Wells laughingly admits that he had no idea what variety of grapes he was working with at that time, and he "fermented" his wine in pop bottles in the back of his dad's closet.After retiring from a career as a law enforcement officer and fire department lieutenant, Wells returned to winemaking in a professional capacity. He studied viticulture at Michigan State University and began growing wine grapes professionally in Tecumseh in 2005, selling to Michigan wineries, including Pentamere J Trees Cellars , and Flying Otter . He made the transition from grower to winemaker when he opened Black Fire last year."I've seen a lot of bad things for most of my life," Wells says. "Most people show up at a winery and they're pretty happy. And they normally leave happier. I just thought that was a good fit for me."For these new winemakers, the decision to locate in Michigan was truly a no-brainer."When we decided this was what we were going to do, there was no other area in question," Roush says. "It was like, 'Okay, we're going north to beautiful Petoskey.'"All Greiffendorf's family and friends were already in Michigan, so staying here was a natural decision. But more importantly for his business, he had an expansive network of friends in the industry here, and places great value on the old friends (and new ones) he encounters each year at the Michigan Wine and Grape Conference "There's always something new to learn at my stage," he says. "I've only been doing it 10 years. Most of the help comes from veterans in this industry."Wells says he also feels fortunate to have gotten into the Michigan winemaking scene during something of an industry renaissance."I think Michigan wines are way better than they used to be, and I don't think the soil has changed much," he says. "The winemakers are just doing a better job with the varieties and what they're making."Business has been booming so far for Michigan's newest wineries. Wells says his first year of business exceeded his earnings projections. The Roushes just signed a lease on a second tasting room location in downtown Petoskey, and will soon add another 1,500 vines to the 2,300 already planted on their property. Greiffendorf says that 12 Corners' 2017 season has so far been marked by unexpectedly high business in April, far ahead of the main summer tourism season.But even beyond all that good news, the wine business is hardly a business to these vineyard proprietors."It seems more like a hobby, even though it's probably a hobby gone mad," Greiffendorf chuckles. "To me, it really doesn't seem like work."Photos courtesy of 12 Corners Winery and Petoskey Farms Vineyard and Winery.
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The Board of Directors of the Company will be meeting on Friday 09th June, 2017 to consider following matters;1)To appointment of Directors.2)Setting up of a corporate office at Mumbai.3)Any other matter with permitted by chairSource : BSE
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Bharti Airtel today said the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the proposed merger of Telenor India with the company.

Last week, Bharti Airtel and Telenor India also filed a joint application before National Company Law Tribunal for approval of their merger following nod from the market regulator Sebi and stock exchanges -- BSE and NSE.

"We wish to inform you that Competition Commission of India (CCI) vide its letter dated June 5, 2017 has approved the proposed merger of Telenor (India) Communications Pvt Ltd with Bharti Airtel Ltd," the company said in a BSE filing.

Airtel and Telenor signed the agreement for merger on February 2017 under which Airtel will acquire Telenor India's running operations in seven circles -- Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat, UP (East), UP (West) and Assam.

These circles represent a high population concentration and therefore, offer a high potential for growth. The proposed acquisition will include transfer of all of Telenor India's assets and customers, further augmenting Airtel's overall customer base and network," the company had earlier said.

It will also enable Airtel to further bolster its strong spectrum footprint in these seven circles, with the addition of 43.4 MHz spectrum in the 1800 MHz band -- widely known as 2G spectrum, but it is now being used for 4G services as well.
Bull's Eye, CNBC-TV18's popular game show, where market experts come together to dish out trading strategies for you to make your week more exciting and compete with each other to see whose portfolio is the strongest.

Remember these are midcap ideas not just for the day, but stocks that look attractive in the medium-term as well.

This week, Ashish Kyal, Gaurav Ratnaparkhi and Ruchit Jain battle it out for top honours.

Below their top stock picks and analysis

Ashish Kyal of wavesstrategy.com

Buy Indraprastha Gas with a stop loss at Rs 1058 and target of Rs 1138

Buy Jet Airways with a stop loss at Rs 485 and target of Rs 525

Sell Castrol India futures with stop loss at Rs 423 and target of Rs 395

Sell NMDC futures with a stop loss at Rs 116 and target of Rs 107

Gaurav Ratnaparkhi of Sharekhan

Buy Eveready Industries with a stop loss at Rs 317 and target of Rs 339

Sell Bharat Electronics futues with a stop loss at Rs 175 and target of Rs 164

Sell CESC futures with a stop loss of Rs 934 and target at Rs 877

Sell Castrol India futures with a stop loss at Rs 423 and target of Rs 397

Ruchit Jain of Angel Broking

Buy Cholamandalam Investment with a stop loss at Rs 1009, target of Rs 1100

Buy V-Guard Industries with a stop loss at Rs 181.50, target of Rs 200

L&T

Buywith a stop loss at Rs 128, target of Rs 138
Rajat Bose of rajatkbose.com told CNBC-TV18, "Hexaware Technologies is posting a new 52-week high. I suppose and then if it were to stay above Rs 260, you can see it scaling up to something like Rs 274 to about Rs 278. This is one stock that looks pretty good to me. Apart from that, Tata Elxsi looks good. I feel that it is headed for Rs 1,722 to about Rs 1,800 kind of range."

"Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) amongst the biggies look good to me. So these are three IT names; I am not bullish on Infosys. That is one stock that I would like to avoid here," he said.

"Two stocks that I plan to recommend are Cholamandalam Investments, I would put a stop loss below todays low of Rs 1,058 that is Rs 1,057.90. It is a very short stop loss and on the upside, I feel that it has the ability to scale up to near Rs 1,100 levels. So Rs 1,096 is the second target and Rs 1,088 is my first target."

"For Adani Enterprises , Rs 126 is a major resistance, that is why my final target was Rs 125.75 but looking at the kind of performance that it is showing, I feel that Rs 126 would be crossed in todays session. So, a new target of Rs 128 can be given but I would put the stop loss at Rs 119.80."
A man talks on his mobile phone as he walks past an ITC office building in Kolkata September 4, 2012. ITC Ltd sells 80 percent of the cigarettes in the world's second most populous country where 275 million people use tobacco products. But as India follows the rest of the world in adopting anti-smoking regulations, the company's core tobacco business is getting squeezed and it is venturing into dairy products, drinks and perhaps even healthy breakfast foods to try to expand its money-losing consumer products business. Picture taken September 4, 2012. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri (INDIA - Tags: BUSINESS HEALTH) - RTR37J7R

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Multi-business conglomerate, ITC, has now forayed into the frozen foods market with the launch of frozen prawns under the ITC MasterChef brand created earlier in the year to roll out export quality spices. The frozen prawns market, currently dominated by brands like IFB, Sumeru, Cambay Tiger, among others, is estimated to be worth Rs 300-crore.

Starting with New Delhi and Hyderabad, ITC plans to sell its frozen prawns in seven metro cities covering 200 top retail outlets in each city, by year-end. The 200-gram packs are priced between Rs 185 and Rs 350 and they will also be sold on online like BigBasket. The company even plans to take care of the delivery if required.

As part of its strategy to enter one new category every quarter, the salt-to-cigarette company next plans to launch vegetable and fruits later this year before moving on to sauces, dips and condiments. However, ITC may consider creating a new brand for fresh vegetables, fruits and organic products. The ITC MasterChef brand will cover only processed and frozen foods.

The idea behind the launch of the range of products is to garner as much shelf space in Indian kitchens as possible, S Sivakumar, Group Head (agri and IT business) at ITC told Mint. If a kitchen has all ITC products, well have about two-thirds of the (shelf) space in a kitchen. And, theres huge scope untapped, he said.

We have a pipeline ready. From low-sugar potato to dehydrated onions to processed mango pulp that are super safe. The next could be some high value-added ready-to-cook options, developed with ITC Hotels, under ITC MasterChef, Sivakumar said.

The company has lined up investments of over Rs 25,000 crore for 65 projects, including 25 factories for packaged foods. The capex will help it achieve the target of Rs 1 lakh crore in revenue by 2030 from cigarettes and consumer packaged foods business.

Also Read: Why ITC could be one of the bigger beneficiaries of the GST era
business Telecom exposure does not pose systemic threat to Indian bank: Fitch Ratings Fitch Ratings' new report says that the telecom woes do not pose systemic risk to Indian banks. In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Nitin Soni, Director-Asia-Pacific Corporate Ratings at Fitch Ratings explained the rationale behind this.
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Jet Airways and IndiGo said their flights to Doha are operating as per schedule, amid some Arab states severing their diplomatic ties with Qatar - a development that could also result in airspace restrictions over the Gulf region.

In a major diplomatic crisis in the Arab region, many countries cut their ties with Qatar blaming the latter of extending support to extremists.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE, Egypt, Yemen and Maldives also severed their relations with Qatar. While restrictions have been imposed on state-owned Qatar Airways, there are no curbs imposed by the countries on carriers from India and other nations.

Apart from Jet Airways and IndiGo, national airline Air India also has flight services to Doha, the capital of Qatar. Jet Airways, whose strategic partner is UAE-based Etihad Airways, said its flight operations to Doha are as per schedule.

"Our flights to and from Doha are operating as per schedule," Jet Airways said in a tweet. Noting that it is closely monitoring the situation, IndiGo said its Doha flights are operating as per schedule.

"Flights to Doha operating as per schedule. Passengers will be informed of changes if any. We are closely monitoring the situation," the airline tweeted.

There was no comment from Air India about its Doha flights. According to reports, the UAE has said that foreign airlines should take permission for using its airspace while operating flights to Qatar.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 6

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

No mention on the expansion of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) was made during the meeting with the head of Russias Gazprom company, an official spokesman of Italys Snam company, which is a shareholder of TAP, told Trend June 6.

Earlier, Kommersant newspaper reported citing its sources that during the meeting with Gazproms CEO Alexey Miller on June 1, head of Snam Marco Alvera offered expanding TAP instead of using Poseidon pipeline for Russian gas to be delivered to Europe via the second line of the Turkish Stream pipeline.

In this view, it is important to remind that Snam is a shareholder of TAP and is not entitled to make any offer on this and other topics of possible interest and cooperation with third parties, said the spokesman.

TAP is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor, which is one of the priority energy projects for the European Union. The project envisages transportation of gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz Stage 2 to the EU countries.

The pipeline will connect to the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) on the Turkish-Greek border, run through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Italys south.

TAP will be 878 kilometers in length (Greece 550 kilometers, Albania 215 kilometers, Adriatic Sea 105 kilometers, and Italy 8 kilometers).

TAPs shareholding is comprised of BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Snam S.p.A. (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagas (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent).

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
A box with vacuum-sealed beef meat is pictured at the Biernacki Meat Plant slaughterhouse in Golina near Jarocin, western Poland July 17, 2013. The abattoir in this small town in western Poland has a special dormitory to house the more than 30 Jewish men designated by Israel's chief rabbi to oversee the production of kosher beef there. Poland exports 90 percent of its beef, a third of which was kosher or halal worth some 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion). But this booming industry has ground to a halt because, after a campaign by animal rights activists who say the method of slaughter is cruel, Poland's constitutional court banned the practice and this month its parliament rejected an amendment that would have allowed the slaughter to resume. Picture taken July 17, 2013. Photo: REUTERS.

India's buffalo meat exports in April dropped 11.4 percent from a year earlier to 86,119 tonnes, a government body said on Tuesday, as a strike by abattoirs and an appreciating rupee hit shipments.

"Abattoirs' strike in March reduced supplies. Many slaughter houses failed to operate at full capacity in April," said a Mumbai-based exporter, who declined to be named.

India is the world's biggest exporter of buffalo meat. Abattoirs and meat sellers in Uttar Pradesh, the country's top buffalo meat exporting state, went on strike in March after a crackdown on unlicensed abattoirs.

In the latest setback to the Muslim-dominated meat industry, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government decreed animal markets will only be able to trade cattle for agricultural purposes such as ploughing and dairy production.

The rupee has risen more than 5 percent so far in 2017, eroding the returns of exporters.

India's basmati rice exports in April rose 15.6 percent from a year ago to 389,406 tonnes, while non-basmati rice exports fell 18.5 percent to 475,050 tonnes, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority said in a statement.
Jewellers welcomed the decision to fix the goods and services tax (GST) rate for gold at 3 percent and for rough diamonds at 0.25 percent, saying the move will help boost the industry.

They said the government has understood the need of the bullion industry and created a special category in the GST.

"We welcome the government's decision of 3 per cent GST for gold and 0.25 per cent on rough diamonds. We are happy that the Centre has created a special category, which will help the industry," All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation (GJF) Chairman Nitin Khandelwal told PTI here.

He said the GST rate is likely to be below the fixed 3 per cent as the government has also announced input tax credit.

However, there will be more clarity next week, when we meet the Finance Minister in this regard, he added.

Echoing a similar view, former GJF chairman G V Sreedhar said even as it will be challenging it will be better for the industry.

"The GST rate at 2 per cent would have been an ideal. At 3 per cent it will be challenging for the industry, but still it is better as the government has created a special category for us in the GST," he added.

On rough diamonds, he said, it should have continued at 0 per cent instead of 0.25 per cent as the country is the largest producer of polished diamonds in the world.

The GST Council, chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and comprising state counterparts, on Saturday decided to tax gold at 3 per cent and rough diamond at 0.25 per cent.

Also, under GST, input tax credit can be claimed for gold jewellery manufacture.

Earlier, World Gold Council Managing Director, India, Somasundaram PR had said GST is the biggest indirect tax reform in India and is intended to bring transparency, increase tax compliance and improve transaction traceability.

"This is an encouraging step in the current context to stabilise the industry and address the concerns of the millions employed in the industry," he added.

Manubhai Jewellers Director Samir Sagar said it is really good to see that the government has been considerate towards the gems and jewellery industry and put it under the 3 per cent slab.

"This will have a positive impact on the sector and encourage it to be more streamlined. Consumers and jewellers will take the first few months to adapt to the new rule but once that phase ends, the market will stabilise.

"We think this new bill will bring about stability in processes and create a level-playing field for businesses in the industry," Sagar added.
Representative image

Oil prices slipped further below $50 a barrel on Tuesday on concerns that a diplomatic rift between Qatar and several Arab states including Saudi Arabia could undermine efforts by OPEC to tighten the market.

Kuwait Oil Minister Essam al-Marzouq said Qatar was committed to an OPEC agreement to restrict supply, telling Kuwaiti state news agency KUNA Doha was complying with its obligations.

"Qatar is ... committed to the supply cut decision and its compliance ratio ranges between 93 and 102 percent," he said.

But the many traders, confronted by surplus oil in many parts of the world, were still unnerved.

Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at futures brokerage AxiTrader, said there was "a real chance" OPEC solidarity surrounding its production cuts might fracture.

Benchmark Brent crude oil was 20 cents a barrel lower at $49.27 by 1350 GMT, down around 8 percent from its level before OPEC and its non-OPEC allies said they were extending cuts until March 2018. The initial six-month deal to curb output had been due to run till the end of this month.

U.S. light crude was down 20 cents at $47.20.

Leading Arab powers including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates cut ties with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of support for Islamist militants and Iran.

Under measures taken, ships coming from or going to the small peninsular nation were barred from docking at Fujairah, in the UAE, which is used by Qatari oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers to take on new shipping fuel.

With oil production of about 620,000 barrels per day (bpd), Qatar is one of the smallest crude producers in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, but some investors fear tension within the cartel could weaken its agreement to hold back production in order to prop up prices.

Several analysts said these fears were exaggerated.

"The OPEC agreement stands and is highly unlikely to change because of tension with Qatar. Crude production in the Middle East will not change because of Qatar," said Oystein Berentsen, managing director for oil trading company Strong Petroleum.

David Wech, managing director of Vienna-based consultancy JBC Energy, agreed: "We do not see too much cause for concern at this point regarding potential risk to the OPEC-led supply accord currently in effect."

Rising U.S. production is also putting pressure on oil.

U.S. crude output has jumped more than 10 percent since mid-2016 to 9.34 million bpd, industry figures show.

"The relentless increase in U.S. oil production appears to have the market worried that the OPEC cuts will be completely nullified by the increased U.S. production," said William O'Loughlin, analyst at Rivkin Securities.

(Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by Dale Hudson and Edmund Blair)
Employees row a boat as they examine solar panel boards at a pond in Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, China, in this March 16, 2016 file photo. Global funds are cautiously venturing back into Chinese equities after prices collapsed to 4-1/2-year lows in February, taking advantage of cheaper valuations to buy stocks they believe will benefit from China's shift to a consumption-led economy. REUTERS/Stringer/Files ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. CHINA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN CHINA - RTSCXID

Battered by cheap Chinese exports, Indian solar manufacturers have reached out to the Ministry of Trade and Commerce and have filed an anti-dumping petition, says market research firm Mercom.

Industry sources tell Mercom that the ministry is yet to accept or send official notification regarding the petition, which was filed on June 5, 2017.

"Considering that cheaper Chinese modules are fueling Indian solar installations and have brought down tariffs to record low levels and the fact that the previous anti-dumping case was closed without a tariff imposition, it is difficult to see this petition going far. Anti-dumping cases are also not a short-term remedy and take years to complete," Raj Prabhu, CEO and co-founder of Mercom says.

"Indian manufacturers are struggling badly in the wake of drastic fall in module prices (about 30 percent in the last year). Withdrawal of DCR policy has left them high and dry," says Vinay Rustagi, MD, Bridge to India, an Indian renewable market research firm.

Speaking to Moneycontrol, he said, "We meet over 90 percent of our modules requirements from imports, which is simply unsustainable and is storing trouble for future. It is unrealistic to expect that we will meet our ever growing needs from imports. The solution is to create a vibrant local R&D, technology and manufacturing expertise."

"Unfortunately, the domestic manufacturing policy, which was expected to provide incentives to the sector, has been shelved," he said.

However, he is opposed to protectionist measures like anti-dumping duty and opines that such a policy measure is regressive in nature.

"We need a long-term vision for domestic manufacturing but anti-dumping duty is a regressive measure. Imposition of such duties in USA and Europe has not helped any domestic manufacturer. Such a duty will simply take pain from manufacturers and pass it to project developers and DISCOMs, who will resist it very hard," he said.

To provide cheap and clean power to all, Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government has decided to ramp up renewable energy installation to 175 GW by 2022 and solar energy comprises a major chunk of this figures as the target under JNNSM has now been increased 5 fold to 100 GW of solar power generation by 2022.

Launched in 2010 by the UPA government under Dr Manmohan Singh, the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) had set an ambitious target of deploying 20 GW of solar power by 2022 and establishing "India as a global leader in solar energy, by creating the policy conditions for its diffusion across the country as quickly as possible."

A domestic content requirement (DCR) policy was also introduced to empower India's fledgling solar industry. This was challenged by the US back in 2013, where it raised concerns that the protective measures "appear to nullify or impair the benefits accruing to the United States directly or indirectly under the cited agreements."

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruled in favour of the US on September 21, 2016 where it said that the bind on solar power developers to make use of locally made products while selling electricity to the government were not in line with the TRIMs (Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures) and the general agreement on tariffs and trades (GATTs).

Argument against protectionism

A study conducted by Stanford Business School on the effectiveness of the protectionist methods like DCR, back in 2013, echoes Prabhu's view and stated the following reasons why such policy measures might not work:

- The manufacturing base has become less competitive over time.

- Developers may have been favoring thin-film technology, thereby bypassing the DCR, which applies specifically to crystalline silicon cells and modules.

-Gaps in the Indian innovation system are likely to prevent a return to competitiveness by solar photovoltaic manufacturers.

The study had concluded that policymakers should remove the solar photovoltaic DCR from the National Solar Mission (NSM).

Argument for protectionist policy

A report by Energetica India argued, using the case of Reliance Industries, that the imposition of anti-dumping duty turned India from a Polypropylene importer to an exporter.

In FY08, India imported around 25,000 tons of Polypropylene (PP) from Saudi Arabia as it was 10 percent cheaper than locally-manufactured PP.

Petition for anti-dumping duty was filed by Reliance and supported by Haldia Petrochemicals. Consequently, anti-dumping duties were levied on imports from Oman, Singapore and Saudi Arabia.

"Post the imposition, domestic production of PP kept pace with domestic demand, increasing from 1844 KT in 2006 to 3692 KT in 2012 (CAGR of 12.3 percent) -- India exported over 800 KT of PP in 2011 and 2012," the report said.

In case of DCR, the report mentions the case of Canada where DCR requirements helped establish the entire solar value chain in the country attracting substantial investments.

There is also the fact that such measures can lead to creation of domestic jobs and in turn boost in domestic manufacturing will lead to more tax collection in the government's kitty.

This has put the government in a conundrum. The government wants to protect its domestic manufacturers and also promote its flagship 'Make in India' initiative. But it also wants to provide power to a growing economy at an affordable price.
Answer: Bhakra Dam (Image: Reuters)

The government's wheat procurement has touched 30.1 million tonnes so far in the ongoing rabi 2017-18 marketing year, crossing the last year's total purchase of 22.9 MT.

Normally, wheat marketing year runs from April to March. But the procurement this year was undertaken a fortnight early by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) as well as state agencies.

Wheat is procured from farmers at the minimum support price (MSP). The government has set a procurement target of 33 million tonnes (MT) for 2017-18 on the back of record output.

As per the official data, about 11.7 MT of wheat has been procured from Punjab, 7.4 MT from Haryana, 6.72 MT from Madhya Pradesh, 3 MT from Uttar Pradesh and 1.17 MT from Rajasthan so far this marketing year.

This is more than sufficient to meet the National Food Security Act under which highly subsidised grains are distributed to the poor via public distribution system (PDS). The annual PDS demand for wheat is 24-25 MT.

The government buys wheat and rice at the MSP to create buffer stock to meet PDS demand as well as other welfare programmes. The excess is sold to bulk buyers in the market.

Wheat production target is kept at a record 97.44 million tonnes for 2016-17 crop year, much higher than the actual output of 93.50 million tonnes last year.
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Executive search firm, The Head Hunters India today said the recent announcements of Infosys and TCS to hire 20,000 professionals each, apparently done to assuage the tension about IT industry's capabilities to be a net employment generator, is not rooted in reality.

"Recently, domestic IT giants, Infosys, TCS, announced that they will be hiring 20,000 professionals each, thus apparently reducing the tension about IT industry's capabilities to be a net employment generator.. A closer examination reveals that it is not rooted in reality," The Head Hunters India Founder Chairman Kris Lakshmikanth told PTI.

Lakshmikanth said the close examination of Infosys hiring forecast of 20,000, reveals a hiring of approximately 9,000 in India, as Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka had already made a public announcement of 10,000 hires in USA and another 1,000 approximately in rest of the World.

On May 2, Sikka had announced that the IT giant will hire 10,000 Americans in the next two years and open four centres in the US in a bid to woo Donald Trump administration, which has been critical of outsourcing firms for unfairly taking jobs away from US workers.

The 10,000 people that will be hired will include experienced technology professionals and recent graduates from major universities, and local and community colleges.

Infosys will also train them on key competencies such as user experience, cloud, artificial intelligence, big data and digital offerings, as well as core technology and computer science skills.

Lakshmikanth said, with plans of hiring 20,000 people, the projected gross number of people under employment will approximately increase from 2,10,000 as on April 1, 2017 to 2,30,000 as on April 1, 2018.

But, after taking attrition of 12 per cent for Infosys, then projected manpower strength as on March 31, 2018 will be 2,02,400, he said.

"Since the bulk of Infosys manpower is in India, the net strength of Infosys in India will come down by about 10,000 people from the levels of April 1, 2017," he said.

Talking about TCS, as on April 1 this year, it has a headcount of 4,00,000, and with the announcement of 20,000 hiring this year, it will increase to 4,20,000, but the projected net hiring as on April 1, 2018 will plunge to 3,78,000 due to 10 per cent (42,000 people) attrition, Lakshmikanth said.

"So, it looks like that the IT giants between them will have a net reduction in jobs," he said.

The trend of lower employee additions and shifting of workload away from human beings on to 'intelligent computers' is not confined to TCS.

Others such as Infosys and Cognizant have also been working on using artificial intelligence to replace humans, Lakhsmikanth said.

"We have to live with automation, digital and immigration challenges," he added.

Talking about this year's outlook, Lakhsmikanth said, the Indian IT industry is likely grow 8-9 per cent in FY2017 and could grow at the same pace or accelerate in FY2018.

"Expect divergence in performance of companies depending on the mix of business (run versus change) and ability to capitalize on the digital opportunity," he said.
3:30 pm Closing bell: Equity benchmarks closed lower as traders preferred profit booking ahead of outcome of two-day monetary policy committee meeting that due on Wednesday.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 118.93 points at 31,190.56 while the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 37.95 points to 9,637.15.

3:20 pm Monsoon forecast: Met Department has upgraded its monsoon rains forecast to 98 percent of long-term period average.

In April, it had estimated monsoon at 96 percent of long-term period average.

3:15 pm Drug launch: Dr Reddy's Laboratories (DRL) announced the launch of Bivalirudin injection, indicated for use as an anti-coagulant in patients, after approval from the US health regulator.

In a BSE filing, Dr Reddy's said it has "launched Bivalirudin for injection, 250 mg/vial, a therapeutic equivalent generic version of Angiomax for injection, approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA)".

Angiomax brand and generic version had sales of about USD 198 million in the 12 months ended March 2017, DRL said citing IMS Health data.

The company said its Bivalirudin injection, 250 mg/vial, is available in packages of 10 single-dose vials.

3:05 pm Oil Update: Oil prices fell for a third day, hit by concerns that a political rift between Qatar and several Arab states would undermine an OPEC-led push to tighten the market.

Brent crude was trading at USD 49.31 per barrel, down 0.32 percent from its last close.

2:55 pm Buzzing: Tyre stocks gained momentum today as JK Tyre, Apollo Tyres, Ceat, MRF and Balkrishna Industries were up 1-4 percent on correction in crude oil prices for third consecutive session.

2:50 pm Blue Star weak: Blue Star shares declined nearly 2 percent intraday after Motilal Oswal cut earnings estimates by 5 percent each to factor in the lower sales in the unitary cooling products (UCP) segment.

After meeting with senior management team of Blue Star, the research house has maintained neutral rating with a revised price target of Rs 610, implying 4 percent downside. It believes that the current valuations of 36x FY18 and 24x FY19 EPS fully capture the growth potential over FY18/19.

Blue Star has witnessed flattish growth in May when room air conditioner manufacturers' sales declined 20 percent YoY due to dealer destocking. In June also, their sales could also be subdued, according to the brokerage house.

The company scaled down its growth target for Q1FY18 to 15 percent from 25 percent earlier, given the uncertainty around GST implementation.

2:33 pm Profit booking: Jewellery stocks like Titan Company, PC Jeweller, Gitanjali Gems and TBZ were down 4-6 percent on profit booking.

These stocks had gained 2-20 percent in previous session after the GST Council fixed GST rate for jewellery at 3 percent, which was lower than estimates by the Street.

2:25 pm SBI's mega farmers meet: Ahead of the kharif season, country's largest lender State Bank of India today said it will meet nearly 10 lakh farmers to understand their credit need and provide finance.

The meeting will be organised at the bank's 15,500 rural and semi-urban branches across the country on June 8.

During the meet, branches will receive applications for fresh loans as well as for renewal or enhancement of existing loan, the bank said in a statement here today.

2:05 pm Market Check: Benchmark indices extended its losses from the morning session, with the Nifty breaching 9650-mark.

The Sensex was down 101.57 points at 31207.92, while the Nifty was down 30.65 points at 9644.45. The market breadth was negative as 818 shares advanced against a decline of 1,765 shares, while 148 shares were unchanged.

TCS, HCL Tech and Infosys gained the most, while Tata Motors, Tata Motors DVR and ONGC lost the most.

1:36 pm RBI policy expectations: The RBI, in its upcoming policy review on June 7, 2017, could maintain status quo on policy rates even as the case for rate cut is strengthening, according to Edelweiss.

"Three key reasons for same: 1) incoming inflation data has been softer than expected, stronger rupee, softer global commodity prices and fading El Nino risks augur well for the outlook; 2) growth data (Q4 GDP) too has been softer than expected, with credit growth and capex related indicators exhibiting sustained sluggishness; and 3) externally, dollar remains quite stable and Indias BoP dynamics has been very comfortable," it reasoned.

Thus, it thinks that economy needs policy support and macroeconomic backdrop offers ample room for same. Rate cuts are likely over next 6-9 months, Edelweiss feels.

1:15 pm Buzzing: Tata Motors shares declined more than 3 percent intraday after reporting subdued UK sales growth by Jaguar Land Rover.

The luxury car maker sold 8,813 units in May, down 7.8 percent compared with 8,880 units sold in same month last year, dented by both brands.

Jaguar's UK sales declined 1 percent to 2,564 units while Land Rover sales fell sharply by 10.7 percent to 5,619 units compared with year-ago month.

Meanwhile, Tata Motors informed exchanges, on Monday, that Ravindra Pisharody has submitted his resignation as executive director (commercial vehicles) of the company, and as a director of the company and its associated companies for personal reasons.

The company has appointed Satish Borwankar as chief operating officer with immediate effect and his tenure of executive directorship would be extended for a period of 2 years from July 2017.

12.54 pm Market Check: Equity benchmarks extended losses in afternoon, with the Sensex falling more than 100 points and the Nifty breaking 9650 level.

Investors maintained their cautious stance ahead of the outcome of two-day policy meeting by Monetary Policy Committee that due Wednesday.

CARE Ratings believes that there will be status quo in policy this time with there still being some caution on inflation given the possible impact of GST in particular. Otherwise conditions look fairly favourable for a rate cut, which it thinks will be invoked in October if things work out well.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 114.77 points at 31,194.72 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 35.35 points to 9,639.75. About two shares declined for every share rising on the BSE.

12:40 pm Europe opening: European markets opened lower amid a political rift between Qatar and several other Arab countries and as investors take a cautious approach ahead of a general election in the UK and a European Central Bank (ECB) meeting.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was 0.27 percent lower with all sectors moving south.

12:35 pm Buzzing: Shares of Everest Organics were higher by 5 percent intraday after a successful check of its facility by the US drug regulator.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had inspected its manufacturing facility at Aroor village between February 27 and March 3, 2017.

"USFDA inspected facility at Aroor village, from February 27 to March 3. There is only one observation," the pharmaceutical company said in its filing.

12:20 pm Economic growth: The March quarter GDP data failed to impress the Street but economists expect there more to than meets the eye. Chetan Ahya of Morgan Stanley expects GDP growth to accelerate to 7.9 percent by December 2017.

The GDP data has a lot of nuances that we have to go through. If you remember, last year, March quarter was very strong as growth rose to over 9 percent. We also had demonetisation impact which came in last quarter which macro data is giving a positive indication, Ahya said in an exclusive interview with CNBC-TV18 on the sidelines of Morgan Stanley 19th India Summit.

If we look at the April-May data such as two-wheeler sales, car sales  it looks like the bulk of currency replacement programme is behind us and in the meantime, exports have also picked up, he said.

12.00 pm Market Check: Equity benchmarks traded lower amid consolidation in afternoon as investors maintained cautious stance ahead of interest rate decision from the Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 33.69 points at 31,275.80 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 7.60 points to 9,667.50.

The market breadth was negative as more than three shares declined for every rising on the BSE.

HCL Technologies was biggest gainer among Nifty stocks and hit 20-month high of Rs 908.40, up more than 5 percent intraday as investors may be buying the stock due to attractive valuations.

11:42 am Buzzing: Cadila Healthcare shares hit fresh record high of Rs 510, up 4 percent intraday on receiving establishment inspection report (EIR) from the US health regulator for Baddi unit.

"This receipt of EIR indicates the successful closure of inspection points (483s) raised based on the inspection carried out between February 21 and March 1," the Ahmedabad-based pharma company in its filing.

In addition, its group company has received final approval from the US Food & Drug Administration to market Mirtazapine Orally Disintegrating tablets USP in strengths of 15 mg, 30 mg and 45 mg.

11:30 am New foray: Multi-business conglomerate, ITC, has now forayed into the frozen foods market with the launch of frozen prawns under the ITC MasterChef brand created earlier in the year to roll out export quality spices. The frozen prawns market, currently dominated by brands like IFB, Sumeru, Cambay Tiger, among others, is estimated to be worth Rs 300-crore.

Starting with New Delhi and Hyderabad, ITC plans to sell its frozen prawns in seven metro cities covering 200 top retail outlets in each city, by year-end. The 200-gram packs are priced between Rs 185 and Rs 350 and they will also be sold on online like BigBasket. The company even plans to take care of the delivery if required.

As part of its strategy to enter one new category every quarter, the salt-to-cigarette company next plans to launch vegetable and fruits later this year before moving on to sauces, dips and condiments. However, ITC may consider creating a new brand for fresh vegetables, fruits and organic products. The ITC MasterChef brand will cover only processed and frozen foods.

11:15 am Market Check: Benchmark indices were sluggish after opening at record highs, as consolidation mode set on the Street on Tuesday.

The Sensex was down 48.12 points at 31261.37, while the Nifty was down 12.75 points at 9662.35. The market breadth was negative as 907 shares advanced against a decline of 1,310 shares, while 138 shares were unchanged.

IT stocks Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys and HCL Technologies gained the most on both indices, while ITC, ONGC and Indiabulls Housing Finance lost the most.

Also Read:

10:45 am Adani Enterprises in focus: India's Adani Enterprises said that it has given final investment approval for the Carmichael mine and rail projects in Queensland.

"The project has Final Investment Decision approval, which marks the official start of one of the largest single infrastructure and job-creating developments in Australia's recent history," Adani Chairman Gautam Adani said in a statement.

The company has said the project, at an initial cost of USD 4 billion, would pay billions of dollars in royalties and taxes, create jobs and export coal to India help bring electricity to rural regions.

10.22 am Market Check: Equity benchmarks continued to be rangebound after hitting record highs in opening. Investors awaited the outcome of two-day RBI monetary policy due on Wednesday.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was up 9.78 points at 31,319.27 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 3.50 points to 9,671.60.

TCS was the biggest gainer among Sensex stocks, up 4 percent followed by Infosys, HDFC and SBI while ITC, Asian Paints, ONGC, L&T, Adani Ports, Tata Motors and Bharti Airtel were under pressure.

The broader markets also entered into consolidation. About 1,152 shares declined against 881 advancing shares on the BSE.

10:06 am IPO Listing: India Grid Trust shares started off trade on a negative note. The stock price opened at Rs 99.70 against issue price of Rs 100 on the National Stock Exchange.

It fell as much as 6.3 percent in early trade to Rs 93.70 amid consolidation in the market. Even the subdued response to its public issue, which was subscribed 1.17 times, indicated some correction in the stock.

At 10:06 am hours IST, the stock price was trading at Rs 96.20, down 3.8 percent or Rs 3.8.

India Grid Trust, second in the infrastructure investment trusts (InvIT) space, raised Rs 2,250 crore through initial public offering that was opened for subscription during May 17-19.

9:52 am Buzzing Stock: Shares of State Bank of India were higher by around 2 percent intraday on Tuesday as investors cheered the lenders plan to raise funds.

The country's largest lender on Monday opened share sale through a private placement at Rs 287.58 a piece to raise Rs 11,000 crore.

This is part of plans to garner Rs 15,000 crore capital from markets in the current fiscal.

9:36 am Rupee Update: The Indian rupee gained further in early trade. It opened at 64.32 against the US dollar, up 4 paise compared with previous close of 64.36 a dollar.

Bhaskar Panda of HDFC Bank said the rupee has showed strength and is trading near the 64.30 a dollar pivot which is expected to hold.

He expects USD-INR pair to trade within a range of 64.30-64.50 a dollar for the day.

9:25 am Bond outlook: Bhaskar Panda of HDFC Bank said Indian 10-year benchmark bond yield has continued to move down on the expectation of a dovish pronouncement in the coming policy.

He expects the yield to remain range bound within 6.62-6.65 percent for today.

Also read - Forget Sensex, Indias market cap likely to double from $2 trn to $4-5 trn in 7-10 yrs

9:15 am Market Check: Equity benchmarks started off Tuesday's session on a strong note, with the Nifty hitting 9,700 level for the first time and the Sensex also at record high in early trade but could not hold all gains.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 101.24 points to 31,410.73 and the 50-share NSE Nifty was up 26.10 points at 9,701.20.

SBI, TCS, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, Infosys, HCL Technologies and Aurobindo Pharma were lead gainers in early trade while Bharti Airtel and ONGC were losers.

Asian markets were in the doldrums today, following the lower close on Wall Street and as markets digested the impact of diplomatic tensions between Qatar and other Middle Eastern nations. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index declined 0.52 percent.
Representative image

As bulls roar on D-Street, the Nifty rallied 100 points in just 7 sessions to a fresh high of 9,709.20 on Tuesday. The rally was broad based as individuals stocks rallied up to 85 percent in the same period.

The index first hit 9,600 on May 26 intraday and then it was just one-way rally since then. The index surpassed mount 9,700 for the first time on Tuesday, to hit its fresh record high of 9,709.30.

More than 900 stocks gave positive returns which include names like Magnum Ventures (up 85 percent), followed by Naga Dhunseri (up 57 percent), Rupa & Company (up 26 percent), Future Lifestyle (up 24 percent), PC Jeweller (up 22 percent), United Spirits (up 20 percent), and M&M Financial Services (19.3 percent).

It was not just winners in the Niftys run up to 9,700 levels. More than 800 stocks gave negative returns as much as 37 percent in the same period. Stocks which gave negative return include names like Nitin Fire (37 percent), followed by Videocon Industries (26 percent), Shilpi Cable (26 percent), ABG Shipyard (25 percent), and Hind Dorr (down 24 percent).

Top market voices on D-Street see Nifty hitting fresh record highs in the next 5 years. For the Calendar year 17 YTD, India market rose nearly 17 percent, followed by MSCI EM which also gained over 17 percent, Korea rallied 16 percent, Taiwan was up by 9 percent and Indonesia rallied 8 percent in the same period.

The market raced to fresh record highs in the last 5 months courtesy reform push by the Modi-led government, expectations of higher earnings for India Inc., rebound in economic growth and stable political environment.

But, the rally will be much bigger in next 5 years, suggest experts. Some even expect Nifty50 to triple in the next five years.

Morgan Stanley predicts Nifty to triple in next 5 years to hit Mount 30K while in the short term, it sees Sensex hitting 34000 by June 2018.

If you remember between 2003-2007 Nifty earnings compounded at 39 percent and the index was up 7-fold, we expect earnings to compound by 20 percent in the next 5 years which could take the index towards 30,000. These are very modest estimates, Ridham Desai, MD, Morgan Stanley said in an interview with CNBC-TV18 on the sidelines of 19th India Summit.

We are in the midst of a cyclical recovery in the economy which is good for earnings. The market will not go up in a straight line but it is safe to assume that it is a well-entrenched bull market, and there is considerable more upside for the long-term investor, said Desai.

Even though Indias economic growth slowed down in the March quarter thanks to demonetisation and high base effect, analysts are too much worried about that.

Equity market which mimics economic growth of the country is watched closely by analysts. Economics see it getting back to 7.5-8 percent by December 2017.

The GDP data has a lot of nuances that we have to go through. If you remember, last year, March quarter was very strong as growth rose to over 9 percent. We also had DeMon impact which came in last quarter which macro data is giving a positive indication, Ahya said in an exclusive interview with CNBC-TV on the sidelines of Morgan Stanley 19th India Summit.

The recovery in the external demand that we are seeing right now is the best after 2011. To that extent, when external demand picks up, consumption picks up, we do think the growth will come back to 7.5-8 percent by Dec 2017, added Ahya.
Land valuations reflect market conditions

Since November last year, there have been fewer land transactions across the country. They have come to a grinding halt as this was one segment where the cash component deployed was the maximum. Also, since sale volumes and sale velocity have both been slow, they have impacted land valuations. RERA has also put a spanner in developers expansion plans as they are adjusting themselves to new compliances and are refraining from buying fresh land parcels. Land transactions will continue to be under cloud at least for the next one-and-a-half years, says Gulam Zia, ED, Knight Frank (India).

Developers while bidding for properties today are deep diving into the dynamics of the micro market/location and taking informed decisions, keeping current and future market conditions in mind. The price at which they bid today reflects this reality. In the past, they were ready to take a calculated risks based on past appreciation levels. However, in the current scenario, prevalent market conditions are governing their investment decisions, says Ram Chandnani, Managing Director  Advisory & Transaction Services, India, CBRE South Asia Pvt Ltd.

Land valuations to depend on demand and supply

Other experts feel that the current market conditions will have varying impact in different micro markets. All markets will not react in a similar manner. Prices at which land deals are closed will depend largely on the demand and supply dynamics.

The Mumbai deal that closed last week is a very bold auction undertaken by the authority. One must note that this is a satellite/suburban location and not a central business location. We anticipate land rates to fall going forward but that will differ from location to location, says Ashutosh Limaye, National Director  Research, JLL India.

Here are a few examples. As per reports, an auction of two land blocks of 2.84 acres and 2.38 acres in Raidurg, an IT hub of Hyderabad helped TS Industrial Infrastructure Corporation raise Rs 185 crore last week. As against the base price of Rs 60,500 per sq yard, in the first block of 2.38 acres, the highest bid was that of Gowra Real Estate working out to Rs 88,000 per sq yard. In the second block as against the base price of Rs 60,500, MSN Life offered Rs 60,600 per sq yard.

The state-run National Building Construction Corp (NBCC) also hopes to raise Rs 12,000 crore through e-auction of 11 commercial towers in South Delhi, each part of redevelopment projects in place of low-rise government housing. HDFC, SIDBI, Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) and Power Finance Corp (PFC) have already booked an upcoming 10-floor commercial tower at Nauraji Nagar for Rs 1,100 crore. Each has bought the property at about Rs 38,000 per sq ft, much higher than prices prevailing in Connaught Place. This is because the commercial towers are coming up close to Bhikaji Cama Place, another business district in the Capital.

Amit Mohit Prasad, CEO, Noida Authority, says that the authority at its board meeting held recently has decided against increasing the reserve price (land allotment rates) for land for the financial year 2017-2018 due to the slowdown in the realty sector and fall in property sales.

In Haryana, Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) sold a 7,820.80 sq m plot to Hyundai in November 2016 after demonetisation for Rs 205.88 crore, to build its new office. It plans to auction over 50 commercial sites this month to raise around Rs 150 crore.

End-user demand usually doesnt get impacted by external factors such as demonetisation. In fact current reduced prices provide an opportune time for end-users to explore purchase options, says Vivek Dahiya, Founder and CEO, GenReal.

Over the past 36 months, keeping in mind the market conditions, HUDA has been regularly revising the circle rates. Its impact will also be on reserve prices which would be lower and hence more in tune with market conditions, he adds.
Sundaram Finance Group which runs mutual funds and financing schemes in India has started a program to invest in fintech startups.

The Chennai based group invested in Delhi based GyanDhan this week.

The group has started engaging with start-ups in the areas of financial services and Fin-Tech. The aim is to associate with firms where there is synergy with group strategy, says TT Srinivasaraghavan, Managing Director, Sundaram Finance Limited (SFL).

While there is no specific timeframe or corpus in mind, the group said that it is planning to make investments as opportunities arise.

The investments will be minority stakes in early stage ventures with ticket sizes of USD 1 million or less. We will only work with companies where we can add value to their business, said Harsha Viji, Deputy Managing Director, Sundaram Finance.

The investment is likely to happen from the companys balance sheet. As of last fiscal, SFL reported revenues of Rs 5,633 crore and with a profit about of Rs 683 crore.

We are already engaging with multiple start-ups with various types of engagement models  operational, financing, and also equity investments where it makes sense, Viji added

The company also said that it is planning to co-invest with venture capitalists and angel investors.

Invests in GyanDhan

In line with its strategy, Sundaram Finance, through its subsidiary Sundaram Finance Holdings, has made an equity investment in GyanDhan.

GyanDhan is an online marketplace for education loans for students aspiring to pursue studies overseas. A Delhi based start-up founded by two IIT alumni, GyanDhan uses proprietary logic to underwrite large ticket education loans.

The company claims to have already helped over 250 students get education loans of around Rs 60 crore.

We are delighted that Sundaram Finance has shown confidence in us, and that will help us grow as a responsible financial services business, said Ankit Mehra, co-founder, Gyan Dhan.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 6

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

Russias Russneft oil company doesnt currently participate in Iranian oil and gas projects and for present, it has no such plans, a source in the company told Trend June 6.

Moreover, Russian state-controlled oil company Zarubezhneft declined to comment on the status of work on the development of Irans Aban and West Paydar oil fields.

Iran and Russia have signed seven memorandums of understanding on oil fields and three more on the countrys upstream gas sector:

Oil fields Oil in-situ (billion barrels) Current production (Thousand b/d) API Russian company Mansouri 15.142 60 20-25 Lukoil Ab Teymour 15.258 60 22-22.5 Lukoil Aban 0.138 9 21 Zarubezhneft West Paydar 0.952 28 18-20 Zarubezhneft Cheshmeh Khosh 3.74 72 20-29 Gazprom Neft Changouleh 2.367 0 24 Gazprom Neft Dehloran 5.184 24 30 Tatneft

Iranian oil minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said last week that Iran has recently signed MoUs with Russian companies on development of Kish, Farzad B and North Pas gas fields.

Earlier, Russian Lukoil CEO Vagit Alekperov said that his company plans to study the possibility of working with Iran on the Sardar-e Jangal field. Lukoil is also negotiating with Iran over development of onshore Ab Teymour and Mansouri oil fields.

Iranian deputy oil ministry Hossein Zamani-Nia said Apr.16 that $50-80B worth of foreign investment is expected to be attracted to Irans energy projects, including $10B into the petrochemical sector in near future.

In total, $185 billion worth of investments is needed, he said.

Zamani-Nia said $85 billion are planned to be invested in the upstream oil sector by 2021.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Adani Enterprises share price rallied as much as 6.6 percent in morning trade Tuesday after the chairman has given approval for coalmine project worth USD 4 billion in Australia.

"Adani Chairman, Gautam Adani, on Tuesday, gave the green light for the Carmichael mine and rail projects in Queensland," the company said in its filing.

"The largest single investment by an Indian corporation in Australia, which marks the official start of one of the largest single infrastructure (and job-creating) developments in Australia's recent history," Mr Adani said in a statement.

He further said the project will generate 10,000 direct and indirect jobs, with pre-construction works starting in September quarter 2017.

The company had already invested USD 3.3 billion in the project including buying bulk coal handling port at port of Abbot Point.

Adani today signed contracts for design, construction, operations, supply of materials and professional services.

This USD 4 billion project has been challenged by activists in the courts, in inner city streets and even outside banks, but "we are committed to this project and regional Queensland", Adani said, adding it is also committed to addressing energy poverty in India.

At 10:49 hours IST, the stock price was quoting at Rs 124.45, up Rs 6.80, or 5.78 percent on the BSE.

Posted by Sunil Shankar Matkar
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Shares of Everest Organics were higher by 5 percent intraday on Tuesday after a successful check of its facility by the US drug regulator.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had inspected its manufacturing facility at Aroor village between February 27 and March 3, 2017.

Earlier in March, the stock was locked at 5 percent upper circuit at Rs 72.70 amid high volumes after successful completion of USFDA inspection at Andhra Pradesh unit.

"USFDA inspected facility at Aroor village, from February 27 to March 3. There is only one observation," the pharmaceutical company said in its filing.
Angel Commodities' report on Crude Oil

WTI oil prices declined by 0.5 percent on Monday to close at $47.4 per barrel, while MCX oil prices declined by 0.9 percent to close at Rs.3052 per barrel. Prices declined as political rift in the Middle East undermine efforts of a output cut buy the OPEC. Leading Arab powers including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates cut ties with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of support for Islamist militants and Iran.

Outlook

Oil prices are expected to trend lower as international markets are trading lower by 0.5 percent at $47.20 per barrel. Latest political tensions between Qatar and other Middle east nations has dimmed prospects of OPEC output cut. High global and US inventories remains a cause of concern for oil markets though. On the MCX, oil prices are expected to trade lower today.

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Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts/broking houses/rating agencies on moneycontrol.com are their own, and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

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Strides Shasun fell over 3 percent intraday on Tuesday as investors turned wary of US drug regulators actions and observations at Bengaluru plant.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a few observations for its Bengaluru unit. Here they are as follows:

-Written records of investigations don't include conclusions & follow-up

-No specific rationale, data supporting sampling plan for testing capsules

-No written procedure to assure products have strength, quality as portrayed

The formulations facility in Bangalore was recently inspected by the US FDA in the last week of May. The company had been issued a Form 483 with 3 observations as well.

"None of these observations relate to data integrity and quality control. The company will address the observations comprehensively," it had told the exchanges then.
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Tata Motors shares declined more than 3 percent intraday Tuesday after reporting subdued UK sales growth by Jaguar Land Rover.

The luxury car maker sold 8,813 units in May, down 7.8 percent compared with 8,880 units sold in same month last year, dented by both brands.

Jaguar's UK sales declined 1 percent to 2,564 units while Land Rover sales fell sharply by 10.7 percent to 5,619 units compared with year-ago month.

Meanwhile, Tata Motors informed exchanges, on Monday, that Ravindra Pisharody has submitted his resignation as executive director (commercial vehicles) of the company, and as a director of the company and its associated companies for personal reasons.

The company has appointed Satish Borwankar as chief operating officer with immediate effect and his tenure of executive directorship would be extended for a period of 2 years from July 2017.

At 12:23 hours IST, the stock price was quoting at Rs 462.75, down Rs 15.25, or 3.19 percent on the BSE.

Posted by Sunil Shankar Matkar
Achiievers Equities' commodity report on Turmeric

Turmeric trading range for the day is 5306-5430.

Turmeric prices ended with losses amid anticipation of balanced supplies as demand is need based and steady.

Farmers may cut supplies to the market amid fears of fall in acreage because of prevailing lower prices.

NCDEX accredited warehouses turmeric stocks gained by 30 tonnes to 6827 tonnes.

SELL TURMERIC JUL 2017 @ 5450 SL 5550 TGT 5320-5200.NCDEX.

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4. Hindustan Aeronautics | Return: -35.50% | Issue size: Rs 4,144 crore | Listing date: March 28, 2018 | Subscription ratio: 0.99 | Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) is engaged in the design, development, manufacture, repair, overhaul, upgrade and servicing of a wide range of products including, aircraft, helicopters, aero-engines, avionics, accessories and aerospace structures.

Thales, a global technology player in aerospace, transport, defence and security, is eyeing India for offering its latest unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems and radars in view of the growing demand for them in the country.

Thales is in talks with its partners in India which needs around 200 UAVs, a top company official said during a recent media interaction at the company's facilities at Bretigny and Rouen in France.

"We are in discussions with a couple of companies in India and checking what can we do with them," said Thibault Trancart, Vice President, Marketing and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Strategic Projects of Thales.

"We have got BEL-Thales Systems Limited (BTSL), a Joint Venture Company between Bharat Electronics Limited and Thales, where we are developing a fire control radar for both gun and missile systems," he said.

"We are doing some radars locally with some industries and transferring some know how for the benefit of the Indian market," Trancart said.

Historically speaking, Thales has been present in India in the defence sector and later moved to the transportation sector and the aerospace business, he said.

There are several players in the UAV market, which is organising itself. Many of them will disappear in five years, Trancart said.

"There has been a shift in the last seven to eight years. Today, the civilian domain is pulling the military domain. Now, there are many innovations made by the civilian domain, to be used by the military domain," he said.

The Thales official also spoke about a "major interest" from South East Asia for the company's 'Searchmaster' radar which combines the benefits of Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) antenna technology in a lightweight and modular design.

"India could be a major customer for Searchmaster," he said.

"There are queries for specifications on installing our radars in patrol aircraft and helicopters," Trancart said.

Thales also announced that it will deliver to India 36 state-of-the-art RBE2 AESA radars aboard Rafale aircraft, from 2019.

Thales will deliver the first batch of 'Spy' Ranger fixed-wing UAVs to the French armament procurement agency next year, the company's product line manager of UAVs, Pascal Secretin, said.

Each system consists of three vehicles and a ground control station.

The mini-UAV has an operating range of 30 km, delivers a high-definition, day-and-night capability.

It has a wing span of 3.8 metre, weighs 14.5 kg, and can stay aloft for two and a half hours.

The company has 64,000 employees spread across 56 countries. It has been present in India since 1953 and has over 300 employees working with its wholly-owned Indian subsidiary, Thales India Pvt Ltd.

Thales has been associated with the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and has formed joint ventures with Samtel, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and L&T Technology Services.

A member of the Rafale team, Thales has also delivered four upgraded Mirage 2000 to the Indian Air Force.
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Wipro Limited Chairman Azim Premji has denied a media report that promoters of the IT company were evaluating sale of their holdings and said he "remains committed to Wipro."

In his letter to Wiproites, he had termed the news article reportedly published in this regard as "baseless and malicious."

A news website had yesterday quoting banking sources reported that the promoters of the India's third-largest IT services company are in the early stages of evaluating the sale of the company or some of its units, and have even approached investment banks.

In the letter sent out late last night to its employees, Premji said he continued to be "incredibly excited" about the potential of the IT industry and Wipro.

"Over the past 50 years, I have seen Wipro grow from a small regional player in vegetable oils to a global leader in technology.. I continue to be incredibly excited about the potential of the IT industry and Wipro.. I see enormous energy within the company to power the success of our clients and therefore the success of Wipro," he said.

"I remain as committed to Wipro as I have ever been.. The news article about promoters of Wipro evaluating sale of their holding in the company is baseless and malicious.. There is no truth to these unsubstantiated rumours," he added.

Premji along with his family own about 73.25 per cent shares in the company.
A map of Qatar is seen in this picture illustration June 5, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration - RTX3910P

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Amid deepening crisis in the Gulf region, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said that India will not be affected because of the (GCC) Gulf Coordination Council conflict. There is no challenge arising out of this for us. This is an internal matter of GCC," she said.

"Our only concern is about Indians there. We are trying to find out if any Indians are stuck there," she said

Over 25 percent of Qatar's population comprises Indians. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan expressed his state's concerns by writing letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating that almost every family in Kerala has one of their family members in the Gulf. With the travel ban, the GCC rebuttal can trouble Indians or worse, put them in danger.

With the Gulf banning air travel to Qatar, travelling for Indians has become dicey. Outbound flights from Qatar are affected by this crisis. However, inbound flights from India are not affected as of now.

Indians who want to fly to other Gulf countries from Doha for work or for other reasons will be unable to do so. Indians who want to travel to Qatar can do so. Jet Airways and Indigo confirmed their Doha flights to be as per schedule, but can get costlier.

Trade relations with Qatar

India imports USD 7.63 billion worth of commodities, mainly LNG and oil, from Qatar. Even though Indian exports to Qatar have increased, India is still dependent on Qatar for its LNG supply.

The imports to Qatar are worth USD 787.47 million, still lower than India's import bill. The shipment of the supplies can be affected because of the ban.

Although bilateral trade (trade between two parties) is unlikely to be hit, the ongoing diplomacy crisis can affect India's trade relations with Qatar.

Shaky Oil Prices

India is the third largest consumer of oil. With the Gulf-led OPEC output cuts to stabilise the oil prices and now with the ongoing diplomacy crisis, the oil prices can be affected.

However, as of now, the oil prices are persisting between the USD 46 and USD 49 range. This price range is against OPEC's aim to stabilise prices between USD 50 and USD 53.

The prices can however shoot up due to this crisis as well. The hike in the oil prices can hurt the Indian economy.

Military relations with Qatar

Recently, Modi met with Qatar's emir strengthened not only their economic relations but also their defence relations. India and Qatar agreed to boost these relations together and to enhance the three base army training - naval, air and land (including coastal defence). The two nations also agreed to jointly produce weapons to strengthen their relations.

Considering the above ties and the reason to Gulf rift, there's a chance that India could also be under watch and/or be blamed for "supporting terrorism."

The conflict

The GCC isolated Qatar. Seven countries  Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Yemen, Egypt, Maldives and Libya  have cut diplomatic relations with Qatar.

The countries believe that Qatar supports terrorism and its relations with Iran, Saudi Arabia's rival. Hence, the countries have banned air, sea and land travel to Qatar's capital, Doha. The Gulf States have given Qatari visitors and residents a two week notice to leave.

Among the 7 - UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Yemen - are a part of the GCC. Although the other three countries are not a part of the GCC, they cut ties for the same reason.

Qatar is blamed to be connected to the Islamic-militant group "Muslim Brotherhood," which originates from Egypt. Not only in relations with Muslim Brotherhood, but other militant groups including Al-Qaeda and ISIS and is also blamed to financially support the Palestinian Islamist militant group, Hamas.

However, Qatar is the economic generator of the GCC. Qatar is the largest exporter of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). With LNG, petroleum too makes 70% of Qatar's revenue. The nation's GDP major share comes from these exports.

The Qatar and GCC disputes have been going on since 1991. In 2014, UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia suspended ties with Qatar for supporting Muslim Brotherhood. In 8 months, the suspension was lifted after the Gulf countries decided to return their ambassadors to Doha.
The country's security agencies have given their approval for in-flight WiFi with safeguards, enabling flyers to access emails and data on-board, according to a report in The Times of India.

A Home Ministry official was quoted as saying that the final call will be taken soon to allow in-flight WiFi, subject to the condition that the signals do not interfere with the aircraft's communication with the Air Traffic Control (ATC). The proposal had been pending for a long time owing to the ongoing debate over security concerns.

There was apprehension over whether terrorists could hack into the aircraft system using the WiFi and control it remotely to use it as a missile. The WiFi could also be used by terrorists on-board to communicate with their handlers on ground.

However, those advocating the service say that the use of low-powered electronic devices is safe as modern planes are insulated against electromagnetic interference.

Foreign airlines are currently offering in-flight WiFi services on both domestic and international routes. The service is in great demand as passengers wish to stay connected constantly. The service also helps airlines collect more revenue. However, internet-based calls using the WiFi are still not allowed.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 6

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

Qatar is no a major oil producer itself, so in that sense, the diplomatic tension with this country has little effect, Sijbren de Jong, analyst at The Hague Center for Strategic Studies and expert in energy security told Trend June 6.

General tension in the region is always reflected in oil prices, at least in the short term. In the longer term, however, market fundamentals are telling a different story, said the expert. We still deal with oversupply and resurgent shale in the US.

Emma Richards, oil and gas analyst with BMI Research told Trend that she believes, the impact of this situation will be quite limited, although risks remain, should tensions escalate further.

The main concern is around the disruption of exports via the Straits of Hormuz, but the straits pass through Omani and Iranian territorial waters and are protected under international maritime law, she said.

As long as exports continue as normal, there won't be any impact on supply and prices should come away relatively unscathed, according to Richards.

The spat began after Qatars state-run news agency, QNA, released remarks attributed to ruling Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, in which he criticized other Gulf leaders and called for an easing of tensions with Iran. QNA has denied that the comments were made by the Emir, claiming that they were the result of a cyber attack. But this hasnt washed with Saudi Arabia and its allies. They argue that the comments highlight Dohas close ties with Iran and reinforce their long-held concerns over Qatars support for terrorism.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Libya, Bahrain, and Maldives have severed diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of fueling extremism and terrorism.

Qatar says move is "unjustified" and says it carries out its duties in the fight against terrorism.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
D-Day veterans (L to R) Joseph Coughlin, Bill Hough and Jim Wilkinson attend a ceremony of remembrance to mark the 70th anniversary of D-Day at the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa, June 6, 2014. REUTERS/Patrick Doyle (CANADA - Tags: POLITICS ANNIVERSARY SOCIETY MILITARY) - RTR3SLGU

While one shouldn't dwell in the past, it shouldn't be forgotten either for it shapes events which play out in the future. Moneycontrol takes a look at some of the crucial episodes on June 6, which had a bearing on the fortunes of India and the world.

On this day in 1944, the Allies of World War II invaded the coast of Normandy in France, an event which is now marked as D-Day. Around 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces launched the largest amphibious military assault in history along a 50-mile stretch on five fortified beaches in Normandy.

The assault, code-named "Operation Overload", resulted in the Normandy battle leading to the liberation of Paris and other French territories from Germany's Nazi Regime and proved to be a turning point in World War II which ended a year later.

Let's go back in time and see what else happened on this day in history:
People wait on a platform as a train is unloaded in a railway station in New Delhi, India February 1, 2017. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton - RTX2Z5N7

An office-cum-shopping complex, a multi-specialty hospital, and a five-star hotel. All at a railway station.

Habibganj, in Madhya Pradesh's capital Bhopal, is set to become the country's first railway station to be redeveloped as a public-private partnership, according to a report in Livemint.

First opened in 1979, the station is now set to get a makeover as a world class transit hub equipped with new-age amenities including travellators and underpassages.

The Bhopal-headquartered Bansal Group was last year given operation and maintenance responsibilities for eight years along with land on a 45-year lease.

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu will launch the re-development work on Friday.

The Bansal Group will initially invest Rs 100 crore to revamp the station and an additional Rs 350 crore will be invested to develop four commercial complexes, increasing the area to more than 17,000 square metres.

Solar energy will power the environment-friendly station's six lifts, 11 escalators, and three travellators, apart from two underpasses for arriving passengers.

In addition, there will be parking facilities for 300 cars, 850 two-wheelers, apart from rickshaws, taxis, and buses.

The project is being overseen by Indian Railway Station Development Corporation, a special purpose vehicle formed by the railway unit Ircon International Limited and Rail Land Development Authority.

SK Lohia, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of IRSDC, was quoted as saying that the Bansal Group will take care of all station facilities including food stalls, retiring rooms, power, platform maintenance and parking.

However, the Railways will continue to be responsible for core operations such as train and parcel movement, signalling and ticketing.
The Centre's decision to ban the sale of cattle for slaughter has not gone down well with some of BJP's own members and allies in Meghalaya and Goa, which have sizeable beef-eating population.

Here are the latest developments.

Meghalaya

The row over Centres ban on sale of cattle for slaughter saw Meghalaya's North Garo Hills district BJP president Bachu Marak quitting the party in protest, days after another district president made an exit.

"I cannot compromise on the sentiments of the Garos. As a Garo, it is my responsibility to protect the interest of my community. Beef eating is part of our culture and tradition. Imposition of BJP's non-secular ideology on us is not acceptable," Bachu Marak said after resigning from the party last night.

Earlier, BJPs West Garo Hill district president Bernard N Marak had resigned from the party on the ban issue as it hurt the culture of Meghalayas indigenous people.

Following resignation, both ex-BJP leaders announced on Facebook a Beef party with Bitchi to be held on June 10 to mark 3 years of Narendra Modi government.

Meghalaya is already suffering from economic crisis due to smuggling of cattle from the state to Bangladesh. There is a massive cattle smuggling racket in the state, which has led to skyrocketing of price of beef, said state BJP president Shibun Lyngdoh last month. Lyangdoh said the ban could help curb cattle smuggling.

Goa

The Goa Forward Party, with whom the BJP has formed a coalition government in Goa, has expressed discontent with the ban.

"I am not happy with the new rules. The new rules can lead the farmers and meat traders to penury and affect the leather and hospitality industry," said GFP leader and state agricultural minister Vijai Sardesai.

Although Sardesai called the ban haphazard, he added that this was solely the partys opinion, and not the governments.

Goas meat sellers have expressed fear regarding the ban leading to shortage of beef. However, Sardesai along with the state-run Goa Meat Complex Limited have ruled out any such crisis.

With inputs from PTI.
IMA Ponzi scheme case: A multi-crore scheme run by Karnataka-based I-Monetary Advisory (IMA) and its group entities allegedly duped lakhs of people by promising higher returns using Islamic ways of investment. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is currently investigating the case and has filed at least three FIRs. (File image of the CBI headquarters)

The Congress on Monday condemned the CBI raids on NDTV founder Prannoy Roy and termed it as an attack on the freedom of the press.

Criticising the NDA government for its "pick and choose" policy while taking on the media houses, the opposition party said it is "an attempt to create an atmosphere of terror and muzzle the voice" of the fourth estate.

Senior Congress spokesperson Ajay Maken said the Congress strongly condemns the action and warns the Central government that it should not try to hound the media.

"It is a strong attack on the freedom of the press and the Congress party strongly condemns it. We warn the central government that it should not try to hound and threaten the media," he said.

"We are standing with the media. If the need arises, we will use democratic means to oppose this action," he said, adding that the prime minister has used derogatory words like "bazaaru" and a Union minister had branded the media as "presstitutes".

Maken also questioned the timing of the raids as it happened two days after a NDTV journalist's spat with a BJP leader on a TV debate on the beef ban notification.

Another senior Congress leader Anand Sharma criticised the Centre over the CBI raids, saying it was "blatant abuse of power taking place in the country".

"Centralisation of decision-making is happening at the Centre. The media and the other voices of dissent are being muzzled. A warning is being sent to the media outlets to fall in line or face a similar fate," Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha told reporters in Mumbai.

"The government machinery is being misused and an environment of fear is being created through the (investigation) agencies," Sharma alleged.

Maken said till the time NDTV was playing into the hands of the government everything was fine and cited several incidents in this regard, including the channel not airing the interview of former finance minister P Chidambaram.

The Delhi Congress chief and former Union minister said NDTV has done several reports against the UPA government but it never used such a policy to hound it.

Both Maken and Sharma said many BJP chief ministers and other ministers have serious allegations against them but asked why was no inquiry or action initiated against them.

"When somebody questions them, they become anti- nationals. We never did this when we were in power. Those who had no contribution towards India's freedom have no right to preach nationalism," Sharma said.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday raided the residence of Roy, the founder of NDTV, in New Delhi and three other locations in connection with losses allegedly caused by the journalist to a private bank.

NDTV called it a "witch-hunt" based on the "same old false accusations".

The CBI has registered a case against Roy, his wife Radhika and RRPR Holdings Pvt Ltd for allegedly causing a loss of Rs 48 crore to ICICI Bank, sources in the probe agency told PTI.

They said the CBI was conducting searches at two places in the national capital and one each in Dehradun and Mussoorie in connection with the case.
Men sit under a banner carrying a portrait of chief of India's Congress party Sonia Gandhi outside the Congress office in New Delhi May 16, 2014. Counting of votes began on Friday after India's mammoth election, which could usher in the most profound economic change in a generation if opposition leader Narendra Modi wins a clear mandate for his agenda to revive growth and create jobs. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi (INDIA - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR3PEHK

The Congress Working Committee chaired by party president Sonia Gandhi met here today to discuss the current political situation and the upcoming presidential poll.

The highest decision-making body of the party met at the residence of Sonia Gandhi and was attended by party vice- president Rahul Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Top Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, P Chidambaram, Ambika Soni, Janardan Dwiwedi and other CWC members were present during the meeting.

The leaders are likely to discuss the current political situation in the country and the issue of forging a larger opposition unity.

Senior members of the CWC are likely to discuss the raging issue of cow vigilantism and also the economic situation, party sources said.

They said the CWC is expected to ratify the schedule for organisational polls. According to the schedule, the next Congress president has to be elected by October 15.

The CWC is meeting at a time when the Congress is seeking to unite opposition parties ahead of the presidential election.

It wants a broad coalition of opposition parties in place ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to take on the BJP. The BJP and its allies have gained in strength since the Modi government was formed in May 2014.

The CWC members had in November unanimously expressed "strong sentiment" for Rahul's elevation for the first time and may take it further.

At the November-7 meeting, all members, including former prime minister Manmohan Singh and senior leader A K Antony, had made a strong pitch for Rahul to take over the reins of the party.

The Congress president has created a record by being at the helm of the 130-year-old organisation for nearly two decades since late Sitaram Kesri's ouster by the CWC in early 1998.

Rahul was appointed party vice president in January 2013 at the Congress's brainstorming session in Jaipur.
RPT---New Delhi: Congress President Sonia Gandhi during a meeting with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe (unseen) in New Delhi on Wednesday. PTI Photo by Shahbaz Khan(PTI10_5_2016_000036B)

Sonia Gandhi may step down from the Congress presidentship, paving the way for Rahul Gandhi's possible elevation when the party holds its internal elections by October 15.

The Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party's highest decision-making body, today approved the schedule for internal elections under which the party has to complete the exercise by October 15.

In her speech at the CWC meeting, Sonia Gandhi exhorted partymen to strengthen the organisation and complete the organisational polls with "speed and sincerity".

"We must strengthen our organisation. The ongoing organisational elections must be completed with the utmost speed and sincerity," she said at the meeting, ahead of the CWC approving the poll schedule.

Asked whether the issue of elevation of Rahul Gandhi was discussed at the meeting, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad replied in the negative.

"The schedule for organisational elections has been cleared by the CWC," Azad said, adding that Rahul's elevation was not specifically discussed.

The CWC members had in the last meeting in November unanimously expressed "strong sentiment" for Rahul's elevation for the first time and may take it further.

At the November 7 meeting, all members, including former prime minister Manmohan Singh and senior leader A K Antony, had made a strong pitch for Rahul to take over the reins of the party.

The Congress president has created a record by being at the helm of the 130-year-old organisation for nearly two decades since late Sitaram Kesri's ouster by the CWC in early 1998.

Rahul was appointed party vice president in January 2013 at Congress's brainstorming session in Jaipur.
Pre-orders for Moto Z2 Play, the latest addition to Motorolas Z Series of smartphones, will be starting this Thursday June 8 in India, as per a tweet by Moto India on Sunday.

While the launch date for the same in the country is yet to be revealed, several details have been shared for the pre-booking.

The new Moto Z2, is a slimmer and more lightweight version of its predecessor Z Play, and has several other features such as an improved camera, display and unibody metal design.

It is likely to be available in the Rs 25,000-30,000 range in India, going by the international price of USD 499.

EMI options are being offered for a period of 10 months with zero interest payment at a pre-book price of Rs 2,000.

The pre-booking offer also includes Moto Mods and Moto Armor Pack, which are functionality and protective accessories for the device respectively, launched by Motorola last year.

As per the company website, the phone comes with the following offers:

hello finance: Includes Rs 2,000 downpayment, followed by 10-month EMI period without interest.

hello mods: Moto mods, which were introduced last year along with the Moto Z, are accessories that accompany and expand the functionality of the Z series Motorola smartphones. The Hasselblad true zoom and Insta-share projector are the two which are expected to be launched in India at discounted prices. Others are the JBL Soundboost 2, Moto TurboPower Pack, Moto Style Shells with Wireless Charging and the Moto Gamepad.

hello armor: Accessories to ensure device protection, and includes protective accessories to keep you worry-free. Further details are likely to be revealed once the pre-booking opens.

SPECIFICATIONS

- Moto Z2 Play comes with a 5.5-inch full HD Super AMOLED display and a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels, and a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 on the top. Two storage options have been announced- 32 GB and 64 GB.

- Optics: 12 MEGAPIXEL primary camera and 5 megapixel front camera with LED flash

- Android 7.1.1 Nougat

-Dual SIM Support

- Octa-core Snapdragon 626 processor clocked at 2.2 GHz coupled with either 3GB or 4GB of RAM Memory.

-Battery: 3,000 mAh , estimated to last 30 hours on a single charge

-Bluetooth 4.0 LE

-USB Type-C Port

-Colors : Lunar grey and Fine Gold

- Water-repellant nano coating to provide protection against light splashes and rain

Versus its Predecessor Z Play

The signature thin body of the Z series has made a comeback with the Z2 Play being slashed a 1.1 millimeter on its body on account of complains by users of a brick-like feeling with the predecessor Z Play.

The expected battery life as per the company claims is 30 hours, which is lower than last years claim by Motorola of 50 hours for the Moto Z Play.

There is a significant difference in weight too, and the new one Z2 Play weights 145 grams versus 165 grams of the Z Play.

The optics also remain vastly improved as the upper-mid range smartphone comes with 12 Megapixel camera at the end and a new and improved laser focusing system which the company claims helps in better low-light photos.

Compared to the Snapdragon 625 under the hood of the Moto Z Play, the Moto Z2 Play relies on a newer Snapdragon 626 chipset. It includes an octa-core CPU comprised of eight Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 2.2GHz and Adreno 506. As for the Snapdragon 625, its also an octa-core processor, clocked at a lower 2.0GHz frequency.

The company has tweaked the design language and this time introduced a unibody metal design in place of a glass back. The Moto Z2 Play continues to feature a nano-coating for protection against casual environmental damage.

While the new Moto Z2 Play offers a choice of 3GB or 4GB of RAM with 32GB or 64GB of internal storage, the Moto Z Play was only available with a standard 3GB/32GB configuration.

The Moto Z2 Play supports two new Moto Mods while remaining compatible with the current ones.

Other smartphones by Motorola include the Moto C, which was released in India last week, with a unique variant with 4G VoLTE support and 16 GB storage launched specifically for the Indian market.

Technology tipster Ronald Quandt few days ago confirmed on Twitter that the Motorola is planning to release the E4 smartphone on July 17.
Members of Forum For IT Employees will meet Karnataka IT Minister Priyank Kharge today to seek government intervention to stop 'arbitrary' IT layoffs and press for withdrawal of its decision to exempt IT companies from labour law, among various demands.

"Karnataka IT Minister has agreed to meet FITE members tomorrow. Among other demands, we will ask the minister to reconsider the government's decision to exempt IT companies from labour law and bring it under the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act," Rajesh of FITE Bengaluru Chapter told PTI here.

Rajesh said the cabinet had in October 2013 decided to exempt IT companies from labour law for further five years. The attempt by the state to bring the sector under the law in March 2013 had caused panic among software companies, which are just slowly recovering from a global economic slump. Among other demands, FITE members will also seek intervention of Karnataka and central government to address illegal and 'arbitary' termination of IT professionals by companies, including Tech Mahindra and Infosys, Rajesh said.

"The state and central governments must intervene and demand that firms abide by labour laws and end the layoffs. It also should instruct companies to stop arbitrary layoffs," he said. Rajesh also said the government should take stringent measures such as revoking benefits given by it to IT companies in the name of job creation for decades.

"FITE is also demanding companies put an end to forced resignations and follow formal procedures and modes of communication," Rajesh said. Companies should also focus on retraining and increase up-skilling efforts instead of laying off employees, he added. Companies must limit working hours, as for now, they are working for 12 to 14 hours a day, Rajesh said.

After petitioning Telengana, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu governments, FITE approached the labour commission in Bengaluru to submit a petition in this regard. Earlier, Kharge had expressed willingness to meet IT employees associations. In a recent interview to PTI, he had also said the government would look into the matter and provide legal assistance if affected or laid off employees approach it like their counterparts in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Telengana. Kharge had also urged the affected professionals to lodge a complaint with the labour department.

Moreover, All India IT Employees Association President Syed Muqueemuddin had shot off an email to Kharge, seeking an urgent meeting to request the government to take appropriate corrective actions and brief him on the current situation, including layoffs.

Muqueemuddin has been in touch with various associations to organise a united front to hold talks with the government to resolve their problems. He said the united front would urge the government to hold an open house discussion by inviting all stakeholders, including IT captains and employees.
Sushma Swaraj

The working style and scope of the MEA has changed after Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power, while safety of Indians abroad has become a "priority", External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said today.

Giving the slogan of "Effective Diplomacy and Excellent Delivery" to highlight the three years of "achievements" of the Modi government, Swaraj said India shares good relations even with countries considered to be bitter rivals.

"If we have given the slogan of Effective Diplomacy and Excellent Delivery, then we have lived up to the expectations," Swaraj said, addressing a press conference.

She said experts had claimed that India's foreign policy towards the Gulf would suffer after Modi took charge, but West Asia is the "only region" New Delhi shares a great equation with.

"When we came to power, all experts in one voice said that West Asia would go off India's foreign policy radar. They thought it comprised mostly Muslim-populated countries and it would not be Modi's priority.

"Today, after three years, I confidently say that if we have good relations with any region in the world, then it is West Asia," Swaraj said.

She also referred to Modi's visit to Saudi Arabia last year, where he was conferred with the highest civilian honour by the country's monarch, and Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as the chief guest at the Republic Day function to highlight India's deep relations with Gulf countries.

Both these countries share close relations with Pakistan.

Swaraj also credited Modi for making India's relations with the Gulf countries "very good", which helped the ministry bring back its citizens at the time of crisis in Yemen.

Citing an example of Saudi Arabia and Iran, Swaraj said the two countries share "bitter" relations, but India is friends to both.

"It is this effective diplomacy of India due to which we share good relations with both the countries.

"Similarly, Israel and Palestine are locked in a decades- long struggle, but we publicly say this and I have also said this in Parliament that Israel is our friend, but we will not let down the Palestinian cause," the minister said.

Swaraj gave another example of Turkey and Cyprus, who share a long-pending territorial dispute, yet both enjoy good relations with India.

She said, Turkey also shares good relations with Pakistan and yet has a warm equation with India.

Holding that Indian diplomats are also playing a key role in government's flagship programmes like 'Make in India', she claimed that there has been a rise in FDI by 37.5 per cent in the first three years of the NDA government when compared with the last three years of UPA rule.

Swaraj said, some 80,000 Indians abroad in distress were brought back over the last three years.

She said the number does not include people rescued in Operation Maitri, carried out during the 2015 Nepal earthquake in which 1,05,000 people were brought back to India, and 28,000 who were rescued from Saudi Arabia.
British Airways has ordered an independent investigation into the systems meltdown that left over 75,000 passengers stranded over the bank holiday weekend on May 27, a top official has said.

The actions of a technician who switched off and then reconnected the power supply to BA's data centre are expected to form the centre of the inquiry, which will be carried out by an as-yet-unnamed external company.

Willie Walsh, the chief executive of the airline's parent company, IAG, said the technician responsible was "authorised to be in the room, but wasn't authorised to do what he did".

He added: "You could cause a mistake to disconnect the power  it's difficult for me to understand how you can mistakenly reconnect the power."

The power was restored to the data centre in "an uncontrolled and uncommanded fashion that caused physical damage to the servers and distribution panels," Walsh said.

If that had not been the case BA could have quickly recovered from the power outage, Walsh claimed.

"That in itself was a problem that we could have overcome probably in a couple of hours, I don't think it would have led to any cancellations."

According to a report in the Guardian, Walsh said BA's communications had been poor after the incident, in which thousands of passengers were stranded at Heathrow before having to queue to leave the airport.

"I wouldn't suggest for one minute we got communications right at BA  we didn't."

He added: "It's damaged us, but it hasn't destroyed us in any way. We've recovered from worse. The BA brand is incredibly resilient."

Speaking at the International Air Transport Association global summit in Mexico, Walsh said of the fiasco: "It's something I wouldn't wish on anybody or any airline, when you see the customers who have suffered. I'm hoping people will be able to learn from the experience we've had and we'll all be better as a result.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 6

By Maksim Tsurkov  Trend:

Azerbaijan supplied almost 1.6 billion cubic meters of gas to Turkey in January-March 2017, as compared to 1.71 billion cubic meters in January-March 2016, says a report posted on the website of Turkeys Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK).

In 2016, Azerbaijan supplied 6.48 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Turkey, as compared to 6.17 billion cubic meters in 2015.

According to the report, Turkey imported 16.2 billion cubic meters of gas in January-March 2017, some 11.95 billion cubic meters of which were imported via pipelines, and 4.25 billion cubic meters accounted for the LNG import.

Azerbaijans share in total volume of gas imported by Turkey stood at 9.86 percent in January-March 2017.

Turkey imports gas from Azerbaijan via the South Caucasus Pipeline (Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum).

Turkey has a contract for the annual purchase of 6.6 billion cubic meters of gas from Azerbaijan's offshore Shah Deniz gas and condensate field.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @MaksimTsurkov
India Economy

China today said it is in touch with Russia over India's entry into the elite Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), but made it clear that its position on the issue remains "unchanged."

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying's comments came a day after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said that India is engaging with Moscow and making efforts to convince Beijing on the issue.

"China and other member including Russia maintained close communication and we also maintain that we should act in accordance with the principles of the NSG," Hua told media.

The application for accession by non-NPT countries is a multi-lateral question and should be addressed on the basis of consensus of the NSG members, Hua said when asked for reaction to Swarajs comments.

"We have stressed our position many times on this issue. Our position remains unchanged," Hua said, reiterating China's two step approach - first to reach a non-discriminatory resolution that applies to all non-NPT countries and then to discuss the application to non-NPT countries.

She said that at the NSG plenary session this month in Bern, China wishes to conduct "constructive discussion".

Swaraj yesterday said India has always engaged with China and "we are doing it for NSG as well. And (it is being done) not only by us, but even nations friendly to us as well as enjoying good relations with China, who feel that India should get an NSG membership."

Giving Russia's example, she said Moscow feels that India should be a part of the NSG and UN Security Council.

"So we feel, since Russia and China share good relations, it should talk to China. We are not asking them to put pressure on China, but use its good offices. Our effort is to convince China on the issue and also involve nations friendly with both the countries," the minister added.

Pakistan too has applied for the NSG membership after India's application following which China came up with the two step approach blocking Indias entry.

On the concerns expressed by Swaraj on China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in which USD 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a part, Hua said, "we also stressed many times that the Kashmir issue is one left behind by history between India and Pakistan and should be addressed properly through negotiation."

"The CPEC is an economic corridor and not targeted at any third party and has nothing to do with any territorial dispute. It will not affect China's position on Kashmir," she added.
The US accused a Russian woman on Friday of helping oversee the finances of a sweeping, secretive effort to sway American public opinion through social media in the first federal case alleging foreign interference in the 2018 midterm elections. (Image: AP)

United States President Donald Trump today supported the actions of four Arab countries to cut off diplomatic relationship with Qatar, saying his visit to the Middle East is "paying off" to end the "horror of terrorism".

Led by Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates have blamed Qatar for "financing, adopting and sheltering extremists", and alleged that it supports terrorist groups ranging from the Muslim Brotherhood and the Islamic State to the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

"During my recent trip to the Middle East, I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!" Trump tweeted.

"So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding, extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar," he said.

"Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!" Trump said.

Trump last month visited Saudi Arabia during which he addressed leaders of 50 Muslim countries including Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Members of the Gulf Cooperation Countries signed a memorandum of understanding with the US to make it illegal in their countries for raising funds for terrorist and extremist organisations.

Trump also slammed the mainstream American media.

"Sorry folks, but if I would have relied on the Fake I would have had ZERO chance winning WH," he said in yet another tweet.

"The FAKE MSM is working so hard trying to get me not to use Social Media. They hate that I can get the honest and unfiltered message out," he wrote.

A day earlier, the White House had said that Trump is committed to converse with all of the people involved in that process, with all of those countries.

"We want to continue to de-escalate that. And at this point, we're continuing to work with each of those partners," the White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters.
Solar power plant. | Representative Image

Fulfilling a major electoral promise, President Donald Trump has announced that the United States will withdraw from the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change. Its ironic that, as per the UN rules, the US would have to wait for four years to get out of the pact, which means that it will be election time again by the time the formal exit happens.

The US departure has a range of impacts on global trade, efforts on climate change and financing of the clean energy technology. However, industry experts opine that, notwithstanding current politics around climate change, its the economics of the clean tech sector that would be the key driving factor for the sector. Indias renewable energy sector, in particular, would continue to be guided by government plans and technological breakthroughs, though a disruption in financing could emerge.

US Emissions reduction commitment for 2025

Source: UNFCC

What does the US leaving the Paris agreement mean?

Once out of the Paris agreement, the US would no longer be committed to reduce emissions by 26-28 percent by 2025 (from 2005 levels) while it accounts for more than 15 percent of total worldwide greenhouse gas emissions.A major policy push from the earlier Obamas administration on climate change, considered the centerpiece of the effort to meet the Paris agreement objectives, is already under review. The plan aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 32 percent by 2030 (from 2005 level) from the power generation sector.

Other measures by the US, which also take a backseat, include new fuel economy standards for heavy-duty vehicles and measures to curb emissions of methane from landfills and the oil and gas industry.

This also means that US may no longer be contributing towards financing the Green Climate fund for developing countries as required under existing obligations under the parent treaty of the Paris accord, the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The decision by Trump should not impact the individual clean energy mandates the US states have. There are 29 states that already have a policy framework for the use of renewable electricity and provision of tax breaks and other support for technologies to cut emissions. As hinted by Environmental Protection Agency head, Scott Pruitt and the energy secretary, Rick Perry, there is the likely scenario of the Trump administration trying to block climate policies at state level.

There is a bit of political gain for Trump out of this event by consolidating the core electoral base but the businesses involved in the clean energy technology industries worry that the signal sent by US action would deter investment.

Interestingly, corporate lobbying for the Paris agreement was also from the utilities and industrial sector (eg: General Electric and Exxon Mobil) wherein their interests lie in selling the new technology and energy sources needed to cut carbon emissions.

Even representatives from the coal industry, World Coal Association, have said that they see the agreement as an opportunity to get more financial support for technologies to cut coal emissions. So, moving out of the agreement can be a setback to both such technical innovations and the financial conduits to such technologies.

So, in the medium term, this can have various implications. There could be an opportunity for closer cooperation between China, India and the European Union, as pointed out by the energy consultancy, Wood Mackenzie, for a low-carbon economy.

Further, US companies involved in environmentally-friendly technologies can relocate renewable technology research and development centers to Asia closer to end markets.

Market participants suggest that the structural themes of higher energy efficiency, declining renewable energy prices, the rise of electric vehicles and smart grids will continue to gather more force. And this entire sector would continue to be governed by its economics. Interestingly, the coal industry, too, is expected to become less and less labour-intensive with industrial automation.

US-India Clean Energy Finance Task Force is one of the ways the two countries collaborate on energy and clean energy. Industry experts suggest that such efforts will likely continue as India represents an enormous market for US suppliers. Further, industry experts are optimistic about Indias renewable sector plan which is dictated by its own economics and the governments targets for the renewable sector. The government intends to achieve 40 percent cumulative electric power capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030.

Solar Tariffs at Record Low

Source: Mercom Capital group

Industry experts point out that the US has been providing valuable financial and operational assistance in this sector to India but assert that withdrawal of these schemes can be mitigated by suitable planning and recalibration of other programs. But even if the funding vacuum created by the US is partially filled by other foreign investors, there is a risk of higher refinancing costs. The debt undertaken for project financing solar projects in India could be repriced in such a scenario, adversely impacting debt service coverage ratio and IRR.

So though lower raw material cost (PV modules, 50 percent of PV system cost) has been a major catalyst for the recent traction in solar projects, subsidies and soft loans continue to be another lever.

So, all in all, in our view, the US exit from the Paris agreement could bring in a disruption in the financing of newer, cleaner, low carbon technologies. Impact on the sector, however, depends on the overall acceptance of technologies governed by improved economics.
As a result, all plans from Aetna and its subsidiaries, including Medicare and Medicaid plans, will not be accepted as in-network at nearly all LVHN-operated facilities when their current contract ends in 120 days.
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,
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 6

By Maksim Tsurkov  Trend:

Turkey imported of 2.42 billion cubic meters of gas from Iran in January-March 2017 against 2.18 billion cubic meters in 1Q2016, reads a report on the website of Turkeys Energy Market Regulatory Authority.

Iran supplied 7.7 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Turkey in 2016, as compared to 7.83 billion cubic meters in 2015.

The report said that in total, Turkey imported 16.2 billion cubic meters of gas in January-March 2017, 11.95 billion cubic meters of which was imported via pipelines and 4.25 billion cubic meters accounted for the import of liquefied natural gas.

Iran's share in Turkeys total imports of gas was 14.92 percent in 1Q2017.

Turkey imports the Iranian gas through the Tabriz-Ankara pipeline with a capacity of 14 billion cubic meters per year.
June 06, 2017 Do Not Trust The Intercept or How To Burn A Source Yesterday The Intercept published a leaked five page NSA analysis about alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections. Its reporting outed the leaker of the NSA documents. That person, R.L. Winner, has now been arrested and is likely to be jailed for years if not for the rest of her life.

Intercepted source - R.L. Winner FBI search (pdf) and arrest warrant (pdf) applications unveil irresponsible behavior by the Intercept's reporters and editors which neglected all operational security trade-craft that might have prevented the revealing of the source. It leaves one scratching one's head if this was intentional or just sheer incompetence. Either way - the incident confirms what skeptics had long determined: The Intercept is not a trustworthy outlet for leaking state secrets of public interests. The Intercept was created to privatize the National Security Agency documents leaked by NSA contractor Edward Snowden. The documents proved that the NSA is hacking and copying nearly all electronic communication on this planet, that it was breaking laws that prohibited spying on U.S. citizen and that it sabotages on a large scale various kinds of commercial electronic equipment. Snowden gave copies of the NSA documents to a small number of journalists. One of them was Glenn Greenwald who now works at The Intercept. Only some 5% of the pages Snowden allegedly acquired and gave to reporters have been published. We have no idea what the unpublished pages would provide. The Intercept, a subdivision of First Look Media, was founded by Pierre Omidyar, a major owner of the auctioning site eBay and its PayPal banking division. Omidyar is a billionaire and "philanthropist" who's (tax avoiding) Omidyar Network foundation is "investing" for "returns". Its microcredit project for farmers in India, in cooperation with people from the fascists RSS party, ended in an epidemic of suicides when the farmers were unable to pay back. The Omidyar Network also funded (fascist) regime change groups in Ukraine in cooperation with USAID. Omidyar had cozy relations with the Obama White House. Some of the held back NSA documents likely implicate Omidyar's PayPal. The Intercept was funded with some $50 million from Omidyar. Its first hires were Greenwald, Jeremy Scahill and Laura Poitras - all involved in publishing the Snowden papers and other leaks. Its first piece was based on documents from the leaked NSA stack. It has since published on this or that but not in a regular media way. The Intercept pieces are usually heavily editorialized and tend to have a mainstream "liberal" to libertarian slant. Some were highly partisan anti-Syrian/pro-regime change propaganda. The website seems to have no regular publishing schedule at all. Between one and five piece per day get pushed out, only a few of them make public waves. Some of its later prominent hires (Ken Silverstein, Matt Taibbi) soon left and alleged that the place was run in a chaotic atmosphere and with improper and highly politicized editing. Despite its rich backing and allegedly high pay for its main journalists (Greenwald is said to receive between 250k and 1 million per year) the Intercept is begging for reader donations. Yesterday's published story (with bylines of four(!) reporters) begins: Russian military intelligence executed a cyberattack on at least one U.S. voting software supplier and sent spear-phishing emails to more than 100 local election officials just days before last Novembers presidential election, according to a highly classified intelligence report obtained by The Intercept. The NSA "intelligence report" the Intercept publishes alongside the piece does NOT show that "Russian military intelligence executed a cyberattack". The document speaks of "cyber espionage operations" - i.e someone looked and maybe copied data but did not manipulate anything. Espionage via computer networks is something every nation in this world (and various private entities) do all the time. It is simply the collection of information. It is different from a "cyberattack" like Stuxnet which are intended to create large damage, The "attack" by someone was standard spearfishing and some visual basic scripts to gain access to accounts of local election officials. Thee is no proof that any account was compromised. Any minor criminal hacker uses similar means. No damage is mentioned in the NSA analysis. The elections were not compromised by this operation. The document notes explicitly (p.5) that the operation used some techniques that distinguish it from other known Russian military intelligence operations. It was probably -if at all- done by someone else. The reporters note that the document does not provide any raw intelligence. It is an analysis based on totally unknown material. It does not include any evidence for the claims it makes. The Intercept piece describes how the document was received and "verified": The top-secret National Security Agency document, which was provided anonymously to The Intercept and independently authenticated, ...

...

The NSA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence were both contacted for this article. Officials requested that we not publish or report on the top secret document and declined to comment on it. When informed that we intended to go ahead with this story, the NSA requested a number of redactions. The Intercept agreed to some of the redaction requests. The piece quotes at length the well known cyber security expert Bruce Schneier. It neglects to reveal that Schneier is a major partisan for Clinton who very early on, in July 2016, jumped on her "Russia hacked the Democratic National Council" claim for which there is still no evidence whatsoever. The Intercept story was published on June 5. On June 3 the FBI already received a search warrant (pdf) by the U.S. District court of southern Georgia for the home, car and computers of one Reality Leigh Winner, a 25 year old former military language specialist (Pashto, Dari, Farsi) who worked for a government contractor. In its application for the warrant the FBI asserted: 19. On or about May 24, 2017, a reporter for the News Outlet (the "Reporter") contacted another U.S. Government Agency affiliate with whom he has a prior relationship. This individual works for a contractor for the U.S. Government (the "Contractor"). The Reporter contacted the Contractor via text message and asked him to review certain documents. The Reporter told the Contractor that the Reporter had received the documents through the mail, and they were postmarked "Augusta. Georgia." WINNER resides in Augusta, Georgia. The Reporter believed that the documents were sent to him from someone working at the location where WINNER works. The Reporter took pictures of the documents and sent them to the Contractor. The Reporter asked the Contractor to determine the veracity of the documents. The Contractor informed the Reporter that he thought that the documents were fake. Nonetheless, the Contractor contacted the U.S. Government Agency on or about June 1, 2017, to inform the U.S. Government Agency of his interaction with the Reporter. Also on June I. 2017, the Reporter texted the Contractor and said that a U.S Government Agency official had verified that the document was real. ... To verify the leaked document the reporter contacted a person working for the government. He used insecure communication channels (SMS) that are known to be tapped. He provided additional meta-information about the leaker that was not necessary at all for the person asked to verify the documents. It got worse: 13. On June I, 2017, the FBI was notified by the U.S. Government Agency that the U.S. Government Agency had been contacted by the News Outlet on May 30, 2017, regarding an upcoming story. The News Outlet informed the U.S Government Agency that it was in possession of what it believed to be a classified document authored by the U.S Government Agency. The News Outlet provided the U.S. Government Agency with a copy of this document. Subsequent analysis by the U.S. Government Agency confirmed that the document in the News Outlet's possession is intelligence reporting dated on or about May 5. 2017 (the "intelligence reporting"). This intelligence reporting is classified at the Top Secret level, ...

...

14. The U.S. Government Agency examined the document shared by the News Outlet and determined the pages of the intelligence reporting appeared to be folded and/or creased,suggesting they had been printed and hand-carried out of a secured space. 15. The U.S. Government Agency conducted an internal audit to determine who accessed the intelligence reporting since its publication. The U.S. Government Agency determined that six individuals printed this reporting. These six individuals included WINNER. A further audit of the six individuals' desk computers revealed that WINNER had e-mail contact with the News Outlet. The audit did not reveal that any of the other individuals had e-mail contact with the News Outlet. The source that provided the document had no operational security at all. She printed the document on a government printer. All (color) printers and photo copiers print nearly invisible (yellow) patters on each page that allow to identify the printer used by its serial number. The source used email from her workplace to communicate. Ms. Winner is young, inexperienced and probably not very bright. (She is also said to be Clinton partisan.) She may not have known better. But a reporter at The Intercept should know a bit or two about operational security. Sending (and publishing) the leaked documents as finely scanned PDF's (which include (de) the printer code) to the NSA to let the NSA verify them was incredibly stupid. Typically one only summarize these or at least converts them into a neutral, none traceable form. Instead the reporters provided at several points and without any need the evidence that led to the unmasking of their source. Wikileaks is offering $10,000 for the exposure and firing of the person responsible for this. It is also highly questionable why the Intercept contacted the NSA seven days(!) before publishing its piece. Giving the government such a long reaction time may lead to preemptive selective leaks by the government to other news outlets to defuse the not yet published damaging one. It may give the government time to delete evidence or to unveil leakers. The Intercept certainly knows this. It had been burned by such behavior when the National Counterterrorism Center spoiled an Intercept scoop by giving a polished version to the Associate Press. Back then the Intercept editor John Cook promised to give government agencies no longer than 30 minutes for future replies. In this case it gave the NSA seven days! Besides the failure(?) of The Intercept there are other concerns to note. Why has a 25 year old language specialist for Afghanistan access to Top Secret NSA analysis of espionage in the U.S. election? Where was the "need to know"?

Could this espionage -if it happened- have been part of a different plan by whomever? Consider: @mattblaze

Simple way to hack elections: Compromise some county offices & systems. Do nothing. If election doesnt go your way, reveal that you hacked.

10:52 PM - 5 Jun 2017 More additional question are asked in this thread. The lessons learned from this catastrophic -for the source- leak: Start thinking of good op-sec before you think of leaking.

Computer access gets logged. Do not leave any suspicious (log) trace at your workplace (or anywhere else).

Do not provide any trace from your immediate workplace or any personal metadata with the leaked material. And last but certainly not least: Do not trust The Intercept. Posted by b on June 6, 2017 at 10:09 UTC | Permalink Comments next page  next page 
ASHEVILLE  The United States Forest Service will hold open houses across the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests from late June to early August to provide the public with opportunities to talk with forest service staff about local issues, district projects and the Nantahala and Pisgah Forest plan revision.

"Public attendance at meetings like these helps us to understand your needs, concerns and values and helps you understand forest service programs and activities," said Allen Nicholas, forest supervisor for national forests in North Carolina.

The open houses allow the public to talk directly with forest service staff one-on-one. Each district open house will highlight the areas within that district. District rangers and members of the forest plan revision team will be available to discuss the materials each of the following days and locations:

 June 29, 6-8 p.m.: Grandfather Ranger District at Foothills Conference Center, 2128 S. Sterling St., Morganton.

 July 11, 6-8 p.m.: Nantahala Ranger District at Tartan Hall, 26 Church St., Franklin

 July 13, 6-8 p.m.: Pisgah Ranger District Office, 1600 Pisgah Highway, Brevard

 July 25, 3-6 p.m.: Appalachian Ranger District at Appalachian District Office, 632 Manor Road, Mars Hill

 July 25, 3-6 p.m.: Cheoah Ranger District at Cheoah District Office, 1070 Massey Branch Road, Robbinsville

 August 8, 3-6 p.m., Tusquitee Ranger District, Brasstown Community Center, 255 Settawig Road, Brasstown

The Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests have been revising their forest plan, a required document that provides a general framework to guide management of the forests. As part of the process, 30 public meetings have been held in communities throughout western North Carolina.

Over the past year, the forest service has been releasing pre-draft plan materials on the National Forests in North Carolina website, bit.ly/2r2C6FC. Additional materials are posted to the site's Plan Revision Under Construction page as they become available.

"This material is not a preferred alternative or even a draft plan. It represents our latest thinking, which has been shaped by public input," said Michelle Aldridge, planning team lead. "In particular, we heard a lot from the public about how places matter to them, so we created a new chapter on geographic areas to reflect that."

By separating the forests into 12 distinct landscapes, geographic areas highlight opportunities for restoration and sustainable recreation, connections to nearby communities and partnerships with the public, other organizations and governments in different parts of the forests. Each geographic area also has goals identified that will serve as emphases for management during plan implementation.

Management area plan components outline how the general forest areas of interface, matrix and backcountry will be managed. A set of pre-draft maps shows these places on the forest landscape and adjacent lands not managed by the USFS are included for context. Results from the required wild and scenic river evaluation and information on possible special interest areas also currently are posted on the website.

By the fall, the public will have had an opportunity for early review and input on nearly all aspects of the developing plan. When the forest plan draft is finalized, the public again will have an opportunity to review the plan during the formal comment period after the complete draft plan and alternative analysis are released in spring 2018.

While there is no formal NEPA or legal comment period at this time, the forest service is accepting input at NCplanrevision@fs.fed.us with the subject line "Spring 2017 material Plan Building Blocks" or by mail at this address: Attn: Plan Revision, National Forests in North Carolina, 160A Zillicoa St., Asheville, NC 28801. Comments will be most useful when received by Aug. 31.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 6

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

Albanian American Development Foundation (AADF) and the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) consortium inaugurated two viewing platforms over the Osumi canyon in Albania, said the message on TAP consortiums website.

The investment in the two panoramic balconies is approximately 132,000 euros, amount shared between AADF and TAP, according to the message.

The two panoramic structures will allow tourists visiting Albanias Skrapar area to have a birds-eye view over the canyon, and above all, safe access, said the message. It is expected that the two panoramic structures - named Flag's Panoramic Loop and Bride's Hole - will be visited by over 15,000 tourists every year.

Construction works started in October 2016 and approximately 100 people were employed in the process.

Tourists no longer have to go near the edge of the cliff to look at the canyon. Safety is at the heart of our project and the panoramic platforms constructed in partnership with the Albanian American Development Foundation go hand-in-hand with supporting safety standards in Albania, said TAP Albania Country Manager Shkelqim Bozgo.

TAP is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor, which is one of the priority energy projects for the European Union. The project envisages transportation of gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz Stage 2 to the EU countries.

The pipeline will connect to the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) on the Turkish-Greek border, run through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Italys south.

TAP will be 878 kilometers in length (Greece 550 kilometers, Albania 215 kilometers, Adriatic Sea 105 kilometers, and Italy 8 kilometers).

TAPs shareholding is comprised of BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Snam S.p.A. (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagas (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent).

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Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
The best performing FTSE 100 stock of 2017 is ConvaTec Group, up 47.1%. The company is a medical products and technologies company. It is focused on therapies for the management of chronic conditions offering wound care, ostomy care, continence and critical care, and infusion devices. The companys total revenue grew 1.8% to $403.1 million in the first quarter of 2016, the most recent trading statement read.

We continue to expect revenue growth to be weighted towards the second half of the year and anticipate full year organic revenue growth greater than the FY2016 rate of 4% on a constant currency basis, said Paul Moraviec, group chief executive with ConvaTec.

Ranking as the second worst performing stock of last year, the low-cost airline EasyJet has reversed its fortunes; up 33.7% year to date. The stock is not rated by Morningstar analysts.

Despite easyJet issuing profit warnings after the EU referendum last year, this years passenger statistics have shown a positive story. The companys half year report revealed a record number of passengers for the first six months of the 2017 at 33.8 million, up 9% year-on-year, while total revenue was up 3.2% to 1.8 billion.

Our bookings for the summer are ahead of last year showing that demand to fly remains strong and reflects growing evidence that consumers are prioritising expenditure on flights and holidays above other non-essential items. Looking ahead, we are seeing improving revenue per seat trend as well as the continued reduction of competitor capacity growth, said Carolyn McCall, chief executive with easyJet.

International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG)

International Consolidated Airlines was also one of the worst performing stocks in 2016, but it is up 34.3% to date. The company is in the operation of international and domestic scheduled air services for the carriage of passengers and cargo. It operates airlines including British Airways, Iberia and Vueling.

IAGs shares fell 1% following the IT outage of British Airways on May 28 that grounded their aircraft at both London hubs and caused delays worldwide. Although BA blamed the problem on an electrical power supply surge, unions have claimed it could have been prevented had the airline not cut IT jobs in the UK and contracted the work to India last year. Further strike action by the airline crew will be taken next month, which might put pressure on the companys share price.

3 Worst Performing Stocks Year to Date

BT Group is the worst performing stock of the year, down 17% year to date according to data from Morningstar Direct. This is largely due to the companys announcement on 24 January that its investigation of improper accounting in its Italian unit will cost about 530 million. Shares in BT were down 20.8% on the day and have traded at similar levels since then. The stock is rated a four-star stock by Morningstar analysts, meaning analysts believe the stock is trading below its fair value estimate.

BT's valuation is hurt by Italian accounting issues and weakness in the UK public sector. BTs global services division and the U.K. public sector are struggling, negating growth in the retail division, but in the longer term, we expect the global services division to return to revenue growth, said Allan Nichols, senior equity analyst with Morningstar.

BTs large pension deficit is also an issue. Despite more than 4 billion in pension contribution since March 2012, the pension fund deficit remains at 9.5 billion after tax, said Nichols.

With its new pension agreement, BT will pay 250 million in fiscal 2017, and payments will increase to close to 700 million annually for the next four years, with continued payments through 2030, Nichols added.

However, aside from all these worries, the core business of BT seems to be functioning well and BT is one of the cheapest telecom stocks in Europe.

Shares in Tesco fell 11.9% year to date, making the company the second worst performing stock in the FTSE 100. Tescos latest preliminary fiscal 2016-17 report were slightly disappointing, leading to a sell-off in April 12, but Morningstar analysts continue to see the stock trading above its fair value estimate. Therefore the stock is rated two-star by Morningstar analysts.

In recovery mode, Tescos margins will improve but it fails to attain past peaks, said Philip Gorham, senior equity analyst with Morningstar.

Margins of the company have been falling because of high investments in the customer proposition, but it seems likely to recover sooner than we expected. However, we do not foresee a material recovery in margin levels, so we consider the stock overvalued at the current level. Usually in food retail it is a slower process to rebuild margins, which typically recover to a lower level than the previous peak, because cost savings generated will probably have to be reinvested in lower prices, leaving limited scope for higher margins, said Gorham.

New management of Tesco has introduced more rigorous capital discipline, having suspended the dividend when earnings collapsed, said Gorham. However, he forecasts a reinstatement of the dividend for the trading year to February 2018.

We believe Centrica the stock will remain dead money until more clarity is provided on the retail energy policy of the next UK government from the General Election, due to take place on June 8, said Charles Fishman, equity analyst with Morningstar.

Thanks to the political headwind in the UK as the Tories have included an intervention in the UK energy supply market in their manifesto, for the General Election this week in June 8, utility stock Centrica dropped 15.9% year to date. The stock is rated as a four-star undervalued stock by Morningstar analysts.
Morningstar's "Perspectives" series features investment insights from third-party contributors. Here, Asbjrn Trolle Hansen, manager of the Nordea 1 - GBP Diversified Return Fund questions whether multi-asset funds will learn from macro call flaws.

Macro event risk is always evident in markets. We have witnessed some notable occurrences over the past year, with the unexpected Brexit victory in the UK and Donald Trumps startling win in the US presidential election.

Although these moments can have significant near-term impacts on markets, it is an extremely risky strategy to try and position a portfolio in anticipation of any single scenario. Making major asset allocation decisions based on macro calls of well analysed events has repeatedly proven to be a difficult investment strategy.

Many multi-asset strategies, which are supposed to offer sufficient diversification characteristics to withstand these macro events, suffered strong downside in the immediate aftermath of these events over the past year. This was largely due to the reliance of many strategies in making the correct macro call, which was compounded by the absence of true diversification. Unfortunately, Brexit and Trump were not isolated incidents. The past two years have been rife with event risk. This was clearly on show during the summer of 2015  which was highlighted by the fears surrounding Greece and the China hard landing scare. Again, many participants within the multi-asset universe could not provide the much-needed and often-promised true diversification for capital protection. Why are we speaking about this now? Well, the next event risk on the horizon is this weeks UK General Election. Many investors will not be able to avoid the temptation to position in favour of an expected result or hedging portfolios excessively. However, as was witnessed last year, this is a dangerous game to play  as polls, and bookmakers alike, can often be wrong. Even with the result known, market direction is difficult to predict. While Prime Minister Theresa Mays Conservative Party is still ahead in most recent polls, a lot can change in a few days. Therefore, in our opinion, investors simply do not need to take this risk. In our opinion, investors look to multi-asset funds for consistent returns through a cycle, as well as the ability to protect precious downside. Volatility and event risk have always been and will continue to be a feature of investment markets. We believe an important role of multi-asset managers is the ability to keep diversification intact. This is not simply about piling into numerous asset classes, but rather the identification of a select number truly uncorrelated positions able to deliver for investors through most market environments. Disclaimer

The views contained herein are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of Morningstar. If you are interested in Morningstar featuring your content on our website, please email submissions to UKEditorial@morningstar.com
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 6

By Huseyn Veliyev  Trend:

The Secretariat of the GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development may get an opportunity to use the asandoc.az portal free of charge, Azerbaijans B.EST Solutions LLC said in a message.

Any document can be signed in electronic form through mobile e-signature Asan Imza and e-signature of GUAM member states, said the company at the 26th meeting of the GUAM Trade and Transport Facilitation Project Steering Committee.

The meeting was held on May 31-June 2 in Azerbaijans Nakhchivan city.

The portal will simplify document circulation and provide a convenient and legal communication between the customs structures of the GUAM member countries.

The use of electronic customs declarations began in Azerbaijan in April 2016 with the aim of achieving efficiency and transparency in the process of moving goods and vehicles across the customs border.
Theres no reason to panic, according to Toronto brokers, despite drastic sales drops in what was Canadas hottest market mere weeks ago.I think theres no reason to panic. I think what you have to do is take a real look at the market and if youre buying long-term, realize youre never going to buy at the bottom of the market, Shawn Stillman, director and principal broker with Mortgage Outlet, told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. If you find a place you like, definitely, people should still buy. But buy a lot smarter. Make sure there arent going to be any surprises with inspections and any other issues.Toronto home sales fell 20.3% in May, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board.Prices, meanwhile, fell month-over-month from $920,791 in April to $863,910 in May.The price declines have been noticeable, according to Stillman.I got back an appraisal today for a house that was bought on February 28. The person paid $1,065,000 in Burlington and the appraisal came back $190,000 below what they paid for it at $875,000, he said. The appraiser made a lot of notes saying that house was the top of the market (at the time) but since then there have been five sales all paying less than what my clients paid.Theres definitely stuff that is selling for a lot less than what people (would have) paid for them before the government made the rule changes.The Ontario government, of course, announced a suite of housing policies  including a 15% tax on foreign buyers  in its Fair Housing Plan in late April.Those policies have contributed to cooling the market, brokers argue.But thats a good thing, some say.I think its been sort of a herd mentality reaction. The changes have caused a bit of a blip, a slowdown, and created more inventory. Which is great. Its created a balanced market, which we needed. It was completely out of whack. I think its a great thing, James Harrison, a broker with Dominion Lending Centres , Home Capital Solutions, said. I think theres some great opportunity for buyers in the next few months. Come the fall, I think things will come back to reality.
State-Level Lending Law Changes - Does California Have a Price Loophole?

I received this note/suggestion regarding broker business. "Is California dysfunctional? In California, brokers are typically regulated by the BRE, but also the DBO. The BRE doesn't appear to care much about the LO comp rule, nor are brokers big enough to show up on the CFPB's radar screen. Brokers are able to pick their comp plans with various wholesalers. I am not saying all brokers do this, but I have heard that un-savvy borrowers are locked with a wholesaler with whom the broker has a 2-point comp structure, whereas knowledgeable borrowers are locked with the wholesaler with whom the broker has a 1 point comp structure. The cure for this is one regulator instead of the BRE and DBO. DBO ought to regulate all lenders."

Effective June 1, 2017, Maryland passed an act that will change the mechanics of surety bonds filed in tandem with applications to become a debt collection licensee in the state of Maryland. With the amendments added to the act, the State Collection Agency Licensing Board (the board) is now to be one of the named obligees, acting on behalf and for the benefit of the state.

Effective January 1, 2018, Maryland amended certain provisions of the Maryland Personal Information Protection Act. Specifically, the amendments changed what information is covered and the steps a compromised business must take post-discovery of a breach. The data covered under the Act includes all data in electronic or optical form. Captured data must be protected from breaches. However, not all data falls under the protection of the Act. The Act specifically omits data that is publicly available or has had its protection privileges explicitly waived by the individual for disclosure to third parties.

Effective October 1, 2017, Maryland adopted several amendments affecting mortgages and deeds of trust recording prerequisites. Most of these changes are minor textually but are important as they may have broad impact. First, a deed other than a mortgage, deeds of trust and an assignment/release of a mortgage or deed of trust may not be recorded unless an attorney or a party named in the instrument certifies it. Second, the amendments define limitations as to which individual constitutes an "attorney. After the changes, an attorney at law must be admitted to the Maryland Bar to be able to be considered a proper certifying party. Last, mortgages, deeds of trusts, and assignments/releases of mortgages and deeds of trusts do not require a certification. So long as the instruments were prepared by an attorney or a party mentioned within the instrument, the document may be recorded without any certification requirements.

Effective October 1, 2017, Maryland enacted the Maryland Uniform Electronic Legal Materials Act. This Act essentially makes uniform electronic documentation of certain state legal documents and databases. The following are important changes brought by the adoption of the Act. First, determining whether a legal material is published solely electronically or in two or more mediums is pivotal. A legal material that is published solely electronically is deemed official and must be authenticated. Second, a legal material that is authenticated is presumed to be accurate. A party may contest the authenticity of the material, however, by a "preponderance of the evidence" (this is legal language for more likely than not, or 51% likelihood). Last, should a legal material be deemed official, the publisher must take steps to secure and preserve the material.

Nevada has enacted provisions regarding its Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act. These provisions are effective as of October 1, 2017. The first several new sections of the Act define key terms such as "catalogue of electronic communications," "content to an electronic communication," "digital asset," and "electronic-communication service." Section 31 specifies that the new provisions apply to Fiduciaries, Personal representatives, Guardianship proceedings, Trustees and Custodians. Section 32 directs the Rights of Users. Sections 34-41 confer upon the rights of custodians as well as the Rights and Duties of Fiduciaries.

Colorado has enacted several new provisions regarding its Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts. These provisions are effective as of August 9, 2017. Section 24-21-502 is a definitions section which defines several notarial terms including "acknowledgment," "electronic signature," "notarial act," and "verification by oath or affirmation." Section 24-24-504 describes the persons having authority to perform notarial acts and to which circumstances the authority extends. Section 24-21-505 identifies requirements for certain notarial acts. Section 24-21-507 lists the acceptable forms of identification. Several other provisions have been enacted, including sections addressing the performance of notarial acts both within the state of Colorado and in foreign jurisdictions, signature requirements in cases of persons unable to sign, and an officer's authority to refuse to perform notarial acts.

Effective January 1, 2018, Alabama has enacted the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act as Chapter 1A of Title 19, Code of Alabama 1975. The Act allows a fiduciary acting under a will or power of attorney, a personal representative of a decedent, a conservator, or a trustee of a trust to compel disclosure of a digital asset from a custodian who stores the digital assets of a user. The Act only applies to a custodian if the user resides in the state of Alabama or resided in the state of Alabama at the time of the user's death. The Act does not apply to the digital assets of an employer used by an employee in the ordinary course of business. Additions include user direction for disclosure of digital assets, content of electronic communication, procedure for disclosing, custodian compliance and immunity.



Capital markets

The benefit of this is, of course, lower rates: Barron's cover story describes the surprising "threat" to the American economy: no one is spending money. It evaluates the lackluster consumer spending growth in the US and discusses some of the reasons behind it. Real US personal spending is growing at ~2.6% y/y despite a 16 year low in unemployment, rising wages, lower mortgage rates, and a record high stock market. Some of the reasons discussed in the article include rising student loans, income inequality, healthcare costs, and the increased frugality.

In terms of rates, the U.S. Treasury market sold off a smidge in a curve-steepening trade yesterday as traders unwound some of the gains from Friday's jobs data. The news in the morning wasn't much to be excited about (unit labor costs grew less in the first quarter than originally estimated, factory orders dipped, as expected, and May's ISM Services Index reading came out lower than expected). The 10-year note was confined to a 3.5bp range the entire session with a late drift lower (closing yielding 2.18%) but MBS prices barely budged.

There is no scheduled news today of any note, although coming up at 10AM ET is the April JOLTS job openings figure. We begin Tuesday with rates having improved: the 10-year yield is down to 2.15% and agency MBS prices are better by .125-.250 versus Monday's close.



Products for processing, recruiting, subservicing

According to the most recent ARMCO Mortgage QC Trends Report, TRID-related defects dominated lenders QC issues in 2016: over 68% of all loan defects were due to legal, regulatory or compliance issues and/or loan package documentation. "Legal, regulatory and compliance defects made up almost 40% of all reported defects, and the leading issues were all related to TRID. The Critical Defect Rate increased slightly in Q4 to 1.50%, an 18% increase from Q3. A key driver of the increase was a shift to purchase transactions in Q4 2016. In Q3 2016, purchase transactions accounted for just under 48% of our benchmark data but by the end of Q4, they accounted for more than 51%. This change is a predictive indicator of possible changes in 2017. View the full report."

"If you're a lender looking to capitalize on the opportunity with millennial homebuyers, Equifax (EFX) might have exactly what you're looking for. The global information solutions company recently joined forces with Fannie Mae facilitated the rollout of Day 1 Certainty and made the origination process simpler, faster and more user-friendly than ever. Lenders now have access to third-party data verifications (from employer-provided payroll records) for employment and income and thanks to EFX's verification services, tax transcript forms can be received directly from the Internal Revenue Service. In addition, the data verifications show a prospective homebuyer's existing assets. The result of a more digital mortgage process: for lenders, it means the ability to quickly verify borrower information, reduces risk and moves the borrower down the pipeline more quickly than ever. And for borrowers - especially millennial homebuyers - the elimination of hoops to jump through when it comes to providing documentation introduces the level of convenience they desire. Who knows, it might even make the origination process a major selling point."

"It's the 'Summer of Gov' at JMAC Lending with a.25% price improvement on all FHA and VA loan products for wholesale and correspondent business. JMAC's government lending features manual underwriting, fast closing (15-days or faster), plus the opportunity to talk directly to the underwriter. Loans must lock by June 30, 2017. Borrowers need a 620 FICO to qualify for the price improvement (JMAC does go down to 580 FICO). Visit JMACGovernment, call 844-888-JMAC or email iwant@JMACLending.com. In addition, JMAC provides aggressive pricing and a wide range of innovative JUMBO and non-QM products. Visit www.JMACLending to learn more."

"X-Ray Mortgage Intelligence Platform allows mortgage professionals to visualize their loan data in real-time! Special Agent X has announced an updated version of its mortgage reporting software X-Ray, which eliminates wasted time across all loan tracking activities so you can focus on selling and increased margins. Here is a real-world example: A branch manager recently used X-Ray to spot a trend, isolate the performance issue and apply a specific strategy to increase their sales. Further, this branch manager could create workflow-specific reports, alerts and notifications at the touch of a button. Ready to see what X-Ray can do for you? Readers who take five minutes to book a free demo qualify for waived setup fees! (Up to $5,000 in value.)"

What does it take to become one of the industry's best producers? Download this complimentary white paper from XINNIX: "A View From the Top: The Wisdom of Elite Producers." Written by XINNIX CEO Casey Cunningham and featured in The Mortgage Professional's Handbook, this resource shares powerful strategies mastered by the most Elite Top Producers across the country to help you take your production to a whole new level! Click here to download this free white paper, and don't forget to explore the new Resource Library at www.XINNIX.com. Want to learn more proven strategies of Top Producers? Sign up for ELITE, XINNIX's Performance Program that empowers top performing loan officers to accelerate their success, beginning June 13th!

What is the difference between the status quo and experiencing great service? In most businesses, the inches separating the two are the difference between great profitability and losing money. Great businesses generally control no more than 7% of the market share while controlling 70% of a given industries profitability. In 2015, The Money Source (TMS) decided to break away from the status quo of the subservicing world and bring their servicing in-house. What was the result? Lower delinquencies, higher profitability, creating a world class technology to aid in servicing oversight, and much more. TMS is now offering the fruits of their labor to the entire market place. Tired of dealing with subservicers who treat you like they are doing you a favor providing "status quo" service, with 1990's technology to boot. Come and see what TMS Subservicing offers. Visit www.getSIME.com for more details.

"Mortgage brokers: Do you want to compete with the technology of the largest lenders? Do you want to offer your customers a fast, simple, and safe way to turn in the documents you need? Lendsnap automatically collects borrower W2s, pay stubs, bank statements, tax returns and more. We deliver the actual statements directly from the banks and providers so you can take your loan to any lender for any loan program. If you want to learn more, visit Lendsnap or email Mike Romano to set up a conversation and demo."
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, June 6

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

An exchange of views on the priorities of regional and international cooperation in the field of environmental protection and sustainable development, joint management of water resources, adaptation to global climate change will be held in Ashgabat on June 6 as part of the Central Asian Environmental Forum (CAEF).

Special attention will be paid to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change, signed by 175 states, including Central Asian countries, the Turkmen Dovlet Habarlary state news service reported.

Such issues as opportunities to reduce climate risks in Central Asia, green investments as an opportunity for sustainable development, intensification of actions to adapt to climate change in the mountainous regions of Central Asia will also be touched upon during the event.

The Paris Agreement is designed to pave the way for an environmentally sustainable future. The Agreements central aim is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Deutsche Bank will fork over $95 million to settle claims that it misled investors about the quality of mortgage-backed securities prior to the financial crisis.The German banking giant reached the settlement with the state of Maryland. The bank will pay $15 million to state and local governments and provide $80 million in consumer relief, according to Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh. The settlement is the largest reached by a state4 for Deutsche Banks mortgage bond-related conduct during the financial crisis.As part of the settlement, Deutsche Bank acknowledged that it misled investors about the loans it securitized, according to the AGs office.Deutsche Bank has acknowledged that it deceived investors about the quality of the residential mortgages backing their complex securities, Frosh said. Its conduct, and that of other investment banks, fueled the financial crisis and aided unfair and predatory lending practices. This settlement recoups losses that Maryland suffered through investments in Deutsche Bank securities and also ensures that Maryland consumers will receive relief from the Department of Justice settlement entered into during the Obama administration.The Maryland settlement is separate from but related to the $7.2 billion settlement Deutsche Bank reached with the Department of Justice in January, according to a HousingWire report.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, June 6

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

Gulshat Mamedova has been elected vice-speaker of Turkmenistans parliament, the Turkmen government said in a message.

The relevant law has been signed by the countrys president in line with the Article 80 of Turkmenistans Constitution and the results of an open voting held during the 21st session of the Turkmen parliament.

Under the Constitution, the parliament passes laws; introduces changes and additions to the basic law; approves the state budget; solves issues on holding nationwide referendums; appoints the election of president, members of the parliament and representative bodies; considers issues on the appointment and dismissal of the chairman of the Supreme Court, prosecutor general, foreign minister, justice minister on the proposal of the head of state; ratifies and denounces international treaties; solves the issues of changing the state border and the administrative-territorial division of the country.
Judge Robert Moore, visiting judge for the 238th District Court, issued a warrant of execution on Monday for Clinton Lee Young, according to the Midland County District Attorneys Office. The 33-year-old has an execution date of Oct. 26 at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Huntsville Unit.

Young was sentenced to death in 2003 after he was convicted of the 2001 murders of Doyle Douglas and Samuel Petrey for the use of their vehicles.
Tashkent, Uzbekistan, June 6

By Demir Azizov  Trend:

Uzbekistans President Shavkat Mirziyoyev will attend the next meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organizations (SCO) member states in Kazakhstans capital, Astana, on June 8-9, the Uzbek Foreign Ministrys press service said in a message.

It is expected that the leaders of the SCO member states will discuss the current state and prospects of the organizations further development, exchange views on topical issues of regional and international policy, and view the issue of chairing country for 2017-2018.

As part of implementation of decisions of the SCOs Tashkent summit, the procedure of admission of India and Pakistan to the organization as member states will be completed in Astana, said the message.

President Mirziyoyev will also take part in the official opening ceremony of the International Specialized Exhibition Astana EXPO-2017 and hold a number of bilateral meetings with heads of foreign delegations.

The SCO was established in 2001. The SCO members now are China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Afghanistan, Iran, Mongolia and Belarus are the SCO observer-countries, while Azerbaijan, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Nepal and Armenia are dialogue partners.
We are collating signatures to petition ...
Tashkent, Uzbekistan, June 6

By Demir Azizov  Trend:

Rustam Azimov, who previously served as deputy prime minister of Uzbekistan, has been appointed as the new director general of the Uzbekinvest National Export-Import Insurance Company, a representative of the insurance company told Trend.

Meanwhile, the Uzbek presidents office told Trend that according to a presidential decree, Azimov has been dismissed from his post of the deputy prime minister in connection with the appointment to another position.

Rustam Azimov was the countrys Macroeconomy and Statistics Minister in 2000-2002, Economy Minister  in 2003-2005. He served as Uzbekistans First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance from 2005 to 2016.

In December 2016, Azimov was dismissed from his position of the Finance Minister and was appointed Uzbekistans Deputy Prime Minister.
The ordinary relations between Iran and Russia developed into strategic ties, not least after Russia began to take a serious role in the fight against terrorism in Syria, Ali Shamkhani said in an interview with the Institute for Iran-Eurasia Studies, Tasnim reported.

Describing the bilateral arms deals as only a small portion of defense cooperation between Tehran and Moscow, Shamkhani said the two sides have decided to boost military interaction in light of their mutual interests.

Asked about any concerns about Russias augmenting influence in the region in the wake of its freedom to wield power amid the crisis in Syria, Shamkhani said there is no place for concern because Iran and Russia are handling military actions in a coordinated manner and with a mutual purpose.

We are (rather) worried about military maneuvers by countries which are moving against security in the region, the ones that provide Daesh (ISIL) and other terrorist groups with arms, financial and intelligence supports, he added.

Shamkhani further made it clear that cooperation with Russia would never violate Irans policy of independence and non-reliance on world powers, but pursues common purposes.

Iran and Russia have formed a strong alliance in recent years, with both supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assads legitimate government against foreign-backed militancy.

In August 2016, Iran let Russian fighter jets use its Nojeh military airbase for missions in Syria.

Irans Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan had announced that the Russian aircraft fly to the Iranian airbase to be either refueled or get reloaded, noting that they use the base for more effective operation against terrorist groups in Syria.

Syria has been gripped by civil war since March 2011 with various terrorist groups, including Daesh (also known as ISIS or ISIL), currently controlling parts of it.
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Baku, Azerbaijan, June 5

By Khalid Kazimov  Trend:



Iran says Poland has expressed interest in importing trout fish (weighting 1.1 kilograms each) from Iran's sector of the Caspian Sea.



Ahmad Qanaatparast, a provincial official with the fishery organization of the northern province of Gilan, has said that the European nation has expressed interest in importing all of Irans available trout fish, Mehr news agency reported.



Poland in the meantime eyes importing common carp (each weighting at least 1.5 kilograms), he added.



Qanaatparast further touched upon the provinces statistics on fish exports and said that 50 ships on a daily basis dock in the provinces Kianshahr port to carry Irans fish to Russia.



Saying that the province produced 30,000 tons of fish over the last fiscal year (starting March 20), he added that the province is expected to produce 130,000 tons of fish by 2021.



Irans fishery exports over the last year stood at $412 million with an output of 460,000 tons.
AMARILLO  James Kenny Crawley, 60, of Amarillo, was sentenced Monday before U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater to 97 months in federal prison following his guilty plea in February 2017 to one count of possession of prepubescent child pornography, announced John Parker, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.

Crawley was ordered to surrender to the Bureau of Prison on July 18, 2017.
HALE CENTER -- Caudle Lake at Hale Center will see some improvements that will make it more user friendly, especially for walkers, joggers and naturists.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission recently announced $3.46 million in recreation trail grants. As part of those allocations, Hale Center will be receiving $84,091 for an asphalt nature trail just over a half-mile long which will surround Caudle Lake, the communitys largest park.

The grant will also help go toward bridges, culverts, rest benches, trees and signage.

Hale Center City Manager Dennis Burton said this was the second time the city applied for the grant. He said the purpose in the recreational trail is to help provide a safe environment for those who want to walk, jog, bicycle or just enjoy the view without having to worry about traffic.

Right now the only place people can walk without the fear of traffic is the high school track, Burton explains. We want to provide a place the entire family can go and be safe.

The plan is to have a 5-foot wide asphalt path, complemented with trees, said Burton.

Along the trail will be rest benches and signage explaining the trees or the wildlife in the area, he added.

It may take up to 12 months before the city can start the project. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will first complete environmental and archeological reviews of the site before work can begin, said Burton.

The Federal Highway Administration has to approve the project before Parks and Wildlife can issue the agreement, said Burton. The state will come view the site before we start any construction.

Caudle Lake, focal point of Caudle Park, on the edge of Interstate 27, is Hale Centers largest park. The 14-acre park was donated to the City of Hale Center by the Caudle family in 1975.

The lake was created when dirt was excavated to help build the Hale Center overpass on Interstate 27. It is stocked every winter with trout and also has catfish, bass, perch, carp and brim.

The grant, from the National Recreation Trails Fund, is one of 22 motorized and non-motorized recreational trail-related projects across the state.

The grants are funded from a portion of the federal fuel tax generated by gasoline purchases for off-road motorcycles and four-wheelers. Thirty percent of the grants must be earmarked for motorized recreation trails, while another 30 percent must be spent on non-motorized trail projects. The remaining 40 percent is discretionary.

Burton said the city will pay for its 20 percent local fund match primarily through labor, equipment, materials costs and possible donations.

The only other grant awarded in the Panhandle/South Plains region this funding cycle was to the Bureau of Land Management in Potter County for $42,860 toward a 7 1/2-mile multi-use trails project.
The Hale County grand jury on May 31, at the conclusion of its May session, indicted 43 individuals on 39 felony charges. The report was released by District Attorney Wally Hatchs office.

Following are the individuals indicted, charges, level of offense and bond as set by the presiding district judge:
Texas Department of Transportation

The Texas Department of Transportation turned 100 this year. To celebrate, the agency is traveling around the state with a 1918 Liberty truck, a refurbished World War I surplus truck used in its earliest years.

The truck, along with other historical items, will visit the TxDOT Odessa District this week to give residents a chance to learn more about the storied transportation agency. The following is the schedule:
Tehran, Iran, June 6

By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:

The trade turnover between Iran and China has reached $31 billion, of which $14.82 billion was Irans export, Chinas ambassador to Tehran Pang Sen said during a conference on June 6, held in Tehran.

He added that during 2016, China increased oil import from Iran by 17 percent to 31.3 million tons, Trends correspondent reported from the event.

He added that Chinses companies increased investment in Iran by 45.14 percent to $630 million during last year.

China sectored its top partner for Iran for 8th consecutive year, Pang Sen said, adding that military equipment trade also is increasing between the two sides.

Chinese ambassador said that his country supports Irans joining to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

He also said that China issued visas for 100,000 Iranians during the last year.

According to him, the sides held a meeting two months ago and established a common committee for reconstruction of Arak heavy water nuclear reactor.

Iran and China have signed an agreement on redesigning the Islamic Republics heavy water reactor of Arak in April 2017. The deal on modernizing the nuclear reactor in central Iran came as part of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA aka nuclear deal) implemented last January.

Under the deal signed on April 23 in Vienna, China will oversee the projects prepared by Iranian experts on modernizing the nuclear reactor.

China must confirm whether the projects meet the international standards on safety.

The 40-megawatt Arak reactor is intended to produce isotopes for cancer and other medical treatments. Iran is redesigning the planned research reactor to sharply cut its potential output of plutonium.

Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, earlier said that the amount of plutonium the reactor will be able to yield will be reduced to less than 1 kg a year from 9-10 kg in its original design. Iran had earlier removed the sensitive core of the Arak nuclear reactor.
HARTFORD  Capitol police arrested six participants in a demonstration for a progressive budget after they refused orders to stop singing and chanting.



The six people were at the Capitol with activists and faith leaders Monday to plead with lawmakers for a budget that would include new revenues and avoid cuts.



The event was organized by Moral Mondays Connecticut, a group focused on social justice, but attendees also included labor representatives and education advocates.



John Selders, 54, of Hartford, founder of Moral Mondays Connecticut, was charged with interfering with the General Assembly.



Five other people were all charged with disorderly conduct and interfering with the General Assembly: Kent J. Siladi, 61, of Middletown; Carleen R. Gerber, 68, of Lyme; Joshua Pawelek, 50, and Michael J. Reardon, 54, both of Glastonbury; and Elisabeth Marie Alford-Harkey, 51, of Milford.



Police said the group began singing inside the Capitol lobby Monday afternoon, and refused orders to stop and to leave. They were released on promises to appear Thursday in Hartford court.



 Mike Savino






MERIDEN  A New Jersey couple faces charges after police said they stole a womans purse at Mohegan Sun, then used cash and credit cards to purchase televisions. They were taken into custody after getting into a crash and ended up in Meriden, police said.



Jose Morales, 35, of 413 W. Plum St., Vineland, New Jersey, and Amelia Kudyba, 34, of 1781 S. Spring St.,Vineland, New Jersey, were both arrested on Saturday and charged with third-degree larceny and interfering with police. Kudyba was also charged with filing a false police report.



On Saturday around 10:20 a.m. police were contacted by state police to assist with an accident in the area of Baldwin Avenue by Winding Brook Lane after the vehicle exited Interstate 91 south, according to police reports.



Officers detained Morales and Kudyba. State police eventually told local officers they were no longer interested in the couple for the accident, the report said. Meriden officers noticed a large number of electronic devices, including televisions, a chain saw and leaf blower in the back seat of the car, the report said. Kudyba told police she had a receipt and the credit card used to buy the items, the report said. Police noted the name on the credit card was not Morales or Kudyba, and asked Kudyba who the card belonged to, the report said. Kudyba told police it belonged to a relative who gave her permission to use the card, the report said. Police also found Morales had about $4,100 in cash, the report said. Kudyba gave a sworn statement to those details, police noted.



Police were able to contact the owner of the credit card, who said her purse was stolen while she was at Mohegan Sun casino and that she filed a report with the tribal police, the report said. Police contacted the tribal police and were sent images of the couple seen with the womans purse, the report said. The couple in the images matched Kudyba and Morales, the report noted.



Kudyba told police she did take the purse from the woman at the casino, the report said. Kudyba said after they took the purse, they went to Walmart and bought the televisions using some of the $4,800 in cash that was in the purse, the report said. Kudyba said Morales then decided to return the televisions and re-purchase them using the credit card instead, the report noted.



Morales and Kudyba were both arraigned in Meriden Superior Court on Monday. According to statements in court, both Morales and Kudyba have a criminal history in multiple states. Kudyba has previous convictions in New Jersey and Rhode Island, including 14 convictions and pending cases for shoplifting and drug related charges, according to the bail commissioner. Morales has convictions in New Jersey and Florida, and has a non-extraditable warrant from Florida for felony larceny. The prosecutor sought bonds, citing the fact that the couple doesnt have ties to Connecticut except the criminal cases now pending. The judge set bond at $10,000 for Kudyba and $25,000 for Morales. Both the cases were continued to June 19.






Baku, Azerbaijan, June 6

By Dalga Khatinoglu  Trend:

Iran has accelerated the construction of Neka-Damghan pipeline to supply gas to regions which suffered from gas outage after Turkmenistan cut gas export to Iran in January 2017, Hamid Reza Araghi, managing director of the National Iranian Gas Company told Mehr June 6.

The length of the pipeline is 150 km.

Without mentioning the progress of project, Araghi said that the pipeline would become operational by one or two months.

Iran had completed 110 km of pipeline when Turkmenistan cut gas export to Iran in January and no report has been published about the current progress.

Turkmenistan stopped gas deliveries to Iran in January 1, 2017 due to long-delayed $2 billion debt. Iran disagrees, saying the sides should re-calculate the value of gas import.

Previously, Araghi said that Iran would sue Turkmenistan for three disputes: gas price, damage from sudden gas export cut, as well as gas quality.



Araghi said that the documents would be submitted to The International Criminal Court (ICC) and Turkmenistan has already been informed about the issue.

Ali Shakarami the head of operation Dispatching Control Centre of NIGC told Trend on June 2 that Iran has "perfectly managed" the unexpected gas export cut by Turkmenistan since January 1.

According to him, Iran's housing sector was supplied properly with gas in peak demand period (winter), though the country had to use more liquid fuels in power plants.

Iran imported 9 billion cubic meters of gas from Turkmenistan in 2015, but according to an official document, prepared by Iran's oil ministry and seen by Trend, the volume plunged to 5.86 bcm in 2016.
HARTFORD  While lawmakers are focusing on other legislative priorities through Wednesdays end of the regular session, they feel a sense of urgency to put a budget in place before the end of the month.



In particular, they say they want to avoid leaving spending in the hands of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy without having any say in the matter.



We dont want to give up our decision-making power to him, Rep. Mary Mushinsky, D-Wallingford, said Monday.



If no budget is in place when the new fiscal year begins July 1, the responsibility of dictating how funds get allocated falls solely to the governor. Through executive order, Malloy can dictate,monthly budgets, capped by a prorated amount of the current years budget.



Malloy and legislative leaders are still negotiating how to close a projected $5 billion deficit over the next two fiscal years. Leaders announced last week that theyll need more time, but House Majority Leader Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, urged lawmakers to come to an agreement and avoid the worst case scenario of Malloys having sole control.



Malloy, for his part, said Monday that hes not looking for the authority. Listen, I think it would be preferable for getting a budget, he said. Im all in, I want a budget.



Other Democratic lawmakers expressed concern about how funds will be allocated if Malloy is charged with balancing the budget until a formal spending plan is approved. Republicans, meanwhile, have said they wont vote for a budget that includes savings from a labor concession deal that they oppose, prompting Democrats to worry that theyll have to reach a budget deal on their own.



Among the concerns are cuts to municipal aid and human services, as well as just a lingering uncertainty about what will happen in the budget.



I was probably one of the more outspoken because of the cuts to human services, said Rep. Cathy Abercrombie, D-Meriden, who added there wasnt anyone on our side who was in favor of Malloys initial proposal when he unveiled it in February.



Rep. Liz Linehan, D-Cheshire, also expressed opposition in a commentary appearing in todays Record-Journal.



Its also a scenario that worries recipients. Gian-Carl Casa, president and CEO of the Connecticut Community Nonprofit Alliance, said nonprofit human service providers will be in great jeopardy.



Alliance members rely on state funding to provide mental health and substance abuse treatment, operate group homes and support services for people with developmental disabilities, run homeless and domestic abuse shelters, Casa said in a statement. If the state is without a budget, some of our most vulnerable citizens will be the first to be hurt.



msavino@record-journal.com 203-317-2266 Twitter: @reporter_savino






WALLINGFORD  The Board of Education met in executive session Monday to discuss outsourcing the school districts cafeteria services, but took no action following the closed door session.



The school district is negotiating with Sodexo, one of the worlds largest food service companies, to take over the cafeteria program.



Interim business manager Ed Arum said the district must also get state approval before finalizing a contract with Sodexo.



The school board voted 5 to 2 last month to authorize the negotiations.



Arum said paperwork will be submitted to the state this week. If the state approves the move, the board can vote whether to enter into a contract with Sodexo.



If the board signs a contract, Sodexo could then negotiate with the union representing the districts roughly 50 cafeteria workers.



Arum said that Sodexo indicated in its proposal that it plans to hire back any current employees who reapply.



One section of the bid states that 100 percent of employees will be retained at their current wages, as long as they apply for their job and pass a background check.



The bid goes onto to say, Should there be a staff opening, we will fill the position directly from the Wallingford community.



Sodexos North American branch has 13,000 clients and 9.5 billion in annual revenue, according to the companys website. The company was founded in 1966 in Marseilles, France.



West Haven and Danbury are among the other towns in the state that contract with Sodexo.



The board started considering an outside food management company last year, citing financial losses. The board ultimately opted not to outsource after identifying an error in the bid process.



This year, food services showed a significant financial turnaround, according to Food Services Director Alan Belchak. The account, which showed about a $94,000 deficit at this time last year, was projected to show a $30,000 profit by the end of last month, Belchak said. The profit does not include a $38,000 subsidy the school board allocated earlier this school year.



mzabierek@record-journal.com 203-317-2279 Twitter: @MatthewZabierek






WALLINGFORD  A local man faces charges after police say he used a deceased mans credit card to purchase jewelry.



Anthony Ranko, 28, of 110 S. Orchard St., was charged by warrant Tuesday with second-degree larceny by ongoing scheme, second-degree forgery, third-degree identity theft, credit card theft and three counts of illegal use of a credit card over $500.



Last month, the owner of a local jewelry store told police a man came into the store and used a credit card to buy a diamond bracelet for $5,902, according to Rankins arrest warrant.



Shortly after the man left, the owner learned the credit card was invalid.



The credit card company told police the account holder had died, but the card was used multiple times starting in March in Las Vegas, and then more than 20 times in Connecticut, the warrant said.



Police went to two other local jewelers who reported similar incidents in the same time period. A man matching Rankos description used a credit card and identification with the name of the same deceased man in those incidents, the warrant said.



On May 22 Ranko was taken into custody after police found he had the dead mans credit card and identification, the warrant said. He was initially charged with credit card fraud, second-degree forgery and criminal impersonation. Police sought an arrest warrant for the other charges. The total loss to the businesses was about $15,420, the warrant said.



Ranko was arraigned in Meriden Superior Court on Tuesday. According to statements in court, Ranko has two pending warrants in Louisiana and has previous convictions in New Jersey, Arizona, Texas and Louisiana. The judge set bond at $200,000 and continued the case to July 11.



 Lauren Sievert






Baku, Azerbaijan, June 6



By Dalga Khatinoglu  Trend:

Irans oil and gas condensate export to Europe increased by 300 percent to 1 million barrels per day, Shana news agency reported June 6.

According to the report, the export volume to Asian clients also increased by 40 percent to 1.2 mb/d in May.

There is no international statistics about Irans May exports, but according to Reuters calculation, Irans oil export to Asia was 1.62 mb/d in April of 2016.

In case if Shanas statistics about May exports is precise, then Irans oil export to Asia plunged in May, compared to April.

Iran was exporting 2.5 mb/d of crude oil and gas condensate before the imposed sanctions in 2012, of which 18 percent was supplied to the EU.

After 2012, the EU cut Iran oil purchase and Asian countries had to decrease Iranian oil import gradually, which led to decreasing Iranian oil and gas condensate export to 1.2 mb/d in 2015.

After elimination of sanctions, based on nuclear agreement, Iran resumed its oil exports.

The report said that India imported 0.5 mb/d Iranian oil in May.

The statistics indicate that India decreased oil purchase from Iran in May, compared to April. According to Reuters, Iran exported 535,100 b/d of oil to India in April and the average export during January-April was 563,800 b/d.

Irans average crude oil export to Asian clients including India, China, Japan and South Korea was 1,809,907 b/d during four months of 2017.

Iran produces 600,000 b/d of gas condensate, of which about two third is exported. The countrys crude oil production also stands at 3.8 mb/d, of which 1.7 mb/d is consumed domestically and the rest is exported.
Houston's accelerators and incubators should create roughly three Houston-based, venture capital-backed firms each year. Instead, only one company of six that received a first round of venture capital in 2016 had gone through a local program, according to a new study from Rice University.

The study, led by Edward Egan, a fellow at the Baker Institute and director of the McNair Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, highlights the entrepreneurial climate in Houston.

It found a burst of new startup training programs in 2011 and then another burst starting in 2014 and continuing to the present.

MORE: In a city where bigger is better, can Houston build a startup scene?

Only one Houston-based high-growth, high-technology firm, Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, was backed by traditional venture capital and went on to become a public company.

The report emphasized the importance of building relationships with top-tier venture capitalists, leading to future deals.

It's telling that five well-known venture capitalists  Sequoia, Venrock, Kleiner-Perkins, Lightspeed and Bessemer  have invested in Houston-based firms over the past decade, but none of their portfolio companies went through a Houston-based accelerator or incubator, according to the report.

MORE: Shaking the bushes for venture capital

"The quality of Houston's for-profit entrepreneurship institutions should now depend on local market forces," the report stated. "However, the public sector may be able to provide catalysts to fast-track their growth. Both the City of Houston and the Greater Houston Partnership currently have initiatives examining potential catalysts for Houston."
Tulsa oil and gas pipeline, storage and processing company SemGroup Corp. is buying Houston-based Fuel Oil Terminal Co., one of the largest oil terminals in the U.S., and its prime waterfront acreage on the Houston Ship Channel for more than $2 billion.

Investment funds managed by Houston-based Alinda Capital Partners now own the terminal company. The price includes $1.3 billion in stock and cash, plus the assumption of almost $800 million in debt.
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What started as a birthday visit to Car-Vel Skateland South for a San Antonio family turned into a call for a boycott after the group said they were denied entry because of their race.

Kierra Baker told mySA.com that she and her four family members visited Car-Vel Skateland South at 2351 Goliad Road on June 3 a little after 1:30 p.m.

Baker said she presented three Groupons, which she had purchased for $24 a piece, to owner Robin Stewart. Both parties said the problem arose over a dispute about the Groupon policy, which prohibits the use of more than one voucher at a time.

RELATED: San Antonio company responds after woman finds 'teeth' in barbacoa

"I realized that this was going nowhere really fast, so I didn't even argue with her that this completely made no sense. So I said, 'Fine I'll use my Groupon, and pay for everyone else,'" Baker recounted.

According to Baker, Stewart refused to accept her single Groupon and did not want to refund her the cost of the two others.

In an emailed statement, Baker detailed the exchange:

"[Stewart] said: 'Y'all ain't welcomed here' [referring to me and my children]. I proceeded to ask her three times: 'Why can't I come in.' So I asked her: 'Is it because I'm black?' She looks bewildered... She said: 'I have let blacks in before but you won't get in.' I said: 'So is it because I'm black?" She said: 'Yeah it's cause you're black,' sarcastically."

Carlette Romano, the business' manager and daughter of Stewart, denied the claim.

Romano told mySA.com that Baker was "causing a scene" in the lobby for 10-15 minutes and she overheard the conversation between the customer and her mother from an adjacent office.

"[Baker] was not told anything about her race," Romano said. "They were never told that, that never came out of [Stewart's] mouth."

Romano said her family owns multiple skating businesses in San Antonio and the Goliad location has been in business since 1971.

RELATED: UIW fires president after controversial comments

"You're not going to get repeat customers or customers at all if you run a business like that, it's totally not us," Romano said. "We're not one race or the other, we offer visits from anyone. It's very upsetting when someone says that, it's kind of scary, especially when it's not true."

Many on Facebook are backing the family after Baker penned a post saying she was "outraged, disgusted, and hurt" and asked the public to boycott the business.

People have shown support for the Bakers with more than 200 shares and nearly 100 comments, some of which called on local government officials to intervene.

Baker said she initially wanted an apology from the business to her and her family, including her son, who she said was "frightened" by the alleged comment.

"He thought something bad was going to happen to us. He also asked if being black was a bad thing," Baker said. "This is why I was so emotionally upset. It was my son's 7th birthday, this was not the appropriate time for me to have the discussion that there are some not so nice people in the world who only see color, and now I was being forced to."

Baker said she now believes Car-Vel Skateland "should be shut down," citing previous reviews from other customers who called the staff "unprofessional" and "disrespectful."

Syke Throne, a man who claimed to have witnessed the encounter, called the staff "racist" in a review on the business' Facebook page.

"Honestly, I'm from Mexico and thought I was next...so I left," he added.

Attempts to reach him for further comment were unsuccessful.

Requests made to the Better Business Bureau pertaining to Car-Vel Skateland South were not immediately returned.

Car-Vel Skateland South maintains that they welcome "all types" of people.

mmendoza@mysa.com

Twitter: @MaddySkye
Tehran, Iran, June 6

By Mehdi Sepahvand, Dalga Khatinoglu  Trend:

Iran stopped compressor, turbine and pump imports from China after implementation of nuclear deal, Reza Padidar, chairman of Board of Directors at Society of Iranian Petroleum Industry Equipment Manufacturers, told Trend June 6.

The nuclear deal between Iran and P5+1 Group (the US, UK, France, Russia, China plus Germany) was implemented in January 2016 and sanctions on Iran were eliminated.

Padidar said that during the sanctions era, Iran had to import low-quality Chinese oil and gas equipment lacking the needed global standards, but the import of these goods decreased by 60 percent in the post-sanctions era.

According to an official document prepared by Oil Ministry and seen by Trend in 2016, Iran needs more than $3.6 billion worth compressors and about $908 million worth pumps only for refineries in 2016-2021.

However, Iran recently signed agreements with Germanys Siemens and other western companies to establish joint ventures for producing progressive electromotor devices and turbines.

Padidar said that currently, about 70 percent of the needed equipment in oil and gas industry is produced domestically.

Iran becoming self-sufficient in high-tech turbine manufacturing

Abbas Aliabadi, CEO of Iranian engineering giant Mapna Group, told Trend that his company is involved in progressive projects as manufacture of hi-tech equipment, such as the turbo-compressors used in transmission pipelines, refineries and processing units, and oil measurement equipment.

Mapna has also made it one of its top priorities to make better equipment, he said.

For instance, we have produced MAP2A and MAP2B turbines, which are enhanced versions of MGT70 with higher power output and efficiency, added Aliabadi.

Mapna has signed several contracts with many well-known international companies, either for the supply of equipment, or transfer of technology or to set up a joint venture, including a joint venture between Tuga  Mapnas subsidiary in charge of engineering and manufacturing steam and gas turbines  and Franco Tosi Meccanica of Italy in December 2015.

In March 2016, Mapna signed a technology transfer agreement with Siemens in Berlin.

In February 2017, Mapna Boiler Company signed a technology transfer and licensing agreement with Belgian CMI for manufacturing heat recovery steam generators using F-class and H-class turbines.

Iran plans to increase the nominal power generation capacity from the current 76.8 gigawatts (GW) to 100 GW by 2021, of which about 80 percent would account for thermal power plants.
On the campaign trail, President Donald Trumps children rolled through dozens of small towns across the country, reveling in the adoration of the crowds. But they were less enamored of the budget-friendly hotels along the way, an assortment of run-of-the-mill offerings that were barely distinguishable from one another.

That led to a business idea.

On Monday, the Trump Organization announced plans for a new three-star hotel chain with a patriotic flair, echoing Trumps campaign slogan about putting America first and reflecting the organizations promise to enter into new deals only in the United States. The intention is to differentiate the chain, called American Idea, by featuring artifacts of U.S. culture in the hotels, such as an old Coca-Cola machine in the lobby or U.S.-made sundries in the rooms.

And while the Trump Organization and its business partner say the down-market move is not about politics, the presidents business is inherently viewed through that lens: The chain will make its debut in little-known towns in Mississippi, a state in the heart of Trump country that favored him over Hillary Clinton by a margin of 18 percentage points. The organizations business partner in Mississippi is a family-owned hotel company whose co-owner met Trump at a campaign event last summer and donated to his campaign.

This new chain is an unlikely venture for a company commonly associated with luxury accommodations in upscale locations, and it indicates that the Trumps see dollar signs in the vast support the campaign received from conservative areas well beyond major cities. The first hotels are expected to come online quickly because they will involve rebranding existing properties like Holiday Inns and Comfort Inns.

Eric Danziger, the chief executive of the Trump Organizations hotels division, said in an interview that the company had planned a hotel expansion for nearly two years, apart from the Trump campaign. During the campaign, the Trump children would report back about the thousands of supporters attending rallies and what they saw as a chance to build a line of hotels standing out from the cookie-cutter options in midsize and small cities.

I said, Thats brilliant, Danziger recalled. The reality is we should have something in those kinds of locations.

Danziger, a longtime hotel executive who previously led Wyndham Hotels, said the first American Idea hotels would open in the Mississippi Delta, but he rejected the idea that the electoral map of 2016 would become a blueprint for picking future locations. Trump sometimes hands out a version of the map to White House visitors, showing blue dots in and around major cities (indicating support for Clinton) and wide stretches of red (signaling votes for Trump) nearly everywhere else.

There is no political thought to it, Danziger said regarding the new chain, and he added that there could be many hundreds of American Idea hotels in both red and blue counties and states. The counties in Mississippi that will get the first hotels tilted toward Clinton, for instance.

Even before Trump took office in January, ethics experts and political opponents criticized his refusal to divest from the far-flung business. Trump handed over control of the Trump Organization to his eldest sons, Eric and Donald Jr., and other executives, and he agreed to forgo new deals abroad. But he remains financially invested in the family business.

The new hotels will have no overt connection to Trump  his name will not appear anywhere, Danziger said.

The American Idea chain comes just months after Danziger unveiled plans for a four-star brand known as Scion. The Trumps will not own the new hotels under either brand but instead license them to business partners (who must pay royalties and other fees). The Trumps plan to manage the day-to-day operations of the Scion hotels but leave that task to their partners at the American Idea properties.

Trump executives had hinted that a three-star hotel chain was in the works in recent interviews, and in April 2016 they filed for a trademark on the American Idea name.

At Trump Tower Monday evening, Danziger and Trumps eldest sons are announced that their partner in Mississippi would be an Indian-American family that through its company, Chawla Hotels, owns 17 hotels in the region. Those hotels are currently branded by well-known chains; the plan is to convert at least three of them to the American Idea line, Danziger said.

American Idea will compete with nearly 20,000 other hotels in the so-called midscale and upper-midscale business, according to STR, a hotel data and analytics specialist. In Mississippi, there are about 250 such properties, and that, according to hotel experts, leaves room for new players.

Theres always room for new brands, Jan A. deRoos, a professor of hotel finance and real estate at Cornell University, said, noting that Hilton had recently opened a more-affordable brand called Tru.

As for the Trumps joining the three-star market, deRoos said: This completely opens up the world to them. The brand evolution is great. But as a president, he needs to separate himself from this.

Chawla Hotels will also be a partner in a Scion property being built in Cleveland, Mississippi, making it the first Scion location to be publicly announced. The boutique development is expected to include a restaurant and meeting space near a music museum. Danziger said he expected to announce four additional Scion hotels in the next couple of months, including one in Dallas.

Such a deal in Dallas would come after the Trump Organization cut ties with another potential Dallas business partner, who had attracted scrutiny for connections to Russia, Kazakhstan and at least two dozen other countries. The Trump Organizations outside ethics adviser, Bobby Burchfield, had raised questions about the potential sources of financing, according to a person briefed on the process who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations.

Burchfield has granted approval for the Trumps to proceed with Chawla Hotels as a partner, Danziger said.

During the presidential campaign, the Chawlas became acquainted with the Trumps after Suresh Chawla, who runs the hotel business with his brother, wrote a letter that appeared in several local newspapers in the fall of 2015. It described how their father was inspired by Trump more than 25 years earlier when he sought advice about financing a hotel project. Suresh Chawla recalled how their father, a convenience store owner, had cold-called Trumps office in New York to ask for a $425,000 loan.

Trump returned the call, the story goes. And while he did not offer a loan  Trump supposedly called the deal small-fry  he instructed the elder Chawla to explore less conventional sources of funding and said he admired his immigrant story.

Eventually, Trump met Suresh Chawla during a campaign visit last summer in Jackson, Mississippi. Chawla told The Mississippi Business Journal that Trump had encouraged him to think grand with one of his projects.

In his letter to the editor, Chawla wrote that he did not support Trumps campaign, and he later revealed that early on he preferred Clinton or Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. But he eventually donated a total of $50,000 to Trumps campaign and party. (He had previously contributed to other causes, including Republicans, and he once hosted Barack Obama, then a senator, at one of his hotels, he said.)

After the vice-presidential debate in October, Chawla wrote another letter to the editor, to The Greenwood Commonwealth, criticizing the newspapers coverage, which he said tilted toward Democrats. He concluded his critique with a question: How pathetic is media bias?

Months later, the Trumps contacted Chawla about possibly becoming partners with him and his brother, Dinesh Chawla. When Danziger heard the familys story, he called Chawla and briefed him on the new brand, he said.

It would be the most amazing thing on the planet, Danziger recalled telling him, if you were the first one.

In an interview, Suresh Chawla said the announcement was extremely surreal; my father should be here.
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Editors note: Today we look back at Week 22 of 365 Days of Tacos, in which food writer and restaurant critic Mike Sutter reports on a different taqueria, restaurant or truck every day on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com/Tacos . Sign up for our taco newsletter while youre there.

Taco of the Week

Tacos al pastor, Tacos Betos. Nothing caramelizes and integrates the achiote marinade of pastor into the pork quite like a vertical trompo rotisserie. Think of a gyro, think of shawarma. Now think of pastor from the trompo, and you get a mental picture of the coral-rimmed velveteen ribbons of meat on street tacos built from 3-inch corn tortillas.

The week in tacos, May 28 - June 3

El Itacate Tacos To Go: This little house could be the sidewalk cafe of Nogalitos Street, with picnic tables like the colors in a crayon box under a big shady awning. And it is, as long as the sidewalks leading the other way. Featured taco: Chilaquiles. 2501 Nogalitos St., 210-922-7191, Facebook: El Itacate

La Michoacana Meat Market: This well-run location of the grocery chain with more than a dozen locations in San Antonio devotes almost a quarter of its floor space to its taqueria and salsa bar. And for good reason. Featured taco: Rajas con queso. 2323 S.W. Military Drive, 210-932-4969, lamichoacanameatmarket.com

Tacos Betos: Betos is a casual, 10-table place thats open 5 p.m. to midnight Thursday through Sunday. They keep the tacos tasty and simple: al pastor from the trompo, bistec from the plancha, a campechana mix of both, or tripas. Featured taco: Al pastor. 3715 Culebra Road, 210-459-3134, Facebook: Tacos Betos

Tacos N Salsa: The firehouse salsa bars not for kids or tourists. This shop sits in a strip mall corner way up north with franchise-ready signage, but it behaves more like a busy East Side mom-and-pop taqueria. Featured taco: Alambre. 5123 N. Loop 1604 W., 210-408-7878, tacosnsalsatheoriginal.com

Taqueria Rello: With six booths and five tables wedged into a space the size of a living room, Rello has close to zero decor. When the waitress says the shredded beef is poquito picoso, believe her. Featured taco: Chorizo and potato. 1522 W. Southcross Blvd., 210-932-2009, no web presence

Elsas Restaurant: Elsa Vazquez and her husband, Jesus Daniel Vazquez, started this orange brick taqueria two years ago. Business is good enough that theyre opening Elsas #2 on South Flores this month. Featured taco: Carne asada a la mexicana. 1701 W. Martin St., 210-444-1440, no web presence

Teodora's Mini-Taco: There are no mini-tacos at Teodoras Mini-Taco. Its just a name, the waitress said. A name for a long, unmarked, tired shotgun building with tacos to match. Featured taco: Beef puffy taco. 2204 S. W.W. White Road, 210-337-7816, no web presence

Week 21 winner: Carnitas Lonja

Week 20 winner: Tommys Restaurant

Week 19 winner: Lees El Taco Garage

Week 18 winner: Mi Ranchito

Week 17 winner: El Paraiso de Jalisco

Week 16 winner: Salsas Cafe

Week 15 winner: Taquitos West Ave.

Week 14 winner: Taco Taco Cafe

Week 13 winner: Los Campos Dos Hermanos

Week 12 winner: Mittman Fine Foods

Week 11 winner: Sabinas Coffee House

Week 10 winner: Dannys Cocina Mexicana

Week 9 winner: The Original Donut Shop

Week 8 winner: Claudias Restaurant

Week 7 winner: Don Jose Mexican Cafe

Week 6 winner: Paloma Blanca

Week 5 winner: Mendez Cafe

Week 4 winner: Tacos Y Burritos Metro Basilica 2

Week 3 winner: El Buen Gusto Mexican Cafe

Week 2 winner: Taco Haven

Week 1 winner: Rays Drive Inn

msutter@express-news.net

Twitter: @fedmanwalking
The Hotel Valencia Riverwalk's two bars, Dorrego's and Naranja, will be serving up three specialty poptails all summer long, through Sept. 15: Blood Orange-Mango, Watermelon Mint Margarita and Orange Habanero Cooler.

The hotel also had poptails at Vbar, which Naranja replaced.
MILWAUKEE  Manager Bruce Bochy admitted it was a tough question. How will he decide who starts in left field with Hunter Pence back in right? Monday it was Orlando Calixte, which left Austin Slater on the bench for the second straight game after the Giants promoted him to see what they have.

Slater has looked jumpy and struggled with breaking pitches in his nine plate appearances, which yielded a walk, a flyball, two strikeouts and five groundballs, one of which got through for an RBI single.

The Giants have not given Slater a chance to settle in. At the same time the Giants need some spark, and Calixte is faster and has more experience.

Ill go with the hot guy, not that anybodys hot right now, Bochy said, adding that Brandon Belt and Gorkys Hernandez might see time in left field.

You hate to sit someone whos come up for a couple of days, especially a guy with so little experience, Bochy said of Slater. Ill mix him in as much as I can so he can keep his timing.

Pences return: Pence singled and hit a scoring groundball in his first start since May 12. He ran well, with no sign of the left hamstring strain that placed him on the disabled list.

Pence knew his leg was fine when he scored from first on a double in his final rehab game for Class A San Jose.

He had a chance to do that in a previous game but stopped at third, being extra cautious. He needed a pep talk from a 23-year-old Giants first-base prospect, Dylan Dobson, to let it loose. Dobber told me I needed to pick it up, Pence said.

Briefly: Buster Posey singled and scored the Giants first run. He also beat the relay on a potential double-play grounder to keep the decisive eighth-inning rally alive, tumbling after he crossed the bag.  Hunter Strickland got a big strikeout to end the eighth, retiring Domingo Santana as the potential tying run.  Mark Melancon got the final three outs in a non-save situation, reaching 93 mph, a sign his forearm issue is behind him.  Kelby Tomlinsons pinch single started the three-run ninth.  The Giants have won 14 of their past 16 games against the Brewers by a combined score of 107-41.

Henry Schulman is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.

On deck

Tuesday

at Brewers

4:40 p.m. NBCSBA

Cain (3-4) vs. Anderson (4-1)

Wednesday

at Brewers

5:10 p.m. NBCSBA

Blach (4-2) vs. Nelson (3-3)

Thursday

at Brewers

11:10 a.m. NBCSBA

Cueto (5-5) vs.

Garza (2-2)

Leading off

Mac attack: Since returning to Triple-A Sacramento, Mac Williamson had hit four homers, one over the scoreboard in Albuquerque.

 Henry Schulman
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SAN ANTONIO -- At last, San Antonio, you can haz a cat cafe.

San Antonio Cat Cafe will open its doors this summer at 8818 Broadway, a relaxing coffee-house-cum-scratching-post where you can pet and cuddle oodles of adoptable cats and bask in their furry Zen, and even give one a forever home in your own domicile.

Cafe owner Casey Steuart just got the keys and signed the lease for the nonprofit venture, which to date has raised a little more than $18,000 of its $20,000 Go Fund Me goal.

Steuart envisions an easygoing atmosphere as laid back as its four-legged denizens, where you can kickback with or without a feline and have an actual conversation, also with or without a feline.

"You're not going to leave feeling like you're more stressed than when you came in," Steuart said.

You're also not going to leave with a new cat on your first visit. San Antonio Cat Cafe encourages responsible cat adoption, with a vetting process that encourages potential cat parents to visit multiple times to ensure a good fit.

"This is something you can come back to repeatedly (and) feel if this is a right move to get a cat," Steuart said.

RELATED: Photos: S.A. crews rescue kitten stuck inside Medical Center traffic pole

In addition to adoptable cats, the S.A. cafe will host live music and a changing art gallery, with light eats as well as beverages of the alcoholic and nonalcoholic persuasion.

Like most cat cafes, San Antonio Cat Cafe will charge a cover fee to help with cat care. And like other cat cafes, the S.A. site will focus on adoptions as well as TNR (trap, neuter and return) for feral cat communities. The cafe also will offer cat care classes as well as cat foods and supplies.

As for the joy of just chilling with the cats, expect a special closed-off Cat Lounge with couches and chairs to curl up with a book, take in a movie or enjoy some other relaxing activity, as so many cats curl their tails around your ankles and curl up in your lap, or just lick their paws in a corner and grace your presence with that delightful indifference cat lovers relish ever so.

And don't worry about hairballs in your latte. The cats are separated from any food and drink prep or common areas, the cafe's website said, though you can take your cafe items into the cat area.

RELATED: S.A. dog lovers, kite enthusiasts head outside for the Fest of Tails Kite Festival and Dog Fair at McAllister Park

As the San Antonio Cat Cafe website noted, cat cafes are relatively new to the United States but are quite the hit in Asia, Europe and other areas abroad, dating back to the world's first cat cafe that opened in Taipei, Taiwan in 1998.

The U.S. now has more than two-dozen cat cafes, according to a directory at The Catnip Times. Texas cat cafe locations include ones in Dallas, Houston and Austin.

NOTE: This story has been updated to include comments from San Antonio Cat Cafe owner Casey Steuart.

rguzman@express-news.net

Twitter: @reneguz
Looking to treat yourself?

Some airlines are holding flash sales for domestic and international flights this week that could make leaving town cheaper than a nice dinner out.

Southwest Airlines, for instance, is selling one-way nonstop flights to Turks and Caicos that start at $59 for travelers who book by June 8. Spirit Airlines is selling domestic flights that start at $25 one-way for members of its "$9 fare club." Other travelers can book fares starting at $50.

The Southwest deal marks a new route for the airline from Fort Lauderdale to Providenciales in Turks and Caicos. The special rate is for certain travel dates between November 5 and January 7, 2018. Return flights to Fort Lauderdale from Turks and Caicos start at $135.

The Southwest fares include two checked bags. Flights are nonrefundable but people who cancel their reservations at least 10 minute before departure can use the money for a future trip with Southwest.

Spirit is promoting flights on various routes that start at $25 or $50 for select travel dates in June, July and August for travelers who book by June 6. For example, travelers can land those fares to Myrtle Beach, S.C., from several departure cities, including Baltimore, Cleveland and Pittsburgh.

The sale also applies to some flights between San Diego and Las Vegas and between New Orleans and Cleveland, along with other routes. Check the website for specific travel dates and restrictions. Travelers should note, though, that Spirit generally charges for checked baggage and other services. Fares may vary based on the date.

Some of these specials have limited availability so you may need to act fast and then cancel the trip within a day if you can't make it work. Airlines are required by federal law to let travelers cancel a flight within 24 hours of booking in exchange for a full refund.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 5 1 of 5 Autumn Driscoll / Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 2 of 5 Autumn Driscoll / Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 3 of 5 4 of 5 Autumn Driscoll / Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 5 of 5









Fourteen Chipotle restaurants in southwestern Connecticut may have been affected in a secutity breach early this spring, the chain posted on its web site.

It also released details of an investigation into the breach that compromised payment cards security information.
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BETHEL  State Rep. Will Duff, R-Bethel, is under fire from Democrats after posting on social media he would help pay for liberals to leave the country.

Duff, who was elected in November to represent Bethel, Danbury, Newtown and Redding, wrote the comment Saturday on a Bethel community Facebook group.

If you know of any potential U.S. Liberals that need financial assistance in thier exudus (sic) from the United States please let me know, he wrote. The more that leave the greater or (sic) nation will become.

Duff was responding to an article posted on the page from a conservative site falsely claiming French President Emmanuel Macron was offering refugee status to U.S. liberals.

Duff edited the post Sunday morning to correct the original spelling mistakes, but had not deleted it as of Tuesday. He did not return several calls seeking requests for comment.

Bethel Democrats posted a screenshot of the original comment on its Facebook page, encouraging residents to contact Duffs office. The Democrats post has garnered nearly 100 shares and more than 50 comments as of Tuesday.

Democrats said Duffs comment is a sign he is not representing all constituents.

The representative was elected to represent the people of Bethel and the district as a whole, whether they be liberals or conservatives, Bethel Democratic Town Committee Chairman Nick Vitti Jr. said. I think its a silly comment to make.

Bethel Republican Town Committee Chairman Bill Hillman said he was not aware of Duffs post and had not spoken to him about it.

I know that lots of people make comments about liberals or conservatives on social media, Hillman said. Very often other people get outraged or feign outrage ... I cant comment beyond. It sounds political to me.

Raghib Allie-Brennan, vice chairman of the Bethel Democratic Town Committee and the candidate who ran against Duff in Novembers election, criticized the post.

The 2nd District deserves a representative that understands that theres no place for divisive rhetoric. ... one that understands that being an elected representative means representing all of the people, Allie-Brennan said. This isnt leadership, this is pettiness. We deserve more, the district deserves more.
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Tuesday marks the 73-year anniversary of D-Day, the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France during WWII.

On June 6, 1944, more than 160,000 American, Canadian and British troops crammed onto a 50-mile stretch of French coastline to open up a second front against Adolf Hitler.

At the same time, nearly 13,000 American paratroopers dropped behind enemy lines to cause chaos and capture critical roadways.

Roughly 9,000 Allied troops would eventually perish on D-day, often refereed to as the "beginning of the end" to the war in Europe.

SILVER SCREEN: 29 of the best World War II Movies

As American troops fought on the beaches, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave one of his famous fireside chats through the radio and asked the American public to join him in prayer.

"They will need Thy blessings," Roosevelt said. "Their road will be long and hard. For the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again; and we know that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph."

General Dwight Eisenhower also broadcast a message, but for Europeans who were living under Nazi rule: "Although the initial assault may not have been made in your own country, the hour of your liberation is approaching."

AT HOME: How Texas reacted to and benefited from World War II

Meanwhile, an overly-optimistic Hitler  who had slept through most of the initial invasion and awoke around noon  said, "the news couldn't be better."

Click through above to see historic, color photos of D-day.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 6By Khalid Kazimov  Trend:Irans Hassan Rouhani who has recently been reelected as the countrys president would consider a cabinet reshuffle in his second term, a presidential advisor suggested.Mohammad Ali Nafafi, a senior advisor to Rouhani, has forecasted that the president would change about half of the current ministers in his second term, Tasnim news agency reported.Hassan Rouhani earlier criticized those minsters that refused to back his governments performance during the countrys presidential campaign in May.While some observers suggest the president is likely to appoint more pro-reform ministers in the second term, Rouhani earlier pledged to get use of younger ministers compared to the current cabinet.Iranians re-elected Hassan Rouhani as the countrys president on May 19 election for a four-year term.
Courtesy of Google

Start of construction on replacing a deteriorated pavement panel in Kingwood has been delayed due to inclement weather.

Roadwork on the panel, at Northpark Drive and Woodbridge Drive, was initially slated to begin Monday, June 5.
Investigators in Spring are looking for a suspect who allegedly bit a woman while robbing her in a Walmart parking lot in 2014.

The three-year-old case has a new lead after a DNA sample from the robbery scene was matched to a recent hit in the Combined DNA Index System Database, Harris County Pct. 4 Constable Mark Herman's Office said Tuesday, June 6.
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Natural light shining through the large windows surrounding Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital creates an atmosphere of transparency, warmth and wellness at the newest addition to the area's booming medical district

Located at the southeast corner of Interstate 45 and Texas 242, the 470,000-square-foot facility is set to open July 1.

The $380 million project broke ground in October 2014, and now a digital clock sits in the surgical wing counting down the days, hours, minutes and seconds before the glass doors slide open, offering top-notch health care to residents in the surrounding area.

Houston Methodist opened its doors Monday morning for a media preview, giving The Courier a sneak peek of the six-story hospital and its various technological and guest-centric amenities.

And residents are invited for a communitywide open house from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. The open house at the hospital, located at 17201 Interstate 45 S. in The Woodlands, will include an appearance by Houston Texans defensive back Johnathan Joseph. The event will include live music, refreshments, inflatables, as well as more appearances by Texans cheerleaders and masco Toro from 12:30-1:30 p.m. and Houston Dynamo mascot Diesel from noon to 1 p.m.

Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital CEO Debbie Sukin said Houston Methodist has been active in the community since before the hospital's groundbreaking. Houston Methodist's primary care offices are scattered around the area, including a location off Kuykendahl Road and Texas 105, among others.

Sitting next to Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital is the first of two medical office buildings. Reportedly at 100 percent capacity, the first building is fully operable. Medical Office Building 2, along with an accompanying parking garage, broke ground in February; they are expected to open in 2018.

Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital also will be a "global resource" for international medicine, Sukin said.

She said all aspects of the new facility were built with all patients in mind.

"It's not just about opening the doors to this hospital," Sukin said. "It's really about making a difference in the community."

Houston Methodist Hospital Vice President of Operations Trent Fulin led the tour, pointing out little details that make the hospital succinct with the company's vision of providing an innovative and welcoming space.

A cafeteria available to employees and guests will feature healthy, "Mediterranean-inspired" dishes through the hospital's partnership with Aramark, Fulin said.

The hospital features a religion room where individuals of all faiths can visit. Fulin said the hospital recognizes the importance religion plays in one's healing and well-being.

The new facility showcases cutting-edge technology, incorporating it into every facet, from built-in USB ports on chairs throughout the hospital to personal monitors and printers for individual patient rooms, high-quality body CAT scans and magnetic resonance imaging machines.

Houston Methodist Hospital Colon and Rectal Surgeon Dr. Diego Marines led a demonstration on the latest laparoscopic machinery, the da Vinci Xi Surgical System, capable of mimicking a surgeon's hands during minimally invasive procedures. Marines, who has experience operating with the da Vinci Xi and its prior model, the da Vinci Si, said he personally sees the difference between the models, including better visuals and a smaller incision.

"Some of the advantages is it (da Vinci Xi) eliminates the human tremor of holding a laparoscopic camera, so it makes the surgery easier," Marines said. "(Holding a laparoscopic camera) doesn't cause issues, but it makes the surgeon's fatigue go up. Also, when you're using the robot, you're sitting down at the robotics console, so you don't have to be standing up for hours."

While some amenities may seem like a "significant investment," it was worth it, Fullin said. For example, every preoperative room has its own bathroom, which Fulin said cost roughly $30,000 per bathroom.

"It was significant, but it was something we felt was important to have to create that Methodist experience," he said.

For more information about Houston Methodist The Woodlands Hospital, call 713-790-3333 or visit houstonmethodist.org.
Being an entrepreneur is no cake walk. There will be times when you need to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and keep on walking. Astronaut, emergency trauma doctor, father, inventor and professional thrill-seeker Dr. Scott Parazynski has been through a lot and has come out on top -- the top of Mt. Everest that is! The good doctor offers a motivating message on thriving in the face of adversity. In the second half of the hour, we hear from the CEO and co-founder of Centrify, Tom Kemp, regarding recent security breaches, cyber attacks and the significant need for stronger password protection. How safe is your company from a breach? Find out now.

Related: Courageous and Wild: Maverick Startups Turned Multimillion Dollar Companies

Discover more about segments and guests below . . .

[00:00:00] Dr. Parazynski Shoots for the Stars, Literally

From a very young age, Dr. Scott Parazynski would watch his father assist with space shuttle launches. It was clear to him that he wanted to be an astronaut and Scott set his sights on outer space, a goal that would be arduous to achieve. Parazynski believes that lifes greatest lessons happen outside of school; its the people you meet, the experiences you have and the doors you open. If you set lofty goals, you will encounter great things (even if theyre not what you expected).

[00:06:18] Space Doctor, Trail Blazer and Dad -- Oh My!

Setting out to be an entrepreneur can mean blazing a brand new trail, and many people wont understand the journey. Parazynski turned his love for outer space and passion for healing people into a dream career as an astronaut medical doctor. When it comes to young entrepreneurs, the space doc believes that as long as hard work and a solid plan exist, the possibilities are endless. Parazynski shares his personal parenting strategy for helping his son set out on an entrepreneurial path.

[00:12:30] Fluidity Technologies: Inventions for Life

They say that necessity is the mother of invention. That age old adage certainly rings true for Parazynski. Often in extreme situations or locations, Parazynski developed a myriad of disruptive technologies, including a single handed robotic flight controller. With game-changing IP in tow, Parazynski launched Fluidity Technologies in an effort to simplify complicated systems to make them more energy, time and cost efficient.

[00:19:51] Overcome Adversity to Achieve Success

Parazynski is an astronaut, emergency trauma doctor, adventure seeker, inventor, father and a regular guy. Alright, hes not exactly a regular guy, but just like all of us hes faced unexpected health and business setbacks. Parazynski shares his two most important tenets for achieving success: resilience and tenacity. To help others conquer fear, rise up from failure and build relationships with like-minded individuals, Parazynski has penned a new book available this summer titled, The Sky Below. To get a sneak peek of the motivational guidebook and learn how you can put your best foot forward, listen now.

[00:30:02] WannaCry Ransomware Cyberattack

The news is littered with stories of widespread data hacks, and it has the general population understandably freaked out. An anonymous group called The Shadow Brokers recently exposed a stockpile of NSA hacking data, and Centrifys Tom Kemp is here to give us a clear understanding of what went down. In simple terms, the NSA had been discreetly gathering intelligence on new hacking methods. That information was stolen and leaked. Its rumored to be the work North Korean hackers, though theres no hard evidence at this time. Separately, the WannaCry ransomware cyber attack affected computers all over the U.K. including computers in manufacturing plants and hospitals, making this a life-threatening situation. As scary as this is, there are some crucial steps for data protection that your company can and should take as soon as possible.

[00:35:52] Shore Up Cybersecurity with Simple Tips

Is your company relying on a single form of security authentication? If so, its time to make a change. Modern hackers capitalize on weak user credentials, making one layer of security not enough. Often, attackers access your information via faulty email hyperlinks. Once youve taken the clickbait, they gain access to everything connected to your email account. Kemp gives security tips to protect your company from a cyber attack similar to the WannaCry ransomware debacle. Learn how to shore up your cybersecurity.

Entrepreneur Radio, hosted by award-winning broadcast professional Alan Taylor, equips fans with the critical information necessary to grow their business through practical advice and thought-provoking interviews. Tune in live on Saturdays 2 p.m. EST/11 a.m. PST and Sundays 10 a.m. EST/7 a.m. PST and listen to weekly episodes on demand on Entrepreneur.com.

Related:

An Astronaut's Guide to Entrepreneurship

Courageous and Wild: Maverick Startups Turned Multimillion Dollar Companies

'Cheers' TV Star John Ratzenberger Explains Why We Need an American Manufacturing Revival



Copyright 2017 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
President Donald Trump, after days of lashing out angrily at the London mayor and federal courts in the wake of the London Bridge terrorist attack, faces a convergence of challenges this week that threatens to exacerbate the fury that has gripped him - and which could further hobble a Republican agenda that has slowed to a crawl on Capitol Hill.

Instead of bunkering down and delicately navigating the legal and political thicket - as some White House aides have suggested - Trump spent much of Monday launching volleys on Twitter, unable to resist continuing, in effect, as his own lawyer, spokesman, cheerleader and media watchdog.

Trump escalated his criticism of London Mayor Sadiq Khan, incorrectly stating that Khan had told Londoners to not be "alarmed" about terrorism. He vented about the Justice Department, which he said pushed a "politically correct" version of his policy to block immigration from six predominantly Muslim countries, which Trump signed before it was halted in court. He also complained that Senate Democrats are "taking forever to approve" his appointees and ambassadors.

Inside the White House, top officials have in various ways gently suggested to Trump over the past week that he should leave the feuding to surrogates, according to two people who were not authorized to speak publicly. But Trump has repeatedly shrugged off that advice, these people said.

"Not that I'm aware of," White House principal deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Monday at a news conference when asked if the president's tweets were being vetted by lawyers or aides.

"Social media for the president is extremely important," Sanders said. "It gives him the ability to speak directly to the people without the bias of the media filtering those types of communication."

Trump's refusal to disengage from the daily storm of news - coming ahead of former FBI Director James Comey's highly anticipated public testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday - is both unsurprising and unsettling to many Republicans, who are already skittish about the questions they may confront in the aftermath of the hearing. In particular, they foresee Democratic accusations that Trump's exchanges with Comey about the FBI probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign were an effort to obstruct justice.

Some Republicans fear Trump's reactions will only worsen the potential damage.

"It's a distraction and he needs to focus," said former Trump campaign adviser Barry Bennett. "Every day and moment he spends on anything other than a rising economy is a waste that disrupts everything."

Rick Tyler, a veteran Republican consultant, said Trump's refusal to stop using Twitter poses a serious obstacle for the White House.

"I can't imagine internally they're happy with his performance," Tyler said. "The president is undermining his presidency, whenever his staff says one thing and then he does another. They'll say something you'd expect and then he'll go off and bring in the gun debate to a terror attack."

Some Trump supporters also fear that his extemporaneous rebukes are upending the priorities he is trying to implement.

George Conway, a well-known GOP lawyer who recently took himself out of the running to lead the Justice Department's Civil Division and is the husband of Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway, wrote on Twitter on Monday that Trump's fulminations on the travel ban could damage its chances.

"These tweets may make some ppl feel better, but they certainly won't help OSG get 5 votes in SCOTUS, which is what actually matters. Sad," he wrote, using abbreviations for Office of Solicitor General and the Supreme Court.

Trump's friends say he's just being himself.

"He's rightly frustrated and he isn't always checking with his lawyers about each tweet. But he's getting his message out there," said Christopher Ruddy, a close associate of Trump and president of Newsmax Media, a conservative news organization. "He is relying on himself to be the messenger."

It is an increasingly lonely endeavor. Trump's poll numbers have sagged, with Gallup's daily tracking number showing him at 37 percent approval on Monday, nearing the nadir of his presidency so far, while the RealClearPolitics polling average shows his approval rating just under 40 percent.

Yet even among party leadership and senior advisers in the West Wing, many remain supportive of Trump's combative posture, unable or unwilling to usher him toward a less incendiary approach.

"It's all infighting and leaks to the point where Trump is diluting his own proposals," Bennett said. "I don't get it. Rather than getting him to talk about jobs, they stand by as he goes on about Mayor Khan."

The few who have spoken up have been careful to not provoke Trump. "Unfortunately the president has, I think, created problems for himself by his Twitter habit," Sen. John Cornyn, Texas, the No. 2-ranking Senate Republican, said with a tight smile during a Sunday interview on Dallas TV station WFAA.

Comey's testimony is one of a number of items on the White House radar this week that risk stoking Trump's rage.

A week after Trump declared his trip to the Middle East a success, the region was swept into turmoil Monday after four Arab nations - Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain - broke diplomatic relations with another U.S. ally, Qatar, which they have accused of supporting terrorism.

Several U.S. allies in Europe also have grown weary with Trump after he decided to withdraw the country last week from the Paris climate accord. One of his closer allies there, British Prime Minister Theresa May, responded uncomfortably Monday to Trump's outbursts about Khan, who is Muslim, as the United Kingdom was coping with the aftermath of the London Bridge attack that killed seven.

"I think Sadiq Khan is doing a good job and it's wrong to say anything else," May tersely told reporters.

In Congress, Trump's ambitions to pass a health-care overhaul and tax reform have been stymied by party infighting and growing nervousness about the potential political cost, especially in the more moderate Senate. The only major legislative accomplishment so far has been the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, which came in April after bypassing a Democratic blockade.

David Winston, a Republican pollster who works closely with congressional GOP leaders, said lawmakers are eager to avoid discussions on issues that do not have to do with their agenda - including Trump's tweets - and said an extended delay on big-ticket legislation would pose a problem.

"Anytime they're not talking about the economy or jobs, they know that's not what the electorate is looking for," Winston said. "It's going to be the responsibility of the White House to provide that context" when the news cycle and media has their attention elsewhere, he added.

Ongoing turmoil in the White House only exacerbates the problems. Talk of possible staff changes have fueled a rush of stories that irritate Trump, who disdains news coverage of his advisers and their many rivalries. Former campaign loyalists, such as Corey Lewandowski and David Bossie, have been spotted heading to the Oval Office for meetings.

Meanwhile, the Russia-related questions are ubiquitous. Robert Mueller, the special counsel delving into potential ties between Trump's campaign and Russia, is busy at work, and Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, is a focus of the investigation, according to people familiar with the probe.

Trump allies have for weeks discussed the possible formation of a Russia-focused "war room" either inside or outside the administration, but any such operation has yet to be formally announced. The president has retained an outside legal team, however, while Bossie and Lewandowski have been mentioned as possible leaders of an advocacy group that would defend Trump after Comey's testimony.

The White House, meanwhile, gamely attempted to ignore the fallout from Trump's latest tweets, pressing forward Monday with a conventional rollout of parts of a promised infrastructure program.

Standing in a dark suit and red-striped tie at the White House in front of Cabinet officials and Vice President Mike Pence, Trump endorsed a plan to spin off more than 30,000 federal workers, including thousands of air traffic controllers, into a private nonprofit corporation - and he railed against the Obama administration's previous work to improve the Federal Aviation Administration.

"The current [aviation] system cannot keep up, has not been able to keep up for many years," Trump said. "We're still stuck with an ancient, broken, antiquated, horrible system that doesn't work."

It was a brief respite from rancor. A few hours later, this time on Facebook, Trump was back at it, posting a video and fervent note to his millions of followers.

"We need the Travel Ban - not the watered down, politically correct version the Justice Department submitted to the Supreme Court, but a MUCH TOUGHER version!" Trump wrote. "We cannot rely on the MSM to get the facts to the people. Spread this message. SHARE NOW."
A Beaumont doctor and business owner has purchased an empty downtown lot from the City of Beaumont, though he hasn't announced what he plans to do with the space.

The Beaumont City Council on Tuesday voted to approve the sale of the lot at 320 College Street to Dr. Hervy Hiner for $260,000, City Manager Kyle Hayes said.
For the tiny, oil rich nation of Qatar, Al Udeid Air Base, home to more than 10,000 U.S. service members, has long been something of an insurance policy.

Now the Qataris, at odds with their neighbors and under fire from President Donald Trump on Twitter, are anxiously waiting to see if that policy pays off.

Trump on Tuesday sided with a powerful block of Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia in accusing Qatar of funding terrorists and cozying up to Iran. "During my recent trip to the Middle East, I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology," Trump said in a series of morning tweets. "Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!"

The president was responding to a regional crisis that began on Monday when Qatar's Persian Gulf neighbors severed economic and political ties with their neighbor in a move designed to punish the tiny nation.

Despite the tough rhetoric, U.S. military officials said that planes continued to take off from Al Udeid in support of U.S. military operations in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan.

That's exactly how Qatar planned it - perhaps Qatar's greatest leverage in its ongoing dispute both with Trump and its larger Gulf neighbors. The air base, which has hosted U.S. military aircraft for more than 15 years, is considered a marvel, with some of the longest runways in the Middle East and sophisticated hangars that rise like mountains from the flat desert floor.

"The base gives them a sense of confidence," said Hardin Lang, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. "It has made the Qataris feel as though they are integrated into a wider U.S. security posture in the region. In the past, they may have seen this as check on the escalation of intra Gulf squabbles. because we need that capability."

For the U.S. military, which is supporting Iraqi troops assaulting Mosul and readying a major push into Raqqa, the Islamic State's de facto capital in Syria, the base has never been more important. "It's not just the facility," said former defense secretary Robert Gates in a recent appearance in Washington, D.C. "It's the freedom of operation. Qatar is the only country in the region that allows us to land B-52s, and put B-52s at their base at Al Udeid. We have run operations out of there for a dozen years."

The U.S. military began moving into Al Udeid not long after the Sept. 11 terror attacks when Saudi Arabia asked the Americans to leave. Moving to Qatar offered the U.S. military a way of spreading risk across the region.

"A lot of it was we didn't want to be exclusively reliant on one country," said Andrew Bowen, a Middle East expert at the American Enterprise Institute. "We don't ever want to be dependent on the whim of any one any Gulf state."
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 6

Trend:

Collision of two trains in the Tarasht subway station in western Tehran left 25 injured, seven of them were dispatched to hospital for medical treatment, Public Relations Manager of Tehran Subway Ehsan Moqaddam said, IRNA reported June 6.

One train was in the station when another one approached from behind and hit it, he said.

The accident occurred at 18:15 Tehran time (UTC/GMT +4:30).

Rescue teams and ambulances were rushed to the scene of accident to rescue victims.
After Senate Republicans wrapped up their health-care meeting with Vice President Mike Pence, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., one of the body's few physicians, told reporters that the party got a new sense of urgency after Anthem, an insurer in Ohio's Affordable Care Act exchange, announced that it was pulling out. Thousands of Ohioans, most in rural areas, could be left uninsured.

"We need to stabilize the markets right now," Barrasso said. "While we were in there, another company pulled out, which shows the continued collapse of the Obamacare market. I mean, it happened during the policy meeting."

Quickly, a reporter pointed out the rest of the story - the reason for Anthem's turnabout. In a statement, the insurer had blamed uncertainty over whether subsidies would continue to be paid out to people buying plans on the exchange, a problem created by President Donald Trump's decision to punt a decision on whether to support those subsidies.

"Planning and pricing for ACA-compliant health plans has become increasingly difficult due to the shrinking individual market as well as continual changes in federal operations, rules and guidance," the insurer had said.

But just as quickly, Barrasso had an answer. "Even Robert Pear of the New York Times has written that this is Obama's problem, because they made illegal payments," he said. "The Obamacare market is collapsing."

The brief exchange, coming as Republicans struggled to come to a resolution on their health-care bill, demonstrated a strategy as brazen as anything in modern politics - undermining the current operation of the ACA, and arguing that the law, thus undermined, is falling apart. Despite the clear warnings of state insurance commissioners and of insurance companies themselves, Republicans continue to discuss premium increases and insurer pullouts as if the party fully in control of the government is a terrified observer.

The reference to Robert Pear - who was standing next to Barrasso - provided a concise example. Pear had not written that the confusion over "cost-sharing" was "Obama's problem." In a May 20 story, Pear had written that "in some ways, the Obama administration shares responsibility with the Trump administration for the current mess," because it had paid out the cost-sharing subsidies after the Republican-controlled House (and later Senate) refused to appropriate them.

That led to a lawsuit which is working its slow way through the courts - but which the Trump White House could abandon at any time. Doing so would solve the problem that insurers, repeatedly, have cited for 2018 premium increases. It would do so more directly than even passage of the American Health Care Act, which would replace the subsidies with refundable tax credits scaled for the age of the buyer.

But since the first birth pangs of the AHCA, message-conscious Republicans have insisted that cost increases in the current system should be blamed on the Obama administration, not on them. In a tweet, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said of the Ohio news that "the collapse of Obamacare continues." At the start of Tuesday's news conference, White House press secretary Sean Spicer cited the Ohio news as the reason to pass whatever health-care bill Republicans came up with.

"The American people have been saddled with a bill for Washington's inability to get this disaster taken care of," he said. "And it's simply not right for them to have to pay it any longer. It's time for us to provide them with the choice and control that all Americans want over their own health care."

Ryan and Spicer had used the same argument for months, to great effect among Republicans. In May, after a number of Iowa insurers made a similar case that uncertainty caused them to pull out of the state's exchange, Ryan flipped two Iowa Republicans who had opposed the AHCA to yes.

Democrats, taken aback at the buck-passing, spent part of Tuesday insisting that the administration could stop the insurer panic whenever it wanted to.

"It's holding cost-sharing hostage as a political tool," said Sen. Charles E. Schumer, the Democratic leader. "The way to get companies to come back to these counties is to say you're going to do cost-sharing permanently."

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, who said he'd talked to an Anthem executive before the announcement, added that Republicans "own this health-care system and are making it worse every month."

"It's interesting that Trump does this Hamlet-like dance every month about whether to provide funding," Brown said.

But asked how Democrats could respond, Brown said he was unsure. The last round of appropriations, seen as a win for Democrats - who among other things saved funding for Planned Parenthood - occurred as the Trump administration seemed ready to continue cost-sharing subsidies.

The next bite at the apple for forcing funding through Congress might come when the debt limit needs to be raised. Democrats have so far given little indication that they'd use that process to fix the administration's "Hamlet" problem.
President Donald Trump has reignited a year-long public battle with London Mayor Sadiq Khan, one of the most prominent Muslim politicians in Western Europe, drawing criticism for reviving the feud in the wake of a terrorist attack.

In the two days since a group of terrorists killed seven people and injured many others on the London Bridge Saturday night, Trump has tweeted several times about the attack and used it to promote his travel ban, which is being blocked by the courts.

Among the president's barrage of tweets have been two pointed messages directed at Khan.

"At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terrorist attack and Mayor of London says there is 'no reason to be alarmed!', " Trump tweeted Sunday morning, misrepresenting a comment the mayor made over the weekend when he told the city's residents to not be alarmed by an increased police presence in the coming days. Trump was criticized for the tweet but Monday morning he dived right back into the controversy: "Pathetic excuse by London Mayor Sadiq Khan who had to think fast on his 'no reason to be alarmed' statement. MSM is working hard to sell it!"

Although Khan has responded to past attacks from the president, he has refrained from doing so this week, with his office saying on Sunday that the mayor "has more important things to do than respond to Donald Trump's ill-informed tweet."

Khan, a human rights lawyer and practicing Muslim whose parents are from Pakistan, has repeatedly challenged Trump's calls to ban Muslims or people from majority-Muslim countries from entering the United States, saying the president has an "ignorant view of Islam." Trump, meanwhile, has said that "it is ignorant for him to say that" and has raised questions about London's approach to confronting terrorism.

During the White House briefing on Monday, a reporter asked deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders if the president went after Khan because he's Muslim.

"Not at all," Sanders said, "and I think to suggest something like that is utterly ridiculous."

The president's tweets come as London grapples with the aftermath of the attack and Khan tries to explain that the religious beliefs of the terrorists involved are not the same beliefs embraced by him and most of the world's 1.6 billion Muslims.

"The action of these three men on Saturday night was cowardly, was evil," Khan said at a news conference Monday. "And I'm angry and furious that these three men are seeking to justify their actions by using the faith that I belong to. ... The ideology they follow is perverse, it is poisonous and it has no place in Islam. And I condemn this terrorist act but also the poisonous ideology these men and others follow."

The president's decision to lash out at the London mayor was widely questioned, with several critics asking why Trump was picking a fight with Khan as his city attempts to recover from Saturday's attacks. Some noted that after a mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in June 2016, Khan tweeted: "I stand with the City of Orlando against hate and bigotry. My thoughts are with all the victims of this horrific attack #lovewins."

Trump's tweets were widely mocked in Britain, where the overwhelming mood is one of unity against terrorism and praise for security services. Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition Labour Party, accused the president of lacking "grace" and "sense." British Prime Minister Theresa May, who has tried to foster a productive relationship with Trump, came to Khan's defense on Monday, telling journalists the mayor was "doing a good job, and it's wrong to say anything else."

Lewis Lukens, the acting ambassador at the U.S. Embassy in London, tweeted on Sunday: "I commend the strong leadership of the @MayorofLondon as he leads the city forward after this heinous attack."

Suhaib Webb - an imam who leads Center DC, which has a large online youth following - said he is angry the president and those close to him are "quick to pull the trigger on anything that has to do with Islam or involves a person of color."

"I think it's also extremely embarrassing as Americans that our president is engaged in a Twitter war with the mayor of a city in a sovereign country," Webb said. "It's shameful that we've reinforced a bully personality. ... We have someone who is unhinged."

Khan, a member of the Labour Party, took office in May 2016. Much of last year's mayoral race focused on Khan's religion and family background, and his then-rival Zac Goldsmith accused him of having "repeatedly legitimized those with extremist views."

"What I think the election showed was that actually there is no clash of civilization between Islam and the West," Khan said in an interview with Time magazine. When asked about Islamist extremists, he said: "What better antidote to the hatred they spew than someone like me being in this position?"

Soon after Khan became mayor, then-candidate Trump told the New York Times that he would make an exception to his proposed ban on foreign Muslims for Khan - an offer he turned down.

"I think Donald Trump has ignorant views about Islam. It's not just about me. I don't want to be the exception to be allowed to go to America," Khan said in an interview on a British morning show in May 2016. "You can be a Muslim and you can be European."

Trump wasted little time firing back.

"He doesn't know me, never met me, doesn't know what I am all about," he said. "I think they are very rude statements. Frankly, tell him I will remember those statements."

---

The Post's Abigail Hauslohner and Samantha Schmidt in Washington and Griff Witte in London contributed to this report.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 6

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Immediately after the Qatar crisis broke out, the Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that Turkey is ready to become a mediator in resolving the crisis. Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had a number of phone conversations with the leaders of foreign countries, where the main topic of discussion was the Qatar crisis.

According to the Turkish presidential administration, Erdogan had telephone conversations with Qatari Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jabir Al-Sabah and King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

To understand the importance of Qatar for Turkey, it is worth recalling the relations between the two countries, as well as Turkey's relations with the Arab countries in recent years. Firstly, despite Turkey and Saudi Arabia have normal relations now, the relations between Ankara and Doha are much stronger than those with Riyadh or Abu Dhabi. Secondly, Qatar is the 18th biggest investor in the world. The total amount of Qatar's investments worldwide is $335 billion, while Qatars investments in Turkey amount to $18 billion. Qatar has also acquired a number of big companies and banks in Turkey since 2015, such as QNB Finansbank, ABank, Digiturk, BMC and Boyner. Meanwhile, Turkish investments in Qatar amount to $14.2 billion. Turkish companies are engaged in about 130 projects, including the construction of a subway in Doha, which costs $4.4 billion. Qatar and Turkey also had a trade turnover of $692 million in 2016.

But, of course, Turkey is concerned not only with Qatars economic interests. At present, Qatar is the only reliable ally of Turkey in the region, and also Turkey has a military base in Qatar.

Despite some experts say that the Qatar crisis can only indirectly affect Turkey, Ankara has something to fear. Ankara understands that if Qatar faces serious economic problems, it will primarily affect Turkey. All this, of course, pushes Ankara to mediation in resolving the crisis.

But how real is Turkeys chance to solve the Qatar crisis?

No matter how hard Ankara tries to solve this problem, it will not be so easy. The key countries in the Qatar crisis are primarily the US, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the UAE. And in order to conclude whether Ankara has chances to become a mediator between these countries and Qatar, it is necessary to look at Turkeys relations with these countries separately.

Turkey and the US

The US and Turkey have close relations. But there is a crisis in these relations. First of all, this is connected with the US providing Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and the Democratic Union Party (PYD), considered as terrorist groups in Turkey, with weapons in the operations against the so-called Islamic State (IS aka ISIS/ISIL) in Syria.

Secondly, despite Turkeys all efforts, the US has not yet extradited leader of the Hizmet movement Fethullah Gulen, who was involved in the recent military coup attempt in Turkey.

The media is silent about another important thing. The Trump administration looks at the IS and the Muslim Brotherhood within one and the same context, while Muslim Brotherhood is not considered by Turkey as a terrorist organization.

Turkey and Egypt

After General Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi overthrew Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013, who was a member of Muslim Brotherhood, the relations between Turkey and Egypt greatly deteriorated.

Erdogan did not recognize legitimacy of Al-Sisis presidency. Despite Egypt was an important country for Turkey, Ankara lost Egypt as a partner for an indefinite period. And despite all the attempts by the Turkish authorities to improve relations with Egypt, everything has turned out to be ineffective.

Turkey and the UAE

Although at first sight the Turkey-UAE relations seem to be normal, these relations are also in state of crisis. Earlier, the UAE accused Turkey of supporting the IS terrorists in Syria and providing them with weapons in Libya.

Meanwhile, the Turkish media claim that the UAE was one of the "sponsors" of the July 15, 2016 military coup attempt. Despite Turkish and UAE foreign ministers solved this issue, there is still tension in the relations between Ankara and Abu Dhabi.

So, Turkey has problems with the mentioned countries, except for Saudi Arabia. Taking all this into account, Turkey has still no chance to mediate in the Qatar crisis.

---

Follow Rufiz Hafizoglu on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
A recently approved $150,000 grant from the Petco Foundation will help Animal Care Services and the San Antonio Humane Society fund more than 2,000 pet sterilization surgeries through the end of the year.

SAHS operates the citys newest community spay/neuter clinic at Brooks, 8034 City Base Landing. The new grant will provide 1,400 free sterilization surgeries for dogs and cats through the clinic, while the remainder of the spay/neuter surgeries will be done at Animal Care Services.

Residents interested in scheduling a free spay/neuter appointment for their pet should visit SAhumane.org/spayneuter. When scheduling an appointment, they will need to enter the code Petco2017 to secure the appointment day and time.

Prep classes set for Silver Dancers and Team Energy

The Spurs Silver Dancers will host audition prep classes leading up to the July 8 auditions for the dance squad.

The prep classes will be June 7, 14 and 20, and July 3. Each class is at 6:30-9 p.m. Spurs Team Energy will host its audition prep class at 2:30 p.m. July 30, before its Aug. 6 auditions.

The Silver Dancer classes will cover jazz, hip-hop and pom dance styles, and will feature two routines to help prepare dancers for team auditions. Team Energy class participants will learn a hip-hop routine.

Attendees are encouraged to dress in comfortable clothing, and Silver Dancer prep class participants should bring a pair of heel and several changes of shoes for different routine styles.

Auditions are open to those 18 and older as of Aug. 1, but 17-year-olds will be admitted to prep classes with parental consent.

There is no limit to the number of prep classes a dancer can attend, and the classes are not required for auditions. Registration for the optional classes cost $25. Preregistration is not required for prep classes or auditions but is encouraged.

For more information, including registration, on the 2017 Silver Dancer and Team Energy audition prep classes, go to Spurs.com/SilverDancers or Spurs.com/Team-Energy.

All prep classes will be at the AT&T Center. Enter through Gate C via Houston Street and park in Lot 3, then use the SE VIP entrance. Auditions will be at the UIW Alice P. McDermott Convocation Center.

VIA offering service

to Texas Folklife Festival

VIA Metropolitan Transit will offer Special Event Park & Ride Service to the 46th annual Texas Folklife Festival on Saturday, June 10, at the Institute of Texan Cultures, 801 E. Cesar Chavez Blvd.

On all three days of the festival, Friday-Sunday, June 9-11, VIA Primo (100) and VIVA centro (301) routes will be available to provide direct service to the institute.

Park & Ride Service will be available from the Crossroads Park & Ride, 151 Crossroads Blvd., to the Folklife Festivals Gate 3 beginning at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 10, and return service will continue until 11:30 p.m. The fare is $2.50 each way, with discounted fares for children, seniors, students and active-duty members of the military. Cash and credit cards are accepted at the Park & Ride location. VIAtrans customers and children younger than 5 ride free. VIA bus passes are not valid for this service.

For more information on VIAs service to the Texas Folklife Festival, call 210-362-2020.

Student films sought

for local competition

Local filmmakers, ages 14-21, are invited to showcase San Antonio as a World Heritage City through the San Antonio Film Commissions Our City, Our World Heritage student film contest.

The deadline for submissions is noon Friday, June 9. Guidelines and the submission form are available at filmsanantonio.com.

This contest offers young people in two age groups, 14-17 and 18-21, the chance to enter two film contests at once. The winning Our City, Our World Heritage entries will be awarded a local prize and be entered into the Organization of World Heritage Cities (OWHC) International Video Production Competition. Local prize amounts are $1,000 for first place, $500 for second place, and $250 for third place. Local winners will be honored at a screening event this summer.

The OWHC will award winners with the international prize of $1,000 for the 14-17 age group, and $2,000 for the 18-21 age group.

For more information about the San Antonio Film Commission, visit www.filmsanantonio.com.

South Side

McCreless Library group plans book sale

Friends of McCreless Library plans a book sale June 17, from 10 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. in the conference room of the library, 1023 Ada. Proceeds from the sale will benefit the library.

It will spotlight the sale of books, CDs, videos and other media. Among the items for sale will be a series of paperback Star Trek books, several sets of mystery, sci-fi and western books, and several craft magazines.

The Friends of McCreless Library is a group of volunteers who raise funds to benefit the library by purchasing items not included in the budget. For more information, call 210-207-9170.

Compiled by Melissa Renteria
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April Russell didnt die alone.

Two of her children, Alyla Russell, 15, and Jordan Russell, 8, witnessed a gunman fatally shoot her Monday afternoon in their North Side apartment complex and then kidnap their 1-year-old sister, according to a family member who arrived at the scene shortly after the shooting.

Alyla, a high school freshman, held her mother in her arms as she followed instructions from police officers on the phone.

They told her what to do to try to stop the bleeding, said April Russells brother, Quincy Russell, 38. When I arrived on the scene she was saying: I did everything they told me. I hope I didnt miss a step. She was holding a towel over the wound to stop the bleeding.

RELATED: San Antonio man fatally shot by DPS hours after being accused of killing his ex

Ultimately, paramedics pronounced April Russell dead at the scene around 12 p.m. She was 35 years old.

The three children are now in in the custody of Child Protective Services, Quincy Russell said. He said he and his brother, Cyrus Russell, both live in San Antonio and are actively communicating with state authorities to earn custody of the children.

San Antonio Police Chief William McManus called the slaying a domestic violence incident, naming April Russells ex-boyfriend, 37-year-old Adrian Hardeman, a suspect in the case.

This morning he knocks on the door and tries to reconcile, tries to get back into her life, McManus said Monday afternoon. She wants nothing to do with him.

Quincy Russell said his sister kept her relationship with Hardeman private, but the two had a rocky relationship. Court records show Hardeman was arrested on a charge of domestic assault on Dec. 3 after he allegedly attacked April Russell. He faced an August trial date for the charge.

The couple was together about three years and had a child together last year, according to Quincy Russell, but had recently separated.

After his attempt at reconciliation was rebuked Monday morning, Hardeman allegedly returned to April Russells apartment in the 2300 block of Northeast Loop 410 armed with a gun, broke in through the front window and confronted her for a final time, police said.

RELATED: 'Intelligent, hard working mother' slain in Northeast Side apartment mourned on social media

Quincy Russell said his sister pushed her 8-year-old child out of the way before she took the first bullet in the back.

She was a very good mother, he said. She loved her children and that was one of her last acts.

Police said that after Hardeman shot April Russell, he grabbed their 1-year-old daughter, Avery, and fled. Alyla, the 15-year-old, followed Hardeman outside and got a look at the vehicle he fled in, which she described to the police, Quincy Russell said of his niece.

Law enforcement then began a manhunt for Hardeman and the 1-year-old. The Texas Department of Public Safety was asked to issue an Amber Alert for the child, but she was found safe around 1:15 p.m. at a home in the 4900 block of Wycliff Drive in the East Side.

Hardeman was found about an hour and a half later in Gonzales County after he got into a single-car crash near U.S. 90 and County Road 364.

DPS troopers investigating the scene encountered Hardeman, who officials said was armed, and fatally shot him, said Lt. Jason Reyes, who declined to comment further, citing an ongoing investigation.

Quincy Russell said his family is mourning the death of his sister, who he described as creative, intelligent, quick-witted. He added that she was a problem solver.

Theyre more in a state of disbelief, he said of his nieces and nephew. It hasnt hit them yet, and I suspect it will be sometime before they wake up with the knowledge their mothers gone. But theyre surrounded by love now. Were going to get them all the help they need. Were ready to invest in them so they have a chance.

Cyrus Russell asked his family and friends who gathered at a Tuesday evening vigil at his sisters apartment complex  to take care of April Russells children.

Call those kids  help those kids, he said. Those kids need us right now.

Theresa Johnson, April Russells cousin, said she wants people to remember her cousin as a good mother who gave love to everyone.

She was sweet, loving, kind. A mother, a sister, Johnson said. She really did cherish all of those titles. She never missed a function.

The family has created a GoFundMe page to help raise money for the orphaned children and to increase awareness of domestic violence.

From this time forward Im going to use all the assets Ive developed through the years to do whatever I can to curb and stop domestic violence, Quincy Russell said.

This is about my sister, but its about the next woman, the next story, the next family that has to do a TV interview.

Text "NEWS" to 77453 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com

Staff Writer Sergio Martinez-Beltran contributed to this report.

cdowns@mysa.com

Twitter: @calebjdowns

@SergioMarBel


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Whenever a politician travels anywhere high profile, political motives are suspected.

That's certainly the case on Twitter with the announcement that Vice President Mike Pence will visit NASA in Houston on Wednesday, June 7.

Pence, a Republican, has been an outspoken opponent of scientific findings on climate change and has questioned the deadly effects of smoking and the link to cancer.

PLAYING AROUND: Lego released amazing replica of Saturn V rocket

His boss, President Donald Trump, has been much in the news lately, pulling the United States out of the Paris climate change agreement and in the past calling the idea of climate change a hoax. Story continues below.





So, when Twitter got wind of Pence planning to visit a science Mecca such as NASA, well the social media outlet was having none of it.

MOON BAG: Price for NASA artifact pegged between $2 million and $4 million

Many of the tweets focused on Pence and Trump's prior comments (and a few featured adult language that won't be repeated here).

Twitter

Suffice to say, the idea of someone with a history of questioning scientific findings isn't all that palatable to many Twitter users.

Scroll through the gallery above to see how Twitter reacted to Vice President Mike Pence's planned visit to NASA in Houston.
U.S. President Donald Trump, wading into a deep rift among Arab states, said on Tuesday his trip to the Middle East was "already paying off", as governments there took a hard new line in accusing Qatar of funding militant groups, Reuters reported.

The campaign to isolate Qatar was disrupting trade in commodities from crude oil to metals and food, and deepening fears of a possible shock to the global gas market, where the tiny Gulf state is a major player.

Trump's blunt remarks cast the anti-Islamist speech he gave at a Riyadh summit in May as the inspiration for a decision by Arab powers to sever ties and transport links to Qatar in protest at what they say is its support for terrorism.

"So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!" Trump said on Twitter.

In fact, U.S. officials were blindsided by Saudi Arabia's decision to sever diplomatic ties with Qatar in a coordinated move with Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), current and former officials in Washington told Reuters.

Trump's comments on the rift between Qatar and other Arab nations over its alleged support for Iran and Islamist groups came as the leader of Kuwait traveled to Saudi Arabia to try to mediate.

He said, in apparent reference to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, that leaders he met on his trip had warned him Qatar was funding "radical ideology" after he had demanded they take action to stop financing militants.

Qatar vehemently denies the accusations against it.

U.S. officials said on Monday the United States would quietly try to calm the waters between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, saying that Qatar was too important to U.S. military and diplomatic interests to be isolated.

Some 8,000 U.S. military personnel are stationed at al Udeid in Qatar, the largest U.S. air base in the Middle East and a staging ground for U.S.-led strikes on the Islamic State militant group that has seized parts of Syria and Iraq.

U.S. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson told a Senate committee on Tuesday there was no threat to the base and that U.S. operations continued without interruption.

There are also deep financial and business links between the two countries based on Qatar's leading role as a gas producer.

Ordinary Qataris crowded into supermarkets to stock up on goods, fearing shortages.

Maersk MAERSKb.CO, the world's biggest container shipping line, said it was unable to transport goods in or out of Qatar because it could not take them through the UAE port of Jebel Ali.
Political events in the Bay Area

Candidate fundraiser: The Sister District Project holds a fundraiser with drinks and music to support Cheryl Turpin, Democratic candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates in the 85th District (Virginia Beach). The Sister District Project consists of volunteers who support Democratic state and congressional campaigns in historically red states. The event is from 6-9 p.m. at Spats Berkeley, 1974 Shattuck Ave., Berkeley. For information: http://bit.ly/2ssaHOC.

Health care film: A showing of the 30-minute film Now Is the Time: Healthcare for Everybody, with speaker Sue Bergman, a nurse and supporter of the Healthy California Act, the proposal before the Legislature to create a single-payer health care system. The free event is at 7 p.m. at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, 6250 Village Parkway, Dublin. For information: (925) 462-3459 or flickknight@gmail.com.

Sunday

Sierra Club: The environmental organization is seeking volunteers to help recruit new members and educate people on environmental issues at Sunday Streets, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., in Golden Gate Park. The exact location is to be determined. For information, contact Katherine Howard at sfoceanedge@earthlink.net.

June 17

Ban the bomb: Womens March to Ban the Bomb, in support of U.N. negotiations on a treaty to ban nuclear weapons. Demonstrators will meet at 11:30 a.m. at the corner of El Camino Real and Embarcadero Road in Palo Alto. For information: wilpf.peninsula.paloalto@gmail.com.

Nuclear weapons film: A screening and discussion of The Nuclear Requiem, on the challenges of controlling nuclear weapons. The free, two-hour event starts at 3:30 p.m. at the Los Altos Public Librarys Orchard Room, 13 South San Antonio Road. For information: wilpf.peninsula.paloalto@gmail.com.

June 22

Coal and environment: A free screening of From the Ashes, a National Geographic documentary about coal, followed by a discussion on the environment and climate. The film begins at 7 p.m. at La Pena Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave.,Berkeley. For information: http://nocoalinoakland.info.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 6

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

The Turkish police are carrying out raids at the Ministry of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications to identify supporters of Fethullah Gulen, accused of involvement in the failed July 15, 2016, coup attempt, Turkish media outlets reported.

According to preliminary information, more than 30 ministry employees were detained as part of operation against Gulen supporters.

On July 15, 2016, Turkish authorities said a military coup attempt took place in the country as a group of servicemen announced about transition of power to them. However, the rebelling servicemen started to surrender July 16 and Turkish authorities said the coup attempt failed.

More than 200 people were killed during the attempted coup.
By Lambert Strether of Corrente

Trade

The U.S. signed the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal last year, then decided not to implement it. The 11 other signatories have given themselves until November to decide whether to go ahead anyway. They shouldnt need half that long. The deal as it stands is far better than none [The Editors, Bloomberg].

Politics

Trump Transition

The Commerce Departments Bureau of Industry and Security still has not posted the public comments it received as part of the Section 232 national security probe. A BIS spokesman, first contacted one day before the comment period ended on May 31, said in an email to POLITICO that the submissions should be posted online in the next couple of days. Contacted again on Friday, the spokesman said he expected the documents to be on the BIS website by the end of day' [Politico]. But as of Monday, they still had not been posted. When Morning Trade emailed again to inquire when to expect them, we got an automated reply saying the BIS spokesman was out of the office until June 12. We called the number he left for matters requiring immediate attention and got voicemail. We left a message and will let you know when we hear back. Meanwhile, another public comment deadline in a second Section 232 investigation involving aluminum is looming on June 23, with no indication yet when those comments will go online. This could be a result of the Administrations shall we say lackadaisical attitude toward the press. Or it could be an indicator of structural problems: A combination of demoralized and/or resistant worker bees and unfilled executive slots. Or it could be, I suppose, that somebody needs time to massage the submissions. Reinforcing this, however From overhauling the tax code to releasing an infrastructure package to making decisions on Nafta and the Paris climate agreement, Trump has a common refrain: A big announcement is coming in just two weeks. It rarely does [Bloomberg]. The same structural issue as above, with a different proxy for dysfunction. A third story reinforcing this If this pattern continues, Mr. Trump may find himself running an Administration with no one but his family and the Breitbart staff. People of talent and integrity wont work for a boss who undermines them in public without thinking about the consequences. And whatever happened to the buck stops here? [Wall Street Journal]. Trumps management style needs to scale. If it does not, it will be scaled for him, and not by him. Trumps California Henchmen [Capital and Main]. Californias 14-member Congressional delegation has formed the backbone of Trumps legislative efforts. With House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield leading the delegation, the group has marched largely in lockstep with the Trump agenda, even in districts where Trump priorities like his American Health Care Act might adversely affect large numbers of their constituents. In the 30 votes to date in the new Congress, 10 of Californias Republicans have voted with Trump 100 percent of the time, and even Tom McClintock, the most skeptical of the group, has voted with Trump 90 percent of the time. As a bloc, they swung the health care vote. They have systematically dismantled environmental regulation. And they have been silent on immigration reform and on the border wall with Mexico, and on ramped-up enforcement actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Four top law firms turned down requests to represent Trump [Michael Isikoff, Yahoo News]. The concerns were, The guy wont pay and he wont listen , said one lawyer close to the White House who is familiar with some of the discussions between the firms and the administration, as well as deliberations within the firms themselves. Which strikes me as a sound and simple diagnosis. Shorter: Trump has a big mouth (and, as we find out, its killing him as President, though it didnt as CEO , and Trump brand ambassador generally). In the same way that Clintons coumadin use was, IMNSHO, sufficient to disqualify her, and so by Occams Razor there was no need to go further afield for more baroque medical theories, Trump has a big mouth  to speak loudly and openly in public; to tell secrets  works for me (and perhaps we should be focusing on that, and not his small hands). In fact, Im trying to think of a President with a bigger one, and I really cant. Not even W!

New Cold War

The National Security Agency conducted blanket warrantless surveillance of Salt Lake-area residents during the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, according to a former agency senior executive [Salt Lake City Tribune]. The declaration by Thomas A. Drake contradicts one given earlier this year by the former director of the NSA, Michael Hayden, that said neither the Presidents Surveillance Program (PSP), nor any other NSA intelligence-gathering activity, was involved in indiscriminate and wholesale surveillance in Salt Lake City or other Olympic venues during the 2002 Winter Games. Im filing this story here because of the wierd liberal Democrat tendency to treat the words of intelligence community chiefs as authoritative, when in fact theyre proven liars, with every incentive to lie in this case. Seventeen agencies? 17 * 0 = 0. 17 * 0 = 17! This is how not to leak top secret documents [The Outline] (for example, be aware of printer steganography!) Weirdly, the media focus has shifted to Reality Winner (!) and her crime, not the substance of the leak (or lack thereof). Do Not Trust The Intercept or How To Burn A Source [Moon of Alabama]. And then theres this, from the Intercept. Look at the last bullet on the bottom right: What we know and don't know about the Russian government hacking effort days before the 2016 election. https://t.co/MeqLXphTxC pic.twitter.com/4BrisTmdeS  The Intercept (@theintercept) June 5, 2017 Its unclear why the hackers targeted email accounts associated with the American Samoa absentee ballot system. I dunno. I think an editor should have given consideration to intervening on that one. And (see above) statements like the NSA believes are not confidence builders for me. Anonymous sources in the intelligence community believe all sorts of things, but that theyre telling the truth about their beliefs assumes facts not in evidence, especially considering that the stakes are enormous, and the money available is virtually infinite.

2016 Post Mortem

What Eisenhowers Unsent Letter Reveals About True Leadership [JSTOR Daily]. Before the D-Day landing on June 6th, 1944, Eisenhower, commander of the invasion force, wrote two letters for public consumption. One was released, praising the efforts of the soldiers and sailors who successfully gained a foothold into Nazi-occupied France. The other was not. From the unreleased letter: My decision to attack at this time and place was based upon the best information available. The troops, the air and the Navy did all that bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone Yes, this is the anniversary of D-Day, but I cant help thinking theres a subtext here

2017

GA-06: Jon Ossoff has become the face of the Lefts resistance against Donald Trump [National Journal]. Thats the lead, which author Ally Mutnick was paid to write.

2020

Former Vice President Biden to headline Romney summit [Desert News]. Because if there s one thing the American people and the Democratic base want, its centrist bipartisanship! If the past 25 years of Democratic presidential nomination contests are any guide, the process for 2020 will follow a familiar pattern: One candidate will dominate the Deep South and walk away with the nod, and everyone else will whine about how they got screwed by the party establishment [Bloomberg]. The truth is, while recent party nominees John Kerry, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton hailed from large urban areas, its the Deep South that ultimately anointed them. Going back to 1992, seven states have voted for the Democratic Partys eventual nominee every time  Illinois and Missouri in the Midwest; Virginia; and the four Southern states of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. If John Edwards hadnt won his home turf of North and South Carolina in 2004, we could add those two to the list. Washington, D.C., has a perfect record as well. This isnt a fluke. Not counting superdelegates, the Democratic Partys nomination process awards delegates on a proportional basis. As a result, blowouts count for a lot, while narrow victories count for little more than bragging rights. The common denominators of these Southern states are their large black populations and racially polarized electorates. A food sovereignty law in Maine moved one step closer to reality after the state House and Senate approved a bill giving towns and communities the authority to enact ordinances regulating local food and water distribution free from state control [Bangor Daily News].

Realignment and Legitimacy

UPDATE Was Berniecrats choice to lead California Democrats cheated out of the chairmanship? [Sacramento Bee]. Ellis team alleges hundreds of ballots have corresponding signatures that dont match the credential sign-in signatures, or are missing, and said it found multiple documented instances of duplicate voting  described as a person voting as a proxy, or someone who casts a vote on behalf of another, on more than one ballot. They further charge that several individuals who served as proxies were not listed in a commonly used political database as registered Democrats. Ellis six-page document comes as a growing number of party activists, including supporters of her opponent [surprise!], are calling for her to step aside and concede the race, many in the name of party unity as Democrats lay the foundation for the 2018 elections. Its certainly odd that those calling for unity arent calling for the little matter of a clean vote to be handled first. Youd think theyd want that, right? Why We ALL Need to Be Activists Right Now [Lauren Duca, Teen Vogue]. Inaugurates a new Op-Ed column, Thigh High Politics. This is good: Way too many Americans think about politics in the way of the Olympics  like its some big event that happens every few years, all but forgotten until the ad campaigns start up again. Thats unacceptable from an intellectual perspective and also a practical one. America the idea wasnt magically complete because a bunch of white dudes in wigs wrote their names in fountain pen. The Declaration of Independence was always intended as a beginning, the formation of a dynamic entity that requires input, participation, and occasionally protest. The past few months spike in political action has been painted as radical, but it should be closer to a core requirement for daily life in this country. Or, a bit less romantically, if America wants to be exceptional, we need to stop treating democracy like a self-cleaning litter box. But Duca then goes on to recommend resources for activism and further reading: Clintonite identity politics second-rater Joan Walsh, the Times, the Post, and Michael Moores Resistance Calendar. Ask the usual question: What does victory look like? To some in the resistance, like revolution. To others, like reformation restoration. Id put Teen Vogue firmly on the restoration side. On the Massachusetts Democrat convention just past: Eventually, the journey resulted in a platform that is among the most progressive ever passed by a state party. Its likely the most progressive platform by a major party in the nations history, period. It calls for single-payer healthcare, a $15 minimum wage, paid family leave, forgiveness of student loan debt, a ranked-choice voting system, an independent commission to draw the states congressional districts, the abolition of Massachusetts superdelegates, an end to for-profit prisons, a carbon tax, more accountability for police officers who use excessive force, and more [In These Times]. There were about 750 delegates organized by [Our Revolution] at the convention, out of more than 4,500 registered delegates. In April and May, many of them attended meetings devoted to drafting the partys platform. In part because of that work, the platform draft called for single-payer healthcare and a $15 minimum wage. But OR and other progressive delegates [including the DSA] wanted it to go much further.. .. [E]arly Saturday morning, activists presented a stack of petitionscalling for votes on their proposed amendmentsto party officials. They delivered them by wheeling a stack of documents, several feet tall, on a bellhops luggage cart through a series of hallways and about eight freight elevators, says Andrew Shelton, a delegate and member of Young Democratic Socialists. Then we showed up at the desk, and people had no idea what we were doing. Because it had never been done before.' Thats the stuff to give the troops! President Donald Trumps poll numbers have turned negative in military communities and exurbs amid a broader overall slide, a poll analysis finds, but other community types are more stable [Wall Street Journal]. Uh-oh

Stats Watch

Gallup US Economic Confidence Index, May 2017: While Americans confidence in the economy remains stronger than it was before the 2016 presidential election, it is not as strong as it was earlier this year. Though still historically high, confidence in the economy declined to a six-month low in May, largely dragged down by Democrats worsening economic attitudes [Econoday]. [I]ndependents economic ratings have also dipped in recent months. After peaking at plus 5 in January, independents index score fell into negative territory in April, when it averaged minus 1. It remained negative in May with the score reaching minus 3. Even as some Americans become more pessimistic about the economy overall, attitudes about the economys current conditions have been relatively stable. 

JOLTS, April 2017: Job openings are nearly 1 million ahead of hirings in a widening spread pointing to skill scarcity in the labor market [Econoday]. The gap between openings and hiring first opened up about 2 years ago signaling that employers are having a hard time finding people with the right skills. Todays report offers confirmation that demand for labor, in distinction to hiring, is a chief feature of the economy. Remember on-the-job training? Good times. And: JOLTS had been showing little year-over-year job openings growth. Historically, this indicates weaker employment growth. This month both employment and JOLTS job openings year-over-year growth improved. This aligns with Econintersects Employment Index which is forecasting improving employment gains [Econintersect]. And: Job openings are at a new series high. The number of job openings (yellow) are up 7% year-over-year. Quits are up 4 year-over-year. These are voluntary separations [Calculated Risk]. This is another solid report.

Debt: Household Debt Service Payments as a Percent of Disposable Personal Income [Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis].

Retail: Talk of the demise of the shopping mall may be overdone, according to Fitch Ratings, which on Monday took a neutral stance on retail REITS, or real estate investment trusts, the entities that own and manage malls and rent space to tenants [MarketWatch]. But Fitch is upbeat that bricks-and-mortar stores will continue to exist and attract shoppers, despite the inroads made by Amazon into just about every category. The ratings agency expects that about 70% of retail sales will still take place in a physical store in 2020, down from 80% today. Consumers by and large still enjoy shopping as a leisure activity, plus a significant portion of online sales are connected with a store visit, Fitch Managing Director Steven Marks wrote in the first issue of the agencys new Equity REIT Handbook.

Commodities: DeepGreen is one of a handful of private companies that have succeeded in obtaining licences from the International Seabed Authority (ISA) to a reserved area of the Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ) of the East Pacific Ocean. Others big name players interested in the space include China Minmetals, Lockheed Martin, and DEME Group [Mining.com]. DeepGreen has two exploration licenses in the CCZ, known to host a massive resource of high grade polymetallic nodules since the 1870s. These nodules are rich in nickel, copper, manganese, cobalt, and other important rare earth minerals, amounting to a copper equivalent grade of over 7%. From an environmental standpoint, DeepGreen is aiming for zero tailings generation, with the potential for this to be a step change for the minerals industry.. Maybe. The corporate hagiography at the start of the story is amusing.

Commodities: Russia is expecting to export about 36m tonnes of grains in the forthcoming season, which runs from July to June, lower than previous assumptions [Lloyds List].

Shipping: At least four Middle East countries severed diplomatic and some economic ties with Qatar on Monday, including sea and air routes, triggering a wave of panic among ship brokers and other market participants [Lloyds List].

Shipping: Less-than-truckload (LTL) carrier Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. said today that daily tonnage in May rose 5.8 percent from May 2016, due almost exclusively to a 5.7-percent year-to-year gain in shipment count. Weight per shipment rose a scant 0.1 percent year over year, Thomasville, N.C.-based Old Dominion said [DC Velocity]. David S. Congdon, Old Dominions vice chairman and CEO, said the May results, coupled with good April tonnage figures, reflect an improving domestic economy. They may also reflect a trend toward more lighter-weight shipments that are generated by online orders.

Corruption: A new survey found that Chief Compliance and Ethics Officers are struggling to effectively aggregate and analyze data due in part to outdated technology and a lack of available tools at their disposal [The FCPA Blog].

Political Risk: Recent economic data from around the world suggest that growth could now accelerate. And yet one cannot rule out the possibility that the current expansion will turn into another global slowdown  if not an outright stall  if some downside risks materialize. For example, markets have clearly been too bullish on Trump. The U.S. president wont be able to pass any of the radical growth policies he has proposed; and any policy changes that he does make will have a limited impact. Contrary to what the administrations budget projections claim, annual economic growth in the U.S. has almost no chance of accelerating from 2% to 3% [Nouriel Roubini, MarketWatch]. At the same time, markets have underestimated the risks of Trumps policy proposals. For example, the administration could still pursue protectionist measures that would precipitate a trade war, and it has already imposed migration restrictions that will likely reduce growth, by eroding the labor supply. Moreover, Trump might continue to engage in corporatist micromanagement, which would disrupt the private sectors investment, employment, production, and pricing decisions. And his fiscal-policy proposals would provide excessive stimulus to an economy that is already close to full employment.

The Fed: Following Fridays weaker than expected US employment report, futures markets are still indicating over a 95% chance that the Fed Funds rate will be increased next week. There were no comments from Fed officials ahead of the blackout period, which strongly suggests that there will be a move to tighten on June 14th [Economic Calendar]. Even if rates are increased, however, there will be a very strong debate within the FOMC over future policy direction.

Five Horsemen: GOOGL joins AMZN in the 1000-plus club [Hat tip, Jim Haygood].

Todays Fear & Greed Index: 55 Neutral (previous close: 58, Greed) [CNN]. One week ago: 53 (Neutral). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed. Last updated Jun 6 at 2:11pm

Health Care

Economic Analysis of the Healthy California Single-Payer Health Care Proposal (SB-562) (PDF) [Robert Pollin, University of Massachusetts]. We estimate that, through implementation of Healthy California, overall costs of providing full health care coverage to all Californians could fall by about 18 percent relative to spending levels under the existing system. There will be two broad areas of cost saving under Healthy California. The first is a set of structural changes in the areas of: 1) administration; 2) pharmaceutical pricing; and 3) fee structures for service providers. We estimate that cost savings in the range of 13 percent of total costs are achievable through structural changes in these areas.

Nevada, with little fanfare or notice, is inching toward a massive health insurance expansion  one that would give the states 2.8 million residents access to a public health insurance option [Sarah Kliff, Vox]. Understand the history here: The so-called public option magic sparkle pony always appears when single payer gains traction, and then disappears again when its work of distraction is done. This has been true for every single payer effort, including 2009s. So, with this background, its really not surprising that Kliff would tweet: Nevadas Medicaid-for-all bill seems like a more realistic path towards universal coverage than CAs single payer (even though Nevada has a Republican governor) or that Ezra Klein would tweet that the public option is a radical plan. Putting the wonkocrats aside, however, this is more than a little distressing:

As everyone predicted, the fight for a single payer solution begins in Nevada https://t.co/C9tmZ9JY5q  David Dayen (@ddayen) June 6, 2017

Remarkably, with begins in Nevada, Dayen manages to erase the already-started single payer efforts in California (see above at SB-562), while simultaneously insulting both Californias National Nurses United, who are driving that effort and would doubtless be very surprised to learn that the single Nevada legislator, by introducing what has always been a bad faith competitor to single payer, started anything, besides insulting the many, many organizations, among them PNHP and HCAN, whove worked tirelessly to bring the merits of single payer before the public. Starts here, forsooth.

Guillotine Watch

Harvard Business Schools celebrity students are dropping up to $100,000 for seminars [Moneyish].

One Philadelphia teenagers mom took his prom to the extreme, spending $25,000 on a camel, three tons of sand and exotic cars. He brought three dates , all in custom-made gowns, and wore three different outfits himself [AP].

Voucher Program Helps Well-Off Vermonters Pay for Prep School at Public Expense [Pro Publica].

Class Warfare

I was walking the dog last week in a South Pasadena park when I glanced at a man and woman having breakfast at a picnic table [Los Angeles Times].

Id seen them before; this time I said hello. Margaret and her son Chris told me they live in their car. Were lucky, said Margaret, who asked that I not use her last name. Weve got income, and weve got the car. Theres a lot of people who are suffering and dont have that. Thats kind of how things are going in Los Angeles. Rents have risen while pay remains flat, the homeless population is growing, and some folks consider themselves fortunate to live in a car.

Katie Orzehowski says her miscarriage last fall almost cost her a job [New York Times] (full report). A cashier at the Walmart in North Huntingdon, Pa., Ms. Orzehowski said she tried to use doctors notes and hospitalization records to excuse her missed shifts, to no avail. Worried that another absence would get her fired, she went back to work. I still had a lot of bleeding going on, and thats embarrassing, Ms. Orzehowski, 26, said. Great labor market. Best economy ever!

Climate Science Meets a Stubborn Obstacle: Students [New York Times]. The article takes the teachers perspective  not a bad thing, since the teacher is IMNSHO doing good work  but heres the climate that matters to students in Wellston, OH:

At Wellston, where most students live below the poverty line and the needle-strewn bike path that abuts the marching bands practice field is known as heroin highway, climate change is not regarded as the most pressing issue. And since most Wellston graduates typically do not go on to obtain a four-year college degree, this may be the only chance many of them have to study the impact of global warming.

Where to begin

News of the Wired

To explain natural time, physicists and philosophers back eternalism, according to which the past, present and future are all equally real. There is absolutely nothing particularly special about the present: under eternalism now is to time as here is to space, writes [neuroscientist Dean Buonomano] [The New Scientist]. The other main explanation of natural time is presentism, according to which only the present moment is real  a view that tallies with our sense of subjective time. The past is gone, the future hasnt happened yet. Neuroscientists are implicitly presentists, says Buonomano. But despite its intuitive appeal, presentism is the underdog in physics and philosophy.'

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Readers, feel free to contact me with (a) links, and even better (b) sources I should curate regularly, and (c) to find out how to send me images of plants. Vegetables are fine! Fungi are deemed to be honorary plants! See the previous Water Cooler (with plant) here.

And heres todays plant (WW):

I like the signage

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Yves here. I must confess that I have not read the underlying papers. However, I have every reason to think this summary is accurate. And if so, I see two shortcomings with this analysis and I welcome reactions from readers, particularly those familiar with that debate (or alternatively, the economy of Miami)

One is it does not appear to allow at all for macro trends. The immigrants arrived in 1980, the depth of a very nasty recession. Thus the extra workers were picked up in the vigorous and sustained economic upswing after it ended. The second is whether Miami can be treated as a discrete economy. How many low-end jobs are there with local employers who would and could drop pay, versus ones like McDonalds and national hotel chains which wouldnt?

By Silvia Merler, currently an Affiliate Fellow at Bruegel and previously an Economic Analyst in DG Economic and Financial Affairs of the European Commission. Originally published at Bruegel

Whats at stake: how does immigration affect the wages of local workers? One way to answer this question is by exploiting a natural experiment. The Mariel boatlift of 1980 constituted an ideal experiment  bringing a sudden and large increase of low-skilled workers in just one city  but results are still hotly debated.

In 1980, 125,000 mostly low-skill immigrants arrived in Miami from Mariel Bay, Cuba (Mariel Boatlift) in the space of a few months. In 1990, David Card investigated the effects of the boatlift on the Miami labour market. The Mariel immigrants increased Miami labour force by 7%, and the labour supply to less-skilled occupations and industries by even more, because most of the immigrants were unskilled. Nevertheless, Card concluded that the Mariel influx had virtually no effect on the wages or unemployment rates of less-skilled workers, even among Cubans who had immigrated earlier. Card suggested that the ability of Miamis labour market to rapidly absorb the Mariel immigrants was owing to its adjustment to other previous large waves of immigrants.

Source: Borjas (2015)

Ethan Lewis evaluates two explanations for Cards result: (1), whether after the boatlift Miami increased its production of unskilled-intensive manufactured goods, allowing it to export the impact of the boatlift; and (2) whether Miami adapted to the boatlift by implementing new skill-complementary technologies more slowly than they otherwise would have. Lewis results suggest that wages are consistently found to be insensitive to local immigration shocks because markets adapt production technology to local factor supplies. Bodvarsson et al. argue that one reason immigration has no evident negative effect on the wages of locals is that immigrants as consumers contribute to the demand for their services. They model an economy where workers spend their wages on a locally produced good, then test it via a reexamination of the Mariel Boatlift and find strong evidence that the Boatlift augmented labour demand.

In 2015, George Borjas published the first version of a paper that was overturning completely the results of the previous literature on the Mariel supply shock. Borjas argued that any credible attempt to measure the wage impact must match the skills of the immigrants with those of the pre-existing workers. At least 60 percent of the Marielitos were high school dropouts, and specifically examining wages in this low-skill group suggests that Mariel did affect Miamis wage structure. The wage of high school dropouts in Miami dropped dramatically, by 10 to 30 percent (depending on which control placebo groups is employed).

Source: Borjas (2015)

In 2015, Peri and Yasenov re-examined the wage and employment effect of the Mariel Boatlift, by using a synthetic control method to choose a control group for Miami so as to best match its labour market features in the eight years before the Boatlift. Analysing wages and unemployment rates they found no significant departure between Miami and its control from 1980 to 1983.

Source: Peri and Yasenov

Peri and Yasenov also replicate Borjas results (figure above), and find that a large negative deviation of wages of high school dropouts in Miami arise only when using the March Current Population Survey data. Moreover, the deviation is significant only in a sub-sample obtained by eliminating women, non-Cuban Hispanics and selecting a short age range (25-59 years old) among high school dropouts. These very drastic choices leave the sample in Miami as small as 15-20 observations per year and measurement error in average Miami wages can be in the order of 20-30% for such sample. They argue that these restrictions are problematic because they eliminate groups of workers on which the effect of Mariel should have been particularly strong. They show that by adjusting Borjas sample to include these sub-groups of high school dropouts or looking at alternative outcomes, the post 1979 Miami-control differences vary widely (negative to zero to positive) if using March-CPS data.

Borjas answered with a second paper, intended to isolate the source of the conflicting results. He argued that the main reasons for divergence are that Peri and Yasenov calculate wage trends in a pooled sample of men and women, but ignore the contaminating effect of increasing female labour force participation. They also include non-Cuban Hispanics in the analysis, but ignore that at least a third of those Hispanics are foreign-born and arrived in the 1980s. Lastly, they include workers aged 16-18 in the sample. Because almost all of those workers are still enrolled in high school and lack a high school diploma, this very large population of high school students is systematically misclassified as high school dropouts. Borjas argues that this is a fundamental error in data construction, which contaminates the analysis and helps hide the true effect of the Mariel supply shock.

More recently, Clemens and Hunt argues that the discrepancy between Cards, Borjass, and Peri and Yasenovs analyses of the Mariel Boatlift can be explained by a sudden change in the race composition of the data they all use, i.e. the Current Population Survey (CPS). This survey happens every month; and two datasets taken from the CPS also report workers wages (the March Supplement and the Outgoing Rotation Group, ORG). Clemens and Hunt point out that in 1980, the CPS survey methods was improved to cover more low-skill black men, which had been undercounted previously. Starting in the 1981 CPS, survey coverage of lower-skill black men shifted to include relatively more black men with less-than-high-school, and relatively fewer black men who completed high school (see figure below).

Source: Clemens and Hunt (2017)

So in 1980, coinciding exactly with the Boatlift, the fraction of non-Hispanic blacks suddenly doubled in the subgroup of Miami workers with less-than-high-school analysed by Borjas (2017). No such increase occurs in the subgroup of natives with high-school-or-less analysed by Card (1990) in the same dataset, nor in the control cities favored by either Card or Borjas. Clemens and Hunt argue that due to the large wage divergence between black and non-black workers with less than high school, this sharp shift from majority non-black in 1979 to majority black in 1980 and almost entirely black by 1985 can account entirely for the magnitude of the effect measured by Borjas (2017) relative to the null result of Card (1990). The wage drop identified by Borjas would therefore be entirely spurious. Borjas methodological response and Clemens and Hunt methodological counter-response can be found here and here, respectively.
Anam Cara, the organisation that supports bereaved parents, is hosting its monthly meeting for bereaved parents on Monday, June 19, from 7.30pm to 9pm in the Horse & Jockey Hotel, Thurles, Co Tipperary.

The meeting offers parents a safe and comfortable setting where they can connect with other bereaved parents who will understand the depth of their loss and grief.

A bereaved mother speaking about the benefits of Anam Cara meetings said: Nothing is normal after the death of a child and it never will be again. Anam Cara helps. People may say that after, for example, two years you should just be able to pull up your socks and get on with it, but life is not like that when you lose a child. There is no timeline for getting over grief, its a continuous, daily thing. I would encourage any bereaved parents to come along. I know that anything that is unknown is often really scary, however, it's important people know there is no pressure or onus on anyone to talk at the meetings, just being there can help.

Anam Cara CEO Sharon Vard stressed that this event is open to all bereaved parents regardless of the age your child died, the circumstances of their death or whether the death was recent or not.

Anam Cara have also produced an Information Pack for bereaved parents containing seven booklets on topics such as A Dads Grief, Coping with Sudden Death and Supporting My Family.

Likewise, a series of short videos with testimonies from bereaved parents who attend the Anam Cara groups can be viewed at anamcara.ie/videos. For more information or to order a free copy of the Information Pack, you can emailinfo@anamcara.ie or ring their Information Line on 085 2888 888.
The President of the GAA Aogan O Fearghail will make his first official visit to Clonmel on June 30th to mark the 40th anniversary celebrations of the South Board GAA centre.

It will be a great honour to welcome the GAA president to Clonmel on his first official visit to the town and we are very proud that he is coming to celebrate the vision of the people responsible for the establish ment of the centre forty years ago said Sean Nugent, former county and south board chairman and organiser of the celebrations.

The celebrations to mark the special anniversary started on Monday night with a challenge U 21 game between Tipperary and Cork with William Maher's charges registering a win. .

On this coming Thursday 8th of June at 8 pm, the South Tipperary G.A.A Centre will host a function under the auspices of the South Tipp G.A.A Board to mark the founding of the board on the 8th June 110 years ago in Clonmel. The function will involve a short talk by the author of the South Boards history Micheal O Meara on the history of those early years. Sean Nugent will follow with a talk on the life and times of Martin Brennan from Ballingarry who was the first secretary of the Board.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was honoured by the Atlantic Council on Monday (5 June 2017) with a Distinguished International Leadership Award for his service both as Secretary General and as Prime Minister of Norway. At the awards ceremony in Washington DC, the Secretary General called on Europe and North America to ''keep our Alliance strong.''

Mr. Stoltenberg stressed the importance of the transatlantic bond in keeping Allies safe for almost seven decades: "Thats what NATO is all about. Our Article 5 commitment: one for all and all for one." The Secretary General added that Montenegro had made that commitment earlier in the day, by joining NATOs transatlantic family as the 29th Ally. He underlined that this unique bond cannot be taken for granted and welcomed that Allies commitment to NATO can be seen not only in words, but also in deeds. "The US is increasing its military presence in Europe, and Europe and Canada are investing more in defence. We may be an ocean apart, but we are also the closest of Allies," he said.

The Secretary General also congratulated Admiral Michelle Howard, Commander of NATOs Allied Joint Force Command Naples and US Naval Forces Europe and Africa, as well as the other honourees receiving the Distinguished International Leadership Award from the Atlantic Council this year: Her Royal Highness Haya Bint Al Hussein, William Ford Jr, and Renee Fleming.

Every year, the Atlantic Council hosts a distinguished international leadership award ceremony to honour leaders who serve as pillars of the transatlantic community. This award is the highest honour granted by the Atlantic Council. Previous recipients include Ban Ki-moon, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush,Tony Blair and Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

The Secretary General concluded his visit to Washington DC with meetings with senior US lawmakers on Capitol Hill, both in the House and the Senate.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 6

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

The leader of Turkeys oppositional Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Devlet Bahceli welcomed the German Air Forces withdrawal from the Incirlik Air Base.

Addressing the MHP members in Ankara, Bahceli noted that Germany for some reason doesnt take into account the importance of relations with Turkey, and openly supports the adherents of the Fethullah Gulen movement and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) terrorist group.

The withdrawal of the German Air Force from the Incirlik Air Base is a belated step, Bahceli stressed.

Earlier, Germany decided to withdraw its Air Force from the Incirlik Air Base in Turkey.

The move came after Turkey blocked a group of German lawmakers from visiting the servicemen at the Incirlik Air Base prompting German Chancellor Angela Merkel to suggest that Berlin may consider moving 250 troops stationed at the Air Base to one of the neighboring countries.

In turn, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said a possible withdrawal of the German Air Force contingent from the Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey poses no problem for Ankara.

Planes of the US-led coalition members, which participate in air operations against the so-called Islamic State (IS aka ISIS/ISIL) terrorist group, are stationed at the Incirlik Air Base.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
(Natural News) When a partial meltdown struck the Three Mile Island nuclear generating station near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in March 1979, the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission tried to downplay the incident. Much like the officials involved in the Fukushima meltdown, they said at the time that the radiation released into the environment was only in small amounts and had no detectable health effects. However, researchers have finally shown a correlation between the Three Mile Island meltdown and cases of thyroid cancer in the surrounding counties.

In a study led by surgery professor Dr. David Goldenberg of Penn State College of Medicine, researchers examined tumor samples from people who lived near Three Mile Island when the incident took place and continued to live there afterward and eventually went on to develop thyroid cancer. The areas in question were in York, eastern Cumberland, western Lebanon, Lancaster, and Dauphin counties. In total, they looked at 44 patients treated at Penn State Healths Milton S. Hershey Medical Center for papillary thyroid cancer, the most common type, in the years from 1974 to 2014.

Researchers divided the participants into groups depending on their risk level, with those who developed the cancer between 1984 and 1996 considered to be at risk because this corresponds to the latency period for radiation-induced thyroid cancer. Those who developed cancer outside of that period were used as controls.

In their study, they noted a clear shift from cancer mutations from random causes to those consistent with exposure to radiation. Thyroid cancer caused by radiation exposure has changes in its molecular makeup that distinguish it from sporadic thyroid cancer.

The BRAF mutation, which is not typically present in radiation-induced thyroid cancer, was found in 83 percent of patients in the control group and just 53 percent of those in the at-risk group. Those in the at-risk group also had an increase in other molecular markers that are normally seen in thyroid cancer induced by radiation.

According to the study, these observations are consistent with those in other populations that were exposed to radiation. An extensive vetting process was used to ensure the patients lived in the at-risk counties at the time of the incident and in the years afterward.

Anecdotal evidence prompted study

Dr. Goldenberg told USA Today that he was inspired to carry out the study after hearing anecdotal evidence of a connection, saying: Im always wary when people say, Theres nothing to see here.

He added, however, that even though Pennsylvania leads the nation in thyroid cancer cases, most cases are not related to Three Mile Island. While he said his results definitely show a correlation, it isnt quite conclusive given the number of patients involved. Next, the researchers are hoping to examine tumor samples from patients from other regional hospitals to see if the pattern holds up.

These findings and any follow-up research could prompt a slew of lawsuits. In 1996, a U.S. District Judge ruled there was insufficient evidence linking radiation from the plant to the health problems experienced by a group of around 2,000 people in a class action lawsuit.

Nuclear plant set to close

These days, the Three Mile Island nuclear plant is no longer profitable. It has lost $300 million over the last five years, and it recently failed to get a contract to sell the electricity produced there on the power grid for the third year in a row. Reuters reports that the company that owns the plant, Exelon Corp, recently announced it will close the plant down in 2019, but thats far too late for the people whose health has been ruined by exposure to its radiation.

Sources:

ScienceDaily.com

Reuters.com

USAToday.com

YDR.com
(Natural News) On 30 June 2015, Governor Jerry Brown of California signed the most restrictive vaccine mandate in the country. That law  Senate Bill 277  went into effect on 1 July 2016, forcing every child in California to receive 40 doses of 10 different vaccines. Those who did not comply would forfeit their right to a free education in both public and private schools, and would have to be home schooled. As punishment for not toeing the government line, they would also be refused admittance to daycare facilities, preschools and after school programs. The bill is open-ended, meaning the state can add additional vaccinations to the schedule as and when they see fit.

The absolute ridiculousness of this law has been made evident by a recent outbreak of mumps in Los Angeles County, California. Over 40 people in the area  mostly gay men, or women who have social links to gay men  have been diagnosed with the disease, forcing public health officials to declare an outbreak on the first day of June. They have also issued an alert warning physicians and healthcare providers to be on the lookout for other possible cases. Seven men were diagnosed with mumps in a separate outbreak back in March.

Mumps most often spreads among those living in the same environment, or where many people gather, like in bars, gyms and theaters.

A major factor contributing to outbreaks of mumps is being in a crowded environment, notes the alert. Also, certain behaviors that result in exchanging saliva, such as kissing or sharing utensils, cups, lipstick or cigarettes, may increase the spread of the virus.

It is not clear from news reports why the outbreak seems to be focused in the gay community; certainly, there is no reason to suppose that gay men are the most likely demographic to visit nightclubs, theaters, gyms or bars. It would seem that some other common behavior is the likely trigger.

Now here comes the interesting part. According to the alert, The majority of cases have had no documentation of complete vaccination; however, some cases were fully vaccinated [emphasis edded].

This is by no means an isolated occurrence. In recent years there have been outbreaks of another infectious disease, measles, all over the country, and yet in every incident, many if not all those affected had dutifully received their MMR vaccine  the vaccine which supposedly protects against measles, mumps and rubella. In a 2014 outbreak in New York, for example, only two of the 20 victims had not been vaccinated. In other words, the vaccine failed in 90 percent of those who were supposed to have been protected by it. [RELATED: Discover the truth at Vaccines.news]

What is conveniently omitted from many media reports about outbreaks, including the most recent mumps outbreak in California, is the fact that it is not the unvaccinated who spread these diseases, but instead it is often those who have just been vaccinated by a process known as shedding.

In the days immediately following vaccination, children and others who have been vaccinated are carriers of the live virus and expose those around them to the very disease theyre supposedly now protected against. This is borne out by the fact that women are advised to wait three months after receiving the MMR vaccine before falling pregnant, as the virus can be spread to a fetus during that time period.

Heres a theory: What if shedding from all those children dutifully receiving their vaccines since July last year have been responsible for the spikes in mumps and measles cases in California? Of course, neither the media nor the medical community would ever admit to that. But its an interesting possibility, isnt it?

Sources:

DailyNews.com

SB277.org

NaturalNews.com
A study published by the Cornell University Library discusses when will artificial intelligence (AI) exceed and beat humans. The report includes a large survey of machine learning researchers about their beliefs on the progress of AI.

The integration of human and robots is undeniable today. Reports say that there's a 50 percent chance for AI or robots to beat humans in 45 years or in 2060. This was based on a survey conducted with more than 350 artificial intelligence researchers as respondents. But businessman and artificial intelligence enthusiast Elon Musk beg to disagree. He said AI might beat humans earlier than that.

This is because artificial intelligence (AI) is expected to master many intellectual activities and commands sooner. By 2024, AI could be better than humans when it comes to translating languages. By 2026, they could exceed humans when it comes to high-school essays, and by 2027, AI could be better than humans in driving trucks.

Based on the survey, AI or robots could be working for retail stores by 2031. By 2049, they could be writing a bestselling book and might even be able to autonomously perform surgeries by the year 2053. Respondents also believe that in the next 120 years, all human jobs will be automated. The survey was conducted by the University of Oxford and Yale University.

The result obviously has "far-reaching" social consequences according to Katja Grace from the Machine Intelligence Research Institute in Berkeley, California. Aside from the chances of AI beating humans in 2060, the respondents believe that there is only a 5 percent chance of computers bringing humans to extinction. They believe humans will still be present to deal with AI issues in the future.

"There is accumulating evidence that machines can overpower human intelligence in complex, though specific tasks," Eleni Vasilaki from the University of Sheffield in the U.K. said in a statement. "But there is little evidence that AI with human-like versatility will appear anytime soon."

Although anyone can foresee that AI may beat humans in the future when it comes to human tasks, businessman, SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk believes it could be earlier than that. The business tycoon also funded his own OpenAI gym to help developers train their robots and artificial intelligence systems.

"Probably closer to 2030 to 2040 IMO. 2060 would be a linear extrapolation, but progress is exponential," Elon Musk said in a Tweet in response to New Scientist's post about how AI will beat humans in 2060.

Today, many AI systems already outperform humans but are only good at one task. Experts say they will be useless in some aspects unless retrained.
President Donald Trump is pushing an ambitious plan to privatize air traffic control, which he said will modernize a system reliant on decades-old technology and reduce delays for the flying public.

Sources who spoke to NBC Bay Area said the plan could help provide a more reliable funding source for air traffic control but worry nearly one-third of the countrys certified controllers could opt to retire with little warning if they dont like what they see. That could cripple an industry already facing major labor shortages.

Today were proposing to take American air travel in the future  finally, finally, Trump said standing in front of transportation officials and airline executives.

The presidents plan would remove air traffic control duties from the Federal Aviation Administration and turn them over to a private nonprofit company. Trump called the Obama administrations efforts to modernize the air traffic control system a failure, saying the $7 billion it spent on upgrades was a total waste of money.

After billions and billions of tax dollars spent and the many years of delays, were still stuck with an ancient, broken, antiquated, horrible system that doesnt work, Trump said.

The idea to privatize air traffic control is not new, according to sources in the aviation industry. Its been kicked around the halls of Washington for decades as a way of taking air traffic control out of Congresss hands, which currently funds the system each year.

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) released a statement saying it wants to see a stable, predictable funding stream" for the National Airspace System.

Aviation sources say privatization could help with that, but they also urge caution.

The union wants its workforce protected from salary and pension cuts, and the presidents plan could run into trouble if air traffic controllers dont like what they see.

Bay Area NATCA representative Scott Conde told NBC Bay Area last fall theres already a critical shortage of air traffic controllers.

Were at an all-time low for certified controllers, Conde said. So its a lot of six-day weeks, a lot of overtime on the front or end of your shift.

But sources tell the Investigative Unit staffing shortages could get even worse if privatization threatens the pay or pensions of controllers. Nearly a third of all certified controllers are eligible to retire right now and could leave with very little notice, which would likely cripple the nations aviation system.

Some critics, such as the advocacy group In the Public Interest, called the plan a corporate giveaway that would cede control to the large commercial airlines.

Like all public goods  water, roads, national parks  our nations skies should be under our control, not in the hands of a few corporations, Executive Director Donald Cohen said in a statement. The current publicly operated system  the safest in the world  needs more public investment, not private control.

Executives from many commercial airlines, including United, Hawaiian, American and Southwest, were on hand for Trumps announcement and support his privatization plan. Delta Airlines, however, opposes the privatization of air traffic control. In a 2016 study, the company argued privatization would lead to price hikes for the public.

The Government Accountability Office also released a study in 2016 looking at the potential impact of privatizing air traffic control. The report found there needs to be a more stable funding structure for air traffic control than currently exists but also could not guarantee that a private corporation would speed up efforts to modernize the nations current system. The study also warned a private system would need to be able to effectively collaborate with the Department of Defense on issues of national security.
A solemn procession was held Monday for a 29-year-old firefighter who died after a fall during a training exercise in downtown Los Angeles over the weekend.

The firefighter, identified Monday by the Los Angeles Fire Department as Kelly Wong, fell from an aerial ladder at about 10 a.m. Saturday during the exercise in the 300 block of South Main Street in downtown Los Angeles. He was an "accomplished individual" who had just started a promising career with the department, the LAFD chief said.

Wong, survived by his wife and infant son, was rushed in critical condition to a hospital. The fire department announced the death Monday morning.

Wong was a two-year veteran of the department assigned to Station 92 in Rancho Park. He was set for transfer to Station 9 in downtown Los Angeles this month.

"I join the men and women of the LAFD in mourning Firefighter Wong's sudden passing," said LAFD Chief Ralph Terrazas. "It is always a tragedy to lose one of our own, especially an accomplished individual who was still at the beginning of what was certainly going to be a promising career."

During a morning procession to the coroner's office, colleagues, family members and hospital staff members gathered outside LA County USC Medical Center to honor the firefighter. A coroner's van carried his flag-draped body from the hospital, passing under a U.S. flag suspended from the ladders of two fire trucks.

Overcome with grief, Wong's wife kneeled next to the casket. The couple was about to celebrate their child's first birthday.



Rows of firefighters lined the exit from the hospital and saluted as the van passed.

Wong graduated from the LAFD Recruit Academy on Terminal Island in August 2015. He was the top academic performer in his class.

"Kelly's dream since he was a little boy was to be a firefighter," Terrazas said. "His mother, Ann, shared that story with me that Kelly liked to play with fire trucks growing up. He applied with several departments, but he wanted to work for the best. He wanted to work for the Los Angeles Fire Department. And he accomplished his goal."

Mayor Eric Garcetti's eyes watered and his voice broke as he talked about Wong's death and his young son, saying the boy will have "a lot of uncles and aunts" looking over him.

"This department and this city will ensure that he grows up with a life of love and knowing what a hero his father was," Garcetti said. "So I'm here to represent 4 million grateful souls today."

Terrazas echoed that sentiment, describing the immediate outpouring of support that came from fellow firefighters and people across the city. The chief added that the type of training in which Wong was killed will continue.

"When Kelly was injured, the crew at Fire Station 9 was training, and I always tell our people that the first thing, the most important thing that we do is respond to emergencies," he said. "The second most important thing we do is train to respond to emergencies. We will continue to train whether it be for a high-rise fire, a brush fire, a medical event, whatever incident type it is, we will continue to train to be ready so we can protect the people of this great city."

The LAFD, in conjunction with state safety agencies, is conducting an investigation into the circumstances of the death.

Memorial services for Wong are pending.
A 43-year-old grandmother was arrested in a stabbing attack that left one of her grandchildren dead and two other family members hospitalized.

Nicole Darrington Clark, 42, was arrested Tuesday morning in San Bernardino. A sheriff's deputy spotted the car Clark was last seen in near a fast food restaurant and found her inside, according to Colton police.

Clark was booked on suspicion of murder on $1 million bond, according to jail records. The records did not indicate an initial court date. Additional charges are possible after the district attorney reviews the case.



The stabbings were reported at about 9 a.m. Monday at an apartment complex on Santo Antonio Drive in Colton. Police responded to a call from a frantic woman who said that her mother had stabbed her and her two babies.

One of the children, an 18-month-old girl, died. The other child, identified as a 5-year-old sister, and the mother were being treated at a hospital in critical, but stable, condition.

The stabbings led to an hourslong search for Clark, who was believed to be driving a 2002 black four-door Hyundai Sonata with the California license plate 7TQL009. Multiple tipsters reported seeing a woman that matched Clark's description setting fires outside a Victorville apartment complex.

Cellphone video shot by a nearby resident appears to show Clark quickly walking away from her daughter's apartment moments after the attack. It is unclear what led to the stabbing and authorities are trying to piece together what the suspect was doing between the time of the stabbings and her arrest.

A witness said she could hear screaming from the apartment. A neighbor discovered the infant's body on the couch and her sister hiding in the closet.

Surveillance video from a nearby business appears to show a car that matches Clark's fleeing from the centerpoint of the apartment complex.

Clark was convicted in the attempted murder of two family members back in 2006, Colton police confirmed. A judge found Darrington-Clark not guilty by reason of insanity and sent her to a mental hospital, the Associated Press reported.

Attorney Robert Sheahen, who represented her at that time, said she was diagnosed with schizophrenia and that Los Angeles County prosecutors had agreed with the judge's decision.

"This is one of the greatest sadnesses I've ever encountered in my 40-year career," he told the AP Tuesday.

Sheahen said he had not heard from her since.

It wasn't immediately clear when or why she was released from the hospital and whether the family member in the 2005 attack is the same daughter critically injured Monday. A spokesman at the California Department of State Hospitals said officials can't comment on individual cases.

NBC4's Hetty Chang contributed to this report.
Tramaine Brock, a former defensive back for the San Francisco 49ers, has been charged with felony domestic violence and child endangerment following an incident with his girlfriend in April, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office.

The 28-year-old was arraigned in a San Jose courtroom Tuesday afternoon. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison for allegedly punching his girlfriend and trying to strangle her on multiple occassions, including one instance in which the she was holding their 1-year-old child, according to the district attorney's office.

It takes great courage for victims to come forward," prosecutor Kalila Spain said in a statement. "But only with someone coming forward can the violence be interrupted.



Brock appeared in court in a gray suit and declined to comment on the case. He is scheduled to enter a plea on July 3.

A no-contact protective order granted today by Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Nora Klippen will prevent Brock from contacting or coming within 300 yards of his girlfriend other than to allow for child visitation, depending on family court orders.

Bay City News contributed to this report.

The protective order is set to expire on June 6, 2020.
Baku, Azerbaijan, June 6

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

By supporting and arming one terrorist group in the fight against another one, the US is making a mistake, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said.

He was giving a speech at the Justice and Development Party (AKP) congress in Ankara city June 6.

Any action, which may put Turkeys borders and the countrys people in danger, will be brutally suppressed, he noted.

It was earlier reported that the US was arming the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG) and the Democratic Union Party (PYD) terrorist groups against the so-called Islamic State (IS aka ISIS/ISIL) terrorist group.

It was also reported that the US transferred weapons to the terrorist groups during an operation in the Syrian city of Raqqa.

Syria has been suffering from an armed conflict since March 2011, which, according to the UN, has claimed over 500,000 lives.

Militants from various armed groups are confronting the Syrian government troops. The IS, YPG and PYD are the most active terrorist groups in Syria.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Former Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday imposing new economic sanctions against Iran could back the country into a corner, and that would be dangerous.

Kerry spoke in San Francisco at a fundraiser for Ploughshares Fund, an organization that works to reduce the threats posed by nuclear weapons.

He said new sanctions on people involved in Iran's ballistic missile program could send a message to the Iranian people that there is no gain for them in the 2015 nuclear deal. The landmark agreement eased economic sanctions in return for a freeze on Iranian nuclear development.

Last month, the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee voted 18-3 in favor of legislation that would authorize President Donald Trump to impose new sanctions on Iran.

Kerry told the gathering Monday that climate change and nuclear weapons are the top threats to the world, and they are threats the current administration must handle carefully.

During his service at secretary of state, he said Iran's ability to make nuclear weapons was an urgent concern.

"Clearly, we were moving toward conflict," Kerry said.

Kerry says he's hopeful Trump would listen to the "good people" he has in his administration.

"My hope is we will not open up a possibility for confrontation when we have so many others to deal with," he said.

In terms of world relations, Kerry said the U.S must continue to be a global power diplomatically and scientifically to help maintain world order.

He said climate change and its impacts are real.

Even after Trump announced his withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, a frustrated Kerry remained optimistic because so many states and citizens are already on board.

"We can build critical mass in this country that is limiting damage, and then in 2018, if you have impact, boom, a different dynamic," Kerry said.

Kerry isn't just talking and taking action. He said he has an upcoming trip to Vietnam, where he is hoping to convince leaders there to scrap plans to build new coal plants and instead build renewable energy resources.
Authorities across the state of California last week thwarted a would-be killer from slaying three Bay Area doctors, the Palo Alto Police Department announced Tuesday.

Yue Chen of Visalia was arrested last Wednesday after officers determined the 58-year-old drove from Central California to the Bay Area with the intent to shoot and kill his doctors because he was upset about his medical condition and medical treatment performed by the physicians, according to police.

"We feel pretty confident of what his intent was and that if we hadn't been able to, in a sort of a time sensitive way, coordinate our efforts, that we would be investigating at least one homicide, if not multiple homicides at this point," Lt. James Reifschneider from the Palo Alto Police Department said.

Visalia police first notified Palo Alto police about Chen's proposed hit attempt last Wednesday, according to police. Officers in Visalia found that Chen had been reported missing, along with his two legally-owned handguns. Turns out Chen rented a car and began his journey to the Bay Area.

A host of law enforcement agencies in the Bay Area were notified about Chen's movement as well as the work and home locations of the doctors believed to be in harm's way, according to Palo Alto police.

Later Wednesday, the California Highway Patrol spotted Chen driving in the rental car on Highway 101 near Hellyer Avenue in San Jose, according to Palo Alto police. Chen was detained without incident, and officers found two guns with loaded, high-capacity magazines in the car.

Chen was transported to a local hospital to receive treatment for his condition, according to police. When he was released later that evening, Chen was transported to the Santa Clara County Jail and booked for attempted murder and carrying a loaded firearm.

The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Officer later filed three felony counts of attempted murder against Chen, according to Palo Alto police.

Police are still gathering information at this time. Anyone with information is asked to call Palo Alto police at 650-329-2413. Those wishing to remain anonymous can email paloalto@tipnow.com or text 650-383-8984. People can also leave an anonymous voice mail at that number.
An assailant wielding a hammer attacked Paris police guarding Notre Dame Cathedral Tuesday, crying "This is for Syria" before being shot and wounded by officers outside one of France's most popular tourist sites, authorities said.

At least 600 people were blocked inside the iconic 12th century church while police first secured the streets around it, then combed the pews while visitors sat with their hands raised for the check. Others fled in panic from the sprawling esplanade outside the cathedral.

The assault was the latest act of violence targeting security forces at high-profile sites in France, which remains under a state of emergency after a string of Islamic extremist attacks.

Interior Minister Gerard Collomb told reporters that a police officer in a three-person patrol was lightly wounded in the attack, and the assailant was shot and wounded by a fellow officer. The attacker's condition was being evaluated.

[NATL] Top News Photos: Pope Visits Japan, and More

"A person came up behind the police officers, armed with a hammer, and started to hit the police officer," he said.

The man cried "This is for Syria!" but said nothing else indicating a motive or a link to extremist groups, Collomb said. No group immediately claimed responsibility, and Collomb said he appeared to have acted alone.

A hammer and kitchen knives were found on the assailant, as well as a student identity card indicating he was from Algeria, Collomb said. He said authorities were working to verify the card's authenticity.

"We have passed from a very sophisticated terrorism to a terrorism where any instrument can be used for attacks," the interior minister said.

The head of the Municipal Police Defense Union, Cedric Michel, said the attacker was about 40 years old. A police official from another union confirmed the age of 40. The second official asked to remain anonymous to discuss the investigation.

The incident happened around 4:20 p.m. (1420 GMT). A large number of police cars descended on the Ile de Cite island in the Seine River, where the celebrated cathedral is located.

Authorities told people to stay away from the area and some took refuge inside the cathedral. People inside Notre Dame, the nearby Sainte-Chapelle, a nearby chapel noted for its stained glass, and area bars and cafes were told to stay inside while the police operation was underway.

Among the several hundred people ordered to remain inside the cathedral was former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nancy Soderberg. She was admiring the church's stained glass windows when a French announcement came on urging those inside to stay calm as police dealt with an incident outside.

The visitors got nervous when they were told soon after that the doors were closing and everyone had to stay inside, Soderberg told The Associated Press from inside Notre Dame.

"It was really scary, we had no idea if there were any accomplices inside," she said.

They were being released Tuesday evening one by one after careful police searches.

Witnesses described a dramatic police operation in the tourist-filled area.

Images on social media showed people inside the cathedral with their hands up.

"It sounded like two gunshots went off and then I saw crowds fleeing. The police responded right away," said tourist Abigail Miller, who is from Minnesota, on MSNBC.

Paris has been the target of several such attacks in recent years, most recently at the Louvre in February. A man wielding two machetes was shot and seriously wounded by police; the head of the Paris police force said the attacker "wished to carry out a terrorist incident," NBC News reported.

Locked inside #notre dame cathedral in #paris while police investigate attack outside against a policeman. All calm pic.twitter.com/Z4B8wUzPTV  Nancy Soderberg (@nancysoderberg) June 6, 2017

Lawrence Langner, a 73-year-old American visiting the neighborhood just across the Seine River from the cathedral, told The Associated Press that he suddenly heard a commotion and two detonations like gunshots.

Journalist David Metreau, who said his office overlooks the square that fronts Notre Dame, tweeted that there were two blasts that sounded like shots. Looking down from his office, he saw a man inert on the square.

"The police didn't seem interested in him at the beginning," Metreau said. "I thought he was dead."

Officers then checked the man's pulse, while medics eventually came and took him away on a stretcher.

Soderberg said those inside the cathedral remained calm and orderly throughout despite not knowing what was happening, though "everyone was very quiet and very scared" when police came in to check the cathedral's pews row by row.

She tweeted a photo from inside the Notre Dame showing those locked inside putting their arms in the air as instructed by police.

"We will remember this for the rest of our lives," she said. "Now everyone just wants to go home."

The attack came the day before new President Emmanuel Macron unveils his first efforts against terrorism, which Collomb called the president's top priority.

Paris remains under high security after a string of Islamic extremist attacks in recent years, including several targeting police officers and security personnel.

The Cathedral of Notre Dame of Paris, in English Our Lady of Paris, is one of the most famous of the Gothic cathedrals of the Middle Ages and is enormously popular with tourists. It is the setting for Victor Hugo's novel, "Notre-Dame de Paris."

It stands on the eastern end of the Ile de la Cite, built on the ruins of two earlier churches. The foundation stone was laid by Pope Alexander III in 1163; the choir, and other sections added until the mid-1300s, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Angela Charlton, John Leicester and Sylvie Corbet contributed to this story from Paris. Sylvia Hui contributed from London.
Police in a New Hampshire city are investigating two separate incidents where vandals spray-painted the word "ISIS" on buildings.

Manchester police said they received reports at 4 p.m. Sunday for graffiti at a privately-owned building on Franklin Street and at 7:30 a.m. Monday for similar vandalism at a city-owned shed at Veteran's Park.

The graffiti at Veteran's Park has already been removed and city crews were out working on the Franklin Street building on Monday afternoon. In both incidents, police found spray-painted words mentioning "ISIS" and "America."

Detectives are still working to identify suspects. Anyone with information is asked to call the Manchester Crimeline at 603-624-4040 or the Investigative Division at 603-792-5500.
Two men were arrested in Massachusetts Friday for allegedly trafficking nearly seven kilos of cocaine into Boston from the Dominican Republic. The arrests are a climactic conclusion to a nearly-two-year investigation into cocaine smuggling from the Caribbean nation.

Juan Luis Perez Garcia, 44, a Dominican national residing in the Bronx, New York, and Juan Artiles Taveras, 43, of Lakewood, New Jersey, were arrested in Attleborough and charged with possession with intent to distribute. The charging statue for over five kilograms or more of cocaine provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison.

According to court documents, authorities learned of a plan to smuggle cocaine into Boston over JetBlue flights at a meeting with narcotics smugglers in the Dominican Republic, in June 2015.

It is alleged that a witness working with authorities spoke with Garcia in February 2016 about arranging for cocaine to be put on a plane in the Dominican Republic and to be received by the undercover in Boston.

Over the next year, several attempts were made to coordinate a hand-off, which never came to fruition. Then on Friday, arrangements were made to smuggle seven kilos of cocaine into Boston in a suitcase.

Upon arrival of the flight to Boston, federal agents discovered the cocaine. Saturday evening, Garcia and Taveras allegedly met with the informant to exchange money for drugs. Federal authorities placed the two men under arrest.

A joint announcement of the arrest was made Monday by Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb, Special Angent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston Matthew J. Etre, and Stephen A. Marks, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service, Boston Field.
President Donald Trump injected the United States into a volatile crisis among America's Mideast allies, siding Tuesday with Saudi Arabia and other countries against Qatar in a dispute that threatens to disrupt efforts to defeat the Islamic State group and counter Iran.

In a series of early-morning tweets, Trump appeared to endorse the accusation that the small, gas-rich kingdom funds terrorist groups, a serious allegation against a strategic U.S. partner that hosts a base with some 10,000 American troops. He also sought to cast the anti-Qatar action led by the Saudis and the United Arab Emirates as the result of his trip last month to Riyadh, where he pressed leaders from dozens of Arab and Muslim governments, including Qatar's emir, to combat extremism.

Trump said he'd told the kings, presidents and prime ministers that funding "Radical Ideology" can't be tolerated, and "Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!"

"They said they would take a hard line on funding ... extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!" Trump said on Twitter, claiming his visit to Saudi Arabia was "already paying off."

He appeared to take a more measured tone during a call with Saudi Arabia's King Salman. Trump told Salman that a united Gulf Cooperation Council is "critical to defeating terrorism and promoting regional stability," according to a White House readout of the conversation. The council includes Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait.

The president's sharp critique of Qatar pulled the U.S. directly into a conflict that American diplomats had wanted the bickering parties to resolve among themselves. The U.S. wasn't planning a major mediation role, a State Department official said, pointing to offers from Turkey and Kuwait to intervene in what is emerging as the worst diplomatic crisis in the Persian Gulf in decades.

The fracas pits Qatar  a country smaller than Connecticut and the world's biggest producer of liquefied natural gas  against Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain. Those countries on Monday severed diplomatic ties with Qatar, leading to suspended flights and regional ports closed to Qatari ships as anxious residents started stockpiling food.

Qatar's neighbors have long accused the country of tolerating or even encouraging support for extremist groups, including al-Qaida's Syria branch  all of which Qatar denies. But its independent foreign policy has led to various tensions with its neighbors. The region's Sunni states bristle at Qatar's less hostile position toward Shiite Iran and object to its backing groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, whose ideology challenges the system of hereditary rule in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and elsewhere.

For Trump, the rift has emerged as a key test of his goal to unite the region around destroying IS and other extremist groups, and containing Iranian influence. While he has even held out hopes that a communal effort could pave the way for Israeli-Arab rapprochement, the Qatar crisis serves as a reminder of the region's many fault lines that challenge U.S. diplomacy.

While Trump, too, shares the Saudi and UAE goals of weakening hardline Islamic movements and stemming Iran's influence, American officials hadn't publicly singled out Qatar as a problem. Like earlier administrations, Trump's had kept its concerns private while publicly praising Qatari efforts to stamp out terror financing.

"They have made progress," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Tuesday, while adding that "they and we recognize more work remains to be done."

On Monday, Trump's secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, encouraged the sides to "sit down together" to resolve irritants he said had "bubbled up" for some time. He didn't take sides.

It was unclear how Trump's broadside against Qatar might affect the U.S.-led coalition fighting IS. The U.S. relies heavily on Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar to orchestrate air attacks in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. And it is trying to galvanize the Arab world to assume greater responsibility in fighting ISIS, something governments won't be able to do if they're consumed with internal spats.

"It's a mixed bag with Qatar," said Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, summing up America's strategic conundrum. "They have been definitely playing footsie with a lot of terrorist organizations, but we have a big air base there."

The Pentagon cited no immediate effects from the instability on its operations. Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, expressed gratitude to Qatar for supporting the U.S. presence, outlining no plans to adjust American military posture.

Yet a prolonged crisis will put significant pressure on Qatar. Millions of migrant workers and expatriates live there, and much of Qatar's food comes from Saudi Arabia across the peninsular nation's only land border, which the Saudis have now closed.

And a coup attempt or any cross-border action by the Saudis or Emiratis would put Trump in an uncomfortable position, given his now vocal support for the anti-Qatar action.

If Qatar is economically weakened or decides to retaliate against Trump's 140-character allegations, it has leverage. Beyond hosting U.S. troops, Qatar has invested billions in the U.S. and increased its clout in Washington along the way.

It's a strategy shared by other Persian Gulf countries seeking to win U.S. support  including Saudi Arabia. During his Saudi trip, Trump announced $110 billion in deals to sell weapons to the kingdom.

And in its bid to lobby the U.S. administration, the Saudis spent about $270,000 at Trump's hotel in Washington between October and the end of March, new foreign agent filings show. The Trump Organization says the money will be handed over to the U.S. Treasury.

Associated Press writers Lolita C. Baldor, Richard Lardner and Julie Bykowicz contributed to this report.
U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow is expected to issue a ruling Tuesday on whether the health care bills for Medicaid patients move to the head of the line for payment as the Illinois budget impasse continues.

Many of the state's bills are paid through various consent decrees, but Illinois budget backlog has grown to reach more than $14.3 billion.

In Illinois, doctors who serve Medicaid patients are often reimbursed through Managed Care Organizations, or MCOs. But those MCOs are not legally required to pay health care professionals if they are not receiving payments from the state.

Therein lies the problem  if doctors and other health care professionals are not being reimbursed, theres a growing concern that they will stop seeing Medicaid patients.

More than two dozen health care providers and insurance companies have asked for a federal ruling.

"All we're asking for today is that the consent decree takes precedent over pension obligations," attorney Thomas Yates, executive director of the Legal Council for Health Justice said.

David Chizewer, one of the other attorneys unable to negotiate a settlement with the state, asked "who has to suffer?"

It's estimated that 85 percent of the Medicaid bills are unfounded since July 2015 when the budget stalemate began.

Lawyers representing the Illinois Attorney General's office claim that the state is paying its bills, but "just not as prompt as the plaintiffs would like."

During Tuesdays hearing, Judge Lefkow said Illinois has "an insolvency situation," comparing the state's finances with bankruptcy  but she was reluctant to tell State Comptroller Susana Mendoza which bills to prioritize.

Mendoza has suggested that if the court rules in favor of the MCOs, that would be the tipping point that would prevent her from paying state lawmakers and other bills.
Democratic candidate for governor of Illinois JB Pritzker was endorsed Tuesday by the Illinois American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations.

The Illinois AFL-CIO is made up of nearly 900,000 members, according to a press release from the union federation announcing the endorsement.

I am honored to receive the endorsement of the Illinois AFL-CIO and the working families they represent across our state, JB Pritzker said in a statement. As governor, the labor movement will always have a seat at the table and will be a partner in our work ahead. I will always stand up for collective bargaining rights and prevailing wage, protect retirement security and pensions, and ensure safe working conditions and pay equity for working families.

The AFL-CIO is a voluntary federation of 55 national and international labor unions representing 12.5 million people across the nation, according to its website.

We strive to ensure all working people are treated fairly, with decent paychecks and benefits, safe jobs, dignity, and equal opportunities, the website says. We help people acquire valuable skills and job-readiness for the 21st century economy.

In the union federation's announcement, Pritzker criticized current Gov. Bruce Rauner saying he continues to attack our working families instead of doing his job as governor.

Our social services and public education system are on the brink of collapse, but Rauner is focused on dismantling collective bargaining rights, cutting pensions, and opposing prevailing wage, Pritzker said. The AFL-CIO and the working families it represents deserve a real leader in Springfield who will always stand with them to get our state back on track. I look forward to being that governor for Illinois working families.

The Illinois Republican Party said in a statement the AFL-CIOs endorsement was a clear attempt by Speaker Mike Madigan to coalesce his insiders and special interests around a crooked candidate.

Its clear that this is an attempt by Mike Madigan to coalesce Chicago machine support behind his preferred candidate, J.B. Pritkzer," the statement from spokesman Steven Yaffe reads. "Madigan knows Pritzker is a fellow crooked insider who will raise taxes and support his Chicago agenda.

Madigan has not responded to the accusation nor has he officially endorsed Pritzker.

Other candidates for governor also responded to the endorsement Tuesday.

Chicago Ald. Ameya Paward touted his own track record working with organized labor.

I will bring that same commitment to supporting labor and working families across Illinois. Endorsements or non-endorsements wont change that, he said.

Sen. Daniel Biss said if he is elected governor, he will always put the interest of working families ahead of money and the machine.

The working people of Illinois deserve better than being told they have to support a billionaire whose family fortune was enriched by anti-union behavior, the senator said.

Candidate Chris Kennedy has always believed that union labor provides a competitive advantage for Illinois' economy, campaign spokeswoman Liz Utrup told NBC 5, including the working men and women of the AFL-CIO.

Unfortunately, today's endorsement isnt about the members, Ultrup said. It's about Springfield establishment insiders who cut deals and circumvented the normal endorsement process. As Governor, Chris Kennedy will continue his career-long support for the labor movement and its role in building Americas middle class.

Rauner did not specifically respond to the endorsement at a news conference in Indiana Tuesday but did address the slow growth of union jobs in Illinois compared to the Hoosier state.

The people of Illinois are hurting and we need to change the system, he said.

The AFL-CIO's endorsement of Pritzker comes amid some fallout after the Chicago Tribune released FBI recordings of the candidate asking then Gov. Rod Blagojevich to be considered for the role of state treasurer.
An Indiana man accused of sexually assaulting a hotel maid in a western suburb of Chicago appeared in court Tuesday in a case prosecutors describe as very disturbing.

Nien Siu, 26, of Indianapolis, charged with criminal sexual abuse and battery was ordered held in lieu of $300,000 by DuPage County Judge Joseph Bugos.

Prosecutors say say Siu returned to his Extended Stay Hotel room on June 4 about 2:30 p.m. while a maid was cleaning the room. Siu locked the door to the room, the DuPage County States Attorney alleges, and sexually abused the woman before she fled and told hotel authorities what happened. The Naperville Police Department was contacted and officers found Siu in his room the following day where he was taken into custody, according to the states attorneys office.

Naperville police Cmdr. Lou Cammiso said there was a "delay in reporting of the event," when asked why police responded to the hotel a day later.

The allegations against Mr. Siu are very disturbing, DuPage County States Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement Tuesday. The victim in this case is a woman just trying to make an honest living and should not have to worry about being sexually abused while at work. Thankfully, she was able to flee and report the incident to authorities.

Extended Stay Hotel declined to directly comment on the incident citing an "active investigation by the local police."

"We are cooperating fully with the police in their investigation," Terry Atkins, vice president of marketing communications for Extended Stay said in an email.

Atkins also said the "safety, security and privacy of our guests and associates are of the upmost importance."

It was not immediately clear if Siu had a lawyer.

He is due back in court June 26.
A man told to come to immigration headquarters with a ticket to Mexico on Tuesday will have to wait a few more days for a decision on whether or not he will be allowed to stay in the United States.

Noe Adan Carlos-Herrera is the father of a US citizen, but is undocumented himself - and his story creates a lot of uncertainty for others like him.

Herrera first showed up on Immigration and Customs Enforcement's radar four years ago following a traffic violation. Since then, he has been fighting to stay in the country with his 5-year-old daughter.

This year, under President Donald Trump's administration, that struggle has become more difficult.

Immigration attorneys say meetings like Tuesday's used to be routine check-ins, but are now sources of stress and anxiety, as the rules have seemingly changed.

"What we are experiencing, every time we go into check-ins now, is an entirely new process," said Herrera's attorney, Lam Ho of the Community Activism Law Alliance. "We have been told at these check ins, policies are different, they have changed."

"All the orders say all the policies that have existed, throw them out the window," Ho continued. "We basically have no policies. We have no priorities. We have no specific indications of who we want to deport, who we want under the law to stay in this country."

In front of Chicagos ICE office, protesters gathered Tuesday in support of Herrera and to demand a fair hearing.

He was told to arrive with a plane ticket in hand, should authorities decide not to grant him a stay of removal and instead send him back to Mexico immediately.

Herrera said he is not afraid, because he has the power of his community behind him - a community that will be crucial, according to Ho.

"The community continuing to stand up for him, to show their support, is absolutely critical for a very discretionary decision," Ho said.

While Herrera met with ICE officials, protesters outside got on their cell phones to call the agency and lobby on his behalf.

He emerged from the meeting with no clear decision, as authorities said ICE will let him know by Friday if he gets to stay in the country.

"For the time being, he does not have to come back," said Rodrigo Antunez, of Organized Communities Against Deportation. "We are still waiting on the outcome of it, whatever it is."

So for now, Herrera and the family he provides for will wait to see if he will be allowed to stay for another year, or be deported to Mexico with a ticket he has already paid for.
Watches are not rocket science. Or are they? Watches are not rocket...

Perhaps you dont have a PhD. Well, thats a shame, because with some watches, youll need one to understand how to tell the time. Perhaps you dont have a PhD. Well,...
South Shore Line trains began running again Tuesday night, hours after a Chicago-bound train derailed in the citys Loop.

Regular weekday train service resumed in both directions as of 8 p.m., Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District spokesman John Parsons said. The South Shore Line expected to operate a regular morning rush hour schedule Wednesday, he said, with a reduced number of cars on each train.

"Expect crowded conditions on most trains," the spokesman said in a statement.

"We plan to use all available cars including bike rack cars," Parsons said. "Maintenance crews are expected to work throughout the night to clear the derailment and restore normal service to South Shores platform at Millennium Station."

Between 2:30 and 2:40 p.m., westbound train number 18 derailed as it approached Millennium Station, located at the corner of Randolph St. and Michigan Ave., according transit police Chief Bob Byrd.

The rear two cars of the passenger train derailed "at a slow speed going into the station," Byrd said.

Two passengers sustained minor injuries, according to Parsons. Further details on the injuries were not immediately available.

All passengers were able to safely exit the train, which was scheduled to arrive at 2:14 p.m. after departing the South Bend Airport station in northwest Indiana at 12:49 p.m.

All east and westbound trains were blocked ahead of the evening rush hour, Byrd said, as the agency awaited a heavy-duty crane to pick up the cars and rerail them.

South Shore tickets were honored on the Electric District line for several hours, which experienced delays of approximately 15 to 20 minutes, according to Metra.

The cause of the derailment remains under investigation.
One person was in custody after a SWAT team responded to a busy intersection on Chicagos Northwest Side Tuesday afternoon in response to an armed robbery, police confirmed.

The SWAT team surrounded a building in Logan Square neighborhood near Diversey Parkway and Kedzie Avenue, police said. The situation started, police said, as an armed robbery at in the 2700 block of North Milwaukee Avenue.

The robbery did not occur at a bank but the FBI was assisting Chicago police with resources, the FBI confirmed.

The FBI also confirmed a suspect or multiple suspects robbed a "private store" and were then tracked to a nearby residence.
The death of an attorney in Redding in April 2014 was caused when a gun went off after his car rolled over, according to the states attorney.

Attorney Gugsa Abraham Dabela was found with a gunshot to the head on April 5, 2014 after a car wreck near his home in Redding.

Police and the medical examiner's office originally said his death was a suicide, but the Connecticut NAACP questioned the circumstances of Dabelas death, including why his DNA wasn't found on the trigger of a handgun found at the crash site. They also launched an investigation.

In April 2016, Danbury's State's Attorney said they found no evidence of conspiracy on the part of the Redding Police Department.

This morning, Stephen J. Sedensky III, States Attorney for the Judicial District of Danbury, released a new statement on the circumstances of Dabelas death and said the gun went off when the vehicle overturned.

In the early morning hours of April 5, 2014, Attorney Gugsa Abraham Dabela was traveling to his home in Redding when his car overturned and the subsequent discharge of a firearm resulted in his death. The criminal investigation into this death is concluded, the statement from Sedensky says.

After reviewing all of the evidence and pursuant to my responsibility to investigate and prosecute criminal matters within the Judicial District of Danbury, the evidence does not support a conclusion that Attorney Dabelas death was a homicide. Accordingly, the criminal investigation into this matter is closed. We again express our sincere condolences to the family of Attorney Dabela on their loss, the statement says.

A lawyer for Dabela's family did not immediately return a message from the Associated Press seeking comment.

The family is suing Redding police alleging they rushed to judgment in declaring the death a suicide and didn't properly investigate because Dabela was black. Police denied the allegations.

A lawyer for Dabela's family did not immediately return a message from the Associated Press seeking comment.

The family is suing Redding police alleging they rushed to judgment in declaring the death a suicide and didn't properly investigate because Dabela was black. Police denied the allegations.


The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is proposing a project to double the number of train tracks from two to four between Branford and Guilford as part of the plan to enable high speed trains to travel more quickly along the northeast corridor through Connecticut.

Robert Vavasour is not bothered by the sounds of the trains speeding by his Guilford home that is on the National Register of Historic Places.

"We certainly dont hate trains or we would never have bought this property," he said.

But this stakeholder feels left out of the FRAs plans to expand the railroad near his home.

"All the other peoples houses that are threatened feel the same way," Vavasour said. "We wanted to make sure we were part of that process, weve never been part of that process."

Vavasour said the FRA has not listened to local lawmakers who submitted letters on behalf of residents.

"They have actually asked for the FRA to send people to Branford and Guilford to talk to us and they dont respond," he said.

Gregory Stroud is the director of special projects for the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation.

"Once those routes are announced," Stroud said. "Its going to be very hard to change them."

Stroud said time is running out before FRA official finalize their plans for the new tracks along the shoreline.

"Were afraid that it could change the character of the shoreline, and not just from Branford to Guilford," he said. "But really from Old Lyme all the way to Greenwich, that it could fundamentally change coastal Connecticut."

Vavasour worries about what this railroad project could mean for the areas ecosystem, as well as the impact construction could have on property values and the water wells residents rely on.

"Theres an effort to keep people feeling not like you should worry when people should be very worried," he said.

NBC Connecticut reached out to the FRA about its communications with communities impacted by the railroad expansion proposal. Spokesperson Marc Willis said the FRA met with "leadership of specific communities and towns based on requests from elected officials of those communities."

"As appropriate, additional public outreach, meetings and hearings will be conducted during the Tier 2 project planning studies," Willis said in an email. He added that the project will require "further analysis and environmental review, as well s funding, before any construction can begin."

Stroud is organizing an informational meeting about the proposed railroad changes between Branford and Guilford on Wednesday at 70m at the Nathanael Greene Community Center at 32 Church Street in Guilford.

Constituents can find more info and submit comments here.
The top Republican in the Connecticut House said the bill to support when it comes to casino expansion is the one backed by the state's two tribes that already operate a pair of casinos in southeastern Connecticut.

I think our focus should be on saving those jobs in Eastern Connecticut and allowing two tribes that have been good partners as along as the town that its going to be agree with it," Rep. Themis Klarides said during an interview Monday.

Klarides is the minority leader in the tightly divided House of Representatives.

Her comments could help to put expanded casino gambling over the goal line in a legislative session that's been dominated by a loud and expensive lobbying battle between MMCT, the group that consists of the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Tribes that already have casinos and MGM which has been fighting to open a casino in Bridgeport.

MGM has argued that allowing the two tribes to operate a casino off tribal land would be unconstitutional, and former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder sent a letter to that effect to Connecticut Attorney George Jepsen.

The General Assembly is also in talks to allow for slot machines to be loccated in off-track betting facilities in New Haven, Bridgeport and Waterbury, as well as what's being described as a "Boutique Casino" in Hartford.

The casino legislation is aimed at being a revenue driving option for the State of Connecticut as it deals with sagging finances.

Democrats are all strongly considering bringing tolls back to Connecticut highways, and authorizing for the sale and regulation of marijuana products.

Senate Republican President Pro Tem Len Fasano says if those elements are all included in a final budget, then no Republicans would support the spending proposal.

Were willing to talk about budgets but theyve got to be real budgets and were willing to talk about ideas but were not going to sell our souls to fill our coffers," he said.
A TSA security checkpoint at Bradley International Airport was temporarily closed Tuesday afternoon after something concerning came up on an x-ray during screening, according to TSA officials. The checkpoint has since reopened.

A TSA spokesman said that the checkpoint was closed because of a suspicious x-ray image during screening. The carry-on bag was examined and cleared after several minutes. They did not specify what was in the bag that prompted the response.

TSA estimates that the checkpoint was closed for about eight minutes.

The Connecticut Airport Authority released a statement saying the checkpoint was closed for a short time and the bag was cleared after further screening.

"On Tuesday, June 06, 2017 at approximately 12:12 p.m. the Security Checkpoint at Bradley International Airport was closed for a short duration to further inspect a passengers bag with additional screening, as part of normal security protocol. The bag received additional screening through the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and was immediately cleared and released for travel. The checkpoint was then reopened with no impact to passengers and travel," the statement from the airport authority says.



Witness video shows a TSA officer asking travelers to back away from the TSA security checkpoint.

You guys, Im going to ask you to move away from the front of the checkpoint. Please go to the far side, dont stay right in front of it, the officer can be heard saying in the video.

Travelers at the checkpoint told NBC Connecticut they saw several state troopers and airport managers in the area, but the situation seemed under control.

Screening has reopened as usual.
The Connecticut General Assembly has passed legislation to create a pilot program that would allow testing of self-driving vehicles in the state and it will now go to the governor.

The bill calls for establishing a pilot program for the testing of autonomous vehicles. It also includes establishing a task force to study autonomous vehicles.

This legislation will help put Connecticut at the forefront of this innovative, burgeoning industry, Gov. Dannel Malloy said in a statement. Autonomous vehicles are already being tested in several states throughout the country, and we cannot allow our state to be outpaced as this technology grows.

He said the final language of this legislation includes specific qualifications through limited and controlled testing areas.

By adopting this legislation, we will show this growing industry and those around the country that we embrace and promote innovation in Connecticut, Malloy said.

AAA released a statement applauding the legislation.

AAA research indicates that consumers want to embrace new technology but they have reservations around safety and security. Testing of these vehicles will help address those concerns, Amy Parmenter, spokesperson for AAA in Greater Hartford, said in a statement. Its critical that the consumers voice be heard and our lawmakers have acknowledged as much.
"Buyers Beware" is the message some home buyers are sharing after they claim some sellers are hiding crumbling foundation issues.

Kristen Cole thought she'd found the perfect place for her family in South Windsor. But 18 months after buying her home, she noticed a growing crack in her basement wall.

After hiring a structural engineer to take a look, she found that she had a crumbling foundation like, she soon realized, many of her neighbors on the cul-de-sac.

"When I got the report, it was devastating," Cole recalled. "It was devastating."

Some of her South Windsor neighbors had already replaced their basement walls.

Cole provided NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters with the state-mandated seller's disclosure form for her home. In the "foundation" section, the previous owner indicated they had, "some cracks sealed and waterproofing done," as a "preventive measure".

"I had no reason to believe there was an issue with my foundation," Cole said.

Cole hired a neighbor to dig out the foundation and found an enormous crack just a few inches below grade.

General contractor, Don Childree, said any water barrier needs to protect the foundation from groundwater.

"Who would waterproof just above grade? It's not where your waterproofing goes. If you're building a house, your waterproofing goes below ground, not above grade," Childree said.

Vernon attorney Michael Kopsick does not represent Cole, but has represented several homeowners with crumbling foundations. Kopsick believes information about the concrete issue has been widely discussed in real estate circles in towns like South Windsor for at least a decade.

"If a broker has a understanding of an area-wide problem, or more specifically, a neighborhood problem, based on prior transactions and experience, I think they have a responsibility to probe the response they get from their seller," Kopsicksaid.

For the past two years, the Connecticut Association of Realtors website has included a "foundation advisory" because of the growing concrete crisis.

NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters spoke with the association's president, Michael Barbaro, about whether real estate agents have a duty to share what they know about foundation issues in a particular town or neighborhood.

"All we can do is advise people, urge them of their obligation to disclose. We certainly can't force them," Barbaro said.

NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters asked Kopsick who bears the ultimate responsibility for disclosing relevant information to a potential buyer.

"I think that's presently being litigated in a number of matters across the state," the attorney said.

Cole has filed a lawsuit against the seller of her house, Coldwell Banker Real Estate, who represented her and the seller, as well as, her specific agent and the home inspector individually.

NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters reached out to the South Windsor ColdwellBanker office and the agent named in the complaint. They referred our inquiry to the corporate office in Boston, which provided a statement:

"We operate with integrity and strive to uphold the highest of ethical standards. We are defending ourselves in this matter. We will not comment further on pending litigation."

Cole said she just hopes to be able to recover the money to replace her foundation because she does not want to move her daughters again.

"A home cannot be bought, it must be made. We've made our home here, and I just want to make sure we can remain here," Cole said.

Kopsick said the adage "buyer beware" is more relevant now than it's ever been.

The attorney recommends a home buyer should:
Doctors say a Dallas man made a deadly mistake before taking a trip to the beach.

According to an article recently published in BMJ Case Reports, the 31-year-old man died after the bacteria vibrio vulnificus entered his body through a new leg tattoo.

The report says the man obtained the leg tattoo five days before swimming in the Gulf of Mexico, where vibrio vulnificus can be found in high levels during the summer months.

Treating physicians, including Dr. Nicholas Hendren of UT Southwestern Medical Center, say the man arrived at Parkland Memorial Hospital three days after exposure with extreme pain in his leg.

"Very quickly, over a couple of hours, it began to get more discolored, more bruised and had large blisters that began to form, which was certainly alarming to us as it was to him," Hendren said.

Hendren's report says the man had chronic liver disease and told them he drank six beers a day.

People with a weakened immune system, a liver disease/condition or an iron-related disorder are especially vulnerable to serious infection from the bacteria.

Most cases, however, are mild and come from consuming raw oysters, Hendren said.

"The most common symptoms in healthy or mild infection are just some nausea, some vomiting, some diarrhea," Hendren said. "For severe infections, like our patient, extreme pain, rapid changes in skin discoloration, rapidly changing wounds within a matter of hours are all signs that there is a potentially serious infection going on."

The reports says the man was extubated on the 18th day of admission and began aggressive rehabilitation.

"Unfortunately, his clinical status subsequently deteriorated, ultimately leading to his death due to a myriad of complications related to cirrhosis, renal failure and necrotic skin lesions approximately 2 months after admission," Hendren said.

Dallas tattoo artist Caleb Barnard did not know the victim, but he says the incident should serve as a reminder about tattoo safety.

"Stay out of the ocean. Stay out of the river. Stay out of the lake. Stay out of the pool. Stay out of the hot tub," Barnard said, about caring for a fresh tattoo in the first two weeks.

"If you adhere to what we tell you do to, you shouldn't have any problems at all," he said.

MORE: Texas Beach Watch information about water quality at recreational beaches


Authorities say a 37-year-old man who fatally shot his estranged girlfriend in San Antonio and took their 1-year-old child was later shot dead by state troopers.

Texas Department of Public Safety Lt. Jason Reyes said Adrian Maurice Hardeman had a handgun Monday when troopers responded to a report of a single-vehicle accident about an hour east of San Antonio.

Reyes declined to explain why troopers were prompted to shoot Hardeman, saying Texas Rangers are investigating.

It was only after the shooting that DPS learned Hardeman was being sought by San Antonio police in the death earlier Monday of 35-year-old April Russell.

Authorities say Hardeman went to the woman's apartment in an effort to reconcile but was rejected. He later returned and shot Russell.

The child was found safe at a relative's home.
The move follows the severing of diplomatic relations between Cairo and Doha, part of a joint Arab effort to punish Doha for its alleged support for terrorism

The Greek embassy in Doha will take on the diplomatic representation of Egypt in Qatar following Cairos decision to sever diplomatic ties with the Gulf state in the early hours of Monday, the Egyptian foreign ministry has announced.

In a statement late on Monday, the ministry said that Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri spoke to his Greek counterpart Nikos Kutzias, asking Greece to act as the representative of Egypt in Qatar and to attend to the interests of Egyptian nationals residing in Qatar, as the Egyptian embassy will be closed.

Within the framework of the traditionally friendly relations Greece maintains with the Arab world, Mr. Kotzias responded positively to his Egyptian counterpart's request, the Greek ministry for foreign affairs said, also late on Monday.

There are around 300,000 Egyptians residing in Qatar, according to official estimates.

Cairo also has announced that it will ban flights to and from Qatar starting Tuesday at 6am Cairo local time (4am GMT), and that it will close off Egyptian airspace to Qatari aircraft.

Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Yemen and the eastern-based government of Libya have cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, claiming that Doha supports terrorist organisations such as Daesh and Al-Qaeda, as well as interfering in the internal affairs of nations in the region.



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North Texas is home to hundreds of wounded warriors on the long road to recovery.



Some were recently joined on that journey by their former Commander-in-Chief George W. Bush in Dallas.



It was emotional for everyone, but especially for one man severely hurt while serving in Afghanistan.



Carlos Colon works out with his "tribe" of wounded warriors at the Adaptive Training Foundation in Dallas.



They call him the "Spartan warrior," an elite athlete in tip-top shape.



This warrior had to battle back from devastating injuries of battle.



Colon's scars tell the tale of his 2008 tour in Afghanistan. He was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, or RPG.



"We got ambushed with RPGs, AKs, IEDs and they shot an RPG from a wall and I was on the gun, so it blew up on the side of the glass," said Colon. "I think when I went through, I went like this and it took my eye, my ear. This side, I am deaf, this one I've got a hearing aid. And it took my fingers. All my scars are like from here 21 [shows his hand]."



Colon says he remembers nothing of the attack.



During the uncertain days that followed, his family took pictures while he was unconscious in the hospital.



He says he also doesn't remember one photo in particular.



President George W. Bush pinned a Purple Heart on him while was lying unconscious in his hospital bed. It was his finest moment has a U.S. soldier.



"When I woke up, my family told me he pinned me [with] my Purple Heart and then when I got the pictures, I was like, [opens mouth], so he pinned me and I never met him," Colon said. "So I always wanted to meet him. I just wanted to see him, just see him in person and thank him."



Colon got that chance recently during an unsuspecting day in ATF gym.



Bush enlisted the help of NBC 5's Meredith Land to help surprise the wounded warriors at the gym.



"This is Carlos," Land said to Bush.



"Hey Carlos," Bush said.



"There's a story here," Land said.



"I know it," said Bush. "I remember him, but he doesn't remember me."



"I was sleeping, huh?" Colon said to Bush.



"I wasn't sure you were going to wake up," said Bush. "Congratulations and glad you're doing well!"



"You have the pictures to prove it," Land said to Colon.



"Yeah, I've got them framed in my room," Colon said.



"We will get a new picture!" Bush said. "You look a lot better now than you did!"



"I've been working really hard on it," Colon replied.



"Yeah, you really have," said Bush.



"When I saw him, I was like, 'Awesome!' I love that man," Colon said. "If I could go again to war, under his command, I would do it. I am really proud."



"You're a good man," Bush told Colon. "I am really proud of you."



"I am proud to serve under you," Colon said to Bush.



Colon calls it his "full circle moment" and says, without hesitation, he has no regrets.



"I am proud of every scar, every injury," Colon said. And if I could do it again, I would."


Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced Tuesday he was recalling lawmakers to Austin for a special session of the state Legislature.

Abbott said he was calling the special session to "prevent the medical profession from shutting down."

Abbott is referring to sunset legislation that, if not passed, would keep the Texas Medical Board from functioning, from licensing new doctors and from regulating the practice of medicine.

The governor said the legislation should have been passed during the regular session.

"Unfortunately it was used as political fodder during the regular session rather than the must pass legislature that it is. To ensure its passage, the sunset bills will be the only legislation on the special session until they pass out of the Senate in full," Abbott said.

Once the Senate passes sunset legislation in full, something Abbott said Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick told him he could accomplish in no more than three days, legislators will then tackle 19 other issues.

"Considering all the successes of the 85th legislative session, we should not be where we are today," said Abbott. "A special session was entirely avoidable, and there was plenty of time for the legislature to forge compromises to avoid the time and taxpayer expense of a special session. As governor, if I am going to call a special session, I intend to make it count."

The special session begins July 18.

Abbott listed his priorities for the state legislature as follows:

1. Sunset legislation

2. Teacher pay increase of $1,000

3. Administrative flexibility in teacher hiring and retention practices

4. School finance reform commission

5. School choice for special needs students

6. Property tax reform

7. Caps on state and local spending

8. Preventing cities from regulating what property owners do with trees on private land

9. Preventing local governments from changing rules midway through construction projects

10. Speeding up local government permitting process

11. Municipal annexation reform

12. Texting while driving preemption

13. Privacy

14. Prohibition of taxpayer dollars to collect union dues

15. Prohibition of taxpayer funding for abortion providers

16. Pro-life insurance reform

17. Strengthening abortion reporting requirements when health complications arise

18. Strengthening patient protections relating to do-not-resuscitate orders

19. Cracking down on mail-in ballot fraud

20. Extending maternal mortality task force

Sunset legislation

Teacher pay increase of $1,000

Administrative flexibility in teacher hiring and retention practices

School finance reform commission

School choice for special needs students

Property tax reform

Caps on state and local spending8. Preventing cities from regulating what property owners do with trees on private land

Preventing local governments from changing rules midway through construction projects

Speeding up local government permitting process

Municipal annexation reform

Texting while driving preemption

Privacy

Prohibition of taxpayer dollars to collect union dues

Prohibition of taxpayer funding for abortion providers

Pro-life insurance reform

Strengthening abortion reporting requirements when health complications arise

Strengthening patient protections relating to do-not-resuscitate orders

Cracking down on mail-in ballot fraud.

Extending maternal mortality task force

State Rep. Jason Villalba (R-Dallas) was surprised by the number of items Abbott announced. He expected two: property tax reform and sunset bills.

"I think you will see the fights around the bathroom bill. I think tax reform is a little easier to accomplish because most of us in the legislature want to see some property tax relief for our constituents. I think we can find a solution on that one. The bathroom is going to be much more difficult," Villalba said.

"I think this is a solution in search of a problem. There's no reason to pass a discriminatory measure that we know will hurt the Texas economy," said State Rep. Chris Turner (D-Arlington).

The session is 30 days, and legislators don't have to approve what is on the governor's agenda. But the governor has the option to continue to call lawmakers back, and only the governor can decide the topics of a special session.

The governor's list of priorities includes the issue of privacy, which is the so-called "bathroom bill."

The Texas House and Senate could not agree on a bathroom bill during the regular session. The Senate passed a bill requiring Texans to use the bathroom that matches the gender on their birth certificate. That bill pertained to public schools and public buildings. The House passed a bill that pertained to public K-12 schools.

Texas would become the first state since North Carolina to restrict bathroom access for transgender people.

Big businesses and pro sports leagues including Google, Facebook and the NFL have called the proposals discriminatory and have urged Texas lawmakers for months to drop the idea.

Abbott said Texas needs a law that "protects the privacy of our children" in public schools.

Similar proposals divided the GOP-controlled Legislature last session and ended with House moderates and social conservatives in the Senate fuming at each other.

Following the governor's announcement, Patrick issued the following statement:

"I want to congratulate Governor Abbott for his big and bold special session agenda which solidly reflects the priorities of the people of Texas. Almost every issue he addressed today passed the Senate during the regular session and I am confident the senators are ready to hit the ground running to move these issues forward. The people of Texas have a right to expect that we will finish the job on these critical issues and I am happy to join with the governor in doing the work they elected us to do. I continue to be proud to serve with Gov. Abbott and look forward to working with him in the upcoming special session."

And in a statement, House Speaker Joe Straus (R-San Antonio) said:

"I hope that Members will take advantage of the next six weeks to spend with their families after a long 140-day legislative session. The Members of the House will return to the Capitol next month ready to put their constituents and the best interest of the state first. The House looks forward to resuming our work on school finance and other challenges facing this state."
Former first lady Michelle Obama on Tuesday stopped by Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference for a "fireside chat" with CEO Tim Cook.

Cook announced the surprise visit Monday at the end of his keynote address to the crowd in San Jose.

Obama, accompanied by Lisa Jackson, Apple's vice president of environment, policy, and social initiatives, took to the stage to chat with developers about the role technology can play in "empowering people from all walks of life to make the world a better place."

The former first lady talked about life after the White House and delivered some comforting advice on how to deal with fear.

"If we let [fear] consume us, then we don't move," she said.

Attendees walking out of the discussion also noted feeling a sense of inspiration.

"I'm a woman in technology, so she's inspiring in that sense," Leila Navon said. "She keeps telling us to keep working and keep doing what we should do and keep striving to be awesome pillars in our economy and our communities."

During her time as first lady, Obama launched several initiatives that focused on themes of empowerment. Her Let's Move! campaign worked to address childhood obesity, Reach Higher encouraged young people in the U.S. to enroll in higher education and Let Girls Learn helped young girls around the world go to school.

The conversation with Obama and Jackson began at 9 a.m. PT. The talk was closed to the public and was not be live streamed or broadcast, according to Apple.



During the first day of Apple's conference, the tech giant on Monday unveiled its new "HomePod" speaker, virtual reality technology and software developments for its line of products.
California lawmakers are taking another look at whether Daylight Saving Time should become a thing of the past.

Assembly Bill 807 received its first Senate reading Monday after last week's approval by the State Assembly. It's the second time in the last two years that state lawmakers have brought up a bill that could -- if it clears several hurdles -- do away with the need for Californians to set their clocks forward or back by an hour twice each year.

A similar version failed last year in the state Senate.

The practice of Daylight Saving Time, used as an energy saving measure, was approved by California voters with the passage of a 1949 ballot measure -- Proposition 12. Initially, Daylight Saving Time was from the last Sunday in April to the last Sunday in September in California. DST now lasts from mid-March to November after it was re-worked by Congress.

A proposed change would need to go before voters and clear Congress, which passed a law in 1966 that required states to either adopt DST or stick with standard time year-round. Hawaii and Arizona have exempted themselves from the law.

The bill in the California Senate asks voters to transfer a final decision to the state Legislature. The California Constitution allows the Legislature to amend or repeal an initiative statute by another statute that becomes effective when approved by voters, who would consider the issue in the next statewide election.

The Legislatures's options would include staying on standard time year-round, tinkering with time change dates, or applying DST year-round if authorized by federal law.

Opponents said the change would leave California out of sync with business in the rest of the country and leave farmers without as many hours of sunlight during fall harvests. Supporters have said the practice is no longer need as a fuel savings measure and can affect people's health.
It heats your house, and it fuels a tiny percentage of automobiles and a growing number of trucks -- but is natural gas the petroleum alternative that can be embraced by President Donald Trump, who's decided to pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord?

"We don't know yet," said Thomas Lawson, president of the California Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition.

The question was not on the table when plans were made for a small fleet of natural gas-fueled vehicles to make a demonstration run from Long Beach to the nation's capitol. But the new uncertainty hung in the heavy marine layer near the port Monday morning when two buses, a bobtail, a pickup and a refuse collector -- all fueled by natural gas -- rolled out of the Clean Energy Fueling station.

The natural gas vehicle contingent will be making 18 stops on its cross country tour.

Its goal is to "make the case visually that we are ready to be the next solution for alternative fuel," Lawson said.

"It certainly is challenging," said Chad Lindstrom, sales vice president for Clean Energy Fuels, of the President's announcement. "It confuses the conversation."

Nevertheless, Lindstrom, Lawson and fellow natural gas boosters see California's lower emission momentum unphased. But they would prefer to have Washington also on board.

Though also a fossil fuel hydrocarbon, emissions from an engine burning natural gas are as much as 30 percent lower than from diesel or gasoline engines, Lawson said.

Hydrogen fuel cells and pure electric are lower still, and are now available in cars ranging from Hondas to Teslas, but their development for use in 18-wheelers has lagged behind natural gas.

Natural gas-fueled buses appeared decades ago and now are a staple of the LA's Metro system. Later, fleets of refuse trucks began switching to natural gas, prodded in large part by the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 -- AB32.

The push now is to get more natural gas engines in the 18-wheel big rig tractors that long have been dominated by diesel.

"I like it because we need to take care of our air," said truck driver Juan Millones while natural gas was being pumped into his rig. His main complaint is less power than in the diesel vehicles he has driven.

Improvements are promised in the next generation of natural gas engines scheduled to be released next year.

Another advantage cited for natural gas is the abudant domestic supply, augmented by increasing availability of renewable natural gas, generally tapped from the methane emissions of landfills.

When he founded Clean Energy Fuels, Texas oilman and financier T. Boone Pickens described his goal of reducing U.S. dependence on imported oil for fueling transportation.

The barrier is the cost of converting fleets. A diesel engine cannot be retrofitted to run on natural gas. It requires a whole new engine. And with diesels having a service life of 15 years or more, that's longer than natural gas proponents want to wait.

Lawson said incentives are essential to expediting the switch. Some already exist, especially in California.

With the enormous volume of truck traffic delivering and picking up cargo at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, exhaust emissions have become an issue. Port commissions are now considering tightening emission restrictions, which natural gas proponents expect would encourage a switch to natural gas or other alternative fuels.

The natural gas for transportation movement would also welcome incentives on a national scale.

"We do need Congress to...approve some bills and get the budgets going, and start having those conversations," said Lawson. "We're not there yet."
As the Florida Legislature gets ready to start their three day special session on Wednesday, one of the three funding topics being discussed is a source of contention across the state  money for education.

The original budget sent to Governor Rick Scott included $20 billion for education, with $11 billion of that coming from the state. Leaders in both chambers have added a reported $215 million to that budget, a move that some education leaders say is a step in the right direction.

Weve gone from a starvation level budget to a significantly improved budget, Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said. We went from an increase of $24 per student to about $100 per student.

While some are happy, public school advocates are concerned about House Bill 7069, which would expand the use of charter schools throughout the state and provide bonuses to high performing teachers and principals.

The budget also lists $654,000 in funding for security at Jewish day schools throughout the state  a first in the states history  in the wake of recent threats. Scott was at a Jewish day school in Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday to discuss the issue in depth.

"Children are our children regardless of whether they go to a public school or a non public school," said Rabbi Yossi Kastan, the head of school for Brauser Maimonides Academy. I think our role is to protect our children regardless of which school they wish to go to.



Scott on Monday defended his latest round of budget vetoes, which set a modern-day record for a governor but came from a long list of spending projects, including money intended for public universities and compensation for homeowners whose trees were torn down by the state.

Scott late last week vetoed nearly $11.9 billion from the state budget as part of a private deal he worked out with legislative leaders.

Legislators will return to the state Capitol for a three-day special session where they are expected to pass a new budget for public schools that will be higher than the one they adopted in early May.

Scott's veto total - which was about 14 percent of the entire $82.4 billion budget - included the main state account that goes to public schools. But the governor also vetoed roughly 400 projects worth nearly $410 million that were placed in the budget by Republicans and Democrats.

For weeks, Scott had feuded with legislators because they refused to set aside money for his top priorities, and he had threatened to veto the entire budget. But under the deal, legislators will use money vetoed by Scott to pay for tourism marketing, a new fund aimed at attracting businesses to the state, and to increase school funding.

But Scott's vetoes hit hard, especially for the state's public universities, which lost more than $108 million. Scott also eliminated $37.4 million that was going to go to homeowners in Broward and Lee counties whose healthy citrus trees were torn down in a failed attempt to eradicate citrus canker.

Some counties that are home to top Republican legislators - including Miami-Dade, Pasco and Pinellas counties - had a long list of budget vetoes. Senate Majority Leader Wilton Simpson, who had several projects vetoed, tweeted out that we won't stop fighting for the worthy projects Floridians need, want and deserve.''

During a stop in Panama City, Scott maintained that his vetoes did not target any legislators who had upset him this year.

We look at every line to see whether it's good for Florida families,'' Scott said.

Rep. Jose Felix Diaz, a Miami Republican who had pushed for the canker payments, downplayed the vetoes and said that a lot of other things he pushed escaped Scott's veto pen.

I'm an optimist,'' said Diaz, who lost nearly $54 million to budget vetoes. There were a lot of important things for my community that did not get vetoed.''
A popular South Florida doctor was arrested Monday after a months-long investigation into alleged abuse at two illegal elderly care facilities, police said.

Raul Arcadio Tamayo, 66, was charged with two counts of neglect of an elderly or disabled adult. He was handcuffed and taken to jail from his Miami Beach home. He is also accused of falsifying records and Medicare fraud.

Tamayo operated two unlicensed elderly living facilities in Monroe County with Amarylis Maristan, 47, police said. Detectives are searching for Maristan, who is listed as the facilitys caregiver and is wanted on the same charges.

Tamayo was aware that the facilities were unlicensed and that Maristan, who supervised patients at the practices, lacked medical training, according to an arrest report. The pair cared for six elderly patients, who all had chronic and acute medical conditions that required medical attention and several prescription medications, police said.

Detectives began investigating the facilities in November, after an 85-year-old woman died one day after she was rushed to the hospital in cardiac arrest. Officials said the patient was covered in urine and infected bed sores. An autopsy later revealed the patient died from "complications of septic shock due to pneumonia". She was also malnourished and suffered from seizures.

A police report says Tamayo knew the woman suffered from seizures and billed Medicare for medication, but never treated the woman. He falsified records to indicate that a doctor was caring for the woman, police said.

Another woman at the facility was discovered with untreated pneumonia and Parkinsons disease. She has since been transferred to a different licensed care facility.

Tamayo was ordered held on $200,000 bond.
A South Florida man who had his lengthy drug sentence commuted by former President Barack Obama last year is back behind bars facing a slew of drug charges.

Henry Claude Agnew, 36, was arrested Friday by the U.S. Marshals Service in Broward County, jail records showed. Agnew was being held on a probation violation.

Miami-Dade Criminal Court records showed Agnew was charged last month with a number of drug offenses, including cocaine and cannabis possession, selling cocaine and cannabis near a school and possession of cocaine and cannabis with intent to sell.

Agnew was one of dozens of offenders who had their sentences commuted by President Obama in March 2016. Agnew was sentenced in November 2003 to 21 years and 8 months in prison with five years of supervised release.

President Obama shortened the sentence, leading to Agnew's release on July 28.
A photograph of a Canadian man mowing a lawn with a tornado swirling behind him has caused a bit of a storm on social media.

Cecilia Wessels snapped the picture of her husband, Theunis, on Friday as the twister passed near their home in Alberta.

She said cutting the grass was on her husband's to-do list, and as he started the task, she went for a nap.

Wessels said she was woken by her daughter who was upset that there was something like a tornado in the sky, but her father wouldn't come inside.

"I did ask him if he was coming inside with that thing in the clouds when I turned to come inside and he calmly said no," Cecilia Wessels said Sunday.

Theunis Wessels said the tornado was actually much farther away than it appears in the photo and it was moving away from them. He said he was keeping an eye on it.

No one was injured.

Associated Press writer Rob Gillies contributed to this report.
The US issued a new travel warning on Monday for personnel assigned to Egypt, prohibiting them from visiting religious sites outside greater Cairo due to the risk of further terrorist attacks.

"Until further notice, personnel assigned to the US Mission in Egypt are prohibited from visiting religious sites outside greater Cairo.," read the travel warning issued on the US Embassy in Cairos website.

Terrorists have attacked targets associated with the Christian community in Egypt. Incidents have occurred in both urban and isolated settings. Additional attacks may be possible, the warning said, adding that Egypt has deployed security forces to protect Egyptians and foreign visitors.

The new US embassy rules do not specifically ban travel to Christian sites of worship. However, it follows a string of deadly terrorist attacks on Coptic Chritians, both at places of worship and on pilgrimage.

Last week, the terrorist group Daesh claimed a gun attack on Coptic Christians in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Minya that killed 30 people. The gun attack followed two suicide bombings in April that killed 46 worshippers at Easter Sunday church services. In December, a bombing killed 24 people at St. Peter and St. Paul's Church in Cairo.

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Friends star Matthew Perry makes both his playwriting and New York stage debut in The End of Longing, a sitcom-like rom-com that, regrettably, is neither amorous nor very funny.

Presumably, Perrywhom I generally enjoy as an actor, particularly when he does dramais drawing from personal experience with Longing, in which his character, Jack, is a jittery pill and alcohol addict unable to sustain healthy relationships. The actors own issues with substance abuse are well-documented.

So, how did Jack become this quivering mess? Were asked to believe its the emotional fallout from a 3-month-long relationship that ended 20 years ago. Say, isnt there some rule that youre allowed to mourn a relationship for an amount of time equal to roughly half the length of that relationship? Shouldnt Jack, you know  be over it?

Its the first of many times the plot strains credulity.

The End of Longing, which had a commercially successful, but critically panned, run last year in London, clearly wants to position itself as an exorcism for its leading man and author. Ad copy for the 100-minute play, helmed by prominent West End director Lindsay Posner, even insists: Broken people dont need to stay broken.

Aside from Jack, who is on the verge of losing his job because of his drinking, the other characters are Stephanie (Jennifer Morrison, of TVs House), an escort; Stevie (Sue Jean Kim), a neurotic pessimist who works in big pharma; and Jeffrey (Quincy Dunn-Baker), an outcast among all of them because hes conventionally normal.

We meet all four in the first scene, in a Los Angeles bar, where the set-up has Jack drinking, alone, while waiting for Jeffrey, his only friend, while the two women are catching up across the room. Turns out, Jeffrey had been on a date the night before with Stevie and  golly, relocate this to Central Perk and it could be an R-rated TV episode: The One That Needed Another Draft.

The journey we take in The End of Longing is about whether Jack and Stephanie, two people with major roadblocks to intimacylest I forget to mention, shes the product of an abusive dad, and enjoys her chosen career because it means keeping men, emotionally, at arms lengthcan get it together to form a relationship. (The more interesting subplot asks the same question of Jeffrey and Stevie.)

Perry at times seems uncomfortable with his own material, setting up jokes without waiting for the lines to sink in. (Whines Jack, at one point: Why is every single episode of NCIS the exact same thing?) There are glimpses of genuine humor and humanity along the way, particularly in the closing monologue Perry has written for himself, but theyre not enough to sustain matters.

Longing also manages to be the fourth or fifth stage piece in the last few months to mine the state of our federal government for humor. Says Stephanie to Jack, during an argument: Youre so stupid that you could run for president and probably win. On behalf of Republicans, Democrats and Libertarians everywhere, I make this request: Writersgive it a rest.

Derek McClanes set is one of the best things here. The centerpiece is a turntable that revolves to locate us in the bar, or Jennifers apartment, a pharmacy or a hospital. Each room we end up in is decorated with stacks of dozens of bottles, all of them emptysomething that would be either torturous or aspirational to Jack, depending on his frame of mind.

The End of Longing, through July 1 at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, 121 Christopher St. Tickets: $49-$99. Call 212-727-7722.

Follow Robert Kahn on Twitter@RobertKahn
A New York City-based artist has been creating lavish costumes out of discarded milk cartons, captivating spectators and local schoolchildren with their incredible design and detail.

Ventiko, the creator of the milk carton dresses and accompanying performance artist collective, Sylva Dean and Me, says she began tinkering with the cartons when her mother developed breast cancer in 2010. A photography artist up until that point, Ventiko says she became incapable of creating photographs, and daily functioning became difficult.

Ventiko/Sylva Dean and Me

She started collecting milk cartons from the nursery school around the corner from her Bushwick home, taking them home to wash, dry, drill and experiment, she told News 4 in an email. She created her first wearable sculpture using staples, each closed by hand -- and it would up falling apart on the first trip out of the house. That's when she took to sewing the cartons.

"It was more often than not disgusting," Ventiko said of working with used milk cartons, but it provided a "great distraction" from her mother's chemotherapy. She first showed the milk-carton dress in 2011, and has been showing them in art galleries, shows and even in schools since then -- including Bushwick United Nursery School, where she'd been picking up the milk cartons.

Ventiko/Sylva Dean and Me

The owner of a dairy farm on Long Island was delighted to learn his own milk cartons were being used for the pieces. Anthony J. Silvio of Rollin Dairy, based in Islandia, supplies the milk to Bushwick United Nursery; he called the artwork "awesome."

Ventiko says the characters in the milk carton costumes are silent and communicate solely through gesture. Learn more about the meaning of Sylva Dean and Me, and its three characters.

"It is a true honor to have my work exhibited in galleries and at art fairs," she said. "However to be appreciated and enjoyed by the community and children gives me the greatest joy."

Ventiko/Sylva Dean and Me

"It is always wonderful to have children and teachers recognize their milk cartons!" she said.

Ventiko/Sylva Dean and Me

The next showing of Sylva Dean and Me will be June 17 at the Maria Hernandez Park in Bushwick.
A New Jersey Transit bus operator was shot and killed in a Gloucester County bus depot by a woman who then took her own life in a nearby parking lot, authorities say.

Officials say Piacenta Jackson, 44, of Woodbury, New Jersey shot Ryon Reynolds, 45, of Sicklerville at a New Jersey Transit garage on the Black Horse Pike in Washington Township, New Jersey around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Reynolds, who was a NJ Transit bus driver, died from his injuries.

Police say Jackson then shot and killed herself near a business at Center and Trenton streets in Mantua Township, New Jersey a short time later.

A business owner next to the garage, where NJ Transit buses are housed overnight, says the depot is often busy: "There's people always walking around, cars in and out," he said.

An investigation is underway on the scene. The lot was shut down as police investigated.

SUICIDE PREVENTION HELP: The National Suicide Prevention Hotline (1-800-273-8255) is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Text HOME to 741741 for a Crisis Text Line.


Two men have been charged with trafficking nearly 15 pounds of cocaine into Boston on a commercial airline.

The U.S. Attorney's office says Juan Luis Perez Garcia, of the Bronx, and Juan Artiles Taveras, of Lakewood, New Jersey, were arrested Friday in Attleboro, Massachusetts and charged with possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

Authorities say federal agents intercepted a suitcase after it arrived in Boston from the Dominican Republic on a JetBlue Airways flight. They say the suitcase tested positive for cocaine.

Authorities say the defendants met a witness and undercover officer to exchange money for the drugs and were arrested.

A federal public defender has been assigned to Garcia and couldn't immediately be reached Monday. Taveras' lawyer says he couldn't yet comment on the allegations.
An eyewear website operator who served more than three years in prison for threatening customers with murder or rape when they complained about eyeglasses was imprisoned Monday by the same judge who sentenced him five years ago.

"I don't see how he's allowed to be back in business," an exasperated U.S. District Judge Richard J. Sullivan said at a bail hearing as he took off his glasses and angrily tossed them onto his bench.

Vitaly Borker, 41, a Ukrainian immigrant living in Brooklyn, was before Sullivan again after he was arrested nearly two weeks ago on mail and wire fraud charges, accused of peddling shoddy glasses online as premium ware. His lawyers said he was falsely charged.

Federal officials said they learned Borker was back in business after reading an article in The New York Times in March headlined: "A Pitch for Eyeglasses That Sounds Eerily Familiar."

Sullivan had sentenced Borker to four years in prison in 2012 after hearing victims from across the country testify that he had harassed them between 2007 and 2010 when they complained about eyeglasses they had bought from his website, DecorMyEyes.com.

"You were terrifying people, putting them in fear of their lives, of being viciously raped," Sullivan said at the time. Borker said then that he was "genuinely and deeply sorry for the awful threats that I made."

After his release from prison in 2015, Borker resumed operations from OpticsFast.com, generating fresh complaints that premium, name-brand eyeglasses or sunglasses sometimes were arriving at the homes of customers poorly made, dirty and damaged, according to a criminal complaint in Manhattan federal court.

The complaint did not allege violent threats but said emails from the company told one woman she was a "stupid stupid lady" and a "total degenerate" while emails from someone signed "Becky S." taunted customers who complained about eyeglasses, including one which said: "I have been doing this for a decade. I will teach you a thing or 2 indeed."

Sullivan noted that the complaint alleges Borker is "Becky S." and he "definitely had contact with customers."

Sometimes, the complaint said, the company threatened legal action. It said one victim, living in New Mexico, was harassed by OpticsFast with 70 text messages per day from 70 different numbers so that he had to change his phone number to avoid being contacted.

Defense attorney Dominic Amorosa argued Monday that Borker is falsely charged.

"He's not communicating with customers," Amorosa said, asking that Borker at least be allowed to remain free with electronic monitoring.

The lawyer said the company has processed 70,000 orders with only 213 complaints to the Better Business Bureau.

Amorosa said the government was overstating his client's involvement in the business.
A woman was arrested for leaking a top-secret National Security Agency document that reveals details about Russian hacking's influence on the U.S. presidential election, a senior federal official told NBC News.

Reality Leigh Winner, 25, was charged with "gathering, transmitting, or losing defense information" to The Intercept.

The story published Monday features a secret NSA document that notes efforts by the Russian government to hack into a voting software company approximately a week before the election. While the document doesn't say the hacking changed any votes, it "raises the possibility that Russian hacking may have breached at least some elements of the voting system, with disconcertingly uncertain results."

The document was classified at some of the highest levels.

Winner is a contractor with Pluribus International Corporation since mid-February, with a Top Secret clearance, authorities said. The NSA has a facility in Georgia.

The FBI said when they approached Winner she admitted to printing out the document, removing it from her place of work and mailing it to The Intercept.

The report is published just a days after NBC's Megyn Kelly sat down with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the hacking accusations, which Putin vehemently denies. Putin said that "it wouldn't make sense" for Russia to interfere with the election.
What to Know Budget Travel bills itself as "the ultimate resource for the worlds savviest travelers"

Its 2017 list of 10 Coolest Small Towns in America features lesser known gems to visit without breaking the bank

New Jersey's Asbury Park came in first, followed by Bisbee, Arizona, and Nevada City, California

Budget Travel has unveiled its 2017 list of the 10 coolest small towns in America, and a sandy spot in New Jersey tops the charts.

The website, which looks to highlight off-the-radar gems for avid travelers to visit breaking the bank, released its annual list Friday. And with 80 percent of Americans saying they plan to take road trips this summer, according to Budget Travel, these places should be top of mind.

60 Outdoor Concerts You Can See for Free This Summer

Asbury Park came in at No. 1 on this year's list of coolest small towns. The beach town's revitalized boardwalk offers great shopping and dining, as well as stunning views of one of the most beautiful beaches on the East Coast, Budget Travel says. It helped launch Bruce Springsteen's career back in the day and remains a magnet for top musical acts.

[NATL]Dr. Beach Reveals Top 10 Best Beaches in the US for 2017

"We love Asbury Parks cultural diversity, welcoming vibe, and year-round calendar of events: Fourth of July fireworks, Oysterfest, Zombie Walk, and so much more," Budget Travel said.

[NATL] Celebrity Baby Boom: Christian Slater u0026 Wife Welcome Daughter

Glens Falls in New York also made the cut, coming in at No. 9. The Warren County town is named for a glorious waterfall in the Hudson River at the end of the city and has some pretty fascinating history to go with its unique and beautiful aesthetics.

Here's the full top 10:

1. Asbury Park, New Jersey

2. Bisbee, Arizona

3. Nevada City, California

4. Chatham, Massachusetts

5. Mountain View, Arkansas

6. Cannon Beach, Oregon

7. Philipsburg, Montana

8. Milford, Pennsylvania

9. Glens Falls, New York

10. Indianola, Mississippi

[NATL] Top Entertainment Photos: Best of the American Music Awards, and More
A woman shot and killed a New Jersey Transit bus driver before taking her own life in the parking lot of a bus garage, according to investigators.

Officials say Piacenta Jackson, 44, of Woodbury, New Jersey shot Ryon Reynolds, 45, of Sicklerville at a New Jersey Transit garage on the Black Horse Pike in Washington Township, New Jersey around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Reynolds, who was a NJ Transit bus driver, died from his injuries.

Police say Jackson then shot and killed herself near a business at Center and Trenton streets in Mantua Township, New Jersey a short time later.

The NJ Transit garage has been shut down, but buses continue to operate. The Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office as well as Washington Township, Mantua Township and NJ Transit police are all investigating the incident.

SUICIDE PREVENTION HELP: The National Suicide Prevention Hotline (1-800-273-8255) is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Text HOME to 741741 for a Crisis Text Line.
Cairo is bracing for hot summer weather on Wednesday, with weather experts predicting 41 degrees Celsius in the captial, part of a heatwave expected to last until Thursday.



In official statements to state-owned news agency MENA, officials from Egypts Meteorological Authority said that Cairo is expected to see a high of 41 degrees and a low of 28 low, while temperatures in the coastal city of Alexandria will range from 36 to 23.



Summer weather is expected nationwide on Wednesday, including in the normally cool northern coastal areas, with resorts in the south and east of the country particularly warm.



The Red Sea resort city of Hurghada will see a high of 41 and a low of 30, while Sharm El-Sheikh in South Sinai will see a high of 39 and low of 30.



Wednesday marks 12th day of the holy Islamic month of Ramadan, during which Muslims abstain from drinking and eating from dawn until dusk. Many will find the hot weather increasing the discomfort of their fast.



Wednesday will also see some moderate winds in southern parts of the country, with possible disruption of marine navigation in the Gulf of Suez and the Red Sea.



On the Mediterranean Sea, there will be moderate waves, reaching 1.5 to 2 metres in height, while the Red Sea will experience moderate to extreme waves of 2 to 2.5 metres.

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Police are searching for a missing Delaware teen boy.

Caleb Ball, 15, was last seen at his home on the 27000 block of Paradise Street at the Homestead Mobile Home Park in Georgetown, Delaware around 6 p.m. Monday. Police have been unable to make contact with him since then and there is a real concern for his safety.

Ball is described as a white male standing 5-foot-6 and weighing 150 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes.

If you have any information on his whereabouts, please call Troop 4 at 302-856-5850.


A Pennsylvania doctor who has since lost his medical license will spend 30 to 95 years in prison for drugging two women and a teenage girl at his home, then sexually abusing two of them.

Former Chambersburg doctor Sohael Raschid told a Franklin County judge on Friday that he gave the wrong dose of drugs to one victim, nothing more.



But a jury last month found the 60-year-old defendant guilty of drugging three of four accusers, and sexually assaulting two of the three. The accusers included a 13-year-old and a 19-year-old.

Prosecutors say the encounters happened at Raschid's home in Hamilton Township in 2014.

Judge Jeremiah Zook told Raschid: "You're not a rapist who happens to be a doctor. You were able to rape because you are a doctor."
A three-day manhunt for an escaped prisoner ended Tuesday with him back in handcuffs and without shoes.

Police captured Daniel Selby Jr. in Warrington, county radio police said. No one was injured during the apprehension.

Tuesday morning, Warrington Township police responded to the 2500 block of County Line Road after a tipster reported that escapee Selby was at his house around and looking for a ride home. Selby darted into the wooded area toward the Bradford Dam Reservoir, police said.

"He was actually found sleeping in an old pickup truck on the property when confronted Mr. Selby took off running into the woods," Warrington Police Chief Daniel Friel said.

Police K-9 units surrounded the area of Bradford Dam and Lower Nike Park in hopes of capturing Selby.

Three hours later an officer spotted Selby hiding in some woods miles away.

"A police officer then turns onto County Line Road from Kansas (Road)... and I roll my window down and I'm screaming to him 'he just crossed the road, he's in the neighborhood there." resident Kevin Boles told NBC10's Cydney Long.

Police finally recaptured Selby in the Bluestone Creek neighborhood, Friel said.

Day 3 of the search for Selby caused more trouble for area schools. The day after the Central Bucks School District closed all of its schools after the prisoner escaped in the area, the district placed seven schools on lockdown after the escapee was spotted near a recreational area.

Due to police activity in the area, the Central Bucks School District currently has seven schools in lock down. They are Central Bucks High School South, Tamanend and Unami middle Schools, and Butler, Mill Creek, Titus, and Barclay elementary schools, the district posted to its website.

There is no immediate danger or threat to the schools, but we are following our lock down procedures as a precaution," the post continued. "Students will not be allowed to leave the building until the lock down is over. Parents should not go to the schools impacted since they will not be allowed into the building during a lock down.

Selby is wanted on charges of aggravated assault of law enforcement, assault by prisoner and escape. He allegedly escaped Sunday night during a transport in the area of Bristol Road and Lower State Road in Doylestown Township.

Selby, who had no history of violent behavior, allegedly escaped after he claimed he was feeling ill during the transport, Doylestown Township police said. He managed to get free of his foot shackles and ran off while handcuffed and wearing an orange shirt, according to officials.

Selby -- back in handcuffs Tuesday -- didn't answer question as police loaded him into a patrol car.

Shelby's father was charged with helping his son on the lam. Daniel Selby Sr. told investigators he gave his son $70 then dropped off his son in North Philadelphia Monday afternoon, police said. It was unclear how Selby got back to Bucks County.

NBC10's Matt Delucia details the timeline, and latest information regarding escapee Daniel Selby who caused a search in the Doylestown area of Bucks County Sunday into Monday. Selby is believed to have left the area.

A shelter-in-place was issued for Doylestown Township, Warrington and parts of Chalfont but it was later lifted Monday morning.

The Central Bucks School District closed schools Monday due to the escape. Central Bucks is the third largest school district in the state with more than 18,000 students, the district says.

Selby has outstanding warrants in Bucks, Chester and Philadelphia counties, investigators said.
A passenger on board a San Diego-bound Delta flight was bitten by another traveler's emotional support dog, the airlines confirmed.

The passenger was taken off the plane at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport "to receive medical attention," according to Delta Airlines spokesman Anthony Black.

The incident on Monday's flight happened before the plane pushed back from the gate, Black said.

The airline said local police spoke with the dog's owner before clearing the animal to travel in a kennel.

The support dog's owner was re-accommodated on a later flight.

No further information was immeditately available.
Barbra Streisand is mourning the loss of her beloved dog, Sammie.

The 75-year-old star announced the news on her social media accounts Saturday, saying "we cherish every moment of the 14 years we had with her."

On her Instagram page, Streisand has posted numerous photos of herself doting on the fluffy white Coton de Tulear, also known as the "Royal Dog of Madagascar."

Streisand is fond of the breed and has had several Coton de Tulear in the past.

Streisand once told British newspaper The Independent Sammie is "like the daughter I never had."
Prince Harry shared a meal with about 80 Muslim youths in Singapore Sunday as they broke their Ramadan fast and helped pay tribute to the victims of the recent London terror attack.

On Saturday night, three people drove a van into pedestrians on London Bridge and stabbed others nearby, killing seven people and injuring dozens. The attack came two weeks after a suicide bomber killed 22 people at Manchester Arena just as thousands were leaving an Ariana Grande concert.

Harry is on a two-day trip to Singapore. He visited the Jamiyah Children's Home, run by the Muslim voluntary welfare organization Jamiyah Singapore, which helps homeless youth and recovering addicts. There, he took part in a traditional sunset iftar meal to break the daily fast during the Muslim month of Ramadan.

Prince Harry: Royal and Rugged

Dishes of dates and porridge were served at the beginning of the meal and just before the sun went down and the call to prayer was made by an Islamic scholar, secretary-general of Jamiyah Muhammad Rafiuddin Ismail said: "Our thoughts go out to the families of the victims of the London terror attack last night," The Telegraph reported.

Harry bowed his head, while Ismail continued, "Let peace and harmony prevail in communities all over the world."

Harry was given a traditional Malay welcome before the meal from 10 hand drum players and was also given a silat martial arts demonstration.

Also during his visit, Harry was given a tour of a mobile HIV testing van and watched volunteers get tested.

The prince had himself undergone an HIV test, along with Rihanna, as a sign of solidarity and to raise awareness for the disease during a trip to her native Barbados late last year.
Two people were arrested Monday morning on charges connected to the deadly Oakland Ghost Ship warehouse fire that killed 36 people in December, according to Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley.

Derick Almena, the warehouse's operator, and Max Harris, a warehouse tenant, were taken into custody. Almena was arrested in Lake County, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who assisted with the arrest.

O'Malley said both Almena and Harris are charged with 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection to the deadly blaze.

Almena was taken to Santa Rita Jail in Dublin late Monday and was to be processed sometime after midnight, sheriff's officials said. He is scheduled to be in court Thursday, with bail set at $1 million. Sheriffs deputies will travel to Southern California to pick up Harris this week.

One victim's mother reacted to the arrests Monday.

"That place was set up like a death trap," said Susan Slocum, whose daughter Donna Kellogg one of the first to be identified in the tragic fire. "Our daughters and sons didnt have much of a chance."

Slocum said the arrest of two men facing involuntary manslaughter charges couldnt come soon enough.

"You feel like youre in a state of limbo, waiting to hear something," she said. "It feels better knowing theres movement going on."

OMalley explained the two men's arrests and charges during a news conference Monday.

"They knowingly created a fire trap, with inadequate escapes, and are now suffering the consequences of their actions," she said.

A massive fire ripped through the converted Ghost Ship warehouse building during a dance party on Dec. 2, engulfing the ground floor and sending smoke up twp staircases, trapping party-goers. Th structure was zoned as a warehouse but illegally converted into a living space.

Almena told NBC's "Today" show back in December that he was "incredibly sorry and that everything that I did was to make this a stronger and more beautiful community and to bring people together."

Almena, 46, who friends knew as Derick Ion, was convicted in January of receiving stolen property, specifically an Airstream trailer from his landlord in January 2015, court records show. He spent two days in jail then, pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor, and had been on probation until 2019.

Almena survived the fire and posted to Facebook after hearing that the converted warehouse he managed was the site of a deadly fire. The post, which has since been deleted, got a lot of attention because of its insensitivity to what was already known to be a fatal scene.

The post read as follows: "Confirmed. Everything I worked so hard for is gone. Blessed that my children and Micah were at a hotel safe and sound ... it's as if I have awoken from a dream filled with opulence and hope ... to be standing now in poverty of self worth."

The post prompted more than 2,000 comments, and many of them were critical of Almena's message. The commenters said he showed more concern for his material possessions than the people who were killed in the blaze.

Danielle Boudreaux said she became fast friends with Almena and his wife Micah Allison when they met eight years ago before a falling out about a year ago over conditions at the warehouse.

Access to the second floor, where there was a room for concerts and a home for the couple and their children, was a rickety, homemade staircase, she said.

"Calling it a staircase gives you the idea that it was a set of stairs. It was not," Boudreaux said. "It was random pieces of wood put together to create something that you could get up to the top floor on. But it was not what most people would consider a staircase. It was like a jimmy-rigged makeshift staircase. As soon as you stepped on it, it wobbled all over the place."

Other former tenants have said there were constant problems with the power and hot water. One, Shelly Mack, described "all kinds of electrical cords running through there illegally." She called it a "death trap."

Long before the fire killed 36 partygoers in Oaklands Fruitvale district late Friday night, Oakland officials had been fighting the owners of that building over hazardous or substandard conditions at their properties.



City building inspectors never set foot inside the Ghost Ship warehouse in 30 years. But dozens of public documents obtained by the Investigative Unit reveal city officials had routinely accused the buildings owners of neglect in connection with the warehouse and other properties they own. Those records show the Ng family, who own the so-called Ghost Ship warehouse and at least a dozen other properties across the Bay Area, failed to clean up dangerous or shoddy conditions at properties over a period of more than 15 years despite code violations and complaints from neighbors.

NBC Bay Area's Jodi Hernandez and Cheryl Hurd contributed to this report.
On April 6, 2017, Jenifer Wood, 14, collapsed in her Descanso home and never woke up. The Medical Examiner said her death was caused by Influenza B.

"You always think about what you could have done differently," said Tanya Wood, mother of Jenifer. Tanya said when Jenifer complained of a sore throat and coughing, she took her to the doctor.

"They did a nose swab and said Influenza Type B, so they said just go home, drink a lot of fluids. Then around one in the morning, she had a little bit of blood in her phlegm," Tanya recalled. "I called the ER line. They said if she develops a fever or it gets worse bring her back in. Well, I didnt get the opportunity. She was gone by 5:50 in the morning."

The autopsy determined Jenifer had asthma, but her mother said she never showed signs of that.

"Jenifer never had an actual asthma attack. She was a gymnast, competitive cheerleader, swam, rode horses. She literally just passed a fitness test the week before," said Tanya.

NBC 7 reached out to the Children's Primary Care Medical Group, which supplied the medical history for Jenifer's autopsy. The President said he could not comment on the case because of medical privacy laws. But he did give this statement:

"Many providers and staff are really devastated by her [Jenifer Wood] passing. This and any unexpected outcome we review thoroughly. We review all such cases to provide the best possible care to our patients.



The San Diego Health and Human Services Agency said this year 87 people have died from Influenza in San Diego County. They added Jenifer was the youngest person to pass away from it.

Dr. Wilma Wooten with the Health and Human Services Agency said that Tanya did everything right to help her daughter. Dr. Wooten added it is important for anyone with the flu who has symptoms of weezing, shortness of breath or fever to get to a doctor immediately.



Wood's family held a fundraiser on May 20 to raise money to create a scholarship in Jenifer's name. They will be giving the money to a student at Jenifer's school, Granite Hills High School.
Tension and animosity are driving a wedge between local organized labor groups right now.

Unions and other organized labor groups are a lot like other interest groups  sometimes they agree with one another, sometimes they don't.

When they are united, though  either behind a candidate or a proposed policy  they can wield a lot of power, which is why the recent leadership shakeup at the Labor Council is making such big waves in San Diego politics.

In this week's San Diego Explained, NBC 7's Monica Dean and Voice of San Diego's Scott Lewis lift the curtain on the current battle at the heart of organized labor.
Algeria and Tunisia have expressed complete understanding of the Egyptian airstrikes carried out last week against militants in the war-torn country, Egyptian foreign ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid said in an interview with state-owned news agency MENA on Tuesday.

Foreign minister Sameh Shoukry explained to his Tunisian and Algerian counterparts in a meeting in the Algerian capital on Monday the reasons behind the Egyptian strikes in Derna against militants that Egypt says were involved in a deadly attack last month on Egyptian Christians in Upper Egypt.

Late last month, gunmen attacked a convoy of Christians heading to a monastery in Minya governorate, killing 30 people including women and children.

The militant group Daesh has claimed responsibility of the attack.

Following the attack, Egypt launched a series of airstrikes targeting militants in the Libyan cities of Derna and Jefra in coordination with the Libyan National Army.

On Monday, Egypt's foreign minister Sameh Shoukry held a meeting with his Tunisian and Algerian counterparts, FM Khemaies Jhinaoui and FM Ramtane Lamamra, as part of periodical tripartite meetings between the three countries to discuss developments in the Libyan civil conflict.

"Minister Shoukry explained why the airstrikes were carried out and how Egypt has been affected by the lack of security and chaos in Libya," Abu Zeid said.

"The three ministers agreed on the necessity of increasing cooperation in order to secure Libyan borders, as they pose a source of constant danger as long as the situation in Libya remains as is," he added.

The three ministers also agreed that the absence of stability and lack of a political solution to the Libyan conflict are the main sources of problems like irregular migration, the proliferation of arms, and drug trafficking, Abu Zeid said.

The Tunisian and Algerian FMs expressed full solidarity with Egypt in the fight against terrorism, and the three ministers agreed to hold their next meeting to discuss the situation in Libya in Cairo.

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Forget sports bars  it was all about politics at watering holes in the nation's capital as fired FBI Director James Comey testified before Congress.

Shaw's Tavern in Washington opened early and attracted a line of waiting customers seeking to watch the former FBI director's congressional appearance. A special menu was offered for occasion, with the sandwich, the vodka and Covfefe coffee - a coffee with whipped cream and cinnamon. The hearing blared on televisions mounted throughout the bar and on the patio.

"This is massive,'' said Dani Robillard, 42, of San Francisco, who lined up outside Shaw's. She said she was in town for a wedding and wanted to watch the hearing with people. Like others in line, she said she did not support Trump.

Todd Shaffer, 55, a commercial real estate agent in the crowd at Shaw's, predicted that little would get done in the nation's workplaces.

"No one is working today,'' he said.

That was true for Stephanie Williams, 22, of McLean, Virginia, who took the day off from her job as a public health intern.

"This is the kind of thing our children are going to be talking about in history classes,'' she said.

Orlando Lopez, 32, a self-employed Lyft driver, said he took time off as well.

"I think there was obstruction of justice,'' he said. "I would like to see that come to light.''

Asked what he planned to order at Shaw's, he said: "I'd like to get a white Russian.''

The crowd at Shaw's grew quiet when the hearing began, but patrons reacted to key moments, with some applauding when Comey said Trump's administration spread "lies, plain and simple'' and "defamed'' him and the FBI.

"When he called the president a liar basically, that was impressive,'' said Caitrin McKee, 35, of Silver Spring, Maryland. "I think (Trump) deserves to be impeached, and this could be the beginning.''

Other bars across the District also joined in on the watch party fun.

"Starting at 10 a.m. anytime Donald Trump tweets about the hearing we will give a free round of drinks to everyone that's in here," said Ashley Saunders, general manager at Union Pub on Capitol Hill.

Even if that means hundreds will turn out, "it'd be great," she said.

Trump remained silent during the hearing, likely disappointing many patrons. But despite Trump's silence, Union Pub still gave its guests a free beer anyway, Washingtonian reported.

Trump didn't Tweet, but Union Pub just gave everyone a free beer anyway. pic.twitter.com/mIsRNQ42ni  Benjamin Freed (@brfreed) June 8, 2017

Rob Heim, Shaw's general manager, said this isn't the first time politics has been a big draw for the bar.

"We definitely had more people for election night than the Super Bowl," he said.

The hearing is Comey's first congressional appearance since he was fired by President Donald Trump last month. The testimony comes amid investigations by the FBI and congressional committees into the scope of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

In a statement to the intelligence committee released on Wednesday, Comey detailed a handful of one-on-one interactions with Trump that he said made him uneasy. The president had demanded his loyalty, had tried to create a "patronage relationship," and asked him to back off an investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn, Comey alleged. Comey also confirmed Trump's assertion that he assured him Trump was not a target of the FBI's investigation into Russia's meddling and possible collusion by Trump's campaign.

At Duffy's Irish Pub in D.C., a large-screen TV on the patio and 15 TVs inside were tuned in as lawmakers pressed Comey on his prepared testimony. Duffy's also served "Covfefe cocktails."

Another bar, The Pug on H Street NE, said in a Twitter post Monday they would open at 11 a.m., but "given the gravity of Thusday's Comey hearings," their TVs will be showing HGTV or "Law and Order" re-runs.

Commissary, located near Logan Circle, encouraged everyone to gossip about the Comey hearing over bottomless brunch.

Bottomless mimosas, bloody marys and sangria were served for $15. The bar also offered a $5 "Conspiracy and Covfefe" drink, which features American beer and a shot of Russian vodka.

Lastly, the Partisan and Red Apron Butcher, located on D Street in Penn Quarter, served specialty drinks called "The Last Word" and "Drop The Bomb."

Breakfast was also served for those who got a little hungry during the Comey viewing party.

Back at Union Pub, Saunders took a political tact herself in talking about the fixture's clientele. Her customers are both pro- and anti-Trump, she said.

One Washington bar that did nothing special was in the lobby of Trump's hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue between the White House and the Capitol.

Of the four TVs at the bar, three were tuned to Fox News coverage of the hearing, while the fourth showed French Open tennis. The TVs were muted, with quiet jazz playing over the lobby's sound system. That meant anyone who wanted to follow Comey's remarks had to read the captions.

Plenty of velvet and leather seats at the bar were available, and one point, there were as many reporters (four) as there were ordinary people having a drink and watching the hearing.

Ravi Nallamothu and his wife, Padmaja Manyam, both 39-year-old physicians and Trump supporters from Napa, California, said they decided to have a drink at the bar and watch the hearing because the line at the nearby National Archives was too long. They wanted to see the hotel while they were in town.

"It is Trumpian,'' Manyam said.

Nallamothu said he read Comey's prepared remarks, concluding,"I don't think there's much there.''

"I think it's political theater,'' he said. "I don't think there's much they're going to get out of it.''
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe signed two bills into law designed to curtail student suicides and increase prevention efforts.

Senate Bill 1117, introduced by Virginia state Sen. Jeremy McPike (D-Prince William County), requires school counselors to receive training in bullying and suicide prevention in order to renew their state licenses.

We lost our younger brother 18 years ago. He was a junior in high school, McPike said. So this is something that is very near and dear to our hearts.

House Bill 1709, introduced by Virginia House Del. Eileen Filler-Corn (D-Fairfax County), directs schools to notify parents within five days if their child is involved in a bullying incident.

During the signing, Filler-Corn introduced 17-year-old Brandon Farbstein, whose personal experiences with bullying encouraged her to champion the legislation. Farbstein has a rare form of dwarfism and says the bullying began for him when he entered high school in the Richmond area. He became a motivational speaker who has appeared in TED Talks to advocate for people with disabilities, but that seemed to fuel cruel social media posts.

"One was, 'If this midget doesn't kill himself, I'm going to kill him,'" he said.

As his profile grew, his situation worsened.

"Until the point where I was in school, I couldn't go to the restroom because I felt I was in so much physical danger," he said.

School administrators knew of the bullying but found it hard to investigate, to identify the culprits, his parents said.

Farbstein eventually turned to online classes, but he and his family also took their concerns to Filler-Corn.

With the signing of this bill, HB 1709, it is my hope that fewer Virginians will have to go through what Brandon did, Filler-Corn said. Every student has a right not only to learn, but to thrive in their school environment.

The bills were signed at Forest Park High School in Prince William County in recognition of students there who organize a suicide awareness march every year to bring attention to the issue.

Our goal is to make sure that when a student comes to our schools theyre safe, McAuliffe said. Theyre protecting psychological, emotional and physical aspects of a student. We want students to come to school to focus on education and not be worrying about people bullying.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Tuesday that President Donald Trump has asked him to rebuild the U.S. relationship with Russia and not allow the political turmoil over possible Russian ties to the Trump campaign to impede him.

Tillerson said relations with Russia are at a low point and deteriorating, and Trump asked him to try to stabilize the relationship and rebuild trust.

The top U.S. diplomat spoke in Wellington, New Zealand, where he met with Prime Minister Bill English during a brief visit.

Tillerson said he couldn't comment on the details of the Russia investigations or whether they could bring down the administration because "I have no direct knowledge."

He said Trump has told him he should not allow the uproar to impede him from working on the relationship.

"He's been quite clear with me to proceed at whatever pace and in the areas I think we might make progress," Tillerson said. "I really am not involved in any of these other issues."

Tillerson was also asked about Trump's provocative tweets, including those in which he criticized London's mayor after three assailants killed seven people and wounded dozens in the London Bridge area over the weekend.

"The president has his own unique ways of communicating with the American people, and the world," Tillerson said. "And it's served him pretty well, and I don't intend to advise him on how to communicate. That's up to him."

Tillerson said he was pleased by reports that some British imams were refusing to offer funeral prayers for the London attackers.

"That is what has to be done," he said. "Only the Muslim faith can handle this."

English said he was reassured by Tillerson about the intention of the U.S. to engage in the Asia-Pacific region. Tillerson's New Zealand stopover came after he visited Australia with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu is reportedly saying his state will not join the U.S. Climate Alliance, a coalition of states pledging to uphold the Paris climate agreement despite President Trump's decision to back out.

Gov. Sununu told the Concord Monitor he did not want to join the 12-state pact because of concerns about the alliance's impact on the economy and the environment.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker became the first Republican governor to bring his state into the alliance on June 2.

"Our administration looks forward to continued, bipartisan collaboration with other states to protect the environment," said Gov. Baker in a statement.

Vermont's Republican Gov. Phil Scott also signed on to the agreement.

There are currently 12 states committed to the alliance, which aims to cut carbon emissions by 26 percent from 2005 levels.
A judge won't dismiss a lawsuit filed by two Massachusetts doctors seeking the right to prescribe lethal doses of medication to mentally competent patients with terminal illnesses without fear of prosecution.

The lawsuit filed last year by retired Dr. Roger Kligler - who has terminal cancer - and Dr. Alan Steinbach asks the court for an injunction to prevent criminal prosecution of what it calls "medical aid in dying," which advocates say isn't the same as assisted suicide.

The Cape and Islands district attorney and the state attorney general had argued that the question of physician-assisted suicide should be addressed by lawmakers.

The Boston Globe reports a judge ruled last week the court doesn't agree that the Legislature is a "superior forum" for grappling with the issue.
New Hampshire State Police say a man who was driving drunk seriously injured himself in a single-vehicle crash Monday night in Dublin.

Christopher Meinsma, 30, of Dublin, was charged with felony-level aggravated driving under the influence.

Police responded to the area of 481 Lower Jaffrey Road around 7:30 p.m. and found Meinsma suffered serious, but non-life-threatening injuries.

Officials believe he was traveling at a high rate of speed, lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a utility pole.

Its not clear when he will appear in court of if he has an attorney.
A Massachusetts woman who was beaten and pepper-sprayed by two MBTA officers in 2014 has settled a civil rights lawsuit with the organization, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts.

According to the lawsuit, in March 2014, Mary Holmes, a Boston resident living in the city's Roxbury neighborhood, saw Officer Jennifer Garvey scream and shove another black woman at the Dudley Square station. When Ms. Holmes tried to intervene, Garvey and her partner, Officer Alfred Trinh, pepper-sprayed Holmes, beat her with a metal baton and arrested her.

"I saw something, I said something, and I was beaten and arrested for it," said Holmes.

Holmes, attorney Howard Friedman and the ACLU filed a lawsuit in 2015 against Garvey and Trinh. In 2016, Holmes added the MBTA and one of Garvey's supervisors as defendants.

The amount Holmes was awarded has not been released.

The settlement requires increased oversight of MBTA officers, increased transparency for MBTA policies, and improvements in the citizen complaint system.

"Hopefully, these policy changes will act as a deterrent and help ensure that no one else has to go through what I went through," Holmes said in a statement.
Vermont State Police have arrested a man for the sexual assault of a child that happened from 1982 to 1994 in Whitingham.

Gary Dix Sr., 66, was charged with aggravated sexual assault on a child during his arrest Monday.

No other details about the case were immediately available.

Dix Sr. was held on $10,000 bail and will appear in court Tuesday.

Its not clear if he has an attorney.
Bishop Graham is publishing daily prayers on social media for the current COP27 climate conference, and is asking all to join.

Bishop Graham is publishing daily prayers on social media for the current COP27 climate conference, and is asking all to join.

Discovering the Orange in your life The vibrant colours of autumn have been inspiring regular contributor Jane Walters to focus on the positive. Read more

YMCA annual celebration set to inspire YMCA Norfolk is set to hold its much anticipated 2022 annual celebration and awards ceremony on November 17, after almost 3 years since the last event due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more

Hub manager vacancy at community shop Earlham Community Shop Community Interest Company is looking to appoint a manager for this new venture being developed in the heart of NR5 Norwich. Read more

Abbey Days brings Christmas Magic to Wymondham Visitors to Wymondham Abbeys Christmas fair will be able to treat their children to a magic show and fun baking workshop while they browse more than 60 stalls. Read more

Salvation Armys new Christmas Appeal in Norfolk The Salvation Army has launched their new Christmas appeal across Norfolk which, this year, has evolved from the much-loved Toys and Tins appeal. Read more

Are we storing up treasures on earth? Rising prices affect us all, and Anna Heydon urges us to spare a thought for those who will be struggling with the cost of living this winter. Read more

Latest Norfolk Christian community events Events of interest to the Norwich and Norfolk Christian community happening over the next few weeks are listed. Read more

Covid leaf memorial at Norwich church St Peter Mancroft Church Norwich Presents The Leaves of the Trees an installation by sculptor Peter Walker which provides a memorial for those who died of Covid-19 Read more

Community Chaplaincy Norfolk begins a new chapter Community Chaplaincy Norfolk (CCN) celebrated the beginning of a new chapter this week, as the new chair of trustees Chris Tomlinson led his first annual meeting. Read more

Lowestoft Christians launch on-line bible helps app The Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth branch of Good News for Everyone (GNFE), formerly the Gideons, have introduced a new mobile phone app called On-line Bible Helps. Read more

Addicts' rehabilitation centre plan for Drayton Hall Christian addiction charity Teen Challenge London is planning to turn Drayton Hall near Norwich into its headquarters and a rehabilitation centre for men, after it was gifted the freehold of the hall by its owner, the Lind Trust. Read more

The power of positive protest Philip Young encourages us to take a stand for what we believe, and has just written to Therese Coffey regarding climate change and the forthcoming COP 27. He explains why we should be prepared to protest. Read more

Norwich church celebrates with cribs and trees Rosebery Road Methodist Church in Norwich will be holding its annual Cribs and Trees Festival in December. Read more

Transforming Norwich lunch offers ministry tips Ex-Brighton vicar, Rev Phil Moon, will offer tips on how to keep going in ministry to the Transforming Norwich leaders lunch on Wednesday November 16. Read more

Quiet Waters in Bungay offers healing retreat Quiet Waters Christian Retreat in Bungay is holding a gentle day retreat exploring healing in the Kingdom of God. Read more

Norfolk ministry coaching duo are guest speakers Former church leaders and now freelance ministry coaches, Jonathan and Paige Squirrell, are the guest speakers at the next dinner of Norwich FGB on Monday, November 21. Read more

Bringing light to Halloween Anna Price encourages Christians to engage positively with Halloween rather than hide away, on what many see as the darkest night of the year. Read more
Egyptian officials say the diplomatic crisis between Qatar and its Gulf neighbors has yet to affect the 300,000 Egyptian workers in the tiny, energy-rich country, amid fears they could be expelled or stranded.



Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates severed diplomatic ties with Qatar on Monday and have moved to cut off all air, land and sea routes to the country, which they accuse of supporting terrorism, charges Qatar denies.



Egyptian Charge d'Affaires Ihab Abdel-Hamid told The Associated Press he is returning to Egypt on Wednesday after being recalled. EgyptAir, the national carrier, has suspended all flights from and to Qatar.



Abdel-Hamid said "I myself have to find a third country, a transit point tomorrow." Many people are flying back through Kuwait, which has stepped in to mediate the dispute.



Mohammed el-Iraqi, the spokesman for the Egyptian community in Qatar, has told Egyptian media that Egyptians in Qatar panicked when the crisis erupted but that so far it has had no impact on their businesses.

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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.
Welcome to the relaunch of my blog. We are undergoing a slight change in direction here at Network World, and with it a change in direction for this blog. Instead of covering Microsoft issues, I will be focused on data center issues, a change I am looking forward to because I love all things big iron. So, on to the show.

-----------------------------------------------

The state of Florida is not the first place you think of when it comes to tech. IBM had that legendary Boca Raton facility, and there are a few firms here and there, but it pales in comparison to California, Oregon, Washington and Texas.

The state is looking to change that in a unique way. Instead of luring tech firms, its looking to lure data centers. The state legislature has passed, and Governor Rick Scott has signed, legislation for sales tax exemptions for large data center projects. The law goes into effect July 1, 2017.

The law eliminates sales tax and use tax for data centers, infrastructure, equipment, personal property and electricity. However, to qualify for the exemption, a company must make a minimum cumulative investment of $150 million. The data center also must have a critical load of at least 15MW and a critical load of at least 1MW per each individual owner or tenant in the facility.

Given the massive scale of data centers, that should not be too high a bar. And Florida has quite a bit of cheap power from solar, hydro and wind. Its also got a lot of empty space outside of the major cities, although a lot of it is swamp.

Florida tried to pass similar legislation in 2016 but failed, so a small team of data center specialists worked with the local government to raise awareness of the benefits such projects could bring.

This team included Crystal Stiles, economic development lead at Florida Power & Light; Todd Weller, founder of technology consultancy CyberXperts; and Lee Kestler, former DuPont Fabros executive and now a consultant at Kopeland Ventures, according to Datacenter Dynamics.

How will Florida benefit?

It remains to be seen just what kind of benefits Florida gets out of this. A few years back, when Apple announced plans to build a massive data center in rural North Carolina, the local citizens were all excited about the big facility, then they were let down when they learned it would employ only 50 people. Data centers operate on a lights out mode and only need humans to replace what breaks.

However, Florida is the gateway to Latin America in more ways than one. Many high-speed internet connections to central and south America go through Florda, so it could serve as a bi-directional bridge to Mexico, Brazil and other Latin American nations.

It remains to be seen what they attract. The cooling bill for a data center in Florida sounds dreadful, not to mention the need to dehumidify the place. Data center gear can take heat but not moisture. Id rather put a data center in Arizona than Florida with its warping humidity.
Egypts Al-Azhar Institute  considered the highest seat of Sunni Islamic learning  said on Tuesday that it endorses and supports all decisions taken by Arab leaders to guarantee the unity of the Arab nation, one day after a number of Arab states announced severing diplomatic ties with Qatar.

The Cairo-based Al-Azhar said that it is looking forward to seeing Arab states increase their efforts to fight against any plots to destabilise them or threaten their national security.

Al-Azhar added that it hopes rogue regimes would return to their senses.

On Monday, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen and the eastern-based government of Libya cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing the Gulf country of supporting terrorist groups.

Qatar slammed the boycott decision as "unjustified," saying that the move aimed to put Doha under political "guardianship."

The Gulf country also stressed that "these measures taken against the state of Qatar will not affect the normal course of life of the citizens and residents of the state."

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Egypt is still discussing with Ethiopia an initial report issued by two firms tasked with assessing the impact of the under-construction Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on downstream countries, Egypts irrigation ministry spokesman Hossam Imam told Al-Ahram Arabic news website on Tuesday.

Egypt is currently negotiating with Ethiopia the period of time over which the dams reservoir should be filled after construction is completed.

Imam also said that the signatories of the Entebbe Agreement should apply the principle of cooperation between the Nile Basin countries.

The Entebbe agreement seeks to create a cooperative atmosphere between all Nile Basin countries and ensure that all these countries enjoy the socioeconomic benefits of the river.

Imam said that Egypts absence from any Nile Basin agreement would lead to the failure of these agreements.

Imam also added that successful management of international rivers should entail the combined efforts of all involved parties, who should have an integrated vision for the management of these rivers.

He said that a project for the development of Lake Victoria failed because not all Nile Basin countries were party to the agreement.

Cairo has repeatedly expressed concerns that the construction of the Renaissance Dam, which is more than halfway complete, could negatively affect Egypt's share of Nile water.

Addis Ababa, however, has maintained that the dam project, which Ethiopia says is vital for generating electricity, will not harm downstream countries, with Ethiopian FM Workneh Gebeyehu assuring Egyptians in April that Addis Ababa would never harm the Egyptian people and their interests.

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By Reuters

SYDNEY: India's Adani Enterprises said on Tuesday that it has given final investment approval for its controversial $4 billion Carmichael mine and rail project in Queensland.

"The project has Final Investment Decision approval, which marks the official start of one of the largest single infrastructure and job-creating developments in Australia's recent history," Adani Chairman Gautam Adani said in a statement.

The company, which has still to line up funding, plans to build what would be Australia's biggest coal mine, but has faced opposition from environment groups who argue it will contribute to global warming and damage the Great Barrier Reef.

On Tuesday, Adani said the project would create 10,000 direct and indirect jobs, with pre-construction works starting in the next few months. Coal from the mine will be exported to India.

The Carmichael project is located in the remote Galilee Basin, a 247,000 square-kilometre (95,000 square mile) expanse in the central outback that some believe has the potential to become Australia's largest coal-producing region.

"We have been challenged by activists in the courts, in inner city streets, and even outside banks that have not even been approached to finance the project," Adani said, calling the project the biggest single investment by an Indian company in Australia.

Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said Australia's third biggest state had been hit by a resources downturn which has hit mining firms across the country.

Adani's final decision "is a vote of confidence not just in the Queensland economy, but in Queensland people", she said.

SYDNEY: India's Adani Enterprises said on Tuesday that it has given final investment approval for its controversial $4 billion Carmichael mine and rail project in Queensland. "The project has Final Investment Decision approval, which marks the official start of one of the largest single infrastructure and job-creating developments in Australia's recent history," Adani Chairman Gautam Adani said in a statement. The company, which has still to line up funding, plans to build what would be Australia's biggest coal mine, but has faced opposition from environment groups who argue it will contribute to global warming and damage the Great Barrier Reef. On Tuesday, Adani said the project would create 10,000 direct and indirect jobs, with pre-construction works starting in the next few months. Coal from the mine will be exported to India. The Carmichael project is located in the remote Galilee Basin, a 247,000 square-kilometre (95,000 square mile) expanse in the central outback that some believe has the potential to become Australia's largest coal-producing region. "We have been challenged by activists in the courts, in inner city streets, and even outside banks that have not even been approached to finance the project," Adani said, calling the project the biggest single investment by an Indian company in Australia. Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said Australia's third biggest state had been hit by a resources downturn which has hit mining firms across the country. Adani's final decision "is a vote of confidence not just in the Queensland economy, but in Queensland people", she said.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said the country's growth has slowed down mainly because of demonetisation and the economy is running on just one engine of public spending.

He expressed serious concern over the situation, particularly the impact on job creation.

Singh, in his intervention at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meet, talked about the decline in the economic growth as depicted in the last quarter GDP numbers.

He said the slow down was primarily due to demonetisation announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8 last year.

He said the Gross Value Addition (GVA) is the true sub-measure of economic activity and it has experienced a steep and sustained fall.

"Private sector investment has collapsed and the economy is running on just one engine of public spending," he said at the meeting, chaired by Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

Singh said the GVA growth of industry has fallen from 10.7 per cent in March 2016 to just 3.8 per cent in March 2017, a decline of nearly seven percentage points of growth.

"The most worrisome aspect of all this is the impact on job creation. Jobs have been extremely hard to come by for the youth of the nation," he said.

The former Prime Minister noted that the construction industry, which is one of the largest employment generators in the country, has suffered contraction.

This, he said, "implies loss of millions of jobs for the nation's workforce".

NEW DELHI: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said the country's growth has slowed down mainly because of demonetisation and the economy is running on just one engine of public spending. He expressed serious concern over the situation, particularly the impact on job creation. Singh, in his intervention at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meet, talked about the decline in the economic growth as depicted in the last quarter GDP numbers. He said the slow down was primarily due to demonetisation announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 8 last year. He said the Gross Value Addition (GVA) is the true sub-measure of economic activity and it has experienced a steep and sustained fall. "Private sector investment has collapsed and the economy is running on just one engine of public spending," he said at the meeting, chaired by Congress President Sonia Gandhi. Singh said the GVA growth of industry has fallen from 10.7 per cent in March 2016 to just 3.8 per cent in March 2017, a decline of nearly seven percentage points of growth. "The most worrisome aspect of all this is the impact on job creation. Jobs have been extremely hard to come by for the youth of the nation," he said. The former Prime Minister noted that the construction industry, which is one of the largest employment generators in the country, has suffered contraction. This, he said, "implies loss of millions of jobs for the nation's workforce".
By Reuters

MUMBAI: India's buffalo meat exports in April dropped 11.4 percent from a year earlier to 86,119 tonnes, a government body said on Tuesday, as a strike by abattoirs and an appreciating rupee hit shipments.

"Abattoirs' strike in March reduced supplies. Many slaughter houses failed to operate at full capacity in April," said a Mumbai-based exporter, who declined to be named.

India is the world's biggest exporter of buffalo meat. Abattoirs and meat sellers in Uttar Pradesh, the country's top buffalo meat exporting state, went on strike in March after a crackdown on unlicensed abattoirs.

In the latest setback to the Muslim-dominated meat industry, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government decreed animal markets will only be able to trade cattle for agricultural purposes such as ploughing and dairy production.

The rupee has risen more than 5 percent so far in 2017, eroding the returns of exporters.

India's basmati rice exports in April rose 15.6 percent from a year ago to 389,406 tonnes, while non-basmati rice exports fell 18.5 percent to 475,050 tonnes, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority said in a statement.

MUMBAI: India's buffalo meat exports in April dropped 11.4 percent from a year earlier to 86,119 tonnes, a government body said on Tuesday, as a strike by abattoirs and an appreciating rupee hit shipments. "Abattoirs' strike in March reduced supplies. Many slaughter houses failed to operate at full capacity in April," said a Mumbai-based exporter, who declined to be named. India is the world's biggest exporter of buffalo meat. Abattoirs and meat sellers in Uttar Pradesh, the country's top buffalo meat exporting state, went on strike in March after a crackdown on unlicensed abattoirs. In the latest setback to the Muslim-dominated meat industry, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government decreed animal markets will only be able to trade cattle for agricultural purposes such as ploughing and dairy production. The rupee has risen more than 5 percent so far in 2017, eroding the returns of exporters. India's basmati rice exports in April rose 15.6 percent from a year ago to 389,406 tonnes, while non-basmati rice exports fell 18.5 percent to 475,050 tonnes, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority said in a statement.
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: With report after report alleging a slow, but steady, stream of people forced to leave their jobs in the IT sector, one of the several organisations trying to gain a foothold and form a union in the space

has decided to embark on a concerted effort to escalate the issue.

The number of layoffs ongoing are many, alleged Parimala, president, Forum for IT Employees (FITE), and we have decided on a plan of action over the coming weeks.

According to the organisation, FITE has decided to hold a two-day workers conference on the issue in Chennai on June 17 and 18. The conference is slated to see participation of trade unionists, academicians/industry experts and legal experts across India.

CHENNAI: With report after report alleging a slow, but steady, stream of people forced to leave their jobs in the IT sector, one of the several organisations trying to gain a foothold and form a union in the space has decided to embark on a concerted effort to escalate the issue. The number of layoffs ongoing are many, alleged Parimala, president, Forum for IT Employees (FITE), and we have decided on a plan of action over the coming weeks. According to the organisation, FITE has decided to hold a two-day workers conference on the issue in Chennai on June 17 and 18. The conference is slated to see participation of trade unionists, academicians/industry experts and legal experts across India.
Sinduja Jane By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: The Centre has expedited measures to replace gelatine capsule shells, which are made from materials derived from animals like cows and buffaloes, with cellulose-based vegetarian shells.

The move has already attracted criticism, as industry insiders fear this will increase cost manifold.

After receiving the proposal to replace gelatine capsules with cellulose capsules last year, the Union Health Ministry had formed an expert committee in March to address technical issues pertaining to replacement of gelatine capsules.

In its notice dated June 2, the committee invited views and comments from stakeholders, including manufacturers and marketers, on the proposal. Its still under review, and things are yet to be finalised, Drugs Controller General India Dr GN Singh told Express.

However, pharmaceutical manufacturers are not happy about the proposal. On one side, the Central government says reduce medicine prices. But cellulose-based capsules would cost four times more than gelatine-based ones, as the component is derived from animal waste, whereas cellulose is extracted from plants or seeds, depending on manufacturers, said M Rajarathinam, who is former president of the Indian Drug Manufacturers Association, Tamil Nadu.

The notice said cellulose-based capsule shells were safer as compared to animal-derived ones, but did not explain on what grounds. This has led to charges that the government is spreading false propaganda that gelatine capsules cause side effects. Isolated cases cannot be taken into consideration, as effects of any medicine will be different from person to person, added Rajarathinam. This is an initiative of a few, including the ministers, to promote vegetarianism in the country, charged Rajarathinam.

The notice invited comments and suggestions from stakeholders/NGOs and consumers within 21 days. However, manufacturers said it would take many days to receive the notice, and by the time they receive it, there will not be much time to submit facts and comments.

Gelatine capsules have been used for decades in the country, and have been approved by the Indian Pharmacopoeia Committee after testing to prove that it is safe for patients.

Gelatine is a collagen derived from bones and soft tissues of animals, which is processed to make capsule shells, according to Robinson Abraham, retired professor, Meat Science and Technology, Madras Veterinary College.

In India, the main source of gelatine are buffaloes and cows, because these animals are slaughtered in higher number. Thus, they are easy to source and are cheap. Only about 6-7 kg of gelatine can be obtained from 100 kg of bones and tissues, so we need a lot of raw material. There are very few pigs slaughtered, while waste from goats will not be sufficient to meet the demand, added professor Abraham.

What is gelatine?

Gelatine is a collagen derived from bones and soft tissues of animals, which is processed to make capsule shells. Gelatin for recipe use comes in the form of sheets, granules, or powder. Instant types can be added to the food as they are.

CHENNAI: The Centre has expedited measures to replace gelatine capsule shells, which are made from materials derived from animals like cows and buffaloes, with cellulose-based vegetarian shells. The move has already attracted criticism, as industry insiders fear this will increase cost manifold. After receiving the proposal to replace gelatine capsules with cellulose capsules last year, the Union Health Ministry had formed an expert committee in March to address technical issues pertaining to replacement of gelatine capsules. In its notice dated June 2, the committee invited views and comments from stakeholders, including manufacturers and marketers, on the proposal. Its still under review, and things are yet to be finalised, Drugs Controller General India Dr GN Singh told Express. However, pharmaceutical manufacturers are not happy about the proposal. On one side, the Central government says reduce medicine prices. But cellulose-based capsules would cost four times more than gelatine-based ones, as the component is derived from animal waste, whereas cellulose is extracted from plants or seeds, depending on manufacturers, said M Rajarathinam, who is former president of the Indian Drug Manufacturers Association, Tamil Nadu. The notice said cellulose-based capsule shells were safer as compared to animal-derived ones, but did not explain on what grounds. This has led to charges that the government is spreading false propaganda that gelatine capsules cause side effects. Isolated cases cannot be taken into consideration, as effects of any medicine will be different from person to person, added Rajarathinam. This is an initiative of a few, including the ministers, to promote vegetarianism in the country, charged Rajarathinam. The notice invited comments and suggestions from stakeholders/NGOs and consumers within 21 days. However, manufacturers said it would take many days to receive the notice, and by the time they receive it, there will not be much time to submit facts and comments. Gelatine capsules have been used for decades in the country, and have been approved by the Indian Pharmacopoeia Committee after testing to prove that it is safe for patients. Gelatine is a collagen derived from bones and soft tissues of animals, which is processed to make capsule shells, according to Robinson Abraham, retired professor, Meat Science and Technology, Madras Veterinary College. In India, the main source of gelatine are buffaloes and cows, because these animals are slaughtered in higher number. Thus, they are easy to source and are cheap. Only about 6-7 kg of gelatine can be obtained from 100 kg of bones and tissues, so we need a lot of raw material. There are very few pigs slaughtered, while waste from goats will not be sufficient to meet the demand, added professor Abraham. What is gelatine? Gelatine is a collagen derived from bones and soft tissues of animals, which is processed to make capsule shells. Gelatin for recipe use comes in the form of sheets, granules, or powder. Instant types can be added to the food as they are.
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: A retired fireman died of cardiac arrest after he was allegedly pushed by a policeman during an altercation over playing loud music at a late-night marriage ceremony.

Police said they received a complaint at around 11.08 p.m. Monday night that loud music was being played at Raghava Nagar Colony in the Meerpet area of Hyderabad. Two policemen -- head constable Khaled and home guard Suresh -- reached the spot at 11.15 p.m. and tried to stop the music.

Retired fireman Satish Kumar (62), whose niece was the bride, intervened and asked the policemen to wait for 10 minutes after which they would stop the music. However, others in the family got into an argument with the head constable.

In the heat of the argument, home guard Suresh allegedly shoved Satish hard and the latter collapsed unconscious. He did not respond to CPR.

Fearing the family's ire, the policemen offered to take the elderly man to hospital in their police vehicle. But sources said they abandoned the vehicle half the way and fled, leaving the stricken man to be driven the rest of the way by a relative.

Satish was first taken to RK Hospital and then to Apollo DRDO Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.

Inspector C.H. Rangaswamy of the Meerpet police station denied that the elderly man was pushed or beaten. He said the home guard feared being beaten up. "A relative then drove Satish to the hospital, but it was too late by then, the inspector said.

A case has been booked against the the constable and the home guard under Section 304A (causing death by negligence) based on a complaint lodged by the deceased mans relatives, said the inspector. Also, a case under IPC section 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) was registered against some members of the marriage party, the inspector added.

Cases were also booked against some persons in the mob for hindering a government servant from performing his duties. A petty case was registered against the family for playing loud music past the mandated time.

HYDERABAD: A retired fireman died of cardiac arrest after he was allegedly pushed by a policeman during an altercation over playing loud music at a late-night marriage ceremony. Police said they received a complaint at around 11.08 p.m. Monday night that loud music was being played at Raghava Nagar Colony in the Meerpet area of Hyderabad. Two policemen -- head constable Khaled and home guard Suresh -- reached the spot at 11.15 p.m. and tried to stop the music. Retired fireman Satish Kumar (62), whose niece was the bride, intervened and asked the policemen to wait for 10 minutes after which they would stop the music. However, others in the family got into an argument with the head constable. In the heat of the argument, home guard Suresh allegedly shoved Satish hard and the latter collapsed unconscious. He did not respond to CPR. Fearing the family's ire, the policemen offered to take the elderly man to hospital in their police vehicle. But sources said they abandoned the vehicle half the way and fled, leaving the stricken man to be driven the rest of the way by a relative. Satish was first taken to RK Hospital and then to Apollo DRDO Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival. Inspector C.H. Rangaswamy of the Meerpet police station denied that the elderly man was pushed or beaten. He said the home guard feared being beaten up. "A relative then drove Satish to the hospital, but it was too late by then, the inspector said. A case has been booked against the the constable and the home guard under Section 304A (causing death by negligence) based on a complaint lodged by the deceased mans relatives, said the inspector. Also, a case under IPC section 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) was registered against some members of the marriage party, the inspector added. Cases were also booked against some persons in the mob for hindering a government servant from performing his duties. A petty case was registered against the family for playing loud music past the mandated time.
By Express News Service

KOCHI: The 33rd Divakar Deo Memorial National seminar on Parkinsons disease will be held at IMA House, Kaloor on June 11, Sunday. The seminar organised by the Parkinsons Society of India will be held from 10 am to 4 pm.

Patients suffering from Parkinsons disease, their caregivers, spouses, nurses and home nurses can attend the seminar. The entry will be free for all the participants.

Eminent neurologists and physiotherapists will take sessions on awareness on Parkinsons disease and movement disorders, how to cope up with the disease and various exercises etc.

There will be an interactive session to clear doubts regarding the disease. A free medical check-up will be conducted in the afternoon.

For free registration, contact: Dr Sangeetha Suresh or Sunny Mathew (94472 44463, 90201 58958).

KOCHI: The 33rd Divakar Deo Memorial National seminar on Parkinsons disease will be held at IMA House, Kaloor on June 11, Sunday. The seminar organised by the Parkinsons Society of India will be held from 10 am to 4 pm. Patients suffering from Parkinsons disease, their caregivers, spouses, nurses and home nurses can attend the seminar. The entry will be free for all the participants. Eminent neurologists and physiotherapists will take sessions on awareness on Parkinsons disease and movement disorders, how to cope up with the disease and various exercises etc. There will be an interactive session to clear doubts regarding the disease. A free medical check-up will be conducted in the afternoon. For free registration, contact: Dr Sangeetha Suresh or Sunny Mathew (94472 44463, 90201 58958).
By Express News Service

VIJAYAWADA: ACB sleuths unearthed disproportionate assets pegged at Rs 100 crore from the properties of additional director of Department of Industries B Suresh Babu in Hyderabad, Piduguralla, Guntur and other places in Andhra Pradesh on Monday.



Since morning, based on the complaints from certain industrialists, ACB sleuths conducted raids at eight locations in Hyderabad, Guntur and Vijayawada. According to a press release issued by ACB director general RP Thakur on Monday evening, the accused -- Suresh Babu, 56, was moved out of the department ten days ago, not given any posting, but instead asked to report to the Industries and Commerce Department secretary.

The officer joined the civil services in 1987 as the assistant director of industries and worked in Visakhapatnam, Hyderabad and Nalgonda districts. Subsequently, he got promoted as deputy director in 1993 and worked in Nalgonda, Visakhapatnam and Sanga Reddy.

He got promoted as as joint director in 2003 and as an additional director in 2008. Since 2008, he has been working in the Office of Commissioner of Industries.



During the searches, movable and immovable assets held in the name of Babu, his brother-in-law Yerramsetti Ramesh, brother B Madhusudhana Rao, father B Ramakrishna and son Madhu Krishna Kamal Teja were unearthed.



A bank locker with Orient Bank of Commerce, located in Begumpet, held in the name of the accused officer is yet to be opened. It is suspected that the value of the assets could be even more if the locker is opened. ACB sleuths have arrested the accused and will be producing them before the ACB court. The case is under investigation.

VIJAYAWADA: ACB sleuths unearthed disproportionate assets pegged at Rs 100 crore from the properties of additional director of Department of Industries B Suresh Babu in Hyderabad, Piduguralla, Guntur and other places in Andhra Pradesh on Monday. Since morning, based on the complaints from certain industrialists, ACB sleuths conducted raids at eight locations in Hyderabad, Guntur and Vijayawada. According to a press release issued by ACB director general RP Thakur on Monday evening, the accused -- Suresh Babu, 56, was moved out of the department ten days ago, not given any posting, but instead asked to report to the Industries and Commerce Department secretary. The officer joined the civil services in 1987 as the assistant director of industries and worked in Visakhapatnam, Hyderabad and Nalgonda districts. Subsequently, he got promoted as deputy director in 1993 and worked in Nalgonda, Visakhapatnam and Sanga Reddy. He got promoted as as joint director in 2003 and as an additional director in 2008. Since 2008, he has been working in the Office of Commissioner of Industries. During the searches, movable and immovable assets held in the name of Babu, his brother-in-law Yerramsetti Ramesh, brother B Madhusudhana Rao, father B Ramakrishna and son Madhu Krishna Kamal Teja were unearthed. A bank locker with Orient Bank of Commerce, located in Begumpet, held in the name of the accused officer is yet to be opened. It is suspected that the value of the assets could be even more if the locker is opened. ACB sleuths have arrested the accused and will be producing them before the ACB court. The case is under investigation.
By BNS

Salman Khan talks about how Bollywood needs to up its game, now that South Indian films and Hollywood films are giving us a tough competition. And how destiny played big part in him being where he is. Excerpts of an interview

You seem to be making smart choices, films rich in content....

Actually, people are writing better and better. Writers come to me with better choices of script. Ones that I like, I pick it up. I am glad they choose to come to me, they could have gone to anyone.

I didnt have much of a choice earlier. If fifteen terrible scripts came to me, I had to choose the best among them. You choose the one you think has some potential and try to make the most of it.

Your personality seems to have mellowed down over the years. And maybe scripts are written to go with that....

This is how I am since I was in school. Then I changed a bit. This character has shades of me when I was growing up, Now I am like that again. It took a lot of digging into my memories, going back to childhood to play this character (in Tubelight). Now I remember all that we used to do, and what my brothers and friends used to do....Touch wood. I am blessed with good memory. I remember things I should remember (laughing) and forget things I shouldnt.

Selective memory? Is that possible?

Yes it is. I erase memories that are not worth keeping with me. When I was in school, given the education system that we have, there was lot of mugging up to do. I would forget all that I mugged up as soon as I finished writing that paper. That must be the biggest mistake of my life. I used to think Maths is boring, Geography is boring, History is boring....but now they all coming back to me, and i need to know certain things. You need to, especially if you are in the movie business.

You have google for everything. That time we didnt have that luxury....

Yes, but at that time you would go into a library and check for things. That was lot more fun, and it made you remember longer because it took efforts. Ab kya hai. Google uncle pe jaao, aur sab nikaal lo. I dont know how to do that though. I ask someone else to google things for me, if I need some information. I am not good with technology, I am not good with phones. The maximum I do is call. I know how to receive calls, send and receive text messages and (laughing) oh yes, I know how to delete those messages.

You think we have become too complacent?

I think so. More than that I think we are scared that itne me bikegi toh itne me hi picture banaana chahiye. Films are not supposed to be made like that. But then again, you make that one odd film with full conviction, not thinking about budget etc and God forbid,if it is a disaster, it affects everyone, the distributor, the producer, your partners. Everyone loses money. I think if theatres increase, budgets also will increase.

Yes, you have been saying this for a while now. It is important. We have only about 8000 screens, China has about 40 thousand screens....

Having said that, there are films like Baahubali which make humungous profit, in spite of the limited screens. People go back to watch it again and again....

Yes, thats true. Look at movies like Sholay and Mughal-e-Azam. They went on for ten years. So if a movie is great, business is fantastic.

Taking off on your character in Tubelight, are there still things you are slow on the uptake about?

Everyone is. No matter how smart you think you are, every day you get to realise, what a fool i have been. its an ongoing process. You keep on growing. You cant be too happy about things you have done ten years back. Climbing a ladder is easy, but what if kisi ne ladder sarkaa diya? Growing of tree takes lot of effort, but once the tree is grown and big, it doest budge even with lightening or anything. But then there are people who walk around with an axe, to cut you down at every point. Nobody sees how the bargat ka ped grew but once its grown they want to cut it down.

We live in a scary time. Dont we?

It is a scary world. We all just wait and watch and by the time you want to take action, its too late. You know earlier if a bad mans head came up, people would point out. Look at that bad man. Cut him down. But now its just the opposite. If there is a man doing some good deed, everyone is watching him. They all thinking, kuch achccha kar raha hai? Zaroor iska kuch game hai. A good deed is looked at with more suspicion than a bad deed.

Salman Khan talks about how Bollywood needs to up its game, now that South Indian films and Hollywood films are giving us a tough competition. And how destiny played big part in him being where he is. Excerpts of an interview You seem to be making smart choices, films rich in content.... Actually, people are writing better and better. Writers come to me with better choices of script. Ones that I like, I pick it up. I am glad they choose to come to me, they could have gone to anyone. I didnt have much of a choice earlier. If fifteen terrible scripts came to me, I had to choose the best among them. You choose the one you think has some potential and try to make the most of it. Your personality seems to have mellowed down over the years. And maybe scripts are written to go with that.... This is how I am since I was in school. Then I changed a bit. This character has shades of me when I was growing up, Now I am like that again. It took a lot of digging into my memories, going back to childhood to play this character (in Tubelight). Now I remember all that we used to do, and what my brothers and friends used to do....Touch wood. I am blessed with good memory. I remember things I should remember (laughing) and forget things I shouldnt. Selective memory? Is that possible? Yes it is. I erase memories that are not worth keeping with me. When I was in school, given the education system that we have, there was lot of mugging up to do. I would forget all that I mugged up as soon as I finished writing that paper. That must be the biggest mistake of my life. I used to think Maths is boring, Geography is boring, History is boring....but now they all coming back to me, and i need to know certain things. You need to, especially if you are in the movie business. You have google for everything. That time we didnt have that luxury.... Yes, but at that time you would go into a library and check for things. That was lot more fun, and it made you remember longer because it took efforts. Ab kya hai. Google uncle pe jaao, aur sab nikaal lo. I dont know how to do that though. I ask someone else to google things for me, if I need some information. I am not good with technology, I am not good with phones. The maximum I do is call. I know how to receive calls, send and receive text messages and (laughing) oh yes, I know how to delete those messages. You think we have become too complacent? I think so. More than that I think we are scared that itne me bikegi toh itne me hi picture banaana chahiye. Films are not supposed to be made like that. But then again, you make that one odd film with full conviction, not thinking about budget etc and God forbid,if it is a disaster, it affects everyone, the distributor, the producer, your partners. Everyone loses money. I think if theatres increase, budgets also will increase. Yes, you have been saying this for a while now. It is important. We have only about 8000 screens, China has about 40 thousand screens.... Having said that, there are films like Baahubali which make humungous profit, in spite of the limited screens. People go back to watch it again and again.... Yes, thats true. Look at movies like Sholay and Mughal-e-Azam. They went on for ten years. So if a movie is great, business is fantastic. Taking off on your character in Tubelight, are there still things you are slow on the uptake about? Everyone is. No matter how smart you think you are, every day you get to realise, what a fool i have been. its an ongoing process. You keep on growing. You cant be too happy about things you have done ten years back. Climbing a ladder is easy, but what if kisi ne ladder sarkaa diya? Growing of tree takes lot of effort, but once the tree is grown and big, it doest budge even with lightening or anything. But then there are people who walk around with an axe, to cut you down at every point. Nobody sees how the bargat ka ped grew but once its grown they want to cut it down. We live in a scary time. Dont we? It is a scary world. We all just wait and watch and by the time you want to take action, its too late. You know earlier if a bad mans head came up, people would point out. Look at that bad man. Cut him down. But now its just the opposite. If there is a man doing some good deed, everyone is watching him. They all thinking, kuch achccha kar raha hai? Zaroor iska kuch game hai. A good deed is looked at with more suspicion than a bad deed.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: With the Centre clearing the names of 44 High Court judges, the judiciary, which is reeling under the burden of over three crore cases, has reason to cheer, though vacancies could still be a cause for concern with 419 positions empty from the 1,079 approved strength.

The Centres move came nearly two months after the Supreme Court Collegium reiterated the names of all judges it sent to the Centre in November last year. The new names were recommended by the Collegium this April. The rift between the government and the Supreme Court on the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) is persisting due to various differences. With the new MoP yet to be finalised, the government is bound by the Collegiums recommendations.

In the list of 44 names, Allahabad High Court has 29 judges, Karnataka High Court two, Calcutta High Court seven and the Madras High Court six.

In November, the government had returned as many as 43 names to the Collegium for reconsideration and sought certain clarifications. The maximum names of judges rejected were from the Allahabad High Court followed by names from the Karnataka High Court wherein some complaints were made against judges whose names were considered for elevation.

Last week, the Centre had appointed 14 judges to the Bombay High Court and three judges to the Jammu and Kashmir High Court. The 24 High Courts across the country still have 40.54 lakh cases pending with maximum pendency of more than 9 lakh cases in the Allahabad High Court which has a vacancy of 76 judges.

The number of vacancies in High Courts has already crossed more than 45 per cent. Three of the 31 posts in the apex court too are vacant. Chief Justice of India J S Khehar while hearing a PIL on judges appointments expressed satisfaction with the filing of judicial vacancies and said, Progress has been made and the number of posts of judges in high courts would be increased by 25 per cent.

On January 2, the Supreme Court had questioned the Centre on why judges and chief justices of high courts are not being transferred despite the recommendations of the Collegium.and asked it to file a status report on such pending transfers with detailed reasons.

NEW DELHI: With the Centre clearing the names of 44 High Court judges, the judiciary, which is reeling under the burden of over three crore cases, has reason to cheer, though vacancies could still be a cause for concern with 419 positions empty from the 1,079 approved strength. The Centres move came nearly two months after the Supreme Court Collegium reiterated the names of all judges it sent to the Centre in November last year. The new names were recommended by the Collegium this April. The rift between the government and the Supreme Court on the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) is persisting due to various differences. With the new MoP yet to be finalised, the government is bound by the Collegiums recommendations. In the list of 44 names, Allahabad High Court has 29 judges, Karnataka High Court two, Calcutta High Court seven and the Madras High Court six. In November, the government had returned as many as 43 names to the Collegium for reconsideration and sought certain clarifications. The maximum names of judges rejected were from the Allahabad High Court followed by names from the Karnataka High Court wherein some complaints were made against judges whose names were considered for elevation. Last week, the Centre had appointed 14 judges to the Bombay High Court and three judges to the Jammu and Kashmir High Court. The 24 High Courts across the country still have 40.54 lakh cases pending with maximum pendency of more than 9 lakh cases in the Allahabad High Court which has a vacancy of 76 judges. The number of vacancies in High Courts has already crossed more than 45 per cent. Three of the 31 posts in the apex court too are vacant. Chief Justice of India J S Khehar while hearing a PIL on judges appointments expressed satisfaction with the filing of judicial vacancies and said, Progress has been made and the number of posts of judges in high courts would be increased by 25 per cent. On January 2, the Supreme Court had questioned the Centre on why judges and chief justices of high courts are not being transferred despite the recommendations of the Collegium.and asked it to file a status report on such pending transfers with detailed reasons.
Yemen and Libya's eastern government have joined Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE in severing ties with Qatar on Monday morning, citing its support for Islamist groups and attempts at destabilization within the region

Six Arab governments, including Egypt, cut diplomatic ties with Qatar early on Monday morning, with Yemen and Libya's eastern-based government among the latest to join the joint effort to isolate Doha.

The nations have cited Qatar's support for Islamist groups and alleged meddling in the affairs of other states.

The Gulf states of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE were among those cutting relations with Qatar, further deepening a rift among members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, of which Qatar is a member.

The move began on Monday morning with Bahrain announcing that it was cutting diplomatic ties with Qatar and closing all transport links, according to Bahrain's state news agency. Bahrain cited alleged meddling in its internal affairs by Qatar.

Bahrain's action was followed by GCC ally Saudi Arabia, which said it was cutting ties on the grounds of "protection of national security", as announced by the Saudi state news agency.

The the SPA news agency said that Qatar embraces multiple terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at disturbing stability in the region, including the Muslim Brotherhood, ISIS and Al-Qaeda, and promotes the message and schemes of these groups through their media constantly.

The UAE, Yemen and Egypt then followed suit, with the eastern-based government of war-torn Libya finally joining the diplomatic action to isolate Qatar.

Egypt announced the closure of its airspace and seaports for all Qatari transportation to protect its national security, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

"Qatar's policy threatens Arab national security and sows the seeds of strife and division within Arab societies according to a deliberate plan aimed at the unity and interests of the Arab nation," the statement read.

Egypt accused the Gulf Arab state of supporting "terrorist" organisations, including the Muslim Brotherhood.

Yemen also cut ties with Qatar, saying it supported the decision by the Saudi-led coalition to end Qatar's participation in the war there. The government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi said it severed ties with Qatar in part over is support of extremist groups in Yemen "in contradiction with the goals announced by the countries supporting the legitimate government."

Saudi Arabia also said Qatari troops would be pulled from the ongoing war in Yemen.

The move to isolate Qatar was joined by Libya's eastern government later on Monday morning, according to its foreign minister, Mohamed Dayri. The eastern-based government is aligned with military commander Halifa Haftar, with whom Egypt has joined in recent military operations against Daesh terrorist camps in Libyan territory.

Daesh is among the terrorist groups that Qatar is accused of supporting across the region.

Bahrain and the UAE announced that their diplomatic staff had 48 hours to return from Qatar, meanwhile ordering Qatari diplomatic missions on their territory to cease operations.

Qatar hosts the sprawling Al-Udeid Air Base, which is home to the US military's Central Command and some 10,000 American troops, although no announcements have been made on the future of the US military presence there.

Travel disruption

The move to isoloate Qatar has sparked fears of widespread travel disruption, with flights among the most seriously affected.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE announced that their citizens would be given 14 days to make arrangements before a ban would be imposed on travel to and from Qatar.

The Abu Dhabi-based airline Etihad says it has suspended flights to Qatar. Etihad said on its website Monday that "until further notice" its last flights would leave early Tuesday morning.

Qatar Airways said on its official website on Monday that it had suspended all flights to Saudi Arabia.

Qatar responded angrily to the joint action to isolate it, describing the move as "unjustified" and aimed at putting Doha under political "guardianship"..

While many Arab media outlets are reporting the developments as a response to Qatar's support for terroism, the Al-Jazeera news organization, which is owned by Qatar, has explained the dispute as stemming from a purported hack of Qatar's state-run news agency.

On 23 May, news emerged that the website and social media accounts of the Qatar News Agency had been hacked, allegedly carrying "fake news" reports relating to Qatari emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.

This was followed by efforts by Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to block all Qatar-based news agencies, including Al-Jazeera. Bahrain then complained that the Twitter account of its foreign minister had been hacked, with Qatar among the chief suspects.

Muslim Brotherhood

Qatar has long faced criticism from its Arab neighbors over its support of Islamists. The chief worry among them is the Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Islamist political group outlawed by Egypta, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Gulf countries led by Saudi Arabia fell out with Qatar over its backing of former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, a Brotherhood member.

In March 2014, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain recalled their ambassadors from Qatar over the rift.

Eight months later, they returned their ambassadors as Qatar forced some Brotherhood members to leave the country and quieted others. However, the 2014 crisis did not see a land and sea blockade as threatened now.

In the time since, Qatar repeatedly and strongly denied it funds extremist groups.

However, it remains a key financial patron of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and has been the home of exiled Hamas official Khaled Mashaal since 2012.

Western officials also have accused Qatar of allowing or even encouraging funding of Sunni extremists like al-Qaida's branch in Syria, once known as the Nusra Front.

The crisis also comes after US President Donald Trump's recent visit to Saudi Arabia for a summit with Arab leaders.

At that Saudi conference, Trump met with Qatar's ruling emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

"We are friends, we've been friends now for a long time, haven't we?" Trump asked at the meeting. "Our relationship is extremely good."

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By Express News Service

BHOPAL: At least five farmers were killed and four others were critically injured in firing on agitating farmers in Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday. As the agitation spread further, the state administration has stopped internet services in three districts of the state.

Official sources in Bhopal confirmed the five deaths and said curfew has been imposed in Pipliya Mandi and Mandsaur towns.

The state government has announced a judicial probe into the incident. According to official sources, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan called an emergency high-level meeting in Bhopal after receiving a report on the incident and is likely to cancel his visit to Gwalior slated for later in the day.

Later today, Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced Rs 1 crore compensation to kin of each of deceased.

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Also, he promises govt job to the dependents of each of the deceased. Further, the CM had declared Rs 5 lakh to each of the injured.

Farmers in Madhya Pradesh have been agitating for higher returns for the last six days. Mandsaur district, on the border with Rajasthan, is the epicentre of the agitation.

The firing incident happened in Bahi village in Mandsaur district (350 km from Bhopal) at around 1.30 pm.

The deceased were identified as Kanhaiyalal Patidar, Bablu Patidar, Chain Singh Patidar, Abhishek Patidar and Satynarayan. Abhishek and Satynarayan died en route to a hospital in Indore, police said.

Police officers would not confirm whether it was their personnel who opened fire on a group of farmers.

Senior officer V Madhu Kumar denied that it was police or paramilitary personnel who opened fire on the farmers. He said it was possible that some residents shot at the agitating farmers.

Deputy inspector-general of police (Ratlam Range) Avinash Sharma said, As per preliminary information, it was local residents who clashed with protesting farmers. They may have opened fire. We are gathering details on the incident.

To stop the spread of information on social media, the state government has shut down internet services in at least three districts in western Madhya Pradesh -- Mandsaur, Ujjain and Ratlam. Internet services were shut down since Monday midnight in Mandsaur, and in the other two districts on Tuesday.

The Congress party, which is supporting the farmers, condemned the internet shutdown. Are these farmers terrorists? Is the situation worse than in Jammu & Kashmir, asked state Congress spokesperson K K Mishra.

A group of agitators tried to uproot the railway track on the Ratlam-Udaipur section of Western Railway last night. According to eyewitnesses, protesting farmers torched vehicles and indulged in stone pelting in Parshvanath area under Pipaliya Mandi police station limits of the district.

The incident happened at midnight when agitating farmers broke open the gate at a railway crossing in Daloda and tried to uproot the tracks. Police rushed to the spot and stopped the farmers. Five persons were arrested and the track has been restored, said the superintendent of police of Mandsaur, O P Tripathi.

The Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangh (RKMS), which is leading the stir since June 1, has announced a statewide shutdown in Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday. The bandh will be in force from the morning till 2 pm. It has the support of all farmer bodies, including the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), the Aam Kisan Union (AKU) and the Kisan Jagriti Manch (KJM), said RKMS state spokesperson Sunil Gaur.

Gaur said some vested interests were inciting violence in the name of the farmers stir and slammed the Congress for trying to hijack a peaceful movement.

The Congress has nothing to do with our stir and its vested interests like the Congress which are inciting violence. On Tuesday, our chief Shiv Kumar Sharma Kakkaji had to abandon his speech when some Congress leaders tried to sneak into our protest in Indore, said Gaur.

The Rajendra Nagar police in Indore have booked two brothers of Jeetu Patwari, the Congress MLA from Rau (Indore), for inciting violence. The Ratlam Industrial Area police booked Ratlam panchayat vice-chairman and Congress leader D P Dhakar in an attempt-to-murder case for allegedly inciting a mob to attack police personnel in Delanpur village on Sunday, which injured an assistant sub inspector (ASI).

Dhakar, however, told the New Indian Express on the telephone on Tuesday that he and his family were being dragged into the matter by the police in Ratlam.

The SP of Ratlam, Amit Kumar Singh has announced a Rs 10,000 reward for the capture of Dhakar, who is on the run.

In Bhopal, meanwhile, the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (an RSS-affiliated body) regional organizational secretary Shivkant Dixit said his group has withdrawn its call for a gram bandh. He, however, added that protests planned by BKS between July 5 and July 15 for a special session of the Assembly would be carried out as planned.

The BKS is not involved in any kind of violence or arson. Peasants should not be misled by anyone into taking part in such agitations, Mr Dixit told media here.

We presented to chief minister Shivraj Singh Chohuan a 13-point charter of demands on Sunday. The government conceded over 11 points. The regime has commenced purchase of onions, and cash payments have begun at mandis and arrangements have been made for purchase of moong and arhar pulses, he said.

(Inputs from PTI)

BHOPAL: At least five farmers were killed and four others were critically injured in firing on agitating farmers in Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday. As the agitation spread further, the state administration has stopped internet services in three districts of the state. Official sources in Bhopal confirmed the five deaths and said curfew has been imposed in Pipliya Mandi and Mandsaur towns. The state government has announced a judicial probe into the incident. According to official sources, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan called an emergency high-level meeting in Bhopal after receiving a report on the incident and is likely to cancel his visit to Gwalior slated for later in the day. Later today, Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced Rs 1 crore compensation to kin of each of deceased. WATCH VIDEO: window.__ventunoplayer = window.__ventunoplayer||[];window.__ventunoplayer.push({video_key: 'OTQ2ODQwfHw4fHw2fHwxLDIsMQ==', holder_id: 'vt-video-player', player_type: 'vp', width:'405', height:'325'});Also, he promises govt job to the dependents of each of the deceased. Further, the CM had declared Rs 5 lakh to each of the injured. Farmers in Madhya Pradesh have been agitating for higher returns for the last six days. Mandsaur district, on the border with Rajasthan, is the epicentre of the agitation. The firing incident happened in Bahi village in Mandsaur district (350 km from Bhopal) at around 1.30 pm. The deceased were identified as Kanhaiyalal Patidar, Bablu Patidar, Chain Singh Patidar, Abhishek Patidar and Satynarayan. Abhishek and Satynarayan died en route to a hospital in Indore, police said. Police officers would not confirm whether it was their personnel who opened fire on a group of farmers. Senior officer V Madhu Kumar denied that it was police or paramilitary personnel who opened fire on the farmers. He said it was possible that some residents shot at the agitating farmers. Deputy inspector-general of police (Ratlam Range) Avinash Sharma said, As per preliminary information, it was local residents who clashed with protesting farmers. They may have opened fire. We are gathering details on the incident. To stop the spread of information on social media, the state government has shut down internet services in at least three districts in western Madhya Pradesh -- Mandsaur, Ujjain and Ratlam. Internet services were shut down since Monday midnight in Mandsaur, and in the other two districts on Tuesday. The Congress party, which is supporting the farmers, condemned the internet shutdown. Are these farmers terrorists? Is the situation worse than in Jammu & Kashmir, asked state Congress spokesperson K K Mishra. A group of agitators tried to uproot the railway track on the Ratlam-Udaipur section of Western Railway last night. According to eyewitnesses, protesting farmers torched vehicles and indulged in stone pelting in Parshvanath area under Pipaliya Mandi police station limits of the district. The incident happened at midnight when agitating farmers broke open the gate at a railway crossing in Daloda and tried to uproot the tracks. Police rushed to the spot and stopped the farmers. Five persons were arrested and the track has been restored, said the superintendent of police of Mandsaur, O P Tripathi. The Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangh (RKMS), which is leading the stir since June 1, has announced a statewide shutdown in Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday. The bandh will be in force from the morning till 2 pm. It has the support of all farmer bodies, including the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), the Aam Kisan Union (AKU) and the Kisan Jagriti Manch (KJM), said RKMS state spokesperson Sunil Gaur. Gaur said some vested interests were inciting violence in the name of the farmers stir and slammed the Congress for trying to hijack a peaceful movement. The Congress has nothing to do with our stir and its vested interests like the Congress which are inciting violence. On Tuesday, our chief Shiv Kumar Sharma Kakkaji had to abandon his speech when some Congress leaders tried to sneak into our protest in Indore, said Gaur. The Rajendra Nagar police in Indore have booked two brothers of Jeetu Patwari, the Congress MLA from Rau (Indore), for inciting violence. The Ratlam Industrial Area police booked Ratlam panchayat vice-chairman and Congress leader D P Dhakar in an attempt-to-murder case for allegedly inciting a mob to attack police personnel in Delanpur village on Sunday, which injured an assistant sub inspector (ASI). Dhakar, however, told the New Indian Express on the telephone on Tuesday that he and his family were being dragged into the matter by the police in Ratlam. The SP of Ratlam, Amit Kumar Singh has announced a Rs 10,000 reward for the capture of Dhakar, who is on the run. In Bhopal, meanwhile, the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (an RSS-affiliated body) regional organizational secretary Shivkant Dixit said his group has withdrawn its call for a gram bandh. He, however, added that protests planned by BKS between July 5 and July 15 for a special session of the Assembly would be carried out as planned. The BKS is not involved in any kind of violence or arson. Peasants should not be misled by anyone into taking part in such agitations, Mr Dixit told media here. We presented to chief minister Shivraj Singh Chohuan a 13-point charter of demands on Sunday. The government conceded over 11 points. The regime has commenced purchase of onions, and cash payments have begun at mandis and arrangements have been made for purchase of moong and arhar pulses, he said. (Inputs from PTI)
By ANI

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra bandh announced by farmers is making lives difficult and causing rise in prices due to shortage of stock.

Mamata, a housewife, said that vegetables which used to cost Rs. 40-50 per Kg, are now coming for Rs. 80-100 per kg and that this is pinching her pocket.



The vegetables have got expensive. Things which used to cost Rs. 40-50 per kg, are now coming for Rs. 80-100 per kg. The rise in price of vegetables is affecting our monthly budget, she added.



Similar sentiments were echoed by another local Manju, who said that the strike is making the lives of commoners difficult.

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We are extremelyy tensed. The condition is very bad. There is no stock and everything is so costly. The high prices are digging a hole in our pockets, she added.



The vendors are also crying foul as the shortage is causing a price rise which is resulting in low sales.



Ram, a vendor in the Dadri vegetable market, urged the Devendra Fadnavis Government to sort out the farmers issue so that the incumbent strike can end.



There is shortage of vegetables. The farmers are on strike and it is resulting in shortage. And because of the high prices the customers are not buying vegetables. We are not able to earn. We request the government to chalk out measures to end this strike, he added.



Expressing similar opinion, another vendor Rakesh said, We dont have stock and because of this we are losing customers. We are facing a lot of problems.



The strike has been called by a section of farmer leaders who are unhappy with the decision of the Kisan Kranti Morcha calling off their agitation after a meeting with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis last Friday.



Many protesters are claiming that the leaders who met Fadnavis had left the states farmers in the lurch for personal gains, a new leadership has emerged, which is now planning to take the agitation forward.

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra bandh announced by farmers is making lives difficult and causing rise in prices due to shortage of stock. Mamata, a housewife, said that vegetables which used to cost Rs. 40-50 per Kg, are now coming for Rs. 80-100 per kg and that this is pinching her pocket. The vegetables have got expensive. Things which used to cost Rs. 40-50 per kg, are now coming for Rs. 80-100 per kg. The rise in price of vegetables is affecting our monthly budget, she added. Similar sentiments were echoed by another local Manju, who said that the strike is making the lives of commoners difficult. WATCH VIDEO: window.__ventunoplayer = window.__ventunoplayer||[];window.__ventunoplayer.push({video_key: 'OTQ2ODg4fHw4fHw2fHwxLDEsMQ==', holder_id: 'vt-video-player', player_type: 'vp', width:'100%', ratio:'4:3'});We are extremelyy tensed. The condition is very bad. There is no stock and everything is so costly. The high prices are digging a hole in our pockets, she added. The vendors are also crying foul as the shortage is causing a price rise which is resulting in low sales. Ram, a vendor in the Dadri vegetable market, urged the Devendra Fadnavis Government to sort out the farmers issue so that the incumbent strike can end. There is shortage of vegetables. The farmers are on strike and it is resulting in shortage. And because of the high prices the customers are not buying vegetables. We are not able to earn. We request the government to chalk out measures to end this strike, he added. Expressing similar opinion, another vendor Rakesh said, We dont have stock and because of this we are losing customers. We are facing a lot of problems. The strike has been called by a section of farmer leaders who are unhappy with the decision of the Kisan Kranti Morcha calling off their agitation after a meeting with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis last Friday. Many protesters are claiming that the leaders who met Fadnavis had left the states farmers in the lurch for personal gains, a new leadership has emerged, which is now planning to take the agitation forward.
By PTI

KOLKATA: The NIA has filed a charge sheet in a court here against two men for their alleged involvement in smuggling from Bangladesh fake Rs 2,000 currency notes having face value of Rs 3.9 lakh.

Two accused -- Habibur Rahaman and Fakirul Sk alias Akash alias Fakirul Seikh -- both residents of Malda, have been charged with smuggling and circulation of fake currency notes across the country with a view to damage the monetary stability of India, the NIA said in a release issued today.

The case is related to the seizure of new Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) of Rs 2000 denomination, having a total face value of Rs 3.9 lakh, on March 6 this year, in front of the Hotel Shine, Station Road, Jhalijhalia, Malda from the exclusive possession of Habibur and Fakirul, it said.

Both the accused were arrested, and following the investigation, the charge sheet was filed on June 2, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said.

Initially a case was registered at English Bazar police station of Malda district.

Following recovery of huge quantity of FICN of Rs 2,000 denomination, the Ministry of Home Affairs directed the NIA to take up the investigation. The agency registered the case on March 28, 2017.

The accused admitted during the examination that they procured the seized FICNs from their counterpart in Bangladesh namely one Daku Sekh, the NIA said.

He had passed on the consignment of FICNs over the Indo-Bangladesh International Border Security Fence and they (accused Habibur and Fakirul) positioned themselves on the Indian side.

The duo had received the consignment for further supply to another recipient at Malda town railway Station with intent to circulate in India when they were intercepted by a NIA team, it said.

On March 6, they used a motor cycle owned by Fakirul, which was seized from the place of occurrence, as conveyance for carrying the FICNs, the agency said.

KOLKATA: The NIA has filed a charge sheet in a court here against two men for their alleged involvement in smuggling from Bangladesh fake Rs 2,000 currency notes having face value of Rs 3.9 lakh. Two accused -- Habibur Rahaman and Fakirul Sk alias Akash alias Fakirul Seikh -- both residents of Malda, have been charged with smuggling and circulation of fake currency notes across the country with a view to damage the monetary stability of India, the NIA said in a release issued today. The case is related to the seizure of new Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) of Rs 2000 denomination, having a total face value of Rs 3.9 lakh, on March 6 this year, in front of the Hotel Shine, Station Road, Jhalijhalia, Malda from the exclusive possession of Habibur and Fakirul, it said. Both the accused were arrested, and following the investigation, the charge sheet was filed on June 2, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said. Initially a case was registered at English Bazar police station of Malda district. Following recovery of huge quantity of FICN of Rs 2,000 denomination, the Ministry of Home Affairs directed the NIA to take up the investigation. The agency registered the case on March 28, 2017. The accused admitted during the examination that they procured the seized FICNs from their counterpart in Bangladesh namely one Daku Sekh, the NIA said. He had passed on the consignment of FICNs over the Indo-Bangladesh International Border Security Fence and they (accused Habibur and Fakirul) positioned themselves on the Indian side. The duo had received the consignment for further supply to another recipient at Malda town railway Station with intent to circulate in India when they were intercepted by a NIA team, it said. On March 6, they used a motor cycle owned by Fakirul, which was seized from the place of occurrence, as conveyance for carrying the FICNs, the agency said.
By PTI

JALANDHAR: Bhim Army founder Chandrasekhar, who is evading arrest since last month's caste-violence in Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, has said he is willing to surrender if 37 "innocent" dalits are released on bail.

Speaking to PTI-Bhasha at a hiding place about 50 kms from here, the 30-year-old alleged that the Uttar Pradesh police was not arresting the real culprits but was going after "innocent people".

He alleged that cases of atrocities against the dalit community were on the rise since Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took over.

"I feel that the UP government has failed to address the issues of the dalits. The chief minister has lost control over the police and the administration. There have been more cases of atrocities against the dalits in the past two-and-a-half months as compared to last one year," he said.

The Bhim Army shot to the limelight after the May 5 clashes between dalits and thakurs at Shabbirpur village in Saharanpur in which one person was killed and several injured.

Chandrasekhar is one of the key persons wanted in connection with the caste violence and the UP police yesterday announced a reward of Rs 12,000 for information on his whereabouts.

"Instead of arresting the real culprits of the Saharanpur violence, the police has arrested innocent people and put them behind bars. This has resulted in growing anger among the dalits," the advocate-turned-activist claimed.

Asked if he would surrender, he claimed to have earlier reached out to the Delhi Police and the magistrate to turn himself in. He said they refused to arrest him.

"Now I want that 37 innocent dalits who are in jail be released on bail. Only then will I surrender," he said. On the Shabbirpur clash, he claimed that the dalits were threatened that they would be shot dead if they intervened in the procession that was to be taken out by the thakurs.

"When we informed the police about it, a rumour spread that our community was protesting the rally. In retaliation, the houses of the dalits in the village were torched. It seemed the attack was planned and the youth was caught in the violence," he said.

It didn't take much time for another rumour to spread that the youth had been killed by the dalits, the Bhim Army founder said.

On the youth's death, he said, "Initially, the police said he was shot dead. Later, the post-mortem said he died of suffocation."

JALANDHAR: Bhim Army founder Chandrasekhar, who is evading arrest since last month's caste-violence in Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, has said he is willing to surrender if 37 "innocent" dalits are released on bail. Speaking to PTI-Bhasha at a hiding place about 50 kms from here, the 30-year-old alleged that the Uttar Pradesh police was not arresting the real culprits but was going after "innocent people". He alleged that cases of atrocities against the dalit community were on the rise since Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took over. "I feel that the UP government has failed to address the issues of the dalits. The chief minister has lost control over the police and the administration. There have been more cases of atrocities against the dalits in the past two-and-a-half months as compared to last one year," he said. The Bhim Army shot to the limelight after the May 5 clashes between dalits and thakurs at Shabbirpur village in Saharanpur in which one person was killed and several injured. Chandrasekhar is one of the key persons wanted in connection with the caste violence and the UP police yesterday announced a reward of Rs 12,000 for information on his whereabouts. "Instead of arresting the real culprits of the Saharanpur violence, the police has arrested innocent people and put them behind bars. This has resulted in growing anger among the dalits," the advocate-turned-activist claimed. Asked if he would surrender, he claimed to have earlier reached out to the Delhi Police and the magistrate to turn himself in. He said they refused to arrest him. "Now I want that 37 innocent dalits who are in jail be released on bail. Only then will I surrender," he said. On the Shabbirpur clash, he claimed that the dalits were threatened that they would be shot dead if they intervened in the procession that was to be taken out by the thakurs. "When we informed the police about it, a rumour spread that our community was protesting the rally. In retaliation, the houses of the dalits in the village were torched. It seemed the attack was planned and the youth was caught in the violence," he said. It didn't take much time for another rumour to spread that the youth had been killed by the dalits, the Bhim Army founder said. On the youth's death, he said, "Initially, the police said he was shot dead. Later, the post-mortem said he died of suffocation."
S Gurumurthy By

The government has finally acted against Mr and Mrs Prannoy Roy and NDTV Ltd for fraud and deceit, which has been the subject matter of litigation in courts. Before the high financial rise of NDTV began, one must remember that when the UPA assumed office in 2004, NDTV had a huge cash loss of Rs 248 crore. It had no funds even to pay salaries, and its shares were trading at less than par. Its fortunes soared after the UPA came to power, and it received funds through a host of shell companies floated by it after 2004.

Tax evasion, suspected money-laundering

Between 2006 and 2010, NDTV India floated some 20 wholly-owned subsidiaries in different parts of the world - seven in Mauritius, eight in India, two in the Netherlands, one in London, one in UAE, and one in Sweden. All of them were letter-box companies, resting only on the valuation of NDTV Ltd. These subsidiary companies raised $417 million. Of this, $310 million was raised through a wholly-owned subsidiary, NDTV Network PLC UK, and $117 million through the sale of the channel NDTV Imagine to GE Corporation controlled by Universal Studios - all through private negotiation and private placement. Out of the $417 million, $267 million was invested by GE Corporation directly or indirectly. Just a reference to the emails obtained by the Income Tax authorities shows how the Roys and the other directors of NDTV were struggling to camouflage the huge monies received, not knowing how to camouflage the funds before the tax authorities. All this happened in 2008.

E-mail dated 22.05.2008 at 3.06 P.M. by Vivek Mehta from Price Waterhouse Coopers to Pronnoy Roy: Subject: Re: FW: Pres Announcements etc Dear Pronnoy, Here is a shot at it, based on your draft appreciate your problems but honestly the problem could become worse if we give a handle to the tax authorities. I am concurrently discussing with other partners now the draft below. Lets get on a call ASAP, Regards Vivek.See the warning about giving a handle to the tax authorities.

E-mail dated 21.05.2008 at 10.16 P.M. (by Vivek Mehta from Price Waterhouse Coopers to Pronnoy Roy): Subject: Press Announcements etc. Dear Pronnoy & all above. Now that we are reaching the conclusion I wanted to remind everybody that all press releases stock exchange releases etc etc both by NDTV & NBCU should be whetted by us. We must ensure that what is stated is that NBCU is subscribing for a sum of & 150 m in NDTV Networks group company Overseas for an effective 26 percent stake. We must not mention that NDTV is receiving the 150 m as dividend or otherwise. If asked a question what will the money be used for??? We need to decide how to answer this question carefully. Thanks Vivek.

Note the caution not to mention NDTV is receiving 150m as dividends or otherwise. Even the question what the money will to be used for will have to be answered carefully.

E-mail dated 22.05.2008 at 02.09 P.M. (by Pronnoy Roy to Vivek Mehta from Price Waterhouse Coopers): Subject: Re: FW: Pres Announcements etc. For everyone ..this is very importantCould we please have a draft press release Vivek.which we can use & send to nbcuIf possible, its important that the press release should make clear that the money comes in to NDTV and does not stay in Networks.

Note the caution that the money comes to the networks [subsidiaries] but does not stay there.

E-mail dated 22.05.2008 at 3.06 P.M. (by Vivek Mehta from Price Waterhouse Coopers to Pronnoy Roy). Subject: Re: FW: Pres Announcements etc Pronnoy.I need to start with a base draftcan somebody give that to me. Your second requirement is something I would avoid saying. lets discuss after I have seen the base draft. BR Vivek

Note that Prannoy Roys second requirement would be avoided in drafting the press release.

E-mail dated 22.05.2008 at 05.30 P.M. (by Radhika Roy to KVL Narayan Rao). Subject: Re: FW: Pres Announcements-Final? Dear Narayan, But this doesnt really address prannoys concerns arising from our earlier communication and it would be a pity to miss this opportunity to correct any misconceptions. Just to remind you Prannoys four points below: 1. Everyone thought the money was to be put into Networks.As a result we got no shareholder value for the Rs. 600 crs in NDTV. 2. Its very important to state that the money is not in Networks. But in NDTV. As this affects the valuation analysts give to the deal. And its a big boost if they know its not in Networks and it is in NDTV. I know we cant say stake sale (which it is not anyway) But we do need to clarify that the money is not in Networks

Notice Radhika Roy saying what Prannoy had said in the earlier mail which PWC did not favour.

The mails disclose a clear intent to camouflage the money. The fraud is self-evident, pre-meditated, exposed in their own mails. The tax authorities have rightly taxed the investments as income from undisclosed sources. This opens the possibility of action for money laundering. NDTV tried its best to overcome the departments case. But finally the Delhi High Court has upheld the assessments.

Throughout the UPA regime, NDTV refused to disclose the identity of the investors in its shell subsidiary companies. It would not even attach the foreign subsidiarys balance sheet as required by law. It took the permission of the Company Law Department of the UPA government not to attach the balance sheet. By this process it kept out of its balance sheet the entire investment of $310 million in its London shell subsidiary which shared an office with some 3000 companies with a common address. The UK company was voluntarily wound up by saying that it had no liabilities. Its own bond liability of $100 million plus interest of $20 million was settled by paying $72 million. The NDTV would not disclose to the tax department the identity of the investors or the refinanciers. The net result of the funds funnelled into NDTV through the shell companies outside was tax evasion of $417 million and suspected money-laundering.

The Indian side

Leaving aside the complicated financial structure, on the Indian side, a Mukesh Ambani company gave a virtually interest-free loan to another company for acquiring 26 per cent of NDTV shares for Rs 403 cr. The zero-interest bond is then transferred to another company belonging to Himachal Furturistic Group for Rs 50 crore  with the Ambani company incurring a loss of Rs 353 crore and claiming it as tax expense. Why should Ambani incur this loss for NDTV? Is it to fund the freedom that NDTV is talking about now or to buy it? While the Ambani company purchased 26% NDTV shares for Rs 403 crore after valuing NDTV at Rs 1440 crore, it sold the same to Nahata of Himachal Futuristic who bought the 26% shares of NDTV for Rs 50 crore at a total valuation of Rs 192 crore. See the differing valuations. NDTV valued itself before the tax authorities at Rs 10000 crore. It was valued at $2 billion by GE Corporation USA for one investment and at $200 million for another. The Navin Jindal group and Agarwal Agro Tech group bought 15% of NDTV shares for Rs 26 crore on a value of Rs 173 cr. NDTV valued itself before SEBI at Rs 367 crore. Are these not indicative of huge valuation blues and tax issues?

It all started in 2006  with P. Chidambaram colluding

It all started in 2006  when UPA which was the ladder on which NDTV climbed to great heights. An honest and courageous tax official, S.K Srivastava happened to stumble on some crucial tips linking NDTV and P Chidambaram who was then the finance minister. He sought to investigate the intelligence which he had received to the effect that there was a payoff of Rs 5000 crore involving finance minister Chidambaram himself! Some unintelligent officer put it on record to recommend action against Srivastava. But they soon realised that if that were put on record then the officer could not be proceeded against. Therefore they suppressed or destroyed that file and created another file in which action was recommended against S K Srivastava for alleged misbehaviour with his colleagues. But the officer was a tough nut to crack and he took on the most vindictive finance minster of India at that time and perhaps of all time. He also found that a lady Income Tax official who was assessing NDTV had been in collusion with the TV channel, which employed her husband from 2003 to 2007 and provided pleasure trips to her and her husband.

This later became a subject of assessment of the lady officer and a reference to CBI for action. Srivastava also unearthed evidence pointing to huge tax frauds by NDTV. He moved to make a fresh assessment on NDTV, which led to the discovery of tax fraud of Rs 300 crore for six years. On 7.3.2007, S K Srivastava raised the Inspection Note setting out the details of the tax fraud, sent it to CCIT on 07.03.2007, who passed it on to the CIT on 13.03.2007. The CIT issued notice on 17.3.2007, set aside the assessments giving illegal benefit to NDTV on 29.3.2007 and the very next day, 30.9.2007, S K Srivastava was shocked to know that he was suspended by the finance minister Chidambaram himself instead of being rewarded for tracking and taxing a huge tax fraud by NDTV. This was how S K Srivastavas unprecedented battle against the most powerful finance minister of UPA began. From then on it was a lonely battle by the tax official. During the next few years Srivastava had to face the worst harassment: a series of change sheets, suspensions, transfer, false allegations of sexual harassment by lady tax officials known to have the favour of the finance minister, corrupt attempts to get him declared as insane and what not.

He battled all this alone till he happened to meet me through the spiritual master Sri Sri Ravishankar in 2013. In this six-year period, despite all the harassment and persecution, Srivastava helped the tax department to fix the NDTV fraud worth hundreds of millions of dollars abroad - which the tax department began taxing even before the Modi government came to power. This is what the tax authorities said while taxing the fraudulent monies: In view of the above facts and circumstance of the case, involving round tripping, involving such large variations in rates without any basis or valuation, the transaction lacks economic substance and commercial purpose and necessitates piercing the corporate veil. While the tax officer proposed to tax Rs 642.54 crore, NDTVs protest against it raised it to Rs 1406.25 crore. This was in 2013, when the UPA was in power, when NDTVs freedom to defraud was safe.

Ran away when questioned

When Sanjay Srivastava explained and showed the documents to me, I wrote a note to Ram Jethmalani and explained the entire case against NDTV. Jethmalani then wrote a stinging charge sheet on the NDTV fraud to P Chidambaram in December 2013, also charging him with offences under various sections of the penal and anti-corruption laws for protecting NDTV and punishing Srivastava. Jethmalani had sent a copy of my note to Mr Prannoy Roy who contacted me through an editor friend of mine and said that he would like to respond to that with documents. When his response came I found that the documents he had enclosed in support of the investments were not reliable. I gave detailed reasons for rejecting the documents and standing by my letter to Ram Jethmalani.

Concluding, I wrote: I stand by what I have said in my note which Sri Jethmalani had forwarded to you. After that Prannoy Roy fell silent. He did not challenge me. He did not sue me. My note to Ram Jethmalani, Prannoy Roys letter to me and my final letter are available at this link:

Will Mr Roy speak now? Is the CBI acting against fraud or against NDTVs freedom? You want freedom to camouflage the money? Freedom to suppress the subsidiaries balance sheet? Freedom from tax law inquiries? What is the freedom, the freedom that Ambanis paid for?

(The author is a well-known political and economic commentator)

The government has finally acted against Mr and Mrs Prannoy Roy and NDTV Ltd for fraud and deceit, which has been the subject matter of litigation in courts. Before the high financial rise of NDTV began, one must remember that when the UPA assumed office in 2004, NDTV had a huge cash loss of Rs 248 crore. It had no funds even to pay salaries, and its shares were trading at less than par. Its fortunes soared after the UPA came to power, and it received funds through a host of shell companies floated by it after 2004. Tax evasion, suspected money-laundering Between 2006 and 2010, NDTV India floated some 20 wholly-owned subsidiaries in different parts of the world - seven in Mauritius, eight in India, two in the Netherlands, one in London, one in UAE, and one in Sweden. All of them were letter-box companies, resting only on the valuation of NDTV Ltd. These subsidiary companies raised $417 million. Of this, $310 million was raised through a wholly-owned subsidiary, NDTV Network PLC UK, and $117 million through the sale of the channel NDTV Imagine to GE Corporation controlled by Universal Studios - all through private negotiation and private placement. Out of the $417 million, $267 million was invested by GE Corporation directly or indirectly. Just a reference to the emails obtained by the Income Tax authorities shows how the Roys and the other directors of NDTV were struggling to camouflage the huge monies received, not knowing how to camouflage the funds before the tax authorities. All this happened in 2008. E-mail dated 22.05.2008 at 3.06 P.M. by Vivek Mehta from Price Waterhouse Coopers to Pronnoy Roy: Subject: Re: FW: Pres Announcements etc Dear Pronnoy, Here is a shot at it, based on your draft appreciate your problems but honestly the problem could become worse if we give a handle to the tax authorities. I am concurrently discussing with other partners now the draft below. Lets get on a call ASAP, Regards Vivek.See the warning about giving a handle to the tax authorities. E-mail dated 21.05.2008 at 10.16 P.M. (by Vivek Mehta from Price Waterhouse Coopers to Pronnoy Roy): Subject: Press Announcements etc. Dear Pronnoy & all above. Now that we are reaching the conclusion I wanted to remind everybody that all press releases stock exchange releases etc etc both by NDTV & NBCU should be whetted by us. We must ensure that what is stated is that NBCU is subscribing for a sum of & 150 m in NDTV Networks group company Overseas for an effective 26 percent stake. We must not mention that NDTV is receiving the 150 m as dividend or otherwise. If asked a question what will the money be used for??? We need to decide how to answer this question carefully. Thanks Vivek. Note the caution not to mention NDTV is receiving 150m as dividends or otherwise. Even the question what the money will to be used for will have to be answered carefully. E-mail dated 22.05.2008 at 02.09 P.M. (by Pronnoy Roy to Vivek Mehta from Price Waterhouse Coopers): Subject: Re: FW: Pres Announcements etc. For everyone ..this is very importantCould we please have a draft press release Vivek.which we can use & send to nbcuIf possible, its important that the press release should make clear that the money comes in to NDTV and does not stay in Networks. Note the caution that the money comes to the networks [subsidiaries] but does not stay there. E-mail dated 22.05.2008 at 3.06 P.M. (by Vivek Mehta from Price Waterhouse Coopers to Pronnoy Roy). Subject: Re: FW: Pres Announcements etc Pronnoy.I need to start with a base draftcan somebody give that to me. Your second requirement is something I would avoid saying. lets discuss after I have seen the base draft. BR Vivek Note that Prannoy Roys second requirement would be avoided in drafting the press release. E-mail dated 22.05.2008 at 05.30 P.M. (by Radhika Roy to KVL Narayan Rao). Subject: Re: FW: Pres Announcements-Final? Dear Narayan, But this doesnt really address prannoys concerns arising from our earlier communication and it would be a pity to miss this opportunity to correct any misconceptions. Just to remind you Prannoys four points below: 1. Everyone thought the money was to be put into Networks.As a result we got no shareholder value for the Rs. 600 crs in NDTV. 2. Its very important to state that the money is not in Networks. But in NDTV. As this affects the valuation analysts give to the deal. And its a big boost if they know its not in Networks and it is in NDTV. I know we cant say stake sale (which it is not anyway) But we do need to clarify that the money is not in Networks Notice Radhika Roy saying what Prannoy had said in the earlier mail which PWC did not favour. The mails disclose a clear intent to camouflage the money. The fraud is self-evident, pre-meditated, exposed in their own mails. The tax authorities have rightly taxed the investments as income from undisclosed sources. This opens the possibility of action for money laundering. NDTV tried its best to overcome the departments case. But finally the Delhi High Court has upheld the assessments. Throughout the UPA regime, NDTV refused to disclose the identity of the investors in its shell subsidiary companies. It would not even attach the foreign subsidiarys balance sheet as required by law. It took the permission of the Company Law Department of the UPA government not to attach the balance sheet. By this process it kept out of its balance sheet the entire investment of $310 million in its London shell subsidiary which shared an office with some 3000 companies with a common address. The UK company was voluntarily wound up by saying that it had no liabilities. Its own bond liability of $100 million plus interest of $20 million was settled by paying $72 million. The NDTV would not disclose to the tax department the identity of the investors or the refinanciers. The net result of the funds funnelled into NDTV through the shell companies outside was tax evasion of $417 million and suspected money-laundering. The Indian side Leaving aside the complicated financial structure, on the Indian side, a Mukesh Ambani company gave a virtually interest-free loan to another company for acquiring 26 per cent of NDTV shares for Rs 403 cr. The zero-interest bond is then transferred to another company belonging to Himachal Furturistic Group for Rs 50 crore  with the Ambani company incurring a loss of Rs 353 crore and claiming it as tax expense. Why should Ambani incur this loss for NDTV? Is it to fund the freedom that NDTV is talking about now or to buy it? While the Ambani company purchased 26% NDTV shares for Rs 403 crore after valuing NDTV at Rs 1440 crore, it sold the same to Nahata of Himachal Futuristic who bought the 26% shares of NDTV for Rs 50 crore at a total valuation of Rs 192 crore. See the differing valuations. NDTV valued itself before the tax authorities at Rs 10000 crore. It was valued at $2 billion by GE Corporation USA for one investment and at $200 million for another. The Navin Jindal group and Agarwal Agro Tech group bought 15% of NDTV shares for Rs 26 crore on a value of Rs 173 cr. NDTV valued itself before SEBI at Rs 367 crore. Are these not indicative of huge valuation blues and tax issues? It all started in 2006  with P. Chidambaram colluding It all started in 2006  when UPA which was the ladder on which NDTV climbed to great heights. An honest and courageous tax official, S.K Srivastava happened to stumble on some crucial tips linking NDTV and P Chidambaram who was then the finance minister. He sought to investigate the intelligence which he had received to the effect that there was a payoff of Rs 5000 crore involving finance minister Chidambaram himself! Some unintelligent officer put it on record to recommend action against Srivastava. But they soon realised that if that were put on record then the officer could not be proceeded against. Therefore they suppressed or destroyed that file and created another file in which action was recommended against S K Srivastava for alleged misbehaviour with his colleagues. But the officer was a tough nut to crack and he took on the most vindictive finance minster of India at that time and perhaps of all time. He also found that a lady Income Tax official who was assessing NDTV had been in collusion with the TV channel, which employed her husband from 2003 to 2007 and provided pleasure trips to her and her husband. This later became a subject of assessment of the lady officer and a reference to CBI for action. Srivastava also unearthed evidence pointing to huge tax frauds by NDTV. He moved to make a fresh assessment on NDTV, which led to the discovery of tax fraud of Rs 300 crore for six years. On 7.3.2007, S K Srivastava raised the Inspection Note setting out the details of the tax fraud, sent it to CCIT on 07.03.2007, who passed it on to the CIT on 13.03.2007. The CIT issued notice on 17.3.2007, set aside the assessments giving illegal benefit to NDTV on 29.3.2007 and the very next day, 30.9.2007, S K Srivastava was shocked to know that he was suspended by the finance minister Chidambaram himself instead of being rewarded for tracking and taxing a huge tax fraud by NDTV. This was how S K Srivastavas unprecedented battle against the most powerful finance minister of UPA began. From then on it was a lonely battle by the tax official. During the next few years Srivastava had to face the worst harassment: a series of change sheets, suspensions, transfer, false allegations of sexual harassment by lady tax officials known to have the favour of the finance minister, corrupt attempts to get him declared as insane and what not. He battled all this alone till he happened to meet me through the spiritual master Sri Sri Ravishankar in 2013. In this six-year period, despite all the harassment and persecution, Srivastava helped the tax department to fix the NDTV fraud worth hundreds of millions of dollars abroad - which the tax department began taxing even before the Modi government came to power. This is what the tax authorities said while taxing the fraudulent monies: In view of the above facts and circumstance of the case, involving round tripping, involving such large variations in rates without any basis or valuation, the transaction lacks economic substance and commercial purpose and necessitates piercing the corporate veil. While the tax officer proposed to tax Rs 642.54 crore, NDTVs protest against it raised it to Rs 1406.25 crore. This was in 2013, when the UPA was in power, when NDTVs freedom to defraud was safe. Ran away when questioned When Sanjay Srivastava explained and showed the documents to me, I wrote a note to Ram Jethmalani and explained the entire case against NDTV. Jethmalani then wrote a stinging charge sheet on the NDTV fraud to P Chidambaram in December 2013, also charging him with offences under various sections of the penal and anti-corruption laws for protecting NDTV and punishing Srivastava. Jethmalani had sent a copy of my note to Mr Prannoy Roy who contacted me through an editor friend of mine and said that he would like to respond to that with documents. When his response came I found that the documents he had enclosed in support of the investments were not reliable. I gave detailed reasons for rejecting the documents and standing by my letter to Ram Jethmalani. Concluding, I wrote: I stand by what I have said in my note which Sri Jethmalani had forwarded to you. After that Prannoy Roy fell silent. He did not challenge me. He did not sue me. My note to Ram Jethmalani, Prannoy Roys letter to me and my final letter are available at this link: Will Mr Roy speak now? Is the CBI acting against fraud or against NDTVs freedom? You want freedom to camouflage the money? Freedom to suppress the subsidiaries balance sheet? Freedom from tax law inquiries? What is the freedom, the freedom that Ambanis paid for? (The author is a well-known political and economic commentator)
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: Seventy-one children aged between eight months and six years will undergo free cochlear implant surgery at KC General Hospital, Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health and Wenlock Hospital, Mangaluru, starting Tuesday. This is part of the cochlear implant project that will be inaugurated at KC General Hospital, Malleswaram.



A cochlear implant surgery is expensive with each procedure costing Rs 5.1 lakh followed by a year of audio verbal therapy. The procedure was not covered under any state health programme previously.

For the first time, the cost will be borne under the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram under the National Health Mission funds. As per 2011 census, there are 1,939 children in the age group of 0-6 years with hearing impairment. Among these most are deaf since birth.



For the project, surgeons from the three hospitals will each be paid Rs 50,000 per procedure.

Prabhu Dev B Gowda, an official with the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK), said, Cochlear implant surgery yields the best results from eight months to three years.

After three years of age the child may hear but speech may be difficult. Hearing impairment should be identified early, by screening newborns.



The project under Shravanadosha Mukta Karnataka will be implemented by Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust. The RBSK teams screened children enrolled in anganwadis, government and government-aided schools, and referred them to the district hospital.

BENGALURU: Seventy-one children aged between eight months and six years will undergo free cochlear implant surgery at KC General Hospital, Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health and Wenlock Hospital, Mangaluru, starting Tuesday. This is part of the cochlear implant project that will be inaugurated at KC General Hospital, Malleswaram. A cochlear implant surgery is expensive with each procedure costing Rs 5.1 lakh followed by a year of audio verbal therapy. The procedure was not covered under any state health programme previously. For the first time, the cost will be borne under the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram under the National Health Mission funds. As per 2011 census, there are 1,939 children in the age group of 0-6 years with hearing impairment. Among these most are deaf since birth. For the project, surgeons from the three hospitals will each be paid Rs 50,000 per procedure. Prabhu Dev B Gowda, an official with the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK), said, Cochlear implant surgery yields the best results from eight months to three years. After three years of age the child may hear but speech may be difficult. Hearing impairment should be identified early, by screening newborns. The project under Shravanadosha Mukta Karnataka will be implemented by Suvarna Arogya Suraksha Trust. The RBSK teams screened children enrolled in anganwadis, government and government-aided schools, and referred them to the district hospital.
By Express News Service

THRISSUR: While the LDF government vociferously advocates restraint in lavish and extravagant marriages, a wedding photograph going viral on social media shows the policy is not worth its weight in gold when it comes to certain party leaders.



Her daughters wedding photo has landed CPI legislator Geeta Gopi in a controversy. It shows the bride decked in ostentatious gold jewellery along with her mother at the Guruvayur temple where the marriage took place on Sunday. After it went viral on social media, questions are being raised whether the Left Fronts diktat is not applicable to leaders.



Apparently, it was CPI leader Mullakkara Ratnakaran who had brought the issue of lavish marriages in the Assembly. Acknowledging it, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had appealed to the public to refrain from extravagant weddings.



He also said there was a need to create awareness about the dowry malaise. The topic also came up post demonetisation when the son of Congress leader Adoor Prakash married the daughter of liquor baron Biju Ramesh. The CPI had then let loose a controversy citing the marriage as an example.



It appears Geeta may have to give an explanation to the party for the ostentatious display of wealth during the wedding attended by many CPI leaders. Activist like K M Shajahan came up with stinging criticism on social media.



Looking at the photograph of the bride, who is decked in gold, he said in his post. One might think she is the daughter of a rich trader or millionaire. However, she is the daughter of a first-time CPI MLA. We can only be shocked. He said the CPI had crossed the line drawn by the CPM.



CPI Thrissur district secretary K K Valsaraj said the party had a clear opinion on how its leaders and public representative should conduct weddings and similar functions. So far, there has been no objections. However, if required, it will be discussed within the party, he said. Geeta was however unavailable for comment.

THRISSUR: While the LDF government vociferously advocates restraint in lavish and extravagant marriages, a wedding photograph going viral on social media shows the policy is not worth its weight in gold when it comes to certain party leaders. Her daughters wedding photo has landed CPI legislator Geeta Gopi in a controversy. It shows the bride decked in ostentatious gold jewellery along with her mother at the Guruvayur temple where the marriage took place on Sunday. After it went viral on social media, questions are being raised whether the Left Fronts diktat is not applicable to leaders. Apparently, it was CPI leader Mullakkara Ratnakaran who had brought the issue of lavish marriages in the Assembly. Acknowledging it, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had appealed to the public to refrain from extravagant weddings. He also said there was a need to create awareness about the dowry malaise. The topic also came up post demonetisation when the son of Congress leader Adoor Prakash married the daughter of liquor baron Biju Ramesh. The CPI had then let loose a controversy citing the marriage as an example. It appears Geeta may have to give an explanation to the party for the ostentatious display of wealth during the wedding attended by many CPI leaders. Activist like K M Shajahan came up with stinging criticism on social media. Looking at the photograph of the bride, who is decked in gold, he said in his post. One might think she is the daughter of a rich trader or millionaire. However, she is the daughter of a first-time CPI MLA. We can only be shocked. He said the CPI had crossed the line drawn by the CPM. CPI Thrissur district secretary K K Valsaraj said the party had a clear opinion on how its leaders and public representative should conduct weddings and similar functions. So far, there has been no objections. However, if required, it will be discussed within the party, he said. Geeta was however unavailable for comment.
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Refusing to yield ground to sidelined deputy general secretary T T V Dhinakaran and his extended family, a team of ministers from the ruling camp asked him to stay away from the affairs of the party and the government.

We are firm in our stand not to have any truck with Dhinakaran and his family members. We do not have any contact with them, nor are we depending on them. We are running the government without anyones interference. Party functionaries at all levels dont have confusion; they will not meet Dhinakaran, asserted Finance Minister D Jayakumar, a senior leader of the faction led by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami.

Flanked by senior members of the Cabinet, Jayakumar addressed the media after a two-hour long emergency meeting on Monday afternoon  around the same time Dhinakaran was huddled in a meeting with the AIADMK general secretary and his aunt V K Sasikala at Parappana Agraharam prison in Bengaluru.

Emerging from the meeting, he responded that Sasikala had asked him to give the ruling faction 60 more days to address pending issues, including merger of the factions and retrieving the symbol.

Out from the Delhi prison on bail in the AIADMK symbol bribery case only two days ago, Dhinakaran had asserted that he would engage actively in party work since staying away did not help the merger of two factions.

The State cabinet, after the meeting, consulted the Chief Minister before meeting the media.

In April, we had unanimously decided to keep Dhinakaran and family members away from the affairs of the party and government. He, too, had accepted this the same evening. Since, he had commented about resuming party works, we are forced to clarify our stand, Jayakumar said.

In short, the message from the EPS faction was: We can manage the show on our own; please stick to your promise and keep away.

Dhinakarans supporters were upset. They warned that the ruling faction would have to pay a heavy price if they sidelined the family. The decision taken by a handful of ministers is unilateral. If they force it on us, they will have to face the consequences, said MLA and Dhinakaran crony P Vetrivel.

CHENNAI: Refusing to yield ground to sidelined deputy general secretary T T V Dhinakaran and his extended family, a team of ministers from the ruling camp asked him to stay away from the affairs of the party and the government. We are firm in our stand not to have any truck with Dhinakaran and his family members. We do not have any contact with them, nor are we depending on them. We are running the government without anyones interference. Party functionaries at all levels dont have confusion; they will not meet Dhinakaran, asserted Finance Minister D Jayakumar, a senior leader of the faction led by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami. Flanked by senior members of the Cabinet, Jayakumar addressed the media after a two-hour long emergency meeting on Monday afternoon  around the same time Dhinakaran was huddled in a meeting with the AIADMK general secretary and his aunt V K Sasikala at Parappana Agraharam prison in Bengaluru. Emerging from the meeting, he responded that Sasikala had asked him to give the ruling faction 60 more days to address pending issues, including merger of the factions and retrieving the symbol. Out from the Delhi prison on bail in the AIADMK symbol bribery case only two days ago, Dhinakaran had asserted that he would engage actively in party work since staying away did not help the merger of two factions. The State cabinet, after the meeting, consulted the Chief Minister before meeting the media. In April, we had unanimously decided to keep Dhinakaran and family members away from the affairs of the party and government. He, too, had accepted this the same evening. Since, he had commented about resuming party works, we are forced to clarify our stand, Jayakumar said. In short, the message from the EPS faction was: We can manage the show on our own; please stick to your promise and keep away. Dhinakarans supporters were upset. They warned that the ruling faction would have to pay a heavy price if they sidelined the family. The decision taken by a handful of ministers is unilateral. If they force it on us, they will have to face the consequences, said MLA and Dhinakaran crony P Vetrivel.
The top United Nations human rights official called on Tuesday for an end to Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory, saying it would benefit both sides after 50 years of enmity.

Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, in a speech opening a three-week session of the U.N. Human Rights Council, said that the Palestinian people were marking "a half-century of deep suffering under an occupation imposed by military force".

Israelis also deserve freedom from violence, he said, adding: "Maintain the occupation and for both peoples there will only be a prolongation of immense pain."

Israeli clampdown on a wave of Palestinian protests in late 2015 against illegal settlements in east Jerusalem and attacks on Aqsa mosque left 267 Palestinians dead.

Palestinian attacks left 41 Israelis, two Americans, two Jordanians, an Eritrean, a Sudanese and a Briton dead.

The violence has subsided in recent months.

*The story has been edited by Ahram Online

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Ram M Sundaram By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government might make it mandatory for all State government employees to enroll their children only in government-run schools. School Education Minister KA Sengottaiyan had earlier said the government would announce major reforms on June 6, a day prior to reopening of schools after the summer vacation.

More than 40 changes have been proposed and one among them is that government employees, including all staff of government schools, should enroll their children only in government schools. However, the final call will be taken only after holding discussions with the Chief Minister, said a highly-placed government source.

Though this populist move might be hailed by a section, experts are concerned about the consequences.

Before implementing this, the State government should ensure that there are adequate teachers serving in all government schools, said educationist Prince Gajendra Babu, adding that otherwise it might backfire.

Notably, in 2015 the Allahabad High Court had directed all government employees in Uttar Pradesh to enroll their kids only in government schools. However, an interim stay has been granted on the order and the case is still pending.

Another major reform being mulled is not to allow government teachers to continue working in the same school for more than five years. This was to prevent government school teachers settling in their hometowns, sources said.

By working in the same school for decades, teachers may be prone to prejudices on students in the locality which might come in the way of effective teaching process, a School Education Department official told Express. At present, a teacher posted in a particular government school will be eligible for transfer only when he or she completes one year of service in that school.

The State School Education Department was also planning to change this transfer policy. None would be eligible for a transfer unless they complete five years of service in the same school, the source added.

A similar norm is already in place in Kendriya Vidyalayas, although the minimum period varies from two to five years depending on the location of the school.

CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government might make it mandatory for all State government employees to enroll their children only in government-run schools. School Education Minister KA Sengottaiyan had earlier said the government would announce major reforms on June 6, a day prior to reopening of schools after the summer vacation. More than 40 changes have been proposed and one among them is that government employees, including all staff of government schools, should enroll their children only in government schools. However, the final call will be taken only after holding discussions with the Chief Minister, said a highly-placed government source. Though this populist move might be hailed by a section, experts are concerned about the consequences. Before implementing this, the State government should ensure that there are adequate teachers serving in all government schools, said educationist Prince Gajendra Babu, adding that otherwise it might backfire. Notably, in 2015 the Allahabad High Court had directed all government employees in Uttar Pradesh to enroll their kids only in government schools. However, an interim stay has been granted on the order and the case is still pending. Another major reform being mulled is not to allow government teachers to continue working in the same school for more than five years. This was to prevent government school teachers settling in their hometowns, sources said. By working in the same school for decades, teachers may be prone to prejudices on students in the locality which might come in the way of effective teaching process, a School Education Department official told Express. At present, a teacher posted in a particular government school will be eligible for transfer only when he or she completes one year of service in that school. The State School Education Department was also planning to change this transfer policy. None would be eligible for a transfer unless they complete five years of service in the same school, the source added. A similar norm is already in place in Kendriya Vidyalayas, although the minimum period varies from two to five years depending on the location of the school.
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: Stepping up attack on the state government on the Miyapur land scam, the TDP and BJP have alleged that chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is trying to shield the key accused, Goldstone Infratech Ltd director Prasad.



The two opposition parties on Monday separately wanted to know what connection Goldstone Prasad had with the chief ministers family, besides reiterating their demand for ordering a CBI probe into the scam.

A delegation of TDP leaders, led by A Revanth Reddy and L Ramana, on Monday visited the Miyapur lands which were illegally registered in the names of some private persons.



Later, Revanth alleged that the chief minister was trying to protect the influential persons who were behind the land scam. Goldstone Prasads brothers wife is working as secretary in CMs peshi. It clearly shows that Prasad has close links with CMs family, he alleged.



Revanth wondered how a family member of Goldstone Prasad was allowed to work as secretary in the CMs peshi even after the scam broke out. This clearly proves that the culprits are being protected by the top brass in the government. The CM is not taking any action against his deputy, Mohammed Mahmood Ali, who is facing allegations with regard to this scam. Therefore, the central government should step in and order a CBI investigation into the scam, he demanded.



Ramana alleged that Prasad was absconding with the help of the government. The TDP leaders demanded that the entire land be used for construction of 2 lakh double bedroom houses for the poor.

Joining chorus with the TDP, state BJP spokesman Krishna Sagar Rao demanded that the chief minister disclose to people why his government was lenient to Prasad.



Goldstone Prasad has been facing several criminal cases in the US. Yet, the state police have not taken any steps in the past three years to arrest him. Suddenly, Prasad emerged as a kingpin in the Miyapur land scam. The chief minister should explain what relationship Prasad had with him, the BJP leader asked.

He then demanded that the deputy chief minister Mahmood Ali be dropped from the state cabinet as he was facing allegations of involvement in the scam.

HYDERABAD: Stepping up attack on the state government on the Miyapur land scam, the TDP and BJP have alleged that chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is trying to shield the key accused, Goldstone Infratech Ltd director Prasad. The two opposition parties on Monday separately wanted to know what connection Goldstone Prasad had with the chief ministers family, besides reiterating their demand for ordering a CBI probe into the scam. A delegation of TDP leaders, led by A Revanth Reddy and L Ramana, on Monday visited the Miyapur lands which were illegally registered in the names of some private persons. Later, Revanth alleged that the chief minister was trying to protect the influential persons who were behind the land scam. Goldstone Prasads brothers wife is working as secretary in CMs peshi. It clearly shows that Prasad has close links with CMs family, he alleged. Revanth wondered how a family member of Goldstone Prasad was allowed to work as secretary in the CMs peshi even after the scam broke out. This clearly proves that the culprits are being protected by the top brass in the government. The CM is not taking any action against his deputy, Mohammed Mahmood Ali, who is facing allegations with regard to this scam. Therefore, the central government should step in and order a CBI investigation into the scam, he demanded. Ramana alleged that Prasad was absconding with the help of the government. The TDP leaders demanded that the entire land be used for construction of 2 lakh double bedroom houses for the poor. Joining chorus with the TDP, state BJP spokesman Krishna Sagar Rao demanded that the chief minister disclose to people why his government was lenient to Prasad. Goldstone Prasad has been facing several criminal cases in the US. Yet, the state police have not taken any steps in the past three years to arrest him. Suddenly, Prasad emerged as a kingpin in the Miyapur land scam. The chief minister should explain what relationship Prasad had with him, the BJP leader asked. He then demanded that the deputy chief minister Mahmood Ali be dropped from the state cabinet as he was facing allegations of involvement in the scam.
By Associated Press

NEW YORK: If the hot dogs in this New York City bodega feel a little, well, soft and squishy, don't worry, it's not a health hazard. It's art.

A British artist has recreated the contents of a city bodega entirely in felt, the soft material usually favored by the school-going set. Lucy Sparrow's "8 Till Late" opened to the public in a 1,200-square-foot space at The Standard hotel on Manhattan's west side on Monday and runs through June 30.

Sparrow handmade the 9,000 items in the installation, covering practically everything you might find in the small stores that are synonymous with New York City  there are felt jars of peanut butter and jelly as well as packages of white bread; felt pizza slices and pretzels on the felt grill along with felt hot dogs; felt boxes of detergent and a felt fridge filled with felt ice cream.

The artist has been working in felt for years and says the material "evokes nostalgia with people."

The New York City exhibit follows a similar one Sparrow created in London, called "The Cornershop." The point of both, she said, was to generate conversation about what is lost when small mom-and-pop stores like bodegas fade away, often with chain stores coming in as replacements.

"A sense of community is being lost when these places disappear," she said.

Sparrow said it took several months to make all the items, working for 16 hours every day toward the end of her production period. Among her favorite items in the shop are the sausages and other products in the meat case, all of which have eyes and faces.

"It's very cute but sort of gruesome at the same time," she said.

And in the interests of verisimilitude, she of course included that mainstay of the bodegas, the cat that can usually be seen lolling on a pallet of cans or strolling through the aisles.

"I had at least 20 people say to me that having a bodega cat was probably the most important thing about this installation," Sparrow said, "so I had to get that right."

NEW YORK: If the hot dogs in this New York City bodega feel a little, well, soft and squishy, don't worry, it's not a health hazard. It's art. A British artist has recreated the contents of a city bodega entirely in felt, the soft material usually favored by the school-going set. Lucy Sparrow's "8 Till Late" opened to the public in a 1,200-square-foot space at The Standard hotel on Manhattan's west side on Monday and runs through June 30. Sparrow handmade the 9,000 items in the installation, covering practically everything you might find in the small stores that are synonymous with New York City  there are felt jars of peanut butter and jelly as well as packages of white bread; felt pizza slices and pretzels on the felt grill along with felt hot dogs; felt boxes of detergent and a felt fridge filled with felt ice cream. The artist has been working in felt for years and says the material "evokes nostalgia with people." The New York City exhibit follows a similar one Sparrow created in London, called "The Cornershop." The point of both, she said, was to generate conversation about what is lost when small mom-and-pop stores like bodegas fade away, often with chain stores coming in as replacements. "A sense of community is being lost when these places disappear," she said. Sparrow said it took several months to make all the items, working for 16 hours every day toward the end of her production period. Among her favorite items in the shop are the sausages and other products in the meat case, all of which have eyes and faces. "It's very cute but sort of gruesome at the same time," she said. And in the interests of verisimilitude, she of course included that mainstay of the bodegas, the cat that can usually be seen lolling on a pallet of cans or strolling through the aisles. "I had at least 20 people say to me that having a bodega cat was probably the most important thing about this installation," Sparrow said, "so I had to get that right."
By PTI

BEIJING: China today cautioned India and other Asian countries against forming informal alliances to counter its increasing assertiveness as they cannot rely on the US in Trump era.

"I have seen the reports but I doubt the authenticity of these reports," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told media briefing here.

She was commenting on reports from Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore that India, Japan, Australia and Vietnam were contemplating informal alliances in view of the uncertainties of US policies under President Donald Trump.

If those reports are authentic, it demonstrate that Cold War mindset has not been eradicated and "some people approach and handle the country to country relations with zero sum opinion," Hua said.

Speaking at the forum two days ago, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said: "In this brave new world we cannot rely on great powers to safeguard our interests."

"We have to take responsibility for our own security and prosperity, while recognising we are stronger when sharing the burden of collective leadership with trusted partners and friends," he said.

Hua said China stands for common comprehensive and sustainable security idea for the building of cooperation of a new international relation with win cooperate at its core.

"Any confrontation and containment will have no way out. Hope relevant people can put Chinas development in perspective," Hua said.

BEIJING: China today cautioned India and other Asian countries against forming informal alliances to counter its increasing assertiveness as they cannot rely on the US in Trump era. "I have seen the reports but I doubt the authenticity of these reports," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told media briefing here. She was commenting on reports from Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore that India, Japan, Australia and Vietnam were contemplating informal alliances in view of the uncertainties of US policies under President Donald Trump. If those reports are authentic, it demonstrate that Cold War mindset has not been eradicated and "some people approach and handle the country to country relations with zero sum opinion," Hua said. Speaking at the forum two days ago, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said: "In this brave new world we cannot rely on great powers to safeguard our interests." "We have to take responsibility for our own security and prosperity, while recognising we are stronger when sharing the burden of collective leadership with trusted partners and friends," he said. Hua said China stands for common comprehensive and sustainable security idea for the building of cooperation of a new international relation with win cooperate at its core. "Any confrontation and containment will have no way out. Hope relevant people can put Chinas development in perspective," Hua said.
By ANI

MOSCOW: Around 100,000 minors remain trapped in "extremely dangerous"area of Mosul which is controlled by Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIS) and are being used as human shields and forced to fight on behalf of Islamic State terrorists.



An estimated 100,000 girls and boys remain in extremely dangerous conditions in the old city and other areas of west Mosul, Russia Today quoted Peter Hawkins, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Representative in Iraq, as saying.



We are receiving alarming reports of civilians including several children being killed in west Mosul.Hawkins said in a statement.

Operations to recapture western Mosul were launched on February 19 after the eastern section of Iraqs second largest city was liberated in January. As Iraqi forces make the final push to retake the city, at least 200,000 civilians remain in danger.



Iraqi forces began a push towards the medieval old city in late April. Their advance has been slow due fierce urban combat and the use of civilians by Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) fighters as human shields.



While U.S.-backed Iraqi troops have forced the last of ISIS hardened fighters into three neighborhoods  Zanjili, al-Sihha and al-Shefa -around the old city remain under terrorist control.



In some cases, the minors have been forced to fight on behalf of Islamic State terrorists., Hawkins noted, adding that others are being killed, injured and used as human shields.



To spare the lives of innocent children and other civilians still trapped under the yoke of IS, UNICEF has called on all involved in the battle to spare hospitals and other civilian infrastructure.



Many are caught in the crossfire and hospitals and other medical facilities have reportedly come under attack, Hawkins noted. Attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure including hospitals, clinics, schools, homes and water systems should stop immediately.



Iraqi troops along with coalition forces are backed by U.S. air strikes began the battle for Islamic States main stronghold in the country in October 2016.

MOSCOW: Around 100,000 minors remain trapped in "extremely dangerous"area of Mosul which is controlled by Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIS) and are being used as human shields and forced to fight on behalf of Islamic State terrorists. An estimated 100,000 girls and boys remain in extremely dangerous conditions in the old city and other areas of west Mosul, Russia Today quoted Peter Hawkins, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Representative in Iraq, as saying. We are receiving alarming reports of civilians including several children being killed in west Mosul.Hawkins said in a statement. Operations to recapture western Mosul were launched on February 19 after the eastern section of Iraqs second largest city was liberated in January. As Iraqi forces make the final push to retake the city, at least 200,000 civilians remain in danger. Iraqi forces began a push towards the medieval old city in late April. Their advance has been slow due fierce urban combat and the use of civilians by Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) fighters as human shields. While U.S.-backed Iraqi troops have forced the last of ISIS hardened fighters into three neighborhoods  Zanjili, al-Sihha and al-Shefa -around the old city remain under terrorist control. In some cases, the minors have been forced to fight on behalf of Islamic State terrorists., Hawkins noted, adding that others are being killed, injured and used as human shields. To spare the lives of innocent children and other civilians still trapped under the yoke of IS, UNICEF has called on all involved in the battle to spare hospitals and other civilian infrastructure. Many are caught in the crossfire and hospitals and other medical facilities have reportedly come under attack, Hawkins noted. Attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure including hospitals, clinics, schools, homes and water systems should stop immediately. Iraqi troops along with coalition forces are backed by U.S. air strikes began the battle for Islamic States main stronghold in the country in October 2016.
By Associated Press

LONDON: British police have named the third London Bridge attacker as 22-year-old Youssef Zaghba and said he is believed to be an Italian national of Moroccan descent.

Police said Tuesday he lived in east London and that his family has been notified, adding that he was not considered to be a "subject of interest" to either police or the intelligence services.

The other two attackers were named Monday as Khuram Shazad Butt and Rachid Redouane.

The three, who were wearing fake suicide vests, were shot dead late Saturday after ramming a van into pedestrians on London Bridge and then slashing and stabbing people in nearby Borough Market. During the attack, seven people were killed and dozens more were wounded.

This undated handout photo

provided by the Metropolitan

Police shows Youssef Zaghba.

(AP) 

The Italian daily Corriere della Sera reported Tuesday that Youssef Zaghba had been stopped in Italy while trying to go to Syria in 2016.

Zaghba, who is said to have been born in Morocco to a Moroccan father and an Italian mother, was stopped at Bologna's Marconi airport on March 15, 2016, while he tried to take a flight to Turkey. He was allegedly on his way to Syria and was carrying only a backpack.

The report said Italy had put him on a watch list and flagged his presence to Moroccan and British authorities. The parents lived for a time in Morocco before separating when the mother returned to Italy and re-established herself in Bologna.

Zaghba was reportedly working in a London restaurant and had not been seen in Italy since 2016.

A British government official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the investigation confirmed the details of the Italian report, and said the man had not been considered a "person of interest," meaning they had no reason to think he was violent or planning an attack.

The identity of the last attacker in Saturday's attack came as a new search got underway in a neighborhood in east London near the home of two of the London Bridge attackers. The search in Ilford, just north of Barking, is seeking to determine whether the group had accomplices.

London police have said all 12 people held since the attack from the Barking neighborhood, have been freed.

The attack, the third in Britain in three months involving suspects who had been on the radar of British authorities, has raised questions over the government's ability to protect Britain following cuts to police numbers in recent years. All three attacks have been claimed by the Islamic State group.

Security has become a key issue in the run-up to Thursday's general election. In particular, there are questions over whether investigators had the resources to look into complaints such as those leveled by Butt's neighbors about his attempts to radicalize children and whether crucial opportunities were missed.

Butt had appeared in a documentary "The Jihadis Next Door" and was known to investigators but police said he was not believed to be plotting an attack. The second man, Rachid Redouane, had not aroused any suspicions.

The Islamic gym where Butt worked out said Tuesday they had seen nothing of concern during his time there. In a letter posted outside Tuesday, the Ummah Fitness Centre said staff would "help the police in any way we can."

Neighbors described Butt as an avid weightlifter and Transport for London confirmed he worked for London Underground in customer service before leaving last October.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said questions would need to be asked about what the police knew about Butt. He has said cuts in the number of police officers have had an impact on the ability to prevent attacks.

Prime Minister Theresa May, who called the snap election in hopes of strengthening her mandate for discussions over Britain's exit from the European Union, has come under fire for the cuts to police numbers over recent years. A string of opinion polls over the past couple of weeks have pointed to a narrowing in the gap between her Conservative Party and the main opposition Labour Party.

The number of police officers in England and Wales fell by almost 20,000 between 2010 and 2016  years when May, as home secretary, was in charge of policing.

Much of the area around London Bridge remained cordoned off as commuters struggled to work in the driving rain.

The area around Borough Market is not expected to reopen Tuesday.

The nearby London Bridge station was operational though one of the exits that leads to the cordoned off area on Borough High Street remained closed.

Transport for London, which oversees the capital's transport network, has advised commuters to make alternative journeys as the station will be busy.

A minute's silence was observed in Britain at 11 a.m. local time (1000 GMT) in memory of those killed during the attack.

The country's official terror threat level remains at "severe," one notch down from the highest.

It had been set at "critical" in the days after the Manchester concert bombing on May 22 that killed 22 people  reflecting a judgment that an attack might be imminent because accomplices with similar bombs might be on the loose.

It was lowered once intelligence agencies were comfortable this wasn't the case. Authorities have said the London attack was apparently unconnected to the Manchester bombing.

LONDON: British police have named the third London Bridge attacker as 22-year-old Youssef Zaghba and said he is believed to be an Italian national of Moroccan descent. Police said Tuesday he lived in east London and that his family has been notified, adding that he was not considered to be a "subject of interest" to either police or the intelligence services. The other two attackers were named Monday as Khuram Shazad Butt and Rachid Redouane. The three, who were wearing fake suicide vests, were shot dead late Saturday after ramming a van into pedestrians on London Bridge and then slashing and stabbing people in nearby Borough Market. During the attack, seven people were killed and dozens more were wounded. This undated handout photo provided by the Metropolitan Police shows Youssef Zaghba. (AP) The Italian daily Corriere della Sera reported Tuesday that Youssef Zaghba had been stopped in Italy while trying to go to Syria in 2016. Zaghba, who is said to have been born in Morocco to a Moroccan father and an Italian mother, was stopped at Bologna's Marconi airport on March 15, 2016, while he tried to take a flight to Turkey. He was allegedly on his way to Syria and was carrying only a backpack. The report said Italy had put him on a watch list and flagged his presence to Moroccan and British authorities. The parents lived for a time in Morocco before separating when the mother returned to Italy and re-established herself in Bologna. Zaghba was reportedly working in a London restaurant and had not been seen in Italy since 2016. A British government official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the investigation confirmed the details of the Italian report, and said the man had not been considered a "person of interest," meaning they had no reason to think he was violent or planning an attack. The identity of the last attacker in Saturday's attack came as a new search got underway in a neighborhood in east London near the home of two of the London Bridge attackers. The search in Ilford, just north of Barking, is seeking to determine whether the group had accomplices. London police have said all 12 people held since the attack from the Barking neighborhood, have been freed. The attack, the third in Britain in three months involving suspects who had been on the radar of British authorities, has raised questions over the government's ability to protect Britain following cuts to police numbers in recent years. All three attacks have been claimed by the Islamic State group. Security has become a key issue in the run-up to Thursday's general election. In particular, there are questions over whether investigators had the resources to look into complaints such as those leveled by Butt's neighbors about his attempts to radicalize children and whether crucial opportunities were missed. Butt had appeared in a documentary "The Jihadis Next Door" and was known to investigators but police said he was not believed to be plotting an attack. The second man, Rachid Redouane, had not aroused any suspicions. The Islamic gym where Butt worked out said Tuesday they had seen nothing of concern during his time there. In a letter posted outside Tuesday, the Ummah Fitness Centre said staff would "help the police in any way we can." Neighbors described Butt as an avid weightlifter and Transport for London confirmed he worked for London Underground in customer service before leaving last October. London Mayor Sadiq Khan said questions would need to be asked about what the police knew about Butt. He has said cuts in the number of police officers have had an impact on the ability to prevent attacks. Prime Minister Theresa May, who called the snap election in hopes of strengthening her mandate for discussions over Britain's exit from the European Union, has come under fire for the cuts to police numbers over recent years. A string of opinion polls over the past couple of weeks have pointed to a narrowing in the gap between her Conservative Party and the main opposition Labour Party. The number of police officers in England and Wales fell by almost 20,000 between 2010 and 2016  years when May, as home secretary, was in charge of policing. Much of the area around London Bridge remained cordoned off as commuters struggled to work in the driving rain. The area around Borough Market is not expected to reopen Tuesday. The nearby London Bridge station was operational though one of the exits that leads to the cordoned off area on Borough High Street remained closed. Transport for London, which oversees the capital's transport network, has advised commuters to make alternative journeys as the station will be busy. A minute's silence was observed in Britain at 11 a.m. local time (1000 GMT) in memory of those killed during the attack. The country's official terror threat level remains at "severe," one notch down from the highest. It had been set at "critical" in the days after the Manchester concert bombing on May 22 that killed 22 people  reflecting a judgment that an attack might be imminent because accomplices with similar bombs might be on the loose. It was lowered once intelligence agencies were comfortable this wasn't the case. Authorities have said the London attack was apparently unconnected to the Manchester bombing.
By AFP

PARIS: French police shot and injured a man who attacked an officer with a hammer outside Paris's Notre Dame cathedral Tuesday, while shouting "this is for Syria".

Police sources said the officer sustained only minor neck injuries in the assault, which comes with France on high alert after jihadists killed seven people in London on Saturday.

The suspect later claimed to be a "soldier of the caliphate" of the Islamic State group, according to a source close to the investigation.

The policeman's colleague opened fire on the man, hitting him in the chest in panicked scenes around the Gothic cathedral that is one of France's most visited tourist attractions.

The man lay bleeding on the ground as police sealed off the area and searched for possible accomplices.

About an hour after the attack he was taken to hospital and police declared the situation to be under control.

Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said the man had shouted "this is for Syria" as he lunged at the officer.

He said the man had also been carrying "kitchen knives" and was found in possession of a card identifying him as an Algerian student.

Anti-terrorist prosecutors were put in charge of the investigation.

A witness told AFP he heard someone "shout very loudly".

"Then there was a crowd surge and people panicked. I heard two shots and saw a man lying on the ground in a pool of blood," he said.

Notre Dame, which is situated on the banks of the Seine river in the heart of Paris, draws 13 million visitors a year.

Over 1,000 people were inside the cathedral at the time of the attack.

Authorities in Paris asked the public to stay away from the area.

Pictures on social media showed people sitting in the pews with their hands in the air -- apparently at the request of police.

Andre Finot, the cathedral's head of communications, described the situation as calm. "People are talking to each other, praying and continuing their visit," he said.

In September, Notre Dame was already the scene of a scare after a car full of gas canisters was found parked nearby.

The car was tracked to an all-female terrorist cell, allegedly acting on the orders of Syria-based Islamic State jihadists.

Renewed state of emergency

Tuesday's incident comes three days after extremists used a van and knives to crush to death and kill seven people enjoying a night out in London. One of the victims was French.

France is still under the state of emergency imposed after the November 2015 attacks in Paris, when Islamic State jihadists killed 130 people in a night of carnage at venues across the city.

President Emmanuel Macron's new centrist government recently announced plans to extend the emergency measures in November, drawing some criticism from rights groups.

The authorities have pointed to a string of attacks since January 2015 that have claimed the lives of over 230 people as justification for boosting the powers of the police.

While France has been Islamic State's main target in western Europe, the focus in recent weeks has shifted to Britain.

Two weeks before the London attack, a suicide bomber killed 22 people including seven children at a concert by US singer Ariana Grande in the northwestern English city of Manchester.

The last fatal attack in France dates to April 20, when a policeman was shot dead on Paris's prestigious Champs-Elysees avenue, three days before the first round of the presidential election.

Previous major attacks targeted the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine in January 2015 and in November that year, gunmen and suicide bombers attacked venues around Paris including the Bataclan concert hall, killing 130 people.

Then in July last year, a radicalised Tunisian man drove a lorry at high speed through a Bastille Day fireworks display on the Nice waterfront, massacring 86 people.

Since then there have been a series of smaller attacks, often targeting security forces.

PARIS: French police shot and injured a man who attacked an officer with a hammer outside Paris's Notre Dame cathedral Tuesday, while shouting "this is for Syria". Police sources said the officer sustained only minor neck injuries in the assault, which comes with France on high alert after jihadists killed seven people in London on Saturday. The suspect later claimed to be a "soldier of the caliphate" of the Islamic State group, according to a source close to the investigation. The policeman's colleague opened fire on the man, hitting him in the chest in panicked scenes around the Gothic cathedral that is one of France's most visited tourist attractions. The man lay bleeding on the ground as police sealed off the area and searched for possible accomplices. About an hour after the attack he was taken to hospital and police declared the situation to be under control. Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said the man had shouted "this is for Syria" as he lunged at the officer. He said the man had also been carrying "kitchen knives" and was found in possession of a card identifying him as an Algerian student. Anti-terrorist prosecutors were put in charge of the investigation. A witness told AFP he heard someone "shout very loudly". "Then there was a crowd surge and people panicked. I heard two shots and saw a man lying on the ground in a pool of blood," he said. Notre Dame, which is situated on the banks of the Seine river in the heart of Paris, draws 13 million visitors a year. Over 1,000 people were inside the cathedral at the time of the attack. Authorities in Paris asked the public to stay away from the area. Pictures on social media showed people sitting in the pews with their hands in the air -- apparently at the request of police. Andre Finot, the cathedral's head of communications, described the situation as calm. "People are talking to each other, praying and continuing their visit," he said. In September, Notre Dame was already the scene of a scare after a car full of gas canisters was found parked nearby. The car was tracked to an all-female terrorist cell, allegedly acting on the orders of Syria-based Islamic State jihadists. Renewed state of emergency Tuesday's incident comes three days after extremists used a van and knives to crush to death and kill seven people enjoying a night out in London. One of the victims was French. France is still under the state of emergency imposed after the November 2015 attacks in Paris, when Islamic State jihadists killed 130 people in a night of carnage at venues across the city. President Emmanuel Macron's new centrist government recently announced plans to extend the emergency measures in November, drawing some criticism from rights groups. The authorities have pointed to a string of attacks since January 2015 that have claimed the lives of over 230 people as justification for boosting the powers of the police. While France has been Islamic State's main target in western Europe, the focus in recent weeks has shifted to Britain. Two weeks before the London attack, a suicide bomber killed 22 people including seven children at a concert by US singer Ariana Grande in the northwestern English city of Manchester. The last fatal attack in France dates to April 20, when a policeman was shot dead on Paris's prestigious Champs-Elysees avenue, three days before the first round of the presidential election. Previous major attacks targeted the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine in January 2015 and in November that year, gunmen and suicide bombers attacked venues around Paris including the Bataclan concert hall, killing 130 people. Then in July last year, a radicalised Tunisian man drove a lorry at high speed through a Bastille Day fireworks display on the Nice waterfront, massacring 86 people. Since then there have been a series of smaller attacks, often targeting security forces.
By Associated Press

DUBAI: Qatar's foreign minister says Kuwait is trying to mediate and solve a diplomatic crisis that has seen Arab nations cut off diplomatic ties.

The minister said early today that Kuwait's ruler had asked Qatar's ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to hold off on giving a speech about the crisis.

Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani also told Doha-based satellite news network Al-Jazeera that his nation rejected those "trying to impose their will on Qatar or intervene in its internal affairs."

Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates all cut diplomatic ties with Qatar on Monday and ordered their land, sea and airports closed to Qatari aircraft and vessels.

It's the worst diplomatic crisis to strike the region since the 1991 Gulf War.

DUBAI: Qatar's foreign minister says Kuwait is trying to mediate and solve a diplomatic crisis that has seen Arab nations cut off diplomatic ties. The minister said early today that Kuwait's ruler had asked Qatar's ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to hold off on giving a speech about the crisis. Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani also told Doha-based satellite news network Al-Jazeera that his nation rejected those "trying to impose their will on Qatar or intervene in its internal affairs." Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates all cut diplomatic ties with Qatar on Monday and ordered their land, sea and airports closed to Qatari aircraft and vessels. It's the worst diplomatic crisis to strike the region since the 1991 Gulf War.
By PTI

GENEVA: The United Nations human rights chief today accused the Islamic State group of murdering 163 civilians to prevent them from fleeing Iraq's western Mosul last week.

"The brutality of Daesh and other terrorist groups seemingly knows no bounds," said Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, using an Arabic acronym for IS.

"Yesterday, my staff reported to me that bodies of murdered Iraqi men, women and children still lay on the streets of the al-Shira neighbourhood of western Mosul, after at least 163 people were shot and killed by Daesh to prevent them from fleeing," he said in his opening address to the UN Human Rights Council.

"My staff have also received reports of missing people from this neighbourhood," he added, without providing further details.

His spokesman Rupert Colville told AFP that the killings were believed to have taken place on June 1.

IS seized Mosul in 2014, and the operation that began last October to retake the city has pushed hundreds of thousands of residents to flee their homes.

Iraqi forces have retaken all but a handful of areas around the Old City in western Mosul, but the jihadists are fighting in densely populated areas, and have used civilians as human shields at various points in the battle.

The United Nations warned at the end of May that up to 200,000 civilians may still be trapped in IS-held areas, facing shortages of food, water and medicine as well as deadly danger from the battle for the city.

Zeid today condemned "in the strongest terms the cowardly and sickening attacks perpetrated against

GENEVA: The United Nations human rights chief today accused the Islamic State group of murdering 163 civilians to prevent them from fleeing Iraq's western Mosul last week. "The brutality of Daesh and other terrorist groups seemingly knows no bounds," said Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, using an Arabic acronym for IS. "Yesterday, my staff reported to me that bodies of murdered Iraqi men, women and children still lay on the streets of the al-Shira neighbourhood of western Mosul, after at least 163 people were shot and killed by Daesh to prevent them from fleeing," he said in his opening address to the UN Human Rights Council. "My staff have also received reports of missing people from this neighbourhood," he added, without providing further details. His spokesman Rupert Colville told AFP that the killings were believed to have taken place on June 1. IS seized Mosul in 2014, and the operation that began last October to retake the city has pushed hundreds of thousands of residents to flee their homes. Iraqi forces have retaken all but a handful of areas around the Old City in western Mosul, but the jihadists are fighting in densely populated areas, and have used civilians as human shields at various points in the battle. The United Nations warned at the end of May that up to 200,000 civilians may still be trapped in IS-held areas, facing shortages of food, water and medicine as well as deadly danger from the battle for the city. Zeid today condemned "in the strongest terms the cowardly and sickening attacks perpetrated against
Justice minister Francois Bayrou said on Tuesday France should end tax breaks on property deals granted to nations including Qatar, a day after several Arab countries severed ties with the Gulf Arab state.

Former president Nicolas Sarkozy in 2008 granted Qatari investors exemptions from taxes on profits from the sale of properties in France. Qatar's royal family has since built up a portfolio of assets ranging from a Champs-Elysees shopping mall to the Lido cabaret.

"Under the responsibility of Nicolas Sarkozy, France gave Qatar an incredible tax advantage," Bayrou told BFM television.

"Can this situation continue? I don't think so. I think it's very important that in France we have tax fairness."

During this year's election campaign, now-President Emmanuel Macron said he wanted to end Qatar's tax concessions.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain on Monday cut ties with Qatar, which denounced the move as based on lies about it supporting Islamist militants.

"I will be extremely demanding with regard to Qatar and Saudi Arabia in terms of foreign affairs and to have full transparency in the role they play in the financing or actions that they could lead with regard terrorist groups that are our enemies," Macron said during the election campaign.

France's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, who was the architect of sales of Rafale fighter jets to Qatar in 2015, was to meet his Saudi counterpart on Tuesday.

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The Syrian army crossed into Raqqa province on Tuesday, capturing two villages from Islamic State Group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, an advance coinciding with the start of a U.S.-backed assault on Raqqa city.

The Russian-backed Syrian army and allied militias advanced into Raqqa province from neighbouring Aleppo province where they have seized swathes of territory from Islamic State Group this year.

The villages seized - Khirbet Mohsen and Khirbet al-Saba - are about 80 km (50 miles) from Raqqa city and are located 7 km south of the main road linking Raqqa and Aleppo.

The U.S.-backed campaign to capture Raqqa is being fought by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance that includes the Kurdish YPG militia.

In May, the Syrian government described the Kurdish war with Islamic State Group as "legitimate" and said the military priorities for Damascus were Islamic State Group-held Deir al-Zor and the Badia region at the border with Jordan and Iraq. That suggests it does not intend to challenge the U.S.-backed campaign at Raqqa city.

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Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Abundant sunshine. High 73F. Winds S at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible..

Tonight

Clear to partly cloudy. Low around 45F. SSE winds shifting to WNW at 10 to 20 mph.
Tunisian judicial authorities on Tuesday slapped a one-month ban on radical Islamist party Hizb ut-Tahrir, notably for incitement to hatred, the prosecution said.

"The activities of the party have been suspended for a month from today," said prosecution spokesman Sofiene Sliti.

The decision was taken because of the party's "incitement to hatred and its calls to put in place a caliphate", said Sliti.

AFP was unable to immediately reach Hizb ut-Tahrir for comment.

It is the second time that the radical Islamist party has been suspended from political activity at the request of the authorities.

Hizb ut-Tahrir is known for focusing on unifying Muslims into a caliphate and is already banned in several countries.

In August 2016, the party successfully overturned a decision by a civil judge to ban it, and has denounced what it says is "police harassment" in Tunisia.

The Tunisian branch of the pan-Islamic movement appeared in the 1980s but it remained on a list of banned organisations until after the 2011 overthrow of longtime strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

The party is frequently accused of causing public disturbances with its rallies and had its annual congress cancelled in June for "security reasons".

"This is a party that does not recognise the civilian character of the state," said Interior Minister Hedi Majdoub.

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Novartis today announced it has entered into a clinical research collaboration in which Bristol-Myers Squibb will investigate the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of Mekinist (trametinib) in combination with Opdivo (nivolumab) and Opdivo + Yervoy (ipilimumab) regimen as a potential treatment option for metastatic colorectal cancer in patients with microsatellite stable tumors where the tumors are proficient in mismatch repair (MSS mCRC pMMR).

Lab Diagnostics & Automation eBook Compilation of the top interviews, articles, and news in the last year. Download a copy today

Under the terms of the agreement, the study will be conducted by Bristol Myers-Squibb and is expected to establish recommended dose regimens and the preliminary anti-tumor activity of the combination therapies. Both Bristol Myers-Squibb and Novartis will evaluate the results to determine optimal approaches and potential clinical development of these combinations.

"Novartis has a longstanding heritage in exploring the combination of medicines to broaden our knowledge of mutational driven cancers and develop innovative treatments," said Vas Narasimhan, MD, Head, Global Drug Development and Chief Medical Officer, Novartis. "Along with our ongoing internal immuno-oncology efforts, the expansion of our collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb further advances our collective goals to advance the science and to support patients in need."
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends parents keep babies in the same room with them to sleep for the first year to prevent sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). But room sharing between babies and mothers beyond the first four months is associated with less sleep for babies and unsafe sleeping practices the AAP is hoping to prevent, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers.

While room sharing can be justified for the first six months based on the fact that 90 percent of SIDS cases happen in this timeframe, Dr. Ian Paul, professor of pediatrics, said evidence was lacking for the 6 to 12 month recommendation made by the AAP, which also conflicts with infant sleep expert guidance. This lack of evidence led the researchers to address the question of the effects of parent-baby room sharing on sleep habits and quality for infants 6 to 12 months old.

"Inadequate infant sleep can lead to obesity, poor sleep later in life and can negatively affect parents," Paul said. "Many pediatricians and sleep experts question the room-sharing recommendation until one year because infants begin to experience separation anxiety in the second half of the first year, making it problematic to change sleep locations at that stage. Waiting too long can have negative effects on sleep quality for both parents and infants in both the short and long term."

To study the association between room-sharing and sleep outcomes, researchers used data they had already collected from the INSIGHT study, which included 279 mothers who delivered at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, and their babies. A questionnaire was completed by mothers when their babies were 4 and 9 months old and assessed sleep duration, location, night waking, night feedings, bedtime routines and sleep behaviors. Sleep duration, location and patterns were also assessed at 12 and 30 months. Paul and colleagues report their findings in Pediatrics.

At 4 months, children who already slept independently in their own room averaged 45 minutes longer stretches of continuous sleep than those who shared a room with a parent. At nine months, the gap widened: those who learned to sleep independently by 4 months had sleep stretches that averaged 1 hour and 40 minutes longer than babies who were still sleeping in their parent's room, 542 minutes vs. 442 minutes respectively. Total sleep over the night was also greater for the babies who were in their own room.

These early decisions by parents had lasting effects. At 30 months, babies who had room shared at 9 months slept, on average, 45 minutes less per night than those who were independent sleepers at 4 and 9 months.

Room sharing also affected sleep safety. Babies who shared a room at 4 months were more likely to have a blanket, pillow or other unapproved object that could increase chances of SIDS in their crib than those who slept in their own room. Additionally, babies who shared a room were more likely to be moved into their parent's bed overnight at both 4 and 9 months old.

"Perhaps our most troubling finding was that room-sharing was associated with overnight transitions to bed-sharing, which is strongly discouraged by the American Academy of Pediatrics," Paul said. "Bed-sharing overnight was more common in our sample among 4- and 9-month-olds who began the night on a separate surface in their parents' room."

Paul said the study questions the American Academy of Pediatrics' recommendation to room-share for the entire first year.

"Our findings showing poorer sleep-related outcomes and more unsafe sleep practices for babies who room-share beyond early infancy suggest that the American Academy of Pediatrics should reconsider and revise the recommendation pending evidence to support it."

Paul said that parents should discuss this study and safe sleep guidance with their pediatrician and noted that breastfeeding outcomes were not different between groups at age 4 months and beyond.

Limitations of this study include the study population being mostly white with a lower number of low-income participants. The recommendations may not translate into lower income homes that may not have a separate bedroom for baby.
This article shows how the Tecan HydroFlex platform was effectively evaluated for gentle washing of weakly adherent P815 cells and the strongly adherent cell-line A431 in a 96-well format.

The new HydroFlex platform from Tecan has advanced features to suit a wide application range including vacuum filtration, washing of microplates, and magnetic bead separation.

When the HydroFlex platform is used for gentle cell washing, it provides individual control of important wash parameters, for instance speed settings for aspiration and dispense and wash head positioning. Fine-tuning of the wash protocol specific to the cell-type used, is also allowed by the HydroFlex platform.

Tecans HydroFlex platform

The wash head position relative to the rising liquid level in the wells is optimized by a very gentle drop-wise dispense mode together with a move function, so that cell detachment is minimized and good wash results are ensured, even in the case of weakly adherent cell types.

A HydroFlex platform, fitted with a standard wash head suited for ELISA and cell washing, was used for the cell-based assay described in this article.

When the HydroFlex platform is used for cell-based assays, the assay reactants can be removed with little or no effect on the viability of the used cells.

Experiments with semi-adherent and strongly adherent cells were carried out to determine the viability and wash efficiency of the cells. To visually confirm the gentle wash procedure, the cell layers were also observed before and after washing.

Material and methods

Instrument

Tecan HydroFlex platform fitted with the standard 8-way manifold and two inlet channels for wash buffer.

Microplates

Greiner Bio-One 96-well (Greiner Bio-One).

Reagents

Trypan Blue (TB), Dulbeccos Modified Eagles Medium (DMEM, PAA Laboratories), 3-[4.5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2.5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT).

Assay protocol - Cell culture

Mouse mastocytoma cells (P815, ATCC-No. TIB-64) and human epidermoid carcinoma cells (A431, ATCC-No. CRL-1555) were grown in Dulbeccos Modified Eagles Medium (DMEM) supplemented with 10 mM HEPES, 4 mM L-glutamine, 100 U ml-1 penicillin, 1 mM Na-pyruvate, 0.1 mg ml-1 streptomycin and 5% (v/v) fetal calf serum (FCS) (all from PAA-Laboratories, Linz, Austria), in a humid atmosphere at 7.5% CO 2 and 37 C.

A series of washing procedures spread over a period of four weeks were used to select adherent cells from the P815 cell line. Fresh DMEM supplemented (mentioned above) was used to replace the supernatant containing the suspension cells. For all assays, each well of a 96-well microplate was seeded with 2.104 cells of the respective cell line in 100 l DMEM (supplemented as above).

The removal of a colored solution was monitored to determine the wash efficiency of the HydroFlex platform. Therefore, to start the washing procedure, the absorbance at 565 nm was determined (= 100 %) by adding 20 l of 0.05 % Trypan Blue (TB) to each well. After washing, absorbance measurements were used to determine the remaining TB.

The MTT assay was carried out on cells with no washing treatment (= 100 % viability) and also on cells with a washing treatment (= x % viability) to determine cell viability.

The principle behind the MTT assay is that a viable and metabolically active cell reduces the soluble yellow tetrazolium salt MTT [3-(4.5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2.5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] by the mitochondrial dehydrogenase activity to form an insoluble dark formazan.

The viability and the number of viable cells can be determined by using the resulting absorbance values from the resolved formazan.

Wash programs

The wash programs listed below were tested for the effect of various wash volumes (600 l in Program 1 and 800 l Program 2) and the effect of repeated wash steps (one or two wash steps) on cell viability and wash efficiency.

Program 1 Wash 1x/2x Z-position 10.5 mm + Move Volume 600 l Head speed 1 mm/s Wash rate Drip mode Aspirate Mode Normal Z-position 8500 m Time 1 s Head speed 1 mm/s Aspiration rate 1

Program 2 Wash 1x/2x Z-position 10.5 mm + Move Volume 800 l Head speed 1 mm/s Wash rate Drip mode Aspirate Mode Normal Z-position 8500 m Time 1 s Head speed 1 mm/s Aspiration rate 1

All runs were respectively performed with A431 and P815 cells. For all assays, the wells of a 96-well microplate were seeded with 2 *104 cells of the respective cell line in 100 l supplemented DMEM.

Results

Light microscopic images of the weakly adherent cell line P815 and the adherent cell line A431, before and after conducting Program 1 over above mentioned plates, are shown in Figures 1 and 2. There are no holes within the cell layer, as shown in the images.

These results prove that for gentle processing of weakly adherent cell lines and adherent cell lines, the HydroFlex platform provides a perfect solution and at the same time ensures intact cell layers after washing.

Figure 1. Weakly adherent cell line P815 before (left) and after washing (right) with PBS using Program 1

Figure 2. Adherent cell line A431 before (left) and after washing (right) with PBS using Program 1

The results of wash efficiency (TB-Test) and cell viability test (MTT test) after doing Program 1 or Program 2 with one or two washing steps is shown in Chart 1. The two wash programs were used to process two plates that contain A431 and P815 cells, respectively.

Chart 1. Absorbance values [%] of TB and MTT after wash procedure

l Program 1 Program 2 Wash Wash 1x 600 2x 600 1x 800 2x 800 A431 Cells Wash Efficiency [%] Cell Viability [%] 95.6 98.3 97.3 98.6 81.0 84.1 76.1 75.96 P815 Cells Wash Efficiency [%] Cell Viability [%] 94.9 99.1 97.4 99.0 73.0 70.7 73.8 64.7

By using the HydroFlex platform, the alliance of high wash efficiency and a small affect on the cells is shown by photometric evaluation.

Chart 1 shows that recovered cell rate is over 75% with A431 cells and 70% with P815 cells. Due to minor adhesion which is often seen with cell assays, the recovery rates are marginally lower using Program 2 with 800 l volume to wash P815 cells.

Figure 3. Content of TB and MTT after running Program 1 and Program 2 respectively

Using a one-step wash and aspirate program, a high washing efficiency of about 95% and cell viability of over 75% were obtained.

Conclusion

Excellent performance was demonstrated by the Tecan HydroFlex platform for automated washing of weakly adherent or adherent cells, together with efficient and gentle washing with good cell viability and very low detachment rates.

For many adherent and weakly adherent cell-types cultured in microplates, advanced control of vital wash parameters, such as wash head positioning as well as speed settings for aspiration and dispense, enable the wash conditions to be easily adjusted.

Acknowledgement

Tecan wishes to thank Mag. Tobias Kiesslich, Mag. Juergen Berlanda (Research Group Prof. B. Krammer), Department of Molecular Biology, University of Salzburg www.uni-salzburg.at/pdt

Literature

Mosmann T.: Rapid colorimetric assay for cellular growth and survival: application to proliferation and cytotoxicity assays. J Immunol Methods. 1983 Dec 16; 65(1-2):55-63.

About Tecan

Tecan is a leading global provider of automated laboratory instruments and solutions. Their systems and components help people working in clinical diagnostics, basic and translational research and drug discovery bring their science to life.

In particular, they develop, produce, market and support automated workflow solutions that empower laboratories to achieve more. Their Cavro branded instrument components are chosen by leading instrumentation suppliers across multiple disciplines.

They work side by side with a range of clients, including diagnostic laboratories, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and university research centers. Their expertise extends to developing and manufacturing OEM instruments and components, marketed by their partner companies. Whatever the project  large or small, simple or complex  helping their clients to achieve their goals comes first.

They hold a leading position in all the sectors they work in and have changed the way things are done in research and development labs around the world. In diagnostics, for instance, they have raised the bar when it comes to the reproducibility and throughput of testing.

In under four decades Tecan has grown from a Swiss family business to a brand that is well established on the global stage of life sciences. From pioneering days on a farm to the leading role our business assumes today  empowering research, diagnostics and many applied markets around the world

Sponsored Content Policy: News-Medical.net publishes articles and related content that may be derived from sources where we have existing commercial relationships, provided such content adds value to the core editorial ethos of News-Medical.Net which is to educate and inform site visitors interested in medical research, science, medical devices and treatments.
India is a country obsessed with mileage and theres no two opinions about it. While other countries have long been making fun of this obsession, slowly and steadily manufacturers have started to realize the need of adorning cars with good efficiency figures.Because its not about personal needs, but also about saving the environment. While EVs are a distant dream for India, given the high manufacturing cost they attract, manufacturers in India are making their gasoline/diesel fueled cars as frugal as possible.Heres a list of top 5 fuel efficient cars in India with mileage rated over 25kmpl!Maruti Suzuki recently launched the new-generation Dzire and needless to say, how impressed we are with the compact sedan. And no, its not just the refreshed looks or the upmarket cabin or the host of features that impress us, its the fact that the new Dzire is the most fuel economic car in India, sans segments, that impress us the most. The efficiency has been increased substantially and now stands at 28.40kmpl for the diesel variants.For long, Maruti Suzuki Ciaz was the most fuel efficient car in India, until its younger sibling Dzire dethroned the mid-size sedan off its crown. Maruti Suzuki Ciaz got a SHVS (Smart Hybrid Vehicle By Suzuki) engine, which gave the Ciaz a mileage figure as high as 28.09 kmpl. Its impressive to churn out such good mileage number from a car of this size and segment. Recently Maruti Suzuki started selling the Ciaz through Nexa premium dealerships.[caption id="attachment_1301975" align="alignnone" width="875"] Maruti Suzuki Ciaz SHVS. (Photo: Manav Sinha/News18.com)[/caption]Yet another Maruti Suzuki model on the list the premium hatchback Baleno, sold through Nexa range of dealerships. The Maruti Suzuki Baleno can easily be credited with breaking the stereotypes attached with Maruti to not build good looking vehicles. With a more upmarket appeal and a host of features, Maruti Suzuki Baleno returns a mileage figure of 27.39 kmpl, the best in the premium hatchback category.The first vehicle in the list, which is not Maruti Suzuki is the Honda Jazz premium hatchback, launched back in 215. The second-gen Honda Jazz got a more sportier look, in-cabin features and safety tech added to the list. But the biggest change was the improved mileage figure of 27.3 kmpl from the acclaimed 1,5-litre diesel engine. This makes the Jazz one of the most efficient cars in India with over 25kmpl of mileage.[caption id="attachment_1309573" align="alignnone" width="875"] Tata Tiago. (Photo: Siddharth Safaya/News18.com)[/caption]Last on our list is also the smallest vehicle on this list  the Tata Tiago hatchback. Tata shook the automobile industry and rivals to the core with the launch of the Tiago hatchback. While the looks, features, and price of the car alone are a reason to buy it, the new 1.05-lite RevoTorq engine with 27.28 kmpl mileage makes it a desirable proposition. Tata Tiago is the most frugal car in the small hatchback category.
"Let us be very clear, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has to count every currency note and you are now thinking in terms of lakhs of crore of rupees. You are in the range of Rs 14-15 lakh crore which the RBI has to count. Each counterfeit note will have to be removed and the RBI has to come out with an exact figure," Jaitley told CNBC TV18.

"You see a lot of surrounding activity taking place, people are losing properties, properties are getting attached, shell companies are under attack and politicians are being made more accountable. We are getting into a system of all-white money into politics and I think these are all the ecosystem demonetisation has created," he said.

"FY17 started even before demonetisation, 7.9 percent, 7.5 percent, 7.1 per cent. So, you had the curve going down... There was no demonetisation at that stage and, therefore, it is clear that whether it was the global factor or reducing demand or the bank situation, various factors were contributing to it," the Finance Minister said.

: Indicating that it may take long for the people to know the actual deposits received in old notes post-demonetisation, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday said there can be no timeline as the RBI has to count deposits in the range of Rs 14-15 lakh crore."They have hired more machines, and the moment the RBI completes that exercise, it will come out with that number. How can you give a timeline to RBI? You must trust the institution."They have a huge apparatus in place counting each currency note. So, if you are counting Rs 14-15 lakh crore of currency, it is obviously going to take a lot of time," he added.Declaring demonetisation as one of the greatest steps taken in the country, Jaitley said that to weed out black money and corruption was the prime issue for the government."Demonetisation started bringing digitisation of the economy, lesser use of cash on the centre-stage of the economic thinking. It is changing the spending habits of people. The number of assessees has radically gone up and there is a huge fear in society now and a realisation that it is no longer safe to deal in cash," he added.When asked about the slowdown in India's GDP to 7.1 percent in 2016-17 as compared to 8 per cent in the previous fiscal, Jaitley said the economy's curve was going downwards even prior to demonetisation, which was announced in the third quarter of last year."For a quarter or two, demonetisation could have added to it. However, even without demonetisation, 2016-17 was not an year of eight per cent growth. Without demonetisation, we were not growing by 9.1 percent. I think it could play a role in the long run," he added.
Bengaluru: Wipro Limited Chairman Azim Premji has denied a media report that promoters of the IT company were evaluating sale of their holdings and said he "remains committed to Wipro."



In his letter to Wiproites, he had termed the news article reportedly published in this regard as "baseless and malicious."



A news website on Monday quoted that the banking sources reported that the promoters of the India's third-largest IT services company are in the early stages of evaluating the sale of the company or some of its units, and have even approached investment banks.



In the letter sent out late last night to its employees, Premji said he continued to be "incredibly excited" about the potential of the IT industry and Wipro.



"Over the past 50 years, I have seen Wipro grow from a small regional player in vegetable oils to a global leader in technology. I continue to be incredibly excited about the potential of the IT industry and Wipro. I see enormous energy within the company to power the success of our clients and therefore the success of Wipro," he said.



"I remain as committed to Wipro as I have ever been. The news article about promoters of Wipro evaluating sale of their holding in the company is baseless and malicious. There is no truth to these unsubstantiated rumours," he added. Premji along with his family own about 73.25 per cent shares in the company.
If a man does not keep pace with his companions

Perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer;

Let him step to the music which he hears

However measured or far away.



One could say that the Piano Man Jazz Club at least followed these lines of Henry David Thoreau, even if it doesnt follow the standard operating procedures of the city. The bar cum performance space in Delhis Safdarjung Enclave, owned and operated by Arjun Sagar Gupta  a Fulbright scholar and trained pianist himself  has been an outlier in the Delhi restaurant scene since it swung open its doors a couple of winters ago.



While boasting an eclectic food menu and a cocktail list inspired by classics from both the Prohibition and classical jazz eras (cocktails were originally introduced during Americas temperance phase to disguise the unpleasant taste of bathtub gins and other home-brewed liquors), the club particularly prides itself on its programming schedule. Since its launch, the Piano Man  both club and owner  has played host to hundreds of musical acts from around the world. Indeed, the emphasis on the performance is such that each gig includes a couple of silent numbers, wherein Gupta exhorts the audience to refrain from speaking and goes so far as to stop order-taking and service during these particular sets. This silence is enforced for especially subtle numbers with the management indicating that it helps the music sound better as well as serve as a mark of appreciation for the performing artistes; and the audience has learned to listen. That he manages to actually restrain a Delhi crowd from talking, eating and drinking  a few of our favourite things  speaks volumes to the clubs impact on the night-out scene.



The calm of this musical utopia was shattered this previous weekend after the club announced a performance by a band called Bhanghijumping. The usage of the term bhanghi, which refers to a lower caste engaged in manual scavenging, sparked outrage among social activists, Dalit and related caste groups, and people just looking for an excuse to picket the lines. Bhanghis are considered untouchables in orthodox belts in India and Pakistan and large numbers of them have converted to Christianity and Islam to avoid the stigma associated with them.



The cancellation of the event, and subsequent apologies posted by both Gupta and the club on their respective Facebook pages did little to stem the vituperation and a petition has been filed by "Outraged Dalit Bahujans and Adivasis" on change.org, urging the Kejriwal government to shut down the club and indict Gupta and others on charges of inciting and promoting caste discrimination. Accusations range from deliberate slurs against a weaker community, caste biases and a lack of appreciation or knowledge of issues faced by Dalits and other exploited castes.



According to Gupta, in his post, the band has changed its name as it doesnt want to hurt any sentiments and that the name was meant to be wordplay, devoid of any caste biases - colloquially bhangi is used to refer to addicts and other undesirables. His urging that people should concentrate on the music and not be distracted by superficialities was greeted with derision by the aggrieved parties, as was his request that small-minded people looking for controversy should refrain from visiting the club. According to complainants, this shows the elitist, casteist mindset of Piano Mans management and their callous indifference to issues which are sensitive to members of traditionally disenfranchised communities.



It didnt help that many people, in their support of the club, partook in online slanging matches with the protesters which devolved into casteist name-calling and generally abusive badinage; screenshots of these exchanges were also posted on change.org, along with the petition for closure. They are being taken as further proof of the elitism of upper castes and their deliberate denial of the challenges faced by depressed communities. Unfortunately posts by musicians and others supporting the Piano Man as well as freedom of artistic expression are being clubbed into the same category.



This is not the first time that restaurants have courted controversy on social media fora. Last year the Impresario groups Social outlet in Goregaon, Mumbai earned the ire of Christian groups, who registered an FIR with the police over the blasphemous interior decor, which featured Moses with a computer tablet and St. Anthony sporting a pair of glasses among other artwork. In another instance, a popular restaurant in Kolkata, Mocambo, faced massive online backlash after a customer posted that the management prevented her driver from joining her at the table.

The F&B industry in India, which has been witnessing huge expansion in terms of both players and revenues, is already tussling with the red tapism that plagues municipal corporations around the country. Online trolling, it seems, is going to be another challenge. While social media is a powerful tool with which restaurant brands can use to canvas popularity and promote themselves, instances like these show that it is a double-edged sword. Given the circumstances, perhaps the new-ish job title of social media managers will evolve into social media monitors.


The Impresario restaurant group  which operates popular dining-out brands such as Saltwater Grill, Smoke House Deli and Social  is being eyed with keen interest by Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy, a luxury conglomerate comprising several iconic brands and which is the largest in the world in terms of revenue.



L Catterton, which was created by the 2016 merger of LVMHs investment arm L Capital with the US-based consumer-focused PE venture Catterton, is reportedly hoping to purchase the controlling share in company owned by restaurateur Riyaaz Amlani, who is also the President of the National Restaurant Association of India.



With a footprint in 13 cities with 26 owned and 13 franchised outlets under various brands, Impresario has seen rapid expansion in the last few years, following the launch of its Mocha-Coffee and Conversations brand in 2001. Founder-CEO and MD Amlani has been credited with both anticipating consumer demands as well as creating new restaurant models. Social, the co-working slash performance slash restaurant space, has proved a hit with young urban professionals, becoming the company's largest revenue-earner and seeing a mushrooming of its outlets in metropolitan cities. Most of Impresario's outlets are located in Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.



L Cattertons other investments in India include FabIndia and PVR.
Srinagar: One person was killed and 10 others injured in a clash between stone-pelting protesters and security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district on Tuesday.



The clash reportedly broke out during a cordon-and-search operation by security forces.



The security forces launched the cordon-and-search operation in Ganowpora area of Shopian following information about presence of militants there, a police official told PTI.



However, the local residents pelted stones at the security forces who fired tear smoke shells to chase them away, the official said.



Some time later, the stone-pelting intensified and the security forces had to open fire to disperse them, the official said.



In the clash, a student identified as Adil Farooq died and 10 other civilians were injured, the official said.



(With PTI inputs)
Plans are also afoot in Pakistan to declare Gilgit-Baltistan as the countrys fifth province.

Pakistan is mulling to elevate the constitutional status of the region in a bid to provide legal cover to the CPEC.

Locals in Gilgit-Baltistan  bigger of the two parts of the Kashmir region occupied by Pakistan  are protesting against Islamabad grabbing large tracts of their land and handing it over to Chinese companies and the Red Army.Information and interviews exclusively accessed by CNN-News18 showed that the land was procured mostly by force by Pakistani generals for the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and those resisting are either killed off or incarcerated without a trial."Thousands had their land snatched and occupied by the military authorities and their agencies. Under this black draconian rule, nobody can raise their voices against the CPEC," Wajahat Hasan, Chairman of the Gilgit-Baltistan Thinkers Forum (GBTF), told CNN-News18.Many there fear that the next step in the land grab is the posting of Pakistani and Chinese troops in the disputed land that was snatched from India immediately after Partition."They have to build many cantonments in Gilgit-Baltistan and both China and Pakistan will station their huge divisions of army," said Abdul Hamid Khan, Chairman of the Balawaristan National Front (BNF).Gilgit-Baltistan, often referred to as the 'Forgotten Kashmir', is an area six times the size of remaining Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. It used to be the northern-most part of the undivided kingdom of Jammu and Kashmir, and post Partition, the Congress government of the time could not stop Pakistani raiders from taking over the land. The next 70 years of Islamabad's iron rule saw forced resettlements and genocides reducing the original Shia Kashmiri population to a minority.The area was back in focus last year when Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day speech, hit out against the atrocities committed by Pakistan in that area. The reference gave renewed hope to the people of the region."We the people of Gilgit-Baltistan appeal to the government of India and especially PM Modi to take concrete steps to leverage Gilgit-Baltistan," said Abdul Hamid Khan.Plans are also afoot in Pakistan to declare Gilgit-Baltistan as the countrys fifth province after Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh, raising concerns in India. It is believed that China's concerns about the unsettled status of Gilgit-Baltistan prompted Pakistan to mull the move.According to an earlier report in Dawn newspaper, Pakistan was mulling to elevate the constitutional status of the region in a bid to provide legal cover to the CPEC.Gilgit-Baltistan is treated as a separate geographical entity by Pakistan. It has a regional assembly and an elected Chief Minister.
Moroccan airline Royal Air Maroc cancelled flights via Doha to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Egypt after they severed diplomatic ties with Qatar, state news agency MAP and the airline's customer service said on Tuesday.

MAP said Royal Air Maroc flights via Doha to those countries could not be guaranteed, and the airline's customer service said flights would no longer be available.

"Royal Air Maroc apologises to its clients for these inconveniences caused by a situation outside of its control," it said in a statement.

In 2015, Qatar Airways and Royal Air Maroc announced a joint business agreement on services and expanded direct flights between the countries.

Morocco has refrained from taking sides in the dispute between Qatar and other Arab states. But some of the Gulf nations are close allies of Morocco, which is a member of the Saudi-led military coalition fighting in Yemen against the Iran-allied Shi'ite Houthi militia.

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An adaptation of Sanjaya Barus controversial book The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh will hit the silver screen with veteran actor Anupam Kher playing the role of the former PM.A report in the Economic Times said the movie is expected to be released in December 2018, months before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The book by the Baru, Singhs former media adviser, was released ahead of the 2014 general elections.In the book, Baru had said that Manmohan Singh had been defanged by the Congress party with party chief Sonia Gandhi deciding on key appointments to the Cabinet and to the Prime Ministers Office as he seemed to surrender to her and to the alliance partners in the UPA government. Baru, PMs media adviser between 2004 and 2008, said Singh had told him that there could not be two centres of power.The movie is being produced by Sunil Bohra and will be directed by debutant Vijay Ratnakar Gutte. The screenplay has reportedly been written by National award-winning director Hansal Mehta. ET quoted Bohra as saying that the film will be grander than Richard Attenboroughs Oscar-winning film Gandhi.The research is already over. Auditioning for the remaining cast is in its final lap, said Bohra.Kher confirmed being part of the project. Acting the role of anyone in contemporary history is extremely challenging, as comparisons are bound to be instant and inevitable. But as I have always revelled in challenges, I look forward to the experience of portraying PM Manmohan Singh, he told ET.
New Delhi: Delhi Police on Tuesday arrested a wanted gangster who had been evading them using WhatsApp.



Manish, a sharp shooter of Tilu Gang wanted in several cases, told police that he used to call his associates on Whatsapp to evade police.



He also disclosed during interrogation that he along with his other associates killed Sanjay Kumar Verma, a resident Shahbad Dairy, in March which was a result of gang rivalry.



Police of worked out four cases after his arrest. They are conducting more raids to lookout for other members of the gang.



They have also recovered a sophisticated pistol along with five live cartridges, a stolen motorcycle and an iPhone.
New Delhi: Ten Jet Airways pilots were on Tuesday questioned by the Delhi police after aviation regulator DGCA filed a complaint alleging that they had put up obscene posts on a WhatsApp group.



They were questioned at the Lodhi Colony police station.



"The pilots have been called in for questioning on the basis of a complaint by the DGCA. They have been called in for an inquiry," a senior police official said.



The pilots were in the capital after they were directed by the DGCA to appear before it on Tuesday after its Joint Director General took offence at not being addressed with the correct designation in a letter written by them to him.



Sources said the DGCA official suspended the ten pilots from flying duties and asked the airline to check their "mental alertness" since "they could not even quote a designation properly".



There was no immediate comment from Jet Airways and the DGCA.


Bhopal: Six farmers were killed on Tuesday when police fired at protesters in Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh. The farmers, who have been protesting for the last six days, are seeking loan waivers and appropriate pricing for their produce.



A judicial inquiry has been ordered into the incident.



Internet services have been suspended in Mandsaur, Ratlam and Ujjain due to the protests. The Rashtriya Kisaan Mazdoor Sangh has called for a state-wide bandh on Wednesday.



Reacting to the tragedy, Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday declared an ex gratia of Rs 1 crore for the families of the deceased and Rs 5 lakh for the injured. In addition to money, a government job, to one of the family members of the deceased, will also be given.



However, the CM quickly turned the guns on the Congress party, saying that it turned this peaceful protest into violence.



"Our government has done a lot for farmers... We have fulfilled many of their demands," Chouhan said, adding that his government was sensitive, and stood with farmers. "Congress party, through conspiracy, tried to fuel the violence."



Taking to Twitter, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi wrote: This Govt is at war with the farmers of our country." In another tweet, he said: "In BJP's new India Farmers get bullets when they ask for their rights."







On Monday, Chouhan had said that his government is taking all necessary steps to address the issues of agitating farmers. "This government is farmers' government. All necessary steps have been initiated to address the concerns of farmers," Chouhan said at a hurriedly-convened press conference in Lucknow.



A price stabilisation fund of Rs 1,000 crore would be set up to purchase the farm produce at the minimum support price (MSP), he said.



"People who are indulging in violence are anti-social elements and not farmers. They are trying to defame the farmers' protest," he added.



He has assured the farmers that government would buy onion at the MSP of Rs 8 per kg, he said, adding that "we have already started buying onion in Indore, Ujjain and Mandsaur districts". Procurement will continue till June 30, he said.



Similarly, some cereals too will be procured at MSP, he added.



Chouhan held talks with protesters on Sunday, but while two of the farmer outfits called off the agitation, others continued the stir.
Those found guilty of cow smuggling and slaughter in the state will now be booked under the stringent National Security Act and Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, a note by the BJP-ruled states police chief has said.A Government Order to the effect was passed during the previous Akhilesh Yadav government in the state but was never strictly implemented. The move to enforce the GO comes amid a heated debate on the Centres notification which bans the sale of cattle for slaughter in market places.The notification has triggered protests from various quarters, including the Kerala government and certain BJP leaders in Meghalaya. The Madras High Court had on May 30 stayed the notification for four weeks.Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan had last week written against the notification to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He had also written a letter to counterparts in other states, including Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, saying the notification was nothing but a covert attempt to usurp the powers of the state legislature.Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan has said the Centre may consider any vital proposal on the new law on cattle trade and slaughter. "If we get any acceptable and vital proposal, we might consider the new law on cattle trade and slaughter," the Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change told reporters on June 2.The Centres new notification has imposed a blanket prohibition on the slaughtering of cattle (cows, bulls, buffaloes, camels, heifers) brought from animal markets. Issued on May 23, the notification bans the sale of cattle for culling and also restrains sacrificing the animals for religious purposes.
Mumbai: India's buffalo meat exports in April dropped 11.4 percent from a year earlier to 86,119 tonnes, a government body said on Tuesday, as a strike by abattoirs and an appreciating rupee hit shipments.



"Abattoirs' strike in March reduced supplies. Many slaughter houses failed to operate at full capacity in April," said a Mumbai-based exporter, who declined to be named.



India is the world's biggest exporter of buffalo meat. Abattoirs and meat sellers in Uttar Pradesh, the country's top buffalo meat exporting state, went on strike in March after a crackdown on unlicensed abattoirs.



In the latest setback to the Muslim-dominated meat industry, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government decreed animal markets will only be able to trade cattle for agricultural purposes such as ploughing and dairy production.



The rupee has risen more than 5 percent so far in 2017, eroding the returns of exporters.



India's basmati rice exports in April rose 15.6 percent from a year ago to 389,406 tonnes, while non-basmati rice exports fell 18.5 percent to 475,050 tonnes, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority said in a statement.
Agra: An angry mob that allegedly included BJP workers lynched a man in Agras Mehra Naharganj village in retaliation to the killing of a party leader.



Police said the lynching victim was identified as Sudhir who, along with his brother Samar, shot dead BJP leader Nathuram Verma over personal enmity. The duo was later surrounded and beaten up by angry villagers. When the police reached the spot, the crowd allegedly pelted stones at the officials and burnt a police jeep.



"Verma and his two friends were having a heated argument, which led to the killing of the BJP leader. As soon as we got information, a Police Response Vehicle with an inspector was deployed in the area. The inspector saw Sudhir and Samar being beaten up by the public. He tried to save them, but the public got agitated and thrashed him too," Inspector General of Agra zone Ashok Muth Jai told ANI.



While Sudhir succumbed to his injuries, Samar was being treated in hospital.




New Delhi: Ever since Narendra Modi took over as Prime Minister three years ago, the BJP has expanded from one state to another like a balloon. During the same period, Panchajanya and Organiser magazines have seen their subscription nearly double.



Published by Bharat Prakashan, these weeklies put out the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sanghs point of view on contemporary issues. However, the Sangh doesnt refer to these magazine as its mouthpieces.



In 2013, Panchajanya had a circulation of 60,000. After three years of BJP-led government, it has crossed the one lakh mark. Organiser, which had a subscription of about 15,000 in 2013, goes to 25,000 subscribers now.



We are seeing a tremendous jump in subscription. With the ongoing membership drive, the number is set to go up, said Alok Kumar, managing director of Bharat Prakashan, who is also a lawyer in the Delhi high court. Panchajanaya has the maximum readership in states like Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand and Chattisgarh.



Concerted steps were taken, he added, to reach this number and to make people join the nationalistic idea.



A strong bond of commitment has continued to contribute to the growth and popularity of Organiser on the part of the right thinking public, carving out a niche for itself in national life, Organiser, which is edited by Prafulla Ketkar, states on its website.



Bharat Prakashan is working on a drive to reach out to people at places with high footfall, like temples and gurudwaras.



We are also thinking of involving resident welfare associations (RWA) to work and write for our publications, said Alok Kumar. He added that the campaign focuses on encouraging people to spread what they read in the magazines. Talk about it in Metro, coffee shop, public meetings, chai corners etc, he said, adding that it was important for people to talk about the magazines to win the ongoing ideological war in India.



There is a challenge of fighting ideologies that promote violence. We want to propagate that Indian culture can show the way. In this fight, Panchajanya and Organiser are important arms, said Kumar.



The motive is to give the first-hand information of RSS ideology, he said. The focus, now, has shifted to southern regions. E N Nandkumar, executive director of the National Book Trust and a resident of Cochin, has been roped in as director.



We will be holding campaigns in every district of Kerala. People here have a good appetite for reading and would want to know what is in Organiser, said Nandkumar, a swayamsevak who is working on the membership drive.



Bharat Prakashan is also setting up bureau in Lucknow and Bangalore. The purpose will be to create a network for news gathering and circulation, said Kumar.



Ask the stakeholders about the importance of the thumping majority that the BJP enjoys in the country, Panchajanyas editor, Hitesh Shankar, said the success of the weekly had nothing to do with the government.



It is the other way round. Now there is a government that responds to Panchajanya. Look where India-China relationship stands now. We had spoken about the false Hindi Chini Bhai Bhai propaganda years ago. Only now have authorities woken up to it, said Shankar.
Lucknow: Just days after UP Chief Minster Yogi Adityanath said there was no need for special arrangements whenever he was on tour, a government hospital in Allahabad reportedly brought coolers on rent before he visited the facility. The coolers were soon returned after his visit was over.



As per sources, around 20 air coolers were reportedly hired for the Chief Minister's visit to the Swaroop Rani Nehru hospital in Allahabad on Sunday. District magistrate Sanjay Kumar has ordered a probe into the matter.



Chief Medical Superintendent of the hospital Dr Karunakar Dwivedi, however, denied getting coolers on rent and said, We have about 75 to 80 coolers in the hospital. They are deployed in wards. On Sunday, just one or two coolers were not working and the technician in-charge of making arrangements for the chief minister's visit offered to replace them. It is not true that we rented over 20 coolers.



A similar incident was reported a few days back when Yogi visited the family of Officer Prem Sagar, who was killed and body mutilated allegedly by Pakistan Army soldiers. The local administration was said to have installed an air conditioner at his house, along with sofas, curtains, carpets and chairs etc. The luxuries, however, were withdrawn as soon as the chief minister left the house.



Soon after the incident came to light, Yogi had told officials that there was no need to make special arrangements for him when he was on tour. Honoring the people of the state is, in fact, the honor of the chief minister. No special arrangements should be made for me during visits, inspections and other programs. We are people who sit on the floor, he had said.


Thousands of rats have descended on villages on an island in southern Myanmar, a local official said on Tuesday, in what some have taken to be an ill omen of impending disaster.



Residents of Haingyi island, one of the larger islands in the Irrawaddy Delta, have been battling the plague of rodents since the critters scurried into their villages over the weekend.



Short of pied pipers, desperate authorities have resorted to paying residents 50 kyat (four US cents) for each dead animal in a bid to contain the outbreak.



"More than 4,000 rats have been killed since they tried to enter the villages," regional MP Phyo Zaw Shwe told AFP.



"According to traditional beliefs, these animals can predict bad weather. So people here are also worried about floods or earthquakes."



Studies by Japanese scientists have shown mice and rats are sensitive to electromagnetic waves similar to what often occurs before a major earthquake -- although there has been no notable seismic activity in Myanmar the last few days.



Pictures shared on social media showed locals collecting piles of the dead animals.



Phyo Zaw Shwe said some of the bodies had been sent away for testing for disease, but nothing had been found so far.



A villager in Than Cho Tan village told local media residents were killing the animals with "sticks, slingshots, and rocks".



"This evening, the rats entered our village as well and so far we've managed to kill over 800," he was quoted as saying by News Watch.



Myanmar is no stranger to rodent mobs.



Chin State, in the northwest, has repeatedly been hit by swarms of rats who come to gorge on bamboo fruit, which only appear once every 50-or-so years.



In the latest iteration in 2008, hundreds of people reportedly died when the rats turned from devouring the fruit to eating the crops of the local villagers.

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I hope no other girl has to go through this.............. pic.twitter.com/JX4roj1WcN  Avantika Shetty (@avantikashetty1) June 3, 2017

Kannada actress Avantika Shetty, who was roped in to play the protagonist in the film Raju Kannada Medium, has accused producer K Suresh of harassing her.The actress took to Twitter and shared that she was another victim to "women objectification" and claimed that she was thrown out of the film without being paid."The problem started from the very first day of the schedule of the film when I sensed that it wasn't my performance the producer and the director really bothered about," she wrote."I had almost completed the film and a very small portion which was to be shot in Bangkok was left. The next thing I know, I was unceremoniously asked to leave back to Mumbai citing my average performance in the film as the reason, which surprisingly came up after I asked them about a bounced cheque," she added.She further said, "Half of my dues weren't cleared, a presented cheque bounced and I was certain that the producer will release the film without me dubbing for it and he will get some dubbing artiste to do the job. Luckily for me, having an exclusive right to dub is part of the contract I signed with the producer."Avantika, who is best known for her role in Rangitaranga, also wrote that she has now approached the court in Karnataka with her case and that she had written an elaborate letter to Karnataka Film Chamber with a detailed account of her experience with K Suresh to which she hasn't received any response yet.
Kolkata: Hours after Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee ordered a Special Audit of Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) fund, its Chief Executive Bimal Gurung on Tuesday threatened to resign and warned to intensify movement against compulsory Bangla language in schools and for a separate Gorkhaland.



On Wednesday, Gurung will hold a meeting with the GJM leaders and GTA members at Bhanu Bhawan in Darjeeling to decide the future course of action.



While hitting out at Mamata Banerjee, Gurung said, Before going for GTAs special audit, she should look at her own party leaders who are under CBI scanner in Saradha and Narada case. She should have called for a probe before CBI came in to the picture.



Tomorrow, I will have a meeting with the GTA members to decide my next course of action, he said while adding that if required he is ready to resign from the GTA.



Under current political scenario it is difficult to believe in the present government in Bengal. We have lost all hope in the Bengal government and want an immediate solution to separate Gorkhaland, he added.



The decision taken by the state government is likely to bring more trouble for Bimal Gurung  who is also the founder of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM).



In recent years Mamata is having a bitter political fight with GJM in the hills who are demanding for a separate statehood and allied with BJP to fulfil their demand.



While addressing a public meet in Mirik  first after winning the Mirik Municipality almost after three decades - Mamata warned, No one will be spared who misused the funds (issued to GTA) in the name of development. I have information that funds for peoples welfare were misused and we are committed to take stern action against the guilty.



We will do special audit of the funds given to GTA. No one will be spared. They want hotels to close down, tourism to suffer. People will suffer losses, they will make commission, she said while adding jo humse takrayega, chur chur ho jayega (Those who will confront with us will reduce into pieces).



Hinting at Bimal Gurung, she said, Some leaders here think of themselves as Gods. They are shaitan not God. We want to work for the people of the Hills but the powers are with GTA.
New Delhi: Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday attacked the Narendra Modi government saying that there is a brazen campaign to straitjacket the country into a regressive and narrow-minded world view.



The Congress leader said that her party must protect the essence and idea of India which the government is seeking to extinguish.



She was chairing a meeting of the Congress Working Committee, which was attended by party vice-president Rahul Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, discussed the current political situation and the upcoming presidential election.



Top Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, P Chidambaram, Ambika Soni, Janardan Dwivedi and other CWC members were also present at the meeting.

The CWC met0 at a time when the Congress is seeking to unite opposition parties ahead of the presidential election.



It wants a broad coalition of opposition parties in place ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to take on the BJP. The BJP and its allies have gained in strength since the Modi government was formed in May 2014.






Former CPI (M) general secretary Prakash Karat's criticism of Army Chief General Bipin Rawat over the handling of Kashmir protests has snowballed into a controversy with the BJP accusing him of insulting the armed forces.



Karat, in a piece written in the party organ 'People's Democracy', said General Rawat was reflecting the views of the Narendra Modi government, which according to him was "using force to suppress the people of Kashmir who are voicing their political protest."



The Marxist veteran also took objection to Rawat's recent interview in which the chief had suggested it would have been easier for the armed forces if the protesters were firing weapons instead of throwing stones.



Rawat had said: "In fact, I wish these people instead of throwing stones at us, were firing weapons at us. Then I would have been happy. Then I could do what I (want to do)."



Karat said the statement was a needless provocation and was "unbecoming of a senior Army officer."



"Gen. Rawat makes no distinction between young protestors throwing stones and armed militants. He had, on an earlier occasion, warned that the Army would treat all those who do not support Army operations or obstruct them during encounters as overground workers of terrorists," Karat said in the piece written last week.



The senior CPI(M) leader also criticised General Rawat for giving a commendation to Major Leetul Gogoi who had tied a civilian in front of his jeep as a human shield.



While Karat argued these actions will damage the Army, the BJP hit out saying the CPI(M) was becoming "a mouthpiece of Pakistan".



"The opposition party has gone to the extent of criticising our own army," BJP leader GVL Narasimha Rao said.



The CPI(M), however, continued to defend Karat's stand saying any solution to Kashmir has to be a political one.






Kolkata: The Kolkata police have lodged a complaint against Sourish Mukherjee - media-in-charge of Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) in West Bengal  allegedly for making frequent objectionable comments in the recent past.



Sourish was under the scanner after a complaint was lodged by a senior Trinamool Congress leader. He alleged that during a Ram Navami procession, Sourish  through social media using his cell phone - claimed that a crude bomb was thrown at them from a mosque in Kolkata.



His allegation invited severe criticism from the Muslim community and on June 4, he was summoned by sub-inspector S.K. Bose of Cyber Crime department for questioning.



The officers confiscated his cell phone and reportedly examined his messages/social media posts to ascertain if he had indulged in any religious hatred.



In exercise of the powers conferred under sub-section (1) of section 41A of Cr.P.C., I hereby inform you that during the investigation of FIR No. 97 dated 30.05.2017 u/s 120B/153A/465/505 (1) (b)/505 (2) IPC, 1860 registered at Shyampukur Police Station, Kolkata Police, it is revealed that there are reasonable grounds to question you (Sourish) to ascertain facts and circumstances from you. Hence, you are requested to appear at Cyber Police Station on June 3, the letter issued to Sourish reads.



Speaking to News18, international joint general secretary of VHP Surendra Jain, said, Mamata Banerjee government is unnecessary harassing our activists in Bengal. This is vindictive politics by the Bengal government and we are going to fight it legally.



He said, Sourish is innocent and he was summoned because we have intensified our activities in Bengal. Now, it is almost certain that Mamata ji is indulging in appeasement politics. She is busy keeping a section of people happy in Bengal. We are not going to tolerate this and I am sure he will be proven innocent by the law.



A senior police officer said, We have enough proof against him of instigating a particular community. Some of his posts are highly objectionable and may cause communal disharmony in the city.


Kolkata: Trinamool Congress leader in Rajya Sabha Derek OBrien has accused the Central government of undermining the power of states by banning sale of cattle for slaughter.



In a Facebook post, with a caption saying Centre doesn't know meaning of F-word, he said, For all its lip service to federalism. Regulation of market committees, including market committees for cattle, agriculture and animal husbandry, are state subjects under the constitution. The central government has used an Environment Ministry clause to sabotage this right of the state governments.



He said, The cattle issue is not the only one. On devolution of funds too, the centre has been discriminating against the states, while claiming to do otherwise.



Following the Finance Commission report, the BJP government announced the devolution of tax revenues to the states would go up from 32% to 42%. Simultaneously, it announced a slash in budgetary allocations to key ministries and a reduction in support to centrally-sponsored schemes. What it gave with one hand, it took away with the other.



The centre has completely withdrawn its financial support from 39 major schemes like the National E-Governance Action Plan, the Modernisation of Police Force Scheme, the additional central support for Maoist affected areas, the Backward Region Grant Funds (BGRF), special assistance for hill areas, the support to states for setting up export infrastructure and other allied activities, and the National Mission for Food Processing, Derek said.



The centre has also reduced its contribution to 58 key welfare programmes. A CAG report says the centre has failed to give states a massive Rs. 17,322 crore in tax shares in 2014-15. The figure must have grown since then. Bengal's dues on this score stand at Rs. 6,500 crore (2011-16). The UPA and now the NDA have been equally unwilling to pay, he said.



This is not the only outstanding amount. Under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme, the centre owes Bengal Rs. 1,700 crore towards wages. Under the BGRF, it owes Rs. 2,300 crore. We are still waiting. I am sure there are other states that are waiting too. Where is the change? States don't know who to talk to in Delhi. The Planning Commission had its problems but allowed for a developmental conversation between central and state governments. Its successor, NITI Aayog, is a toothless, purposeless body, resembling a PR agency with a busy Twitter account. Decisions on developmental projects are being taken by the government and by individual ministries in Delhi, without consulting states at any level, his Facebook post read.



The new cow slaughter sale rules, and the rejection of the economic and social diversity of India as well as of the administrative autonomy of state governments, is telling of the disappointing and dangerous approach of the BJP, he said.


The cellular operators have approached the government for a reduction in the 18 per cent GST rate, saying the benefit of input credit is not enough to fully compensate the higher tax incidence in the new regime.



The telcos under industry body Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) have emphasised that reduction in Goods and Services Tax or GST rate is important given that the industry is already suffering from "poor financial health".



"...We request that the applicable GST rate for the telecom industry, which is already suffering from poor financial health, is reduced, so as not to increase the burden from the current levels," COAI has said in a letter to the Revenue Secretary.



The letter comes just days before the meeting of the GST Council on June 11, in which the Centre and the states will review demands by various industries of lowering the proposed tax rates on certain goods and services.



Finance Ministry has already indicated that a review is only possible where the proposed tax rate is exorbitantly higher than the current levels.



The letter by COAI Director General Rajan Mathews said the benefits on account of availability of credit of existing duties and taxes are not as perceived by the Finance Ministry.



The notion that the increase in GST rate by three per cent will get compensated by the reduction of cascading tax costs, is "misconceived", the industry association said.



"While the increased burden of three per cent will arise on the entire revenue, the benefit of input taxes will accrue only on procurement of capital equipments etc, which is a smaller percentage of the revenue," the COAI letter said.



Hence, the benefit "will be minimal", it added.



The apex industry body - which counts Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular and Reliance Jio as its members - highlighted that a number of key inputs such as diesel and electricity that are consumed by the telecom firms continue to be outside the GST regime for which no credit is available.



"It is therefore evident that the telecom sector will continue to reel under significant cascading taxes even under the GST regime," it added.



Under the new rates decided by the GST Council, the telecom services will be taxed at 18 per cent. At present, telecom consumers are charged 15 per cent in form of tax and cess over their phone bills.
New Delhi: Harvard College, the Ivy League universitys graduate college, has rescinded applications of ten prospective members of the class of 2021 after they were found to be trading sexually explicit memes and messages on a private Facebook group chat.



Harvard Crimson, the daily student newspaper of the university, reported that a handful of students who had been admitted to the batch formed the Facebook group, which was at one point named Harvard memes for the horny bourgeois teens in late December. The report quotes two incoming freshmen.



The group reportedly sent each other memes and images mocking sexual assault, Holocaust, deaths of children. One such conversation reported says that the group called the hypothetical hanging of a Mexican child pinata time.



Soon after finding out about the posts, the administrators revoked the admission offer that was made to around 10 students.



The report quoted two freshmen, Jessica Zhang and Cassandra Luca, as saying that the group was started as a mark of excitement among the incoming freshmen but things soon got out of hand.



Luca told Harvard Crimson that the founders of the group soon asked its members to post provocative messages on the original group where the members of the splinter group had initially met. The chat had reportedly grown from the official Harvard College Class of 2021 Facebook group. Luca and Zhang told The Crimson that their acceptances had not been rescinds.



The report further states that according to a member of the chat whose admission had been revoked, the Admissions Office emailed students who posted offensive memes in mid-April asking them to disclose every picture they sent over the group.



The Admissions Committee was disappointed to learn that several students in a private group chat for the Class of 2021 were sending messages that contained offensive messages and graphics, reads a copy of the Admissions Offices email obtained by The Crimson. As we understand you were among the members contributing such material to this chat, we are asking that you submit a statement by tomorrow at noon to explain your contributions and actions for discussion with the Admissions Committee.



It is unfortunate that I have to reach out about this situation, the email reads.



The anonymous student also told The Crimson that administrators informed implicated students that their admissions status was under review and instructed them not to come to Visitas, Harvards annual weekend of programming for prospective freshmen held at the end of April.



Roughly a week later, the report states, at least ten members of the group chat received letters informing them that their offers of admission had been withdrawn.



This incident marks the second time in two years that Harvard has dealt with a situation where incoming freshmen exchanged offensive messages online. Last spring, the report further states, some admitted members of the Class of 2020 traded jokes about race and mocked feminists in an unofficial class GroupMe chat, prompting Dean of the College Rakesh Khurana and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid William R. Fitzsimmons 67 to issue a joint statement condemning the students actions.



Harvard admitted 5.2% of applicants to the Class of 2021, accepting 2,056 of the nearly 40,000 total applicants. Roughly 84% of students invited to join the class accepted their offer, marking the highest yield rate in recent memory.
London/Rome: British police on Tuesday named the third of the jihadis who killed seven people in a knife and van attack in London, and an Italian investigative source said he had been flagged to Britain as a potential risk after moving to England last year.



The fallout from the attack has eclipsed other issues in the British political campaign ahead of Thursday's parliamentary election, with both the ruling Conservatives and opposition Labour Party battling to defend their records on security.



In particular, the revelation that at least one of the attackers, Khuram Butt, was known to security services has raised concerns that they lack the resources to prevent attacks.



Butt, a 27-year-old British national born in Pakistan, had appeared in a British TV documentary broadcast last year called "The Jihadis Next Door".



Saturday night's rampage, in which three men drove into pedestrians on London Bridge before slitting throats and stabbing people in the bustling Borough Market area, was Britain's third Islamist attack in as many months.



British police said the third assailant was Youssef Zaghba, 22, and that he had not been a subject of interest for them or the MI5 domestic intelligence agency.



An investigative source told Reuters in Rome that Zaghba, who had a Moroccan father and Italian mother, had been stopped at Bologna airport in 2016 on suspicion of being on his way to Syria, and carrying material about Islamic extremism on an electronic device.



A second source said Italian authorities had flagged him up to British authorities after he moved to England last year.



Zaghba had lived in Morocco for much of his life but had made short visits to Italy to see his mother in Bologna.



POLLS NARROWING



As details about the jihadists have emerged, Prime Minister Theresa May has faced questions about her record of overseeing cuts to police numbers when she was interior minister.



The latest opinion poll on voting intentions, by Survation for ITV, had the Conservatives' lead over Labour narrowing to just one point from six points in the same poll a week earlier.



The prevailing view among pollsters remains that May's party, who have been in government since 2010, will win a majority. But a campaign email signed by May told Conservative supporters: "With the polls tightening and with just two days to go until polling day, we need to go all out with one final push."



Less than two weeks before the London Bridge attack, a suicide bomber had killed 22 adults and children at a pop concert in Manchester and, in March, five people died after a car was driven into pedestrians on London's Westminster Bridge.



Police had already named Butt and Rachid Redouane, a 30-year-old who claimed to be Moroccan and Libyan, as two of the London Bridge attackers.



Butt, Redouane and Zaghba were shot dead at the scene of the attack by officers within eight minutes of police receiving the first emergency call.



The first of the dead to be named were Canadian Christine Archibald and Britons James McMullan and Kirsty Boden. The 48 injured included people from Britain, France, Spain, Australia and New Zealand.



Boden's family issued a statement on Tuesday, saying she had been a nurse and had tried to help the injured:



"As she ran towards danger, in an effort to help people on the bridge, Kirsty sadly lost her life."



A minute of silence was held nationwide at 11 a.m. to honour all the victims.



MAY V CORBYN



Before the recent attacks, Brexit and domestic issues such as the state of the health service and the cost of care for the elderly had dominated the election campaign.



When May called the election in April, her Conservatives led in opinion polls by 20 points or more.



But an announcement - made before the Manchester and London Bridge attacks - that they planned to make some of the elderly pay more for their care saw that lead start to shrink, and the trend has continued. Surveys now put the Conservatives ahead by between one and 12 points.



Security has become the number one issue and both main parties issued statements on Tuesday portraying their own positions on policing and intelligence as the most robust.



As interior minister from 2010 to 2016, May oversaw a drop of 20,000 in the number of police officers in England and Wales, which Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said should never have happened and warranted her resignation.



But the MI5 domestic intelligence service has seen its budget increase and has plans to expand to 5,000 officers from 4,000 over the next five years, MI5 chief Andrew Parker said last year.



Corbyn himself has faced repeated questioning over his own past views and actions on security matters.



He has been criticised for voting against counter-terrorism legislation and expressing reservations about police responding to attacks with "shoot-to-kill" tactics. Since the attack, he has said he fully supported the actions of the police.



Corbyn has also faced fierce criticism for past sympathies with the Palestinian group Hamas, Lebanon's Hezbollah, and Sinn Fein, the political arm of the Irish Republican Army, a guerrilla group that waged a violent struggle to take Northern Ireland out of the UK.



At campaign stops on Tuesday, May was questioned almost exclusively about issues related to terrorism.



Asked whether the financing of terrorism was brought up in April when she met the leaders of Saudi Arabia, a major buyer of British arms, she said: "We talked to Saudi Arabia on a whole number of issues around the question of terrorism."



And foreign minister Boris Johnson looked uncomfortable when asked by a journalist about an as-yet unpublished government report on the financing of terrorism, which British media say focuses on Saudi Arabia.



Johnson said he could not comment on the confidential document, but added: "I think you are making a valid point about ... the role of other countries, governments or not, in funding, wittingly or not, funding groups that are ... responsible for terrorism."
New Delhi: Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawarchand Gehlot receives a plant from a child with disabilities at the inauguration of the conference on Towards an Inclusive India: for Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities organised by The National Trust in New Delhi on Tuesday. Union minister Vijay Goel is also seen. (Image: PTI)
Russia's defense ministry said on Tuesday one of its fighter jets intercepted an American strategic bomber that was flying near the border of Russian airspace.

The defense ministry said in a statement that it had to scramble the Su-27 to the area over the Baltic Sea on Tuesday morning after Russian radars spotted an aircraft flying along the border. The ministry said the Russian jet identified it as a U.S. B-52 bomber and escorted it until it flew further away from the border.

The defense ministry did not specify where exactly the intercept happened.

In a separate incident, a Russian MiG-31 was dispatched early Tuesday afternoon to intercept Norwegian maritime surveillance aircraft flying over the Barents Sea near the Russian border, the Russian defense ministry said.

Similar incidents have happened close to Russian airspace in the past. In September, a Russian fighter jet flew within 10 feet (3 meters) of a U.S. Navy surveillance aircraft, in what American officials called an unsafe intercept over the Black Sea. In another dramatic incident last year, Russian jets buzzed over the USS Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea, coming within 30 feet of the American warship.

Capt. Joe Alonso, a spokesman for U.S. European Command in Stuttgart, Germany, said he could not confirm the report, but that the military was aware of it and looking into it.

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Seated in a conference room at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities homestead along Ednam Road, Robert C. Vaughan, the organizations outgoing president, is surrounded by books.

Its a suitable backdrop for the former University of Virginia professor and founder of the organization hes set to leave at the end of June for a sabbatical and then for good at the end of the year.

Im a bookish guy, Vaughan said between bits of smiling reminiscence.

The breadth of programming VFH has undertaken during its 43 years seems to bear that out, too. But Vaughan, who until Matthew S. Gibson becomes executive director on July 1, will have been the programs only figurehead since its inception, is as capable of leafing through page after page of some weighty text as he is of experiencing bits of unfamiliar cultural and seeing how it puzzles together with Virginia and Virginians.

If you go back to [the Virginia Folklife Program], those are people who really educated me, personally, he said. I had grown up in a family with a classical music orientation. Id given no thought really to music thats done throughout the state in smaller communities. I was highly educated by ... people along the way, whether theyre Bolivian dancers, balalaika players or whether theyre people from Southwest Virginia with a banjo.

As with arts and humanities organizations across the country, though, VFH derives funding from a variety of sources, which includes money from the federal government, potentially leaving something of a question mark in the ledger.

Everybody right now is a little concerned about future funding, bluntly, because of the Trump administration and their interesting in cutting back, Vaughan said. But we just got a guarantee that through the rest of the year, were just fine. I think well remain so.  Its been a diverse funding base. And its absolutely essential to what we do. We couldnt do it without all the sponsors.

Itd be just about impossible to pick out the most significant VFH programming initiative Vaughans helped to oversee with the assistance of those supporters, as offerings range from the Virginia Festival of the Book to the With Good Reason radio show and podcast. But Jon Lohman, Folklifes director, sees a managerial style thats helped enable the organizations disparate productions to flourish.

He really trusts his staff. When he hired me to be the director of this program, he really handed me the keys. I remember going to him when I started; I was pretty much straight out of graduate school. Id ask him, Should I do this?  trying to get directives from him, Lohman recalled about his early days at the foundation after being hired back in 2001. He said, Look, youre the director of the program, you tell us what it should be. Typically, thats the way he works. Thats one of his greatest skills and talents  the ability to empower who he hires.

The approach perhaps is due to Vaughans interactions with the UVa president who helped in establishing VFH. Edgar F. Shannon Jr., who held his post between 1959 and 1974, just called Vaughan up one day amid his stint in grad school. The two met, Vaughan said, spoke for a few hours about the humanities and he was sent home to mull it all over.

I became really devoted to him, Vaughan remembered all this time later. Apparently, he became devoted to me, too.

The feeling might have been transferred to the organization that resulted from those talks, as Vaughans tenure has stretched decades, university regimes and cultural moments. Along the way, though, hes racked up a number of other passions, as well as raised a family. Hes quick to point out that he has three grandsons, but no granddaughters thus far.

Interestingly, I started writing poetry 30 years ago. And then I just could never keep up with it at all, he said, explaining how he intends to spend at least a portion of his time after stepping away from VFH. Ive never been the frontrunner in the poetry world, but Id like to get my foot in there.  Well see, maybe Ill be a failure. But I want to give it a shot.

Folks might have picked up on Vaughans ever-expanding interest in the arts. Even if the events VFH administers werent enough to send out that of signal, the chasm between wading through academia devoted to English and eventually ending up teaching at the Darden School should have been enough to hint at his capacious purview.

The board chair and I were talking two and a half or three years ago. The board itself was interested in knowing whether I was just going to walk out one day. I said, Oh, no. Itll be at least two years notice before I go, he said. I got to thinking about it and my age, experience, my interests in maybe doing other things were really driving ideas for what Id like to do in the future. So, thats where it started. I feel very good about it. I feel good about the person whos gotten the job after a fairly big-time, national search. Im really confident that hell do very well.
BEDFORD  As the numbers of World War II and D-Day veterans fade, the National D-Day Memorial is working harder than ever to preserve the legacy and history of not only the Allied landing at Normandy 73 years ago on June 6, 1944, but also the history of the entire war.

Richard Devereaux, chairman of the National D-Day Memorial Foundation, said he is asked more often than ever about the fate of the memorial after the veterans of Normandy are gone.

The question implies that a D-Day Memorial may not be as relevant in the future, he said at the commemoration event held at the memorial Tuesday marking the 73rd anniversary of D-Day.

In my view, nothing could be more further from the truth.

He told the many veterans at the observance the foundations goal is to continue to keep veterans legacy alive in the hearts and minds of Americas youth.

Devereaux described D-Day as the most complex military operation ever attempted.

Today the free world, every one of us, are the beneficiaries of what they accomplished on that day, but unfortunately too many of those who fought did not come home, he said.

Keynote speaker Captain Jerry Yellin, a veteran of the U.S. Army Air Forces who served in World War II between 1941 and 1945, said this week was the first time he had visited the memorial. He called it hallowed ground.

I dont think Ive ever seen anything that has impressed me more, he said. Bedford should be proud, our nation should be proud.

Yellin enlisted two months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, on his 18th birthday. He participated in the first land-based fighter mission over Japan on April 7, 1945 and flew the final combat mission of the war on August 14, 1945  the same day the war ended.

Yellin struggled with post traumatic stress disorder and contemplated suicide for 30 years after the war until he discovered transcendental meditation.

In 1983, he flew to Japan on a business trip with his wife.

I was overwhelmed by the reception I received by the culture, the food, everything, he said.

Yellin and his wife sent their son, Robert, to Japan for a college graduation gift and he ended up staying over there and married a Japanese woman.

The woman was the daughter of a surviving Japanese kamikaze fighter pilot, Yellin told the crowd during his keynote address.

He said the womans father hated Americans, but eventually allowed Yellins sonto marry his daughter.

He said any man who could fly a P-51 against the Japanese and live, must be a brave man, Yellin said.

Now Yellin has three Japanese grandchildren.

That taught me something, Yellin said. We are not what we believe. We are all human beings. We are not Catholics or Jews or Muslims or Buddhists. We are all people.

Yellin, who gave a $500 check to the foundation Tuesday, said the memorial needs to stay open forever.

We need to keep this alive. We need to preserve freedom in the world, he said.

Craig Harner, 43, showed his appreciation for the memorial and veterans by walking 60 miles roundtrip from Lynchburg to Bedford with a rucksack full of water bottles.

Harner, who has made the trek two years now, said the bag weighed about 40 pounds  similar to what soldiers on D-Day would have carried.

If these guys can do it, lets give it a try, Harner said. It added a whole other dimension of the challenge.

Harner started walkingdown Timberlake Road at 2:40 a.m. in Lynchburg onto U.S. 460 until he arrived at the memorial right in time for Yellins speech at 11 a.m.

Harner said what he did Tuesday was a sacrifice of appreciation.

To know that these guys, who in my mind are the greatest generation and most of them being kids at the time, never faltered from the mission, Harner said. They knew what they were going up against. They knew it was a chance they would lose their life and they did it anyway. Its just awesome.
Lynchburgs Republican city committee formally admitted a commonwealths attorney candidate as a member Monday night amid strife in the party over procedural questions regarding how it has handled official business in recent months.

The local party organization nearly unanimously voted in Bethany Harrison, Lynchburg deputy commonwealths attorney, near the close of a meeting that centered on disputes over the membership vote. She was among seven people voted onto the committee.

Harrison is running for the citys top prosecutors job in the June 13 GOP primary. Her opponent in the primary is Timothy Griffin, Bedford County assistant commonwealths attorney. Both spoke in support of their candidacies  and criticized each other  in the midst of a raucous party meeting that lasted more than two hours at Lynchburg Public Library and drew about 100 people.

Much of the nights business was interrupted by parliamentary points of order regarding the conduct of the meeting as well as questions about whether the executive committee had given the whole membership sufficient notice of the membership vote.

Triggering the main dispute was an ongoing feud that has spilled into public view over Harrisons background as a Republican. Griffin has criticized her for not having been a party committee member in recent years and for not taking part in the only GOP-organized debate in this years primary.

Both are vying for the commonwealths attorney seat being vacated at the end of this year by Michael Doucette. A Democrat, Carlos Hutcherson, is running in the fall general election against whoever gets the GOP nod next week.

Harrison has asserted and been vouched for as a committee member in previous years, although she took a hiatus when she moved with her husband to Jacksonville, Florida, for 18 months, and then joined again after she returned to the area at the end of 2011, she said.

In presenting Republican bona fides, Harrison said she has been a longtime member of the Virginia Family Foundation and strongly backs conservative causes, including she said, anti-abortion and limited-government stances.

I run as a Republican because I am a Republican, she told a large crowd nearly filling the library meeting room.

She also pressed what she described as Griffins lack of experience relative to her own, including not having taken a homicide case all the way through a trial. This position is far too important for on-the-job training, she said.

Griffin strongly rebutted his opponents suggestion he didnt have the background needed to fill the citys top prosecutors seat, and he noted that he made the argument in Circuit Court in favor of the death penalty for the defendant in the Lyon sisters murder case in Bedford. I certainly have the experience to run, he said.

At the same time Griffin underscored his top campaign priority, fighting gangs in Lynchburg, saying the commonwealth attorneys office at present has absolutely no strategy to deal with the issue.

Griffin has repeatedly questioned Harrisons allegiance to the Republican Party, a theme that has surfaced largely on social media, and one of the questions going into Mondays meeting was whether she would actually be voted onto the committee.

Harrison said she had paid her dues  with the executive committee cashing her check  and submitted her application in March, but it was not until Mondays business meeting that a formal vote was scheduled. She characterized it as a membership renewal but some members said because of the hiatus it was actually a new application. The party has a mechanism in its by-laws that it uses to vet new members.

After some parliamentary wrangling over whether the executive committee followed state party rules in holding the vote, the committee as a whole overwhelmingly voted to accept Harrison and six others onto the local party committee.

Regardless of that outcome, both Harrison and Griffin had qualified earlier this year to appear on the June 13 primary ballot as Republicans.
A French police officer shot and injured a man who attacked him with a hammer outside Paris's Notre-Dame cathedral on Tuesday, authorities said.

Police sealed off the area in front of the cathedral, where the attacker lay injured on the ground.

The attack comes with France on high alert for more jihadist strikes after a weekend attack in London, where extremists used a van and knives to crush to death and kill seven people, one of them French.

Authorities in Paris asked the public to stay away from Notre-Dame, one of France's biggest tourist attractions situated on the banks of the Seine river in the heart of the capital.

French TV reported scenes of panic during the shooting, with tourists scrambling for cover.

France is under a state of emergency and on its highest possible level of alert following a string of terror attacks that began in 2015, which have killed over 230 people.

In the last fatal attack, a policeman was shot and killed on Paris's prestigious Champs-Elysees avenue on April 20, three days before the first round of the presidential election.

Major attacks in France targeted the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine in January 2015 and in November that year, gunmen and suicide bombers attacked sites around Paris including the Bataclan concert hall, killing 130 people.

Then in July last year, a radicalised Tunisian man drove a lorry at high speed through a Bastille Day fireworks display on the Nice waterfront, massacring 86 people.

Since then there have been a series of smaller attacks, often targeting security forces.

Anti-terrorist prosecutors opened a probe Tuesday after the accident.

Authorities on Tuesday gave the all-clear after police shot and injured a man who attacked an officer with a hammer outside Notre Dame Cathedral, triggering a lockdown of the iconic tourist spot.

"The situation is under control," Paris police said on Twitter, adding that hundreds of people who were kept inside the famous cathedral would be progressively let out after routine checks, while the injured man was taken to hospital with chest injuries, according to a police source.

The man who attacked a police officer with a hammer outside Notre-Dame Cathedral shouted "this is for Syria" before being shot and injured outside the Paris tourist spot Tuesday, the French interior minister said.

He was also found to be carrying kitchen knives and had a document identifying him as an Algerian student, the authenticity of which authorities were checking, Gerard Collomb told reporters.

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Belgian police detained 12 people in connection with the Brussels bombings of March last year, after a series of home searches, federal prosecutors said in a statement.

Police carried out 14 house searches and a judge will decide in the coming hours whether the 12 people will be detained further, the statement said.

The Islamic State Group-inspired bombings at Brussels Airport and on the city's metro system in March 2016 killed 32 people.

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Vasquez acts as EFCL chairman

Education Minister Anthony Garcia made this announcement yesterday evening after meeting with EFCL board members at the Education Ministry in Port of Spain.

Last Friday, Piggott resigned as chairman of the EFCL board of directors citing family commitments and the protection of my reputation and family name. Garcia summoned the remaining members to a mandatory meeting yesterday to discuss among other issues, allegations made concerning the procurement practices of the company.

During the meeting, according to sources, Garcia told directors he was disappointed over several issues including operations of the board, reporting lines not being adhered to, retrenchment exercises, slow pace of construction work at schools and the process to be undertaken when emergency repairs necessitates schools being closed.

Garcia also noted that the ministry should be notified in writing of any changes to upper management of the company.

He also expressed disappointment over a lack of confidentiality among staff members of the EFCL.

Vasquez, in his capacity as acting chairman, pledged to revamp the entire reporting process and liaise directly with the ministrys executive team on any staff change.

Garcia also hinted that significant changes would be made to the board and senior management of the EFCL which may involve additions to the board and some members of management having to revert to previous positions.

When contacted yesterday, Garcia said the appointment of persons to state boards is a matter for Cabinet.

Obviously, with Mr Piggotts resignation there is an immediate vacancy and there is still another vacancy we need to fill on the board because one person did not take up his appointment, he said.

Board member Clyde Permell, the only new change to the board, was appointed by Vasquez.

We spoke about school repairs and buildings and so on.

There have be no other changes thus far, he said.

Asked if he was concerned at the ministers hint that there may be changes to the board, Permell said he had no idea about any changes, but is not worried about his position.

I am not concerned about any changes to the board.

Once the board does what it is required to do and once anyone who comes on does what he or she has to do, there should be no problems, Permell said.
No long lines at Port

The cancellation of the 6 am and 4pm sailings from Port-of-Spain and the 6.30 am and 4pm sailings from Scarborough was announced by the Port Authority in a statement to the media.

This comes hours after Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley took a surprise ride on the TT Express to Tobago on Sunday. This, minority leader of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Watson Duke described as, vexing, morally and mockingly pretentious and downright sacrilegious. Duke said Rowley took what was sacred to Tobagonians and made it a laughing matter. Why didnt he travel in a time when he had urgent business to conduct and the delay of the boat meant something? Why did the boat take off at exactly 4 pm and did not delay? Why is it that today Monday, the boat leaving Tobago has been delayed? Why is it that the prime minister continues to say to Tobago by his actions if it is good for me, it good for you, he asked yesterday.

Duke said Tobagonians were not happy and demanded of Rowley an immediate solution to the problem.

Tobago needs help, the boat is a needful source of transportation in Tobago. We do not depend on bus, we do not depend on cars. What we depend upon is the boat to go between Trinidad and Tobago.
EMA observes World Environment Day

She said without a healthy environment in Trinidad and Tobago, we could not end poverty or build prosperity. Lall implored that people get out more, spent more time with nature to appreciate its beauty and protect the earth. Lall said WED was the largest global annual event for positive environmental action each year.

Chairman of the EMA Nadra Nathai -Gyan said the day represented a universal platform for bringing environmental issues to the fore, while stimulating corrective action through advocacy, legislative measures, public awareness and positive activities.

Yesterdays World Environment Day was designated by the United Nations Assembly in 1972 at the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment stemming from a worrying concern for the human environment.

Nathai-Gyan said the EMA, as a maturing entity, did recognise there was much more to accomplish.

The road ahead for the EMA is a challenging task, but no challenge is insurmountable.

We as the EMA are committed to provide sustainability guidelines, encourage citizen science and increase sensitisation on our limited resources, Nathai- Gyan said. The EMA has created an open house to create avenues to reconnect people to their natural environment, seeking to transform a physical space into an institute of learning and appreciating the lands biodiversity.
Dil E Nadan member hurt in accident

He said that just after performing at a wedding and having the time of their lives, his brother Rennie was struck by a vehicle transporting wedding guests from the reception.

He explained to Newsday yesterday: The wedding was in Santa Cruz up a hill. So there were these vehicles transporting guests from the car park to and from the hill. We were walking down the hill when one of the vehicles was coming down with guests. The guy claimed he got no brakes. But it was top speed. By the time Rennie looked back he got knocked down and ended up under vehicle that dragged him straight down the hill. Raymond added: I was lucky because it missed me by inches.

The image cant seem to go away from my mind. He said they immediately took his brother to the hospital. We couldnt wait. It looked bad, he added. Raymond also said the entire band was at Medical Associates in St Joseph until yesterday morning to give support to Rennie.

He also asked fans and the public to keep his brother in their prayers.

I know my brother and he will get through this. You cant take down a Ramnarine so easy. We have too much faith in God. Up to yesterday the Ramnarines were awaiting the results of a CT scan and more info from the doctors, while his brother remains warded.
The Pentagon on Tuesday renewed praise of Qatar for hosting a vital U.S. air base and for its "enduring commitment to regional security," sticking to a message of reassurance even as President Donald Trump, via Twitter, applauded a decision by Arab powers to cut ties to the Gulf ally.

It was the latest example of the tightrope that U.S. officials are walking as Trump's tweets raise questions about existing U.S. policy and the carefully scripted talking points used to explain it.

In the case of Qatar, the stakes are high. More than 11,000 U.S. and coalition forces are deployed to or assigned to al Udeid Air Base, from which more than 100 aircraft operate.

Of those 11,000, nearly 1,000 work in a combined air operations centre that helps oversee missions for campaigns in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, the military says.

U.S. officials had said on Monday that the United States would quietly try to calm the waters between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, arguing that the small Gulf state was too important to U.S. military and diplomatic interests to be isolated.

But Trump, wading into the worst split between powerful Arab states in decades, said on Tuesday his trip to the Middle East was "already paying off" with leaders there taking a hard new line in accusing Qatar of funding of militant groups.

The Pentagon, which seeks to steer clear of political matters, was unable to reconcile Trump's support for Qatar's isolation with its own praise for its commitment to regional security.

Asked directly about the disconnect, spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis told a news briefing: "I can't help you with that."

"We continue to be grateful to the Qataris for their longstanding support for our presence and their enduring commitment to regional security," Davis said, adding the United States had no plans to alter its presence in Qatar.

The U.S. envoy to Qatar, Dana Shell Smith, retweeted on Monday a message from October in which she praised the U.S. partnership with Qatar, citing "real progress to counter terrorist financing."

U.S. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson told a Senate committee on Tuesday she was not concerned about the U.S. air base in Qatar and added that U.S. operations continued without interruption.

The Pentagon also declined to answer a question about whether Qatar supported terrorism, the accusation made by Arab states who appeared to now have the political backing of the U.S. president.

Davis, sticking to U.S. military-related matters, said: "Im not the right person to ask that. I consider them a host to our very important base at al Udeid."

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A 30-year-old woman visited a Florida clinic for a cosmetic procedure and ended up dead, CBS News reports. Lattia Baumeister, who was visiting the Miami area from Chicago, stopped breathing on the surgical table at Seduction by Jardon's Medical Center in Doral, police say. She was taken to a hospital and later died.

Police have not released details about the procedure she was receiving at the time, but homicide detectives are investigating. WKMG reports that a notice on the door states that the clinic is closed due to health or safety violations. Dr. Osak Omulepu, who allegedly was the one operating on Baumeister, has had four complaints filed against him for seriously injuring patients, police say. (Read more plastic surgery stories.)
A quaint mountainside village in Switzerland found itself the subject of headlines across the globe after instituting a cheeky photo banone that lasted all of a few days. In what was admittedly at least one-half marketing scheme from the get-go, Bergun/Bravuogn in Switzerland on May 29 decide to instate a photography ban and a $5.62 fine for tourists who circumvent it, reported Travel & Leisure. "It is scientifically proven that beautiful holiday photos on social media make the viewer unhappy because they cannot be there themselves," the village tourist office announced in a statement defending the fine. Instead of drowning in your sorrow, per Mayor Peter Nicolay, "We cordially invite you to visit." But the Local reports that on June 1 (after being found funny by some and likened to North Korea by others) the town did an about-face.

In a video posted to Facebook that day, Nicolay explains "we have found a solution" for the people who "obviously" want to take photos of all his town's beauty. "Until the friendly photography ban has officially been lifted, everyone with a camera will be given a friendly special permit. So now you can snap away!" And even that friendly special permit won't likely be needed for long: The Local reports the town's assembly will vote to do away with the ban when it next meets. That said, the Smithsonian noted the move wasn't wholly unprecedented: It quotes a 2016 Observer article that dives into why some popular tourist spotsamong them the Sistine Chapel, the Van Gogh Museum, and the State Rooms of Buckingham Palacedon't permit the use of camera. (Are tourists ruining Iceland?)
As thousands of residents in Flint, Mich., are confronted with the possibility of foreclosure due to unpaid water billsfor water that many still can't use, NBC News notesan official who worked for a county nonprofit that handles foreclosed homes has stepped down after audio emerged of what he thinks caused Flint's woes. "Flint has the same problems as Detroit: F---ing n---ers don't pay their bills," ex-Genesee County Land Bank sales manager Phil Stair can be heard saying on the tape, obtained by local environmental activist Chelsea Lyons, who put the recordings on the Truth Against the Machine website Sunday. "Believe me, I deal with them," Stair goes on during his May 26 talk with Lyons, in which he blames the city of Detroit for driving Flint away from its water system via price-gouging (which Lyons notes doesn't exactly sync with other accounts of Detroit's role).

Per MLive.com, Lyons had received a tip Stair was hanging out at a local bar and headed over to talk to him about the GCLB, which began two days of taped conversations. Lyons notes Stair was drinking when they chatted, though he "didn't appear to be drunk," per Michigan Radio. In Stair's story, he also blames Gov. Rick Snyder for not stopping Flint from turning away from Detroit's water system (which Lyons agrees with), then continues on about Flint's residents, some of whom he calls "derelict mother f---ers" and "f---in' deadbeats." "I don't want to call them n---ers; s---, I just went to Myrtle Beach, 24 guys, and I was the only white guy," he says. "I mean, there's trash and there's people that do this sh--." GCLB's director confirmed Monday to NBC that Stair was no longer an employee, saying the group was "deeply troubled" by his "offensive and inexcusable" remarks. Lyons' full story, with more "damning audio" set to be released Tuesday, is here. (Read more Flint, Michigan stories.)
A boy who started Monday celebrating his 5th birthday ended the day fighting for his life in the hospital after being hit in the head by a stray bullet. The boy, identified by the New York Daily News as Jaheen Hunter, was hospitalized in critical condition after the shooting in the Bronx's Morrisania neighborhood. Police say he had been visiting his father and was hit by the bullet about 5pm, when the father was taking the boy to his car to drive him back to his mother. Two men were arguing on the sidewalk and Jaheen was hit when one of the men pulled out a gun and fired four shots, police say. The father rushed the boy to St. Barnabas Hospital.

Police sources tell the Daily News that surveillance video shows the frightened boy trying to back away after getting caught between the two shouting men. "A male Hispanic in his 20s fired at least four shots at an unidentified male, black, at this same location. One of those shots struck the child," a police spokesman said, per ABC7. No arrests have been made, but police say they are questioning a person of interest to the investigation. In a statement, Mayor Bill de Blasio called the shooting "absolutely heartbreaking" and said the city's prayers are with the boy and the doctors working to save his life, NBC New York reports. (Read more Bronx stories.)
A gunman who killed a man and took a woman hostage before dying in a police shootout had been acquitted of plotting a terror attack at a Sydney army base years earlier, police in Australia said Tuesday. The siege Monday at an apartment building in a Melbourne suburb was being treated as an act of terror, but Victoria state Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton says the gunman appears to have acted alone and not as part of any ongoing plot or threat, the AP reports. Three police officers were wounded. The gunman, Yacqub Khayre, 29, was one of two men acquitted by a jury in 2010 of plotting a suicide attack in Sydney. Three people were convicted of conspiracy for that plot, which police thwarted before it could be executed.

Khayre, a Somali refugee, served sentences for arson and violent crimes unrelated to extremism before being paroled in November, police say. On Monday, Khayre booked an appointment with an escort in an apartment building and arrived carrying a shotgun, sparking a 2-hour siege. Khayre killed a man employed by the escort agency and then called police to say he had a hostage in an apartment and made threats to her if police intervened. They tried to negotiate with him before Khayre walked out of the building firing the shotgun. The woman was not harmed. ISIS claimed responsibility for the violence, though police say there is no evidence that it was planned or that it was linked to the London attack. (Read more Australia stories.)
It would take someone with "profound moral misery" to do what was done on Friday, says the archbishop of Turin: A person posing as a pilgrim entered a basilica east of that city and stole a glass case that contained fragments of St. John Bosco's brain. He's a beloved saint in Italy, having founded the Salesian religious order there and having spent his 19th-century life tending to the poor. The theft of his relic has led to wide speculation, per Religion News Service: that the thief might demand a ransom, or that it could be "defiled" in some way. Archbishop Cesare Nosiglia implored the thief to "give it back immediately, without any conditions so we can close this painful page and continue to honor the memory of Don Bosco worthily in his birthplace."

Police are investigating and have made use of roadblocks in the area. The relic was taken from its place behind the altar of the church in Castelnuovo; that portion of the church is now off-limits to the public. The AP reports that it's not an unprecedented event, recalling the January 2014 theft of a relic containing Pope John Paul II's blood from an Italian church; the thieves, allegedly more interested in the gold and glass container it was housed in, tossed the relic and police were able to recover it. The Times of London recalls an even more "spectacular" theft: Three men in 1991 stole the chin of St. Anthony on the orders of a mob boss who allegedly really wanted his tongue; it, too, was recovered. (An urn containing what was considered to be the remnants of the Buddha's body was stolen in 2013.)
Irish police have arrested a second person in connection with Saturday's attacks in London which killed seven people and left dozens wounded, British broadcaster Sky News reported on Tuesday.

Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny said on Monday that one of the London attackers, Moroccan Rachid Redouane, had lived in Ireland but did not attract police attention.

A man arrested earlier in Ireland over the attacks has been released without charge.

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One of the three suspects in the London Bridge attack was known to police. Khuram Shazad Butt, who may have had links to jihadist group Al-Muhajiroun, had been the subject of a Metropolitan Police investigation beginning in 2015. However, the investigation was "prioritized in the lower echelons" because "there was no intelligence to suggest that this attack was being planned," a rep tells the BBC. A man and a woman living in east London had both contacted police about Butt, with the woman suggesting he had tried to radicalize her children. According to the Times, Butt had links to both radical Islamic preacher Anjem Choudary and Mohammad Sidique Khan, who planned the 2005 London bombings. Khan worked at an Ilford fitness center that Butt, a 27-year-old father of two, would frequent to try and radicalize youth, the Times reports.

Butt also appeared in a 2016 Channel 4 documentary about Islamist extremists with ties to Choudary. He was seen arguing with police after carrying an Islamic State flag. Yet Butt still managed to get a job with the London Underground. The UK citizen born in Pakistan served as a trainee customer service assistant for almost six months in 2016, per the BBC. "People are going to look at the front pages today and they are going to say 'how on earth could we have let this guyor possible morethrough the net,'" Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson says, per Buzzfeed. Police previously identified Rachid Redouane, 30, who claimed to be Moroccan and Libyan, as another of the attackers. On Tuesday, they named the third: Youssef Zaghba, 22, believed to an Italian national of Moroccan descent, reports the AP. Neither he nor Redouane appeared to be on police radar prior to the attack. (Read more London stories.)
America's top diplomat in China has stepped down because he refuses to implement President Trump's policies. David Rank, a career diplomat with 27 years in the foreign service, had been acting ambassador in Beijing since January 2016 and chose to depart even though his replacement, former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, hasn't arrived in China yet, the New York Daily News reports. Sources tell the Washington Post that Rank held a meeting with embassy workers to explain that he was resigning over Trump's decision to pull the US out of the Paris climate change accord.

Rank, who is known for his interest in environmental issues, told workers that as "a parent, a patriot, and a Christian," his conscience would not allow him to implement Trump's directives, the Post's sources say. Congress confirmed Branstad as US ambassador to China last month, but he is still undergoing diplomat training. The State Department confirmed that Rank, whose service took him to countries including Afghanistan and Greece, is retiring, the AP reports. The department called it a "personal decision" and did not comment on the reason. (Read more China stories.)
A lawyer for one of three activists detained while investigating a Chinese company that produced shoes for Ivanka Trump in China said Tuesday that all three men were being held at the Ganzhou City Detention Center in southeastern China, where conditions were crowded but tolerable. The activists were working with China Labor Watch, a New York-based nonprofit organization, and were investigating Huajian Group factories, the AP reports. The US State Department called Monday for their immediate release. The company has denied allegations of excessive overtime and low wages. It says it stopped producing Ivanka Trump shoes months ago.

The lawyer, Wen Yu, said Tuesday that after a day and a half of waiting he was finally able to meet his client, Hua Haifeng. "His condition inside is OK. Nobody beat him," Yu said. "It's just that he has to sleep next to the toilet. People go to pee all night." He said the cell was crowded with 21 people who have been ordered not to speak with Hua. Yu said he was told the case was being handled by a national security team, rather than a criminal police squad. "This is strange because it is a small case," he said. Until Monday, the US government had not said anything about the fate of the three men. "We urge China to release them immediately and otherwise afford them the judicial and fair trial protections to which they are entitled," a US State Department spokesperson said. (Read more China stories.)
Recipes can't be copyrighted, but videos can, which is why the Food Network may now find itself in a pot of hot water. In a lawsuit filed in California on Thursday, food blogger Elizabeth LaBau of SugarHero.com claims the network not only stole her "signature recipe" but made a "shot-for-shot" reproduction of her video showing how to make it, reports the Washington Post. LaBau's recipe for "snow globe cupcakes" with gelatin domes first went viral in 2014 before she revisited it this past December, posting a tutorial video on Facebook that received 5.7 million views. But the Food Network was perhaps a little too sweet on her recipe. LaBau says it copied the video less than three weeks later, using the same camera angles, colors, lighting, and text.

Several commenters demanded the network acknowledge LaBau, who spent "several weeks" crafting the recipe, per the suit. LaBau says she was prompted to file the copyright infringement suit when the network refused. While a recipe usually isn't protected under copyright law, "a description, explanation, or illustration" of a recipe can be, notes the Hollywood Reporter, adding that the suit poses an "interesting legal question" about how-to videos. LaBau argues the Food Network's video, which has received more than 11 million views, stole "business and attention" from her site. In addition to lost advertising revenue, she says she also suffered "severe distress" and damage to her brand. She's seeking up to $150,000 in damages. The Food Network hasn't commented. (This woman is suing over jelly beans.)
In 1977, a radio telescope recorded a 72-second signal coming from the direction of the constellation Sagittarius. Stunned, the astronomer who observed it wrote "Wow!" on the readout. Since it couldn't be explained, plenty argued the signal was proof of life beyond our planet. After 40 years, however, a researcher has finally burst their bubble. Antonio Paris of St. Petersburg College last year suggested the 1420 MHz "Wow!" signal actually came from hydrogen gas surrounding a cometeither 266P/Christensen or P/2008 Y2, which were in the area of the signal at the time but only discovered about 10 years ago, per Popular Mechanics. So when one passed by Earth earlier this year, Paris pointed a radio telescope at it.

Unlike any other celestial source nearby, 266P/Christensen emitted a radio signal at 1420.25 MHz. Paris then pointed his telescope at three other comets selected at random. All appeared to emit a 1420 MHz signal, which hydrogen atoms naturally produce, per the SETI Institute. A SETI researcher told Forbes last month that the signal was likely radio frequency interference. But this shows that '77's 'Wow!' signal "was a natural phenomenon from a solar system body" and certainly not a message from aliens, Paris writes in the Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences. Or, as the London Times puts it, the Wow signal just "officially lost its wow factor." (A coming telescope will be able to view nearby galaxies in "unprecedented" detail.)
Conrad Roy III's method of death has long been established: The 18-year-old killed himself via carbon monoxide poisoning in 2014. What will be determined in a Taunton, Mass., courtroom is whether his death was the result of his girlfriend's prodding. The AP reports Michelle Carter's involuntary manslaughter trial began Tuesday, a day after she waived her right to a jury trial, putting her fate instead in the hands of a judge. WCVB notes the transcripts of the texts that will serve as the "focal point" of the trial were released in court documents. The Washington Post reports the two sent each other hundreds in the days before Roy's death, and WCVB shares some of the potentially more damning ones. Among them:

To Roy: "You already made this decision and if you don't do it tonight you're gonna be thinking about it all the time and stuff all the rest of your life and be miserable. You're finally going to be happy in heaven."

To a friend: "[Roy's] death was my fault. Like, honestly I could have stopped it. I was the one on the phone with him and he got out of the car because he was working and he got scared and I (expletive) told him to get back in ... If they read my messages I'm done. His family will hate me and I could go to jail."

A Northeastern University law professor calls the case "different" in comments to the Post. "Usually, manslaughter charges involve direct action by the defendant  some type of horrific unintentional killing where the behavior disregarded a risk, like firing a gun into a crowd." In his opening statement, Carter's lead attorney, Joseph Cataldo, argued that she didn't inflict harm from 30 miles away. "Even if she were reckless, the evidence will show that she didn't cause his death. It was caused by carbon monoxide poisoning," he said per tweets from Boston Herald reporter Bob McGovern. The prosecution has painted Carter, now 20, as an attention-seeker who wanted to be the "grieving girlfriend." (This case recalls an 1816 trial in the state .)
A police officer shot and wounded a man who attacked him with a hammer near Notre Dame Cathedral on Tuesday, Paris police and a police union official say. Union official Cedric Michel says a man armed with a hammer went after the cop, who was patrolling the esplanade in front of the world-famous cathedral known for its Gothic architecture and gargoyles. Michel said the attacker was "neutralized" by police. A police spokesperson tells the AP that the officer used his weapon to shoot the assailant and that the attacker was being taken to a hospital. The incident happened around 4:30pm local time. Large numbers of police cars filled the area on the Ile de la Cite in the Seine River in the center of Paris as authorities urged people to stay away from the area.

Witnesses described a dramatic police operation in the tourist-filled area. Lawrence Langner, a 73-year-old American visiting the neighborhood just across the river from the cathedral, says he suddenly heard a commotion and two detonations like gunshots. Meanwhile, journalist David Metreau, who says his office overlooks the square that fronts Notre Dame, tweeted there were two blasts that sounded like shots. He posted a photo of a person lying seemingly inert on the ground. Police said the operation was over about an hour after it started. Paris remains under high security after a string of Islamic extremist attacks in recent years, including several targeting police officers and security personnel. In April, an attacker opened fire on a police van on Paris' Champs Elysees, killing one and gravely wounding two others. The attacker was shot dead by police. (Read more Notre Dame Cathedral stories.)
Reality Winner was charged Monday with leaking a document about the Russian hacking of US electoral systems. One of the most surprising things, according to NBC News, was that a 25-year-old had top-level security clearance. But apparently it's not that unusual. Most people who do NSA work involving intercepting communications and translation are just out of high school. "There are thousands and thousands of 18- to 21-year-olds doing critically important and secret work around the world," an expert on the NSA says. Many of them, like Winner, are young members of the military. She served six years in the Air Force. A high security clearance is needed to listen in on terrorists or members of foreign governments.

Intelligence officials are concerned that Winner is part of a growing number of American intelligence employees leaking state secrets not for money but because they feel the public has a right to know the information. The election of President Trump is making people feel like they need to take action. CNN details Winner's anti-Trump comments on social media. And ABC News has more information on the 25-year-old, including that she speaks Pashto, Farsi, and Dari and had recently worked as a yoga instructor, where she was known as a "reliable" employee. Winner's mother says her daughter is "very passionate about her views." (Read more Reality Winner stories.)
On Monday, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Yemen, Bahrain, and Egypt cut all commercial and diplomatic ties with Qatar in order to isolate the country over its support for extremist groups, the New York Times reports. In a series of tweets Tuesday morning, President Trump took credit for that decision, saying that it was "so good to see" and that his recent visit to Saudi Arabia was "already paying off." According to CNN, Qatar is an important US ally, and Trump hamstrung attempts by the Defense and State departments to remain neutral in the growing diplomatic crisis. Qatar is home to US Central Command forward headquarters, from which it launches airstrikes against the Islamic State. The Al Udeid military base is home to approximately 10,000 American troops.

Trump's statements against Qatar broke not only with the US' historically neutral stance in regards to such Gulf state conflicts, but with Trump himself. Less than a month ago, the president was complimentary toward Qatar and said the relationship between it and the US was "extremely good." Spokespeople for the State and Defense departments quickly issued statements saying the US is "grateful" to Qatar for its support of the US military. And Sean Spicer said the "US still wants to see this issue de-escalated and resolved," the BBC reports. Some Pentagon officials were reportedly shocked at Trump's comments, and it's possible Qatar will now make things more difficult for US military operations there. (For more on the isolation of Qatar and what it means for the Middle East, click here.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday described the Bimstec regional bloc one of the fastest growing regions

New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday described the Bimstec regional bloc that binds India and its subcontinental neighbours with Thailand as one of the fastest growing regions in the world.

"Ever since its inception in 1997, Bimstec, representing one-fifth of humanity, has striven to bring benefits of development to its people. Today, we have one of the fastest growth rates of any region. We have made considerable progress, although much more needs to be done," Modi said in a message on the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the bloc.

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec) comprises Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

The main objective of Bimstec is technical and economic cooperation among South Asian and south-east Asian countries along the rim of the Bay of Bengal.

With the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) virtually rendered ineffective as a bloc, largely due to non-cooperation on the part of Pakistan in a number of areas, India has been giving more importance to Bimstec in recent times.

In his message, Modi referred to the BRICS-Bimstec Outreach Summit hosted by India in Goa last year and said: "Our collective resolve to impart fresh momentum to Bimstec has provided hope and optimism. Bimstec not only connects south and south-east Asia but also the ecologies of the great Himalayas and the Bay of Bengal."

He said that the Bimstec countries, with shared values, histories, ways of life, and destinies that are interlinked, represent a common space for peace and development.

"For India, it is a natural platform to fulfil our key foreign policy priorities of Neighbourhood First and Act East," the Prime Minister said.

"I am happy to note that we are implementing the robust agenda that we agreed on in Goa, to achieve greater connectivity, trade, people-to-people contacts, and sustainable use of resources."

Modi also thanked Nepal, the current Chair of Bimstec, for its leadership, and Bangladesh, for hosting the Bimstec Secretariat in Dhaka.
Some Egyptian banks have reasumed dealings in Qatari riyals after halting on Monday when Egypt cut ties with the Gulf state, three bankers told Reuters on Monday.

A fourth banker said other banks are still limiting their transactions with Qatar on the instructions of their management.

Egypt's action to cut ties with Qatar on Monday was coordinated with similar moves by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, all of which accused Qatar of supporting terrorism and destabilising the region.

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Egypt has imposed temporary import tariffs on steel from China, Turkey and Ukraine, the trade ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

The tariff will be set at 17 percent for Chinese steel, 10-19 percent for Turkish steel, and 15-27 percent for Ukrainian steel, it said.

"The decision comes following a thorough study... and is intended to protect local manufacturing from harmful practices by imported alternatives," Trade Minister Tarek Kabil said in the statement.

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Fairbanks, AK (99707)

Today

Snow this morning will transition to snow showers this afternoon. High 19F. Winds light and variable. Chance of snow 90%. About one inch of snow expected..

Tonight

Considerable cloudiness. Low around 10F. Winds light and variable.
Washington:

Top seven India-based outsourcing companies in the US received fewer H-1B visas in 2016 as compared to 2015, a new report has suggested. It also said that their numbers dropped 37 per cent as a group.



The companies faced a drop of 5,436 approved petitions (37 per cent) in 2016 as compared to previous year, a report by the National Foundation for American Policy a Washington-based non-profit think-tank said.



It said, the 9,356 new H-1B petitions for the top seven Indian-based companies approved in fiscal 2016 represent only 0.006 per cent of the US labour force.



While the threat of job loss has long been exaggerated by critics, it reaches illogical proportions when discussing fewer than 10,000 workers in an economy that employs 160 million workers nationwide, the National Foundation for American Policy said in a statement after releasing the report.



According to the report, the number of approved new H-1B petitions for Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) declined by 56 per cent from FY 2015 to FY 2016, from 4,674 to 2,040, a drop of 2,634.



For Wipro, the petitions declined by 52 per cent between FY 2015 and FY 2016, a drop of 1,605, going from 3,079 to 1,474 approved petitions for initial employment during those years.

ALSO READ | Trump administration warns companies not to misuse H1B visas

For Infosys, it declined by 16 per cent (or 454 petitions), with 2,376 approved H-1B petitions for initial employment in FY 2016, compared to 2,830 in FY 2015, said the report, which based its research from government data.



The drop in new H-1B visas for Indian-based companies, which is expected to continue when data are released on cases filed in April 2017 for FY 2018 start dates, is due to industry trends toward digital services such as cloud computing and artificial intelligence, which require fewer workers, and a choice by companies to rely less on visas and to build up their domestic workforces in the US, the report said.



H-1B petitions approved for initial employment in FY 2016 were filed by employers in April 2016, which means the drop in H-B visa use by these companies is not due to Donald Trumps election.



In the past, US policymakers have used the number of visas going to Indian-based companies as a political or policy reason to propose new immigration restrictions and to not raise the low annual supply of H-1B visas, which has been exhausted every year for the past 15 fiscal years, said NFAP executive director Stuart Anderson, former head of policy at the Immigration and Naturalisation Service under President George W Bush.

ALSO READ | Two Indian-Americans prosecuted for H-1B visa fraud

Among the top companies with new H-1B petitions approved in 2016 were Cognizant (3,949), Infosys (2,376), TCS (2,040), Accenture (1,889), IBM (1,608), Wipro (1,474), Amazon (1,416), Tech Mahindra (1,228), CapGemini (1,164), Microsoft (1,145), HCL America (1,041), Intel (1,030), Deloitte (985), Google (924), Larsen &Toubro (870), PricewaterhouseCoopers (713), Ernst & Young (649), Apple (631), Syntel (583), Facebook (472), Oracle (427), Cisco (380), Mindtree (327), Goldman Sachs (287), UST Global (283), JPMorganChase (271), IGATE (255), Stanford (221), Yahoo! (206) and KPMG (198).An analysis of US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) data on FY 2016 H-1B petitions shows, similar to FY 2015, approximately 25,000 different US employers hired at least one high-skilled foreign national on a new H-1B petition in 2016.



Employers in manufacturing include Tesla Motors with 108 approved new H-1B petitions and Cummins with 197.



Uber had 121 approved H-1B petitions in FY 2016, eBay 115, and the Mayo Clinic 111.



National Foundation for American Policy said the April 2017 unemployment rate in the US for computer and mathematical science occupations was 2.5 per cent a very low rate, even lower than the 4.4 per cent for all occupations, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics data.



The unemployment rate for architecture and engineering occupations is even lower at 2.1 per cent, it said, adding this illustrates a disconnect between reality and claims that high-skilled foreign nationals are preventing US workers from pursuing careers in tech fields.



According to Code.org, Bureau of Labor Statistics data indicate there will be 1.4 million more software development jobs than applicants who can fill them by 2020 and there are more than 500,000 open computing jobs nationwide.



An analysis by Glassdoor shows 9 of the 10 highest paying majors for US students 5 years out of college are in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields, the report said.



The report disputed the figures of the Trump Administration that about 80 per cent of the H-1B workers are paid less than the median wage in their fields.



This statistic is misleading as it relies on a Department of Labor database that includes multiple applications for the same individuals, since a new filing is generally required when an H-1B professional moves to a new area, the report said.



That means it double or triple counts anyone who works in more than one geographic location (primarily younger workers sent to multiple offices). Moreover, it may not reflect what employers actually pay individual workers, only the minimum required to be listed for government filing purposes.



The median salary in 2015 for H-1B computer-related recipients who have worked about three years (listed as continuing employment in DHS data) was about USD7,000 higher than the median salary in the industry, the report said.



The foundation argued that H-1B temporary visas are important as they are typically the only practical way a high-skilled foreign national working abroad or an international student educated in the United States can work longterm in America.



At US universities, 77 per cent of the full-time graduate students in electrical engineering and 71 per cent in computer science are international students.



Reforms to increase the labor mobility of H-1B visas, raise the employment-based green card quota and eliminate the per country limit would be welcome but are not currently on the agenda. New restrictions on highskilled immigration are more likely, it said.In todays global economy, companies and high-skilled professionals possess many options, said Anderson.



The United States should maintain an openness toward high-skilled immigration or those options likely will not be in America, he added.

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New Delhi:

JEE Advanced Result 2017 will be declared on on June 11 on the official website i.e jeeadv.ac.in. This year JEE Exam was conducted by IIT Madras for granting admission to the Bachelor's, Integrated Master's and Dual Degree programmes (entry at the 10 plus 2 level) in all the IITs.



JEE Aspirants can check their JEE Advance 2017 results at the official website jeeadv.ac.in.

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras will release the category wise All India Ranks (AIR) of successful candidates.

Steps to check JEE Advanced Result 2017:



-Log on to the official website, jeeadv.ac.in

-Click on relevant link

-Enter your registration number and other details in prescribed format

-Click to submitResults will be displayed

Also Read: CBSE NEET Result 2017 Delayed: Needs 15 days to declare results, says Board to Court

The entrance test was held in two phases under the conduction of the IIT Madras. While the first phase will take place from 9 AM to 12 PM, the second one will be conducted from 2 PM to 5 PM.

Candidates appearing for the exam must be go through both the papers.

Earlier, IIT Madras has made the admit cards available for the aspirants from 1OTH of May and further directed them to download it within 21 May 9 AM.

JEE Advanced 2017 is the second state of Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and provides admissions to eligible candidates into the B.Tech programmes offered by 23 Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).

About IIT:

The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are institutions of national importance established through Acts of Parliament for fostering excellence in education. Through JEE (Advanced), IITs offer admission into undergraduate courses leading to a Bachelor's, Integrated Master's or Bachelor-Master Dual Degree in Engineering, Sciences, Architecture, or Pharmaceutics.
New Delhi:

Former Bollywood actress Kim Sharma who had become the talk of the town with the release of 'Mohabbatein' in 2000 is now a days working for free to get some work in the industry.

Yes! The hottie is back again in Mumbai after a stint in Kenya and at present looking for some new venture.

Apart from that, Kim is also working with the Indian Documentary Foundations programme Good Pitch India, for which she has united with Javed Jaaferi.

It is a non profit organisation for the promotion, development and funding of documentaries in our country. So, Kim is now spending her time working for the organisation and she is doing it for free.

After getting over from his first marraige with businessman Ali Punjani, the diva is again in love with fashion designer Arjun Khanna. Media reports suugest that Kim was dumped by Ali for another woman and left penniless after their separation.

Also Read: 'Nene Raju Nene Mantri': 'Baahubali 2' fame Rana Daggubati shares teaser of his upcoming venture, watch it here

It was their marriage for which the actress went to Kenya in 2010 and recently left the country after her husband filed divorce on April 2017.

However, it seems like Kim is now quite happy with her new affair with designer Khanna who is also a part of her noble documentary project.

For all the Latest Entertainment News, Bollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Egypt has paid $1.5 billion in arrears to international oil companies in May and June, the Central Bank of Egypts (CBE) Assistant Deputy Governor Rami Aboul Naga told state-owned news agency MENA on Tuesday.

Abul-Naga said that a payment of $750 million was made in the past couple of days, making this the second payment of debts by Egypt in two months.

Last May, Egypt paid off $750 million of its debt to international oil companies.

CBE governor Tarek Amer said last month that the country was committed to making a second payment of the same amount in the beginning of June.

Prior to the latest payments, Egypt had outstanding dues of about $3.5 billion to international oil and gas companies.

Abul-Naga stressed that Egypt is committed to paying off all its financial obligations, adding that in June it will pay an instalment of $700 million to the Paris Club  an informal group comprised of officials from 20 creditor countries that works in cooperation with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Abul-Naga's statements came following a CBE announcement on Sunday that foreign reserves have risen to $31.125 billion at the end of May, nearing pre-2011 reserves, which were estimated at $36 billion.

The reserves, which have increased from $28.641 billion at the end of April, have been climbing since Egypt signed a three-year $12 billion loan deal with the IMF in November.

The IMF has endorsed Egypts economic reform programme, which includes cutting subsidies, raising taxes as well as the liberalisation of the pound.

In November Egypt received the first tranche of $2.75 billion from the IMF loan, with a second $1.25 billion tranche expected this month.

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New Delhi:

As several parts of national capital witnessing power cuts in sweltering heat, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday ordered authorities to submit a report to him on outages every day and also increase the capacity of discoms call centres for satisfactory disposal of peoples complaints.

In his direction to the chief secretary, Keriwal said power distribution companies should send messages to consumers in affected areas if they resort to unscheduled power cuts.

Addressing a press conference, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the chief secretary will ensure that discoms list the scheduled power cuts on their websites so that people can know about it in advance.

He said that it is the responsibility of all three discoms - Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL), BSES Rajdhani and BSES Yamuna - to provide power to Delhiites 24x7.

With the mercury rising in the last two days, several areas in the city have been facing outages, Sisodia said.

Also Read | Arvind Kejriwal govt 'silencing and coercing' those exposing its graft: BJP

Today, the power demand soared to 6,526 megawatts at 3.31 pm, the highest ever in the capital.

He said the chief minister held a meeting with Chief Secretary M M Kutty and power department officials today and issued a nuber of directions to tackle the situation.

The chief minister has directed that the capacity of discoms call centres be increased for handling public complaints. The CM has said that power department should record, transcribe and analyse each complaint call for public satisfaction.

He has sought a daily report on outages at 11 AM, the deputy chief minister also said.

Sisodia said Delhi does not have shortage of power but has surplus.

The government is fully prepared to meet even 8,000 MW demand. In some areas, transformers had tripped because of excessive heat and high demand, that is why outages occurred in the last two days, Sisodia added.

He said that the chief minister also directed that hoardings be put up across the city with complaint numbers of all three discoms.

on Monday, the peak power demand shot up to 6,361 MW at 3:06 pm.

Also Read: Kapil Mishra visits Rajghat to pray for strength in fight against AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal

The peak power demand in the capital this year breached the 6,000 MW mark in May. It was 6,021 MW on May 17, the second highest this year.

The power discoms have expected the peak demand this year to be around 6,600 MW.

The peak demand of Delhi, even at the 6,000 MW level, is three-fold of Kolkata (2,100 MW) and about 60 per cent more than that of Mumbai(4,900 MW).

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New Delhi:

Former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav on Tuesday appeared before a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Patna for hearing in a fodder scam case. Ex-chief minister Jagannath Mishra also appeared before the court in the similar case.



The case relates to fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 47 lakh from Bhagalpur treasury. In 1996, the CBI had registered a case in this regard. Later, a chargesheet was filed and had named 44 accused including Lalu and Mishra.



The Supreme Court had last month ruled that Lalu will have to face trial in all four cases relating to fodder scam against him as it set aside a Jharkhand High Court order which had dropped conspiracy charges against the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief.



The Animal Husbandry Department from various districts had fraudulently withdrew Rs 900 crore when Lalu was the chief minister of Bihar.

ALSO READ | Bihar fodder scam: Important files go missing, FIR lodged



Former Bihar chief minister Jagannath Mishra and former state chief secretary Sajal Chakraborty are also accused in the case.

ALSO READ | Fodder scam: Setback for Lalu Yadav as SC allows CBI plea opposing dropping of charges; gives 9-month deadline for trial

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

The Gurgaon police on Monday said that woman was allegedly gangraped in an auto rickshaw. According to reports, three men allegedly raped a woman after throwing her nine-month-old daughter off an autorickshaw leading to the child's death in Gurugram.

According to the 23-year-old woman, she was going to her parents' house in Khandsa village here around midnight on May 29 with her daughter after an argument with her husband. She took a lift in an autorickshaw in which three persons were already sitting. She told police that the accused started molesting her as soon as she sat in the vehicle. As she resisted and her daughter started crying, they threw the infant out of the vehicle. The child succumbed to injuries, a Gurugram police official said.

The victim told police that she was raped by the accused inside the autorickshaw and had thrown her child out of the autorickshaw. The official said that the woman, a resident of a village near IMT Manesar.

"A case of murder and sexual assault has been registered. We are investigating the matter as woman alleging gangrape has refused to undergo medical examination," a senior police officer said.

Notably, the latest incident comes close on the heels of another incident in which two women were allegedly raped at Yamunanagar and Ambala in Haryana, police said.

Two horrific incidents of rape also shook Haryana last month.

While the body of a 23-year-old woman, who had beengang-raped and murdered, was found on the outskirts of Rohtak, a 26-year-old was gang-raped in a moving car in Gurgaon and abandoned in a semi-conscious state near her house.

(Wilth PTI Inputs)

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New Delhi:

A pregnant Muslim woman was set ablaze allegedly by her family for marrying a Dalit man in Karnataka on Saturday night, reports said on Tuesday. Banu Begam and a 24-year-old Dalit man Sayabanna Sharanappa Konnur, both residents of Gundakanala village, were in a relationship.

Earlier, Banu's family dragged the girl to the local police station and sought a case of POCSO to be filed against Sayabanna.A However, the police dropped the charges against him as they did not find any criminal case against Sayabanna. After the police let off Sayabanna, the couple decided to elope and get married. They returned home after she got pregnant, with the hope that they will have to accept their marriage.

"Banu's parents wanted her to leave Sayabanna and the boy's father was also not too pleased either. On Saturday night, when the couple refused to give in to their families' demands, Sayabanna's father, along with Banu's mother, brother and sister brutally assaulted him."

aThe families did not accept their marriage and a huge fight raged through the day,a the Talikote DySP said.

aBanuas parents wanted her to leave Sayabanna, and the boyas father was also not too pleased with the match. On Saturday night, when the couple refused to give in to their familiesa demands, Sayabannaas father, along with Banuas mother, brother and sister brutally assaulted him,a Patil added.

Sayabanna managed to escape with bite marks all over his body but Banu Begam could not escape. When Sayabanna returned with police, the family members had set her on fire.

Sayabanna received minor injuries while trying to douse the fire but was unsuccessful.

aBased on Sayabannaas account, none of Banuas neighbours came forward when he begged them for help. He says that they too were of the opinion that the girl had done a terrible deed and went inside their homes and locked the doors while Banu was being burnt. However, when we went to question the neighbours, they said that they did not see or hear anything and are not cooperating with the investigation,a an officer at the Talikote Police Station said.

On Sunday, Banuas mother, brother, sister and father-in-law were arrested. aThey have been booked for murder and assault. Banu had been stabbed multiple times before being set on fire,a Patil said.

Four other accused in the case - Banuas two elder sisters and two brothers - are absconding, Patil added.

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New Delhi:

The Congress Working Committee chaired by party president Sonia Gandhi met in New Delhi on Tuesday to discuss the current political situation and the upcoming presidential poll. The highest decision-making body of the party met at the residence of Sonia Gandhi and was attended by party vice-president Rahul Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.



Top Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, P Chidambaram, Ambika Soni, Janardan Dwiwedi and other CWC members were present during the meeting.



The leaders discussed the current political situation in the country and the issue of forging a larger opposition unity.



Senior members of the CWC also discussed the raging issue of cow vigilantism and also the economic situation, party sources said.

Modi govt completed 3 yrs.Where there was harmony,there is discord, where there was tolerance there is provocation-Sonia Gandhi in CWC meet pic.twitter.com/mZo45VDmfc  ANI (@ANI_news) June 6, 2017

Ironically, whatever success/progress this govt (NDA) has scored, came from programs/projects started by UPA govt: Sonia Gandhi in CWC meet  ANI (@ANI_news) June 6, 2017

Met like-minded parties to find commonly acceptable candidates.Sub-group of representatives frmed fr way frward-S.Gandhi on Pres&VP election  ANI (@ANI_news) June 6, 2017

Read | President polls: PM should reach out to opposition parties on presidential poll, says Digvijaya



They said the CWC is expected to ratify the schedule for organisational polls. According to the schedule, the next Congress president has to be elected by October 15.



The CWC is meeting at a time when the Congress is seeking to unite opposition parties ahead of the presidential election.



It wants a broad coalition of opposition parties in place ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections to take on the BJP. The BJP and its allies have gained in strength since the Modi government was formed in May 2014.



The CWC members had in November unanimously expressed strong sentiment for Rahuls elevation for the first time and may take it further.



At the November-7 meeting, all members, including former prime minister Manmohan Singh and senior leader A K Antony, had made a strong pitch for Rahul to take over the reins of the party.



The Congress president has created a record by being at the helm of the 130-year-old organisation for nearly two decades since late Sitaram Kesris ouster by the CWC in early 1998.



Rahul was appointed party vice president in January 2013 at the Congresss brainstorming session in Jaipur.

Read | WB CM Mamata Banerjee says 'Opposition parties to come out with joint statement on prez poll candidate'

(With inputs from PTI)

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New Delhi:

Farmers protest in Madhya Pradesh turned ugly on Day 6 after 5 people were sho Mandsour, Madhya Pradesh. One of the person shot has succumbed to his injuries, one is seriously hurt, while 3 others have suffered minor bruises.

The protest, called for the revision of procurement prices of fruits and vegetables, took a violent turn on Monday night after the protestors set a retail garments shop on fire in Mandsour, followed by loot in local shops. The farmers later also damaged rail tracks.



Reacting to the protests across the state, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday said his government is taking all necessary steps to address the issues of agitating farmers.



This government is farmers government. All necessary steps have been initiated to address farmers concerns, Chouhan said at a hurriedly-convened press conference in Bhopal on Monday.



A price stabilisation fund of Rs 1,000 crore would be set up to purchase the farm produce at the minimum support price (MSP), he said.



People who are indulging in violence are anti-social elements and not farmers. They are trying to defame the farmers protest, he added.



He has assured the farmers that government would buy onion at the MSP of Rs 8 per kg, he said, adding that we have already started buying onion in Indore, Ujjain and Mandsaur districts. Procurement will continue till June 30, he said.

Read | BJP should take lessons from farmers strike else lava of their pain will create havoc for it, warns Shiv Sena



Similarly, some cereals too will be procured at MSP, he added.



Meanwhile, assistant sub-inspector of police Pawan Yadav, who suffered a severe injury to eye in stone-pelting at Ratlam yesterday, has been sent to Chennai for treatment, to ensure that infection doesnt spread to the other eye, the CM informed.



Farmers are demanding better prices for farm produce, among other things.



Chouhan held talks with protesters leaders yesterday, but while two of the farmer outfits called off the agitation, others continued the stir.



Fresh protests and violent incidents were reported from Neemuch, Ratlam, Dhar, Jhabua and Dewas districts of western Madhya Pradesh on the fifth day of agitation on Monday.



At Neemuch, farmers staged a road blockade at Bhadbhadiya Four Lane square.



Protesters pelted stones and damaged several two-wheelers as the police used lathi-charge to disperse them. Effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Chouhan were burnt.



Two policemen were injured in stone-pelting. Police have registered a case against 200 persons and have arrested eight. 40 motorcycles were also seized, city superintendent of police (CSP) Abhishek Deewan said.



Tarun Baheti, a farmer leader, said the police used lathi-charge against peaceful protesters for no reason.



Shops remained closed in the market and supply of essential goods was affected at Jhabua district headquarters.



Protesting farmers damaged some shops after an altercation with vendors over keeping the shops closed at Karwad village of Jhabua district, said Petlawad police station in-charge Lokendra Singh Thakur.



During a bandh called by protesting farmers in Mandsaur, incidents of violence and clashes between farmers and traders were reported from several areas including Gandhi Chouraha, Kailash Marg, Bus Stand and Shukla Chowk. Protesters forcing traders to close the shops led to clashes.



The farmers also confronted traders at Piplya Mandi in the district. All the petrol pumps remained closed. Farmers stopped a truck and dumped bananas it was carrying on road at Barkheda Panth.



Mandsaur district collector Swatantra Kumar Singh however claimed that the situation was under control.



In Ratlam, police registered a case against 150 protesters, including district panchayat vice president DP Dhakad, for last nights violence in which police ASI Pawan Yadav sustained eye injury. Fourteen people were arrested.



In Dhar, protesting farmers emptied 12,000 litres of milk on road from a tanker at Borali toll naka on Mhow-Neemuch road.



Protesters pelted stones in Kshipra area of Dewas to force vendors to shut their outlets.



Farmers also burnt effigy of Shivkant Dixit, leader of RSS-affiliated Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, who had yesterday announced end of the agitation, at Mankund in the district.A rally was taken out by members of Bharatiya Kisan Mazdoor Sangh (BKMS) from Chapda in Dewas which culminated in Indore.



At a press conference in Indore, BKMS leader Shivkumar Sharma said the agitation would continue till June 10.



We are not satisfied with the assurances given by the chief minister. The BJP-led government has betrayed our trust on several occasions in the last 14 years. Our agitation will continue till June 10, he said.



Markets in some parts of Indore faced shortage of vegetables, fruits and milk.



Leader of Opposition in Assembly and Congress leader Ajay Singh asked why the chief minister was silent on the MSP for fruits, vegetables and loan waiver, which are the main demands of protesting farmers.

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New Delhi:

Various political parties on Tuesday expressed shock over CBIs searches at the residence of NDTV founder Prannoy Roy and condemned the action saying it was an attack on the freedom of the press.

The Congress condemned the raids and criticised the NDA government for its pick and choose policy while taking on the media houses.

The party also criticised the Centre over the CBI raids, saying it was blatant abuse of power taking place in the country.

The TMC, JD-U and AAP also criticised the Central government for the raids.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee expressed shock over the CBI searches on Roys residences and said the trend of conducting such search operations was disturbing.

Shocked at the raids on Dr @PrannoyRoyNDTVs house. He is highly respected and reputed. Disturbing trend, Banerjee tweeted.

Senior Congress spokesperson Ajay Maken said the Congress strongly condemns the action and warns the Central government that it should not try to hound the media as the act is seen as an attempt to create an atmosphere of terror and muzzle the voice of the fourth estate.

It is a strong attack on the freedom of the press and the Congress party strongly condemns it. We warn the central government that it should not try to hound and threaten the media, he said.

We are standing with the media. If the need arises, we will use democratic means to oppose this action, Maken said, adding that the prime minister had used derogatory words like bazaaru and a Union minister had branded the media as presstitutes.

Another senior party leader Anand Sharma said, Centralisation of decision-making is happening at the Centre. The media and the other voices of dissent are being muzzled. A warning is being sent to the media outlets to fall in line or face a similar fate.

ALSO READ | CBI raids Prannoy Roy's residences, NDTV terms it 'witch hunt'



The Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha said The government machinery is being misused and an environment of fear is being created through the (investigation) agencies.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal condemned the searches saying it was an attempt to silence independent and anti-establishment voices.

We strongly condemn raids on Dr Roy and NDTV group. It is an attempt to silence independent and anti-establishment voices, he tweeted.

The JD(U) termed the raids on NDTV founders as the beginning of black days, saying the governments action is reminiscent of the raids carried out on the Indian Express group premises by the Indira Gandhi government during the Emergency.

NDTV is known for its objectivity and the raids are aimed at stifling the voices of independent media and freedom of expression. It is beginning of black days, its spokesperson K C Tyagi said.

He said journalists should rally against the governments action.

The CBI on Monday carried out searches at the residence of NDTV founder Roy for allegedly concealing a share transaction from the SEBI and causing a loss to a private bank, a move termed by the channel as a witch-hunt based on same old false accusations.

The CBI has registered a case against RRPR Holding Pvt Limited, Roy, his wife Radhika, and unidentified officials of ICICI Bank for criminal conspiracy, cheating and corruption.

RRPR Holdings had allegedly taken a loan of Rs 500 crore from India Bulls Private Limited to purchase 20 per cent shares of NDTV from the public.

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Jalandhar:

Bhim Army founder Chandrasekhar, who is evading arrest since last months caste-violence in Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, has said that he is willing to surrender if 37 innocent dalits are released on bail.

Speaking to news agency, PTI Bhasha at a hiding place about 50 kms from at Jalandhar, the 30-year-old alleged that the Uttar Pradesh police was not arresting the real culprits but was going after innocent people. He alleged that cases of atrocities against the dalit community were on the rise since Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took over.

I feel that the UP government has failed to address the issues of the dalits. The chief minister has lost control over the police and the administration. There have been more cases of atrocities against the dalits in the past two-and-a-half months as compared to last one year, he said.

The Bhim Army shot to the limelight after the May 5 clashes between dalits and thakurs at Shabbirpur village in Saharanpur in which one person was killed and several injured.

Chandrasekhar is one of the key persons wanted in connection with the caste violence and the UP police on Monday announced a reward of Rs 12,000 for information on his whereabouts.

Instead of arresting the real culprits of the Saharanpur violence, the police has arrested innocent people and put them behind bars. This has resulted in growing anger among the dalits, the advocate-turned-activist claimed.

Asked if he would surrender, he claimed to have earlier reached out to the Delhi Police and the magistrate to turn himself in. He said they refused to arrest him.

Now I want that 37 innocent dalits who are in jail be released on bail. Only then will I surrender, he said.

On the Shabbirpur clash, he claimed that the dalits were threatened that they would be shot dead if they intervened in the procession that was to be taken out by the thakurs.

When we informed the police about it, a rumour spread that our community was protesting the rally. In retaliation, the houses of the dalits in the village were torched. It seemed the attack was planned and the youth was caught in the violence, he said.

It didnt take much time for another rumour to spread that the youth had been killed by the dalits, the Bhim Army founder said.

On the youths death, he said, Initially, the police said he was shot dead. Later, the post-mortem said he died of suffocation.

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New Delhi:

Twitter is buzzing with news alerts from India and rest of the world. Here are the latest updates from the micro-blogging site in one scroll:

LIVE | Kabul: Blast at Indian guesthouse during NATO peace talks, no causalities reported

#10:43 PM

Macron calls for 'unity', 'calm' in Gulf crisis: presidency- AFP

#10:25 PM

Hyderabad: Farmers from Narsapur Assembly Constituency met CM K Chandrashekhar Rao, Minister Harish Rao & MLA Madan Reddy were also present- ANI



#10:00 PM

Uttarakhand: Road blocked due to landslide near Chamol- ANI



#9:56 PM

Qatar crisis has 'no impact' on US military operations: Pentagon- AFP

#9:43 PM

Notre-Dame hammer attacker shouted 'this is for Syria': minister- AFP

#9:41 PM

4 people injured as handrail of an escalator moving upwards, started moving in opposite direction at Kolkata's Kavi Subhas Metro station.



#9:32 PM

One man arrested as video goes viral showing 2 men being tied to a tree upside down & beaten up in Bihar's Kaimur district last week: Police- PTI

#9:29 PM

Bihar: Police in Rohtas seized 3,248 bottles of illicit liquor, recovered from a dry well during a raid carried out following a tip off.- ANI



#9:27 PM

4 children killed, 2 seriously injured in lightning strike at Mundaro village in Jharkhand's Giridih district: Police.- PTI

#9:22 PM

J&K: One civilian killed in clash between protesters and security forces during cordon operation in Shopian's Ganowpora-ANI



#9:19 PM

Congress leader in Porbandar deletes Facebook post making contact number of a Gujarat minister public after police intervention.-PTI



#9:07 PM

Coimbatore:Beef Festival organized by members of 'Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam' in protest against ban on sale of cattle for slaughter- ANI

#8:58 PM

Paris police say operation at Notre Dame cathedral is over; one attacker wounded, reports AP- ANI

#8:57 PM

Gurugram: Police releases sketches of suspects in Manesar gangrape case. Woman was gangraped in auto,her 9 month-old daughter was also killed- ANI

#8:52 PM

Maoist hideout busted in Chhattisgarh's Sukma after gunbattle, cache of explosive-making materials recovered: officials- PTI

#8:48 PM

Three people held with Rs 25 lakh in scrapped currency in Gujarat's Anand district: Police- PTI

#8:45 PM

NSA and Gangsters Act to be invoked against those involved in cow slaughter and trafficking of milch animals for slaughter:DGP Sulkhan Singh- ANI

#8:39 PM

Illegal phone connections case: Former Union telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran, his brother Kalanidhi Maran appear in CBI court in Chennai- PTI



#8:39 PM

In view of prevailing situation in Kashmir, CISF has sounded alert at power plants Uri 1 & Uri 2 of the valley as a precautionary measure- ANI

#8:37 PM

RJD chief Lalu Prasad, ex-Bihar CM Jagannath Mishra appear in special CBI court in Patna in connection with a multi-crore fodder scam case.- PTI



#8:36 PM

Goa govt retracts plea challenging dropping of serious charges against 2 Christian priests for attacking group of special branch policemen- PTI



#8:35 PM

Anti-terrorist prosecutors open probe after Notre-Dame attack- AFP

#8:33 PM

Liquor manufacturers from Bihar move SC, seek clarification on order granting time till July 31 to dispose old stocks worth over Rs 200 cr.- PTI



#8:33 PM

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ravi Karunanayake met EAM Sushma Swaraj in Delhi.- ANI

#8:31 PM

Right to life of people cannot be risked by encroachments: Delhi HC.- PTI



#8:22 PM

Woman, allegedly tortured by in-laws, committed suicide along with her two kids by jumping into canal in Gujarat's Kheda. Probe underway- ANI

#8:13 PM

Lucknow: BJP MLA Shriram Sonkar allegedly slapped a Traffic Home Guard after argument over the MLA wrongly using a one way route- ANI



#8:12 PM

Police shoot, injure attacker outside Paris's Notre-Dame cathedral: authorities- AFP

#7:58 PM

Assam: More than 59,000 people affected due to flood situation in 92 villages of Lakhimpur, Karimganj and Darrang districts- ANI

#7:42 PM

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ravi Karunanayake met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi.- ANI

#7:24 PM

Trump says isolating Qatar 'beginning of end' of terrorism- AFP

#7:17 PM

Indian Naval Sailing Vessel Tarini with all-women crew entered Port Louis harbour, Mauritius on her maiden visit since induction in Feb 17- ANI

#7:10 PM

China launches 1st World Pest Day with an aim to eventually reduce and eliminate pest-borne diseases.- PTI



#6:48 PM

Chhattisgarh: One Naxal (Jan Militia member) surrendered before CRPF's 80 battalion in Jagdalpur- ANI

#6:38 PM

Nepal Parliament elects Nepali Congress president Sher Bahadur Deuba as 40th Prime Minister of Nepal- ANI

#6:15 PM

Karnataka: One accused arrested in the minor girl gang rape case in Davangere district's Channagiri- ANI

#5:54 PM

Investigation is being conducted as per the due process of law & under jurisdiction of Court of law: CBI on raids at Prannoy Roy's locations- ANI

#5:52PM

CBI fully respects the freedom of press and is committed to the free functioning of news operations: CBI on raids at Prannoy Roy's locations- ANI

#5:43 PM

Amarnath Shrine Board issues health advisory for pilgrims for Yatra which is set to begin from June 29th- ANI

#5:36 PM

Huge explosion rocks Jam-e-Mosque in Afghanistan's western Herat province; 7 killed, more than 15 wounded- ANI

#5:25 PM

India's growth has slowed down due to demonetisation, economy running on just one engine of public spending: ex-PM Manmohan Singh at CWC- PTI

#5:19 PM

UGC & AICTE to soon be history, govt planning to replace them with a single higher education regulator: HRD ministry sources.- PTI

#5:18 PM

PM Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping expected to meet this week on sidelines of SCO Summit in Astana.- PTI

#5:16 PM

Chhattisgarh: Exchange of fire took place b/w Police&Naxals in Jongeras y'day.IED making materials,3 detonators & naxal literature recovered- ANI

#4:54 PM

Mandsaur farmers' protest (MP): Death toll rises to three, curfew imposed in sensitive areas- ANI

#4:39 PM

Government is at war with the farmers of our country: Congress vice President Rahul Gandhi on farmers' protest and firing in Mandsaur- ANI

#4:28 PM

UK police name third London attacker as Italian national Youssef Zaghba- AFP

#4:28 PM

Pilots write to DGCA, say "unconditional apologies for getting your (DGCA Official Lalit Gupta) designation wrong"- ANI

#4:22 PM

Philippines temporarily suspends deployment of Filipino workers to crisis-gripped Qatar- AP

#4:16 PM

Delhi Police examining a group of pilots after DGCA filed complaint against them for allegedly bad mouthing their bosses in a WhatsApp group- ANI

#4:11 PM

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan orders judicial enquiry into the firing incident during farmers' protest in Mandsaur- ANI

#4:08 PM

Within six months, Uttar Pradesh's 100 district hospitals will come on the platform of 'E-hospital': Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad- ANI

#4:06 PM

Delhi money laundering case: Yogesh Mittal,a close associate of Advocate Rohit Tandon sent to three days ED custody by Saket Court.- ANI

#3:55 PM

CBDT notifies transactions for which condition of chargeability to Securities TransactionTax for claiming exemption u/s10(38)shall not apply- ANI

#3:54 PM

3 killed, 8 including women have been injured in an attack on Bugti refugees camp by ISI in Spin boldak,Afghanistan: Baloch Republican Party- ANI

#3:52 PM

Third London attack suspect was Italian-Moroccan: Italian media- AFP

#3:48 PM

Sensex retreats from record, ends 118.93 pts lower at 31,190.56; Nifty falls 37.95 pts to 9,637.15.- PTI

#3:48 PM

Cabinet secretary PK Sinha asks different Ministries/Departments & PSUs under these Ministries to set-up & activate a GST Facilitation Cell.- ANI

#3:38 PM

Kremlin 'resolutely' denies Russia hacked US vote- AFP



#3:35 PM

El Nino likely in second half of monsoon, but is seen weak: IMD Director General K G Ramesh- ANI

#3:19 PM

Madhya Pradesh: 2 farmers dead, 4 injured in firing that took place in Mandsaur during farmers' protest.- ANI

#3:11 PM

Madhya Pradesh: Death toll rises to two in firing during farmers' protest in Mandsaur- ANI

#2:30 PM

AIADMK 'Two Leaves' symbol EC bribery case: Hawala operators Nathu Singh and Lalit Kumar granted bail by Delhi Court- ANI

#02:19 PM

Maj Gogoi did great job by saving lives but few ppl hv to condemn Army than condemning acts of Pak-V Naidu on Army Chief-Gen Dyer comparison-ANI

#02:08 PM

DG CRPF Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar visits Kashmir; interacted with 45 Battalion CRPF Sumbal, Cheetahs of 45 and 44th Battalion

#02:02 PM

Met like-minded parties to find commonly acceptable candidates.Sub-group of representatives frmed fr way frward-S.Gandhi on Pres&VP election-ANI

#01:55 PM

Ironically, whatever success/progress this govt (NDA) has scored, came from programs/projects started by UPA govt: Sonia Gandhi in CWC meet-ANI

#01:31 PM

Misa Bharti fined Rs.10,000 for not appearing today;Fresh summon issued for her to appear on 12 June;her husband Shailesh to appear tomorrow-ANI

#01:27 PM

MP: Internet suspended in Mandsaur, Ratlam & Ujjain due to farmers' protest. Rashtriya Kisaan Mazdoor Sangh calls for state-wide bandh tmrw-ANI



#01:00 PM

West Bengal: Fire broke out in a truck carrying plastic granules on NH 41 near Barsundara in East Midnapore district; 2 fire tenders on spot-ANI

#12:49 PM

UP CM Yogi Adityanath seeks explanation from ten Superintendents of Police over lack timely addressal of public grievances.-ANI

#12:36 PM

Early reports indicate a rocket landed close to Resolute Support compound in Kabul city: Tolo News #Afghanistan-ANI

#12:28 PM

Asked DM & CMO to submit a report, it should not have happened,shows how insensitive the system has become: Siddharth Nath Singh,UP Minister-ANI



#12:14 PM

Delhi money laundering case: Yogesh Mittal,a close associate of Advocate Rohit Tandon arrested by ED-ANI

#12:12 AM

Karnataka: Minor girl gang-raped in Davangere district's Channagiri; all accused absconding-ANI

#11:57 AM

Bengaluru: Union Minister Piyush Goyal eats food at a Dalit party worker's home pic.twitter.com/Sx2zZl1DXs  ANI (@ANI_news) June 6, 2017

#11:51 AM

One killed, six injured in clash between two communities in UP's #Muzaffarnagar district-ANI

#11:27 AM

Ruchira Kamboj appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to the Republic of South Africa-ANI

#11:25 AM

Meghalaya BJP leader Bachu Marak resigns over Centre's cattle slaughter rule-ANI

#11:21 AM

Vijaypura (Karnataka): A pregnant Muslim woman burnt alive for allegedly marrying a Dalit man; four people arrested-ANI



#11:05 AM

At least 175 people fall ill,allegedly due to food poisioning, after breaking #Ramzan fast at a madrassa in Harwatand village in UP: police-ANI

#10:29 AM

DG CRPF Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar to visit Kashmir today, to interact with 45 Battalion CRPF Sumbal, Cheetahs of 45 and 44th Battalion-ANI

#9:33 AM

Misa Bharti not to appear today before Income-Tax officials for questioning over money laundering : Sources- ANI

#9:31 AM

Kaimur (Bihar): Two men tied upside down and beaten for stealing chairs from a wedding pic.twitter.com/UXRfVlryJ7  ANI (@ANI_news) June 6, 2017

#9:28 AM

Patna: RJD chief Lalu Yadav appeared before a special CBI Court in Fodder scam case-ANI

#8:47 AM

Jaipur (Rajasthan): 5 people dead after an overloaded truck fell on a car, in Chomu House circle area-ANI

#8:16 AM

Delhi: Doctors on a one-day strike to protest against increasing cases of violence against doctors across the country pic.twitter.com/k2hrVIm0U5  ANI (@ANI_news) June 6, 2017

#8:07 AM

Mumbai: Rise in prices of vegetables as some farmer groups continue with strike. Sellers complain of sharp decline in sale pic.twitter.com/JAHaSRA017  ANI (@ANI_news) June 6, 2017

#8:06 AM

Indian energy giant #Adani Group gives final investment approval for its massive #coalmine project in Australia.-PTI

#7:54 AM

Haryana: Woman allegedly gangraped in an auto rickshaw, 9 month old daughter killed in Gurugram-ANI

#7:30 AM

Moradabad: Body of kidnapped girl found in a field in Thakurdwara. Police begin investigation pic.twitter.com/Zegr6LX7F3  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) June 6, 2017

#6:56 AM

Wide sensational media coverage on my attendance at IndvPak match at Edgbaston.I intend to attend all games to cheer India :Vijay Mallya- ANI



For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

A huge crowd chanted 'Khalistan Zindabad' inside the premises of Golden Temple in Amritsar on the anniversary of Operation Bluestar.



The Dal Khalsa had called for Amritsar Bandh to protest against the 1984 operation which saw the holy shrine under siege by Indian Army to weed out Khalistan-supporting extremists, camping in the temple.



The local authorities had put the city on high alert to avoid any untoward incident even as some reports suggested clash situation at Akaal Takhat Sahib.

#WATCH Amritsar: 'Khalistan Zindabad' slogans raised in Golden Temple on Operation Bluestar anniversary pic.twitter.com/dKnSgQQBbA  ANI (@ANI_news) June 6, 2017

Read | Operation Bluestar anniversary: Balwant Singh Rajoana asks Sikh leaders, religious organisations to maintain peace







For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
The musical band was founded by Nour Nageh, a Sufi devotee who wanted to share Sufi religious music with a wider audience

It was an enchanting moment, with hundreds of audience members, in all their diversity, chanting along with the Sufi praise, reflecting a state of sublime serenity, a real treat amid all this global craziness.

With their green turbans and musical instruments, Al-Hadra Troupe chanted the night away, with powerful voices and equally mystical lyrics that opened up a whole new path to "the truth" for the theatre audience.

The term "Hadra" is derived from the Arabic word "hodor", meaning "presence". It usually refers to a circle of Sufi chanters who recite the Quran and praise Allah and the Prophet Mohamed. Lots of powerful Sufi lyrics by Sufi masters such as Rabaa Al-Adawia, Ibn Arabi and others are also chanted.

Often known as "the people of the truth", Sufies continue to inspire the world with their concepts of love, piety, and acceptance, seeking transcendence and a closer relationship with God.

There are millions of Sufis in Egypt, With over 74 authenticated Sufi orders registered with the Supreme Council for Sufi Orders.

These Sufis traditionally practice their rituals discretely, with chants and rituals traditionally confined to hadras, mosques and religious ceremonies.

However for the first time, the Sufi hadras are now being performed on stage before a random audience, taking the rituals beyond the normal audience of murideen (seekers).

The idea came to Nour Nageh, founder of the troupe, around two years ago. An artist and Sufi devotee, he decided to take the step of seeking a wider audience.

"I was done with the way mainstream religion focuses on repelling, rather than attracting, young people to religion. So God sent me to attend a Hadra, and since then I have been taken up with how to convey such sublime spirituality to other people," he told Ahram Online.

Nageh started searching for authentic munshideen (Sufi and religious chanters), identifying several Sufi devotees from various orders who joined the troupe.

With oud and drums and powerful voices, they chanted the night away, and Al-Hadra Troupe was born.

A devotee of Al-Khalilia Sufi order himself, Nageh explains that the hadra form represents Sufi orders as a whole, rather than just one order.

"I got the approval from my sheikh to perform hadra, as well as zikr," said Nageh, refering to another musical form that celebrates the grace of Allah through chanting his names and praises.

The Al-Hadra Troupe started out performing and practicing in El-Raba Cultural Center in Islamic Cairo. They then performed on a television show and joined the Fete de la Music in Ramadan 2015.

What makes them stand out is that they perform both the hadra rituals and zikr music, thereby reflecting the whole, authentic spiritual experience, from mosque to theatre.

The results are impressive, with audiences representing people from all walks of life flocking to the experience, hundreds of them chanting along.

"Most of the chants are sung in vernacular language and people relate to their heritage," Nageh said.

Through Al-Hadra Troupe, Nageh aims to revive and document the rich Sufi heritage of Egypt.

"Although Egypt has 30 times more Sufi heritage than Turkey, Egyptians are not that concerned with highlighting it and preserving it, " Nageh lamented.

Al-Hadra Troupe performs this Wednesday, 7 June, at the Cairo Opera House, Open-Air Theatre, at 9:30 pm

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Lucknow:

Taking note of poor disposal of public grievances, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday sought clarification from 10 district magistrates including the one in the state capital.



The chief minister had recently reviewed the state of public grievances disposal in the districts.



He found that Lucknow, Hardoi, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Kanpur, Gorakhpur, Allahabad, Sitapur, Agra, Jaunpur and Kheri had performed poorly in disposal of public grievances.

Read | World Environment Day: Yogi Adityanath Govt to plant trees along 1000-km stretch on Ganga River from Haridwar to Ballia



The chief minister has directed the chief secretary to seek clarification from the DMs of 10 districts. SSPs of these districts will also be questioned for the performance, an official spokesperson said in Lucknow.



The officials of these districts have been asked to timely dispose of public grievances else strict action will be initiated against them.

Read | Govt brought uniformity in power supply across state, says UP CM Yogi Adityanath

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New Delhi:

Zakir Musa, former Hizbul Commander and new recruit of al-Qaeda, on Monday, slammed Indian Muslims for not joining Islamic jihad for 'Ghazwa-e-Hind' (the final and last battle for the conquest of India).



In his first audio message since joining the global terrorist organisation, reiterated that the war was not just limited to Kashmir. "It's a war between Islam and the infidel," he declared in his first direct address to Indian Muslims in an audio clip shared via Telegram and WhatsApp groups. Against a black al-Qaeda banner, with a world map added along with and two Kalashnikovs rifles emblazoned on two sides, Musa spoke in Kashmiri-accented Urdu.



According to sources quoted by Times of India, two senior Jammu & Kashmir police officers have confirmed it was Musa's voice.

Read | Rift in Hizbul Mujahideen: Zakir Musa quits terror outfit after lack of support to his 'beheading' threats to Hurriyat leaders



In the audio message, Musa invoked recent "atrocities" against Muslims in India. "It is shameful that Indian Muslims are spineless and don't act against the perpetrators of such crimes," he said.



Musa then quotes the sayings of Prophet Muhammad and recalls the Conquest Of Hind (Gazwa-e-Hind). "Our beloved prophet has assured Jannat to those who participate in the conquest of Hind," he says.



The militant commander, who earlier had called for public hanging of All Parties Hurriyat Conference leaders in Kashmir, calls the Indian Muslims most unconscionable."Indian Muslims are most unconscionable and have forgotten about the battle of Badr," he states before going on to talk about the issue of cow vigilantism in India.



He says, "My blood boils when I see Muslims being attacked by gau rakshaks and Indian Muslims must form groups to take part in the conquest of Hind."



Expelled Hizbul Mujahideen commander also refuted the reports that he ratted out Sabzar Bhat, the Burhan Wani successor who was recently killed by Indian security forces.

Read | Hizbul Mujahideen leader threatens to behead Hurriyat leaders for terming Kashmir struggle 'political'

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New Delhi:

Huge explosion rocked Jam-e-Mosque in Afghanistan's western Herat province. As per reports, 7 have been killed and more than 15 were injured in the bomb blast.

Earlier in the day, Indian guesthouse was attacked with a rocket in Kabul soon after a blast at the NATO's international peace conference. So far there were no reports of injury or damage from the Indian envoy's house.

The two blasts, which ripped apart the Afghanistan's capital Kabul on Tuesday are second such incident within a week. The first blast, on last Wednesday, also took place in Kabul's diplomatic enclave and killed at least 150 people while 300 others were injured, Afghanistani President Ashraf Ghani informed NATO international peace conference on Tuesday.

Also read: Kabul: Indian envoy's residence attacked with rocket-launched grenade, no report of injury; Taliban claims responsibility

Also read: Multiple blasts kill 12 in Khair Khana area in Afghanistan



For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

French police shot and wounded a man who was ready to attack them 'with a hammer' outside Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.Sources said the officers shot at the man after he had threatened them with a hammer and refused to stop.

One officer was slightly injured and the assailant was shot in the throat. The Paris prosecutors office said it had opened a terrorism investigation into the matter.

The attacker has been revealed to be an Algerian student in his 40s. He claimed to be a soldier of the dreaded militant group ISIS and shouted 'This is for Syria'.

On Monday, ISIS had called on its militants to carry out more attacks on Nice and Paris.

The cathedral, a Gothic landmark, was sealed off, and worshippers and visitors were locked inside.

Further, the square in front of the cathedral was evacuated. Crowds scattered outside the cathedral after hearing gunfire, according to reports.

The attack comes with France on high alert for more jihadist strikes after a weekend attack in London, where extremists used a van and knives to crush to death and kill seven people, one of them French.

ALSO READ: London attack: Pakistan-born man among two identified as attackers by Scotland Yard

Authorities in Paris asked the public to stay away from Notre-Dame, one of France's biggest tourist attractions situated on the banks of the Seine river in the heart of the capital.

French TV reported scenes of panic during the shooting, with tourists scrambling for cover. France is under a state of emergency and on its highest possible level of alert following a string of terror attacks that began in 2015, which have killed over 230 people.

In the last fatal attack, a policeman was shot and killed on Paris's prestigious Champs-Elysees avenue on April 20, three days before the first round of the presidential election.

READ: Kabul: Indian envoy's residence attacked with rocket-launched grenade, no report of injury; Taliban claims responsibility

Major attacks in France targeted the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine in January 2015 and in November that year, gunmen and suicide bombers attacked sites around Paris including the Bataclan concert hall, killing 130 people.

Then in July 2016, a radicalised Tunisian man drove a lorry at high speed through a Bastille Day fireworks display on the Nice waterfront, massacring 86 people.Since then there have been a series of smaller attacks, often targeting security forces.

With PTI inputs

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Moscow:

Russias defense ministry on Tuesday asserted that one of its fighter jets intercepted an American strategic bomber that was flying near the border of Russian airspace.

The defense ministry said in a statement that it had to scramble the Su-27 to the area over the Baltic Sea on Tuesday morning after Russian radars spotted an aircraft flying along the border. The ministry said the Russian jet identified it as a US B-52 bomber and escorted it until it flew further away from the border.

The defense ministry did not specify where exactly the intercept happened.

In a separate incident, a Russian MiG-31 was dispatched early today afternoon to intercept Norwegian maritime surveillance aircraft flying over the Barents Sea near the Russian border, the Russian defense ministry said.

Also Read: Trump, May agree to convince Russia to end support for Bashar al-Assad

Similar incidents have happened close to Russian airspace in the past. In September, a Russian fighter jet flew within 10 feet (3 meters) of a US Navy surveillance aircraft, in what American officials called an unsafe intercept over the Black Sea. In another dramatic incident last year, Russian jets buzzed over the USS Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea, coming within 30 feet of the American warship.

Capt Joe Alonso, a spokesman for US European Command in Stuttgart, Germany, said he could not confirm the report, but that the military was aware of it and looking into it.

Also Read | London attack: Trump underscores travel ban on Muslim for extra level of safety

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Houston:

US tech giants, government leaders, investors, universities, and companies have agreed to fight global warming by reducing carbon emissions and honour the Paris Agreement on climate change, days after President Trump announced his decision to withdraw from the landmark deal.

Various companies like Apple, Google, Facebook, Intel and Microsoft are among the hundreds of businesses that declared their intention to continue working toward reducing carbon emissions.

The firms who were noticeably absent were Oracle, IBM, and all the major telecommunications providers.

In the absence of leadership from Washington, states, cities, colleges and universities and businesses representing a sizeable percentage of the US economy will pursue ambitious climate goals, working together to take forceful action and to ensure that the US remains a global leader in reducing emissions, the coalition, which now consists of more than 1,000 entities, said in a statement on Monday.

ALSO READ | India's green lobby slams Donald Trump as US exits Paris climate agreement



The US joined the Paris agreement in 2015. Nearly 200 countries are part of the accord and have agreed to fight global warming by reducing carbon emissions. Scientists anticipate climate change could push the Earth to dangerous temperatures much sooner with US retreat from the pledge because the country burns so much energy.

The coalition, calling itself We are still in, includes leaders from nine states, 125 cities, 902 businesses and investors, and 183 colleges and universities. The effort is led by philanthropist and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

In the absence of a supportive federal coordinating role, these actors will more closely coordinate their own recarbonisation actions, Bloomberg wrote in a letter to the United Nations secretary-general.

Collectively, they will redouble their efforts to ensure that the US achieves the carbon emissions reductions it pledged under the Paris Agreement.

Trumps withdrawal from the pact drew swift condemnation from several tech giants last week, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, who said he spoke with Trump earlier in the week in an effort to persuade him not to withdraw from the pact.

In addition to Cook, the CEOs of Google, Facebook, Microsoft, HP, Intel and Tesla also asked Trump to stay in the agreement. Elon Musk, founder of Tesla and SpaceX, made good on his threat to leave several of the presidents advisory councils if the president pulled the US out of the climate deal.

Cities and states across the US, governors and over 200 mayors have vowed to keep fighting climate change and adopt clean energy technologies, despite President Donald Trumps decision to withdraw the country from the Paris Climate Agreement.

We Are Still In represents the most serious attempt yet by local officials, business executives, and private-sector leaders to buck the Trump administrations decision, which sent political shockwaves around the world.

Participants vowed to meet the Paris agreements target of limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, or 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, above preindustrial levels by 2100. They also pledged to accelerate the transition to renewable energy.

In the US, it is local and state governments, along with businesses, that are primarily responsible for the dramatic decrease in greenhouse gas emissions in recent years, the group wrote in an open letter to the international community.

Actions by each group will multiply and accelerate in the years ahead, no matter what policies Washington may adopt, they wrote.

The new coalition includes dozens of university and college leaders, including the chancellors of six University of California campuses, the president of New York University, plus schools from many states in between the coasts.

Nineteen attorneys general joined the group, including New York AG Eric Schneiderman and Massachusetts AG Maura Healy, both of whom are investigating Exxon Mobil for allegedly deceiving investors on the companys climate risks

The coalition intends to submit a Societal Nationally Determined Contribution to the UN, which will be called Americas Pledge and account for the climate-fighting efforts of US cities, states, businesses, and other subnational actors.

It would be rare, if not unprecedented, for a coalition like this to formally join a UN treaty meant for nations to sign.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Washington:

Pakistan is still a sanctuary for the Taliban and the Haqqani network and more of a threat than an ally, a top US think tank has said, while asserting that the Trump administration should make it clear to Islamabad that it will face sanctions if it continues to support them.



Afghanistan is currently doing badly both in the fighting and in its civilian politics, governance, and poverty. Pakistan is still a sanctuary for the Taliban and Haqqani network and more of a threat than an ally, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said in a report released on Monday.



Authored by Anthony H Cordesman, CSISs Arleigh A Burke, Chair in Strategy, the report said there has to be a better strategy and a better approach to both the military and civil dimensions of the war to provide a reason to stay.

Read | PM Modi targets Pakistan in Russia, says some nations arming, funding terrorists



No commitment should be open ended. The Afghans have to do far more, and do it far better, to justify each future year of US commitment, the report said.



The United States should make it clear to Pakistan that it faces a total end to aid, and the imposition of sanctions, if it continues to support the Taliban and tolerate the Haqqani network, it said.



Russia should be told that any end to US sanctions will depend on it not supporting the Taliban, and the Unites States should reach out to China to make it clear that Chinese cooperation in dealing with Afghanistan and Pakistan can serve both Chinese and American interests, the report said.

Read | Kabul blast: 90 killed, over 300 wounded; Afghanistan accuses Pakistan-based Haqqani Network and ISI for deadly attack



CSIS said the US should make it totally clear that it will conduct a public annual review of its commitments to Afghanistan and the Afghan performance.



It should make it clear that it can and will leave in the face of Afghan failure. If necessary, the United States should make good on such a threat, it said.



It should send a clear message to all partner states that they must meet reasonable standards of performance. The United States should never bully its allies, but it also should not be bulliedor let nations slip into the kind of overdependence that ultimately undermines rather than aids them, the CSIS said.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
With the death of writer, politician, intellectual and activist Sherif Hatata, not only has the Egyptian Left lost one of its most important symbols, it has also shared in the end to a chapter in modern Egyptian history.

Hatata was known for having lived his own way, swimming against the tide and letting his own convictions guide him through a tough life.

He was born in London, where his Egyptian father, who belonged to a prominent aristocratic family, was studying law and fell in love with a poor English girl to whom he got married.

In 1923, the couple had Sherif and the family moved to Egypt.

According to his autobiography Open Windows, which was published in two large volumes, Hatata only spoke English until he entered the faculty of medicine in Egypt and learned Arabic.

In 1946, Hatata participated in an uprising against the British occupation and the Egyptian monarchy, joining the leader of the movement, the National Committee of Workers and Students.

In 1947, Egypt's communist organisation Iskra merged with the Egyptian Movement for National Liberation to form the Democratic Movement for National Liberation, which was one of the most influential Leftist organisations, until it disbanded itself in 1964 in Wahat Prison.

Despite possessing an excellent transcript and a degree in medicine, Hatata decided to leave everything behind and become involved in this underground work.

It seems that the renowned novelist Ihsan Abdel-Quddous based his novel "A Man in our House" on Hatata's real life at the time.

Like the novels protagonist, Hatata was detained and held at Qasr Al-Ainy Hospital as a prisoner receiving treatment, where he hatched a plan for his escape.

He was smuggled in the bottom of a cargo ship anchored in Alexandria Port, pretending to work as a porter to make his getaway to France. After several months spent searching for someone that could assist him in contacting the French Communist Party, the French authorities arrested Hatata and sent him back to Egypt.

Hatata's time in prison exceeded 15 years. When he left Wahat Prison in 1964, he met the writer Nawal Al-Saadawi and they married immediately.

He then spent more than 15 years working for the World Health Organisation. The activist's marriage to Nawal broke up after long years.

Hatata later married critic Amal Al-Gamal and remained with her until his death in spite of the huge age gap between them which bordered on half a century.

Hatata never ceased contributing to the public sphere, playing a prominent role in Egypt's leftist and anti-globalisation organisations.

Before his death, he served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Popular Alliance Party.

He authored more than 20 books including an autobiography and books on political thought, as well as novels.

Hatata is widely recognised in Egypt as an influence across all these fields. At age 94, he continued through his last days working and writing articles on public affairs.

Farewell Sherif and may your soul rest in peace after a life distinguished by giving and expecting nothing in return.

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CIA suffered MASSIVE loss of China intelligence assets during Obama administration, including deaths of operatives

If you needed additional proof that President Obama and his foreign policy team, especially Hillary Clinton, were both tone-deaf to national security threats and completely ineffective in dealing with them, this should do it.

As reported by The New York Times on Sunday, the U.S. intelligence community, the CIA in particular, suffered major losses of human intelligence assets at the hands of the Chinese government early in the Obama administration, after the agency had spent years building a spy network in the rising Asian power.

In addition to the discovery by Chinese intelligence of the existence of the extensive American spy network, at least 18 operatives working inside the communist government were identified and killed.

The Times noted:

The Chinese government systematically dismantled CIA spying operations in the country starting in 2010, killing or imprisoning more than a dozen sources over two years and crippling intelligence gathering there for years afterward.

Current and former American officials described the intelligence breach as one of the worst in decades. It set off a scramble in Washingtons intelligence and law enforcement agencies to contain the fallout, but investigators were bitterly divided over the cause.

Some in the intelligence community, the paper reported, were convinced that a mole existed within the United States top foreign intelligence agency and had betrayed America, while others theorize the Chinese managed to hack the secretive communication system the agency utilized to contact its foreign sources. (Related: Read China disrupted CIA operations during Obama administration, killing informants and crippling intel for years.)

Even now, years after the fact, still no one is sure what happened; only that the CIA lost its ability to reliably track what Beijing was up to.

That said, there is near-universal agreement that the damage caused was substantial. Between late 2010 and the end of 2012, at least 12 CIA sources were identified by the Chinese and killed, American officials told the paper  three of whom said one source was actually executed in front of colleagues in the courtyard of a government building as a warning to others who may have also been working for the CIA.

Others were luckier in that they were only jailed for their suspected collusion. But in the end, sources said, 18 of 20 sources the CIA had managed to cultivate over the years were either killed or sent to prison.

How serious was the breach? It was on the scale of damage done by American spies Aldrich Ames of the CIA and Robert Hanssen of the FBI, who disclosed highly classified information to the Soviet Union, then to Russia, for many years.

The Times disclosure comes as Democrats working to unseat President Donald J. Trump by claiming somehow that hes a risk are still attempting to defend Hillary Clinton as being the better choice for commander in chief. And yet, such ringing endorsements ignore the fact that, as secretary of state, she had blatantly disregarded national security protocols and procedures in setting up a private, unsecured server over which untold amounts of classified information traveled.

Then-FBI Director James Comey said in July 2016 there was no evidence that Clintons server was hacked, but he also added, we would be unlikely to find such direct evidence because nation states (including the U.S.) are very capable of masking all hacking activities.

Whats more, we have to remember that Obama was complicit in Clintons private server use, having emailed her on occasions using an alias to hide his identity.

Worse: Years after the loss of CIA assets in China, Beijing managed to penetrate the Office of Personnel Management, in which tens of millions of files on current and former U.S. government workers were stolen, giving China a whos who of American intel agency employees.

Between the two of them, Obamas inattentiveness to the problem of nation-state hacking and Clintons overt dismissal of the rules governing the handling of classified information, its no wonder the CIA lost one of its most valuable spying operations and, in the process, put ALL Americans at greater risk.

Learn more at CyberAttack.news.

J.D. Heyes is a senior writer for NaturalNews.com and NewsTarget.com, as well as editor of The National Sentinel.

Sources include:

NYTimes.com

Cyberwar.news

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File Photo\David harple / File Photo\David Harple

BETHEL  The community will walk to raise money and awareness for cancer research and at a Relay for Life event Saturday.

The Relay for Life of Greater Danbury, formerly the Relay for Life of Bethel, runs from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday at Bethel High School, according to a press release.
REDDING  Two years to the day after the body of a Redding attorney was found in his overturned car with a single gunshot wound to the head, his family has filed a federal lawsuit claiming town police mishandled the investigation.

The suit claims that police failed to properly investigate the death of Gugsa Abraham Abe Dabela, 35, which his family believes was a homicide, not a suicide as the medical examiners office ruled. It also claims Dabelas civil rights were violated in several ways.

The suit, filed by Dabelas father and his estate, names the town, Chief of Police Doug Fuchs, seven officers and Killer John Doe as the defendants.

The Dabela familys search for justice on behalf of their son and brother Abe Dabela continues, said Solomon Radner, the attorney representing the family in the case. The Redding Police Department prematurely announced his murder a suicide, and appears to have conspired to cover up his murder by ignoring evidence and possible leads. This is why we have filed suit in United States District Court.

Fuchs said he is not allowed to comment on pending litigation.

First Selectwoman Julia Pemberton could not be reached for comment.

The lawsuit claims the defendants conspired to cover up a murder and sought to keep the killers identity unknown, as well as violating Dabelas rights of due process and equal protection when he was applying for his gun permit three years ago.

The family have criticized police conduct on the case since Dabelas death, and hired their own investigators, attorneys and specialists to review the circumstances. The Connecticut NAACP launched an investigation into the case last summer at the request of the family, but no conclusions have been released.

The case is still under investigation by the states attorneys office in Danbury.

The family has said it didnt make sense that Dabela would kill himself. Relatives said he had moved to Redding in 2011 to open his own law practice and was excited about his life, his family, his friends and clients.

They said evidence suggests that someone else was responsible for his death, claiming there was no gunpowder residue on his hands and that the fatal bullet does not match Dabelas gun, which he was licensed to carry. The lawsuit alleges that many potential witnesses were never interviewed, leads werent followed and the crime scene wasnt properly controlled.

Police have said they are unable to comment on the accuracy of these claims because of an ongoing investigation.

The loss of my son remains unfathomable, but the continuing revelation of lies about his death and efforts to destroy his legacy have worsened the grief and swept us into an unimaginable, never-ending nightmare, Abraham Dabela, Dabelas father, said in a statement. We began this journey believing we would only have to find a killer but those who protect a killer must be brought to justice as well.

One of the biggest concerns raised about the investigation is the timing of a press release the police put out about the incident. The release says At this time it does not appear that there is anyone else involved in this incident and that the gunshot wound was self-inflicted, adding that the medical examiner would conduct an autopsy.

Relatives and the NAACP said the police statement was released just hours after officers responded to the 911 call around 1:40 a.m., while Fuchs has said his computer shows the document was created that afternoon.

The family says this is an example of a civil rights violation and one of a number of instances across the country where police have rushed to judgment, suggesting that the deaths of certain black men and women were caused by self-inflicted acts, according to a press release from a public relations firm that represents the family.

Last summer, the family offered a reward for up to $125,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a murderer or anyone who has obstructed the case. The family asks those with information to call 860-523-9962 or email info@justice4abe.com. The investigation can be tracked on Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag #Justice4Abe. A website, www.justice4abe.com, was also launched.

kkoerting@newstimes.com; 203-731-3345; @kkoerting
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy announced Tuesday that he signed a bill that will strengthen the states domestic violence laws.

The bill, which the state legislature unanimously passed last month, includes language to protect stalking victims who suffer emotional distress, as well as physical abuse. Under existing law, victims must prove they fear for their physical safety in order to be protected under anti-stalking statutes.

The legislation is the first to include protection for victims against stalking through electronic or social media. It also amends the strangulation statutes to include suffocation and increases the penalty for violation of the conditions of release.

Updating our criminal statutes to ensure that members of law enforcement have the tools they need to intervene in dangerous situations is simply a moral obligation, Malloy said in a statement. We know that significant numbers of domestic violence survivors report continued harassment by their abusers. These survivors need to know that the law is on their side, and that there are protections in place for them after they make the extremely difficult decision to leave a dangerous and abusive relationship. Connecticut has been and will continue to be a leader in protecting survivors of domestic violence.

The bill received support from various domestic violence organizations across the state, including the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence and the Womens Center of Greater Danbury.

Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman said she also backed the law.

Women are most commonly the victims of domestic violence, and its important that as we work towards gender equality, we consider how threats to health and safety actually occur, she said in a statement. I applaud the legislature on unanimous passage of this bill - it is important that as we modernize technology, we update our victim protection laws as well. I thank the Governor for his decades of support for domestic violence victims.
RIDGEFIELDA shooting near Hulda Lane Monday morning may have injured a 15-year-old girl, police said.

Around 3a.m. Monday, Ridgefield police responded to reports of gunshots near Hulda Lane, according to a release. Around the same time, police said they received a call from a homeowner on Hulda Lane who said someone had attempted to steal a car from the homes driveway.
TORONTO, June 6, 2017 /CNW/ - Alternate Health Corp (CSE:AHG) (OTC:AHGIF), a diverse healthcare company revolutionizing patient care and research through compliance and technology in the emerging medical cannabis industry, is delighted to announce the upcoming launch of a new clinical study on the effects of Cannabidiol (CBD) in the treatment of veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Veterans' activist, Wesley Clark Jr., who himself served in the US Military, will lead the study beginning in June 2017.

"Cannabis is the treatment for PTSD," says Wesley Clark Jr., leader of the initiative. "This study will finally demonstrate irrefutable evidence, forcing the FDA to make a change for the better."

Alternate Health will conduct the PTSD study at its newly acquired Neubauer Center in Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, Florida, with the help of veterans suffering the effects of PTSD. The study will research the results of CBD administered through Alternate Health's delivery systems technology, building on the company's research assets. The company expects the results to bolster support and awareness of CBD in the medical community, with possible scientific breakthroughs forming the potential basis of new technology and patents.

"It is unquestionable that veterans receive comfort and relief from cannabis and CBD," adds Wesley Clark Jr. "We want to demonstrate the effectiveness of cannabis and CBDs, while exploring Alternate Health's patented delivery systems of sublingual dissolvable tablets and time release transdermal patches as a method of treatment."

Wesley Clark Jr.'s father, General Wesley Clark joined Alternate Health's Board of Directors in April 2017. A retired U.S. Army General and NATO Commander, General Clark shares his son's advocacy for veterans' health, from acute injuries to psychological trauma.

"Throughout my son's career, he has always been a strong proponent of veterans' rights and the anecdotal evidence of the treatment of PTSD with cannabis," says General Wesley Clark Sr. "We both look forward to corroborating this evidence with hard science."

Alternate Health and the Neubaurer Center previously collaborated on the successful Zika Virus Symptom Study, researching the use of CBD in treating patients suffering from the chronic effects of post-viral infection.

"Through this study, Alternate Health has the opportunity for substantial contribution to those who suffer from PTSD. We are honored to provide support for our Veterans and are eager to apply and study what we have learned about CBDs in other fields of medicine toward treating PTSD," says Dr. Jamison Feramisco, CEO Alternate Health.

About Wesley Clark Jr.

Wes was born in Jacksonville, Florida while his dad was in Vietnam. He spent four years in the military himself, and now resides in Los Angeles, California where he works as a screenwriter, and occasionally guest hosts on The Young Turks progressive internet show.

About Alternate Health Corp.

Alternate Health Corp. is a technology-focused healthcare company, driving innovation in complementary medicine, clinical research and medical cannabis. Based on a portfolio of clinical laboratories, research studies and medical software, Alternate Health invests in research, testing and production for the medicinal and therapeutic use of Cannabidiol (CBD) and other cannabinoids. Leveraging the company's assets in exclusive patents and partnerships, Alternate Health positions itself to be the global authority on the science, manufacturing and administration of medical cannabis.

Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Statements included in this announcement, including statements concerning our plans, intentions and expectations, which are not historical in nature are intended to be, and are hereby identified as "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements may be identified by words including "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "expects" and similar expressions. The Company cautions readers that forward-looking statements, including without limitation those relating to the Company's future operations, business prospects and financing plans, are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward looking statements

SOURCE Alternate Health Corp.

For further information: Mike English, 972-378-3796, [email protected]

Related Links

http://www.alternatehealth.ca/


Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence announces Government of Canada plans to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Dieppe Raid and the contributions of Canadians in the Second World War.

OTTAWA, June 5, 2017 /CNW/ - Canada's history is best told through the stories of the men and women who lived it. By recognizing and honouring the extraordinary service and sacrifice witnessed 75 years ago, we will keep the memory of Canada's Second World War experience alive for generations to come.

The Honourable Kent Hehr, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, today announced Government of Canada plans to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Dieppe Raid and the Second World War in France and Canada in August 2017. Commemorative ceremonies will take place in Dieppe, France, as well as in Montreal, Calgary and Dieppe, New Brunswick. Plans for ceremonies in other cities and communities across Canada are also in progress.

An official Government of Canada delegation will attend ceremonies and events in France from August 17-20, 2017. The delegation, led by the Minister of Veterans Affairs, will include Veterans, regimental representatives, youth, and Indigenous representatives. A contingent of the Canadian Armed Forces made up of units and branches involved in the Raid will also participate in ceremonies and events in France and Canada.

Multiple events are being planned, including a signature commemorative ceremony in the Square du Canada (Canada Square) in Dieppe, France, on August 19.

Quotes

"In marking the 75th anniversary of the Dieppe Raid, we remember the sacrifices and bravery shown by Canadian men and women in uniform throughout the Second World War. We recognize their courage and loss as we pay tribute and honour those who served Canada, at home and abroad, when our country needed them. During this solemn anniversary, we also take time to help tell the stories of Canadians at Dieppe and ensure that their efforts and experiences are shared and never forgotten by future generations."

The Honourable Kent Hehr, Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence

Quick Facts

The Dieppe Raid began before dawn on August 19, 1942 . The operation was intended to test German defences, practise Allied assault techniques, force the enemy to divert military resources from the Eastern Front and acquire valuable intelligence. Supported by British and allied forces, almost 5,000 Canadian soldiers took part in the attack on the occupied French port of Dieppe . Sadly, it would prove to be the bloodiest single day of the entire Second World War for Canada and more than 3,350 of our men were killed, wounded or taken prisoner.

. The operation was intended to test German defences, practise Allied assault techniques, force the enemy to divert military resources from the Eastern Front and acquire valuable intelligence. Supported by British and allied forces, almost 5,000 Canadian soldiers took part in the attack on the occupied French port of . Sadly, it would prove to be the bloodiest single day of the entire Second World War for and more than 3,350 of our men were killed, wounded or taken prisoner. The brave sacrifices of all those who participated in Operation Jubilee, along with other subsequent landings, helped refine Allied amphibious techniques before the successful D-Day attacks on the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944 .

. As part of the events marking the 75 th anniversary of the Dieppe Raid, the King's Own Calgary Regiment will dedicate a new monument in Dieppe , France , on August 19, 2017 . The monument pays homage to regimental participants in the raid.

anniversary of the Dieppe Raid, the King's Own Calgary Regiment will dedicate a new monument in , , on . The monument pays homage to regimental participants in the raid. Those who fought in the Dieppe Raid were among the more than one million Canadian men and women who served in uniform during the Second World War.

Events commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Dieppe Raid coincide with Canada's 150th anniversary of Confederation celebrations in 2017a milestone for Canada to connect with our past, celebrate who we are, honour our exceptional achievements and build a legacy for tomorrow.

Associated Links

For more information on the 75 th anniversary of the Dieppe Raid, visit veterans.gc.ca/Dieppe75

anniversary of the Dieppe Raid, visit veterans.gc.ca/Dieppe75 Dieppe Raid Information Sheet

Share your thoughts at facebook.com/CanadaRemembers

SOURCE Veterans Affairs Canada

For further information: Media Relations, Veterans Affairs Canada, 613-992-7468, [email protected]; Sarah McMaster, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Veterans Affairs, 613-996-4649

Related Links

www.veterans.gc.ca


Created by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts for Montreal's 375th anniversary

MONTREAL, June 5, 2017 /CNW Telbec/ - The major international public art exhibition La Balade pour la Paix: An Open-Air Museum is part of the official programming for Montreal's 375th anniversary celebrations. Designed and organized by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA), with the support of McGill University, the exhibition runs from June 5 to October 29. The route features 67 stations (30 sculptures and 42 photographs) by Canadian and international artists. It is lined with the flags of the close to 200 member countries of the United Nations, along with those of Canada's 13 provinces and territories.

Poster La Balade pour la Paix : An Open-Air Museum @Society for the Celebrations of Montreals 375th Anniversary (CNW Group/Societe des celebrations du 375e anniversaire de Montreal)

Since the theme of Montreal's 375th anniversary is building bridges, the MMFA has taken the initiative to bring together two museums and two universities in this inspirational artistic and educational project in the heart of the city. La Balade pour la Paix links, for the very first time, two of Montreal's major institutional and international sectors  Concordia University and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts at one end, and McGill University and the McCord Museum at the other. The route also includes the MMFA's Pavilion for Peace, inaugurated in November 2016  the Quebec government's first legacy project for Montreal's 375th anniversary.

This exhibition also commemorates two other important events: the 50th anniversary of Expo 67 and the 150th anniversary of Canadian Confederation. The Balade is a reminder of how Expo 67, attended by 50 million visitors, was a window on the world  a watershed moment for Quebec and Canada.

The Honourable Louise Arbour, ambassador for La Balade pour la Paix and the former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, notes: "I accepted Nathalie Bondil's invitation to be the ambassador for La Balade pour la Paix without hesitation. This exhibition expresses fundamental values of humanism and peace that are so important to me. Expo 67 helped to open Montreal and all of Quebec to the world. Now, 50 years later, people from across the globe live here, sharing their culture and hope for peace. This exhibition is a wonderful gift to all Montrealers of all origins as we celebrate the city's 375th anniversary."

The Museum is proud to participate in celebrating Montreal's 375th anniversary. The Museum was founded in 1860, seven years before Canadian Confederation. It has played a leading role in Montreal's cultural, social and community life for the past 157 years. We are continuing to innovate and develop outstanding exhibitions and projects that raise our international profile and celebrate Montreal's cultural vibrancy," said Jacques Parisien, chairman of the Museum's Board.

In the words of Nathalie Bondil, Director General and Chief Curator of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, "La Balade pour la Paix is an open, generous and unifying project that invites everyone to enjoy the wonders of art in the heart of the city. This tribute is designed to strengthen ties within our global village and renew Montreal's message of peace during Expo 67, captured by the theme Man and His World.

Featuring the flags of close to 200 countries, in reference to the UN Headquarters in New York City, the installation is a reminder that Montreal remains an island of peace for so many immigrants in the 21st century who have fled political, economic and climate-related tragedies. Many people don't know that Montreal is one of North America's most important consular cities, as well as a leading university town. These are just some of the strengths that we want to underline through this unique partnership between four major institutions  two museums and two universities  as we celebrate Montreal, a centre for culture and learning.

This initiative follows the recent inauguration of the Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion for Peace, the Museum's fifth pavilion and the Quebec government's first official legacy project to mark Montreal's 375th anniversary.

We would like to thank all of the artists and institutions who have loaned works and contributed to this ambitious public art exhibition, which was particularly complex to mount on a site as busy as Sherbrooke Street!"

France Chretien Desmarais, President of The Society for the Celebration of Montreal's 375th Anniversary, stated: "As a Montrealer and President of the Society for the Celebration of Montreal's 375th Anniversary, I am proud to see La Balade pour la Paix come to fruition. Those who attended Expo 67 remember the vital role of art on the Man and His World site. The Balade is similarly an international exhibition that invites visitors to admire the works of Canadian and international artists, along with the flags of close to 200 countries  a stunning display of peaceful coexistence. This major event for Montreal is a reminder that art and beauty can unite the peoples of the world."

Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre concurred: "I applaud the work of The Society for the Celebration of Montreal's 375th Anniversary and all of the partners who helped to create La Balade pour la Paix. This unique exhibition reflects one of Montreal's greatest assets: a vibrant cultural scene that is accessible to all and reflects a variety of perspectives, with a focus on peace."

"Montreal is a beacon of freedom and peace, recognized for its diversity and its openness to the world. Featuring artists from all over the world, this exhibition is a reflection of the creative, cosmopolitan city we are proud to celebrate this year," said Martin Coiteux, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Land Occupancy, Minister of Public Security and Minister responsible for the Montreal region.

"In this momentous year of Canada 150 celebrations, unique and promising projects such as La Balade pour la Paix will have a major impact," said the Honourable Melanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage. "This remarkable initiative conveys the values of diversity, inclusion and openness, which are fundamental to who we are. This exhibition is not only an incredible showcase for our artists, but will also make art even more accessible to people from all backgrounds."

Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) Chief, Christine Zachary-Deom stated, " Art is a tremendous vehicule to promote Respect, Education, Healing and Reconciliation. The MCK is firmly behind the ideas of understanding and education for our various cultures. This we hope, will lead to Better knowledge and respect for our Peoples, and the MCK applauds this objective. Now is the time for Montrealers to Know and understand us"

An exhibition inspired by peace and sharing

A true open-air museum, La Balade pour la Paix was designed to complement the urban landscape and architecture along Sherbrooke Street. The route is marked by two monumental artworks: at the western end, opposite the MMFA, is Residential School Totem Pole by Canadian artist Charles Joseph from the Kwakiutl Nation; at the eastern end, on the McGill University campus, is Dancing Nana (Rouge d'Orient, Bloum) by the French artist Niki de Saint Phalle.

This public art exhibition features sculptures and photographs from the 1960s to the present, all of which convey a message of peace and hope, in keeping with the universal values of humanism, tolerance and openness that inspired Expo 67.

A manifesto for public art

A total of 30 monumental sculptures by contemporary artists from 11 countries and Canada's five regions have been chosen to reflect Montreal's universal artistic ethos. These works have been generously loaned by museums, private collectors, art galleries and artists who are delighted to participate in this major celebration. Their collaboration has been invaluable, given the complexity of ensuring the safety of both the works and passersby on a busy street like Sherbrooke.

In addition to works by Canadian artists Luben Boykov (Newfoundland), Robert Murray (British Columbia), Sorel Etrog (Ontario), Ivan Eyre (Saskatchewan), Joe Fafard (Saskatchewan), Rose-Marie Goulet and Catherine Sylvain (Quebec), Charles Joseph (Kwakiutl Nation) and Robert Davidson (Haida Nation), there are pieces by sculptors from Belgium (Wim Delvoye), China (Zhang Huan, Wang Shugang), the United States (Jonathan Borofsky, Alexander Calder, Jim Dine, Keith Haring, Robert Indiana, Dennis Openheim, Richard Prince), France (Cesar Baldaccini, aka Cesar, and Niki de Saint Phalle), Great Britain (Barry Flanagan), Italy (Giuseppe Penone, Michelangelo Pistoletto), Japan (Yayoi Kusama), Mexico (Betsabee Romero), Poland (Magdalena Abakanowicz), Switzerland (Ugo Rondinone) and Taiwan (Ju Ming).

The monumental abstract sculpture Man (Three Disks), by American artist Alexander Calder, originally gifted to Montreal for Expo 67, has been restored for the occasion and installed in front of the MMFA.

Photographs of a changing world

Along the route, 42 sets of photographs are displayed on the front and back of 21 stands. Visitors can stroll along Sherbrooke Street among works by contemporary Montreal photographers who have travelled the world to capture images inspired by openness, peace and diversity. This public "album" illustrates the importance of living together in harmony and promotes peace, inclusiveness, diversity and differencefundamental elements in an innovative conception of otherness. A variety of approaches are shown, including documentary photography and the photographic essay, in which art and life are closely intertwined. The photographers capture their subjects in a generous and humane way. Some turn their lens on the environment and Earth's riches, while others invite us to marvel at the places that inspired them. The images speak to the sculptures in the exhibition, creating a dynamic narrative.

The photographers hail from Quebec, Canada and around the world: Benoit Aquin, Raymonde April, Olga Chagaoutdinova, Darren Ell, Angela Grauerholz, Isabelle Hayeur, Michel Huneault, Jean-Francois Lemire, Aydin Matlabi, Valerian Mazataud, Jon Rafman, Kim Waldron and Robert Walker.

Flags of 200 countries, and Canada's provinces and territories

As a nod to Expo 67, the exhibition route will be lined with the flags of UN member countries and Canada's 13 provinces and territories. The Canadian flag will mark the beginning of the route, opposite the MMFA. Flags from other countries will be displayed in alphabetical order, alternating between the north and south side of Sherbrooke Street. The flags of Canada's provinces and territories will be positioned according to their date of entry into Confederation. Finally, the flag of the City of Montreal will mark the end of the route, opposite the McCord Museum.

Acknowledgements and curators

The curators for La Balade pour la Paix are Nathalie Bondil, Director General and Chief Curator of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Diane Charbonneau, the Museum's Curator of Modern and Contemporary Decorative Arts and Photography, and Sylvie Lacerte, a public art consultant and art historian.

The route was designed by Claude Cormier + Associes, an international landscape architecture firm based in Montreal. The urban furniture is by Quebec industrial designer Michel Dallaire.

The organizers wish to thank the project's many artists, lenders, collaborators and institutional and private partners, as well as the Ville de Montreal and the residents of Sherbrooke Street, who have agreed to accommodate these sculptures, photographs and flags.

The 375MTL mobile app

Visitors can download the 375MTL app at www.375mtl.com/app to access educational content as they explore La Balade pour la Paix, including a word of introduction by the Honourable Louise Arbour, ambassador of the exhibition; audio commentary by Nathalie Bondil and exhibition curators Sylvie Lacerte and Diane Charbonneau; and longer text descriptions of the works on display.

Guided tours

From the opening date of La Balade pour la Paix, MMFA volunteers will be offering guided tours of the portion of the exhibition between the MMFA and Peel Street. In addition, McGill University will be offering tours of works displayed on its campus.

MMFA Guided tours schedule  June 5 to October 29

Thursdays, at 2 p.m. (English) and 2:30 p.m. (French)

(English) and (French) Sundays, at 2 p.m. (English) and 2:30 p.m. (French)

About the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

The MMFA welcomes a million visitors annually. Quebec's most visited museum, it is one of the most popular museums in Canada, and ranks twelfth among art museums in North America. With their original designs, its temporary exhibitions combine the artistic disciplines (fine arts, music, film, fashion and design) and are exported around the world. Its rich encyclopedic collection, distributed among five pavilions, includes international art, world cultures, decorative arts and design, and Quebec and Canadian art. The MMFA complex also includes a concert hall that seats 460, Bourgie Hall. In addition, the MMFA is one of Canada's leading publishers of books on art in French and English, which are distributed internationally. Finally, the Museum houses the Michel de la Cheneliere International Atelier for Education and Art Therapy, the largest educational complex in a North American museum of art, enabling the MMFA to offer innovative education, well-being and art therapy projects.

About the Society for the Celebration of Montreal's 375th Anniversary

The Society for the Celebration of Montreal's 375th Anniversary is a non-profit organization whose mission is to organize the celebrations and socioeconomic contributions that will mark Montreal's 375th anniversary in 2017. With a focus on promoting Montreal expertise, it acts as a catalyst for local forces in carrying out its mandate: to mobilize the community, implement a funding strategy, rigorously manage public funds, develop quality programming and ensure the visibility of the celebrations.

The Society benefits from the support of the Ville de Montreal, the Quebec government, the Canadian government and private funding from 12 Great Montrealers. For more information, see http://www.375mtl.com.

You can find all our press releases and additional pictures and videos in our virtual press room.

Get all the latest news in real time on our Twitter feed: @MTL375th.

Follow us on Facebook.

To learn more about the contribution of the Quebec government to Montreal's 375th anniversary celebrations, click here.

Press kit and images: mbam.qc.ca/media

SOURCE Societe des celebrations du 375e anniversaire de Montreal

For further information: Source and information: Patricia Lachance, Press Officer | MMFA, T. 514-285-1600, ext. 315, C. 514 235-2044, [email protected] ; Patricia Lachance, Press Officer | MMFA, T. 514-285-1600, ext. 315, C. 514 235-2044, [email protected] ; Isabelle Pelletier, Chief, Press relations, 514-238-4178, [email protected]

Related Links

www.375mtl.com


ST. LAURENT, QC, June 06, 2017 /CNW Telbec/ - McKesson Canada's RelayHealth was named this year's PwC Canada's Vision to Reality Innovator of the Year Award winner in the ''Visionary'' category (large organizations). Winners were announced on June 1, 2017, during an awards ceremony in Toronto.

RelayHealth is a web-based service that provides complete and secure information flow between patients and all of their health care providers, empowering patients with 24/7 access to their medical records.

"This award is the result of a strong collaboration between key stakeholders in the Canadian healthcare system who seek to further empower patients,'' said George Attar, Senior Vice President, Strategic Technology Solutions & Interim Chief Information Officer, McKesson Canada. ''By leveraging innovation and technology we are putting patients at the center of their care and enabling better health from coast to coast.''

Vision to Reality (V2R) Innovator of the Year Award is PwC Canada's annual program aimed at recognizing and celebrating the most innovative organizations in the nation. The applications were reviewed by an independent panel of judges .

About RelayHealth

Launched in 2011, RelayHealth is McKesson Canada's web-based service that provides complete and secure information flow between patients and all of their health care providers. Focused on the patient point of care, RelayHealth accelerates information exchange, facilitates collaboration between health care providers, advances patient quality of care, and reduces overall health care costs. Visit www.relayhealth.ca for more information.

About the V2R Innovator of the Year Award

Vision to Reality (V2R) Innovator of the Year Award is PwC Canada's annual program aimed at recognizing and celebrating the most innovative organizations in the nation. Visit www.pwc.com/ca/v2r for more information.

About McKesson Canada

Founded more than 100 years ago, McKesson Canada is dedicated to delivering vital medicines, supplies and information technologies that enable the health care industry to provide patients better, safer care. Our solutions empower pharmacies, manufacturers, hospitals and other health care institutions by enabling them to get closer to the millions of patients they serve every single day, while contributing to the quality and safety of care in Canada. Visit www.mckesson.ca for more information.

SOURCE MCKESSON CANADA

For further information: Media Contact: Darius Kuras, [email protected], 416 427 6510

Related Links

http://www.mckesson.ca/


TORONTO, June 5, 2017 /CNW/ - On June 4, 2017, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and Inter-cultural Dialogue Institute (IDI) hosted an inaugural RCMP/IDI Intercultural Ramadan Friendship Dinner at the Canadian Forces College in Toronto. This occasion demonstrated a gesture of mutual respect and partnership between community and law enforcement.

In attendance were the Chiefs of Police and dignitaries from Government offices. This occasion also included Canada's 150 year celebration.

The IDI has been working closely with the RCMP and policing partners in the Greater Toronto Area to promote social cohesion, personal interaction, respect and mutual understanding among people through dialogue and partnership. The RCMP Integrated National Security Enforcement Team  Public Engagement Unit has been very active in developing trusting relationships in the community to improve engagement and implement community programs.

"What an incredible opportunity for us to interact with so many from the diverse communities we support," said Superintendent Lise Crouch, Assistant Criminal Operations Officer for National Security. "It is events such as this one that continues to remove barriers for our police officers. The police are members of so many communities and contribute both on and off duty. This friendship dinner highlights the strength in collaboration and respect."

SOURCE Royal Canadian Mounted Police

For further information: Cpl. Param Dhillon, A/NCO i/c Public Engagement Unit (PEU), Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET) - GTA and SW Ontario, (416)790-2576

Related Links

http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/


NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, ON, June 5, 2017 /CNW/ - Today, the Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, and the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna, welcomed United Nations Environment Programme officials to Canada for World Environment Day.

Prime Minister Trudeau and Minister McKenna affirmed Canada's commitment to taking action on climate change and promoting clean economic growth.

The theme for World Environment Day 2017 is "Connecting People to Nature."

Attendees included

The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada

The Honourable Catherine McKenna , Minister of Environment and Climate Change

, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Erik Solheim , Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme

Associated link

Government of Canada's World Environment Day website

Environment and Climate Change Canada's Twitter page

Environment and Natural Resources in Canada's Facebook page

SOURCE Environment and Climate Change Canada

For further information: Marie-Pascale Des Rosiers, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, 613-462-5473; Media Relations, Environment and Climate Change Canada, 819-938-3338 or 1-844-836-7799 (toll free)

Related Links

http://www.ec.gc.ca


We're searching for the best burger in Upstate New York and we need your help! Last week, we asked you to nominate your favorite places.

We counted up the comments that you posted on newyorkupstate.com, on our Facebook page and on Twitter. We put the spots that received the most nominations into polls divided into three regions: western, central and eastern.

Check out who made the next round and cast your votes! The polls will be open until 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, June 20. You can select up to two places per poll, but can only vote one time.

Our judges will then visit the top six stands to taste test the best burgers they have to offer. At the end of the month, we'll crown two winners -- the judges' favorite and readers' choice. Here are the semifinalists.

Note: The results below reflect votes coming from only within the United States.
The Federal Government on Monday pleaded with the government of Indonesia to commute the death penalty passed on Nigerians in the countrys prison, to life imprisonment.Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama, made the plea in a joint communique issued at the end of bilateral meeting between the minister and Mrs Retno Marsudi his counterpart from Indonesia.He said, on consular issues, Nigeria recognises the drugs emergency situation in Indonesia and pleaded for commuting death penalty to life imprisonment.This is not the first time that the government is pleading on behalf of Nigerians on death row in Indonesia.Available report shows that FG had pleaded so many times for Nigerian on Death row in Indonesia. in May 2012 March 2015 and more recently in July 2016 Nigeria sought for clemency for its citizens in Indonesia.However all pleas fell on deaf ears as Indonesia always goes on to execute the Nigerians citing its strict policy on drugs.There are about 50 Nigerians serving various jail terms for different offences in Indonesia with about 11 of them on death rowHuman Rights organisation, Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEDAP) had called on the federal government to boost its efforts in fighting for Nigerians on death row in foreign countries.The organisation stated that no fewer than 300 Nigerians were currently on death row in prisons across Asian countries since 2016.Statistics at the disposal of LEPAD revealed that 120 Nigerians faced the prospects of death in Chinese prisons, and over 170 in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, and five in Qatar, United Arab Emirate and Saudi Arabia.The organisation estimated that about 16,500 Nigerians were being held abroad, while most of those on death row were convicted of drug-related crimes.Onyeama said the two countries agreed to deepen contacts between their respective national Chambers of Commerce and private sector operators with a view to further enhance bilateral trade and investments.He added that they also agreed on the importance of enhancing the existing cooperation between the two countries.He said the two countries agreed to simplify bilateral trade through the establishment of a Bonded Logistic Centre in one of Nigerias ports that could be used for Indonesian products.Marsudi had earlier announced her governments growing interest in promoting mutually beneficial economic relations with Nigeria.The visiting minister expressed concern that there had been decline in bilateral trade between both countries in the last five years.She said that her government was prepared to enhance its economic relations with African countries, especially with Nigeria, in the years ahead.She said that Nigeria and Indonesia have the resources and energies to enhance their areas of cooperation.
Happy New Month Nigeria! Welcome to the month of June. As the world searches for a respite from all its troubles since 2020 began, one can ...
Kemi after she was released About 11 weeks after her detention, Kemi Omololu-Olunloyo was released on Monday from Port Harcourt priso...

Kemi after she was released

About 11 weeks after her detention, Kemi Omololu-Olunloyo was released on Monday from Port Harcourt prison where she was remanded in a defamation case.

A prison official also confirmed that she walked out of their facility, but declined to give further details or speak on the record.

Kayode Ajulo, a lawyer and human rights activist, said Ms. Omololu-Olunloyo, a social media enthusiast and daughter of a former governor of old Oyo State, Omololu Olunloyo, was released Monday afternoon.

Weve finally secured her release, Mr. Ajulo said.

Mr. Ajulos law office is amongst about half a dozen firms that are providing legal support for Ms. Omololu-Olunloyo, who had spent 81 days since she was first arrested in March.





Her release came three days after her allegations against the Chief Registrar of Port Harcourt Division of the Federal High Court where she has been undergoing trial.

Ms. Omololu-Olunloyo said the registrar was frustrating her release from custody, having been granted her bail since April 11.





The court official identified as Maimunat Folami, a Deputy Chief Registrar by rank strongly denied the allegations, saying shed worked closely with Ms. Omololu-Olunloyos lawyers to clarify all aspects of her bail documents.





A team of police officers first arrested Ms. Omololu-Olunloyo in Ibadan on March 13 on allegations of criminal defamation of character of a preacher, David Ibiyeomie.





She was whisked to Port Harcourt where she was arraigned before a Chief Magistrates Court. The case was later transferred to the Federal High Court.

Mr. Ajulo dismissed the allegations as unfounded, scolding the police for taking up the case.

Theres no criminal defamation, the police have no reason to be involved in a matter that is purely civil, Mr. Ajulo said. This is clearly an attack on free speech and I am afraid it would soon get out of hand if every civil case is labelled as criminal defamation.

The Committee to Protect Journalists was amongst civic groups that condemned the charges and called on the Nigerian government to withdraw the draconian measures against Ms. Omololu-Olunloyo.





Meanwhile journalist and blogger, Kemi Olunloyo, this morning took to her twitter account to lament on the poor state of Nigerian prisons. She stated that the prison system in the country needs urgent reform.

Olunloyo, who is the daughter of a former governor of Oyo State, Dr Omololu Olunloyo, also called on the Senator representing Oyo Central at National Assembly, Monsurat Sunmonu, to draft and present a bill on Prison Reforms to the Senate.

She wrote: Need to testify at Nigerian Senate on Press Freedom, Prison reforms in Nigeria. Senator Monsurat Sunmonu, please lets draft a bill. Democracy not Dictatorship.

It could be recalled that Olunloyo was arrested in Lagos in March and arraigned at the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, for alleged cybercrime.

She was said to have published a story believed to be capable of defaming a cleric, Pastor David Ibiyeomie.
Dr Idongesit Udom, a retired staff of ExxonMobil and the Proprietor of Sure Foundation Polytechnic, was kidnapped alongside two expatriat...

Dr Idongesit Udom, a retired staff of ExxonMobil and the Proprietor of Sure Foundation Polytechnic, was kidnapped alongside two expatriates of the oil company from a hotel room in Eket on April 9th.

To God be the glory! I am alive through the extended mercy, pardon and love of our Lord Jesus Christ. He has forgiven my sins and has answered the prayers of all the Christians, Moslems in Nigeria, Cameroon, United Kingdom, United States, the World Over who prayed for 32 days of my captivity. . May the good Lord bless you all abundantly in Jesus name, Amen.



May the good Lord bless the Governor of Akwa Ibom State and members of his executive Council, the presidency, the good people of Ukanafun LGA, My family and all the security agencies that had done everything possible to ensure my safe release.



Though I was released with my right hand cut off, I am eternally grateful to my God for the new life. My life was over. Thanks to the government of Akwa Ibom State, all the pastors, ExxonMobil friends, all other FRIENDS and relatives who have provided for my hospital requirements. Elder Dr Idongesit Demas Udom..





He was released on May 10th after paying N5 million ransom. Giving an update on his Facebook page, Elder Udom shared the photo of his chopped hand and wrote;
Justice Ibrahim Bako of the Katsina State High Court on Tuesday fixed Nov. 14 to hear a suit against former Gov. Ibrahim Shema for allegedly misappropriating N10 billion state funds.The government and EFCC had sued Shema for the alleged offence while he, in turn, had approached the Court of Appeal, Kaduna, challenging the jurisdiction of the High Court to try him.Tuesdays sitting was for the parties to report to the court on the progress at the Appeal Court.Bako, in his ruling, said that the court, having listened to both counsels, had no other option than to adjourn the sitting.I hereby adjourn the sitting to Nov. 14, 2017, for the parties to report to the court on the verdict of the upper court.The EFCC lead counsel, Ahmed El-marzuk, who is also the states Attorney-General, had earlier told the court that the Appeal Court would hear Shemas motion on Nov 9.El-marzuk also informed the court that EFCC had written a letter to the Appeal Court requesting that hearing of the motion be moved forward.The lead Defence Counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde, SAN, did not object to the EFCC counsels request.Kehinde, however, pleaded with the court to either adjourn to Feb. 9, 2018 or sine die (indefinitely).Late Justice Nikky Tobi once observed that the wheel of justice may be slow, it will definitely get to its destination and nobody has any right to push it, he said.Shema was arraigned together with his Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hamisu Makana, Permanent Secretary, Ministry for Local Government, Lawal Safana and former ALGON Chairman, Lawal Dankaba.
Former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode has lashed out at Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, for not attending the 51st ECOWAS Summit of He...

Former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode has lashed out at Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, for not attending the 51st ECOWAS Summit of Heads of State and Government, which took place on Saturday.





The summit was held in Liberias capital, Monrovia, with Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in attendance.

Netanyahu is the first non-African leader invited to address the ECOWAS leaders.

There has been no official statement from Nigerias presidency, as to why the country was not represented at the meeting.

It is wrong that @ProfOsinbajo did not attend the ECOWAS Heads of State meeting with @netanyahu today. Nigeria not there. Sad and shameful, Fani-Kayode tweeted.

Former president Olusegun Obasanjo was, however, in attendance. It was not certain if he was there to represent Nigeria.
Acting President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday called for the prosecution of banks and their officials who aid corruption by hiding looted fun...

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday called for the prosecution of banks and their officials who aid corruption by hiding looted funds.He faulted those who accuse the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of engaging in media trial, saying it was corruption fighting back.The Acting President spoke in Abuja at the opening of a three-day conference on Promoting International Cooperation in Combating Illicit Financial Flows and Enhancing Asset Recovery to Foster Sustainable Development.It was organised by the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC).Other speakers were Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami (SAN), Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama, PACAC Chairman Prof Itse Sagay (SAN), a member of the High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa, Mr Akere Muna, who was the keynote speaker, former EFCC chairman Nuhu Ribadu, PACAC Executive Secretary Prof Bolaji Owasanoye and activist-lawyer Femi Falana (SAN), among others.Referring to a report by the High Level Panel that was headed by former South Africa President Thabo Mbeki and commissioned by the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Osinbajo said most of the illicit funds from Africa were from Nigeria.Anti-graft agencies, he said, should do more to curb the trend.That shows us very clearly, especially the security agencies, that we simply have to do more. It is evident that so much money is leaving our shores, he said.,Osinbajo said financial institutions that aid corruption should face the consequences.He said: There is no way the transfer of these assets can happen without a handshake between the countries that they are transferred from and the international banking institutions in the countries in which they are transferred. There is no way it will happen without some form of connivance. ,We have to look at somehow delegitimising those kinds of financial institutions and criminalising them.Banks and financial institutions that actually engage in this must be called out and made to face the consequences of engaging in criminal practices. If that is not done, we are not likely to go very far.In the agreement and conventions we will be signing, we must ensure that financial institutions are not given a free run and to hold them accountable., The Acting President said corruption fights back when stolen monies find safe havens and are accessed by the corrupt.In Nigeria, for instance, corruption fights back so eloquently that government itself, if not careful, can be overwhelmed, he said. ,Osinbajo said some of those guilty of corruption fight back through media attacks on government.If you look at the anticorruption fight in Nigeria, there is a major fight back in the media. There is a media war, between people fighting corruption and those behind the stolen funds. ,It is called media trial  I dont know what that means. If you discover, for instance, large sums of money in an air conditioned room, there is no where it will not make news in the world. ,So, this whole idea of trying to legitimise corruption is definitely being fuelled and sponsored by those who have these resources, who have stolen funds.Unless we see it as a problem that can bring down our system then we will never be able to fight. I hope we will be able to advance this with other African countries, he said.,The Acting President said some development partners were reluctant to provide funding for Nigeria because they believed the country was not poor.Clearly it is sometimes absurd that when we are asking for aid, so much money is being stolen. So we ourselves must take responsibility and ensure we keep talking about this, he said.Osinbajo said developing countries must realise that it is their responsibility to ensure that not only are stolen funds traced and returned, but calls for return of stolen assets must be strident.Some countries are somehow reluctant about it. Many have civil processes that make it difficult. They said: Our courts are handling this matter and there is very little we can do about it. ,We must make it a national call, a call for other developing countries to have the same outrage for drugs, terrorism financing as for illicit financial flows.We must emphasise at every point and call out institutions that are not cooperating and ensuring that they recognise that this for us is a serious issue, he said.According to Muna, Africa loses between $50billion and $80billion through illicit financial flows; the continent remains a net creditor despite the inflow of development assistance.He said secrecy in financial transactions, which he noted had been hijacked by greed and self-interest, must end.It is imperative that we make it a priority to double efforts to end the use of financial secrecy for corruption, drug smuggling, money laundering, terrorism, people trafficking and other illicit financial practices, he said.Muna reiterated a recommendation by the Mbeki Panel  that escrow accounts should be created within development banks to keep recovered stolen assets, pending when they are returned to the owners.Frozen money should not stay with the complicit bank, but in an escrow account with a third party pending the courts or competent authorities determination as to the rightful owners of the funds, he said.Sagay said most of the financial assets pillaged from state coffers deprive Nigeria of the capacity to realise the sustainable development goals of no poverty, zero hunger, good health and wellbeing, quality education, clean water and sanitation and affordable clean energy.None of these goals is affordable in a developing economy whose wealth is hemorrhaging and flowing to already developed societies, he said.Noting that an annual flow of proceeds of crime is an estimated $1.6trillion, half of which he said come from developing economies, Sagay said Africa must improve its capacity to stem illicit financial flows if it must realise its development goals.To Onyeama, the fight against corruption and illicit financial flows is a shared responsibility that must be tackled by the global community.We urge the international community to strive to eliminate safe havens that create incentives for foreign transfer of stolen assets and illicit financial flows.We urge destination countries to remove bottlenecks and conditionalities hindering the recovery of illicitly acquired funds and assets, he said.Onyeama said there was the need for the global community to urgently redouble efforts to substantially tackle illicit financial flows through strengthened national regulation and increased international cooperation.We urge that concerted efforts be directed at the enhancement of disclosure practices and transparency in both source and destination countries, including by seeking to ensure transparency in all financial transactions between countries and companies to relevant tax authorities, Onyeama said.Malami said Nigeria must join the international community in stemming illicit financial flows, improving asset return and ensuring sanctions for perpetrators of acts of corruption.According to him, the passage of the Mutual Legal Assistance Bill by the Senate shows a political will to fight corruption and trace, freeze and recover stolen assets.Malami called for international support through aggressive action of repatriation of illicit wealth, adding that government has the political will to tackle graft.The initiation of the ongoing review of the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Agency Establishment bill will aid in tackling illicit flows.The commitment to prosecute corrupt public officials and recovered looted public funds is reflected at all levels and sectors where corrupt practices occur, the AGF added.Prof Owasanoye said PACAC was pushing for the prosecution of middlemen such as accountants, lawyers and customs officials who aid looting.When you pick up the politically exposed person, you must also pick up the middleman  the accountant, the lawyer, the customs official who looks the other way. Let them suffer the consequences together. That is what we are pushing for at PACAC, he said.Ribadu, who chaired a session, said corruption cannot take place without the active connivance of banks and other financial institutions. To him, the culpable officials must be brought to book.Falana said no developed country would willingly return stolen assets, as they use such funds to develop their countries.He urged the AGF to set up team of lawyers who will file lawsuits against foreign banks holding funds taken away from Nigeria.Once we locate the illegal funds, they should go after the banks warehousing the funds and file actions in court on behalf of our government, Falana said.
The Planned Parenthood Federation of Nigeria on Tuesday joined other Nigerians and global stakeholders in mourning the death of Prof. Babatunde Osotimehin.Osotimehin, the Executive Director of United Nations Fund for Population, died on Sunday in New York, U.S.Reacting to the demise of Osotimehin, the President PPFN, Mrs Aishatu Lawan, expressed deep sense of loss at the death.At this sad moment we wish to commiserate with his family, UNFPA, the Government and people of Nigeria, Lawan said in a statement.She described the deceased as a researcher, academic, administrator and more recently an activist of women rights.The president of PPFN noted that Osotimehin has shown commitment and determination to improve health care delivery particularly for women across the world.Lawan said that PPFN has been providing information and services in reproductive healthcare in Nigeria since 1964.According to her, the organisation that is a member of International Planned Parenthood Federation is collaborating with UNFPA to promote sexual reproductive health and rights in the country.Dr Babajide Osotimehin announced in a statement on Monday that senior Osotimehin died on June 5 in New York, U.S., at the age of 68.Until his death, Osotimehin was a minister of health in Nigeria between Dec. 17, 2008, and March 10, 2010.He also served as the Director-General of the National Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS between March 2007 and December 2008, and Chairman, National Action Committee on AIDS from July 2002 to March 2007.He was appointed on Nov. 19, 2010, as the Executive Director of UNFPA for a four-year term and assumed the position on Jan. 1, 2011.He was reappointed to this position on Aug. 21, 2014, to become the organisations fourth executive director.He holds the rank of Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations.According to wikileaks, he attended Igbobi College between 1966 and 1971. After his medical studies at University of Ibadan, Osotimehin received a doctorate in medicine from the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom, in 1979.As chairman of NACA he oversaw the development of systems that, today, manage more than US$1billion. During his tenure as Project Manager for the World-Bank assisted HIV/AIDS Programme Development Project from 20022008, he achieved great success.Osotimehins interests include youth and gender, within the context of reproductive health and rights. He declared that young people would be his special focus at UNFPA.We need to ensure that young people of both genders have equal participation, not only in reproductive rights and health but also within society and in the economy, he said in a 2005 article in the New York Times.He noted that nearly 58 per cent of Nigerians with H.I.V. are female. Many girls in Nigeria are married off before they are physically or psychologically ready, when they are as young as 13 or 14. It is not acceptable for them to ask their partners to use a condom or to refrain from sex.Later that year, he said that the government had ordered an increase to 250,000 of the number of HIV-positive people on Nigerias antiretroviral treatment programme.He believes humility is the key to engaging people and facilitating change, humility to engage with the other person of the other community in such a way that they know that you respect them. He also appreciated cultural sensitivity and understanding as vital tools in driving his goals.He is survived by a wife, five children and three grandchildren.Besides, Osotimehin held various positions, including: African Spokesperson, Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Minister of Health, Nigeria, December 2008  March 2010.Other responsibilities were Project Manager, HIV/AIDS Programme Development Project (World Bank-Assisted), 20022008; Chairman, Project Governing Board, Joint Regional HIV/AIDS Project in the AbidjanLagos Transport Corridor, 20032008, and Vice-President, 14th International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA), 2005He was also the Chairman, Committee of Presidential Advisers of AIDS Watch Africa; Member, Policy and Strategy Committee, The Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and Member, Global Steering Committee on Universal Access.Similarly, Osotimehin was the Coordinator, the Social Sciences and Reproductive Health Research Network, Ibadan, Nigeria (an interdisciplinary network comprising sociologists, economists, doctors, lawyers, psychologists and human nutritionists dedicated to applying innovative research techniques to reproductive health and human development), and Provost, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, 19901994. Professor of Clinical Pathology, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, 1980.As Nigerias Minister of Health, Osotimehin united all 36 states to build a national health plan focused on primary health care.In a September 2009 press conference, he said that Nigeria had yet to comply with the Abuja Declaration that 15 per cent of the budget of each African country should be devoted to health care. Nigeria as a whole was only spending between eight per cent and nine per cent, although some states were doing much better.In October 2009, he pointed out that medical institutions were required by law to treat accident and gunshot victims. Refusal to give treatment could be punished by a jail term. In December 2009, he reaffirmed the governments commitment to eliminate poliomyelitis and other childhood killer diseases.Until his death, Osotimehin was a member or affiliate of the following: Member of the Royal College of Physicians (UK); Fellow in Endocrinology, Cornell University Graduate School of Medicine, New York, United States, 19791980; Distinguished Visitor, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Chicago, United States, 1996; Visiting Fellow, Harvard Centre for Population and Development Studies, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, 19961997.He was a Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Sciences since 2006; Population Association of America International Advisory Group, Population and Reproductive Health, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Chicago; Regional Advisory Panel (Africa and the Middle East), Special Programme on Research and Research Training in the Human Reproduction Programme of the World Health Organisation.Similarly, the deceased served in the following capacities: Chairman of the Committee to draft a Policy on Basic Health Sciences Research and Health Technology Delivery for the Nigerian Government; Nigerian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism The Nigerian Medical Association; and The Nigerian Institute of Management.Osotimehin bagged the Nigerian national honour, Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON), December 2005, during his lifetime.He has written or contributed to many papers and several books; including: N. C. den Boer, ed. (1989) Clinical Biochemistry Services in Tropical Africa, and Clinical chemistry: an overview. Springer. ISBN 0-306-43093-2.Olayiwola A. Erinosho; Babatunde Osotimehin; Janice E. Olawoye (1996). Womens empowerment and reproductive health. Bookcraft Ltd., for Social Sciences and Reproductive Health Research Network. ISBN 978-2030-14-7.Babatunde Osotimehin (1999) Male responsibility in reproductive health: the construction of manhood in Nigeria: phase I, and The Social Science and Reproductive Health Research Network. ISBN 978-028-569-5.David Celentano, Chris Beyrer (2008). 12: Nigeria and West Africa. Public Health Aspects of HIV/AIDS in Low and Middle Income Countries: Epidemiology, Prevention and Care. Springer. ISBN 0-387-72710-8.Babatunde Osotimehin (2008). The control of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria: the journey so far (WHARC).
Finance Minister, Mrs Kemi Adeosun and her predecessor, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, have been summoned to appear before the House of Representa...

Finance Minister, Mrs Kemi Adeosun and her predecessor, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, have been summoned to appear before the House of Representatives over alleged abuse and breach of the Procurement Act, 2007.The houses Committee on Public Procurement, which invited the ministers, directed that they should appear before it on Tuesday. Others expected to appear before the committee are former Head of Service (HoS), Mr Steve Otunla and former Accountant-General to the Federation (AoGF), Mr Jonah Otunla.The committee had on Thursday summoned Adeosun and some others over alleged payment of N17 billion to five firms believed to be ghost companies as consultancy fees.The committee in an investigative hearing on Monday in Abuja said that summoning the top officials was to ensure proper investigation. Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Oluwole Oke (Osun-PDP), who issued the order inviting the officials, read the Riot Act to all Ministers and Accounting Officers of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). He said the shortest way to Kuje prison is through breach of procurement laws.Worried at the slow pace of the investigative hearing due to the poor attitude of civil servants towards releasing of vital documents, the committee attended to only those who made available necessary documents. The members decried the discrepancies between the submissions made by Federal Ministry of Finance and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).They observed that out of the 12 pre-shipment Inspectors and two monitors, who benefited from the N17 billion, seven were appointed in line with due process while five were appointed through the back door. Oke call for overhaul of the entire process.He pointed out that a former governor of Bauchi State and a former member of the House of Representatives, who were part of those who promulgated the procurement law were sentenced to five years imprisonment for infractions. He added that a former Chairman of Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) was also sentenced to two years imprisonment for breaching the Procurement Act before the Supreme Court intervened. The chairman advised the invited stakeholders to bring before the committee Presidential Approvals, Letters of Awards, Agreements signed with the contractors and performance records.
Three policemen and one suspected armed robber were feared killed in a robbery operation in Iwo, Osun State on Tuesday evening.

Three policemen and one suspected armed robber were feared killed in a robbery operation in Iwo, Osun State on Tuesday evening.It was gathered that the hoodlums went straight to the police station in the town and attacked the men on duty before proceeding to the area where the three banks in the town are located.The banks are First Bank; Skye Bank and Sterling Bank.It was gathered that the hoodlums attacked the three banks which are very close to the Bowen University but the university was not attacked.Some of the automated teller machines at the banks were reportedly removed by the hoodlums but it was not clear if they took the machines away.A resident revealed that the streets were deserted as robbers and policemen exchanged fire during the operation.He said, Armed robbers attacked the banks in Iwo today. They came this evening and first went staring to the police station and attacked their men there. After that, they went to the area where the banks are located and carried out their operation.They killed three policemen and the police also killed one of the robbers. It is a terrible day here in Iwo.I think the banks were aware that they could be attacked because they have been closing by 12noon for the past two months or thereabout.
Russia scrambled Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jet on Tuesday ordered to intercept a U.S. B-52 strategic bomber which it said was flying clos...

Russia scrambled Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jet on Tuesday ordered to intercept a U.S. B-52 strategic bomber which it said was flying close to its border over the Baltic Sea. Russias Defence Ministry said in a statement: Russian air defence systems detected the bomber at around 10 a.m. Moscow time as it was flying over neutral waters parallel to the Russian border.The Russian SU-27 crew, having approached at a safe distance, identified the aircraft as an American B-52 strategic bomber and escorted it until the time it changed course and flew away from the border area.The SU-27 had been scrambled from its Baltic Fleet air defense unit which is based in Kaliningrad, the ministry said. The B-52 Stratofortress, a long-range nuclear-capable bomber, is one of the most recognisable symbols of the Cold War and entered service in the 1950s.In another sign of Moscows unease over NATOs proximity to its borders, Russia also scrambled a MiG-31 jet fighter later on Tuesday to intercept a Norwegian patrol plane over the Barents Sea. Russias Defence Ministry identified the plane as a P-3 Orion anti-submarine aircraft.The ministry said that the Norwegian plane had flown close to Russias state border with its transponders switched off. The Norwegian military confirmed the encounter and said it was normal.
There was tension in Ikere-Ekiti, headquarters of Ikere Local Government Area of Ekiti State, on Tuesday over the move by a contracto...

Governor Fayose

There was tension in Ikere-Ekiti, headquarters of Ikere Local Government Area of Ekiti State, on Tuesday over the move by a contractor handling a road dualisation project to uproot a tree considered sacred by the community.The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the sacred tree is located in a historical site in the heart of the community.An attempt on Monday by the contractor handling the project to uproot the tree was disrupted by the youths and traditional religion worshippers who invaded the scene.NAN reports that some irate youths held up traffic and lit bonfires at Odo-Oja area of the town.The protesting indigenes claimed that the historical site known locally as Ereja was the source of Ikere Ekiti, and uprooting the tree would result in dire consequences for the community.They also claimed that the site of the tree was host to the annual Olosunta festival.Gov. Ayo Fayose, who visited the scene appealed for calm, saying he would ensure that the traditional ruler of the community and Olukere of Ikere, Oba Ganiyu Obasoyin, were sensitised on the need for the road dualisation project.NAN reports that residents had earlier in the day placed fetish objects made with a goat and pigeon at the site while palm fronds were also tied around the shrine to scare away agents of the contractors.Some of them also formed a human shield round the shrine in a bid to frustrate any plan to demolish the site and uproot the tree.Addressing reporters at his palace, Oba Obasoyin who is the custodian of traditional sites in the town, said cutting down the sacred tree and demolishing the Ereja was akin to passing a death sentence on himPresent at the briefing were the Alare of Are-Ikere, Chief Oguntuase Atitebi and the Elejoka of Ikuomoba-Ikere, Chief Benjamin Owolade. It is when a king dies that the branches of the tree are cut off and I went to meet the governor that he should not pass a death sentence on me.The only way forward is that government should see reason with the people of Ikere and respect the peoples cultural heritage, Obasoyin said.
Security is to be tightened around members of the Special Investigative Panel on Arms Procurement. The presidential directive was said...

Security is to be tightened around members of the Special Investigative Panel on Arms Procurement.The presidential directive was said to have followed the suspicious death of a member, Rear Admiral T.D. Ikoli, and threat to others.The panel, which has wound up its operation temporarily, was probing the $2.1 billion arms procurement from 2007 to 2015.It had investigated the purchase of arms in the Army and the Air Force. The review of arms procurement in the Navy was outstanding at the time of Rear Admiral Ikolis death.Three of the members of the panel are believed to have had a close shave with death.Rear Admiral Ikoli died in what the panel described as suspicious circumstances on April 5 in Lagos.About one week before his death, Rear Admiral ikolis dog was killed, also in suspicious circumstances, it was learnt.Panel Chairman Air Vice Marshal JON Ode narrowly escaped being ambushed by a 12-man gang in two separate vehicles. The wife of another member (a retired Major-General) narrowly escaped being abducted.It was learnt that after the developments, the panel opened discussions with President Muhammadu Buhari. Besides, it wrote a letter to Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on the danger its members were being exposed to.Prior to the alarm raised by the members of the panel, none of them had security presence in their homes.A source, who spoke in confidence with our correspondent, said: Right from the start of the probe, JON Ode Panel members were being threatened but they defied the intimidation to complete their assignmentsSome of those involved in the $2.1b arms scandal were associates, colleagues, junior officers and students of members of the panel. But they refused to be swayed by personal ties in doing their job.But there had been obvious security threats against the panel members by some of those implicated and their fronts.Ikolis death shattered panel members who did not bother initially to ask for protection.The source said the aborted attacks against the chairman of the panel, AVM JON Ode and the wife of another member made the team to make representations to the Presidency.Iit was gathered that the government directed that police and military security be provided in the homes of the members.Those who want escorts have also been given.Another source added: The Presidency has directed that adequate security measures be put in place for AVM JON Ode members panel following intelligence reports on threats to their lives.The government also took the steps in view of the way corruption is fighting back and the high-level risk taken by members of the panel against their colleagues and course mates.We now have some level of police and military presence in the homes of the members of the panel. I will not go into details on this.Also yesterday, it was learnt that members of the panel did not receive sitting allowance.The government spent over N200million (not up to N300million) on the committee instead of the N600million being bandied.A document revealed that the cash was expended only on accommodation, transportation, breakfast and lunch for members.A source said: The panel members did a selfless service. They were not given official vehicles. Some members attended sittings by taxi-cab. One of them had a rickety car which could not withstand rains.Even when requests were made for official vehicles, none was made available.But some mischievous elements have launched propaganda against the committee by alleging that it spent N600million. The good thing is that members signed for what was expended on them. The records are there.Members of the investigative committee include AVM J.O.N. Ode (rtd.) Chairman; R/Adm J.A. Aikhomu (rtd.) ; R/Adm E. Ogbor (rtd.) ; Brig Gen L. Adekagun (rtd.); Brig Gen M. Aminu-Kano (rtd.) ; and Brig Gen N. Rimtip (rtd.) .Others are: Rear Admiral T.D. Ikoli ; Air Cdre U. Mohammed (rtd.); Air Cdre I. ShafiI; Col A.A. Ariyibi ; Gp Capt C.A. Oriaku (rtd.); Mr. Ibrahim Magu (EFCC); and Brig Gen Y.I. Shalangwa  Secretary.Some of the areas of investigation are:How 10 contracts totalling $930,500,690.00 were awardedPayment of N4,402,687,569.41 for unexecuted contractsProcurement of two used Mi-24V helicopters instead of the recommended Mi-35M series at $136,944,000.00.Purchase of four used Alpha-Jets for the NAF at US$7,180,000.00 funded by ONSACannibalisation of engines from NAF fleet to justify procurement of jetsExcessive pricing of 36D6 Low Level Air Defence Radar at $33m instead of $6m per oneDelivery of radars without vital component of Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) that distinguishes between own and adversary aircraftStrange transfer of $2m to Mono Marine Corporation Nigeria Limited owned by some Air Force officersN15bn lavished on the maintenance of Alpha-Jets, C-130H aircraft and Mi-24V/35P helicopters.N2.5billion contracts awarded to Syrius Technologies (an Ukrainian company) not registered in NigeriaAward of seven contracts worth N599,118,000.00 to Defence Industry Corporation of Nigeria (DICON); two were delivered.
We've spent the past week visiting pets all across New Jersey -- dogs, cats and other mammals -- so readers can get to know the 10 finalists in our N.J.'s Top Pet competition a little better.

As demonstrated by public votes, these animal companions wowed readers enough to advance to the next segment of competition, or impressed our staff enough to make the two wildcard positions. This week, we're profiling each pet ahead of the final vote. The winner will be bestowed with the coveted titled of N.J.'s Top Pet.

Here are the first three pet profiles in the bunch, representing three of our voting categories from the first round -- medium and large dogs, small dogs and non-dog and cat pets. Here you can learn about the people behind the animals, their home life and more. Watch the video for more insights from the owners about why their pets should win N.J.'s Top Pet.

Cleopatra the rabbit

You might easily mistake Cleopatra, a 4-year-old double maned lionhead rabbit, for a Pomeranian, given her preponderance of fluff. But no, "Queen Cleo," as owner Didier Jimenez calls her, is a rabbit through and through.

Jimenez, 28, of Hillsborough, is an administrator of the New Jersey Bunny Owners Facebook group and says he developed his love of animals growing up on a farm in Costa Rica. Weighing in at 4 pounds of fluff, Cleopatra is his pride and joy. Jimenez outfits the rabbit in various hats and bows to fit the occasion. She even had a "pussy hat" for the Women's March.

"She's really good at sleeping, eating and being fluffy," he says of his rabbit, who consumes pellets and lettuce in addition to "Fiji water and the finest hay," Jimenez says. Hopping around her cage or set loose for some playtime or an impromptu rabbit fashion show, she's mostly quiet, but if she sees Jimenez eating a banana, she'll let out a little grunt.

Cleopatra is a 'progressive bunny,' says owner Didier Jimenez. At the campaign office for Bernie Sanders, she was known as 'Bunny Sanders.' (Amy Kuperinsky | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

In addition to being a "diva" and "too much," Cleopatra, who has her own Instagram page, is a "progressive bunny," says Jimenez, who works in homeless prevention for Catholic Charities and was a Bernie Sanders supporter in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election. At a local Sanders campaign office, Cleopatra was known as "Bunny Sanders."

"She's fantastic at making people smile," Jimenez says.

A local photographer also recently hired Cleo to pose with children in Easter photos. Jimenez has high hopes for Cleo in the N.J.'s Top Pet final, even though she may not be the type of rabbit most readers know.

"When they think of a bunny, they think of a generic bunny," he says. "She's an underdog and I will always cheer for an underdog."

Maggie the dog

Blake and Noelle Havekes don't know exactly what kind of dog Maggie is, or her precise age (they figure she's about 5), they just know that she's some kind of Shetland sheepdog mix. But when they adopted her in 2012, they didn't care about that so much as saving her life. Maggie, found in Georgia suffering from neglect in an outdoor cage, was supposed to be euthanized within days.

"They had it scheduled, it was awful," says Noelle Havekes, 37, of Rockaway, a retail merchandiser who lives in Rockaway with her husband Blake, 37, an electrician. They heard about Maggie through Eleventh Hour Rescue, a Randolph organization that extricates dogs from kill shelters.

Maggie, pictured here with her owner, Blake Havekes of Rockaway, sports features of different breeds including the sheltie, most noticeably on her ears. (Amy Kuperinsky | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Maggie got her fresh start when she came home with Blake and Noelle, where they taught her how to play, that it's OK to eat when they're in the room, and that they wouldn't leave her forever if they walked out the door. At first, Maggie seemed to fear her new owners would abandon her, so they began bringing her everywhere they went -- even on trips to Atlantic City casinos.

Today she'll lend you a paw if you ask and playfully presides over the household ("She thinks she's his wife," Noelle says of Blake and Maggie's special relationship) and accompanies Noelle and Blake on hikes and trips to the beach at Sandy Hook.

Blake calls her their "big, hairy kid," and she's a big hit with children in their neighborhood. Noelle thinks her fluffy ears are her best quality -- "She's like seven different dogs all smushed together," she says.

Why should she win N.J.'s Top Pet?

"She's just like most Jersey people," Blake says. "Smart, and like, quick to the pace."

Noelle has another reason.

"I love that she's so resilient," she says. "Dogs have an amazing capacity to forgive."

Ringo the dog

Named for Ringo of the Beatles and the band's song "Maxwell's Silver Hammer," Ringo Maxwell Kaplan is a toy Australian shepherd (the breed actually originated in the American West). For this dog, every hour of the day is playtime, but especially when his owners, lawyers Brooke and Jordan Kaplan, come home from work.

Born on Christmas Day 2012, Ringo, now 4 1/2 years old, loves to cavort around the backyard, effortless spurting through the grass to retrieve a ball or toy, then clamoring for Brooke or Jordan to throw it out again. He's a master of tricks -- he jumps or sits on command, rolls over, gives kisses and high-fives.

Ringo, seen here with Jordan and Brooke Kaplan at home in Scotch Plains, will give kisses on command, but also when he just feels like it. (Amy Kuperinsky | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

"We trained him entirely ourselves," says Jordan Kaplan, 29, of Scotch Plains. Dogs of his breed are sometimes called "Velcro dogs," because they will stick close to their owner's side. When Jordan and Brooke are at opposite ends of the house, Ringo will shuttle between them until his owners reunite.

Another quirk is that Ringo will approach someone right after they sneeze, as if to take care of them.

"He gets a lot of attention, but he demands it," says Brooke Kaplan, 27, of her dog, who, weighing in at 12 pounds, was born the runt of his (already miniature) litter and functioned as a stress reliever during her time at law school. He doesn't love interacting with other dogs, but eagerly meets new people.

"He thinks he's a big dog," she says, and often demonstrates the innate "herding" abilities of his breed by corralling all of this many toys into a pile.

Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmyKup or on Facebook.
NEWARK -- A 33-year-old Georgia man who fatally stabbed a go-go dancer to death more than five years ago has been sentenced to 60 years in prison, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office announced Tuesday.

Johnny B. Jones III, of Jonesboro, Ga., was found guilty at trial before Superior Court Judge Michael L. Ravin of murder, conspiracy and weapons offenses in the death of Denise Ramsey, 33, an Irvington resident who went missing after leaving the Dollhouse bar in the early morning hours of Dec. 3, 2011.

Her body was discovered in January 2012 under a mattress in a vacant lot in East Orange, authorities said.

Jones was later identified as one of the men Ramsey left the club with, and fled to Florida after giving a DNA sample that matched evidence found on Ramsey's body, authorities have said.

Jones, whose case was brought to trial by assistant prosecutors Naazneen Khan and Jason Alterbaum, was later charged along with Brian Love, 44.

Love, whose DNA prosecutors said was found under Ramsey's fingernails, has since pleaded guilty to second-degree reckless manslaughter, and is scheduled to be sentenced June 19, according to court records.

A third man, Corey Fallen, of Atlanta, was arrested in October 2012 in connection with the case, but later released in April 2013 after investigators determined he wasn't in New Jersey when Ramsey disappeared.

Fallen has since filed a lawsuit against New Jersey State Police, the City of Newark and several individual detectives, which records show remains pending in U.S. District Court.

Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
WASHINGTON TWP. -- A fatal shooting took place at the NJ Transit bus garage in Washington Township, Gloucester County.

Washington Township Police Chief Patrick Gurcsik said someone was fatally shot on Tuesday afternoon. He said that the investigation has just started and officers are working to gather information at this time.

Officers appear to have centered their focus on the back of the outdoor parking lot near the back off the property. Officers from Washington Township and NJ Transit Police have put crime scene tape around the area to block it off from the public.

NJ Transit buses, however, are still moving in and out of the lots as usual.

According to numerous media reports, the victim was a bus driver and that the suspect fled the scene.

Less than an hour after the shooting was reported, police in Mantua Township were called to the scene of another shooting behind Val's Seafood on Center Street.

Police have placed a canopy over a tarp that it is apparently covering the body of another gunshot victim next to a car on the edge of the parking lot for the restaurant.

Mantua resident Jeff Gellenthin saw police converge on the motorist as he pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant on Center Street.



"They were coming in both directions ... and they blocked him in," he said. "I heard one pop ... and the [car] door was open and [the police] all gathered around."



Residents gathered near the scene as police placed crime scene tape.

Police officials did not confirm whether the two incidents were connected.

The Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office did not return an immediate request for comment.

Live news (follow comments below for updates) Posted by Jeffrey Gellenthin on Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Caitlyn Stulpin may be reached at cstulpin@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @caitstulpin. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
WASHINGTON TWP. -- Students in Washington Township have come up with a unique way to raise money for local families.

As part of a senior service project at Washington Township High School, five elementary schools gathered students together to make small mason jar lanterns which will be sold at a candlelight vigil for drug addiction awareness later this month.

Bells, Wedgewood, Birches, Whitman and Thomas Jefferson elementary schools together raised over $4,200 in donations for the high school's second annual "Spring in Service Project."

The idea for the project this year, named the "Lantern Project," was conceived by Washington Township High School student Lindsey Ferriano. Her idea was picked from a group of other service projects submitted by students to the school.

"The township is all about community service," Ferriano, 18, said. "If no one is going to do it, someone has to step up and do it. So I'm just really happy and grateful to get picked."

For the project, students came together in each school's gymnasium and made inflammable glass mason jars into lanterns. Each student made two lanterns by adding colored tissue paper around the outside of the jar to evoke a stained glass effect and then inserted a battery-operated LED candle. The students were each allowed to take one lantern home while the one left over will be sold for $10 during a candlelight drug awareness vigil to held at the Washington Lake Park on June 19. The students created over 600 lanterns for the vigil.

Ferriano said several volunteers at Orchard Valley High School who helped prepare over 1,000 lanterns before the event by getting the materials ready.

The proceeds from the sale of the lanterns will be going to several families in the township including the family of three-month-old baby Felix Aboyme, who recently needed open heart surgery.

A portion of the money will also be received by the parents of 2-year-old J.J. Price, who suffers from Brugada syndrome, a genetic disease which can lead to sudden cardiac death.

At the event in Bells Elementary, J.J.'s 18-year-old uncle, Kevin Andres, who is also a student at the high school, was helping students make the lanterns.

"I'm really happy to be participating in this and helping raise the awareness of the Brugada syndrome," Andres said. "I think it's a great way to give back to the community and help everyone."

Also at Bells Elementary was Washington Township Mayor Joann Gattinelli, who came to show her support for the project and lend a hand.

"I find this to be such a great event for the town and for everyone to come out and support those who have lost in life," Gattinelli, said. "This is just something we want to give back as a remembrance and for the kids to put together."

Justin Decker may be reached at jdecker@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Justin Decker on Twitter @Justin_A_Decker. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
BAYONNE -- Despite the drizzly weather, residents continue to make their way to their local polling centers to vote in the gubernatorial primary and 31st District race.

While turnout is low -- typical of primary elections -- poll workers are confident that a number of people will make it to the polls after work hours end at 5 p.m.

"We still have a lot of people working that still haven't come out yet (and) we'll see more come in at that point," said Will Campbell, the coordinator for the polling center located at the fire house at 58 West Fourth St.

In the meantime, the polling center for the city's first ward had just over 30 votes cast as of 11:30 a.m. -- the majority of them registered Democrats, according to Campbell.

Voters in the 31st District have a chance to pick their respective party's candidate for governor. The winner of the primaries will go on to the general election and vie to succeed Gov. Chris Christie, who's in the final year of his second term.

There are six candidates vying for the Democratic nomination, and five for the Republican nomination.

Meanwhile, residents also have an opportunity to select the two Democratic candidates for the state's 31st Legislative District. Republican candidates Michael Alonso and Lauren DiGiaro are running unopposed.

Christopher Munoz, a Bayonne Board of Education trustee, and Kristen Zadroga-Hart, a public school teacher in Jersey City, are challenging incumbents Nicholas Chiaravalloti and Angela McKnight for their seats. One resident, Jimmy, who declined to give his last name, said he voted gubernatorial candidate Jim Johnson in the Democratic primary, but voted for incumbents Angela McKnight and Nicholas Chiaravalloti in the 31st Legislative District.

"I like their polices," he said referring to the Hudson County Democratic Organization candidates. "I didn't vote for Munoz (because) he was on the Bayonne Board of Education... He was only on for (a little over a year) and he's already jumping ship. Doesn't leave a good taste in my mouth."

Another resident, however, voted for the Hudson County Democratic Educators ticket of Munoz and Zadroga-Hart, citing their proposed policies.

"I like what I saw when it came to their policies," said TJ Senger a resident of Bayonne. "I liked what they were putting forward. I haven't seen much in the way of progress when it comes to Chiaravalloti."

He emphasized the city and state's high property taxes, adding that "no one's given any kind of answer other than 'well, that's just how much money it takes.'"

He also noted that he voted for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Murphy "specifically because he's one of the only people who says he wants to legalize medical, as well as recreational, marijuana."

Senger pointed to the amount of tax revenue that could be generated from legalizing the drug.

"Everyone else is dancing around the issue, (but he says) 'That's a money stream, tap that'... and I kind of agree! Let's bring down property taxes with pot."

Others followed suit and voted in typical Democratic fashion for Hudson County, voting Row E for Phil Murphy, along with Chiaravalloti and McKnight.

"I've been a Democrat my whole life and to be honest with you, I really hope we get the Republicans out of government," said Theresa, a resident who declined to give her last name. "In the state of New Jersey, (Gov. Christie) has tortured us, so I feel Democrats have to get back in."

But not every resident felt the same. At the Horace Mann School's polling center -- across the street from Assemblyman Chiaravalloti's office -- residents Robert and Joan said they voted Republican "for the first time in a long time," casting their votes for Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno.

"I just feel the Democrats are out of hand," Robert said. "Especially (because of) what they're doing to (President Donald Trump)."

Jose Romero, a poll worker at the Horace Mann School who has been working elections for almost two decades, said they had a little over 25 people come out as of 12:30 p.m.

But the low turnout and overcast weather didn't damper his patriotic spirit.

"It's a good way to really get to see the people in the community," he said. "People always say that people don't vote, but there's still a strong presence of people who still believe in the Democratic process."
The Harrison police officer injured during a traffic stop early this morning has been treated and released from a Newark hospital, authorities said.

Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez, whose office is investigating the incident, said the officer made a traffic stop near Jersey and South Seventh streets at 4:20 a.m. As the officer "initiated contact" with the driver, the vehicle drove away and struck the officer, Suarez said in a statement.

Suarez said the officer fired his service weapon during the incident, but did not specify how many rounds were shot or if the fleeing vehicle was struck.

Emergency medical services took the injured police officer to St. Michael's Medical Center in Newark, where he was treated for minor injuries and released.

Pursuant to state Attorney General guidelines, the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office has taken over the investigation from the Harrison Police Department. The HCPO's Internal Affairs Unit is in the early stages of the investigation, Suarez said.

No arrests have been made at this time.

The state Attorney General's office advises that a law enforcement officer may use deadly force to prevent the escape of a fleeing suspect "whom the officer has probable cause to believe has committed an offense in which the suspect caused or attempted to cause death or serious bodily harm."

The suspect must also "pose an imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm should the escape succeed." The use of deadly force must also "present no substantial risk of injury to innocent persons," according to state Attorney General guidelines.

The HCPO is asking that anyone with video or information about this incident to call 201-915-1345 or to leave an anonymous tip on the HCPO's official website. All information will be kept confidential, Suarez said.
A whopping 82 percent of Koreans say they have suffered some discomfort because of fine dust, according to a recent survey.

Among over 1,000 people surveyed by Gallup Korea, more females reported difficulties due to fine dust than males, with 98 percent of women in their 30s saying it caused them discomfort. And 37 percent of respondents said they use air purifiers in their homes.

The proportion of Koreans who use air-cleaning products has more than doubled in the past 11 years from only 15 percent in 2006.
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen and Maldives cut diplomatic ties Monday with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism.

Qatar's Foreign Affairs Ministry said the measures are "unjustified and are based on baseless and unfounded allegations."

The countries said they would withdraw their diplomatic staff from gas-rich Qatar and cut air and sea traffic to the country. Qatar Airways announced a suspension of flights to Saudi Arabia. Egypt gave the Qatari ambassador 48 hours to leave Cairo, while the Persian Gulf states gave Qatari citizens 14 days to leave their countries.

Saudi Arabia, which leads a coalition of nations fighting in support of Yemen's government, also said Qatar's forces would be withdrawn from that fight.

The Saudi state-owned SPA news agency said Qatar "embraces multiple terrorist and sectarian groups aimed at disturbing stability in the region, including the Muslim Brotherhood, Islamic State, and al-Qaeda, and promotes the message and schemes of these groups through their media constantly."

"Qatar has been exposed to an instigation campaign based on allegations that amounted to absolute fabrications, which proves that there are premeditated intentions to cause damage to the state," Qatar's Foreign Ministry said. It further accused the nations involved of seeking to impose "guardianship" over Qatar.


China, Europe reach multiple agreements

The Washington Post reported on June 2 that as Donald Trump criticized European leaders approach to dealing with trade and security issues, China and the European Union (EU) signed a series of agreements, bringing closer the worlds second- and third-largest economies.

President of the European Council Donald Tusk said after a meeting with Premier Li that China and Europe demonstrated their commitment to the world and future generations.

Premier Li said China and Europe should deal with increasing international uncertainties with stable bilateral cooperation.

The Central News Agency reported that at a brief news conference after the China-EU leaders meeting, Tusk said China and EU, as strategic partners, will expand cooperation on trade, investment, immigration, and the North Korea issue.

Both sides will also work together on issues concerning climate change.

Premier Li said China and Europe should respect each others development path based on the principle of equality.

According to a report by German daily Handelsblatt, this China-EU leaders meeting was the best so far, and both sides found common ground, Tusk said.

Meanwhile, Premier Li called for EU to fulfill its obligations under Article 15 of the Protocol on Chinas accession to WTO.

The two sides also signed a series of agreements involving cooperation in intellectual rights protection, customs, and research and development.

Belgian weekly Le Vif reported that China and Belgium signed eight trade agreements, reflecting the good relations between the two nations, quoting Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel.

The agreements cover cooperation in ports and hygiene, and guarantee rules on Chinas export of livestock products, and joint research on 5G mobile communication technology.

German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported that on the day President Trump announced the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, Premier Li, in his meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, said that China will continue to fulfill the nations obligation under the Paris Agreement.

In two days of meetings, Premier Li and Merkel also discussed free trade. Merkel said China and Germany have shared principles, including free trade and open markets.

In addition, Merkel also urged efforts to push forward the negotiation over China-EU investment agreements, adding that it is a possibility that a deal with China on free trade will be signed.

Enhanced cooperation serves shared interests

Spanish newspaper ABC reported that just a few years ago, China and EU were never expected to form any global strategic alliance due to disparities in politics and trade.

However, on June 2 in Brussels, the meeting between Premier Li and Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker sent out a signal: EU and China will play the role of global leaders after the US retreated from the Paris climate accord.

Russian news media Pravda reported that as Premier Li was paying a visit to Europe, Chinas intention to expand cooperation with EU is clear.

The Belt and Road Initiative, covering the whole Eurasian continent, will build an integrated economic space.

China has a firm stance in fighting climate change, and cooperation with EU will allow the nation to have access to the latest technology.
What part of 'kill them all' did we not understand?: Opinion
The hallways at Abraham Lincoln High School are a little emptier this week with former seniors like Savannah Quinn having graduated on Sunday.

Quinn was born and raised in Council Bluffs, but she hopped around various elementary schools as a child while in foster care and also because of her mom moving around during Quinns younger years.

She attended Gunn, Hoover, Franklin, Titan Hill and Bloomer Elementary Schools. She graduated from Bloomer and stayed in the Council Bluffs Community School District for middle and high school, attending Kirn Middle School and A.L.

Quinn found a home at Abraham Lincoln, where she was heavily involved in student organizations. She took part in student council, broadcasting, theater, show choir and JROTC. She said the diversity of the groups she was involved in helped shape her because she got to meet and become friends with many different people.

Sunday was a big day for all of the graduates who crossed the stage at the Mid-America Center to receive their diplomas. It was even bigger for Quinn, as she was one of three students chosen to deliver commencement speeches to the Class of 2017.

Tasked with writing about the present, Quinn said she wanted to tell her classmates to revel in the moment of graduating because it took a lot of work to get there, and that there is plenty of time to worry about the future.

I just wanted to capture what the moment is supposed to feel like, she said.

Quinn will be attending Midland University in Fremont, Nebraska, this fall to study elementary education with a focus on early childhood.

She said she loves kids and has a passion for working with younger children, which inspired her to get into education. She said she wants to be a part of kids lives to help them grow to be successful students.
The name of the Democratic candidate for the vacant Iowa House District 22 seat will not appear on the ballot.

Ray Stevens of Council Bluffs missed the June 2 filing deadline. He said hell run as a write-in candidate.

I missed the filing deadline. I was the one that was supposed to do it, Stevens told The Nonpareil on Monday. It was my responsibility. Ray Stevens dropped the ball in applying on time, and only me. I dont blame other people for my problems.

The special election to fill the seat vacated by the late Rep. Greg Forristall is scheduled for June 27.

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate announced the final candidate list on Friday after the deadline had passed. Republican Jon Jacobsen and Libertarian Bryan Holder will appear on the ballot, as will Carol Forristall, wife of Greg Forristall, whos running as an independent.

Jacobsen garnered 77 percent of the vote to defeat Carol Forristall at the May 30 Republican Party nominating convention.

Stevens won his partys candidacy after running unopposed during a nominating convention on May 30.

He said that, during the whirlwind week of working to form a campaign team and also working full-time at Council Bluffs Water Works, hes unsure if he knew about the deadline.

Im not going to say if I did or didnt because I dont remember, he said. If I did, it was one of the things I was trying to ingest.

Pottawattamie County Democratic Party Chairwoman Linda Nelson said the Iowa Democratic Party had a representative in town last week to help with the process and that Stevens had said he was on top of everything.

In the end, we discovered it wasnt done and that it didnt get to the Secretary of States Office, Nelson said of the filing papers. The state party and county party, we are all behind Ray and working to get him elected as a write-in candidate. Were full-speed ahead.

Stevens said his campaign approach wont change much, except that hell stress the importance of writing in his name.

Ill approach it the same as I would before, getting out there knocking on doors, he said. Ill have to be specific with people that they write my name and spell it correctly.

Carol Forristall said she decided to enter the race as an independent because, I feel like Im the best candidate. She served in the Legislature as her husbands clerk for nine years.

I know the process, I know the people. I have the relationships. It takes years to develop those things, Carol Forristall said.
DES MOINES  Iowas medical marijuana oil program will start in weeks, but obtaining the medicine will be difficult and manufacturers said its unclear if the states effort will be viable.

Although the cannabis oil program approved during the last legislative session will begin July 1, there is no immediate supplier of the oil in Iowa, and manufacturers in other states question whether enough people will enroll in the limited program to make it self-sustaining.

Last week, the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Office forecast that 6,022 people will enroll in Iowas new program, which allows use of cannabis oil for those suffering from cancer; multiple sclerosis; seizures; HIV or AIDS; Crohns disease; Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; Parkinsons disease; untreatable pain; and terminal illness with a life expectancy of under a year.

Albert Gutierrez, CEO of MedPharm, a Colorado-based cannabis distributor, said if Iowas projected participant level of 6,000 patients comes true, profit margins could be slim.

I think 6,000 is probably a little bit conservative, based on some of the numbers, for a business or dispensary to operate in the Iowa market and be able to be successful, Gutierrez said.

And its possible those projections are overly optimistic.

In Minnesota, a similar medical marijuana law is nearly 2 years old but still has less than 6,000 people enrolled, said Andrew Bachman, the CEO for LeafLine Labs, one of two licensed cannabis manufacturers in Minnesota. He notes that Minnesotas population of 5.5 million is significantly higher than Iowas 3.1 million, and that fewer patients could mean less revenue.

We are 23 months into the program ... and we are not yet profitable, Bachman said.

Bachman said LeafLine anticipated low initial patient numbers and is ahead of its business plan, but he thinks companies in Iowa should expect to wait before seeing consistent profits.

With the population size being smaller, I would anticipate that ramp up to be somewhat slower, he said.

Under Iowas program, officials will license two in-state manufacturers that can start supplying marijuana oil in December 2018. The state will license up to five dispensaries to supply the drug.

Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City, said manufacturers may compete for an Iowa license and then try to lobby lawmakers to expand the program.

They know right now its a money-loser. Its not sustainable, he said. The folks who make an investment, theyll roll the dice and think they can get the law changed.

Some states with existing medical marijuana laws recognize cardholders from other states. A proposal to provide Iowans access to Minnesotas medical marijuana market failed when Minnesota lawmakers did not approve the measure this session.

Although nearly 30 states have at least limited programs, the federal government still considers medical marijuana a Schedule I drug that cant be moved across state lines.

For potential manufacturers, another challenge could be the amount of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, allowed in the oil. Iowa caps that level at 3 percent, a standard some say is too low to make the treatment effective. The state also bans smoking, vaporizing or eating marijuana-laced food.

If you expanded the products they could offer or the range of conditions for which you could use this ... that would dramatically increase the size of the market and boost profits, said Robert Mikos, a Vanderbilt law professor who specializes in marijuana policy.

The Iowa Medical Cannabidiol Advisory Board could recommend expansion of the states program, but the Iowa Department of Public Health has not started the application process for the panel and its unclear when members will be appointed. Any recommendation by the board would require approval from the Legislature or Board of Medicine before being implemented.

The Legislature didnt allocate specific funding for the program, so state agencies are figuring out how to finance the program through their 2018 fiscal year budgets.

Mikos said Iowa should expect a long process of fine-tuning the program with hopes of making it more lucrative.

Keep revisiting these issues, Mikos said. No state has gotten this right the first time around, and later adopters like Iowa can learn a lot from all those states that went before them.

 Associated Press reporter Kyle Potter in St. Paul, Minnesota, contributed to this report.
SIOUX CITY (AP)  Democrat Kim Weaver has dropped out of the race to oust U.S. Rep. Steve King.

In a post Saturday on her official Facebook page, Weaver said her decision to bow out of the race for Iowas 4th Congressional seat is due to alarming acts of intimidation, including death threats.

She also said she will be moving out of the district  to Des Moines  to be closer to her mother, who has health concerns.

Weaver, of Sheldon, ran unsuccessfully against King in 2016 and announced a rematch in March against the eight-term Republican in the 2018 election. The district covers the northwest portion of the state. The district includes Harrison County.

Over the last several weeks, I have been evaluating personal circumstances along with the political climate regarding this campaign, Weaver said in the post. After much deliberation, I have determined that the best decision for me is to withdraw my candidacy.

Weaver texted the Sioux City Journal Saturday night confirming the post was legitimate.

Weaver wrote she has battled threats since the 2016 campaign and they have been ongoing since announcing her second attempt to win the district, where Republicans outnumber Democrats by nearly 70,000 voters.

While some may say enduring threats are just a part of running for office, my personal safety has increasingly become a concern, she said in the post.

Weaver, who is a long-term care ombudsman for the Iowa Department of Aging, also said campaigning full-time would force her to leave her career for a period of time.

With recent legislation on health insurance, I must admit that the possibility of seeking a new job after the election exposes too much of a risk for me in not being able to secure health insurance, the post said.

Weaver said she will be moving to Des Moines, where she grew up, to be closer to her mother, who is experiencing ongoing health issues.

I feel that its necessary to be more available to support her, she wrote. Considering this, along with the time and energy it takes to succeed as a candidate, I realize that I cant fully commit to both.

In March, Weaver had said she received a burst of more than $160,000 in campaign donations from more than 5,400 people, many of whom were angry about a controversial tweet by King.

In her Facebook post, she specified that the funds raised would be distributed within the district to support a Democratic challenger and the party.

Ive said from the beginning that this isnt about me  its about unseating Steve King and gaining real representation for the 4th District of Iowa, she wrote.

The post concluded with Weaver thanking her campaign staff and her most active supporters.

I humbly ask for your support and understanding during this difficult time, as well as your continued support with the effort to unseat Steve King, she said.

Weaver was the only Democratic candidate officially in the race. Dirk Deam, an Iowa State University political science professor, has said he is exploring a potential run.
Charles Palmer, the longtime head of Iowas Department of Human Services, announced last Wednesday hes retiring, a move that comes amid growing criticism of the agencys handling of alleged child abuse cases.

Newly appointed Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said in a statement that Palmer notified her he would retire effective June 16. No interim director was announced.

Although Reynolds lauded Palmer  Chuck has been a dedicated public servant who has spent his life trying to improve the lives of Iowans  the fact remains that Palmers department has been scrutinized for months over its handling of alleged child abuse cases, particularly the cases involving the deaths of two teenage girls.

Natalie Finn, a 16-year-old from West Des Moines, was found dead in her home in October. Sabrina Ray, 16, was found dead in her Perry home in May.

Both girls had been monitored by the DHS employees before their deaths, according to state lawmakers. The adoptive parents of both girls face charges in connection with the deaths.

The day Palmer announced his retirement, Perry Police said three more people had been charged in the death of Ray, who weighed only 56 pounds at her death. Her body was found May 12 in the Perry home she shared with her adoptive parents, who were charged May 17.

In announcing the new charges, police said that the girl was unable to walk, talk or eat after being drop-kicked by her 21-year-old adoptive brother down basement stairs weeks before her death. The brother is charged with two counts of willful injury and two counts of child endangerment. A cousin, is charged with abetting the abuse. The teens grandmother faces several charges, including aiding and abetting kidnapping, child abuse resulting in death and obstruction.

Democrats called Palmers retirement an opportunity to address budget shortfalls, a smaller staff taking on higher caseloads and lack of oversight within the agency. They said the governor should select a replacement to work on both sides of the aisle amid ongoing criticism to the agency.

Sen. Matt McCoy, D-Des Moines, led informal legislative meetings this session on DHS and its oversight of children. He said a new director should comprehensively evaluate all senior management to deal with any remaining problems in child welfare. McCoy has, in the past, cited fewer DHS employees, high turnover in departments and fewer overall resources as reasons that led to the departments decline in credibility.

This is only a victory if the new governor demands accountability from DHS, he said. I believe strongly that the problem starts at the top, but also, problems exist and are systematic within the management team that remains.

Reynolds has an opportunity to address some of these issues with the selection of Palmers replacement. But its an opportunity that will be squandered without the financial support of the Republican-controlled Legislature.
The owner of several Nebraska ranch and feedlot operations died in a helicopter crash over the weekend, according to The Eastern New Mexico News.

On Sunday, the newspaper reported that Don Oppliger, owner of Oppliger Cos., was killed when the helicopter he was piloting crashed in Castro County, Texas. Oppliger was the only person on the aircraft.

Parmer County (Texas) Sheriff Randy Geries told The News that Oppligers family began searching for him in the middle of the night on Saturday when they realized he was missing.

Oppligers son contacted the sheriffs office early Sunday. Geries said Parmer County deputies and dispatchers got busy trying to ping Oppligers cellphone, but one of Oppligers employees located the crash site shortly after the sheriffs office got involved. The crash was about one mile inside the Castro County line.

Geries said Oppliger died at the scene. The cause of the crash was not immediately known, and Geries told The News that the crash could have happened as early as Saturday afternoon.

Oppliger Cos. has six operations in Nebraska, including locations in Dickens, Paxton and Tryon.

The company started as a single feedlot outside Farwell, Texas, according to its website. In 1991, Oppliger acquired a 35,000-head feedlot near Clovis, New Mexico, before expanding to Nebraska in 1998.

According to its website, the company currently includes six large-scale feedlots, more than 55,000 acres of irrigated farmlands, thousands of acres of ranch land and a dairy.

This is a developing story.
A five-month streak of manufacturing job gains finally ended last month as the U.S. trade deficit grew.

The manufacturing sector in the United States lost 1,000 jobs in May, according to the U.S. Labor Department. The country has added more than 70,000 factory jobs since December.

"The loss of manufacturing jobs in May is a stark reminder of the challenges that face factory workers: declining auto sales, a persistently high goods trade deficit, and muddled fiscal policies," Alliance for American Manufacturing President Scott Paul said.

"While the administration has initiated several trade reviews that could level the global playing field, they have yet to bear fruit. Good public policy can support new job opportunities in manufacturing, but Congress is no closer to boosting infrastructure investment, and a pro-jobs tax reform effort seems like a fading possibility. Policy solutions require leadership."

The United States also continued to import more foreign-made goods than it exports, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. In April, the U.S. trade deficit rose by $2.3 billion to $47.6 billion, including a $32.1 billion deficit with China.

Manufacturing is a hugely important sector in Northwest Indiana, employing more than 47,000 workers in the Gary metro area, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. It accounts for 11.5 percent of the Region's total workforce, trailing only health care and retail in size.

Factory jobs in the Gary metro, however, pay far better than both those sectors  manufacturing is the best-paying sector in Northwest Indiana with average earnings of $90,749 per year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
VALPARAISO  Herb Brown, who was born on a dairy farm in Monroe, Wisconsin, was shopping for a dairy farm in Northwest Indiana in 1947, when he discovered Clover Leaf Milk and Ice Cream Co. in Valparaiso was up for sale.

He said thats what Ive always wanted to do, said daughter-in-law Betty Brown, the familys current matriarch.

Browns' Dairy Inc. has been a fixture in downtown Valparaiso ever since, although now the visibility of that brand has been eclipsed by its ice cream, Valpo Velvet.

A few blocks off the courthouse square, its building painted like a red barn might remind visitors of an old-fashioned dairy farm  except the cows in the peaceful green pasture are painted peppermint pink, mint green and lemon yellow. Oh, and you might notice the moose antlers on one of them.

Inside, the rainbow-colored chairs, painted concrete floor and chalkboard menu invite guests to slow down and savor a few creamy licks.

Celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, Valpo Velvet Ice Cream is an iconic family legacy that offers ice cream lovers a quaint place for simple food and sweet treats.

Members of the Brown family, the companys owners since 1947, traced the history of their family business and served up bowls of its famous products for at the Porter County Museum recently.

Betty Brown was married to founder Herbs son, Gordon, who joined the familys dairy and milk delivery business in 1949.

It wasnt until 1973, when the Browns sold their milk routes to Dixie Dairy, that they concentrated on just making ice cream for the new Browns Ice Parlor and Restaurant, said Gordons son Mike Brown, who today owns the business with his brother Mark.

Todays Valpo Velvet Shoppe makes 80,000 gallons of ice cream each year for the companys largest customers  area grocery stores, restaurants and Blue Chip Casino.

Cathy Brown, Mike Browns wife, manages the ice cream shop, which also serves homemade soups and sandwiches with the help of the Browns three children, Katie, 22, Greer, 21, and Luke, 20.

Ice cream parlor

Cathys idea was to paint the colorful mural on the shops walls.

I thought it would be nice if we looked like a Wisconsin dairy farm with cows the color of bubble gum, said Cathy Brown.

The businesss two mobile trucks make it nice to take the ice cream to the people at local festivals and fairs, said Cathy Brown.

Cathy also mentors the communitys children, as many of them land their first jobs at the ice cream shop.

My job in life is to train 14-, 15- and 16-year-olds so they can go out in the world and get another job, said Cathy Brown. The younger they can a start working, the better.

Although the company boasts 50 different flavors, including the newest  chocolate malt  the four best-sellers are vanilla, French vanilla, chocolate and vanilla bean, with peppermint stick and butter pecan close behind, Mike Brown said.

But if I dont also make chocolate almond or burgundy cherry, Im in trouble, said Mike Brown.

They also create custom flavors, like bourbon ice cream for Journeyman Distillery in Three Oaks, Michigan, and a peach brandy ice cream for Valparaisos Fork & Cork restaurant.

They once made a popcorn-flavored ice cream for the Popcorn Festival, but the company that made the flavoring went out of business.

We still have people asking for that today, Mike Brown said.

Fond memories

At the museum event, visitors shared personal tales of their love affair with Valpo Velvet.

Every year on her birthday, Sue Harmon treated her Chicago co-workers to gallons of Valpo Velvet.

Everyone was so in awe of it. They had never had anything like it, said Harmon, who, with her husband Brian, brings their out-of-town guests to the Valpo Velvet Shoppe.

The kids love it, said Sue Harmon. Its the No. 1 spot for our visitors.

Beth Jewell said she has fond memories of working in the shop in the 1990s.

Its a family business, but when you worked there you were a part of their family, said Jewell. I hope the next generation will go on.

They scream for ice cream

Although they may have ice cream running through their veins, the Browns never seem to tire of it, and some have a difficult time picking their favorite flavors.

Mike Brown said his father had a bowl of ice cream every day, or he had a scoop of ice cream with my mothers delicious pies.

The 12 percent butterfat Valpo Velvet is made from locally produced milk and cream from Highland-based Pleasant View Dairy.

They pledge all their milk is non-GMO and from grass-fed cows, Mike Brown said.

Cathy Brown said tasty cream comes from cows that eat sweet grass, not from those that are fed grain.

And sweet cream makes good ice cream.

And you need good ice cream in life, said Cathy Brown.
Poet and Literary Underground founder Michele McDannold's monthly Legit AF reading series celebrates its first anniversary in Michigan City's Uptown Arts District next Monday.

McDannold has given a stage at the Artspace Uptown Artist Lofts Building to local artists, and brought in notable writers from across the country.

"At the foundation of all our activities is the belief that the creative process and experience should not be reserved for those with disposable income," she said. "As long as there are voices that are marginalized, I'll keep turning the lights on. Working in this vein is essential to a thriving arts community. I feel very fortunate to be living and working in the Artspace Uptown Artists Lofts, inarguably an essential component to Michigan City's Uptown Arts District. This is my small but persistent way of giving back."

The one-year anniversary will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. June 12 in the new Quality Beet grocery store in Suit C of the Artspace Uptown Artist Lofts Building at 717 Franklin Street. Open mic sign-up begins at 5:30 p.m., and the space is accessible from the side alley.

Poet and performance artist Craig Ultraviolence Cady headlines as the featured performer. Cady, a USC graduate whose nickname alludes to "A Clockwork Orange" and whose aim is to protect the world from the dehumanization and greed of the wealthy elite," is an artist in residence in Michigan City who has toured across the United States with musician and collaborator Lucas Carey.

On Monday evening, there also will be an open stage that's open to everyone, though "subversive and marginalized voices are particularly appreciated." Attendees can borrow small press books from the Magical Jeep Distributing Library.

Over the first year of Legit AF, The Literary Underground has brought in writers from across the state, as well as Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, California and Ohio.

The event, which is not suitable for children, is free, though donations are encouraged to cover authors' travel expenses and help bring more into town.

For more information, visit http://www.facebook.com/legitafmc/) or theliteraryunderground.org.
MICHIGAN CITY  Representatives from the Indiana/Kentucky/Ohio (IKO) Regional Council of Carpenters visited the A. K. Smith Career Center to congratulate the first LaPorte County Career and Technical Education students to complete the Career Connections program.

The program is the first in the state of Indiana to offer the Career Connections curriculum developed by the Carpenters Joint Apprenticeship and Training Fund (JATF), a program of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters. It combines hands-on carpentry projects with soft skills such as decision making and goal-setting. Students successfully completing the two-year course earn 14 dual college credits through Ivy Tech and fulfill requirements of six months of the Carpenters apprenticeship training program.

The Career Connections curriculum supplements units of study in the A. K. Smith Construction Technology program, which include carpentry, plumbing, heating, masonry, drywall, roofing, insulation, electricity, interior decorating, and finishing.

Six students completed all requirements of the program, including Lucas Grams, James Henrich, Kannen Martinez, Scottaries Orzech, and JaMieriea Woodard of Michigan City High School and C.J. Hawkins of South Central High School. Grams and Hawkins have accepted the offer of direct entry into the apprenticeship program, which is based in Hobart at the IKO training center. The other students are pursuing Construction Management majors in college or pursuing other related career fields.

We are so pleased to be celebrating these students and this partnership today, said Audra Peterson, Director of LaPorte County Career and Technical Education. This program has prepared them well, combining rigorous instruction with hands-on opportunities to learn from experts working in the field.

According to Scott Cooley, IKO Regional Council representative who was on hand to honor the students, apprentices earn while they learn, working at job sites during the day while attending tuition-free evening courses to earn an associates degree in Applied Sciences. Each year, 500 to 700 people take the qualifying exam, hoping to enter the apprenticeship program, but we bring in only 100, he said. To earn direct entry through Career Connections is a huge advantage for these students, and its ideal for us because we know they have the right skill set and understand the working conditions before they start.

This is a win-win for the students and for employers, said Joe Coar, Vice President of Tonn and Blank Construction, who was instrumental in establishing the partnership three years ago. Theres been a shortage of qualified applicants for the apprenticeship program in recent years, and the workforce is aging. These students will be in high demand and will make a great wage.
NEW YORK - In light of recent terrorist attacks, Mayor Bill de Blasio says he is banning cars from crossing through major parades in the city.

That includes the Puerto Rican Day and Thanksgiving Day Parades.

The mayor says tightening traffic will help police foil crude terror tactics.

For smaller venues, the mayor says the NYPD will decide if traffic can roll through during breaks in the parade.

The announcement comes after Saturday's terrorist attack when a van rammed pedestrians on London Bridge, leaving seven people dead and several others injured.

France also fell victim to a car-led terrorist attack last July when an 18-ton truck killed 84 people on Bastille Day.

The city had a scare of its own last month after a driver mowed down a crowd in Times Square, killing one person.
The meet will take place on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in Indonesia.
The families of two people who were killed in a three-vehicle crash in Macon County in March are seeking legal action against the companies they consider responsible for the tractor trailer that struck the van in which they were traveling.

The wreck occurred on March 10 at 6:30 p.m. on Interstate 85 N between mile marker 24 and 25 in Macon County, according to an Alabama Law Enforcement Agency release.

Bertha Zaragoza was driving the Toyota Sienna van which was struck by the tractor-trailer at approximately 70 miles per hour, killing passengers Angel Zaragoza, a 16-month-old boy from Hapeville, Georgia; and Roberto Linares, a 55-year-old Montgomery man.

The crash also injured other passengers, according to a complaint filed by Beasley Allen Law Firm lawyers in the Macon County Circuit Court on May 31.

The van was traveling in the right lane and approached backed-up traffic caused by Alabama State Troopers working on another wreck about half a mile ahead of the van. The van had slowed to approximately 25 to 30 miles per hour when Ronnie Slayton, a driver with Wooden Products, crashed into the van.

The complaint claims that Wooden Products leased the vehicle from Ryder and that both were responsible for the maintenance, repair and inspections of the equipment.

Defendants had a duty to keep the equipment up to minimum specifications in accordance with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety regulations, the complaint said.

It also states that Slayton negligently and wantonly operated the tractor-trailer and that Wooden Products and Ryder negligently and/or wantonly hired, retained, supervised and trained Slayton or maintained the truck he was driving.

This tragic crash was entirely preventable, said Michael Crow, an attorney with Beasley Allen, in a press release on Tuesday. The defendants had a duty to exercise reasonable care in the operation of the truck, including paying attention to traffic and driving a reasonable distance from other vehicles to allow for stopping.

Efforts to contact lawyers in the case were unsuccessful on Tuesday.
The heat of the summer is almost upon us, and though it might be warm and humid outside, you should be able to keep the inside of your home comfortable without sending your utility bills through the roof.

According to Bill Bell, owner of Energy Savers Heating, Air Conditioning and Indoor Air Quality, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, poor insulation and leaky ducts are often the reason you cant cool your home efficiently.

Here are a few steps you can take to help keep the heat out when summer arrives.

1. Service Your System

Always make sure your cooling system is professionally serviced for the summer. Pollen, dust and even dog hair can clog up your outdoor unit, which means it wont be able to efficiently transfer heat from inside to outside.

You could be losing 25 to 50 percent of your cooling performance if your unit hasnt been serviced, says Bell, whose company serves the Columbus, Georgia and Auburn, Opelika and Phenix City, Alabama communities.

2. Monitor the Humidity

If your thermostat is set at 76 degrees and youre still feeling a bit warm, humidity might be to blame. You can buy a meter that will measure the humidity in your home at your local hardware store. If it registers above 50 percent, the coils in your AC unit might be clogged up, which means you probably need to have the unit serviced.

3. An Open Door Policy

Dont close the registers or shut the doors in rooms you arent using. Your heating and air system was designed to cool a specific size house.

If you close off the ducts and doors, youll have a pressure imbalance, and youll be sucking in hot air, dust and pollen, Bell says.

4. Reverse the Ceiling Fans

During the summer, you want air blowing down on you to help you feel cooler than the actual room temperature. They should be turning in the opposite direction in the winter, to move the warm air off of the ceiling and back down into the room without feeling drafty.

5. Cover the Windows

Sun shining through your windows will make it hotter inside your home. Insulated curtains or blinds will help to manage this issue. The solar gain coming into your home will heat up the floors and furniture and creates a heating effect on the room.

6. Replace the Air Filters

Install a new filter every 30 days during the summer months. In warmer climates, such as the Southeastern United States, your unit works four times harder in the summer.

7. Dont Forget About the Attic

Heat can rise to up to 160 degrees in your attic in the summer. Make sure the attic is properly ventilated; wind turbines in the roof are the best option. Installing a vinyl insulation kit to seal off the door to your attic also is a good idea.

Is too much heat from the outside coming inside your home? Call 706-324-1738 in Georgia or 334-749-9300 in Alabama, or visit EnergySaversAir.com for help from people who know how to help you stay cool.
UK-based Portland PR represents Qatar, which fellow Arab states have charged with supporting terrorism.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, Libya, United Arab Emirates and Yemen today cut diplomatic ties with Qatar.

They said Qatar, home of Arab satellite TV channel al Jazeera, lends backing to the Islamic State, al-Qaeda and Muslim Brotherhood.

The Saudi official news agency said cutting ties with Qatar is to protect national security from the dangers of terrorism and extremism.

Qatar called the allegations complete fabrications and nothing more than a campaign to weaken it. It also denied meddling into the affairs of its neighbors.

David MacKay, senior partner in Portlands Washington office, told ODwyers that Qatar recently renewed its contract to support its D.C. embassys government relations and lobbying activities.

Portland also advises Qatar on public diplomacy and strategic communications.

Tim Allan, deputy press secretary to former UK prime minister Tony Blair, founded Portland in 2001.
Lindsey Carnett

Recent research from Wells Fargo suggests that 81 percent of American companies expect their international business activity to increase in the next year, with expectations of international revenue surging to 68 percent.

Factors such as global diversity in the C-suite make a business more likely to optimize global growth, moving away from the fear of risk and placing value on working with partners and stakeholders to seize international opportunities.

Driving international revenue is dependent on global marketing and localization. To achieve international brand growth, companies must push forward their strategy with the help of executives in influential positions, and reach and inspire international customers with innovative ideas to collectively drive their international revenues.

The move from an international communications strategy to something niche and localized is an attractive prospect for brands. Success in one market might not be directly translating into success in another country, putting the spotlight on an untapped demand for localized content. Similarly, a new audience closer to home may have been identified by marketers, raising the question of how to effectively reach them.

Whatever the reason, the demand for localized coverage has never been greater. A recent survey found that 79 percent of customers now expect personalization from brands and 66 percent of them welcome email marketing that targets them based on previous actions. This provides great opportunities for brands that want to go local on a global scale.

As with any change in communications direction, the shift should be approached with great detail. Its not simply about taking a blueprint and making it fit a new situationits about tailoring success to target markets.

Think global, act local

Customers are more digitally savvy and globally connected than ever before. Positioning globally relevant content is particularly important, and sometimes, these campaigns can miss out on the true individuality of local markets.

Marketers need to take care with the political, social and cultural meanings of their locations, as well as paying particular attention to the translation of slogans and the language barrier. Marketers should collaborate with local influencers to overcome these potential problems, ensuring that their global campaigns have a local and geographically specific feel.

Hybrid teams

Global and local teams need to come together to make a campaign a success. A good working relationship should be in place, with key strategy areas and objectives managed and led by individuals on the ground in relevant locations. The role of a chief communications officer is to manage reputational issues and the overall strategy of the campaign, guiding direction in a complex consumer landscape. Its only with this structure that brands can get an honest feel about what is working and what the needs of their target customers are.

Digital and media approach

Brands should be aware of the media landscape in a market, and in particular, the dominance of digital and hyperlocal outlets. Marketers should consider being inventive with their social media, involving local stakeholders to collaborate on videos and mobile content, and use niche media to target their message alongside more traditional communication strategies.

Brands would be wise to also consider tailoring landing pages to location, using local imagery and local people as part of their campaigns. The same strategy also works well for social media pages, with brands such as Ben and Jerrys using pages for regional markets effectively to capitalize on growth and customers.

The Johnnie Walker Keep Walking campaign is a good example of a global campaign with a local feel, with marketers using culturally relevant quotes to connect with consumers across many global markets, and turn the brand into one that is globally recognized.

Consistency

To transfer a successful local campaign to one on a global scale, marketers need to ensure consistency across all aspects of strategy. Branding and statement positioning shouldnt be compromised, and consistency of key points, USP and messaging should be protected.

Brands should use case studies of success to show how their achievements on a local level can be transferred to a larger scale. These stories of transformation and problem solving should be included as part of the overall strategy, personalized to location in order to set a brands new product or service apart from competitors in the market.

Analytical data

Making use of analytical data to assess where to focus efforts is a key priority for marketers looking to make global gains. By focusing on top traffic sources, keyword searches and shares on social media, marketers can see which messages resonate with particular groups, enabling them to tailor content for specific actions and shift strategy in real-time.

Similarly, marketers can use this data to efficiently monitor the effect their communications strategy has on actions like purchases, store visits, website clicks and social follows.

How you will make a difference

Above all, it is important that marketers determine how their product or service helps to solve problems and effect real change in the lives of consumers. Big brands like Unilever focused on issues that mattered to customers. Sustainability is one of these, and the company found that campaigns with eco-friendly messaging delivered half of the companys growth in 2015. Engagement at scale is a key indicator of a successful global campaign.

With brands keen to attract the savvy, global customer, a global communications strategy will become more important than ever before.

A hybrid team, focused on identifying cultural authenticity through brand consistency, is key to a campaigns success. In order to meet the demand for localized content, marketers should work with well-known influencers, creating content that appeals to consumers on a personalized level but at the same time connects with our wider world. This think global, act local approach will help brands to gain international brand coverage and drive commercial success.

***

Lindsey Carnett is CEO and President of Marketing Maven, a bicoastal integrated communications agency with international clients accounting for 30 percent of its customer base. She started her career as Marketing Director for a Scandinavian bioscience company. She can be reached at [email protected]
A decision Tuesday by a Douglas County District Court judge keeps alive a lawsuit involving an adoption from nearly five decades ago.

Former Omaha resident Kathleen Chafin filed a lawsuit this spring against the Omaha Archdiocese and the Wisconsin Province of the Society of Jesus, alleging in part that they engaged in an adoption conspiracy. Her son was adopted by an Omaha couple in 1968.

The Wisconsin Province has called the allegations unfounded and untrue. The archdiocese also denies the allegations.

The archdiocese and the province had filed motions to dismiss the suit, arguing in part that, because the claim occurred in the late 1960s, it is barred by the statute of limitations.

Judge Shelly Stratman did not dismiss the suit. Instead she granted a request by Ben Maxell, Chafins attorney, to file an amended complaint to clarify the claims.

Maxell said after the hearing that the amended claims will enable Chafin to add allegations to the suit that are not barred by the statute of limitations.

Chafins adoption story was the focus of an article in The World-Herald on Sunday.

James Frost, an attorney for the Wisconsin Province, argued that the statute of limitations remains a key reason to dismiss the suit.

There are certain facts here that arent going to change, he said during the hearing. We are left here with a claim that is clearly time-barred.

Patrick Flood, an attorney for the archdiocese, said he agreed with Frosts points.

Chafin was attending St. Louis University when she discovered in spring 1968 that she was pregnant.

The suit says that when Chafin came to Omaha during a college break, an Omaha parish priest allegedly told her she should not be married at all.

At that point, the suit claims, the defendants adoption conspiracy began.

The suit alleges that the Rev. Thomas Halley, an Omaha Jesuit priest, came to Chafins home and berated her and told her she had brought shame to her family and giving birth out of wedlock was equal to murder.

The Wisconsin Province, in a previously released statement, said: The Province did not conspire with anyone and it did not profit from the adoption of any infants, Ms. Chafins included.

The province commissioned an independent investigation of Chafins assertions, the province said, which led to the conclusion that Ms. Chafin consented to the adoption of her infant and that the childs adoption was completed in accordance with Nebraska law.

Maxell, during the hearing, argued that the investigation was fraudulent. He said he will be adding more details into the lawsuit about that allegation.
The Oklahoma man who died after Omaha police shocked him with a stun gun suffered from mental illness and had been wandering, lost, in Omaha for a day after being kicked off an interstate bus, his family says.

Zachary N. Bearheels, 29, died early Monday after Omaha police used a Taser on him during a confrontation at the Buckys gas station at 6003 Center St.

Bearheels mother, Renita Chalepah, from Oklahoma, said she is heartbroken because she had called Omaha police on Sunday, seeking their help with her son.

Omaha police have said Bearheels was acting erratically as police attempted to take him into custody. Full details from police are not yet available because the department has not completed all of its interviews.

Chalepah said she called Omaha police early Sunday afternoon after her son didnt get off the bus in Oklahoma City. She had been waiting for him at the bus station and learned from another passenger that hed been ordered off in Omaha.

Chalepah said she remained in contact with Omaha police throughout the afternoon and into the evening. She spoke with her son  while he was with police  a few hours before he died. She said she could tell by his voice that hed gone off his medications.

I heard him say Mama, mama, And then another voice.

Her son was bipolar and schizophrenic, she said.

She said she asked officers to take him to the bus station or a crisis center. Her son was frightened of police but was accustomed to going to a crisis center, she said, because thats what police in Oklahoma do. Omaha police, she said, told her they couldnt place him under emergency care because he wasnt a threat to himself or others.

When I found out this (Monday) morning what happened to him, it broke my heart, because I kept in touch with these people, she said. What happened to my son? Why did they tase him like that?

Omaha police spokesman Officer Phil Anson said the full details of the encounter between Bearheels and police will be released once police interviews are completed. Four officers were involved in Bearheels arrest. One has been interviewed. The rest will be interviewed this afternoon. All four are on paid administrative leave. Their names have not yet been released by police.

In a preliminary press release, police describe the incident his way:

Officers were called to the Buckys at 12:36 a.m. Monday to handle a disturbance in which a man was refusing to leave.

When they arrived, officers took the man into custody. He had been reported missing by family and was displaying erratic behavior, the release said.

About an hour later, at 1:32 a.m., officers requested additional help at the scene.

Ten minutes later, they requested an ambulance after a Taser use. The man was taken to the Nebraska Medical Center with CPR in progress. He was pronounced dead on arrival.

As required by state law, a grand jury will be convened to investigate the officers actions.

Bearheels mother said her son was fine when he left Oklahoma to go to South Dakota.

He has traveled to South Dakota before, she said. Hes stable when hes on his medications. He can think on his own, he can function. Otherwise, I would never let my son get on the bus with him being mental like that.

Bearheels family wants a full accounting from police, his aunt, Tracy Poafpybitty, said, including any camera images, witness statements and police policy on the use of Tasers.

We are all in shock because he was supposed to come home and he never made it, she said.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska released a statement Monday calling for a thorough investigation, a review of the departments policy and police training on de-escalation.

Unfortunately, the (Omaha Police Departments) policy does not have clear written guidelines for use of a Taser on people experiencing a mental health crisis, people using medication to address mental health issues, or people under the influence of drugs or alcohol, said Danielle Conrad, executive director of the ACLU of Nebraska. This is a reminder that Tasers are lethal weapons and that they should only be used as a last resort.

The group released a report in 2014 on the use of Tasers by Nebraska law enforcement agencies. It said 47 of 63 Taser incidents from six agencies within a year and a half were inappropriate. The Omaha Police Department was not one of the agencies evaluated.

The Omaha departments guidelines for officers using Tasers are outlined in seven pages of the departments policies and procedures manual.

Officers must have at least two and a half years of law enforcement experience to carry a Taser and must score at least 80 percent on an annual proficiency exam, among other requirements. Anson, the police spokesman, said not all uniform patrol officers are equipped with Tasers.

Officers can use a Taser when dealing with people who pose a risk to themselves or are actively resisting officers attempts to bring them under control, according to the manual.

Theres a higher standard for use  elevated justification"  in certain circumstances, including if the subject is known to be pregnant, is frail or infirm or very young or very old. Officers are generally prohibited from using a Taser on a handcuffed suspect or to threaten or intimidate people.

Officers should avoid sensitive areas (head, throat, groin) when using a Taser, and call for an ambulance after use.

In 2005, under Chief Thomas Warren, the department increased the threshold for when officers are authorized to use Tasers. Previously, using a Taser was equated with techniques such as pressure points, which are not intended to cause injury.

Tasers have been linked to a handful of deaths in the past 12 years in eastern Nebraska.

In 2005 David Moss Jr., 26, went into cardiac arrest after Omaha police used a stun gun on him. He had been outside a home growling and salivating. An autopsy determined that Moss had a toxic level of PCP in his body, and a grand jury found no criminal wrongdoing in his death.

In 2008 a grand jury cleared a Lincoln police officer who used a stun gun on Gabriel Bitterman, 23. Bitterman, who had forced his girlfriend into a bedroom at knifepoint, stopped breathing after being shocked. An autopsy determined that he died from asphyxiation.

Last year, Alex Zoucha, 31, died after Bellevue police used a stun gun on him. Police say Zoucha was raging and screaming about Jesus, the devil and his grandmother while in a street in a residential area. Zoucha was shocked multiple times. He stopped breathing and died within the hour.

Sarpy County Attorney Lee Polikov said the cause of death was excited delirium with contributing factors of abuse of two over-the-counter cough and allergy medicines. The Bellevue officers involved were cleared by a grand jury.

A 2011 article published in the Western Journal of Emergency Medicine says excited delirium occurs suddenly and includes symptoms such as bizarre and/or aggressive behavior, shouting, paranoia, panic, violence toward others.

World-Herald staff writer Emily Nitcher contributed to this report.

* * *

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said Zachary N. Bearheels' mother was from Oklahoma City.
A 31-year-old Omaha man wanted in connection with the shooting death of Trent Stutheit was booked Tuesday into the Douglas County Jail.

Antoine C. Johnson was extradited from Denver, an Omaha police spokesman said. Johnson was arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder and use of a weapon to commit a felony.

Police were called to an apartment complex near 26th and Hamilton Streets about 8 p.m. April 16 to investigate a shooting. Officers found Stutheit, 29, on the ground with a gunshot wound. He was taken to the Creighton University Medical Center in critical condition and later died.

Police havent suggested a motive in the homicide. The second-degree murder charge suggests that authorities believe Johnson intended to kill Stutheit but did so without premeditation.

Stutheit, the father of a 2-year-old girl, worked for a carpentry company, a former girlfriend has said. He had lived in Omaha for about 10 years and was originally from Falls City, Nebraska.
COUNCIL BLUFFS  Community members, business and civic leaders, current and former educators and friends and family members gathered Monday evening to honor Martha Bruckner as she nears retirement as Council Bluffs school superintendent.

Bruckner will step down at the end of the month, after which she will transition to a new role as executive director of the Metropolitan Omaha Educational Consortiums Achievement Plan initiative housed out of the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Vickie Murillo will become superintendent of the Council Bluffs Community School District.

About 200 people, including education officials from across Iowa, gathered at Thomas Jefferson High School for a reception that featured alumni from Bruckners time leading the district. They shared stories of their success and how they were supported by the schools.

Dr. Bruckner, thank you, said Maria Brown, a 2012 graduate of Abraham Lincoln High School. Youve been a part of shaping all the graduates into who they are.

Bruckner told the crowd Monday that the influence shes had in Council Bluffs has been as part of a group effort.
Authorities say two Bellevue residents were injured by an explosion aboard a boat on Lake Manawa in Council Bluffs.

Firefighters and Iowa Department of Natural Resources officers responded to the blast around 6:50 p.m. Sunday on the northeast part of the lake.

The department said two of the four aboard were taken to a hospital in Omaha for treatment of their burns  Joshua Juranek and Kimberly Red. Both are 33.

Its unclear whether the others on the board were injured.

The explosion was being investigated.

Department officials also say a 9-year-old girl was hospitalized earlier Sunday after she was injured while tubing on Lake Manawa. Shes expected to make a full recovery, officials said.
As polls closed in Nebraska and the first returns came in Tuesday night, heavy returns out of Douglas and Lancaster County gave Democrat Carol Blood an early lead in the Nebraska governor's race over Republican Jim Pillen.
Firefighters from eight fire departments fought more than a major house fire Monday in rural Fremont.

They also battled Mondays scorching heat and steady winds that fed the fire. And they had to bring in water tankers because no fire hydrants were available.

Temperatures were in the 90s when the fire  at a large house on a lake west of Fremont, near Ames, Nebraska  was reported about 2:30 p.m.

Winds off the lake fueled the fire, said Fire Chief Wade McPherson of the Fremont Rural Fire Department.

No one was home when the fire broke out, McPherson said, and none of the approximately 50 firefighters who battled the blaze were injured.

The home, though, was a total loss, he said.

 Dodge County SO NE (@DodgeCosoNE) June 5, 2017

The home belonged to Fremont developer and Realtor Marlin Brabec, according to Dodge County property records.

The fire and its large smoke plume could be spotted from a distance. The smoke was detected by National Weather Service radar from Valley, Nebraska, to the southeast, meteorologist Becky Kern said.

Firefighters fought the blaze for about 6 hours, with the last crews leaving about 9 p.m.

Agencies called in to help included the Dodge County Sheriffs Office, the Nebraska State Fire Marshals Office and firefighters from Fremont, Nickerson, North Bend, Cedar Bluffs, Winslow and Scribner. The American Red Cross offered temporary housing assistance to the homes residents.

Several of the fire departments provided the needed water tankers to haul in water from about 5 miles away, McPherson said.

Trying to keep the aerials (fire engines equipped with the large ladders) fed with water was a chore, he said.

A construction worker spotted the fire and called 911, the fire chief said. The construction worker also saved two dogs, housed in a kennel near the house, from the blaze.
The D-Day invasion, 73 years ago today, liberated Europe from fascism. Crucial to the success was the Higgins boat, a landing craft developed for the military in the late 1930s by Andrew Jackson Higgins, a native of Columbus, Neb., who attended Creighton Prep. If Higgins had not designed and built those (boats), Dwight Eisenhower later said, we never could have landed over an open beach. The whole strategy of the war would have been different. A memorial at Frances Utah Beach rightly salutes the Higgins boat.
50 year old rule changed: 6 month deadline set to finish probe in corruption cases

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Aiming at eradicating corruption, the Government changed a 50 year old rule. The government has now set a 6 month deadline to complete probes in cases of corruption involving government employees.

The decision has been taken to speed up the investigation in such cases, most of them pending for quite a long time. The department of personnel and training (DoPT) has amended Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965, and decided a timeline for critical stages of investigation and inquiry proceedings.

The Inquiring Authority should conclude the inquiry and submit its report within a period of six months, says the amended rules. However, an extension for a period not exceeding six months at a time may be allowed for any good and sufficient reason to be recorded in writing by the disciplinary authority, it said. Earlier, there was no such time frame to complete an enquiry.

The disciplinary authority shall deliver to a government servant, accused of irregularity and corruption, a copy of the articles of charge, the statement of the imputations of misconduct or misbehaviour and a list of documents and witnesses by which each article or charges is proposed to be sustained, the new rules said.

On receipt of such articles of charge, the government servant shall be required to submit his written statement of defence, if he so desires, and also state whether he desires to be heard in person, within a period of 15 days, it said.

The time limit can, however, be extended for a period not exceeding fifteen days. But under no circumstances, the extension of time for filing written statement of defence shall exceed forty-five days from the date of receipt of articles of charge, the rules said.

At present, there is no time limit for submission of the employee's statement of defence. The new rules are applicable to all category of employees excluding those in all-India services--Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Forest Service (IFoS)-- and a few other categories of officers.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Tuesday, June 6, 2017, 5:58 [IST]
Kejriwal confident Delhi would choose AAP over BJP in MCD polls this time

AAP demands MP CM resign over deaths in farmer violence

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, Jun 6: The Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday demanded resignation of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan over the deaths of five persons in the farmers' agitation in the state.

AAP Madhya Pradesh in-charge Gopal Rai said the incident reflected anti-farmer mentality of the BJP who remembered farmers only during elections. "They have not been able to fulfil a single poll promise made during the elections," he said.

Five persons were killed today as the farmers' agitation turned violent in Mandsaur district, prompting the authorities to clamp curfew in the trouble-hit area.

Some eyewitnesses alleged that the victims suffered bullet wounds, but Mandsaur district authorities denied police fired on the protesters who went on a rampage.

PTI
AIADMK row: Sasikala, Dinakaran set 60-day deadline for party men, themselves

India

oi-Anusha

The leadership row in the AIADMK fails to settle down. With TTV Dinakaran walking out of Tihar jail, the party, that is already a divided house, is splitting into smaller camps. Sasikala Natarajan and Dinakaran have given themselves 60 days to observe and plan their next course of action.

Dinakaran who met V K Sasikala in Bengaluru central prison on Monday told media persons that his aunt had advised him to stay away from the party for 60 days. "For the next two months, I will not interfere in the party affairs but I will be back after that. None has the power to remove me expect the general secretary. I am still the party's Deputy General Secretary," Dinakaran said. His statements are a far cry from what he had said prior to his arrest.

In mid-April when AIADMK Amma faction had announced that he and Sasikala would be kept away from party affairs, Dinakaran had claimed that he would welcome it. His tone, tenor and attitude were very different on Monday. From a submissive, helpless man in April, Dinakaran after meeting Sasikala on Monday seemed confident and determined.

The 60-day countdown has begun

The 60 days deadline is not just for Sasikala or Dinakaran but to party members who have jumped ships. MLAs Perambur Vetrivel, Aandipatti Thanga Tamilselvan, Sathur Jakkaiyan, Periyakulam Kathirkamu, Solingar Parthiban, Neelakottai Thangadurai, Ambur Balu, Kudiyatham Jayanthi, Radhapuram Enbadurai, MP Coimbatore Nagraj and former MLAs Vadivelu and Melur Swamy accompanied Dinakaran to Bengaluru on Monday. The rally was a show of strength that Dinakaran and Sasikala still have in the party. To have so many party leaders and representatives accompany Dinakaran to Bengaluru was to drive home a message that leaders in the party are still with the Mannargudi family. The family is confident that more leaders will return to their camp and those in the AIADMK Amma faction will extend support. It may be noted that despite asking for the family to stay away from the party and the government, AIADMK Amma faction is still submitting affidavits supporting their respective appointments to the election commission.

Edappadi Palanisamy plays a safe game

Before she went to jail, Sasikala Natarajan made two appointments. Dinakaran was appointed as the Deputy General Secretary of the party, a post created for him and Edappadi Palanisamy as the legislative party leader. Ever since talks of a merger between the two factions of the AIADMK got underway, Edappadi Palanisamy has refrained from talking about it in public domain. No statements have come from the Chief Minister on initiating merger talks. Even as his camp decided to yield to the demands of Panneerselvam camp to suspend Sasikala Natarajan and Dinakaran from the party, it was Jayakumar who made an announcement to that effect. Once again, Palanisamy did not make any statements against Sasikala or Dinakaran.

New developments in the next two months

Sasikala's advice to Dinakaran is 'wait and watch'. In this period, the aunt-nephew duo hopes to lure leaders back in their support. While money is not a concern for the family, political relevance is of prime importance. With Dinakaran vowing to return to party activities in two months, expect more leaders to shift loyalties and jump ships once again pushing Tamil Nadu to political turmoil.

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Story first published: Tuesday, June 6, 2017, 12:53 [IST]
In regular touch, trying for consular access: MEA on detention of 8 Indians in Qatar

Arab crisis: Flying to Qatar from India to be costlier, longer

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Flights to Qatar from India will be costlier. There would be no disruption of flight services between India and Qatar or vice-versa, but the travel time will be longer. Saudi Arabia, Baharain among other countries on Monday cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar accusing the country of supporting terrorism.

The flights between India and Qatar would have a longer journey to make after Saudi and Bahrain closed their airspace for flights from Qatar.

The UAE has told Indian carriers that their aircraft overflying or crossing its airspace on India-Doha route must take its permission before doing so.

Flights from places other than north India like Mumbai and the south will have to take a much longer route: fly north over the Arabian Sea, enter Iran and then fly straight over the Persian Gulf to Doha. If UAE denies permission, then the same would have to be taken on return.

Jet Airways, AI Express and IndiGo and and Qatar Airways fly between India and Doha. Those QA flights flying from Delhi to Qatar will not be affected as they will fly over Pakistan and then enter Iran. The rest of the flights will be affected.

With UAE banning Qatari-registered planes from its airspace, flights between the West and Doha may have to take a longer route via Iran.

These factors would result in longer flying time which automatically would mean that the flying cost too would go up. There would be more fueling and this would lead to the cost shooting up.

Indian carriers also face another problem as Bahrain is the alternative airport for their aircraft headed to Doha. If for some reason an aircraft has to divert then it will not be able to fly directly to Qatar from Baharain.

Jet Airways has five daily flights between Doha and Delhi, Mumbai, Cochin, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode. Air India Express has a daily flight between Doha and Calicut; four times a week from Mumbai and thrice weekly from Mangalore. IndiGo has a daily flight from Delhi and Mumbai and plans to start from Kozhikode in July. QA lists 13 Indian cities as destinations, including all the metros.

OneIndia News
Doval doctrine and Army's iron fist: Kashmir clean up in two months

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The Doval doctrine clubbed with the iron fist of the Indian Army is what you are getting to witness in Kashmir today. National Security Advisor, Ajit Doval's doctrine made says, "Do not overreact, it will pass off as they cannot sustain beyond a point."

On the other hand, the Indian Army which has been given a free hand to deal with the Kashmir crisis has promised to wipe out every militant by the next winter sets in.

Wiping out the 180 odd militants in the Valley is important for the restoration of peace in the Valley. The Army will deal with the protestors who try and foil operations. The Army wants the Valley to stay terrorist free before the winter sets in December. Once the winter sets in, terrorists do not infiltrate from Pakistan due to heavy snowfall.

Pakistan is well aware of this and has been stepping up the infiltrations. However the Indian has been repeatedly hitting Pakistan posts across the Line of Control. These posts have been instrumental in the infiltrations as the soldiers provide cover fire to terrorists.

While December is the outer limit given by the Indian Army to wipe out terrorists from the Valley, some officials that OneIndia spoke with say they are confident that this operation can be completed in two months.

The Army units have prepared themselves on all fronts. There are strict instructions to stay on high-alert at all times. All Intelligence Bureau reports relating to Kashmir clearly show that terrorists would either look to strike during the wee hours of the day or hit convoys. An example of the soldiers being on high alert was displayed during the Sumbal attack. It took the soldiers of the CRPF not more than an hour to kill the four terrorists who launched the attack.

What is the Doval doctrine for Kashmir?

"Do not overreact, it will pass off as they cannot sustain beyond a point. The NSA made it clear that there was no need to overreact as these troublemakers could not sustain beyond a point. In 2010 when Kashmir was witnessing massive protests, Doval had said, "Do not overreact, it will pass off as they cannot sustain beyond a point."

Doval says that the biggest problem was the policy of appeasement that was being followed since 1947. He felt that the focus should have been to vacate the Pakistan forces out instead of going to the United Nations. Also, by accepting Article 370 in the state, it only made the people of Jammu and Kashmir look different and this led to separatism. He also felt that such policies only gave Pakistan the upper hand in setting the agenda.

He even spoke about the clarion calls for protests and stone pelting that would be issued from the mosques. He even justified the use of force while ascertaining that in most cases the protestors had a murderous approach. Doval, however, emphasised that use of force against innocents was wrong.

The NSA had emphasised on the need to give Pakistan a decisive blow. Pakistan must realise and understand that it cannot take on India. Pakistan has this belief that it can take on India and only through a decisive blow will they understand that they thinking is wrong, Doval said. He also said that with such action, the separatists too would realise who the real power is.

The Indian Army's iron fist policy:

The Government of India has given the Army a free hand to deal with the situation in Kashmir. The Army won't be bogged down by political interference while dealing with the situation in the Valley, the government has made it clear.

The tempo is up and the Army is going for the kill. There is no other way to deal with terrorists, highly placed sources say. The approach is more aggressive and while engaging with terrorists this is no scope for dialogue.

They have to be gunned down and there is no two ways about it, the source also said. While on one hand the Army is dealing with the militants in the Valley on the other it is hitting Pakistan posts by carrying out punitive fire assaults.

These strikes have ensured that at least 20 terrorists have been wiped out. More importantly the posts that are hit strategically were the ones aiding infiltration of terrorists by providing cover fire.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Tuesday, June 6, 2017, 16:19 [IST]
Madhya Pradesh farmers' protest: Five dead in police firing, curfew imposed

India

oi-Anusha

Five farmers were killed after security forces opened fire in Mandsaur of Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday. At least half a dozen protesting farmers sustained injuries as they clashed with police. Curfew was imposed in sensitive areas across the state after protests turned violent.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister after convening a meeting with his cabinet announced compensation of Rs 10 lakh to families of those killed in the violence. Rs 1 lakh was announced as exgratia to those seriously injured and Shivraj Singh Chouhan assured that the medical expenses of those who sustained injuries would be paid by the government. Reaching out to the farmers, Chouhan said those killed were "our people". "I can understand the pain of their families," he said, promising a government job each to the families of the victims."Please maintain peace. The government is with farmers," he added.

       . 10 ,    1              ShivrajSingh Chouhan (@ChouhanShivraj) June 6, 2017

Condemning the incident, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi said the government is at war with farmers.

Meanwhile, Senior Congress leader and former chief minister Digvijay Singh has called for a bandh on June 7 because of the violence.

Earlier in the day, the government had denied giving any orders to the police to open fire at the protesters. "Police has not fired. A probe has been ordered into the same. Neither has the government ordered for suspension of internet nor is there any curfew or clamp down in place," said Madhya Pradesh's Home Minister Bhupendra Singh.

Meanwhile, the opposition attacked the government for failing to address farmers' issues and letting them down. Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter to declare that the government was at war with farmers.

This Govt is at war with the farmers of our country#Mandsaur #MadhyaPradesh https://t.co/HQsjluDUPg  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) June 6, 2017

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has ordered a judicial probe into the violence that broke out on Tuesday. Despite MP Kisan Sena (MPKS) and Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) withdrawing their protest after Chief Minister's assurances, other farmer bodies continued to agitate. The Kisan Union and Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangh continued their stir on Tuesday. The police opened fire in Mandsaur as the situation got out of hand on in which farmers were killed, worsening the situation further.

For days now, farmers in Madhya Pradesh have been protesting demanding higher prices for their produce including onions and dal. Loan waiver is a concern for farmers in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra where protests were witnessed. Protests turned violent in many places across Madhya Pradesh with protesters pelting stones at policemen torching police and other vehicles and vandalising shops.

Internet services were banned in Ratlam and Neemuch as well following the farmers' protest. Earlier, internet services were suspended in Maharashtra's Nasik which is also witnessing massive farmers' protests.

OneIndia News
Climate crisis: Even 2C would cause permanent damage to Earths species

Several western European countries in grip of severe heatwave, with record breaking temperatures

Thanks to September rains, Delhi records min temp of 23.6 deg C

From 1901 to 2017: Know how Indias temperature is increasing over the years

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

New Delhi, June 6: On the occasion of World Environment Day, celebrated across the globe on Monday, Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment released a study-- India warming analysis-- to understand how India's temperature graph has changed in the last 116 years (from 1901 to 2017).

The study, first-of-its-kind, clearly showcased that the country's temperature has considerably increased, making it much hotter than a century ago.

According to the study, the annual mean temperature in India has increased by 1.2 degrees Celsius since the beginning of the 20th century. In fact, 2016 was the second warmest year on record with temperature of 1.26 degrees Celsius higher than its previous years.

Moreover, the winter of January-February in 2017 was hottest in recorded history with temperature of 2.95 degrees Celsius higher than the baseline.

"India is witnessing higher frequency and intensity of extreme weather events-- droughts, floods, heat waves, etc.--because of rapidly increasing temperature," stated a press release of the CSE.

"Along with the India warming analysis from the CSE, Down To Earth (a magazine run by the CSE) released its State of India's Environment in Figures--a unique collation of data on environment-development issues, in the form of an e-book. The e-book covers subjects ranging from environmental crime and climate change to air pollution and water contamination," added the press release.

The study looked at temperature trends in the country--both annual and seasonal--from 1901 till recent years. The analysis showcased that the country has been getting warmer continuously, consistently and rapidly.

The researchers of the CSE have plotted this rise in temperature on an animated spiral-- the first such visual representation to come from India. A similar climate spiral graph depicting global rise in temperatures is already in existence.

What the analysis says

1. 2016 was the second warmest year on record.

2. 13 out of the 15 warmest years were during the past 15 years (2002-2016). The last decade (2001-2010/ 2007-2016) was also the warmest on record.

3. Annual mean temperature in India has increased by about 1.2 degrees Celsius since the beginning of the 20th century.

4. Annual mean temperature in India has rapidly increased since 1995. At this rate of increase, it will breach the 1.5 degrees Celsius mark within the next two decades. 1.5 degrees Celsisus is the aspirational target set under the Paris Agreement.

5. In three out of four seasons (or nine months in a year), temperature in India has already increased by more than 1.5 degrees Celsisu since the beginning of the 20th century.

6. Winters and pre- monsoon (summers) and post-monsoon seasons have seen rapidly increasing warming. Mean temperature during winter months is now over 2 degrees Celsius warmer than in the beginning of the 20th century.

7. In the winter of 2016-17, the mean temperature was 2.95 degrees Celsius higher than the 1901-1930 baseline--the warmest in recorded history.

8. It is only during the monsoon months that the temperature increase is about 1 degrees Celsius.

What are the implications of this temperature increase?

The frequency and intensity of extreme weather events is increasing with rising temperature. For example, in winters of 2017 when the average temperature was 2.95 degrees Celsius higher than the 1901-1930 baseline, the worst drought in a century happened in southern India: Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala were worst-hit, with 330 million people coming under the grip of drought.

Similarly, during summers of 2010, when the average temperature was 2.05 degrees Celsius higher than the baseline, again the highest in recorded history, severe heat wave conditions prevailed over large parts of India. These conditions claimed more than 300 lives. In addition, four cyclonic storms hit India that year.

Chandra Bhushan, deputy director general, the CSE, says,"India is warming and warming rapidly. The implications of this fundamental fact are serious for economic, social and ecological well-being of the country.

We are experiencing frequent extreme weather events, and our weather is becoming unpredictable. Losses due to extreme weather events are mounting and it is our poor who are suffering the pains of climate change."

Sunita Narain, director general, the CSE, says, "With the US exiting the Paris Agreement, controlling emissions and temperature is now a tougher task for the world. We appeal to the global community to come together and take strong actions."

OneIndia News
The mehangai opposition is looking for is not there

Govt to issue rules on no-fly list by June 20

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, Jun 6: The Centre is likely to release its rules on a no-fly list for unruly passengers by June 20, Union minister Jayant Sinha said on Tuesday.

The ministry of civil aviation had last month issued its draft rules for a national no-fly list and invited stakeholders' comments within the next 30 days. It had mooted a ban on flying from three months upto an indefinite period for unruly passengers.

"The deadline (for comments) has passed, and we have received many suggestions. June 20 is our target date for issuing the final Civil Aviation Requirement," Minister of State for Civil Aviation Sinha told reporters on the sidelines of an event. He added that the ministry is currently evaluating the suggestions and taking the advice of the DGCA on the matter.

The government has recommended three levels of unruly behaviour, each with a corresponding duration of flying ban of 3 months, 6 months and two years or more without limit. The draft is an amendment to the existing Civil Aviation Requirement, a set of rules on unruly and disruptive passengers.

The move to revise the existing rules came in the wake of Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad assaulting an Air India staffer with a slipper for not being able to fly business class in an all-economy flight in March.

PTI
Should Kashmir be given to Pakistan: Row erupts after this question appears in MP civil service exam

How ghost of Burhan Wani is haunting young couples in Kashmir

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Srinagar, June 6: Life in violence-hit Kashmir is pretty uncertain. The residents of the Valley say they are not sure what "turmoil" might befall them the very next minute. Amid tension, conflict and uncertainty, the residents of the Valley are somehow managing their day-to-day life.

But normalcy is a far cry in Kashmir, especially since April as the Valley is seeing a repeat of the last year's violence. If on one hand, the youngsters are protesting and pelting stones against the army on streets of Kashmir, on the other, the Pakistani-sponsored terrorists are repeatedly attacking the border areas.

In such a situation, this summer the Valley is gearing up to host weddings of young couples. Traditionally, Kashmiris host weddings during summers. However, there is very little time for families to organise marriage ceremonies this year.

The weddings in the Valley--likely to start from June 28 (after Ramzan) had to get over by July 7--as July 8 marks the first death anniversary of former Hizbul Mujhadeen commander, Burhan Wani.

Last year, Burhan was killed in a gunfight with the security forces, following which the Valley erupted in violence. Observers say protesters might renew their agitation on Burhan's first death anniversary.

Thus a host of weddings are scheduled to take place within a gap of 10 days between June 28 and July 7 to avoid any problems.

Report says that there is so much of rush to organise weddings that waazas (the traditional Kashmiri cooks), tent house owners and photographers, to name a few are finding it hard to give dates to the clients.

If on one hand, a few Kahsmiri couples are dreaming to get married soon, others are reluctant to start new lives as they don't feel like celebrating when many are dying and getting injured in the Valley on a daily basis.

Residents say it is not just weddings, every important function and celebration in the Valley is shrouded in violence.

OneIndia News
IM boss, Yasin Bhatkal tells court he is hungry during Ramadan

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Yasin Bhatkal who was sentenced to death for killing scores of innocent people is hungry. He says that he is not getting enough food at the Tihar Jail in Delhi where he is currently lodged. A Delhi court has sought a response from the jail authorities on the plea filed by the boss of the Indian Mujahideen.

He alleges in the petition that he is hungry and is also being denied proper medical attention. He has sought a probe by the CBI and the Anti-Corruption Bureau to look into the complaints made by him. Additional Sessions Judge Siddarth Sharma has sought a reply from jail authorities by June 8.

In the holy month of Ramadan, the quantity and quality of food has gone down. I am fasting and have been denied food several times, he also said in his plea. He complained that eating under-cooked food has given him a stomach ache several times.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Tuesday, June 6, 2017, 7:28 [IST]
In pursuit of Shivalinga, villagers dig up a national highway in Warangal

India

oi-Anusha

Residents of a village in Telangana dug up a 20-foot pit on the National Highway in pursuit of a Shivalinga on Monday. Following a man's claims of dreaming about a Shivalinga buried underground, villagers including the municipal vice-chairman 'excavated' a fully functional and important highway connecting Hyderabad and Warangal. The ruckus brought traffic to a standstill and the police intervened hours later when it was too late.

It was a criminal abuse of public property when residents of Pembarthy village in Jangaon decided to believe anything that 30-year-old Lakhan Manoj had to say. Manoj claimed that he saw Lord Shiva in his dreams who conveyed to him that a Shivalinga was buried near the village. Manoj told the village leaders that the Linga had to be excavated and a temple built in the same place. Carried away by his claims, the villagers agreed to dig up a National Highway where the Linga was supposedly buried, according to Manoj's claims.

In a video that was shot by those witness to this madness, Manoj is seen swaying and shaking vigorously inside the pit that was dug out. But despite digging for over 20-feet no Shivalinga was found. The chaos led to traffic pile up and the police arrived at the spot. Police saw that the villagers had used shovels, earth movers to dig up the pit arrested those responsible. Six people including the village leader were arrested for damaging public property.

The police were appalled at the confidence the locals showed towards Manoj who claimed to have dreamt about a buried Shivalinga. "Investigation is on and we understand that the villagers trusted this man's claims of a Shivalinga being buried at the spot. We have closed the pit, for now, to ensure smooth traffic flow and action against those arrested will be initiated," said West Zone DCP T Venkanna

OneIndia News
FM Nirmala Sitharaman hints at possibility of Centre considering restoration of state status to J&K

J&K: 1 civilian killed in clash between protesters, security forces in Shopian

India

oi-Madhuri

One civilian killed and 10 other civilians were injured in clash between protesters and security forces during cordon operation in Shopian's Ganowpora.

According to sources, the civilian killed has been identified as Adil Farooq who is 17-year-old was a student of class 12th in South Kashmir's shopian district.

This evening, the security forces launched the cordon- and-search operation in Ganowpora area of Shopian following information about presence of militants there, a police official said.

However, the local residents pelted stones at the security forces who fired tear smoke shells to chase them away, the official said. Some time later, the stone-pelting intensified and the security forces had to open fire to disperse them, the official said.

Reports said that Adil suffered a bullet injury during the clashes, following which he was rushed to District Hospital Shopian where he was declared dead on arrival.

OneIndia News
National Herald to get 2nd birth in poll-bound Karnataka

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Bengaluru, June 6: If reports are to be believed, the pre-Independence era newspaper, The National Herald, founded by India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru back in 1938, is all set to be relaunched in Bengaluru, Karnataka, on June 12.

In 2008, the newspaper, known to be backed by the Congress and the Gandhi family, stopped its publication citing financial constraints. What is interesting is that the Congress has decided to relaunch the newspaper from the southern state which is set to go on polls in 2018.

Analysts are saying that the newspaper is likely to act as a mouthpiece for the Congress in Karnataka as the political party hopes to retain power in the state for the second time in a row.

Vice President Hamid Ansari will launch a commemorative edition of The National Herald to mark the 70th year of Independence in India's IT hub on June 12, reported The Economic Times. The event will be attended by Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and other top leaders of the party.

Afterwards, an official launch of the edition and formal print relaunch of the newspaper will take place in New Delhi on June 20. The Delhi meet will be graced by President Pranab Mukherjee.

"The BJP-led government at the Centre has used the assets owned by The National Herald to harass our party leaders. A court judgement about four months ago said the newspaper can continue to hold the assets provided the print publication is continued.

Beginning with this commemorative edition, the newspaper is now being re-launched," a cabinet minister in the Siddaramaiah government in Karnataka told The Economic Times.

The website of the newspaper--Nationalherald.com--was launched last year under the editorship of Neelabh Misra.

The newspaper has been mired in controversy after BJP MP Subramanian Swamy filed a case against Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul for alleged fraud and land-grabbing through the Associated Journals Limited that holds The National Herald in 2012.

"The NDA has used this case to go after our leaders including filing money laundering cases against them and dragging them to courts. Efforts to relaunch the print edition have been on from nearly two years as several issues had to be sorted," a senior Congress leader said.

OneIndia News
Karnataka: Pregnant woman burnt alive for marrying Dalit

India

oi-Anusha

A 21-year-old pregnant Muslim woman was murdered by her family for marrying a Dalit man in Karnataka's Bijapur district. The couple who eloped returned to the village hoping that their families would accept them but what followed was the ugly face of honour killing. Banu's family thrashed her husband and stabbed her multiple times before setting her ablaze even as neighbours remained mute spectators.

Banu Begum a resident of Gundanakala village in the Bijapur district eloped with 24-year-old Sayabanna Sharnappa Konnur. The couple's relationship was not accepted by their families since Sayabanna belonged to the Dalit community. Unable to convince their families, the couple decided to flee home and get married. The duo registered the marriage at a sub registrar's office in Mundebihal, Karnataka. In January earlir this year, Banu's parents had dragged Sayabanna to the police station and demanded that a POCSO case be registered against him. He was, however, let off since there was no criminal violation that he had committed.

The couple that eloped later returned to the village on June 3. A pregnant Banu had hoped that her family would accept their marriage. To their shock, Banu's family attacked the couple. Her sisters and their husbands thrashed Sayabanna who had to run to the police station to get help.

By the time Sayabanna returned with the police, the family had stabbed Banu and burnt her alive. Neighbours are said to have locked themselves up inside their houses even as Banu cried for help. Four members of her family including her mother have been arrested while the police are on the lookout for her sisters.

OneIndia News
Maharashtra SSC Class 10th Exam Results 2017, not today, tentative date June 9

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Officials will convene a meeting to decide on a date to declare the Maharashtra SSC Class 10th Exam Results 2017. The meeting is expected to be convened sometime this week.

The date of the result has not been decided as yet. The tentative date given for the results to be declared is June 9.

However according to Krishna Patil, the secretary of the secretary of the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE), Pune, no official date has been decided as yet. A review meeting will be convened soon, following which the date for the announcement of the result will be decided he said.

How to check Maharashtra SSC Class 10the Exam results 2017

Visit mahresult.nic.in , result.mkcl.org , mh-ssc.ac.in

, , Click on SSC results 2017

Enter roll number, other details

Submit

View results

Take a printout

OneIndia News
Maharashtra to write off 'biggest' farm loan using IT-based technology

India

oi-IANS

By Ians English

Mumbai, June 6: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis promised to implement what he termed as the "biggest" farm loan waiver in the state's history by October 31, as the state-wide farmers strike entered its sixth day on Tuesday.

"We will be writing off the loans of all deserving and needy farmers. For this we shall make use of IT-based technology. It will be the biggest farm loan waiver in history," Fadnavis told media persons this afternoon.

Seeking to justify the "delay" - as alleged by farmers - he said the state government needs four months for identifying the needy and deserving beneficiaries.

To avoid irregularities the government will take the help of IT-based technology this time, he said.

Referring to the six-day long strike, Fadnavis said the government is "prepared for negotiations" with the genuine farmers leaders, not with those who are firing from the shoulders of the farmers for politics.

Fadnavis dismissed the claims of success of the farmers strike and Monday's shutdown. He said: "Of the 307 APMC's, 300 were working, three were on strike, and four had their weekly off yesterday. I have complete details of the people behind the violence in different areas and the (political) parties to which they belong."

Maharashtra has witnessed, since June 1, the first ever "strike" by several lakhs of farmers who have secured support of ruling allies Shiv Sena and Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana.

IANS

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Story first published: Tuesday, June 6, 2017, 17:08 [IST]
Counter-productive for bilateral ties': Indian HC on harassment' of guests invited to iftar

The iftaar that never happened: BSF jawans were killed while buying bread

'Meat is disease', RSS ideologue Indresh Kumar stirs row

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh ideologue Indresh Kumar stirred up a row at an Iftar party held by RSS' Muslim wing at Jamia Millia Islamia by urging Muslims to quit consuming 'gosht' as it was a "disease" and include cow milk in Iftar.

Indresh Kumar justifying his statement told media that 'Prophet and his family never consumed meat. They used to say meat is a disease and milk is a cure.'

Prophet and his family never consumed meat. They used to say meat is a disease and milk is a cure: Indresh Kumar,RSS pic.twitter.com/qDNU6kiQ3f  ANI (@ANI_news) June 6, 2017

During his speech, Kumar said. 'From Adam to Prophet Muhammad nobody consumed 'gosht', it is a disease, milk is a cure. Prophets suggested providing milk along with sharbat Roza iftar'.

Earlier, students of Jamia Millia Islamia staged a protest against the university for inviting Indresh Kumar for an Iftar party organised by RSS- affiliated Muslim Rashtriya Manch. Despite writing a memorandum to the Vice-Chancellor Talat Ahmad against the move, Indresh visited the institution, said Imran Khan, a research scholar.

(With agency inputs)

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Story first published: Tuesday, June 6, 2017, 12:17 [IST]
Three down in three days: Congress loses yet another MLA to BJP in Gujarat

Modi government crushing voices of dissent: Ghulam Nabi Azad

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

New Delhi, June 6: The Congress on Tuesday attacked Modi government over its performance in the last three years, calling it a "hero on TV and zero on the ground".

Briefing reporters after a meeting of the Congress Working Committee, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said that "the government had failed to fulfill its promises to various sections, including the youth and farmers. He alleged that government machinery was being used to silence voices of dissent.

"Reffering to CBI searches on Monday at the house of NDTV network's co-founder Prannoy Roy Azad said that even the media which does not toe the government line, how it has been dealt with, we saw on Monday, we were seeing shamelessness. People have vanished with thousands of crores of bank money, what happened in Rs 50 crore that the government got rattled?" Azad said.

The CBI had registered a case against Roy, his wife Radhika, a private company and conducted searches at his south Delhi residence and his house in Dehradun for "loss of Rs 48 crore to ICICI Bank".

Taking a dig at NDA government, Congress President Sonia Gandhi said that whatever the success the BJP government has scored has come from the programmes started by UPA.

Sonia Gandhi, who chaired the Congress Working Committee meeting said that "the three years of Narendra Modi government was only good at repackaging the old schemes, which were started by Congress. But even there, they have abandoned the social welfare under pinning of all that we had sought to achieve and failed to provide any benefit to the poor and deprived."

The Modi government completed three years in office.Where there was harmony, there is discord. Where there was tolerance, there is provocation. Where there was relative calm in Kashmir, there is growing confrontation, tension and fear. Where there was economic potential, there is stagnation, there is a brazen campain to straight-jacket the whole country into a regressiveand narrow minded world view.

The Government's experiments and policies are charecterised by poor planning and shoddy implementations. They have been disastrous for our social and economic fabric. If we just look at demonetisation, which was touted as a great success. Till today, the government refuses to disclose how much of the demonetised currency in circulation was actually returned to the banks. It isn't that Reserve Bank of India has forgotten to count the money, the numbers actually show the scheme was a disaster.

Further she said that it is not just demonetisation. Make in India has failed to create jobs or employment. Unemployment rampant. Farmers are in distress. Worst of all, women, dalits, adivasis, minorities and other oppressed people are being whipped up and there is an assault on food habits of the people. The crisis in Kashmir has come to represent the colossal failureof this government.

On Presidential polls she said that "in times as these, it is even more essential that those who occupy august office should protect constitutionWe have met leaders of like-minded parties to find commoly acceptable candidates for these high offices. A Sub-group of representatives has been constitueted to take this forward."

OneIndia News (with agency inputs)
NEET 2017: Results to be announced after court vacates stay

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The CBSE has said that it set up two question papers across the country for the NEET-2017 exams. Further it has also said that question papers in 8 vernacular languages had been set up for the entrance exam. The submission was made before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court which had stayed the announcement of the results.

The Tamil Nadu government on the other told the court that it always stood against NEET.

The CBSE submitted that it would need 15 days time to declare the NEET 2017 results once it is permitted to do so. Thus the delay due to the order of the court is already beyond the permissible limit, the CBSE also stated.

The CBSE said that in the case the stay is not vacated the same would jeorpardise the future of lakhs of students. We need to complete the process and declare the results, it was also said.

The court directed the CBSE not to declare the results of National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) for MBBS and BDS courses till June 7. The CBSE sought to vacate the stay and allow them to announce the results.

The CBSE further submitted that the question papers were set differently to prevent it from leaking.

The HC was moved challenging the conduct of NEET exam on May 7. The court had restrained the CBSE from announcing the results till final orders were passed on the petition challenging the entrance examination.

Justice N Seshasayee had last week sought the replies of the CBSE and the Union health secretary on the petition alleging that the test was not conducted in a uniform manner across the country. Different sets of question papers in English and Tamil were used for the examination and the degree of difficulty in both varied, putting many candidates at a disadvantage, the petitioner alleged.

OneIndia News
Next President of India, Vice-President: Is it Sumitra Mahajan and Venkaiah Naidu

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Will Sumitra Mahajan be the next President of India and Venkaiah Naidu the next vice president? In the circles at Delhi, talk is abuzz that Sumitra Mahajan the Speaker of the Lok Sabha was asked to cancel an assignment abroad and told to stay back. News is abuzz that she is likely to be considered for the post of next President of India.

This move will check-mate the Shiv Sena which has a tradition of voting for a candidate from Maharashtra like they did in the case of Prathibha Patil. Although elected from Madhya Pradesh, she was born in Chiplun in Maharashtra.

The other news doing the rounds is regarding Venkaiah Naidu. Many in the BJP are keen on him being elected as the Vice-President of India. There could be a lot of advantages for the BJP in selecting Naidu as the VP candidate. He will not be just a Vice-President, but also the chairman of the the Rajya Sabha where the BJP has faced troubled times in the recent past.

Highly placed sources tell OneIndia that Naidu has been told to complete all pending engagements. These are clear signs that his name is under consideration for the post of President.

When asked about the candidature of Draupadi Murmu for the post of next President of India, BJP sources said that she too is under consideration. The Governor of Jharkhand, if elected would be the first tribal woman President of India. Sources also added that if certain equations do not work out, then there is a good chance that Murmu's name would go through and Sumitra Mahajan could be considered for the post of Vice President over Naidu.

Meanwhile there is hectic activity in selecting a candidate. The Presidential polls would be held in July and month later, the Vice President would be elected. The opposition on the other hand has suggested the name of former West Bengal Governor, Gopal Krishna Gandhi as its choice for President. However the opposition has also said that they would expect the BJP to select a consensual candidate. West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee had even said that she would support the candidature of L K Advani if the BJP proposed his name.

OneIndia News
Operation wipe-out: Pre-dawn alertness levels at all time high in Kashmir Valley

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The levels of alertness are at an all time high in the Kashmir Valley. With the Indian Army vowing to destroy every terrorist before the winter sets in, officials say that the forces have been advised to stay alert at all times. On Monday, the CRPF foiled an Uri styled attack on its camp at Sumbal, J&K. Four terrorists were gunned down in quick time when they tried to attack the camp.

On May 15, there was an alert that terrorists would strike at the camp. Terrorists had been video-graphing the CRPF encampment and when the fidayeen sneaked in and opened fire around 3.30am.

As terrorists launched the attack, the first responders at the camp were constable K Dinesh Raja and Prafful Kumar. The nearby Jammu & Kashmir police camp soon joined the action and the attackers were neutralised without breaching the camp security.

The Sumbal camp is close to where Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani operated. The alertness levels are normally low in the wee hours of the morning. However this time around, the terrorists were unable to succeed as the CRPF was on very high alert. Officials said that if the terrorists had managed to enter the camp, they could have inflicted considerable damage. There were around 100 CRPF personnel inside the camp at the time of the attack.

In a statement, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh appreciated the exemplary courage shown by Raja, Kumar and the commandant, Iqbal Ahmad, as well as company commanders Shankarlal Jat and Pankaj Hallu and guard commander Pankaj Kumar.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Tuesday, June 6, 2017, 5:45 [IST]
Bharat Jodo Yatra will proceed to Srinagar, come what may, says Rahul Gandhi as march enters Maharashtra

Demonetisation deliberate move by 'PayPM' to help his friends: Rahul Gandhi

Rahul to visit MP's Mandsaur, to meet families of deceased farmers

India

ians-IANS

By Ians English

New Delhi, June 6: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi may on Wednesday visit Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur, where at least five farmers were killed in police firing, said party sources.

Five farmers were killed and several others injured on Tuesday in Mandsaur as police opened fire on peasants, who indulged in violence and stone-pelting.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan ordered a judicial probe into the incident even as Mandsaur city and Piplya Mandi area were put under curfew after the violence.

IANS
Sign divorce papers or return alimony, court says in historic verdict

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

A woman was asked to return Rs 15 lakh alimony on the ground that she had refused to sign the divorce papers. This landmark verdict was delivered by a court in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

Either deposit the money to court registry or divorce your husband, the court said. If the woman agrees to divorce her husband then she will get the money or else the court registry will give the money back to her husband. The court has ordered her to return Rs 15 lakh in full by June 10.

The husband had moved the court stating that his wife had taken alimony of Rs 15 lakh, but was refusing to grant him a divorce. He married the lady in 2015 and then left for Dubai. While the visa procedure for the wife was on, she left her in-laws' house and started living with her parents.

This ended in a tussle between the two. Later on the family decided to get the couple divorced and also said that a settlement of Rs 15 lakh would be made. However the lady began demanding more money and said that she would not grant divorce despite the sum of Rs 15 lakh being paid.

OneIndia News
Udaipur killing: He had refused to open his shop for days, says wife of murdered

London Bridge attack: The 3 other times Pakis were involved in international terror incidents

International

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The investigations into the London Bridge terror attack threw up the name of a Pakistani. Khuram Shazad Butt was one among the three who unleashed rampage on London Bridge on June 3 in which seven persons were killed.

India has repeatedly spoken about the involvement of Pakistan and how it continues to harbour terrorists. This is however not the first time that the name of a Pakistani has cropped up in an international terror event. Names of Pakistanis have figured in the Paris and San Bernardino attacks as well. Here are the three instances in which Pakistanis have figured in terror attacks in recent times apart from India.

35-year-old Pakistani national, Mohammad Usman's name figured in the Paris attack. He was among the 11 persons against whom terror charges were filed. The Paris attack took place on November 13 2015 in which 130 people were killed. Usman was a member of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and was a bomb maker.

In San Bernardino of December 2, 2015, Pakistani citizen Tashfeen Malik, along with her husband Syed Rizwan Farook, killed 14 and injured 22. The attack was carried out on a holiday party.

In the Times Square incident of May 2010, the name of a Pakistani immigrant had cropped up. He had planted a car bomb at the intersection at Times Square. The bomb however failed to detonate. He was arrested while trying to board a flightt o the Middle East.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Tuesday, June 6, 2017, 17:21 [IST]
Trump says isolating Qatar is the 'beginning of end' of terrorism

International

oi-Madhuri

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that isolating Qatar is the 'beginning of end' of terrorism.

The comments on Twitter -- Trump's first about the rift between Qatar and major Arab nations over alleged support of Iran and Islamist groups -- came as the leader of Kuwait was to meet in Saudi Arabia to try to mediate the dispute.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed relations with Qatar and closed their airspace to commercial flights on Monday, in what Reuters said was the worst split between powerful Arab states in decades.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Tuesday, June 6, 2017, 20:10 [IST]
US call centre scam: 4 Indians, 1 Pakistani plead guilty

International

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

In the massive telephone impersonation fraud and money laundering case in the US, four Indians and 1 Pakistani have pleaded guilty.

Three Indians - Rajubhai Patel (32), Viraj Patel (33), Dilip Kumar Ambal Patel (53), and a Pakistani national Fahad Ali (25) - pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy before US District Court Judge David Hittner of the Southern District of Texas. Hardik Patel (31) an Indian national pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy before the same court on June 2.

Based on the statements in his June 2 guilty plea, beginning August 2012, Hardik owned and managed the day-to-day operations of an India-based scam call centre before later leaving for the US.

While in India, in his capacity as a manager, Hardik communicated extensively via email, text, and other means with various India-based co-defendants to operate the scheme and exchange scripts used in the scheme, coordinate the processing of payments from scammed victims, obtain and exchange lead lists used by callers to target US victims, and exchange spreadsheets containing the personal identifying information (PII) of US persons misappropriated by the scammers to register reloadable cards used in the scheme.

He also managed worker payroll and kept detailed records of profits and expenses of various associated scam call centres. According to his June 6 guilty plea, Rajubhai Patel operated as a runner and assisted a co-defendant in managing the activities of a crew of other runners, based primarily out of Illinois, who liquidated victim funds in various locales in the US for conspirators from India-based call centres.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Tuesday, June 6, 2017, 10:06 [IST]
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Report studies Point of Care CT Imaging Systems Sales in Global market that focuses on the top Manufacturers, Market Segment by Countries, Split by Product Types (with sales, revenue, price, market share of each type), Split by applications this report focuses on sales, market share and growth rate of Point of Care CT Imaging Systems Sales in each application.Request For Sample Report @The Point of Care CT Imaging Systems Sales report is offers a clear picture of the current and future trends, developments and opportunities. The report, prepared by a highly seasoned team of analysts and data experts, carries an array of tables and graphs besides qualitative analyses. Starting with a discussion on the current state of the Point of Care CT Imaging Systems Sales market, the report goes on to discuss the dynamics affecting each segment within it. The report segments the market to up to three levels and studies each of these in great detail. The result is a set of sharp insights and recommendations that will help companies stay ahead of the next new trend in the Point of Care CT Imaging Systems Sales industry.A basic overview of the Point of Care CT Imaging Systems Sales market is offered to readers through the use of market definition, segmentation, applications, and value chain analysis. The analysis for the Point of Care CT Imaging Systems Sales market is not limited only to traditional or emerging markets. It also covers regions that have been hitherto unexplored but have white space that could be lucratively tapped. In order to do this, however, a clear understanding of ones competitors is imperative. The report provides just that through a section dedicated to key company profiles and news. Equipped with this vital information, players in the Point of Care CT Imaging Systems Sales market will be in a better position to foresee opportunities and threats alike and make informed decisions.The regulatory environment, being such an intrinsic part of the Point of Care CT Imaging Systems Sales market, does need special focus. The report collates information relating to current and future policies and regulations that could directly or indirectly affect business operations. The report is an invaluable business intelligence repository for new and existing players in the Point of Care CT Imaging Systems Sales market.Access Full Report With TOC @For technical data and manufacturing plants analysis, the report analyzes Point of Care CT Imaging Systems Sales leading suppliers on capacity, commercial production date, manufacturing plants distribution, R&D Status, technology sources, and raw materials sources.This report also presents product specification, manufacturing process, and product cost structure etc. Production is separated by regions, technology and applications. Analysis also covers upstream raw materials, equipment, downstream client survey, marketing channels, industry development trend and proposals. In the end, the report includes Point of Care CT Imaging Systems Sales new project SWOT analysis, investment feasibility analysis, investment return analysis, and development trend analysis. In conclusion, it is a deep research report on Global Point of Care CT Imaging Systems Sales industry.About Fior MarketsFior Markets is a leading market intelligence company that sells reports of top publishers in the technology industry.Our extensive research reports cover detailed market assessments that include major technological improvements in the industry. Fior Markets also specializes in analyzing hi-tech systems and current processing systems in its expertise.We have a team of experts that compile precise research reports and actively advise top companies to improve their existing processes. Our experts have extensive experience in the topics that they cover.Contact UsMark StoneSales Manager2566, Lincoln StreetPrinceton,New Jersey 08540USAPhone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb:Blog:
Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Market Report 2017, Trends, Analysis, Share, Estimates and Forecasts to 2022.

http://www.strategymrc.com/report/polyvinyl-chloride-pvc-market

http://www.strategymrc.com/report/polyvinyl-chloride-pvc-market

According to Stratistics MRC, the Global Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) market is expected to reach around $85 billion by 2022 growing at a CAGR of 6.2% during the forecast period. The factors contributing to the market growth include increasing construction and infrastructure spending in emerging markets. Furthermore, huge growth in automotive industry is expected to stimulate the market. However, unstable raw material prices and the strict government regulations, mainly in North America and Europe are the key challenges faced by the market. Electrical & electronics market is likely to be the fastest growing application segment due to growing Chinese and Taiwanese electronics industry.The construction industry was the major end user segment using polyvinyl chloride products accounting for around 70% of the global Polyvinyl Chloride consumption. The rising demand of wood plastic composites and electric vehicles are the key opportunities in the Polyvinyl Chloride market. Asia Pacific has the major market due to high growth potential of construction industry. China was the major consumer in Asia-Pacific, accounting for more than half of the total regional consumption.Some of the key players in the global Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) market include Arkema, Braskem S.A, Chemplast Sanmar Limited, Axiall Corporation, Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. Ltd., BASF, Solvay S.A, Formosa Plastics Group, Westlake Chemica Corp, Georgia Gulf Corp, Occidental Petroleum Corporation, Xinjiang Zhongtai Chemical Co. Ltd, Ineos Chlorvinyls Ltd, KEM one, and Mexichem S.A.B.For More, Please Visit:Products Covered: Bottles Credit cards Cling films OthersMaterials Covered: Window frames Pipes Cables Flooring OthersEnd-Use Industries Covered: Construction Packaging Consumer Goods Healthcare Wire and Cable Coatings Electrical & Electronics Transportation Furniture and Clothing OthersRegions Covered: North Americao USo Canadao Mexico Europeo Germanyo Franceo Italyo UKo Spaino Rest of Europe Asia Pacifico Japano Chinao Indiao Australiao New Zealando Rest of Asia Pacific Rest of the Worldo Middle Easto Brazilo Argentinao South Africao EgyptWhat our report offers:- Market share assessments for the regional and country level segments- Market share analysis of the top industry players- Strategic recommendations for the new entrants- Market forecasts for a minimum of 7 years of all the mentioned segments, sub segments and the regional markets- Market Trends (Drivers, Constraints, Opportunities, Threats, Challenges, Investment Opportunities, and recommendations)- Strategic recommendations in key business segments based on the market estimations- Competitive landscaping mapping the key common trends- Company profiling with detailed strategies, financials, and recent developments- Supply chain trends mapping the latest technological advancementsFor More, Please Visit:We offer wide spectrum of research and consulting services with in-depth knowledge of different industries. We are known for customized research services, consulting services and Full Time Equivalent (FTE) services in the research world. We explore the market trends and draw our insights with valid assessments and analytical views. We use advanced techniques and tools among the quantitative and qualitative methodologies to identify the market trends. Our research reports and publications are routed to help our clients to design their business models and enhance their business growth in the competitive market scenario. We have a strong team with hand-picked consultants including project managers, implementers, industry experts, researchers, research evaluators and analysts with years of experience in delivering the complex projects.STRATISTICS MRC17049 King James Way, Gaithersburg,MD, 20877, USA
Chatbot Market Worth US$ 994 Million by 2024

https://www.marketresearchengine.com/chatbot-market-report

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The Global Chatbot Market is segmented on the lines of its platform, enterprise size and regional. Based on platform segmentation it covers web-based, mobile and stand alone. Under enterprise size segmentation it covers small enterprises, medium enterprises and large enterprises.Find Full Report @:How Big is the Global Chatbot Market?The Global Chatbot Market is expected to exceed more than US$ 994 million by 2024 and will grow at a CAGR of more than 27% in the given forecast period.The report covers detailed competitive outlook including the market share and company profiles of the key participants operating in the global market. Key players profiled in the report include Facebook, Inc., Astute Solutions, Haptik, Inc., Google, Inc., Imperson Ltd., Helpshift, Kiwi, Inc., Kasisto Inc., Pandorabots, Inc., Microsoft Corporation, ToyTalk (PullString Inc.), Slack Technologies, Inc. and Yahoo Inc.Company profile includes assign such as company summary, financial summary,business strategy and planning, SWOT analysis and current developments.The Global Chatbot Market on geographic segmentation covers various regions such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa. Each geography market is further segmented to provide market revenue for select countries such as the U.S., Canada, U.K. Germany, China, Japan, India, Brazil, and GCC countries.Table of Contents1 INTRODUCTION2. Assumptions and Research Methodology3. Market Overview4. Global Chatbot Market Analysis and Forecasts, By Platform5. Global Chatbot Market Analysis and Forecasts, By Enterprise Size6. Global Chatbot Market Analysis and Forecasts, By Region7. North America Chatbot Market Analysis and Forecast8. Europe Chatbot Market Analysis and Forecast9. Asia Pacific Chatbot Market Analysis & Forecast10. Middle East and Africa Chatbot Market Analysis and Forecast11. South America Chatbot Market Analysis and Forecast12. Competition Landscape12.1. Competition Matrix (By Tier and Size of companies)12.2. Market Share Analysis by Company (2015)12.3. Company Profiles12.3.1. Facebook, Inc.12.3.2. Google, Inc.12.3.3. Haptik, Inc.12.3.4. Helpshift12.3.5. Imperson Ltd.12.3.6. Kasisto Inc.12.3.7. Kiwi, Inc.12.3.8. Microsoft Corporation12.3.9. Slack Technologies, Inc.12.3.10. ToyTalk (PullString Inc.)12.3.11. Yahoo Inc.12.3.12. Pandorabots, Inc.12.3.13. Astute SolutionsAbout MarketResearchEngine.comMarket Research Engine is a global market research and consulting organization. We provide market intelligence in emerging, niche technologies and markets. Our market analysis powered by rigorous methodology and quality metrics provide information and forecasts across emerging markets, emerging technologies and emerging business models. Our deep focus on industry verticals and country reports help our clients to identify opportunities and develop business strategies.Media ContactCompany Name: Market Research EngineContact Person: John BayEmail: john@marketresearchengine.comPhone: +1-855-984-1862, +91-860-565-7204Country: United StatesWebsite:Address: 3422 SW 15 Street, Suite #8942, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442, United States
Global Detergent Sales Market 2017 Top Manufacturers - P&G, Unilever, Henkel, Clorox, Amway, Colgate, Phoenix Brand

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www.fiormarkets.com

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Global Detergent Sales Industry 2017 is a comprehensive, professional report delivering market research data that is relevant for new market entrants or established players. Key strategies of the companies operating in the market and their impact analysis have been included in the report. Furthermore, a business overview, revenue share, and SWOT analysis of the leading players in the Detergent Sales market is available in the report.Download Free Sample Report @In this report, the global Detergent market is valued at USD XX million in 2017 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2017 and 2022.Geographically, this report split global into several key Regions, with sales (K MT), revenue (Million USD), market share and growth rate of Detergent for these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringUnited StatesChinaEuropeJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaGlobal Detergent market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Detergent sales volume, Price (USD/MT), revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player,Covering ManufacturersP&GUnileverChurch & DwightHenkelCloroxReckittBenckiserKaoScjohnsonLionColgateAmwayPhoenix BrandLIBY GroupNice GroupBlue MoonShanghai White Cat GroupPangkamNafineLam Soon (Hong Kong) LimitedLonkeyReward GroupKaimiBaoding Qilijia Daily ChemicalBeijing Lvsan ChemistryAccess Full Report @On the basis of product, this report displays the sales volume (K MT), revenue (Million USD), product price (USD/MT), market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoDish-washing DetergentLaundry DetergentOthersOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate of Detergent for each application, includingTablewareClothingToiletOthersIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.About Fior MarketsFior Markets is a leading market intelligence company that sells reports of top publishers in the technology industry.Our extensive research reports cover detailed market assessments that include major technological improvements in the industry. Fior Markets also specializes in analyzing hi-tech systems and current processing systems in its expertise.Contact UsMark StoneSales Manager2566, Lincoln StreetPrinceton,New Jersey 08540USAPhone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb:Blog:
Gear Grinding Machine Market 2017 : Samputensili, Liebherr, Reishauer, Kapp Werkzeugmaschinen, Gleason

Gear Grinding Machine

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Gear Grinding Machine Market Research ReportA market study based on the " Gear Grinding Machine Market " across the globe, recently added to the repository of Market Research, is titled Global Gear Grinding Machine Market 2017. The research report analyses the historical as well as present performance of the worldwide Gear Grinding Machine industry, and makes predictions on the future status of Gear Grinding Machine market on the basis of this analysis.Request For Sample Copy of Report :Top Manufacturers Companies Covered In Gear Grinding Machine Research Report - Samputensili Liebherr Reishauer Kapp Werkzeugmaschinen Gleason Klingelnberg Kanzaki (Yanmar) EMAG FFG Werke Chongqing Machine Tool MHI ZDCY Qinchuan Holroyd Precision TMTWThe report studies the industry for Gear Grinding Machine across the globe taking the existing industry chain, the import and export statistics in Gear Grinding Machine market & dynamics of demand and supply of Gear Grinding Machine into consideration. The ' Gear Grinding Machine ' research study covers each and every aspect of the Gear Grinding Machine market globally, which starts from the definition of the Gear Grinding Machine industry and develops towards Gear Grinding Machine market segmentations. Further, every segment of the Gear Grinding Machine market is classified and analysed on the basis of product types, application, and the end-use industries of the Gear Grinding Machine market. The geographical segmentation of the Gear Grinding Machine industry has also been covered at length in this report.The competitive landscape of the worldwide market for Gear Grinding Machine is determined by evaluating the various industry participants, production capacity, Gear Grinding Machine market's production chain, and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Gear Grinding Machine market worldwide.Enquiry Here :The global Gear Grinding Machine market 2017 is also analysed on the basis of product pricing, Gear Grinding Machine production volume, data regarding demand and Gear Grinding Machine supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. Various methodical tool of Gear Grinding Machine such as investment returns, feasibility, and market attractiveness analysis has been used in Gear Grinding Machine market research to present a comprehensive study of the industry for Gear Grinding Machine across the globe.About Us:"Spire Market Research" is a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of technology industry. We are as a firm expertise in making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact Us5001 Spring Valley Road,Suite 400 East,Dallas, TX 75244, USA
Fuel Delivery System Market 2017 : Flowserve Corporation, Emerson Electric Co., Metso, Honeywell International

Fuel Delivery System

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Fuel Delivery System Market Research ReportA market study based on the " Fuel Delivery System Market " across the globe, recently added to the repository of Market Research, is titled Global Fuel Delivery System Market 2017. The research report analyses the historical as well as present performance of the worldwide Fuel Delivery System industry, and makes predictions on the future status of Fuel Delivery System market on the basis of this analysis.Request For Sample Copy of Report :Top Manufacturers Companies Covered In Fuel Delivery System Research Report - Flowserve Corporation Emerson Electric Co. Metso Honeywell International Bellofram Group of Companies Cashco, Inc Cameron (Schlumberger Limited) JANSEN Combustion And Boiler Technologies Watlow Electric Manufacturing Company ARi Industries, Inc. ABB LtdThe report studies the industry for Fuel Delivery System across the globe taking the existing industry chain, the import and export statistics in Fuel Delivery System market & dynamics of demand and supply of Fuel Delivery System into consideration. The ' Fuel Delivery System ' research study covers each and every aspect of the Fuel Delivery System market globally, which starts from the definition of the Fuel Delivery System industry and develops towards Fuel Delivery System market segmentations. Further, every segment of the Fuel Delivery System market is classified and analysed on the basis of product types, application, and the end-use industries of the Fuel Delivery System market. The geographical segmentation of the Fuel Delivery System industry has also been covered at length in this report.The competitive landscape of the worldwide market for Fuel Delivery System is determined by evaluating the various industry participants, production capacity, Fuel Delivery System market's production chain, and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Fuel Delivery System market worldwide.Enquiry Here :The global Fuel Delivery System market 2017 is also analysed on the basis of product pricing, Fuel Delivery System production volume, data regarding demand and Fuel Delivery System supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. Various methodical tool of Fuel Delivery System such as investment returns, feasibility, and market attractiveness analysis has been used in Fuel Delivery System market research to present a comprehensive study of the industry for Fuel Delivery System across the globe.About Us:"Spire Market Research" is a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of technology industry. We are as a firm expertise in making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact Us5001 Spring Valley Road,Suite 400 East,Dallas, TX 75244, USA
Food Additives Market 2017 : Cargill, CHRHANSEN, Sensient, Synthite

Food Additives

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Food Additives Market Research ReportA market study based on the " Food Additives Market " across the globe, recently added to the repository of Market Research, is titled Global Food Additives Market 2017. The research report analyses the historical as well as present performance of the worldwide Food Additives industry, and makes predictions on the future status of Food Additives market on the basis of this analysis.Request For Sample Copy of Report :Top Manufacturers Companies Covered In Food Additives Research Report - Cargill CHRHANSEN Sensient Synthite Sweetener Supply Corporation Southern Style Spices Frontier Co-op Organic Spices Inc Rocky Mountain Spice Company Great American Spice Company Oregon Spice Company San Francisco Herb & Natural Food Plant Lipids AVT San-Ei-GenThe report studies the industry for Food Additives across the globe taking the existing industry chain, the import and export statistics in Food Additives market & dynamics of demand and supply of Food Additives into consideration. The ' Food Additives ' research study covers each and every aspect of the Food Additives market globally, which starts from the definition of the Food Additives industry and develops towards Food Additives market segmentations. Further, every segment of the Food Additives market is classified and analysed on the basis of product types, application, and the end-use industries of the Food Additives market. The geographical segmentation of the Food Additives industry has also been covered at length in this report.The competitive landscape of the worldwide market for Food Additives is determined by evaluating the various industry participants, production capacity, Food Additives market's production chain, and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Food Additives market worldwide.Enquiry Here :The global Food Additives market 2017 is also analysed on the basis of product pricing, Food Additives production volume, data regarding demand and Food Additives supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. Various methodical tool of Food Additives such as investment returns, feasibility, and market attractiveness analysis has been used in Food Additives market research to present a comprehensive study of the industry for Food Additives across the globe.About Us:"Spire Market Research" is a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of technology industry. We are as a firm expertise in making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact Us5001 Spring Valley Road,Suite 400 East,Dallas, TX 75244, USA
Flavoured Milk Market 2017 : Nestle, Danone, Dean Foods, Lactalis, Fonterra

Flavoured Milk

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Flavoured Milk Market Research ReportA market study based on the " Flavoured Milk Market " across the globe, recently added to the repository of Market Research, is titled Global Flavoured Milk Market 2017. The research report analyses the historical as well as present performance of the worldwide Flavoured Milk industry, and makes predictions on the future status of Flavoured Milk market on the basis of this analysis.Request For Sample Copy of Report :Top Manufacturers Companies Covered In Flavoured Milk Research Report - Nestle Danone Dean Foods Lactalis Fonterra Hiland Borden Purity Mother Dairy Umang Dairies China Mengniu Dairy Co. Ltd Yili Industrial Group Co. Ltd.The report studies the industry for Flavoured Milk across the globe taking the existing industry chain, the import and export statistics in Flavoured Milk market & dynamics of demand and supply of Flavoured Milk into consideration. The ' Flavoured Milk ' research study covers each and every aspect of the Flavoured Milk market globally, which starts from the definition of the Flavoured Milk industry and develops towards Flavoured Milk market segmentations. Further, every segment of the Flavoured Milk market is classified and analysed on the basis of product types, application, and the end-use industries of the Flavoured Milk market. The geographical segmentation of the Flavoured Milk industry has also been covered at length in this report.The competitive landscape of the worldwide market for Flavoured Milk is determined by evaluating the various industry participants, production capacity, Flavoured Milk market's production chain, and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Flavoured Milk market worldwide.Enquiry Here :The global Flavoured Milk market 2017 is also analysed on the basis of product pricing, Flavoured Milk production volume, data regarding demand and Flavoured Milk supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. Various methodical tool of Flavoured Milk such as investment returns, feasibility, and market attractiveness analysis has been used in Flavoured Milk market research to present a comprehensive study of the industry for Flavoured Milk across the globe.About Us:"Spire Market Research" is a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of technology industry. We are as a firm expertise in making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact Us5001 Spring Valley Road,Suite 400 East,Dallas, TX 75244, USA
Flap Disc Market 2017 : Saint-, Tyrolit, Klingspor, Pferd, METABO, Deerfos

Flap Disc

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http://bit.ly/2rq68qp

Flap Disc Market Research ReportA market study based on the " Flap Disc Market " across the globe, recently added to the repository of Market Research, is titled Global Flap Disc Market 2017. The research report analyses the historical as well as present performance of the worldwide Flap Disc industry, and makes predictions on the future status of Flap Disc market on the basis of this analysis.Request For Sample Copy of Report :Top Manufacturers Companies Covered In Flap Disc Research Report - Saint-Gobain Tyrolit Klingspor Pferd METABO Deerfos 3M Stanley Black & Decker Swaty Comet Weiler CGW Gurui Industries Three Super Abrasives Yongtai Abrasives Shengsen Abrasives Yalida Abrasive Shanghai Fuying Yida AbrasiveThe report studies the industry for Flap Disc across the globe taking the existing industry chain, the import and export statistics in Flap Disc market & dynamics of demand and supply of Flap Disc into consideration. The ' Flap Disc ' research study covers each and every aspect of the Flap Disc market globally, which starts from the definition of the Flap Disc industry and develops towards Flap Disc market segmentations. Further, every segment of the Flap Disc market is classified and analysed on the basis of product types, application, and the end-use industries of the Flap Disc market. The geographical segmentation of the Flap Disc industry has also been covered at length in this report.The competitive landscape of the worldwide market for Flap Disc is determined by evaluating the various industry participants, production capacity, Flap Disc market's production chain, and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Flap Disc market worldwide.Enquiry Here :The global Flap Disc market 2017 is also analysed on the basis of product pricing, Flap Disc production volume, data regarding demand and Flap Disc supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. Various methodical tool of Flap Disc such as investment returns, feasibility, and market attractiveness analysis has been used in Flap Disc market research to present a comprehensive study of the industry for Flap Disc across the globe.About Us:"Spire Market Research" is a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of technology industry. We are as a firm expertise in making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact Us5001 Spring Valley Road,Suite 400 East,Dallas, TX 75244, USA
Fischer Tropsch Market 2017 : Sasol, Evonik, Nippon, Aimei Chem, Shell, Eastman

Fischer Tropsch

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http://bit.ly/2sEeV5R

Fischer Tropsch Market Research ReportA market study based on the " Fischer Tropsch Market " across the globe, recently added to the repository of Market Research, is titled Global Fischer Tropsch Market 2017. The research report analyses the historical as well as present performance of the worldwide Fischer Tropsch industry, and makes predictions on the future status of Fischer Tropsch market on the basis of this analysis.Request For Sample Copy of Report :Top Manufacturers Companies Covered In Fischer Tropsch Research Report - Sasol Evonik Nippon Aimei Chem Shell Eastman Michelman Deurex Westlake Chemical Nanyang Saier Zibo Texiang Zaoli Faer TER ChemicalsThe report studies the industry for Fischer Tropsch across the globe taking the existing industry chain, the import and export statistics in Fischer Tropsch market & dynamics of demand and supply of Fischer Tropsch into consideration. The ' Fischer Tropsch ' research study covers each and every aspect of the Fischer Tropsch market globally, which starts from the definition of the Fischer Tropsch industry and develops towards Fischer Tropsch market segmentations. Further, every segment of the Fischer Tropsch market is classified and analysed on the basis of product types, application, and the end-use industries of the Fischer Tropsch market. The geographical segmentation of the Fischer Tropsch industry has also been covered at length in this report.The competitive landscape of the worldwide market for Fischer Tropsch is determined by evaluating the various industry participants, production capacity, Fischer Tropsch market's production chain, and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Fischer Tropsch market worldwide.Enquiry Here :The global Fischer Tropsch market 2017 is also analysed on the basis of product pricing, Fischer Tropsch production volume, data regarding demand and Fischer Tropsch supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. Various methodical tool of Fischer Tropsch such as investment returns, feasibility, and market attractiveness analysis has been used in Fischer Tropsch market research to present a comprehensive study of the industry for Fischer Tropsch across the globe.About Us:"Spire Market Research" is a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of technology industry. We are as a firm expertise in making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact Us5001 Spring Valley Road,Suite 400 East,Dallas, TX 75244, USA
Global Spirometer Market Professional Survey Report 2017

Global Spirometer Market Professional Survey Report 2017

https://www.qyresearcheurope.com/

http://www.qyresearchglobal.com/

Ask a complete report sample, please contact to tinaning@qyresearch.com or visit atThe Global And China Spirometer Industry 2017 Market Research Report is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Spirometer industry.Firstly, the report provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Spirometer market analysis is provided for the international market including development history, competitive landscape analysis, and major regions development status.Secondly, development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures. This report also states import/export, supply and consumption figures as well as cost, price, revenue and gross margin by regions (United States, EU, China and Japan), and other regions can be added.Then, the report focuses on global major leading industry players with information such as company profiles, product picture and specification, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information. Upstream raw materials, equipment and downstream consumers analysis is also carried out. Whats more, the Spirometer industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed.Finally, the feasibility of new investment projects is assessed, and overall research conclusions are offered.In a word, the report provides major statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.This report focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, coveringCarefusionSchillerCHEST.MI.MIRPMD HealthcareCosmedFukuda SangyoNihon KohdenGanshornMedikroNDDMGCKonica MinoltaWelch AllynVitalographAnhui Electronics Scientific InstituteM&BSichuan SikedaTable of Contents:1 Industry Overview of Spirometer2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Spirometer3 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Spirometer4 Global Spirometer Overall Market Overview5 Spirometer Regional Market Analysis6 Global 2012-2017E Spirometer Segment Market Analysis (by Type)7 Global 2012-2017E Spirometer Segment Market Analysis (by Application)8 Major Manufacturers Analysis of Spirometer9 Development Trend of Analysis of Spirometer Market10 Spirometer Marketing Type Analysis11 Consumers Analysis of SpirometerRelated Reports:Global Spirometer Market Professional Survey Report 2017Europe Spirometer Market Professional Survey Report 2017China Spirometer Market Professional Survey Report 2017India Spirometer Market Professional Survey Report 2017USA Spirometer Market Professional Survey Report 2017Japan Spirometer Market Professional Survey Report 2017South Korea Spirometer Market Professional Survey Report 2017Contact Details:Company Name: QYResearch CO.,LIMITED | focus on Market Survey and ResearchTina| Sales ManagersEmail: tinaning@qyresearch.com Tel: 0086-20-22093278(CN)Web:QYResearch focus on Market Survey and ResearchQYResearch established in 2007, focus on custom research, management consulting, IPO consulting, industry chain research, data base and seminar services. The company owned a large basic data base (such as National Bureau of statistics database, Customs import and export database, Industry Association Database etc), experts resources (included energy automotive chemical medical ICT consumer goods etc industries experts who own more than 10 years experiences on marketing or R&D), professional survey team (the team member with more than 3 years market survey experience and more than 2 years depth expert interview experience),Excellent data analysis team (SPSS statistics and PPT graphics process team); QYResearch has always pursuit product quality, adhere to the quality is the soul of business.Room 2311 VILI International Building No.167 Linhe West Road Tianhe District
Somahlution Inc Product Pipeline Analysis Report (2017) - Advance Clinical Performance

Market Research Hub

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Market Research Hubs announced a report on Somahlution Inc Product Pipeline Analysis. This report is a source for data, analysis, and actionable intelligence on the companys portfolio of pipeline products. The report provides key information about the company, its major products and brands. The report also enhances decision making capabilities and help to create effective counter strategies to gain competitive advantage.Request Free Sample Report @Somahlution Inc (Somahlution) is a biotechnology company that offers discovery, development and commercialization of innovative solutions to advance clinical performance. The company provides duragraft product intended for the preservation, storage and flushing of vascular conduits, a pivotal step in cardiac and peripheral bypass surgeries. It offers research and development approach; product pipeline management, clinical trials, initiated trial and education services. Somahlution provides solutions in the areas of ischemia reperfusion injury, organ and tissue transplantation, cardiothoracic and vascular surgery and renal dialysis. The companys products are used in ischemia reperfusion injury, coronary artery bypass surgery, PCI, peripheral vascular bypass surgery and organ transplantation applications. It sells its products through a network of distributors in the US and abroad. Somahlution is headquartered in Jupiter, Florida, and the US.Scope:- The report reviews detailed company profile with information on business description, key company facts, major products and services, key competitors, key employees, locations and subsidiaries and recent developments- The report analyzes all pipeline products in development for the company Somahlution Inc- The report provides pipeline analysis on all pipeline products of the company (by equipment type, by indication, by development stage, and by trial status)- The report covers detailed information on each pipeline product with information on pipeline territory, stage of development, device class, regulatory path, indication(s), application(s) and estimated launch date- The report provides detailed description of products in development, technical specification and functions- The report also covers ongoing clinical trials (wherever applicable) with information on trial name, trial objective, sponsor, trial design , trial status and phase, estimated start and end date.Reasons to Buy:- Develop business strategies by understanding the trends and developments driving the medical devices pipeline and technology landscape- Design and develop your product development, marketing and sales strategies by understanding the competitor portfolio- To formulate effective Research & Development strategies- Develop market-entry and market expansion strategies- Exploit in-licensing and out-licensing opportunities by identifying products, most likely to ensure a robust return- Plan mergers and acquisitions effectively by identifying key players of the most promising pipeline- Identify emerging players with potentially strong product portfolio and create effective counter-strategies to gain competitive advantage- Develop competition strategies by identifying the status and likely launch of the competitors pipeline products through review of the clinical trials, stage and of development, etc- Identify, understand and capitalize the next high-value products that your competitor would add in its portfolioBrowse Full Report with TOC @Table of Contents:Table of Contents 2List of Tables 3List of Figures 3Somahlution Inc Company Overview 4Somahlution Inc Company Snapshot 4Somahlution Inc Pipeline Products and Ongoing Clinical Trials Overview 4Somahlution Inc Pipeline Analysis Overview 7Somahlution Inc - Key Facts 7Somahlution Inc - Major Products and Services 8Somahlution Inc Pipeline Products by Development Stage 9Somahlution Inc Ongoing Clinical Trials by Trial Status 11Somahlution Inc Pipeline Products Overview 13Duragraft 13Duragraft Product Overview 13Duragraft Clinical Trial 14SOM-Heart 15SOM-Heart Product Overview 15SOM-Kidney 16SOM-Kidney Product Overview 16SOM-Liver 17SOM-Liver Product Overview 17SOM-Lung 18SOM-Lung Product Overview 18Somahlution Inc - Key Competitors 19Somahlution Inc - Key Employees 20Somahlution Inc - Locations And Subsidiaries 21Head Office 21Recent Developments 22Somahlution Inc, Recent Developments 22Feb 01, 2017: Somahlution Announces Multiple Site Initiation and Patient Enrollment in Spain for European DuraGraft RegistryAbout Market Research Hub:Market Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of market research reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.MRH functions as an integrated platform for the following products and services: Objective and sound market forecasts, qualitative and quantitative analysis, incisive insight into defining industry trends, and market share estimates. Our reputation lies in delivering value and world-class capabilities to our clients.Contact Details:90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (US-Canada)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Email: press@marketresearchhub.comWebsite:Follow Us on:Twitter:LinkedIn:Facebook:
US Meat Industry Estimated To Grow Rapidly: Market Research Hub Forecast Report 2016-2021

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The presented report, "Top Growth opportunities: Meat in the US", provides an overview of the Meat market, analyzing market data, demographic consumption patterns within the category, and the key consumer trends driving consumption. Market Research Hubs propriety Risk vs Reward Opportunity model pinpoints the best growth opportunities for Meat producers, suppliers and retailers by combining robust, granular data and expert insight. The report uses this framework to identify the best opportunities, analyze white spaces in the market, and outline new product development that will effectively target the most pertinent consumer need states. These are combined to offer strategic recommendations to capitalize on evolving consumer landscapes.Request Free Sample Report:The report provides recommended actions and detailed analysis of how to target the best growth opportunities for meat producers and retailers. Readers can understand what categories, channels, companies, and consumers will drive the success of Meat markets in the US through Market Research Hubs detailed and robust data, expert insight, and case studies.Market Research Hubs Top Growth Opportunity reports use a risk versus reward opportunity model to identify the best growth markets for Meat producers. Through this in-depth study of market and category dynamics, readers are able to identify key opportunities, and what they need to do in order to target them.Get access to -- Key consumer demographic groups driving consumption within the US market. Improve your consumer targeting by understand whos driving the market, what they want, and why- A study of market value and volumes over 2011-2016 for the US, supplemented with category, brand and packaging analysis that shows the current state of the market, and how it will evolve over the 2016-2021 period- White space analysis, to pinpoint attractive spaces in the market and the key actions to take- Insight into the implications behind the data, and analysis of how the consumer needs will evolve in the short-to-medium term future- Examples of international and US-specific product innovation targeting key consumer needsMake An Enquiry:Scope- The US meat market presents an opportunity for producers due to its very large size, stability and consumer spending confidence- The modest growth witnessed in the US meat market in the five years to 2016 is set to slow by 2021. However, with a meat market worth in excess of US$200 billion - the largest globally - the US is too large for producers to ignore- Cooked Meats (Packaged) and Frozen Meat will see the fastest US$ value growth between 2016 and 2021.This reflects consumers real or perceived time-scarcity and the desire to reduce time spent on cooking- Hypermarkets & Supermarkets account for more than four fifths of Meat market value share, with US consumers responding postively to aggressive pricing strategies.- The top 10 meat brands in the US control over a fifth of market value. Private label brands are growing well in the US meat sector.Reasons to buy- This report brings together consumer analysis and market data to provide actionable insight into the behavior of US Meat consumers.- This is based on GlobalData's unique consumer data, developed from extensive consumption surveys and consumer group tracking, which quantifies the influence of 20 consumption motivations in the Meat sector.- Category, brand, and packaging dynamics are also examined.- This allows product and marketing strategies to be better aligned with the leading trends in the market.Browse Full Report With TOC:About Market Research Hub:Market Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of market research reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.MRH functions as an integrated platform for the following products and services: Objective and sound market forecasts, qualitative and quantitative analysis, incisive insight into defining industry trends, and market share estimates. Our reputation lies in delivering value and world-class capabilities to our clients.Contact Us90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (US-Canada)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Email: press@marketresearchhub.comWebsite:Read Industry News At:
Electric Vehicle Charging Station Global Market Research Reports and Industry Reports Forecast 2017 - 2025

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Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) announces the addition of a new report titled Electric Vehicle Charging Station Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017 - 2025. The electric vehicle charging station market report provides analysis for the period 20152025, wherein the period from 2017 to 2025 is the forecast period and 2016 is the base year.Request For Sample Report@Global Electric Vehicle Charging Station Market: OverviewThe report covers all the major trends and technologies playing a key role in electric vehicle charging station market growth over the forecast period. It also highlights the drivers, restraints, and opportunities expected to influence markets growth during the said period. The study provides a holistic perspective on the electric vehicle charging station markets growth throughout the above mentioned forecast period in terms of revenue and volume (in US$ Mn and Thousand units), across different geographies, including Asia Pacific, South America, North America, Europe, and Middle East & Africa (MEA).The report also highlights the competitive landscape of the electric vehicle charging station market, thereby positioning all the major players according to their geographic presence and recent key developments. The comprehensive electric vehicle charging station market estimates are the result of our in-depth secondary research, primary interviews, and in-house expert panel reviews. These market estimates have been analyzed by taking into account the impact of different political, social, economic, technological, and legal factors along with the current market dynamics affecting the electric vehicle charging station markets growth.Global Electric Vehicle Charging Station Market: Scope of the ReportThe market overview section of the report demonstrates the market dynamics and trends, such as the drivers, restraints, and opportunities that influence the current nature and future status of this market. An attractiveness analysis has also been provided for every geographic region in the report, in order to give a thorough analysis of the overall competitive scenario of the w electric vehicle charging station market, globally. Moreover, the report provides an overview of the various strategies of key players present in the market. Product definition and introduction chapter helps in understanding different technologies of electric vehicle charging station along with their applications which are included in the report.Make an Enquiry@Global Electric Vehicle Charging Station Market: Key SegmentsThe report segments the global electric vehicle charging station market on the basis of technology into level 1, level 2, and level 3. By end-use application, the market has been classified into government, public space and municipalities (parks and street), commercial office space, healthcare, retail, hospitality, residential, logistics and transportation (fleet services), education, and others. Thus, the report provides in-depth cross-segment analysis of the electric vehicle market and classifies it into various levels, thereby providing valuable insights at the macro as well as micro levels.On the basis of country, North American market is divided into The U.S., Canada and Mexico. Similarly, Europe market is divided into The U.K., Germany, France, and Rest of Europe. Asia Pacific has been segmented into China, Japan, Australasia, and Rest of Asia Pacific. Middle East and Africa covers the GCC, South Africa and Rest of Middle East and Africa. Similarly, South American region includes Brazil, and Rest of South America.This report provides all the essential information required to understand the electric vehicle charging station and its components. Also, the report provides insights related to the policies and regulations according to the various geographical regions mentioned above. These policies and regulations are directly or indirectly influencing the electric vehicle charging station market. Furthermore, Porters Five Forces analysis explains the factors which are currently affecting the electric vehicle charging station market. This report also provides the value chain analysis for the electric vehicle charging station which explains the participants of the value chain.Companies Mentioned in the ReportAeroVironment, Inc., Bosch Automotive Service Solutions Inc., ChargePoint, Inc., ClipperCreek, Inc., Delta Group, Eaton Plc, Enel Group, E-Station Pty Ltd., General Electric Co., Hitachi, Ltd., KYOCERA Corp., Leviton Manufacturing Co., Inc., Nichicon Corp., Panasonic Corp., Schneider Electric SE, SemaConnect, Inc., Siemens AG, Signet Systems Inc., Tesla Motors, Inc., Toyota Industries Corp. are some of the major players operating within the global electric vehicle charging station market profiled in this study. Details such as financials, SWOT analysis, business strategies, recent developments, and other such strategic information pertaining to these players have been duly provided as part of company profiling.Electric Vehicle Charging Station MarketBy TechnologyLevel 1Level 2Level 3By End-use ApplicationGovernmentPublic Space and Municipalities (Parks and Street)Commercial Office SpaceHealthcareRetailHospitalityResidentialLogistics and Transportation (Fleet Services)EducationOthersBy GeographyNorth AmericaU.S.CanadaMexicoEuropeThe U.K.GermanyFranceRest of EuropeAsia PacificChinaJapanAustralasiaRest of Asia PacificMiddle East and Africa (MEA)GCCSouth AfricaRest of MEASouth AmericaBrazilRest of South AmericaAsk for Discount@About UsMarket Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of market intelligence reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.State Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United StatesTelephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite:Google+:Linked in:Twitter:
Global Glass Fiber Market  Share, Size, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017-2025

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IndexBox has just published a new report World: Voiles, Webs, Mats And Other Articles Of Glass Fibers - Market Report. Analysis and Forecast to 2025". (This report has been designed to provide a detailed analysis of the global glass fiber market. It covers the most recent data sets of quantitative medium-term projections, as well as developments in production, trade, consumption and prices. The report also includes a comparative analysis of the leading consuming countries, revealing opportunities opened for producers and exporters across the globe. The forecast outlines market prospects to 2025.Countries coverage: Worldwide - the report contains statistical data for 200 countries and includes detailed profiles of the largest consuming and producing countries (United States, China, Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Brazil, Italy, Russian Federation, India, Canada, Australia, Republic of Korea, Spain, Mexico, Indonesia, Netherlands, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Sweden, Nigeria, Poland, Belgium, Argentina, Norway, Austria, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Colombia, Denmark, South Africa, Malaysia, Israel, Singapore, Egypt, Philippines, Finland, Chile, Ireland, Pakistan, Greece, Portugal, Kazakhstan, Algeria, Czech Republic, Qatar, Peru, Romania, Vietnam).Product coverage: Thin sheets (voiles), webs, mats, mattresses, boards and similar nonwoven products of glass fibers except woven fabrics.Data coverage:- Glass fiber market size and volume;- Glass fiber market trends and prospects;- Global glass fiber production and its dynamics;- Per capita consumption;- Breakdown of production by region and country;- Medium term outlook;- Glass fiber trade (exports/imports);- Prices for glass fiber;- Profiles of the main manufacturers.The report will help you:- Get a bigger picture of the market;- Rewire your business around market trends;- Devise your marketing strategy;- Operate with increased effectiveness.TABLE OF CONTENTS1. INTRODUCTION1.1 REPORT DESCRIPTION1.2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY2.1 KEY FINDINGS2.2 MARKET TRENDS3. MARKET OVERVIEW3.1 MARKET VOLUME AND VALUE3.2 CONSUMPTION BY COUNTRY3.3 MARKET OPPORTUNITIES BY COUNTRY3.4 MARKET FORECAST TO 20254. PRODUCTION4.1 PRODUCTION IN 2007-20154.2 PRODUCTION BY COUNTRY5. IMPORTS5.1 IMPORTS IN 2007-20155.2 IMPORTS BY COUNTRY5.3 IMPORT PRICES BY COUNTRY6. EXPORTS6.1 EXPORTS IN 2007-20156.2 EXPORTS BY COUNTRY6.3 EXPORT PRICES BY COUNTRY7. COUNTRY PROFILES8. PROFILES OF MAJOR PRODUCERSDownload a free sample of the report now!Browse Related Reports:EU: Voiles, Webs, Mats And Other Articles Of Glass Fibers - Market Report. Analysis And Forecast To 2025Germany: Voiles, Webs, Mats And Other Articles Of Glass Fibers - Market Report. Analysis And Forecast To 2025France: Voiles, Webs, Mats And Other Articles Of Glass Fibers - Market Report. Analysis And Forecast To 2025IndexBox is a leading market research publisher in the world.You can find more than 25,000 research reports in our web store, which cover global industries and regional markets. All the worldwide marketing data you need is at your fingertips.We collect this data from hundreds of highly reliable sources, verify it and carry out market analysis, uncovering new business opportunities and empowering you with actionable insights.The structure of our reports is intuitive and clear. We do our best to allow you to make strategic decisions and take immediate action. If you want to go further and be a step ahead of the market, just tell us your goals and we will tailor a report to your needs.With IndexBox, simply take the data from our Box and think outside it.Company Name: IndexBoxContact Person: Kirill BezverhiEmail: kirill.bezverhi@indexbox.co.ukPhone: +44 20 3239 3063Adress: United Kingdom, 44 Main Street, Douglas, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, ML11 0QWWebsite:
GCC Processed Meat Global Market Research Reports and Industry Reports Forecast 2016 - 2024

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Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) announces the addition of a new report titled Processed Meat Market - GCC Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2016 - 2024. Processed meat is popular across the world and its consumption varies from region to region. New flavors and convenient products are boosting the processed meat market globally.Request For Sample Report@The GCC processed meat market has been segmented by meat type, product type, package type, and region. In terms of meat type, the market has been segmented into lamb, beef, and poultry. In terms of product type, the processed meat market has been segmented into: chilled processed meat, frozen processed meat and others. Under the chilled processed meat segment, the market is further categorized into burgers, nuggets, and others. Others segment includes kebab, and meat balls among others. Frozen processed meat is further segregated into hot dogs, mortadella, salami and others. The others processed meat segment includes shelf stable meat products. In terms of packaging type, the processed meat market has been segmented into: retail package and bulk package.The research report on the GCC processed meat market offers detailed analysis of the processed meat products market in Qatar and rest of GCC and helps to understand the driving forces behind the popularity of this market. Under the scope of the report, detailed analysis of major segments and sub-segments of processed meat market for the Qatar and rest of GCC are provided for the historical years (2010-2014) and the next eight years (2016-2024). Moreover, the report includes in-depth analysis of the drivers, restraints, market trends, and future outlook of the industry. The strategies for stakeholders to succeed in the business have been comprehensively assessed in the report. It also provides an understanding of volume (million kg) and value (USD million) of processed meat consumption across GCC. The study highlights the current and future market trends, historical market (2010 to 2015), and provides forecast from 2016 to 2024.In terms of meat type, poultry accounts for the largest market share across GCC. Frozen processed meat, especially poultry led in terms of growth in 2015 and is expected to maintain its leading position over the forecast period. In general, poultry consumption in Saudi Arabia is on the rise. Burgers, franks, nuggets, salami, and hot dogs are favorite lunch items amongst the growing young population. They are conveniently stored and easily prepared when needed. Thus, the market of processed meat is expected to grow over the forecast period.Make an Enquiry@In terms of product type, frozen processed meat type occupied the largest market share in the overall GCC processed meat market both in terms of revenue and volume in 2015. Processed meat sales are expected to be driven by frozen variants across all the countries in GCC. Chilled processed meat, on the other hand, does not enjoy the same variety, and these products also have a shorter life. For the processed meat market, the target segment is mainly foreign workers, who want to add some protein to their meals without spending too much money and time. Frozen processed meat product such as hot dogs, salami based packaged food products are very much popular among the younger generation across GCC. Another factor which is helping the processed meat market to grow in GCC countries mainly in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE is the busy life style of people over the years.By country, the market has been segmented into Qatar and rest of GCC. This report helps distributors, suppliers and manufacturers to formulate strategies based on understanding of the trends in this market. Among the overall meat type segment, poultry is analyzed to be the most attractive segment for the processed meat market due to increasing health awareness among consumers in Qatar. Across the GCC, consumers are shifting from the consumption of red meat to poultry, as cholesterol content of red meat is high as compared to poultry. Growing popularity of processed meat based food products among the younger generation, and rising demand for organic food products, among others, are the major factors driving the processed meat market across GCC.The leading brands which have the maximum market share in processed meat market across GCC include National Food Co. (Americana Meat), Al Islami Foods, Sunbulah Group, BRF S.A., Tyson Foods, Cargill Inc., Gulf Food Industries and Almunajem among others.Ask for Discount@About UsMarket Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of market intelligence reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.ContactState Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United StatesTelephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite:Google+:Linked in:Twitter:
Global Renewable Energy Policy Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) Analysis: Installed Capacity and Targets, 2014-2025

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Renewable energy refers to the energy obtained from nonconventional, inexhaustible, replenishable energy resources, such as wind, sunlight, hydropower, tides, and biomass. The focus on renewable energy has increased recently due to the rising global pollution and environmental concerns. To support the production of renewable energy, governments across the globe have formulated several policies, regulations, and schemes providing support to renewable energy producers in the form of tax incentives and funds. One such policy is the Feed-in-Tariff or FiT. According to this policy, all the renewable energy producers, including farmers, home owners, private investors, and business owners should be paid a cost-based price for the renewable energy that they supply to the grid. The tariff to be paid differs with the type of technology, amount of energy produced, location, region, and size.Request Sample At:Based on technology, the market is divided into solar, wind, bioenergy, and geothermal sectors. On the basis of tariff period, market segmentation includes less than 5 years, 6-10 years, 11-15 years, 16-20 years, 21-25 years, and more than 25 years. Geographically, the market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA.Market Dynamics:Drivers:Increment in the number of jobs and positive impact of FiT on economic growth is encouraging the adoption of renewable energy technologies.Growing environmental concerns along with the need to reduce dependency on fossil fuels is supporting the growth of the renewable energy market.Enquire About Report At:Restraints:Initial costs of switching to renewable energy and the installation costs are high, which hinders market growth.Market Players:The top players involved in the global renewable energy policy FiT analysis include First Solar, Inc., SunEdison Inc., Martifier Solar, Gamesa Corporacin Tecnolgica, M.A. Mortenson Company, Inc., AMEC Foster Wheeler PLC, Prenecon Prime Energy Constructions S. A., Black & Veatch Holding Company, Suzlon Energy Ltd., and Ormat Technologies Inc.By Geographyo North AmericaU.S.CanadaMexicoo EuropeUKGermanyFranceSpainItalyRest of Europeo Asia-PacificChinaJapanIndiaAustraliaSouth KoreaRest of Asia-Pacifico LAMEABrazilSaudi ArabiaSouth AfricaRest of LAMEATable Of Contents:1. Executive summary1.1. Key Findings1.2. Market Attractiveness and Trend analysis1.3. Competitive Landscape and recent industry development analysis2. Introduction2.1. Report Description2.2. Scope and Definitions2.3. Research Methodology3. Market landscape3.1. Growth Drivers3.1.1. Impact Analysis3.2. Restrains and Challenges3.2.1. Impact Analysis3.3. Porters Analysis4. Market by Technology4.1. Solar4.1.1. Historical Market Size by Region, 2014-20164.1.2. Market Forecast by Region, 2017-20254.2. Wind5. Market by Tariff Period5.1. Less than 5 years5.1.1. Historical Market Size by Region, 2014-20165.1.2. Market Forecast by Region, 2017-2025Research Beam features a wide array of research reports from publishers across the globe. We have a database of reports ranging over every market category and extensive collection of reports on sub-categories as well. We are dedicated to provide qualitative insights on your area of interest by gathering reports from various publishers at one place to save your time and money. Hundreds of organizations across the world are reaping great benefits from insights gained through reports sourced by Research Beam.5933 NE Win Sivers Drive,#205, Portland, OR 97220United States+1 (800) 910-6452help@researchbeam.com
Baby Monitor Market: Size, Trend, Share, Opportunity Analysis & Forecast, 2014-2025

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A baby monitor is a device used to remotely listen to sounds made by a baby as well as track its movements. It comprises transmitter and a microphone. The baby monitor industry witnessed consistent growth since past few years. These monitors are most popular in the developed countries, such as U.S., Canada, and Western Europe. Introduction of high-end baby monitors with advanced features and improved online retailing have propelled the growth of the market in these regions.The global baby monitors market is segmented based on type, mode of connection, and geography. Based on type, baby monitors are categorized as audio and video baby monitors. Market is categorized as wired and wireless baby monitors depending on mode of connection. Wireless baby monitors offer the advantage of portability as well as ease of installation and connection as these can be easily connected to WLAN. The global baby monitors market is analyzed based on geographical regions, which include North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA.Request Sample At:Market Dynamics:Drivers:Increase in the number of nuclear familiesRise in number of working parentsGrowth in awareness about baby safetyIncrease in disposable incomeRestraints:Decline in birth rate due to sedentary lifestyleSafety concerns associated with these productsMarket Players:The top players in the global baby monitor market include Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Dorel Industries Inc., Angelcare Monitors Inc., LOREX Technology Inc., VTech Holdings Ltd., ShenZhen Foscam Intelligent Technology Co. Ltd, Summer Infant Inc., Koninklijke Philips N.V, Nest Lab. Inc., and Withings Inc.KEY TAKEAWAYSMARKET LANDSCAPEBy TypeAudioVideoBy Mode of ConnectionWiredWirelessEnquire About Report At:By GeographyNorth Americao U.S.o Canadao MexicoEuropeo UKo Germanyo Franceo Spaino Italyo Rest of EuropeAsia-Pacifico Chinao Japano Indiao Australiao South Koreao Rest of Asia-PacificTable Of Contents:1. Executive summary1.1. Key Findings1.2. Market Attractiveness and Trend analysis1.3. Competitive Landscape and recent industry development analysis2. Introduction2.1. Report Description2.2. Scope and Definitions2.3. Research Methodology3. Market landscape3.1. Growth Drivers3.1.1. Impact Analysis3.2. Restrains and Challenges4. Global Baby Monitor Market by Type4.1. Audio4.1.1. Historical Market Size by Region, 2014-20164.1.2. Market Forecast by Region, 2017-20254.2. Gels5. Global Baby Monitor Market by Mode of Connection5.1. Wired5.1.1. Historical Market Size by Region, 2014-20165.1.2. Market Forecast by Region, 2017-20255.2. Wireless6. Global Baby Monitor Market by Geography6.1. North America6.1.1. U.S.6.1.1.1. Historical Market Size, 2014-20166.1.1.2. Market Forecast, 2017-20256.1.2. Canada6.1.2.1. Historical Market Size, 2014-20166.1.2.2. Market Forecast, 2017-20256.1.3. Mexico6.1.3.1. Historical Market Size, 2014-20166.1.3.2. Market Forecast, 2017-20256.2. EuropeResearch Beam features a wide array of research reports from publishers across the globe. We have a database of reports ranging over every market category and extensive collection of reports on sub-categories as well. We are dedicated to provide qualitative insights on your area of interest by gathering reports from various publishers at one place to save your time and money. Hundreds of organizations across the world are reaping great benefits from insights gained through reports sourced by Research Beam.5933 NE Win Sivers Drive,#205, Portland, OR 97220United States+1 (800) 910-6452help@researchbeam.com
United States Dust Monitor Industry Market Research Report 2017

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SummaryThe United States Dust Monitor Industry Market Research Report 2017 is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Dust Monitor industry.The report provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Dust Monitor market analysis is provided for the United States markets including development trends, competitive landscape analysis, and key regions development status.Development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and Bill of Materials cost structures are also analyzed. This report also states import/export consumption, supply and demand Figures, cost, price, revenue and gross margins.The report focuses on United States major leading industry players providing information such as company profiles, product picture and specification, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information. Upstream raw materials and equipment and downstream demand analysis is also carried out. The Dust Monitor industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed. Finally the feasibility of new investment projects are assessed and overall research conclusions offered.Ask a sample or any question, please email to:hebe@qyresearchglobal.com or hebe@qyresearch.comPlayers covering:TSI GroupThermo FisherMet One InstrumentsDurag GroupDynoptic SystemsYokogawa Electric CorporationHoribaTrolexTecoraCodelPalas GmbhAeroqualKanomaxSintrolCasellaKey Topics Covered:Chapter One Industry OverviewChapter Two Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Dust MonitorChapter Three Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants AnalysisChapter Four Production Analysis of Dust Monitor by Regions, Technology, and ApplicationsChapter Five Sales and Revenue Analysis of Dust Monitor by RegionsChapter Six Analysis of Dust Monitor Production, Supply, Sales and Market Status 2012-2017Chapter Seven Analysis of Dust Monitor Industry Key ManufacturersChapter Eight Price and Gross Margin AnalysisChapter Nine Marketing Trader or Distributor Analysis of Dust MonitorChapter Ten Development Trend of Dust Monitor Industry 2017-2022Chapter Eleven Industry Chain Suppliers of Dust Monitor with Contact InformationChapter Twelve New Project Investment Feasibility Analysis of Dust MonitorChapter Thirteen Conclusion of the United States Dust Monitor Industry Report 2017Main Chapter ShowedRelated Reports:Global Dust Monitor Industry Market Research Report 2017Europe Dust Monitor Industry Market Research Report 2017India Dust Monitor Industry Market Research Report 2017China Dust Monitor Industry Market Research Report 2017Korea Dust Monitor Industry Market Research Report 2017Japan Dust Monitor Industry Market Research Report 2017Would like to place an order or any question, please feel free to contact me~O(_)O~Contact : HebePhone: 0086-20-22093278Email: hebe@qyresearchglobal.com or hebe@qyresearch.comWeb:About QYResearch LtdQYResearch established in 2007, focus on custom research, management consulting, IPO consulting, industry chain research, data base and seminar services. the company owned a large basic data base (such as National Bureau of statistics database, Customs import and export database, Industry Association Database etc), experts resources (included energy automotive chemical medical ICT consumer goods etc industries experts who own more than 10 years experiences on marketing or R&D), professional survey team (the team member with more than 3 years market survey experience and more than 2 years depth expert interview experience). Excellent data analysis team (SPSS statistics and PPT graphics process team).QYResearch LtdAddress: Room 2311 VILI International Building No.167 Linhe West Road Tianhe District Guangzhou City Guangdong Province 510610 ChinaPhone: +86 20 2209 3278Email: hebe@qyresearchglobal.com
Global HDPE Pipe Market 2017 - WL Plastics, Armtec, ADS, Canada Culvert, Flying W Plastics

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The HDPE Pipe Market 2017 examines the performance of the HDPE Pipe market, enclosing an in-depth judgment of the HDPE Pipe market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of HDPE Pipe market in the present as well as the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global HDPE Pipe Market 2017 report includes HDPE Pipe industry volume, market Share, market Trends, HDPE Pipe Growth aspects, a wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis, manufacturing capacity, HDPE Pipe Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Sellers of Global HDPE Pipe Market 2017:1 JM Eagle2 Chevron Phillips Chemical Company3 WL Plastics4 Armtec5 ADS6 Canada Culvert7 Flying W Plastics8 Ideal Pipe9 Dura-Line (Audax Group)10 Dynaflex Pipe Technologies11 CRP Products12 Plastic Industries13 Blue Diamond Industries14 IPEX15 Soleno16 National Pipe & Plastics17 Plasson USA18 Kanaflex19 Uponor20 Instream Water Control Projects21 Centennial Plastics22 United Poly SystemsHDPE Pipe Market Analysis: By ProductPE63 PipePE80 PipePE100 PipeHDPE Pipe Market Analysis: By ApplicationWater SupplyOil and GasSewage SystemsOtherAt the beginning, the report covers the top HDPE Pipe manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on topographical regions.Further, the HDPE Pipe report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of HDPE Pipe industry, HDPE Pipe industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. HDPE Pipe Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.To Buy Complete Report Click Here:The HDPE Pipe research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the HDPE Pipe market revenue worldwide.Finally, HDPE Pipe market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.About Us-Market.Biz is designed to provide the best and most penetrating research required to all commercial, industrial and profit-making ventures in any sector of online business. We take pride in our ability to satisfy the market research needs of both domestic and international businesses. read more-Browse Latest Market News-Global HDPE Pipe Market Report presents a professional and deep analysis on the present state of HDPE Pipe Market 2017. The study of HDPE Pipe industry is very important to enhance business productivity and for the study of market forecast.Market.Biz is designed to provide the best and most penetrating research required to all commercial, industrial and profit-making ventures in any sector of online business. We take pride in our ability to satisfy the market research needs of both domestic and international businesses.James JohnsonS no. 51/14 First Floor, Office Number 4, Vishwa Arcade, Near Navale Lawns, Pune, Maharashtra, India 411041Maharashtra, IndiaTel: +1(857)2390696Web:Email: inquiry@market.bizBrowse Market Research Reports-Latest Reports-
Data Quality and Data Governance Solution Market - Industry Shares, Market Strategies And Key Players

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In the enterprise data management ecosystem, data quality is a broad term which refers to the quality, integrity, and consistency of data and/or process etc. Data quality also implies the degree of data accuracy and consistency. On the other hand, data governance focusses on the management of data assets by assigning authority, control, and responsibility of data and encompasses three key areas: people, process, and technology.Obtain Report Details @Data quality and data governance are closely related and go hand in hand in the enterprise data management ecosystem. In todays competitive world, data quality and data governance practices is anticipated to evolve rapidly backed by growth in Master Data Management tools and technology. In recent years it is observed that enterprises with an enterprise resource planning (ERP) or customer relationship management (CRM) application have struggled owing to the absence of built-in data quality and data governance capabilities.The global data quality and data governance solutions market is anticipated to grow in the coming years as these solutions assists enterprises and professionals to address major challenges arising out of an enterprises applications and transactional data, data types and formats, data cleansing and validation, and hybrid environments. Furthermore, cloud, big data and machine learning is anticipated to push the demand for global data quality and data governance solutions.However, factors such as ever changing policies and regulations, categorization of unstructured data, and inconsistent business semantics are anticipated to restrain the growth of the global data quality and data governance solution market.The global data quality and data governance solution market can be segmented on the basis of deployment model, business function, and industry verticals. Deployment model can be further segmented as on-premise and cloud based. Based on business function, the market can be classified into finance, information technology, legal, operations and others. On the basis of industry vertical, the global data quality and data governance solution market can be classified into Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI), telecom and IT, healthcare, retail and e-commerce, healthcare, manufacturing, government and defense, energy and utilities, construction and engineering, and others (research, education, BPO, and travel & hospitality)Geographically, the global data quality and data governance solution market is segmented into Middle-East and Africa (MEA), Asia Pacific (APAC), North America, Europe, and South America.North America is expected to dominate the global data quality and data governance solution market during the forecast period 2017  2025, owing to large investments in cloud-based machine learning and Big Data technologies, and presence of large number of vendors in this region.The Asia Pacific (APAC) region is anticipated to be the fastest-growing region for the global data quality and data governance solution market. The region is currently in its initial growth phase. The high growth rate in Asia Pacific is driven by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) demand for cost-effective data quality and data governance solutions.Europe is anticipated to contribute a significant share in the global data quality and data governance solution market after North America. Europe is also anticipated to witness a steady growth rate during the forecast period from 2017  2025.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @The major vendors providing data governance are Backoffice Associates, Collibra, Inc., Informatica Corporation, SAS Institute Inc., IBM Corporation, Oracle Corporation, SAP SE, TIBCO Software Inc., Talend Inc., Information Builders, Varonis Systems Inc., Pitney Bowes Inc., RedPoint Global, Trillium Software, Experian plc, and Orchestra Networks.About Us :Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact Us :-Transparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Business Analytics Software Market - Advanced technologies & growth opportunities in global Industry

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Business analytics software helps in interpretation and analysis of business data through continuous exploration and investigation of historical business performance to gain decisive insights for business planning. Through the application of statistical methods and tools in business performance data, a business analytics software conducts predictive analysis to derive decision making insights and inputs. A business analytics software thus helps an organization optimize its business operations and facilitates informed and strategic decision making. It also helps uncover patterns and relationships between data streams and leads to automation of tasks and processes for real-time responses in decision making. The outputs are mostly used by managers, security personnel, financial analysts, and key decision makers of organizations. Demand for cloud-based business analytics software is high in small and medium sized enterprises owing to its low cost and enhanced usability. Furthermore, demand for social media analytics, a part of business analytics, is also rising significantly due to the increase in popularity of social media marketing.Obtain Report Details @Organizations are increasingly opting for business analytics software in order to gain strategic and competitive advantage over their competitors. This is one of the major factors driving the global business analytics software market. Additionally, the software aims to help organizations make quick and informed decisions through the analysis of the historical business data. This has been driving the market for business analytics software. Currently, there exists need for quick decision making and immediate actions in response to situations considering the competitive nature of businesses. This highlights the importance of the business analytics software. Furthermore, increase in volume and diversity of data in organizations has given rise to the need for analytical software to derive meaningful patterns, relationships, and insights from unorganized data. The features of business analytics software meet such requirements, thereby boosting the growing demand and adoption of business analytics software across varying scales of companies. However, in order to efficiently operate, business analytics software require sufficient volumes of meaningful data. This requires effective data warehousing, which may be a challenge for small organizations to implement considering the high costs involved. These challenges are likely to hamper the market for business analytics software during the forecast period. Nonetheless, increase in social media marketing by organizations is expected to offer growth opportunities for the business analytics software market during the forecast period.The global business analytics software market has been segmented on the basis of deployment, end-use industry, application, and geography. In terms of deployment, the business analytics software market has been divided into cloud and on premise. Based on end-use industry, the business analytics market has been segregated into BFSI, government, manufacturing, IT and Telecom, retail, health care, capital markets, education, media, utilities, and others. In terms of application, the business analytics software market has been segmented into supply chain analytics, workforce analytics, spatial analytics, behavioral analytics, marketing analytics, risk and credit analytics, pricing analytics, transportation analytics, and others. Based on geography, the business analytics market has been divided into North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East & Africa, and South America.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @Major players operating in the global business analytics software market include SAS Institute Inc., Tableau Software, SAP SE, Oracle Corporation, Adobe Systems Incorporated, International Business Machines Corporation, Salesforce.com, Qlik Technologies, Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Tibco Software, Fair Isaac Corporation, and JDA Software Group, Inc.About Us :Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact Us :-Transparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Enterprise Report Management Market - Trends, Growth Propellers, Segmentation And Top Players

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Enterprise report management (ERM) is a system or methodology used for handling, storage, and precise and timely distribution of reports & documents and critical information across an enterprise. ERP technology automatically processes reports and documents from all types of systems. ERM combines all end user documents and output content centrally, enabling cost-effective access and distribution for all its customers, partners, and employees. The main motto of the enterprise report management solution is to provide important information to managers in an effective manner, to help managers take effective decisions.Obtain Report Details @Enterprise report management generally take the form of tables, graphs, and text. It facilitates end users to view and access reports online, print what they want (for instance, invoice copy, warranty card, etc.) and package the information for easy and efficient delivery. The ERM helps to reduce the cost of document creation, handling & duplication, and storage. ERM is useful in decreasing traffic across the enterprise network and web portals and reduces cost associated with network traffic. Moreover, ERM supports enriched document preservation by enhancing the document lifecycle to increase data availability, improved user productivity, improved operations efficiency, and increased management control. Many industries, private and government educational institutions, banking, etc. are anticipated to create ample growth opportunity for the enterprise report management system.Exponential growth in the Internet platform and proliferation of online businesses is forcing enterprises to digitize the transactional process. Enterprises need to digitize the transactional process is expected to drive the global enterprise report management market in the near future. Widespread use of mobiles i.e. mobile endpoints, rapid software as a service (SaaS) deployment, and growing digital expectations, which includes customer service and satisfaction is anticipated to boost the global ERM market during the forecast period. Furthermore, tremendous growth among online customers has created the need for highly efficient tools for report management. This is one of the significant factors driving the growth of the global enterprise report management market. However, high operating costs are linked with report organizing, printing, distributing, and storing. Cloud based deployment is expected to create growth opportunity for the enterprise report management market globally. Moreover, increasing end-to-end solutions is anticipated to create growth opportunity for the market.The enterprise report management market is broadly segmented based on component, deployment, and industry. The component segment includes software and services, where software is further classified as consulting, integration, and operation & maintenance. Based on deployment type, the enterprise report management system is categorised based on premise and cloud based deployment. Segmentation based on industry includes banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), healthcare, government, and others. Based on geography, the global enterprise report management market has been segregated into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and South America. North America is expected to contribute the significant share of the global market. The market in the region is anticipated to witness steady growth during the forecast period. The ERM market in Asia Pacific is expected to show significant growth in the near future owing to increase in government initiatives to digitize transactions.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @Some of the major players operating in the global enterprise report management market with significant development include HP Autonomy, Lexmark International, Inc., SpringCM, Alfresco Software, Inc. IBM Global Business Services, Oracle Corporation, Softwin Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Hyland Software, Inc., Xerox Corporation, OpenText Corporation, EMC, Systemware Inc., and Hewlett-Packard (HP).About Us :Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact Us :-Transparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
E-signature Platform Market - Segmentation, Drivers and Restraints, Regional Outlook, Global Research Report

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The e-signature or electronic signature is a symbol, process or an electronic sound logically associated with a contract, adopted by a person with the objective of signing any record or contract. An e-signature platform is a software toolkit designated to support enterprises to integrate electronic signature functionalities into websites or in a business application. E-signature platforms furnish an interface to distribute and sign documents online, confining the appropriate certificate authorities to deliver relying on digital certificates. It provide e-signature software to gather signatures on documents shared electronically, by eliminating the need for physical documents and processes to record signatures. Electronic signature platforms facilitate the circulation of legally confidential documents, for instance, sales contracts, employment paperwork, or such work for which signatures are often required. Moreover, e-signature platform support the generation, right from the most generic to the most advanced electronic signature formats.Obtain Report Details @Government policies such as the U.S. Federal law known as the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, the acceptance of electronic signature by the certain jurisdictional authorities, which includes the Federal Courts of the U.S. and the Supreme Court of Canada, is anticipated to boost the global e-signature platform market in the near future. The growing need for e-signatures, efficient security transactions and the need to authenticate user identity are increasing the demand for the e-signature or electronic signature platform market, which is expected to show significant growth globally. Moreover, the demand for completely customizable solutions, flexible document or legal contract delivery across on-premise, cloud and web-based platforms is a major driver. However, the high initial investment required for the implementation and integration of the e-signature platform is anticipated to obstruct the growth of the global e-signature platform market.The e-signature platform market is primarily segmented based on component, deployment and by application. Based on component type the global electronic signature or e-signature market is further segmented into software and services, where the services segment is further classified into consulting, integration, and operation & maintenance. On the basis of deployment type, the e-signature platform market is classified as on-premise, cloud-based and web-based. Moreover, the global market is also classified across end use industries, which includes banking financial services and insurance (BFSI), human resource, legal, real estate, education and research, government and others. In terms of geographies the global electronic signature platform market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and South America. The acceptance of e-signatures around the globe and significant adaptation of the electronic signature platform in North America is because of stringent cyber laws and tremendous growth in the financial sector in this region. However, South America has the least adoption of e-signature technology due to the weak and diversified cyber laws in the region. Middle East and Africa and Asia Pacific regions are anticipated to show significant growth, with notable compound annual growth rates during the forecast period.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @Some of the major players of the global e-signature platform market, with significant development in region and large market share include Adobe Systems Incorporation, Docu Sign Inc., Entrust Datacard Corporation, Right Signature LLC, AssureSign LLC., VASCO, eSignLive, Cryptolog, eSignly, Canvas and Signix.About Us :Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact Us :-Transparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Airport Retailing Market - Segmentation, Drivers and Restraints, Regional Outlook, Global Research Report

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Airport retailing has become a popular concept in the last few years. Often called travel retail (which takes place mostly but not entirely in an airport), it has become one of the important strategies of companies planning to promote and create awareness about their brand. Airports where airfares are low are not able to generate high revenue from aeronautical business. Therefore, they shift to non-aeronautical businesses such as retail shops, restaurant, bars, and cafeterias. Airport retailing can also include services such as hotels, nursing homes, car rental outlets, banks, exchange offices, drugstores, and other stores such as jewelry, books and magazines, gifts and crafts, clothing & accessories, convenience stores, optics, perfumes, and souvenirs.Obtain Report Details @Airport retailing requires several characteristics for better functioning. For instance, a store needs to be at a convenient location for efficient accessibility. Furthermore, wide range of products and prolonged customer service might attract customer attention at airports. However, the quality and quantity of products in stores located in an airport strongly depend on the number of passengers travelling through the airport, and whether the airport is international or domestic. Retail stores can avail various benefits by establishing an outlet at an airport. Brand recognition and awareness are the most important ones. These provide immense scope for retail outlets to showcase their brand and broaden their customer base.The airport retailing market is driven by the rise in number of passengers, specifically in countries such as India and China, where the level of commute is high. The airport retailing market is also boosted by travelers appetite for shopping on-the-go and retailers growing skills for selling products. The time spent by passengers at airports has also increased due to the early check-in times set by airlines due to security and operational concerns. This has offered retailers the scope to sell products efficiently. High disposable income of people in growing economies has provided opportunity for big brands to set up their stores in airport premises. People shop the most in the timeframe between clearing the security-immigration desks and boarding the aircraft. Therefore, airports strive to cut down the waiting times at check-in, security, and immigration queues to maximize this timeframe. Viable prices and the presence of big brands at discounted prices are vital factors encouraging travelers to make purchases at airport retail stores. Retail store at airports are duty-free; this typically means that these stores are exempted from payment of local or national taxes. Thus, travelers can buy products available in these stores at cheaper rates. Brands are customizing their offerings to help improve the shopping experience of travelers.In order to efficiently compete in the market and create value proposition, retailers are engaged in extensive research to collect data related to flight schedules, number of passengers in the flight, and location. The data is expected to help retailers keep check of their warehouses, adopt price skimming strategies, and conduct promotional activities to create strong customer base.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @Key players operating in the airport retailing market are Dufry AG, Tata Inc., Shoppers Stop Ltd, William Penn Ltd., Pavers England Limited, WH Smith PLC, Hidesign Accessories Ltd., and World Duty Free Group.About Us :Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact Us :-Transparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Photovoltaic Transparent Glass Market - Global Industry Analysis 2024

Photovoltaic Transparent Glass Market

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Photovoltaic glass (PV glass) refers to a technology that enables the conversion of light into electricity. It is a typical glass with integrated solar cells that transform solar energy into electricity, generating power within the facade and roof of a building. These solar cells are embedded between two glass panes filled with special resin, securely wrapping them on all sides. Both individual cells have two electric connections which are linked to other cells in the module to form a system that generates direct electric current. Polycrystalline solar cells are mostly blue or opaque. They are made from poured silicon blocks and thereby inexpensive; however, they exhibit lower efficiency.They are typically classified into three types: mono-crystalline, multi-crystalline, and amorphous. Mono-crystalline solar cells are blue or black, opaque, and highly efficient. They are made from silicon crystals through a complicated manufacturing process. Amorphous solar cells are non-crystalline in nature, transparent, and can be used as window glazing in regular windows and sunspaces. They can also be integrated into roofs. Transparent modules can also be a part of energy-efficient glazing, wherein they are used instead of regular glass.Browse Market Research Report @Increasing awareness about renewable energy and the rising demand for electricity have boosted the need for photovoltaic transparent glass. The electricity thus generated is expected to play a significant role in addressing the electricity-related issues in remote areas. The technology is anticipated to help electrify remote places where the supply of electricity is scarce. The integration of photovoltaic transparent glass systems with the automotive technology is likely to boost the efficiency of automobiles.In terms of region, the global photovoltaic transparent glass market has been distributed over North America, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, Europe, and Latin America. Europe dominated the global photovoltaic transparent glass market in 2016. Germany has been leading the region on account of its multiple photovoltaic glass installations. The global photovoltaic transparent glass market has been expanding at a significant rate for the last few years due to high government subsidies available in several countries. Asia Pacific is likely to expand due to the development of the renewable energy sector in the region. It is projected to be a rapidly expanding market for photovoltaic transparent glass during the forecast period.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Photovoltaic Transparent Glass Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market @Latin America is also likely to expand substantially during the forecast period. The U.S. held a significant share in the photovoltaic transparent glass market in North America in 2016. The country is estimated to dominate the market in the region in the near future. Global demand for photovoltaic transparent glass is predicted to increase in the next few years due to rapid industrialization and urbanization in developing economies. The rising awareness about renewable energy and surge in government subsidies on solar products have encouraged the usage of solar energy in several developing countries. The government of China is planning to develop 16 solar thermal plants by 2020, boosting the demand for photovoltaic transparent glass systems in the country during the forecast period.Global demand for the solar energy is anticipated to rise significantly in the near future, offering high growth opportunities for the global photovoltaic transparent glass market. The significant rise in demand for end-use applications, competitive production costs, and high economic growth rate are factors propelling the photovoltaic transparent glass market in Asia Pacific and also prompting companies to adopt expansion and R&D strategies in the region. These companies are concentrating on Asia Pacific to gain a larger market share and meet the global demand. Numerous producers are shifting their plants to countries such as China and India owing to factors such as high demand and low cost of raw materials and labor.Major players operating in the global photovoltaic transparent glass market include Nippon Sheet Glass Co. Ltd, Sun Well Solar Corporation, and Borosil.About Us:-Transparency Market Research is a market intelligence company providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers.We are privileged with highly experienced team of Analysts, Researchers and Consultants, who use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Contact Us:-Transparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700, Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Visit Blog:
Global Steel Grating Market  Advanced technologies, Global Forecast and Winning Imperatives, 2017  2022

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In our aim to provide our erudite clients with the best research material with absolute in-depth information of the market, our new report on Global Steel Grating Market is confident in meeting their needs and expectations. The 2017 market research report on Global Steel Grating Market is an in-depth study and analysis of the market by our industry experts with unparalleled domain knowledge. The report will shed light on many critical points and trends of the industry which are useful for our esteemed clients. The report covers a vast expanse of information including an overview, comprehensive analysis, definitions and classifications, applications, and expert opinions, among others. With the extent of information filled in the report, the presentation and style of the Global Steel Grating Market report is a noteworthy.The Global Steel Grating Industry report provides key information about the industry, including invaluable facts and figures, expert opinions, and the latest developments across the globe. Not only does the report cover a holistic view of the industry from a global standpoint, but it also covers individual regions and their development. The Global Steel Grating Industry report showcases the latest trends in the global and regional markets on all critical parameters which include technology, supplies, capacity, production, profit, price, and competition. The key players covered in the report provide a detailed analysis of the competition and their developments in the Global Steel Grating Industry. Accurate forecasts and expert opinion from credible sources, and the recent R&D development in the industry is also a mainstay of the Steel Grating Market report.Get a Free PDF Sample of Market Report at:The report also focuses on the significance of industry chain analysis and all variables, both upstream and downstream. These include equipment and raw materials, client surveys, marketing channels, and industry trends and proposals. Other significant information covering consumption, key regions and distributors, and raw material suppliers are also a covered in this report.Finally, the Steel Grating Market report ends with a detailed SWOT analysis of the market, investment feasibility and returns, and development trends and forecasts. As with every report on Orbis Research, the Steel Grating Industry is the holy grail of information which serious knowledge seekers can benefit from. The report which is the result of ultimate dedication of pedigree professionals has a wealth of information which can benefit anyone, irrespective of their commercial or academic interest.Buy the Report@About Us:Orbis Research (orbisresearch.com) is a single point aid for all your market research requirements. We have vast database of reports from the leading publishers and authors across the globe. We specialize in delivering customised reports as per the requirements of our clients. We have complete information about our publishers and hence are sure about the accuracy of the industries and verticals of their specialisation. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required market research study for our clients.Contact Us:Hector CostelloSenior Manager  Client Engagements4144N Central Expressway,Suite 600, Dallas,Texas  75204, U.S.A.Phone No.: +1 (214) 884-6817; +912064101019Email ID: sales@orbisresearch.com
Lauding Malaysia for Hindu temple postal stamp, Hindus urge other countries to follow

http://www.newspatrollng.com

Newspatrolling.com : Hindus have commended Pos Malaysia Berhad for featuring Kuil Sri Kandaswamy Hindu temple of Brickfields area of Kuala Lumpur on a postal stamp.This 60 sen (cents) stamp shows the majestic Sri Kandaswamy Temple, which was inaugurated in 1902. This Temple features huge golden Kodimaram, Vasantha Mandapam, Yagasalai Peedam, sacred pond Skandapuspakarani, sacred Kadambam tree, etc.Distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada today, pointed out that Hinduism was very rich in architecture and design and its architectural texts went back to pre-BCE Sulvasutra, which dealt with the geometric layout of altars. Visvakarman was regarded as the universal architect/builder who presided over Sthapatyaveda, Hindu treatise on architecture. Ancient Silpasastras gave direction on the symbolic meaning and ritual significance of the buildings.Rajan Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, indicated that as most of the counties now housed traditionally designed Hindu temples where area Hindus regularly worshipped, postal services of these countries should step forward and issue postal stamps depicting these temples. Besides honoring these places of worship, these stamps on Hindu temples would also raise awareness of their citizens about Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world with about 1.1 billion adherents and a rich philosophical thought.Sri Kandaswamy Kovil, which opens daily at 05-30 am, performs various services, including 1008 Sangga Abishegam for RM 1981. K. Aruljothi is the President and Parameswara Kurukkal is the Chief Priest.Pos Malaysia Berhad is the postal delivery service in Malaysia whose history goes back to early 1800s. Mohd Shukrie Mohd Salleh is the CEO.Read more such news atNewsPatrolling.com is an online leading information cum content dissemination portal.. Here you can read a lot of natural and genuine news ....A-9,Bhagat Singh Marg, Kewal ParkAzadpur
Capacitive Sensor Market, Research Report Forecasts upto 2021

https://www.knowledge-sourcing.com/products/capacitive-sensor-market-forecasts-from-2016-to-2021

Knowledge Sourcing Intelligence announces publication of a new report: Capacitive Sensor Market - Forecasts from 2016 to 2021This research report segments the Capacitive Sensor Market by Technology (Touch sensors, Motion Sensors, Position Sensors among others), Application (Military & Defense, Manufacturing, Automotive, Energy, Healthcare, Consumer Electronics), Geography (Americas: North America, US, Canada, Mexico, South America, Brazil, Europe Middle East and Africa: Europe, Italy, Germany, U.K. France, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific: Japan, South Korea, India, China, Others). The report provides in-depth and most accurately anticipated forecasts in a quantitative manner.Some of the major Visual Computing companies covered in the report are Omron Corporation, Siemens, NXP Semiconductors, Texas Instruments, Infineon Technologies, Atmel Corporation, Analog Devices, ELK Corporation, 3M Company, Pepperl+Fuchs among othersSample request or complete report can be purchased through the link below:This 90 pages report contains a wide range of figures and data tables for the forecasted period based on the segmentations listed above.Brief TOC is as below: Market Dynamics Segmentationo By Technology Touch Sensors Motion Sensors Position Sensorso By Application Military & Defense Manufacturing AutomotiveHealthcare Energy Consumer Electronicso By Geography America Europe Middle East and AfricaMiddle East and AfricaAbout Knowledge Sourcing IntelligenceKnowledge Sourcing Intelligence is a market research and consulting firm based out of India. Driven by industry experts, the company provides syndicated reports, custom research, and consulting services. Our proprietary data analytics model blended with quality primary and secondary research data assists in generating quality reports providing crucial insights to managers and decision makers. The services offered by us help companies to gain required competitive edge. Our expertise across 10 industries such as ICT, Chemicals, Semiconductors, Healthcare among others caters to diverse client needsKnowledge Sourcing IntelligenceAscent Business CenterH-38, Sector 63NOIDA, IndiaContact: +1-866-714-4587
Affordable shopping gets a new meaning with the Flipkart coupons

https://freekaamaal.com/flipkart

FreeKaaMaal is a website dedicated to providing regular and occasional shoppers an affordable online shopping experience. With hundreds and thousands of coupon codes, deals, and freebies they are turning online shopping into a more pleasant experience. People who often shop online know that almost all the websites have discounts and offers. FreeKaaMaal has included different types of coupon codes using which customers can get their items at discounted rates. The coupon codes are updated on the FreeKaamaal website on a daily basis. Flipkart coupons available at FreeKaaMaal can be used to get discounts on everything from fashion, lifestyle, electronics, books, home appliances, and accessories.FreeKaaMaal ensures smooth and pleasant shopping experience for online buyers. From cosmetic products to home appliances, there are coupons available for all items. They even have coupons available for health care, mobile recharge and much more. Customers can get 50% off on products across categories that are available for a limited time. People interested in getting amazing discounts on every product they buy keep visiting FreeKaaMaal. They can buy on-trend apparel styles that are good quality and affordable. The website has amazing discount offers available on fashion, electronics, lifestyle, and travel related items. Things get even more ballistic on the website in festive occasions. The website aims to bring out more and better discounts for consumers looking for affordable shopping.Flipkart discounts are available on Footwear, Grooming, Top wear, Bottom Wear, Sportswear, Innerwear & Sleepwear, Winter wear, Watches, Accessories, and Personal Care Appliances for men & women. Kids' clothing, Kids footwear, school supplies, toys, baby care products, kitchen & dining, furniture, furnishing, home decor, and lighting are also available at lowest price online. The latest Flipkart offers can be availed on FreeKaaMaal website and mobile app. You can find Flipkart cashback offers, latest mobile discounts, electronic sale, fashion sale and more from the online retailers in one place. To redeem a coupon or offer simply click on it to visit Flipkart from where you can purchase the product at discount price.FreeKaaMaal was established with an aim to make money saving deals more accessible for consumers. The deal hunting platform serving the growing online shopping community was established by Mr. Ravi Kumar in 2010. The website offers money saving deals and coupons on all leading product and service categories. FreekaaMaal has partnered with hundreds of online retailers to promote their latest and exclusive discounts. Subscribe to the FreeKaaMaal newsletter to get hottest online deals delivered straight into your mailbox.For more information visit our website:-FreeKaaMaal is India's No.1 bargain & Deal hunting site for online Shoppers.Find online deals,latest offers,discount coupons and promo codes. It is an online community started with the aim of providing best deals to the users.Office No. 208 a the Ithum it Park a Block, P Lot No 40Sector 62 Noida Uttar Pradesh Pin Code 201301
North American Seasonings, Dressings & Sauces Sector - Industry Analysis, Trends, and Forecast Report 2022

Latest Research Reports

http://www.marketresearchhub.com/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1117871

http://www.marketresearchhub.com/report/opportunities-in-north-american-seasonings-dressings-and-sauces-sector-analysis-of-opportunities-offered-by-countries-in-the-region-report.html

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Market Research Hub (MRH) has recently announced the addition of a fresh report, titled Opportunities in North American Seasonings, Dressings & Sauces Sector: Analysis of Opportunities Offered by Countries in the Region to its report offerings. The report brings together multiple data sources to provide a comprehensive overview of the North American Seasonings, Dressings & Sauces sector. It includes market overview, high growth country analysis, health & wellness analysis, top brands, key distribution channels, packaging formats and case studies.Request Free Sample Report:The report brings together multiple data sources to provide a comprehensive overview of the North American Seasonings, Dressings & Sauces sector. It includes market overview, high growth country analysis, health & wellness analysis, top brands, key distribution channels, packaging formats and case studies.- The North America Seasonings, Dressings & Sauces (SDS) sector is the second largest globally after the Asia-Pacific region- Dressings is the largest market in the North American SDS sector, followed by the Wet Cooking Sauces and Condiment Sauces markets- Amongst the different countries in North America, the US is the largest market in terms of value sales, while the Canadian SDS sector is expected to grow at the fastest pace during 2016-2021- Busy lives of consumers and growing interest in ethnic and exotic cuisines is driving value and volume sales of SDS products in North America- Rising concerns over presence of preservatives in processed foods and increasing frequency of dining out of home are the major challenges confronting the SDS sector in North America- Mc Cormick, Kraft, Heinz, Ragu and Herdez are the leading brands in the North American SDS sector- Hypermarkets & Supermarkets is the most popular channel for SDS products in the North American regionScopeThis report brings together multiple data sources to provide a comprehensive overview of the North America Seasonings, Dressings & Sauces sector . It includes analysis on the following -- Market overview: Includes sector size, market size and growth analysis by markets.- Change in consumption: Provides a shift in the consumption of Seasonings, Dressings & Sauces by markets across different countries in the North American region.- Countries analysis: Provides Risk-Reward analysis of three countries in North America based on market assessment, economic development, socio-demographic, governance indicators, and technological infrastructure.- Health & Wellness analysis: Provides insights on the Health & Wellness products in terms of value and percentage share in the overall Seasonings, Dressings & Sauces sector during 2011-2021. The analysis includes key Health & Wellness attributes and consumer benefits driving the sales of Seasonings, Dressings & Sauces in 2016. It also covers the market share of leading companies offering Seasonings, Dressings & Sauces with health and wellness attributes in the same year.- Brand Analysis: Provides an overview of leading brands in North America region, besides analyzing the growth of Private Label in the region.- Key distribution channels: Provides analysis on the leading distribution channels in the North American SDS sector in 2016. It covers five distribution channels - Hypermarkets & Supermarkets, Convenience Stores, Food & Drinks Specialists, Department Stores and Others that include - Cash & Carries and Warehouse Clubs, Dollar Stores, e-Retailers, and General retailers.- Preferred packaging formats: The report provides percentage share (in 2016) and growth analysis (during 2011-2021) for various packaging materials, container, closure, and outer types based on the volume sales (by pack units) of Seasonings, Dressings & Sauces.Reasons to buy- Manufacturing and retailers seek latest information on how the market is evolving to formulate their sales and marketing strategies. There is also demand for authentic market data with a high level of detail. This report has been created to provide its readers with up-to-date information and analysis to uncover emerging opportunities of growth within the sector in the APAC region.- The report provides a detailed analysis of the countries in the region, covering the key challenges, competitive landscape and demographic analysis , that can help companies gain insight into the country specific nuances- The analysts have also placed a significant emphasis on the key trends that drive consumer choice and the future opportunities that can be explored in the region, than can help companies in revenue expansion- To gain competitive intelligence about leading brands in the sector in the region with information about their market share and growth ratesRead Full Report with TOC:Table of Contents:1. Executive summary2. Market size and growth analysis (Regional analysis )Market Size Analysis - North America compared to other regionsGrowth analysis by regionGrowth Analysis by countryGrowth Analysis by market3. Growth potential by countries in North AmericaRisk and reward analysis - Opportunity scores4. Market size and growth analysisOverview - Value and volume growth analysis by countryGrowth Contribution Analysis by CountryShare of Seasonings, Dressings & Sauces compared to other Food sectorsChange in consumption levels by country and SDS marketsPer capita consumption and expenditure analysis5. Country ProfilesUSMexicoCanadaMake an Enquiry:About Market Research Hub:Market Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of market research reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.MRH functions as an integrated platform for the following products and services: Objective and sound market forecasts, qualitative and quantitative analysis, incisive insight into defining industry trends, and market share estimates. Our reputation lies in delivering value and world-class capabilities to our clients.Contact Details:90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (US-Canada)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Email: press@marketresearchhub.comWebsite:Read Industry News @
Good Growth Opportunities in Global Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) Market Till 2021

http://www.sa-brc.com/Global-Hyperbaric-Oxygen-Therapy-HBOT-Market-Assessment--Forecast-2017-2021/up113

http://www.sa-brc.com/Global-Hyperbaric-Oxygen-Therapy-HBOT-Market-Assessment--Forecast-2017-2021/upcomingdetail113

www.sa-brc.com

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves a pressurized room or tube in which patients are exposed to oxygen enriched environment. Breathing pure oxygen is known to treat a variety of illnesses and conditions such as decompression sickness, altitude sickness, anemia, arterial gas embolism, chronic wounds, radiation injury, burns and CO gas poisoning. Hyperbaric treatment enhances the body's healing process as hemoglobin enriched with oxygen can reduce tissue necrosis and promote healing factors. The oxygen molecules decrease in size as they are in a pressurized environment and are able to dissolve into the blood plasma.This report estimates the market for Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) therapy in terms of value ($ millions) and provides analysis of upcoming treatment application areas. The report covers monoplace, multiplace and topox HBOT technologies. Topical oxygen, or Topox, is administered through a small chamber or device placed over an extremity or a body part and pressurized with oxygen. The patient does not breathe the oxygen, rather the particular portion of the body is exposed to pure oxygen. This treatment is not systemic but helps with external wounds and burns. Altitude and decompression sickness are often observed among climbers and scuba divers. A scientific study by Dauphin Island Sea Lab yielded an overall incidence of DCI to be 0.93/10,000 person-dives for recreational, instructional/guided, commercial and/or military diving. However, HBOT finds significant applications in treatment of carbon monoxide poisoning and burn victims and greatest in treatment of gangrene and chronic wounds. The growing incidence of chemical burns and fire burns across the world has diverted the attention of the market to growing applications of topical HBOT. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) market by end-users is divided into three major entities; hospitals, private settings, commercial diving industry, nursing facilities and other government institutional facilities.Request Free Report Sample@The report will enable for HBOT clinics to estimate the risks, competition and market dynamics in order to expand to other medical conditions that show benefits of HBOT to a certain degree; although they considered off-label indications. The hyperbaric oxygen therapy devices market is clustered in western hemisphere primarily due to greater adoption, awareness and accessibility. Notable players include OxyHealth LLC, ETC Biomedical, Gulf Coast Hyperbarics, Sechrist Industries, Perry Baromedical, BaroxHBO and SMP Ltd (UK).NOTE: This report is currently under research and will be made available to clients on request.Request For TOC@About UsSpearhead Acuity Business Research & Consulting Private Limited (SA-BRC) is a premium Life Science business intelligence and data analytics firm. SA-BRC team offers a wide range of business intelligence services to multiple stakeholders such as Medical Device Manufacturers, Service Providers (Hospitals, Payers, etc.), Suppliers, Group Purchase Organizations, Distributors and all other individuals in the entire value chain of healthcare industry. Our research and consulting capabilities extend across several sub-domains within the sphere of Life Sciences such as Biotechnology, Healthcare IT, Medical Devices, Veterinary Sciences, Wellness Products and Pharmaceuticals.Contact UsJohn WhitmoreOffice No. 14,Hermes Kunj, Mangaldas Road,Pune, 411001IndiaPhone: +91-02041210872Email: sales@sa-brc.comWebsite:
Unique Chocolate Gift Boxes for Corporate Diwali Gifts

https://www.chococraft.in/pages/corporate-diwali-gifts

https://www.chococraft.in/pages/corporate-diwali-gifts

For businesses in India, Diwali has always been an important occasion. Corporate gifts are given by companies to their employees, partners, important clients and many other people. There is huge market for Diwali gifts with many varied options and companies are always looking for the nest unique idea for Diwali gifts.Off late, however Companies have started opting for personalized gifts for Diwali. These gifts are customized for each individual recipient in some way, by writing their name on the gift or a picture or maybe a customized message. Personalized gifts make more of an impact on the recipient and they are always treasured.Now ChocoCraft, a Delhi based firm has brought in a new concept for Corporate Diwali Gifts  customized chocolate gifts. They make chocolate gift boxes with beautiful Diwali designs. Companies can choose the design they want for the box. They can have their own logo printed on the box and even personalize the box for each individual recipient.ChocoCraft also offers chocolates with prints. So not only the box but the chocolates themselves will carry the corporate logo or a Diwali design or greeting. The company launched this concept of Diwali Gifts in 2013 and in a short time they have made a name for themselves in the corporate world.The company has crafted beautiful Diwali gifts for some of the top names in the corporate world like HCL, TCS, United Airlines, ICICI Prudential, Akzo Nobel and many others.At ChocoCraft, we create a special range of corporate gifts for Diwali. We make customized chocolate gift boxes, each uniquely designed as per the client's wishes. You can choose to have your corporate logo, a diwali greeting or any other design you would like on the box. Further you can also choose to have your logo printed on the chocolates themselves.These elegantly designed gifts are perfect Diwali gifts for employees, business associates or clients.Chococraft creations pvt. ltd.F-1099 Palam extensionDwarka sec 7New Delhi - 110077
Akshat Malik of ClickOnCare.com is recognized as an 2017 Owler Top Rated CEO in E-commerce Industry

Akshat Malik

https://www.owler.com/iaApp/1173201/clickoncare-company-profile

Community-based business insights platform distributes 1,000 awards among 167,000 CEOs, awarding the top 0.60 percent of CEOs.Bangalore, Karnataka  31/05/2017 ClickOnCare.com is excited to announce its CEO Akshat Malik was awarded an 2017 Owler Top Rated CEO award in E-commerce Industry. The Online Market Leader in Cosmeceuticals, Dermacare & Nutrition Products in OTC Healthcare.For the first time, Owler is honoring the top rated CEOs on their platform. CEOs are rated by members of the Owler community, who have collectively contributed more than a quarter million ratings this year. Owler analyzed those ratings, ultimately distributing 1,000 awards to the highest rated CEOs from over 167,000 CEOs on Owler. Winners span from 50 cities and 25 industries worldwide. Akshat Malik, CEO was in good company, making the list alongside leaders of Salesforce, LinkedIn, and Netflix.2017 Owler Top Rated CEO Awards provide a complete market view of a CEOs rating, which includes ratings from employees, competitors, followers, and general Owler users.Conceptualized in the Winters of 2012, Incepted during the Spring and Launched in the Summer of 2013, ClickOnCare was brought up by the Malik's Clan. Akshat Malik, spearheading the Group, started with Generic Lifestyle Products eventually moving up its Niche into Cosmeceuticals, Dermacare & Nutrition Products.Today, with Hunderd's of Sellers and 16k Products, ClickOnCare has a 93% Customer Satisfaction Rate clubbed with 95% On Time Delivery Number. With our Moto of PRODVICE - Product with Service, ClickOnCare shall continue to Strive for best of Customer Experiences.The 2017 Owler Top Rated CEO Awards are a true market view of the most esteemed CEOs, said Jim Fowler, CEO at Owler. These winners are truly the best of breed: they beat out the other 99.4 percent of leaders on our platform to win a coveted 2017 Owler Top Rated CEO Award.To see ClickOnCares company profile on Owler, go toClickOnCare Retail Private Limited caters to Over The Counter Sales of Healthcare Products & Medicines Across the Indian Market from over 900 Brands. It proudly claims the Online Market leadership in Comeceutical, Dermacare & Nutrition Products. For more information, please connect on contact@clickoncare.comAbout OwlerOwler is the worlds largest community-based business insights platform that business professionals use to outsmart their competition, gain competitive insights, and uncover the latest industry news and alerts. Owler is powered by an active community of 1 million business professionals who contribute unique business insights such as competitors, private company revenue, and CEO ratings. From startups all the way to large enterprises (including 96% of the Fortune 500), CEOs, salespeople, marketers, product managers, and all types of business professionals use Owler daily.Launched in 2014, and funded by Norwest Venture Partners and Trinity Ventures, Owler is headquartered in San Mateo, CA with offices in Spokane, WA, and Coimbatore, India.Conceptualized in the Winters of 2012, Incepted during the Spring and Launched in the Summer of 2013, ClickOnCare was brought up by the Malik's Clan.Akshat Malik, spearheading the Group, started with Generic Lifestyle Products eventually moving up its Niche into Cosmeceuticals, Dermacare & Nutrition Products.Today, with Hunderd's of Sellers and 16k Products, ClickOnCare has a 93% Customer Satisfaction Rate clubbed with 95% On Time Delivery Number.With our Moto of PRODVICE - Product with Service, ClickOnCare shall continue to Strive for best of Customer Experiences.ClickOnCare Retail Private LimitedNo. 23, Thaverekere Main RoadBengaluru  560029contact@clickoncare.com080 - 41656200
Personal Accident And Health Insurance In Canada, Key Trends And Opportunities To 2020

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Timetrics 'Personal Accident and Health Insurance in Canada Key Trends and Opportunities to 2020' report provides a detailed outlook by product category for the Canadian personal accident and health insurance segment, and a comparison of the Canadian insurance industry with its regional counterparts.It provides key performance indicators such as written premium, incurred loss, loss ratio, commissions and expenses, combined ratio, total assets, total investment income and retentions during the review period (20112015) and forecast period (20152020).The report also analyzes distribution channels operating in the segment, gives a comprehensive overview of the Canadian economy and demographics, and provides detailed information on the competitive landscape in the country.The report brings together Timetrics research, modeling and analysis expertise, giving insurers access to information on segment dynamics and competitive advantages, and profiles of insurers operating in the country. The report also includes details of insurance regulations, and recent changes in the regulatory structure.Request For Sample Copy Of This Report @SummaryTimetrics 'Personal Accident and Health Insurance in Canada Key Trends and Opportunities to 2020' report provides in-depth market analysis, information and insights into the Canadian personal accident and health insurance segment, including:An overview of the Canadian personal accident and health insurance segmentThe Canadian personal accident and health insurance segments growth prospects by categoryA comprehensive overview of the Canadian economy and demographicsA comparison of the Canadian personal accident and health insurance segment with its regional counterpartsThe various distribution channels in the Canadian personal accident and health insurance segmentDetails of the competitive landscape in the personal accident and health insurance segment in CanadaDetails of regulatory policy applicable to the Canadian insurance industryScopeThis report provides a comprehensive analysis of the personal accident and health insurance segment in Canada:It provides historical values for the Canadian personal accident and health insurance segment for the reports 20112015 review period, and projected figures for the 20152020 forecast period.It offers a detailed analysis of the key categories in the Canadian personal accident and health insurance segment, and market forecasts to 2020.It provides a comparison of the Canadian personal accident and health insurance segment with its regional counterpartsIt provides an overview of the various distribution channels for personal accident and health insurance products in Canada.It profiles the top personal accident and health insurance companies in Canada, and outlines the key regulations affecting them.Reasons To BuyMake strategic business decisions using in-depth historic and forecast market data related to the Canadian personal accident and health insurance segment, and each category within it.Understand the demand-side dynamics, key market trends and growth opportunities in the Canadian personal accident and health insurance segment.Assess the competitive dynamics in the personal accident and health insurance segment.Identify growth opportunities and market dynamics in key product categories.Gain insights into key regulations governing the Canadian insurance industry, and their impact on companies and the industry's future.Key HighlightsCanada witnessed a steady increase in healthcare spending during the review period.The leading cost drivers in health spending are drugs, hospitals and physicians, which accounted for 60.7% of the total health expenditures in 2015.Rising outbound tourism is expected to drive demand for travel insurance.Life expectancy in Canada rose from 81.4 years in 2011 to 81.8 years in 2015, and is projected to increase further over the forecast period.MarketResearchReports.biz supports your business intelligence needs with over 100,000 market research reports, company profiles, data books, and regional market data sheets in its repository. Our document database is updated by the hour, which means that you always have access to fresh data spanning over 300 industries and their sub-segments.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948(USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Global Plastic Food Containers Market 2017 - Amcor Limited, BERICAP GmbH & Co KG, Global Closure Systems, Crown Holdings

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https://goo.gl/k2w0tz

www.fiormarkets.com

www.albaniantimes.com

This report studies the Plastic Food Containers market status and outlook of global and United States, from angles of players, regions, product types and end industries; this report analyzes the top players in global and United States market, and splits the Plastic Food Containers market by product type and applications/end industries.The global Plastic Food Containers market is valued at XX million USD in 2016 and is expected to reach XX million USD by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2022.Request For Sample Report @The Asia-Pacific will occupy for more market share in following years, especially in China, also fast growing India and Southeast Asia regions.North America, especially The United States, will still play an important role which cannot be ignored. Any changes from United States might affect the development trend of Plastic Food Containers. United States plays an important role in global market, with market size of xx million USD in 2016 and will be xx million USD in 2022, with a CAGR of XX.Geographically, this report is segmented into several key regions, with sales, revenue, market share (%) and growth Rate (%) of Plastic Food Containers in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringUnited StatesNorth AmericaEuropeAsia-PacificSouth AmericaMiddle East and AfricaThe major players in global and United States Plastic Food Containers market, includingBentgoAladdin MasonZiplocOXORubbermaidSnapwareGLADLock & LockReynoldsMeal PrepFit and Fresh.The On the basis of product, the Plastic Food Containers market is primarily split intoPET (SPI Code 1)HDPE (SPI Code 2)LDPE (SPI Code 4)PP (SPI Code 6)Others (SPI Code 7)Access Full Report With TOC @On the basis on the end users/applications, this report coversLunch BoxFood StorageBaby BottlesTablewareWater BottlesOthersAbout Fior MarketsFior Markets is a leading market intelligence company that sells reports of top publishers in the technology industry.Our extensive research reports cover detailed market assessments that include major technological improvements in the industry. Fior Markets also specializes in analyzing hi-tech systems and current processing systems in its expertise.We have a team of experts that compile precise research reports and actively advise top companies to improve their existing processes. Our experts have extensive experience in the topics that they cover.Contact UsMark StoneSales ManagerOffice-108, Sanskriti AspirationsBaner Road, Pune,MH 411045IndiaPhone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb:Blog:
Personal Accident And Health Insurance In Peru, Key Trends And Opportunities To 2020

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Timetrics 'Personal Accident and Health Insurance in Peru Key Trends and Opportunities to 2020' report provides in-depth market analysis, information and insights into the Peruvian personal accident and health insurance segment, including:An overview of the Peruvian personal accident and health insurance segmentThe Peruvian personal accident and health insurance segments growth prospects by categoryA comprehensive overview of the Peruvian economy and demographicsA comparison of the Peruvian personal accident and health insurance segment with its regional counterpartsThe various distribution channels in the Peruvian personal accident and health insurance segmentDetails of the competitive landscape in the personal accident and health insurance segment in PeruDetails of regulatory policy applicable to the Peruvian insurance industryRequest For Sample Copy @SummaryTimetrics 'Personal Accident and Health Insurance in Peru Key Trends and Opportunities to 2020' report provides a detailed outlook by product category for the Peruvian life insurance segment, and a comparison of the Peruvian insurance industry with its regional counterparts.It provides key performance indicators such as written premium, incurred loss, loss ratio, commissions and expenses, combined ratio, total assets, total investment income and retentions during the review period (20112015) and forecast period (20152020).The report also analyzes distribution channels operating in the segment, gives a comprehensive overview of the Peruvian economy and demographics, and provides detailed information on the competitive landscape in the country.The report brings together Timetrics research, modeling and analysis expertise, giving insurers access to information on segment dynamics and competitive advantages, and profiles of insurers operating in the country. The report also includes details of insurance regulations, and recent changes in the regulatory structure.ScopeThis report provides a comprehensive analysis of the personal accident and health insurance segment in Peru:It provides historical values for the Peruvian personal accident and health insurance segment for the reports 20112015 review period, and projected figures for the 20152020 forecast period.It offers a detailed analysis of the key categories in the Peruvian personal accident and health insurance segment, and market forecasts to 2020.It provides a comparison of the Peruvian personal accident and health insurance segment with its regional counterpartsIt provides an overview of the various distribution channels for personal accident and health insurance products in Peru.It profiles the top personal accident and health insurance companies in Peru, and outlines the key regulations affecting them.Reasons To BuyMake strategic business decisions using in-depth historic and forecast market data related to the Peruvian personal accident and health insurance segment, and each category within it.Understand the demand-side dynamics, key market trends and growth opportunities in the Peruvian personal accident and health insurance segment.Assess the competitive dynamics in the personal accident and health insurance segment.Identify growth opportunities and market dynamics in key product categories.Gain insights into key regulations governing the Peruvian insurance industry, and their impact on companies and the industry's future.Key HighlightsThe personal accident and health segment accounted for 9.3% of the overall insurance gross written premium in Peru in 2015.Insurance penetration of the personal accident and health segment was 0.18% in 2015.El Pacfico Peruano, one of countrys leading life and personal accident and health insurers, expanded by forming a joint venture with Banmdica SA to jointly develop businesses in the Peruvian healthcare market in December 2014.In 2015, Rimac Seguros y Reaseguros introduced a new accident insurance policy for children.MarketResearchReports.biz supports your business intelligence needs with over 100,000 market research reports, company profiles, data books, and regional market data sheets in its repository. Our document database is updated by the hour, which means that you always have access to fresh data spanning over 300 industries and their sub-segments.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948(USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Serbia Personal Accident And Health Insurance, Key Trends And Opportunities To 2020

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Timetrics 'Personal Accident and Health Insurance in Serbia Key Trends and Opportunities to 2020' report provides a detailed outlook by product category for the Serbian personal accident and health insurance segment, and a comparison of the Serbian insurance industry with its regional counterparts.It provides key performance indicators such as written premium, incurred loss, loss ratio, commissions and expenses, combined ratio, total assets, total investment income and retentions during the review period (20112015) and forecast period (20152020).The report also analyzes distribution channels operating in the segment, gives a comprehensive overview of the Serbian economy and demographics, and provides detailed information on the competitive landscape in the country.The report brings together Timetrics research, modeling and analysis expertise, giving insurers access to information on segment dynamics and competitive advantages, and profiles of insurers operating in the country. The report also includes details of insurance regulations, and recent changes in the regulatory structure.SummaryTimetrics 'Personal Accident and Health Insurance in Serbia Key Trends and Opportunities to 2020' report provides in-depth market analysis, information and insights into the Serbian personal accident and health insurance segment, including:An overview of the Serbian personal accident and health insurance segmentThe Serbian personal accident and health insurance segments growth prospects by categoryA comprehensive overview of the Serbian economy and demographicsA comparison of the Serbian personal accident and health insurance segment with its regional counterpartsThe various distribution channels in the Serbian personal accident and health insurance segmentDetails of the competitive landscape in the personal accident and health insurance segment in SerbiaDetails of regulatory policy applicable to the Serbian insurance industryGet The Sample Copy Of This Report @ScopeThis report provides a comprehensive analysis of the personal accident and health insurance segment in Serbia:It provides historical values for the Serbian personal accident and health insurance segment for the reports 20112015 review period, and projected figures for the 20152020 forecast period.It offers a detailed analysis of the key categories in the Serbian personal accident and health insurance segment, and market forecasts to 2020.It provides a comparison of the Serbian personal accident and health insurance segment with its regional counterpartsIt provides an overview of the various distribution channels for personal accident and health insurance products in Serbia.It profiles the top personal accident and health insurance companies in Serbia, and outlines the key regulations affecting them.Reasons To BuyMake strategic business decisions using in-depth historic and forecast market data related to the Serbian personal accident and health insurance segment, and each category within it.Understand the demand-side dynamics, key market trends and growth opportunities in the Serbian personal accident and health insurance segment.Assess the competitive dynamics in the personal accident and health insurance segment.Identify growth opportunities and market dynamics in key product categories.Gain insights into key regulations governing the Serbian insurance industry, and their impact on companies and the industry's future.View More @Key HighlightsThe personal accident and health segment accounted for 10.8% of the industrys gross written premium in 2015.The personal accident and health segments penetration rate was lower than that of the life and non-life segments.Direct marketing is the largest distribution channel in Serbia and accounted for 80.6% of the segments direct written premium in 2015.The Serbian personal accident and health insurance segment is highly concentrated, as the 10 leading insurers accounted for 98.8% of the gross written premium in 2015.MarketResearchReports.biz supports your business intelligence needs with over 100,000 market research reports, company profiles, data books, and regional market data sheets in its repository. Our document database is updated by the hour, which means that you always have access to fresh data spanning over 300 industries and their sub-segments.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948(USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Global Internet of Things (IoT) Security Market 2017-2021 - Current Market Trends, Size, Growth and Forecast

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Latest Research Report titled " Global Internet of Things Security Market 2017-2021 " features Key Market Players, Market Trends, Market Challenges and Market Drivers.IoT refers to the communication between connected devices within a network. Data is transmitted between smart devices, such as thermostats and sensors, which are further connected to the users mobile devices. The interconnection of embedded hardware devices, communication services, software, and IT services makes the operations of IoT devices efficient. It helps in remote monitoring and management of numerous interconnected devices. IoT also enables the creation of smart homes, smart shopping, smart transportation, and smart healthcare.The global IoT security market to grow at a CAGR of 47.91% during the period 2017-2021. The report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global IoT security market for 2017-2021. To calculate the market size, the report considers the revenue generated from the sales of network security solutions, including hardware, software, and services (including managed services).The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:- Americas- APAC- EMEABrowse Research PDF at:Technavio's report, Global IoT Security Market 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendors- Cisco- Wurldtech Security Technologies- IBM- Infineon Technologies- Intel- SymantecOther prominent vendors- Cypress- Digi International- Ericsson- Eurotech- Fortinet- Gemalto- Kore Wireless- NetComm Wireless- Nokia- Numerex- Palo Alto Networks- PTC (Axeda)- Rockwell Automation- Secure Crossing- Sierra Wireless- Sophos- Systech Solutions- Telit- Tofino- Ventus WirelessKey questions answered in this report- What will the market size be in 2021 and what will the growth rate be?- What are the key market trends?- What is driving this market?- What are the challenges to market growth?- Who are the key vendors in this market space?- What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?- What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?About UsResearchMoz is the worlds fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMozs service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn at:
Global Cloud Based Language Learning Market Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017  2025

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Cloud Based Language Learning Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017 - 2025" to its huge collection of research reports.This report aims to provide a comprehensive strategic analysis of the global cloud based language learning market along with revenue and growth forecasts for the period from 2015 to 2025. With advancements in cloud based language learning platforms and rising demand for cloud based language learning for various languages which includes English, Spanish, German, Italian Swedish etc., market is expected to experience high growth in the coming decade. Some of the factors supporting the growth of the market worldwide include the emergence of e-learning technologies and increased technological investments in developing regions such as Asia Pacific, high demand from the emerging markets such as China and India, advent of industry specific cloud based language learning technologies in developed regions such as North America and Europe and increasing awareness of cloud based language learning. The impact of these and other macro and micro economic factors has been analyzed while developing the market growth models.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Cloud-based Language Learning Market: Scope of the ReportThis research study on the global cloud based language learning market provides a detailed analysis of cloud based language learning platforms deployed for various languages by end-users such as education sector and business houses depending upon their needs. The report offers an in-depth study of the market drivers, restraints, and growth opportunities. Using these factors, the study identifies various trends prominent in the industry and are expected to influence the market growth during the forecast period from 2017 to 2025. It includes a comprehensive coverage of the underlying economic and technological factors influencing the cloud based language learning market growth. It provides the competitive landscape of key players in the cloud based language learning market in order to highlight the state of competition therein. The report also provides a detailed competitive analysis of the key players in the market and identifies various business strategies adopted by them. The study explains the penetration within each market segment across various geographies, and how these segments have accelerated the growth of the market as a whole.Cloud-based Language Learning Market: SegmentationThe global cloud based language learning market is analyzed by segmenting it on the basis of training type, language and geography. Based on training type, the market is classified into education and corporate. The education segment includes k-12 and higher education. The corporate segment type covers businesses having language learning needs for their employees. In terms of language, the global cloud based language learning market is segmented into English, Spanish, Chinese, French, German, Japanese and others (Italian, Russian etc.).Geographically, the global market for cloud based language learning market has been segmented into five regions which are North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa (MEA), and South America. The market size and forecast for each region has been provided for the period from 2015 to 2025 along with the CAGR (%) for the forecast period from 2017 to 2025. The analysis by training type, language and regions helps in evaluating the present scenario and growth prospects of the cloud based language learning market over the forecast period from 2017 to 2025. Thus, the report provides in-depth cross-segment analysis of the market and classifies it into various languages, thereby providing valuable insights at the macro as well as micro levels.Cloud-based Language Learning Market: Competitive LandscapeA list of recommendations have been provided for new entrants to help them establish a strong presence and for existing market players to take strategic decisions and strengthen their market position in the global cloud based language learning market. The report concludes with the profiles of major players in the cloud based language learning market on the basis of various attributes, such as company overview, financial overview, business strategies, SWOT analysis, segment presence, and recent developments. The major players profiled in this report include Duolingo, Linguatronics LC, Rosetta Stone Inc., Speexx, Lesson Nine GmbH, Sanako Corporation, SANS Inc., Culture Alley, Voxy Inc. and EF Education First Ltd, among others.Market Segmentation:Cloud Based Language Learning Market Analysis, by Training Type- Education- CorporateCloud Based Language Learning Market Analysis, by Language- English- Spanish- Chinese- French- German- Japanese- OthersIn addition, the report provides cross-sectional analysis of the cloud based language learning market with respect to the following geographical segments:- North America- The U.S.- Canada- Rest of North America- Europe- The U.K.- Germany- France- Rest of Europe- Asia-Pacific- Japan- China- Australia- India- Rest of Asia Pacific- Middle East and Africa (MEA)- The UAE- Saudi Arabia- South Africa- Rest of the Middle East & Africa- South America- Brazil- Rest of South AmericaMake an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
At A CAGR Of 3.53% Third-Party Logistics Market In Japan To Grow During The Period 2017-2021

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "3PL Market in Japan 2017-2021" to its huge collection of research reports.The term 3PL refers to third-party logistics that essentially involves a vendor catering to the logistics and distribution management of outsourced products and services of different companies. Shippers (customers, who transport goods using 3PL services) outsource some or all the supply chain management (SCM) functions of their logistics services to the 3PL provider. The 3PL provider is responsible for handling customer logistics requirements while performing different functions like transportation, location tracking, and sometimes product-consolidation activities.Technavios analysts forecast the third-party logistics market in Japan to grow at a CAGR of 3.53% during the period 2017-2021.Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the third-party logistics market in Japan for 2017-2021. To calculate the market size, the report considers the 3PL services provided by the vendors in Japan.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Technavio's report, Third-Party Logistics Market in Japan 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendorsGlobal Logistic Properties (GLP)Kintetsu World Express (KWE)Sagawa ExpressYamatoHitachi Transport SystemOther prominent vendorsAlps LogisticsJFE LogisticsMitsui-SokoNichirei LogisticsNIPPON EXPRESSSakata WarehouseSankyuToll HoldingsMarket driverAffordable prices through 3PL servicesFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challengeLack of innovation in logistics facilitiesFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trendTechnological advances by 3PL providers in JapanFor a full, detailed list, view our reportKey questions answered in this reportWhat will the market size be in 2021 and what will the growth rate be?What are the key market trends?What is driving this market?What are the challenges to market growth?Who are the key vendors in this market space?What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?Make an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Researchmoz | China Outbound Tourism Market, Outbound Tourists Visits, Tourists Market (Spending) & Forecast

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "China Outbound Tourism Market, Outbound Tourists Visits, Tourists Market (Spending) & Forecast" to its huge collection of research reports.China Outbound Tourism Market is more than USD 200 Billion in 2016, to achieve this growth it has grown with a CAGR of 20.3%. As there has been an increase of average income and a less restrictive tourism policy, Chinese people are able to travel within and outside of their homeland. China has risen rapidly as a new major source of outbound tourists in the world and has become an important tourist market. By 2022, the number of Chinese outbound tourists will be more than double from the current outbound tourists number in 2016; signaling a revolutionary change and opportunity for the global travel industry.Tourism Types: Holiday, Visit Friends and Relatives (VFR), Business (MICE) & OthersHoliday purpose visits are the most popular segment among all the other segments in Chinese outbound tourists. Holiday purpose segment is nearly five times bigger than its closest outbound tourism segment in 2016 and accounts for the maximum spending by the Chinese outbound tourists in this segment.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Countries Analysis: China Outbound Tourists ArrivalHong Kong controls the highest share in 2016, and it is expected to maintain its lead position in future too. Japan, Thailand, South Korea, holds the position from 2nd to 4th (not in same chronological order) for China Outbound Tourism Market in 2016.Countries Analysis: China Outbound Tourists MarketHong Kong and United States holds the 1st and 2nd position in 2016. South Korea, Thailand and Japan control the position from 3rd to 5th (not in same chronological order). United States has the highest average spending.China Outbound Tourism Market, Outbound Tourists Visits, Tourists Market (Spending) & Forecast is the 4th report published by Renub Research on China Outbound Tourism. This 293 page report with 280 Figures and 23 Tables is divided into 19 Chapters.Chapter 1: Executive SummaryChapter 2 to 3: Provides Tourists Number, Tourists Market, Tourists Share & Tourists Market Share (By Countries, Tourism Types) of China OutboundChapter 4 to 5: Talks about 10 Countries Tourists Number Share and Tourists Market Share in (Holiday, Business (MICE), VFR & Others) of China OutboundChapter 6 to 7: Speaks of Total Tourists Number and Total Tourists Market in (Holiday, Business (MICE), VFR & Others) of China Outbound-Chapter 8 to 17: Provides China Outbound Tourists and China Outbound Tourists Market in (Holiday, Business (MICE), VFR & Others), Average Tourists Spending in all the 10 countries individually.Chapter 18: Studies Growth Factors for China Outbound TourismChapter 19: Studies Challenges faced by China Outbound TourismChina Outbound Tourists Numbers and Market (Spending) - Top 10 Countries is covered in this report- Australia- Canada- Japan- South Korea- New Zealand- Singapore- Taiwan- Thailand- United States- Hong KongTourism Types Covered in this reportAll countries have been analyzed with consideration of following key travel segments- Holiday Tourists Arrivals & Market (Spending)- Visit Friends and Relatives (VFR) Arrivals & Market (Spending)- Business (MICE) Arrivals & Market (Spending)- Others Arrivals & Market (Spending)We recommend this report as must-read for Travel and Tour stake holders, Hotel Industry, Tourism Ministry, Consulting firms, Private Equity firms, Venture Capital firms etc.Make an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Mechanical Seals Market Explores New Growth Opportunities By 2016 - 2026

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Increase in production of shale gas in developing and developed countries is a major factor driving the growth of the market. New oil and gas exploration activities, coupled with extensive investments in refineries and pipelines is escalating the growth of the global mechanical seals market. Moreover, introduction of new technologies is also a major element boosting the overall growth of the global mechanical seals market.Global Mechanical Seals Market: RestraintsIntroduction of alternate methods of sealing leakages like mechanical packaging eats into the revenue share of the mechanical seals market. Furthermore, use of electronic seals in automated manufacturing units can also impede growth during the forecast period 2016-2026.Global Mechanical Seals Market: Region-wise OutlookThe highest growth is expected to be witnessed in the Americas due to increase in adoption of mechanical seals to ensure precise and prefect sealing of pipelines. Demand for mechanical seals is anticipated to remain stable in Middle East & Africa. Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) is expected to offer growth opportunities to key players during the forecast period.Request For Report Sample:Global Mechanical Seals Market: Key PlayersThe major players involved in the manufacturing of mechanical seals are AW Chesterton Company, EagleBurgmann India Private Limited, Flowserve Corporation, Flex-a-seal, John Crane Group, Bal Seal Engineering, Cooper-Standard, Federal-Mogul, Flexitallic Group, Garlock Sealing Technology, Henniges Automotive Sealing Systems, Hutchinson Sealing Systems, Timken AB, Freudenberg Sealing Technologies GmBH and Co. KG., Dana Corporation, Telleborg Industries and others.Global Mechanical Seals Market: SegmentationThe global mechanical seals market can be segmented on the basis of types, end use and geography.On the basis of types, the global mechanical seals market can be segmented into O-ring seals, lip seals, and rotary seals.On the basis of end use industry, the global mechanical seals market can be segmented into oil and gas industry, general industry, chemical industry, water industry, power industry and others.On the basis of geography, the global mechanical seals market can be segmented into North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific excluding Japan, Middle East and Africa and Japan.About Mechanical SealsMechanical seals are those leakage control devices which are deployed on rotating equipment like mixers and pumps to avoid the leakage of liquid and gases from escaping into the environment. Mechanical seals ensure that the medium stays in the system circuit, protecting it from external contaminations reducing environmental emissions.Request For TOC:Mechanical seals also helps in stopping leakage in systems that contain pressure. Before mechanical seals, mechanical packaging was used; however, it wasnt as effective as seals are.Mechanical seals often consume energy since the frictional properties of the seal has a huge impact on the amount of power consumed by the machinery on which it is used. The four major classes of mechanical seals are traditional contact seals, cooled and lubricated seals, dry seals, and gas lubricated seals.Only a flat and smooth finish on mechanical seals is eligible to prevent leakage to its full efficiency. Mechanical seals are usually made by using carbon and silicon carbide but mostly carbon is used in the manufacturing of mechanical seals because of its self-lubricating properties. The two principle components of a mechanical seal are the stationary arm and the rotatory arm.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Vibrating Screens Market Is Expected To Generate Huge Profits by 2016 - 2026

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Vibrating screens are used to segregate feeds comprising solid and crushed ores down to approximately 210m and are also applicable to both dried and wetted feed. The vibrating motor and rubber sieve plate are the internal components of the vibrating screen. High frequency vibrating screens are primarily utilized in the mineral processing industries. Different vibrating screens are available in the market such as circular vibrating screens, gyratory screen, rotary vibrating screen, trammel screen, linear vibrating screens, etc. Factors such as amount of oversize and undersize material, type of material, shape of particles, moisture content, others govern the capacity of vibrating screens. The high frequency vibration screens operates at varying 0 to 25 degrees and can go up to a maximum of 45 degrees. The frequency range is from 15007200 RPM and should operate at a low stroke. As the apertures in the high frequency screen may cause blockage, pre-treatment of the feed is required. General design of a vibrating screens consists of screen web, bock, coupler, mainframe, rub spring and electric motor. Vibrating screens are widely used in coal, refractory, mining, building materials etc. and can be customized according to the requirement. Waste streams released from waste products should be treated as they may cause damage to the environment over a sustained period of time.Global Vibrating Screens Market: SegmentationVibrating screen market can be segmented on the basis of applications, motive mechanism, product type, production process, driving method and region. On the basis of application, vehicle screen market can be segmented into metallurgy, wood pelleting, food, chemical industry, mineral processing and reclaimed asphalt pavement. On the basis of motive mechanism, vehicle screen market can be segmented into hydraulic vibrator and electric vibrators. On the basis of product type, vehicle screen market can be segmented into linear vibrating screens and circular vibrating screens. On the basis of production process, vehicle screen market can be segmented into screen selection and pre-treatment of feed. On the basis of driving method, it can be segmented into direct drive and indirect drive.Request For Report Sample:Global Vibrating Screens Market: DynamicsDriversFast and easy replacement of vibrating screens due to screw less fastening system is driving the growth of the global vibrating screens. High availability and low maintenance requirements are growing the market of vibrating screens globally. Moreover, robust design and low susceptibility of the vibrating screens are another factors leading to the growth of the vibrating screens market globally. Moreover, diversified product portfolio available in the market meeting the demands of the consumers is another factor fueling the demand for vibrating screens globally.Restraints:Screening efficiency can be affected by screen tearing, dampening, blinding and contamination which may challenge the growth of the vibrating screens market globally. Furthermore, limitations of rotary screen to handle two devices as compared to high frequency vibrating screens is another factor which can be considered as a restraint for the global vibrating screens market.Global Vibrating Screens Market: Key PlayersThe main key players of the global vibrating screens market are:Deister MachineElgin Equipment GroupOsbornHawk MachineryDerrick CorporationJOST GroupMidwestern IndustriesAury Pty Ltd.Gator Machinery CompanySouthwest Milling and Industrial CompanyRequest For TOC:Global Vibrating Screens Market:Region Wise OutlookOn the basis of region, vibration screens market can be segmented into Latin America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, North America, Asia Pacific excluding Japan, Middle East and Africa, and Japan. Europe and Asia pacific is expected to dominate the market as they are significant market for mining and steel industries. China, UK and Ukraine are expected to show robust development in the steel industry. Furthermore, countries such as South Africa, Australia and India are expected to create moderate demand for vibrating screens.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Global and United States Cloud System Management Software Report by Players, Types and Applications 2017-2022

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "2017-2022 Cloud System Management Software Report on Global and United States Market, Status and Forecast, by Players, Types and Applications" to its huge collection of research reports.This report studies the Cloud System Management Software market status and outlook of global and United States, from angles of players, regions, product types and end industries; this report analyzes the top players in global and United States market, and splits the Cloud System Management Software market by product type and applications/end industries.The global Cloud System Management Software market is valued at XX million USD in 2016 and is expected to reach XX million USD by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2022.The Asia-Pacific will occupy for more market share in following years, especially in China, also fast growing India and Southeast Asia regions.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @North America, especially The United States, will still play an important role which cannot be ignored. Any changes from United States might affect the development trend of Cloud System Management Software. United States plays an important role in global market, with market size of xx million USD in 2016 and will be xx million USD in 2022, with a CAGR of XX.Geographically, this report is segmented into several key regions, with sales, revenue, market share (%) and growth Rate (%) of Cloud System Management Software in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringUnited StatesNorth AmericaEuropeAsia-PacificSouth AmericaMiddle East and AfricaThe major players in global and United States Cloud System Management Software market, including Vmware, IBM, Microsoftsoft, Hewlett Packard, BMC, Cisco, Adaptive Computing, Dell, HP, Redhat, Rightscale.The On the basis of product, the Cloud System Management Software market is primarily split intoWeb-BasedInstalledOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report coversHouseholdBusiness UseIndustrial UseEducationOthersTable of Contents2017-2022 Cloud System Management Software Report on Global and United States Market, Status and Forecast, by Players, Types and Applications1 Methodology and Data Source1.1 Methodology/Research Approach1.1.1 Research Programs/Design1.1.2 Market Size Estimation1.1.3 Market Breakdown and Data Triangulation2 Cloud System Management Software Market Overview2.1 Cloud System Management Software Product Overview2.2 Cloud System Management Software Market Segment by Type2.2.1 Web-Based2.2.2 Installed2.3 Global Cloud System Management Software Product Segment by Type2.3.1 Global Cloud System Management Software Sales (K Units) and Growth (%) by Types (2012, 2016 and 2022)2.3.2 Global Cloud System Management Software Sales (K Units) and Market Share (%) by Types (2012-2017)2.3.3 Global Cloud System Management Software Revenue (Million USD) and Market Share (%) by Types (2012-2017)2.3.4 Global Cloud System Management Software Price (USD/Unit) by Type (2012-2017)2.4 United States Cloud System Management Software Product Segment by Type2.4.1 United States Cloud System Management Software Sales (K Units) and Growth by Types (2012, 2016 and 2022)2.4.2 United States Cloud System Management Software Sales (K Units) and Market Share by Types (2012-2017)2.4.3 United States Cloud System Management Software Revenue (Million USD) and Market Share by Types (2012-2017)2.4.4 United States Cloud System Management Software Price (USD/Unit) by Type (2012-2017)3 Cloud System Management Software Application/End Users3.1 Cloud System Management Software Segment by Application/End Users3.1.1 Household3.1.2 Business Use3.1.3 Industrial Use3.1.4 Education3.1.5 Others3.2 Global Cloud System Management Software Product Segment by Application3.2.1 Global Cloud System Management Software Sales (K Units) and CGAR (%) by Applications (2012, 2016 and 2022)3.2.2 Global Cloud System Management Software Sales (K Units) and Market Share (%) by Applications (2012-2017)3.3 United States Cloud System Management Software Product Segment by Application3.3.1 United States Cloud System Management Software Sales (K Units) and CGAR (%) by Applications (2012, 2016 and 2022)3.3.2 United States Cloud System Management Software Sales (K Units) and Market Share (%) by Applications (2012-2017)4 Cloud System Management Software Market Status and Outlook by Regions4.1 Global Market Status and Outlook by Regions4.1.1 Global Cloud System Management Software Market Size and CAGR by Regions (2012, 2016 and 2022)4.1.2 North America4.1.3 Asia-Pacific4.1.4 Europe4.1.5 South America4.1.6 Middle East and Africa4.1.7 United States4.2 Global Cloud System Management Software Sales and Revenue by Regions4.2.1 Global Cloud System Management Software Sales (K Units) and Market Share (%) by Regions (2012-2017)4.2.2 Global Cloud System Management Software Revenue (Million USD) and Market Share (%) by Regions (2012-2017)4.2.3 Global Cloud System Management Software Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)4.2.4 North America Cloud System Management Software Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)4.2.5 Europe Cloud System Management Software Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)4.2.6 Asia-Pacific Cloud System Management Software Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)4.2.7 South America Cloud System Management Software Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (2012-2017)4.2.8 Middle East and Africa Cloud System Management Software Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (%) (2012-2017)4.2.9 United States Cloud System Management Software Sales (K Units), Revenue (Million USD), Price (USD/Unit) and Gross Margin (2012-2017)5 Global Cloud System Management Software Market Competition by Players/Manufacturers5.1 Global Cloud System Management Software Sales (K Units) and Market Share by Players (2012-2017)5.2 Global Cloud System Management Software Revenue (Million USD) and Share by Players (2012-2017)5.3 Global Cloud System Management Software Average Price (USD/Unit) by Players (2012-2017)5.4 Players Cloud System Management Software Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area, Product Types5.5 Cloud System Management Software Market Competitive Situation and Trends5.5.1 Cloud System Management Software Market Concentration Rate5.5.2 Global Cloud System Management Software Market Share (%) of Top 3 and Top 5 Players5.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion6 United States Cloud System Management Software Market Competition by Players/Manufacturers6.1 United States Cloud System Management Software Sales (K Units) and Market Share by Players (2012-2017)6.2 United States Cloud System Management Software Revenue (Million USD) and Share by Players (2012-2017)6.3 United States Cloud System Management Software Average Price (USD/Unit) by Players (2012-2017)6.4 United States Cloud System Management Software Market Share (%) of Top 3 and Top 5 PlayersMake an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
2-Methylfuran Market Growth Expected to Dominate Worldwide by 2026

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The global pharmaceuticals market is expected to increase at a CAGR of over 4-5% during forecast period. 2-Methylfuran is expected to gain traction in the near future as it is primarily used in pharmaceuticals industry. It is a light yellowish green volatile organic compound with an ethereal odor and is also known as sylvan. 2-Methylfuran changes its shading to black or yellow when exposed to sunlight. It is highly flammable and hence is stored in a ventilated, cool dry place far from heat & fire. 2-Methylfuran is widely used in manufacturing of drugs like atropine, sodium acetate, furadantine, anisodamine and thiamine furan. In pharmaceuticals industry, synthesis of vitamin B1 is done using 2-Methylfuran. It is less dense than water but its vapors are heavier when contrastedwith air. 2-Methylfuran also finds application as a tool for screening of lung cancer and production of anti-malarial drug like chloroquine. It is also used to produce methyl furfural, aliphatic compounds and sulfur and nitrogen heterocycles. Moreover, 2-Methylfuran is also used for making pesticides, flavors or fragrances and has narcotic effect. Hence, the global 2-Methylfuran market is expected to grow at a moderate CAGR during the forecast period.Global 2-Methylfuran Market Dynamics:2-Methyl furan is soluble in alcohol and ether and has the potential to be used as an alternative fuel. This factor is expected to drive the demand for 2-Methylfuran in chemical industry. The growing pharmaceutical industry is also anticipated to be the major driving factor for the growth of global 2-Methylfuran market. Moreover, increasing demand for pesticides coupled with growing agricultural sector is expected to set an opportunity for the growth of 2-Methyl furan market. One of the major factor restricting the growth of the global 2-Methylfuran market is its high flammability and lower flash point. This makes the transportation of 2-Methylfuran difficult, which in turn is expected to restrain the growth of 2-methylfuran market in the near future. Moreover, environmental regulation are imposed for limited usage of 2-Methylfuran because of its toxic effects and thus expected to challenge the overall growth of the market. Additionally, the key players are responding to the challenges and are expanding their global presence in order to sustain their share in the global 2-Methylfuran market.Request For Report Sample:Global 2-Methylfuran Market: SegmentationThe global 2-Methylfuran market can be segmented on the basis of applications and regions. On the basis of applications, the global 2-Methylfuran market is segmented into pharmaceuticals, agricultural and chemical industry. Pharmaceutical industry is estimated to account the largest share in global 2-Methylfuran market. On the basis of regions, the global 2-Methylfuran market can be segmented into North America, Western Europe, Middle East and Africa, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Japan and Eastern Europe.Global 2-Methylfuran Market: Region wise OutlookNorth America is expected to be the most dominant region in global 2-Methylfuran market. Asia Pacific is anticipated to be the most promising revenue generating region for 2-Methylfuran and is expected to grow at significant rate. Due to availability of labor and low cost of raw material, China is projected to be one of the highest revenue generating country in Asia Pacific region in 2-Methylfuran market. Middle East & Africa and Latin America are also expected to show positive growth in the near future.Request For TOC:Global 2-Methylfuran Market: Key PlayersSome of the major key players identified in the global 2-Methylfuran market are as follows:Capot Chemical Co. Ltd.Angene ChemicalA&J Pharmtech Co. Ltd.Sigma-AldrichFinetech Industry Ltd.ChemExper Inc.MP Biomedicals, LLC.Amadis Chemical Co. Ltd.AN PharmaTech Co. Ltd.Tractus Company Ltd.Haihang Industry Co. Ltd.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
United States Ice Cream Powder Market Report 2017-2022

Ice Cream Powder

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Report Hive Market Research Released a New Research Report of 95 pages on Title "United States Ice Cream Powder Market Report 2017-2022" with detailed Analysis, Forecast and Strategies.The most punctual solidified chocolate formulas were distributed in Naples, Italy in 1693 in Antonio Latini's The Modern Steward. Chocolate was one of the primary frozen yogurt flavors, made before vanilla, as normal beverages, for example, hot chocolate, espresso, and tea were the main sustenance things to be transformed into solidified desserts.[2] Hot chocolate had turned into a prominent drink in seventeenth-century Europe, nearby espresso and tea, and every one of the three refreshments were utilized to make solidified and unfrozen treats. Latini created two formulas for frosts in light of the drink, both of which contained just chocolate and sugar. In 1775, Italian specialist Filippo Baldini composed a treatise entitled De sorbetti, in which he suggested chocolate dessert as a solution for different restorative conditions, including gout and scurvy.Request For Free Research Sample:In this report, the United States Ice Cream Powder market is valued at USD XX million in 2016 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2022.Geographically, this report splits the United States market into seven regions:The WestSouthwestThe Middle AtlanticNew EnglandThe SouthThe Midwestwith sales (volume), revenue (value), market share and growth rate of Ice Cream Powder in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast).United States Ice Cream Powder market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Ice Cream Powder sales volume, price, revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingMillac Cream FamilyIndian DairyTatraLakeland DairiesSt. AlbansOishi InternationalAlaskan SnowSunspray FoodOn the basis of product, this report displays the sales volume, revenue, product price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoSoft Serve Ice Cream PowderHard Serve Ice Cream PowderOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate of Ice Cream Powder for each application, includingSuper MarketsConvenience StoresSpecialty Food StoresOnline RetailersOthersBrowse Full Report:Key questions answered in the report What will the market size and the growth rate be in 2022? What are the key factors driving Ice Cream Powder? What are the key market trends impacting the growth of Ice Cream Powder? What are the challenges to market growth? Who are the key vendors in this market space? What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the vendors in Ice Cream Powder? Trending factors influencing the market shares of the Americas, APAC, and EMEA? What are the key outcomes of the five forces analysis of Ice Cream Powder?We are a leading repository of market research reports and solutions catering to industries like Comm & Technology, Energy & Power, Food And Beverages, Automotive & Transportation, Healthcare & Life Science etc. This large collection of reports assists organizations in decision-making on aspects such as market entry strategies, market sizing, market share analysis, competitive analysis, product portfolio analysis and opportunity analysis among others. We also assist in determining the best suited and targeted report from our large repository of global reports, company-specific reports and country-level reports.Mike RossMarketing Managermike.ross@reporthive.comPhone: +1 312-604-7084Sainath Nagar, Vadgaon Sheri,Pune, Maharashtra 411014
Nitrogen Market 2017 Share, Growth, Key Manufacturers Analysis and Regional Forecast

ReportsWeb

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ReportsWeb.com added Global Nitrogen Market Research Report 2017 to its vast collection of research Database. The report is spread across 107 pages and supported by 9 company leaders.The Global Nitrogen Market Research Report 2017 is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Nitrogen Market. This report studies Nitrogen in Global market, especially North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and India. focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with capacity, production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer covering top manufacturers in global market, with capacity, production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, covering Lind, Air Liquide, Praxai, Air Products and Chemicals, Taiyo Nippon Sanso, Messer Group, Yingde Gase, Hangzhou Hangyang and Sichuan Qiaoyuan Gas.Request a Sample copy of this research @Market Segment by Regions, this report splits Global into several key Regions, with sales (consumption), revenue, market share and growth rate of Nitrogen in these regions, from 2017 to 2022 (forecast), like North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and India. Firstly, Nitrogen Market On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split into Pharmaceutical Grade, Food Grade and Chemical Grade. On the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales) , market share and growth rate of Nitrogen for each application, including Medical & Healthcare, Food & Beverages, Metal Manufacturing & Construction, Rubber & Plastic and Chemicals and Petroleum Uses.View more details about this report @Few points from Table of Contents1 Nitrogen Market Overview2 Global Nitrogen Market Competition by Manufacturers3 Global Nitrogen Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2012-2017)4 Global Nitrogen Supply (Production) , Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2012-2017)4.1 Global Nitrogen Consumption by Region (2012-2017)4.2 United States Nitrogen Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.3 EU Nitrogen Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.4 China Nitrogen Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.5 Japan Nitrogen Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.6 South Korea Nitrogen Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.7 Taiwan Nitrogen Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)5 Global Nitrogen Production, Revenue (Value) , Price Trend by Type5.1 Global Nitrogen Production and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)5.2 Global Nitrogen Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)5.3 Global Nitrogen Price by Type (2012-2017)5.4 Global Nitrogen Production Growth by Type (2012-2017)6 Global Nitrogen Market Analysis by Application6.1 Global Nitrogen Consumption and Market Share by Application (2012-2017)6.2 Global Nitrogen Consumption Growth Rate by Application (2012-2017)6.3 Market Drivers and Opportunities6.3.1 Potential Applications6.3.2 Emerging Markets/Countries7 Global Nitrogen Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis7.1 Lind7.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.1.2 Nitrogen Product Category, Application and Specification7.1.2.1 Product A7.1.2.2 Product B7.1.3 Lind Nitrogen Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.2 Air Liquide7.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.2.2 Nitrogen Product Category, Application and Specification7.2.2.1 Product A7.2.2.2 Product B7.2.3 Air Liquide Nitrogen Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.3 Praxai7.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.3.2 Nitrogen Product Category, Application and Specification7.3.2.1 Product A7.3.2.2 Product B7.3.3 Praxai Nitrogen Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview8 Nitrogen Manufacturing Cost Analysis9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders11 Market Effect Factors Analysis12 Global Nitrogen Market Forecast (2017-2022)13 Research Findings and ConclusionBuy a copy of complete 107 pages report @ReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Project Insight - Airport Construction Projects: Middle East And Africa

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The report provides detailed market analysis, information and insights based on almost 120 CIC projects in the Middle East and Africa for 45 countries.The report provides detailed metrics on the region's airport construction projects (as tracked by CIC) split by country, type and value.Detailed metrics are also provided for the top 10 countries.SummaryTimetrics Construction Intelligence Center (CIC) is currently tracking airport construction projects in the MEA with a total value of US$163.5 billion, which comprises projects from the announced to execution stages.The top 10 countries (in terms of the value of their project pipelines) account for 83% of the total value of airport construction projects in the region, with a total of US$135.6 billion. These are, in order of project value, the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Angola, Iran, Ethiopia, Libya and Benin.ScopeThe report provides analysis based on CIC projects showing total project values for the Middle East and Africa and analysis by stage and funding for the top 10 countries. Top project listings and top participants for the sector are also shown.Get The Sample Copy Of This Report @Reasons To BuyGain insight into the main drivers of activity and forecasts, and an understanding of key trends, analysis of projects by value for the Middle East and Africa market and its main countries, enabling clients to target products and services for each type of project.Read analysis of main project participants by value for the sector, enabling clients to target products and services for each type of project.Access top project data with location, value, stage and start date.Key HighlightsProjects at the execution stage have a total value of US$118.9 billion, while those in the planning stage total US$28.4 billion.Projects in the pre-execution stage amount to US$15.5 billion, followed by projects at the pre-planning stage (announced and study phase) with US$680 million.The UAE leads airport project investment in the region, with US$52.2 billion, followed by Qatar with US$23.0 billion and Saudi Arabia with US$17.8 billion.MarketResearchReports.biz supports your business intelligence needs with over 100,000 market research reports, company profiles, data books, and regional market data sheets in its repository. Our document database is updated by the hour, which means that you always have access to fresh data spanning over 300 industries and their sub-segments.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948(USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Global Ceiling Tiles Market 2017 - 2021: USG Corporation, Knauf, ROCKFON, MADA GYPSUM

Global Ceiling Tiles Market 2017 - 2021

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http://www.mrsresearchgroup.com/market-analysis/global-ceiling-tiles-market-2017-production-sales-supply.html

The Global Ceiling Tiles Market 2017 - 2021 is the cornerstone of the global development aspects and prospects, as the development of specific concept requires various technologically supported ideas, theories, methodologies. The Global Ceiling Tiles Market 2017 - 2021 report explains the in-depth summary of current innovations, parameter, specifications, and creation. The Global Ceiling Tiles Market 2017 - 2021 also delivers a full abstract of the economic ups and downs in terms of demand rate and fulfillment ratios.Request For Download Sample Report:The Ceiling Tiles Market comprise of a large number of reputed organizations, firms, vendors, manufacturer and we deliver an in-detail summary of the overall key players who hold major count in terms of revenue, sales, demand, through their reliable services, products, and post-sale processes.Inquiry for Buying Report:Ceiling Tiles Market each player in these regions, coveringArmstrong World Industries, Inc.Saint-Gobain S.AUSG CorporationKnaufROCKFONMADA GYPSUMNew Ceiling Tiles, LLCThe Global Ceiling Tiles Market 2017 - 2021 research report also provides in-detail forecast predictions based on the current business trends and analytical techniques. Ceiling Tiles Segments are broadly segmented based on the constant updates in the development parameters, quality parameters, reliability parameters, end user demands, and applications. The slight change in the product profile leads to major modification in the product prototype, production methods and development platforms, these overall factors that are related to production are very well explained in the global Global Ceiling Tiles Market 2017 - 2021 research report.Browse Full Report With Toc:MRS Research Group is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. We feature large repository of latest industry reports, leading and niche company profiles, and market statistics released by reputed private publishers and public organizations. MRS Research Group is the comprehensive collection of market intelligence products and services available on air.3422 SW 15 Street, Suit #8138, Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442,
Utility Communication Market 2017 Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth and Forecast Report Up To 2022

Utility Communication Market

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https://www.qyresearchgroups.com/report/global-utility-communication-market-size-status-and-forecast-2022

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QY Research Groups has announced the addition of "Global Utility Communication Market Size, Status and Forecast 2022" Market Research report to their database.The Global Utility Communication Market Research Report 2017 renders deep perception of the key regional market status of the Utility Communication Industry on a global level that primarily aims the core regions which comprises of continents like Europe, North America, and Asia and the key countries such as United States, Germany, China and Japan.The potential of this industry segment has been rigorously investigated in conjunction with primary market challenges. The present market condition and future prospects of the segment has also been examined. Moreover, key strategies in the market that includes product developments, partnerships, mergers and acquisitions, etc., are discussed. Besides, upstream raw materials and equipment and downstream demand analysis is also conducted.For Requesting a Sample Copy of This Report, Please Visit:The report on Global Utility Communication Market is a professional report which provides thorough knowledge along with complete information pertaining to the Utility Communication industry propos classifications, definitions, applications, industry chain summary, industry policies in addition to plans, product specifications, manufacturing processes, cost structures, etc.Report Includes:-The report cloaks the market analysis and projection of Utility Communication Market on a regional as well as global level. The report constitutes qualitative and quantitative valuation by industry analysts, first-hand data, assistance from industry experts along with their most recent verbatim and each industry manufacturers via the market value chain. The research experts have additionally assessed the in general sales and revenue generation of this particular market. In addition, this report also delivers widespread analysis of root market trends, several governing elements and macro-economic indicators, coupled with market improvements as per every segment.The report contains diverse profiles of primary market players of Utility Communication Market. ABB Schneider Electric Ericsson Motorola Black & Veatch Siemens General Electric Oracle Corporation FujitsuTo Browse the Entire Report, Visit:The report is generically segmented into six parts and every part aims on the overview of the Utility Communication industry, present condition of the market, feasibleness of the investment along with several strategies and policies. Apart from the definition and classification, the report also discusses the analysis of import and export and describes a comparison of the market that is focused on the trends and development. Along with entire framework in addition to in-depth details, one can prepare and stay ahead of the competitors across the targeted locations. The fact that this market report renders details about the major market players along with their product development and current trends proves to be very beneficial for fresh entrants to comprehend and recognize the industry in an improved manner. The report also enlightens the productions, sales, supply, market condition, demand, growth, and forecast of the Utility Communication industry in the global markets.Market segment by Type, Utility Communication can be split intoWiredWirelessMarket segment by Application, Utility Communication can be split intoPublic UtilitiesPrivate UtilitiesSo as to fabricate this report, complete key details, strategies and variables are examined so that entire useful information is amalgamated together for the understanding and studying the key facts pertaining the global Utility Communication Industry. The production value and market share in conjunction with the SWOT analysis everything is integrated in this report.Check for Discount @Some points from TOC:-Global Utility Communication Market Size, Status and Forecast 20221 Industry Overview of Utility Communication1.1 Utility Communication Market Overview1.1.1 Utility Communication Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global Utility Communication Market Size and Analysis by Regions1.2.1 United States1.2.2 EU1.2.3 Japan1.2.4 China1.2.5 India1.2.6 Southeast Asia1.3 Utility Communication Market by Type1.3.1 Wired1.3.2 Wireless1.4 Utility Communication Market by End Users/Application1.4.1 Public Utilities1.4.2 Private Utilities2 Global Utility Communication Competition Analysis by Players2.1 Utility Communication Market Size (Value) by Players (2016 and 2017)2.2 Competitive Status and Trend2.2.1 Market Concentration Rate2.2.2 Product/Service Differences2.2.3 New Entrants2.2.4 The Technology Trends in Future...Enquiry before Buying @About Us:QY Research Groups is a company that simplifies how analysts and decision makers get industry data for their business. Our unique colossal technology has been developed to offer refined search capabilities designed to exploit the long tail of free market research whilst eliminating irrelevant results. QY Research Groups is the collection of market intelligence products and services on the Web. We offer reports and update our collection daily to provide you with instant online access to the world's most complete and current database of expert insights on global industries, companies, products, and trends.Contact us:Email- sales@qyresearchgroups.comWeb-
Bunker Fuel Market Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, And Forecast 2014 - 2020

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This research study analyzes the market for bunker fuel in terms of volume and revenue. The bunker fuel market has been analyzed on the basis of fuel grade, end-user, seller type, and geography. For the research, the base year is 2013, while the forecast is for the period 20142020. Market data for all the segments have been provided on the regional level for the period 20132020. A comprehensive competitive landscape has also been included in the report, comprising companies involved in the bunkering business. Value chain analysis and Porters Five Forces model have also been included for the market, to provide a clear understanding regarding the dynamics of the industry.Porters Five Forces and value chain analysis have been carried out with respect to suppliers of bunker fuel. These high level analyses provide detailed insights into the business of bunker suppliers, traders, and brokers globally. Major drivers, restraints, and opportunities of the bunker fuel market were analyzed in detail with supporting graphs and tables. There are currently numerous drivers for the bunker fuel industry. One of the most prominent drivers is the growing demand for fuel for container ships and tanker vessels. The rapidly evolving demand patterns for various fuel grades due to implementation of sulfur emission norms in different regions was analyzed in detail in the report. Market attractiveness analysis was carried out for the bunker fuel industry based on geography. In the market attractiveness analysis, the bunker fuel industry was analyzed regionally and ranked on the basis of a number of parameters that directly impact the attractiveness of the market. Port market share has also been included in this report to offer a better overview of major bunkering destinations. In this segment, the major bunkering ports were analyzed on the basis of bunker volume traded in 2013. Apart from this, a separate segment has been incorporated for port analysis. Also, the three largest bunkering ports in the world  Singapore, Rotterdam, and Fujairah  have been analyzed separately in this segment.Get The Sample Copy Of This Report @The fuel grades traded at different ports comprises IFO 380, IFO 180, IFO Others, and MGO/MDO. The IFO Others segment includes IFO 500, IFO 700, LS 380, and LS 180 fuel grades. The seller segment of the bunker market has been segmented into major oil companies, leading independent distributors, and small independent distributors. Key end-users for bunker fuel were identified as container vessels, tanker fleets, bulk & general cargo vessels, and other vessels. The bunker market was analyzed across five geographies: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Rest of the World (RoW). The RoW segment comprises South and Central America, and Africa. Regional data has been provided for each sub-segment of the bunker market. The bunker consumption figures for each region have been sub-segmented on the basis of fuel grade, end-use, and seller type. Key market participants in the bunkering business include Chemoil Energy Limited, Aegean Marine Petroleum Network, Inc., and World Fuel Services Corporation. The report provides an overview of these companies, followed by their financial revenue, business strategies, and recent developments.The market size for bunker fuel has been estimated by studying the possible future environmental regulation trends in the market. Detailed research of sulfur regulations in different regions has been undertaken to estimate and forecast the consumption and investments in the bunker fuel industry. The global bunker fuel market has been segmented as below:Get More Details @Bunker Fuel Market: Fuel Grade AnalysisIFO 380IFO 180IFO OthersMGO/MDOBunker Fuel Market: End User AnalysisContainer VesselsTankers VesselsBulk & General Cargo VesselsOther VesselsBunker Fuel Market: Seller Type AnalysisMajor Oil CompaniesLeading Independent DistributorsSmall Independent DistributorsBunker Fuel Market: Regional AnalysisNorth AmericaEuropeAsia PacificMiddle EastRest of the World (RoW)MarketResearchReports.biz supports your business intelligence needs with over 100,000 market research reports, company profiles, data books, and regional market data sheets in its repository. Our document database is updated by the hour, which means that you always have access to fresh data spanning over 300 industries and their sub-segments.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948(USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Aviation Cyber Security Market 2016 Trend, Analysis and Overview

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The introduction of new technologies without robust cyber security measures presents a risk to the aviation industry. The risk is due to the cyber threats that are likely to increase during the forecast period. The aviation industry stakeholders such as cargo firms, airports, and airlines must recognize the risks to their networks and control systems from cyber threats.Furthermore, they have to take steps to close the gaps and resolve potential vulnerabilities to maintain public confidence in the aviation system. The global aviation system includes varied organizational structures and operating models, distributed networks, interdependent physical and cyberspace functions and systems, and governance constructs that involve multi-level authorities, responsibilities, and regulations.Publisher's analysts forecast the global aviation cyber security market to grow at a CAGR of 9.24% during the period 2016-2020.For more information about this report:Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global aviation cyber security market for 2016-2020. To calculate the market size, we considered revenues generated from the sale of cyber security solutions to the aviation sector. The cyber security solutions include stand-alone and integrated software suites and integrated services by managed security providers.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:-Americas-APAC-Europe-MEAPublisher's report, Global Aviation Cyber Security Market 2016-2020, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendors-BAE Systems-Cisco Systems-IBM-Northrop Grumman-RaytheonRequest Sample Copy atOther prominent vendors-Airbus-Boeing-Booz Allen Hamilton-CSC-Fortinet-General Dynamics-ThalesMarket driver-Growing number of DDoS attacks-For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challenge-Issues with compatibility-For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trend-Emergence of integrated security solutions-For a full, detailed list, view our reportInquire for Report atContact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Cloud Intrusion Detection and Prevention Market 2016 Trend, Analysis and Overview

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Increasing cases of cyber attacks have compelled enterprises to increase their spending on IT infrastructure to prevent theft of data. IDSs identify malicious activities over the network and intrusion prevention systems (IPSs) prevent data modification or unauthorized access. IDSs and IPSs include hardware, software, and services. IDS is a passive monitoring system that warns the system administrator of any suspicious activity, while IPS enables the administrator to take appropriate action upon the alert generated by the IDS. IDS is adopted and implemented by organizations to collect and analyze different types of attacks within a host system or network. It also helps to identify and detect possible threats, which include attacks from both inside and outside of an organization.Publisher's analysts forecast the global cloud IDP market to grow at a CAGR of 27.35% during the period 2016-2020.For more information about this report:Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global cloud IDP market for 2016-2020. To calculate the market size, the report considers the revenue generated from the sales of cloud IDP products and services.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:-Americas-APAC-EMEAPublisher's report, Global Cloud Intrusion Detection and Prevention Market 2016-2020, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendors-Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.-Cisco Systems Inc.-IBM Corp.-Juniper Networks Inc.-McAfee Inc.-Symantec Corp.Request Sample Copy atOther prominent vendors-Alert Logic-AT&T-BAE Systems-Clone Systems-CounterSnipe Technologies-Dell SecureWorks-Extreme Networks-Network Box USAMarket driver-Growing use of internet-For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challenge-Issues with integration-For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trend-Cloud-based security solutions-For a full, detailed list, view our reportInquire for Report atTable of Contents:PART 01: Executive summaryPART 02: Scope of the reportPART 03: Market research methodologyPART 04: IntroductionPART 05: Market landscapePART 06: IDP marketPART 07: Technology life cyclePART 08: Cloud IDP market as a segment of global IDP marketPART 09: Market segmentation by technologyPART 10: Market segmentation by end-userPART 11: Market attractivenessPART 12: Market segmentation by regionPART 13: Key leading countriesPART 14: Buying criteriaPART 15: Market driversPART 16: Impact of driversPART 17: Market challengesPART 18: Impact of drivers and challengesPART 19: Market trendsPART 20: Impact of trendsPART 21: Five forces modelPART 22: Vendor landscapePART 23: Description of leading vendorsPART 24: Other prominent vendorsPART 25: AppendixPurchase this Premium Research Report at:Contact Info:Name: Sameer JoshiEmail: sales@reportsweb.comOrganization: ReportsWebPhone: +1-646-491-9876ReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
After-Sun (Suncare) Market in Europe - Outlook to 2020: Market Size, Growth and Forecast Analytics

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ReportsWorldwide has announced the addition of a new report title After-Sun (Suncare) Market in Europe - Outlook to 2020: Market Size, Growth and Forecast Analytics to its growing collection of premium market research reports."After-Sun (Suncare) Market in Europe - Outlook to 2020: Market Size, Growth and Forecast Analytics" is a broad level market review of Europe After-Suns market by country. The research handbook provides the up-to-date market size data for period 2011-2015 and illustrative forecast to 2020 covering key market aspects like Sales Value and Volume for After-Sun and its variants Mass After-Sun and Premium After-Sun. The research handbook also provides analytics on Sales by Brands and by Distribution Channel.After-Sun - All mass and premium Moisturizing cream formulated for sunburned skin. The purpose of after sun lotion is to protect the skin from severe burning once it has been exposed to the sun.Sales Values in the handbook are depicted in USD ($) and local currency by country and Volumes are represented in M Units.Furthermore, the research handbook details out Sales Value for top brands for the year 2012 to 2015 and overall market sales by Distribution Channel (Hypermarkets & Supermarkets, Convenience Stores, Department Stores, Dollar Stores, Variety Store, Cash & Carries and Warehouse clubs, eRetailers, Food & Drinks specialists, Drug stores & Pharmacies, Health & Beauty Stores, Other general retailers and others) where ever applicable.The research handbook acts as an essential tool for companies active or plans to venture in to the Europe After-Sun (Suncare) market. The comprehensive statistics within the report provides insight into the operating environment of the market and also ensures right business decision making based on historical trends and industry model based forecasting.Countries covered in this report include: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Russia, Slovak Republic (Slovakia), Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, United KingdomTo Enquire about this Report please visit @Scopes- Overall After-Sun (Suncare) market value and volume analytics with growth analysis from 2011 to 2020.- Sales Value and Volume analytics for variants of Suncare; Mass After-Sun and Premium After-Sun- Value terms for the top brands.- Distribution channel sales analytics from 2012-2015.To view a detailed description and Table of Contents please visit:Reasons to buy- Get access to authoritative and granular data on the After-Sun (Suncare) market and fill in the gaps in understanding of trends and the components of change behind them.- Enhance your understanding of the market to update your strategic and tactical plans based on volume and value changes, brand dynamics and distribution trends.- Analyze the components of change in the market by looking at historic and future growth patterns.- Use the data to understand future patterns of the market trends from winners and losers to category dynamics and thereby quickly and easily identify the key areas in which you want to compete in the future.About ReportsWorldwide.comReportsWorldwide.com is a leading provider of global market intelligence reports and services. With research reports from top publishers, consulting and advisory firms, ReportsWorldwide.com offers instant online access to a growing database of expert insights on global industries, companies, products, geographies and trends.Press Contact:Abigail CrastoSenior Vice President101, Arch StreetBoston, MA 02110USPhone +1 (617) 398-4994Fax +1 (617) 398-4995abigail@reportsworldwide.com
Forecast On Subcutaneous Implantable Defibrillator Market Global Industry Analysis and Trends till 2026

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Similar in functionality of the traditional Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators (ICD), and the Transvenous Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators (T-ICD), Subcutaneous Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators (S-ICDs), are used to treat patients with a history of life threatening Arrhythmias (ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation). Unlike the conventional Implantable Defibrillators which are implanted intravascular, the Subcutaneous Implantable Defibrillators are inserted subcutaneously under the skin, and uses a subcutaneous electrode placed near the heart, rather than into the heart as in case of conventional Implantable Defibrillators. A Subcutaneous Implantable Defibrillator consists of a small titanium case which contains battery, a subcutaneous electrode, and accessories such as insertion tool etc. If there is any abnormality in the patients heartbeat, the subcutaneous implantable defibrillator sends and electrical impulse to restore normalcy in the heart rhythm, followed by pacing therapy in form of post shock bradycardia, if needed. Implantable defibrillators are useful in saving patients lives with known history of ventricular tachycardia and arrhythmias. The US-FDA recently approved the use of subcutaneous implantable defibrillators in 2012, following proven efficiency after clinical studies. According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (2010), demonstrated a concept of the subcutaneous implantable defibrillators. Any person with a history of a congenital heart disease, heart attack, sudden cardiac arrest, or ventricular arrhythmia, may need a subcutaneous implantable defibrillator.Subcutaneous Implantable Defibrillator Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe global market for Subcutaneous Implantable Defibrillator is expected to be driven by the key advantages of the subcutaneous implantable defibrillators over the conventional Implantable defibrillators, such as the placement of electrode near the heart, rather than on the heart in case of conventional defibrillators which reduces risks, and longer shelf life, and ease of insertion and removal of the subcutaneous defibrillators. Also Increasing incidences of cardiovascular diseases, increasing geriatric population around the world, changing lifestyle, increased smoking, rising prevalence of strokes, and increasing technological advancements in the medical devices industry are some of the factors responsible for the growth of the subcutaneous implantable defibrillators market during the forecast period of 2016-2024. However patients with a history of symptomatic ventricular bradycardia, or patients with a heart failure for whom resynchronization is advised, cannot use subcutaneous implantable defibrillators as the device provides a post-shock pacing therapy whenever needed, and this can lead to complications in patients with bradycardia. Another restraint for the growth of the subcutaneous implantable defibrillators market is that the clinical efficiency of the subcutaneous implantable defibrillators in general population is still not proved.Request Report Sample@Subcutaneous Implantable Defibrillator Market: SegmentationThe global Implantable Defibrillator market is classified on the basis of product type, procedure type, end user, and geography.Based on indications, the global Subcutaneous Implantable Defibrillator market is segmented into the following:Ventricular TachycardiaHypertrophic CardiomyopathyVentricular DysplasiaOthersBased on end user, the global Implantable Defibrillator market is segmented into the following:HospitalsSpecialty ClinicsAmbulatory Surgical CentersHome care settingsSubcutaneous Implantable Defibrillator Market: OverviewVentricular Tachycardia in the indications segment is expected to dominate the global subcutaneous implantable defibrillators market during the forecast period, due to changing lifestyles leading to increasing cases of cardiac disorders, and increased smoking prevalence. In the end users segment, hospitals is expected to dominate the global subcutaneous implantable defibrillators market, due to increasing cardiac surgeries, improving hospitals infrastructure and increased adoption of sophisticated and advanced technologies by hospitals.Request For TOC@Subcutaneous Implantable Defibrillator Market: Regional OverviewRegion wise, the global subcutaneous implantable defibrillator market is classified into regions namely, North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific, Japan, Middle East and Africa. North America dominated the global market for implantable defibrillators, due to good reimbursement policies for surgical procedures, US-FDA approval and increased demand for subcutaneous implantable defibrillators. Increasing incidences of cardiovascular diseases owing to changing lifestyle and increasing geriatric population in the Asia Pacific region is expected to boost the market growth in APEJ region.Subcutaneous Implantable Defibrillator Market: Key PlayersSome of the key players in global Implantable Defibrillator market include Boston Scientific Corporation, LivaNova PLC Company, Imricor Medical Systems, Inc., MicroPort Scientific Corporation, Mayo Clinic US, Medtronic plc, MRI Interventions, Inc., and St. Jude Medical, Inc.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comPress: press@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Neurosurgical Products Market to Garner US$7,756.2 Mn by 2022

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The global neurosurgical products market is witnessing significant growth due to growing geriatric population. Moreover, increasing the incidence of brain tumors, growing government funding, and rising awareness about neurosurgical disorders are also driving the growth of the market. Furthermore, growing demand for minimally invasive surgeries is expected to create growth opportunities for the neurosurgical products market over the forecast period. However, stringent regulatory requirements, long approval times for new neurosurgical products, and availability of alternative treatment for neurosurgical diseases inhibit the growth of the market. The neurosurgical products market is anticipated to grow from an estimated US$3,685.8 Mn by the end of 2015 to US$7,756.2 Mn by 2022 at a CAGR of 11.2% during the forecast period.Browse Complete Report @According to a new market report published by Persistence Market Research Global Market Study on Neurosurgical Products: AsiaPacific to Witness Highest Growth by 2022, the global neurosurgical products market is estimated to be valued at US$3,685.8Mn by the end of2015 and expand at a CAGR of 11.2% from 2015 to 2022, to account forUS$7,756.2Mn by2022.The North America market is growing at a significant rate due to increasing healthcare expenditure, rising geriatric population, and increasing the prevalence of brain tumor in the region. According to the Brain Aneurysm Foundation, approximately 6 million people in the U.S. have a unruptured brain aneurysm and annually around 30,000 people suffer from brain aneurysm rupture. Moreover, initiatives taken by various government associations are helping to spread awareness about advanced neurosurgical products in North America.In Europe, increasing aging population, high healthcare expenditure, and increasing awareness about neurological conditions are driving the growth of the neurosurgical products market. According to the European Commission, Germany had the highest geriatric population (60 years and above) base among all European Union member states, accounting for 20.6% of the total population of the country in 2011. This number is poised to reach approximately 50% by 2030. Moreover, according to the NHS Commissioning Board in England, the U.K., Great Britain, neurosurgery is witnessing an annual growth of 2%-5%. With increasing number of neurosurgical procedures, demand for neurosurgical products is also poised to rise over the next few years.Request to view table of content @Growth of the neurosurgical products market in Asia-Pacific is primarily attributed to rising geriatric population, increasing healthcare expenditure, and growing awareness of the neurological condition in the region. According to UN reports, 10.1% of the total population of China is aged 60 years and above and this is expected to reach 30% by 2050. Moreover, the incidence of brain cancer is also increasing in the region. According to GLOBOCAN-an international agency, for research on cancer-5,510 people in Japan suffered from brain cancer in 2012 and this number is poised to reach 5,960 by 2020.A sample of this report is available upon request @Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation, KARL STORZ GmbH & Co. KG., Medtronic plc, Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc., Stryker Corporation, B. Braun Melsungen AG, Terumo Corporation, and Elekta AB. some of the major players of the neurosurgical products market.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Advance Battery Technologies Market Volume Analysis, size, share and Key Trends 2017-2027

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Energy storage is a key factor leading towards technological advancements primarily in energy and power sector. Thus, demand for batteries, which are efficient, low cost and safe is anticipated to record significant growth in the coming years. This is further supported by investments by public as well as private sector for projects on energy storage. Advance battery technologies are majorly used in power-intensive applications. Conventionally, batteries were used in used either in consumer products or automobiles. Technological advancements have led towards development of advance batteries including metal hydride, lithium-ion and zinc-air designs. Advance battery technologies are expected to witness upsurge in wind-power energy storage, utility-load leveling systems and plug-in vehicles. Advance battery technologies are anticipated to have a significant transformation in the transportation industry as well as energy markets globally. In addition, development of combination batteries equipped with renewable sources of energy might lead towards a shift from non-renewable sources such as coal, gas and oil. Thus, leading towards attainment of energy efficiency across the globe. Battery manufacturers are focused towards development of high performance products, which cater to the demand for high energy storage, better speed and energy optimaisation.Advance Battery Technologies Market Segmentation:Advance Battery Technologies market is segmented on the basis of battery type and applications. On the basis of battery type, the segmentation includes nickel-cadmium batteries, lead acid batteries, lithium-ion batteries, lithium-polymer batteries, metal-air batteries, nickel-zinc batteries, silver cadmium secondary batteries, silver-zinc secondary batteries, nickel-hydrogen secondary batteries and others. On the basis of application, the advance battery technologies market segmentation includes automotive, UAV, wearable electronics, hybrid and electric bus, military/aerospace batteries, residential energy storage, industrial electric and others. Military/aerospace industry is expected to witness upsurge in adoption of advance battery technologies in the next five to six years, which is further anticipated to lead towards high competition among players in this sector.Request Report Sample@Geographically, the advance battery technologies market is segmented into seven regions namely North America, Western Europe, Japan, Asia Pacific Excluding Japan, Middle East and Africa and Latin America.Advance Battery Technologies Market Dynamics:Demand for better speed, reliability and energy is expected to fuel the demand for advance batteries and thus, growth of advance battery technologies market. In addition, battery manufacturers need to focus on development of batteries catering to the need of specific application. For instance, in case of hybrid vehicles, high-power lithium batteries are used to offer better electricity stability when compared to other conventional batteries. Increasing demand for electric boats, aircrafts, wearable electronic devices and other consumer electronics have led towards development of advance battery technologies for the same. This is further expected to fuel the advance battery technologies market growth in the near future. However, increasing number of manufacturers in the battery technologies is a concern for development of efficient products, which is restricting the advance battery technologies market growth. In order to achieve competitive advantage, key areas for manufacturers to focus and invest in for battery manufacturers comprise battery life, cost, range, power density, charging time and battery thermal management. Moreover, commercialisation of certain advance batteries is at nascent stage, which ultimately restricts adoption of advance battery technologies among end users.Request For TOC@Advance Battery Technologies Market Key players:Some of the players in the battery market include Exide Corp., Hitachi Maxell Corp., Honda Inc., American Battery Charging Inc., Sony Corp., China Bak Battery, Inc., General Electric Co., Fujitsu Ltd and Honeywell Batteries. Players on the advance battery technologies are engaged in continuous research and development in order to offer better and efficient battery solutions across the varied end use applications worldwide.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comPress: press@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Solder Ball Market Headed For Growth & Expansion By 2021

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Solder balls are the small spheres of solder in BGA Package that provide the contact between the BGA package and the printed circuit board.This report provides detailed analysis of worldwide markets for Solder Ball from 2011-2015 and provides extensive market forecasts 2016-2021 by region/country and subsectors. It covers the key technological and market trends in the Solder Ball market and further lays out an analysis of the factors influencing the supply/demand for Solder Ball, and the opportunities/challenges faced by industry participants. It also acts as an essential tool to companies active across the value chain and to the new entrants by enabling them to capitalize the opportunities and develop business strategies.Get exclusive sample copy@GCC?s report, Global Solder Ball Market Outlook 2016-2021, has been prepared based on the synthesis, analysis, and interpretation of information about the global Solder Ball market collected from specialized sources. The report covers key technological developments in the recent times and profiles leading players in the market and analyzes their key strategies. The competitive landscape section of the report provides a clear insight into the market share analysis of key industry players. The major players in the global Solder Ball market are Alpha, SMIC, IPS, Indium Corporation, Toyo Aluminium, YCTC, Shenmao, among others.The report provides separate comprehensive analytics for the North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa and Rest of World. In this sector, global competitive landscape and supply/demand pattern of Solder Ball industry has been provided.Purchase a copy of Global Solder Ball Market for single user price of $ 2800@Key factors for this report:Part 1. Exclusive SummaryPart 2. Methodology2.1 Research Methodology2.2 Geographic Scope2.3 Years ConsideredPart 3. Introduction3.1 Definition3.2 Supply Chain Structure3.2.1 Raw Material Supply3.2.2 Traders & Distributors3.2.3 Key Customers3.3 Manufacture3.3.1 Manufacturing Process3.3.2 Production CostPart 4. Market Landscape4.1 Global Solder Ball Market Size (Volume) 2011-20164.1.1 Overview4.1.2 Global Solder Ball Production4.1.3 Top 10 Solder Ball Companies (Volume Share)4.2 Global Solder Ball Market Size (Value) 2011-20164.2.1 Overview4.2.2 Global Solder Ball Production Value4.2.3 Top 10 Solder Ball Companies (Revenue Share)Part 5. Segmentation by Products5.1 Type 15.2 Type 25.3 Type 3View this report@About us:Research Trades has team of experts who works on providing exhaustive analysis pertaining to market research on a global basis. This comprehensive analysis is obtained by a thorough research and study of the ongoing trends and provides predictive data regarding the future estimations, which can be utilized by various organizations for growth purposes.We distribute customized reports that focus on meeting the clients specific requirement. Our database consists of a large collection of high-quality reports obtained using a customer-centric approach, thus providing valuable research insights.Contact Us:Address: Flat No.10, Wing C, S. No. 245/4/2+245/5/1, Baner, Pune-411045Email: sales@researchtrades.comCall us: +91 7507349866Skype ID: researchtradesconWeb:
Industrial Security Systems Market Size, Share, Analysis, Industry Demand and Forecasts Report to 2022

Industrial Security Systems Market

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The report on Global Industrial Security Systems Market is a professional report which provides thorough knowledge along with complete information pertaining to the Industrial Security Systems industry a propos classifications, definitions, applications, industry chain summary, industry policies in addition to plans, product specifications, manufacturing processes, cost structures, etc.The Global Industrial Security Systems Market Research Report 2017 renders deep perception of the key regional market status of the Industrial Security Systems Industry on a global level that primarily aims the core regions which comprises of continents like Europe, North America, and Asia and the key countries such as United States, Germany, China and Japan.For Requesting a Sample Copy of This Report, Please Visit:The potential of this industry segment has been rigorously investigated in conjunction with primary market challenges. The present market condition and future prospects of the segment has also been examined. Moreover, key strategies in the market that includes product developments, partnerships, mergers and acquisitions, etc., are discussed. Besides, upstream raw materials and equipment and downstream demand analysis is also conducted.Report Includes:-The report cloaks the market analysis and projection of Industrial Security Systems Market on a regional as well as global level. The report constitutes qualitative and quantitative valuation by industry analysts, first-hand data, assistance from industry experts along with their most recent verbatim and each industry manufacturers via the market value chain. The research experts have additionally assessed the in general sales and revenue generation of this particular market. In addition, this report also delivers widespread analysis of root market trends, several governing elements and macro-economic indicators, coupled with market improvements as per every segment.The report contains diverse profiles of primary market players of Industrial Security Systems Market. Bosch Group Cisco Systems Honeywell International Securitas AB L-3 Communications Holdings Johnson ControlsTo Browse the Entire Report, Visit:The report is generically segmented into six parts and every part aims on the overview of the Industrial Security Systems industry, present condition of the market, feasibleness of the investment along with several strategies and policies. Apart from the definition and classification, the report also discusses the analysis of import and export and describes a comparison of the market that is focused on the trends and development. Along with entire framework in addition to in-depth details, one can prepare and stay ahead of the competitors across the targeted locations. The fact that this market report renders details about the major market players along with their product development and current trends proves to be very beneficial for fresh entrants to comprehend and recognize the industry in an improved manner. The report also enlightens the productions, sales, supply, market condition, demand, growth, and forecast of the Industrial Security Systems industry in the global markets.Industrial Security Systems Market Analysis: By ProductIntrusion Detection SystemsVideo Surveillance SystemsAccess Control SystemsIndustrial Security Systems Market Analysis: By ApplicationSchoolsFactoriesHealthcare IndustryBanking SectorRetail StoreGovernment SectorPublic HallHotelsSo as to fabricate this report, complete key details, strategies and variables are examined so that entire useful information is amalgamated together for the understanding and studying the key facts pertaining the global Industrial Security Systems Industry. The production value and market share in conjunction with the SWOT analysis everything is integrated in this report.Check for Discount @Some points from TOC:-Global Industrial Security Systems Market Research Report 20171 Industrial Security Systems Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Industrial Security Systems1.2 Industrial Security Systems Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Industrial Security Systems Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category) (2012-2022)1.2.2 Global Industrial Security Systems Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Intrusion Detection Systems1.2.4 Video Surveillance Systems1.2.5 Access Control Systems1.3 Global Industrial Security Systems Segment by Application1.3.1 Industrial Security Systems Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2012-2022)1.3.2 Schools1.3.3 Factories1.3.4 Healthcare Industry1.3.5 Banking Sector1.3.6 Retail Store1.3.7 Government Sector1.3.8 Public Hall1.3.9 Hotels1.4 Global Industrial Security Systems Market by Region (2012-2022)1.4.1 Global Industrial Security Systems Market Size (Value) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Region (2012-2022)1.4.2 North America Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.3 Europe Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.4 China Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.5 Japan Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.6 Southeast Asia Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.7 India Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Industrial Security Systems (2012-2022)1.5.1 Global Industrial Security Systems Revenue Status and Outlook (2012-2022)1.5.2 Global Industrial Security Systems Capacity, Production Status and Outlook (2012-2022)2 Global Industrial Security Systems Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Industrial Security Systems Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.1 Global Industrial Security Systems Capacity and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Global Industrial Security Systems Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.2 Global Industrial Security Systems Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.3 Global Industrial Security Systems Average Price by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.4 Manufacturers Industrial Security Systems Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type2.5 Industrial Security Systems Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.5.1 Industrial Security Systems Market Concentration Rate2.5.2 Industrial Security Systems Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers2.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion...Enquiry before Buying @About Us:QY Research Groups is a company that simplifies how analysts and decision makers get industry data for their business. Our unique colossal technology has been developed to offer refined search capabilities designed to exploit the long tail of free market research whilst eliminating irrelevant results. QY Research Groups is the collection of market intelligence products and services on the Web. We offer reports and update our collection daily to provide you with instant online access to the world's most complete and current database of expert insights on global industries, companies, products, and trends.Contact us:Email- sales@qyresearchgroups.comWeb-
Logistics Robots Market- Industry Analysis, Opportunities, Market Size, Competitive Strategies, and Forecasts, 2017 To 2022

Logistics Robots Market

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A new and latest research report proposed by QYResearch Groups renders a market summary of the Logistics Robots Market industry. This widespread analysis comprises of market potentials and challenges, scope of product, sales volume, market revenue, estimates and rate of growth. The report also digs into all the major market players across the globe.The Global Logistics Robots Market Research Report 2017 renders deep perception of the key regional market status of the Logistics Robots Industry on a global level that primarily aims the core regions which comprises of continents like Europe, North America, and Asia and the key countries such as United States, Germany, China and Japan.The report on Global Logistics Robots Market is a professional report which provides thorough knowledge along with complete information pertaining to the Logistics Robots industry propos classifications, definitions, applications, industry chain summary, industry policies in addition to plans, product specifications, manufacturing processes, cost structures, etc.For Requesting a Sample Copy of This Report, Please Visit:The potential of this industry segment has been rigorously investigated in conjunction with primary market challenges. The present market condition and future prospects of the segment has also been examined. Moreover, key strategies in the market that includes product developments, partnerships, mergers and acquisitions, etc., are discussed. Besides, upstream raw materials and equipment and downstream demand analysis is also conducted.Report Includes:-The report cloaks the market analysis and projection of Logistics Robots Market on a regional as well as global level. The report constitutes qualitative and quantitative valuation by industry analysts, first-hand data, assistance from industry experts along with their most recent verbatim and each industry manufacturers via the market value chain. The research experts have additionally assessed the in general sales and revenue generation of this particular market. In addition, this report also delivers widespread analysis of root market trends, several governing elements and macro-economic indicators, coupled with market improvements as per every segment.The report contains diverse profiles of primary market players of Logistics Robots Market. Dematic KUKA (Swisslog) Amazon Robotics Vanderlande CIM Corp Vecna Grenzebach Hi-tech Robotic Systemz Hitachi Bastian Adept Technology Fetch Robotics Gray OrangeTo Browse the Entire Report, Visit:Why is this report worth buying?The report Logistics Robots Market Research Report 2017 focuses on crucial segments of the Logistics Robots sector. This report puts up most of the trending and novel industry data which encompasses the overall market situation along with future prognoses for this market across the globe. The in-depth research study comprises of vital significant data and also predicts the future of the global market that makes this report a useful resource for analysts, sale and product managers, industry executives, and other who are in need of major industry data in a said format along with crisp presentation of graphs and tables wherever required. Lastly, this market report has also focused on the key market players that are assessed on many factors like product portfolio, summary of the company, sales and revenue generation of Logistics Robots segment in the forecast period.The report is generically segmented into six parts and every part aims on the overview of the Logistics Robots industry, present condition of the market, feasibleness of the investment along with several strategies and policies. Apart from the definition and classification, the report also discusses the analysis of import and export and describes a comparison of the market that is focused on the trends and development. Along with entire framework in addition to in-depth details, one can prepare and stay ahead of the competitors across the targeted locations. The fact that this market report renders details about the major market players along with their product development and current trends proves to be very beneficial for fresh entrants to comprehend and recognize the industry in an improved manner. The report also enlightens the productions, sales, supply, market condition, demand, growth, and forecast of the Logistics Robots industry in the global markets.Check for Discount @Some points from TOC:-7 Global Logistics Robots Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis7.1 Dematic7.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.1.2 Logistics Robots Product Category, Application and Specification7.1.2.1 Product A7.1.2.2 Product B7.1.3 Dematic Logistics Robots Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.2 KUKA (Swisslog)7.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.2.2 Logistics Robots Product Category, Application and Specification7.2.2.1 Product A7.2.2.2 Product B7.2.3 KUKA (Swisslog) Logistics Robots Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.3 Amazon Robotics7.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.3.2 Logistics Robots Product Category, Application and Specification7.3.2.1 Product A7.3.2.2 Product B7.3.3 Amazon Robotics Logistics Robots Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.4 Vanderlande7.4.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.4.2 Logistics Robots Product Category, Application and Specification7.4.2.1 Product A7.4.2.2 Product B7.4.3 Vanderlande Logistics Robots Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.4.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.5 CIM Corp7.5.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.5.2 Logistics Robots Product Category, Application and Specification7.5.2.1 Product A7.5.2.2 Product B7.5.3 CIM Corp Logistics Robots Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.5.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.6 Vecna7.6.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.6.2 Logistics Robots Product Category, Application and Specification7.6.2.1 Product A7.6.2.2 Product B7.6.3 Vecna Logistics Robots Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.6.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.7 Grenzebach7.7.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.7.2 Logistics Robots Product Category, Application and Specification7.7.2.1 Product A7.7.2.2 Product B7.7.3 Grenzebach Logistics Robots Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.7.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.8 Hi-tech Robotic Systemz7.8.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.8.2 Logistics Robots Product Category, Application and Specification7.8.2.1 Product A7.8.2.2 Product B7.8.3 Hi-tech Robotic Systemz Logistics Robots Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.8.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.9 Hitachi7.9.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its CompetitorsEnquiry before Buying @About Us:QY Research Groups is a company that simplifies how analysts and decision makers get industry data for their business. Our unique colossal technology has been developed to offer refined search capabilities designed to exploit the long tail of free market research whilst eliminating irrelevant results. QY Research Groups is the collection of market intelligence products and services on the Web. We offer reports and update our collection daily to provide you with instant online access to the world's most complete and current database of expert insights on global industries, companies, products, and trends.Contact us:Email- sales@qyresearchgroups.comWeb-
Global Outlook for Analgesics Market By Key Trends and Analysis 2024

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Global Analgesics Market: OverviewAnalgesics, or painkillers, are used to reduce and treat aches and pains. Internal and external analgesics are used to combat pain resulting from inflammation, cancer treatments, physiological injury, neuropathic conditions, surgeries, wounds, and phantom aches. The most prominent therapeutic classes of analgesics are local anesthesia, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and opioids. The growing incidence of cancer worldwide and the rise in chronic diseases are mainly responsible for the consistent growth of the global analgesics market.The research publication offers clients a comprehensive summary of the global analgesics market and elucidates the various factors driving and hampering its growth during the forecast period. The report also evaluates the chief players competing in the global market for analgesics and profiles them on the basis of a number of key attributes, such as company and business overview, recent developments, product portfolio, business strategies, and financial strength.Obtain Report Details @Global Analgesics Market: Key Trends and Competitive LandscapeThe increasing therapeutic benefits offered by analgesics, in addition to effective and fast relief from pain, have significantly driven the demand for analgesics over the years. The development of innovative drugs and rising awareness about these treatment options have also supported the analgesics market. Moreover, the rise in recurring aches and pains owing to an increase in the prevalence of cancer, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, and other chronic and acute diseases has propelled the demand for analgesics. Other key factors positively impacting the global analgesics market include the growing prevalence of pain worldwide, the rise in effective treatment options, a surge in the aging population, and the growing acceptance of analgesics by a wider target audience.Eli Lilly and Company, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Bayer AG, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Pfizer Inc., Endo Pharmaceuticals, Reckitt Benckiser plc, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Sanofi, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis AG, and GlaxoSmithKline PLC are some of the major companies actively participating in the global analgesics market. In the quest of increasing their share in the analgesics market, an increasing number of firms have been adopting acquisitions as their main development strategy.Global Analgesics Market: Region-wise OutlookThe global analgesics market has been categorized into Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World based on geography. North America is presently the leading market for analgesics and is projected to retain its dominant position through 2024. Recent regulatory changes in the U.S., accompanied by new marketing strategies by analgesics companies, have greatly benefited this regional market. After declining sales owing to frequent recalls, the analgesics market in the U.S., in particular, has been stabilizing on account of the return of prominent brands, the rising occurrence of aches and pains, the rise in the average age of the population, and an alarming rate of obesity. These demographic and lifestyle developments have significantly propelled the North America analgesics market.The Europe analgesics market is also anticipated to expand in the coming years owing to the rapid commercialization of new drugs and an increasing geriatric population. Although analgesics form one of the largest product areas in over-the-counter drugs, this segment has been negatively affected by the growing trend of improving health instead of merely treating symptoms. An increasing number of consumers in the U.K., for instance, have restricted their consumption of analgesics with this trend in mind, thereby negatively impacting the sales of analgesics.In contrast, consumers in several Asia Pacific countries seem relatively less concerned over the possible side-effects of analgesics. A higher willingness to self-medicate instead of visiting a trained physician for mild pain and fever is a trend that is common in a number of countries, more prominently in India. Moreover, the immensely stressful lifestyles in most urban parts of the region have resulted in consumers looking for quick and easy solutions to combat pain. This, combined with the surge in purchasing power, has enabled the demand for as well as sales of analgesics to remain steady over the years.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Browse market research blog:
Bio Polymers Market Grow at CAGR of 12.05 % by 2023

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Bio polymers is expected to witness a significant growth of USD ~ 6.37 billion by 2023 with CAGR of ~12.05 % between 2016 and 2023Market HighlightThe global bio polymers market has been segmented into types, application and end use industries. On the basis of types, the global bio polymers market is segmented into bio- polyethylene (PE), bio- polyethylene terephthalate (PET), poly lactic acid (PLA), polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), biodegradable polyesters, and others (regenerated cellulose, starch blends). Among all poly lactic acid bio polymer segment is one of the fastest growing segments in the global biopolymers market and will continue to lead the market over the forecasted period. Furthermore, poly lactic acid bio polymers are water-resistant and decompose within three weeks when subjected to the industrial composting process. Therefore, poly lactic acid bio polymers finds widespread applications in domestic and various end user industry such as, packaging sector, injection molding, film and sheet casting. The increased demand from the bottling and packaging industries is expected to boost the market for poly lactic acid bio polymers in the global biopolymers market.Request for Sample Report@Key Player BASF SE (Europe) Braskem S.A (UK) Biome Technologies plc (UK) Plantic Technologies Limited (Austrelia) Bio-on S.p.A. (Europe) Novamont S.P.A (Europe) Toray Industries Inc (Japan) Tianjin GreenBio Materials Co., Ltd (Japan) Danimer Scientific (US) Rodenburg Biopolymers (US)Regional AnalysisAsia Pacific is the largest market of bio polymers in terms of production especially in China region. The Second largest market in terms of production is Europe followed by North America. In terms of consumption global bio polymers market is led by Europe region due to demand in various applications such as packaging and pharmaceutical industry. Second position is held by APAC region and the third largest market of bio polymers is North America. Latin America and Middle East also witnessed in growth of bio polymers market due to various application such as films, bottles, bottles, fibers, seed coating, vehicle components, medical implants, and others.SegmentationThe global bio polymers market is majorly segmented on the basis of types, application, end users and region. Based on types bio polymers the market is segmented into bio- polyethylene (PE), bio- polyethylene terephthalate (PET), poly lactic acid (PLA), polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA), biodegradable polyesters, and others (regenerated cellulose, starch blends). Based on application of bio polymers the market is segmented into films, bottles, bottles, fibers, seed coating, vehicle components, medical implants, and others (printed circuit boards, audio devices, fuel and exhaust system). Based on end user the market segmented into packaging, agriculture, automotive, pharmaceutical, construction, and others (electronics, personal care, sports), and based on region market is segmented into North America, Europe, APAC, Latin America, Middle East & Africa.Browse Full B-P Market Report @Geographic AnalysisThe report covers brief analysis of geographical region such as:North America US CanadaEurope Germany France Italy Netherlands U.K. Rest of EuropeAPAC China India Japan Rest of Asia-PacificRoW South America Middle East AfricaAbout Market Research FutureAt Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Market Research Future Magarpatta Road, Hadapsar, Pune - 411028 Maharashtra, India +1 646 845 9312
Textile Dyes Market Worth USD 8.75 Billion Revenue by 2023 at a CAGR of 8.13%

Textile Dyes Market

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Market Highlights:The Global Textile Dyes Market is expected to witness a significant growth of USD 8.75 Billion by 2023 with CAGR of 8.13 % between 2016 and 2023. The market witnessed a significant growth over the forecasted period owing to growing applications in various fibers such as into cotton, wool, silk, nylon, viscose, and others across various industries. The study was conducted using an objective combination of primary and secondary information including inputs from key participants in the industry. The report contains a comprehensive market and vendor landscape in addition to a SWOT analysis of key vendors.Segmentation:The Global Textile Dyes Market, by geography, has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa (MEA), and South America. In the global textile dyes market, Asia Pacific is expected to witness relatively faster growth rate as compared with other regions. Within Asia Pacific, different type of textile fiber is projected to contribute the faster share growth of revenue in countries such as Japan, China and India. Furthermore, many international textile dye industry are coming up in the region adding to the growth of the sector.Key Players:Key players profiled in the global textile dyes market include Kyung-In Synthetic Corporation (South Korea), Kiri Industries Ltd. (India), Atul Ltd (India), Synthesia, a.s. (Europe), Chromatech Incorporated (US), S.A. Robama (Europe), Avocet Dye & Chemical Co. Ltd (UK), Brand & Performance Textile Specialties (Singapore), LANXESS (Europe), Huntsman International LLC (US), and Others.Receive a Report Sample @Regional Analysis:At present, India adds aapprox. 6% share in the global market with a 15% CAGR. The dye markets are mostly led by reactive and disperse dyes. The demand for reactive and disperse dyes is expected to grow in future as these two dyes are dominant in all the regions including APAC, North America, Europe, and Middle East. In the Asian region, China, Korea and Taiwan are strong players in disperse dyes, while India leads in the production of reactive dyes due to an availability of intermediate vinyl sulphone in the country. The main drivers of this region are annual disposable income, increase applications of textile products.North America holds the second position in terms of global textile dye market due to larger consumption in textile industry, and increased demand for natural dyes including the countries US, Mexico, and Canada.Access Report Details @Furthermore, Europe region holds third position for textile dye market including the countries Germany, U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Nordic countries, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg due to increasing textile industry thorough different fibers such as cotton, wool, silk, nylon, viscose, and others (Acrylic, Jute etc. Textile dye market in Middle East and Africa occupies a relatively smaller pie of the global textile dye market. Within Middle East and Africa counties including UAE, South Africa and Saudi are driving the growth.China has become the major textile manufacturer due to this, textile dye production has shifted nearer to the fact of consumption which resulted 40-45% of global consumption is in China now. In addition, India is another country of the APAC region which accounted 10% of global consumption of the textile dye market. These two countries are also biggest exporters of textile dyes to the rest of the world. They also export large quantities of raw materials and intermediate chemicals for textile dye, which are used by Europe region and other developing countries. On the other hand, disperse dye is the one that has the largest production and export capacity among all textile dyes manufacturer in China.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Telepharmacy Market Worldwide Industry Volume By Region 2016 - 2024

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Global Telepharmacy Market: OverviewThere is no doubting the exponential surge of the telemedicine and telehealth market. The market is poised to expand at a significant rate in the next few years. Additionally, the advent of telepharmacy is expected to substantially impact the telemedicine and telehealth market in terms of enhancing its rural reach as well as worldwide penetration.Telepharmacy includes the delivery of pharmaceutical care and performing medication order verification via telecommunications from a remote setting. Using telepharmacy, pharmacists are able to provide pharma care to patients at a different geographical location than theirs. This state-of-the-art technology ensures easy access to quality health care, primarily in rural and medically backward areas.Remote pharmacists are benefiting from the latest technology launched by San Francisco-based PipelineRx. Apart from making pharmacists task simpler and more efficient, the platform is also designed to receive orders from computerized physician order entry (CPOE), fax orders, and others. This remote pharmacy program has been providing hospitals located in rural areas with 24x7 access to services of licensed clinical pharmacists. The technology also enables virtual medication review and verification in real time.Obtain Report Details @The innovative telepharmacy solution launched by PipelineRx has been significantly gaining momentum in the market. The solutions are tailor-made to help hospitals manage their pharmacy operations better. The report presents an overview of the potential impact of these technologies in simplifying the prevalent hospital and pharmacy operations. Their contribution in enhancing patient care and treatment administered has been examined in detail. The influences of recent advances in technology on the overall telemedicine and telehealth market are also studied.Global Telepharmacy Market: Key Opportunities and ThreatsA pharmacist is not always present for a good percentage of the day on site to review and modify medications ordered by other pharmacists and administered by nurses. The situation is same in a significantly large number of hospitals worldwide. This has marked the genesis of telepharmacy programs. Hospitals and health care centers located in rural regions could neither find nor afford pharmacists in the community to be onsite. PipelineRxs telepharmacy solutions fulfilled this requirement.As with the majority of telehealth solutions, telepharmacy practices have since expanded from rural health care centers to hospitals, long-term care facilities, military bases, prisons, naval ships, physician offices, etc. The latest telepharmacy systems employ novel technologies to seamlessly communicate with pharmacy management systems and ensure the best possible experience. This has encouraged the deployment of telepharmacies across numerous locations to provide more convenient access to patients and health care units.Telepharmacy also helps pharmacists to work from home or from a secure location, as identified by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) in the U.S., and monitor four to six hospitals at one time. Thus, multiple hospitals can split up the cost incurred on telepharmacists on a labor sharing basis. This, in turn, will enable small and rural hospitals to save significant costs. Furthermore, the turnaround time of reviewing and monitoring medication order verification using telepharmacy is way lesser. Thus, the time spent on reading prescriptions and delivering them to patients rooms is significantly reduced. Increasing awareness about such intrinsic benefits of telepharmacy is also boosting the penetration of the market, particularly in rural regions. Implementation of telepharmacy has been impressive in the U.S.Global Telepharmacy Market: Competitive InsightPipelineRx is one of the leading medication management service platforms. The company focuses on clinical telepharmacy. It recently announced US$ 9.1 Mn round of funding by Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.) Inc., McKesson Ventures, and AMN Healthcare. The investment will be used by the company to strengthen its technology offerings such as integrated delivery network (IDN) and expand workflow models for better patient care. Currently, PipelineRx is available across 200 hospitals; it helps them improve patient care, medication efficacy, and satisfaction.Other companies operating in the market include Medication Review, Inc., Telepharmacy Solutions Inc., and North West TelePharmacy Solutions.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Browse market research blog:
Global LIDAR Market Research, Market Share, Competitor Strategy, Industry Trends by Forecast to 2022

GLOBAL LIDAR MARKET

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Market Highlights:LIDAR stands for light detection and ranging which also known as remote sensing. LIDAR does not require electromagnetic radiation but it requires laser pulses that strike the object back to the sensor. It measures the distance from the sensor to the object by determining the time between the releases to receiving of the reflected pulse.Data processing technologies over other technologies, automated systems in LIDAR, adoption of aerial LIDAR and emergence of new applications are the factors contributing to the growth of the LIDAR Market. However, less awareness about the benefits of LIDAR systems, use of expensive components in LIDAR systems such as laser scanners, navigation system, high-resolution 3D cameras which collectively increases the cost of LIDAR systems are hampering the growth of the overall market.The growth in this market can be attributed to the encouragement from the governments, application of LIDAR in engineering projects & large magnitude set and rise in demand for robust security and sensor accuracyRequest a Copy of Sample Report @Major Key Players: Faro Leica Geosystems (Sweden) Technology (U.S.) Velodyne LiDAR, Inc. (U.S.) Beijing Beike Technology Co., Ltd (isurestar) (China) Riegl Laser Measurement Systems GmbH (Austria) Quantum Spatial (Aerometric, Inc.) (U.S.) Teledyne Optech Inc. (Canada) YellowScan (France) Geokno India Pvt. Ltd. (India) Trimble Inc. (U.S.)Taste the market data and market information presented through more than 30 market data tables and figures spread over 100 numbers of pages of the project report. Avail the in-depth table of content TOC & market synopsis on LIDAR Market Research Report -Forecast to 2022.Nowadays LIDAR is used everywhere across all the important applications. For instance, terrestrial uses LIDAR which is infrared laser with approximately 9001064 nanometers and water penetration green light with approximately 532 nanometers for the water measurement. The usage of LIDAR systems has made detection and mapping of objects easier than other conventional methods. LIDAR stands for light detection and ranging it is basically remote sensing. LIDAR does not require electromagnetic radiation but it requires laser pulses that strike the object back to the sensor.The key factors contributing to the growth of the LIDAR market are data processing technologies over other technologies, automated systems in LIDAR, adoption of aerial LIDAR and emergence of new applications. Also, the growth in this market can be attributed to the encouragement from the governments, application of LIDAR in engineering projects & large magnitude set and rise in demand for robust security and sensor accuracy.Other factors contributing to the growth of the market are rising demand of 3D imaging across various applications. However, less awareness about the benefits of LIDAR systems, use of expensive components in LIDAR systems i.e laser scanners, navigation system, high-resolution 3D cameras which collectively increases the cost of LIDAR systems are hampering the growth of the overall market. Also, over the forecast period LIDAR market would pose a higher impact on the increasing number of automated cars.Access Report Details @According to Market Research Future, market has been segmented into type, application, component, end-users and region.Out of these components, GIS accounted for the largest market share majorly due to increasing demand for GIS services in canopy height estimation, forest planning, and harvesting planning applications. They are majorly adopted by the government for the forest management and for planning crops.Also, the market for laser scanners is increasing due to the technological advancement in laser technology. It is also growing due to a rising demand for ground-based LIDAR.Regional Analysis:Regionally, North-America accounted for the largest market share, because of the increasing investment by various firms towards ADAS and driverless cars and also provides new opportunities for small, versatile, and low-cost LIDAR systems.Intended Audience: Manufacturers Distributors Research firms Consultancy firms Software Developers Vendors Semiconductor Manufacturers Stakeholders End-user sectors Technology InvestorsMarket Research Future AnalysisThe global lidar market is expected to grow significantly. The market is highly application basis. GSS segment of LIDAR market globally drives the market. The market is expected to have higher growth rate as compared to the previous years.North-America accounted for the largest market share, because of the increasing investment by various firms towards ADAS and driverless cars and also provides new opportunities for small, versatile, and low-cost LIDAR systems.Table of Contents1 Market Introduction1.1 Introduction1.2 Scope of Study1.2.1 Research Objective1.2.2 Assumptions1.2.3 Limitations1.3 Market Structure2 Research Methodology2.1 Research Network Solution2.2 Primary Research2.3 Secondary Research2.4 Forecast Model2.4.1 Market Data Collection, Analysis & Forecast2.4.2 Market Size EstimationContinued..List of TablesTable 1 Global Lidar Market, By ComponentTable 2 Global Lidar Market, By ApplicationTable 3 Global Lidar Market, By End-UsersContinued..List of TablesTable 1 Global Lidar Market, By ComponentTable 2 Global Lidar Market, By ApplicationTable 3 Global Lidar Market, By End-UsersContinued..About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 524/528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
KeepTruckin to Host Free Webinar On the Electronic Logging Device Mandate

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KeepTruckin, a leading ELD manufacturer, announced that they would be hosting a free webinar on the electronic logging device mandate on June 07, 2017 at 10 AM (PST).The webinar, which is titled as Electronic Logging Device Mandate: What You Should Know, will be presented by Joe Rajkovacz, who is the Director of Governmental Affairs & Communications for the Western States Trucking Association. Joe has been working in state and federal governmental entities for quite some time and has extensive knowledge in the trucking industry.There will be detailed discussions on a wide variety of topics, including:The legislative history of the ELD mandateThe regulatory history of the ELD mandateThe various legal challenges the final ELD rule facedThe current state of the ELD mandate, and its futureDifferent exemptions that the ELD mandate allowsImportant points you need to know to prepare for complianceWhen to start preparing for the upcoming ELD mandateFMCSA announced the final ELD rule in 2015. Now the deadline for compliance is less than seven months away. From December 18, 2017, most CMV vehicles  other than a few exceptions  will require FMCSA-certified electronic logging devices to stay compliant.The upcoming ELD mandate is designed to improve safety for commercial drivers and minimize road accidents. According to an estimate by FMCSA, the ELD mandate will help save 26 lives annually and prevent 562 injuries resulting from crashes involving large CMVs.The KeepTruckin webinar, Electronic Logging Device Mandate: What You Should Know, is free to join, and the registrations are open for now. You can reserve your seat by signing up at the following link:About KeepTruckinKeepTruckin is on a mission to improve the efficiency and profitability of Americas trucking industry by building great technology products for truck drivers and fleet managers. The company provides drivers with the number one rated Electronic Logbook App for iOS & Android. The KeepTruckin Dashboard for fleets helps teams audit driver logs, manage IFTA fuel taxes, and track vehicles in real-time. KeepTruckin is trusted by over 400,000 drivers and 13,000 fleets. The company is backed by Google Ventures. To learn more about KeepTruckin, visit keeptruckin.com or call 855-434-ELOG.KeepTruckin350 Sansome St #500,San Francisco, CA 94104
Italy Cystoscopes Market Outlook to 2023

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ReportsWorldwide has announced the addition of a new report title Italy Cystoscopes Market Outlook to 2023 to its growing collection of premium market research reports.GlobalDatas new report, "Italy Cystoscopes Market Outlook to 2023", provides key market data on the Italy Cystoscopes market. The report provides value, in millions of US dollars, volume (in units) and and average prices (USD) within market segments - Flexible Video Cystoscopes and Non-Video Cystoscopes.The report also provides company shares and distribution shares data for each of these market segments, and global corporate-level profiles of the key market participants. Based on the availability of data for the particular market and country, information related to pipeline products, news and deals is available in the report.Extensive interviews are conducted with key opinion leaders (KOLs), physicians and industry experts to validate the market size, company share and distribution share data and analysis.To Enquire about this Report please visit @Scope of the Research Report- Market size and company share data for Cystoscopes market segments - Flexible Video Cystoscopes and Non-Video Cystoscopes.- Annualized market revenues (USD million) and volume (units) data for each of the market segments. Data is provided from 2009 to 2016 and forecast to 2023.- 2016 company shares and distribution shares data for each of the market segments.- Global corporate-level profiles of key companies operating within the Italy Cystoscopes market.- Key players covered include Olympus Corporation, PENTAX Medical Company, KARL STORZ GmbH & Co KG and Others.To view a detailed description and Table of Contents please visit:Reasons to buy- Develop business strategies by identifying the key market segments poised for strong growth in the future.- Develop market-entry and market expansion strategies.- Design competition strategies by identifying who-stands-where in the market.- Develop investment strategies by identifying the key market segments expected to register strong growth in the near future.- What are the key distribution channels and whats the most preferred mode of product distribution - Identify, understand and capitalize.About ReportsWorldwide.comReportsWorldwide.com is a leading provider of global market intelligence reports and services. With research reports from top publishers, consulting and advisory firms, ReportsWorldwide.com offers instant online access to a growing database of expert insights on global industries, companies, products, geographies and trends.Press Contact:Abigail CrastoSenior Vice President101, Arch StreetBoston, MA 02110USPhone +1 (617) 398-4994Fax +1 (617) 398-4995abigail@reportsworldwide.com
Automotive Platooning Systems Market Worth USD 7.10 million units by 2026

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Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis, and Forecast, 2015  2026. Global Automotive platooning systems market saw shipments of 841,354 units in 2015 and the number is expected to reach 7,100,874 units by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 22.64% between 2016 and 2026.A platoon is a group of vehicles that can run closely together, safely at desired speed. Leading vehicle controls the speed and direction of vehicles, and following vehicles (which have precisely matched braking and acceleration) reacts accordingly to the lead vehicles movement. More efficient utilization of infrastructure and less road congestion are the benefits make platooning a good way to meet several challenges and simultaneously ensure the safety.Request Free Sample copy of Research Report @Extensive use of truck platooning considerably decreases the volume of greenhouse gas that originates from road freight transport. Other important advantages that could stem from automotive platooning are more efficient use of infrastructure, increased road safety, and less road congestion. All these benefits make platooning a good way to address numerous challenges that are presently faced by the road freight transport sector.Increased traffic and fuel efficiency are the factors expected to drive the growth of the automotive platooning system in the coming years. Escalating traffic worldwide has pushed industry leaders to develop the platooning system which would help in fewer traffic collisions and reduced congestion. However, high investment cost, low consumer awareness, lack of adequate infrastructure, and comparatively low maturity of the autonomous vehicle technology in few economies are some of the challenges affecting the growth of this market.Browse the full "Automotive Platooning System Market: Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Segment, Trends and Forecast, 2015  2026" report atEurope accounted for around 20.56% of the market share in 2015. Due to sophisticated ICT infrastructure and implementation of favorable regulatory mandates, Europe is expected to witness promising growth in platooning systems technology over the forecast period. The EU market has already made several strides in connected car technologies. The region is positioned strongly in terms of sophisticated information and communications technology infrastructure and smart mobility.SARTRE, PATH, GCDC, Energy ITS and SCANIA-platooning are some of the major projects aiming to improve the automotive platooning system with innovative technology. They are working to optimize efficiency and develop hassle free transport solution. Some of the prominent players in the global automotive platooning market include Daimler, Peloton Technology, Scania, Volvo, Continental, Delphi, IVECO, MAN Truck & Bus, Meritor Wabco, Navistar, Nokia Growth Partners, TomTom and others.Inquire more about this report before purchase @About Us:Zion Market Research is an obligated company. We create futuristic, cutting edge, informative reports ranging from industry reports, company reports to country reports. We provide our clients not only with market statistics unveiled by avowed private publishers and public organizations but also with vogue and newest industry reports along with pre-eminent and niche company profiles. Our database of market research reports comprises a wide variety of reports from cardinal industries. Our database is been updated constantly in order to fulfill our clients with prompt and direct online access to our database. Keeping in mind the clients needs, we have included expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends in this database. Last but not the least, we make it our duty to ensure the success of clients connected to usafter allif you do well, a little of the light shines on us.Contact Us:Zion Market Research4283, Express Lane,Suite 634-143,Sarasota, Florida 34249, United StatesTel: +49-322 210 92714USA/Canada Toll-Free No.1-855-465-4651Email: sales@zionmarketresearch.comWebsite:Blog:
Italy Bronchoscopes Market Outlook to 2023

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ReportsWorldwide has announced the addition of a new report title Italy Bronchoscopes Market Outlook to 2023 to its growing collection of premium market research reports.GlobalDatas new report, "Italy Bronchoscopes Market Outlook to 2023", provides key market data on the Italy Bronchoscopes market. The report provides value, in millions of US dollars, volume (in units) and and average prices (USD) within market segments - Non-Video Bronchoscopes and Video Bronchoscopes.The report also provides company shares and distribution shares data for each of these market segments, and global corporate-level profiles of the key market participants. Based on the availability of data for the particular market and country, information related to pipeline products, news and deals is available in the report.Extensive interviews are conducted with key opinion leaders (KOLs), physicians and industry experts to validate the market size, company share and distribution share data and analysis.To Enquire about this Report please visit @Scope of the Research Report- Market size and company share data for Bronchoscopes market segments - Non-Video Bronchoscopes and Video Bronchoscopes.- Annualized market revenues (USD million) and volume (units) data for each of the market segments. Data is provided from 2009 to 2016 and forecast to 2023.- 2016 company shares and distribution shares data for each of the market segments.- Global corporate-level profiles of key companies operating within the Italy Bronchoscopes market.- Key players covered include Olympus Corporation, PENTAX Medical Company, Fujifilm Holdings Corporation and Others.To view a detailed description and Table of Contents please visit:Reasons to buy- Develop business strategies by identifying the key market segments poised for strong growth in the future.- Develop market-entry and market expansion strategies.- Design competition strategies by identifying who-stands-where in the market.- Develop investment strategies by identifying the key market segments expected to register strong growth in the near future.- What are the key distribution channels and whats the most preferred mode of product distribution - Identify, understand and capitalize.About ReportsWorldwide.comReportsWorldwide.com is a leading provider of global market intelligence reports and services. With research reports from top publishers, consulting and advisory firms, ReportsWorldwide.com offers instant online access to a growing database of expert insights on global industries, companies, products, geographies and trends.Press Contact:Abigail CrastoSenior Vice President101, Arch StreetBoston, MA 02110USPhone +1 (617) 398-4994Fax +1 (617) 398-4995abigail@reportsworldwide.com
Immunotoxins Market Offering High-growth Opportunities for Market Players

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Immunotoxins are proteins that include a toxin along with an antibody or growth factor that binds specifically to target. An immunotoxin consists of a specific cell-targeting constituent, usually a monoclonal antibody (mAb) linked to a cell-killing toxin. Chemical conjugation of antibody to whole protein toxin creates immunotoxins, lacking of its natural binding domain. Immunotoxins are created in Escherichia coli that are distorted with a plasmid encoding the recombinant toxin. Harvesting recombinant protein is the most common method for manufacturing a substance for clinical trial. The insoluble protein is washed thoroughly with detergent to remove solublized, endotoxin, denatured, and condensed in guanidine-dithioerythritol solution. Then the recombinant protein is restored as a denatured protein or also known as renatured protein by rapid intensity into redox buffer containing glutathione and arginine, and the dialyzed renatured protein purified by sizing chromatography and anion exchange.Obtain Report Details:Toxins used in immunotoxin structures are derived from fungi, bacteria and plants, while most function by inhibiting protein synthesis. The bacterial toxins that are commonly used in immunotoxins include the toxin from Pseudomonas exotoxin (PE) and Diphtheria toxin (DT). Ribosomes inactivating proteins (RIPs) gelonin, the A chain of ricin (RTA), pokeweed antiviral protein and dodecandron are included in plant toxins that are utilized in immunotoxins. As it is an enzyme, one toxin molecule can work on many substrate molecules, having a lethal effect on the cell. Immunotoxins use in haematological malignancies is considered to be very important, which are characterized by a high percentage of malignant cells that express the target antigen in contrast to solid tumours, which are characterized by a mixed cell population, and cells that are often not easily accessible for immunotoxin.According to a research, cancer was observed as the most frequent cause of death in most of the developed countries. In the U.S., the estimated number of new cancer cases was above 1.5 million in 2010, with a mortality rate accounting for 23% of total deaths. Thus, cancer is observed to be the major application of immunotoxin, to use highly potent agents as a cancer therapy, it is necessary to target the killing agent selectively to the cancer cells and immunotoxin therapy is also considered to be an important and effective molecular cancer treatment strategy. The major driver of immunotoxins market is increasing global prevalence of cancer. For instance, according to World Health Organization (WHO) in 2012, Cancers figure among the leading causes of death worldwide, accounting for 8.2 million deaths while lung, liver, stomach, colorectal and breast cancers cause the most cancer deaths each year. It is also expected that annual cancer cases will rise from 14 million in 2012 to 2022 within the next two decades.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report:Major advantages of immunotoxins are minimum toxicity in normal tissues and discerning cytotoxicity towards tumor cells. The immunotoxins clinical development in the treatment of solid tumors has been impeded in part, by the initiation of an immune response directed mainly against the toxin moiety, and in part by loss of activity of the fusion protein, e.g. by sterical barrier in the case of large toxin moieties. Strategies to overcome these limitations and develop the clinical performance of immunotoxins may reduce immunogenicity of it by removing the T-cell epitopes and use bispecific or bivalent constructs as next generation molecules.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a U.S.-based provider of syndicated research, customized research, and consulting services. TMRs global and regional market intelligence coverage includes industries such as pharmaceutical, chemicals and materials, technology and media, food and beverages, and consumer goods, among others. Each TMR research report provides clients with a 360-degree view of the market with statistical forecasts, competitive landscape, detailed segmentation, key trends, and strategic recommendations.Contact us:Transparency Market Research90 State Street,Suite 700,AlbanyNY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
FIFTY!

The measurement technology manufacturer celebrates its 50th anniversaryAt the 1st of June 1967, company founder Udo Steppe started his own business founding NIVUS. In a time when the first microwave oven was introduced and the first ATMs were put into operation, Udo Steppe began trading in measurement systems for bulk solids and liquids. The beginning of the seventies saw his pioneering work by launching ultrasound technology for industrial level measurement. Contactless level measurement was a novelty back then.For a long time the company has put the focus on level measurement systems, which shifted to flow measurement in later years however. In the middle of the seventies the company started developing flow measurement devices of its own. In the meantime the product portfolio comprises a wide range of flow metering methods and systems based on ultrasound and radar. In the past years there has been a strong increase in the demand for data transmission and data management. Today the metering specialists provide comprehensive systems for the handling of data starting with data loggers for wireless data transmission through complete process conducting systems.Right from the beginning of the company history there have been international trade and business relations. In the early nineties the first foreign representation was founded with new subsidiaries being established in the following years. The latest member of the NIVUS family is NIVUS Chile. The South American subsidiary was founded in May of this year. Overall, NIVUS have 9 international representations between Austria and Vietnam and cooperate with 40 distributors all over the world. Almost 125 employees across the globe are working to make sure that the company will exist for at least the next 50 years.The NIVUS group is a leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of measurement instruments for water industry. For more than 45 years the company has been pointing the way ahead in measurement technology, continuously developing new products and practice-oriented solutions. Based in Eppingen, Germany, NIVUS operate seven international subsidiaries and co-operate with more than 40 distributors all over the world.PR Contact:NIVUS GmbHMartin MuellerIm Taele 275031 EppingenGermany+49 (0)7262 9191-832martin.mueller@nivus.com
Global Animal Feed Micronutrients Market 2017 : Alltech, Novus, QualiTech, Balchem, Zinpro

Animal Feed Micronutrients

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A market study based on the "Animal Feed Micronutrients Market" across the globe, recently added to the repository of Market Research, is titled Global Animal Feed Micronutrients Market 2017. The research report analyses the historical as well as present performance of the worldwide Animal Feed Micronutrients industry, and makes predictions on the future status of Animal Feed Micronutrients market on the basis of this analysis.Get Free Sample Copy of Report Here :Top Manufacturers Analysis Of This Research ReportCargillADMNutrecoKeminLallemend HealthAlltechNovusQualiTechBalchemZinproThe report studies the industry for Animal Feed Micronutrients across the globe taking the existing industry chain, the import and export statistics in Animal Feed Micronutrients market & dynamics of demand and supply of Animal Feed Micronutrients into consideration. The 'Animal Feed Micronutrients' research study covers each and every aspect of the Animal Feed Micronutrients market globally, which starts from the definition of the Animal Feed Micronutrients industry and develops towards Animal Feed Micronutrients market segmentations. Further, every segment of the Animal Feed Micronutrients market is classified and analyzed on the basis of product types, application, and the end-use industries of the Animal Feed Micronutrients market. The geographical segmentation of the Animal Feed Micronutrients industry has also been covered at length in this report.The competitive landscape of the worldwide market for Animal Feed Micronutrients is determined by evaluating the various industry participants, production capacity, Animal Feed Micronutrients market's production chain, and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Animal Feed Micronutrients market worldwide.Enquire Here :The global Animal Feed Micronutrients market 2017 is also analyzed on the basis of product pricing, Animal Feed Micronutrients production volume, data regarding demand and Animal Feed Micronutrients supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. Various methodical tools such as investment returns, feasibility, and market attractiveness analysis has been used in the research to present a comprehensive study of the industry for Animal Feed Micronutrients across the globe.About Us :Worldwide Business are a trusted brand in the research industry with capability of commissioning complex projects within a short span of time with high level of accuracy. At Worldwide Business, we believe in building long term relations with our clients. Our services cover a broad spectrum of industries such as Automotive and Aerospace, Medical Devices, Technology, Machinery & Manufacturing.Contact Us :Worldwide BusinessUnited States
Herbal Supplements And Remedies Market | Industry Outlook Analysis Report 2015-2022

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The Herbal Supplements And Remedies Market Research Report provides forecast and estimates for each application in terms of Market Size, Share, Trend & Growth during the study period Upto 2022. The report on global herbal supplements and remedies market evaluates the growth trends of the industry through historical study and estimates future prospects based on comprehensive research. The report extensively provides the market share, growth, trends and forecasts for the period 2015-2022. The market size in terms of revenue (USD MN) is calculated for the study period along with the details of the factors affecting the market growth (drivers and restraints).Get FREE Sample Report Copy @The high healthcare costsand tighter government budgets are the major factors pushing the market uphill. But strict regulatory policies might restraint the growth in the coming years.Furthermore, the report quantifies the market share held by the major players of the industry and provides an in-depth view of the competitive landscape. This market is classified into different segments with detailed analysis of each with respect to geography for the study period 2015-2022. The comprehensive value chain analysis of the market will assist in attaining better product differentiation, along with detailed understanding of the core competency of each activity involved. The market attractiveness analysis provided in the report aptly measures the potential value of the market providing business strategists with the latest growth opportunities.The report also covers the complete competitive landscape of the worldwide market with company profiles of key players such as DSM Nutritional Products Ltd, Nutraceutical Corporation, The Himalaya Drug Company, Martek Biosciences Corporation Natures Aid, ARKOPHARMA Pharmaceutical Laboratories, i-Health, Sundown Nutrition, Bio-Botanica, Twinlab Corporation, and Ricola AG. Geographically, this market has been segmented into regions such as North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific and the Middle East & Africa. The study details country-level aspects based on each segment and gives estimates in terms of market size.Table Of Contents- Overview1.Introduction2.Executive Summary3.Market Analysis4.Herbal Supplements And Remedies Market Analysis By Product5.Herbal Supplements And Remedies Market Analysis By Geography6.Competitive Landscape Of The Herbal Supplements And Remedies Companies7.Company Profiles Of The Herbal Supplements And Remedies IndustryView More About this Report @About-Us:DecisionDatabases.com is a global business research reports provider, enriching decision makers and strategists with qualitative statistics. DecisionDatabases.com is proficient in providing syndicated research report, customized research reports, company profiles and industry databases across multiple domains.Our expert research analysts have been trained to map clients research requirements to the correct research resource leading to a distinctive edge over its competitors. We provide intellectual, precise and meaningful data at a lightning speed.3rd Floor,Fountain chambers,Nanabhai Lane,Fort, Mumbai - 1E-Mail: sales@decisiondatabases.comPhone: +91 99 28 237112Web:
Micro Stirling Engine Market Evolving Industry Trends 2025.

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Stirling engine is a closed-cycle regenerative heat engine, wherein the working fluid is permanently confined within the system. The working fluid is gaseous in nature. Stirling engine works by the cyclic compression and expansion of the gas inside a cylinder, which leads to the generation of heat inside the heat engine. The heat generated is then converted to mechanical work by pushing a piston. There are three types of stirling engines: the alpha type, the beta type, and the gamma type. Lamina flow engine is another type of stirling engine which is s. till in the R&D phase. The alpha type requires high temperature and produces the most power as it has two power pistons. The beta type requires less heat as compared to the alpha type. In the beta type, the power piston and displacer are placed within the same cylinder. Gamma stirling engine requires the least amount of heat. It is also known as the low temperature differential stirling engine.Obtain Report Details @:Micro stirling engine is the smallest, low temperature differential stirling engine. It can run on low temperature and at high speed. Micro stirling engine is difficult to manufacture, but runs successfully when compared to large stirling engines. The amount of working fluid within the engine is much lower as compared to the larger stirling engines. A large stirling engines might be able to overcome only a small amount of friction, while a micro stirling engine stops in-case any friction occurs. Demand for micro stirling engine is expected to rise exponentially in the next few years.Micro stirling engine is unique, as its theoretical efficiency is nearly equal to the Carnot cycle efficiency. It is sometimes also called external combustion engine, as the heat source is located outside the unit. Micro stirling engine is fuel flexible. It uses natural gas, but may also run on biogas or hydrogen. These gases can be used when they are widely available in the near future. Micro stirling engine represents a transitional technology and potential renewable energy converter. This is expected to drive the micro stirling engine market in the near future. Various applications of micro stirling engine include water pump stations, combined heat and power plants, solar power generation, stirling cyro-coolers, and micro CHP.Micro stirling engine operates in silence and offers very high efficiency. This is a major advantage of micro stirling engine. Furthermore, it is ecological as this type of engine achieves complete combustion. It offers high reliability due to the technological simplicity. It also requires little maintenance.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @:In terms of geography, the micro stirling engine market can be segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and Latin America. The market for micro stirling engine in North America is currently in the developing stage, followed by that in Europe. The outlook for the micro stirling engine market appears positive in North America, as they can be be used with solar collectors. Similarly, in Europe, the demand for micro stirling engine is rising due to the major emphasis to provide flexibility of system to integrate heat pump systems. Concerns related to the environment, maturity of associated markets such as residential boilers, and rising interest in distributed generation are the major drivers of the the micro stirling engines market.The key players operating in the Micro stirling engine market are Cleanergy, Genoastirling S.R.L., Ekogen, Preser, Sun Power, OkoFen, etc.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector - such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207
Male Infertility Treatment Market: Advanced Technologies & Growth Opportunities in Global Industry by 2023

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Male infertility refers the male inability to cause pregnancy in a fertile female. It is majorly due to low sperm count, hormonal problem or presence of low number of motile sperms. Hence, fertility in male requires normal functioning of hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and testes. However, 40% -50% cases have no identifiable cause and 30% -40% cases are due to problem in the testes. The various causes of increasing infertility in male includes consumption of alcohol and drugs, rising stress level, obesity, smoking, and environmental toxins.Infertility in male diagnosed with various techniques such as DNA fragmentation techniques, oxidative stress analysis, sperm agglutination, sperm penetration assay, microscopic examination, and computer assisted sperm analysis. Sperm Check fertility is a U.S. FDA approved home screening test to determine low sperm count for men in 2012. According to the American Society for Reproductive medicines, in approximately 40% of infertile couples, male partner is sole cause of infertility and about 85% -90% are treated with conventional treatment such as drugs or surgery.Obtain Report Details @Global male infertility treatment market segmented into drugs, hormonal therapy, and assisted reproductive technology (ART). Drugs used for male infertility treatment are clomiphene citrate, and tamoxifen. Hormonal therapy market further segmented into human chorionic gonadotropinhormone(hCG), and recombinant follicle stimulating hormone (rFSH). Gonadotropin therapy is given to the patients to increase the testosterone level and sperm count. If these therapies are not worked after 6 to 12 months treatment then option is assisted reproductive technologies.Assisted reproductive technology further is segmented intoin vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET), gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT), frozen embryo transfer (FET), and zygote intrafallopian transfer (ZIFT). Geographically, male infertility treatment market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa, and rest of the World. Assisted reproductive technology segment dominated the global market due to higher success rate as compared to the drugs and hormonal therapy.However, doctors suggest ART treatment after the failure of drugs and hormonal treatment. In assisted reproductive technology segment in-vitro fertilization-embryo transfer is the most dominated procedure in 2014. Geographically, the North America is the highest revenue generating market due to more awareness, and reimbursement facility for male infertility treatment. However, Asia Pacific is expected to grow at a highest rate due to rising awareness, and increasing incidence of infertility in men due to changes in the lifestyle.Global male infertility treatment market is anticipated to grow at a faster rate due to the changes in the lifestyle, environmental effect, rising incidence of infertility cases, number of obese people, and increasing consumption of alcohol and drugs. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), globally 1.9 million obese and 600 million people were diagnosed to be overweight. Global organization for stress states that six out of ten people suffer from stress at work place and the highest stress rate was found at China (86%).Fill the form to gain deeper insights on this market @However, the major limitation experienced in the male infertility treatment market is due to repeated treatment failures leading to an emotional impact on the patient. The person undergoing immense stress after the diagnosis or repeated failure of the treatment which would further result to intensify the infertility problem andresult in most of the patients to discontinue the treatment. The other limitation is the social taboo, and high cost associated with the treatment. Out of the 40% fertile men, only 15% of the men opt for the treatment for infertility due to the embarrassment, guilt, and other reasons.Some of the major players having presence in the global male infertility treatment market includes Parallabs, European Sperm Bank, Origio, Cryolab Ltd., IrvineScientific, Microm UK Limited, and Merck Serono.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Contact UsTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Steel Grating Market by Global Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022

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HTF Market Intelligence released a new research report of 118 pages on title 'Global Steel Grating Market by Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022' with detailed analysis, forecast and strategies. The study covers key regions that includes North & South America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa and important players such as AMICO, Nucor, Webforge..................Summary""Steel Grating is any regularly spaced collection of essentially identical, parallel, elongated elements. Gratings usually consist of a single set of elongated elements, but can consist of two sets, in which case the second set is usually perpendicular to the first (as illustrated).Steel grating is perfect for factories, buildings, generating plants; in fact anywhere the ease of movement and safety is required.""Request a sample report @Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Steel Grating in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversAMICONucorWebforgeHarsco (IKG)NJMMYantai XinkeP&R MetalsMeiserOhio GratingsInterstate GratingsGrating PacificLionweld KennedyMarco SpecialtyNingbo LihongyuanSinosteelBeijing DaheNepeanYantai WanjieGuangdong Nanhai JimuChengdu XinfangtaiAnping RuntanBorden MetalMarket Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversNorth America (USA, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.)Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Market Segment by Type, coversStainless Steel GratingCarbon Steel GratingMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoArchitectureSewage DisposalPetrochemicalOthersThere are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Steel Grating market.Chapter 1, to describe Steel Grating Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Steel Grating, with sales, revenue, and price of Steel Grating, in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Steel Grating, for each region, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;Chapter 10 and 11, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 12, Steel Grating market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Steel Grating sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data sourceGet Customization in the Report, Enquire Now @Table of Contents1 Market Overview1.1 Steel Grating Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 Stainless Steel Grating1.2.2 Carbon Steel Grating1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Architecture1.3.2 Sewage Disposal1.3.3 Petrochemical1.3.4 Others1.4 Market Analysis by Regions1.4.1 North America (USA, Canada and Mexico)1.4.1.1 USA Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.1.2 Canada Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.1.3 Mexico Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2 Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)1.4.2.1 Germany Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.2 France Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.3 UK Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.4 Russia Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.5 Italy Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3 Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)1.4.3.1 China Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.2 Japan Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.3 Korea Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.4 India Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3.5 Southeast Asia Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4 South America, Middle East and Africa1.4.4.1 Brazil Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4.2 Egypt Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4.3 Saudi Arabia Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4.4 South Africa Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.4.5 Nigeria Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.5 Market Dynamics1.5.1 Market Opportunities1.5.2 Market Risk1.5.3 Market Driving ForceBuy this report @2 Manufacturers Profiles2.1 AMICO2.1.1 Business Overview2.1.2 Steel Grating Type and Applications2.1.2.1 Type 12.1.2.2 Type 22.1.3 AMICO Steel Grating Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.2 Nucor2.2.1 Business Overview2.2.2 Steel Grating Type and Applications2.2.2.1 Type 12.2.2.2 Type 22.2.3 Nucor Steel Grating Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.3 Webforge2.3.1 Business Overview2.3.2 Steel Grating Type and Applications2.3.2.1 Type 12.3.2.2 Type 22.3.3 Webforge Steel Grating Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.4 Harsco (IKG)2.4.1 Business Overview2.4.2 Steel Grating Type and Applications2.4.2.1 Type 12.4.2.2 Type 22.4.3 Harsco (IKG) Steel Grating Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.5 NJMM2.5.1 Business Overview2.5.2 Steel Grating Type and Applications2.5.2.1 Type 12.5.2.2 Type 22.5.3 NJMM Steel Grating Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.6 Yantai Xinke2.6.1 Business Overview2.6.2 Steel Grating Type and Applications2.6.2.1 Type 12.6.2.2 Type 22.6.3 Yantai Xinke Steel Grating Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.7 P&R Metals2.7.1 Business Overview2.7.2 Steel Grating Type and Applications2.7.2.1 Type 12.7.2.2 Type 22.7.3 P&R Metals Steel Grating Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.8 Meiser2.8.1 Business Overview2.8.2 Steel Grating Type and Applications2.8.2.1 Type 12.8.2.2 Type 22.8.3 Meiser Steel Grating Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.9 Ohio Gratings2.9.1 Business Overview2.9.2 Steel Grating Type and Applications2.9.2.1 Type 12.9.2.2 Type 22.9.3 Ohio Gratings Steel Grating Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.10 Interstate Gratings2.10.1 Business Overview2.10.2 Steel Grating Type and Applications2.10.2.1 Type 12.10.2.2 Type 22.10.3 Interstate Gratings Steel Grating Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)....ContinuedView Detailed Table of Content @Thanks for reading this article, you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia.HTF Market Report is a wholly owned brand of HTF market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited. HTF Market Report global research and market intelligence consulting organization is uniquely positioned to not only identify growth opportunities but to also empower and inspire you to create visionary growth strategies for futures, enabled by our extraordinary depth and breadth of thought leadership, research, tools, events and experience that assist you for making goals into a reality. Our understanding of the interplay between industry convergence, Mega Trends, technologies and market trends provides our clients with new business models and expansion opportunities. We are focused on identifying the Accurate Forecast in every industry we cover so our clients can reap the benefits of being early market entrants and can accomplish their Goals & Objectives.Contact Us:CRAIG FRANCIS (PR & Marketing Manager)sales@htfmarketreport.comPh: +1 (206) 317 1218
Global Refrigeration Compressor Market 2016 - LG, Tecumseh, Embraco, Panasonic, Secop

Refrigeration Compressor Market

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The report that is written on the title Refrigeration Compressor Market 2016 covers all the aspects of the global market study. This report has an estimation about the Refrigeration Compressor Market size in terms of value (US$). The report contains the broad segmentation of the market. The report provides the information about the Refrigeration Compressor Market and also forecasts its position in the coming years.A refrigerator compressor is the center of the refrigeration cycle. It works as a pump to control the circulation of the refrigerant, and it adds pressure to the refrigerant, heating it up. The compressor also draws vapor away from the evaporator to maintain a lower pressure and lower temperature before sending it to the condenser.Read Complete Report @This report provides detailed analysis of worldwide markets for Refrigeration Compressor from 2011-2016, and provides extensive market forecasts (2016-2021) by region/country and subsectors. It covers the key technological and market trends in the Refrigeration Compressor market and further lays out an analysis of the factors influencing the supply/demand for Refrigeration Compressor, and the opportunities/challenges faced by industry participants. It also acts as an essential tool to companies active across the value chain and to the new entrants by enabling them to capitalize the opportunities and develop business strategies.Global Refrigeration Compressor Market Outlook 2016-2021, has been prepared based on the synthesis, analysis, and interpretation of information about the global Refrigeration Compressor market collected from specialized sources. The report covers key technological developments in the recent times and profiles leading players in the market and analyzes their key strategies. The competitive landscape section of the report provides a clear insight into the market share analysis of key industry players.Top Manufacturers Analysis Of Refrigeration Compressor Market,Embraco (Brazil)Panasonic (Japan)LG (Korea)Tecumseh (France)Secop (Germany)Atlantic Coast Conference (Italy)Sichuan Danfu (China)Jiangsu Baixue (China)Huayi Compressor (China)Guangzhou Wanbao (China)Huangshi Dongbei (China)Qianjiang Compressor (China)The report provides separate comprehensive analytics for the North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa and Rest of World. In this sector, global competitive landscape and supply/demand pattern of Refrigeration Compressor industry has been provided.Get Sample Report:The report studies the industry for (Refrigeration Compressor Market) mainly covers 15 Topics acutely display the global Refrigeration Compressor Market.Topic 1, this report analyzed the basic scope of this industry like definition, specification, classification, application, industry policy and news;Topic 2, the analysis on industry chain is provided including the up and down stream industry also with the major market players. And the analysis on manufacturing including process, cost structure and major plants distribution is conducted;Topic 3, 4 global and regional market is analyzed. In these chapters, this report analyzed major market data like capacity, production, capacity utilization rate, price, revenue, cost, gross, gross margin, supply, import, export, consumption, market share, growth rate and etc. For regional market, this report analyzed major regions like Global, North America, South America, Asia (Excluding China), China and ROW. These analysis are conducted;Topic 5, 6 and 7, the performance of major manufacturers are analyzed and then in Chapter 6 and 7 the analysis on major classification and application.Topic 8, Then the marketing channel analysis is provided including the major distributorsTopic 9 and 10, this report analyzed the market forecast from 2017 to 2022 for global and regional market in Chapter 9 and the new project investment feasibility analysis;Topic 11, At last, this report provided the conclusions of this researchThis report is a valuable source of guidance for manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, customers, investors and individuals who have interest in this market.About Market Research Store:Market Research Store is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. We feature large repository of latest industry reports, leading and niche company profiles, and market statistics released by reputed private publishers and public organizations. Market Research Store is the comprehensive collection of market intelligence products and services available on air. We have market research reports from number of leading publishers and update our collection daily to provide our clients with the instant online access to our database. With access to this database, our clients will be able to benefit from expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends.3422 SW 15 Street, Suit #8138, Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442, Tel: +1-386-310-3803 GMT Tel: +49-322 210 92714 USA/Canada Toll Free No. 1-855-465-4651
Multiple Reaction Monitoring Assay Market: Advanced Technologies & Growth Opportunities in Global Industry by 2024

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Multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) is an extremely selective and sensitive method of analyzing small molecules. This targeted method is used for the quantitation of peptides or protein fragments in complex biological samples. The MRM platform technology enables targeted filtering of specific proteins instead of going through massive amounts of data resulting from nontargeted studies. This powerful method for the quantitative measurement of target proteins has emerged as a principal tool in research methodologies today.Multiple reaction monitoring assays can be of various types: Human discovery assay, custom multiple reaction monitoring assays, human cancer multiple reaction monitoring assays, and human cardiovascular multiple reaction monitoring assays. These are used in diagnostic centers, hospital centers, and research institutes for quality control and biomarker assessment. Geographically, the worldwide market for multiple reaction monitoring assays covers four key segments: Europe, Asia Pacific, North America, and Rest of the World.Browse Market Research Report @The report serves as an ideal tool for both new and established players in the multiple reaction monitoring assay market, offering some of the best expansion strategies. The latest and most trusted business intelligence tools, such as the Porters Five Forces analysis model, have been employed to give readers a 360-degree overview of the multiple reaction monitoring assay market and the various macro and micro trends impacting its trajectory. Apart from statistical and qualitative insights, the report also includes recommendations from industry experts.Multiple reaction monitoring has been used for several years now for the detection of peptides and proteins in clinical samples. Multiple reaction monitoring offers a host of benefits to researchers, including better sensitivity, improved speed of detection, greater selectivity, higher specificity, and the ability to adjust or calibrate the instrument to detect a specific protein of interest. These advantages have significantly boosted the global multiple reaction monitoring assay market. In addition, the surge in R&D in the field of biologics has contributed significantly to the worldwide multiple reaction monitoring assay market. The rising use of multiple reaction monitoring assays in research institutes, diagnostic centers, and hospitals has also driven the global market.For more information on this report, fill the form @Globally, North America and Europe led the multiple reaction monitoring assay market. Countries in North America and those in Western Europe, such as Germany, France, Italy, and the U.K., have been contributing majorly to the multiple reaction monitoring assay market thanks to the increasing number of biology research institutes in the regions and the higher number of installed systems.The most well-known companies in the global multiple reaction monitoring assay market include MRM Proteomics, Sigma Aldrich, and Thermo Fisher Scientific. These players, along with other prominent players, have been carefully examined in the research report based on key parameters such as company overview, recent developments, product portfolio, R&D, business strategies, and financial standing. The report also employs a SWOT analysis to determine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the leading players.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Contact UsTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Baby Toiletries Market to Reach $87,339 Million, Globally, by 2022

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Baby Toiletries Market Report, published by Allied Market Research, forecasts that the global market was valued at $56,938 million in 2015 and is expected to garner $87,339 million by 2022, registering a CAGR of 6.4% during the forecast period 2016 - 2022. Europe is expected to be the leading contributor of the market, followed by Asia-Pacific and North America.Access Full Summary at:The growth of baby toiletries market is driven by rise in birth rates, increase in hygiene care for babies, and growth in disposable income of consumers. In addition, availability of premium range of branded products through various mediums on online portals, such as Amazon, Flipkart, Alibaba, and offline mediums, such as retails store, supermarket, and official brand outlets, further supplements the baby toiletries market growth. However, presence of toxic chemicals in baby products, such as powders, wipes, and others, is expected to hamper the baby toiletries market growth. Increase in participation of women in workforce, in countries, such as U.S., South Africa, India, and others is expected to provide numerous growth opportunities for the market as the adoption of these products provides convenience and work life balance.In 2015, the diaper segment accounted for the highest revenue share in the overall baby toiletries industry, owing to the convenience of usage and prevention of leakage from diapers providing ease to baby. The diaper segment dominated the baby toiletries market with over 58% share in 2015, and is estimated to maintain this trend throughout the forecast period. Moreover, disposable diapers are light and compact for usage and are preferred by customers as they provide ease and convenience in terms of absorbency and also minimize the efforts of washing. In addition, rise in demand from European countries that includes France, Spain, and the UK is expected to have a positive impact on the baby toiletries market growth, as these regions have a strong economic base. Other toiletries that include baby perfumes and fragrances are expected to witness the highest CAGR of 9.7% in the overall baby toiletries market.Disposable diapers held the highest share in 2015 with over 66% share, and is anticipated to dominate the diapers market throughout the forecast period, owing to higher adoption in the developed countries of Europe and North America. However, skin care products including baby creams, powder, ointments, and lotions are anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 9.3% in the global baby toiletries industry. Currently, people are preferring to buy the baby toiletries from the retail stores, and/or from the brand outlets, and from online websites, (such as Amazon and Flipkart), since they are meant to be used by the babies and parents are concerned while purchasing them. The growth of online market is expected to be driven by upsurge in smartphone penetration coupled with rise in internet usage and increase in online offers and discounts for various products. The online mode of sale is expected to grow at CAGR of 8.6% during the forecast period. Many brands like FirstCry.com follow the hybrid model where they allow customers to either buy the baby products from their websites or from their official outlets. This provides customers to purchase according to their convenience.For Purchase Enquiry Visit:Europe accounted for the highest share of the global baby toiletries industry in 2015, and is expected to maintain its dominance during the forecast period, owing to the strong economic base and high penetration of internet. Asia-Pacific is estimated to grow at the highest rate, due to improved standard of living and extensive economic growth in China, Japan, and India. U.S. accounted for the highest share in North America that constituted around 72% of market share in baby toiletries industry.Key Findings of Baby Toiletries Market In 2015, the offline mode of sale accounted for the highest share, and is projected to grow at a notable CAGR of 5.8% during the forecast period. Europe held the highest market share in 2015, and is anticipated to dominate the market. Latin America is the major shareholder in the LAMEA baby toiletries market, accounting for more almost 38% share in 2015. Other toiletries including perfumes and fragrances are anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 9.7%.The key players profiled in the baby toiletries industry include Johnson & Johnson, Proctor & Gamble, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Artsana S.p.A., Beiersdorf AG, Burt's Bees, Inc., California Baby, Inc., Unilever, Aveeno, and Cotton Babies, Inc., and SCA Hygiene. These players have adopted various strategies, such as product launch and partnerships, to expand their foothold in the market. Companies, such as Kimberly-Clark Corporation and Procter & Gamble, are coming forward in spreading awareness regarding baby hygiene. National Diaper Bank network is assisted by Huggies, which is a Kimberly Clarks brand, in providing free diapers to the unprivileged families and spreading awareness regarding its usage. By providing all these benefits to costumers, the companies are trying to promote their sales, and hence, are enhancing their market reach.Request Sample Report:About Us: -Allied Market Research is a Market Research Company which offers Syndicate & Custom Market Research Reports with Consulting Services.Contact Us: -5933 NE Win Sivers Drive,#205, Portland, OR 97220,United States.Int'l: +1-503-894-6022Toll Free: +1-800-792-5285Fax: +1-800-792-5285help@alliedmarketresearch.com
Solar Energy Market Expected to Reach $422 Billion, Globally, by 2022

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According to a new report published by Allied Market Research, titled, Solar Energy Market by Technology, Solar Module, Generation and Application: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2014-2022", the solar energy market was valued at $86 billion in 2015, and is projected to reach $422 billion by 2022, growing at a CAGR of 24.2% from 2016 to 2022. Based on application, architecture occupied more than two-fifths share in 2015.Request Sample Report at:Solar energy system is used to harness the energy emitted from the sun. It is an efficient renewable energy, and mitigates environmental risks that arise from greenhouse gas emissions. The global rise in demand for alternative energy source has propelled the demand for solar energy. Moreover, market assisting programs and government incentives for rooftop installations of solar panels drive the growth of the market, with increasing applications in residential, nonresidential, and commercial sectors. However, geographical footprint has affected the growth of solar energy market, owing to decrease in conversion efficiency of solar panels. Increase in governmental tariff plans and renewable energy certificates such as solar energy renewable certificates (SREC) are expected to drive the market growth. In addition, investments in R&D to develop high-efficiency third-generation solar modules such as perovskites is projected to provide growth opportunities for the market.Access Full Summary at:Increase in installations of rooftop solar panels positively impacts the growth of the solar energy market. Photovoltaic cells have gained major traction owing to increase in applications in residential and nonresidential sector for electricity generation. Furthermore, increase in installation of concentrated solar power systems (CSPs) in forms of parabolic troughs and solar power towers is anticipated to fuel the growth of the market, owing to increase in application for electricity generation. Photovoltaic cells segment has dominated the market in 2015. The concentrated solar power systems segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 41.6% during the forecast period. Polycrystalline silicon cells occupied more than half of the total share in 2015. The agriculture & horticulture segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 25.9% during the study period.Key Findings of the Solar Energy Market: The photovoltaic cell technology is expected to grow at a CAGR of 23.1% from 2016 to 2022. The organic and inorganic photovoltaic cells segments are expected to register CAGRs of 26.6% and 23.1%, respectively. The parabolic troughs under concentrated solar power systems is expected to grow at a CAGR of 41.8% during the analysis period. The amorphous silicon cells segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 28.4%. The third-generation solar module segment is anticipated to register a CAGR of 42.7%. North America is expected to register a CAGR of 25.2% during the analysis period. In Asia-Pacific, China expected to grow at a high CAGR of 24.7%.LAMEA is projected to grow at a CAGR of 25.7% during the analysis period, owing to increase in photovoltaic installations. Furthermore, tax incentives for rooftop installations in Asia-Pacific region, such as India, is expected to drive the market growth. The photovoltaic cells segment in India is expected to grow at a CAGR of 24.0%.Top players in operating in the market include Abengoa Solar S.A., Acciona Energia S.A., Wuxi Suntech Power Co. Ltd., Bright Source Energy Inc., Esolar Inc., Gintech Energy Corp., Kaneka Corp., Sunpower Corporation, Canadian Solar Inc., and Tata Power Solar.About Us:Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions". AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry.Contact:Rahul Thakur5933 NE Win Sivers Drive#205, Portland, OR 97220United StatesToll Free: +1-800-792-5285UK: + 44-845-528-1300Hong Kong: + 852-301-84916India (Pune): +91 20 66346060Fax: +1?855?550-5975help@alliedmarketresearch.com
Global Shale Gas Market size estimated to hit $105 billion by 2020

Shale Gas Market

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Zion Market Research has published a new report titled Shale Gas Market by Technology (Horizontal Drilling, Hydraulic Fracturing, and Water Usage Issue) for Power Generation, Residential, Industrial, Commercial, Transportation and Other Applications: Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis, and Forecast, 2014-2020. According to the report, the global demand for shale gas was valued at USD 63 billion in 2014 is expected to reach USD 105 billion in 2020, growing at a CAGR of around 9% between 2015 and 2020. In terms of volume, the global shale gas market stood at around 10.0 trillion cubic feet in 2014.Shale gas is also known as natural gas and it is derived from shales. Shale is fine-grained sedimentary rocks and it is highly loaded resources of petroleum and natural gas. Shale gas is generally obtained from the various shales like are marcellus, eagle ford, niobrara, barnett, and bakken. It is primarily used as a feedstock for production of ammonia and ethane gas. To extract shale gas from the source rock, the oil and gas industry uses two proven techniques: horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Hydraulic fracturing involves injecting high-pressure water to crack the source rock and release the natural gas it contains. 99.5% of the injection fluid is a mixture of water and sand, while the rest is a small quantity of additives needed to prevent bacterial contamination of the reservoir and make the process more efficient.Request For Free Sample Report:The major driving factor for shale gas market is rapidly increasing demand across the world. In an attempt to lower down dependence on crude oil as source of energy, U.S. is highly focused on shale gas. Moreover, government funding coupled with large investment by many private players is expected to fuel the growth of this industry. However, high cost of production as compared to any other conventional source of energy is expected to limit the growth of this industry. However, ongoing research & development and introduction of new technologies in the field of shale gas are expected to bring down cost of production. Large number of proven reserves for shale gas in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific is expected to provide future growth opportunity to industry participants.Horizontal drilling, hydraulic fracturing, and water usage issue are the key technologies involved in the shale gas extraction process. Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing are extensively used for extraction process across the globe. Power generation, residential, industrial, commercial, and transportation are the key applications of shale gas market. Industrial applications segment was the largest segment of global shale gas industry and accounted for more than 30% share of the entire market in 2014. The power generation is the second largest application segment for the global shale gas market. Residential applications segment is also expected to exhibit rapid growth during the forecast period.Request For Free Price Quotation:North America dominated the production and consumption of shale gas in 2014. North America accounted for over 75% share in production and consumption of shale gas in 2014. North America. North America is followed by Europe and Asia Pacific respectively. However, with commencement of shale gas production in China, growth of shale gas industry in Asia Pacific is expected to grow at a robust growth. Latin America and Middle East & Africa are expected to remain smallest regional market for shale gas during the forecast period.Browse the full report at:Some of the key players in the global shale gas market include Baker Hughes Incorporation, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, BHP Billiton Limited, Devon Energy, EnCana Corporation, ConocoPhillips Co, Royal Dutch Shell plc, ExxonMobil, Chesapeake Energy Corporation, and BP plc.The report segments the global shale gas market as:Technology Segment Analysis: Horizontal drilling, Hydraulic fracturing, Water usage issueApplication Segment Analysis: Power generation, Residential, Industrial, Commercial, TransportationRegional Segment Analysis: North America(U.S.), Europe(UK, France, Germany), Asia Pacific(China, Japan, India), Latin America(Brazil), Middle East and AfricaAbout Us: Zion Market Research is an obligated company. We create futuristic, cutting edge, informative reports ranging from industry reports, company reports to country reports. We provide our clients not only with market statistics unveiled by avowed private publishers and public organizations but also with vogue and newest industry reports along with pre-eminent and niche company profiles. Our database of market research reports comprises a wide variety of reports from cardinal industries. Our database is been updated constantly in order to fulfill our clients with prompt and direct online access to our database. Keeping in mind the clients needs, we have included expert insights on global industries, products, and market trends in this database. Last but not the least, we make it our duty to ensure the success of clients connected to usafter allif you do well, a little of the light shines on us.Contact Us:Joel John3422 SW 15 Street, Suit #8138Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442United StatesToll Free: +1-855-465-4651 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-386-310-3803Email: sales@marketresearchstore.comWebsite:
Global Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) Systems Market Expected to Reach $1,041 Million by 2023

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According to a new report published by Allied Market Research, titled, "CBCT Systems Market by Application, Patient Position, Detector Type, Field of View and End-User: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2017-2023," the global CBCT systems market was valued at $536 million in 2016, and is projected to reach $1,041 million by 2023, growing at a CAGR of 9.9% from 2017 to 2023. Dental application segment held more than four-fifths share of the total market in 2016.Access Full Summary at:Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) systems are a special type of x-ray equipment. These systems are used by medical professionals to reconstruct a 3D image of various regions of patients anatomy such as dental, oral and maxillofacial region, and ears, nose and throat.Rise in geriatric population, wide range of applications of CBCT systems in dental practice and upsurge in number of patients suffering from dental diseases are expected to drive the market growth. Moreover, expanding application of CBCT systems in other medical fields such as breast imaging further boosts the market growth. However, high cost of the devices and image related issues such as lack of clarity are expected to impede the market growth.For Purchase Enquiry Visit:Dental application segment is expected to dominate the market throughout the analysis period, owing to the increase in the incidence of dental disorders, such as tooth loss, periodontal disorders, and TMJ disorders. On the other hand, other application segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR of 11.8% during the forecast period.Key Findings of the CBCT Systems Market: Breast imaging segment is projected to grow at a CAGR of 12.2% during the forecast period. Hospitals & Clinics accounted for more than three-fifths share of the global CBCT systems market in 2015. Flat-panel image detector is expected to register the highest CAGR of 10.0% during the analysis period. France and Germany jointly contributed for more than one-third of the European CBCT systems market in 2016. Japan is the major shareholder, accounting for more than one-third of the Asia-Pacific CBCT systems market in 2015.Asia-Pacific is projected to grow at the highest CAGR of 10.1% during the forecast period owing to improvement in healthcare infrastructures and rise in expenditures in emerging markets (such as India and China) to overcome the unmet medical needs. Technological advancements to develop cost-effective devices in these nations offer a lucrative opportunity for market growth.The major companies profiled in the report include Carestream Health, Danaher, Planmeca OY, Dentsply Sirona, Vatech Co., Ltd., Cefla s.c., ASAHIROENTGEN IND.CO., LTD., J. Morita, Curve Beam, and Prexion.Request Sample Report:About Us: -Allied Market Research is a Market Research Company which offers Syndicate & Custom Market Research Reports with Consulting Services.Contact Us: -5933 NE Win Sivers Drive,#205, Portland, OR 97220,United States.Int'l: +1-503-894-6022Toll Free: +1-800-792-5285Fax: +1-800-792-5285help@alliedmarketresearch.com
North America likely to Remain the Largest E-learning Market during 2017-2022

E-Learning Market - Strategic Assessment and Forecast 2017-2022

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North America was the largest market with revenue share of 43.13% in 2016In terms of revenue, the US and China represent the worlds two largest e-learning markets constituting 49.35% of the global e-learning marketA recent report released by Beige Market Intelligence titled Global E-learning Market - Strategic Assessment and Forecast 20172022 includes a detailed market analysis of the global e-learning market and outlines leading trends, driving factors, and impeding challenges.The 141-pager report provides an in-depth information about the global e-learning market. The report offers the market size and revenue comparison of different segments by end-user, content type, delivery modes, and geography; it also identifies the leading and other vendors.View report : Global E-learning Market - Strategic Assessment and Forecast 2017-2022The global e-learning market can be cited as highly concentrated. Analysts at Beige Market Intelligence say that North America was the largest e-learning market with a revenue share of 43.13% in 2016 mainly driven by efficient learning infrastructure and proliferation of modern learning methods.While the US and China represent the worlds two largest e-learning markets constituting 49.35% of the global market in terms of revenues, the Indian and MEA markets represent a huge growth potential. The proliferation of e-learning in each geography heavily depends on the prevalence of internet infrastructure, mobile connectivity, maturity of primary and secondary educations systems, corporate learning and training expenditure, federal budgetary allocations to education, availability of start-up ecosystem that can groom disruptive Ed-tech players, literacy rates, and cultural inclinations toward various education models.The e-learning market in APAC, although smaller than the North America market, is displaying impressive growth rate driven by some structural changes in key countries of India and China. These two countries that figure among the leading five e-learning markets in the world are characterized by rising disposable incomes and expanding internet infrastructure.North America, which includes the key countries of the US and Canada, constitutes a key geography as it hosts the most advanced and largest economies of the world. The US and Canada despite hosting several technological innovations are set to grapple with massive investments required to maintain and upgrade the existing technological infrastructure setup. With an estimated 5% of the regions GDP invested upon education, the region hosts some of the finest and prominent higher educational institutions. Further, the US and Canada have some of the most regulated standards and certifications in the world with emphasis on catering to the individuals learning needs and areas of interest. E-learning is prominent in the region driven by better availability of internet infrastructure and high ownership of smartphones and tablets.Order a Free Sample Here:Source Link:In case you need a report on a specific market for a particular country or geography, please contact us and our research team will be glad to create a customized report for you.Click Here to Order a Customized Report:About Beige Market IntelligenceBeige Market Intelligence provides competitive and insightful business intelligence across various industry verticals. Our expertise and knowledge ensures that the analysis provided is comprehensive, detailed, and complete. The analysis helps our client organizations to make insightful decisions and devise marketing strategies for their businesses. The actionable insights delivered through our market research provide a comprehensive market analysis at every level of market segmentation in the industry.Our team of experts ensure the analysis is not just analyzed and presented but also can be customized depending upon the clients requirement. When it comes to competitive intelligence, we ensure our clients do not look beyond us.Our employment base is spread across the globe. Our analysts come with numerous quality reports and wide industry experience, which ensures understanding of the client's requirement and delivering high-quality research reports.Beige Market IntelligenceChinnapannahalli Main Road, Bangalore-560037Mail: contactus@beigemarketintelligence.comUS: +1 347 903 9949UK: +44 20 323 99499APAC: +91 99 012 75473
Aerospace Materials Market 2017- Size, Sales, Price Gross Margin Analysis and More

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eMarketOrg adds Global Aerospace Materials Market Research Report 2017 in its Research Report Library. Aerospace Materials Market is studied for product types like Aluminium Alloys, Steel Alloys, Titanium Alloys, Super Alloys, Composite Materials and OtherAerospace materials differ from other materials as for its high-performance requirement and need for it to be light weight. Aerospace materials current research emphasizes on advanced materials, structurally stable material, structural dymanics and design, aeroelasticity, thermos-mechanical and electro-mechanical connections and more.Acoording to statista, Air trafiic growth is expected to be 4.9% worldwide by 2023. Hence the increasing need of aviation materials is going to be crucial to the industry.For this report, the Aerospace Materials market value is provided for 2016 in USD millions, an expected CAGR % as well as USD million worth of industry in 2022. Regionally, the globe is segmented into United States, China, Europe, Japan, Southeast Asia and India to study their market size and local analysis. End user applications of Tourist Attractions, Schools, Parks, Urban Roads and Others are studied in this research. Share of Aerospace Materials market is covered by applications as well supported with potential applications in the future.Buy the complete Aerospace Materials report with Comprehensive table of contents @An extensive analysis methodology is involved for this Aerospace Materials research report. The research methodology used to estimate and forecast the Aerospace Materials market involves a primary and a secondary research. A systematic procedure has been used to arrive at the global size of the Aerospace Materials market and present revenue of key players in the market. Accurate data has been collected by conducting extensive interviews with people holding key decision making positions in the industry such as CEOs, VPs, directors, and executives.Inquire for discount for this report @Industry chain analysis covering upstream raw materials and equipments of Aerospace Materials market, their suppliers' information as well as analysis of downstream major consumers for Aerospace Materials is provided to understand the complete industry chain structure. Overall market analyzed in this report is divided by regions, types and manufacturers/companies. The research estimates 2017-2022 Aerospace Materials market development trends covering capacity, production and revenue forecasts as well as regional supply consumption forecasts. Towards the end, this report includes a feasibility analysis of New Project Investment covering SWOT analysis of Aerospace Materials OR marketing strategy analysis and market effect factor analysis. Overall, the report provides factual insights collected and analyzed with detailed primary and secondary research on Aerospace Materials market.The research compiles profiles of small and big Aerospace Materials market companies covering their product details as well as important statistics on production, capacity, price and more. These active companies' numbers are supported with information on marketing traders and/or distributors of the Aerospace Materials industry along with their contact information. This data gives valuable industry insights and direction to individuals and/or companies that are new entrants, eyeing to enter or grow in the Aerospace Materials market. Some of the Key vendors profiled in this research include: Bridgelux, TVILIGHT, Philips, OSRAM, GE Lighting, TCOMM, Silver Spring, Echelon Corporation, Petra Systems, STREETLIGHT.VISION, Cyan TechnologySHAH, Telematics, ONTAZ, SELC and FlashnetPartial list of Tables and Figures for this report include:Figure North America Aerospace Materials Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Europe Aerospace Materials Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure China Aerospace Materials Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Japan Aerospace Materials Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Southeast Asia Aerospace Materials Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure India Aerospace Materials Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Global Aerospace Materials Revenue (Million USD) Status and Outlook (2012-2022)Figure Global Aerospace Materials Capacity, Production (K Units) Status and Outlook (2012-2022)Figure Global Aerospace Materials Major Players Product Capacity (K Units) (2012-2017)Table Global Aerospace Materials Capacity (K Units) of Key Manufacturers (2012-2017)Table Global Aerospace Materials Capacity Market Share of Key Manufacturers (2012-2017)Figure Global Aerospace Materials Capacity (K Units) of Key Manufacturers in 2016Figure Global Aerospace Materials Capacity (K Units) of Key Manufacturers in 2017Figure Global Aerospace Materials Major Players Product Production (K Units) (2012-2017)Table Global Aerospace Materials Production (K Units) of Key Manufacturers (2012-2017)Table Global Aerospace Materials Production Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)Contact Details:Ronald Aldensales@emarketorg.cominfo@emarketorg.comAbout Us:eMarketOrg.com aims to provide businesses and organizations market intelligence products and services that help in making smart, instant and crucial decisions. Our database offers access to insights from industry leaders, experts and influencers on global and regional sectors, market trends, user behaviour, for companies as well as products. With data and information from reputable and trusted private and public sources, our clients are never short of statistics and analysis that are up to date.F/3, 4A Bharat Pushpa Apt.,Subhash Nagar, Shukrawar Peth,Pune  411002
Global Automotive Sunroof Market 2017 - Webasto, Inalfa, Inteva, Yachiyo, Mobitech, Aisin Seiki, Wanchao, Wuxi Mingfang

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Automotive sunroof is a fixed or operable (venting or sliding) opening in an automobile roof which allows light and/or fresh air to enter the passenger compartment. Sunroof may be manually operated or motor driven, and are available in many shapes, sizes and styles.Automotive sunroof assembly mainly consists of sunroof frame, sunroof noumenon and necessary control, mechanical device.Request For Sample Report @Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Automotive Sunroof in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversWebasto, Inalfa, Inteva, Yachiyo, Mobitech, Aisin Seiki, Wanchao, Wuxi Mingfang, Johnan Manufacturing, Motiontec, Shenghua Wave, Donghee, Jincheng, DeFuLaiMarket Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversNorth America (USA, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)Latin America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia)Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Market Segment by Type, coversInbuilt SunroofSpoiler SunroofPop-up SunroofPanoramic SunroofOther TypeMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoSedanSUVOther VehicleAccess Full Report With TOC @There are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Automotive Sunroof market.Chapter 1, to describe Automotive Sunroof Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Automotive Sunroof, with sales, revenue, and price of Automotive Sunroof, in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Automotive Sunroof, for each region, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;Chapter 10 and 11, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 12, Automotive Sunroof market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Automotive Sunroof sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.About Fior MarketsFior Markets is a leading market intelligence company that sells reports of top publishers in the technology industry.Our extensive research reports cover detailed market assessments that include major technological improvements in the industry. Fior Markets also specializes in analyzing hi-tech systems and current processing systems in its expertise.We have a team of experts that compile precise research reports and actively advise top companies to improve their existing processes. Our experts have extensive experience in the topics that they cover.Contact UsMark StoneSales ManagerPhone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb:Blog:
Global Logistics Robots Market 2017 - KUKA (Swisslog), Daifuku, Knapp, Dematic, Grenzebach, Bastian, CIM Corp, Amazon Robotics

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Logistics Robots are professional robots used in logistics network. These robots are widely used in warehouse, sorting center or Outdoor. It is become more and more popular in logistics network, and playing an important role in decrease of labor cost.Compared with labor, logistics robots can pick up heavy cartons and heavy payloads in assembly lines and warehouses, while ensuring the safety of workers, reducing product damage and minimizing loss due to thefts.Request For Sample Report @Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Logistics Robots in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversKUKA (Swisslog)DaifukuKnappDematicGrenzebachBastianCIM CorpAmazon RoboticsVanderlandeVecnaHitachiHi-tech Robotic SystemzAdept TechnologyGrey OrangeIAM RoboticsFetch RoboticsMarket Segment by Regions, regional analysis coversNorth America (USA, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)South America (Brazil, Argentina)Middle East and Africa (Egypt, South Africa)Access Full Report With TOC @Market Segment by Type, coversPicking RobotsAGVsOthersMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoWarehouseOutdoorThere are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Logistics Robots market.Chapter 1, to describe Logistics Robots Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Logistics Robots, with sales, revenue, and price of Logistics Robots, in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Logistics Robots, for each region, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;Chapter 10 and 11, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 12, Logistics Robots market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Logistics Robots sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.About Fior MarketsFior Markets is a leading market intelligence company that sells reports of top publishers in the technology industry.Our extensive research reports cover detailed market assessments that include major technological improvements in the industry. Fior Markets also specializes in analyzing hi-tech systems and current processing systems in its expertise.We have a team of experts that compile precise research reports and actively advise top companies to improve their existing processes. Our experts have extensive experience in the topics that they cover.Contact UsMark StoneSales ManagerPhone: (201) 465-4211Email: sales@fiormarkets.comWeb:Blog:
Healthcare Automation Information and Market Trend - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017 - 2025

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"Healthcare Automation Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017 - 2025" The Report covers current Industries Trends, Worldwide Analysis, Global Forecast, Review, Share, Size, Growth, Effect.Description-Global Healthcare Automation Market: ScopeThis report offers calculated analysis of the global healthcare automation market, and the market growth forecast for 2017 to 2025. Competitive analysis of numerous market splits based on the application and end use of the market across different regional segments are covered in the scope of the report.Get Sample Report With TOC @Increasing demand for Internet of Things is an important trend in the global healthcare automation market. With the help of this technology, gathering medical data of patients easily accessible. Moreover, it helps in improving the health by increasing its quality and availability of care and also decreases the costs. Additionally, this technology helps in remote monitoring and clinical care. Demand for wearable technology is increasing rapidly and is an important trend in the global market. Wearable technology is employed for collecting real-time data, continuous monitoring, empowering patients, and predicting and alerting patients about their health. Furthermore, wearable technology helps in tracking surgical recovery that is likely to present more detailed information to doctors and better understand patients recovery time.Global Healthcare Automation Market: Trends and OpportunitiesImplementation of automation is anticipated to reduce the amount of labor intensive tasks such as lab tests and clinical diagnostics, thereby helping hospitals or clinics to save costs pertaining to the processes. Automation allows medical individuals to carry out other important tasks since it helps in performing repetitive tasks. This is estimated to help in carrying out the tasks efficiently. These technologies are employed to carry out different critical tasks that need accuracy and can be accomplished through automated machines, which again indicates reduction of overhead counts.Moreover, automation decreases wastage of time as compared to manual labor. This factor is likely to have a medium impact during the short-term period. Increasing government investment is an important factor propelling the global market during the forecast period. Usage of smart technology in the market is propelling the demand for healthcare automation. Currently, the government is supporting implementation of automation in healthcare by providing funds and investments in the healthcare industries.For instance, in Europe, government bodies, such as Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, are endorsing automated system for pharmacies. Government authorities are investing funds in research and development assisting innovation in the healthcare automation sector. Rising health issues is a major concern, globally, so to overcome such issues newer types of automation technologies have to be implemented in the healthcare automation section. Rising advancement in technology is another driving factor in this market. Technological advancement helps in developing energy efficient technologies that are likely to help in real-time data collection, continuous monitoring, predicting and alerting the increasing risk of possibly serious health issue, and alert the healthcare providers that an interference is required.Global Healthcare Automation Market: SegmentationThe global healthcare automation market is bifurcated on the basis of application into therapeutic automation, lab and pharmacy automation, logistics and training automation and diagnostics and monitoring automation. In 2016, therapeutic automation market accounted for the highest market revenue share. Need for accuracy and rising cost of labor are some of the major factors bolstering the demand of this segment globally during the forecast period. Moreover, on the basis of end use the market is bifurcated into pharmacies, research institutes and labs, home care and others. Research institutes and labs held the highest market revenue globally during the forecast period. The geographical split of the global market encompasses North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa and Latin America. North America holds the highest market share followed by Europe and Asia Pacific in 2016.Key Players Mentioned in the Report are:Some of the principal players in the global healthcare automation market are Siemens AG (Germany), General Electric Company (U.S.), Swisslog Holding AG (Switzerland), Koninklijke Philips N.V. (the Netherlands), Medtronic PLC (Ireland), Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (U.S.), Stryker Corporation (U.S.), Danaher Corporation (U.S.), Accuray Inc. (U.S.) and Tecan Group Ltd. (Switzerland) among others.The market has been segmented as follows:Healthcare Automation Market, by Application:Therapeutic AutomationLab and Pharmacy AutomationLogistics and Training AutomationDiagnostics and Monitoring Automation?Healthcare Automation Market, by End Use:PharmaciesResearch institutes and labsHome CareOthersHealthcare Automation Market, by Geography:North AmericaU.S.CanadaRest of North AmericaEuropeU.K.GermanyFranceItalyRest of EuropeAsia PacificIndiaResearchMoz is the worlds fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMozs service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Researchmoz Global Pvt. Ltd.90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United States,Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free),Tel: +1-518-621-2074
Mayonnaise 2017 Global Key Players  Unilever, Kraft, Nestle, Kewpie, McCormick, Essen, Solpro Market Analysis and Forecast to 2022

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Mayonnaise Market 2017Report Details:Wiseguyreports.Com Adds Mayonnaise Market Market Demand, Growth, Opportunities, Analysis of Top Key Players and Forecast to 2022 To Its Research Database.Global Mayonnaise market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer;the top players includingUnileverKraftKewpieMcCormickNestleEssenEfkoAjinomotoNMZhKSolproKENKO MayonnaiseYbarraRequest for Sample Report @Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), market share and growth rate of Mayonnaise in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoRegularLight/Low FatFat FreeOtherOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate of Mayonnaise for each application, includingDaily UseFood IndustryComplete Report Details @Table of Content:Global Mayonnaise Market Research Report 20171 Mayonnaise Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Mayonnaise1.2 Mayonnaise Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Mayonnaise Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category) (2012-2022)1.2.2 Global Mayonnaise Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Regular1.2.4 Light/Low Fat1.2.5 Fat Free1.2.6 Other1.3 Global Mayonnaise Segment by Application1.3.1 Mayonnaise Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2012-2022)1.3.2 Daily Use1.3.3 Food Industry1.4 Global Mayonnaise Market by Region (2012-2022)1.4.1 Global Mayonnaise Market Size (Value) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Region (2012-2022)1.4.2 North America Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.3 Europe Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.4 China Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.5 Japan Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.6 Southeast Asia Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.7 India Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Mayonnaise (2012-2022)1.5.1 Global Mayonnaise Revenue Status and Outlook (2012-2022)1.5.2 Global Mayonnaise Capacity, Production Status and Outlook (2012-2022)..7 Global Mayonnaise Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis7.1 Unilever7.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.1.2 Mayonnaise Product Category, Application and Specification7.1.2.1 Product A7.1.2.2 Product B7.1.3 Unilever Mayonnaise Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.2 Kraft7.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.2.2 Mayonnaise Product Category, Application and Specification7.2.2.1 Product A7.2.2.2 Product B7.2.3 Kraft Mayonnaise Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.3 Kewpie7.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.3.2 Mayonnaise Product Category, Application and Specification7.3.2.1 Product A7.3.2.2 Product B7.3.3 Kewpie Mayonnaise Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.4 McCormick7.4.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.4.2 Mayonnaise Product Category, Application and Specification7.4.2.1 Product A7.4.2.2 Product B7.4.3 McCormick Mayonnaise Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.4.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.5 Nestle7.5.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.5.2 Mayonnaise Product Category, Application and Specification7.5.2.1 Product A7.5.2.2 Product B7.5.3 Nestle Mayonnaise Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.5.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.6 Essen7.6.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.6.2 Mayonnaise Product Category, Application and Specification7.6.2.1 Product A7.6.2.2 Product B7.6.3 Essen Mayonnaise Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.6.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.7 Efko7.7.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.7.2 Mayonnaise Product Category, Application and Specification7.7.2.1 Product A7.7.2.2 Product B7.7.3 Efko Mayonnaise Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.7.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.8 Ajinomoto7.8.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.8.2 Mayonnaise Product Category, Application and Specification7.8.2.1 Product A7.8.2.2 Product B7.8.3 Ajinomoto Mayonnaise Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.8.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.9 NMZhK7.9.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.9.2 Mayonnaise Product Category, Application and Specification7.9.2.1 Product A7.9.2.2 Product B7.9.3 NMZhK Mayonnaise Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.9.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.10 Solpro7.10.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.10.2 Mayonnaise Product Category, Application and Specification7.10.2.1 Product A7.10.2.2 Product B7.10.3 Solpro Mayonnaise Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.10.4 Main Business/Business OverviewContinue.Buy this Report @Contact Us:NORAH TRENTSales@Wiseguyreports.ComPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US)Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)ABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.ADDRES:WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Breast Pads Market Analysis- Size, Share, Trends, Growth and Forecasts Report To 2022

Breast Pads Market

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Breast Pads as they are sometimes called are a useful breastfeeding accessory and can make things a lot less stressful.Nursing pads are absorbent pads which are used to prevent breastmilk leakages from seeping through bras and other garments. Not every new mother needs them, but they can be very useful, and it is advisable to purchase a package of them in preparation for the days following childbirth."Get a Sample of Breast Pads Market research report from Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Breast Pads in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report covers:Pigeon (Lansinoh), Newell Brands, Johnson's, Medela, Chicco, Philips Avent, Bamboobies, LilyPadz, Ameda, MAM, Dr. Brown's, Lanacare, CHUCHU, Rikang, Fairhaven Health, Ivory, Goodbaby, Xi Kang Ying, Piyo Piyo, Munchkin, Kaili.Market Segment by Regions, regional analysis covers:North America (USA, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.)Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Browse full Report with table of contents and data tables For Breast Pads Market Report @Market Segment by Type, covers:Fluff Pulp, SAP, Other.Market Segment by Applications, can be divided into:Washable Breast Pads, Disposable Breast Pads.There are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Breast Pads Market.Chapter 1, to describe Breast Pads Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Breast Pads, with sales, revenue, and price of Breast Pads, in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Breast Pads, for each region, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;Chapter 10 and 11, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 12, Breast Pads market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Breast Pads sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.Check for Discount @Some points from TOC:-1 Market Overview1.1 Breast Pads Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 Fluff Pulp1.2.2 SAP1.2.3 Other1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Washable Breast Pads1.3.2 Disposable Breast Pads1.4 Market Analysis by Regions1.4.1 North America (USA, Canada and Mexico)1.4.1.1 USA Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.1.2 Canada Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.1.3 Mexico Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2 Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)1.4.2.1 Germany Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.2 France Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.3 UK Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.4 Russia Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.5 Italy Market States and Outlook (2012-2022) )ContinuedFor more help Speak to our Experts @No. of Report Pages: 120Price of Report (Single User Licence): $3480About Global Info Reports:GIR Market Research is a company that simplifies how analysts and decision makers get industry data for their business. Our unique colossal technology has been developed to offer refined search capabilities designed to exploit the long tail of free market research whilst eliminating irrelevant results. GIR Market Research is the collection of market intelligence products and services on the Web. We offer reports and update our collection daily to provide you with instant online access to the worlds most complete and current database of expert insights on global industries, companies, products, and trends.Contact us:+1-888-376-9998 (US)Email- sales@globalinforeports.comWeb-Blogs-
Guaifenesin Market Analysis- Size, Share, Growth, Forecast, Segment, Application Analysis To 2022

Guaifenesin Market

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Guaifenesin is used to relieve chest congestion. Guaifenesin may help control symptoms but does not treat the cause of symptoms or speed recovery. Guaifenesin is in a class of medications called expectorants. It works by thinning the mucus in the air passages to make it easier to cough up the mucus and clear the airways.Get a Sample of Guaifenesin Market research report from Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Guaifenesin (API) in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report covers:Granules, Synthokem Labs, Haizhou Pharma, Yuan Cheng Group, Stellar Chemical, Biesterfeld, Seven Star Pharma, Camlin Fine Science, Gennex Lab, Iwaki Seiyaku, Pan Drugs, Delta Synthetic, Smart PharmMarket Segment by Regions, regional analysis covers:North America (USA, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.)Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Browse full Report with table of contents and data tables For Guaifenesin Market Report @Market Segment by Type, covers:98%-99%, >99%Market Segment by Applications, can be divided into:Pharmaceuticals, OthersThere are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Guaifenesin (API) Market:Chapter 1, to describe Guaifenesin (API) Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Guaifenesin (API), with sales, revenue, and price of Guaifenesin (API), in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Guaifenesin (API), for each region, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;Chapter 10 and 11, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 12, Guaifenesin (API) market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Guaifenesin (API) sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.Check for Discount @Some points from TOC:-1 Market Overview1.1 Guaifenesin (API) Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 98%-99%1.2.2 >99%1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Pharmaceuticals1.3.2 Others1.4 Market Analysis by Regions1.4.1 North America (USA, Canada and Mexico)1.4.1.1 USA Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.1.2 Canada Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.1.3 Mexico Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2 Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)1.4.2.1 Germany Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.2 France Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.3 UK Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.4 Russia Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.2.5 Italy Market States and Outlook (2012-2022)1.4.3 Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia) )ContinuedFor more help Speak to our Experts @No. of Report Pages: 120Price of Report (Single User Licence): $3480About Global Info Reports:GIR Market Research is a company that simplifies how analysts and decision makers get industry data for their business. Our unique colossal technology has been developed to offer refined search capabilities designed to exploit the long tail of free market research whilst eliminating irrelevant results. GIR Market Research is the collection of market intelligence products and services on the Web. We offer reports and update our collection daily to provide you with instant online access to the worlds most complete and current database of expert insights on global industries, companies, products, and trends.Contact us:+1-888-376-9998 (US)Email- sales@globalinforeports.comWeb-Blogs-
Industrial Robotics Market Research Report and Forecast up to 2020

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The rising demand for industrial robots across different industry verticals, regions and applications is propelling the industrial robotics market during the forecast period 2014 to 2020. Globally, Asia Pacific is analyzed to be fastest growing market largely due to the research and development infrastructure growth in countries such as Japan, Australia, China and India. The adoption of robotics in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is further expected to bolster the industrial robotics market in the Asia Pacific region. Additionally, the demand for industrial robots across major application segments such as electrical, consumer electronics, and automotives is further expected to fuel growth over the forecast period 2014 to 2020. Countries such as Italy, Germany, France, and the U.K are expected to be key contributors to the growth of industrial robotics market in the European region. In North America, Mexico is expected to offer tremendous potential across varied application sectors in the coming years. Thus, the market for industrial robotics is expected to witness healthy growth across varied industry verticals and regions.This 100 page report gives readers a comprehensive overview of the Industrial Robotics market Browse through 20 data tables and 33 figures to unlock the hidden opportunities in this market.This market research studies the industrial robotics market on a global level and estimates the market in terms of revenue (USD billion) from 2014 to 2020. It identifies the drivers and restraints affecting the market and studies their impact over the forecast period 2014 to 2020. In addition, the report also analyzes the opportunities for growth in the industrial robotics market over the forecast period.The report segments the industrial robotics market based on types of robots such as cylindrical robots, articulated robots, Cartesian robots, SCARA robots, and other types of robots. The market has further been segmented on the basis of industries served which comprises electrical & electronics industry, automotive industry, machinery industry, chemical, rubber & plastics industry, metals industry, precision & optics industry, food & beverages industry, and other types of industries. Besides, the report segments the market based on functions, which includes materials handling function, soldering and welding function, assembling & disassembling function, milling, cutting and processing function, painting and dispensing function, and other types of functions. Finally, the report segments the market on the basis of geography into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), and Rest of the World (RoW). All these segments have been further estimated in terms of revenue (USD billion).A comprehensive analysis of the value chain offers an enhanced understanding of the market. A detailed Porters five forces analysis has been provided for a better perceptive of the intensity of competition in the industrial robotics market. The study further includes a market attractiveness analysis, wherein industrial robotics applications have been benchmarked based on their growth rate, market size, and overall attractiveness.The industrial robotics market report provides company market share analysis of key players. These players have been profiled on aspects such as company overview, financial overview, business strategy, SWOT analysis, and recent developments in the market. Some of the key players profiled include Denso Corporation, KUKA Robotics Corporation, FANUC Ltd., and Yaskawa Motoman Robotics among others.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Industrial Robotics market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market.Industrial Robotics Market: By geographyNorth AmericaEuropeAsia PacificRest of the WorldIndustrial Robotics Market: By typesCartesianArticulatedCylindricalSCARAOthersIndustrial Robotics Market: By industryElectrical & ElectronicsAutomotiveMachineryChemical, Rubber & PlasticsFood & BeveragesMetalsPrecision & OpticsOthersIndustrial Robotics Market: By functionMaterials HandlingMilling, Cutting and ProcessingSoldering and WeldingPainting and DispensingAssembling & DisassemblingOthersAbout UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Luxury Goods Market by Key Regions, Production, Consumption, Revenue, Share and Growth 2014-2020

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The global luxury goods market is immensely growing owing to shifting preferences of individuals toward cutting-edge and sophisticated products. Although, there is economic turbulence seen in a number of developed markets and this is why there is an increasing currency devaluation, still the growth of the market is poised to rise in the coming years. The market is also positively impacted by the soaring count of high net-worth individuals globally.This study presents an in-depth understanding of the market for luxury goods by presenting a comprehensive perspective of the supply, demand, drivers, trends, and restraints influencing the growth of the market for luxury goods. This market has been categorized on a number of attributes and macro and micro level insights into the market have also been encapsulated.The report also delves into the factors driving and restraining the growth of the market. The prime opportunities in the market have also been showcased by presenting their future impact on the development of the market. The competitive landscape section of the report encapsulates highlights on the top players dominant in the market. This section also includes the key product introductions by these players and their main strengths and weaknesses.This 42 page report gives readers a comprehensive overview of the Luxury Goods market Browse through 17 data tables and 18 figures to unlock the hidden opportunities in this market.Global Luxury Goods Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe consumer goods possessing cutting-edge craftsmanship, quality, refinement, and a reputed brand name are known as luxury goods. Things such as fragrances and perfumes, watches, fine liquor, apparels, jewelry, etc. all fall under the category of luxury goods. Luxury goods demand is highly dependent on the economic stability of a particular regions owing to the fact that these goods can be purchased mainly by the upper economic classes. The companies operating in this market are now presenting more affordable luxury products in order to increase their customer base in all these product segments, thus boosting the overall growth of the market.The superior living standards of individuals, particularly in emerging nations, is a prime factor fuelling the growth of the market for luxury goods. In addition, the rising employment of marketing activities and campaigns via digital media platforms in the industry of travel retail will positively impact the development of the global luxury goods market. On the other hand, the soaring tariffs within some lucrative markets such as China, India, and Brazil and the dearth of raw materials may impede the growth of this market in the coming years.Global Luxury Goods Market: Region-wise OutlookGeographically, the report segments the market into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World (RoW). Europe led the market in the past and is predicted to maintain its superiority in the coming years, on the basis of revenue. This is due to the established presence of a number of manufacturers of luxury goods in nations such as Germany, Switzerland, France, and Italy. In addition, this region is also characterized with a huge count of duty-free shops and an immensely dense travel retail network, thus shifting customers preference toward luxury goods.On the other hand, Asia Pacific and RoW have also emerged as swiftly developing markets having a huge count of newly listed high net-worth individuals residing in these regions since past few years.Key players Mentioned in the Report are:The top players in this market are Hermes International S.A., LVMH, Prada S.p.A., Kering Group, The L'Oreal Group, Coty, Inc., Compagnie Financiere Richemont S.A. (hereby referred as Richemont), Rolex S.A., Tiffany & Company, and others.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Luxury Goods market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market.Major regions analyzed under this research report are:North AmericaAsia PacificEuropeRest of the WorldThis report gives you access to decisive data such as:Market growth driversFactors limiting market growthCurrent market trendsMarket structureMarket projections for the coming yearsKey highlights of this report:Overview of key market forces propelling and restraining market growthUp-to-date analyses of market trends and technological improvementsPin-point analyses of market competition dynamics to offer you a competitive edgeAn analysis of strategies of major competitorsAn array of graphics and SWOT analysis of major industry segmentsDetailed analyses of industry trendsA well-defined technological growth map with an impact-analysisOffers a clear understanding of the competitive landscape and key product segmentsAbout UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Aerospace Composites Market Size and Major Key Players (Cytec Industries, Hexcel, Mitsubishi Rayon, Hyosung, Kaman, SGL Group, and others) foreseen to 2021

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The Global Aerospace Composites market is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 8% during 2016-2021. This growth is driven due to significant demand for aircraft weight reduction and fuel efficiency and high corrosion resistance.As per the MRFR analysis, demand for aircraft weight reduction and fuel efficiency and reduction in need for MRO necessity are one of the key drivers for global aerospace composites market. The challenges associated with the market are the complex design process and high acquisition and operation cost of autoclave systems.APAC is leading the global aerospace composites market with 40% market share. With the growing procurement of next generation aircraft and increased backlog, the region is likely to outpace other in the forecast period.Request a Copy of Sample Report @Key Players Cytec Industries, Hexcel, Koninklijke Ten Cate (TenCate), Mitsubishi Rayon, Owens Corning Hartzell Aerospace, Hyosung, Kaman, SGL Group Teijin Aramid.Key Findings The APAC is predictable to lead the aerospace composite market in 2021 with a market share of 43% The carbon fiber segment is predictable to lead the aerospace composite market in 2021 with a share of around 50%, followed by glass fiber and aramid fiberStudy Objectives of Aerospace Composites Market To provide detailed analysis of the market structure along with forecast for the next 5 years of the various segments and sub-segments of the Global Aerospace Composites Market To provide insights about factors affecting the market growth To analyse the Global Aerospace Composites Market based on various factors- price analysis, supply chain analysis, porters five force analysis etc. To provide historical and forecast revenue of the market segments and sub-segments with respect to four main geographies and their countries- North America, Europe, Asia, and Rest of the World (ROW) To provide country-level analysis of the market with respect to the current market size and future prospective To provide country-level analysis of the market for segment by types and applicationsTo provide strategic profiling of key players in the market, comprehensively analysing their core competencies, and drawing a competitive landscape for the marketTo track and analyse competitive developments such as joint ventures, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, new product developments, and research and developments in the Global Aerospace Composites MarketBrowse Full Report Details @The reports also cover country level analysis: Americas (North & Latin)o USo Canadao Brazilo Others Europeo Germanyo Franceo Italyo Spaino U.Ko Rest of Europe Asia  Pacifico Chinao Indiao Japano Australia/New Zealando Rest of Asia-Pacific Middle East & Africa UAE, Kuwait Israel Rest of Middle East & AfricaThe market report for Aerospace Composites of Market Research Future comprises of extensive primary research along with the detailed analysis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects by various industry experts, key opinion leaders to gain the deeper insight of the market and industry performance. The report gives the clear picture of current market scenario which includes historical and projected market size in terms of value and volume, technological advancement, macro economical and governing factors in the market. The report provides details information and strategies of the top key players in the industry. The report also gives a broad study of the different market segments and regions.ContinueWe are thankful for the support and assistance from Global Aerospace Composites Market Research Report- Forecast to 2021 chain related technical experts and marketing experts during Research Team survey and interviews.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Media Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
China Electric Steering market is accounted USD 1,397.2 Million in 2015 and CAGR of 8.98% to 2021

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The China Electric Steering Market Regional Outlook (2015-2021) statistical report, published by Market Research Future contains succinct information on China electric steering market, segmented by type (C-EPS, P-EPS, R-EPS, and others).Request a Copy of Sample Report @The changing lifestyle, increase in population, and improve in per capita income are the major drivers of China electric steering market. However higher cost of auto parts replacement and brand recognition are the restraints that could hinder the growth of this market. The report provides information on China electric steering market and forecast from 2015 to 2021.C-EPS in China electric steering market accounted for market size of USD 1,397.2 Million in 2015 with 8.98% CAGRTABLE OF CONTENTS1. Info graphic Summary1.1 China Electric Steering market size, by type, 2015-2021, (in USD Million)2. Introduction3. Global Market DataLIST OF TABLESCHINA: Electric Steering Market, by type, 2015-2021 (USD million)LIST OF FIGURESCHINA: Electric Steering Market, by type, 2015-2021 (USD million)Browse Full Report Details @ContinueWe are thankful for the support and assistance from China Electric Steering market Type Segment Outlook - Forecast to 2021 chain related technical experts and marketing experts during Research Team survey and interviews.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Media Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Smart Gas Market Research Report and Forecast up to 2023

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This research study analyzes the market for smart gas in terms of revenue (USD Million) and volume (Million Units). The smart gas market has been segmented on the basis of technology, end-user, and geography. The regional segment has been further divided into five sub-segments that comprise eleven countries, which are major players in the global smart gas market. For the research, 2014 has been taken as the base year, while all forecasts have been given for the period from 2015 to 2023. Market data for all the segments has been provided at the regional as well as country-specific level from 2015 to 2023. The report provides a broad competitive analysis of companies engaged in the smart gas business. The report also includes the key market dynamics such as drivers, restraints, and opportunities affecting the global smart gas market. These market dynamics were analyzed in detail and are illustrated in the report with the help of supporting graphs and tables. The report also provides a comprehensive analysis of the global smart gas market with the help of Porters Five Forces model. This analysis helps in understanding the five major forces that affect the market structure and market profitability. The forces analyzed are bargaining power of buyers, bargaining power of suppliers, threat of new entrants, threat of substitutes, and degree of competition.This 168 page report gives readers a comprehensive overview of the Smart Gas market Browse through 17 data tables and 26 figures to unlock the hidden opportunities in this market.The high-level analysis in the report provides detailed insights into the smart gas business globally. There are currently numerous drivers of the market. One of the most prominent drivers is the need to reduce carbon footprint and increase energy security of various economies. Market attractiveness analysis was carried out for the smart gas market on the basis of geography. Market attractiveness was estimated on the basis of common parameters that directly impact the market in different regions.The smart gas market was segmented on the basis of technology (meter data management (MDM), supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), geographic information system (GIS), and others) and end-users (residential and commercial & industrial). A smart gas meter varies according to the engineering and quality of components used in manufacturing. The smart gas market was analyzed across five geographies: North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and Middle East and Africa, and South and Central America. Regional data has been provided for each sub-segment of the smart gas market. Key players in the smart gas market include ABB Group, Advanced MRF LLC, Badger Meter Inc., Capgemini S.A., CGI Group Inc., Comverge Inc., Cyan Technology Ltd., Elster Group GmbH, Itron Inc., EnerNOC Inc., General Electric, Master Meter Inc., MOXA Inc., Pacific Gas & Electric Company, Quadlogic Meters Canada Inc. (QMC), Schneider Electric SE, Sensus Metering Systems Inc., Silver Spring Networks, SmartGAS Mikrosensorik GmbH, Southern California Gas Company, Spire Metering Technology. The report provides an overview of these companies, followed by their financial details, business strategies, and recent developments.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Smart Gas market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market.Smart Gas Market: By Device Type (USD Million)Traditional Metering SystemGas Warning DeviceAMI Communication ModuleSmart Gas Market: By Technology (USD Million)Meter Data Management (MDM)Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA)Geographic Information System (GIS)OthersSmart Gas Market: By End-user (USD Million)ResidentialCommercial and IndustrialSmart Gas Market: By RegionNorth AmericaU.S.CanadaMexicoRest of North AmericaEuropeFranceItalyU.K.Rest of EuropeAsia PacificChinaJapanSouth KoreaRest of Asia PacificMiddle East and AfricaSouth AfricaRest of Middle East and AfricaSouth and Central AmericaBrazilRest of South and Central AmericaAbout UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Ion Implanter Market- Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share 2025 | Research Report

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Ion implantation is the fundamental process used for the purpose of making microchips. Raw silicon is neither a perfect conductor nor a perfect insulator; its somewhere in between. Inserting the smattering of a boron or a phosphorus atom into a silicon crystal lattice actually allows to control the flow of the electricity through the silicons and make the transistors  the structure block from which the chips can be made. The growth of Ion Implanter market is majorly dependent on semiconductor equipment market globally and the growing application of ion implantation in the industrial applications.Browse Market Research Report @For purpose of in depth analysis, the Ion Implanter market has been segmented on the basis of technology, dopant, applications and geography. Based on the technology type, the market has been segmented into three they are like high current implanter, high energy implanter and medium current implanter. Based on the dopant type, the market has been segmented mainly into two categories they are like n type dopant and p type dopant. Various types of applications of ion implantation includes ion implantation of radio isotopes and implantation of heart valves on metal parts.Increasing demand for the electronic device and dependence of the semiconductor industry on the silicon substrates is the major drivers of the Ion Implanter market. Continuously growing demand for the ion implant for the purpose of fabrication of the plasmonic nanocomposite is one of the major driver for the growth of this market. Therefore, the growing need of the noble metal nanoparticle through the process of ion-implantation is also anticipated to catalyze the growing demand of different types of ion implantation during the forecasted period from 2017 to 2025. In addition, increasing usage of the ion implantation in the industrial application and in IT industry is also anticipated to increase the demand of the high current types of implanter in the upcoming years. In turn this is also projected to affect the market of ion implanter in a positive manner during the forecasted period.Inspite of the many driving factors, the Ion Implanter market is expected to show a shrink and fluctuation in the growth rate because of the need for the high initial investment that is required for this industry. Transition in the transistor architecture and the high cost of the characterization of the equipment are the restraining factors for the global Ion Implanter market. Consolidation in the semiconductor industry is also one of the major restraining factor for the Ion Implanter market.By technology type,the high current implanter type held the largest market share because of its property of beamline improvement for the purpose of energy contamination, charge control and metal and cross contamination. However, the medium current implanter is expected to witness a promising growth during the forecast period. Ease of operations and the channel halo implant makes it the most appropriate choice for various applications in the industrial sector.Geographically, the global Ion Implanter market is majorly driven by Asia Pacific region. Increasing demand of the optoelectronic and microelectronic technology is driving the market of Asia Pacific region. Constant upgradation of the production throughput, production accuracy and production automation is driving the market of Asia Pacific region, thereby this is expected to drive the Ion Implanter market at a steady pace. This region is expected to dominate the market during the forecasted period owing to the presence of huge number of electronic device manufacturers in countries like China, South Korea and Japan among others.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Ion Implanter Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market @Some of the leading players operating in the Ion Implanter market includes Applied Materials (The U.S.), Axcelis Technologies (The U.S.), Varian Inc (The U.S.), Nissin Ion Equipment (Japan), Sumitomo Heavy Industries (Japan), Invetac (The U.S.) among others.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector - such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Europe Electric Steering market is accounted USD 1,694.7 Million in 2015 and CAGR of 5.07% to 2021

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The Europe Electric Steering Market Regional Outlook (2016-2021) statistical report, published by Market Research Future contains succinct information on Europe electric steering market, segmented by type (C-EPS, P-EPS, R-EPS, and others).Request a Copy of Sample Report @Largest customer base and increased in the disposable income are the major drivers of Europe electric steering market. However government restriction towards emission and higher cost of servicing & replacement are the restraints that could hinder the growth of this market. The report provides information on Europe electric steering market and forecast from 2016 to 2021.C-EPS in Europe electric steering market accounted for market size of USD 1,694.7 Million in 2015 with 5.07% CAGRTABLE OF CONTENTS1. Info graphic Summary1.1 EUROPE Electric Steering market size, by type, 2016-2021, (in USD Million)2. Introduction3. Global Market DataBrowse Full Report Details @LIST OF TABLESEUROPE: Electric Steering Market, by type, 2015-2021 (USD millionLIST OF FIGURESEUROPE: Electric Steering Market, by type, 2015-2021 (USD millionContinueWe are thankful for the support and assistance from Europe Electric Steering market Type Segment Outlook - Forecast to 2021 chain related technical experts and marketing experts during Research Team survey and interviews.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Media Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
France Electric Steering market is accounted USD 256.3 Million in 2015 and CAGR of 4.60% to 2021

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The France Electric Steering Market Regional Outlook (2015-2021) statistical report, published by Market Research Future contains succinct information on France electric steering market, segmented by type (C-EPS, P-EPS, R-EPS, and others).Request a Copy of Sample Report @Larger consumer base, high growth in automotive industry, steady economic growth, and high disposable income are the major drivers of France electric steering market. However demand for higher productivity with lower price is the restraints that could hinder the growth of this market. The report provides information on France electric steering market and forecast from 2015 to 2021.C-EPS in France electric steering market accounted for market size of USD 256.3 Million in 2015 with 4.60% CAGRTABLE OF CONTENTS1. Info graphic Summary1.1 FRANCE Electric Steering market size, by type, 2016-2021, (in USD Million)2. Introduction3. Global Market DataBrowse Full Report Details @LIST OF TABLESFRANCE: Electric Steering Market, by type, 2015-2021 (USD million)LIST OF FIGURESFRANCE: Electric Steering Market, by type, 2015-2021 (USD million)ContinueWe are thankful for the support and assistance from France Electric Steering market Type Segment Outlook - Forecast to 2021 chain related technical experts and marketing experts during Research Team survey and interviews.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Media Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Ion Beam Based Etching Market Expected to Observe Major Growth by 2025

Ion Beam Based Etching Market

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Ion beam etching technology helps in removal of material from the target substrate by the use of a precisely controlled and directed beam of charged ions. The ion beam etching source generates a plasma from various noble gases especially argon. A set of electrically charged grids system is used to provide the angular divergence and driving force of the ions within the beam. The beam of ion strikes the substrate and helps to remove various material by physical sputtering. Ion beam etching technology are increasingly used in the manufacturing process of various semiconductor devices. Currently, ion beam etching technology also find its application in fabricating high performing nonvolatile memory, specifically in Spin Transfer Torque MRAM (Magnetoresistive RAM) devices. Rising demand from various semiconductor manufacturers to manufacture devices having improved product density, tighter tolerance and high yield is the most important factor anticipated to trigger the demand of ion beam etching technology during the forecast period from 2017 to 2025.For the purpose of providing a detailed analysis of the market, the global ion beam based etching market has been segmented into technology and application. Based on technology, the market has been classified into ion beam milling system and ion beam trimming system. In addition, market size and trend of various application in which ion beam based etching techniques are utilized including logic and memory, micro electro mechanical system (MEMS), power devices, radio frequency identification (RFID) devices and CMOS (complementary metal oxide semiconductor) image sensor is also provided in this report. Moreover, information related to current market condition along with future expected growth trend of all the above mentioned segments including technology and application across various regions such as Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, Middle-East and Africa (MEA) and Latin America is also highlighted in this report.Obtain Report Details @Rising trend of miniature consumer electronic devices is one of the most important factor anticipated to boost the demand of ion beam based etching equipment used extensively in the manufacturing process of thinned semiconductor wafer. In addition, growing demand for 3D (Three Dimensional) integrated circuit is also anticipated to accelerate the demand for various wafer processing equipment in the coming years. Three Dimensional IC (Integrated Circuit) are increasingly utilized across different space constrained applications such as sensors, portable consumer electronic devices, MEMS and different industrial products as it helps to increase the overall performance of a products in terms of durability, speed, light weight low power consumption and memory. Moreover, these 3D (Three Dimensional) IC (Integrated Circuit) also reduces the area used in a printed circuit board which in turn enables effective cost reduction. Rapidly growing demand for thin wafer processing and dicing equipment in turn is predicted to accelerate the demand of ion beam based etching equipment in the coming years.Based on technology, ion beam milling system held the largest market share in 2016 and is anticipated to maintain its dominance in the coming years owing to the rapidly growing demand of portable and superior performing electronic devices that requires thin and ultrathin integrated circuits.Geographically, Asia Pacific region is anticipated to generate the highest revenue in 2016 and is anticipated to witness the most promising growth in the coming years. Huge concentration of semiconductor manufacturing company in this region coupled with rapid investment in research and development activities in order to produce technologically advanced wafer processing equipment is the primary factor attributed to the growing demand of ion beam based etching equipment in this regions growth. The ion beam based etching market of Asia Pacific region is expected to be majorly driven by China, japan and Korea.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Ion Beam Based Etching Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market@Some of the major players operating in the ion beam based etching market includes Scia Systems GmbH (Germany), Veeco Instruments Inc. (New York), Canon Anelva Corporation (Japan) and Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation (Japan) among others.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to rovide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Lithium Polymer Portable Battery Market Industry Analysis, Future Growth, Business Prospects and Global Forecast to 2025

Lithium Polymer Portable Battery Market

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Lithium polymer portable battery is a rechargeable battery made of lithium-ion technology using polymer electrolyte instead of liquid electrolyte. The lithium polymer portable battery is the miniature form of lithium polymer battery that provides the consumer electronics manufacturers with a compelling advantage of producing miniature electronic devices. The global lithium polymer portable battery market is anticipated to witness a robust growth rate during the forecast period from 2017 to 2025 owing to the increasing demand for consumer electronics like smart phones, wearable devices, power banks, portable media players among others.The global lithium polymer portable battery market is expected to witness a progressive growth in the coming years due to the increasing demand for internet of things (IoT) devices and consumer electronics. The driving factor of lithium polymer portable battery is that it allows the manufacturer to shape the battery in any way they want. This gives more freedom in designing the mobile devices. Due to various shapes, sizes and amperages lithium polymer portable battery can be used in any device In addition it has more resistant to overcharge and less chance of electrolyte leakage. This is expected to accelerate the growth of lithium polymer portable battery during the forecast period.Obtain Report Details @However, the initial cost of the lithium polymer portable battery is high and is expected to inhibit its growth rate to certain extent in the coming eight years. The development of this lithium polymer portable batteries requires initially high investment. It also requires implementation of expensive machinery along with the technology for manufacturing lithium polymer portable battery. Thus high initial capital investment coupled with rapid technological change in the field of battery is one of the key factor expected to limit various battery manufacturers to enter into this market. This in tur, is anticipated to affect the market negatively in the coming years.For the purpose of providing detailed research report, the global Lithium polymer portable battery market is segmented on the basis of product type and applications. On the basis of product type, the market is segmented into lithium polymer portable single cells, lithium polymer portable battery packs, high discharge lithium polymer cells and battery packs. Among the different product types, lithium polymer portable battery packs hold the largest market share due to its increasing demand from various rapidly growing consumer electronic market. Lithium polymer portable battery also finds its application in healthcare, consumer electronics, radio controlled equipment and airsoft, electric vehicles and others. Among various application, consumer electronics is expected to witness the growth rate at a highest CAGR during the forecast period. Interest in wearable devices has surged in the past few years. With the growing development of consumer electronics such as smart phones, smart bands and smart watches among others, it is desirable to design and develop flexible power supplies with high performance and flexibility for integration into electronics.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Lithium Polymer Portable Battery Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market@Geographically, the global Lithium polymer portable battery market has been further divided into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and Latin America. North America is expected to held the largest share of the lithium polymer portable battery market among the different regions in 2016. The lithium polymer portable battery market of North America is mainly driven by the U.S owing to the wide presence of number of major players and their continuous research and development on lithium polymer portable battery to provide advanced products. On the other side, the Asia Pacific lithium polymer portable battery market is expected to witness a high growth rate during the forecast period owing to its lower rate of self-discharge.Some of the key vendors operating in the global Lithium polymer portable battery market includes LiPol Battery Co., Ltd (China), Panasonic (Japan), Celgard LLC (The United States), LG Chem (South Korea), DuPont (The United States) among others.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to rovide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
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Magneto Elastic Torque Sensor Market

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The torque sensor is a device that is used to measure and record torque on a rotating system. Torque monitoring and measurement are critical parameters in nearly all rotating parts, equipment and machines, which guarantees high performance. Torque monitoring is implemented by using torque systems. There are two types of torque systems - static and dynamic torque. Dynamic torque is tricky to measure and requires transfer of some form of energy such as magnetic, hydraulic or electric. The magneto elastic sensors are non-contact based sensors having inherent advantages such as low cost structure and high robustness. The global magneto elastic torque market is likely to observe a healthy growth during the forecast period owing to its cost structure that makes it compatible with mass production. For instance, an existing component such as shaft can be converted into a primary force sensor with the help of magnetic coding. This process does not result into any extra cost and the step can be done within a very short period of time. This attractive cost structure makes magneto elastic sensors ideal for high volume production.The global magneto elastic torque market is expected to see a promising growth in the near future years owing to the rapid increase in electric power steering systems and need for better fuel efficiency. These have led the manufacturers to increase the production of magneto elastic torque sensor. In addition, the high demand for wireless connectivity has led to the increase in adoption of wireless sensor network in industries as they simplify the detection of designated signals. These signals are then analyzed by a system. This widespread adoption of industrial wireless sensor network is expected to increase the demand of magneto elastic torque sensor.Obtain Report Details @However, the lack of reliable magneto elastic torque sensor for high end use is predicted to inhibit the market growth rate to some extent during the forecast period.The global magneto elastic torque market can be segmented on the basis of application, and geography. By application, the market can be segmented into medical, automotive, measurement & test, industrial, and defense& aerospace. Presently, the automotive application segment accounts for the maximum market share in the global magneto elastic torque market. The torque sensors have an extensive range of applications in the automotive industry including steering systems, dynamometers, chassis performance, driveline, and transmission. Lately, magneto elastic torque sensors made their way deep into the automotive applications and are also being used in various racing applications including the Formula 1 teams. These factors are likely to fuel the growth of the automotive application segment, thereby boosting the overall magneto elastic torque market over the forecast period.Geographically, the global magneto elastic torque market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa and Latin America. Asia Pacific magneto elastic torque market is expected to witness the maximum growth rate during the forecast period due to the increasing implementation of industrial automation technologies by various industries in this region. On the flip side, Europe is expected to hold the dominant market share owing to the technological advancements in the field on magneto elastic torque sensor that are taking place in the region. Rising demand for better fuel efficiency is likely to be one of the key factor for this regions high growth rate during the forecast period.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Magneto Elastic Torque Sensor Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market@The key companies operating in the magneto elastic torque market have been reported with thorough information including mergers, acquisitions, agreements and new product launches. The key players operating in the market are Applied Measurements (U.K.), Futek Advanced Sensor Technology (U.S.), Crane Electronics (U.K.), PCB Piezotronics (U.S.) ABB (Switzerland), Honeywell (U.S.), HBM (Germany), MagCanica (U.S.), and Kistler Instrumente AG (Switzerland).The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to rovide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Aviation Cyber Security Market: Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast upto 2025

Aviation Cyber Security Market

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Aviation cyber security solutions are software suites designed to defend aviation networks, computers, and databases from cyber-attacks and unauthorized access. As the burgeoning global aviation industry becomes more dependent on information technology (IT) solutions and digital technologies to meet the continuously rising consumer base and changes in consumer preferences, cyber security has become a serious and urgent concern. Cyber-attackers are becoming more sophisticated in the ways they attack aviation systems and companies in the aviation market are leaving no stone unturned to make their systems comprehensively secured to ensure smooth operations and high-quality services to their consumers.An increasing number of airport and airline operators are deploying effective security systems and solutions to protect their IT systems and infrastructure from cyber-attacks. These solution help in protecting the critical infrastructures and reducing the severity of cyber-threats, which can otherwise cause heavy financial losses and disruptions in the worldwide transportation network. The demand for better aviation cyber security solutions such as unified threat management, identity and access management, risk and compliance management, and vulnerability management for the aviation sector are expected to significantly drive the global aviation cyber security market over the forecast period.Obtain Report Details @Transparency Market Research states that the revenue valuation of the global aviation cyber security market stood at US$2,545.2 mn in 2016. The market is projected to expand at a CAGR of 7.4% from 2017 to 2025 and reach US$4,759.3 mn by 2025.In terms of services, the global market for aviation cyber security is segmented in the report into managed security solution, training, and consulting. Of these, the segment of managed security solutions presently accounts for a massive chunk of revenue in the global market and is expected to hold over 73% of the global market by the end of the reports forecast period. The segment will significantly benefit from the increasing adoption of outsourced monitoring and management solutions in the aviation industries across regions such as North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. The segment is expected to expand at a promising 7.4% CAGR from 2017 to 2025.However, the segment of training services is expected to lead in terms of growth rate over the forecast period. The demand for training services in the global aviation cyber security market is expected to exhibit a 7.9% CAGR from 2017 to 2025.Get accurate market forecast and analysis on the Aviation Cyber Security Market. Request a sample to stay abreast on the key trends impacting this market@From a geographical perspective, the North America market for aviation cyber security dominated the global market in terms of revenue contribution in 2016. The region accounted for over 36% of the market in the said year. The leading position of North America in the global aviation cyber security market is chiefly attributed to the presence of large airline operators and airports. Same applies to Europe, which is another leading contributor of revenue to the global aviation cyber security market. However, the growing number of medium and small airline operators in other regions is expected to impact the market share of North America and Europe in the coming years.Asia Pacific is anticipated to contribute significant chunk of revenue to the global market over the reports forecast period owing to the thriving aviation industry. Due to the severity of rising cyber-threats and introduction of new airline services, Middle East & Africa (MEA) is expected to emerge as one of the key regional markets for aviation cyber security solutions in the coming years. Furthermore, South America is expected to register the highest CAGR growth over the forecast period owing to the introduction of many new low cost carrier airline services.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to rovide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Global Smart Agriculture Market is expect to reach US$ 23.44 Billion by 2025

Smart Agriculture Market, Smart Agriculture Market share, Smart Agriculture Market Industry

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The presence of a large number of companies has rendered the competitive landscape of the global smart agriculture market highly fragmented. The cumulative share of the top four players nearly 15.5% in the market in 2016, hinting towards a highly competitive environment. Raven Industries, Inc., Trimble Navigation, Deere & Co, and AgJunction, Inc., are the top market players. Of these, AgJunction, Inc., emerged dominant in 2016 holding a little short of 6% of the overall market, finds Transparency Market Research (TMR) in its new study.North America Emerges as Leading Market for Smart AgricultureThe smart agriculture market is segmented on the basis of solutions, application and geography. Regionally, the global smart agriculture market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa. Of these, the dominance was with the smart agriculture market in North America, which held over 44.14% of the overall market in 2016. Extensive researches funded by governments across the region to minimize human involvement and boost crop yield has fuelled the demand for smart agriculture technologies in North America.Europe emerged as the second-leading and is expected to continue exhibiting lucrative market opportunities. In the U.K. especially the market is forecast to witness accelerated pace of gains as the government make huge investments in the research and development of robust technologies. Besides this, rate of growth in Italy is predicted to remain high through the forecast period.During the same time, the Asia Pacific smart agriculture market is forecast to rise at an influential rate. Countries such as Japan, China, and Australia will strong agriculture sector are expected to emerge at the fore of the regional market. China held the leading share in the Asia Pacific smart agriculture market. However, in the forthcoming years Japan is expected to showcase more attractive opportunities for the market.Obtain Report Details @Network Management and Precision Agriculture Emerge Dominant Based on Solution and Application, RespectivelyThe global market for smarty agriculture is segmented on the basis of solutions, application and geography. Based on solution, the market for smart agriculture is further segmented as network management, agriculture asset management, supervisory control and data acquisition, logistic and supply chain management, smart water management, and other. Of these, the network management segment held the dominant share of 21.20% in the overall market in 2016. However, over the course of the forecast period, the demand for smart water management solutions is expected to rise at a higher pace. A major section of the agriculture sector still depends on vagaries of monsoon for farming. Smart water management and irrigation solutions have therefore become popular among farmers to boost their crop yield and ensure minimum water wastage.On the basis of application, the smart agriculture market has been segmented as precision agriculture, livestock monitoring, fish farming, smart greenhouse and others. Of these, the precision agriculture segment held the leading share of 49.09% in the overall market in 2016. The practice helps farmers grow high quality crop with less human effort, which are key factors fuelling the demand for precision agriculture around the world.Make an Enquiry @Global Smart Agriculture Market: SnapshotThe demand for smart technologies such as Big Data, cloud-based services, GPS, and the IoT is gaining pace in the agriculture industry. Driven by the rising need for high precision crop analysis, automated farming techniques, and collection of data from the field, the world is likely to witness the agriculture industry get smarter with the implementation of aforementioned technologies in the coming years. Data thus derived from implementing smart technologies can help farmers yield high quality and larger quantity of crops. Spurred by these factors, the global smart agriculture market is projected to report a CAGR of 13.5% between 2017 and 2025. At this pace, the markets valuation will rise from US$6.55 bn in 2015 to US$23.44 bn by the end of 2025.Besides rising population, which triggers demand for food, the global smart agriculture market is expected to gain from favorable government initiatives. However, the journey is likely to be more difficult in underdeveloped economy where the agriculture sector is reeling under lack of knowledge among farmers. The high cost of smart devices is making the matter worse. Nevertheless, in the coming years the market is likely to gain from the rising penetration of high-speed internet even in remote areas.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Single Board Computers Market - New Tech Developments and advancements to watch out for 2025!!

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A Single Board Computer is an electronic device installed on single circuit board with micro- processors, memory and other input/output features required for normal functioning of a computer. The Single Board Computer are made by increasing density of integrated circuits. This reduced circuit configuration also reduces the overall cost of the system by reducing number of bus drivers and connectors, by eliminating number of circuit boards required. By merging all the functionalities on a single board, a smaller system popularly known as Single Board Computer is obtained.Increase in the growth of wireless communication infrastructure and consistent developments of product designing along with increasing demand of Single Board Computer applications in ATM machines, industrial computers, and medical equipment automation equipment are the major driving factor for the growth of Single Board Computer market. Easy availability of Single Board Computers and standardized form factors will increase the demand of innovative devices in the market. Increased computing power, high flexibility, lowered power consumption and higher efficiency are the key drivers to drive the market demand of Single Board Computer market. Connectivity via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and Wi-Fi, are few technological innovation in the field of Single Board Computer trusted communication industry.Fill the form to Gain Deeper Insights on this Market @The consumer need of Single Board Computer differ depending on the deployed environment, application and industries thereby creating demands for various designing needs. Other growth factors includes initiative to develop the designs of devices such that the users have the access to latest software and hardware components at the outset. Major restraint for Single Board Computer market is technological drawbacks as application platforms cannot be aligned to replace latest technology processor as the whole system is integrated on a single board, thereby restricting immediate application or usage for a considerable duration. Another restraining factor affecting the growth of this Single Board Computer market is inefficient cooling process. Multicore Single Board Computer in todays marketplace is the new upcoming opportunity for Single Board Computer market. Customized Single Board Computer is an upcoming embedded platform that contains a carrier board and Computer on Module.Single Board Computer market is segmented by technology as aTCA (Advanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture), compact PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect), VME (Versacard Multibus Eurocard), VPX (Virtual Path Cross-connect), VXS and Mezzanine. aTCA, LTE (Long term Evolution) and WiMax are the leading technologies during the forecast period. Additionally, SBC market has been segmented as end user majorly in medical industry, precision agriculture, military & aerospace, defense, retail & hospitality, transportation and digital logistics, intelligent systems, communications and networking, embedded control subsystems and industrial automation & control among others. Furthermore, Single Board Computer (SBC) market is also segmented by processor type as ARM cortex, Intel, Power Architecture of NXP semiconductors and others. Others include processors of Qualcomm, Samsung, and Rabbit. By geography, the Single Board Computer market has been segmented into various regions namely Asia-Pacific (APAC), Europe, North America, Middle East and Africa (ME&A) and South America. North America leads the Global Single board computer market followed by APAC and Europe. APAC region is estimated to grow at a very high growth rate due to steady economic growth. China, Japan and India are the emerging market in APAC region. The US region has the highest adoption rate for Single Board Computer market.Obtain Report Details @Various key players of Single board computer market include AAEON Electronics, Inc. (Taiwan), ADES Corporation (Taiwan), Armor Link International (Cyprus), Emerson ( Missouri, U.S.), Eurotech (Italy) , GE Intelligent Platform (Virginia, U.S.), Versa Logic Corp. ( Tualatin), Digi International (Minnetonka) , Wandboard, Advantech (Munich, Germany) , Eurotech Group (Udine, Italy), Kontron (Augsburg) , Adlink Technology (Taiwan), Radisys (Hillsboro, United States), Mercury Systems (Chelmsford), Olim ex (Bulgaria), UDOO, Arbor Solutions (Taipei), American Portwell (Arizona), and NET Burner (San Diego) among others.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Passive Optical LAN (POL) Market - Evolving Technology, Trends and industry Analysis up to 2024

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Passive optical LAN (POL) is a data transport medium, made of passive optical network (PON) technology, which provides converged data, video, and voice services at gigabit speeds over a single cable of fiber from one point to the other point. These solutions make use of a number of passive optical components. Majority of these components including ptical cables, optical couplers, optical power splitters, optical encoders, and optical filters among others can now be found in fiber to the home (FTTH) applications and current data networks. These components also find use in applications such as fiber in the loop (FITL), interoffice, loop feeder, hybrid fiber-coaxial cable (HFC), synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) systems and synchronous optical network (SONET).Passive Optical LAN (POL) Market: SnapshotThe market for passive optical LAN (POL) is poised for substantial growth in the coming years, registering a double-digit CAGR through the forecast period. Escalating bandwidth requirements, coupled with the energy efficient nature of passive optical components, is driving the POL market. The growth of networking technologies in the Asia Pacific and RoW markets, increasing fiber deployments, and rising investments in technological advancements and research infrastructure across both the regions are also propelling the passive optical LAN market.The global passive optical LAN market is expected to expand at an impressive CAGR of 22.9% during the forecast period from 2016 to 2024, reaching a market size of US$103.4 bn by 2024. The market stood at US$14.1 bn in 2015.Obtain Report Details @Asia Pacific to Retain Lead in POL Market throughout Forecast PeriodIn 2015, Asia Pacific led the market for POL, accounting for a share of more than 36%. The growing demand for passive optical networks in the region, especially in China, is one of the primary forces driving this passive optical LAN market. A surge in data traffic and the use of electronic gadgets by a large volume of customers further drives the APAC market. Governments of major countries across the region are planning to invest in the deployment of fiber optic networks to improve the network infrastructure in their respective countries. This is anticipated to boost the Asia Pacific market for passive optical LAN during the forecast period.North America is also a key contributor to the growth of the POL market globally. Technological advancements and an increasing demand for more advanced security are some factors that can be expected to boost the growth of passive optical LAN in North America. Furthermore, the rising demand for energy conservation and simplified network operations is anticipated to bolster the growth of the POL market in this region. The passive optical LAN market in North America is expected to grow at a remarkable CAGR of 20.0% over the forecast period.Make an Enquiry @The report provides company market share analysis of various industry participants. In addition, the key players in the passive optical LAN market have also been profiled. The company profiles highlight the Company Details (HQ, Foundation Year, Employee Strength) Market Presence, By Segment and Geography, Key Developments, Strategy and Historical Roadmap, Revenue and Operating Profits in the field of passive optical LAN. Some of the key market participants profiled in this report include Alcatel Lucent SA (France), Ericsson Inc. (Sweden), Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. (China), Adtran Inc (U.S.), TE Connectivity Ltd. (Switzerland), ZTE Corporation (China), and Verizon Communications Inc. (U.S.) among others.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Passive optical LAN (POL) is a data transport medium, made of passive optical network (PON) technology, which provides converged data, video, and voice services at gigabit speeds over a single cable of fiber from one point to the other point. These solutions make use of a number of passive optical components. Majority of these components including ptical cables, optical couplers, optical power splitters, optical encoders, and optical filters among others can now be found in fiber to the home (FTTH) applications and current data networks. These components also find use in applications such as fiber in the loop (FITL), interoffice, loop feeder, hybrid fiber-coaxial cable (HFC), synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) systems and synchronous optical network (SONET).Passive Optical LAN (POL) Market: SnapshotThe market for passive optical LAN (POL) is poised for substantial growth in the coming years, registering a double-digit CAGR through the forecast period. Escalating bandwidth requirements, coupled with the energy efficient nature of passive optical components, is driving the POL market. The growth of networking technologies in the Asia Pacific and RoW markets, increasing fiber deployments, and rising investments in technological advancements and research infrastructure across both the regions are also propelling the passive optical LAN market.The global passive optical LAN market is expected to expand at an impressive CAGR of 22.9% during the forecast period from 2016 to 2024, reaching a market size of US$103.4 bn by 2024. The market stood at US$14.1 bn in 2015.Obtain Report Details @Asia Pacific to Retain Lead in POL Market throughout Forecast PeriodIn 2015, Asia Pacific led the market for POL, accounting for a share of more than 36%. The growing demand for passive optical networks in the region, especially in China, is one of the primary forces driving this passive optical LAN market. A surge in data traffic and the use of electronic gadgets by a large volume of customers further drives the APAC market. Governments of major countries across the region are planning to invest in the deployment of fiber optic networks to improve the network infrastructure in their respective countries. This is anticipated to boost the Asia Pacific market for passive optical LAN during the forecast period.North America is also a key contributor to the growth of the POL market globally. Technological advancements and an increasing demand for more advanced security are some factors that can be expected to boost the growth of passive optical LAN in North America. Furthermore, the rising demand for energy conservation and simplified network operations is anticipated to bolster the growth of the POL market in this region. The passive optical LAN market in North America is expected to grow at a remarkable CAGR of 20.0% over the forecast period.Make an Enquiry @The report provides company market share analysis of various industry participants. In addition, the key players in the passive optical LAN market have also been profiled. The company profiles highlight the Company Details (HQ, Foundation Year, Employee Strength) Market Presence, By Segment and Geography, Key Developments, Strategy and Historical Roadmap, Revenue and Operating Profits in the field of passive optical LAN. Some of the key market participants profiled in this report include Alcatel Lucent SA (France), Ericsson Inc. (Sweden), Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. (China), Adtran Inc (U.S.), TE Connectivity Ltd. (Switzerland), ZTE Corporation (China), and Verizon Communications Inc. (U.S.) among others.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Pressure Infusor Market Research Report: Key Trends and Forecast Research Report 2024

Pressure Infusor Market

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A pressure infusor is a cuff and bladder device, specifically designed to provide fast and rapid infusion into a patients circulatory system. Pressure infusor pumps sterile parenteral fluid into patients suffering from hypovolemia. Sometimes, high pressure helps to control the flow of fluids better than the improvised ones, as high pressure through small orifice generally reduces the variation in flow of fluid. The three-way or two-way cock fixed on the infusor bag allows easy and consistent deflation of fluid with pressure control. Generally, pressure infusor bags are available in sizes of 500 ml to 3000 ml, with pressure control in the range of 0300 mmHg. The major reason for manufacturing the pressure infusor devices is to meet customer demands due to its safe & easy-to-use methodology along with other medical devices and improves the safeness of patients during acute surgical situations.Emergence and growing popularity of home care systems across the world is a major driver of the pressure infusor market. Rising awareness about patient safety during medical treatment augments the pressure infusor market as the device minimizes the chances of cross-contamination of infusion and ensures safe and steady flow of fluid inside the circulatory system of patients. Technological advancements and changing lifestyles are likely to drive the pressure infusor market during the forecast period. Various features are being incorporated in pressure infusors such as pocket design, zips and hooks, utilization of transparent and latex free material, which increases the market attractiveness.View Report-The pressure infusor market has been segmented based on product type, end-user, and application. In terms of product type, the pressure infusor market has been segmented into reusable pressure infusor and disposable pressure infusor. Disposable pressure infusor dominated the pressure infusor market in 2015 due to its ease of utilization. Disposable pressure infusor reduces the probability of cross contamination of fluid, which is the key factor for its higher acceptance among doctors. Reusable pressure infusors are cost effective; however, the disposable pressure infusor segment held the larger market share in 2015. The disposable pressure infusor segment is expected to continue to dominate the market during the forecast period, as it eliminates the lengthy and costly process of cleaning up the bags and due to growing preference of doctors toward patient safety. Based on application, the market has been segmented into surgery, labor & delivery, radiological procedures, pre & post-operative care, cardiac catheterization, emergency & traumatic conditions, and others. Pressure infusors were primarily utilized for surgeries and for traumatic conditions in 2015. Increase in geriatric population, various disease indication, obesity, rate of accidents, and utilization of radiopharmaceuticals for various disease treatments is expected to propel the pressure infusor market by 2024. In terms of end-user, the pressure infusor market has been classified into hospitals, clinics, and others. Hospitals held the largest share of the pressure infusor market in 2015 due to high demand in emergency and intensive care units. The hospitals segment is expected to continue to dominate the market during the forecast period from 2016 to 2024.Geographically, the pressure infusor market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. North America dominated the pressure infusor market in 2015, due to increasing prevalence of trauma and cardiovascular surgeries. The market in Asia Pacific is projected to expand at a higher CAGR between 2016 and 2024 attributed due to the growing geriatric population, high labor and delivery rate, and increasing surgery rates.Major players in the pressure infusor market are SunMed, Erka, Becton, Dickinson and Company, Smiths Medical, Armstrong Medical, Bell Medical, Inc., Sarstedt AG & Co., Spacelabs Healthcare, GE Healthcare, VBM, CONMED, Ethox International, and METKO. The major strategies adopted by the key players are to incorporate specific and innovative features in the products to survive the robust competition in the global pressure infusor market.Request a brochure of this report to know what opportunities will emerge in the rapidly evolving Pressure Infusor Market during 2016- 2024About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Malignant Neoplasm Therapeutics Market Research: Key Trends and Forecast Research Report 2024

Malignant Neoplasm Therapeutics Market

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Malignant neoplasm is believed to be one of the extended conditions of neoplasm. It is a form of cancer that develops an abnormal growth of tissues usually leading to the formation of a tumor. The primary cause of this disease is understood as damaging of DNA under certain circumstances that further escalates to a stage of cancer. The very beginning of malignant neoplasm is the occurrence of abnormal patterns of growth in the tissue known as dysplasia or metaplasia.Higher Prevalence of Malignant Neoplasm in Geriatric Population Driving the Market GrowthThe global cancer incidences have increased to a considerable number over the past few decades owing to a rise in the geriatric population, increasing life expectancy and changing lifestyle. In addition, factors such as advanced cancer diagnostics and early initiation of the treatment are fuelling the global malignant neoplasm therapeutics market. Development of targeted therapies are revolutionizing the conventional concepts of cancer treatment and are likely to get higher preference in the coming years. Moreover, a higher success ratio of these latest cancer drugs compared to traditional anti-carcinogenic treatment is expected to further drive the market growth in the near future. These latest drugs are capable of countering more than one type of cancer. For example imatinib, which was first developed for treating a single type of cancer was later found effective on multiple cancer types.Novelty in cancer treatment has significantly influenced the present treatment models. However, a complete cure for the disease is still not ascertained. Further, many of the advanced treatment models are often expensive and only available in developed regions of the world. In some case, delay in integration of the novel drugs into current treatment methods limit the options for the patient. Other factors such as price risk and credibility of the drugs are few of the other concerns for the market.View Report-Over the years, the subject of oncology has received paramount attention from biomedical researchers, health care experts and pharmaceutical manufacturers. Owing to a severe need for effective treatment of cancer, heavy investments are being made in further research and development of the particular subject. Many of the pharmaceutical companies such as Novartis International AG and Pfizer Inc. are introducing a range of anti-carcinogenic drugs under their brand names promising to be more efficient. The global malignant neoplasm treatment market has become increasingly competitive in the recent years with more player joining in. Currently, most drug manufacturers offer two primary cancer therapeutic programs, namely cytostatic hormonal treatments and antineoplastics.Malignant Neoplasm Therapeutics Market: Regional SegmentationOn the basis of region, the global malignant neoplasm therapeutics market has been segmented into six key regions namely North America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. North America is considered as one of the largest market of malignant neoplasm therapeutics owing to a strong presence of drug manufacturers in the region and availability of advanced healthcare facilities. In terms of value, the U.S accounts for a healthy portion of the global malignant neoplasm therapeutics market attributed to the growing demand for cancer treatment in the country. In addition, Europe is one of the other regions where the market is growing at a considerable rate and is expected to continue a similar in trend in the coming years.Key PlayersFew of the key players identified in the global malignant neoplasm therapeutics market include F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Novartis International AG, Sanofi S.A., AstraZeneca plc, Eli Lilly and Company, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd, Pfizer Inc. Bayer AG, Amgen, AbbVie Inc and Celgene Corporation.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.The study is a source of reliable data on:Market segments and sub-segmentsMarket trends and dynamicsSupply and demandMarket sizeCurrent trends/opportunities/challengesCompetitive landscapeTechnological breakthroughsValue chain and stakeholder analysisThe regional analysis covers:North America (U.S. and Canada)Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and others)Western Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Nordic countries, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg)Eastern Europe (Poland and Russia)Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, ASEAN, Australia, and New Zealand)Middle East and Africa (GCC, Southern Africa, and North Africa)Request a brochure of this report to know what opportunities will emerge in the rapidly evolving Malignant Neoplasm Therapeutics Market during 2016- 2024About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
For six seasons, actor Reggie Lee came into viewers' homes as the wisecracking Portland Police Sgt. Wu in the Portland-filmed NBC series "Grimm."

While "Grimm" ended its run earlier this year, Lee is back in Portland. But this time, he's not fighting the supernatural creatures known as Wesen, alongside his costars.

Instead, Lee is getting back to his roots and "dusting those vocal cords off," as he says, by costarring as Sancho Panza in Portland Opera's production of the musical "Man of La Mancha."

On a recent afternoon in Southeast Portland, Lee takes a break from rehearsing to talk about turning from TV to musical theater.

"I haven't sung in a musical for 20 years," Lee says. Breaking into song, Lee adds, made him feel like saying, "Hello voice, I haven't heard you in a while."

Though Lee's movie and TV career has included such eclectic projects as "Grimm," "Prison Break," "The Fast and the Furious" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," Lee's early days were spent in musical theater.

"I started in the national company of 'Miss Saigon,' " Lee recalls. After touring the country for more than a year, he asked to be transferred to the Broadway company.

"I was very ambitious at a young age," Lee remembers. "I wanted a Broadway credit." His request was turned down, so Lee quit and moved to New York. "Two weeks later, I got 'Carousel,' " the 1994 Broadway revival that starred Audra McDonald and Taye Diggs.

Lee says that after his "Carousel" experience, he decided his acting approach was more suited to film and TV, so he moved to Los Angeles. His agents advised him to take his musical theater credits off his resume.

"They will think that you will be 'too big' " in performance style, Lee recalls being told about making the shift from the musical stage to the screen.

"It's really nice" to come back to theater, Lee says, though it's definitely a "different world" than television.

"I love the idea of coming in, rehearsing, singing, dancing," Lee says. "It kind of brought the joy back to performing. Doing six years on a television show, working sometimes 12 to 14 hours a day, it's grinding."

We're with Reggie Lee, of Grimm, talking about his role in Portland Opera's production of Man of La Mancha. Posted by The Oregonian on Thursday, May 25, 2017

But it's not so easy, Lee says, to shake off his Sgt. Wu character to play Sancho Panza.

"I always loved coming to 'Grimm,' " he says. "I miss it so much now. I was telling the director it's a little weird being here without my 'Grimm' folk at arm's length."

It's also strange not "being Wu," Lee says. "I feel like half of Sancho is Wu. I have to get into this different skin."

The Tony Award-winning "Man of La Mancha" was written by Dale Wasserman, with music by Mitch Leigh and lyrics by Joe Darion. Inspired by Miguel de Cervantes' novel "Don Quixote," the musical is a tale in which de Cervantes and his manservant are imprisoned in the time of the Spanish inquisition.

While awaiting trial, de Cervantes presents the story of Don Quixote as a play within a play, enlisting fellow prisoners to perform and his manservant to portray Quixote's squire, Sancho Panza.

Originally produced on Broadway in 1965, "Man of La Mancha" has become a classic, has been revived several times, was turned into a movie, and is the source of the famous song "The Impossible Dream."

The role of Sancho Panza is often played as a rotund sidekick who offers an everyman's down-to-earth perspective. Lee says that Jason Howard, the baritone who plays Cervantes and Don Quixote, joked that Lee was 20 years too young and 30 pounds too light to play Sancho Panza.

"I would never have been offered this role in my lifetime," Lee says, if Portland Opera general director Christopher Mattaliano hadn't asked if Lee was interested.

"I don't want to make it like every other Sancho," Lee says of the role. "I want to make it my own."

***

"Man of La Mancha"

When: 7:30 p.m. June 9; 2 p.m. June 11; 7:30 p.m. June 15; 7:30 p.m. June 17

Where: Keller Auditorium, 222 S.W. Clay St.

Tickets: $28-$250; portlandopera.org or 503-241-1802
Hood River Valley High School theater director Rachel Harry is the 2017 winner of the Tony Award for Excellence in Theatre Education. The award, which recognizes a K-12 educator who has made a significant impact on the lives of the students, is presented in collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University.

As part of the award, Harry will receive $10,000 for her school's theater program along with a trip to New York for the Tony Awards on Sunday night, according to a news release.

A teacher at Hood River for three decades, Harry is also an instructor at Columbia Gorge Community College.

In an interview with CBS, Harry's daughter, Tay Camile Lynne, 25, said that the most important lesson she learned from her mother came while Harry was serving as Tay's drama teacher: "You are the most important person, everyone is, the most important person to themselves."

In that same interview, Harry explained what drives her teaching: "I love teenagers. I love everything they're going through, the drama. They come in as these, basically kids, and they leave as adults."

Harry did not even know that she had been nominated for the award, according to a report by the Hood River News. Current and former students worked secretly with art teacher Amirra Malak to submit Harry's nomination and announced she had won at the high school's yearly Evening of Excellence.

Harry will receive the award during the three-hour Tony Awards starting at 8 p.m. Sunday at Radio City Music Hall in New York to be broadcast live on CBS.

-- Gabriel Nair
A man was arrested Sunday night after eluding deputies in a stolen car, crashing into a house and fleeing on foot, according to the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office.

Ramon Rodarte Jr.

A deputy tried to stop Ramon Rodarte Jr., 22, for failing to display license plates on a Lexus car, but Rodarte wouldn't pull over, the sheriff's office said in a news release. Deputies chased him into Portland, but they stopped pursuing him because he was driving dangerously and recklessly, the agency said.

They found him after ending their pursuit, however. He had crashed into a house near Southeast 85th Avenue and Market Street, deputies said. He lives slightly less than five miles away in Gresham's Rockwood neighborhood, records show.

Deputies said they saw Rodarte and his passenger were fleeing on foot and that they apprehended the pair. He was set to be arraigned Monday on felony unauthorized use of a vehicle and fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer charges, as well as four misdemeanor charges, according to records.

He's being held in the Clackamas County Jail. His passenger, 22-year-old Sabrina Vasquez, isn't facing any charges in the case, according to records. Deputies said she was released at the scene.

No one in the house was injured, deputies said.

Rodarte's criminal record in Oregon includes a heroin possession conviction, according to records. He also has pending misdemeanor theft and felony heroin possession charges in Clackamas County, records show.

The stolen car is a Lexus IS 250 C, according to the sheriff's office.

-- Jim Ryan

jryan@oregonian.com

503-221-8005; @Jimryan015
Portland has found itself at the center of a national controversy after the recent closure of a two-day-a-week burrito pop-up accused of cultural appropriation -- wantonly cooking the food of other countries, arguably at the expense of people from those very cultures. Judging from the furor kicked up, the cultural appropriation debate around Portland food won't be going away anytime soon. Some of Portland's most successful restaurants are run by white chefs: Pok Pok, Bollywood Theater and Por Que No, each serving other cultures' foods. And every third new Portland restaurant opening would seem to fit the cultural appropriation definition. Now that some of the initial outrage has moved into deeper discussions, we talked to four Portland chefs and the community coordinator at the Portland Mercado about their thoughts and experiences.

Carlo Lamagna is a Filipino-American chef who came to Portland from Chicago and took over the kitchen at downtown Portland's Clyde Common. Later this year, he will launch Magna, a brick-and-mortar restaurant based off his long-running Twisted Filipino pop-ups.

What are your thoughts on cultural appropriation with restaurants? For me, at the core of it all, it's food. I remember meeting this Australian guy in the Philippines who loved the culture and knew more about it than I did. I grew up in Detroit. Who's right in this situation where he knows more about the culture and more detailed nuances of everything versus me at the time? I felt alienated in both the city I grew up in and the country I'm from. I was a brown kid in Midwest, White America and I was an American kid in the middle of a foreign country, where do I fall in?

The U.S. is a giant platform to live the American Dream. It's all about how you do it, the story behind it and paying proper respect to where you're coming from. You don't go out there and say, 'I traveled two weeks in Bali, I'm going to open a restaurant.' That to me is bull----. But if you do your due diligence, live in a place and immerse yourself in a culture, it doesn't give you the right, but it gives you the right reasons to do it.

Where do we go from here? If we continue on the path we're going, we're closing everything, we're becoming honestly part of the problem, because all the gateways that have opened the opportunities that my parents, that any child that's first- or second-generation, you're closing off the pathways that brought you here in the first place. My parents moved here for a better life. The moment I start spouting, 'I'm the authority and no one else should be cooking or doing this except me,' then you're being an asshole. That's the whole point. I want to see Filipino food soar.

Food gives me a sneak peek into other people's culture if it's done right. There are people who are amazing experts in a different cuisine and guess what, they are going to make money because they need to to survive. It's not their fault that they became passionate about something that's on the other side of the world. To the people that travel for a week and decide they're going to open a shop? Yeah, you may want to rethink that. Respect the process, respect history.

Ryan Roadhouse is a chef of Hispanic descent and the owner of Nodoguro, a multi-course Japanese restaurant in Southeast Portland. Recently, his restaurant appeared on a controversial list of (Alternatives To) White-Owned Appropriative Restaurants in Portland.

What are your thoughts on cultural appropriation with restaurants? When you get into the mob mentality, everyone needs to figure out what it is that you're defining. If you're exploiting something about a culture, for value or profit, that's when you have to sit back and make judgment calls, but you have to sit back and figure out how to apply that to everyday life.

I worked as an apprentice for Japanese chefs, here and in Japan. In terms of my Japanese cultural thing, I see it as a chef's craftsmanship. I'm part of a lineage, my race was never a factor for the chefs I worked for. There's an issue with celebrating DNA. If someone is Japanese then they're born this natural Japanese chef and you're taking the racial aspect of it and making it a craft. But really anyone of any race, if you want to become a high level chef, takes training and practice.

Where do we go from here? Figure out what you think cultural appropriation is. If you can really figure out what that means, then be smart, make your choices and everything will be fine. Doing a pop-up like Kooks? You can't make money doing that. If the issue is about profits, what kind of scale do you need to have to even be in that category?

Anh Luu is the chef/owner at Tapalaya, a contemporary Cajun/Creole restaurant in Northeast Portland where she combines the flavors of her Vietnamese heritage with recipes drawn from her hometown of New Orleans.

What are your thoughts on cultural appropriation with restaurants? It's all so blurry because all foods have kind of the same thing in different ways. You can't really say, 'I stole this recipe from someone' because chances are that person borrowed it from someone else or mixed someone else's recipe with their own. It's hard to say what is actually cultural appropriation and what's not. You're literally not allowed to tell anybody what they can and can't cook. It's ridiculous, it's asinine.

There's an approach if you're trying to present a business about it. I think it's all about the time you invest. You have to immerse your whole self into it to find out if you love it and what you hate. People who go and open a food cart because they took a trip this one time, one trip is not going to do your food justice. It needs to be many trips, you need to learn the language. How much time you invest will show itself in what you do.

Where do we go from here? I feel like this is something so ridiculous that we should easily be able to overcome it. The only way to battle it is to keep supporting the restaurants and food that you love.

Jasper Shen is a Chinese-American chef who moved to Portland in 2010 and opened Northeast Alberta's Aviary restaurant. Shen left the restaurant in 2014 and opened XLB, a "straight-up Chinese" and soup dumpling restaurant on North Williams Avenue, earlier this year.

What are your thoughts on cultural appropriation with restaurants? Coming up as a cook, I cooked everything. I worked at Aquavit, a Scandinavian restaurant. I've worked at Thai, French restaurants, local seasonal American restaurants. I've gone through the whole gambit and I've never thought, 'oh I shouldn't be cooking this or learning about this because I'm not from this culture.'

As chefs and cooks, you're constantly trying to learn from people. That's the whole point of working in restaurants. I've had tons of guys who have never cooked Chinese food before and came to me to learn that. If someone opened a Chinese restaurant one day, I wouldn't think they would be stealing from me. Doing this Chinese thing, there's curry powder that's found in China but is obviously based out of the Middle East and India. China is such a big place, influenced by so many people over so many generations, trade routes, colonialism, where can someone say, 'oh that's not part of who you are?'

My two biggest things are: are you making good food and are you treating your staff well? If you're not doing one of those things, I probably won't support you because that's what I can control.

Where do we go from here? The overall diversity of restaurants is getting much better. The quality of restaurants is getting much better. When I first moved here, there were less cultural, less ethnic options. I still wish there were more options than we have now, but we're slowly getting there. I think sometimes these concerns of who is opening what is counterproductive because before Troy (MacLarty, chef/owner at Bollywood Theater), the only Indian restaurants in town were the Indian buffets. He opened a new door to introduce this cuisine to a large mass. Whether people think it's traditional, he's still exposing all these flavors to a large public. More things are opening, especially from people of color from different cultures and cuisines. It just needs to keep on going that way.

Shea Flaherty Betin is the community coordinator at the Portland Mercado, a hub for Latino culture in Portland. Born and raised in Cartagena, Colombia, Flaherty Betin coordinates events, media and meetings between Mercado vendors and the community.

What are your thoughts on cultural appropriation with restaurants? One thing that we focus on is business gentrification -- businesses that have barriers to entry or access in that they would get displaced either due to changing culture, rent or maybe changing access by folks that have more privilege that are creating competing businesses. When we talk about appropriation, yes it's culture, but privilege really plays a big role. People who can speak to their privilege. Ninety percent of our business are immigrant-owned. More than half the businesses in our incubation program and kitchen are owned by people of color. We try to infuse this sense of cultural ownership at the Mercado. We recognize injustices or issues of privileges and how that affects people we know, but our immediate response is to mobilize and create actionable communities. We try to go to from a positive mindset.

Where do we go from here? We can follow the existing trends and not dissect privilege and maintain the status quo, or we can really look and support culturally authentic businesses and show that it's a culturally inclusive city. This is not a new issue to the businesses at the Mercado. This is something we've all known for a long time. It was kind of like, 'oh this is business as usual in the city of Portland.' We've already made that step to turn it into actionable items and programs that will do something to support our communities.

What I would really love to see in the city of Portland is people getting to know the immigrant businesses, culturally specific, people-of-color-owned businesses and knowing that there are so many options out there in so many parts of the city and just because they're not the ones you read about, there's amazing authentic flavors all over the city. Do your part to support them and give them the same recognition that our top billed or heavy hitters in the food industry get and recognize that there's a wealth of flavors, knowledge and experience.

-- Samantha Bakall

sbakall@oregonian.com

Follow @sambakall
Tuesday 6 June 2017 12:26pm



Professor Philippa Howden-Chapman

Not all good policies, in isolation, lead to an overall good outcome. Interactions and linkages between policies are what will lead us towards a more sustainable world, according to a new International Council for Science (ICSU) report.

A group of researchers are calling for New Zealand policy-makers to urgently focus on positive interactions between different government policies and keep alert to the negative effects of others.

Professor Philippa Howden-Chapman from the University of Otago, Wellington (UOW) together with 21 scientists from around the world, authored this major new report, which addresses the challenge of achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

New Zealand, as a member of the United Nations, is expected to report regularly as to how it is achieving the SDGs. An integrated approach is essential, says Professor Howden-Chapman.



ICSU graphic depicting the complex web of SDG interactions, highlighting the four analysed in this report.

The UN SDGs were adopted in 2015 as a universal set of goals to guide sustainable development to 2030. They cover issues from sustainable cities to clean water to gender equity and good governance. The 17 goals, and their specific targets, are intended to set the world on a course toward inclusive, sustainable development.

In the new report A Guide to SDG Interactions: from Science to Implementation, the scientists considered interactions between different goals and targets, determining to what extent they reinforce or conflict with one another. It includes detailed analyses of four of the UNs 17 Sustainable Development Goals to help illustrate the value of this integrated approach.

We need to make the most of important linkages offered by the SDGs, such as linking health and well-being policies with urban development, housing, transport and climate change, she says.

Professor Howden-Chapman along with UOWs Dr Elinor Chisholm and Associate Professor Ralph Chapman at Victoria University of Wellington, and colleagues at the United Nations University and the University of Sydney, co-authored the SDG 3 chapter on health and wellbeing.



The report shows, for example, that investing in environmental protection helps the goal of improving economic growth to support the goal of improved health, says Professor Howden-Chapman, who leads the NZ Centre for Sustainable Cities (NZCSC).

The NZCSC is a model of collaboration and cross-disciplinary work. We were chosen to contribute to this international report due to our systems approach to urban work. We are helping to pioneer the use of big data to analyse different policies and their effects on health and well-being.

The NZCSC is hosted at the University of Otago, Wellington and includes researchers from other universities and organisations such as Victoria University of Wellington and NIWA.



The new ICSU report is an important tool for policymakers across all sectors to prioritise, implement and achieve the SDGs, ensuring that working towards each goal supports the achievement of other goals, says Professor Howden-Chapman.

Read the full report: A Guide to Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) Interactions: from Science to Implementation

For further information, please contact:

Professor Howden-Chapman

Department of Public Health,

University of Otago, Wellington

Email: philippa.howden-chapman@otago.ac.nz

Dr Elinor Chisholm

Department of Public Health,

University of Otago, Wellington

Email: Elinor.chisholm@otago.ac.nz
Wednesday 7 June 2017 8:47am



Professor Michael Williams

Being overweight or obese from as early as three years of age is associated with measures of cardiovascular risk in early midlife, according to new findings from the world-renowned Dunedin Study.

The Study has closely tracked nearly every aspect of the health and development of more than 1,000 people born in Dunedin in 1972-73 until the present day. This latest research from the internationally lauded longitudinal study appears in the International Journal of Obesity.



Lead author of the new research paper, Professor Michael Williams, says that being overweight or obese in adulthood is a known risk factor for developing cardiovascular disease, which is the number one cause of death worldwide.



Endothelial dysfunction (a disease of the inner lining of blood vessels) was used to measure cardiovascular risk at age 38 in the Study members. Using body mass index information collected at ages 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 18, 21, 26, 32 and 38 years, researchers identified people as belonging to one of four different weight groups. Compared to those of normal weight, those children who were in the overweight, obese, or severely obese groups over time were more likely to develop endothelial dysfunction by age 38.



Our research indicates that children who were overweight or obese at age three, or were in overweight or obese trajectory groups from that age to 38, are at higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease, says Professor Williams.



These findings are important because determining an association early on may help provide further impetus for interventions to prevent overweight and obesity beginning in early childhood with the goal of improving long-term cardiovascular health, he says.



The study also showed that endothelial dysfunction at age 38 years was associated with poorer physical fitness and other measures of cardiovascular risk such as lower high-density cholesterol levels - otherwise known as good cholesterol - and markers of inflammation at age 38.



Professor Williams says overall, our findings suggest an early influence of overweight or obesity on long-term cardiovascular risk.



According to a recent New Zealand health survey, one in nine children (11 per cent) are obese and a further 21 per cent are overweight.

This means we are facing a real time-bomb in terms of the potentially enormous burden of ill-health in a substantial proportion of our population, he says.



This research was supported by the New Zealand Health Research Council, the New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, the US National Institute on Aging, and the UK Medical Research Council.



Publication details:

Childhood body mass index and endothelial dysfunction evaluated by peripheral arterial tonometry in early midlife

Michael J A Williams, Barry J Milne, Antony Ambler, Reremoana Theodore, Sandhya

Ramrakha, Avshalom Caspi, Terrie E Moffitt, Richie Poulton. International Journal of Obesity. doi:10.1038/ijo.2017.108.

For more information, contact:

Professor Michael Williams

Department of Medicine

Dunedin School of Medicine

University of Otago

Tel 03 474 0999

Email michael.williams@otago.ac.nz
The Midland Police Department battled it out with the Midland County Sheriffs Office during Personal Assistance Options 11th annual Celebrity Art Gala fundraiser at Dow Diamond.

PAO is a nonprofit organization whose services allow individuals with disabilities to remain in their homes regardless of the level of care they may need. Its services are tailored to each individual it supports, to assist them meeting their daily life needs, participate in the community and fulfill their dreams.

Throughout the evening, many donated items and gift baskets were up for silent auction such as passes for up to four people to the Soaring Eagle Water Park, a wine gift basket, a Pure Michigan beer basket and free kayak rentals. The excitement didnt end at the silent auctions, however.

PAO Executive Director Kathy Allen explained that PAO has hosted this event for the past 11 years. It involves pairing local celebrities with local artists to design and create a meaningful piece of artwork to be auctioned off to raise funds during a live auction.

I have brought together some amazing community members to participate as celebrities, Allen said. I create teams to compete against each other, like this year its Midland Police Department versus Midland County Sheriff Office, and then I pair each celebrity with an artist and they create whatever artwork they want, using whatever medium they want and then we sell their artwork at a live auction to raise funds. Bringing together the business world and the art world just seems to work and creates a friendly competition to see who can raise the most funds for PAO.

This years celebrities included: Cliff Block, police chief, MPD; Chris Wenzell, sergeant, MPD; Paul McDonald, community relations officer, MPD; Travis Toth, officer, MPD; Scott Stephenson, sheriff, MCSO; Tracy Thomas, captain, MCSO; Brent Benzing, detective, MCSO; and Scott Holzinger, detective, MCSO.

The artists who turned these officers visions into reality include Dave Berger, Johnathan Martinez, Kathy Morley, Billy Budd, John Martinez, Adam Wernecke, Gary Gavitt and Mike Martinez.

Billy Budd, artist with the Martinez studio, said he volunteers because it is purposeful to the community.

This is my fourth year doing this event, he said. Honestly, I will continue doing it as long as I am asked because this is the kind of organization that provides meaning to so many individuals lives.

Budd worked with Toth to create an interesting, artistic motorcycle helmet displaying a thin blue line along with red and white, and pay tribute to the fallen.

During the auction, Budd spoke on behalf a fellow artist that could not attend the event due to a family matter and emphasized the importance of a successful auction for PAO.

Dave Bergers original piece of art was intended to be a study in all glass, he said. He intended to have plenty of time and peace of mind while he created it. However, during the process of creating this work of art, he learned that his sister had been in a terrible car accident and Daves obligations turned from his art to his family.

There is usually no plan B; to this scenario, but Dave and the other ART club members felt that the success of this auction was still important enough to pull something together so Dave arranged to get the glass pieces completed and Jonathan Martinez completed the beautiful piece from there.

Pulling together to make it a successful night for PAO became a theme, with not only attendees and artists, but with the celebrities as well.

As a department, we always like to back great organizations in our community, said McDonald, with the MPD. The ones that reach out and help people to live more full lives, live safer lives and can help us, in turn, to keep the community safe, and PAO is one of those organizations.

Wenzell, also with the MPD, added, I think its great to partner with an organization like PAO, one that helps others in need. Thats what we are about, is helping others, so what better way to express that than partnering with PAO. And even with the competition thats there, its all about raising funds for PAO.

Right before the auction, a client of PAO shared her story and expressed gratitude for how the organization has impacted her life.

Heather Deogracia, 41 years old, has been involved with PAO for about a year. She has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and agoraphophia, and had a traumatic breakdown after a series of devastating losses in her life.

I had struggles living, she said. I had lost my identity, my job, my home  and each crisis was like a trigger to my mental illness. I had agoraphobia where I stayed in my home for seven years ... It took years to find somebody to help me get my life back and stop missing my old life.

Deogracia received two college degrees in five years and worked as a radio disc jockey in California before moving to Midland.

PAO has helped me feel like I am not having a crazy illness all the time, Deogracia said. They act like they are my best friends, which is what I like. When they come over, we work together. Its simple things that I should know how to do, but they teach me and work with me.

The competition was fierce as original pieces were auctioned off, piece by piece, to support this life-changing organization.

The highest price art piece was designed by Thomas, with the MCSO, and artist Adam Wernecke, selling for $5,000.

When me and Adam met, he explained that he didnt want to do something on canvas, Thomas said. He asked if I had something from the sheriffs office that he could paint, so I checked with the sheriff to see if I could use one of our old riot helmets, my old riot helmet, and he agreed. Adam deconstructed the helmet and made it into a tiki mask. His creativity blows me away and we really wanted that for this event because its important to us and our community. This was a great event to be a part of.

Efforts were strong during this fundraiser, as many pulled together to make this event successful for the organization.

The support from this event means a lot to us, Allen said. As an agency, our primary allegiance is to the people we support; all other activities and events flow from this allegiance. Our services are person-centered and tailored to the needs and dreams of each person served so they can remain independent in our community as well as possible, for as long as possible.

To learn more about Personal Assistance Options, visit www.paomidland,org
BLOOMINGTON  An Ohio man has lost an appeal of his 2016 conviction on obstruction of justice charges for refusing to provide police with a breath sample after he was stopped for what officers suspected was drunken driving.

Case Kegley was found guilty of obstructing justice but acquitted of aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol in connection with a June 2015 traffic stop by Normal police. The DUI charge also accused Kegley of driving without a valid license.

Kegley, 33, was taken to the Normal police station after an officer reportedly noticed an odor of alcohol on his breath and other signs that he may have been drinking.

Normal officer Ronald Stoll obtained a search warrant for a breath analyzer test after Kegley refused to perform a field sobriety test or comply with the request to secure evidence through a breath test. When Kegley refused the warrant issued by Associate Judge Bill Yoder for "blood, breath or urine" samples, he was arrested and charged with obstruction of justice.

Yoder initiated the practice of seeking court authority for evidence in suspected DUI offenses when he was state's attorney. The county's first "no-refusal weekend" during the 2009 Fourth of July weekend produced no drunken driving arrests in which drivers refused to provide blood samples.

In most cases, the search warrant is used to collect blood samples after a person refuses field sobriety and breath tests.

Judge Casey Costigan found that officers had sufficient reason to believe Kegley was impaired, including slurred speech and bloodshot eyes. Other evidence collected at the scene included beer cans hidden in boots in the defendant's car.

In his March 2016 acquittal of Kegley on DUI charges, Costigan noted that he had viewed video from the officer's squad car and the two-hour stay at the police station.

"The court did not observe anything in the two hours that convinced the court beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant was under the influence of alcohol," ruled Costigan, adding in his decision that he was convinced Kelsey had been drinking the day he was arrested.

Officers did not pursue blood or urine samples from the driver after he refused the breath test.

The appellate court rejected Kegley's arguments that he was not legally required to provide police with a breath sample.

He was sentenced to 18 months on conditional discharge on the obstruction charge.
BLOOMINGTON  Bloomington police continue to investigate a shooting late Monday night in which a man bleeding from a leg wound walked across the intersection of Empire Street and Hershey Road for help at a gas station.

The 25-year-old man came to Thornton Oil, 1001 N. Hershey Road, about 9:40 p.m., where an Illinois State Police trooper, who happened to be fueling his car, reported the incident and provided first aid. The victim apparently had walked southeast across the intersection from the area of 2207 Todd Drive, an apartment building whose parking lot along Empire subsequently was cordoned off with crime-scene tape as police looked for evidence.

Police said they received reports of multiple gunshots at 9:39 p.m. in the area of Todd and Gettysburg drives. Bloomington police said Tuesday a bullet hole was found in one vehicle and spent shell casings were found in the area.

Witnesses said the man was bleeding profusely from the upper right leg, but he was talking to people at the gas station. He was taken from the scene by a Bloomington rescue squad to OSF St. Joseph Medical Center, Bloomington, with what police spokesman Elias Mendiola said were injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening.

There has not been an arrest.

I heard some screams and shouting and looked out my door but didnt see anything for a few minutes, said Ralph Andrews, who lives in the 2100 block of East Empire Street, on Tuesday. Then the police showed up and the rumor mill got going."

He said he feels safe for the most part in the neighborhood, but he also takes nothing for granted.

"I think this happens every time the weather warms up, though," he said. "Ive lived in these parts for years. When hot and humid weather comes along, people cant deal with it.

Bloomington police have handled 66 reported gunfire incidents so far this year, said Mendiola. Of those, gunfire was confirmed in 12 cases, and six people had been wounded.

In 2016, there were 152 such incidents, including 44 confirmed cases and eight wounded people.

Late Monday night, several police cars and officers remained clustered next to one of the gas station's pump islands, surrounding pavement where blood could be seen. Inside, cashier Monna King quickly waited on a steady stream of customers, most of whom she chatted with as regulars.

The victim also was a regular, she said, describing him as a friendly, polite young man.

"It just makes me mad to think they've got to hurt each other," she said with emotion in her voice. "There's enough guys going overseas to get hurt. We don't need any more of that."

After being told why police cars were in the parking lot, several customers talked about how concerned they were about reports of gun violence in the area of Todd and Gettysburg drives.

Officers called to a gunfire report May 27 in the 2100 block of Todd found bullet holes in a residence's window and drywall, and two vehicles were damaged March 20 by gunfire in the 2200 block of Todd.

No injuries were reported in those incidents.

Anyone with information related to Monday night's shooting is asked to contact Bloomington Detective John Atteberry at (309) 434-2548 or jatteberry@cityblm.org or Detective Steve Moreland at (309) 434-2359 or smoreland@cityblm.org.

Callers wishing to remain anonymous should contact McLean County Crime Stoppers at (309) 828-1111. If a call leads to the arrest and indictment of suspect(s) the caller may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.
Aggravated DUI  A Bloomington man was sentenced to seven years in prison for aggravated drunken driving while having a minor in the vehicle.

William Stice, 46, of the 400 block of South Oak Street, received an enhanced sentence based upon his prior criminal record. He was charged with having a person under 16 in the car when he was stopped by police in March 2016.

Heroin  A 61-year-old Bloomington man was sentenced to seven years on drug charges.

Michael Willingham, of the 300 block of South Low Street, pleaded guilty to unlawful delivery of heroin in September 2016.

Marijuana  Marijuana charges netted a Bloomington man five years in prison.

Andrew Oman, 31, of the 1500 block of North Hershey Road was recommended for the state's impact incarceration or boot camp program. Oman pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of marijuana in charges filed August 2016.

Burglary  A Bloomington woman is charged with break-ins at four local businesses.

Sedrick A. Jones, 49, of the 1900 block of Tracy Drive is charged with March burglaries at Gailey Eye Clinic and Pub America in Bloomington and April break-ins at Epiphany Farms in Bloomington and McLean County Eyecare in Normal.

Jones was jailed in lieu of posting $10,035.
BLOOMINGTON  A year after a gunman attacked an Orlando nightclub, killing 49 people and wounding 53 others, the local LGBT community still is working to find solace and a sense of security.

On the day after the June 12, 2016, attack on Pulse, a venue popular with the LGBT community, more than 300 people turned out for a rally and march in downtown Bloomington in support of the victims and solidarity.

To mark the anniversary and the social and political climate since last summer, an event from 5-7 p.m. Monday at the Bistro, 316 N. Main St. in downtown Bloomington will remember the Orlando victims and introduce a directory of LGBT-friendly local businesses, institutions and services.

"It brought people together at a time of great sorrow and fear," recalled Dave Bentlin, president of Prairie Pride Coalition, of the rally and march last year. "Since that time a lot has happened in our community and our nation."

During the standoff with SWAT officers who eventually killed him, gunman Omar Mateen pledged support to the Islamic State.

"The Orlando shootings, combined with the November elections, have all led us to have a certain amount of anxiety about the state our community  about how safe we really are, if the laws that have been enacted to provide us with equal rights will remain on the books, if judges will be appointed who will challenge those laws that have been fought for and won by the community," Bentlin said.

The event this year is intended to bring people together to reflect on the events of the past year, Bentlin said, "and to demonstrate that we as a local community can do a lot to make our own area a safer and more welcoming and inclusive environment."

Organizers will distribute a new directory that lists more than 70 Bloomington-Normal businesses, organizations, churches and service providers who have signed a pledge and will display a specially designed rainbow decal at their entrances and on their websites identifying them as supporting the LGBT community.

Bloomington's Starnet Digital Publishing is printing the first edition of the guide and decals designed by Martin Ross.

Ross met Bentlin through his involvement in Not In Our Town Bloomington-Normal, and they began discussing last summer the concept of a directory that would help members of the LGBT community find resources and identify entities that support them.

"The 2016 ... shootings, the current rash of vandalism against U.S. synagogues and mosques, rising intolerance toward the Latino community, and the recent Portland (Ore.) murders have underlined that we must work a lot harder to ensure safety and personal security for every community within our larger community, and this project seemed a great step in fostering inclusion in a community that's already made terrific strides in large part with NIOTBN's efforts," said Ross.

While Not in Our Town was not directly involved in the directory, the group supports the effort and will promote its availability, said Ross.

"I hope this directory will both serve Twin Citians and encourage the local business community to fully embrace all consumers," said Ross. "It's not only the right thing to do  expanding the customer base is always smart business."

"The object of the directory is to say that we realize there are still dangers; there is still hatred and violence and inequality in our society," said Bentlin.

"But on a local level what we can do is raise up those businesses and organizations and social service providers who believe in fairness and who want to provide a safe, inclusive, nondiscriminatory environment for members of our community," he added.
BLOOMINGTON  Five McLean County residents have confirmed cases of mumps, leading the county health department on Tuesday to encourage people experiencing symptoms to isolate from others until they can be tested for the virus.

None of the five residents  ages 22 to 52  needed to be hospitalized and all are recovering, said Lisa Slater of the McLean County Health Department. The agency is working with the infected individuals and notifying their close contacts about possible exposure to the virus.

"We need to protect our most vulnerable populations  those who cannot get the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine because of age or illness  from exposure to mumps virus," Melissa Graven, health department communicable disease supervisor, said in a statement.

Symptoms of mumps include fever, headache, swollen salivary glands, malaise and swollen testicles in males and swollen ovaries in females for several days.

People experiencing symptoms should stay home and call their health care provider. Everyone else should make sure they are up to date with their MMR vaccinations and, if they aren't, to make vaccination a priority, the health department said.

Mumps is a concern because it passes easily from person to person  through droplets of saliva or mucus  and because, in rare cases, it can have serious side effects, especially among people who can't be vaccinated for medical reasons, or children less than 1 year old who are too young to receive the MMR vaccine. Rare complications include deafness, meningitis, spontaneous abortion and sterility in men.

The five residents are not connected to a March mumps outbreak among Illinois State University students that has affected at least 30 people, Slater said.

The previous county mumps outbreak was in 2015-2016. There were 22 confirmed cases and 17 probable cases in 2016 and 38 confirmed cases and 33 probably cases in 2015.

People also can reduce their risk of spreading mumps by avoiding sharing drinks, utensils and cigarettes; washing hands thoroughly and frequently; cleaning frequently touched surfaces; avoiding close contact with people who are sick; and coughing and sneezing into their sleeve.

People interested in scheduling an MMR vaccination can call their health care provider or the health department at 309-888-5435.
The gunman in Monday's fatal shooting spree at an Orlando, Florida, business targeted his victims and had a "negative relationship" with at least one of them, according to law enforcement.

Army veteran John Robert Neumann, Jr. killed five employees of Fiamma Inc. before killing himself, Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings said.

The company makes accessories for recreational vehicles. Neumann was fired from there in April.

He walked into the business Monday morning and pointed his gun at a new, temporary employee and told her to leave, Demings said.

"He was certainly singling out the individuals he shot," Demings told reporters Monday afternoon.

The victims: A single father, a grandfather

The have been identified as Robert Snyder, 69; Brenda Montanez-Crespo, 44; Kevin Clark, 53; Kevin Lawson, 46; and Jeffrey Roberts, 57.

Clark was a widower and a single father raising a 17-year-old son and a 14-year-old daughter since his wife died six years ago, according to CNN affiliate WKMG.

He started working at Fiamma in January as the logistics manger of sales, his brother Chris Clark told WKMG. His nephew called him to let him know that his brother had been shot at work and brought to the hospital, where he died.

Lawson was a married father of four daughters who had two granddaughters, according to WKMG. He had been working at Fiamma since 2014 in shipping and receiving, according to his Facebook page.

Snyder was one year away from retirement, his neighbor told WKMG. Tiffany Almany said he often went into work early and came home late.

Roberts was a sales manager at Fiamma who started in January, according to his LinkedIn account.

No information was immediately available about Montanez-Crespo.

What we know about the suspect

Police described Neumann as a disgruntled former employee acting alone with no ties to terror or subversive groups. It did not appear he had a concealed weapons permit for the semi-automatic pistol used in the shooting.

Neumann lived alone and had no family in the area, Demings said. He was an Army veteran who was honorably discharged in 1999.

Police had responded to a battery complaint against Neumann at Fiamma in 2014. The victim of that incident was not among the dead Monday, Demings said.

He also had arrests for DUI and marijuana possession.

'My boss is dead'

Police responded to the call around 8 a.m. in an industrial area northeast of downtown.

Four victims were found dead at the scene, Demings said. Clark died at Orlando Regional Medical Center.

"Most of the victims were shot in the head," Demings said. "Some were shot multiple times."

Eight other people were inside the business when the shootings took place, he said.

Shelley Adams said she was on the phone with her sister, a Fiamma employee, during the incident. Her sister was in the restroom when she heard a noise, Adams told reporters.

Her sister came out and saw someone lying on the floor.

"She said, 'I saw too much. My boss is dead,'" Adams said.

Pulse anniversary approaches

Almost a year ago, Orlando was the site of the nation's worst terror attack since 9/11. On June 12, 2016, a gunman killed 49 people at the Pulse nightclub.

"Over the past year, the Orlando community has been challenged like never before," Florida Gov. Rick Scott said in a statement Monday.

"I will remain in contact with the Orlando law enforcement community throughout the day as more information is made available," Scott said.

CNN's Tina Burnside, Jamiel Lynch and John Couwels contributed to this report.
Among the biggest events on the fashion calendar is the CDFA Awards, where fashion's brightest stars get all dolled up to celebrate the industry. This year, however, things were shook up when the honorees, author and icon Gloria Steinem, president of Planned Parenthood Cecile Richards and actress/activist Janelle Monae, essentially co-opted the awards show to share powerful political rhetoric.

Steinem reportedly lead the audience, which included Huma Abedin and Janet Mock, through the value of reproductive rights, what it means to be feminist and even touched on Trump's reckless abandon of the Paris Accord.

"Trump-like walls cannot stop poisoned air," she said, "or rising oceans, or even hungry and desperate refugees."

Cecile Richards followed up, addressing just how vital Planned Parenthood is to modern society.

"At Planned Parenthood, our motto is 'Care no matter what,' which is either a promise or a threat depending on where you sit," Richards said, while Monae really brought it home with the chant: "Women's rights are human rights, LGBTQ rights are human rights, poor folks' rights are human rights, minority rights are human rights."

While it may feel like the world is simultaneously moving forwards and backwards in the face of Trump's America, while more and more people of note use their platform to "resist, persist, insist", good must eventually prevail.

Keep on fighting, kids.

[h/t The Cut]

Image via Getty
Patna: It was yet another day of protest by the students of Bihar who are not letting go of their anger over what they call a deliberate manipulation of the Intermediate results by the Bihar Board to spread a false narrative that cheatings in school and college exams have finally come to an end thanks to the hard work of the state government.

For the sixth day in a row, students protested outside the office of the Inter Council in Patna demanding re-evaluation of their papers and sacking of erring officials including the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) Chairperson Anand Kishore.

Several students received minor injuries when the police used their batons to chase away the protestors and to beat up the students who said they would be back once again on Tuesday and days after until their demands were fulfilled.

The protest received widespread support from various student political outfits like All India Students' Federation (AISF), All India Democratic Students' Organization (AIDSO), and Chhatra Jan Adhikar Parishad.

As reported, protestors marched forward towards the Inter Council office in a rather threatening manner leading the police to intervene by resorting to mild lathi-charge. Enraged students then reacted by throwing bricks and stones at the police and soon the area became a battle zone for about 15 minutes.

Some students were hurt in the incident but their injuries were not deemed to be serious.

Demanding re-evaluation of their copies, the protestors said they would not pay the fee for this service as it was not their fault their test papers were intentionally graded poorly to score political points.
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#football S. Korea coach not yet planning alternatives for Son Heung-min's potential World Cup absence As South Korea's captain Son Heung-min tries to work his way back from a facial surgery in time for the FIFA World Cup, his national team head coach Paulo Bento does not yet have a...
China says will support Iran's full membership in Shanghai Cooperation Organization

06/06/17

Source: Press TV

A senior Chinese diplomat has thrown his country's weight behind Iran's membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), an emerging economic and security alliance jointly led by China and Russia.









"China welcomes and supports Iran's wish to become a formal member of the SCO," Assistant Chinese Foreign Minister Li Huilai told reporters on Monday, ahead of the group's summit in the Kazakh capital of Astana this week.



He added that Iran currently has an observer status in the organization and has for a long time "proactively participated" in its activities and has made positive contributions to the SCO's development.



"China highly appraises this. I think that at this meeting all sides will continue to conscientiously study the issue of Iran becoming a member on the basis of the SCO's relevant rules and consensus through consultations," the Chinese diplomat said.



China has close economic and diplomatic relations with Iran and played an instrumental role in pushing through the landmark 2015 nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).



Although Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had supported Iran's full-fledged SCO membership, the body last year failed to initiate the accession process for Iran which expected to make it into the group after the implementation of the JCPOA and the lifting of sanctions.



Li further noted that Pakistan and India would also formally join the SCO as members at the Astana summit, saying that the organization is becoming more attractive among others and its influence continues to increase.



"More and more countries have said they hope to become dialogue partners, observers or formal members of the SCO. China welcomes countries who want to and who meet the conditions to apply to become members, observers or dialogue partners," he added.



The SCO was formed in 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan to curb extremism in the region and enhance border security.





SCO Countries

Members (dark blue), Acceding States (light blue)



The intergovernmental organization seeks to strengthen mutual trust and good neighborly ties between the member countries, contribute to regional stability and facilitate cooperation in different sectors, including political, trade, economic and energy issues.



The SCO counts six observer states, namely Iran, Afghanistan, Belarus, India, Mongolia and Pakistan. It has six dialogue partners, including Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey and Sri Lanka.
IS Propaganda Increasingly Targeting Iran And Its Sunni

06/06/17

By Golnaz Esfandiari, RFE/RL

The Islamic State (IS) extremist group has recently expanded its campaign to recruit Iranians and disseminate its message to Persian speakers.

In late March, IS published a rare video in Persian in which it called on Iran's Sunni minority to rise up against the Shi'a-dominated Iranian establishment. The video was dismissed by Iran's state broadcaster as "nonsense" and an attempt by the group to cover up mounting losses in Iraq.

Since then, IS has published four issues of its online propaganda publication Rumiyah. Rumiyah, whose title means Rome in Arabic in an allusion to prophecies that Muslims would conquer the West, is already published in several languages, including English, Russian, French, and Indonesian.

Iran has deployed senior military advisers and thousands of "volunteers" in the past six years to help regional ally Syrian President Bashar al-Assad battle an armed insurrection that includes IS and other Islamist fighters as well as groups supported by Turkey and the United States.

IS advocates a radical Salafi version of Sunni Islam and regards Shi'a as heretics, and controls parts of Iraq and Syria under what it describes as a "caliphate."

Iran has also been active in the fight against IS in Iraq, where the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has reportedly advised Iraqi forces and is helping mobilize Shi'ite militias.

Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have said that their efforts will prevent IS from advancing onto Iranian territory. Officials in Tehran have warned that they would take "decisive" action if IS militants came within 40 kilometers of its borders.

"IS has published translations of selected essays and statements in Farsi [Persian], but this appears to be the first time it published Rumiyah in translation," Charlie Winter, a senior research fellow at the International Center for the Study of Radicalization and Political Violence (ICSR), tells RFE/RL.

But he notes that the group has been publishing Persian written materials and subtitled videos since 2015. Winter says the video and the Persian editions of the magazine "seem to be a logical progression in what was already happening."

The first edition of Rumiyah in Persian includes an article detailing why the group's violent ideology regards the killing of unbelievers as "halal" and a form of worship. The second issue features a bloody knife on its front page and gives tips about how to successfully kill unbelievers with a knife. The content of the magazines appears to be straight translations from Rumiyah's earlier editions.

Finding An Audience?

IS's online propaganda has been a key aspect of its strategy to attract new members or sympathizers and spread its message of terror worldwide. It has recruited thousands of followers from all over the world to travel to Syria and Iraq and inspired individual acts of violence elsewhere, frequently targeting large crowds.

The degree of the success of the propaganda among Iran's Sunnis is difficult to gauge. Analysts have suggested that the group's ideology holds little appeal for Sunni Iranians, who are estimated to compose 5-10 percent of a total population of 81 million and are routinely discriminated against or harassed.

"Salafism and Persian culture are like oil and water, they don't mix," says Ali Vaez, a senior Iran analyst with the International Crisis Group. "Violent extremism is more a product of instability than its primary driver, and is due more to radicalization during crises than beforehand. None of these conditions apply to Iran, which is both stable and has strong state institutions."

Vaez adds that "groups like IS exploit disorder," adding, "There might be discontent within Iran's Sunni community, but that's not quite the same as disorder."

The relatively high turnout among Iran's Sunni-populated regions in the May 19 presidential and local elections, from 60 to 90 percent according to official figures, suggests to some that extremist propaganda falls largely on deaf ears.

IS Recruits From Iran

Yet some reports and increased warnings by Iranian officials suggest that the extremist group has managed to recruit among Iranians.

In June 2016, Iranian news sites quoted an unnamed "informed source" as saying that authorities had arrested 18 people who were using the highly popular Telegram app to recruit new members.

"Eighteen top [IS] managers of Telegram channels inside the country have been identified and arrested. Some of these people ran groups with hundreds of members," the unnamed source was quoted as saying. The exact time and location of the purported arrests was not clear.

In August 2016, the commander of the Iranian ground forces said that IS had recruited members from the Western province of Kermanshah. "They recruited some in Naft Shahr and Ghasr-e Shirin and western regions," Brigadier General Ahmad Reza Pourdastan said, adding that two IS members had been killed in clashes with security forces. "They had been trained and had suicide vests."

The same month, Iranian Intelligence Minister Mahmud Alavi said that authorities had prevented 1,500 young Iranians from joining IS.

Iranian authorities have also claimed that they have thwarted several planned "terrorist" operations in public places in Tehran and other cities.

Last week, authorities in Afghanistan's eastern province of Nangarhar, where IS has reportedly been active, issued a video in which a man claimed he was from Iran's West Azerbaijan Province and had joined the group via Telegram, which is believed to have millions of users in Iran.

"In the name of god, I am Yasser from Iran, from West Azerbaijan. I joined Daesh via the app Telegram," the young man said, using a common but controversial label for IS.

He claimed an unspecified number of Iranians had joined the group in Nangarhar. Shortly afterward, Afghan lawmaker Hazrat Ali said that about a dozen IS fighters are active in that region.

"The information I now have says 10 or 12 Iranians are operating in the region comprising the homeland of the Shinwari tribe, such as Achin district," Hazrat Ali, a member of the lower house of the Afghan parliament, told RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan on May 30. "In the past, the number of Iranian fighters in [IS] exceeded 100, but I am not sure about where they went or what happened to them."

RFE/RL could not independently verify his claim.

Winter says Iranians among IS ranks are often forgotten about, even though, according to his research, they are relatively well represented in IS's suicide-operation statistics.

A report Winter authored for The Hague-based International Center for Counterterrorism (ICCT) claims that seven Iranians carried out suicide operations in Iraq and Syria from December 2015 to November 2016.

"Iranian fighters are rarely, if ever, featured in IS video propaganda, so it is only in suicide bomber eulogies that they come up -- and these images usually go under the radar because there are so many of them. It is not possible to know what language they speak," Winter says.

Vaez calls IS a "serious threat to Iran,... but not a homegrown one, given the limited appeal of its ideology within the country's Sunni minority."
Ghana risk reverting to the dark days of coup detat if the gruesome and cold-blooded murder of the young affable Captain Maxwell Adam Mahama of Ghana army is not properly managed by the state, security experts are warning.



Renowned security experts who spoke to this paper on rising tension in the country say, the pent-up emotions among soldiers in the various barracks and garrisons across the country following the horrific killing of Captain Mahama; signals the dangers Ghana finds itself.



The uneasiness at the various military barracks and garrisons add to the already heightened tension in the country occasioned by activities of NPP-led vigilante groups, Invincible Forces, Delta Forces and sponsored thugs. Brutalities by these marauding party supporters, raiding of court to free their colleagues and their subsequent release for want of evidence, unlawful seizure of vehicles and random dismissal of public sector workers suspected of being sympathizers of the outgone NDC among others is causing consternation in the country.



Since the premeditated heinous murder of the young military officer by some residents of Denkyira-Obuase in the Central region some nine days ago, tension has been mounting in various barracks and garrisons across the country with some of the livid soldiers baying for the blood of the slain soldier's killers.



The Chief of Defence Staff, Major General Obed Akwa last Thursday had it hectic trying to calm down the otherwise disciplined but, peeved Ghanaian men and women in uniform.



The emotionally charged soldiers want revenge over the lynching of their colleague.

We are the last resort in this country. If we allow ourselves to be beaten this way as a Christian, by what Jesus said in Matthew 26 verse 52: he who draws the sword must die by the sword, one fuming soldier stated.

The soldiers also expressed impatience with the pace of the police investigation, which has so far seen the arrest of nearly twenty suspects for their alleged roles in the gruesome murder.



We have military police. It is not in every instance that we allow the civilian police to be telling us about evidence. You have seen something clearly and you are telling me about evidence. What more evidence do you want from this? The Ghana Armed Forces has the military police. We can handle our things. It is not everything that you take to the civil police, another noted.



Some of the soldiers also called for a total boycott and discontinuation of all anti- lumbering and galamsey operations currently being undertaken by the Army.



I will suggest we leave the work for the police to also carry out so that we come back to our barracks, one soldier forcefully state.



The Chief of Defence Staff however, called for cool heads and reiterated earlier calls by Former Presidents, J.J Rawlings, Mahama and President Akufo-Addo, to persuade them not to engage in any reprisal attacks.



Even though this is a cruel act, cool heads must prevail. A statement like this coming from a former member of the Ghana Armed Forces and a former head of state and a former commander in chief needs to be examined and listened to very carefully.



That is my appeal to you today. Additionally, our Commander-in-Chief has assured us that nobody is going to go scot-free in this particular incident. We are collaborating with all the relevant security agencies and we are making study progress.



He announced that, the Military High Command will take care of the family of late Captain Mahama. Ive been given some assurances. A lot of philanthropists have already come up and asked: What can we do for the family? In fact one person wanted to see me today asking what he can do to support the education of the two children. I have no doubt in my mind that the family of this officer will never be left in the lurch, he stated.



The gruesome murder of the Army Captain and other lawlessness in the country in recent times; signals a repeat of the 1979 coup if immediate steps are not taken to curb creeping indiscipline in the country, a former National Security Coordinator, Mr Kofi Bentum Quantson has warned.



According to Mr Quantson, if perpetrators of these heinous crimes continue to go unpunished, the country may soon be up in flames.



A socio/political analyst, Mr. Kwadwo Nyamba, has also been expressing fears over possible civil uprising following what he says is the general break down of law and order which appears to be deteriorating by the day.



Mr. Nyamba, who is also afraid of a possible return to military rule wrote on his facebook wall, RIP to the murdered service man.....but many of us with our mob mentality have tacitly or openly endorsed the criminal behavior or act that the GAF is doing currently . . . No law-abiding citizen in a democracy must endorse the lawless behavior of the very people who should know better in their response to the most barbaric act committed by some lawless thugs in the town in question. Nana, shine your eyes, the military have no business to be empowered at this level. Learn from Limann. Things are falling apart . . . slowly . . ."Da Yie"!



In a follow up interview, Kwadwo Nyamba explained the correlation between the high rate of unemployment and crime in general, saying unemployment, both formal and informal and the almost zero State/Central governments help to majority of our rural folks and poor in society who have no connections to the central elite leads most of them, farmers (rural and semi-rural dwellers) and the urban poor to do whatever it takes to survive.



According to Mr. Nyamba, most of our lands have slowly been taken over by the galamsey activities which are heavily protected by "big folks" in many ways . . . initially the poor whose source of livelihood (farming) was taken away got a replacement in the galamsey to use to feed his or her familybut now the galamsey is under threat from the very same middle class and political elite who have been the biggest beneficiaries. So the lands are already damaged, galamsey jobs are under threat, man must still survive which is creating frustrations and depression.



This is boiling and slowly building up. We must address this inequality well and fast by giving good assurances to the various affected communities in the 8regions that are involved in the galamsey else; their revolt which has started slowly as lynching will mobilize them faster into small armies that can be very disastrous looking at the sort of sophisticated weapons we saw them wielding in Denkyira-Boase. The army always wants a reason to take over and we must not give them one easily, he noted



Ghanaians have been expressing rage and disappointment in the manner in which the former St Johns old student was murdered. The Jaana-Yiantu family of the late 32 year old military Captain described the process leading to his death as inhuman and callous.



The pain is numbing. It is beyond belief that a group of Ghanaians can debase a fellow Ghanaian, subject him to such dehumanizing barbarity, and take his life gleefully without provocation, a statement signed by spokesperson of the family, Douri Bennin Haji, noted.



The barbaric nature of Captain Adams murder has forced government to virtually shut down some internet links that have uploaded the photos and videos of the gruesome lynching.



"There have been four URLs that have been blocked on YouTube and other social media. However, there are a lot of these videos and lot of these units so as they are being blocked, new ones are being brought back," a deputy Minister of Communications, George Andah revealed.



Both former Presidents Jerry Rawlings and John Mahama have also condemned the barbaric act and have called on the security agencies to bring the perpetrators to book. President Akufo-Addo has also called for calm, while assuring that rule of law will work to bring justice to the family of murdered Army Captain.



"I have been fighting for it all my life and now that I am in the chair I have to make sure there is meaning to it," the President said.



The President, as part of his commitment to ensure rule of law works, has suspended the District Chief Executive of Upper West Denkyira, Daniel Appianing, for some provocative comments he allegedly made relating to Captain Mahamas death.



But Member of Parliament for Builsa South, Dr. Clement Apaak has said the president ought to have sacked the DCE instead of the suspension he handed him.



Dr. Apaak said: ''Mr. President, suspension of a DCE who not only peddled falsehood about the late Captain Mahama by suggesting that he was on site protecting Chinese galamseyers but went on to try a justification of the murder of Captain Mahama, the head of a detachment of a military unit YOU deployed to fight the menace of galamsey to; protect our lands, protect our water bodies, protect our forest and ultimately secure our survival as Commander In Chief?



Mr. President you must sack the DCE right away! A suspension, be decisive Mr. President!

You must put an end to the acts of lawlessness and the impunity which have become pervasive across the country.



The buck stops with you President NADAA!



The MP for Kumbungu Constituency in the Northern Region, Ras Mubarak and other Ghanaians also described Captain Mahamas murder as senseless.



In a statement presented on the floor of Parliament, the Kumbungu legislator said Mr. Speaker the manner in which Maxwell died, does enormous damage to the moral authority of our country. It makes us fall short as a country where rule of law is respected. This is not the country you grew up in; Mr. Speaker.

Source: The Al-Hajj









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President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has challenged African governments not to rely on the World Bank and other institutions to decide on the choices they have to make concerning policies and the funding of education on the continent.



We should not get into arguments with foreign agencies about our priorities. We must set our own priorities and we must accept that we must provide the funds to translate our plans into reality, he said.



Addressing the opening session of the 14th General Conference and Golden Jubilee anniversary of the Association of African Universities (AAU) in Accra yesterday, the President said African countries should never have to make a choice between basic education and higher education.



We should never have to rely on the World Bank and any other institution to decide for us what our emphasis should be in our education, he added.



The four-day conference is on the theme: Achievements, challenges and prospects for sustainable development in Africa.



Crippling World Bank reforms



The Presidents stance speaks to several decades of decline in African universities following the World Banks directive on education reforms in the 1960s and 1970s when it advised African governments to redirect support away from tertiary education towards primary and secondary education.



At that time, the bank argued that such a policy was justified by the desperate need for basic education across Africa, but the directive contributed to the deterioration in African universities.



It resulted in run down, under-resourced universities which now also face a huge demand for places  as a result of successfully increasing the provision of secondary education.



Funding

In a speech that resonated with academia and attracted loud applause from it, President Nana Akufo-Addo stated that education was key to the development of the continent and, therefore, its leaders must run economies that would be able to fund the education of the youth.



He took on issues of curriculum development and challenged academia to help find answers to ill-prepared graduates for the job market.



We need to ensure that the curriculums we offer are relevant to the skill needs of the job market. Our products should have transferrable skills to enable them to cope with the realities of modern-day world of work.



We have done enough talking and dare I say we have had enough conferences and workshops; we know what we need to do and it is time just to do it. We have run out of excuses for the state of our continent. We have the manpower; we should summon the political will and make Africa work, the President said at the conference, which brought together some of the continents leaders in education at the higher level.



Paradigm shift



We are not doing well in research, and we are not at all doing well in Science and Engineering. It is, therefore, not surprising that we are not meeting the demand of the labour market.



The universities and institutions of higher learning in the successful Asian economies made a deliberate decision to prioritise the teaching of Science and Mathematics, he said.



Turning to the AAU, the President applauded the umbrella body of the continents more than 400 universities for being a bridge that linked the universities.



But he expressed worry that although private universities had increased, it was still difficult to meet the growing demand for university education, as well as challenges with quality and harmonisation of academic qualifications.



He urged African universities to stand up and document their achievements, including their contribution to democracy and environmental protection.



President Nana Akufo-Addo was presented with a citation that eulogised Ghanas contribution to the 50-year journey of the AAU, which has been hosted by Ghana since its formation.



Intellectual capital

The Head of Education, Human Resource, Science and Technology Department of the African Union (AU) Commission, Dr Beatrice Njenga, while describing the AAU as the continents intellectual capital, urged universities in Africa to join the association to be in a position to influence policy at the continental level.



She said the AAU was the AUs vehicle for translating its educational vision into reality, especially in the areas of higher education and research.



It is not an exaggeration to say that the AU cannot achieve its vision of integration if the higher education community resists intra-African collaboration and the mutual recognition of one another.



We cannot achieve sustainable peace unless educational institutions buy into and practicalise the notion of education for peace and incorporate critical thinking and African values into teaching and learning experiences, he said.



Earlier, a former President of the AAU, Professor Is-haq Oloyode, who praised Ghanas contribution to the growth of the AAU, stated that the association deserved commendation for stepping up on the ladder to challenge the World Banks position on higher education which had now shifted.



Among topics to be discussed at the four-day conference are the achievements, challenges and prospects of higher education in Africa, higher education for innovation, employability and entrepreneurship, elements of higher education sustainability and harmonisation in African higher education.

Source: Daily Graphic









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A group of Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) guards led by a certain man and some armed policemen descended upon the Tiptoe Lane of the Circle business district last Saturday.



It turned out that the operation they undertook was unauthorized.



Moses Abor, the Head of the AMA Rapid Response Unit at Circle, said that at the time of the operation, he and the Chief Executive of the AMA were attending a church service in commemoration of the second anniversary of the June 3 Circle disaster.



The AMA Chief Executive was unaware about the operation being undertaken by Chief Okine and his men, including some policemen. I quickly moved to the place and confronted them, since the Tiptoe Lane segment of the area was not part of the places outlawed for hawking, he said.



The Chairman of the Circle Youth Traders Association (CYTA), Hashim Hamid, expressed disgust about the development, saying we have assured our people that the areas they should not hawk on are the pavements along Caprice to Vienna City up to VIP area. This is what the AMA boss told us and we are determined to ensure this. For them to come do what they did last Saturday is mind-boggling.



The AMA team however turned their attention to the Sadisko traffic light through Vodafone to the Odaw Rice, something which appears to have strained the relationship between the executives of the CYTA and traders.



The chairman has in a release asked traders to count on the executives to protect their interests, especially if they restrict their activities to the areas earmarked for them.



We are in the leadership to protect our common interests and would not do anything that would affect these. Let us disabuse our minds that we are doing the opposite, Hashim said.







Source: Daily Guide









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The Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG) on Sunday commissioned 27 ministerial probationers, whom it will deploy to some of its branches across the country to serve the Church and help revive faith of members.



The new ministers, comprising 20 males and 7 females, pursued differently degree programmes in Theology at the Trinity Theological Seminary in Accra, based on which the General Assembly Council of the PCG expressed satisfaction at their work and approved their commissioning.



A former Moderator of the General Assembly of the PCG, Very Rev Dr Sam Prempeh administered the Ministerial vows to the newly commissioned ministers.



Preaching the sermon Very Rev Prempeh urged the new ministers to adhere to the principles of Christendom to enable them to stand as true ambassadors of Christ.



He urged them to learn to identify themselves with the practice of the Church as enshrined in the Constitution.



He told the new ministers that true Christians must show their status by portraying the character of Christ who was sinless on earth.



The former Moderator cautioned the newly commissioned ministers to be mindful of their attitudes towards the community they find themselves, their neighbours and colleagues since it could either discredit or encourage others to come to know Christ.



He urged them to rely fully on the powers of the Holy Spirit and pray to pray to God always for His direction.



In a brief address before the commissioning, Rev Samuel Wereko Bekoe, who represented the probationers, expressed his appreciation to the hierarchy of the church for their ministerial training and promised that they would do their best in their ministerial journey to lift the banner of Jesus high.



He therefore pledge on behalf of his colleagues to adhere to the commands of God and the doctrines of the Church in order to remain faithful to God and His Church. Rev Wereko Bekoe asked the church members to pray for them to ensure the success of their ministries.



Present at the well attended service were Rev Dr George Opare Kwapong, Acting Moderator of the General Assembly of the PCG who acted on behalf of the substantive Moderator, Right Rev Professor Cephas Omenyo who is indisposed, Rev Dr Samuel Ayete-Nyampong, Clerk of the General Assembly of the PCG, and the General Assembly Council members.







Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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Ghana is still not over the hideous and heinous murder of Captain Maxwell Adam Mahama. We can only get little comfort thanks to the work of the police who has so far arrested 16 suspects.

On Friday night, mother of Capt Maxwell arrived in Ghana from the United Kingdom. According to reports, the late captain is the only son of his mother.



Maxwells mother  who is the sister of former speaker of parliament Joyce Bamford Addo  met with the rest of the family, including former president Mahama on Sunday, to mourn the death of her son.



As expected, Capt. Mahamas mother was absolutely devastated with the shocking death of her son.

Source: ghanacelebrities.com









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Thirty-four suspects including two lactating mothers accused of murdering Captain Maxwell Mahama have been remanded by an Accra Central Magistrate court Monday. They have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder and murder and will reappear in court on June 21, 2017.



The remanded suspects include six women. The state prosecutor DSP George Amega pleaded with the court presided over by Ebenezer Kwaku Ansah for more time since investigation is still ongoing.



ARRESTS



According to the police, so far 42 persons have been arrested with the youngest suspect being a 12-year-old while the oldest is a 57year-old man. Thirty five of them have been arraigned before court and the Police are closely monitoring investigations from the Police headquarters.

The police have pledged to arrest all suspects connected to the killing of the Military Officer.



Captain Mahama was lynched by residents of Denkyira-Obuasi in the Central region on Monday May 29, and he will be laid to rest this Friday, June 9, 2017.

video below=

Source: kasapa/graphic









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Fresh revelations suggest there was sufficient intelligence pointing to a pre-meditated attempt to kill the leader of a military detachment stationed in Denkyira-Obuasi in the Central region.



According to late afternoon political talk show host Kwadwo Asare Baffour Acheampong (KABA), sources within the military have provided fresh information which goes against the official narrative that the killing of the 31-year-old Captain Maxwell Adam Mahama was a case of mob justice.



The plot to kill was there, KABA said on Asempa FM Monday. Weeks before the tragedy, four soldiers were nearly killed in the Denkyira-Obuasi community in the Central region.



KABA revealed that Captain Maxwell Mahama had been stationed at the illegal mining hub as a platoon commander for a detachment sent there to help fight illegal mining, the cause of severe environmental degradation. From January to March, the Captain stayed in Denkyira-Obuasi but came down to Accra to write an exam that would earn him a promotion to Major.



Whiles away, a lieutenant was sent there to stand in for the student Captain.



As part of the fight against illegal mining, the lieutenant led a raid on some mining pits and seized equipment which was later transported to Takoradi in the Western region.



Deprived of their equipment for mining, the miners were reportedly enraged at the lieutenant for the raid. According to KABA, the miners under the guise of making peace with the lieutenant invited him for a meeting.



But the solider turned down the invitation to personally meet these unnamed persons and delegated junior ranks to attend.



The four soldiers whose name he withheld, are all Warrant Officers.



They barely left the peace talks in one piece. The soldiers were beaten and only managed to escape using a truck as the miners watched them speed off in rage.



Back to base, the soldiers were queried by superiors for attending a meeting outside their base. The lieutenant apparently denied authorising their departure for the said meeting.



Without approval, the four WOs were sent to the guard room in Accra as part of disciplinary measures.



Captain Maxwell Mahama after finishing his exams relieved the lieutenant of his duties and resumed work. No one told him of the past deadly aggression faced by the four soldiers, KABA said.



This lack of intelligence sharing proved fatal as the 'naive' Captain walked into a trap set by the miners who once again called for a meeting.



That meeting was his lynching.



Assisted by other townfolks, the Captain was attacked with stones, blocks, sticks until he died at about 10:30am Monday.



According to KABA, the military are aware of this account and are investigating this twist.



The Captain has been promoted posthumously to Major by President Nana Akufo-Addo.

Source: myjoyonline.com









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The Deputy Minister for Health, Tina Naa Ayeley Mensah, has commended Janet Opokua, a pregnant student who is sitting the 2017 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) at New Gbawe Experimental School near Accra for her confidence.



I am not happy that you are pregnant because our society abhors premarital sex among young boys and girls however my joy lies in the fact that you have not given up on yourself, she remarked.



The candidate, whose pregnancy is six months old and hopes to be a soldier in the future, said she has adequately prepared for the examinations which begins on Monday June 5, 2017. The Deputy Minister who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Weija-Gbawe Constituency in the Ga South Municipal Assembly in the Greater Accra Region encountered the candidate during her rounds to distribute 1500 Mathematical Sets and pens to BECE candidates in 29 public schools within her constituency (Weija-Gbawe) on Friday.



Embracing her in an affectionate hug, she urged the candidate to keep her spirit high so that her dreams to be a soldier will come into being.



Speaking to the BECE candidates at New Gbawe Cluster of Schools, the MP urged them to sit up to the task and ensure that they score the best of grades to qualify for Senior High School.



She reminded them that the governments Free SHS Programme begins with them so they must take advantage of it.



The Deputy Minister also assured them of her scholarship scheme for needy but brilliant students which she expected them to benefit from to continue their education.



The Unit Head for Education Management and Information Systems (EMIS) at the Ga South Municipal Education Directorate, Ramatu Gariba indicated that they were encouraged by the MPs presentation to the candidates and assured that the teachers have invested into the candidates very well and were hopeful for best of results this year.



Janet Opokua who spoke to the Daily Guide said her friends, teachers and the School Health Education Programme (SHEP) Coordinator were a great source of inspiration to her as their encouragements helped her to overcome the challenges related to her pregnancy.

Source: myjoyonline.com









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The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has left Ghana to attend meetings of the United Nations Advocacy Group of Eminent Personalities on the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals in Belgium and the United States of America (USA), in his capacity as co-Chairperson of the Group.

He is also expected to attend the G-20 Partnership for Africa summit in Germany. In Belgium, President Akufo-Addo will meet, in Brussels, with Norwegian Prime Minister, Her Excellency Erna Solberg, his co-chair of the UN SDGs Advocates Group of Eminent Personalities.

The President will also hold separate meetings with the King of Belgium, King Philippe; Belgian Prime Minister, Charles Michel; and President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker. At the opening of the 2017 European Development Days (EDD), Europes leading forum on international co-operation and development, he will deliver an address on the theme Making Gender and the Youth the Private Sectors Business.

In the United States of America, President Akufo-Addo will participate and address the UN Oceans Conference, the high-level UN Conference being held in New York to support the Implementation of SDG 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development (Life under Water). The President will also have his first formal meeting with UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres. In Germany, President Akufo-Addo will pay a courtesy call on the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, and participate in the G-20 Africa Partnership Summit, being held in Berlin to deliberate on Germanys Marshall Plan for Africa, at the invitation of the German Chancellor.

He will also deliver a speech on the theme Ghana, Africas Rising Star, at an event organised by the Konrad Adenaeur Stiftung. President Akufo-Addo will then pay a two-day private visit to the United Kingdom, and return to Ghana on Saturday, 17th June, 2017. The President will be accompanied by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchway MP, and officials of the Presidency and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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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The Managing Editor of the Al Hajj Newspaper, Alhaji Bature Iddrissu has revealed that the litany of problems that have bedeviled the country must be blamed on former President Jerry John Rawlings.



He ruled this country for 19 years and I am telling you that the current problems we are facing must be laid at his doorstep. 19 wasted years he could have done more to develop the country, he said.



According to him, if the his 19-year rule had been properly used, the country will not be where it is today indicating that the blame game between the Mills, Kufuor and John Mahama regimes would not have existed if he Rawlings was up to the task during his reign.



While other countries like Malaysia were moving ahead, he kept drawing the development fortunes of the country back. I am not saying he did not do well but he could have done better, he added.



Alhaji Bature said the fact Rawlings did not steal state money does not mean he can stand integrity test anywhere and has no moral high ground to accuse some persons of lacking that same integrity.



While commending him for not diverting state funds, he warned the former president to be measured by his utterances challenging him to an integrity test.



He wants to tell us he is a man of integrity but I can assure you that he cannot stand 10% of it.



Did he account to Ghanaians in 2,000 before he left office? He was supposed to give a state of nation address before exiting but he never did it.



Is that what he calls integrity when he failed to account for his stewardship, he asked on Adom TV.

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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Let me tell you this: memes can ruin your life. Your life can be destroyed by memes. Know this.

They have certainly ruined the lives of ten incoming freshman at Harvard University, who had their acceptances withdrawn over offensive memes posted in a private group chat.

Basically, about 100 members of Harvard Colleges incoming freshman class contacted each other through a Facebook page set up to connect new Harvard students. They clearly decided that said Facebook page wasnt cool enough, so they moved to a private Facebook group which the Washington Post claims was named Harvard memes for horny bourgeois teens.

Yes, the once esteemed publication was forced to debase itself and publish the words horny bourgeois teens. Sad!

But, as is the fate of all group chats, they started posting extremely hateful memes. Lets not pretend that isnt the natural trajectory of all group chats. Even the most innocent, wholesome group chat can quickly become polluted by even one evil meme. According to the Post:

Some of the groups members decided to form an offshoot group in which students could share obscene, R-rated memes, a student told the Crimson. The founders of the messaging group demanded that students post provocative memes in the main group chat to gain admittance to the smaller group.

According to student newspaper The Harvard Crimson, many of the memes related to mocking sexual assault, the Holocaust and the deaths of children.

In mid-April, university administrators caught on to what was going down here. They were tipped off to the increasingly extreme content in this spinoff group, and issued letters to at least 10 students involved informing them that their acceptances had been revoked.

Representatives from the admissions office emailed students they believed were involved, demanding they turn over every picture posted in the group. The email was obtained by the Crimson:

The Admissions Committee was disappointed to learn that several students in a private group chat for the Class of 2021 were sending messages that contained offensive messages and graphics. As we understand you were among the members contributing such material to this chat, we are asking that you submit a statement by tomorrow at noon to explain your contributions and actions for discussion with the Admissions Committee.

Welp. Imagine explaining that one to mum and dad.

Source: The Washington Post.

Photo: Getty Images.
A 22-year-old from Queensland has been found dead in Ontario, Canada, four days after a canoeing accident.

Former University of Southern Queensland student Bennett Zeller  who has been living in Mission, British Columbia  was canoeing with a friend in Georgian Bay when their boat capsized.

His mate, a 26-year-old Ontario native, managed to swim ashore and was treated for hypothermia before being released from hospital; Zeller, who wasnt wearing a life jacket, tragically drowned.

His mother Kathrine posted of the familys heartache on Facebook, saying shes dead inside.

Thank you to everyone for your (sic) Thoughts and love at this worst time of my life. I cant reply to you all but please know how much it means to me. I am dead inside and have nothing left to give anyone but one day I may be able to thank you all properly.

Zellers being remembered by family and friends as kind-hearted and adventurous.

RIP. :'(

Source: The Chronicle.

Photo: Facebook / Bennett Zeller.
Family and friends of a Brisbane woman living in London have appealed for information on her whereabouts, after she reportedly went missing during the deadly terror attack on Saturday night.

Sara Zelenak, 21, was reportedly with friends on London Bridge when the attack occurred. A friend wrote on Facebook that they were separated during the incident, and that she hasnt seen or heard from Zelenak since.

Another friend wrote we believe she dropped her phone in the chaos and now it is flat. At time of writing, that appeal for information has been shared over 10,000 times.

It is understood Zelenak has worked as an au pair in the UK for three months, and has kept in regular contact with her family during that time.

It is also understood that the consulate is assisting friends and family in their search to find Zelenak.

Two other Australians were wounded in the incident. Both are recovering in hospital.



Source: The Australian / ABC.

Photo: Liv Cootes / Facebook.
The Melbourne siege gunman was meeting a sex worker at the serviced apartments, Victoria Police have confirmed.

Addressing media this morning, Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton confirmed that the gunman, identified as 29-year-old Yacqub Khayre, had made a booking via an escort agency, and requested to meet the woman at the serviced apartments in Brighton.

Upon his arrival, he shot an employee of the serviced apartments dead, whom Ashton described as very tragically being in the wrong place at the wrong time.



He then made a phone call to Channel 7 claiming the siege was for IS and for al-Qaeda  which Ashton confirmed is why police are investigating possible terror links  and held the woman against her will in the ground floor apartment. She remains significantly traumatised, but was physically uninjured.

The suspect was shot dead by police around 6pm last night. Ashton confirmed he was an Australian national who had come to this country as a refugee from Somalia as a small child. Hed served significant jail time for non terror-related crimes, and was out on bail when the incident occurred.

His prison time had been extended for terrible behaviour as an inmate, Ashton said, yet he was appearing to comply with all the terms of his parole.

Hes been complaint with the terms of his parole including drug tests, attending appointments, and meeting curfew, said Ashton, adding that initial investigations didnt reveal anything to suggest he was about to commit these crimes. As with all of these matters well look into each and every claim.

Ashton absolutely downplayed any possible terror links, despite screaming headlines from the Herald Sun and the Daily Mail calling the gunman THE FACE OF TERROR and asking WHY WAS HE ALLOWED IN?.

Well look, were aware of [ISIS] having claimed responsibility, but then they always tend to jump up and claim responsibility whenever something happens, he said, later adding that the suspect was acquitted of terror-related incident in NSW in 2009.

When questions about a possible connection to the recent terror attacks in Manchester and London, he said there was nothing to suggest that.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews repeatedly commended the bravery and professionalism of the special operatives who were involved in the operation last night.

What is beyond question is the professionalism, the bravery, the courage and the effectiveness of the specialist police force, he said.

Three officers were shot during the siege last night. Two were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries while a third was treated at the scene.

Photo: Victoria Police / Facebook.
Two of the three men who perpetrated the deadly van and knife terror attack in London have been identified by police, with one of them previously appearing in a documentary about jihadis in Britain.

Khurum Shazad Butt, 27, and Rachid Redouane, 30, perpetrated Saturday nights attack, which left seven people dead and dozens wounded. Both were shot dead by police responding to the incident.

Authorities are still working to determine the identity of the third attacker.

In 2016, Butt was briefly shown in the film The Jihadist Next Door. Footage captured him praying in front of the distinctive black flag sometimes used by groups such as Islamic State.

Butt was known to police prior to the attack, however MI5 says they had no intelligence to suggest that this attack was being planned. Redouane, a pastry chef, was not known to authorities.

After the incident, police extended their scope for identifying potential attackers. Currently, there are 500 investigations covering 3,000 suspects.

Source: The New York Times / The Australian.

Photo: Leon Neal / Getty.
ICYMI, your great mates Hamish & Andys newest show True Story premiered last night  and its been basking in the glow of very favourable reviews.

If you didnt catch it, picture Drunk History only sober. And with a much higher production value.

But the shows big debut been marred by weird claims Andy Lee stole the idea from fellow radio presenter, Nova host David Luttsy Lutteral.

Old mate Luttsy claims he told Andy about a show he planned to pitch to TV networks called Cracking Yarns (we wont go there) back in 2014, and that he and Nova co-host Ash Bradnam had even filmed a pilot with Nine.

According to him, True Story  which sees everyday Aussies share a pub yarn with Hamish & Andy, who then recreate it with their comedic mates  is word for word the idea they discussed over a tipple in NYC.

Im just throwing it out there, he said during the segment on Ash, Kip and Luttsy, which is Brisbanes Nova 1069 brekkie show. Ash, you were part of the pilot we did. Id half shot that pilot and then other things have taken over so I havent actually completed it.

This reeks of a tall tale, tbh, and Channel Nine have blasted the allegations of plagiarism as totally false.

Radio Karate [True Storys production company] have confirmed that the format for the program True Story with Hamish & Andy was conceived, and was in development by Radio Karate, over a year before Andy and Luttsy met for a drink in New York.

True Story > Cracking Yarns thnx.

[In unrelated but no-less-important news, heres Hamishs baby son Sonny being the cutest lil puddin ever. Enjoy!]





Catch True Story at 7.30pm Mondays on Channel Nine.
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FILE - In this July 4, 2010 file photo, Roberto Borge, then candidate of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, PRI, for governor of the state of Quintana Roo, celebrates after preliminary results showed he held a lead in the state elections in Chetumal, Mexico. Borge, a fugitive ex-governor wanted for alleged corruption in connection with the sale of state properties worth hundreds of millions of dollars was arrested in Panama, Mexican authorities said early Monday, June 5, 2017. A statement from the federal Attorney General's Office said Borge, who was governor of Quintana Roo from 2011 to 2016, was detained at the Panama City airport just as he was to board a flight to Paris. (AP Photo/Israel Leal, File)
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, a worker moves a cage holding a Giant Panda with the words "You Bang, please take care" at the Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in Chengdu, in southwestern China's Sichuan Province in early Tuesday, June 6, 2017. Three giant pandas born and raised in Japan have arrived in Chengdu in southwestern China on Monday night, where they will begin a new life, and, hopefully, breed. (Xue Yubin/Xinhua via AP)
GOP remains on top in Northern Michigan but Democrats made some inroads Tuesday

The election showed that while the Republican Party still dominates Northern Michigan, there were some results that should give Democrats some hope.
I was driving eastbound on Interstate 70 through Ohio and there's an interchange of interstate 77. It goes north and south and I was going east toward that, wide awake. I drive a brand-new truck. I had plenty of sleep. Driving conditions were perfect. I could see stars in the sky and a partial moon. It was very bright. Then, as I got close to interchange, there was some slight fog but it wasn't anything too drastic, it was just minor but, you know, like, to make a long story short, the last thing I remember is approaching this interchange and what seemed to be like, exactly like, maybe 2 or 3 seconds. I'm out of the fog and about 2 or 3 minutes after that, I noticed the mile marker signs being different, meaning, instead of being 81-82-83 they were 37-38, that way... lower sequence and I noticed that the moon, that was in front of me, was out to my left, so I was obviously going south.



I pulled over right away. I pulled out my map to look at the very next exit coming up and I was literally 15 miles south of that interchange in what seemed to be about, maybe, 30 seconds. It really really freaked me out because I consider myself a pretty sharp individual. I'm in good health. No medication. I'm on a dedicated route that I've been doing for three and a half years. I can drive it blindfolded and for that to happen. I had to drive an extra couple of miles to get myself situated. I could not believe how far south that I had driven and the only thing I can think of is that I went through that fog bank and the rest is history and it's always really bothered me. Like thinking there was something wrong with my mental health or my, you know, my physical presence.

One summer, at around 10:00, a few years ago, I looked out of my bedroom window. Then something truly strange caught my eye. In the bush in my neighbor's yard was these little twinkling lights. Now at first I assumed they were lightning bugs, which I had played with as a little girl. But as I looked at the bush, closer, I noticed little things flying around the bush, about the size of my pointer finger. I then watched the bush for about an hour when I finally fell asleep. The next night I walked outside about ten feet away from the bush. It was very dark and I could hardly make out the blinking lights, when I felt a sharp pain on my leg. I looked down and I saw a bead of blood on my leg, coming from a small bite on my leg, no bigger than a bug bite. I ran inside and never asked or went outside at night again. I can only assume these were faeries or pixies, and not the nice kind. Now, when I look out my window I don't see the lights anymore, but I remember this strange encounter. - AM

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********** Fouke, Ark. , Mayor Terry Purvis has received a Freedom of Information request about the Fouke Monster from MuckRock.com."I've never had a request like this. It's weird," Purvis said."We don't have any records or reports of known sightings in the city limits of Fouke of the Fouke Monster, Southern Sasquatch or other unidentified or supposed paranormal," Purvis said."All the sightings have been out in the county."Purvis responded to MuckRock.com with an fax saying, "The City of Fouke Police Department does not have any police reports pertaining to 'Fouke Monster,' 'Southern Sasquatch' or supposed paranormal creatures."The FOI requested was made by Nathanael King, a staff reporter, representing the publication MuckRock.com."The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes," said the request from King.The explanation of the organization said, "MuckRock is a nonprofit, collaborative news site that brings together journalists, researchers, activists, and regular citizens to request, analyze, and share government documents, making politics more transparent and democracies more informed.""Being the mayor I get to see and hear of some pretty interesting stuff," Purvis said. "Some things are pretty awesome and some just makes you want to take pause and pray for humanity, but this one takes the cake."I am literally speechless. The kicker is, by law I have to answer this. I will do my best and try to be professional in my response. I don't have anything for them. the Fouke Monster and Southern Sasquatch never visited downtown."**********CARLE PLACE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork)  More than 100 reptiles were found hopping, crawling and slithering around a house in Nassau County Monday.As CBS2s Brian Conybeare reported, many of the animals are banned in New York state and are considered extremely dangerous.The block of 11th Street in Carle Place where the discovery happened is quiet outside. But inside one house, investigators said they found the assortment of reptiles  many of which the Nassau County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals noted are illegal to own.The SPCA on Monday afternoon brought out a baby alligator that had its mouth taped shut as a precaution. There were also dozens of turtles in the basement in what investigators called horrendous conditions.Theyre in pretty bad shape, Michael Ralbovsky from RSS Oasis Animal Sanctuary said.So bad, in fact, that at least ten of the more than 100 reptiles found were dead; including two snakes, an iguana, and a lizard known as a blue tongued skink.If youre not taking care of them and youre abusing them, then why would you have a hundred of them? It doesnt make sense, Ralbovsky said.****************************** Roswell has FINALLY been 'solved' - and 'truth' is more shocking than you could believe - Nick Redfern will be our guest on Arcane Radio on June 21st 10PM ET Ripley's SLS Capture - Dave Spinks, Society of the Supernatural, will be our guest on Arcane Radio on June 7th 10PM ET
This piece, titled, The New Plague, depicts life in Philadelphia in the age of COVID. Artist and educator Raphael Tiberino began painting at the age of four and has been in the spotlight as a professional creative for over 25 years.
Professor Poopypants in DreamWorks Animations CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS: THE FIRST EPIC MOVIE. The studio was bought by Comcast in April 2016, and the SEC is accusing a Wharton MBA grad of making millions with inside information. Read more

The Securities and Exchange Commission has identified a China-based investment banker it says was in a position to send inside information to Shaohua "Michael" Yin, a Wharton MBA grad who with his partners made $30 million on DreamWorksSKG shares last year by buying them in the weeks before the movie studio was sold to Comcast Corp.

A second banker enabled Yin's group to make $7 million more on illegal trades in Lattice Semiconductor Corp. before its sale to a Chinese investor, the agency said.

In a revised complaint filed in federal court in New York on May 30, the SEC identified Chaofeng Ji, managing director of China-based conglomerate Legend Holdings, as "one potential source of the material nonpublic information about the DreamWorks acquisition." Legend, a government-backed, publicly traded company, is the controlling shareholder of computer manufacturer Lenovo,

In the revised suit, the SEC accuses Ji of "unjust enrichment." Ji did not respond to efforts to reach him at Legend's Beijing office. The SEC on May 31 issued a summons directing Ji to respond to its allegations within 21 days. As of Monday, no lawyer had registered to represent Ji in the case.

In its initial complaint in February, the SEC accused Yin of insider trading through accounts opened in the names of his parents and three others. The SEC said those accounts were used to buy millions of DreamWorks shares on margin as the studio was in sale talks, first with Chinese investors, and later with Comcast. Comcast heard DreamWorks was in talks through a lawyer, then outbid the Chinese investors and bought DreamWorks. The SEC said Yin controlled the accounts in the five investors' names, and directed the insider trades.

In the revised complaint, the SEC says the investors include, besides Yin's parents, a cousin of Yin's, Yin's children's piano teacher, and a cousin of Ji's. The SEC also says Ji's firm was part of the group that was initially in talks with DreamWorks.

The SEC said Ji and Yin have been friends since working together at UBS Securities Hong Kong Ltd. The SEC says Ji last year put money into his cousin's account, which Yin used to buy DreamWorks shares. At the time, Ji's firm was working with the same China investors who were negotiating with DreamWorks to buy another U.S. company, Kentucky-based Lexmark International. Legend and its partners later agreed to buy Lexmark.

The SEC cited these facts for calling Ji a likely conduit for DreamWorks insider information: Jin's and Li's friendship; their common use of Ji's cousin's account; and the fact that Ji financed the purchase of DreamWorks shares "concurrent" with his work on the Lexmark deal with DreamWorks' would-be Chinese buyers while Jin and Li were in "frequent phone and email content."

The SEC also said an unidentified person it calls the "Canyon Bridge Insider" gave Yin inside information about China Reform Fund Management Co. Ltd.'s plan to buy another U.S. company, Lattice Semiconductor Corp. of Portland, Ore.

The insider, who worked for China Reform Fund, had worked with Yin at investment bank Warburg Pincus' Hong Kong office and was a "social acquaintance" of Yin's, according to the SEC. Phone records showed the insider and Yin spoke while Lattice was negotiating its possible sale with China Reform. That day Yin bought more than $1.3 million in Lattice shares. Yin spent millions more buying Lattice shares on margin, talking often with the insider, and buying shares. Finally, the insider set up Canyon Bridge Capital Partners Inc. and bought Lattice, boosting its share value and illegally enriching Yin, the SEC said.

In the initial federal lawsuit, the SEC had admitted having only circumstantial evidence  that Yin had "suspiciously" amassed DreamWorks shares with borrowed money, after confidential deal talks began, and then profited hugely when the deal got done. That was enough to enable the SEC in February to convince a judge to temporarily freeze $80 million in accounts which the SEC said Yin controlled.

Given the lack of harder evidence, Yin's lawyers had asked the judge to unfreeze the accounts and throw out the SEC suit. But the SEC expanded its complaint May 30, one day before a court-imposed deadline, to identify Ji and the Canyon Bridge Insider as potential sources of Yin's insider trading information.
A report by analysts with Raymond James says the number of applications for gun-purchase background checks is up. These guns were inside the Firearms Inspection Unit in Philadelphia in August 2012. ( DAVID MAIALETTI / Staff Read more

FBI data show that the number of Americans applying for background checks to purchase firearms rose 6.5 percent last month compared with the previous year, a sign that a "solid increase" in U.S. gun and ammunition sales is on the way, analysts Dan Wewer and Mitch Ingles told clients of investment brokerage Raymond James & Associates in a report Tuesday.

Firearms analysts say background checks have proved a good predictor of future gun and ammunition sales since the FBI began tracking them in 1998. Wewer and Ingles used FBI numbers as adjusted by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a gunmakers' trade group based in Connecticut. The foundation discounts concealed-carry permit checks and other checks that tend to be used by current gun owners, counting mostly checks that correspond to the number of people planning to buy more guns, said Michael Bazinet, head spokesman for the organization.

In the past, background checks have tended to slump when gun-friendly Republicans are elected, but they rise when gun collectors and other weapon owners rush to buy more firearms on fears that Democrats  who tend to support restrictions that are popular in gun-crime-plagued urban communities such as Philadelphia  will make it harder to buy weapons and ammunition.

The last three months have defied that political trend, however. As in past presidential-election years, background checks rose sharply in most months from December 2015 through November 2016, when news media reported polls that showed Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton leading Republican Donald Trump. And checks initially fell in the months after Trump's victory, compared with a year earlier. Trump had campaigned against gun restrictions.

But starting in March, background checks began rising even from last year's campaign levels, though voters in November put anti-gun-control Republicans in charge of the government in Washington.

In Pennsylvania, which voted for Trump, the number of background checks rose faster than the national average  more than 10 percent, to 54,700 in May, compared with a year earlier. In New York, which voted for Clinton, the number of checks rose even more, 15 percent, though the total was still less than half of Pennsylvania's. In New Jersey and Delaware, which also voted for Clinton, the number of checks declined.

Has President Trump in the early part of his term failed to reassure voters, or are other forces at work?

Bazinet said gun fans have lately taken more aggressively to social media to promote gun ownership and recreational shooting, while gun ranges and other gun-dependent businesses have increased marketing, adding billboards, hiring female instructors for women new to guns, promoting expanded concealed-carry laws, and improving gun ranges to make them more attractive to women and young people.

"The fact the president is supportive" probably helps attract some buyers, but it's "hard to measure," Bazinet concluded.

May is typically the slowest month of the year for background checks. This May's increase was almost six times the 1.1 percent gain recorded between May 2015 and May 2016. Applications spiked last fall to an annualized 16.1 million  the highest since just after former President Barack Obama's first election  before the winter decline. As of last month, the annual rate was back to 15.3 million, the highest since Trump's inauguration. The total was just 10.8 million in 2010.

The Trump jump in gun and ammo sales looks like good news for Cabela's and Dick's Sporting Goods, two U.S. retail chains that have struggled to boost sales in recent years. Firearms and ammunition make up about 20 percent of Cabela's sales and 10 percent of Dick's, the Raymond James report said. For both chains, gun and ammo sales tend to spike soon after background checks increase, and to slump when fewer Americans apply.
Wills Eye Hospital may get relief in fight with Medicare over its designation as a hospital for reimbursement and treatment purposes. Read more

Medicare regulators gave Wills Eye Hospital a glimmer of hope that the facility could regain its designation as a hospital for reimbursement and treatment purposes, according to a letter Tuesday from Seema Verma, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Wills, despite its name, is not a hospital under Medicare. The Center City institution gave up that designation in July 2006 when it sold its inpatient business to Jefferson, operating instead as an ambulatory surgery center at Eighth and Walnut Streets.

Wills has been fighting to get that hospital certification back since 2013, when it completed a $6.5 million renovation that included a four-bed inpatient unit. But Medicare officials resisted, insisting that Wills is an ambulatory surgery center because it does not have enough inpatients.

Veema's letter said: "CMS is in the process of reviewing our hospital surveyor guidance to better clarify when a facility meets the statutory definition of a hospital. The surveyor clarification would focus on a hospital's capability and capacity to provide inpatient care."

Wills could reapply for Medicare certification as a hospital and, if it did, "would be surveyed under these new expectations once implemented," the letter said.

Members of Pennsylvania's Congressional delegation, including U.S. Sens. Bob Casey and Patrick Toomey and U.S. Rep. Patrick Meehan, have been advocating for Wills in Washington.

Wills Eye officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Shira Goodman and Michael Cogbil talk with students at Cooke Middle School about gun violence. Read more

National Gun Violence Awareness Day on Friday quickly turned into Gun Violence Awareness weekend, which I realized somewhere into my second or third event could easily turn into Gun Violence Awareness month, or year.

Seriously, that's how many events around gun violence, including my own on the Art Museum steps on June 15, there seem to be at any given time in Philadelphia.

Makes sense when you consider that for the year, we were already at 570-plus shooting incidents, 485 shooting victims, and 127 homicides. That was before the five homicides between Saturday and Monday morning, one of them a double murder that sounds more like an execution.

So, it was interesting (read: infuriating, disgusting, exhausting) that shortly after the latest terrorist attack in London, which left seven dead and 48 injured, President Trump tweeted:

"Do you notice we are not having a gun debate right now? That's because they used knives and a truck!"

Imagine how many more casualties there would have been if the U.K. didn't have strict gun laws? Imagine if Trump was up at all hours of the day and night tweeting about the gun violence in the country he keeps telling us he's going to make great again instead of promoting a racist travel ban on the backs of the freshly fallen?

Gabby Giffords, gunshot victim and former lawmaker, wasted no time clapping back:

"Mr. President, every day we are having a gun debate because every day 90 people in our country die from gun violence. Many of them are kids."

Kids like Khiseer Davis-Papther, a 13-year-old who was shot in the head in March inside a takeout restaurant in Nicetown.

On Friday morning, his classmates at Jay Cooke Elementary School gathered to have a conversation about gun violence, led by CeaseFire PA.

No matter how many times executive director Shira Goodman explained the Second Amendment to students, they asked the same thing:

"Why can't we just ban guns?"

That made perfect sense to them, children who raised their hands high when asked if they had lost a loved one to a shooting, who are as familiar with the sound of gunfire as they are the jingle from the ice-cream truck.

Who wondered aloud why the killing just can't stop.

But sense always seems to be in short supply during conversations about gun policies, held miles away from people or neighborhoods taking the biggest brunt of unchecked chaos, definitely far from the people who gathered at an event hosted on Friday night by Lisa Epsinosa for families of gun victims. Espinosa's 26-year-old son was shot outside a nightclub last year.

More than a few times this weekend, I found myself asking people what more could be done. There doesn't seem to be a lack of programs, events, hand wringing. Yet we fall short.

There are always more shootings, those that always briefly catch the nation's attention and those that never do, like the May 20 shooting of nine people dancing at a North Philadelphia graduation party.

"If this happened in Bensalem, it would be called a mass shooting," Ronald Crawford, an addiction counselor, told my colleagues.

Exactly.

If I expected company in my pity party, I was hanging with the wrong people all weekend. There were grief, frustration, anger  especially from those whose murders of loved ones have not been solved.

But nowhere was there even a whiff of defeat.

At the second annual Angel Picnic held by National Homicide Justice Alliance, in collaboration with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, CeaseFire PA and Operation Save Our City, M.A. Nord, the legislative lead on their Philadelphia team, addressed that.

"With this litany of lives, stolen and shattered by gun violence, and the failure of our government to take meaningful action, it would be easy to become cynical," she told those gathered. "And yet I remain hopeful. And inspired. Because of the people that are gathered here today  a community of people who do not subscribe to cynicism, because they know that cynicism is a refuge for cowards."

We are a lot of things in Philly, but not cowards.

Let's show that by coming together on the Art Museum steps at 6 p.m. June 15 in a united stand against violence.

Let's commit to keep fighting to end the violence that affects us all.
Bill Cosby arrives for his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse. Read more

Cliff Huxtable is dead and Bill Cosby killed him.

The jury's verdict in the current sex-assault case doesn't matter. Bill Cosby's reputation is in the landfill, mixed with Cliff Huxtable's ashes. Cosby has traded designer-label sweaters for, likely, the label of a sexual predator.

The loss of reputation, what some cultures call "face," is enough punishment for the former Jell-O Pudding front man, some believe. I am not one of them.

Looking past Cosby's cloak of celebrity, it seems clear he raped, sexually abused, and humiliated women for decades. If you don't believe that, you have to disbelieve accusatory stories told by more than 50 women who came forward. I wonder how many more women could not bring themselves to do that.

He survived a smudge on his squeaky-clean image when his love child Autumn Jackson identified him as her father and he admitted it in 1997. That proved adultery he delicately framed as a "rendezvous." Things always sound pretty in French. His wife, Camille, did not attend the opening day of the trial.

Cosby is a unique case because his shield was not just "celebrity." Sometimes celebrity can work against you, as in the case of dunderhead Justin Bieber. Is any cop or prosecutor going to cut him a break?

Cosby's celebrity was varnished by his likability, a smiling mug many of us have seen all our lives  the totally acceptable, nonthreatening black male who comes across just as if he is one of "us."

Like O.J. Simpson.

If Cosby walks, there will be no riots.

If Cosby walks, will there be cheers, as followed Simpson's acquittal in his criminal trial?

If there are cheers, will they come from the black community or the white community? You think both? If Cosby walks, you could ask, as with O.J., how a man so much a part of the system can be cheered for beating the system?

Or if his race exacerbated the drama surrounding him. There may be some truth in that, but the furor is driven more by the moral failings of someone whom the media proclaimed "America's Dad." He's gone from paternal to predator in the minds of many.

In the O.J. trial, prosecutor Marcia Clark said she made a big mistake when she failed to discuss race with the jurors, nine of whom were black. The jury had 10 women and two men, only two with college degrees, all Democrats, only one of whom regularly read a newspaper.

For Cosby, two of the 12 jurors are African American, drawn from Allegheny County, in the western part of the state. The prosecution had challenged some black jurors, and the defense challenged some women jurors.

Does jockeying over race and gender matter? When a single vote can prevent conviction, yes it does.

Many Americans believe that defendants are entitled to be judged by a jury of their peers. A peer is someone of the same legal class, according to one dictionary definition, someone equal to another in ability, qualifications, age, background, social status, possibly race and gender.

But a jury of peers is a myth, a concept that "some lawyers may have latched on to" from British law harking back to the Magna Carta, says Jules Epstein, law professor and director of advocacy programs at Temple University's Beasley School of Law.

In the United States, the Sixth Amendment guarantees "a public trial by an impartial jury," Epstein says. The system seeks "a fair cross-section of the community."

If defined narrowly, the judgment-by-peers concept is foolish.

How do you select a panel of peers for cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer? Who are Cosby's peers  multimillionaire African Americans with Ph.D.s?

If we had a jury of true peers for every defendant, it's hard to see how prosecutors ever would get a conviction.

That's why the Constitution stresses impartiality, says Epstein.

That presents its own problems.

It was hard to find jurors who were impartial about Cosby, who was one of America's best-loved entertainers even before he invented Cliff Huxtable and then killed him.

The jurors are not truly Cosby's peers and are challenged to judge him on the facts of the case, not on the TV Emmys he won. Today, the words The Cosby Show have a malignant feel.
File: Former Licenses and Inspection commissioner Fran Burns answers a question during a special city council investigative committee hearing on demolition practices in Philadelphia and elsewhere August 1, 2013. Read more

Fran Burns, the Philadelphia School District's chief operating officer, is leaving the school system at the end of the month.

Burns, who has been a member of Superintendent William R. Hite Jr.'s cabinet for the last four years, will teach at Villanova University, her alma mater.

Who will fill Burns' role in both the short and long term has not been determined, said Kevin Geary, a district spokesman.

Burns previously worked as executive director of the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority and as chief of Philadelphia's Department of Licenses and Inspections.

Jumping to Villanova "is a nice way to translate the work that I've done for the past 20 years into a similar but different experience in teaching," Burns said. "It feels like public service, but just in a different arena."

She said she hopes to have more time to spend with her family.

Burns will be teaching classes in public administration at the university beginning in the fall semester. She holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from Villanova.

She said she was proud of her work at the district, in particular "trying to rebuild a sense of service and responsiveness and really being school-facing and supportive," said Burns. "The only reasons operations exists is to support teachers, principals, and children."

Burns said she was proud of the relationships she had built with the labor unions representing the district's blue-collar workers.

She said she did not believe her departure would affect ongoing negotiations with the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers. The district's largest union has been working without a contract for nearly four years.
Shawn Bishop got married in Rivera Maya three years ago and opted to pay for custom outfits for his groomsmen. The $300 for light-tan custom linen pants, untucked shirts, and sandals also included individual fittings at each mans home, spread out between New York City, Hershey, and Philadelphia. Read more

At Bryan Pawling's September nuptials at Sterlingbrook Farm, he and his seven groomsmen will be wearing navy-blue suits, but each one custom made: The guys chose their lining, the width of their lapels  even the thread color on their buttons.

"You wouldn't get that in an off-the-rack suit," said Pawling, 28, of Westmont, "and the price you couldn't beat  $399  so the groomsmen were all excited."

In anticipation of his Hawaiian honeymoon, Pawling picked for his Indochino suit a toucan-and-pineapple lining with the monogram stitched inside: "She wears the pants."

"The options for groomsmen have skyrocketed," said Christiane Lehman, owner of Truly You Events in Old City. "It's off-balance when the brides and bridesmaids are spending hours on hair and makeup, the dress and shoes, while the grooms rent some ill-fitting saggy suit. It's elevating fashion when the guys step it up."

Over the last five years, more people have chosen to go custom for their wedding, spurred by Pinterest possibilities, a greater interest by men in fashion, and economics: You could rent, but why not invest in something you could wear  and like  again?

The budget is flexible. Among Lehman's clients, one wedding party spent about $250 each for a beach vibe  pants from H&M, vests and shirts from J. Crew, and ties and a pocket square from Tie Bar. Another, just the groom and his brother, bought $1,500 custom tuxedos from Commonwealth Proper.

When offering advice, Lehman considers the guy  "grooms who are more fashion conscience and want to make their stamp as part of the wedding, as opposed to the guys who just don't care that much," she said.

When its Philadelphia location opened 2 years ago, Indochino, based in Vancouver, sold custom suits or tuxedos to one or two wedding parties each week. Now it's seven wedding parties. The store hosts a group consultation for the guys to choose their options, and then everyone comes back for a fitting. Those who live out of town can measure themselves with the help of an online instructional video and send in their measurements. "We do that increasingly in the globalized world we live in," said Dean Handspiker, Indochino's vice president of design, product, and store development. (Tuxedos are trending over suits, and midnight blue is the hot new color, he says.)

But custom isn't for everyone. Greg Argos asked his six groomsmen for his July wedding, but ultimately, they found the price was too steep.

"The groomsmen have different careers and incomes," said Argos, 31, of Bella Vista. "Some of my groomsmen are coming from the West Coast so they have a lot of expenses already. When we crunched the numbers, renting tuxes ended up about $140 to $150 with shoes and accessories."

Robert Fung, president of Robbini Bespoke in Center City, offered custom outfits for wedding parties when he started his company in 2011.

"As custom clothing has become more popular, prominent, and relevant, it's extended to grooms, but it's really taken off in the last two or three years," especially, he said, as a groomsmen gift.

Robbini Bespoke custom suits cost $900, tuxedos $1,200, vests and pants $250 each, and shirts $125. As a personal service custom clothier, Fung goes to his clients' homes for fittings and delivers the finished outfits.

That was important to Shawn Bishop, who got married in Riviera Maya three years ago and opted to pay for custom outfits for his 10 groomsmen. The $300 for light-tan custom linen pants, untucked shirts, and sandals also included individual fittings at each man's home, spread out between New York City, Hershey, and Philadelphia.

"He measured them up and hand-delivered the suits afterward  it was really white-glove service," said Bishop, 36, of Malvern, who also got a jacket with hot-pink lining to coordinate with the bridesmaids.

Customizing was also a practical choice: It's hot in Mexico, and renting a tux or suit for a week can be just as expensive as buying.

"We were going more linen and sandals," Bishop said. "We were all into fashion, trendy guys who enjoy dressing sharp and looking good."

When Matt Flannery got married at a church in Media, followed by a reception at the Philadelphia Marriott in July 2013, his dozen groomsmen were decked out in black tuxedos from Jos. A. Bank.

"They'd each expect to pay a couple hundred dollars to rent, and I thought it was important to have them own the tux at the end of the experience," said Flannery, 35. Each groomsman paid $250 for his own tuxedo and shoes, and Flannery picked up the roughly $100 cost for each man's shirt, suspenders, and bow tie.

"I have a friend in an upcoming wedding and his rental is going to cost more than it cost for him to be in my wedding. And he's going to have that tux for life."
A water main break Monday has left about 85 homes without service in Abington, officials said.

About 2:15 p.m., a 16-inch concrete main ruptured on Edge Hill Road, said Donna Alston, a spokeswoman for Aqua Pennsylvania. Water to the main was shut off on Edge Hill Road between Custer Avenue and Susquehanna Road around 4:20 p.m.

About 85 homes were expected to be without water service until the early morning hours of Tuesday, Alston said. The water main was built in 1911.

Once water service is restored, those customers affected will be advised to boil their water until told otherwise by the utility, which will conduct testing to make sure the water is safe, Alston said.

Meanwhile, the utility has dispatched a water wagon to provide water to customers who bring a portable container, Alston said.
Tuesday June 6, 2017 Bill Cosby reacts to a fan who shouted to him that it is her birthday as he and an aide walk into the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., for Day 2 of his sexual assault trial. Read more

Bill Cosby's long-awaited trial opened Monday with a former talent agency assistant describing how the entertainer drugged and sexually assaulted her in a Los Angeles hotel room two decades ago, a tactic prosecutors contend foreshadowed the alleged 2004 attack that led to his arrest.

Kelly Johnson told jurors in Norristown that she felt powerless and afraid after Cosby gave her a pill during a 1996 lunch date that left her feeling woozy. The next thing she knew, Johnson said, she was on his bed with her dress undone around her waist. She woke up later at her home with no memory of how she got there, and was terrified to tell anyone.

"I had the utmost respect and admiration for him based on what millions of other Americans  especially other African Americans  thought of him from The Cosby Show," she testified.

Johnson's tearful testimony in a packed courtroom, and the tough cross-examination that followed from Cosby's lawyers, heightened the drama on the first day of a trial expected to rival the spectacle of O.J. Simpson's prosecution decades ago. Scores of media crews and satellite trucks crowded streets and sidewalks around the Montgomery County Courthouse as the 79-year-old Cosby arrived for a proceeding that could end with him facing a prison sentence.

The trial's observers included at least a few of the dozens of women who have accused him of sexual misconduct in recent years. His central accuser, former Temple University employee Andrea Constand, was not in the courtroom. She will testify later. Cosby's wife, Camille, also did not attend Monday's proceedings.

Charged with aggravated indecent assault, Cosby walked into the courthouse arm-in-arm with Keshia Knight Pulliam, who played his daughter Rudy Huxtable on The Cosby Show  reminding onlookers of years when he was known as "America's Dad" and beloved by fans around the world.

In their opening statements, prosecutors and Cosby's lawyers urged jurors to look past his fame  both his days as Cliff Huxtable and his current reputation as a disgraced star.

"Some of you may see a brilliant comedian who made us smile," defense lawyer Brian McMonagle told the panel, seven men and five women picked in Allegheny County last month and sequestered for the trial. "Some of you may see a fallen husband, whose infidelities have made him vulnerable to these accusations.  [But] what I hope you'll see is just a citizen, presumed innocent as he sits here."

Prosecutor Kristen Feden, however, warned jurors not to be fooled by memories of the charming family man at the heart of Cosby's most famous show.

"You're going to see the defendant for exactly who he is," she said. "This is a case about a man who used his power and fame and his previously practiced method of placing young, trusting women in an incapacitated state so that he could sexually pleasure himself."

Still, his celebrity loomed large.

Johnson, the first witness, testified that she met Cosby because she worked in the 1990s for his agent, Tom Illius, at the William Morris Agency. She said she developed a friendship with Cosby because he was the most important client, and later hesitated to come forward after he sexually assaulted her in 1996 because of his star power.

"I was humiliated and embarrassed," said Johnson. "I was very afraid, because I had a secret about the biggest celebrity in the world at that time. And it was just me. It was just me. And my word against his."

Johnson, 55, of Atlanta, is the only one of Cosby's more than 60 other accusers who Montgomery County Judge Steven T. O'Neill agreed to let prosecutors call to bolster the claim that his attack on Constand followed a pattern. Before the trial, Johnson had been identified in court papers only by a pseudonym, Kacey, but her lawyer, Gloria Allred, said she no longer wished to remain anonymous.

Her tearful account mirrored how Cosby's alleged assault against Constand unfolded eight years later at his Cheltenham home.

Johnson told jurors Cosby offered her career advice and asked after her family. He invited her to his home and hotel. In 1996, she agreed to meet him for lunch at his bungalow at the Hotel Bel-Air, she said.

He greeted her wearing a bathrobe. Johnson testified that Cosby sensed she was tense and offered her a large white pill that he appeared to have had on him from the moment he opened the door. He wouldn't tell her what it was.

"He just kept saying, 'Would I give you anything to hurt you? Trust me, it will help you relax,'" she said.

She tried to hide the pill under her tongue, Johnson said, but when Cosby gave her wine and asked to see if she swallowed, she was forced to ingest the pill.

She excused herself to go to the bungalow bathroom, saw prescription bottles on the counter, and thought she could figure out what she had taken. But she said she started to feel disoriented.

"I was feeling frustrated with myself because for some reason I couldn't read the prescription bottles and it was making me so upset," she said. "I didn't understand the sense of time or anything."

The next thing Johnson remembered, she told jurors, was waking up on a bed, her dress bunched up. Cosby groaned, put lotion on her hand, and forced her to masturbate him, she said.

As she described it to the silenced courtroom, Johnson broke down in tears.

Through three hours on the stand, she avoided eye contact with the defendant, focusing instead on prosecutors and the jurors. Cosby, in turn, showed little reaction to her testimony.

After the assault, Johnson said, Cosby had called her boss and tried to get her fired.

"I heard him say: 'She's always away from her desk. She's messing up her work. She's ungrateful for all the things that have been done for her. She's a problem. You need to get rid of the problem,' " she said.

Johnson said she left the job on medical leave before the agency could follow through on Cosby's request.

But Cosby's defense team suggested on cross-examination that the woman's story did not add up.

Citing lawyers' notes from Johnson's deposition in a 1996 worker's compensation claim, McMonagle said Johnson had once sworn the hotel room encounter with Cosby was in 1990. He also said she testified that she had returned to Cosby's home in 1996 thinking that things would be different, but that the entertainer attempted to make a sexual advance on her while giving her acting lessons.

Johnson referred to both incidents while being questioned by prosecutors earlier on Monday, but in reverse order. And she had claimed both occurred within months of each other, not years apart.

Grilled by the defense lawyer about the inconsistencies, Johnson repeatedly said she simply did not remember testifying about a different version of events.

"I can just tell you that I was bawling in that deposition and I didn't even really want to say," she said.

Instead of complaining to the talent agency's human resources department about Cosby, as she had testified, McMonagle said an internal memorandum indicated she had complained about her boss. And while she had testified that she could not remember driving home, McMonagle said her past statements included a description of going home.

Citing those statements, the defense lawyer also suggested that Johnson let Cosby give her money for her hair and her grandmother's medical bills long after she claims to have been assaulted by him.

"Did anybody tell you to get selective amnesia about this case?" McMonagle asked.

"No sir," she replied, crying.

As his lawyer shouted questions at the witness, Cosby grinned.

The trial resumes Tuesday, when prosecutors hope to call Johnson's mother to the witness stand.

Keep up with every development in Bill Cosby's case with our day-by-day recaps and explainer on everything you need to know about the case and its major players.
A police tow truck removes a car from the 1000 block of Sydney Street in East Mount Airy where a man and a woman were found shot to death on Sunday evening. Read more

A young couple found killed execution-style in a car parked on a quiet East Mount Airy block Sunday and a man shot at least 10 times by an intruder in his West Oak Lane home Monday are among the city's latest homicide victims  that grim statistic up 20 percent from the same period last year, police said.

Frederick Hawkins-Williams, 23, and Amber Sloan, 21, were found in the front seat of a parked car on the 1000 block of Sydney Street with single gunshot wounds to the back of their heads around 4:45 p.m. Sunday, police said. Homicide Capt. James Clark said authorities were still trying to determine how long the car had been parked there, and when Hawkins-Williams and Sloan were killed. Neighbors reported the car had been idling for some time, police said.

The four-door sedan was registered to Hawkins-Williams, who was Sloan's boyfriend, according to Clark. Hawkins-Williams was wearing latex gloves when he was found in the driver's seat, Clark said. Police declined to comment on whether drugs or drug paraphernalia were found in the car.

Clark said it appeared that the killer had been sitting in the rear passenger-side seat when Hawkins-Williams, of Elkins Park, and Sloan, of the city's Crescentville section, were shot.

"We really need the public's help," Clark said. "If somebody saw something, please contact us."

As of late Monday afternoon, authorities had not released the name of a man killed earlier Monday when an armed intruder or intruders broke into his home on the 6500 block of North 16th Street around 1:10 a.m.

The 29-year-old victim was watching TV from the living room couch when the intruders forced their way in through the basement and fired at least 10 shots at him as his grandmother slept upstairs, Clark said. The grandmother called police, and her grandson was pronounced dead inside the house at 1:21 a.m., authorities said.

According to police, Philadelphia has had 132 homicides this year, compared with 109 at the same time last year. It is the highest homicide tally in early June since 2012, when 154 people were killed in the city by June 4, according to police statistics.

The city offers a $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in every homicide case. Those with information are urged to call the department's tip line at 215-686-8477.
Daniel Selby Sr. (left) is accused of helping his son, Daniel Selby Jr., escape from Bucks County Sheriff's Office authorities. Read more

A Bucks County inmate who escaped from sheriff's deputies, prompting an intense search and entire school district to shut down, has been taken into custody.

Doylestown Township police said Tuesday afternoon that 25-year-old Daniel Selby Jr. had been apprehended. Further details weren't immediately available.

Selby's apprehension comes a day after his father, 65-year-old Daniel Selby, was arrested for allegedly helping his son get away. Authorities say he helped his son escape after the younger Selby was taken into custody for failing to appear in court to face drug charges.

Still wearing handcuffs, Selby Jr. ran away from sheriff's office authorities at about 8:30 p.m. Sunday near Bristol Road and Lower State Road, Doylestown Township officials said. The escape prompted an intense search in the Doylestown and Warrington areas, a temporary shelter-in-place alert for residents and the Monday closure of all schools in the Central Bucks School District. Classes resumed Tuesday.

The father dropped Selby Jr. off near Broad Street and Allegheny Avenue in Philadelphia around 1 p.m. Monday, police said, but he remained on the loose until around mid-day Tuesday.

The elder Selby has been charged with hindering apprehension, obstruction and other offenses, according to Warrington Township police.

Selby Jr. is now expected to face charges of aggravated assault of law enforcement, assault by prisoner and escape.
Richard Ferretti (top right) with his mother, Mary Lou Ferretti; his father, George Ferretti, and his girlfriend, Stacy Betts. Richard Ferretti was fatally shot by Philadelphia police while looking for a parking space on May 4, 2016. Read more

Richard Ferretti's family tried to be patient after he was shot and killed by an undercover Philadelphia police officer last May.

They had simple questions, really: How did an early morning search for a parking spot near St. Joseph's University end up costing the unarmed 52-year-old his life? And would the officer who shot him be held responsible for violating a policy that prohibits cops from shooting into moving vehicles?

But more than a year has passed since Ferretti died, and his relatives are still no closer to the answers they hoped to have found by now. Frustrated by the wall of silence that has met their search for closure, Ferretti's sister, Lisa Newman, and her husband, Donald Newman, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the city in the U.S District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

The Newmans had, to this point, been largely reluctant to publicly criticize the investigation by the District Attorney's Office into Ferretti's death. "They were patient because they trusted the system, because they're people who believe in the system," said Kenneth Rothweiler, one of the family's attorneys. "Then they realized the system had let them down. When you don't get answers, you lose faith."

Lisa Newman and her mother, Mary Lou Ferretti, attended a news conference in a small, ornate room inside Rothweiler's Center City Office on Tuesday morning. As the lawyer recited the facts of the case, Ferretti occasionally dabbed at her eyes with a tissue, while her daughter punctuated a description of her brother's final moments with a deep sigh.

Rothweiler and the family's other attorney, Todd Schoenhaus, told the Inquirer and Daily News last month that they'd learned a local grand jury had been tasked with determining if Officer Shannon Coolbaugh should face charges for shooting Richard Ferretti on May 4, 2016.

DA spokesman Cameron Kline declined to comment Tuesday, noting the office can't discuss active investigations. It's unclear if the case's resolution is being held up by dysfunction at the top of the agency. District Attorney Seth Williams agreed to have his law license suspended while he waits to go to trial on federal corruption charges; much of the office's day-to-day operations are being managed by First Assistant District Attorney Kathleen Martin.

"The ball's been dropped by somebody," Rothweiler said. "Maybe Kathy Martin is afraid to say they're not going to indict the officer, or maybe she's afraid to say they will."

Martin released a statement Tuesday night that read: "The District Attorney's Office will seek justice on a timeline that is dictated by the facts and circumstances of each investigation. We will not be moved or swayed by the misplaced public comments of a lawyer with a vested financial interest."

In November, the DA's Office released data that showed it resolved investigations into police shootings in fewer than 60 days. The Ferretti case has dragged for 398 days, Rothweiler said during the news conference. "It's a travesty, what this family has gone through with regard to the killing of their loved one, but an additional travesty is the way they've been treated by both the police department and the Philadelphia DA's Office."

Police Commissioner Richard Ross has said it's unclear when the grand jury would announce its findings. He's also expressed concerns about the tactics that were employed by Coolbaugh, who has been on desk duty since the shooting. John McNesby, the president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 5, did not respond to a request for comment about Coolbaugh.

A resident called 911 just before 1 a.m., and reported that Ferretti's slow loops in a Dodge Caravan around 63rd Street and Overbrook Avenue looked suspicious. He lived in the neighborhood with his girlfriend, Stacy Betts.

According to the lawsuit, Ferretti had just driven the Dodgewhich belonged to Betts to a nearby Sunoco station, where he poured $4.64 worth of gasoline into a can to later fill up his own car, which had run out of gas.

Coolbaugh and another undercover cop called for a marked patrol car to assist them when they spotted Ferretti driving the minivan. The patrol car pulled behind Ferretti with its lights flashing; according to police, Ferretti kept driving.

The undercover cops tried to block Ferretti's path with their car. They jumped out of their vehicle and told Ferretti to turn off his engine. He didn't, and Coolbaugh opened fireeven though, according to reports, a neighbor heard Ferretti yell, "I'm stopping!"

"[Ferretti] had no weapon on his person or in the vehicle," Schoenhaus said.

Rothweiler said Ferretti's three bullet wounds were all on the left side of his body, which suggests he might have already been driving past Coolbaugh when he was shot. "We'll hire a forensic expert to reconstruct the whole thing," he said.
James Cade (left, seated) nephew of Kevin Brinkley and LaToya Berry (right, seated) Brinkley's daughter, listen during a family meeting in February. Read more

For nearly 40 years, the Brinkley family has insisted that the wrong brother was sentenced to life in prison for murder  that it was 14-year-old Ronald who fatally shot egg-delivery man Charles Haag on Dec. 22, 1977, though 15-year-old Kevin was convicted.

But as the Brinkleys crowded into a courtroom Monday morning  so many of them, they could barely be contained on the three rows of wooden pews  they tried to stifle talk about innocence. The occasion was not to weigh overturning Kevin Brinkley's conviction, but to re-sentence him pursuant to a Supreme Court determination that automatic life sentences for juveniles are unconstitutional.

The new sentence of 30 years to life in prison made Brinkley, now 55, immediately eligible for parole.

His uncle Greg Brinkley said that's what matters right now.

"We're sorry that it happened, and that one of our family did it," he said.

But as for Kevin, "we want him out on the street. That doesn't mean we're going to stop fighting for his innocence."

Missing among the aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, cousins, sisters, daughter, and granddaughter was Ronald Brinkley, who had testified in court in 1994 that he committed the crime. The court did not find his testimony credible.

"It's an uncomfortable feeling, and it's a challenge how they re-establish their relationship," Greg Brinkley acknowledged. "Unfortunately, one brother was locked up 40 years for a crime the other brother did. That's not easy. It's not normal. How can it be?"

Brinkley is one of about 300 juvenile lifers from Philadelphia  the largest such population in the nation  receiving new sentences under a 2016 Supreme Court ruling. His new 30-to-life term, by agreement with the District Attorney's Office, is in line with current state law for sentencing juveniles convicted of murder.

Relatives of Charles Haag were in court, but, through prosecutors, declined to be identified or to comment.

Kevin Brinkley also declined to speak at the hearing.

He's not the first juvenile lifer who has been resentenced for what he has previously argued in court is a wrongful conviction. Others include Tyrone Jones, who was resentenced last year after more than 40 years in prison for a murder he insists he did not commit; he was paroled even though he did not express remorse for the crime.

For the Brinkleys, this was one more step in a decades-long project of bringing Kevin home. They have held regular family meetings  first to talk about how to advocate for his innocence, then to generate attention and press coverage for his case, and now to prepare for his release.

Latoya Berry, Brinkley's 40-year-old daughter, has been drafted into that endeavor. She first learned about who her father was when she was 12 or 13.

"It was a little weird  to find out I had a father and he was in prison," she said at a family meeting in February, at the house that had belonged to Brinkley's mother, Loretta Davis, who died in January. But, Berry said, it was not hard to adjust to the idea.

"We do favor [one another]. He internalizes a lot, the same way I do. Over time, as I got to know him, I could sense the connection."

She said her father was pained by the long-distance nature of their relationship, but did not dwell on it. Instead, he tried to do normal fatherly things.

"When I got my first apartment, he made arrangements for me to get this kitchen table set," she said. He worked hard to connect with her two children, too.

Brinkley intends to live with his aunt Margo Grisson and her husband, David, at their home in Olney. The Grissons, retirees known for their matching tracksuits, have set up a bedroom for him, as well as a home gym. Margo Grisson said she had not missed a court date in all the years Brinkley had been fighting for this day.

"We've been going through years and years of letdowns," she said outside the courtroom, "so this is positive."
Two people were killed and another was wounded in separate overnight shootings in Philadelphia, adding to the toll of an unusually violent 3-day period in the city.

Since Saturday night, seven people have been fatally shot in Philadelphia, pushing the city's homicide total up by 25 percent for the year to date compared with 2016. Several more people have been wounded in other shootings over the past week, and a recent attack on a mentally challenged man, which was recorded on video, has gone viral.

The two most recent killings happened late Monday night, and police said Tuesday that investigators are continuing to seek suspects in both cases:

Shortly after 10:30 p.m., 29-year-old Javier Osorio-Benites was shot once in the chest during an argument inside a home on the 3000 block of Percy Street in North Philadelphia. He was taken to Temple University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11:06 p.m.

Just before 11:45 p.m., a 56-year-old man was shot in the head on the 600 block of North Shedwick Street in Mantua. The victim, whose name was not released Tuesday, was pronounced dead at Penn-Presbyterian Medical Center at 11:49 p.m. No motive for the slaying was known.

Also overnight, a 25-year-old man was critically wounded when he was shot in his stomach near Frankford and Adams Avenues in the city's Frankford section. Several men were seen fleeing the scene.

Those shootings came after a grim period in which five people were fatally shot across Philadelphia between Saturday evening and early Monday. Those deaths included a young couple who were killed execution-style in a car on a quiet block in East Mount Airy on Sunday.

No arrests have been announced in any of the recent homicides.

Separately, police on Monday announced that two teenagers were facing attempted murder charges in a shooting last month that injured 10 people in North Philadelphia.

As of Monday night, Philadelphia police had recorded 136 homicides in the city for the year to date, a 25 percent increase over the 109 slayings recorded for the same period in 2016.

In response to the gun violence in the city, columnist Helen Ubinas is organizing a June 15 event at the Art Museum to raise awareness.
Alex Capasso, former chef at a series of high-profile Philadelphia restaurants, pleaded guilty Tuesday to a child-pornography charge in federal court in Camden.

The resident of Collingswood appeared in U.S. District Court before Chief Judge Jerome Simandle alongside his attorney, Teri Lodge. He pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiring to engage in sexual exploitation of children and faces 15 to 20 years in prison under the plea agreement. The judge set sentencing for Sept. 20.

"It's a good result," Lodge said of the plea agreement. He originally faced life in prison, Lodge added.

Capasso, 43, gained recognition as a chef at several restaurants including Blackbird Dining Establishment and Crow & the Pitcher, which has since changed its name to Baril. He was arrested in July 2015 after he was caught sending an undercover agent explicit photos of a girl he identified as the 5-year-old niece of his former girlfriend. The Inquirer and Daily News are not identifying the ex-girlfriend because of her relationship to the child.

On Tuesday, Capasso acknowledged distributing five such images. In addition to the prison time he faces, the agreement requires that he pay restitution to his victims, remain under lifetime supervision when he's released, and register as a sex offender. He also faces a potential fine of $250,000.

Capasso entered the courtroom Tuesday in handcuffs and wearing a green jumpsuit. He answered a series of questions from Simandle about the plea agreement and the rights he was waiving by entering the guilty plea. He also said he was "very grateful" to have Lodge as his attorney.

Capasso was originally charged with sexual exploitation of children, production of child pornography, and distribution of child pornography. The latter two charges will be dismissed as part of the plea agreement.

His ex-girlfriend is awaiting sentencing.

Capasso has been held in the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia since the time of his arrest and will remain there until the scheduled sentencing, Lodge said.
Today is the 73rd anniversary of D-Day, the largest seaborne invasion in history, which marked the beginning of the end of World War II in Europe.

The news broke in time to make the Inquirer's final editions for June 6, 1944, and the invasion was bannered across the front page. A War Extra followed, with more details.

Final City Edition

War Extra

The news of course dominated the front page of the June 7, 1944, edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Also on that front page was a report of some historical note: U.S. Army Air Corps heavy bombers had taken off from a base in the Soviet Union for the first time to attack Nazi positions in Romania.

Inside, on page nine, the reaction in the city from the day before was reported under the headline:

Liberty Bell Tapped,

D-Day News Spreads

It noted that Mayor Bernard Samuel was awakened from his sleep by the news. Shortly before 7 a.m., Samuel, his secretary and "a few" police officers went to Independence Hall. There, the mayor tapped the Liberty Bell a dozen times. "The tapping of the Bell was carried throughout the Nation over an NBC hookup, and to other parts of the world by short wave," the story said.
PHL 17 news staffer Colleen Campbell was arrested Sunday night after launching into a profane verbal assault of a Philadelphia police officer. Read more

PHL17's Colleen Campbell allegedly just broke the first rule of journalism  don't become the story.

The 28-year-old Temple grad has gone viral after a video shared by New York City comic Will Sylvince shows Campbell unleashing a profane tirade against a stoic Philadelphia police officer outside the Helium Comedy Club on Sunday night.

According to Sylvince, Campbell's bad behavior began inside the club after she interrupted a show featuring Craig Robinson, who played Daryl in The Office, with her "loud whispering." Sylvince says she was asked to leave the club after multiple warnings, and on the way out claims Campbell allegedly assaulted employees in the bar area.

After Campbell spent two minutes throwing out relentless profanity and insults, the patient officer finally handcuffs and arrests her after she appears to spit on a manager and attempts to shove her shoe in his face.

"That's why everyone hates you guys!" the handcuffed reporter yells in the officer's face. "That's why society hates you!"

She continues to insult the officer before letting him know that she worked at PHL17, which described her as a news production employee.

"I work at a f news station, motherf. I work at PHL 17!" Campbell yells. "I'm not a f hood rat."

According to police, Campbell kicked the officer several times in the leg while being escorted to the police vehicle, where they say she also kicked the doors and windows of the car.

In an interview with Philadelphia Magazine's Victor Fiorillo, Campbell says she might have been drugged prior to her outburst at the club.

"Everything was foggy," Campbell said. "I do remember coming in to Helium. I do remember getting into an altercation there, but I don't remember what it was about."

Campbell told Fiorillo she deleted her social-media accounts due to threats she's received, and wanted to convey an apology to the officer who was on the receiving end of her tirade, which she says she didn't know was being filmed.

"I feel ruined and embarrassed for me and my family," Campbell added.

Watch Warning: Extreme language:

Campbell did not respond to a request for comment, but a source at PHL17 said she was fired as soon as management became aware of the incident.

"Colleen Campbell is no longer employed by PHL17," a spokeswoman said in a statement to Philly.com. PHL17 also removed her bio and all her content from the station's website following the incident.

Campbell has been charged with resisting arrest, criminal mischief, and disorderly conduct. She was released without bail and is due to appear in court June 13.
A coalition of state groups working toward election reform are alleging that 17,000 voter-registration applications last year were processed late, potentially leaving thousands of Philadelphians unable to vote in the Nov. 8, 2016, general election.

"Some of these applicants were not added to the voter rolls for weeks or even months after their applications had been submitted. Some were never registered at all," the coalition, Keystone Votes, said in its May 23 report.

Keystone Votes, a coalition of 39 organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, Asian Americans United, and Public Interest Law Center, found that more than 25,000 voter-registration applications that were filed by the proper deadline were processed so late that those voters neither received an identification card nor appear in the main poll books. According to the coalition, 17,000 of those late-processed applications were in Philadelphia.

In addition, three local organizations that held voter drives found that 79 of the voter-registration applications had been lost or processed incorrectly.

"The majority of disenfranchised voters are in Philadelphia. An immediate remedy is required in that county," the Keystone Votes report said.

City Commissioner Lisa Deeley said 17,000 sounded unusually high. She said she would have to investigate before commenting further.

"We are in business of franchising voters, not disenfranchising voters," she said. "I am really perplexed.  We need time to verify what they are saying. Where did they get these numbers?"

Ray Murphy, a spokesman for Keystone Votes, said the Public Interest Law Center requested from the Department of State all voter-registration transactions from 2016 and noted whether the application was approved or rejected and when. Separately, Murphy said, the Committee of Seventy helped cross-reference the voter-registration lists of some of the organizations affiliated with Keystone Votes and the state voter-registration database.

Deeley said that the City Commissioners Office received nearly 50,000 paper voter registration applications and about 30,000 electronic applications on Oct. 11, the deadline. After each year's deadline, the commissioners' staff works almost around the clock processing applications until all are completed, Deeley said.

About two or three weeks before the election, the current list of registered voters goes to the vendor that prints the poll books. Then, Deeley said, the rest of the approved voter-registration applicants go on a supplemental sheet that is distributed to the polling locations on Election Day. The supplemental sheets work just like a poll book. The voter must check in and sign the supplemental sheet, Deeley said.

Pat Christmas of the Committee of Seventy said that the late files noted in the Keystone report might have made it onto the supplemental pages.

"Unfortunately, we don't know how many voters were disenfranchised," he said.
The checks written to Leslie Acosta purportedly covered her work as a contract quality assurance analyst at the Juniata Community Mental Health Clinic.

The reality, the 45-year-old former state representative told a federal jury Tuesday, was that many of those checks were immediately cashed and the money turned over to Renee Tartaglione, president of the Fairhill neighborhood addiction clinic and scion of a legendary Philadelphia political family.

Acosta said that her mother, Sandy Acosta, a cofounder of the Juniata center and its administrator, first approached her in 2007 and said she needed help with what prosecutors have called a check-cashing scheme, saying, "You're the only person I had some confidence in."

"Why did she need help?" asked Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter N Halpern.

"She didn't exactly say," Acosta replied, adding: "It was for Renee Tartaglione.  There was some conflict of interest, and Renee wanted to avoid taxes."

The alleged check-cashing scheme may have worked well for the 61-year-old Tartaglione. For Acosta, not so much.

The influx of cash under her name left her with $21,462 in federal income tax owed for 2008. The 2009 tax owed was a little better, Acosta testified, but only because she padded her business expenses.

It was Acosta's first public statement about the scheme since September, when, during her 2016 reelection campaign for the state House, the Inquirer and Daily News reported her federal guilty plea to conspiracy to commit money laundering. She said she participated in the scheme from 2007 until she left Juniata in December 2010. Acosta was reelected in November.

Acosta, herself a member of a prominent political family in North Philadelphia's Fairhill neighborhood, is arguably the key prosecution witness in Tartaglione's trial on fraud and theft charges from the operation of the Juniata center, from which she siphoned $1 million, according to federal prosecutors.

But the center scandal has ensnared both families in criminal charges. Acosta said she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering in a deal with federal prosecutors, who say her role in the check-cashing scheme resulted in a loss of $623,000. She will not be sentenced until after Tartaglione's trial, and said she hopes to avoid prison.

Sandy Acosta, 69, a former North Philadelphia ward leader and wife of former State Rep. Ralph Acosta, a Democrat who served from 1985 to 1995, was charged in the case with wire fraud, theft from a health-care benefit program, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering. She also pleaded guilty, testified on Monday, and is awaiting sentencing.

According to Leslie Acosta, her family and the Tartagliones had been associated for about four decades. Renee Tartaglione's mother, Margaret, or "Marge," was chairwoman of the City Commissioners, overseeing city elections, for 36 years. Her sister, Christina "Tina" Tartaglione, is a state senator representing much of the Northeast.

But Acosta also described a relationship permeated with rivalry and suspicion.

Acosta, who then also worked as a contract analyst for the federal Defense Logistics Agency in the Northeast, said she quit the Juniata clinic in December 2010 primarily because she was at odds with Carlos Matos, 68, Renee Tartaglione's husband and a Kensington ward leader who served three years in a federal prison after being convicted of bribing three Atlantic City Council members.

"There was some conflict I had with Juniata, primarily with Carlos Matos," Acosta told the U.S. District Court jury. "There were just issues I saw that I was not in agreement with."

Although Tartaglione was Juniata's president, it was Matos who had the well-appointed office at the clinic, Acosta said, adding, "He played many roles, but I don't know what role he had at Juniata." Matos has not been charged.

Defense attorney William DeStefano challenged Acosta's credibility, suggesting that she and her mother were trying to save themselves at the expense of the Tartaglione family. DeStefano accused her of habitually lying and said she deceived her employer, as well as the IRS and the voters of the 197th Legislative District, who twice elected her to office.

"Don't you think it was an act of deception that you ran for elected office after you pleaded guilty and didn't tell anyone?" DeStefano asked.

"No, I don't think that was deception, because this case was under seal," Acosta replied, adding that the federal probe of Tartaglione was then still before a grand jury.

Acosta appeared composed and calm on the witness stand, even when DeStefano probed her relationships with women and the fact that she often did not live at her legal address in the 2500 block of Palethorp Street.

"That's my private life," Acosta said.

Acosta also acknowledged that she had intended to remain in the state House after her election last November  until House leaders forced her to quit in January.

Tartaglione's trial began May 25. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bea Witzleben said she thought the prosecution could end its case early next week.
Gov. Wolf has said he supports the pension reform plan being voted on this week by the Republican-controlled legislature. Read more

HARRISBURG  The Republican-controlled legislature is racing to send Gov. Wolf a long-sought bill by week's end that would overhaul retirement benefits in Pennsylvania's two debt-riddled public pension plans.

The Senate approved the bill Monday in a 40-9 vote, and the House is expected to vote by Thursday on the measure, which seeks to shift some, if not all, benefits for future state and public schools employees into 401(k)-style plans. The goal is to create pension plans that cost less state money and do not hold taxpayers entirely liable for backing them, regardless of how the markets perform.

A spokesman for House GOP legislative leaders said there are enough votes in the chamber to pass it. Wolf, a Democrat, has said he supports the legislation.

On the surface, it looks like a deal, but no one is calling it done. Less than two years ago, a pension-reform effort imploded at the eleventh hour, prolonging the budget impasse in Wolf's first year in office.

Still, Republicans leaders were cautiously optimistic Monday, with Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R., Jefferson) calling the measure "historic."

The bill would affect only future state and public school employees who receive benefits through the state's two big pension funds. Together, the two funds hold a crushing $62 billion debt.

Under the proposal, new employees, starting in 2019, would be given two options. They could move into a hybrid plan that steers part of their pay into a 401(k)-style plan, but the rest of their pay would receive the current  and more generous  pension benefit (based on years of service and the highest three years of pay). Or they could switch entirely into a 401(k)-style plan.

Current employees could opt in, but would not be forced to participate in the new plans. Legislators have determined that doing so would lead to years of litigation.

Current legislators, too, would not be forced to switch  a controversial provision. Though there has been public support for including lawmakers in any reform proposal, they have been averse to cutting their own benefits.

State troopers and corrections officers hired in the future would be exempt from the changes, and current retirees would not lose benefits.

Reining in the skyrocketing cost of public employee pensions has been a legislative priority for many years, but has been bogged down by disagreement over the best way to fix the problem.

Former Gov. Tom Corbett, a Republican, once called pensions the "Pac-Man" of the state budget, eating up more and more dollars every year that could have gone to other programs.

Still, there has been criticism from some experts that the plan making its way through the legislature would not make a dent in reducing the current debt facing the two pension systems.

The legislature in 2010 enacted a law that among other changes committed the state to start paying down the pension debt. But it gave the state some financial breathing room by placing limits on what it was expected to pay in the first few years.

Critics say that the only surefire way to address the state's pension problem is to pay down the debt with equal-dollar contributions annually over 15 or 20 years, with no opt-outs. The current pension reform proposal does not do that, they say.
The Provident Mutual Life Insurance building sits behind a chain-link fence as it is being renovated by the city at the corner of 46th and Market. Read more

What could $50 million in taxpayer money buy?

In Philadelphia, it could cover homeless services in the city budget, or the bulk of the funding for the Parks and Recreation Department, or underwrite the budgets for libraries, procurement, and records.

Instead, the city spent $50 million to partially renovate a 90-year old white elephant of a building at 46th and Market Streets. Former Mayor Michael Nutter wanted to turn the building into a new headquarters for police, but his successor, Mayor Kenney, does not. Either way, taxpayers are footing the bill.

It doesn't make sense, but that has been the story of the building ever since Provident Mutual Life left it in 1983. So, it sits  a 325,000-square-foot hulk on 15 acres just off the Market-Frankford line  like a monument to quiescence.

The building failed as a satellite campus for Lincoln and Cheyney universities, as a location for Family Court, and as a home for non-profits. There was even talk of turning it into a new West Philadelphia High School. Fortunately for it, the School District didn't take on that expensive rehab project.

Kenney is only the latest to walk away from the building. He says police would be better served by having a headquarters closer to Center City, which does make sense. He has chosen the former Inquirer and Daily News Building at 400 N. Broad St.

The administration says the 18-story building with a distinctive clock tower could not only accommodate the police headquarters staff but also fire communications personnel and the Sixth and Ninth police districts.

The new project will cost about $288 million, which is what the city says it would have to spend to make the West Philadelphia site work. But that's not counting the $50 million already spent on the Market Street site.

Without question, the police need a more habitable and efficient work environment than the old Roundhouse at Eighth and Race Streets. It's also senseless to scatter bits and pieces of central police operations around town. But space and location considerations should have been resolved before the city sunk $50 million into the Market Street site.

That was a costly decision, but perhaps it's best that the city pull out of the project before spending more taxpayer funds on a building that won't suit its purposes.

The about-face by Kenney stings like 50 million scorpions. But the pain won't last as long if Kenney's office is right in saying the work done on the building at 4601 Market has made it more attractive to potential buyers. Maybe taxpayers can at least recoup the cost to polish the building's gold dome and clean its limestone facade.

One sure winner in the building swap is developer Bart Blatstein, who bought the former newspaper building for $22.6 million in 2012. The turnkey project calls for the city to pay Blatstein's company $42 million to acquire the building plus the cost to design and renovate the headquarters before handing it over to the city.

Taxpayers are left to trust city officials not to make the same mistake twice. Philadelphia has too many critical needs to waste precious revenue trying to turn a building into police headquarters if it isn't right for the job.
In the wake of another terrorist attack in Britain, President Donald Trump fired off several tweets about the need for his court-blocked travel ban, contradicting statements from members of his own administration and distorting the facts in the process.

Trump tweeted that the Justice Department "should have stayed with the original Travel Ban, not the watered down, politically correct version they submitted to" the Supreme Court. It was ultimately Trump who decided to abandon the original order.

The president said the administration has already implemented "extreme vetting" procedures as promised during the campaign. The secretary of homeland security said his department has stepped up vetting procedures, but that the courts have blocked a study of the procedures, which has left him "just guessing" as to the most effective measures.

Trump said "people, the lawyers and the courts" can call his order "whatever they want," but that he would call it "what it is, a TRAVEL BAN!" But his own spokesman and secretary of homeland security have said it's not a travel ban.

Trump distorted the words of the London mayor to claim he had said there's "no reason to be alarmed" because of the June terrorist attack in the city. The mayor said there's "no reason to be alarmed" about an increased police presence in coming days.

Trump's tweets came in the days after the June 3 terrorist attack in London, in which assailants drove a van into pedestrians on London Bridge and then attacked people with knives. Seven people were killed.

The Watered Down Ban

Trump has issued two orders that seek to limit visitors and refugees from several predominantly Muslim countries to the U.S., and both have, so far, been blocked by the courts.

Trump's first attempt came on Jan. 27 with an executive order that sought to impose a 90-day travel ban, with some exceptions, on the citizens of seven predominately Muslim countries: Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. The order also suspended the refugee program for 120 days, and indefinitely for Syrian refugees. However, the courts blocked that ban.

The president regrouped and met with his legal team, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and others. On March 6, Trump formally took another crack at it, with a revised order that sought to impose a 90-day travel ban on the citizens of six countries (Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen) who do not have valid visas, and to suspend the refugee program for 120 days. But that, too, has been blocked in federal court. Trump has vowed to appeal that ruling all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary. But now, it seems, he regrets that legal appeals were not exhausted on the first order.

Trump's wording suggests it was the Justice Department that made the decision to create a revised order. But it was ultimately Trump himself.

On the day the revised order was issued, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said that "rather than leave America's security in limbo while the litigation dragged on  the president acted to protect the national security by issuing a new executive order that addresses the court's concerns, some of which merely involve clarifying the intent of the original executive order."

Spicer added: "So it was discussed with the president Saturday, and he made a decision that this was how he wanted to proceed going forward, based on the advice and counsel of his team."

The revised order, signed by Trump, specifically revoked and replaced the first order.

"Executive Order Protecting The Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States," March 6: In light of the Ninth Circuit's observation that the political branches are better suited to determine the appropriate scope of any suspensions than are the courts, and in order to avoid spending additional time pursuing litigation, I am revoking Executive Order 13769 and replacing it with this order, which expressly excludes from the suspensions categories of aliens that have prompted judicial concerns and which clarifies or refines the approach to certain other issues or categories of affected aliens.

At that point, the first order was moot, several legal experts told us, preventing the Justice Department from moving forward on an appeal of it.

The courts do not entertain theoretical exercises, William Stock, president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, told us, so the Justice Department could not have pursued a legal ruling on the first order once the second was signed.

"Trump seems confused about who acted in superseding the first order with the second," Peter Spiro, an international law professor at Temple University, told us via email.

Stock and Spiro told us Department of Justice lawyers helped craft the revised order in a way they believed would better stand up to a legal challenge.

Stock said the president appears to be second-guessing the advice of officials in the Justice Department to revise the order, and wishes that he had tested the limit of executive power with regard to immigration policy in the Supreme Court.

In any case, Spiro said, the tweets "are only making things appreciably worse in terms of likelihood of success [in the courts] on the merits. He's just digging deeper into a hole that was already pretty deep."

"Ultimately, it was the President's decision whether to defend the first order," Micah Schwartzman, a constitutional law professor at the University of Virginia, told us via email. "He could have told his Attorney General (or acting Attorney General at the time) to do that.

"In other words, President Trump could have defended the first order, but on the advice of his lawyers, he decided not to do that," Schwartzman said. "Instead, he issued a second order, which he's criticizing in his tweets as 'watered down' and 'politically correct.' So he seems to regret his earlier decision, or at least the decision he delegated to his lawyers."

As for whether the second order is watered down, Trump is free to characterize it as he pleases. But we would note that Stephen Miller, a senior adviser to the president, told Fox News on Feb. 21  in the days leading up to the second order  that the revised order included some "technical differences" to appease the courts, but would have little practical effect.

Miller, Feb. 21: Well, one of the big differences that you're going to see in the executive order is that it's going to be responsive to the judicial ruling, which didn't exist previously. And so these are mostly minor technical differences. Fundamentally, you're still going to have the same basic policy outcome for the country, but you're going to be responsive to a lot of very technical issues that were brought up by the court and those will be addressed. But in terms of protecting the country, those basic policies are still going to be in effect.

Miller's comments were cited by the federal judge in Hawaii who blocked the revised ban.

On Extreme Vetting

Another tweet by the president claimed that homeland security has already instituted the "extreme vetting" he promised so often during the campaign. But homeland security officials say the court rulings have blocked the ability to perform a review of vetting procedures to determine which are the most effective.

What exactly "extreme vetting" means has yet to be revealed. But Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly has said that while the administration is implementing "extreme vetting," it's "not even studying" the effectiveness of the procedures because of the courts.

Kelly made his comments on May 28 in an interview with Chris Wallace on Fox News:

Kelly: We are actually implementing it. The irony here is, had it stood, we would have had the 90 days to study. We're not even studying what would be procedures, because we are enjoined and can't do that. In the meantime  Wallace: You can't study extreme vetting? Kelly: No. We're  the irony again is we can't study it, but I'm just guessing, and implementing. But we are going to find implement ways to determine who this  an individual is, and remember, most of these countries have no passports. They have no police. They have no intelligence. Many of the countries in question don't even have a U.S. embassy there to help us vet. The U.N. will tell you it's almost impossible to vet these people from these countries because there are no passports and all the rest of it. We have to figure out a way to determine who they are and why they come into the United States. Otherwise, we're guessing. And this president and John Kelly doesn't want to guess when it comes to national security and protection of the U.S. population.

In written testimony provided to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs on April 5, Kelly stated that while the order was scheduled to take effect on March 16, "the U.S. District Court of the District of Hawaii issued a preliminary injunction, indefinitely prohibiting the Federal Government from enforcing or implementing all of sections 2 and 6 of the Executive Order."

Those sections include provisions about a review of vetting procedures, among other things.

The Department of Justice filed a motion to get the court to clarify the scope of the order, saying it is "unclear whether the court intended for its Temporary Restraining Order to extend to all of those provisions" in sections 2 and 6. But the court denied it on March 19. In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson wrote that "there is nothing unclear about the scope of the Court's order."

In a March 21 court filing, the Hawaii attorney general's office said: "The Government could engage in appropriate consultations and an appropriate review of the immigration system as a whole independent of this Order; it simply cannot do so as part and parcel of effectuating the President's promise to implement a Muslim ban."

In early May, DHS spokesman David Lapan told reporters that some vetting procedures have been added or changed, though he declined to say how. "That, we're not making public," Lapan said.

On May 4, the State Department publicly requested that visa applicants be "more rigorously" evaluated, with requests for additional information including travel history for the previous 15 years and social media handles used during the previous five years.

It's unclear to what extent the court ruling has limited the administration's ability to implement or improve its vetting procedures, and homeland security officials have not spelled out how they have enhanced procedures consistent with "extreme vetting." But Kelly's comments suggest the department believes it has been blocked from reviewing procedures in a way that might maximize their effectiveness.

Travel Ban

The controversies surrounding Trump's order start with what to call it. Although Trump numerous times has called it a ban, administration officials have taken issue with that moniker.

Trump clarified where he stood on the issue with a tweet on June 5.

Trump, of course, is free to call it whatever he wants. But we'd note that members of his own staff have contested that title.

"Well, first of all, it's not a travel ban," White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said at a press briefing on Jan. 31. "What it is, is to make sure that the people who are coming in are vetted properly from seven countries that were identified by the Obama administration. A ban would mean people can't get in. We've clearly seen hundreds of thousands of people come into our country from other countries."

Spicer went on to say, "Because when we use words like 'travel ban,' that misrepresents what it is."

And, he added: "It's not a travel ban. It's a vetting system to keep America safe  that's it, plain and simple. And all of the facts and a reading of it clearly show that that's what it is."

When a reporter pointed out that Trump himself had referred to the executive order as a "ban" in a Jan. 30 tweet, it led to this bizarre exchange, in which Spicer blamed the president's use of the term on the media:

White House press briefing, Jan. 31, Question: Sean, thanks. You're saying it's not a ban. This was President Trump's tweet yesterday: "If the ban were announced with a one-week notice, the 'bad' would rush into our country during that week." So he says it's a ban. Spicer: He's using the words that the media is using. But at the end of the day, it can't  Q: Those are his words.  Wait a minute. Spicer: Hold on, hold on, hold on. It can't be  Q: That's his words, his tweet. Spicer:  It can't be a ban if you're letting a million people in. If 325,000 people from another country can't come in, that is by nature not a ban  it is extreme vetting. Q: I understand your point. But the president himself called it a ban. Spicer: I understand that. Q: Is he confused or are you confused? Spicer: No, I'm not confused. I think that the words that are being used to describe it are derived from what the media is calling this. He has been very clear that it is extreme vetting.

Never mind that, as CNN's Jake Tapper reported on Jan. 31, Spicer himself used the word "ban" to describe the president's order on several occasions, including the previous night at George Washington University.

More recently, Secretary of Homeland Security Kelly insisted it is not a travel ban.

"It's not a travel ban, remember," Kelly said on "Fox News Sunday" on May 28. "It's a travel pause."

Again, Trump can call the order whatever he wants. But he's clearly not on the same page with his own staff on this.

Sparring with Londons Mayor

Finally, Trump misconstrued the words of London's mayor, Sadiq Khan, wrongly claiming that Khan said there was "no reason to be alarmed" because of the terrorist attack. Khan told the city's residents that there was "no reason to be alarmed" because of an enhanced police presence in coming days.

Here are Khan's remarks in an interview with the BBC on June 4:

Khan, June 4, BBC interview: Londoners will see an increased police presence today and over the course of the next few days. No reason to be alarmed. One of the things the police and all of us need to do is make sure we're as safe as you possibly can be. I'm reassured that we are one of the safest global cities in the world if not the safest global city in the world. But we always evolve and review ways to make sure that we remain as safe as you possibly can.  Well, there arent words to describe the grief and anger that our city will be feeling today. Im appalled and furious that these cowardly terrorists would deliberately target innocent Londoners and bystanders enjoying their Saturday night. There can be no justification for the acts of these terrorists and Im quite clear that we will never let them win, nor will we allow them to cower our city or Londoners. 

Trump tweeted the same day: "At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is 'no reason to be alarmed!'"

A spokesperson for the London mayor responded: "He has more important things to do than respond to Donald Trump's ill-informed tweet that deliberately takes out of context his remarks urging Londoners not to be alarmed when they saw more police  including armed officers  on the streets."

Despite widespread criticism over his tweet, Trump doubled-down on his distortion. He claimed in yet another tweet on June 5 that Khan gave a "pathetic excuse" for his statement and that the "MSM is working hard to sell it!," referring to the mainstream media. But as far as fact-checking goes, there was no hard work involved here. Khan's full statement makes it clear that Trump had taken his comments out of context.
Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman is expected to become the U.S. ambassador to Russia. Read more

Jon Huntsman is going to be ambassador to Russia.

That's the current plan, at least.

The former governor, ambassador and GOP presidential candidate was offered the Moscow position months ago and is in the midst of preparing for the move. But as with so many of President Trump's diplomatic picks, Huntsman's nomination has not been formally submitted to the Senate for confirmation. So technically, he's not allowed to talk about it.

"As a diplomat, you're supposed to say nothing when there's something to say, and something when there's nothing to say," quipped Huntsman. "So I'm caught between a cliche and an indiscretion."

Which made for some interesting banter at Monday's black-tie dinner of the Atlantic Council, the international affairs think tank where Huntsman has served as chairman for the past three years. At the VIP reception, he was surrounded by guests congratulating him, asking when he was headed overseas or whispering the latest tidbit they'd heard at the Capitol.

"I was just up seeing my friend Rand Paul today and he said, 'When is Huntsman going to come up for a hearing?' " shared Richard Burt, former ambassador to Germany. "I said, 'I think it's going to happen in July or August.' What do you think?"

Huntsman flashed his dazzling smile and answered without answering: "You're a smart man. You know these things."

A moderate Republican, Huntsman has sailed through the confirmation process twice before: in 1992, when he was approved as ambassador to Singapore by a unanimous vote, and again in 2009, when he was again confirmed unanimously as President Barack Obama's choice for ambassador to China.

His name surfaced again in March, when administration sources confirmed that Trump had asked Huntsman, 57, to take the highly sensitive job. But no one knows exactly when the nomination will become official, and whether the ongoing probe into possible Russian attempts to influence the 2016 election will delay the process even further.

"I can't even speculate on it until I'm formally nominated," said Huntsman. But he acknowledged that, if confirmed, his experience in China might be helpful: "There are elements of big power relationships that are similar, and the way that large, complex embassies function is also similar."

Still, the topic was an open secret among the 750 military, international policy and diplomatic leaders at the Ritz Carlton on Monday night.

"Speaking of ambassadors  oh, I'm sorry. I'm not supposed to talk about that," said Atlantic Council President Fred Kempe in a tribute to Huntsman. "You personify the Atlantic Council's ethos of principled, untiring engagement, not shying away from the very toughest of challenges."

The annual dinner, traditionally weighty and pretty wonky, had a renewed energy and relevance this year. The council was founded on the need for a strong relationship between the United States and NATO countries, and the guest list included NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg; Adm. Michelle Howard, the commander of NATO's Allied Joint Force Command in Naples; former secretary of state Madeleine Albright (wearing a Roman numeral V pin to signify her support for NATO's Article Five); and Dusko Markovic, the prime minister of Montenegro, which officially became the 29th member of NATO on Monday.

Albright's remarks included a couple of pointed jabs at Trump ("It's very good to see you up front this evening" she told Markovic, whom Trump pushed aside at a photo op at last month's NATO meeting in Brussels to stand in the front row) and a more serious warning.

"Here in America, we are facing a great danger  and that danger is not a foreign enemy," she said, noting that 2017 is the 70th anniversary of the Marshall Plan. "It is the possibility that we fail to hear the example of Marshall, that we will take for granted the institutions and principles upon which our own freedom is based, and forget what the history of the past century reminds us: Problems abroad, if left unattended, will come home to America, and the United States is stronger when it has allies and friends who share our interests and our ideals."

Many of the Atlantic Council's members were unimpressed by Trump's blunt speech at NATO headquarters, so it wasn't a huge surprise that Vice President Mike Pence dropped by to reinforce the administration's relationship with its international partners.

"Let me assure you, the United States will continue to build  to reach new heights of prosperity and security  and we will continue to strengthen the bonds between our nation and the nations of Europe for the benefit of our peoples for generations to come," said Pence to polite applause. "And make no mistake: Our commitment is unwavering. We will meet our obligations to our people to provide for the collective defense of all our allies. The United States is resolved, as we were at NATO's founding and in every hour since, to live by that principle that an attack on one of us is an attack on us all."

Everything is happening so fast  or at least that's how it feels trying to follow politics these days. You've seen the headlines about President Trump and his policies  but what do they mean for Philadelphia? What does that mean for you? We've launched a newsletter to explore just that. You can sign up to get the weekly Trumpadelphia newsletter in your inbox every Tuesday.
It took less than a month for former Breakfast on Broad host Jillian Mele to end up on President Donald Trumps Twitter account. Read more

It only took Jillian Mele a month to end up on President Trump's twitter account.

Back in May, the former Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia host started her new gig as the news anchor on Fox & Friends, the president's favorite television news program.

Now it appears Trump has taken notice.

Tuesday morning, Trump re-tweeted a segment featuring the former Breakfast on Broad host reporting that ISIS claimed responsibility for a hostage siege in Melbourne, Australia, that left one person dead.

The gunman, Yacqub Khayre, killed a man and took a woman hostage early Tuesday morning before dying in a police shootout that left three officers wounded.

Sharing Mele's news segment with his nearly 32 million Twitter followers continues Trump's trend of promoting news about Islamic jihadist terrorism while largely ignoring other violent events.

Most recently, it took the president four days to acknowledge the attack in Portland, Ore., where a white supremacist, Jeremy Christian, allegedly stabbed two men to death who were defending a woman on a light-rail train from his anti-Muslim hate speech. Even then, the statement didn't come on Trump's main Twitter account; it came on the administration's official @POTUS account, which has nearly 19 million fewer followers.

Trump has also chosen not to comment on an incident in Mississippi, where eight people were killed, including a police officer, in a shooting rampage in Jackson last week.

By his own admission, Fox & Friends is Trump's favorite news programs. During the campaign, the president specifically cited the hosts of the show, calling them "very honorable people" and said "they have the most honest morning show."

Many of Trump's early morning tweets can be traced directly back to segments on Fox & Friends. On Sunday, following a terrorist attack in London that killed seven people, the president sent out several tweets that echoed comments made on the show, including repeating weekend host and former Fox 29 anchor Clayton Morris' statement about gun control nearly word for word.

"Notice we're not having a gun debate right now because they didn't kill with guns, they killed with knives," Morris said.

Here's Trump's tweet, which he sent minutes later:
William McSwain (right) seen here outside the U.S. Federal Courthouse at 6th and Market St. in Philadelphia in 2014. (ALEJANDRO A. ALVAREZ / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER ) Read more

WASHINGTON  William McSwain, a partner at the Center City law firm Drinker Biddle & Reath and a former federal prosecutor, has emerged as the leading candidate to become the U.S. attorney in Philadelphia, according to three sources familiar with the process.

McSwain, who previously worked as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Philadelphia office, has support from Pennsylvania Sens. Pat Toomey and Bob Casey, two of the sources said, though he is still being vetted by the Trump administration.

In the Middle District of Pennsylvania, two sources said, the leading contender is David Freed, the Cumberland County district attorney who ran for state attorney general in 2012, losing to Kathleen Kane. He also has support from Pennsylvania's senators but is awaiting White House approval.

Appointees to either post would become leading faces of federal law enforcement in Pennsylvania, with vast powers to decide which crimes get investigated and prosecuted. They would work closely with agencies including the FBI, DEA, and IRS while pursuing crimes ranging from terrorism to public corruption to major financial fraud and drug trafficking.

Such positions are often political springboards. Gov. Christie rose to prominence as New Jersey's U.S. attorney, as did Michael Chertoff, who went on to become head of the Department of Homeland Security. One former U.S. attorney from the Philadelphia-based Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Pat Meehan, is now a congressman.

The sources who discussed the search did so on the condition of anonymity because the vetting is private and still ongoing.

Pennsylvania's Eastern District includes Philadelphia and Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster, Lehigh, Montgomery, and Northampton Counties.

The names have begun to trickle out though President Trump has yet to nominate anyone for a U.S. attorney post, despite ordering 46 of them to turn in their resignations in March, purging nearly all of the remaining holdovers from the Obama administration.

The previous U.S. attorney in Philadelphia, Zane Memeger, had left his post in December. Louis Lappen has since served as the office's acting U.S. attorney.

New Jersey's U.S. attorney positions also remain vacant, with political insiders saying there is a struggle on between Christie and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner over who will get the nod.

It's not unusual for such nominations to drag on. It took more than a year for President Barack Obama to name his pick for Pennsylvania's Eastern District. His first formal batch of U.S. attorney nominations, including his choice in New Jersey, arrived on June 4 of his first year in office. But Obama also did not remove so many en masse.

Ex-prosecutors said the professional staffs can keep those offices running smoothly, even without a U.S. attorney formally nominated and confirmed.

"We had an acting U.S. attorney almost my entire time there," said Jeffery Lindy, a federal prosecutor in Philadelphia from 1989 to 1992. "It doesn't affect the day-to-day workings of the office."

Lee Vartan, who worked under Christie, agreed when it comes to daily operations, but said acting U.S. attorneys are less likely to shape new priorities and refocus the offices.

"The most important role of a U.S. attorney, in my view, is to come in and focus the office in a particular direction or directions, and that doesn't happen under an acting U.S. attorney," Vartan said.

Christie, for example, brought an intense focus on public corruption cases. His successor was more centered on white-collar crime, Vartan said. Lindy said direction ultimately will come from Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who he expects to emphasize drug and gun crimes.

Neither Toomey's nor Casey's office, nor the White House, would comment on the potential Pennsylvania nominations. McSwain and Freed also declined to comment.

McSwain, from West Chester, is well-known to key Pennsylvania Republicans. He worked under Meehan in the U.S. Attorney's Office and advises Toomey and Rep. Ryan Costello, of Chester County, on their selections for service academy recommendations.

He has also donated thousands in recent years to all three of their political funds  including $6,400 to Toomey's 2016 reelection campaign and a related joint fund-raising committee, according to campaign filings. He did not make any contributions to President Trump, but did give $1,500 to one Trump rival, Jeb Bush, and donated to Mitt Romney in 2012.

A former Marine infantry officer, McSwain, 48, went to law school at Harvard, where was an editor of the Law Review, and worked in the Eastern District's criminal division from 2003 to 2006. He has since worked as a white-collar criminal defense lawyer, including defending a Chester County magistrate judge accused in the Philadelphia ticket-fixing scandal. The judge, Mark Bruno, was acquitted on all charges.

He also represented the Boy Scouts in a 2010 dispute with Philadelphia over the group's use of office space on city land because the national organization then banned gay scouts.

Freed, 46, went to Dickinson Law School and has been the Cumberland County district attorney since 2006.

U.S. attorney posts pay up to $161,800 per year.

Toomey and Casey have said they will continue the tradition in which Pennsylvania's two senators, often from opposing parties, work together to recommend key federal nominees, though it is not clear if the Trump administration plans to give deference to their choices.
PHL 17 reporter Colleen Campbell was arrested Sunday night after launching into a profane verbal assault of a Philadelphia police officer. Read more

After PHL 17 newsroom staffer Colleen Campbell scorched Sansom Street with her cursing assault on a police officer Sunday night, she reportedly said on Facebook that in addition to drinking, she may have been drugged.

It wouldn't be the first time that substances disinhibited a person enough to publicly use language best kept within the home or locker room.

Substances such as drugs or alcohol "disengage the frontal lobe that monitors whether you should or shouldn't do something," said cursing expert Timothy Jay, emeritus professor of psychology at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. "This could happen to anybody."

Jay, who has studied cursing for 41 years, said Campbell's profane meltdown reminds him of former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, who once swore in a drunken rant using a bizarrely authentic Jamaican patois.

Before anyone gets holier than thou out there, Jay said, keep in mind that Campbell's swearing "does not mark her as more profane than the rest of us."

Because as a news person, Campbell presumably knows better than to curse in public, you'd have to assume that a catalyst aided by alcohol caused this  perhaps stress.

"What led up to this?" the humane psychologist in Jay wondered.

Campbell's swearing did a public service of sorts.

That's because there's a myth that the poor and uneducated swear more than the rest of us do, Jay said.

"Saying that swearing is lower class ignores the rich and powerful who do it every day," he said. Jay added that a study he conducted shows that people who are more fluent in English  educated people  actually can generate more swear words than people who didn't attend college.

Jay said, "You can't expect a lower socioeconomic person to swear more than a lawyer or professor"  or TV news staffer.

Cursing was prevalent among a sample of highly conservative, middle-to-upper-income people from the Bible Belt in a study by Shelia Kennison, a psychologist at Oklahoma State University. "I do not think we should assume that only lower social status people curse," she said.

And gender makes little difference.

Back in the 1970s, Jay saw that men swore 60 percent to women's 40 percent. But now it's 50-50, he said.

"Women have more power and use more empowered language," Jay said.

Either that, he added, "or they have more stress."

There are few innocents, he said, when it comes to cursing. By the time kids start school, they know about 40 taboo words, Jay said.

"Children will swear as soon as they start talking," he said.

Using taboo words as verbal intensifiers  steroids for our vocabulary  is a very old phenomenon, noted Muffy Siegel, an English professor at Temple University, where Campbell studied journalism.

She then added what Campbell amply demonstrated: "I think we know that everybody curses at different times."
Paul C. Saionz, 89, of Bryn Mawr, a wicker company foreman and Holocaust survivor whose parents and two younger siblings perished in the gas chambers at Auschwitz and who spoke of his experiences only after decades of silence, died Saturday, June 3, of bladder cancer at Bryn Mawr Hospital.

A resident of Overbrook Park for 66 years before moving in 2000 to Bryn Mawr, Mr. Saionz was a foreman at two Philadelphia wicker companies, Frederic Mertz & Co. and Charles Schober Co. He retired at age 81.

Perhaps the most compelling period of Mr. Saionz's life was when he and his family were caught up in the rise of the Nazi regime during the run-up to World War II  a story he began relating to audiences only as an octogenarian.

"My father said all the Holocaust survivors tried to put it behind them, but when my mother passed away, he had a release on himself," said his son Robert. "Everywhere he spoke, it took the weight [of the past] off him."

Mr. Saionz was born in 1928 in Sosnowiec, Poland, near the German border. He was the fourth of six children in a pious Orthodox Jewish household. His father was a teacher, his mother a homemaker. His childhood was happy until 1939, when the German army invaded Poland. Mr. Saionz, then 11, and his family lived in constant fear of the Nazi aggressors.

In 1942, his family was split up and deported to forced labor camps. Mr. Saionz's father, Abraham, 53; his mother, Alta Rachel, 50; his youngest sister, Sarah, 13; and his youngest brother, Akivah, 8, died in the gas chambers of Auschwitz concentration camp in southern Poland.

From 1943 to 1945, while World War II raged, Mr. Saionz was sent to three work camps: Sakrau, Graditz, and Faulbruck. He wore a yellow star on his clothing signifying that he was Jewish, and was forced to perform strenuous manual labor while sick with typhus and malnourished. He would later say he credited his survival at the camps to many kind and generous people.

"One was a student of my father's who was able to get my father out of heavy work and into some electrical work with telephones," his son said. Mr. Saionz and his son concluded that his small stature  4 feet 11 inches, 130 pounds  may have fooled the Nazis into thinking he was younger and more capable of work than he actually was.

"I remember having all my hair shaved off and seeing two inmates escape and get caught," Mr. Saionz told an assembly of Radnor High School students in March 2015. "The next day I saw their bodies hanging from a tree. I remember thinking to myself, 'Would I make it through another day?' "

While imprisoned for 28 months, he didn't know what had happened to his family. He remained an inmate until he and others were liberated by the Soviet army from the Sportschule labor camp May 9, 1945. His older brother, Moritz, survived the Langenstein concentration camp near Weimar, Germany. His two sisters, Bella and Mary, survived similar work camps.

The four siblings were reunited in 1945 in Germany and tried to return to Poland, but encountered hatred from Poles who resented the survivors when their own relatives had died in the camps. The four moved to the British Occupation Zone in Germany before resettling in the Philadelphia area. Mr. Saionz arrived in February 1951.

For many years, the reserved Mr. Saionz kept the painful memories of the Holocaust to himself, but in 2012, with the encouragement of family, he decided to speak out. He believed that by telling his story, he could help people learn about cruelty and oppression. He spoke at local schools, churches, and synagogues.

"I decided to share my experience for the sake of my children, my grandchildren, and history," he told the Radnor students. "It is important for me to enlighten the generation that came after the Holocaust."

He went on to tell the students how he celebrated two birthdays: the day of his birth, and the "day I got my name back and was no longer a number." For identification purposes, concentration camp inmates were referred to by number, not a name.

"Every time I hear his story, I get emotional," said Jennifer Saionz, his daughter-in-law. "His strength and perseverance continue to amaze me. He was almost 81 when he told us the story. It wasn't easy to do. He did it a little at a time, over coffee, over dinner, over dessert. It was cathartic."

After the high school presentation, students gave Mr. Saionz a standing ovation, according to an account on the Radnor School District website. "I am happy the students are interested in my story," Mr. Saionz said. "It is like therapy to me, and I appreciate that they give me their time and attention."

In recent years, Mr. Saionz volunteered as a helper at Bryn Mawr Terrace, an assisted-living facility. He enjoyed spending time with family, reading about current events, attending services at Congregation Adath Israel on the Main Line, and listening to classical music. He liked to clip the daily newspaper and take the stories to the dinner table.

Among his last words to his family were: "Please, children, never forget the Holocaust. Never forget Pop Pop's story."

In addition to his son, Mr. Saionz is survived by a son, Alan; three grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews. His wife, Linda Saionz, died in 2011.

A 10 a.m. funeral will be Thursday, June 8, at Congregation Adath Israel on the Main Line, 250 N. Highland Ave., Merion Station. Interment will follow at Mount Sharon Cemetery, Springfield. Shiva will be held at the home of Robert and Jennifer Saionz starting at 6:45 p.m. on Saturday, June 10, and continuing Sunday, June 11.

Memorial donations may be made to the Jewish National Fund via www.jnf.org/.
William H. Taylor was in the depths of Alzheimer's disease during last year's presidential primaries. Still, he had the wit and wisdom to predict Donald Trump would be the next president.

Although Trump was not his choice, Mr. Taylor  a Democrat  had met the real estate magnate years ago, said Mr. Taylor's son Jeffrey. He was part of negotiations for the sale of a Manhattan skyscraper that Trump demolished to build something really big.

The two men shared a love for development. However, Mr. Taylor's vision extended to protecting the environment, maintaining open space, and incorporating the outdoors, whether he was helping design Burlington City's waterfront, the highways that slice through South Jersey, or his vacation home in the British Virgin Islands.

On Monday, May 29, Mr. Taylor, 88, of Haddonfield, died at home. His legacy remains in the government projects and eclectic vacation homes he designed at the Jersey Shore and in the British Virgin Islands. In Port Republic, Atlantic County, Mr. Taylor's property included a two-story floating porch equipped with motors to navigate the Nacote Creek, said his brother David.

He also rehabbed several homes at the Shore, a barn, and various additions to friends' homes. He loved model trains, and created an elaborate train layout for his home, his family said.

Helga, his wife of 66 years, said her husband took pride in his work. For 22 years, he was Burlington City's engineer overseeing urban planning and designs for redevelopment and historic restoration, including of the promenade on the Delaware River.

"He was very proud of that," his wife said. "It is a beautiful and wonderful asset for the city."

Mr. Taylor's brother said the two worked at the family's engineering firm when Mr. Taylor began waterfront work decades ago. Before officials could proceed with plans for the promenade, Mr. Taylor designed a water management system that included steel sheets to raise the riverbanks, bulkheads to control runoff, and pumping stations to protect low-lying areas.

Another project included improving infrastructure, including installing a water purification system, said former Burlington City Councilman Alexander Shultz. Mr. Taylor, Shultz said, received an engineering award for his promenade design. He also designed John F. Kennedy Park with a basin to control city flooding.

"He got along well with council, and he was very meticulous," Shultz said.

A native of Pennsauken, Mr. Taylor attended Pennsauken and Merchantville schools, where he was captain of the swim team. He played bass for a local swing band, the Blue Serenaders. And he also worked as a lifeguard in Wildwood Crest with this brother.

In 1950, Mr. Taylor graduated from Princeton University with a degree in civil engineering. He enlisted in the Navy, serving as an engineering officer on a destroyer escort during the Korean conflict, completing his tour in 1952, his son said.

Mr. Taylor then joined his father and brother at the engineering firm of Sherman, Taylor & Sleeper. He took night classes at the University of Pennsylvania, where he received a master's in civil engineering and urban planning in 1956.

Mr. Taylor obtained licenses for professional engineering, land surveying, and planning. He and his brother, David, became executives and principals of the engineering firm, which evolved into Taylor Wiseman & Taylor.

With the end of the war, Mr. Taylor emerged as a leader during South Jersey's industrial boom that included construction of Route 295 and Route 55, and transforming some agricultural land into housing and commercial communities.

From 1978 until 1984, Mr. Taylor was active locally and nationally for the American Society of Civil Engineers. He was a proprietor of West New Jersey, and served as the 12th Surveyor General of West New Jersey for 48 years, his family said.

He was a member of many other organizations, including New Jersey Society of Professional Engineers.

In 1981, Mr. Taylor retired as president of the family firm.

Mr. Taylor served as chairman of the Haddonfield Planning Board, helping to create the Historic District. He was also director and president of the Southern New Jersey Development Council; director of the NJ Alliance for Action; director and president of the Guidance Center of Camden County; board member and facilities chairman of Cooper Hospital; director of Fidelity Mutual Savings and Loan Association; and director and president of Indigo Association Ltd.

Mr. Taylor enjoyed scuba diving, sailing, and hiking with his wife throughout the United States and Europe.

He was passionate about current events, loved a good political debate, and was an early supporter of former U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley.

In addition to his wife, brother, and son, Mr. Taylor is survived by two other children, James and Anne Taylor Connor, six grandchildren, and two great-grandsons.

Services were private. Contributions in Mr. Taylor's memory may be made to Planned Parenthood of Northern, Central, and Southern New Jersey, 196 Speedwell Road, Morristown, NJ 07960, or to the Alzheimer's Association at www.alz.org. Arrangements were handled by Kain-Murphy Funeral Services of Haddonfield.
The president has gone rogue.

Not one-eighth of the way through his term, Donald Trump has each day become more isolated: from his own appointees and staff (whom he routinely contradicts and undermines); from world leaders (whom he regularly offends); from the courts (whose integrity he has repeatedly assaulted); from his current director of the National Security Agency and his past director of the FBI (who are both expected to give damaging testimony this week on the Russia scandal); and even from his most ardent supporters (whose enthusiasm has softened markedly in polls).



In the space of a few hours on Monday, Trump managed to attack not just Democrats ("OBSTRUCTIONISTS!") and the mayor of London ("pathetic") but also the judicial system ("slow and political!") and even his own Justice Department (for submitting a "watered down, politically correct" measure to the Supreme Court). He undermined his own administration officials and lawyers, who for legal reasons had painstakingly argued that Trump's ban on travel from several Muslim-majority countries was not a "travel ban." Tweeted Trump: "I am calling it what we need and what it is, a TRAVEL BAN!"

On top of all this Twitter madness, Politico's Susan Glasser reported that Trump blindsided his secretary of state, defense secretary, and national security adviser, who had made sure that his speech to NATO reaffirmed the alliance's collective-defense clause. Trump removed the language  the cornerstone of the military alliance  at the last minute without even telling the advisers.

Trump reacted Monday to all the chaos he created by hunkering down further, canceling without notice a scheduled "pool spray" with reporters at which he was expected to answer questions.

It has become cliche to observe that Trump's behavior is both unprecedented and unpresidential. Perhaps we should combine the two and simply accept that Trump, to borrow one of his Twitter misspellings, is "unpresidented."

So isolated is Trump that he accidentally hits send on a tweet with gibberish and there's nobody who can get him to delete the errant missive for hours. CNN's Gloria Borger last week quoted a Trump confidant describing a lost man: "He now lives within himself, which is a dangerous place for Donald Trump to be. I see him emotionally withdrawing. He's gained weight. He doesn't have anybody whom he trusts."

This is indeed dangerous. Though Trump's ineffectiveness comes as a relief, his isolation is no cause for celebration. Whenever his back is to the wall, he becomes even more aggressive. The further he falls, and the more alienated he grows, the greater the danger that he will do something desperate  and there is much that a desperate commander in chief can do.

There's no telling when that might happen. Perhaps if the Supreme Court strikes down his travel ban, as lower courts have done? Neil Gorsuch, Trump's appointee to the high court, said Friday night that he is confident "government can lose in its own courts and accept the judgment of those courts without an army to back it up." I hope he's right. But, as if by way of reply, Trump attacked the courts again Monday with the sort of language Gorsuch had in the past called disheartening.

Trump even seems to be alienating some of his base, that 35 to 40 percent of the country that seems to back him no matter what he does. Numbers cruncher Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight observed recently that while Trump's overall floor of support remains about the same  36 percent approve of the job he's doing in the latest Gallup poll  the number of Americans who strongly approve of Trump has declined sharply, from 30 percent in February to 21 or 22 percent now  a falloff of nearly a third.

Is there nobody outside of Trump's family who is in sync with Trump? Actually, there is.



"I haven't seen, even once, any direct proof of Russian interference in the presidential election in the United States," Vladimir Putin told Megyn Kelly for her NBC debut Sunday night.



The Russian president said hackers can make it appear "as if your 3-year-old daughter carried out the attack." He went on to say "there were no meetings" between the Russian ambassador and officials affiliated with the Trump campaign, and, invoking the Kennedy assassination, floated a conspiracy theory that U.S. intelligence was trying to frame Russia.

These were curiously similar to Trump's responses  casting doubt on Russia's involvement, suggesting the hacking could have been done by a 400-pound man in his bed, decrying facts as "fake news" and planting conspiracy theories.



At least somebody is on the same page as Trump. Unfortunately, the words are in Cyrillic.


One of the more viral stories in the last few months has been an Inquirer story by Mike Newall about Kensington librarians who have been trained to administer life-saving drugs to overdosing addicts.

Narcan-toting librarians saving lives is clearly a tale that illustrates our horrifying opioid epidemic. This epidemic is a nationwide problem, and the national media have taken note of the library's response. It's a shocking story, but given the vital role that public libraries have carved out in communities in the last few decades, not a complete surprise. In fact, libraries have stepped forward to help reweave the social safety net, providing many of the services that people need, and Philadelphia's own library system has been at the forefront of this modern age of libraries.

So when are we going to return the favor and start administering life-saving money to the library system?

As in so many areas, Philadelphia boasts an excellent, forward-thinking system that has blossomed in inverse proportion to our pathetic financial support.

Libraries like ours have long ago given up their role as simply book repositories, and have become digital hubs, literacy trainers, havens for kids after school, resources for job seekers, language programs for non-English speakers, homework help for students, and vital hubs of communities.

The operating budget for the Free Library of Philadelphia, according to its most recent 2016 annual report, is just shy of $48 million. That's $8 million less than what the libraries got about 10 years ago, in the FY08 budget.

Ironically, that was also the year that then-Mayor Michael Nutter found out what the community thinks of its libraries when he suggested closing 11 branches in the devastating 2008-09 budget cycle. Public outrage was fierce, and he ultimately had to back down.

Still, while branches were saved, they weren't exactly indulged. Consider how other lesser cities fund their libraries: Seattle, which boasts about half our population, gives its library system $50 million a year. The budget for Boston, which is even smaller than Seattle, is only slightly shy of our own, at $40 million. San Francisco funds its libraries to the tune of $117 million.

This is a sad and familiar refrain for too many of Philadelphia's treasured institutions. But this one rankles in particular because this is where libraries were invented (by Benjamin Franklin, who founded the Library Company 286 years ago).

The $500 million Rebuild program announced by Mayor Kenney late last year will benefit libraries as well as parks and rec centers. But that money is intended to be capital improvements: fixing boilers, roofs, and windows of neglected buildings. Funded with a combination of city loans, capital funds, and an infusion from William Penn Foundation, this is essentially to catch up on long-deferred maintenance. It will bring libraries up to "inhabitable" status, especially during summer months, when some branches have to close because of outdated heating/cooling systems. But these updates are not the same as healthy and ongoing financial backing. That will take longer, and will require noisy public support. Now that it has become a matter of life and death, the stakes are even higher.
The Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA) Foundation released the following statement in opposition to the murder charge the New York City Bronx District Attorney's (DA) Office brought against NYPD Sergeant Hugh Barry. The murder charge relates to an incident that occurred on October 18, 2016, where Sergeant Barry deployed his firearm as a means to defend himself from an assailant initiating a lethal attack in close quarters.

The FLEOA Foundation asserts that the Bronx DA succumbed to the influence of activist loudness and not logic in bringing a murder charge against Sergeant Barry. The Bronx DA's Office has failed to assess Sergeant Barry's conduct based on what a prudent officer under similar circumstances would have done. Instead, the Bronx DA is relying on their limited understanding of an NYPD training manual in passing legal judgment against Sergeant Barry. It is unfortunate that the DA opted to dismiss the importance of the NYPD's own academy test question that validated Sergeant Barry's use of deadly force in response to a subject wielding a bat.

It was equally disconcerting that the DA failed to recognize the success of Sergeant Barry in initially de-escalating the conflict by persuading the subject to drop a potentially lethal pair of scissors.

Rather than recognize the risks an officer faces when confronting an emotionally disturbed person whose behavior may change without cue, the DA opted to blame Sergeant Barry for not attempting to retreat from a close-quarters volatile situation. When dealing with hostile subjects in real time, there is no pause button for an officer to hit that would afford them safe passage in retreat.

The FLEOA Foundation further challenged the DA's conclusion that Sergeant Barry intentionally ignored his training while charging into the volatile situation. To the contrary, Sergeant Barry had a legitimate legal purpose for being in the apartment in support of junior officers on scene, and he is not to blame for the irrational lethal behavior of a subject who was unfortunately suffering from severe mental illness. While it is tragic that the incident resulted in a loss of life, the DA should not prosecute Sergeant Barry for murder and use him as a scapegoat for the City's inability to mitigate its mental health epidemic.

Prosecutors are duty bound to follow the rule of law, and not be influenced by politics or external pressure. The FLEOA Foundation stands behind Sergeant Barry, and the statements of Sergeants Benevolent Association president Ed Mullins.

For more information about the FLEOA Foundation, visit www.FLEOAfoundation.org. For more information about FLEOA, visit www.fleoa.org.
Photo: NYPD/Facebook

An NYPD plainclothes officer was is in critical condition after being dragged by a car Saturday night while questioning people, reports Bklyner.

At approximately 11:50pm Saturday, NYPD responded to multiple calls regarding shots being heard in East Flatbush. Six plainclothes police officers responded and began questioning several people who were attending a party at the scene. The officers say the gunfire neighbors heard was most likely fireworks.

Police officer Dalsh Veve was questioning a group of people sitting inside a black Honda. The other officers then witnessed the Honda start driving, dragging Officer Veve two-and-a-half blocks before he broke free and fell on the street, according to Police Commissioner James P. O'Neill.

Officer Veve is believed to have fired into the car twice while he was being dragged. The Honda continued driving until it crashed, and the occupants fled, ONeill stated.

Authorities believe a 15-year-old was admitted to Brookdale Hospital with a gunshot wound shortly after the incident was in the stolen Honda that dragged Officer Veve. The suspect is in serious condition. As of Monday morning, two people had been arrested in connection with this incident.

Officer Veve has been with the NYPD for 9 years. He is married and has a 2-year-old daughter.
The launch ceremony of the Kazakh-language version of President Xi Jinping's book, Xi Jinping: The Governance of China, was held on Monday in the First President Library in Astana, Kazakhstan's capital.

The book demonstrates China's development theory and path, and internal and foreign policies, according to Tuo Zhen, deputy head of Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

"The publication of the Kazakh-language version of Xi Jinping: The Governance of China opens a new window to Kazakhstan people to understand more about China, and provides a new platform for both countries to communicate over issues about governance of our countries," Tuo said.

Chinese Ambassador to Kazakhstan Zhang Hanhui said the new edition offers the people of Kazakhstan a firsthand acquaintance with Xi's insights.

"Since the new book has been published before the visit of President Xi to Kazakhstan, we believe the two countries will enhance mutual trust and better strategic coordination," Zhang said.

Bachtitem Timurblatter, deputy director of the Kazakhstan Presidential Administration, said Kazakh readers will be able to better understand how Chinese people realize the Chinese Dream, and will learn about the determination of the Chinese government in the anti-corruption campaign.

The book contains 79 speeches, talks, interviews, notes and letters of the Chinese leader between November 2012 and June 2014.

More than 6.2 million copies have been distributed around the world.

The book event opens a series of activities on Sino-Kazakh cooperation ahead of Xi's visit. The China-Kazakhstan Media Dialogue, also on Monday, saw senior officials of mainstream media from both countries discuss the media's role in boosting ties between the countries.

Tuo said media from China and Kazakhstan played a significant role in enhancing Sino-Kazakh relations. Tuo encouraged media of both countries to provide more coverage of the Belt and Road Initiative and become witnesses to Sino-Kazakh friendship.
A British Transport Police officer took on all three London Bridge attackers Saturday armed only with a baton, reports the Independent.

The officer was one of the first responders to the scene and received stab wounds to his face, head and leg, while attempting to stop the van and stabbing rampage in a busy area of London.

Seven people were killed in the terrorist attack, and dozens more were injured, before police shot dead the suspects.

The BTP's top officer paid tribute to the "enormous courage" of his colleague, after it was revealed his condition was stable. Chief constable Paul Crowther said, "For an officer who only joined us less than two years ago, the bravery he showed was outstanding and makes me extremely proud."

There were three other police officers hurt, including one who was off duty and remains in critical condition. An off-duty Metropolitan Police officer also received critical injuries after tackling the suspects with his bare hands, the BBC reported.
The sun was setting Monday night as a crowd gathered around the body of the young man lying on a South Side Chicago sidewalk, a blue blanket covering everything but his white sneakers.

Chicago police said the man, identified by family as 23-year-old Devonta Dorsey, was shot in the head by a gunman who approached him around 7:40 p.m. Monday.

The attacker fled in a car, and Dorsey was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. He was among six people shot in Chicago over an eight-hour period Monday, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Some of the men in the crowd shouted at police about the city's persistent violence.

"Where were you all when this happened?" one man asked.
An Algerian student reportedly attacked a French police officer with a hammer at Notre-Dame Cathedral Tuesday. The suspect was shot by another officer at the scene.

French authorities say the officer was not seriously injured in the assault, CNN reports.

The assailant reportedly was also carrying knives on his person. He was taken to a hospital. No report was made about his condition.

Reports say the suspect yelled This is for Syria during the assault.
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Filling the massive void of U.S. leadership left by Donald Trump in the wake of unspeakable terror attacks in London, Hillary Clinton stood up on Monday to show the world what a real U.S. president sounds like.

In remarks at a fundraiser for Democratic Congressman Elijah Cummingss youth program, Clinton stood up for London Mayor Sadiq Khan, commending his leadership in the face of a crisis.

It is time for steady, determined leadership like we are seeing from Londons mayor and local authorities, Clinton said, hinting at Trumps erratic and irresponsible behavior following the recent attacks.

In another contrast to Trump, the 2016 popular vote winner said we need to band together with our international allies to defeat this threat, not become further divided by it.

This is a time for us to reach out to the world, to understand more about what is happening, she said. This is not the time to lash out, to incite fear, and use trash talk and terror for political gain.

As Clinton said, times of crisis call for steady and responsible leadership, not erratic and alarmist behavior. After all, thats exactly what those committing such terror all over the world want  a knee-jerk response

And thats what Donald Trump gave them this morning in a series of unhinged tweets when he attacked the mayor of London  a man who is doing his best to calm the fears of the people he represents.

Pathetic excuse by London Mayor Sadiq Khan who had to think fast on his no reason to be alarmed statement, Trump said in one of the tweets, which followed an earlier tweet in which he attacked Khan for trying to keep his people calm.

At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is no reason to be alarmed!', Trump said.

This type of behavior from anybody following a terror attack is uncalled for, but its disturbing coming from the supposed leader of the free world.

Hillary Clintons remarks today showed the world what American leadership looks like, while Donald Trump continues to do his best to make the United States the laughingstock of the world.
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Former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page, for whatever reason, keeps going on television to open his mouth  and the results are never positive.

In an interview with MSNBCs Chris Matthews, Page developed a pretty bad case of amnesia when he was asked about his secret meeting with the Russian ambassador.

Video:

Matthews grilled Page, asking him why hes hiding if his ties to Russia were so innocent, pushing even harder, Who dont you just say what you were doing? Why are you hiding these meetings?

Page first played the victim, and then he pretended he had no idea what the meeting was about.

Chris, its been an ongoing assault.  I was doing nothing, I was doing nothing.  The meeting was about nothing, he said before sympathizing with Russias stance on NATO.

Thats when the real amnesia kicked in.

Video:

@hardball Why do they keep interviewing Carter Page? The guy says Hello you can tell he is lying pic.twitter.com/qgcZXl5C2w  Julian Tress (@julian3b) June 5, 2017

Matthews asked, Who were the organizers of his secret meetings with the Russians and who invited him?

Carter responded: I forget.  I dont recall.  I cant even recall.

Matthews shot back: This is whats squirrelly about your argument here. It was no big deal, it was just hello, how are you? But it was off the record and we agreed to make it off the record. Whats off the record?

In typical Carter Page fashion, he refused to answer the question.o things are abundantly clear from Pages bumbling interview: First, that there is most certainly something Page and his former boss  Trump  are hiding; Second, Page should stop giving interviews  it only hurts his cause and raises more red flags.

At the end of the day, two things are abundantly clear from Pages bumbling interview.

First, there is most certainly something Page and his former boss  Trump  are hiding with respect to their ties and contacts with Russa. People dont squirm like Page does if they have nothing to hide.

Second, Page should stop giving television interviews. They only hurt his cause and raise more red flags about this large-scale effort by Trumps team to cover up their ties to Russia.
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While the entire world community rallies behind London following a series of weekend terror attacks, Donald Trump chose to use the moment to attack the citys mayor, Sadiq Khan.

Khan, standing up for his city and responding to the unhinged U.S. presidents recent comments, is now urging the UK government to cancel Trumps upcoming state visit.

Video:

London mayor smacking Trump down, saying the UK should cancel his state visit: pic.twitter.com/HFygtx0Z74  Sean Colarossi (@SeanColarossi) June 6, 2017

Khan said, 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. I just havent got the time to respond to tweets from Donald Trump.

One of the tweets Khan is referring to is this, in which Trump slammed the mayors attempt to keep the people of his city calm after the attacks.

At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is no reason to be alarmed!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2017

Though Khan is clearly too much of an adult to dwell on the childish Twitter ramblings of Trump, he did say that he believes the UK government should cancel Trumps planned visit:

I dont think we should be rolling out the red carpet to the President of the USA in the circumstances where his policies go against everything we stand for. I think one of the things when you have a special relationship, its no different to when youve got a close mate. You stand with them in times of adversity, but you call them out when theyre wrong. And there many things about which Donald Trump is wrong.

The mayor of London is clearly too busy trying to calm his people and prevent further attacks to stoop to Trumps level, but he also put Trump on notice and let the president know he isnt afraid to defend his city.

Not only should the world be coming together in support of London after the tragic series of terror attacks, but the UK should not be rewarding the childish U.S. president, as Khan said, by rolling out the red carpet.
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Those inside the White House are saying that the countdown clock that all the cable news channels are displaying until James Comeys testimony has got Trump so freaked out that he has gone on a Twitter bender of crazy.

Axios reported, One top adviser to the President told Axios that the early morning hours are a persistent problem. Trump is alone in the residence, often filled with grievance, frequently watching TV and popping off at whatever is on screen.While the effects of Trumps tweeting are messy, the cause is clear. With the cable channels running countdown clocks to Jim Comeys testimony on Thursday, the folks inside know this is all-out war for survival. It explains the tone, at least, of the tweetstorm.

Trump is freaking out over James Comeys upcoming testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday, so he is taking out his rage on anything that he sees on cable news. Never has the country had a president who couldnt be trusted to watch television alone. Donald Trump is behaving like someone who belongs in supervised care, not the Oval Office.

The president has been on a social media frenzy since Saturday night. His social media statements have done damage to his administration in numerous ways. Attacking Londons mayor caused the US ambassador to the UK to break with the president, and the case for his Muslim ban was probably lost for good on Monday morning.

Trump is tweeting about everything other Comey, but it shouldnt be a surprise that the driver of his frenzy is a ticking clock on a screen counting down the moments until testimony that could destroy his presidency.
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The phrase quit while youre ahead apparently has no meaning to Donald Trump, who just fired off yet another incoherent tweet about his proposed Muslim ban, saying its something the United States needs to keep the America safe from certain countries.

The tweet is the latest in a series of Twitter posts in which the president is all but admitting that his ban isnt a watered down travel ban. Instead, its exactly what he campaigned on last year: a Muslim ban.

Tweet:

Thats right, we need a TRAVEL BAN for certain DANGEROUS countries, not some politically correct term that wont help us protect our people!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 6, 2017

The Monday night tweet follows posts earlier in the day from Trump, in which he tried to exploit the recent terror attacks in London to push his ban.

Tweets:

The Justice Dept. should ask for an expedited hearing of the watered down Travel Ban before the Supreme Court  & seek much tougher version!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017

The Justice Dept. should have stayed with the original Travel Ban, not the watered down, politically correct version they submitted to S.C.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017

Trumps initial travel ban tweets were likely enough to damage the presidents argument that his policy is not, in fact, a real ban and that his intent was not to target a certain faction of people.

Instead of trying to play damage control or walk back that tweet, what does the third-grader-in-chief do? He doubles down by once again tweeting out his support for a Muslim ban and slamming those who practice political correctness.

There are plenty of legal arguments that opponents of Trumps ban will make when the case hits the U.S. Supreme Court, but the most damning evidence that this is, in fact, a Muslim-targeted travel ban comes directly from Donald Trumps Twitter feed.
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Just hours after White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer refused to say if Trump has confidence in his Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a new report was dropped that indicates Sessions suggested he could resign.

As the White House braces for former FBI Director James Comeys testimony Thursday, sources tell ABC News the relationship between President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions has become so tense that Sessions at one point recently even suggested he could resign, Jonathan Karl at ABC News reported.

Trump has made his displeasure with Sessions public, blaming his own DOJ for the watering down of his travel ban (Muslim ban)  which Trump himself signed. This is called being thrown under the bus.

The rift began in March when Sessions recused himself from overseeing the FBI investigation intro President Trumps possible collusion with Russia as it attacked the U.S. during the 2016 election and after.

Trump left WH in a fury on Friday, fuming about Sessions's recusal and telling aides that Sessions shouldn't have recused himself  Robert Costa (@costareports) March 4, 2017

Karl writes that Trump learned about Sessions decision minutes before Sessions announced it publicly, and Multiple sources say the recusal is one of the top disappointments of his presidency so far and one the president has remained fixated on.

Trumps anger over the recusal has not diminished with time. Two sources close to the president say he has lashed out repeatedly at the attorney general in private meetings, blaming the recusal for the expansion of the Russia investigation, now overseen by Special Counsel and former FBI Director Robert Mueller.

The New York Times reported Monday, Mr. Trump has grown sour on Mr. Sessions, now his attorney general, blaming him for various troubles that have plagued the White House. In Mr. Trumps view, they said, it was that recusal that eventually led to the appointment of a special counsel who took over the investigation.

ABC News reported that when asked if the attorney general had threatened or offered to resign, Justice Department spokesperson Sarah Isgur Flores declined to comment.

Trump is blaming Sessions for the special counsel, but he should be blaming himself. We havent heard Donald Trump take responsibility for anything yet, and it probably wont happen anytime soon.

Jeff Sessions might have too much integrity to survive in the Trump White House.

 And that says everything about Donald Trump, because in 1986, Republicans didnt think Jeff Sessions was good enough to be a federal judge due to a history of racism  and now hes too good for their President.
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Magnificent View of Maoshan Mountain [Photo provided to China Daily]

An ink-brush landscape by modern master Fu Baoshi (1904-65) was sold for 187 million yuan ($27.5 millionto a real estate developer from northwestern Gansu province at a Beijing auction Sunday night.

Magnificent View of Maoshan Mountain was completed in the traditional shanshui mountain-and-water-style just three months before Fu's death. The nearly three-meter-long painting depicts a grand panorama of the mountain, an important seat of Taoism that is located in the eastern Jiangsu province.

Fu also painted at the seat of the mountain and in between the dense forests many factories and towns that are being built. The work exemplifies his distinctive approach to hailing socialist construction, a major topic of the artists at the time.

Han Qing, chairman of Tian Qing Group Real Estate Company, acquired the painting to enrich the collection of Tian Qing Museum, an institution funded by the company.

Magnificent View of Maoshan Mountain is the third most expensive of Fu's output at auction.

The work is the top lot of Beijing Poly Auction's night sale of classic Chinese paintings.

In the same sale, Fu's ink-brush figure painting, Goddest (Shan Gui), fetched 64 million yuan.

Goddest (Shan Gui) by Fu Baoshi [Photo provided to China Daily]

Related:

Top artists' works sell at Christie's HK auction

French collector's Chinese art going to auction
Charleston, SC (29403)

Today

Windy with showers and thunderstorms likely. Potential for heavy rainfall. High 73F. Winds E at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of rain 100%..

Tonight

Tropical storm conditions possible. Thunderstorms. Low 71F. Winds SE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
Maya T. Prabhu covers the Statehouse from Columbia. She previously covered city government and other topics in South Carolina and Maryland. Maya has a bachelors in English from Spelman College and a masters in journalism from the University of Maryland.
RED WING  Members of the Red Wing City Council, Mayor Sean Dowse and others gathered Monday to listen to members of a group of volunteers talk about the issue of homelessness in Red Wing.

It's a problem, said JoAnn McNamara, a case worker with Hope Coalition, that is growing.

"We often deal with it at the library," said Jessica McGee, director of the city's library. "When we open the door, they come in in the morning. When we close the doors, they leave at night."

McGee said library staff interact with homeless individuals  almost always with no trouble  on a daily basis. They use the library's resources and take advantage of the air conditioning in the summer and the heat in the winter.

"They clean up in the bathrooms," she said. "We are the city's shelter."

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That, said Jerry O'Rourke, a member of a group of residents working to combat the problem, is not good enough for the growing problem.

"We're here to ask for financial help," he said. "We have set a goal for the next fiscal year to get about $20,000 to help get people off the streets."

O'Rourke said the organization, which has been around for about four years, uses Hope Coalition as its fiduciary agent, and most of the money it raises goes to provide temporary shelter to both individuals and families in need. So far, it has raised money through private donations and special collections at area churches to fund its efforts. Now, though, the group would like some help from the city.

With the tight housing market, the old days of finding a new rental home for families in need are gone, McNamara said. In its place is a system where  in the summer  individuals who are homeless are given a tent and sleeping bag and are rented a camping spot. Families are rented a single room at a local hotel for two weeks, and the goal is to find them a friend or relative in-state who can take them in.

"We have some families that camp, but that can be difficult with children," she said.

Winter is another matter. When the temperature drops, the spending goes up as the group tries to ensure people  families or singles  are not left out in the cold.

"We still have people who come through, and we try to get them back to where they're going. But mostly, these are people who live in Red Wing," she said.

McNamara said since October, the group has helped about 120 people and purchased 200 room nights at the local hotel. Between 35 percent to 40 percent of its clients are families with children. That includes everyone from people working low-wage jobs to folks on Social Security.

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Eventually, she said, the group would like a place where they could house about 20 homeless people.

"We'd like help finding a building," said Beth Breeden, another member of the group fighting homelessness.

Breeden said she routinely looks at available buildings to see if she can find something that meets their needs. A building with showers is a must. It must be handicapped accessible. Then there are issues with zoning and neighbors who don't want the homeless shelter next door.

"They're either too close to other homes or businesses or too expensive," she said.

But getting a shelter would be a major step forward to combating homelessness in Red Wing, McNamara said.

"It would be a tremendous help," she said. "A much better use of funding."
Thousands of Democrats will pour into Rochester next summer to endorse the party's candidate for governor.

The Minnesota DFL Party announced Tuesday that the 2018 state convention will be June 1-3 at the newly remodeled Mayo Civic Center. Delegates will endorse candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general and Sen. Amy Klobuchar.

"The Minnesota DFL has a rich history of investing in our state's future, defending the civil and human rights of all citizens, and constantly working to move our state forward without leaving anyone behind. When the DFL convenes in Rochester in June of 2018, we will make critical endorsements that will directly affect the lives of Minnesota's families," said Minnesota DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin.

The Minnesota DFL Party had its last convention in Rochester in 2012. It attracted 2,700 delegates. Minnesota Republicans held their state convention in Rochester in 2014.

Two of the Democrats vying for the gubernatorial endorsement hail from southern Minnesota. Rep. Tina Liebling is from Rochester and 1st District Rep. Tim Walz is from Mankato. Rochester is in the 1st Congressional District, which Walz currently represents.
LONDON - The third terrorist involved in the weekend attack on London Bridge was named Tuesday in Italian media.

Reports have given his name as Moroccan-born Italian Youssef Zaghba.

Media in Italy claim Zaghba was stopped by the authorities in Bologna last year when he was en route to Syria.

The Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera said in a report that the Italian intelligence services reported Youssef's movements to their British counterparts.

British police have also identified the third attacker as Youssef Zaghba, but said the 22-year-old was not subject of M15 (Britain's security agency) interest.

London Metropolitan Police Monday released the names of the other two terrorists, Pakistan-born Khuram Butt, 27, and Rachid Radouane, 30, who were both from the Barking area of London.

All the three men confronted and shot dead by armed officers within eight minutes of the first call as the trio mowed people down on London Bridge before slashing people with knives in a frenzied attack on civilians. Their carnage left seven people dead and 48 injured.
Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton sat for an interview with former Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod late last week at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics (video below, posted here on YouTube). Judging by the derisive laughter of the audience in response to Axelrods lame japes and brain-dead left-wing talking points, I take it that the interview was conducted before a crowd mostly hostile to Senator Cotton. Axelrod, of course, was Axelrod, assaulting Senator Cotton with a barrage of questions reflecting assumptions that toe the left-wing line. Senator Cotton was, as usual, outstanding, shedding light on dark corners. Senator Cotton paid tribute to Axelrod as a host and the University of Chicago as a venue in his concluding remarks.

At about 25:00 Axelrod poses the question of the hour to Senator Cotton about Russia. Youve been an outspoken critic of Russia, he says, theres been a little bit of ambiguity on the part of the president about his view of Russia. Axelrod arches his eyebrows and asks Senator Cotton to elaborate on his view. Good question! I found the whole thing worthwhile, but if you watch nothing else, fast forward to check out Senator Cottons response and stick with it for a few minutes.

Senator Cotton famously attempted to foil the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with the Iranian regime. The worst deal of all time stands as the Obama administrations crowning foreign policy achievement undermining American national security. It is most disappointing that Axelrod failed to take up the issue with Senator Cotton.

Iran comes up in response to a students question at around 55:00 of the video. Axelrod commends Iran on its recent presidential election, again so-called. Really. Senator Cotton concisely comments: Sham election.

Quotable quote: [Obamas] the one who made fun of Mitt Romney in the debates in 2012 for having a 1980s mindset. I mean, the 1930s should call him about his foreign policy.
 A few footnotes on Trumps manly withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord. The best part of the whole thing was not that he decided to withdraw, but how he did it. Trump could have just issued a statement from behind his desk in the Oval Office, or had a press spokesperson make the announcement, just as President George W. Bush did in withdrawing from the Kyoto Protocol back in 2001. Instead, Trump delivered a high-profile speech about it on the White House lawn, complete with brass band! And the completeness of his attack on the Paris Accord, along with his dash of nationalism (I was elected to represent the people of Pittsburgh, not Paris), suggests he deliberately wanted to maximize the outrage of the climatistas and their media toadies. Its not enough for Trump to disrespect every respectable institution (including big business); he had to talk about how much he loves coal miners, who are the wretched of the earth for gentry liberals. To paraphrase Shakespeare very roughly, nothing in the life of the Paris Accord became it like Trumps leaving it.

In the immediate aftermath of the announcement, it was impossible to distinguish between the aggrieved activists and the mainstream media journalists who parroted every climatista talking point. I watched some of the press conference with EPA administrator Scott Pruitt, and the media gaggle came across like a cross-examination by Greenpeace. I cannot now recall any media skepticism or critical question of Obamas EPA administrator Gina McCarthy when she rolled out the so-called Clean Power Plan, such as what it would cost, or how the EPA could justify its outrageous discount rate that went into its social cost of carbon calculation. Simple rule: when Democrats run the EPA, the press corps is happy to serve as stenographers for pro-agency propaganda.

 So, once again we have a terror attack in Britain from a known wolf Islamic jihadist. Guess we need another benefit concert from rock stars, to go along with the one already organized for the victims of the Manchester terror attack three weeks ago.

A couple of tweets to note, one from an Imam in England who acknowledges the problems of Islam and wants to reform it, and a clueless liberal interlocutor.

And what would we do without Paul Krugmans finely tuned sarcasm:

 More scenes from the party of diversity and inclusion: A city council member in Seattle boasted last week that she doesnt have any Republican friends, and the council chamber audience cheered. Seattle Times columnist Danny Westneat observed:

Kshama Sawant wasnt having any of that. She stood up and said Burgess wasnt speaking for her with this our Republican friends stuff. Because, she assured the crowd, she doesnt have any Republican friends. Yay, cheered the crowd. Now its hardly surprising that Sawant, a socialist, isnt having GOPers over for mint juleps. But its pretty unusual to my ears for a politician to boast that her tribalism excludes even the possibility of warm feelings toward political opponents, even as humans.

Reminder from Harry Jaffa: Those who see each other as utterly alien cannot be fellow citizens.

But if this is the way the left wants to play it, then game on.

 Update on Evergreen State College: The campus is closed again today:

Maybe someone threatened that some actual learning might take place. But heres a curious thing: faculty directory on the college website is closed to outsiders, even though this is a state institution, so it is impossible to do any research on the faculty members, though does anyone guess what a search will find? Not surprising they want no attention for their tendentious mediocrity. Prof. Weinstein notes that even he has mysteriously been cut off from the faculty directory.

Since Evergreen is a state institution, might as well just turn it into a mental institution right now and get the formalities over with.

 Finally, who says Trump isnt draining the swamp? Heres more collateral benefits of the Paris Accord decision:

Acting US ambassador to China resigns over Trumps Paris decision: report The acting U.S. ambassador to China has resigned from his post over President Trumps decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate agreement, according to CNN. David Ranks decision was reportedly directly tied to Trumps announcement last week that he would withdraw the U.S. from the global climate change pact, which nearly 200 nations are a part of.

I suggest the rest of the foreign service follow this noble example.
Reader Patti Kruse wrote us last year to encourage our remembrance of the D-Day landings on the Normandy beaches. My dad landed on Omaha Beach on D-Day, she told us. He was one of the fortunate ones, as he was never physically injured and managed to survive from D-Day all the way through the Battle of the Bulge and V-E Day. He rarely spoke about his experience except to say how much he loved America and was grateful to have served (he had immigrated from Ireland as a very young man).

She added: Ive attached a picture of my dad (Pat Nichols, at right in the photo above) taken somewhere in Belgium December 1944 during the Battle of the Bulge. I asked him once about the picture and he said they were told, Only Yanks would be crazy enough to take their picture during the Battle of the Bulge. He loved being called a Yank, especially as he used to be teased about his magnificent Irish brogue. Here is our annual post in observation of the anniversary of D-Day, with a salute once again to Pattis dad as representative of all the brave Americans that day:

Seventy-three years ago today our fellow Americans and their allies stormed the beaches of Normandy to vanquish the Nazis supposed thousand-year regime. In his D-Day message to the troops, General Eisenhower declared: We accept nothing less than full victory!

The landing was necessary if the war was to be won. In 1984 President Reagan called it a giant undertaking unparalleled in human history. Yet success was far from inevitable. Eisenhower tucked a second message away to use in case of failure: Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based upon the best information available. The troops, the air and the Navy did all that Bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone.

We seek to remember the fallen and honor all those living and dead who did their duty that day. They performed fearsome tasks with awe-inspiring fortitude.

In his 2004 Wall Street Journal column Too much, too late, Professor David Gelernter expressed his revulsion over the tidal wave of phoniness that he detected in the celebration of the greatest generation by the boomer crowd. That particular tidal wave may have receded, but his remedy abides. As a remedy for the phoniness he detected, Professor Gelernter prescribed teaching to our children the major battles of the war, the bestiality of the Japanese, the attitude of the intellectuals, and the memoirs and recollections of the veterans.

Complying with Professor Gelernters prescription, I have worked my way through Rick Atkinsons brilliant Liberation Trilogy. In recent years I read the late Dartmouth English Professor Harold Bonds moving Return to Cassino. E.B. Sledges With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa (now with an outstanding introduction by Victor Davis Hanson) is the classic memoir of combat in the Pacific theater that should be on everyones list.

Professor Gelernter failed to assign a paper topic for his proposed course. I would assign an essay on the subject of sacrifice. Do we deserve the sacrifice made on our behalf? What we can do to make ourselves worthy of it?

The battle of Omaha Beach of course represents only a small part of Operation Overlord and the other battles that occurred on the Normandy beaches. The story of Omaha Beach is nevertheless deserving of special recognition.

S.L.A. Marshall was commissioned to serve as a combat historian with the Army in World War II. By 1960, he was already concerned that the passing of the years and the retelling of the story have softened the horror of Omaha Beach on D Day. That year the Atlantic Monthly published Marshalls essay on Omaha Beach based on the field notes he had compiled during his service as combat historian. The essay  First wave at Omaha Beach  is available online. Marshalls essay was the original source for some of the telling details that Stephen Ambrose lifted for his account of Omaha Beach in his book on D-Day.

Please read it. Then print it out and save it for your kids as part of the required reading for the course Professor Gelernter has prescribed. (First posted in 2004, slightly revised and updated in 2013, 2014 & 2017.)
I agree with Scott that President Trumps tweet attacking his Justice Department was disheartening. It shows Trump at his worst  trashing his own team and refusing to accept responsibility for his actions. He was the one who signed the watered down, politically correct executive order.

From a lawyers perspective, Trump is the client from hell  a point made, though not in these words, by Alan Dershowitz and David Rivkin in this New York Times article. Hes not just the client who trashes his lawyers after a bad, but not decisive, day in court. Hes the client who wants a private meeting with the judge to explain things. This tendency may well have been on display in his encounters with former FBI director James Comey. (Well know more when Comey testifies on Thursday).

I dont believe, however, that Trumps tweeting undermines the case for upholding the travel ban. We know that judges  including, I suspect, Supreme Court Justices  will seize on anything to resist this president. So its quite possible that several Justices will seize on his latest tweets. Nor can I rule out the possibility that Justice Kennedy, whose vote will likely be decisive, might do so (if the case is decided on the merits).

But nothing in the presidents tweets justifies striking down the order. The tweets call the order a travel ban. Thats what it is. It bans entry into the United States from six countries.

The ban is temporary, to be sure. But Trumps tweets dont say otherwise. Nor could a characterization in a tweet change the ban contained in the executive order from temporary to permanent.

Trump also said the Justice Department should have stayed with the original, broader ban not the watered down, politically correct version they submitted to Supreme Court. This shows that Trump believes the original ban was better policy and legally sustainable. But the original ban is not before the Supreme Court. Trumps beliefs about it are not relevant to the case.

Trumps tweets show that he backed away, against his better judgment, from a comparatively draconian ban in favor of a milder one. In a properly functioning legal system, this would not be a cognizable argument against the milder ban. In a legal system that entertains such an argument, this president doesnt stand much of a chance, tweet or no tweet.

This story, in which the Washington Post claims that Trumps latest tweets will probably hurt effort to restore travel ban is full of snarky, triumphal quotes from opponents of the ban in support of the Posts thesis. But it is lacking in legal analysis.

The Post quotes an ACLU lawyer who says this stuff seems relevant because it amounts to a promise let me do this and Ill take it as license to do even worse. This theory has never, to my knowledge, formed the basis for striking down executive action. Moreover, one could just as easily infer that upholding the politically correct ban would encourage Trump to listen to his lawyers when they urge restraint.

Post reporter Matt Zapotosky suggests that Trumps tweets will strengthen the case that the new travel ban has the same purpose as the original. It does: to protect America from terrorism. Nothing in the tweets suggests that either the original or the revised ban has a discriminatory purpose. As was the case pre-tweets, opponents must rely on campaign rhetoric to make the discrimination case.

This Wall Street Journal editorial claims that the presidents tweets sabotage the legitimate legal basis for the travel ban. It says the president has given liberal judges Twitter evidence to conclude that his motives may be suspect.

The Twitter evidence is that Trump would like to go further than he did to limit travel. The Twitter evidence is that Department of Justice lawyers reined him in.

It would be unprecedented, I think, for the Supreme Court to strike down an act of the president (or of Congress) because in his heart of hearts he would like to have gone further than he did. And, as I suggested above, a Court that would act in such an unprecedented way doesnt need Twitter evidence.
Mobile telecoms operator, Etisalat Nigeria, on Monday said it was still in talks with its lenders over a $1.2 billion (about N541.8 billion) loan.

The company said in a statement made available to PREMIUM TIMES that it would continue to focus on providing uninterrupted services to its subscribers.

Etisalat Nigeria confirms that it is still in discussions with its lenders regarding existing obligations under the syndicated loan agreement signed in 2013 and wishes to added that it has not received any formal communication from the lenders regarding the proposal, the statement signed by the companys management said.

Media reports emerged on Monday that the 13 banks being owed by the company had rejected an offer of five percent equity in lieu of the 2013 credit.

The reports came almost two months after Etisalat Nigeria got a much sought-after reprieve following a breakthrough in its negotiations with some Nigerian banks that threatened to take over its business.

While we are aware of recent news reports stating that the offer has been rejected by the banks, we cannot confirm this as true as no formal communication has been received from the banks regarding the proposal, the telecoms firm said.

Etisalat has so far held robust discussions with lenders Im good faith, and we hope that all areas of discord will be resolved.

Indeed the current economic challenges have occasioned untold hardship on the telecom industry as a whole, thus requiring a major shift in position by all affected parties.

The company added that it had continued to explore all available options to pull through this phase and would keep engaging relevant parties in order to secure a mutually agreeable outcome.

Furthermore, we are not taking anything off the table at this time, and Etisalat assures all stakeholders that the ongoing discussions are not intended nor expected to impact negatively on the companys ability to continue providing seamless communications services to our subscribers.

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The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) on Monday said the implementation of the Executive Order issued by Acting President Yemi Osibajo was on course and at 60 per cent.

A statement by Henrietta Yakubu, the agencys spokesperson said Saleh Dunoma, FAANs Managing Director, said this while speaking about the status of implementation of executive order on the Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria at various airports around the country.

We are at various stages of the implementation and we are working with all the security agencies and other stakeholders at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos and indeed with other international airports around the country to make sure the Executive Order is implemented, Mr. Dunona said.

We have met 60 per cent of the requirements needed in order to make sure the Executive Order is implemented, he added.

According to the FAAN boss, the agency had held series of meeting with the operators in the aviation sector.

He said, So far, every agency is working on certain aspects as it concerns them.

But FAAN, the overall supervisor of the operations at the airport is coordinating all this and of course, FAAN has certain things to do. We need to improve on some certain infrastructure.

This infrastructure is being put in place so that other participating agencies will find it easy to implement their bit of the Executive Order, he said.

On the level of cooperation from other agencies, Mr. Dunoma said: So far, all the agencies at the airports are cooperating with us. We have agreed on certain number of things that we need to do.

All the agreement based on the Executive Order are being implemented. A lot of things are going to happen tomorrow because we expect that most of the implementation will be done tomorrow (Tuesday).

The FAAN MD said some timelines were chosen to better perfect the implementation, noting that it would give room for test running and corrections.

We chose some timelines that (are) before the deadline given to us through the Executive Order, so that we can test run these systems and if there are issues, they will be corrected before the actual deadline given to us, he said.

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The death toll in the May 31 bomb attack in the Afghan capital has risen to 150, President Ashraf Ghani said on Tuesday at the start of an international security conference in Kabul.

Mr. Ghani said the attack near the German embassy had not been aimed at a specific target but the whole of the diplomatic area in that part of the city.

The blast, caused by an explosives-laden sewage tanker, was one of the worst in Kabuls recent history.

Afghan security forces have blamed the Haqqani Network, an al-Qaeda ally, for the tanker bombing, as well as a second deadly attack on a funeral ceremony on Saturday.

Islamist insurgents have been gaining ground in Afghanistan in recent years, but the government is trying to bring the largest such movement, the Taliban, to the peace table, the organizers of the conference told dpa.

In his speech, Mr. Ghani warned the Taliban that they would not succeed in bringing down the government, and said that the aim of the so-called Kabul Process was to ensure peace with support from neighbouring countries and the international community.

Also on the agenda are joint regional initiatives against terrorist organisations active in Afghanistan, such as al-Qaeda and Islamic State.

On Monday, President Ghani also appointed a former vice president, the Hazara politician Mohammad Khalili as the new head of the countrys High Peace Council.

NAN reports that security has steadily worsened since 2014 and the end of the main NATO combat mission, which at its peak featured more than 100,000 American troops and tens of thousands more from alliance partners like Britain.

The current international force in Afghanistan numbers about 13,000, about 8,400 of them are American, mostly tasked with training and advising the Afghan forces.

The Trump administration and military commanders are debating whether to send up to 5,000 more troops to stem the governments losses.

(dpa/NAN)

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Indonesias Islamic Authority issued a fatwa against fake news over concerns about how religious and ethnic tensions are fuelled by hoaxes, its chairman said on Tuesday.

The Indonesian Council of Ulema, a semi-official body, declared that producing and spreading fake news is forbidden in Islam, chairman Maruf Amin said.

Theres growing anxiety that fake news has created divisions and hostilities in society, Mr. Amin said.

We hope that this fatwa can curb negative content, he said.

Indonesians are among the biggest users of Facebook and Twitter, and politicians are increasingly using social networks to reach voters.

Popular Twitter users who are paid to tweet, known locally as buzzers, to promote politicians must not post content that are divisive, slanderous and false, Mr. Amin said.

Online bullying and hate speech are also haram, or forbidden, the cleric said.

Former Jakarta governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, who is Christian of Chinese descent, was jailed for two years last month for blasphemy in a case that stemmed from a video posted online.

In the video that went viral, Purnama made comments about a passage in the Koran that many conservative Muslims deemed insulting, sparking a series of massive protests demanding his prosecution in 2016.

The case has fuelled resentment against minority ethnic Chinese.

(dpa/NAN)

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Wife of the President, Aisha Buhari, this morning returned from the United Kingdom, where she went to visit her husband, who is on medical leave in the British capital.

According to a statement by Suleiman Haruna, her spokesperson, Mrs. Buhari, on arrival, conveyed the appreciation of President Muhammadu Buhari to Nigerians over their constant prayers and said he would soon return to the country.

The statement, emailed to PREMIUM TIMES, quoted Mrs. Buhari as saying her husband was recuperating fast.

Mrs. Buhari called on Nigerians to continue to be strong in the face of challenges and to support the Federal Government in implementing the agenda for which they were elected.

Mr. President thanked the acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo for his loyalty and called on Nigerians to continue to support the acting President in his effort to actualize the mandate of the All Progressives Congress, she said.

Mrs. Buhari had on May 30 traveled to the UK to spend some time with the President.

Before her departure, she thanked Nigerians for their support and prayers for Mr. Buharis quick recovery.

The president left Nigeria for London on May 7, for another round of treatment following his last trip in February.

He had earlier returned to Nigeria on March 10 after spending 51 days in the British capital during which he attended to his health.

Upon his return, the president said he couldnt recall being so sick since he was a young man, including in the military with its ups and downs.

He also said he could not recall ever having blood transfusion before.

A source close to the President had told PREMIUM TIMES in late May that Mr. Buharis health had improved significantly, although only his physicians could determine when he will return to Nigeria and to work, PREMIUM TIMES has learnt.

The official, who sees Mr. Buhari regularly, asked not to be named because he had no permission to discuss the presidents condition with journalists.

He said the president was largely stable and able to regularly and promptly observe his five-time daily prayers.

On those calling for Mr. Buharis resignation believing he is too sick to ever govern again, the source said, Thats the view of those arrogating Gods power to themselves and would surely regret it, Insha Allah.

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The House of Representatives ad-hoc committee investigating allegedly missing $17 billion crude oil and liquified natural gas revenue, on Monday said it uncovered $15 billion unremitted revenue into Federation Account.

The trace of the alleged missing fund believed to have been stolen and diverted to a foreign destination, was contained in the two documents submitted by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, at the committees sitting.

While responding to questions from members of the committee, Rabiu Bello, NNPCs Chief Operating Officer, COO, admitted that there were discrepancies in the documents.

In his presentation earlier, Jack Ukitetu, a Director in the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN who represented the banks governor, explained that the Accountant-General of the Federation approved and determined the money accrued to the Excess Crude Account.

Mr. Ukitetu said that before 2006, the CBN collected the money on behalf of governments agencies and remitted into the Federal Reserve Account in New York and charged 0.25 per cent.

He, however, added that after 2006, the oil companies paid directly what was due to the government.

On commissions being collected by the apex bank, the director told the lawmakers that the CBN collected 0.25 per cent via foreign exchange allocation and did not charge the federal government as deduction were made from central sales.

Meanwhile, Waziri Adio, Executive Secretary of Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative, NEITI, who had accused NNPC and CBN of misleading the ad hoc committee, pleaded to withdraw the earlier documents submitted.

He, however, pledged to submit more damaging documents on the alleged crude oil theft to the committee on Wednesday which will help in unearthing the unremitted revenue accrued from oil and gas but not remitted.

Speaking earlier, the chairman of the committee, Abdulrazak Namdas, said that the committee would not hesitate to submit its report to the House without the inputs of major Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) which failed to honour the committees invitation.

Toward this, the committee mandated the CBN and NNPC to submit the audited report of the oil and gas account showing the remitted funds into the Federation Account between 2011 and 2014.

The NNPC was also directed to submit the Bill of Laden relating to the 974,721 barrels of crude oil lifted on October 20, 2011 and 961,963 barrels lifted on October 10, 2011.

It also included 974, 935 barrels lifted on July 9, 2011 and 974,953 barrels lifted on July 18, 2011 but were not declared.

The lawmakers also requested for report of the reconciliation conducted by NNPC and Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) as well as the list of oil off-takers for 2013 and 2014.

Similarly, NNPC is expected to provide details of the companies that paid oil tax between 2011 and 2014 as well as the Letter of Credits (LCs) of all the monies paid into the Federation Account within the period.

(NAN)

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Three former top officials of the Nigerian Ports Authority and a former special adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan, named in a corruption scandal in Switzerland, are now to face fresh probe in Nigeria following the conviction of the foreign firm that allegedly gave them more than $2.7 million.

Dredging International Services (Cyprus) Ltd was in early May fined one million Swiss Francs and asked to refund 36 million Swiss Francs illegal profit after it was indicted for allegedly making illicit payments to a former Managing Director of the NPA, Adebayo Sarumi; a former Managing Director of NPAs Eastern Ports, Felix Ovbude; a former Executive Director of Finance at the NPA, Abba Murtala Mohammed; and Daniel Afam-Obi, a former executive assistant to Sullivan Akachukwu Nwankpo who was ex-President Goodluck Jonathans special adviser on technical matters.

Investigators believe Mr. Afam-Obi acted on behalf of Mr. Nwankpo.

While Messrs Sarumi, Ovbude and Mohammed allegedly collectively received $2.6 million in kickbacks, Mr. Afam-Obi was said to have been paid $157,000 for unknown reasons.

Another $18 million was passed to companies in which some yet unknown Nigerian officials have interests.

A top official of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission told this reporter Tuesday that the Acting Chairman of the anti-graft agency, Ibrahim Magu, early Tuesday instructed some of his staff to pore through the agencys records and dig out relevant files on the matter.

If those who gave the bribe have been convicted, we will have to do something to bring those who allegedly received the bribe to book, the official said. We will see what we already have and what more work needs to be done.

We will also see what help we can get from Swiss authorities on this matter. But I can tell you that we are relaunching our investigation.

The spokesperson for the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren confirmed his agency was on the case.

Yes, we are reviewing the matter, we are on it, Mr. Uwujaren said.

Sources at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had told PREMIUM TIMES the anti-graft agency received a request from Switzerland while investigation was on in that country. That was during the tenure of the President Goodluck Jonathan administration.

We interrogated the named individuals, did other investigations and then forwarded our findings to the Attorney Generals office for onward passage to the Swiss embassy, one of the investigators who handled the matter had told PREMIUM TIMES.

The difficulty we had then was that the companies into which the monies were paid were offshore ones, and they had no bank accounts in Nigeria. However, we sent our report to the Attorney General but we had no idea what he told the Swiss. We also did not hear back from the Swiss since then.

Switzerland said it sought assistance from Nigeria and that the then Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke, replied that there was no case for criminal prosecution.

Mr. Adoke, who is wanted by the EFCC in connection with the Malabu Oil investigation, has been out of Nigeria since the end of his tenure in May 2015, and could not be reached to comment for this story. A source close to him however quoted the former minister as saying everything he did while in office was in compliance with Nigerian laws.

Background

Dredging International Services (Cyprus) Ltd is part of a consortium which formed The Bonny Channel Management Limited that in turn entered into a joint venture arrangement with the NPA to form The Bonny Channel Company saddled with creating and maintaining a safe navigational passage for all marine users to and in the Eastern Ports of Bonny Island, Onne, Okrika and Port-Harcourt.

The NPA holds 60 per cent equity in the JVC while The Bonny Channel Management Limited consortium (comprising Dredging International, Vinci, IPEM and Dapesa Limited) has the remaining 40 per cent.

The bribery scheme

Each year, NPA awards the company contracts worth $70million without any open or competitive bidding as required by Nigerian law, and the firm is believed to have so far cornered jobs worth at least N717 billion.

Dredging International is a subsidiary of the Belgian group, Dredging, Environmental and Marine Engineering NV (DEME), which specializes in petroleum infrastructure and dredging, and has a turnover of two billion euros and employs 4,600 people worldwide. The French company VINCI is one of its main shareholders.

In an indictment dated May 1, 2017, the Swiss Federal Prosecutors Office (MPC) said between 2006 and 2011, the company wired huge bribes to the companies in which Mr. Sarumi and his colleagues were beneficial owners.

In addition, according to the document issued by Federal Prosecutor Alice de Chambrier, Dredging International, through its agent, transferred more than $18 million to nine offshore companies whose real beneficial owners are yet unclear. The companies are Noble Gate Projects Ltd., Liam Engineering Nigeria Ltd., Nianza Fze, Alfonsor Trading Corporation, Monogate Ltd., FIFC Management And Development Ltd., Reinex Bureau of Change Ltd, Annacro Ltd., and Agro Systems Ltd.

Dredging had through two of its executives  Alexandre Maes (Chief Financial Officer) and Christian Van Meerbeeck (Chief Legal Officer)  entrusted the treasury of its Nigerian project to a Geneva-based asset management company, Driancourt & Cie, and its director, Alain Driancourt. It was this asset management company and its director that executed the complicated foreign bribery scheme on its behalf.

In arranging the illicit scheme, Mr. Driancourt of the asset management firm, documents show, set up three offshore companies: Berndale Trading Ltd, with accounts with Credit Suisse and EFG Bank in Geneva, as well as Bayhill Finance Ltd and Dacklin Trading Ltd, each with an account with EFG Bank. The accounts were regularly funded by Dredging International. The payment orders were given by Alexandre Maes and Christian Van Meerbeck, then executed by Alain Driancourt.

The bribe payments, investigators said, began in 2007 after the NPA refused to pay Dredging International $43 million for dredging work already done. To recover this amount, the company elaborately organized the payment of several million dollars to executives of the NPA and other officials in the hope that that would push them to act.

And for five years, as indicated above, more $20million were wired to companies in which the named Nigerian officials are believed to be beneficial owners as well as to firms whose real beneficial owners are yet to be determined (also listed above).

As required by Swiss laws, the bank Credit Suisse alerted authorities to these suspicious transfers in 2011, and an investigation immediately commenced. The investigation was initially entrusted to Prosecutor Felix Reinmann and then to Olivier Thormann.

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The Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, has asked the Senate to approve $1.5 billion loan.

The loan is part of the 2016-2018 External Borrowing Plan of the federal government and is meant for projects in 10 states, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.

Details later

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Justice Muslim Hassan of the Federal High Court, Lagos, on Tuesday ordered the permanent forfeiture to the Federal Government the sums of $43,449,947, 27,800 and N23,218,000 recovered from No. 16, Osborne Road, Flat 7B Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos.

The funds had been stashed in iron cabinets and Ghana-must-go bags in the apartment before they were recovered on April 11 by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The anti-graft agency had earlier on April 13 obtained an interim court order temporarily forfeiting the funds to the Federal Government.

Mr. Hassan, who granted the interim order, had given 14 days for anyone interested in the funds to appear before him to show cause why the money should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.

However, no one came before the judge to claim the money on May 5, 2017, when the matter came up.

A private legal practitioner, Olukoya Ogungbeje, appeared before the judge, with an application, urging the judge to suspend the final forfeiture proceedings pending when a three-man panel constituted by President Muhammadu Buhari in relation to the funds would submit its report.

The panel, headed by the Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo, was to probe the claim and counter-claim of the Nigeria Intelligence Agency and Rivers State Government to the funds.

But the EFCC had opposed Mr. Ogungbejes application and urged Mr. Hassan to dismiss it and go ahead with the forfeiture proceedings.

Ruling on Tuesday, Justice Hassan upheld the EFCCs submission and dismissed Mr. Ogungbejes application for lacking in merit.

The judge described the application as totally strange, noting that having not appealed against the interim forfeiture order, Mr. Ogungbeje had no right to seek a stay of proceedings in the case.

The judge, who noted that Mr. Ogungbeje was not a party in the suit filed by the EFCC, described the lawyer as a meddlesome interloper and a busybody, adding that his application was strange to law.

He advised the lawyer to explore the Freedom of Information Act if he wanted information from the Federal Government on the findings of the Osinbajos panel.

Having dismissed Mr. Ogungbejes application, the judge subsequently made an order permanently forfeiting the funds to the Federal Government, noting that no one had appeared to show cause why the permanent forfeiture order should not be made.

In his ruling, the judge held, I am in complete agreement with the submission of the learned counsel for the applicant (EFCC) that the property sought to be attached are reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities and that by every standard this huge sum of money is not expected to be kept without going through a designated financial institution; more so, nobody has shown cause why the said sum should not be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria. Having regard to the foregoing, I have no other option but to grant this application as prayed, Mr. Hassan said.

For the avoidance of any doubt, I hereby make the following orders: 1. A final order is made forfeiting the sums of $43,449,947 found by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission at Flat 7B of No. 16 Osborne Road, Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos, which sum is reasonably suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities to the Federal Government of Nigeria, the judge held.

The judge made the same order in respect of the 27,800 and N23,218,000.

The EFCC had, while arguing the application for final forfeiture order on May 5, named the wife of the NIA Director General, Folashade Oke as the owner of Flat 7B, No. 13, Osborne Road, Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos, where the funds were recovered.

The EFCC said it found out that Mrs. Oke made a cash payment of $1.658m for the purchase of the flat between August 25 and September 3, 2015.

She was said to have purchased the property in the name of a company, Chobe Ventures Limited, to which she and her son, Master Ayodele Oke Junior, were directors. Payment for the purchase of the flat was said to have been made to one Fine and Country Limited.

The EFCC stated that Mrs. Oke made the cash payment in tranches of $700,000, $650,000 and $353,700 to a Bureau de Change company, Sulah Petroleum and Gas Limited, which later converted the sums into N360,000,000 and subsequently paid it to Fine and Country Limited for the purchase of the property.

The anti-graft agency had tendered the receipt issued by Fine and Country Limited to Chobe Ventures Limited as an exhibit before the Federal High Court in Lagos, where it is seeking an order of final forfeiture of the recovered money to the Federal Government.

The circumstances leading to the discovery of the huge sums stockpiled in Flat 7B, Osborne Towers, leaves no one in doubt that the act was pursuant to an unlawful activity.

The very act of making cash payment of $1.6m without going through any financial institution by Mrs. Folashade Oke for the acquisition of Flat 7B, Osborne Towers, is a criminal act punishable by the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Amendment Act. I refer My Lord to sections 1(a), 16(d) and 16(2)(b) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Amendment Act, a counsel for the EFCC, Rotimi Oyedepo, told the court on Friday.

In an affidavit filed before the court, a Detective Inspector with the EFCC, Mohammed Chiroma, stated that Chobe Ventures Limited is not into any business but was merely incorporated to retain proceeds of suspected unlawful activities of Mrs. Folashade Oke.

While urging Justice Hassan to order the permanent forfeiture of the funds to the Federal Government, the EFCC lawyer, Mr. Oyedepo, had argued that the fact that Flat 7B, Osborne Towers was purchased in a criminal manner, made the N13bn recovered therein extremely suspicious to be proceeds of unlawful acts.

The lawyer noted that despite the newspaper advertisement of the initial order of April 13, 2017 temporarily forfeiting the money to the Federal Government, no one showed up in court to show cause why the money should not be permanently forfeited to the Federal Government.

Mr. Oyedepo also observed that Chobe Ventures Limited, in whose apartment the huge sums were recovered, did not come to court to challenge the forfeiture order, despite being served with the motion on notice at its registered address of No. 18, Ogunmodede Street, off Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos.

Mr. Oyedepo said the court papers were received at the stated address, which is also the house of the Okes, by one Bola, who signed for them on May 3, 2017.

The failure of Chobe Ventures Limited, in whose custody these properties we are seeking to forfeit were found, to show cause before My Lord today why the property (money) should not be forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria, Your Lordship should hold that Chobe Ventures Limited has admitted all the facts deposed to in our affidavit and order the final forfeiture of the property to the Federal Government, Mr. Oyedepo said.

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Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, on Tuesday, requested the bicameral National Assembly to consider and grant 10 states of the federation accelerated approval to borrow a total sum of $1.5 billion from multilateral agencies and France.

The states loans requests were parts of the 2016-2018 External Borrowing (Rolling) Plan whose approval the presidency had sought since last August.

I write in reference to my earlier letter requesting for the consideration and approval of the Senate (and House of Representatives) for the 2016-2018 External Borrowing Rolling Plan and to request the Senate (and the House) to separate the States Projects from the items listed therein with a view to giving them accelerated consideration, Mr. Osinbajo wrote in his letter to both Senate President Bukola Saraki and Speaker Yakubu Dogara.

The letter, dated June 1, 2017, was read in both chambers of the National Assembly on Tuesday.

Mr. Osinbajo sought approval of the lawmakers to allow Kaduna State and Ogun State access $350 million each for their respective State Development Policy Operation (DPO) from the World Bank.

Ebonyi and Abia States are also to secure $70 million (for Ebonyi Ring Road Project) and $100 million (for Abia Rural Access and Mobility Project) from a credit facility to be co-financed by the African Development Bank and the Islamic Development Bank, Mr. Osinbajo further told the National Assembly.

Then, according to the acting president, the Islamic Development Bank is proving $422.4 million loan facility to finance projects in four states as follows: Katsina, Health System Project, $110 million; Jigawa, Integrated Rural Development Project, $32.4 million; Ebonyi, Ring Road Project (to be co-financed with the AfDB), $80 million; and Kano, Integrated Agricultural and Water Resources Development, $200 million.

Finally, for their respective Third National Urban Water Sector Reform Project (NUWSRP-III) Plateau, Enugu, Kano and Ondo States are looking forward to accessing $200 million from the French Development Agency.

The proposed states loans amount to $1,492,400,000.

Mr. Osinbajo told the National Assembly it will be highly appreciated if could kindly give this request an expedited consideration and approval to enable states meet up with all other effectiveness conditions for the implementation of the projects in their respective states.

Since last August when President Muhammadu Buhari first sent the $30 billion 2016-2018 borrowing plan to the National Assembly, no part has ever got the statutorily required legislative approval.

In April, the president wrote the lawmakers, further to the last years initial letter, seeking approval to secure about $6.4 billion dollar loans from the World Bank and China to fund infrastructural objectives across the country and combat polio outbreak in the North-East.

While that request is still pending, the June 1 letter, read on Tuesday, was sent to seek approval for 10 states to secure loans.

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A civic group, ActionAid Nigeria, has urged the Nigerian government to employ wisdom and foresight in addressing the resurgent agitation for Biafra in the country.

According to the group at its annual general meeting on the state of the nation held in Abuja on Saturday, to eradicate the agitation, the federal government needs to create a process of discussion between the citizens, intelligence agencies and the government at all levels.

Fielding questions from journalists after the meeting, the country director of the group, Ojobo Atuluku, said, Nigerians are dissatisfied with how the federal structure operates because the citizens have not seen the benefits of democracy and are yet to enjoy the nations wealth.

She explained that agitation in different forms was taking place in all the six geo- political zones of the country, warning that unless space is created for discussion, more agitations would spring up.

There is dissatisfaction everywhere. The gap is that Nigerians do not want to trust our leaders. When our leaders get together to discuss the dimension of the country, those who are not around the table do not want to trust those that are there. It is an issue of how well our leaders represent our interest and how is the transparency opened to us.

Also speaking, the chairman of the governing board of the group, Patricia Donli, further warned that as long as there were perceived marginalisation and inequality, the agitations would go on.

People have come up with good recommendations on how these issues can be solved but nothing has been done, which includes the suggestion of the National Political Reform Conference under the chairmanship of late Niki Tobi.

Another leader of the organisation, Amaka Azuike, said the major issue raising tension in Nigeria is tribalism, predicting that when this is tackled, other causal agents like greed, immorality and leadership mediocrity can be worked on.

We should desist from the myopic notion that one nation is impossible. Ask a Nigerian where he is from and his first answer will be his tribe rather than declaring himself as a Nigerian. All hands must be on deck against all Issues of war, ethno-religious war and selfishness.

She said for Nigeria to be one is a task for everyone, stressing, we must declare ownership of the nation together and delete the notion of a Biafra nation.

The meeting of the group was held in the week that Nigerians in the south-eastern part of the country observed a sit-at-home protest called by secessionist groups to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the declaration of the short-lived Biafra Republic by the late Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu.

Forty-seven years after the Nigerian Civil War ended with the surrender of the secessionists, the Biafra is being reawakened by the agitation for its rebirth.

One of the agitators, Nnamdi Kanu, was on April 25 released from prison custody on bail after he was arrested in October 2015 and charged with treasonable offences by the Federal Government.

In a press statement later made available to PREMIUM TIMES, ActionAid acknowledged the efforts of the federal government in addressing the challenges confronting the nations economy, especially through the reduction in the duties of 115 items in various sectors of the economy. The organisation, however, pointed out the downside to the reduction in tariff on some of the items.

It is observed that some of the items on the list of goods benefiting from tariff reduction on the January policy are finished consumer items for which the country has potentials for their production. We want the federal government to put in place measures that will ensure that the good intention of the reduction of the import tariff does not become injurious to the economy and industry development by reviewing the list and making strong plans for the revival of manufacturing in the country, the group stated.

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Nigerias Chief of Army staff, Tukur Buratai, has denied reports that he accused international humanitarian organisations, including the United Nations, of infighting and promoting waste in the ongoing fight against Boko Haram insurgency.

Reports had quoted Mr. Buratai, a lieutenant general, as saying that the activities of international humanitarian organisations had contributed in sabotaging the militarys counterinsurgency effort.

A statement issued by the spokesman of the army, Sani Usman, denied that position.

This is incorrect and misrepresentation of facts and does not reflect the position of the Chief of Army Staff and indeed the Nigerian Army, said Mr. Usman, a brigadier general.

As a matter of fact, the Nigerian Army has been in good working and cordial relationship with all the UN agencies and the NGOs in our country, he said.

He explained that the reported allegation was a result of research work and quotation from news report of a Nigerian news medium that the presenter quoted but reported out of context and without proper attribution to the original source.

He said the army appreciated the role of the UN, its agencies and all the NGOs operating in the north east.

They contribute immeasurably in alleviating the plight of the Internally Displaced Persons. We would therefore continue to support and assist them in any way possible in the discharge of their legitimate humanitarian duties, the statement said.

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The president of the University of Ibadan Students Union, Ojo Aderemi, has reiterated that examination will not be conducted in the university until the issue of students identity card was resolved.

Mr. Aderemi, who spoke at a press conference in Lagos, said the union would ensure that it fights for the students rights till the end.

The SUG president added that the school, which was shut by the university authorities will not begin examinations until the identity cards are issued because they had been paid for.

As regards that (ID cards), the power we rely on is the power of democracy. I can assure you that exams will not be written in that school if they dont get ID cards he said.

Basically, for these reasons: There are several students on campus who have been assaulted and embarrassed of campus on these issue of ID cards. Secondly, there are students who are supposed to receive scholarships who couldnt scan their ID cards and send, even outside Nigeria.

I have friends, one of them is here, he went to Boston to represent the country, $8,000 was going to be disbursed from Hultz Business School, but they dont have ID cards to claim it. Students are really angry, he said.

Commenting further, he chided the vice chancellor of the university, Idowu Olayinka, saying the VC does not tolerate any form of dissent from students.

When I eventually met the VC, I told him that students, the kind of view they have of this vice chancellor is that he is just a vice chancellor that doesnt care; he would kick you out of the University if you raise a dissenting voice, which is what has been happening, he said.

Mr. Aderemi said the VC and others blasted former President Goodluck Jonathan during and before the election without consequences, yet expelled a student for writing a critical article on Facebook.

A student wrote an article on the students union page, on Facebook and the boy has been expelled right now, he said.

They said he abused the vice chancellor. Oh yes, he abused the vice chancellor but immediately showed remorse.

Your father wont expel you for being rude, he wont kill you. Quite alright, it is wrong but the boy wrote a letter, involved his parents, prostrated to the vice chancellor.

On the day of the student disciplinary committee, he was rolling on the ground, and he was expelled just like that.

On the crisis rocking the union, Mr. Aderemi explained that he inherited the crisis but would remain undeterred in his resolution to stand on the side of the students.

It is not our own doing. We inherited this crisis, and we have tried our best. As regards the suspension of the students union, by every legitimate means, the union will be brought back, he said.

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The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, said it would on Wednesday disclose its decision on political associations seeking to be registered as political parties.

The Chairman of the commission, Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this in an interview with journalists at an ongoing workshop to review INECs Communication Policy, on Monday in Abuja.

Mr. Yakubu said the decision would be made public after the commissions meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) scheduled for Wednesday in Kaduna.

Let me assure Nigerians that under the Electoral Act, the commission is required to register new political parties and the guidelines are very clear for registration.

As at last week we received 95 applications for registration as new political parties.

At the end of this workshop there is going to be a retreat on Wednesday to review the ongoing voter registration, followed by a meeting of the commission here in Kaduna.

There will be a statement on parties after the meeting of the commission, Mr. Yakubu said.

He added that the commission would on Wednesday also give an update on the ongoing nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), after the commissions meeting with the field officers to review the exercise

We will do a mid-quarter review after six weeks and the mid-quarter review will come up here in Kaduna and we will issue our statement here after.

Mr. Yakubu also disclosed that the commission would extend the CVR in Anambra to ward levels ahead of the state governorship election.

He added that people who registered in the state before the first quarter 2017 would obtain their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) before the state governorship election.

We will soon announce the date for the commencement of the exercise.

So those who have registered under the current CVR and those who will register when we devolve to ward level will all have their PVCs ahead of the election.

For those who have registered and are going to vote in Anambra, I want to assure them that they will have their cards. It is for those who have done it in the first quarter of this year.

On the pending senatorial district election in Anambra, the chairman said that specific date was yet to be fixed for the election as the case was still in court.

You know the matter is before the Court of Appeal.

A date was fixed, May 30, but at the court, one of the parties prayed for adjournment to June 12 or June 13.

(NAN)

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Kidnappers of the six students of the Lagos State Model College, Igbonla, have rejected the ransom offered by parents of the kids, PREMIUM TIMES can report.

Speaking with PREMIUM TIMES on Tuesday, a family source disclosed that the kidnappers declined the ransom offered by the parents, adding that they threatened that they would only accept the N100 million demanded from the government.

PREMIUM TIMES had earlier reported that the parents had resolved to raise the ransom being demanded by the kidnappers, after claiming that the government had allegedly abandoned them.

But they had hinted that they would not be able to raise the entire N100 million ransom.

Definitely we cant raise that amount (N100 million), one of the mothers had said.

We are trying to gather whatever we can and then beg them to accept it. Where are we going to get N100 million? From where?

We cannot even raise N10 million. We are just calling on everybody to bring whatever we can get. We collate whatever we have and beg them.

We are trying to raise loans here and there, calling on our relatives to gather funds, and raise whatever we can raise, she had explained.

But in an exclusive telephone interview with our correspondent on Tuesday, the family source said the kidnappers had already declined the ransom offered by the parents.

The source, a sibling to one of the kidnapped students, said the kidnappers maintained that the amount raised was too meagre, stating that they would only accept the N100 million ransom from government.

Initially, we raised around N2 million but they rejected it on the ground that it was too small, she said.

But later everyone had to rush up and down again to add to the money. So we gathered around N6 million and when we contacted them, they rejected it again.

The N6 million was supposed to be presented jointly as N1 million per student but they said they do not want that they only want the government to pay the N100 million ransom.

When asked about the safety of the students, the source said they only communicated with them twice, adding that the conversations were brief.

We only hear them say Hello, and they would just cut it off, the source said, adding that on occasions when they speak with the kidnappers, they often hear them (the students) in the background screaming for help.

When contacted Tuesday morning, one of the parents refused to speak further on the issue, lamenting the inability of the government to act decisively on the crisis in spite of their outcries.

Dont call me anymore on this issueIf there is any positive development I will let you know, she said.

Meanwhile, the Lagos State Government on Monday said it has begun the construction of security watch towers around the school.

The tower, the government said, would be mounted with surveillance cameras and manned 24 hours to ensure that intruders could be located from afar before they wreak havoc around the school.

A statement issued by the state Ministry of Education said the government also reiterated its plan to secure the students from their abductors.

Earlier, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode had promised during the Childrens Day celebration that his government would stop at nothing to ensure the safe return of the abducted children of the school.

The kidnap of the six students was the second such incident in the school in 2017.

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The House of Representatives may soon recall its suspended former Appropriation Committee Chairman, Abdulmumini Jibrin, following a reconciliation meeting initiated by the Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, between Mr. Jibrin and leaders of the lower chamber.

Mr. Jibrin, who represents Kiru/Bebeji federal constituency of Kano State, was suspended from the legislature for 181 days last September following his allegation of budget padding against the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, and three other principal officers.

The principal officers are the Deputy Speaker, Yusuf Lasun, the Minority Leader, Leo Ogor, and the Chief Whip, Alhassan Doguwa, who is also from Kano State.

He had alleged that the principal officers attempted to pad the 2016 budget with about N40 billion.

The members of the body of principal offices were not comfortable with my independent disposition and my refusal to cover up their unilateral decision to allocate to themselves N40 billion out of N100 billion allocated to the entire National Assembly, said Mr. Jibrin who also demanded for their resignation.

The Committee on Ethics and Privileges, which investigated the matter, recommended his suspension.

Sources in Kano State Government House told PREMIUM TIMES that Mr. Ganduje on Monday convened a reconciliation meeting between Messrs. Jibrin and Doguwa.

It was gathered that during the meeting, which was also attended by the Deputy Governor, Hafeez Abubakar, and the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state, Abdullahi Abass, the governor pleaded with the two lawmakers to bury their hatchet and forgive one another.

Governor Ganduje has already met with the warring factions and they agreed to sheathe their sword, the source said.

This newspaper further learnt that Mr. Ganduje reached out to Mr. Dogara before and after the meeting, pleading with him to forgive the suspended lawmaker.

Mr. Doguwa could not be reached for comments.

When PREMIUM TIMES went to his office at the National Assembly complex, he was said to be busy and could not immediately attend to visitors.

Salisu Yakasai, Director General, Media and Communications Strategy in the Office of the Kano State Governor, confirmed the moves to reconcile Messrs. Jibrin and his colleagues at the lower legislative chamber.

Although he did not provide details of the efforts being made, Mr. Yakasai hailed the development.

I believe it is a welcome development and it is for the betterment of the nation simply because having them working together at the lower chamber would add value to the House, he said in an SMS to PREMIUM TIMES on Tuesday.

Stating that both Messrs. Doguwa and Jibrin were valuable to the legislature, state and the nation, Mr. Yakasai however said, I urge them to put their differences aside and work for the people that elected them.

Mr. Jibrin had in June last year alleged that Mr. Dogara and the three principal officers.

He was removed as the appropriation committee chairman though he said he voluntarily resigned from the position.

The ethics and privileges committee chaired by Nicholas Ossai was subsequently mandated to probe the allegation but the former appropriation committee chair shunned its one weeks sitting, even though his demand for public sitting was met.

Regardless, the committee submitted its report to the House in plenary during which it recommended Mr. Jibrins suspension for 181 legislative days. The House adopted the report of the committee.

Mr. Jibrin however challenged his suspension in court where the matter is still pending.

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An Abuja Division of the Appeal Court on Tuesday dismissed a case of N600 million fraud brought against a former chairman of the Presidential Implementation Committee on Maritime Safety and Security, Saliu Atawodi.

Mr. Atawodi, a retired air vice marshal, was accused of diverting the sum, meant for the purchase of gun boats to address oil bunkering in the Niger-Delta.

He was charged alongside Rabiu Hassan by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC in May, 2016.

The money, totalling N620.9 million, was meant to be used for the purchase of six K-38 armoured patrol boats.

A Federal High Court in Abuja had refused a no-case submission of the defendants in March this year.

After the ruling at the lower court, the accused approached the appeal court, arguing that the prosecution failed to prove its allegation against them.

A three-man panel of justices at the appeal court led by Justice Tani Hassan-Yusuf upheld the application of the accused, and discharged the case against them.

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The Bauchi State Government on Tuesday said it spent a total of N96 million to purchase horses for the six emirate councils in the state in the last two years.

The Commissioner for Local government Affairs, Nasurudeen Mohammed, disclosed this at press conference in Bauchi, the state capital.

He listed the emirate councils as Bauchi, Misau, Dass, Jamare, Katagum and Ningi.

N96 million was expended by this administration in the last two years for purchase of horses to six emirate councils to maintain the tradition and culture of the state, Mr. Mohammed said.

Bauchi is one of Nigerias poorest states. In 2015, a United Nations poverty index report said 86.6 per cent of states residents were poor.

The commissioner, whose ministry was responsible for coordinating the activities of the 20 local government areas in the state, explained that the gesture was as a result of the request by the emirate councils.

He explained that the ministry served as a liaison office between the three tiers of government to ensure prudent releases.

Mr. Mohammed also said N72.9 million was spent by the ministry to print uniform indigenes certificates for all the local government areas.

He also said N55 million was used to print and distribute revenue receipt for all the local government areas.

He said the state government spent N8.9 million to organise Inter-Local Government and Governors Cup competition.

Mr. Mohammed stated that the government settled legal fees and debts owed by some local government areas to safeguard the image of the government.

The local government areas, according to him, are Shira, Alkaleri, Dambam, Misau, Bauchi, Giade and Toro.

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Justice Ibrahim Bako of the Katsina State High Court on Tuesday fixed November 14 to hear a suit against former Governor Ibrahim Shema for allegedly misappropriating N10 billion state funds.

The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that the state government and EFCC had sued Mr. Shema for the alleged offence while he, in turn, had approached the Court of Appeal, Kaduna, challenging the jurisdiction of the High Court to try him.

Tuesdays sitting was for the parties to report to the court on the progress at the Appeal Court.

Mr. Bako, in his ruling, said that the court, having listened to both counsel, had no other option than to adjourn the sitting.

I hereby adjourn the sitting to November 14, 2017, for the parties to report to the court on the verdict of the upper court.

The EFCC lead counsel, Ahmed El-marzuk, who is also the states Attorney-General, had earlier told the court that the Appeal Court would hear Mr. Shemas motion on November 9.

Mr. El-marzuk also informed the court that EFCC had written a letter to the Appeal Court requesting that hearing of the motion be moved forward.

The lead defence counsel, Akinlolu Kehinde, did not object to the EFCC counsels request.

Mr. Kehinde, however, pleaded with the court to either adjourn to Feb. 9, 2018 or sine die (indefinitely).

Late Justice Nikky Tobi once observed that the wheel of justice may be slow, it will definitely get to its destination and nobody has any right to push it, he said.

Mr. Shema was arraigned together with his Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hamisu Makana, Permanent Secretary, Ministry for Local Government, Lawal Safana and former ALGON Chairman, Lawal Dankaba.

(NAN)

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The leader of a faction of opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Ahmed Makarfi, has disputed the report that 25,000 members have fled from the party to the ruling All Progressives Congress ,APC, in Kebbi State.

According to the former governor of Kaduna State, the reported figure of the politicians involved was exaggerated.

The News Agency of Nigeria had reported that the former PDP Chairman in Kebbi state, Bello Doya, led the members to the ruling party on Sunday.

According to the report, Governor Atiku Bagudu, APC leaders and hundreds of supporters from the 21 local government areas of the state were on hand to receive the defectors, among whom were Isah Argungu, the former Director-General of the campaign organization of former governor Saidu Dakingari and the 2015 PDP gubernatorial candidate, Bello Sarkin-Yaki.

Others listed to have changed allegiance were three current members of the State House of Assembly elected on PDP platform, 10 former local government council chairmen, as well as former local government party and ward chairmen.

The list also had no about 160 former councillors, businessmen and contractors, as well as women and youth group leaders.

But Mr. Makarfi expressed doubt with the number of those reported to be involved.

In a text message to our reporter on Tuesday in Kaduna, he said: Will Government House accommodate 25,000 people? I understand that was where the defectors were received.

The papers I have read mentioned 5,000, though. Even this number the Government House cannot accommodate.

He, however, did not provide the exact number of the decampees.

Also, Ibrahim Arzika Bui, Kebbi state secretary of the PDP, in a telephone chat with our reporter insisted that he, some officials and many other members remain loyal to the PDP.

I have been in the PDP since 1998 and I have never contemplated defecting to any party. Therefore, the defection of some of our members has not in any way discouraged me or affected my loyalty and confidence in the PDP, Mr. Bui said.

The spokesperson of the decampees, Mr. Argungu, said their decision to decamp was informed by the achievements of the APC administration at both the state and federal levels.

The states APC chairman, Attahiru Maccido, said the new members joined the party willingly.

In his remarks, Governor Bagudu promised to give equal opportunities to both new and old members.

APC is a blessing to Nigeria, it has become the party of all. In APC everybody is equal, all will be treated equally and fairly, he said.

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Former Katsina State Governor, Ibrahim Shema, has dismissed the findings of a commission of inquiry set up by his successor to probe his administration, describing them as a charade.

Mr. Shema stated his position on the report of the panel through a press statement issued on Sunday by his spokesman, Oluwabusola Olawale.

It is curious and unheard of that the Commission of Inquiry set up by Governor Aminu Bello Masari will flagrantly ignore the decision of Court of Appeal and notice of appeal to the Supreme Court and proceed to carry out a predetermined agenda of Governor Masari which clearly indicates that sadism, tyranny, dictatorship and blatant abuse of rule of law and court process are the order of the day in the state, Mr. Olawale said.

We therefore reject this charade, scandalous, unlawful, callous and unjustified rape on our democracy and Rule of Law, and we will not accept the outcome of this wicked manipulations, he added.

Mr. Olawale said the Court of Appeal had previously disbanded the commission because Mr. Masari did not follow due process and principles of transparency in choosing the chairman of the panel.

He circulated a letter written by Mr. Masari to his counterpart in Plateau State, Simon Lalong, in 2016, in which the Katsina governor requested for a specific judge from Plateau to lead the enquiry.

Mr. Olawale said the Court of Appeals decision to dissolve the panel was partly based on the decision of Mr. Masari to request a judge of his choice, describing it as an overt display of prejudice.

He further stated that the panel submitted its report on the same day it first sat, describing such development as the strangest in the world.

But Mr. Masari denied the allegations, telling PREMIUM TIMES Tuesday that the panel was never disbanded by the court of appeal.

The governors spokesperson, Abdul Labaran, said another court gave the panel the permission to go ahead with its activities.

Mr. Labaran said the panel members sat for more than a day before submitting their report.

He, however, failed to state for how long the panel actually sat despite repeated enquiries from this newspaper.

Mr. Masari set up a panel to investigate Mr. Shema as part of his administrations efforts to probe the activities of his predecessor.

In September 2016, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission declared Mr. Shema wanted on allegations of misappropriating up to N60 billion, including more than N50 billion in local government allocations.

Mr. Shema turned himself in a few days later, accusing Mr. Masari of being behind his ordeal because of their political differences.

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Political and traditional leaders from oil producing local government areas in Akwa Ibom State have condemned the refusal by Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited to move its head office from Lagos to Akwa Ibom State.

The leaders described as grossly deficient, untenable and not even worth discussion, the excuse given by the American oil giant.

Mobil has said that the relocation was not practicable for a number of reasons.

The company said Lagos was a better location to run its oil business, alongside its affiliates companies  Mobil Oil Nigeria and Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Ltd.

The three companies, Mobil said, are managed by one lead country manager and that Lagos had better infrastructure to support the companys businesses.

Lagos offers each of those businesses a convenient and well-suited hub from which all three businesses can be efficiently conducted and coordinated by that manager, the company said.

The leaders from Akwa oil producing areas, in responding to Mobils position, said the company was just being scared of its own shadows.

They said the real reason Mobil has refused to move to Akwa Ibom was that it did not want to expose its expatriates and senior workers to the hazardous environment caused by its years of oil production.

They have refused to move because they know the level of destruction their operations have brought to the land and people of Akwa Ibom State, the leaders said in a communique made available on Thursday to PREMIUM TIMES, after their meeting at the palace of the Paramount Ruler of Ibeno Local Government Area.

They believe the environment is unsafe, health-wise for their senior staff considering the frequency of early deaths and reduced life span of the inhabitants of the area.

The Paramount Ruler of Ibeno, Effiong Archanga, his counterpart in Eket, E.C.D. Abia, and the Head of Awa Afaha Clan, Onna Local Government Area, Raymond Inyang, endorsed the communique.

Nduese Essien, a former minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, also endorsed the document.

Mr. Essien, who is also a former House of Representatives member, is the Chairman, Technical Committee on Mobil and Core Community Matters, in the state. Other members of the technical committee who endorsed the communique are: Etie Ben Akpan and Udo Bassey.

The chairmen of Eket and Onna local government areas, Joshua Ndioho and Frank Archibong, respectively also endorsed the communique.

Cashing in on the recent directive by Nigerias Vice President Yemi Osinbajo that the Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, should engage International Oil Companies (IOCs) on the calls for the relocation of their head office, the people asked the federal government to show commitment on the issue by giving clear directives to the companies.

READ ALSO: Nigeria to engage oil companies on relocation of head offices to Niger Delta

The communique chronicled the evolvement of Mobil in the state and the alleged disparity in growth between the company and its host communities and how a massive protest by the communities against Mobil in 1998 led to an agreement for a gradual movement of the companys head office to Akwa Ibom.

The communique said that the agreement was abandoned immediately Mobil was taken over by Exxon to form ExxonMobil.

The communique said with the G.S.M telephony and other infrastructures like an international airport now available in Akwa Ibom and with the movement of federal agencies from Lagos to Abuja that it was difficult for Mobil to keep holding on to its old excuses on why it cant relocate from Lagos to Akwa Ibom.

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Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has reiterated that the Muhammadu Buhari administration means well for the people of the Niger Delta and that it was determined to do things differently in the region.

Mr. Osinbajo made the remarks, Tuesday, at Abuja when he received a delegation from Bayelsa State which met with him over a $3.6 billion Brass Fertilizer & Petro-Chemical Company in the state.

The delegation, which included the executives of the company, was led by the Bayelsa Governor Seriake Dickson.

The company is expected to start production soon.

Mr. Osinbajo said President Buharis new vision for the troubled region involved an active and effective collaboration between the government, the private sector and the communities, Laolu Akande, a spokesperson for the acting president said in a statement.

The new approach, Mr. Osinbajo said, would ensure that we finish whatever we start.

The statement said the acting president lamented that only 12 per cent completion rate was recorded in several of the projects undertaken by the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, in the past years. The rest, he said, were abandoned.

Sometimes projects are designed not to succeed, but just for some people to make money, Mr. Osinbajo was quoted as saying.

Mr. Osinbajo commended Governor Dickson and the collaboration that led to the establishment of the Brass Fertilizer & Petro-Chemical Company.

This is what we describe as the new vision: a partnership between the Federal Government, the States, the communities and the private sector. This is the new way of thinking that is emerging, he said.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, who was present at the meeting, described the company as a game changer in the region and said that there was a need to encourage the company.

Mr. Osinbajo has been touring the Niger Delta region lately in an effort to build trust between the federal government and the poor and restive oil-producing communities.

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There was tension in Ikere-Ekiti, headquarters of Ikere Local Government Area of Ekiti State, on Tuesday, over the move by a contractor handling a road dualisation project to uproot a tree considered sacred by the community.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the sacred tree is located in a historical site in the heart of the community.

An attempt on Monday by the contractor handling the project to uproot the tree was disrupted by the youth and

traditional religion worshippers who invaded the scene.

NAN reports that some irate youth held up traffic and lit bonfires at Odo-Oja area of the town.

The protesting indigenes claimed that the historical site known locally as Ereja was the source of Ikere Ekiti, and uprooting the tree would result in dire consequences for the community.

They also claimed that the site of the tree was host to the annual Olosunta festival.

Gov. Ayo Fayose, who visited the scene appealed for calm, saying he would ensure that the traditional ruler of the community and Olukere of Ikere, Oba Ganiyu Obasoyin, were sensitised on the need for the road dualisation project.

NAN reports that residents had earlier in the day placed fetish objects made with a goat and pigeon at the site while palm fronds were also tied around the shrine to scare away agents of the contractors.

Some of them also formed a human shield round the shrine in a bid to frustrate any plan to demolish the site and uproot the tree.

Addressing reporters at his palace , Oba Obasoyin, who is the custodian of traditional sites in the town, said cutting down the sacred tree and demolishing the Ereja was akin to passing a death sentence on him.

Present at the briefing were the Alare of Are-Ikere, Oguntuase Atitebi and the Elejoka of Ikuomoba-Ikere, Benjamin Owolade.

It is when a king dies that the branches of the tree are cut off and I went to meet the governor that he should not pass a death sentence on me.

The only way forward is that government should see reason with the people of Ikere and respect the peoples cultural heritage, Mr. Obasoyin said. (NAN)

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TRENTON  Summer meal programs for children are increasingly important as families may be getting less support from food stamps and pantries, advocates told state legislators at a hearing Monday.

But immigration fears may prevent some of the most vulnerable children from participating, speakers said.

We are seeing it already, Community FoodBank of New Jersey President Debra Vizzi told the Assembly Women and Children Committee. People wont enroll. They are concerned about being tracked.

Adele LaTourette, director of the New Jersey Anti-Hunger Coalition, testified before the Assembly Women and Children Committee that they are again seeing an increase in the need for emergency food.

We had seen a bit of decline, and now its increasing again, LaTourette said. Emergency food has become part of an ongoing safety net to feed people, and not just in an emergency.

Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt, D-Burlington, Camden, who chairs the committee, introduced a bill that will require all public and private schools to notify families of the availability of free summer meals through the National School Lunch Program.

The committee also approved a resolution asking Congress to reduce the minimum level at which towns can offer free summer meals to all children. Currently, free meals are available to all children in towns in which at least 50 percent of children are eligible for the federal meal program. The resolution would reduce the amount to 40 percent.

Last year, almost 20 percent of the almost 430,000 eligible children statewide received free summer meals, or about 84,000 per day. Programs have targeted cities within the 50 percent zone. Locally, the Community FoodBank, Southern Branch, in Egg Harbor Township has been coordinating with sites in Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland counties to provide the meals.

Vizzi said challenges include families that do not speak English, children with food allergies or medical issues, and undocumented residents fear participating in the program could jeopardize their immigration status.

Right now we have no sites that can deal with food allergies or medical issues, she said.

She said many sites are small, and the logistics of providing meals can be a challenge.

If you could get all the kids to the Prudential Center or the Atlantic City Convention Center, I could make it happen, she said of providing meals. But I cant get a site like that.

Representatives from East Orange, Plainfield and Trenton shared success stories and challenges.

Speakers said open sites like parks and community centers can be a challenge because the same number of children may not attend each day, and sponsors are only paid for the actual number of meals they serve.

State Secretary of Agriculture Douglas Fisher said a hotline will be available by the end of June to tell parents where meal sites are in their towns. It can be accessed by texting the word food to 877877.

Program coordinator Rose Tricario said they expect almost 1,400 sites to be operational statewide this summer. A Farm to Summer program is encouraging sponsors to use Jersey Fresh produce in the meals.

Cecilia Zalkind, director of Advocates for Children of New Jersey, said getting the word out about the program sites is crucial.

When school ends, hunger does not, she said.
NORTHFIELD  Fred Babel is a good soldier.

Babel, of Ocean City, explained how his trip this weekend with South Jersey Honor Flight was simply following the orders of his commanding officer.

A Korean War veteran who served in 1951-52, Babel said his wife told him not to make the daylong trip to Washington, D.C., with Honor Flight to see the Air Force, Iwo Jima, Korean War, Vietnam and World War II memorials.

She said, Dont go. But my commanding officer here, Jim Sambucci, Babel said motioning to the man next to him, he said all veterans need to see these memorials; they are there for us.

Sambucci, commander of American Legion Post 524 in Ocean City, accompanied Babel on Saturday as his chaperone.

There were seven veterans and a dozen chaperones who pulled out of the Northfield Community School parking lot at 5:45 a.m. for the annual South Jersey Honor Flight trip to Washington, D.C., to view the memorials. Another four joined them from Mays Landing.

The first stop was Williamstown High School, where 124 veterans from across New Jersey enjoyed breakfast before loading into buses for the next leg of the trip to the nations capital. Mary Ann Devine, of Upper Township, a teacher at Northfield Community School, has been organizing the Honor Flight for local veterans for the past seven years.

Devine said the group included a 101-year-old World War II vet from North Jersey who drove himself to the rendezvous point at 3 a.m. and walked all day. Some of the veterans are able to walk around the monuments. Others are in wheel chairs or just need a steady hand. Each veteran has a chaperone for the day.

At the World War II Monument, former Sen. Robert Dole, himself a veteran, was there to show his support of Honor Flight and its effort to offer all veterans a trip free of charge to Washington, D.C., to visit the memorials. Chaperones pay for their trip, and the rest of the funding for the nationwide program comes from donations, bake sales and car washes.

After Saturdays tour of the monuments, the veterans and chaperones headed back to Williamstown for the final leg of the journey.

A little past 10 p.m., the local group returned to the school in Northfield with a police escort and a heros welcome that included firetrucks and dozens of students and their parents cheering and waving signs thanking the veterans for their service.

Babel turned to thank Devine for the opportunity to make the Honor Flight trip and said it was truly a wonderful experience.

For more information about Honor Flight, visit www.sjhonorflight.org
Politicians and environmentalists are pushing aside partisan differences in order to protect New Jerseys beaches and its $44 billion tourism economy.

On Monday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations National Marine Fisheries Service opened public comment on proposed seismic air testing in the Atlantic Ocean to support offshore drilling.

U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-2nd, took to Facebook to assure his constituents he will continue to fight seismic testing off New Jersey, including through a bill he introduced in April to ban permits for seismic activity in the Atlantic Ocean.

I remain strongly opposed to any effort to allow permits for seismic airgun testing and will work with South Jersey residents, recreational and commercial fishermen, and environmentalist to ensure this harmful practice does not occur along the Jersey Shore, LoBiondo wrote Monday.

Seismic testing is the process of blasting air into the ocean floor, with sounds as loud as dynamite, every 10 seconds for an extended period. It is used to find oil and gas deposits. Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, said the blasts can lead to mass strandings and possibly death of marine mammals.

The Marine Fisheries Service action comes more than a month after President Donald Trump signed an executive order reversing a policy of President Barack Obamas administration banning seismic testing in the Atlantic Ocean.

The Fisheries Service said it has received five applications from companies related to the gas and oil drilling industry to conduct geophysical surveying in federal waters from just south of Cape May to central Florida. The permits would allow the companies to incidentally, but not intentionally, harass marine mammals. The comment period lasts through July 7.

Tittel said seismic testing is not only harmful to marine life, but offshore drilling could have a serious negative impact on New Jerseys tourism economy due to pollution and the threat of an oil spill. He said offshore drilling will lead to more pipelines and air pollution from refineries.

Its Donald Trump to New Jersey: Drop dead, Tittel said.

New Jerseys Democratic legislators are also trying to stop drilling. In April, U.S. Sens. Cory Booker and Robert Menendez, and Rep. Frank Pallone, D-6th, announced the reintroduction of the Clean Ocean and Safe Tourism (COAST) Anti-Drilling Act to ban offshore oil and gas drilling in response to Trumps executive order.

State Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Bob Considine said that while the permits proposed are not currently off the coast of New Jersey, the state would have the same concerns it did two years ago when it opposed seismic testing conducted by Rutgers University to study sea-level change.

At the time, DEP Commissioner Bob Martin said the testing would have a detrimental effect on New Jerseys fisheries and marine mammals and that the state must take no chances when it comes to protecting our ocean resources, our commercial and recreational fishing industries, and our states $42 billion tourism economy, which depends heavily on the shore.
Early payment solution available to small- to mid-sized businesses on leading Electronic Data Interchange platform

DUBLIN and MONTREAL, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Aztec Exchange, a global supplier of invoice finance products and services, and Canadian EDI provider EDI Gateway today announced a partnership to deliver Aztec's breakthrough early e-invoice payment service PayMe (payme.cloud) to EDI Gateway's (edigateway.com) Canadian supplier and corporate clients.

"We're pleased to introduce PayMe to the Canadian market with EDI Gateway. There's been tremendous enthusiasm for PayMe among both SMEs and corporates because buyers are able to use it to secure their supply chain while suppliers benefit from getting their invoices paid sooner," said Edwin Hagan-Emmin, CEO of Aztec Exchange. "We expect that interest level to continue as we roll out in Canada and look forward to working with EDI Gateway to deliver this valued service."

"We are thrilled to launch this innovative customer-centric solution for our clients of the retail industry. We have been working to integrate this exclusive solution into our online platform and can now offer a complete tool that will allow our vendors to benefit from this swift payment process and for the retailers to increase cash flow and increase efficiencies in accounts payable operations," said Sophie Barbara Desilets, President of EDI Gateway. "Aztec and EDI Gateway have partnered up to offer the retail industry a simple, user-friendly solution that addresses the concerns of all SMEs and CFOs."

PayMe is unique in the early payment market because, unlike with factoring firms, creditworthiness is based on that of the buyer, not the supplier. There is complete pricing transparency, meaning there are no hidden fees or interest charges. Suppliers are only required to pay a minimal invoice discount charge and a standard transaction fee. For customers on the EDI Gateway platform using PayMe, this means they'll typically receive payment within 24 hours. Furthermore, because it's entirely online, they can submit for early payment any time from any internet-connected device. There are also no restrictive long-term contracts and suppliers can sell as many approved invoices as they want.

This partnership with EDI Gateway is the latest for PayMe, which launched in May 2016. Over the course of the past year, PayMe has had tremendous growth and is now available to more than 100,000 SMEs globally via e-invoice providers as a white label solution for traditional banks. It will soon be launched directly through corporates. For EDI Gateway, PayMe complements their existing e-invoicing solution, enabling them to offer an integrated payment and financing service. The firm looks to continue this approach going forward to attract and retain their retail and vendor clients.

About Aztec Exchange

Aztec Exchange is a leading payment company dedicated to streamlining global supplier finance. Founded by former Morgan Stanley and HSBC executives, Aztec Exchange's flagship service is PayMe (known as ePayMe in Latin America and Spain) - a reliable, cost-effective and easy-to-use early payment solution. With PayMe, suppliers sell their invoices and receive working capital within days rather than weeks or even months. PayMe is available as a white-label service and can be easily integrated into e-invoicing networks. Aztec Exchange was named to Forbes 2016 Fintech 50, a list that features companies that use technology to disrupt "the way we save, invest, spend and borrow."

Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and with operations in Los Angeles and Miami, Aztec can be found online at PayMe.cloud.

About EDI Gateway Inc.

EDI Gateway, an MXS Commerce Group company, is a leading North American service provider who has been helping small to medium size companies become EDI compliant and e-commerce capable since 1993. Specializing in EDI and B2B applications, EDI Gateway offers an array of solutions and services both standardized and customized, developed to accommodate and complement the evolving needs and demands of today's diverse e-market, in a cost-effective fashion. Gold Certified Microsoft partner, servicing over 2,500 customers and their trading partners meeting all EDI and supply chain requirements, EDI Gateway has been collaborating in a consortium with various key players servicing the retail industry, to offer a one stop, one path solution.

CONTACT: David Eckstein Sophie Barbara Desilets Aztec Exchange EDI Gateway pr@aztecexchange.com SophieD@edigateway.com 415-385-9676 1-800-267-3130

Related Links

http://www.aztecexchange.com



SOURCE Aztec Exchange
DALLAS, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Buzzlogix today announced that with the release of its next generation Social Media Monitoring, Management & Analytics solution it gives away 10 million free social media mentions. This offer demonstrates the advantages for any type of business to improve Social Media Engagement, Digital Marketing and SEO.

Smart Assistant

"Social Media Monitoring, Analytics and Engagement is the only solution for effective Social Media Marketing success. Our free 10 million social media mentions offer allows companies to familiarize themselves with our new next generation Buzzlogix SMM product," explains Ioannis Makris, Buzzlogix CTO and co-founder.

How to Obtain the Free Social Media Mention Offers

The first 500 subscribers will receive additional 20,000 free mentions for the Buzzlogix SMM service. Taking this offer enables social media specialists, agencies and power users to experience the unlimited version without extra charges. This special offer is available by creating an account starting on 6th June until the 6th July 2017 on https://buzzlogix.com/app/register-user

All existing Buzzlogix customers will get an extra 30% FREE mentions per month until the end of this year if they upgrade to one of the paid plans. (https://buzzlogix.com/#pricing)

How Buzzlogix Social Media Monitoring & Management Works

How Buzzlogix Social Media Monitoring Works

Setup your topic streams with the user-friendly Wizard by adding your keywords, the channels and languages. Buzzlogix instantly collects all the social media mentions from e.g. Facebook and Twitter, as well as blogs, news and discussions from across the web 24/7. Buzzlogix then processes and enhances the data to display timelines and relevant reports on interactive dashboards. Create your own comprehensive social media reports for export.

How Buzzlogix Social Media Management Works

Logon with your social media accounts to manage them. Buzzlogix displays all accounts in one or multiple tabs in a side-by-side view. Receive and send messages from your social messages box. Post and schedule posts from your social accounts.

About Buzzlogix

Buzzlogix is a smart and simple, all-in-one social media management, monitoring and engagement platform. Designed to empower social media specialists and people who need to work with social media on a day-to-day basis, Buzzlogix offers a comprehensive set of features to deliver effective social media management and monitoring.

We believe that social media management and marketing should be simple, affordable and enable meaningful engagements.

Using our cloud software platform generates stronger market insights, happier customers and leads to increased social media performance resulting in better services and sales.

Buzzlogix is headquartered in Dallas, USA. (https://buzzlogix.com/contact)

Contact: Scott Sims at [email protected], +1 972-567-4756 or visit http://www.buzzlogix.com/

SOURCE Buzzlogix LLC

Related Links

https://buzzlogix.com


AUBURN HILLS, Mich., June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The all-new 2017 Fiat 124 Spider Abarth took the top award in the "Small Convertible" category at the seventh annual Topless in Miami Presented by Haartz competitive car event hosted by the Southern Automotive Media Association (SAMA).

"With its iconic Italian design, spirited driving dynamics and easy-to-operate convertible top, the Fiat 124 Spider Abarth truly impressed our judges," said Jaime Florez, SAMA president. "Across all of the judging criteria, including styling, technology, and ride and comfort, the Fiat 124 Spider Abarth not only delivered, but also wowed."

More than 40 journalists attended the event and drove more than 25 vehicles from various manufacturers. Journalists voted for their favorite vehicles after driving scenic routes in Key Biscayne, Fla.

About the 2017 Fiat 124 Spider

The all-new 2017 Fiat 124 Spider brings classic Italian styling and proven performance to a new generation of buyers. Paying homage to the original 124 Spider, the all-new Spider delivers the ultimate Italian roadster experience with driving excitement, technology and safety combined with iconic design.

The roadster comes standard with the proven 1.4-liter MultiAir Turbo four-cylinder engine, the engine's first application in a rear-wheel-drive vehicle. The engine delivers 160 horsepower and 184 lb.-ft. of torque on Classica and Lusso, 164 horsepower and 184 lb.-ft. of torque on Abarth, and is available with a six-speed manual transmission (26 mpg city/35 mpg highway) or a six-speed automatic transmission (25 mpg city/36 mpg highway).

The Fiat 124 Spider has a double-wishbone front suspension and rear multi-link suspension with stabilizer bars, and tuned electric-power steering system for enhanced handling and fuel efficiency. Available safety features include Blind-spot Monitoring, Rear Cross Path detection and ParkView rear backup camera. Available technology and convenience features include passive entry with keyless go, Bluetooth connectivity, heated seats, and FIAT Connect with access to Pandora, Stitcher and Aha apps.

About SAMA

Based in Miami, the Southern Automotive Media Association members include journalists, media organizations, corporate communication specialists, marketing and advertising specialists, and auto manufacturers specializing in the automotive industry. Formed in 2007, the organization now has more than 100 members throughout Florida and the southeastern United States.

About FIAT Brand

The FIAT brand stands for discovery through passionate self-expression. That philosophy is embodied by the iconic Fiat 500 or Cinquecento  a small car that lives big. Italian at heart and rooted in a rich heritage, the 500 is sold in more than 100 countries and is synonymous with modern, simple design blending form, function, technology and a pride of ownership that is genuine.

In North America, the Fiat 500 was introduced in March 2011 and was soon followed by the Fiat 500c (Cabrio), the high-performance Fiat 500 Abarth and Abarth Cabrio, the fully electric Fiat 500e, the five-passenger Fiat 500L and the all-wheel-drive 500X crossover. The FIAT brand continues to expand with the introduction of the Fiat 124 Spider, a revival of the iconic roadster that combines Italian style, performance and engaging driving dynamics.

Follow Fiat brand and FCA US news and video on:

Company blog: http://blog.fcanorthamerica.com

Company website: www.fcanorthamerica.com

Media website: http://media.fcanorthamerica.com

FCA360: www.fca360.com

FIAT brand: www.fiatusa.com

FIAT blog: blog.fiatusa.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/fiatusa or https://www.facebook.com/FiatChrysler.NorthAmerica/

Instagram: www.instagram.com/fiatusa or www.instagram.com/FiatChrysler_NA

Twitter: www.twitter.com/fiatusa or www.twitter.com/FiatChrysler_NA

YouTube: www.youtube.com/fiatusa or www.youtube.com/pentastarvideo

SOURCE FCA US LLC

Related Links

http://www.fcanorthamerica.com


JOHANNESBURG, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- "Healthcare in South Africa is changing significantly," says futurist Jack Uldrich. "Technology and global communications are paving the way for unprecedented improvements for everyone in the nation."

Jack Uldrich makes it his mission to help healthcare leaders address and embrace the imminent changes in the field. He has been selected to speak at the Future of Health Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa on June 9. The topic of his talk will be, "The Future of Health Care: 2020, 2025 and Beyond."

He will discuss how innovations in healthcare (new treatments, technologies, trends, telemedicine, etc.,) will transform the experience for patients, healthcare professionals and hospitals in South Africa. He will also discuss how these same trends will affect the broader Continent of Africa.

Among the trends Uldrich will focus on is longevity.

"Typically," says Uldrich, "White South Africans currently have a life expectancy of 71 years, while black South Africans have a life expectancy of 48 years of age. In the next ten to twenty years, one of the possibilities in healthcare may be increasing the overall life expectancy of all South Africans to those found in North America."

In the coming decades, longevity may increase worldwide, on average toward upward of 90 years.

Other technological trends he will discuss are Artificial Intelligence, wearable technology, augmented reality, virtual reality, wireless mobility, nanotechnology, genomic sequencing, robotics, and 3D printing.

Uldrich says, "With bio-printed organs, living past the age of 90 will not be anything like living to that age today. We're already printing skin, kidneys, a replica of a beating human heart. Soon, if a person loses a limb, it's theoretically possible that we'll be able to print, layer by layer, a replacement."

Considered a technology visionary in the fields of healthcare, agriculture, finance, and energy, Uldrich speaks hundreds of times a year all over the world delivering keynotes on technological trends and the concept of unlearning.

He has spoken on the future of finance in the Bahamas, new opportunities in manufacturing in Brussels, the future of education in Istanbul and on the future of urban planning (addressing the Urban Land Institute) in San Francisco, among many others.

Following his engagement in Johannesburg, Uldrich will return to the U.S. to speak to KeHe Distributors in Minneapolis on the future of the food industry on June 13 and address a private client in Houston, TX on the future of the petrochemical industry on June 20.

Parties interested in learning more about Jack Uldrich can view his website.

Media Contact: Jack Uldrich, Phone: 1.612.267.1212 Email: [email protected]

Related Images

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Related Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tS574gZ_Pvw

SOURCE Jack Uldrich
LOS ANGELES, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Acuant, a leading provider of data capture and verification solutions, today announced it will provide its AcuFill real time intelligent data capture solution to Carbon Health, a mobile-based connected healthcare network that is building a new healthcare system from the ground up.

Carbon Health will incorporate Acuant's technology into its mobile healthcare platform, which allows patients to connect with all of their healthcare providers through a mobile device. Carbon Health will leverage Acuant's sleek and easy information capture solution to improve use experience, streamline the revenue cycle, foster better communications within the healthcare ecosystem, and eliminate rejected claims due to manual entry errors.

The unified end-to-end technology platform is integrated with insurance companies, pharmacies, medical imaging centers and labs, providing independent practices with an all-in-one tool to streamline their practice and allowing physicians to spend more time connecting with patients. Patients benefit from a comprehensive healthcare experience accessible through their mobile device, with direct access to their full medical records and seamless continuity of care between virtual and in-person consultations.

"The Carbon Health team brings the best medical experts, designers and engineers together to build a healthcare network that makes sense to both patients and doctors. Acuant has been a key partner from day one, supporting our vision and providing us with a solution that is integral to our seamless user experience for both patients and practices," said Eren Bali, CEO and Co-founder of Carbon Health. "We look forward to working with the Acuant team as we continue to pursue our mission of transforming the patient-doctor experience."

"We are excited to partner with innovators like Carbon Health that are disrupting major industries. The healthcare landscape is challenging and ripe with opportunities to have more pleasing patient experiences while also improving operations and costs for practices. That is where our solutions come in and we couldn't be more pleased to be a part of the new system Carbon Health is creating," said Yossi Zekri, President and CEO of Acuant. "Our logic-based technology identifies and captures fields regardless of the specific insurance ID template. This infrastructure will enable Carbon to automate patient registration and create a user-friendly experience while guaranteeing the accuracy of data as it relates to patient care, billing and preapprovals."

About Carbon Health

Carbon Health was founded in 2016 when CEO Eren Bali and co-founders Tom Berry and Dr. Greg Burrell decided to reimagine healthcare by building a completely new healthcare system from the ground up. Carbon brings the marketplace model to healthcare, connecting practices with a unified technology platform and giving patients access to all of their providers through their mobile device. Carbon currently has a primary care clinic in San Francisco and provides virtual care throughout California. More locations coming soon. Please visit carbonhealth.com to learn more.

About Acuant

Acuant Inc. is a global technology company that provides comprehensive Identity Verification solutions responding to various levels of risk and assurance requirements. Utilizing patented technology Acuant transforms data intake into a business-enhancing proposition while instantly reducing the risk of fraudulent transactions.

Acuant's intelligent engineering is made to work in any industry in any environment with compatibility for Windows, iOS, Android, Hybrid and HTML 5- and built to allow meeting the highest level security requirements and regulations such as KYC, PII, HIPAA and AML. Partners include start-ups, Fortune 500 and FTSE 350 organizations.

For more information, please visit acuantcorp.com

Follow Acuant

Twitter: https://twitter.com/acuantcorp

Blog: http://www.acuantcorp.com/blog/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/acuant

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acuantcorp/

PR Contact:

Mike Gallo

Lumina Communications for Acuant Corp

212-239-8594

[email protected]

SOURCE Acuant

Related Links

http://acuantcorp.com


WASHINGTON, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Five American high school seniors, alumni of AJC's innovative Leaders for Tomorrow (LFT) program, met recently in Jerusalem with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The video of their conversation was shown today at the AJC Global Forum, the premier Jewish advocacy organization's signature annual event.

"Our conversation with the Prime Minister left us feeling reassured that our education and training would serve us well," said Ryan Berger of New York, who will attend the University of Pennsylvania in the fall. Berger first conceived of the program that AJC launched in September 2015. To date, 80 high-school students in New York and Chicago have participated in LFT, learning to be effective advocates for Israel. Next year the LFT program will expand to Atlanta and Westchester, in addition to Chicago and New York.

Berger asked the prime minister his advice on the best way to keep young American Jews excited about being advocates for the Jewish people. Netanyahu said education is crucial. "We live in a modern age where history goes back to breakfast if you are lucky," he said, noting that especially on campuses, people "say things about Israel that are ridiculous," the one democracy in the large Middle East region "is described as illiberal, as anti-democratic."

He encouraged the students to "combine conviction with fact," as they "confront people who are swept into positions that defy facts, knowledge, and common sense." To emphasize his points, the prime minister drew a herd of sheep on a piece of paper, symbolizing the groupthink against Israel that occurs on some campuses. "Leadership is going against this nonsense," he said. "Go against the lies, tell the truth about Israel. You have nothing to hide. You have everything to be proud of."

Ali Malehorn of Chicago, who will attend the University of Michigan, asked the prime minister what the benefits are for other countries in partnering with Israel. Netanyahu said he meets in Israel with 250 world leaders each year. "Why do they come here? They know the truth about Israel. They know it is a force for progress, for security, for peace, for stability. But they also know it is a force for technology," said Netanyahu.

The revolution that led Israel to become a preeminent leader in hi-tech is "the story you may not get on college campuses," he said. It began with the French arms embargo imposed on Israel in 1966, an event that accelerated the buildup of Israel's defense industry and also created the basis for civilian spinoffs. Significant changes in the Israeli economy that allowed for the expansion of civilian technology companies made "technology and market-friendly a potent combination," he said.

William Scherr, who will attend Cornell University, asked about Israel's relations with the Gulf states. These Arab countries "see Israel as their indispensable partner in fighting" the twin threats of Iran and ISIS, said Netanyahu. "Ultimately, it may eventually open the door to not just change in the relationships of governments, but also to begin to change a perception of Israel in the Arab street" that may lead to cooperation in water resources, agriculture, transportation, and air pollution, he added.

"These are the first cracks that I have seen in this wall of hostility against Israel for many decades," said Netanyahu. "But that hasn't happened at all in the Palestinian street because they constantly feed horrible slanders against us."

Molly Shapiro, who will attend Yale University, asked the prime minister what has influenced his leadership of the country. Netanyahu said he was "powerfully motivated by the few years I spent in the United States as a teenager." That experience later influenced his decisions to reform the Israeli bureaucracy and economy. The country's economic potential was unleashed when "the boot of overregulation" was removed, he said. With the Israeli economy growing at roughly 5 percent a year for the last 12 years, and per capita income reaching $40,000, "we are going to pass Japan," he said.

Brett Zaslavsky of Chicago, who will attend University of Michigan, asked the prime minister about his vision for Jerusalem. "We are the only people that view Jerusalem as their capital," said Netanyahu. "Given that 3,000 years ago King David established the Jewish capital here, it resonates with us and gives us hope for the future."

The prime minister further emphasized that "only under Israel, only in the last 50 years since Israel became the sovereign power over the religious sites, all three faiths have had unimpeded access to their holy sites and unfettered ability to practice their faith."

Citing the widespread destruction of Palmyra, a UNESCO World Heritage site, in Syria by ISIS as one example, Netanyahu emphasized that "there is no contradiction between Israel's sovereignty in Jerusalem and religious freedom. There is, in fact, an absolute dependence on that. If Israel was not here, who knows what would happen to the shrines here."

More than 2,500 participants from across the United States and 70 countries around the world are attending the annual AJC Global Forum, taking place June 4-6, in Washington, D.C.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee

Related Links

http://www.ajc.org


"Alan has a wide range of experience in metalworking, particularly related to tooling and workholding coverage, which has served the magazine well since he joined," said Dave O'Neil, vice president of Advanced Manufacturing Media, publisher of Manufacturing Engineering . "He has been a great addition to our media group, and I'm confident in his leadership and editorial expertise to take on this role as editor in chief."

Rooks joined SME and Manufacturing Engineering as senior editor in August 2016. He has been a business journalist for the past 36 years. From 2006 to 2015, Rooks served as editorial director for "Cutting Tool Engineering" and "MICROmanufacturing" magazines. Earlier in his career, he covered the paper industry and the food industry, holding various editorial positions. Rooks has a bachelor's degree in English and history from Allegheny College, where he graduated cum laude with honors in both majors.

Sawyer, who retired, joined Manufacturing Engineering magazine in 2008, became executive editor in 2014 and editor in chief in August 2016.

"We wish Jim well as he enters retirement. He was a valued member of the SME family and media group for nearly a decade," O'Neil said. "Jim will continue to contribute to the team, including as a host of our growing podcasts and webinar platforms."

Manufacturing Engineering magazine is the flagship of SME's media group, which includes Smart Manufacturing magazine, industry yearbooks, advancedmanufacturing.org, "Advanced Manufacturing Now" and "Tooling & Workholding" e-newsletters, lead generation, podcasts and webinars.

About Advanced Manufacturing Media

SME's Advanced Manufacturing Media is a leading source for news and in-depth technical information about advanced manufacturing in North America. It serves an audience of more than 100,000 manufacturing professionals who subscribe to the monthly magazine, iTunes app, e-newsletters and other publications. Coverage is focused on some of the world's most critical industries: aerospace and defense, motorized vehicles, medical and energy, whether that's oil and gas, nuclear, electric, solar or wind. Learn more at advancedmanufacturing.org, follow @MfgEngNews on Twitter or facebook.com/AdvancedManufacturingMedia.

SOURCE SME
HONOLULU, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. (A&B) (NYSE: ALEX) today announced the latest expansion of its commercial real estate portfolio with the acquisition of five multi-tenant industrial buildings at the Honokohau Industrial Park in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. The buildings are located on two lots within the 37-acre industrial park and are centrally located to service both Kailua-Kona and the Kohala Coast.

The $10 million acquisition represents 73,200 square feet of prime industrial space within the 37-acre industrial park. The purchase was largely financed with sales proceeds from non-income producing properties. The in-going cap rate is 8.3%. Currently 94 percent of the available space is leased to tenants from the construction, tourism, food distribution, automotive repair and transportation industries, generating an annualized base rent of $12.13 per square foot.

"This is a quality property that expands our industrial portfolio in Hawaii, consistent with our intent to increase investments in this attractive asset class. We look forward to working with the tenants and ensuring they have the best possible customer experience," said Lance Parker, president of A&B Properties.

ABOUT ALEXANDER & BALDWIN

Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. is a Hawaii-based public company, with interests in commercial real estate, land operations, materials and infrastructure construction. With ownership of approximately 87,000 acres in Hawaii, A&B is the state's fourth largest private landowner, and one of the state's most active real estate investors. The Company manages a portfolio comprising 4.7 million square feet of leasable space in Hawaii and on the U.S. Mainland and is the largest owner of grocery/drug-anchored retail centers in the state. A&B is also Hawaii's largest materials company and paving contractor. Additional information about A&B may be found at www.alexanderbaldwin.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, that involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the relevant forward-looking statement. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. This release should be read in conjunction with pages 13-24 of Alexander & Baldwin, Inc.'s 2016 Form 10-K and other filings with the SEC through the date of this release, which identify important factors that could affect the forward-looking statements in this release. We do not undertake any obligation to update our forward-looking statements.

Contact:

Darren Pai

808.525.6659

[email protected]

SOURCE Alexander & Baldwin, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.alexanderbaldwin.com


HOUSTON, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- alliantgroup Director Greg Knarr will be speaking tomorrow, June 7, at 5:40 p.m. E.T. at an event hosted by the Michigan Association of CPAs. The annual West Michigan Management Information & Business Show covers topical issues such as the federal tax plans of the new administration and what business decision-makers need to know about cybersecurity. During his presentation, "The R&D Tax Credit: Permanent, Expanded and Open to Startups and Small Business," Knarr will discuss this popular tax credit and the significant changes that have made the credit permanent and expanded the number of businesses eligible for the credit.

"The regulatory and legislative changes to the R&D credit have had a huge impact on how businesses claim the credit, which affects nearly every business because this credit is the largest incentive offered at a federal level," said Dhaval Jadav, alliantgroup CEO. "At alliantgroup, we're committed to making sure small and mid-sized American businesses can claim the same valuable tax credits as larger corporations."

Since joining alliantgroup in 2010, Knarr has partnered with the nation's leading CPA firms to help maximize the tax claims of hundreds of companies. He specializes in helping Midwest businesses in industries such as manufacturing, tooling and machining. With 20 years of experience working with public accounting firms, Knarr is a frequent featured speaker and author on topics related to the availability and utilization of the R&D Tax Credit. After graduating from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, he dedicated his career to helping businesses stay competitive.

"Greg is a great speaker and deeply passionate about helping American businesses to spur job growth and innovation in our economy," Jadav said. "This will be an incredibly informative presentation for any CPA with clients who want to claim the R&D Tax Credit."

alliantgroup's mission is one of education and awarenesswe exist to help industry organizations, U.S. businesses and the CPA firms that advise them take full advantage of all federal and state tax credits, incentives and deductions available. Our government has legislated these powerful incentive programs to help businesses grow and successfully compete both in the U.S. and abroad. We are proud to have helped over 20,000 businesses claim more than $5 billion in tax incentives. alliantgroup's headquarters is in Houston, Texas, with offices across the country including New York, Boston, Chicago, Orange County, Sacramento, Orlando, Indianapolis and Washington, D.C. For more information find alliantgroup on Facebook and LinkedIn.

SOURCE alliantgroup

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- AlwaysOnline Wireless (AOW), a leader in short-term, on-demand LTE data plans for iPad with Apple SIM users around the world, today announced its newest product, the AOW Global Data SIM.

AOW Global Data SIM

Prior to today, the AOW service was available only to users of iPad with Apple SIM by purchasing LTE data plans directly on their device. Now with the AOW Global Data SIM, users of all other mobile devices - smartphones, Wi-Fi hotspots, and cellular-enabled tablets - can access the AOW network. This global, high speed LTE network is currently available in over 90 countries, and is expected to grow to over 100 countries by the end of the year.

Each AOW Global Data SIM can be loaded with an LTE data plan for each country being visited. Travellers can choose from a variety of affordable plans, in increments as short as one hour, one day, or larger data plans from 500MB up to 5GB.

International travel is steadily increasing, with destinations like France, Spain, the United Kingdom, and China leading in number of international arrivals annually. AOW offers data plans in each of these countries, offering hourly plans starting as low as 11, daily plans for as little as $2.99, and plans with larger data buckets, like the 5GB plan valid for 30 days for only $34.99. Rates and plans vary by country and can be reviewed on the AOW website at alwaysonlinewireless.com/plans.

"Today's travellers need reliable, high-speed mobile connectivity wherever they go, and the demand for affordable options is rapidly growing," said Christian Paul, VP Marketing and Co-Founder of Otono Networks. "By adapting the advanced technology we developed for Apple SIM service and combining it with the most competitive rates of any travel SIM card out there, we can keep more people connected at very affordable prices."

To get started with AOW, travellers simply need an AOW Global Data SIM card that can be activated online anytime. They then can purchase and schedule plans for each country, with the ability to specify the exact start date, time, and time zone for each plan. This allows customers to only pay for what they need without any overage fees or contracts. Once travellers return home, they can keep and reuse their AOW SIM for future trips.

AOW Global Data SIM cards are currently available online at alwaysonlinewireless.com for $14.95 USD with free shipping.

For more information on AOW, visit alwaysonlinewireless.com, find us on Facebook as AlwaysOnlineWireless, or follow @AOwireless on Twitter and Instagram.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Grace Kyle

Otono Networks Inc.

[email protected]

1-604-270-7626

About Otono  Otono Networks, Inc. is an emerging global technology based telecom with multiple carrier-supported networks out of Vancouver, Canada. Otono's platform is primarily focused on flexible, global connectivity and mobile enablement solutions using both traditional SIM and eSIM technologies, allowing easier and faster network integration. Otono is the parent company of several mobile services, including Roam Mobility for USA, Roam Mobility for Canada, ZIP SIM, and AlwaysOnline Wireless. For more information about Otono and its products and services, visit www.otono.com.

SOURCE Otono Networks

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In his former position, Altieri oversaw several departments within the Division of Student Affairs, including: Student Involvement, Housing and Residence Life, Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, Health Center, Spiritual and Religious Life, the Women's Center and others. He established a comprehensive competencies-based transitional program for new students, programs to support retention and a Peer Mentor program that fosters student engagement. He also supported the establishment of new university reporting templates for Title IX investigations, among various additional accomplishments.

"Anthony has been a valuable part of our student affairs team for many years, and we look forward to benefiting even more from his ideas, passion and leadership," says Ross.

Altieri earned a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from St. John Fisher College; a Master of Science in college student personnel administration from Canisius College; a Master of Business Administration from Lynn University, and a Doctor of Education in higher education administration from the University of Florida. Before joining Lynn, Altieri served as the assistant director of residential life, coordinator of student discipline, and area coordinator at St. John Fisher College, and a resident director at State University of New York College at Brockport.

Altieri succeeds Phil Riordan, who served eight years with Lynn.

Lynn does not currently intend to undertake a search for the longer-term position.

About Lynn University

Lynn University is an independent college based in Boca Raton, Florida, with approximately 3,000 students from 100 countries. U.S. News & World Report ranks Lynn among the top three most innovative and international schools in the region. Lynn's NCAA Division II Fighting Knights have won 23 national titles, its Conservatory of Music features a world-renowned faculty of performers, and its nationally recognized Institute for Achievement and Learning empowers students with learning differences. The school's Dialogues curriculum and award-winning iPad program help Lynn graduates gain the intellectual flexibility and global experience to fulfill their potential in an ever-changing world. For more information, visit lynn.edu.

CONTACT: Jamie D'Aria, 561-237-7629, [email protected]

SOURCE Lynn University

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PALO ALTO, Calif., June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Armis, the enterprise IoT security company, launched from stealth today with $17 million in funding from Sequoia Capital and Tenaya Capital. Armis is the only technology platform that lets enterprises see and control compromised and unmanaged devices and rogue networks accessing their systems, effectively eliminating the IoT security blind spot that exists in all businesses today. Armis has also been named a Cool Vendor in the May 31, 2017, report titled, "Cool Vendors in Security for Midsize Enterprises, 2017," from Gartner, Inc. Armis will demonstrate its product publicly for the first time at Gartner Security & Risk Management Summit on June 12-15.

According to Gartner there are 8.4 billion connected things in use worldwide this year, which will number 20.4 billion by 2020. This fast growing, dynamic ecosystem of everything from smartphones to webcams and keyboards presents a complex security challenge. In early deployments Armis has shown that businesses are unaware of 40 percent of the devices in their environment. They have limited visibility into which devices are accessing their networks, which exposes them to botnet attacks, network breaches, ransomware, and data loss.

Armis provides an agentless IoT security platform that gives enterprises a complete view into activity and threats on devices and networks. Frictionless to deploy, Armis integrates with existing IT infrastructure and gives businesses visibility into and management over any device, whether on or off the corporate network. With Armis, enterprises are able to gain the productivity benefits of using IoT devices without sacrificing security.

"Enterprise security has a huge blind spot," said Yevgeny Dibrov, CEO and co-founder of Armis. "The recent botnet attacks like Mirai, Hajime, and Persirai show how new IoT devices are being exploited and attacked. The fact is you cannot put an agent on most of the devices in an organization today, which means we need a new approach. We built Armis to give enterprises complete visibility into all devices in their environment without requiring an agent. We can stop devices from compromising corporate assets, regardless of whether those devices are managed by IT."

"My job is to stay ahead of the bad guys -- especially when it comes to IoT. Armis allows me to see and control every device using any networking protocol, as well as all the networks in and around our labs. The fact that Armis can block unwanted connections is critical to our security strategy," said Steven Lentz, Chief Security Officer at Samsung Research America.

Founded in late 2015, and headquartered in Palo Alto, California, with an office in Tel Aviv, the Armis team is comprised of top engineering talent from Israel and experienced Silicon Valley technology leaders. Armis CEO and co-founder Yevgeny Dibrov was on the executive team at Adallom, which was acquired by Microsoft in 2015. He served with co-founder and CTO Nadir Izrael in the selective Unit 8200 of the Israeli Defense Forces, whose alumni also founded Check Point, Waze (acquired by Google) and Wix.

Gili Raanan, general partner at Sequoia Capital, was the first to partner with Armis, and Tom Banahan, managing director at Tenaya Capital, joined to close this round of investment. Additional investors include Zohar Zisapel, founder and chairman of RAD Technologies; Rene Bonvanie, CMO of Palo Alto Networks; and Mickey Boodaei, founder of Imperva and Trusteer.

"The exponential growth of IoT introduces risk that most enterprises are not prepared to handle," said Gili Raanan of Sequoia Capital. "Yevgeny and Nadir's strong vision combined with their decision to blend top Israeli engineering talent with sales and marketing executives from Cylance, Intel, McAfee and Symantec set them up for success."

"Armis presents a big opportunity to help enterprises navigate the uncharted territory of IoT in the workplace," said Tom Banahan of Tenaya Capital. "We were impressed with how the team has really listened to their customers to deliver what businesses need. This means Armis is solving a very real problem for their customers with discovery of unmanaged devices and stopping unauthorized access to their networks."

Armis will take a channel-first approach to its sales strategy, with early partners in JCS and RedSky. "JCS has long recognized that IoT devices bring a new security frontier that needs to be addressed. We have partnered with Armis to help our customers leverage the promise of the future while keeping their devices and systems safe from the new attacks like Mirai," said Jim Shaeffer, JCS & Associates, Inc., CEO.

To learn more about Armis please visit: www.armis.com.

Disclaimer:

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in our research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

About Armis

Armis eliminates the IoT security blind spot, protecting enterprises from the threat of unmanaged or rogue devices and networks. Customers including Samsung Research America and IDT Corporation trust Armis' agentless IoT security platform to see and control any device or network. Armis is a privately held company and headquartered in Palo Alto, California, with an office in Tel Aviv.

Media Contact:

Katie Garagozzo

Bateman Group for Armis

T: 415.697.2561

E: [email protected]

SOURCE Armis

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ATLANTA, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- AssureSign today announced its newest partnership with the United States Olympic Committee (USOC), bringing electronic signature capabilities to multiple facets of the organization. The partnership came to fruition after the USOC began its search for an electronic signature vendor in earlier months.

AssureSign

In managing the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic sports, the committee required extensive paperwork to be completed by athletes and other stakeholders within a short amount of time. Prior to its partnership with AssureSign, the USOC utilized a paper and faxing process for the distribution and collection of these required forms. According to the USOC, the process was arduous and inefficient when coupled with the strenuous training schedules among athletes.

Leveraging AssureSign's electronic signature platform enables the USOC to distribute and collect signed forms more rapidly than before. "It's quite a privilege to partner with USOC," said David Brinkman, President & CEO of AssureSign. "Olympians dedicate an inordinate amount of time building their skill to proudly represent the U.S. at a prominent international event. AssureSign is excited to play a role in reducing their burden."

The USOC currently oversees two U.S. Olympic Training Centers (OTCs). Both OTCs in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Lake Placid, New York, will be equipped to offer AssureSign's eSignature capabilities to its athletes. Moreover, AssureSign's platform is equipped with a native integration to the Customer Relationship Manager (CRM) already utilized by the USOC, Microsoft's Dynamics 365. The streamlined integration with Microsoft's CRM is said to have played a factor in the USOC's decision to partner with AssureSign.

The USOC is reportedly pleased with the partnership and has recommended the electronic signature vendor to other sporting authorities.

The USOC, along with all other users, now has access to new enhancements included in AssureSign's 5.47 software rollout, completed in late May 2017.

To learn more, visit AssureSign's success story highlighting the partnership, "The United States Olympic Committee Success Story."

Follow AssureSign on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on industry news and partnership opportunities.

About AssureSign

AssureSign simplifies the world's most powerful action  the signature. Available as an on-premise, customizable solution for the enterprise and as an on-demand, SaaS solution for small business, AssureSign enables any business to create and execute a secure and seamless signature experience. By offering the electronic signature industry's most flexible API, AssureSign has also built an extensive partner program with a proven revenue stream. Founded in 1999, AssureSign has executed over 300 million electronic signatures for many of the world's most well-known brands.

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SOURCE AssureSign
DUBAI, UAE, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Astellas has announced that a wide selection of abstracts highlighting the company's diverse oncology portfolio across a broad range of cancers have been accepted for oral or poster presentation at the 2017 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, June 2-6 in Chicago. On a yearly basis the meeting brings together more than 30,000 oncology professionals from around the world to discuss state-of-the-art treatment modalities, new therapies and ongoing controversies in the field, as well as sharing best practices in treating different cancer types.

"We are thrilled to announce our largest presence to date at this year's ASCO meeting," said Steven Benner, M.D., Senior Vice President and Global Therapeutic Area Head, Oncology Development, Astellas. "We believe these data reflect significant progress in our pursuit to create innovative treatment options for some of the most difficult-to-treat cancers and further underscore our ongoing commitment to becoming a world-class oncology company enabling patients with cancer to focus on living."

In just over a decade, Astellas has built a leadership position and substantial oncology pipeline through a thoughtful blend of investments in organic research and development (R&D), strategic business development and strong collaborative partnerships with some of the most renowned institutions internationally.

Markus Weber, General Manager, Astellas MENA/SSA (Middle East, North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa) commented: "We are pleased to be at the forefront of research in the field of oncology and proud to be able to expand the available treatment options to patients. Our growing presence at ASCO is a clear demonstration of our commitment to turn innovative science into value for cancer patients."

This year a record number of Astellas abstracts have been accepted to be presented at ASCO, including new research presented across 10 individual studies, showcasing a wealth of new research and data covering a variety of cancers, including prostate cancer, acute myeloid leukemia, gastric cancer, urothelial cancer, lung cancer and breast cancer.

About Astellas

Astellas Pharma Inc., based in Tokyo, Japan, is a company dedicated to improving the health of people around the world through the provision of innovative and reliable pharmaceutical products. We focus on Urology, Oncology, Immunology, Nephrology and Neuroscience as prioritized therapeutic areas while advancing new therapeutic areas and discovery research leveraging new technologies/modalities. We are also creating new value by combining internal capabilities and external expertise in the medical/healthcare business. Astellas is on the forefront of healthcare change to turn innovative science into value for patients. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.astellas.com/en.

About Astellas MENA/SSA

Astellas MENA/SSA is an affiliate of Astellas Pharma Inc. and aims to make a positive difference to the patients in the Middle East and Africa region, which is a key territory for Astellas. The new regional affiliate in Dubai, United Arab Emirates brings together a team of highly skilled people, with local knowledge and long-standing professional experience in the region. The regional affiliate serves as a management hub to further expand and develop Astellas' business activities across the MENA/SSA territory. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.astellasmenassa.com



Contacts for inquiries or additional information:

Astellas Pharma DMCC

Simona Sutaviciute - Regional Communications Manager

E-mail: [email protected]



Instinctif Partners

Ibrahim Mougharbel

E-mail: [email protected]

Tel: +971-(0)-55-246-8846



SOURCE Astellas Pharma
BASEL, Switzerland, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Axovant Sciences (NYSE: AXON) today announced that it has made several key senior management hires to strengthen its executive team. Stephen Mohr has joined the Company as general counsel; Eric Floyd, Ph.D., as senior vice president, regulatory affairs; Thomas Templeman, Ph.D., as senior vice president, pharmaceutical operations and quality assurance; Mark Wadley as senior vice president, U.S. business; and Samina Bari as vice president, corporate communications. In addition, the Company appointed current executive team member Shankar Ramaswamy, M.D., to a new role as vice president, global medical affairs.

"We are delighted to welcome this group of accomplished pharmaceutical and biotech leaders to Axovant," said David Hung, M.D., chief executive officer of Axovant. "Each will play a critical role in the Company's near- and longer-term success as we focus on developing therapies for Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia, as well as for other neurological diseases for which new treatments are so desperately needed."

"I look forward to working alongside these impressive leaders," said Marion McCourt, president and chief operating officer. "We are building an executive team of forward thinking industry leaders with proven track records and decades of experience. Known for their flawless execution, these individuals will help take Axovant to our next stage of growth."

New Executive Team Members

Mr. Mohr joins Axovant with over 25 years of experience in pharmaceutical legal and compliance matters. He was previously U.S. General Counsel and Deputy General Counsel, North America at AstraZeneca. Prior to assuming that position, he was Global Compliance Officer for AstraZeneca. He also held a number of senior legal and compliance positions at Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, including Vice President and Senior Counsel, U.S. Medicines. Earlier in his career, he specialized in litigation matters at Weiss David Fross Zelnick & Lehrman, P.C. (now Fross Zelnick Lehrman & Zissu) and Rivkin Leff Sherman & Radler (now Rivkin Radler LLP). Mr. Mohr holds a B.A. from Yale University and a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law.

Dr. Floyd joins Axovant with nearly 20 years of regulatory experience within the pharmaceutical industry. Most recently, he was president of compliance services and chief scientific officer at Dohmen Life Science Services, Inc. He was SVP, US Regulatory Affairs and Clinical Quality Compliance at Lundbeck Inc., Global Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Hospira, Vice President of Worldwide Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance at Cephalon and VP and Global Head of Respiratory, Dermatology, and Tropical Medicines Drug Regulatory Affairs at Novartis and held senior leadership roles at Bristol Myers Squibb, Aventis and Merck Research Laboratories. Dr. Floyd holds a B.S. from the University of Illinois, an M.S. from Tennessee State University, an M.B.A. from St. Joseph's University, Philadelphia, and a Ph.D. from Meharry Medical College, Nashville.

Dr. Templeman joins Axovant with over 25 years of experience across various aspects of pharmaceutical operations. He most recently served as chief operations officer at Graybug Vision, and was senior vice president of pharmaceutical operations and quality at Medivation prior to that. He previously held positions of increasing responsibility at Hospira, Inc., Liquidia Technologies, and the Johnson & Johnson companies Centocor Biologics and Ortho Clinical Diagnostics. Dr. Templeman holds a B.S. from the University of Santa Clara and a Ph.D. from Dartmouth College.

Mr. Wadley joins Axovant with 24 years of commercial leadership experience across sales, marketing, payer access and commercial operations. Mr. Wadley most recently served as senior vice president of sales at Guardant Health and previously was Vice President Oncology Sales, Organized Customers, and Payer at Medivation. He has also held various roles of increasing responsibility at Amgen, Wyeth BioPharma and Genetics Institute. Mr. Wadley holds a B.S. from Arizona State University.

Ms. Bari joins Axovant with over 25 years of U.S. and global communications experience in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries. Most recently, she was vice president of corporate communications at Medivation, and was senior vice president of corporate communications at Pharmacyclics prior to that. She has also held positions of increasing responsibility at Ikaria, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer, in addition to having held senior-level positions at several of the world's leading global communications firms. She began her career at a New York teaching hospital. Ms. Bari holds a B.A. and M.A. from New York University.

In addition, current executive team member Dr. Shankar Ramaswamy will take on a new role at Axovant as vice president, global medical affairs. Dr. Ramaswamy was one of the earliest employees of Axovant and has served the company in multiple roles, including most recently as vice president, medical and scientific communications. He was also involved in the scientific evaluation of new assets for Axovant. Dr. Ramaswamy holds an A.B. from Harvard University and a M.D. from Brown University.

Additional New Hires

Mark A. Demitrack, M.D., joins Axovant as vice president, clinical research with over 25 years of academic and industry experience. Most recently, he was vice president and chief medical officer at Neuronetics. He previously held positions of increasing responsibility at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Lilly Research Laboratories, and University of Michigan. Dr. Demitrack holds a B.A. from Columbia University and an M.D. from the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.

Richard O'Neal, R.Ph., joins Axovant as vice president of payer, access and reimbursement with more than 20 years of experience in U.S. payer and reimbursement. Most recently, he was executive director of national accounts at Amgen. He also held positions of increasing responsibility at Express Scripts, Inc. Prior to that, he was a pharmacy manager at Walgreen's Pharmacy. He holds a B.S. from the St. Louis College of Pharmacy and an M.B.A. from Lindenwood University in Missouri.

About Axovant Sciences

Axovant is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing innovative medicines to broadly address multiple forms of dementia and related neurological disorders. Axovant is developing a pipeline of late- and early-stage product candidates that focuses on the cognitive, functional, and behavioral aspects of debilitating conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia and other neurological disorders. For more information, visit www.axovant.com.

Forward-Looking Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding Axovant's clinical development and regulatory strategy for intepirdine and nelotanserin. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the words "believe," "anticipate," "continue," "estimate," "project," "expect," "plan," "potential," "intend," "will," "would," "could," "should" or the negative or plural of these words or other similar expressions that are predictions or indicate future events, trends or prospects.

Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: risks associated with the success, cost and timing of our product development activities and clinical trials; the approval and commercialization of intepirdine and nelotanserin; and increased regulatory requirements. These statements are subject to the risk that clinical trial data are subject to differing interpretations, and regulatory agencies, medical and scientific experts and others may not share Axovant's views of the clinical study data. In addition, promising interim results or other preliminary analyses do not in any way ensure that later or final results in a clinical trial or in related or similar clinical trials will replicate those interim results. The product discussed is investigational and not approved and there can be no assurance that the clinical program for intepirdine or nelotanserin will be successful in demonstrating safety and/or efficacy, that we will not encounter problems or delays in clinical development, or that any of our product candidates will ever receive regulatory approval or be successfully commercialized.

For a further description of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to Axovant's business in general, see the "Risk Factors" section of our quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 14, 2017, and other filings that Axovant makes with the SEC from time to time. These forward-looking statements are based on information available to Axovant as of the date of this press release and speak only as of the date of this release. Axovant disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements, except as may be required by law.

SOURCE Axovant Sciences

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This opening represents Bank of the West's ongoing nationwide expansion, with Commercial Banking Centers from Los Angeles to New York, and most recently Atlanta.

"The region surrounding Cleveland has a rich history in manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, agriculture and transportation, and is home to more than 100 Fortune 1000 companies. With this new Center, Bank of the West is committed to delivering the solutions that companies in this region need to continue to grow and thrive," said Jean-Marc Torre, Senior Executive Vice President, Head of Commercial Banking Group, Bank of the West. "We help our clients be more agile, efficient and competitive, and the wealth of expertise and knowledge that David brings to the Bank of the West team will help us continue to do so for communities and companies in Cleveland and the surrounding region."

The new Center will be led by David Dannemiller, recently hired as Managing Director at Bank of the West. Prior to this role, Dannemiller was a Senior Vice President & Regional Manager at Fifth Third Bank, leading the bank's Midwest Large Corporate banking practice in Cleveland. Dannemiller also spent 20 years at US Bank, most recently as Senior Vice President of Corporate Banking in Portland, managing the bank's national corporate banking business for the Northwest U.S. Dannemiller will report to John Thurston, Managing Director, Area Manager at Bank of the West.

"This new Center will bring our bankers closer to our clients in the area, providing them with world-class banking execution and global capabilities with a local footprint," added Mark Glasky, Executive Vice President, Head of Commercial Banking Coverage, Bank of the West.

Bank of the West Commercial Banking Group brings a hands-on, customer-centric style of banking with the access to international markets provided by parent company BNP Paribas.

To further serve its business customers, Bank of the West provides tips and insights from Bank of the West's The Blog which is located on blog.bankofthewest.com.

For more information, visit http://www.bankofthewest.com/commercial-banking.

About Bank of the West's Commercial Banking Group

Bank of the West's Commercial Banking Group (CBG) meets the rapidly changing needs of growing middle-market businesses and large corporate segments. CBG helps businesses achieve their unique visions by delivering smart and comprehensive solutions that fuel sustainable growth. With specialized sector expertise, CBG anticipates and tackles the challenges businesses face in industries including agriculture, healthcare, commercial real estate, religious institutions, and technology. CBG offers clients the best of both worlds: the personalized relationships and community ties of a local bank backed by the international capabilities of BNP Paribas, one of the world's strongest financial groups.

About Bank of the West

Bank of the West is a regional financial services company headquartered in San Francisco with $83.8 billion in assets as of March 31, 2017. Founded in 1874, Bank of the West provides a wide range of personal, commercial, wealth management and international banking services through more than 600 branches and offices in 23 states and digital channels. Bank of the West is a subsidiary of BNP Paribas, which has a presence in 74 countries with more than 190,000 employees. To learn more about Bank of the West, visit About Us via BankoftheWest.com.

Deposit and loan products offered by Bank of the West, Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender.  2017 Bank of the West. Doing business in South Dakota as Bank of the West California.

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SOURCE Bank of the West

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TSX, NYSE: BXE

CALGARY, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Bellatrix Exploration Ltd. ("Bellatrix" or the "Company") (TSX, NYSE: BXE) announces that as part of its succession planning process, Mr. Edward J. Brown, the Company's Executive Vice President, Finance & Chief Financial Officer, will be retiring from the Company, effective June 30, 2017, following more than ten years of service with Bellatrix and its predecessors. The Board of Directors of Bellatrix is pleased to announce that Mr. Maxwell (Max) Lof has accepted the position of Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Lof expects to join Bellatrix effective July 1, 2017.

Brent Eshleman, Bellatrix's President & CEO commented, "On behalf of the Board of Directors and management, I want to thank Mr. Brown for his leadership over the years and wish him well in his future endeavors and retirement." Continuing, Mr. Eshleman said, "Max brings a wealth of direct public company and financial executive experience to our Company. His demonstrated leadership and skill set represent a strategic fit as Bellatrix executes on its long term sustainable growth plan."

Mr. Lof is an established financial executive with over 25 years of experience in progressive financial and senior executive roles including 12 years of direct experience as a CFO in both private and publicly traded companies. Most recently, he was the CFO for an energy focused information technology company, and prior thereto, Mr. Lof was co-founder and CFO for both Surge Energy Inc. and Breaker Energy Ltd., both publicly traded western Canadian focused exploration and production companies. Mr. Lof obtained an MBA from the Southern Methodist University and is a CFA charterholder.

Bellatrix Exploration Ltd. is a Western Canadian based growth oriented oil and gas company engaged in the exploration for, and the acquisition, development and production of oil and natural gas reserves in the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan. Common shares of Bellatrix trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange and on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol BXE.

SOURCE Bellatrix Exploration Ltd.

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TORONTO and BOSTON, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Bionik Laboratories Corp. (OTCQX:BNKL) ("Bionik" or the "Company"), a robotics company focused on providing rehabilitation and assistive technology solutions to individuals with neurological and mobility challenges from hospital to home, today announced that Peter Bloch, Chief Executive Officer, will present at the 6th Annual 2017 Marcum MicroCap Conference on Friday, June 16, 2017 at 11:00am ET. The conference will be held at The Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City.

During his presentation, Mr. Bloch will provide a corporate update and discuss Bionik's propriety assistive robotic therapy systems that are commercially available for treatment of stroke and other neurological disorders, as well as new products currently under development.

Management of Bionik Laboratories will be available for one-on-one meetings at the conference on Thursday June 15 and Friday, June 16, 2017. Investors interested in arranging a meeting should contact Amato and Partners, LLC by email: [email protected].

About the Marcum MicroCap Conference

The Marcum MicroCap Conference (www.marcummicrocap.com) is a nationally recognized forum for publicly traded companies with less than $500 million in market capitalization to network with fund managers and high net worth investors who focus on small cap equities. The conference is attended each year by more than 2,000 investors and other participants from every segment of the microcap marketplace, including venture and lower middle-market private equity investors, institutional investors, directors, investment bankers, and buy- and sell-side analysts, as well as senior executive teams from presenting companies and service providers to the microcap marketplace.

The conference is presented by Marcum LLP, a top national accounting and advisory firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). Marcum's Assurance Division provides the most up-to-date service and guidance on SEC accounting and reporting issues. Services include Financial Statement Audits in accordance with PCAOB standards; Tax Compliance and Advisory Services; Due Diligence; Agreed-Upon Procedures and Other Attest Work; Internal Audit Services; Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 Compliance Services and Software; Technical Accounting Assistance; and IPO Assistance. For more information, visit www.marcumllp.com.

About Bionik Laboratories

Bionik Laboratories (OTCQX:BNKL) is a robotics company focused on providing rehabilitation and mobility solutions to individuals with neurological and mobility challenges from hospital to home. The Company has a portfolio of products focused on upper and lower extremity rehabilitation for stroke and other mobility-impaired patients, including three products on the market and four products in varying stages of development. The InMotion Systems  the InMotion ARM, InMotion Wrist, InMotion Hand and InMotion AnkleBot  are designed to provide intelligent, patient-adaptive therapy in a manner that has been clinically verified to maximize neuro-recovery. Bionik is also developing a lower-body exoskeleton, ARKE, designed to allow paraplegics as well as other wheelchair users the ability to rehabilitate through walking. ARKE is designed to continually adapt to a patient's ability and provide real-time feedback to the physiotherapist.

For more information, please visit www.bioniklabs.com and connect with us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Forward-Looking Statements

Any statements contained in this press release that do not describe historical facts may constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, statements regarding (i) the plans and objectives of management for future operations, including plans or objectives relating to the design, development and commercialization of human exoskeletons and other robotic rehabilitation products, (ii) a projection of income (including income/loss), earnings (including earnings/loss) per share, capital expenditures, dividends, capital structure or other financial items, (iii) the Company's future financial performance, and (iv) the assumptions underlying or relating to any statement described in points (i), (ii) or (iii) above. Such forward-looking statements are not meant to predict or guarantee actual results, performance, events or circumstances, and may not be realized because they are based upon the Company's current projections, plans, objectives, beliefs, expectations, estimates and assumptions, and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties and other influences, many of which the Company has no control. Actual results and the timing of certain events and circumstances may differ materially from those described by the forward-looking statements as a result of these risks and uncertainties. Factors that may influence or contribute to the inaccuracy of the forward-looking statements or cause actual results to differ materially from expected or desired results may include, without limitation, the Company's inability to obtain additional financing, the significant length of time and resources associated with the development of our products and related insufficient cash flows and resulting illiquidity, the Company's inability to expand the Company's business, significant government regulation of medical devices and the healthcare industry, lack of product diversification, volatility in the price of the Company's raw materials, and the Company's failure to implement the Company's business plans or strategies. These and other factors are identified and described in more detail in the Company's filings with the SEC. The Company does not undertake to update these forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Bionik Laboratories Corp.

Related Links

http://www.bioniklabs.com


BROOKLINE, Mass., June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The first publicly-funded virtual reality lab in the U.S., the Public VR Lab, has launched a participatory virtual reality (VR) campaign titled Hopes & Dreams. The project allows viewers to access community-based stories inside a virtual reality headset, on the web, and via mobile.

One goal of the Public VR Lab and this project is to reduce the barriers to entry and show that virtual reality content creation can be easily created and shared on the web using WebVR and the programming language A-Frame, an open source tool created by Mozilla.

Participatory community storytelling in the VR / AR space in Boston

Kathy Bisbee, co-founder of the Public VR Lab, said that the accessibility to mass media, and gaining access to equipment and training are issues that traditional community media and VR share. "The Hopes & Dreams project and WebVR help lower the barriers to entry in the virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) space, bringing new creators and storytellers into our community media centers to use our 360 cameras, and take classes in mixed reality content creation," said Bisbee.

"VR/AR is still in its nascent stages, but it's growing fast. Many creators and storytellers don't have the technical tools or the new skills required for this new industry," she said, citing the need for public accessibility to be part of the VR conversation.

Nir Darom, BIG's lead creative designer shared how the storytelling works in VR: "In the Hopes and Dreams project, we wanted to let viewers feel as though they were right there, inside the circle of residents of Brookline sharing their hopes and dreams. Once you're inside the circle, whoever you visually 'click on' begins talking. This immediacy is what makes VR such a great documentary tool."

When Fasility's co-founders heard about the Public VR Lab's mission, they knew WebVR and A-Frame would be a natural fit. "WebVR has the power to transform human storytelling," said Kathy Trogolo, Fasility's CEO. "Creators and storytellers are sharing something precious. Thanks to VR, their words and emotions are almost as impactful as they would be in person; plus, the interactive experience allows the viewer to pause and reflect on the content more deeply. The Public VR Lab and the Hopes & Dreams project is a perfect match with our mission to empower authors to create 3D immersive and interactive webspaces."

Top five reasons WebVR is a key to the future of accessibility in VR/AR

5. Works on the smartphone you already have in your hand

4. Anyone can be an author  no expensive software or hardware needed

3. Incorporates browser's built-in accessibility features

2. Works across mobile, desktop, and VR equipment like HTC Vive and Oculus Rift

1. No app store!

Learn more about using WebVR to create virtual reality content at the free Boston Meetup at the Public VR Lab on June 8th, 2017 in Brookline, MA. Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/web-vr-and-you-tickets-34548544627

To view the Hopes and Dreams Virtual Reality project, visit the site below: http://brooklineinteractive.org/had

About the Public VR Lab

@PublicVRLab www.publicvrlab.com

The Public VR Lab was founded in May 2016 to facilitate dialogue and innovative projects around immersive technologies in the public interest; to support the creation community content, provide education, digital inclusion and public access to VR/AR/360 tools, coding, filming, and headsets, and to serve as an incubator for collaborative and hyperlocal XR experiences. It is a collaborative project co-founded by Kathy Bisbee, Brookline Interactive Group (BIG), and Al Williams, Northampton Community Television (NCTV).

About Fasility

@fasility_vr http://fasility.com/

Fasility is a WebVR consultancy focused on education and user empowerment. Fasility helps their clients create web-based VR experiences that are easy to navigate, impactful, and play back on desktop, cardboard, and high-end VR devices. Established in 2016, Fasility prioritizes design, human factors, and interoperability to reach broad and inclusive audiences. Through studio projects and customized training, Fasility is bringing the power of VR to everyday content creators.

Related Links

http://brooklineinteractive.org/had

www.publicvrlab.com

SOURCE The Public VR Lab at Brookline Interactive Group (BIG)

Related Links

http://www.publicvrlab.com


PORTLAND, Ore., June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Cedexis, the leader in crowd-optimized application and content delivery for clouds, CDNs and data centers, today announced the general availability of its Application Delivery Platform (ADP). Combining an industry leading comprehensive view of Internet traffic from 14 billion real user measurements a day, extensibility of integrations with dozens of leading data sources, and flexibility of customer-controlled algorithms to define traffic rules, the Cedexis ADP uniquely empowers leading Operations teams to centrally manage and optimize dynamic distributed infrastructures.

Traditional networks, based around physical hardware placed in data centers, often rely upon Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) to load balance and manage traffic within a single location. Modern network infrastructure; however, is powered by a mixture of physical data centers and public infrastructure (including clouds, Content Delivery Networks (CDNs), IAAS and PAAS). Such infrastructures demand load balancing and global traffic management that can span many sources and vendors, is dynamic by nature, and makes decisions based not only on the load carried by each server, but also on the real, measurable customer experience.

"Cloud platforms and content delivery networks provide a powerful set of infrastructure tools for developers to use, but historically getting the best use out of them has been extremely tricky," said Ryan Windham, Cedexis CEO. "While each vendor provides tools, ultimately the burden of delivery optimization lies with the individual Operations team. The Cedexis ADP provides objective analyses and recommendations, spanning both the private and public elements of each organization's network, ensuring that customers are served at the highest level of quality, in the most cost-effective manner."

At the core of the Cedexis ADP is the Radar community, which takes more than 14 billion real user (RUM) measurements daily to build an accurate virtual map of the flow of Internet traffic. Analyses of this data feed the Openmix traffic manager, which then ranks the traffic options according to network performance. Meanwhile, a combination of the Cedexis Sonar synthetic monitoring service, and the Fusion integration engine (with its connection to dozens of 3rd party data sources), injects additional intelligence into the decision-making process, ensuring servers are available, and that customers are making the most economic decisions. This results in traffic decisions based on the business needs of the customer, which can include any combination of end-user experience, 3rd party data points, or operational cost considerations.

"Historically, traditional ADC solutions have delivered highly centralized control over traffic flows into and out of corporate data centers to businesses around the world," said Andrew Marshall, Cedexis Director of Product Marketing. "However, the dynamic nature of today's modern, distributed infrastructures requires global automation and control of disparate and distributed virtual resources that are constantly changing. This clearly points to the need for a truly software-defined approach to making delivery decisions. By combining resource-agnostic automation with advanced real user and synthetic monitoring, actionable third party data ingestion, and self-healing network functionality, the Cedexis ADP platform allows DevOps teams to automate and optimize application delivery."

The Cedexis ADP is available immediately. To start exploring the free Radar community reports on CDNs and Clouds, click here. To view a demo of the Cedexis ADP, please click here. To find out more about Cedexis ADP solutions, please visit www.cedexis.com.

About Cedexis

Cedexis provides web-scale, end-user-experience monitoring and real-time traffic routing across multiple clouds and networks. Cedexis Radar crowd sources billions of real user measurements (RUM) a day from a community of 1,000s of popular websites and mobile apps, with traffic routing services based on the insights this data provides, for the best performance, availability, or cost. . Trusted by nearly 1,000 global brands including Accor Hotels, Airbus, Cartier, Comcast, LinkedIn, Mozilla, Nissan and Shutterstock. Cedexis is headquartered in Portland, Oregon with offices in Paris, France, San Francisco, CA, Brooklyn, NY and London, UK.

Press contact (USA-Canada):

Jacqueline Velasco

Lumina Communications on behalf of Cedexis

E-mail: [email protected]

Tel: (408) 680-0564

SOURCE Cedexis

Related Links

http://www.cedexis.com


NEW YORK, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Chic Sketch, the custom illustration mobile app and live events platform is proud to announce an exclusive deal with the world leader in visual communications, Getty Images. The multi-year agreement names Getty Images as Chic Sketch's exclusive media distribution and licensing platform for editorial content.

Chic Sketch illustrations are available on GettyImages.com today and showcase quick fashion sketches of celebrities, award show red carpets, runway looks and other pop-culture events. The agreement creates an entirely new collection category for Getty Images and will make Chic Sketch content available to millions of customers worldwide.

The collection is inclusive of "social media ready" sketches hand illustrated by Chic Sketch's talented fashion illustrators and will include a variety of special collaborations along with other unique content supporting both editorial and royalty free licensing options.

Emily Brickel Edelson, award winning lead fashion illustrator and Co-Founder of Chic Sketch, says, "We are very excited to partner with Getty Images. Now it's even easier for editorials to have a gorgeous piece of art for their story to compliment the photos that are already available on Getty Images."

Jordan Edelson, Co-Founder of Chic Sketch and CEO of parent company, Appetizer Mobile, a mobile digital agency in New York City, says, "Getty Images is the leader in print and online image licensing. Partnering with Getty Images allows for a larger distribution platform to make our editorial sketch content more accessible to print media and online websites. We see this partnership as a vehicle to streamline Chic Sketch content distribution to the masses via Getty Images online editorial database."

In addition to editorial images available on Getty Images, users can have their own custom fashion sketches created for $9.99 through the Chic Sketch iOS and Android mobile app. The brand can be followed on social media via @ChicSketch on Instagram and Facebook.

About Chic Sketch

Chic Sketch (https://www.chicsketch.com ) , named "One of Today's Most Interesting Fashion Apps" by Vogue Espana, is a fashion-forward mobile app and live events service where users upload a photo or strike a pose and receive a custom sketch. Each sketch is drawn by a real fashion illustrator and ready to share on social media. Users can then purchase and print custom sketches on merchandise like a Chic Phone Case and Chic Frame. The app is free to download for iOS and Android. The brand has been featured on Harper's Bazaar, The Today Show, InStyle, Elle and has over 50 global retail partners including Bloomingdales, Kate Spade, Saks, Sephora and more. Chic Sketch was created by parent company Appetizer Mobile LLC (https://www.appetizermobile.com), the premier NYC mobile digital agency.

About Getty Images

Getty Images is the most trusted and esteemed source of visual content in the world, with over 200 million assets including photos, videos, and music, available through its industry-leading sites www.gettyimages.com and www.istockphoto.com. Visit Getty Images at www.gettyimages.com and social media or download the Getty Images app.

Media Contact:

Millan John

+1 855-277-7669 Ext. 310

[email protected]

SOURCE Chic Sketch

Related Links

https://www.chicsketch.com


LAS VEGAS, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Today at HPE Discover Las Vegas 2017, CloudGenera, the industry's best-in-class independent cloud decision engine, announced a strategic relationship with Hewlett Packard Enterprise to bring the CloudAssist platform to North American HPE resellers.

"CloudAssist can help HPE partners to articulate the HPE Synergy advantage in a very tangible way to customers and prospects," said CloudGenera Chief Revenue Officer Jason C. McKinney. "We provide a clear, agnostic tool that outlines the cost savings and price advantages of specific workload placement decisions, giving resellers the information they need about the benefits of on-premise and off-premise solutions."

With CloudAssist, HPE Partners and customers can make educated workload placement decisions for their business based on the simple input of demographics, required service levels, security concerns and application design. A patented algorithm automatically matches individual customer needs to a range of private, hybrid and public cloud solutions. The user is able to visually compare offerings in a "scorecard" that models the specific cost benefits of available workload placement options, including HPE Synergy.

"With CloudAssist we are able to give enterprises an unbiased, agnostic view into what would be best placed in the cloud and what should stay in the datacenter," said Paul Miller, Vice President of Marketing , HPE Software-defined and Cloud Group. "This provides our partner ecosystem with the tools it needs to truly define the cost benefits of HPE Synergy in order to land on their right mix of Hybrid IT solutions. In fact, recent data from the CloudGenera platform showed a 2x advantage over other solutions, quantifying the savings that an enterprise can expect to receive."

CloudGenera automatically pulls data from public cloud service providers and maintains reference architectures for common private cloud deployment models to stay current on what the market can offer. This quantitative data is continually quality assured and supplemented with market research often missed by other manual and automated methods for workload placement to ensure the best possible decisioning between private, hybrid and public cloud solutions.

The CloudGenera CloudAssist platform will be demonstrated at Discover 2017 this week in the Hybrid IT area of the show floor.

About CloudGenera

CloudGenera is the industry's best-in-class independent cloud decision engine, providing vendor agnostic IT analysis that allows organizations to choose the cloud solution that truly fits their needs. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, CloudGenera offers highly visual software that automates cloud decisioning for a clear view of available private, hybrid and public cloud solutions, eliminating costly and error-prone manual cloud evaluation methods and speeding enterprise time to digital transformation. With CloudGenera, some of the world's largest resellers have transformed and extended their businesses into cloud brokerage. For more information, please visit www.cloudgenera.com/subscribe.

Media Contact:

Katherine Hyman

McGrath/Power Public Relations for CloudGenera

408-727-0351

[email protected]

SOURCE CloudGenera
ST. LOUIS, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Connectria Hosting, a global cloud services provider and founder of the No Jerks Allowed movement, announced today that it has been named to the CRN 2017 Solution Provider 500 list. CRN, a brand of The Channel Company, annually ranks the largest technology integrators, solution providers and IT consultants in North America by revenue.

The Solution Provider 500 is CRN's predominant channel partner award list, serving as the industry standard for recognition of the most successful solution provider companies in the channel since 1995. This is the sixth consecutive year Connectria has been named to the Solution Provider 500 list.

"We are proud to be named to CRN's Solution Provider list for the sixth year in a row," noted Rich Waidmann, Connectria President and CEO. "As a Technology Solution Provider for over twenty years, Connectria has been a consistent force within the industry and a great complement to resellers, integrators and consultants who are looking for a highly skilled and trustworthy partner to deliver comprehensive cloud solutions to their customers."

"CRN's Solution Provider 500 list spotlights the North American IT channel partner organizations that have earned the highest revenue over the past year, providing a valuable resource to vendors looking for top solution providers to partner with," said Robert Faletra, CEO of The Channel Company. "The companies on this year's list represent an incredible, combined revenue of over $318 billion, a sum that attests to their success in staying ahead of rapidly changing market demands. We extend our sincerest congratulations to each of these top-performing solution providers and look forward to their future pursuits and successes."

The complete 2017 Solution Provider 500 list will be available online at www.crn.com/sp500 and a sample from the list will be featured in the June issue of CRN Magazine.

About the Channel Company

The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequaled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelco.com

About Connectria Hosting

Since 1996, Connectria (connectria.com) has provided award-winning cloud hosting, remote monitoring and cloud security for more than 1,000 customers in over 30 countries worldwide. At the core of Connectria is our No Jerks Allowed company philosophy. As The Jerk Free Company, we've established a unique culture where every employee goes "the extra mile" to take care of our customers. Being The Jerk Free Company extends beyond our people too. We make it easy to do business with us through flexible terms, scalable solutions and straight-forward pricing to serve the technology needs of large and small organizations alike.

SOURCE Connectria Hosting

Related Links

http://www.connectria.com


NOVI, Mich., June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Cooper-Standard Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CPS) today announced the appointments of Jonathan P. Banas as executive vice president and chief financial officer (CFO) and Peter C. Brusate as vice president, corporate controller and chief accounting officer, effective June 7, 2017.

Banas replaces Matthew W. Hardt, age 49, who has resigned from his position as executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective June 7, 2017, to pursue another opportunity. Hardt will provide transition services through September 30, 2017.

As CFO, Banas, age 46, will be located at the Company's world headquarters in Novi, Mich. and report directly to Jeffrey S. Edwards, chairman and CEO. He will have primary responsibility for directing the Company's corporate finance team, including tax, treasury, internal audit, and financial planning and analysis. He will also have oversight responsibility for investor relations.

In the position of vice president, corporate controller and chief accounting officer, Brusate, age 41, will oversee all aspects of Cooper Standard's accounting function including: ensuring regulatory compliance; setting and enforcing accounting policies; maintaining financial records; and developing world-class financial best practices. Based at Cooper Standard's world headquarters in Novi, Brusate will report to Banas.

"The ability to promote and smoothly transition Jon Banas and Peter Brusate into their new roles is a testament to our robust succession process," said Edwards. "We also thank Matt Hardt for his contributions and agreement to stay on to assist with the transition."

Banas has more than 22 years of diverse, global experience in corporate finance and public accounting. He has been with Cooper Standard since 2015, serving as vice president, corporate controller and chief accounting officer. Prior to joining the Company, Banas spent 11 years at ZF TRW (formerly TRW Automotive Holdings Corp.) in Livonia, Mich., where he served in roles of increasing responsibility. Most recently, he was director, financial reporting. He joined TRW as senior manager, financial reporting and technical accounting in 2004. He previously held accounting and auditing positions at Hayes Lemmerz International, Inc. in Northville, Mich., and KPMG LLP in Detroit. He also served as president of a financial management and accounting services firm, 664 Consulting Group, PC, in Plymouth, Mich.

Banas earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting at Wayne State University in Detroit and a Master of Business Administration degree in finance and accounting from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institute of CPAs.

Brusate has 19 years of diverse, global experience in internal audit, controllership, treasury and public accounting. He has been with Cooper Standard since 2015, serving as vice president, internal audit and compliance. Prior to joining the Company, Brusate spent 14 years at Delphi Automotive in a series of financial positions of increasing responsibility. Most recently, he was controller for Delphi's Asia Pacific business based in Shanghai, China. Previously, he was director, internal audit with responsibility for global Sarbanes-Oxley compliance and information technology audit, as well as audit activities for the Americas region. Earlier, he was treasurer  Europe, Middle East & Africa based in Paris, France. He joined Delphi in 2001 after three years with KPMG LLP in Detroit.

Brusate earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting at Northwood University in Midland, Mich., and a Master of Business Administration degree in integrative management from Michigan State University in East Lansing. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Treasury Professional.

About Cooper Standard

Cooper Standard, headquartered in Novi, Mich., is a leading global supplier of systems and components for the automotive industry. Products include rubber and plastic sealing, fuel and brake lines, fluid transfer hoses and anti-vibration systems. Cooper Standard employs approximately 30,000 people globally and operates in 20 countries around the world. For more information, please visit www.cooperstandard.com.

CPS_G

Contact:

Sharon S. Wenzl

Cooper Standard

(248) 596-6211

[email protected]

SOURCE Cooper-Standard Holdings Inc.

Related Links

http://www.cooperstandard.com


WASHINGTON, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Coptic Solidarity will host its 8th Annual Conference in Washington, DC on June 15-16, 2017. The conference theme is Egypt: Combating Terrorism Without Sacrificing Civil Rights and is the leading annual policy event in Washington DC on Coptic issues bringing together top experts to share their views and recommendations.



Confirmed speakers include U.S. and foreign legislators, government officials, policy makers, public figures, think tanks, academics, media personalities, authors, NGO's and advocates. View confirmed speaker list and program.



Egypt is undergoing a formidable crackdown on freedom of the press, freedom of association, among all other major civil liberties under the guise of combating terrorism. The homegrown attacks against Copts by Islamists in Egypt have risen to unprecedented levels in the past two years including bombing of St. Peter and Paul Church, the twin Palm Sunday bombings in Tanta and Alexandria, and most recently the bus attack on Coptic pilgrims journeying to St. Samuel Monastery.



Egypt has signaled its eagerness to form a strong relationship with the new administration. This year, Coptic Solidarity will focus on the opportunity for the US to reset its relations with Egypt making human rights a high priority while simultaneously supporting Egypt's combat against terrorism.

Coptic Solidarity looks forward to a new approach towards Egypt by president's Trump administration that would strengthen collaboration in combating terrorism while simultaneously endorsing a secular civil society, individual liberties, religious freedom and equal civil rights for all Egyptians. This approach recognizes that only a forward-looking Egypt can play a positive role in combating and defeating the extremist Islamist ideology that underlie terrorism and improving the stability of the region.

The Annual Policy Day will be hosted in the House Visitor Center on June 15th in room 201 from 9 AM  5PM and the conference will continue its second day at the Key Bridge Marriott Hotel on June 16th from 9AM  4PM, for a full day program. Register today.

A silent auction and gala dinner celebrating Egyptian and Coptic culture will be hosted on June 16 starting at 5PM at the Key Bridge Marriott Hotel. The dinner with keynote speaker U.S. Ambassador John Bolton will start at 6 PM. Tickets can be purchased on the website for $125 per person.

The conference is open to the general public and press.

Coptic Solidarity is an organization seeking to help minorities, particularly the Copts, of Egypt and we support those in Egypt working for democracy, freedom, and the protection of the fundamental rights of all Egyptian citizens. It advocates in cooperation with the affiliated organizations in Canada and in Europe (Solidarite Copte). For more information, contact Lindsay Vessey at 801-512-1713 or [email protected]

SOURCE Coptic Solidarity

Related Links

http://Copticsolidarity.org


SAN JOSE, Costa Rica, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- For the first time in its history, the Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT) has established a partnership with the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and CNN International to launch a new campaign: "essential Costa Rica. My Choice, Naturally."

This new advertising campaign will go beyond promoting traditional products, which has been the predominant approach of the past. Mauricio Ventura, Costa Rica's Minister of Tourism, explains that while the responsibility of promoting the image of the country as a tourist destination rests on the marketing and advertising actions carried out by the ICT, it was time to expand their strategies beyond the norm.

"We are making a breakthrough with this unique approach. It will be executed on the most diverse platforms, where we'll reach a wide range of markets like never before. 'essential Costa Rica. My Choice, Naturally' is a sensorial, inspiring and aspirational campaign that shows Costa Rica as a destination that generates authentic travel experiences, which create a sense of well-being in visitors," explained Ventura.

The initiative launched on social media, digital and television platforms in mainly five markets. For the first time ever, Costa Rica will have an advertising campaign of this magnitude in Europe, specifically England and France, as well as in Mexico, Canada and the United States. According to Alejandro Castro, ICT Marketing Director, the markets were chosen for their importance in accounting for the largest number of international arrivals into the country.

In addition, the ICT in conjunction with CNN have produced a digital content hub, which will house feature articles, audio and images. New content will roll out each month for the duration of the campaign. Told through the eyes of a "social explorer," audiences will be taken on a documented personal journey through Costa Rica to discover what makes it so special. Videos will highlight the host's journey as they speak to locals, try typical cuisine and participate in wellness and adventure activities.

The campaign's goal is to redefine its identity and validate the position that Costa Rica is a complete destination by introducing a concept from the personal perspective of a tourist. According to Anita Mendiratta, Special Advisor to the UNWTO Secretary General, "it answers the age-old question: Where should I go on vacation? By using a declaration of trust, through a natural, cultural and personal connection, the choice to make is made obvious."

Each of the ten videos planned will highlight a different part of Costa Rica and invite users to learn more about the lifestyle that makes Costa Rica the happiest place on earth. Beyond a creative concept, UNWTO, CNN International, CNN Task (a taskforce of more than 80 experts in brands and international tourism), and the ICT identified that Costa Rica possesses what is necessary to differentiate itself from the rest of the world: an authentic product, thanks to their Model of Sustainable Tourism Development, which is a consolidated brand with its own global recognition.

Sustainability is not only engraved in Costa Rica's infrastructure, culture and tourism offerings, it's a way of life for its people. With a goal to be the first carbon neutral country in the world by 2021, sustainable practices are observed in every region of the country, across all industries, adopted by all citizens and embraced by visitors. This new campaign takes Costa Rica tourism to another level by positioning the country as a destination of unique experiences that celebrate the local lifestyle and improves quality of life.

CNN International Vice President Corina Keller said: "CNN's unprecedented reach to more than 450 million homes and 178 million unique monthly users provides our travel partners a global platform to tell their authentic stories efficiently and effectively. It's been an honor and pleasure working with the government of Costa Rica and the ICTto carry out this incredible project."

Link to the video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9g7-4gf76s4&

For more information on Costa Rica, visit www.visitcostarica.com

About Costa Rica

Nestled between Nicaragua and Panama, Costa Rica offers visitors an abundance of unique wildlife, landscapes and climates -- meaning a trip to this Central American country is anything but run-of-the-mill. The country proudly shelters approximately five percent of the known biodiversity in the world and has become a global leader in sustainable practices. Visitors to Costa Rica enjoy a highly organized tourism infrastructure offering a broad terrain of activities and accommodations.

About Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT)

Established in 1955, the Costa Rica Tourism Board (the ICT), alongside its partners in the private sector, spearheads the vital task of regulating and promoting Costa Rica's extensive tourism offerings.

SOURCE Costa Rica Tourism Board
Court Innovations expands access to the courts for citizens who cannot miss work or family care to attend court, or who fear coming to court because of their race, ethnicity, or immigration status. With its Matterhorn product, anyone can use a mobile phone or computer to resolve and negotiate infractions and lesser misdemeanors. Citizens use Matterhorn to resolve traffic and parking tickets, warrants, family court compliance, plea online, or file a small claims civil case.

"As we roll out our Matterhorn product nationally, it's exciting to see such broad interest in our work to make justice accessible to everyone." said Court Innovations CEO MJ Cartwright. "Through all our funders, we pulled in investment from current partners and attracted new supporters from 48 states and Washington, D.C."

Almost 40% of citizens who have used the system say they could not have come to court in person. For courts, Matterhorn's online case resolution saves time, resources and money, ultimately leading to increased efficiency. Courts case closure times dropped from 50 days to 17 days, and staff time/case dropped from an average of 2.5 hours to less than 30 minutes with Matterhorn. Learn more about courts' outcomes here: getmatterhorn.com/case-studies/

According to the Honorable Chief Judge Brigette Officer-Hill of the Michigan 30th District Court in Highland Park, "It allows officers to stay on the streets. It allows citizens to stay at home, or at work. It allows the judiciary to deal with cases that demand you come to court."

Matterhorn is in twenty-three courts in Michigan and Ohio, and is expanding to Arkansas this summer. With this funding, Court Innovations will continue to expand nationally. It has hired business development and marketing staff in Michigan and on the West Coast. Additionally, it continues to invest in its technology to make additional services available to courts and citizens.

About Court Innovations

Based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Court Innovations is the first startup out of the University of Michigan Law School. Matterhorn allows courts to handle many high-volume infractions completely online, saving citizens and courts time and money. Rather than limiting judicial or law enforcement discretion, Matterhorn enables decision-makers to resolve cases more efficiently and equitably. Its 24/7 access and education component empowers defendants to work with the court to resolve minor violations informally, and at a convenient time. For more information, visit getmatterhorn.com.

Contact

Dunrie Greiling

734-276-3873

[email protected]

SOURCE Court Innovations
WASHINGTON, June 5, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Nicos Anastasiades, President of the Republic of Cyprus, delivered a major address to the AJC Global Forum tonight. He lauded the "unprecedented level of cooperation" between his nation and Israel, as well as the close ties with the American Jewish community.

"Any rhetoric that in any way turns against Israel, or the Jewish people, any hint alluding to 'Boycott-Divestment-Sanctions', and any trace of incitement, is deplorable," Anastasiades declared. "Make no mistake. Cyprus condemns it fully and unequivocally."

"We are deeply honored to host President Anastasiades at this year's Global Forum," said AJC CEO David Harris, who began visiting Cyprus in the 1980s. "Cyprus is a valuable, indeed essential, partner of Israel, the United States, and the Jewish people, and President Anastasiades has proved time and again his deep and abiding friendship."

The president reaffirmed that "the Jewish people have the right to live in their own homeland and enjoy good relations with their neighbors."

He spoke of the common dangers the two countries face from "Islamic fundamentalism," international terrorism, and Iran's nuclear program, and made clear that Cyprus "will continue to be very vocal in condemning any destabilizing regional action."

He also condemned rising anti-Semitism. "No one can underestimate the serious repercussions it has on our democracy, security, and safety  in Europe, the United States, and beyond," he said. "Cyprus will continue to be an uncompromising shield against anti-Semitism." He specifically pointed out that Cypriot mayors were well represented among the signatories of AJC's "Mayors United Against Anti-Semitism" statement issued in 2016.

"We are amongst true friends of Cyprus tonight. And we are grateful," said Anastasiades, who last September received AJC's Light Unto the Nations Award, and in February in Nicosia hosted an AJC leadership delegation.

"AJC was one of the pioneers, one of the visionaries, who, long before others, realized the potential of Cyprus's partnership with Israel," he said. "AJC understood the incredible promise that our partnership with Israel holds  not only for Cyprus and Israel, but also for the United States, for transatlantic relations, and for the region."

Anastasiades also praised AJC for its "leading role" in the creation of the Hellenic-Israeli Alliance in the U.S. Congress in 2013, which emphasizes what he called "the added value of the partnership among Cyprus, Israel, Greece, and the United States." He noted that this quadrilateral bond expresses both shared cultural and political values and a common strategic vision in "the vital and volatile Eastern Mediterranean."

The Cypriot President spoke of the long shared history of Cyprus and the Jewish people going back centuries, the sympathy that Cypriots showed for Jewish refugees from the Holocaust who were interned in camps in Cyprus, and the help Cypriot and Israeli firefighters recently gave each other in battling serious forest fires in the two countries.

He also expressed the hope that new discoveries of hydrocarbon reserves in the Eastern Mediterranean would be developed jointly with Israel, helping both achieve energy independence.

"These ties have evolved into an unprecedented level of cooperation between the two countries in recent years, based on a common vision for a stable and secure future in a region where peace and stability still remain an elusive commodity," he said. "We need each other, perhaps like never before. Cyprus will stand by Israel."

The AJC Global Forum, taking place June 4-6 in Washington, D.C., is the advocacy organization's signature annual event, bringing together more than 2,500 participants from across the United States and 70 countries around the world.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee

Related Links

http://www.ajc.org


NEW YORK, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Daisy Daisy Digital is offering NYC high school students the opportunity to receive more than $50,000 in development, design and strategy at no cost to transform their startup dream into a live product.

"Empire City Hackathon is more than just an opportunity to give back to the community that has given us so much. It demonstrates that while means may be concentrated at the top, dreams aren't. Everyone has a world-changing idea somewhere in their mind."

- Jeff Myers (Co-Founder of Daisy Daisy)

RULES:

There are only two rules:

Entry is only open to residents of NYC's five boroughs who are currently enrolled in high school. There is no age or citizenship requirement.

Ideas can span any industry or platform. Mobile. Wearables. Web. IoT. Games. Be creative. We love hearing about spaces that we have no experience in.

PERKS:

Design - The Daisy design team will consult with the winner to design a beautiful, professional application and teach them the fundamentals of application design at no cost.

Development - Daisy engineers will architect and code the winner's application at no cost while teaching them the fundamentals of software architecture.

Strategy - Daisy will help the winner to navigate the legal, accounting and regulatory overhead of getting their app in front of users.

Advisory - Daisy will advise the winner on an ongoing basis as they transform their project from an app into a business.

HOW TO APPLY:

Once applicants have read all the rules above, Daisy invites them to apply by emailing a 200 - 500 word essay explanation of themselves, their background, their idea and their motivation for building it.

Applications must be received by September 1, 2017 and can be submitted in English or Spanish. Once the application essay is ready, applicants can send it to [email protected].

For more information please visit http://daisydaisy.com/hack.

DAISY DAISY is a Brooklyn-based product development agency focused on building software that leaves an impact on users, communities and industries. Their work spans dozens of clients, has captivated many millions of users and has been featured in virtually every major news outlet.

Daisy Daisy Digital LLC

Ryan Belanger-Saleh, Co-Founder

203-722-5218

[email protected]

daisydaisy.com

SOURCE Daisy Daisy Digital
CHONGQING, China, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Dana Incorporated (NYSE: DAN) today broke ground on a new 7,500 square-meter (80,000 square-foot) manufacturing and assembly facility in Chongqing, China, that will produce advanced driveline products for the Chinese market.

Scheduled to open in late 2018, the facility will produce final drive units featuring integrated Spicer SmartConnect disconnecting all-wheel-drive (AWD) systems. This technology improves the fuel efficiency of SUVs, crossovers, and passenger vehicles.

Dana is investing approximately US$23 million (CNY160 million) on the new operation, which will employ approximately 130 associates when full production is reached in 2020.

The plant is located in the Yufu Industrial Development Zone, where it is receiving substantial financial incentives, site development, and other support from the Chongqing Liangjiang New Area Administrative Committee. It will be Dana's 15th facility in China and its first in Chongqing.

"Dana is excited to be bringing our latest all-wheel-drive technology to China while expanding our footprint into Chongqing for the first time. This reflects our ongoing strategic commitment to the China market," said Bob Pyle, president of Dana Light Vehicle Driveline Technologies. "We are building this advanced facility in Chongqing to take advantage of the skilled local workforce, an established network of proven suppliers, and highly efficient transportation channels  all backed by the visionary support from local government entities."

Advanced Technology to Improve Fuel Efficiency

Currently in pre-production testing, Spicer SmartConnect technology helps global vehicle manufacturers address evolving emissions regulations while maintaining the safety and control that are key advantages for AWD vehicles.

The Spicer SmartConnect system configures the drivetrain to work in fuel-efficient front-wheel-drive mode for the vast majority of driving conditions. It automatically and seamlessly converts to AWD when it detects slipping at the wheel, such as during rapid acceleration or in icy and other low-traction conditions.

The introduction of disconnecting AWD technology in China illustrates how Dana is addressing its enterprise strategy  titled "Shifting into Overdrive"  across multiple dimensions. The Spicer SmartConnect system helps to expand global markets by driving disproportionate growth in the rapidly changing Asia-Pacific region while commercializing new technologies that address customer and market needs.

It also demonstrates how Dana supports the modernization strategies behind the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's "Made in China 2025" initiative, as well as the 13th Five-Year Plan.

"Evolving concepts of vehicle ownership and operation are quickly changing the nature of mobility and generating high demand for innovations," said Antonio Valencia, president of Dana China. "The Spicer SmartConnect system is the latest in a series of advanced technologies from Dana that help manufacturers address current market trends while anticipating the ongoing transformation of the vehicle industry."

The Spicer SmartConnect used in this program will be tested and validated at Dana's technical center in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province. Fully integrated into Dana's global research and development system, the Dana China Technical Center has been equipped to support new products from concept development through launch.

Inaugurated in 2013, this facility has more than 50 engineers who facilitate the delivery of new product offerings for China and the rest of the region and adapt technologies developed elsewhere in the world for the specific needs of the China market.

Dana currently has approximately 6,000 employees in China, including those working for operations in which Dana holds a half interest.

About Dana Incorporated

Dana is a world leader in highly engineered solutions for improving the efficiency, performance, and sustainability of powered vehicles and machinery. Dana supports the passenger vehicle, commercial truck, and off-highway markets, as well as industrial and stationary equipment applications. Founded in 1904, Dana employs approximately 27,000 people in 34 countries on six continents who are committed to delivering long-term value to customers. The company reported sales of more than $5.8 billion in 2016. For more information, please visit dana.com.

SOURCE Dana Incorporated

Related Links

http://www.dana.com


Company recognized as one of the highest-scoring businesses with standout employee engagement

CHICAGO, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Devbridge Group, a Chicago-based software design and development company, on June 1 was named one of Inc. magazine's Best Workplaces 2017, the publication's second annual ranking in the fast-growing private company sector. Out of thousands of applicants nationwide, Inc. singled out just over 200 winning companies.

Built in partnership with employee engagement and work culture experts Quantum Workplace of Omaha, Nebraska, Inc.'s Best Workplaces list is a magnifying glass on how innovative companies can truly raise the bar in hiring and retaining the best talent.

"Creating an outstanding work culture has never been based on employee perks or the latest fads at Devbridge Group," said Aurimas Adomavicius, president of Devbridge Group. "To us, it's always been about creating an environment where employees feel valued, empowered, and work tirelessly toward a common goalmaking great digital products."

The survey results echo Adomavicius' statement. Inc. magazine says it's more than good pay and good perks that make workers want to be part of a company. It's also about having a clear purpose, a sense of humor, and leadership that makes the two work together.

Key survey themes that correlated to areas where Devbridge Group scored high include:

Strong company cultures breed stunning individual and team performance.

breed stunning individual and team performance. When employees feel valued by their organization, they are far more likely to be engaged. This single factor proved to be one of the largest drivers of employee engagement.

by their organization, they are far more likely to be engaged. This single factor proved to be one of the largest drivers of employee engagement. Workers aren't mesmerized by whatever giveaways seem to be the latest fadbe it gourmet lunches or beer fridges. They prefer to be in environments where their opinions count.

To be considered for Inc.'s Best Workplaces, applicants were assessed on the basis of benefits offered and employees' responses to a unique, 30-question survey fielded by each of the applying companies. For its results to qualify, each company had to achieve a statistically significant response rate based on employee count and score at the very top of their peer group to make the cut.

"Hats are off to the winners. They all excelled at engaging their workers, making them feel appreciated, and aligning them behind a mission. And remember, that's not just our opinion: The employees told us that themselves," said Eric Schurenberg, Inc.'s president and editor in chief.

About Devbridge Group LLC

Devbridge Group (www.devbridge.com) is a software design and development company that partners with FORTUNE 1000 enterprises in Financial Services, Manufacturing and Technology to accelerate digital products to market. Founded on the belief that software shouldn't be mediocre, the company creates superior products that address clients' business challenges through product thinking and agile delivery. Devbridge Group has offices in the United States, Canada, Lithuania, and the Ukraine.

Media Contact

Amanda Beto

Devbridge Group

312.675.9221 (m)

[email protected]

SOURCE Devbridge Group

Related Links

http://www.devbridge.com


"This gala more than any event reveals the consistent passion and love of the diamond industry to help improve the quality of life of millions of people internationally," emphasized Dr. Benjamin Chavis, co-founder of D.E.F.

Kansas City, Missouri-based Helzberg Diamonds was awarded the Diamonds Do Good Corporate Legacy of Philanthropy Award for their outstanding contributions in bettering communities across the United States. "We are in the business of celebrating love," says Beryl Raff, CEO of Helzberg Diamonds. "As a business we share this love by building up communities across the nation."

An award winning actor and global philanthropist, David Oyelowo was awarded the Diamonds Do Good International Vanguard Award for his dedication to empower communities in Africa. "Enabling girls to be educated will change the dynamics of persistent poverty in countries like Nigeria where out of a staggering 10.5 million out-of-school children, the majority are girls," says Oyelowo.

Graca Machel, former first Lady of Mozambiqu and South Africa and and the widow of former South Africa President Nelson Mandela, was awarded the Diamonds Do Good Global Humanitarian Award for her international leadership to transform the lives of women and girls throughout the world. Says Machel, "I am incredibly humbled to represent the millions of minds, hearts and hands that have sown seeds over the years to empower Africa's women and children. I graciously receive this Global Humanitarian Award from the Diamond Empowerment Fund on behalf of those who have worked tirelessly with me to accelerate social change."

Sadhvi Shilapiji, headmaster of Veerayatan's colleges based in Gujarat, India, also was a guest presenter who thanked D.E.F for supporting the education of the youth of India.

The event marked the 10th anniversary of the Diamond Empowerment Fund which was co-founded by Russell Simmons, visionary and business mogul, after inspiration and encouragement from Nelson Mandela and Graca Machel in their home in Mozambique.

"Without the help of the Botswana Top Achievers program and the Diamond Empowerment Fund I would not have been able to be pursuing my PH.D in geodetic science which involves using satellite positions to find gravity over the earth," said student scholar Nlingi Habana.

Lead sponsors of the Diamonds Do Good Gala included Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group, the De Beers Group of Companies, Signet Jewelers (Kays Jewelers, Jared the Galleria of Jewelry, Zales Jewelers), Le Vian and Rosy Blue.

About the Diamond Empowerment Fund:

The Diamond Empowerment Fund is a global non-profit based in New York City to empower youth from diamond communities around the world through access to higher education. Its beneficiaries include: Veerayatan, based in Gujarat, India is a model for encouraging development of responsible citizens who are educated, have strong integrity and a motivation to give back to their community. D.E.F supports students attending its colleges of Pharmacy, Business Administration and Engineering; The Botswana Top Achievers program provides the top high school students countrywide the opportunity to study at a university of their choice worldwide. Graduates then return to Botswana to contribute to its economic, social and political development; The African Leadership Academy, a university preparatory school in Johannesburg, South Africa, founded on the belief that ethical leadership is the key to sustainable development on the continent and drawing students from all 54 countries in Africa. To find out more information visit http://www.diamondempowerment.org.

SOURCE Diamond Empowerment Fund

Related Links

http://www.diamondempowerment.org


MOSCOW, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- DOC+, the largest funded digital health company in Russia developing an innovative digital clinic without branches, today announced that it has raised $5M in Round B funding from existing investors  Yandex internet company and Baring Vostok venture fund.

The new capital will be used to develop advanced digital health services, as well as to expand the core business of on-demand visits and telemedicine consultations. Launched in 2015, DOC+ previously raised seed funding from business angels and $5.5M in round A investment from Yandex and Baring Vostok. Earlier this week, Russia's Yandex announced "Yandex.Health"  a telemed service providing medical consultations online where DOC+ is an exclusive partner.

DOC+ provides on-demand doctor services in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, with another Russian city to follow in 2018. Users can book a visit via the call centre, the mobile app, or the website. The closest doctor available picks up the order and visits a patient at home. The services include: consultations, prescriptions, sick notes, medical tests, ECG, referrals to MRI, and other advanced diagnostics. DOC+ also offers personalized services like digital health records and personal doctor subscriptions.

DOC+ does not simply connect doctors and patients. It is a fully functioning clinic with applicable medical licenses and staff. The company works with 300 highly qualified therapists (GPs), pediatricians, otolaryngologists, neurologists and nurses, and features a quality rate of 4.9 out of 5. Prices vary from 1200 to 3000 roubles ($21 - $53) per visit.

Additionally, DOC+ offers telemedicine consultations via chat, audio- or video calls for Russian-speaking users. With the new telemedicine legislation approved by the Russian government and awaiting the Parliament's review, DOC+ aims to expand the range of services. DOC+ telemed services are priced at 100 roubles ($1.80) for the first and 499 roubles ($8.8) for a follow-up doctor-patient chat. Although still in a test phase, dozens of consultations are provided daily; the number is expected to grow to hundreds by the end of 2017.

About DOC+

Founded in August 2015, DOC+ is the largest funded digital health company in Russia, top-20 in Europe and top-35 worldwide, excluding the USA. DOC+ provides on-demand doctor visits and telemedicine consultations. The company is disrupting Russian private healthcare by building an innovative digital clinic on a user's smartphone.

For more information, please visit: https://docplus.ru/

CONTACTS

[email protected]

SOURCE DOC+

Related Links

https://docplus.ru


The most dramatic change at Park Tower will be the modernization of the 475,000 square foot office building's facade. In addition to painting the exterior a lighter color, a new and dramatic entrance will feature a 'Light Box' on one of the most prominent corners of Tampa. The building's amenities will be also upgraded with a striking new lobby. "The renovation of Park Tower will use glass and light to reposition this prominent historic structure as one of the most notable and exciting buildings on Tampa's skyline," stated James Farrar, Chief Executive Officer of City Office.

Internationally-renowned architect Gensler is the designer for both the exterior facade and the building amenities. The updated design extends a brand to Park Tower that will create a Class-A experience that persists from the sidewalk to the tenant door. "The opportunity to renovate our city's original high rise is a real honor, and we're excited to reposition Park Tower as one of the premium assets in the downtown core," stated Bert Oliva, Principal and Managing Director of Gensler's Tampa office.

"We are taking full advantage of Park Tower's location across from the Tampa Riverwalk," said Larry Feldman, Chief Executive of Feldman Equities LLC. "The removal of high perimeter knee walls and installation of stunning glass storefronts with bright lighting will immediately announce the entrance and make it inviting to the streetscape."

In addition to exterior renovations, plans include the addition of new tenant amenities, including:

High-end lobby cafe with seating

6th floor "Chill Zone" tenant lounge

All new fitness center and yoga room with spin bikes

Shared tenant conference room

New lobby concierge desk

Renovated parking garage with new LED lighting

Mike DiBlasi, Feldman Equities Executive Vice President for Leasing and Marketing, expects the renovations and spectacular views of Hillsborough Bay, the Hillsborough River and the Downtown Tampa skyline to assist with the quick lease-up of the building's remaining office space. "We have had tremendous success at leasing up our past projects after completing our renovation plans, and we expect that Park Tower will be similarly successful. Park Tower currently has full floor availabilities, including a full floor of just-built, move-in ready spec suites. This is a great opportunity for tenants of all sizes to move into the heart of downtown," said DiBlasi.

www.parktowertampa.com

About City Office REIT, Inc.

City Office REIT is an internally-managed real estate company focused on acquiring, owning and operating high-quality office properties located in leading markets in the Southern and Western United States. City Office currently owns or has a controlling interest in 4.4 million square feet of office properties. Additional information about City Office is available on the Company's website at www.cityofficereit.com. The Company has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

About Feldman Equities, LLC

Over the past 30 years, Feldman Equities has developed or acquired over eleven million square feet of office and retail properties with an aggregate value in excess of $3 billion. Feldman is a "re-inventor" of the office building and specializes in turning around distressed office assets. Feldman Equities and its partners own and manage 1.6 million square feet of office space in downtown Tampa and downtown St. Petersburg. www.feldmanequities.com

About Tower Realty Partners

Tower Realty Partners is a privately held, commercial real estate investment & management company based in Orlando, Florida. Founded in 1987 by principals Cliff Stein & Reid Berman, Tower Realty partners has been involved in the acquisition, leasing, and management of over 20 million square feet of real estate totaling in excess of $1.6 billion in transactions. www.towerrealtypartners.com

Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other federal securities laws. All statements that are not statements of historical facts are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, the Company's ability to source, acquire and close on properties on the terms it expects, or at all; the Company's expectations and forecasts of its cash flows and future leasing activity at its current and future properties, and the Company's ability to accurately model the income yield, capitalization rate, and other financial metrics used to evaluate its properties. These and other material risks are described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 and any other documents filed by the Company from time to time, which are available from the Company and from the SEC, and you should read and understand these risks when evaluating any forward-looking statement. The Company does not have any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

Contact

City Office REIT, Inc.

Anthony Maretic, CFO

+1-604-806-3366

[email protected]

SOURCE City Office REIT, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.cityofficereit.com


MILWAUKEE, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- EnSync, Inc. (NYSE MKT: ESNC), dba EnSync Energy Systems, a leading developer of innovative distributed energy resource (DER) systems and internet of energy (IOE) control platforms for the utility, commercial, industrial and multi-tenant building markets, today announces the sale of a power purchase agreement (PPA) for a Hawaii-based food processing company. Upon completion, the DER system will provide sustainability and electrical resiliency by adding solar plus storage at the processor's site, while also supporting participation and monetization of grid services with the local utility.

The system will have more than 400 kilowatts of solar PV onsite supported by two EnSync Energy SuperModule systems that includes 850 kilowatt-hours of hybrid energy storage, a Matrix Energy Management system and DER Flex IOE technology in 20-foot containers which can quickly be placed and connected at the site. Revenue from the sale will be recognized upon completion of project milestones over the next several quarters.

"This opportunity, developed by EnSync Energy's project development subsidiary Holu Energy in Honolulu, is intended to meet the processor's desire for uninterruptable power and long term energy resilience, ensuring reliable operation of their refrigeration assets, as well as other critical operations at the food processing and distribution facility," said Brad Hansen, CEO of EnSync Energy. "We believe this project further validates our status as a pioneer developer of solar plus energy storage DERs in commercial and industrial buildings in Hawaii, including being the first there to commercialize the use of power purchase agreements for these systems."

When needed, the energy stored in the batteries is designed to support the company's critical operations, such as processing and refrigeration, at full operation for several hours. The system will also allow the company to enroll in Hawaiian Electric Company's upcoming grid services program in return for compensation from the utility for operating the system in a manner that concurrently supports the grid. To prepare the facility for these programs the system will include EnSync Energy's DER Flex IOE technology which permits fully integrated DER to utility connectivity. Specifically, DER Flex enables programs like fast frequency response and non-spinning auto reserves that require the batteries to discharge energy when called upon by a local utility during a grid disturbance.

About EnSync Energy Systems



EnSync, Inc. (NYSE MKT: ESNC), dba EnSync Energy Systems, is creating the future of electricity with innovative distributed energy resource (DER) systems and internet of energy (IOE) control platforms. EnSync Energy ensures the most cost-effective and resilient electricity, delivered from an electrical infrastructure that prioritizes the use of all available resources, such as renewables, energy storage and the utility grid. As project developer, EnSync Energy's distinctive engagement methodology encompasses load analysis, system design consulting, and technical and financial modeling to ensure energy systems are sized and optimized to meet our customers' objectives for value and performance. Proprietary direct current (DC) power control hardware, energy management software, and extensive experience with numerous energy storage technologies uniquely positions EnSync Energy to deliver fully integrated systems that provide for efficient design, procurement, commissioning, and ongoing operation. EnSync Energy's IOE control platform adapts easily to ever-changing generation and load variables, as well as changes in utility prices and programs, ensuring the means to make or save money behind-the-meter, while concurrently providing utilities the opportunity to use DERs for an array of grid enhancing services. In addition to direct system sales, EnSync Energy includes power purchase agreements (PPAs) in its portfolio of offerings, which enables electricity savings for customers and provides a stable financial yield for investors. EnSync Energy is a global corporation, with joint venture Meineng Energy in AnHui, China, and energy project development subsidiary Holu Energy LLC in Hawaii, and DCfusion LLC, a power system engineering and design, consultancy and policy firm. For more information, visit www.ensync.com



Safe Harbor Statement

Certain statements made in this press release contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended that are intended to be covered by the "safe harbor" created by those sections. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe our future plans, strategies and expectations, can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as "believe," "expect," "may," "will," "should," "could," "seek," "intend," "plan," "estimate," "anticipate" or other comparable terms. Forward-looking statements in this press release may address the following subjects among others: our ability to monetize our PPA assets, statements regarding the sufficiency of our capital resources, expected operating losses, expected revenues, expected expenses and our expectations concerning our business strategy. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, as a result of various factors including those risks and uncertainties described in the Risk Factors and in Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations sections of our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and our subsequently filed Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. We urge you to consider those risks and uncertainties in evaluating our forward-looking statements. We caution readers not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Except as otherwise required by the federal securities laws, we disclaim any obligation or undertaking to publicly release any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained herein (or elsewhere) to reflect any change in our expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

Investor Relations Contact:

Lytham Partners, LLC

Robert Blum, Joseph Diaz, or Joe Dorame

(602) 889-9700

EnSync Media Contact:

Michelle Montague

(262) 735-5676

SOURCE EnSync Energy Systems

Related Links

http://www.ensync.com


PASADENA, Calif., June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Episona Inc., an epigenetics data company focused on improving outcomes in reproductive health, announced today that it has raised an approximate $4 million seed round of financing to support the expansion of its first commercial product, Seed. Launched in October 2016, Seed is the first test on the market to evaluate epigenetic changes on DNA to predict the risk for male factor infertility and poor embryo quality.

"Completing this financing round provides us with the capital required to grow the company and expand our commercial footprint across North America," said Episona CEO Alan Horsager, PhD. "We have been encouraged by the enthusiastic response from both patients and clinicians since we launched Seed. While still in the early stages of commercialization, Seed has demonstrated clear benefits, particularly with regards to providing information not generated by current semen analyses, such as the chances of sperm making a healthy embryo. We look forward to bringing Seed to more clinics and to helping patients make better informed decisions about their path to parenthood."

Participating in the Seed round were several members of the Pasadena Angels and other high-net worth individuals from Pasadena and San Francisco. The round included approximately $1.35 million in convertible notes. Episona intends to use the funds to increase sales and marketing and for further technology development. Seed is currently available in approximately two dozen fertility clinics in 12 states and Canada.

"Male factors contribute to at least half the cases of infertility; yet, nearly all the current testing has focused on women. While new technologies on the male side are making semen analysis easier and more convenient, they continue to rely on the age-old sperm test that hasn't evolved in decades," said Simon Harrison, Ph.D., the lead investor and a member of the Pasadena Angels. "Episona has opened a new genetic window on semen analysis which stands to radically change the way we evaluate the male's role in fertility, and I'm pleased to support the company."

Seed, a physician-ordered test for use at home or in a fertility clinic, evaluates the patient's risk of male factor infertility and poor embryo development. Male factor risk can help identify the severity of a patient's case, helping both the physician and patient understand whether to pursue less invasive procedures such as intrauterine insemination (IUI) or move directly to in vitro fertilization (IVF). By analyzing sperm's role in embryo development, Seed results can help identify problems that might occur with IVF and provide some answers if an IVF cycle fails or, in the case of seeking a donor, whether a male or female donor would be preferred.

Seed's novel approach is based on the science of epigenetics, which examines external or environmental factors such as aging, smoking, obesity, environmental exposure or even exercise that can cause changes to the layer on top of the DNA known as the epigenome. These modifications to the DNA alter how genes are expressed, or read, which in turn can impact how genes function. Using microarrays from Illumina Inc., Seed examines over 480,000 regions on sperm DNA for abnormal methylation at different gene sites important to fertility. A relative risk is then assigned to each abnormal location for either male factor infertility or poor embryo development.

About Episona Inc.

Episona is an epigenetics data company focused on improving reproductive health outcomes. The company's first commercial product, Seed, evaluates epigenetic changes on DNA to predict the risk of male factor fertility and embryo quality. Epigenetics is the study of the environmental and external modifications to DNA that alter gene expression without changing the DNA sequence. Episona intends to develop additional epigenetic-based tests for other conditions and diseases in which epigenetics may play a role, such neurodevelopmental disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and alcoholism. The company was founded in 2013 and is based in Pasadena, CA.

SOURCE Episona Inc.

Related Links

https://www.episona.com


WASHINGTON, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Family Research Council thanked Texas Governor Greg Abbott today for announcing a special session that will take up legislation protecting the privacy of women and children.

Earlier this year, Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, testified before the Texas Senate State Affairs Committee in support of the Texas Privacy Act (SB 6). The bill prevents public schools and government buildings from adopting policies that would open women's showers, bathrooms, and changing facilities to men and visa-versa. It also prevents political subdivisions from forcing businesses and organizations, including contractors, to open their showers, locker rooms and bathrooms to people of the opposite sex. It leaves businesses free to determine their own policies regarding the use of shared bathrooms and showers.

Polling earlier this year showed that the vast majority of Texans, including 80 percent of Republicans and 54 percent of Democrats, support commonsense privacy protections.

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins released the following statement:

"I applaud Governor Abbott for taking seriously the concerns of parents and the well-being of their children. The governor is acting in line with the views of most Texans who can agree that women and children should be free from unwanted intrusions into their privacy while using showers, restrooms, locker rooms, and changing rooms.

"It's important to emphasize that the threat does not primarily come from persons who identify as transgender, but rather comes from those who might exploit the situation by posing as transgender to gain easier access to (usually) women's bathrooms, where they can engage in voyeurism, indecent exposure, or even sexual assault.

"As a parent of five children, I am more than sympathetic to the sensitivity and the self-consciousness that students have in undressing in a school locker room, or taking a shower in front of their peers. It would be traumatic for many children and adolescents to do so in the presence of someone of the opposite biological sex.

"The governor wisely listened to the voters instead of hypocritical big business leaders. It's difficult to name a single company that has a policy allowing men in women's restrooms and changing rooms. Instead, they want the government to do what they are afraid to do because of public opposition. After all, no one wants to end up like Target  a company that has taken a huge financial hit after sparking a 1.5 million-person boycott.

"We are very optimistic that this special session will produce a bill with common-sense privacy protections. Without a privacy law, a potential threat will remain not just from the federal government, but from local governments and school districts within Texas that might choose to adopt policies that elevate 'gender identity' over biological sex and thereby threaten the security and privacy of Texans," concluded Perkins.

Read Tony Perkins's full testimony: S.B. 6

http://downloads.frc.org/EF/EF17C12.pdf

SOURCE Family Research Council

Related Links

http://www.frc.org


20-22 September, Medtec 2017 will gather more than 300 exhibitors from 23 regions and countries of the world in shanghai, including regular exhibitors like 3M, Covestro, Eastman, Zeus, Clariant, Indo-US MIM, Leedon, and Maider. Many first-time exhibitors are also debuting at Medtec China with their cutting-edge production and technologies to provide various choices for our visitors.

Founded in 1920, Kahle Automation is the world-wide leader in designing, building and implementing automation systems for medical, pharmaceutical and healthcare device companies. With 120,000 man-hours dedicated to design every year and the most comprehensive portfolio of machinery in the industry, they create systems that process, inspect, test and package all types of products.

ANV Laser Industries Ltd. specializes in precision laser cutting, laser welding and advanced thermal and chemical treatments. Their services are performed on all possible geometries, on both tubes and plates.

Sato Group is a well-known enterprise in the field of high-tech components in Japan. The company takes advanced ultrasonic welding technology to realize the seamless dissolution of medical components.

DELTA focus on high precision small parts machining, especially axis/micro hole/hydraulic parts. Currently DELTA supplies contract manufacturing service for minimally invasive medical devices industry. Specific products are endoscope camera module (lens holder, lens barrel, lattice ring, micro diaphragm piece); minimally invasive special needle positioning hook, elastic alloy wire woven mold etc. Delta also has ISO/TS16949 quality system, with more than 10 years of precision machining experience.

More exhibitors news please follow our coming report or check official website: www.medtechina.com.

Siemens lecture Hall first Open, FDA officer keynotes at onsite conference

Siemens PLM Software, a business unit of Siemens Digital Factory Division, is a leading global provider of software, systems and services in the areas of managing the product lifecycle (PLM, Product Lifecycle Management) and management of industrial operations (MOM, Manufacturing Operations Management). Last year it sponsored MDiT Forum and Regulation Summit 2016: Technology Track, this year it shows up not only as a conference sponsor but also an exhibitor. They will talk about Digital Enterprise for Medical Device in Siemens lecture Hall. Besides, as FDA's one of the most important programs in China, Medtec China 2017 successfully invited an experienced FDA officer to share opinion about MDSAP and QMS Improvement. To get precious opportunity to consult FDA officer, click here to register as visitor now.

How to register:

1. Online Registration:

Click the link to register on Medtec China official website www.medtecchina.com

2. Telephone Registration: +86-10-5765-2523

3. Group Registration:

If you are a group of more than five people visiting, please call us to simplify the process: +86-10-5765-2523

Media\Exhibit\Visit\Conference Contact:

Carina Li

UBM China

T: +86-10-5765-2823

E: [email protected]

Get more information: www.medtecchina.com

SOURCE Medtec

Related Links

http://www.medtecchina.com


CLEVELAND, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Forest City Realty Trust, Inc., (NYSE: FCEA and FCEB) today announced that it will webcast its 2017 annual meeting of stockholders beginning at 2:00 p.m. eastern time on Friday, June 9, 2017. The annual meeting is being held at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Cleveland.

The audio-only webcast of the formal business meeting can be accessed by visiting the main Investors page of the Company's website, www.forestcity.net at the time of the meeting. A webcast replay will also be available following the meeting.

About Forest City

Forest City Realty Trust, Inc. is a NYSE-listed national real estate company with $8.2 billion in consolidated assets. The Company is principally engaged in the ownership, development, management and acquisition of commercial and residential real estate throughout the United States. For more information, visit www.forestcity.net.

SOURCE Forest City Realty Trust, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.forestcity.net


SAN FRANCISCO, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital wealth management firm Personal Capital today announced that former Securities and Exchange Commissioner and advocate for investors small and large Luis A. Aguilar has joined the company's Board of Advisors.

"We're thrilled to add Luis to our board of industry leaders with rich backgrounds in nurturing fast-growing firms like Personal Capital," said Bill Harris, Personal Capital founder and Chairman. "And with his history of championing for consumers' financial rights, Luis will be a great partner for us as we fight for a higher standard of transparency in wealth management and financial advice."

Mr. Aguilar was appointed to be an SEC Commissioner by President George W. Bush in 2008. He was reappointed by President Barack Obama in 2011 and served in that capacity until December 2015 when his term expired. Mr. Aguilar is the eighth longest standing Commissioner in SEC history and one of only three Commissioners to have been nominated by two U.S. Presidents from two different political parties.

Prior to his time at the SEC, Mr. Aguilar focused on corporate and securities law as a Partner with the international law firm McKenna Long & Aldridge, LLP. Mr. Aguilar also held roles as General Counsel & EVP, Compliance, and Corporate Secretary of investment management company Invesco, Inc., as well as a Partner at law firms Alston & Bird LLP, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP, and Powell Goldstein Frazer & Murphy LLP. Aguilar is a major advocate for consumer and minority rights, with honors for his leadership of Hispanic and African American rights, including his sponsorship of the SEC's Hispanic Employment Committee and African American Counsel.

Mr. Aguilar currently also serves on the boards of Envestnet, an investment technology leader, Donnelley Financial Solutions, a financial communications and data services company, and MiMedx, a biopharmaceutical company.

"It is critical for consumers to have organizations like Personal Capital fighting for change in the financial industry and ensuring easy, transparent access to financial accounts and investment advice," says Mr. Aguilar. "I'm very excited to join the Board of Advisors and be part of a company that is working to empower investors to take control of their futures. I have long admired the firm's focus on what is right for consumers and not just the bottom line, where so many others seem to be focused."

To learn more about Personal Capital, visit www.personalcapital.com.

About Personal Capital

Personal Capital is the smart way to track and manage your financial life. Personal Capital combines award-winning online financial tools that provide unprecedented transparency into your finances with personal attention from registered financial advisors. The result is a complete transformation in the way you understand, manage and grow your net worth.

Marianne Ahlmann | Personal Capital | [email protected]

SOURCE Personal Capital

Related Links

http://www.personalcapital.com


SAN FRANCISCO, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Larry Klayman, the founder of Judicial Watch and Freedom Watch (see www.freedomwatchusa.org), and a former prosecutor of the U.S. Department of Justice, announced the filing of a civil lawsuit in the federal court in San Francisco (17-cv-03235) alleging the brutal assault and other causes of action that resulted in extreme damage to a young gay woman, Kiara Robles, who was simply attending a speaking event to hear an investigative reporter of Breitbart News, Milo Yiannopoulos. The alleged assault was widely broadcast in California, nationally and internationally. See http://abc7news.com/news/pepper-sprayed-woman-says-she-was-hit-with-flag-poles-at-protest/1735116/

https://twitter.com/janeygak/status/826998516144697344

The complaint joins as defendants the Regents of the University of California, Berkeley, its President Janet Napolitano, the Berkeley Police Department, Nancy Pelosi, George Soros, and others and alleges a number of causes of action, including civil rights violations, First and Fourth Amendment violations, equal protection violation, negligence, gross negligence, premises liability, negligent infliction of emotional distress, intentional infliction of emotional distress, assault, battery, and violations of the Bane Act.

Joining Larry Klayman as local counsel is Michael Kolodzi, an attorney admitted in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Mr. Klayman will be filing an application pro hac vice.

The complaint can be found at www.freedomwatchusa.org. Klayman had this to say on the filing of the lawsuit:

"Kiara Robles is a brave woman who was assaulted and severely harmed for simply exercising her constitutional and other rights. This cannot be permitted in civilized society, and that is why she courageously brought suit. It's time that the vicious and destructive actions of the left and its enablers such as UC Berkeley are held to account. Thanks to Kiara, justice will be done and these alleged destructive acts, which have been seen across California and the nation, as mostly recently in Portland, Oregon just last weekend, will cease."

For more information or an interview, contact [email protected] or (424) 274-2579.

Contact: Adrienne Mazzone, 561-750-9800 x2270, [email protected]

SOURCE FreedomWatchUSA.org

Related Links

http://www.freedomwatchusa.org


DALLAS, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- G6 Hospitality LLC, the parent company of Motel 6 and Studio 6 brands in the U.S. and Canada and Hotel 6 and Estudio 6 in Latin America, today announced a new partnership with the client-focused technology company, HotelKey. As part of this agreement, G6 Hospitality is rolling out the new property management system (PMS) at nearly 700 Motel 6 and Studio 6 locations to-date, and is on-track to convert the brand's entire North America portfolio of more than 1,400 company-owned and franchised locations by September 2017.

HotelKey logo

HotelKey features tablet-compatible property management software that allows hotel operators to welcome guests through a simple cloud-based application, while improving the front desk appearance by eliminating unnecessary clutter and devices. The HotelKey mobile platform offers user-friendly, touch-screen technology to support every aspect of hotel management through the core Frontdesk PMS application. With HotelKey, there will be the opportunity for Motel 6 and Studio 6 guests to receive their receipt via email upon check in, which will cut down the company's environmental footprint.

"At G6 Hospitality, we strive to provide our guests with convenient quality service from the moment they arrive, and that means having a reliable and easy-to-use property management system in place," said Jessie Burgess, Executive Vice President and CIO at G6 Hospitality LLC. "And the benefits of HotelKey will also positively impact our franchisees. HotelKey creates the flexibility for Motel 6 and Studio 6 franchisees to effectively manage their property from any device, helping to streamline their operations across the board and most importantly, enhancing the guest experience."

Since its acquisition by Blackstone in 2012, G6 Hospitality has been undergoing a complete technology overhaul of its platforms, processes and systems to support its network of more than 1,400 corporate-owned and franchisee properties, and HotelKey is another core component of this transformation.

"HotelKey is committed to building state of the art products for the hospitality industry, and our partnership with G6 Hospitality provides a robust next generation mobile property management software to support the brand's fast-growing global franchise community," said Aditya Thyagarajan, Co-Founder and President at HotelKey. "We believe in growing with our enterprise partners at G6 Hospitality to provide effective solutions, and look forward to enhancing their corporate and franchise properties throughout North America and beyond."

Fareed Ahmad, Co-Founder and CEO at HotelKey added: "Our innovative suite of products solve the most complex challenges in the hospitality industry with a combination of simple-to-use mobile-first native apps and cloud-based services to run all of the hotels operations on both iOS and Android devices.

"HotelKey is easy to use and gives the lobby a modern look while helping us welcome guests in a quick and efficient manner," said Manish Patel, a Los Angeles based Owner and Operator of multiple independent and franchise hotels. "We are very happy to see G6 Hospitality offering owners this next generation property management system."

As these new program enhancements debut at corporate and franchise locations in the U.S. and Canada, G6 Hospitality will continue its global implementation of the HotelKey property management system into 2018, with an immediate focus on Latin America and Indian territories.

About G6 Hospitality LLC

G6 Hospitality LLC owns, operates and franchises over 1,400 economy lodging locations under the Motel 6 and Studio 6 brands in the U.S and Canada, and Hotel 6 and Estudio 6 brands in Latin America. Headquartered in Dallas (Carrollton), Texas, G6 Hospitality was rated one of the top ten hospitality companies according to the Hotel Management 2015 Top Hotel Companies rankings list, which evaluated over 260 hotel companies. For more information please visit G6Hospitality LLC.

About HotelKey

HotelKey Inc is the next generation cloud-based mobile property management system built for the hospitality industry. Established in 2014, HotelKey Inc is based in Carrollton, TX with global offices in Europe and South Asia. The company has completed two rounds of funding and is generating a lot of interest amongst independent and franchise hotels globally. For more information please visit HotelKey Inc.

SOURCE G6 Hospitality

Related Links

http://www.g6hospitality.com


Innovative offering provides integrated approach to the four pillars of identity protection: prevention, monitoring, alerts and resolution

TORONTO, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Generali Global Assistance ("the Company"), a leader in the assistance industry since its founding in 1963 and part of the global Generali Group, today announced that its innovative and proprietary identity protection platform is now available for the Canadian marketplace.

Generali Global Assistance has protected the assets of organizations and their customers for over 50 years and was one of the first companies to offer identity theft protection and resolution services in the United States. The Company's identity protection platform includes identity and credit monitoring, alerts, and resolution tools, all of which are accessible via an easy-to-use dashboard. Leveraging the Company's infrastructure and expertise gleaned from the successful application of its identity protection services in the United States, the platform will provide Canadian organizations and individuals with an integrated, 360 approach to identity protection.

Paige Schaffer, President and COO of Generali Global Assistance's Identity and Digital Protection Services Global Unit, commented on today's news, "As the world becomes increasingly more connected through social media, digital records and 'smart' devices, scammers and fraudsters have greater access to sensitive information than ever before, across all global borders. Our identity protection platform combats the increasing threat of identity theft through 24/7 prevention, monitoring, alerting and resolution tools. Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in Canada and we are pleased to now offer our innovative suite of protection services to Canadian organizations, along with their employees and customers."

The Generali Global Assistance Identity and Digital Protection Services team protects millions of identities and is a trusted partner for Fortune 500 companies in the insurance, financial, and travel industries, among others. Through their people-first approach, the Company's certified identity resolution specialists help to rectify identity-related issues 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in order to mitigate the stress and hardships associated with identity theft. The identity protection platform is highly customizable and can be white labeled, exemplifying Generali Global Assistance's commitment to serve the unique needs of every partner organization.

Identity Protection Platform Service Details

Prevention  defends personal information and enhances privacy while online.

24/7 identity protection expertise and online resources

Opt-out services to reduce pre-approved credit card offers, direct mail campaigns, and marketing phone calls

Online data protection that guards against keylogging and phishing so you can use the internet without worry

Monitoring  tracks identity risk level and spots fraud early.

Online dashboard  helps identify risk levels, track credit report and score, access identity theft protection tips, and respond to alerts from one dashboard

Identity monitoring  detects fraud at its inception by searching for compromised credentials and potentially damaging use of personal information

Credit monitoring, reports and scores  detects suspicious activity and ensures accuracy

Alerts  detailed notifications of suspicious activity.

Changes to credit profile

Compromised credentials

Black market activity

Resolution  address and repairs problems thoroughly through award-winning support services.

24/7 access to Certified Identity Theft Resolution Experts

Affidavit submission

Creditor notification and follow-up

Communication with law enforcement

Lost wallet assistance

Translation services

Emergency cash advance and travel arrangements

Two bureau fraud alert placement assistance

About Generali Global Assistance

Generali Global Assistance has been a leading provider of travel insurance and other assistance services for more than 25 years. The Company offers a full suite of innovative, vertically integrated travel insurance and emergency services, identity protection solutions, and beneficiary companion services. Generali Global Assistance is part of the multinational Generali Group, which for over 185 years has created a presence in 60 countries with over 76,000 employees. Our success has been built on the foundation of trust that clients have placed in our ability to provide assistance in the most difficult of circumstances.

Generali Global Assistance Media Contact

Jay A. Morakis

M Group Strategic Communications (for Generali Global Assistance North America)

+1 212 266 0191

[email protected]

Generali Global Assistance Marketing Contact

Eugenia Buggs

VP, Global Marketing, Identity and Digital Protection Services Global Unit

+1 240.330.1091

[email protected]

SOURCE Generali Global Assistance
DETROIT, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Stratview Research announces the launch of a new research report on Global Aerospace & Defense Composite Ducting Market by Aircraft Type (Commercial Aircraft, Regional Aircraft, General Aviation, Helicopter, Military Aircraft, and Others), by Pressure Type (Low Pressure and High Pressure), By Reinforcement Type (Glass Composites, Carbon Composites, and Other Composites), by Matrix Type (Epoxy Composites, Phenolic Composites, Thermoplastic Composites, and Other Composites), by Application Type (ECS, APU, Avionics Ventilation, and Others), by Manufacturing Process (Mandrel Layup, Rotation Molding, and Others), and by Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World), Trend, Forecast, Competitive Analysis, and Growth Opportunity: 2017-2022.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160831/402975LOGO )



This strategic report, from Stratview Research, studies the composite ducting market in the global aerospace & defense industry over the period 2011 to 2022. The report provides detailed insights on the market dynamics to enable informed business decision making and growth strategy formulation based on the opportunities present in the market.

The Composite Ducting Market in the Global Aerospace & Defense Industry: Highlights

As per Stratview Research, the global aerospace & defense composite ducting market offers a healthy growth opportunity during the forecast period of 2017 to 2022 and reach an estimated $774 million in 2022. The author of the report stated that increasing production rate of major aircraft programs, such as A320 family, A350XWB, B737, and B787; upcoming aircraft and introduction of variants of the existing aircraft platforms, such as C919, MC-21, B737 Max, and A320neo; continuous shift from metal ducts to composite ducts to achieve higher fuel efficiency; advancement in the ducting technology; and growing aircraft fleet size are the major growth drivers of the global aerospace & defense composite ducting market.

The research's findings suggest that commercial aircraft is expected to remain the growth engine of the global aerospace & defense composite ducting market during the forecast period. The aircraft segment is also expected to witness the highest growth over the next five years, driven by increasing production rate of key aircraft programs, such as B737, A320, B787, and A350, and continuous shift from metal ducts to composite ducts in both low-pressure and high-pressure applications.

In terms of reinforcement type, glass fiber is the most widely used in the global aerospace & defense composite ducting market and is expected to remain the largest reinforcement type over the next five years as well. The fiber type is highly preferred in low-pressure applications, such as cabin air recirculation and cabin sidewall riser, as it offers good mechanical performance at a relatively low cost. However, ducting with carbon fiber is likely to witness the fastest growth over the next five years.

As per the study, North America is expected to remain the largest market for composite ducting over the next five years. This region is the manufacturing hub of the advanced composites industry with the presence of several large to small part fabricators and prepreggers, and raw material suppliers. Boeing, Bombardier, and Lockheed Martin are the major aircraft manufacturers in North America. However, Asia-Pacific is likely to experience the highest growth during the forecast period, driven by demand for composite ducting in upcoming commercial and regional aircraft, such as Comac C919 and Mitsubishi MRJ.

The key composite ducting manufacturers for the aerospace & defense industry are Senior Aerospace, Triumph Group, ITT Corporation, Parker Hannifin Corporation, Arrowhead Products, AIM Aerospace, and Stelia North America. New product development, long-term contracts, and collaboration with OEMs are the major strategies adopted by the key players to gain competitive edge in the market.

Click Here and Register for Free Sample on the Aerospace & Defense Composite Ducting Market

Report Features

This report provides market intelligence in the most comprehensive way. The report structure has been kept such that it offers maximum business value. It provides critical insights on the market dynamics and will enable strategic decision making for the existing market players as well as those willing to enter the market. The following are the key features of the report:

Market structure: Overview, industry life cycle analysis, supply chain analysis.

Market environment analysis: Growth drivers and constraints, Porter's five forces analysis, SWOT analysis.

Market trend and forecast analysis.

Market segment trend and forecast.

Competitive landscape and dynamics: Market share, product portfolio, product launches, etc.

Attractive market segments and associated growth opportunities.

Emerging trends.

Strategic growth opportunities for the existing and new players.

Key success factors.

This report studies composite ducting market in the global aerospace & defense industry and has segmented the market in seven ways, keeping in mind the interest of all the stakeholders across the value chain. Following are the seven ways in which the market is segmented:

Global Aerospace & Defense Composite Ducting Market by Aircraft Type:

Commercial Aircraft

Regional Aircraft

General Aviation

Helicopter

Military Aircraft

Others

Global Aerospace & Defense Composite Ducting Market by Pressure Type:

Low Pressure

High Pressure

Global Aerospace & Defense Composite Ducting Market by Application Type:

Environment Control System (ECS)

Auxiliary Power Unit (APU)

Avionic Ventilation

Others

Global Aerospace & Defense Composite Ducting Market by Reinforcement Type:

Glass Fiber Composites

Carbon Fiber Composites

Other Fiber Composites

Global Aerospace & Defense Composite Ducting Market by Matrix Type:

Epoxy Composites

Phenolic Composites

Thermoplastic Composites

Other Composites

Global Aerospace & Defense Composite Ducting Market by Manufacturing Process Type:

Mandrel Layup Process

Rotational Molding

Others

Global Aerospace & Defense Composite Ducting Market by Region:

North America

Europe

Asia-Pacific

Rest of the World

Stratview Research has number of high value market reports in the global aerospace & defense industry. Please refer to the following link to browse through our reports:

Click Here for Other Reports from Stratview Research in the Aerospace & Defense Industry

Some of our other premium market reports in the aerospace & defense industry:

Global Aerospace & Defense Ducting Market by Aircraft Type, by Application, by Pressure Type, by Material Type, and by Region, Trend, Forecast, Competitive Analysis, and Growth Opportunity: 2016 - 2021

Global Aerospace & Defense Fluid Conveyance Systems Market by Aircraft Type, by Application, by Product Type, by Material Type, and by Region, Trend, Forecast, Competitive Analysis, and Growth Opportunity: 2016 - 2021

About Stratview Research

Stratview Research is a global market intelligence firm providing wide range of services including syndicated market reports, custom research and sourcing intelligence across industries, such as Advanced Materials, Aerospace & Defense, Automotive & Mass Transportation, Consumer Goods, Construction & Equipment, Electronics and Semiconductors, Energy & Utility, Healthcare & Life Sciences, and Oil & Gas.

We have a strong team of industry veterans and analysts with an extensive experience in executing custom research projects for mid-sized to Fortune 500 companies, in the areas of Market Assessment, Opportunity Screening, Competitive Intelligence, Due Diligence, Target Screening, Market Entry Strategy, Go to Market Strategy, and Voice of Customer studies.

Stratview Research is a trusted brand globally, providing high quality research and strategic insights that help companies worldwide in effective decision making.

For enquiries, Contact:

Ritesh Gandecha

Stratview Research

E-mail: [email protected]

Direct: +1-313-307-4176



Feel free to drop an enquiry with us in the below page and our team will get back to you very soon:

https://www.stratviewresearch.com/contact.html

SOURCE Stratview Research
LONDON, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Biosimilar Pipeline and Market Prospects: Addressing Production Complexities Through Risk Management and Quality by Design



Summary

Government support for biosimilars is increasing in key geographical markets, given the cost saving opportunities that these products represent for national healthcare budgets. A biosimilar is a bio-therapeutic that is clinically highly similar to an approved innovative product (reference product) in terms of active ingredients, and has no meaningful differences in efficacy and safety.



Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/4825425/



The complexities of manufacturing a biological drug also apply to biosimilars. The complex requirements are manifold and have been a significant barrier to the further expansion of the biosimilars market. One of the key challenges biosimilar manufacturers face is the knowledge gap under which these products are developed. This challenge arises from the fact that the innovator product information remains proprietary and must adopt a reverse engineering process. They also need to adopt the latest technology and quality initiatives, such as QbD, DoE and PAT techniques.



Organizations also need to adopt a proactive approach in risk mitigation through risk-management-plans (RMP) and long-term studies and through being cognizant of adverse events and adopting production best practices outlined by industry associations and regulatory agencies.



A number of biologics will go off patent before 2020, which presents a huge opportunity for biosimilar manufacturers. Pricing discounts for these products usually fall by 3050% compared with the innovator product. The cost advantages will lead to greater access to these drugs, and significantly reduce the cost of healthcare in many countries.



The report Global Biosimilar Pipeline and Market Prospects: Overcoming Production Complexities Through Risk Management and Quality by Design provides an in-depth assessment of the current trends in the global biosimilars market, with a particular focus on manufacturing complexities and the strategies being implemented to overcome them. Furthermore, it also positions current biosimilar regulatory frameworks and guidelines implemented in the US, Europe, Japan and China, recent updates regarding the key issue of interchangeability, and case studies of successful biosimilar approvals in recent years.



In depth, it provides the following -

- Assess the drivers and restraints of growth in the global biosimilars market. It includes detailed information on how the issue of interchangeability continues to slow down growth in the global biosimilars market.

- Provides a detailed analysis of the regulatory pathways in key geographies including the US, Europe, Japan and China and concludes with case studies of successful biosimilar approvals, and their path through regulatory frameworks, in key markets.

- Covers the various steps in the manufacturing of biologics and biosimilars. A comparison of timeline and development costs for both types of products is provided. It also covers the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) for large molecules.

- Covers the strategies that some of the major pharmaceutical companies have adopted in order to compete in the biosimilars market. Furthermore, it also discusses common entry strategies for emerging markets and a summary of biosimilar manufacturing considerations in order to increase the chances of a successful development program.

- Provide an in-depth analysis of the biosimilar pipeline as well as forecasts for biosimilars in the market and those in late stages of development with high market potential.



Scope

Global biosimilar pipeline in 2017

- What is the distribution of pipeline biosimilars by stage of development?

- Which are the therapy areas set to benefit the most from biosimilar drugs in development?

- In biosimilar development, what are the most common molecular targets for key therapy areas?

- How many companies are currently involved in biosimilar drug development, which are the most active and what is the level of specialization across the development landscape?



Global biosimilar clinical trials in 2017

- What was the volume of biosimilar clinical trials from 2006 to 2016, by therapy area and stage of development?

- What is the average biosimilar clinical trial size and duration across different stages of development, and across the immunology and oncology therapy areas?

- How much revenue will promising biosimilar drugs in the market, and in development, record to 2022?

- What are the key factors driving growth in the global biosimilars market?

- How important are the cost saving opportunities for national healthcare budgets?

- How much will biosimilar manufacturers benefit from the biologic drugs patent cliff?

- How does legislation regarding biosimilar interchangeability differ among key geographical markets?

- What are the factors restraining the growth of global biosimilar market?

- How do manufacturing challenges affect the market?

- What are the legal issues impacting the biosimilar market?

- How are competition and patient recruitment issues slowing growth in the market?

- What are the regulatory pathways for biosimilars in the US, Europe, Japan and China?



Manufacturing processes for biosimilar drugs

- How does molecular weight and complexity pose a challenge to biosimilar production?

- What is the impact of environmental factors on production complexity?

- How significant is the knowledge gap in the process of manufacturing a biosimilar drug?

- What are the best practice guidelines and strategies to overcome production complexities?

- How do development timelines and costs differ between biologics and biosimilars?

- What is the impact of immunogenicity in the production process?



Key Reasons to Purchase

This report will allow you to -

- Gain insightful analyses and comprehensive understanding of the global biosimilar R&D and commercial landscape

- Assess biosimilar production processes, key issues and ways to mitigate development risk

- Understand the most important driving and restraining forces in the global biosimilars market

- Learn about biosimilar strategies being adopted by leading pharmaceutical companies.

Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/4825425/



About Reportbuyer

Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers

http://www.reportbuyer.com



For more information:

Sarah Smith

Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com

Email: [email protected]

Tel: +44 208 816 85 48

Website: www.reportbuyer.com

SOURCE ReportBuyer

Related Links

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DUBLIN, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Oilfield Equipment Rental Market by Equipment (Drilling Equipment (Drill Pipe, Drill Collars, Hevi-Wate, and Subs), Pressure & Flow Control Equipment, and Fishing Equipment), Application (Onshore and Offshore), and Region - Global Forecasts to 2022" report to their offering.

The global oilfield equipment rental market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 3.87% from 2017 to 2022, to reach a market size of USD 20.55 Billion by 2022

Increasing technological advancements in oilfield equipment, rising global investments in Exploration & Production (E&P), growing drilling activity, and increasing unconventional hydrocarbon production in North America would drive the oilfield equipment rental market in the forecast period.

The report segments the oilfield equipment rental market based on equipment into drilling equipment, pressure & flow control equipment, fishing equipment, and other equipment. Drilling equipment dominated the equipment segment due to rise in drilling activities in North America, the Middle East, and Africa to meet the energy demand. This considerable increase in the drilling activity is expected to create demand for associated drilling equipment such as drill bits, drill pipe, and casings.

Based on application, oilfield equipment rental market is segmented into onshore and offshore segments. Onshore is the largest segment for the oilfield equipment rental market. The presence of huge onshore shale reserves in the U.S. and Australia, is likely to boost the demand for onshore oilfields.

In this report, the oilfield equipment rental market has been analyzed with respect to six regions, namely, North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, the Middle East, and Africa. North America is expected to dominate the global oilfield equipment rental market during the forecast period, because of increasing shale players in the U.S.

Customized demands by drillers and uncertain regulatory framework is expected to slow down the demand for the oilfield equipment rental market during the forecast period. However, the oilfield rental equipment market has potential in refracturing activities in the U.S. and emerging offshore opportunities.

Some of the leading players in the oilfield equipment rental market includes



Halliburton Company (U.S.)

Schlumberger Limited (U.S.)

Weatherford International, PLC ( Switzerland )

) Superior Energy Services, Inc. (U.S.)

Oil States International, Inc. (U.S.)

Parker Drilling Company (U.S.)

Key Topics Covered:



1 Introduction



2 Research Methodology



3 Executive Summary



4 Premium Insights



5 Market Overview



6 Oilfield Equipment Rental Market, By Equipment



7 Oilfield Equipment Rental Market, By Application



8 Oilfield Equipment Rental Market, By Region



9 Competitive Landscape



10 Company Profiles



Basic Energy Services, Inc.

Bestway Oilfields

Circle T Service & Rental, Ltd.

Ensign Energy Services, Inc.

Halliburton Company

John Energy, Ltd.

Key Energy Services, Inc.

Kit Oil & Gas

Oil States International, Inc.

Parker Drilling Company

Schlumberger Limited

Seventy Seven Energy, Inc.

Superior Energy Services, Inc.

Technipfmc, PLC

Weatherford International, PLC

For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/txvr3c/oilfield

Media Contact:

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets

Related Links

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In Burlington, Vermont (DMA 97), Jay Barton became the General Manager of WCAX-TV (CBS) on June 1, 2017, upon the commencement of a standard pre-closing local marketing agreement for the station. Since 2012, Mr. Barton has served as the General Manager of Gray's Charlottesville, Virginia, television stations. He succeeds Peter Martin, a life-long veteran of WCAX-TV who in 1995 succeeded his own legendary father Red Martin as the station's General Manager.

In Bangor, Maine (DMA 156), Kim Lee has become the General Manager of WABI-TV5. Ms. Lee has held various positions at WABI-TV5 for the past 15 years including most recently as the General Sales Manager. She succeeded 34-year veteran and long-time General Manager, Mike Young, who recently retired from the station.

In Gainesville, Florida, (DMA 161), Alan Chatman has become General Manager of WCJB-TV. Mr. Chatman began his broadcast career over 35 years ago, and he has served as WCJB's General Sales Manager since 1994. He succeeded Carolyn Barrett, who recently retired after 38 years with WCJB-TV, including the last 31 years as the General Manager.

In Charlottesville, Virginia (DMA 181), Eric Krebs has succeeded Mr. Barton as the General Manager of WCAV-TV (CBS), WVAW-LP (ABC), and WAHU-CD (FOX). Mr. Krebs has spent his entire professional career in television broadcasting and has held several positions in multiple markets over the years. For the past six years, he has served as the General Sales Manager for Gray's Charlottesville television stations.

About Gray:

Gray owns and/or operates over 100 television stations across 57 television markets that collectively broadcast over 200 program streams including 104 channels affiliated with the CBS Network, the NBC Network, the ABC Network and the FOX Network. Our portfolio includes the number-one and/or number-two ranked television station operations in essentially all of our markets, which collectively cover approximately 10.6 percent of total United States television households.

www.gray.tv

SOURCE Gray Television, Inc.

Related Links

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Middle Earth may be where Hobbits live in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy; however, it is also a housing community for freshman on the UCI campus. The campus community was designed in the mid-1960s and in a tribute to Tolkien's enduring stories, the Middle Earth student housing community was born.

This design-build collaboration between Hensel Phelps and Mithun builds on the team's 2016 success at UCI with the completion of Mesa Court Towers, another freshman student housing project on campus. Having designed more than 3,400 units of student housing through a design-build partnership, the Hensel Phelps | Mithun team has accrued an invaluable body of knowledge through a tested and successful track record of collaboration that benefits the project, the university and students. The team's collaborations also include Mesa Nueva and Nuevo West graduate student housing for the University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego).

"We're very pleased with the selection of the design-build team of Hensel Phelps | Mithun as our partners to deliver the Middle Earth Expansion here at UCI. With increasing numbers of students living on campus, I believe this team will build on the successful delivery of the Mesa Court Towers and provide state-of-the-art facilities that provide a true welcoming living-learning community for some of the brightest minds on campus," said Assistant Vice Chancellor/Campus Architect Brian Pratt, AIA, LEED AP.

"The beauty in the design-build delivery method is the flexibility of choosing the right team for the right clients. UCI is a big proponent of design-build and embraces the team collaborative atmosphere. Through this delivery method we will be able to control budget and schedule," explained Hensel Phelps operations manager Vitas Rugienius.

According to Bill LaPatra, partner at Mithun, "The design-build partnership of Hensel Phelps and Mithun is built on mutual respect for each other's expertise, solidified by a deep-rooted collaborative spirit that begins on day one and continues through ribbon cutting. This chemistry allows debate, options and decisions to be fully vetted, revolving around what is best for the project and the client."

The project's design is influenced by local ecology and landscape. Two five-story residential towers emerge from a two-story podium base that echoes the natural form of the surrounding region's limestone canyons. A "Link Lounge" contains space for socializing, media viewing, group kitchen activities and laundry facilities. Outside, entries to classroom and amenity spaces are located at the courtyard level. The project will have a dining facility with the capacity to serve 7,300 meals per day.

"Our new project addition to the Middle Earth community has the rare opportunity to create a new living and learning heart in this neighborhood for first-year students. The rich mixture of academic, residential and dining spaces promises to be one of the most popular places on campus to build community," says Elizabeth MacPherson, lead interior designer from Mithun.

The Middle Earth Expansion is designed to help the UCI campus achieve its goal of carbon neutrality by 2025. The building and site are designed to achieve LEED Platinum Certification, reduce energy consumption, minimize its carbon footprint and operate at net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. Sustainable strategies include rooftop solar heat collectors to reduce the amount of energy needed for hot water and photovoltaics that will generate 50 kW KVA of renewable energy.

About the University of California, Irvine (UCI)

The University of California, Irvine was founded in 1965 with a mission to catalyze the community and enhance lives through rigorous academics, cutting-edge research and dedicated public service. UCI has over 31,000 students in attendance.

The UCI Design & Construction Services (D&CS) is responsible for implementing campus planning parameters for the UCI campus and manages financial strategies, architectural reviews, environmental reviews, coordination of staging plans, and construction management for a university building program that is among the largest in the nation. D&CS is led by Assistant Vice Chancellor/Campus Architect Brian Pratt, AIA, LEED AP, who is the designated Building Official for the campus. Mr. Pratt is the official university representative on all major capital improvement projects.

About the Hensel Phelps | Mithun Design-Build Team

Celebrating our 80th year in construction, Hensel Phelps is recognized as one of the premier general contracting firms in the United States since 1937, specializing in planning, building and managing facilities in every building sector, including health care, aviation, higher education, federal and justice. Our people are committed to delivering the highest quality solutions and creating the most innovative and efficient facilities for our clients, from conception through construction, operations and asset management. As one of Southern California's largest construction employers, our firm has been an engaged community partner in the Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego markets for over 30 years.

Mithun is an integrated design firm dedicated to creating positive change in people's lives. The firm's team of architects, landscape architects, interior designers, urban designers and planners work in a wide range of typologies and scales  with a focus on urban environments and places where people live, work, and learn. The firm has been recognized with six prestigious Committee on the Environment (COTE) Top Ten awards from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and is ranked among the top 25 design firms in the U.S. by Architect Magazine.

Hensel Phelps Contact:

Tom Klecker, Marketing & Communications Manager

Office: 949-852-0111

[email protected]

Mithun Contact:

Courtney Rosenstein, Senior Marketing Manager

Office: 206-971-5639

[email protected]

SOURCE Hensel Phelps

Related Links

http://www.henselphelps.com


AUSTIN, Minn., June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL) invites interested investors to listen to a live webcast of the Hormel Foods 2017 Investor Day Conference on Thursday, June 15, 2017, at 8:25 a.m. EDT. Jim Snee, president and chief executive officer, and Jim Sheehan, senior vice president and chief financial officer and nine other senior managers of Hormel Foods will be presenting.

To listen to a live webcast of the event, go to the company's website, http://www.hormelfoods.com, click on Investors, and you will find a link to the webcast.

If you are unable to listen to the live webcast, an archived version will be available at the above mentioned website following the presentation.

More information on the event can be found at http://investorday.hormelfoods.com/. The site will be updated with additional information leading up to June 15.

About Hormel Foods  Inspired People. Inspired Food.

Hormel Foods Corporation, based in Austin, Minn., is a global branded food company with over $9 billion in annual revenues across 75 countries worldwide. Its brands include SKIPPY, SPAM, Hormel Natural Choice, Applegate, Justin's, Wholly Guacamole, Hormel Black Label and more than 30 other beloved brands. The company is a member of the S&P 500 Index and the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, was named one of "The 100 Best Corporate Citizens" by Corporate Responsibility Magazine for the ninth year in a row, and has received numerous other awards and accolades for its corporate responsibility and community service efforts. In 2016, the company celebrated its 125th anniversary and announced its new vision for the future - Inspired People. Inspired Food. - focusing on its legacy of innovation. For more information, visit www.hormelfoods.com and http://2015csr.hormelfoods.com/.

SOURCE Hormel Foods Corporation

Related Links

http://www.hormelfoods.com


CHICAGO, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Hub International Limited (Hub), a leading global insurance brokerage, announced today that it has acquired the assets of The Ponce de Leon Insurance Group, Inc. d/b/a Colton Insurance Associates (Colton). Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Based in Elk Grove, California, Colton specializes in personal lines insurance solutions. The Colton team will join Hub's Sacramento operations reporting to Rob McVicar, Executive Vice President, HUB California.

About Hub's M&A Activities

Hub International Limited is committed to growing organically and through acquisitions to expand its geographic footprint and strengthen industry and product expertise. For more information on the Hub M&A experience, visit WeAreHub.com.

About Hub International

Headquartered in Chicago, IL, Hub International Limited is a leading global insurance brokerage that provides property and casualty, life and health, employee benefits, investment and risk management products and services from offices located throughout North America. For more information, please visit hubinternational.com.

CONTACT:

Media: Marni Gordon

Phone: 312-279-4601

[email protected]

M&A: Clark Wormer

Phone: 312.279.4848

[email protected]



SOURCE Hub International Limited

Related Links

http://www.hubinternational.com


With Hyperloop One, passengers and cargo are loaded into a pod and accelerated gradually via electric propulsion through a low-pressure tube. The pod quickly lifts above the track using magnetic levitation and glides at airline speeds for long distances due to ultra-low aerodynamic drag. It is designed for higher energy efficiency per passenger mile than traditional modes of transport, curbing emissions and fuel consumption. By the end of 2017, Hyperloop One will have a team of 500 employees dedicated to bringing the technology to life.

Nine potential European routes were unveiled for the Hyperloop One Global Challenge at the event. The proposed routes will connect over 75 million people in 44 cities, spanning 5,000 kilometers. They were presented as part of the all-day summit that included a panel discussion around the economic advantages of Hyperloop and a keynote address from Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and the Environment, Melanie Schultz van Haegen.

"Europe embraces new ideas in transportation like no other region in the world and is uniquely positioned to take the next great leap in transportation with Hyperloop One," said Shervin Pishevar, co-founder and Executive Chairman of Hyperloop One. "Our vision is to, one day, connect all of Europe with our Hyperloop One system, networking the entire continent."

"For Europe, Hyperloop One technology is complementary to existing highways, rails, ports and overall infrastructure," said Rob Lloyd, Chief Executive Officer of Hyperloop One. "Hyperloop One will offer Europe's transport grid with an option that is more efficient, greener, on-demand and faster. We've seen a lot of interest here, and we look forward to creating a partnership to enhance the continent's transport infrastructure."

"Hyperloop One is the only company in the world that has built a fully functioning Hyperloop system test track," said Hyperloop One co-founder and President of Engineering Josh Giegel. "For the last two years, our team of nearly 200 engineers, technicians and fabricators developed our technology and transformed a stretch of desert in the U.S. into a working test track that proves we can build a Hyperloop system anywhere in the world. We're looking forward to showcasing our technology and believe that Europe is the perfect region for one of the world's first Hyperloop systems."

The Hyperloop One Global Challenge

The Hyperloop One Global Challenge kicked off in May 2016 as an open call to individuals, universities, companies and governments to develop comprehensive proposals for deploying Hyperloop One's transport technology in their region. 9 European proposals have advanced to the semi-final round of the Hyperloop One Global Challenge of more than 2,600 participants' initial submissions.

Proposed routes would greatly reduce passenger and cargo transport times across some of the continent's most heavily trafficked regions. Hyperloop One's panel of experts in transportation, technology, economics and innovation are considering the following route proposals:

ROUTE NAME

ROUTE LENGTH Corsica-Sardinia

451 km Estonia-Finland

90 km Germany

1,991 km Poland

415 km Spain-Morocco

629 km The Netherlands

428 km UK-North-South Connector

666 km UK-Northern Arc

545 km UK- Scotland-Wales

1,060 km

The global challenge expert panel comprises: Peter Diamandis, Founder and Executive Chairman of the XPRIZE Foundation; Bassam Mansour, International Railway Industry Advisor and Director of Rail Systems at HSS Engineers; Clive Burrows, Group Engineering Director for FirstGroup; Ulla Tapaninen, Senior Specialist in Economic Development for the City of Helsinki and adjunct professor at University of Turku.

Vision for Europe Conference

In addition to new details on the European routes, the event in Amsterdam featured a roundtable of speakers discussing the future of transportation that included former Mayor of London's Deputy Manager for Transport, Isabel Dedring; Partner Norton Rose Fulbright and global head of Financial Investors Group, Chris Brown; and the CEO of Finland Chamber of Commerce and Secretary General of European Business Leaders' Convention, Risto Penttila.

For more information on Hyperloop One, please visit www.hyperloop-one.com.

About Hyperloop One

Hyperloop One is reinventing transportation by developing the world's first Hyperloop, an integrated structure to move passengers and cargo between two points immediately, safely, efficiently and sustainably. Our team has the world's leading experts in engineering, technology and transport project delivery, working in tandem with global partners and investors to make Hyperloop a reality, now. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the company is led by CEO Rob Lloyd and co-founded by Executive Chairman Shervin Pishevar and President of Engineering Josh Giegel. For more information, please visit www.hyperloop-one.com.

Media Contacts:

Marcy Simon

Hyperloop One

[email protected]

+1 917 833 3392

Peter Coolen

Weber Shandwick for Hyperloop One

[email protected]

+31 703 121070

SOURCE Hyperloop One

Related Links

http://www.hyperloop-one.com


All monetary amounts are expressed in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise indicated.

TORONTO, June 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - IAMGOLD Corporation ("IAMGOLD" or the "Company") today announced that it has entered into an Investment Agreement with Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd., a Tokyo, Japan-based mining company and a global leader in the development and mining of non-ferrous metals, and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sumitomo (collectively "Sumitomo") whereby IAMGOLD will form a joint venture with Sumitomo. Sumitomo will pay an aggregate $195 million to IAMGOLD for a 30% undivided participating interest in IAMGOLD's ownership interest in the Cote Gold Project in Ontario.

Under the terms of the Investment Agreement, on closing, Sumitomo will acquire a 30% undivided participating joint venture interest in IAMGOLD's ownership interest in the Cote Gold Project for an aggregate $195 million, of which $100 million is payable upon closing. The remaining $95 million is payable on the earlier of: (i)18 months following closing, or (ii) the date of public filing of a feasibility study with respect to the Cote Gold Project. Closing of the transaction is expected to occur before the end of the month.

IAMGOLD will be the operator of the Cote Gold Project during development and once in operation. Each party will be responsible for funding its proportionate share of expenditures, including initial and sustaining capital expenditures for the Cote Gold Project.

"This transaction is significant for IAMGOLD as it validates the intrinsic value of the Cote Gold Project. It will enable us to move the Project into development and to significantly diversify our production profile as a result of future production from our Canadian operations," said IAMGOLD's President and CEO Steve Letwin. "After extensive due diligence by both parties, what solidified the relationship was the mutual trust and respect and the alignment around strategic priorities. In addition to providing us with the financial capacity to develop the Cote Gold Project, we are gaining a partner with business development and technical expertise who we can work with in the future to explore new possibilities."

IAMGOLD began discussions concerning a potential strategic partnership with Sumitomo in August 2016. Since then, there has been extensive interaction between the two companies, with multiple site visits to Cote Gold involving Sumitomo's senior management and technical teams. During the due diligence period, IAMGOLD visited the Hishikari Gold Mine in Isa, Kagoshima, and Steve Letwin and Don Charter, Chairman of IAMGOLD, spent time with Sumitomo's President, Yoshiaki Nakazato, in Tokyo.

Sumitomo's in-depth expertise in building and operating mines will complement IAMGOLD's proven track record as a successful mine builder and operator. Additionally, IAMGOLD will benefit from Sumitomo's access to Japanese suppliers to the mining industry, which will complement, where needed, existing supplier networks within Ontario. Both companies have strong business development capabilities and reach and a common interest in seeking opportunities beyond Cote Gold, which will support IAMGOLD's objective to grow its production pipeline.

On Closing of the transaction, IAMGOLD and Sumitomo will form an unincorporated joint venture with respect to the Cote Gold Project, and will enter into a definitive joint venture agreement. Immediately following Closing, IAMGOLD will own 70% and Sumitomo 30% of the total outstanding participating interests under the joint venture agreement.

IAMGOLD and Sumitomo will have oversight of Cote Gold Project activities through an Oversight Committee, which will comprise six representatives consisting of four from IAMGOLD and two from Sumitomo, with decision making based on the proportionate participating interest. We remain committed to advancing Cote in coordination with the federal and provincial government, northern municipalities and local communities, and in particular with our indigenous community partners on whose traditional territory the project will be built and operated.

The Investment Agreement pursuant to which Sumitomo will make the initial investment contains terms, conditions, representations, warranties, and indemnities customary for transactions of this nature. Closing of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, but is not subject to any financing condition or regulatory approvals.

In connection with this transaction, RCI Capital Group acted as financial advisor and originator of the buy side on behalf of IAMGOLD, and Fasken Martineau acted as legal counsel to IAMGOLD, and DLA Piper (Canada) acted as legal counsel to Sumitomo.

About Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd.

Sumitomo Metal Mining Co., Ltd. is a Japan based company with approximately $7.3 billion in revenue in fiscal year ending March 31, 2017. The Company is primarily focused on the development and mining of non-ferrous metals, and produces and markets copper, gold, nickel, and other precious metals. Sumitomo Metal Mining is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (5713).

About IAMGOLD

IAMGOLD (www.iamgold.com) is a mid-tier mining company with four operating gold mines on three continents. A solid base of strategic assets in North and South America and West Africa is complemented by development and exploration projects and continued assessment of accretive acquisition opportunities. IAMGOLD is in a strong financial position with extensive management and operational expertise.

CONFERENCE CALL

A conference call will be held on Tuesday, June 6, 2017 at 8:30 a.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) for a discussion with management regarding the IAMGOLD-Sumitomo transaction and highlights from the Cote Gold prefeasibility study. A webcast of the conference call will also be available through IAMGOLD`s website - www.iamgold.com.

Conference Call Information: North America Toll-Free: 1-800-319-4610 or 1-604-638-5340.

A replay of this conference call will be accessible for one month following the call by dialing: North America toll-free: 1-800-319-6413 or 1-604-638-9010, passcode: 1490#.

Forward Looking Statement

This news release contains forward-looking statements. All statements, other than of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future (including, without limitation, statements regarding expected, estimated or planned gold production, cash costs, margin expansion, capital expenditures and exploration expenditures and statements regarding the estimation of mineral resources, exploration results, potential mineralization, potential mineral resources and mineral reserves) are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by use of the words "will", "should", "continue", "expect", "estimate", "believe", "plan" or "project" or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's ability to control or predict, that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, without limitation, failure to satisfy all closing conditions to closing, failure to meet expected, estimated or planned gold production, cash costs, margin expansion, capital expenditures and exploration expenditures and failure to establish estimated mineral resources, the possibility that future exploration results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations, changes in world gold markets and other risks disclosed in IAMGOLD's most recent Form 40-F/Annual Information Form on file with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and Canadian provincial securities regulatory authorities. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

Please note:

This entire news release may be accessed via fax, e-mail, IAMGOLD's website at www.iamgold.com and through CNW Group's website at www.newswire.ca. All material information on IAMGOLD can be found at www.sedar.com or at www.sec.gov.

Si vous desirez obtenir la version francaise de ce communique, veuillez consulter le http://www.iamgold.com/French/accueil/default.aspx.

SOURCE IAMGOLD Corporation

Related Links

http://www.iamgold.com


NEW YORK and ARMONK, N.Y., June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Sesame Workshop today announced that Georgia's Gwinnett County Public Schools, one of the nation's top urban school districts, has completed an initial pilot of the industry's first cognitive vocabulary learning app, built on the IBM and Sesame intelligent play and learning platform. The new platform, powered by IBM Cloud, enables an ecosystem of software developers, researchers, educational toy companies, and educators to tap IBM Watson cognitive capabilities and Sesame Workshop's early childhood expertise to build engaging experiences to help advance children's education and learning. The cognitive vocabulary app is one of the first of many cognitive apps, games, and educational toys that will be built over time on this new platform, as a result of the two companies' collaboration announced last year.

IBM and Sesame Workshop: Cognitive Vocabulary Learning App Pilot with Gwinnett County Public Schools A child shows his friend Grover the new cognitive vocabulary learning app from IBM and Sesame Workshop. The app was recently piloted in Gwinnett County Public School System in Georgia to enhance students' vocabulary development. (Credit: John O'Boyle/Feature Photo Service for IBM) Students at Georgias Gwinnett County Public Schools play with a new cognitive vocabulary learning app from IBM and Sesame Workshop. (Credit: Gwinnett County Public School System)

To watch a video on the news, please click here.

The Gwinnett pilot program marks the first time that Sesame Workshop expertise and Watson technology have been introduced into classrooms to be tested by students and educators. In the initial phase, Gwinnett kindergartners and teachers in six classrooms engaged with a tablet-based, cognitive vocabulary app built on the Watson-powered intelligent play and learning platform to enhance vocabulary development of students. Fueled by Sesame learning design, this adaptive app features beloved Sesame Street characters alongside educational videos and word games.

"Sesame and IBM share a belief that cognitive computing can enhance and spark excitement for learning in children everywhere," said Harriet Green, General Manager, IBM Watson IoT, Customer Engagement and Education. " Together, we are combining Watson capabilities and Sesame's rich educational knowledge to give teachers new insights about their students' vocabulary development and ultimately, create a unique learning experience personalized to each child."

Based on the initial Gwinnett pilot, with an expanded pilot currently being planned for this Fall, IBM and Sesame collected 18,000 feedback points from 120 students that helped determine a more accurate progression of words they were exposed to over a two-week period. In the pilot, students learned words that are deemed challenging for kindergarteners, including "arachnid," "amplify," "camouflage," and "applause," with initial observations showing that many students appeared to acquire new vocabulary as a result of the app. In fact, one teacher noted: "We are studying animals, and children were able to notice various forms of 'camouflage' among animal skin patterns." Another teacher said: "When we found a spider in the classroom, a student yelled, 'an arachnid'!" Participating teachers overwhelmingly agreed that the app was a valuable addition to their class.

Watson's augmented intelligence capabilities are designed to enable the app to provide digital assistance in the classroom. Teachers can monitor children's vocabulary development in real-time through a secure dashboard and adjust lessons, pacing, and curriculum to each child's needs. The app will use adaptive assessments to determine a child's current vocabulary range, and then deliver vocabulary learning experiences that focus on specific words. Continuously learning as a child engages with the app, words and areas that require additional focus are refined to deliver content and experiences that are engaging, fun and inspiring.

"Sesame Workshop is committed to reaching and teaching children in the critical years between ages 0-5, meeting them wherever they are and adapting to the ways they learn best," said Jeffrey D. Dunn, CEO of Sesame Workshop. "Educational technology like the platform we've created with IBM Watson is a promising new channel for learning opportunities inside and outside the classroom, and we're excited to explore it further."

This app is still in early stages of development and it is being used as a vehicle to establish evidence of learning at scale. The current pilot is the first phase of a process to understand whether multi-modal learning experiences can improve vocabulary and literary. This app and others like it will soon be available on the IBM Cloud for wide adoption in schools globally. These and other educational experiences being developed on the new Platform will be modular and easy to customize, built with the needs of educators and administrators in mind. A key partner in this unique co-design process, Gwinnett County Public Schools has offered insights and feedback as joint research and development teams from IBM and Sesame Workshop evolve the app.

Gwinnett County Public Schools CEO/Superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks was excited about the opportunity to participate in this pilot with Sesame and longtime strategic technology partner IBM. He explained: "This vocabulary learning app complements our efforts to transform the classroom, actively engaging students in a fun and interactive way. Technology is a basic tool for today's learner; and with this app, our very youngest learners had the opportunity to learn new words and expand their vocabulary."

Gwinnett's pilot of the cognitive vocabulary learning app is only the beginning of what's possible with this technology. IBM and Sesame are customizing Watson for early childhood as well as developing new capabilities for it. Educational toys, apps, and games enabled with Watson's speech- and image-recognition capabilities are expected to take the platform's personalized learning beyond the classroom. These products will be designed to engage directly with children and caregivers to deliver context-rich play experiences around literacy, emotional learning, and school preparedness, all adapted to each child's preferences and learning patterns.

"We know that each child has unique educational needs that are difficult to address fully in a classroom, even with the kinds of differentiation strategies available to teachers today," said Dr. Todd Rose, one of the project's advisors and Director of Mind, Brain, and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. "Sesame Workshop and IBM Watson are developing a technology platform that has the potential to help teachers meet their students' individual needs in entirely new ways -- using data from playful learning activities that adapt to each student's knowledge of a topic, interests, and approaches to learning. I am encouraged by the program's progress in just one year, and their attention to learning both in and out of schools. By including students, teachers, and administrators in the design of the platform, this pilot program can move quickly towards becoming a resource that will be available to many more children who will benefit from it."

For more information on today's news, please visit: https://ibm.co/sesameandibm

About Sesame Workshop:

Sesame Workshop is the nonprofit media and educational organization behind Sesame Street, the pioneering television show that has been reaching and teaching children since 1969. Today, Sesame Workshop is an innovative force for change, with a mission to help kids everywhere grow smarter, stronger, and kinder. We're active in more than 150 countries, serving vulnerable children through a wide range of media, formal education, and philanthropically-funded social impact programs, each grounded in rigorous research and tailored to the needs and cultures of the communities we serve. For more information, please visit www.sesameworkshop.org.

About IBM:

For more information, please visit www.ibm.com/watson and follow @IBMWatson and @IBMEducation on Twitter.

About Gwinnett County Public Schools:

Located in the metro Atlanta area, Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS) is the largest school system in Georgia and the 13th largest in the nation. This growing school system serves more than 178,000 students and employs more than 22,000 employees. The finest teachers, involved parents, and a supportive community are key elements in the district's quest to become a system of world-class schools. GCPS is a three-time finalist (2009, 2010, and 2014) and two-time winner (2010 and 2014) of The Broad Prize for Urban Education, designating GCPS as one of the nation's top urban school districts. In addition, this year it earned recognition as the national AP District of the Year by College Board and an "Outstanding Great District for Great Teachers" by the National Council on Teacher Quality.

Press Contacts:

Hanna Smigala

IBM

1-203-512-5497

[email protected]

Kaveri Camire

IBM

1-914-625-6395

[email protected]

Beatrice Chow

Sesame Workshop

(212) 875-6586

[email protected]

SOURCE IBM

Related Links

http://www.ibm.com


MELVILLE, N.Y., June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Canon Solutions America, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Canon U.S.A., Inc. today announced that Image360-RVA, a large format service provider in Richmond, Virginia, has installed the Oce ColorWave 910 printer to expand capabilities and services for its clients. Committed to providing a wide-range of services and efficiently responding to demanding client schedules, Image360-RVA joined forces with Canon Solutions America to solidify its leadership position in central Virginia.

Drawing from more than 25 years of leadership and innovation in the industry, Image360 is one of the premier business-to-business (B2B) franchises, serving the multibillion-dollar market for graphic communication services. Prior to entering the printing business in 1999, Dorothy and Scotty Hager, owners of Image360-RVA, had worked primarily in government contracting and consulting. With a vision and passion for building a professionally-run local business that provides unmatched quality and service, they opened a small, retail cut-vinyl sign company in a strip shopping center. In 2012, they decided to take the business to new heights and began the process of transitioning from a local sign shop to a one-stop resource for visual communications with the Image360 brand.

In a short time, Image360-RVA catapulted to the top of the display graphics business as one of the biggest revenue generators within the Image-360 network, which is comprised of over 300 franchise locations. The graphics firm's success was recently celebrated during the 2017 Alliance Franchise Brands Convention where they received two of the top awards - the Alliance Franchise Brand Sign & Graphics Division President's Award, as well as the Grand Prize for the Project of the Year Award. Image360-RVA prides itself in persistently investing in cutting-edge technology in order to provide high-quality, cost-effective visual communications. Expecting to help improve turnaround times and deliver faster results to clients without sacrificing quality, it recently gravitated toward the Oce ColorWave 910.

"We considered going with a competitive product, but Canon Solutions America has a proven track record," said Scott Hager, vice president of Image360-RVA. "We were astonished with the quality of the graphics prints and speed of the ColorWave 910, but its incredible speed was the ultimate deciding factor for us. Saving up to 95 percent of the production time on any given project allows us the flexibility to take on new projects and the confidence to know that we are going to be able deliver on time."

The Oce ColorWave 910 has proven to help improve the turn time on print jobs, and continues to be the perfect solution for Image360-RVA's vast range of printing requirements from government clients and large corporate accounts. Wide format print jobs can be completed in less than a day with its ability to print 1,600 dpi at over 8,000 square feet an hour. As part of ongoing collaborations with customers, this second generation Oce ColorWave printer was refined and enhanced with the needs of both in-house printers and Print Service Providers (PSP) in mind. With its high-speed and ability to handle even the most demanding high-volume print production environments, Image360 is equipped to confidently and effortlessly print exhibition and trade show materials; counter and floor displays, technical drawings and maps, and much more.

"We received the artwork for a 60 foot banner an hour before it needed to be installed. We were able to deliver it with the ColorWave 910," said Scott Hager, vice president of Image360-RVA. "We couldn't have dreamed of delivering it even on the same day with any of our other technology. Our clients love our ability to deliver on their schedules and we are beyond satisfied with our decision to work with Canon Solutions America."

Furthermore, the Oce ColorWave 910 printer offers a digital workflow that enables Image360-RVA to help increase productivity, lower running costs and increase flexibility for variable data and short run print jobs. It can also integrate seamlessly into any existing workflow. A range of integrated finishing options are available to support seamless end-to-end document workflows and allow Image-360-RVA to fully capitalize on the print speed delivering ready-to-use printed output with fast turnaround.

"We were looking to automate our workflow," added Hager. "The integration of the automated technologies is going to give us an advantage that our competitors have no idea is coming. I'd recommend the ColorWave 910 to anyone. The vision of where I see Image360 going is integrating Canon technology to become more efficient and add to our capabilities."

"The Oce ColorWave 910 is a direct result of our many conversations with our customers to better understand how to improve their production workflows," said Sal Sheikh, vice president, Marketing, Large Format Solutions, Canon Solutions America. "We are delighted to learn that our hard work paid off and Image360-RVA is taking full advantage of the technology advances in its graphics print shop. We hope they continue to break barriers with the Oce ColorWave 910, a device designed to handle highly productive and demanding production environments and help open new revenue opportunities for the company."

About Image360-RVA

Located at 2036 Dabney Road, Suite D, Image360 in Richmond is locally-owned and operated, and is a member of Alliance Franchise Brands franchise network, a world leader in visual and graphics communications, linking more than 600 locations in the U.S., Canada and United Kingdom. For more information, contact Image360 at (804) 270-4003, or visit the company's website at www.image360rva.com.





About Canon Solutions America, Inc.

Canon Solutions America provides industry leading enterprise, production, and large format printing solutions, supported by exceptional professional service offerings. With the technology offerings of the Canon and Oce brands, Canon Solutions America helps companies of all sizes improve sustainability, increase efficiency, and control costs through high volume, continuous feed, digital and traditional printing, and document management solutions. A wholly owned subsidiary of Canon U.S.A., Inc., Canon Solutions America is headquartered in Melville, N.Y. and has sales and service locations across the U.S. For more information on Canon Solutions America, please visit csa.canon.com.

Canon is a registered trademark of Canon Inc. in the United States and elsewhere. Oce is a registered trademark of Oce-Technologies B.V. in the United States and elsewhere. All other referenced product names and marks are trademarks of their respective owners and are hereby acknowledged.





 2017 Canon Solutions America, Inc. All rights reserved.

Canon Solutions America, Inc. Website: Editorial Contact: http://csa.canon.com Stephanie Caro For sales info/customer support: 631-330-4432 1-844-443-INFO (4636) [email protected]

SOURCE Canon Solutions America, Inc.

Related Links

https://csa.canon.com


SAN FRANCISCO, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Intersolar North America, the most-attended solar industry event in North America, today announced that Richard L. Kauffman, New York's chairman of energy and finance, has been named the winner of the 2017 Intersolar Champion of Change AWARD. This prestigious award is annually presented to entities or individuals who have helped strengthen America's solar energy industry and increased adoption of solar in the United States. Kauffman will receive the award at the opening ceremony of Intersolar and ees North America in San Francisco Monday, July 10.

Richard L. Kauffman, known as New York's first "energy czar," oversees and manages the state's entire energy portfolio. He also spearheaded New York's Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) initiative, a bold 10-year project launched by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo that aims to restructure the energy industry and increase support for local renewable energy. As part of the REV strategy, Kauffman supported the launch of the $5.3 billion Clean Energy Fund (CEF) to reshape energy innovation programs and drive economic development in New York. Additionally, he has been instrumental in developing NY Green Bank, intended to accelerate clean energy expansion in New York State by investing in clean energy markets. His work also includes overseeing and coordinating policy between the New York State Department of Public Service, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), the New York Power Authority and the Long Island Power Authority.

Kauffman's multifaceted efforts to improve renewable energy adoption in New York state set an incredible example for other states to follow. After Superstorm Sandy disrupted people's lives and shut down businesses, New York didn't just rebuild the wires; they began rethinking the whole system. By integrating renewable energy enterprises into financial plans, investments, city planning and more, Kauffman's efforts have enabled the New York economy to sustain the adoption of solar and other renewable energy sources. And by working to augment the renewable energy industry in the financial realm and in energy storage markets, Kauffman is propelling New York stateand the U.S.forward.

"We are pleased to honor Richard Kauffman by naming him as our Champion of Change for 2017, and commend him for his dedication and leadership to the development of the New York solar industry," said Florian Wessendorf, managing director of Intersolar North America. "His many initiatives in New York embody the key themes of Intersolar North America 2017, and we look forward to hearing about how his work has shaped the New York solar industry at our opening ceremony."

For the last 10 years, Intersolar North America has been committed to addressing the most pressing challenges and recent achievements of the renewable energy industry. In addition to providing in-depth discussions about new solar technologies and market opportunities, this year Intersolar and its co-located ees North America will also highlight emerging smart renewable energy technologies and innovative solar financing tools, two key industry topics driving the growth of solar across the country. The opening ceremony is open to all Intersolar and ees North America attendees, and more information, including speaker announcements, will be announced in the coming weeks.

This year's exhibition and conference will take place July 10 through July 13 in the heart of San Francisco at the InterContinental Hotel and the Moscone Center. Interested parties can register online and members of the press can now apply for a media pass.

SOURCE Intersolar North America
NEW YORK, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- iStar (NYSE: STAR) announced today that Geoffrey G. Jervis, chief operating officer and chief financial officer, will present at the Barclays High Yield Bond & Syndicated Loan Conference in Colorado Springs, CO on Thursday, June 8, 2017 at 4:45 pm MT / 6:45 pm ET.

iStar's presentation will be broadcast live over the internet and can be accessed by all interested parties through iStar's website, www.istar.com, in the "Investors" section. For those who are not able to listen to the live broadcast, a replay will be available shortly after the call on the website.

* * *

iStar (NYSE: STAR) finances, invests in and develops real estate and real estate related projects as part of its fully-integrated investment platform. Building on over two decades of experience and more than $35 billion of transactions, iStar brings uncommon capabilities and new ways of thinking to commercial real estate and adapts its investment strategy to changing market conditions. The Company is structured as a real estate investment trust ("REIT"), with a diversified portfolio focused on larger assets located in major metropolitan markets. Additional information on iStar is available on its website at www.istar.com.





SOURCE iStar

Related Links

http://www.istarfinancial.com


PORTLAND, Ore., June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Janrain, the company that pioneered the Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) category and market leader in Privacy by Design, today announced a new offering that allows global brands to provide their customers with fine-grained control and management of their data in order to comply with the future European Union (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) requirements, and similar consent requirements from other regulations such as the EU's Payment Services Directive (PSD2) and Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA). It is the first such offering to be made available by a CIAM provider.

Janrain Consent Lifecycle Management helps brands adhere to GDPR guidelines through progressive, context-based consent collection. In addition to granularly adhering to end user preferences for data collection and management, Consent Lifecycle Management provides customers of Janrain's clients with the option to go back to their consent declarations at any time for review, validation, revocation, or other changes, and to download a PDF that documents exactly how their data is being managed. Not only does this feature enable data subjects to meaningfully control their data, Janrain clients can enhance scoped access with customer choice and ensure that other data processors in their environment respect customer consent choices. Such consent and transparency will be required of any organization that collects or accesses personal data of individuals residing in the EU. Failure to comply with GDPR, which goes into effect May 25, 2018, will lead to heavy fines--up to a maximum of 20 million EUR or 4 percent annual global revenue of the preceding financial year, whichever is higher.

"With less than a year to go, global organisations are under tremendous pressure to get their user data and processes ready for GDPR," said Mayur Upadhyaya, Senior Director of Product at Janrain. "Collecting explicit consent from customers for the purposes of data collection is an especially challenging requirement that our new Consent Lifecycle Management is specifically designed to address. While no technology is a silver bullet to the GDPR, Janrain is committed to supporting and assisting our customers in meeting relevant Articles with minimal operational disruption."

Janrain, the first CIAM provider to be GDPR ready, recently began offering a GDPR Primer and Readiness Assessment to help clients ensure they're prepared for the new regulation. With the Janrain team's guidance, clients can discover gaps in their data management policies, procedures and processes as well as receive remediation plans for authentication, registration, security and overall management of identity related processes, technologies and data.

To learn more about Consent Lifecycle Management, click here. For more about leveraging Janrain's expertise to ensure GDPR compliance, please visit the company's GDPR Resource Kit or contact a Janrain GDPR expert here.

Other Relevant Links:

Data Sheet: Consent Lifecycle Management

Datasheet: Janrain Readiness for GDPR

Webinar: Kickstart Your GDPR Planning

Blog: Janrain is the first CIAM vendor to be GDPR ready!

Blog: Kickstarting Your GDPR Readiness Program

Blog: Meeting the GDPR Challenge

About Janrain

Founded in 2002, Janrain pioneered Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM). The Janrain Identity Cloud provides identity management, security and activation solutions that enable seamless and safe customer experiences across their digitally connected world, while providing enterprise organizations with deep customer insights. Janrain's identity capabilities include social and traditional login and registration, single sign-on, customer profile data storage and management, customer segments, customer insights and engagement solutions. The company powers brands like Pfizer, Samsung, Whole Foods, Fox News, Philips, McDonald's and Dr Pepper. Janrain is based in Portland, Oregon, with offices in London, Paris and Silicon Valley. For more information, please visit www.janrain.com and follow @janrain.

Media Contact:

Chris Blake

MSR Communications

Phone: 1-415-989-9000

E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Janrain

Related Links

http://www.janrain.com


BOSTON, June 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- JMC Capital Partners ("JMC"), a private equity buyout firm focusing on industrial product and technology businesses, is pleased to announce its newly expanded Business Development Team in conjunction with the recent closing of JMC's second fund of $206 million.

With the addition of three more business development professionals, JMC continues its efforts to strengthen relationships with "lower-lower" market founders and business owners of unique industrial companies as well as expand its outreach to investment bankers, advisors and business brokers.

Todd Rainville, who joined JMC as Partner in February following 20 years of private equity and finance experience at several Boston area private equity firms, leads the business development effort. New additions to the team include Greg Schultz as Vice President, as well as Tyler Ashley and Mike Gianelli as Associates. The team also includes Kevin Greener (Vice President), who has been with JMC for 3 years pursuing investment opportunities and developing relationships with intermediaries, and Andrea Leung (Marketing Manager), who joined JMC in 2015 and manages all marketing, PR and social media programs for the firm.

Greg Schultz - Vice President

Greg Schultz joined JMC from Launch Angels, a university affiliated co-investment fund platform, where he was Vice President. Previously, Greg was a growth investor at Symmetric Capital, a Boston-based private equity firm, where he sourced and executed transactions, and provided board-level oversight to lower-middle market companies that had self-funded to $10-50MM in revenues. View Bio

Tyler Ashley - Associate

Tyler Ashley joined JMC with four years of business development experience as a Sales Planner with BBC America, and previously as an Account Director at Bluewolf Group, a Salesforce.com consultancy. Tyler worked on a part-time basis at JMC over the past 8 months while completing his MBA. View Bio

Mike Gianelli - Associate

Mike Gianelli joined JMC after working as an investment banking analyst with Alantra (formerly C.W. Downer) in Boston supporting a range of M&A transactions, and serving as an analyst with Greenspring Associates, a venture capital fund-of-funds and secondary investment firm. View Bio

Todd Rainville, Partner and head of the Business Development Team, continued, "JMC has the great benefit of focusing only on the industrial space - in tangible product and technology businesses. Even with this emphasis, like most private equity firms, we recognize the need to further our relationships with the right intermediaries active in our market with smaller companies, and CEOs and business owners themselves. Greg, Tyler and Mike's skill sets will be an enormous help to this effort."

Media Contact

Andrea Leung

617-670-2631

[email protected]

SOURCE JMC Capital Partners

Related Links

http://www.jmccp.com


BROOMALL, Pa., June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union (FMFCU) President and CEO John D. Unangst was chosen CEO of the Year among credit unions with $250 million-plus in assets by the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU). He will be recognized during NAFCU's 50th annual conference in mid-June.

John D. Unangst

"The board of directors, management team, and employees congratulate John Unangst on receiving this prestigious award," said Patrick Killian, FMFCU chairman of the board. "His exemplary leadership and ardent dedication to FMFCU and the credit union movement have been inspiring."

Under his stewardship for over 40 years, Unangst has led the growth of FMFCU from one branch with less than $1 million in assets to 40 branches and $1 billion in assets. Only five percent of all credit unions are over the $1 billion milestone.

In addition, Unangst led the formation of two Credit Union Service Organizations that continue impacting the credit union industry. In 1986, FMFCU formed State Financial Network, LLC. to offer mortgages and services to other credit unions and their members. More recently in 2013, the Credit Union Network for Financial Literacy was created to offer The Berenstain Bears Financial Literacy Program to credit unions.

"I will be accepting this award on behalf of the dedicated and talented employees of FMFCU," commented Unangst. "It is because of their exceptional hard work this award is even possible."

Unangst is a graduate of Penn State University and was a decorated Captain in the U.S. Army.

About FMFCU

Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union has provided financial products and services to its members in the greater Philadelphia region and beyond since 1970. Now with $1 billion in assets, FMFCU ranks tenth in asset size in Pennsylvania and is the largest financial institution headquartered in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. FMFCU has 80,000 members, 2,000 partnering organizations, and 40 branches. For more information, visit fmfcu.org.

SOURCE Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union

Related Links

http://www.fmfcu.org


TAMPA, Fla., June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- WilsonHCG, a global talent solutions leader headquartered in Tampa, Florida, is pleased to welcome Jonathan Edwards to its leadership team. Mr. Edwards will serve as Vice President, Executive Search and will be responsible for leading the organization's global executive search efforts, talent development and continuous process improvement to cultivate WilsonHCG's global offering.

"We are very pleased to welcome Jonathan to WilsonHCG in such a pivotal role; he brings unique passion and depth of experience to our growing team," said John Wilson, CEO of WilsonHCG. "As we strive to innovate the market and expand our executive search capabilities globally, we firmly believe Jonathan's leadership will help us reach new heights."



Jonathan is an executive search and talent acquisition strategist with over 11 years of recruitment consulting and analyst experience. Joining WilsonHCG from Egon Zehnder and most recently Red Hat, an S&P 500 technology and software company, where he served as Global Executive Search Lead, Jonathan's expertise includes crafting executive search strategies and driving execution for the North America, EMEA, APAC and LATAM regions. Over the course of his career, Jonathan has led executive recruitment in a number of business critical functions, including C-suite, IT, legal, sales, engineering, consulting/professional services, facilities and administrative, marketing, HR, as well as data and analytics.



"In WilsonHCG, I'm thrilled to be joining such a diverse and talented organization," said Edwards. "I'm looking forward to furthering the growth of our global executive search capabilities, while cementing our footprint as an inventive and holistic talent leader."



Forbes has ranked WilsonHCG among America's Best Executive Recruiting Firms, according to the newly released Forbes 2017 list. Forbes worked with analytics firm Statista to compile the list of top 250 firms. The results were based on an extensive independent peer review survey, in which Forbes identified and polled over 4,000 HR managers from a number of corporations, executive recruiters, and candidates who have worked with recruiters.



About WilsonHCG

WilsonHCG is a global talent solutions leader that operates on the principle of providing true partnership to its clients. Delivering business-impacting talent solutions  including recruitment process outsourcing (RPO), talent consulting, contingent workforce solutions and executive search  WilsonHCG is transforming its clients' businesses through their talent. Founded in 2002, the company's global headquarters is located in Tampa, Florida. Its global capabilities span six continents and more than 35 countries. While optimizing clients' talent strategies is essential, WilsonHCG recognizes the relationships it develops lead to the results clients realize. Better People, Better Business.

For more information about WilsonHCG and its services, visit www.wilsonhcg.com.

Media Contact:

Richard Ward, (262) 346-2311, [email protected]

SOURCE WilsonHCG

Related Links

http://www.wilsonhcg.com


BALTIMORE, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --The American Urological Association (AUA) today announced that Virginia urologist Dr. Joshua Langston has been named the 2017-2018 H. Logan Holtgrewe Legislative Fellow, a program that is designed to prepare and educate urology residents and fellows in the legislative aspect of health policy.

As the AUA's Holtgrewe Fellow, Dr. Langston will participate in major AUA advocacy initiatives, including the Annual Urology Advocacy Summit and meetings of the AUA's Public Policy Council and Legislative Affairs Committee. He also will attend the Brandeis University Executive Leadership Program in Health Policy & Management and complete a four-week fellowship with a legislative office in Washington, DC.

"We are excited to have Dr. Langston serve as our legislative fellow," said AUA Public Policy Council Chair Dr. Christopher Gonzalez. "His experiences gained over the coming year, coupled with his time at the Physician Executive Mentoring Program through the National Health Service England, will give Dr. Langston valuable insight on national and international health policy systems."

Dr. Langston is currently practicing in Norfolk, VA, and is an instructor in the Department of Urology at Eastern Virginia Medical School. He holds a Doctorate of Medicine from UT Southwestern Medical School in Dallas and a bachelor's of arts degree from Texas A&M University.

The Holtgrewe Fellowship program was established in recognition of Dr. H. Logan Holtgrewe, former AUA president and past chairman of the AUA's Health Policy Council. The Holtgrewe Fellowship is open to all AUA residents in their research year, fellows, and first year post-graduates. Applications are available on the AUA website starting in January of each year. Learn more about the program.

About the American Urological Association: Founded in 1902 and headquartered near Baltimore, Maryland, the American Urological Association is a leading advocate for the specialty of urology, and has more than 21,000 members throughout the world. The AUA is a premier urologic association, providing invaluable support to the urologic community as it pursues its mission of fostering the highest standards of urologic care through education, research and the formulation of health policy.

Contact: Wendy Isett, AUA

410-689-3789, [email protected]





SOURCE American Urological Association

Related Links

http://www.AUAnet.org


INDIANAPOLIS, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Knowledge Services, a professional services and information technology company, announced today they plan to begin building a new headquarters in Fishers, Indiana, by 2019 creating nearly 400 jobs by 2021.

Believing in the strategic direction of Fishers and their work in making the city a home for growing companies and young professionals alike, the 80,000-square-foot-space is to be named Green Acres Technology Park and located at 11001 USA Parkway in Fishers, Indiana.

Conceptual design for the new Knowledge Services headquarters at Green Acres Technology Park.

The Vision

"We're excited to be part of an ecosystem of support between the city, the community, other growing companies, and our highly skilled workforce," stated Julie Bielawski, CEO of Knowledge Services. "With the Green Acres Technology Park expansion, our remarkably talented and engaging teams of professionals will have more opportunities to enhance creative thought and drive innovation in the technology space. Additionally, the leadership of Fishers is very progressive and we know this is going to be a great home for us."

"This announcement has special meaning for Fishers. Joe and Julie have been residents for years and the fact that they are choosing to invest their business in the community they call home is a point of pride for our city," said Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness. "The Bielawskis' entrepreneurial story coupled with their tech focus affirms the smart, vibrant and entrepreneurial vision we have for Fishers."

Job Growth & Development

Knowledge Services is dedicated to serving people who serve others. The company hopes the community and its employees will benefit from the new space which will be designed to maximize natural light impact, support a modernized professional lifestyle and accommodate both indoor/outdoor collaboration. All interested applicants are encouraged to seek and apply for positions on the company's website.

"Our goal for the building is to create an environment that is very welcoming and allows for people to work collaboratively, feel comfortable, and remain excited about coming into work," stated Joe Bielawski, President of Knowledge Services.

Industry Impact

Focused on solving workforce challenges for its' clients and providers, Knowledge Services has stayed true to conducting business the right way since inception over 20 years ago. The company continually strives to remain transparent, challenge the status quo, and enable organizations to work smarter in the ever-changing business world of today through a set of diverse workforce solutions that improve efficiency, labor sourcing, management, and tracking and analytics.

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered GuideSoft Inc. (dba Knowledge Services) up to $2,300,000 in conditional tax credits and $200,000 in training grants based on the company's job creation plans.

For more information or to apply for available positions, please visit https://www.knowledgeservices.com.

About Knowledge Services

Knowledge Services, a certified Woman Business Enterprise (WBE) founded and established in 1994 by Julie Bielawski, is a technology and professional services organization delivering innovative workforce solutions to clients within the public and private sectors. Currently headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, Knowledge Services is the largest government workforce management provider in the U.S. Their unique methodology combines contract workforce management industry best practices with comprehensive program management and recruiting expertise to deliver proven and measurable results.

Media Contact:

Anna Bielawski 317.806.6145 or [email protected].

SOURCE Knowledge Services

Related Links

http://www.knowledgeservices.com


Linderman joins the firm from Ince & Co, where she was global head of its sanctions team. She advises on matters related to trade and financial sanctions, including due diligence and compliance procedures; the impact of sanctions on operations and transactions; sanctions clauses in contracts and insurance policies; the effect of sanctions on loans, investments, and payment issues; and applications to relevant authorities for licenses and authorizations. Her clients include international businesses, traders, ship owners, charterers, insurers, financial institutions, and energy companies.

"Michelle has a great reputation for advising leading clients on cross-border sanctions matters, and her arrival to Crowell & Moring establishes our international trade presence in the London market," said Angela Styles, chair of Crowell & Moring. "Together with our Brussels-based European Union capabilities, Michelle's practice extends the international reach of our well regarded sanctions capabilities. We are delighted to welcome Michelle to the firm."

Linderman will lead the firm's efforts on EU sanctions generally and UK sanctions specifically. Her addition to the International Trade Group, with already established capabilities in the United States and Brussels, positions the firm to offer comprehensive sanctions/export controls counseling services, as well as cross-border investigation services across the Atlantic.

"Michelle is a well established sanctions lawyer in the UK, and we are excited she has joined our team," said John Brew, chair of Crowell & Moring's International Trade Group. "Given the UK's proactive stance on sanctions enforcement  and its significant influence on financial services and global supply chain matters  Michelle will be an asset to our clients in a broad array of cross-border trade issues, including sanctions, export controls, and anti-money laundering."

Jack Thomas, managing partner of the firm's London office, said, "Michelle establishes our sanctions capabilities in London and bolsters the office's existing practice strengths, including international disputes and insurance."

In addition to her sanctions work, Linderman handles litigation in relation to a wide variety of shipping and commercial disputes including fraud. She represents clients in ad hoc arbitrations and also in mediations and proceedings in the High Court. She has extensive experience in dispute resolution in other jurisdictions, including Hong Kong, New York, and South Africa.

"Crowell & Moring has a well earned reputation in handling sanctions work; it provides a great platform for supporting my clients for their U.S. and European needs," Linderman said. "I am excited to join such a distinguished group of lawyers, and I am eager to help expand the firm's UK and EU sanctions practice."

Linderman earned her B.A., with honors, in modern Chinese studies from the University of Leeds and then went on to study at Leeds Metropolitan University, where she obtained a post-graduate diploma in law before completing the legal practice course at the College of Law in York. She is admitted to practice in England, Wales, and Hong Kong.

About Crowell & Moring's International Trade Group

Crowell & Moring's International Trade Group provides regulatory, dispute resolution, investigation, policy, and litigation counsel on emerging trade issues worldwide. The group is recognized for its top international trade practices for export controls, sanctions, customs, and trade litigation matters (including antidumping, countervailing duty, and safeguards). Additionally, the group works closely with the firm's other core practices to provide a broad spectrum of client services and to publish their proprietary journal, This Month in International Trade.

About Crowell & Moring LLP

Crowell & Moring LLP is an international law firm with approximately 500 lawyers representing clients in litigation and arbitration, regulatory, and transactional matters. The firm is internationally recognized for its representation of Fortune 500 companies in high-stakes litigation, as well as its ongoing commitment to pro bono service and diversity. The firm has offices in Washington, D.C., New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Orange County, London, and Brussels.

Media Contact:

An Pham

Manager, Media PR & Communications

+1 202.508.8740

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Crowell & Moring LLP

Related Links

http://www.crowell.com


LEXINGTON, Ky., June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Lexmark International, Inc., a global imaging solutions leader, today unveiled the next generation of A3 color laser printers and smart multi-function products (MFPs), featuring nine new models designed to serve the most demanding of workgroups with fast, efficient and secure imaging services.

The Lexmark CS920 Series and the Lexmark CX920 Series feature Lexmark's fastest printing and scanning devices, and highest paper capacity:

The CX924 is Lexmark's fastest color laser MFP, at up to 65 ppm.



The CX920 Series features Lexmark's fastest scanner, at up to 80 ppm.



Both have the highest paper capacity in Lexmark's color laser line, at 6,650 sheets.

Maximum monthly duty cycles in the CX920 Series range from 200,000 to 275,000 pages, meeting demanding output requirements.

These high-speed, high-capacity, color A3 devices deliver on all aspects of Lexmark's product expertise:

Ease of use: A bright, next-generation 10-inch touchscreen featuring Lexmark's own e-Task interface creates an intuitive icon- and text-driven experience that walks users through each step in a process.

A bright, next-generation 10-inch touchscreen featuring Lexmark's own e-Task interface creates an intuitive icon- and text-driven experience that walks users through each step in a process.

Flexibility : User experience and productivity are enhanced with included solution apps that are located on the user interface, such as Lexmark's Print Release and Mobile Print. Devices can also be customized with optional apps or the user's own apps.

: User experience and productivity are enhanced with included solution apps that are located on the user interface, such as Lexmark's Print Release and Mobile Print. Devices can also be customized with optional apps or the user's own apps.

Manageability : CS920 and CX920 series devices become an integrated part of an existing Lexmark fleet as soon as they are plugged in, with complete fleet management, proactive diagnostics and remote firmware upgradeability.

: CS920 and CX920 series devices become an integrated part of an existing Lexmark fleet as soon as they are plugged in, with complete fleet management, proactive diagnostics and remote firmware upgradeability.

Security : Lexmark's comprehensive, full-spectrum security portfolio is built into every CS920 and CX920 device, ensuring a safer and more productive environment.

: Lexmark's comprehensive, full-spectrum security portfolio is built into every CS920 and CX920 device, ensuring a safer and more productive environment.

Mobility : Mobility features include simple printer discovery and mobile printing from iOS, Android or Google Cloud devices, as well as mobile scan and full administration to configure mobile policies, options and defaults.

: Mobility features include simple printer discovery and mobile printing from iOS, Android or Google Cloud devices, as well as mobile scan and full administration to configure mobile policies, options and defaults.

Accessibility : Integrated voice guidance, standard headphone jack, a tiltable operations panel, and screen magnification with pinch and zoom features optimize productivity with varying levels of abilities and create a better experience for all users.

: Integrated voice guidance, standard headphone jack, a tiltable operations panel, and screen magnification with pinch and zoom features optimize productivity with varying levels of abilities and create a better experience for all users.

Integration with Lexmark services : Every CS920 and CX920 series device is fully compatible with key Lexmark services, from Managed Print Services to Lexmark Print Management.

: Every CS920 and CX920 series device is fully compatible with key Lexmark services, from Managed Print Services to Lexmark Print Management. The products introduced today will be available later this year.

Supporting Quotes

"The Lexmark CS920 Series and the Lexmark CX920 Series were designed for high usage, demanding workgroups that require fast, efficient and intuitive devices," said Allen Waugerman, senior vice president and chief technology officer, Lexmark. "These new devices marry the high end large workgroup color A3 with all the features and functionality of our color A4 device lineup, complementing our award-winning color portfolio of laser print devices."

Supporting Resources

Learn more about these new devices here.

About Lexmark

Lexmark creates innovative imaging solutions and technologies that help customers worldwide print, secure and manage information with ease, efficiency and unmatched value. Open the possibilities at Lexmark.com.

Lexmark, the Lexmark logo and Open the possibilities are trademarks of Lexmark International, Inc., registered in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

"Maximum Monthly Duty Cycle" is defined as the maximum number of pages a device could deliver in a month using a multishift operation. This metric provides a comparison of robustness in relation to other Lexmark printers and MFPs.

Print and copy speeds measured in accordance with ISO/IEC 24734, excludes first set of test documents. For more information see: www.lexmark.com/ISOspeeds. 5 Product functions only with replacement cartridges designed for use in a specific geographical region. See www.lexmark.com/regions for more details.

SOURCE Lexmark International, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.lexmark.com


MACOMB TOWNSHIP, Mich., June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Tooling Systems, an Ascent Aerospace company and leading provider of smart assembly tooling, has been selected by Lockheed Martin as a top performing supplier for 2016. Elite Supplier status is awarded to the top two percent of Lockheed Martin's supply base of 1,400 suppliers.

This award recognizes suppliers holding a 98 percent on-time delivery rating with a 98 percent quality rating. According to a statement from Lockheed Martin, "Your role with us makes an impact far beyond performance  it ensures our ability to offer safety and security to customers across the globe. As a leader in engineering, production and sustainment of aircraft, operational excellence and supplier performance are key tenants of our business model."

Ascent Aerospace will host representatives from Lockheed Martin at their Macomb campus in Michigan in June for an awards ceremony recognizing the large team at Global Tooling Systems that worked together to achieve this honor. Dan Pleshko, Vice President, Procurement and Supply Chain Services at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, will officially present the award, joined by three representatives from the company's procurement team.

Ascent will also welcome dignitaries from state government, members of the press, and local trade organizations. Following the presentation of the award, there will be a facility tour of Ascent's newly expanded Macomb campus, which is now home to Global Tooling Systems, Ascent Integration  North America, and Brown Aerospace.

Across Michigan, Ascent Aerospace employs more than 600 aerospace professionals and operates almost one half million square feet of production facilities. As the world's largest tooling and automated fastening group, Ascent offers dedicated integration specialists and multi-disciplinary engineering services to deliver turnkey aerostructure assembly solutions to OEM airframers and their Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers.

www.ascentaerospace.com

Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 97,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services.

Members of the press who wish to attend the event should contact Courtney Sturniolo no later than 9 June 2017.

Company Contact

Ms. Courtney Sturniolo, Marketing Manager

[email protected]

Tel: +1 714 389 1361

Mobile: +1 949 382-0962

SOURCE Ascent Aerospace

Related Links

http://www.ascentaerospace.com


PAGO PAGO, American Samoa, and MORRISTOWN, N.J., June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Louis Berger Power, in partnership with its client American Samoa Power Authority (ASPA), officially opened the new Satala power plant in American Samoa's Pago Pago Harbor. The plant will replace a plant that was destroyed by a September 2009 tsunami after a powerful earthquake occurred off the coast of Tonga.

As part of the tsunami recovery effort, Louis Berger Power was hired by ASPA in 2013 to build a more efficient and resilient power plant that would have the capacity to power the entire Tutuila Island, the main island of American Samoa.

"The most important part of this project was our ability to provide reliable energy to our customers. Before, there was insufficient capacity for the industry in the Bay Area and on the east side of Tutuila," said Utu Abe Malae, executive director of ASPA. "The reliability and affordability of our power supply will give our people a high standard of living and our manufacturers confidence that they can do business here without interruption."

The Satala plant is designed to withstand the challenges that American Samoa can present, including earthquakes, typhoons, flooding, high humidity and corrosive salt air. Other new features include the plant's new higher elevation on engineered fill, an eight-foot flood wall with water-tight flood doors, and acoustic noise reduction measures.

Louis Berger Power and ASPA also worked closely together to minimize the environmental impact of the new plant. In addition to the low-emissions power generators, the site civil design incorporates all water run-off through two separate oil water separation systems before ocean discharge, while the building roof design includes a rainwater harvesting system.

"This plant will provide the American Samoan people with a more efficient and more resilient plant to power their future," said Frank Jordano, president, Louis Berger Power. "Not only will this plant withstand a future tsunami similar to the 2009 event, but it will potentially save millions of dollars per year in avoided fuel costs, which should ease the high cost of electricity while delivering more economic opportunity for the American Samoan people."

The challenge of resiliency and reliability was coupled with the overarching goal of keeping American Samoa on track to source 100 percent of its power from renewable energy sources by 2040, as other islands in the region aspire to accomplish.

Louis Berger established Louis Berger Power as a limited liability corporation focused on providing turnkey power generation and distribution solutions where rapid, reliable or remote power is required. The company has been operating in America Samoa since 2013 when it began construction on a 24.5MW baseload power plant.

Click here to see a photo of the completed Satala power plant. Click here to see a photo of Ute Abe Malae, American Samoa Power Authority executive director, offering comments at the dedication of the new Satala power plant in American Samoa's Pago Pago Harbor.

About Louis Berger

Louis Berger is a $1 billion global professional services corporation that helps infrastructure and development clients solve their most complex challenges. We are a trusted partner to national, state and local government agencies; multilateral institutions; and commercial industry clients worldwide. By focusing on client needs to deliver quality, safe, financially-successful projects with integrity, we are committed to deliver on our promise to provide Solutions for a better world.

Louis Berger operates on every habitable continent. We have a long-standing presence in more than 50 nations, represented by the multidisciplinary expertise of 6,000 engineers, economists, scientists, managers and planners.

Contact:

Regine de la Cruz

[email protected]

SOURCE Louis Berger

Related Links

http://www.power.louisberger.com/


WASHINGTON, June 5, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Twenty-five extraordinary developments from around the world have been selected as finalists for the Urban Land Institute's (ULI) 2017 Global Awards for Excellence, which is widely recognized as one of the land use industry's most prestigious award programs. This year's finalists include three located in Asia, two in Europe, and 20 in North America.

A group of winners chosen from the finalists will be announced in October at the 2017 ULI Fall Meeting in Los Angeles. The finalists (developers and designers in parentheses) are:

The finalists were selected by an international jury made up of ULI members representing a multidisciplinary collection of real estate development expertise, including finance, land planning, development, public affairs, design, and other professional services.

"Each of these finalists demonstrates a thoughtful, innovative approach to urban development that is adding to the sustainability and livability of the communities in which they are located," said Global Awards Jury Chairman Wendy Rowden, president, 42nd Street Development Corp., New York City. "The attention paid to project detail, flexible design, and neighborhood context were among the factors making these entries stand out. They represent the type of development that will withstand the tests of time and change."

In addition to Rowden, the 2017 Global Awards for Excellence Jury members are Stuart Ackerberg, chief executive officer, Ackerberg Group, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Toni Alexander, president and creative director, InterCommunications, Inc., Newport Beach, California; Jeff Barber, principal and managing director, Gensler, Washington, D.C.; Ame M. Engelhart, director, Hong Kong Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, Hong Kong; Michael Grove, principal, Sasaki, Shanghai; Sophie Henley-Price, managing director, STUDIOS Architecture, Paris, France; Lynn Hoffman Carlton, regional director of planning, HOK, Kansas City, Missouri; Lance K. Josal, chief executive officer, Callison RTKL, Dallas, Texas; Roger G. Orf, partner, Apollo Management LLP, London; Alex J. Rose, senior vice president, Continental Development Corporation, El Segundo, California; and Rebecca Stone, managing principal, OZ Architecture, Denver, Colorado.

The Awards for Excellence program, established in 1979 and subsequently expanded to a global program, recognizes real estate projects that achieve the highest standard of excellence in innovative design, construction, economics, planning, and management. Open to the entire industry (not just ULI members), the awards program is viewed as the centerpiece of ULI's efforts to identify and promote best practices in all types of real estate development.

About the Urban Land Institute

The Urban Land Institute is a nonprofit education and research institute supported by its members. Its mission is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide. Established in 1936, the institute has more than 40,000 members worldwide representing all aspects of land use and development disciplines, including more than 2,000 in the Asia Pacific region. For more information on ULI, please visit uli.org or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

SOURCE Urban Land Institute

Related Links

http://www.uli.org


"Our nation's military families have dedicated themselves to our country, and it is our mission to honor that commitment by educating their children to be the next generation of America's leaders," said Margaret B. Davis, President and CEO, Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation. "As we celebrate our 55 th year, we are incredibly grateful and proud to be able to say that we're impacting the lives of more Marine families than ever before."

The announcement was made during the Scholarship Foundation's 31st Annual Washington, DC Celebratory Gala. The event, emceed by CNN's Jake Tapper, brought together significant representation from senior leadership of the Marine Corps, Washington dignitaries, Members of Congress and scholarship recipients to recognize Marines by enabling their children to pursue dreams of a college education.

General Robert Neller USMC, the 37th Commandant of the Marine Corps, was the event's Military Guest of Honor. Additionally, the Scholarship Foundation honored Major General Arnold Punaro USMC (Ret.) with the Commandants Award, and The Honorable Rodney Frelinghuysen with the Semper Fidelis Award. Also in attendance were scholarship recipients like Cameron Arias, whose award allowed him to graduate from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2016.



"To me, Semper Fi stands for integrity, and it stands for family," said Cameron Arias, son of retired Chief Warrant Officer Leonard Arias and a recent alumnus of the Scholarship Foundation who spoke at the ceremony. "Throughout his career, that's what my Dad stressed to me about the Corps; we're a family. The Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation doesn't just offer tuition assistance  they are that family."

About the Scholarship Foundation: Established in 1962, the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation is the Nation's oldest and largest provider of need-based scholarships for military children. Since its inception, the Scholarship Foundation has awarded $120 million in scholarships to 40,000 recipients. For more information on the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation, please visit http://www.mcsf.org/.

CONTACT: Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation

Keith Weller

[email protected]

571.384.2814

SOURCE Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation

Related Links

http://www.mcsf.org


PHILADELPHIA, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Whether they are home, the office, or somewhere in between, McDonald's customers in the Greater Philadelphia Region can now enjoy their favorite burgers, fries, beverages and desserts delivered right to them through UberEATS. McDelivery on UberEATS is available at 97 McDonald's restaurants throughout the Greater Philadelphia Region. To kick off the partnership, UberEATS and McDonald's delivered Happy Meals to children and families staying at the Ronald McDonald House on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia. A special delivery is also being made to the Philadelphia Eagles front office staff and players during practice on Friday, June 9.

"We are excited to bring a new level of convenience and personalization to our customers in the Greater Philadelphia Region with UberEATS," said Charles Ehlers, President, McDonald's of the Greater Philadelphia Region Owner/Operator Association. "As part of McDonald's ongoing food journey, we are continuing to offer more ways for our customers to enjoy their favorite menu items."

Customers can now place McDonald's orders on the UberEATS mobile app or on UberEATS.com, using the same account they use to take Uber rides and track their order, as an UberEATS delivery partner brings their meal directly to them. The full menu at participating McDonald's restaurants will be available for delivery with the exception of soft serve cones. An UberEATS booking fee applies to each order.

"With UberEATS, you can get the food you want, where you want it, delivered at Uber speed. We're thrilled to partner with McDonald's to give fans in the Greater Philadelphia Region easy access to their McDonald's favorites at the tap of a button," said Casey Verkamp, General Manager, UberEATS Philadelphia. "People in the Greater Philadelphia Region search for McDonald's in the UberEATS app almost daily, so we're excited to expand our reach and deliver what they've been craving."

McDonald's recently announced that delivery with UberEATS is expanding to additional U.S. markets following a successful pilot in Florida earlier this year: it is now available from more than 2,000 restaurants in the U.S. and will grow to 3,500 by the end of June. Delivery is just one way that McDonald's is enhancing the customer experience through added convenience. McDonald's continues to transform the restaurant experience through the addition of self-order kiosks, table service and digital menu boards and will roll out mobile order and pay across its 14,000 U.S. restaurants later this year.

For more information about the McDonald's and UberEATS partnership, and other local offers, follow @McDPhilly on Twitter and Instagram.

About McDonald's USA

McDonald's USA, LLC, serves a variety of menu options made with quality ingredients to more than 25 million customers every day. Nearly 90 percent of McDonald's 14,000 U.S. restaurants are independently owned and operated by businessmen and women. Customers can now log online for free at approximately 11,500 participating Wi-Fi enabled McDonald's U.S. restaurants. For more information, visit www.mcdonalds.com, or follow us on Twitter @McDonalds and Facebook www.facebook.com/mcdonalds.

ABOUT UberEATS

UberEATS is Uber's stand-alone meal delivery app that makes getting food as easy as requesting a ride, whether you're at home, the office, or the park. Uber is leveraging its technology and expanding its driver partner network to deliver food to hungry customers who can track their order, get an upfront delivery time, and use the same account they use to take rides. UberEATS is available globally in more than 70 cities, bringing millions of people the right food, for right nowat the tap of a button.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Tom Cristino

215.790.4358

[email protected]

Christina Crews

215.570-4186

[email protected]



SOURCE McDonald's
DUBLIN, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Middle East & Africa Gas Gensets Market By Rating (Low Rating (Less than 50kVA), Medium Rating (50.1kVA-500kVA), etc.), By End User (Industrial, Commercial, & Residential), By Country Competition Forecast & Opportunities, 2012-2026" report to their offering.

Middle East & Africa gas gensets market is projected to reach USD583.14 million by 2026

Saudi Arabia and the UAE dominated the gas gensets market in 2016 and the trend is expected to continue over the coming years as well.

Gas gensets are being widely used across various end use sectors such as healthcare, pharmaceutical industries, manufacturing facilities, landfill sites, water treatment, sewage facilities, among others, as back-up power sources in case of power grid failure or outage. Booming industrial and commercial sectors, the growing need to generate power through clean energy sources, inadequate and anachronistic power infrastructure, stringent environmental regulations and expanding pipeline infrastructure are expected to boost the demand for gas gensets in the region during the forecast period.

Cummins Inc., Caterpillar Inc., General Electric Co., Generac Power Systems, MTU Onsite Energy, Wartsila Corporation, Kohler SDMO, Doosan Infracore Co., Ltd., Dresser Rand Group Inc., and Himoinsa S.L. were some of the major players operating in Middle East & Africa gas gensets market.



Middle East & Africa Gas Gensets Market, Competition Forecast & Opportunities, 2012-2026" report discusses:



Middle East and Africa gas gensets Market Size, Share & Forecast

and gas gensets Market Size, Share & Forecast Segmental Analysis - By Rating (Low Rating, Medium Rating, High Rating and Very High Rating), By End-User (Industrial, Commercial and Residential) and By Country ( Saudi Arabia , UAE, Iran , Nigeria , South Africa , Qatar and Rest of Middle East & Africa )

, UAE, , , , and Rest of & ) Policy & Regulatory Landscape

Changing Market Trends and Emerging Opportunities

Competitive Landscape and Strategic Recommendations

Market Trends & Developments



Shift towards Hybrid Power System

Digital Control Technology

Introduction of Gas Generators with Paralleling Capabilities

Shift from Diesel Gensets to Gas Gensets

Shift in Penetration Towards Residential Sector

Increasing Infrastructure-based Developments

Implementation of Energy Efficiency Systems

Growing Water Desalination Market

Key Topics Covered:



1. Product Overview



2. Research Methodology



3. Analyst View



4. Middle East & Africa Gas Gensets Market Overview



5. Middle East & Africa Gas Gensets Market Outlook



6. Saudi Arabia Gas Gensets Market Outlook



7. UAE Gas Gensets Market Outlook



8. Iran Gas Gensets Market Outlook



9. Nigeria Gas Gensets Market Outlook



10. South Africa Gas Gensets Market Outlook



11. Qatar Gas Gensets Market Outlook



12. Market Dynamics



13. Market Trends & Developments



14. Voice of Customers



15. Competitive Landscape



Atlas Copco

Caterpillar Inc.

Cooper Corporation Private Limited

Cummins Inc

Deutz AG

Doosan Infracore Co., Ltd.

Dresser Rand Group Inc.

Generac Power Systems

General Electric Co.

Himoinsa S.L.

Kirloskar Oil Engines Limited

Kohler Co. Inc.

MTU Onsite Energy

Sterling & Wilson

Wartsila Corporation

For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/wqbxnm/middle_east_and

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets

Related Links

http://www.researchandmarkets.com


DUBLIN, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Middle East and Africa Gift Cards and Incentive Cards Market Intelligence Databook - Market Size and Forecast (2012-2021) by Function, by Consumer, by Card Type, Consumer Behaviour by Gifting Occasion, and Market Share by Retail Categories" report to their offering.

This is a bundled offering, combining 6 countries. This is a data centric report, primarily consisting of charts and tables. This report provides a detailed data centric analysis of Middle East & Africa gift cards market, covering over 30+ market segments and sub-segments for each of the 6 countries. Please note that this is a data centric report, primarily consisting of charts and tables.

Gift cards: Drawing from proprietary survey results, this report provides in-depth analysis of opportunities in both open loop and closed loop prepaid gift card categories. Assesses consumer behaviour by type of consumer (retail and corporate), gifting occasion, card type (paper, plastic, digital), and market share by retail categories.

Incentive cards: This report provides detailed market dynamics of corporate incentive cards, broadly segmented in two categories - consumer incentive card and employee/partner incentive card. It details market size and forecast at category level, by functional attribute (open loop and closed loop), and by corporate consumer segments (small scale business, mid-size business, and enterprise business).

Market Dynamics: Provides a comprehensive view on size and structure, industry dynamics, market trends, consumer attitude and behaviour, and competitive landscape in the prepaid card industry.

Open loop and closed loop: Provides market estimates and forecasts to assess opportunities in open loop and closed loop prepaid market segments. Details four essential KPIs - number of cards in circulation, number of transactions, load value, and value of transactions.

Benchmarking and risk index: Benchmarks the prepaid card industry in the country with key global markets along with a risk assessment through the author's proprietary Prepaid Cards Industry Risk Index (PCIRI).

Consumer Attitude and Behaviour: Drawing from proprietary survey results, this report identifies and interprets key prepaid KPIs, including spend by age, gender, and income level. In addition, it provides an overview of how consumers are currently using prepaid cards across five key categories - travel, bill payment, retail spend, cash withdrawal, and P2P transfers. It also provides a breakdown by transaction size.

Retail Spend: Breaks down retail spend across 11 categories to provide detailed insights on consumer behaviour and changing dynamics of prepaid card spend.



Report Scope



Market data and insights

Prepaid segments by card function

Consumer segments

Consumer Spend Segments

Retail spend categories

Prepaid card categories

Gift card

Consumer incentive card

Employee/partner incentive card

Key Topics Covered:



*Table of Contents given below is for one country. All other countries will have same sections, charts, and tables.



1 About this Report



2 Kenya Prepaid Card Industry Market Attractiveness



3 Kenya Open Loop Prepaid Card Future Growth Dynamics, 2012-2021



4 Kenya Closed Loop Prepaid Card Future Growth Dynamics, 2012-2021



5 Kenya Prepaid Card Consumer Usage Trends



6 Kenya Open Loop Prepaid Card Retail Spend Dynamics



7 Kenya Gift Card Market Size and Forecast, 2012-2021



8 Kenya Consumer Incentive and Loyalty Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast, 2012-2021



9 Kenya Employee/Partner Incentive Prepaid Card Market Size and Forecast, 2012-2021



10 Further Reading



For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/cqfcjn/middle_east_and

Media Contact:



Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets

Related Links

http://www.researchandmarkets.com


"I'm excited to join such a promising and up-and-coming company," says Bettiga. "Fun2Play's story is phenomenal, considering the company is still very young. There is a ton of great talent on the team. Already its licensing and retail placement has been very strong, and it received a fantastic reception at the Licensing Expo this year. I look forward to bringing the operational and managerial experience required to ensure that sales remain strong now and in the future."

During his previous work with Shopko, Bettiga pioneered several highly successful businesses within the company. Under his leadership, the company achieved strong growth and financial accountability. Throughout his career, Bettiga's organizational eye has allowed him to pinpoint potential areas where companies can be structured or improved, or where employees' skills can be further developed.

"We started this company 16-17 months ago using our combined experience within the consumer product industry, and are so thrilled that it has achieved its current level of success," says Olen Rice, Co-President of Fun2Play Toys. "Although our small company has immediately gained traction, we needed operational and management experience to ensure we filled in all the gaps. Those are the areas where someone with Mike's knowledge, talent and vast retail management experience will help us the most."

For more information about Mike Bettiga or Fun2Play Toys, please contact Laura Gambino at 1-(416)-593-5628 x110 or by e-mail at [email protected].

About Fun2Play Toys:

In 2016, Fun2Play Toys entered the market with the aim to deliver fun and creative toys around the globe. The company designs, manufactures, markets and creates imaginative products and properties inspired by kids and adults alike. Most recently, Fun2Play Toys created the trendy brand Poo-nicorns that has impacted the pop culture and consumer products sectors through its potty humour, relevancy and speed to market approach. With offices in the US, Canada and Hong Kong, this fast-growing company has shown innovation within the trend and consumer products industries.

SOURCE Fun2Play Toys
JACKSON, Mich., June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- MiraMed Global Services, Inc. (MiraMed), a leader in healthcare revenue cycle management (RCM) services and business process outsourcing (BPO) solutions, is pleased to announce the addition of Stephanie A. Griffin, RN, JD, CHC as Chief Compliance Officer. Ms. Griffin will oversee the MiraMed corporate compliance program, which functions as an independent and objective body that reviews and evaluates compliance issues/concerns within the organization.

This role centralizes existing functions responsible for identifying and managing risk and compliance across the MiraMed Family of Companies. As the Chief Compliance Officer, Ms. Griffin will work closely with senior executives and the Board to identify, propose and implement enhancements to the management and monitor risk, compliance and privacy protections. Ms. Griffin will also work closely with other company stakeholders and external parties, as appropriate, to manage and resolve risk, compliance and privacy protection-related issues.

Tony Mira, Chairman & CEO of MiraMed Global Services, explains the significance of the role, "Compliance is something we take very seriously at MiraMed. MiraMed works with healthcare organizations nationwide and internationally, as such, we are very conscious of the vigilance needed to stay abreast of all of the changes happening due to political and environmental effects. The addition of Ms. Griffin in the position of Chief Compliance Officer will allow our Family of Companies to have a direct conduit to receive and direct compliance issues to appropriate resources for investigation and resolution."

Ms. Griffin, an attorney and registered nurse (RN) with over 14 years of legal and compliance experience, is certified in Health Care Compliance (CHC) by the Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA). Her deep knowledge of fraud and abuse along with data privacy and security makes her a valuable asset to the MiraMed Family of Companies. Griffin's previous experience with ConcertoHealth, as both Chief Clinical Operations Officer and Chief Compliance Officer & Privacy Officer, make her uniquely qualified to lead MiraMed's corporate compliance program. Preceding positions with CommuniCare Family of Companies, LaVie Care Centers and Amerigroup demonstrate Griffin's commitment to the successful exploration of healthcare trends, and adherence to guidelines, laws, and government regulations to minimize corporate risk and enhance safety and opportunity for all concerned.

Michael O'Boyle, President of MiraMed Global Services, states, "With her varied experience in compliance, legal affairs and business ethics, Ms. Griffin will be an internal resource to whom concerned parties may communicate." Working with each of our subsidiaries' compliance staff, she will lead the compliance program for the MiraMed Family of Companies and its related activities to prevent illegal, unethical or improper conduct. O'Boyle continues, "Her dedication to operational excellence and business intelligence will benefit the entire MiraMed Family of Companies."

About MiraMed

Headquartered in Jackson, Michigan, MiraMed Global Services stands as the premier global provider of business process outsourcing solutions to healthcare organizations nationwide. MiraMed partners with hospitals, health networks, physician practices and related industry service organizations to provide a broad portfolio of customizable solutions, uncover and capitalize on hidden financial opportunities, improve productivity and ultimately increase profits. MiraMed has offices in Jackson, MI, Chicago, IL, Birmingham, AL, Thousand Oaks, CA, Walnut Creek, CA, Baton Rouge, LA, Boston, MA, Dearborn, MI, Santa Fe, NM, Portland, OR, Dallas, TX, Chennai, India and Manila, Philippines.

MiraMed pairs healthcare industry experts with world-class processes, infrastructure and technology to deliver meaningful and measurable results. This proprietary model enables sustainable change by delivering a complete, customizable enhanced revenue cycle solutions devised to meet a client's own unique financial and organizational needs.

If you would like more information, please go to www.miramedgs.com or email [email protected].

Twitter

LinkedIn

Facebook

Google+

Contact: Lori Imboden

Tel: 517-787-7432

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE MiraMed Global Services

Related Links

http://www.miramedgs.com


DALLAS, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Motel 6 Radio Campaign took home the "Best of Show" and "Agency/Product Spot" Awards at the 2017 Radio Mercury Awards at Stage 48 in New York City on June 1, 2017. Featuring the voice of Tom Bodett, the brand's long-time campaign spokesperson for nearly 30 years, the winning ad-spots were developed by The Richards Group. They are the latest in a line of fresh and relevant ads that position Motel 6 as the leader in the economy lodging segment.

With the folksy musings of Tom Bodett, the 2017 Motel 6 Radio Campaign won Best of Show, with a prize of $50,000. The campaign, including three spots titled "Man Bun," "Facelift," and "Millennials," highlighted the brand's contemporary room design and guest accommodations. Additionally, the spot titled, "Millennials" was honored as radio ad of the year, claiming the "Agency/Production Spot" award and a $5000 prize.

"Thanks to our long-standing partnership with the talented team at The Richards Group, our campaign has been recognized again this year at the Radio Mercury Awards, and we're honored to receive this year's Best of Show," said Lance Miceli, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at G6 Hospitality/Motel 6. "These awards embody our continuous efforts to position Motel 6 as a modern icon, with the support of Tom Bodett's fun and refreshing narrative that speaks to our audience and guests."

This year's award winning spots feature Tom Bodett's humorous commentary on pop culture topics while promoting the economy lodging brand's evolution. Bodett began working with Motel 6 in 1986, when he ad-libbed the enduring tagline "I'm Tom Bodett for Motel 6 and we'll leave the light on for you" at the very first recording session. More than three-decades later, the recognizable tagline continues to lead Motel 6 brand campaigns and propel the brand to enjoy the highest brand recognition for the economy segment.

"It's an enormous thrill to receive such a prestigious award, and I am extremely proud to be a part of this long-standing partnership with Motel 6," said Chris Smith, Brand Creative Group Head at The Richards Group. "We see it as our mission to maintain the high bar set by a dream client and an iconic campaign, and this award shows that we're doing it justice."

Listen to the winning 2017 Motel 6 Radio Campaign and ad spots here: 2017 Radio Mercury Awards Winners

In the midst of celebrating its 55th Anniversary, Motel 6 has kept the lights on for travelers since the first property opened in 1962 in Santa Barbara, California. Today, the brand has grown into more than 1,400 locations representing the largest owned and operated hotel chain in the North American economy segment, featuring contemporary room design with modern furniture, platform beds, multimedia panels, and wood-effect flooring in the bedrooms, as well as granite counters with a vessel sinks. Special attention was given to deliver contemporary decor within a highly functional space that provides extra comfort for budget-conscious travelers.

Established in 1992, The Radio Mercury Awards, the only competition exclusively devoted to radio, encourages and rewards the development of effective and creative radio commercials. The annual Radio Mercury Awards competition draws entries from advertising agencies, production houses, radio stations, and educational institutions across the country. Winners of the 2017 Radio Mercury Awards were announced on Thursday, June 1, 2017, and Best of Show went to the familiar and celebrated long-running Motel 6 Radio Campaign by The Richards Group.

About Motel 6

Motel 6 offers the lowest price of any national chain at its more than 1,400 company-owned and franchised locations throughout the United States and Canada. Growing faster than any of its competitors, Motel 6 has used the tagline, "We'll leave the light on for you" for more than 29 years, earning the chain the highest brand recognition in the economy lodging segment. Motel 6 offers standard amenities including Wi-Fi Internet access, free local calls, no long distance access charges, free morning coffee and expanded cable channel line-up. Most locations offer swimming pools and guest laundry facilities. Motel 6 is managed and operated by G6 Hospitality LLC. For more information, visit www.motel6.com.

About The Richards Group

Located in Dallas, Texas, The Richards Group is the largest independent brand-building shop in the nation with annual billings above $1.4 billion in 2016. Clients include the standard-setting brands of Cardinal Health, Dr Pepper Snapple Group, FIAT USA, GameStop, The Home Depot, Motel 6, Orkin, and Ram Trucks. Richards Group can be found at richards.com or on Twitter, @RichardsGroup.

SOURCE G6 Hospitality
WELLESLEY, Mass., June 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Health care claims that breach the million-dollar mark continue to rise, according to Sun Life's 5th annual catastrophic claims report. The report, which details the top 10 catastrophic medical conditions from 2013 to 2016, found that the number of multi-million-dollar claimants increased 68% from 114 to 192 during that period. While multi-million-dollar cases make up a small number of overall claimants, they are a greater proportion of reimbursement dollars. In 2016, multi-million-dollar cases made up 2.2% of claimants but generated 23% of total stop-loss reimbursements.

Sun Life Financial 2017 Catastrophic Claims Report: Top Million-Dollar + Claims for Top 10 Catastrophic Medical Conditions

Over the four-year period, total costs for catastrophic claims reached $6.1 billion, with $2.7 billion paid in stop-loss reimbursements. Sun Life Financial U.S. is the leading independent provider of stop-loss insurance for self-funded employers who currently cover 4.6 million lives. Sun Life's catastrophic claims research also found:

Cancer dominates the top-ten  Based on dollar amount and percentage of total stop-loss claims, malignant neoplasms and leukemia/lymphoma/multiple myeloma (cancers) took spots one and two on the top 10 catastrophic claims list, representing more than a quarter (26.7%) of total stop-loss reimbursements from 2013-2016;

Breast cancer prevalence  Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in the U.S., with an estimated 247,000 new cases reported in 2016, and an average paid claim amount of $147,100 ;

; Transplants costs are high  Bone marrow/stem cell transplants are the costliest transplant procedures, with an average paid claim cost of about $400,000 . Transplants were the most common high dollar claim condition among 20 to 39 year-olds;

. Transplants were the most common high dollar claim condition among 20 to 39 year-olds; Highest individual claim  Of the top-10 conditions, the highest claim was $3.2 million , for malignant neoplasm (cancer). The attached chart details the highest claims in each top-10 condition;

, for malignant neoplasm (cancer). The attached chart details the highest claims in each top-10 condition; The top three highest-cost conditions  Leukemia, lymphoma and/or multiple myeloma (cancers), congenital anomalies (conditions present at birth); and malignant neoplasm (cancers) are more likely to result in million-dollar+ claimants due to their frequency; and

IV medications tracked in the study pushed up costs  When looking at data on intravenous drugs, the report showed they accounted for 48% of total paid charges on the top five highest-dollar claimants. Of the 562 claimants exceeding $1 million between 2013 and 2016, 45 generated more than $1 million in high-cost intravenous medications.

"Health insurance is for the unexpected. Providing full coverage for catastrophic medical events without lifetime limits as designed under the Affordable Care Act is the right thing to do," said Dan Fishbein, M.D., president of Sun Life Financial U.S. "An unintended result of removing caps under employer plans has been a steady rise in the frequency of multi-million-dollar claims fueled by life-saving treatments and drugs. While this benefits all of us, the overall increase in health care costs underscores the need for self-insured employers to plan for and manage catastrophic, high-cost claims so they can continue offering affordable health benefits to their employees."

The 2017 Sun Life Stop-Loss Research Report is composed of data from high-cost medical claims during the study period. The report is the first in a series of four that will become available through the remainder of the year. The next report, due later this summer, will cover high-cost medications.

Sun Life is the top independent stop-loss insurer in the U.S., and has been reporting on catastrophic claims annually since 2012 on claims data dating back to 2008.

About Sun Life Financial

Sun Life Financial is a leading international financial services organization providing a diverse range of insurance, wealth and asset management solutions to individuals and corporate Clients. Sun Life Financial has operations in a number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of March 31, 2017, Sun Life Financial had total assets under management of C$927 billion. For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com.

Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF.

In the United States, Sun Life Financial is one of the largest group benefits providers, serving more than 60,000 employers in small, medium and large workplaces across the country. Sun Life's broad portfolio of products and services in the U.S. includes Disability and Absence Management, Life, Dental and Vision, Voluntary and Stop-Loss insurance. This includes the acquisition of the U.S. Employee Benefits business of Assurant, Inc., in Q1 2016. For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com/us.

Media contact:

Devon Portney Fernald

Sun Life Financial

781-416-7151

[email protected]

SOURCE Sun Life Financial

Related Links

http://www.sunlife.com/us


MARLBOROUGH, Mass., June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- CardioFocus, Inc. today announced the electrophysiology team at Na Homolce Hospital in Prague, Czech Republic is the first to successfully treat 500 patients using the HeartLight Endoscopic Ablation System.

The HeartLight System is a visually guided laser balloon technology for controlled and consistent pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) treatment of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF). It provides an effective and safe treatment option for patients whose heart arrhythmias are insufficiently controlled with medication.

Head of the Department of Cardiology at Na Homolce, Professor Petr Neuzil, and his team are among the earliest adopters of the HeartLight laser balloon technology. In addition to achieving the 500th-patient milestone, the hospital first served as a primary investigative site during clinical trials in the European Union (EU) and then as the first center in Europe to offer the HeartLight System following EU commercialization.

In 2014, the hospital published its long-term outcomes with the HeartLight System, demonstrating that 82 percent of its patients remained free of AF one year after the treatment and 75 percent remained free at four years. Most recently, Na Homolce has initiated a clinical evaluation of CardioFocus' next-generation HeartLight Excalibur Balloon, which leverages the system's proven universal balloon design and introduces an advanced feature set that optimizes the speed and magnitude of target tissue contact during PVI procedures.

"Over the last seven years, our team has become extremely proficient in achieving durable PVI using HeartLight. With direct visualization  as opposed to relying on x-ray or mapping support for guidance  we are able to isolate patients' pulmonary veins of varying size," said Professor Neuzil. "Successfully treating 500 patients with this device is a notable achievement for us as we continue to provide the most effective therapy options to those suffering from AF."

"Na Homolce is a world-class facility that embraces state-of-the-art technology as part of their commitment to provide the highest quality of care," said Paul A. LaViolette, Executive Chairman of CardioFocus. "The 500-patient milestone highlights the physicians' long-term experience and success with HeartLight and underscores their dedication to improved patient outcomes. We congratulate Professor Neuzil and his team on this significant achievement and look forward to continued collaboration in the future."

A private event to commemorate the 500th patient milestone will be held at on 16-June 2017.

About Na Homolce Hospital

Accredited by JCI (Joint Commission International), Na Homolce Hospital is one of the top hospitals in Europe and focuses on the comprehensive treatment of cardiovascular and neurological/neurosurgical diseases. Within the cardiovascular specialization, Na Homolce offers the largest range of modern and clinically verified diagnostics and treatments, including conservative treatment, minimally-invasive techniques and surgical procedures on the heart and blood vessels. Its cardiology centers includes those for the treatment of cardiac rhythm disorders, chronic heart failure, congenital heart defects, aortic disease, and valvular heart disease as well as robotic cardiac and vascular surgery. For more information visit www.homolka.cz/en-CZ/home

About CardioFocus, Inc.

CardioFocus is a medical device innovator and manufacturer dedicated to advancing ablation treatment for cardiac disorders such as atrial fibrillation (AF). The company's HeartLight Endoscopic Ablation System is commercially available at leading institutions throughout the United States and Europe. The HeartLight System is a revolutionary catheter ablation technology designed for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common heart arrhythmia. The HeartLight System's direct visualization, titratable laser energy, and universal balloon design make it a new standard for pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) procedures. The HeartLight System is approved for use and commercially available in the United States and Europe. More than 4,000 patients with AF have been successfully treated with the system. CardioFocus is headquartered in Marlborough, Mass. For more information visit www.cardiofocus.com.

Media Contact:

Susan Benton Russell

Phone: 310.699.1132

[email protected]

SOURCE CardioFocus, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.cardiofocus.com


LOS ANGELES, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2017 NALIP Media Summit is the largest gathering of Latinos in media nationwide, and will take place at the Ray Dolby Ballroom in Hollywood on June 22-25. The National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP) is celebrating its 18th Media Summit, which focuses on advancing the Latino community throughout media.

Followed by an Emerging Content Creators Workshop, Latino Lens Showcase and late-night Launch Mixer on Thursday, June 22, the keynote luncheon on Friday, June 23 will feature a conversation with David Levine, co-head of drama for HBO Programming who will share his insights on greenlighting a project.

The four-day schedule of panels, workshops, screenings and showcases, highlights include:

Diverse Women in Media Initiative  Beginning with the Digital Trailblazer Award given to Venezuelan-born Eleonora "Lele" Pons, the session segues into a Signature Conversation with the women behind the new HBO series Room 104: Executive producer Xan Aranda , actress Melonie Diaz and EVP of HBO Programming Amy Gravitt, moderated by Kelly Edwards and followed by an evening mixer.

Executive producer , actress and EVP of HBO Programming Amy Gravitt, moderated by and followed by an evening mixer. Inside the Sundance Labs With Miguel Arteta and John Lopez  Sundance will present a panel bringing together Miguel Arteta and John Lopez to share insights about their own experiences as Screenwriters, Directors, and Episodic Labs.

 Sundance will present a panel bringing together and to share insights about their own experiences as Screenwriters, Directors, and Episodic Labs. Animation Master Class  Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios will host a session with Moana producer Osnat Shurer, Cars 3 co-producer Andrea Warren and Coco co-director/screenwriter Adrian Molina , who will discuss the specifics of making animated features.

This year the Latino Media Awards and Gala will take place on Saturday, June 24, which will honor Zoe Saldana (Avatar, Guardians of the Galaxy) with the Outstanding Achievement Award. The annual Lupe Award will be given to Guatemalan-American actor Tony Revolori (The Grand Budapest Hotel) next seen in Spider-Man: Homecoming.

For more information on the NALIP Media Summit and for passes please visit www.nalipmediasummit.com.

About NALIP

The National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP) seeks to inspire, promote, and advocate for Latino content creators in media. As an established non-profit organization, NALIP advances the development of Latino content creation through its programs focusing on narrative, documentary, TV, and digital formats. For more information, visit www.NALIP.org.

SOURCE NALIP

Related Links

http://www.nalip.org


NASHVILLE, Tenn. and FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich., June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Tennessee's Nashville Public Library (NPL) has been named the 2017 Library of the Year by Library Journal magazine and Gale, a Cengage company. The Library of the Year is a prestigious honor awarded to a library that demonstrates profound service to community, creativity, leadership, and innovation in developing community programs. Nashville Public Library stands out for its ability to bring stories, reading, and learning to life to educate the communityfrom the youngest learners through adults.

"This is an honor for our library, for our dedicated staff, and for Nashville and Davidson County," said Kent Oliver, Nashville Public Library Director. "I want to thank our patrons, elected officials, employees, volunteers, the Nashville Public Library Foundation, the Friends of the Library, and all our supporters.

This award reflects our commitment to our community. Nashville Public Library helps meet the challenges and embrace the opportunities we face as our city continues to grow. We are committed to helping shape education, economic development, and community growth for everyone."

Nashville Public Library serves a community of nearly 700,000 residents through its 21 locations across the city. With a staff of more than 350, plus almost 600 volunteers, the library has encouraged more than 3.3 million visits and answered nearly 300,000 questions over the last year. These statistics reflect an impressive level of engagement by its users, but more importantly, lead to learning outcomes for the Nashville community. The library fosters a love of reading and learning through innovative storytelling programs that incorporate the city's history. Through its renowned Civil Rights Room and Collection, its citywide book club "Nashville Reads" and the Bringing Books to Life! initiative, the library is able to use stories to engage the community in learning.

"Great libraries find compelling solutions to the challenges in their communities. Nashville Public Library stands out for its range of services, innovation in partnerships, and commitment to evolving as its community does, while keeping a keen eye on what's important from the past," said Rebecca T. Miller, editorial director of Library Journal. "We are very excited to have Nashville join the stellar Library of the Year roster."

Nashville Public Library has a strong partnership with Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) to put public library materials and technology into students' hands. The Limitless Libraries initiative has infused millions of dollars into school libraries and helped local schools meet or exceed state collection requirements. The initiative has funded the buildout of several school libraries into vibrant, engaging, and creative spaces for students to learn. Limitless Libraries has become a national model for cities considering similar deep partnerships between schools and public libraries.

Nashville Public Library has also focused on closing a material digital divide within the community  more than one in ten Tennesseans don't have access to the Internet and more than 40 percent of students don't have access to the Internet or computers at home. In addition to providing basic digital infrastructure, the library offers numerous outreach services to the neediest populations and at-risk communities.

"Now, more than ever, it's important to demonstrate the wide-reaching impact libraries have on the education, health, and economy of the communities they serve," said Harmony Faust, vice president of marketing for Gale. "Through creative programs and strategic initiatives that touch everyone in the community, Nashville Public Library is a stellar example of the important work public libraries do."

The 2017 Library of the Year Award will be presented, along with $10,000 in prize money, at a reception during the American Library Association Annual Conference in Chicago, IL, on June 25.

To learn more about Nashville Public Library and what makes them Library of the Year, visit the Gale blog and read the full cover story in Library Journal here.

About Nashville Public Library

A Nashville Public Library (NPL) card is free, but it's also priceless. A 2016 study by the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce calculated the value of NPL's services and collections at $2,951 per Nashville family and the direct impact of NPL on Davidson County at $94 million. NPL maintains a collection of millions of items, including books, periodicals, DVDs, CDs, audiobooks, and streaming and downloadable books, movies and music. The Library also offers more than 800 public-use computers, free art exhibits, educational programs, events for all ages, 24/7 reference assistance, online databases, interlibrary loan and special collections. Metro Archives, located at the Main Library, houses 5 million historic documents. Equal access is provided by the Talking Library audio reading service for the print disabled and Library Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. For more information, call 615-862-5800 or visit library.nashville.org.

About Cengage and Gale

Cengage is the education and technology company built for learners. The company serves the higher education, K-12, professional, library and workforce training markets worldwide. Gale, a Cengage company, provides libraries with original and curated content, as well as the modern research tools and technology that are crucial in connecting libraries to learning, and learners to libraries. For more than 60 years, Gale has partnered with libraries around the world to empower the discovery of knowledge and insights  where, when, and how people need it. Gale has 500 employees globally with its main operations in Farmington Hills, Michigan. For more information, please visit www.gale.com.

About Library Journal

Founded in 1876, Library Journal is one of the oldest and most respected publications covering the library field. Over 75,000 library directors, administrators, and staff in public, academic, and special libraries read LJ. Library Journal reviews over 8,000 books, audiobooks, videos, databases, and websites annually, and provides coverage of technology, management, policy, and other professional concerns. For more information, visit www.libraryjournal.com. Library Journal is a publication of Media Source Inc., which also owns School Library Journal, The Horn Book, and Junior Library Guild.

Media Contacts:

Emily Waltenbaugh

Nashville Public Library

615-862-5754

[email protected]

Lindsay Stanley

Cengage

(203) 965-8634

[email protected]

SOURCE Cengage
OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill., June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Jonathan Wesley, a leading marketing and consulting firm headquartered in Illinois, recently won national recognition for their superb sales performance on behalf of a premier energy client during the first quarter of 2017.

Led by President Andrew Breuninger, the executive and brand ambassador team at Jonathan Wesley has repeatedly won the Campaign Cup award for their work and is already working to keep it in their office next quarter. The Campaign Cup is an honor given quarterly to the office with the highest quality and leading sales statistics measured against those eligible for recognition.

"Our team works hard to make a true difference around the globe, and I am proud of their dedication and achievements," said Breuninger. "We are helping save the environment, meeting the client's needs, and introducing customers to pollution-free electricity while providing excellent customer service all at the same time."

Effectively marketing pollution-free products and ensuring a cleaner, greener place for future generations to thrive, Jonathan Wesley works with renewable energy clients to increase brand awareness and acquire new customers while ensuring the loyalty of current customers. To date, the firm's representatives have signed up enough customers to offset the generation of more than 100 million pounds of carbon dioxide, equivalent to 102,882,000 pounds of CO2 emissions  the same amount that would be generated burning 108,043 barrels of oil.

At Jonathan Wesley, skilled client acquisition professionals with over a decade of experience approach client relationship management with honesty and integrity. Actively fostering a team-oriented environment that leads to career success, the firm was selected as a National Best and Brightest Companies to Work For in 2014. The company also gives back to the community through philanthropic involvement with Operation Smile and has active partnerships with the Chicago Wolves, Brookfield Zoo, and Chicago twentysomething organizations.

Like Jonathan Wesley on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

About Jonathan Wesley

Jonathan Wesley is a privately owned marketing company founded in 2003 that offers retail consulting services to recognizable companies desirous of broadening their customer base in the renewable energy industry. The firm provides tailored strategies for marketing the clients' retail businesses with integrity, outstanding service, and high quality. For more information, call 630-607-0906 or contact them at www.jonathanwesleyinc.com.

Contact: Andrew Breuninger

630-607-0906

SOURCE Jonathan Wesley, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.jonathanwesleyinc.com


Ever wondered how a giraffe's heart pumps blood up its long neck or how a cheetah is so fast? How a toucan stays cool in the jungle or how insects breathe without lungs? The biomechanics of how animals and plants stay in one piece despite what appear to be insurmountable challenges are fascinating. Using their biological pumps, pipes, insulation, motors and springs, these creatures endure extreme temperatures, find food against fierce competition, circulate their own life-sustaining fluids and defend against the forces of wind and water and the pull of gravity.

The exhibition, presented in English and Spanish and free with Museum admission, explains these phenomena with real objects, scientific models and engaging activities.

Try pumping "blood" from the heart of a life-size giraffe model all the way up to its brain.

Learn to "fly" using two different types of wings.

Explore the mechanics of cheetahs and what makes them the world's fastest land mammal.

Try activities to feel the intense grip of a chimpanzee and the strength of a harpy eagle.

Discover the stories behind breakthroughs inspired by nature's ingenuity, such as Velcro, wind turbines and chainsaws.

Stand in front of a thermal camera to learn how much heat your body loses compared to animals covered in fur, blubber or feathery down.

Find out how toucan beaks and fox ears act as radiators to regulate temperature.

Consider the complexities of the human gait as you watch a two-legged robot try to walk.

Collect animal trading cards, a new one each month during the exhibition's run, while supplies last.

This exhibition was developed by The Field Museum in partnership with the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, with generous support provided by the Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust and ITW.

For more information, visit www.dmns.org/NAM.

MEDIA CONTACT: Maura O'Neal, 303.370.6407, [email protected]

SOURCE Denver Museum of Nature & Science

Related Links

http://www.dmns.org


WASHINGTON and PARIS, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A comprehensive new report, released today by AARP, examines the preparedness levels of 12 nations -- Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Israel, Japan, Korea, Mexico, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States -- for the profound challenges their societies and economies face as the number of people age-60-and-up in their populations more than doubles over the next generation, as is projected to happen by 2050, by the United Nations, the World Bank and others.

AARP's Aging Readiness and Competitiveness (ARC) Report, (which can be found online at aarpinternational.org/arc) conducted in conjunction with FP Analytics, examines each nation in four key sectors: 1) Community & Social Infrastructure, 2) Productive Opportunity & Economic Output, 3) Healthcare & Wellness, and 4) Technological Engagement, noting constructive progress, areas of potential concern, and key developments.

While ARC does not seek to rank or grade the nations it assesses, for each of the four sectors, it places each nation in one of three categories: leaders, movers (e.g., those making notable progress), or laggards. For those used to U.S. predominance in studies of this kind, the ARC Report rates the U.S. a leader in only one sector (technological engagement) and rates it a laggard in healthcare & wellness, along with South Africa and Brazil.

Addressing the international focus of the ARC Report, which assesses 12 nations, AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins said "The challenges and opportunities presented by the massive growth of the 60-plus population is a global phenomenon  it's truly borderless."

While national variations in ARC's findings are distinct, a number of commonalities emerged:

Women have it tougher than men in just about every nation. They disproportionately care for children and older family members while simultaneously, if they are able, earning a living. Also, because women who are able to work often earn less in their working lives than men, the financial constraints they face in old age are commensurately more difficult.

Older people everywhere would prefer to "age in place," but doing so yields its own challenges, especially around isolation and mobility, at both individual and society-wide levels.

The Internet and digital connectivity has, predictably, yielded a broad variety of resources for both employment and communications, but in many countries older people do not have access to the 'Net.

Some striking numbers: in Turkey and Mexico about 90 percent of people 65-plus have never used the Internet; in China it's more than 85 percent; in Brazil it's more than 75 percent, even in the U.S. more than 30 percent of people 65-plus are not online.

"The challenge of digital literacy  that is, the degree to which older people feel confident using technology -- is real, pervasive, and troubling," said FP Analytics Managing Director Claire Casey. "One of the overarching findings of ARC is that nations around the world need to focus on addressing digital literacy, which is as much a cultural issue as it is a technological one."

While the ARC Report is candid in its assessment of the formidable challenges presented by aging populations especially as related to housing, mobility, isolation, finances, and healthcare  it also identifies a compelling set of positive developments.

"While the challenges presented by an aging population are big, some of the most interesting strategies to address it start out small and they use existing infrastructure to address an emerging challenge," said Casey. "A great illustration of this phenomenon is Japan's 'Watchover Service' which utilizes the nation's postal carriers, supplemented by smart devices, to check-in with older adults while on their rounds.

For a very small fee, people are able to add this service and it's a very simple, effective way to make sure an isolated older person is OK," Casey said. "One of the things AARP and we hope to do with ARC is spur new thinking. Here in the U.S., where the U.S. Postal Service faces declining revenues, something like Japan's Watchover Service, or at the very least, the idea of using existing resources to address emerging challenges, could be an interesting conversation."

About AARP

AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, with a membership of nearly 38 million that helps people turn their goals and dreams into 'Real Possibilities' by changing the way America defines aging. With staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, AARP works to strengthen communities and promote the issues that matter most to families such as healthcare security, financial security and personal fulfillment. AARP also advocates for individuals in the marketplace by selecting products and services of high quality and value to carry the AARP name. As a trusted source for news and information, AARP produces the world's largest circulation magazine, AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin. AARP does not endorse candidates for public office or make contributions to political campaigns or candidates. To learn more, visit www.aarp.org or follow @aarp and our CEO @JoAnn_Jenkins on Twitter.

SOURCE AARP

Related Links

http://www.aarp.org


MIAMI, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ -- Miami-based commercial and residential mortgage lender The Q Kapital Group Corp. has launched a mobile app to better serve its international clientele. The Q Kapital specializes in mortgages for foreign national buyers interested in purchasing commercial or residential properties in Miami, Florida and New York; the app facilitates the application process for both domestic and international buyers of real estate in the U.S.A.

The app, searchable as "Q Kapital" and categorized under finance, allows users to submit required documentation that initiates the mortgage application process via their mobile devices. It makes applying for a mortgage faster and easier thanks to its user-friendly design and intuitive functionality.

"Our objective is to simplify the mortgage application process," said President and founder Mauricio Ordonez. "We created this app so foreign national buyers can apply for mortgage financing from anywhere in the world in a secure way. This expedites the process tremendously."

Foreign national buyers from Latin America, Europe, Canada, the Caribbean, Asia and Africa interested in luxury residences, commercial properties or income-producing assets like multi-family homes or hotels tend to believe they can only acquire U.S. properties with cash. However, mortgage credit for commercial and residential properties in Miami and New York is indeed available to them via direct lenders like Q Kapital.

Co-founder Gaston Schneider added, "The mortgage process shouldn't be complicated. Now that virtually everyone is accessible via mobile, buyers can use our app from anywhere worldwide and see how much financing is available to them within seconds. It's a fantastic tool that we're proud to say is also free."

Apple: http://apple.co/2mth4hb

Google Play: http://bit.ly/2nt6it0

About The Q Kapital Group

Based in Miami and celebrating their 10th anniversary, Q Kapital is a direct mortgage lender with a focus on foreign national clients. Q Kapital provides loans to buyers purchasing commercial or residential properties in Florida and New York. Originally from Colombia and Argentina, respectively, co-founders Mauricio Ordonez and Gaston Schneider understand the challenges of buying property in the U.S. as international buyers. They can explain the requirements of the U.S. banks thoroughly and facilitate mortgage financing for international buyers, U.S. citizens and residents.

Source: https://www.theqkapitalgroup.com/new-mobile-app-changes-foreign-nationals-apply-mortgage-financing/

Mauricio Ordonez

(305) 705-0080

[email protected]

SOURCE The Q Kapital Group

Related Links

http://www.theqkapitalgroup.com


JACKSON, Miss., June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Newk's Eatery, the fast casual restaurant known for its culinary-driven menu and open kitchens, and its co-founder Chris Newcomb received top honors from prominent industry organizations during the 2017 NRA Show.

The Jackson, Mississippi-based brand was named among the 2017 Fast Casual Top Movers & Shakers, weighing in at No. 17 among the 76 brands and 24 industry executives recognized on the list, up from 2016's ranking at No. 44.

Newk's founder Chris Newcomb was also recognized as one of eight recipients of the prestigious IFMA Gold & Silver Plate Awards in the Chain Limited Service category. The awards, given by the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association, honor the nation's top foodservice operator talent and are selected by a distinguished jury including national trade press, foodservice experts and past award winners.

"IFMA and Fast Casual recognize those who are leading the profound changes in our industry," said Newcomb. "We are honored to be among these distinguished brands and will continue to innovate while also staying true to the values that make us exceptional  our commitment to scratch-made menu items prepared with premium ingredients in the transparency of our open kitchens."

In the past year, Newk's exceeded the 100-unit mark, expanded into 10 new markets and added over 50 new franchise unit commitments. It also emerged as a technology leader  launching its e-learning platform for employees and adding an Apple/Android app  and implementing its "Generation 2" restaurant design. Additionally, the company continues its commitment to important causes, having raised more than $500,000 for the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Alliance since 2013.

"Our list specifically recognizes brands for their contributions to the fast casual segment of the restaurant industry," said Cherryh Cansler, editorial director of Fast Casual/NetWorld Media Group. "When it comes to creativity, progressiveness and sheer grit, these brands are leading the restaurant industry as a whole."

For more information on Newk's and its franchise opportunities, go to www.newks.com/franchise.

About Newk's Eatery

Based in Jackson, Mississippi, Newk's Eatery is leading the next generation of fast casual with its culinary-driven menu prepared in Newk's open kitchens, featuring made-from-scratch soups, fresh tossed salads, artisan pizzas, hot toasted sandwiches and desserts. Founded in 2004, Newk's currently operates and franchises more than 100 units in 13 states and is gaining national attention for its accelerated growth and commitment to community. The newest Newk's restaurants feature a "Generation 2" design, presenting a fresh, on-trend look for the brand while maintaining the company's signature warmth and open-view kitchen. The award-winning brand is consistently named among Fast Casual's Top "Movers and Shakers"; was named to Franchise Times' "Fast and Serious" list for three consecutive years; is listed in the Technomic Top 500 Chain Restaurant Report; and was named among NRN's Top 200 and Top 5 Fastest-Growing Chains and Restaurant Business' Top 40 Fast-Casual Chains. For more information, visit Newks.com, join the Roundtable Club or follow Newk's on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Media Contact:

Emily Smith

24-hour Media Line: 817-329-3257

[email protected]

SOURCE Newks Eatery

Related Links

http://www.newks.com


These recent births are among thousands of Portland-area hospital births supported by WHA physicians and nurse-midwives each year, but they are the first in the organization's brand new Midwifery Birth Center. Open since February 2017, and developed by a team of physicians and certified nurse-midwives, the birth center is dedicated to supporting the growing demand for natural, safe out-of-hospital birth in a comfortable setting that feels like home.

Unlike many of the out-of-hospital birth options currently available, the Midwifery Birth Center is covered in-network by many insurance plans, including CareOregon and Family Care, among others.

"We are able to offer physiologic, out-of-hospital birth to a wider group of women than those typically served by out-of-hospital midwives," said Lauren MacKenzie, a certified nurse-midwife and Director of Advanced Practice Clinicians at WHA. "Also, in this country it's unusual for a birth center to be fully integrated into a traditional OBGYN practice as our Midwifery Birth Center is. With that integration, we can offer all of the services and care a pregnant woman may need, seamlessly and safely."

WHA clinicians supported 5,400 births at seven Portland-area hospitals in 2016 alone - that's nearly 12 percent of the babies born in the state of Oregon. "In the hospital, we care for women at risk for serious complications of pregnancy right alongside women who are having completely normal, natural births, even though the likelihood of them experiencing those complications is extremely small," said WHA's Director of Birth Centers, Dr. Greg Eilers. "We developed the Midwifery Birth Center to provide the appropriate level of care for healthy women at a low-risk of developing complications who desire a natural, out-of-hospital childbirth experience, but with the additional assurance of physician back up and hospital integration, if the need arises."

The Midwifery Birth Center is located at 10566 SE Washington St in Portland and schedules tours and consultations daily. For more information, please visit www.midwiferybirthcenter.com .

About Women's Healthcare Associates, LLC

Womanhood is what we're all about. Across 15 locations in Portland, Gresham, Happy Valley, Hillsboro, Newberg, Oregon City and Tualatinwe're a team of more than 120 physicians, certified nurse-midwives, nurse practitioners and genetic counselors committed to providing the care and knowledge women need to lead full and healthy lives.

Contact: Jordon Rahmil, 1-858-449-8896, [email protected]

SOURCE Womens Healthcare Associates
DUBLIN, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "North America Oil & Gas Pipeline Leak and Theft Detection Market By Onshore Vs. Offshore, By Application (Buried, Subsea & Refinery/Petrochemical), By Source of Revenue, By Equipment, By Technology Competition Forecast & Opportunities, 2012-2022" report to their offering.

The North America oil & gas pipeline leak and theft detection market is projected to reach $ 2.17 billion by 2022

North America accounts for largest share in global oil & gas pipeline leak and theft detection market, on account of stringent government regulations in the region to implement leak detection systems in oil & gas pipelines and major investments in replacing aging pipeline infrastructure.

Moreover, increasing production capacities of countries such as the US and Canada is expected to further aid growth in oil & gas pipeline leak and theft detection market in the coming years. Pipeline infrastructure in the region is continuously expanding, and hence positively influencing North America oil & gas pipeline leak and theft detection market.

United States was the leading demand generator in the market, given relatively it's large population and interest in new pipeline projects such as the Keystone Pipeline.

North America Oil & Gas Pipeline Leak and Theft Detection Market, Competition Forecast & Opportunities, 2012-2022 discusses:



Market Size & Share Forecast

Regional and Country Market Analysis

Segmental Analysis - By Location of Application (Buried Pipelines, Subsea Pipelines, and Refinery/ Petrochemical Complex), By Method of Leak Detection (Internal Vs. External), By Technology (Ultrasonic/Acoustic, Flow Monitoring, Fiber Optic, Vapor Sensing & Others), By Source of Revenue (Hardware, Software & Aftersales Services), By Equipment/Device (Flowmeters, Acoustic Sensors, Pressure Sensors/ Transducers, Intelligent Pigging/ Smart Ball Technology, Cable Sensors & Others)

Changing Market Trends & Emerging Opportunities

Market Trends & Developments



Use of Self-propelled Robotic Devices in Pipeline Leak Detection

Introduction of Smart Wireless Sensor Network for Pipeline Leak detection

Installation of Smart Leak Detection System with CCTVs

Growing Environmental Concerns

Formation of Join Industry Projects (JIPs)

Increasing Research & Development Activities

Advancements in Intelligent Pigging Technology

Some of the leading players in North America oil & gas pipeline leak and theft detection market include

Honeywell International Inc.

FMC Technologies

Cameron International

Emerson Process Management

GE Oil & Gas

Agilent Technologies

Cisco Systems

Key Topics Covered:



1. Product Overview



2. Research Methodology



3. Analyst View



4. Global Oil & Gas Pipeline Leak and Theft Detection Market Outlook



5. Middle East & Africa Oil & Gas Pipeline Leak and Theft Detection Market Outlook



6. Market Dynamics



7. Market Trends & Developments



8. Competitive Landscape



For more information about this report visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/6x2p4g/north_america_oil

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets

Related Links

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CHICAGO, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Women, particularly those of African American descent, are most at risk of sarcoidosis, the most common fibrotic lung disorder in the U.S. Osteopathic physicians stress that this once rare disease, now affecting more than 200,000 patients, can be tricky to diagnose because of its vague, varied symptoms.

Sarcoidosis is a multi-system inflammatory disease that affects one or more organs, most commonly the lungs and lymph nodes, and often goes untreated. In the U.S., African American women have a nearly three percent lifetime risk for developing it, says Daniel Culver, DO, director of the Sarcoidosis and Interstitial Lung Disease Program at the Cleveland Clinic.

"About 90 percent of patients have it in the lungs," says Dr. Culver. "The lung symptoms, which can include coughing, wheezing and chest discomfort, are often misdiagnosed as asthma." Other common symptoms include fever, joint pain, fatigue, rash, vision problems, headaches and abnormal heartbeat.

Women have a higher risk than men and tend to get it later in life than men. African Americans develop sarcoidosis at a higher rate than other races and about 2.5 times more often than Caucasians.

Don't Dismiss Symptoms if You're at Risk

"Awareness is essential, especially among the African American community," said Dr. Jen Caudle, a board-certified osteopathic family medicine physician and assistant professor at Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine. "While a lingering cough or flu-like symptoms may not seem threatening, these symptoms may be a sign of sarcoidosis. It's a serious, but treatable chronic disease."

Jacqueline Stewart was diagnosed with sarcoidosis after a bad case of pneumonia led her to the emergency room, where chest X-rays revealed granulomas in her lungs. She now relies on an inhaler to manage her asthma-like symptoms, and still experiences regular flare-ups that limit her ability to function for approximately two weeks at a time.

"I experienced periodic chest pain and flu-like symptoms but I thought it would pass," says Stewart. "I was taught to be tough. I wish I'd gone to the doctor sooner."

An inflammatory disease, sarcoidosis causes abnormal nodules called granulomas to form in the affected organs, and can occur in almost any part of the body. No single test exists to identify the disease. An X-ray or biopsy will often reveal the disease and its location. In many cases, the patient will have granulomas in more than one organ, requiring treatment from multiple specialists.

Granulomas in Stewart's lungs limit her ability to walk distances or climb stairs. Her flare-upswhen not quickly treated with steroidsoften require hospitalization.

African Americans tend to have more granulomas, causing their disease to be more severe.

Sarcoidosis symptoms often overlap with other illnesses, which can hinder diagnosis. Many people have very few or no symptoms of the condition, while others experience severe effects that can interfere with daily life. Your family physician can help determine whether additional testing is required.

Despite increased prevalence among certain subgroups, Dr. Caudle cautions that sarcoidosis can impact all ethnicities and genders.

About the American Osteopathic Association

The American Osteopathic Association (AOA) represents more than 129,000 osteopathic physicians (DOs) and osteopathic medical students; promotes public health; encourages scientific research; serves as the primary certifying body for DOs; and is the accrediting agency for osteopathic medical schools. Visit DoctorsThatDO.org to learn more.

SOURCE American Osteopathic Association

Related Links

http://doctorsthatdo.org/


NEW YORK, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- OnDeck (NYSE: ONDK), the leader in online lending for small business, announced today that Noah Breslow, Chief Executive Officer, and Howard Katzenberg, Chief Financial Officer, are scheduled to present at the Morgan Stanley Financials Conference on June 14, 2017 in New York City beginning at 8:15 a.m. E.T.

The presentation and live audio webcast will be available on the company's Investor Relations website https://investors.ondeck.com at the time of the event and for 90 days following the event.

About OnDeck

OnDeck (NYSE: ONDK) is the leader in online small business lending. Since 2007, the company has powered Main Street's growth through advanced lending technology and a constant dedication to customer service. OnDeck's proprietary credit scoring system - the OnDeck Score - leverages advanced analytics, enabling OnDeck to make real-time lending decisions and deliver capital to small businesses in as little as 24 hours. OnDeck offers business owners a complete financing solution, including the online lending industry's widest range of term loans and lines of credit. To date, the company has deployed over $6 billion to more than 70,000 customers in 700 different industries across the United States, Canada and Australia. OnDeck has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and operates the educational small business financing website BusinessLoans.com. For more information, please visit www.ondeck.com.

Investor Contact:

Scott Reynolds

646.668.3551

[email protected]

Media Contact:

Kimberly Solarz

646.626.8982

[email protected]

OnDeck, the OnDeck logo, OnDeck Score and OnDeck Marketplace are trademarks of On Deck Capital, Inc.

SOURCE On Deck Capital, Inc.
VANCOUVER, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - One World Minerals Inc. (OWM-CSE) signs a Letter of Intent with GeoXplor Corp. to purchase a 100% property interest subject to a 3 percent royalty in the CC Claim Group that adjoins Albemarle's producing Silver Peak property to the south and Pure Energy Minerals' exploration property to the east (which formerly belonged to Lithium X).

Property Geology

The United States Geological Survey in 1977 drilled a hole on the Property to 395 feet. The hole cut mostly potential aquifer sands and conglomerates with some limestones and clays. Their spot sampling returned analyses of up to 36 ppm lithium in the fluids and 209 ppm lithium in the sediments. Those results are of historical interest only as the sampling and analytical methods are not known.

An earlier gravity survey shows the 1380-acre Property lies over a gravity low interpreted to represent valley sediments up to 1800 feet thick. That gravity low is continuous across the northern valley to the area to where Lithium X exploration drilling about a mile east reportedly shows a very porous unit interpreted to represent a landslide mass from the east which is about 300 feet thick and analyzes up to 60  65 ppm lithium in brines.

The Property is a logical exploration target for testing both the results from the US Geological Survey historical drilling in the upper section and the presence of other aquifers and the very porous unit which exists at depth to the east.

Initial Programs

The goal of the initial round of drilling will be to test the presence of a potentially economic thickness and grade of lithium brines on the Property. Because salty brine waters are good conductors, they could give a good response when subjected to an electromagnetic field. Exploration will begin with a ground CSMT/MT survey to identify conductivity peaks. A drill hole will be located at the conductivity peak. The drill hole is projected to a 2,000-foot depth based on the known gravity survey. The initial program is budgeted at $US 250,000.

Second Program

Success will trigger the second phase of drilling with the goal of providing the data to calculate an inferred resource. A second hole will be drilled and both holes cased for pump tests. The second program is budgeted at $500,000 with a targeted completion of September 30, 2017.

Recent Events at Clayton Valley

Four significant events have brought attention to Clayton Valley:

1) Albemarle Corp. purchased Rockwood's lithium assets including the Silver Peak Mine operations for $US 6.2 billion; 2) Pure Energy Minerals (PE) reported on July 29, 2015 an inferred resource of 816000 metric tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent grading 37 to 370 mg/liter. In addition, as announced on May 9, 2017, there are positive indications of higher lithium concentrations in deeper sampling; 3) Several aggressive exploration and development programs are underway by other companies; and 4) Further consolidation with Lithium X (LIX) buying 19.99% of Pure Energy (PE)

Terms of the Letter of Intent with GeoXplor

To make an initial payment of $US 108,500 and then on each anniversary date for four years a payment of $US 100,000 ;

and then on each anniversary date for four years a payment of ; To complete a minimum work program of $US 2,100,000 over four years;

over four years; To complete a pre-feasibility survey before the fourth anniversary date;

To make a payment of $ US 500,000 in either cash or shares on completing an inferred resource;

To make a payment of $US 1,000,000 in cash or shares on completing a preliminary economic assessment (PEA);

in cash or shares on completing a preliminary economic assessment (PEA); To issue a total of seven million shares (subject to CSE approval) over four years with the initial issuance of one million shares on closing;

To have GeoXplor retain a 3% royalty with a buy down to 1.5% for $ US 3 million;

To pay to GeoXplor and advance royalty payment of $US 250,000 on the fifth and sixth anniversaries and $500,000 on the seventh, eighth and ninth anniversary dates which are credited back to OWM from 30% of actual production;

on the fifth and sixth anniversaries and on the seventh, eighth and ninth anniversary dates which are credited back to OWM from 30% of actual production; To be in commercial production within ten years; and

To engage GeoXplor as the operator.

Doug Fulcher, the Company's CEO and President, noted that, "the agreement with GeoXplor, the most experienced explorer in the region, is a strategic step for OWM as the Clayton Valley will receive more world attention over the next several years and the results of the CC exploration will be reviewed in that light!"

William Feyerabend, CPG, is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, has approved the technical disclosure as stated in this news release.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of One World Minerals Inc.,

"Douglas Fulcher"

Douglas Fulcher, CEO and President

Forward-Looking Information: This press release may include forward looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation concerning the business of the OWM. Forward looking information is based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the management of the OWM regarding the proposed exploration program. Although OWM believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward looking information is based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking information because OWM can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Forward looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release. OWM disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, other than as required by applicable securities laws. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from the those anticipated in such statements, important factors that could cause actual results to direr materially from the company's expectations include: (I) potential comments from regulators which may delay; (II) inability of OWM to execute its business plan and raise the financing required to implement the exploration program; and (III) risks and market fluctuations common to the mining industry and lithium sector in particular. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, some of which are beyond the control of the OWM. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information contained in this press release.

SOURCE One World Minerals Inc.
FORT WORTH, Texas, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- P4G Capital Partners ("P4G Capital") announced today that it has acquired the assets of Fore Machine Company, Inc. ("Fore Machine", www.foremachine.com) and Aero Components, Inc. ("Aero Components", www.aero-components.com). Based in Haltom City, TX, Fore Machine provides high precision machining as well as coating/bonding, metal processing and assembly for manufacturers in the aerospace and defense sector. Based in Fort Worth, TX, Aero Components offers certified ISO 9001, 2000 and AS9100 bonding, NADCAP coating/bonding, metal processing and assembly for manufacturers in the aerospace and defense sector.

"We are very excited to partner with P4G Capital during our next phase of growth," said Gary Fore, Chief Executive Officer of Fore Machine who will become the CEO of the combined operations. "The partners at P4G know our business well and share our vision for quality and unparalleled customer service."

The management teams of both companies will be staying on and rolling a significant portion of their proceeds into the new entity as the companies expand their operations to provide even better response times, quality, and service to their customers with enhanced capabilities and even more control over chemical processes.

"I couldn't have found a better or more supportive partner than P4G," said Jon Williams, Jr. who was looking for a true hands-on partner as he led the transition of his family business to NADCAP certified capabilities.

"Fore Machine and Aero Components represent the perfect first investment for our new platform," said Rachel Lehman, Managing Director of P4G Capital. "We're excited to be working side-by-side with these amazing companies and the fantastic people that make these companies great."

NewSpring Capital and Southfield Mezzanine Capital provided financing for the transaction.

About P4G Capital

P4G Capital is a San Francisco based private equity firm founded by operators-turned-investors with a long history of partnering with management teams to create value. Partnering with fellow entrepreneurs, P4G focuses on the lower end of the middle market, providing capital, resources, and deep operational expertise to fuel extraordinary growth.

www.p4gcap.com

CONTACT: Shamus Dailey, (415)510-2157, [email protected]

SOURCE P4G Capital Partners

Related Links

http://www.p4gcap.com


ANNVILLE, Pa., June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- This June and July 2017, visitors are invited to come see the only population of rare regal fritillary butterflies in the eastern United States at Fort Indiantown Gap, near Annville, Lebanon County.

The free guided 2017 tours will depart promptly via caravan (convoy) at 10 a.m. on June 30, July 1, 7, and 8. Those wishing to participate must arrive at least 30 minutes prior (9:30 a.m.) to the departure time to park, fill out necessary paperwork, attend a mandatory safety/orientation briefing and receive driving instructions. Tours will last approximately three hours, but attendees can leave earlier if necessary. Attendees should also be prepared to provide vehicle make, model, year, color, license plate state/number and insurance carrier information.

Participants must meet by 9:30 a.m. at the Fort Indiantown Gap USO Liberty Center (previously named the Recreation Center), Building 13-190, located at the intersection of Asher Miner Road, Clement Avenue and Route 443 (GPS coordinates in decimal degrees: North 40.431, West 76.591). Upon arrival to the installation, "wildlife event" signs will help to direct attendees to the parking area adjacent to the USO Center in the picnic grove where parking attendants will provide additional instructions.

The tours, which have been offered for more than 10 years, allow the public to see this rare butterfly and its associated rare grassland habitat on military training ranges, as well as many other natural wonders on the 17,000-acre military post, which serves as the Pennsylvania National Guard's headquarters.

Visitors of all ages and abilities are encouraged to bring cameras and binoculars and should wear appropriate clothing and footwear for a nature walk on gravel trails and/or sometimes uneven, mowed paths. They should also consider bringing insect repellent, sun screen and other personal comfort items. Drinking water will be provided. No reservations are required and no rain dates will be scheduled.

The tours also will include information related to current efforts to restore native grassland habitat across Pennsylvania and current efforts to raise regal fritillary caterpillars from eggs in a lab with support from the PA Wild Resource Conservation Program and in partnership with ZooAmerica North American Wildlife Park and Temple University. The ultimate goal is to return the regal fritillary to areas where they were located historically.

The regal fritillary butterfly is just one of the many rare species found at the Gap and is the official symbol for the PA Natural Heritage Program. There are a wide variety of habitats for 49 species of mammals, 143 species of breeding birds, 37 species of reptiles and amphibians, 35 species of fish, 800+ species of plants, and many notable species of invertebrates including 86 species of butterflies and 500+ species of moths. The majority of the species of conservation concern on site require early-successional habitat (grasslands, thickets, shrub lands, and young forests), found in high abundance and quality at Fort Indiantown Gap because of fires and disturbances created by military training. The installation is home to 1,000 acres of scrub oak and pitch pine barrens and over 4,500 acres of native grassland habitat  the largest in the state.



"Our annual tours allow the public to witness up close some of the natural marvels that can be found on Fort Indiantown Gap's ranges and observe the direct connection between 80 plus years of military training and the rare grassland habitat that the regal requires. It is our responsibility to preserve freedom, conserve wildlife species and serve the citizens of the commonwealth," said Col. Robert Hepner, commander of Fort Indiantown Gap. "For the past several years, we have maintained status as the busiest National Guard training site in the nation and trained 4 times more soldiers on a per acre basis than sites exceeding 50,000 acres. It is no surprise to me that we have increased the amount of training and number of butterflies over the past 15 years."

Fort Indiantown Gap is the only live-fire, maneuver military training facility in Pennsylvania. The installation balances one of the region's most ecologically diverse areas with a military mission that annually supports 20,000 Pennsylvania National Guard personnel and more than 120,000 additional personnel from other branches of service, multinational partners and interagency partners at the federal, state and local level.

For more information about the tours or the regal fritillary butterfly, visit www.ftig.png.pa.gov and click on "Butterfly Tours" under the "Trending" section. General inquiries about the tours can be directed to [email protected] or 717-861-2449.

MEDIA CONTACT: Pennsylvania National Guard Public Affairs Office, 717-861-8352 (Tour-specific questions should be directed to [email protected] / 717-861-2449)

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs

Related Links

http://www.dmva.state.pa.us


LONDON, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Highlights

 The global pharmaceutical packaging equipment market is projected to reach approximately USD 8.24 billion by 2022 at a CAGR of 6.8% approximately during the forecast period.

 The factors expected to drive the growth of the market are cost containment in pharmaceutical R&D, increasing funding for biopharmaceutical and generics research, and technological advancements in labeling and serialization solutions.

 The rapid growth in developing countries across APAC is also expected to provide an opportunity for revenue generation in the market.

 The pharmaceutical packaging equipment market in this report is segmented on the basis of package, product, and region.

The global pharmaceutical packaging equipment market is projected to reach approximately USD 8.24 billion by 2022 at a CAGR of 6.8% approximately during the forecast period. The factors expected to drive the growth of the market are cost containment in pharmaceutical R&D, increasing funding for biopharmaceutical and generics research, and technological advancements in labeling and serialization solutions. The rapid growth in developing countries across APAC is also expected to provide an opportunity for revenue generation in the market. However, growing preference for refurbished packaging equipment as a viable alternative to new packaging equipment with high costs is expected to restrain the market growth to a certain extent.



The pharmaceutical packaging equipment market in this report is segmented on the basis of package, product, and region. Based on package, the market is segmented into primary packaging equipment, secondary packaging equipment, and labeling & serialization equipment. In 2016, the primary packaging equipment segment dominated the market. This can be attributed to the ease of handling and shelving of pharmaceuticals after primary packaging, development of novel forms of drug delivery and biopharmaceuticals stimulating the need for innovation in primary packaging, and the increasing regulatory norms and quality control criteria. On the other hand, the labeling and serialization equipment segment is expected to register the highest growth during the forecast period. The growth of this market is attributed to the rising concerns regarding patient safety and anti-counterfeiting of pharmaceutical products.



North America is the largest market for pharmaceutical packaging equipment, followed by Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. High R&D expenditure, well-established pharmaceutical market, and increasing government support are some of the factors contributing to the large share of North America in the market. However, the Asia-Pacific market is expected to register the highest growth during the forecast period owing to the expanding generics market, government initiatives to curtail the rising healthcare expenditure, increasing number of North American and European pharmaceutical drug manufacturers outsourcing their manufacturing processes to Asian manufacturers, and low labor costs.



The major players in the pharmaceutical packaging equipment market are IMA S.p.A. (Italy), Bausch + Strobel Maschinenfabrik Ilshofen GmbH+Co. KG (Germany), Robert Bosch GmbH (Germany), Korber AG (Germany), Marchesini Group S.p.A. (Italy), Multivac Group (Germany), Uhlmann Group (Germany), OPTIMA Packaging Group GmbH (Germany), and Romaco Pharmatechnik GmbH (Germany).



Research Coverage:

The market is segmented based on package, product, and region. Based on the type of packaging, the pharmaceutical packaging equipment market is segmented into three types, namely, primary packaging equipment (aseptic filling and sealing equipment, bottles filling and capping equipment, blister packaging equipment, soft-tube filling and sealing machines, sachet packaging equipment, strip packaging equipment, counting equipment and others), secondary packaging equipment (cartoning equipment, case packing equipment, wrapping equipment, tray packing equipment, and palletizing and de-palletizing equipment), and labeling and serialization equipment (bottles and ampoules labeling & serialization, carton labeling & serialization, and datamatrix labeling & serialization).



Based on product, the market is segmented into liquid packaging equipment (aseptic liquids packaging equipment, syrup packaging equipment, eye/ear drop packaging equipment, aerosol packaging equipment, and other liquids packaging equipment), solid packaging equipment (tablet packaging equipment, capsule packaging equipment, powder packaging equipment, granule packaging equipment, and other solid packaging equipment), semi-solids packaging equipment (ointment packaging equipment, cream packaging equipment, suppository packaging equipment, and other semi-solids packaging equipment) and other product packaging equipment. This report also provides market information on North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. These regions are further segmented at a country level.



Reasons to Buy the Report

This report will enrich both established firms as well as new entrants/smaller firms to gauge the pulse of the market and garner a greater market share. Firms purchasing this report could use any one or a combination of the below mentioned five strategies to strengthen their market shares.



This report provides insights on the following pointers:

 Market Penetration: Comprehensive information on product portfolios offered by the top players in the pharmaceutical packaging equipment market. This report analyzes the market by package, product, and region

 Product Development/Innovation: Detailed insights on the upcoming trends and product launches in the pharmaceutical packaging equipment market

 Market Development: Comprehensive information about the lucrative emerging markets for pharmaceutical packaging equipment

 Market Diversification: Exhaustive information about new products, growing regions, recent developments, and investments in the pharmaceutical packaging equipment market

 Competitive Assessment: In-depth assessment of market shares, growth strategies, products, and technological capabilities of the leading players in the pharmaceutical packaging equipment market

Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/4908892/



About Reportbuyer

Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers

http://www.reportbuyer.com



For more information:

Sarah Smith

Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com

Email: [email protected]

Tel: +44 208 816 85 48

Website: www.reportbuyer.com

SOURCE ReportBuyer

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ALBANY, New York, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Transparency Market Research has released a new market report titled "Polyimide Films Market (Application- Wires and Cables Insulation, Flexible PCB and Others) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2016-2024." According to the report, the global polyimide films market was valued at US$ 927.7 Mn in 2015 and is expected to reach US$ 1770.1 Mn by 2024, expanding at a CAGR of 7.5% from 2016 to 2024.

Polyimide Films (PI) which is manufactured from polyimide resin, is best known for its electrical and thermal properties. It is used widely in electronics industry for insulation and manufacturing flexible circuits. Also, polyimide films can be used for high temperature applications. The increasing demand for lightweight heat and fire resistant insulation films which also helps in space savings in aerospace, aircraft industry is likely to increase the demand for polyimide films during the forecast period.

Key applications of polyimide films include flexible PCB, wires and cable insulation, others (barcode, labels). In terms of volume, in 2015 flexible PCB accounts for more than 70% share of the global polyimide films market and is likely to be a highly lucrative segment during the forecast period. Wires and cables insulation is expected to expand significantly during the forecast period due to the lightweight of polyimide films which help in weight savings in aircrafts. The market of polyimide films is anticipated to be hampered by its tendency to shrink when hydrolyzed and high cost of processing. Polyimide films are used for making pressure sensitive adhesive tapes, which are used in the electrical and electronics industry. Due to heat and fire resistant properties of the polyimide film, the tape can be used to insulate wire and cables of automotive components, satellites, motors, generators, and electrical submersible pumps.

Get Sample PDF Report Brochure: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=24746

The global polyimide films market is anticipated to expand during the forecast period. In terms of volume, Asia Pacific held more than 40% of the global polyimide films market in 2015 owing the huge electronics industry in China, Japan, and Taiwan. North America is likely to follow Asia Pacific in terms of consumption. It is likely to expand due to huge aerospace industry in the region. Europe is also forecasted to expand during the forecast period.

The key players of polyimide films market include Kaneka Corporation, DuPont, SKCKOLONPI Co. Ltd, Anabond Limited, Taimide Tech Inc., I.S.T. Corporation, Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, UBE Industries Ltd, Toyobo Co. Ltd. DuPont and SKCKOLON PI are anticipated to be some of the leading manufacturers of polyimide films. Manufacturers are augmenting their production capacity to meet increasing demand from end user industries. Also, manufacturers of polyimide films are investing huge amounts in R&D for developing polyimide films which is shrinkage free.

Browse Research Press Release: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/pressrelease/polyimide-films-market.htm

The report segments the global polyimide films market as:

Polyimide Films Market - Application Analysis

Flexible PCB

Wires and Cables Insulation

Others (Barcode, Labels)

Polyimide Films Market - Regional Analysis

North America U.S. Canada

Europe Germany France UK Spain Italy Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific China Japan India ASEAN Rest of Asia Pacific (APAC)

Latin America Brazil Mexico Rest of Latin America (LATAM)

Middle East & Africa GCC South Africa Rest of Middle East & Africa (MEA)

&

Browse Other Market Research Report:

Battery Separator Films Market: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/battery-separator-films.html

About TMR

Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The company's exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMR's experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.

TMR's data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.

Contact



Transparency Market Research



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SOURCE Transparency Market Research
NEW YORK, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The US manufactured housing market saw declines between the late 1990s and 2011, but the industry regained traction through 2015. Other types of prefabricated housing, including modular, panelized, and precut units, more closely followed the overall US housing market, but regional preferences vary.





Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p04895350/Prefabricated-Housing-Market-in-the-US-By-Type-and-Region-1-Edition.html







This study answers the following questions and more.

- How have changes in financing terms for manufactured housing units influenced the market?

- Which regions of the country can expect the strongest growth in prefabricated housing demand?

- What type of prefabricated housing will see the strongest growth over the next several years?



Ongoing housing market growth to support prefabricated housing demand

Ongoing growth in the housing market will support rising demand for prefabricated housing - the penetration rate of prefabricated housing units in the general housing market is expected to decline slightly going forward.



Key Findings in the Prefabricated Housing Study:



Double-section manufactured housing to see advances

Growth in manufactured home shipments is expected to lag that of the overall single-family housing market. While single-section manufactured homes, which saw their share of manufactured housing shipments rise during the economic downturn can expect stagnant change through 2020, shipments of double-section manufactured homes are expected to see relatively healthy gains, and will account for over three-fifths of all manufactured housing shipments in 2020. Manufactured homes with three or more sections will remain a marginal share of the market.



Precut and panelized housing to see strong gains

The best opportunities for growth in the prefabricated housing market in the US are for precut and panelized housing. These two product types account for the smallest shares of the prefabricated housing market, but can expect healthy gains through 2020, supported by growth in the housing market in the Midwest and South regions. These two regions are the most intensive users of panelized and precut housing. These housing types tend to offer a greater degree of customizability than manufactured or modular housing. Additionally, some types of precut homes, such as log homes, are popular as second or vacation homes.



South region to remain the largest, see fastest growth

The South region of the country was the largest consumer of prefabricated homes, largely because of the popularity of manufactured housing in many states in the region. In 2015, the south accounted for over half of all prefabricated housing demand. The South region is expected to see the most rapid growth in unit terms through 2020. The Midwest and West are projected to see slower gains in prefabricated housing demand through 2020, while the Northeast can expect a small contraction.



Study Coverage

This study includes historical data (2005, 2010, 2015) and forecasts (2020, 2025) for prefabricated housing by product (single-section, double-section, and multisection manufactured homes; modular housing; precut housing; panelized housing) and US census region and subregion, as well as housing markets in significant individual states. Data are presented in unit and dollar terms, with additional data on unit size and on-site assembly costs.



The study also evaluates company market share in terms of manufactured housing units and overall prefabricated housing, and presents competitive analysis on industry competitors including Clayton Homes (Berkshire Hathaway), Champion Home Builders, Cavco Industries, Skyline, Legacy Housing, Wausau Homes, and Ritz-Craft.

Read the full report: http://www.reportlinker.com/p04895350/Prefabricated-Housing-Market-in-the-US-By-Type-and-Region-1-Edition.html



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



http://www.reportlinker.com





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ATLANTA, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Preferred Apartment Communities, Inc. (NYSE: APTS) ("PAC" or the "Company") today announced the acquisition of Rockbridge Village, an approximately 102,432 square foot shopping center located in the Atlanta, GA MSA and anchored by a 68,632 square foot Kroger grocery store. Rockbridge Village is strategically located off of Stone Mountain Parkway at the intersection of Rockbridge Road and Five Forks Trickum Road in Gwinnett County.

New Market Logo (PRNewsfoto/Preferred Apartment Advisors)

PAC acquired this asset through its wholly-owned subsidiary New Market Properties, LLC. Joel T. Murphy, President and Chief Executive Officer of New Market said about the acquisition, "We are thrilled to partner again with a strong market leader such as Kroger, who has demonstrated their long term commitment to this high volume location by recently completing a major interior renovation." Mr. Murphy added, "The acquisition of Rockbridge Village increases the size of our retail portfolio to 33 grocery-anchored shopping centers across seven Sunbelt states, consistent with our strategy to acquire well-positioned grocery-anchored shopping centers in suburban Sunbelt markets with strong demographics."

The Company financed the acquisition utilizing a non-recourse first mortgage loan from The Prudential Insurance Company of America. The first mortgage loan is approximately $14.25 million, bears interest at fixed rate of 3.75% per annum and matures on June 6, 2027. There are no loan guaranties provided by PAC or its operating partnership.

About New Market Properties, LLC

New Market Properties, LLC is a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of Preferred Apartment Communities, Inc. and is focused on the grocery anchored shopping center sector. New Market currently owns and operates a portfolio of grocery anchored shopping centers in seven Sunbelt states. Its strategy is to aggressively grow its existing portfolio throughout the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast and Texas. New Market targets high quality suburban markets with dominant grocers such as Publix, Kroger, Tom Thumb and Harris Teeter.

About Preferred Apartment Communities, Inc.

Preferred Apartment Communities, Inc. is a Maryland corporation formed primarily to acquire and operate multifamily properties in select targeted markets throughout the United States. As part of our business strategy, we may enter into forward purchase contracts or purchase options for to-be-built multifamily communities and we may make real estate related loans, provide deposit arrangements, or provide performance assurances, as may be necessary or appropriate, in connection with the development of multifamily communities and other properties. As a secondary strategy, we may acquire or originate senior mortgage loans, subordinate loans or real estate loans secured by interests in multifamily properties, membership or partnership interests in multifamily properties and other multifamily related assets and invest a lesser portion of our assets in other real estate related investments, including other income-producing property types, senior mortgage loans, subordinate loans or real estate loans secured by interests in other income-producing property types, membership or partnership interests in other income-producing property types as determined by our manager as appropriate for us. At March 31, 2017, the Company was the approximate 96.8% owner of Preferred Apartment Communities Operating Partnership, L.P., the Company's operating partnership. Preferred Apartment Communities, Inc. has elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, commencing with its tax year ended December 31, 2011.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may", "trend", "will", "expects", "plans", "estimates", "anticipates", "projects", "intends", "believes", "goals", "objectives", "outlook" and similar expressions. Because such statements include risks, uncertainties and contingencies, actual results may differ materially from the expectations, intentions, beliefs, plans or predictions of the future expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and contingencies include, but are not limited to, those disclosed in PAC's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. PAC undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as may be required by law.

Additional Information

The SEC has declared effective the registration statement (including prospectus) filed by the Company for each of the offerings to which this communication may relate. Before you invest, you should read the final prospectus, and any prospectus supplements, forming a part of the registration statement and other documents the Company has filed with the SEC for more complete information about the Company and the offering to which this communication may relate. In particular, you should carefully read the risk factors described in the final prospectus and in any related prospectus supplement and in the documents incorporated by reference in the final prospectus and any related prospectus supplement to which this communication may relate. You may obtain these documents for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, the Company or its dealer manager, Preferred Capital Securities, LLC, with respect to PAC's mShares Redeemable Preferred Stock Offering and Series A Redeemable Preferred Stock and Warrant Unit Offering, and JonesTrading Institutional Services LLC, with respect to PAC's ATM Common Stock Offering, will arrange to send you a prospectus if you request it by calling Leonard A. Silverstein at (770) 818-4100, 3284 Northside Parkway NW, Suite 150, Atlanta, Georgia 30327.

The ATM Common Stock Offering prospectus, dated July 18, 2016, including a base prospectus, dated May 17, 2016, can be accessed through the following link:

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1481832/000148183216000152/atmprospectus.htm

The mShares Redeemable Preferred Stock Offering prospectus, dated January 19, 2017, can be accessed through the following link:

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1481832/000148183217000008/a424prospectus-mshares1.htm

The Series A Redeemable Preferred Stock and Warrant Unit Offering prospectus, dated March 16, 2017, can be accessed through the following link:

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1481832/000148183217000061/a424prospectus-15bseriesar.htm

SOURCE Preferred Apartment Communities, Inc.
KOWLOON, Hong Kong, June 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Flavours Place, the online marketplace selling a wide variety of coffee and tea collections otherwise unavailable in the market, has made a few changes to its platform. The Hong Kong-based company has recently branched out into specialty coffee, offering additional support to green coffee suppliers by facilitating Bitcoin purchases and the sale of used coffee equipment. Coffee- and tea-loving Bitcoin users can buy their favorite product on Flavours Place online marketplace while supporting local farmers across the globe.

A socially minded business, Flavours Place is driven by a purpose to help coffee bean farmers and traders get their produce directly into the marketplace. While a majority of farmers are still reliant on wholesale distribution channels and established supply chains, they lose a significant portion of their profits on commissions to intermediaries tasked to get the product into the market. Flavours Place strives to offer producers fairer return for their products, rewarding the hard work with a more efficient business model.

Since the launch, Flavours Place has expanded its product range to include rare cocoa and spices, in addition to specialty coffee and teas. The company has publicly welcomed new importers who are winning to deal directly with farmers, small batch roasters and like-minded businesses that share similar social ideals. The company has also recently started inviting farmers and small batch coffee roasters to sell on the platform.

Flavours Place is now focusing more heavily on specialty coffee, and it is encouraging the sale of green coffee beans for home coffee roasters and small coffee shops. The company recently made changes to its marketplace strategy to allow the sale of all kinds of used coffee equipment, to make its offering attractive not only to end customers, but to owners of small cafes, coffee shops, and small coffee roasters. Flavours Place openly supports Bitcoin and currently allows registration of only those vendors who accept digital currency payments. This way, it aims to help promote the use of cryptocurrency within the platform and among its members directly. In addition to Bitcoin through Coinbase, Flavours Place accepts both USD, EUR and PayPal payments.

All coffee and tea sellers on the platform are encouraged to sell directly to the customer, retailer or small batch roaster. Flavours Place has stated that anyone who sells coffee- or tea-related products of any kind is welcome to open a free account and begin selling their products immediately. The company prides itself on "Fair Trade" produce, as it offers all the workers involved with the process a fair return for their product or service.

By providing an online trading platform for small-scale producers, Flavours Place supports direct trade between the buyers and vendors, enabling coffee farmers to get a better price for their coffee beans. Flavours Place aims to provide the very best quality, fair trade, and organic products, directly from the producers to coffee and tea-loving Bitcoin users across the globe.

Visit Flavours Place Here  https://www.flavoursplace.com/

Follow Flavours Place on Facebook at  https://www.facebook.com/FlavoursPlace/

Flavours Place on Twitter  https://twitter.com/flavoursplace

Flavours Place Bitcointalk Page  https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1542050.0

Media Contract

Contact Name: Taseko Boyanov

Email: [email protected]

Company: Flavours Market Limited

Location: Kowloon, Hong Kong

Flavours Place is the source of this content. Virtual currency is not legal tender, is not backed by the government, and accounts and value balances are not subject to FDIC and other consumer protections. This press release is for informational purposes only. The information does not constitute investment advice or an offer to invest.

Related Links

Bitcoin PR Buzz

Flavours Place

SOURCE Flavours Place

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IONE, Calif., June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Purebase Corporation (OTCQB: PUBC), a company focused on delivering high quality sustainable organic mineral products for the agricultural sector, is pleased to announce the beginning of summer with the use of Purebase Shade Advantage (WP) and Purebase Soil Advantage.

Description

June marks the beginning of summer and Purebase has taken command of this opportunity. The last several weeks Purebase has vigorously solidified agreements for distribution of its product throughout California, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, and Colorado resulting in the distribution of Purebase Advantage products into an estimated $70.7-Billion-dollar agricultural industry. As summer commercial deliveries of Purebase products begin throughout Arizona and California, Purebase is preparing for distribution in Oregon, Washington, and Colorado. Dedicated to excellence, Purebase continues to remain committed to serve existing customers while expanding its certified organic agricultural products into new regions.

Purebase anticipates distribution of Purebase Shade Advantage (WP) and Purebase Soil Advantage to increase exponentially eventually including the entire United States.

About Purebase (OTCBBQB: PUBC)

Purebase is a diversified, natural, and industrial mineral resource company providing solutions to the agriculture industry. Purebase acquires, develops, and commercializes industrial and natural mineral deposits to service the agriculture industry, both domestically and internationally. Purebase provides soil amendments that will be used within the agriculture industry. For additional information, visit www.purebase.com.

Safe Harbor

This press release contains statements, which may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Those statements include; statements regarding the intent, belief, or current expectations of Purebase Corporation and members of management, as well as the assumptions on which such statements are based. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by forward-looking statements. Important factors currently known to management that may cause actual results to differ from those anticipated are discussed throughout the Company's Form 10-K filed April 12, 2017 and 10-Q filed April 19, 2017, and other reports filed with Securities and Exchange Commission which are available at http://www.sec.gov/ and the Company's web site at http://www.purebase.com/. The Company undertakes no obligation to update/revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results.

SOURCE Purebase Corporation

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PHILADELPHIA, June 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Pursuit Healthcare Advisors, LLC (Pursuit) is pleased to announce a new partnership with Polaris Strategic Solutions, Inc. (Polaris) whose services and toolkit will complement Pursuit's own solutions, such as EHi360.

Polaris was founded with the goal of eliminating obstacles which prevent many hospitals and health systems from implementing a true enterprise-wide reporting and analytics system. Their innovative approach combines accessing an organization's data across multiple vendor software platforms with aggregating that data into custom reports which are flexible, dynamic, and responsive on-demand.

"We believe the combination of Polaris' expertise and tools make data actionable," says Robin Shine, Managing Partner for Pursuit. "When coupled with Pursuit's solutions, hospitals can better address business issues and recognize new opportunities. The growing challenges of changing regulation, mergers and acquisitions, and better clinical outcomes are more manageable with reliable enterprise information."

This partnership is part of Pursuit's mission to provide 360 degrees of Enterprise Health Information, otherwise known as EHi360. EHi360 is making it easier for providers to approach their patient care goals in a holistic manner by offering comprehensive services and solutions that scale based on a healthcare system's unique needs.

Polaris' President John Orefice says, "Our affordable, subscription-based model of providing access to disparate data with flexible, interactive reports and daily updates, breaks the traditional model of high-cost, static data-analytics. We are excited to partner with Pursuit because their program is a perfect accompaniment to our unique service."

About Polaris Strategic Services

Polaris is a Healthcare Analytics service specializing in custom reports and dashboards for Quality & Value, Clinical Productivity, Financial Optimization, Physician Performance, Population Health, and much more. Polaris makes business analytics meaningful, driving clients to more informed decisions against a backdrop of unprecedented industry change. From identifying key metrics and in-depth analysis vital to healthcare organizations, to designing and building custom dashboards and healthcare management reports that provide clients with the information they need in the way they want to see it, Polaris is there every step of the way. For more information, visit www.PolarisStrategic.com.

About Pursuit Healthcare Advisors, LLC

Pursuit Healthcare Advisors, LLC (Pursuit) is focused on fostering a supportive and educational environment as well as creating opportunities for their employees to make a difference where they work. Pursuit is pleased to work with some of the most forward thinking organizations to help data become usable information  and have secure access to that information in a dynamic and mobile delivery. Together Pursuit helps health enterprises, clinicians, and patients achieve success in this environment thereby improving care delivery, business performance, and health outcomes. It's simple, at Pursuit, it's all about U. For more information, visit www.pursuithealthcare.com.

SOURCE Pursuit Healthcare Advisors, LLC

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NEW YORK, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Rabobank and MIT have announced that Cambridge Crops, Ecospray, and WISRAN have taken home the top honors at the second annual Food and Agribusiness Innovation Prize, a student food and agribusiness plan. This competition is sponsored by Rabobank and supported by the Abdul Latif Jameel World Water and Food Security Lab (J-WAFS) and the MIT Food and Agriculture Club.

Rabobank North America Wholesale CEO Rajiv Singh explains, "While we continue to actively support people already engaged in food and ag entrepreneurial activity through initiatives such as FoodBytes! (pitch competition meets networking event) and Terra  the food and ag accelerator, we want to make sure that Rabobank's Banking for Food strategy of feeding more people around the world sustainably in the coming years reaches the campus level. That is where young minds will be inspired to think creatively about how to solve these important global challenges."

Specifically, increasing the availability of food, improving access to food, promoting balanced nutrition, and strengthening stability in markets and production chains are central to Banking for Food, and students participating in the Rabobank - MIT prize program are tackling these food and agribusiness issues in their own way.

On the evening of May 2nd at MIT's campus, seven finalist startups and teams from MIT and other universities  including UC Davis, Stanford, Harvard and Tufts  pitched their business ideas to a panel of judges for a chance to win cash prizes and in-kind support valued at over $50,000.

A first-place cash prize of $12,000 went to Cambridge Crops, who are developing a silk-based coating that extends the shelf life of fruits and vegetables by up to 50 percent. Livio Valenti traveled to the Netherlands to pitch his concept at Rabobank's FoodBytes! at F&A Next, a two-day innovation event at Wageningen Campus, and had this to say about the experience: "Thanks to the generous support from Rabobank, we were able to attend the F&A Next conference to present Cambridge Crops' edible food coating to a broad audience of investors and potential commercial partners, which will help take our innovation to the next level."

Winning second place for $8,000 was Ecospray, who are developing a spray that helps farmers drastically cut pesticide usage, lowering costs and reducing pollution. The third-place $5,000 cash prize was awarded to WISRAN, who improve profits for farmers with software that analyzes, in real-time, the time, cost, and effectiveness of farming activities. WISRAN will present its innovative product in front of a 300+ audience of investors, innovators and food and agribusiness stakeholders at FoodBytes! NYC on June 15.

For more information on the Rabobank  MIT Food and Agribusiness Innovation Prize visit the MIT News page and MIT Food + Agriculture Club.

About Rabobank

Rabobank Group is a global financial services leader providing wholesale and retail banking, leasing, and real estate services in more than 40 countries worldwide. Founded over a century ago, Rabobank today is one of the world's largest banks with over $750 billion in assets. In the Americas, Rabobank is a premier bank to the food, agribusiness and beverage industry, providing sector expertise, strategic counsel and tailored financial solutions to clients across the entire food value chain. We know that sustainability and innovation are critical in promoting a thriving food and ag industry that will feed growing global populations for years to come, which is a key focus our Banking for Food strategy. Additional information is available on Twitter: @RaboWholesale and LinkedIn: Rabobank North America Wholesale.

SOURCE Rabobank

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REDWOOD CITY, Calif., June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Raising A Reader, a national nonprofit organization that provides resources and guidance for families to implement home-based literacy routines, has launched one of the most aggressive literacy campaigns in recent U.S. history. The nonprofit has committed to reaching 3 million children across the country with its literacy program by 2020. Raising A Reader has hired seasoned Washington, D.C. nonprofit executive Gloria M. Garcia to drive efforts to fund the program's expansion.

"We are taking an extraordinary stance on the need to expand our reach in all 50 states in order to significantly raise the literacy bar across the entire country," said Gabrielle Miller, Ed.D., president and CEO of Raising A Reader. "Research conclusively shows children who are not reading at the appropriate level by third grade have a much harder time throughout the rest of their academic career and this negatively impacts their success later in life."

The Raising A Reader program is evidence-based, with more than 32 independent evaluations showing that Raising A Reader significantly improves language and literacy skills, cognitive development, communication and comprehension skills, school readiness and social competence. The program is implemented through a network of community partners that comprise more than 2,700 locations across the country including public school systems, libraries, afterschool programs, community agencies and other organizations both public and private.

Garcia will serve as vice president of strategic partnerships and brand, responsible for all fundraising revenue including foundations, corporations and individuals as well as brand awareness and marketing communication initiatives.

"Raising A Reader is having a lasting impact on future generations of Americans, especially those growing up in underserved communities across the nation," said Garcia. "Literacy is a competitive advantage the nation cannot afford to lose."

Garcia has more than 25 years of strategic business development, brand positioning and executive management experience both in the United States and abroad having worked at the World Bank and managed the U.S. cotton industry's marketing, public relations and trade relations in Latin America. Most recently at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI), the premier Latino leadership development organization in the country, Garcia reengineered the organization's brand strategy and contributed to its dramatic revenue growth and program expansion.

Raising A Reader is a 501c3 charitable organization dedicated to helping families develop, practice and maintain literacy habits for children ages 0-8 that are critical for a child's success in school and in life. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, Raising A Reader was founded in 1999 and has served more than 1.5 million children nationwide. More information is available at RaisingAReader.org, @RARnational (Twitter) and RaisingAReaderNational (Facebook).

Contact: Steve Honig

The Honig Company, LLC

818-986-4300

[email protected]

SOURCE Raising A Reader

Related Links

http://www.raisingareader.org


Girls in the 6 th to 12 th grade will also have the opportunity to hear from and meet highly-accomplished, trailblazing women, while getting real-world advice on achieving their career ambitions in a "speed-mentoring" activity with local area Randstad leaders.

"I take pride in knowing that Randstad's and the Girl Scout's missions are deeply aligned and I am excited to team up with them to make an impact on the future workforce. This event will provide a space where girls can connect with leaders in their community and learn some of the things they can do now to prepare for what lies ahead," said Fiatte, who also serves on the board of directors for Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana. "Randstad is committed to empowering our next generation of leaders and we couldn't be more thrilled to take this opportunity to educate these young women and serve as mentors at this critical age."

"We want to help overcome the common misconceptions associated with STEM and show girls how fun and rewarding it can be," said Williams. "Growing up, I loved math and technology, but they weren't considered cool subjects. Our goal is to help these girls walk away from the event feeling confident and capable of becoming mathematicians, scientists, engineers, computer programmers or anything else they put their mind to."

"By introducing girls to STEM at a young age, Girl Scouts is increasing girls' confidence in STEM-related abilities and supporting their leadership development," said Candice Schaefer, director of program at Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana. "We're grateful for the role models, such as Traci and Kelley, who can provide real-life insights into how girls can prepare for successful careers in STEM."

For more information about the event visit, "She Succeeds: Empowering the Leaders of Tomorrow."

About Randstad

Randstad North America is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Randstad Holding nv, a  20.7 billion global provider of HR services. Through its unique approach of delivering HR innovation with human interaction at the center, Randstad secures and manages a workforce of more than 100,000 people for thousands of clients each week. As a trusted partner in the post-digital world of talent, Randstad advances the careers and business success of our candidates and clients through a combination of the best of high-tech and high-touch processes.

Employing over 6,500 recruiting experts through approximately 1,100 offices and client-dedicated locations, Randstad North America provides outsourcing, staffing, consulting and workforce solutions within the areas of engineering, finance and accounting, healthcare, human resources, IT, legal, life sciences, manufacturing and logistics, office and administration and sales and marketing. Learn more at www.randstadusa.com.

About Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana

Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana impacts the lives of more than 52,000 girls and 20,000 adult members who believe in the power of every G.I.R.L. (Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-taker, Leader) to change the world. We serve 245 communities in six Illinois counties (Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kankakee, Lake, and Will) and four Indiana counties (Jasper, Lake, Newton, and Porter) as the preeminent leadership development organization for girls. For more information, visit www.girlscoutsgcnwi.org.

SOURCE Randstad US

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CRESSKILL, N.J., June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- RD Legal Funding, LLC (RD Legal) recently filed a motion to dismiss the joint lawsuit filed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the New York State Attorney General's office (NYAG). The motion seeks the dismissal of the complaint based on, among other things, the unconstitutional structure of the CFPB; the overreach by the CFPB in its attempt to regulate transactions over which it has no jurisdiction; and the improper characterization of RD Legal's transactions as loans rather than true sales transactions.

RD Legal is a legal finance company whose business includes the purchase of portions of plaintiffs' proceeds from legal settlements or judgments. In the motion to dismiss, RD Legal argues that "the CFPB's unprecedented structure violates fundamental constitutional principles of separation of powers, and the CFPB should be struck down as an unconstitutional administrative agency." RD Legal also argues that it is not subject to the Consumer Financial Protection Act and the CFPB is wrong in its contention that the underlying settlement proceeds are not assignable. Several news outlets have reported that other companies, along with the U.S. Department of Justice, are challenging the CFPB's structure on constitutional grounds.

RD Legal Funding is a New Jersey-based legal funding company that has been in operation since 1998 when it began developing innovative solutions to legal funding needs. The company has assisted plaintiffs' attorneys and their clients with their funding needs ever since.

SOURCE RD Legal Funding, LLC

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NEW YORK, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- LendIt, the world's largest lending and fintech conference series, today announced that Renaud Laplanche will join the keynote speaker roster for Lang Di Fintech 2017, LendIt's Chinese conference. Lang Di Fintech, the largest fintech conference in China, marks Laplanche's first public speaking role since founding Upgrade.

Renaud Laplanche is a pioneer in the fintech industry. He launched Lending Club in 2006 and led the company for a decade, including a successful IPO in 2014, and built Lending Club into the largest online lending platform in the United States. Laplanche founded Upgrade last summer, a consumer credit platform that he describes as "online lending 2.0." Laplanche's keynote speech will focus on the concept of online lending 2.0, including how new technologies such as blockchain are increasingly incorporated into a Fintech company's technology architecture.

"We are excited to add Renaud Laplanche to LendIt's impressive lineup of keynote speakers for Lang Di Fintech," said Bo Brustkern, co-founder and chairman of Lang Di Fintech. "The high caliber of Western Fintech executives speaking at and attending Lang Di Fintech underscores the strong interest in China's fast growing fintech industry."

"I look forward to speaking at the Lang Di Fintech conference, and exchanging ideas with the technology, business and government leaders of China," said Renaud Laplanche, Co-founder & CEO of Upgrade. "LendIt is a special conference for me as I often gave the opening keynote at LendIt conferences in the USA and I have always been impressed by the high quality of their events and the participants."

Laplanche joins another prominent keynote speaker, Max Baucus, former U.S. Ambassador to the People's Republic of China. Additional speakers include senior representatives from international banks, leading technology innovators, venture capitalists, regulators, government officials and the media.

Now in its second year, Lang Di 2017 expects over 2,000 delegates, making it the largest annual gathering of fintech leaders in China. For two days, 300 speakers from five continents will focus on the intersection of technology and financial services in Asia, specifically addressing artificial intelligence, machine learning, identity verification through biometrics, the blockchain's impact on capital markets, the emergence of insurtech, financial inclusion, financial wellness, wealth management for the mass affluent, innovation in real estate technology, applying alternative data to credit underwriting and decisioning, the emergence of digital banking, and fintech cooperation with banks.

LendIt's mission is to connect every major platform, investor and service provider in the fintech industry worldwide. Founded in 2013, LendIt has grown to become the leading lending and fintech conference in the US, Europe and Asia.

For more information, tickets and sponsorship opportunities, please visit www.lendit.com/china.

About LendIt

LendIt is a recognized global internet finance industry leader, founded in New York in 2013 by Bo Brustkern, Jason Jones and Peter Renton. Its aim is to gather industry elites to discuss and explore latest trends in the development of international financial technology. LendIt has become the largest fintech industry event in the world as it hosts three annual conferences, LendIt USA, LendIt Europe, and Lang Di Fintech, and dozens of complementary online and in-person industry events. LendIt also owns and operates one of the world's leading industry educational channels, Lend Academy.

Media Contact:

Melissa Barto

JCUTLER media group

[email protected]

SOURCE LendIt

Related Links

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WASHINGTON, June 6. 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC honored Romanian President Klaus Iohannis with its Light Unto the Nations Award, the global Jewish advocacy organization's highest honor presented to world leaders.

"President Iohannis has tenaciously pursued the prophetic vision of a more just and harmonious world," said Allan Reich, a member of AJC's Executive Council, who presented the award during the AJC Global Forum's World Leaders Plenary.

The inscription reads: "For your steadfast defense of democratic values, relentless pursuit of justice, and unwavering commitment to friendship with the United States and Israel."

"I accept the Light Unto the Nations Award not for myself, but for my country and the Romanian people," said President Iohannis. "This very special award makes me assume an additional commitment to put all of my strength, as President of Romania, into pursuing justice, democracy, and the rule of law for my country, for the region, and globally."

AJC has long recognized the key role played by Romania in NATO, the European Union, and the defense of freedom and maintenance of regional and global security. "President Iohannis's commitment to a strong transatlantic alliance has been a shining beacon of hope," said Reich.

President Iohannis, reiterating that allegiance, said, "I can assure you that we will continue to be one of the strongest transatlantic pillars inside the EU."

Until March 2017, Romania held the chairmanship of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), composed of 31 nations. AJC praised the country's stewardship of IHRA for "seeking to blaze new trails in strategies for combating anti-Semitism and promoting Holocaust education and research." In May 2016, the IHRA adopted the working definition of anti-Semitism at a meeting in Bucharest.

President Iohannis told the AJC Global Forum that "the positive example of Romania can be followed by other Central and East European countries, where the communist distortion of the Holocaust left societies too vulnerable to populist excesses for cheap political gain."

Reich praised the Romanian president's commitment to his country's relations with Israel. Ioannis said Romania "places special importance on its relationship with the State of Israel[A] relationship that is based on a history of 68 years of shared values and traditions." He visited Jerusalem last year.

"Romania shares an unshakable bond with Israel, as the only country in my region with interrupted diplomatic relations since 1948," said President Iohannis. "It is my personal commitment to continue to expand and reinforce this special, strategic relationship with Israel."

Previous recipients of AJC's Light Unto the Nations Award are: German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, U.S. President Bill Clinton, Chilean President Ricardo Lagos, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli Berrocal, and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades.

AJC, founded in 1906 and with headquarters in New York, maintains 22 regional offices across the United States; 10 overseas posts; and 34 international association agreements with Jewish communities, including the Federation of Jewish Communities in Romania.

The AJC Global Forum, taking place June 4-6 in Washington, D.C., is the advocacy organization's signature annual event, bringing together more than 2,500 participants from across the United States and 70 countries around the world.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee

Related Links

http://www.ajc.org


DALLAS, June 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Ryan, a leading global tax services firm, announced today that Kandis Thompson has joined the management team as Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Ms. Thompson will lead global finance operations, including accounting, tax, treasury, financial planning and analysis, risk management, and investor relations. She will be based in the Dallas, Texas office.

Ms. Thompson has more than 25 years of global leadership expertise and brings a wealth of finance and business partnership expertise to Ryan. Her depth of strategic finance experience includes corporate strategy, financial modeling, acquisitions, technical accounting, and an initial public offering (IPO). Her career includes finance leadership roles at Tanium, Weatherford International, McAfee, Intel, and in public accounting. She is a certified public accountant and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, with honors, from Southwest Baptist University.

"Kandis Thompson is a highly accomplished executive with proven experience driving strategic corporate finance initiatives in both public and private companies," said G. Brint Ryan, Chairman and CEO of Ryan. "Her steady leadership will support accelerated revenue and margin expansion as we execute our strategic plan to becoming a billion dollar global brand in tax."

To support Ms. Thompson as CFO, Bogdan Baciu has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Finance. Since joining Ryan in May of 2016, Mr. Baciu has led a team of finance professionals who have successfully delivered continuous improvement initiatives, advanced financial reporting, and operational excellence through a period of high growth. Mr. Baciu has a background in investment banking and holds a Bachelor of Science degree (magna cum laude) in Finance and Accounting from The University of Texas at Dallas, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Queen's University.

"Bogdan Baciu has done a tremendous job bringing strategic thought and discipline into our financial operations," said Mr. Ryan. "Following a year where our Firm posted the highest annual revenue in its history while recording a 38% improvement in EBITDA, we have built an expert senior financial leadership team to support our next phase of aggressive growth."

About Ryan

Ryan is an award-winning global tax services firm, with the largest indirect and property tax practices in North America and the seventh largest corporate tax practice in the United States. With global headquarters in Dallas, Texas, the Firm provides a comprehensive range of state, local, federal, and international tax advisory and consulting services on a multi-jurisdictional basis, including audit defense, tax recovery, credits and incentives, tax process improvement and automation, tax appeals, tax compliance, and strategic planning. Ryan is a five-time recipient of the International Service Excellence Award from the Customer Service Institute of America (CSIA) for its commitment to world-class client service. Empowered by the dynamic myRyan work environment, which is widely recognized as the most innovative in the tax services industry, Ryan's multi-disciplinary team of more than 2,100 professionals and associates serves over 12,000 clients in more than 40 countries, including many of the world's most prominent Global 5000 companies. More information about Ryan can be found at ryan.com.

PRESS INFORMATION CONTACT:

Jim Aubele

SVP, Chief Marketing Officer

Ryan

972.934.0022

[email protected]

SOURCE Ryan

Related Links

http://www.ryan.com


SEATTLE, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- On May 31, 2017, Security Properties and Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation ("Intercontinental") purchased Echo Lake Apartments, a 289-unit apartment property with 8,999SF of retail built in 2009 and located in Shoreline, WA. Security Properties now owns a total of 18 assets in the Puget Sound region. The asset was purchased in the fourth joint venture between Security Properties and Intercontinental.

Echo Lake Apartments Echo Lake Apartments

Echo Lake Apartments are located in the Seattle suburb of Shoreline, WA. The community offers convenient access to major employment, transportation, retail and recreation. Twenty minutes south of Echo Lake is Seattle's Central Business District, the Pacific Northwest's largest employment center accounting for over 300,000 jobs. Twenty minutes to the north sits Boeing's Everett Factory. The factory employs over 40,000 workers and produces Boeing's large aircraft, 747s, 767s, 777s and the new 787 Dreamliner.

The location offers a wide range of transportation options as mass transit, SR 99 and I-5 are all easily accessible. The site is located directly on the rapid ride "E Line", neighboring the Shoreline Park & Ride and blocks from the Aurora Village Transit Center. Echo Lake is also adjacent to SR 99 and a 5-minute drive to I-5, offering direct routes north to Everett and south into the Seattle CBD. Additionally, the future Shoreline Light Rail Station site is less than 5 minutes southeast of the property.

The property is situated in a unique setting along the shores of Echo Lake. Immediately next to the resident clubhouse lies the 12-acre Echo Lake Park with expansive green space, boating, fishing, picnic areas, and a lake trail that connects into the 24-mile Interurban Trail.

Living at Echo Lake also provides residents access to Shoreline's top performing schools. The highly desired Shoreline School District is rated 9/10 by greatschools.org and #10 on the Niche.com 2017 list of Best School Districts in Washington.

According to Davis Vaughn, Director at Security Properties, the acquisition was made because, "Echo Lake Apartments falls right in line with our strategy of buying in the best micro-location in a submarket. With direct access to Echo Lake Park, this asset has a significant competitive advantage in its setting over other apartments in the area. Once we execute our business plan, we will be able to fully capitalize on the location by offering renters a high-end product adjacent to a lake that will be unmatched in Shoreline."

According to Jessica Levin, Senior Director, Acquisitions for Intercontinental, "Seattle is a dynamic market and we are excited about the employment drivers in the area. Upon the execution of our business plan, residents will benefit from an upgraded living experience with premier access to nearby retail, leisure and recreational amenities. This compelling combination makes Echo Lake Apartments an excellent long term investment for our investors."

Allen Logue, Associate Director, Acquisitions for Intercontinental added, "Intercontinental is excited to expand its Seattle area portfolio with our sixth acquisition. Echo Lake Apartments benefits from a 'first ring' suburban location exhibiting strong market fundamentals and close proximity to major arterials and public transportation nodes."

The property will be managed by Security Properties-affiliate Madrona Ridge Residential.

About Security Properties

Security Properties is a national real estate investment, development, and operating company headquartered in Seattle, Washington. For more than 47 years, Security Properties has provided quality housing to its residents as well as excellent financial performance for its investors. Since its founding, Security Properties has acquired or developed over 66,500 residential units at a cost of over $3.35 billion. Security Properties maintains a focused multi-family strategy supported by integrated teams of professional acquisition, development, construction, investment, and property management specialists. For more information, visit www.securityproperties.com

About Madrona Ridge Residential

Madrona Ridge Residential is the affiliated property management firm of Security Properties, created to increase the value of its real estate holdings by more closely managing its assets. Operating throughout the Western U.S., Madrona Ridge Residential is committed to delivering exceptional service to its apartment communities and residents. Services include property, construction and compliance management services that create positive living environments for residents and build value for clients.

About Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation

Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation is an SEC registered investment adviser with deep expertise in real estate investment, finance, development, construction management and asset management. Since 1959, Intercontinental has managed, developed, and owned over $10 billion in real estate property. Today, Intercontinental owns and manages a portfolio in excess of $6.0 billion for its clients. Intercontinental balances its portfolio both by robust property mix and by geographic diversification, while actively seeking opportunities to invest in both core and core plus, as well as value-add development projects. Visit www.Intercontinental.net for more information.

News media contact:

Ed McGovern, 206.622.9900

[email protected]

SOURCE Security Properties

Related Links

http://www.securityproperties.com


WASHINGTON, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, in a major address to the AJC Global Forum, said, "the best thing for Israel and for Jews the world over is a strong and engaged America on the world stage."

The AJC Global Forum, taking place June 4-6 in Washington, D.C., is the advocacy organization's signature annual event, bringing together more than 2,500 participants from across the United States and 70 countries around the world.

Schumer focused on anti-Semitism, the BDS (boycott, divestment, and sanctions) movement, and the treatment of Israel at the UN as the main challenges "facing Israel, the United States and Jews across the globe" that demand U.S. leadership.

"The rise of anti-Semitism in Europe is an outrage that ought to be condemned by leaders of the world from every faith and nationality," said Schumer. "It seems the darkest and most hateful fringes of our society, from the far left to the far right, have become newly emboldened," both in Europe, where "anti-Semitism has always simmered beneath the surface" and now in the U.S, where "it's been far more troubling to see this scourge emerge" in recent months.

"International efforts by groups like AJC, and continued leadership from the United States in working to combat anti-Semitism, is the only way to extinguish this hatred," said Schumer. He praised AJC for "working tirelessly" on this front, noting, in particular, AJC's "Mayors United Against Anti-Semitism" initiative, signed by over 500 European and American mayors and municipal leaders.

Schumer forcefully condemned the global BDS movement, which aims to delegitimize Israel, as a direct threat to Jews. "Its supporters, whether they know it or not, are practicing a modern form of anti-Semitism," he said. "While the BDS movement condemns Israel and seeks to impose boycotts solely on the Jewish State, it willfully turns a blind eye to nations that actually violate human rights, especially in the Middle East," notably Iran and some Arab nations.

The Senator praised AJC's "Governors United Against BDS" initiative, a statement signed by all 50 governors and the mayor of Washington, DC., which was featured in AJC's full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal.

Citing his state of New York's law, adopted last year, against BDS, and a similar measure recently passed in Nevada, Schumer called on all state legislatures to pass legislation that "aggressively" fight BDS. "The U.S. has enormous economic leverage in the fight against BDS. We must use every weapon in our arsenal to combat this anti-Semitism of delegitimization," he said.

Speaking to AJC on the 50th anniversary of the Six-Day War, Schumer declared: "Let's be clear that many of the BDS supporters have the same goal as the armies amassed on Israel's border to annihilate the Jewish State. They too will be defeated."

Calling the UN "an incubator for Israel-bashing," Schumer said that "the United States must always come to the aid of our friend Israel at the UN, and it must continue to serve as the bulwark against smear campaigns and efforts to isolate Israel."

And, on Iran, Schumer said an engaged America "is particularly important" as the regime "continues to sow instability throughout the region," by supporting terrorist proxies, conducting ballistic missile tests, and flagrantly abusing the human rights of its own people. "It's imperative we have bipartisan support to counter this behavior and keep the regime in check," he said.

In conclusion, Senator Schumer said, "the world has always been a better place when America is a beacon for freedom and tolerance; for the economic and social advancement of all peoples. America has always been a better place when we embrace that role."

AJC, founded in 1906 and with headquarters in New York, maintains 22 regional offices across the United States; 10 overseas posts; and 34 international association agreements with Jewish communities.

SOURCE American Jewish Committee

Related Links

http://www.ajc.org


ATLANTA, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Serta Simmons Bedding, LLC ("SSB"), the largest manufacturer and distributor of mattresses in the United States, announced today a three-year strategic partnership with Sinomax USA to develop new mattress-in-a-box offerings for SSB's Serta and Beautyrest brands. These new products will be offered for sale through current and prospective retailer channels.

The new offerings, which will be manufactured and assembled in the United States, will be a first in the category for Beautyrest nationally and will replace, and make more widely available, the current Serta mattress-in-a-box offering.

"As the industry leader, it's critical that we proactively provide our retail partners with innovative products that are available across all distribution channels," said Michael Traub, SSB Chief Executive Officer. "Our partnership with Sinomax USA will provide mattress-in-a-box offerings, with compelling value and at various prices, for consumers who seek differentiated shopping experiences with our retail partners."

Sinomax USA is a leading global manufacturer and distributor that specializes in innovative memory foam technology products. The company will provide the foam for the mattress-in-a-box mattresses, pillows and toppers, all of which will be manufactured at the company's new automated facility in Nashville, Tennessee. The offerings will be available as early as July 2017.

"We are pleased to partner with the leading bedding company in the United States on this exciting growth opportunity," said Frank Chen, Sinomax USA Chief Executive Officer. "Sinomax looks forward to supporting the Serta and Beautyrest brands' growth with these new mattress-in-a-box offerings that are manufactured in our Nashville facility, which has been recognized by the state of Tennessee for significant new job creation."

"SSB will continue to collaborate and innovate with our strategic partners as part of our unwavering commitment to our retail partners," said Traub. "These new offerings from the country's best-selling mattress brands will continue to help retailers succeed and grow their business."

About Serta Simmons Bedding, LLC

Serta Simmons Bedding, LLC ("SSB") is the largest distributor and manufacturer of mattresses in the United States. The Atlanta-based company owns and manages two of the largest bedding brands in the mattress industry, Serta, which has five other independent licensees, and Beautyrest. The two brands are distributed through national, hospitality, and regional and independent channels throughout North America. SSB operates 32 manufacturing plants in the United States, six in Canada and one in Puerto Rico. For more information about SSB and its brands, visit www.sertasimmons.com.

About Sinomax USA

SINOMAX USA is a leading global manufacturer and distributor of polyurethane comfort products, specializing in memory foams that include innovative technology created for the consumer. Its mattresses, pillows and mattress toppers are sold in over 6,000 stores across the globe by the world's largest retailers. Its supply chain includes four world-class manufacturing plants, and it maintains a competitive advantage of being a vertically integrated, high-value producer of consumer products in the industry.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact or relating to present facts or current conditions included in this press release are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements give our current expectations and projections relating to our financial condition, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance and business. You can identify forward-looking statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements may include words such as "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "project," "seek," "plan," "intend," "believe," "will," "may," "could," "continue," "likely," "should," and other words. Such statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results projected, expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement made by SSB or Mattress Firm in this press release speaks only as of the date on which it is made. Neither SSB nor Mattress Firm undertakes any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

Investors Contact:

Serta Simmons Bedding

D. Paul Dascoli, CFO

[email protected]

770-673-2625

Media Contacts:

Serta Simmons Bedding

Noreen Pratscher, VP of Corporate Communications

[email protected]

770-730-1822

Sinomax USA

Maria Sigmond, SVP of Marketing & Ecommerce

[email protected]

713-333-6737

SOURCE Serta Simmons Bedding, LLC

Related Links

http://www.sertasimmons.com


LOS ANGELES, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- cheero USA announced the Sleepion 2, an innovative sleep aid system that uses aromatherapy, soothing light and ambient sounds clinically proven to promote deeper sleep. More than thirty years of sleep research and innovation has gone into developing an answer to promoting better sleep without the use of pills and medications.

Sleepion's battery is detachable Four different modes provide different atmospheres throughout the day.

There are two types of sleep, REM sleep and non-REM sleep. Deep non-REM sleep is essential for brain maintenance, physical health and emotional well-being. The Sleepion 2 is designed to program the users brain to engage in level 4 non-REM sleep in under 20 minutes; promoting quality sleep the natural way.

Sleepion 2 is not only for sleep, but to be used throughout the day. Four different modes provide different atmospheres throughout the day. Sleep mode uses a soft ambient white light with the scent of lavender to help promote sleep. The Rejuvenation mode, with a Germanium scent, uses a soft purple light to help promote relaxation for mediation or naps. With a mild green light and a lemon grass scent, the Concentration mode allows the mind to focus on a task when studying or working. Sleepion 2 also adopted a Bluetooth mode allowing users to play their own music when traveling, sleeping, or studying.

Aroma

Aromatherapy is an essential component of the Sleepion 2 because it calms the brain and helps the body relax when sleeping. Five different aromas (Hinoki, Lavender, Germanium, Lemon Grass and Forrest) promote different activities in the brain.

Light

Characteristics of light include color temperature and luminance. According tosleep studies, 2,700 Kelvin in color temperature and 35% in luminance is the optimal range for sleep. The Sleepion 2 has a 2,500 Kelvin watt lightbulb that simulates the pulsing of a candle and the light of the moon, regulating biological rhythms and inducing a state of deep sleep once an individual falls asleep.

Sound

The choice of song is a pivotal part of the Sleepion 2. The Sleepion 2 comes pre-loaded with 32 different songs to promote healthier sleep, relaxation, and concentration throughout the day. All songs are the original composition of Kenichi Toki and are only available in the Sleepion 2.

Media Contacts:

Andrew Matson | Media Relations| cheero USA| [email protected] | 888-545-7888

SOURCE cheero USA
BERLIN, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- TIBCO Software Inc., a global leader in integration, API management, and analytics, today announced the kickoff of its sold-out TIBCO NOW event, to be held at the Berlin Estrel Hotel and Conference Center through June 7. Professionals and business leaders will showcase the importance of taking digital transformation to the next level with advanced smart technology, along with discussing the latest market trends and innovations.

"In order to succeed in this evolving digital world, companies must think past traditional business intelligence tools and consider a digitally smarter approach," said Thomas Been, chief marketing officer, TIBCO. "TIBCO continues to place innovation first, focusing efforts on interconnecting data and augmenting the results to provide users with a seamless experience. This sold-out conference is a testament to the industry demand for platforms to fuel digital initiatives. The variety of product announcements that will be unveiled at the event are TIBCO's response to that need."

TIBCO NOW thought leaders spanning a range of industries, from transportation to finance, will educate attendees on the best methods for leading their companies through digital transformations and elevating their strategic plans to incorporate smarter technology. The global TIBCO NOW events allow conference goers to gain insights from regional experts, focusing on the specific takeaways necessary for their success. Conference highlights will include:

Keynotes from TIBCO executives such as Murray Rode , chief executive officer, Matt Quinn , executive vice president and chief technology officer, and Thomas Been , chief marketing officer;

, chief executive officer, , executive vice president and chief technology officer, and , chief marketing officer; Additional keynote presentations featuring leading customers, including Matt Harris , head of IT, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, Wim Liet and Hans Tonissen , IT leaders, Nederlandse Spoorwegen, and Erwin Vezin , vice president, enterprise architecture, AccorHotels;

, head of IT, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, and , IT leaders, Nederlandse Spoorwegen, and , vice president, enterprise architecture, AccorHotels; All-inclusive training sessions, led by TIBCO specialists, on a variety of TIBCO products; and

Opportunities to network with the broad assortment of global TIBCO clients from a myriad of industries.

The TIBCO Trailblazer Awards will also be distributed at the event, highlighting three exceptional companies who embody the digital revolution and have incorporated smart technology and innovation in their business strategies.

TIBCO is showcasing how companies can become digitally smarter at TIBCO NOW in San Diego, October 25-26. Take part in the conversation and attend the keynote sessions on Thursday, October 26 at 8:30am PT.

Follow @TIBCO on Twitter, and on our Facebook and LinkedIn pages to hear the latest news and updates from our team, and track #TIBCONOW on Twitter for live updates from the event.

About TIBCO

TIBCO enables digital business solutions through smart technologies that interconnect everything and augment intelligence. This combination delivers faster answers, better decisions, and smarter actions. TIBCO provides a connected set of technologies and services, based on 20 years of innovation, to serve the needs of all parts of an organizationfrom business users to developers to data scientists. Thousands of customers around the globe differentiate themselves by relying on TIBCO to power innovative business designs and compelling customer experiences. Learn how TIBCO makes digital smarter at www.tibco.com.

TIBCO, TIBCO NOW, and the TIBCO logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of TIBCO Software Inc. and/or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. All other product and company names and marks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners and are mentioned for identification.

Media Contact:

Lindsey Ashjian

TIBCO Software Inc.

(650) 846-8862

[email protected]

SOURCE TIBCO Software Inc.

Related Links

http://www.tibco.com


Customers may also book flights to international destinations with some of Southwest's low international fares starting at $59 one-way to select destinations today through June 8, 2017, 11:59 p.m. in the respective time zone of the originating city. Seats and days are limited; blackout dates apply.

See below for examples of these great low fares and for restrictions and exclusions.

"Southwest Airlines is here to connect People to what's important in their lives through friendly, reliable, and low-cost air travel," said Ryan Green, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Southwest Airlines. "These low prices are available to anyone who wants to take a vacation, close that business deal, or visit family and friends this fall. At Southwest, Transfarency means low fares; nothing to hide; no change fees*; first and second bags fly free*; and free live TV*. Transfarency is our brand and way of life."

*There are no change fees, though fare differences might apply; first and second checked pieces of luggage, size and weight limits apply; free live TV where available for a limited time.

To see the full list of available cities and prices, and to take advantage of Southwest's special fares, visit Southwest.com.

Examples of Southwest Airlines' domestic low fares include (see fare rules below):

As low as $49 one-way nonstop between Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and San Francisco International Airport

one-way nonstop between International Airport (LAX) and International Airport As low as $79 one-way nonstop between Atlanta and Reagan National Airport (DCA)

one-way nonstop between and Reagan National Airport (DCA) As low as $99 one-way nonstop between Sacramento International Airport and Portland International Airport

one-way nonstop between International Airport and International Airport As low as $129 one-way nonstop between Houston (Hobby) and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

Domestic fares are available for travel on nonstop, domestic flights, except for Fridays and Sundays, from Aug. 22 through Dec. 13, 2017. Travel to/from San Juan, Puerto Rico valid Sept. 6 through Dec. 7, 2017. (Travel to Florida and Nevada and from Florida to Nevada is valid only on Sundays through Wednesdays. Travel from Florida and Nevada and from Nevada to Florida is valid only on Tuesdays through Fridays. Travel to and from San Juan, Puerto Rico is valid Monday through Thursday.) Blackout dates for domestic travel include Sept. 1 and 4, 2017, and Nov. 17-28, 2017. Please see complete fare rules and terms and conditions below. Seats are limited.

Examples of Southwest Airlines' international low fares include (see fare rules below):

As low as $59 one-way nonstop from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport to Grand Cayman Owen Roberts International Airport

one-way nonstop from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport to Grand Cayman Owen Roberts International Airport As low as $89 one-way nonstop from Houston (Hobby) to Mexico City International Airport

International fares are available for travel on nonstop, international flights, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, from Aug. 22 through Dec. 13, 2017. Sale fares to international destinations blacked out Sept. 1-2 and Nov. 18-20, 2017; sale fares from international destinations blacked out Sept. 4-6 and Nov. 25-28, 2017. Please see complete fare rules, terms and conditions below. Seats are limited.

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES SALE FARE RULES

Purchase from June 6 through June 8, 2017, 11:59 p.m. in the respective time zone of the originating city. Domestic travel valid Aug. 22 through Dec. 13, 2017. Fares not available to/from Albany, New York and Manchester, New Hampshire. Travel to/from San Juan, Puerto Rico is valid Sept. 6 through Dec. 7, 2017. International travel is valid Aug. 22 through Dec. 13, 2017. Domestic travel is blacked out Sept. 1, Sept. 4, & Nov. 17-28, 2017. Sale fares to international destinations are blacked out Sept. 1-2 and Nov. 18-20, 2017; sale fares from international destinations are blacked out Sept. 4-6 and Nov. 25-28, 2017. Domestic travel is not valid on Fridays and Sundays. Travel to Florida and Nevada and from Florida to Nevada is valid only on Sundays through Wednesdays. Travel from Florida and Nevada and from Nevada to Florida is valid only on Tuesdays through Fridays. Travel to/from San Juan, Puerto Rico is valid Monday through Thursday. International travel is valid only on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Fares are valid only on nonstop service. Displayed prices include all U.S. and international government taxes and fees. Points bookings do not include taxes, fees, and other government/airport charges of at least $5.60 per one-way flight. Seats and days are limited. Fares may vary by destination, flight, and day of week and won't be available on some flights that operate during very busy travel times and holiday periods. Travel is available for one-way Wanna Get Away fares. Fares may be combined with other Southwest Airlines combinable fares. If combining with other fares, the most restrictive fare's rules apply. Sale fares may be available on other days of week, but that's not guaranteed. Fares are nonrefundable but may be applied toward future travel on Southwest Airlines, as long as reservations are canceled at least ten minutes prior to the scheduled departure. Failure to cancel prior to departure will result in forfeiture of remaining funds on the reservation. Any change in itinerary may result in an increase in fare. Standby travel may require an upgrade to the Anytime fare depending on Tier status. Fares are subject to change until ticketed. Offer applies only to published, scheduled service.

ABOUT SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.

In its 46th year of service, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV) continues to differentiate itself from other air carriers with exemplary Customer Service delivered by more than 54,000 Employees to more than 100 million Customers annually. Southwest proudly operates a network of 101 destinations in the United States and nine additional countries with more than 3,900 departures a day during peak travel season. Service to Turks and Caicos is expected to begin November 5, 2017, subject to requisite government approvals.

Based on the U.S. Department of Transportation's most recent data, Southwest Airlines is the nation's largest carrier in terms of originating domestic passengers boarded. The Company operates the largest fleet of Boeing aircraft in the world, the majority of which are equipped with satellite-based WiFi providing gate-to-gate connectivity. That connectivity enables Customers to use their personal devices to view video on-demand movies and television shows, as well as nearly 20 channels of free, live TV compliments of our valued Partners. Southwest created Transfarency, a philosophy which treats Customers honestly and fairly, and in which low fares actually stay low. Southwest is the only major U.S. airline to offer bags fly free to everyone (first and second checked pieces of luggage, size and weight limits apply, some airlines may allow free checked bags on select routes or for qualified circumstances), and there are no change fees, though fare differences might apply. The airline proudly unveiled a bold new look: Heart. A new logo, aircraft livery, interior design featuring a new seat and Flight Attendant galley, Employee-designed uniforms, and an updated airport experience all showcase the dedication of Southwest Employees who connect Customers with what's important in their lives.

From its first flights on June 18, 1971, Southwest Airlines launched an era of unprecedented affordability in air travel described by the U.S. Department of Transportation as "The Southwest Effect," a lowering of fares and increase in passenger traffic whenever the carrier enters new markets. With 44 consecutive years of profitability, Southwest is one of the most honored airlines in the world, known for a triple bottom line approach that contributes to the carrier's performance and productivity, the importance of its People and the communities they serve, and an overall commitment to efficiency and the planet. The 2016 Southwest Airlines One Report can be found at SouthwestOneReport.com.

Book Southwest Airlines' low fares online at Southwest.com or by phone at 800-I-FLY-SWA.

SOURCE Southwest Airlines Co.

Related Links

http://www.southwest.com


This departure momentcaptured on video at the airporthas been viewed more than two million times, bringing many viewers to tears with its portrayal of Chinese students saying goodbye to their parents as they leave to study abroad.

"Although it is China-specific, the message is universal and is resonating with a worldwide audience," says Jobert Abueva, Senior Director, TOEFL Marketing. "We wanted to home in on that pivotal moment when students and parents part ways before the study abroad journey starts in earnest, something many of us, as former international students can relate to."

The new video from the TOEFL program has been posted on the TOEFL pages of Sina Weibo, WeChat, and Youku for Chinese viewers. In addition, a version with English captions is posted to Facebook, LinkedIn and the TOEFL TV channel on YouTube.

About the TOEFL Test

The TOEFL test of academic English is the most widely respected English-language assessment worldwide, recognized by more than 10,000 institutions in more than 130 countries. To date, more than 30 million students have taken the TOEFL test. More information regarding the TOEFL test, including registration, study tips and sample questions, is available on the TOEFL Go Anywhere website at www.toeflgoanywhere.org.

About ETS

At ETS, we advance quality and equity in education for people worldwide by creating assessments based on rigorous research. ETS serves individuals, educational institutions and government agencies by providing customized solutions for teacher certification, English language learning, and elementary, secondary and postsecondary education, and by conducting education research, analysis and policy studies. Founded as a nonprofit in 1947, ETS develops, administers and scores more than 50 million tests annually  including the TOEFL and TOEIC  tests, the GRE  tests and The Praxis Series  assessments  in more than 180 countries, at over 10,000 locations worldwide. www.ets.org

SOURCE Educational Testing Service-TOEFL

Related Links

http://www.ets.org


Researchers examined the outcomes of attempted opioid-related overdose reversals reported by first responders and community health organizations where NARCAN Nasal Spray 4 mg was administered. Participating organizations provided data on several outcome measures including reversal outcomes, agents involved in suspected overdoses and observed events.

"This survey emphasizes the role community-use naloxone can play and cements naloxone as an integral part of the opioid epidemic response," said George K. Avetian, DO, primary investigator of the survey. "It is important that we understand how ready-to-use naloxone is used in the community setting, so that we may apply those learnings to other scenarios and emergency preparedness strategies."

"First responders and harm reduction advocates play a vital role in addressing the opioid overdose epidemic impacting our communities," said Mike Kelly, President, U.S. Operations, Adapt Pharma, Inc. the makers of NARCAN Nasal Spray. "Anyone using prescribed or illicit opioids can potentially be at risk of experiencing an opioid overdose emergency. When responding to such an emergency, ready-to-use and layperson-designed naloxone formulations, such as NARCAN Nasal Spray, allow family and friends to rapidly respond to an opioid overdose emergency in the community setting while waiting for emergency medical help to arrive."

Survey data were generally collected via case report forms, data tables and qualitative email summaries of the participating first responders and community health organization representatives. Real-world data evaluations are limited due to the retrospective nature of the data and potential biases. The survey, conducted in August 2016, was designed and implemented by Synchrony Medical Communications, LLC and sponsored by Adapt Pharma, Inc.

NARCAN Nasal Spray is the first and only FDA-approved naloxone in a nasal spray for the emergency treatment of opioid overdose. It is now available as a ready-to-use, needle-free, 4 mg dose of naloxone in a single spray. NARCAN Nasal Spray is not a substitute for emergency medical care, and repeat applications may be necessary. Seek emergency medical assistance immediately after initial use, keeping the patient under continued surveillance. Please see Indications and Important Safety Information below.

About NARCAN (naloxone HCI) NASAL SPARY

NARCAN Nasal Spray is indicated for the emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose, as manifested by respiratory and/or central nervous system depression. NARCAN Nasal Spray is intended for immediate administration as emergency therapy in settings where opioids may be present.

NARCAN Nasal Spray is not a substitute for emergency medical care. Always seek emergency medical assistance in the event of a suspected, potentially life-threatening opioid emergency after administration of the first dose of NARCAN nasal spray.

If the desired response is not obtained after 2 or 3 minutes, administer an additional dose of NARCAN Nasal Spray in an alternate nostril using a new NARCAN Nasal Spray. If the patient responds to NARCAN Nasal Spray and relapses back into respiratory depression before emergency assistance arrives, administer an additional dose and continue surveillance of the patient. If there is still no response and additional doses are available, administer additional doses of NARCAN Nasal Spray every 2 to 3 minutes using a new NARCAN Nasal Spray in alternate nostrils with each dose until emergency medical assistance arrives. Additional supportive and/or resuscitative measures may be helpful while awaiting emergency medical assistance.

Please see Indications and Important Safety Information below.

Please see full prescribing information for NARCAN Nasal Spray, available at http://www.narcan.com/pdf/NARCAN-Prescribing-Information.pdf

NARCAN NASAL SPRAY INDICATIONS AND IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

Indications  4mg

NARCAN (naloxone hydrochloride) Nasal Spray is an opioid antagonist indicated for the emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose, as manifested by respiratory and/or central nervous system depression. NARCAN Nasal Spray is intended for immediate administration as emergency therapy in settings where opioids may be present.

NARCAN Nasal Spray is not a substitute for emergency medical care.

Important Safety Information

NARCAN Nasal Spray is contraindicated in patients known to be hypersensitive to naloxone hydrochloride. Seek emergency medical assistance immediately after initial use, keeping the patient under continued surveillance.

Risk of Recurrent Respiratory and CNS Depression: Due to the duration of action of naloxone relative to the opioid, keep the patient under continued surveillance and administer repeat doses of naloxone using a new nasal spray with each dose, as necessary, while awaiting emergency medical assistance.

Risk of Limited Efficacy with Partial Agonists or Mixed Agonists/Antagonists: Reversal of respiratory depression caused by partial agonists or mixed agonists/antagonists, such as buprenorphine and pentazocine, may be incomplete. Larger or repeat doses may be required.

Precipitation of Severe Opioid Withdrawal: Use in patients who are opioid dependent may precipitate opioid withdrawal characterized by body aches, fever, sweating, runny nose, sneezing, goose bumps (piloerection), yawning, weakness, shivering or trembling, nervousness, restlessness or irritability, diarrhea, nausea or vomiting, abdominal cramps, increased blood pressure and increased heart rate (tachycardia). In some patients, there may be aggressive behavior upon abrupt reversal of an opioid overdose. In neonates, opioid withdrawal may be life-threatening if not recognized and properly treated and may be characterized by convulsions, excessive crying, and hyperactive reflexes. Monitor for the development of opioid withdrawal.

Risk of Cardiovascular (CV) Effects: Abrupt postoperative reversal of opioid depression may result in adverse CV effects. These events have primarily occurred in patients who had pre-existing CV disorders or received other drugs that may have similar adverse CV effects. Monitor these patients closely in an appropriate healthcare setting after use of naloxone hydrochloride.

The following adverse reactions were observed in a NARCAN Nasal Spray clinical survey: increased blood pressure, constipation, toothache, muscle spasms, musculoskeletal pain, headache, nasal dryness, nasal edema, nasal congestion, nasal inflammation, rhinalgia, and xeroderma.

See Instructions for Use and full prescribing information in the use of this product, available here: http://www.narcan.com/pdf/NARCAN-Prescribing-Information.pdf.

Additional information, including full prescribing information for NARCAN Nasal Spray, and important safety information and instructions for use, is also available at www.NARCAN.com.

To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact Adapt Pharma, Inc. at 1-844-4NARCAN (1-844-462-7226) or FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch.

ABOUT ADAPT PHARMA

Adapt Pharma is a privately-held pharmaceutical company committed to positively impacting the lives of patients. Adapt Pharma's strategy is to identify, evaluate, selectively acquire and enhance the value of late stage development, and FDA approved, pharmaceutical products. Adapt Pharma's company headquarters is in Dublin, Ireland and its U.S. headquarters is in Radnor, Pennsylvania. For more information, please visit www.adaptpharma.com.

SOURCE Adapt Pharma

Related Links

http://www.AdaptPharma.com


STEILACOOM, Wash., June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Steilacoom School District Bus Drivers with First Student have voted to ratify their first contract as members of Teamsters Local 313. The agreement, which covers 25 drivers, was ratified by an almost two-to-one margin.

"Congratulations to all of our drivers who fought hard and maintained solidarity in the face of adversity," said John Emrick, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 313. "I especially want to thank Teamsters Local 117 Secretary-Treasurer John Scearcy and Passenger Transportation Division Director Rick Middleton for everything they did to support us during this process."

Bargaining started in October 2016, but reached a standstill last month. The workers voted to authorize strike action on May 24. The action proved to be effective and after only four hours, management and the workers negotiated a tentative agreement which was ratified from the strike line that very same day. Under the new agreement, workers will receive an average wage increase of five dollars per hour within the first 18 months of the contract.

"It's about time somebody stepped in and helped to organize the people down here," said union steward Tammy Barrick. Barrick worked hard to fight for a good contract during negotiations. "Thanks to the Teamsters, we are now getting the respect that we deserve."

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Visit www.teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and "like" us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/teamsters.

Contact:

Galen Munroe, (202) 624-6911

[email protected]

SOURCE Teamsters Local 313

Related Links

http://www.teamster.org


OTTAWA, Ontario, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- TechPats, the world's leading full-service IP consulting firm, has announced that it has hired Ron Oliver to the newly created position of Vice President of Client Services.

Mr. Oliver will be leveraging his nearly 20 years of high-tech industry experience to further expand and enhance client services offerings. He will be based out of the company's Ottawa office.

"We are very excited to have Ron join our growing team," states Chris Wichser, CEO of TechPats. "His extensive tech experience and patent knowledge make him a great resource for our clients."

Most recently, Ron held executive and management roles with companies that include Huawei, where he was responsible for growing research partnerships with Canadian Universities and Canadian tech startup companies. Prior to that, he worked as a Director at patent licensing company WiLAN, where he was responsible for licensing their DTV/Display and Wireless patent portfolios and managing several partnerships.

"TechPats represents the industry standard when it comes to technical expertise and customer service," stated Mr. Oliver. "I'm eager to join TechPats at this time and to contribute to their continued rapid growth."

About TechPats

TechPats is the world's leading full-service IP consulting firm. We bring together patent expertise, technical excellence, and business acumen across a wide range of markets and technologies. We form strong partnerships with our clients, empowering them to grow their businesses, protect and profit from their IP assets, and strategically position themselves for the future.

With veteran IP talent and reverse engineering specialists, we have helped countless operating companies and law firms maximize all phases of their IP endeavors.

Founded in 1998, we have nearly 20 years' experience analyzing global trends in innovation. With offices in Philadelphia, Ottawa, San Francisco, Tokyo, and Taipei, we are well positioned to assist our clients to develop, protect, and monetize patent portfolios with efficiency & precision.

SOURCE TechPats
PARIS, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Ex Libris, a ProQuest company, is pleased to announce that the European Commission has signed an inter-institutional framework agreement for the supply of the Ex Libris Alma library services platform and Ex Libris Primo discovery and delivery solution. Libraries from ten European institutions and bodies will benefit from the agreement, including the libraries of the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee, the European Committee of the Regions, and the European Court of Auditors.

The expiration of the current library-system agreement this year gave the European Commission the opportunity to evaluate ways to improve library services for all of its users. After an extensive tendering process, Alma and Primo were selected for their ability to enable librarians to increase their efficiency in managing print resources and eresources and to provide library users with a powerful and customizable search and discovery experience.

Theo Duivenvoorde, Head of the Library and e-Resources Centre of the European Commission, said, "Alma will provide us with a single solution for managing print and electronic resources with streamlined, automated workflows. The advanced analytics will help us manage and develop collections and improve resource availability, while Primo will enable users to search for resources in the library and beyond very effectively. The cloud-based architecture will ensure that we stay at the forefront of enhancements and developments, assisting us in continuing to provide optimal service."

The agreement also covers the European Union Intellectual Property Office in Alicante, Spain; the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training in Thessaloniki, Greece; the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions in Dublin, Ireland; and the European Institute for Gender Equality located in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Ofer Mosseri, corporate vice president and general manager of Ex Libris EMEA, said, "We are honored to have these ten EU institutions join our Alma and Primo community. Our European customer base continues to grow rapidly, and this decision by the European Commission once again shows that Alma and Primo satisfy the needs of a wide range of academic, research, and national institutions, regardless of their size, requirements, or mission."

About the Library of the European Commission

In 2018, the European Commission Library and eResources Centre will celebrate its sixtieth birthday. The library, a central service for all Commission staff, is part of the Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (EAC) and has sites in both Brussels and Luxembourg. Since the library's inception, its mission has remained largely unchanged: to help Commission staff obtain high-quality information on a given subject as quickly and effectively as possible.

As one of the main repositories for all that has happened since the Treaty of Rome was signed in 1957, the library's print and online collections are a unique source of information on European integration. Commission staff, the staff of other EU institutions, and people from outside the Commission can use FindeRthe library's search and discovery toolor one of the library's reading rooms to search the collection.

In recent years, the Library and e-Resources Centre has significantly expanded its electronic collection, added reference services, and implemented tools to make searching easier.

For more information about the European Commission Library, visit their website and join them on Facebook.

About Ex Libris

Ex Libris, a ProQuest company, is a leading global provider of cloud-based solutions for higher education. Offering SaaS solutions for the management and discovery of the full spectrum of library and scholarly materials, as well as mobile campus solutions driving student engagement and success, Ex Libris serves thousands of customers in 90 countries. For more information about Ex Libris, see our website, and join us on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

SOURCE Ex Libris
WASHINGTON, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- SOS International, the company that provides interpreting services for federal immigration courts, illegally misclassified its employees as independent contractors and fired interpreters who spoke out, according to a complaint filed by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on May 31.

Issuance of the complaint was announced today by The NewsGuild-CWA and Pacific Media Workers Guild, TNG-CWA Local 39521.

The complaint has broad implications for the labor movement because employers in many industries misclassify workers as freelancers and independent contractors to avoid costs associated with hiring regular employees. The misclassification constitutes an unfair labor practice intended to deprive them of their labor rights, Regional Director William B. Cowen wrote.

The complaint also has significant implications for immigration courts, which are plagued by backlogs and depend on the services of qualified interpreters. "The system has been failing, but now it is reaching a tipping point," Benjamin Johnson, the executive director of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, told the New York Times in December.1

Of those who appear in immigration court, 43 percent have no lawyer, and 89 percent involve non-English speakers.

The interpreters who filed the complaint blame the Department of Justice for the untenable situation. Since the end of 2015, the DoJ has contracted with SOSi exclusively, but the company has been unable to provide sufficient staffing, resulting in canceled hearings. SOSi also has utilized inexperienced and unqualified interpreters and failed to undertake required background checks, the union organizers say.

"As an immigration court interpreter who takes great pride in the profession, it is good to know that the NLRB agrees that labor law safeguards are essential to the vital work done every day in court by me and fellow colleagues," said Kathleen Morris, a Chicago area interpreter.

The NLRB complaint charges SOSi with illegally terminating union activists, improperly interrogating employees about their organizing activities, surveilling union supporters, threatening legal action, and prohibiting employees from engaging in activities associated with union organizing.

The complaint, filed by the NLRB's LA Region, seeks an order from the full board instructing SOSi to immediately reclassify the interpreters as employees.

The NLRB also demanded reinstatement with back pay for several interpreters SOSi fired in retaliation for their union organizing activities.

"At a time when the climate is not union friendly, this is a major victory," Hilda Estrada, a Los Angeles interpreter who accused SOSi of retaliation, told the L.A. Times.2 "I'm elated."

SOSi workers are continuing their efforts, with support from the NewsGuild-CWA and the Pacific Media Workers Guild (Local 39521). If they are successful, hundreds of immigration interpreters would be eligible to bargain collectively over pay and other conditions of employment. The NewsGuild-CWA currently represents more than a thousand interpreters at courts in California and Illinois, and at a hospital in Minnesota, with the overwhelming majority in California.

The NewsGuild-CWA and Pacific Media Workers Guild issued a statement praising the issuance of the complaint. "The union will not rest until justice is served. Interpreters provide a valuable service to the courts and to their communities. They deserve dignity, respect and basic employment rights."

A hearing on the complaint is scheduled for Aug. 21.

1 New York Times, Dec. 1, 2016, Deluged Immigration Courts, Where Cases Stall for Years, Begin to Buckle, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/01/us/deluged-immigration-courts-where-cases-stall-for-years-begin-to-buckle.html?_r=0

2 L.A. Times, June 5, 2017, Interpreters play a vital role in immigration courts  but their rights are being violated, labor board says. http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-immigration-interpreters-20170601-story.html

Contact: Sally Davidow

202-368-3324

202-434-1162

[email protected]

SOURCE The NewsGuild-CWA
ATLANTA, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Weather Company, an IBM Business (NYSE: IBM) and Rogers Media announced today an agreement to provide weather information and content customized specifically for the Canadian market. With this agreement, The Weather Company will provide in-depth weather data and forecasts, as well as curated content, across Rogers Media properties. In turn, Rogers Media will provide locally relevant articles, photos and video content across the Canadian versions of The Weather Channel app and website (weather.com) to provide residents with the most pertinent information possible. The Weather Company and Rogers Media will also align to enhance advertising across both companies' properties, with Rogers leveraging its ad sales capabilities to monetize The Weather Channel properties in Canada.

Rogers Media is one of Canada's leading media companies with 25 TV stations, 53 radio stations, nine publications, and more than 90 digital media properties, reaching millions of Canadians. The Weather Company has more than 160 meteorologists and provides hyperlocal forecasts for over 2.2 billion locations across the globe every 15 minutes. Recently named the most accurate forecaster in the world by a third-party forecast analyst, The Weather Company offers an unparalleled level of forecasting expertise and weather information.

To ensure Canadians receive the most up-to-date weather information, The Weather Company will provide localized current condition information and three-day forecasts via a widget across Rogers Media properties.

In addition, national and local marketers will have access to Weather's innovative data-driven advertising solution, WEATHERfx, across both companies' properties. WEATHERfx is an automated targeting platform that helps marketers determine the best time and place to serve ads by leveraging the impact of weather conditions on emotions to deliver messaging, products and services that potentially influence a consumer's purchasing behavior.

"Canadians from coast to coast are affected by varying and often intense weather conditions. As a result, it's crucial for us to provide timely and reliable information to help them make better decisions  to properly plan their day, travel more efficiently, and take action to remain safe in the face of severe weather," said Domenic Venuto, general manager, consumer division, The Weather Company. "Working with Rogers Media allows us not only to serve hyperlocal weather information to millions of Canadian consumers, it also allows us to offer the most relevant local news and information to those using The Weather Channel digital properties."

"Our priority is to offer our customers the information and services they want and need, when they need it most. The weather affects many of us every day. We plan our lives around it. With that in mind, we want to ensure we're providing our audiences with the most reliable and accurate information possible  which is why we turned to The Weather Company," says Al Dark, senior vice president of sales, Rogers Media. "Working with The Weather Company gives our audience peace of mind that they'll have access to the right information at the right time, while also providing local advertisers with actionable insights to better serve and engage users."

The Weather Company, an IBM Business

The Weather Company, an IBM Business, helps people make informed decisions  and take action  in the face of weather. The company offers the most accurate, personalized and actionable weather data and insights to millions of consumers, as well as thousands of marketers and businesses via Weather's API, its business solutions division, and its own digital products from The Weather Channel (weather.com) and Weather Underground (wunderground.com).

The company delivers tens of billions of forecasts daily. Its products include a top weather app on all major mobile platforms globally, a network of 250,000 personal weather stations, a top-20 U.S. website, one of the world's largest IoT data platforms, and industry-leading business solutions.

Weather Means Business. The world's biggest brands in aviation, energy, insurance, media and government rely on The Weather Company for data, technology platforms and services to help improve decision-making and respond to weather's impact on business. For more, visit theweathercompany.com.

About Rogers

Rogers is a leading diversified Canadian communications and media company that's working to deliver a great experience to our customers every day. We are Canada's largest provider of wireless communications services and one of Canada's leading providers of cable television, high-speed Internet, information technology, and telephony services to consumers and businesses. Through Rogers Media, we are engaged in radio and television broadcasting, sports, televised and online shopping, magazines, and digital media. Our shares are publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: RCI.A and RCI.B) and on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: RCI).

Contact:

Andria Stark

Communications Manager

[email protected]

SOURCE The Weather Company, an IBM Business
NEW YORK, June 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Toppan Vite, a leading international financial printing, communications and technology company, announced today a strategic rebrand to Toppan Vintage,' reflecting its recent acquisition of Vintage and its plans for future international growth and expansion.

Toppan Vite announced in March its strategic acquisition of Vintage, a former division of PR Newswire and a provider of regulatory compliance across capital markets, corporate services, and institutional and fund services. Toppan Vite's global offices will operate as Toppan Vintage moving forward, marking a consolidation of brand identity and resources available across the globe.

Toppan Vite has been a pioneer and trusted partner in the Asian financial markets for over three decades, and has evolved into a global company serving corporations, investment companies, financial institutions and their legal and banking advisors. Toppan Vintage plans to continue to aggressively grow their solutions and expand operations around the world.

"Our acquisition of Vintage has served as a catalyst for unparalleled growth and future enhancements," said Yeo Chee Tong, CEO of Toppan Leefung Limited, Toppan Vintage's parent company. "This rebrand represents our status as one of the largest financial printing companies in the world and honors both our deep history in the Asian and U.S. markets and Vintage's clients and resources. Today we are better positioned to maximize our offerings to first-class businesses around the world with 24/7 support and localized service based on our customers' needs," continued Yeo. "These efforts are grounded in smarter technology, improved offerings and platforms, and capitalizing on the integration of Vintage's resources into our own."

As part of this rebrand, Toppan Vintage plans to make extensive investments into the business following the merger, focusing particularly on enhanced technology. Since the acquisition in March, Toppan Vintage launched Hive XBRL , powered by Certent, an all-in-one solution for disclosure management services, providing users with greater control over reporting processes by eliminating manual workflows and inefficiencies, and improving turnaround times and collaboration. Toppan Vintage continues to enhance its Hive Content Control platform, an easy-to-use, cloud-based solution that delivers a secure, hassle-free experience for authoring, editing and managing shared document and filing content from internal and external contributors. The offering now features Dynamic Publishing Solutions technology designed to automate dynamic content in business communications and marketing materials, while enhancing enterprise content management and quality in a single-source environment.

About Toppan Vintage

Toppan Vintage, a leader in financial printing and communications solutions, is part of the Toppan Printing Co., Ltd., the world's largest printing group, headquartered in Tokyo with approximately US$13 billion in annual sales. Toppan Vintage has been a pioneer and trusted partner in the financial markets for three decades, serving the financial, legal and corporate communities with meticulous, responsive service and unparalleled local market expertise and capabilities. Toppan Vintage's expanding operations deliver a hassle-free experience for mission-critical content for capital markets transactions, financial reporting and regulatory compliance filings, investment companies and insurance providers. Learn more at www.toppanvintage.com

SOURCE Toppan Vintage

Related Links

http://www.toppanvintage.com


IRVINE, Calif., June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. (TAEC)* has introduced a new range of 10 AEC Q101-qualified photocouplers designed to address the demanding isolation, interface, switching, and form factor requirements of automotive applications.

Toshiba's new range of photocouplers features a wide variety of devices  including the IC output TLX9304, TLX9378 and TLX9376  which are housed in low-profile SO6 packages and offer data rates of 1Mbps, 10Mbps and 20Mbps, respectively. Also supplied in SO6 packaging are the TLX9300 and TLX9185A transistor output and TLX9905 and TLX9906 photovoltaic output devices. The TLX9000 and TLX9291A offer transistor outputs as well, and are differentiated by their half-pitch SO4 packages. An SO6-packaged photorelay  the TLX9175J  is also available.

Toshiba's new photocouplers offer solutions that can operate at temperatures from -40C to 125C (except TLX9175J: T opr -55C to 105C), making them suited to inverter control and intelligent power module (IPM) interface applications in conventional, electric vehicle (EV) and hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) applications. The photorelay is designed to meet automotive battery control needs. Despite their small size, all of the new photocouplers have creepage/clearance distances of 5mm and offer a minimum isolation voltage of 3750V rms .

The TLX9304, TLX9378 and TLX9376 integrate a GaAlAs infrared light emitting diode and high-gain, high-speed photodetectors. An internal Faraday shield provides a common-mode transient immunity of 15kV/s. In the case of the TLX9175J photorelay, the LED technology is based on a gallium arsenide construction. A high-voltage MOSFET between the relay's output terminals meets the needs of battery control systems.

Pricing and Availability

The new photocouplers are available now. For more details, samples and pricing information, please contact your local Toshiba Sales Office.

*About TAEC

Through proven commitment, lasting relationships and advanced, reliable electronic components, Toshiba enables its customers to create market-leading designs. Toshiba is the heartbeat within product breakthroughs from OEMs, ODMs, CMs, VARs, distributors and fabless chip companies worldwide. A committed electronic components leader, Toshiba designs and manufactures high-quality flash memory-based storage solutions, solid state drives (SSDs), hard disk drives (HDDs), solid state hybrid drives (SSHDs), discrete devices, custom SoCs/ASICs, imaging products, microcontrollers, wireless components, mobile peripheral devices, and advanced materials that make possible today's leading smartphones, tablets, cameras, medical devices, automotive electronics, industrial applications, enterprise solutions and more.

Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. is an independent operating company owned by Toshiba America, Inc., a subsidiary of Toshiba Corporation, Japan's largest semiconductor, solid state drive and hard disk drive manufacturer and the world's seventh largest semiconductor manufacturer (Gartner, 2015 Worldwide Semiconductor Revenue, January, 2016). Founded in Tokyo in 1875, Toshiba is at the heart of a global network of over 550 consolidated companies employing over 188,000 people worldwide (as of March 31, 2016). Visit Toshiba's web site at http://toshiba.semicon-storage.com.

Information in this press release, including product pricing and specifications, content of services and contact information, is current and believed to be accurate on the date of the announcement, but is subject to change without prior notice. Technical and application information contained here is subject to the most recent applicable Toshiba product specifications.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Dena Jacobson

Lages & Associates

Tel.: (949) 453-8080

[email protected]

SOURCE Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.toshiba.com/taec


WAYNE, N.J., June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Details for the Toys"R"Us, Inc. first quarter 2017 earnings conference call are provided below. On the call, the company's leadership team will discuss the financial results of Toys"R"Us, Inc. and Toys"R"Us  Delaware, Inc. at 2:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, June 15, 2017.

Participation in this call is open to the public. Participants should dial-in 15 minutes in advance, using the following:

U.S. Dial-In Number: (855) 687-5546

International Dial-In Number: (786) 800-3917

Conference ID: 34010998

More information is available at www.toysrusinc.com/investors/events-list.

About Toys"R"Us, Inc.

Toys"R"Us, Inc. is the world's leading dedicated toy and baby products retailer, offering a differentiated shopping experience through its family of brands. Merchandise is sold in 879 Toys"R"Us and Babies"R"Us stores in the United States, Puerto Rico and Guam, and in 815 international stores and over 255 licensed stores in 37 countries and jurisdictions. With its strong portfolio of e-commerce sites including Toysrus.com and Babiesrus.com, the company provides shoppers with a broad online selection of distinctive toy and baby products. Toys"R"Us, Inc. is headquartered in Wayne, NJ, and has nearly 65,000 employees worldwide. The company is committed to serving its communities as a caring and reputable neighbor through programs dedicated to keeping kids safe and helping them in times of need. Over the past three decades, the Company has given more than $100 million in product donations to children's charities. Since 1992, the Toys"R"Us Children's Fund, a public charity affiliated with Toys"R"Us, Inc., has also donated more than $130 million in grants. For more information, visit Toysrusinc.com or follow @ToysRUsNews on Twitter.

SOURCE Toys"R"Us, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.toysrus.com


ATLANTA, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Aptos, Inc., a recognized market leader in retail technology solutions, today announced TUMI, the leading global travel brand, has selected the powerful Aptos Enterprise Order Management solution to enhance its omni-channel operations and offer shoppers "endless aisle" inventory visibility and flexible fulfillment options.

Founded in 1975, TUMI is the preeminent luxury global brand of premium business, travel and lifestyle products and accessories. The brand is sold in approximately 2,000 points of distribution from New York to Paris to London and Tokyo, as well as in the world's top department, specialty and travel retail stores in over 75 countries.

TUMI, a long-time Aptos customer, will augment its existing Aptos Singular Commerce platform with Aptos Enterprise Order Management. The solution will enable the brand to profitably manage all orders throughout their lifecycle, from initiation to fulfillment and back, and help integrate TUMI's physical and online retail channels.

Aptos Enterprise Order Management will work seamlessly with TUMI's existing Aptos solutions, which include: Aptos Store and Aptos Mobile Store for point of sale, Aptos Audit and Operations Management, Aptos Merchandising, Aptos CRM, and Aptos Analytics.

Through its use of the Aptos Singular Commerce platform, TUMI obtains one view of customers, inventory, orders, and more to enable truly seamless customer experiences no matter where, when or how customers shop.

Over the years, TUMI has gained industry recognition for its ability to leverage retail innovation to support savvy inventory management practices translating into improved customer experiences, labor efficiencies and sales effectiveness. This focus has been of benefit to the company in its global expansion.

"Aptos Enterprise Order Management will allow us to present our vast product assortment to customers in an 'endless aisle' format, while ensuring products can be fulfilled with the customers' convenience in mind," said Rob Cooper, general manager, TUMI North America. "Our focus is on meeting customer expectations for seamless experiences, which is essential in today's omni-channel retail environment."

"The TUMI brand is renowned for elevating travel style to a whole new level through exceptional quality and design," said Noel Goggin, CEO and culture leader for Aptos. "Product availability and flexible order fulfillment are critical to TUMI customers  many of whom purchase in airport locations or while on-the-go, necessitating fulfillment scenarios such as buy in-store and ship-to-home."

With over 125,000 stores live on its Singular Commerce platform available in the cloud, more than 500 retail brands across the globe rely on cloud-ready Aptos solutions.

About Aptos "Engaging Customers Differently"

In an era of virtually limitless choice, sustained competitive advantage only comes to retailers who engage customers differently  by truly understanding who they are, what they want and why they buy. At Aptos, we too, believe that Engaging Customers Differently is critical to our success. We are committed to a deep understanding of each of our clients, to fulfilling their needs with the retail industry's most comprehensive omni-channel solutions, and to fostering long-term relationships built on tangible value and trust. More than 500 retail brands rely upon our Singular Commerce platform to deliver every shopper a personalized, empowered and seamless experienceno matter when, where or how they shop. Learn more: www.aptos.com

Follow Aptos on Twitter @Aptos_Retail

Aptos, the Aptos logo, "Singular Commerce," and "Engaging Customers Differently" are trademarks of Aptos, Inc. All other trademarks referenced are the property of their respective owners. The product and service offerings depicted in this document are produced by Aptos, Inc.

SOURCE Aptos, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.aptos.com


NEW YORK, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- "Fascinating Guizhou: A Heaven of Myriad Mountains," was recently in the spotlight at the United Nations headquarters as the 2017 Guizhou China Global Tourism Promotion and Presentation put the focus on this Chinese province.

The event included a photography exhibition which displayed the splendid scenery and enchanting cultural of Guizhou and a conference that promoted the tourism of Guizhou. Hosted by Guizhou Provincial People's Government of China, Guizhou Provincial Tourism Development Commission and the Sino-American Friendship Association, more than 150 guests from the travel industry, including travel agencies, tour operators, airlines, the media and government officials from China and the United States gathered at the UN to learn more about Guizhou, which has more than 50 ethnic groups, endless charming cultural stories and amazing landscapes to explore.

New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio and U.S. Congressmembers Joseph Crowley and Grace Meng sent greetings to congratulate the organizer. The NYC Mayor calling the evening's celebration of Chinese culture "a terrific opportunity to honor the diversity on which our global city rises."

Vice-Governor of the Guizhou Provincial People's Government, Lu Yongzheng, shared with conference participants the many reasons to visit Guizhou while Representatives of China Southern airlines shared Guizhou flight information with guests.

Several memorandums of agreement were signed at the ceremony and witnessed by VIPs including Markly Wilson, Director of International Marketing, New York State Division of Tourism; as well as the Vice Governor of Guizhou Province.

This event is the first time Guizhou province has combined promotion of its tourism image and trip products sales into one event and these products will soon be sold to U.S. inbound travel agencies online and offline.

Source: Guizhou Provincial Tourism Development Commission

Media Contact:

Cimagine Media Group, LLC

[email protected]

SOURCE Guizhou Provincial Tourism Development Commission
ANN ARBOR, Mich., June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As part of its mission to support innovative, for-profit companies that place social and environmental impact at the heart of their business models, the student-led Social Venture Fund, housed in the Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of Michigan's Stephen M. Ross School of Business, announced that it has invested in Court Innovations, an Ann Arbor-based dispute resolution platform. Court Innovations allows courts to handle infractions, disputes and outstanding warrants online, removing a major barrier for people who can't afford the transportation or time off to appear in court in person. The Social Venture Fund contributed $50,000 toward a $1.8 million Series A investment. The Fund participated with four investment funds, private investors and equity crowdfunding. Currently available and launching in 23 court systems, Court Innovations will use the money to bolster its sales and marketing functions in order to expand its footprint past the Midwest to court systems nationwide.

Founded in 2009 and managed by a team of nearly 40 MBA and BBA students, along with faculty advisor Gautam Kaul, the Social Venture Fund is the nation's first student-led impact investing fund. During the last seven years, while evaluating hundreds of for-profit companies in education, health care, food systems, environment and urban revitalization, the Social Venture Fund has come up against the same difficult question that impact investing groups around the country face: How do we reliably evaluate a company's potential value, in addition to its valuation?

Using a proprietary model based on the USAID logic model, along with a social ROI calculation, every startup considered for investment gets a report card score that quantifies the potential for social impact in such a way that it can be weighed against a company's financials to give the students a standard for evaluating a company's potential. When Alex Kravitz, MBA '17, the Social Venture Fund's director of investments, along with the due diligence team headed by Nancy McDermott, MBA '18 and Christine Priori, MBA/MPP '17, began the scoring and due diligence process for Court Innovations, they knew they had a rare opportunity to support a company that rated highly across the board.

A spinout from the University of Michigan Law School, Court Innovations was founded in 2014 by J.J. Prescott, professor of law, and Ben Gubernick, former law student, as they looked for ways to handle the backlog of warrants that exist in the American court system. Every year, as many as 75 million Americans who are cited for minor charges such as unpaid traffic fines are issued warrants and forced to appear in courtpresenting major challenges for anyone who can't afford transportation or the time off work to appear in person, not to mention creating an administrative backlog for the court system itself. Matterhorn, Court Innovation's online platform, allows people to submit contextual information about the charge, answer questions and hear back from a decision-maker, all without needing to appear in person. It also frees up court staff time. Before, one district court spent an average of 157 minutes per hearing and took 1-2 months to close a case; with Matterhorn, that time dropped to about 27 minutes per hearing and an average case close time of just under 8 days.

"Too often, ideas that start in the academic world stay there; as a company, Court Innovations is the embodiment of University of Michigan-bred creative problem-solving and passion for making the world a better place," said Prescott. "Millions of people in this country are expected to use courts or public agencies that they can't afford or are too afraid to use. Court Innovations' goal is make justice accessible to everyone, and we're grateful for the Social Venture Fund's support in making that mission a reality."

In addition to funding dollars, the Social Venture Fund will support Court Innovations with time and talent, including giving a member of the Fund a board observer seat and making a team available for consulting projects that would benefit the business. "We have a unique opportunity in working with Court Innovations because they are based here in Ann Arbor," said McDermott. "Thanks to that proximity, my team can spend time immersed in the business and working toward mutual success."

"The due diligence process is in many ways the hallmark of experiential learning," said Ali Raymond, MBA '18, a member of the due diligence team along with Sahar Omrani, MBA '18. "The process required us to dig into a real company's finances, evaluate how the management team works together, quantify the impact and create our own financial models and projections. Working with a company as transparent as Court Innovations was instrumental in our ability to make the decision to invest."

"The students leading the Social Venture Fund embody what experiential learning is all about," said Kaul. "They are not afraid to grapple with big questions that have stumped the broader impact investment community, and are actively working to answer them. This due diligence team has done an exceptional job in both choosing a company with a bright future and in advancing the field of impact investing as a whole."

For more information on Court Innovations' product Matterhorn, visit www.getmatterhorn.com. For more information on the Social Venture Fund, visit http://www.umsocialventure.com.

About the Social Venture Fund

The Social Venture Fund is a leader in university-based impact investing, with several active investments. The Fund's previous investments include Conversa Health, Powerhouse Dynamics, LearnZillion, Mytonomy, Loveland Technologies and Jack and Jake's. To learn more, visit www.umsocialventure.com.

About the Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies

The Institute and its Center for Venture Capital and Private Equity Finance bring together an impactful combination of deep-seated knowledge, enriching experiences and strategic opportunities from the front lines of entrepreneurship and alternative investment. Students' learning experiences are further enhanced through internships, entrepreneurial clubs, business competitions and campus-wide events that foster valuable networking and engage the business community. The School's four student-led investment funds, with over $8.5M under management, immerse students in the entrepreneurial business sourcing, assessment and investment process. Founding Zell Lurie advisory board members include Samuel Zell, chairman of Equity Group Investments, and Eugene Applebaum, founder of Arbor Drugs Inc. For more information, visit the Institute's website at www.zli.umich.edu.

About Court Innovations

Based in Ann Arbor, Mich., Court Innovations is a spin out from the University of Michigan Law School. Matterhorn allows courts to handle many high-volume infractions completely online, saving citizens and courts time and money. Rather than limiting judicial or law enforcement discretion, Matterhorn enables decision-makers to resolve cases more efficiently and equitably. Its 24/7 access and education component empowers defendants to work with the court to resolve minor violations informally, and at a convenient time. To learn more, visit www.getmatterhorn.com.

SOURCE The Zell Lurie Institute

Related Links

http://www.zli.umich.edu


WASHINGTON, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On July 26, 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed into law the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, transportation, public accommodations, commercial facilities, telecommunications, and state and local government services.

This graphic looks at the age and gender of the U.S. population reporting a disability. The Data from the American Community Survey shows that ambulatory disability, or serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs, is the most common for males and females 75 years and over.

This Facts for Features provides a demographic snapshot of the U.S. population with a disability and examines various services available to them. The statistics come from various Census Bureau censuses and surveys, covering differing periods of time.

Population Distribution

56.7 million

The number of people in the United States with a disability in 2010, representing 19.0 percent of the civilian noninstitutionalized population. People with a disability have a physical or mental impairment that affects one or more major life activities, such as walking, bathing, dressing, eating, preparing meals, doing errands alone or doing housework. A disability can occur at birth or at any point in a person's life.

Source: Americans With Disabilities: 2010 www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2012/demo/p70-131.pdfht

15.7 million

The number of people age 65 and older with at least one disability, according to data collected from 2008 to 2012, which makes up 39.0 percent of the population in this age group. Of this group, two-thirds had difficulty in walking or climbing stairs. The second-most cited disability was difficulty with independent living, such as visiting a doctor's office or shopping.

Source: Older Americans With a Disability: 2008-2012

www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2014/acs/acs-29.pdf

19.4%

The percentage of the civilian noninstitutionalized population in West Virginia in 2015 with a disability  the highest rate of any state in the nation. Utah, at 9.9 percent, had the lowest rate.

Source: 2015 American Community Survey, Table S1810 http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/15_1YR/GCT1810.US01PR



28.7%

The percentage of the civilian noninstitutionalized population in Pike County, Ky., in 2015 with a disability  among the highest rate in the nation for counties with populations of 65,000 or more. Kendall County, Ill., at 4.9 percent, had among the lowest rate.

Source: 2015 American Community Survey, Table S1810 http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/15_1YR/GCT1810.US05PR

22.4%

The percentage of the civilian noninstitutionalized population in Flint, Mich., in 2015 with a disability  among the highest rate in the nation among places with populations of 65,000 or more. Fishers, Ind., at 3.5 percent, had among the lowest rate. A place is a city, town, village or borough, either legally incorporated or not.

Source: 2015 American Community Survey, Table GCT1810 http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/15_1YR/GCT1810.US13PR

Services for Those With Disabilities

2,833

The number of business establishments providing special needs transportation in 2012, up 20.7 percent from 2,347 in 2007. Such businesses may use specially equipped vehicles to provide passenger transportation. These businesses employed 61,605 people in 2012 and generated revenues of $3.5 billion. Employment was up 24.0 percent and revenues increased 27.7 percent since 2007.

Source: 2012 and 2007 Comparative Economic Census Geographic Area Series (NAICS 485991)

http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ECN/2012_US/48A2//naics~485991

14,060

The number of business establishments that provided pet care (except veterinary services) in 2012. These businesses generated revenues of $3.4 billion. Among these businesses are those that train assistance dogs.

Source: 2012 and 2007 Comparative Economic Census Geographic Area Series (NAICS 812910)http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ECN/2012_US/81A2//naics~812910

25,964

The number of business establishments primarily providing services for the elderly and persons with disabilities in 2012. These establishments provided for the welfare of these individuals in such areas as day care, nonmedical home care or homemaker services, social activities, group support and companionship. These businesses employed 901,359 workers and generated $34.1 billion in revenues. In 2015, these businesses generated $40.7 billion in revenues.

Sources:

2012 Comparative-Economic Census Geographic Area Series (NAICS 624120)

http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ECN/2012_US/62A2//naics~62412

2015 Service Annual Survey (NAICS 624120)

www.census.gov/services/index.html, Table 2

7,832

The number of business establishments providing vocational rehabilitation services in 2012. These businesses employed 312,659 people and generated revenues of $12.4 billion. In 2007, there were 7,631 such establishments, employing 303,713 people and producing revenues of $11.5 billion. These businesses provide job counseling, job training and work experience to people with disabilities.

Source: 2012 and 2007 Comparative Economic Census Geographic Area Series (NAICS 624310)http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ECN/2012_US/62A2//naics~624310

2,344

The number of business establishments providing translation and interpretation services in 2012. These businesses employed 24,926 people and generated revenues of $4.2 billion. In 2007, there were 1,975 such establishments, employing 14,546 people and producing revenues of $1.9 billion. Among these businesses are those that provide sign language services.

Source: 2012 and 2007 Comparative Economic Census Geographic Area Series (NAICS 541930)http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ECN/2012_US/54A2//naics~541930

3,597

The number of business establishments providing home health equipment rental in 2012, down 4.4 percent from 3,762 in 2007. Such businesses rent home-type health and invalid equipment, such as wheelchairs, hospital beds, oxygen tanks, etc. These businesses employed 33,935 people in 2012 and generated revenues of $5.4 billion. Employment was up 2.8 percent while revenues decreased 7.8 percent since 2007.

Source: 2012 and 2007 Comparative Economic Census Geographic Area Series (NAICS 532291)http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ECN/2012_US/53A2//naics~532291

Specific Disabilities

Note: All statistics in this section come from the 2015 American Community Survey, measuring the civilian noninstitutionalized population. http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/15_1YR/S1810

10.8 million

The number of people age 18 and older in 2015 who reported being deaf or having significant difficulty hearing. Among the population age 65 and older, 6.9 million reported being deaf or having significant difficulty hearing.

6.8 million

The number of people age 18 and older in 2015 who had serious difficulty seeing even when wearing glasses. Among people age 65 and older, 3.0 million had serious difficulty seeing.

20.6 million

The number of people age 18 and older in 2015 who had serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs. Among people age 65 and older, 10.5 million had serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs.

12.9 million

The number of people age 18 and older in 2015 who had serious difficulty concentrating, remembering or making decisions due to a physical, mental or emotional condition. Among people age 65 and older, 4.2 million had serious difficulty concentrating, remembering or making decisions.

14.2 million

The number of people age 18 and older in 2015 who had difficulty doing errands alone, such as visiting a doctor's office or shopping, due to a physical, mental or emotional condition. Among people age 65 and older, 6.9 million had difficulty doing errands alone.

7.5 million

The number of people age 18 and older in 2015 who had difficulty dressing or bathing. Among people age 65 and older, 3.8 million had difficulty dressing or bathing.

Older People With a Disability

Note: The source for this section is Older Americans With a Disability: 2008-2012, which presents statistics from the 2008-2012 American Community Survey.

25.4%

The percentage of the population age 85 and older with a disability among the population age 65 and older.

More Than One-Third

The proportion of people age 85 and older with a disability who lived alone, is about one-fourth of those aged 65 to 74.

54.4%

The percentage of the older population who had not graduated from high school and had a disability, twice the rate of those with a bachelor's degree or higher (26.0 percent).

12.6%

The percentage of older Americans living in a household with a disability living in poverty, compared with 7.2 percent of the older household population without a disability.

Earnings

$21,572

The median earnings in the past 12 months for people with a disability. This is 69.0 percent of the median earnings, $31,872, for those without a disability. (Both figures pertain to the civilian, noninstitutionalized population age 16 and older, with earnings in the past 12 months.)

Source: 2015 American Community Survey, Table B18140

http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/15_1YR/B18140

Mobility

Note: The source for the statistics in this section is Desire to Move and Residential Mobility: 2010-2011, which come from the Survey of Income and Program Participation.

12.5%

The percentage of householders with a disability who desired to move to another residence, higher than the corresponding figure of 8.2 percent for those without a disability. Those with mental disabilities were the most likely to desire to move (20.6 percent).

17.3%

The percentage of householders with a disability who desired to move to another residence and actually did so over a one-year period.

9.3%

The percentage of all householders with a disability who moved to another residence over a one-year period.

The following is a list of observances typically covered by the Census Bureau's Facts for Features series:

African-American History Month (February) Labor Day (1st Monday in September) Super Bowl (1st Sunday in February) Grandparents Day (1st Sunday after Labor Day) Valentine's Day (Feb. 14) Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15-Oct. 15) Women's History Month (March) Unmarried and Single Americans Week (September) Irish-American Heritage Month (March)/ Halloween (Oct. 31) St. Patrick's Day (March 17) American Indian/Alaska Native Heritage Month Earth Day (April 22) (November) Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month (May) Veterans Day (Nov. 11) Older Americans Month (May) Thanksgiving Day (4th Thursday in November) Mother's Day (2nd Sunday in May) The Holiday Season (December) Hurricane Season Begins (June 1)

Father's Day (3rd Sunday in June)

The Fourth of July (July 4)

Anniversary of Americans with Disabilities Act (July 26)

Back to School (August)

Editor's note: The preceding data were collected from a variety of sources and may be subject to sampling variability and other sources of error. Facts for Features are customarily released about two months before an observance in order to accommodate magazine production timelines.

Graphic | JPG | PDF |

Amy Newcomb

Public Information Office

301-763-3030 / [email protected]

census.gov

Connect with us on Social media

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau

Related Links

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EGERSUND, Norway, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Navico  the world's largest manufacturer of marine electronics and parent company to the Lowrance, Simrad and B&G brands  announced today that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has ruled in Navico's favor with regard to the company's ongoing litigation with Garmin. The 47-page ruling addresses Garmin's "tilted" DownVu transducer design, with CBP ultimately ruling on June 5, 2017 that these products are not admissible into the United States.

This ruling comes on the heels of an Enforcement Initial Determination (EID) filed by an International Trade Commission (ITC) Administrative Law Judge on May 25, 2017, which found that Garmin violated the cease-and-desist orders issued in 2015 regarding the importation and sale of products featuring tilted DownVu scanning sonar technology. Like the EID, CBP has also found that Garmin's tilted DownVu products literally infringe Navico's DownScan Imaging patents. The ruling means that all affected products will be stopped at the U.S. borders.

"We are very pleased that U.S. Customs and Border Protection has ruled in our favor," said Leif Ottosson, CEO, Navico. "CBP is tasked with facilitating lawful trade, and this ruling -- independent from the ITC -- further reinforces our claims that Garmin has been marketing and selling patent-infringing products. This again sends a clear message to Garmin that they may not import the offending products. The CBP ruling puts the historic $37 million fine assessed by the ITC Administrative Law Judge into further context."

Garmin sought the ruling from CBP relating to the DownVu products after Garmin had introduced its new ClearVu sonar technology to the market. Unlike ClearVu, the DownVu design includes a downward-looking element, which produces a better image beneath the boat. In the U.S., the ClearVu design compiles data from the side-scanning elements in the transducer to mimic a scanning image beneath the boat, which reduces clarity and range, degrades the appearance of targets and misses some targets entirely. For a side-by-side comparison of Garmin's ClearVu technology compared to Navico's patented DownScan Imaging, see https://youtu.be/s1ll1q6WHkk.

Outside of the U.S., Garmin sells products with the "tilted" element design under the ClearVu name. Navico also holds DownScan patents in the EU and Australia similar to its U.S. patents. Based on these recent rulings, Navico expects Garmin to cease selling the "tilted" transducer design in these jurisdictions.

With more than 60,000 employees, CBP is one of the world's largest law enforcement organizations, charged with facilitating lawful international travel and trade.

For information on the Navico brands, visit www.lowrance.com, www.simrad-yachting.com, pro.simrad-yachting.com and www.bandg.com. Learn more about the Navico Group of companies at www.navico.com.

About Navico: A privately held, international corporation, Navico is currently the world's largest marine electronics company, and is the parent company to leading marine electronics brands: Lowrance, Simrad and B&G. Navico has approximately 1,500 employees globally and distribution in more than 100 countries worldwide. www.navico.com

SOURCE Navico

Related Links

http://www.navico.com


LAS VEGAS, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Vanguard Integrity Professionals cybersecurity experts with cybersecurity solutions securing any enterprise, is proud to exhibit at 2017 AFCEA Defense Cyber Operations Symposium at the Baltimore Convention Center taking place June 13-15, 2017. Vanguard executives will be addressing the latest cybersecurity threat-scape and security trends at this important event. Vanguard will showcase its cybersecurity and multifactor authentication solutions demonstrating their vital role protecting critical infrastructure, large enterprise and cloud environments.

AFCEA provides a forum for military, government and industry communities to collaborate so that technology and strategy align with the needs of those who serve. Defense Cyber Operations Symposium will focus primarily on the Defense Information Systems Agency and the Joint Force Headquarters-Department of Defense Information Network in their operational role as both the defender and creator of adaptive and resilient networks.

Cyber operations are a challenging mission for the U.S. Defense Department and government community that builds, operates and defends networks. Cyber leaders and warriors must continually evolve to adapt to future innovations and develop and leverage cutting-edge tools and technologies.

To support this effort, AFCEA's Defensive Cyber Operations Symposium provides an ethical forum where government and industry will focus on "Connect and Protect." Participants will discuss requirements and solutions to ensure that the networks within DoD are adaptive, resilient and effective across a range of uses and against diverse threats.

Please be sure to visit Vanguard at booth #505 at the 2017 AFCEA Defense Cyber Operations Symposium hosted at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Maryland.

Protecting the Nation's Critical Infrastructure

Vanguard proudly protects the nation's critical infrastructure including Financial, Insurance, HealthCare, Education, Communications, Utilities, Transportation and Government Agencies.

As a founding member and active contributor to NIST and the NCCOE, the world's largest Financial, Insurance, Government Agencies and Retailers entrust their security to Vanguard Integrity Professionals.

About Vanguard Integrity Professionals

Vanguard Integrity Professionals provides enterprise security software and services that solve complex security and regulatory compliance challenges for financial, insurance, healthcare, education, transportation and government agencies around the world. Vanguard provides Cybersecurity Solutions Securing any Enterprise. Vanguard is committed to protecting and securing the Cloud and any Enterprise environment. Vanguard provides 24/7/365 live customer support from the United States of America.

SOURCE Vanguard Integrity Professionals

Related Links

http://www.go2vanguard.com


Denver entrepreneur, Cody Sudmeier, is VEBO's CEO. Sudmeier believes that couples are interested in more options to stay connected with friends and family.

"Happiness is shared experiences with loved ones," said Sudmeier. "VEBO was founded on this concept. We have received feedback from our couples that they would like more options for staying connected with their friends and family. This new functionality encourages couples to connect with their friends and share experiences."

Jamie Regehr is VEBO's CIO. Jamie sees massive changes upcoming for the wedding industry.

"The wedding industry was pretty stagnant for decades. Until recently, friends and family continued to give china, linens, pots and pans, or cash as their wedding gifts," explained Regehr. "Modern couples prefer enjoying fun experiences. We live in the Instagram culture where people want to be able to share their moments, and to be inspired by the cool experiences that their friends enjoy. The VEBO platform now gives couples the opportunity to share experiences with others."

While the wedding industry is still dominated by traditional retailers, alternative registries are gaining in popularity. The majority of the alternative registries specialize in cash gifts. VEBO is the first wedding registry exclusively dedicated to experiential gifts.

About VEBO, Inc.

VEBO is an experience-based wedding registry. VEBO partners with providers throughout the states of Colorado and Washington.

One of VEBO's core values is giving. VEBO couples select a charity to tie to their registry. VEBO contributes 5% of the sales from the couple's registry to the charity they have selected.

Sudmeier is the Founder and CEO. Sudmeier previously founded ATA Clothing and cofounded Agility Solutions. Under Sudmeier's leadership, Agility Solutions was twice recognized as Denver's Fastest Growing Private Company.

For more information, please visit http://www.vebolife.com.

SOURCE VEBO, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.vebolife.com


MUMBAI, India and SINGAPORE and NEW YORK, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Princeton Growth Ventures ("Princeton GV" or "the Company") today announced that it has obtained backing of up to $300 million from an affiliate of Warburg Pincus, a leading global private equity firm focused on growth investing. Princeton GV has a clear vision to create a new global Telecommunications, Media and Technology ("TMT") infrastructure platform of significant scale, with a particular focus on data centers and fast growing digital media services. The Company's strategy is to acquire standalone as well as carve-out assets in geographies including India, China, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.

Princeton GV was founded by Rangu Salgame, who brings over 25 years of telecom and internet experience. Mr. Salgame has been a transformative growth leader throughout his career, having made market changing impacts at Tata Communications, Cisco Systems and Verizon Communications across 30 countries. Mr. Salgame was most recently the Chief Executive Officer of the Growth Ventures Group at Tata Communications where he ran a global multi-billion dollar portfolio for the company and was also responsible for significant value creation of the data center business. He is joined in this partnership by Varoon Raghavan, co-founder, who brings strong operating experience in the data center, media services and enterprise services space.

Warburg Pincus has been a leading investor in the TMT sector globally for more than 25 years. Since inception, the firm has invested over $16 billion in more than 300 TMT companies across company life-stages and geographies, in sectors including Telecommunications, Software, Technology Enabled-Services, Media, Information and Internet. Select current and prior investments include BEA Systems, Bharti Televentures, Endurance International, FIS, Inexio, Nuance Communications, Veritas Software, United Internet, Ziggo, 1&1 hosting and a wholesale data center JV with 21Vianet.

Viraj Sawhney, Managing Director, Warburg Pincus, said, "There is a significant shortage of focused high quality co-location data center providers in Asia and Latin America, and demand is expected to grow rapidly due to cloud, mobile and video streaming. We believe telecom companies will increasingly divest non-core assets, which should lead to a number of attractive investment opportunities in data centers and the broader TMT infrastructure sector. Rangu has a long and successful track record in building and scaling profitable technology infrastructure businesses across Asia and global markets, and we are excited to partner with Rangu and Varoon in this space."

Mr. Salgame, Chairman and CEO of Princeton GV, said, "We are excited to partner with Warburg Pincus given their successful track record of backing management teams in building and growing great businesses, their global network in TMT and their strong presence across the major emerging markets. PGV is seeking to build a multi-billion dollar internet infrastructure platform of global scale by acquiring assets from or partnering with telecom and media companies and independent players, and further investing in these assets for growth and value creation."

Chandler Reedy, Managing Director, Warburg Pincus, said, "We see a significant opportunity in the creation of a new platform to meet the growing needs for data centers and digital cloud services across emerging market regions, and we are excited to partner with Rangu and the Princeton GV team on this venture."

About Warburg Pincus

Warburg Pincus LLC is a leading global private equity firm focused on growth investing. The firm has more than US$44 billion in private equity assets under management. The firm's active portfolio of more than 140 companies is highly diversified by stage, sector and geography. Warburg Pincus is an experienced partner to management teams seeking to build durable companies with sustainable value. Founded in 1966, Warburg Pincus has raised 16 private equity funds, which have invested more than $60 billion in over 780 companies in more than 40 countries. The firm is headquartered in New York with offices in Amsterdam, Beijing, Hong Kong, London, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Mauritius, San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, and Singapore. For more information please visit www.warburgpincus.com.

About Princeton GV

Princeton GV was founded in New York, in 2017, by a world class team from the telecom, internet, cloud and media sectors. The founders have operating experience in over 30 countries and have run some of the largest global businesses in the industry. They bring a unique combination of operating depth coupled with growth and value creation on a global stage.

Media Contacts

Warburg Pincus

Sarah Gestetner

+44 20 7306 0377

[email protected]

Mary Armstrong / Christopher Beattie

+1 212-878-9201

[email protected]

Malini Roy

Citigate Dewe Rogerson

+91 9920549085

[email protected]

Princeton Growth Ventures

[email protected]

SOURCE Warburg Pincus

Related Links

http://www.warburgpincus.com


CHEVY CHASE, Md., June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- WeddingWire, Inc., the leading global online marketplace connecting consumers with event and creative professionals, has announced the Snapchat community can now create artfully designed, custom wedding Snapchat Geofilters for all their wedding and wedding-event related needs directly on WeddingWire. WeddingWire joined forces with Snapchat, who recently made its API (application programming interface) available to brands, to become the only site in the industry to allow couples to personalize their Snapchat wedding filters, schedule start and end time, set their geofence and pay conveniently all in one place.

Digital Trends and technologies continue to have a major impact on the wedding planning process. Snap Inc., creator of Snapchat, notes since launching On-Demand Geofilters in February 2016, thousands of Geofilters are now created every day for weddings, anniversaries, parties, holiday celebrations and events, with a recent significant spike in submissions for wedding-related filters in May--double that of January. In addition, according to WeddingWire's 2017 Newlywed Report, 64 percent of couples announced their engagement on social media, and 59 percent created a wedding website to provide guests with details of their celebration. Likewise, couples today love personalizing their big day, with nearly 50 percent planning their wedding around a specific theme, and almost 25 percent creating a signature cocktail for their reception.

"Social media is an essential component for couples celebrating their big day with friends and family. Our wedding-themed Snapchat Geofilters templates are a leading example for how to personalize social sharing at specific wedding locations across the country," said Sonny Ganguly, CMO, WeddingWire. "We're thrilled that this partnership with Snapchat allows WeddingWire to provide engaged couples and their guests with an easier-than-ever experience to enhance their wedding festivities with fun and modern geofilters."

Snapchat Geofilter templates on WeddingWire are simple to design. Each filter design includes customizable text fields and fonts allowing couples to make the filter their own, perfectly personalizing their engagement party, shower, reception and more. Geofilters will be available in a select location, for a limited time, based on the couple's specific event details. WeddingWire has also partnered with several leading brands, allowing couples and their wedding party or guests to choose from a variety of customizable designs for any wedding event. Whether you want a bright and tropical design from Lilly Pulitzer for a beach-based bachelorette, a modern metallic motif from Paper Source for a glamorous reception, or a nautical navy scheme from Tuckernuck to complement an all-American wedding shower, there's something for everyone and every celebration. Additional partner brands include Bow & Drape, Domino's Pizza, Framebridge, Las Vegas, Packed Party, Ritani, The Black Tux, The Tie Bar and UrbanStems.

Visit www.WeddingWire.com to create your own custom Snapchat wedding filter, and to learn more about WeddingWire.

About WeddingWire, Inc.

WeddingWire, Inc. is the leading global online marketplace connecting consumers with event and creative professionals. Operating within a $200 billion industry, WeddingWire hosts 10 million monthly unique users across its mobile and web platforms. Consumers around the world are able to read over 4 million vendor reviews and search, compare and book from a database of over 400,000 businesses globally. It provides these businesses the technology they need to serve their clients through advertising, marketing and business management tools such as websites, payment processing, invoicing and contracts. Founded in 2007, the WeddingWire portfolio of sites serves couples and businesses across 15 countries in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia, making it the worldwide leader in weddings with brands including Bodas.net, Matrimonio.com, Mariages.net and more. The company employs more than 800 and maintains global headquarters in Washington, DC and international headquarters in Barcelona, Spain.

Contact:

Lauren Hartman

WeddingWire

[email protected]

301.231.9473

SOURCE WeddingWire, Inc.
CLEVELAND, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The number of oil and gas wells drilled in Oklahoma is forecast to rise 46% in 2017 to over 1,350 wells, up from 935 in 2016. The STACK, a relatively new play, was the most heavily drilled region in Oklahoma in 2016, and this trend will continue through 2018. The STACK (Sooner Trend, Anadarko, Canadian, Kingfisher) lies in central Oklahoma and is named for the basin (Anadarko) and main counties (Canadian and Kingfisher) that are contained in the region. These and other trends are presented in Oklahoma Oil & Gas Drilling Outlook, a new study from The Freedonia Group, a Cleveland-based industry research firm.

The unique growth trends seen in the STACK from 2014 to 2016 are attributable to multiple factors, including:

Age of the play: Substantial drilling activity did not begin in the STACK until 2010.

Rate of drilling: Even after drilling began in 2010, wells drilled did not reach unsustainable levels. In fact, drilling only fell between 2011 and 2014 as the transition from gas to oil wells occurred.

Geology: The STACK has multiple layers of resource-bearing rock, some of which is overpressured and contains low levels of water, allowing drilling to remain economical despite turmoil in benchmark prices.

Infrastructure: The STACK is located near the Cushing hub, a major distribution hub for oil and gas in the Midwest.

The number of wells drilled in the STACK is expected to grow over 46% from 2016 to 2017, increasing from 400 to 585 wells. While this will not be the strongest growth rate in Oklahoma among commonly drilled plays, it continues a unique growth trend that is the opposite of drilling activity movements in the rest of the US. Spurred by high IP rates, which result from the high pressure and low water content of the oil deposits in the STACK, the region has consistently grown through the downturn in oil benchmark prices. Additionally, while many plays that experienced growth from 2016 to 2017 are expected to slow dramatically from 2017 to 2018, the STACK is expected to maintain one of the highest growth rates in the nation as wells drilled grows over 14%.

More information about the study is available at https://www.freedoniagroup.com/industry-study/oklahoma-oil-and-gas-drilling-outlook-drilling-activity-by-wells-and-rigs-in-stack-scoop-other-areas-3526.htm

Related studies include:

About The Freedonia Group, a division of MarketResearch.com  The Freedonia Group is a leading international industrial research company publishing more than 100 studies annually. Since 1985, we have provided research to customers ranging in size from global conglomerates to one-person consulting firms. More than 90% of the industrial companies in the Fortune 500 use Freedonia Group research to help with their strategic planning. Additional Energy & Petroleum studies can be purchased at www.freedoniagroup.com, www.marketresearch.com and www.profound.com.

Press Contact:

Corinne Gangloff

+1 440.684.9600

[email protected]

SOURCE The Freedonia Group

Related Links

http://www.freedoniagroup.com


CHICAGO, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Workers' Compensation Benchmarking Study's 2017 annual survey is underway, keeping pace with the industry as it strives to do ever better in managing claims. Now in its fifth year, the study continues its potent method of validating how and what higher performing claims organizations are doing compared to industry peers.

Reprising its 2014 survey questions, the study will not only further specify the high performer's profile on an expanded set of successful behaviors, but it also will benchmark the industry's overall progress in the past three years. Finally, the survey will continue its exploration of the emerging claims advocacy approach to engaging injured workers.

The study's 2017 focus was once again guided by its Advisory Council of diverse industry executives. "This is the only large-scale survey of claims leaders in workers' compensation and it's important that we substantiate key best practices that are driving better performance," says Rachel Fikes, vice president and study program director at Rising Medical Solutions. "Similar to mainstream media, communications about our industry often skew to the negative. Capturing the positive behaviors organizations are employing to advance the industry's delivery of benefits is integral to the study's mission."

Since its inception, nearly 1,200 claims leaders nationwide have contributed their collective intelligence to the study's research on a number of front burner topics such as key performance indicators of success, building talented staffs, and transitioning from process management to outcome management models. Their insights have quantified widespread operational challenges, created a maturing benchmark tool, and pointed the industry towards those differentiating practices yielding the best results.

The 2017 confidential survey will continue throughout June, and is open to management, director, and executive-level leaders who oversee workers' compensation claim operations for payer organizations. Those who take the survey will receive a copy of the 2017 Study Report which will be published in November. Claims leaders who wish to participate can take the 2017 survey by clicking here.

About the Workers' Compensation Benchmarking Study

The Workers' Compensation Benchmarking Study is a national research program examining the complex forces impacting claims management in workers' compensation today. The study's mission is to advance claims management in the industry by providing both quantitative and qualitative research. Through surveys and interviews with claims leaders nationwide, the program generates actionable data for claims organizations to evaluate priorities, challenges, and strategies amongst their peers. Conceived and directed by Rising Medical Solutions, the ongoing program is a collaboration of industry executives representing diverse organizational perspectives, including the Study's Principal Researcher and Advisory Council.

About Rising Medical Solutions

Rising Medical Solutions is a national medical-financial solutions firm that provides medical cost containment and medical care management services to the workers' compensation, auto, liability, and group health markets.

SOURCE Rising Medical Solutions Inc.

Related Links

http://www.risingms.com


BAODING, China, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited (NYSE: YGE) ("Yingli Green Energy" or "the Company"), one of the world's leading solar panel manufacturers, today announced its withdrawal from the European Union ("EU") Price Undertaking agreement (the "UT agreement").

In December 2013, the Council of the European Union adopted prior findings of the European Commission and imposed definitive anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on crystalline silicon photovoltaic, or CSPV, wafers, cells, and modules imported from China. In parallel, in August 2013 the European Commission accepted the UT agreement whereby certain Chinese exporters of PV products would limit their exports of solar panels to the EU to a certain quota and set prices above a fixed Minimum Import Price ("MIP"), in exchange for the EU agreeing to forgo the imposition of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties. Chinese exporters of PV products that did not accept the UT agreement would face anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties, which would have been 35.5% and 6.3%, respectively, for Yingli Green Energy. Therefore, at the time the Company chose to accept and participate in the UT agreement and has since complied with its terms and conditions.

However, given that the average selling prices of PV modules in all major EU markets have continued to decline commensurate with the significantly shrinking market for PV products in recent years, the Company believes that the current MIP no longer accurately reflects the current market price environment. The Company believes that its continued acceptance of and participation in the UT agreement would harm fair competition in the market. The Company also is of the view that the UT agreement and its current MIP have the potential to hamper the development of the PV industry and to hurt PV consumers in the EU.

"Since accepting the UT agreement in 2013, we have been committed to fair trade and robust market competition by participating in the price undertaking. However, after carefully reviewing our EU operations and the current market situation, we have decided to withdraw from the UT agreement. We remain committed to our European customers and intend to continue to serve them with high-quality, reliable products through means that are feasible and available to us after the withdrawal from the UT agreement," commented Mr. Liansheng Miao, Chairman and CEO of Yingli Green Energy.

About Yingli Green Energy

Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited (NYSE: YGE), known as "Yingli Solar," is one of the world's leading solar panel manufacturers. Yingli Green Energy's manufacturing covers the photovoltaic value chain from ingot casting and wafering through solar cell production and solar PV module assembly. Headquartered in Baoding, China, Yingli Green Energy has more than 20 regional subsidiaries and branch offices and has distributed more than 17GW solar panels to customers worldwide. For more information, please visit www.yinglisolar.com and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Weibo.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements constitute "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "target" and similar statements. Such statements are based upon management's current expectations and current market and operating conditions, and relate to events that involve known or unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond Yingli Green Energy's control, which may cause Yingli Green Energy's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties or factors is included in Yingli Green Energy's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Yingli Green Energy does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable law.

For further information, please contact:

Eric Pan

Investor Relations

Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited

Tel: +86 312 8929787

E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Yingli Green Energy Holding Company Limited

Related Links

http://www.yinglisolar.com


ARLINGTON, Va., June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Chemical Educational Foundation (CEF), a national non-profit dedicated to inspiring young learners to pursue science-related education and careers, announced today the 42 participants of the 2017 National You Be The Chemist (YBTC) Challenge. This year's Challenge contestants qualified from among 55,000 middle school students across 40 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico who participated in the local and state levels of the Challenge program throughout the 2016-2017 school year.

CEF's YBTC Challenge is an academic competition that engages middle school students, grades 5-8, to learn about the importance of chemistry to our everyday lives. Local, State and National Challenge competitions encourage collaboration among industry, schools, educators, and community partners to support early STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education.

"As we look to the future of our economy and workforce, STEM education  and specifically chemistry  is a critical part of driving innovation, developing new technologies and discovering unimaginable possibilities in science," said CEF Executive Director Dwayne Sattler. "These 42 students are evidence of what young people can achieve when they are inspired by chemistry. They are our future leaders and innovators. We look forward to hosting them in our nation's capital and celebrating their accomplishments."

By engaging students at a young age in subjects that can lead to STEM majors and careers, CEF is working to motivate the next generation of workers for one of the fastest-growing sectors of our economy. Bolstering chemistry education is critical to reducing the "STEM gap," a sizeable gap between the number of skilled workers and available STEM jobs. By 2018, it is estimated that 1.2 million STEM jobs will go unfilled and experts agree that an early emphasis is critical to cultivating students' interest and developing their skills in STEM.

The 2017 YBTC Challenge culminates this month with a national event in Washington, D.C., where the top 42 students will compete for more than $20,000 in educational scholarship funds and various prizes. Participants and educators will gather at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C., on Monday, June 19, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., as the students battle through thrilling rounds of chemistry questions until a National Challenge Champion is named.

Names, grade level, school and hometown for each of the 2017 You Be The Chemist student participants can be found at https://www.chemed.org/whats-new/. Photos are available upon request to [email protected].



The Chemical Educational Foundation (CEF) strives to improve the overall understanding and appreciation of chemistry and inspire future leaders to pursue science-related careers. Last year, CEF's You Be The Chemist STEM programs reached nearly one million students nationwide. For more information, please visit www.chemed.org.

Contact: Laurie Rossbach

202-258-7810

[email protected]

SOURCE The Chemical Educational Foundation

Related Links

http://www.chemed.org


BOSTON, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ZappRx, a digital health company that reduces the administrative burden associated with prescribing specialty medications, today announced that its platform has been deployed at the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at Tufts Medical Center, with plans to extend to other areas within the Tufts Medical Center. Launching at Tufts MC represents a significant milestone for the Boston-based startup, which recently closed a $25 million round of Series B funding.



ZappRx offers a digital platform that modernizes and simplifies the complex process required to order specialty medications; consolidating what is currently a multi-step, redundancy-laden, and manual process. The platform makes it simple to collect and save all of the information required to fill a specialty prescription in one step; including pharmacy information, payer/prior authorization requirements, and relevant patient clinical history. ZappRx then enables the provider, pharmacist, and payer to digitally interact with one another to fill a prescription, reducing the need for fax and phone call interactions.



"Prescribing specialty medications for patients with PAH is normally a complex process for our team," said Ioana Preston, MD, Director of the Pulmonary Hypertension Center at Tufts Medical Center and Associate Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine. "We really needed a simpler way to organize the process."



The product launch at Tufts MC involved importing electronic medical records (EMR) for all PAH patients into the ZappRx platform, and training several clinical staff members to use the system. It takes providers who utilize the ZappRx platform, on average, just under three minutes to complete orders with ZappRx, compared to the industry standard of nearly 20 minutes.1

"We are thrilled to launch our product at another prestigious academic medical center," said Karen Tirozzi, VP of Solutions at ZappRx, who previously served as VP of Research and Development at Health Leads and VP of Client Services at PatientKeeper. "Our agreement with Tufts Medical Center has also given us the flexibility to support many more providers as we launch with new medical specialties."

ZappRx plans to continue to launch its platform across the nation within health systems and community practices with physicians who prescribe specialty medications for patients with complex pulmonary, neurology, oncology, rheumatology and gastroenterology conditions.



About ZappRx

ZappRx is modernizing and simplifying the way specialty medications are managed. The company provides a secure, collaborative online platform that allows patients, physicians and pharmacists to work together to improve patients' access to treatment, delivering medicine faster, with fewer hassles and greater transparency. ZappRx is on the web at ZappRx.com. Follow ZappRx on Twitter at twitter.com/zapprx.

Contact:

Chrysta Olson

617-844-0989

SOURCE ZappRx

Related Links

http://www.zapprx.com


SANTA MONICA, Calif., June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ZipRecruiter, the fastest-growing online employment marketplace, announced a partnership with the American Red Cross to provide a year of free job postings to the nonprofit, which provides blood services, disaster relief, emergency assistance and health and safety education to those in need. To celebrate the partnership, ZipRecruiter will hold a blood drive today in their Santa Monica, California and Tempe, Arizona offices for employees to participate.

As part of the partnership, the American Red Cross will post its thousands of monthly job openings across ZipRecruiter's resume database, which currently boasts millions of active job seekers nationwide. For the next year, the organization will be able to leverage the platform's robust suite of hiring features to quickly and easily connect with the best-suited job candidates nationwide.

"Every day, communities rely on the American Red Cross to provide lifesaving services," said Melissa Hurst, Chief Human Resources Officer of the American Red Cross. "Central to that delivery is ensuring our regions are fully staffed with talented professionals ready to put our mission into action. As one of our primary sources of hire, ZipRecruiter has long been a valuable partner in helping us fill nearly 6,000 vacancies per year. Their generous gift and partnership not only expands our ability to reach top talent more quickly, it also ensures we can continue to serve those who need us most."

"Our goal at ZipRecruiter is to help people find meaningful work, and we're happy to be able to contribute to such a great non-profit such as the American Red Cross," said Ian Siegel, CEO and co-founder of ZipRecruiter. "By using our services, we hope to help the Red Cross build the best teams nationwide so the organization can continue to help communities prepare for and respond to emergencies whenever they strike."

About ZipRecruiter:

ZipRecruiter is the fastest growing employment marketplace. Since 2010 over 1 million businesses and 100 million job seekers have found their next perfect match through ZipRecruiter partnerships with the best job boards on the web, curated email alerts, award-winning mobile apps, and one of the best search algorithms for jobs.

About the American Red Cross:

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or cruzrojaamericana.org, or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.

SOURCE ZipRecruiter
If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here
Panaji, June 1 : A local court on Thursday issued a non-bailable warrant (NBW) against former Chief Minister Digambar Kamat for repeated non-appearance in connection with the multi-crore sewerage scam case, but revoked it hours later.

Kamat, who headed the Congress-led alliance government from 2007-2012, had failed to appear before the court on two previous occasions despite summons issued to him.

The Principal District and Sessions Court revoked the NBW after Kamat's counsel Surendra Desai informed judge Irshad Aga that the former Chief Minister could not attend court because he was indisposed during the past hearings.

Desai could not be contacted for more on why Kamat skipped the previous hearings.

Former chief ministers Churchill Alemao and Digambar Kamat, along with some government officials, have been accused of allegedly accepting a $976,630 (Rs 6.30 crore, approximately) bribe in 2010 from the officials of US-based Louis Berger consultancy firm to secure implementation rights of a multi-billion dollar water and sewerage project in Goa worth Rs 1,031 crore and funded by the Japan International Co-Operation Agency (JICA).

Top officials linked to the JICA project as well as senior Louis Berger employees have been arrested by the Crime Branch, along with Alemao.

Kamat has been charged with criminal conspiracy (Section 120-b) and tampering with evidence (Section 201) of the Indian Penal Code and other sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The FIR was first filed after Louis Berger headquarters in the US discovered during its internal audit that bribes had been paid to elected representatives and government officials in Goa for securing contracts.
Ghaziabad, June 1 : A truck driver was arrested for replacing 120 rice bags headed for Mauritius with sand bags at the container depot in Loni, Ghaziabad, police said on Thursday.

The rice bags were sold in the open market.

The exporter Nitin, a resident of Delhi, lodged a complaint with the Loni Police after receiving a complaint from the importer in Mauritius.

The police said the consignment of 120 bags of rice at the destination was found to be sand.

On the exporter's complaint, the Loni Police registered a complaint under Section 420 and 406 of the IPC.

It was found during investigation that the truck driver, who transported the rice bags to the container depot in Loni, had replaced them with sand bags.

The truck driver, Feroze, was arrested by the police after he confessed to the crime.

"His accomplice has also been arrested who has revealed his identity as Niyaz, a resident of Loni," said O.P. Chaudhary, Inspector of Loni Police Station.

He added that efforts are on to recover the rice bags.
Rio De Janeiro, June 4 : Mexico's Veracruz has made a bid to sign Argentine international striker Lucas Pratto from Brazilian outfit Sao Paulo, the player's agent said.

Pratto has scored nine goals in 16 appearances for Sao Paulo, whom he joined from their Brazilian rival Atletico Mineiro in January, reports Xinhua news agency.

Despite settling in quickly at his new club, the 28-year-old is prepared to listen to offers, his agent Matias Lahorca said on Saturday.

"(Veracruz President) Fidel Kuri has sent me a proposal and he is very interested in signing a player like Lucas Pratto," Lahorca was quoted as saying by Globo Esporte.

"It's not going to be easy because he recently moved to Sao Paulo and is the club captain. But Veracruz have been watching him for a long time and know that he would be a great signing," he added.
Srinagar, June 5 : The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on Monday foiled an early morning suicide attack on one of its camps in Bandipora district in Jammu and Kashmir. Four militants were killed.

The "foreign terrorists" failed to breach the camp's security as they were neutralised near the camp's fence, officials said.

CRPF Inspector General (IG) Ravideep Sahi told reporters the terrorists hurled grenades and used heavy volume of automatic gunfire to enter the camp around 4.35 a.m.

The four terrorists, who were foreigners, were engaged in a gunfight which lasted for nearly an hour. The exact identity of the attackers is being establishede.

"the alert sentries were joined by Jammu and Kashmir Police personnel in immediate retaliation. The four terrorists, who were foreigners, although their exact identity is being established, were engaged in a gunfight that lasted nearly an hour," Sethi said.

"They were neutralised 10-15 yards away from the camp's fencing," he added.

The CRPF camp in Sumbal town is 34 km away from Srinagar.

A Jammu and Kashmir Police spokesman said four AK rifles, one under-barrel grenade launcher and some ammunition were recovered from the slain militants.

Jammu and Kashmir Director General of police (DGP) S.P. Vaid tweeted about the incident, commending the alertness of CRPF troopers and the state police.

"The fidayeen militants kept firing as they tried to enter the camp. The attack was effectively repulsed by the CRPF sentry and Sumbal police," CRPF Deputy Inspector General M. Dinakaran told IANS.

Luckily, no loss was reported from the CRPF side, he added.

The Sumbal camp of the CRPF is the headquarters of the 45th Battalion which was headed by Chetan Kumar Cheeta, who survived despite taking nine bullets while fighting militants in Bandipora in 2016.
Srinagar, June 5 : All four foreign terrorists who attacked a CRPF camp in Jammu and Kashmir early on Monday were shot dead by the troopers and police after an hour-long battle, authorities said.

The terrorists hurled grenades and used heavy automatic gunfire in a bid to enter the camp in Sumbal town in Bandipora district in the Kashmir Valley around 4.35 a.m. but could not breach its outer security. Sumbal town is 34 km north of Srinagar.

CRPF Inspector General Ravideep Sahi told reporters that alert Central Reserve Police Force personnel, joined by Jammu and Kashmir Police, fought off the terrorists, killing all four.

"The four terrorists were foreigners although their exact identity is being established," he said. Sethi said the gunfight lasted nearly an hour and the attackers were killed 10-15 yards away from the camp's fence.

A Jammu and Kashmir Police spokesman said four AK rifles, an under-barrel grenade launcher and some ammunition were recovered from the slain militants.

CRPF Director General R.R. Bhatnagar said the terrorists were carrying incendiary products and had planned to do massive damage inside the camp.

Director General of Jammu and Kashmir Police S.P. Vaid commended the alertness of the CRPF and his own men.

"The fidayeen kept firing as they tried to enter the camp. The attack was effectively repulsed by the CRPF sentry and Sumbal police," CRPF Deputy Inspector General M. Dinakaran told IANS.

The Sumbal camp of the CRPF is the headquarters of the CRPF 45th Battalion, which was headed by Chetan Kumar Cheeta who survived despite taking nine bullets while fighting separatists in Bandipora in 2016.

Home Minister Rajnath Singh too praised the security forces.

The Minister said heavy exchange of fire took place during which the terrorists lobbed more than two dozen grenades in an attempt to escape.

"The CRPF, in cooperation with the adjoining police camp, shot dead all the four terrorists.

The CRPF jawans and Jammu and Kashmir Police showed exemplary courage and valour by thwarting the terrorists' attempt and in eliminating them.

"It is inspiring to see CRPF men staying awake all night and maintaining tight vigil and to see the Jammu and Kashmir Police coming to the CRPF's assistance quickly. Their joint efforts have brought glory to our forces."
Kolkata, June 6 : India, which offers a unique statistical training programme for participants from least-developed and developing Asian and African countries, should cash in on the geo-political advantage of the course that is being run by the prestigious Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) since 1950, says a veteran statistician.

International Statistical Education Centre (ISEC) at the ISI provides training in theoretical and applied statistics at various levels to selected participants from the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the far east and the Commonwealth countries of Africa.

According to S.P. Mukherjee, Chairman, Board of Directors of ISEC, these nations could be made to depend more on India in the area of planning of their economic activities rather than banking on the bigger powers.

"In this region, without any economic or political benefit in mind, India has been extending cooperation to strengthen their planning activities. Each country has a national statistical body but their staff members are not well equipped in that discipline. So how do they get their staff equipped and that too at a subsidy? So India came in," Mukherjee told IANS.

For the 70th term of the course (2016-2017), there were 28 trainees from 15 countries including 10 African nations.

The primary training programme is a 10-month regular course in statistics leading to a statistical training diploma.

In addition, special courses on different topics of varying duration are also organised. In the current batch of pass outs, 23 trainees were supported by fellowships under the ITEC/SCAAP of India while five trainees availed fellowships of Central Bank of Sri Lanka.

The ISEC was founded at the initiative of Indian scientist and applied statistician, P.C. Mahalanobis.

"Whatever training they need we can help them in applying in their respective economies without them being influenced by some other bigger powers who could channel their economic activities in possibly a different direction. We can tell them that there are better ways of planning economic activities," Mukherjee observed.

In this way, he explained, "They could be made to depend more on India in terms of their actual planning of their economic activities rather than depending on big powers for subsidies or trade, etc."

He said that in terms of economic activities, trade -- bilateral or multilateral -- could also be enhanced. "I don't mean they should be clubbed with political activities," he added.

Whatever political happenings take place, they mostly have their impact on the economy. That economy is being influenced by the support that India had been providing, without really getting any return or without asking, he said.

He strongly believes India should leverage the collaborative advantage.

"This (cashing in on) has not happened yet. All these countries have been consistently getting help from ISI. Otherwise they would have failed to plan their own economic activities. The countries of the region who are a bit handicapped in not having strong scientific, technological and statistical basis, they have been consistently deriving adequate support from India... that's the geopolitical importance."

The ISEC draws most of its teachers from the ISI and uses all ISI facilities, including its library.

In Asia, apart from India, Japan's Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific (SIAP) conducts training.

"This is not as academic as ours. Statistics started in India and we have an edge," he said.

Vouching for the popularity of the course, Mukherjee said Eastern Africa Statistical Training Centre (EASTC) housed in Tanzania has approached the ISEC to enrol their faculty members for the institute's regular PhD programme.

"They want our help to train their faculty members and so their director came and met me as well. In fact, they would like to have some of their faculty members enrol for the regular PhD programmes of ISI through an examination but for some reason the examination could not be held in their countries," Mukherjee informed.

In the last 10 years, Afghanistan has sent 23 officials, while as many as 72 participants from 16 African nations have graduated from the ISEC.

Over the past decade, India's bilateral trade with Africa has more than quadrupled, growing from $12 billion in 2005 to $56.7 billion in 2015-16, largely due to strong government support. India is Africa's fifth largest investor. This year, the African Development Bank for the first time held its annual meetings in India.

(Sahana Ghosh can be reached at sahana.g@ians.in)
Thiruvananthapuram, June 6 : Keralities in Qatar on Tuesday said there is no emergency situation in the country after seven Gulf countries snapped diplomatic ties with it on Monday.

"There is no situation of emergency as such here. The social media is twisting things, and maybe that led to a rush in the supermarkets here," C.V.M. Vanimel, a social activist from Kerala, said, speaking to the media here from Doha.

"The cabinet meeting held yesterday (Monday) made it very clear that there be no reason for any panic as food items will be made available," said Vanimel.

"Given our understanding of things, hectic diplomatic efforts are currently on to ease the situation."

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, Libya, the UAE and the Maldives on Monday severed diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terror groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood. Qatar, however, denied the allegations.

"The media should not go overboard as it creates a panic," Vanimel said.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have also closed their borders preventing any movement by road, to and from Qatar. Also, their airlines have decided to stop flight operations to Qatar.

Passengers who arrived from Doha at Kochi and Kozhikode airports on Tuesday morning said "as things stand, there are no issues there (in Qatar)". They, however, expressed concern over the operation of flights.

Kerala Local Bodies Minister K.T. Jaleel told the media here on Tuesday that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has already written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking for his immediate intervention to see that Indians are taken care of.

"When schools are closed there and if foreign airlines are not operating, there would be problems. Air India should ensure operation of more flights. The already high price of air tickets during summer rush could shoot up even higher," said Jaleel.

With other Middle East airlines stopping their services, Qatar Airways and Air India are operating services to and from three Kerala airports, and if additional flights are not run and present embargo against Qatar is not lifted, things could go haywire, a worried officials said.

The banks and foreign exchange outlets have been directed not to exchange money for Qatari Riyal, said an airline source.

According to a study report, there are around 1.5 lakh Keralites in Qatar.

Around 4.82 million Indians live in the Gulf, including 630,000 in Qatar.
New York, June 6 : Microsoft has launched a new app called 'Face Swap' that will let users stick their faces onto different scenes and different characters.

"Face Swap", currently available on Google Play store (and soon to be on Apple iOS), uses Microsoft's search engine Bing's image search technology to put a user's face on a different person such as a fashion model or an astronaut, CNET reported on Tuesday.

To use the app, you need to take a selfie and "Face Swap" will then isolate your face and let you start swapping from preset categories with pictures you can choose to swap out.

You can also use the search bar to browse the web for images to put your face on and can save or share the picture.
Sydney, June 6 : Australia on Tuesday gave green light to a project by Indian firm Adani Enterprises to build the largest coal mine in the country despite protests from environmental groups.

Environment activists have been opposing the $11.9 billion Carmichael coal mine project on the Galilee Basin in Queensland state, on grounds that it poses a threat to the Great Barrier Reef, which is located in the same region, Efe news reported.

"... The project has Final Investment Decision approval for the official start of one of the largest single infrastructure and job-creating developments in Australia's recent history," Gautam Adani, the firm's President, said in a statement.

The Great Barrier Reef, declared World Heritage Site, is the world's largest coral system and has been, for the second year running, suffering from excessive coral bleaching that has led to the death of half the species.

"The last thing the Great Barrier Reef needs is another coal mine doomed to fail," said WWF Australia Chief Executive Officer Dermot O'Gorman.

Resources Minister Matt Canavan defended the project, which involves the construction of a 389-km railway line, at the inauguration of the Adani office in Townsville.

"It is the first time we have opened up a coal basin in 50 years and if we can get it going, it will open up more projects," said Canavan.

The project, which plans to create 10,000 direct and indirect jobs is yet to receive funding guarantee after four major Australian banks backed out.

The company has requested a loan of around 672 million dollars to Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility.

The Australian Greens party spokesperson for environmental affairs, Larissa Waters, said the Adani announcement does not imply that the mine will go ahead, reported the AAP news agency.

In October 2015, the Australian government had re-approved the Adani project after a court ruled in favour of a legal challenge to the project, imposing 36 strict conditions.

The conditions included accepting the recommendations of independent experts to protect a habitat of 31,000 hectares and funding to investigate and protect endangered fauna in the wetlands of Doongmabulla Springs.

The mine, which could operate for about 90 years, will produce 60 million tonnes of coal to be exported from the Abbot Point port terminals, located near the Great Barrier Reef.
New Delhi, June 6 : The Congress on Tuesday accused the Modi government of "crushing voices of dissent" and attacked it over its performance in the last three years, calling it a "hero on TV and zero on the ground".

Briefing reporters after a meeting of the Congress Working Committee, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said the government had failed to fulfill its promises to various sections, including the youth and farmers.

He alleged that government machinery was being used to "silence voices of dissent".

"Whether it is political parties, print media or electronic media, the government does not respect voice of dissent. It seems it does not respect democracy," Azad said.

The meeting of CWC, which is the highest decision-making body of the Congress, was chaired by Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

Azad, who was accompanied by Congress leaders Mukul Wasnik, A.K. Antony and P. Chidambaram, said the government may celebrate its three years and congratulate itself on television, but its performance has been disappointing.

"This is a government of slogans and publicity. It is hero on TV and zero on the ground," Azad said.

He said there was an atmosphere of fear among the Dalits, Scheduled Tribes, minorities and weaker sections.

"Even the media which does not toe the government line, how it has been dealt with, we saw yesterday," Azad said.

He was referring to CBI searches on Monday at the house of NDTV network's co-founder Prannoy Roy for allegedly causing financial losses to a private bank.

"Yesterday, we were seeing shamelessness. People have vanished with thousands of crores of bank money, what happened in Rs 50 crore that the government got rattled?" Azad said.

The CBI had registered a case against Roy, his wife Radhika, a private company and conducted searches at his south Delhi residence and his house in Dehradun for "loss of Rs 48 crore to ICICI Bank".

Azad alleged that women did not feel safe in the country. He said BJP leaders had talked of generating two crore employment opportunities every year, but youth were actually losing jobs.

He said farmers had been promised minimum support price that was 50 per cent over the input cost.

"The promises have proved to be false," he said, adding that a large number of farmers commit suicide every year in the country.
Panaji, June 6 : Goa MP Shantaram Naik on Tuesday urged External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to protect the interests of the 6.5 lakh Indians in Qatar, which is facing a crisis after being isolated by other Gulf countries. Of the 6.5 lakh, some 10,000 are Goans.

"In view of a serious situation developing in Qatar, India has to use diplomatic channels with Qatar in the interest of the Indian population there," wrote Naik, Goa's lone Rajya Sabha MP, said in a letter to Sushma Swaraj.

"I have asked Sushma Swaraj to protect the interests of 6.5 lakh Indians, including 10,000 Goans, living and doing business in Qatar," Naik told IANS.

"People from India, particularly from Goa, have been of immense help in boosting the economy of Gulf countries including Qatar. People from Goa have been opting for jobs in Gulf countries for several decades, and it is the duty of the Indian government to monitor the interests of the Indian population," Naik wrote.

On Monday, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, Libya, the UAE and the Maldives severed diplomatic, civil aviation and shipping ties with Qatar, accusing it supporting terrorism. Qatar denied the allegations.
Islamabad, June 6 : A Chinese citizen appealed to the Pakistani government for support on Tuesday after he was allegedly assaulted when a business deal struck with a Pakistani man turned sour.

Liu Xiao Long sent an application to the Interior Ministry claiming he entered into a partnership with Ishtiaq Ali to start a hotel in Islamabad.

But when the business did not yield adequate returns and Long couldn't pay his share of revenue to Ali, he was beaten up, the Chinese citizen's translator Raja Sabeel told Dawn newspaper.

"Long and Ishtiaq Ali started a hospitality business together. Long paid Ali Rs 1 million up-front as a security deposit," Sabeel said.

"However, the business did not pick up in the first few months and Ali kept asking Long to pay his cut," he said.

Sabeel said Ali brought 8-10 men to the hotel and assaulted Long and his staff.

"The men took away all valuables from the premises as well as cash," Sabeel said, adding that the men also assaulted a Chinese businessman staying at the hotel.
New Delhi, June 6 : The government's Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian has sounded caution over the cattle slaughter ban, saying such policies could "adversely" impact the economics of livestock farming in India.

Addressing fellows of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS) here on Monday evening, Subramanian said while the governments had the right to frame social policies but considering economic costs of such policies was also imperative.

"On dairy and livestock, two points are worth emphasizing. The governments have the right to choose their social policies. But in doing so, they must be fully aware of the economic costs of these policies.

"If social policies impede the workings of the livestock market, the impact on the economics of livestock farming could be considerable. These must be costed for appropriate choices to be made," the economist said giving the foundation day lecture of the government-funded institute that conducts research in agriculture and allied sectors.

He stressed that the economics of livestock farming "must be recognised" also because "the fate and future of this source of livelihood will depend critically on the terminal value of ... the no-longer-productive livestock.

"If social policies drive this terminal value precipitously down, private returns could be affected in a manner that could make livestock farming less profitable."

Subramanian said the declining terminal value arises because of two factors -- loss of income from livestock as meat and the additional costs to maintain an unproductive livestock.

"But there is more. It is possible that social policies could affect social returns even more adversely. Stray cattle, and a lot of it, will have to be looked after, otherwise diseases (like foot and mouth) could spread, leading to health hazards and social costs."

He said Indians who under-consume proteins "to the detriment of their health" needed "both reduced cereal-centricity and at the same time promoting - not hindering - alternative sources of protein from pulses, dairy and livestock".

The economist's caution follows Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan's comments that the government was alive to the concerns over the new rules governing cattle trade and slaughter.

The Environment Ministry last month notified its ban on the sale and purchase of livestock for slaughter in animal markets across the country, triggering widespread criticism.
New Delhi, June 6 : Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said he hoped that the United States will rethink about its decision to withdraw from the Paris climate change accord.

He further said that he was shocked over President Donald Trump's charge that India signed the Paris agreement to get "billions and billions and billions" of dollars from developed nations.

On Thursday, Trump announced the US's withdrawal from the Paris climate deal by calling it "draconian". In his comments on the occasion, he particularly targeted India.

"There are no political or administrative boundaries of disaster. To protect the environmental from imbalance, the international community needs to be on the same plane. Sometime, if any country thinks of its own interest only and gives out the message that the whole world is not united on the issue, it's a matter of concern," Rajnath Singh said at a conference on 'Capacity Building of State Disaster Response Forces'.

"I don't know in which circumstances he gave the statement but I hope that the US will rethink the issue," the Minister said.

Rajnath Singh's remarks came a day after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj rubbished President Trump's charge and said that to accuse India of signing the agreement because it was pressurised by some countries or out of greed for foreign aid is completely baseless and unfortunate.
Mumbai, June 6 : Megastar Amitabh Bachchan and veteran actor Rishi Kapoor-starrer "102 Not Out", directed by Umesh Shukla, will release on December 1 and will be clashing with Vidya Balan-starrer "Tumhari Sulu".

The film features Amitabh as a 102-year-old and Rishi as his 75-year-old son. The makers aim to wrap up the shoot by July, read a statement.

"102 Not Out" is based on writer-director Saumya Joshi's successful Gujarati play by the same name. The film is a sweet story between a father and a son and the duo will also speak a few lines in Gujarati in the film!

Amitabh and Rishi, who will be seen sharing screen space after two decades, have previously worked in films like "Amar Akbar Anthony", "Naseeb" and "Kabhi Kabhie".
New Delhi, June 6 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday described the Bimstec regional bloc that binds India and its subcontinental neighbours with Thailand as one of the fastest growing regions in the world.

"Ever since its inception in 1997, Bimstec, representing one-fifth of humanity, has striven to bring benefits of development to its people. Today, we have one of the fastest growth rates of any region. We have made considerable progress, although much more needs to be done," Modi said in a message on the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the bloc.

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec) comprises Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

The main objective of Bimstec is technical and economic cooperation among south Asian and southeast Asian countries along the rim of the Bay of Bengal.

With the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) virtually rendered ineffective as a bloc, largely due to non-cooperation on the part of Pakistan in a number of areas, India has been giving more importance to Bimstec in recent times.

In his message, Modi referred to the BRICS-Bimstec Outreach Summit hosted by India in Goa last year and said: "Our collective resolve to impart fresh momentum to Bimstec has provided hope and optimism. Bimstec not only connects south and southeast Asia, but also the ecologies of the great Himalayas and the Bay of Bengal."

He said that the Bimstec countries, with shared values, histories, ways of life, and destinies that are interlinked, represent a common space for peace and development.

"For lndia, it is a natural platform to fulfill our key foreign policy priorities of Neighbourhood First and Act East," the Prime Minister said.

"I am happy to note that we are implementing the robust agenda that we agreed on in Goa, to achieve greater connectivity, trade, people-to-people contacts, and sustainable use of resources."

Modi also thanked Nepal, the current Chair of Bimstec, for its leadership, and Bangladesh, for hosting the Bimstec Secretariat in Dhaka.
New Delhi, June 6 : Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday said the people of Jammu and Kashmir were being "systematically" alienated and antagonised as the current crisis in the troubled-state represented the "colossal failure" of the BJP government.

Gandhi's remarks that the government's "divisive agenda" had "undone years of goodwill and progress" in the state follow spike in militant violence and daily stone-pelting protests in the Kashmir Valley.

"The crisis in Jammu and Kashmir has come to represent the colossal failure of this government. We are facing a rise in cross-border terrorism," she said, addressing the Congress Working Committee meeting here.

The Congress President accused the state and central governments of "insensitive handling" of the situation in Kashmir which was "systematically alienating and antagonising the local population, especially the youths".

"A large number of jawans (soldiers and troopers) and civilians have lost their lives or have been injured, young people have even been blinded."

Gandhi said it was imperative for the government to address the crisis and that it "corrects its flawed approach, works in earnest to rebuild and restore normalcy to regain the trust of the people".

She said a small team of Congress leaders led by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been formed to keep abreast of the situation in Kashmir.
New York, June 6 : An international team of astronomers has observed that enormous quantities of space dust in galaxies could play an important role in hiding the black holes they harbour at their centres.

The National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO) scientists have revealed this at the 230th American Astronomical Society (AAS) meeting, Efe news reported.

Stephanie Juneau, one of the researchers in the NOAO team, said that their study of galaxy NGC 7582, which is some 74 million light years from the Earth, showed that it hides an active black hole that is very obscure.

A powerful wind from the black hole creates a ring of gas and dust around the galaxy centre that contributes to obscuring it. The ring is some 2,000 light years in diametre, far larger than scientists had thought.

The French researcher is attending the five-day AAS convention in Austin, Texas, that will end on Thursday. Some 600 scientists are discussing their latest astronomical discoveries at the AAS meet.

Juneau held a press conference with several other researchers, including Richard O'Shaugnessy, with the Rochester Institute of Technology, and Chris Shrader, with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Centre.

The research headed by Juneau provides a new perspective on the interaction between black holes and their host galaxies.

Until now, scientists had thought that hidden, but active, black holes could only produce a compact dust and gas ring quite close -- just a few light years -- to their location in the galaxy centre.

Supermassive black holes are literally invisible to us, because they emit no light, but with material falling into them they heat up and produce radiation that could be observed, Juneau said.

The process, which occurs in an "active" black hole, makes the material detectable in a way that can be seen billions of light years away, but only if the conditions are just right.

Juneau said that the analysis of cosmic rays, which enables scientists to measure how black holes "feed," shows the existence of a huge ring of matter - gas and dust - that obscures the black hole in NGC 7582.

Obscured active black holes have also been found in galaxies that have merged and that are "very perturbed" as a result, Juneau said.

The NOAO team was now studying other active obscured galactic nuclei to learn about the nature of the material there and determine if the results found to date are common or rare.
Doha, June 6 : Amid the biggest diplomatic crisis in the Gulf after four Arab nations cut ties with Qatar -- accusing it of destabilising the region with its support for Islamist groups, its state-owned flag carrier has begun diverting its flights to Europe, North America and North Africa via Iran instead of Saudi Arabia, flight monitoring services said on Tuesday.

All Qatar Airways routes to the West would now pass through Iran and Turkey airspace, Efe news quoted the Flight Radar and Flight Aware websites.

Qatar Airways has offered all its customers an alternative route or refunds on their flights.

The cutting of diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain on one side and Qatar on the other has resulted in the closure of the airspace of these countries to Qatari flights.

The only country that broke off with Doha but did not close its airspace to Qatari flights was Egypt.

The most affected by the changes were those destined for the Mediterranean countries -- Italy, Morocco or Cyprus -- whose usual routes are now diverted several thousand kilometres.

The Qatar Airways announced on Monday the suspension of its flights to the four Arab countries after they accused Doha of supporting terrorism and undermining stability in the Middle East.
Kabul, June 6 : Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Tuesday accused Pakistan of waging an "undeclared war of aggression" against his country.

Addressing a peace conference attended by 23 countries, the European Union, the UN and Nato, Ghani asked: "What will it take to convince Pakistan that a stable Afghanistan helps them and helps our region?"

Pakistan and Afghanistan have long accused each other of turning a blind eye to militants operating along their porous border, and both forces exchanged fire over a border dispute last month, Dawn reported.

Despite strained bilateral relations, Pakistan is attending the multinational conference. The two-member Pakistani delegation is headed by Additional Secretary UN and Economic Cooperation Tasneem Aslam.

Ghani also warned the Taliban to embrace peace or "face consequences".

"We are offering a chance for peace but this is not an open-ended offer. Time is running out... This is the last chance, take it or face consequences.

"If Taliban wants to join peace talks, the Afghan government will allow them to open an office, but this is their last chance," Ghani said.
Kabul, June 6 : At least seven civilians were killed and 16 were injured in an explosion near a mosque in Afghanistan's Herat city on Tuesday.

The blast took place at around 3 p.m. near the northern gate of the Great Mosque of Herat, CNN quoted the Herat Governor's spokesman Jilani Farhad as saying.

No group claimed responsibility for the explosion.
Shimla, June 6 : Temperatures across Himachal Pradesh fell slightly on Tuesday, with state capital Shimla recording a high of 28.3 degrees Celsius against Monday's 29.6 degrees Celsius. The mercury is likely to fall further with chances of rains and thundershowers across the state till June 8.

"Rainfall occurred at isolated places in the state in the past 24 hours. From now onwards the state is likely to see widespread rains or thundershowers," Manmohan Singh, director of the meteorological office here, told IANS.

Kalpa, a picturesque town 250 km from here, recorded a maximum temperature of 25.2 degrees Celsius, while it was 35.9 degrees in Sundernagar in Mandi district, and 33.8 degrees at Dharamsala in Kangra district.

Una town was the hottest in the state at a high of 40.6 degrees Celsius.
Srinagar, June 6 : Only those with medical fitness and age certificates will be allowed to undertake this year's pilgrimage to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam district, it was announced on Tuesday.

An advisory issued by Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) on Tuesday said: "Pilgrims intending to visit the cave shrine of Amarnath in Jammu and Kashmir will have to furnish bona fide medical certificates and those below 13 or above 75 years will not be permitted."

"No woman more than six weeks pregnant shall be registered for the pilgrimage," the advisory further said.

Headed by Jammu and Kashmir Governor N.N. Vohra, SASB conducts the affairs of the holy pilgrimage to the cave shrine situated at an altitude of 12,000 feet in the Kashmir Himalayas.

The cave shrine houses an ice stalagmite structure 'Lingam' which devotees believe symbolises the mythical powers of Lord Shiva.

This year's Yatra would begin on June 29 and end on August 7.

"Pilgrims will have to submit an application and compulsory health certificate (CHC) to obtain the pilgrimage permit. The formats of the application form and CHC, and the list of doctors/medical institutions authorised to issue CHC are available at the Board's website - www.shriamarnathjishrine.com," the advisory said.

"One pilgrimage permit will be valid for registering only one pilgrim and each designated registration bank branch has been allotted a fixed per day/per route quota. The registration bank branch will ensure that the number of pilgrims registered does not exceed the allotted per day/per route quota," it said.

"The specific day on which a pilgrim is registered to undertake the pilgrimage (i.e., Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday) has been printed on the pilgrimage permit.

"The day printed on the permit is the day on which the pilgrims will be allowed to cross the access control gates at Baltal and Chandanwari (Pahalgam)".

Pilgrims approach the cave Shrine through two routes, the traditional Pahalgam route in south Kashmir and north Kashmir's Baltal route.

While pilgrims return to Baltal base camp on the same day after having 'Darshan' at the cave shrine, one-way passage from Pahalgam base camp to the cave shrine takes three days.
Chennai, June 6 : Two bus drivers and a conductor of a private bus operator have been arested in Tamil Nadu's Salem district for trying to sexually assault a teenager, police said on Tuesday.

A police official in Salem's Omallur told IANS said the three persons - Perumal, Manivannan and Murugan - have been taken into custody for trying to assault the girl on Monday, while she has been sent to a hospital for check-up.

According to reports, the girl had boarded the bus bound to Omallur to reach her home. At the final destination, while other passengers got down, the accused somehow blocked her from getting off, took the bus to a secluded spot and tried to assault her.

The girl escaped from them and told villagers of her ordeal. The villagers then caught the three and handed them over to police.
New Delhi, June 6 : Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday accused the Centre of waging a war against the country's farmers.

"In Bharatiya Janata Party's new India, our farmers get the bullets when they ask for their rights. This government is at war with the farmers of our country," the Congress leader tweeted.

His comments came after two farmers were killed and several others injured in Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur district in alleged police firing on protesting farmer. The farmers were demanding loan waiver and a fair price for their produce.

Late on Monday night, protesting farmers in Mandsaur district tried to break the gates of a railway crossing and disrupt rail traffic as part of their protest.

According to eyewitnesses, the police opened fire when the protesting farmers indulged in stone-pelting.

Meanwhile, the farmers' strike in Madhya Pradesh continued for the sixth day on Tuesday affecting supplies of milk and vegetables across the state.
Colombo, June 6 : Sri Lanka's central bank on Tuesday instructed government banks to accept Qatari riyals after some banks at the country's main international airport refused to do so.

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka categorically denied reports which stated that it had asked banks not to accept the Qatari currency, reports Xinhua.

Officials at the Katunayake Airport had said that most banks at the airport had refused to exchange Qatari riyals.

Meanwhile, Srilankan Airlines said it will continue to fly to Qatar.

The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic ties with Qatar on Monday, accusing the Gulf state of supporting and financing "terrorism" as well as interfering in their internal affairs.

Later on the day, Yemen, the Maldives and Libya also decided to sever diplomatic relations with Qatar.
London, June 6 : The third assailant who allegedly took part in the London terror attack that left seven dead was on Tuesday identified by London Metropolitan Police as Youssef Zaghba, a 22-year-old Italian-Moroccan.

According to a Met police statement, Zaghba had not been a subject of police or MI5 interest.

"All three London Bridge Borough Market attackers now named by police. Please contact us with any info about these men," police posted on Twitter alongside images of all three alleged assailants.

Zaghba was first identified earlier on Tuesday by Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, which claimed that Italian intelligence services had informed British and Moroccan authorities that they believed him to be dangerous.

He had been arrested by Italian authorities in Bologna in March 2016 while trying to travel to Turkey in order to enter Syria.

The charges of international terrorism that were pressed against Zaghrab after his arrest were eventually dropped though Italy included him in the list of people considered potentially dangerous to state security.

According to the newspaper, he had recently found a part-time job at a restaurant in London.

On Saturday, Zaghrab, alongside Khuram Shazad Butt - who is of Pakistani origin -- and Rachid Redouane, drove a van through crowds on London Bridge before entering Borough Market and attacking people with knives.

The attack left seven people dead and dozens injured, of which 18 remain in critical condition. All three attackers were shot dead by police.

Met police also said on Tuesday they had made a fresh arrest in the East London neighbourhood of Barking.

The 27-year-old man is the only suspect currently in custody. All 12 previously detained have since been released without charge.
Seoul, June 6 : A US nuclear-powered submarine docked at the South Korean port city of Busan on Tuesday in what might be another display of American military power amid heightened tension on the Korean peninsula.

A South Korean military official, however, told Yonhap news agency that the submarine has docked in Busan to rest its 130 crew members and replenish supplies.

The official also added that the US submarine has no plans to participate in any joint manoeuvres with South Korea, Efe news reported.

The USS Cheyenne, whose home port is Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, weighs 6,900 tonnes and is 110 metres long.

Last week, US nuclear aircraft carriers Carl Vinson and Ronald Reagan had also carried out manoeuvres in waters close to North Korea, in a deployment that was interpreted as a warning to the growing nuclear and missile threats by Pyongyang.

North Korea's repeated nuclear tests led Washington to toughen its rhetoric, including hinting at the possibility of preemptive strikes if Pyongyang does not abandon its nuclear and missile programme.

The USS Cheyenne, which has participated in various military operations, including Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, is equipped with Harpoon anti-ship missiles and Tomahawk cruise missiles that have a range of 3,100 km.
New Delhi, June 6 : Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday left on a four-day official visit to Paris to participate in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) meetings and hold bilateral talks.

"The Finance Minister will arrive in Paris on Tuesday evening and on Wednesday, he will deliver the keynote address at OECD meeting," the Finance Ministry said here in a statement.

"Later, Jaitley will participate in a panel discussion on 'Stocktaking on Globalisation'. Other participants in the panel discussion include OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Denmark Anders Samuelsen, Minister of Trade of Australia Steven Ciobo as well as Finance Ministers of the UK and Sweden," the statement said.

Jaitley will then join the luncheon session on "The Challenges of Globalisation and the OECD", and will also hold a bilateral meeting with OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria.

Later, he will participate in the OECD Forum on "Cashless Society and Fintech", and hold a bilateral meeting with Denmark Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen.

"Thereafter, the Finance Minister will participate in the signing ceremony for Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Convention and will make a statement there. Thereafter, he will hold a bilateral meeting with Finland Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Kai Mykkanen," the ministry statement said.

Jaitley is scheduled to attend a ministerial dinner hosted by Lars Lokke Rasmussen, the Prime Minister of Denmark.

On June 8, Jaitley will call on his French counterpart and Minister of Defence Sylvie Goulard. Afterwards, he will meet Pierre Gattaz, President of Mouvement des Entreprises de France, the largest employer federation in France.

"The Finance Minister will also make a statement at the conference on business opportunities between the African Tech System and the Global Tech World. Later, he will address the Investors Roundtable Session co-organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and global banking major BNP Paribas," it said.

On June 9, Jaitley will call on French Minister of Economy Bruno Le Maire. In the evening, he will leave for India and arrive in the national capital on the morning of June 10.
Kabul, June 6 : At least seven civilians were killed and 17 others injured in an explosion near a mosque in Afghanistan's Herat city on Tuesday.

The explosive device was planted in a motorbike and detonated near the northern gate of the Great Mosque of Herat around 3 p.m., provincial police chief Mohammad Ayub Ansari said.

Without pointing finger at any group or individual, the official said an investigation was initiated into the case, Xinhua news agency reported.

Earlier in the day, another blast shocked Kabul while an international conference on peace process in Afghanistan with the participation of delegates from over 20 countries and international agencies, was underway.
Mumbai, June 6 : Spurred by the support from four leading NGOs, including noted ornithologist and naturalist late Salim Alis niece Sumaira Abdulali, activists campaigning for saving the Parsik Hills on the city's outskirts from wanton destruction in the name of quarrying now hope that Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis would save the natural resource from further degradation.

The NGOs have extended their whole-hearted support to a social communication campaign by corporate communicators industry body Public Relations Council of India (PRCI) -- #IamParsikHill A IamDying -A and appealed to the Chief Minister to take steps to ban quarrying of the hills which fall in the foothills of Sahyadri Range.

"The decades-long quarrying has caused irreparable damage to the environment and the once picturesque hills," said Nandakumar Pawar, director of the NGO Shree Ekvira Aai Pratishthan (SEAP).

Stating that "we cannot stand as mute witnesses to the rampant, careless and criminal destruction", he said SEAP will file a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) at the National Green Tribunal (NGT) seeking to ban quarrying at Parsik Hills.

Observing that quarrying destroys bio-diversity, forests and the water- table, Stalin D, Director of NGO Vanashakti, said: "The Parsik hill range has the potential for an excellent venue for eco-tourism and adventure sports. Please save these beautiful forested hills from reckless destruction."

The dust pollution created by quarrying poses great health hazards for the citizens of Navi Mumbai, he said adding that the Chief Minister must ban quarrying at Parsik Hills immediately.

Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) itself has said that the air pollution levels in the areas around stone crushers of quarries are a hundred times the acceptable levels.

Inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call during his latest Mann Ki Baat broadcast to follow the Environment Day-2017 theme 'Connecting People To Nature', PRCI has embarked on the campaign to focus attention on the destruction of nature which is also harming the people, said PRCI National President B.N. Kumar.

The campaign received massive response with over 10,000 'likes' on Facebook and close to 100 signing the online petition to the Chief Minister to ban quarrying of Parsik Hills, he said adding that tweets are being sent to Fadnavis, Bollywood activists like Amitabh Bachhan and Anupam Kher and some media veterans seeking their support.

Sumaira Abdulali of Awaaz Foundation, who had earlier campaigned against indiscriminate sand mining, said the destruction of Parsik Hills is criminal considering its bio-diversity. She called for a proper audit of requirement of construction material such as sand and stones.

Late Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray had in June 1997 ordered a ban on quarrying at Parsik Hills during the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance rule in Maharashtra. But later, the blasting of the hills resumed with seeming vengeance.

A cursory look at the hills from Sion-Panvel highway shows the pathetic condition of the plundered hills along Thane-Belapur Road where forests have disappeared due to quarrying.

The NGT is hearing a PIL against quarrying and its ruling is slated for July 19. Quarry owners have, meanwhile, stopped their operations as the Thane district collector stopped collecting royalty. The collector, however, permitted three quarries to operate.
London, June 6 : The third of the three London Bridge attackers was on Tuesday named as Youssef Zaghba, a 22-year-old Italian national of Moroccan descent, who was on Italy's list of persons at risk after being held last year while on his way to Syria.

Zaghba had an Italian passport and his mother's name is Valeria, informed sources told Italian media Adnkronos, reports Efe.

Zaghba was shot dead by police along with two other accomplies after Saturday's deadly rampage in which seven people were killed and 48 were injured.

British police said on Tuesday they believed Zaghba to be the third attacker, that he was an Italian national of Moroccan descent and that his family had been informed.

"He was not a police or M15 subject of interest," the statement said.

At the time of the London Bridge attacks, Zaghba had been working in a London restaurant and was in touch with his mother.

There were conflicting reports on the mother's whereabouts, with some sources saying she was in Bologna in Italy and others claiming she was in Casablanca, Morocco.

Zaghba's parents reportedly lived in Morocco but then separated and his mother settled in Bologna. Zaghba spent a lot of time with relatives in East London but visited his mother several times in Bologna.

When Zaghba was stopped at the city's Marconi airport in March 2016, he had told his mother he was going to Rome.

At the time of his arrest, Zaghba was travelling with just a backpack and his passport was impounded. His mobile phone was also confiscated and was found to contain religious videos and images but no violent jihadist images.

He was, however, charged with international terrorism and recorded on intelligence files as a suspected foreign fighter.

Although the charge was later withdrawn, he remained on file as "a person at risk", Italian daily Corriere della Sera reported.

Italy's intelligence services had reported Zaghba and his frequent movements to Moroccan and British authorities, Corriere reported.

Zaghba's fellow attackers were named as Pakistan-born British citizen Khuram Butt, 27, and Rachid Redouane, 30, a Moroccan-Libyan pastry chef who had an Irish wife.

All 12 people arrested on Sunday after the attack have now been released without charge while a 27-year-old man was held in Barking near London on Tuesday in connection with the investigation, police said.

The Islamic State jihadist group claimed Saturday's attack in which Zaghba, Butt and Redouane drove a hired van into pedestrians on London Bridge at around 10 p.m. before stabbing people in the area around the nearby Borough Market.

Zaghba, Butt and Redouane were all shot dead by police at the scene within eight minutes of receiving an emergency call.
Kolkata, June 6 : Hundreds of Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) supporters led by party chief Bimal Gurung waved black flags and burnt effigy of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as they brought out a protest rally in Darjeeling district demanding the state government come up with a written circular about not making Bengali compulsory in the hills.

Slogans like "Didi go back" were heard from the rally, held a day after Banerjee accused the GJM-run Gorkhaland Territorial Administration - the development body in the north Bengal hills - of "spreading falsehood" about "imposition" of Bengali language.

Stating that the people of the hills are with them, Gurung claimed their party members would resign from the semi-autonomous administrative body soon and fight for the cause of the separate state of Gorkhaland.

"The people of the hills are still with the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha. We are unitedly fighting for Gorkhaland.

"Within the next 15-20 days, our board members will resign from the GTA and fight for the cause of Gorkhaland. We will also take forward our protest against the recent dispute on the language issue," he said.

The GJM leader hinted that the situation can become more hostile in the coming days.

"Let alone bandh (shutdown) in the hills, anything can happen here in the present situation. Nothing can be said in this regard," he warned.

On the other hand, the Trinamool Congress activists took out a rally in adjoining Kurseong district demanding arrests of the culprits in the murder of Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League chief Madan Tamang in 2010.

Tamang, a prominent hill leader opposed to the GJM, was stabbed to death in broad daylight in Darjeeling on May 21, 2010 while he was preparing for a public rally.

Senior GJM leaders including Gurung have been charged in the case. Gurung however, was given bail by the Calcutta High Court.

Banerjee on Monday viciously attacked the GJM claiming they are spreading lies about government's new three language policy and trying to create a divide between Bengali and Nepali communities in the hills. She also vowed to take action against the GTA board members if a special audit ordered by her government revealed that money had been misused.

The demand for Gorkhaland - to be carved out of the northern Bengal hills - was first raised by the Gorkha National Liberation Front in the 1980s. The GJM took centre stage from around 2008, by nudging out the GNLF. The movement has left many dead over the past three decades, besides affecting the region's economy based on tea, timber and tourism.
Sydney, June 6 : Indian billionaire Gautam Adani on Tuesday said he had got the nod to open Australia's biggest coal mine. His company announced a "final investment decision" on the $16.5 billion Carmichael project.

"I am proud to announce the project has Final Investment Decision (FID) approval which marks the official start of one of the largest single infrastructure and job-creating developments in Australia's recent history," the Adani Enterprises Chairman said.

"This is a historic day for Adani, a historic day for regional Queensland, and a historic day for Indian investment in Australia," Adani said in a statement.

"This is the largest single investment by an Indian corporation in Australia and I believe others will follow with investments and trade deals."

Pre-construction work on the project in northern Australia is expected to begin in September despite protests from environmental groups, Australian media reported.

The announcement followed a mining royalties deal struck between Adani and the Queensland state government last week.

The Australian government said the mine will generate investment but critics say it will harm the environment.

Environment activists said the Carmichael coal mine project on the Galilee Basin in Queensland state will exacerbate global warming and pose a threat to the Great Barrier Reef, located in the same region.

"This mine will be a disaster for the climate, the Great Barrier Reef and frontline communities in Queensland and around the world," Greenpeace spokesman Nikola Casule said.

Adani hit out at green activists: "We have been challenged by activists in the courts, in inner-city streets, and even outside banks that have not even been approached to finance the project.

"We are still facing activists. But we are committed to this project."

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said: "There will be jobs right across the state. This project will deliver those jobs."

Resources Minister Matt Canavan also defended the project, which involves the construction of a 389-km railway line, at the inauguration of the Adani office in Townsville.

However, Environmental groups branded the announcement a "con" because Adani didn't secure the finance to reach financial close, the major hurdle to construction of the project, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

The project, which plans to create 10,000 direct and indirect jobs, is yet to receive funding guarantee after four major Australian banks backed out.

In October 2015, the Australian government had re-approved the Adani project after a court ruled in favour of a legal challenge to the project, imposing 36 strict conditions.

The conditions included accepting the recommendations of independent experts to protect a habitat of 31,000 hectares and funding to investigate and protect endangered fauna in the wetlands of Doongmabulla Springs.

The mine, which could operate for about 90 years, will produce 60 million tonnes of coal to be exported from the Abbot Point port terminals, located near the Great Barrier Reef.
Bengaluru, June 6 : A three-day textile exhibition will be held at Gandhinagar in Gujarat from June 30, a senior official of the Union Ministry of Textiles said here on Tuesday.

"The exhibition -- Textiles India 2017 -- will showcase India's strength in textiles and apparel value chain from fibre to fashion. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the exhibition," Joint Secretary of Union Ministry of Textiles Puneet Agarwal told reporters.

The exhibition will cover the textile industry, comprising display of products from manufacturers, exporters and other stakeholders.

"There will be round-table conferences, fashion show, and theme pavilions of partner states Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and Maharashtra with focus on Gujarat," Agarwal said.

According to him, the exhibition will be spread across an area of 1,25,000 square metre. Over 1,000 exhibitors are expected to participate in the exhibition. Around 30 countries are expected to showcase their products and over 2,500 international buyers from 60 countries are likely to visit the exhibition.

"Seven international conferences, 24 round-table conferences, country and state sessions, business to business, business to government and government to government meetings will be held during the three-day exhibition," he said.
Kolkata, June 6 : The East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW), a Ramsar site that nurtures the world's largest wastewater-fed aqua culture system and is also the city's natural cleansing system, is under threat, said an expert.

The sprawling 12,500 hectares (18 lakh cottahs) wetlands also saves the authorities a whopping Rs 5 billion in a year in sewage treatment costs.

But one of the major concerns, is the shift from traditional vocations, including fishery, to modern options such as a salaried job, says urban economist Mahalaya Chatterjee.

"If the EKW fails to provide the natural treatment service, Kolkata will lose nearly Rs 5 billion a year. The wetland treats waste from the city and has saved on the cost of building and maintaining a conventional treatment plant," said Chatterjee, Director, Centre for Urban Economic Studies, Department of Economics, Calcutta University.

She said to retain the low-cost option of sewage treatment the "dominance of sewage-fed fishery is of strategic importance".

"There is an extreme shift from traditional vocations such as fishery, agriculture, animal husbandry to modern businesses, professional work, including salaried jobs. Traditional vocations are becoming less rewarding," Chatterjee said here on Monday at a workshop organised by IIT Kharagpur and Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

The wetlands encompass nearly 254 sewage-fed fisheries distributed across the districts of South and North 24 Parganas. It provides about 150 tonnes of fresh vegetables daily as well as some 10,500 tonnes of table fish per year. The latter provides livelihood to about 50,000 people directly and as many again indirectly.

The key push factors for vocation switch are obstructed wastewater flow due to encroachment and other reasons, siltation in sewage-fed fish ponds, over-dredging of wastewater canals affecting the natural gradient and the changing signature of bio-chemical components in sewage water, said Chatterjee.

She said with increased options of modern vocations, better availability of formal education, increased awareness and formal training (skill), conventional livelihood sources are losing out on the draw.

Besides, there is the pull to have increased connectivity to Kolkata via flyover or roads.

If development of the posh satellite township Salt Lake City in the north-eastern fringes of the city reclaimed a part of the wetlands in 1960s, then almost two decades later, construction of Eastern Metropolitan Bypass, which enhanced the connectivity of the area with the city, made the wetland more accessible and made it an attractive site for real estate speculation.

The West Bengal government now plans to build a Rs 600-crore flyover, connecting the airport to Science City, which requires construction of some pillars over the wetlands, for which 10-12 cottahs will be used.

The state government has promised compensatory digging of a 25-cottah lake in the adjacent area.
Guwahati, June 6 : After establishing its foothold in the domestic market and exporting to 18 countries worldwide, Assam-based Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) has achieved yet another dimension by commencing dispatch of wax in liquid form.

Confirming this development, a spokesman for the NRL on Tuesday said the refinery has recently sent the first consignment of liquid Paraffin Wax to Kharagpur in West Bengal.

"Dispatch of wax in liquid form would result in energy savings associated with solidification of wax at the refinery end and liquefaction of the same at the user's end," she said.

It may be mentioned here that although dispatch of liquid wax in international trade is not very uncommon, such efforts on the part of a domestic inland refiner is unique, thus adding one more feather to the NRL's cap.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the NRL's Wax Plant to the nation in February last year. The 50,000 Metric Tonnes (MT) Wax Plant, commissioned in March 2015 at a cost of Rs 676 crore, is the country's largest wax producing unit with indigenous technology developed by IIP Dehradun, EIL and NRL.

Since commissioning of the wax plant, the NRL has emerged as the largest manufacturer and marketer of wax in the country.

Besides neighbouring countries like Bangladesh and China, the company also exports its wax to South American nations like Chile. After commissioning of the NRL's Wax Plant, imports from China have gradually come down by 80 percent.
Kathmandu, June 6 : Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba was on Tuesday elected the new Prime Minister of Nepal -- returning to the post 12 years after he was removed from the post by then King Gyanendra.

Immediately after his election, he said his priorities would be holding the local elections and the constitution's implementation. On foreign policy, he said he will maintain good relations with both India and China.

He had, while presenting his candidacy, said he will honestly work for implementation of the new constitution, and will brace his political acumen to address the grievances of the Madhesis and other outstanding political issues.

Seventy-year-old Deuba, who was elected for his fourth stint as Premier exactly a week short of his 71st birthday, received wide political support during the voting in parliament. Of the total 593 voters, 388 voted in his favour as opposed to 170 votes against -- the main opposition Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxists-Leninists), as expected, cast their votes against him.

Two Madhes-based political parties also extended their support after reaching an agreement with him and outgoing PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda', but ruled out joining the government.

Deuba's victory was a foregone conclusion as none of the political parties fielded a candidate against him.

On May 24, then Prime Minister Prachanda had announced his resignation, in keeping with his agreement with the Nepali Congress, which had propped up his coalition government since last August. The two parties had agreed that their respective leaders would lead the government on a rotational basis where Prachanda would take the first nine months and the remaining nine would be of Deuba.

Deuba, who will be the 40th Prime Minister of Nepal, faces a huge domestic political challenge but foreign policy is more settled as his predecessor had almost brought relations with India and China almost back on track.

He will occupy the post for another nine months in a period considered a much challenging phase.

Apart from holding the second and final phase of local elections on June 28, Deuba's other immediate priorities are to take confidence of the Madhesi parties in the constitution implementation process, bringing them on board in the local elections and holding other two elections -- provincial and parliamentary -- later this year.

Born in a simple family, Deuba, who hails from the country's far west, is a well-respected leader for his participation in the struggle for restoring democracy in Nepal.

He was, however, criticised for surrendering democracy twice to the royal palace which removed him most unceremoniously in 2007, labelling him "incompetent", after the Maoists joined the political mainstream.

A long time member of world socialist movement, Deuba has strong political connection to India and the West and exploited several opportunities as PM in the past from these two blocs.

Earlier, speaking in favour of Deuba, Prachanda said: "As the nation needs advanced political agreement to complete some historic tasks and keeping political and moral ground intact, as per the understanding reached with Nepali Congress, I am supporting the candidacy of Deuba."

"Support by the outgoing PM to another incoming Prime Minister is probably a rare incident in world's history," he added.

In his statement prior to the election, CPN(UML) Chairman -- and a former Premier -- K.P. Sharma Oli stated that all sides came to an understanding for pursuing the second phase of local elections with the first phase having been completed on May 14 and for meeting the goal of holding the provincial and parliamentary elections later this year.
Washington, June 6 : Four Indians and a Pakistani national have pleaded guilty to charges for their role in a massive telephone impersonation fraud and money laundering scheme in the US perpetrated by India-based call centres, the US Department of Justice said.

Indian nationals Rajubhai Patel (32), Viraj Patel (33), Dilipkumar Ambal Patel (53) and Pakistani Fahad Ali (25) each pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy before US District Court Judge David Hittner of the southern district of Texas.

Indian national Hardik Patel, 31, pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy before the same court on June 2.

Sentencing dates were pending for all five defendants, the Department of Justice said on Monday.

Based on the statements in his June 2 guilty plea, beginning in August 2012, Hardik owned and managed the day-to-day operations of an India-based scam call centre before leaving for the US.

While in India, Hardik communicated extensively via email, text, and other means with various India-based co-defendants to operate the scheme and exchange scripts used in the scheme.

He also used to coordinate the processing of payments from scammed victims, obtain and exchange lead lists used by callers to target US victims and exchange spreadsheets containing the personal identifying information of US persons misappropriated by the scammers to register reloadable cards used in the scheme.

Hardik also managed worker payroll and kept detailed records of profits and expenses for various associated scam call centres. He continued to communicate with India-based co-defendants about the scheme and assist with the conspiracy after he moved to the US.

According to his June 6 guilty plea, Rajubhai Patel operated as a runner and assisted a co-defendant in managing the activities of a crew of other runners, based primarily out of Illinois, who liquidated victim funds in various locales in the US for conspirators from India-based call centres.

Viraj Patel first became involved in the conspiracy between April and September 2013, prior to entering the US, when he worked at and assisted with overseeing the operations of a call centre in India engaging in scam activity at the behest of a co-defendant.

Dilipkumar A. Patel operated as a runner in and around Southern California, along with other co-defendants based in the region.

Fahad Ali worked as a member of a crew of runners operating in the Chicago, Illinois area, the Southern District of Texas and elsewhere throughout the country.

Ali admitted that he first served as a driver for an Illinois-based co-defendant engaging in activities in furtherance of the conspiracy.

Till date, 56 other individuals and five India-based call centres have been charged for their roles in the fraud and money laundering scheme in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Texas on October 19, 2016.
Riyadh, June 6 : Saudi Arabia on Tuesday announced the cancellation of all operating licences granted to Qatar Airways and ordered the closure within 48 hours of all its offices in the country.

The order was issued by Saudi's civil aviation authority, according to a statement released by Saudi official news agency SPA.

The step was taken just one day after Riyadh resolved to cut diplomatic relations with Doha.

Also, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt, Bahrain and Yemen decided to close their airspace to Qatari airlines after these countries also broke off relations with Doha on Monday. Libya and the Maldives also followed the suit.

All Qatar Airways' flights to the West were forced to change their route to fly through the airspace of Iran and Turkey, according to the websites of Flight Radar and Flight Aware, which monitor the flights, Efe news reported.

The countries justified these measures saying Doha supports extremist organisations, including the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamic State and Al Qaeda.
New Delhi, June 6 : A Nigerian national who planned to dupe gullible people by selling them US currency-sized blank papers that turned into dollars, though fake, after a chemical was applied has been arrested in Delhi, police said on Tuesday.

Gabriel Blessing Efe was detained on June 2 at the Indira Gandhi International airport here while leaving for Kolkata, police added.

Security officers suspected Gabriel after wads of papers of the size of US currency notes and a bottle of chemical were detected by X-ray machine during his luggage check.

Gabriel was detained and taken to domestic airport police station, Deputy Commissioner of Police Sanjay Bhatia told IANS.

"During questioning, he confessed to his real identity and that his passport and visa in the name of Mike Danny Efe were forged," Bhatia said.

Fourteen wads of paper, each having 100 pieces of plain paper, and a bottle of chemical were seized.

A case of forgery was registered against him.

Police said two Nigerian nationals -- Tonny based in Kolkata and Oscar -- were also involved in the racket.

"Gabriel and Tonny planned to cheat a businessman by selling him US dollars in plain paper form at cheap rates which could be then converted into currency after chemical treatment," the officer said.

Police have sought records from the Immigration Department regarding the travel details of the accused.
New Delhi, June 6 : Three men were arrested on charges of involvement in gunrunning and 13 illegal firearms seized from them, police said on Tuesday. Three policemen were injured earlier when the accused tried to bulldoze through a police road-block.

Thirteen sophisticated semi-automatic pistols, 16 magazines, 100 cartridges and a Swift car were seized from accused Harender Singh, 24, his brother Pushpender Singh, 29, and Mohit Sharma 30, said Sanjeev Kumar Yadav, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Special Cell.

All three hail from Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh.

On Sunday, police laid a trap near Barapulla flyover in south Delhi around 5 p.m. on a tip-off that Harender will be delivering an arms consignment near J.L.N. Stadium.

When the car the accused were travelling in was hailed to stop, they tried to crash through the barricades but were arrested.

Yadav said the accused told police they had purchased the firearms from Ishwar Sardar of Manawar in Madhya Pradesh.

The police officer said that since 2016, the Special Cell has busted several interstate firearms rackets and seized as many as 578 pistols and revolvers, 10 countrymade guns, four modified light automatic rifles, and 6,478 cartridges.
London, June 6 : Police on Tuesday identified the third of London Bridge attackers who killed seven people as an Italian. Pakistani authorities meanwhile searched the family hotel of a Pakistan-born Briton who was one of the three terrorists.

Security agencies on Tuesday searched the hotel in Mujahidabad area in Karachi owned by an uncle of Khuram Shazad Butt, 27, who was among the three terrorists shot dead by police after their Saturday night terror.

The hotel is located on Grand Trunk Road, Dawn reported. Residents in the area confirmed the search.

The search was a precaution after Butt's link to Pakistan was uncovered by British investigators. British media said Butt was previously known to police and the spy agency MI5. But he is said to have been not radicalised in Pakistan.

Butt even appeared in a Channel 4 documentary, "The Jihadis Next Door", last year.

Butt's fellow attackers were Rachid Redouane, 30, a Moroccan-Libyan pastry chef who had an Irish wife, and Youssef Zaghba, a 22-year-old Italian national of Moroccan descent who was on Italy's list of persons at risk after being held in 2016 while on way to Syria.

All three were shot dead by police after they drove a hired van into pedestrians on London Bridge at around 10 p.m. before stabbing people in the area around the nearby Borough Market, killing seven people and injuring nearly 50.

London Metropolitan Police said on Tuesday that Zaghba was not a police or M15 subject of interest. At the time of the London Bridge attack, he had been working in a London restaurant.

Zaghba's parents reportedly lived in Morocco but then separated and his mother settled in Bologna, Italy. Zaghba spent a lot of time with relatives in East London but visited his mother several times.

When Zaghba was stopped at Bologna's airport in March 2016, he told his mother he was going to Rome.

At that time, Zaghba was travelling with just a backpack and his passport was impounded. His mobile phone was also confiscated and was found to contain religious videos and images but no violent jihadist images.

He was, however, charged with international terrorism and recorded on intelligence files as a suspected foreign fighter.

Although the charge was later withdrawn, he remained on file as "a person at risk", Italian daily Corriere della Sera reported.

Italy's intelligence services had reported Zaghba and his frequent movements to Moroccan and British authorities.

All 12 people arrested on Sunday after the attack have now been released without charge while a 27-year-old man was held in Barking near London on Tuesday, police said.

The Islamic State jihadist group claimed Saturday's attack.
Bengaluru, June 6 : Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday visited a Dalit's house in south Bengaluru for breakfast and assured that the Narendra Modi government would implement reservation for the community.

"I had a delicious breakfast. It is a memorable moment in my life. I visited this home as per BJP President Amit Shah's directive," he told reporters at Hongasandra of Bommanahalli Assembly constituency, adding that his visit had "nothing" to do with the Karnataka Assembly elections.

The Power Minister, who had lemon rice and chapatti for breakfast at the Dalit's residence, later participated in the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan at Bommanhalli along with the BJP activists.

"Dalits need not worry about losing reservation benefits. The NDA government led by Narendra Modi will implement reservation for Dalits without fail," he said.

Goyal advised the Dalits to avail the benefits of welfare schemes launched by the government.

"I want all Dalits to have Aadhaar cards and open bank accounts to avail the benefits of welfare schemes," he said.

Later, he attended a youth convention organised at the Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association auditorium, Vijayanagar, in south Bengaluru.

Goyal also used the occasion to blast the Congress government in Karnataka as there was a power outage for four times in one hour during his speech.

"I think the Congress has no right to continue in power in Karnataka. If the government fails to ensure uninterrupted power supply at a Union Minister's programme, why should the Congress continue in power? It is a shame on the state government," he said.

Elaborating on the welfare programmes and reforms launched by Prime Minister Modi, Goyal said not a single corruption case was reported against the Union Ministers in the last three years.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has become more popular after demonetisation of high value currency notes. He has been working day and night for welfare of the people. He has not taken a single day leave in three years," he said.
Paris, June 6 : A man was shot and injured after he reportedly attacked a police officer with a hammer at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Tuesday.

Police warned people to stay away from the French landmark, on the Ile de Cite island on the River Seine, via Twitter message.

The officer was injured during the assault and the attacker was shot by his colleagues, The Sun reported.

The area in front of the Cathedral was sealed off, with French TV reporting that tourists were fleeing the scene.

A journalist with channel Europe 1 said an attacker lunged at an officer with a hammer.

Texan tourist Amanda Beasley said: "Just witnessed a shooting on the square in front of the Notre Dame.

"We ran for cover and were able to escape unharmed. We are all safe. One attacker was shot and the police are still trying to locate others."
Kolkata, June 6 : The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a charge sheet in a special court here against two residents of West Bengal's Malda district for "smuggling and circulation" of Fake Indian Currency Notes of Rs 2,000 denominations from Bangladesh, an NIA press release said.

The charge sheet was filed on June 2 against Habibur Rahaman and Fakirul S. who were arrested in front of the Hotel Shine in Malda with FICN of the face value of Rs. 3.9 lakh in Rs 2,000 denominations the release said.

According to NIA, the two accused admitted they procured the seized FICNs from their counterpart in Bangladesh who threw the consignment over the India-Bangladesh International Border Security Fence (IBSF) to the Indian side.

The case was initially registered with Malda's English Bazar police station on March 3 following the arrest of the two accused.

NIA re-registered the FIR on March 28 after taking charge of the case under the instruction of Union Home Ministry.
London, June 6 : More than 130 imams in Britain refused to offer Islamic burials to the three London Bridge attackers who killed seven people and wounded 50 others.

"We will not perform the traditional Islamic funeral prayer for the perpetrators and we also urge fellow imams and religious authorities to withdraw such a privilege," the Muslim leaders said on Monday in a statement posted on the social media.

The statement added: "This is because such indefensible actions are completely at odds with the lofty teachings of Islam."

Religious leaders of all backgrounds condemned the attack which killed seven and injured 47 on Saturday evening when three men rammed a rental van into pedestrians on London Bridge and then randomly stabbed revellers near Borough Market.

A panel of speakers at the East London Mosque said they would work to combat extremists' "twisted narrative and their perversion" of religion, the Independent reported.

"Once again we come together, to stand united against those who try to divide us," said the Chairman of East London Mosque and London Muslim Centre, Muhammad Habibur-Rahman.

"The cold-blooded murder of innocent people in London on Saturday evening will not succeed in driving us apart."

Worshippers at a mosque attended by one of the attackers condemned the "evil" atrocity as investigations continued into their background and links.

Police named all the three attackers as Pakistan-born Briton Khuram Butt (27), Moroccan-Libyan pastry chef Rachid Redouane (30) and Youssef Zaghba, a 22-year-old Italian national of Moroccan descent.

Leaders of the Jabir Bin Zayd Islamic Centre in Barking, a few minutes walk from attacker Butt's family home in London, said their thoughts and prayers were with the victims and their families.

A man coming out of prayers from a local mosque said he hoped the local Muslim community would not be demonised in Britain.

"They [attackers] are deranged, mentally disturbed."

Another worshipper leaving the mosque said the terrorists were "not Muslims".

The sentiment was echoed by Prime Minister Theresa May on Sunday morning, who said the terrorists were "perverting the truth" of Islam.
New Delhi, June 6 : India-based airlines on Tuesday said their operations to Doha have not been impacted by the imposition of airspace restrictions on flights to and from Qatar. However, services to the Gulf country will take longer as some routes have been altered.

The air space restrictions follow the decision by some Middle East states to sever diplomatic ties with Qatar over its alleged links to terrorists.

"No disruption of AI service to and from Doha," an Air India official said on Tuesday.

Currently, three airlines -- Jet Airways, IndiGo and Air India Express -- operate flights from several destinations in India to Doha. The spokespersons of Jet Airways and IndiGo have confirmed that their flight operations have also not been impacted.

However, the flights will get longer as routes have been altered to avoid the airspace restrictions.

"Our operations to Doha from India have not been impacted. However, due to airspace restrictions our flight path have been altered which will have a bearing on the operating time," an official with a private airline told IANS.

According to him, flights would now overfly Pakistan and Iran to reach Qatar.

On its part, Qatar Airways said that it has suspended all flights to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kingdom of Bahrain and Egypt until further notice.

"All customers booked on affected flights will be provided with alternative options, including the option of a full refund on any unused tickets and free rebooking to the nearest alternative Qatar Airways network destination," the airline said in a statement.
New Delhi, June 6 : Senior Congress leader and MP from Chhindwara Kamal Nath on Tuesday blamed Madhya Pradesh government for the killing of five farmers in Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh.

Farmers' agitation would spell the start of the end of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led government in the state, Nath said.

"The sacrifice of farmers will not go a waste. Our party fully supports their demands," said the nine-time MP from Chhindwara in the state.

"The state government is killing farmers who are fighting for their rights," he added.

Nath said: "The farmers' agitation has started the process of dislodging of the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government in the state."

Five farmers were killed and several others injured on Tuesday in Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh as police opened fire on peasants, who indulged in violence and stone-pelting on police.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan ordered a judicial probe into the incident after holding a meeting with senior civil and police officers. Mandsaur city and Piplya Mandi area were put under curfew after the violence.
New Delhi, June 6 : Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi may on Wednesday visit Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur, where at least five farmers were killed in police firing, said party sources.

Five farmers were killed and several others injured on Tuesday in Mandsaur as police opened fire on peasants, who indulged in violence and stone-pelting.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan ordered a judicial probe into the incident even as Mandsaur city and Piplya Mandi area were put under curfew after the violence.
Islamabad, June 7 : A young Hindu girl was allegedly kidnapped from a village in Tharparkar district of Pakistan on Tuesday.

The parents and relatives of the girl told media that the kidnappers took away 16-year-old Ravita Meghwar after giving sleeping pills to her 15 family members in Varayno village near Nagarparkar area, Dawn reported.

Some of the girl's family members, including her father and mother were admitted to a rural health centre in Islamkot in an unconscious state.

Haqu, the girl's mother and father Satram Das alleged that their daughter was kidnapped by influential members from the Syed community and expressed the fear that Ravita might be forcibly married to Syed Nawaz Ali Shah, who according to them, used to tease her.

Joint police teams from Tharparkar and Umerkot districts raided various villages to trace the girl, but to no avail.
Washington, June 7 : US President Donald Trump has claimed credit for the pressure being placed on Qatar by Gulf neighbours who accuse it of supporting terrorism in the region.

He said his recent visit to Saudi Arabia was "already paying off" and the development might mark the "beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism," BBC reported.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, Yemen, Libya's eastern-based government and the Maldives have all cut diplomatic and other ties with Qatar.

Qatar strongly denies the allegations.

Trump's recent speech in the capital Riyadh, in which he blamed Iran for instability in the Middle East and urged Muslim countries to take the lead in combating radicalisation, is seen as likely to have emboldened Gulf allies to act against Qatar.

"During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar - look!" Trump tweeted on Tuesday.

He later tweeted: "So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding... extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!"

Qatar is home to the biggest US military air base in the Middle East, with about 8,000 personnel based at al-Udeid.

The official statement from White House spokesman Sean Spicer said the US was in communication with all parties "to resolve issues and restore co-operation".

"The US still wants to see this issue de-escalated and resolved immediately, in keeping with the principles that the president laid out in terms of defeating terror financing and extremism," he said.

In the same week as Mr Trump's Riyadh speech, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE blocked Qatari news sites, including Al Jazeera.

On Monday, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE gave Qatari nationals two weeks to leave, banned their own citizens from travelling to Qatar, and cut all transport links.

Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said on Tuesday that the economic measures should persuade Qatar to change its policies and behave "like a normal country".

Speaking in Paris, he called on Qatar's rulers to end their support for the Muslim Brotherhood, the Palestinian militant group Hamas and what he called "hostile media".

"We believe that common sense and logic and will convince Qatar to take the right steps," he said.

The emir of Kuwait - one of the Gulf countries not involved in the dispute - travelled to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday in an attempt to mediate. He later left after a "brotherly visit" but there was no word on the outcome of the talks.

Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman al-Thani told Al Jazeera that his country would not retaliate but was unhappy with regional rivals "trying to impose their will on Qatar or intervene in its internal affairs".

He told the BBC that Qatar was well prepared to withstand a "blockade", but also complained that the people of Qatar were the victims of "collective punishment" by other countries.

The Foreign Minister said his government had told President Trump during his Middle-East trip that there was no evidence that Qatar was supporting radical Islamists, adding that the claims were based on "fabricated evidence and lies".
Anthony Cirillo is your host for The Caregiver Smile Cruise No matter what stage of the caregiving journey you are on, our experts will help you understand and navigate the issues ahead. This is a great opportunity to discuss important issues in a relaxed, supportive atmosphere that is not crisis driven.

Next January 13, a cruise will depart to the Caribbean from Ft. Lauderdale that will provide an opportunity for caregivers of all types to gain knowledge, create new friendships, and deepen relationships with other family members and older loved ones.

Anthony Cirillo, FACHE, will host the Caregiver Smile Cruise. He is a health and aging expert, an executive board member of the Dementia Action Alliance and president of The Aging Experience. He is also a former caregiver to his mom who passed last year at 94. A professional speaker, he fell into a mission for elders when he started entertaining in long-term care. He is passionate about older folks and helping people prepare for aging sooner in life so that they can rock it in their older years.

If you are an experienced family caregiver, a new caregiver, or someone just noticing that a loved one might start needing extra care, our experts will help you understand and navigate the issues ahead, says Cirillo. He adds this is a great opportunity to discuss important issues in a relaxed, supportive atmosphere that is not crisis driven.

Kathy Shoaf, RN, an Accessible Travel Advocate and owner of Elite Cruises and Vacations, LLC is Anthonys co-host. Anthony has assembled a great faculty who will cover important topics across the aging continuum. Any caregiver, not just dementia caregivers, will benefit. Everyone will learn something about how to prepare for their own aging too. And it provides a great setting for families to get together, have fun and discuss important issues.

There are 66 million family caregivers in the U.S. alone. Seventy-percent are women; 25 percent are Millennials. Six out of ten caregivers are in the workforce and forty percent of caregivers report some type of mental exhaustion or depression. Chances are you know someone who can benefit from this cruise.

People can help by starting a funding campaign for a deserving individual or couple. Hospitals and other health providers can honor caregivers too through events that culminate in a heroic caregiver being awarded a cruise. Interested sponsors can contact Anthony about opportunities to support caregivers as well at 704-992-6005 or ac(at)theagingexperience(dot)com

Our faculty includes:



Robert Bowles, retired pharmacist turned dementia advocate, he was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia six years ago.

Tara C. Bradley, MACP, a Geriatric Care Manager and Consultant at Bradley Consulting, LLC.

Walter Coffey, MPA, MA, MCM, CAE, Eden Educator, Gerontologist and the President & CEO of LeadingAge Georgia, the Georgia Institute on Aging and the Center for Positive Aging.

Michael Seibert, CLU,ChFC,CAP,LUTCF, Senior Partner at 1847Financial and a Wealth Building Cornerstones National Trainer.

G. David Sprowl, MPA, Eden Educator and the Executive Director of Lutheran Towers, a 203 unit high-rise affordable housing community located in the heart of Midtown Atlanta.

Wendy Witt, JD, the founder of a Million Families.org, a charitable enterprise focused on helping families with estate planning.

A complete list of educational sessions can be found at: http://www.theagingexperience.com/caregivercruise/educationsessions/

The cruise will travel to Half Moon Cay, the Bahamas; Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands; Amber Cove, Dominican Republic; Bonaire, Netherlands; Curacao, Netherlands and Oranjestad, Aruba.

Book your cruise through Kathy Shoaf who can be reached at 219-608-2002 or by email at kathy.shoaf(at)cruiseplanners(dot)com. Complete cruise information can be found at http://www.theagingexperience.com/caregivercruise.
Robert Banker | Director of SMARTtill Technology Sales Key factors for me are the strong and positive culture of the company and the collaborative approach that they take within the organization.

APG Cash Drawer, a fast-growing global manufacturer of cash management solutions, announced today the addition of Robert Banker to the position of Director of SMARTtill Technology Sales. In his role, Robert will lead the US sales and strategy around the innovative new SMARTtill Solution to retailers throughout the United States.

I am very excited to be joining APG to help lead the end-user sales efforts around the innovative SMARTtill Technology, stated Robert. Key factors for me are the strong and positive culture of the company and the collaborative approach that they take within the organization. The value proposition for the solution is very strong and the current European customers are extremely happy. I am looking forward to helping bring this solution to the US marketplace to help retailers improve operational performance and reduce shrink.

We are excited to have Robert onboard as we continuously drive the integration of our newest product innovation into the marketplace, stated Mark Olson, President and CEO of APG. The sales process for the SMARTtill Solution requires a multifaceted approach, and Roberts experience and expertise in the sale of technology solutions to the retail industry will ultimately yield more positive results for APGs partners.

Based in the Boston area, Robert Banker is a retail technology veteran with extensive experience in solution sales of retail technologies. Prior to joining APG, Robert led the sales efforts around a variety of software solutions for companies including Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions, IBM and Tyco Retail Solutions. These solutions included Semi-Integrated Payments, Promotions and Loyalty, Omni-channel Point of Sale, and Loss Prevention Analytics. Throughout his career, Robert has been partnering with retailers across the country to help them solve critical business issues.

About APG Cash Drawer, LLC  APG Cash Drawer, with over 39 years of experience, manufactures a wide range of highly durable and reliable cash drawers that are delivered quickly to the marketplace. APG has built a reputation as the supplier of choice for cash management solutions for retail, grocery, hospitality, and quick serve for thousands of customers throughout the world. Whether its our general application cash drawer, custom designed solutions, or the SMARTtill Intelligent Cash Drawer, our products and brand are differentiated by our ability to deliver innovative technologies that globally enhance efficiency and security at the point of sale. To learn more about our products, visit http://www.cashdrawer.com or call 763-571-5000. Follow us on Twitter at @apgcashdrawer and on Facebook.
Matthew B. Wheeley, Board Certified Workers' Compensation Attorney

The Tampa Bay law firm of Carlson, Meissner, Hart & Hayslett, P.A. is pleased to announce Board Certified workers compensation attorney Matthew B. Wheeley has joined its team.

A Florida native, Wheeley was born in Haines City and grew up in Clearwater. He received his Bachelors Degree from the University of South Florida and completed his Juris Doctorate at the University of Florida. Prior to this new position, Wheeley worked for Barbas, Nunez, Koenig & Wheeley, the State Attorney's Office in the Sixth Judicial Circuit and the law firm of Morgan & Morgan. In addition, Wheeley was an adjunct professor at St. Petersburg Junior College. He currently practices in the areas of Social Security disability, workers compensation and personal injury law.

We are thrilled to welcome attorney Matthew Wheeley to our firm, said Paul A. Meissner, Jr., co-founder of Carlson, Meissner, Hart & Hayslett, P.A. We admire his work and are confident he will help us continue to bring justice to our clients.

Wheeley is Florida Bar Board Certified in workers compensation. He is also a member of The Florida Bar, Florida Workers Advocates and the United States Supreme Court. He has previously been recognized as one of the Best Lawyers in America (2008-2009) and as a Florida Super Lawyer (2009). He and his wife Dianna currently live in Tampa with their two dogs. They have three grown children.

Since 1971, Carlson, Meissner, Hart & Hayslett has served clients in cases involving personal injuries and accidents, criminal defense, DUI defense, workers compensation, social security, disability, family law and immigration. The firm serves clients in multiple offices throughout the Tampa Bay area, and believes in every persons right to strong, fair and honest legal representation. For a free initial consultation and case review, please call (877) 728-9653 or visit CarlsonMeissner.com
Christine LeBec, PhD Head of Analytical Development, Genethon

As part of the Beckman Coulter Life Sciences Virtual Trade Show Virtual Event, the latest in analytical methods to measure AAV particles will be discussed in a new webinar. Several examples of AAV vectors analysis will be presented, showing that AUC could be implemented as a routine test to monitor AAV product quality and manufacturing consistency.

As gene therapy approaches usually require large amounts of AAV vectors for clinical use, few manufacturing processes have been reported to provide high titer and potent quantities of products. The dose control of AAV vectors is commonly established on titration methods relying either on the quantitation of DNA or transgene expression following cell transduction.

Different indirect methods can be used to establish the ratio between full and empty AAV particles. The quantification of full capsids is performed by using qPCR based technology. The total particles can be evaluated by an ELISA assay, spectrometric analysis, ion-exchange chromatography or SDS-PAGE.

However, these methods have limitations and are not applicable to all serotypes without performing a new development. This webinar will explore those limitations, as well as methods to quantify simultaneously empty and full AAV particles as well as intermediate species containing fragmented or incomplete vector genome.

The team at Beckman Coulter Life Sciences has arranged for Dr. Christine Le Bec, head of analytical development at Genethon, to be the speaker for this webinar.

Prior to joining Genethon, Le Bec obtained her doctorate in bio-organic chemistry from the Pierre and Marie Curie University. She joined Genethon in 1997 and currently heads the analytical development department. She is responsible for developing bioassays and setting up advanced analytical tools used for characterization and in release, in-process testing of gene therapy products at early stage development.

LabRoots will host the webinar June 28, 2017, beginning at 7:00 a.m. PDT, 10 a.m. EDT. To read more about this event or to register for free, click here.

About Beckman Coulter

Beckman Coulter serves customers in two segments: Diagnostics and Life Sciences. The company develops, manufactures, and markets products that simplify, automate, and innovate complex biomedical testing. More than 275,000 Beckman Coulter systems operate in both Diagnostics and Life Sciences laboratories on seven continents. Scientists use Beckman Coulters Life Science research instruments to study complex biological problems, including causes of disease and potential new therapies or drugs.

About LabRoots

LabRoots is the leading scientific social networking website, which provides daily scientific trending news and science-themed apparel, as well as produces educational virtual events and webinars, on the latest discoveries and advancements in science. Contributing to the advancement of science through content sharing capabilities, LabRoots is a powerful advocate in amplifying global networks and communities. Founded in 2008, LabRoots emphasizes digital innovation in scientific collaboration and learning, and is a primary source for current scientific news, webinars, virtual conferences, and more. LabRoots has grown into the worlds largest series of virtual events within the Life Sciences and Clinical Diagnostics community.
The New HR Imperative: Leading for Growth Business is crying out for HR to play a driving role in shaping the future, putting people at the heart of the strategic discussion. HR and Marketing should be working together to build the capabilities needed for growth." -Jill Hughes, Brand Learning

It is increasingly recognised that business growth is powered by delivering exceptional customer experiences, with people at the heart of creating those experiences. Yet a new report led by Brand Learning reveals that in many businesses the customer and people agendas are not connected, with fewer than 30% of businesses involving HR in the development of the customer experience strategy.

The new global study by Brand Learning, the global expert capability consultancy, surveyed nearly 250 leaders and employees on their experiences and the role of HR, including Chief HR Officers and HR Directors who contributed their insights to the report, The New HR Imperative: Leading for Growth. Interviews with leaders from organisations including Unilever, GSK, Colgate, MetLife, Diageo, PepsiCo, EasyJet and BUPA revealed a growing acknowledgement of the capability gap that is holding HR back. HR leaders recognise that if the people experience is lacking, it is harder to deliver a great customer experience. Yet many HR teams are not increasing their impact quickly or sufficiently.

The report, finds that HR has a unique opportunity to drive greater impact in organisations, connecting with the business growth agenda like never before. It outlines four key areas in which HR can add greater value:



Understanding  rooting strategic and operational HR guidance in insight

Simplicity  driving a coherent, streamlined employee experience with a clear sense of what the business stands for

Energy  unlocking the talents of people, enabling them to flourish and maximise their contribution

Advocacy  helping people to believe in the business and act as ambassadors of the brand

Addressing these areas would enable HR to keep pace with the changing needs of business. At present over 50% of survey respondents think HR in their organisation could do more to meet the changing needs of the business. Doug Baillie, leading HR influencer and former Chief HR Officer, Unilever says HR needs to lay the road in front, not follow filling in the cracks in the road.

In reframing the role of HR in the organisation, the report finds that new capabilities drawn from the Marketing function can empower HR to drive a closer relationship between people and the business.

Jill Hughes, Managing Director, Specialist Business Unit at Brand Learning states Business is crying out for HR to play a more driving role in shaping the future, putting people at the heart of the strategic discussion. HR and Marketing should be working together to build the capabilities that are needed for growth, enabling HR to build exceptional people experiences that will drive competitive edge and growth.

The report, published by Brand Learning on 5th June is available here: http://www.brandlearning.com/growth-drivers/latest-research/the-new-hr-imperative-leading-for-growth/

ENDS

For further information, contact:

Sarah Jones, Brand Director

sarah.jones(at)brandlearning(dot)com

tel. + 44 (0) 208 614 8150 or +44 (0) 7500 011 410

Notes to Editors

About the research

The report The New HR Imperative: Leading for Growth is available on request.

The research surveyed more than 250 people comprising 2% C-Suite, 11% VP/Director level, 26% Managers and 56% other employees. 52% respondents were employed in large organisations, with 44% employed in small or medium sized enterprises.

Qualitative in-depth interviews were conducted with HR leaders in senior roles at the following organisations: Unilever, RBS, Cook, GSK, MetLife, EasyJet, Gerdau, M&S, LVMH, Bunge, ADP, BUPA, Ideal Standard, Starbucks, Diageo, Affinity, Pymetrics, Colgate, Associated British Foods, MediaCorp, Tesco, PepsiCo, Walgreens Boots Alliance, and Sainsburys.

Previous Brand Learning research includes the Growth Drivers Study which surveyed over 900 global business leaders, as well as interviews with 70 CEOs and senior executives, to identify the new practices driving growth among the worlds leading organisations.

About Brand Learning

Brand Learning is a global capability development consultancy, based in London, New York and Singapore. It works with over 160 leading organisations (including Shell, Unilever, Diageo, PepsiCo, AstraZeneca and GSK) in more than 60 countries to inspire and build their capabilities to deliver customer-centred growth. By equipping organisations to be more customer-centred across teams and remits, and to achieve deep functional excellence in Marketing, Sales, Digital, Leadership and HR, it enables them to achieve their growth goals.

The company is privately owned. Its co-founders are two ex Unilever/PepsiCo VP Marketing executives  Mhairi McEwan (Group CEO) and Andy Bird (Executive Director).

Brand Learning has been awarded on multiple occasions for their work with leading organisations including the 2016 Marketing Society Excellence Award for Building Marketing Capabilities, a silver Brandon Hall Award for Learning Excellence in 2014. They have also been recognised for their achievements as a great place to work including twelfth place in the UKs Best Workplace Awards 2016 (medium sized business category).

http://www.brandlearning.com
This morphological watershed segmentation appears in the article on http://hdl.handle.net/1926/202. (Insight Journal/Richard Beare and Gaetan Lehmannin) With Python bindings, developers can use all ITK functions in Python.

Kitware issued links to the 4.12 release of the Insight Segmentation and Registration Toolkit (ITK) on the ITK website. Python wheel packages served as a pillar of the release. With Python bindings, developers can use all ITK functions in Python.

Accessible computational methods enable researchers to reproduce advanced algorithms and apply them to novel domains, said Matthew McCormick, a principal engineer at Kitware and a developer of ITK. Wheel packages can be quickly installed, and the Python programming language can be picked up without formal computer science training.

Filters formed another cornerstone of the release. They furnished ITK with algorithms that improve the robustness and accuracy of image segmentation. The MorphologicalWatershed filter, for example, uses concepts from geophysics to section images. Two other filters calculate strain tensors on tissue. In May, McCormick wrote an article on these filters in the Insight Journal.

Advanced, high-performance, N-dimensional algorithms are hallmarks of ITK, McCormick said. New filters for segmentation and registration complement the existing library well.

Filter maintenance allowed ITK to display histograms of measurements more rapidly and to model shapes through principal component analysis with less memory consumption. In addition, the 4.12 release established more support for Microsoft Visual Studio, Clang and the GNU Compiler Collection. Code coverage also climbed to surpass the record that version 4.11 set. Kitware summarized code coverage and other aspects of the 4.12 release on its blog.

The company played an instrumental role in the launch of ITK in 1999. Kitware now leads the development of the toolkit and its documentation, which includes The ITK Software Guide book series. Kitware worked with the ITK community to amend the series for the 4.12 release. To learn more, please contact kitware(at)kitware(dot)com.

While the material discussed here is part of a community effort, at Kitware, this material is based upon work funded, in whole, by a $241,323 award from the National Library of Medicine.

About Kitware

Kitware is an advanced technology, research and open-source solutions provider for research facilities, government institutions and corporations worldwide. Founded in 1998, Kitware specializes in research and development in the areas of HPC and visualization, medical imaging, computer vision, data and analytics and quality software process. Among its services, Kitware offers consulting and support for high-quality software solutions. Kitware is headquartered in Clifton Park, NY, with offices in Carrboro, NC; Santa Fe, NM; and Lyon, France. More information can be found on kitware.com.
As is true with many homes in this area, the Vida Isla is not only a beautiful residence, but will likely be a good investment

RE/MAX Real Estate Group Turks and Caicos Islands has arranged the sale of a luxury canal-front home located within Providenciales prestigious Leeward neighborhood. Named Vida Isla (meaning Island Life), the house has six bedrooms, five bathrooms and 6,000 square feet of living space, and sits on a .6 acre corner lot. The home was listed for USD $2,495,000.

The Leeward neighborhood, where this home is located, is a very upscale, gated community on the eastern end of Providenciales, notes Blair MacPherson, broker and co-owner of RE/MAX Real Estate Group Turks & Caicos Islands. Leeward real estate is in high demand right now, and is proving over and over again to be a good investment.

Built in 2005, the Vida Isla has a fully-enclosed garage, self-contained staff quarters, and a second level guest suite. The home has over 240 linear feet of brilliant water frontage and a 40-foot custom dock with a 10,000 lb. hurricane boat lift. The custom seawall incorporates steps down to the ocean waters, with easy access to water activities such as paddle boarding, sea kayaking, and snorkeling.

Were very pleased to have facilitated the sale of the Vida Isla, MacPherson says. As is true with many homes in this area, the Vida Isla is not only a beautiful residence, but will likely be a good investment. This is not only due to rising home values, but also because of the demand for vacation rentals. Renting this home out even just part of the year has the potential of generating a lucrative ROI.

To learn more about Turks and Caicos real estate opportunities, please contact Blair MacPherson by phone at 1-800-941-0465 or 1-649-432-5677, or by email at blair(at)blairmacpherson(dot)com. RE/MAX Real Estate Group Turks & Caicos Islands specializes in luxury Turks and Caicos real estate sales, and is a member of the Turks and Caicos Real Estate Association (TCREA).

About RE/MAX Real Estate Group Turks & Caicos Islands:

The RE/MAX Real Estate Group Turks & Caicos offers unique, luxury real estate opportunities on the islands that are home to Grace Bay Beach, which has been named one of the world's best beaches numerous times. With breathtaking views, world-class spas and resorts, fine dining, local culture, and the awe-inspiring coral reefs, the Turks and Caicos Islands offer unique investment opportunities in that they are located in a tax-free jurisdiction. For more information, please visit http://www.remax-realestategroup-tci.com.
In the National Leadership Academies video series Ivy League students talk straight with Americas best and brightest high school students to give them a realistic idea of what lies ahead. The fourth interview has been released on the Academy YouTube page.

Princeton students and award-winning aspiring medical scientist, Janelle Tam has teamed up with the National Leadership Academies to provide current high school students an exclusive look at how Ivy League university students have accomplished their goals to date and what students can do to achieve their ambitions.

Janelle Tam is the winner of the 2012 Sanofi BioGENEius Challenge of Canada. She is currently a senior at Princeton University, where she is majoring in molecular biology with a certificate in global health and health policy. Tam is a speaker to and mentor for students at the Congress of Future Medical Leaders, held outside Boston, Massachusetts. The Congress of Future Medical Leaders is an annual gathering of the nations best and brightest future medical leaders who possess leadership potential and a desire to contribute as a physician or medical scientist.

The colleagues Tam interviews in this series offer todays high-achieving students unfiltered guidance, advice and stories of personal experiences in overcoming failure, handling the stressful college admissions process and remaining successful.

In the interview series, Tam dives into several Princeton students lives within different majors and various graduation years. The diversity of these interviews ensures that leading students, no matter what their desired careers are privy to privileged information to help them succeed. As of today, students have seen interviews with a current medical student enrolled in an Ivy League M.D./Ph.D. program, a filmmaker and a former Olympian.

In the fourth video of the series, Tam sits down with Andrew Ng, a rising senior at Princeton with experience in a student-run venture capital firm, Dorm Room Fund. The two talk about how his passion for chess evolved into a passion for startups and how hed like to help the education field in the future.

Ng gives students a look into how he personally handled setbacks from starting his own company and taking time off of school, I really want to put myself through a bunch of experiences so that down the road, when I start something again, hopefully in the realm of education, I would have all these experiences to draw from, Ng said.

The National Leadership Academies support Americas high-achieving high school students through career and focus-area programs and services. By creating the National Academy of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists and the National Academy of Future Scientists and Technologists, the National Leadership Academies are positioned to support students with the skills, motivation, guidance and mentorship they need to stay on track to achieve their goals.
The Iron Cactus San Antonio Riverwalk has joined the Texas Sponsor A Highway Program!

Texas Sponsor A Highway (TSAH) is pleased to announce that the first sponsorship signs have officially been installed in San Antonio! TSAH is proud to be partnered with so many local businesses and organizations in San Antonio, as well as other major metropolitan areas throughout Texas.

Businesses that were first to join the program in San Antonio include: Kidd Roofing, Buyers Barricades Inc., Continental Tire the Americas LLC, Iron Cactus, Belfor Property Restoration, Cavenders, Higdon, Hardy & Zuflacht LLP Family Law, Prestige Emergency Room, C4 Construction Services, PAX Financial Group, and Simmonds Real Estate.

Texas Sponsor A Highway is a new statewide program that gives businesses and organizations the opportunity to sponsor highway maintenance and litter removal in the Austin, Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth and San Antonio areas. Each city has its own unique opportunities and sponsorships are available on a first-come first-served basis. The business climate in these areas is booming and now is the time to select your prime locations before they are no longer available.

Benefits of the program include: exclusivity, enormous reach, brand awareness, 24/7 exposure, and positive community relations. Texas Sponsor A Highway is one of the only ways to put a company's name and logo on some of the busiest highways in Texas. A business or organization will reach up to 50 million cars per year, building its brand through frequency and visibility. The program is cost-effective, and each business will gain positive exposure for its commitment to the community by keeping Texas roadways safe and looking beautiful.

With the help of local businesses and organizations, the Texas Sponsor A Highway Program has been serving its local communities with litter removal & highway maintenance along some of the states busiest highways since 2015.

For information about available areas and roadways, please contact Romeo Perez.

Phone: 512-351-3022

Email: Romeo(at)adoptahighway(dot)com
Businesses thrive on identifying problems and then taking massive action to solve them.

Service First - Who is Dogwood?

Its been said that change is the only constant. Jason Smith, founder and President of Dogwood Ltd., agrees. His organization has risen quietly over the last 10 years, weathering numerous industry changes and the economic challenges of 2008, to stand at the forefront of the commercial renovation and contracting sector, steadily crafting a new vision for the role of a contracting company.

From small-town beginnings to a nation-wide presence, Dogwood is leading a wave of change that is re-creating the way commercial contracting gets done. Industry titans like Apple, Best Buy, Indigo/Chapters, Shell, McDonalds and Starbucks are re-envisioning their approach to managing facility maintenance, and have partnered with Dogwood to access the companys service first partnership approach to business.

Different Spaces at Different Paces

Executing on an ambitious growth strategy, Dogwood has opened branches Canada wide across the past decade. While steady, incremental growth like this is fundamentally good for an organization, it also presents many challenges and sheds light on the spaces where a market is being under-serviced.

The Central Canadian Provinces have historically received a lower than average level of Service quality in the commercial maintenance and renovations sector. This makes it more challenging for them to establish the kind of long term relationships with contractors that builds trust and facilitates a more productive and mutually beneficial kind of business arrangement. After identifying this gap, Dogwood has taken action to bridge the divide between East and West by opening a new branch in the City of Winnipeg, with a focus on bringing the same levels of excellence traditionally reserved for major East or West Coast hubs to the Central regions.

Weve actually had people working in Manitoba for years, says Jason Smith, Dogwoods CEO and founder, and I think its become clear that the whole province is being short-changed overall, particularly in some of the outlying regions, when it comes to getting the same high level of service that places like Vancouver or Toronto are used to seeing. Thats been one reason for Dogwoods success in the region  our teams really stepped up to the plate when it comes to taking care of brands and business there.

Vision and Mission

The launch of a new branch location is a good indicator of a companys motivations, stability and direction. For Dogwoods leadership team, launching a Winnipeg branch is a manifestation of their Vision  committed to building life-time clients through service, accountability, innovation, quality and sustainability.

Nikko Ruffini, Dogwoods Brand Manager reflects on this principle I dont think theres any doubt that for most organizations, a Vision Statement is nothing more than a well-polished but unused sentence that sits on a boardroom wall. We dont do that. For us, it represents the spirit of what we do. Investing in new branch locations is a great example of this Vision translating into reality; its a costly undertaking, but one thats absolutely necessary for delivering our promise to the market and the people we serve.

Businesses thrive on identifying problems and then taking massive action to solve them.

When we hear frustrations about businesses not being taken care of by their contractors, its a good indicator that theres a problem and an opportunity to make it right. Says Smith, So it made a lot of sense to take action and open a formal branch location in Winnipeg. Its very important to us that the people we partner with, our customers, can sleep easy at night knowing that theyre in good hands no matter where there store locations are in Canada. Our brand is built on putting Service first; thats our Vision. And it was the driving factor behind this decision.

Visit us at http://www.dogwoodltd.ca to learn more
I am so pleased and honored to be part of a great new season for HLD as it continues to inspire and educate with the intention of overcoming the stereotype of what it is to be disabled.

MCN Healthcare is pleased to announce the appointment of MCN President and Co-Founder, Amanda Valeur, to The Latsky Dance, Inc. DBA Heidi Latsky Dance (HLD) Company of New York Citys Board of Directors. Valeurs appointment officially began last month.

I am so pleased and honored to be part of a great new season for HLD as it continues to inspire and educate with the intention of overcoming the stereotype of what it is to be disabled," said Valeur. As an advocate for better healthcare for our families and communities, I applaud the dancers of HLD for serving as role models for anyone who faces adversities with their health or physical being. They are redefining what it means to be disabled.

HLD is a New York-based modern dance company dedicated to redefining beauty and virtuosity through provocative and innovative performance and discourse, using performers with unique attributes to bring rigorous, passionate and provocative contemporary dance to diverse audiences.

In addition to Valeurs recently appointed Board of Directors role, she and Pamela Gustafson-Kirkwood, Executive Vice President and Co-Founder, celebrated the 30th Anniversary for MCN Healthcare this year. MCN is the leading provider of custom policy content, document management software, and compliance expertise for healthcare providers.

Valeur and Gustafson-Kirkwood also devote their time to expanding healthcare knowledge through the More Care Now Foundation, an organization they founded, which is dedicated to increasing patient care and safety through web-based healthcare education, skills building and entrepreneurial endeavors in order to promote and maintain the health of families and communities. Through the MCN Foundation, the Co-Founders work to explore ways to support and address the multifaceted healthcare needs confronting developing nations around the globe.

About Heidi Latsky Dance

The mission of Heidi Latsky Dance (HLD) is to redefine beauty and virtuosity through performance and discourse, using performers with unique attributes to bring rigorous, passionate and provocative contemporary dance to diverse audiences.

ON DISPLAY, the world-wide movement installation first premiered as ON DISPLAY by Heidi Latsky Dance (HLD) at Lincoln Center October 1, 2015 and will be performed this June in Athens, Greece. HLD is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization with a mission to create an invigorating worldwide network of diverse individuals who proudly exhibit who they are. Through replicas of ON DISPLAY and internet interaction on social media we will unify and change the experience of being on display. As we collectively take back what it means to be stared at or to engage with an unexpected body, we collectively shift the perception of beauty. http://www.heidilatskydance.com

About MCN Healthcare

MCN Healthcare (MCN) is an innovative provider of the most comprehensive healthcare document management solution developed by regulatory compliance, clinical, and education experts. The compliance suite includes document management software; customizable policy, procedure, and form templates; email regulatory notifications; and a proprietary learning management system with content. Developed specifically for healthcare professionals to maintain up-to-date regulatory compliance, MCN serves more than 1 million end users globally. This clinician-founded, clinician-led, and technology-driven company celebrates its 30th Anniversary with continuous growth and ongoing global outreach to underserved communities. Learn more at http://www.mcnhealthcare.com or call 1.800.538.6264.
4SIGHT Supply Chain Group, a leading supply chain consulting, engineering and IT services provider, today announced they have been named one of Inc. magazines Best Workplaces for 2017, the publications second annual ranking in the fast-growing private company sector.

The list is the result of a wide-ranging and comprehensive measurement of private American companies who have created exceptional workplaces through business culture, deep employee engagement, and all-inclusive benefits. Out of thousands of applicants, 4SIGHT was one of just over 200 winning companies selected.

Inc.s Best Workplaces list is a magnifying glass on how innovative companies can truly raise the bar in hiring and retaining the best talent. This best workplace recognition was built in partnership with work culture experts from Quantum Workplace out of Omaha, Nebraska.

Im personally very proud of this recognition for it speaks volumes about our company and our people. Its gratifying to know our employees enjoy working here, said Frank Camean, president and chief executive officer of 4SIGHT. I have always believed that a strong company culture doesnt happen on its own, nor does it happen overnight. Its a long embodiment of work thats inclusive of world-class benefits, premium compensation, transparency, overall profitability, trusted & respected colleagues, and a philosophical sense of privilege, the belief that there is a larger common goal, to be part of a larger purpose, and everyone is committed to it. Im honored to see our team recognizes and appreciates what weve built here.

The 2017 Inc. Best Workplaces Awards assessed applicants on the basis of benefits offered and employees responses to a unique, 30-question survey fielded by each of the applying companies. Responses were evaluated by the research team at Quantum Workplace. For its results to qualify, each company had to achieve a statistically significant response rate based on employee count. Survey scores account for employer size to level the playing field between small and large businesses. All companies had to have minimum of 10 employees and to be U.S.-based, privately held, and independent  that is, not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies.

By introducing an employee survey into this years Best Workplaces selection process, weve really raised the bar, said Eric Schurenberg, president and editor in chief of Inc. magazine. "Companies that dont score at the very top of their peer group dont make the cut. So, our hats are off to the winners. They all excelled at engaging their workers, making them feel appreciated, and aligning them behind a mission. And remember, thats not just our opinion: The employees told us that themselves.



About 4SIGHT Supply Chain Group

4SIGHT specializes in supply chain consulting, engineering and information technology. Our seasoned professionals average more than 19 years of experience helping companies across all industries solve their distribution, fulfillment and transportation challenges. As a testament to the value our clients place on our expertise, experience and integrity, 4SIGHT has received multiple industry awards. For more information, please email us at in4mation(at)go4sight(dot)com or visit http://www.go4sight.com.

About Inc. Media

Founded in 1979 and acquired in 2005 by Mansueto Ventures, Inc. is the only major brand dedicated exclusively to owners and managers of growing private companies, with the aim to deliver real solutions for today's innovative company builders. Winner of Advertising Ages The A-List in January 2015, and the National Magazine Award for General Excellence in both 2014 and 2012. Total monthly audience reach for the brand has grown significantly from 2,000,000 in 2010 to over 40,000,000 today. For more information, visit http://www.inc.com/.

About Quantum Workplace

Quantum Workplace is an HR technology company that serves organizations through employee engagement surveys, action-planning tools, exit surveys, peer-to-peer recognition, performance evaluations, goal tracking, and leadership assessment. For more information, visit http://www.quantumworkplace.com.
June 14, 2017

Center for Hospice Care (CHC) and the Hospice Foundation (HF) are pleased to host an inaugural art exhibition and silent auction to raise awareness and support for their unique art counseling program, After Images. The event will take place on Wednesday June 14 at 5:30pm at the CHC Mishawaka campus. Now in its 18th year, After Images is a program that combines art and counseling to help grieving family members cope with the loss of a loved one.

The event will feature 12 stunning and meaningful paintings donated by program participants available for auction. Two past participants will also share their stories about how the program helped them through their grief. Program director Dave Labrum will also be on hand to explain the program and answer any questions.

"We're pleased to offer such a unique program to the community free of charge, and we are grateful to the participants who graciously donated their artwork for the auction," said Mike Wargo, COO of the Hospice Foundation. "Our mission is to improve the quality of living - not only for our patients facing life-limiting illnesses, but also for those family members left behind to pick up the pieces. This program helps do just that."

For more information or to register for this free event, please visit foundationforhospice.org/news/jih17/. To view the artwork or place bids, please visit squareup.com/market/hospicefoundation.

About Center for Hospice Care and the Hospice Foundation

Established in 1978, Center for Hospice Care is an independent, community-based, not-for-profit organization, improving the quality of living through hospice, home health, grief counseling, and community education. With offices in South Bend, Plymouth, Elkhart and Mishawaka, CHC serves Elkhart, Fulton, Kosciusko, LaGrange, LaPorte, Marshall, Porter, St. Joseph and Starke counties in Northern Indiana.

The Hospice Foundation is committed to supporting the work of CHC through community outreach and education, fundraising activities and other special events. The Foundation helps CHC keep its 37-year promise that no one eligible for hospice services will be turned away, regardless of their ability to pay.
People gravitate toward Martin instruments because of the tone. So the question is, Where does that tone come from? And the easy answer is, 184 years of tradition and craftsmanship, said Brenden Hackett, sales event manager at C.F. Martin & Co.

In celebration of its long standing relationship with legendary brand, Martin Guitars, American Musical Supply has released this new behind-the-scenes article, by journalist Kent Priestley. After months of interviews, research, fact checking, and brand approvals, this new article highlighting Martin's early history, achievements, and cultural significance was published on the official AMS Martin brand page.

Late in the summer of 1833, a young cabinet maker from Germany arrived along the New York waterfront, on the run from restrictive trade laws in his home country. The immigrantslight, bespectacled, thin of hairbrought with him little besides a pair of capable hands and a headful of ideas. Nevertheless, his name would go on to adorn some of the greatest acoustic instruments ever made.

Through the decades, the Martin sound has attracted many of the most famous hands ever to caress a fretboard, including Woody Guthrie, Gene Autry, Carter Stanley, Earl Scruggs, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, John Lennon, Jerry Garcia, Neil Young, David Crosby, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, James Taylor, Tony Rice, Rory Block, Tommy Emmanuel and Trey Anastasio.

Today, the Martin line runs from Martin Travel Guitars, such as the budget-minded Backpacker guitar at $229, all the way to the spare-no-expense $149,000 D-200, a special-edition model created to celebrate the rollout of the companys two-millionth production guitar in 2016. Between them lies a bewildering range of sizes, shapes and trim options, all of which bear the accumulation of years of knowledge, technique and care.

One of the great things about a company thats been around for so long is that youre getting every bit of quality in a $1,000 instrument as you would in a $10,000 instrument, says Hackett. The same hands are on them. The same processes are used.

The rugged Martin Performing Artist Series features models with generously proportioned cutaway bodies and onboard electronics, designed to serve the needs of gigging musicians. Guitars from the Martin 15 Series are crafted from solid mahogany for a rich appearance and warm tone. The Martin Retro Series uses the Fishman Aura tonal modeling system to capture the sound of well-aged Martin guitars. Connoisseurs are drawn to the Martin Authentic Series: painstaking reproductions of Golden Era Martins from the 1920s and 1930s, right down to the vintage hardware. Purists, on the other hand, favor the Martin Standard Series, a roundup of the companys iconic models, including the D-18, D-28 and 000-18.

Then there are the Martin Custom Signature Editions, instruments inspired by, and often built to, artist preferences. A recent model is the mahogany 00-DB assembled with the blessing of Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy. The Eric Clapton 000-28EC Acoustic Guitar is now a perennial favorite, having sold thousands since its introduction more than 20 years ago.

Not content to rest on its laurels, Martin continues to experiment with new materials and processesfrom metal bindings and sustainably sourced woods to its Vintage Tone System, where a guitars top and braces are torrefied (toasted, essentially) at temperatures of up to 500 degrees F, darkening the wood, driving moisture from it, and coaxing open its pores to approximate the effects of years of devoted playing. If a musician cant find exactly what theyre looking for from the companys stock models, the Martin Custom Shop is happy to indulge them. Were not good at saying no. Hackett says with a laugh.

In his nearly 20 years at C.F. Martin & Co., Hackett has worked in roles as far-ranging as quality assurance, research and development, and sales. For him, the central appeal of the Martin brand boils down to history. I enjoy the prestige of the company, he says. I enjoy the chance to be a part of the legacy. Currently, Christian (Chris) Frederick Martin IV, the sixth generation of guitar-building Martins, guides the company as CEO. Were the 31st-oldest family-owned company in the U.S., and we remain very much a family company, says Hackett. When I started here, it felt like I was walking into somebody elses home. I think its unique in that way.

The little factory that Christian Martin Sr. founded in Nazareth, Pennsylvania in 1839 has grown into a 200,000-square foot facility that turns out an average of 200 guitars a day. Each year, thousands of musical pilgrims are drawn here to smell the wood shavings and marvel at sight of expert hands piecing together what amount to modern classics. Summer, especially, brings a tide of seasoned musicians to pay tribute at this near-sacred destination for music lovers of all stripes.

There are days when you roll in to work and a few tour buses are idling in the parking lot, Hackett says. Youre just waiting for a John Mayer or one of those guys to pop in. Theyre here to humble themselves. It doesnt matter how big a celebrity you are, when you come here, the equation changes. For a few hours, at least, the people working in the Martin factory are the rock stars.

This is an abridged version. To read the complete story, visit the official Martin brand page at AMS.

Copyrights: use of this story, in part or in full, is granted provided original source page is referenced: https://www.americanmusical.com/Martin

Visit American Musical Supply on Facebook or on Twitter.
A student participates in learning new trade skills. The camps will teach pre-vocational and vocational skills in a supportive, social, and inclusionary environment.

STAR Institute for Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and T.A.C.T. (Teaching the Autism Community Trades) are two Colorado nonprofits who have partnered to create a series of respite camps serving adolescents who have autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Developmental Pathways has awarded the organizations a $25,000 grant to fund three F.U.S.E. (Fostering Unlimited Success and Empowerment) camps through 2018. STAR Institute offers premier treatment for SPD and brings expertise in social skills while T.AC.T. teaches trade and life skills to individuals with ASD and SPD with an emphasis on fostering independence and personal growth.

This is a very rare and exciting way to see two nonprofits interact. Our partnership to create F.U.S.E. allows both of our organizations to combine expertise in a way that best serves these adolescents to find new interests and gain the soft skills to successfully participate in peer groups and future workplaces, says Dick Layton, Director of STAR Institute for SPD. The respite camps will be week-long day camps that host six students per camp ages 12-15 who have autism spectrum disorder. The camps will teach pre-vocational and vocational skills in a supportive, social, and inclusionary environment.

Each camp has a different project for participants including: building a non-motorized go-cart with a partner, building an instrument to play in a band, and crafting board games. The intended focus of F.U.S.E. is not just about offering a respite program for families. By generating new experiences for these adolescents, we hope to foster new skills, new interests, develop social skills, and give them a sense of empowerment to participate in what hopefully becomes a new hobby or future career interest, says Danny Combs co-founder and president of T.A.C.T.

SPD is a neurological disorder that disrupts the way an individual processes and responds to sensations. The disorder can affect people in only one sensefor example, just touch or just sight or just movementor in multiple senses. One person with SPD may over-respond to touch sensation and find clothing, physical contact, other tactile sensory input to be unbearable and/or they may respond to visual or auditory or another sensory input. Another person might under-respond and show little or no reaction to stimulation, even pain or extreme hot and cold or just may be slow to respond to sensation. SPD and ASD have a high co-morbidity rate, but are also found to be standalone disorders.

ASD refers to conditions categorized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication, as well as by unique strengths and differences that can occur on a range from mild to severe.

Individuals with ASD and SPD frequently struggle with interpersonal skills over their lifetime and are often underestimated, which can lead to specific difficulty in career and relationships. F.U.S.E. aims to give individuals the ability to ignite new interests and feel empowered in group collaboration, which can lead to greater success in career and relationships.

About STAR Institute for Sensory Processing Disorder:

The STAR Institute for Sensory Processing Disorder, a Colorado 501(c)(3), is the world leader in treatment, research, and education for Sensory Processing Disorder, a neurological condition that disrupts the daily lives of more than 4 million Americans. The STAR Institute is the premier treatment center for children, adults and families living with Sensory Processing Disorder, feeding disorders, and other sensory conditions associated with ADHD, autism, and other developmental disorders. Dr. Lucy Jane Miller, founder of STAR Institute, is widely recognized as the leader in Sensory Processing Disorder research worldwide. For more information about the Greenwood Village, Colorado clinic, visit http://www.spdSTAR.org or call 303-221-7827.

About T.A.C.T. (Teaching the Autism Community Trades):

T.A.C.T is a 501(c)(3) that provides trade and technical skills to children, young adults and families living with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Early vocational training helps young adults before they leave high school and sets them up for long term success. Our programs are designed to empower individuals and develop interests and skills for life. To learn more visit: https://tactkids.org or call 720-460-0897.

About Developmental Pathways:

Developmental Pathways is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit agency serving individuals with developmental disabilities/delays and their families. We are also one of Colorados Community Centered Boards (CCB) connecting people to federal, state, county, and private funding in Arapahoe County, Douglas County, and the City of Aurora. We passionately believe inclusion is for everyone and offer services through Home and Community Based Medicaid Waiver programs, locally funded programs, and partnerships with other community organizations. To learn more visit: http://www.dpcolo.org
Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation Supports Basic Research in the Sciences We hope that these grants for high-risk projects will provide flexibility and creative freedom to these young scientists, preparing them for independent research careers. -- Dr. Anne Hultgren, Executive Director

The Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation announced today its 2017 class of Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellows, individuals who underscore the Foundations mission of supporting basic research in the chemistry and life sciences. They were selected after a three-part review led by a panel of scientific experts.

The Foundation will award more than $2.6 million in funding for 20 exceptional research fellows from 13 universities:



Marco Allodi, Ph.D., University of Chicago

Beau Alward, Ph.D., Stanford University

Kumar Ashtekar, Ph.D., Yale University

Stephanie Barros, Ph.D., New York University

Liela Bayeh, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Furqan Fazal, Ph.D., Stanford University

Jesse Isaacman-Beck, Ph.D., Stanford University

Cory Knoot, Ph.D., Washington University in St. Louis

Michael Lambrecht, Ph.D., Scripps Research Institute

Danielle Mai, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Kira Mosher, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley

Freddy Nguyen, M.D., Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology

James Nunez, Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco

Elena Schroeter, Ph.D., North Carolina State University

Massa Shoura, Ph.D., Stanford University

Anna Simon, Ph.D., University of Texas, Austin

Eric Strobel, Ph.D., Northwestern University

Julianne Troiano, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology

William Wolf, Ph.D., California Institute of Technology

Dianne Xiao, Ph.D., Stanford University

Supporting the next generation of researchers explore novel and unique research areas is a priority for the Foundation, shared Dr. Anne Hultgren, Executive Director of the Beckman Foundation, We hope that these grants for high-risk projects will provide flexibility and creative freedom to these young scientists, preparing them for independent research careers.

The Arnold O. Beckman Postdoctoral Fellowship provides salary and research support to postdoctoral scholars with the highest potential for success in an independent academic career in chemistry and the life sciences, and to assist in their transition from mentored yet independent researchers to a tenure-track position. Funds for 2017 awardees will be issued this summer and extend over a period of up to three years.

About the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation

Located in Irvine, California, the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation supports researchers and nonprofit research institutions in making the next generation of breakthroughs in chemistry and the life sciences. Founded in 1978 by 20th century scientific instrumentation pioneer Dr. Arnold O. Beckman, the Foundation supports United States institutions and young scientists whose creative, high-risk, and interdisciplinary research will lead to innovations and new tools and methods for scientific discovery. For more information, visit http://www.beckman-foundation.org/.

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CORL Technologies We impose contract obligations with our Business Associates (BAs) to keep our data secure, and certifications are an indicator. We cant yet make certification a contractual requirement yet, but there is definitely a shift happening in industry.

The WannaCry ransomware attack infected various medical devices in the United States according to several news sources. This comes as no surprise to CORL Technologies (CORL), which analyzes the security practices of approximately 30,000 health industry vendors. CORLs analysis reveals that vendors identified as being in the medical device industry sector were consistently associated with weak information security postures.



57% do not have security leaders,

89% do not have security certifications,

18% do not have privacy policies, and

7% had a breach in last 5 years.

71% of medical device vendors received a D report card grade, and, of those, 93% do not have security certifications. To be graded a D vendors lack any evidence of a security program led by competent leadership or the organization failed technical security tests. These vendors are unlikely to protect sensitive information or develop products with appropriate security controls.

CORL further analyzed medical device vendors who have been through CORLs vendor security risk management assessment process and are classified as a High Risk. Analysis demonstrated that these vendors all had similar risks related to the following control areas:

1. System Acquisition  Limited or informal processes to build security requirements into system development, implementation and engineering functions.

2. Vendor Oversight  Limited or informal vendor security risk management functions to protect against supply chain threats.

3. Configuration Management  Limited or informal processes and tools in place to ensure the secure configuration of solutions.

4. Maintenance & Diagnostics  Limited ability to provide remote support capabilities in a secure manner.

5. Access Controls  Limited ability to restrict access, use roles and granular permissions, and no remote access authorization prior to connecting.

6. Physical Security  Inconsistent screenings of workforce members upon hiring and very limited re-screening of individuals with access to customer data.

CORL recommends clients require medical device vendors to align with industry leading security standards, and get a 3rd party security certification. Medical device vendors must also adopt secure development and engineering processes that ensure that security is designed up front into products and verifies that these requirements are met before solutions are delivered to customers.

A CORL client speaks to factoring vendor certification into their buying decisions:

We impose contract obligations with our Business Associates (BAs) to keep our data secure, and certifications are an indicator. We cant yet make certification a contractual requirement yet, but there is definitely a shift happening in industry, and we use CORL to engage our vendors and push certifications and risk remediation activities.

According to the whitepaper released by Meditology titled Hijacking Your Life Support: Medical Device Security, The lack of historical focus on building security requirements into medical devices has led to these devices becoming one of the weakest links in the chain for securing healthcare networks and systems. Medical devices have become a gateway to a healthcare organizations domain, opening the door to a trove of patient health information and regulated data.

The CORL vendor risk assessment methodology leverages questions about overall security controls at the vendor level and product level across all NIST control areas and mapping to NIST SP800-53, HIPAA, and HITRUST. As part of the assessment process, CORL requires all their clients vendors to provide current and documented evidence that security controls are in place. A 3rd party security certification in lieu of evidence. Relevant security certifications according to CORLs methodology include SOC 2 Type 2 (must include Security TSP), HITRUST and/or ISO 27001: 2013. CORL is SOC 2 Type 2 certified.

About CORL Technologies

CORL Technologies is a leading provider of vendor security risk management solutions. The company was founded in 2012 to address the immediate need for vendor security intelligence. CORLs Vendor Security Risk Management solutions are delivered as a managed service and are supported by expert research analysts who collaborate with an intelligence sharing community. With CORL, hospitals, health systems and payers can monitor risk with vendors, ease compliance audits, and improve executive communications and risk-analytics reporting. Visit CORL at http://www.vendorsecurity.com or on LinkedIn.

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Georgia SoftWorks Their Universal Terminal Server is excellent with mobile devices, RF Terminals, bar code scanners and other data collection devices in wireless environments, making it an excellent match for the industries and businesses that MI9 serves. Past News Releases RSS Georgia SoftWorks Announces Telnet...

Georgia SoftWorks Announces SSH...

Georgia SoftWorks Exhibited Telnet...

Since 2002, MI9 has been an authorized reseller of the Georgia SoftWorks' Telnet Server for Windows and SSH Server for Windows. MI9 develops Business-Intelligence solutions for retail that makes timely analytics a real-time reality for decision-making at every level of the enterprise.

Georgia SoftWorks has been a strong partnerand has provided our joint customers with the ability to support diverse and progressive environments, said Barry Tyson of MI9. Our partnership becomes even more important as stores increase their use of mobile technologies.

MI9s fully integrated solution suite, called the Intelligent Retail System, unites the organization from Host to point-of-sale culminating with MI9 Store. The MI9 Store module features an integrated POS and Back Office System, ensuring that the store personnel have current information concerning merchandise, sales and customers. MI9's diverse list of customers includes: apparel, footwear, hardware, home improvement, cosmetics, gifts, junior department stores, sporting goods, discount, and mass merchandise retailers.

Georgia SoftWorks highly values its reseller relationships, said Matt Kittrell of GSW. They play a vital role in the global distribution of our products. The partnerships are mutually beneficial, and we look forward to many more years with MI9.

Georgia SoftWorks is a software development company located in Dawsonville, Georgia who has received worldwide recognition for their development of the GSW Telnet Server for Windows and SSH Server for Windows. Their Universal Terminal Server is excellent with mobile devices, RF Terminals, bar code scanners and other data collection devices in wireless environments, making it an excellent match for the industries and businesses that MI9 serves.

About Georgia SoftWorks:

Established in 1991, Georgia SoftWorks is a privately held software development company recognized for creating high performance data communications, system and telecommunications applications. Georgia SoftWorks has obtained a worldwide presence with its industrial SSH/Telnet Server for Microsoft Windows. GSW's long-term commitment to SSH/Telnet has led to the pioneering of major features such as Session Shadowing, Session Monitoring, Graceful Termination, Automatic Logon, Logon Scripting and more recently Team Services technology which allows mobile device users to transfer, swap, share and recover mobile device sessions. GSW has also provided the very first SSH Server to provide Digital Certificate Authentication with an Internet Information Server (IIS) like certificate-to-user account mapping. This includes One-to-one and Many-to-one mapping methods and also supports certificate trust lists (CTL).
We were gratified that a telemedicine provider with MyTelemedicines reputation selected our e-prescribing platform,"commented Todd Occomy, MD, Founder of eazyScripts.

eazyScripts, a leading provider of e-prescribing software for telemedicine providers, announced recently the go-live of MyTelemedicine, one of the top five telemedicine providers in the U.S. Headquartered in McKinney, TX, MyTelemedicine understands that doctors seeing patients online and by phone is the way to make healthcare work. Patients need access to care when they need it and healthcare systems are eager to find ways to bring modern solutions to the equation. By offering new care and cost settings practical for payers, providers, patients and employers, MyTelemedicine is transforming the economic equation of care.

The eazyScripts software provides MyTelemedicine physicians with the ability to submit electronic prescriptions, check prescription fill data, formulary, secure electronic prior authorization at the touch of a button, reducing inefficiencies and errors. Providers can send an electronic prescription in 25 seconds or less, allowing physicians to put a greater focus on patient health outcomes.

We were looking for an e-prescribing solution to seamlessly integrate into our telemedicine platform, said Rey Colon, MyTelemedicine's CEO. The eazyScripts platform allows our physicians to quickly and safely prescribe the medications our patients need.

We were gratified that a telemedicine provider with MyTelemedicines reputation selected our e-prescribing platform. MyTelemedicine's meticulous decision-making process in choosing eazyScripts validates our electronic prescribing platform's model specifically designed for the rapidly growing telemedicine industry domestically and internationally," commented Todd Occomy, MD, Founder of eazyScripts.

About MyTelemedicine

MyTelemedicine developed a proprietary, HIPAA-compliant telemedicine platform that works in the cloud and lets healthcare providers consult with patients remotely. Our Advanced API technology allows third parties to integrate and offer a customized telemedicine experience to support their brand identity. Physicians can perform on-demand consultations with members anywhere via telephone and video technology. Patients get advice, recommendations and a diagnosis, which may include a prescription for common illnesses. Learn more at http://www.mytelemedicine.com.

About eazyScripts

The eazyScripts software provides telemedicine physicians with the ability to submit electronic prescriptions, check prescription fill data, secure electronic prior authorization at the touch of a button, reducing inefficiencies and errors. Providers can send an electronic prescription in 25 seconds or less, allowing physicians to put a greater focus on patient health outcomes. eazyScripts also offers medication adherence options that increase patient satisfaction. For more information about eazyScripts, please visit http://www.eazyscripts.com.

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This funding is another significant milestone for Rev1, as well as Columbus, as it showcases the power of connecting corporate investors and partners to disruptive products to help startups scale.

Today Rev1 Ventures, the leading seed-stage venture fund, announced it has participated in the $4.9M funding round for Wiretap, a leading innovator of security solutions for Enterprise Social Networks and collaboration tools. This investment marks Rev1s largest single investment from the Rev1 Fund I, the ground-breaking corporate-backed fund supported by Nationwide, The Ohio State University, Cardinal Health and other top Columbus companies and organizations.

Draper Triangle Ventures led the funding round with Ohio Innovation Fund, with support from JumpStart and individual investors. Wiretap will leverage the financing to build its team and continue evolving its platform.

Wiretap eliminates the barriers to enterprise collaboration by closing the security gaps inherent in todays ubiquitous Enterprise Social Networks (ESNs) and collaboration tools such as Microsoft Yammer, Workplace by Facebook and Slack.

This funding is another significant milestone for Rev1, as well as Columbus, as it showcases the power of connecting corporate investors and partners to disruptive products to help startups scale, said Tom Walker, CEO of Rev1 Ventures. The regions entrepreneurs have gained access and early buy-in from top corporations that, for many startups, are serving as first customers. It is a proven and powerful model for driving startup success.

Columbus startup founders often cite the regions connectivity as the main reason for founding and growing their companies here. Ohio is home to more than 50 Fortune 1000 companies and boasts more than 200 higher education institutions - 15 of which are in Columbus.

I turned down an offer to lead the Workplace by Facebook team in Silicon Valley because I knew Wiretap was primed to take off and knew Columbus was the place to do it, said Jeff Schumann, CEO and Co-founder of Wiretap. My theory was right as proved by this round and our tremendous momentum. Our trajectory is powered by a great support system in the region, with partners who will support the company beyond this funding through customer introductions, hiring and more.

Wiretap has the team, the product, the customers, and the vision for tremendous success and were pleased to participate in this round to help them continue to execute, added Ryan Helon, EVP of Investment Funds for Rev1 Ventures.

Columbus has become the fastest-growing region for startup activity, and Rev1 is the most active seed fund investor in the Great Lakes Region. Rev1s portfolio companies generated $86M in revenue and created and retained more than 1,014 jobs in the last year alone. Rev1s portfolio companies raised nearly two-thirds of the $65M in capital secured by Columbus region startups in 2016.

About Rev1 Ventures

Rev1 is a venture fund that helps entrepreneurs build great companies. Combining investment capital with a unique blend of services through our startup studio, we propel innovation for startups and corporate innovation teams. Our seasoned, data-driven team helps lay the foundation for scalable growth with the skills to evolve a product, sell to customers, and build the right team. Named a top VC investor in the Great Lakes Region, Rev1 manages a continuum of financial support from corporate and community partners, as well as the Ohio Third Frontier. Rev1 was named the Most Active VC in Ohio in 2016 by CB Insights. For more information, visit http://www.rev1ventures.com.

About Wiretap

Wiretap empowers organizations to safely grow their Enterprise Social Networks and collaboration tools such as Microsoft Yammer, Workplace by Facebook and Slack by securing against intellectual property and confidential data leaks, insider threats, HR policy violations, compliance issues and external sharing risks. As a critical part of an organizations overall security fabric, Wiretap encourages and facilitates safe collaboration by monitoring files and conversations, as well as blocking material or communication that could place a company at risk. Wiretap is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio  a city ranked #1 for scaling startups1 and #8 in U.S. cities for tech job growth2. For more information visit http://www.wiretap.com and follow @WiretapSecurity.

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THIRTEEN, New Yorks local PBS station, will air the broadcast premiere of Dramatic Escape, a feature-length documentary, on Tuesday June 13 at 9:30 PM, with an additional airing on Thursday, June 15 at 3AM and on WLIW21 Sunday, June 25 at 10:30 PM and Friday, June 30 at 2:30 AM.

Dramatic Escape transports viewers into the lives of a group of maximum security prisoners who are attempting to mount a stage production of A Few Good Men as a part of the Rehabilitation Through the Arts program at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Ossining. Through creative expression in theater, dance, voice, writing, and visual art, the RTA program reduces recidivism by giving the men the opportunity to learn social and cognitive skills that act as a springboard to education, family reconciliation, and ultimately, successful reintegration into community life. Dramatic Escape gives viewers an intimate look at this process as it traces the prisoners steps from auditions through their curtain call. Along the way, the men reveal their personal stories, their everyday struggles, and contemplate whether redemption is possible. 2015. 90 m. Nicholas Quested. Goldcrest Films. USA. English. NR. Trailer at: https://vimeo.com/139630064

RTAs Sing Sing stage production of A Few Good Men was adapted from the legal drama about the court-martial of two U.S. Marines charged with the murder of a fellow Marine and the tribulations of their lawyers as they prepare a case to defend their clients. The 1992 film, directed by Rob Reiner and written by Aaron Sorkin, stars Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson and Demi Moore.

About Rehabilitation Through The Arts: RTA uses the transformational power of the arts to develop social and cognitive skills that prisoners need for successful reintegration into the community, reducing recidivism to a rate significantly lower than the national average. The organization began at Sing Sing in 1996 with the production of an original play performed for the prison population. RTA now produces a major play at Sing Sing each year attended by over 250 guests; over the past 20 years, thousands of community members have been amazed by the humanity they discovered behind the walls. Today, RTA serves 200 incarcerated men and women (at any one time) in 5 New York State prisons, teaching in at least one facility every day of the week, year-round. More than 30 arts facilitators travel to remote prisons in three New York State counties to teach a wide variety of artistic media.

About WNET: WNET is Americas flagship PBS station and parent company of THIRTEEN and WLIW21. WNET also operates NJTV, the statewide public media network in New Jersey. Through its broadcast channels, three cable services (THIRTEEN PBSKids, Create and World) and online streaming sites, WNET brings quality arts, education and public affairs programming to more than five million viewers each week. WNET produces and presents such acclaimed PBS series as Nature, Great Performances,American Masters, PBS NewsHour Weekend, Charlie Rose and a range of documentaries, childrens programs, and local news and cultural offerings. WNETs groundbreaking series for children and young adults include Get the Math, Oh Noah! and Cyberchase, as well as Mission US, the award-winning interactive history game. WNET highlights the tri-states unique culture and diverse communities through NYC-ARTS, Theater Close-Up, NJTV News with Mary Alice Williams and MetroFocus, the daily multi-platform news magazine focusing on the New York region. In addition, WNET produces online-only programming including the award-winning series about gender identity, First Person, and an intergenerational look at tech and pop culture, The Chatterbox with Kevin and Grandma Lill. In 2015, THIRTEEN launched Passport, an online streaming service which allows members to see new and archival THIRTEEN and PBS programming anytime, anywhere:http://www.thirteen.org/passport.
The RedFlint Experience Center incorporates advanced technologies into an experiential, hands-on learning environment Waggls survey technology can lend itself as a solution to the challenges that organizations, from startups to Fortune 500s, face on a daily basis said Dennis Bonilla, Executive Dean, University of Phoenix, College of Information Systems & Technology.

Waggl, the most human way for organizations to crowdsource feedback and align on action, today announced that it has joined forces with the University of Phoenix RedFlint experience center in downtown Las Vegas to incorporate its pulse survey technology in connection with RedFlints workshops. Waggl's technology provides real-time crowdsourced feedback designed to propose possible solutions to common business issues like stagnation, to help organizations of all sizes support and encourage innovation, business growth and development.

Waggl chose to collaborate with RedFlint to help new and established businesses harness the talent and wisdom of their people toward important goals like innovation, said Alex Kinnebrew, Head of Strategy, Waggl. RedFlints technological and business development offerings combined with Waggls human sensing mechanism as a way to capture live field intelligence can be utilized by organizations big and small to inspire and activate their talented people.

Waggl's technology helps organizations better connect with employees by collecting and distilling actionable feedback and insight in real-time. Unlike traditional survey and polling platforms, Waggl creates a virtual dialogue with participants by asking open-ended questions where favorite responses can be voted up. The Waggl platform enables fast, frequent, focused dialogue on virtually any topic, and can be used to create a more responsive listening culture within an organization. The pulse surveys will collect feedback from RedFlints technology showcases and workshops to help RedFlints evaluate its hands-on experiential learning, designed to enhance business performance.

Technology is the great disruptor and companies that dont innovate can quickly find themselves playing catchup or becoming extinct, said Dennis Bonilla, executive dean, University of Phoenix, College of Information Systems & Technology. Waggls technology can lend itself as a solution to the challenges that organizations, from startups to Fortune 500s, face on a daily basis.

As part of its larger ongoing collaboration with the University of Phoenix, Waggl will integrate interactive survey kiosks into the RedFlint experience center. These kiosks will provide visitors to RedFlint with the opportunity to utilize Waggls real-time listening platform to participate in an interactive dialogue with their community around trending topics that are relevant to innovation. The kiosks will also be used to collect visitor feedback on RedFlint workshops, events and educational offerings.

About Waggl

Waggl is the most human way for organizations to crowdsource feedback. Named after the dance that bees do in a hive to transmit important information very quickly, Waggl lives at the intersection of two organizational realities: Companies want an engaged workforce and employees want to know that their opinions count. Waggl goes beyond the traditional survey by offering an extremely easy way to listen to many voices at once within an organization for the purpose of making it better. Waggls real-time listening platform creates a transparent, authentic two-way dialogue that gives people a voice, distills insights, and unites organizations through purpose. With a highly seasoned management team and a Board including esteemed executives from Glassdoor, Success Factors, and Coupa, Waggl is an innovative industry leader helping companies of all sizes to succeed by building a listening culture. For more information, please visit: http://www.waggl.com/.

About RedFlint

Based in the vibrant innovative tech and business community in downtown Las Vegas, the over 10,000 square foot center located within the Bank of America Plaza building provides and hosts local resources to help educate, incubate and accelerate business ideas. The open floor plan boasts a variety of tools and spaces to support a variety of business needs. The RedFlint experience center encompasses advanced technologies and an experiential, hands-on learning environment to address possible solutions for common issues including stagnation inside established businesses, a lack of resource for entrepreneurs and startup ventures and slow adaption to the technology curve. For more information about the RedFlint experience center, visit: http://www.redflintvegas.com.

About University of Phoenix

University of Phoenix is constantly innovating to help working adults move efficiently from education to careers in a rapidly changing world. Flexible schedules, relevant and engaging courses, and interactive learning can help students more effectively pursue career and personal aspirations while balancing their busy lives. As a subsidiary of Apollo Education Group, Inc., University of Phoenix serves a diverse student population, offering associate, bachelors, masters and doctoral degree programs from campuses and learning centers across the U.S. as well as online throughout the world. For more information, visit http://www.phoenix.edu.

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As the data center industry continues to adopt IoT into its many facets, companies are increasingly in need of data-driven solutions based on real-time information, - Ed Healy, CEO

RF Code, the leading provider of real-time data center solutions, announced today that it will be exhibiting at the 2017 Datacenter Dynamics>Webscale conference on June 19-20 at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis.

Located at booth 40, representatives from RF Code will present information on how the use of real-time, automated and granular information can enable data center owners and operators to make faster and more intelligent business decisions. The company will be showcasing its signature CenterScape platform, which provides real-time insight, control and predictability over operational risks, costs and compliance. Live demonstrations of the solution and the opportunity to talk with the real-time case study, Marty Johnstone will be offered as well.

Previously with global financial services company CME Group, Johnstone managed over 15,000 IT deployments and 17,000 environmental points with the help of RF Code's real-time data center solutions. This led to a variety of positive outcomes that saved the company both in operational expenses and energy usage, including: reduced audit times, increased accuracy of data collected, better awareness of assets, the ability to troubleshoot problems before they caused downtime, optimization of environmental conditions, and overall increased insight into data center operations. Now at RF Code, Johnstone uses his knowledge to help save millions of dollars for data centers through the use of accurate and granular data in real-time. Attendees are urged to Sign up to secure a meeting with Marty while space is still available.

The event falls at a time of rapid global growth for RF Code. The firm recently appointed multiple senior executives to lead the company in its next stage of business expansion. Additionally, in late 2016, RF Code reached a new milestone with more than 125,000 data center racks under management through its distinct subscription pricing model. As a result, the CenterScape solution has helped more than half of the Fortune 500 internet and telecommunications companies save over $100 million in their data centers since its launch in 2015.

As the data center industry continues to adopt IoT into its many facets, companies are increasingly in need of data-driven solutions based on real-time information, said Ed Healy, CEO at RF Code. This is a growing trend and RF Code is delighted to exhibit at DCD>Webscale so that data center managers can see how the CenterScape solution reduces operational costs and risks. The platform provides the real-time insight necessary for owners and operators to excel at the speed at which data centers are growing and evolving.

About RF Code

Founded in 1997, RF Code provides a unique solution to reduce data center costs while improving reliability through intelligent, real-time physical asset management and environmental monitoring. In order to drive data center efficiency, reliability and savings, the firm created CenterScape: a premier platform that eliminates the need for costly and error-prone processes that is easily integrated with existing IT, facilities and business systems, increasing their value by providing improved accuracy, lower cost, and timely information.

RF Code has delivered over $100 million in savings to hundreds of the worlds largest organizations, including more than half of the Fortune 500 internet and telecommunications companies. RF Code is based in Austin, Texas, with offices and partners around the world.

Contact:

Americas:

Milldam Public Relations

Brendon Stellman

617-291-5110 (mobile)

brendon.stellman(at)milldampr(dot)com

Rest of the world:

Bamboo PR

Nicola Davies

+44-207-113-4043

nicola(at)bamboopr.co(dot)uk
I built a BI tool my colleagues and I always wanted but couldn't find.

With public quality rankings and skyrocketing healthcare costs, healthcare organizations require comprehensive business intelligence to guide decisions. vitalsBI is the newest cloud-based business intelligence (BI) and data visualization platform available from OptimizeHealth, an IT company delivering worry-free IT solutions, reliable technology and performance-optimizing analytics to acute, post-acute and long-term care customers.

Unlike other business intelligence and data visualization tools, vitalsBI provides the full data story across three mutually-dependent functions: clinical, operations and finance. The software was designed to be data-source and data-format agnostic so customers can consolidate all of their data residing in their multiple applications, systems and spreadsheets. vitalsBI delivers a single resource and view of how an individual healthcare business is performing.

All measurements a healthcare customer is currently tracking  5 Star Quality Rating, QAPI, labor, revenue, etc.  can be loaded into vitalsBI dashboards and reports. This access to all the data fosters confident decision making that optimizes patient care and business outcomes.

I built a BI tool my colleagues and I always wanted but couldnt find, said Greg Nicholas, OptimizeHealths managing partner and veteran healthcare technology executive. A single source of truth, as they say, a 360 view of the entire business to view metrics and trends from any angle of the business. Since I couldnt find one, I decided to build one.

Designed with the help of a consortium of healthcare leaders with clinical, financial, operations and IT backgrounds, vitalsBI consolidates a healthcare firms data to provide the answers to the questions decision makers ask. Questions such as:



What staffing ratios correlate to the best Five Star Quality Rating scores?

Which of our activities promote and improve partnerships with hospital systems, insurers, providers and other referrers?

Where in our business are profit margins at the greatest risk and why?

Which marketing efforts are most effective in attracting the types of providers and referrals that best suit our patient population and business?

Which region, clinic, facility or shift achieves the best patient outcomes? How?

What skill mix correlates to high levels of patient satisfaction and engagement?

vitalsBI is HIPAA compliant and founded upon a support framework that is Gartner Magic Quadrant ranked. Highly scalable architecture, vitalsBI is able to store any amount of data a customer is collecting. Nicholas stated, Many organizations dont have a technical team or support structure to consolidate data from separate systems like accounting, human resources, clinical documentation and coding, and electronic medical records (EMR). vitalsBI is able to address that gap and grow with the customers business.

vitalsBI includes integration with the Internet of things (IoT) to broaden analysis and crystallize outputs from wearables, machines, buildings and other devices that communicate with each other.

In contrast to other BI applications, vitalsBI comes with a rapid deployment cycle, is attractively priced and simple to master. Healthcare is dynamic and fast-paced and I knew our platform had to be quick to implement and easy to use so we werent tying up customers with days of training and long implementations, Nicholas said. Unlike the typical analytics platform, vitalsBI can be implemented in weeks, not months and requires approximately three to four hours of training. Users learn how to load their data files, point and click to link tables and start building dashboards and reports. We even provide pre-built templates as a quick start approach and to minimize the implementation costs.

On-demand help, 24x7x365 support and an ITIL-based approach to service give customers the help they need when they need it.

vitalsBI is available to primary care and specialty clinics, home health agencies, large medical groups, nursing homes, skilled nursing facilities, specialty pharmacies, assisted living facilities, hospices and rehabilitation facilities.

About OptimizeHealth

OptimizeHealth is a healthcare information technology and consulting company delivering worry-free IT solutions, reliable technology and performance-optimizing analytics to acute, long-term and post-acute care customers. Project leaders and virtual CIOs bring executive-level experience to improve clinical and business intelligence, project management, day-to-day technology operations, interoperability, software selection and implementation, decision support and IT strategy. Steadfast in the founding mission to help clients achieve their greatest value, OptimizeHealths high engagement culture and exceptionally talented team members consistently generate outstanding results. Headquartered in Dallas, TX, OptimizeHealth cares for your technology so their clients can focus on better patient care. Visit http://www.optimizeco.com.

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Tibet is one of the most distinctive parts of the world for people to visit. Great Tibet Tour is offering special trips out to many places around Tibet. These include great tours that head out to a number of appealing events. These events are held throughout 2017 and include some of the more interesting activities for people to explore.

The Saga Dawa Festival on June 9 is the first to look forward to. This is a festival that celebrates the life of Buddha and is the most significant religious festival of the year. The event is heralded as a celebration of the words and lessons of Buddha and the importance of the circle of life. The event highlights the day the Buddha attained enlightenment and features the replacing of the Tarboche Flagpole, a pole that symbolizes Buddhas faith in the people. People from all around can be seen attaching their own small prayer flags onto the pole. It is critical that the pole is upright so good luck will come to Tibet.

The Gyantse Horse Race Festival on July 10 has numerous horse racing and archery competitions. It also has a full market with many vendors in the area selling unique Tibetan goods. The yak races are especially intriguing. This all takes place in a spot that is about 13,000 feet above sea level. Stone raising, long jumping and Tibetan opera performances can be seen here.

The Nagchu Horse Racing Festival on August 8 includes many events and competitions between horse farms in the area. This includes song and dance performances as horses help to raise tents while their owners aim to create the best arrangements possible. This is a unique tradition that entails an elaborate display of artistic flair. This is held around the southern end of Nagqu.

The Tibet Shoton Festival is the fourth event to experience. Also known as the Yogurt Festival, this is held on August 21 and is a season where monks end their meditation seasons. Many yogurt-related events are held as well as numerous Tibetan dramatic operas. This is a time for reflective as well as a time for a true renewal of the land. This is a prominent event for family reunions and often includes various bonfires and parties during the evening hours.

The events listed here are for the 2017 season. This comes as the events are varied based on the particular Tibetan calendar in terms of when they are held.

Great Tibet Tour has many tour activities all around the country. People can sign up for information on tours around the area. The process for enrolling in many tours is especially easy to handle. People are encouraged to check out the tour packages offered including specials where people can enjoy traveling to different parts of the region. Tours last eight days and up with some of these tours available for less than $1,000 at their lowest costs.

Interested participants are encouraged to visit http://www.greattibettour.com.

Media Contact

Name: Great Tibet Tour

Contact: Jimi

Email: sales(at)greattibettour(dot)com

Website: http://www.greattibettour.com

Address: No. 23, Row 11, Zone 5, Zhaji Residential Quarter, Zhaji Road, 850000, Lhasa, Tibet

Phone: 0086-891-6784107
Steven Drexel, President and CEO of Cornerstone Staffing Solutions The Employment Report for May was soft in several respects but not overly concerning. So far, monthly job growth has looked at times too strong followed by months that looked too weak.

As an economist and seasoned staffing industry professional, Steven Drexel is regularly asked to participate in several monthly surveys and discussions that predict key elements of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) press releases describing The Employment Situation. On Friday June 2nd, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its monthly summary of labor market activity covering May 2017. The consensus expectation called for a return to a solid trend growth of around 185,000 positions.

On balance, Mays result suggests that growth has been softer than expected with room to improve during the rest of the 2017, comments Drexel. The official report indicated that Mays job growth fell short of expectations, with a disappointing 138,000 net new jobs. This weakness along with downward revisions to March and April brought the three-month trend rate down to 121,000 new jobs -- which is the softest trend rate in almost five years. Drexel explains that job growth during the first five months of 2017 has been subject to rather wide swings with January and February looking quite strong in contrast to March and May which were disappointing.

Drexel remarks that other metrics included in the monthly BLS report were softer as well:



The labor force shrank by a surprising 429,000 people causing the labor force participation rate to deteriorate by two tenths to 62.7 percent. The labor force participation rate for prime-age workers (25  54 years-old) was also down by two-tenths of a point to 81.5 percent;

In a sign of weakness, due to a shrinking labor force, the official unemployment rate contracted by one tenth of a point to 4.3 percent (notably, the lowest rate in 16 years);

The broadest measure of unemployment, that includes those marginally attached and working part time for economic reasons, decreased by two-tenths of a point to 8.4 percent. Seventy-eight point four percent of prime-age workers were employed during May, down from April and still below the 80.3 percent peak during the previous expansion in January 2007;

The median duration of unemployment was up two-tenths to 10.4 weeks, also close to a cyclical low but higher than the 7.5 week median that was the low point of the last expansion during June of 2006; and

The year-over-year growth in average hourly earnings remained unimpressive during May at 2.5 percent, another indication of slack in the employment market despite a very low unemployment rate. Normally, with an unemployment rate at 4.3 percent, one would expect to see average hourly earnings growing at a 4 percent rate.

Drexel also noticed the industry sector metrics indicate a weaker majority of the industries grew during May as 54.8 percent expanded or were unchanged compared to 61.3 percent during April. This relatively large decline indicates that the softer growth was widespread, he said. Prominent increases in employment by industry segment included the following:



Professional and business services (+38k)  including temporary help;

Health care and social services sector (+32.3.k)  always robust;

Leisure and hospitality (+31k)  two strong months in a row;

Construction (+11k)  stronger recently;

Financial activities (+11k);

Mining and logging (+6k)  long suffering but recently recovering;

Transportation and warehousing (+3.6k); and

Durable goods (+2k).

The noteworthy declining industry sectors included the following:



Government (-9k)  related to the federal hiring freeze;

Retail trade (-6.1k)  due to online migration;

Nondurable goods (-3k);

Wholesale trade (-2.1k);

Information (-2k);

Motor vehicles & parts (-1.5k)  recently stalled;

Utilities (-1.3k); and

Manufacturing (-1k)  well documented, long-term trends.

The Employment Report for May was soft in several respects but not overly concerning. So far, monthly job growth has looked at times too strong followed by months that looked too weak, Drexel remarks. May falls into the moderately, too weak bucket however, other employment indicators like initial jobless claims, confidence surveys, and supply managers indexes suggest that the labor market remains healthy. Measures of unemployment have trended to remarkably low levels suggesting that the economy may be at full capacity, yet still, labor force participation, wage growth and unemployment duration metrics indicate that unemployment rates could go below 4.0 percent before the market is tapped out. Drexel further clarifies that this expansion, at almost eight years in length is old (compared to an average expansion of five or six years). He agrees the slow but persistent growth looks to continue for a few more years, albeit at a very measured pace.

The recent economic data indicates that GDP will continue to expand during 2017 and through 2019 at a better than 2.0 percent but less than 3.0 percent annual rate, states Drexel. While modest, this will be better compared to recent years. Drexel notes that economic growth will be supported by international expansion, an improving manufacturing sector, consumer/business confidence, housing growth/starts, and corporate profits. Furthermore, he believes that employment growth will continue consistent with an aging expansion and a tightening labor market, averaging around 170,000 positions during 2017. This moderate job growth will be sufficient to support a growing labor force, a low unemployment rate and, over time, increasing average hourly earnings, Drexel concludes.

Drexel is available for interviews or commentary on the economic and employment impact, and perspectives on the political climates effect on employment.

More About Steven R. Drexel

Steven R. Drexel is an economist, a member of the Business Research Advisory Council of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and past chairman of the American Staffing Associations Industry Information Committee. He has been interviewed for The Washington Post, Bloomberg Business News, CNN Radio, the Associated Press, The Houston Chronicle and The Houston Business Journal -- among many other national, regional and local media organizations.

Drexels biographical profile is available at http://www.cornerstone-staffing.com/. Please contact Brian Hatfield for any information or insights related to a wide range of employment and economic topics Drexel is prepared to comment on.

More About Cornerstone Staffing

Cornerstone Staffing Solutions is among the top 134 largest staffing firms in America, as ranked by Staffing Industry Analysts and received Inaveros Best of Staffing Client Award in 2016 and 2017. Since 2003, Cornerstone has grown from a neighborhood staffing provider to a $100 million national firm that employs thousands of people at hundreds of companies from coast to coast. Providing candidate searching and job placement for administrative, industrial, technical, sales and transportation positions, Cornerstone truly is where talent and jobs meet. Visit Cornerstone at: http://www.cornerstone-staffing.com.
A team of six American swimmers and six French swimmers is preparing to cross the English Channel from Dover to France in a joint relay swim to mark the 100th anniversary of the arrival of U.S. troops in France for World War One.

One hundred years ago, a generation of American and French soldiers met on the shore of France to work in common purpose, said team captain John Kulewicz, noting the landing of the first U.S. infantry troops at St. Nazaire, France, on June 26, 1917. We will swim with the common purpose of recognizing their bravery and teamwork and honoring the long relationship and promising future of our two nations.

The swim will take place on the first good weather day between June 22-29, 2017. Following the rules of the Channel Swimming and Piloting Federation, the team will form into two groups of six swimmers who will swim one hour each, in the same order of rotation, from Dover to the French shore. The swimmers may wear only a swimsuit, cap and goggles.

The name of the team is Over There! in honor of the popular song written in 1917 shortly after U.S. entry in the war. The swimmers have been training in various locations across Europe and the United States. The team members include:



David Arnold, American physician in neuromuscular medicine from Columbus, Ohio;

William Bonnet, a French sports coach from Nimes;

Nicolas Costa, a French consultant and web designer from Aimargues;

James D. Curphey, an American lawyer from Columbus, Ohio;

Nicolas Derrien, a French firefighter from Ledat;

Alexandre Fleury, a French entrepreneur from Perols;

Philippe Fort, a French aquatic center director from Senlis;

Eve Gaillard, a French marketing agency artistic director from Creil;

John J. Kulewicz, an American lawyer from Columbus, Ohio;

Richard S. Lovering, an American lawyer from Columbus, Ohio;

Michelle Sanders, an American physical therapist working in Germany;

John M. Stephan, an American lawyer from Columbus, Ohio.

English Channel pilots Michael Oram and Lance Oram will escort the team on the vessels Gallivant and Sea Satin.

For further information, please contact John Kulewicz at +1.614.464.5634 (jjkulewicz(at)vorys.com) (English speaker with rudimentary French ability).
Moving our headquarters to Atlantas hottest commercial real estate property is a significant milestone on our journey to lead the PR industry in innovation, client retention and employee satisfaction.

ARPR, a tech public relations agency that propels global leaders to #MakeNews and #DriveLeads, today announced that it has leased approximately 2,300 square feet in Atlantas Ponce City Market, relocating its headquarters to the citys hottest mixed-use development located in the historic 90-year old Sears building. With its move from the Biltmore in Midtown, ARPR becomes the first and only small business leaseholder of Ponce City Markets office spaces, joining tech giants athenahealth, MailChimp, Cardlytics, Pinterest, Twitter and Techstars, among others.

The new office space will support the agencys 45 percent year-over-year growth, while providing a collaborative environment for its employees to continue to push the limits of what a PR firm can achieve. Currently ARPR is hiring for multiple entry, mid and senior-level tech PR and digital marketing positions in Atlanta.

Its a tremendous achievement for a five-year-old tech PR agency to become neighbors with some of the worlds leading Health IT, FinTech, digital media and social media companies, said Evan Goldberg, vice president of client service, ARPR. Moving our headquarters to Atlantas hottest commercial real estate property is a significant milestone on our journey to lead the PR industry in innovation, client retention and employee satisfaction.

ARPR is an excellent addition to our portfolio of tech tenants that includes innovative and disruptive leaders from across the industry, said Matt Bronfman, Principal and CEO of Jamestown, L.P. We welcome ARPR and look forward to their integration into our thriving community.

In preparation for the agencys fifth anniversary, ARPR today also unveiled a brand and website refresh, highlighted by a more sophisticated logo and icon, an updated color palette and a new tagline, PRopelling whats Possible. The complete story behind the new logo and icon is available on the ARPR blog. The brand refresh closely follows the launch of FutureofPR.org, a brand-driven microsite dedicated to educating and discussing the future of the PR industry. The first video featuring Gould+Partners managing director Rick Gould discussing the challenges and opportunities for the #FutureofPR is available here.

Every element of the ARPR brand is strategically crafted to align with our culture and commitment to both employees and clients, said Blair Broussard, senior vice president, ARPR. Our brand refresh and the meaning behind the new logo are a testament to our growth and representative of the direction of an agency at the forefront of mapping the future of PR.

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About ARPR

ARPR is a tech PR agency that propels global leaders to #MakeNews and #DriveLeads.

Headquartered in the tech boomtown of Atlanta and with offices in New Orleans and San Francisco, ARPR is pioneering the Future of PR through innovation and services that push the limits of what a public relations agency can achieve. ARPR was named the 2016 National Tech Public Relations Agency of the Year by Bulldog Reporter and a 2016 TOP Places to Work in PR by PR News. For more information on ARPR clients and services, visit http://www.arpr.com and follow @AR__PR on Twitter.

About Ponce City Market:

Ponce City Market is a historic mixed-use community hub focused on artisanal food, fashion, residential lofts and office. Developed by real estate investment and management company Jamestown, Ponce City Market combines 259 residential flats with approximately 550,000 square feet of Class-A loft office space and 300,000 square feet of retail and restaurants including Dancing Goats Coffee Bar, Binders Art Supplies, Google Fiber, Suzuki School and General Assembly, as well as a Central Food Hall that features Anne Quatranos Dubs Fish Camp, Botiwalla from the owners of Chai Pani, Linton Hopkins H&F Burger, Sean Brocks Minero, among others. National anchor retail tenants include The Frye Company and West Elm. The evolution of Ponce City Market focuses on preserving the buildings historic character and enhancing its connection to the surrounding community. Ponce City Market also boasts a pedestrian bridge, which links the interior courtyard and public market directly to Atlantas popular BeltLine. For more information, go to http://www.poncecitymarket.com.
With background screening lawsuits at an all-time high, now more than ever, hiring professionals need to embrace best practices in employment screening

PreemploymentDirectory.com, the background screening information portal for Human Resources professionals, announced the release of their newest publication, 'In Search of Excellence in Background Screening: Best Practices Insights from Accredited Background Screening Firms' at the recent SHRM Talent Management Conference in Chicago. The guide features articles written by firms who have earned accreditation from the National Association for Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS), which is the trade association for the global background screening profession.

To earn accreditation, firms must implement the standards as defined by the Background Screening Credentialing Council (BSCC), which certifies that background screening firms follow the Background Screening Agency Accreditation Program (BSAAP) Standard. This process ensures companies comply with relevant laws, ethical business practice and demonstrates a commitment to excellence. Its not sufficient to merely reflect the standards in official policies. It must also be demonstrable in daily business operations and this is verified by an onsite review of the firm by an independent auditor.

W. Barry Nixon, COO, PreemploymentDirectory.com and publisher, said, The articles in the Best Practice Insights from Accredited Background Screening Firms publication provide HR and Hiring professionals the opportunity to gain valuable knowledge about the employment screening process from firms that represent the best of the profession. Nixon added, Our goal is to help hiring professionals and managers improve their employment screening practices at a time when lawsuits dealing with background screening are at an all-time high. More than 92% of employers conduct background checks and we want to help them embrace best practices and industry standards.

About 5% of U.S. background screening firms have earned accreditation from NAPBS at this time.

You can download a copy of the Guide at PreemploymentDirectory.com in the Background Screening Publications section.

Please direct any questions about the Guide to W. Barry Nixon at 1-949-770-5264 or you can email him at wbnixon(at)PreemploymentDirectory(dot)com. Questions about the NAPBS Accreditation program should be directed to NAPBS at 1-919-459-2082 or info (at) napbs.com

ABOUT PREEPLOYMENTDIRECTORY.COM:

PreemploymentDirectory.com is the leading background screening information portal on the web and houses the leading directory of background screening companies designed to make it easy for organizations to quickly find a background screening provider to meet their needs. The Directory includes an information rich Background Screening Knowledge Center, U.S. and International Resource Centers that provide important information about conducting background checks in countries around the world and has a comprehensive Article Library.
KSO Concerts in Devou Park are a NKY tradition Few events today allow families, neighbors and friends to simply come out and share a relaxed and unique cultural moment.  KSO Music Director James Cassidy

The Kentucky Symphony Orchestra continues a nearly 80-year tradition of fun, family-gatherings

at the concert bowl in Covingtons Devou Park. The KSO began its annual summer series of concerts in 1995. This summers programs extend the KSOs efforts to enlighten, entertain and educate through a variety of great music, activities and nostalgia. Musical programs range from patriotic to health and fitness to a Cincinnati-based sit-com. Over the course of the three shows, the KSO will perform 57 selections that will have crowds dancing, clapping, running, exercising and singing along.

Let Freedom Sing

(A Patriotic Pastische)

7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 8, 2017

The KSOs Summer Series kicks-off with a salute to America's independence. The program offers a blend of unique, fun, traditional and stirring patriotic works providing historical insight into Americas military conflicts and pays tribute to those who have answered and continue to answer the call to defend Americas freedom. Treasured area vocalists Rob Reider and Nancy James, the KSO Chorale, a color guard and bagpiper join forces with the KSO for an independence weekend celebration.

Sample Program: Yankee Doodle, Battle of New Orleans, Ashokan Farewell, Over There,""Ballad of the Green Berets, You Cant Blame Your Uncle Sammy, "God Bless America," etc.

Fit as a Fiddle II

(A Classic Run & Workout)

7:30 p.m. Saturday, August 5, 2017

Limbering up for Covingtons health and fitness weekend, the KSO presents Fit as a Fiddle II, dusting off the Beethoven 5k Run (runners race through Devou Park to beat the orchestra to the end of Beethovens 5th Symphony). The second half features fitness instructors for more audience cardio participation with "Sweatin to the Symphony" (a 50-minute, non-stop aerobic workout to well-known classics).

Program Highlights: Beethoven Symphony No. 5; Well-known works and excerpts by Bizet, Mozart, Prokofiev, Smetana, Khachaturian, Tchaikowsky, Offenbach, Rossini, J. Strauss, Grieg, Brahms, Sousa, Massenet and more.

Remembering WKRP in Cincinnati

Songs from the Show, 1978-82

7:30 p.m. Saturday, September 2, 2017

The KSO Boogie Band hits the rewind button and plays tunes heard on the 1978-82 CBS sit-com WKRP in Cincinnati. The show, about a wacky rock & roll radio station in downtown Cincinnati, included classic comedy bits and music from the era. Video from episodes and character reminiscences, together with gag appropriate tunes by Toto, Grover Washington, Marvin Gaye, Chic, Bob Seger, Queen, Kool and the Gang and many more fill the evening with nostalgia and fun for the old timers. A possible cameo, awaits the Labor Day weekend audience.

Sample Program:

WKRP Theme, Hold the Line,  For the Love of Money, Rise,Dont Stop Till You Get Enough," Another One Bites the Dust, Le Freak, Old Time Rock & Roll and many more.

"The KSO's Summer Series in this beautiful tree-lined park is really about the community coming together. Few events today allow families, neighbors and friends to simply come out and share a relaxed and unique cultural moment. Continuing a truly memorable tradition is what the KSO provides in part with the support of local corporate sponsors Toyota, Thomas More College, DBL Law, Schneller Plumbing, Heating and Air and Fischer Homes," commented KSO Music Director and Founder, James Cassidy.

Join the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.  July 8, August 5 & September 2. Bring blankets or lawn chairs as it is a natural setting.Concessions are available on-site. For more information and directions, visit the KSO at http://www.kyso.org or call (859) 431-6216. A $5 per person donation is suggested. The TANK Shuttle from Covington Catholic to the band shell runs from 6:00 -7:30 p.m.and immediately following the concert for $1 each way. Parking is free though limited in the park.

For 25 years The Kentucky Symphony Orchestra has taken the phony out of symphony via live thematic concerts that culturally enrich, educate and entertain the residents of Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati. The KSO performs throughout Northern Kentucky with three series of concerts along with various subsidiary groups.
Utelogy platform is much more of a strategic approach to collaboration, it ensures reduced deployment cost, significantly enhanced operational support and more importantly it sets the stage for the next-gen collaboration architectures, said Micha

Utelogy, which makes software for control, enterprise management and analytics of audiovisual systems for business and education, has signed a support and professional services agreement with IDM Solutions, a boutique design and consulting studio in The Netherlands.

Utelogy is a leader in Software-Defined audiovisual (SDAV) technology for smart classrooms, conference rooms, video-conference rooms and auditoriums. Using a standards-based architecture, the Utelogy platform enables IT departments to incorporate much more enterprise visibility, support, and flexibility into its room technology for easy global control, management and support. With its help-desk and remote monitoring capabilities, Utelogy also delivers data to identify operational savings and use-case data.

IDM Solutions is a European leader in technology design and consulting, serving large-scale enterprise clients. IDM has two primary areas of focus: the consulting branch delivers IP enabled enterprise architecture solutions with the latest in innovation and collaboration while the solutions branch is focused on performance and security testing of products and solutions. IDMs dedicated test lab ensures the quality of the solution designs, selected products and concepts and doubles as a customer demonstration area for the next wave of professional AV solutions. IDM Solutions will support Utelogy solutions partners in the EU and provide professional services on behalf of Utelogy to partners and their clients in the deployment of Utelogy systems.

With its enterprise approach to AV and room control, the Utelogy platform is much more of a strategic approach to collaboration, it ensures reduced deployment cost, significantly enhanced operational support and more importantly it sets the stage for the next-gen collaboration architectures. With the 2.0 release, we see great potential for new business opportunities for its users, especially around management and analytics, said Micha van der Stoop, IDM Solutions CEO. We value open and agnostic technology because it provides the greatest flexibility and opportunity for companies to innovate, added van der Stoop.

Micha and the team at IDM bring a unique and refreshing perspective to solution design and a thorough understanding of the Utelogy platform to take full advantage its capabilities, said Frank Pellkofer, Utelogys co-founder and CEO.

Further, with its comprehensive enterprise IT pedigree, IDM will function as Utelogys professional services subcontractor throughout Europe and the Middle East. From designing global architectures that support Utelogys centralized AV Platform, to world-class deployment and commissioning, IDM is the clear choice for us as we grow our European market. Through IDM, Utelogys customers and solution partners in Europe, the UK and The Middle East will experience the same world-class professional services our North American customers have grown accustomed to, continued Pellkofer.

About Utelogy Corporation:

Utelogy Corporation publishes an enterprise technology control and management platform for higher education, corporations and emergency response centers. Utelogy is a flexible, scalable software solution for control, management, and analytics of AV systems that puts the power in the hands of the user. For more information, visit http://www.utelogy.com.
StoneEagle is grateful to be recognized by the dealer community as the recipient of the Platinum Award for F&I Technology

StoneEagle is honored to win the Platinum Award for F&I Technology in the 2017 Dealers Choice Awards from Auto Dealer Today magazine. This is the second year in a row for StoneEagle to win an award in the F&I Technology category. The Dealers Choice Awards are based on results gathered from a comprehensive online survey open exclusively to dealers and dealership professionals.

StoneEagle is grateful to be recognized by the dealer community as the recipient of the Platinum Award for F&I Technology, said Jason Gillette, vice president of sales and marketing, StoneEagle. We would like to express our sincere appreciation to everyone who took the time to vote and thank our valued customers for their continued support. Our remarkable team is committed to delivering innovative F&I solutions backed by exceptional customer service to drive maximum efficiency and profitability for dealerships nationwide.

StoneEagle will receive the Dealers Choice Award in September 2017, during the Industry Summit in Grapevine, Texas. For more information about the awards, please visit http://www.autodealermonthly.com

About StoneEagle

StoneEagle provides innovative F&I solutions and exceptional customer service to the retail automotive industry. Our solutions are designed to ensure compliance efforts, increase productivity, improve efficiency, and drive profitability for dealerships, F&I product providers and OEMs. For more information on StoneEagle or to schedule a solution demo, call 855-937-8729, email sales@stoneeagle.com
LINET, an international leader in healthcare technology, and a leading global supplier of hospital beds, debuts its new movement to Save Our Nurses at the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) National Teaching Institute (NTI) & Critical Care Exposition held in Houston, May 22-25, 2017.

From hospital beds to support surfaces, LINETs products use innovative technologies to create an ideal combination of clinical benefits for patients and the staff who cares for them. Rooted in caregiver safety and increasing patient outcomes, LINETs mission has resulted in a revolutionary movement that aims to change healthcare for the betterment of nurses and caregivers everywhere  Save Our Nurses.

The Save Our Nurses movement is a social advocacy initiative that started in October 2016 to not only recognize the sacrifices nurses make every day to care for their patients, but to implement change. LINET will encourage exposition attendees to learn more about the movement and how their participation can make a difference.

The NTI Exposition is known for its excellence and inspiration in the healthcare industry, which makes it the perfect platform for us to not only display our industry-changing products, but to share the Save Our Nurses movement and our steadfast mission to change the healthcare industrys approach in providing care for those who care for us most, said Colin Bain, President and CEO of LINET. The nursing profession is physically taxing and simply put, it shouldnt hurt to be a nurse and our movement will work to fix that.

Nurses provide care designed to promote health, prevent illness and help achieve optimal recovery for individuals, families and their communities. They enter the profession because they are passionate about helping others; however, they are often put at risk for injury simply by performing routine tasks of their job. Nursing is one of the highest reported professions for back, shoulder and neck injuries and the impact goes beyond the bedside and carries into every aspect of their lives. In many cases, experienced nurses are leaving the career they love due to the physical demands and risk of the job.

One of the primary reasons for nurse back injuries and workplace injuries among caregivers is repositioning patients in bed to make them more comfortable or for clinical assessments/procedures. This includes turning patients from side to side and pulling them up in bed; both of which occur numerous times during every shift. While progress has been made in the industry to reduce this strain, nurses continue to sustain injuries from performing the basic functions of their jobs.

Now is the time to join together to support our nurses and implement changes to protect those who provide care for all of us when we need them the most.

At the exposition, attendees can experience LINETs collection of industry-changing line of contemporary hospital beds for intensive care, med-surg and pediatrics - including the Multicare LE Acuity Adaptable Hospital Bed, Eleganza 3 Med-Surg Hospital Bed and the Multicare High Acuity Hospital Bed, among others - along with support surfaces. LINET will showcase their Multicare bed with Hercules Patient Repositioning SystemTM, which allows a single caregiver to reposition a patient up in bed with the simple push of a button. Hercules can help improve caregiver safety, increase operational efficiency, eliminate caregiver distractions, and protect your patients dignity.

Join the movement now and get more information by visiting SaveOurNurses.com, and following along on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

About Save Our Nurses

LINET and The Morel Company care about nurses. So much so, in fact, we are trying to save them from the physical demands they face every day at work. We know that nursing is one of the highest reporting professions for back, neck and shoulder injuries.

Save Our Nurses is a movement that will revolutionize healthcare for caregivers. Forever. We are uniting for nurses and caregivers around the world because it shouldnt hurt to be a nurse.

About LINET

Founded in 1990, LINET is an international leader in healthcare technology with patient beds installed in over 100 countries. LINET offers a new and unique approach to the hospital bed market. LINET manufacturers innovative beds for the ICU and Medical-Surgical environments that promote patient and nurse safety, facilitate early mobilization, assist in better adherence to turning schedules, improve pain management and help reduce infection rates. LINET beds also come with an unprecedented 5-year warranty. The companys U.S. headquarters is based in Charlotte, N.C. Please visit http://www.linetamericas.com for more information.
To have accurate and updated information readily available at our fingertips will allow us to better serve our school communities.

Charter School Associates, Inc. is streamlining its school operations for the families and school staff of the 12,000 students it serves. The school is transitioning to PowerSchools student information system (SIS) to help staff improve efficiency, family engagement, and administrative needs. The online student registration solution, PowerSchool Registration, will replace the schools paper-based process for collecting and managing forms during annual enrollment each school year.

We are looking forward to putting the registration process online, stated Mike Strader, President of Charter School Associates, Inc. With PowerSchool Registration, we will have the ability to collect and disseminate information in an efficient manner, eliminating errors that happen when entering data manually. To have accurate and updated information readily available at our fingertips will allow us to better serve our school communities.

Using PowerSchool Registration, families who have more than one child in the school can snap data from one student to another. SmartForm technology, an intuitive tool built into the solution, collects relevant data based on previously entered information or choices (grade, activities, medical history, etc.). The data submitted by families is reviewed, polished, and formatted to meet school policies and then delivered into the PowerSchool SIS, resulting in accurate and up-to-date records on the first day of school.

In our search for a new student information system, we saw how much PowerSchool was expanding its array of solutions and services, noted Strader. Implementing both the SIS and registration solution allows us to streamline our processes. Additionally, the SIS will provide our school community with features we previously did not have, including the mobile app for parents to log in and monitor student progress.

The PowerSchool solutions will be available to the school community of Charter School Associates, Inc., this August.

About Charter School Associates, Inc.

Charter School Associates, Inc. (CSA) is one of Floridas largest and longest operating education service organizations with over 24 schools and 12,000 students included in its client base. CSAs services include the identification of potential school sites, staff recruitment, financial record keeping and reporting, curriculum development, regulatory compliance, personnel & employee benefits, and governance training. CSAs approach to the management of its client schools ensures that each school maintains its unique mission, academic focus, individual governance and community character. CSAs leadership is comprised of former teachers, Principals and education administrators resulting in guidance to its client schools that is experience-based and student oriented.

About PowerSchool Group LLC

PowerSchool is the leading K-12 education technology provider of solutions that improve the education experience for 100 million students, teachers, and parents in over 70 countries around the world. We provide the industrys first Unified Classroom experience, empowering teachers with best-in-class, secure, and compliant online solutions, including student information systems, learning management and classroom collaboration, assessment, analytics, behavior, and special education case management. We streamline school office and administration operations with online solutions for student registration, school choice, and finance/HR/ERP. We drive student growth through digital classroom capabilities and engage families through real-time communications across any device. Visit https://www.powerschool.com/ to learn more.
Penn Community Bank is excited to announce that it is bringing its full suite of financial services and its community-minded banking philosophy to Montgomery County with a proposed merger with Abington-based Chelten Hills Savings Bank.

Chelten Hills had been looking for a community bank with which it could partner in order to offer its longtime customers expanded financial services and convenience.

Our customers financial needs have evolved a great deal since our original founding in 1910, said W. Russell Koerwer, President and CEO of Chelten Hills Savings Bank. Our customers today want all the convenience of modern banking services, with the personal touch that only a community bank can provide. We found the best of both in Penn Community Bank.

We are excited to bring our full range of financial products and friendly service to the Abington area, said Jeane M. Coyle, President and CEO of Penn Community Bank. At Penn Community Bank, we focus on developing long-lasting relationships with our customers; we look forward to being a trusted partner and financial resource for our new neighbors in Montgomery County for many years to come.

Chelten Hills Savings Bank operates from one location in Abington, Pennsylvania. Penn Community Bank, which has an established network of branches throughout Bucks County, is committed to remaining in Montgomery County and is actively negotiating to enter into a lease for a new branch location that will continue to serve the Chelten Hills customers.

Chelten Hills is an FDIC-insured, Pennsylvania chartered mutual savings bank, so its merger with Penn Community Bank is a joining of two mutual organizations.

Penn Community Banks board of directors and Chelten Hills board of trustees actively support the merger and aim to complete the transaction by the end of 2017, subject to regulatory approval. An advisory board comprised of representatives from both organizations will be formed to oversee the transition.

Chelten Hills has two full-time employees, and both will be offered positions with Penn Community Bank. Koerwer, the president and CEO, is planning to retire once the two organizations are joined together, but will continue to serve on the advisory board. An active member of the Abington-area community, Koerwer currently serves as president of the board of directors of Eastern Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce and is a 47-year member and past president of Jenkintown Kiwanis Club. He also has served as a director of the Pennsylvania Association of Community Bankers.

If the merger of the two institutions is approved by federal and state regulators, the new branch in Montgomery County would bring the number of retail locations to 24 for Penn Community Bank, which offers banking, lending, insurance and investments in Bucks County and the surrounding areas.

About Penn Community: Penn Community Bank holds more than $1.9 billion in assets, employs more than 300 people, and offers banking, lending, insurance and investments at 23 bank branches and two administrative centers throughout Bucks County, Pennsylvania. As an independent, mutual financial institution, Penn Community Bank is not publicly traded and operates with its long-term mission in mind: to help businesses grow and prosper, to provide financial resources to individuals and families throughout their lifetimes, to strengthen the local economy, and to partner with local organizations to act as a catalyst for positive growth in every market it serves.

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Today, Pearson announced an expanded partnership with Chemeketa Community College, the second largest community college in Oregon, to provide students increased access to high-quality, digital course materials at significant cost savings. Chemeketa piloted its Course Materials Fee Program in Fall 2016. The pilot included more than 330 students enrolled in the Introduction to Business course, which leveraged Pearsons MyBusinessLab digital learning technology.

Based on positive feedback from students and educators, Chemeketa has extended and expanded the program to include more than 2,000 students across 33 courses, utilizing additional MyLab and Revel digital learning technologies focused on mathematics, political science, management, marketing, and finance, as well as content from other providers.

Since 2016, more than 190 colleges and universities have partnered with Pearson to implement the Digital Direct Access model. Pearsons DDA model enables institutions to deliver high-quality digital course materials, including eBooks, MyLab and Mastering, and REVEL, to students on or before the first day of class at a savings of up to 60 percent. Educators also gain valuable insights into students learning activity through data access, enabling them to continuously track and assess students progress.

Lack of access to affordable course materials often resulted in students dropping their courses. Partnering with Pearson helps us to address this challenge by providing our students with affordable access to essential course materials they need to successfully complete their higher education goals, said Meredith Schreiber, director, Bookstore and Auxiliary Services. Join Schreiber as one of the discussion leaders in a panel presentation on education content strategy at the 2017 WCET Leadership Summit on June 15 from 9:45 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. at the Marriott Salt Lake City Center.

Twenty-five percent of first year students and 33% of seniors report forgoing the purchase of required academic course materials, Tom Malek, senior vice president of partnerships for Pearson. Through our innovative Digital Direct Access model, we are empowering institutions and educators to improve access, affordability and achievement for more students in higher education.

The Digital Direct Access model is part of Pearsons ongoing commitment to making college more accessible and more affordable for students, through the use of effective immersive digital learning content and technologies that are designed to help educators increase engagement and produce measurable outcomes for learners.

In addition, Pearson recently announced a partnership with IBM Watson to create virtual college tutors, making digital learning easier and more engaging.

About Pearson

Pearson is the worlds learning company, with expertise in educational courseware and assessment, and a range of teaching and learning services powered by technology. Our mission is to help people make progress through access to better learning. We believe that learning opens up opportunities, creating fulfilling careers and better lives. For more, visit http://www.pearson.com.

About Chemeketa Community College

For more than 40 years, Chemeketa Community College has committed itself to offering opportunities for students to explore, learn, and succeed through quality educational experiences and workforce training. As the second largest multi-campus district in Oregon, Chemeketa serves nearly 30,000 students annually at its Salem and Yamhill Valley campuses, as well as community locations at Brooks, Eola, Winema, Polk County, Woodburn, and the Chemeketa Center for Business and Industry (CCBI). Chemeketa Community College is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and educational institution.
Doing what is best for the customer is our most important value; when you do what is best for the customer success will naturally follow.

Nexum, a leader in networking and cybersecurity solutions, announced today that CRN, a brand of The Channel Company, has named Nexum to its 2017 Solution Provider 500 list. The Solution Provider 500 is CRNs annual ranking of the largest technology integrators, solution providers and IT consultants in North America by revenue.

The Solution Provider 500 is CRNs predominant channel partner award list, serving as the industry standard for recognition of the most successful solution provider companies in the channel since 1995. This year, for the first time since 2010, the complete list will be published on CRN.com, making it readily available to vendors seeking out top solution providers to partner with.

CRN has also released its 2017 Solution Provider 500: Newcomers list, recognizing 58 companies making their debut in the Solution Provider 500 ranking this year.

Nexum has experienced continued growth by providing their clients with world-class products, services, support, and training. We are proud to be ranked on the CRN Solution Provider 500 list, said Nexum founder and Chief Executive Officer David Lesser. Doing what is best for the customer is our most important value; when you do what is best for the customer success will naturally follow.

CRNs Solution Provider 500 list spotlights the North American IT channel partner organizations that have earned the highest revenue over the past year, providing a valuable resource to vendors looking for top solution providers to partner with, said Robert Faletra, CEO of The Channel Company. The companies on this years list represent an incredible, combined revenue of over $318 billion, a sum that attests to their success in staying ahead of rapidly changing market demands. We extend our sincerest congratulations to each of these top-performing solution providers and look forward to their future pursuits and successes.

The complete 2017 Solution Provider 500 list will be available online at http://www.crn.com/sp500 and a sample from the list will be featured in the June issue of CRN Magazine.

About Nexum, Inc.

Nexum, Inc. (http://www.nexuminc.com) is an IT security and networking company that builds and secures global networks for organizations across multiple verticals around the world. Nexum believes that by remaining absolutely focused on its clients needs, success naturally follows. Nexum meets those needs through a holistic value-based approach that includes best-in-breed products, professional services, Nexum-branded manufacturer support, authorized training, and monitored and managed security services. Latin for an arrangement by which one pledged ones very liberty as security, Nexum stands for a commitment to its customers, to help ensure their security. At Nexum, We Mean Security.

About the Channel Company

The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequaled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. http://www.thechannelco.com
Kami Panbechi, Account Manager for Bendheim's Architectural Glass division

Bendheim, one of the worlds leading sources of specialty glass, welcomes Kami Panbechi as an Account Manager for its Architectural Flat Glass division. Panbechi will help create and advance relationships with building and design professionals throughout the New Jersey, Delaware, Eastern Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Long Island territories.

Kami Panbechi brings 5 years of specialty glass experience to Bendheim. His architectural glass journey began at a specialty glass fabricator in California, where he learned various fabrication techniques, before transitioning into a sales role. His knowledge of glass products, budgets, and timelines, has made him a valuable resource to both specifiers and the glazing community.

Kamis appointment is part of our commitment to providing building professionals with unprecedented knowledge and expertise, says Donald Jayson, Bendheims Co-Owner and Senior Vice President. Kami is extremely client focused and has a strong work ethic. I am confident he will play an integral role in cultivating long-term relationships within the design and construction industries.

Panbechi will be managing the New Jersey territory, home to Bendheims corporate headquarters. He plans to take advantage of his proximity to the production facilities to educate clients about glass manufacturing through plant tours and presentations.

Panbechi holds a Bachelors Degree in Graphic Design from St. Thomas Aquinas College, and has a diverse market experience, having worked on both U.S. coasts.

As a valuable partner, Bendheims team brings decades of specialty architectural glass experience to building and design professionals throughout the design process, from concept to completion. To learn more about Bendheim decorative architectural glass, please visit http://www.bendheim.com.

About Bendheim:

Bendheim is one of the foremost resources for specialty architectural glass. Founded in New York City in 1927, the fourth-generation, family-owned company offers more than 2,000 architectural glass types in stock and unlimited custom design solutions.

Bendheim develops, imports, and distributes its products worldwide. The company maintains production facilities in New Jersey and an extensive showroom in Tribeca, New York City. For additional information, please visit Bendheim.com.
National Roofing Week Employee Appreciation! Here at NRP, we strive daily to bring the highest level of professionalism and quality to every job.

National Roofing Partners (NRP), the leading network of commercial roofing contractors in North America, is proud to join roofing professionals across the country celebrating National Roofing Week. Organized by the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA), the week helps to increase recognition of the significance of roofs to every home and business, stress the value of professional roofing contractors and promote the good deeds of the industry. National Roofing Week is taking place June 4-10, 2017.

As one of the most important components of a structure, the roof is often taken for granted until it falls into disrepair. National Roofing Week enables roofing professionals to engage in their audiences and inform the public about the essential role roofs and professional roofing contractors play in every community.

"The professionalism of the roofing industry continues to improve and it is through the efforts of the NRCA, stated Dale Tyler, NRP President. Here at NRP, we strive daily to bring the highest level of professionalism and quality to every job. With our footprint of over 80 tier-one roofing companies and 120 service locations nationally, we know the importance of providing roofing services and maintenance that protects the assets of every building while also providing long term return on every roof.

As a founding sponsor of National Women in Roofing (NWIR) who is also a sponsor of National Roofing Week, NRP is thrilled to be supporting not only the weeks activities but also the growing diversity of the industry, stated Heidi J. Ellsworth, NRP Strategic Initiatives Director. NRP is a leader in roofing diversity with strong ties to women and minority-owned businesses inside and outside of the NRP network.

National Roofing Week takes place each summer. Its mission is to increase awareness across the U.S. about the significance of roofs to every home and business and the professionalism of all the people employed in the industry. National Roofing Week also promotes the importance of hiring a professional roofing contractor and making informed decisions about maintaining or replacing any roof system.

Additional information about National Roofing Week can be found at http://www.nrca.net/roofingweek.

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About National Roofing Partners

National Roofing Partners (NRP) was founded with the mission of continually improving the facility management capabilities of its customers by analyzing existing roof conditions, recommending and providing high quality single-source roofing replacements and services with dedicated support and technology. Building on the strong expertise of tier one commercial roofing contractors with over 120+ service locations and 8,000 employees nationwide, the network provides exceptional roofing and building envelope service, technology and maintenance for customers. For more information, visit http://www.nationalroofingpartners.com.

About National Roofing Contractors Association

NRCA is one of the construction industry's most respected trade associations and the voice of roofing professionals and leading authority in the roofing industry for information, education, technology and advocacy. It represents all segments of the roofing industry, including contractors; manufacturers; distributors; architects; consultants; engineers; building owners; and city, state and government agencies. NRCA's mission is to inform and assist the roofing industry, act as its principal advocate and help members in serving their customers. NRCA continually strives to enhance every aspect of the roofing industry. For information about NRCA and its services and offerings, visit http://www.nrca.net.
Sunrise Technologies announced today it has been named a finalist for the 2017 Microsoft Industry Partner of the Year Award. The company was honored among a global field of top Microsoft partners for demonstrating excellence in innovation and implementation of customer solutions based on Microsoft technology.

We are proud and honored to be recognized as a finalist for the 2017 Microsoft Industry Partner of the Year award, said Sunrises founder and president, John Pence. To be recognized at a global level as one of the top industry partners by Microsoft for a third time speaks to the hard work of our talented, innovative team and our strong vertical focus which we have brought to the partner network since 2003.

Awards were presented in several categories, with winners chosen from a set of more than 2,800 entrants from 115 countries worldwide. Sunrise was recognized for providing outstanding solutions and services by embracing the vertical business opportunities presented by Microsoft ERP and CRM products.

The Microsoft Dynamics Industry Partner of the Year Award recognizes partners that excel in providing innovative and unique solutions based on Microsoft Dynamics to customers in a specific industry (examples include: manufacturing, distribution, and retail). Partners must demonstrate industry knowledge and expertise about the specific vertical being served, as well as consistent, high-quality, predictable service to Microsoft Dynamics Customers. Additionally, the Award recognizes those partners who have made significant progress in shifting their business to the cloud.

The outstanding innovation and expertise the Microsoft partner community continues to provide is demonstrated by this years award winners, said Ron Huddleston corporate vice president, One Commercial Partner, Microsoft Corp. We applaud Sunrise Technologies on being a finalist for the 2017 Microsoft Industry Partner of the Year award.

The Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards recognize Microsoft partners that have developed and delivered exceptional Microsoft-based solutions during the past year.

About Sunrise Technologies

Sunrise Technologies is a Microsoft Gold Cloud Service Provider and delivers game-changing ERP and business intelligence solutions at a tremendous value. With one of the largest apparel, footwear, and furnishings Microsoft Dynamics 365 customer bases in the world, Sunrise is a global systems integrator operating out of North America, Europe, and Asia.
The Find Furniture Warehouse open the doors to its exciting new retail concept on Friday, May 26. Set in a 40,000-square-foot industrial warehouse, the store will feature mid- to high-end furniture from the industrys top brandsall at remarkable savings, up to 75% off retail pricing. Located at 3635 Zane Trace Drive, at the intersection of Zane Trace Drive and Roberts Road, just east of I-270, the new warehouse store will only be open to the public Friday through Sunday and four national holiday Mondays a year.

The store plans to hire approximately 14 people.

Were so excited to bring this concept to the Midwest, and thrilled to be back in Columbus, said Amy Kandel, who owns the new business with her husband Steven Kandel. The husband-and-wife duo previously owned a similar furniture business in Bakersfield, California, a 50,000-square-foot store they operated successfully for 10 years, before returning to Columbus, Amys hometown, in July 2016.

According to the Kandels, The Find will carry top-name, high fashion brands, like Flexsteel, Pulaski, Magnussen, Best and EJ Lauren. As in most furniture stores, there will be plenty of merchandise on the floor for customers to touch and feel. But unlike the competitors, most of the furniture at The Find will be visibly rackedand stacked highto accommodate a much larger-than-typical onsite inventory.

Were buying deep to get the best prices, Amy Kandel said.

Kandel, a veteran buyer and merchandiser, explains that buying deep means purchasing by the container, instead of by the piece, and buying directly from the manufacturer, both domestically and overseas. Those direct-from-manufacturer discounts are significant, and the savings will be passed onto The Finds customers.

But its not just about buying in quantity or buying direct, Kandel said. Its about finding the finds.

When you have really strong relationships with manufacturers, like we do, youre first in line for great deals on closeouts, one-of-a-kinds, factory sell-outs and overstocks, Kandel continued. The secret is then picking and choosing, among those opportunities, to achieve the right product mix for the customer base and merchandising it strategically for fast inventory turns.

Selling merchandise quickly also means The Finds inventory will be replenished regularly and often. Well look like a brand new store every month, said Kandel.

While the new-every-month inventory guarantees the customer fine quality, the shopping environment will remain bare bones. That is the final key to The Finds unique business strategymaintaining low overhead.

The Find is located in a basic, no-frills warehouse, in an fairly industrial area of town. We're not paying a lot for rent, fancy showroom displays or expensive advertising, Kandel said. On top of that, well only be open three days a week, which will reduce our operating costs, even further. These are huge savings were also able to pass onto the customer.

A no-frills shopping environment, however, does not mean lack of service. Kandel assures The Find will have plenty of energetic and helpful salespeople to assist customers, although not to pressure them, and the store will offer delivery and onsite assembly services.

We want to be a place that wows customers, where theyll come back, time and again, to discover the best finds for their homes, said Kandel.

For more information about The Find or to schedule an interview, please contact Amy Kandel at 415.637.0067. We also invite you to visit trythefind.com.

More About The Find

The Find is a discount furniture warehouse open to the public three days a weekFriday through Sundayand four holiday Mondays a year. The store offers high quality, top-name merchandise at a fraction of the price, up to 75% off retail. The business is owned by wife and husband Amy and Steven Kandel.

Amy Kandel is a veteran buyer and merchandiser with more than 20 years of experience. Before turning her talents to the furniture industry in 2006, she worked in New York and California for major fashion brandsLevi Strauss & Co., J Crew, The Gap, Inc., Liz Claiborn, Ann Taylor Loft and Macys. She was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, and returned to her hometown with her husband in 2016, where both are thrilled to be raising their young children.

Steve Kandel has a MBA from The Ohio State Universitys Fisher School of Business and a work history in the financial industry. The Find is the second furniture business he has owned with his wife Amy.

For more information, visit trythefind.com
Lucas Group Human capital is a companys most valuable resource and leading-edge companies are acknowledging this by bringing a human capital mindset to their HR departments.

Lucas Group announced the publication of the executive recruiting firms newest white paper, How SMBs Can Optimize Their Human Capital Investment.

Authored by Denver Managing Partner Kyle Lehman, the paper focuses on the importance of bringing a human capital mindset to HR departments of all sizes, from Fortune 100 corporations to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

The paper is in response to the current talent arms race, which is creating new recruitment and retention urgencies for companies of all sizes across the United States.

Unemployment rates in Denver, where Lehman is based, are at a historic low of 2.6 percent, giving talent significant leverage when it comes to selecting their next employer. While a single-minded focus on talent acquisition is tempting given the current candidate marketplace, Lehman cautions that employers must not overlook the importance of talent deployment.

A companys ability to recruit and retain top talent is just the starting point, says Lehman. How a company strategically deploys their talent is what truly matters. Human capital is a companys most valuable resource and leading-edge companies are acknowledging this by bringing a human capital mindset to their HR departments.

The white paper highlights three key opportunities for human capital optimization  talent, time and energy  and provides actionable optimization recommendations.

HR must rebrand, reposition, and reorient itself if it is to play a critical role in improving business performance and increasing return on investments in human capital, says Lehman.

Lehman, who joined Lucas Group in 2012, has placed more than 100 HR professionals, with a special focus on helping companies develop the HR department of the future.

In addition to Human Resource recruitment, Lucas Group specializes in Accounting & Finance, Information Technology, Legal, Manufacturing, Military Transition and Sales & Marketing recruitment. Taking pride in the professional growth and career advancement of its associates, Lucas Group provides clear career path trajectories together with the industrys most sophisticated onboarding and ongoing educational programming. With its broad footprint in 15 offices across the country, Lucas Group is able to uncover the best talent in the market, leading to long-term, strategic placements.

About Lucas Group

Lucas Group is North Americas premier executive search firm. Since 1970, our culture and methodologies have driven superior results. We assist clients ranging in size from small to medium-sized businesses to Fortune 500 companies find transcendent, executive talent; candidates fully realize their ambitions; and associates find professional success. To learn more, please visit Lucas Group at http://www.lucasgroup.com and connect with us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.
Greenberg Traurig Real Estate Shareholder Susan E. D. Neuberg will moderate a panel discussion during the Commercial Real Estate Finance Council (CREFC) 2017 Annual Conference June 7 from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at the Marriott Marquis in Washington, D.C.

CREFC is the trade association for lenders, investors, and servicers engaged in the $3.8 trillion commercial real estate finance industry. CREFC promotes capital formation, encouraging commercial real estate finance market efficiency, transparency, and liquidity. The conference brings together leading stakeholders from across the CRE finance industry and features panel discussions and breakout sessions focused on current industry topics.

Neuberg will moderate the panel, Construction Lending: If You Build It, Will They Come? The panelists are Brock Cannon, Managing Director, HFF; Matthew Drummond, Principal/Investments, Square Mile Capital; Scott Towbin, Executive Director, JP Morgan Commercial Bank; and Thomas Wise, Managing Director, Asset Management, Trimont Real Estate Advisors. The discussion topics will include:



The impact of positive/negative headlines around specific markets or property types on the overall construction lending market.

Which markets are seeing the most development?

Developers are turning to small and regional banks to fill up their capital stack. Why are major banks sitting on the sidelines?

Is there any anticipation of newly originated construction loans going into default?

The impact of regulatory and tax changes on development and construction lending.

Neuberg focuses her practice on structuring, negotiating, and documenting debt and equity investments for major financial institutions, REITS, investment advisors, institutional, and private investors. She counsels clients in the financial services and real estate industries on complex real estate matters, debt structures and equity joint ventures, as well as securitizations, master and special servicing, workouts, rating agencies criteria, CMBS and Freddie Mac portfolio servicing practices, and single sponsor programs. Neuberg has worked on numerous complex debt, equity, and joint venture transactions and has wide ranging business and legal experience in a broad array of real estate, real estate finance, and capital markets transactions, including the development and construction of mixed use and hotel projects, securitized, conventional and construction lending, syndicated and mezzanine lending, workouts, restructures, servicing of nonperforming loans, note sales, and transfers of servicing rights.

She is a frequent author and speaker addressing current issues of importance to the commercial real estate finance industry and has been an active CREFC member since CREFCs inception.

For more information or to register for CREFCs Annual Conference, please visit here.

About Greenberg Traurig, LLP

Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GTLaw) has more than 2,000 attorneys in 38 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East and is celebrating its 50th anniversary. One firm worldwide, GTLaw has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, was named the largest firm in the U.S. by Law360 in 2017, and among the Top 20 on the 2016 Am Law Global 100. Web: http://www.gtlaw.com Twitter: @GT_Law.
"Under the Sea" Being able to see the work curated as displays really brings together the multiple studies and showcases how far the curriculum has emerged.

The newest budding stars on the New York City art scene are 120 two-to-four year-olds from the Columbus Pre-School on the Upper West Side. On June 2, hundreds of masterpieces were unveiled at the 12th annual student art show. Varying by class, each childs individual and group creations were on display, paying homage to world-renowned artists who were studied over the course of the year.

Depending on the class, different mediums of art and artists were explored including: Wasily Kandinsky, Georgia OKeeffe, Jack Deloney, Roy Lichtenstein, Antoni Gaudi, Edgar Degas, Jackson Pollock, Andy Goldsworthy, Damien Hirst, Mark Rothko, Ansel Adams, James Audobon and Mel Bochner. The course of study for the preschool-age children was implemented throughout the entire year and was designed as part of the schools overall emergent curriculum; general creative arts; artist-focused studies; and author/nursery rhyme study for the youngest age group.

During busy times like pick-up and drop-off, the parents might get a glimpse of whats on the walls, but they dont always have the opportunity to read descriptions and take in the depth and breadth of what the children are learning about and absorbing throughout the year, said Julie Kandall, educational director. While we continuously update our parents on whats going on at school, being able to see the work curated as displays really brings together the multiple studies and showcases how far the curriculum has emerged.

A charitable component of the art show was implemented in recent years via a silent auction. Money raised from students masterpieces goes to a different charity each year. Some of the past charities include: the Wounded Warrior Project, St. Judes Childrens Hospital, Disability Pride New York City and Hope & Heroes. This years donation will help The Robin Hood Foundation. This is just one of the ways we try and educate our students, even at such a young age, about the value of helping others, explained Peggy Gluck, owner of the school and a former preschool teacher. Our objective at Columbus Pre-School is to help raise children who feel valued and, in turn, become good citizens and good people by recognizing the importance of valuing and empathizing with others.

Columbus Pre-School is located at 606 Columbus Avenue, New York, NY. For additional information, please contact Kiah Gluck at info(at)columbuspre-school.com or call (212) 721-0090.

About Columbus Pre-School

Columbus Pre-School was founded in 1988 by Peggy and Billy Gluck and has a nearly 30-year heritage as a family-owned and operated premier preschool on New York Citys Upper West Side. Columbus Pre-School offers a learning environment which nurtures and respects the different gifts and variety in learning styles that each child brings to the classroom community. The focus and philosophy is based on the holistic development of the children, rooted in their own investigations of their environment, and the pursuit of their individual passions. Active, expressive, child-centered learning experiences are emphasized, and brought to life through the emergent curriculum, based on the Reggio Emilia approach. The attached gymnastics studio and instruction and connected outdoor space provide an ideal and safe environment for physical fitness and gross motor skill development critical to the preschool-age child. All teachers have either received their Masters in Education or are in process. Columbus Pre-School is highly-regarded for its exmissions support and offerings and has a longstanding track record of success in New York City private school placement. For more information, please visit http://www.columbuspre-school.com/.
Spring Arbor University (SAU), a nonprofit, faith-based institution, has announced the addition of a Bachelor of Social Work to their online program portfolio. Accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), SAUs online BSW emphasizes problem solving, values and ethics.



The online BSW allows students from around the globe to complete a 33-credit social work degree 100% online. The program is open to anyone with a high school diploma.



The online BSW is designed to encourage close connections among students, faculty and staff. In Introduction to Social Work (SWK281) students will gain faculty mentors who will shepherd them through their upper level courses and fieldwork internship.

By the end of the program, students will be prepared to provide services to individuals, groups, families and organizations.



Spring Arbor University's online programs allow students to balance their professional lives with their learning endeavors, as they can log on, attend classes and complete assignments at times that are most convenient for them. For more information, visit online.arbor.edu or call 1.844.621.0900.



About Spring Arbor University

Since 1873, Spring Arbor University has helped students pursue wisdom by offering an education grounded in the Christian faith. What began as a small elementary and secondary school in the late 1800s has evolved into a top-tier, liberal arts, Christian university with more than 3,000 enrolled students. Spring Arbor University now offers more than 70 undergraduate majors and programs, degree completion programs, associate programs and graduate programs. With programs presented on campus, online and on site at 12 locations throughout Michigan and Ohio, the university continues to meet the growing needs of its students.

Contact Information

Bethany Landis

517.750.6451

Spring Arbor University

http://online.arbor.edu
Zero Mass Water, Inc. is a global drinking water technology company bringing its revolutionary drinking water solar panels, SOURCE, to Los Angeles residents.

Zero Mass Water makes SOURCE, solar panels that make pure drinking water from sunlight and air alone. SOURCE water is mineralized, optimizing for great taste. The water is dispensed directly into peoples kitchens - providing families with great-tasting drinking water.

Water issues are close to home in California, where although the winter rains have eased the drought, water scarcity and contamination is still a major concern.

SOURCE panels are sustainable and dont require any electricity or piped input connections other than sun and air to produce water daily. The mineralization process is simply calcium and magnesium, providing a great-tasting and safe alternative to bottled water for people worried about water quality.

Source panels are installed in arrays from one to many depending on the drinking water demands of a household. One SOURCE purchase will pay for itself in bottled water savings over two to four years.

Each SOURCE panel costs $2,900 plus the cost of installation. When purchasing SOURCE, people also share a portion of the cost of another panel with Zero Mass Water that is then installed for a family without access to safe water. This is water, democratized.

Customers can select how much democratizing theyd like to do, in 10%-of-a-panel increments. From there theyll work with a SOURCE installer to have their panels installed, and theyll get an update on panels theyve made a reality for someone else.

Water Democratized is the vision of Zero Mass Water CEO Cody Friesen, and is enabled by cutting edge technology that bypasses the need to clean and transport existing water, instead simply pulling it from thin air.

"We believe that SOURCE will go a long way to improve the worlds access to water that is safe to drink - ultimately improving lives across the globe," says Cody Friesen, CEO of Zero Mass Water. Were excited to continue making SOURCE available to consumers here in the U.S. - starting with California and Arizona, where water issues hit close to home.

SOURCE panels are currently available in Arizona and in California.

To sign up and learn more, please visit http://www.zeromasswater.com.

ABOUT ZERO MASS WATER - Founded in 2014, Zero Mass Water is a renewable water company dedicated to democratizing water with SOURCE, solar panels that make water from air. Led by Cody Friesen, PhD, the company has launched SOURCE on three continents in six countries. Zero Mass Water has partnered with Clinton Global Initiatives, Arizona State University, the Royal Jordanian Court, the Asian Development Bank, and other large organizations to transform the way we access water. The company is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona.

For more information, reach out to contact(at)zeromasswater.com
Gumption Citrus Freak

Gumption Hard Cider is excited to launch Citrus Freak, the newest member of their Circus of Ciders. A perfect pairing of common eating apples, grapefruit, and cascade hops, this semi-dry cider delivers a bold and unique citrus taste. Gumption Citrus Freak joins Gumption Original as the second year-round option within the portfolio for an all-day enjoyable experience. The new cider is 5.5% ABV and will be available in 6-packs of 12 oz. longneck bottles nationwide.

Citrus Freak highlights the Gumption brand spirit of innovation, says Brand Manager Phil Tucker. The new prankster in our portfolio showcases our Cider Makers adventurous and experimental side. Its one of the best liquids to come out of the cellar and will be a must-have all year.

The launch of Citrus Freak will be supported by fun POS and both on and off-premise samplings. For more information, samples, or hi-res imagery, contact Phil Tucker at ptucker@vtciderco.com or (802)-458-9468.

Gumption  The Circus of Ciders

Originally launched under the Woodchuck brand in 2015, Gumption is a bold and audacious brand which has been wildly successful with consumers. In December 2016, Gumption spun off from Woodchuck as its own brand with line extensions including the rotational Late Show series and Citrus Freak.

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About Vermont Cider Co.

Vermont Cider Co. introduced the U.S. to the craft cider category 25 years ago. Dedicated exclusively to cider making, they are the proud producers of their namesake brand, the original American hard cider, Woodchuck, the northeast premium hard cider brand, Vermont Cider Co., the circus of ciders, Gumption, the west coast native, Wyders Cider, and importers of Magners Irish Cider and Blackthorn. With an unparalleled focus on quality and innovation, Vermont Cider Co. leads the category in releasing the most premium liquid and pioneering new ciders made from the finest ingredients. Under the watchful eyes of two award-winning cider makers, Vermont Cider Co. produces and distributes from Middlebury, VT, blending together the passion of their consumers, their creativity, and their heritage within the green mountains.
Tactical urbanism group, Washougal Round Table, proudly announces details of their summer art installation project and kick-off event taking place at Reflection Plaza, in downtown Washougal, Washington, on July 1st, 2017 from 10:00 AM to 5 PM. The launch event will unveil the Washougal Conversation Board, an interactive art installation that will be available to the public every Saturday from July 1st to July 29th, 2017 from 10 AM to 5 PM.

The art installation, Washougal Conversation Board, is a three-paneled interactive board which allows people to share their ideas with the community as a whole. The artwork on the columns, provided by Excelsior and Washougal High School students, depicts the three core values of people,' innovation,' and sustainability.' Featuring chalkboard paint and two distinct conversation prompts, guests are asked for two responses that reflect Washougal, Washington in its current state (I love to live/work/play in Washougal because) and the future of the community (Washougal needs).

Tactical urbanism is a core strategy of this July art installation project. Tactical urbanism projects are temporary changes to urban environments that improve neighborhoods and city gathering places, allowing residents, business owners, and city officials the ability to test and try new concepts. Citizen advocates are the storytellers for past, present, and future Washougal, explains business owner, Alex Yost, who co-founded OurBar with partner Kevin Credelle four years ago. A highly organized and deeply focused group of citizen advocates has the ability to break down the barriers, creating more vibrant conversations between local agencies and the people they represent.

The Washougal Conversation Board art project focuses on building community, creating an opportunity for interaction and information sharing between groups, developing a sense of civic pride and enthusiasm for Washougal. A final report of Washougal Round Tables tactical urbanism project will be submitted to the City of Washougal and made available to the public online.

The Washougal Conversation Board launch is scheduled for Saturday, July 1st from 10 AM to 5 PM and is a free event open to the public. Located at Reflection Plaza in downtown Washougal, Washington, the event will feature a pop-up picnic park. The art installation will be the centerpiece of the layout, accessible to all. Guests will be encouraged to add their responses throughout the entire day. Live music and a public open mic jam session will set the mood. A picnic basket will be raffled off to attendees of the event featuring a Pendleton Blanket, OurBar gift certificate, and locally sourced treats, with a value of over $150.

"We are excited about the positive energy in Washougal and see this conversation board as a way to hear from the community itself about what makes our town special, says Dan and Kathy Huntington, long time residents and Washougal Round Table development committee members. Knowing what people see as needs and wants for the town moving forward, we can then take these ideas and find ways to make them happen."

Dates to Know:

Washougal Conversation Board Kick-Off & Unveiling Event with Pop-up Picnic Park - Saturday, July 1st, 10 AM to 5 PM

Washougal Conversation Board Interactive Art Installation - Every Saturday during July 2017, from July 8th to July 29th, 2017, 10 AM to 5 PM

For more information, please visit http://www.washougalroundtable.com.

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About Washougal Round Table:

Washougal Round Table is a group of local citizen advocates unified by common interests. We collaborate on short-term projects that create long-term change for the inhabitants of our community. Washougal Round Table is a group of local creatives, artisans, and business owners. We're also executives, passionate community members, and project managers. WRT members identify and complete group-based projects that bring education, sustainability, transportation, healthcare, and stability to our city. We volunteer our time for the residents and businesses of Washougal, Washington. http://www.washougalroundtable.com

About Washougal, Washington:

The City of Washougal, Washington, incorporated in 1908, is bordered by the Columbia and Washougal Rivers and located at the entrance to the Columbia Gorge Scenic Area. Accessed by over 60,000 area residents, this vibrant bedroom community of Portland, Oregon is a quick 15-minute drive from Portland International Airport. Washougal, Washington was the site of some of the very earliest American settlers and pioneers in the Washington Territory, including a stopping place for Lewis and Clark during their famed journey. Awash with family-friendly parks, hiking trails, one of the last three remaining outdoor motocross parks in the nation, artisans, makers, a downtown district with an active microbrewery scene, and Steigerwald Natural Preserve, locals have dubbed Washougal a creative haven for all to enjoy. http://visitwashougal.com/
6th generation Rigaku MiniFlex X-ray diffraction system

Rigaku Corporation has published an application report on its global website demonstrating the utility of X-ray diffraction (XRD) in the analysis of bulk samples with curved surfaces. The analysis described highlights the capabilities of the Rigaku MiniFlex general purpose X-ray diffractometer.

Powder X-ray diffractometers can readily measure bulk samples, given appropriate sample preparation techniques and measurement conditions. When measuring samples such as pharmaceutical tablets, which have curved surfaces, various effects are seen due to the curvature. These can include shifting of the diffraction angle and widening of the full width at half maximum. As demonstrated in the report, in cases of samples with these kinds of surfaces, adjustments can be made so that the sample surface is at the same height as the reference surface of the sample plate, reducing the effects of curvature. The effects can be further reduced by performing the measurement while narrowing the divergence slit and the incident height-limiting slit.

The example presented in the report shows that it is possible to identify the active ingredients in tablets such as ibuprofen and ethenzamide. The bulk sample article, along with other pharmaceutical-related XRD analyses, can be seen at https://www.rigaku.com/products/xrd/miniflex/apps/11

The newly introduced sixth generation MiniFlex X-ray diffractometer is a multipurpose analytical instrument that can determine phase identification and quantification, percent (%) crystallinity, crystallite size and strain, lattice parameter refinement, Rietveld refinement, and molecular structure. More information about the new Rigaku MiniFlex benchtop X-ray diffraction (XRD) instrument is available at https://www.rigaku.com/products/xrd/miniflex

About Rigaku

Since its inception in Japan in 1951, Rigaku has been at the forefront of analytical and industrial instrumentation technology. Rigaku and its subsidiaries form a global group focused on general-purpose analytical instrumentation and the life sciences. With hundreds of major innovations to their credit, Rigaku companies are world leaders in X-ray spectrometry, diffraction, and optics, as well as small molecule and protein crystallography and semiconductor metrology. Today, Rigaku employs over 1,400 people in the manufacturing and support of ts analytical equipment, which is used in more than 90 countries around the world supporting research, development, and quality assurance activities. Throughout the world, Rigaku continuously promotes partnerships, dialog, and innovation within the global scientific and industrial communities.

For further information, contact:

Michael Nelson

Global Marketing Coordinator

Rigaku Corporation

michael.nelson(at)rigaku(dot)com
Mason PUD 3 used the OmniMax in streetlights and decorative pedestal lights The people at Evluma have always been very responsive and a pleasure to work with.

Established in 1890, Sheltons past has long been intertwined with logging and the railroads that sprung up with it. Tollie The Shay, a locomotive built in 1924, rests next to the post office, anchoring the historic town center. Antique shops and small businesses line Railroad Avenue. In the evening, the decorative pedestal and streetlights that run along the busy street give off a warm glow  the warm glow of LED.

Railroad Avenues ornamental streetlights installed in the mid to late 1990s and maintained by Mason PUD 3 required a great deal of maintenance. Knowing the ballasts on the 20 year-old fixtures would need changing again soon, Justin Holzgrove, Engineering Services & Community Relations Manager at Mason PUD 3, was looking for an LED solution that would eliminate the constant upkeep required by HPS lights, yet still deliver the warm look that residents and visitors had come to expect.

The team at Mason PUD 3 tested several different solutions including corncobs and downlights. Anything less than a 10-year warranty was a non-starter for us. Some didnt fit our fixtures, one was too tall and downlights werent appropriate for our omnidirectional globes, stated Justin. Mason PUD 3 also obtained a sample OmniMax by Evluma. The OmniMax fit their fixture, met their pre-requisite of a 10-year warranty and came in a 2000K color temperature. The goal was to keep that gaslight look for the downtown corridor. The color of the 3000K OmniMax was more yellow than bright. It didnt preserve the soft glow that suggests a small-town charm. Having worked with Evluma since 2014 when Mason PUD 3 adopted the AreaMax as their light standard for residential lighting, their choice was made. The people at Evluma have always been very responsive and a pleasure to work with.

A total of 63 fixtures were retrofitted with the Evluma OmniMax. The 70W HPS bulbs in the decorative pedestal lights were replaced with 70W LED OmniMax. The 200W HPS bulbs in the teardrop roadway lights were also replaced with 70W LED OmniMax. With the ballast calculated in the 200W HPS lights we were pulling approximately 240W. The 70W HPS lights were closer to 75W, stated Holzgrove. All the lights run on two separate circuits with a single photocontrol for each circuit. The lighting design along Railroad Ave pairs an overhead street light on a decorative 33' pole opposite a shorter 15' decorative pedestrian light. While we are seeing slightly less light output from the streetlight, we are getting more output from the pedestrian lights since we remained at 70 watts, instead of selecting the 40 watt OmniMax. Altogether, we are achieving a similar amount of illumination on the streets and sidewalks as we were with the HPS. The OmniMax gives us the same performance, but now with energy and maintenance savings.

The lights converted from 200W to 70W count towards Washington Initiative 937, the Energy Independence Act (2006), that requires utilities undertake all cost-effective energy conservation. The OmniMax LED retrofit lamp comes in multiple color temperatures from 5000K for a bright white, contemporary look, to the 2000K gaslight CCT that Mason PUD 3 ultimately chose for their downtown.

OmniMax are also compatible with ConnectLED, a Bluetooth Low Energy wireless app for dimming and quick disconnects. Mason PUD 3 will likely not use the app for OmniMax in downtown Shelton, but have this as an extra tool for working with the 1,500+ Evluma AreaMax they have installed in other areas of Mason County.

The Railroad Avenue retrofit project was one of the last performed by long-time Mason PUD 3 lineman John Donovan right before he retired. John has done a lot of maintenance on those ornamental lights replacing ballasts and replacing bulbs and I think for him to see a long-term solution in place was probably rewarding, stated Holzgrove.

About Mason PUD 3

Located in Shelton, WA, Mason PUD 3 is a community-owned and governed utility, created to provide safe, reliable and cost-based electric and wholesale telecommunication services to its customers.

About Evluma

Formed in 2008, Evluma is committed to developing affordable, long-lasting and environmentally low-impact LED lighting solutions that fundamentally change the landscape of the outdoor utility lighting market. Evlumas high standard of customer service and background in innovative lighting technologies, automation and software design creatively ideate and inform its Made in Washington products.
The Philadelphia office of international law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP was once again recognized by the 2017 Chambers USA Guide. Three Greenberg Traurig attorneys and two practice areas from Philadelphia were recognized. Firmwide, more than 175 attorneys were acknowledged.

The following Greenberg Traurig Philadelphia attorneys were recognized:



James N. Boudreau - Labor & Employment

o This is the fourth year Boudreau has been recognized by Chambers. He is co-chair of the firms Global Labor & Employment Practice. He represents management in class action and complex employment litigation, and devotes the majority of his practice to managing teams of attorneys and paralegals in nationwide class and collective actions. He comes highly recommended by interviewees, one of whom notes: "He's a really smart guy and I have a lot of respect for him."

o Mandelbaum has been recognized by Chambers since the Guides inception in 2003. According to the Guide, Mandelbaum is a highly regarded figure in the market noted for his considerable strengths in major Superfund matters. Sources single him out for his "strategic thinking" and also describe him as "as smart as it gets."

o Vuocolo is recognized for the ninth time in 2017. She focuses her practice in the areas of commercial litigation, business reorganization, corporate work-outs and restructurings, bankruptcy law, loan restructurings, loan documentation, receiverships, restructuring distressed debt situations, and foreclosure litigation. Her clients include financial institutions, DIP lenders, leasing entities, creditors' committees, bankruptcy trustees, debtors, majority shareholders, guarantors, examiners, secured creditors, and trade creditors. According to the Guide, clients describe her as an extraordinary advocate . . . and an extremely effective negotiator."

The offices Environmental Practice is ranked among the top in the Commonwealth and is specifically afforded Nationwide recognition by the Guide. According to the Guide, the team is known for being an Adept environmental law group, with specialties in Superfund litigation and brownfield development, among a wide range of other areas. Well versed in risk management, regulatory compliance and permitting counsel. Maintains wide-ranging industry sector expertise, including real estate, energy, pharmaceuticals, metals and aviation. A client reports, "I would recommend Greenberg Traurig highly for its technical expertise: they're aware of trends, they know the landscape and they can go toe-to-toe with the other big firms."

The Guide also acknowledged Greenberg Traurigs Philadelphia Bankruptcy/Restructuring Group. The Guide states the team is known for leveraging strength across the USA to advise on restructurings arising from the energy, healthcare and real estate sectors, among others. Notable cross-border capabilities, showcasing particular expertise in cases involving Latin America. Broad practice includes advising debtors, sponsors and creditors' committees on Chapter 11 proceedings, insolvency-related litigation and distressed M&A. Interviewees praised the firm's "really good cross-functional capabilities," adding: "They're very commercial and business-friendly, and clients like them." They confirmed that Greenberg Traurig offers "good decisions made quickly and with the right number of people involved, so it's cost-effective."

Chambers and Partners, UK-based publisher of annual guides in several global markets, selects attorneys and practice areas for inclusion based on thousands of interviews with practicing lawyers and clients around the world.

About Greenberg Traurigs Philadelphia Office

Founded in 1997, Greenberg Traurigs Philadelphia office is home to 38 attorneys and 12 practices including Restructuring & Bankruptcy, Corporate & Securities, Emerging Technology, Environmental, Business Immigration & Compliance, Investment Regulation, Labor & Employment, Litigation, Public Finance, Government Law & Policy, Real Estate, and Tax. The Philadelphia office represents clients in the manufacturing, health care, real estate, energy, financial, and insurance industries, state and local governments, professional service, and energy firms, and individuals.

About Greenberg Traurig, LLP

Greenberg Traurig, LLP (GTLaw) has more than 2,000 attorneys in 38 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East and is celebrating its 50th anniversary. One firm worldwide, GTLaw has been recognized for its philanthropic giving, was named the largest firm in the U.S. by Law360 in 2017, and among the Top 20 on the 2016 Am Law Global 100. Web: http://www.gtlaw.com Twitter: @GT_Law.
Brian Andrus, President of FGCAR, discusses the business rental tax in Florida and the damage it causes. The business rent tax should not merely be reduced, but eliminated. Florida is the only state in the union that charges such a tax.

The Florida Gulfcoast Commercial Association of Realtors (FGCAR) stands behind its position that the recently reduced business rental tax by the Florida Senate remains economically damaging to business, even as a very small measure of relief was accomplished. A tax on businesses works against commercial development and creates a disincentive for businesses to locate in Florida, maintains the organization that comprises over 400 commercial real estate brokers and professional affiliates in the Tampa Bay region.

The business rent tax should not merely be reduced, but eliminated. Florida is the only state in the union that charges such a tax, said Brian Andrus, president of FGCAR. It is one of those factors that contributes to suppressing job growth and, therefore, economic activity.

In an 11th-hour session last month, the Florida Senate passed a long-awaited tax-relief measure in the form of House Bill 7109. Included in the omnibus package was a 3.3% reduction (from 6% of total monthly lease payments to 5.8%) in Floridas controversialand, in the view of commercial real estate industry experts, wrongheaded and economically damagingstate tax on business property rentals.1

As an example, a $10,000 monthly lease amount will have its $600 tax reduced to $580, a $20 savings. This is progress, but $20 per week is not going to hire a new person whereas $600 per week moves toward providing one, said Andrus.

FGCAR represent the interests of commercial Realtors throughout the Tampa Bay region and note that the business tax places a disproportionate burden on small businesses and startups, particularly in highly competitive, low-margin industries like retail.

If the tenant also makes payments towards maintenance, ad valorem taxes, or insurance on behalf of the landlord, these payments are also classified as rent and subject to the tax. Examples of this are payments for services such as utilities, parking, and janitorial services that may also be included in the taxable rent.2

The tax-relief bill passed in May 2017 represented the last in a series of adjustments and compromises made to the business rental tax as it passed through committee in both houses of the legislature. While almost universally opposed by business groups, the business rental tax has been part of Florida law since 1969. One reason for the taxs tenacity is its popularity with Florida municipal governments, which can impose a local surtax of up to 1.5% on the state tax.3

We understand municipalities attachment to this revenue source, says FGCARs Andrus, but we reject the reasoning behind it. Sustainable revenue comes not from taxation, but from business growth.

In the wake of the reduced, though not eliminated business rent tax, it is incumbent upon municipalities, counties and development professionals to utilize the expertise of the Florida Gulfcoast Commercial Association of Realtors professionals and their resources. Commercial brokers, appraisers, title companies, lenders, attorneys, civil engineers, environmental specialists, and urban planners work together with municipalities to stimulate commercial development, attract new business, facilitate property closings and enhance the economic well-being of their entire area. In this way FGCAR enables the market to function as it should.

About Florida Gulfcoast Commercial Association of Realtors:

Established in November 1993, the Florida Gulfcoast Commercial Association of Realtors (FGCAR) is the lone commercial-only professional real estate board for licensed commercial real estate brokers and professional affiliates in the Tampa Bay region, is one of only two in Florida and one of a handful nationwide. The mission of the Florida Gulfcoast Commercial Association of Realtors is to provide the Tampa Bay region a source of professional expertise and ethical accountability in the field of commercial real estate. The association offers continuing education as well as resources for all brokers and professionals engaged in commercial real estate transactions.

About Brian Andrus:

As president of the Florida Gulfcoast Commercial Association of Realtors, Brian Andrus brings a background of experience to the organization which provides the Tampa Bay region with a solid source of professional expertise and ethical accountability in the field of commercial real estate. Andrus is managing broker at Stonebridge Real Estate Co., a commercial and residential real estate brokerage in Clearwater, FL.

1. Staff Writer. Lawmakers Complete 2017 Broad-Based Tax Relief Package. Sunshine State News. N.p.,Web. 09 May 2017.

2. Neal, Pat. Business Rent Tax Stifles Floridas Economic Future. N.p., Web. Sunshine State News. 06 April 2017.

3. Staff Writer. Reducing the Business Rent Tax. N.p., n.d., Web. Florida TaxWatch. October
Each new program is a 30-credit, non-clinical degree, providing the important foundational knowledge and skills necessary for doctoral-level study and for careers in the helping professions, industry, government, for-profit or nonprofit organizations.

The American Psychological Association acknowledges that psychology can play a vital role in developmental success, has an impact on health, and is critical in the workplace. Organizations and industries can benefit from those trained in these areas of psychology. Northcentral University, a global online graduate-focused university, announced today it will offer three new masters degree programs within its School of Social and Behavioral Sciences Department of Psychology. Each online program features NCUs unique one-to-one learning model taught by doctoral professors. They were developed with industry standards and the future job market in mind, preparing students to apply psychological principles in a variety of real-world settings.

NCUs three new programs*, which do not require GRE or GMAT completion for entry, include:



Master of Science in Child and Adolescent Developmental Psychology: This program helps prepare students for a career working with, or advocating for, children, adolescents, and their families. Students study developmental stages and explore how the impacts of family, school, peers, society and culture intertwine and affect the development of children and adolescents. Students will also learn about child and adolescent psychopathology.

Master of Science in Health Psychology: This program prepares students for a career in hospital or social services settings, education or industry/human resources. Students in the program will focus on the psychological study of health, illness and recovery from the perspective that a combination of physical, behavioral, and social conditions drive these phenomena.

Master of Science in Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology: This program helps students learn to study scientific principles and their application to workplace issues facing individuals, teams and organizations, preparing them for a career in industry, government or consulting. The curriculum was developed in accordance with and meets the Guidelines for Education and Training in I/O Psychology, as outlined by the American Psychological Associations Division 14 Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP).

Each of the three programs offers the opportunity to complete a capstone project or internship where learnings can be immediately applied, enabling further skill development and preparation for the labor market.

NCUs Masters in Child and Adolescent Developmental Psychology focuses on the scientific study of the psychological growth and development of individuals from infancy through adulthood, while the masters in Health Psychology concentrates on the psychological study of health, illness and recovery, says Dr. James Billings, PhD, Dean of the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences.

Dr. Billings continued, The Masters in Industrial/Organizational Psychology helps students gain a deeper understanding of people and how they behave in the workplace. Each new program is a 30-credit, non-clinical degree, providing the important foundational knowledge and skills necessary for doctoral-level study and for careers in the helping professions, industry, government, for-profit or nonprofit organizations. They are not designed to offer clinical training, or to prepare students to become licensed psychologists or counseling professionals."

For more information about these programs, prospective students can visit http://www.ncu.edu/programs-degrees/psychology.

About Northcentral University

Founded in 1996, Northcentral University is a regionally accredited, private, online and graduate-focused university serving professionals globally. With no physical residency requirements, courses are taught one-to-one by an NCU professor with a doctoral degree. NCU offers doctoral, masters and bachelors degrees in business and technology management, education, and psychology, as well as doctoral and masters degrees in marriage and family therapy. Northcentral University is regionally accredited by WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), 985 Atlantic Avenue, Suite 100, Alameda, CA 94501, 510.748.9001, wscuc.org. For more information, visit ncu.edu or call 866.776.0331.

*For more information about NCUs graduation rates, the median debt of students who complete programs, and other important information, please visit ncu.edu/program-disclosures.
Alex Cano (left) from Lazydays RV presents Mary Burson (right) with her prize. The Country Jam music festival hosts thousands of RVers at its campground, making the Lazydays prize package a perfect fit for our lucky winner. We would like to extend our congratulations to Mary Burson.

Lazydays, The RV Authority and worlds largest RV dealership, recently partnered with Colorados KUAD/K99 as sponsor of the radio stations Last Prize Standing Country Jam giveaway. On May 13, KUAD hosted a live remote show at the Lazydays RV dealership in Loveland, Colo. to draw the grand-prize winner of the Lazydays RV Country Jam giveaway. The grand prize includes six passes to the June 15-18 Country Jam music festival and the use of a Lazydays RV to camp at the four-day event.

DJ Matt Sparx and Justin Tyler awarded Mary Burson from Grover, Colo. the winner of the Lazydays RV Country Jam giveaway. When asked to comment on her big win, Burson replied, Awesome! Wonderful! I cant wait! She also expressed gratitude to Lazydays for use of the RV: Its the only way to go!

Lazydays is proud to partner with KUAD as sponsor of its popular Last Prize Standing Country Jam giveaway, said John Lebbad, Chief Marketing Officer for Lazydays. The Country Jam music festival hosts thousands of RVers at its campground, making the Lazydays prize package a perfect fit for our lucky winner. We would like to extend our congratulations to Mary Burson.

"To have the ability to provide a winner from Northern Colorado with a once in a lifetime prize from Lazydays RV is something we're proud to do and something we know the winner will never forget," said Justin Tyler, Operations Manager for Townsquare Media  Northern Colorado.

To learn more about Lazydays, visit https://www.lazydays.com. For details on upcoming Lazydays RV events and giveaways, visit Lazydays on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

About Lazydays

Lazydays, The RV Authority and worlds largest RV dealership, caters to every RV need. Lazydays offers the largest selection of RV brands in the nation featuring more than 2,500 new and pre-owned RVs, over 300 service bays and two onsite campgrounds with over 700 RV campsites. Based on 126 acres outside Tampa, FL, Lazydays also has a dealership located in Tucson, AZ as well as three dealerships located in Loveland, Denver and Longmont, CO.

Lazydays RV Accessories & More offers more than 40,000 accessories online for your shopping convenience. Shop us online or visit one of our store locations in Florida, Arizona and Colorado. Lazydays also has RV Rental fleets in Florida, Arizona and Colorado.

Since 1976, Lazydays has built its reputation on providing an outstanding customer experience with exceptional service and product expertise, and as a place to rest and recharge with other RVers. More than a half-million RVers and their families visit Lazydays every year, making it their home away from home. Lazydays has been recognized as a Top 50 RV Dealer by RV Business and as one of Tampa Bays Top Work Places. The Lazydays Employee Foundation, supported by payroll contributions from Lazydays employees, has contributed more than $1.5 million to make many historic changes for at-risk children in the Tampa Bay, Tucson and Colorado communities.

For most people, Lazydays isn't just the beginning of their journey; it's very much a part of their ride. To learn more, visit [http://www.lazydays.com.

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Red Rook has established themselves as omni-channel experts by bringing together best practices of brick-and-mortar retailers and online-only merchants. - Ken Richards, Global Channel Leader, NCR

Red Rook announced today an initiative with NCR, a global leader in omni-channel technology, to provide robust omni-channel solutions to specialty retailers in North America. Red Rooks Commerce5 solution leverages the power of NCR Counterpoint and the Magento ecommerce platform to deliver a comprehensive retail management solution.

NCR Counterpoint includes robust point-of sale (POS), inventory management software, built-in customer loyalty, automated purchasing, and configurable reporting capabilities. It is built with the specialty retailer in mind, with an open architecture that allows for customizations, mobile and marketing solutions, and real time data at their fingertips.

Commerce5 combines NCR Counterpoints strengths with Magentos online commerce, order management, B2C and B2B capabilities to empower merchants to grow their channels and create demand for their products while scaling operations simultaneously.

NCR embraces innovation in developing omni-channel customer engagement at every level, said Ken Richard, Global Channel and Distribution Leader at NCR. Red Rook has established themselves as omni-channel experts by bringing together best practices of brick-and-mortar retailers and online-only merchants. Combining our strengths enables us to deliver a unified experience that keeps us at the forefront of retail technology.

Red Rook is excited to be a part of NCRs mission to enhance the omni-channel user experience across all channels. Weve been working for years to bring Counterpoint and omni-channel ecommerce together, and believe that there is a huge potential for our combined offering, said Joseph Duke, CEO of Red Rook.

NCR and Red Rook will continue to innovate and empower NCR Counterpoint merchants and their channel technology providers with omni-channel solutions that serve a broad range of specialty markets. This is one of many NCR initiatives to expand their omni-channel presence across the retail industry.

About Red Rook

Red Rook is a recognized leader in providing omni-channel solutions for both online and in-store commerce. We have partnered with the worlds largest technology companies, and some of the most innovative growth companies to achieve success in delivering value to the clients we serve in the retail and e-commerce industries. We believe in true partnership, continual innovation, and always putting in more than we take out, whether with our team, clients, or the markets we serve. Today, we manage over 28 Million customers on behalf of our valued clients. Founded in 2001, the company is headquartered in Atlanta, GA. To learn more about unique company and culture, please visit us at: http://www.theredrook.com.

About NCR Corporation

NCR Corporation is a leader in omni-channel solutions, turning everyday interactions with businesses into exceptional experiences. With its software, hardware and portfolio of services, NCR enables nearly 700 million transactions daily across retail, financial, travel, hospitality, telecom and technology, and small business. NCR solutions run the everyday transactions that make your life easier.

NCR is headquartered in Duluth, Ga., with over 30,000 employees, and does business in 180 countries. NCR is a trademark of NCR Corporation in the United States and other countries. Website: http://www.ncr.com
St. Mary Medical Center, Apple Valley, Calif., named Allied Anesthesia Physician Lisa Wilson the recipient of this years Values in Action Award for Excellence. I cannot think of a better statement to describe Lisa other than gracefully driven.'

Southern California medical group Allied Anesthesia today announced St. Mary Medical Center, Apple Valley, Calif., has named Allied Anesthesiologist Dr. Lisa Wilson the recipient of this years Values in Action Award for Excellence. The award is the highest honor the medical centers administration bestows on its physicians. Dr. Wilson received the award at a ceremony in the Annex Courtyard at St. Mary Medical Center, Apple Valley, Wednesday, May 17.

St. Mary Medical Center Director of Peri-Operative Services Gordon Reid said, I cannot think of a better statement to describe Lisa other than gracefully driven. She takes her role as Anesthesia Department Chief as more than just a title. She has taken on the responsibility of promoting, educating and encouraging best practice care. She pushes for perfection, but she does so with the utmost grace and compassion.

St. Mary Medical Center CEO Alan Garrett said St. Marys Vice President of Medical Affairs nominated Dr. Wilson, but a Values in Action review team comprising prior awardees and executive leadership selected the awardee from among all the nominees.

About Values in Action

Values in Action is a set of four awards the St. Mary Medical Center presents to staff members annually. According to the administration, the four awards are presented to individuals who demonstrate commitment in representing the core values of dignity, service, justice and excellence.

Garrett said, Our values are the guiding principles for all we do, shaping our interactions with those whom we are privileged to serve. These are the values that guide our healing ministry and help us fulfill our mission: to improve the health and quality of life of people in the communities we serve. They form the heart of our health care ministry.

Dr. Wilson is being honored for the Value of Excellence. St. Marys Vice President of Mission Integration Judy Wagner said the Values in Action Award for Excellence is given to a recipient who demonstrates the following qualities:



Responds to changing organizational needs by learning new skills and behaviors and by improving performance, processes and service

Encourages new ideas, seeks to discover and share best practices and creates an environment of continuous learning

Establishes clear goals and plans, takes responsibility for individual and team actions and expects accountability for performance

Dr. Wilson said, For one department to excel, it must remember that iron sharpens iron! Each of us must look not only to the interests of our own department, but also to the interests of others, as it says in Philippians 2:4.

Allied Anesthesia team leader Dr. Perry Chu said, Dr. Wilson is an excellent and talented physician who gives her all to the practice of anesthesiology. Im not surprised in the least that shes earned this honor. I speak on behalf of the entire Allied Anesthesia group when I offer sincerest congratulations to Dr. Wilson, and when I express extreme gratitude that this fine doctor is out there representing our team.

About Allied Anesthesia: With over 100 highly qualified physician anesthesiologists on staff, Allied Anesthesia provides adult and pediatric anesthesia services to St. Joseph Hospital of Orange, CHOC Childrens Hospital, St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton, Calif., San Antonio Community Hospital in Upland, St. Mary Medical Center in Apple Valley and many other Southern California health care facilities. In 2014, Allied Anesthesia joined with Fullerton Anesthesia Associates and Upland Anesthesia Medical Group to consolidate best practices in more than six hospitals and more than a dozen ambulatory surgery centers. The expanded medical practice is dedicated to offering the highest comprehensive quality of care and the most cost-effective procedures in all facilities they serve. All Allied physician anesthesiologists are board certified in anesthesiology and staff and manage the most efficient operating rooms in Southern California. Allied is a member of the California Society of Anesthesiologists, the American Society of Anesthesiologists and the Anesthesia Quality Institute.

For more information, visit: http://www.alliedanesthesia.com.
Inspired eLearning, the leading provider of cyber security and corporate compliance e-learning solutions in the United States, announced today the launch of its Global Partner Program at InfoSecurity Europe. The company also announced a strategic partnership with simplEtraining based in Bedfordshire, England. The partnership enables simplEtraining to distribute Inspired eLearnings educational platforms within EMEA and builds upon simplEtraining and Inspired eLearnings 14 years experience.

Willem Boom, Head of Global Channel Sales at Inspired eLearning states, We are excited to launch our global partner program and offer our best-in-market educational platform to help corporations and employees reduce their exposure to hackers, cyber crime and corporate compliance. We live in an age where even the most advanced cyber security technology can be disabled by a click on one phishing or ransomware embedded email. Our goal is to educate employees across the globe on the ways to spot erroneous emails and other forms of hacks.

Boom adds, We are also delighted to have simplEtraining as our first partner and look forward to working with them and many other like-minded firms across the world.

Sarah Labdon of simplEtraining said, Organisations in Britain and across the EU have been plagued with wave after wave of cyber breaches. The WannaCry attack demonstrated what can happen to a business that becomes infected. We believe that Inspired eLearnings portfolio of services offers an incredibly cost effective and efficient means for companies to educate their employees and proactively negate the risks associated with opening a simple email.

About Inspired eLearning

Named a Gartner Magic Quadrant Leader in Security Awareness CBT for the 3rd year in row and an Inc. 5000 company for the 3rd year in a row, Inspired eLearning is dedicated to delivering the highest quality enterprise educational products that transform corporate culture, nurture and enhance workforce skills, and deliver maximum ROI for the corporate education budget. Inspired eLearning offers Security Awareness and Compliance solutions that include, PhishProof phishing assessment software, custom courseware design and development, content integration, and a fully hosted web-based eLearning course delivery and tracking system using the iLMS (Inspired Learning Management System). For more information, visit http://www.inspiredelearning.com/

About simplEtraining

Providing Security Awareness solutions since 2004, based on the Inspired eLearning portfolio combined with the ability to deliver security professional services, consultations, programme delivery and assessments, simplEtraining offers a one stop partner for organisations to develop cybersecurity behavioural change. For more information, visit http://www.simpletraining.com/
OneNeck IT Solutions data center in Colorado has been awarded a Management & Operations (M&O) Stamp of Approval from Uptime Institute. Earning the M&O Stamp of Approval demonstrates leadership and provides third-party assurance that a data center satisfies industry-recognized criteria for excellence, risk management and reliability.

OneNeck IT Solutions announced today the companys newest data center in Colorado has been awarded a Management & Operations (M&O) Stamp of Approval from Uptime Institute. Located in the Denver metro area, OneNecks 35,000 square foot facility (with expansion capacity to 160,000 square feet) was built to meet the growing demand businesses in Denver and throughout the Rocky Mountain region have for data storage, cloud and managed online services. The facility is also a disaster tolerant alternative for companies located throughout the United States.

We are extremely pleased to earn the prestigious Uptime Institutes M&O Stamp of Approval, said Terry Swanson, president and CEO at OneNeck. This is a thorough and important demonstration of our total dedication and commitment to our customers and the information technology of their business operations.

As part of the M&O process, the following key areas were assessed by the Uptime Institute:



Planning, coordination and management

Staffing and organization

Training

Operating conditions

Maintenance

Securing the Uptime Institute M&O Stamp of Approval further illustrates the focus and commitment to quality and continuity of operations by our entire team, said Hank Koch, senior vice president of Mission Critical Facilities at OneNeck. Our customers, present and future, clearly benefit from this highest level of operational professionalism.

Critical features within the data center include:



Continuously/concurrently maintainable infrastructure  all systems (N+1 or better).

Fault tolerant and compartmentalized electrical infrastructure  all systems (2N or better).

Absolutely no water or water pipes in data rooms, UPS rooms or carrier rooms.

Three factor physical security authentication, including iris dynamics scanners for positive human identification.

Ultra-quick responding VESDA (Very Early Smoke Detection Apparatus) fire detection system.

Energy saving cooling design with a PUE of 1.2 or less.

Self-balancing, redundant and flexible accommodation of energy use and thermal densities for cabinet arrangements.

With continued demand for data across all business functions, todays IT and data center infrastructure stakeholders are under continuous pressure to deliver value while maintaining cost and efficiency, said Keith Klesner, senior vice president, North America for Uptime Institute. Earning the M&O Stamp of Approval demonstrates leadership and provides third-party assurance that a data center satisfies industry-recognized criteria for excellence, risk management and reliability.

In addition to securing the Uptime Institute M&O Stamp of Approval at its data center in Denver, the facility also meets annual compliance requirements for Type 2 SOC 1 and Type 2 SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI Data Security Standard validation, and the HIPAA and HITECH examination. Schedule a tour to see the data center first-hand.

OneNeck offers a full suite of hybrid IT solutions including cloud and hosting solutions, managed services, enterprise application management, professional services and IT hardware. In addition to the facility in Colorado, OneNeck also has top-tier data centers in Arizona, Iowa, Minnesota, Oregon and Wisconsin. Visit oneneck.com for more information.

About OneNeck

OneNeck IT Solutions LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems, employs nearly 550 people throughout the U.S. The company offers hybrid IT solutions including cloud and hosting solutions, managed services, enterprise application management, professional services, IT hardware and top-tier data centers in Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota, Oregon and Wisconsin. OneNeck's team of technology professionals manage secure, world-class, hybrid IT infrastructures and applications for businesses around the country. Visit oneneck.com.

TDS Telecommunications Corporation (TDS Telecom/TDS), headquartered in Madison, Wis., operates OneNeck IT Solutions LLC and BendBroadband, which is part of TDS Broadband Service LLC. Combined, the company employs more than 3,400 people. Visit tdstelecom.com.

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc., a Fortune 500 company, provides wireless; cable and wireline broadband, TV and voice; and hosted and managed services to approximately six million customers nationwide through its businesses U.S. Cellular, TDS Telecom, OneNeck IT Solutions LLC, and TDS Broadband Service LLC. Founded in 1969 and headquartered in Chicago, Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. employs 10,300 people. Visit tdsinc.com.
TVision Insights, the leader in measuring eyes on screen attention to every second of programming and advertising on television, today unveiled its Creative Performance Score. The Creative Performance Score is the first metric that measures creative breakthrough while normalizing for attention to surrounding commercial and program content. The score is highlighted in TVision Insights latest TV Attention Report, which covers all of Q1, 2017, and showcases attention data across demographics, commercials, and programming.

The Creative Performance Score enables brands to evaluate the impact of the creative they use across commercial pods on a second-by-second, person-level basis. A higher score means a brands commercials are able to truly separate from the pack, as each brands score is compared to others running in the same commercial pods. In the report, Geico, Nutrisystem, Progressive, Verizon, and AT&T Wireless captured the most overall attention. However, Verizon had the highest Creative Performance Score, meaning it was able to capture attention more effectively than its peers.

"The Creative Performance Score is a game-changer. It is the first passive, in-market, measure of creative breakthrough on TV and it is available to advertisers within hours of first airing, said Dan Schiffman, CRO and Co-Founder at TVision Insights. Previously, brands waited weeks or months for ad level breakthrough measures. Our ability to provide eyes-on-screen attention data empowers television advertisers with actionable information to optimize their TV campaigns and attribute success to a specific ad, time and place.

Additional key findings from the Q1 2017 TV Attention Report:



Out of the five auto brands who captured the most attention in Q1, Subaru had the highest Creative Performance Score of 148.6

CBSs Life in Pieces had the most attentive audience out of all broadcast primetime programs

Crown Royal, AT&T Wireless, and Netflix had the most attention-grabbing ads across all dayparts

Disney Junior was the channel with the highest average people in the room, known as co-viewing

Hulus The Path had the highest Attention Index of all OTT-exclusive shows

ABCs airing of the Rose Parade, Howie Mandel All-Star Comedy Gala, and David Blaine: Beyond Magic were the special events that garnered the highest levels of attention

Lead-in or post-events are more attention-grabbing than the main events themselves

Attention is the starting point for effective advertising communication, offering a potential step for consumers to move closer to marketers brands, said Gerard Broussard, Principal at Pre-Meditated Media. No engagement can happen if people arent paying attention, no matter how evolved targeting or measurement of outcomes becomes.

All rankings and data are based off of TVisions technology and panel. Their computer vision technology passively measures eyes-on-screen attention to content. The opt-in panel has installed proprietary, privacy-safe hardware & software allowing for passive monitoring of their television viewing behaviors. The result is person-level measurement data reported second-by-second Media buyers and sellers both use TVisions attention data to make smarter decisions around messaging, media plans, programming, and valuing inventory.

Data in the report is based on viewer behaviors from 7,500 people in Boston, Chicago, and Dallas.

To view the full report, visit tvisioninsights.com/quarterlyattention.

About TVision Insights

TVision Insights is a television attention measurement company pioneering the way brands, their agencies, TV networks and OTT platforms determine the true value of their video content and advertising. The companys core technology uses data science and computer vision technology to passively assess eyes on screen, the single most accurate way to measure person-level engagement with video content. Founded by two MIT alumni, TVision Insights is a venture-backed company headquartered in Boston, MA with offices in New York and Tokyo.
Last week, United States Congressman Anthony G. Brown, who represents Marylands Fourth Congressional District, received a private factory tour of Thompson Creek Window Companys 117,000-square-foot building in Upper Marlboro, MD. In an effort to strengthen Marylands economy and provide opportunities for residents within the Fourth District, Congressman Brown asked to host a roundtable discussion in the Thompson Creek Window Company factory with other local manufacturers. During the roundtable discussion, companies discussed their business successes and challenges in todays economy along with how Congressman Brown could get involved to assist with specific initiatives. In addition, Congressman Brown also discussed the 21st Century Investment Act of 2017, a bill he will be introducing in Congress this session to leverage existing tax credits to spur innovation, increase productivity and create good-paying American jobs.

Congressman Brown is the most recent in a long list of distinguished political leaders who have honored Thompson Creek Window Company by recognizing their leadership in manufacturing, construction and business. Other notable previous VIPs have reached out to Thompson Creek Window Company in the last couple of years as the resident experts in the home improvement industry to consult to determine how legislation will affect companies and their employees. Some of these notable previous VIPs include President of the United States, Barack Obama (January 2011), Governor of Maryland, Larry Hogan (2015), Maryland President of the Senate, Mike Miller (2015), Prince Georges County Executive, Rushern Baker (2011, 2014) and many more.

Thompson Creek Window Company has a growth plan for the next 5-10 years by expanding geographically and by introducing new products and services to the market. The local community has been instrumental to the Companys success to date and will continue to play a pivotal role in the future as well. With the construction of the new factory over one year ago, Thompson Creek plans to create at least 150 new jobs over the next 6 years, many of which will be filled by Prince Georges County residents.

About Thompson Creek Window Company

Thompson Creek Window Company is a privately owned and family-operated manufacturer and installer of energy-efficient home improvement replacement products. Founded in 1980, Thompson Creek Window Company began as a manufacturer of maintenance-free, energy-efficient vinyl windows. Since that time, Thompson Creek Window Company has evolved into one of the leading specialty home improvement contracting companies in the nation. The companys product mix includes replacement windows and doors, vinyl siding, roofing and a clog-free gutter system. Thompson Creek Window Company is headquartered in Lanham, Maryland and recently moved into a 117,000-square-foot building in Upper Marlboro to house its new manufacturing and warehousing operations. Thompson Creek employs over 400 people in the Washington D.C. and Baltimore, MD region.
Our Software as a Service (SaaS) offering saves customers money because they only need one project license for everyone: there is no hardware to purchase and no software to install and manage, says Donald Henrich, CEO of Assemble Systems.

Assemble Systems, the leading provider of Construction Data Management solutions, has released the next major enhancement to its award winning software, Assemble Insight. With this new capability, AEC professionals can access 2D drawings within Assemble alongside 3D models. These 2D SmartSheets represent a major increase in capability for the AEC industry. The model, drawings, and associated metadata are all linked together to assist the user in quickly comprehending the design and associated constructability issues. Assemble Systems is known for its innovative approach to improving preconstruction and construction workflows through use of models and associated metadata. The company has earned numerous industry awards for being an industry leader in driving technology adoption in the construction industry.

Assemble has become the platform of choice for construction companies to publish, condition, and share model data with all the personnel and subcontractors on their projects. Assemble licensing allows the customer to invite an unlimited number of users and to store an unlimited numbers of models, drawings, project data, and point cloud scans for a single project fee of $5,000.

We have worked hard with our customers to continually improve our solution and address their stated needs, said Mark Klusza, Chief Innovation Officer for Assemble. In this release we are confident that we have exceeded customer expectations and look forward to working with our user community to continually improve the capabilities of the system.

Assemble is a System of Engagement which is best defined as a system people want to use, not that they have to use. For too long construction customers have been locked into systems that were inflexible and required a large amount of upfront capital, system administration, and IT support. Our Software as a Service (SaaS) offering saves customers money because they only need one project license for everyone: there is no hardware to purchase and no software to install and manage, says Donald Henrich, CEO of Assemble Systems. With our easy to use connections to Systems of Record such as Excel, iSqFt, Procore, Sage, Autodesk Civil 3D, Revit, Autocad, and Intergraph CADWorx, we bring a flexible, easy to use connection to many construction workflows.

If you would like to learn more about Assemble Systems, please visit [http://www.assemblesystems.com or request a demo of the 2D SmartSheets support.

About Assemble Systems:

Assemble Systems with offices in Boston and Houston provides construction data management solutions. Its core offering, Assemble Insight is a cloud based platform allowing AEC firms to leverage 3D data for increased project insight, advanced project collaboration and data driven decision making. Assemble is used today to manage over 8,000 projects.
Miss Wisconsin contestant, Kaitlyn Rhey, iFred's Ambassador for Hope I have found the Schools for Hope curriculum to be a useful tool in developing and working on my platform. The lessons have allowed me to talk with our youth about mental health in positive ways.

iFred is excited to announce a new ambassador for Hope, Miss Wisconsin contestant Kaitlyn Rhey, currently in the running as Miss Kenosha for Wisconsin. The 23 years old Miss Rhey, a recent graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, will continue her education at Marquette University for her Masters Degree in Nursing. She aims to raise awareness and end stigma of depression and anxiety, both of which she personally experienced in her teens. Rhey wants to educate youth that it is OK to talk about mental health, and that anxiety and depression are treatable.

Over 350 million globally have depression, and a new study just released by RAND presents this startling statistic: 36% of all young women either have had or currently have depression. Whats more, among young women, suicide is also now the leading cause of death. This is tragic, and reversible, as depression is treatable and suicide is preventable. Early intervention is necessary to counteract this trend.

Kaitlyn, using her platform, is reaching out to Pre-school and Elementary School students with lessons from iFreds Schools for Hope program, a curriculum of lessons and activities, that educate children on being hopeful. Kaitlyn is also taking lessons to the Middle Schools, teaching adolescents about actions that can create a hopeful attitude. Students will define hope, learn the importance on giving back, and set realistic goals towards hopeful pathways. She also is working to engage the communities and other nonprofit organizations by planting sunflowers and posting signs to raise awareness about the need to shine a positive light on this important issue.

Kaitlyn shares her experience teaching hope, "I have found the Schools for Hope curriculum to be a useful tool in developing and working on my platform. The lessons have allowed me to talk with our youth about mental health in positive ways, the meaning of success, how to become resilient, and ways to create hopeful pathways in life.

There has been a tremendous response from the students I have worked with in both elementary and middle schools. One school had the children write letters explaining why they wanted to plant sunflowers, and their responses amazed me. Some students felt comfortable sharing their stories with me, others expressed they need positivity in their life, and some even described having symptoms of depression and anxiety themselves. My goal is to let them know that no matter their situation, they can create their own hope, and it's okay to talk about their feelings. This experience for me has demonstrated how necessary it is to discuss mental health at an early age, and I feel blessed to have the opportunity to work with iFred, helping our youth with mental health."

Kathryn Goetzke, iFred Founder, says, We are thrilled for Kaitlyn to get on board and help work with the youth as an Ambassador. She is reaching out to young kids with our curriculum for Hope, a skill based on research that it is teachable and, we believe, key to prevention. We know that having an advocate like Kaitlyn, with such a public platform and media spotlight, shows young women it is OK to talk about and if necessary, seek treatment, ultimately ending stigma so people get treatment. We absolutely must reverse these trends we are seeing today, and courageous leaders like Kaitlyn, using platforms for social good, help us get closer to that goal.

Jen Lagoni, an advisor to Kaitlyn and past contestant, comments, Many people do not realize that the Miss America Organization, a non-profit organization, is the nations leading advocate for womens education and the largest provider of scholarship assistance to young women in the United States. The young women compete in evening gown, swimsuit, talent and interview, with the interview and talent carrying the bulk of the scoring. The interview is based on a platform, a plan as to how she will dedicate herself to a cause in her community and I am so impressed with all Kaitlyn has done in such a short time to shine a positive light in the community on this important issue. In my opinion, the platform is the most important part of a womans journey in our program and it helps her make an impact on her community via her own personal passion or interest.

Kaitlyn is competing in the swimsuit section and onstage question on June 14th, the talent and evening gown portions on June 15th, and the final competition on June 17th. You can vote for the People's Choice by going to the Miss Wisconsin Website. Each vote is $1, and people can vote as many times as they want. The contestant with the most votes will be guaranteed the 11th spot in the finals and a $600 scholarship.

About iFred:

The mission of International Foundation for Research and Education on Depression (iFred) is to shine a positive light on depression and eliminate the stigma associated with the disease through prevention, research and education. Its goal is to ensure 100% of the 350 million people affected by depression seek and receive treatment.

iFred is creating a shift in societys negative perception of depression through rebrandingestablishing the sunflower and color yellow as the international symbols of hope for depression, engaging celebrities, and educating on the biology of the brain. iFred also has a curriculum that teaches young people Hope, based on research that it is a teachable skill. Find out more at http://www.ifred.org.
Amit Paley, The Trevor Project CEO In todays political environment, where rights and protections for LGBTQ young people are being rescinded and anti-LGBTQ legislation is moving forward, The Trevor Project is needed more than ever.

The Board of Directors of The Trevor Projectthe nations leading suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youthannounced today that Amit Paley will become the organizations next Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director.

Paley, 35, is a leading expert on healthcare and non-profit management at the global consulting firm McKinsey & Company, where he is an Associate Partner serving numerous non-profit organizations, Fortune 500 companies and governments. He is also a leader of McKinseys LGBTQ group and spearheaded the firms global efforts on inclusion for transgender and gender non-conforming people.

A six-year counselor on the organizations 24/7/365 Trevor Lifeline where he answered thousands of calls from youth in crisis, Paley is the first volunteer to become the CEO of the organization in its 19-year history. He has also served on Trevors Board of Directors, chairing the boards Public Policy and Advocacy Committee and its Strategic Planning Committee, and leading the development of Trevors strategic plan as a pro bono consultant.

Amit has the experience, insights, passion and vision this organization needs to navigate how we continue to lead the design and implementation of crisis intervention services, said Michael Norton, chair of The Trevor Projects Board of Directors. He not only comes to us with a proven track-record working with leading non-profit and health care organizations, he has a deep understanding of our life-saving work from his many years of fielding calls on the Trevor Lifeline. With Amit, we've got a skilled, thoughtful and innovative steward of this organization.

The Board selected Paley after an exhaustive, six-month national search conducted by Koya Leadership Partners, a leading non-profit executive search firm. He will succeed Abbe Land, who served as Executive Director and CEO for nearly five years and led an ambitious expansion of the number of LGBTQ youth that the organization helps each year. She also expanded Trevors chat and text services, as well as the organizations advocacy work and education programming. Steve Mendelsohn, Trevors long-time Deputy Executive Director, has been successfully leading the organization as Interim Executive Director for the past several months and will continue at The Trevor Project as Deputy Executive Director.

Paley, a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College with an MBA from Columbia Business School and Masters from Columbias Graduate School of Journalism, was a reporter at The Washington Post before joining McKinsey. He covered numerous beats, including as a foreign correspondent based in the papers Baghdad bureau, where his work was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize; a financial investigative journalist; and the papers national education reporter. Paley also worked in the corporate strategy office of The Washington Post Company. Earlier in his journalism career, he uncovered the existence of an 80-year-old secret court at Harvard University that persecuted gay students, several of whom died by suicide.

I am so honored and thrilled to join the incredible team of staff, volunteers, donors and supporters who make up The Trevor Project family and literally save lives every day, said Paley, who will officially become CEO on June 19. In todays political environment, where rights and protections for LGBTQ young people are being rescinded and anti-LGBTQ legislation is moving forward, The Trevor Project is needed more than ever. Whenever gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning young people are in crisis, they know they are not alone because The Trevor Project is here to listen and help. We will always fight for LGBTQ young people, alleviate crisis, and help prevent LGBTQ youth suicide.

Paley is involved with several non-profit organizations in addition to The Trevor Project. He is a former president of The Harvard Crimson, where he is now vice chair of its board of directors and oversees the organizations financial aid program; a board member of the Center for Public Integrity, the Pulitzer-Prize-winning organization that published the Panama Papers; and was previously an adjunct professor of entrepreneurial journalism at City University of New York.

You can follow Amit Paley on Twitter (@amitpaley). Watch Paley's introductory video here.

About the Trevor Project:

The Trevor Project is the leading and only accredited national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) young people under the age of 25. The Trevor Project offers a suite of crisis intervention and suicide prevention programs, including TrevorLifeline, TrevorText, and TrevorChat as well as the worlds largest peer-to-peer social support network for LGBTQ young people under the age of 25, TrevorSpace. Trevor also offers an education program with resources for youth-serving adults and organizations, a legislative advocacy department fighting for pro-LGBTQ legislation and against anti-LGBTQ rhetoric/policy positions, and conducts research to discover the most effective means to help young LGBTQ people in crisis and end suicide. If you or someone you know is feeling hopeless or suicidal, our Trevor Lifeline crisis counselors are available 24/7/365 at 866.488.7386. http://www.TheTrevorProject.org
It is a great honor for Qorus to win this award from Microsoft. Our goal is to help organizations embrace digital transformation by creating a connected workplace.

Qorus today announced it has won the 2017 Microsoft Customer Experience Partner of the Year award. The company was honored among a global field of top Microsoft partners for demonstrating excellence in innovation and implementation of customer solutions based on Microsoft technology.

It is a great honor for Qorus to win this award from Microsoft. Our goal is to help organizations embrace digital transformation by creating a connected workplace, says Qorus CEO, Ray Meiring. Of course, an exceptional user experience is a vital part of this story. Our Product Development team works closely with Microsoft to ensure that ours is one of the easiest document creation solutions on the market, and the rest of the business works hard to build that customer experience. As this award from Microsoft shows, business users value software that is easy to use and well supported.

Awards were presented in several categories, with winners chosen from a set of more than 2,800 entrants from 115 countries worldwide. Qorus was recognized for providing outstanding solutions and services in customer experience.

The Customer Experience Partner of the Year award recognizes a partner who demonstrates an exceptional ability to manage customer demand and exceed expectations.

The outstanding innovation and expertise the Microsoft partner community continues to provide is demonstrated by this years award winners, said Ron Huddleston corporate vice president, One Commercial Partner, Microsoft Corp. We applaud Qorus on winning the 2017 Microsoft Customer Experience Partner of the Year award.

The Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards recognize Microsoft partners that have developed and delivered exceptional Microsoft-based solutions during the past year.

For more information about the awards, and for the full list of winners, visit https://news.microsoft.com

About Qorus

Qorus helps organizations create business critical documents more efficiently and accurately. Our software is incredibly powerful but highly intuitive and very easy to use. Even the most non-technical users can quickly create accurate, personalized and compliant documents like proposals, contracts, RFPs, pitches, and reports.

Qorus runs on Microsoft Azure and integrates with Microsoft Office to enhance document productivity.

Our award-winning Customer Success team ensures our customers across all industries get the most value from our software.

We have offices in Seattle, London and Cape Town.

Learn more at http://www.qorusdocs.com

For additional information:

Heather Thompson

SVP of Marketing, Qorus Software

hthompson(at)qorusdocs(dot)com

Product or service names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
FPX, a leader in enterprise Configure Price Quote (CPQ) solutions, announced it has released an enterprise CPQ solution thats purpose-built to run natively on Microsoft Azure. FPX CPQ enhances Azure customers ability to optimize buying and selling experiences across sales, partner, and ecommerce channels, helping to result in increased revenue, higher profit margins, and enhanced loyalty and engagement.

Todays B2B customer journey goes beyond direct sales. It spans evolving networks of distributors, dealers, value-added resellers, and ecommerce portals and platforms. FPX CPQ complements the ability of Azure customers to handle various levels of complexity, the agility to advance commerce strategies, and the simplicity to extend and enhance the capabilities of direct and indirect sales.

FPX CPQ is a SaaS application that integrates Azure to deliver a scalable and more reliable solution. Azure provides the infrastructure to support FPX CPQ including storage, application servers and networking resources. Azure delivers built-in load balancing for FPX CPQ cloud services, creating highly available applications. With Azure, locally redundant storage (LRS) provides durable and high-availability storage and a sense of assurance for business continuity.

By simplifying the complex buying and selling experience companies are able to align their business with the expectations of modern customers, said George Haenisch, VP of Strategic Alliances at FPX. Being based in the cloud with the security, global scale, and flexibility of Microsoft Azure enables our solution to move businesses forward with power and agility in this accelerated era of digital transformation.

As a platform-agnostic and modular solution, FPX CPQ comes pre-built with productised integrations for leading platforms such as Azure, Salesforce, SAP C4C, SAP Hybris, Oracle and IBM  giving customers the newfound ability to:



Unify customer data, product catalogues, price books, rules, and business attributes from diverse systems of record into a single location

Harmonise and process diverse data types and sources to create a Master Commercial Definition for their business

Deliver an optimised and personalised buying and selling experience  the right product to the right customer for the right price  regardless of channel

Our customers are leaders in their respective markets and require enterprise calibre buying and selling capabilities, said Marc Spiotta, general manager, U.S. Developer Experience, ISV & App Recruitment, Microsoft Corp. We are excited to introduce them to FPX CPQ, a solution that extends their existing investment in Microsoft Azure and gives them the ability to pursue their omnichannel strategies.

For more information about FPX CPQ on Microsoft Azure, visit https://azuremarketplace.microsoft.com/en-us/marketplace/apps/aad.fpx.

About FPX:

FPX simplifies the buying and selling experience to align enterprise businesses with the expectations of modern omnichannel customers. Powerful enough to handle any level of complexity, nimble enough to advance your commerce strategy, and simple enough to seamlessly extend and enhance the capabilities of direct and indirect sales, FPX is the business agility engine to power success in this era of Digital Transformation. With FPX enterprise CPQ, todays leading organizations are optimizing the experience of buying and selling across their sales, partner, and ecommerce channels, driving increased revenue and profit margins, increased loyalty and engagement, and a consolidated IT footprint.

More information is available at: http://www.fpx.com.

Further information

Julie Kirby, Ascendant Communications

jkirby(at)ascendcomms(dot)net

07956 955625
Bill Lyons We are honored to have been invited to this wonderful community of real estate thought leaders and we look forward to continuing to be a leader in our industry.

Bill Lyons, CEO of Griffin Funding, Lyons Realty and Co-Founder of Revestor, has been accepted into the Forbes Real Estate Council, an invitation-only community for executives in the real estate industry.

Lyons joins other Forbes Real Estate Council members, who are hand-selected, to become part of a curated network of successful peers and get access to a variety of exclusive benefits and resources, including the opportunity to submit thought leadership articles and short tips on industry-related topics for publishing on Forbes.com.

Forbes Councils combines an innovative, high-touch approach to community management perfected by the team behind Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) with the extensive resources and global reach of Forbes. As a result, Forbes Council members get access to the people, benefits and expertise they need to grow their businesses  and a dedicated member concierge who acts as an extension of their own team, providing personalized one-on-one support.

Im excited to join the Forbes Real Estate Council and bring more value to the real estate community as a whole, our employees and our clients. We are honored to have been invited to this wonderful community of real estate thought leaders and we look forward to continuing to be a leader in our industry, said Lyons.

Scott Gerber, founder of Forbes Councils, says, We are honored to welcome Bill Lyons into the community. Our mission with Forbes Councils is to curate successful professionals from every industry, creating a vetted, social capital-driven network that helps every member make an even greater impact on the business world.

About Griffin Funding, Lyons Realty, and Revestor

Griffin Funding is a five star rated and reviewed mortgage lender licensed in California, Arizona, Hawaii and Washington. Lyons Realty is a San Diego boutique real estate firm that serves buyers, sellers and investors. Revestor is a real estate technology search platform that helps real estate investors find San Diego investment properties by cap rate and cash flow. The Revestor platform shows homes for sale on the MLS that can be rented out long-term or on Airbnb as a short-term rental.

About Forbes Councils

Forbes partnered with the founders of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC) to launch Forbes Councils, invitation-only communities for world-class business professionals in a variety of industries. Members, who are hand-selected by each Councils community team, receive personalized introductions to each other based on their specific needs and gain access to a wide range of business benefits and services, including best-in-class concierge teams, personalized connections, peer-to-peer learning, a business services marketplace, and the opportunity to share thought leadership content on Forbes.com. For more information about Forbes Real Estate Council, visit https://forbesrealestatecouncil.com/. To learn more about Forbes Councils, visit forbescouncils.com.
Peter Grimm, CEO, (center) and Beau Oliver, COO, Cipher (right) accept the Distinguished Member Award from SCIP Board Members, Felipe Buzzerio (left) and Nanette Bulger (not pictured). Cipher serves as a role model for others through their active participation in the SCIP community and by their continued and demonstrated support for the industry as a whole.

Cipher, a global provider of competitive intelligence and technology solutions, has been recognized by the Strategic and Competitive Intelligence Professionals (SCIP) by awarding the Distinguished Member Award for its outstanding industry achievements and continued support. The award was presented at the 32nd Annual SCIP International Conference & Exhibition in Atlanta, Georgia in May.

This award is given to change agents that are making a real difference in the intelligence profession, said Nanette Bulger, CEO and Executive Director of SCIP. In our opinion, Cipher serves as a role model for others through their active participation in the SCIP community and by their continued and demonstrated support for the industry as a whole.

As an active member of SCIP for many years, we are honored to be presented with this prestigious award, noted Peter Grimm, Chief Executive Officer of Cipher. This years conference was particularly engaging and we were delighted to be invited to share our insights on how to better use strategic competitive intelligence to enable more informed and actionable decisions. The variety of opportunities for peer level networking was both fun and stimulating.

Also at the SCIP conference, Cipher announced that Knowledge360 earned the coveted SCIP Certified gold seal endorsement for the second year in a row. This recognition distinguishes Knowledge360 as the industrys number one intelligence software solution for competitive and market intelligence professionals. We truly value our long-standing partnership with SCIP, said Grimm.

About Cipher

Cipher is an innovative consultancy focused on delivering competitive intelligence services and technology solutions that help our clients make smarter, faster decisions. Leveraging over 20 years of experience, our team of experts serves as the trusted partner to the worlds greatest companies. Our clients rely on us to solve their toughest strategic challenges and to provide strategic insight into all aspects of the marketplace.

About SCIP

Strategic and Competitive Intelligence Professionals (SCIP), is the non-profit Association representing the Integrated Intelligence industry internationally for over 32 years.
The 48,000-ft. square foot facility incorporates hot shot manufacturing capabilities to provide shorter lead times on products prevalent in the South East, in addition to special request items. Delivering best-in-class customer service is a common goal shared throughout the organization.

Meadow Burke, the leading manufacturer of concrete construction accessories, has combined its manufacturing, distribution, engineering, and business support functions into a new facility at 6467 South Faulkenburg Road, in Riverview, Florida. To support the ongoing growth of the business and form a single customer-focused location necessitated the construction of a new state-of-the-art facility, which proudly incorporates Meadow Burkes Tilt-Up and Reinforcing accessories and was engineered by the Meadow Burke team.

"Meadow Burke is very excited at the opportunity to better serve its customers from one centrally located custom built facility," said Eoin Lehane, President of Meadow Burke. "Delivering best-in-class customer service is a common goal shared throughout the organization. Bringing the various functions under one roof allows for strong synergies and opportunities to work closer together, with the customer at the heart of every decision."

The 48,000-ft. square foot facility incorporates hot shot manufacturing capabilities to provide shorter lead times on products prevalent in the South East, in addition to special request items. The distribution center features space-functional innovative racking for efficient inventory management to provide the best service and increased business efficiencies for our customers.

The Riverview location is approximately 8 miles from downtown Tampa and has significant inventory in stock to service immediate needs, in addition to engineered custom solutions for which Meadow Burke is well known within the industry.

Please feel free to contact the Riverview facility directly at 877 518-7665. For further press inquiries, please contact dsenior(at)meadowburke.com.

Meadow Burke engineers, designs, manufactures, and distributes a broad range of accessories for concrete construction. These include precast products, tilt-up equipment, forming, reinforcing, and road & bridge accessories that make the construction industry safer, faster, and more cost effective.
Enlisting the assistance of outside counsel is incredibly valuable for patent application preparation and prosecution. Operating in this manner can generate and maintain a robust patent portfolio. Enrolling the aid of outside counsel for patent applications improves short-term workflow management. It also provides many long-term advantages once a patent has issued.

However, utilizing outside counsel can be costly and ensuring quality is challenging. Managing patent portfolios requires a balance of information. That information, however, is not always available to those involved.

Whether working with small or large firms, many firms or few, an effective group dynamic is the key to successful patent application drafting. This Financial Poise webinar series provides expert insight  for both inside and outside counsel  into creating an effective working relationship.

The first episode of the "Patent Best Practices: 'Insiders' Advice for In-House Counsel 2017" series is available now! Patent Application Drafting (Register Here) features Moderator Eric Curtin of Crawford Maunu. Eric is joined by Piers Blewett of Schwegman Lundberg & Woessner, Joseph M. Kuo of Arnstein & Lehr, and Sanjay Prasad of Prasad IP.

Managing the patent drafting process requires interaction among many parties. At the very least, the process includes an inventor, outside counsel and in-house counsel (or other management). It may also include multiple inventors, different levels of management, and licensing/marketing input.

Expanding involvement of parties can occur both in-house and in an outside firm. Managing this group in order to achieve a high-quality patent application can be challenging. There are many factors of patent application drafting to consider:

Is it accurate from the standpoint of the inventor(s) and related technologies, cognizant of current law and ongoing changes, relevant to a business purpose and efficient with respect to the inventors time, all while enabling outside counsel to remain profitable?

This webinar provides insight into these aspects of the patent process with experienced panelists who represent both sides of the fence.

Each episode is delivered in Plain English understandable to business owners and executives without a background in these areas. Yet, it is proven to be valuable to seasoned professionals. Each episode in the series brings you into engaging, sometimes humorous, conversations.

Every Financial Poise webinar is designed to entertain as it teaches. And, every Financial Poise episode in a series is designed to be viewed independently of the other episodes. Participants will enhance their knowledge of this area whether they attend one, some, or every episode.

ABOUT FINANCIAL POISE:

Financial Poise (http://www.financialpoise.com ) provides unbiased news, continuing education and intelligence to private business owners, executives and investors. For more information contact Jennifer Storch at jstorch(at)financialpoise(dot)com or 312-469-0135.
Meet the Charlottesville team! "We are thrilled to be able to serve such an incredible community and bring homeownership to so many individuals and families in the area, said Jerry Flowers, STM CEO and President.

Southern Trust Mortgage (STM), a full-service mortgage lender offering a diverse product line, announced today the opening of a branch office in Charlottesville, VA (NMLS #2921). Charlottesville is the latest to join the companys 17 branches across the south and is the 7th office in Virginia. The office will be led by Area Sales Manager, Scott Shellenberger NMLS# 414871. Alongside Scott, loan officers Andrew Kube NMLS# 178319, Joe Miller NMLS# 582101, Katie Shiers NMLS# 1594448, and Roger West NMLS# 196517 will also be serving the new branch.

The city of Charlottesville has graciously welcomed Southern Trust. We are thrilled to be able to serve such an incredible community and bring homeownership to so many individuals and families in the area, said Jerry Flowers, STM CEO and President.

Southern Trust Mortgage was founded in 1998 and is a DIRECT lender. As a direct lender, they control every step of the mortgage process, from pre-qualification to in-house underwriting, through funding.

The Charlottesville branch is located at 183 Spotnap Road, Suite A, Charlottesville, VA 22911. If you are in the market for a new home or would like to contact a loan officer, please visit http://www.southerntrust.com.
1. US President Donald Trump pressed his controversial travel ban plans, calling for an expedited judicial review and urging his administration to seek a tougher version of the proposal. "The Justice Dept. should have stayed with the original Travel Ban, not the watered down, politically correct version they submitted to S.C.," Trump, referring to the US Supreme Court, wrote in a series of tweets on the issue.

2. The global economy is set to post solid growth this year, amid improving world trade and better performance by large emerging markets, but key risks could still threaten the outlook, the World Bank said. The report said that "despite substantial policy uncertainty," the global economy still is expected to grow by 2.7% for 2017, rising to 2.9% in 2018 and 2019.

4. Apple and Amazon will join Foxconn's bid for Toshiba's semiconductor business, the Nikkei business daily quoted Foxconn Chairman Terry Gou as saying. The two US technology giants plan to "chip in funds", Gou said, according the interview with the newspaper.

5. Oil prices reversed gains to trade down on concerns that the cutting of ties with Qatar by top crude exporter Saudi Arabia and other Arab states could hamper a global deal to reduce oil production. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain closed transport links with top liquefied natural gas (LNG) and condensate shipper Qatar, accusing it of supporting extremism and undermining regional stability.

6. Goldman Sachs turned down a request from Caracas to convert $5 billion in sovereign bonds into marketable securities partly because it would mean dealing directly with a Venezuelan state bank, Reuters reported. The complexity of the operation was the primary concern for Goldman, but the Wall Street bank also weighed reputational risks after opposition politicians called it to warn about the potential damage of being seen as aiding President Nicolas Maduro's administration.

7. An explosion rocked a petrochemical plant in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong, but the cause and extent of damage was unknown, the state news agency Xinhua reported.Deadly accidents are relatively common at industrial plants in China, and anger over lax standards has grown after three decades of swift economic growth marred by incidents from mining disasters to factory fires.

8. Banks in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have not received any regulatory guidelines about their dealings with Qatari lenders despite the rift in diplomatic ties, Reuters reported.The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain cut diplomatic and transport links with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of supporting terrorism.

9. Jet Airways, India's biggest full service carrier by market share, is in talks to buy 75 single aisle aircraft with an option to purchase another 75. Jet Airways, part owned by Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways, is likely to consider placing an order for either Boeing's 737 MAX planes or aircraft from Airbus SE's A320neo family.
The Support for Decentralisation Reforms (SfDR) programme has a focus on increasing the awareness on the opportunities and risks of decentralisation for the districts and developing expertise in financial management, service delivery and local development planning.

Hajia Alima Mahama, Minister for Local Government who launched the programme, said the countrys decentralisation was a progress which focused on the development of the local economies.

She admitted that although some successes had been chalked in the processes to decentralise the countrys institutions, there was still the need to put in more efforts in the areas of accountability and challenges confronted with resource mobilisation.

Hajia Mahama showed appreciation to the two development partners for their support and assured that government was committed to ensuring the implementation of the programme for the benefit of all stakeholders.

Dr Nana Ato Arthur, the Head of Service at the Local Government Services secretariat said decentralisation had been recognised as an effective pathway towards national development.

He said decentralisation was the best way to create the opportunity for citizens at the local level to participate in the decision-making processes that affected and shaped their localities.

READ ALSO: Ghana signs agric industrialization deal with India

In a welcome address, Dr Dadson Awunyo-Vitor, the Director of the Institute of Local Government Studies said the launch provided an opportunity for the implementation of priority activities under Ghanas decentralisation programme.

Mr Christoph Retzlaff, the German Ambassador to Ghana said he was convinced that decentralisation was a key instrument to reduce poverty, reinforce good governance, and increased participation of civil society and improved service delivery at the local levels.

Mr Robert P. Jackson, the United States Ambassador to Ghana said: By entering into this partnership, the government of America, Germany and Ghana are together taking steps to promote long term, sustainable development.

Mr Jackson said strengthening the local government was necessary as it would stimulate growth, ensure the welfare of Ghanaians and pave the way for Ghana to become an established, independent middle-income country.

The SfDR is a three-year, $10 million joint programme implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the USAID, which began in April, last year.
LONDON  The third and final London Bridge attacker has been named as Youssef Zaghba, a Moroccan-Italian man.

"He was not a police or MI5 subject of interest," the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

The other two attackers were Pakistan-born Khuram Shazad Butt and Rachid Redouane.

The Metropolitan Police defended its decision to downgrade its inquiry into one of the men that ended up being part of a group of three people that carried out Saturday's terrorist attacks in London Bridge and Borough Market.

The BBC reported the Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Mark Rowley saying that while Butt was known to police and MI5 in 2015, there had been no evidence of a plot:

"There was no intelligence to suggest that this attack was being planned and the investigation had been prioritised accordingly."

Rowley added that the inquiry was "prioritised in the lower echelons of our investigative work" and said he had seen nothing to suggest that this was a "poor decision" when asked by the BBC's home affairs correspondent, Danny Shaw.

Foreign secretary Boris Johnson told Sky News that the police and MI5 are likely to have to answer questions about this decision:

"People are going to look at the front pages today and theyre going to say how on earth could we have let this guy or possibly more through the net?

"'What happened, how could he possibly be on a Channel 4 programme and be committing atrocities like this?' That is a question that will need to be answered by MI5, by the police, as the investigation goes on."

Late on Monday, police released without charge all 12 people arrested on Sunday in police raids on two addresses in Barking, East London, in connection with Saturday's terrorist attacks.

Seven of the arrested were women, aged between 19 to 60, and five were men, aged between 28 and 55-years-old.

Officers started to search an address in Ilford at 1.30 a.m. BST, which is just a 10 minutes' drive from Barking, on Tuesday morning. The Met says nobody at that location has been arrested. This map shows the location of the raids in relation to central London:

Prime Minister Theresa May signs the book of condolence

A book of condolence for the victims of Saturday's terror attack in London Bridge and Borough Market is open to the public on Tuesday. It is located at Southwark Council's headquarters in Tooley Street.

Here is May's message and signature in the book:

The Labour Party and the Mayor of London blame police cuts for terrorist attacks

On Tuesday morning, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan joined a chorus of voices from the main opposition  Labour  by saying cuts to policing would make it harder to prevent future terrorist attacks. According to Politics Home, Khan said:

"Our city has suffered two awful terrorist attacks since I was elected as Mayor  and we must do everything possible to stop there being any more.

"The Conservative plans mean another 400 million of cuts to the Met, as well as between 184m and 700m a year because of their changes to the police funding formula. That would mean London losing thousands of community police officers."

Khan's comments closely follow those made by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on Monday. Corbyn called for the Prime Minister's resignation over cuts to police she oversaw as Home Secretary.

Corbyn told ITV's Rachel Younger that he backs calls from "very responsible people" who are "worried" about her record at national security during her time as Home Secretary. The Labour leader has since clarified his remark, saying he was "articulating what is deep anger amongst those people that have seen 20,000 police officers lose their jobs".

"I think we should vote on Thursday to decide who our MPs are and decide who our government is going to be."

Former independent reviewer of terrorism, David Anderson, urged the government, in a letter to The Times on Tuesday, to not revive terrorism prevention and investigation measures  known as TPIMs  following the attack.

All 3 terrorists named

On Tuesday morning, the third and final terrorist behind the attacks on Saturday was named by Italian media as Youssef Zaghba. The Metropolitan Police has confirmed Zaghba's identity.

According to Italian newspaper La Repubblica, Zaghba was a 22-year-old Moroccan-Italian.

La Repubblica reports that Zaghba was stopped from flying to Istanbul in March 2016 and his phone was confiscated and found to contain ISIS propaganda. An Italian review court decided there was not enough evidence to charge him.

An Italian official told The Guardian that Italian authorities alerted their British counterparts when Zaghba moved to London.

The other two men behind the attack are named as 27-year-old Khuram Shazad Butt and 30-year-old Rachid Redouane.

The suspects hired a van and drove into pedestrians on London Bridge at around 10 p.m. local time on Saturday evening. They then abandoned the van and went on a stabbing spree in Borough Market.

Butt was 27 years old and reportedly previously worked at fast food restaurant KFC and fashion retailer Topshop. He was the "ringleader" and was known as "Abz," according to The Sun. He was of Pakistani origin, and had two children, the newspaper said.

He appeared in Channel 4's 2016 documentary "The Jihadis Next Door," according to the Daily Mail.

Transport for London confirmed to The Guardian that Butt also worked as trainee customer services assistant for six months last year.

Butt posted a WhatsApp message on his profile just days before the attack quoting the Quran: "ALLAH says (Quran 94:6) - Indeed, with hardship, comes ease."

New arrest made

On Sunday, 12 people were arrested following a raid in Barking, London, on suspicion of offences under the Terrorism Act. The seven women and five men were released on no charges.

On Tuesday morning, a 27-year-old man was arrested at an address in Barking under the Terrorism Act.

Enquiries are ongoing, the Met Police said in a statement.

Glastonbury Festival tightens security

Glastonbury Festival has warned ticket holders to "pack light" and be braced for increased security checks following the terror attacks in London and Manchester.

In a statement on its website, it said festival goers will be "subject to extra searches of their vehicles, their bags, and their person" as they enter the site.

"As always, we have put in place all necessary measures to maximise public safety, working closely with the authorities. But festival goers can also play their part in keeping Glastonbury safe and secure, so wed very much appreciate it if youd read and digest this message," Glastonbury said.

The festival takes place from June 21 to 25. Headline acts include Radiohead, Foo Fighters, and Ed Sheeran.

Many victims are yet to be named as people are still missing

Seven people were killed during the attacks and a further 48 were injured. 15 of those people are still in a critical condition.

Chrissy Archibald, a Canadian bride-to-be who volunteered at a homeless shelter, was the first victim to be named.

Londoner James McMullan was the second victim to be named and Australian Kirsty Boden was the third.

There are still people missing.

On Facebook, the family and friends are appealing for the whereabouts of Brisbane woman Sara Zelenak. She was separated from friends at the scene of the London Bridge terrorism attack.

Another friend on Facebook reportedly said she calls her mother daily, so the lack of contact has worried friends and family further.

The Metropolitan Police opened a casualty bureau for those worried about the whereabouts of people they know. The telephone numbers are 0800 096 1233 and 020 7158 0197.

The Mayor of London wants Britain to cancel Trumps state visit

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan called for Prime Minister Theresa May to cancel US President Donald Trump's planned state visit to the UK.

Trump is due to be granted a formal state visit to the UK in October but has in recent days embarked in a series of Twitter attacks on Khan. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said the visit will still go ahead.

Khan also went on ITV's programme Good Morning Britain, and said: "There are millions of Muslims around the world who love America, me included. And to play into the so-called ISIS narrative that western liberal values are incompatible with Islam is ignorant."

People are still locked out of their homes

Immediately following the terrorist attacks on Saturday, police put up a cordon for the affected area, while forensics and officers investigate.
Winner "admitted intentionally identifying and printing the classified intelligence reporting at issue" and mailing it to the outlet, according to the affidavit.

In a statement, Vivian Siu, the director of communications at The Intercept, said the document was provided to the outlet anonymously.

"The Intercept has no knowledge or identity of the source," Siu said.
The maiden NCCE Cowbell 2017 Constitution Quiz was launched at Cosmos Junior High School in the Ga Central Municipal Assembly.

Speaking at the event, deputy Chairman in charge of operations at the NCCE, Mr. Samuel Asare Akuamoah said quiz competition will deepen responsible citizenship.

This initiative by the Ga Central Municipal office of the NCCE is to enable pupils to study the constitution so that they will know the law to grow up to become responsible citizens and also enable them to actively participate in the political process in the country.

READ ALSO:

The 2017 Constitution Quiz programme which mainly targets school children aims at encouraging the youth to acquire civic knowledge and instill in them attitudes for good citizenship.

Brands Manager for Cowbell, headline sponsor of the programme, Joseph Ashong, said the partnership with NCCE is one of the strategies that will ensure children are well informed on the Constitution.

As a brand that promotes good education and helps in the development of the mind, we want to educate school children on our constitution to ensure that we have a peaceful country.

READ ALSO:

The maiden contest held on Thursday, June 1, 2017 was staged among four schools in the Ga Central Municipal Assembly namely, Living Spring Junior School, Prima Junior School, Cosmos Junior High School and Rhema Junior High School.

Competing students were questioned about some of the provisions of the 1992 Constitution and also general knowledge questions on local governance and by-laws.
It is this light that the Deputy Minister for Health, Tina Naa Ayeley Mensah, has praised a pregnant student who is sitting for the 2017 Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) at New Gbawe Experimental School in the Greater Accra Region.

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Weija-Gbawe Constituency went to some schools in her area to encourage the students at the beginning of their exams.

READ ALSO: Here is why this BECE candidate is writing her exams in bed

When she saw the six-month-old pregnant Janet Opokua, she told her she was happy the student has been bold to write the exams.

I am not happy that you are pregnant because our society abhors premarital sex among young boys and girls however my joy lies in the fact that you have not given up on yourself.

According to Daily Guide newspaper, Janet Opokua said she has adequately prepared for the examinations which begin on Monday, June 5, 2017.

READ ALSO: Two students turn up pregnant for exam in Western Region

This warmed the MPs heart causing her to embrace her. Tina Mensah urged her to ensure she scores good grades in order to qualify for Senior High School.

She reminded them that the governments Free SHS Programme begins with them and urged them to take advantage of it.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has announced that the late Captain Maxwell Adam Mahama has been promoted posthumously to the rank of Major.

He made the announcement when he visited the residence of the late soldier at Burma Camp on Monday, June 5, on the occasion of the one week observance of the death of Major Mahama.

The President signed the book of condolence and said he had agreed to the suggestion by the Chief of the Defence Staff, Lt General Obed Akwa, for a monument to be erected in honour of the fallen soldier at a location to be announced to remind Ghanaians of the event of May 29, 2017.

A memorial trust fund with a seed money of GH500,000 has also been set up by the government to cater for his wife and children.

John Dumelo in a tweet to congratulate President said "Late Captain Mahama promoted to the rank of Major. Thanks @NAkufoAddo. God bless you."
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Linda Ikeji's Blog (LIB) reported that Trigg was apprehended by the police on Monday, June 5, 2017, giving the Nigerian male Barbie an opening to make fun of her.

According to LIB, Bobrisky shaded the fashion designer in a post that reads, "I don't do this but abeg let me laugh small.

"I hear say dem arrested somebody baby daddy? Hmmmm dis life just be good. Mouth zip."

The pair, who are reportedly at loggerheads started their war after Lawani's jibe suggesting that Bobrisky is not so appealing without picture filters.

She made the remark on her Instagram on April 25, 2017, after attending a burial party with the bleaching cream expert.
The blogger who made a reputation for being a critic landed herself in a lawsuit following defamatory comments directed at Pastor David Ibiyeomie, the General Overseer of the Salvation Ministries.

This led to her arrest on March 5, 2017, in Ibadan where she is resided.

Olunloyo was however granted bail by Chief Magistrate, Alatuwo Elkanah Fubara, but was later sent back to prison due to her inability to meet conditions set for her release.

Before her arrest, the blogger often made the news round for her open criticism of public figures.

Most notable on her list is the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor G.O Adeboye.

In an interview with Pulse TV, the media personality accused the clergyman of being a murderer, alleging that the latter killed a policeman in the year 1971.
She believes the fashion industry is developing at speedy rates in the West African country where she hails from and continues to share stories of herself wearing pieces from local designers.

As a blogger and stylist, she shares her thoughts and how she edited luxury womenswear brand, Christie Brown's Fall/Winter Collection for the everyday Ghanaian woman.

Christie Brown has been that consistent luxury brand loved by women, EVERYWHERE! Their ready-to-wear pieces breathe life into our daily looks and their runways pieces always keep us thirsting for more each year. Ever walked into their store to find everything sold out??!!!! humph!!!!!!

Their newest collect, Autumn/ Winter 2016, spoke directly to the women who live, breathe and wear the brand. Who is she? What does she do? How does she carry herself? What does she stand for and what is she wearing?

Quite simply inspired by the classic Christie Brown woman, our F/W 2016 collection encompasses the wardrobe of a woman who can merge culture, style smarts and sex appeal at the same time. Meticulous and mindful, she is never one to be distracted from her goals: Being able to take care of business and others. This capsule is the apparel embodiment of where our woman has been, where she is now and where she is going. This collection aims to highlight the diversity and power of African women in history, whos lives have impacted the future of many other strong, wise, beautiful and mentally independent. As a fan of the brand myself, I infused this collection into "the lifestyle". Met the luxury pieces with luxury and styled them in the way that I would wear them. I felt great, sexy, well dressed and in charge!

The Gold lace top with Gold satin culottes

The maxi silk dress with print inserts

The batakari off shoulder blouse with brocade wide leg structured trousers

Fitted blouse with statement sleeve detail, stenciled skirt with print lining and tassel detail

Lace fitted dress

Kempinski Hotel and their entire team.

Photography | Apag Studios

Creative Direction | Kobby Adu

Makeup | Debbie Beeko
The government has also set up a memorial fund with a seed money of 500,000 for the welfare of the wife and children of Adam Mahama.

He indicated that a national monument will be erected in honour of the 32-year-old soldier who was lynched whilst on official duties at Denkyira-Obuasi in the Central Region.

A state burial will also be held for Adam Mahama on Friday, June 9, 2017.

The president was accompanied by high-powered government delegation including Senior Minister Yaw Osafo Maafo, Trade Minister Alan Kyeremanten, Defence Minister Dominic Nitiwul, National Security Minister Kan Dapaah, and Women and Childrens Affairs Minister Otiko Afisa Djaba.

Meanwhile, the Chief of Defense Staff, Major General Obed Akwa has revealed that the Ghana Armed Forces has completed investigations into the death of the army officer.

He said that the report on his death will soon be forwarded to the Defence Minister for the appropriate action to be taken.

An Accra District Court earlier on Monday remanded the thirty-four (34) people suspected to have lynched the soldier last week.

The thirty-four suspects were charged with conspiracy to commit murder and murder.
Reports suggest that the Police Officer, name withheld was using a thoroughfare at the barracks to the regional police command. However, the soldiers stopped him and asked to return.

The soldiers argued that, it was late for the police officer who was in uniform to be using the route. But the police officer did not heed their caution and insisted on using the route leading to a confrontation between him and the soldiers

This disagreement made the soldiers beat the police officer mercilessly causing some injuries.

READ ALSO: How Captain Mahama is likely to be buried

The Ashanti regional police crime officer Peter Baba who confirmed the incident to Accra-based Starr FM said this happened on Monday evening. He added that the police have launched investigations into the matter.

The victim is currently receiving medical treatment at the Okomfo Anokye Teaching hospital in the Ashanti region.

This comes across as shocking since a soldier was recently lynched at Denkyira Obuasi in the Central Region.
He said the General Legal Council arrived at its final decision because the lawyer was found for breaching professional rules.

According to him, the disciplinary committee includes no less a person than the Chief Justice, Sophia Akuffo.

Francis-Xavier Sosu has been banned from practicing as lawyer by the General Legal Council for advertising himself which is against the GLC Professional Conduct and Etiquette Rules, 1969 (LI 613).

He was accused of personal advertisement while acting as Council for Torgbui Afede XIV, in a matter between Torgbui Afede and the Chief of Defense Staff, minister of interior, Attorney General.

According to the disciplinary briefing seen by Pulse.com.gh, he took to Facebook with pictures of the parties and comments on the case to the public with his firms name, address and telephone numbers attached, with the primary motive of personal advertisement and touting.

Some Ghanaians have described the ban on the legal practitioner as excessive and harsh with some calling on the General Legal Council to review the three-year-ban imposed on the human rights lawyer.

But Sam Okudzeto speaking in an interview on Accra-0based Joy FM said, "You know something funny? He was my student, many of them are my studentsthey come daily to the committee and I look at their face and say was that what I taught you?.

"If we are not harsh and tough in disciplining them, then what we are doing is opening the floodgate so everybody can do what they like".
Speaking on Accra-based 3FM, lawyer Diaba explained that persons under 18 years, in Ghana, are usually not charged with a crime.

As far as the law is concerned, he cannot commit a crime. He does not have the intentions to commit a crime. I believe the best that may happen is the police may get some information from him through interrogation. But, he cannot stand trial, he said.

The lawyer further indicated that per the law that protects minors, their parents are expected to be present before they could be interrogated by the police.

It [the Juvenile Act] says that when a juvenile is arrested, he/she has rights that must be protected. For instance, before he can be questioned the police must ensure that either his parents or a lawyer is present. If thats not possible, a remand officer should be present to ensure the childs right is protected, he explained.
In Belgium, President Akufo-Addo will meet, in Brussels, with Norwegian Prime Minister, Her Excellency Erna Solberg, his co-chair of the UN SDGs Advocates Group of Eminent Personalities. The President will also hold separate meetings with the Belgian Prime Minister, Charles Michel; and President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker. At the opening of the 2017 European Development Days (EDD), Europe's leading forum on international co-operation and development, he will deliver an address on the theme Making Gender and the Youth the Private Sectors Business.

In the United States of America, President Akufo-Addo will participate and address the UN Oceans Conference, the high-level UN Conference being held in New York to support the Implementation of SDG 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development (Life under Water). The President will also have his first formal meeting with UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres.

In Germany, President Akufo-Addo will pay a courtesy call on the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, and participate in the G-20 Africa Partnership Summit, being held in Berlin to deliberate on Germanys Marshall Plan for Africa, at the invitation of the German Chancellor. He will also deliver a speech on the theme Ghana, Africas Rising Star, at an event organised by the Konrad Adenaeur Stiftung.

President Akufo-Addo will then pay a two-day private visit to the United Kingdom, and return to Ghana on Saturday, 17th June, 2017.
For the first time this July, the ENI Sankofa-Gye Nyame oil field would officially be launched for producing oil for the country.

The oil field is estimated to produce 50,000 barrels of oil per day after the start of commercial production, and start producing gas in the second quarter of 2018.

Speaking at of the American Chamber of Commerce Ghana in Accra, Minister of Energy, Mr Boakye Agyarko the ceremony is just to officially commence commercial production although the lead operator of the field, ENI had been producing oil for some time.

ENI Ghana has completed all the installation of subsea equipment and the Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO). Start-up production had commenced with the oil introduced into the facilities on board the FPSO John Agyekum Kufour, he said.

READ ALSO: Atuabo Gas project overpriced by $40m - Dr. Manteaw reveals Preparation for the first oil ceremony is in an advanced stage and will come off in the first week of July 2017. The project, which was completed ahead of schedule and under budget, is the second field coming onstream after the oil price slump. According to Mr. Agyarko stated that oil production from the Tweneboa - Enyera- Ntomme (TEN) Field commenced last August with initial production of about 45,000 barrels per day. He added that the commissioning of facilities on board the FPSO was still in progress. The average oil production has been ramped up to 60,000 barrels per day and 45 million metric standard cubic feet (mmscf) of gas per day are exported to Ghana Gas for processing, he said.
Citing people close to Trump, The Times said the president was incensed by the Justice Department's handling of his now-blocked travel ban and Sessions' decision to recuse himself from the Russia investigation  a move that ultimately led to the appointment of former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel in charge of the inquiry.

Trump was caught off-guard by Sessions' recusal and learned of it "when he was in the middle of another event," Times reporters Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman wrote.

A day after learning of Sessions' recusal, Trump took his anger out on aides at the Oval Office, The Times said, citing four people familiar with the incident. The Times said it was after that incident when Trump tweeted his widely debunked claim that President Barack Obama had ordered a wiretapping operation at Trump Tower.

On Monday morning, Trump directly criticized the Department of Justice for its handling of his executive order barring travel to the US from several majority-Muslim countries that was twice struck down nationwide by appeals courts. Trump's social-media outrage against the DOJ continued Monday evening after people close to his administration openly criticized him for it.

"They wholly undercut the idea that there is some rational process behind the president's decisions," former acting Solicitor General Walter Dellinger said in the Times report. "I believe it is unprecedented for a president to publicly chastise his own Justice Department."
On the heels of the announcement last month that the Oscar-winning filmmaker is in production on a documentary about President Donald Trump that promises to "dissolve" his presidency, Moore has now created TrumpiLeaks.

Existing on his personal website, MichaelMoore.com, TrumpiLeaks is a secure section where Trump whistleblowers are welcome to send information to the filmmaker.

"Patriotic Americans in government, law enforcement, or the private sector with knowledge of the crimes, lies, and general misconduct committed by Donald J. Trump and his associates are encouraged to blow the whistle in the name of protecting the United States of America from tyranny," the site reads.

The site features encrypted messaging apps like Signal and Peerio, gives instructions on how to send Moore information through encrypted email, and also provides a P.O. Box address.
The ride-hailing company announced the news internally to its 12,000 employees on Tuesday, the latest development in a series of scandals and controversies that have rocked the world's most valuable private tech company.

The investigation by the outside law firm Perkins Coie looked into 215 claims of inappropriate workplace incidents.

According to Uber, here's the breakdown of all the 215 complaints:

As a result of the investigation, the company fired 20 employees. Another 31 employees are in training and 7 have been issued final warnings. 57 claims remain under review and the company didn't take action in 100 of the claims, according to Uber.

The Perkins Coie investigation lays the groundwork for the investigation being conducted for Uber by Eric Holder, the former US attorney general. Holder has provided recommendations, based on the Perkins Coie findings, to Uber's board, though it's not yet clear what those are. The company plans to release that information to its employees next week at an all-hands meeting. The majority of the complaints came from the San Francisco headquarters, although they received claims for employees all over the world, a person familiar said.

Uber's CEO, Travis Kalanick, launched an internal investigation in February after a former employee, Susan Fowler, said in a personal blog post that she was sexually harassed and experienced gender bias during her time at the company. The company has been interviewing its employees internally, as well as having Perkins Coie and Holder investigate the company's workplace. News of the terminations was first reported by Bloomberg.

Warnings and training

Uber is also embroiled in a trade-theft lawsuit with Waymo, the Google self-driving car spin-off, which has accused Uber of using stolen technology. Last month, Uber fired Anthony Levandowski, the star self-driving-car engineer who once worked for Google and is at the heart of the case. And the company's image has been further tarnished by a string of negative reports about its business practices, such as its use of a special tool designed to help Uber evade regulators.

But the sexual-harassment allegations have caused some of the largest damage inside and outside the company. And it's a problem Uber has been slow to recognize.

In late May, Uber's human-resources chief in an interview had said sexual harassment wasn't a problem for the company.
This event was organized by the burial organizing committee for the actress at Blue Roof at LTV 8, Agindingbi, Ikeja.

Toyin Aimakhu and Fathia Balogun were present. The 'Alakada' actress also spoke at the memorial/artist night. Her daughter also spoke and her brother Femi Olaiya.

Her daughter said this at the memorial service. "Mummy it still feels like a dream to me that you are no more, it still scares me that I'll never see you again. I don't know why this had to happen to you of all people but God know best. Heaven couldn't wait for a gem like you that's why God took you so early.

Every time I think of you I always wonder where you are but I know I don't have to worry because I know you are sitting next to God. You are irreplaceable. I will always love you with all my heart, Maryam loves you so much too. The world would never forget you Mother. Rest in peace" said the late actress' daughter Adunola Farombi.

Moji Olaiya will be buried on Wednesday, June 7, 2017, at the Ebony Vault, Ikoyi Cemetery. The late actress' remains and her baby arrived Lagos from Canada today, June 6, 2017.

Moji is survived by two daughters, Adunola who is currently mourning the loss of her mom and her two-month-old baby who is in the care of her friend in Canada.

After a bit of back and forth concerning her corpse coming back to Nigeria, it was stated that top Nigerian politician Bola Ahmed Tinubu would foot the bill for her arrival.
Total Media reports that the 56-year-old Pastor Adeyinka who was in charge of the branch called Sanctuary of Blessing was killed after the hoodlums scaled the fence into their premises and after killing him, they left without taking any property of the church lending credence to speculations that he was assassinated.

According to the deceased's wife, Olasunbo, the bandits struck around 3 a.m. on May 30, 2017, adding that they did not say anything throughout the period of the attack.

After stabbing the pastor, he was taken to a private hospital from where he was referred to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

We were asleep when they entered the church. They came to our house and we didnt know anything was happening until we heard a sound like something was falling.

There was a power outage, so we couldnt see clearly. My husband was the first to wake up. They broke into the house through the front door. They didnt say anything to us even as we asked what they wanted from us.

I just heard my husband shouting, In Jesus name and I also re-echoed it, saying Amen, in Jesus name.

I never knew they had stabbed him in the chest. They left by scaling the churchs fence. I saw that my husband had become weak. That was when I knew that they had stabbed him. There was a lot of blood in the room.
Justice Jude Okeke, in his judgment, said that Hortigraph agreed that Ogwuegbu paid the amount for a three- bedroom flat, valued at N16 million.

Okeke held that, Ogwuegbu, the applicant also provided the court with the evidence of payment.

 The defendant should pay to the plaintiff the sum of N4. 8 million, being the refund of the money received for a consideration that failed, he ordered.

According to the judge, the plaintiff sometime in 2012 filed a suit against the defendant, praying the court among other things to order the defendant to refund him N4.8million.

The judge held that documents before the court revealed that the plaintiff was given an offer letter for the property, which he made an initial 10 per cent payment of N1. 6m.

He said subsequent payments were made, but the applicant later found out that his name was not included on the list of those eligible for the loan.

The judge noted that the housing loan was an arrangement made between the co-operative society of Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the company.
This is following her release from a Port Harcourt prison after 81 days behind bars due to a defamation charge brought against her by Pastor David Ibiyeomie of the Salvation Ministries.

Olunloyo, who is now back to being her vocal self took to Twitter today, June 6, 2017, to make her thoughts known, keeping it frank and blunt as usual.

She also promised to hold a news conference possibly in a bid to address the circumstances of her imprisonment and recent release.

"Nigerians tagging me as an ex-convict because of 81days in prison are certified illiterates. I have not been convicted of any crime YET-KOO.

"#BREAKING Holding a news conference later today for the entire media pool covering my "criminal defamation" case. Contact Atty Eugene Meabe," Olunloyo wrote yesterday.

The media personality who is often criticized for her 'high handed' hard approach concerning societal matters received support from Bisi Alimi.

The exiled gay rights activist commented on Twitter in May 2017 about her incarceration which he considers unjust based on the comment below.

"While we are still at it, I think it is important for Nigerians to know that Kemi Olunloyo is still in prison for nothing. Just a reminder," says Alimi.
Dr. Udom, a retired staff of multi-national oil company, ExxonMobil staff, was abducted at his country home at Ikot Akai by the armed gunmen on April 9, 2017, and demanded a ransom of N500 million from the family of the educationist.

He was held in captivity for 32 days and when the family could not raise the amount, the kidnappers first cut off his fingers and after some more days, they cut off his wrist because the family could only come up with N5 million even when the bandits had reduced the ransom to N70 million.

Dr. Udom was finally released by the abductors on May 10 after his family paid the N5 million.

After he was released, Dr. Udom took to his Facebook page to publicly declare his health status after the police claimed he was released unhurt and without any ransom paid.

Read what he wrote:

I am alive through the extended mercy, pardon, and love of our Lord Jesus Christ. He has forgiven my sins and has answered the prayers of all the Christians, Moslems in Nigeria, Cameroon, United Kingdom, and the United States.

The world prayed for 32 days of my captivity. May the good Lord bless you all abundantly in Jesus name, Amen.

May the good Lord bless the Governor of Akwa Ibom State and members of his executive council, the presidency, the good people of Ukanafun, my family and all the security agencies that had done everything possible to ensure my safe release.

Though I was released with my right hand cut off, I am eternally grateful to my God for the new life. My life was over.

Thanks to the government of Akwa Ibom State, all the pastors, ExxonMobil friends, all other friends and relatives who have provided for my hospital requirements."
Sandeep Khirwar, a police chief confirmed today that the incident occurred in the suburb of Gurgaon in the vehicle where the suspects laid in wait.

According to reports, the alleged rapists immediately harassed the 21-year-old woman soon as she boarded the tricycle.

Khirwah in a chat with with DPA News said:

The suspects sexually assaulted the woman in the autorickshaw as it moved on deserted roads in the area. It is a very heinous incident.

We have formed a special investigative team and hope to arrest the three accused soon."

The rape subject has been a major concern in India who was rated as the top four country with the high number of sexual assault on women according to statistics compiled by Wonder List.

Most prominent in the country's history is the brutal murder of Jyoti Singh Pandey, who was gang raped by six men and a minor on a moving bus in December 2012.
The governor launched the initiative at the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) centre in the governors office in Ibadan.

Ajimobi said that technological innovation would help government do things faster and improve the job and processes of governance.

He said that the state was migrating from paper governance to e-governance.

Information is key, knowledge and power. The ability to manipulate the power is essential and that is why we are launching this today.

All ministries, departments and agencies of government should now migrate from manual or paper system to automated form of governance, he said.

The governor said that his administration was about turning the state into a technological hub, adding that it was the reason for the establishment of the Technical University, Oyo State.

According to him, I know Lagos and some other states have started it but we can still improve on what they have done.

We are going to establish a training centre and organise training workshop for the civil servants on ICT compliance.
Some of them, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lafia, regretted that salaries had not been in the past for months.

The Ramadan period is here, but it has been difficult to cope because salaries have not been paid, one of them who gave his name as Mohammed Salihu, told NAN.

Salihu, who said that he was an accountant in a secondary school, urged government to pay workers to enable those fasting to cater for their families during the holy month.

People are being subjected to daily hardship during this fasting period. We need our salaries to meet pressing domestic needs as responsible parents, Salihu said.

He said that fasting had a lot of blessings from Allah, adding that every Muslim was expected to partake in it.

Salihu regretted that he had been unable to buy any food for the breaking of fast in his house for some days now.

Even as I am talking today, I do not know what my family will eat, he said.

Another civil servant, Ali Bako, said that his children in private schools had been sent home over the failure to settle fees for two terms.

He said that aside the salaries, government had not promoted workers for several years.

There have been no salaries and no annual salary increments. Things are really tough, he said.

Bako appealed to government to meet the demands of workers so that they would resume work.

Another worker, Mrs. Halima Tukur, said that life had not been easy for her for a very long time.

Salaries are hardly paid. I have not been promoted for a very long time, leading to career stagnation. Things keep getting bad, she said.

She appealed to the government to consider the interest of the masses and make the welfare of workers its priority.
The Federal Government arraigned Ndume in 2011 and re-arraigned him in 2013 on a four-count charge of allegedly sponsoring the Boko Haram sect.

The offence according to the Federal Government, contravened Sections 3, 4 and 7 of the Terrorism Prevention Act 2011.

Ndume , however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.

When the matter was called on Tuesday for counsel to adopt their addresses, Mr Ricky Tarfa (SAN), counsel to Ndume , told Justice Gabriel Kolawole that the Federal Government had not established a prima facie case against his client.

He also stated that the government was unable to link Ndume to the said crime.

Tarfa maintained that the prosecution had failed to proof beyond reasonable doubt, the charges brought against him since Nov. 30,2011.

He admitted that he had contact with the Boko Haram sect but that the contact was established when he was appointed into the Presidential Committee on Security Matters to negotiate for peace with the terrorist group.

He said that the charges against him were unjust and unfair since he gave the former Vice President, Namadi Sambo and the then Director-General of the Department of State Service (DSS) , all the information he got from the sect.

He also told the court that the charge of failure to disclose information on the workings of Boko Haram could not be sustained against him.

Clearly, from the totality of the evidence adduced by the prosecution, the ingredients of the charges have not been proved as required by law.

The analysis of the mobile phones seized from the defendant and subjected to forensic examination by the prosecution did not reveal any offence committed, Tarfa said.

He asked the court to strike out the charges against Ndume on the grounds that no prima facie case had been established against him to warrant him defending himself.

On her part, the prosecuting counsel, Mrs Geraldine Okafor , urged the court to compel Ndume to open his defence on the grounds that governments witnesses had effectively linked him to the crime.

Okafor said that the charges against the senator had to do with the failure to disclose material information to security agents on Boko Haram and rendering support to the terrorist group.

She said that Ndume, in his own statement tendered and admitted in court, confirmed that he had enormous information on Boko Haram, but refused to disclose the information to the government.

ALSO READ:NSCDC recovers 2 food supply trucks from suspected terrorists

According to her, credible evidences adduced by the prosecution witnesses have been corroborated by the defendant himself in the three statements he made to security agents.

His admission that he was a member of the Presidential Committee on Security Matters also corroborates the evidence of the prosecution that he had volumes of information on the terrorist group which he refused to give to the government.

The volume of information found on him was revealing and warranted his being charged to court.

The prosecution is not fishing for information but in law, the defendant has to offer information being a member of the Presidential Committee on Security Matters.

Let the point be made here that witnesses of the government have by one way or the other linked the charge against the defendant to him and this court , as an impartial court ,should order the defendant to open his defence.

It is even in the interest of the defendant and justice that this case be heard on its merit, instead of upholding the no-case submission," she added.
According to Sahara Reporters, Melaye told Muhammed Audu, the son of late former Governor of Kogi, Abubakar Audu, that he used his connections to frame them.

Audu was also heard telling the Sentator to mention Edward Onoja, the Chief of Staff to the current Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, adding that it was the only way to bring the government down.

In the leaked tape, Melaye accused his co-plotter of leaving him to spend money alone in the war against the Kogi Governor.

When Audu advised him to listen to the plea of the Governor and the Kogi elders, the Senator refused saying there can be no peace in Gaza, referring to himself as Israel and the Kogi govt as Palestine.

Sahara Reporters recently released a tape where Melaye was caught offering a bribe to Justice Akon Ikpeme of the Cross River State High Court.
Dogara gave this assurance on Monday while presenting remarks at the first Anniversary of National Assembly Business Environment Roundtable, NASSBER, held in the National Assembly.

He commended NASSBER for the successes it has achieved over the last one year, saying the group's efforts would lead to a robust and responsive private sector.

"Looking back at the last 12 months, NASSBER is but a success story of novel synergy, dialogue and engagement between the legislature, development partners, the private sector, the bench, and citizens. The National Assembly will continue to play a central role not only in governance but also ensuring that we deliberate and act on frameworks that will improve Nigerias business environment through the review of relevant legislations and provisions of the constitution.

"A little over a year ago when NASSBER was inaugurated, we were very confident it was the right step to take if we were indeed committed to bringing our economy out of recession, and stimulating long term economic growth that is inclusive and sustainable for the shared prosperity of all Nigerians," he added.

Dogara, while charging members of the NASSBER Committees to provide the strategic guidance needed to move NASSBER initiative forward, noted that they are on course to having the law as a proactive instrument to promote development and, thus, influence and change present realities.

He congratulated DFID ENABLE project, the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), and the Nigerian Bar Association  Session on Business Law (NBA-SBL) for their service to the nation through the project, adding that the outcome of their efforts will lead to an agile private sector that can respond to global opportunities.

"As a result of this effort, I am more confident that our economy would attract agile private sector that can innovate and respond to global opportunities, as contemplated in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of this government," he stated.
Symington spoke in Sokoto on Tuesday when he paid a courtesy call on Gov. Aminu Tambuwal.

Nigeria is a nation that needs people who think as Nigerians and leaders who think and act as Nigerian leaders.

I appreciate the existing partnerships between the U.S and Nigerian Governments, as well as the various state governments.

I acknowledge the leadership roles you and your colleagues are playing for keeping people alive.

 I also acknowledge your successes in dealing with various challenges and strengthening education and access to health for women and children, the envoy said.

He highlighted the roles of Nigerian press in ensuring peace and unity, saying, the press is like a continuing education.

 The press connects people to the leaders and vice-versa; they are very critical in nation building, Symington said.

In his remarks, Tambuwal commended the U.S Government and its people for holding Nigeria and Nigerians in high esteem.

Nigeria and the U.S have been relating very closely on many issues and promoting world peace.

U.S always wants to see Nigeria with the people living in harmony and with food on the table.

I am also lauding the various interventions of the U.S Government in education, health, agriculture and empowerment, among others, he said.

ALSO READ:Sokoto Governor to pay N4m medical bill of cancer patient

Tambuwal reiterated the resolve of the three tiers of government to continue to be accountable and transparent in conducting the affairs of the state.
Comptroller Lami Wushishi, the Customs Area Controller, Kirikiri Lighter Terminal Command, handed over the consignments to NAFDAC at the premises of the command.

She said that the two containers marked PCIU 829442-6 and MRKU 416397-2 originated from China.

The pharmaceutical products are restricted drugs by NAFDAC and the Customs and Excise Management Act Cap. C45 LFN 2004, Section 167(2) directs that such consignment should be disposed-off in such a manner as deemed appropriate.

Therefore, the consignment is handed over to the appropriate agency within the country for proper disposal, Wushishi said.

She urged stakeholders at the ports to honestly declare the goods they import as this forms the basis for trade data and analysis that directs operational decision with consequences on economy as well as national security.

Wushishi said that the command would continue to cooperate with other sister agencies to enforce compliance with fiscal policies, while promoting trade facilitation.

She pledged the commitment of officers and men of the command to support the Comptroller-General of Customs agenda to facilitate trade and remain responsive to the yearnings of Nigerians.

Wushishi urged NAFDAC to engage the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) on the intercepted pirated CD films.

The News Agency of Nigerian (NAN) reports that the two containers are laden with Augmentin 625mg, pirated films and Laclox, a restricted drug that is injurious to people.

The Deputy Director of NAFDAC in charge of Compliance and Enforcement, Mrs Oluwatoyin Emmanuel, said that the agency would still conduct 100 per cent examination on the drugs received from the Customs Service.

ALSO READ:NAFDAC says EU rejected 24 Nigeria exported products in 2016

We will also take the drugs to laboratory after we have analysed the contents and we are going to investigate further by getting in touch with the port of origin.

The laboratory result will determine our next line of action on how to apprehend the importer and the agent, Emmanuel said.
The Senate's decision was sequel to a motion sponsored by Senator Andy Uba, the lawmaker representing Anambra South.

Speaking on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday, June 6, 2017, Uba said telecom subscribers have continued to encounter incomprehensible speech and voice quality that sounds like speaking from the bottom of a fish tank.

Subscribers have not been able to control bundle usage nor the choice to restrict browsing to the resources which they may have allocated resulting in a sudden and unexplained expiry of data bundle with the network automatically switching to a pricier airtime option when surfing/browsing the internet.

All SM operators in Nigeria have recently been experiencing terrible congestion on their networks, thus, denying subscribers the benefits of getting value for their resources and hampering the ability to make or receive calls.

Despite the warning issued to the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) on the activities of telecom operators using the dropped call mechanism to defraud Nigerians by deducting money from phone users illegally, no serious sanction or penalty has been issued against any operator to date

"Network providers have continued to expand their existing infrastructure could carry with no adequate provision made to improve service delivery. A recent investigation shows that MTN, Airtel, Globacom and Etisalat could not provide the rate of drop calls on their network and they appear to see the reason to compensate their customers for disconnected calls or address their frustrations, the lawmaker said.

The Senate further directed the NCC and other relevant agencies to carry out a thorough investigation of the cause of dropped calls by GSM network providers and come up with innovations that would improve customer experiences.

The upper legislative chamber urged the NCC to invoke appropriate provisions of the law and other extant agreement to protect consumers and refund them where necessary.

In his remarks, Senate President Bukola Saraki condemned the inefficiency of network operators in Nigeria resulting to poor service delivery.
Commander of the JTF, Rear Admiral Suleiman Apochi, told journalists on Tuesday in Yenagoa that two suspected kidnappers were also killed in multiple raids conducted in the area last weekend.

Our efforts in tackling the activities of pipeline vandals resulted in the arrest of suspects that detonated dynamites resulting in the breach of an oil facility, located at Tebidaba-Ogboinbiri-Brass Pipeline in Bayelsa.

Troops, who were acting on a tip-off, spotted a suspected hideout at a fishing camp along Isonogbene, in Southern Ijaw LGA of Bayelsa, where three suspects were arrested for complicity in the vandalism incident.

Similarly, troops deployed at Beneside location, Ekeremor LGA of Bayelsa also apprehended two persons, who were alleged to have been responsible for sabotage and theft of wellhead 6 actuator devices, an oil wellhead tool.

Their criminal action led to disruption of the operations of the oil firm. The wellhead is currently under repairs, he said.

Col. Jibril Abdullahi, who spoke on behalf of the JTF Commander, noted that the successes recorded by the team was largely due to the support of residents and urged them to do more.

The commander said that troops deployed at Omoku Forest in Rivers also engaged some suspected armed kidnappers in a gun duel leading to the rescue of the kidnapped victim.

According to him, the incident led to the death of two of the suspected kidnappers, while the victim is currently receiving treatment at a medical facility in Port Harcourt.

The Commander said that troops also raided a suspected pirates hideout at Eleme in Rivers and recovered several items, including ammunition.

He listed some of the items recovered to include 23 rounds of 7.62 mm Ball special ammunition, one generating set and a 40 Horse Power Suzuki speed boat engine, amongst others.
Laolu Akande, in a statement sent to Pulse, said "Prof. Osinbajo spoke earlier today while meeting with members of a delegation from Bayelsa State regarding the $3.6B Brass Fertilizer & Petro-Chemical Company that is expected to come on steam soon. The delegation which included executives of the company was led by Governor Seriake Dickson.

"Lamenting that only 12% completion rate was recorded in several of the projects undertaken by the Niger Delta Development Commission in the past years, while the rest were abandoned, Osinbajo stated that sometimes projects are designed not to succeed, but just for some people to make money.

The Acting President also commended the collaboration that is ongoing regarding the Brass company.

ALSO READ:Acting President wants financial institutions keeping illicit funds to face consequences

He said this is what we describe as the New Vision: partnership between the Federal Government, the States, the communities and the private sector. This is the new way of thinking that is emerging, the New Vision.

The Acting President also received a delegation from the Seed Entrepreneurs Association of Nigeria, SEEDAN led by its President Mr. Richard Olafare and the Director-General of the National Agricultural Seed Council, Dr. P.O.Ojo.
The Acting President Yemi Osinbajo made this known in his opening address at the 2017 Digital Africa Conference and Exhibition.

The theme of the event is the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Getting Africa Ready.

According to him, such feat will make Nigeria no longer a dumping ground for ICT products and services.

 The Nigerian government is committed to encourage the growth of indigenous ICT companies to world standards by proving policies that will help them thrive.

With the mantra of change, the Nigerian political milieu will be recalibrated for the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

So that both the executive and legislative will be more responsive and responsible in addressing the major global challenges staring us in the face, he said.

The acting president, who was represented the Minister of Communications, Mr Adebayo Shittu said that the event was to seek ways of leapfrogging development.

The Minister of Communication, represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mr Sunday Echono, said the government was preparing for the Fourth Industrial Revolution predicted to happen globally in the very near future.

According to him, the Federal Government has conceived a National ICT Park and Exhibition Centre in the Federal Capital Territory.

He said The establishment of the centre will encourage investment in ICT sector and complement the proposed University of ICT which will also produce required skilled manpower for Africa to partake in inevitable Fourth Industrial Revolution.

In his welcome address, Dar Evan Woherem, Chairman Digital Africa Global Consult Ltd. said the gathering was to move Africa from its current technological position forward.

ALSO READ: Acting President wants financial institutions keeping illicit funds to face consequences

It will move it to a point of singular where it will adopt technology to drive for its growth and development.

In the First Industrial Revolution, we shifted from reliance on animals, human effort and biomass as primary sources of energy to the use of fossil fuels and the mechanical power that this enabled.

In the Second Industrial Revolution, we had major breakthroughs in the form of electricity distribution, both wireless and wired communication, and new forms of power generation.

The Third Industrial Revolution began with the development of digital and communication systems, bringing about advances in computing power, which has enhanced new ways of generating, processing and sharing information, he said.
Osinbajo made this known on Monday, June 5, 2017, while meeting the foreign minister of Indonesia, Retno L. P. Marsudi at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The Acting President said with Nigerias large population and size, Nigeria has a prerequisite market for profitable returns on any investment and business.

Citing the success of Indomie, one of the products by an Indonesian company in the Nigerian market, Osinbajo said there is much room to increase the volume of trade between both countries.

Nigeria is one of profitable places for business and investment because there is always market for them and government is creating a good and friendly environment for investment to thrive, Osinbajo said in a statement signed by his spokesman, Laolu Akande.

ALSO READ: Osinbajo seeks Senate approval for $1.5bn loan

The Acting President said Indonesia should take advantage of the on-going economic diversification process, especially in the agricultural sector, adding that Nigeria could be exporting agro-allied products to Indonesia.

About ten days ago we signed Executive Orders for Ease of Doing Business, we have a 48hour visa regime. There is a friendly business environment, the Acting President assured.

Earlier, the Foreign Minister of Indonesia said she came to the country with two hundred business people and had visited Lagos as her country is ready to kick-start business relationship with Nigeria.
Akeredolu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who emerged the winner of the Nov. 26, 2016 Governorship Election, was inaugurated as the sixth executive governor of the state on Feb. 24.

The residents, who spoke in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Okitipupa, Ondo State, commended the governor for his achievements in 100 days in power.

They urged the governor not to rest on his oars but ensure he fulfilled all his electioneering promises to the people.

A civil servant, Mr Wole Akinjuyigbe, who praised the state government for paying salaries of workers, urged the governor to revive all moribund industries.

Gov. Akeredolu is God-sent to this state but l urge him to help resuscitate all our dead factories; Okitipupa Oil Palm, Oluwa Glass, Cocoa industries and others, he said.

A hairdresser, Mrs Adenike Akinbobola, who also commended the governments performance, urged the governor to urgently address the epileptic power supply in the southern part of the state.

We have been in total darkness for the past three years now, this has really affected our businesses, l urge our governor to help us, she said.

A trader, Mrs Morenike Idris, urged Akeredolu to give more political appointments to women in his administration.

She contended that women deserved more involvement in view of their contributions to the governors victory at the poll.

Mr Omowaire Odusola, a lawyer urged the governor to take urgent steps toward youth empowerment to reduce social vices in the society.

We hear so many cases of criminal activities being perpetrated by the youth, this is the outcome of unemployment; our governor should address this issue, Odusola said.

Mr Sola Ikuidowo, the Chairman, National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Okitipupa chapter, also said Akeredolu had performed well in his 100 days in office.

We all felt his presence since his assumption of office, in spite of paucity of funds he completed some roads abandoned by previous government; this is a plus for him, he said.

Mr Tajudeen Akanbi, the Chairman, Association of Commercial Motorcycle Riders Association (ACCOMORAN), Okitipupa chapter also lauded the governors performance.

I think the governor has performed well, the peace we the okada riders are experiencing now was not there before because we were being chased here and there for multiple taxes, Akanbi said.

A chieftain of APC, Mr Wole Akeremale said that the Akeredolus administration had brought smiles to faces of many citizens in the state.
It mandated the Ministry of Environment and relevant agencies to create a sustainable and viable framework to counter climate change and its effects.

The upper chamber also called on its Committee on Environment to investigate the Great Green Wall programme and the implementation of the Ogoni Clean-up Programme.

This followed a motion on World Environment Day 2017 sponsored by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Environment, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, at Tuesdays plenary.

She said that with Nigerias environmental issues such as gully erosion, desertification, environmental degradation and illegal mining, there was the need for proactive action at addressing environmental degradation.

According to Tinubu, environmental issues have widespread effects on the economy, health and social wellbeing of the people.

Women and children are the most vulnerable groups and tend to suffer adverse effects of these issues.

In spite of the recent Ogoni Clean-up campaign, it does not appear that work has commenced.

The environment is being held in trust of our unborn generations and thus, must be kept in faultless condition, she said.

Supporting the motion, Sen. Magnus Abe (APC-Rivers) said that the forest and rivers that existed in the Niger Delta region had gone dry.

Whether we like it or not, the environment is changing and how we relate to the environment has to change.

We and the government have not realised the importance of the environment; everywhere we look at, we can see the mismanagement of the environment in everything we do, he said.

Abe said that there was need to look back and ahead to review the things Nigerians had been doing as regards to the environment.

The Ogoni Clean-up programme that was launched with fanfare, not much is going on at this time. That is a star project for Nigeria as far as reclaiming the environment is concerned, he said.

In his contribution, Sen. Robert Borrofice (APC-Ondo) said that the emission of greenhouse gas had led to climate change that had affected the rise in sea level and erosion.

It is important we pay attention to the issue of environment.

The Niger Delta which constitutes the economic zone of this country is being adversely affected by environmental issues. We must have an institutional framework to address the issue of environment, he said.
We asked Pulse Readers to choose their favourite movies. See what movies our readers think are the best of 2017, so far.

Check out their top five.

1. "Omugwo"

15.1% of Pulse Nigeria readers chose Kunle Afolayan's "Omugwo" as their favourite movie of 2017, so far.

In the comedy movie, Omotunde, a young civil engineer married to Raymond an OAP(Online Radio Personality), has just given birth.

Their mothers-in-law forcefully move in with the couple to perform the Igbo child care rite called, Omugwo.

But instead of relieving their children of the burden of childcare, the mothers rivalry complicates life for the couple.

2. "Slow Country"

12.4% of our readers enjoyed watching the Eric Aghimien movie.

In "Slow Country," a homeless teenage mother, who gets herself trapped in prostitution and drug trafficking for seven years in order to secure a good life for her son, decides to quit.

However, her boss, a ruthless human and drug trafficker is not ready to let go of his most trusted cash cow.

3. "King Invisible"

10.8% of our readers had fun watching the Femi Adisa epic movie.

"King Invincible" tells the story of a handsome warlord, who is fast transitioning into a wolf due to the curse of the dogs that has been placed on him.

4. "Ojukokoro"

9.2% of our readers had fun watching the Dare Olaitan comedy/heist thriller, "Ojukokoro."

The movie tells the story of what happens when a cash strapped manager in a money laundering petrol station, decides to rob the petrol station that employs him, but along this journey, finds out that there are different kinds of criminals that are also interested in the same cash.

5. "Mr and Mrs 2"

8.1% of Pulse Nigeria readers obviously enjoyed watchingthe sequel to the 2012 "Mr and Mrs."

The movie focuses on a couple Sharon (Rita Dominic) and Kobi (Chidi Mokeme), who in a bid to save their union, expose some of the truths surrounding struggles and independence in marriage.
"We seek peace with our neighbours, a real peace, a peace that will last for generations," Netanyahu said at the event, held at the Israeli army's Armoured Corps Museum at Latrun, west of Jerusalem.

"That is why in any agreement -- and without an agreement -- we shall maintain security control over all the territory west of the Jordan (river)."

"We insist that the Palestinians finally recognise Israel as the national home of the Jewish people," Netanyahu said.

"That is the foundation for peace and refusal is what prevents achieving it," he added.

In the 1967 war, Israel occupied the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and subsequently annexed east Jerusalem, in a move never recognised by the international community.

The occupation continues, and under interim agreements with the Palestinians, Israel currently has full security and civil control of 60 percent of the West Bank, including the Jordan valley.

The remainder is under varying degrees of limited Palestinian autonomy.

In a statement - before Netanyahu's speech - marking Monday's anniversary Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas's office reiterated his call for a Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital.

"The establishment of an independent Palestinian state with its capital in east Jerusalem is the real guarantee for security and stability in the region," it said.

Trump visited Israel and the Palestinian territories last month, calling on Israelis and Palestinians to make compromises for peace but offering no specifics on how to resolve the 50-year-old conflict.
Le Nouvelliste newspaper quoted Arcahaie prison manager Heurtelou Paul Colson on Saturday as saying a guard was shot dead and two other police officers were wounded.

One prisoner climbed over a wall and fell to his death, while two other detainees were wounded and in hospital.

The prison manager told Le Nouvelliste that Yvener Carelus, who was serving time for kidnapping, was the mastermind behind the escape. He was arrested.

"He planned the escape from the inside with a few accomplices," Justice Minister Camille Edouard Junior told the newspaper, adding that security was being boosted at prisons across the country.

Human rights activist Pierre Esperance noted that the prison had housed "a lot of big-name prisoners, major criminals sentenced for theft, rape, kidnapping, drug trafficking, etc."

Authorities have launched a manhunt for the escapees, with police checking all roads in the Arcadins coastal zone near Arcahaie prison.

"The government strongly condemns the incidents that took place at Arcahaie prison, targeted in a mutiny by heavily armed individuals," the office of interim prime minister Enex Jean-Charles, who also serves as defense minister, said in a statement.

"Special police units are on site to secure the area and prevent those responsible from causing further harm."
Jeffery Woodke was no stranger here. "We are furious and shocked by this kidnapping," said Ibrahim Adamou, a 16-year-old student, as he and neighbours of Woodke recalled the evening of October 14 when the American was seized at gunpoint from his home.

"Like every night, he was drinking tea" in the courtyard of his house, along with his guards, when "two armed men in turbans" stormed in and grabbed him, killing his bodyguard and a member of the national guard.

Woodke, reportedly in his 50s, "struggled" to break free from his captors.

"We cried and shouted for help but the gunmen just threw him into their vehicle," said Aicha, one of the neighbours.

A local official said they drove off "with no headlights on" taking the road that leads to Mali, where investigators have since tracked the kidnappers and believe Woodke is being held by the Al-Qaeda linked group, the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (Mujao).

A shopkeeper Mohamed said when he thought of Woodke, "I hear his laughter in my head".

The American had become one of them after running the aid group JEMET there since 1992, helping the local Tuareg community. He speaks their language Tamasheq fluently as well as Fula and Arabic.

Jeff, as they call him, could be seen around town in a turban, leather sandals and a big boubou -- a flowing African tunic.

"He was with us through all the hardest times", said Abalak's mayor Ahmed Dilou -- the times of a food crisis, the droughts, the floods.

The Friday night of Jeff's abduction "was such a devastating shock that the whole city cried", he said.

Jeff 'wasn't afraid'

But apparently Woodke was not concerned about living in this unstable Tahoua region of Niger, close to the borders of Mali and Algeria. Western embassies have issued strong warnings to their nationals against venturing there.

A Nigerien official said he had "tried everything" to convince the American to leave the area but "he refused, insisting that he was not afraid".

Investigators have sealed off Woodke's house. In the courtyard shaded by thorn trees, some bricks can be seen piled up next to sacks of cement.

"He was rebuilding a wall that had collapsed after some heavy rains," explained Aicha.

Still, despite Woodke's popularity with the townspeople, a regional lawmaker said he believed the kidnappers "were helped by some locals".

According to Interior Minister Mohamed Bazoum, who visited Abalak, around 350 kilometres northeast of the capital Niamey, the kidnappers "went straight to his home, guided by a motorcyclist".

Last Sunday Bazoum said that Woodke -- the first American abducted in the west African country -- "was probably kidnapped by the Mujao or handed over to the Mujao".

"We have had no contact with the Mujao, which is a terrorist organisation," he added.

Niger's long, porous borders make it occasionally vulnerable to the armed violence in neighbouring countries.

No matter who is responsible, in Abalak, the mayor -- speaking for the distressed people of his city -- is categorical in his condemnation.
Tipped as the next prime minister, leader of the conservative Homeland Union Gabrielius Landsbergis has presented himself as the face of change.

The 34-year-old grandson of Lithuanian independence icon Vytautas Landsbergis has vowed to fight emigration by creating jobs, reforming education, boosting exports and foreign investment.

His conservatives won the October 9 first round of the election with 21.70 percent (22 seats), narrowly ahead of the centrist Lithuanian Peasants and Green Union party (LPGU) with 21.53 percent (21 seats).

Leftists finished third with just 14.42 percent (10 seats), a huge blow for Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius's Social Democrats.

Wage growth and job creation have been key rallying cries for candidates in the country of 2.9 million people, plagued by an exodus of workers seeking higher wages.

Since Lithuania joined the European Union in 2004, an estimated 370,000 people have left -- nearly half to Britain, where concern over immigration from eastern Europe was seen as a key factor in the shock Brexit vote to leave the bloc.

Jobs are key

Landsbergis has garnered support among disillusioned voters like Vilnius businessman Linas Bagiusis.

"I want change. We need new ideas and new energy, especially to curb emigration and stop all the young people from fleeing," he told AFP on Sunday outside a polling station in central Vilnius.

Prime Minister Butkevicius for his part has promised further hikes in the minimum wage and public sector salaries.

But analysts say a new labour law making it easier to hire and fire employees, coupled with allegations of political corruption, have alienated voters already bitter over low wages and the labour exodus to western Europe.

Pensioner Genovaite, whose grandson is studying in Britain, told AFP that Landsbergis and his party's promise to curb the brain drain and labour exodus got her vote.

"To stop emigration, you need to create jobs that will keep specialists here, at home," she said in central Vilnius, but declined to reveal her surname.

Lithuania's economy shrank by nearly 15 percent during the 2008-9 global financial crisis but quickly recovered and is slated to expand by 2.5 percent this year.

Even so, the average wage of just over 600 euros ($670) per month after tax is one of the EU's lowest, and inequality and poverty remain comparatively high.

Neck-and-neck

Analysts tip the farmer-backed LPGU -- currently outside parliament and led by popular former national police chief Saulius Skvernelis -- as kingmakers after the vote.

Skvernelis, 46, has said his party was open to coalition talks with both the conservatives and the Social Democrats.

Three other small political parties entered parliament in round one, signalling complicated coalition talks in the days ahead.

With the Homeland Union and LPGU likely to stay neck-and-neck in round two, Vilnius University analyst Mazvydas Jastramskis points to a possible impasse ahead.

"It won't be good if both parties win equal voter support. Both will want to spearhead talks" to lead the next government, he told AFP.

But he added that non-aligned President Dalia Grybauskaite could "invite certain party leaders she would like to see in the coalition to the negotiating table."

Grybauskaite has criticised Butkevicius while making it known she favours "changes".

Russia's deployment earlier this month of nuclear-capable Iskander missiles to its Kaliningrad exclave two weeks ago jangled nerves in neighbouring Lithuania.

But reassurance provided by NATO's beefed up regional presence -- a move that all major parties approve -- means that voters are more worried about their wallets than security.

A total of 2.5 million citizens are eligible to vote. Officials pegged turnout at 50.6 percent in round one.
This was revealed by the commission's chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, at INEC's Communication Policy Review in Kaduna state on Monday.

Speaking at the workshop, the chairman said, "Let me assure Nigerians that under the Electoral Act, the commission is required to register new political parties and the guidelines are very clear for registration.

"As at last week, we received 95 applications for registration as new political parties.

"At the end of this workshop, there is going to be a retreat on Wednesday to review the ongoing voter registration, followed by a meeting of the commission here in Kaduna.

"There will be a statement on parties after the meeting of the commission."
The Vice Chancellor insists that shutting down the school was a measure to protect the lives of the students of the University.

Speaking with the Guardian, the Professor said:

How do you describe a situation in which a 200-level student is asking the VC to come and apologise to him? Is it morally right for a student to be describing the VC as a disgrace? I was a student in this same university about 40 years ago.

I still have some of my lecturers on the payroll of the university. I dare not disrespect them. In those days, you could not even look at an assistant lecturer eye-ball to eye-ball. But today, some of our mighty students want the VC to prostrate for them.

According to the VC, the students' character is "un-African", as they are expected to respect their elders.

The ID Card problem.

About this, the Professor said:

We suggested that they could use their library identity card, course form or clinic identity card as a means of identification to write the exams, they kept threatening that they would not write the exams unless the identity card was produced. And, I am not a magician that will produce 30, 000 cards in a day.

In a press conference, the Student Union Leader, Ojo Aderemi said about the VC's allegetions:

Contrary to the widely-circulated, but falsely concocted story of the much-respected Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan that I insulted him at a congress, the only time I spoke at the said event was to deliver my speech, and no part where I either directly mentioned the VC or impliedly insulted him, his personality or his office.

On the VC alleging that the students were unruly, he said:

The generality of students in UI are law-abiding, peaceful but conscious; we are not rascals who always seek to fight, but radicals who will always fight, not merely to be right, but for our rights. It was resolved at our congress that the student identity card must be received before examinations commence. Not only have we paid for our ID cards for three sessions now, we have been patient with the management but this has led to serious security harassment from members of the Nigerian Police Force outside the university environment.
"Mr Rank made a personal decision. We appreciate his years of dedicated service to the State Department," US embassy spokeswoman Mary Beth Polley told AFP.

Polley said the embassy informed China's foreign affairs ministry on Monday that Jonathan Fritz would be serving as charge d'affaires.

She declined to comment on when a permanent replacement for Rank would be announced.

Trump's choice as the new ambassador to China, former Iowa governor Terry Branstad, has yet to arrive in the country.

News of Rank's resignation was broken on Twitter by veteran China reporter John Pomfret, an editor at the SupChina news site, formerly of the Washington Post.

According to Pomfret, Rank stepped down because he "could not back Trump on climate" and had been dismayed by the president's decision to pull out of the Paris climate accord.
The photos arrived the same day the patient visited his doctor in Koulikoro, 57 kilometres (35 miles) away.

Faye's pilot programme, in place for 18 months, allows general practitioners working in even the most remote areas to consult with a specialist.

In a country that has around one dermatologist per million people, that is an invaluable aid. For in Mali, according to estimates, nearly 30 percent of the population suffers from skin diseases, such as leprosy, psoriasis and eczema.

"The patient from Koulikoro suffers from hypochromia lesions with some healthy patches of skin," says Faye, head of dermatology at Mali's national disease control centre (CNAM).

"Two months ago, the patient had treatment that made the lesions worse," he added. By this he meant traditional remedies.

But thanks to the "Bogou" app, designed by a Malian developer, the professor can bring his specialist knowledge to bear on the information sent over by general practitioners, using his computer or even his mobile phone.

Using a secure platform protected with a password, Faye says he can see images posted by the general practitioner in Koulikoro.

"Then I can confirm the doctor's diagnosis and even give advice."

Provided clear images are available, Faye's line of work is particularly well-suited to remote diagnosis, as dermatology is based on observation by the human eye, he explains.

"There is a triple benefit: time, money and training", for the doctors out in the field, he says.

Next-day treatment

Out in Banamba, about 140 kilometres (90 miles) northeast of Bamako, patient Fatoumata Konare has reaped the benefits.

"It had been itching for a long time," she says of her skin condition.

Her doctor took photos when she went in to see him, sent them on, and told her to return the next day for a prescription.

"I went to buy the pills and the lotion and was healed. I don't need to go anywhere else, everything was taken care of in Banamba," she says.

The Pierre Fabre foundation which is financing the programme, said the results have been "solid", with 175 complex cases diagnosed remotely.

The foundation promotes the use of new technologies to improve diagnosis and treatment of skin diseases in Africa, and the idea is to expand the project from Mali to other African countries.

Already, 20 doctors and nurses have been trained with a goal of extending the service throughout Mali over the next two years.
The FSB security service raided the Church of Scientology's buildings and also the homes of church members, a spokeswoman told Rossiya 24 television.

No one at the Church of Scientology was immediately available for comment.

The FSB said in a statement released to Russian news agencies that the probe was initially launched into the Church's earnings from selling educational materials to new recruits.

The Church of Scientology was first registered officially in Russia in 1994 but the authorities have pursued it through the courts in recent years.

In 2016 the Russian Supreme Court ordered the closure of the Moscow branch of the Church of Scientology in a case launched by the justice ministry.

The justice ministry has ruled that a number of the Church's publications are extremist and calls the organisation a sect.

The Church of Scientology was founded in the United States in 1954 by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard and was accorded the status of a religion there in 1993.

The European Court of Human Rights has twice ruled in favour of the church, saying that Russia violated its rights by refusing to register its churches in various regions.
According to CNN, they are: 27-year-old British citizen, born in Pakistan, Khuram Shazad Butt, and 30-year-old Rachid Redouane.

Reports say Butt was under surveillance by the Police and spy agency, MI5.

Redouane, also known as Rachid Elkhdar, hails from to be Moroccan and Libyan.

According to CNN, The assailants killed seven people and wounded 48 others by ramming a vehicle into a crowd on London Bridge and then stabbing people in nearby Borough Market.

Reports also say that a woman had earlier called an anti-terrorism help-line to report Butt, who she alleged was trying to radicalise her children

Butt had also featured in a documentary about extremists which aired on Britains Channel 4, where he was seen arguing with the police.

Also, there are insinuations that Redouane is a Scottish citizen, based on the Republic of Ireland identity card which was found on him.
It was the latest in more than two months of clashes between police and protestors who are demanding elections to replace President Nicolas Maduro.

Public prosecutors say 65 people have been killed in the unrest since early April.

Pizarro and Requesens are lawmakers of the center-right Justice First party, part of an opposition coalition campaigning against the socialist president.

Pizarro said they were assaulted by riot police when they joined a group of protestors who were trying to occupy the Francisco Fajardo highway.

"They surrounded us when we were coming on to the highway. They punched me in the mouth, they hit me with a shield and fired tear gas," Pizarro told reporters.

"Do not let this violence deter us. We will not surrender."

Riot police broke up groups of demonstrators who gathered at various points in the city aiming to converge on the highway.

Some of the demonstrators shouted "Freedom, freedom," and "We want food."

The opposition blames Maduro for severe food and medicine shortages in the oil-rich nation.

Protestors have been clashing daily with riot police. They accuse the authorities of repressing them, while Maduro brands them insurgents and terrorists.

He says the crisis is a US-backed conspiracy.
"There has been no impact on our operations either in Qatar or with regards to airspace permission around it and we don't anticipate there will be," Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis said.

Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates severed diplomatic ties and transport links with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of supporting extremism.

US President Donald Trump threw his weight behind the effort spearheaded by Riyadh, despite Qatar's role in hosting US military operations in the fight against Islamic State extremism.
One of Duterte's fiercest critics, Trillanes travelled to The Hague to present new information to the tribunal as opposition politicians press for the court's prosecutor to open a probe into alleged crimes against humanity in the Philippines.

Accompanied by opposition MP Gary Alejano, Trillanes handed over a 45-page document to complement a first dossier deposed by Philippine lawyer Jude Sabio in April accusing Duterte of "mass murder".

"We are crying out for help. We try stopping the impunity of Duterte," Trillanes told AFP after handing over the new dossier.

It "included cases that happened after" Sabio's 75-page filing in which he accused Duterte of causing some 8,000 deaths through "repeated, unchanging and continuous mass murder".

Trillanes said he wanted to show that since then "the killings didn't stop at all, that killings continue."

Duterte won election by a landslide in May 2016 largely on his promise to launch a war on illegal drugs.

Although the campaign has proved popular at home, the Philippine president has faced international criticism for the thousands of alleged extrajudicial killings.

Last month, he declared military rule in the southern Mindanao region, home to some 20 million people, to quell what he said was a fast-growing threat from the Islamic State (IS) group there.

"The threat of the expansion of the martial law is very real," said Trillanes.

"Duterte has been using all sorts of pretexts to employ draconian measures in the country and control Philippine society. And we are not going to allow that," he said.

Trillanes voiced fears his country may be moving towards a dictatorship, saying: "When he (Duterte) was mayor of Davao city, he looked like a dictator, a tyrant for more than 20 years. And that is the only kind of governance that he knows."

The ICC's chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said in October she was "deeply concerned" by the reports of the killings.

Since beginning work in 2002, the prosecutor's office has received some 10,000 requests from individuals, groups or countries to investigate alleged crimes around the world.
"The brutality of Daesh and other terrorist groups seemingly knows no bounds," said Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, using an Arabic acronym for IS.

"Yesterday, my staff reported to me that bodies of murdered Iraqi men, women and children still lay on the streets of the al-Shira neighbourhood of western Mosul, after at least 163 people were shot and killed by Daesh to prevent them from fleeing," he said in his opening address to the UN Human Rights Council.

"My staff have also received reports of missing people from this neighbourhood," he added, without providing further details.

His spokesman Rupert Colville told AFP that the killings were believed to have taken place on June 1.

IS seized Mosul in 2014, and the operation that began last October to retake the city has pushed hundreds of thousands of residents to flee their homes.

Iraqi forces have retaken all but a handful of areas around the Old City in western Mosul, but the jihadists are fighting in densely populated areas, and have used civilians as human shields at various points in the battle.

The United Nations warned at the end of May that up to 200,000 civilians may still be trapped in IS-held areas, facing shortages of food, water and medicine as well as deadly danger from the battle for the city.
CHICAGO (AP)  A federal appeals court again has rejected a request from former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich for a rehearing on his request for another resentencing.

The Chicago Tribune reports that the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday denied Blagojevich's May 19 petition for a hearing before the entire court. Blagojevich made the request a month after a three-judge panel of the appeals court rejected his case.

Those three judges in April rejected arguments that a federal judge failed to consider Blagojevich's prison rehabilitation efforts when resentencing him last summer. U.S. District Judge James Zagel gave Blagojevich the same 14-year term he'd handed down in 2011.

Blagojevich has exhausted virtually all of his legal options. One of the last options would be to ask President Donald Trump for clemency.
WASHINGTON -- So what if, in his recent speech to NATO, Donald Trump didn't explicitly reaffirm the provision that an attack on one is an attack on all?

What's the big deal? Didn't he affirm a general commitment to NATO during his visit? Hadn't he earlier sent his vice president and secretaries of state and defense to pledge allegiance to Article 5?

And anyway, who believes that the United States would really go to war with Russia -- and risk nuclear annihilation -- over Estonia?

Ah, but that's precisely the point. It is because deterrence is so delicate, so problematic, so literally unbelievable that it is not to be trifled with. And why for an American president to gratuitously undermine what little credibility deterrence already has, by ostentatiously refusing to recommit to Article 5, is so shocking.

Deterrence is inherently a barely believable bluff. Even at the height of the Cold War, when highly resolute presidents, such as Eisenhower and Kennedy, threatened Russia with "massive retaliation" (i.e., all-out nuclear war), would we really have sacrificed New York for Berlin?

No one knew for sure. Not Eisenhower, not Kennedy, not the Soviets, not anyone. Yet that very uncertainty was enough to stay the hand of any aggressor and keep the peace of the world for 70 years.

Deterrence does not depend on 100 percent certainty that the other guy will go to war if you cross a red line. Given the stakes, merely a chance of that happening can be enough. For 70 years, it WAS enough.

Leaders therefore do everything they can to bolster it. Install tripwires, for example. During the Cold War, we stationed troops in Germany to face the massive tank armies of Soviet Russia. Today we have 28,000 troops in South Korea, 12,000 near the demilitarized zone.

Why? Not to repel invasion. They couldn't. They're not strong enough. To put it very coldly, they're there to die. They're a deliberate message to the enemy that if you invade our ally, you will have to kill a lot of Americans first. Which will galvanize us into full-scale war against you.

Tripwires are risky, dangerous and cynical. Yet we resort to them because parchment promises are problematic and tripwires imply automaticity. We do what we can to strengthen deterrence.

Rhetorically as well. Which is why presidents from Truman on have regularly and powerfully reaffirmed our deterrent pledge to NATO. Until Trump.

His omission was all the more damaging because of his personal history. This is a man chronically disdainful of NATO. He campaigned on its obsolescence. His inaugural address denounced American allies as cunning parasites living off American wealth and generosity. One of Trump's top outside advisers, Newt Gingrich, says that "Estonia is in the suburbs of St. Petersburg," as if Russian designs on the Baltic states are not at all unreasonable.

Moreover, Trump devoted much of that very same speech, the highlight of his first presidential trip to NATO, to berating the allies for not paying their fair share. Nothing particularly wrong with that, or new -- half a century ago Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield was so offended by NATO free riding that he called for major reductions of U.S. troops in Europe.

That's an American perennial. But if you're going to berate, at least reassure as well. Especially given rising Russian threats and aggression. Especially given that Trump's speech was teed up precisely for such reassurance. An administration official had spread the word that he would use the speech to endorse Article 5. And it was delivered at a ceremony honoring the first and only invocation of Article 5 -- ironically enough, by the allies in support of America after 9/11.

And yet Trump deliberately, defiantly refused to simply say it: America will always honor its commitment under Article 5.

It's not that, had Trump said the magic words, everyone would have 100 percent confidence we would strike back if Russia were to infiltrate little green men into Estonia, as it did in Crimea. But Trump's refusal to utter those words does lower whatever probability Vladimir Putin might attach to America responding with any seriousness to Russian aggression against a NATO ally.

Angela Merkel said Sunday (without mentioning his name) that after Trump's visit it is clear that Europe can no longer rely on others. It's not that yesterday Europe could fully rely -- and today it cannot rely at all. It's simply that the American deterrent has been weakened. And deterrence weakened is an invitation to instability, miscalculation, provocation and worse.

And for what?
QPR attacker Yeni Ngbakoto was on target for DR Congo in friendly action against Botswana on Monday.

Congo ran out comfortable 2-0 victors over Botswana at the Centre sportif des FAR in Rabat.

Bournemouth striker Benik Afobe opened the scoring in the seventh minute, before Ngbakoto doubled the hosts' advantage on 55 minutes to seal a convincing win.

DR Congo return to Africa Cup of Nations qualification duties later this week, when they play Congo on Thursday.
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4 WHEEL PARTS CELEBRATING BOISE, IDAHO GRAND OPENING

Off-Road Retailer Opens 79TH North American Location

Compton, California (June 1, 2017)  4 Wheel Parts, the global leader in off-road performance product sales and installation, is revealing its brand new Boise, Idaho location with a family-friendly grand opening celebration on Saturday, June 3. The free event, located on 8001 Franklin Rd., officially unveiling the retailers 79th North American location, will feature special grand opening discounts, installation specials and multiple giveaways throughout the day.

As it opens its doors to the brand new state-of-the-art showroom and service bay, 4 Wheel Parts introduces its unique off-road shopping concept in person in addition to other activities.

We are thrilled to address the demand from our on-line and mail-order customers with this brand new retail location here in Boise, says 4 Wheel Parts Regional Manager, Mike Abbiati. Our showroom offers the aftermarket industrys most comprehensive selection of truck, Jeep and SUV parts and accessories in a user-friendly environment. Now customers in Boise have the opportunity to choose the best products for their vehicle with the assistance of our experts and will be confident with the peace of mind that comes with service and installation being performed right here onsite by our ASE-certified technicians.

The grand opening celebration will feature the full staff of 44 experts offering advice for potential builds and upgrades while visitors can partake in a number of activities including a bounce house, rock climbing wall, street tacos and an RTI ramp competition. Attendees will be treated to a variety of giveaways throughout the day concluding with a $1,000 4 Wheel Parts shopping spree to one lucky winner. In addition to one-time-only event specials, ASE-certified technicians will be onsite providing installation discounts on select products purchased.

From rock crawling to open deserts and mountain trails, this region offers such a diverse array of opportunities for off-roading, says Store Manager, Nick Becket. There will be plenty to see and do and with Idaho 4X4 and the Early Bronco Club of Idaho here showing off their rigs, there will be plenty of ideas for that next build or upgrade. We are looking forward to continuing to meet off-roaders and enthusiasts at the event and sharing with them what 4 Wheel Parts is really all about.

What: 4 Wheel Parts Grand Opening Celebration

When: Saturday, June 3  9 a.m.  5 p.m.

Locations: Boise, Idaho

8001 Franklin Rd.

Boise, ID 83709

(208) 321-8112

Free Admission

About 4 Wheel Parts

4 Wheel Parts is the global leader in truck, Jeep, SUV and off-road performance products. With 79 locations across the U.S. and Canada and growing, 4 Wheel Parts Service Centers install all the products they sell. Maintaining the nations largest inventory of off-road tires, wheels, suspension products and accessories, 4 Wheel Parts serves customers across the country and around the globe. Life is Better Off-Road. Visit them at 4wheelparts.com or call toll-free 877-474-4821.
G'day! It's Murray here. I've put together a little quiz to test your musical knowledge. Think you can score top marks in Murray's Magic Music Quiz? Give it a go now!
For individuals planning a career change to join the rail industry, just starting at a railway-related organization, or have been in the industry for a while, Michigan State University is offering its Railway Management Certificate Program in a new longer, pay-as-you-go format.

Students can now attend each of the four modules at their own pace over multiple years and pay as they go. The school says that the new format reduces the time away-from-job, spreads the cost, and makes the students budget easier to manage.

The Continuing Professional Development four-module program offered by the Broad College of Business features a residential course delivered in intensive one week-long modules, including site visits, to obtain a certificate in railway management. Each module is held at a different location relevant to the railway industry. During each week, critical and topical subjects are covered in a classroom setting with interactive discussions and field trips to aid learning. Field trips include railroad facilities, customers, suppliers, associations, and agencies selected to enhance participants learning. Group project work applies learning and develops teamwork skills.

The Program was developed by MSU Railway Management Program staff, evaluated and improved with Class I and Class II railroad education and training directors, as well as decision-makers from the Association of American Railroads, American Short Line Railroad Association, Federal Railroad Administration and other railroad industry leaders. Subject matter experts for the course include distinguished railroad and transportation industry leaders and experienced MSU faculty. An industry advisory board identifies critical issues facing the industry so that the Program addresses those issues, thereby remaining highly relevant.

Registration is open now for the four program modules:

Module 1: Railway Business Administration (RMCP 201)- August 711, 2017  East Lansing, Michigan (MSU Campus)

Module 2: Railway Operations (RMCP 202)- September 25-29, 2017  Chicago, Illinois

Module 3: Railway Engineering and Technology (RMCP 203)- October 16-20, 2017  Pueblo, Colorado (Home of TTCI)

Module 4: Railway Regulation, Safety & the Rail Industry (RMCP 204)- November 13-17, 2017  Washington, DC Area

Students may choose to start with one module, but can continue development and join the Railway Management Certificate Program to gain a certificate over time.

Click on https://railway.broad.msu.edu/education/ for more information.
Alstom has been awarded a contract worth more than $140 million by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority to perform the midlife overhaul of 52 P2000 light rail vehicles, which operate on the citys Blue, Green and Expo lines.

The scope of the overhaul includes the upgrade of major systems such as propulsion, HVAC, automatic train control, auxiliary power supply, brake control, communications and doors, and trucks. The overhaul is expected to allow Metro to keep the fleet in service for at least another 15 years, Alstom said.

Alstom will perform the overhaul work at its Mare Island facility in Vallejo, Calif. The dedicated manufacturing and service facility will perform the railcar stripping, final assembly, and testing. Alstoms site at Naperville, Ill., will provide the required engineering for the project.

The first vehicles to be overhauled will arrive at Mare Island in July 2017, with the last overhauled LRVs returning to service in 2021. Alstom expects the program to create about 45 local jobs over the course of the contract.

Alstom said it is committed to over 70% U.S. domestic content in the LRV overhaul program, which meets the applicable Federal Trade Administrations Buy America Act requirements.

Alstom said it has worked on the modernization of close to 5,100 railcars for many major transit agencies, including New York City Transit, Chicago Transit Authority, New Jersey Transit, Southeast Pennsylvania Transit Authority, Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority, Maryland Transit Administration, Amtrak, and Caltrans.
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Through her nonprofit Kids Helping Kids, 10-year-old Leah Banuelos continues to work to make a difference a world away.

The idea for Kids Helping Kids came out of Leahs Solana Santa Fe fifth grade teacher Roderick Gatyas classroom  each student is given a year to complete a Passion Project that helps bring positive change in their community and world.

Leah Banuelos in South Africa.

Last year, Leah sold her handmade essential oil bracelets to raise money for mini solar-power systems for a small rural Zulu village in South Africa. In the village of Mpunulo, people live in small huts and rely on candlelight and fire to cook food and light the night. Leah was inspired to help after a fire in one of the huts left three children badly burned.

In December, Leahs family as well as two others from Solana Santa Fe, had the opportunity to visit the village.

We had an amazing adventure and our time spent at the Zulu village was life changing, Leah said. We ended up raising enough money to buy each family a solar-powered system. And bought a bed, bedding, towels, food, toiletries, toys and gifts and gave each family a cash gift as well.

While visiting South Africa, Leah got an idea to build on her passion project even further.

Leahs t-shirt design

While Leah was in the village, one of the babies got very ill from drinking bad water. The baby girl was so dehydrated she went into a coma. Leah was so affected by what she saw that she has embarked on a mission to raise money for a water filtration system for the village so they can have clean water and their families wont get sick again.

We also noticed how the senior citizens in South Africa are kind of forgotten, Leah said. It was very sad and heartbreaking to witness.

Leah found that most of the seniors receive pensions that amount to about $123 for their expenses for the entire month  and that is if they were at the top of the pay scale.

Leah is now raising money to help seniors in need as well by selling a t-shirt she designed. Leah said 100 percent of the profit will go toward her cause. To purchase a shirt, visit inktothepeople.com/the-forgotten-generation

Leah is also selling shirts for her clean water project. Visit inktothepeople.com/kids-helping-kids
Victims in Nemtsov murder case believe investigation is incomplete

MOSCOW, June 6 (RAPSI, Yevgeniya Sokolova) - Victims' lawyer Olga Mikhailova has questioned the completeness of investigation into the case over murder of Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov, RAPSI reported from the Moscow District Military Court on Tuesday.

Unfortunately, the Investigative Committee did not solve this horrible murder in a complete manner, Mikhailova said and added that not all perpetrators of the crime are being prosecuted. She also noted that victims believe defendants to be involved in the murder, although she doubts that the Investigative Committee provided enough evidence in the case of Khamzat Bakhayev.

On June 1, prosecutor Maria Semenenko asked jurors to deliver a guilty verdict for five defendants in the case. According to the prosecutor, their guilt in the murder has been proven.

Boris Nemtsov, 55, a prominent opposition politician, who held a number of high-ranking posts in the Russian Government in the 1990s and in the 2000s joined the opposition, was shot down in the center of Moscow as he walked across a bridge near the Kremlin on the night of February 28, 2015.

Five men, Zaur Dadayev, brothers Anzor and Shadid Gubashev, Khamzat Bakhayev have been charged along with Temirlan Eskerkhanov with contract murder and illegal acquisition, carrying and keeping of weapons.

Ruslan Mukhudinov, a former officer in Chechen Interior Ministry, is believed to be the mastermind of the murder. He was placed on the international wanted list in November 2015. Beslan Shavanov, who allegedly was also implicated in the crime, reportedly killed himself when police tried to arrest him.

Investigators believe that the conspirators in the murder had thoroughly prepared to commit this crime: they studied Nemtsovs schedule, spied upon him, prepared suitable weapons, vehicles and communication equipment. On the day of the murder, 28 February, after following Nemtsov from his home, at about 11.31 p.m. Dadayev, having received a signal from Anzor Gubashev and Shavanov that the situation was suitable for the murder, shot Nemtsov at least six times, according to investigation.

Criminal prosecution of Shavanov was dismissed because of his death. Investigation into Mukhudinov is underway.
Defendants in Culture Ministry embezzlement case pay $2.3 mln in damages

MOSCOW, June 6 (RAPSI, Lyudmila Klenko) - Former Deputy Minister of Culture Grigory Pirumov and other defendants in the so-called case of restorers have paid about 163 million rubles in damages ($2.3 million), the Moscow City Court told RAPSI on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, the court extended the detention of Pirumov, who stands charged with embezzling 100 million rubles ($1.8 million) of public funds allocated for restoration of cultural heritage objects, until September 15.

Head of the Center of restoration Oleg Ivanov and director of the Ministrys department of property management and investment policy Boris Mazo will also remain in jail for the same period.

Investigation into the case has been prolonged until October 2017.

In March 2016, Pirumov, Ivanov, and Mazo as well as head of BaltStroy Dmitry Sergeyev and the companys manager Alexander Kochenov, businessman Nikita Kolesnikov, head of a state-owned Directorate for construction, reconstruction and restoration Boris Tsagarayev and project manager of companies Stroykomplekt and Baltstroy Vladimir Svanbek have been arrested and put in detention in the so-called case of restorers.

Kolesnikov was later put under house arrest while Kochenov was released on ten million rubles ($176,500) bail.

Moreover, the court ordered seizure of assets belonging to Mazo and Pirumov.

In November 2016, Komersant newspaper reported that some of the defendants, including Deputy Culture Minister Grigory Pirumov, pleaded guilty.

Investigation has presumably started basing on a report by the Auditing Chamber on restoration of the Izborsk Fortress in the Pskov region presented yet in 2013; however, it may also involve such cultural heritage sites as the State Hermitage in St. Petersburg and the Novodevichy Convent in Moscow, as well as works carried out at the Ivanovsky Convent in Moscow, and a theater in Pskov, as reported earlier.

In December, Dmitry Medvedev, the Chairman of the Russian Government, relieved Pirumov of his post.
Does Canada really represent a national security threat to the United States? Other than frequent cold fronts and the recent hot streak of the Toronto Blue Jays, its hard to imagine Americas northern neighbor and NORAD ally posing a threat to its American friends. But a recent investigation into the national security threat supposedly posed by China to the U.S. aluminum industry casts a wide net  one that could end up catching in its meshes Canadian producers who play a key role in an integrated North American industry. If nothing else, the case adds further proof that trade actions are often a matter of cutting off your nose to spite your face.

The real target of Washingtons trade action is China. And in fairness, the Chinese government does seem to be bolstering its aluminum exports (to the United States and elsewhere) through uneconomic low-interest loans and subsidies to unprofitable aluminum plants. Whether this really hurts the U.S. consumer  who can access cheaper products containing aluminum  is another question. However, aluminum is crucial to the manufacture of a wide range of military hardware. Consequently, the Trump Administration  following up on a WTO dumping complaint filed last year by the Obama Administration  has launched a national security investigation under a law called Section 232.

There are two important things to keep in mind about Section 232: One, it is not employed very frequently, and never lightly. In fact, in the 55 years it has been in force, presidents have sought to use it only about two dozen times. It has resulted in sanctions only twice, and those were against oil imports from Libya and Iran in the early 1980s. Do Chinas exports of aluminummuch less Canadas  really fit in the same category? The second thing to keep in mind about Section 232 is that it is extremely imprecise. The current investigation into Chinese aluminum, for example, also sideswipes aluminum from Canada. That represents a huge deal for Canada, the Canadian aluminum industry, and their U.S. trade partners. After all, aluminum from China represents less than 10 percent of U.S. aluminum imports  while aluminum from Canada represents more than half.

Do U.S. aluminum imports from Canada  whose manufacturing facilities are defined under American law as part the U.S. National Defense Technology and Industrial Base  really pose a security threat, much less one significant enough to justify a rare use of Section 232? (Full disclosure: The writer of this article is Canadian.) In fact, aluminum imports from Canada clearly benefit the United States, and are essential to the U.S. aluminum industry. The industry has shaped an integrated North American supply chain, largely based on easily accessible, generally cost-competitive aluminum from Canada that is essential to U.S. aluminum companies  transforming and processing the metal to the requirements of their domestic and export markets. The North American partnership, in fact, is vital to maintaining the jobs of over 160,000 Americans who work for the industry, as well as more than 700,000 indirect jobs. But Section 232 is a clumsy instrument, so aluminum imports from Canada must be investigated along with those from China. Its as though cops who suspect your neighbor of an illegal activity decided to raid your home as well, just because you happen to be nearby.

To be sure, any fair inquiry will not result in tariffs or other penalties against Canada or its aluminum industry. But can Canadians (and for that matter their American trade partners) be absolutely certain the judgment will end up being a fair one? Meanwhile, Canadians and the North American aluminum industry will face a year or so of anxiety until the inquiry is completed.

Its easy to see the irony here. The investigation is a response to demands by the aluminum industry. But even the possibility of cutting off their North American supply chain is the last thing they would want. There seem to be two lessons here. For the aluminum industry (and others that may be seeking government protection): Be careful what you wish for. For the Administration pursuing this trade investigation: Be careful what trade actions you launch. Generally, they end up doing more harm than good.
Where to read

Polls have opened in Britain for a general election called for earlier this year by Prime Minister Theresa May. In the final days before the vote, RealClearEurope is being updated with the top analysis and opinion from the campaign. Click here to see the latest views, and click here to view the final results of our poll average.

Politico EU has a good summary of what to expect on polling day and night. Polls close at 10 p.m. local time, or 5 p.m. Eastern. For live coverage as the day unfolds, click here and here for live blogs.

Background

The election has turned into a more dramatic affair than was expected. With a towering lead in the polls and the opposition Labour Party in disarray under the leadership of far-left Jeremy Corbyn, May called the election expecting to consolidate a strong majority for her Conservative Party in the House of Commons. (The Tories currently hold 330 seats in the 650-seat parliament.) Polling has since tightened dramatically, with individual polls giving the Tories anywhere between a 1-point and a 12-point lead at the time of writing. British pollsters swung a miss in the 2015 general election, however, when their numbers forecast the need for a coalition government; the Tories easily prevailed.

In recent days, the debate has swirled around security after the country was hit by its third terrorist attack in a matter of months. Everything from the so-called special relationship with the United States to Britains upcoming departure from the European Union is on the table as Brits ponder their vote.

For background, view the manifestos of the leading parties: The Conservative Party, the Labour Party, the UK Independence Party, the Scottish National Party, the Liberal Democrats, and the Green Party.

To further parse the the leading candidates, check out our Topics pages on Jeremy Corbyn, Theresa May, and SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon.
The USS Nimitz left Bremerton, Washington, for the Western Pacific on June 1. It should arrive in a week, give or take a few days. In the meantime, the war of words continues, along with a war of nerves and a focus on mediation by China.

The United States is prepared to go to war in North Korea if it must, and preparations for this are underway, but it would prefer a diplomatic settlement. The U.S. is now in the period, as we were before Operation Desert Storm in 1991 and Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, where a defiant enemy, in this case North Korea, is calculating its options. The U.S. is not going to assume that a diplomatic solution can be reached, since a solution seems unlikely at this point. It would look very much like a North Korean capitulation, and Pyongyang cant afford to capitulate. It is a time of relative quiet, but it probably wont stay that way.

U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis has made some telling statements on North Korea. In an interview on May 28 and a speech in Singapore on June 3, Mattis made three points. First, a war in North Korea would be catastrophic, as it would involve enormous damage, likely to both sides. Second, the United States would not accept North Koreas developing an intercontinental ballistic missile that could reach the United States, and thus would act pre-emptively. Third, the United States is relying on China to persuade North Korea to stop developing the ICBM.

A Shift in Focus

The United States has now focused not on the nuclear program but on the missile delivery system. It is not demanding that North Korea abandon its nuclear program but is adamant on the ICBM. It is unclear whether Mattis comments mean that the United States will accept weapons that can strike others in the region such as Japan (as long as they cant strike the U.S.), but it appears to be enough of a shift that China can say to the North Koreans that the U.S. is showing flexibility. It is offering the North Koreans a solution that does not involve stepping back but merely agreeing not to look forward.

This solution is dubious for both sides. The United States would need to verify that the North Koreans stopped developing their missiles. U.S. inspectors on the ground would be needed, since international inspectors in such circumstances have occasionally demonstrated poor eyesight. A missile program can be detected by satellites, but there are ways for North Korea to surprise the U.S. with suddenly deployed and armed missiles. And depending on China to monitor the situation would require more confidence in China than the U.S. possesses.

Another problem for the U.S. is that this would leave North Korean nuclear capabilities intact for future exploitation and for potential sale to third parties. It would also leave regional powers, particularly Japan, vulnerable while protecting the United States, putting pressure on that relationship.

As for North Korea, it is facing this crisis because it lacks any way to deter the United States. The U.S. can attack North Korea at will. North Korea cant do the same to the U.S. North Koreas primary goal is regime survival, and giving up the ICBM means abandoning that goal. Accepting American inspectors would require aggressive inspections and a political capitulation that could leave Kim Jong Un politically vulnerable at home. For the North Koreans, this deal would be less of a compromise than a capitulation.

Chinas Role

All of this raises the question of whether China is acting in good faith. By cooperating, China might gain economic concessions from the United States, but its unclear how long they would last. And China might actually welcome a United States obsessed with a North Korean ICBM aimed at the U.S., since this might divert U.S. focus in East Asia from China to North Korea permanently. Finally, while common sense would suggest that China has significant leverage with North Korea, that should not be overstated.

Economically, North Korea is relatively self-sufficient. It has chosen poverty over dependence. The economic sanctions China can impose, such as blocking North Korean coal exports, have already been used in previous crises. The North Koreans, moreover, havent trusted China since the Korean War, when China made no attempt to intervene until the U.S. threatened to cross the Yalu River into China. Absent that, the Chinese, having encouraged North Korea to invade the South, were willing to see North Korea fall. Using China as a negotiator might seem logical, but China has few chips to play and a history of betrayal.

Mattis presented this issue in an interesting way in Singapore. On the one hand, he expressed confidence in China on North Korea. On the other hand, he ripped into Chinese policies in the South China Sea as violating international law. The message was that nothing China does in North Korea will make the U.S. concede the South China Sea, which was a relief to the audience in Singapore. But Mattis also conveyed the message to China and others that the U.S. is not confident in finding a diplomatic solution to this crisis.

Sending Signals

In the meantime, there were some odd developments that were obviously signals in the negotiations. An unnamed U.S. Navy official told Voice of America that the USS Carl Vinson was leaving waters around the Korean Peninsula. The source then reported that the Vinson and the USS Ronald Reagan began military exercises, operating side by side with aircraft overhead. It was meant to confuse and intimidate the North Koreans. We at GPF have focused on carrier deployments because they are the most visible sign of U.S. preparations for war. But in a potential conflict, they would play a somewhat limited role; the heavy lifting would be done by strategic bombers in Guam. As a reminder to the North Koreans, some of those bombers conducted a fairly large overflight south of the demilitarized zone on May 29.

While the focus of U.S. demands has shifted to ICBMs, North Koreas nuclear program still presents a major threat to the region and could lead to diffusion of nuclear weapons and technology. Inspections are unlikely to work, since the U.S. will not trust international observers from the International Atomic Energy Agency. And the North Koreans will not accept American observers, which signals to the Americans that they intend to cheat.

We remain in the same position as before, with the USS Nimitz scheduled to arrive in waters off the Korean Peninsula sometime this week. It seems unlikely to me that the Chinese will be able to produce a solution that satisfies both sides. In the meantime, North Korea is in the position that Saddam Hussein was in before both wars in Iraq. Giving in to the Americans could create a domestic political crisis and permanently weaken the regime. There is a possibility that the U.S. has no stomach for this war. There is also a possibility that North Korea could defeat the United States. Given the risks of capitulation, war may appear the more prudent move.

The U.S. is hoping for a diplomatic solution but doesnt expect one. Mattis said war would have catastrophic consequences because he saw what happened to U.S. public opinion over Iraq after Donald Rumsfeld dismissed the concerns that the war might be much harder than he thought. For Mattis, predicting the worst and having it play out better than anticipated is preferable over the reverse.

In short, it seems to me that we continue on the path to war. We are in a period where diplomacy is being given a chance but is not seen as a particularly hopeful plan. And as Mattis made clear, the only alternative to a diplomatic solution remains war.
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HOME > The Amazing Race > The Amazing Race 29 Exclusive: Brooke Camhi talks 'The Amazing Race': You can't prepare yourself to feel elation, depression and back again

By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 06/06/2017



Brooke Camhi and Scott Flanary were crowned the winners of 's 29th season during the finale broadcast on CBS.



ADVERTISEMENT Brooke, a 36-year-old criminal attorney from New York, NY, and Scott, a 34-year-old recruiting manager from West Hollywood, CA, arrived at the final Pit Stop in Chicago, IL, in first place, therefore winning the $1 million grand prize.



"You started this race as strangers, and now, after nine countries, 17 cities and more than 36,000 miles racing around the world together, I am pleased to tell you that you have won $1 million and you are the official winners of !" host



Tara Carr, a 38-year-old U.S. Army officer from Alexandria, VA, and Joey Covino, a 46-year-old police sergeant from Saugus, MA, completed in second place. London Kaye, a 27-year-old artist from Brooklyn, NY, and Logan Bauer, a 27-year-old surgical consultant from Columbus, GA, made it to the finish line in third place.



During an exclusive interview with Reality TV World via email following the show's finale, Brooke opened up about her experience and victory. Below is the first half of what she had to say.



Reality TV World: When you were racing to the finish line, how confident were you that you had won The Amazing Race? When you were in a taxi going to the finish line, it didn't seem like you thought a team could catch up to you.



Brooke Camhi: We knew that when we'd finished our memory task at Wrigley Field, and found our "go, go, go clue" to head to the finish line, another team had not yet gotten to the scoreboard, so we knew we had a bit of a lead. We also had a great cab driver to the finish line, so I was cautiously optimistic that we had it at that point.



Reality TV World: Do you think the fact you left your backpacks at the airport and didn't have to lug them around the entire last leg in Chicago played a role in your victory? If so, how significant of a factor do you think it was?



Brooke Camhi: I think that there were several things that helped us in that final leg. As a huge fan of the Race, I knew that there was no way that I was carrying my backpack on that final flight.



Any advantage on the last leg is imperative if you want to take home the grand prize. Another thing that helped us is that Scott and I stayed up a good part of that final 13 hour flight studying absolutely everything that had happened on the Race so that no matter what that final memory challenge was, we were prepared to knock it out of the park (sorry, pun).



Reality TV World: When did you make the decision to check your bags, and are you surprised neither of the other two teams followed your lead? Or maybe you guys were deliberately sneaky about the move?



Brooke Camhi: I spoke with Scott after the South Korea leg and that night we each packed our fanny pack with our essentials because we knew we were checking our bags. We were VERY surprised no one else decided to do that. We did wait until the last second to gate check our backpacks and we did let the other two teams board the plane before us so that no one saw us do it and decided to follow suit.



Reality TV World: Do you think winning the Race basically came down to the fact you were the first ones out of the airport? It didn't seem like teams had much of an opportunity to pass one another unless someone got terribly lost or something. The last leg seemed to lack really competitive tasks other than the scoreboard one at the end. For instance, you can't really screw up handing out hotdogs.

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Brooke Camhi: Getting in that first taxi out of the airport was definitely an advantage, however I think that there were many times the lead could have changed hands. If someone else had driven around the track faster, if I'd taken a much longer time changing the tire, if we hadn't correctly solved all of the riddles on our first try, all these things could have resulted in a lead change.



There was a lot of running, and of the Final 3 teams, we were the slowest, so getting those riddles right on the first try was a game changer. We were just hoping to get to that memory challenge first, because that's where I was confident we'd shine.



Reality TV World: You seemed to run a very smooth final leg in Chicago. Did you hit any bumps to the finish line that the editing glossed over? Did you encounter any issues viewers didn't really see?



Brooke Camhi: I remember before we got off the plane in Chicago, Scott and I were saying "let's run one perfect leg" and then we changed it to "let's just make less mistakes than the other guys." That final leg actually went almost perfectly for us. There were no hiccups or bumps edited out. Sometimes you just have a really good day.



Reality TV World: How long did the final scoreboard task take you to complete at Wrigley Field? And how prepared were you for a task like that, what type of notes had you been taking up to that last leg?



Brooke Camhi: So, as I am sure you could see from watching the show, the physical tasks were not my strong suit, but I was more than prepared for artistic and mental challenges. That final scoreboard task took very little time for us.



What you didn't see was that as soon as we opened that final clue and I turned to run to the press box, I chanted "4, 6, 6, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 4, 2, 1." I knew that order like the back of my hand, and watching it on TV, you can see that Scott knew it too. It's the kind of task that we were hoping for and that we were both very prepared for.



Reality TV World: You were shown saying at one point that Scott never thought you guys could win . When did you two discuss that and was there a reason Scott assumed that other than the obvious one -- that you guys bickered a lot? Maybe he felt threatened by other teams or figured you couldn't pull it off since you hadn't won a leg?



ADVERTISEMENT Brooke Camhi: I don't think Scott never thought we'd win, there was just a moment at the end of Leg 2 when we weren't doing as well as we both probably anticipated, and that thought came up. Most of the race was very physical and I think that since I'm "not a runner," it was hard in the beginning to think we would be able to keep up.



It's much harder than it looks on TV, and I don't think anyone is fully prepared for how quickly the emotions can go from elation to depression and back again. I think that from Leg 4 forward, when we started climbing 1 spot in the rankings each week, we both started to really believe in our team.



Check back with Reality TV World soon for the concluding portion of Brooke's interview as well as our exclusive interview with Scott Flanary.





About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.

FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON GOOGLE NEWS Brooke Camhi and Scott Flanary were crowned the winners of 's 29th season during the finale broadcast on CBS.Brooke, a 36-year-old criminal attorney from New York, NY, and Scott, a 34-year-old recruiting manager from West Hollywood, CA, arrived at the final Pit Stop in Chicago, IL, in first place, therefore winning the $1 million grand prize."You started this race as strangers, and now, after nine countries, 17 cities and more than 36,000 miles racing around the world together, I am pleased to tell you that you have won $1 million and you are the official winners of !" host Phil Keoghan told the pair as they hugged each other at the finish line.Tara Carr, a 38-year-old U.S. Army officer from Alexandria, VA, and Joey Covino, a 46-year-old police sergeant from Saugus, MA, completed in second place. London Kaye, a 27-year-old artist from Brooklyn, NY, and Logan Bauer, a 27-year-old surgical consultant from Columbus, GA, made it to the finish line in third place.During an exclusive interview with Reality TV World via email following the show's finale, Brooke opened up about her experience and victory. Below is the first half of what she had to say.We knew that when we'd finished our memory task at Wrigley Field, and found our "go, go, go clue" to head to the finish line, another team had not yet gotten to the scoreboard, so we knew we had a bit of a lead. We also had a great cab driver to the finish line, so I was cautiously optimistic that we had it at that point.I think that there were several things that helped us in that final leg. As a huge fan of the Race, I knew that there was no way that I was carrying my backpack on that final flight.Any advantage on the last leg is imperative if you want to take home the grand prize. Another thing that helped us is that Scott and I stayed up a good part of that final 13 hour flight studying absolutely everything that had happened on the Race so that no matter what that final memory challenge was, we were prepared to knock it out of the park (sorry, pun).I spoke with Scott after the South Korea leg and that night we each packed our fanny pack with our essentials because we knew we were checking our bags. We were VERY surprised no one else decided to do that. We did wait until the last second to gate check our backpacks and we did let the other two teams board the plane before us so that no one saw us do it and decided to follow suit.Getting in that first taxi out of the airport was definitely an advantage, however I think that there were many times the lead could have changed hands. If someone else had driven around the track faster, if I'd taken a much longer time changing the tire, if we hadn't correctly solved all of the riddles on our first try, all these things could have resulted in a lead change.There was a lot of running, and of the Final 3 teams, we were the slowest, so getting those riddles right on the first try was a game changer. We were just hoping to get to that memory challenge first, because that's where I was confident we'd shine.I remember before we got off the plane in Chicago, Scott and I were saying "let's run one perfect leg" and then we changed it to "let's just make less mistakes than the other guys." That final leg actually went almost perfectly for us. There were no hiccups or bumps edited out. Sometimes you just have a really good day.So, as I am sure you could see from watching the show, the physical tasks were not my strong suit, but I was more than prepared for artistic and mental challenges. That final scoreboard task took very little time for us.What you didn't see was that as soon as we opened that final clue and I turned to run to the press box, I chanted "4, 6, 6, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 4, 2, 1." I knew that order like the back of my hand, and watching it on TV, you can see that Scott knew it too. It's the kind of task that we were hoping for and that we were both very prepared for.I don't think Scott never thought we'd win, there was just a moment at the end of Leg 2 when we weren't doing as well as we both probably anticipated, and that thought came up. Most of the race was very physical and I think that since I'm "not a runner," it was hard in the beginning to think we would be able to keep up.It's much harder than it looks on TV, and I don't think anyone is fully prepared for how quickly the emotions can go from elation to depression and back again. I think that from Leg 4 forward, when we started climbing 1 spot in the rankings each week, we both started to really believe in our team.Check back with Reality TV World soon for the concluding portion of Brooke's interview as well as our exclusive interview with Scott Flanary. THE AMAZING RACE 29 MORE THE AMAZING RACE 29 NEWS << PRIOR STORY

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While Western feminism is largely focused on the white, single-issue obstacles of womanhood, students must recognize that to make feminism successful, we must look at it through an intersectional perspective. This opinion does not reflect the opinions of the editorial staff.
Contrary to the popular belief that the IAS cadres manage the country - they are actually required to manage politicians, most of whom do not pass any sort of muster, says T C A Srinivasa-Raghavan.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

The conviction and sentencing of H C Gupta, former coal secretary, by a CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) court for corruption has upset the Indian Administrative Service greatly. Thats fine, and is as it should be.

But what is surprising - or perhaps not - is that despite the IAS being the most powerful trade union in the country, their association has not threatened a strike.

Indeed, except for one or two articles in the newspapers, at the individual level every officer seems to have accepted the conviction of a man who they all say is as honest as former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Dr Singh was the coal minister at the time. No case has been made out against him.

That leaves open the question of bribery but a vast majority of IAS officers are honest - at least in the Manmohan sense. That is, they do not take bribes but keep quiet when someone else, including the minister, does. Sometimes, they even smooth the way while keeping clean themselves.

Often, however, for a variety of reasons, the officers are helpless. Equally often - as in not insisting that a mala fide order be given in writing - they are not.

Many of them are also guilty of keeping their own record clean by getting subordinates to do the needful.

This is a device that allows you to have the cake and eat it too. Mr Gupta, it has been said, may have relied overly on an under-secretary in the ministry. The key lies in everyone being able to ignore the chain of command whenever it is convenient.

Now the IAS should learn an important lesson: That what is all right for a minister is not all right for a civil servant. Hopefully, from now on, they will insist on written orders from the minister for an act they believe to be wrong. This is the only safeguard they have. Would the then coal minister, Manmohan Singh, have issued such an order in writing?

Uneasy lies the head...

Life is not easy for an IAS officer. In fact, no job in India is harder. This is because - contrary to the popular belief that they manage the country - they are actually required to manage politicians, most of whom do not pass any sort of muster.

The vast majority of politicians are, to put it politely, varlets. The archaic meaning of this word, according to the OED (Oxford English Dictionary), is dishonest or unprincipled persons.

There are two methods of managing a politician or minister. One is known file ko ghumana. The second is known as file ko gumana.

File ko ghumana means to send a file into eternal bureaucratic circulation. File ko gumana means to lose the file.

It had been open to Mr Gupta to do either or both. He did neither, or so the CBI says. Once the deed was done, the file has vanished. And so, despite being honest, he is paying the price.

The main question, however, is this: Who signed off on the relevant file? A coal block was allotted without the ministers signature? How very odd.

Reform or perish

This is an opportune time for the Bharatiya Janata Party to try and reform the IAS, which has distinct two parts to it.

One is its original and core function, to manage the districts; the other is an add-on function, to manage the ministries and policy.

Any sensible person would see that you need different skills for each. Yet, in the IAS, this is not recognised.

That has left Prime Minister Narendra Modi searching high and low for the appropriately qualified officers and much time has been wasted.

Also, amazingly, the core district management function is performed by the least experienced officers. The non-core function, on the other hand, is performed by the seniors, regardless of their competence to do so.

Not just this. A junior officer in the districts has to deal with the worst of the politicians. Its the rawest of deals in the entire range of government services, bar the IPS.

There also the youngest officers are asked to do the hardest job of managing local politicians.

Two things need to be done to fix this mismatch problem. One is to build a firewall between the two functions. The other is to stop this nonsense of the centre borrowing officers from the states.

It should have its own permanent cadre - not the central secretariat service which is a servicing force - instead of floaters from the states. That no longer makes any sense.

Will Mr Modi undertake this basic reform?
Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani on Tuesday gave his final investment approval for the Indian conglomerate's controversy-hit 21.7 billion dollars coal mine project in Australia which had hit several roadblocks over environmental concerns.

"I am proud to announce the project has Final Investment Decision (FID) approval which marks the official start of one of the largest single Infrastructure -- and job creating -- developments in Australia's recent history," Adani said.

This is a historic day for Adani, a historic day for regional Queensland, and a historic day for Indian investment in Australia, he said.

The announcement comes just days after the Adani group agreed to pay royalties on coal produced from its project after it struck an agreement with the Queensland government to help the controversy-hit project move forward.

"This is the largest single investment by an Indian corporation in Australia, and I believe others will follow with investments and trade deals," the Adani group chairman said.

"We have been challenged by activists in the courts, in inner city streets, and even outside banks that have not even been approached to finance the project. We are still facing activists. But we are committed to this project," Adani said, adding that the group is committed to Queensland and to addressing energy poverty in India.

Adani said the Carmichael projects will generate 10,000 direct and indirect jobs, with pre-construction works starting in the September Quarter 2017.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk officially opened Adani's Regional Headquarters (RHQ) in Townsville from where the company will oversee the construction and operations of the project.

The regional headquarters will also accommodate Adani's Remote Operations Centre, the first time that such a centre has been set up in an Australian regional city.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was represented at the ceremony by the Federal Minister for Northern Australia and Resources, Senator Matt Canavan.

Adani Australia Head of Country and Chief Executive Jeyakumar Janakaraj said the company has already invested 3.3 billion dollars in the project, including buying the bulk coal handling port of Abbot Point.

Adani also signed letters of award for design, construction, operations, supply of materials and professional services.

Meanwhile, a group of religious leaders camped out on Tuesday at the Sydney-based Commonwealth Bank's headquarters to protest against the proposed Adani mega coal mine project.

Local media reported that ten Buddhist and Christian leaders rallied outside the DarlingHarbour office, holding signs with messages including 'People of faith say rule out Adani' and 'Grandpa what did you do about global warming?'

Uniting Church Minister Rex Graham said the group was opposed to the expansion of coal mines in Australia.

"The other banks have heard the message, particularly National Australian Bank and Westpac, and that's what we're looking for the Commonwealth Bank to also do so," he was quoted as saying.

The Carmichael coal project, Australia's largest, has been delayed since first being proposed in 2010 due to protests by green groups over its environmental impact.

The Indian energy giant has for more than five years battled the opposition to any expansion of the Abbot Point port, saying it will cut into the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.

The project involves dredging 1.1 million cubic metres of soil near the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, which will then be disposed of on land.

The Adani group entered Australia in 2010 with the purchase of the greenfield Carmichael coal mine in the Galilee Basin in central Queensland, and the Abbot Point port near Bowen in the north.

The Carmichael project has been facing opposition from environmentalists and indigenous groups. The Indian energy giant has for more than five years battled the opposition to any expansion of the Abbot Point port, saying it will cut into the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.

Image: Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani. Photograph: Amit Dave/Reuters.
The past few weeks have seen several hundred people let go of by IT services firms joining unions claiming to represent tech workers fighting for their rights. Romita Majumdar, Gireesh Babu and Ayan Pramanik report from the ground in Mumbai, Chennai, and Bengaluru.

IMAGE: Usually, IT employees let go during annual appraisal cycles would be absorbed by other firms looking for such skill-sets. This year, however, people being laid off are not getting jobs. Photograph: Henny Ray Abrams/Reuters .

On May 1, the annual workers' march in Bengaluru to mark the Labour Day saw for the first time a group representing employees of the information technology (IT) industry. It was probably an ominous sign of things to come.

The past few weeks have seen several hundred people let go of by IT services firms joining the Forum for IT employees (FITE) or the New Democratic Labour Front (NDLF) IT Employees Wing, two unions claiming to represent tech workers fighting for their rights.

FITE has led the charge by filing cases with the labour departments in Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad and Chennai against firms such as Wipro, Tech Mahindra and Cognizant, saying engineers were wrongly terminated by these companies.

Nitin Sharma (name changed to protect identity), for example, was one such worker who reached out to FITE after being let go.

Sharma, an employee of a large IT services firm, got a promotion last year after four years. When a set of new employees joined his team at a lower pay scale, a senior informed him about his imminent exit. A few days later, he was asked to resign.

"I have documents to prove I showed consistent performance. Suddenly, I was given the lowest performance rating available. They said the HR (human resources) department gave me this rating," said Sharma.

More such people are reaching out to trade unions for help.

The companies have said people were let go because of weak performance as part of the annual review exercise. But this has attracted attention this year as the sector faces its worst crisis in a decade -- primarily because of rising protectionism overseas and increasing automation.

For nearly two decades, India's export-focused software industry saw rapid double-digit growth as western clients outsourced work to cut costs and improve profitability. The sector logged exports of $110 billion last year and employed 3.9 million people.

As the industry matured, companies grew in single digits. Costs rose, too. But clients started cutting outsourcing budgets on traditional services and spending more on digital and cloud technologies.

Lower-end work such as testing and maintenance, which employed a huge number, saw major automation.

Then came the blow from abroad.

Governments in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Singapore started restricting movement of inbound labour to protect local jobs.

Indian IT firms then started looking at ways to cut costs. Non-performers or those who did not have the skills to migrate to new areas were let go. The companies started hiring residents in the country of operation to get around the governments' labour blockade.

While the industry remains a net hirer, said lobby group Nasscom, "workforce realignment linked to performance appraisal processes is a regular feature every year. Skilling and workforce realignment are essential to remain competitive in international markets. It needs to be appreciated that such workforce realignment is a normal part of the internal process of companies based on their own operational imperatives."

Usually, employees let go during the annual appraisal cycles would be absorbed by other firms looking for such skill-sets.

This year, however, people being laid off are not getting jobs. Engineers laid off in 2016 are still struggling to get jobs in the new environment.

This has led to such engineers getting into unions or forming groups.

For more than a decade, IT employees have largely stayed away from such groupings. High-paying salaries, opportunities to travel to client locations abroad and retention efforts by companies kept these people glued to the job.

In 2014, Tamil Nadu saw efforts to unionise IT employees after Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) allegedly laid off a large number. The company had denied any such move.

Three unions -- FITE, a platform formed by the Young Tamil Nadu Movement (YTNM); NDLF IT Employees Wing and Knowledge Professionals Forum -- emerged and started taking up the cases of those who approached them.

Their fight got a shot in the arm in January 2015, when a woman employee got an interim injunction against a termination order issued by TCS.

The employee, who was pregnant, was later reinstated by TCS, "as an exceptional case, in line with its practice of not relieving any employee during pregnancy".

Other employees, too, started petitioning the labour department.

In June 2016, the Tamil Nadu government allowed employees of IT firms to form a trade union, saying labour legislations did not exempt companies in the IT and IT-enabled services verticals. Maharashtra, too, said the IT sector would get no exemption in this regard.

Maharashtra's Commissioner of Labour Yeshawant Kerure said, "As there is no special Act governing IT, we can only try to protect labour interests based on acts like the Industrial Disputes Act. We try to resolve disputes by inviting both parties to mediate. If that fails, then we advise them to approach the respective labour court. IT sector needs special attention, which is something we will be looking at. There is very little representation in terms of employee rights and that too from a single group".
Sunil Kumar PS had modified the back of his three-wheeler to look like a Scorpio, the popular Mahindra & Mahindra SUV. Anand Mahindra applauded this innovation by gifting him a Supro mini-van. Nikita Puri reports.

IMAGE: The photo that started it all. This modified auto was spotted by a Mahindra employee, who tweeted about it. Photograph: @AnilPanicker3/Twitter.

It's 5.30 pm and Sunil Kumar PS is standing by a gas stove, making tea for the guests visiting New Bharat Hotel, the restaurant where he works.

Tucked away in Pullad, a small town near Tiruvalla in Kerala, New Bharat Hotel is your regular local eatery, where lunch thalis often come with a serving of fish curry. This is also the place where Kumar has been working for the past six months.

It isn't Kumar's skill with hot beverages that has made him the focus of recent social-media attention; as someone in charge of handling supplies for the eatery, making tea isn't even in his official job description. It's his head for jugaad that has fetched him fame and benefits.

About two months ago, Anand Mahindra, a regular on Twitter, saw a picture of an auto-rickshaw: the back of this three-wheeler had been modified to look like a Scorpio, the well-favoured SUV brought out by his Mahindra & Mahindra.

The picture was sent to Mahindra by Anil Panicker, a Hyderabad-based employee of the Mahindra group. Panicker, who had recently joined the company, had tweeted the picture to his new boss after finding it among his old downloads.

"Iconic. A way to 'Rise.' Thanks for sharing this. Can you help locate him?" Mahindra responded to Panicker, adding that he'd like give the person four wheels.

This tweet set in motion the chain of events that had twitterati look up the auto-rickshaw's registration details and find its unsuspecting owner.

Kumar, the man who had remodelled the auto, doesn't use the internet, and was completely unaware of the events that took place on social media, till a number of individuals showed up at the hotel looking for him.

Last week, Mahindra announced that his team had managed to locate Kumar. Wearing his Sunday best, a checked shirt teamed with a traditional white mundu with a gold border, Kumar went to pick up his new Supro mini-van.

IMAGE: Sunil Kumar PS with his Scorpio-inspired auto, right, and his new Mahindra four-wheeler, left. Photograph: @anandmahindra/Twitter.

Ironically, Kumar has sold off this auto about a year ago, but since the vehicle was still registered on in his name, Kumar could be found.

"Kumar used to drive a Scorpio a few years ago when he was employed with a travel agency," says Omana Kuttan, manager of the eatery Kumar works at.

For over 25 years, Kuttan has lived across the street from Kumar.

"He had really liked driving the Scorpio, so when he quit and began driving an auto-rickshaw, he scraped up Rs 25,000 to get that modification done," shares Kuttan.

Kumar has shuttled between odd jobs for a long time: the 37-year-old has also done manual labour before driving an auto-rickshaw for three years.

A few months ago, a picture of Kumar's modified auto-rickshaw had also made its way to Facebook.

"I don't really remember who uploaded it, but it had received 60,000 likes," says Kuttan. His manager-cum-friend's recollection of the event doesn't elicit much response from Kumar.

Comfortable in Malayalam alone, Kumar says he's thoroughly honoured by Mahindra's gesture, but he's still getting used to the idea.

His colleagues say Kumar is the most "regular" guy around; the remodelling of the auto-rickshaw is the one feat that truly stands out in his life. Like clockwork, he diligently reports at work at 7 am every day and works well past 9 pm, doing "everything that he's asked to do".

Kumar's friends believe he's likely to sell the new mini-van since his first priority is his family's well-being: a wife and teenage son.

"His house is not in a very good condition and he knows he can get a few lakh for the mini-van. He can then move to a better place," says Kuttan.

But the man whose jugaad unintentionally won him a four-wheeler directly from Anand Mahindra is yet to decide.
'We should credit Prime Minister Modi with having foresight and courage and showing leadership on climate change,' says Aakar Patel.

The world faces a dangerous moment, though the media in India is not focused on it.

The United States has gone back on its commitment to help reduce global warming.

The Paris Agreement was signed in 2015 in which nations agreed to lower the carbon dioxide emissions from their industrial plants and automobiles.

This would be done by voluntarily cutting fuels like coal and petrol and diesel and shifting to solar and wind.

India is already the largest market for solar power and because of this the prices of solar energy have dropped very low.

If all nations that signed the agreement met their commitments, the rise in global warming would be limited to 2 degrees Celsius more than it was in the time before industrialisation.

China is the biggest source of CO2 emissions, with 30% of the world's total, followed by the US (15%) and the 28-nation Euro zone (9%).

India contributes 7% of the emissions, but has about 15% of the world's population, so on a per person basis, India is not contributing to the problem as China and the US are.

However, India is rapidly industrialising and adding a large middle class that uses electricity and petrol and diesel.

We can no longer ignore the problem as one being caused by others.

We should credit Prime Minister Narendra Modi with having foresight and courage and showing leadership on this issue. He said 'Paris or no Paris, our commitment to preserving the climate is for the sake of future generations.'

The Government of India has also said that all cars sold in the country by 2030 will have to be electric.

The details of how this will happen are not known, but if Modi can pull it off, it will make him a true world leader.

Meanwhile, Trump said he was putting American jobs ahead of concerns on climate change.

He claims that if America sticks to its commitments, 27 lakh jobs will be lost in the next seven years.

This is disputed and in fact one of the biggest creators of jobs in the US in the last decade has been the electric car and solar industry.

It shows how isolated Trump is that even American industrialists and many of its largest companies said that America had taken the wrong decision.

One can only hope that the shift from fossil fuels continues, even if it is because of economic viability and efficiency rather than because of climate change.

Why I say we are at a dangerous moment is because the data is absolutely clear.

Climate change is happening as a result of man-made global warming.

Since 1880, the earth's surface temperature has risen at an average pace of 0.07C every decade. This has resulted in a net warming of 0.95C as of now.

Land temperatures have risen faster than the ones of the ocean so far.

But this will change by 2030 unless the world's nations cut their emissions.

And once the oceans start to warm up, many countries will quickly be in deep trouble.

Indians will be vulnerable in three ways.

Climate change will mean higher oceans and this will lead to huge problems in cities like Mumbai and Chennai and Kolkata, near the sea.

It will also mean that the monsoon will become much more volatile and unpredictable. This will bring misery down on the Indian farmer.

The third problem will come if we continue using fossil fuels like coal.

The source of our coal is the Adivasi belt in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha.

The tribals there are being most cruelly exploited and must give up their forests and their lands for the rest of us to get coal.

When Mumbai proposed to build a flyover opposite Lata Mangeshkar's house, she threatened to leave the country and got it cancelled.

Adivasis do not have that power and must give up their land.

If we move to fuels like wind and solar, we will stop their exploitation.

Stopping the use of fossil fuels will help all of us.

More than 12 lakh Indians die of pollution every year.

However, these deaths, and the danger of climate change are not the focus of our media.

Because of this there is not enough pressure on government and industry to change faster.

As a nation we must use the Trump decision to bring our focus on a problem that has enormous implications not just for India, but the entire world.

In the nations of Europe, climate change is a large election issue and requires candidates to debate on what they must do.

The Indian voter, particularly the educated middle class one who is aware of the issue, must ensure that this also happens in our country.

We owe it to ourselves and the next generation and the ones to follow.

IMAGE: Responding to a question about US President Donald Trump withdrawing the US from the Paris Agreement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing the International Economic Forum in the St Petersburg, Russia, said, 'Paris or no Paris, our commitment to preserving the climate is for the sake of future generations.' Photograph: Press Information Bureau

Aakar Patel is Executive Director, Amnesty International India. The views expressed here are his own.
For the first time in the state's history, over 10,000 thousand farmers have gone on strike, says N Suresh.

The beginning of June 2017 has been a landmark one for Maharashtra.

For the first time in the state's history, over 10,000 thousand farmers went on strike.

Maharashtra has seen Shetkari Sanghatna leader Sharad Joshi's farmers movement before, but a strike called by the state's farmers is the first of its kind.

On June 3, the newspapers reported that the farmers had called off their strike. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, the media said, had accepted 70 percent of the farmers' demands and assured them that he would set up a committee to monitor their demands. Some journalists praised Fadnavis for the 'first-ever largest loan waiver.'

The fine print, which was not disclosed, was that only the loans of small farmers would be waived. Moreover, the loan waiver decision would only be taken by the committee.

Maharashtra's Agriculture Minister Sadabhau Khot and Fadnavis worked hard behind the scenes to break the farmers' strike.

On the night of June 1, when the chief minister called a press conference, his body language was that of a nervous leader. He is at the helm of affairs, but the controls seemed to be slipping out of his hands. It is no surprise that Fadnavis put pressure on Khot.

Ajit Navle, the general secretary of the Maharashtra Kisan Sabha, denied that the farmers had withdrawn the strike, but the media was in a rush to declare that the strike had ended.

Kisan Baburao 'Anna' Hazare also jumped into the fray, claiming support for the farmers. But the farmers were quick to anticipate the politics of this move, asked Hazare where he had been until then, and asked him to stay put.

The farmers made it clear that they had not appointed Hazare to mediate or speak on their behalf to Fadnavis.

The media coverage of the farmers' strike was one sided. Most media in the state, headed by elite upper caste editors, appear to have pledged their support for Fadnavis and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Hence, it should be no surprise that the media sees a conspiracy in every revolt against the Maharashtra government -- be it the Marathas' silent morchas or the farmers' strike.

There is no journalistic effort to delve deep into the crisis facing that particular section of society and try to understand their problems.

Instead, it is as if they have sought sanction to pass judgement on how the revolt will flop and to declare the struggle as futile.

The farmers have been on an indefinite protest demanding a complete loan waiver, implementation of the Swaminathan Committee's recommendations, an increase in the procurement price of milk and a pension scheme.

In Maharashtra, the farmers had given advance notice of calling a strike from June 1. But this was ignored. In the current circumstances, when so much political drama unfolds behind the scenes, the farmers needed to draw attention to their situation.

Maharashtra, after all, is the state with the highest number of farmers' suicides.

In 2015, after a less than normal monsoon, the state government reluctantly declared a drought. Many citizens believe (thanks to the media coverage) that too many subsidies were given to the farmers, that the farmers were being pampered.

However, only a few thousand of Maharashtra's 15 million farmers are wealthy. Hundreds of thousands of farmers are poor, who do not get the right price for their produce.

The farmers' strike has exposed both the mainstream media and a scared chief minister.

If the farmers capitalise on their movement, it will be their biggest victory.

It may take some time, but an effective strategy can help them win this game.

IMAGE: Mumbai's Byculla vegetable market wears a forlorn look as the farmers strike in Maharashtra continues. Photograph: Arun Patil
That brings the total of those charged since late 2016 in this fraud and money laundering scheme up to 56. Five India-based call centres have been charged too.

Four Indians and one Pakistani have pleaded guilty to the charges in their role in a massive telephone impersonation fraud and money laundering scheme in the US, perpetrated by India-based call centres, the US Department of Justice has said.

Rajubhai Patel, 32, Viraj Patel, 33, Dilip Kumar Ambal Patel, 53, and Fahad Ali, 25, a Pakistani national, each pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy before US District Court Judge David Hittner of the Southern District of Texas.

Hardik Patel, 31, an Indian national, pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy in the same court June 2.

Sentencing dates are pending for all five defendants, the Department of Justice said.

Based on the statements in his guilty plea, beginning August 2012 Hardik owned and managed the day-to-day operations of an India-based scam call centre, before later leaving for the US.

While in India, in his capacity as a manager, Hardik communicated extensively via email, text, and other means with various India-based co-defendants to operate the scheme. This involved exchanging scripts used in the scheme, coordinating the processing of payments from scammed victims. And also obtaining and exchanging lead lists used by callers to target US victims, and exchanging spreadsheets containing the personal identifying information of US persons misappropriated by the scammers to register the reloadable cards used in the scheme.

Hardik also managed the worker payroll and kept detailed records of profits and expenses for various associated scam call centres.

According to his Monday guilty plea, Rajubhai Patel operated as a runner and assisted a co-defendant in managing the activities of a crew of other runners, based primarily out of Illinois, who liquidated victim funds in various locales in the US for conspirators from India-based call centres.

Viraj Patel first became involved in the conspiracy between April and September 2013, prior to entering the US, when he assisted with overseeing the operations of a call centre in India engaged in scam activity at the behest of a co-defendant.

Dilipkumar A Patel operated as a runner in and around southern California, along with other co-defendants based in the region.

Fahad Ali worked as a member of a crew of runners operating in the Chicago, Illinois area, Texas and elsewhere throughout the country.

Fifty-six individuals and 5 India-based call centres have been charged, till date, for their roles in the fraud and money laundering scheme in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Texas on October 19, 2016.
Five persons were killed on Tuesday as the farmers' agitation turned violent in Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh, prompting the authorities to clamp curfew in the trouble-hit area.

Some eyewitnesses alleged that the victims suffered bullet wounds, but Mandsaur district authorities denied that police fired on the protesters, who were on a rampage.

While the Congress called for state bandh on Wednesday, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan blamed the opposition party for instigating the violence.

Mandsaur collector S K Singh confirmed death of five persons and said a magisterial inquiry has been ordered. As tension prevailed, mobile internet service were suspended in Mandsaur, Ratlam and Neemuch districts since morning to check spread of rumours.

Singh also said that police categorically told him that they did not fire at the protesters.

The deceased were identified as Kanhaiyalal Patidar, Bablu Patidar, Chain Singh Patidar, Abhishek Patidar and Satynarayan. Abhishek and Satynarayan died en route to a hospital in Indore, police said.

Curfew has been imposed in Pipalya Mandi police station area of Mandsaur district where the incident took place, while prohibitory orders restricting movement under section 144 of CrPC have been imposed in rest of the district, the collector said.

"Police have told me that neither did they fire nor did they have any orders to fire," Singh added.

In-camera autopsy of bodies was going on and the cause of death will be known after it, the collector said, adding that families of the deceased will get financial aid.

According to eyewitnesses, protesting farmers torched vehicles and indulged in stone pelting in Parshvanath area under Pipaliya Mandi police station limits of the district.

The CM announced a financial help of Rs 10 lakh to the kin of the deceased.

"I request the farmers to be patient. Do not fall in the trap of anyone. The government stands with farmers. We will solve all problems through discussion," Chouhan tweeted while blaming Congress for the violence.

Farmers in western Madhya Pradesh are protesting since June one demanding higher minimum support prices among others.

In Ratlam, the district collector Ashok Bhargava imposed prohibitory orders under section 144 of CrPC following the violence in neighbouring Mandsaur district.

Ratlam superintendent of police Amit Singh announced a reward of Rs 10,000 each for information about absconding farmer leaders D P Dhakad, Rajesh Bharava, Bhagwati Patidar (said to be Congress members) and others who were allegedly involved in violence in the district on Sunday in which two police personnel had been injured.

Meanwhile, the state Congress and the Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangh have given a call for bandh on Wednesday across the state to protest the farmers' death in Mandsaur.

"We have called for a massive MP bandh tomorrow," state Congress chief Arun Yadav said.

The Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Ajay Singh, demanded resignation of Chouhan, saying the incident of firing in Mandsaur is shameful for a chief minister who claims to be a farmer's son.

"All the claims of the chief minister have proved false so far. Now the government is using bullets to suppress farmers' voice. Chouhan should resign immediately," the Congress leader said.

The main opposition party also constituted a committee of MLAs "to investigate" the Mandsaur firing incident. Singh and the state Congress chief would visit Mandsaur on Wednesday.

Senior Congress leader and MP Jyotiraditya Scindia also condemned the incident. The BJP government dealt with the agitation through bullets instead of talks, he said.

"This is a black day in the history of the state. It is shameful that the state government is crushing farmers' agitation. Farmers' demands are genuine," Scindia added.

Trouble was reported from many parts of western Madhya Pradesh as farmers' stir continued for the sixth day on Tuesday.

In Indore, police used lathi charge following stone-pelting during a march by farmers.

A police officer said that people taking part in the march started throwing stones at the police near Devi Ahilyabai Fruits and Vegetable Market, which led to lathi-charge.

In Dhar, farmers blocked the Indore-Ahmedabad national highway for about three hours. Farmers also staged protests at Amjhera and Ghoda Chowpati in the city.

The shops in the local market remained closed all day in Neemuch city.

Meanwhile, Mahendra Patidar, president of MP Patidar Samaj, said they would cremate the bodies of victims who died in Mandsaur district today only in the presence of the chief minister.

Government is at war with the farmers of our country: Rahul Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi hit out at the government over the farmer's protest, saying it is at war with them and "feeding" them with bullets for demanding their rights. "This government is at war with the farmers of our country," he said. "In BJP's new India, farmers demanding their rights get bullets in return," he said in a tweet. The Congress party also tweeted, "Those who give us food, the government is feeding them bullets - 3 farmers dead, several injured in police firing in MP." Senior Congress leader Kamal Nath also attacked the BJP government in the state for using force on agitating farmers, whose demanded he said was "just and fair". He said the Shivraj Singh government in Madhya Pradesh is crushing and attacking the same farmers on whose support he formed the government in 2013. Nath also said that he has asked all Congress leaders and workers in the state to support the farmers in their agitation and help them get their rights.

Photograph: PTI Photo
United States President Donald Trump's statement withdrawing from the Paris climate deal sent the message that America's own concerns were paramount and was a "shock" for India and the world community, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday.

Singh, who was inaugurating the two-day national conference on 'Capacity Building of State Disaster Response Force-2017', added that the US would "definitely" have a re-think on the issue.

"The international community should get onboard so that the environmental balance is not destroyed," he said.

The US president's recent statement about the Paris deal sent the message that the world community was not one and that a country was only concerned about its own environment, the minister said.

It was to be seen in what circumstances the US made such a statement, he added. For "people like us (India) and the international community, this has come as a shock."

"I am sure that the US will definitely re-think on this," he stated.

Announcing the US withdrawal from the Paris deal on June 1, Trump had claimed that India had made its participation in the agreement "contingent on receiving billions and billions and billions dollars in foreign aid".

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had rejected Trump's comment on Monday and said India signed the Paris climate pact not because of pressure from any country or due to the lure of money.

"Our signature in the pact was not because of greed, it was not because of fear. We signed it due to our commitment to protecting the environment... India will continue to be part of it irrespective of whether the US remains in it or not," Swaraj had told reporters.

Moving on from the climate deal, Rajnath Singh said state governments should raise their own State Disaster Response Funds to make the country "disaster resilient".

He expressed his concern over many states not having their own independent disaster response forces.

Only 20 states and three union territories had raised their SDRFs, the minister said. "I will be happy to see all of them having such units to make themselves and the country strong and self-reliant to combat disasters."

"The initiative for disaster risk reduction should be escalated by everyone...whatever technology guidance and help is expected from the Centre, we will do it," he said.

Singh painted a scenario where multiple states face the wrath of disaster at one time. Hence, all states and other government and non-government agencies should have bilateral and multilateral cooperation amongst themselves, he stressed.

"We have to shift our focus from disaster management to being disaster resilient."

The home minister said the Union government has also increased allocation under SDRF from Rs 30,581 crore during 2010-15 to Rs 61,220 crore for 2015-2020.

Two new battalions of the National Disaster Response Force have been created. They are based in Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh and in Arunachal Pradesh, he said.

NDRF Director General R K Pachnanda, who also addressed the gathering, said the two-day conference was aimed at preparing SDRFs as "first responders" in an event when they are hit by a disaster.

"We have sensitised about 50 lakh people in the country against disasters and I can assure the country that the NDRF is for you, with you, always and every time," the DG said.
'I'm still very angry': Video captures police officers mocking woman with Down syndromeA family is asking for disciplinary action to be taken against two Toronto police officers who were captured on video making offensive comments about a young woman with Down syndrome.Speaking to CP24 Monday, the womans mother, Pamela Munoz, said the incident occurred in November during a traffic stop.Munoz said she was driving with her daughters Francie and Yasmin when an officer pulled her over and gave her a ticket for allegedly making a left-hand turn on a red light. When she told the officer that she planned to fight the ticket, he told her it was all on video captured on the cruisers dash camera.Munoz recently obtained the video through disclosure and she said was listening to it at work when she realized there was also audio on it.Thats when I heard all of the derogatory terms they (the police officers) used to describe Francie. You know, that she was a half person, disfigured that he would be using the word artistic to describe people that are different, meanwhile laughing, making fun in between, Munoz said. We were very hurt. I was absolutely enraged.Munoz said it was especially upsetting to hear those words coming from police officers.That is something we have always told Francie. The police, you will trust them. If you are ever in trouble, you need help, these are the people you go to and then you hear something like this and shes not going to feel comfortable maybe approaching a police officer, Munoz said. We definitely dont want this to upset her anymore.She said she hopes the officers face some type of disciplinary action and added that Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders had reached out to her family.
Freedom in the World 2017 - West Bank

Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 2 June 2017 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2017 - West Bank, 2 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5936a45826.html [accessed 10 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Freedom Status: Not Free

Aggregate Score: 28/100 (0 = Least Free, 100 = Most Free)

Freedom Rating: 6/7 (1 = Most Free, 7 = Least Free)

Political Rights: 7/7 (1 = Most Free, 7 = Least Free)

Civil Liberties: 5/7 (1 = Most Free, 7 = Least Free)

Explanatory Note:

The numerical ratings and status listed above do not reflect conditions in Israel or the Gaza Strip, which are examined in separate reports. Prior to its 2011 edition, Freedom in the World featured one report for Israeli-occupied portions of the West Bank and Gaza Strip and another for Palestinian-administered portions.

Quick Facts

Population: 2,800,000

Press Freedom Status: Not Free

Ratings Change:

The West Bank's political rights rating declined from 6 to 7 due to the controversial postponement of municipal elections, which adversely affected the ability of opposition forces to meaningfully compete in the political arena.

OVERVIEW

The West Bank is under Israeli military occupation and is subject to the partial jurisdiction of the Palestinian Authority (PA), which is operating under an expired presidential mandate and has no functioning legislature. The Israeli occupation entails substantial physical barriers and constraints on movement, demolitions of homes and businesses, severe restrictions on political and civil liberties, and expanding Jewish settlements. The PA itself has grown more authoritarian, engaging in crackdowns on the media and human rights activists who criticize its rule.

Key Developments

The PA postponed all local elections planned for October after its highest court ruled that voting could not proceed in East Jerusalem or Gaza, though critics of the move argued that it was politically motivated.

The number of Israeli demolitions and seizures of Palestinian-owned structures nearly doubled compared with 2015, whereas Israel approved $20 million in additional funding for Jewish settlements in June.

The PA reportedly revoked the licenses of dozens of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) during the year, citing legal irregularities.

Israeli forces temporarily cut off all access to several villages following terrorist attacks on nearby Jewish settlements, disrupting entire communities' livelihoods for days or weeks at a time.

Executive Summary

Mahmoud Abbas marked his 11th year as president of the PA in 2016, as well as his seventh year without an electoral mandate, having remained in office beyond his original four-year term. The PA also remained without a legislature, as the council elected in 2006 was unable to function after a 2007 schism between Abbas's Fatah faction and the Islamist group Hamas, which seized control of the Gaza Strip. That legislature's term expired in 2010.

Local elections planned for October were postponed following a ruling by the PA's High Court of Justice that voting could not proceed in Gaza or East Jerusalem. The postponement, which affected the entire territory, drew harsh criticism from Hamas and independents, as many perceived the decision as a politicized effort to ward off challenges to Abbas's rule. Separately in August, PA security officers beat a shooting suspect to death in custody, drawing criticism from multiple political factions and outside observers amid concerns about a deteriorating political and human rights environment.

Israel maintained restrictions on movement for the Palestinian population while promoting the growth of Jewish settlements, despite new censure at the UN Security Council, which adopted a resolution stating that the settlements lacked "legal validity" and calling for a halt to all settlement activity.

POLITICAL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES

Political Rights 5 / 40 (-1)

A. Electoral Process 2 / 12

A1. Is the head of government or other chief national authority elected through free and fair elections?

A2. Are the national legislative representatives elected through free and fair elections?

A3. Are the electoral laws and framework fair?

Palestinian residents of the West Bank fall under the overlapping control of Israel and the PA, an interim self-governing body created by the 1993 Oslo Accords with partial jurisdiction in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Jewish settlers in the West Bank are Israeli citizens. Israel claims full sovereignty over East Jerusalem, though its annexation of the area is not internationally recognized, and most Palestinian residents do not hold Israeli citizenship.

Under the laws in place for the most recent PA elections, the PA president is elected to four-year terms. The prime minister is nominated by the president and requires the support of the unicameral, 132-seat Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), which also serves four-year terms.

Voting in the West Bank during the 2005 presidential and 2006 PLC elections was deemed largely free and fair by international observers. Abbas won the presidency with 62 percent of the vote, but Hamas led the PLC balloting with 74 seats, leaving Fatah with 45. The two factions formed a unity government headed by Prime Minister Ismail Haniya of Hamas.

After the 2007 schism between the two groups left Hamas in de facto control of the Gaza Strip, Abbas appointed a new prime minister and cabinet in the West Bank without the PLC's approval. In 2008, PA security forces arrested hundreds of Hamas members and supporters. The rift, combined with Israel's detention of many Palestinian lawmakers, prevented the PLC from functioning, and its term expired in 2010. Meanwhile, the Fatah-led Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) indefinitely extended Abbas's presidential term after his electoral mandate expired in 2009.

Also in 2009, Abbas issued a law permitting the Fatah-affiliated minister of local government to dissolve municipal councils elected in 2005 after their four-year mandates expired, leading to the replacement of nearly all Hamas-affiliated municipal officials in the West Bank with Fatah loyalists. In 2012, elections were held for more than 90 of the West Bank's 353 municipalities amid some accusations of unfairness, with Hamas and Islamic Jihad boycotting. Only half of eligible Palestinians registered to participate, and only 54 percent of those registered actually voted. Fatah won 40 percent of the seats at stake; others were taken by independents, including many former Fatah members.

The PA cabinet scheduled local elections for October 2016 across the Palestinian territories, following an agreement with Hamas to allow it to administer elections in Gaza. In September, however, the PA High Court of Justice suspended the elections, citing ongoing disputes about the exclusion of East Jerusalem and the legality of preelection court judgements in Gaza. In early October, the High Court ruled that the elections could proceed in the West Bank only, leading the PA government to postpone all municipal elections by at least four months.

Renewed discussions on forming a national unity government and ending the Fatah-led PA's schism with Hamas were under way at the end of 2016, though repeated attempts at such a reconciliation had failed to gain traction in previous years.

B. Political Pluralism and Participation 4 / 16 (-1)

B1. Do the people have the right to organize in different political parties or other competitive political groupings of their choice, and is the system open to the rise and fall of these competing parties or groupings?

B2. Is there a significant opposition vote and a realistic opportunity for the opposition to increase its support or gain power through elections?

B3. Are the people's political choices free from domination by the military, foreign powers, totalitarian parties, religious hierarchies, economic oligarchies, or any other powerful group?

B4. Do cultural, ethnic, religious, or other minority groups have full political rights and electoral opportunities?

The PA and Israeli forces in the West Bank have largely sought to suppress Hamas since its 2006 election victory, intermittently engaging in mass arrests and closures of affiliated organizations. Abbas and his government have also taken administrative and bureaucratic actions to marginalize potential political rivals within Fatah; he was reelected as Fatah's leader by handpicked delegates at a November 2016 party conference. A number of smaller Palestinian parties continue to operate, including through membership in the PLO.

Israeli authorities arrested the Hamas representative on the Palestinian Central Elections Commission (CEC) in August 2016 in advance of the planned municipal voting. The CEC certified approximately 860 political party and independent candidate lists for 416 districts in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The PA's postponement of the elections was widely perceived as an effort to block anticipated Hamas and independent gains at the council level.

Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem who do not hold Israeli citizenship can participate in Israeli municipal elections, but are precluded from voting in Knesset (parliament) elections. They are formally entitled to vote in PA presidential and legislative elections, according to the 1993 Oslo Accords. In the 2006 PLC elections, Israel did not allow Hamas to campaign in the city. Hundreds of checkpoints, roadblocks, permit restrictions, and the security barrier that Israel has constructed along the West Bank side of the pre-1967 border also present obstacles to political participation, both in East Jerusalem and across the West Bank. The PA's inability to organize municipal elections in East Jerusalem due to Israeli control was cited as part of the rationale for postponing the broader municipal voting in 2016.

C. Functioning of Government 2 / 12

C1. Do the freely elected head of government and national legislative representatives determine the policies of the government?

C2. Is the government free from pervasive corruption?

C3. Is the government accountable to the electorate between elections, and does it operate with openness and transparency?

The PA lacks an elected executive and legislature, as the PLC ceased functioning after the 2007 schism and both its and Abbas's electoral mandates have long since expired. Moreover, the PA's ability to implement policy decisions is limited in practice by direct Israeli control over much of the West Bank, including the movement and travel of PA officials, staff, and related personnel and contractors. Israel sometimes withholds the transfer of tax revenues to the PA. Israeli authorities have also routinely imprisoned PLC members, particularly Hamas deputies, as Israel regards Hamas as an illegal terrorist organization. As of October 2016, six PLC members were imprisoned.

In 2015, the PA Anti-Corruption Commission put forward an anticorruption strategy for 201518. The Coalition for Accountability and Integrity (AMAN) reported in April 2016 that there was increased public awareness of anticorruption mechanisms, but noted continuing government corruption in a number of areas, including favoritism in the allocation of public-sector jobs and contracts and a lack of transparency in budgetary matters.

The cabinet has discussed the adoption of an access to information law with civil society groups, but passage of a draft law stalled in 2015. In March 2016, a coalition of NGOs, including AMAN, formed a crisis management cell to monitor the PA's executive decision-making, citing opaque procedures for the formation of policies and legislation.

Additional Discretionary Political Rights Question B -3/0

Is the government or occupying power deliberately changing the ethnic composition of a country or territory so as to destroy a culture or tip the political balance in favor of another group?

1. Is the government providing economic or other incentives to certain people in order to change the ethnic composition of a region or regions?

2. Is the government forcibly moving people in or out of certain areas in order to change the ethnic composition of those regions?

3. Is the government arresting, imprisoning, or killing members of certain ethnic groups in order change the ethnic composition of a region or regions?

Jewish settlements, related seizures of Palestinian land, and home demolitions in the West Bank spiked in 2016. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs (UNOCHA), 1,093 Palestinian-owned structures in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, were demolished or seized during the year, nearly double the number for 2015, with a comparative monthly average of 91 versus 46. More than 1,600 Palestinians were displaced as result of these demolitions or seizures. A fraction of such demolitions are conducted to punish families of Palestinians accused of perpetrating violence against Israelis or in the course of military operations. Israel cited a lack of Israeli-issued building permits for the majority of demolitions and seizures, which occurred in East Jerusalem and in Area C, the portion of the West Bank under its direct administrative and security control.

In June 2016, Israel reportedly approved $20 million in additional financing for Jewish settlements in the West Bank and continued throughout the year to retroactively formalize certain ad hoc settlement outposts. As of the summer, Israel was moving ahead with plans to build more than 1,735 housing units in the West Bank, including 1,000 in East Jerusalem. In December, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2334, declaring that the settlements lacked "legal validity" and calling for all settlement activity to cease. Approximately 600,000 Jewish settlers were living in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as of 2016.

Civil Liberties 23 / 60 (-1)

D. Freedom of Expression and Belief 8 / 16 (-1)

D1. Are there free and independent media and other forms of cultural expression?

D2. Are religious institutions and communities free to practice their faith and express themselves in public and private?

D3. Is there academic freedom, and is the educational system free of extensive political indoctrination?

D4. Is there open and free private discussion?

The media are not free in the West Bank. Under a 1995 PA press law, journalists may be fined and jailed, and newspapers closed, for publishing "secret information" on PA security forces or news that might harm national unity or incite violence. Media outlets are routinely pressured to provide favorable coverage of the PA and Fatah. Journalists and bloggers who criticize the PA or Fatah have faced arbitrary arrests, threats, and physical abuse. Reporters are also subject to administrative detention and assault by Israeli forces. Since 2007, both the PA and Israeli forces have regularly suppressed Hamas-affiliated media outlets in the West Bank.

The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) reported 86 press freedom violations  including physical assaults  by Palestinian forces in the West Bank in 2016, down from 116 the previous year. According to the same report, Israeli authorities were responsible for 249 violations in the Palestinian territories, down from 407 in 2015. Although the figures reflected a general reduction in unrest and violence compared with 2014 and 2015, they still represented an increase from pre-2014 statistics.

The PA Basic Law declares Islam to be the official religion of Palestine and states that "respect and sanctity of all other heavenly religions (Judaism and Christianity) shall be maintained." Blasphemy against Islam is a criminal offense. Some Palestinian Christians have experienced intimidation and harassment by radical Islamist groups and PA officials.

Restrictions on movement and access serve as a general barrier to freedom of religion for Palestinians in the West Bank. Israel permits limited Palestinian access to Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem during Muslim holidays. In 2016, male access to the site for Friday prayers was restricted to boys under age 12 and men over age 45. New rules also precluded access for Palestinians resident in select East Jerusalem neighborhoods. Attacks on religious sites by radical Jewish settlers, including vandalism of churches and mosques, have increased in recent years.

The PA has administrative authority over Palestinian education. Israeli movement restrictions limit access to academic institutions. Schools have sometimes been damaged during military actions, and student travel between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip has been limited.

Israeli academic institutions in the West Bank increasingly face international and domestic boycotts. Primary and secondary education in West Bank settlements is administered by Israel, though religious schools have significant discretion over curriculums. According to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, East Jerusalem's schools are badly underfunded compared with schools in West Jerusalem.

Private discussion is relatively open and free, though both Israeli and PA security forces are known to monitor online activity and arrest individuals for alleged incitement or criticism of the Palestinian authorities.

E. Associational and Organizational Rights 5 / 12

E1. Is there freedom of assembly, demonstration, and open public discussion?

E2. Is there freedom for nongovernmental organizations?

E3. Are there free trade unions and peasant organizations or equivalents, and is there effective collective bargaining? Are there free professional and other private organizations?

The PA requires permits for demonstrations, and those held to protest against PA policies are generally dispersed. Israel's Military Order 101 requires a permit for all "political" demonstrations of more than 10 people; demonstrations in Israeli-controlled areas are routinely broken up with force, occasionally resulting in fatalities. Such clashes increased in 2015, as Israeli forces sought to restrict and disperse frequent and sometimes violent demonstrations, declaring some protest areas to be closed military zones. Similar confrontations occurred during 2016.

A broad range of NGOs are able to operate in the West Bank, though in 2016 the PA cracked down on some civil society groups, reportedly closing 50 NGOs and charities in May and 16 in July due to alleged legal irregularities. Israeli restrictions on movement within the West Bank and between the West Bank and Gaza Strip further undermine Palestinian civil society, and human rights NGOs reportedly face harassment and threats from settlers and right-wing Israeli groups. Many Hamas-affiliated groups were shut down following the 2007 schism, and others have been periodically targeted in subsequent years. Activists who criticize the PA leadership can face harassment and abuse by security services.

Workers may establish unions without government authorization, but labor protections in general are poorly enforced. Palestinian workers seeking to strike must submit to arbitration by the PA Labor Ministry, and various other rules make it difficult to mount a legal strike. Palestinian workers in Jerusalem are subject to Israeli labor law.

F. Rule of Law 5 / 16

F1. Is there an independent judiciary?

F2. Does the rule of law prevail in civil and criminal matters? Are police under direct civilian control?

F3. Is there protection from political terror, unjustified imprisonment, exile, or torture, whether by groups that support or oppose the system? Is there freedom from war and insurgencies?

F4. Do laws, policies, and practices guarantee equal treatment of various segments of the population?

The nascent PA judicial system is partly independent. West Bank law derives from Ottoman, British Mandate, and Jordanian law; Israeli law and military orders; and the Palestinian Basic Law and PA legislation. The PA High Judicial Council holds a mandate to appoint judges upon approval of the PA president. The court system allows for the right of appeal. Enforcement of judicial decisions is impeded by PA noncompliance as well as lack of Palestinian jurisdiction in Area C, which covers 60 percent of West Bank territory. Palestinians can appeal Israeli military orders and actions before the Israeli Supreme Court. While the court is often deferential to Israeli authorities, there have been a number of decisions in favor of Palestinian petitioners in recent years.

The PA has a military court system that lacks almost all due process, including the right to appeal sentences, and can impose the death penalty. No executions have been carried out since 2005, however. The PA military courts handle cases on a range of security offenses, on collaborating with Israel, and on drug trafficking. Human rights groups regularly document allegations of arbitrary detention and torture, and PA security officers are rarely punished for such abuses. In August 2016, following the killing of two Palestinian security officers in Nablus, PA forces killed two suspects who they said were armed. Days later, they arrested a third man said to be involved  Ahmad Izz Halaweh, a high-ranking member of a radical armed offshoot of Fatah  who was beaten to death in custody. The incident touched off riots and a further crackdown by the security services.

Palestinians are subject to Israel's military court system for a variety of offenses, from terrorism to illegally entering Israel and traffic violations. Jewish settlers are tried in Israeli civilian courts. Palestinians are regularly detained without charges for extended periods. Petitions challenging administrative detentions and prison sentences are reviewed in secrecy. According to the Israeli human rights group B'Tselem, there were 5,859 Palestinian security detainees and prisoners from the West Bank held in Israeli prisons or military facilities as of August 2016, including 646 administrative detainees and 335 minors.

Most convictions in Israeli military courts are based on confessions, sometimes obtained through coercion. Israel's Supreme Court banned torture in a 1999 ruling, but physical coercion is considered permissible when the prisoner is believed to have vital information about impending attacks. Human rights groups criticize Israeli interrogation methods, which allegedly include some forms of physical abuse, isolation, sleep deprivation, psychological pressure, and threats of violence against detainees and their relatives.

Most Palestinian child detainees are serving sentences of less than a year for throwing stones or other projectiles at Israeli forces in the West Bank, handed down by a special court for minors; acquittals on such charges are very rare. Defense for Children International (DCI) Palestine reports that most of these children are taken from their homes in the middle of the night, interrogated without a parent or lawyer, and subjected to threats as well as physical and verbal abuse. East Jerusalem Palestinian minors are tried in Israeli civilian juvenile courts.

Militant Jewish settlers continued to attack Palestinian individuals and property in 2016, often with the aim of driving Palestinians off their agricultural land. Most perpetrators of such activity enjoy impunity. Israeli soldiers accused of excessive force or abuse of Palestinian civilians are subject to Israeli military law, though convictions, which are rare, typically result in light sentences. In March 2016, soldier Elor Azaria was caught on video killing a wounded and disarmed Palestinian attacker in Hebron. He was tried for manslaughter and was awaiting a verdict at year's end.

Although LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) people in the West Bank do not face prosecution for same-sex activity, they are reportedly subject to harassment and abuse by PA authorities and members of society.

G. Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights 5 / 16

G1. Do individuals enjoy freedom of travel or choice of residence, employment, or institution of higher education?

G2. Do individuals have the right to own property and establish private businesses? Is private business activity unduly influenced by government officials, the security forces, political parties/organizations, or organized crime?

G3. Are there personal social freedoms, including gender equality, choice of marriage partners, and size of family?

G4. Is there equality of opportunity and the absence of economic exploitation?

Israeli checkpoints, roadblocks, travel permits, and other restrictions continue to seriously constrain freedom of movement, stunt trade, and limit Palestinian access to jobs, hospitals, and schools. The number of physical barriers decreased in early 2016; however, Israel appeared to step up a practice of cutting off entire communities from key transportation routes following Palestinian attacks on Israeli settlers. In July, one village had its access points sealed after a teenage resident stabbed and killed an Israeli girl in a nearby settlement. The village was cut off for 34 days, and 2,771 permits to work in Israel were canceled. The village was shut down again in September following the killing of two youths accused of attacking Israelis. Israel also continued its practice of revoking work permits for family members of alleged attackers.

The Israeli security barrier, most of which runs through West Bank territory and which was declared illegal in 2004 by the International Court of Justice, continues to separate families and communities and cause general hardship and disruption of services. Israel has not provided compensation to Palestinians who lost access to livelihoods and property due to the barrier.

Palestinian women are underrepresented in most professions and encounter discrimination in employment, though they have equal access to universities. Palestinian laws and societal norms, derived in part from Sharia (Islamic law), disadvantage women in marriage, divorce, and inheritance. For Christians, personal status issues are governed by ecclesiastical courts. Rape and domestic abuse remain underreported and frequently go unpunished, as authorities are allegedly reluctant to pursue such cases. So-called honor killings continue to be reported.

The PA has no law focused on combating trafficking in persons. Some Palestinians  both children and adults  reportedly work in exploitative conditions in Israeli settlements, where the PA has no jurisdiction. Israeli labor laws are rarely applied to protect such workers.

Scoring Key: X / Y (Z)

X = Score Received

Y = Best Possible Score

Z = Change from Previous Year

Copyright notice:  Freedom House, Inc.  All Rights Reserved
Freedom in the World 2017 - Taiwan

Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 2 June 2017 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2017 - Taiwan, 2 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5936a46212.html [accessed 10 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Freedom Status: Free

Aggregate Score: 91/100 (0 = Least Free, 100 = Most Free)

Freedom Rating: 1/7 (1 = Most Free, 7 = Least Free)

Political Rights: 1/7 (1 = Most Free, 7 = Least Free)

Civil Liberties: 1/7 (1 = Most Free, 7 = Least Free)

Quick Facts

Population: 23,500,000

Capital: Taipei

GDP/capita: $47,800

Press Freedom Status: Free

Ratings Change:

Taiwan's civil liberties rating improved from 2 to 1 due to demonstrations of media independence and academic freedom in recent years, including in media coverage of the 2016 elections.

OVERVIEW

Taiwan's vibrant and competitive democratic system has allowed three peaceful transfers of power between rival parties since 2000, and protections for civil liberties are generally robust. Ongoing concerns include Chinese efforts to influence policymaking and some sectors of the economy, foreign migrant workers' vulnerability to exploitation, and disputes over the land and housing rights of both ordinary citizens and Taiwan's indigenous people.

Key Developments

The opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won a sweeping victory in January general elections, capturing both the presidency and a majority in the Legislative Yuan.

A scandal over weak oversight of the state-controlled Mega Financial Holdings Company forced the head of Taiwan's top financial regulator to step down in October.

Also in October, the DPP introduced draft legislation that would formally recognize same-sex marriage.

Executive Summary

Amid widespread dissatisfaction with a slowing economy and the incumbent Kuomintang (KMT) government's policy of closer ties with China, voters handed the opposition DPP a resounding victory in January general elections. Tsai Ing-wen, the DPP's chairperson, became the country's first female president, and the party won a substantial legislative majority.

The new government subsequently made commitments to better protect the rights of marginalized and vulnerable populations, including indigenous communities, foreign migrant workers, and LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) people. The administration also faced concern over a perceived lack of oversight of state-controlled financial institutions and the need for a reform of housing laws to secure residency rights in the context of development projects.

POLITICAL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES

Political Rights 37 / 40

A. Electoral Process 12 / 12

A1. Is the head of government or other chief national authority elected through free and fair elections?

A2. Are the national legislative representatives elected through free and fair elections?

A3. Are the electoral laws and framework fair?

The president, who is directly elected for up to two four-year terms, appoints the premier with the consent of the national legislature (Legislative Yuan), which consists of 113 members serving four-year terms. The Executive Yuan, or cabinet, is made up of ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the premier. The three other branches of government are the judiciary (Judicial Yuan), a watchdog body (Control Yuan), and a branch responsible for civil-service examinations (Examination Yuan). Direct elections for both the president, held since 1996, and for the legislature, held since 1991, have been considered generally free.

In the January 2016 general elections, Tsai of the DPP won 56 percent of the presidential vote, followed by the KMT's Eric Chu Li-lun with 31 percent and James Soong Chu-yu of the People First Party (PFP) with 12.8 percent. Tsai's margin of victory was the largest since presidential elections were first held in 1996. The DPP also won 68 out of 113 seats in the Legislative Yuan, leaving the KMT with 35, the New Power Party with 5, PFP with 3, and the Non-Partisan Solidarity Union and an independent with 1 seat each.

Elections in Taiwan are administered by the Central Election Commission. The law mandates that no political party may hold more than one-third of the seats on the commission. Since 2007, instances of vote buying and other electoral irregularities have gradually waned thanks to tighter enforcement of anticorruption laws.

B. Political Pluralism and Participation 15 / 16

B1. Do the people have the right to organize in different political parties or other competitive political groupings of their choice, and is the system open to the rise and fall of these competing parties or groupings?

B2. Is there a significant opposition vote and a realistic opportunity for the opposition to increase its support or gain power through elections?

B3. Are the people's political choices free from domination by the military, foreign powers, totalitarian parties, religious hierarchies, economic oligarchies, or any other powerful group?

B4. Do cultural, ethnic, religious, or other minority groups have full political rights and electoral opportunities?

Taiwan's multiparty system features vigorous competition between the two major parties, the KMT and the DPP. Opposition parties are able to function without interference.

The KMT, which governed Taiwan as an authoritarian, one-party state for decades until democratic reforms took hold in the 1980s and 90s, retained a considerable financial advantage over its rivals in recent years, benefitting from the fact that the business sector generally favored the party's China-friendly policies. In contrast, the DPP has traditionally favored greater independence from China. The DPP's victory in the 2016 presidential and legislative elections was seen as a public rejection of the KMT's economic management and approach to relations with China. The results also led to Taiwan's third peaceful transfer of power between parties, after previous handovers in 2000 and 2008.

Taiwan's constitution grants all citizens the right to vote, including members of 16 indigenous tribes, who make up roughly 2 percent of the population. Six seats in the Legislative Yuan are reserved for indigenous candidates elected by indigenous voters. An additional two indigenous candidates won seats in 2016 through normal party-list voting.

C. Functioning of Government 10 / 12

C1. Do the freely elected head of government and national legislative representatives determine the policies of the government?

C2. Is the government free from pervasive corruption?

C3. Is the government accountable to the electorate between elections, and does it operate with openness and transparency?

Though consideration of China necessarily plays a significant role in Taiwanese politics, elected officials in Taiwan are free to set and implement policy without undue interference from foreign or other unelected actors.

Corruption is significantly less pervasive than in the past, but it remains a problem. Politics and big business are closely intertwined, leading to malfeasance in government procurement. In August 2016, the state-controlled financial institution Mega Financial Holding Company was heavily fined for breaching U.S. laws against money laundering, prompting concerns over the Taiwan government's capacity to independently oversee the firm's financial compliance. The chairman of the Financial Supervisory Commission, Taiwan's top financial regulator, resigned in October as a result of the scandal. Also in August, seven Taiwan Railways Administration officials were convicted and sentenced for accepting sex-related services in exchange for business contracts over six years.

Civil Liberties 54 / 60 (+2)

D. Freedom of Expression and Belief 16 / 16 (+2)

D1. Are there free and independent media and other forms of cultural expression?

D2. Are religious institutions and communities free to practice their faith and express themselves in public and private?

D3. Is there academic freedom, and is the educational system free of extensive political indoctrination?

D4. Is there open and free private discussion?

Taiwan's media reflect a diversity of views and report aggressively on government policies and corruption allegations, though many outlets display strong party affiliation in their coverage. Beijing has sought to exert influence on Taiwanese media. A number of media owners have significant business interests in China or rely on advertising by Chinese companies, leaving them vulnerable to pressure and prone to self-censorship on topics considered sensitive by the Chinese government. In recent years, Taiwanese regulators have successfully resisted proposed mergers that would have placed important media outlets in the hands of businessmen with significant ties to China, and the Taiwanese press was able to report freely on the 2016 elections. The government does not restrict internet access.

Taiwanese of all faiths can worship freely. Religious organizations that choose to register with the government receive tax-exempt status. Educators in Taiwan can generally write and lecture without interference, and past practices  including prosecutions  aimed at restricting academics' political activism have been rare in recent years. Private discussion is open and free, and there were no reports of the government illegally monitoring online communication.

E. Associational and Organizational Rights 11 / 12

E1. Is there freedom of assembly, demonstration, and open public discussion?

E2. Is there freedom for nongovernmental organizations?

E3. Are there free trade unions and peasant organizations or equivalents, and is there effective collective bargaining? Are there free professional and other private organizations?

Taiwan's Assembly and Parade Act, passed in 1988, enables authorities to prosecute protesters who fail to obtain a permit or follow orders to disperse, but freedom of assembly is largely respected in practice. In recent years, there has been an increase in youth-led demonstrations. More than 30 people were arrested during a July 2015 protest over proposed changes to the high school curriculum that were seen by some as pro-Beijing, but only five of the student protesters were eventually convicted in September 2016 on obstruction of justice and coercion charges linked to a break-in at the Ministry of Education, and none faced jail time. Separately, in May 2016, the new government dropped legal complaints against 126 student protesters who had occupied a government building as part of the so-called Sunflower Movement in 2014, which was prompted by concerns about a KMT-backed trade agreement with China.

All civic organizations must register with the government, though registration is freely granted. Nongovernmental organizations typically operate without harassment.

Trade unions are independent, and most workers enjoy freedom of association, though the government strictly regulates the right to strike. Among other barriers, teachers, workers in the defense industry, and government employees are prohibited from striking.

F. Rule of Law 14 / 16

F1. Is there an independent judiciary?

F2. Does the rule of law prevail in civil and criminal matters? Are police under direct civilian control?

F3. Is there protection from political terror, unjustified imprisonment, exile, or torture, whether by groups that support or oppose the system? Is there freedom from war and insurgencies?

F4. Do laws, policies, and practices guarantee equal treatment of various segments of the population?

Taiwan's judiciary is independent, and trials are generally fair. Police largely respect the ban on arbitrary detention, and attorneys are allowed to monitor interrogations to prevent torture. After a four-year moratorium on the use of the death penalty, the government reinstated the practice in 2010. Condemned inmates, after being sedated, are shot from behind at close range. Family members of inmates facing the death penalty are typically not informed about scheduled dates of executions. Authorities executed one inmate in 2016, down from six in 2015.

The constitution provides for the equality of all citizens, though the island's indigenous people continue to face social and economic discrimination, leading to high unemployment levels, lower wages, and barriers to education and social services. In August 2016, President Tsai offered the government's first formal apology to indigenous people for "the suffering and injustice you endured over the past 400 years." She also announced the launch of a justice commission to investigate their historical mistreatment. Nonetheless, disputes over indigenous lands continue amid stalled efforts to pass legislation on indigenous autonomy.

Taiwanese law prohibits discrimination in employment based on sexual orientation, and violence against LGBT people is adequately addressed by police.

Taiwanese law does not allow for asylum or refugee status. However, in July 2016 a long-awaited draft bill to address the problem passed its first review by the Internal Administration Committee of the Legislative Yuan.

G. Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights 13 / 16

G1. Do individuals enjoy freedom of travel or choice of residence, employment, or institution of higher education?

G2. Do individuals have the right to own property and establish private businesses? Is private business activity unduly influenced by government officials, the security forces, political parties/organizations, or organized crime?

G3. Are there personal social freedoms, including gender equality, choice of marriage partners, and size of family?

G4. Is there equality of opportunity and the absence of economic exploitation?

Taiwan's residents enjoy freedom of movement, and Taiwanese authorities have gradually eased restrictions on travel between Taiwan and China in recent years. A program launched in 2011 allows Chinese tourists to travel to Taiwan without supervision, with a cap on the daily number raised to 5,000 in 2015. However, Chinese authorities reportedly moved to reduce cross-strait tourism after the DPP government took office in 2016.

Urban renewal projects and conversions of agricultural land for industrial or residential use have been criticized for unfairly displacing residents. In August 2016, demonstrations were held to protest a lack of transparency and public consultation concerning planned demolitions of homes and local markets to make way for three major development projects in the city of Kaohsiung. Evictions and demolitions continued through October, even as protests persisted. Housing advocates have called for legal amendments to clarify residency rights, including protections against forced eviction, and establish an appeals system to review alleged violations.

The constitution guarantees women equal rights, though Taiwanese women continue to face discrimination in employment and compensation. The 2016 elections increased women's overall political representation, with female candidates winning the presidency and a record 38 percent of seats in the Legislative Yuan. In October, the DPP introduced a draft bill in the Legislative Yuan that would formally recognize same-sex marriage. Amendments to the Nationality Act adopted in December eased regulations that limit access to citizenship for the foreign spouses of Taiwanese nationals.

Over 600,000 foreign migrants work in Taiwan, with a substantial number working as domestic helpers and fishermen; most come from Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines. Foreign domestic workers and fishermen are not covered by Taiwan's Labour Standards Act, meaning they are excluded from minimum wage, overtime, and paid leave protections. As a result, foreign workers in these and other fields are at substantial risk of exploitation, with widespread accounts of unpaid wages, poor working conditions, and physical and sexual abuse, as well as extortion and fraud at the hands of recruitment and brokerage agencies. In July 2016, President Tsai publicly committed to improving protections for foreign workers, and the government promulgated new legislation that established stricter rules and stronger punishments to combat worker exploitation by Taiwanese fishing companies.

Scoring Key: X / Y (Z)

X = Score Received

Y = Best Possible Score

Z = Change from Previous Year

Copyright notice:  Freedom House, Inc.  All Rights Reserved
Freedom in the World 2017 - Philippines

Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 2 June 2017 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2017 - Philippines, 2 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5936a4643.html [accessed 10 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Freedom Status: Partly Free

Aggregate Score: 63/100 (0 = Least Free, 100 = Most Free)

Freedom Rating: 3/7 (1 = Most Free, 7 = Least Free)

Political Rights: 3/7 (1 = Most Free, 7 = Least Free)

Civil Liberties: 3/7 (1 = Most Free, 7 = Least Free)

Quick Facts

Population: 102,600,000

Capital: Manila

GDP/capita: $2,904

Press Freedom Status: Partly Free

Net Freedom Status: Free

Trend Arrow: 

The Philippines received a downward trend arrow due to the thousands of extrajudicial killings carried out as part of newly elected president Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs, as well as assassinations and threats against civil society activists.

OVERVIEW

Governing infrastructure is well developed in the Philippines, but the rule of law and application of justice are haphazard and heavily favor ruling dynastic elites. Long-term violent insurgencies have continued for decades. Impunity remains the norm for crimes against activists and journalists, and newly elected president Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs has led to a surge in extrajudicial killings and vigilante justice.

Key Developments

Newly elected president Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs saw the extrajudicial killing of more than 6,000 people in both police operations and at the hands of vigilantes.

Duterte's threats against journalists and civil society activists exacerbated their already dangerous operating atmosphere.

In February, the Philippine Congress quashed the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), under which a new self-governing region, Bangsamoro, would replace and add territory to the current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). The BBL was the next critical step outlined in a landmark 2014 peace treaty between the previous administration of President Benigno Aquino and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the country's largest rebel group.

In July, Duterte issued an order establishing the country's first freedom of information directive, though it only applied to the executive branch.

Executive Summary

Rodrigo Duterte was elected president in May 2016 after running on a law and order campaign. His ensuing war on drugs saw the extrajudicial killing of more than 6,000 people in both police operations and vigilante justice, which Duterte appeared to encourage. During the year Duterte also publicly threatened journalists and civil society activists, exacerbating an already dangerous environment. Three journalists were killed in 2016, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), though the motives for their murders was unclear. An environmental activist and two labor leaders were also killed during the year.

In December, Vice President Leni Robredo resigned as chairperson of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, a cabinet position, citing "major differences in principles and values" with Duterte. Robredo, who had voiced opposition to the drug war and other policy initiatives, stayed on as vice president.

In February, the Philippine Congress quashed the Bangsamoro Basic Law, under which a new self-governing region, Bangsamoro, would replace and add territory to the current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. The BBL was the next critical step outlined in a landmark 2014 peace treaty between the previous Aquino administration and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the country's largest rebel group. The lack of an agreement, which could have ended more than 40 years of separatist violence among Moros, as the region's Muslim population is known, means that peace remained elusive even as the newly elected president's peace team talked of creating a more inclusive replacement agreement in 2017.

In July 2016, the president issued an order establishing the country's first freedom of information directive, though it applied solely to the executive branch. Separately, in an effort to address longstanding concerns about media freedom and the safety of journalists, in October Duterte issued an order creating the Presidential Task Force on Violations of the Right to Life, Liberty, and Security of the Members of the Media. However, it had yet to open a major investigation by year's end.

POLITICAL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES

Political Rights 27 / 40

A. Electoral Process 9 / 12

A1. Is the head of government or other chief national authority elected through free and fair elections?

A2. Are the national legislative representatives elected through free and fair elections?

A3. Are the electoral laws and framework fair?

The Philippines' directly elected president is limited to a single six-year term. The vice president is directly elected on a separate ticket and may serve up to two successive six-year terms. Rodrigo Duterte won the May 2016 presidential election with 39 percent of the vote, followed by Manuel Roxas II with 23 percent. Maria Leonor "Leni" Robredo won the closely contested vice presidency with 35 percent of the vote, followed by Ferdinand Marcos Jr. with 35 percent. Several other candidates also competed for both offices.

In the bicameral Congress, the 24 members of the Senate are elected on a nationwide ballot and serve six-year terms, with half of the seats up for election every three years. The 297 members of the House of Representatives serve three-year terms, with 238 elected in single-member constituencies and the remainder elected through party-list voting. In the 2016 congressional elections, no single party won an outright majority in either house, but President Duterte's PDP-Laban Party secured unprecedented majority alliances in both chambers.

While open and competitive, elections in the Philippines are typically marred by fraud, intimidation, and political violence. The 2016 national elections were credible, and while they were marked by dozens of incidents of election-related violence, including a number of killings, there were fewer such incidents compared to previous election years. Other persistent problems included media bias, which tends to favor wealthier candidates, and vote buying, offers for which affected nearly 20 percent of voters in 2016, according to one survey.

The president appoints the Commission on Elections (Comelec). Although discredited in past scandals, Comelec's performance was generally praised in 2016. Approximately 1.3 million overseas voters were registered for the 2016 elections compared to 700,000 for the 2013 midterm elections; registration requirements for overseas voters had been eased in 2013. Appointments or promotions in government offices are banned in the period surrounding elections.

B. Political Pluralism and Participation 11 / 16

B1. Do the people have the right to organize in different political parties or other competitive political groupings of their choice, and is the system open to the rise and fall of these competing parties or groupings?

B2. Is there a significant opposition vote and a realistic opportunity for the opposition to increase its support or gain power through elections?

B3. Are the people's political choices free from domination by the military, foreign powers, totalitarian parties, religious hierarchies, economic oligarchies, or any other powerful group?

B4. Do cultural, ethnic, religious, or other minority groups have full political rights and electoral opportunities?

The Philippines has a strong record of open competition among multiple parties, though candidates and political parties typically have weak ideological identities. Legislative coalitions are exceptionally fluid, and members of Congress often change party affiliation.

Distribution of power is heavily affected by kinship networks. Political dynasties are particularly prevalent at the provincial and municipal levels, and those that vie for national office often draw on a regional base of support. The nature of election-related funding contributes to the concentration of power: there are no limits on individuals' or companies' contributions to candidates, and a significant portion of political donations come from a relatively small number of donors. There have been several unsuccessful attempts to pass an anti-dynasty law limiting the number of members of a single family that may run for or hold political office at the same time. The Roman Catholic Church has historically played a significant role in politics.

The activities of armed rebel groups continue to affect political activity in the country. In areas dominated by the leftist New People's Army (NPA), for example, candidates face demands for money in exchange for a rebel "permit" to campaign.

In 2013, the Supreme Court ruled that the party-list portion of the electoral framework for the House of Representatives, traditionally meant to represent marginalized or underrepresented demographic groups, could also be open to other groups, including national political parties, provided that they do not stand in the single-member constituency contests. Critics of the decision warned that it would allow the wealthy and powerful to gain more congressional seats at the expense of marginalized groups. A number of party-list groups gained seats in 2016 not by representing national sectors or interests as intended, but through substantial support from kinship networks in single geographic regions.

C. Functioning of Government 7 / 12

C1. Do the freely elected head of government and national legislative representatives determine the policies of the government?

C2. Is the government free from pervasive corruption?

C3. Is the government accountable to the electorate between elections, and does it operate with openness and transparency?

Elected government officials and legislative representatives determine state policies, but corruption and cronyism are rife, including in business. A few dozen families continue to hold a disproportionate share of land, corporate wealth, and political authority. Local "bosses" often control their respective areas, limiting accountability and committing abuses of power.

Investigations and trials over lawmakers' misuse of local development funds were ongoing at the end of 2016; the program in question, which allowed discretionary allocations by members of Congress, was discontinued in 2013 after an audit found widespread abuses.

A culture of impunity, stemming in part from backlogs in the judicial system, hampers the fight against corruption. The country's official anticorruption agencies, the Office of the Ombudsman and the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission (PAGC), have mixed records. The PAGC lacks enforcement capabilities. The current ombudsman has focused on major cases against senior government officials and those involving large sums of money, but some cases have languished for years in the special anticorruption court (Sandiganbayan). At the end of 2016, the court had a backlog of 4,214 cases compared to 3,206 cases at the end of 2015.

The country lacks a nationwide freedom of information law. In July 2016, Duterte issued an order establishing the country's first freedom of information directive, though it mandating public disclosure only by the executive branch, and did not apply to the legislature or judiciary, and in August the government proposed a long list of types of requests that would be exempt from the order. Local governments have been required to post procurement and budget data on their websites, and in 2012 the national government began participatory budgeting at various levels.

Civil Liberties 36 / 60 (2)

D. Freedom of Expression and Belief 14 / 16

D1. Are there free and independent media and other forms of cultural expression?

D2. Are religious institutions and communities free to practice their faith and express themselves in public and private?

D3. Is there academic freedom, and is the educational system free of extensive political indoctrination?

D4. Is there open and free private discussion?

The constitution provides for freedoms of expression and the press. The private media are vibrant and outspoken, although content often consists more of innuendo and sensationalism than substantive investigative reporting. The country's many state-owned television and radio stations cover controversial topics and criticize the government, but they too lack strict journalistic ethics. While the censorship board has broad powers to edit or ban content, government censorship is generally not a serious problem in practice.

However, the Philippines remains one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists, and hostile rhetoric toward members of the media by Duterte further exacerbated an already perilous situation in 2016; Duterte, for example, weeks after his election asserted that "corrupt" reporters "are not exempted from assassination." According to CPJ, three reporters were murdered in 2016. Though none of the killings could be definitively linked to the victims' work, each had reported on sensitive issues, including official corruption and organized crime. Two people were convicted of murdering journalists in 2016, though impunity remains the norm for attacks against media workers. In October 2016, President Duterte announced the creation of the Presidential Task Force on Violations of the Right to Life, Liberty, and Security of the Members of the Media, but no major investigations had been opened by year's end.

Other obstacles to press freedom include Executive Order 608, which established a National Security Clearance System to protect classified information, and the Human Security Act, which allows journalists to be wiretapped based on suspicion of involvement in terrorism. Libel is a criminal offense, and libel cases have been used frequently to quiet criticism of public officials.

The internet is widely available. However, rights groups have expressed concern about censorship of anonymous online criticism and the criminalization of libelous posts.

Freedom of religion is guaranteed under the constitution and generally respected in practice. Academic freedom is also generally respected, and there are no significant impediments to free and open private discussion.

E. Associational and Organizational Rights 8 / 12 (1)

E1. Is there freedom of assembly, demonstration, and open public discussion?

E2. Is there freedom for nongovernmental organizations?

E3. Are there free trade unions and peasant organizations or equivalents, and is there effective collective bargaining? Are there free professional and other private organizations?

Citizen activism and public discussion are robust, and demonstrations are common. However, permits are required for rallies, and police sometimes use violence to disperse antigovernment protests.

Assassination of civil society activists is a serious problem in the Philippines, and President Duterte's public threats against activists who oppose his policies, including his administration's violent war on drugs have exacerbated an already dangerous atmosphere. Gloria Capitan, an environmental activist, was murdered inside of her family's business in Bataan in July, and labor activists Orlando Abangan and Edilberto Miralles were both gunned down in the span of a week in September. The cases remain unsolved. Labor rights and farmers' organizations dedicated to ending extrajudicial killings and helping families of the disappeared face serious threats, and their offices have occasionally been raided by authorities. Despite the danger, the Philippines hosts many active human rights and social welfare groups, and the civil society sector as a whole has grown more robust in recent years.

Trade unions are independent, but in order to register, a union must represent at least 20 percent of a given bargaining unit. Large firms are increasingly using contract workers, who are prohibited from joining unions. Less than 10 percent of the labor force is unionized. Among unionized workers collective bargaining is common, and strikes may be called, though unions must provide notice and obtain majority approval from their members. Violence against labor leaders has been part of the broader trend of extrajudicial killings over the past decade.

F. Rule of Law 4 / 16 (1)

F1. Is there an independent judiciary?

F2. Does the rule of law prevail in civil and criminal matters? Are police under direct civilian control?

F3. Is there protection from political terror, unjustified imprisonment, exile, or torture, whether by groups that support or oppose the system? Is there freedom from war and insurgencies?

F4. Do laws, policies, and practices guarantee equal treatment of various segments of the population?

Judicial independence has traditionally been strong, particularly in the Supreme Court. The efforts of the judiciary are stymied, however, by inefficiency, low pay, intimidation, corruption, and high vacancy rates, all of which have contributed to excessive delays and significant case backlogs. Judges and lawyers often depend on local power holders for basic resources and salaries, which can lead to compromised verdicts.

The trial for alleged perpetrators of the 2009 Maguindanao massacre, in which 58 civilians  including 32 journalists  were killed to stop the registration of a local political candidate, continued in 2016. The process has featured flawed forensic investigations and intimidation of and attacks against witnesses; at least eight witnesses and witnesses' relatives have been killed since 2009. The media have complained of limited access to court proceedings.

Arbitrary detention, disappearances, kidnappings, and abuse of suspects continue. President Duterte's war on drugs led to the extrajudicial killing of more than 6,000 people in 2016, including a number of innocent civilians, from the time he entered office on June 30. Between July 1 and December 14, police killed 2,102 "suspected drug personalities" according to the Philippine National Police; police statistics attributed an additional 3,993 deaths between July 1 and December 12 to "unidentified gunmen." Convictions for extrajudicial killings and other such crimes are extremely rare, and Duterte has appeared to encourage such actions, revealing in December 2016 that he had killed suspected drug dealers and users himself during his time as mayor of Davao.

The police and military have also been implicated in corruption, extortion, torture of detainees, extrajudicial killings, and involvement in local rackets. Lack of effective witness protection has been a key obstacle to investigations against members of the security forces. With drug users fearfully turning themselves in to police en masse, dangerously crowded prison conditions and extended wait times for access to justice for even minor infractions have become the norm.

Kidnappings for ransom remain common in the south, perpetrated in large part by the Islamist militant group Abu Sayyaf; victims whose ransoms are not paid have been beheaded, including Canadian tourists John Ridsdel and Robert Hall in April and June 2016, respectively. Abu Sayyaf also regularly carries out bombings and other attacks. In September 2016, a bomb attack in Davao claimed by Abu Sayyaf killed at least 14 people and wounded dozens more. Since the current administration came to power, military operations have led to a serious weakening of the group. As of October 2016, 14 hostages had been released or escaped since Duterte took office; in mid-December a military official reported that the group continued to hold 23 hostages.

In August, the Duterte government engaged in a second official round of peace negotiations with the Communist Party of the PhilippinesNew People's ArmyNational Democratic Front of the Philippines (CPP-NPA-NDFP), restoring hope that the nearly 50-year violent insurgency could see a peaceful end for the first time since negotiations broke down in under the previous administration. Deadly clashes between the leftist group's militarized wing, the NPA, and the Philippine army continue to occur regularly, though the violence has declined over recent years.

Perceptions of relative socioeconomic deprivation and political disenfranchisement, along with resentment toward Christian settlements in traditionally Muslim areas, have played a central role in the Philippines' Muslim separatist movements. The related conflict has caused severe hardship on Mindanao and nearby islands, and has resulted in more than 120,000 deaths and the displacement of tens of thousands of people since it erupted in 1972. Both government and rebel forces have committed summary killings and other human rights abuses. Several peace deals have fallen through as a result of the failure to effectively disarm, demobilize, and reintegrate former rebels, but a landmark comprehensive agreement was reached in 2014 with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the country's largest rebel group, paving the way for a new legal and governing framework, namely the Bangsamoro Basic Law, for the region.

However, after a botched antiterrorism raid in January 2015 that left dead 44 elite police officers, 18 members of the MILF, 5 members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF, a splinter faction that opposes the peace process), and several civilians, Congress postponed deliberations on the BBL. Despite President Duterte's public support for the BBL and a comprehensive peace settlement, in addition to new trust-building joint antidrug campaigns between the Philippine Armed Forces and the MILF, a formal agreement remained elusive through 2016.

Indigenous rights are generally upheld, but land disputes and local development projects regularly cause friction and sometimes lead to violence. Indigenous people often live in conflict areas and are targeted by combatants for their perceived loyalties.

LGBT people face bias in employment, education, and other services, as well as societal discrimination. In September, Congresswoman Geraldine Roman, the Philippines' first transgender person elected to national office, advocated for a House bill prohibiting at a national level discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The Senate proposed companion legislation, though the measure had yet to pass at year's end.

G. Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights 10 / 16

G1. Do individuals enjoy freedom of travel or choice of residence, employment, or institution of higher education?

G2. Do individuals have the right to own property and establish private businesses? Is private business activity unduly influenced by government officials, the security forces, political parties/organizations, or organized crime?

G3. Are there personal social freedoms, including gender equality, choice of marriage partners, and size of family?

G4. Is there equality of opportunity and the absence of economic exploitation?

Outside of conflict zones, citizens enjoy freedom of travel and choice of residence. Private business activity is often dependent on the support of local power brokers in the complex patronage system that extends through the country's social, political, and economic spheres.

Although more women than men now enter high schools and universities, women face some discrimination in private-sector employment, and those in Mindanao enjoy considerably fewer rights in practice. Divorce is illegal in the Philippines, though annulments are allowed under specified circumstances; Muslims may divorce via Sharia (Islamic law) courts. Violence against women continues to be a significant problem, and while spousal rape is a crime, very few cases are prosecuted.

In 2014, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the landmark Reproductive Health Law, which provides state funding for contraceptives in public clinics, reproductive health care, and sex education in schools. However, the Philippine Congress denied funding for the program in January 2016 in a bid backed by elements of the country's powerful Catholic Church. Health workers may deny services in non-life-threatening circumstances if they have moral or religious misgivings.

The Philippines is a source country for human trafficking, with some Filipinos abroad forced to work in the fishing, shipping, construction or other industries, or forced to engage in sex work. The country's various insurgent groups have been accused of using child soldiers. NGOs have reported increases in the number of child sex tourists traveling to the country.

Scoring Key: X / Y (Z)

X = Score Received

Y = Best Possible Score

Z = Change from Previous Year

Copyright notice:  Freedom House, Inc.  All Rights Reserved
Freedom in the World 2017 - Nigeria

Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 2 June 2017 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2017 - Nigeria, 2 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5936a4663.html [accessed 10 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Freedom Status: Partly Free

Aggregate Score: 50/100 (0 = Least Free, 100 = Most Free)

Freedom Rating: 4/7 (1 = Most Free, 7 = Least Free)

Political Rights: 3/7 (1 = Most Free, 7 = Least Free)

Civil Liberties: 5/7 (1 = Most Free, 7 = Least Free)

Quick Facts

Population: 186,500,000

Capital: Abuja

GDP/capita: $2,640

Press Freedom Status: Partly Free

Net Freedom Status: Partly Free

Ratings Change:

Nigeria's political rights rating improved from 4 to 3 due to increased transparency under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, and military gains against the militant group Boko Haram that led to a significant reduction in the group's ability to alter the religious and ethnic composition of the northeast.

OVERVIEW

Nigeria has made significant improvements in the competiveness and quality of national elections in recent years, though political corruption remains endemic. Militant and extremist groups and security officials consistently violate the human rights of Nigerians, while religious and ethnic bias as well as discrimination against women and the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) community are pervasive.

Key Developments

Counterinsurgency efforts weakened Boko Haram's capacity to launch attacks in the northeastern regions. However, humanitarian conditions there became increasingly dire, with some 1.8 million people displaced, and many more facing malnutrition.

Security conditions worsened elsewhere, with the resurgence of militants in the Niger Delta, and increased ethnic and communal clashes in and around the middle belt.

The administration of President Muhammadu Buhari continued its drive to reduce graft and improve transparency, and announced in June that authorities had recovered $9 billion in stolen assets since Buhari took office in 2015.

Rights groups accused Nigerian security forces of committing gross human rights violations with impunity, including extrajudicial killings, arbitrary mass arrests, illegal detentions, and torture of civilians.

Executive Summary

The security situation in Nigeria remained challenging in 2016 due to the ongoing insurgency in the northeast by the militant Islamist group Boko Haram; renewed militancy in the Niger Delta; and intersectarian and communal clashes in and around the middle belt. The counterinsurgency offensive of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), which included soldiers from Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, Chad, and Benin, diminished the capacity of Boko Haram to coordinate large-scale attacks. However, humanitarian conditions in the northeast remained grave. At year's end some 1.8 million people had been internally displaced by the conflict, and many more faced food insecurity. In Borno State, some 50,000 people faced starvation conditions.

Militants in the restive Niger Delta, including a new group called the Niger Delta Avengers, launched a series of attacks on oil installations during the year. In August, amnesty payments to militants, which Buhari had halted previously, were resumed in hopes of curbing the attacks. Furthermore, up to September, about 870 people had died in sectarian and communal clashes, including many involving Fulani herdsmen in and around the country's middle belt, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.

Reports from domestic and international advocacy groups indicated that government forces, including the military and police, continued to commit gross human rights violations with impunity, including extrajudicial killings, arbitrary mass arrests, illegal detentions, and torture of civilians.

Buhari's administration continued its fight against corruption by expanding reforms to the oil and security sectors. Several high-ranking military and government officials were arrested on corruption-related charges in 2016, while Buhari's government announced in June that authorities had recovered $9 billion in stolen assets since Buhari took office in 2015.

POLITICAL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES

Political Rights 25 / 40 (+2)

A. Electoral Process 9 / 12

A1. Is the head of government or other chief national authority elected through free and fair elections?

A2. Are the national legislative representatives elected through free and fair elections?

A3. Are the electoral laws and framework fair?

The president is elected by popular vote for no more than two four-year terms. Members of the bicameral National Assembly, consisting of the 109-seat Senate and the 360-seat House of Representatives, are elected for four-year terms. While elections that followed Nigeria's return to a multiparty system in 1999 were marred by gross irregularities, the 2011 polls marked the beginning of a departure from this trend.

The 2015 presidential and legislative elections were regarded as competitive and generally well conducted by local and international observer organizations. They represented a milestone in the country's democratic development, marking the first time that the opposition gained power at the national level through elections. Although the voting had been postponed by approximately six weeks, with officials citing insecurity in the northeast, the delay did not adversely affect the integrity of the process. Instead it appeared to have given the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) more time to improve the distribution of permanent voter cards, pilot a new electronic voter-identification system, and fine-tune its election machinery. However, hundreds of thousands of Nigerians were still prevented from voting, either because they were internally displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency, or because they failed to receive their permanent voter cards in time. There were far fewer election-related deaths in 2015 than there were during the 2011 election cycle.

Buhari, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), won the presidential contest, defeating incumbent president Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), 54 percent to 45 percent. Jonathan quickly conceded defeat, helping to ensure a peaceful and orderly rotation of power. APC candidates also won a majority in the legislative elections. In the House of Representatives, the APC took 212 of 360 seats, while the PDP won 140, and smaller parties captured the remaining 8. In the Senate, the APC won 60 of 109 seats, while the PDP secured 49. At the state level, the APC captured a majority of the contested governorships.

There were some difficulties surrounding 2016 regional elections. A gubernatorial election in Edo state, originally scheduled for September 10, was postponed for over 2 weeks due to security concerns. Separately, there were over 250 conflict-related deaths during the lead-up to and aftermath of a March rerun of legislative elections in Rivers State.

In December, Buhari swore in six new commissioners to the INEC; he had previously held off on swearing them in to ensure that the 12 commissioners' terms were staggered. Some critics had suggested that vacancies on the INEC had contributed to some regional electoral difficulties.

B. Political Pluralism and Participation 10 / 16

B1. Do the people have the right to organize in different political parties or other competitive political groupings of their choice, and is the system open to the rise and fall of these competing parties or groupings?

B2. Is there a significant opposition vote and a realistic opportunity for the opposition to increase its support or gain power through elections?

B3. Are the people's political choices free from domination by the military, foreign powers, totalitarian parties, religious hierarchies, economic oligarchies, or any other powerful group?

B4. Do cultural, ethnic, religious, or other minority groups have full political rights and electoral opportunities?

Nigeria's multiparty system provides an opportunity for opposition parties to gain power through elections, as demonstrated by the APC's sweeping victory in 2015. Buhari's defeat of Jonathan represented the first time that a sitting Nigerian president was democratically replaced. The vote appeared to reflect the ethnic and religious divisions in the country, with Buhari, a northern Muslim, winning primarily in the northern states, and Jonathan, a Christian from the southern Niger Delta region, gaining an overwhelming majority in the south. However, Buhari's ability to gain support from many non-northern and non-Muslim voters was a significant factor in his success.

Despite the improved elections and peaceful rotation of power, citizens' political choices remain impaired or undermined to some degree by vote buying and intimidation, the influence of powerful domestic and international economic interests on policymaking, and the local domination of either the Nigerian military or Boko Haram militants in regions affected by the insurgency.

Although in 2014, the 36 state legislatures approved proposed amendments to the 1999 constitution, neither Jonathan nor Buhari assented to these changes. In 2016, the National Assembly reopened debate on a series of proposed amendments, including one that would remove the need for presidential assent for constitutional amendments to be adopted.

C. Functioning of Government 6 / 12 (+1)

C1. Do the freely elected head of government and national legislative representatives determine the policies of the government?

C2. Is the government free from pervasive corruption?

C3. Is the government accountable to the electorate between elections, and does it operate with openness and transparency?

Corruption remains pervasive, particularly in the oil and security sectors. However, the Buhari administration has undertaken a series of reforms aimed at reducing graft and improving transparency. Among them were a restructuring of the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC); the establishment of a committee to investigate procurement fraud in the military; and the May 2016 removal of the fuel subsidy, the administration of which had opened avenues for corruption. The government's efforts led to several officials being charged with corruption and, according to an announcement in June, the recovery of approximately $9 billion in stolen assets between May 2015 and May 2016. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) opened investigations into several high-level current and former officials during the year. The opposition PDP has accused the federal government of political bias in its anticorruption efforts by disproportionately targeting its members.

Buhari signed the 2016 federal budget into law in May  almost 5 months after it was proposed  due to several scandals, including the disappearance of hard copies of the budget from the Senate in January, as well as large discrepancies in budgetary allocations.

Despite the passage of the 2011 Freedom of Information Act, which guarantees the right to access public records, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have criticized government agencies for routinely refusing to release information sought through the law. Nevertheless, Nigeria saw improvements in transparency initiatives in 2016, with the NNPC earning praise in August from the Extractive Industries and Transparency Initiative (EITI) for its implementation of the initiative's standards. In July, Buhari appointed Maikanti Kacalla Baru to be the new head of NNPC, in a move that observers saw as a continuation of the corporation's reform efforts under Buhari. In April, after soliciting public input, the government released a development plan it and several international organizations had developed for conflict-damaged northeastern Nigeria.

Additional Discretionary Political Rights Question B 0/0 (+1)

Is the government or occupying power deliberately changing the ethnic composition of a country or territory so as to destroy a culture or tip the political balance in favor of another group?

1. Is the government providing economic or other incentives to certain people in order to change the ethnic composition of a region or regions?

2. Is the government forcibly moving people in or out of certain areas in order to change the ethnic composition of those regions?

3. Is the government arresting, imprisoning, or killing members of certain ethnic groups in order change the ethnic composition of a region or regions?

In recent years, Boko Haram has been accused of attempting to alter the religious and ethnic composition of the northeast by targeting Christians and moderate Muslims through mass killings, kidnappings, and other human rights abuses. However, in 2016, the Nigerian and allied regional military forces reclaimed most, if not all, of the territory once controlled by the group and limited the group's capacity to launch large-scale offensives. Furthermore, the number of casualties related to the conflict fell by 73 percent compared to 2015, according to figures from the Institute for Security Studies. The developments have significantly diminished Boko Haram's capacity to continue altering the religious composition of the northeast.

Civil Liberties 25 / 40

D. Freedom of Expression and Belief 9 / 16

D1. Are there free and independent media and other forms of cultural expression?

D2. Are religious institutions and communities free to practice their faith and express themselves in public and private?

D3. Is there academic freedom, and is the educational system free of extensive political indoctrination?

D4. Is there open and free private discussion?

Freedom of speech, expression, and the press are constitutionally guaranteed. However, these rights are limited by laws on sedition, criminal defamation, and publication of false news. Sharia statutes in 12 northern states impose severe penalties for alleged press offenses. Government officials also restrict press freedom by publicly criticizing, harassing, and arresting journalists, especially when they cover corruption scandals, human rights violations, or separatist and communal violence. In August 2016, the military announced that freelance journalist Ahmad Salkida, who had been reporting on the Boko Haram insurgency since 2006, was wanted for questioning and could be charged under a terrorism law if he did not provide information. On his return to Nigeria from his home in the United Arab Emirates, Salkida was detained and questioned without a lawyer before being released the following day. Journalists and media entities have also been attacked and intimidated by nonstate actors, including Boko Haram. There were no reports that the government restricted access to the internet.

Religious freedom is constitutionally and legally protected and is generally respected by the government in practice. Nevertheless, in some instances state and local governments have placed limits on religious activities and endorsed a dominant faith, and recent polling has indicated some level of mistrust between various religious communities. In October 2016, police in Kaduna banned the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), the country's largest Shiite organization. At least 11 people died that month during the annual Ashura processions, an important Shiite rite that some areas in the north had attempted to ban, after clashes erupted between Nigerian police, Sunni mobs, and Shiite participants. Separately, in a victory for religious freedom, high courts in two southwest states, Osun and Lagos, ruled in June and July, respectively, that bans on female Muslim students wearing hijabs in schools were unconstitutional.

Nonstate actors have also attempted to limit religious freedom. Boko Haram has explicitly targeted Christians and moderate Muslims, and their respective houses of worship. Periodic communal clashes between Muslims and Christians have broken out for decades in and around the states of Kaduna and Plateau, often killing hundreds of people and displacing thousands at a time.

The federal government generally respects academic freedom. However, some state governments mandate religious instruction in elementary and secondary curriculums, and student admission and faculty hiring policies are subject to political interference. Boko Haram's assault on secular education included the closure or destruction of primary, secondary, and tertiary institutions. In October, negotiations between government, military, and civil society representatives and Boko Haram led to the release of 21 girls whom Boko Haram had abducted from a school in the town of Chibok in 2014. However, almost 200 of the girls abducted from the Chibok school remained unaccounted for at year's end, and are suspected to be in the custody of Boko Haram.

There was no evidence of government authorities monitoring electronic communications between private citizens.

E. Associational and Organizational Rights 7 / 12

E1. Is there freedom of assembly, demonstration, and open public discussion?

E2. Is there freedom for nongovernmental organizations?

E3. Are there free trade unions and peasant organizations or equivalents, and is there effective collective bargaining? Are there free professional and other private organizations?

The rights to peaceful assembly and association are constitutionally guaranteed. However, federal and state governments frequently ban public events perceived as threatening national security, including those that could incite political, ethnic, or religious tension. Rights groups have criticized federal and state government for banning protests and frustrating protestors associated with various movements throughout the country. These include a September 2016 protest by the IMN in Abuja and various pro-Biafran independence protests in southeastern states. According to a November report issued by Amnesty International, peaceful Biafran independence protesters have frequently faced arrest and violence, including the use of deadly force, at the hands of security forces.

Nigeria has a broad and vibrant civil society. Members of some organizations faced intimidation and physical harm for speaking out against Boko Haram, or encountered obstacles when investigating alleged human rights abuses committed by the military against Boko Haram suspects. Groups operating in the restive Niger Delta region face similar impediments.

Under the constitution, workers have the right to form and join trade unions, engage in collective bargaining, and conduct strikes. Nevertheless, the government forbids strike action in a number of essential services, including public transportation and security.

F. Rule of Law 4 / 16

F1. Is there an independent judiciary?

F2. Does the rule of law prevail in civil and criminal matters? Are police under direct civilian control?

F3. Is there protection from political terror, unjustified imprisonment, exile, or torture, whether by groups that support or oppose the system? Is there freedom from war and insurgencies?

F4. Do laws, policies, and practices guarantee equal treatment of various segments of the population?

Judicial independence is constitutionally and legally enshrined. The judiciary has achieved some degree of independence and professionalism in practice, but political interference, corruption, and a lack of funding, equipment, and training remain important problems. A number of prominent judges were arrested on corruption-related charges in 2016, while several others were sanctioned by the Nigerian Judicial Council for malpractice. Certain departments, particularly the Court of Appeals, have frequently rejected election challenges or allegations of corruption against powerful elites, raising doubts about their impartiality.

Despite pressure from international human rights groups, torture has yet to be criminalized. In June 2016, the Senate passed its first reading of an antitorture bill that had already been approved in the House of Representatives. However, the bill had not been passed by year's end. There were numerous allegations of torture, extortion, and bribe taking within the police force in 2016. Amnesty International released a report in September claiming that some members of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) carried out a torture, bribery, and extortion racket, in which they tortured suspected criminals and demanded bribes from suspects and their families to secure the suspects' freedom. The Nigerian Police immediately denied the allegations and condemned the report, but the inspector general of police also issued a warning to SARS against committing torture or other violations of due process of the law.

The military has also been widely criticized for pervasive corruption and human rights abuses. In January, the Kaduna State government launched a judicial commission of inquiry into the alleged massacre the previous month of hundreds of Shiite Muslim members of the IMN in Kaduna by the Nigerian military. In July, the commission's nonbinding report was made public; it found the army responsible for the unlawful killing of civilians. The commission called for the prosecution of soldiers who were involved, and for Nigeria's security agencies to improve their monitoring and surveillance of groups like IMN. Meanwhile, international and domestic rights groups continue to condemn the military for extrajudicial killings and other abuses, including acts of torture carried out during counterinsurgency efforts in the northeast. An Amnesty International report released in November accused the security forces of carrying out 150 extrajudicial killings against peaceful pro-Biafra activists between August 2015 and August 2016. In April, the International Criminal Court (ICC) began an investigation of alleged human rights abuses committed by the Nigerian military and Boko Haram. In February, the military announced that it was establishing an office of human rights where Nigerians could lodge complaints about human rights abuses, though its impact remains to be seen.

The multinational offensive against Boko Haram continued during 2016, further diminishing the group's capacity to occupy territory and launch large-scale attacks against military and civilian targets in Nigeria and neighboring countries. However, the insurgency continues to engage in asymmetric warfare, including the use of women and children in suicide attacks against civilian towns in the northeast. Since the start of the year, the conflict has claimed the lives of approximately 2,900 people. This, however, represents a sharp reduction in conflict-related causalities compared to the corresponding period in 2015. According to the International Crisis Group (ICG), about 1.8 million people remained internally displaced in northeast Nigeria in December and 9.2 million residents of the region required humanitarian assistance as of May. Separately, militants in the Niger Delta attacked oil installations in 2016, and sectarian and communal clashes continued to occur in the country's middle belt.

Violent crime in certain areas of Nigeria is a serious problem, as is the trafficking of drugs and small arms. Abductions are common in the Niger Delta and the southeastern states of Abia, Imo, and Anambra. Political figures, the wealthy, and foreigners are most frequently targeted. In September, Margaret Emefiele, the wife of Godwin Emefiele, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, was kidnapped by an armed gang and rescued the following day by security agencies. Nine suspects, including two army members, were arrested in connection with her kidnapping.

Despite constitutional safeguards against ethnic discrimination, many ethnic minorities experience bias by state governments and other societal groups in areas including employment, education, and housing. The government and society continue to discriminate against LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) people. An October 2016 report by Human Rights Watch found no evidence that the 2014 Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act had resulted in any prosecutions, but said that because of the law, LGBT people face increased violence and discrimination from the public and police. In northern states, same-sex relationships can be punished by death under Sharia statutes.

G. Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights 5 / 16

G1. Do individuals enjoy freedom of travel or choice of residence, employment, or institution of higher education?

G2. Do individuals have the right to own property and establish private businesses? Is private business activity unduly influenced by government officials, the security forces, political parties/organizations, or organized crime?

G3. Are there personal social freedoms, including gender equality, choice of marriage partners, and size of family?

G4. Is there equality of opportunity and the absence of economic exploitation?

Freedom of internal movement and foreign travel are legally guaranteed. However, security officials frequently impose dusk-to-dawn curfews in areas affected by communal violence or the Islamist insurgency.

Nigeria's largely unregulated property rights system hinders citizens and private business from engaging in the efficient and legal purchase or sale of land and other types of property. According to the World Bank's Doing Business Report for 2017, Nigeria ranked 169 out of 190 countries; the country showed improvements in credit accessibility and the ease of starting a business, but continued to rank near the bottom of the index with respect to property registration and the ease of paying taxes.

Women's representation in government worsened following the 2015 elections. Women maintained 8 of 109 Senate seats, but in the House of Representatives women currently hold 18 of 360 seats, compared with 24 following the 2011 elections. Of the 37 ministers named to Buhari's cabinet, only 6 were women. This amounted to 16 percent female representation in the cabinet, compared with 31 percent in the previous administration.

Many families choose to send sons to school while daughters become street vendors or domestic workers. Women experience discrimination in employment. Gender discrimination is significant in the states governed by Sharia statutes. Women belonging to certain ethnic groups are often denied equal rights to inherit property due to customary laws and practices. Despite the existence of strict laws against rape, domestic violence, female genital mutilation, and child marriage, these offenses remain widespread, with low rates of reporting and prosecution.

Nigerian organized crime groups are heavily involved in human trafficking. Boko Haram has subjected children to forced labor and sex slavery. Both Boko Haram and a civilian vigilante group that opposes the militants have forcibly recruited child soldiers, according to the U.S. State Department. Meanwhile, as of year's end, several of Nigeria's states had not implemented the 2003 Child Rights Act, which protects children from discrimination based on sex, ethnicity, and other factors. In September 2016, the acting director general of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), said that some 2 million Nigerian women and children are victims of trafficking each year. He said that since his agency's inception in 2003, 269 people had been convicted of trafficking, including 7 so far in 2016.

Scoring Key: X / Y (Z)

X = Score Received

Y = Best Possible Score

Z = Change from Previous Year

Copyright notice:  Freedom House, Inc.  All Rights Reserved
Freedom in the World 2017 - Iraq

Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 2 June 2017 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2017 - Iraq, 2 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5936a4678.html [accessed 10 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Freedom Status: Not Free

Aggregate Score: 27/100 (0 = Least Free, 100 = Most Free)

Freedom Rating: 5.5/7 (1 = Most Free, 7 = Least Free)

Political Rights: 5/7 (1 = Most Free, 7 = Least Free)

Civil Liberties: 6/7 (1 = Most Free, 7 = Least Free)

Quick Facts

Population: 38,100,000

Capital: Baghdad

GDP/capita: $4,944

Press Freedom Status: Not Free

OVERVIEW

Iraq holds regular, competitive elections, and the country's various partisan, religious, and ethnic groups enjoy some representation in the political system. However, democratic governance is seriously impeded in practice by problems including corruption, severe insecurity, and the influence of foreign powers. Iraqis living in areas controlled by the Islamic State (IS) militant group exercise virtually no political or personal freedoms.

Key Developments

The Iraqi government regained significant territory from IS in both Anbar and Nineveh Provinces, though a number of areas  including large parts of Mosul  remained under IS control at year's end.

Many Sunni Arabs were displaced by the battles against IS, and some also faced abuse by their liberators, particularly the Shiite militias fighting alongside Iraqi government forces.

The prime minister's attempt in February to form a technocratic cabinet  which threatened the allocation of positions based on ethno-sectarian and partisan considerations  touched off months of protests and political infighting, with some factions holding an illegal rump parliamentary session in April in a bid to replace the speaker and other key officials.

Opposition lawmakers led by former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki succeeded in removing the ministers of defense and finance in August and September, citing corruption allegations, and the vital posts remained vacant at year's end.

Executive Summary

In 2016, Iraqi government forces and their allies  including a U.S.-led coalition, peshmerga units reporting to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Shiite militia groups organized as the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), and various other ethnic and tribal militias  retook significant territory held by IS since at least 2014. Ramadi, the capital of Anbar Province, was fully recaptured early in the year, and the Anbar city of Fallujah was taken in June. By October government forces had begun an offensive on Mosul, a major city and capital of Nineveh Province in the north. However, at year's end IS still controlled portions of Mosul, Hawija, Al-Qaim, and Tal Afar, as well as some surrounding areas.

The battles themselves raised new challenges to Baghdad's sovereignty, with Iran actively supporting key Shiite militias, the Kurds expanding the de facto territory of their autonomous region, and the Turkish military staking out an unapproved presence in the Mosul area to support allied militias and oppose Kurdish fighters associated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), an armed Kurdish separatist group that has carried out terrorist attacks in Turkey.

The fighting also continued to exacerbate the deep rifts that made Iraq vulnerable to IS infiltration in the first place. The PMF and to a lesser extent government forces sometimes mistreated Sunni civilians in areas retaken from IS, and the government remained unable to care adequately for displaced Sunnis. Nor was the state able to protect Shiite civilians from IS terrorist attacks meant to drive a wedge between the Sunni and Shiite populations.

Meanwhile, Iraq's political establishment descended into near-chaos during the year. The Shiite coalition that had dominated the parliament shattered over whether to end the long-standing, unwritten ethno-sectarian allocation of government positions in favor of a more technocratic cabinet. Former prime minister al-Maliki, a supporter of the status quo, squared off against followers of rival Shiite political leader Moqtada al-Sadr, who insisted on reform; both sides threatened to bring down Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi's government if their demands were not met, and other groups splintered or maneuvered as the crisis unfolded. Abadi's attempt to reshuffle the cabinet, initiated in February, remained unresolved at year's end, with a number of key ministerial posts left vacant.

Kurdish politics also proved dysfunctional in 2016. The Kurdistan Parliament effectively remained suspended amid a political stalemate that began when Masoud Barzani's already extended term as KRG president expired in 2015. Barzani's party defended his right to stay in office until conditions permitted new elections, while other parties called for reforms that would shift power to the legislature.

POLITICAL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES

Political Rights 12 / 40

A. Electoral Process 8 / 12

A1. Is the head of government or other chief national authority elected through free and fair elections?

A2. Are the national legislative representatives elected through free and fair elections?

A3. Are the electoral laws and framework fair?

Iraq's parliament, the Council of Representatives (CoR), is elected every four years. The CoR currently has 328 members elected through multimember open lists for each province. Seats are allocated by population, but because Iraq has not conducted a nationwide census since 1987, their distribution is certainly flawed. Once seated after elections, the CoR elects a president. The largest bloc in the parliament then nominates one of its members to be prime minister, and the president formally appoints him to office. The prime minister forms a government that assumes most executive power.

The constitution calls for a second legislative chamber to represent provincial interests, the Federal Council, but this body has never been formed. Provincial councils are elected every four years. Until recently, the borders of the provinces were generally accepted. However, in 2015 the KRG designated Halabja as a new province, splitting it off from Suleymaniyah in a move that has not been universally recognized. In 2016 the Kurds proposed dividing Nineveh into three new provinces, at least one of which would presumably join the KRG.

Iraqi elections are generally considered to be competitive and relatively well administered given the challenge of chronic political violence. Voting is monitored by the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), political parties, foreign and domestic media outlets, Iraqi nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and international observers. Provincial elections were scheduled for 2017, and the IHEC began updating voter rolls and registering new voters in 2016, but it was unclear whether the country's security situation would permit the elections to proceed as planned. The next parliamentary elections were scheduled for 2018.

In the 2014 parliamentary elections, al-Maliki's Shiite-led State of Law coalition won 95 seats, making it the largest grouping. A Shiite bloc associated with Moqtada al-Sadr placed second with 34 seats, followed by a third Shiite coalition, Al-Muwatin, with 31 seats. A Sunni-led bloc, Muttahidoon, took 28 seats; a secular nationalist coalition led by Ayad Allawi, Al-Wataniya, received 21; and two Kurdish parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), took 25 and 21 seats, respectively. The remainder was divided among several smaller parties. After tense and protracted negotiations, the new parliament eventually approved a government headed by al-Abadi.

The KRG, comprising the northern provinces of Erbil, Dohuk, Suleymaniyah, and Halabja, has its own flag, military (the peshmerga), official language, and other institutions. The region elects a 111-seat Kurdistan Parliament through closed party-list proportional representation in a single district. The 2013 elections resulted in the new Gorran (Change) movement (24 seats) displacing the PUK (18) as the second-largest party after the KDP (38). Smaller factions and minority representatives made up the remainder. Kurdish voters also elect provincial councils and vote in national elections. The KRG president, who controls many key institutions without legislative oversight, is normally elected directly every four years. However, after holding the office for eight years, Barzani of the KDP had his term extended by two years in a 2013 political agreement with the PUK, and in 2015 he extended his term by another two years unilaterally, citing a legal opinion from a KRG advisory council. That move was endorsed by the KDP but strongly rejected by Gorran and the PUK, which called for an overhaul of KRG political institutions. The dispute remained unresolved in 2016, and a de facto suspension of the Kurdish legislature continued throughout the year.

B. Political Pluralism and Participation 5 / 16

B1. Do the people have the right to organize in different political parties or other competitive political groupings of their choice, and is the system open to the rise and fall of these competing parties or groupings?

B2. Is there a significant opposition vote and a realistic opportunity for the opposition to increase its support or gain power through elections?

B3. Are the people's political choices free from domination by the military, foreign powers, totalitarian parties, religious hierarchies, economic oligarchies, or any other powerful group?

B4. Do cultural, ethnic, religious, or other minority groups have full political rights and electoral opportunities?

The constitution guarantees the freedom to form and join political parties, apart from the Baath Party. In July 2016, the parliament passed legislation that strengthened the constitutional ban on the Baath Party, criminalizing Baathist protests and the promotion of Baathist ideas. The measure applies to any group that supports racism, terrorism, sectarianism, sectarian cleansing, and other ideas contrary to democracy or the peaceful transfer of power. Individual Iraqis' freedom to run for office is limited by a "good conduct" requirement in the electoral law and by the Accountability and Justice Commission, which disqualifies candidates and officials with ties to the former Baath Party. Many Sunnis view the commission as discriminatory. Despite these barriers, Iraqis run for office, form parties, and take part in politics in large numbers.

As in past years, political activity was impaired in 2016 by violence, both threatened and actual. The problem was especially acute in territories still under IS control, but intimidation of those active in public life occurs throughout Iraq. The political system is also distorted by interference from foreign powers and the allocation of key offices according to informal ethno-sectarian criteria, which reduces the likelihood that politicians will act in the interests of the whole country and the viability of non-ethno-sectarian parties and movements.

A system of reserved seats ensures representation in the CoR for many of Iraq's smaller religious and ethnic minorities. There are five seats for Christians and one each for Yazidis, Sabean Mandaeans, and Shabaks. The Kurdish legislature reserves five seats for Turkomans, five for Chaldean and Assyrian Christians, and one for Armenians. Sunni Arabs, Iraq's largest minority, argue that Shiite dominance of the political system keeps them out of positions of influence.

C. Functioning of Government 2 / 12

C1. Do the freely elected head of government and national legislative representatives determine the policies of the government?

C2. Is the government free from pervasive corruption?

C3. Is the government accountable to the electorate between elections, and does it operate with openness and transparency?

Governance in Iraq is hampered by factors including IS control over territory in the northwest, rampant corruption, and ethno-sectarian divisions. The political disorder of 2016 featured a splintering of alliances, both within and across ethno-sectarian blocs, and repeated attempts to influence parliamentary outcomes through illegal and even violent means.

Al-Sadr's supporters organized aggressive protests to advance his demands for radical anticorruption measures and a technocratic cabinet, ultimately occupying the government district of Baghdad and violently storming the parliament building in April, forcing elected representatives to flee temporarily. Also that month, a disparate group of Sunni, Sadrist, and other Shiite lawmakers occupied the CoR and held a rogue session that attempted to change the leadership, though it lacked a quorum. Al-Maliki later organized some elements of that group into an opposition Reform Front that sought to weaken al-Abadi's government by initiating corruption investigations against ministers and bringing votes to remove them. The initiative succeeded in ousting Defense Minister Khalid al-Obeidi in August and Finance Minister Hoshyar Zebari in September. Although al-Abadi managed to install some technocratic ministers, those two crucial posts remained vacant at year's end, as did that of interior minister; the incumbent interior minister had resigned in July following a massive suicide bombing in central Baghdad.

Many parties' resistance to a technocratic cabinet reflected the extent to which they benefit financially from control over ministries. In August, the head of the country's Integrity Commission demanded that political parties abolish affiliated committees that broker deals between the ministries and private businesses. The home of at least one technocratic minister was attacked by gunmen in September, and members of the Integrity Commission are reportedly exposed to chronic threats and deadly violence.

Separately, the political standoff in the KRG also contributed to governmental dysfunction, with the legislature unable to convene and the president remaining in office without an electoral mandate. The crisis has opened up debate on the entire Kurdish institutional structure. Gorran, the PUK, and their allies have demanded a reformed system in which a largely symbolic president is elected by the parliament. Barzani, with the backing of the KDP, insists on maintaining the current system and refuses to leave office. His wealthy family remains a powerful political and economic force in the region, with his son serving as the KRG's intelligence chief and his nephew as prime minister.

Additional Discretionary Political Rights Question B -3/0

Is the government or occupying power deliberately changing the ethnic composition of a country or territory so as to destroy a culture or tip the political balance in favor of another group?

1. Is the government providing economic or other incentives to certain people in order to change the ethnic composition of a region or regions?

2. Is the government forcibly moving people in or out of certain areas in order to change the ethnic composition of those regions?

3. Is the government arresting, imprisoning, or killing members of certain ethnic groups in order change the ethnic composition of a region or regions?

IS continued its efforts to change the religious demography in areas it controlled or could attack in 2016. In occupied regions, Shiites, Christians, Yazidis, Shabaks, Sabeans, and Kaka'i faced executions, forced conversion, discriminatory "taxation," and enslavement that entailed sexual violence. IS also destroyed or repurposed churches and shrines. IS terrorist attacks outside its territory often struck Shiite targets. In areas where the peshmerga captured territory from IS, displaced Arab residents were frequently barred from returning, a form of population transfer that Kurdish forces justified as a security measure.

Civil Liberties 15 / 60

D. Freedom of Expression and Belief 5 / 16

D1. Are there free and independent media and other forms of cultural expression?

D2. Are religious institutions and communities free to practice their faith and express themselves in public and private?

D3. Is there academic freedom, and is the educational system free of extensive political indoctrination?

D4. Is there open and free private discussion?

The constitution guarantees freedom of expression and media freedom so long as "public order" and "morality" are maintained. Iraq's media scene appears diverse, but many outlets are controlled by political parties. The few independent newspapers have suffered from economic pressures in recent years, forcing some to close. Journalists face the threat of lawsuits or retaliation in an environment characterized by corruption and violence. Bloggers and others who disseminate information online are also at risk. At least six journalists were killed in connection with their work in 2016, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). In one case for which CPJ had not confirmed the motive, journalist Wedad Hussein Ali of the PKK-affiliated website Roj News was murdered in the Kurdish region in August.

The constitution guarantees freedom of belief, but in practice many Iraqis were targeted for their religious identity during 2016. IS continued to kill Shiites, whom it considers to be apostates, either in terrorist bombings or after capture. Abducted Yazidi women have been forced to serve IS members as sex slaves. Some Christians survived in IS areas by paying a special tax, but they lived under the constant threat of violence and abuse. Sunnis who resisted the militants' interpretation of Islamic law were also killed in large numbers. Sunnis suspected of supporting IS faced execution or property loss at the hands of progovernment forces, particularly Shiite militias.

None of the several universities that closed as a result of IS's 2014 invasion was able to resume normal functioning in 2016. According to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), approximately 3.5 million Iraqi children's education was interrupted during the year by IS and the military campaign against it. Schools throughout Iraq are overcrowded, due in part to corrupt mismanagement and population movements. In IS-held areas where university or secondary school classes have resumed, the militants permit no teaching of music, history, literature, or art, often focusing instead on paramilitary training.

Free and open private discussion is limited by the fear of informants in IS-affected areas. Speech in other parts of Iraq is more free, though the threat of political or sectarian violence remains a deterrent.

E. Associational and Organizational Rights 6 / 12

E1. Is there freedom of assembly, demonstration, and open public discussion?

E2. Is there freedom for nongovernmental organizations?

E3. Are there free trade unions and peasant organizations or equivalents, and is there effective collective bargaining? Are there free professional and other private organizations?

The constitution guarantees freedom of assembly, and this right is increasingly respected in practice, though deadly violence still occurs. In 2016, multiple large and confrontational demonstrations by Sadrists and others were able to proceed in southern Iraq and central Baghdad, though clashes with security forces ensued when protesters stormed government buildings and attacked officials, and at least four demonstrators were reportedly killed.

NGOs enjoy societal support and a relatively hospitable regulatory environment, though they must register with the government and obtain approval from the Accountability and Justice Commission. In the KRG, NGOs must renew their registration annually. The main obstacles to NGO operations are a lack of security and impunity for past attacks.

A new Iraqi labor law that generally meets international standards was adopted in 2015 and took effect in February 2016, though the KRG was considering drafting its own labor laws, adding to doubts about the national legislation's implementation and enforcement. The law allows collective bargaining even by workers without a union, improves the rights of subcontractors and migrant workers, and permits workers to strike, among other features. However, it does not apply to civil servants or security forces. Some state officials and private employers reportedly discouraged union activity with threats, dismissals, and other deterrents during 2016.

F. Rule of Law 0 / 16

F1. Is there an independent judiciary?

F2. Does the rule of law prevail in civil and criminal matters? Are police under direct civilian control?

F3. Is there protection from political terror, unjustified imprisonment, exile, or torture, whether by groups that support or oppose the system? Is there freedom from war and insurgencies?

F4. Do laws, policies, and practices guarantee equal treatment of various segments of the population?

The judiciary is influenced by corruption, political pressure, tribal forces, and religious interests. Due to distrust of or lack of access to the courts, many Iraqis have turned to tribal bodies to settle disputes, even those involving major crimes. In 2016, the country's highest court played a role in the political dispute over al-Abadi's cabinet reshuffle, ruling in June that an April parliament session to approve several of the prime minister's appointees had used unconstitutional procedures, but also that the rump parliament formed earlier that month by rogue lawmakers was invalid.

Large numbers of detainees are held in government prisons without charge. Many were arrested under a vaguely worded antiterrorism law passed in 2005. Iraqi prisons are overcrowded and dangerous. Amnesty International documented extremely poor conditions in counterterrorism detention facilities in Anbar Province in 2016. The use of torture to elicit confessions is widespread.

The number of death sentences and executions increased dramatically in 2016 despite enduring flaws in the integrity of the criminal justice system. By July there were over 3,000 people on death row, and at least 88 inmates were executed during the year, according to Amnesty International. In August, after a brief trial based on confessions that were allegedly obtained through torture, the state executed 36 men convicted in the IS massacre of hundreds of Iraqi military recruits in 2014.

IS intensified its terrorist bombing campaign in government-held areas in 2016, with one attack in Baghdad in July killing some 300 people in the predominantly Shiite area of Karrada. Additional threats to civilian safety arose from IS atrocities in areas under its control as well as fighting between the militants and progovernment forces. IS reportedly forced large groups of people into Mosul to serve as human shields against bombardment. Meanwhile, many Sunnis in liberated areas were illegally detained, beaten, robbed, tortured, and murdered, most often by the PMF. The authorities launched investigations into these crimes, but it remained unclear whether perpetrators were ultimately punished.

According to the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq, at least 6,878 civilians were killed and 12,388 were injured in 2016 as a result of armed conflict and related violence, though the mission cautioned that its figures were incomplete.

Same-sex sexual relations are not illegal in Iraq, but LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) people risk violence  including execution in IS-held areas  if they are open about their identity. Other disadvantaged groups in the country include Iraqis of African descent, who suffer from high rates of extreme poverty and discrimination.

G. Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights 4 / 16

G1. Do individuals enjoy freedom of travel or choice of residence, employment, or institution of higher education?

G2. Do individuals have the right to own property and establish private businesses? Is private business activity unduly influenced by government officials, the security forces, political parties/organizations, or organized crime?

G3. Are there personal social freedoms, including gender equality, choice of marriage partners, and size of family?

G4. Is there equality of opportunity and the absence of economic exploitation?

Freedom of movement, choice of residence, and property rights have all suffered from the conflict with IS. Roughly 3 million people remained internally displaced during 2016, and the number was expected to rise as fighting in Mosul intensified. In the KRG, displaced persons have reported being forced to enter camps against their will.

Iraqi women face problems including domestic violence, early marriage, and discrimination on issues governed by personal status law such as marriage, divorce and inheritance. Women living in IS-held areas risked beatings or execution if they left home without full veils, gloves, and a male guardian. They also faced rape and forced marriages, while captive Yazidi women and girls in particular were subjected to sex slavery and other egregious abuses. The government continues to prevent NGOs from legally providing shelter to women fleeing gender-based violence. At least one-fourth of the seats in the Iraqi parliament and 30 percent of the seats in the Kurdish parliament must go to women, though such representation has had little obvious effect on state protections for women in practice.

Refugees and internally displaced persons are especially vulnerable to human trafficking and sexual exploitation. Other victims of human trafficking in Iraq include foreign migrant workers, children engaged in forced begging, and child soldiers recruited primarily by IS, though the PMF and some Kurdish and tribal militias also reportedly recruit child soldiers.

Scoring Key: X / Y (Z)

X = Score Received

Y = Best Possible Score

Z = Change from Previous Year

Copyright notice:  Freedom House, Inc.  All Rights Reserved
Freedom in the World 2017 - India

Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 2 June 2017 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2017 - India, 2 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5936a468c.html [accessed 10 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Freedom Status: Free

Aggregate Score: 77/100 (0 = Least Free, 100 = Most Free)

Freedom Rating: 2.5/7 (1 = Most Free, 7 = Least Free)

Political Rights: 2/7 (1 = Most Free, 7 = Least Free)

Civil Liberties: 3/7 (1 = Most Free, 7 = Least Free)

Explanatory Note:

The numerical ratings and status listed above do not reflect conditions in Indian-controlled Kashmir, which is examined in a separate report.

Quick Facts

Population: 1,328,900,000

Capital: New Delhi

GDP/capita: $1,598

Press Freedom Status: Partly Free

Net Freedom Status: Partly Free

OVERVIEW

India maintains a robust electoral democracy with a competitive multiparty system at federal and state levels. However, politics (and business) are beset by corruption. The constitution guarantees freedom of expression and the news media are vibrant, even as speech and reportage deemed seditious or harmful to religious sentiment is routinely censored and punished. India's minority groups  notably Muslims, scheduled castes (Dalits), and scheduled tribes (Adivasis)  enjoy legal equality and sometimes benefit from affirmative action programs. However, they remain economically and socially marginalized and have been the victims of violent attacks.

Key Developments

Vigilante cow-protection groups associated with nationalist Hindu organizations engaged in a number of assaults on Dalits and Muslims. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been criticized for failing to promptly condemn the attacks.

In February, the arrest of student protesters in Delhi on sedition charges raised concerns about freedom of expression on university campuses.

The government passed two major economic reforms in 2016  the Goods and Services Tax bill and a demonetization policy  aimed at reducing corruption.

Tens of millions of public sector workers went on strike for 24 hours in September to demand the establishment of a monthly minimum wage.

Executive Summary

State elections in early 2016 brought mixed news for Prime Minister Modi's incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which secured a legislative majority in the northeastern state of Assam for the first time, but failed to make significant inroads among voters in the south. In two of the most consequential economic reforms since economic liberalization in 1991, the government passed a major overhaul of its taxation regime and withdrew the two most common currency bills from circulation; the reforms were aimed at combatting corruption.

In February, sedition cases were initiated against student activists in connection with a protest marking the state execution of a Kashmiri separatist who was hanged in 2013 following a terrorism conviction. Separately, a professor at the University of Mysore was arrested in June in connection with a speech the previous year in which he allegedly insulted a Hindu deity. The events had a chilling effect among Indian intellectuals.

Meanwhile, threats to freedom of expression  including intimidation of and attacks against journalists and users of online social media  continued. There is increasing concern about the harassment of bloggers and social-media users by Hindu nationalists.

POLITICAL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES

Political Rights 35 / 40

A. Electoral Process 12 / 12

A1. Is the head of government or other chief national authority elected through free and fair elections?

A2. Are the national legislative representatives elected through free and fair elections?

A3. Are the electoral laws and framework fair?

Elections in India are generally free and fair. Members of the lower house of Parliament, the 545-seat Lok Sabha (House of the People), are directly elected in single-member constituencies for five-year terms, except for two appointed members representing Indians of European descent. The Lok Sabha determines the leadership and composition of the government. Most members of the less powerful 250-seat upper house, the Rajya Sabha (Council of States), are elected by state legislatures using a proportional-representation system to serve staggered six-year terms; up to 12 members are appointed. Executive power is vested in a prime minister and cabinet. The president, who plays a largely symbolic role, is chosen for a five-year term by state and national lawmakers. Current president Pranab Mukherjee, a former cabinet minister and veteran Congress Party leader, was elected in 2012.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won 282 seats and its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition won 336 seats, ensuring a stable majority for the new government; turnout was 66 percent. The incumbent Congress Party and its United Progressive Alliance (UPA), headed by Rahul Gandhi, won just 44 and 60 seats, respectively. Modi, a three-term chief minister from the western state of Gujarat, was sworn in as prime minister. The elections, conducted with electronic voting machines, were broadly free and fair.

The Congress Party and its allies still controlled the Rajya Sabha in 2016; the BJP-led alliance held only 72 (out of 250) seats. The BJP controls the governments of 8 of India's 29 states and is a governing coalition partner in an additional 5 states.

Elections were held for five state governments in 2016. In West Bengal, postelection violence carried out by activists from several parties marred the contest. Notably, the BJP became the governing party in the northeastern state of Assam for the first time, but failed to make significant inroads with voters in the south. Across all states, the 2016 polls were generally regarded as free and fair.

B. Political Pluralism and Participation 14 / 16

B1. Do the people have the right to organize in different political parties or other competitive political groupings of their choice, and is the system open to the rise and fall of these competing parties or groupings?

B2. Is there a significant opposition vote and a realistic opportunity for the opposition to increase its support or gain power through elections?

B3. Are the people's political choices free from domination by the military, foreign powers, totalitarian parties, religious hierarchies, economic oligarchies, or any other powerful group?

B4. Do cultural, ethnic, religious, or other minority groups have full political rights and electoral opportunities?

India hosts a dynamic multiparty system. Recent elections have tended to result in ruling coalitions involving large numbers of parties. In 2014, the two main national parties won only about 50 percent of the vote combined. Nonetheless, the disproportionate translation of votes to seats put the BJP in the clear majority in the lower house, marking the first time a single party won a majority of seats in the Lok Sabha since 1984. It also relegated the Congress Party to its weakest position to date. Support for Congress appeared to weaken further in 2016, prompting many to question its future electoral prospects.

Political participation is affected to a certain degree by insurgent violence in some areas, and ongoing practical disadvantages for marginalized segments of the population. Nevertheless, women, religious and ethnic minorities, and the poor vote in large numbers. There is some political representation for historically marginalized groups. Twenty-two Muslims were elected to the Lok Sabha in 2014. Quotas for the chamber ensure that 84 and 47 seats are reserved for the so-called scheduled castes (Dalits) and scheduled tribes (Adivasis), respectively. There are similar quotas for these historically disadvantaged groups in state assemblies. The current BJP government includes just 2 Muslim ministers out of 75, the lowest number since independence. Two states  Haryana and Rajasthan  have instituted educational requirements for candidates in local elections. It is widely thought that this stipulation disproportionately prevents members of lower castes, and particularly women, from standing for elective office.

Modi is a controversial figure given his role as chief minister during the 2002 Gujarat riots, an outbreak of communal violence in which more than 1,000 Muslims were killed, and in which he has been accused of complicity. There was evidence of a BJP strategy of communal polarization in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Assam in 2013 and 2014 during the parliamentary election campaign. There are reports that the BJP has been employing a similar strategy of communal polarization to rouse support in the lead-up to 2017 state elections in Uttar Pradesh. Notably, BJP politicians, including the national party president, have insinuated that Hindus were forced to flee the town of Kairana in the western part of the state due to intimidation by Muslim gangs. Whether such an exodus actually occurred is disputed.

C. Functioning of Government 9 / 12

C1. Do the freely elected head of government and national legislative representatives determine the policies of the government?

C2. Is the government free from pervasive corruption?

C3. Is the government accountable to the electorate between elections, and does it operate with openness and transparency?

Elected leaders have the authority to govern in practice, and civilian control of the military is codified in the constitution. However, political corruption has a negative effect on government efficiency and economic performance. Though politicians and civil servants at all levels are regularly caught accepting bribes or engaging in other corrupt behavior, a great deal of corruption goes unnoticed and unpunished. This is particularly the case in the energy and construction sectors, and in state infrastructure projects more broadly. However, the passage of the Goods and Services Tax bill in August 2016 constituted a major legislative accomplishment, and is expected to limit tax evasion and reduce opportunities for graft in interstate commerce. In November, the government announced the demonetization of 500- and 1,000-rupee notes in a bid to reduce the incidence of "black money," or untaxed money earned on the black market.

The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, which the president signed in 2014, creates independent government bodies tasked with receiving complaints of corruption against public servants or politicians, investigating claims, and pursuing convictions through the courts. Modi and members of his government have signaled support for the law, but two years on, there is little evidence that it is being effectively implemented.

The 2005 Right to Information (RTI) Act is widely used to improve transparency and expose corrupt activities, though there are questions about its enforcement. Since the enactment of the RTI Act, at least 56 right-to-information users and activists have been murdered, and more than 311 have been assaulted or harassed. In 2015, the Lok Sabha adopted amendments to the 2014 Whistleblowers Protection Act. Opposition members criticized the changes for diluting the effectiveness of the act, which was already regarded as limited in scope. Debate on the amendments in the Rajya Sabha is still pending.

Civil Liberties 42 / 60

D. Freedom of Expression and Belief 13 / 16

D1. Are there free and independent media and other forms of cultural expression?

D2. Are religious institutions and communities free to practice their faith and express themselves in public and private?

D3. Is there academic freedom, and is the educational system free of extensive political indoctrination?

D4. Is there open and free private discussion?

The private media are vigorous and diverse, and investigations and scrutiny of politicians are common. Nevertheless, revelations of close relationships between politicians, business executives, and lobbyists and some leading media personalities and owners of media outlets have dented public confidence in the press. In October, a prominent television station declined to air an interview with a major opposition-party politician and former finance minister, apparently because he had been critical of the Modi government's "surgical strikes" on Pakistani targets across the Line of Control (LOC) demarcating the Indian- and Pakistani-held parts of Kashmir. Separately, in July, three Chinese journalists were denied visa renewals by the Indian government and expelled from the country; a Chinese state-owned newspaper suggested that this was punishment for China's objection to India joining the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

Journalists risk harassment and sometimes, physical violence. In 2016, at least two journalists were killed in connection with their work, and three others were killed under circumstances where the motive remained unclear, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. There is increasing concern about harassment of bloggers and social-media users by Hindu nationalists.

Internet access is largely unrestricted, though officials periodically implement overly broad blocks on supposedly offensive content to prevent communal or political unrest. The 2000 Information Technology Act criminalizes the sending of offensive messages by computer, and this has been interpreted to allow for censorship of critical commentary on political parties and specific politicians. The authorities have also used security laws, criminal defamation legislation, hate-speech laws, and contempt-of-court charges to curb critical voices on both social media and traditional media platforms.

Hindus make up about 80 percent of the population. The Indian state is formally secular. Freedom of religion is constitutionally guaranteed and generally respected in practice. However, legislation in several Hindu-majority states criminalizes religious conversions that take place as a result of "force" or "allurement," which can be broadly interpreted to prosecute proselytizers. Some states require government permission for conversion.

An array of Hindu nationalist organizations and some local media outlets promote antiminority views, a practice that critics charge is tolerated or even encouraged by the Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Modi. Like the year before it, 2016 saw a series of attacks on minorities tied to the alleged slaughter or mishandling of cows (animals held to be sacred by Hindus). Ruling-party politicians have called for the release of those charged with the lynching of a Muslim man in 2015, demanding instead that the victim's family be prosecuted for cow slaughter. Self-styled gau rakshaks (cow protectors) have engaged in vigilante violence against Dalit communities in Gujarat and Karnataka. Modi has been criticized for failing to promptly condemn the perpetrators of such attacks.

Academic freedom is generally robust, though intimidation of professors, students, and institutions over political and religious issues has been increasing. In February 2016, Kanhaiya Kumar, a student leader at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, was remanded in custody on charges of sedition for having led protests on the anniversary of the 2013 execution of Mohammad Afzal Guru, who had been convicted of involvement in a 2001 terrorist attack on the parliament. The arrest sparked a wave of protests, intensified by a video apparently showing Kumar being beaten en route to court. At least two more students were later accused of sedition over involvement with the protest, but were released on bail after turning themselves in. Separately, a professor at the University of Mysore was arrested in June 2016 for a speech the previous year that allegedly insulted a Hindu deity. The events have had a chilling effect among Indian intellectuals.

Private discussion in India is generally open and free. However, a nationwide Central Monitoring System launched in 2013 is meant to enable authorities to intercept any digital communication in real time without judicial oversight; India does not have a privacy law to protect citizens in case of abuse.

E. Associational and Organizational Rights 10 / 12

E1. Is there freedom of assembly, demonstration, and open public discussion?

E2. Is there freedom for nongovernmental organizations?

E3. Are there free trade unions and peasant organizations or equivalents, and is there effective collective bargaining? Are there free professional and other private organizations?

There are some restrictions on freedoms of assembly and association. Section 144 of the criminal procedure code empowers the authorities to restrict free assembly and impose curfews whenever "immediate prevention or speedy remedy" is required. State laws based on this standard are often abused to limit the holding of meetings and assemblies. Nevertheless, protest events take place regularly.

Human rights organizations operate freely, but they continue to face threats, legal harassment, excessive police force, and occasionally lethal violence. While India is home to a strong civil society sector and academic community, foreign monitors and journalists are at times denied visas to conduct research in the country on human rights and other topics. Under certain circumstances, the Foreign Contributions Regulation Act (FCRA) permits the federal government to deny nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) access to foreign funding. The government has been accused of abusing this power to target political opponents. In April 2015, the authorities canceled the FCRA licenses of some 9,000 charities for failing to declare details about foreign donations. In June 2016, the Home Affairs ministry withdrew FCRA registration from the Sabrang Trust, an NGO that has advocated for the victims of the 2002 riots in Gujarat. The Trust had received funding from the Ford Foundation, which, as a result of this relationship, had been placed on a government watch-list for a number of months; the designation required the foundation to seek specific clearance from the Home Ministry before funding individuals or organizations.

Although workers in the formal economy regularly exercise their rights to bargain collectively and strike, the Essential Services Maintenance Act has enabled the government to ban certain strikes. Tens of millions of public sector workers went on strike countrywide for 24 hours on September 2016 to demand a monthly minimum wage.

F. Rule of Law 9 / 16

F1. Is there an independent judiciary?

F2. Does the rule of law prevail in civil and criminal matters? Are police under direct civilian control?

F3. Is there protection from political terror, unjustified imprisonment, exile, or torture, whether by groups that support or oppose the system? Is there freedom from war and insurgencies?

F4. Do laws, policies, and practices guarantee equal treatment of various segments of the population?

The judiciary is independent of the executive branch. Judges have displayed considerable activism in response to public-interest litigation matters. However, the lower levels of the judiciary in particular have been rife with corruption, and most citizens have great difficulty securing justice through the courts. The system is severely backlogged and understaffed, leading to lengthy pretrial detention for a large number of suspects, many of whom remain in jail longer than the duration of any sentence they might receive if convicted.

Police torture, abuse, and corruption are entrenched in the law enforcement system. Citizens frequently face substantial obstacles, including demands for bribes, and in getting the police to file a First Information Report, which is necessary to trigger an investigation of an alleged crime. Custodial rape of female detainees continues to be a problem, as does routine abuse of ordinary prisoners, particularly minorities and members of the lower castes. In the country's largest state of Uttar Pradesh, 428 deaths occurred in police or judicial custody between October 2015 and September 2016, according to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

The NHRC is headed by a retired Supreme Court judge and handles roughly 8,000 complaints each year. While it monitors abuses, initiates investigations, makes independent assessments, and conducts training sessions for the police and others, its recommendations are often not implemented and it has few enforcement powers. The commission also lacks jurisdiction over the armed forces, one of the principal agents of abuse in several parts of the country. The NHRC nevertheless makes a contribution to accountability by submitting reports to international bodies such as the UN Human Rights Council, often contradicting the government's account of its own performance.

Security forces operating in the context of regional insurgencies continue to be implicated in extrajudicial killings, rape, torture, arbitrary detention, kidnappings, and destruction of homes. The criminal procedure code requires that the government approve the prosecution of security force members; approval is rarely granted, leading to impunity. The Armed Forces Special Powers Act grants security forces broad authority to arrest, detain, and use force against suspects in restive areas; civil society organizations and multiple UN human rights bodies have called for the act to be repealed. A number of other security laws allow detention without charge or based on vaguely worded offenses.

The Maoist insurgency in the east-central hills region of India is of serious concern, although the annual number of casualties has decreased since its peak in 2010. Among other abuses, the rebels have allegedly imposed illegal taxes, seized food and shelter, and engaged in abduction and forced recruitment of children and adults. Local civilians and journalists who are perceived to be pro-government have been targeted. Tens of thousands of civilians have been displaced by the violence and live in government-run camps.

Separately, in India's seven northeastern states, more than 40 insurgent factions  seeking either greater autonomy or complete independence for their ethnic or tribal groups  continue to attack security forces and engage in intertribal violence. Such fighters have been implicated in numerous bombings, killings, abductions, and rapes of civilians, and they operate extensive extortion networks. The number of deaths related to the northeastern insurgencies decreased from 273 in 2015 to 165 in 2016, according to the South Asia Terrorism Portal, which monitors such violence.

The criminal justice system fails to provide equal protection to marginalized groups. Muslims, who make up about 14 percent of the population, are underrepresented in the security forces as well as in the foreign and intelligence services. In parts of the country, particularly in rural areas, informal community councils issue edicts concerning social customs. Their decisions sometimes result in violence or persecution aimed at those perceived to have transgressed social norms, especially women and members of the lower castes.

The constitution bars discrimination based on caste, and laws set aside quotas in education and government jobs for historically underprivileged scheduled tribes, Dalits, and groups categorized by the government as "other backward classes." However, members of the lower castes and minorities continue to face routine discrimination and violence. Many Dalits are denied access to land and other public amenities, are abused by landlords and police, and work in miserable conditions.

The penal code forbids "intercourse against the order of nature." Discrimination against LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) people continues, including violence and harassment in some cases, though the Supreme Court recognized transgender people as a third gender in 2014. In June 2016, the Indian government opted to abstain on a vote at the UN Human Rights Council in which a resolution was being passed to establish a special office for addressing LGBT discrimination worldwide.

G. Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights 10 / 16

G1. Do individuals enjoy freedom of travel or choice of residence, employment, or institution of higher education?

G2. Do individuals have the right to own property and establish private businesses? Is private business activity unduly influenced by government officials, the security forces, political parties/organizations, or organized crime?

G3. Are there personal social freedoms, including gender equality, choice of marriage partners, and size of family?

G4. Is there equality of opportunity and the absence of economic exploitation?

Freedom of movement is hampered in some parts of the country by insurgent violence or communal tensions, though violence from insurgencies has decreased in recent years. Property rights are somewhat tenuous for tribal groups and other marginalized communities, and members of these groups are often denied adequate resettlement opportunities and compensation when their lands are seized for development projects. While many states have laws to prevent transfers of tribal land to nontribal groups, the practice is reportedly widespread, particularly with respect to the mining and timber industries.

There is some degree of female representation in government. Modi's cabinet includes seven female ministers. For the bulk of the year, chief ministers in the states of Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, and West Bengal were women. Female quotas are in place for elected positions in India's three-tier local government system.

Rape, harassment, and other transgressions against women are serious problems, and lower-caste and tribal women are particularly vulnerable. Mass demonstrations after the fatal gang rape of a woman on a Delhi bus in 2012 prompted the government to enact significant legal reforms. However, egregious new cases emerged in 2016, including the July gang rape of a mother and 14-year-old daughter in Uttar Pradesh, leading to calls for further action. Despite criminalization and hundreds of convictions each year, dowry demands persist. A 2006 law banned dowry-related harassment, widened the definition of domestic violence to include emotional or verbal abuse, and criminalized spousal rape. However, reports indicate that enforcement is poor. Statistics suggest that murders and suicides associated with dowry disputes are on the rise in parts of the country.

Muslim personal laws and traditional Hindu practices discriminate against women in terms of inheritance, adoption, and property rights. The Muslim divorce custom of "triple talaq," by which a Muslim man can unilaterally divorce his wife by saying "talaq" three times, faced a constitutional challenge in 2016. The Modi government has come out against the practice, but others maintain that it is a religious freedom that should remain constitutionally guarded. The malign neglect of female children after birth remains a concern, as does the banned but growing use of prenatal sex-determination tests to selectively abort female fetuses.

Article 23 of the constitution bans human trafficking, and bonded labor is illegal, but the practice is fairly common. Estimates of the number of affected workers range from 20 to 50 million. The government passed a controversial law in July 2016 allowing children below the age of 14 to engage in "home-based work," as well as other occupations between the ages of 14 and 18. Children are banned from working in potentially hazardous industries, though in practice the law is routinely flouted.

Scoring Key: X / Y (Z)

X = Score Received

Y = Best Possible Score

Z = Change from Previous Year

Copyright notice:  Freedom House, Inc.  All Rights Reserved
Freedom in the World 2017 - Bangladesh

Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 2 June 2017 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2017 - Bangladesh, 2 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5936a46b13.html [accessed 10 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Freedom Status: Partly Free

Aggregate Score: 47/100 (0 = Least Free, 100 = Most Free)

Freedom Rating: 4/7 (1 = Most Free, 7 = Least Free)

Political Rights: 4/7 (1 = Most Free, 7 = Least Free)

Civil Liberties: 4/7 (1 = Most Free, 7 = Least Free)

Quick Facts

Population: 162,900,000

Capital: Dhaka

GDP/capita: $1,212

Press Freedom Status: Not Free

Net Freedom Status: Partly Free

OVERVIEW

Bangladesh is an electoral democracy, though the opposition boycotted the 2014 elections, ensuring the dominance of the ruling Awami League. Official harassment of the political opposition, as well as of critical media and civil society voices, is on the rise. Security forces carry out a range of human right abuses, including extrajudicial executions, disappearances, and torture, with near impunity. Meanwhile, those with dissident views  including secularists, academics, religious minorities, and LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) activists  are subject to attacks by Islamist extremist groups.

Key Developments

The ruling Awami League (AL) further consolidated power during the year, including through the arrest and harassment of leading figures in the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and those perceived to be allied with it.

In July, 20 hostages and two police officers were killed in an attack on a bakery in Dhaka that was popular with foreigners. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Foreign Donations (Voluntary Activities) Regulation Act, which took effect in October, made it more difficult for nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to obtain foreign funds and gave officials broad authority to deregister NGOs that make "derogatory" comments about government bodies or the constitution.

Some 15,000 people were arrested in a government crackdown authorities said was intended to curb a spate of extremist violence. Rights groups said the initiative involved widespread human rights abuses by authorities, including arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, and custodial deaths.

Executive Summary

Bangladesh continued to experience political and social unrest in 2016. The opposition BNP was hampered by arrests and harassment of key party officials and activists, while the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) party faced similar restrictive moves by the authorities, in addition to ongoing proceedings against its leaders by the International Crimes Tribunal (ICT), which was formed to try war crimes and other atrocities committed during the 1971 war of independence. Several high-ranking JI members were executed during the year after their appeals of earlier ICT rulings were dismissed.

As in 2015, attacks on religious minorities, as well as secular and dissident voices and activists, by Islamist extremist groups occurred regularly. Of particular note was the murder of writer and LGBT activist Xulhaz Mannan in April 2016; his killing left a widespread climate of fear within the LGBT community. Although the government denied the presence of international terrorist groups such as the Islamic State throughout the first half of 2016, the dramatic July terrorist attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery, in the heart of Dhaka's elite Gulshan district  in which 22 people, including foreigners, were murdered in a hostage standoff  led to a broad crackdown on extremist groups. While attacks decreased in its wake, the security forces executing it engaged in a range of human rights abuses.

The space for freedom of expression and association was further circumscribed by the use of existing laws to prosecute media and online expression, as well as by the provisions of a new law on NGOs that placed restrictions on funding from abroad and expanded authorities' power to deregister them.

POLITICAL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES

Political Rights 20 / 40 (1)

A. Electoral Process 7 / 12

A1. Is the head of government or other chief national authority elected through free and fair elections?

A2. Are the national legislative representatives elected through free and fair elections?

A3. Are the electoral laws and framework fair?

Members of the unicameral National Parliament and the largely ceremonial president serve for five years. The National Parliament is composed of 350 members, 300 of whom are directly elected. Political parties elect a total of 50 female members based on their share of elected seats. The president is elected by the legislature.

In the 2014 national elections, the BNP and 17 allied parties boycotted the vote to protest what they said were unfair circumstances. This left the majority of elected seats (153) uncontested, ensuring an AL victory. The AL won 234 parliamentary seats, the Jatiya Party (JP) won 34, and independents and minority parties captured the remainder. Western monitoring groups declined to send election observers and criticized the conditions under which the polls were held. The elections were also marred by extensive violence  Human Rights Watch termed them the bloodiest since the country's independence  and intimidation by a range of political parties. As a result, voter turnout was low, at 22 percent, compared to 87 percent in 2008. A number of attacks specifically targeted members of the country's Hindu and Christian minority groups, affecting around 700 people. The environment surrounding local government elections held between March and June of 2016 was similarly violent, with more than 140 deaths reported.

B. Political Pluralism and Participation 8 / 16 (1)

B1. Do the people have the right to organize in different political parties or other competitive political groupings of their choice, and is the system open to the rise and fall of these competing parties or groupings?

B2. Is there a significant opposition vote and a realistic opportunity for the opposition to increase its support or gain power through elections?

B3. Are the people's political choices free from domination by the military, foreign powers, totalitarian parties, religious hierarchies, economic oligarchies, or any other powerful group?

B4. Do cultural, ethnic, religious, or other minority groups have full political rights and electoral opportunities?

Bangladesh has a two-party system in which power alternates between political coalitions led by the AL and BNP; third parties have traditionally had difficulty achieving traction. Following a series of parliamentary boycotts in 2013, the BNP boycotted the 2014 elections and has continued to engage in street action with the aim of forcing a change in government. The JI party was banned from taking part in the 2014 elections because of its overtly Islamist charter; the constitution bans religiously based political parties. The level of political violence remains high; in 2016, the human rights group Odhikar registered 215 deaths and more than 9,050 people injured as a result of inter- or intraparty clashes.

Ruling party harassment of the opposition BNP and JI remained widespread in 2016, further weakening both parties. Many BNP party leaders were imprisoned, under house arrest, living in hiding or exile, or facing serious legal charges that could bar them from office, including BNP head Khaleda Zia. In August 2016, Mir Ahmed Bin Quasem and Hummam Quader Chowdhury, the sons of prominent figures in the JI and BNP, respectively, were forcibly disappeared and detained without charge, in an ongoing pattern of harassment. Meanwhile, authorities continued to implement death sentences ordered by the ICT, including against JI chief Motiur Rahman Nizami, who was hanged in May, and JI financier Mir Quasem Ali, who was hanged in September; both were executed after their respective appeals were rejected at the Supreme Court.

Religious minorities remain underrepresented in politics and state agencies, though the AL government has appointed several members of such groups to leadership positions.

C. Functioning of Government 5 / 12

C1. Do the freely elected head of government and national legislative representatives determine the policies of the government?

C2. Is the government free from pervasive corruption?

C3. Is the government accountable to the electorate between elections, and does it operate with openness and transparency?

Endemic corruption and criminality, weak rule of law, limited bureaucratic transparency, and political polarization have long undermined government accountability. Moreover, regular opposition boycotts of the National Parliament have significantly hampered the legislature's role in providing thorough scrutiny of government policies, budgets, and proposed legislation.

Under the AL government, anticorruption efforts have been weakened by politicized enforcement and subversion of the judicial process. In particular, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has become ineffective and subject to overt political interference. The government continues to bring or pursue corruption cases against the BNP; proceedings against Zia, among others, were ongoing in 2016.

The 2009 Right to Information Act mandates public access to all information held by public bodies and overrides secrecy legislation. Although it has been unevenly implemented, journalists and civil society activists have had some success in using it to obtain information from local governing authorities.

Civil Liberties 27 / 60 (-1)

D. Freedom of Expression and Belief 7 / 16

D1. Are there free and independent media and other forms of cultural expression?

D2. Are religious institutions and communities free to practice their faith and express themselves in public and private?

D3. Is there academic freedom, and is the educational system free of extensive political indoctrination?

D4. Is there open and free private discussion?

Bangladesh's media faced continuing pressure in 2016, including through the use of legal and regulatory restrictions, and via increasing harassment of and physical attacks against reporters and bloggers. The use of criminal defamation lawsuits by ruling party loyalists against independent and opposition news outlets and journalists escalated dramatically in 2016; notably, Mahfuz Anam, editor of the Daily Star, and Matiur Rahman, editor of Prothom Alo, each faced dozens of cases. In another case of legal harassment, 81-year-old editor Shafik Rehman was accused in April of involvement in a plot to kidnap and murder the prime minister's son; he was detained without being charged until he was released on bail in September, following a Supreme Court ruling. The 2014 National Broadcasting Policy allows for restrictions on coverage that is critical of the government or security forces or that is determined to threaten national security. A draft Distortion of the History of Bangladesh Liberation War Crimes Act would restrict discussion of the 1971 war of independence by mandating imprisonment or fines for those deemed to have misrepresented the conflict; it had not yet been adopted at the end of 2016.

The threat of physical reprisals against members of the media, bloggers, and publishers in connection with their work remained at a high level in 2016. Islamist militant groups linked to either Al-Qaeda or the Islamic State were frequently behind the threats. Although several militants have been arrested in connection with attacks against journalists, a climate of impunity remained the norm, with little progress made on ensuring justice for the string of killings that has taken place since 2015. Dozens of bloggers remain on an Islamist "hit list," and many have fled or gone into hiding due to threats.

Censorship of digital content and surveillance of telecommunications and social media have become increasingly common. The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act was used to arrest and charge several dozen individuals for exercising freedom of expression online in 2016; for example, student activist Dilip Roy was detained in August under the ICT Act for Facebook posts criticizing the prime minister, and spent two months in jail. Mithun Chakma, an indigenous rights activist, in July was arrested in connection with material in a 2007 blog post, and spent more than three months behind bars. Various forms of artistic expression, including books and films, are occasionally banned or censored.

As reaffirmed by a 2011 constitutional amendment, Bangladesh is a secular state, but Islam is designated as the official religion. Although religious minorities have the right to worship freely, they face societal discrimination as well as harassment and legal repercussions for proselytizing. Members of minority groups  including Hindus, Christians, and Shiite and Ahmadiyya Muslims  and their houses of worship are occasionally the targets of harassment and violent attacks. There was an uptick in such attacks during 2016. In October, more than 100 Hindu homes, temples, and shrines were targeted in Brahmanbaria District.

While authorities largely respect academic freedom, research on sensitive political and religious topics is reportedly discouraged. Political polarization at many universities, including occasional clashes involving the armed student wings of the three main parties, inhibits education and access to services. Open private discussion of sensitive religious and political issues is restrained by fear of harassment.

E. Associational and Organizational Rights 6 / 12

E1. Is there freedom of assembly, demonstration, and open public discussion?

E2. Is there freedom for nongovernmental organizations?

E3. Are there free trade unions and peasant organizations or equivalents, and is there effective collective bargaining? Are there free professional and other private organizations?

The constitution provides for the rights of assembly and association, but the government regularly bans gatherings of more than five people. Many demonstrations took place in 2016, though authorities sometimes try to prevent rallies by arresting party activists, and protesters are frequently injured and occasionally killed during clashes in which police use excessive force.

Many NGOs operate in Bangladesh. While most are able to function without onerous restrictions, the use of foreign funds must be cleared by the NGO Affairs Bureau, which can also approve or reject individual projects. The Foreign Donations (Voluntary Activities) Regulation Act, which took effect in October 2016, made it more difficult for NGOs to obtain foreign funds and gave officials broad authority to deregister NGOs that make "derogatory" comments about government bodies or the constitution. Groups that are seen as overly critical of the government, particularly on issues concerning human rights, are already regularly denied permission for proposed projects and have been subject to escalating harassment and surveillance. Leading human rights NGO Odhikar continued to experience significant harassment by authorities in 2016.

The formation of labor unions became easier in 2015 due to legislative reforms. However, union leaders who attempted to organize or unionize workers continued to face dismissal or physical intimidation. Organizations that advocate for labor rights, such as the Bangladesh Center for Workers' Solidarity, have also faced increased harassment over the past several years. Worker grievances fuel unrest at factories, particularly in the rapidly expanding garment industry, where strikes and protests against low wages and unsafe working conditions are common. A week-long strike in December 2016 led to the dismissal of at least 1,500 garment workers and the arrest of union leaders.

F. Rule of Law 5 / 16 (1)

F1. Is there an independent judiciary?

F2. Does the rule of law prevail in civil and criminal matters? Are police under direct civilian control?

F3. Is there protection from political terror, unjustified imprisonment, exile, or torture, whether by groups that support or oppose the system? Is there freedom from war and insurgencies?

F4. Do laws, policies, and practices guarantee equal treatment of various segments of the population?

Politicization of the judiciary remains an issue despite a 1999 Supreme Court directive ordering the separation of the judiciary from the executive. Political authorities have continued to make appointments to the higher judiciary, in some cases demonstrating an overt political bias. Harassment of witnesses and the dismissal of cases following political pressure are also of concern.

The court system is prone to corruption and is severely backlogged, with as many as 3.1 million pending cases in December 2016. Pretrial detention is often lengthy, and many defendants lack counsel. The indigent have little access to justice through the courts. Prison conditions are extremely poor; severe overcrowding is common, and juveniles are often incarcerated with adults. Suspects are routinely subject to arbitrary arrest and detention, demands for bribes, and physical abuse by police. Torture is often used to extract confessions and intimidate detainees. In 2016, Human Rights Watch documented a disturbing trend of "kneecapping," whereby security forces deliberately shot detainees, many of them supporters of opposition parties, in the knee or leg. The incidence of custodial deaths has remained high. Odhikar reported a total of 178 extrajudicial killings perpetrated by law enforcement agencies in 2016, in addition to 90 enforced disappearances. Criminal cases against ruling party activists are regularly withdrawn on the grounds of "political consideration," undermining the judicial process and entrenching a culture of impunity.

The 1974 Special Powers Act permits arbitrary detention without charge, and the criminal procedure code allows detention without a warrant. A 2009 counterterrorism law includes a broad definition of terrorism and generally does not meet international standards. Concerns have repeatedly been raised that the current International War Crimes Tribunal's procedures and verdicts do not meet international standards on issues such as victim and witness protection, the presumption of innocence, defendant access to counsel, and the right to bail.

Violence by Islamist political parties and other pressure groups has increased in the past several years, and larger-scale terrorist attacks by Islamist militant groups escalated in 2016; the South Asia Terrorism Portal counted 47 civilian and security-personnel fatalities related to Islamist extremism, roughly double the number of the previous year. A crackdown on extremist groups in response to a spate of attacks in the spring and early summer of 2016 led to the arrests of more than 15,000 people. Rights groups said the initiative involved widespread human rights abuses by authorities, including enforced disappearances, custodial deaths, and arbitrary arrests.

Members of ethnic and religious minority groups face some discrimination under law as well as harassment and violations of their rights in practice. Indigenous people in the Chittagong Hill Tracts remain subject to physical attacks, property destruction, and land grabs by Bengali settlers, and occasional abuses by security forces.

Roughly 270,000 ethnic Rohingyas who fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar beginning in the 1990s are subject to substantial harassment. The vast majority do not have official refugee status and suffer from a complete lack of access to health care, employment, and education. The government has attempted to discourage a more recent influx, in late 2016, of some 66,000 Rohingya refugees by sealing the border. In November 2016, authorities forcibly returned hundreds of Rohingya fleeing grave abuses in Myanmar, in violation of international law.

A criminal ban on same-sex sexual acts is rarely enforced, but societal discrimination remains the norm, and dozens of attacks on LGBT individuals are reported every year. In April 2016, Xulhaz Mannan, a prominent LGBT activist, was murdered alongside a friend by suspected Islamist militants; as a result, a number of other members of the community went into hiding or fled the country. Transgender people face persecution. Although since 2013 they can be legally classified as a "third gender" if they desire, a December 2016 report by Human Rights Watch found that implementation procedures to make this change were arbitrary and inadequate.

G. Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights 9 / 16

G1. Do individuals enjoy freedom of travel or choice of residence, employment, or institution of higher education?

G2. Do individuals have the right to own property and establish private businesses? Is private business activity unduly influenced by government officials, the security forces, political parties/organizations, or organized crime?

G3. Are there personal social freedoms, including gender equality, choice of marriage partners, and size of family?

G4. Is there equality of opportunity and the absence of economic exploitation?

The ability to move within the country is relatively unrestricted, as is foreign travel. Property rights are unevenly enforced, and the ability to engage freely in private economic activity is somewhat constrained. Corruption and bribery, inadequate infrastructure, and official bureaucratic and regulatory hurdles hinder business activities throughout the country. State involvement and interference in the economy is considerable.

The 2011 Vested Properties Return Act allows Hindus to reclaim land that the government or other individuals seized, but it has been unevenly implemented. Tribal minorities have little control over land decisions affecting them, and Bengali-speaking settlers continue to illegally encroach on tribal lands in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. A commission set up in 2009 to allocate land to indigenous tribes has suffered from delays. Since 2015, the ability of foreign nationals, journalists, and human rights activists to visit the Chittagong Hill Tracts has been tightened.

Under the personal status laws affecting communities of all religions, women have fewer marriage, divorce, and inheritance rights than men. In rural areas, religious leaders sometimes impose flogging and other extrajudicial punishments on women accused of violating strict moral codes, despite Supreme Court orders calling for an end to such practices. Women also face discrimination in social services and employment.

Rape, acid throwing, and other forms of violence against women occur regularly despite laws offering some level of protection. A law requiring rape victims to file police reports and obtain medical certificates within 24 hours of the crime in order to press charges prevents most cases from reaching the courts. Giving or receiving dowry is a criminal offense, but coercive requests remain a problem; Odhikar reported more than 200 cases of dowry-related violence against women in 2016. A high rate of early marriage persists, with 52 percent of girls married by age 18, according to UNICEF statistics for 2016. Despite a stated government commitment in 2014 to abolish the practice by 2041, in November the cabinet approved a draft law that would grant exceptions to the current ban on marriage below the age of 18 for girls.

Bangladesh remains both a major supplier of and transit point for trafficking victims, with tens of thousands of people trafficked each year. Women and children are trafficked both overseas and within the country for the purposes of domestic servitude and sexual exploitation, while men are trafficked primarily for labor abroad. A comprehensive 2013 antitrafficking law provides protection to victims and increased penalties for traffickers, but enforcement remains inadequate.

Following the 2013 Rana Plaza factory collapse, increased inspections and safeguards instigated by Western apparel companies led to the closure of around 200 of a total of 4,500 factories, and ongoing safety inspections at others, according to industry representatives. In July 2016, 41 people were indicted for murder for their role in the Rana Plaza disaster. However, working conditions in the garment industry remain extremely unsafe; a fire at a packaging factory in September 2016 claimed at least two dozen lives. Comprehensive reforms of the industry are hampered by the fact that a growing number of factory owners are also legislators or influential businesspeople.

Scoring Key: X / Y (Z)

X = Score Received

Y = Best Possible Score

Z = Change from Previous Year

Copyright notice:  Freedom House, Inc.  All Rights Reserved
Freedom in the World 2017 - Azerbaijan

Publisher Freedom House Publication Date 2 June 2017 Cite as Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2017 - Azerbaijan, 2 June 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5936a46c13.html [accessed 10 November 2022] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Freedom Status: Not Free

Aggregate Score: 14/100 (0 = Least Free, 100 = Most Free)

Freedom Rating: 6.5/7 (1 = Most Free, 7 = Least Free)

Political Rights: 7/7 (1 = Most Free, 7 = Least Free)

Civil Liberties: 6/7 (1 = Most Free, 7 = Least Free)

Explanatory Note:

The numerical ratings and status listed above do not reflect conditions in Nagorno-Karabakh, which is examined in a separate report.

Quick Facts

Population: 9,800,000

Capital: Baku

GDP/capita: $5,496

Press Freedom Status: Not Free

Net Freedom Status: Partly Free

OVERVIEW

In Azerbaijan's authoritarian government, power is heavily concentrated in the hands of President Ilham Aliyev, who has ruled the country since 2003. Corruption is rampant, and following years of persecution, formal political opposition is weak. The Aliyev regime has overseen an extensive crackdown on civil liberties in recent years, leaving little room for independent expression or activism in the country. Journalists, civil society leaders, human rights advocates, and religious leaders who are deemed threatening to the government routinely face harassment, detention, and violence.

Key Developments

In a September referendum, voters approved a package of constitutional changes that were pushed through without meaningful parliamentary debate or public consultation; among other changes, the legislation widely expanded presidential powers.

Opposition groups were prevented from campaigning against the changes, and security forces detained dozens of civil society leaders in an effort to disperse protests or discourage them from taking place.

In January, security forces violently repressed protests against price hikes and growing unemployment.

The government pardoned and released several high-profile political prisoners, but its repressive campaign against civil society and independent media continued apace, with a number of arrests and incidents of violence and harassment.

Executive Summary

The Aliyev regime continued to aggressively consolidate power at the expense of citizens' political rights and civil liberties. In a highly flawed September referendum, voters approved a set of 29 constitutional amendments that were proposed by Aliyev and rushed to the vote without meaningful parliamentary or public consultation. Authorities prevented opposition groups from campaigning against the proposals, and security forces rounded up dozens of activists during and in advance of protests against the changes. The vote itself was marred by electoral violations, including ballot stuffing. Among other things, the amendments extended the presidential term from five years to seven, empowered the president to dissolve the legislature and call elections, abolished the minimum age for presidential candidates, and lowered the age for parliamentary candidates to 18. Overall, the legislation further concentrated power within the president's office while eroding the country's already weak checks on executive authority. The age requirement changes led to speculation that Aliyev is grooming his son for succession.

While the release of several high-profile political prisoners during the year was welcomed by both the domestic and international communities, prospects of genuine change for civil liberties were dimmed by the government's unceasing repression of human rights defenders, opposition members, civil society activists, journalists, and religious communities. The amendments approved in September also imposed new limitations on civil rights, including freedom of assembly and land ownership.

Plunged into economic crisis following the drop in global oil prices in 2014, the government has made efforts to improve budgetary planning and economic policy during, but faced public discontent in 2016 due to rising prices and unemployment. In January, these concerns sparked protests across the country. Security forces swiftly dispersed them using tear gas and water cannons and detained dozens of participants.

POLITICAL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES

Political Rights 4 / 40 (-1)

A. Electoral Process 1 / 12

A1. Is the head of government or other chief national authority elected through free and fair elections?

A2. Are the national legislative representatives elected through free and fair elections?

A3. Are the electoral laws and framework fair?

Azerbaijan's constitution provides for a strong presidency, and the 125-member Milli Majlis (National Assembly) exercises little or no independence from the executive branch.

Since the early 1990s, elections have been considered neither free nor fair by international observers. The 2013 presidential election, marred by widespread irregularities and electoral fraud, saw incumbent Aliyev  who succeeded his father, Heydar, in 2003  reelected to a controversial third term in office. Parliamentary elections were held in 2015 amid an intensifying government campaign against criticism and dissent; the main opposition parties boycotted the vote. According to official results, the ruling Yeni Azerbaijan Party (YAP) won 71 seats, with 41 going to independent candidates who tend to support the ruling party, and the remaining 12 split among small progovernment parties.

Constitutional amendments approved in a referendum in September 2016 empowered the president to dissolve the Milli Majlis in certain situations, call snap presidential elections, and appoint multiple vice presidents. The amendments also extended presidential terms from five years to seven; term limits had already been eliminated in a 2009 referendum. The changes also included the removal of age requirements for presidential candidates and the lowering of the minimum age for parliamentary candidates to 18 years, leading some analysts to warn that Aliyev could be setting the stage for his 19-year-old son to enter the political arena.

The legitimacy of the September referendum was undermined by a lack of public and parliamentary consultation, restrictions on opposition campaigning, harassment of opposition members, and electoral fraud. Neither the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) nor the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly sent observers. A small mission deployed by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) applauded the transparency of proceedings, but several local and international rights groups heavily criticized the PACE report and questioned the observers' reliability. Several human rights groups had also questioned the independence of the PACE observers who reported that the 2015 parliamentary elections met international standards; three of that delegation's members subsequently issued a dissenting opinion.

The electoral laws and framework do not ensure the free and fair conduct of elections. The nomination process for members of electoral commissions places the bodies under the influence of the ruling party, and commission members have been known to unlawfully interfere with the election process and obstruct the activities of observers. Complaints of electoral violations do not receive adequate or impartial treatment by the commissions or the judiciary.

B. Political Pluralism and Participation 2 / 16 (-1)

B1. Do the people have the right to organize in different political parties or other competitive political groupings of their choice, and is the system open to the rise and fall of these competing parties or groupings?

B2. Is there a significant opposition vote and a realistic opportunity for the opposition to increase its support or gain power through elections?

B3. Are the people's political choices free from domination by the military, foreign powers, totalitarian parties, religious hierarchies, economic oligarchies, or any other powerful group?

B4. Do cultural, ethnic, religious, or other minority groups have full political rights and electoral opportunities?

The political environment in Azerbaijan is neither pluralistic nor competitive, and mechanisms for public participation in political processes are limited. YAP has dominated national politics since its founding in 1995, and nominal opposition groups and independents in the parliament tend to support the government.

Amendments to the electoral code in 2009 limited candidates' access to public campaign funding and reduced the official campaign period from 28 to 22 days. Changes made to laws on freedom of assembly and association in 2012, 2013, and 2016 further restricted candidates' ability to organize and hold rallies. The political opposition has virtually no access to coverage on television, which remains the most popular news source in Azerbaijan.

In the lead-up to the September 2016 constitutional referendum, limitations on opposition parties' freedoms of association and assembly were intensified. The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, in a statement issued days before the vote, documented at least 45 cases in which authorities arrested, detained, or issued warnings to human rights defenders and others before a peaceful rally organized by the National Council of Democratic Forces, a coalition of opposition groups.

Opposition politicians and party officials are subject to arbitrary arrest on dubious charges as well as physical violence and other forms of intimidation, and have also reported widespread targeting of their relatives, some of whom have faced job dismissal and harassment by police. Ilgar Mammadov, leader of the Republican Alternative (REAL) movement, remained behind bars at year's end on politically motivated charges of involvement in mass disorder, in breach of a 2014 European Court of Human Rights decision calling for his release.

Some members of the opposition youth movement NIDA (Exclamation), behind bars since their arrest in 2013 in connection with antigovernment protests, were released as part of a presidential pardon in March, but other opposition activists, including from NIDA and REAL, were rounded up in May, August, and September.

The dominance of the ruling party limits the freedom of political parties to represent a diversity of interests and views, and there are no meaningful mechanisms to promote representation of minorities.

C. Functioning of Government 1 / 12

C1. Do the freely elected head of government and national legislative representatives determine the policies of the government?

C2. Is the government free from pervasive corruption?

C3. Is the government accountable to the electorate between elections, and does it operate with openness and transparency?

The head of government and national legislative representatives are not elected in a free or fair manner. Aliyev and the YAP determine and implement the policies of the government with little opposition. The 2016 constitutional changes increased presidential power at the expense of parliamentary sovereignty.

Corruption is widespread and pervasive. Because critical institutions, including the media and judiciary, are largely subservient to the president and ruling party, government officials are rarely held accountable for corruption. Investigative reports published by foreign media in recent years have revealed evidence that Aliyev and his family control prodigious private assets, including monopolies in the Azerbaijani economy's most lucrative sectors, and had even benefitted financially from the currency devaluation in 2015.

Despite the lack of safeguards against systemic corruption, the establishment of one-stop public service centers and investment in e-government services in recent years may have contributed to improved public perceptions regarding petty corruption.

Under legislation passed in 2012, companies can keep their organizational structures and ownership secret, which severely limits journalists' ability to uncover corruption. Although public officials are nominally required to submit financial disclosure reports, disclosure procedures and compliance remain unclear, and the reports are not publicly accessible. In 2015, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), an international platform that promotes good governance and transparency in resource-rich countries, demoted Azerbaijan from membership to candidate status due to noncompliance with EITI human rights standards. The country retained this downgraded status following the EITI's October 2016 review. In May, the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Steering Committee suspended Azerbaijan's participation for one year due to concerns about threats to civil society.

Civil Liberties 10 / 60 (-1)

D. Freedom of Expression and Belief 2 / 16 (-1)

D1. Are there free and independent media and other forms of cultural expression?

D2. Are religious institutions and communities free to practice their faith and express themselves in public and private?

D3. Is there academic freedom, and is the educational system free of extensive political indoctrination?

D4. Is there open and free private discussion?

Constitutional guarantees for press freedom are routinely and systematically violated. Broadcast outlets generally reflect pro-government views. Most television stations are controlled by the government, which also controls approval of broadcast licenses. Although there is more pluralism in the print media, the majority of newspapers are owned by the state, and circulation and readership are small. Independent and opposition papers struggle financially and have faced heavy fines and other pressures as retaliation for critical coverage. Journalists are threatened, harassed, intimidated, and assaulted with impunity, and many have been detained or imprisoned on fabricated charges. An increasing number of journalists face travel bans.

In July, following a coup attempt in Turkey, the National Television and Radio Council (NTRC) terminated the license of the private, progovernment television channel ANS after it ran a preview of an interview with Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen. The NTRC claimed that the content was damaging to Azerbaijan's strategic relations with Turkey and constituted "terrorist propaganda." The Gulen-linked Zaman-Azerbaijan newspaper and its website were also shut down. In September, Azadliq suspended operations after its state-run publishing house terminated the newspaper's contract due to outstanding debts. Local radio broadcasts of international news services, including the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and Voice of America (VOA), have been banned since 2009, though they are available online. The authorities shuttered the Baku office of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) in 2014. During two separate periods in November and December 2016, the websites of RFE/RL and VOA were not accessible inside Azerbaijan; as of late December, the website of the independent online media outlet Meydan TV was also blocked.

The few critical outlets that are still able to disseminate information in the country  including Meydan TV, which operates from Germany  face constant pressure and risk. Authorities opened a criminal investigation into Meydan TV in April on charges that include illegal entrepreneurship, tax evasion, and abuse of power. Throughout the year, representatives of Meydan TV and other critical outlets reported that contributors and family members in Azerbaijan received death threats and were subject to interrogations and arbitrary detentions.

Defamation remains a criminal offense. In November, legislators expanded an existing ban on insulting the president to include online content, and made it illegal to disseminate libelous or insulting content using false user information or accounts.

Five journalists were released from prison in 2016. Hilal Mammadov, Tofiq Yaqublu, and Parviz Hashimli were released following a presidential pardon in March, the same day as a court commuted Zerkalo journalist Rauf Mirkadirov's sentence. In May, a court conditionally released investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova. Nevertheless, a number of other media professionals were detained, arrested, or convicted in politically motivated cases during the year. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, there were five journalists behind bars as of December, though local source gave higher estimates.

The government restricts the practice of minority and "nontraditional" religions and denominations, largely through burdensome registration requirements and interference with the importation and distribution of printed religious materials. Among other restrictive laws, a 2011 measure prescribed prison sentences for leaders of unsanctioned religious services. A number of mosques have been closed in recent years, ostensibly for registration or safety violations. Dozens of individuals faced legal repercussions due to their beliefs in 2016.

More than a dozen members of the Muslim Unity Movement, a conservative Shiite group, went on trial in August for charges including conspiracy to overthrow the government. In 2015, police had raided the conservative Shiite town of Nardaran and rounded up over 70 people, including members of the group, in an operation that left at least four residents and two officers dead. A number of defendants in the case have claimed that their confessions were obtained through torture.

Several meetings of Jehovah's Witnesses were raided during the year, and its members of continued to be detained for allegedly violating state restrictions on the practice of religion.

The authorities have long linked academic freedom to political activity. Some educators have reported being dismissed for links to opposition groups, and students have faced expulsion and other punishments for similar reasons. In July, the Education Ministry announced that Baku's Qafqaz University, founded by Gulenists, would be closed and that its management would be transferred to the state-run Baku Higher Oil School. The contracts of fifty Turkish academics from the institution were not renewed.

Law enforcement bodies are suspected of monitoring private telephone and online communications  particularly of activists, political figures, and foreign nationals  without judicial oversight. The escalation of government persecution of critics and their families has undermined the assumption of privacy and eroded the openness of private discussion.

E. Associational and Organizational Rights 1 / 12

E1. Is there freedom of assembly, demonstration, and open public discussion?

E2. Is there freedom for nongovernmental organizations?

E3. Are there free trade unions and peasant organizations or equivalents, and is there effective collective bargaining? Are there free professional and other private organizations?

The government restricts freedom of assembly. Legal amendments increasing fines for organizing or participating in unauthorized protests came into effect in 2013, and changes adopted later that year extended the maximum periods of administrative detention for certain assembly-related offenses. Under the amendments approved in the September 2016 referendum, the right to free assembly is contingent on not violating "public order and morals."

Amid the rising prices and unemployment that have characterized Azerbaijan's economic crisis since the 2014 drop in oil prices, a wave of protests erupted across six regions in January. In Fizuli and Quba, security forces dispersed demonstrators using tear gas and water cannons. Scores of people were detained.

In September, opposition groups obtained authorization to hold rallies against the constitutional referendum. Police intervened during one rally in Baku, making a number of arrests. Security forces rounded up dozens of activists, opposition party members, and journalists in the days before the demonstrations in order to discourage participation.

Regressive laws require nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to register all grants and donations with the Ministry of Justice, and to inform authorities of all donations over $250. The rules have been used to pressure both local and foreign organizations, many of which have suspended operations when their bank accounts were frozen or their offices raided and closed.

In March, a number of civil society activists received presidential pardons. Local activists linked the amnesty to the Aliyev's attendance at the Nuclear Security Summit in the United States two weeks later. In his post-mission statement in September 2016, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders condemned the widespread persecution of both international and Azerbaijani NGOs, calling the situation for civil society a "total crisis."

Although the law permits the formation of trade unions and the right to strike, the majority of unions remain closely affiliated with the government, and most major industries are dominated by state-owned enterprises.

F. Rule of Law 2 / 16

F1. Is there an independent judiciary?

F2. Does the rule of law prevail in civil and criminal matters? Are police under direct civilian control?

F3. Is there protection from political terror, unjustified imprisonment, exile, or torture, whether by groups that support or oppose the system? Is there freedom from war and insurgencies?

F4. Do laws, policies, and practices guarantee equal treatment of various segments of the population?

The judiciary is corrupt, inefficient, and subservient to the executive. The pattern of presidential pardons for political prisoners followed by more arrests is one example of the arbitrary nature of the judicial system. A local coalition of NGOs estimated that there were 118 political prisoners in the country as of late November 2016. Arbitrary arrest and detention are common, and detainees are often held for long periods before trial. Opposition figures, journalists, and activists who were arrested or sentenced in recent years have reported many due process violations, including restricted access to legal counsel, fabrication and withholding of evidence, and physical abuse.

Medical care in prisons is generally inadequate, and overcrowding is common. The European Court of Human Rights ruled in June that the state's failure to provide human rights defenders Leyla and Arif Yunus with adequate medical care in prison constituted inhuman or degrading treatment. Torture is sometimes used to extract confessions.

Some members of ethnic minority groups have complained of discrimination in areas including education, employment, and housing. Although same-sex sexual activity is not a criminal offense, antidiscrimination laws do not specifically protect LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) people, who have reported harassment and other forms of bias or abuse, including violence.

G. Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights 5 / 16

G1. Do individuals enjoy freedom of travel or choice of residence, employment, or institution of higher education?

G2. Do individuals have the right to own property and establish private businesses? Is private business activity unduly influenced by government officials, the security forces, political parties/organizations, or organized crime?

G3. Are there personal social freedoms, including gender equality, choice of marriage partners, and size of family?

G4. Is there equality of opportunity and the absence of economic exploitation?

The government has increasingly restricted freedom of movement, particularly foreign travel, for opposition politicians, journalists, and civil society activists. Courts denied several appeals by such individuals against their travel bans in 2016.

Property rights and free choice of residence are affected by government-backed development projects that often entail forced evictions, unlawful expropriations, and demolitions with little or no notice. The authorities often violate the right of individuals to receive adequate compensation for expropriated property. The constitutional changes approved in September include a provision allowing the right to land ownership to be restricted in the interests of social justice and the effective use of the land.

Traditional societal norms and poor economic conditions restrict women's professional roles, and they remain underrepresented in both national and local government. Domestic violence remains a problem, and Azerbaijan is a source, transit point, and destination for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking.

Scoring Key: X / Y (Z)

X = Score Received

Y = Best Possible Score

Z = Change from Previous Year

Copyright notice:  Freedom House, Inc.  All Rights Reserved
From 2-7 to sectional champs, Monrovia has one question: 'Why not us?'
If you love the beauty and elegance of colorful birds, join Marge Knudsen from Wild Birds Unlimited at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, June 8, in the Plattsmouth Public Library auditorium.

Do you know the four elements that will bring birds to your yard? Marge will discuss these four elements and how you can incorporate them into your backyard to maximize the number of bird species that visit your habitat.
Hogun was in command of North Carolinas line brigade during the Siege of Charleston in the spring of 1780, which ended in the surrender of all but one of North Carolinas regiments of regular infantry as well as more than 5,000 Patriot soldiers under Major General Benjamin Lincoln. Hogun was the highest-ranking officer from North Carolina to be captured and imprisoned after the surrender of Charleston, and despite being offered the opportunity to leave internment under a parole that was generally extended to other captured Continental officers, he remained in a British prisoner-of-war camp near Charleston. Hogun likely chose imprisonment in order to prevent the British Army from recruiting Continental soldiers for its campaign in the West Indies. He became ill, and died in the prison on Haddrels Point, a peninsula in Charlestons harbor, on January 4, 1781.

==Early life==

Much of Hoguns early life remains unknown, due to his relative obscurity until the American Revolutionary War. He immigrated to North Carolina from Ireland, his place of birth, in 1751, and on October 3 that year he married Ruth Norfleet.{sfn|Clark|1906|p=197} The couple had a son, Lemuel. Hogun made his home near the modern-day community of Hobgood in Halifax County.

In 1774, Hogun became a member of the Halifax County Committee of Safety, which indicated his rise to prominence since arriving in the colony 23 years prior.{sfn|Rankin|1988|p=163} Between August, 1775, and November, 1776, Hogun represented Halifax County in the Third, Fourth, and Fifth North Carolina Provincial Congresses, and demonstrated an interest in military matters.{sfn|Rankin|1988|p=163} As a delegate, Hogun assisted in drafting the first Constitution of North Carolina.{sfn|Clark|1906|p=197}

==American Revolutionary War==

===Initial command===

Hogun was named a major in the 7th North Carolina Regiment in April 1776, and was given command of the unit on November 26, 1776.{sfn|Clark|1906|p=197} Initially, the regiment had some difficulty organizing after several of the officers delayed their military work in order to take care of their personal affairs. Hogun was forced to reprimand his officers sharply, threatening them with the loss of their commissions. At the same time, currents of doubt ran through North Carolina, as Loyalists attempted to hinder enlistment of Patriots by spreading rumors about the imminent demise of the Patriot army in the north, and disease that was allegedly ravaging that force.{sfn|Rankin|1971|p=126}

While commanding his regiment, Hogun fought against the British Army in the battles of Brandywine and Germantown, and was present at Valley Forge in the winter of 177778.{sfn|Clark|1906|p=197} In 1778, Hogun was given orders to assist in recruiting the so-called additional regiments requested by the Continental Congress from North Carolina, and afterwards was ordered to West Point with the first regiment so recruited.{sfn|Rankin|1988|p=164} After his arrival, and throughout the late autumn and winter of 177879, Hoguns regiment served on a work detail tasked with building up the fortifications at West Point. Hogun was not satisfied with this task, but his men lacked sufficient weapons to allow them to serve as a combat unit at that time. Approximately 400 muskets had to be requisitioned for the regiment to be fully armed.{sfn|Rankin|1971|pp=16263}

===Promotion and Philadelphia===

In early 1779, Major General Benedict Arnold, then Commandant of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, requested that General George Washington send him an additional regiment of Continental soldiers to guard the Patriot stores in Philadelphia. Hogun was sent to Arnold with his newly recruited regiment, arriving on or before January 19, 1779.{sfn|Rankin|1988|p=164}

On January 9, 1779, while en route to Philadelphia, Hogun was promoted to brigadier general by the Continental Congress.{sfn|Rankin|1988|p=164} His promotion came about in part as a result of what Thomas Burke, a delegate to the Continental Congress from North Carolina, and a fellow Irishman, termed the distinguished intrepidity Hogun had exhibited at Germantown.{sfn|Rankin|1971|p=168} This caused some controversy, as the North Carolina General Assembly, which was customarily consulted for the promotion of generals from that state, had already nominated Thomas Clark and Jethro Sumner for promotion to the rank of brigadier general.{sfn|Rankin|1988|p=164} Sumner was promoted, but Clark was passed over in favor of Hogun, who received the support of nine of the thirteen states.{sfn|Rankin|1971|p=16869|ps=, Each state delegation voted as one unit.} Hoguns surprising victory was due in large part Burkes loobying effots among his colleagues in the Continental Congress.{sfn|Rankin|1988|p=164} By political conventions governing such matters, Burke was bound by the vote of the North Carolina General Assembly to support the state legislatures recommendations of Clark and Sumner, but he worked to convince other Congressmen to vote for Hogun over Clark.{sfn|Rankin|1971|p=168} Hogun was appointed to succeed Arnold as Commandant of Philadelphia on March 19, 1779, serving until November 22 that year.{sfn|Rankin|1988|p=164}

===Charleston campaign===

In November 1779, Hogun took command of the North Carolina Brigade, composed of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th North Carolina Regiments of the North Carolina Line. Through the winter of 177980, Hogun led the brigade of about 700 men{sfn|Davis|Bellas|1896|p=25} from Philadelphia to Charleston, South Carolina, where he was placed under the command of Major General Benjamin Lincoln.{sfn|Clark|1906|p=199} The march was arduous, and Hoguns brigade endured one of the coldest, harshest winters in years.{sfn|Davis|Bellas|1896|p=26}

Hoguns command arrived at Charleston on March 13, 1780,{sfn|Davis|Bellas|1896|p=26} which according to Lincoln gave great spirit to the Town, and confidence to the Army.{sfn|Borick|2003|p=93} The North Carolinians were immediately put to the task of defending the city, which was threatened with a siege by British General Henry Clinton in early March.{sfn|Davis|Bellas|1896|p=26} Shortly after Hoguns arrival, many of North Carolinas militia present in the city began to return home because their enlistment terms ended on or about March 24. The militiamen had only agreed to serve limited terms, and as they were not under Hoguns direct command he was powerless to stop them leaving.{sfn|Borick|2003|p=119}

Charleston was principally located on a peninsula, and so Lincoln aligned his Continental units in defensive works that barricaded the neck of the peninsula, using a line of redoubts, redans, and batteries. These defensive works were connected by a parapet, and commanded from a concrete hornwork jutting out from the defensive line.{sfn|Borick|2003|p=115} In front of the fortifications, the Patriot forces dug an 18-foot-wide moat, and between the moat and parapet they constructed a line of abatis to stall any British assault.{sfn|Borick|2003|pp=115-16} When the siege by the British Army began in earnest on April 1, Hogun and his men were positioned on the right of the Continental Armys lines, near the Cooper River.{sfn|Borick|2003|p=120}

Hogun participated in a council of war on April 20, 1780. Several members of the South Carolina Privy Council, a part of the civilian government, threatened to block the Continental Armys attempts to withdraw from Charleston, if the council of war voted to do so.{sfn|Borick|2003|pp=16770} Although the defending army had only eight to ten days worth of provisions,{sfn|Borick|2003|p=182} Lincoln bowed to pressure from civil authorities and delayed evacuation. On April 26, another council of war at which Hogun was present determined that the British presence on all sides of the city prevented the armys escape.{sfn|Borick|2003|p=181} For the next two weeks, the British and Patriot forces exchanged artillery and rifle fire at all times of day, and the British bombardment whittled down the American breastworks.{sfn|Borick|2003|pp=195206, passim}

On May 8, Lincoln called another council of war with all his armys general and field officers and ships captains to discuss terms of surrender that had been proposed by Clinton.{sfn|Borick|2003|p=208} Of the 61 officers in attendance at that council, 49, including Hogun, voted to offer terms of capitulation with the British commander.{sfn|Borick|2003|p=209} When these were rejected, hostilities continued, and Lincoln called another council of war on May 11 to further discuss terms of capitulation. The council voted to present further terms to Clinton, which he accepted.{sfn|Borick|2003|pp=217, 219} On May 12, 1780, Hogun was among the officers under Lincoln who formally surrendered to the British Army, along with approximately 5,000 Continental and militia soldiers.{sfn|Clark|1906|p=199} The surrender led to the loss of all but one of the regiments of the North Carolina Line then in existence, depriving the state of all regular, non-militia soldiers.{sfn|Clark|1906|p=199} As a brigadier general, Hogun held the highest rank of the approximately 814 Continental soldiers from North Carolina who capitulated at Charleston.{sfn|Rankin|1971|p=232}

===Imprisonment and death===

Rather than allowing himself to be paroled, Hogun requested he be taken prisoner, and was interned at the British prison camp at Haddrels Point on Point Pleasant, located in what is now Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, across from Sullivans Island.{sfn|Rankin|1971|p=233|ps=, other sources spell the prison site Haddrells.} Hoguns decision was based, in part, on his desire to stifle the recruiting efforts of the British, who sought to enlist captured Continental soldiers to serve in the British West Indies.{sfn|Rankin|1988|p=164} The British, however, held only the officers at Haddrels Point, deciding to house the enlisted men in barracks in Charleston.{sfn|Borick|2003|p=229}

Officers at Haddrels Point were subjected to harsh treatment, barred from fishing to catch much-needed food, and threatened with deportation from South Carolina.{sfn|Clark|1906|p=199} Approximately 3,300 Patriot soldiers were confined in prison camps around Charleston that were similar to the one at Haddrels Point, and many were destined for cramped, unsanitary prison ships.{sfn|Burrows|2008|p=201} Because of the conditions, many Continental soldiers agreed to join Loyalist regiments, but Hogun and other officers set up courts martial in the camps and attempted to maintain a dignified military structure.{sfn|Rankin|1971|p=233} Hoguns health soon declined, and he died in the prison camp on January 4, 1781.{sfn|Clark|1906|pp=199200} He was buried in an unmarked grave.{sfn|Barefoot|1998|p=46}

==Legacy==

On March 14, 1786, the North Carolina legislature granted Hoguns son, Lemuel, a {convert|12,000|acre|ha sqmi|lk=on|sing=on} tract near modern-day Nashville, Tennessee, in recognition of his fathers service.{sfn|Clark|1906|p=200} The elder Hogun was one of twenty-two Patriot generals who perished during the American Revolutionary War, and one of twelve who died from disease or other non-combat causes.{sfn|Siry|2012|pp=xi, 125} In the early 20th century, North Carolina jurist and historian Walter Clark noted that while the careers of three of North Carolinas other generalsBrigadier Generals Francis Nash and James Moore, and Major General Robert Howewere well-known to contemporary historians, the story of Hoguns career as well as that of Jethro Sumner had been neglected.{sfn|Clark|1906|p=196}

Hoguns personal papers appear to have been destroyed while in the possession of his descendants in Alabama during the American Civil War, leaving virtually no surviving correspondence that would shed further light on his life.{sfn|Clark|1906|p=200} In 1954, the North Carolina Highway Historical Marker Program, a division of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources, erected a historical marker in Hoguns honor near his former home in Halifax County.

Source(s): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Hogun
Polls held over the weekend to elect Cambodias local leaders were likely tainted by the nations political environment in the lead up to the vote, an opposition official said Tuesday, but a ruling party official argued that the ballot has already been labeled free and fair.



Speaking during a call-in show with RFAs Khmer Service, main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) spokesperson Yim Sovann said electoral improvements made by the National Election Committee (NEC) represented only one side of the coin for the June 4 commune elections.



To judge whether it was a free and fair election, we must base our decision on two factors: the political environment prior to election and the carrying out of duties by the NEC, said the spokesperson, whose CNRP earned around 46 percent of the popular vote, compared to 51 percent for Prime Minister Hun Sens ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP), based on preliminary results.



The political environment prior to the election was the worst [part of the process], due to threats, intimidation and war rhetoricincluding threats of sacrificing 100-200 leaders of the opposition party for the sake of the [greater population], as well as those from the national defense minister.



The 14-day campaign period that began on May 20 was relatively calm, but took place against the backdrop of frequent warnings from Hun Sen that opposition victories on Sunday and in parliamentary polls in 2018 would bring chaos, instability and war to Cambodia; and from defense minister Tea Banh, who said that the army would smash the teeth of anyone protesting a CPP election win.



Yim Sovann said such warnings had affected the feelings of the public ahead of the election, adding that Hun Sen's government had since 2015 harassed and threatened jail sentences for key CNRP leaders in a wider crackdown on civil society that he suggested also may have influenced the ballot.



Slightly more than 7 million Cambodians, or 89.52 percent of registered voters, turned out for commune council polls on Sunday, a record turnout in a test of public opinion ahead of 2018 general elections.



According to government-affiliated Fresh News, unofficial results showed the CPP won 22 provinces while the CNRP won two major cities, Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, as well as Kompong Cham province.



The CPP secured 1163 commune/sangkat chief posts, the CNRP won 482; and one commune leader post went to the Khmer National United Party, Fresh News said.



Final official results of the two-week contest for 1,646 commune council posts will not be announced until June 25, though preliminary results were expected from the NEC on Tuesday.



Yim Sovann said his party had a strong showing in the weekend polls because the people have faith and trust in the CNRP, and they want change.



They want a new leader to reform the country, to ensure justice and real democracy, and eliminate corruption  and settle other problems at the local and national level.



He acknowledged that the CNRP has yet to receive the kind of support we would like from rural areas, where the CPP continued to hold the majority of commune posts.



CPP showing



CPP spokesperson Sok Ey San, who also spoke to RFA during a call-in show, said the preliminary results of the popular vote spoke to the ruling partys continued support in Cambodia.



The CPP received 3.5 million votes, equivalent to more than 51 percent, while the CNRP received only 3 million votes, leaving a 500,000-vote difference, he said.



In comparison to the 2013 [general] election, the CPP received 300,000 additional votes, while the CNRP received only 90,000 additional votes  This shows that the level of support for the CPP has not weakened, although we lost a number of commune/sangkat chiefs.



Sok Ey San rejected Yim Sovanns suggestion that the election could not be seen as completely free and fair, calling the CNRPs viewpoint subjective and unacceptable.



The political environment in Cambodia before and during the election has already been assessed by both local and international observers as having gone smoothly and in accordance with democratic principles, he said.



He also dismissed CNRP claims that the CPP had engaged in threats of war ahead of the election, saying his party had campaigned for peace and development, while the opposition promoted discrimination between Cambodian classes and racism.



Such a platform is likely to stir up chaos or warthis is just an explanation to the citizens, not a threat, he said.



Polls applauded



Meanwhile, congratulations continued to pour in from the international community in recognition of Cambodias successful commune elections, with observers urging all stakeholders to remain civil ahead of the NECs expected announcement of official results on June 25.



We congratulate the people of Cambodia for exercising their right to engage in the political process and participate in democracy, a spokesperson for the Australian Embassy in Phnom Penh said in a statement Tuesday.



Ahead of an announcement of the official outcomes later this month, Australia encourages all parties to continue to engage constructively. The Australian Embassy closely monitors political developments in Cambodia, and will continue to do so.



Naoaki Kamoshida, counselor at the Embassy of Japan, issued a statement noting that the commune election had been carried out smoothly and peacefully, in general.



The Embassy of Japan hopes the process after the voting will proceed smoothly in accordance with the relevant regulations and procedures.



The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) said the June 4 polls were likely to help advance democracy in Cambodia, and called on the government to ensure that the countrys political environment remains free from fear and laws are enforced to maintain the integrity of election process.



ANFREL acknowledges the success of election day operations, with voting found to be generally smooth, high voter turnout across the country and relatively few incidents to report, the group said.



Reported by Sothearin Yeang, Vandeth Vann, and Thai Tha for RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Sovannarith Keo. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
Jailed political commentator Kim Sok has emerged weakened from a seven-day hunger strike he staged from prison to encourage Cambodians to vote in weekend commune elections, his younger brother said on Tuesday.



Kim Sok, who has been in jail since Fenruary, staged a hunger strike from May 29 to election day on June 4, Kim Seng told RFA's Khmer Service.



He started having meals, but he said he could not eat well like before due to a stomachache since he ate nothing for seven days," said Kim Seng.



"As for his stance for [the nation], he wont change, Kim Seng added.



On May 28, Kim Sok issued a handwritten letter bearing his thumbprint, which was seen by RFA, saying he would skip eating for the sake of social justice and to call on Cambodia's citizens to use their rights to vote for change of commune chiefs in nationwide polls.



Kim Soks lawyer, Choung Chou Ngy, said he did not know how his client conducted the hunger strike.



I have not met with him since the day he announced staging this hunger strike. I just know that he staged it for seven days, he told RFA.

Slightly more than 7 million Cambodians, or 89.52 percent of registered voters, turned out for commune council polls on Sunday, a record turnout in a test of public opinion ahead of 2018 general elections.



Preliminary results released by political parties showed slightly more than 51 percent of the popular vote going to Prime Minister Hun Sens ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) and around 46 percent going to the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP).



Kim Sok was arrested Feb. 17 and charged with inciting social chaos and defaming Prime Minister Hun Sen during a radio interview with RFAs Khmer Service last month. He is being held in Prey Sar Prison on the outskirts of the capital Phnom Penh.



Hun Sen sued the analyst for allegedly accusing the CPP of orchestrating the July 2016 murder of popular political pundit Kem Ley, but Kim Sok has told RFA that what he said about the killing was simply a reflection of what many Cambodians believe.



Kem Ley was gunned down in broad daylight on July 10 when he stopped in a Star Mart convenience store beside a Caltex gas station in Phnom Penh.



Although authorities charged a former soldier, identified as Oueth Ang, with the murder, many in Cambodia dont believe the governments story that Kem Ley was killed by the man over a debt.



Just days before he was gunned down, Kem Ley had discussed on a RFA Khmer Service call-in show a report by London-based Global Witness detailing the extent of the wealth of the family of Hun Sen, who has ruled Cambodia for 31 years.



On Dec. 23 the Phnom Penh court quietly closed its investigation into the murder case without revealing its findings and in a final hearing on March 1, Oueth Ang confessed to killing Kem Ley.



Reported by Moniroth Morm for RFA's Khmer Service. Translated by Sovannarith Keo. Written in English by Paul Eckert.
A top Chinese official has hit out at the rise of "localist and separatist ideas" among young people in Hong Kong, calling on them to recognize that the former British colony is now a part of China.



Zhang Xiaoming, the ruling Chinese Communist Party's envoy to the city, warned that young Hong Kong people would be unable to realize their life goals without a change in attitude.



"If the youth of Hong Kong want to realize their life goals, they need to properly recognize ... the relationship that Hong Kong has with the rest of the country," Zhang said on . "They need to take a national perspective, which will come from looking to the north, to China."



"Localist and separatist ideas are very popular in Hong Kong at the moment, and some young people are being led astray by such ideas," Zhang said. "There really needs to be an emphasis on the correct understanding of the relationship between Hong Kong and the rest of China."



Zhang's comments came after Chinese University of Hong Kong student leader Justin Au said his union's members didn't consider themselves to be Chinese.



He said many students in Hong Kong no longer see the mainland Chinese democracy movement as a key responsibility.



"We dont think that thats a responsibility of Hongkongers because its the affair of China and we Hongkongers dont regard ourselves as Chinese," he said.



'No future' under Chinese rule

The city's outgoing chief executive, Leung Chun-ying, chimed in in support of Zhang.



"I believe that if they can ponder for a bit, they'll know Hong Kong is a part of China. No matter what they think, people in society, including international society, will treat you as Chinese," Leung said.



"Even for Hong Kong people holding foreign passports. When you travel to other countries, people there will treat you as Chinese, by looking at your name, your cultural background and upbringing."



But Tony Chung, convenor of the student group Studentlocalism, said the opposite is true.



"It's only through the study of the histories of China and Hong Kong that they arrive at the conclusion that they don't trust the Chinese communist regime," Chung said. "They know only too well that there is no future for us under Chinese rule."



"That's why they support fairly radical political ideas, including that of Hong Kong independence."



Growing talk of independence has coincided with the erosion of Hong Kong's traditional freedoms of speech, publication, and judicial independence in recent years and a stalled timetable for full democracy.



Some 40 percent of young people support the idea, compared with around 70 percent who oppose it across all age groups, according to recent opinion polls.



Sea-change in thinking

Meanwhile, Nathan Law, lawmaker for the post-Occupy Central party Demosisto, said the younger generation was 'lost,' politically speaking, on China's watch.



"If you look at the recent opinion poll figures, the proportion who support the establishment number in single figures," Law said. "There is a very clear sea-change in people's thinking."



"The Chinese government is moving in the opposite direction to the universal values espoused by young people in Hong Kong," he said.



He said it was legitimate to ask what the city's future would be after the 50-year period government by the 1984 handover agreement and the city's mini-constitution, the Basic Law.



Last month, Zhang said China would consolidate its sovereignty over Hong Kong, which marks 20 years under Chinese rule on .



"The relationship between the central government and Hong Kong is that of delegation of power, not power-sharing," Zhang said as Beijing plans to strengthen political control over the city's government.



"Under no circumstances should the central governments powers be confronted in the name of a high degree of autonomy," Zhang was quoted as saying by the English-language South China Morning Post newspaper.



He also urged lawmakers to reintroduce controversial subversion laws that sparked mass protests back in 2003.



Reported by Lam Kwok-lap for RFA's Cantonese Service, and by Ding Wenqi for the Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Authorities in the central Chinese province of Hunan on placed family members and rights activists under surveillance amid calls for an investigation into the "suicide" death of veteran labor activist Li Wangyang five years ago.



Li's sister Li Wangling and her husband Zhao Baozhu were under close surveillance on , the anniversary of the activist's death under police custody in a Hunan hospital.



Meanwhile, the cell phones of Zhu Chengzhi, Zhou Zhirong and Ouyang Jinghua -- activists who have previously spoken out over his death -- were unreachable on .



Police have meanwhile placed under house arrest dozens of activists and supporters who had planned to make offerings at Li's cemetery, the Hong Kong-based Information Center for the Human Rights and Democratic Movement in China said in a statement.



Li Wangling and Zhao Baozhu were taken under state security police escort to visit Li's remains at the Dashanling Cemetery in Hunan's Shaoshan city, it said.



A Hunan-based democracy activist who declined to be named told RFA that all of Li's supporters are currently under close surveillance.



"There is no way we can go and pay our respects to Li Wangyang, because we are being too closely monitored," the activist said. "There are many activities that we can't participate in."

Hanging doubted by many



He said many of the social media chat groups used by his associates have now been shuttered by Chinese internet censors.



"All of the WeChat groups used by dissidents like us have been shut down," he said, adding: "I never believed it when they said he had killed himself; he was such a strong-minded kind of person."



"I cried a lot when I heard it; I really grieved for him."



A Chinese police investigation into Li's death upheld an earlier verdict of suicide, in spite of widespread public doubts over the claim that the severely disabled 62-year-old hanged himself.



When relatives arrived at the scene of Li Wangyang's death, his body was hanging by the neck from the ceiling near his hospital bed, but was removed by police soon afterwards.



Relatives, friends, and rights groups have all called into question several details of both circumstance and timing which they say point to the possibility of foul play, including photographs distributed on the Chinese microblog service Sina Weibo, which showed Lis feet touching the floor.



Police took away Lis body after his death was discovered and kept it in an unknown location, Li's relatives said.



Shanghai-based activist Wang Jianhua said he is currently under house arrest at his home.



"I had a lot of questions in my mind after Li Wangyang's 'suicide,'" he said. "One was that his feet were touching the floor and his hands were pushing against the window frame, so how could he have hanged himself?"



"I call shenanigans, and one day, the truth will come out, sure as water runs out of a rock ... because this was murder."



'Iron hero'

In Hong Kong, a small group of protesters marched to Beijing's Central Liaison Office in the city, standing for a few moments in silence with a mourning portrait of the veteran activists on a placard.



"Re-open the investigation into Li Wangyang's suicide!" the protesters shouted.



Albert Ho, who heads the Alliance in Support of the Patriotic Democratic Movement in China, called on younger activists in Hong Kong to learn from Li.



"Look at Li Wangyang, who went through so many difficulties and setbacks in his life, and was under huge pressure and suffered horribly, and yet was never discouraged, not even a little bit," Ho told the rally.



"He will be remembered for his noble character, determination and strong convictions," he said. "He would always say that he was no hero; just an ordinary person, which is actually the best thing you can be."



A Hong Kong resident surnamed Ng said he was an "iron hero" for the democratic movement, however. "Anyone who fights for freedom, democracy and equality should commemorate him," Ng said.



Li's death came as Chinese authorities moved to crack down on dissidents and rights activists around the country, in a bid to prevent any public memorials on the 23rd anniversary of the , 1989 bloodshed.



Li, a former worker in a glass factory, was jailed for 13 years for "counterrevolution" after he took part in demonstrations inspired by the 1989 student movement in Beijing, and for a further 10 years for "incitement to overthrow state power" after he called for a reappraisal of the official verdict on the crackdown.



He was blind in both eyes and had lost nearly all his hearing when he was finally released from prison in , his family said.



Reported by Ding Wenqi for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by Lam Kwok-lap for the Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
A Lao baby and his mother stop for a photo in Vang Vieng, a riverside town in central Laos' Vientiane province, Oct. 11, 2016.

Lao officials have ordered a clinic in the capital Vientiane to shut down amid indications that it is using Thai women to provide illegal surrogacy services to infertile couples, an official from the Lao Ministry of Public Health said.

The move comes amid signs that a commercial surrogacy industry is growing in the small impoverished Southeast Asian nation.

The official, who agreed to speak to RFAs Lao Service on condition of anonymity, said the facility, which he did not mention by name but which is known as the VIP Clinic, was shut down on May 24 after relevant bodies checked it and discovered that it was operating without a permit from the ministry.

The clinic, which offers consulting services to well-off infertile couples and pregnant women, is now being investigated by anti-human trafficking police, he said.

The clinic was illegal, or operating without permit, said the ministry official. The anti-human trafficking police also came and requested some related information from us."

The official went on to say that the relevant bodies could not determine if the clinic, located in a house along the Kamphaeng-Meuang road in Nonghay village in Vientianes Hadshaiyfong district, had definitely been providing surrogacy services supplied by Thai women, as suspected by Thai officials at a nearby border checkpoint.

Vientianes public health department, however, had already reported the problem to the Ministry of Public Health and Ministry of Public Security and passed the case to the anti-human trafficking police, the source said.

We went to the VIP Clinic and checked it carefully, but we do not know if it has been offering any surrogacy services there, he said.

Now, weve handed the case over to the anti-human trafficking police, and we have provided them with related information when we found out that that clinic was operating illegally, he said.

Ministry of Public Health regulations do not allow human organs and human cell tissue to be sold, he added.

When RFA contacted a clinic staff member by phone in late April after suspicions about the facility surfaced, she denied comments made by Thai authorities, and said the facility was providing consulting services for couples with infertility problems and pregnancy services for women.

RFA called the clinic again on May 24 when the ministry said it had ordered it to close, but the person in charge of the facilitys management refused to answer any questions.

Lack of restrictions

Surrogacy agencies and fertility clinic recently started operating in landlocked, communist Laos, according to the nonprofit organization Families Through Surrogacy.

Though Laos has no laws or restrictions pertaining to surrogacy services, neighboring Thailand and Cambodia have taken measures to eliminate illegal surrogacy amid growing concern about the exploitation of women who serve as surrogate mothers.

Thailand passed a law in 2015 banning foreigners from hiring Thai women as surrogates after high-profile cases sparked debate the previous year. Those found guilty of paying surrogates in Thailand can receive a maximum prison sentence of 10 years.

In November 2016, Cambodia banned surrogacy arrangements. But four months later, the foreign ministry said the government was preparing to draft a new law to make surrogacy legal in order to control and prevent Cambodian children who are born via surrogacy from becoming victims, according Families Through Surrogacy.

Meanwhile, fertility services and embryo imports remain legal in Cambodia, the group said.

Thai authorities at the Vientiane-Nongkhai border checkpoint first became suspicious that the Vientiane clinic was providing cross-border surrogacy services after they arrested a 25-year-old Thai man for smuggling human sperm into Laos in April.

The man confessed that he was crossing the Lao border to deliver six vials of sperm packed inside a nitrogen tank to a clinic in Vientiane, a Thai customs officer said at the time. Authorities believed that the facility was the VIP Clinic.

A week after the mans arrest, an official from the Lao health ministry told RFA that she was not aware of sperm smuggling activities or the existence of surrogacy clinics in the country.

The ministry regularly inspects all clinics, and the clinics cannot do more than what is stated in an official document, said the official who declined to be named. If a clinic performs any illegal activities, it will be punished.

During the weekend of May 20-21, Thai police arrested a Thai driver and six Thai women beteween 25 and 35 years old, and seized 45 vials of sperm and human eggs.

The women said a Chinese businessman in the Thai capital Bangkok paid for them to travel across the border to Vientiane the previous week to be artificially inseminated at a clinic.

During that time, they stayed in a hotel and received medical checkups at the clinic, but they were all deemed unfit to be surrogate mothers, the women said.

One of the women told police that she and her husband agreed that she would serve as a surrogate mother in exchange for a U.S. $10,000 payment.

Both Thai men caught at the border in April and May eventually told authorities that they were heading directly to the VIP Clinic in Vientiane, which triggered an investigation of the facility by Lao police.

Lao anti-human trafficking police told RFA on May 26 that they inspected the clinic and collected some relevant information.

Now the case is under careful review to find a solution to the problem, they said.

A new phenomenon

Police said that surrogacy services are a new phenomenon in Laos.

We went out and gathered information, and we know well that the clinic was operating without permit, said an officer who declined to give his name. However, we are waiting for the order from our boss about what we should do.

Because we have never seen a case like thisa case of cross-border surrogacywe consider it a new phenomenon, he said.

The police said the next step will be to close down the clinic permanently because it does not have a permit from the Ministry of Public Health.

Lao and Thai authorities will work together on the case because the two countries have a memorandum of understanding that covers this type of joint investigative work, the officer said.

We will inform you later about what we will do next, he told RFA.

This case has severely damaged the good standing of our medical sector, he added.

The official from Ministry of Public Health told RFA the same day that the clinic was ordered closed that the medical sector does not allow any facility to provide an artificial pregnancy services.

He also said the ministry will create a specific unit to stop the VIP Clinic and any others like it from operating.

If a clinic requests a permit to provide artificial insemination services, we will not allow it, he said. If we find that any clinic is doing this, we will withdraw the medical permit and order it shut down.

The enforcement of our regulations is being implemented step by step, but we will make sure they will be fully implemented in the end, he said. "We handed over the case of VIP Clinic to the Vientiane and district-level administration and the specific unit that enforces medical regulations.

The clinic held a grand opening ceremony in August 2016.

Authorities ordered it to stop operating once before, but it reopened a short while later until Thai authorities this April suspected it might be a center for cross-border surrogacy services, anti-human trafficking police said.

Reported and translated by RFAs Lao Service. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
The cause of a fire that destroyed a rural Ames home, resulting in a loss of $900,000 to $1 million, has been listed as undetermined.

Fremont Rural Fire Chief Wade McPherson released the official determination by Nebraska State Fire Marshal Investigator Jeff Going on Tuesday afternoon.

Firefighters were called at about 2:30 p.m., Monday to the home of Marlin Brabec at 1030 Timberwood Drive near Ames.

We were already on a call when this one came in, McPherson said. It was fully involved when we got here.

McPherson said no one was in the house at the time of the fire and it took about an hour to get the blaze under control. Firefighters cleared the scene at about 9 p.m., then were at the station until about 10 p.m.

More than 50 firefighters from several area fire departments went to scene and close to 100,000 gallons of water was put on the blaze, McPherson said.

One firefighter from the Fremont Rural department went to the hospital with heat exhaustion. He was treated and released.

Besides Fremont Rural, fire departments from Fremont, Cedar Bluffs, Scribner, Nickerson, North Bend and Winslow responded as did the Dodge County Sheriffs Department and the Red Cross.

Black smoke from the fire could be seen from miles away. Firefighters manned an aerial ladder firetruck, spraying water on the burning house. From the street, two firefighters could be seen spraying water on a nearby home to keep it from catching fire. Across the road, a firefighter sprayed water over grassy brush areas that had caught fire.

Annette Everhart-Brown of Omaha, who was visiting a friend at Lake Timberwood, was able to rescue two young Labrador retrievers belonging to Brabec from the fire.

Firefighters were called again to the scene at about 5:15 p.m. Tuesday after a caller reported that a fire had rekindled on the east side of the houses basement.
Myanmar journalists form the Committee for the Protection of Journalists to demand that the govenrment drop lawsuits against reporters and eliminate legal statutes that threaten freedom of the press in Yangon, June 6, 2017.

More than 100 Myanmar journalists gathered on Tuesday in Yangon to call on the government to drop lawsuits filed against reporters under controversial Section 66(d) of the country's Telecommunications Law frequently used by those in powerful positions to silence their critics.

They formed a 21-member Committee for the Protection of Journalists to demand that the government, parliament, and the military abolish the statute used to accuse reporters and editors of slander, the group said in a statement issued during their meeting.

They also urged civil society organizations to join in their efforts to eliminate legal statutes that threaten freedom of the press.

Committee members said the journalists will begin a white armband campaign called Freedom of the Press on Thursday when a court hearing for two detained staffers of the publication The Voice Daily is scheduled.

The newspaper's editor Kyaw Min Swe and satire columnist Ko Kyaw Zwa Naing, who writes under the pseudonym British Ko Ko Maung, were charged with defamation under Section 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law after the armed forces complained about a piece they published that mocked a military propaganda film.

Section 66(d) prohibits the use of the telecom network to defame people, and violators are subject to a jail sentence of up to three years and a fine.

The group will march from the Bahan courthouse in the north central part of Yangon where the trial will be held to the offices of Eleven Media Group and The Voice Daily.

'Misuse of law'

Last November, Than Htut Aung, chief executive officer of Eleven Media Group, and Wai Phyo, chief editor of the Daily Eleven newspaper, were jailed over an editorial that accused Phyo Min Thein, chief minister of Myanmars commercial capital Yangon, of receiving a U.S. $100,000 watch from an unnamed drug tycoon who was later awarded a lucrative contract for a city transit project.

The editorial appeared in the Nov. 6 issue of Daily Eleven and was posted on Than Htut Aungs Facebook page, and the two men were charged with defamation under Section 66(d).

The judicial process is delayed for ordinary people who are charged under Section 66(d), but if someone from the government or military sues someone under the section, the judicial process is very quick to ensure that the accused is arrested, charged and sentenced, said Myint Kyaw, a member of the Media Council.

We should point out the unfair judicial process and misuse of law, he said.

The Media Council replaced an interim Myanmar Press Council set up in 2012 following the lifting of prepublication censorship under former president Thein Sein.

The new committee will not submit an application to authorities for permission to hold its march on Thursday, said Tharlon Zaung Htet from the Democratic Voice of Burma, a nonprofit media organization based in Chiang Mai, Thailand, which organized the gathering of journalists in Yangon.

We can be arrested, he said. Those who want to participate in this campaign should prepare to be arrested.

He noted the possibility that the marchers could be charged under Section 18 of the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law, which imposes criminal penalties on those who conduct protests without government consent, or other sections that carry criminal penalties for violating various restrictions on such assemblies.

Rights groups say the statute has been used extensively in recent years to detain peaceful protesters who speak out on matters of public interest.

The journalists will continue the white armband campaign until June 18.

Reporters hit out

Other Myanmar journalists hit out on Monday against Section 66(d) of the Telecommunications Law, with DVBs Tharlon Zaung Htet charging that it is an instrument used by powerful figures to bully reporters.

Reporters and journalists are bullied under Section 66(d), he said.

This section has threatened press freedom by 100 percent, he added.

Sithu Aung Myint, a reporter at the news magazine Frontier Myanmar, said the media can publish articles or news for print media, but they have to be very careful when they publish them online because there is a 100-percent certainty that they will be sued under Section 66(d) if the authorities or military do not like what they write.

Zayar Hlaing, editor of Mawkun, which bills itself as Myanmar's first in-depth and investigative magazine, agreed.

If they use this act, they can arrest and charge people immediately, and they cant get out on bail," he said. "Its what they [the authorities] want to see.

They use this Section 66(d) when they are criticized, and it threatens freedom of expression with a chilling effect, he said.

Reported by Aung Theinkha for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
Vietnams government has stripped French-Vietnamese professor and former political prisoner Pham Minh Hoang of his citizenship against his will, throwing his right to stay in his home country into limbo, according to French consular officials.



Hoang, who is also a French citizen, was recently invited to the French consulate in Vietnams economic capital Ho Chi Minh City, where he currently lives, and told an order had been signed by the central government in Hanoi.



The French consul general invited me to discuss some issues and said there was very bad news for methat the Vietnamese government on May 17 had signed a decision to strip my citizenship, he told RFAs Vietnamese Service.



This will inevitably lead to my expulsion from Vietnam because I have dual French-Vietnamese citizenship, he said, adding that no reason had been given for the order.



According to Hoang, the French Embassy asked Vietnams Ministry of Foreign Affairs whether the decision could be postponed or reversed, and was told that Vietnams President Tran Dai Quang had signed the order into effect and that it would be implemented.



He said that the French Consulate had so far only received a notification letter signed by Quang announcing that Hoangs citizenship had been stripped, but neither he nor French officials had been sent an official order, meaning Hoang remains a citizen of Vietnam for the time being.



They still havent given me the official decision with the presidents signature yet, he said.



I contacted some lawyers for legal assistance and gave them all the documents proving my Vietnamese citizenship. They said that my case is not very difficult, but that they need the document from the president [before they can proceed with any kind of defense].



Hoang said that the French Consulate had also requested the official document with Quangs signature so they can have their lawyers do what they can for me, but had received no reply.



He said rights lawyer Ha Huy Son had advised him to apply to renounce his French citizenship, so that he becomes a national solely of Vietnam, which he did in a letter to the French Consulate on June 2.



Then the Vietnamese government could not do anything [to strip my citizenship], he said, adding that the French Consulate had notified him that it would take six months to officially renounce his French nationality.



[The Vietnamese government] currently have the right [to strip my citizenship], because I have two nationalities.



Hoang said he doesnt feel as if he is losing anything by renouncing his French citizenship.



"My desire to live in my country, near my family is too strong, he said.



I'm not young anymore, nor do I want to move forward in my career. I just hope to live and serve in Vietnam. I was already thinking about giving up my French citizenship, so there is nothing holding me back.



Hoang lived in France as an international student from 1973 until the late 1990s, when he returned to Ho Chi Minh City to teach at the Saigon University of Science and Technology.



An activist blogger, Hoang spent 17 months in prison for undermining national security and ruining the nations image through writings critical of Vietnams government, before being released in January 2012 and serving three years of probation.



Reported by RFAs Vietnamese Service. Translated by Emily Peyman. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
Guy DeGenaro was 18 years old when he left his home in Hamden, Conn., to join the Army Air Corps in 1939.

Later, he was a sergeant major back in his home state at Bradley Field when he learned that volunteers were being sought to join a dangerous mission.

Almost as a lark, I said Id put my name down, DeGenaro, 95, said.

DeGenaro was trained in the American militarys first glider program. His training would be put to the test on June 6, 1944, when the Allied troops stormed five beaches on the French coastline in one of the largest coordinated attacks in world history. A Douglas C-47 Skytrain  also known as a Dakota  towed DeGenaro over the English Channel in a British Airspeed Horsa glider with one other pilot, six soldiers, a jeep and a trailer.

The gliders used for military purposes during World War II were essentially built for a one-way trip to carry supplies and personnel to a landing zone. The object was to get on the ground as quickly as possible to avoid incoming fire and keep the vehicle intact.

Once you cut loose, you dont have time to do a lot of looking around, DeGenaro said. You have to really have in mind where youre going to go.

Flying through the air on the way to battle can feel like a long time when theres nothing to do but wait, DeGenaro said. And if you werent careful, he said, a person could spend most of that time thinking about how the next 15 or 20 minutes could be the last ones on Earth.

The thing about a glider is, it has no engine and you only get one shot at landing, and if you dont do it right, its curtains, DeGenaro said. But my squad, we were pretty good at it, and as I look back on it, we were very lucky.

After he was disconnected from the tow plane, DeGenaro put the nose of the glider between two trees and sheared the wings off, he said, bringing it to a nice stop. Armed with two grenades, an M1 Garand and a pistol, DeGenaro had landed about 6 miles beyond the coastal defenses at Utah Beach near a German battalion and become part of the infantry.

After we landed, it was a great deal of fighting going on, he said. Guns going off all around us, of course.

DeGenaro stayed in the Air Force after the war, serving 28 years before he retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1968. In 1970, after completing a doctoral program in business and economics with the University of Florida at Gainesville, he moved to Richmond with his wife and taught at Virginia Commonwealth University until retirement. Now 95 years old, he says its not a surprise that many of the people who served firsthand in World War II are gone.

All but one of the people in my squadron that I knew are dead now, DeGenaro said. The one that I think is still alive  I havent heard from him in three or four years  I think he got old.  Basically, time passes and people die is what happens.

As the generation that lived during World War II continues to age, historians are left to search for ways to preserve the memory of the soldiers who fought during one of the bloodiest conflicts.

We still have World War II veterans with us, but it wont be that much longer that we do, said John Long, director of education with the National D-Day Memorial.

The national memorial in Bedford County was dedicated in 2001 to the American soldiers who fought and died during the Allied invasion of Normandy. It sees roughly 50,000 visitors per year and hosts special events to remember those who died during what was code-named Operation Overlord.

Bedford was chosen as the memorial site because it lost a total of 20 soldiers during the first day of the Normandy invasion, making it the locality that suffered the largest loss of life per capita in the country on D-Day.

At the height of the war in 1945, about 16 million Americans were enlisted in the military, which amounted to roughly 12 percent of the countrys population.

The U.S. Census American Community Survey listed the number of living veterans of the Second World War at 835,000 in 2015.

Long said the memorial is collecting artifacts and documents to be used in a museum thats still in the planning stages. Those items will be all thats left to tell the story after the last remaining veterans have passed on, Long said.

Its all about education, Long said. Weve got to make sure the next generation knows what these men did when they were young.

Garland Gentry, of Henrico County, was on the USS Susan B. Anthony  a personnel carrier  the day after the Allied forces had begun the invasion when his ship hit a mine and sunk off the coast of France near Omaha Beach.

We were close enough to shore to watch what was going on, Gentry said. Not a pretty sight.

He watched as soldiers getting out of small boats at the shore were shot by the Germans from a pillbox on a cliff. He continued to watch as a friendly destroyer shot the ground out from underneath and collapsed it.

That was the only thing that saved a lot of men on that beach, Gentry said.

Gentry was a seaman first class and one of 3,000 soldiers on the ship when it went down.

No casualties were suffered because of the ships sinking and Gentry was taken back to England for rehab.

The Richmond native joined the Navy at 17 years old  with his parents permission  after he and two of his schoolmates skipped class at John Marshall High School. He spent four years in the Navy, serving on both the European front and in the Pacific. He stayed there until the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Japan in August 1945, essentially ending the war.

When they dropped that bomb, I think that saved my life, Gentry said.

Gentry said he continues to go to reunions for veterans of World War II, but all of the people he served with during the war have since died.
An armed suspect was apprehended Tuesday afternoon after a fight inside a barbershop spilled outside and a man was critically wounded in a shooting near Virginia Commonwealth University, authorities said.

According to Richmond police, the fight started inside Taylors Barber Shop and moved onto a sidewalk where a man was shot in the chest about 4 p.m. in the 100 block of South Belvidere Street, near Cary Street.

Officers responding to a call of a person down found the victim suffering from life-threatening injuries. He was taken was taken to VCU Medical Center for surgery.

After the shooting, the suspect ran north on Belvidere and was captured while carrying a gun after being spotted by VCU police, according to police. The suspect, who was not identified, was turned over to Richmond police, who are leading the investigation.

At the scene, Chief Alfred Durham said the suspect was being interviewed by police at headquarters. He described the suspect and victim only as men in their 20s.

Neither the shooter nor the victim are affiliated with VCU, according to the alert from the university.

Police cordoned off the sidewalk and the right south lane of Belvidere Street as investigators searched the area.

Boun Kong, manager of a business adjacent to the barber shop, said he was in his store handling a delivery when a person in the store told him to dial 911.

I didnt hear or see anything, said Kong, who added that he contacted emergency services right away.
The family of an inmate who died at Hampton Roads Regional Jail in 2016 filed a wrongful-death lawsuit Monday against the jail, its medical provider and nearly three dozen other defendants.

Henry Clay Stewart, 60, died Aug. 6, 2016, of internal bleeding from a perforated ulcer in his intestines. He had lost 35 pounds between the time he was transferred to the jail on June 7, 2016, and the day his body was autopsied by the medical examiner, according to the lawsuit.

Stewart repeatedly sought medical treatment for severe medical conditions, including chest and abdominal pain, blackouts, inability to keep down water or food, and drastic weight loss, but his pleas for urgent medical care were either ignored or the care provided to him was substandard and did not address his life-threatening medical needs, according to the lawsuit.

Linda Bryant, Hampton Roads Regional Jails assistant superintendent and compliance attorney, said the jail had not been served with the lawsuit as of Monday afternoon and could not comment further.

The lawsuit alleges Stewarts fellow inmates repeatedly tried to get help for Stewart, but corrections officers and medical staff members ignored their pleas.

The night he died, he was unresponsive and foaming at the mouth, but when nurses finally responded, one allegedly abandoned him and others delayed starting CPR or calling 911, according to the lawsuit.

The 100-page document, which was filed in the Norfolk division of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, seeks $40.4 million in damages. It was filed by Richmond-based attorney Mark Krudys, the same attorney representing the family of Jamycheal Mitchell, a mentally ill inmate who died of extreme weight loss and heart problems at Hampton Roads Regional Jail in the summer of 2015.

Mitchell lost 46 pounds in 101 days at the jail, according to a former jail official. Mitchells family has filed a $60 million lawsuit in the same court.

Krudys declined to comment on Stewarts case on Monday. The plaintiffs are Michelle Wilson, Stewarts sister, and Joe Austin, his son.

Im hoping to see some justice out of this, Wilson said. Its not going to bring my brother back, but ... this system has failed again, and its broken and it needs to be fixed. I dont want to see this continue to keep happening.

In an August interview with the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Wilson said she found a medical request form among her brothers belongings that had been returned to her from the jail. On the form, which was dated Aug. 4, two days before he died, Stewart told guards that he blacked out twice in less than 24 hours and that he could not hold down food or water.

He also wrote that he had made similar requests before, but had been told to wait for his scheduled medical appointments.

A note on part of the form labeled determined not to be an emergency said Stewart had refused his medication, wandered away during the mornings medical pass, and had been evaluated by off-site specialists.

In addition, you will receive a follow-up by the provider, a staff member wrote on the form, which was signed by a Sergeant Whitehead.

Sgt. Steven Whitehead was named as a defendant in the suit.

Other defendants include the regional jail authority; Correct Care Solutions LLC, its Nashville, Tenn.-based private medical provider; William H. Ruby, the jails medical director; about 10 nurses; David L. Simons, the jails former administrator who retired earlier than planned in 2016; Eugene Taylor III, the former assistant superintendent who agreed to step down under a new administration; and at least nine corrections officers, sergeants or lieutenants.

The jail has been through several administration changes in the past year, and it is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Virginia State Police.

Stewart had been arrested in May 2016 for allegedly violating the terms of his probation concerning a 2011 shoplifting charge. He was initially housed at Hampton City Jail but was transferred to Hampton Roads Regional Jail in June.

Five Hampton Roads cities feed into the regional jail, and they tend to send the inmates with the most severe health problems, former jail officials have said.
A Northern Virginia mosque has publicly condemned the words of its leading imam, highlighting lingering divisions among Muslim leaders over the controversial and widely condemned practice of female genital mutilation.

The board of directors at the Dar al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church said Monday that Imam Shaker Elsayed's seeming endorsement of the outlawed practice as "the honorable thing to do if needed" ran afoul of both U.S. and Islamic law.

Elsayed's comments during a lecture on child rearing and family life last month sparked a brief controversy last Friday after a right-wing watchdog group circulated a video clip of his speech online.

Female genital mutilation, branded a human rights violation by the World Health Organization and by most governments, is a common practice among certain Muslim and Christian populations in Africa and parts of Asia. The practice, also known as FGM, can range from a small incision or partial removal of the clitoris to a full removal of the clitoris and labia and the infibulation of the vaginal opening-procedures that the WHO says can lead to hemorrhaging, chronic infections, childbirth complications, and even death.

Although the practice, which is sometimes also called female circumcision, has no basis in the Koran or in the Bible, experts say it is perpetuated in large part because of false claims about religious obligations and health benefits, societal pressures and the desire to suppress female sexuality.

In his lecture, a video of which appeared on the mosque's YouTube channel, Elsayed spoke about circumcision as the cutting of "the tip of the sexually sensitive part of the girl so that she is not hypersexually active." He warned about the dangers of more serious forms of the procedure, but advised congregants to seek the advice of a Muslim gynecologist to see whether minimal action was necessary. He also warned that "in societies where circumcision of girls is completely prohibited, hyper-sexuality takes over the entire society and a woman is not satisfied with one person or two or three."

Dar al-Hijrah's board of directors on Monday said that it rejected Elsayed's opinion, and that FGM is "prohibited in Islam as well as the laws of the land."

"We at Dar Al-Hijrah, DO NOT condone, promote, or support any practice of FGM," the board said in a statement. "The reference to 'hypersexuality' is offensive, and it is unequivocally rejected. The board of directors is particularly disturbed by such comments."

The statement also included a retraction from Elsayed, who said he "referred the audience to their OB-GYN to inform them why it is illegal and harmful," and that he regretted his comments on "hypersexuality."

"I admit that I should have avoided it. I hereby take it back. And I do apologize to all those who are offended by it," he said.

But some community members said the statement didn't go far enough, and two mosque officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that the mosque's second imam and outreach coordinator, Johari Abdul-Malik, was threatening to quit if the Board didn't fire Elsayed. Abdul-Malik and Elsayed both declined to comment. But Abdul-Malik and 20 other Muslim leaders and intellectuals, including prominent activist Linda Sarsour, released a statement Monday evening, calling on the Board "to immediately terminate Imam Shaker Elsayed's contract. We cannot and will not stand for any Imam or Muslim leader who endorses human rights abuses antithetical to our beautiful faith."

While some classical Islamic texts endorse the practice, "it's extremely important to know that the Prophet Mohamed and his family did not experience female circumcision in any way, shape or form," said Suhaib Webb, a popular imam at the Center DC, who has a large youth following, and who supports the call for Elsayed's ouster. Numerous modern-day Muslim leaders, including Egypt's Grand Mufti have condemned female genital mutilation, Webb added. "I think there's a very real concern (comments like his) contribute to the idea that Muslims are backwards and out of touch, as is their religion."

While some classical Islamic texts endorse the practice, "it's extremely important to know that the Prophet Mohamed and his family did not experience female circumcision in any way, shape or form," Webb added, and numerous modern-day Muslim leaders have condemned it.

One longtime Dar al-Hijrah member said that the controversy reflects ongoing tension between the more conservative and liberal ranks of the mosque's leadership. "He's a very old-school guy. He has old-school views," said the member, who worried that Elsayed's continuation at the mosque would be a "breaking point" for progressives like Abdul-Malik. He asked not to be named so he could speak candidly.

Dar al-Hijrah, one of the nation's largest mosques with about 3,000 regular congregants from more than 20 countries, has sought for years to scrub its image, after it became the focus of public scrutiny and FBI investigations following 9/11. A former imam, Anwar al-Aulaqi, became one of the most recognizable global proponents of extremist ideology years after he left Dar al-Hijrah. And two of the 9/11 hijackers, along with Fort Hood shooter, Maj. Nidal Hassan, all worshiped there at some point.

Although, there is little indication that female genital mutilation is common in the United States, the issue drew fresh attention in April when federal prosecutors charged three Michigan doctors with involvement in the female genital mutilation of two Minnesota girls, marking the first case to be prosecuted under the United States' decades-old ban.

Attorneys for the doctors, all of whom are Indian-American and belong to the tiny Dawoodi Bohra sect of Shiite Islam, are expected to invoke religious freedom in their defense at trial later this month, an argument that is likely to further inflame the stereotypes.

The controversies come at a particularly fraught time for American Muslims. Hate crimes against Muslims spiked 67 percent in 2015, according to the FBI. And hate crimes in general went up more than 42 percent last year in Montgomery County, Md.  a 30-minute drive from Dar al-Hijrah  according to an analysis of preliminary data by Brian Levin, a hate crimes expert at California State University in San Bernardino.

Last month, a white supremacist, Jeremy Joseph Christian, killed two men on a Portland light rail train when they intervened to protect two Muslim girls Christian was harassing, authorities there say.

Dar al-Hijrah and its members  including women and girls who wear headscarves  have been the target of anti-Muslim hate speech, threats and on one occasion, violence.

After a video clip of Elsayed's lecture circulated on social media last Friday, the backlash erupted on Twitter.
In 1607, the Prayer Book came ashore at Jamestown with Captain John Smith. The first Anglican service in North America occurred earlier and elsewhere. In 1579, Sir Francis Drake pulled into a Pacific bay to repair a ship. A clergyman aboard celebrated a service while work proceeded. The event took place near the Golden Gate. Jerusalems Golden Gate has been closed since the Middle Ages for reasons sacred and strategic. Californias Golden Gate connects San Francisco and Marin. Many have left their heart there and found their souls in the truths Drakes men heard. The Episcopal Church long has been associated with the American establishment  it has been called the Republican Party at prayer, a designation no longer apt, alas, for a GOP that has strayed. Mischievous wits delight in noting that the Anglican Communion was introduced to the continent by an explorer the Spanish considered a pirate.

Virginia takes pride in its Anglican roots, nevertheless; it also is the proud home of the Statute for Religious Freedom. (Proud seems to be Virginias official modifier.) The Diocese of Virginia may be the largest in the Episcopal Church. Several years ago, the Virginia Historical Society focused on the Episcopal Church and its antecedents in the Old Dominion. Patrick Henry delivered his liberty or death speech at St. Johns on Church Hill. George Washington attended Christ Church in Alexandria. Jefferson Davis learned that Petersburg had fallen and the Confederacys end had drawn nigh while worshiping in St. Pauls across from Jeffersons Capitol. The day after Memorial Day, Michael Curry, presiding bishop of the national Episcopal Church, came a-calling.

He appeared at the 30th anniversary meeting of the Episcopal Preaching Foundation at the Diocese of Virginias Roslyn Retreat Center and celebrated communion at All Saints Episcopal Church on River Road. Several journalists joined him for an engaging conversation at Roslyn, whose sylvan surroundings elevate thought beyond cable news, Kathy Griffins so-called humor or President Trumps tweets. The good news is not fake. To experience a religious retreat is to become fully engaged.

Although the United States remains more religiously active than Europe, the percentage of formal communicants continues to slide. Mainline denominations such as the Episcopalians have fallen under siege but religion more generally has suffered challenges as well. Attendance is down. Surveys sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trusts report growing numbers who do not affiliate with specific faiths. The percentage of atheists has ticked up but the greater gains have boosted the percentage of nones. Many are open to belief but decline to embrace practices and creeds. Spiritual, not religious, goes the cliche.

Curry spoke of the Episcopal branch of the Jesus movement. It is not only a good place to start but the only one. In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus kept it simple and taught in parables. He preached the Sermon on the Mount, which does not outline a program for financial success. Christ did not bless the market as God. The Holy Eucharist Rite I in the Book of Common Prayer says: Hear what our Lord Jesus Christ saith: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets. As Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a practitioner of Ubuntu, explains, a person is a person through other persons. And:

A person with Ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed, or treated as if they were less than who they are. The Roslyn attendees encountered a similar presence.

Empathy is the cardinal virtue. It translates into justice. Americas shortcomings can be attributed to its lack.

Roslyn is an appropriate spot to commemorate preaching. James Forbes, senior minister emeritus of New Yorks Riverside Church, the nations most progressive pulpit  some would say most Christ-like  served at Richmonds St. Johns United Holy Church of America. John Jasper founded Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church in 1867 and preached the immortal De Sun Do Move there. St. Pauls annual Lenten series presents acclaimed sermonizers from central Virginia and afar. Forbes has spoken at St. Pauls, as has Riversides Amy Butler. Jim Somerville holds forth at First Baptist, A. Lincoln James Jr. at Trinity Baptist. Randy Hollerith, dean of the National Cathedral, led St. Jamess Episcopal Church. Wallace Adams-Riley has addressed St. Pauls history with grace and grit. Gary Jones tends to St. Stephens nationally recognized flock with sermons that reflect a poets touch. His delivery invites reflection.

Curry impressed the wretches at a table with spectacular views of elemental greenery. He personified passionate serenity. As he walked out he grew animated when speaking of the churchs solidarity with the tribes opposing a Dakota Access Pipeline that would sully waters and ground sacred to the Sioux. It is not too late for consumers to mend their ways.
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Corey Stewart, who calls climate change a hoax and renewable energy garbage, pledged Tuesday to reverse Gov. Terry McAuliffes actions and withdraw from the U.S. Climate Alliance, should he be elected governor.

In Roanoke, Stewart slammed McAuliffe for bucking President Donald Trumps exit from the Paris Climate Agreement and joining the climate alliance Monday in response.

McAuliffes actions to add Virginia to a group of eight other states and Puerto Rico that will continue to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is a job killer for the coal industry, Stewart said. The climate alliance is devoted to keeping up with carbon reduction targets laid out in former President Barack Obamas Clean Power Plan.

In Virginia, because of Terry McAuliffe, we are going to have restrictions on Virginia businesses, on Virginia power producers, on Virginia coal plants and in essentially on miners and the entire coal industry that no other states, or only a few other states, are going to have to endure, he said.

Stewart, the gubernatorial candidate who has gained notoriety for his stance on Confederate flags and monuments and his in-your-face campaign style, also promised to reinstate coal tax credits. McAuliffe has vetoed the credits for the past three years, saying the credits did not slow the industrys decline.

On the campaign trail, Trump vowed to revive the coal industry. Conservatives are quick to blame the Obama administration and environmental regulations for the loss of coal jobs, but part of the industrys stagnation stems from a changing energy market and the affordability of natural gas.

McAuliffes actions follow his executive order from last month in which he directed the state Department of Environmental Quality to reduce carbon emissions from power plants in the commonwealth.

In the absence of clean energy leadership at the federal level, businesses, cities and states across the country are leading on their own, McAuliffe spokesman Brian Coy said. Virginia is positioning to be at the forefront, he said.

The governors actions are one thing  being a leader in this nation on clean energy and the jobs that come with it, Coy said.

Four Virginia mayors, including Blacksburg Mayor Ron Rordam, have partnered with 242 other mayors across the country to uphold the climate agreements goals by increasing investments in renewable energy. The mayors of Richmond, Charlottesville and Alexandria also are on the list.

The other Republican candidates for governor also harped on the international climate agreement and chided McAuliffe for his actions.

Sen. Frank Wagner, R-Virginia Beach, echoed Stewarts sentiments that McAulifes actions could stem from his presidential aspirations. McAuliffe, whose term will end in January, has not announced plans for a 2020 presidential bid.

Im all about American jobs, he said. To coin a phrase, Pennsylvania, not Paris.

The climate alliance will cripple the American economy and stifle growth in the coal and manufacturing sectors, he said. Wagner made similar arguments recently when he announced plans to inundate McAuliffe with questions about his climate change edict.

Like Stewart, Wagner vowed to withdraw from the climate alliance, should he advance to the governors mansion.

Thats why they have shredding machines, he said.

Stewart, chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, and Wagner have consistently trailed in fundraising and in the polls during the lead-up to the June 13 primary election. Ed Gillespie, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, is the frontrunner in the field.

Gillespie has pledged his support for Virginias coalfields region, and decried the Paris agreement in a statement from his campaign.

The Paris Agreement, as constructed, was not the appropriate means by which to address carbon emissions. We can protect our environment without destroying jobs in the Commonwealth, or punishing Virginians with higher energy costs. We have been reducing emissions through marketplace advances and will continue to do so. I am opposed to joining California and New York just as I am opposed to the job-killing cap and trade policies put forward by the McAuliffe-Northam Administration.

On the other side of the governors race, former U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello and Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, both Democrats, applauded McAuliffes actions.
Today, we mark the anniversary of the D-Day landings in 1944, the success of which turned history toward a different future, the one we live in now.

Next month, the movie Dunkirk will be released, dramatizing the heroic evacuation of the British army from Europe in 1940.

Those two events  the evacuation of Dunkirk and the landings on Normandy Beach  were separated by four years, but connected by what Winston Churchill famously called blood, toil, tears and sweat.

Without the successful evacuation of Dunkirk, there might never have been a D-Day. The whole root and core and brain of the British Army, as Churchill termed it, was trapped on a beach in France, surrounded by the Germans on three sides and the sea on another. If it had been captured, would British resolve have collapsed? Would the disarmed British  shorn of an army  have been forced to make peace with a triumphant Germany? We can only imagine.

Instead, we know that the British, in a miracle of deliverance (the oh-so-quotable Churchill again), managed to ferry out 338,226 troops  mostly British, but some French, Belgian and Polish. On the final day of the evacuation, a defiant Churchill was able to go before the House of Commons and declare we shall never surrender. That bravado in those dark days carried the British through the bombing campaign that the Germans waged . . . and through four long years . . . before they returned to the continent as liberators, this time as junior partners to the Americans.

The Dunkirk evacuations ended on June 4, 1940; D-Day came on a June 6, 1944  which makes todays 73rd anniversary of the latter an appropriate time to reflect on the 77th anniversary of the former. In this part of Virginia, we feel especially close to D-Day because so many of the men who stormed those beaches hailed from here. In late May and early June of 1940, heres what they would have been hearing about: The cataclysmic collapse of the allied armies in France.

In World War I, the Germans had flung themselves against the French lines, and the French held. In World War II, they did not. In the years in between, the Germans had devised new technologies, new strategies. The French, bled white by World War I, had adopted a defensive crouch. They built the great Maginot Line of defenses along the border with Germany. They couldnt build those defenses along the Belgium border, though  that would suggest the French werent willing to defend neutral Belgium. When the Germans came in May 1940, they simply bypassed the Maginot Line  and came with such force through Belgium that they burst through the allied lines.

That meant two things: The Germans were free to roll onto Paris. And the British Expeditionary Force, along with some of its allies, were trapped in a bubble around Dunkirk. Back in London, the top British general, Alan Brooke, lamented: Nothing but a miracle can save the BEF now.

That miracle came in two forms.

First, the Germans inexplicably paused. Some conspiracy theorists think Hitler intentionally let the British escape in hopes of making peace with them before he turned his attention to the Soviet Union. Most historians simply think the Germans thought the British had no way to escape, so there was no need to rush in to finish them off.

The second miracle was the little ships, as even ordinary British fishermen turned their trawlers to the French coast to rescue their countrymen. The British naval vessels couldnt get close to shore; the little ships could. By some accounts, up to 700 little ships answered the call while the Royal Air Force kept the Luftwaffe at bay. Its that heroic outpouring that the movie Dunkirk will dramatize over the course of two-plus hours.

The future D-Day liberators from Virginia heard about that evacuation playing out in the real time of about 10 days  horrific days in Europe, but still merely ominous ones in the United States.

High schools and colleges carried on with graduations. Judging from accounts of the speeches, the war in Europe seemed a long way away, and somebody elses concern.

At Andrew Lewis High School in Salem, the graduation speaker was George Peery, head of the biology department at Roanoke College. Expressly steering away from any mention of world wars and the future of the world, Perry talked about trees instead, the Roanoke Times reported.

At William Byrd High School in Vinton, state legislator Ben Chapman assured graduates that golden days lay ahead.

At the College of William and Mary, the president of General Electric told graduates that they should see the chaotic world as a challenge.

The pages of The Roanoke Times offered a grimmer assessment of that chaotic world. At the time, there was an isolationist movement called the Legion Mothers of America. The head of the New York and New Jersey divisions made national news when she suggested that American women might soon have to equip themselves with rifles so they could pick off enemy parachutists. The groups national president disavowed such sentiment, but it seemed clear: Americans were starting to realize the war in Europe might touch our shores, one way or another.

Conscription Is Likely In U.S. If Germans Win, The Roanoke Times headlined.

Big U.S. Fleet, Airforce Held Necessary to Prevent Invasion, proclaimed another story.

Some commentators were already speculating on what would happen if British fell to the Nazis: What if Germany occupied Iceland or Greenland, both Danish possessions at the time? From there, the Germans could attack North America. Or even this: A victorious Germany could claim ownership of Canada.

It was likely thoughts like these that prompted President Roosevelt on May 31 to cancel the graduation speech at the University of Virginia he had planned to give on June 10. The United Press reported that Roosevelt was now devoting most of his days to problems growing out of the war. Secretary of State Cordell Hull had already laid one such problem  and solution  on the presidents desk: Refugee Haven In U.S. Is Forecast.

Nearly eight decades later, the world is a very different place. And yet, in some ways, its no different at all.
The current administration, and particularly President Donald Trump with his denigration of the press, his distortion and denial of the truth, and his use of fear mongering and divisive rhetoric are weakening the institutions of our democratic society. This moves us in the direction of increasingly autocratic rule. You may not accept my characterization of the president but I would ask that you consider it. Autocratic regimes in the past, including Russia, Nazi Germany and China have caused incredible atrocities and calamities.
Stellar Diamonds said it has entered into a conditional binding term sheet with BDG Capital in relation to the proposed sale of its non-core projects in Guinea for $2 million.

The disposal comprised certain plant and equipment as well as the shares in subsidiary companies Ressources Tassiliman Baoule (75 percent interest in the Baoule project), Ressources Mandala Guinee (100 percent stake in the Mandala project) and West African Diamonds (100 percent interest in the Droujba project).

The company had already received $250,000 as an exclusivity fee.

Proceeds of the sale would be used to advance the development of the companys flagship Tongo-Tonguma mine development in Sierra Leone.

The proposed Tongo-Tonguma mine has a low capex requirement of $32 million and the potential to be the second largest kimberlite diamond mine in West Africa - with forecast production levels of 200,000 carats per annum, generating revenues of over $45 million per annum over a minimum life of mine of 21 years, said Stellar chief executive Karl Smithson.

we look forward to unlocking the significant value that we believe is inherent in the Tongo-Tonguma development as we advance the company towards sustained commercial production.



Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished




Christies sold $79.8 million worth of jewelry at its Hong Kong auction, with luxury brand Harry Winston purchasing the most expensive diamond.

The brand has bought the rectangular-cut, 3.98-carat, fancy vivid blue, VVS2 diamond for $8.9 million, or $2.2 million per carat, Christies said. The price of the stone, which was mounted in a ring along with cushion- and triangular-shaped pink diamonds, fell within the pre-sale estimate of $8.3 million to $11 million.

The auction also featured jewels from four Hong Kong designers: Adrian Cheng, Cindy Chao, Edmond Chin and Michelle Ong. These items went for a combined $12.4 million, with an emerald-and-diamond palmette-motif necklace by Chin achieving $6 million.

Separately, a handbag featuring 205 diamonds with a combined weight of 10.23 carats  all VVS clarity and ranging from F to G in color  went under the hammer Wednesday for $379,261 at Christies Handbags and Accessories auction in Hong Kong. The item smashed its pre-sale high estimate of $257,909, setting a new world record for any handbag sold at auction, Christies said.




Officials gathered for a groundbreaking ceremony on June 5 to celebrate the construction of the new Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Blue Hill Avenue station.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, Transportation Secretary and CEO Stephanie Pollack, and MBTA Acting General Manager Brian Shortsleeve were in attendance.

The construction of new station is part of $130 million in Fairmount Commuter Rail Line investments, including the opening of Talbot Avenue Station in 2012, the opening of Newmarket and Four Corners/Geneva Avenue Stations in 2013, bridge replacements and significant rail and tie replacement work. Construction of the Blue Hill Avenue station will take place on weekends and on evening weekdays during evening hours.

Construction of the Blue Hill Avenue Station is a long-awaited milestone for the Mattapan community, said Gov. Baker. Commuter Rail access to and from Mattapan at the Blue Hill Avenue Station will provide faster and affordable access to jobs, educational opportunities, and economic growth along the entire Fairmount Line corridor.

The stations $16.97-million construction contract was awarded to McCourt Construction in January 2017. Blue Hill Avenue Station is expected to open to Fairmount Line customers in 2019 after a two-year construction period.
Depeche Mode have confirmed plans for an arena tour in the UK. The run, dubbed the Global Spirit tour, will find the new wave legends returning to the UK and Ireland starting in November. The brief run will kick off in Dublin at the 3Arena on November 3 and will run through November 22 when they'll wrap at the 02 in London.

The band broke news of the upcoming dates in an official press release and also celebrated their recent sell-out homecoming show in London:

"Saturday night's sold-out show in London that saw the band play to over 68,000 people served as a triumphant return to the UK following an exceptionally intimate performance in March at Glasgow's Barrowlands Ballroom as part of the BBC's 6Music Festival," they wrote in the release.

Upcoming dates:

November 15 Dublin, Ireland 3Arena

November 17 Manchester, UK Manchester Arena

November 19 Birmingham, UK Barclaycard Arena

November 22 London, UK O2 Arena

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Entertainment News
United Airlines will suspend flights to Venezuela next month, becoming the latest airline to end or reduce service to the Latin American country that is grappling with violent political protests and economic chaos.

United Airlines said that effective July 1, it will end daily service between Houston and Caracas due to low demand.

"Because our Houston-Caracas service is not meeting our financial expectations we have decided to suspend it, effective July 1," United spokesman Charles Hobart said.

Other airlines, including Delta Air Lines and American Airlines, have significantly reduced flights to socialist Venezuela since 2014. These carriers have asked the U.S. Department of Transportation for antitrust immunity so as to discuss ways to retrieve the $3.8 billion owed by Venezuela to the airlines.

Chile-based Latam Airlines Group SA, Grupo Aeromexico SAB and Deutsche Lufthansa AG have also suspended flights to Venezuela.

Venezuela has the world's largest oil reserves, but its state-run oil company is deep in debt following the decline in oil production and the plunge in crude oil prices.

The Venezuelan government has faced almost two months of anti-government protests against the policies and actions taken by the Nicolas Maduro regime.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
A Delta Air Lines passenger was mauled and severely injured by an emotional support dog aboard a flight at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

A Delta spokesperson told Fox 5 Atlanta that the passenger was taken off from the flight to receive medical attention.

"The gentleman's face was completely bloody, blood in his eyes, cheeks, nose, his mouth, his shirt was covered in blood," passenger Bridget Maddox-Peoples told Fox 5. She said the dog was a possible lab mix weighing around 50 pounds.

Delta confirmed the incident in a statement to Fox 5 and said the dog and its owner eventually departed Atlanta on a later flight.

"Prior to pushback of flight 1430, ATL-SAN, a passenger sustained a bite from another passenger's emotional support dog. The customer who was bitten was removed from the flight to receive medical attention. Local law enforcement cleared the dog, and the dog and its owner were re-accommodated on a later flight; the dog will fly in a kennel."

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Canadian stocks rose Tuesday, powered by strong gains among gold and oil stocks as the U.S. dollar weakened significantly.

The TSX Composite Index was up 54.78 points, or 0.36%, to 15,464.56.

Gold futures surged to their highest closing prices since last November, jumping near $1300 thanks to safe haven demand ahead of a crucial U.K. election and geopolitical tensions. Gold stocks jumped 4.2 percent.

Energy stocks snapped back from recent losses, picking up more than 1%. WTI light sweet crude oil rose 79 cents, or 1.7%, to end at $48.19/bbl.

In corporate news, Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX.TO) is in talks to sell eye-surgery assets to Germany's Carl Zeiss for $2 billion, according to Reuters. Shares rose 1.1%.

BlackBerry (BB.TO) is in focus amid word that Toyota will not use its platform in the future, preferring rival software for its in-car infotainment system. Shares slipped 0.3%.

Activist short-seller Muddy Waters is using old data to short Asanko Gold (AKG.TO), the CEO of the embattled miner told the Globe and Mail. Over the last week, shares have lost about 20%.

"We don't need money. We don't need equity," Peter Breese said. "We are perfectly able to survive on our own, and not just survive but actually make money."

Ballard Power Systems (BLDP.TO) today announced that it has entered into an $18 million supply contract with Zhongshan Broad-Ocean Motor Co.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Market Analysis
Destination DC (DDC), NYC & Company and San Francisco Travel partnered for the inaugural LGBTQ event during U.S. Travel Associations IPW 2017. The first ever official LGBTQ event took place on Monday, June 5 at Town Danceboutique to celebrate the LGBTQ travel community and bring awareness to the importance of welcoming all visitors to the U.S.

The three cities each have a rich history of activism and large LGBTQ populations. Mondays event, held at the largest gay dance club in DC, will raise $25,000 for the IGLTA Foundation, which supports global LGBTQ tourism through education, research and leadership development.

Were proud to join together to support the LGBTQ community as we all recognize the importance of leading by example for freedom and equality, said Elliott L. Ferguson, president and CEO, Destination DC.

Our partnership in this event illustrates that openness to all visitors extends coast to coast in the U.S. As a longtime global LGBTQ destination, San Francisco is excited to join with Washington, DC and New York City in celebrating pride and encouraging everyone to experience our diverse and welcoming cities, said Joe D'Alessandro, president and CEO of San Francisco Travel.

There's never been a better moment in time to unite around such an important and productive initiative, said Fred Dixon, NYC & Company's president and CEO.

IPW, the largest generator of travel to the U.S., is underway in Washington, DC for the first time through June 7, 2017.

Following IPW, pride celebrations take place in each destination. Capital Pride in DC is June 8-11 and is expected to draw more than 250,000 people. The theme of the 42nd festival is Unapologetically Proud! The street festival (June 11) coincides with the Equality March for Unity and Pride on the National Mall.

San Francisco Pride, an annual event since 1972, will be June 24-25. The theme is A Celebration of Diversity.

In New York City, the theme for this years pride celebration is We are Proud from June 16-25 with 10 days of activism and celebration.

If you plan to attend any of these Pride events, click to book your hotel in Washington DC, San Francisco, New York City
Southeast Asia countries gear to promote their touristic attractions and programmes along the Maritime Silk Route at the Beijing International Travel Mart (BITM) 2017 which will be held at China National Convention Center (CNCC) in Beijing, China from 16  18 November 2017.

The three-day event, open to trade visitors on the first two days and to public visitors on the last day, will climax the current ASEAN-China Year of Tourism Cooperation 2017.

With a gross area of 10,000 square meters, BITM 2017 will feature over 400 international exhibitors from over 60 countries. In addition, the event is expected to attract some 400 local and international buyers and is projected to attract 10,000 public visitors as well as 6,000 trade visitors from the MICE, OTAs, Travel Agents, Corporates and Trade Associations.

To accentuate the ASEAN-China Year of Tourism Cooperation, a panel discussion on the first day of the BITM 2017, would feature prominent captains of industry from both ASEAN and China, exploring extended cooperation between the two regions, in sync with the initiatives being formulated under the Maritime Silk Route.

Another forum on the second day would be dedicated to big data and analytics as well as the latest travel technologies that are being implemented across the global tourism industry. There would also be specially curated workshops running concurrently with the exhibition to provide attendees with relevant industry updates.

Exhibitors could also look forward to enriched business matchings through one-on-one meeting interaction technology to maximize the efficiency of their pre-scheduled appointments with the preferred Chinese and international buyers.

For more information on the Beijing International Travel Mart 2017, please visit www.BITMChina.com and for hotel bookings, you can search by visiting this link.
Pegasus Airlines is expanding its flight network from Ankara in a strategy that is set to develop the future of Turkish civil aviation with the creation of new hubs alongside Istanbul in the effort to open up new markets.

From June, Pegasus will be adding eight new routes operating out of Ankara Esenboga Airport to and from Trabzon, Antalya, Adana, Van, Gaziantep, Erzurum, Diyarbakir and Balikesir-Edremit. Pegasus will now be flying a total number of 11 flights within Turkey operating from Ankara, adding to the current three routes operating between Ankara Esenboga and Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen, Izmir and Bodrum.

Pegasus Airlines CEO Mehmet T. Nane says that Turkey will need a greater number of hubs and the development of airport infrastructure in order to support the transit market and the healthy growth of direct flights: For this reason we are expanding our network from Ankara, a market of great importance to Pegasus. We are proud and delighted to have increased our Ankara operated internal flights within Turkey to 11 and we are in the process of negotiations to open new international routes between Ankara and Northern Cyprus, Erbil, Amman, Kiev, Vienna, Stuttgart, Cologne, Dusseldorf and for the summer season Brussels Charleroi and Stockholm. In the near future when we launch our new international routes we will be transforming the airport to a new international hub.
State Board recommends Kansas districts retire native mascots, imagery

The Kansas State Board of Education voted to make a "strong recommendation" that school districts in Kansas retire the use of American Indian mascots.
Renaissance Hotels has announced the appointment of General Manager to the soon-to-launch Renaissance Pattaya Resort & Spa.

Saurabh Kukreja named as General Manager. He is a graduate in Hospitality Management and also holds an MBA from renowned hospitality school, Institut Vatel in France.

Having started his career in Front Office, he has since held various management and general management positions at different luxury properties, including prestigious London hotels, The Savoy, The Berkeley and The Bentley. His last role in Thailand was at the Amari Watergate in Bangkok in 2014. Before returning to Thailand, Kukreja was the General Manager at Crimson Hotel Filinvest City in Manila, Philippines.

In his new role, Mr. Kukreja will take overall responsibility for the operations of the 257-room resort and ensure that this new development will fully deliver on customer and business expectations. His expertise and range of operational experience will further support the inaugural positioning of the Renaissance brand in Pattaya.

Renaissance Pattaya will offer some of the citys most comfortable accommodation, including chic Pool Villas and spacious Family Suites. Recreational facilities will include two outdoor swimming pools, a kids pool, kids club and a luxury spa. Located in the attractive and tranquil Jomtien district, the low-rise resort will offer a fashionable beachfront retreat within easy reach of the towns attractions. The property is scheduled to open on the 1st August 2017.
The Chamber of Commerce and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade are hosting the New Zealand Samoa Trade and Investment Commission business mission this week.

The mission is to not only build partnerships with local businesses but also to create trade and investment opportunities for all.

N.Z.S.T.I.C. was launched in Auckland in 2011 by the government of Samoa with the key objective to facilitate, strengthen and increase the flow of trade and investment between the two countries.

Yesterday, a Forum held at Tanoa Tusitala Hotel saw government officials and representatives of different businesses come together to discuss trade.

The Chambers Chief Executive Officer, Lemauga Hobart Vaai, said the forum is really a great opportunity for local businesses to network with potential partners in New Zealand.

Its just us connecting our local businesses to businesses in New Zealand, he said. Its about creating opportunities for our people, trade opportunities and investment opportunities.

We want to be exporting more to New Zealand so having partners like these are very important. We also deeply acknowledge the governments work; Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade with their Trade Division as our partner; they give us the programme of what they want and we then we try to match it with whats available locally.

Its important that we all work together.

This is only the beginning of the forum but over the next two days, N.Z.S.T.I.C. has already organized meetings with other government ministries who are not here with us today.

Its basically looking for investment opportunities for those of us here.

So they can just come and see our manufacturers and see whats available in Samoa, that they can be partners of and thats the most important thing about this meeting.

We want an ongoing relationship with the teams so theyre using us; Chamber, as the vehicle to highlight the businesses that are available to this; you know who would be looking for investment and also for trade opportunities.

N.Z.S.T.I.C. have come with their own list; of what theyre looking to invest in, so we go around looking for the right people.

The N.Z.S.T.I.C. group that is here today are mostly education providers so what we do is try and partner up these people with local businesses so local businesses can develop.

The Minister of Finance, Sili Epa Tuioti expressed his disappointment about the poor participation by local businesses.

Im very disappointed that not many Samoan business people are here when they should be here, he said.

Its an opportunity to create partnerships and to learn from N.Z.S.T.I.C. experiences and successes.

Anyways one of the governments strategic common outcomes is not only to enhance the participation of private sectors in the development of our economy but also and more importantly, to make a private sector the engineer of economic growth.

This is an opportunity to invest.

Please dont hesitate to come forward with recommendations on how we need to improve and in what area.

Sili also acknowledged the government of New Zealand for their support.

The second and last day for this business forum is today, at Tanoa Tusitala Conference room at 9am.
If you ask almost anyone whether they worry or not, they will almost certainly say yes. We worry about a lot of things in our lives. A new study reveals what people across 26 countries worry the most.

According to a monthly online survey of adults aged under 65 in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Britain, Germany, Hungary, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Peru, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the United States, the majority of people think that their country is on the wrong track. South Africa, Mexico, Brazil, South Korea, Italy and France are the most concerned. This worry is 60% on average in May 2017 and a 1% point drop from the previous month.

The three major worries for global citizens all remain consistent with the previous month:

Unemployment is still the primary global worry, with the highest level of concern in Italy (67%). Germany is least worried, with only 10% picking unemployment as a worry

Financial/political corruption comes next, with South Africans most concern (65%), and Swedes least (7%)

Poverty/social inequality is the third most common worry, with particular concern in Hungary (57%) and the US with the least level of concern (17%)

Top 3 topics that the most worrying in

Australia: Unemployment 37%, Crime & Violence 33%, Healthcare 27%

Canada: Healthcare 37%, Unemployment 33%, Taxes 33%

China: Threats to the environment 48%, Moral decline 39%, Healthcare 35%

France: Unemployment 52%, Terrorism 46%, Poverty & Social inequality 34%

Germany: Poverty & Social inequality 43%, Crime & Violence 38%, Terrorism 38%

Great Britain: Healthcare 44%, Crime & Violence 32%, Immigration control 31%

Russia: Financial/political corruption 54%, Poverty & Social inequality 53%, Unemployment 42%

Spain: Unemployment 65%, Financial/political corruption 61%, Poverty & Social inequality 36%

Turkey: Terrorism 64%, Unemployment 40%, Financial/political corruption 28%

USA: Healthcare 36%, Terrorism 35%, Crime & Violence 30%

Click here to see the full report
As organiser and host of the Miss Samoa Pageant for three consecutive years starting in 2016, it is most fitting for the Samoa Events Incorporated (S.E.I) to play a leading role in the Think Pink Cancer Appeal.

Foremost, S.E.I applauds the initiative by the brainchild of the event, from LIFE-Con Explosion which has united the reigning Miss Samoa and the past Miss Samoas and Miss Pacific Islands to the Samoa Cancer Society for launching this worthy and lifesaving event.

It would be amiss for S.E.I not to join the appeal and also to hail a courageous mother, aunty, cousin and niece who has stepped up as the icon of the drive to raise public awareness against Breast Cancer.

She is none other than, Manamea Apelu Tuiletufuga Saaga Schwalger, a former Miss Samoa and Miss South Pacific.

Her bravery and courage to be the face of the appeal based on the theme Beyond Treatment. Calls for our support! says a thousand words.

Fighting to survive, Manamea is dedicating her time not only to raise awareness but also to ensure that future cancer patients have the resources to fight this dreaded disease.

Its on that note that S.E.I is honored to donate $2,000 to the cause.

S.E.I represents a dedicated and committed group of students who were educated through Apia Infants to Leififi Intermediate and went their separate ways to attend respective colleges here and abroad but graduated in 1981.

And more than 30 years later, we hosted a successful reunion in Samoa in 2015.

And believe it or not, among S.E.Is members are former Miss Samoa Pageant contestants. Ivy Warner claimed the crown while attending Samoa College. And then Lemalu Lina Slade Palamo, in 1984 and went on to represent our country in the Miss Universe Pageant held in Florida, the United States.

And we have our very own Monette Meredith Hill, a contestant in the 1981 Miss Samoa Pageant.

On that note, our measly donation represents S.E.Is commitment to play its part and this is one of the main community outreach programs, which S.E.I is committed to because we remain firm on our resolve that Cancer does not discriminate.
Speed and alcohol are suspected in a crash at Eva on Sunday involving a Police Land Cruiser vehicle.

No one was injured but the Police officer driving the vehicle was lucky not to end up in the river at the area.

The left front tyre of the vehicle flew off when it crashed into the concrete safety blocks of the ford.

The crash was confirmed by Police Spokesperson, Su'a Muliaga Tiumalu.

I can confirm that the Police are investigating the matter now, he told the Samoa Observer.

He could not confirm or deny claims that alcohol was involved.

But an eyewitness who has asked to be kept anonymous said the Police should lead by example.

He told the Samoa Observer the incident could have been deadly.

He said the smell of alcohol was extremely strong in the vehicle and the driver looked like he was not all there.

He seemed confused, walking up and down the street, as onlookers took photos and videos on their cellphones.

In a short video clip, the Police officer can be seen standing next to the vehicle with his uniform unbuttoned.

He lit a smoke, walked up and down the road looking dazed and confused.
Cancer cells under stress communicate with others to boost tumor survival, according to a study by University of California San Diego scientists.

The stressed malignant cells activate a mechanism called the unfolded protein response. This helps them survive the stress of chemotherapy or lack of nutrients, according to the study. It was published Tuesday in Science Signaling.

The UPR helps cells eliminate abnormal proteins made under stress. Its a normal mechanism, evolutionarily conserved among mammals, that cancer cells exploit.

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By activating this response, tumor cells can acquire a survival advantage that cant be explained by genetics, the study stated. This has implications for genetically targeted cancer therapy, which is increasingly popular.

The findings build on a 2012 study, led by UC San Diego tumor immunologist Dr. Maurizio Zanetti. It demonstrated that tumor cells produce a signal called transmissible ER stress, or TERS, that recruits immune cells made by the bone marrow to promote tumor survival. These are the very cells that are supposed to stand guard against abnormal cells.

Zanetti is the new studys senior author. Jeffrey J. Rodvold, a member of Zanettis lab, is first author. The study can be found at j.mp/canstress.

TERS triggers the unfolded protein response in human prostate cancer cells, the study found. Also TERS-primed cancer cells implanted into mice grew faster than cells that were not so primed.

Use of this response helps explain why some cancer cells survive better than others, Rodvald said in a UCSD statement.

In each instance, receiving stress signals caused cells to survive better, he said in the statement. Understanding how cellular fitness is gained within the tumor microenvironment is key to understand cooperativity among cancer cells as a way to collective resilience to nutrient starvation and therapies.

This co-operative response helps explain how cancer cells are so tough, Zanetti said in the statement.

We know that tumor cells live in difficult environments, exposed to nutrient deprivation and lack of oxygen, which in principle should restrict tumor growth., Zanetti said. Through stress transmission, tumor cells help neighboring tumor cells to cope with these adverse conditions and eventually survive and acquire growth advantages.

Moreover, this response may explain behavioral differences among cancer cells with the same genetic characteristics, the study said.

Our findings corroborate the conclusions of recent reports that showed that individual tumor cells within a uniform genetic lineage can acquire functionally different behaviors in vivo, implying that functional clonal diversity may reflect the outgrowth of cells with greater fitness and extended survival generated by cell-nonautonomous signaling and processes, the study stated.

Accordingly, future management of cancer should take into consideration these new aspects of cancer cell dynamics within the tumor microenvironment.

Funding sources include the U.S. Department of Defense; the National Institutes of Health; the Frank H. and Eva B. Buck Foundation and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.

Co-authors include: Kevin T. Chiu, Nobuhiko Hiramatsu, Julia K. Nussbacher, Valentina Galimberti, Navin R. Mahadevan, Karl Willert, and Jonathan H. Lin, all at UC San Diego.

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

bradley.fikes@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1020
The restaurant group responsible for delivering Dunkin Donuts to San Diego County is also bringing back a beloved bakery to Lemon Grove.

Burton Restaurants, LLC will open the Lemon Grove Bakery on Friday. The bakery used to be called Grove Pastry Shop and has been closed since November 2015.

Helen Ofield, president of the Lemon Grove Historical Society, said there will be a soft opening of the bakery from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. Friday, 3308 Main St..

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People are really straining at the leash for this, Ofield said. Theres a poster on the door that says you can already order cakes (at lemongrovebakery@burtonfoods.biz). It will be so wonderful to have it back.

The bakery, housed in a historic 105-year-old Mission-style building near the giant lemon downtown, has been a Lemon Grove tradition for nearly 70 years.

The Grove Pastry Shop opened in 1947 on Broadway. The Ohlund family, immigrants from Sweden, bought it in 1955.

The Ohlunds owned and operated the shop from 1955 to 2002. In 1980, they moved the bakery into the citys former 1912-built General Store at Main and Pacific streets, where it has remained since. The Ohlunds sold the bakery to Rick Rehan in 2002; Teresa Johnson bought it in 2005.

Interim manager Kimberly Harrison said when she was cleaning on Sunday and had the door open, several people walked up and asked when the bakery would be ready for business.

When I told them Friday, one guy said, What time on Friday? I want 3 dozen donuts! Harrison said.

Harrison said Jen McCurdy would be stepping in to manage the store once it was up and running.

Jen plans to keep the lemon shortcake and strawberry whipped cream cakes and keep it as close as we can as far as cake goes to what people remember, Harrison said.

The store will serve cakes, cupcakes, danishes, croissants and a variety of donuts.

Burton Restaurants last December opened Dunkin Donuts on East Plaza Boulevard in National City. It also has a store downtown San Diego at the Embassy Suites and has a presence on three local military sites.
The former headmaster of a Carlsbad military boarding school was found guilty Monday on six counts of molesting a cadet at the campus nearly 20 years ago, but acquitted on five other charges involving the same student.

Jeffrey Barton, 59, has repeatedly denied the abuse, which prosecutors said started when the victim was 14 years old and attending the seaside Army and Navy Academy, where Barton worked from 1995 until shortly before his arrest in 2013.

This was the second trial for Barton. He faces up to 48 years in prison when he is sentenced Aug. 1.

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The verdicts were read on the first day of deliberations since Vista Superior Court Judge Harry Elias replaced a juror who was accused of failing to deliberate. Elias interviewed each of the jurors individually Thursday and then made his ruling Friday to dismiss Juror No. 12 and replace her with an alternate.

In a series of telephone calls over the weekend from the Vista jail, Barton maintained his innocence, but told the Union-Tribune he was certain the jury would find him guilty because No. 12  apparently the lone holdout  had been replaced.

He criticized the judges ruling to replace the juror and attacked the credibility of the former cadet around whom the charges were based. When asked about six other former students from schools spread across three states who said he also molested them, Barton accused them of seeking the limelight  even though they have not been publicly identified.

I see my life right now is gone, Barton said Sunday. .. Theres nothing left. The one thing I have is my right to say I didnt do these things.

Deputy District Attorney Patricia Lavermicocca said outside the courtroom Monday that justice was done. She said the victim is glad that (Barton) is being held accountable.

Bartons attorney, Deputy Public Defender Sherry Stone, left the courtroom without making comment.

The retrial ran for roughly three weeks and involved 150 piece of evidence and nearly 40 witnesses, the prosecutor said.

Juror No. 6, who declined to give his name, said it was a tough case, in part because the crimes took place 18 years ago, between 1999 and 2001.

That made it difficult, he said.

He said the panel had only begun to discuss the first count against Barton when deliberations broke down. Juror No. 12 was replaced before any discussions began on the remaining charges, he said.

In 2015, a jury in another trial deadlocked over charges that Barton had abused the former student. Prosecutors retried Barton on 11 felony charges accusing him of repeatedly molesting the victim both on campus and during out-of-town trips.

On Monday, the jury convicted Barton of four counts of sexually abusing the boy in Bartons on-campus home, but cleared him of four charges involving incidents that allegedly took place in Bartons office.

Juror No. 6 said the panel used corroborating evidence and testimony to reach its conclusions. The jury convicted Barton of molesting the cadet during a trip to Big Bear because the prosecution presented strong evidence that the trip happened, he said, but acquitted Barton on charges linked to a trip to Joshua Tree because the corroborating evidence was less strong.

The case in some ways also hinged on the credibility of the accuser, who did not disclose the alleged abuse until 2013. The prosecution pointed to corroborating evidence, including contemporaneous suspicions from adults at the school, and other accusers dating back decades. The defense tore into the accusers story, called him a liar, and noted that he has since sued the school. (That civil trial is set for August.)

During the investigation, six more former students from boarding schools in three states came forward with allegations that Barton had abused them in incidents dating to the mid-1980s. Among them was a man who said he had never spoken of the abuse until he read of Bartons arrest online.

The man, now in his 40s, testified that he threw up, then drove home from work to tell his wife for the first time what had happened to him at a South Carolina boarding school decades earlier. Charges were never filed in the out of state cases.

In a phone call Sunday, Barton said he believes the former students had their own motivation for testifying about incidents that he said never happened.

I think there is sensationalism, theres suspicion, theres rumors, things like that, he said. He declined to elaborate, saying he would have to address each allegation separately.

Juror No. 6 said in his deliberations he took into account the testimony of the other accusers, including the former South Carolina student, who the juror said was very genuine. He noted the similarities in the stories between two people that had never met.

In his first trial, Barton was charged with molesting four former cadets during their time at the Army and Navy Academy between 1995 and 2001. The school issued a statement late Monday reiterating that Bartons crimes took place well before the current administration and Board of Trustees were in place and that the academys commitment to the safety, health and well being of our cadets and employees continues to be unwavering.

Before the first trial, a judge dismissed charges involving one of the Army and Navy accusers. A few months later, the jury at Bartons first trial acquitted him of molesting other two Army and Navy during an overnight ski trip. That same jury deadlocked as to the charges involving the accuser known as John Doe, and the retrial was on charges linked to that lone victim.

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Retrial starts for former schools official accused of molesting cadet

Secrets of the past catch up to Barton

During closing arguments May 25, Lavermicocca told the jury that Barton followed a formula in which he groomed the boy, plied him with gifts and trips and then did the unspeakable for his own perverted sexual desires.

When the molestation started, the cadet was left confused and helpless, sure he would not be believed over Barton, who also had gained the trust of his mother, the prosecutor said. The accuser testified that Barton threatened to tell his mother he was acting out if he did not comply.

Suspicion was so strong by others on campus that Carlsbad police were called to investigate in 2000. At that time, the boy denied the abuse.

Stone, the defense attorney, pointed to that denial and other inconsistent statements from the accuser since he came forward four years ago. Stone also noted that the accuser had initially denied that hed continued his communication with Barton long after he left the school in early 2001. Cellphone records show more than 60 calls between them in 2004 and 2005.

This case is based on John Doe and his statements  his prior inconsistent statements and his lies, she said. John Doe cannot be believed.

Barton did not take testify in his own defense; he said hed been counseled against it.

teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @TeriFigueroaUT
Traveling between Escondido and Ramona along state Route 78 will be impossible during a 10-day-span beginning Friday night.

From 9 p.m. June 9 through 5 a.m June 19, a small section of the highway between the two communities will be closed to all traffic so that work crews can position large machinery on the highway needed to stabilize a downhill slope.

The result will be a lengthy detour. What normally might be a 15- to 20-minute drive from downtown Ramona to central Escondido will now take closer to 45 minutes as cars are routed along a southerly course that includes Interstate 15 and state Route 67.

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There will be no access through the construction zone, however motorists may travel on either side of the closure. For instance, even though the detour will begin on the Escondido side at Cloverdale Road/San Pasqual Road, people wishing to visit the San Diego Zoos Safari Park about a mile further east can do so.

California transportation officials at first hoped to be able to do the work earlier this year over the course of four weekend-only closures but found out after the first weekend a lengthier time period would be needed.

In recent years several rock slides following heavy rains have caused authorities to close the highway through that area. The work is needed to make the hillside secure and safe, officials said.

During the closure, the highway will be shut down between Indian Oaks Road and Weekend Villa Road. The detour will extend from Cloverdale Road/San Pasqual Road near Escondido to Main Street/state Route 67 in Ramona.

Eastbound travelers will be detoured south on Cloverdale Road/San Pasqual Road, south on Bear Valley Parkway/Via Rancho Parkway, south on Interstate 15, east on Scripps Poway Parkway and north on state Route 67 to Route 78. Westbound motorists will follow the same detour in the opposite direction. Other unmarked detour routes could take travelers through northern Poway and eventually up the Poway Grade and onto Route 67.

jharry.jones@sduniontribune.com; 760/529-4931; Twitter: @jharryjones
They were too busy back then to understand the significance of the battle they were fighting.

I probably got 10 or 12 hours of sleep in four days, Rudy Matz said.

Those four days altered the course of World War II and became known forever as the Battle of Midway. Monday, aboard the aircraft carrier museum in San Diego thats named after the battle, Matz and five others who fought in it were the honored guests at a 75th anniversary ceremony.

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I feel very fortunate to be here, said Matz, 97, during a break in the commemoration that drew about 1,000 people to the flight deck of the USS Midway Museum. Sometimes youre just in the right place at the right time.

Place and time had a lot to do with the victory, widely considered by historians to be among the greatest in U.S. naval history. It came just six months after the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor that pushed the U.S. into World War II. Japan had followed up with a string of conquests in the Pacific, and Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto readied an invasion of Midway, a strategic U.S.-held atoll about 1,300 miles northwest of Oahu, that he hoped would destroy what was left of the American fleet.

What Yamamoto didnt know is that the U.S. had deciphered the Japanese communications code. Adm. Chester Nimitz organized an ambush. By the time the fighting was over on June 7, 1942, Japan had lost more than 3,000 men, four aircraft carriers, one heavy cruiser and 250 planes. The U.S. paid a price, too  307 men, one carrier, one destroyer, 150 planes  but the tide was turned.

We know now the back of the Japanese Imperial Navy was broken in that battle, said Adm. Scott Swift, commander of the Pacific Fleet, during Mondays ceremony.

Under cloudy, misty skies, Swift paid tribute to the surviving veterans on board by reading summaries of what they did during the battle. Each was presented a folded American flag in a display case with this quote from writer Walter Lord engraved on the back: Even against the greatest of odds, there is something in the human spirit  a magic blend of skill, faith, and valor  that can lift men from certain defeat to incredible victory.

Matz experienced both the highs and lows at Midway. He was a fire controlman on the Hughes, a destroyer, which shot down several Japanese planes during the battle. He also helped rescue sailors from the doomed and eventually sunk aircraft carrier Yorktown.

Inspired in part by the courage of American pilots that day, Matz later became a flier himself, completing 44 combat missions in a Hellcat and shooting down four Japanese planes.

Andy Mills, another of the veterans honored Monday, was a steward aboard the Yorktown. Asked what he most remembered about the battle, the 102-year-old laughed softy and said, Half the time I was too scared to do anything.

He and the rest of the crew abandoned the carrier early in the battle after it was left tilting to one side by Japanese bombs and torpedoes. When the ship refused to go down, he and others returned to put out fires and stabilize the ship. Ordered by the paymaster to retrieve the payroll from a safe, he had just sent the cash-filled valise on a rope to a nearby destroyer when more torpedoes arrived.

Mills was rescued by a tugboat and then transferred to another ship. Im just happy to be here today, surrounded by so many friends, Mills said Monday.

The other survivors honored at the ceremony were Geoffrey Blackman, Ronald Graetz, Charles Monroe and Ellis Dee Skidmore.

During his keynote speech, Adm. John Richardson, chief of naval operations, talked about the strokes of good luck that enabled the outnumbered U.S. fleet to win the battle. The code-breakers who alerted Navy commanders to the Japanese plans. The submarine Nautilus, which distracted and delayed a Japanese destroyer. The 33 dive bomber pilots, running low on fuel, who decided against turning back and in five minutes of attacking took out three of the Japanese carriers.

The whole story, Richardson said, trends toward the miraculous.

The enduring message of the battle, he said, is how every act, no matter how seemingly mundane or even ineffective, can make a difference. The margins of victory are almost always razor thin, he said.

The audience Monday included relatives of about 30 Midway veterans who died during the battle or in the years since. The dwindling number of survivors adds poignancy and urgency to the annual commemorations, said Swift, the Pacific Fleet commander. It falls on all of us to make sure their stories are told, he said.

The ceremony was timed to coincide with a similar event on the Midway atoll, where survivors placed a wreath to the fallen and a sailor played Taps. Both ceremonies were broadcast around the world on the armed forces media network.

john.wilkens@sduniontribune.com

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Baja California is moving ahead with plans to expand and upgrade its failing San Antonio de los Buenos sewage treatment plant, located on Tijuanas coast, and expects to launch construction next year, a state official said.

The project, estimated at $24.7 million, entails the upgrade of existing wastewater treatment ponds at the 30-year-old facility just south of the border with San Diego County. It also involves the construction of a new activated sludge facility on the site.

In addition, the blueprint calls for construction of a collector system tasked with gathering sewage from coastal developments and delivering it for treatment to a plant in Rosarito Beach.

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The projects are key components of Baja Californias $357 million strategic plan to upgrade Tijuanas sewage system  a wide-ranging wish list of projects that would serve to improve coastal water quality both in Tijuana and southern San Diego County, which share the same watershed. State officials wrote the proposal, which was submitted to U.S. authorities in late April, in collaboration with the Border Environment Cooperation Commission, a bi-national agency that supports infrastructure projects.

The longstanding issue of cross-border sewage flows from Tijuana into the South Bay  and up to Coronado via coastal currents  has been in the public spotlight again since last winters heavy rains, which compounded the year-round problem of spills. Baja Californias efforts come as a growing chorus in San Diego County, including residents, public officials and most recently members of the U.S. Border Patrol, has been calling for greater measures to stop the pollution from crossing the border.

In Mexico, officials acknowledge that their aging and underfunded sewer system needs multiple upgrades despite significant strides made in recent years, much of it in collaboration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which has provided technical support and funding.

The issue came up Monday following a celebration of World Environment Day celebration just south of the U.S. border fence in Playas de Tijuana.

This is what we need to take care of, to protect, said the events host, Tijuana Mayor Juan Manuel Gastelum, speaking against a backdrop of crashing waves.

The main causes of contamination of Mexicos beaches comes from urban and industrial wastewater with inadequate treatment, said Alfonso Blancafort, who heads the office of Mexicos environmental secretariat in Baja California. He urged citizens to take responsibility alongside government agencies, refraining from throwing used tires and trash in watersheds and streams.

The ceremony included the signing of agreement by the city and the United Nations environment office in Mexico committing to reducing the use of disposable plastic, an issue affecting oceans worldwide and posing a threat to hundreds of species.

Imperial Beach Mayor Serge Dedina, who was among the speakers, said following the event that he is working with other elected officials in the region to urge Congress to continue support for the EPAs Border Infrastructure Fund, which is targeted for elimination under President Donald Trumps proposed budget.

Nothing is higher priority for us, said Dedina, adding that its important that Mexican agencies also contribute funds to support this plan by the state of Baja California to address Tijuanas sewage issues.

Miguel Lemus, head of the states Public Service Commission in Tijuana, known as CESPT, said his agency is currently working on repairing five sewage collectors, a priority for avoiding future spills into the Tijuana River watershed.

In an interview, he said the state is in the final design stages for the upgrades to the coastal water treatment plant at Punta Bandera. Launched in 1988, the plant today treats 37 percent of Tijuanas sewage, but its effluent has failed to comply with Mexicos coastal emissions standards since 2015.

The upgrades are urgently needed, according to the state report, and will avoid pollution as well as the dissatisfaction and complaints from the United States of America.

A Mexican federal agency, Fondo Nacional de Infraestructura, is expected to cover 40 percent of the cost of the plant, with the remainder expected to be shared by the state of Baja California by the private sector, possibly through a public-private partnership, according to the BECC.

The upgrades and new facility would be carried out in 2018, and begin operations in 2019, according to the states plan.

sandra.dibble@sduniontribune.com

@sandradibble
A week after officials disclosed a 57% rise in Los Angeles veteran homelessness, advocates say the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is delaying housing development on its West Los Angeles campus.

A report to be released Tuesday from Vets Advocacy, a nonprofit group created to oversee the development, accuses the federal agency of stalling development of a model community for 1,200 homeless veterans on its long-neglected 388-acre campus.

The advocacy group says the VA also dragged out termination of commercial leases on the property and blocked the groups oversight of negotiations with renters, including UCLA, whose Jackie Robinson Stadium will remain on the VA land.

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Change at the West L.A. VA campus is moving too slowly, and the pace of change is slowing as well, the report says. It urges the Trump administrations new VA secretary, David Shulkin, to make his commitment to [the development] clear and then do everything within his power to facilitate it.

As we have seen with the spike in homelessness, even a year makes a big difference, Jesse Creed, the executive director of Vets Advocacy, said Monday.

Ann Brown, director of the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, said legislation authorizing the development had passed just eight months ago, and the plans must undergo environmental review.

Under former Secretary Robert McDonald, the VA and local officials had touted an unprecedented push to get homeless veterans off the streets in Los Angeles. Mayor Eric Garcetti joined the Obama administrations drive to end veteran homelessness in 2016, although he extended the pledge timeline and finally dropped the deadline last year.

The VA replaced leadership at the VAs West Los Angeles Medical Center and issued more than 1,500 rent vouchers for homeless veterans in two years. More than have 8,000 veterans found housing since January 2015.

But after falling 30% from 2015 to 2016, the number of homeless veterans in Los Angeles jumped to 4,828 from 3,071 in the official 2017 count announced last week, wiping out the previous years improvement. L.A. homelessness overall rose 23% countywide and 20% in the city.

Stephen Peck, president of U.S. Vets, said more than 500 veterans with VA vouchers cant find a place to live because of Southern Californias soaring rents. Peck also said the VA does not provide enough case management to help veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, military sexual trauma and other severe issues stay in housing.

Theyre not going to get in housing and just get better, said Peck, who added that he recently met with homeless officials in Washington, D.C., about what he described as a chronic VA problem. They need support to keep on track, make sure they are taking their medication and keeping appointments so they remain stable.

Heidi Marston, director for community engagement and reintegration services at the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center, said the agencys national homeless program is in the midst of a 100-day campaign to help veterans beat the tough rental market.

Vets Advocacy was created as part of a 2015 legal settlement with homeless and disabled veterans who sued over the VAs alleged misuse of its West Los Angeles property, the largest undeveloped lot on the citys Westside.

The settlement included adoption of a master plan dedicating the rolling property to permanent housing and legal, mental health and job services for 1,200 veterans. It also mandated the creation of an exit strategy for commercial and other entities that had leased land from the VA while campus buildings dedicated as a soldiers home deteriorated and largely emptied.

The groups report says the VA delayed the initial phase of the housing development by 18 months and reduced the number of units in that phase to 160 from 210. It also said the VA had yet to open a renovated building initially designated for permanent housing a decade ago.

A spokeswoman for Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said the renovated building will open this week. The campus, however, may soon house fewer veterans than it does now.

Earlier this year, the VA ended its contract with the Salvation Army to provide shelter at the West L.A. campus. Some of the 270 beds will be relocated to the Salvation Armys shelter in Bell, but 130 spots for women, older veterans and those in an alcohol and drug treatment program will be lost, said Pilar Buelna, the Salvation Armys executive director of social services in the L.A. area.

Buelna said she believes veteran homelessness rose because the VA and local and federal homeless officials switched from transitional housing programs to permanent supportive housing before the permanent housing was built.

Our veterans are not happy, she said. They should have been more strategic with the transition.

Brown said the Salvation Army was asked to leave because of poor performance.

We frankly do not believe that the Salvation Army is taking care of our veterans in the way we think they should be taken care of, said Brown, adding that the VA is working to relocate displaced veterans.

gholland@latimes.com

Twitter: @geholland

UPDATES:

June 7, 3:25 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details from VA officials.

This article was originally published June 6 at 4:00 a.m.
Cathay Pacific Holidays has selected DHISCO Inc., the worlds leading hospitality distribution company, to connect its travelers with the most up-to-date rates and information from hotels around the globe.

Based in Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific Holidays is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cathay Pacific Airways Limited, specializing in travel packages. The company said it chose DHISCO to power its hotel booking engine so that its customers have the most reliable information when planning trips.

This partnership with DHISCO will facilitate the continued expansion of Cathay Pacifics ancillary revenue strategy and ensure that our customers are provided with the most competitive hotel rates and latest information, said Cindy Lee, managing director, Cathay Pacific Holidays. We currently offer travel packages in 15 markets and are looking to extend this to many more markets in the short to medium term.

DHISCO CEO Toni Portmann said the partnership benefits both Cathay Pacific Holidays and DHISCOs lodging partners.

DHISCO will give Cathay Pacific Holidays a new avenue into Asias fast-growing travel market while giving our hotel partners a new avenue for tapping into that demand, Portmann said.

With one simple connection through our DHISCO Switch, Cathay Pacific Holidays will be able to access the latest rates and other important information about our more than 110,000 hotel partners around the globe, she said.

DHISCO Inc. is the worlds original and leading hospitality distribution company, providing the most reliable and advanced technology to connect hotels around the world with online travel agencies, global distribution systems, metasearch engines and other travel partners. Since 1989, DHISCO has built its reputation on providing the most efficient and affordable means to market, capture and book hotel reservations. Today, it moves more than 10 billion transactions a month for more than 110,000 hotels.
A federal appeals court on Tuesday found that San Diego police used reasonable force when they released a dog during a late-night search for a potential burglar in a Pacific Beach office building, resulting in a bite injury to an employee sleeping on her sofa.

In its 10-1 ruling, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals emphasized the right of police officers to protect themselves from a potential threat and how the circumstances at the building the night of Feb. 11, 2010, reasonably suggested a burglary was in progress.

The ruling overturns an opinion reached last year by a three-member panel of the 9th Circuit. It also adds to a growing body of case law pertaining to the use of dogs in police work.

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The court found that the officers acted reasonably, used appropriate force, and were justified in protecting themselves when responding to an uncertain and potentially dangerous situation in a dark office building, the City Attorneys Office said in a statement Tuesday.

The lawyers representing the bite victim, Sara Lowry, plan to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

This is a very important case in the current state of police relations with the general citizenry and the United States right now, and how police use force, said Nathan Shaman, one of her San Diego-based attorneys. We think that the majority definitely got it wrong considering the use of bite-and-hold technique in this case did not violate our clients rights.

Lowry, who worked for a data consulting firm, sued the San Diego Police Department alleging the citys find-and-bite dog policy to locate and hold suspects caused an excessive use of force. She did not sue the officers individually.

Lowry had gone out for drinks with friends and returned to her office, where she fell asleep. At one point, she got up to use the restroom in a neighboring office suite and then went back to sleep. Her trip unknowingly set off the buildings alarm around 11 p.m., prompting officers to investigate.

The officers noted a door on a second-floor balcony was ajar and went in suspecting they were dealing with an active burglary. Sgt. Bill Nulton and his dog, Bak, approached the office suite with two other officers. Nulton said he yelled loudly inside, announcing their presence and threatening to send a dog in. When no one answered, Nulton let the dog off-leash to see if a burglar was inside and quickly followed behind.

Nultons flashlight illuminated a purse on the floor and a person under a blanket on the couch at precisely the moment that Bak jumped on the sofa. Nulton called Bak off, but the dog had already bitten Lowry on the lip  an injury that resulted in three stitches.

Lowry sued in San Diego federal court, and the judge agreed with the city that the law prevented the case from moving forward to trial.

Lowry appealed, and a three-member panel of the 9th Circuit sided with her, saying the departments policy could be considered a severe use of force and should be heard by a jury.

The city requested a larger, or en banc, panel rehear the case, and oral arguments were heard in January.

Lowry argued there were disputable facts that a jury should have had the chance to decide upon, including her contentions that the door to the suite was not open as officers said, that the suite was not dark and that the officer didnt yell warnings before releasing the dog.

The disputed facts go to the heart of whether police reasonably suspected a burglary was in progress and if their use of force was appropriate.

But the judges agreed with the District Court, finding that Lowry hadnt presented any admissible evidence to counter the officers testimony on those issues.

This inquiry must be viewed from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, rather than with the 20/20 vision of hindsight, the majority wrote, citing case law. An officers use of force cannot be deemed excessive based on facts that he reasonably would not have known or anticipated.

The ruling cited Nultons close monitoring of Bak and his quick action to pull the canine off Lowry, concluding the use of force and actual harm was moderate, not severe.

The ruling also pointed to case law that recognizes the inherent dangers of police confronting burglars, and that courts must allow for the fact that police officers are often forced to make split-second judgments  in circumstances that are tense, uncertain, and rapidly evolving  about the amount of force that is necessary in a particular situation.

The majority found that the departments practice of allowing dogs to go off-leash is meant to protect officers.

Lowry suggests that the police dog could have been kept on her leash, albeit without any evidence in support of the effectiveness of that alternative technique, the opinion stated. If that approach had been followed, Sergeant Nulton would have been required to expose himself to what the officers reasonably suspected was a burglar, lurking in the dark office, possibly armed.

In his dissenting opinion, Chief Judge Sidney Thomas said it was error for the district court to assess Lowrys credibility and to exclude her testimony.

He stressed that a jury should have decided on the disputed facts, which were pertinent to the use of force argument. He also said there were no specific facts to indicate to the officers that an armed person was inside the office suite.

Sara Lowry was sleeping in the privacy of her office, when she was attacked and injured by a police dog trained to inflict harm on the first person it encounters, Thomas wrote. Because a reasonable jury could find that the City of San Diegos use of a police dog was unreasonable under the circumstances presented here, I must respectfully dissent.

kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @kristinadavis

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Appeals court calls SDPD dog bite severe force

Court to reconsider case involving San Diego police dog
The quest to detect cancer long before it grows deadly has taken another step forward, with new proof-of-concept data showing that a specialized blood test can spot bits of mutated DNA shed by tumors too small to be identified any other way.

The breakthrough study was presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago, which ended Tuesday. It found that 73 percent of genetic mutations detected in the tumors of 124 advanced cancer patients were also discovered in bits of DNA floating freely in their blood.

Whats more, by also sequencing the patients immune-system white blood cells, the researchers were able to filter out mutations arising from a persons natural aging process  mutations that arent cancerous but resemble those originating from malignant tumors.

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The discoveries came from GRAIL, a San Francisco-based spin-off of DNA sequencing giant Illumina in San Diego. They validate the high intensity sequencing method, which involves reading targeted regions of the genome an average of 60,000 times to boost accuracy. GRAIL intends to use this technique in a study of 10,000 Americans  people with cancer and those without the disease.

This is our feasibility study to make sure that this approach actually works, said Dr. Pedram Razavi, a medical oncologist with the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York who is working with GRAIL.

Seeing a direct correlation between known cancerous tumors and mutated strands of DNA in patients bloodstreams is an important first step in what will be a gradual path toward using blood tests to determine who has cancer and who doesnt, said Dr. Mark Lee, head of clinical development for GRAIL.

This gives us more confidence as we move into larger-scale studies across different tumor types and at much larger scale, Lee said.

As the companys name implies, developing a blood test that can detect cancer so early  before any diagnosis, when the disease isnt yet visible on the X-rays and other tests used today  would be the Holy Grail of cancer prevention.

The theory goes that by uncovering the cancer early enough and determining how slow-growing or aggressive it might be, doctors will be able to mount a much more effective response using an ever-expanding arsenal of tailored treatments. The latest strategies include the field of immunotherapy, where drugs customized for different genetic variations boost a persons own immune system to conquer tumors or at least keep them from spreading.

Razavi said its only been in recent years that a convergence of two revolutions in science have enabled the pursuit of cancer detection thats truly early stage.

One revolution is the rise of DNA sequencing machines, particularly systems that can process huge volumes of data at increasingly fast speeds.

Illumina is the worlds leader in this industry, and major scientists taking advance of this technology include genetics pioneer J. Craig Venter, whose institute sits across the street from UC San Diego; cardiologist and customized-medicine evangelist Dr. Eric Topol of La Jolla; who works with the Scripps Health network and The Scripps Research Institute; and pediatric genomics expert Dr. Stephen Kingsmore of Rady Childrens Hospital.

The other revolution is an explosion of ever-more sophisticated supercomputers and software that help researchers make sense of the torrent of data coming from DNA sequencing systems. These data-analysis tools look for genetic patterns that indicate disease or protective benefits from among the hundreds, thousands and, conceivably one day, millions of patients genomes that are studied.

GRAIL estimates that its extra-thorough process of cancer detection generates about 100 times more data  thats roughly 1 terabyte per patient  than traditional screening methods.

There have been a lot of recent advances in sequencing technology and also in data computation that we just didnt have available just a few years ago, Razavi said.

Often called liquid biopsy tests, these diagnostics capitalize on the fact that all cells shed shed bits of their DNA during their life cycles. And cells from cancer tumors are no different.

The problem is that the vast majority of cell free DNA floating in a persons bloodstream is not from cancerous tumors. In fact, researchers estimate that only 1 in 1,000 of these DNA snippets is from a cancerous cell, meaning that liquid biopsy tests have got to be very, very, very good at spotting the precise genetic mutations that signal cancer.

GRAIL is far from being the only business working in the overall field of blood-based cancer detection. Several companies products are already on the market.

Currently, doctors can order biopsies designed to spot blood-borne DNA fragments from cancerous tumors, a process that can help them decide which targeted cancer drugs to use and can enable them to better monitor different stages of the disease. The tests can even let them know more quickly when cancer has returned after initial treatment.

But so far, going that extra step toward diagnosing cancer based on a blood test has remained on the horizon of possibilities, said Dr. J. Leonard Lichtenfeld, deputy chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society.

The big difference between GRAILs undertaking and others efforts, Lichtenfeld said, is the companys commitment to conduct the huge clinical trials necessary to learn what it means when a mutated DNA fragment linked to cancer shows up in a patients bloodstream.

Which fragments mean a patient will develop aggressive cancer and which dont? The only way to find out is to analyze the blood of thousands upon thousands of people who have or dont have cancer, then comparing the results.

Its not enough to find the cancer early. Its just as important to find out which cancer is going to be a problem and which is not. You only find that out by doing big trials that cost a lot of money, Lichtenfeld said.

Backed with more than $1.1 billion in investments from the likes of Google, Bill Gates and Amazons Jeff Bezos, GRAIL has the financial heft to mount an initial clinical trial of 10,000 patients  7,000 who have been diagnosed with cancer and 3,000 who are cancer-free. A follow-up study for breast cancer aims to enroll 120,000 participants.

Lee, the head of clinical development at GRAIL, said the first clinical trial  the one with the 124 advanced cancer patients  was meant to build up a library of knowledge on how different cancers manifest themselves in the bloodstream. The idea was to better comprehend the lay of the land, if you will.

Were trying to understand the full range of that kind of variability and all of the ways that cancer can manifest itself. More importantly, we want to understand how that cancer landscape can be distinguished from the landscape of people who dont have cancer, Lee said.

Once that knowledge base is large enough, it can be put to use in the massive breast-cancer trial, with hopes of accurately predicting cancer incidence in women undergoing routine mammogram screenings.

The plan looks unique, Lichtenfeld said.

That kind of scale, Im not aware of anybody else who has made that level of commitment at this point, he added..

But he noted that simply detecting cancer earlier will not be enough. Early detection must be coupled with therapies that can take advantage of those early warnings.

The real grail is making a difference in peoples lives. Otherwise, were going to have a bunch of people walking around who have been told they have cancer with nothing they can do about it, Lichtenfeld said.

Health Playlist On Now Video: Why aren't Americans getting flu shots? 0:37 On Now Video: Leaders urge public to help extinguish hepatitis outbreak On Now San Diego starts cleansing sidewalks, streets to combat hepatitis A On Now Video: Scripps to shutter its hospice service On Now Video: Scripps La Jolla hospitals nab top local spot in annual hospital rankings On Now Video: Does a parent's Alzheimer's doom their children? On Now Video: Vaccine can prevent human papillomavirus, which can cause cancer 0:31 On Now 23 local doctors have already faced state discipline in 2017 0:48 On Now EpiPen recall expands On Now Kids can add years to your life

paul.sisson@sduniontribune.com

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Twitter: @paulsisson
A hazardous-materials team gave the all-clear at UC San Diegos Scripps Institution of Oceanography, where a possible explosion was reported Monday night, a fire official said.

A 911 caller reported hearing a blast and a fire alarm at the institute about 9 p.m. Firefighters saw light smoke billowing from the building, said San Diego Fire-Rescue Department spokeswoman Monica Munoz.

Crews got word there may be hazardous materials inside the facility.

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The hazardous-materials team scanned a room and gave the all-clear at 10:10 p.m.. It was unknown if a fire or anything dangerous was found, Munoz said.

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Email: david.hernandez@sduniontribune.com

Phone: (619) 293-1876

Twitter: @D4VIDHernandez
Two gunmen robbed three men from Chicago, then shot two of them, while the tourists were sitting in a rental car in Lincoln Park Monday night, police said.

The victims drove themselves to a hospital, where the two men who were shot were treated for wounds that were not life-threatening, police Sgt. Jordan Wells said.

The three Chicago men were stopped in a Chevrolet Camaro convertible on Logan Avenue near 47th Street, looking up an address on a GPS device, when two men approached the car. One walked up to the driver while the other went to the passengers side, Wells said.

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The men pointed handguns at the occupants of the rental car and demanded money, Wells said. After the trio gave them cash, both gunmen shot once into the Camaro. The driver was struck in the upper left arm, while the passenger was struck on his right index finger.

The men drove to a hospital, and staff called police about 10 p.m.

Police did not have a detailed description of the gunmen.

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Email: david.hernandez@sduniontribune.com

Phone: (619) 293-1876

Twitter: @D4VIDHernandez
Legal commentators were more astonished than many other Americans at the Twitter barrage from President Donald Trump that followed this weekends terrorist attack in Great Britain. Trump defended his efforts to temporarily limit travel from six Muslim-majority countries by criticizing his politically correct Justice Department for having watered down what he definitively called his travel ban. Harvard law professor Noah Feldman wrote in Bloomberg View that the context of Trumps comments obliterates his administrations argument that extreme vetting wasnt driven by unconstitutional targeting of a religion and added that Trumps contempt for the slow and political U.S. judiciary makes a 9-0 Supreme Court ruling against a travel ban possible if Trump keeps it up.

But the president also had defenders, who share Trumps view that the media and political establishment dont want to confront the truth about Islamist terrorism. Megan G. Oprea, writing in The Federalist, praised Trump and trashed politicians who respond to every terrorist act with calls for unity and who defend multiculturalism by pretending Western values are universal when theyre not.

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The problem alike for Trump fans, critics and those in between is that this flap adds to our political paralysis. The presidents attempts to impose a travel ban  much less to build an international coalition against terrorism  arent helped by his transgressive attacks on a rotating list of targets. Conservatives are likely to see what they consider worthy causes  tax reform, replacing Obamacare, etc.  caught up in Trump turbulence and stalled. Liberals on the sidelines of power in federal government have little they can do beyond grouse.

This grim picture isnt likely to change much until the president realizes his behavior gets in the way of his agenda  and that governing beats tweeting.

Twitter: @sdutIdeas

Facebook: San Diego Union-Tribune Ideas & Opinion
Regarding How Donald Trump is ushering in the Chinese century (June 2): If I were a supporter of President Trump, I would sit right down and write my grandchild a letter of apology, like this:

Dear Grandchild. Today I stood quietly by as our president denied the scientific evidence that our climate is warming. When you are my age, 88 years, the states like Florida will be under water and our oceanfronts will be awash. Try to find a place in the center of the country where water is abundant as droughts will dry up many of the rivers and streams. And storms, huge ones, are predicted. Please, dear, dont blame me for your misfortune. I had my chance to speak up but like most of my friends and fellow citizens, well, we were just busy getting through the day. Ill be long gone as you struggle to survive. I wish I had done otherwise. Your loving Grandpa.

Kenneth Haygood

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Letters and commentary policy

The U-T welcomes and encourages community dialogue on important public matters. Please visit this page for more details on our letters and commentaries policy. You can email letters@sduniontribune.com or leave a comment below.

Trump has turned his back on our partners

In his letter Thoughts on Trumps post-election travels (May 31), Peter Malaspina states, The real question to be answered is this: Does Europe have our back?

Seems to me it has no choice, since figuratively and literally that is the only side Trump displays to it.

Bill Southwell

Mission Hills

Want to see more letters that appear only online? Follow @UTLetters on Twitter and UTOpinion on Facebook.
Is the grass greener in Texas or in California?

That debate may be taking a whole new spin with the launch of a new company called Conservative Move, which is capitalizing on the belief that blue states like California have become too liberal and unwelcoming of conservatives so the solution is to move to Texas.

Conservative Move is focused on helping families move to the North Texas region and specifically Collin County, Texas, a short description reads on the site, which touts access to Texas-based Realtors and brokers available to help people sell their homes in their blue states and relocate to Texas.

The site claims Collin County has cities named as some of the Best Places to Live with great schools, good paying jobs and low crime, but the bottom line is clear: its a home for like-minded conservatives.

Political statement or business opportunity?

Texas is unmistakably more conservative than California, but economics appear to be a driving force behind a mass migration to the Lone Star State in recent years. Lower tax rates have attracted more companies to leave California for Texas in recent years, and the same has happened for families who cant afford housing in California.

One Boston Globe opinion columnist said people are voting with their feet.

Business opportunity aside, Conservative Move is also attracting a debate about literally living in political bubbles. Its founder Paul Chabot  a former California Republican who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2014 and 2016 before relocating his family to Texas  says he wants to start a conversation around that topic.

Perhaps that conversation has already begun. On social media, California and Texas have become such synonyms for political affiliation that Chabots idea has attracted mixed reactions. Some welcome the idea, others see it as not something that needs encouragement.

A Facebook Page for the business has attracted some supporters and Chabot has been busy selling the concept, which he says he wishes would have been available when he moved his family out of California.

"We want to be able to express to people that these areas that are conservative have safer streets, better schools, better-paying jobs, lower taxes," Chabot told NPR affiliate, KPCC. "We hope that this doesn't become divisive, but it becomes a bridge that brings more and more people into this camp that loves faith, freedom, family, God, country and apple pie."

Hes also made those points in a Facebook post in which he posted a photo of an event in McKinney, Texas, which sits at the center of Collin County with a caption, NO gangs. No graffiti. Just strong family values in North Texas.

If the idea is a controversial one, Chabot is not new to being at the center of controversy.

While running for Congress in 2016, Chabot drew attention when he offered to give a Terrorist Hunting Permit to those who donated money to his campaign.

Chabot lost to his Democratic opponent Pete Aguilar in the general election by some 26,000 votes, the Press-Enterprise reported in a story about his departure from California, which also noted other prominent Republican candidates who similarly vacated the state, including Carly Fiorina who left for Virginia and Neel Kashkari who left for Minnesota.

And with Conservative Move, others may join their exodus from California. One question remains: Is the grass greener in Texas or in California?

Have some thoughts to share?

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

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The Justice Department has accused a National Security Agency contractor named Reality Leigh Winner of leaking highly classified information to a news organization, the first such charge brought by the six-month-old Trump administration, which has been continually plagued by leaks.

Department officials did not reveal where the leaked documents originated or the name of the news organization that Winner allegedly gave them, but the charges coincided with a report published Monday by the online magazine The Intercept, based on leaked NSA documents that made the case Russian military intelligence launched a cyberattack on voting machines during the 2016 election.

This latest leak has drawn intense focus to the person at the center of it, Winner, who up until Monday had just been a 25-year-old contractor based in Georgia, living life in relative anonymity.

So, who is she? What exactly is she accused of doing? Here is what we know about Reality Winner.

Arrest and charges:

The FBI arrested Winner at her home in Augusta, Georgia, on Saturday, June 3. While detained, Winner cooperated with authorities and admitted that on or around May 9, she intentionally printed the classified documents and then mailed it to a news outlet, the Justice Department said.

Related: Trump's 'low-life leakers' are the modern-day 'Deep Throat'

If convicted, Winner could face up to 10 years in prison, CNN reported.

The government hasnt said exactly how they identified the leak, but one cybersecurity blogger speculated about how it would be easy to link the person printing out documents using information embedded in the documents themselves, which The Intercept posted online.

Winners attorney, Titus Thomas Nichols, declined to say whether Winner leaked those documents to The Intercept. A spokeswoman for The Intercept said the documents were received anonymously.

My client has no (criminal) history, so its not as if she has a pattern of having done anything like this before, Nichols told the Associated Press. She is a very good person. All this craziness has happened all of a sudden.

Work and life:

Yes, for those wondering, Reality is her real name, much to the internets delight.

The Justice Department said she had been working for an NSA contractor company called Pluribus International Corporation at a government facility in Georgia since Feb. 13, and had Top Secret clearance.

Winner was a linguist with the U.S. Air Force and spoke a number of Arabic languages including Pashto, Farsi and Dari, her mother told a Guardian reporter. A Facebook account that appears to belong to Winner shows that she had attended H.M. King High School in Kingsville, Texas, and that she was an avid weightlifter.

CNN and other news outlets on Tuesday identified a Twitter account believed to belong to Winner, which includes tweets that show her political views and show criticism of President Donald Trump and his administration.

Online reaction:

News of the top-secret leaks from the NSA drew immediate reactions from critics who called her actions stupid and counterproductive to U.S. intelligence, and from supporters like WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange who called her actions courageous.

BuzzFeed reported that Winners detention hearing is set for Thursday.

The arrest of Winner also comes at a time when President Donald Trump has vowed to find and prosecute those who leak information from the highest levels of government.

High-level leaks, especially those that pertain to the ongoing investigation into Russias interference in the 2016 election, have been published by The Washington Post, The New York Times, CNN and others.

The Intercept, like numerous other news organizations, has set up ways for whistleblowers to leak information anonymously. In a statement reacting to the charges brought by the Justice Department, The Intercept denies any knowledge of the identity of the person who provided the document.

While the FBIs allegations against Winner have been made public through the release of an affidavit and search warrant, which were unsealed at the governments request, it is important to keep in mind that these documents contain unproven assertions and speculation designed to serve the governments agenda and as such warrant skepticism, the statement read.

Have some thoughts to share?

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

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While Laos or officially Lao PDR registered a 10% decrease in total international tourist arrivals in 2016, mostly due to a contraction in tourist arrivals from neighboring countries such as Thailand and Vietnam, Luang Prabang broke a new record in tourist arrivals last year, up by almost 6% over 2015.

Luang Prabang is the historical capital of the ancient Laotian kingdom of Lane Xang (The Kingdom of a Million Elephants) located along the old Silk Road. With its exceptional cultural and historical heritage, Luang Prabang is a major tourism destination in Lao PDR. The city experienced a strong increase in international tourist arrivals following its inception into UNESCO World Heritage List back to 1995.

Luang Prabang welcomed over 469,000 foreign travelers, a growth of 5.3% compared to last year. The destination has experienced a steady growth in, total foreign visitors arrivals. Between 2010 and 2016, international tourist arrivals increased by 205%.

Luang Prabang total arrivals generated 6.3% of all international visitors arrivals back to 2014, reaching 7.6% in 2015 and 9.5% in 2016. Luang Prabang is now Lao PDR third most visited province by foreign travellers in 2016 after Vientiane Capital and Savannakhet. The province moved up by three ranks, taking over Champassak, Vientiane Province and Khammouane last year

Most Visited Provinces in Lao PDR by Total Arrivals (domestic and international) in 2016

Province Arrivals Evolution 2016/2015 Vientiane Capital 1,643,892 -5.41% Savannakhet 866,630 -22.6% Luang Prabang 643,319 5.88% Champassak 621,870 1.80% Vientiane Province 589,948 5.17% Khammouane 538,037 3.66%

(Source: Lao Tourism Development Department)

The good performance of Luang Prabang compared to other destinations in Lao PDR is due to the high share of overseas travelers to the Province. While overseas arrivals represented 8.43% of all international arrivals to Lao PDR in 2016, overseas arrivals to Luang Prabang represented 60.1% of all international arrivals to the Province.

Top Visitors Markets to Luang Prabang by Nationality in 2016

Country Total Arrivals Growth 2016/2015 (%) Market share in total foreign arrivals (%) Total domestic + Intl 643,319 5.88 Total International 469,586 5.32 100 China PRC 63,290 4.11 13.48 Thailand 61,406 0.33 13.08 South Korea 34,178 1.77 7.28 UK 33,568 4.06 7.15 France 31,330 4.66 6.67 Germany 30,144 4.34 6.42 USA 28,560 3.50 6.08 Canada 21,856 5.88 4.65 Australia 21,672 10.90 4.62 Japan 18,073 -6.00 3.84 Russia 14,605 2.41 3.11 Switzerland 9,246 2.80 1.97

(Source: Lao Tourism Development Department)

The opening of more non-stop international flights as well as more international hotel chains and boutique hotels will continue to have a positive impact on Luang Prabang tourism evolution in the years to come. In 2017, Luang Prabang is likely to pass for the first time the half-million foreign tourist arrivals mark.

In 2016, Luang Prabang had 49 hotels and 249 guest houses representing a total of 4,844 rooms and 6,900 beds. Hotels alone had a capacity of 3,474 beds in 2,340 rooms. Luang Prabang has Lao PDR largest hotel capacity after Vientiane Capital. With Khammouane Province, Luang Prabang room occupancy is the highest in the country, reaching on average 75% in 2016 (up by two percent points over 2015) compared to 61% nationwide and 56% for Vientiane Capital.

International chains include AccorHotels (M-Gallery and Sofitel), Aman Resorts and Victoria Hotels & Resorts. A Pullman Hotel (Accor) is planned. Click here to see and book some hotels in Luang Prabang.
View excerpt from the crash report (PDF) Best viewed in Firefox or Safari browser.

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Three days before the fiery crash of a loaner Lexus sedan that killed California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Saylor and his family, a man who was given the same car experienced a similar sudden acceleration problem and reported it to the dealership, a Sheriffs Department investigation found.

Frank Bernard, 61, said he told a receptionist at Bob Baker Lexus El Cajon that the gas pedal on the ES 350 had been stuck in wide open position. He reported becoming anxious because the woman did not seem to understand what he meant and he thought it was important.

I think the mat caused it, Bernard said in the report, which also quotes him alerting the receptionist: You need to tell somebody.

The Sheriffs Department report, obtained by The San Diego Union-Tribune through the Saylor familys attorneys, completes the investigation of the Aug. 28 crash in Santee that killed Saylor and his wife, Cleofe, both 45, their 13-year-old daughter, Mahala, and Saylors brother-in-law Chris Lastrella.

Jim Marinos, an attorney for Bob Baker Lexus, declined to comment on the report yesterday, saying he had not read it. He said the earliest he would have a comment is Monday.

The cause of the crash was determined to be a wrong-sized floor mat that entrapped the accelerator. The crash, and a subsequent federal highway agency investigation, spurred Toyota, the maker of Lexus, to issue a massive recall of floor mats in more than 4 million vehicles and to reconfigure the gas pedals.

In the sheriffs report, Bernard told investigators that he had the car, one in a fleet of loaners belonging to the Lexus dealership, on Aug. 24 and 25. He said that on the second day, while merging onto Interstate 15 from the Poway Road on-ramp, he took his foot off the gas and the car kept accelerating, to 85 mph.

Bernard pressed long and hard on the brakes and was able to pull over and slow down. He put the car into neutral, but the engine continued to race at full speed. After several failed attempts at turning off the engine, he realized the floor mat had jammed the gas pedal.

He slid his foot under the accelerator, dislodged it and had no further problems, the report says.

Bernard reported that the receptionist said he should tell the detail specialist on the lot when he picked up his car. Bernard did not say anything further and assumed the receptionist would tell the appropriate people.

In her initial interview with investigators Sept. 17 at the dealership, the receptionist, Jessica Martin-Dunleavy, 20, said she did not remember Bernard or any specific complaints. In an off-site interview two weeks later, Martin-Dunleavy said that she did recall an older couple returning a car and that the man told her the mat made the car go full-throttle.

She then said she told the detail specialist on duty. That employee, Octaviano Garcia, 44, said no one mentioned anything to him about the problem with the car, according to investigators.

Attempts to talk to Martin-Dunleavy at her home yesterday were unsuccessful. Bernard declined to be interviewed when reached by phone.

After Bernard returned the loaner, two other customers used it, for one day each, before it went to Saylor. The other customers did not report any problems with the car.

Saylor had brought in his 2006 Lexus IS 250 for repairs on the CD player, parking brake and console lighting.

Saylor family attorney Tim Pestotnik said the results of the sheriffs investigation and the revelation that the car had a previous problem have devastated the family.

He said they not only have to grapple with losing their loved ones in an instant, but now they learn the crash was avoidable.

Pestotnik said Saylor had no idea there was a problem with the car.

They all climbed in and were all killed, Pestotnik said.

Dave Ezratty, vice president of Bob Baker Lexus El Cajon, declined to meet with a Union-Tribune reporter who went to the dealership yesterday seeking comment.

Dennis Schoville, a San Diego attorney who has filed liability lawsuits involving car crashes, said the dealerships handling of the floor mat may raise issues of potential punitive damages in any litigation.

Schoville said much will depend on what, and when, the dealer knew about the mat and what, if anything, was done about it.

It often takes a very detailed and persistent effort to get to the real truth, Schoville said.

In the report, Ezratty told sheriffs officials that the dealership takes out the stock carpet mats of its loaner cars and replaces them with all-weather mats. He said they do not mix and match floor mats and that a mat for a Lexus SUV would not be placed in a sedan because it would not fit. Ezratty told investigators he was confident that the correct mats are always used.

The investigation found that the loaner cars mat was about 2 inches longer than the one intended for that model and was made for the 2005-09 Lexus RX 400H sport utility vehicle.

In a nondriving test at the dealership by investigators, the same type of mat was placed in a Lexus ES 350 and the pedal, when pushed down, became entrapped.

Stuck in the open-throttle position, Saylors loaner car reached speeds calculated between 112 and 150 mph. Saylor was driving, his wife was in the front seat, and Mahala and Lastrella were in back.

In a chilling 911 call, Lastrella said that the gas pedal was stuck and that the car had no brakes. Seconds later, it drove off state Route 125 at Mission Gorge Road, hit another vehicle, jumped a curb and rolled several times before bursting into flames in a dry riverbed.

Investigators were able to recover the brakes, accelerator and floor mats as well as the cars black box, which was badly burned. No information has been obtained from that device, said family attorney John Gomez.

One witness reported that she was driving north on state Route 125 at Grossmont College Drive when she saw a white Lexus going about 45 to 50 mph with its emergency flashers on, surging like it was out of gas. She passed the car, then saw in her rearview mirror that it was pulling over to the right shoulder and lost sight of it.

Seconds later, the car zoomed past her.

Ive never seen a car go that fast, she told investigators. Another witness described the speeding sedan as a white blur.

The report concludes that while other factors  electrical, mechanical or computer glitches  cannot be ruled out because of the severity of damage to the car, the sudden acceleration was caused by the gas pedal trapped either in the grooves of the mat or underneath it.

The report says that the mat did not leave enough space between the gas pedal and the floorboard and that the plastic retaining clips were not secured, allowing the mat to move forward.

The report also cites as a problem the lack of a key for manual shut-off of the engine, and says that the brakes failed because of overburdened, excessive and prolonged application at high speed and that the totality of these factors overwhelmed the driver.

Saylor simply ran out of time and options, the report concludes.

The attorneys said that the family has declined to make a statement and that their grief was a private matter.

When asked if the family intended to file a lawsuit, the attorneys said only that they plan to investigate all factors that led to the crash.

Their primary concern is to make sure that this doesnt happen to anyone else ever again, Gomez said.

Staff writer John Wilkens contributed to this report.

Debbi Baker: (619) 293-1710; debbi.baker@uniontrib.com

Kristina Davis: (619) 542-4591; kristina.davis@uniontrib.com
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Well, and how do you like Spain? the driver said, turning round to him at the stoplight, presenting his gray face with its wrinkles and scaly skin. Generations of hungry ancestors were involved in the production of that face; it had taken centuries to form.

Spain? I like it very much, Simmons replied.

And so you should, the driver said, for after all, it is of your making.

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Simmons made no attempt to understand this. He merely said, It is true, one of many Spanish phrases he had learned from a book for tourists, part of his quick refresher course.

Simmons relaxed. Trying to understand a foreign language was such a strain; after a week in Madrid, even his muscles felt sore. The taxi, he thought, rode with remarkable smoothness. Like most Spanish taxis, it seemed to have been constructed out of several other cars, and bore not the mark of any known maker but only of some welders craft. Theyre really very good at this sort of thing, Simmons thought. He didnt know why, but he found something sordid in this kind of construction. There was a cunning in it.

Inwardly, Simmons practiced a tolerant laugh. He wanted very much not to be the kind of American tourist all his friends had returned to tell him about. At the same time, he did not consider himself an American ambassador abroad, but simply a civilized man.

Besides, he had worked too long and too hard, for more than 15 years  for 15 solid years, as he put it  to play any role other than that of a man out to enjoy and indulge himself. God knows Ive earned it, he said, looking out of the taxi window at the shops and cafes, and, disapprovingly, at the rather too large sky which was like a silver dome specially designed and constructed for Madrid. He did not think this provincial capital deserved such a sky; it was too grand for such a poor, depleted place.

This thought was one which Simmons, in any case, would not have lingered on, but it was almost immediately driven from his mind by the sight of a group of young women. The girls of Madrid had surprised him; so many were blonde and wore copies of Chanel suits. Even now after a week, it still came as a surprise to him. He had imagined that all Spanish women looked like those he had seen as a boy on the insides of cigar-box lids: dark, voluptuous, somnolent. Well, well, he said to himself, tolerant of his own mistakes.

He was on his way now to the tailor, for the final fitting of his suit. This was to be his first tailor-made suit, and he found that it was, in its own way, quite thrilling: the fact that this suit was made for him, was his alone, and could never, not possibly, fit anyone else the way it fit him.

He had already rehearsed several stories which began, magically, with the words: My tailor. Or better still: My tailor in Madrid. He took this suit as a sign of his having arrived, of having made it in the world. He saw it as the guarantee of final success; and he thought it interesting that, after his first visit to the tailor, the whole trip had taken on a new aspect: It had come to give him a foretaste of retirement, of those years when hed have all the insurance paid up, money in the bank, dividends rolling in, and not a worry in the world.

Simmons was happy with his wife, and their marriage, though childless, had been a satisfactory one; he had no doubt it would continue so. He was forty-five and in good health, but he found that he was looking forward to old age, to retirement, to being, as he put it, on the beach.

This trip had given him the time to think in a much more composed way about the prospect of retirement. Simmons liked to plan ahead. Now he saw them  the years ahead  no longer as a completely vacant expanse. The notion came to him with startling clarity and suddenness: He would spend his retirement visiting the tailor, having suits made.

The vision was repugnant. Where do these thoughts come from?, he asked himself, appalled; and he applied himself once again to the seeing of sights from the taxi window. Well, well, he said. He thought it must have something to do with the change of water.

It was the water, yes; and the change of air; and the general shock of foreignness. It had begun, he remembered, the very night of the day that he and his wife, Roberta, had arrived in Spain. He had spent the afternoon in the hotel room, resting from the flight, writing letters and cards to friends back home. When he and Roberta went out for dinner that night  all the guidebooks had warned about the late dinner hour in Spain, and so they did not leave the hotel until after nine  he took the letters to the desk clerk and bought airmail stamps. There were three stamps for each letter and two for the cards, and while he was paying for them the clerk hit the bell and cried, Botones!

The bellboy appeared at Simmonss side; he wore a pale blue uniform with two rows of buttons on his short jacket. Simmons thought at first that he was a midget, but after a moment saw he was indeed a boy, perhaps 12 years old. Simmons was outraged that a child so young should be working, and worse, that he should be kept up so late.

When Simmons picked up the first stamp and was about to begin stamping his letters, the clerk said, Thats all right, sir. Buttons will lick them for you. Simmons was shocked, but it suddenly occurred to him that if he stamped the letters himself, the boy would get no tip.

Yes, of course, he said, without looking at the clerk or the boy. He gave the child 10 pesetas and walked away, warmed for a moment by the sense of his own generosity. Ten pesetas was 17 cents. Seventeen cents must seem an enormous sum to that boy. When he got outside, he remembered that he had figured this out according to the official rate of exchange, but he had not bought his pesetas at the official rate, and he realized that after all he had given the boy only a dime. Still, he thought, even a dime to that child is quite a nice sum; and it was at that moment he had his first ugly vision.

He saw himself filling a bowl, a rather good-sized bowl, with mucilage, and presenting it to the boy to eat. He poured the mucilage out of a bottle he had not seen since childhood. It was LePages mucilage, and he saw, with absolute clarity, the bright red and black and yellow of the label, the florid lettering. It was a disgusting vision, and he got rid of it as quickly as he could, and fortunately was able to do so by the time they got to a well-recommended restaurant. Late as it was, they were still the first to have appeared, but Roberta said, Never mind, dear, and the headwaiter seemed genuinely pleased to see them. The food was excellent, and Roberta, he noticed after a while, looked exceptionally pretty. He had forgotten what nice shoulders she had. The low-cut dress she wore was really quite revealing, and he caught himself staring at her breasts. When he looked up, Roberta had on her face that expression he had come to know so well. She seemed always to be waiting for something.

When they returned to the hotel at midnight  they were tired from the flight, and the food and wine had made them very sleepy  the bellboy was still on duty. He smiled, and it seemed to Simmons, lightheaded as he was, that the boy was saying, I shall never forget you, sir. Simmons nodded, very pleased, and returned the smile.

The night manager, who spoke English very well, came out of his office and, on behalf of the entire night staff, welcomed Simmons and his wife to the hotel, and put himself, personally, at their disposal. Simmons said, Actually, you probably could be of help to me. I want to have a suit made. Ive been given the name of a tailor, Santander Brothers, and I wonder if you could  

Of course, the night manager said. Yes, they have an excellent reputation and are well-esteemed; but here in Madrid we are famous for our tailors. There are many good ones, and many who are, though less well-known, as good as the Brothers Santander and not so expensive.

Is that so? Simmons said.

The night manager, with fantastic dexterity, produced a card from his vest pocket, and with the desk clerks pen wrote down the name and address of a highly esteemed tailor for Simmons. I could even make the appointment for you, sir, the manager said.

In this way it had all been arranged; and it pleased Simmons very much, because now he had a tailor of his own, one he had himself discovered and who was not even mentioned in the guidebooks.

Well, here we are, the driver said, offering Simmons another view of his relic of a face, and it has really been a pleasure to carry you.

Simmons leaned forward to read the meter, reached into his pocket, and calculated the tip. He got out of the cab, looking up at the now familiar building where his tailor was, perhaps even at this moment, sewing the last stitch on his first handmade suit. Simmons thought, How odd; I have advanced to what my grandfather took for granted. And he suddenly saw history, the march of generations, as a crazy geometry, an elliptic and eccentric spiral, impossible to read, without sense. It left him with a feeling of vertigo.

The cold handle of the bronze-and-glass door restored him; the marble floor and walls of the lobby reassured him. Near the ceiling there were carved borders of roses and angels. He stopped to marvel at the profligacy of it, not of materials only but of time itself. How had they found so much of it? How had they managed? He thought that time was a product peculiar to the nineteenth century, a natural resource which had begun to run thin and never survived into his century.

There was an elevator, but his tailor was on the second floor and Simmons took the stairs; he had read that such exercise, in moderation, was good for the heart. Having a President who had suffered a heart attack had made Simmons and his friends very sensitive to such things. Heart specialists on television and in newspapers made them aware they all had that tough and fragile thing inside them; sometimes Simmons thought he was merely a protective shell designed, and assigned, to protect this tricky mechanism. Occasionally he even put his hand to his chest, to assure himself that it was still running.

He took deep breaths as he climbed the stairs, consciously giving exercise and oxygen to the masterful thing whose captive he was.

At the top of the stairs, on the second floor, Simmons paused and allowed his breathing to regulate itself. Here the walls were of ordinary plaster and the floor of wood. Time, apparently, ran out when the builders got up here. But the corridor was twice as wide as those in modern buildings, which showed how hard it was to break the habit: They still thought they had a little time left over and had converted it into space. No more carved roses, true, but expansiveness was itself a decoration.

His tailor, Mr. Nunez, was a young man, perhaps thirty, with a seamed face and a small moustache. This moustache lived a life of its own: Even when Nunezs face was in complete control of itself, the moustache twitched and fluttered, as if eager to be off or itching to grow larger. Nunezs eyes indicated that he was not unaware of this phenomenon, and he often looked at Simmons apologetically, as if to say, I would let it grow bigger, believe me I would, but I cant afford to.

The shop was small, and only a little light, cloudy and uncertain, leaked through the window; in amount it was equal to that given off by the bare bulb which hung dead center from the ceiling, trembling with each footfall, depending from a desiccated electric cord which had begun to curl up, as if from shame. There was more light produced by the reflecting surfaces of mirror and pressing iron, and the glass covering the large photograph of Nunezs father. Along one wall were metal shelves which provided more than enough space for the few bolts of cloth which represented Nunezs meager stock. Among this very limited selection Simmons had found exactly what he was looking for: a very English Glen plaid which was, nevertheless, a product of a textile mill north of Barcelona.

As soon as Nunez closed the door behind his American client, he leaped onto his worktable, crossed his rickety legs, and, in the same movement snatched up the jacket of Simmons suit and took it to his mouth, as if he were going to eat it. Simmons almost cried out in alarm, but Nunez merely bit the thread, said, Finished! and with a magicians flourish, held up the coat, slid down from the table, an approached the suits new owner.

He helped Simmons out of his old suit and into the new one. When the moment came, when finally Simmons slipped his arms into the sleeves of the new coat, it was not a fitting but an investiture. He smiled at his image in the mirror, at his marvelous newness, at the sensation of fulfillment which this suit gave him. It was a construction; it was armor; it was his alone. The lapels were wider than those he was accustomed to, and the shoulders were rather heavily padded in the Latin way. He moved his torso within the shell of the jacket, and his smile widened. He liked, really liked, the way this suit proclaimed its foreignness. Thered be no need to tell anyone anything. This suit was a fact. Even strangers would know him for what he was: a man who had arrived.

You like it, sir?

Very good, Simmons answered, very, very good. He put his hand into the trouser pocket and was momentarily alarmed to find no money there. He picked up his old suit and transferred the contents of the pockets.

Nunez was delighted that his craft had produced such results. He clapped his hands and said, All is precisely as I had wished it to be.

With a few words and gestures Simmons conveyed to his tailor that he would like the old suit wrapped. He counted out pesetas to the value of 45 dollars, and his tailor wrote out the receipt. Copperplate, Simmons thought, watching it roll off the point with magical fluency and exactitude, as if the writing had been contained in the barrel of the pen and was now not so much written on the paper as released onto it. Nunez took three tax stamps from a box and affixed them to the receipt. Everything but sealing wax, Simmons thought.

He turned away and looked at himself once again in the mirror. He saw a cardboard box materialize on the table behind him, and then the tailor carefully folded and packed the old suit. Simmons prepared a sentence in Spanish; his few hours of brushing up in this language had suddenly begun to pay off; phrases long ago forgotten now amazingly returned, and the sentence formed itself with fantastic ease.

The women of Madrid astonish me, he said. So beautiful and well dressed.

Well dressed, yes. Nunez said. But their stomachs . . . And here he made with the four fingers and thumb of his right hand a beak, the fingers stiff and hard, and he rapidly opened and closed the beak of this bird which had suddenly grown from his wrist.

Surely not. Simmons said. But there is such an air of prosperity. Once again, and this time without preparation, the words rolled from his tongue, as they had come from the barrel of Nunezs pen.

The tailor said nothing. He tied the last knot on the box.

Simmons rolled his shoulders, trying to accustom himself to the padding of the jacket. I feel like an all-American halfback, he said to himself, lightly. Nunez now had lighted a candle and was heating the end of a brown stick of t wax which had appeared in his hand. He dripped wax onto the knot; it puddled and formed itself into a ragged circle. Nunez touched the end of the stick of wax, testing it for coolness; and then with a stubby metal bit he pressed the wax four times, leaving the dies mark on the seal.

Too perfect, Simmons thought; no one will believe it. He put the receipt in his wallet and picked up the box, careful to keep his sleeve clear of the wax. He shook hands with Nunez and said, Thank you very much. It has been a great pleasure, and I hope to return, and I will certainly send my friends.

Nunez smiled and held the door open for him. Simmons took the elevator down. In the taxi he studied the wax seal, trying to read the tailors mark, but it was very small. He was not sure, but he thought it must be a bird of some sort; something winged, surely, perhaps a swan.

When he got back to the hotel, he saw Roberta in the lobby, having tea. Only when he stood by her table did she recognize him. Good heavens, she said. I thought you were a Spanish gentleman on the make.

He laughed, delighted. Do you like it?

Marvelous, she said. But it may take me a little while to get used to those shoulders. You taper like a lifeguard.

He laughed, sat down beside her on a velvet love seat, and turned sideways to the table; he crossed his legs carefully and sat forward so the jacket would hang right. Whenever anyone entered the lobby he looked up to see if he had been noticed. He was very pleased. Later, when he and Roberta returned to the hotel from dinner, the night manager spread his arms as if about to embrace Simmons and said, Ahhhh, perfect!

Simmons and his wife left next day for Paris, and a week later were in London. His delight in the new suit did not diminish; he found that whether he wore it on the plane or packed it in a suitcase it remained unwrinkled; it maintained itself in armorial perfection. Simmons noticed, or believed he noticed, that on the days he wore his old American suits, waiters and doormen did not move for him with the same respectful haste as they did when he wore his Spanish suit. The suit gave him something, he had no doubt; it marked him, he was certain, as someone out of the ordinary, someone very special.

It had been a quite perfect trip; even before it was over Simmons was seeing it in retrospect, had begun to reminisce several days before they boarded the boat at Southampton. In Paris, he had bought Roberta a long string of pearls, and in London he bought her antique silver objects. She wore the pearls wrapped around her neck so that they formed a high collar, a nacreous shell around the tower of her throat. It was obvious she liked them very much, and the silver too; but it was just as obvious to Simmons that he had not yet found that one thing which she wanted above all, because she still greeted him every morning with the same expression on her face, what Simmons had long ago begun to call her waiting look. Sometimes he thought her sadness was the result of childlessness. Years back, when it was still a problem to be talked about, the doctor had advised her to face reality. Simmons had no trouble at all in doing so; and he had thought Roberta had none either, but he could be wrong about that, he told himself.

Still, even so, he had to say that the trip had been an unqualified success; when he got back home he would have nothing but good to report. It is true that in Paris several packs of cigarettes had been stolen from his hotel room, but this was a small matter. It bothered him a little because they were not American cigarettes; he knew how Europeans were about American cigarettes, and he could well understand some chambermaid or porter taking a pack or two of Luckies. But Simmons smoked the cigarettes of the country he was in; it was always possible to find a filter tip with blond tobacco. Even in Spain he had no trouble about this and smoked a brand called Bisonte. It had been, in fact, two leftover packs of these cigarettes which were stolen.

Small matter. He did not bother mentioning it to the management.

Also, he had been told that in the great hotels of Europe one could still find the kind of service a Victorian traveler would have taken for granted, the kind of service men of Simmonss generation had really never known. He had had visions of men in little aprons polishing door handles and brass plates, chambermaids in starched uniforms with armfuls of linen, a housekeeper with a large ring of keys on her belt. And it is true that in his hotels in Paris and London he did see these things, occasionally; but it was perfectly clear that the standards had gone down. They almost never bothered to empty his ashtrays; and oddly enough, in both hotels he had noticed orange peels under his bed.

But such things were merely cause for raised eyebrows, and he would surely have forgotten all about them by the time he got home if the same thing had not happened on the boat. They returned on one of the great English liners, and, on coming back to his cabin one night, he discovered that his last pack of cigarettes had been stolen. He rang for the steward. No, he said to Roberta, no, it wasnt the lousy 20 cents or whatever, he just damn well wanted a smoke and there wasnt any.

But this just doesnt happen in first class, sir, the steward said, genuinely shocked.

It has happened now, Simmons said.

The steward held a small silver tray against his leg; the vibration of the ships engines was reflected there, a subtle agitation. I shall have to inform the purser, sir, the steward said, but obviously he was reluctant to do so.

Never mind, Simmons said, reminding himself that he was after all a civilized man. Just see if you can get me a pack of cigarettes, wont you? He was sorry he wasnt wearing his Spanish suit; he was certain his words would have carried more weight.

The steward smiled gratefully. Have mine, sir, if you dont mind English cigarettes.

He handed Simmons a rumpled pack of Ovals. Simmons thanked him and said he would take only two, one for now and one for the morning.

No trouble at all, sir. Keep the pack. I can always get another from one of my mates.

Thank you very much then, steward.

He closed the door and began to undress; he lit a cigarette and noticed the ashtray was full of butts again. He shook his head.

I think you handled the whole thing very well, dear, Roberta said.

Later he was glad he had taken the whole pack, for he woke in the middle of the night and could not fall back to sleep. A noise had wakened him, he supposed; through the porthole he watched the moonlight tilt and shift. When the ship lunged to starboard, the closet door swung open and struck the bulkhead, making a soft, hollow sound. He could see his Spanish suit twisting on its hanger, as if it were anguished by captivity and longing to be free. Now, rocked by the ship, touched by moonlight, he permitted entry to unfamiliar notions and wondered what he was taking back with him, what presence hid in his new suit and waited to be smuggled through customs to the promised land, a furtive stowaway leaving a trail of orange peels and stolen cigarette ends.

Except for the orange peels and the ashtrays, it was a pleasant and uneventful crossing. On the last day he woke early and came out on deck in time to see Coney Island slide smoothly by, mysterious and faintly sinister in the mist of morning. Surreptitiously, although he was alone on deck, he slipped his hand under the slightly too wide lapel of his new suit, and let it rest for a moment on his heart. It seemed fine, in good order. He would walk around the deck once before breakfast, for exercise, and to stimulate his appetite.

Four hours later they were in their apartment. Simmons was on the telephone to his office, and Roberta was removing dust sheets from the furniture; they were speckled with the citys dirt, the greasy soot that seemed to penetrate the glass of the windows; no way to keep it out. By early afternoon the refrigerator was producing ice cubes again and was full of fruit and meat delivered by the Puerto Rican grocery boy; the suitcases were unpacked; and Simmons decided he would, after all, go down to his office and just have a look-see at his mail. It was too hot in New York for the new suit, but he was determined to wear it on his first day back. Then he would have it cleaned and put away until fall, he told himself.

His secretary greeted him with nervous joy; her white teeth flashed messages of welcome. She always made him feel like a hero just returned from a dangerous mission, even though most of the time he was only coming back from lunch. Love your suit, she said.

He told her all about the tailor he had discovered. It was his first telling of it, and Miss Newcomb enjoyed it immensely. He wanted very much to lean back in his chair, elegant and relaxed, and tell her all that he had seen and thought; and it was only with a great effort of will that he was able to recall himself to duty and, with Miss Newcombs aid, go through the months mail.

At four oclock he stopped work and took Miss Newcomb in a taxi to her apartment, where he often stopped for a drink on his way home. Once outside the air conditioned office building, the suit seemed immediately to absorb the heat of the day, as if it were storing it up against the hard winter sure to come. Theres your Old World wisdom for you, he said to himself, smiling at the idea.

In the taxi, Miss Newcomb laid her hand on his. Glad youre back?

Oh, yes, he said.

Miss Newcomb smiled and touched his padded shoulder with her forehead. Its a marvelous suit, she said. I adore it. I cant make up my mind, though, whether you look like something absolutely wonderful left over from the Thirties

He laughed and said, Or . . . ?

  Or an English colonel in mufti. But either way, she said, its great, great, great.

Im very glad you like it.

Perfecto, she said. It was one of her favorite words.

Simmons was amused by her language; it was part of her youthfulness, what made her so attractive. With Miss Newcomb beside him, her hand on his arm, and his own city presenting itself to his view, he felt a marvelous sense of certainty and power, here in this taxi which was one car and not a crazy amalgam, and driven by a man whose face was safely anonymous, not memorable and haunting, not a relic, not a souvenir of ugly history. Simmons banished the memory of the Spanish drivers face; he touched the magical iron cloth of his suit; the thrill of it charged him with a feeling of boyish vigor and reminded him of a time when he was certain he would never die. He circled Miss Newcombs wrist with his thumb and forefinger. When they arrived at her apartment, the first thing he did was call Roberta and tell her hed be late. He was always very good about this.

Simmons sent his suit to the cleaners, and when it came back he left it in its plastic bag to protect it from the soot. Every morning he saw it hanging in the closet. After a while, it seemed to him that he was really checking to see if it was still there. This notion amused him; he admitted to himself that the suit had taken on a kind of talismanic quality. And why not?, he asked himself, always tolerant of his own superstitions. It has brought me nothing but good luck, he said to himself; there hasnt been a bad day since I bought it. Business was better than ever and his private life a joy. Even Roberta seemed happy.

He had noticed this within a week of their return: Her waiting look had turned to something more like fulfillment. It reminded him of their honeymoon. There was about her now that same air of surprise, gratitude, and shyness. He could tell by the way she touched him; it was her way of thanking him for something. He did not know what it could be. Perhaps she has faced reality at last and discovered an inner peace, he told himself; and he found this a satisfactory answer.

Breakfasts, however, were a bad time. She sat across the table from him, smiling, smiling as if there were some marvelous secret they shared. Perhaps, he thought, she is coming early to that time of her life. It would account for the odd way she smiled at him, and for the rather stunning nightgowns she had suddenly taken to wearing. and the pink silk robe she now wrapped herself in to drink coffee with him at eight in the morning.

Kept ladies always wear pink silk robes, she said, her smile full of secrets. That is why I bought it.

Its very pretty, he said, after clearing his throat. He had hardly trusted himself to speak.

Oh, you! she said, and looked down shyly.

Also, some nights. before going to her room, she would come in to his, where he was working at some contract or estimate, and not kiss him good night in the ordinary way but would take off his reading glasses and kiss his temples and eyelids, and with her hand caressing the back of his head. It was a manner altogether new, and he was too astonished to be made anything but thoughtful by these attentions.

Then too, at these times, she would say disturbing things, such as, My secret lover. Or, You, my dearest, my midnight visitor. And, Oh, you wild man, you. Then she would put his glasses back on and, always, as she went through the door, would look back over her shoulder, coquettishly.

Clearly, a doctors advice was called for; but Simmons delayed, hoping this  what should it be called?  this seizure would work itself out and disappear as suddenly as it had come.

Apparently, in spite of her smiles and air of well-being. Roberta was having a hard time of it too; for whenever he awoke in the night he heard her rustling and pottering through the apartment. Several mornings each week she slept late. and when this happened he always found the evidence of her night prowling: an overflowing ashtray, a demitasse cup, and the thin, cylindrical espresso coffeepot she had bought in Madrid. And often, in the kitchen, he would find dirty dishes and crumbs on the plastic work surface, the mayonnaise jar with the lid off, and the scraps of a piece of meat which had been left over from dinner.

It was alarming, but he had Miss Newcomb for comfort and, after a while, found that she preferred him in the role of worried husband. She became very wifely.

Still, after a few months of this, he had to admit that Roberta seemed to be thriving, had put on weight  was beginning to look rather like the Spanish lady on the lid of the cigar box  and seemed to be very happy indeed. Once or twice he had even wakened in the night to hear her laughing in her sleep.

And it was precisely when he thought the situation well in hand, all cause for worry past, that he went to put on his Spanish suit one morning and discovered it was missing. Oh, God! he said, and had a vision of Roberta, scissors in hand, quite mad, cutting his suit to ribbons. With something close to frenzy he pushed his suits along the closet bar, one at a time, hoping he had simply overlooked it. But it was not there, it was not there. He sat down. I must be calm, he told himself. He was perspiring; he unbuttoned his shirt, one part of his mind thinking: I will have to shower again. He reached for a cigarette; the box on his desk was empty. He swore and went into the living room and found two still left in the alabaster box on the coffee table. There was the usual demitasse cup and ashtray heaped with ends, and now  and for some reason he took this as the final insulting blow  a dish with some bread crusts and tomato seeds floating in oil.

One might as well be living with an Italian peasant! he said  almost aloud, so fierce was his anger.

Then he sat down, and after a few puffs at his cigarette he felt calmer and thought perhaps Roberta had sent his suit to the cleaner. It was unlikely, but this was the only reasonable explanation he could come up with. Another thought then came to him, less reasonable but of such compelling urgency that he found himself on his feet and moving toward her room before the thought was even fully formed.

The door was ajar; he pushed it open slowly, not making a sound, and what he saw froze him into an even deeper stillness. Her nightgown, leaf green, lay on the floor at her bedside, insubstantial and shifting in the light breeze that blew through the window. Roberta, her face slightly swollen with sleep, was only half covered by the sheet. He had never seen her so desirable nor ever thought her capable of such an attitude of abandonment. Desire stirred within him, but he remembered his anger and opened her closet doors. His suit was on the first hanger, and, furious now, not caring how much noise he made, he savagely pulled it out from among her dresses. Roberta did not waken. He closed the bedroom door behind him. Shameful! he said, and shook his head.

Even the shower did not calm him; still angry, he punished himself with the towel. He said, Yes, healthy appetite; getting fat, of course, but inside she is very sick! He took this as a personal affront, as if by getting sick she had betrayed him. And how shall I get her to a doctor? he asked himself. Her doctor was a friend, Ted Myers. Simmons left a note for Roberta:

Havent seen the Myerses for long time. Why not invite them dinner Fri. night?

Roberta invited the Myerses and they, happily, were able to come. In his taxi on the East River Drive next morning  a time of day he had come to set aside for personal, as opposed to business, thoughts  he decided not to telephone Ted Myers but to let him come unaware that anything was going on. Doctors were like that, Simmons knew: If they were told to look for something, they were more than likely to find something. What hed do, simply, was this: The day after the party hed call Myers and ask him. Just spring it on him and get an educated reaction. Simmons wished that the psychiatrists would put out dream books like those he had read when he was a boy; then, he could simply look under the various headings  Suit, Closet, Wife  and get a line on the whole thing. He shrugged. Oh, theyre working in the dark, too, he told himself, recalling that Ted Myers had once said, There are still some things at which we just have to throw up our hands.

He leaned his head on the back of the seat and closed his eyes. He was tired; he had not slept well. In the beginning, Robertas night prowlings were as nearly silent as she could make them; lately, however, she had become quite brazen, and he was often wakened by the noise of clattering dishes and what sounded like books being dropped. He wondered if she was trying to let him know that she was disturbed. He groaned. The only comforting thought, really, was that the psychiatrists did not know very much either.

In fact, as it turned out, they knew even less than he thought; for, after an altogether unremarkable and even charming dinner party, Ted Myers said, as he was leaving, Simmons, youre a lucky man, and he punched him lightly on the arm to show he meant that Simmons deserved his luck. And when the door was closed and Simmons turned and looked at his wife, he knew what Myers meant: She was beautiful. Or not beautiful, perhaps, but something even better: a beauty. She smiled at him then, in her altogether new style, and patted the sofa, inviting him to join her. He did so, transfixed, hypnotized almost, by this sudden new vision of her.

When he was halfway to her, she turned off the lamp; for a moment, before the light of the sky made itself felt, the room was completely dark, and he stopped, then continued toward her. Her arms were open for him; he saw the light on her bare shoulders, smelled the odor of her perfume, then felt her warmth.

So glad theyve gone, she said. Ive been waiting all night to get my hands on you.

His heart, that delicate member, responded in an alarming way. Roberta was so new to him; Miss Newcomb was now the familiar, the comforter. He felt a pang at the thought of her; it was betrayal, but he was sure shed understand. Roberta was importunate, not to be put off; the intensity of her demand frightened him. Mi vida, she said. Mi cielo. To Simmons she seemed now as foreign as the words she was uttering. What had come over her? Was it Europe? It was said to have terrible effects on a certain kind of American.

Afterward, he sensed her disappointment, even though her voice was very gentle and what she said was clearly meant to be soothing. You must be very tired, dearest.

He agreed that this was so. Its been a rough week, he said. And I havent been sleeping well lately.

How awful. If I had known I would have spoken to Ted. He could have prescribed something for you. Why didnt you tell me?

And have you, he asked, and paused to clear his throat, have you been sleeping well?

He saw her shy smile. Never better, she whispered.

He moved away from her, to a chair, and lighted a cigarette; and realized then that he might as well have left the room. His presence seemed to be of no interest to her any longer. She was wholly engaged in looking at her body, silvery in that light. There was a fantastic pride in her face as she looked at herself. It seemed to Simmons she was taking joy in her own flesh; there was more than merely satisfaction in the way she raised each leg into the light and gazed at it. But she had not forgotten him; she turned on her side and held her hand out to him. Give me a puff, dearest, she said. When he leaned toward her he saw her eyes and the adoration that was all for him. She did not immediately take the cigarette, but first reached up and touched his face with her fingertips. He wondered at her ways.

She drew up her legs and locked her arms around them, hugging herself. Go to bed, love, she said, and sleep well, and sleep late.

He stood up at once. Youll catch cold there, Roberta.

She stretched her legs again. No, Ill go to bed soon; I just want to enjoy this a little longer.

Simmons slept very well that night. He woke toward morning. Not moving, he listened to the sounds: footsteps, dish drawn across table top, click of cup on saucer. Familiar now. Even reassuring. He thought of getting up, of going out of his room to confront this person. No, better not, he decided. Really, everything was quite perfect; it was a lovely arrangement. Simmons faced reality; he had always prided himself on his ability to do that. We complement each other, he told himself. We have our arrangement, Simmons said to himself; weve made our little deal. A great happiness surged through him. He had to stretch his body to contain it all. This was what he had worked for during those 15 solid years. How good life is, he said, and fell into a sleep as deep as death.

When Roberta came into his room it was almost noon. It had been years since he had slept so late. Not quite yet awake, trying to read his watch  could it be so late?  Robertas presence in the room  what was she carrying?  confused him and he felt angry and betrayed. This passed at once when he saw she was carrying a tray. She lowered it to his bedside table, then sat down beside him and poured the coffee. She unfolded a napkin for him, and while he sipped the coffee she tore off pieces of the buttered toast and fed him.

You need your rest, she said, and you need nourishment, and you deserve the very best.

He smiled.

She refilled his cup and, offering it to him, looked up shyly and said, What fantastic strength you have, and what powers of recovery! Really, dearest, you astonished me. Wide-eyed, she shook her head in mock censure and said, You are such a boy!

He tried to laugh.

You really are, she said.

He stared at her, unable to speak. She turned away and lowered her head, misunderstanding his penetrating look. Oh, surely not! she cried, laughing.

He laughed too and said, No, no, Im going to bathe now.

She insisted on running the tub for him; and as if it were a long journey, she bent down and kissed him before leaving. Her pink robe fell open and she did not pull it together until she had stood up, and even then took her time about it.

Simmons listened to the water running in his tub, looked at the tray beside his bed. Oh, yes, he said, this way is not bad at all. He drew the blanket up to his chin, savoring the last minutes before rising. He lay there in his narrow, elegant bed, hands folded on his chest, eyes closed with the bliss of being alive.
Pune, India -- (SBWIRE) -- 06/05/2017 -- Market Synopsis of Investment Analysis of Construction Industry in Indonesia



Indonesia is known as the second most productive and profitable construction market in Asia, where a huge number of construction projects are undergoing in both residential as well as non-residential sectors. For example, one of the head ventures which were started by the property developer named Lippo Karawaci is the Millennium Village and The Global Smart City which is situated on a 70 hectare in Lippon town. The development cost for these projects would be approximately $15 billion. In Indonesia, the construction industry has been growing 8% to 9% annually, due to huge demand for residential properties and growth of the property sector in major cities around the country. The public works investment is a key point in the government's plan to provide water resources, roads and human settlement infrastructure for the long-term development.



The investment board in Indonesia is favoring to draw assets into the nation as it dispatches a huge framework program intended to quicken modernization and advanced development. Considering the historical trends, the GDP of the construction industry has grown at a higher rate than overall country's GDP. From 2003 to 2013, the GDP has grown from 125.3 trillion RP to 907.3 trillion RP, where the industry accounts for around 10% of GDP.



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Study Objectives of Investment Analysis of Construction Industry in Indonesia



-To provide detailed analysis of the construction industry along with forecast for the next 5 years of the of the Indonesia Construction Market



-To provide insights about factors affecting the market growth



-To provide country-level analysis of the market with respect to the current market size and future prospective



-To provide country-level analysis of the market for construction industry



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Key Findings



-As per MFRF analysis, it has been estimated that the majority of the market is dominated by non-residential properties approximately around 56.67% in 2015 as compared to residential construction activities.



-The total spending in construction industry in Indonesia is accounted to Billion in 2015.



-The annual production growth rate is accounted for during the forecasted period.



-The market share of Indonesia Construction Business is estimated around.



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The market report for Investment Analysis of Construction Industry in Indonesia of Market Research Future comprises of extensive primary research along with the detailed analysis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects by various industry experts, key opinion leaders to gain the deeper insight of the market and industry performance. The report gives the clear picture of current market scenario which includes historical and projected market size in terms of value and volume.



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[BANGKOK] The Lao Peoples Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) will invest in a gene bank and in other methods of biodiversity conservation to protect its niche farm products, Phouang Parisak, the countrys deputy minister for agriculture, tells SciDev.Net.

Lao has over 15,000 varieties of rice, the second highest in the world after India. Parisak says the plan is to preserve genetic lines while expanding production and using smart technologies to improve farming and combat the effects of climate change.

However, this is easier said than done.

Its easy to say, but difficult to do because farmers are tempted to spray chemicals, Parisak says If you follow stringent technical procedures, its too complicated for them. Also organic production does not work everywhere in the country. Our job is to ensure that production in different regions is done in a way that its sustainable in the long-term.

A mountainous, landlocked country, Lao has a population of roughly 6.5 million with three quarters of households engaged in agriculture. According to the World Food Programme (WFP), rice is the main staple and is produced by 90 per cent of farmers.

Its easy to say, but difficult to do because farmers are tempted to spray chemicals. Phouang Parisak, Agriculture and Forestry of Lao PDR

Malnutrition is a major concern and stunting affects over 30 per cent of children. Although the proportion of hungry poor people fell from roughly 25 per cent in 2008 to about 19 per cent last year, the 2016 Global Hunger Index still considers the situation serious.

According to WFP, Laos vulnerability to the effects of climate change, particularly drought, floods and typhoons, drives food insecurity, which affects 14 per cent of the countrys rural population with peaks of 25 per cent in the remote upland areas. Such challenges increase womens workload and help increase the likelihood of diseases.

One such climate change impact is pest. For the first time in Laos history, the country now has to deal with locusts. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, locusts are becoming even more dangerous in the context of extreme weather events like typhoons that are associated with climate change. Locusts are able to take advantage of new situations.

Locusts have become a very big problem, especially in the northern parts of the country where farmers are producing a lot of high quality agriculture products, particularly rice, Parisak tells SciDev.Net during the side lines of a policy forum on food safety and market access in May co-hosted by the Asian Development Bank and the Greater Mekong Subregion.

Laos 2025 Agricultural Development Strategy focuses on achieving food security through sustainable agriculture and a strengthened agricultural production system. Parisak says that while his country is small, its strength is that it has a lot of nature, clean soil and agro-biodiversity.

We cant destroy the upper land or the forest, so we have to grow trees, says Parisak. But, we also have to organise the people, to preserve the environment for the lowlanders.

The countrys most fertile lands found along the Mekong plains need investment to expand production and smallholders have problems accessing credit because they lack collateral. The government has to come in and try to help them, says Parisak.

As a member of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Lao can take advantage of the free flow of products within the grouping. But, Parisak says, the quality standards imposed by ASEAN integration can be a barrier. Lao is already working with its ASEAN neighbours to standardise and harmonise food production through cross-border supply chains.

It would be a huge advantage for countries like us because it would open us to new opportunities in the regional market, he says.

This piece was produced by SciDev.Nets Asia & Pacific desk.

This article was made possible with support from Monsanto.
[NEW DELHI] Plans by the Indian government to release genetically modified (GM) food crops into this predominantly agricultural country have been plagued by opposition from scientists, activists and politicians  including those owing allegiance to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).



On May 18, a week after the governments regulator, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), approved the commercial release of a herbicide-tolerant GM mustard (Brassica juncea), Anil Dave, 60, the man on whom the final decision rested as central environment minister, died of a heart attack.



Dave had been under enormous pressure  from lobbyists pushing the technology to increase yields on the one hand, and civil society groups opposing GM crops as harmful to environment and food security on the other.



Tarun Vijay, a former member of parliament for the ruling BJP, claimed in a blog that Dave would have banned GM mustard if he had not passed away. Vijays blog revealed serious opposition within the BJP circles to the idea of using GM technology on mustard, a traditional food item in India.

The man behind the development of GM mustard, Deepak Pental, director of the Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants (CGMCP), University of Delhi, says it has the potential to increase yields and build disease resistance. CGMCP has submitted to GEAC a positive self-assessment for biosafety while applying for the release of GM mustard.

If GEAC-approved technology is not cleared, it will be a setback for Indian agri-biotech research. Deepak Pental, Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants

Pental explains to SciDev.Net that the DMH 11 variety  created by inserting barnase-barstar genes into a hybrid created from Indian and East European mustard strains  could increase mustard oil yields by 30 to 35 per cent. Barnase-barstar genes, derived from the soil bacterium Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, allow control of sterility and fertility in hybrid crops.



However, Ashwani Mahajan, co-convenor of the Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), an influential affiliate of the BJP, has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi complaining that since patents for the barnase-barstar genes are partly held by Bayer, the German multinational, the claim that DMH11 GM mustard is indigenous is fraudulent.



Mahajan also warned that GM mustard has been engineered for use with the Bayer herbicide Basta!, which contains glufosinate, a known neurotoxin.



We have indicated to the prime minister that GM mustard is not indigenous; it is not good for health, environment and biodiversity, Mahajan tells SciDev.Net. SJM has appealed to the prime minister to intervene and ensure that GM mustard is not released commercially.



There are also other hurdles to the commercial release of GM mustard.



Its release is under challenge in Indias Supreme Court by environmentalists and food security activists. Aruna Rodrigues, lead petitioner in the case, sees advantage in the fact that the government has admitted in court that it has no proof that GM mustard can produce better yields than non-GM hybrids.



While the court has ordered publication of the full test data of GM mustard, its promoters have pleaded that the issue involves "commercial confidence trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of the third party".

Put simply, there are no agronomic benefits to releasing GM mustard while it can irreversibly jeopardise Indias farming, food, human health and its rich biodiversity. P. Pardha-Saradhi, University of Delhi



According to Vandana Shiva, a petitioner in the case, the main resistance against GM is coming from the provinces that make up the Indian federation.



Major states where mustard is grown and consumed like Bihar, Rajasthan and West Bengal, have declared that they would not allow GM crops to be grown within their territories. This echoes the state-led opposition seven years ago that thwarted an attempt to introduce genetically modified aubergine into India despite clearance from the GEAC.

Criticism of the CGMCP self-assessment also comes from P. Pardha-Saradhi, professor of biotechnology and transgenics at University of Delhi.



The oil extracted from the DMH 11 variety is inferior, going by the compositional data presented. Rigorous testing by an independent agency is needed before any conclusion can be made, Pardha-Saradhi tells SciDev.Net. Put simply, there are no agronomic benefits to releasing GM mustard while it can irreversibly jeopardise Indias farming, food, human health and its rich biodiversity.

Meanwhile, the all-party parliamentary standing committee on science and technology , environment and forests has called for freezing the clearance of GM mustard until it has had an opportunity to study it. We are examining concerns expressed by various stakeholders regarding the health and environmental safety of GM mustard, says Renuka Chowdhury, an opposition politician who heads the committee.Pental says GM mustard, now 14 years in the making, has suffered only because political propaganda has interfered with rational decision-making. If GEAC-approved technology is not cleared, it will be a setback for Indian agri-biotech research.
Africas position in the global digital knowledge economy is a concern, write Sanna Ojanpera and Mark Graham.



Africa has traditionally been left out of what is called the knowledge economy. Whether it is the number of books published per capita or patents issued per country, much of Africa has tended to come at the bottom of such lists.



But the world is rapidly changing. In 2017, over half of the worlds population will have access to the internet: allowing them to read, listen to, watch and contribute to what Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales refers to as the sum of all human knowledge.

In other words, while Africa has been left out of central positions in the global knowledge economy, the rapid growth of internet use on the continent has sparked hopes for the democratisation of knowledge production on the continent.



President Paul Kagame of Rwanda has embodied these hopes by stating: In Africa, we have missed both the agricultural and industrial revolutions and in Rwanda we are determined to take full advantage of the digital revolution. This revolution is summed up by the fact that it no longer is of utmost importance where you are but rather what you can do.

Academic articles are spread slightly more evenly across the continents, while digitally-mediated knowledge production is more concentrated in developed countries. Sanna Ojanpera and Mark Graham



These ideas are full of excitement about the potentials of digital technologies to extend opportunities of access and participation to those that have been excluded from them.



In a new paper that emerges from our multi-year research project that we are involved with a team of researchers at the UK-based University of Oxford, we decided to investigate some of these claims.



We took one measure of traditional codified knowledge production (academic articles) and compared that to two digital practices of knowledge production: the uploading of computer code onto the worlds largest repository (GitHub) and the registering of domain names (such as .com or .za). While it makes sense that countries such as the United Kingdom or the United States that have huge resources to invest in tertiary education would be able to produce a lot of academic articles, shouldnt the newly democratised access to the internet now mean that places such as Nigeria or Kenya can better compete in a digital knowledge economy?



We began the research with the assumption that traditional knowledge production is heavily concentrated in the global North, and digital knowledge production is more accessible and geographically distributed. However, it turns out that the global and regional patterns of collaborative coding and domain registrations are actually more uneven than those of academic articles!



Looking at the distribution of content creation across the world shows that academic articles are spread slightly more evenly across the continents while digitally-mediated knowledge production is more concentrated in developed countries. Sub-Saharan Africa contributes the smallest share of content to all three categories, providing only 1.1 per cent of academic articles. With 0.5 per cent of collaborative coding and 0.7 per cent of domain registrations, the region produces an even smaller share of digital knowledge.

Content creation across continents



Click to enlarge

In fact, comparing the regional totals of academic articles, collaborative coding and domain registrations produced from Sub-Saharan African countries to France shows that France produces 3.2 times more academic articles, 5.7 times more collaborative coding and 3.4 times more domain registrations than all Sub-Saharan African countries together.



A comparison across absolute numbers is useful to pair with a standardised measure that informs us of the propensity of content creation across the regions. Considering the most productive countries in terms of their per capita content creation suggests countries even more clustered in Europe than other regions. Comparing the three maps reveals that in Sub-Saharan Africa, the level of individual countries knowledge production falls within the two lowest quintiles more often in the case of collaborative coding and domain registrations than with academic articles.

Knowledge economy across continents



Click to enlarge



Click to enlarge



Click to enlarge

Our results also suggest that the factors that are often framed as catalysts in the transformation into, and development of, a knowledge economy do not relate uniformly to academic articles, collaborative coding activity and domain registrations. While connectivity plays a role in all three categories, it seems to have a strong effect only on digital content creation. On the other hand, the production of academic articles is more strongly related to a countrys gross domestic product (GDP) than to connectivity. Innovation capacity appears to have a positive relationship to all three content types. Education as a topically narrower variable appears to be related only to variance in academic articles.



These results suggest that while connectivity is an important enabler of digitally mediated content creation, merely increasing connectivity might not allow African countries to leapfrog to higher levels of digital engagement. Wealth, innovation capacity and public spending on education matter as well.

The uneven geographies of digitally mediated content indicate a worryingly diminishing role for Sub-Saharan Africa vis-a-vis other world regions. Sanna Ojanpera and Mark Graham



Enormous public and private resources are directed to increasing connectivity and supporting digital development initiatives in Africa. It is important for key actors including governments, donor organizations, and private sector actors, to consider our findings in order to critically evaluate the effectiveness of their approaches.



While a comprehensive shift into industries based on technology and human capital may not be in the immediate horizon for Sub-Saharan Africa, where economies continue to rely heavily on extractive industries and agriculture, information- and knowledge-based economic practices and processes are emerging throughout the continent. Technology spaces, such as innovation hubs, labs and research and development centres are appearing across the continent and at the same time local entrepreneurial initiatives make use of technology in various grassroots applications.
Aspirins are widely known to reducing blood clots in heart attack and stroke patients. However, a study had revealed that aspirins have no effects on atherosclerosis patients that have no recent history of heart attacks or stroke.

According to Medical Xpress, patients with narrowed, hardened arteries condition called atherosclerosis are discovered by a team to have no benefits from aspirin. Researchers from the University of Florida Health were said to study the history records collected in the year between 2003 and mid-2009 of 33,000 atherosclerosis patients to understand aspirin effects further.

With that said, the team then found out that aspirins have no effect on atherosclerosis patients that has no prior heart attack or stroke. Yet, the drug is identified to be effective if the patients have a history of heart attack, stroke or other issues involving arteries. The findings were published in the journal Clinical Cardiology.

However, an associate professor in the UF College of Medicine's department of medicine, Anthony Bavry, M.D., still concluded that clinical trials are needed in order to conclude whether does aspirin have an effect on atherosclerosis patients or not. Bavry then warned that atherosclerosis or peripheral vascular disease patients should not quit aspirin therapy on their own but should consult their physicians first.

On the bright side, The Washington Post reported that low-dosage aspirin intake might aid women in preventing breast cancer. The team then assessed 57,164 women with no breast cancer history. They also discovered that the women who took low-dose aspirin were 16 percent less likely to develop any breast cancer types compared to those 20 percent who didnt take NSAIDs.

The researchers found out that 1,457 women were diagnosed with breast cancer after seven years. The researchers grouped the women which they said that 23 percent takes a low-dose aspirin (81 milligrams) as 18 percent of them takes ibuprofen. The 11 percent were said to intake full-strength aspirin (325 mg) while the 10 percent were taking COX-2 inhibitor or other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) at least three times a week.
Hundreds of craters on the seafloor of the Arctic Ocean was found to be created by a methane gas explosion 12,00 years ago. The finding of ancient Arctic methane explosion is necessary to understand the cause of the events, because the similar event may possibly happen again.

The findings of the ancient Arctic methane explosion has been published in the Science Magazine vol. 356/6341. A multinational team of scientists has discovered that craters in the Barents Sea, situated in the north of Norway and Russia were created by the huge rise of methane that exploded in a catastrophic explosion thousands of years ago.

Professor of marine geology and geophysics at the University of Troms (UiT) the Arctic University of Norway, Karin Andreassen is a lead researcher for the study. She first discovered the craters as the result of ancient Arctic methane explosion in the 1990's. In this recent research, she and the team used the latest technology to map the seafloor more accurately. They discovered a huge number of craters in the large area.

We realized that there were hundreds of them," Professor Andreassen said in an interview with Newsweek regarding the trace of Arctic methane explosion that she found. "We could also get detailed images of them. We got seismic data showing the structure underneath, and the links with deeper hydrocarbon sources.

The team discovered the beginning of Arctic methane explosion started from the end of the last Ice Age when the Barents Sea was covered in an ice sheet that presses down the sea floor. When the ice began to subside, the methane reservoir below the earth floor became unstable and started to decompose and moved upward. The methane settled in the shallow depth in a big concentration, creating huge mounds of concentrated gas in form of craters.

SImilar to thousands of years ago, the craters may trigger another Arctic methane explosion when they collapse. It is because the craters are extremely vulnerable to the change in temperature and pressure. Watch the illustration of the craters at the bottom of the Arctic sea floor below:


The first-ever commercial space station will be launched into orbit by 2020, according to Houston-based company Axiom Space. The company intends to use the station as a private research base and tourist destination before it will become a manufacturing hub.

Amir Blachman, Axiom Space's vice president of strategic development, told Space.com that they expect by the 2027 time frame, manufacturing will overtake all the other revenue combined. He further said that they like to see astronaut uniforms look like NASCAR uniforms or modules that have companies' names on them.

Axiom has just existed for 16 months. Axiom's president and CEO is Michael Suffredini. He also managed the NASA's International Space Station (ISS) program for a decade. Meanwhile, the chairman of Axiom Space is Kam Ghaffarian, the president and CEO of SGT Inc., a NASA contractor that manages the ISS and trains American astronauts.

One of the goals of Axiom Space is to launch space tourists on 10-day missions to the ISS in 2019. Blachman said that tourist flights will cost tens of millions of dollars per seat. Training for this will begin this year.

The Daily Caller noted that Axiom is planning to set up the first sections of its space base at the ISS. This project could be completed by 2024 and costs about $1.5 billion. The first commercial space station will have 3D printers that could build many small satellites.

Blachman said that they envision printing hundreds of jet turbines and super-specialized alloys and down-massing them in quantity probably by 2026, 2027 and 2028. Axiom is collaborating with Made In Space, the California-based company that built both 3D printers aboard the ISS.

Andrew Rush, the Made In Space CEO, said that what they are doing are very, very synergistic. "We've agreed to try and use each other's services as much as possible."
DARLINGTON, S.C.  The Darlington County Council gave final approval to a general fund budget of nearly $21.4 million for 2017-2018 during its regular monthly meeting Monday.

The budget ordinance the council approved covers a series of 11 budgets totaling almost $35.7 million. No one voted against the measure.

This years allowable property tax increase for the general fund budget is 1.26 percent based on the published Consumer Price Index (CPI) for local jurisdictions from the South Carolina Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office. That is expected to generate approximately $260,000 in new revenue, Interim County Administrator Charles Stewart said at an April 4 budget work session.

As presented, the budget is balanced, Stewart said. But it relies on the tax increase and two new fees that are proposed, an emergency services vehicle fee of $15 per vehicle in the county and an emergency services residential fee of $20 per property. The two fees will help fund an emergency services fund budget.

Members also approved an ordinance implementing the two fees on final reading with Society Hill member Dannie Douglas casting the only negative vote.

Among other changes for the coming year, the new budget splits out the airport and emergency medical services departments from the general fund, Stewart wrote in his annual budget message to council members presented in April. That action is based on recommendations from external auditors for accounting reasons, Stewart wrote.

The addition of the two new fees will generate new revenue and balance the emergency services fund and avoid the need to transfer money out of the general fund to do so, Stewart wrote. That will leave money in the general fund to help meet the countys other financial needs.

Among cost increases the county is expecting is a 1 percent increase in the employer contribution for state retirement for the coming year and a 1 percent increase per year for the following five years, Stewart wrote.

The budget also includes a 2.5 percent cost of living increase for employees.

The budget includes an increase in contingency funding for budget and fund balance stabilization.

Also included is funding for two correctional officer positions, which were approved in August 2016 but which had not been budgeted as well as money for one additional correctional officer to make acceptable progress with the South Carolina Department of Corrections on the Prison Rape Elimination Act compliance.

Officials also anticipate a decrease in magistrate fines and a decrease in revenue for housing federal inmates.

Other budgets covered in the ordinance include the emergency telephone fund, $829,160; county library fund, $1,382,092; environmental services fund, $3,278,070; fire district fund, $1,975,233; emergency services fund, $3,961,168; airport fund, $482,335; state accommodations tax fund of $55,525; road maintenance fund, $1,675,000; Hartsville Fire Protection District fund, $475,000 and a hospitality tax fund of $225,000.
NORTH LIBERTY  Police say they do not suspect foul play in the case of a missing Coralville man last seen near his work in North Liberty on Monday.

Still, North Liberty Police Chief Diane Venenga, in an email Tuesday evening, said her department continues its efforts to locate Michael D. Graham, 37.

At this point we do not suspect foul play but we are continuing to follow tips to locate Mr. Graham, she said.

A missing-person report was filed by Grahams wife Jill on Monday afternoon, according a news release from the North Liberty Police Department.

Police said Graham sent text messages indicating he had been tied up and forced into the trunk of his vehicle while working at 7 Hawkeye Drive in North Liberty, according to the news release. Grahams black, four-door 2016 Volkswagen Jetta has not been located. The Iowa license plate number for the Jetta is ELL 592.

Graham stands 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighs about 165 pounds, with shaved brown hair and brown eyes, according to police.

North Liberty police traced Grahams cellphone at 1 p.m. Monday to the intersection of Keokuk-Washington Road and 265th Street near Keota in Keokuk County, according to the news release. However, police have been unable to locate Graham.

Please, please share this information, Grahams wife Jill Graham wrote in a Facebook post Monday night that had been shared more than 97,000 times as of Tuesday evening. He has four children and a wife who are beyond eager to have him home with us.

Graham declined to comment when reached by The Gazette by phone on Tuesday afternoon. At some point Tuesday afternoon, she updated her Facebook post indicating the family still hasnt heard from Graham.

I understand that some people may be skeptic (sic) of this post being truthful, she wrote. Unfortunately, this nightmare is actually happening.

Anyone with information can call North Liberty police at 319-626-5724, Johnson County Communications Center at 319-356-6800 or their local law enforcement agency.
FLORENCE, S.C.  At least two state lawmakers from Florence are happy with the state budget deal reached last week that shows roughly $8 billion in spending for state taxes.

S.C. Senate President Pro Tempore Hugh K. Leatherman Sr. and S.C. Rep. Jay Jordan, both Florence Republicans, told Florence Rotary Club members Monday that this years budget has been particularly difficult to negotiate.

Leatherman said funding for the states pension system reform was one of the biggest issues that kept negotiations open for longer than hes ever seen during his time crafting the budget.

Weve got a good budget this year, but we had some real sticking points, the retirement system being one, Leatherman said. It took us three weeks to get there. This is my 17th budget conference year, and Ive never seen it take that long.

The deal reached last week put $150 million toward the state pension system. Other big hits in the budget include $68 million in Hurricane Matthew cleanup costs and $55 million for repairs at schools in low-income areas of the state.

Jordan agreed this budget took longer to reach than most others, but sound negotiation has led to a solid budget.

Were staring down the barrel of the deadline, and South Carolinians deserve to have a balanced budget in place, he said. Weve reached a compromise that we think is beneficial to everybody.

Both Leatherman and Jordan took time to discuss the most talked about topic in Columbia this year: road funding.

Leatherman told the Florence business leaders gathered Monday that the new roads bill will generate $600 million annually for the state. Thats $14 million per year for Florence County.

That money is dedicated, he said. It will help our existing roads, plus it will expand the interstates that come through here: I-95 and I-20.
CLEAR LAKE | Clear Lake High School is planning to expand its band room in coming years to accommodate a growing number of musicians.

The School Board on Monday approved an $89,500 low bid from Dean Snyder Construction of Clear Lake to remove risers and storage area walls to enlarge the room.

King Construction of Clear Lake was the other bidder, submitting an offer of $93,000.

Construction is expected to begin in June and wrap up before school begins in the fall.

The high school band has 95 members and is expected to grow to more than 120 next academic year, Superintendent Doug Gee said via phone Tuesday.

It will be better, but still will not be enough, he said. We will have to do something (in the future) but this is what we can get done in the summer and afford to do right now.

The project will be financed by sales tax revenue, Gee said, and wont waste money, as it is a necessary step for a second expansion phase.

Eventually Gee said the district wants to add a 22- by 48-foot space on the back side of the room, but will first need to determine how to finance that expansion.

Gee said interest in the schools band program has grown due to a great high school band instructor who does a really good job with kids.

Hes very enthusiastic and does a phenomenal job, and kids really like being in band because of his enthusiasm and excitement, Gee said of Brandon Borseth, who was hired in 2013.

Borseth has more than doubled enrollment in the high schools band program since then, he told the Globe Gazette in 2014.
KENSETT | Two people were hurt in a crash involving a paving machine and a van on Interstate 35 near Kensett Tuesday afternoon.

A construction crew was re-doing a portion of I-35 northbound near exit 208 when they were struck by a white cargo van around 1 p.m., Worth County Sheriff Dan Fank said. The left lane was closed for construction.

According to the Iowa State Patrol, the construction worker, Isakk Cervantes, 27, was thrown from the construction equipment and suffered minor injuries.

The driver of the van, Dean McFadden, 60, who Fank said appeared to have a medical issue, continued about a half-mile down the road before running into the ditch near the exit's off-ramp.

Cervantes was transported by private vehicle, according to Fank. Other reports say the worker was transported by Forest City Ambulance. The State Patrol report said he was transported by Lake Mills Ambulance.

McFadden, of Shakopee, Minnesota, was transported by Mason City Fire Medics. Neither person appeared to have life-threatening injuries, Fank said.

The Iowa State Patrol, DCI, Fertile Fire Department, Northwood Fire Department, Kensett Fire Department and Iowa DOT also provided assistance at the scene.

State Patrol is handling the investigation.
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A SCUNTHORPE company which triumphed at last years national Rural Business Awards is calling for local entrepreneurs and businesses to follow in its footsteps and enter the 2017 awards.

The Pink Pig Farm, which won the Rural Diversification Award, is calling on rural businesses large and small to enter this years awards.

The Rural Business Awards, backed by the CLA and Amazon, is the only UK-wide programme dedicated to showcasing the success of rural businesses  a segment which employs in excess of 3.4 million people in over 600,000 businesses.

Sally Jackson, from the Pink Pig Farm, said: Winning the Rural Diversification Award at the Rural Business Awards was a great moment for us and for businesses across Lincolnshire.

Our victory shows that companies in the county can compete with anyone in the UK and were calling on our industry peers to put themselves forward this year.

"Recognition for businesses in our industry doesnt come any higher than the Rural Business Awards and it would be great to see another business from Lincolnshire bringing an award back to the county in 2017.

The Rural Business Awards night will take place on October 5 at Denbies Wine Estate in Surrey.

Rural businesses can submit their award entries until June 30 in up to 14 categories through the website: ruralbusinessawards.co.uk/enter
Bratland's last day at Cruise Norway is August 31, 2017 and she takes up her Bergen post on September 1, replacing Helen Hovland who has worked at Norway's leading cruise port for almost 30 years and is retiring this month.

'Sandra has done an excellent job on behalf of Cruise Norway which is widely recognized in the industry to be a well-run and well recognized organization with great connection with the cruise lines, co-operating partners and the owners of the company,' said Ingvar Mathisen, chairman of Cruise Norway.

He said the board was pleased that she will be remaining within the Cruise Norway family as Bergen is a key member.

Cruise Norway has started the process of finding a successor and will engage a recruiting company to assist, confirmed Mathisen who is also port director of Bod.

He is leading the hiring committee consisting of board members Rita Berstad Maraak (port director, Geirangerfjord Cruise Port) and Vigleik Dueland (director of tourism, Destination Haugesund).

The aim is to have a new director in place this coming autumn, he confirmed.

'I am very much looking forward to assuming my new role in Norway's largest cruise port and to work closely with the cruise lines, local attractions and local politicians bringing cruise port Bergen into the future,' Bratland told Seatrade Cruise News.
Eleven members of the class were inducted into the school's Academic Hall of Fame prior to the ceremony. They earned a cumulative 4.0 grade point average during their four years at Mason City High School.
While still the freight improvement has not been strong enough to justify popping champagne bottles, it has worked miracles in terms of improving the mood and bringing soaring enthusiasm back in a market that was relentlessly bleeding cash for the last few years. The enthusiasm has been so strong that recent sale & purchase activity (s&p) has been the strongest in the last two years, while there are a couple of cases of shipowners doubling their money on asset play transactions within the last year.

The market has given up some of its recent earnings as the BDI is now back to approximately 900 points, but the improved mood is still abundantly present. And, given that we are heading into the summer, a seasonally weak season for shipping, there have been some concerns on the direction of the market. And, now that the market seems to be taking a breather and there is some time for introspection, there is some head-scratching on the real reasons for the market bouncing back so strongly in the last year as fundamentals did not seem to justify such a strong (fourfold) freight improvement. All in all, while the market is still decent and the mood is buoyant, one has to be more cautious at present.

Shipping asset prices have improved since last year when ships, especially when non-modern dry bulk ships were selling at a multiple of their scrap value, irrespective of quality and pedigree. Probably the easy money has been behind for those looking for an easy asset play, but shipping asset prices are still low by historical standards. And, there has been serious interest for acquisitions of dry bulk shipping assets whether in the secondary or the newbuilding market.

But again, its hard for a buyer or investor to enter aggressively the market. Prices have doubled for a great deal of assets while the freight market barely covers their daily operating expenses. And, there are risks looking forward to justify an aggressive approach. Trade volumes are still anemic to imply a strong market recovery. And, shipbuilders are getting more desperate by the day at building up their orderbook. Lack of competitive shipping finance keeps a dumper on the market, but any export credit incentive or other catalyst would have a tremendous (even catastrophic) impact on the market.

While asset prices look tempting by historical standards, whether for tankers or dry bulk vessels, its hard making the argument that the market is in a full recovery swing and buying ships, whether for operating profits or for asset flipping in the future, can b a great strategy. The risks still lurking in the market cannot be ignored. And, in our opinion, the irrational exuberance we have seen earlier in the year make us believe that there is still lots of froth in the market.

Basil M Karatzas is the founder and ceo of Karatzas Marine Advisors & Co., a shipping finance and ship brokerage firm headquartered in Manhattan, New York. For more info, www.karatzas.com
Luhut noted that foreign vessels were anchoring off the island, south of the Port of Singapore, with no benefit to the Indonesian government.

He promised to carry out tough monitoring, including by using satellites, to prevent any vessels from carrying out illegal activities.

So far, we dont know who benefits from this activity, he said, adding that the government would collect fees from the ships that docked in Batam waters. It was unclear if this included port dues or other charges as well.

He said the government could gain an additional IDR2trn ($150.4m) to IDR3trn in revenue from the collection of fees.
MPA said SPC 2017 is built upon the last two Smart Port Hackathons in 2014 and 2015, which brought together maritime people and other professionals to develop innnovative solutions to enhance productivity and sustainability in Singapore port.

SPC 2017 is now conceived to further encourage collaboration between organisations, start-ups and the venture capital community to push digital transformation in the maritime industry.

MPA said it has welcomed close to 190 registered participants comprising start-ups and non-start-ups.

Andrew Tan, chief executive of MPA, said: Digital transformation has a key role to play in our competitiveness as a global maritime hub. SPC 2017 will bring together new and existing start-ups to research and develop innovative applications for IT solutions in the maritime sector and is part of our wider industry transformation effort to develop an innovative maritime start-up ecosystem to take advantage of the growing applications of automation, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and data analytics in the maritime industry.

We are also collaborating with ports such as the Port of Rotterdam which has embarked on similar port hackathons to develop innovative solutions for their port. Through such partnerships, we hope to encourage more solutions that are scalable and applicable across the entire port value chain, Tan said.

MPA noted that the advent of technologies such as the Internet-of-Things (IoT), data analytics and machine learning have created smarter ships while major players in the shipping industry are also developing blockchain solutions to digitise, manage, and track shipping transactions which could potentially save the industry up to billions of dollars.

However, these do not come without challenges, such as asset utilisation, manpower training, and ways to effectively manage processes so new technology infrastructure can become part of the operational strategy.

The six-month programme of SPC 2017 will take a new approach with the involvement of industry partners providing funding and test-bedding opportunities in partnership with the venture capital community.

MPA and PSA unboXed will provide seed funding support of up to SGD50,000 ($36,200) for each selected start-up to develop full prototypes with the possibility of implementation for business operations. Start-ups can also look forward to seed funding support from other venture capitals while shortlisted non start-ups will be eligible for MPAs Maritime Innovation and Technology (MINT) funding for test-bedding or product development.

Some partners of SPC 2017 include CMA CGM, Hong Lam Marine, Jurong Port, NYK Line, Pacific International Lines (PIL), PSA Marine, and Synergy Marine Group.

Jean Yves Duval, senior vice oresident Asia of CMA CGM, commented: Through the Smart Port Challenge organised by MPA, the maritime and container industry and the start-ups community can collaborate to brainstorm and address challenges faced by the maritime and container industry. This is indeed a great opportunity to unlock value through innovation and digitalisation.
According to Inchcape Shipping Services that the Ports and Maritime Affairs at Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications Bahrain has stated that all Bahrain Ports and territorial waters will remain suspended for marine navigation to and from Qatar.

Meanwhile Das Port Authority (UAE) has banned all Qatar-flagged vessels, and ships of any flag calling at Qatar from calling at Abu Dhabi Petroleum Port.

The Suez Canal remains open to Qatar-flagged vessels as an international waterway.

Bahrain and Abu Dhabi Petroleum Port join Saudi Arabia and the Port of Fujairah in barring Qatar vessels following the escalation of the diplomatic dispute with Qatar.
Joining the Port of Fujairah in the UAE, Saudi Arabia has banned Qatari vessels from the countrys ports. The Saudi Ports Authority said in a post on its Twitter page said that it confirmed to all shipping agents that Saudi ports could not received Qatari-flagged vessels or ships owned by Qatari companies or individuals.

On Monday the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia severed all diplomatic and consular relations with Qatar and closed land, sea and air borders to the neighbouring country.
Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m., Friday, June 9, 2017, at Nazareth Lutheran Church in Coulter, Iowa, with Pastor Tom Dettmer officiating. Visitation will be held from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Thursday, June 8, 2017, at Sietsema Vogel Funeral Home in Hampton, Iowa. Burial will take place in St. Peter's Cemetery in rural Coulter, Iowa.
Koko names Pinol to key PDP Laban post; inducts new members of ruling party

Agriculture Secretary Manny Pinol led the new batch of national and local officials who took their oath as new members of the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino Lakas ng Bayan (PDP Laban) before Party and Senate President Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III recently.

Pinol, former governor of North Cotabato, was named by Pimentel as "point person" of PDP Laban in his home province during simple oath-taking ceremonies, along with Quezon City 5th district Congressman Alfred Vargas and Cavite Vice-Governor Jolo Revilla.

He became the third member of the Cabinet of President Rodrigo R. Duterte, Party Chairman, to officially become a member of PDP Laban after Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre, designated point person for Quezon province and Energy Secretary Al Cusi, party vice-chairman and point-person for Mimaropa Region.

Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez (1st district, Davao del Norte) is the party's secretary-general who was responsible for the mass influx of one hundred ten (110) congressmen to PDP Laban to establish a super majority in the House of Representatives (HoR) even as a coalition of seventeen (17) senators composed a majority in the Senate.

Pimentel said many local leaders, among them governors, city and municipal mayors and prominent political leaders, have already expressed their interest to join the PDP Laban which has also started to strengthen its international presence by forging ties with several foreign political parties.

He said new party members are required to undergo a "Basic Membership Seminar" (BMS) during which the party constitution and by-laws, history and platform, among others, are being discussed by party elders and lecturers.

The move to amend the 1987 Constitution to pave the way for the adoption of a federal system of government tops the advocacies of the PDP Laban, said Pimentel, adding that party leaders have been conducting forums nationwide to promote its advantages versus the highly-centralized unitary government.

PDP Laban is the only major political party which espouses the shift to Federalism in its Party Constitution, the Party President said.
PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER HAILED FOR SELFLESS SUPPORT TO HER STUDENTS

As classes opened, Sen. Grace Poe urged the country's teachers to serve as beacons of perseverance and commitment like one public school mentor who exemplified dedication and compassion toward her students.

At an event that gathered some 100 teachers at the Asian Institute of Management in Makati City, Tuesday, Poe, a former school teacher herself, said, "Tayong mga guro ang ikalawang magulang ng mga bata at magigiting na instrumento sa paghubog sa kanila upang sila ay maging responsable at mabuting mamamayan ng bansa."

In sharing her insights, Poe cited Noemi Bautista, a public school teacher of 20 years, who would give her own money so that her students would get by in their schooling.

Bautista, a mother of four, recalled how she brought extra "baon" for her poor students who go to school hungry. She also bought learning materials from her own pocket, a challenge that many public school teachers face every school year.

Poe gave Bautista, who is set to finish her PhD, tokens of encouragement in the latter's tireless pursuit to raise well-rounded and honorable individuals.

"Teachers mold us and in the process, shape our future. Every support must be extended to them," stressed Poe, who is co-author of Republic Act 10743, which sets October 5 as National Teachers' Day.

In her speech, Poe also called on teachers to be at the forefront of leading students to be more involved in helping address society's problems and lending support to the vulnerable, especially during critical times.

[Poe is keynote speaker at the Sinag Teachers' Summit organized by Sun Life Financial-Philippines to promote financial literacy in the country.]
Press Release

June 6, 2017 Trillanes, Magdalo charge Duterte at ICC Senator Antonio "Sonny" F. Trillanes IV, together with Magdalo Party-list Representative Gary C. Alejano, has filed on Tuesday a supplemental complaint against President Rodrigo Duterte before the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands. In the 45-page communication submitted to the Office of the Prosecutor of ICC, Trillanes and Alejano affirmed and provided updates to the submitted communication of Atty. Jude Sabio before the ICC regarding President Rodrigo Duterte's violation of the Articles of Rome Statute through commission of mass murder or extra-judicial executions constituting crimes against humanity. Trillanes explained: "The case of crimes against humanity against Duterte is very solid. He repeatedly, explicitly and clearly pronounced a national policy of killing drug suspects and the PNP executed it. Moreover, the Philippines, being a state party and Duterte being a Filipino, satisfy jurisdictional requirements. Any Filipino lawyer who says otherwise, should read the ICC policy papers first." Trillanes and Alejano also included in the communication the list of killings which transpired after the first communication to the ICC was submitted last April 24 by Atty. Sabio, and other relevant incidents which prove that the killings happening around the country are being done systematically by police through the so-called legitimate police operations, or through vigilante style executions, which are carried out by police themselves masked as part of vigilante groups or through their hired killers. Alejano added: "As to the complementarity requirements, the abruptly terminated Senate hearings plus Duterte's immunity from suit and with the junking of the impeachment complaint, prove that our government is unwilling and unable to prosecute the perpetrators of the crimes. Therefore, there is still a continuing veil of impunity which enables the carrying out of state-sponsored killings. It is in this regard that we are calling on the ICC to intervene and conduct preliminary examination of the situation in the country in order to prevent further extra-judicial killings and render justice in the country," Alejano further explained. The Rome Statute is the treaty that established the ICC, the first permanent international court that is capable of trying perpetrators of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression, the Statute's four core international crimes. The Philippines is a state party to the Rome Statute, together with other 123 state parties, after ratifying it in August 2011.
CHARLES CITY  A judge has scheduled a retrial of a former Floyd County magistrate convicted last year of molesting a teen boy.

A jury convicted Douglas K. Lindaman, 61, Charles City, of third-degree sexual abuse in April 2016. The Iowa Supreme Court reversed that conviction in May.

Lindaman will be transported back to the Floyd County Jail as soon as possible, District Court Judge Gregg R. Rosenbladt ordered in a filing Tuesday.

Rosenbladt also set bond at $10,000 for the felony and scheduled Lindamans trial to begin at 9 a.m. Aug. 1. A pretrial conference is scheduled for 9 a.m. July 17.

Bond may be posted in cash, surety or by Lindaman posting 10 percent of the scheduled bond amount directly with the district court clerk.

Lindaman is a former Floyd County magistrate who lost his law license after two convictions in the late 1980s for lascivious acts with minors.

He represented himself during his 2016 Floyd County trial on the new sexual abuse charge, in which he was accused of molesting a teenage farmhand he hired.

In an order filed May 19, Iowa Supreme Court justices agreed with an Iowa Attorney General's Office request for a new trial for Lindaman based on a misstep by the district court.

Justice Thomas Waterman stated in a ruling that the lower court failed to determine whether Lindaman's waiver of his right to counsel was "intelligent and knowing."

Floyd County Attorney Rachel Ginbey, filed a request May 23 to have the case added to the trial list and set at the earliest possible date for trial.

Ginbeys also asked Lindaman be transported back to the Floyd County Jail and that bond be set at $10,000 cash in his name only.

If Lindaman was to post bond, Ginbey ask that he be released to pretrial supervision by the Department of Corrections.

Rosenbladts order states, As the Defendant has not failed to appear, release with supervision to the Department of Correctional Services will not be required at this time."
Danny Nicolettas first day on the job as a counter clerk at Castro Camera happened also to be the day of the Castro Street Fair.

Shopkeeper Harvey Milk didnt have time to train a 20-year-old at the cash register, so he gave him three rolls of film and sent him out to shoot the fair. It was beginners luck that Nicoletta came across a flamboyant couple, one in leopard skin and blowing hair and the other in a Moms Mabley hat and a provocative T-shirt message across his girth.

That image became a postcard selling 5,000 copies, and 42 years later it is on the cover of Nicolettas first book, LGBT San Francisco: The Daniel Nicoletta Photographs, to be released by Reel Art Press this summer.

Though Nicoletta did, in the end, master the duties of a 40-hour-a-week clerk at Castro Camera, his trajectory was out from behind the counter and into the streets with a Pentax. He followed Milk through his election as a San Francisco supervisor in 1977, through his murder in 1978, and every aspect of gay life to follow. The last picture in the book, taken in 2015, was shot four doors away from the first picture, taken in 1975.

I had a strong calling to document the journey of the LGBT civil rights movement and had the good fortune to be able to stay on that beat for the entirety of my career, says Nicoletta, now 62 and living in Grants Pass, Ore. But he still has a 415 phone number, and he will be back in the city for a slide show and a book signing in August.

The $60 coffee-table book runs 300 pages and weighs 5 pounds. Half of the images have never been published or exhibited. But filmmaker Gus Van Sant had been to Nicolettas Fell Street studio and had seen the pictures on the wall. When Van Sant started production of his biopic Milk, he hired Nicoletta as consultant and special photographer on the set.

Dannys photos are a treasured artistic record of the people who initiated a movement from within their own neighborhood, Van Sant wrote in the foreword to the book. They were examples of the real people and places and influenced our vision for the film in innumerable ways.

Some scenes were precise re-creations of still images by Nicoletta. During filming he shot them again. In the book these appear side by side, nearly identical.

Dan Nicoletta

These include a picture of Milk dressed as a circus clown hanging off a cable car on May 21, 1978, and a picture of Sean Penn as Milk re-creating that scene on March 22, 2008.

That didnt make it into the film, but the portrayal of Nicoletta by Disney star Lucas Grabeel did. The set of the front counter of Castro Camera was built based upon a color image Nicoletta took with his Pentax.

There is a spread of Grabeel sitting at the desk, authentic adding machine, Pentax and Converse high-tops up on the counter. You can be sure every detail in that image is accurate. Nicoletta loaned Grabeel his trademark handmade hippie vest, which he wore to work every day for years, for the film shoot.

In the 80s and 90s Nicoletta shot the AIDS Quilt, ACT-UP, the alternative theater scene, leather culture, the nightclub scene and Jerome Caja, who painted miniature portraits in nail polish.

This century, the story became the struggle for international LGBT rights and for marriage equality. The photographer became part of that story three years ago when Nicoletta married his longtime partner, Michael Pinatelli Jr., at City Hall. Their eight-syllable hyphenated last name may have set a record.

The Nicoletta-Pinatellis live a quiet, rural life an hour past the Oregon border. His next book project is already under way: studio portraits of all the key players in the LGBT struggle, shot over the span of 10 years. The only key player unable to sit for his portrait was Milk, though Nicoletta did shoot a still life of the bloodstained suit he was wearing when he was assassinated.

The thing that I would like to pass down to the next generation is a sense of hope, just like Harvey did, he says.

Sam Whiting is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: swhiting@sfchronicle.com Instagram: @sfchronicle_art

Photographer appearances: Danny Nicoletta will show slides from his book LGBT San Francisco at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 24 in Koret Auditorium, the Main Library, 100 Larkin St.

He will appear at 2 p.m. Aug. 27 at Dog Eared Books, 489 Castro St., San Francisco.
Vigil: Jewish communities nationwide hold candlelight vigils in support of refugees, from 6 to 7 p.m. outside San Francisco City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place. For information: http://bit.ly/2rkMN8b.

Candidate fundraiser: The Sister District Project holds a fundraiser with drinks and music to support Cheryl Turpin, Democratic candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates in the 85th District (Virginia Beach). The Sister District Project consists of volunteers who support Democratic state and congressional campaigns in historically red states. The event is from 6 to 9 p.m. at Spats Berkeley, 1974 Shattuck Ave. in Berkeley. For information: http://bit.ly/2ssaHOC.

Health care film: A showing of the 30-minute film Now Is the Time: Healthcare for Everybody, with speaker Sue Bergman, a nurse and supporter of the Healthy California Act, the proposal before the Legislature to create a single-payer health care system. The free event is at 7 p.m. at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, 6250 Village Parkway in Dublin. For information: (925) 462-3459 or flickknight@gmail.com.

Sunday

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.

June 17

Ban the bomb: Womens March to Ban the Bomb, in support of U.N. negotiations on a treaty to ban nuclear weapons. Demonstrators will meet at 11:30 a.m. at the corner of El Camino Real and Embarcadero Road in Palo Alto. For information: wilpf.peninsula.paloalto@gmail.com.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Nuclear weapons film: A screening and discussion of The Nuclear Requiem, on the challenges of controlling nuclear weapons. The free, two-hour event starts at 3:30 p.m. at the Los Altos Public Librarys Orchard Room, 13 South San Antonio Road. For information: wilpf.peninsula.paloalto@gmail.com.

June 22

Coal and environment: A free screening of From the Ashes, a National Geographic documentary about coal, followed by a discussion on the environment and climate. The film begins at 7 p.m. at La Pena Cultural Center, 3105 Shattuck Ave. in Berkeley. For information: http://nocoalinoakland.info.
In the four years since San Francisco launched free Wi-Fi in 32 parks and recreation centers, public Internet usage has boomed.

More than a half-million unique devices connect to the citys wireless network monthly, data from the Department of Technology show  the first to be released since the equipment was installed in 2013. The areas with the most unique users are Union Square (101,000 in December), Civic Center Plaza (67,000), Dolores Park (52,000) and Duboce Park (47,000).

The most underused locations include Sunnyside Playground (500); the Richmond Recreation Center (1,000); and Mission, St. Marys and Minnie & Lovie Ward recreation centers (all 2,000), according to the city data.

The wireless network was started in 2013 with a $600,000 donation from Google, which Supervisor Mark Farrell helped broker. The money bought equipment and funded two years worth of maintenance. But residents and city officials say the piecemeal approach isnt enough to bridge the digital divide, which has left low-income families with little to no access.

Its a valuable project and a step in the right direction, Farrell said. It is not surprising to me that the numbers are increasing all the time in San Francisco. The Internet is becoming an ubiquitous part of life, from daily emails to Internet research.

Liz Hafalia/The Chronicle

As the push for a citywide broadband network grinds forward at City Hall  a goal dating back to former Mayor Gavin Newsoms tenure  the San Francisco Public Library has fast-tracked a six-month pilot program that would let residents check out laptops and Internet hotspots.

Techd Out, a sleekly marketed program beginning in late June, is a $120,000 project modeled after programs at the New York, San Mateo County and Chicago public libraries. Thirty-two electronic bundles  consisting of an HP laptop and mobile hotspot  will be available for check-out at the Main Library and the Oceanview, Bayview and Visitacion Valley branches. The locations were chosen because of their proximity to underserved populations, library officials said.

More and more people have their own personal electronic devices, said Bill Kolb, the library manager overseeing the project. What they lack is the ability to pay monthly for the data that makes those things especially useful in their lives. The citys efforts are progressing, but not as fast as people need. We thought we could try a pilot program to bridge that gap.

Its our way of trying to reach out to areas in the city where that coverage hasnt saturated yet, he added.

At the Main Library and its 28 branches, 5,638 people access the Wi-Fi network daily. Patrons logged 306,186 hours at its public computers over the past six months. The service has become a lifeline for some teenagers, who spend hours in coffee shops, branch libraries and parks every day finishing homework and applying for college.

Erica Watkins, a 19-year-old who lives in the Tenderloin and wants to major in English, said she spends three to four hours at the Main Library daily during the school year. Shes enrolled in City College of San Franciscos high school diploma program at the John Adams and Mission campuses.

I didnt realize immediately that it wasnt normal, she said. I was around 14 when I stopped being able to do most of my homework at home. My parents couldnt afford the monthly bill, and I hated having to explain that to people. I never wanted to use it as an excuse to not turn my assignments in.

Chazorae Bell, 17, who just graduated from a charter school on Treasure Island, echoed the sentiment. He is enrolled in City Colleges library tech program beginning this fall and said being able to take a laptop or mobile hotspot home would have be a godsend.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Not having Wi-Fi at home, you have a disadvantage from the start, Bell said. I use my phone to the best of my abilities. But there are certain things you have to do using a computer and Wi-Fi. If I didnt have access to that for free, I would probably be screwed.

Lizzie Johnson is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ljohnson@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LizzieJohnsonnn

Free Wi-Fi in city parks

How many thousands of unique devices tapped into the citys free Wi-Fi at public parks and recreation centers during December:

Park Unique devices (thousands) Union Square 101 Civic Center Plaza 67 Dolores Park 52 Duboce Park 47 St. Marys Square 33 Washington Square 28 Portsmouth Square 27 Gene Friend Rec Center 22 Marina Green 21 Sue Bierman Park 21 Huntington Park 20 Alamo Square 19 Boeddeker Playground 13 Hamilton Rec Center 10 Balboa Park 7 Joseph Lee Rec Center 6 Tenderloin Rec Center 6 Alta Plaza Park 5 Betty A. Ong Chinese Rec Center 5 Crocker Amazon Playground 5 Margaret Hayward Playground 5 Bernal Heights Rec Center 4 Eureka Valley Rec Center 4 Sunset Playground 4 Justin Herman Plaza 3.5 Palega Rec Center 3 Upper Noe Rec Center 3 Minnie & Lovie Ward Rec Center 2 Mission Rec Center 2 St. Marys Rec Center 2 Richmond Rec Center 1 Sunnyside Playground 0.5 Total 549

Source: Department of Technology
MASON CITY | Leah Bormann and Cody Whitehurst, both of Mason City, are the winners of this year's North Iowa Area Community Colleges Extreme Makeover: College Edition contest.

Each will receive free NIACC tuition plus textbooks and more for the 2017-18 school year.

For more than a decade, NIACC has been providing adult students with an opportunity to return to college at no cost.

The annual contest is open to adults at least 23 years old who haven't taken a NIACC credit class the past three years.

Bormann is planning to get her accounting degree, while Whitehurst intends to enter the medical field, possibly in radiology.

The three other finalists were Francesca Garrett of Mason City; Dena Monson of Albert Lea, Minnesota, and Amanda Reinhart of Mason City. They will each receive half-price tuition for the 2017-18 academic year.
Jerome Adamstein/TNS

Tesla Inc.s directors will continue to face election every three years, after investors rejected a bid by pension funds for the board led by Elon Musk to be subject to annual votes.

The electric-car maker said at its annual meeting Tuesday that it opposed declassifying its board, which would have allowed investors to cast ballots for or against directors every year. Shareholders approved the companys recommendations on all agenda items, Todd Maron, Teslas general counsel, said at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, where the meeting was held.
The University of California regents have hired a former state Supreme Court justice and an Orange County law firm to look into revelations that the UC presidents office interfered with a state auditors survey of campuses, rendering the results useless, regents Chairwoman Monica Lozano said Monday.

The regents hired former Justice Carlos Moreno, who works for a dispute-resolution company called Jams, and the law firm Hueston Hennigan to evaluate inappropriate screening of campuses confidential survey responses by staff at UCs Oakland headquarters. The announcement came four days after state lawmakers introduced a bill to make it a misdemeanor to interfere with a state audit with intent to deceive or defraud  a reaction to state Auditor Elaine Howles revelation that UC President Janet Napolitanos office had insisted on seeing the campuses responses before they were sent to the state.

The surveys were part of an investigation into the finances and spending at UC headquarters, the results of which Howle released April 25. The audits primary finding was that under Napolitano, the office had amassed $175 million in reserve funds it failed to disclose before asking the regents to raise tuition for next fall.

As part of the audit, Howle sent out confidential surveys to the 10 UC campuses to learn whether services they received from Napolitanos office were necessary or duplicative. A letter from Howle that accompanied the surveys cautioned that officials should not share the answers outside of your campus.

But Howle learned that Napolitanos staff had required campus officials to share their survey responses with headquarters  a level of tampering that the auditor said made it impossible to rely on the results.

Emails between campuses and headquarters obtained last month by The Chronicle confirmed that Napolitanos staff had directed campus administrators to show them their survey responses before submitting them to Howles office. One campus, UC Santa Cruz, had already submitted its survey but pulled it back, apologizing to Napolitanos staff for sending it in without prior review.

Administrators at three UC campuses  Santa Cruz, San Diego and Irvine  deleted critical survey responses or changed them to reflect more favorably on Napolitanos office after her staff directed them to do so, the emails showed.

Ive never had a situation like that in my 17 years as state auditor, Howle told state lawmakers at a May 2 hearing on the audit findings.

Lozano, the regents chairwoman, defended Napolitano and her office at the hearing but promised that the regents would improve their oversight of her office and its $813.5 million annual budget.

The hiring of Moreno and the law firm to document what happened with the surveys is expected to be part of that.

Moreno was appointed to the California Supreme Court by Gov. Gray Davis and served from 2001 to 2011.

Justice Moreno will provide expertise in the areas of fact-finding and neutral evaluation, Lozano wrote in a letter Monday to Gov. Jerry Brown, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Paramount (Los Angeles County), and Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon, D-Los Angeles.

As for the Hueston Hennigan law firm, Lozano said only that it would provide legal services. She was not more specific.

The interference by Napolitanos office prompted a bill by Assemblymen Al Muratsuchi, D-Torrance (Los Angeles County), Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, and Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, that would make it a crime to tamper with a state audit. Under AB562, each misdemeanor violation could result in a fine of up to $10,000 and up to a year in jail.

We want to make sure that people take it seriously when the auditor knocks on their door, Muratsuchi told The Chronicle.

He said that Brian Hennigan, one of the partners in Hueston Hennigan, is a leading white-collar criminal attorney and that his hiring certainly makes it appear that the Board of Regents is taking this matter seriously.

Ting said he expects that people will be held accountable if the new UC inquiry finds they acted inappropriately. Otherwise, he said, the Legislature will have to take action.

A report from the fact-finders is expected to conclude in a timely manner, Lozano wrote.

The regents did not respond to requests about the size of the contracts to Moreno and the law firm.

Nanette Asimov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: nasimov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @NanetteAsimov
First, the most important thing: bathrooms. Leaving the Palace of Fine Arts, after last weeks Joyous Persistence event, I ran into a friend  a perfect gentleman  looking upset. There were mostly women at the event. The womens room sign had been left as is, but Gender Neutral had been stuck on the former mens room sign.

Needing a bathroom break during the proceedings, my pal had stepped into the former mens room, not even looking at the sign. No one else was there, and when he spotted the row of urinals, he used one. And while he was doing that, a woman came in and gave him hell. Dont you know, she said, that no one uses the urinals in a gender-neutral bathroom? He was both embarrassed and indignant; how should he have known?

The very next day, R.H., whod gone to the de Young to see the Summer of Love show, wrote that hed used the first-floor mens room, which  along with the adjacent ladies room  had been declared gender-neutral, too. Its R.H.s belief, he says, that a restroom with a wall of urinals being only used by men is not gender neutral. Particularly for children. ... When you walk into a restroom to see several men either using the urinals ... that is not a gender-neutral restroom.

There must be a solution. Fill the urinals with flowers? Or ice, to hold bottled water? Or?

In the penthouse space on top of the UC Berkeley Memorial Stadium on Friday, June 2, the nights party for the Bay Area Book Festival drew an array of talking/eating/drinking writers, editors and book lovers, fully engaged in timely conversation. Whats going to bring it all down? I overheard someone say. The sex tapes from Russia, I overheard someone answer.

More relevant to the occasion, there was the everyday stuff of writers talks, even successful writers: the everyday frustrations caused by misdeeds by editors and publishers. Best-selling mystery writer Laurie R. King, with 25 novels under her belt, was upbeat but said some of her books are set in England written in the voice of a British writer, others in the voice of an American. And she described an editor of a British one who had changed just about every one of the Britishisms to an Americanism. Literary license includes the right to a pleasant kvetch.

Festival founder and director Cherilyn Parsons, gussied up in a beaded dress way above the usual literary standards, gave greetings and thanks to sponsors and noted, especially, that her staff was almost all women. As to this years festival, she said, We cannot be anything but responsive and political. We have to express the conscience of the Bay Area. Literature is a force for social change.

At an event Sunday, June 4, Deirdre English of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism talked with psychologist Dacher Keltner, whose book The Power Paradox says that the acquisition of power is aided more by empathy and humility than force and manipulation. The T-word was not spoken, but it was in every molecule of the atmosphere.

There were greetings and thanks to sponsors, the stuff of every such gathering. And then, we turned to more conversation: Guadalupe Nettel, Mexico City novelist and autobiographer, said she was using her time in the Bay Area to visit the places she loves best: Big into the Beats, she likes City Lights and Green Apple Books. There are still lots of indie bookstores in Mexico, but no independent publishers. Printed books are still doing very well. And after readers and writers got sick of magical realism, theres a new interest in Latin American literature. She names names.

Its a good conversation, we exchange information, we hope to meet again some day. And the party moves on.

James Patterson reports on the sign outside a bar on Capitol Hill in Washington: Comey on in. No Russians here! It was full, says Patterson.

And in the aw category, Nanook of the North Bay sent along a police blog item from the St. Helena Star. A citizen entered the police station to report a theft that had been ongoing for the last 11 years. Its value, he said, was immeasurable. When an officer emerged to take a report, the man escorted a woman into the lobby and said she was responsible, because 11 years ago, she had stolen his heart. Whereupon he proposed. She accepted the proposal and a ring.

Leah Garchik is open for business in San Francisco, (415) 777-8426. Email: lgarchik@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @leahgarchik

Public Eavesdropping

Well, we found out the raccoons love San Francisco French Roast.
MILWAUKEE - Nine months ago, Travis and Lindy Shaw must have foreseen the Giants' downfall and conceived a child knowing he could take paternity leave for the first three games of the Brewers' series against the 23-35 Giants.

Shaw is one of the National League's best hitters and power threats this year, whom the Red Sox traded to Milwaukee to clear third base for Pablo Sandoval again.

Shaw is hitting .292 with 10 homers and a .530 slugging percentage. The Giants will not see him until the series finale Thursday. What happens between now and then could be rough.

On one hand, the Giants will have Hunter Pence in right field Monday night to give manager Bruce Bochy his full lineup, more or less. And to be fair to the offense, it did score 20 runs in three games against the Phillies pitching staff, such as it is.

This lineup is better than what it has shown.

On the other hand, the Brewers have a pretty good pitching staff and lead the National League Central, such as it is, with a 30-27 record. Monday's pitcher, Junior Guerra, was their Opening Day starter. He strained his calf running the bases and is only three starts back from the disabled list, but the first two were good ones: one run in 5 2/3 innings against the Diamondbacks and six shutout innings against the Mets.

He faces Jeff Samardzija, who is better than his 1-7 record. His 2.75 average run support ranks third-lowest in the majors.

Also missing from the Brewers is Ryan Braun, who is on the disabled list with a calf injury. Keon Broxton, their dynamic center fielder and leadoff hitter, is sitting out as well because the Brewers wanted a left-handed center fielder to face Samardzija. That would be Brett Phillips in his big-league debut.

Local angle: The Giants will get their first look at first baseman/outfielder Eric Thames since his return from Korea.

Thames was THE big story in April, when he hit .345 with 11 homers. In May? He batted .221 with three homers. He has one this month, too, his only hit in 11 at-bats. Thames was dealing with leg injuries in May and feels better now.

Thames grew up in Santa Clara and attended Bellarmine Prep in San Jose, better known as the school that Pat Burrell and Kevin Frandsen attended.

I had hoped to speak with Thames in advance of this series for a story, but the Brewers politely told me that he was "interviewed out" and the club was trying to give him a break.

I did talk to Aaron Hill, who was playing in Toronto when Thames arrived as a rookie in 2011. Thames hit 36 homers in four big-league seasons with the Blue Jays and Mariners before he went to Korea and hit 124 homers in three years and earned a three-year deal with the Brewers.

Hill called Thames a great guy and said that in Toronto, "He never really got anything going. He didn't get all those consistent at-bats to get something going. To see him do what he's done and get a chance to come back, I love it. I think it's awesome. It's fun to see him have some success."

Urging Pence on: Pence showed his legs were fine when he scored from first to home on a double in his final rehab game for Class A San Jose.

He actually had a chance to do that in a previous game but stopped at third, being extra cautious. He needed a pep talk from a 23-year-old Giants first-base prospect, Dylan Dobson to let it loose.

"Dobber told me I needed to pick it up," Pence said.

Pence also had nice things to say about outfielder Bryan Reynolds, the Giants' top draft pick last year.

"Reynolds was definitely impressive," Pence said. "He had a great approach at the plate. He also has a really solid mind-set. He has a good idea what he's doing and he's a pretty good."

The 22-year-old from Vanderbilt is hitting .296 with two homers, mostly playing center field.

Whos in left? Bochy admitted it was a "tough question." How will he decide who starts in left field with Pence back in right. On Monday night it was Orlando Calixte, which left Austin Slater on the bench for the second straight game after the Giants promoted him to see what they have.

Slater has looked jumpy and struggled with breaking pitches in his nine plate appearances over two games, which yielded a walk, a flyball, two strikeouts and five groundballs, one of which got through for an RBI single, another for a double play.

The Giants have not given Slater much of a chance. At the same time the Giants need some spark, and Calixte is faster and has more experienced.

"I'll go with the hot guy, not that anybody's hot right now," Bochy said, adding Brandon Belt and Gorkys Hernandez might see time in left field too.

"You hate to sit someone who's come up for a couple of days, especially a guy with so little experience," Bochy said of Slater. "I'll mix him in as much as I can so he can keep his timing."

The lineups:

GIANTS (vs. RHP Junior Guerra)

Span CF

Nunez 3B

Belt 1B

Posey C

Crawford SS

Pence RF

Panik 2B

Calixte LF

Samardzija P

BREWERS (vs. RHP Jeff Samardzija)

Sogard SS

Santana RF

Thames 1B

Perez 3B

Pina C

Franklin LF

Villar 2B

Phillips CF

Guerra P

Henry Schulman is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: hschulman@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @hankschulman
Unauthorized immigrants who are habitual drunkards cannot challenge their deportations on grounds of family hardship, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday, rejecting an earlier decision that had declared such legal objections unconstitutional.

Federal law allows immigrants who entered the country illegally to remain if they have shown good moral character during the past 10 years of their U.S. residence and their deportation would cause undue hardship to close family members who are U.S. citizens or legal residents. Among the categories defined by the 1952 law as lacking good moral character were certain serious felons, people who lied to gain immigration benefits and habitual drunkards.

A panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled 2-1 in March 2016 that the law on drunkards was discriminatory because alcoholism is an illness, not a moral defect. But the full appeals court voted to grant the government a rehearing before a larger panel, which upheld the law Tuesday in a 9-2 decision.

Because people who regularly drink alcoholic beverages to excess pose increased risks to themselves and others, a strict ban on their presence furthers the legitimate governmental interest in public safety, Judge Susan Graber said in the courts lead opinion.

Lawyers for the immigrant in the case, joined by immigrants-rights groups, argued that the law wrongly classified addicts to alcohol as lacking good moral character. But Graber said the question of moral character was legally irrelevant because Congress had a legitimate reason to prohibit habitual drinkers from seeking relief from deportation.

Not all alcoholics are habitual drunkards, she said, noting that the law covers only those who had consumed alcohol regularly during some of the 10-year period before they faced deportation.

In a dissenting opinion, Chief Judge Sidney Thomas said the law was unclear and should be reconsidered by immigration officials to distinguish between alcoholics and habitual drunkards who may pose a danger.

Aside from the DUI conviction, there was no evidence in the record of any harm to the public or others, said Thomas, joined in dissent by Judge Morgen Christen. The only evidence was that he was an excellent worker.

In the lead opinion, Graber noted, the immigrant, Salomon Ledezma-Cosino, was held for deportation in 2008 after police arrested him for driving under the influence of alcohol. Doctors found he had a more than 10-year history of heavy alcohol abuse, Graber said. He was hospitalized for a liver disease in 2010.

Ledezma entered the United States illegally from Mexico in 1997 and is now a construction worker in the San Diego area who is married and has eight children, five of them U.S. citizens. Now in his mid-60s, he has sought to stay in the U.S. on the grounds that his removal would cause hardship to his family.

Ledezmas lawyers said they were disappointed by Tuesdays ruling.

The governments position renders him ineligible for relief from removal solely because he sought help for a medical condition, the lawyers said in a statement. This decision further stigmatizes alcoholism and will discourage immigrants suffering from the disease from getting the help they need.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko
Even as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to decide the constitutionality of the revised travel ban proposed by President Trump, he went out of his way Monday to criticize the courts, and he seemed to suggest he would favor Christian refugees over Muslims.

The courts are slow and political! Trump said in one of a series of early-morning Twitter postings about his executive order prohibiting U.S. entry of anyone from six nations whose populations are almost entirely Muslim. The order is under review by both the Supreme Court and the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.

Trump also said his Justice Department should have stayed with the original Travel Ban, not the watered down, politically correct version they submitted to the Supreme Court. He appeared to be deriding the revisions that his lawyers have asked the court to uphold.

His original order, issued Jan. 27 and blocked by federal courts a week later, included a provision that gave future preference to refugees who were religious minorities, which Trump told an interviewer was intended to favor Christians immigrating to the U.S. from Muslim countries.

His revised order, issued March 6, disavowed any intention of religious preference and dropped the provision on religious minorities, which opponents had cited as explicit evidence that the first order was religiously motivated.

By insisting his lawyers should have stayed with the first version, the president not only betrays his complete failure to understand how the judicial process works but exposes the unchanged religious bigotry that underlies his order in either of its incarnations, Harvard Law Professor Laurence Tribe said in a commentary for CNN.

The first version of Trumps order was explicitly discriminatory toward religion, said Erwin Chemerinsky, the law school dean at UC Irvine. The presidents tweets saying that this is no different certainly go to the question of motive.

The White House rushed to defuse Trumps remarks on Twitter. National security aide Sebastian Gorka, interviewed on CNN, said the presidents tweets are not policy. ... Its social media, and reiterated the administrations position that Trump has the constitutional authority to control whoever comes into the country.

But opponents of Trumps order, who have used his past statements as evidence of his illicit intent, relished the prospect of incorporating his latest outburst in Supreme Court filings due next Monday.

Odd to have the defendant in HawaiivTrump acting as our co-counsel, said Neal Katyal, lawyer for the state of Hawaii in the case before the Ninth Circuit in his own Twitter posting. We dont need the help but well take it!

Trumps Jan. 27 executive order barred U.S. entry of residents of seven largely Muslim nations for 90 days, and of all refugees for 120 days, including those who held visas to enter the United States. The revised order, which has not taken effect, banned entry from six nations  excluding Iraq from the previous list  and would permit entry by visa holders, while allowing consular officials to grant additional entries for individual reasons, such as hardships to a would-be entrants U.S. relatives.

The Justice Department has described Trumps order as a pause in U.S. entry  rather than the travel ban label that Trump has used regularly, including in Mondays tweets  and contended it was based on the presidents concerns over threats of terrorism from the affected nations, whose residents were required to obtain U.S. visas under legislation signed by President Barack Obama.

But federal judges in Hawaii and Maryland, and the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Virginia, have nevertheless blocked enforcement of major provisions of the revised order and said opponents were likely to prove it was an unconstitutional attempt to exclude Muslims.

The judges cited Trumps statements as a presidential candidate that Muslim immigration should be banned, comments by the president and several advisers after inauguration that suggested he was putting his plans into effect, and his choice of six nations  Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen  whose populations are 90 to 99 percent Muslim.

After the Justice Department filed an appeal Thursday night asking the Supreme Court to implement Trumps order immediately, the court, acting with unusual speed, asked opponents in both cases on Friday for replies by next Monday.

The administration had not previously treated the revised executive order as an urgent matter requiring immediate enforcement. But Trump expressed impatience Monday after the weekend terror attack in London, labeling the courts as slow and tweeting that the Justice Department should ask for an expedited hearing of the watered down Travel Ban before the Supreme Court  & seek much tougher version!

He did not explain how the department could seek a tougher version than the one that is before the courts. Trump also said his administration has proceeded with extreme vetting of would-be entrants, seemingly contradicting the Justice Departments position that the Hawaii court order had put the governments new screening plans on hold.

Michael McConnell, a Stanford law professor and director of the schools Constitutional Law Center, said nonetheless that Trumps expressed discontent with the watered-down order could actually help his case by showing that any taint of bias had been removed.

The plaintiffs claim all along has been that although the executive order on its face is permissible, it must be read as if it embodied Donald Trumps anti-Muslim animus based on comments made during the election campaign, McConnell said. Now the president is saying that the order falls short of doing what he wanted, which ironically is what the government has been contending all along.

But Tribe told The Chronicle that Trumps preference for his earlier order could properly increase judicial skepticism over his claim that individuals subject to the ban could rely on the discretionary waiver provision to reduce the risk of undue hardship.

Trump is reinforcing arguments made by everybody challenging that ban that it is motivated by religious animus, said Richard Boswell, an immigration law professor at UC Hastings in San Francisco. And as the case proceeds, he said, Trumps public statements will make it harder for his lawyers to claim confidentiality for internal discussions and documents on the administrations position.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com

Twitter: @egelko
Palo Alto Police Department / Palo Alto Police Department

An armed man on an alleged mission to murder three of his doctors in the Bay Area was busted last week while en route from the Central Valley, officials said Tuesday.

Yue Chen, 58, rented a Nissan Rogue, packed up his two semi-automatic handguns and started off from his hometown of Visalia (Tulare County) on Wednesday with a plan to execute three physicians at their homes in the Bay Area, Palo Alto police officials said.
A Santa Clara County jury on Monday spared the life of the man it convicted of kidnapping and killing 15-year-old Sierra LaMar, leaving the Morgan Hill girls parents disappointed but relieved the murderer will spend the rest of his life in prison.

The jury gave Antolin Garcia-Torres life in prison without the possibility of parole after two days of deliberation and three weeks of testimony during the death penalty phase of the high-profile South Bay trial.

I would be lying if I didnt say I was disappointed in the verdict, Sierras father, Steve LaMar, said shortly after the jury announced its decision. Hell be able to live and Sierra wont. Hell be able to breathe and Sierra wont.

Sierras mother, Marlene LaMar, said there was a measure of satisfaction in knowing that there are lifelong consequences following evil action.

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Prosecutors won a conviction against Garcia-Torres despite Sierras body not being recovered. Sierras mother said she hoped that Garcia-Torres would someday make it right by being honest with himself and his family, our family and with God.

He will continue to live in bondage as long as he lives his life, Marlene LaMar said outside the San Jose courthouse. I feel at peace that he will not be on the streets to harm another child, but the angst will be in our lives forever.

Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith added that if Garcia-Torres has one shred of humanity, he would would tell authorities where to find Sierras body.

Weve remained unwavering in our dedication to finding Sierra, Smith said. Out investigators ... will carry on until Sierras family and friends can give her a proper goodbye.

Garcia-Torres attorneys pleaded passionately for mercy before the jury went to deliberate, while prosecutors argued death was the appropriate punishment for kidnapping and killing the Ann Sobrato High School sophomore.

The jury made it so he will die in prison and never take another breath as a free man, said Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen. This child murderer will never hurt another person, nor another family, nor another community.

Today is a day of significance and sadness. There is no joy in this verdict, only mourning the death of a child who was murdered  a void that will forever ache and can never be filled.

Sierra disappeared while walking to a school bus on March 16, 2012, and what started as a missing person case soon turned into a murder investigation.

In the days after she vanished, Sierras clothes and cell phone were found in fields near her home.

DNA on her jeans led investigators to Garcia-Torres, who said he had been driving in the area where Sierra disappeared but denied any involvement in the incident.

While Sierras body has not been discovered, evidence found in Garcia-Torres car  including Sierras DNA and hair  linked him to the girl.

During the separate guilt phase of the trial, Garcia-Torres was found guilty of kidnapping and killing Sierra and of three separate attempted kidnappings from 2009.

Testimony from Sierras family and friends in the penalty phase brought many in the packed courtroom to tears. Prosecutors highlighted how Sierras death has impacted her family and the South Bay community as they urged the jury to choose the ultimate punishment.

Hoping to spare his life, Garcia-Torres attorneys showed pictures of him as a boy, while describing his tortured childhood.

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Garcia-Torres mother and sister described growing up in an abusive home with an alcoholic father. Garcia-Torres father has since been convicted of molesting another child in the home.

The attorneys even suggested pesticides in the strawberry fields where Garcia-Torres grew up may have impacted the young man.

Garcia-Torres has not admitted committing the crime, and his attorneys sought to evoke some lingering doubt about his guilt with the jury.

Defense attorneys left the courthouse Monday without commenting on the jurys decision.

As Garcia-Torres mother, Laura Torres, left the courthouse, she was asked if she was relieved the jury spared her sons life. Yes, she said with a wide-eyed expression before getting into a car and leaving.

California has not executed an inmate in more than a decade after a federal judge blocked executions in 2006. Since then, the punishment has been largely symbolic.

But in November, voters approved Proposition 66, a law to speed up the legal process before executions. Officials, meanwhile, have taken measures to address concerns with how executions were being carried out in the states only death chamber in San Quentin State Prison.

Today justice was served, Sheriff Smith said. Nothing can be done to bring Sierra back but today Antolin Garcia-Torres will be held accountable for the cold-blooded murder of Sierra and bring some solace to us all.

Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky
CLEAR LAKE | A 14-year-old pedestrian was injured after he was struck by a car Monday in Clear Lake.

He was transported to Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa with what appeared to be non-life threatening injuries, according to a news release from the Clear Lake Fire Department. The teen was not identified.

The department was dispatched at 3:15 p.m. to the scene of the accident at the intersection of North Eighth Street and Highway 18 East.

The boy was attempting to cross the highway when he was struck by a vehicle turning east onto the highway from the southbound lane of North Eighth Street, according to authorities.

The driver of the car, who was also not identified, was not injured.

The Clear Lake Fire Department was assisted on scene by the Clear Lake Police Department and the Iowa State Patrol.

The accident remains under investigation.

 Mary Pieper
California has long been a beacon of diversity and a welcoming home for religious minorities. Indeed, countless state officials have highlighted this public commitment in recent months in challenging President Trumps travel ban. Ahead of his January confirmation, for example, Attorney General Xavier Becerra praised California as a welcoming state, and condemned religious discrimination as antithetical to (our) deepest constitutional values and traditions.

Despite this pledge of tolerance, however, one large group of believers stands to be shut out: Sabbath observers. Absent immediate attention from these same state officials, those who faithfully observe the ancient practice of abstaining from work on the Sabbath will remain unwelcome from working as correctional officers in the largest prison system in the country.

In a case headed for trial in Sacramento, the question is simple: Can the state deny jobs to certain religious minorities because of their religious commitments? The case, Teresa Brown vs. California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, involves the California prison systems refusal to hire a Seventh-day Adventist as a prison guard because of her religious observance from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. The states policy  which insists all applicants pledge availability 24/7, 365 days a year  also would exclude members of the Jewish, Mormon, Cherokee or any other faith with a similar belief. It must not stand.

Brown is a lifelong Adventist who overcame an impoverished childhood to become a nursing assistant for inmates at the Department of Corrections. Still struggling to make ends meet as a single mother of two, however, she sought a higher-paying job as a guard. After months of forms, interviews, a written exam, and a physical-fitness test, Brown looked forward to being a correctional officer. The Pine Grove (Amador County) resident was rejected solely because of her inability to work on her Sabbath.

In rejecting Brown  or, for that matter, any Sabbath observer  the department not only has defied Californias promise of religious diversity, but it seeks to exempt itself from its own laws.

For 50 years, California has made it clear to its citizens and the nation: Sabbath observers should not be forced to choose between their faith and their livelihood. The Legislature has been so insistent on this right that it has adopted three laws on the subject  including one in 2012 passed in partial response to the departments then-mistreatment of Sikh job applicants.

To be sure, prison safety and security are vital  but the Department of Corrections has struggled to present evidence that hiring Brown would impact prison safety or operations. To the contrary, safety is precisely why there are administrative systems in place to ensure prisons are adequately staffed no matter the situation  including when correctional officers are allowed time off for medical needs, family issues or vacation. If all that stands between protecting the public is the availability of one guard, then our state has much bigger problems than the lawsuit.

The Department of Corrections reasoning also follows a line of other failed safety excuses. The Justice Department under two different administrations brought similar cases in Alabama and Arkansas, where Sabbath observers were denied jobs in the prison and police settings. Just as the agencies in those states could not hide behind safety there, neither can the Department of Corrections here.

Californias laws protecting religious minorities such as Brown make it a welcoming place for people of all faiths. It would be tragic  especially in these times  if a state agency could exempt itself from them. We hope our public officials will recognize this and change course quickly.

Christina Neitzey, Kathryn Harris and Mary Huang represent Teresa Brown as certified law students at the Stanford Law School Religious Liberty Clinic.
WASHINGTON  Freshman California Sen. Kamala Harris will get a blockbuster debut in the national spotlight Thursday when former FBI Director James Comey testifies to Congress for the first time since being fired a month ago by President Trump, a spectacle that is drawing live coverage from the prime-time anchors of the big three television networks and promises to rival Washingtons most storied public hearings.

Harris, a Democrat, has a seat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is conducting an investigation into Russian interference in last years presidential election, including allegations of collusion between Russian President Vladimir Putins regime and Trumps election campaign.

Comey was leading a parallel investigation of the same issues until Trump fired him. The question is whether Trump pressured Comey to stop his investigation of former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn for his dealings with Russia, potentially exposing himself to charges of obstruction of justice.

As a first-term senator in the minority party, Harris will be the last in line to ask questions, and will be hard-pressed to find a new angle that would elicit any bombshell revelations from the former FBI director, a man well rehearsed in the choreography of congressional hearings.

Im getting used to it, Harris said Tuesday of being the last committee member to question witnesses. A former San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general, Harris typically employs a prosecutorial style in hearings that attempts to get facts on the public record.

She said thats what shell do Thursday. Its going to be about being probative of the facts, Harris said in a hallway interview on Capitol Hill.

Her preparation includes reviewing everything that has happened in previous hearings, reviewing public source documents, including press reports and interviews, she said. And, she said, she spends prep time refining the calendar around some of the dates that we know certain conversations ... occurred, where there were answers to certain questions and checking whether theyre consistent.

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, also a Democrat, is the committees former chair and ranking member. She traded her role as ranking member after the last election to take on the top Democratic slot on the Judiciary Committee. But with her seniority, Feinstein will still be the second Democrat to question Comey after top Democrat Mark Warner of Virginia.

You know the way this works, Feinstein told The Chronicle. It goes down the line, back and forth (alternating Republican and Democrat). So you can have a question and somebody else asks it whos ahead of you, so we sort of keep our powder dry and you have to follow the flow of the questioning.

Obviously, what were looking for is what transpired at (Comeys) meetings with the president, with respect to the president asking him to lay off of Gen. Flynn, thats one thing. And another thing is to discuss, to the extent hell discuss with us, some of the Russia investigation.

Nick Akerman, a former Watergate prosecutor and U.S. attorney now at the law firm Dorsey and Whitney, said Comey is unlikely to divulge details of the investigation, but that discussing his conversations with Trump is totally in bounds. According to news reports, Comey left a detailed memo trail of his meetings with the president.

The job for senators on both sides of the aisle, Akerman said, will be to develop as many facts as they can about Comeys conversations with Trump. Everything, he said. The atmosphere, what was said, who else was present, who else was spoken to, the who, what, where, why, when, et cetera. Trying to set the entire stage so you know exactly what happened.

That includes questions about why Comey wrote memos of the meetings with Trump, and whether he did the same after meetings with former President Barack Obama, Akerman said.

For Harris, he said, Youre talking about the junior senator who gets last word. I think shes just got to be ready as former prosecutor to do the cleanup. Where theres some kind of hole or something that hasnt been covered, her job is going to be to make sure that everything gets questioned about that can be questioned about.

So what shes really got to be doing is sitting there with a checklist to make sure that nobody misses anything.

The Comey hearing has generated such intense media interest that it is already being compared to the Watergate hearings and those over Clarence Thomas nomination to the Supreme Court. Hearings of such magnitude can provide a staging ground for those with higher aspirations, said Bill Whalen, a political analyst at the conservative Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

The challenge for Harris, who has batted down questions about her presidential aspirations since coming to Washington in January, is, What can she ask thats unique by the time its her turn? he said.

Should Harris ever decide on a White House run, Thursday will be not just a hearing for Comey, its a job interview for Harris, said Jack Pitney, a professor of politics at Claremont-McKenna College in Claremont (Los Angeles County). Shes going to have to bring her best game to the event. This is probably the biggest national audience shes had up to now.

Democrats walk a fine line between trying to get to the bottom of Russian interference in the November election  and possible continuing interference in U.S. politics  and demands from their base for Trumps impeachment. Harris has not ventured into that territory and party leaders such as House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco have discouraged such talk.

Whalen noted that Republicans suffered a voter backlash after their impeachment of former President Bill Clinton on perjury and obstruction of justice charges in a case that began with an investigation of Clintons Whitewater real estate dealings and wound up with an investigation of Clinton lying about his affair with Monica Lewinsky. The House voted to bring impeachment articles, but the Senate dismissed both charges, largely on party lines.

Nonetheless, Pitney said the Russia investigation and related hearings pose enormous political peril for Trump, whose public approval has sunk to the high 30s.

The danger for Trump is an erosion of his political support, Pitney said. So far, Republicans have been pretty reluctant to stand up to him, but if the polls start turning, particularly if he leaks Republican support, then some Republicans on the Hill might begin to feel their spine again.

Carolyn Lochhead is The San Francisco Chronicles Washington correspondent. Email: clochhead@sfchronicle.com
Never trust a man who tells you its easy to move an alligator.

The Academy of Sciences alligators have been a draw for decades for San Franciscans and tourists alike. Being a big fan of these huge reptiles, I sunk my teeth into an archive search and turned up interesting stories and classic photos.

Despite the cantankerous critters relative stardom, it appears The Chronicle covered them only when Steinhart Aquarium staff members transported them from their enclaves.

April 1962 was the first time the alligators were moved since the aquariums 1923 opening. The Academy of Sciences building was undergoing a $1.6 million renovation, closing for nearly a year, and everything had to be moved. Officials had storage tanks for the fish, but in January their plans to send the gators to a farm in Southern California was thwarted by a virus outbreak.

Finding a new temporary home for the reptiles wasnt easy. The big problem, according to senior aquatic biologist Robert Dempster, was that they needed water at a constant temperature of 80 degrees. Another issue: They were giant, 500-pound, flesh-eating animals that wouldnt hesitate to chomp on a human.

Steve Ringman/The Chronicle

The S.F. Zoo, Fleishhacker Pool and Sutro Baths were all considered as alligator abodes, but they were rejected. The owners of a small swimming pool construction business, Dolphins of Marin, came to the rescue and offered to build a pool on their premises to house the unusual guests.

The move itself was a disaster, starting with volunteer Joe Herzstein having his overalls ripped open by an alligator bite that barely missed his leg. On the ride to Marin, many of the gators got into a vicious brawl, with one of them hurt so badly it had to be put to death. The other nine made it to Marin safe, with the pool company offering free visits to the public.

The Chronicle wrote about another move on April 21, 1982, when Steinhart Aquarium staff members went to the Conservatory of Flowers building to retrieve four alligators, two crocodiles and nine snapping turtles. The animals had been housed there for two weeks while their pond at the aquarium was resurfaced. The Chronicles Steve Rubenstein reported, The gators had grown to like their new digs. For one thing, the lily pond was closed to the public, so there were no kids throwing pennies at them.

When herpetologist Ed Ely headed toward the water, most of the reptiles sank to the bottom to avoid capture. The crocodiles were too slow, and got scooped up by Ely and his crew, but the four alligators made it to the bottom and wouldnt budge. Someone came up with the idea to drain the water and the retrieval went smoothly, for the most part.

The only close call was when a smallish, 100-pound alligator clamped down on keeper Richard Lacers boot. Rubenstein, still a Chronicle scribe, reported, Lacer was none the worse for his ordeal, save for two puncture wounds. The alligator wore an inscrutable grin throughout.

Little-known fact: Its news to most folks  alligators sing. On June 3, 1946, The Chronicle reported that a Steinhart Aquarium staff worker heard loud groans upon arriving to work. The crew investigated and found four alligators with their heads together in choral practice. Dr. Wilbert Chapman was quoted as saying: They do not like a human audience, however, and cease when visitors troop in.

Bill Van Niekerken is the library director of The San Francisco Chronicle, where he has worked since 1985. In his weekly column, From the Archive, he explores the depths of The Chronicles vast photography archive in search of interesting historical tales related to the city by the bay.
The end of the line appears near for BARTs never-enforced seat-hog ordinance. BART directors on Thursday will consider rescinding the law, which would have subjected people to fines for occupying more than a single seat during commute hours.

BART directors passed the ordinance on a 5-4 vote in April 2016 after debating whether the effort to free up scarce seats on crowded trains was also an attack on homeless people, who often spread out to get some sleep.

The law took effect Oct. 10 but has never been enforced because directors and BART police never agreed on an enforcement strategy. Some directors objected to the idea of police officers questioning passengers, recording their names and checking their records.

Now BART Board President Rebecca Saltzman said it is time to get rid of the ordinance.

This is something Ive intended to do for a while, she said. Were at the point where its going to be implemented or not, and the board needs to be clear on whether were going to enforce it or not.

RELATED: Who are the worst types of BART passengers? Check out this slideshow to find out (story continued below).

The effort to kill the law comes just weeks after The Chronicle reported that it was not being enforced, contrary to the expectations of riders and some directors.

Director Joel Keller said he wants to know whether his board colleagues consider it a problem that some people, including homeless riders, airport-bound passengers and manspreaders, take up more than a seat, and whether the ordinance could be tweaked to make it more acceptable.

If we agree there is a problem, he said, then we ought to talk about what an appropriate solution would be.

Some transit agencies, he said, warn those taking up more than one seat to sit up or slide over but allow police to kick those who refuse off the system. Such an approach, he said, would avoid subjecting riders to the criminal justice system merely for the seat violation, a concern expressed by critics.

If people are concerned this could be a gateway into the criminal justice system, Im sympathetic to that, he said.

Saltzman, among other critics, fears the ordinance would be disparately enforced against the homeless and that it would increase the number of rush-hour trains subjected to police stops, already the cause of 17 percent of delays.

Thats fine when something serious is happening, she said. But its going to cause huge delays.

BART riders are divided, with many saying the ordinance seems unnecessary because riders can just ask someone to move a backpack or sit up.

Most of the time, when given the choice of standing or asking someone who has taken over more than one seat to make room for me, I go ahead and ask, as nicely as I can, said Janet Stromberg of Berkeley. The vast majority of people are responsive.

But others want police to ask people to move over.

I see seat hogs every day and have never seen BART police do anything about it, said Stacey Weir, of Richmond. Thus, I make it my hobby to snap pics and post them on Twitter.

Keller said he hopes to find a way to keep  and enforce  the ordinance so that people are discouraged from sprawling or spreading their belongings across seats.

It would be good if we could find common ground, he said, but if not, I believe the majority of the board will rescind the ordinance.

With the composition of the nine-member board having changed in December, that seems likely. In addition to Saltzman, Robert Raburn and Nick Josefowitz, who voted against the one-seat rule last year, new directors Bevan Dufty and Lateefah Simon have said they would vote to overturn the ordinance.

Directors must vote to kill the ordinance twice, at separate meetings, for it to be rescinded.

Its going to be a close vote, Saltzman said.

Michael Cabanatuan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @ctuan
A Fresno middle school was forced to reprint its student-designed yearbooks this year, after a teacher's page was discovered to have a Ku Klux Klan symbol and Confederate flag imagery in it.

The Fresno Unified School District told the Fresno Bee that the student was not aware of the negative connotations behind the symbols when they designed the page as part of Computech Middle School's yearbook.

The page in question was part of a dedication to an English and social studies teacher at the school, and featured two round Confederate flag symbols and a red and white KKK cross symbol used in the lettering for the page.

The teacher seemed to agree it was a mistake, telling the paper via email that students learned about the Civil War in her class and the page was most likely made to show that.

"While I was unfamiliar with one of the symbols myself, I truly believe students created this page to reflect what they've learned in class," the teacher said in her email.

"For me, the flags are symbols used in teaching students about our country's history and absolutely do not reflect who I am as an individual or a teacher."

A Fresno Unified spokesman said the offpage wasn't seen until after the school's yearbooks had been printed. Both Computech's principal and a superintendent apologized for the mistake as well as not catching the offensive design in time.

Students could switch out their yearbooks for a new, reprinted version without the KKK imagery, for free.
The last time most of us learned about communism was likely in our high school history classes, but Californians have been recently reminded about its impact after a bill was brought to the Senate last month.

Assemblyman Rob Bonta introduced Assembly Bill 22, which would have repealed a law allowing state government agencies to fire public employees who are communists. Bonta pulled the bill after it was met with robust opposition, particularly from the Vietnamese community.
The State Department called Monday for the immediate release of three labor activists who investigated a Chinese company that produced Ivanka Trump shoes in China. The Associated Press reported that the men were arrested or went missing last week.

The activists were working with China Labor Watch, a New York nonprofit, and investigating Huajian Group factories in the southern Chinese cities of Ganzhou and Dongguan.

The company has denied allegations of excessive overtime and low wages. It says it stopped producing Ivanka Trump shoes months ago.

Up to now, the U.S. government hadnt said anything about the fate of the men.

We urge China to release them immediately and otherwise afford them the judicial and fair trial protections to which they are entitled, said Alicia Edwards, a State Department spokeswoman.

She voiced concern about reports that Chinese authorities detained Hua Haifeng, and that activists Su Heng and Li Zhao are missing and presumed detained.

Courts

Justices allow

church plans

Religious hospitals dont have to comply with federal laws protecting pension plans, a unanimous Supreme Court ruled Monday in a case that affects retirement benefits for roughly a million workers nationwide.

The justices sided with three church-affiliated nonprofit hospital systems being sued for underfunding pension plans.

The hospitals  two with Catholic affiliation and one with Lutheran ties  had argued that their pensions are church plans that are exempt from the law and have been treated as such for decades by federal officials.

Workers asserted that Congress never meant to exempt huge hospital systems that employ tens of thousands of workers. They said the hospitals are dodging legal safeguards that could jeopardize their benefits.

Pension plans are required to be fully funded and insured under federal law, but Congress carved out narrow exemptions for churches and other religious organizations. The hospitals claimed the law also exempts plans associated with or controlled by a church, whether or not it was created by a church in the first place.

Writing for the court, Justice Elena Kagan said a pension plan operated by a religiously affiliated hospital is exempt from the law regardless of who established it.

The federal government has long agreed with the hospitals understanding of the law. Agencies including the IRS and the Labor Department have assured them for more than 30 years that they are exempt from traditional pension rules.

But three federal appeals courts had ruled against the hospitals  Californias Advocate Health Care Network, Illinois Dignity Health and New Jerseys Saint Peters Healthcare System. The hospitals appealed, warning that the rulings could expose them to billions of dollars in liability.

Together, the three hospitals employ about 100,000 workers. But about a million workers around the country work for similar nonprofits that have been exempt from pension funding requirements.

Medicine

Breast cancer

combo sputters

Roche Holdings new breast cancer combination therapy barely outperformed a current gold-standard drug for the disease  the companys own decades-old Herceptin  in its latest study.

The results, presented Monday in Chicago at the worlds largest gathering of cancer researchers, are a disappointment and probably wont justify moving a majority of patients to Roches pricey new combo treatment, doctors say. Researchers had warned that it would be tough to top Herceptin, which revolutionized treatment for women with an aggressive type of breast cancer called HER2-positive after Roche introduced it in 1998.

Adding Roches new medicine Perjeta to Herceptin  which could double the current monthly cost of $6,100  resulted in about one percentage point of improvement in the proportion of women who lived at least three years without tumors returning. For patients with less severe cancer, where tumors hadnt spread to the lymph nodes, Perjeta didnt help at all.

The late-stage results presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncologys annual meeting come at a critical time for Roche, which soon will face competition from cheaper copies of Herceptin.

Chronicle News Services
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Google is considering opening an enormous new office in San Jose, potentially bringing thousands of jobs there.

The Mountain View company is in early-stage discussions with San Jose officials about building more than 6 million square feet of office, research and development, retail and amenity space. The property could bring 15,000 to 20,000 jobs, most of them coming from Google, said Nanci Klein, San Joses assistant director of economic development.

San Jose has been growing, Klein said. We have a commitment to housing they find attractive. It is a great opportunity for Google and certainly San Jose.

If the complex gets built and Google accounts for most of the jobs there, it could be a huge addition for the fast-growing search giant. Google has about 20,000 employees in the Bay Area, the bulk of them in Mountain View.

In its scramble for space, Google is building another campus in Mountain View that will house 2,400 to 2,700 workers and give members of the public access to the shops and restaurants on the property when it opens in 2019.

Google said no decisions have been made on the number of employees at the San Jose site, and that it is too early to discuss the projects funding. Klein, however, said the development project would be funded by Google.

Google said it is also possible that some of the jobs on the San Jose property could come from other divisions in its parent company, Alphabet.

Klein said Google was drawn to San Jose because it has good public transit and many of the companys employees already live in the South Bay, particularly in San Jose. The discussed development would be near Diridon Station, which serves Caltrain and Amtrak.

Screen grab

As those employees are suffering through gridlock traffic every morning and evening, companies are increasingly recognizing the value of locating closer to where their employees live and particularly closer to transit, said San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo.

Liccardo said the city will work to wrap up negotiations over the parcels of land involved in the development within months. The parcels are owned by San Jose and the Successor Agency to the Redevelopment Agency.

Wendy Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: wlee@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @thewendylee
After blocking Google users from reading free articles in February, the Wall Street Journals subscription business soared, with a fourfold increase in the rate of visitors converting into paying customers. But there was a trade-off: Traffic from Google plummeted 44 percent.

The reason: Google search results are based on an algorithm that scans the Internet for free content. After the Journals articles went behind a paywall, Googles bot only saw the first few paragraphs and started ranking them lower, limiting viewership.

Executives at the Journal, owned by Rupert Murdochs News Corp., argue that Googles policy is unfairly punishing them for trying to attract more digital subscribers. They want Google to treat their articles equally in search rankings, despite being behind a paywall.

Any site like ours automatically doesnt get the visibility in search that a free site would, Suzi Watford, the Journals chief marketing officer, said in an interview. You are definitely being discriminated against as a paid news site.

The Journals experience could have implications across the news industry, where publishers are relying more on persuading readers to pay for their articles because tech giants like Google and Facebook are vacuuming up the lions share of online advertising.

With Google, publishers try to strike a balance. While they may want to sign up more subscribers by not giving away free articles, they also dont want their content to drop in search results, which drives traffic to their sites and can boost advertising sales. For that reason, many outlets with subscription businesses let Google users read at least one free article so they still rank high in search results.

Google says its first click free policy is good for both consumers and publishers. People want to get the news quickly and dont want to immediately encounter a paywall. Plus, if publishers let Google users sample articles for free, theres a better chance theyll end up subscribing, Google says. The Mountain View company likens its policy to stores allowing people to flip through newspapers and magazines before choosing which one to buy.

The Journal decided to stop letting people read articles free from Google after discovering nearly 1 million people each month were abusing the three-article limit. They would copy and paste Journal headlines into Google and read the articles for free, then clear their cookies to reset the meter and read more, Watford said.

The Journal now only lets Google users see a short snippet at the top of its articles, restricting the rest to its 2.2 million subscribers or people who arrive via social media. In the most recent quarter, the Journals digital subscribers grew about 30 percent compared with the prior year, driven partly by barring Google users from reading for free.

Google, meanwhile, displays a subscription label next to Journal articles in Google News search results, alerting users that they wont be getting a full article.

Gerry Smith is a Bloomberg writer. Email: gsmith233@bloomberg.net
WASHINGTON  The Supreme Court on Monday made it tougher for the government to recover ill-gotten gains from people convicted of securities fraud, ruling that such recoveries are subject to a five-year statute of limitations.

The unanimous ruling could hamstring prosecutors trying to recoup huge sums of money in cases where alleged fraud has been going on for decades before authorities file charges.

The justices overturned a lower court decision that ordered venture capitalist Charles Kokesh to pay the Securities and Exchange Commission $35 million from investor funds he used to pay himself and others at his New Mexico operation from 1995 to 2006.

Lawyers for Kokesh had argued that the five-year window would reduce his payment to just $5 million because the SEC did not bring charges against him until 2009.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor said in her opinion that so-called disgorgement actions are the equivalent of penalties, which have long been considered subject to the five-year limit for collection.

Disgorgement orders go beyond compensation, are intended to punish, and label defendants wrongdoers as a consequence of violating public laws, Sotomayor said.

Government lawyers had argued that disgorgement was not a punishment because the goal is to prevent those who break the law from being unjustly enriched. But Sotomayor disagreed, saying disgorgement can sometimes exceed the profits gained. She said it could include benefits to third parties or fail to consider expenses that reduce the amount of illegal profits.

Business and securities industry groups had argued that ruling in favor of the government would harm financial markets by creating uncertainty about the limits of potential liability for securities fraud. They said going beyond the five-year window would mean relying on stale evidence and witnesses with faded memories.

SEC spokesman Ryan White declined to comment on the ruling. The agency collected more than $4 billion in disgorgement actions and other penalties in the 2016 fiscal year.

Sam Hananel is an Associated Press writer.
In the original Star Wars, Obi-Wan Kenobi said, In my experience, there is no such thing as luck. Steve Sansweet thinks differently.

Sansweet, the owner of the largest privately owned collection of Star Wars memorabilia in the world, said Monday that he feels lucky he found out about the theft of $200,000 worth of prized vintage action figures from his California nonprofit museum before it was too late.

About 120 pieces were stolen between 2015 and 2016 by a friend who stayed at the compound four times during that period, Sansweet said.

The sprawling collections are set up on shelves and are not behind glass or under lock and key.

About 100 of the stolen items have been recovered, he said.

Police arrested Carl Edward Cunningham, 45, of Marietta, Ga., and in March, the Sonoma County district attorneys office charged him with felony grand theft.

Cunningham is free on $25,000 bail and is scheduled to be in court June 27 for a preliminary hearing.

Neither Cunningham nor his lawyer, Amy Chapman, returned calls for comment.

It was very lucky we found out when we did  but not so lucky that he had a year to steal things, Sansweet said.

Sansweet, the founder of Rancho Obi-Wan in Petaluma, owns roughly 400,000 pieces of Star Wars memorabilia that are on display and shown to visitors.

That includes everything from the original banner Lucasfilm used to promote Star Wars at fan conventions in 1976, to a Darth Vader costume and all of the more than 2,500 small action figures issued over the past 40 years.

The thefts surfaced after a collector learned he had inadvertently purchased a Boba Fett action figure stolen from a Texas warehouse, Sansweet said.

Star Wars actors Mark Hamill and Peter Mayhew tweeted about Sansweets news Monday.

Maybe publish a list of stolen items to protect potential victims from purchasing hot merchandise. #TheFraudIsStrongInThisOne #SithHappens, tweeted Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker.

This is despicable. Keep an eye out. Get the word out, tweeted Mayhew, who appeared as Chewbacca.

Kristin J. Bender is an Associated Press writer.
"It was called Holy City, but it was not exactly a model of Christian piety. It was, rather, a commune and tourist trap created in the 1920s by a white-supremacist huckster," stated an article that was published in the San Francisco Chronicle in 2006, when the property on which the former compound sat went on the market for eleven million dollars. It was then owned by three elderly investors who have owned the property since 1966.

Holy City was run in the 1920s and 30s by William Riker, a former necktie salesman and palm reader who ran for governor four times, and corresponded with Adolf Hitler. Over the years, fire, a freeway that cut off the compound, and neglect reduced the city to a few derelict buildings. At one time, Riker's followers sold food, gas, haircuts and his "Perfect Divine Christian Way" beliefs.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Scott Strazzante/The Chronicle Show More Show Less 3 of 3





Phono del Sol, a boutique music festival organized by online indie music publication The Bay Bridged and John Vanderslice's recording studio, Tiny Telephone, has announced its music schedule for the June 17 event.

The festival grounds include two stages that will feature dueling acts, so that no bands are performing simultaneously. The event begins at 1:30 p.m. with San Francisco's rock act Tino Drima and ends at 7 p.m. with garage punk band Thee Oh Sees.
Adnan Khashoggi, a Saudi middleman-for-hire who amassed huge wealth and influence peddling everything from American weapons to favors for Riyadhs rulers and CIA spymasters, only to see his fortunes collapse amid the Iran-Contra affair and other scandals, died June 6 at a hospital in London. He was 81, by most accounts.

The cause was complications from Parkinsons disease, the family said in a statement reported by the Associated Press.

Mr. Khashoggis name may have lost its luster since his peak in the 1970s and 1980s, but not so the list of misdeeds and abuses that remain defining events of the time. Though never convicted, the U.S.-educated Mr. Khashoggi was linked, as a money-mover and five-star fixer, with some of the eras most infamous figures and schemes.

At the same time, he moved seamlessly between covert shadows and dazzling opulence  a lifestyle estimated by the Economist in 1987 to cost $250,000 a day. He partied with Hollywood elite such as Cary Grant and Elizabeth Taylor; traveled in a blinged-out DC-8; kept an Indian swami as an on-call adviser; and boasted about his bevy of young mistresses.

This was grade-A fodder for tabloids and gossip magazines years before Mr. Khashoggis nephew, Dodi al-Fayed, riveted the worlds attention with his brief and tragic romance with Princess Diana.

Mr. Khashoggis swashbuckling career and personal indulgences were underwritten by international weapons trade  of which he took a healthy commission  and other forays well off the books: funneling weapons to Iran and elsewhere; working as a private Saudi envoy; and forging bonds with former Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos and his wife, Imelda, amid accusations that they fled the country in 1986 with looted riches.

Mr. Khashoggi, meanwhile, was building a business empire that included resorts in Kenya, shipping lines in East Asia and an office complex in Salt Lake City that was left partially built.

There are skeletons hidden behind skeletons in the Khashoggi closet, Theodore Karasik, a Dubai-based defense analyst specializing in Persian Gulf affairs, said in an interview. No history of the region can be written without hearing them rattle.

For his 50th birthday in 1985, Mr. Khashoggi threw a five-day bacchanal at his retreat in southern Spain. The cake was topped by a spun-sugar crown modeled after one worn by Frances Sun King, Louis XIV, and guests roamed the grounds with flutes of Moet Champagne among imported African wildlife.

At another villa, near Cannes  one of more than a dozen homes he once owned across four continents  Mr. Khashoggi provided a haven-for-rent for the ousted Haitian ruler, Jean-Claude Duvalier, after he was driven from his Caribbean nation in 1986.

The mix of hedonism, power and audacity swirling about Mr. Khashoggi was so heady that the British rock band Queen wrote a song about it, Khashoggis Ship, referring to his 281-foot yacht outfitted with a laser that sketched its owners smiling image in the main cabin. The vessel would eventually end up with Donald Trump, who called Mr. Khashoggi a great broker and a lousy businessman.

Journalist Ronald Kessler, author of a 1986 book, The Richest Man in the World: The Story of Adnan Khashoggi, described Mr. Khashoggi as a scalpel-sharp strategist. Even at these fantastic parties, hes working, doing deals, Kessler told People magazine at the time. Hes thinking, Whos important, who might help me with this or that? A deal is like a big hunt for him.

It all unraveled for Mr. Khashoggi  or A.K., as he liked to be called  in equally spectacular fashion.

He was named, along with Iran-Contra point men Oliver North and others, as a key intermediary in the clandestine CIA-directed plan in the 1980s to send arms to Tehran in exchange for captives held by pro-Iranian militias in Lebanon. The Iranian money was then shifted to U.S.-backed Contra rebels in Nicaragua, in violation of various codes, including Congress-imposed limits on aid to the Contras.

Mr. Khashoggi was never charged in the Iran-Contra dealings. But his fingerprints cropped up in many other shady places.

He was accused of bankrolling some of the Iran-Contra arms purchases through the Luxembourg-based Bank of Credit and Commerce International, which collapsed in 1991 amid probes into widespread money laundering. In the United States, Mr. Khashoggi was mentioned by investigators on the fringes of the contract-for-kickbacks scandal around Wedtech Corp., whose downfall also led to the resignation of prominent officials such as then-Attorney General Edwin Meese III in 1988.

The following year, Mr. Khashoggi was arrested in Switzerland on U.S. charges linked to accusations of helping the Marcos family conceal more than $200 million in cash and artworks allegedly stolen during Ferdinand Marcos presidency from 1965 to 1986. While awaiting extradition, Mr. Khashoggi had his jailhouse meals catered by the luxury Schweizerhof Hotel in Bern.

Mr. Khashoggi faced trial on racketeering and other charges. But he and Imelda Marcos, then a widow, were acquitted in U.S. federal court in New York in 1990. Jurors appeared swayed by contentions that Imelda Marcos knew nothing of alleged wrongdoing and that Mr. Khashoggi broke no American laws.

He then faded into a kind of gilded twilight: living comfortably in Saudi Arabia and Monaco but shunned by the executives and political bigwigs who once clamored for his lets-make-a-deal skills.

Where did I go wrong? he told the New York Times in an interview while trying to drum up clients in Cairo in 2009. Nowhere.

Then, just a hint of enigmatic contrition: OK, I behaved unethically, for ethical reasons.

Adnan Mohamed Khashoggi, born in Mecca on July 25, 1935 (according to most biographies), had advantages from the beginning. His father was the personal doctor of King Abdul Aziz ibn Saud, the first ruler of the young Saudi kingdom.

Brian Murphy is a Washington Post writer.
NEW YORK, June 05, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tec CTL, Inc., New York-based energy company announced today that it has received a commitment of a total of 20,000bpd from the Botswana governmentowned company, Botswana Oil Limited. This represents approximately 25% of the expected average annual production from our total projects, which could generate well above $350 million in annual revenues based upon the current oil prices. The current average price is around US$40pb and a combination of fixed and market-related pricing with attractive floors and ceilings is under discussion in order to secure positive margins in the early years of production. The parties have agreed to negotiate an off-take agreement over the coming months.



Ogaisitse Khama, Vice-Executive Chairman of Tec CTL, commented: "We are extremely pleased to have received this Letter of Commitment with BOL as another step to ensuring the economic success of the Phungula Plant. We can now go out to the market with great confidence and raise all the necessary capital for the development of our first phase which will be in production within the next 24 months.

We are pleased to have this commitment from BOL in this juncture and believe that our success will be a bellwether for others in the African market, says Bernard Yaw, Co-Chairman of Tec CTL, Inc. Now, we will be able to focus on securing more of these partnerships across Africa until we have secured off-takes for the remaining 60,000bpd. While we are wild at it, our advisors will be working tirelessly to raise the necessary project financing.

About Tec CTL, INC.

Tec CTL is a New York-based, vertically integrated United States oil & gas corporation. The company explores, develops and produces oil, gas and chemicals. It owns four projects in Botswana and the same have the capacity to produce a total of 80,000 bpd and seeks to increase through inorganic growth within Africa and elsewhere.

About BOTSWANA OIL LIMITED

Botswana Oil Limited (BOL) was established to support the government of Botswana to achieve two broad, national economic objectives. These objectives are to ensure the security and efficiency of fuel supply to Botswana and promote active citizen involvement in the petroleum industry.

BOL is wholly owned by the government of Botswana, represented by Ministry of Mineral Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security, and incorporated under the Companies Act of Botswana.
The state Supreme Court broadened the right of California taxpayers Monday to file suits challenging local or state government policies that dont affect them directly  harming the environment, for example, or conducting secret surveillance  ruling that such suits are not limited to property owners.

The court unanimously overturned several decades of lower-court decisions that allowed only property taxpayers to sue for alleged waste of public funds, and said anyone who pays taxes in a city or county has legal standing to sue. But the justices stopped short of saying which types of levies, such as sales taxes, are paid and collected locally. The court said the issue should be addressed first by lawmakers or lower courts.

Its a limited win, but its a win nevertheless for people who want to hold local governments accountable when they act in violation of law, said Steven Mayer, a lawyer for advocacy groups supporting a renters attempt to sue the city of San Rafael and Marin County over police practices. Among the groups supporting the 2013 suit by Cherrity Weatherford were the American Civil Liberties Union and AARP.

Weatherford claimed police were impounding cars of unlicensed drivers for up to 30 days without adequate legal notice. She has not had her own car impounded, but contended the practice unfairly punished unauthorized immigrants, who since then have gained the right to a drivers license under state law but are often reluctant to go to court on their own behalf.

Related California Supreme Court video

Although California law has allowed taxpayer suits since 1909, lower state courts dismissed Weatherfords suit because she was a renter and not a property owner. The 1909 law authorized taxpayer suits only by a state or local resident who is assessed for and is liable to pay ... a tax therein, and appellate courts have interpreted assessed as a specific reference to property taxpayers, either homeowners or businesses.

The states high court rejected that interpretation Monday, saying the law was meant to allow large numbers of Californians to challenge allegedly illegal government practices.

Limiting individual plaintiffs use of the statute to those who pay property taxes is simply incompatible with the recognized need to construe the statute broadly, Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuellar said in the 7-0 ruling.

But he said that the law was also limited to taxes actually paid in a city or county, and that it isnt clear whether other taxes cited by Weatherford, like sales and gasoline taxes, are actually paid in either the city or the county.

Sales taxes, for example, are paid to the seller, forwarded to the state and then redistributed to state and local governments. In a separate opinion, Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye called for the Legislature to clarify the law, which hasnt been amended since 1909.

All they did was put all the problems off for another day and ask the Legislature to fix them, said Mark Clausen, a lawyer for Weatherford  who recently moved to Washington state, another potentially complicating factor in her right to sue.

Lawyers for the city and county could not be reached for comment.

The case is Weatherford vs. San Rafael, S219567.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko
English French

CALGARY, Alberta, June 05, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Members of the media are invited to attend a presentation tomorrow morning, spotlighting the dangers to Canadian nurses as they provide care in conflict zones.



Over the past 20 months alone, attacks on medical facilities have occurred in Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria and South Sudan in violation of international law, notes Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions President Linda Silas. Our Biennial Convention will feature those who have experienced nursing in a conflict zone and will reiterate CFNUs call for the Canadian government to ensure that humanitarian workers have the right to provide care for people in need.

The session will feature remarks from Capt. Stephanie Smith, RN, MA, of the Canadian Armed Forces, and Leonard Rubenstein of the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

The session will be held from 8:30 to 9:45 am on Tuesday June 6 at the TELUS Convention Centre in Calgary. CFNU President Linda Silas is available for interviews.

On United Nations Day 2016, Silas urged Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to denounce the bombings of medical facilities, and called on the Canadian government to reaffirm its commitment to uphold UN Resolution 2286 condemning the attacks on medical personnel in conflict situations and demanding an end to impunity for those responsible, and respect for international law on the part of warring parties.

The Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU) is Canadas largest nurses organization representing nearly 200,000 nurses and student nurses. The CFNU has been advocating for national discussions on key health priorities, such as a national prescription drug plan, a comprehensive approach to long-term and continuing care, greater attention to health human resources, and federal government engagement on the future of public health care.

For more information, please contact:

Emily Doer, Communications Officer, Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, (613) 807-1340

David Cournoyer, Communications Advisor, United Nurses of Alberta, (780) 913-1563

David Climenhaga, Communications Advisor, United Nurses of Alberta, (780) 717-2943
English Danish

Announcement

6 June 2017

Coloplast  transactions in connection with share buy-back programme

As mentioned in Announcement No. 2/2017 Coloplast has initiated the second part of the share buy-back programme totalling up to DKK 1bn. This part of the programme of DKK500m is expected to take place from 27 February, 2017 to 28 August, 2017.

The buy-back programme will be structured in accordance with Article 5 of Regulation No. 596/2014 of the European Parliament and Council of 16 April 2014 (MAR) and Regulation 2016/1052, also referred to as the "Safe Harbour" rules, which ensure that the company is protected against violation of insider legislation in connection with the buyback programme.

The following transactions have been executed during 29 May  2 June 2017:

Date Number of shares Buying price Amount DKK 29 May 2017 3,495 555.87 1,942,756.56 30 May 2017 0 0.00 0.00 31 May 2017 0 0.00 0.00 1 June 2017 0 0.00 0.00 2 June 2017 0 0.00 0.00 Accumulated until now under the programme 537,341 527.60 283,503,626.97



Henceforth, Coloplast owns 3,482,693 treasury B shares of DKK 1 equal to 1.61% of the companys total share capital.

An overview showing the transaction data for the period 29 May  2 June 2017 is enclosed.

Kind regards,

Investor Relations

Coloplast A/S

Tel. +45 4911 1800

For further information, please contact

Investors and analysts

Ellen Bjurgert

Director, Investor Relations

Tel. +45 4911 1800/+45 4911 3376

Email: dkebj@coloplast.com

Rasmus Srensen

Sr. Manager, Investor Relations

Tel. +45 4911 1800/ +45 4911 1786

Email: dkraso@coloplast.com

Press and the media

Dennis Kaysen

Director, Corp. Communication

Tel. 4911 2608

Email: dkdk@coloplast.com

This announcement is available in a Danish and an English language version. In the event of discrepancies, the Danish version shall prevail.

Coloplast develops products and services that make life easier for people with very personal and private medical conditions. Working closely with the people who use our products, we create solutions that are sensitive to their special needs. We call this intimate healthcare.

Our business includes ostomy care, urology and continence care and wound and skin care. We operate globally and employ more than 11,000 people.

The Coloplast logo is a registered trademark of Coloplast A/S.  2017-06 All rights reserved Coloplast A/S, 3050 Humlebk, Denmark.
VANCOUVER, B.C., June 06, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cypress Development Corp. (TSX-V:CYP) (OTCBB:CYDVF) (Frankfurt:C1Z1) (Cypress or the Company) is pleased to announce, further to its News Release on May 15th, that the Company has received additional assay results from a 2017 Phase 1 core drilling program completed at Cypress 100% held 2,700 acre Dean Lithium Project in Clayton Valley, Nevada.



Cypress Dean Project is located to the immediate east of the Albemarle Silver Peak Mine with Cypress' Glory Project, under option to Pure Energy Minerals, located to the immediate south.

Cypress Clayton Valley, Nevada Lithium Projects location map:

http://www.cypressdevelopmentcorp.com/i/maps/CYP-Clayton-topo-satalite-small.jpg

Highlights:

Results for step-out Dean drill Hole DCH 9 are being reported here;

All mineralized intercepts at Dean start at near surface;

Average mineralized thickness at Dean is greater than 250 feet;

Drill data to date outlines a mineralized zone of roughly 4,000 feet by 12,000 feet;

The thick, tabular zone of pervasive lithium mineralization is considered to be open in all directions;

Cypress awaits further assay results for drill Holes DCH 6, 7 & 8;

Targeting of more core drill holes is being planned;

Laboratory studies continue to explore the highly soluble and reactive nature of the large volume of lithium enriched rock seen outcropping at Dean.

Dean drill hole DCH-9 is a nearly two mile step-out located in the northeast eastern portion of the project area. Assays have been received from ALS Chemex and average 1014 ppm Li over 281 feet from a depth of 27 feet to 308 feet.

The mineralization is continuous from surface as has been seen in previously reported holes from the Phase 1 core drilling of the project. As with other reported holes, the lithium is concentrated in a thick, tabular body of volcanic ash and pumice rich mudstones. These mineralized, uplifted, sediments present an attractive target with the potential of defining a large scale and potentially highly reliable source of lithium. Cypress continues with ongoing laboratory studies to explore the reactive and soluble nature of the large volume of lithium enriched rock seen on the Dean Project so as to further understand a method of extraction and ultimately production.

It is important to note that the uplifted and well mineralized lake bed sediments that outcrop widely in the eastern portion of the Clayton Valley, including those on the Dean Project, do not occur at surface elsewhere in the basin. Cypress, through its 100% owned Dean Lithium Project as well as the contiguous Glory Project area to the south, controls the heart of this newly discovered, large-scale slab of outcropping mineralization.

Dean Project 2017 Phase 1 drill hole location map:

http://www.cypressdevelopmentcorp.com/i/photos/CYP-Dean-Phase-1-Drilling-Satellite-Plan-Map.jpg

Assay Chart for Dean Drill Hole DCH 9:

SAMPLE From (Ft) To (FT) Interval (FT) Li ppm Ca % Mg % Na % DDCV-236 0 19 19 150 5.94 1.49 2.26 DDCV-237 19 27 8 270 6.36 1.94 1.42 DDCV-238 27 37 10 890 6.62 2.17 0.99 DDCV-239 37 47 10 1490 4.68 2.62 0.77 DDCV-240 47 57 10 1350 5.11 2.32 0.80 DDCV-241 57 67 10 1230 4.08 2.24 0.83 DDCV-242 67 77 10 1260 4.32 2.27 0.95 DDCV-243 77 88 11 760 3.48 1.48 1.26 DDCV-244 88 98 10 1100 3.80 2.17 1.22 DDCV-245 98 108 10 610 3.13 1.19 2.03 DDCV-246 108 118 10 1020 3.09 1.88 1.59 DDCV-247 118 128 10 1410 3.72 2.65 1.47 DDCV-248 128 135 7 1440 4.07 2.74 1.01 DDCV-249 135 143 8 1180 3.53 2.21 0.90 DDCV-251 143 148 5 1200 3.97 2.34 0.86 DDCV-252 148 158 10 860 3.65 1.73 0.88 DDCV-253 158 168 10 1230 4.36 2.68 0.88 DDCV-254 168 178 10 970 4.60 2.15 0.85 DDCV-255 178 188 10 870 4.31 1.86 0.84 DDCV-256 188 198 10 940 4.62 2.08 0.92 DDCV-257 198 208 10 1070 5.37 2.62 0.88 DDCV-258 208 218 10 800 3.68 1.73 0.88 DDCV-259 218 228 10 1060 4.62 2.44 0.86 DDCV-261 228 238 10 730 3.15 1.50 1.35 DDCV-262 238 248 10 940 4.63 2.21 0.96 DDCV-263 248 258 10 600 2.56 1.14 1.99 DDCV-264 258 268 10 960 3.80 2.40 1.70 DDCV-265 268 278 10 950 4.77 2.28 1.98 DDCV-266 278 286 8 990 5.18 2.49 1.78 DDCV-267 286 295 9 1090 6.69 2.73 1.44 DDCV-268 295 304 9 840 4.82 2.04 1.60 DDCV-269 304 308 4 810 4.05 1.93 1.63 DDCV-271 308 318 10 690 4.13 1.75 1.73 DDCV-272 318 328 10 540 5.39 1.38 1.82 DDCV-273 328 338 10 590 6.53 1.70 1.74 DDCV-274 338 348 10 520 6.86 1.73 1.68

*Note: Li=Lithium Metal, Ca=Calcium, Mg=Magnesium, Na=Sodium, kg=Kilograms

Cypress exploration and core drilling results received to date from its Dean Project have been very encouraging. A large amount of data has been gathered and is being analyzed. A 2017 Phase 2 drilling program on the Dean Property is being proposed for the 3rd and 4th quarters to provide further in-fill data.

The Company is pleased with the results received from its 2017 Phase 1 drilling program and is now advancing, with its data, into the scientific and engineering stage of the project. Expertise has been engaged to consult with Cypress management as the Company advances towards a lithium extraction process," stated Donald Huston, President of Cypress Development. The Companys objective is to determine an effective methodology to economically extract the lithium that is now known to exist in a large, flat lying, tabular body of continuously mineralized rocks at its Dean Project.

The continuous nature of the mineralization is very important in that bulk mineralization is created. The mineralization is not interrupted by non-mineralized intervals nor non-mineralized rock types.

Cypress believes the outcropping and consistent nature of the currently known lithium mineralization at Dean is highly encouraging for both the potential size and potential resource extraction methodologies. The drill data to date, which outlines an area of roughly 4,000 feet by 12,000 feet (1300 meters by 3700 meters) presents a starting point for planning a resource estimation process.

Outcropping Li-rich claystone on Cypress Dean Project:

http://www.cypressdevelopmentcorp.com/i/maps/CYP-Dean-Lithium-Project-Outcropping-Green-Claystones.jpg

Cypress awaits further assay results for drill holes DCH 6, DCH 7 and DCH 8 now completed on the Dean property.

In other news, TSX Venture Exchange has consented to the extension in the expiry date of 903,833 warrants previously issued with an original expiry date of June 29, 2017 to a new expiry date of June 29, 2018.

Quality Control and Quality Assurance:

All samples were submitted to ALS Chemex Labs in Reno, Nevada, for analysis using an ME-ICP61, 33 element four acid digestion ICP method. Blind sample blanks were inserted into the sample sequences at a rate of approximately 1 per 20 samples.

Robert Marvin, PGeo, VP of Exploration and a Director of Cypress Development Corp., is the qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and has approved of the technical information in this release.

About Cypress Development Corp.:

Cypress Development Corp. is a publicly traded lithium and zinc exploration company that continues to acquire and develop potentially viable mineral projects in the State of Nevada, U.S.A.

Cypress is very active in Clayton Valley, Nevada with its team committed to systematically exploring its Dean and Glory properties for both a lithium-brine resource and expanding exploration relating to a lithium resource that exists within the large area of non-hectorite claystone discovered at surface that has seen recent high lithium assays recovered from these same outcropping claystone.

Cypress Development Corp. has approx. 35.0 million shares issued and outstanding.

To find out more about Cypress Development Corp. (TSX-V:CYP), visit our website at www.cypressdevelopmentcorp.com.

CYPRESS DEVELOPMENT CORP.

Don Huston



DONALD C. HUSTON

President

For further information contact myself or:

Don Myers

Director

Cypress Development Corp.

Telephone: 604-687-3376

Toll Free: 800-567-8181

Facsimile: 604-687-3119

Email: info@cypressdevelopmentcorp.com





NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THE CONTENT OF THIS NEWS RELEASE.

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that management of the Company expects, are forward-looking statements. Although management believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements, include market prices, exploration and development successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Please see the public filings of the Company at www.sedar.com for further information.
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A central feature of a ballot measure aimed at speeding up executions in California  its requirement that the state Supreme Court decide all death penalty appeals within five years  got an apparent thumbs-down from the courts justices Tuesday and drew little support even from the measures defenders, who sought to recast the mandate as a nonbinding guideline.

It was far less clear, however, whether the court planned to strike other provisions of the wide-ranging initiative, Proposition 66, which won in November with a 51 percent majority while the voters were also rejecting a rival measure, Proposition 62, to repeal the states death penalty law.

Condemned prisoners in California now wait more than 20 years, on average, for a final ruling on their appeals. Prosecutors and crime-victims groups who backed Proposition 66 told voters the measure would cut that period in half by requiring faster court action, limiting some types of appeals, and requiring more lawyers to accept capital cases.

One of its provisions said the states high court, which hears the appeals required by law in every death sentence, shall rule within five years of sentencing, more than twice as fast as its current pace. The same five-year deadline would apply to the second-stage appeals known as habeas corpus, which often focus on claims of misconduct by prosecutors or jurors and inadequate representation by defense lawyers.

At a hearing Tuesday in Los Angeles on a lawsuit seeking to overturn the entire measure, several justices suggested that such a timetable, if binding, would be unconstitutional.

A five-year deadline may not be achievable without radically changing the ability of the courts to carry out their functions in any cases other than death penalty appeals, said Justice Leondra Kruger.

Defenders of the measure countered that, despite the wording of Prop. 66, the five-year timetable was not mandatory. Deputy Attorney General Jose Zelidon-Zepeda noted that Prop. 66 did not specify any consequences, such as dismissal of the appeal, if the court took longer than five years to decide it.

What the measure was trying to do was speed up the process and encourage the court to eliminate unnecessary delays, Zelidon-Zepeda said. He noted that Prop. 66 directs the state Judicial Council to propose methods to handle capital cases more quickly and efficiently.

That is a massive delegation of power to reorganize the third branch of government, said Justice Goodwin Liu.

Kent Scheidegger, legal director of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation and one of the authors of Prop. 66, told the court that a five-year timetable was achievable and that California courts were more willing than courts in other states to postpone death penalty hearings at defense lawyers requests. But he said the ballot measure does acknowledge that the goal will not always be met.

The justices seemed skeptical  So its a mandatory deadline thats toothless? asked Kruger  but they also questioned the contention by opponents of Prop. 66 that eliminating the deadline should invalidate the entire measure.

The lawsuit was filed by the late John Van de Kamp, a former state attorney general, and Ron Briggs, a former El Dorado County supervisor whose father, state Sen. John Briggs, R-Fullerton (Orange County), sponsored the 1978 ballot measure that established the current death penalty law.

They argued that Prop. 66 violated a state constitutional rule limiting initiatives to a single subject  a position that drew no apparent support from the justices Tuesday  and that the five-year deadline, and other provisions, interfered with judicial authority and reduced safeguards against wrongful death verdicts.

The voters were promised that they could make death penalty cases happen faster and cheaper and without killing ... any innocent people, said the plaintiffs lawyer, Christina Von der Ahe Rayburn.

Noting that the court has a backlog of nearly 400 capital cases, Rayburn said Prop. 66 was drafted to require rulings within five years  in very mandatory language  and that it was uncertain that the voters would have passed it if they had been told the timeline was merely advisory.

But Liu told Rayburn that the willingness of Prop. 66s defenders to recast the mandate as a guideline removes a central pillar of your argument.

Theres still a lot more to it, he said of the ballot measure.

Another provision seeks to reduce delays in capital cases by requiring defense lawyers to handle death penalty appeals if they accept other court assignments to represent criminal defendants. Rayburn argued that only the states high court is authorized to set standards for lawyers in death appeals, now handled only by lawyers with experience in death penalty or other murder cases.

Another change would eliminate the authority of a state administrative agency to review the legality, after considering public comment, of Californias proposed procedures for executions by a single drug, replacing the former three-drug procedure.

A ruling in Briggs vs. Brown, S238309, is due within 90 days.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com

Twitter: @egelko
NEW YORK, June 06, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dr. Lantie Elisabeth Jorandby, Addiction Psychiatrist at Amen Clinic has been selected to join the Physician Board at the American Health Council. She will be sharing her knowledge and expertise in Addiction Psychiatry.



Board Certified in General and Addiction Psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Dr. Jorandby utilizes her decade of expertise in the field of Psychiatry in her role as an Addiction Psychiatrist at Amen Clinic. Established in 1989 by Daniel G. Amen, MD, a highly-acclaimed neuropsychiatrist and brain health advocate and ten-time New York Times bestselling author, Amen Clinic serves as a world leading facility in the application of brain imaging science to tackle emotional issues, behavioral and learning challenges.

As an Addiction Psychiatrist at Amen Clinic, Dr. Jorandbys day-to-day responsibilities include neuropsychiatric evaluations, and a holistic/ physical approach towards general psychiatric disorders and substance abuse treatment. Prior to her role at Amen Clinic, she worked as a staff psychiatrist and mental health supervisor at the Veterans Administration Outpatient Clinic in Viera, Florida. Upon completion of a fellowship at Yale School of Medicine, Dr. Jorandby worked as the Medical Director of the Dual Diagnosis Unit at McLean Hospital and a faculty instructor at Harvard Medical School.

Following graduation cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Neuroscience from Vanderbilt University in 1994, Dr. Jorandby earned her medical degree from the University of Florida in 2002. She completed an internship and residency in psychiatry at the University of Florida in 2006. In 2015, Dr. Jorandby completed a fellowship in Addiction Psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine. She is a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and is double boarded by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in General Adult and Addiction Psychiatry.

Dr. Jorandby has served as the volunteer psychiatrist for Caridad Free Clinic, the largest clinic serving the immigrant population in South Florida. She has also traveled with Missionary Flights International to Haiti. Additionally, she has worked as a Psychiatric/ Mental Health Liaison to the Florida State Legislature and a Physician for Space Coast Honor Flight for the WWII Veteran Service Organization.

Her commitment to excellence has led to recognition as Intern of the Year of her intern class. Dr. Jorandby was the recipient of the Resident Academic Excellence Award three years in a row and named Chief Resident in her fourth year at the University of Florida School of Medicine in Psychiatry.

Looking back, Dr. Jorandby attributes her success to receiving support from her parents and family. She pursued the field of Psychiatry after a going through a personal experience with a family member suffering from mental health issues.

Dr. Jorandby maintains professional affiliations with The American Psychiatric Association, The Washington Psychiatric Association, and American Association of Addiction Psychiatry.

Recently, Dr. Jorandby was featured on a CNN International Segment (April 2016) providing insight on the correlation between LSD and mental health treatment. In June 2016, she served as psychiatric expert on Fox News Baltimore discussing PTSD in the wake of the Orlando Night Club Shooting. She has been the co-speaker for several local Washington, DC and Reston, Virginia area events educating the public on brain health, including engagements at Washington University, local NAMI groups and Amen Clinic seminars dedicated to brain trauma.

She has co-authored several peer-reviewed research publications and a book chapter tackling such topics as the treatment of co-occurring disorders in the veteran population, effects of marijuana on the brain, treatment of opioid use disorders, the novel pharmaceutical approaches to behavioral addictions, such as compulsive pornography use and the correlation between food and the brain reward system.

In her free time, Dr. Jorandby enjoys traveling, reading, and spending time with her family.

About the American Health Council:

The American Health Council is the nations only organization with a constituency representative of all sectors of the healthcare industry. From the coasts to the heartland, the American Health Council has drawn Affiliates from major metropolitan hubs and small communities. These Affiliates span generations and have reached different stages of their careers  from recent graduates to retirees. More information about the American Health Council and its mission can be found at: http://americanhealthcouncil.org

Additionally, the American Health Council strives to provide recognition and support for those individuals and institutions making the difference in patients lives day in and day out. Throughout 2017, the AHC is honoring Americas Best Doctors and Nurses, as well as the nations best medical universities and hospitals. The American Health Councils Best in Medicine and Best in Nursing awards programs honor the individuals and institutions that have contributed significantly to medicine and nursing, as well as the training and education of physicians and nurses. The most current selections for these honors may be viewed here: http://bestinmedicine.org and http://bestinnursing.org.




MEMPHIS, Tenn., June 06, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First Horizon National Corp. (NYSE:FHN) will post additional materials for equity analysts in the investor relations section of its website at http://ir.fhnc.com/ today. First Horizon expects to provide these materials to analysts at upcoming meetings and conferences.

The materials posted may contain forward-looking statements, including guidance, involving significant risks and uncertainties, which will be identified by words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "should," "is likely," "will," "going forward" and other expressions that indicate future events and trends and may be followed by or reference cautionary statements. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking information. These factors are outlined in our most recent earnings press release and in more detail in our most current 10-Q and 10-K reports. First Horizon disclaims any obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements that are made from time to time to reflect future events or developments or changes in expectations.

About First Horizon

The 4,300 employees of First Horizon National Corp. (NYSE:FHN) provide financial services through more than 160 bank locations across Tennessee and the southern U.S. and 29 FTN Financial offices across the U.S. The company was founded during the Civil War in 1864 and has the 14th oldest national bank charter in the country. First Tennessee has the largest deposit market share in Tennessee and one of the highest customer retention rates of any bank in the country. FTN Financial is a capital markets industry leader in fixed income sales, trading and strategies for institutional customers in the U.S. and abroad. First Horizon has been recognized as one of the nation's best employers by Working Mother and American Banker magazines. More information is available at www.FirstHorizon.com.

FHN-G
The draft simplified tender offer, the draft offer document of Groupe Marc de Lacharriere and the draft document in response by Fimalac remain subject to the AMF's review.







This announcement is not an offer of securities nor any form of solicitation in the United States or in any other jurisdiction. The offer described below may only be commenced following approval by the French Autorite des marches financiers Press release relating to the filing of



a draft document in response



to



the simplified tender offer on the shares of FIMALAC Initiated by



groupe Marc de Lacharriere AMF - Autorite des Marches Financiers

This press release relating to the filing by Fimalac with the Autorite des marches financiers (the French financial markets authority, "AMF"), on June 6, 2017, of a draft document in response to the draft simplified tender offer on the shares of Fimalac initiated by Groupe Marc de Lacharriere, was prepared and disseminated in accordance with the provisions of articles 231-26 of the AMF's general regulation.



The draft simplified tender offer, the draft offer document of Groupe Marc de Lacharriere and the draft document in response by Fimalac remain subject to the AMF's review. The draft document in response is available on the websites of Fimalac (www.fimalac.com) and the AMF (www.amf-france.org), and can be obtained free of charge from:



Fimalac

97 rue de Lille

75007 Paris, France



In accordance with the provisions of article 231-28 of the AMF's general regulation, information on Fimalac's legal, financial, and accounts characteristics, among others, will be made available to the public in the same manner as mentioned above, no later than the day preceding the opening of the simplified tender offer.



A financial notice will be issued, no later than the day preceding the opening of the simplified tender offer, to inform the public of the procedures for making these documents available.

1. reminder of the conditions of the Offer

In accordance with Title III of Book II and more specifically of the articles 231-13 and 233-1, 1 et seq. of the AMF's general regulation, Groupe Marc de Lacharriere, a French societe anonyme, with a share capital of  30,932,736, having its registered office at 11 bis, rue Casimir Perier, 75007 Paris, France (mailing address: 97, rue de Lille, 75007 Paris, France), and registered with the trade and companies register of Paris under number 331 604 983 ("Groupe Marc de Lacharriere", "GML" or the "Initiator"), has filed with the AMF, on May 30, 2017, a draft simplified tender offer (the "Offer") which shall, as the case may be, be followed by a mandatory squeeze-out (the "Squeeze-Out"), under which GML has irrevocably undertaken before the AMF to offer to all shareholders of F. Marc de Lacharriere (Fimalac), a French societe anonyme, with a share capital of  108,680,000, having its registered office at 97, rue de Lille, 75007 Paris, France and registered with the trade and companies register of Paris under number 542 044 136 ("Fimalac" or the "Company"), having 24.700.000 outstanding shares on May 15, 2017 of a nominal value of 4.40 each and whose shares are listed on compartment A of the regulated market of Euronext in Paris ("Euronext Paris") under ISIN code FR0000037947, to acquire at a price of 131 euros per share (ex  2.10 dividend) (the "Offer Price"), under the terms and conditions of the Offer described below, all existing shares (including the Free Shares (as defined in section 1.2 of the draft document in response)) not held by the Initiator or assimilated to the shares held by the Initiator, i.e., a maximum of 1,461,354 shares representing 5.92% of the share capital and 6.20% of the voting rights[1].

It is specified that:

(i) the assimilated shares which are not targeted by the Offer include[2]:

- the Fimalac shares held by Mr. Marc Ladreit de Lacharriere, some members of his family and other persons connected with GML, acting in concert with GML (see section 2.2 of the draft document in response), representing together 0.74% of the share capital and 0.89% of the voting rights of the Company, assimilated with those held by the Initiator pursuant to article L. 233-9, I, 3 of the French code de commerce; and

- the treasury shares held by the Company, representing 0.19% of the share capital of the Company, assimilated with those held by the Initiator pursuant to article L. 233-9, I, 2 of the French code de commerce.

(ii) the Free Shares (as defined in section 1.2 of the draft document in response) which will be subject to a Liquidity Agreement (as defined in section 1.2 of the draft document in response) entered into prior to the closing of the Offer will also be assimilated to the shares held by the Initiator pursuant to article L. 233-9, 4 of the French code de commerce and may not be tendered into the Offer nor transferred to the Initiator in the event of a potential squeeze-out (see section 1.2 of the draft document in response).

Pursuant to articles 237-14 et seq. of the AMF's general regulation, if at the closing of the Offer, Fimalac minority shareholders do not represent more than 5% of the share capital or of the voting rights of the Company, the Initiator will implement a squeeze out, within a maximum period of three months from the closing of the Offer. This procedure will be carried out at the same price than the Offer, net of charge.

The Offer is presented by BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank and Societe Generale (the  Presenting Banks ). Only BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank guarantee, in accordance with the provisions of article 231-13 of the AMF's general regulation, the content and irrevocable nature of the undertakings given by the Initiator in connection with the Offer.

The Offer will be made pursuant to the simplified procedure in accordance with the provisions of articles 233-1 et seq. of the AMF's general regulation.

2. reasoned opinion of the board of directors

Pursuant to the provisions of the article 231-19 of the AMF's general regulation, the board of directors of Fimalac was held on June 6, 2017, under the presidency of Mr. Marc Ladreit de Lacharriere as Chairman and CEO of the Company, to review the Offer (potentially followed by a mandatory squeeze-out) and issued a reasoned opinion on the interest and consequences of the Offer for the Company, its shareholders and its employees.

Mr. Marc Ladreit de Lacharriere, Mrs Clarisse Ladreid de Lacharriere, Mr. Jeremie Ladreit de Lacharriere, Mr. Pierre Blayau, Mr. Philippe Lagayette, Mr. Bernard de Lattre, Mr. Thierry Moulonguet, Mr. Bernard Pierre, , Mr. Etienne Pflimlin, GML as board member represented by Mrs. Eleonore Ladreit de Lacharriere, and Mr. Jean-Charles Naouri were present or represented. M. Henri Lachmann and Mr. Thomas Piquemal (censors) were absent and excused.

The board of directors therefore issued the following reasoned opinion at the unanimity of the present board members, being specified that the board members who represent GML or are connected to it (this including Mr. Marc Ladreit de Lacharriere, Mr. Jeremie Ladreit de Lacharriere, Mrs. Eleonore de Lacharriere, Mrs. Clarisse Ladreit de Lacharriere and Mr. Bernard de Lattre), and have reported a potential conflict of interest in connection with the decisions that the board of directors might take in the context of the Offer, did not take part in the discussions nor in the vote.

The reasoned opinion of the board of directors issued on June 6, 2017 is fully reproduced below:

"The President reminds the members of the board of directors that they now have to (i) review the terms of the draft Offer and (ii) issue a reasoned opinion on the interest which such Offer represents for the Company and its shareholders and employees.

To this end, the President handed out to the members of the board of directors, before the present meeting:

the draft information document established by Groupe Marc de Lacharriere including the characteristics of the Offer, notably the motives and intentions of the initiator, as well as the valuation work of the presenting banks regarding the price of the Offer established by BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank and Societe Generale as presenting banks of the Offer;

the fairness opinion of the independent expert (the firm Associes en Finance) appointed by the board of directors during its meeting of May 15, 2017 and which used a multi-criteria approach in view of the valuation of the Company, concluded to the fairness for the minority shareholders of the Company of the offered price of 131 euros per share (ex-dividend of 2.10 euros), including in case of implementation of a mandatory squeeze-out following the Offer;

the draft document in response of the Company.

The board of directors, having examined the draft offer document relating to the Offer, the valuation work undertaken by the presenting banks and the draft report of the firm Associes en Finance appointed as independent expert, find that:

the independent expert has concluded to the fairness of the price of the Offer for the shareholders of the Company;

the Offer provides an opportunity for the shareholders of the Company who wish to sell all or part of their shares at a price with an attractive premium;

the Offer will have no direct impact on the Company's strategy, its financial capacities or its dividend distribution policy, nor have any consequences on employment; and

in the event that the minority shareholders do not own more than 5% of the Company's share capital or voting rights at the closing of the Offer or, failing that, if the conditions so permit, the Initiator will file for the delisting of the shares of the Company from the regulated market of Euronext Paris.

In the light of the above, the board of directors determines, with the unanimity of the voting members that:

the financial terms of the draft Offer are fair for the shareholders, the review of the valuations made by BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank and Societe Generale, the Presenting Banks, and the independent expert showing that the draft Offer provides minority shareholders with a real premium according to the main valuation methods used in the said evaluations;

the Offer is in the best interest of the Company and its shareholders and does not have any direct consequences on its employees.

After deliberation, given the opportunity for immediate liquidity offered by this Offer, at an attractive price, including in the event of a mandatory squeeze-out, the board of directors recommends with the unanimity of the voting members that the shareholders tender their shares into the Offer."

In addition, the board of directors acknowledged that the 46,196 treasury shares held to date by the Company were not targeted in the Offer.

3. report of the independent expert

Pursuant to the provisions of articles 261-1, I and 261-1, II of the AMF's general regulations, the firm Associes en Finance was appointed on May 15, 2017 by the board of directors of Fimalac as an independent expert in order to establish a report on the financial terms of the Offer and the potential mandatory squeeze-out.

The report of the independent expert, dated June 6, 2017, is reproduced in section 4 of the draft document in response prepared by Fimalac and concludes that:

"Associes en Finance has been appointed by the Board of Fimalac as independant expert in order to provide a fairness opinion on the Public Offer (the "Offer") initiated by Groupe Marc de Lacharriere ("GML") on the Fimalac shares it does not own. The offer price proposed by GML is 131 Euro per share (after dividend) bearing in mind that: At the end of the offer period, if minority shareholders represent less than 5% of the issued capital or voting rights, GML will ask for a squeeze-out procedure leading to the delisting of Fimalac share.

Associes en Finance has conducted a multi-criteria analysis of Fimalac. Besides the current listed stock price and the price of the simplified public offer realised in 2016, Associes en Finance has valued Fimalac assets using the most appropriate methodology for each asset.

The proposed price of 131 Eur (ex-dividend of 2.10 Eur) exteriorizes a significant premium to the listed price before the announcement of the Offer. This premium ranges between 21.4% (on the stock price at closing on the 12th of May 2017) and 25.1% (on various reference period between 10 days and 6 months before the announcement).

The Net Adjusted Asset Value of Fimalac resulting from our valuation ranges between 119 and 138 Eur per share. The 131 Eur offer price (ex-dividend) stands within that range.

This valuation range is based on favorable hypothesis for the minority shareholder as: Fitch value reflects exactly the existing protocol between Fimalac and Hearst that links Fitch value to Moody's stock price and we have not impacted the total Fimalac value with a specific holding discount or minority discount.

The Offer price is above that of the simplified tender offer of April 2016.

The Offer will provide liquidity to the minority shareholders for their investment together with a significant premium on the listed price. In addition, minority shareholders will be able to crystalize the value of their investment at the Net Adjusted Asset Value at a moment when both stock markets and the main assets are at a high point.

The terms and conditions of the Offer are therefore fair for the minority shareholders including in the context of the squeeze-out procedure."

4. Contacts

Communication and Investor Relations:

Robert GIMENEZ, +33 1 47 53 61 73

Jacques TOUPAS, +33 1 47 53 61 53





This press release was prepared for informational purpose only. It is not an offer to the public and it is not for distribution in any country other than France, except where such distribution is permitted by applicable law.



The distribution of this press release, the Offer and its acceptance may be subject to specific regulations or restrictions in certain countries. The Offer is not made to persons subject to such restrictions, either directly or indirectly, and may not be accepted in any way from a country where the Offer would be subject to such restrictions. Consequently, persons in possession of this press release shall inquire about potential applicable local restrictions and comply with them. Fimalac disclaims all liability in the event of any breach of the applicable legal restrictions by any person.









[1] Based on a total number, as of May 15, 2017 of 24,700,000 shares and 25,121,244 voting rights of the Company, in accordance with the provisions of article 223-11 of the AMF's general regulation (information provided by the Company).

[2] Based on a total number, as of May 15, 2017 of 24,700,000 shares and 25,121,244 voting rights of the Company, in accordance with the provisions of article 223-11 of the AMF's general regulation (information provided by the Company).





Attachments:

http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9334f751-cfc3-4c58-aee9-c4d6adfafc47
English French

June 6th 2017

Acquisition contributes to the successful delivery of EDF's long term strategy, strengthening its reach throughout the UK

The deal will enable Imtech UK and Ireland to accelerate the development of its services, responding to market trends and new technologies

Combined expertise will help clients access a wider range of innovative solutions

EDF Energy Services is a joint venture between EDF Energy and Dalkia

EDF Energy Services, a joint venture between EDF Energy and Dalkia, has agreed to acquire Imtech UK and Ireland from Endless LLP. Imtech is a leading engineering services company and provider of technical services to construction, industrial, commercial and public sector clients in the UK and Ireland. Completion of the deal is subject to merger control clearance from the European Commission.

Imtech employs more than 2,100 people, generating revenues of over 400m per year delivering mechanical and electrical engineering services, technical operation and management of facilities, and the integration of digital control solutions.

Backing and expertise from the EDF Group will enable Imtech UK and Ireland to continue to deliver high quality services for new and existing clients and support its growth across all its business, including in low carbon solutions, a key part of both Imtech and EDF Group strategies.

In addition, the combined expertise of EDF Energy, Dalkia and Imtech UK and Ireland will enable the company to apply the latest technologies and offer innovative services that deliver improved energy efficiencies at every stage in the life of industrial and commercial facilities - from initial design and build, operation and maintenance through to control of energy.

Within EDF Energy Services Imtech will retain its operational autonomy and will continue to run the business with its experienced management team providing strong leadership as they have done successfully for many years. Imtech will be looking to recruit new talent into the business to accommodate this acceleration in their strategy.

Vincent de Rivaz, CEO EDF Energy said: "As the UK's leading generator of low carbon electricity and a major supplier to businesses, the addition of Imtech is a significant step in the development of energy services and low carbon solutions for our valued customers. This agreement is a key element of our strategy for long-term growth and investment, and a further demonstration of our commitment and support for British businesses and industries.

"We are delighted to welcome the 2,100 employees of Imtech. There is a close fit between the two businesses with our shared passion for safety, innovation, digital solutions and quality of service for customers."

Sylvie Jehanno, CEO of Dalkia: "Thanks to this acquisition, we are excited to welcome the skilled and experienced Imtech teams to EDF Energy Services. Their existing customer relationships will provide a solid platform from which we can continue to grow the business. I am convinced that our combined expertise will enable us to continue to support our customers and develop innovation and digital solutions for their benefit."

"The acquisition of Imtech UK and Ireland by our joint venture is another major step towards meeting our international growth ambition."

Paul Kavanagh CEO of Imtech UK and Ireland added: "We are delighted to become part of the EDF family. The support of EDF Energy Services strengthens our capacity to continue to grow and build on our relationships with new and existing customers in the years ahead. I would like to recognise the support our customers have given the business over many years and we look forward to continuing to partner with them.

"By combining forces with EDF Energy Services, we have secured greater capability to respond to the future needs of our customers, and will be able to design and deliver innovative solutions.

"Endless has been a great owner of Imtech and I would like to thank them for all their support and input over the last two years."

Aidan Robson, Partner at Endless commented: "We are tremendously proud to have partnered with Imtech over the last two years. The business has outperformed on every metric, which is an outstanding achievement and demonstrates the strength of the team and business we are now passing on. EDF will enable the business to continue to grow and offers a fantastic future for the company's 2,100 employees.

"We wish Paul Kavanagh and the whole Imtech team along with their new owners EDF, all the best for the future and thank them for their outstanding efforts and commitment."

Notes to editors:

In case of enquiries, please contact:

EDF Energy's External Communications team via media@edfenergy.com / 01452 652233

Or

IMTECH Group - Christopher Parr, Madano via 0207 593 4020 / 07920 503547 / Christopher.parr@madano.com .

About Imtech:

Imtech is one of the foremost technical service providers in the UK and Ireland, with extensive expertise and experience in mechanical and electrical engineering services, technical facilities management and systems integration. With an annual turnover of more than 400m, 2100 employees and more than 20 years of market experience Imtech has the financial capability, range and technical expertise to meet all its clients' needs, from consultancy and design of mechanical and electrical systems through to the installation and whole-life maintenance and management of these assets.

Over many years Imtech's experienced team has developed collaborative relationships with clients and supply chain partners. This gives the company the necessary insights into the needs of customers and the resources to focus on delivering operational excellence through the design and implementation of innovative, sustainable and resilient solutions.

Imtech's areas of expertise include:

Design and build, mechanical and electrical works through Engineering Services and Suir in Ireland.

Technical facilities management services via Imtech Inviron.

Real-time business information, systems integration and digital engineering through Capula.

About EDF Energy:

EDF Energy is the UK's leading producer of low-carbon electricity, meeting around one-fifth of the country's demand and supplying millions of customers and businesses with electricity and gas.

It generates electricity with eight nuclear power stations, more than 30 wind farms, one gas and two coal power stations, as well as with combined heat and power plants.

EDF Energy is leading the UK's nuclear renaissance with the construction of a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point C. This will provide low carbon electricity to meet 7% of UK demand. The project is already making a positive impact on the local and national economy, British industry, as well as boosting skills and education. EDF Energy also invests in a range of low carbon technologies including renewables and battery storage. It is applying research and development expertise to improve the performance of existing generation and developing the potential of new technologies.

The company provides gas and electricity for more than 5 million customer accounts and is a leading supplier of electricity in Great Britain and a large supplier to British businesses. It offers innovative energy systems for commercial customers and digital innovation for customers at home. EDF Energy has also launched its own innovation accelerator, Blue Lab, which focuses on making customers' lives easier.

The Better Plan is EDF Energy's framework for being a sustainable and responsible energy business and is an integral part of EDF's 2030 vision to be the most efficient, responsible electricity company, and champion of low-carbon growth. The Better Plan is underpinned by comprehensive environmental and social programmes which have been recognised by a wide range of organisations.

EDF Energy is part of EDF Group, one of the world's leading electricity generators. In the UK, the company employs around 13,000 people at locations across England and Scotland.

About Dalkia:

Dalkia, a subsidiary of the EDF Group, is one of the leading providers of energy services in France.

Dalkia offers its clients tailor-made solutions scaled to fit each building, city, municipality, region and industrial site.

Dalkia is addressing the demands of a changing energy environment by providing its clients with expertise covering the entire energy chain, from energy supply to optimisation of their energy consumption, as well as operation and maintenance of installations. All Dalkia's solutions involve energy efficiency commitments and long-term performance guarantees.

Dalkia currently manages the production and distribution of energy through 358 heating and cooling networks in France. It also provides energy solutions to 2.6 million homes, 2,800 healthcare facilities and 13,800 commercial and service sector facilities, and supports a full range of services (heating, air conditioning, compressed air, steam, cogeneration, industrial maintenance and more) at 2,100 industrial sites. [http://www.dalkia.fr/en]

About Endless:

Endless was founded by Garry Wilson and Darren Forshaw in 2005 and is currently investing its fourth fund of 525m. The firm focuses on acquiring businesses which it can improve operationally in particular carve outs from large corporates, acquisitions from other PE houses, MBOs and turnarounds. Over the last two years, Endless has completed over 15 deals including businesses such as Jones Bootmaker, Carpet & Flooring, Imtech, MTI, Arran Aromatics and Essential Fleet Services. The firm currently has a portfolio of 23 businesses with revenues of more than 2bn.
New Orleans, June 06, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Butler Snow is pleased to announce that former U.S. Sen. David Vitter has joined the firm in an of counsel role in Louisiana. Vitter will practice in the firms business department, focusing on business and economic development in the energy sector and other areas. He will be located in the firms New Orleans office.

David has a long and successful track record as a legislator and political leader, said Donald Clark, Jr., chairman of Butler Snow. His significant experience, especially in helping lead major public policy and economic development initiatives, makes him a really valuable addition to Butler Snow in Louisiana."

Vitter also continues in his role as vice chairman of Mercury Public Affairs.

Vitter served 12 years in the United States Senate and five in the U.S. House of Representatives. Before that, he was a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives and a business litigation attorney. He was also an adjunct professor at Tulane and Loyola Law Schools.

During his tenure in the U.S. Senate, Vitter served on the Republican Whip Team, was chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, and served as the top-ranking Republican on the Committee on Environmental and Public Works. In the U.S. House, he was active on the Judiciary, Transportation and Infrastructure, Budget, and Appropriations Committees.

Vitter received his bachelors degree from Harvard University, where he graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. He received his master's in modern history and economics from Oxford University as a Rhodes scholar. Vitter earned his Juris Doctor from Tulane Law School, where he was an honors graduate and articles editor of the Tulane Law Review.

Butler Snows energy group handles matters for clients throughout the United States, representing the industrys leaders in a variety of issues ranging from complex litigation and other disputes to large transactions and project development. Members of the firms energy group understand the energy industry, and work in tandem to provide comprehensive corporate, regulatory, and litigation counsel to clients in the oil, natural gas, nuclear, and alternative energy sectors.

About Butler Snow

Butler Snow LLP is a full-service law firm with more than 330 attorneys representing local, regional, national and international clients from 22 U.S. offices and offices in London and Singapore. Ranked as a Top 10 firm for pharmaceutical client relations and one of Americas Top 100 law firms in the BTI Power Rankings, Butler Snow is recognized as one of the nations top law firms for client service. The firm was recently ranked 48th out of 650 firms in the BTI Client Relationship Scorecard for understanding our clients business, anticipating clients needs, unprompted communication, legal skills, quality and keeping clients informed. For more information, visit www.butlersnow.com or follow Butler Snow on twitter @Butler_Snow.

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Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b149673d-7ef5-4118-9cf5-a2fe9e67ee53
Homestead, Florida , June 06, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Department of the Interior, National Parks Service (NPS), Southeast Region released on Tuesday, June 6 a presolicitation notice in which it outlined plans to award a firm fixed-price contract to replace the Bobcat Boardwalk in Everglades National Park (Shark Valley, 36000 SW 8th Street, Miami, Florida).

According to the presolicitation notice, the NPS intends to award the contract to a certified small business, and the contractor who receives the contract award must provide all labor, materials, tools, equipment, supplies, transportation, and supervision required to complete the project.

The relevant NAICS Code is 238190, Other Foundation, Structure, and Building Exterior Contractors, and the business size standard is $15 million.

Because of the project nature, according to the presolicitation, the NPS will conduct a site visit, which interested contractors are strongly advised to attend. The NPS will announce the date and time for the site visit in the official solicitation, which it intends to release on or around June 21.

For more information, e-mail William Vazquez at william_vazquez@nps.gov.

The contractor who receives this contract also must be registered with the System for Award Management (SAM) database and have as part of the Registration all current Representations and Certifications.

US Federal Contractor Registration, the worlds largest third-party government registration firm, completes the required Registrations on behalf of its clients. It also makes available information about opportunities like this, as well as training on how to locate, research, and respond to opportunities.

We also make available for our clients and for contracting officers our proprietary Advanced Federal Procurement Data Search (AFPDS). Our Advanced Federal Procurement Data Search (AFPDS) gives you in one place instant bid notifications, bid proposal prospecting, and information about government procurement officers. We make this search tool available to clients, as part of our commitment to helping each and every USFCR client succeed and thrive as a government contractor.

For contracting officers, the AFPDS gives them in one place access to a database of available contractors and also a place to post information about opportunities. Contracting officers get free access to AFPDS. We also provide interested contracting officers a list of contractors who may be able to provide a service and/or product that they need.



For more information, to get started with a SAM registration, to learn more about how US Federal Contractor Registration can help your business succeed, to find out how we can help you complete the processes necessary to become certified as one or more types of small business(es), and/or to speak with our federal training specialists about how to craft a memorable proposal, call 877-252-2700, ext. 1.
WESTCHESTER, Ill., June 6, 2017 - Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE: INGR), a leading global provider of ingredient solutions to diversified industries, announced today that it applauds the new sugar suspension agreement negotiated by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.

"Ingredion supports open borders to facilitate sweetener trade. We appreciate the work of Secretary Ross and Mexico's Economy Minister Guajardo to reach an agreement on this important issue. Thanks to their cooperation and efforts, the new agreement protects against unfair trade practices while ultimately preserving U.S. jobs and cross-border market access," said Jim Zallie, Ingredion executive vice president and president, Americas.

ABOUT INGREDION

Ingredion Incorporated (NYSE: INGR) is a leading global ingredient solutions provider. We turn grains, fruits, vegetables and other plant materials into value-added ingredients and biomaterial solutions for the food, beverage, paper and corrugating, brewing and other industries. Serving customers in over 100 countries, our ingredients make crackers crunchy, yogurts creamy, candy sweet, paper stronger and add fiber to nutrition bars. Visit Ingredion.com to learn more.

###

CONTACT:

Investors: Heather Kos, 708-551-2592

Media: Claire Regan, 708-551-2602
CANBERRA, Australia  A gunman who killed a man and took a woman hostage before dying in a police shootout had been acquitted of plotting a terror attack at a Sydney army base years earlier, police said Tuesday. Three police officers were wounded.

The siege Monday at an apartment building in a Melbourne suburb was being treated as an act of terror, but Victoria state police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said the gunman appeared to have acted alone and not as part of any ongoing plot or threat.

There is nothing that weve found thus far that would suggest to us that this was anything that was ... planned or done in concert with others, Ashton said.

The gunman, Yacqub Khayre, 29, was one of two men acquitted by a jury in 2010 of plotting a suicide attack in Sydney. Three people were convicted of conspiracy in that plot, which police thwarted before it could be executed.

Khayre, a Somali refugee, has an extensive and violent criminal record. He was sentenced in 2012 to 5 years in prison on convictions including aggravated burglary after beating a woman in her home.

He was initially denied parole after serving a minimum three years but was released on Dec. 8, Deputy Police Commissioner Shane Patton said.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said he would speak with state leaders Friday about changing state laws so that dangerous criminals are not released from prison early on parole.

There have been too many cases of people on parole committing violent offenses of this kind, Turnbull told reporters.

Police said Khayre booked an appointment on Monday with an escort in an apartment building in Brighton and arrived carrying a sawed-off shotgun, sparking a two-hour siege.

Police were called after neighbors heard the shotgun discharge as Khayre killed a Chinese-born Australian man employed by the escort agency in the lobby.

Khayre then called police to say he had a hostage in an apartment and made threats to her if police intervened. They tried to negotiate with him before Khayre walked out of the building firing the shotgun.

One police officer was shot in the neck and ear and two officers suffered wounds to their hands, but none of the wounds was life-threatening, Ashton said.

The woman, a 36-year-old Colombian national, was bound during her ordeal and had been very significantly traumatized, Patton said. But she had not been physically harmed.

Ashton said there was nothing to link the violence with a van and knife attacks in London in which three assailants killed seven people.

Rod Mcguirk is an Associated Press writer.
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When a political leader starts trending on Twitter, it's not always for the best of reasons, but Monday's trending topic of "Justin Trudeau kayak" was met with general adoration.

A woman shared a video of the moment when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau oh-so-casually interrupted his kayaking session on Ontario's Niagara River to paddle over and discuss climate change with a family.

"Justin Trudeau just kayaked up to my house and talked to my parents? classic," read the tweet.

Is it, though? While this writer can't seem to recall the last time a politician approached her via kayak  or even canoe  to discuss environmental issues, this incident seems perhaps a very Canadian showing. As Trudeau approaches the family in the video, he inquires after the flooding and the water levels.

Trudeau was kayaking on the Niagara River as part of World Environment Day, giving a speech in Southern Ontario after his jaunt  still in life vest, natch  saying Canada will still continue to fight climate change.

"The future is still bright for those who have the courage to confront hard truths and the confidence to stay the course," Trudeau said.

"We have a responsibility to future generations, and we will uphold it," Trudeau later added. "We have a chance to build an economy that is clean, that is growing, that is forward-looking, and we will not let that opportunity pass us by."

Story continues below.

Besides, y'know, being the prime minister, Trudeau has an online reputation for his friendliness (and shirtlessness?) while out and about in Canada. There are various Internet stories spreading the lore of his shirtless hiking, shirtless wedding photobombing and other general niceties.
New Zealand's local authorities face a $100 billion-plus to replace ageing water pipes, drains and sewers and will need central government assistance to meet the bill, says Local Government New Zealand, the lobby group for the sector.

At its quarterly briefing today, LGNZ president Lawrence Yule  also a National Party candidate in the September general election  said a swathe of essential underground infrastructure installed by towns and cities in the 1960s was reaching the end of its life and would need replacement in the next few years.

Back then, such infrastructure had been co-funded by central and local government but the responsibility had moved exclusively to local government in the interim and could place a huge strain on some communities' finances, especially where populations were shrinking or ageing.

"We don't want the government to take responsibility," said Yule. "We want to take responsibility (for the so-called three waters) but want to make sure it's done holistically. The current funding mechanism won't work, so we are starting the conversation."

LGNZ has promoted a co-regulatory structure for water infrastructure for some time, akin to the shared way local and central government currently fund roading.

"This renewals curve is not a surprise," said LGNZ chief executive Malcolm Alexander. "Now it's here."

Among ways to fund replacement proposed by local government are the ability to earn revenue from new sources other than property rates and to use off-balance sheet special purpose vehicles that would allow infrastructure projects to be debt-funded without blowing out local councils' balance sheets.

Maintaining current strong credit ratings was essential for the New Zealand local government sector, the head of the Local Government Funding Authority, Mark Butcher, said.

Yule also called for decisions sooner rather than later on whether or not to make users pay for their water allocations or to use a non-market, administrative method to allocate freshwater. A Technical Advisory Group is due to report on the long vexed issue in December.

"We are open to pricing water," he said. "We can't leave it in limbo."

Alexander warned the cost of upgrading and replacing existing water infrastructure would be further challenged by the addition of new environmental, water quality and infrastructure resilience standards since the original pipes were laid.

LGNZ also continued to call for a share of GST or other locally raised revenue to allow investment in infrastructure required to support the country's booming tourism industry.

Yule, who will step down at the end of the month, also announced the contenders for the LGNZ presidency at next month's annual meeting were the mayor of Dunedin, Dave Cull, and Nelson's mayor, Rachel Reese.

(BusinessDesk)

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The long-stalled free trade agreement between New Zealand and the Gulf Cooperation Council faces further delay following the decision by other members of the GCC to break ties with Qatar over its connection to financing Iranian terrorism.

Speaking to New Zealand media after talks with the US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, in Wellington today, English said what had looked like a deal ready for signing was jeopardised by the latest developments among the wealthiest countries in the Middle East.

The GCC comprises Saudi Arabia, itself a long-time funder of Islamic fundamentalist movements, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, and Qatar. Egypt, Libya and Yemen also cut ties with Qatar in a dramatic development that not only sees diplomatic ties broken, but land, air and sea connections with Qatar closed and Qatari citizens given two weeks to leave the countries in question. Kuwait and Oman have not so far joined the action against Qatar.

International media reports are questioning the impact of the Saudi-led rift on the GCC's future.

Negotiations for an FTA with the GCC have been under way since 2007, stalled in 2010, but had appeared to be back on track in the last few months.

"What looked like a smooth path a couple of months ago now looks like a pretty unpredictable one," said English. "We've yet to see how all that unfolds. There seems to be quite significant action being taken quite quickly just in the last week. We'll keep an eye on it but I wouldn't be optimistic."

Answering a question from the New York Times at today's Wellington press conference, Tillerson suggested all the countries of the GCC needed to address their financial support of extremist and terrorist groups.

"I think that every country in the region has their own obligations they need to live up to," he said. "They have their own challenges to live up to that commitment to terminate that support for terrorism, extremism, however it manifests itself in any part of the world and I would say that's true of all the GCC countries. They have their own work to do."

Among other issues discussed was President Donald Trump's withdrawing the US from the Paris global climate change agreement.

English expressed the New Zealand government's disagreement with the move while Labour Party leader Andrew Little expressed "disappointment".

Tillerson told journalists the president had done no more than implement policy platforms he had campaigned on last year and that there had been little support on Capitol Hill for the Paris deal or, for that matter, for the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade and investment agreement, from which Trump withdrew as one of the first acts of his presidency.

"The United States has an extraordinary record of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, possibly unparallelled. Our greenhouse gas emissions are at levels last seen in the 1990s," said Tillerson. That's been done with 50 million more energy consumers than we had in the '90s, with an economy that's twice as large. We're very proud of our record  and that's been done without a Paris climate accord; it's been done without heavy regulation, Tillerson said.

"It's been built on technology, innovation, entrepreneurship. We have every expectation that performance is going to continue. There's no reason it would stop. Engagement globally on climate change remains important and we'll be seeking ways to remain engaged. There are many ways we can do that."

Contrary to suggestions the US was following a more isolationist foreign policy, Tillerson said of the Asia-Pacific region: "You can expect to see an elevated level of engagement to that which you saw in the last eight years."

(BusinessDesk)

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Xero wants to boost its pool for directors fees 64 percent to cater for an extra two or three directors to guide what's become a much larger software company since the board's pay was last reviewed three years ago.

Shareholders of the Wellington-based company will vote at the July 12 annual meeting in Sydney on whether to approve increasing the fee pool to $1.4 million from $850,000, which Xero's notice of meeting says will let it recruit two to three extra non-executive directors in key markets such as the US or UK. Investors last voted on increasing director pay in 2014, and since then the company's subscriber numbers have more than tripled to 1.04 million and revenue has more than quadrupled to $295.4 million. Xero currently has seven directors.

After comparing Xero's director remuneration with fees in New Zealand, Australia, the US and the UK, it became apparent that Xero would need to increase the remuneration cap in order to ensure Xero can attract and retain non-executive directors with the appropriate knowledge and experience relevant to growing global technology platforms, wherever these directors may be located in the world, the notice said. "This is seen as particularly important as Xero moves into the next stage of its growth and forges ahead on its journey toward NZ$1 billion in revenue and beyond."

Xero also signalled director Craig Elliott won't seek re-election at next month's meeting after five years on the company's board. Elliott joined the board in 2012 when the New Zealand software firm was considering a secondary listing on the Australian Securities Exchange. Elliott co-founded cloud-network software firm Pertino Networks and now advises Kiwi tech firms.

Analysts predict Xero will post a maiden profit in 2019 after crossing the 1 million subscriber mark last year. It posted a smaller loss in the year ended March 31 and stemmed the operational cash outflow to just $4.4 million.

Shareholders will also vote on electing Susan Peterson and re-electing Lee Hatton to the board at the meeting.

Xero shares rose 1.5 percent to $25.88, having gained 46 percent so far this year.

(BusinessDesk)

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Murray Goulburn Cooperative will rethink its capital structure and how it shares profits with investors in the ASX-listed MG Unit Trust as Australia's biggest milk processor seeks to revive the business after last year's slump in global milk prices wrong-footed the dairy cooperative.

Chief executive Ari Mervis today announced a strategic review of the business to look at all aspects of MG's strategy and corporate structure, including the profit sharing mechanism and capital structure, he said in a statement to the ASX. The Melbourne-based company will update its farmer-shareholders and unit trust investors on the review at its annual earnings announcement in August.

"I see this review as a fundamental next step to strengthen MG for the future," Mervis said. "While the previous decisions resulting from the manufacturing footprint review, including the announcement of three site closures were necessary, I do not consider them alone to be sufficient to move the business forward."

Murray Goulburn announced plans to close factories in Edith Creek, Rochester and Kiewa in an overhaul of its processing footprint, forgive loans to farmers to protect milk supply, and deviate from its profit-sharing mechanism by up to A$410 million to prop up farmgate milk payments after losing farmers to rivals after last year's slump.

The cooperative today forecast a farmgate milk price of between A$5.20 per kilogram of milk solids and $5.40/kgMS for the southern milk region in the 2018 season, with an opening farmgate milk price of A$4.70/kgMS. That range depends on commodity prices, exchange rates and Murray Goulburn's cost-cutting measures, with an intake of 2.5 billion litres of milk.

"Although global commodity prices have shown some recovery since this time last year, whole milk powder and particularly skim milk powder prices remain under 10-year averages," Mervis said. "We have also had regard to GlobalDairyTrade auction results over the past two months and current futures pricing, both of which suggest some ongoing price volatility in global markets."

The ASX-listed MG units last traded at 86 Australian cents, having dropped 7 percent so far this year.

(BusinessDesk)

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November 9th Morning Report


On April 12, the lifeless body of Court of Appeals Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam, the first African-American woman to serve on the state's highest court, was discovered in the Hudson River. It was profoundly sad news for me because of the enormous respect I had developed for this remarkable jurist. Just the night before, as a matter of fact, I had been extolling her attributes to an attorney who was preparing motion papers for submission to the Court of Appeals. I told him she was brilliant, compassionate, courteous and unwaveringly fair. The next day I called to tell him she was gone.

Although police investigators initially believed that the judge's death was a suicide, they subsequently described it as suspicious. On May 3, however, following what the department called a thorough evaluation of all the evidence gathered, including multiple video sightings, police closed the investigation with a finding of no criminality. The material accumulated during the investigation has been turned over to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for a final determination as to the cause of death. The judge's family has vigorously disputed media reports that she had been suffering from depression.

Reliably fair

I came to admire Judge Abdus-Salaam from observing her participation in numerous oral arguments before the Court of Appeals and analyzing the many scholarly opinions she authored flowing from them. In a story about her tragic passing, the New York Times asserted that she had been "among the most reliable and steadfast liberal voices, regularly siding with vulnerable parties -- the poor, impoverished immigrants and people with mental illnesses, for instance -- against more powerful and established interests." While undoubtedly proffered as a tribute, the Times report actually did a disservice to the judge's legacy by misrepresenting her jurisprudential ethic. For to every litigant, rich or poor, powerful or powerless, the only standard she ever applied was one of equal justice under law. Put another way, she wasn't reliably liberal; she was reliably fair. Precisely because she wasn't a prisoner of any particular ideology, Judge Abdus-Salaam's vote could never be taken for granted in any kind of case. She was, instead, a truly independent thinker, a characteristic of every good judge in an appellate forum. In fact, I was continually impressed by the fact that she sided with prosecutors in criminal cases as often as she did with defendants.

High praise

As word of the judge's death descended on New York's legal community, the ensuing tributes left no doubt about the high esteem in which she was held. Consider, for example, Albany Law School Professor Vin Bonventre's observation to the New York Law Journal: "She was really admired. We have not had a finer judge on the Court of Appeals since--maybe we've never had a finer judge on the court. And she was as fine a human being as well as a judge as you could get."

Former Court of Appeals Judge Eugene Pigott, Jr. was a colleague of Judge Abdus-Salaam until forced to step down because of his age. Underscoring a similar theme, he described her as "cordial beyond measure," adding that, when the judges of the court met in conference, "procedural discussions seemed to dissolve into consensus because of her calm, deliberate manner."

A 1977 graduate of Columbia Law School, Sheila Abdus-Salaam was elected to the state Supreme Court in 1993. In March 2009, Gov. David A. Patterson appointed her to the Manhattan-based Appellate Division, First Department, where she served with distinction. Four years later, the New York State Senate unanimously confirmed her appointment to the Court of Appeals by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Descendant of slaves

In a 2014 Impact of Knowledge video, an initiative of Project Brownstone, Judge Abdus-Salaam, a long-time resident of Harlem, spoke of her African-American heritage. She noted that, as a child, she had received a book of African Fairy Tales from an uncle that piqued her interest in "who we are and who I was as a person and who we are as a people." Further research by her led to the discovery that her grandfather was a slave on a farm in Arrington, Virginia. "That's important," she said, because "this great-granddaughter of slaves is the first African-American woman on the highest court of the State of New York.... (That) tells you and me what it is to know who we are and what we can do."

On May 26, a public memorial service was held for Judge Abdus-Salaam at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Manhattan. It was attended by all of her colleagues on the Court of Appeals as well as countless others, from all walks of life, who knew and loved her. So while precisely how and why she died remains a mystery, her place in history as a splendid, revered judge will endure forever.

[Daniel Leddy's column appears each Tuesday on the Advance Editorial Page. His e-mail address is column@danielleddylaw.com. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/LegalHotShots.]
Our fast train hurtled away from the Madrid, heading south on course for a three hour journey to the city of Jerez de la Frontera in Southwestern Spain. Though Id never visited before, my friend Gary has visited the town famous for producing some of the worlds finest sherry and had me convinced that it was place that I needed to see. Not only is the sherry famous but Jerez is the place where the flamenco was invented and the Spanish centre of Equestrianism.



Though wed had a late night in Madrid and woken early for the train this morning I felt like I was operating on batteries as I spent the train journey catching up on emails and reading blog posts super excited for what was to come that day. As soon as I arrived in Jerez, I sent Gary a picture of the station sign as he equally excited that Id be visiting one of his favourite places, and then it was into the car and off to our first destination.

Ximenez Spinola is an incredibly special sherry bodega, having been founded in 1729 by Phelipe Antonio Zarzana Spinola and remaining in the family for nine generations. Theres a museum-like room dedicated to the history of the bodega too with original documents from its founding

There are sixteen hectares of vines and the bodega sets itself apart by only growing Pedro Ximenez grapes which is rare in Jerez as Palomino grapes are most common.



Despite the thirty plus degree heat, we didnt feel uncomfortable due to light breezes coming from each direction. Apparently it is this air that contributes to the character of the sherry along with the chalky soil; warm, dry winds from the East and cool, humid winds from the West converge at the point where Ximenez-Spinola make their wine. I learn more and more as I write this blog and having the opportunity to visit places like this  I didnt know much about sherry before and I considered it something that you might crack open at Christmas!



Sherry is made differently to wine and is aged using the solera system. This is stack of barrels of fortified wine that are each topped up with an older reserve from the next barrel and replenished with wine from younger barrels. Another thing I didnt know is that sherry is a generic name and there are actually eight types for example Fino de Jerez which is dry and young and Pedro Ximenez (PX) which is the sweetest variety all produced here in the sherry triangle.



We were able to sample sherry from the different barrels which to me had a strong taste of raisins and a beautiful golden colour  the wines are rather rare so this was a very exciting and exclusive opportunity. We also sampled some of the brandy produced in the bodega as well as the sherry vinegar which has flavour from the oak wood casks where its aged.

After our tastings it was time to leave the bodega and for the aspect of this trip that I had been looking forward to the most  lunch at two-Michelin starred Aponiente.

I dont think Ive ever felt such a great sense of anticipation for a restaurant as when we arrived. A large metal sign and a welcoming maitre d highlighted that we were in the right place but gates concealed a compound that contained that highly hallowed restaurant. I felt a real sense of gravity press down on me with the knowledge that we were in for something truly special

Through the metal doors we entered the compound first being led into a conservatory-like space with brigade of chefs in the corner busily preparing snacks with micro-precision.

Glasses of sherry were poured and our snacks were bought to the table. Every single dish here is fish and seafood based which as you can imagine was a total dream for me.



Albacore temaki were gorgeous cones of tuna tartare, a Japanese dish with a Spanish twist.

Along with Moray eel rinds or deep fried eel skin.



Delicious crispy shrimp fritters with little dots of avocado.



As well as the sherry we refreshed ourselves with a Gin Mare martini which actually contains spheres of algae! More on that later

Brined anchovy with fresh sardine in vinegar and marinated fried dog fish.



Chargrilled sardines and the most amazing cuttlefish doughnuts which were like savoury profiteroles. Even the scaley plating references the seafood-theme of Aponiente.

With the snacks finished it was time to move into the main restaurant and as is often the way with these gastronomic temples of food, the setting is key to the story. The restaurants move to a 19th Century Mill is relatively recent and could pave the way for restaurants third Michelin star.



First built in 1815 to convert tidal energy into wave power, change local cereal to flour and to mill sea salt. The mill was a benchmark in the flour industry and one of the biggest tide mills is Southern Europe until it fell into disuse in the 1970s. It has been completely restored in order to house Aponiente with the past of the building feeding into the themes of the restaurant as well as the nautical decor.

A vast wine cellar and open kitchen greets us as we enter the restaurant and at this point we are lucky enough to meet the man himself; chef-owner Angel Leon. Also known as Chef del Mar or Chef of the Sea, he is firmly established as a ground-breaking chef when it comes to seafood, marine research and the use of more unusual ingredients such as algae and plankton. Thanks to his father he has a lifelong obsession with the sea and was even a sailor before he was a chef. He has run Aponiente for nearly ten years and in 2014 was awarded his second Michelin star.

Its here by the kitchen that we have our final snack, bread with clam served on a delicate spoon, before moving on into the dining room.

Here you could also most be under the sea yourself with chairs shaped liked fish, brick walls and port holes leading out to marshy views. Theres two menu options the Groundswell menu (205 EURO) or as we had, the Calm Sea menu (175 EURO) with eighteen courses including the snacks that wed had outside.



Our first course was intriguely named sea sausages. The collection of sausages on the table looks for all the world like meat but everything that you see here is made from discarded fish  at Aponiente what you see is not always what you get  Angel claims that showing the fish remains as meat allow people digest his innovative concepts more easily.

The fish pate looked, tasted and had the exact same texture as meat. Im a huge fan of chorizo and I wouldnt be able to distinguish this from the real thing.

Oyster salad in what looked like a soup but was actually a gel once again deceived our eyes.

And a delicious raw mackerel, cucumber and jalapeno pepper course was the perfect morsel leaving just the right amount of spicy fire in the throat.

We all think of iodine of that stinging substance that you put on cuts and bites but at Aponiente they serve a cold iodine soup served in what looks like a moon crater! And speaking of soup, you may be wondering about the breadpersonally Im always thinking of the bread. Well nearly every course were served with an incredible different bread from the restaurants in house bakerI thought it would be best not to include them in order to avoid taking this post to 3,000 words!



At this point we took a break from this epic meal and we were led upstairs to Angel Leons test kitchen.

Since his early days in the restaurant business Angel Leon has been involved in research and development for innovative ways of cooking and flavouring seafood. He works to extract the very best, often using little known products and the parts of the fish that are discarded. He is also dedicated to sustainability and reducing the environmental impact of fishing.

But lets forget about the science bit for a momentwe were about to see some magic



We were each given a grapefruit drink to which crumbs of a small shell-like substance were added and swirled around. The lights were switched off and our goblets began to glow, luminous in the dark. Drinking was like tasting the stars as the edible light left an imprint on our tongues. Honestly, glow-in-the-dark drinks sound rather unsophisticated and child-like but it really was an incredible spectacle and added another layer to what was already a truly out of this world meal. We didnt want the magic to end but we still had several courses left and a plane to catch! So with the lights back on and our drinks dimmed, we headed back downstairs.

You can imagine how incredible the service was by the sheer number of staff coming to our table. I think we must had a waiter each!



The next course is called A tribute to Huelva, a fishing village in Spain. A hot milky soup is poured over two prawns, cooking them in the liquid. The soup itself was our first hot dish and its deliciously comforting. Thats the thing about the food here, despite fancy small portions and some unusual ingredients its also just supremely tasty and full of flavour.

Even a simple vegetable medley contained the very freshest of peas and was given flavour with a touch of cod skin.

Hake with sorrel was another small morsel in this multi-course menu but I just wish theyd been more.

The name of the next dish had us puzzled buy rice with plankton and spiny murex turned out to be sea snails which a mushroom-like texture. The use of plankton is one thing Angel Leon is famous for and he was the first to use it as an ingredient in his cookery. As plankton collects flavours and scents of the sea and fish, eating it as like tasting a highly concentrated version of the sea  this rice is his signature dish.



Angel Leon has worked with Gin Mare to create a signature cocktail to represent the taste of the Mediterranean. Dried plankton is combined with rosemary and citrus flavour in this reinterpreted gin and tonic that actually tastes like the sea! Ok a plankton cocktail sounds kind of strange but we all agreed it was our favourite that we tried and I loved the glowing green hue.

We ate this delicious squid in one bite served with salicornia in a cream sauce.



Tuna alla cacciatore or a kind of brasied tuna in a thick unctuous sauce. After sixteen courses I was feeling pretty full  remember we had all that bread too

The fresh apple dessert is light but full of different textures and temperatures.



And citrusy burrata which even tastes of the sea with pearls of plankton on top!



A final cocktail and petit fours marked the end of the experience  a better word for this all sensory, immersive extravaganza than a simple lunch. I have to say it will go down in history for me as one of the best restaurants of all time, there was not one bad course in all 18! We were each presented with a beautiful gift as every tiny detail is considered here before we headed to the car bound for Seville airport.

My gastronomic journey through Spain had taken me all through the country from the North to South all in the space of about a day and a half and I have definitely fallen more than a little bit love with the exceptional cuisine of the country. A huge thank you to Gin Mare for taking me on this trip.

PIN FOR LATER:



My trip to Spain was hosted by Gin Mare but this is not a sponsored post

Read Part One of the Road Trip

Read Part Two of the Road Trip
Until recently, there had yet to be a time in my life when I thought, "My God, that swiss chard is striking." And yet, here we are, staring at the show-stopping "Powderfinger" cocktail at new Chelsea restaurant aRoqa on 9th Avenue. I don't even like swiss chard, but there's no doubting the curb appeal of that beauty, which was designed by Head Mixologist Stephen Thomas.

Unusual pairingslike the sugar beet vodka, strawberry, aged balsamic and pink peppercorn that go into the cocktail mentioned aboveare the thrust of the operation at aRoqa, which is run by Gaurav Anand, who also owns excellent slow-cooking dum pukht-style cuisine restaurant Awadh on the UWS, with business partner Monica Saxena. The menu is Indian in roots, but international in execution, like pairing fried lotus stems with avocado, tomatillos and green chile, or offering mushroom-saffron croquettes with a goat cheese sauce...and serving it in a "bicycle."

Other notable collaborations: Vindaloo Momos ($12), pork dumplings with bacon crumble, green apples and vindaloo sauce; a Habanero Tikka where chicken kebab comes with habanero aioli and parmesan crisps; and Butternut Squash Kofte served with kale chips. There they go making those greens sound sexy again.

206 9th Avenue, 646-678-5471; aroqanyc.com

ARoqa Opening Menu by Nell Casey on Scribd

ARoqa Cocktail Wine & Beer Menu by Nell Casey on Scribd
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It's Frank Lloyd Wright's 150th birthday on June 8th, and the city's biggest art institutions are showing their love for the renowned architect with huge retrospectives, all day parties, and Wright-inspired (temporary) tattoos. But while New York may love Wright, Wright certainly didn't love New Yorka place he considered a "pig pile," a "fibrous tumor" and "a great monument to the power of money and greed." That disdain may have something to do with why there are only a couple of his works still standing here. But our city's relative lack of Wright is also due to some inexplicable circumstances in which buildings designed by the country's best known architect have essentially disappeared. Below, we examine Wright's existing and demolished New York structures, as well as his plan to transform the East Village that never came to be.



A model of one of the St. Mark's Towers (The Museum of Modern Art | Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, Columbia University, New York)

In 1928, nearly three decades before Frank Lloyd Wright's first structure went up in New York City, the modernist architect unveiled a "revolutionary" plan to transform the East Village skyline. His idea involved a triangle of all-glass towers at 11th Street and 2nd Avenue, to be commissioned by the St. Mark's Church. Totally devoid of steel structures, the towers would be reinforced by a concrete "tap-root" core, a first for Wright according to MoMA, which currently holds the drawings. And while Wright considered our skyline a "medieval atrocity," MoMA also notes that the three towers were "positioned apart from other tall buildings to avoid creating the dark urban canyons that Wright detested."

The plans never came to fruition, owing to the Great Depression and cold feet from both lenders and church members. Still, the memory of the East Village towers that could've been lives on in Brooklyn: The architects of a new high rise at the foot of the Williamsburg bridge say their skyscraper takes inspiration from Frank Lloyd Wright, and Bedford + Bowery notes that "much like Wright's aborted East Village skyscraper, The Dime towers over pretty much everything else near its location."

Usonian House and Pavilion (1953-1954)

Frank Lloyd Wright was 86 years old when his first buildings went up in New York Citya model Usonian two-bedroom house and adjacent glass pavilion, intended as both a tribute to Wright's long career and a demonstration of his affordable housing solution. Temporarily erected in 1953 at the soon-to-be site of the Guggenheim Museum, the structures were dismantled the following year after a snowstorm shattered the pavilion's glass roof. For the next three decades, most scholars assumed that the buildingslike so many other Wright originalshad been lost to history.

But an odd thing happened in 1984, when former Wright apprentice David Henken announced that he'd been holding onto the pieces of the two-bedroom model home in his Westchester basement. When the Times reported that Henken planned to reconstruct it, Adolf K. Placzek, the former president of the Society of Architectural Historians, told the paper, ''I am astonishedI had thought it was long since gone." Unfortunately, Henken died unexpectedly the next year, just as he was beginning work on the rebuilding. Today, the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy owns a few pieces of the home, while collector Tom Monoghan is believed to be holding onto the rest.



An early model of the Guggenheim (The Museum of Modern Art | Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, Columbia University, New York)

The Guggenheim (1959 - present)

There may be no building in New York so closely connected to its architect as the Guggenheim. The modernist masterpieceor "Wright's joke on New York," depending on one's perspectiveopened in 1959, just a few months after his death, and thirteen years after plans for the project first began. Wright was skeptical of the project from the outset, not because of its ambitious design, but because, again, he just really hated New York. Writing to a friend in 1949, Wright asserted, "I can think of several more desirable places in the world to build his great museum, but we will have to try New York."

Today, the Guggenheim stands alone in the New York museum world, and succinctly describing this "inverted ziggurat"as the Gugg calls itselfseems almost antithetical to its point. If you're interested in a more comprehensive breakdown of the museum's architecture, head to the Guggenheim on Wednesday for a special birthday celebration featuring rarely seen photos of the museum's construction, a guided tour of the building, and an actual Frank Lloyd Wright reenactor. Did you know it was almost painted Millennial Pink?



The Auto Showroom at 430 Park. (The Museum of Modern Art, Avery Architectural & Fine Arts Library, Columbia University, New York)

Hoffman Auto Showroom (1955 - 2013)

It's hard to understand how, exactly, a building designed by the country's most famous architect could quietly disappear without anyone really noticing. But that's exactly what happened in 2013, when a luxurious auto showroom on Park Avenue was demolished by its owners, three days after the Landmarks Preservation Commission called the building's owners to say the city was considering landmarking the Wright-designed space.

Commissioned by auto import pioneer Max Hoffman in 1955, the gleaming 3,600 square foot showroom featured curvilinear surfaces, ample mirrors, and a spiraling ramp believed to be inspired by Wright's plans for the Guggenheim. Its recent demolition, according Simeon Bankoff, the executive director of the Historic Districts Council, was nothing less than "a national tragedy."



The Crimson Beech (via Wikimedia)

The Crimson Beech (1957 - present)

Credit for our city's only Frank Lloyd Wright residence rightfully belongs to an audacious couple living in Corona, Queens. As the story goes, William and Catherine Cass were watching television at home in 1957 when they came across Mike Wallace interviewing Frank Lloyd Wright about the country's need for affordable housing. On a whim, Catherine decided to write a letter to the then-90-year-old architect to see if he'd be interested in building a moderate-cost home for the couple. Wright wrote back to suggest prefabrication, and just like that, the ready-to-assemble parts were en route from Wisconsin. The L-shape home, to be erected in the couple's new neighborhood of Lighthouse Hill, Staten Island, featured a lead-covered steel roof, creme-colored exterior, and sunken living room. It cost the couple $20,000 for components, and $35,000 for constructionquite the deal from the guy who designed the Guggenheim.

What the Cass family did not fully realize at the time, however, was that a Wright home required a Wright environment, something the aging architect was famously fussy about. "He was a real tyrant,'' Cass told the Times in 1988. "He never took anyone else into consideration. He chose the furniture, the fabric, even the paint colors for us. And whenever he said something would cost $100, you could be sure it would cost $200.''

Indeed, Wright's plan of building affordable prefab homes for $15,000 was based on a major underestimation of construction costs. As a result, only eleven of the structures were ever built. After securing protected status from the Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1990, the Cass family eventually sold the home to it current owners, who've since made slight renovations to the interior. The exterior, meanwhile, remains essentially unchanged, a discreet monument to the architect's enduring influence in a city that he famously disdained.
It's an opportunity that only comes around once every 20 years: this November, New York voters will get a chance to decide whether or not to hold a constitutional convention, and with it, the opportunity to propose changes both sweeping and technical to the state's governing document.

If New Yorkers vote yes on a constitutional convention, an election of delegates would follow in November 2018, then the convention itself will be held in April 2019, lasting however long it takes the attendees to hash out proposed changes. Then, finally, in November 2019, the changes themselves will go up for a vote.

The convention is backed by a diverse assortment of people including good-government advocates, judges, lawyers, and activists for causes including criminal justice reform and upstate secession. It also has strident opposition from what to some might be a surprising source: major unions including the Service Employees International Union and the United Federation of Teachers.

Where earnest reformers see an opportunity to push through big-ticket items such as marijuana legalization, ethics reforms, a right to clean air and water, and giving New York City control of its schools and roads, major unions are telling their members that there is the risk of the convention being used by corporations and conservatives to roll back worker protections.

A blurb to UFT members in the union's January newsletter reads, "A constitutional convention is unlimited in the scope of what it could change. This would place New York States rights and protections at risk of alteration or elimination, including the guarantee of a free public education, a prohibition against aid to non-public schools and the right to Workers Compensation."

Indeed, the current workers' comp system is a feature of the state constitution, and a proposal to allow private schools to use state funds came out of the 1967 constitutional convention, the last one New York held. The 1967 convention was called by the legislaturelegislators can call for a convention to be voted on during off yearsand voters rejected a raft of proposed amendments that came out of it, in large part because of the private school issue.

What the teachers union doesn't note is that other protections it warns could be affected, such as the right to unionize, are enshrined in federal law, and some crucial ones came out of this very state convention process. New York's workers' comp, for example, was a product of the 1938 convention, the last one called by New York voters.

Separately, the "forever wild" protections preserving the forests of the Catskills and the Adirondacks came out of the 1894 convention.

"It's very safe and very easy to say no and not take any risks," said Brandon West, vice president of policy for the reform-minded New Kings Democrats, who want a convention. "No one is saying this is a zero-risk campaign. But every political campaign that's ever been done that's worth doing has involved some degree of risk, and we think the risk is definitely worth it here."

Also, convention advocates note, any proposed amendments that unions find objectionable would, if they made it through the convention process, face final judgment by voters before becoming law.

A constitutional convention last appeared on the ballot in 1997. Weeks before the vote, polls showed a large majority in favor of holding the convention. But following a concerted last-minute advertising and phone-banking effort by unions, voters turned it down.



Suffragists won the right for women to vote in New York in 1917 via a ballot referendum, the other avenue for constitutional amendments, requiring the approval of two successive legislatures and then voters. (Paul Thompson/Getty)

Gerald Benjamin, a political science professor and administrator at the State University of New York New Paltz, has long supported the idea of holding a constitutional convention. He said the major unions' opposition has taken the form of "a scare tactic," in 1997 and today. This time around, he said that he hopes the response to the recent presidential election will galvanize people who otherwise might not be engaged in the minutia of state politics.

"New Yorkers need to push a reset button. Our fundamental cynicism and withdrawal from government as evidenced by our low voting participation needs to be addressed," he said. "And this time, where there are opportunities, where people are mobilized, we need to say to the people, 'Okay, we're going to give you a chance to elect a different group of people oriented to how you govern yourselves, just as was intended in 1846 when this was done, and we are going to give you an alternative to what you have now.'"

Already, he said he has "people calling me from everywhere wanting to help." Those callers include people dejected about Bernie Sanders's primary loss, and about Donald Trump's victory. Personally, Benjamin said he would like to see something about access to public higher education addressed in the state constitution.

Another group with a rosy view of the prospect of a constitutional convention is the New York State Bar Association. Early this year, the group representing some of the state's most prominent lawyers and judges released a 72-page report outlining constitutional issues that make the state's courts, in its words, "overly complex, unduly costly and unnecessarily inefficient."

The opposition of the large unions comes from their entrenched position in the current legislative system, Benjamin said.

"Much of the big money in New York is union money," Benjamin he explained. "So the money here is complaining that money from somewhere else will come in and be dominant."

Of course, corporations such as real estate developers that are none too enamored of union protections represent another huge source of New York political contributions, and billionaire apocalypto-libertarian family the Mercers, architects of Trump's recent victory, are working to influence state politics through the group Reclaim New York. (Reclaim New York, for what it's worth, is holding off on backing a convention short of legislators taking a pledge that they won't run to be convention delegates, and says even that isn't a guarantee of support.) Faced with this dynamic, some progressives are still going against organized labor on this issue, awkward as it may be.

Hell's Kitchen tenant lawyer Richard Semegram recalled attending a monthly gathering of reform activists recently:

Someone called me a Bernie bro. I was having a conversation about reforming the Democratic Party with this woman who lives in Westchester. It was going great, and then I mentioned a constitutional convention. She was like, "Oh, you're some kind of Bernie bro?" That blew my mind. That's a deep cut in so many ways. I was like, "What do you mean? I am not some manarchist dude-bro who's going to vote for Trump because Bernie didn't win."

Clearly, there is some work to be done on the public relations front.



Large New York unions are already pushing messaging like this about the constitutional convention vote out to their members. (AFL-CIO)

West acknowledged that the big unions have major firepowerthe UFT-allied New York State United Teachers alone has 600,000 members, and the state AFL-CIO, with 2.5 million members, is already calling a convention a "boondoggle for politicians and corporate lobbyists to take away your wages, benefits and rights." But West said that newer grassroots political networks such as Black Lives Matter activists and the organizers of the Women's March NYC can get the word out. What's needed, he said, is a "guerrilla warfare kind of method to try to communicate with different groups," including to workers whose unions are opposed to a convention.

In addition to organized labor, convention supporters will have to get through what a public relations representative for the UFT says is a nascent coalition of conservatives, conservationists, and civil libertarians.

"Under the current process, proxies for the powerful will continue to run the show and advance their own interests over those of hardworking taxpayers," New York Civil Liberties Union director Donna Lieberman said in an emailed statement. "It is sham democracy in action, and New Yorkers are not going to fall for it."

Governor Cuomo has emphasized his support for a convention in state of state addresses this year and last. But $1 million for a preparatory commission that he promised in 2016 didn't make it into the budget. This year, he called for Roe v. Wade's abortion rights protections to be protected at the state level via a constitutional amendment, but his advocacy for a convention has gone quiet as the November vote approaches. Mayor de Blasio, Cuomo's perennial foe, has taken the opposite position, predicting that a convention will bring "unfettered spending by powerful forces" and concluding, "I just don't think that's worth the risk."

Just 24 percent of registered voters delivered de Blasio his 2013 electoral victory, and so, whether or not one is held will likely rest on a fraction of eligible voters in New York. The state's restrictive voter registration system, another issue reformers want to revamp at a convention, will close the door to some who realize too late that they want to participate.

Activists seeking to get out the vote for this wonky once-in-a-generation opportunity face an uphill challenge.

"We're going to have 3.2-3.5 million voters and I think this matter is going to be decided by 1.8 million voters," Benjamin said. "And there are roughly [12 1/2] million registered voters in New York. So it's going to be decided by 15 percent of New Yorkers who are eligible to vote, and mobilizing them is the challenge."

A recent Siena College poll showed that 62 percent of those polled were for holding a constitutional convention. Encouraging, right? Well, 67 percent also said they've heard "nothing at all" about a convention.
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Until this moment I have been forced to listen while media and politicians alike have told me "what Canadians think". In all that time they never once asked.

This is just the voice of an ordinary Canadian yelling back at the radio - "You don't speak for me."

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The ACT government has spoken with Australia's reporting authority about how disadvantage is measured in Canberra as local education bodies put pressure on the federal government to rethink how school funds are distributed.

The Education Directorate has told Auditor-General Maxine Cooper it held discussions with the Australian Curriculum, Reporting and Assessment Authority on how socio-educational advantage is measured in the ACT.

Blue Gum Community School executive director Maureen Hartung. Credit:Elesa Kurtz

Canberra's relatively high ratings on the Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage scale are often linked with the territory's comparatively good NAPLAN results.

However, a report by Dr Cooper released last week found that Canberra public schools come up short when compared with their counterparts interstate.
It's not exactly business as usual for the ACT's public service in this budget. There isn't much in the way of pain, either. The ACTPS will again grow its ranks in 2017-18.

But there will be some moves to find savings too, even if the government isn't cutting its workforce.

First, the ACT government will look to redeploy its pool of excess staff. The move has its possible downsides for employees: public servants it cannot redeploy could be retrenched.

It's also going to ask two directorates - Justice and Community Safety, and Transport and City Services - to find savings.

Full time government staff will grow mildly, by one per cent to 20,365 in 2017-18, mainly on the back of the ACT's ambitious light rail project and recruitment of more school assistants, firefighters and police.

Hanging over all of the government's spending is one possible threat. The ACT will be watching closely as the Commonwealth makes its bid to move federal public servants to the regions, which could hurt Canberra's economy.
Public housing renewal and accommodation for Canberra's ageing population will dominate land released across the ACT in the 2017-18 year.

New shops in Wanniassa and Moncrieff and a mixed-use precinct in Wright are among the highlights outlined in the ACT government's indicative land release program for the next financial year.

The Northbourne Flats on Northbourne Avenue, being demolished to make way for redevelopment. Credit:Richard Briggs

The Bega Flats site opposite the Canberra Centre in Reid will be razed and sold to make way for development, similar to the overhaul of the Currong and Allawah flats sites opposite.
The ACT has become the first Australian jurisdiction to pass laws restricting ownership of controversial Adler A110 lever-action shotgun with more than five round magazine capacity.

Legislation was passed in the legislative assembly today to reclassify lever action shotguns, after the laws were introduced in March this year.

The Adler shotgun.

It means the ACT has become the first jurisdiction to legislate new restrictions on such guns after a commitment was made by all government to do so at a COAG meeting last December.

The Canberra Times has previously reported there were as many as 40 Adler A110 five-shot lever action shotguns registered to ACT owners.
The Department of Education on Tuesday released a long-awaited plan to address record racial and socioeconomic segregation in New York City public schools, setting new requirements for increasing enrollment at racially integrated schools; and reducing the number of schools with a disproportionate number of impoverished or wealthy students over the next five years.

The "Diversity in NYC's Public Schools" plan [PDF] was met with measured praise from education advocates and members of the City Council. Councilmen Brad Lander and Ritchie Torres, whose 2015 legislation required the DOE to publicize school demographics, described a "serious start to a decades-overdue effort."

But critics said they were hoping for a more radical plan to shake up entrenched segregationa word that's notably absent from the DOE's "diversity" plan. The plan aims to increase enrollment at a third of the city's schools with relatively diverse student populationsschools where between 50 and 90 percent of the students are black or Hispanicwith controls that prevent them from tipping too far into racially segregated territory.

"I am really, really pleased to see specific benchmarks, and then I'm just horrified to see how low the bar is," said Maia Gelman, a parent at PS 75 on 96th Street and member of NYC Public School Parents for Equity and Desegregation. "It shouldn't be, 'We're going to tinker around the edges and see you in five years.'"

Gelman is pushing for 'controlled choice,' which would ensure an even distribution of high and low income, special needs, and English language-learning students across a given school district. Inroads have been made on the Lower East Side, but the push for broader implementation is absent from today's announcement.

Currently, the public school admissions process gives the upper hand to wealthier families, who have the means to rent or purchase homes in the most coveted school districts. Even families who don't live in coveted districts often find ways to avoid sending their children to low-performing neighborhood schools, according to a 2015 study by the Center For New York City Affairs at the New School.

Close to half of NYC public schools are at least 90 percent black and Latino, according to a recent WNYC analysis of city data. White students make up 15 percent of the total public school population, but a full third of them attend majority white schools.

"Relying on [traditional] zoning isn't going to get you there," Gelman predicted. "When there's a district that's super segregated, having a few schools that are diversified pushes segregation out into different schools."



Mayor de Blasio at PS 69 in the Bronx in 2014. (Mayor's Flickr)

Under the DOE's new plan, the city will establish a "School Diversity Advisory Group" to review ongoing integration work, including the expansion of Diversity in Admissions pilots. Currently, 19 elementary, middle and high schools in NYC have DOE-approved enrollment requirements for ESL and free-lunch students.

The group will also consider a plan to phase out a middle school ranking system that has historically favored families with the time and resources to strategize. The DOE is looking to move all middle and high school applications online to even the playing field, and double down on a 2016 effort to increase diversity in NYC's specialized high schools.

The advisory group will make non-binding recommendations in 2018, according to the DOE. A spokesman for the DOE said that while controlled choice is not currently being considered on a city-wide level, the DOE would "consider" any plan presented by the working group.

"We haven't had a clear statement from the DOE before today about racially and socioeconomically diverse classrooms," said Halley Potter, a fellow with the Century Foundation who studies diversity in pre-k. "This makes a real commitment to moving the needle."

However, Potter cautioned that the new plan prioritizes "low hanging fruit," by focusing on schools and districts that have already expressed strong interest in desegregation, like District 13 in Brooklyn Heights and Cobble Hill and District 1 on the Lower East Side.

"One thing that remains to be seen is how much appetite the DOE will have to push forward [desegregation] in a case where there is not a clear consensus from families," Potter said.

For example, recent school rezoning battles in Brooklyn Heights and on the Upper West side have proven lengthy and contentious. While rezonings passed in both districts, early data from predominantly-black PS 307 in Brooklyn suggests that new families from predominantly white and wealthy DUMBO have not flocked to the school.

This plan is an important step forward with concrete goals," Mayor Bill de Blasio stated Tuesday.

"We are sorry to see that the plan does not use the words 'segregation' and 'integration,' but instead sticks to the more anodyne 'diversity,'" Councilmen Lander and Torres cautioned. "We will not break the cycle of segregation if we cannot even name it."

Principal Jill Bloomberg of Park Slope Collegiate School is a longtime proponent of school integration. She's currently suing the city, alleging she's being unfairly investigated for her anti-racism agenda (demanding more sports teams for her predominantly black and Hispanic school, for example, and pushing back against the installation of metal detectors). She said Tuesday that DOE's evasion of "segregation" is telling.

"Integration is a policy specifically designed to fight racist inequity," Bloomberg said. "The goal should not be to add diversity as another benefit for a select group of students. Our goal should be to create schools so there is no school in the system that parents wouldn't want to send their kids to."
A rare collection of Japanese woodblock prints known as kuchi-e has gone on display for the first time at the National Library of Australia.

Used to illustrate Japanese novels and literary journals, kuchi-e, or "opening pictures", were used to complement the stories which reflected the tumultuous world of the Meiji period in Japan, from 1868-1912.

Dr Gary Hickey, curator of the National Library's Melodrama in Meiji Japan exhibition. Credit:Karleen Minney

More than 150 works from 27 artists are on display in Melodrama in Meiji Japan, exquisite, detailed drawings that are filled with drama, tragedy and intrigue.

Exhibition curator Dr Gary Hickey said the Meiji period was a time of great upheaval in Japan with the transition of the country from a feudal society to an emerging western-style state.
This chef, the court has heard, had lashed out at his employer.

One of the suspect leads officers chased was a former chef who had been sacked by the former owner sometime before the fire.

Brierly's Cafe had only changed hands a day before the fire.

Police ruled out a disgruntled ex-chef as a suspect in a 2014 arson attack that gutted a Weston cafe business, a court has heard.

Fire crews and police investigate the fire at the Brierly Street cafe in Weston in March 2014. Credit:Jay Cronan

A police officer on Thursday told the court she had questioned the chef in October 2015. He had told her he moved to Darwin in October 2013 and returned to Canberra in October 2014.

The arson attack was after midnight on March 13, 2014.

She said the chef had given police a pay slip from his employer at the time of the arson, but agreed under cross-examination they had no more evidence on when he left or returned to the ACT.

Two men, Nick Parlov, 24, and Leo Eliadis, 47, are on trial in the ACT Supreme Court accused of deliberately torching the cafe.
Teachers and principals: The Education Directorate will create a new occupational violence team aimed at reducing attacks against teachers in schools.

How does the package look for Canberrans in 2017-18 and beyond? Canberra Times reporters have picked out some winners and losers.

Chief Minister and Treasurer Andrew Barr handed down his sixth territory budget on Tuesday afternoon.

Police on the beat: After years of debate, the government is funding the introduction of Tasers for all frontline police officers.

Emergency services: $201,000 will go to better mental health support services for paramedics and firefighters.

Clubs: A new 50 per cent tax discount will kick in for small and medium clubs, as well as new $10,000 grants. The moves will cost $1.3 million a year.

Restaurants and cafes: Canberra businesses with outdoor seating will get a one month reprieve on permit fees, as part of plans to encourage more outdoor dining in the city.

Public housing tenants: An extra $30 million is being spent on renewal of public housing properties in 2017-18.
Virgin Australia is struggling to secure landing slots at China's two biggest cities, slowing its pivot from the sluggish European market towards Australia's largest source of inbound passengers.

But two local carriers that have recently become major shareholders are helping to pry open the door to the lucrative Chinese market, group executive John Thomas said.

Australia's number two airline will next month start flights from Melbourne to Hong Kong and is working to open other routes to greater China, having stated it wanted access to Beijing and Shanghai.

"We will continue to aggressively ask for slots, but slots are just so hard to come by," Mr Thomas, second in charge at the airline, told Fairfax Media on the sidelines of the International Air Transportation Association's annual general meeting in Cancun, Mexico.
National Australia Bank chairman Ken Henry says the nation faces an "extraordinary" economic opportunity to develop regions outside the capital cities, as the bank bets on a long-term lift in rural Australia.

With NAB's board of directors meeting in Mildura this week, Dr Henry on Tuesday said now was a "unique" time to pursue the development of regional economies, thanks to high population growth, strong Asian demand for exports, and the digital revolution.

Opportunities: National Australia Bank chairman Ken Henry and NAB CEO Andrew Thorburn.

After weeks of confrontation between banks and the federal government, which has been linked to questions over previous bank conduct as well as the bank tax, Dr Henry also said NAB's board had found the public criticism of bank culture "very challenging".

But it was determined to "get the right conduct," he said, a goal that could also be helped by initiatives such as getting directors outside the capital cities.
Consumers are eating out more often but spending less on each meal, and for some Sydney CBD workers armed with a new app, they'll be able to cut their spending to $8 a lunch.

Industry data provided by Restaurant and Catering Australia shows that on average, consumers have reduced their spend on a meal by $1 to $20.50 at a restaurant and by 80 cents to $13.80 at a cafe.

A start-up called MealPal is taking advantage of the trend, launching its app-based subscription service in Sydney this week that provides CBD workers with $8 lunch options from 110 partner cafes and restaurants, including Fratelli Famous, Made in Italy and Zeus Street Greek.
In the March quarter, the spot east coast gas price ran at about $9.95 a gigajoule, double that of a year earlier, the report's author, Graeme Bethune, said.

Even though east coast domestic gas demand fell just 2.5 per cent in the March quarter from a year earlier, taking into account gas used in the power industry, the decline is estimated at 8 per cent. The fall is a hefty 16 per cent if gas used to supply the three Queensland gas export projects is excluded, according to a report by industry analyst EnergyQuest.

The surge in domestic gas prices has prompted a steep fall in demand but the supply woes that have driven up prices may prove to be prolonged, an industry expert has warned.

"Average prices close to $10/GJ are clearly hitting demand," he said. "Paradoxically, high gas prices are not translating into a gas investment boom. Instead, the east coast is experiencing a drought of investment in domestic gas. A major reason is the fall in the oil price.

Gas exploration activity is yet to rise enough to offset the surge in prices. Credit:Jessica Shapiro

"After the [oil] price rallying to around $US55 a barrel following the OPEC meeting in November last year, the price is now softening in the face of rising US production. Australian gas development is likely to remain constrained by a sustained low oil price.

"As a result, there is a risk that the problems on the east coast are long-term, not short-term. There are significant undeveloped gas resources in the Cooper Basin and NSW but development of the former is constrained by the low oil price and the latter by Lock the Gate," he said, referring to a populist movement aimed at slowing gas exploration and development activity.

Even though the federal government's push to force gas companies to supply more gas to the domestic market may have had some short-term success, he said the view that Queensland's gas export projects were "sucking vast volumes of gas from the domestic market and all would be well if this is stopped" was not correct.
Department store retailer Myer has executed another step in its turnaround strategy cutting its footprint in its Docklands National Support Office by more than one-third.

Myer had a lease until 2022 over the 28,000-square-metre building but has "surrendered" its claim on 10,000 square metres now deemed surplus.

Latitude Financial Services, formerly GE Capital Finance, has taken out a lease on 3 floors in a direct deal with the landlord and has appointed architects Bates Smart to design the new space.

The 14-storey building at 800 Collins Street is half-owned by the Lend Lease-managed Australian Prime Property Fund Commercial and Swedish fund manager, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banke.
Industrial property is in high demand with Frasers Logistics & Industrial Trust buying a $169.3 million portfolio and Stockland starting work on its $80 million office and warehouse estate in Warwick Farm, south-west Sydney.

Propertylink's $10.5 million redevelopment of 122 Newton Road, Wetherill Park, has also achieved practical completion, delivering a new warehouse of 8646 square metres at the rear of the property and refurbishment of the 9614 sq m existing warehouse.

Stockland has started building the Coopers Paddock Logistics Park, a $80 million office and warehouse estate in Warwick Farm, south-west Sydney.

According to JLL's head of industrial, Australia, Michael Fenton, industrial property annual sales volumes have had nine consecutive years of growth, with new records reached every year since 2014; 2016 volumes reached $6.89 billion, surpassing last year's all-time high. Portfolio transaction volumes have grown 155 per cent per annum since 2013.

"Sydney and Melbourne will still be considered as high-growth markets, however pricing will be accordingly sharp," Mr Fenton said
Notorious vulture landlord Steve Croman pleaded guilty to felony charges and agreed to serve a year in jail pursuant to a plea deal today.

Croman pleaded guilty to three counts of grand larceny, tax fraud, and mortgage fraud, and agreed to pay a $5 million fine on top of his jail term. He had faced 20 felony counts and as many as 25 years in prison.

Police arrested Croman along with his mortgage broker Barry Swartz in 2016. State investigators accused them of jacking up rents on rent rolls by listing as market-rate apartments that were actually rent-stabilized, and submitting the falsified rent records to banks to get loans worth over $45 million. In court this morning, Croman said, "I knew the documents were false."

Croman also failed to pay payroll taxes in 2011. He skated on charges of filing false permit paperwork with the Department of Buildings.

"Steven Croman is a fraudster and a criminal who engaged in a deliberate and illegal scheme to fraudulently obtain bank loans," said Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who brought the case against Croman, in a statement. "He went to outrageous lengths to boost his bottom lineincluding falsely listing rent-stabilized units at market rates when his efforts to displace those renters had failed."

Croman's sentencing is set for September 19th.

Croman owns over 140 buildings throughout Manhattan, according to the Attorney General's Office. A civil lawsuit by Schneidermanchallenging his alleged tactics of noxious renovations, questionable evictions, falsifying building documents, and aggressive buyout offersis ongoing. He is so hated that renters from buildings across his portfolio formed a union in the early aughts.

When Croman was arrested, Schneiderman said that criminal tenant harassment is hard to pin on individual landlords, so after hearing repeated complaints, his investigators looked into Croman's fraud, seeing it as a more winnable case.

Depending on the debt load of Croman's company, 9300 Realty, $5 million may not be much of a hit. A 2014 analysis by The Real Deal found that Croman took in at least $63 million from his Manhattan portfolio in 2014.

Croman and his wife Harriet reportedly own a multimillion dollar mansion in the town of Sagaponack, and have been known to host blowout Hamptons parties attended by the likes of CNN head Jeff Zucker. The couple also emptied a six-story building on East 72nd Street of its 23 rent-regulated households to turn it into a single-family home for themselves.

Croman's son Jake showed up in the news in 2016 when video surfaced of him calling an Uber driver a "minimum-wage faggot," and saying, "You're working all night! Guess what? I'm gonna sit on my ass and watch TV. Fuck you!"

Swartz's 15 felony charges are still pending. A lawyer for Swartz didn't return a call seeking comment.
Propertylink has sold its 320 Pitt Street, Sydney, assets for $275 million, which has helped to bump office sales across the country over the $14 billion level as investors take advantage of the favourable leasing conditions.

According to CBRE's head of research Stephen McNab, in the 12 months to the end of the first quarter, across national office, industrial and retail markets, sales totalled $28.2 billion.

A new report says Sydney CBD's core precinct is set to benefit further from an overall repositioning as it takes on 51 per cent of total office development activity over the next five years.

Under the deal, the Propertylink Office Partnership II (POP II) fund has entered into a contract with ARA Australia and Straits Real Estate for the sale of 320 Pitt Street, which was a 12.2 per cent premium to current book value.

Propertylink bought the property in partnership with the Duke of Westminster's Grosvenor Group and Goldman Sachs in June 2015 for $200 million on a yield of 8.27 per cent. Once completed, the sale will generate a performance fee of about $17.9 million to Propertylink.
A Service NSW site, a supermarket and a block of units are some of the latest listings on the market in the lead-up to the end of the 2017 financial year.

Private investor Polaris Property Group is leading the charge with the coming sale of the site at 240 Byron Street, Inverell in the NSW northern tablelands, which is leased to the NSW Government's Service NSW.

A recently-constructed block of 30 apartments at 375 Kingsway, in the Sutherland Shire suburb of Caringbah is for sale.

The 3410-square-metre site generates annual rental income of $113,240, with 4 per cent annual rent increases and is being sold through Burgess Rawson's Michael Gilbert. Other assets in the coming Burgess Rawson portfolio auction on June 27, include properties leased to Caltex, Red Rooster, Bunnings and 7-Eleven.

In the south of the state, a Woolworths and BWS liquor outlet at 246-250 Sheridan Street, Gundagai, NSW is being offered for sale to the market of investors in the sub-$10 million property sector.
A review into the people and processes of the ATO following the alleged abuse of position by one of its highest ranking officers is "inevitable", says the man who audits the agency, Inspector-General of Taxation Ali Noroozi.

On Tuesday morning, Mr Noroozi announced a separate review, at the request of Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan and tax professionals, into the future of the tax profession.

Asked whether there would be a wider review into the ATO amid allegations that deputy commissioner Michael Cranston discussed an alleged tax fraud matter involving his son, Adam Cranston, Mr Noroozi said: "It now seems inevitable that we will expand our work program to do such a review."
The 7pm Sunday night ABC news reporting on Gina Rinehart's foray into the cattle business described her as an iron ore "magnet". She'd better not stand too close to the mother lode. Incidentally, the word magnate derives from the Latin word magnas, which means great man. Shouldn't there be a different word to describe female "magnets". Peter Riley Penrith.

If Maureen was to send her Column 8 article to the Opal admin people (C8, Tapping off fine), I'm sure they would refund the extra amount charged due to the machine not working. John Rand, Belrose.

Paying a "default fare" for not registering the tap-off is far better than being slugged a $200 fine because the card reader did not register the "tap-on", as a family member discovered recently." Manbir Singh Kohli of Pemulwuy.

More on capitals (C8, I is capital of Iceland). "No, George Manojlovic, the capital of Greece is about 1.50." Adrian Connelly, Springwood.

I'm confused, says Pam North of Mortdale. "Jarlsberg Cheese Slices. Made by Tine Sa, Oslo, Norway. Product of Ireland. Packaged in Germany."
As it turns out, lots. Recent terror attacks and police cuts make Britain look anything but "strong and stable". And she was forced to reverse her party's manifesto position on rejecting a cap on social-care costs, stingingly nicknamed the "dementia tax". A cap now exists, making her leadership look the opposite of "strong and stable". The alliteration of the phrase wasn't enough to bulletproof it from glaring irony. The slogan's lack of substance made it backfire catastrophically. It played on the same cynical emotion that the Underwoods rely on in the latest House of Cards: fear of chaos.

The short snappy slogan is one of a number of linguistic devices employed by spin doctors, who fixate on the best rhetorical tools to persuade and, sometimes, obfuscate. The pun is one of the most powerful. Puns linger in the memory a million times longer than polices, which is why you may remember the term Mediscare defining the recent Australian federal election. That's also why May's political opponents quickly dubbed her policy reversal a "U-turn". It harks back to one of the greatest political puns from the original Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher: "To those waiting with bated breath for that favourite media catchphrase, the 'U-turn', I have only one thing to say: You turn if you want to. The lady's not for turning."

It's worth, though, examining the language selected by the media and political opportunists. Another way of describing May's decision to introduce a cap would be a politician who has listened to the loud concerns of those she represents, and acted by changing course accordingly. Isn't that what the disillusioned electorate is desperate for? To be heard, not railroaded by obnoxiousness.

This is the catch-22 politicians face: use polished but anodyne language, informed by focus groups and strangled of life by committees, advisers and speechwriters. Or be "real": unguarded, heartfelt and impassioned  but risk being shot down as shrill, uninformed or ineloquent.

No matter how "weird" Jacqui Lambie is portrayed to be, when she spoke in Parliament about how "bloody hard" it was as a single mother, it was the kind of frank parlance that feels galaxies away from Malcolm Turnbull's polished prose. The ultimate question is: Do we want our politicians to speak like real people, warts and all, or like robots?
The London Borough Market attack will have taken economic pressure off London's Metropolitan Police to shed 4000 officers, but police managers in the UK will continue to be under pressure to deliver better outcomes.

The public perception is that senior police are more concerned about progressing internal issues like gender-balanced promotion than they are about protecting the public from petty criminals and would-be terrorists.

A pub landlord in Lancashire recently called police to say he had a break-in in progress. Police told him they were too busy to come. The landlord turned to Facebook, and friends and neighbours soon came to his assistance to secure the intruder until police turned up an hour later.

"Smart policing" will however provide police managers with more efficient methods for dealing with crime. Most cities routinely collect information that is exploitable for law enforcement, crime prevention, protective security, traffic management, energy use and waste reduction.

I recall that when CCTV monitoring was first introduced into Canberra's Civic Centre, there were protests about privacy issues. Now, thanks to fears of terrorism and city centre violence, the public feels more secure with comprehensive CCTV coverage of public places.
If you think the convicted criminal and former NSW government minister Eddie Obeid should still be receiving a generous parliamentary pension on the taxpayer's dime, shout "yes".

The assumed deafening silence shows the truth of the adage that while you can fool some of the people some of the time, you can't fool all the people all the time. Premier Gladys Berejiklian's move to strip Mr Obeid and his one-time colleague Ian Macdonald of their ongoing parliamentary entitlements may yet turn out to be the single most popular act of her time in office.

Corrupt former politicians Eddie Obeid and Ian Macdonald, seen in a composite image. Credit:Daniel Munoz

Obeid, the former NSW Labor MP, was jailed for a maximum of five years in December for corruptly lobbying a senior bureaucrat about his family's undisclosed business interests at Circular Quay. The former NSW Labor resources minister Macdonald was jailed last week for a maximum of 10 years for the corrupt granting of a coal exploration licence to a company linked to his good mate, the former union boss John Maitland.

The corrupt actions of the two men "constitute a complete betrayal; of public trust", Ms Berejiklian said. Legislation passed last week closes a loophole that had allowed politicians convicted of a crime committed during their time in office to retain their pension and or lump sum entitlements if they resigned before being charged with the offence. Obeid has been paid a taxpayer-funded pension of more than $120,000 a year since he quit politics in 2011. Mr Macdonald was entitled to an annual indexed pension of $135,535 when he quit politics in 2010.
There is the deadly cult of IS, there is the cult of martyrdom, and the cult of fanatics but our real problem is the cult of celebrity. Every time a violent loser such as the convicted criminal who lured police to the Brighton serviced apartments for a shoot-out strikes it creates copycats.

He was no warrior against Western excesses. He was an ice-using thief  a failure at all things who dreamed of making headlines through murder. Just like another terror suspect who preaches his peculiar version of purity during the day only to slip off to a brothel at night to enjoy the company of transgender sex workers. His bedroom choices are of no interest  his hypocrisy is.

And Sydney's Lindt Cafe gunman was no ideologue. He was a sex offender deluded enough to think he was important.

The Brighton gunman, 29, was one of those who, having failed to leave a mark of achievement in his miserable life, decided to leave a stain of destruction as he exited it.
This week's episode of Four Corners lined up an array of academics, bureaucrats and politicians expressing alarm about China's attempts to influence Australia through clandestine activities. China's former ambassador to China, Geoff Raby, was a notable exception, observing that China's efforts were much like those of other nations, particularly Israel.

Some similarities between the external activities of Israel and China are striking. Both are driven by contested identities, based on post-colonial politics dating back to the 1940s and beyond. On this front, China is faring better than Israel: Taiwan's diplomatic isolation is almost complete, while over 70 per cent of UN members now recognise the state of Palestine.

Both are well resourced, and because of language barriers, much of their work is outside the view of most Australians. Both continue to have a take no prisoners approach to the espionage side of the influence game, with Israel known for its assassination operations, and China rolling up a network of CIA informants with ruthlessness worthy of an early Le Carre novel.

Both attempt to enlist politicians to their cause. On this front, Israel is more effective: few would questions Michael Danby's longstanding commitment to Israel, while his Labor Party colleagues, from Sam Dastyari to Joel Fitzgibbon, have found pro-China activities do little to benefit their political careers.
Public spaces that attract crowds are set to receive security upgrades, such as physical barriers, bag screenings and possibly heavier police presences under proposed national counter-terrorism measures.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will discuss with state premiers on Friday a national strategy for protecting public venues large and small, and other sites that could be threatened by terrorism, including rudimentary attacks using vehicles and knives.

State governments will ultimately decide how to implement the strategy - which will also involve private operators of venues - and how to balance greater security with the freedom to enjoy public spaces.

But it is expected to lead to strengthening in areas including bollards and barriers, security at entrances to public venues and decisions around how police and deployed.
BananaStock/Thinkstock(WATKINS GLEN, N.Y.) -- Long before vegan restaurants took root in major U.S. cities, Gene Baur sold vegan hotdogs at Grateful Dead concerts to get the seed money for Americas first shelter for farm animals.



Founded in 1986, Sanctuary Farm now houses over 800 cows, pigs, goats, sheep and chickens on its 175-acre field in Watkins Glen, New York. Instead of being raised for slaughterhouses, these animals are provided with a degree of care typically reserved for family pets.



At Farm Sanctuary, animals are friends not food. They get to live their lives, they get to enjoy their lives, said Baur.



In addition to providing food and shelter to the animals at Farm Sanctuary, Baur has pushed for legislative changes to confinement systems for farm animals in California and written several books about animal rights including Living the Farm Sanctuary Life.



Theyre not that different from cats and dogs when you get to know these animals, said Baur.



The organization assists animals that have been displaced by natural disasters or escaped from slaughterhouses. A discarded sheep named Hilda was the first animal to be raised at Farm Sanctuary, and thousands of others have since followed in her hoof-steps.



When there are animals struggling for their life, often what happens is the [Sanctuary Farm] community joins together and wants them to go to a safe place, he explained.



Among the high-profile supporters of Farm Sanctuary are comedian Jon Stewart and his wife Tracey, who plan to open their own 45-acre animal sanctuary and farm education center in New Jersey.



Beyond changing farming practices, Sanctuary Farm encourages the food industry to move toward more plant-based options, from meatless meats to a variety of plant-based dairy.



You go into a mainstream grocery store and you can find soy milk, almond milk, hemp milk, coconut milk, and cashew milk, he said.



Baur said hes proud of the vegan movements progress over the past three decades, from hippie hotdogs in the 1980s to a growing number of vegan restaurants sprouting up around the country in recent years.

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Meet the new Malcolm Turnbull. Steely jawed. Resolute. Alert and alarmed as he tells Australians they face "a growing threat from Islamist terrorism".

Note the words. "Islamist terrorism". Violent, murderous jihad aimed at maximum carnage, maximum terror, in the name of religion.

Just days after the vicious London attack from which two Australian nationals are still unaccounted, Turnbull is dealing with another - apparently a deranged copycat - at home.
Everything about terrorism is desperate, and the latest wave of attacks represents a new phase of great desperation.

The terrorists called themselves Islamic State because the creation of an Islamic state or a 'caliphate' is central to their prophecy.

The group's appeal rests on its prophecy that the battle of the end of days is at hand. But they can't have their battle unless they have their caliphate  the Islamic redeemer, the Mahdi, won't appear to lead the faithful unless they have one.

"This is a duty upon the Muslims," said the self-proclaimed caliph, Abu Bakr Baghdadi in 2014, "a duty that has been lost for centuries".
It's crochet but not as you know it. Phil Ferguson, AKA Chili Philly, crochets big joyful hats that resemble aubergines and tacos, then photographs himself modelling them. Often in these pictures he has melancholy look on his face, as if it's not in the least bit amusing to be dressed as a giant woolly mushroom. "That's not my sad face, it's just my actual face," he says. He's funny, is Phil. Even if he doesn't mean to be.

"Oh, I did mean it," he says. "Of course I meant it." He had a plan. "Originally I made my Instagram to meet people in Melbourne," says Ferguson, 23, who studied fine arts at Perth's Curtin University, then moved to Melbourne in 2014. "It was like argh, I don't know any arts people here." Did he end up making friends? "Well yeah."

Making crochet cool - Chili Philly is a social media star

Chili Philly has more than 141,000 Instagram followers. He stresses that you don't become a social media sensation by accident. "You need to do something out of the box and do it well if you want people to pay attention. I had it very clear in my mind what I was going to do, the reasons why and how I wanted my audience to respond. If you're doing the same as everybody else, you're not giving your audience a chance to develop. They're probably already following 500 illustrators, or whole bunch of hot people."
Jason Smith was on a Saturday morning stroll in Melbourne's Southbank when he came across a curious poster.

"I was really on the lookout for street scenes, events and activities that I could document. I remember seeing posters all round for a celebration of Buddha's Birthday and thought there may be some interesting photographic opportunities." Smith told Fairfax Media.

Jason Smith's winning image was taken along the Southbank Boulevard. Credit:Jason Smith/Clique

The student from Deakin University followed his instinct and set himself up to catch some of the celebration.

"I found a great spot along Southbank Boulevard where dozens of brightly and colourfully dressed ladies were hurriedly preparing for a festival of some type. I was excited and felt some great opportunities were right here for a photo or series of images.
Getting home safely after a gruelling night shift is not something Dr Tessa Kennedy takes for granted.

Three of her junior doctor friends have crashed their cars driving home after a night shift, one on her way to pick up her daughter from daycare.

Dr Tessa Kennedy, chairwoman of the AMA NSW doctors-in-training sub-committee, said female colleagues had told her they were asked about their pregnancy plans during job interviews. Credit:Louise Kennerley

She has caught herself falling sleep behind the wheel at the end of her 16-hour shifts and 90-hour weeks.

The paediatric trainee has battled sleep-deprived panic attacks before medical exams, and cried inconsolably as she sat in her car after a narrowly escaping a crash for which she says she would have been responsible.
The president of the Hells Angels, touted as a major scalp in a tax crackdown on bikie gangs, has escaped without a conviction after his accountant took the blame for tax irregularities.

Angelo Pandeli, 46, from Pyrmont, was charged with failing to furnish tax returns after he ignored a notice from the Australian Taxation Office to provide a detailed income statement.

Angelo Pandeli has walked away without a conviction. Credit:Fairfax Media

The notice, served on him at Sydney Airport on September 2, gave him two months to provide a return for the 2014-2015 financial year. He was issued with a court attendance notice in May when he failed to provide it.

In a move reminiscent of the Prohibition-era crackdown on the US mafia, the ATO and Australian Federal Police have targeted bikie gang members for tax evasion as part of a strategy to disrupt organised crime in Australia.
Ipswich mayor Paul Pisasale has resigned dressed in hospital pyjamas 24 hours after Crime and Corruption Commission detectives searched his council office and home.

A subdued Mr Pisasale stood before reporters at St Andrew's Ipswich Private Hospital to announce he was resigning because of a worsening of his well-known battle with multiple sclerosis.

"It's a very sad day for me and a very emotional day," Mr Pisasale said.

"My journey has been going for 26 years and I am so proud to have been the mayor for such a wonderful city," he said, wearing a white hospital gown and red pyjama pants dotted with white stars.
Former police minister Jo-Ann Miller has emerged as a possible contender for the Ipswich mayoralty following outgoing mayor Paul Pisasale's shock resignation announcement on Tuesday.

Fairfax Media understands Ms Miller, the Labor member for Bundamba, is considering a tilt for the mayoral robes.

But the outspoken critic of Mr Pisasale was tight-lipped when contacted by Fairfax Media on Tuesday afternoon.

Ms Miller said it would be inappropriate to comment on Mr Pisasale's resignation, or the speculation surrounding her own future, while police and CCC investigations into the former mayor were still ongoing.
A man has been jailed for 12 years for a horrifying hour-long rape and assault of a schoolgirl within 100 metres of the 13-year-old's home.

Joshua John James Quell, 29, was sentenced in the Beenleigh District Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to the attack on the girl unknown to him.

Credit:Louie Douvis

The court heard Quell grabbed his victim as she made her way home from school at a Loganlea park, on the afternoon of March 18, 2016.

Within seconds Quell had dragged the girl into nearby bushes where he ripped off her school uniform and began raping her.
Nova's Ash, Kip and Luttsy have leapt back to the top of the Brisbane radio podium for the first time this year, thanks to a major surge in listeners.

The trio, with swim star Susie O'Neill, enjoyed a big bump for the second ratings period in a row as Triple M appeared to lose a chunk of the audience that followed star Robin Bailey across from 97.3FM at the start of the year.

Nova's Ash, Kip and Luttsy, with Susie O'Neill.

HIT 105 also lost a crowd of listeners while ABC Radio Brisbane host Craig Zonca's smaller slide was enough to see him lose top spot.

Nova owned almost 15 per cent of the breakfast market in March and May thanks to that 2-point listener boost, followed by daylight, then ABC with 12.1 per cent and a logjam for third place fought out tightly by HIT, 97.3 and Triple M.
The water warning for 3500 homes north of Brisbane has been lifted, after a valve failure sparked fears the system had been contaminated with dirty water.

Unitywater and Seqwater advised Petrie and Old Petrie Town residents on Monday evening to boil drinking water for the next 24 hours after the incident at the local water treatment plant.

The boil water warning was lifted on Tuesday afternoon for residents in Petrie and Old Petrie Town. Credit:Heath Missen

The mains were continually flushed during Monday night and after continued water quality tests, residents were given the all-clear on Tuesday afternoon just before 4pm, with confirmation that there was no contamination in the drinking water supply.

Unitywater spokesman Rob Dowling thanked affected residents for their patience and reassured them the boil water notice had only been a precaution.
The Queensland government will make a last-ditch appeal to the federal government for Cross River Rail funding ahead of next week's state budget.

Treasurer Curtis Pitt said there were still "opportunities between now and next week, frankly, for the Turnbull government to have a very close look at what they can do".

The $5.4 billion rail project missed out on specific funding in the federal budget, handed down in May.

The Queensland budget was due to be released in one week.
Robots are increasingly assisting people with disabilities and now is the time for developers to turn their ideas into reality, according to a former Young Australian of the Year.

Marita Cheng says the current climate of start-ups and idea-sharing is ideal for those looking to create technologies to assist people with physical and mental disabilities.

In 2013, Ms Cheng founded the Aubot project, which develops robot technology designed to assist people with physical and mental disabilities, including the Teleport telepresence robot.

The Teleport robot is controlled by blinking, and a touch-screen tablet, cameras and a smartphone app allow the robot to interact anywhere there is Wi-Fi.
Three men have been stabbed in northern New South Wales after a fight broke out in a public park on Tuesday afternoon.

Police were called to Knox Park on Brisbane Street in Murwillumbah, about 12 kilometres south of the Queensland border, after reports a fight had broken out just before 12.30pm.

Police established multiple crime scenes as the three male victims were taken to hospital with stab wounds. Credit:Marina Neil/Fairfax Media

It is understood there were three victims, with a New South Wales Ambulance spokesman saying paramedics had treated "significant" injuries at the scene.

One man, estimated to be about 50, was taken to Tweed Heads District Hospital with stab wounds to his chest. Another man, in his late teens, was taken to Gold Coast university Hospital with stab wounds to his chest and shoulder.
Yacqub Khayre walked free from the Supreme Court on December 23, 2010, acquitted of charges relating to a plot to storm Sydney's Holsworthy Barracks and kill as many soldiers as possible.

The man next to him as strolled from Melbourne's court precinct down William Street was also of Somali background, and had also been acquitted. His name was Abdirahman Ahmed.

Abdirahman Ahmed (left) and Yacqub Khayre leave Melbourne's Supreme Court in 2010 after being acquitted of planning an alleged terrorist attack on the Holsworthy army base. Credit:AP

While Khayre would seemingly never shake the grips of radical Islam, drug addiction, mental illness, and crime before dying in a hail of gunfire in Brighton on Monday night, Mr Ahmed says he has had no dealings with police since he was charged as part of Operation Neath.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews is under immense pressure over why Brighton gunman Yacqub Khayre was allowed out in public despite his violent criminal record, with calls for him to resign over the suburban terrorism.

Mr Andrews was drilled by the Opposition in a fiery question time in State Parliament about why Khayre was on parole  the same question raised by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull hours earlier.

Opposition Leader Matthew Guy repeatedly called on Mr Andrews to resign over the deadly siege in Melbourne's bayside.
Victoria's police will get "whatever they need" to take the fight to terrorism in the wake of the deadly Brighton siege, Premier Daniel Andrews has promised.

While questions remain over the attack that left a city reeling, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews issued a statement calling it "modern terrorism" and vowing to step up efforts against extremism.

"Islamic State has claimed responsibility for an attack on our soil," Mr Andrews posted on Facebook on Tuesday evening.

"And while we're not sure yet whether a formal, official link to IS can be proven, we have to ask ourselves whether that really matters.
Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission boss Chris Dawson has thrown his hat into the ring to become the next WA Police Commissioner.

Its understood Mr Dawson, a former WA Police deputy commissioner, is among the applicants for the top job at WA Police.

Chris Dawson, WA's new top cop.

The role of WA Police Commissioner was advertised last month and applicants had until 5pm, May 29th to apply for the role.

WAtoday sent questions to the ACIC asking if Mr Dawson had applied for the role.
Now, according to the ABC, stainless steel pipes at the hospital are corroding within weeks because of a microscopic bacteria in the water system.

Both the previous Liberal National government and new Labor government have been highly critical of John Holland for a litany of problems at the hospital, including the unsolved issue of elevated lead levels in drinking water.

The Perth Children's Hospital has been plagued with issues since its construction began. Credit:Radio 6PR

In April, the source of dangerous lead in drinking water at the still-unopened $1.2 billion hospital was likely a government-owned "ring main" , according to WA's Building Commissioner, contradicting State Government claims that contractor John Holland is to blame.

Some of the pipes have had to be replaced twice already and a Spanish company that supplies parts for the hospital claims the water is responsible for causing the microbial influenced corrosion.

"It's very easy to say that the product is faulty instead of analysing what is going on with the installation," Meritxell Arnedo from the Spanish supplier Isotubi told the ABC.

"Of course sometimes it might be a manufacturing problem but in this case, it is very strange that different pipes, different sizes, different factories, different dates, different raw materials  all of them were faulty," she said.

Ms Arnedo told the ABC other parts at the hospital which used a different water supply had no evidence of corrosion.

"The same pipes with the same batch number, with the same production number, have been installed in other jobs in Australia, have been just checked ... and they are perfect," she said.
An Ethiopian man has been deemed mentally unfit to stand trial in Perth over a stabbing death almost two years ago.

Hafteab Teckle was 29 on August 20, 2015 when he allegedly murdered a 57-year- old man after an argument in Bentley.

Hafteab Teckle recently begun treating his psychotic disorder. Credit:Rohan Thomson

On Tuesday, Supreme Court of WA judge Bruno Fiannaca said Teckle was currently not fit to stand trial as he had a major psychotic disorder, with likely delusional and persecutory-type symptoms.

But he had recently begun treatment and was responding well to medication, Justice Fiannaca said, and there was a prospect he could improve sufficiently to stand trial.
Companies like Ecofiber still have many hoops to jump through before it can supply medicinal cannabis to prescribed patients. Credit:Max Mason-Hubers WA premier Mark McGowan recently urged doctors to register to prescribe medicinal cannabis in WA as none had done so. A cursory glance at what hoops and forms doctors must deal with before being allowed to prescribe medicinal cannabis might explain their apparent "reluctance". Lets get three things clear at the start: Medicinal cannabis is not a cure for all conditions, as some of the more zealous supporters claim. It is also not a dangerous addictive drug as zealous opponents claim. And there is scientific research to support its use. However there is much difficulty doing the necessary trials on an illegal product. Medical Cannabis Research Australia is currently supporting a number of trials.

Cannabis is an old plant prescribed legally for medicinal purposes in Australia until 1938. Canada has nearly 20 years experience prescribing medicinal cannabis and provides a wealth of relevant information for the public and health professionals to digest on its health Canada website. As a historical aside, the situation in Canada came about when its courts ruled the federal government must provide reasonable access to a legal source of cannabis for medicinal purposes. In Australia, our federal government passed legislation to allow the use of medicinal cannabis and the states have also passed supporting legislation. But there is no requirement for the government to provide reasonable access. Realistically all the government needs to do is remove some of the barriers.

Cannabis is an old plant. Before being banned, it was prescribed legally for medicinal purposes until 1936 in the United States and 1938 in Australia. Forerunners to three of today's biggest pharmaceutical companies sold medicinal cannabis products. Taken orally rather than smoked, medicinal cannabis doses (like all medications) are controlled. The ratio of cannabinoids, the medically-active component to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC - the part that gives you the high), is minimised. International experience shows us that people who use it medicinally do not get addicted (as can occur when cannabis is smoked). This is in part because of the low concentration of THC and also because of the oral route of administration, which changes the speed it enters the bloodstream. There are no receptors in the part of the brain, which controls breathing and circulation. Hence it is almost impossible to overdose and kill yourself with oral cannabis by suppressing the breathing centre.

Opiates, which are widely prescribed for pain, can do exactly that and are responsible for more deaths each year than illicit drugs. Medicinal cannabis, in simplest terms, can provide a clinical benefit without making you "high" if administered orally at a set dose. Benefits include relief of chronic pain (especially neuropathic pain), nausea associated with cancer and chemotherapy, some forms of epilepsy and multiple sclerosis. Further research will likely show other benefits, especially in conditions of the nervous system. The world is moving in this direction. Some 30 states in the US (the original home of Nixon's war on drugs) now have legal medicinal cannabis. Six states have gone even further. Other countries with legal medicinal cannabis include South Africa, Chile, Israel, Germany, Italy and Mexico. So how do we introduce medicinal cannabis in Australia? The answer is to treat medicinal cannabis like any other therapeutic agent.

It should be prescribed where there is evidence to support its use. Side effects need to be understood by its users. It needs to be regulated like any other pharmaceutical item and prescribed by doctors, dispensed by pharmacists. This is the standard model... not rocket science! Currently there are many Australians self medicating, illegally, by using inhaled cannabis. They do this because they get a medical benefit. Some of these people are the strongest advocates for medicinal cannabis, whose lobbying to politicians brought us to where we are now on the issue.
In a statement released during the visit to Mali of its foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, the European Union said on Monday its support would help the so-called G5 Sahel countries of Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali and Mauritania establish a regional taskforce.

The vast, arid zone has in recent years become a breeding ground for jihadist groups - some linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State - that European nations, particularly France, fear could threaten Europe if left unchecked.

Dakar: The European Union has committed 50 million euros ($75 million) to help the countries of West Africa's Sahel region set up a multinational force to combat Islamist militant groups.

The region is responsible for a large number of migrants and refugees seeking to travel to Europe, usually via Lybia. Last week more than 40 West African migrants died in the Sahara desert after their truck broke down in arid northern Niger.

"The stability and development of the Sahel region are crucial not only for Africa but also for Europe," Mogherini said in the statement. "We are neighbours and what happens on one of our continents has an impact on the other."

Last year, the Sahel nations proposed establishing special units, each composed of around 100 well-trained soldiers, which would be deployed in areas where jihadist groups are known to operate.

They would complement the efforts of regular armed forces, the UN peacekeeping mission in Mali and France's Operation Barkhane, which has around 4000 troops deployed across the five Sahel countries.

France intervened in 2013 to drive back militants who had seized northern Mali a year earlier. However, militants continue to attack security forces and civilian in Mali and its neighbours.
British police identified Khuram Shazad Butt (left) and Rachid Redouane as two of the London Bridge attackers. Credit:Metropolitan Police Butt, who was wearing an Arsenal shirt under a fake suicide vest during the London Bridge attack, was a British citizen born in Pakistan who lived in Barking, east London. He was married with two children and had worked for a company that manages KFC outlets, for the London Underground and had been the director of a company called Kool Kosmetics. Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott, London mayor Sadiq Khan and Home Secretary Amber Rudd take part in a vigil for the victims of the London Bridge terror attacks in Potters Fields Park. Credit:Getty Images Several people had reported him to the anti-terror hotline in recent years, and neighbours recalled incidents such as his going to a barbecue and declaring it a "no-women zone". Locals said he had been ejected from a mosque in 2015 for arguing with an imam over whether worshippers should vote.

A police file was opened on him in the northern summer of 2015. A woman stands next to floral tributes in the London Bridge area. Credit:AP He was the subject of one of the police's 500 active terror investigations, said the Met's counter-terror head, assistant commissioner Mark Rowley. "All the work done has never provided any evidence or intelligence of attack planning or other serious offences, consequently as time went on prioritisation of that operation moved and was currently in the lower echelons," Mr Rowley said. Metropolitan Police commissioner Cressida Dick and London mayor Sadiq Khan walk near the London Bridge and Borough Market area. Credit:AP

He said he had "seen nothing yet" to suggest that a "poor decision had been made" in relation to the investigation of Butt. On Monday night police identified the second of the two attackers as Rachid Redouane, 30, who had claimed to be Moroccan or Libyan, and also went under a different name  Rachid Elkhdar - with a different date of birth that made him five years younger. British Prime Minister Theresa May has come under pressure over cuts to police funding and numbers on her watch. Credit:Getty Images He was not known to police or security services, police said. He was reported to be a pastry chef from Ireland. "Work is ongoing to understand more about them, their connections and whether they were assisted or supported by anyone else," a Metropolitan Police statement said.

On Tuesday police identifed the third attacker as Youssef Zaghba, an Italian national of Moroccan descent who had been living in east London. They said he was not a police or MI5 subject of interest. However Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera reported on Tuesday that Italian intelligence had reported the man to both Moroccan and British authorities, after arresting him at Bologna airport in March 2016 as he tried to catch a flight to Turkey and then travel to Syria. Mr Rowley urged anyone with information about the men, their movements and locations in the days and hours before the attack to come forward. "The police and our partners are doing everything we can across the country to help prevent further attacks and protect the public from harm," he said.

"At any one time MI5 and police are conducting around 500 active investigations, involving 3000 subjects of interest. Additionally, there are around 20,000 individuals who are former subjects of interest, whose risk remains subject to review by MI5 and its partners. "The security and intelligence services and police have stopped 18 plots since 2013. "In nine weeks we've had five plots foiled and three successful attacks. That is completely different to anything we have seen for a long time  as the prime minister has indicated, we're going to need to do some things differently." His comments came as a debate over police numbers, and the link between cuts in 2015 by then home secretary Theresa May and the rise in terror attacks, became the hot topic of the British general election campaign. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn joined others, including David Cameron's former strategy chief Steve Hilton, in calling for May to resign or be voted out over her record on security.

The UK has 20,000 fewer frontline officers than it did in 2010, a cut that Mrs May has defended as a necessary part of post-financial crisis austerity, justified by falling crime figures. But London mayor Sadiq Khan said he was concerned about whether police had the resources they need, saying London had lost hundreds of millions of pounds from its policing budget, forcing it to close police stations and lose thousands of staff. He said the Conservatives' plans would mean another 400 million ($690 million) cut to the Metropolitan Police budget in the future. "We'd have fewer police officers and all the experts say that one of the ways we counter terrorism is by fantastic policing in the community," he said. So far police have arrested 12 people  seven women and five men  and searched four properties on Sunday and two more on Monday in relation to the London Bridge attack. All those arrested in connection with the attack have been released without charge, police said on Monday night.
Washington: First the Saudis stocked up on weapons; now Qataris are stocking up on food. Welcome to the Middle East, where dictators and monarchs can be relied on to elevate regional rivalries over the bigger picture.

In quick succession on Monday, the Gulf states ganged up on fabulously wealthy but tiny Qatar, as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, with Egypt and Yemen along for the ride, severed all ties with Qatar  in a second stab at their not-so-successful 2014 attempt to coerce Doha to embrace Riyadh's self-protective regional agenda.

In March of that year, the Saudis, the Bahrainis and the UAE accused Qatar of supporting the "terrorist" Muslim Brotherhood and interfering in the affairs of its neighbours, both in its policies and through its role as host to "hostile media" - in other words, the television network al-Jazeera.

This week they have again frozen diplomatic relations, ordering Qatari diplomats to quit their capitals within 48 hours. But this time, they upped the ante  cutting land, air and sea travel from Qatar; and ordering all their citizens to quit Qatar  save for Egypt, which depends on remittances from an estimated 350,000 Egyptian workers in the country.
British police investigating Saturday's attack on London Bridge on Tuesday named the third assailant as Youssef Zaghba, a 22-year-old Italian national of Moroccan descent who was from east London.

Police said Zaghba had not been a subject of interest to police or the domestic spy agency MI5.

However Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera reported on Tuesday that Italian intelligence had reported the man to both Moroccan and British authorities.

The newspaper said he had been arrested at Bologna airport in March 2016 as he tried to catch a flight to Turkey and then travel to Syria. He travelled with a backpack and a one-way ticket, the newspaper said.
WILLEMSTAD/KINGSTON:--- The U.S. Embassy in Kingston, in collaboration with the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship  Caribbean, and Meridian International Center are hosting the Young Leaders of the Americas (YLAI) Regional Workshop on Entrepreneurship, to examine unique challenges and opportunities facing entrepreneurs in the Caribbean, and encourage growth and collaboration outside of the region.

From June 5-6, one hundred young entrepreneurs representing 20 countries from the Caribbean, including Sulin Passial (picture left) from Curacao and Indira Burke (picture right) from Aruba, will convene with senior officials from the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C, U.S. Embassy Kingston, Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship  Caribbean, as well as top entrepreneurs from across the United States for ongoing entrepreneurship training and collaboration and knowledge-sharing.

Sir Richard Branson, Founder of Virgin Group and Branson Centre, will headline the 2-day workshop and discuss how entrepreneurship in the Caribbean can and will move the region forward economically.

Additional workshop highlights include a keynote presentation by American entrepreneur and artist, Chase Jarvis, CEO of CreativeLive; a Forum immersion mini-course led by the global membership association Entrepreneurs Organization; interactive peer skill-building sessions led by attendees; and YLAI Labs - facilitated by Meridian and Atlas Corps. The mission of the YLAI Regional Workshop on Entrepreneurship is to:  Maximize opportunities for entrepreneurial networking and linkages, leveraging diversity in the audience to inspire collaboration and knowledge-sharing;  Examine challenges unique for Caribbean social and business entrepreneurs and strategies for overcoming them;  Explore opportunities for business growth and market expansion around and outside of the Caribbean region; and  Celebrate Caribbean culture.

About the Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative:

The YLAI Professional Fellows Program is an international exchange program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and implemented by Meridian International Center. This dynamic program addresses the opportunity gap for youth, especially women, by providing entrepreneurs and civil society leaders with the training, tools, networks, and resources they need to transform their societies and contribute more fully to economic development and prosperity, security, human rights, and good governance in the hemisphere.
US Coast Guard finds a Dinghy in the surf near Morro Bay along the Central Coast

The dinghy was reported to have oars and a gas can inside, and is around 10 feet in length.

The Coast Guard responded to an unmanned and adrift dinghy near the coast of Montana de Oro State Park on Monday. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach command center received a report at approximately 3:30 p.m, of the unmanned dinghy.

Due to the Memorial Day holiday, Defense sources could not be reached for comment. But we wondered if North Korean operatives used the dinghy to infiltrate California, the most populous US State.

DPRK Special Forces have used Zodiacs (the commercial name for such a rubber raft), to infiltrate South Korea in the past. Memorial Day would present a perfect opportunity with so many US military personnel on leave. The Zodiac could have been launched from a submarine that surfaced before dawn, launched the craft, then quietly resubmerged.

President Donald Trump has indicated that he considers North Korea and its development of nuclear missile technology, to be the biggest threat to the US. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un apparently regards the United States, and the potential of a US invasion, as the biggest threat to his regime, which in turn causes the DPRK to develop advanced nuclear weapons. The Chinese have noted the tensions are at an historic high on the Korean Peninsula.

A 47-foot Motor Life Boat crew from Coast Guard Station Morro Bay and an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Forward Operating Base Point Mugu conducted several search patterns in the area looking for any possible missing persons. The dinghy was reported to have oars and a gas can inside, and is around 10 feet in length.

USCG Detail of the propellor

"Incidents have occurred where several agencies and assets are responding to adrift or unsecured personal watercraft, and these accidents can impede response and search capabilities to mariners in need of actual assistance," said the Coast Guard in a press release, which did not specify North Korea as the suspected source of the abandoned dinghy.

"Due to these incidents the Coast Guard advises mariners to exercise caution when inclement weather is forecasted and to ensure personal vessels are properly secured at all times. Anyone with information that may help locate the owners of the dinghy are asked to contact the Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach command center at (310) 521-3801," continued the Coast Guard's Los Angeles area command.
Savonix Raises $5.1 Million to Modernize Neurocognitive Testing and Transform Patient Care

SAN FRANCISCO, CA  (Marketwired)  06/06/17  , the company that has revolutionized , today announced a $5.1 million Series A funding round, led by DigiTx Partners with participation from Rethink Impact, bringing the companys total financing to $6.6 million. Savonixs Series A funding round demonstrates the markets appetite for a digital technology-driven approach to cognitive testing. Savonix will use the funds to scale its business to global markets including Japan and China, develop additional partnerships with leading medical organizations and invest in a world-class data science and product team.

Dr. David Kim, CEO at DigiTx Partners, and Heidi Patel, Partner at Rethink Impact, will join the Savonix Board of Directors, which currently includes serial entrepreneur Penny Herscher, Bandel Carano of Oak Investment Partners and Savonix founder and CEO Dr. Mylea Charvat.

We firmly believe that Savonix is poised to transform how the medical community will use mobile platforms and technology to generate critical insights into the cognitive status of each individual. DigiTx seeks to partner with innovative companies building novel solutions that address critical problems and inefficiencies in healthcare and life sciences through the use of technology and meaningful data, said Dr. David Kim, CEO at DigiTx. Savonixs comprehensive brain evaluation platform improves cognitive testing and overcomes the financial and time burdens of pen and paper methodologies. Their platform elegantly provides valuable insights into how high fidelity assessments can identify and monitor neurocognitive diseases. We look forward to collaborating with Dr. Charvat and her exceptional team to deliver this technology for broad applications and support their rapid commercial growth trajectory.

Savonix Mobile, the companys flagship mobile platform, is a cost-effective cognitive assessment that offers healthcare providers, payers and patients a comprehensive view into critical domains of cognitive function. With Savonix Mobile, clinicians are able to assess, track and understand a patients cognitive health and use that data to build better treatment plans based on an individuals specific needs. This approach dramatically reduces patient time and monetary investments, eliminating the risk of missing or incorrect data and improving the overall health of patients.

We designed Savonix to eliminate the high cost and time investments of traditional cognitive tests, enabling medical professionals to not only reach a broader population set for both treatment and clinical trials, but also to gain valuable insights into the role of cognition in a wide variety of diseases and disorders, said Dr. Charvat. With Savonix Mobile, we provide evidence-based digital cognitive assessment that dramatically accelerates our understanding of health and disease, eliminates many barriers to entry for underrepresented populations and positively impacts the lives of individuals and the organizations who serve them.

Founded in 2015 and led by former Stanford medical professionals, Savonix set out to modernize 80-year-old standards, delivery and cost structures for cognitive tests, which are a proven predictor of outcomes in disorders as varied as chronic pain, Alzheimers Disease, depression, Diabetes, ADHD and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

After experiencing first hand the challenges posed by outdated cognitive tests, our team understands the critical nature of our work and are passionate about making it easier for everyone to receive the testing and information they need to lead healthier lives, said Dr. Charvat. This latest round of funding validates our mission and business model. We look forward to expanding our reach across the United States and around the world.

We are thrilled to invest in Savonix as it uses its core technology to tackle a massive social issue Savonixs radical new approach to cognitive assessment will help bring down cost and accessibility barriers and transform the way we treat pervasive conditions that have a disproportionate impact on our most vulnerable communities, said Patel. Research has shown that female entrepreneurs are creating faster growing and higher performing businesses, yet they receive less than three percent of all venture funding. We are thrilled to be in partnership with Dr. Charvat as she continues to invest in a gender balanced leadership team and bridges this capital gap on her way to building a business that will have tremendous impact at a global scale.

In addition to its Series A funding, Savonix several new key partnerships and platform advancements in a separate press release this morning, including WiFi optimization and transferring of its infrastructure from AWS to Microsoft Azure to ensure enterprise class delivery of its modern neurocognitive assessment technology.

For more information and a demonstration of how Savonix is redefining cognitive assessment, please visit .

Savonix delivers the worlds first fully mobile, evidence-based assessment of cognitive function. Available on Android and iOS for phone and tablet, Savonix Mobile is an accurate, accessible and affordable tool for professional cognitive screening. It empowers healthcare providers, payers and researchers to evaluate and leverage results to improve health and treatment outcomes. Led by clinical psychologists, neuroscientists and IT leaders, the company aims to establish the global authority on cognition and its relationship to risk, outcomes and the development of innovative therapies. Savonix evidence-based tests are digital versions of the gold standard cognition tests, many of which neuropsychologists have used effectively since the 1930s. For more information, visit and follow @savonixinc on Twitter.

Shannon Magill

Bhava Communications for Savonix
Cato Networks Named a Cool Vendor by Gartner in Security for Midsize Enterprises

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL  (Marketwired)  06/06/17  , a provider of , today announced that it has been named a Cool Vendor in the Gartner  report.

In the Cool Vendors report, Gartner analysts Neil Wynne, Adam Hils, Saniye Burcu Alaybeyi and Tricia Phillips note that Emerging vendors are disrupting security markets and successfully competing with established mainstream vendors that have not been able to engage directly with midsize enterprises (MSEs) or provide affordable products that can scale to their needs.

The report suggests that IT leaders in MSEs responsible for security and risk management should Favor the selection of a product, when all else is equal, with a low total cost of ownership (TCO) that can be implemented, managed and supported with minimal IT resources.

The is a fully converged and . It integrates , , , , and secure, global into a single, cloud service. With Cato, IT professionals eliminate branch office appliances and their associated costs and complexity by leveraging the cloud and replace high MPLS costs with an affordable, SLA-backed backbone. Catos agile, unified security platform strengthens enterprise security posture, rapidly adapting to emerging threats.

Cato offers a totally new way to cut the cost and complexity of legacy, on-premise networking and security solutions by delivering them as a holistic and scalable cloud service, says Shlomo Kramer, co-founder and CEO of Cato Networks. We aim to strengthen customer security posture and streamline global connectivity with an agile, secure SD-WAN platform. Cato is paving the way for a leaner IT with a new, scalable and simplified networking and security platform for enterprises of all sizes.

Last month, Cato announced the selection of Cato Networks co-founder and CTO Gur Shatz as a speaker at the conference in London. Speakers at InfoSec are chosen by an expert panel and only then after submitting a detailed proposal of their intended talk.

During the session, titled Hybrid Cloud Secure Network Integration: Tips and Techniques, Mr. Shatz explained to an overflow crowd the challenges of building a hybrid cloud and how to solve them, tapping his experience from architecting the Cato Cloud. More information about the talk can be found .

Catos WAN survey paints a picture of cautious optimism for SD-WANs. The research found that the market is poised for 200% growth over the next 12 months. At the same time, SD-WAN adoption is also expected to increase operational costs in part due to the additional network security needed for direct internet access at remote locations. The full results of Catos WAN survey, The Future of SD-WAN: Peril or Promise? can be found .

To learn more about Catos integrated networking and security solution, visit our booth, M100, at the InfoSec show or online .

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartners research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Cato Networks provides organizations with a software-defined and cloud-based secure enterprise network. Cato delivers an integrated networking and security platform that securely connects all enterprise locations, people and data. The Cato Cloud reduces MPLS connectivity costs, eliminates branch appliances, provides direct, secure Internet access everywhere, and seamlessly integrates mobile users and cloud infrastructures into the enterprise network. Based in Tel Aviv, Israel, Cato Networks was founded in 2015 by cybersecurity luminary Shlomo Kramer, who previously cofounded Check Point Software Technologies and Imperva, and Gur Shatz, who previously cofounded Incapsula. For more information, visit and Twitter: @CatoNetworks.

Contact (media only):

Nick Sneath
No mandate for austerity France

Widespread relief greeted the far-rights defeat in Frances presidential elections. The winner, Emmanuel Macron, however, promises to continue the harsh neoliberal policies he implemented in the previous administration. A mass movement is growing to resist this plan  and the huge support for Jean-Luc Melenchon in the presidentials reflects the potential to build a socialist alternative. LEILA MESSAOUDI, from Gauche Revolutionnaire (CWI in France), reports.

The presidential election in France demonstrated a historic rejection of traditional establishment parties. In the first round, the ruling Parti Socialiste of former president Francois Hollande was wiped out. As was the corrupt right-wing candidate, Francois Fillon, of Nicolas Sarkozys Les Republicains. And the strength of the anger in society was clearly expressed in the seven million votes for Jean-Luc Melenchon and his programme of a complete break with austerity and the worsening conditions of life and work. This vote was not enough, however, to block the road to the Front National (FN) with its new look under Marine Le Pen. She was able to get into the second round and run against the ruling classs nominee, Emmanuel Macron.

In the end, Macron was elected with 65.8%. It might be thought that the capitalists have now got their willing puppet in power and that he will pursue and step up their policies of austerity and repression against workers, youth, the unemployed and foreigners. But this is by no means guaranteed! Blank or invalid ballot papers made up 12% of all the votes in the second round  a record. It has forced the media to publicise the number of blank votes cast which is not usually announced. If we add abstentions, which were at a huge 25%, then 16 million of the 47 million registered voters (out of 52 million adults in France) did not choose between Le Pen and Macron.

This is a clear sign that Macron has a very weak base to govern from and that the months and years ahead will be very unstable. Behind the percentages, the reality is even less glorious. Macron received 20.4 million votes and Le Pen 10.6 million. In fact, despite the threat of Le Pen coming to power, Macron collected only 43.6% from the total number of registered voters. And surveys at the polling stations on Sunday 7 May confirmed it: 43% of those who voted for Macron did so to block the road to Le Pen; only 16% did so because they supported his programme.

Macron v workers and youth

Macron has a mission: to pursue and intensify the policies carried out by Sarkozy and Hollande for 15 years against public services, to facilitate redundancies and to make the labour market more flexible. He has already announced that he wants to eliminate 120,000 public service jobs over five years. And he will use the arsenal of anti-democratic procedures enshrined in the constitution of Frances fifth republic to pass laws which are vital for the capitalists, just as Manuel Valls did in his time as Hollandes right-hand man. Macron wants to govern by decree, to side-step parliament and discussions on projected laws. The first one, for June or July, is already on its way: to implement more anti-worker changes to the countrys labour law. That is to be followed by decrees on unemployment pay, social security, etc.

Opposition to such policies is massive and was demonstrated during the election period. But this anger and opposition must find a social and political expression that champions the interests of workers, young people and the majority of the population. For there is a risk that the FN will increasingly seek to capitalise on the opposition to the bosses and divert it into the wrong channels using racism and other kinds of discrimination.

Instability for the ruling classes is at a high level. It is now time to go onto the streets, to make it clear that we are rejecting these thoroughly anti-social policies. The leadership of the trade union federations cannot remain silent when the ten-fold changes to the labour law are announced  opposition to the El Khomri law on increased job flexibility brought millions of people onto the streets less than a year ago. We must organise and show our collective strength without waiting until the end of June.

For Le Pen and the FN the election campaign was not that simple. They hoped to surf the widespread discontent and were expected to be given the biggest vote from the first round. However, Melenchons campaign ate deeply into Le Pens support. She succeeded in getting 10.6 million votes in the second round, or 3.5 million more votes between the two rounds, probably among the most reactionary on the right who had voted for Fillon and for the chauvinist Nicolas Dupont-Aignan (who got 1.7 million votes in the first round). There were certainly also some votes from those who understandably wanted to defeat the banker Macron by voting (erroneously) for Le Pen. Despite her populist rhetoric, Le Pen is a far-right capitalist politician, a dangerous enemy of the working and middle classes.

Now she wants to try to transform her party completely. On 7 May Marine Le Pen announced her project: the creation of a new party in the coming months to bring together the people who oppose Macrons policy. But this has already created opposition within the FN itself, especially among the supporters of her niece Marion Marechal-Le Pen, who look unfavourably on a rapprochement with certain sectors of the classic right. The challenge for the FN is to capitalise on the anger that has built up but also to allow its leaders to build their own careers. The tensions will be multiplied, especially when the real opposition to Macron  that of workers and young people  will be based on demands which contradict those of the Front National (by whatever name it becomes known).

2017 legislative elections

The next parliamentary elections take place on 11 and 18 June to choose members of the national assembly. It is clear that they will, in fact, be the third and fourth rounds  an extension of the presidential elections  during which this anger and the will to fight back will express themselves. More than ever, it is necessary for workers, young people and those who live in the poorer areas of France to have an independent political expression to confront the parties which are running capitalism: Macrons movement around the presidentials, En Marche! (renamed La Republique en Marche), the disintegrating Parti Socialiste, and the EELV (Ecologists  who are seeking an alliance with Macrons party), Les Republicains, and the FN.

In relation to Melenchons campaign, candidates are needed who stand for a break with austerity policies. We can no longer accept agreements with parties that carry them out, such as the PS or some of EELV. Candidates are needed who fight against redundancies such as those at Whirlpool or Tati, who fight against the dismantling of public services, against the destruction of the environment, for increases in wages and pensions, reductions of working time, and increases in jobs. Candidates who are totally different from the corrupt and careerist ones of En Marche, the Republicans, the PS or FN, would show it by accepting only the average salary of a skilled worker.

Gauche Revolutionnaire (CWI in France) is in favour of having just one candidate per constituency around this programme. It should be possible to campaign for the same candidate, whether from Melenchons La France Insoumise (FI  France Unbowed) or from the Parti Communiste Francais (PCF), while maintaining their own freedom of expression if so desired. An agreement should be reached, if not for a joint campaign, at least for the distribution of constituencies. This is crucial. Unfortunately, it seems that the PCF is demanding to have the main candidates in an overwhelming majority of constituencies and to leave to the FI only those places where Melenchons score was weaker in the presidential election. If that is the case, no agreement will be possible other than that which the FI has already proposed  to work out 26 constituencies that are winnable for the PCF and 26 for the FI in which there will be no confrontation between the two.

Time to create a fighting left!

Faced with the policies being pursued on behalf of the bosses, the real left has a great responsibility and cannot relinquish the territory to the FN. We must follow up on the momentum triggered by the campaign around Melenchon in the first round of the presidential election. The Melenchon vote brought hope to ordinary people and a progressive programme that takes on those who are really responsible for the crisis: the super-rich, the banks, the big shareholders.

Melenchon was close to overtaking Le Pen on 23 April to the great alarm of the media in the service of capitalism  nine billionaires own 90% of the media in France. The unbridled offensive of the journalists and the ruling classes against Melenchon, even going so far as to liken him to Stalin, betrayed their fear that the masses would seize on his economic and social programme and seek to put it into practice. On the night after the first round results, some were rejoicing at having avoided a second round of Melenchon/Le Pen or Melenchon/Macron which would have been very close!

We have to create a new mass political force capable of organising anger and resistance around an economic and social programme that identifies those who are really to blame: the capitalists and their representatives. Hundreds of thousands of Melenchon voters want to carry on fighting on his programme. What was lacking in the final two weeks of the campaign was having a more structured FI organisation, more capable of taking root as a militant and combative movement against the pro-capitalist candidates.

It is urgent to move in this direction because the legislative elections will demand organisation and, above all, the electoral campaign will already be an opportunity to prevent Macron from getting a majority in the national assembly. It is a means of building mass struggle against his policies, which will involve demonstrations and days of strike action.

We are in favour of such a mass political force of struggle: a new, really democratic party which brings together workers, young people and all those who have had enough of capitalism. For this there is only one solution. We must fight to put an end to the capitalist dictatorship by removing the means of production from the capitalists and placing the major sectors of the economy in public ownership under the control and management of elected representatives of the people.

A new force can be built with mass mobilisations and discussion of an anti-austerity programme, but also by defending democratic socialism against capitalism and its dictatorship of profit. With Melenchons first round score and the France Insoumise campaign, a big step has been taken in this direction. We can say that from now on the capitalists have a real opposition to face and that it will grow and build its strength. This is how Gauche Revolutionnaire will continue to fight in the period to come!
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Chesterfield Townships appointed incumbent supervisor will serve out the remainder of a partial term following the Nov. 8 general election. Brad Kersten, a Republican, defeated his Democratic challenger, John P. Spica, with roughly 60% of the vote in Chesterfield Township. Id like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who supported my campaign, came out to the various events,...
What does a 'Strengthen Our Schools' win mean for Penn-Harris-Madison?

One of three candidates backed by a conservative-leaning group has flipped a seat on the Penn-Harris-Madison school board. Here's what we know.
An 18-year-old man is jailed in Helena on suspicion of sexually assaulting three girls, ages 3, 5 and 17.

James Blake Conn, who lists a Missoula address, is accused of forcing the two youngest girls to perform oral sex on him while he babysat them at a Helena home. Court documents say the sexual assaults happened from August 2016 to March 2017.

Detectives learned of another potential sexual assault while investigating those allegations. A 17-year-old girl told officers Conn had sex with her without her consent after she fell asleep on a couch at a small house party in Helena in August 2015.

Conn was arrested Friday on three felony charges of sexual intercourse without consent  one count per alleged victim.
Georgetown, SC (29440)

Today

Thunderstorms. High 71F. Winds E at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms. Potential for heavy rainfall. Low 68F. Winds SE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
While both SpaceX and Boeing are making progress with their Dragon v2 (left) and CST-100 Starliner spacecraft in terms of improving their safety, both are facing challenges to meet a specific safety threshold in their contracts.

WASHINGTON  The two companies developing commercial crew vehicles for NASA may not be able to meet a safety threshold specified in their contracts, an agency safety panel found.

At a meeting May 25 of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, members said Boeing and SpaceX were making good progress in improving the safety of their vehicles in advance of test flights scheduled to begin within the next year, but have yet to achieve a key requirement in their Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contracts.

That requirement is known as loss of crew (LOC), a measure of the probability of death or permanent disability of one or more people on a spacecraft during a mission. The CCtCap contracts included a requirement that the spacecraft have a LOC of 1 in 270 or better. The shuttle program, by comparison, had a LOC of 1 in 90 at the time of the program's retirement in 2011.

"The number one safety-related concern for the program is the current situation with respect to the estimate of loss of crew," Donald McErlean, a former engineering fellow at L-3 Communications and a member of the panel, said at the meeting. "The threshold values were considered to be challenging, and both contractors currently have a challenge to meet that precise number."

McErlean didn't identify specific issues the companies were facing in their efforts to meet that LOC threshold. One factor, though, he said, is how the companies and NASA calculate the risk to the spacecraft from orbital debris and micrometeoroids while in orbit.

"The numbers themselves depend very heavily on the model of orbital debris that one utilizes to develop the risk to the system," he said. "That is a driving factor in determining the potential for loss of crew." Those models, he said, "have been validated to some degree, but they are not perfect."

That assessment matches a February report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, which also warned that the companies could face problems reaching that LOC requirement. It cited the orbital debris and micrometeoroid environment of low Earth orbit as one of the main safety risks for the program.

If either or both companies can't meet the LOC requirement with the spacecraft, NASA may have to issue waivers for that requirement. "That remains a risk to the program that will have to be addressed, in all likelihood, by a risk acceptance waiver," McErlean said.

"It may be necessary to do a formal risk acceptance of the variance from the stipulated goal," he said later in the meeting. "We would remind NASA that that risk acceptance, including a complete presentation of the alternatives and the consequences, should be made formally, and that risk acceptance signed off by appropriate authorities."

Despite the concern about the potential risk of not meeting the LOC requirement, McErlean praised the companies for working to improve the safety of their vehicles, in part because of the motivation to try and reach that safety threshold placed in the CCtCap contract.

"We are very pleased to report that those requirements did drive systemic behavior on the part of both contractors," he said. "They have expended considerable time and energy in making their systems considerably safer than they might have been without such an incentive, and they have achieved considerable progress from the first time the estimates were made."

He also warned against placing too much emphasis on the LOC metric alone. "One has to be judicious in how one applies these statistical estimates," he said. "One has to look at whether or not the contractors have expended the necessary effort and engineering activity to make the system as safe as they conceivably can and still perform the mission."

He added that he was "very positive" both companies were doing so. "There was no known or indicated area where with, by spending even a small amount of money, the contractor could have made their systems considerably safer."

Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA associate administrator for human exploration and operations, has also warned against focusing too much on the LOC statistic alone in weighing risks of flying crewed spacecraft.

"Blindly striving to achieve a statistical loss of crew number may drive you to design a system that is less safe," he said in a February speech at a Federal Aviation Administration commercial space transportation conference here. That sounded counterintuitive, he acknowledged, but noted measures that can, on paper, reduce the LOC figure, like the addition of redundant systems, can increase a vehicle's complexity and result in unforeseen failure modes.

The use of LOC is good when comparing the relative safety of different designs in the same model. "But it's not a very good tool for determining absolute risk," Gerstenmaier. "That really misleads, sometimes, our overall design decisions."

"I really don't have a better method than to use this as a absolute measure of safety," he said of LOC. "We just need to be careful when we discuss these numbers."

This story was provided by SpaceNews, dedicated to covering all aspects of the space industry.
Companies planning non-traditional space activities, like lunar landers, argued at a hearing against seeking changes to the Outer Space Treaty. Shown here, an artist's concept of the private MX-1 lunar lander by Moon Express.

WASHINGTON  Commercial space companies and space law experts recommended against any changes in the Outer Space Treaty at a recent hearing, arguing regulatory issues can be better addressed through laws and regulations.

The May 23 hearing of the Senate Commerce Committee's space subcommittee examined whether the 50-year-old treaty, widely considered the foundation of international space law, should be updated to reflect growing commercial space activities, and the potential for conflicts they may generate.

"As activities in space increase, they will undoubtedly pose new challenges as countries and companies compete for resources throughout the universe," said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), chairman of the subcommittee, in his opening remarks. "It's incumbent on Congress to use this 50-year anniversary of the Outer Space Treaty to properly determine our actual international obligations."

Cruz has previously suggested that elements of the treaty need to be updated to address that growing commercial use of space. However, witnesses argued that the treaty is not "self-executing"  that is, its provisions are not binding without federal laws to implement them  and that any regulatory gaps can be addressed without changing the treaty itself.

Treaty obligations "are very minimally burdensome, and quite flexible in how they can be interpreted," said Matthew Schaefer, co-director of the space, cyber and telecommunications law program at the University of Nebraska College of Law, in testimony at the hearing. "It's a basic set of principles and minimally burdensome rules, which, by the way, help advantage U.S. companies as well."

Much of the concern about the Outer Space Treaty has been with its Article 6, which states that countries should provide "authorization and continuing supervision" of activities of non-governmental entities, like companies. While that is done in the United States through licensing of launches and some kinds of satellites, there is no clear mechanism for doing so for "non-traditional" activities, from satellite servicing to commercial lunar landers.

Some claimed that the treaty language doesn't automatically require any regulation. "A close reading of the text shows that the treaty actually allows a lighter regulatory hand than many claim," said Laura Montgomery, a lawyer in private practice who previously worked for the Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Commercial Space Transportation, arguing that the treaty did not mean commercial activities were prohibited unless regulated by the government.

James Dunstan, founder of the Mobius Legal Group, called for a "sensible and non-burdensome" regulatory system for commercial space activities that would, he said, provide global leadership. "There is also nothing to be gained right now from reopening the current treaty regime," he said. "Doing so now would allow countries that are not friendly to the United States or American capitalism to layer on costly regulatory burdens that the United States would have to reject."

That desire not to tinker with the Outer Space Treaty was shared by a separate panel of witnesses, many representing companies planning space activities that could fall into that regulatory gap.

"We support a process that focuses on streamlining the regulatory framework," said Bob Richards, chief executive of Moon Express. That company received an approval last year for its first lunar lander mission, scheduled to launch by the end of this year. However, he noted that approval was a one-time-only application of existing FAA payload review processes and that a more formal system for approving similar missions in the future is needed, one that does not require changing the treaty.

"While the Outer Space Treaty may appear antiquated, in some ways it is a remarkably visionary document with profound principles that have served the world well for decades," he said. "I believe time and energy is better spent continuing to interpret the Outer Space Treaty in favor of international collaboration without constraining the rights, the benefits and the freedoms of U.S. commercial enterprise."

Peter Marquez, vice president of global engagement for asteroid mining company Planetary Resources, cited as an argument for retaining the treaty the 2015 Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act. That law grants U.S. companies rights to resources they extract from asteroids or other celestial bodies, but does not grant companies property rights to the asteroids themselves, which would be in violation of the treaty.

"None of this is to say that the treaty is perfect, or that it is complete, or that Congress' work is complete," he said. "We're concerned, however, that opening up the treaty will leave our industry worse off and will overall be to the detriment of national and international security."

Mike Gold, vice president of Washington operations for Space Systems Loral, said that Congress could address any concerns about compliance with Article 6 of the treaty by directing the FAA to develop an "enhanced payload review" process modeled on its existing payload review system. His company is working for NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency on satellite servicing projects, whose oversight is also uncertain under current law.

Some sort of regulation is needed for satellite servicing, argued Pam Melroy, who recently completed a four-year tenure as deputy director of DARPA's Tactical Technology Office. "I think commercial satellite servicing must have some form of scrutiny by the federal government to protect the sustainability and the safety of the space environment," she said. She warned, though, not to make the approval process too complex or else "the initiative will simply go to other countries."

Gold said that even if that concern is addressed, there are still sections of the treaty that are "vague or challenging" for private sector operators. "Despite these challenges, it would be ill-advised for the U.S. to withdraw from the treaty or open it up to revisions," he said. "If the U.S. pulled out of the treaty, it would create confusion and uncertainty, hindering new commercial developments as well as established private sector space activities."

At the end of the hearing, Cruz didn't indicate if the arguments had swayed his thinking. He has previously suggested he would be open to changes in the treaty to support commercial space activities, but has not disclosed specific changed he'd like to see.

"It is the intention of this committee to go forward with legislation seeking to create a system that incentivizes the investment and maximizes the potential for exploration of space," he said, adding this was the second in a "multi-part" series of hearings on the issue.

This story was provided by SpaceNews, dedicated to covering all aspects of the space industry.
If an emergency medical situation arises during a crewed trip to Mars, odds are that the astronauts helping out will have little medical training. Making things even more challenging, the astronauts will be far from home working only with the limited supplies on board  a task that would be difficult for even experienced doctors.

Astronauts could potentially break bones, develop blood clots, or find themselves dealing with other unexpected medical situations. Such scenarios have occurred in isolated environments, as when physician Jerri Nielsen found herself treating her own breast cancer after identifying a lump in her breast during winter at the South Poles scientific station in 1999. Before she could be airlifted to other medical care, she worked with a welder to perform a biopsy at the station and managed her own hormone and chemotherapy injections by conferencing with doctors in the US.

Astronauts dealing with a medical emergency in space would have to display similar resourcefulness.

"During these long duration flights, the estimated risk of severe medical and surgical events, as well as the risk of loss of crew life are significant." said Matthieu Komorowski, a consultant in intensive care and anesthesia at Londons Charing Cross Hospital, in a statement. "The exposure to the space environment itself disturbs most physiological systems and can precipitate the onset of space-specific illnesses, such as cardiovascular deconditioning, acute radiation syndrome, hypobaric decompression sickness and osteoporotic fractures."

For example, the microgravity environment of space tends to weaken bones over time, leading to osteoporotic fractures. Astronauts are also exposed to radiation and at risk for decompression sickness, given that they depend on a pressurized environment.

RELATED: Risky Business: NASA Experts Discuss Threats Faced by Space Travelers

Komorowski has direct experience working in isolated environments. In 2014, he served as the on-site doctor for a two-week mission to the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), a Mars Society facility in Utah where mock astronaut teams simulate procedures and experiments for the Red Planet. (Komorowski and I were crewmates on the project.)

Komorowski did a medical study on site where untrained crew members were taught to insert tubes in a mannequin, simulating a common medical procedure. A study based in part on this work was published in 2014 in Extreme Physiology & Medicine.

It's possible that on such a long voyage to Mars, even the doctor could get ill on the trip. Komorowski advocates for a few ways to deal with such a situation.

The first is to have duplicated skills among the crew, which means requiring that everyone have at least basic medical training. The second  although less accessible on a trip to Mars  would be telemedicine. Given the minutes-long time lag between Earth and Mars communications, there would be little opportunity for a conference call in an emergency.

There also are preventative steps that can be taken, such as having on-demand 3D printing of medical equipment, or matching crew members by blood type  an easier solution for transfusions, since the right blood type would be available for everyone.

Komorowski also cautioned that in some cases it may be best not to make an attempted medical intervention, especially if a lot of consumables would be used on a medical procedure where the person is not likely to survive.

"During future space exploration missions, the crew must prepare for non-survivable illnesses or injuries that will exceed their limited treatment capability," he said.

RELATED: NASA's GPS-Like Deep Space Navigation Experiment Set to Launch on SpaceX Rocket

Even common procedures, such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), may require a rethink in space. After all, you can't use your body weight in microgravity, and there are restrictions on how much medical equipment you can take on board.

After testing CPR techniques aboard aircraft and underwater space simulators, a team led by Jochen Hinkelbein suggests that the "hand-stand technique" is the most effective method for CPR in space. Alternatively, especially in a microgravity environment, wrapping the legs around the patient (called the Evetts-Russomano method) while performing compressions will stop them from floating away.

"Since astronauts are selected carefully, are usually young, and are intensively observed before and during their training, relevant medical problems are, fortunately, rare in space," said Hinkelbein, executive senior physician of anesthesiology and intensive care at the University Hospital of Cologne in Germany, in a statement.

"However, in the context of future long-term missions, for example to Mars, with durations of several years, the risk for severe medical problems is significantly higher," added Hinkelbein, who is also president of the German Society for Aerospace Medicine. "Therefore, there is also a substantial risk for a cardiac arrest in space requiring CPR."

Emergency medicine in space was recently discussed at this year's Euroanaesthesia congress, which was held in Geneva, Switzerland, from June 3 to June 5.

Originally pubished on Seeker.
A partially 3D-printed motor created by an engineering team at Carleton University in Ottawa. The team is trying to make self-replicating 3D printers from materials that can be found on the moon.

A 3D printer that could re-create itself from lunar material is in development at a university in Canada.

The technology could one day enable humans to 3D-print lunar bases, as well as conduct in-space manufacturing of satellites and solar shields on the moon that could help fight global warming, according to Alex Ellery, an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Carleton University in Ottawa, who is leading the project.

"I believe that self-replicating machines will be transformative for space exploration because it effectively bypasses launch costs," Ellery told Space.com. [How Moon Bases and Lunar Colonies Work (Infographic)]

The engineer envisions a single 3D printer could be delivered to the moon, where it would make thousands of its copies from surrounding lunar material. Once there would be enough 3D printers, the self-replicating factory would focus on building all other equipment and infrastructure needed for human exploration.

Ellery said he and his colleagues are close to being able to 3D-print a fully functioning electric motor from material similar to what can be sourced on the moon. Although some commercially available 3D printers can reprint some of their own parts, none of those printers can produce motors and electronics, according to Ellery.

An early attempt to 3D-print wires made of aluminium alloy on silicone plastic substrate. The 3D-printer prototype is being developed at Carleton University. (Image credit: Alex Ellery)

"Our starting point is the RepRap 3D printer, which can print many of its own plastic parts," Ellery told Space.com, referring to the open-source device originally developed by the University of Bath in the United Kingdom. "In order to fully self-replicate itself, it needs to print its metal bars, its electric motors, its electronics and software, and self-assemble."

Ellery and his team, who described the project in an article published in the Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets last year, are using a mixture of a plastic material and iron filings to 3D-print two parts of the motor, the stator and the rotor.

"We need to maximize magnetic threading through the rotor, which requires more iron, but minimize eddy currents in the stator, which requires less iron," Ellery said. "So we have been varying the amount of iron in the plastic matrix."

Ellery said that elements needed for creating a similar mixture could be extracted from the lunar regolith. The lunar 3D-printer, fitted with a robotic arm, would scoop up the regolith and heat it to about 1,650 degrees Fahrenheit (900 degrees Celsius) using a so-called frensel lens to focus sunlight into a beam. The process would first remove volatile gases from the lunar soil. Subsequently, a component called ilmenite would be separated and used for extraction of iron, according to Ellery.

"Although we are using [polylactic acid] plastic [to 3D-print components], I envisage replacing this with silicone plastic  this can be manufactured from lunar volatile carbon compounds and lunar water," Ellery explained.

As a next step toward 3D-printing the motor, the researchers are aiming to replace the motor's wire coils with aluminum coils printed onto a polylactic acid plastic substrate (the latter is a common material used for 3D printing). On the moon, the aluminum would be replaced with fernico (iron-nickel-cobalt alloy) and the plastic would be replaced with a ceramic substrate made from melted lunar soil.

The magnetic field produced by the aluminum coils printed on the plastic substrate is "actually quite weak, so we are trying figure out ways to add more layers to increase the amount of current that goes through them," Ellery said. "But eventually, what we will do is that we will integrate that into the motor so that will give us a complete core, which is 3D-printed."

Ellery believes that he will have a fully functioning 3D-printed motor in a few months. The other prerequisite for a fully self-replicating machine  the electronics  is a problem that will probably take much longer to solve, he said.

This small motor was made using some 3D-printed parts. Researchers at Carleton University are working to make the entire motor 3D-printable. Credit: Alex Ellery via GIPHY

"We have looked at vacuum tubes because trying to create solid-state electronics would be virtually impossible on the moon," Ellery said. "If you use vacuum tubes, the only materials you need are nickel, tungsten, glass, essentially, and Kovar, all of which you can make on the moon."

Ellery says that the self-replicating machine would use a neural network  a computing system modeled after the human brain  because it would be smaller and easier to 3D-print than a typical computing system. The Carleton team has built a trial neural network and used it to control a small rover.

"Once motors and electronic controllers can be 3D-printed, we can print any kind of robot, including a 3D printer, as well as milling machines, drills, lathes, excavating machines and so on," Ellery said. "If you have a robotic self-replicating machine, you can grow an enormous manufacturing infrastructure on the moon robotically."

Such a machine could build habitats for astronauts before they arrive at a deep- space location. It could also be used to cheaply enable space-based solar power, in which satellites equipped with solar panels turn sunlight into energy, and send that energy down to Earth. Humans could also build space shields to protect the Earth against solar radiation, which could further combat the planet's warming trend Ellery said.

Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
Actor William Shatner, best known for his role as Capt. James T. Kirk on Star Trek, speaks to attendees at the annual GEOINT Symposium, June 5, 2017.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas  Captain James T. Kirk himself, actor William Shatner, visited the opening ceremonies of the annual GEOINT Symposium Monday.

The Star Trek actor said he's trying to create a new TV program to focus on young professionals at NASA, at the moment called "The Young Guns of NASA."

Shatner said he wants to find out what "young scientists who are involved in planning new things at NASA, JPL" are curious about, and where they feel space efforts should be invested. ['Star Trek' & NASA: Where Science Fiction Meets Fact]

Sci-fi celebrity William Shatner meets GEOINT celebrity Robert Cardillo, director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, at the annual GEOINT Symposium, June 5, 2017. (Image credit: USGIF)

"What significant thing should our science or this country do? Where should we apply this intelligence and this American know-how?" Shatner said. "These young minds [are] coming to bear on problems that old people may not have thought of."

This story was provided by SpaceNews, dedicated to covering all aspects of the space industry.
Climate change isnt a hoax -- the Trump administrations declaration of war on the environment, notwithstanding. Sacrificing our ecosystems on the altar of the economy is a fools errand grounded in denial and myopia. Homo sapiens are threatening the continued existence of their only nest. That is not fake news. It is scientific fact.

Not Montanas problem?

Wrong. Montanans have a dog in this fight. Our States blue-ribbon fisheries, clean air, water, hunting, mountains, parks and plains support Montanas second largest industry, recreation, travel and tourism. We live here, and others come here, because of our environment.

Indeed, We the People begin our Constitution thanking God for the quiet beauty of our state, the grandeur of our mountains and the vastness of our rolling plains. These natural wonders are so important that every Montanan is guaranteed an inalienable right to clean and healthful environment in our Constitution, Article II, Section 3. No one can deprive us of this right.

So, we need not -- and must not -- support the Administrations withdrawal from the Paris climate accord. Montana and our cities and towns need to join the growing nation-wide United States Climate Alliance to keep the Paris agreement intact. California, Washington and New York are leading the alliance; at least 180 cities, large and small, representing more than 51 million Americans in both red and blue States, have vowed to ignore the Presidents action. We should too.

Unlike, Montanas Constitution, the federal Constitution does not contain a textual right to a clean and healthful environment. Yet, the highest courts of twenty-some other nations that, likewise, do not have an explicit environmental right, have ruled that the right to life implicitly includes the guarantee of a clean and healthful environment -- because a clean and healthful environment is essential for our species survival.

To expect a similar ruling from our state and federal courts is probably a stretch. But, there is nothing preventing We the People from acknowledging the obvious. We must demand that our State and our cities and towns join the alliance to honor the Paris climate accord. We Montanans have a constitutional right to expect no less from our Governor and mayors.

We live in a planetary ecosystem. No politician has the right to proclaim that America is the peeing section in the global swimming pool. Our Country is not, and, certainly, Montana, is not that place. We must protect and improve our environment. In the end, its the only one we have.

And, that, Mr. President, is no hoax.

Jim Nelson of Helena is a retired Montana Supreme Court Justice.
Republican congressman-elect Greg Gianforte has filed an extension to push back the date he must appear in Gallatin County Justice Court on misdemeanor assault charges stemming from an election-eve altercation with a reporter.

The court document said "the parties are currently exploring a settlement'' of the case and that the extension was not opposed by the state.

Gianforte has asked for another two weeks, and a specific court date has not been set.

"There's no appearance tomorrow morning," County Attorney Marty Lambert said Tuesday. "We're still looking for a date."

Gianforte's deadline to make an appearance on misdemeanor assault charges was originally Wednesday morning. Justice Court Judge Rick West has not yet ruled on the motion.

Bozeman technology entrepreneur Gianforte was cited for misdemeanor assault, punishable by up to six months in jail and a $500 fine, for an alleged attack on Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs at a campaign event on May 24, about 24 hours before Gianforte was elected to the U.S. House.

An audio recording from the altercation details Jacobs trying to ask Gianforte a question about a health care bill, then a scuffle, followed by Jacobs saying Gianforte body-slammed him and broke his glasses. Gianforte can be heard yelling Get the hell out.

Jacobs description of what happened was confirmed by accounts of others in the room, including a reporter for Fox News who saw the altercation.

But just after it happened, the Gianforte campaign sent out a press release saying Jacobs grabbed Gianfortes wrist and pushed both men to the ground, and made a point of calling Jacobs a liberal journalist with aggressive behavior.

Gianforte refused repeatedly in an interview with MTN Friday to say why his campaign released what appears to be a false statement about the altercation.

Gianforte defeated Democrat Rob Quist last month in the race to fill Montanas lone U.S. House seat, vacated when Ryan Zinke became Secretary of the Interior.

On Friday Gianforte's attorneys, William Mercer with Holland and Hart law firm in Billings, and Todd Whipple, with Whipple Law Offices in Bozeman, received a set of documents containing confidential criminal justice information. Mercer was the U.S. Attorney for Montana for eight years.

That set of documents includes the citation, a 17-page case summary report, 16 pages of reports from three detectives, three pages of medical records, a sketch of the place where the altercation occurred, the arrest report, copies of media coverage, 14 more pages of handwritten notes from various sources, three pages of names and addresses of witnesses, the violent crime victim notice of rights forms, five pages of teletype history records and a release form and 40 pages of records from Bozeman Deaconess Hospital.

Gianforte also on Friday filed to run for re-election in 2018, according to Federal Election Commission records.

Mercer, who was U.S. Attorney here from 2001-2009, was a nominee of former President George W. Bush to be associate attorney general, and served as acting associate attorney general briefly before returning to his Montana post. His time as U.S. Attorney for the state was not without controversy. In 2005 U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy said Mercer was living in Washington D.C. and violated federal law by not spending enough time in Montana.

In 2007, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester called for Mercer to resign after he changed language in the Patriot Act legislation that would alter residency requirements, according to the Washington Post.
Chahid Elhafed, May 31, 2017 (SPS) - The Saharawi people commemorate today the first anniversary of the death of its martyr president, Mohamed Abdelaziz, a distinguished figure by his political career and his struggle for independence of Western Sahara, occupied by Morocco and for the inalienable right of the Sahrawi to self-determination.

The late President Abdelaziz, who was also Secretary-General of the Frente POLISARIO and a founding member of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), died on May 31, 2016, at the age of 68, following a long illness.

Following the death of El-Ouali Moustapha Sayed (one of the main founders and leaders of the Front POLISARIO), Mohamed Abdelaziz was elected Secretary General of the Front POLISARIO and Chairman of the Revolution Command Council in August 1976.

The late Abdelaziz, who was elected President of SADR for the first time in October 1982, was re-elected in 1985, 1989, 1991, 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2015, his long and rich career as a fighter for independence and for the defense of just causes, was marked by the 1984 SADR in the Organization of African Unity (OAU), currently the African Union (AU), but also by a cease-fire in 1991 and the opening of negotiations for the settlement of the conflict in Western Sahara, the last colony in Africa.

Thus, the Sahrawi in refugee camps, in liberated or occupied territories, will remember a great man who devoted his life to the defense of their dignity and the recovery of their rights, in particular that of living in a free and sovereign State.

With the disappearance of Mohamed Abdelaziz, the Saharawi people lost a valiant militant who "made peace a strategic principle and an inescapable choice", wrote President of the Republic Abdelaziz Bouteflika in his message of condolences to the Speaker of the Sahrawi National Council Khatri Addouh, following the death of the Saharawi president.

The Saharawi people also lost in President Mohamed Abdelaziz "great support in their struggle for self-determination," said the President of the Council of the nation, Abdelkader Bensalah, also in a message of condolences sent to Khatri Addouh .

POLISARIO lamented, after the death of its Secretary General, the loss of a companion and leader "who has left an important legacy of achievements, and a firm determination to continue the struggle until 'To triumph'. SPS

125/090/TRA
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United Way of Western Connecticut honored Webster Bank President John Ciulla at its 23rd Annual Heart of Gold Dinner at the Stamford Marriott. More than 250 people attended the event.

Michael Pollard, Chief of Staff to City of Stamford Mayor David Martin, served as the emcee for the evening. Tracie Wilson, Senior Vice President, Programming & Development at NBC Universal and last years Heart of Gold recipient, presented the award to Ciulla.

The award honored Ciulla for Websters volunteerism policy which gives employees 16 hours of paid time off to encourage volunteer participation throughout the year. John is an active member of several nonprofit boards, currently serving as Chairman of the Board of the Connecticut Business and Industry Association and as a member of the board of the Business Council of Fairfield County.

"We were so pleased to honor John and his leadership at our Heart of Gold Award Dinner this year," said Kimberly Morgan, CEO of United Way of Western Connecticut. "The nonprofit community relies on corporate partners like Webster Bank that promote employee volunteer engagement in local social service agencies and are committed to contributing financially to the success of local community organizations. Webster Bank, under Johns leadership, is one of Stamfords great philanthropic businesses and we are honored to recognize their contributions to the City."

The Heart of Gold Award was established in 1995 to honor business leaders who distinguish themselves through philanthropy and build volunteerism into their strategic business plans. United Way of Western Connecticut celebrates the importance of business leadership in building healthy communities through philanthropy and employee volunteerism.

United Way of Western Connecticut awarded its 2017 Roberta K. Eichler Heart of Gold Scholarship to Ariadna Lopez, a senior at Stamford High School. The $5,000 scholarship is awarded annually to support the continuing education of an outstanding local student volunteer and is named in honor of the Stamford Volunteer Centers former executive director. Ariadna is a volunteer with CT Quest for Peace and Project Appalachia.

The dinner was held May 18.
STAMFORD  As over-development has become a paramount concern for residents and a campaign platform for a mayoral candidate, the chairman of the citys Zoning Board is trying to build a multifamily complex of his own.

A three-family home at 18 Taylor St. was purchased in 2007 by Taylor Mission LLC, according to city property records. Zoning Board Chairman Thomas Mills is listed as the principal for the limited liability company on the Secretary of States website.

Taylor Mission LLC filed an application in May 2016 with the citys Environmental Protection Board, requesting permission to renovate a historic dwelling and construct 15 additional single-family units in four multifamily buildings.

The redevelopment includes 22 Taylor St., an adjacent three-unit multifamily home on the citys West Side. It would also require construction of additional parking, drainage and utilities, according to the application.

The minutes of the May 2016 meeting indicate the application was approved, but it has not appeared before any other city boards for review since. Mills attended the EPB meeting, according to the minutes.

He should have conflict of interest tattooed on his forehead, said Paul Longo, a retired Stamford police officer and fierce opponent of over-development. This is a classic case of the fox guarding the hen house.

Mills, who is on vacation this week in Europe, said there is nothing wrong with our application.

Mills said his Taylor Street project does not pose a conflict of interest and he has not received special treatment.

I will not be presenting it or running the meeting, he wrote in a text message.

Mayor David Martin could not be immediately reached Tuesday for comment.

Mills was appointed to the Zoning Board by then-Mayor Michael Pavia in 2011, four years after he bought 18 Taylor St. for $878,000, according to city property records. The records indicate the property was appraised for only $434,650.

O. and W. Hopp, owners of 22 Taylor St., were also named in the application before the EPB.

Oscar Hopp said Tuesday he and his family live at 22 Taylor St. Hopp said he is aware of Mills plans for the property, but said he does not know where it stands.

Mr. Mills would know all of the details, Hopp said. Hes the one moving forward with that.

Hopp said he knows Mills well and confirmed the Zoning Board chairman is the owner and primary caretaker at 18 Taylor St. Hopp did not clarify whether Mills approached him to redevelop his property, but said he is in no rush to leave.

There are still a lot of hoops to jump through, Hopp said. I have no idea where (Mills) is with it now.

The last Zoning Board action affecting 18 Taylor St. was in 2008. The Zoning Board certificate for that application says Mills requested a special exception to construct a nine-unit multifamily development consisting of a three-unit historic residential building and six-unit new residential building.

This would have required adjusting zoning standards, including increased density, increased building coverage and reduced building setbacks. This application was approved with several conditions, including requiring Mills to go before the EPB with his project, since its located near the Rippowam Rivers watershed.

It is not clear if Mills is still acting on this original approval.

Over-development has rapidly become a concern in Stamford after Building and Land Technology recently proposed converting a former Long Ridge Road corporate park into an 804-unit housing complex.

The plan spurred Carl Franzetti, R-14, to call for a moratorium on the city issuing building permits for multifamily developments. Others, including Barry Michelson, a Republican who plans to challenge Martin in the mayoral election, have joined the fight.

Last week, city attorney Kathryn Emmett advised the group that its moratorium request to the Land Use Committee of the Board of Representatives needs to be directed to the Zoning Board.

nnaughton@stamfordadvocate.com; @noranaughton
HARTFORD  A controversial bill on highway tolls was pulled from consideration on Tuesday, seconds before it would have been defeated on the House floor. It is likely to be dead for the year.

House Majority Leader Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, culminated a 90-minute debate, admitting that there was not enough support in his narrow 79-72 majority to pass the legislation to the Senate.

Every state on the Eastern Seaboard has them, Ritter said, after Democrats spoke in favor of the bill and Republicans deflated their arguments. He said that roads and bridges are vestiges of the 1970s at a time when they need massive infusions of capital repairs and rebuilding. But the states dedicated fund for transit issues is scheduled to go broke by 2020.

This is just another way to get revenue when were not making the changes we need to in this state, said House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby, stressing that the state has plenty of money for transportation projects. We choose to spend it in ways that are not effective for the state of Connecticut. We tax too much, we spend too much, we borrow too much.

She said that the proposal has gone from border tolls, capturing cash from out-of-staters passing through the state, to now dozens of tolls that are bound to add large daily expenses for all state drivers. Draft plans for tolls would not only put electronic tolls on Interstate 95, I-91 and I-84, but on other limited-access highways including Route 8. These are very serious proposals.

Democrats led by Rep. Antonio Guerrera of Berlin, co-chairman of the Transportation Committee who has been proposing toll legislation for years, stressed that once the states special fund for transportation gets replenished, the quarter-per-gallon gasoline tax would phase out by a penny a year for five years.

This is not a promise, said Rep. Jason Perillo, R-Shelton. This is a hope. If we were really serious about relief, wed eliminate the gas tax.

Its not a tax, its a user fee, said Rep. Jonathan Steinberg, D-Westport, stressing that he is from traffic-clogged Fairfield County. We have the worst congestion in the state, the region and the nation. Its not a tax. Its a user fee.

No matter what we call it, a toll is a tax on the people of this state, said Rep. Stephen G. Harding Jr., R-Brookfield, criticizing the draft plan he saw that planned for 12 tolls on I-84 between the New York line and Hartford. I cant imagine putting that on the constituents of my district.

Plans also included 11 tolls along the Merritt Parkway and a dozen tolls on I-95 between Greenwich and New Haven. In attempt to attract more support, the bill was turned into a study of the issue and locations, with a vote next year. But that still failed.

If I understand the other sides argument, said Rep. Chris Perone, D-Norwalk, its hurry up and do nothing.

In related action, a so-called lock-box amendment to the state Constitution, was approved 101-50. The amendment goes to the Senate, where if it is approved before midnight on Wednesday, when the legislative session ends, the issue will be put before state voters in 2018. Republicans said that the measure doesnt make the transit fund totally from getting raided for operating funds, but their attempt to amend the proposal Tuesday afternoon failed.

kdixon@ctpost.com; Twitter: @KenDixonCT
A pple has tried to fend off suggestions it aids terrorists, insisting it was helping the UK Government investigate the recent attacks.

Chief executive Tim Cook told Bloomberg TV: We have been co-operating with the UK Government not only in law enforcement kind of matters but on some of the attacks. I cannot speak in detail on that. But in cases when we have information and they have gone through the lawful process we dont just give it but we do it very promptly.

That follows intense criticism of tech giants for not properly co-operating with police. Last year, Apple had a major row with the FBI, which was seeking information on a California gunman who had an iPhone.

Apple says its tough encryption is designed to protect customer privacy. Cook also said that he didnt join any of President Trumps business advisory councils because he thinks those groups arent terribly productive.

He added: It wasnt about not wanting to advise on something that we thought should be heard.
T he secretive family-run builder behind London landmarks including the Olympic Stadium and the O2 arena has turned to a second outsider to help revive the companys fortunes.

Sir Robert McAlpine, founded in 1869 by the eponymous builder nicknamed Concrete Bob, has appointed Paul Hamer, the chief executive of consultant WYG, to run the company after a year-long search.

Hamer is believed to be the first boss of a listed company to be installed by the builder, which has only just returned to profit after two years of heavy losses. The only previous non-family head of the firm, Tony Aikenhead, left abruptly last July.

Hamer will work alongside Gavin McAlpine, non-executive chairman and the fifth generation of the family, as the firm looks to increase its presence in areas like civil engineering. Gavins brother Hector and cousin Edward also serve in senior roles.

The McAlpine name is synonymous with the British building industry. The firm has built iconic structures including the original Wembley stadium and the Millennium Bridge.

But it was also one of several building firms which apologised in court last year after a scandal over a secret blacklist to weed out activists on building sites.

Douglas McCormick will succeed Hamer as WYG chief executive.
T he UKs airlines on Tuesday shrugged off the impact of a Gulf ban on flights to Qatar, which will lead to major disruption across the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia has banned Qatari airlines from its airspace, while Abu Dhabis state-owned Etihad Airways and Dubais Emirates Airline has suspended all flights to and from Doha. Egypt also closed its airspace to Qatari planes this morning, with Bahrain set to follow.

British Airways, which is 20% owned by Qatars sovereign investment fund, will continue to fly daily to Doha from London, a spokesman confirmed.

Heathrow airport said that it was not anticipating any disruption in London from the travel ban.

Expat Britons living and working in Doha are rushing to book flights home to London with non-Qatari airlines ahead of the start of the summer holidays.

But it is not yet clear whether they will be able to get refunds for already-booked flights.

Aluminium exports from a Qatari plant have been blocked and Sri Lankan banks have stopped buying Qatar riyals.

Ryanair and easyJet reported a leap in passengers in May.

Ryanair carried 11% more fliers during the month, with 95% of its planes full. Rival easyJet had a 9.5% increase in traffic in the month.
O nline luxury fashion retailer Yoox Net-A-Porter on Tuesday stepped up its bid to become fur free, in a move likely to help it win more customers who support animal rights.

Its formal adoption of a fur-free policy comes two months after an investigation discovered animal fur on products marketed as synthetic by stores including House of Fraser and Missguided.

Both companies have no-fur policies and vowed to investigate or engage with suppliers.

Yoox Net-A-Porter, born from the merger of Italys Yoox and rival Net-a-Porter in 2015, said at group level it has been phasing out selling fur products since last year, but has now announced the policy.

It also revealed it has joined the Fur Free Retailer Programme supported by the Fur Free Alliance, a coalition of animal protection organisations worldwide.

Matteo James Moroni, head of sustainability, said: Our goal is to act as an industrywide catalyst for change.

Animal rights campaign group Peta welcomed the news.

Elisa Allen, director of Peta said: "Compassion is clearly in fashion, and many designers and stores  including Net-A-Porter, Selfridges, and Liberty  have dropped fur in favour of sustainable vegan materials that look like the "real thing" without harming animals. .. Yoox's decision to ditch fur cements its place in the fashion industry, now and into the future."
T errorists have often in the past set out to kill specific individuals, from politicians to others in authority, in the name of their misguided cause. The three twisted men who struck our city on Saturday night were not so discerning: they wanted to kill anybody and everybody. Their target was London itself; our freedom and our way of living.

The attack may have been indiscriminate, but the victims are individuals with names and families and life stories. After attacks like these, we say that we must all get on with our lives. But, as murdered MP Jo Coxs husband Brendan writes here, the families of the victims cannot just move on. As we learn more about those who died and were injured, we discover that they did indeed reflect the spirit of London, in all its enterprise and courage and diversity.

There is Chrissy Archibald, the 30-year-old Canadian who volunteered to help the homeless. There is the Brit, James McMullan, the young entrepreneur from Hackney, out celebrating the deal that would help him create jobs and build his business. We know there are also victims who came from France, America, Australia, Germany and New Zealand. Still missing is Ignacio Echeverria, the Spaniard who worked in the great financial centre at the heart of our capital, who fought the knife-wielding terrorists with just his skateboard to protect the lives of his fellow Londoners. Other heroes who stepped in and risked everything included a Romanian and an Italian.

These people came from all over the globe to London, some to work and others to visit, precisely because we are a home to the citizens of the world. That is an enormous source of strength for this nation. It means we attract the talent that builds our economy, the taxes that pay for our public services and the variety that makes us one of the great cultures in history.

As Simon Jenkins writes here, there is, rightly, a debate about what more could have been done to stop the killers. One of them, Khuram Butt, even appeared on television with an Islamic State flag. Boris Johnson says today people are right to wonder how this guy slipped through the net. Its a good question, but it is you, Mr Johnson, who are now Foreign Secretary and you have the responsibility to provide the answers. Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott aspires to high office in two days time, but yet again she appears to know little about the complex issues involved. Her leader, Jeremy Corbyn, repeatedly failed to vote for measures against terrorism. None of this inspires confidence.

More reassuring would be if our politicians reaffirmed their commitment to Britain as an open society. For the terrorists will have succeeded if they make us turn our back on the world and turn away its citizens. We must ensure they are defeated. Today, on the back page of this paper, we print a full-size poster  We LDN. It affirms our love of this city, and this country, and all it stands for. If you love this city too, please display it in your homes and shop windows, and show the terrorists that they will never win.

Polemics as pottery

The Brexit debate has taken many forms but it takes Grayson Perry, the polemicist potter, to turn it into ceramics. His new exhibition at the Serpentine: Grayson Perry: The Most Popular Art Exhibition Ever! is a feat, an attempt to engage with the politics of Brexit Britain through provocative images translated into pots and other objects, the images provided by people from both sides of the argument. This being the Serpentine, most visitors are likely to be on one side of the divide, but well done to Perry for opening up the argument through art.
DEER LODGE  The Mullan Road was built as a military road in 1859-1860  but it opened the Northwest to thousands of people seeking gold and a new life.

This was just one nugget of information shared during the Mullan Road Conference held in Deer Lodge recently. Fifty Mullanites  enthusiasts  from Washington, Oregon, Idaho and throughout Montana learned about historic trails and shared information.

The 624-mile Mullan Road was the first federally funded, first engineered and first road to connect the Missouri and Columbia River drainages. Construction began July 1, 1859, at Fort Walla Walla, in what is now Washington, and was completed Aug. 1, 1860, at Fort Benton in Montana. The road was declared completed in 1862 after improvements were made with some parts relocated because of site conditions and washed out bridges were replaced.

Although it was used only once for a military mission in 1860 to move supplies and a contingent of 300 soldiers from Fort Benton to Fort Walla Walla, the Mullan Road was the route used by thousands flocking to the gold rush areas of Montana and Idaho, as well as many settlers moving to the Northwest.

Among those were Spokane resident Joann Townsends great-grandparents, Fred and Laura Dimmitt who traveled from Kansas to central Washington with a wagon and team of mules. They traveled with other family members along the Oregon Trail to Idaho then north through Dillon to Deer Lodge where they turned West on the Mullan Trail.

Rich Buswell, a retired Helena physician, has spent years of research and boots on the ground looking for and walking in the ruts and remnants of the old road from Elliston to the Sieben ranch, north of Helena.

Buswell said he became intrigued as a youngster listening to his father talk about the historic trail while moving cattle from their ranch west of Helena over Mullan Pass. It was one of the trails to the buffalo for the Flathead/Salish who traveled up Dog Creek over the Pass, through the Helena Valley to Thee Forks.

This was the first time the conference was held in Deer Lodge and it was especially meaningful because there is more of the Mullan Road in this area then in many other areas, said Ken Robison.

Among the highlights gleaned from the conference:

A portion of the Yellowstone Trail that runs through the Deer Lodge Valley was built by convict labor  inmates at Montana Territorial Prison.

Attendees learned about historic mining in the Gold Creek area, the route of the road near and through the Spotted Dog Wildlife Management Area, east of Deer Lodge, and how GPS mapping has helped find the historic route in Powell County.

Ken Robison, Mullan Road historian from Fort Benton, said the statue of Lt. John Mullan, on courthouse square in Deer Lodge, is one of seven in Montana, and is in good condition compared to some others

Attendees learned about how to get the Mullan Road listed as a National Historic Site.

The group went on a field trip led by Butte geologist Ted Antonioli that took them first to the Gold Creek monument marking the site where gold was first discovered in Montana. North of the ghost town of Emmitsburg on Henderson Creek, the group hiked to the marble monument to miners killed in accidents in 1867 to 1872, then to the ghost town of Pioneer and visited the Chicago School museum.

The Deer Lodge Preservation Commission sponsored the Mullan Road Conference, which is held each year in a different town along the route.
T oday Londoners grieve the seven London Bridge victims, and must then return to work. But grief over the pain of strangers is easy. Response is harder. Terrorism brings out the worst in leaders, as is its intention.

Election candidates have sought exploit the tragedy. Theresa May cries that enough extremism is enough and calls for things to change. Her opponent, Labours Jeremy Corbyn, attacks her for reducing the nations security. Americas Donald Trump ascends new heights of idiocy by calling pathetic mayor Sadiq Khans plea for calm. The New York Times declares that London is reeling, wiping millions off the citys tourism revenue in a peculiar form of economic sanction.

But the critical response comes from those in charge of the capitals security. Their job is now under scrutiny as never before, for the manner in which they have policed a particular group of Islamist citizens. The apparent leader of the London Bridge massacre, Khuram Butt, was known to them as a dangerous radical, but his specific threat was dismissed as unsubstantiated. This decision was terribly wrong.

We should proceed with caution. The head of counter-terrorism, Mark Rowley, referred to an investigation into Butt in 2015 and argues that there was no intelligence that an attack was being planned and the investigation was being prioritised according, which meant it was being dropped. He pointed out that he had some 500 similar investigations pending, out of 3,000 suspects from terrorism hotlines. We are told 13 similar attacks have been pre-empted since 2013. We can at least see his point.

The nature of these acts makes them exceptionally hard to predict. They require no complex preparation. As long as people enjoy free speech and free assembly  Butt was seen on television openly supporting Islamic State  judging the link between words and deeds is hard. In a BBC interview yesterday, the Mets new boss, Cressida Dick, pointed out she cannot keep 20,000 people under surveillance, let alone tell what is going on in their minds.

Whatever Corbyn says, counter-terrorism cannot claim to have been starved of resources, indeed David Cameron added 143 million to the budget after last years Brussels massacre. No one moving about central London since the previous Westminster attack in March could protest that the capital was under-policed. At every turn there are armed guards, massive gates, security barriers, bag searches, notices and announcements. It makes a mockery of Theresa Mays boast about showing we are not afraid. Former terrorism expert Lord Carlile reiterated yesterday that a reduction in beat policing had nothing to do with the case.

A minute's silence in tribute to the victims of the London attack 1 /29 A minute's silence in tribute to the victims of the London attack A woman cries at the tributes left at London Bridge Jeremy Selwyn Tributes left at London Bridge Jeremy Selwyn Paramedics at the gates of Downing Street, central London, observing a minute's silence in honour of the London Bridge terror attack victim PA People shelter from the rain beneath an umbrella as they observe a minute's silence near the Elizabeth Tower, commonly referred to as Big Ben, at the Houses of Parliament in London AFP/Getty Images A woman stands in Canary Wharf during the minute's silence Reuters Police officers line up to observe the minute's silence Getty Images People observing a minute's silence in St Ann's Square, Manchester, in solidarity with London PA Players and crowd observe a minutes silence in memory of the recent London terrorist attacks during the ICC Champions Trophy match between England v New Zealand at SWALEC Stadium Getty Images Railway staff observe a minute's silence Reuters A schoolboy lays flowers at London Bridge Alex Lentati Workers observe a minute's silence at London Bridge station Reuters Police officers and rail workers all took time out to pay their respects Police officers at the gates of Downing Street, central London fell silent PA Mayor of London Sadiq Khan joins London Ambulance workers PA England players observe a minutes silence during their match on Tuesday Action Images via Reuters Police officers line up to pay their respects Reuters Workers at London's hospitals also took part in the minute's silence England and New Zealand players observe a minutes silence Reuters Armed police in St Ann's Square, Manchester, gathering to honour of the London Bridge terror attack victims PA European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, left, stands with members of the European Commission during a moment of silence at EU headquarters in Brussels AP A woman cries at the scene Jeremy Selwyn A minute's silence at London Bridge today Alex Lentati

For all that, terrorists can still get through, and the speed with which they are subsequently killed is clearly neither protection nor deterrent. Indeed, the massive publicity given their actions  BBC TV news last night came close to revelling in the agony of their achievement  only adds to their grim appeal. Celebrity is terrors megaphone, and all too often it is politicians who wield it.

Londoners are sensible enough to accept there are things that can be done, and things that cannot. The three knife attacks in London in four years should be seen in context. Their severity is nowhere near that of the IRA campaigns of the 1970s and 1990s, when there were fatal explosions every other month. In todays London some innocent person is stabbed to death every week  in one week in April there were six deaths.

Terrorists are different in claiming divine inspiration for their deeds. But they are criminals and their crimes are no different for the nature of their motivation. Just as the IRA were denied the glamour of political status, so too should the jihadists be.

Sadiq Khan criticised cuts to London's policing budget

So when May declares that enough is enough and calls for some new strategy to defend our values, we need to know what she means. Most Londoners would list them as embracing free speech, the rule of law, religious tolerance and  more controversially perhaps  the privacy of digital communication. They want the free movement and assembly of citizens. They would detest the sort of repression and detention without trial seen in countries such as Turkey or Egypt.

The suspicion must be that in the hysteria generated by the media and the election campaign, May intends not to defend these values but to weaken them. Does she intend the opposite of what she says, to dilute those values because she has run out of other remedies? The challenge of how to sustain freedom in the face of those who wish to undermine it is democracys oldest paradox.

I am sure there are reforms that need to be made in the allocation of police resources to following up suspect leads. It may well be that forms of surveillance need to keep pace with electronic change. But the eventual answer cannot lie in turning central London into an armed camp or in a 1984 reign of electronic intrusion beyond what is called for by the emergency in hand. It must lie in the project which May as home secretary once claimed to support, in the rooting out of this sort of extremism at source. We cannot protect people against every act of terror, but we must attack extremism at its roots. Prevention starts at home.

There is no other answer but to raise the quality of intelligence within the Muslim community and to pursue some version of the Governments controversial Prevent strategy. Prevent has been much criticised as ham-fisted and money-wasting. It is seen as casting all Muslims as members of a suspect community, and risks radicalising those not already radicalised. But that is the truism of all defence expenditure, that much is wasted. It does not render the strategy defunct.

As with the IRA, the only true prevention of terrorism is eventually to remove their motivation. The understanding of Muslim families, so-called social network analysis, is still in its infancy. Terrorism is organised crime by another name. Londons recent experience has been tragic, but it is not unprecedented. Life in any big city cannot be free of risk. And no, we are not reeling.
S ince the late 1970s, the Conservative party has been the natural bedfellow for UK business. This symbiotic relationship was briefly challenged during New Labours charm offensive of the late 1990s.

However, since the global financial crisis the two major UK political parties have diverged in their attitudes to entrepreneurs and wealth creators.

The Conservatives have instinctively favoured, if not always delivered, lower regulation, lower public spending and lower marginal tax rates. The Labour party has focused on the deficiencies of the free market, and the role of government in correcting these.

On Thursday, as the UK votes for its next Parliament, business leaders across the country are faced with a real choice. The Labour party is advocating higher corporation tax and restoring state ownership in utilities, mail delivery and transport markets. The Conservative party continues, verbally at least, to favour the invisible hand of the free market and further cuts in corporation tax. Faced with these options, surely business leaders will again swing behind the Conservatives? This is far from assured.

There are signs that British business leaders are becoming increasingly frustrated at the confrontational stance of the Theresa May government in early Brexit negotiations. Job creators are bewildered by the botched attempts to reform business rates and the taxes faced by the self-employed.

There is even confusion over whether this government retains a core belief in the efficacy of free markets, with the Conservative manifesto advocating an energy price cap. This is the same policy that, when proposed by then-Labour leader Ed Miliband, was derided by senior Conservatives as representing a Wonga-like offer. Collectively it speaks to a party with a post-referendum identity crisis. British entrepreneurs and wealth creators retain a positive outlook in spite of recent government actions, not because of them.

In a further challenge to business support for the Conservatives there are certain aspects of Labours economic plans that are more stimulative for UK economic growth.

Labour is proposing to spend 250 billion on much-needed connectivity infrastructure over the next 10 years. This is significantly more than Conservative plans. Although May has cited the absence of a magic money tree to fund additional spending, the government can currently borrow at just 1% for 10 years, near its all-time low. It would require a woeful set of public spending decisions for additional investment borrowing to not improve the long-term sustainability of the UKs public finances. The terrible standard of debate on public debt continues to overly focus on quantity, rather than quality.

Secondly, the Conservatives have retained their commitment to cut net migration to fewer than 100,000. Regardless of your view on the wider social impacts of migration, the economic impact of limiting migration to below this threshold will be negative. Capping migration is as protectionist as imposing tariffs on foreign goods. Lowering immigration will reduce the money available to UK public services and slow economic activity. It also reduces the pool of talent available to our internationally competitive technology firms as well as the financial, scientific and creative industries.

However, at the heart of the problem facing UK businesses is that many feel they are facing a lack of honesty from politicians. The Institute for Fiscal Studies has dubbed this election as a set of false choices.

The former head of the Treasury, Sir Nick Macpherson, goes further and questions why Labour and the Conservative party are continuing with La Grande Illusion in proposing EU levels of spending financed by US levels of tax. Even Labours commitments to additional taxation do not cover the impact of a rapidly ageing population.

So while there has been much discussion as to whether business has been overlooked during this election campaign, I look at it a different way. UK wealth creators and entrepreneurs who represent the real champions of this economy, and its best hope for a bright Brexit future, have looked at what is on offer and are underwhelmed.

One of the lessons of the Brexit referendum is that when politicians offer incomplete narratives, this provides oxygen to popularist but incoherent options.

If the Conservatives are victim to this on Thursday, and cannot fall back on their natural supporters within the business community, then they really only have themselves to blame.

Simon French is chief economist at Panmure Gordon
 Abba star Bjorn Ulvaeus is hoping to bring a restaurant based on the Swedish pop superstars to London.

Ulvaeus has applied for permission to build Mamma Mia! The Party  a Greek taverna-style restaurant where guests can eat while a show goes on around them in Waterloo (where else?).

The star originally opened a similar concept in Stockholm, in 2015, which uses some of the songs from the hit Mamma Mia! musical involving new characters and story. The full ABBA four-piece reunited for the first time in eight years for the Stockholm opening.

Ulvaeus spoke to CNN about his Stockholm venue, saying: At the end of each performance people stand up and sing and dance in the aisles.

Theres like a party mood. I always had a feeling that if people could have gone on to have a party they would.

Mamma Mia! The Party is not London's only singing restaurant. Staff at fast food chain Leon in the West End take turns to sing numbers to customers between songs from the sound system.
T he London wine scene is flowing with red, whites, roses and sparklers from across the globe, but rarely ones that are made right here in the capital.

But in a narrow alley off Bethnal Green road, away from the expected bars and honking traffic, you'll find just that - an urban winery. In a renovated railway arch with vintage design, you'll find a sign for Renegade London Wine. This is one of only two wineries in London, where the wine is made in-house, from the hand-pressing of the grapes to the labelling of the bottles.

The founders, Warwick Smith and New Zealand winemaker Josh Hammond, wanted to create premium wine with the unique twist of making it in the city.

Warwick Smith (left) and Josh Hammond at their winery in Bethnal Green

We try to make slightly more unusual, edgy urban wines, Smith said. The idea was that because urban wineries are so new, I didnt want to make wines that people would feel intimidated by.

The duo decided to start with wines that people will at least recognise the names of, so there's an aromatic and textured Bacchus with hints of citrus made with grapes grown in Herefordshire; and a slightly fruitier Sauvignon Blanca from Bordeaux with a soft aroma of lime zest.

There are also at least six barrels of Pinot Noir, which hasn't been released yet, but can be tasted during London Wine Week.

It's a back to basics approach at this winery; pressing is done by hand or foot.

You make great wines just by making great use of the incredible fruit, Smith said, adding that 85 to 90 per cent of quality wine is down to the fruit. "Theres no need to go super flash, and no need to buy very expensive presses in the first year. If you have to press with feet then just get in there and press it. If you need to work all night, you work all night.

And, they did. After starting the business March 2016, they had their first harvest last autumn, so this year they can see the result of their hard work.

In this first round theyve made 7,500 bottles and have sold around 500 in the first two weeks. The plan is to expand this to 20,000 and then 100,000.

Now the tap room is open, they can enjoy their wine as well.

Inside the taproom at Renegade London Wine

Drinking wine made on the spot? Rather an enjoyable experience.

Find out more at renegadelondonwine.com
T he hectic, fast-paced and largely anti-social nature of city living is stressful for anyone, but it can exacerbate and even cause mental health conditions.

Researchers have found that urban living raises the risk of anxiety disorders and mood disorders by 21 per cent and 39 per cent respectively, and that young people living in a city are 40 per cent more likely to report some sort of psychotic experience.

With 50 per cent of the worlds population living in cities, and the UN projection that by 2050 this figure will surpass two-thirds, it is time we start addressing mental health in the metropolis.

The first Londoner in our series is 31-year-old Sabrina Greenberg, an office manager who has suffered with an anxiety disorder for more than a decade.

Despite being a life-long North Londoner, urban conditions can cause Sabrina extreme levels of mental distress and trigger panic attacks amongst other debilitating physical symptoms.

Sabrina uses exercise to cope with her condition

Having taken medication and pursued cognitive behavioural therapy for her condition, Sabrina is now largely in control of her anxiety. Despite this there is one aspect of city life that remains an ever-present problem for her mentally: the Underground.

Not only does she find transport in London a particularly difficult thing, the pressure to be constantly socially active can bear down on her too. For many years, Sabrina chose to hide her anxiety from friends and colleagues and made excuses for not attending events, which led to her friends getting the wrong impression and fuelling her paranoia and anxiety around social situations.

Sabrina writes a blog called anxiously active

Sabrina now writes a blog about her experience of using exercise to cope with her illness called anxiously active. She hopes to encourage others to find calm through a healthy lifestyle and wants to start an online community for sufferers who feel alone in the city.

Watch the video above to find out more about Sabrina's story and living with an anxiety disorder. in the city

If you are concerned about yourself or anyone you know who may be suffering with anxiety, visit Anxiety UK, Mind or No Panic for help and advice. Or call the Samaritans on 116 123.
O ur tolerance to intolerance is a familiar story. The book-burning rallies during the 1989 Rushdie affair should have been a wake-up call to religious fundamentalism. Instead we became paranoid about causing offence and tried to appease regressive community leaders who dishonestly claimed to be speaking on behalf of the Muslim community. We lacked the confidence to challenge them or extremists, and as a result they have thrived.

It is clear we have learned little about the diversity of Muslims. We have not only been prepared to legitimise Islamist preachers and groups, we continue to hold the misguided belief that we are serving the interests of the so-called Muslim community. We unhelpfully lump Muslims under the banner of a singular community.

This myopic perception of Muslims is part of the problem. How many times do we hear politicians and others tell us Muslim terrorists are not true Muslims, that they dont represent the Muslim community?

Yet this outdated language conceals the problem. We fail to understand the battle taking place among Britains Muslims between those who advocate for a pluralistic humanistic interpretation of Islam against those who subscribe to a supremacist, intolerant and anti-Western Islam.

There are Muslims in our country who support this hostile Islam; they represent the far-Right of British Muslims, and the unfortunate truth is that they are pretty popular.

They preach on campuses, at community events, and have a large online following, some in their hundreds of thousands. Promoting conspiracy theories, calling for the establishment of a caliphate, pouring suspicion on any engagement with state agencies, endorsing anti-Semitism, and intolerance to other Muslims who dont share their Islamist world view... they then employ the language of multiculturalism and human rights to win supporters while duplicitously playing the victimhood card.

I have seen this for a long time, yet naive politicians with their singular myopic lens about the Muslim community are so eager to stand up against anti-Muslim hatred they end up legitimising the very people who provide the climate for extremism, and attack progressive Muslims who seek to counter Islamist extremism.

Vigil for London Bridge terror attack 1 /16 Vigil for London Bridge terror attack Hundreds gather during a vigil in Potters Fields for the victims of the June 3rd terror attacks Getty Images People attend a vigil for victims of Saturday's attack in London Bridge, at Potter's Field Park AP Hundreds gather during a vigil in Potters Fields for the victims of the June 3rd terror attacks Getty Images Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and Home Secretary Amber Rudd take part in a vigil for the victims of the London Bridge terror attacks Getty Images Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, Home Secretary Amber Rudd and Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott with members of the public observing a minute's silence PA People gather in Potters Field Park during an event for the victims of the terror attack REUTERS People at a vigil in Potters Fields Park, central London in honour of the London Bridge terror attack victims PA People take part in a vigil for victims of the London Bridge terror attacks by the City Hall EPA Floral tributes were set down during a vigil outside City Hall EPA ople attend a vigil to remember the victims of the attack on London Bridge and Borough Market REUTERS Pupils from Eden Girls' School in Waltham Forest take part in a vigil in memory of those killed in the recent terror attacks in London Getty Images People lay flowers after a vigil for victims of Saturday's attack in London Bridge, AP

This tolerance to extremism was demonstrated by Citizens UK when it invited chief imam of Lewisham Islamic Centre Shakeel Begg to speak at a demonstration on child refugees outside Parliament last year. Only six weeks earlier a High Court judge had ruled that Begg was an extremist Islamic speaker who had promoted and encouraged religious violence and had glorified key 20th-century jihadist ideologues.

Citizens UKs defence was that the event it asked Begg to speak at was about the issue of child refugees. One wonders if the charity would extend such a warm invitation to far-Right extremists who have advocated violence to come along and speak about child refugees. I doubt it.

Our tolerance to extremism is also demonstrated by anti-racist groups unwilling to challenge Islamists. Hope Not Hate is one of the very few; it has dipped its toe in the water to find itself  rather typically of being accused of racism and Islamophobia. Yet so-called anti-racist groups like Stand up to Racism and the NUS invite groups like Cage and Mend to speak at their events, while last year the NUS no-platformed Hope Not Hates Nick Lowles for being Islamophobic. In other words, challenging Islamist extremism is seen as bigotry.

As a Muslim, I find this to be nothing but outright hypocrisy by anti-racist groups who, consumed by identity politics, are unable to see the wood for the trees. Although they are prepared to challenge traditional far Right extremists, they are not prepared to call out far-Right Islamist extremists in the erroneous belief that to do so is Islamophobic. This is the dismal out of touch state of our anti-racist movement today.

Which is why two days before the election, it is imperative that we ask our prospective candidates what their position on how they would challenge Islamic extremism. Find if they even have any understanding of the issue.

A few days ago I received an email from a councillor. For two years, he told me he had been pressing his council to deal with the alarming rising risks from Islamism, which he saw taking root among Muslims in his and neighbouring towns. With increasing segregation, it was clear policies were needed to reverse segregation. He came across resistance from others councillors who rely heavily on the Muslim vote but also officers who seem to live in a parallel multicultural universe. His story is unbearably familiar to me.

Almost 30 years on from the Rushdie affair, we remain stuck in a vortex of outdated multicultural, multi-faith policies and our ignorance about Islamist extremism remains unchallenged. Muslims need to acknowledge this without getting defensive and redouble their efforts in countering Islamist ideology. We are not doing enough. However, what is also needed is a broad coalition that seeks to defend our shared values and counters all divisive hate beliefs based on our common humanity. No such movement, fit for purpose in the 21st century, exists. Its high time it did.

Sara Khan is author of The Battle for British Islam: Reclaiming Muslim Identity from Extremism, and director of the counter-extremism organisation Inspire. Follow Inspire on Twitter @wewillinspire
A n online property platform says it can banish gazumping in London by encouraging personal interaction between buyers and sellers.

Settled allows both parties to arrange viewings and negotiate without a third party.

Co-founder Gemma Young hopes this will stop buyers offers being turned down for a higher sum at the 11th hour.

The ex-Google worker, 35, said: In the traditional model, theres no trust or loyalty between the buyer and seller. Our model means they can have open conversations about their budget.

We see a time where gazumping wont exist on our platform and since we launched in January 2016, weve reduced property fall-through rates to seven per cent, as opposed to the normal 33 per cent.

Settled charges owners a 499 flat fee to sell their property and arranges photographs, descriptions and promotion on sites such as Rightmove and Zoopla. Ms Young, who set the business up with her brother Paul, 32, a qualified mortgage adviser, said it can save sellers 5,000 compared with an estate agent or other online services.

Although other platforms matching buyers and sellers exist, such as eMoov and Purple Bricks, Ms Young said Settleds platform is the best value, more accurate and emphasises personal communication.

She said its valuations are calculated using three million data sources, including the Land Registry, and that most of its properties receive the asking price in about two weeks.

We find people dont put in cheeky low offers out of respect, she said.

The highest uptake has been in Camden, Wandsworth and Brent. The biggest transaction was 2.48 million for a three-bedroom house in Belgravia. The cheapest was a 249,000 one-bedroom flat in Elephant and Castle. The current average list price is 532,000.

Ms Young said Settleds data shows that more than half of buyers put an offer in directly with the vendor because they had met them previously.

Likening it to home rental site Airbnb, she said: When I stay somewhere with Airbnb, the fact I connect with the person who owns that home enriches my experience. Its about connecting people and removing the piggy in the middle.

Homebuying and selling is really stressful and we want it to be really joyful. You can go through the complete process of buying or selling a home from your mobile phone.
M I5 and the police will have to explain how London attacker Khuram Butt was not stopped, Boris Johnson said today.

The Foreign Secretary said people would be wondering how on earth could we have let this guy possibly fall through the net? after it emerged Butt, 27, had appeared in a TV documentary on Islamist extremists.

Mr Johnsons intervention in the growing political row over Saturdays London Bridge attack came as:

Millions of people in London and across the UK fell silent at 11am for a minutes to pay tribute to the victims.

Armed police carried out a raid in Ilford in the early hours. Detectives were continuing to trace associates and friends of the killers.

Scotland Yard was close to identifying the third terrorist hours. Officers were continuing to trace associates and friends of the killers.

The third terrorist was named in Italy as Youssef Zaghba, a Moroccan.

Australian Kirsty Boden, 28, missing since Saturday, was named as one of the seven people who died.

Theresa May faced calls to delay Donald Trumps state visit to Britain, due in the autumn. The US president has caused anger by criticising Mayor Sadiq Khans response to the attack.

It emerged that Butt worked as a trainee customer services assistant on the Tube.

Shocking footage: Khuram Butt appeared in Channel 4's The Jihadi Next Door / Channel 4

MI5 and the police were urged to examine if they must focus on targeting DIY-style terrorists rather than more sophisticated plots.

Mr Johnson risked a row by suggesting Saudi Arabia is among countries funding extremist preachers.

There were growing calls for police to be able to detain terror suspects for up to 28 days without charge.

It emerged that the budget for the Home Offices Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism is being cut this year by 3.7 per cent to 824 million, although sources said the reduction was largely on non-counter-terrorism expenditure.

Security minister Ben Wallace flatly rejected claims that there was a lack of funding for counter-terrorism.

A minute's silence in tribute to the victims of the London attack 1 /29 A minute's silence in tribute to the victims of the London attack A woman cries at the tributes left at London Bridge Jeremy Selwyn Tributes left at London Bridge Jeremy Selwyn Paramedics at the gates of Downing Street, central London, observing a minute's silence in honour of the London Bridge terror attack victim PA People shelter from the rain beneath an umbrella as they observe a minute's silence near the Elizabeth Tower, commonly referred to as Big Ben, at the Houses of Parliament in London AFP/Getty Images A woman stands in Canary Wharf during the minute's silence Reuters Police officers line up to observe the minute's silence Getty Images People observing a minute's silence in St Ann's Square, Manchester, in solidarity with London PA Players and crowd observe a minutes silence in memory of the recent London terrorist attacks during the ICC Champions Trophy match between England v New Zealand at SWALEC Stadium Getty Images Railway staff observe a minute's silence Reuters A schoolboy lays flowers at London Bridge Alex Lentati Workers observe a minute's silence at London Bridge station Reuters Police officers and rail workers all took time out to pay their respects Police officers at the gates of Downing Street, central London fell silent PA Mayor of London Sadiq Khan joins London Ambulance workers PA England players observe a minutes silence during their match on Tuesday Action Images via Reuters Police officers line up to pay their respects Reuters Workers at London's hospitals also took part in the minute's silence England and New Zealand players observe a minutes silence Reuters Armed police in St Ann's Square, Manchester, gathering to honour of the London Bridge terror attack victims PA European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, left, stands with members of the European Commission during a moment of silence at EU headquarters in Brussels AP A woman cries at the scene Jeremy Selwyn A minute's silence at London Bridge today Alex Lentati

Butt, a Pakistani-born British citizen, was investigated by officers in 2015 but they found no evidence of attack-planning and he was prioritised in the lower echelons of our investigative work, Scotland Yard said last night.

The father of two, who appeared on Channel 4 documentary The Jihadis Next Door, was reported to the anti-terror hotline in 2015 for showing signs of extremism or radicalisation.

Butt and Rachid Redouane, who claimed to be Moroccan-Libyan, were two of the three men who carried out the assault in which seven people were killed and dozens more injured.

Twelve people who were arrested in east London in the wake of the killings have been released without charge.

Perpetrators in all three of the terrorist outrages to hit Britain in just over 10 weeks  Westminster, Manchester and London Bridge  had at some point appeared on the authorities radar.

After the revelations about Butt, Mr Johnson told Sky TV: People are going to look at the front pages today and they are going to say, How on earth could we have let this guy possibly fall through the net? What happened?

"How could be he on a Channel 4 programme and then committing atrocities like this? That is a question that will need to be answered by MI5, by the police, as the investigation goes on.

The ex-London mayor also said that the Government needed to look again at more restrictions on terror suspects.

Mourners at the sea of flowers on London Bridge / Alex Lentati

The Coalition ditched control orders, when Theresa May was Home Secretary, for weaker terrorism prevention and investigation measures.

Richard Walton, a former Met head of counter-terrorism, said: What we are now seeing is a shortening of attack-planning timescales, because these type of attacks require little planning, no training and nothing more technical than a kitchen knife. We need new powers.

Lord Ricketts, who was National Security Adviser to David Cameron, said it was too early to say whether the security services had made mistakes which meant more action was not taken against Butt.

London fell silent today for the victims / Reuters

However, he said: Maybe what is changing here is that the authorities have been devoting their effort in the past to preparations for more elaborate attacks where you might have more time, you might have more communications, building a bomb and so on.

This new DIY-style of terrorism, where you can move from just expressing radical views to actually hiring a van and going and killing people in a cowardly attack, I think that makes things even more difficult.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick yesterday said she would be pressing the Government for more resources after the election in the wake of the London Bridge attack.

Today, Mr Khan said the Met could be cut by up to 40 per cent under spending plans  meaning thousands fewer officers on the frontline. Theres no doubt that fewer police officers means were in more danger, he told the BBC.

A woman at London Bridge in tears today as a minutes silence was observed in the capital and across the country to remember the victims of Saturdays terror attack / Jeremy Selwyn

He claimed the proposal to save at least 400 million from the Mets budget by 2020 could reduce the number of police constables by between 3,400 and 12,800, if all the savings came from officer numbers. Force levels are currently 31,000.

But Britains intelligence and security services were given a huge budget increase in 2015, from 11.7 billion to 15.1 billion over the Parliament.

Mr Wallace told the Standard: There is no lack of money for the police and security services in the space of counter-terrorism.

We are fighting 21st-century crime and terrorism and boots on the ground are a very Eighties way to measure our effort, which is why our funding is broader and more specialist than it would have been in the past.

Dominic Grieve, former chairman of Parliaments Intelligence and Security Committee, said: The claim that there is not enough security services funding is ludicrous and untenable.

Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry said an extra 10,000 officers would mean that the police would be less stretched, they would be able to work with the community better.

The Tories said Labours leaders, including Jeremy Corbyn, had consistently opposed powers for the police to crack down on terror.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd said police numbers were cut after 2010 but added: This angle that the Labour Party are very much going on  that the reducing of the numbers of policemen on the beat is somehow accountable for this attack, is simply wrong.
T he actions of medical staff and volunteers in response to the London Bridge terror attack showed Britain at its best, the Duchess of Cornwall said.

Camillas comments came as she and Prince Charles visited the Royal London Hospital, where 12 injured victims were rushed to after Saturday nights attack.

Staff told the royals how passers-by stopped to help as the incident unfolded, at times simply by talking to the victims to keep them conscious.

Its Britain at its best isnt it? Everybody pulls together, there doesn't seem to be any panic, Camilla said.

Prince Charles spoke to staff who were involved in supporting patients admitted after the terror attack unfolded / PA

"Everybody gets on and does their job, she continued, adding that the patients were in the best possible hands.

It comes the royal pair also met a police officer who tried to save terror victim Christine Archibalds life as she lay dying on the bridge.

Pc Liam Dolphin of City of London police told of how he gave her cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and later hugged her distraught fiance Tyler Ferguson after he learnt she had died.

Heartbroken: Christine Archibald, the first named victim of Saturday's attack, with fiance Tyler Ferguson

The heart breaking story emerged as the royal couple made a visit to thank the emergency services for their work during the London terror attack.

Pc Dolphin said that when he arrived he found members of the public trying to help Ms Archibald, a 30-year-old Canadian charity worker who had been hit by the van on the bridge.

I was giving her CPR, he said. I left her when the medics came.

Staff at the Royal London Hospital during the royals' visit / REUTERS

Later he came across her fiance Tyler Ferguson among the walking wounded. I found him on the other end of the bridge, he said.

He was quite distressed. He told me she had been pronounced dead. I was just hugging him for a while. He had a bit of a difficult time.

Among those to meet Camilla and Charles at the Royal London was Dr Chris Lamert and paramedic Tracy Porter, who were called to the north end of the bridge as reports of the horrific attack emerged.

The Duchess of Cornwall speaks to hospital staff / PA

They said they saw victims with stab wounds and those who had been run over by the van.

Speaking afterwards, Dr Lambert said: "In a way we see those kind of injuries every day, but obviously not in such great numbers and in such a sort of intense, emotional scene with so much else going on."

Anaesthetic nurse Natalie Poole told of how when responding to the attack she walked the remaining two miles to the hospital after getting a taxi from her home in south London.

The Prince of Wales told the 34-year-old and her co-workers: I have so much admiration for all you are doing, it's a fantastic team."

Front Pages for London Bridge and Borough Market terrorist attack 1 /12 Front Pages for London Bridge and Borough Market terrorist attack The Sunday Times The Sun on Sunday The Mail on Sunday New York Daily News Sunday Express The Sunday Telegraph Daily Star on Sunday The Independent

Ms Poole, from Durham, and her colleagues said six patients were taken into surgery in the immediate aftermath of the attack.

Among the patients visited by Charles and Camilla was Sunday Express business editor Geoff Ho, who was stabbed in the neck.

Earlier on Tuesday, Mr Ho released a statement telling of how he was injured while trying to protect a friend from the terrorists.

Three attackers drove a van into pedestrians on the bridge before going on a knife rampage in Borough Market just after 10pm on Saturday night. Seven were killed in the atrocity, and several others were seriously injured.

Police named the terrorists as Khuram Shazad Butt, Rachid Redouane, Youssef Zaghba.
P olice investigating the London Bridge terror attack have arrested a 27-year-old man in east London.

He was taken into custody on Tuesday morning after officers raided an address in Barking just after 8am, Scotland Yard said.

The man, the 13th person arrested in the investigation, was held under the Terrorism Act.

Police were searching the address today, a Met spokesman added.

The arrest came as detectives confirmed the identity of the third terrorist involved in Saturday night's horror attacks, in which seven people died and dozens more were injured.

Youssef Zaghba, a 22-year-old Italian national of Moroccan descent, lived in east London.

He was not a police of MI5 subject of interest, Scotland Yard said.

Khuran Butt, 27, and Rachid Redouane, 30, both from Barking, were named as the other two killers on Monday.

Killers: Khuram Shazad Butt, Rachid Redouane and Youssef Zaghba (L-R)

Detectives have appealed for anyone with any information about the three men to come forward.

All three were shot dead by armed police eight minutes after beginning a rampage in London Bridge, mowing down pedestrians in a rented van before stabbing people in Borough market.

A Met spokesman said: "Detectives would like to hear from anyone who has any information about these men that may assist them with the investigation.

"They are particularly keen to hear about places they may have frequented and their movements in the days and hours before the attacks."

Twelve people arrested by police on Sunday have all been released without charge.
P olice have reportedly raided a restaurant owned by relatives of London Bridge terrorist Khuram Butt.

Dozens of plain clothes officers searched an eatery in the Pakistani city of Jhelum as investigators probed the killer's family, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Butt, 27, is thought to have been born in the city 60 miles south-east of the capital Islamabad before his family emigrated to the UK in 1990.

Officers believed to be from Pakistan's powerful Inter Service Intelligence agency - the country's answer to MI5 - were seen by a Telegraph reporter outside a restaurant owned by a family member, who is a well-known businessman in the area.

Shocking footage: Khuram Butt appeared in Channel 4's The Jihadi Next Door / Channel 4

A Pakistani official told the newspaper British counter-terrorism authorities suspected Khuram Butt had been radicalised in the UK but were investigating his relatives as a precaution.

The source said: "Our British counterparts told us they don't think he was radicalised here, and we think it is probably more likely that he was trained in Syria.

"But we are searching the homes of any relatives connected to him and we are tracing all telephone calls made by family members."

Khuram Butt, of Barking, was known to British police and MI5 and was subject to an investigation in 2015.

He is alleged to have been an associate of the hate preacher Anjem Choudary and appeared in a 2016 Channel 4 documentary about British Islamic extremists, The Jihadis Next Door.

Taxi driver captures footage of people fleeing across London Bridge following terror attack

The former London Underground worker was once thrown out of a mosque for interrupting an imam's sermon and verbally attacked an anti-extremism campaigner.

Known locally as "Abz", he was a father to a toddler and baby and a keen gym-goer and weightlifter, neighbours said.

Transport for London confirmed he worked for London Underground as a trainee customer services assistant for six months before leaving in October 2016.

He was said to be the ringleader of the attack in which he and two other terrorists mowed down pedestrians in London Bridge on Saturday night before stabbing people to death in Borough market.

Twelve people were arrested in London on the day after the attack but all have since been released without charge.
A police officer who tried to save the life of terror victim Christine Archibald as she lay dying on London Bridge has told of how he hugged her distraught fiance as he learnt of her death.

Pc Liam Dolphin, 30, of City of London police, who was among a group of officers at a royal visit to the Mets special operations room in south London, said he believed he and his colleague Special Constable Steven Morgan, 36, were the first officers on the scene.

He told of how he gave her cardiopulmonary resuscitation before later hugged her distraught fiance Tyler Ferguson after he learnt she had died in Saturday night's atrocity.

The heart breaking story emerged as the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall made a visit to thank the emergency services for their work during the London terror attack.

We thought we were turning up to a road accident, said Mr Morgan. But as we made our way to the south side of the bridge it became more severe with casualties. We were both doing first aid to the critically wounded.

Canadian Christine Archibald was the first confirmed victim of the London Bridge attack

But as they started treating the wounded on the bridge the naughty guys came back, said Pc McLeod, 29, and the officers started fighting the terrorists.

Unfortunately all I had was my baton. That was actually the first time I have had to use it.

Pc Dolphin said that when he arrived he found members of the public trying to help Ms Archibald, a 30-year-old Canadian charity worker who had been hit by the van on the bridge. I was giving her CPR, he said. I left her when the medics came.

Royal London Hospital: The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall (second right) visit terror victims / PA

Later he came across her fiance Tyler Ferguson among the walking wounded. I found him on the other end of the bridge, he said. He was quite distressed. He told me she had been pronounced dead. I was just hugging him for a while. He had a bit of a difficult time.

He said the memory of that night remained vivid. It sticks with you, he said. Its very difficult.

Mr Morgan said he had not been back to his day job  as a marine specialist with Scottish Power working with offshore wind farms  since the attack. I decided it would not be best to go straight back, he said. It is quite a different role, being a special constable and doing a day job.

Officers from British Transport Police told how they went to the aid of a colleague who stabbed in the eye by the attackers.

Londoners return to work after London Bridge terror attacks 1 /18 Londoners return to work after London Bridge terror attacks Commuters leave London Bridge Underground Station after it was reopened following the terror attack Getty Images Commuters at London Bridge today Jeremy Selwyn Commuters at London Bridge today Jeremy Selwyn A police officer on patrol as commuters cross London Bridge with Tower Bridge in the background AFP/Getty Images Commuters leave London Bridge Station on their way to work Getty Images Pedestrians look at bouquets of flowers at a pedestrian crossing London Bridge AFP/Getty Images Commuters cross London Bridge Getty Images Commuters walk across London Bridge AFP/Getty Images Commuters fill the escalators at London Bridge Station Getty Images Commuters at London Bridge Station Getty Images Police officers stand on duty as commuters walk across London Bridge AFP/Getty Images Commuters make their way towards London Bridge after it was reopened following the terror attack Getty Images Commuters cross London Bridge AFP/Getty Images Commuters cross London Bridge PA

We thought we were going to a fight, said Pc Leon McLeod, 29. But as they started treating the wounded on the bridge, the naughty guys came back and the officers started fighting the terrorists, he said.

It was during that confrontation that a BTP officer was stabbed in the eye. By the time Pc Alfred Iswa, 51, got there the injured officer was lying on the ground.

I could see blood was coming out of his face, near the eye. But I couldnt see where.

He checked him for other injuries, and found another cut on the thigh.

By that time the attackers had fled, with Pc McLeod chasing after them. Pc Iswa, who stayed behind looking after the injured officer, said: I was trying to help him and he pointed his baton towards the attacker and said, Get him. Even when injured he was trying to fight.

Pc McLeod knew the officer because they had joined the force at the same time. It has become clear that is a fighter. He is a big guy. I was happy to have him by my side.

Later Pc McLeod said the severity of the incident never really sank in, not even when the bullets started going.

Who are the victims of the London Bridge attacks?

The time from the first call to the shooting of the terrorists felt like forever, he said. But when he checked the time, he realised it had only been eight minutes. I thought, Is that it?

He also questioned whether he had done all he could on the night. Personally for me I question if I could do more, because its such a shit thing to be involved in.

Their colleague Pc Lee Crook, 36  whose birthday was on Saturday  was at Lewisham when the attack happened, and jumped on a train to London Bridge. I wasnt expecting it to stop at London Bridge. I was ready to pull the emergency alarm and jump off.

With a member of the public Pcs Iswa and Crook loaded the injured officer on to an emergency stretcher and started walking him to Guys Hospital. But a passing police van flashed them and took him to Kings College Hospital instead.

Two City of London detectives also described how they arrived at the scene within two or three minutes of the call. DC Mark Alston, 35, said: The whole thing was so surreal. It was just a strange situation to be in. There were peoples belongings all over the bridge. It was dead quiet there.

Dc Tom Hayball, 33, said: We had walking wounded being tended to by members of the public covered in blood. There was a real sense of community that came out of it.
T he sister of a man who was murdered in the London Bridge terror attack has paid a tearful tribute to her inspirational and "unique" brother.

James McMullan, 32, from Hackney, has been named by his family as a victim of the attack, having spent Saturday night drinking with his friends near London Bridge.

He had left the Barrowboy & Banker pub to have a cigarette when three terrorists began mowing down pedestrians before driving to Borough Market and stabbing passersby.

In a heartbeaking interview with Sky News, his sister Melissa said the hard-working Mr McMullum was out celebrating the launch of his online business.

James McMullan has been named as the second victim of the attack / Facebook

She said: Nowhere else will you find such humour and unique personality, with someone who puts friends and family above all else.

"He was an inspiration."

She added: "It was also that he could give me and my son and my parents a better life.

He wasnt doing it for himself it was just for us. He would work 16/18 hour days seven days a week. He was always exhausted, but he just kept saying I have to do this for my family.

He was a really good person and he didnt deserve to die  not alone.

Vigil for London Bridge terror attack 1 /16 Vigil for London Bridge terror attack Hundreds gather during a vigil in Potters Fields for the victims of the June 3rd terror attacks Getty Images People attend a vigil for victims of Saturday's attack in London Bridge, at Potter's Field Park AP Hundreds gather during a vigil in Potters Fields for the victims of the June 3rd terror attacks Getty Images Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and Home Secretary Amber Rudd take part in a vigil for the victims of the London Bridge terror attacks Getty Images Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, Home Secretary Amber Rudd and Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott with members of the public observing a minute's silence PA People gather in Potters Field Park during an event for the victims of the terror attack REUTERS People at a vigil in Potters Fields Park, central London in honour of the London Bridge terror attack victims PA People take part in a vigil for victims of the London Bridge terror attacks by the City Hall EPA Floral tributes were set down during a vigil outside City Hall EPA ople attend a vigil to remember the victims of the attack on London Bridge and Borough Market REUTERS Pupils from Eden Girls' School in Waltham Forest take part in a vigil in memory of those killed in the recent terror attacks in London Getty Images People lay flowers after a vigil for victims of Saturday's attack in London Bridge, AP

Ms McMullan told how her brothers friends had frantically searched hospitals in the days following the attack in a desperate search.

He was one of seven people to be killed in the terrorists rampage and the second victim to be named.

Ms McMullan said the attack started roughly five minutes after he left the pub.

She added: He was just loving and caring and no one could ever replace my brother.

Saturday night was probably one of the first nights in a very long time he actually went out.

All his friends around me they were with him the night, he was outside having a cigarette  outside the Barrowboy & Banker and he called to say he couldnt come back in.

So his friends said they would leave and finish their drinks and come and him.

Heartbroken: Christine Archibald, the first named victim of Saturday's attack, with fiance Tyler Ferguson

Mr McMullans devastated father Simon vowed he would carry on the work of his exceptional son, who had recently started a web-based business which was set to "revolutionise education".

The 61-year-old said: At this point in time the subject is too raw. I'm just going to try to keep the business that he was doing alive."

Three of the victims have so far been named, with Mr McMullan joined by French restaurant worker Alexandre and Canadian bride-to-be Christine Archibald.
T he creator of hit television show The Wire has apologised for Donald Trump by visiting a London pub to buy people pints.

David Simon spent hundreds of pounds buying drinks at The Crown in Covent Garden on Monday evening after the US President mocked Mayor of London Sadiq Khan for his response to the London Bridge terror attack.

Simon later tweeted that the money wasnt enough to apologise for Trumps venal ignorance.

He had earlier said: Apology for Trump: Just landed in London. Compulsed to find a pub and let random folk order pints on my Amex. 11 too early. Maybe tonite.

A row erupted after Mr Khan tweeted that there was no reason to be alarmed by the additional police presence on the capitals streets following the attack.

In reponse, Mr Trump tweeted on Sunday: At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is no reason to be alarmed!

Despite widespread criticism of his original claims, the US leader wrote on Twitter on Monday: "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!"

And appearing on Channel 4 News on Monday evening, Mr Khan said Mr Trump was wrong about many things and that his state visit should not go ahead.

"I don't think we should roll out the red carpet to the president of the USA in the circumstances where his policies go against everything we stand for, he said.

"When you have a special relationship it is no different from when you have got a close mate. You stand with them in times of adversity but you call them out when they are wrong.

"There are many things about which Donald Trump is wrong."
M ichael Bloomberg, former Mayor of New York, has given our Sadiq the respect he deserves. I felt sympathy for the terrible tragedy on Saturday night but I dont understand what this brouhaha is around your Mayor. I thought he said exactly what he should have said. Unlike US President Donald Trump, who laid into Sadiq Khan after taking his no reason to be alarmed quotes out of context.

Bloomberg, who could have been a contender for President, is instead focusing on his climate change mission. A party hosted by our editor George Osborne, architect Thomas Heatherwick, the Serpentines Yana Peel and banker John Studzinski, was held to launch a book Bloomberg has written with Carl Pope, titled Climate of Hope.

Despite squalls of rain on the rooftop of The Ned in the City, where the party was being held, Bloomberg kept his sense of humour. Khan will host a screening of the film From the Ashes, produced by Bloomberg and Pope, on the coal industry, at the Tate, he noted. It will be available worldwide on National Geographic Channel on 25 June. Im also happy to say that  the irony  Rupert Murdoch owns the National Geographic channel. So fundamentally Fox News is going to show this movie, he teased.

Just as the guests, including Tracey Emin and Maria Balshaw, recovered from their giggles, who should appear on the rooftop but Murdoch himself, accompanying Jerry Hall, oblivious to the cause of mirth.

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Was property billionaire Nick Candy joking when he told The Londoner he thinks Corbyn could take over No 10? Jeremy Corbyn will be prime minister on Saturday morning, declared Candy. I think hes got a better chance than we gave him but I dont think people gave him a chance at all. We seriously doubt Candy will vote for Corbyn because of Labours proposed land value tax. Though the billionaire conceded he has spoken better than any of them.

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Dave Benett/Getty Images

Lovely to see Julia Peyton-Jones out and about after becoming a mum for the first time, aged 64. New director of the Tate, Maria Balshaw, was delighted to catch up with her. Julia is a really old friend, she said. She also gushed about Peytons daughter. Ive been looking at baby pictures. They are mirror images.

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Enjoy the great cheeseboard in the sky

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Farewell Peter Sallis, beloved voice of Wallace from the Wallace and Gromit films, who died aged 96 last Friday. The man who played the Wensleydale-lover had been living in Denville Hall, the actors retirement home in north-west London.

Before the Nick Park animations, Sallis was known as Cleggy in Last of the Summer Wine, which he graced for 37 years. He was a famous face at the Garrick club, where he was considered one of its funniest members. One friend remembers asking what he was doing next. Im planning a one man show  Lady Chatterleys Lover.

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(BBC News & Current Affairs via G) / BBC News & Current Affairs via G

Quote of the Day: "Will you please stop talking?"

Today programme host Mishal Husain asks guest Boris Johnson what many are thinking this morning

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Hugh Grant stepped up for Simon Hughes last night at Flat Iron Square in Bermondsey, where the Lib-Dem is standing. Grant, who is non-partisan and was there in a personal capacity, was asked: Which do you prefer, Bermondsey or Notting Hill? the latter being one of his most loved rom-coms. He said that the irony was that he disliked it intensely, back then. Too much self-satisfaction, he said. Next hell be saying that Love, Actually isnt all around.

Locating a royal tragedy

Corbis via Getty Images

A sophisticated evening at the Savoy last night, as Damian Barr hosted his literary salon. The star guest was Pulitzer Prize-winning US author Richard Russo, making a rare appearance in the UK.

The Londoner asked Ancient Greek expert Natalie Haynes, whose new novel retells the story of Oedipus from the womens perspective, what she made of Prince Charles calling his marriage to Diana a Greek tragedy in newly released letters to Nancy Reagan.

Greek tragedy seems a bit of a grandiose description, Haynes said. Im not sure what hed think the hamartia  the tragic mistake, your fatal flaw as a character  was: I suppose the need to marry someone you dont love.

Haynes thought the royals were more like Roman emperors. In Greek tragedy you find an enormously high death toll, she said. But being forced to break up with somebody that you care about to marry somebody that youre supposed to marry, thats very much whats going on in the 1st century AD, so I say Roman emperor. Well send Charles a letter.

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Tweet of the day: "The polls have moved a great deal over the past two weeks. When people ask me for a prediction, I have to say I know that I dont know.

Even veteran psephologist Sir David Butler isnt sure whats going to happen on Thursday.

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Pop kids bury the hatchet

Dave Benett/Getty Images

In 1997 the Spice Girls told Oasis to come and have a go if you think youre hard enough. Twenty years later and Noel Gallaghers daughter Anais, and Victoria Beckhams son Brooklyn are friends, dining at a Wonderland magazine party at the Ivy Soho Brasserie last night. What a difference a generation can make.

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Fashion icon of the day: Vogue.co.uk says Jeremy Corbyn-style shellsuits and Harrington jackets are a hit on the catwalk: Such predilections are very Vetements autumn/winter 2017. Chic.

Follow The Londoner on Twitter and Facebook here.
B oris Johnson has said he sees no reason for Donald Trumps state visit to London to be cancelled despite his attacks on Mayor Sadiq Khan.

The US President sparked a row with a series of attacks on Mr Khan in the wake of the murder of seven people in a terror attack in London Bridge on Saturday night.

Mr Trump tweeted in the wake of the attack: At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is no reason to be alarmed!

He later continued to criticise the Mayor, posting: Pathetic excuse by London Mayor Sadiq Khan who had to think fast on his "no reason to be alarmed" statement. MSM is working hard to sell it!

Mr Trump appeared to be misquoting the Mayor, who had told Londoners not to be alarmed in a reference to the increased armed police presence in the capital after the attack.

The comments sparked widespread fury from figures across the political spectrum. Liberal Democrat leader said described Mr Trump as an embarrassment to America, adding: This is a man insulting our national values at a time of introspection and mourning."

Donald Trump, left, and Sadiq Khan,have clashed over the London Bridge terror attack / PA

And Labour MP David Lammy tweeted to the President: You demean your office by misquoting and smearing the Mayor of a city that has just been attacked and is also the capital of your close ally.

Mr Khan himself suggested last night that the visit should be cancelled, saying: I don't think we should roll out the red carpet to the president of the USA in the circumstances where his policies go against everything we stand for.

But, speaking to the BBC, Foreign Secretary Mr Johnson said the visit should go ahead.

Donald Trump slams Sadiq Khan on London terror attack

The invitation has been issued and accepted and I see no reason to rescind it, he said.

I do not wish to interpose myself between the Mayor of London and the President of the United States.

Mr Johnson also backed Mr Khans comments about the presence of armed police, saying: It's entirely right that Sadiq - as the mayor of the greatest city on earth - should reassure his public and his citizens about the presence of armed police on the streets. He was making a very sensible point and he was entirely right to do so."

On Monday, Prime Minister Theresa May refused to publicly admonish Mr Trump over his comments.
D iane Abbott has pulled out of the Evening Standard's election hustings citing illness.

The shadow home secretary withdrew from Tuesday evening's event in Westminster having earlier cancelled a planned appearance on the BBC's Woman's Hour radio show.

She will be replaced at the hustings by shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry.

Her withdrawal came after a disastrous TV interview on Monday evening, and prompted speculation that Jeremy Corbyns team has banned her from media appearances.

Minutes before she was due on Woman's Hour, Ms Abbott was pictured at Oxford Circus Tube station. The image snapped at 8.40am shows her in a suit and talking on the phone. She was due on air at 9am at New Broadcasting House  a 10-minute walk from the station.

Ms Abbott was left floundering last night on Sky News after being grilled over details of a report on Londons preparedness for a terror attack.

Her vague answers during the interview sparked criticism on social media over whether she had read the report by Labour peer Lord Harris.

During the exchange with presenter Dermot Murnaghan she said the report was about preparedness but could not say what it entailed or any of his recommendations.

Sky grilling: Labour's Diane Abbott

A senior Conservative today accused Labour of hiding Ms Abbott. International Development Secretary Priti Patel said: The woman who would be in charge of our police and the intelligence services cannot even be trusted by Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell to go on the airwaves to explain their shocking record on national security.

A statement from Labour said: Diane Abbott has had to pull out of Womens Hour due to illness.

It is the second time she has been taken ill at a crucial time for her party. In February she went home with a migraine before a key vote on triggering Article 50.

A Labour candidate fighting to retain their London seat said: I watched the interview last night with my head in my hands. For London candidates, all I can say is, we thank our lucky stars weve got Sadiq Khan. We would all expect Diane Abbott to be more prepared given her experiences earlier in the campaign.

Last month Ms Abbott got her figures wrong on police recruitment in an interview on LBC radio.

A Labour source said the leaders office were trying to rein in Ms Abbotts media appearances, saying: The leaders office are weighing in on the bids that shes getting and trying to pull her from interviews but if she agrees directly with people theres not much they can do.

Ms Abbott had been due to appear tonight at the London Evening Standards election hustings for a debate with a panel including Tory Greg Hands and Lib Dem Sir Vince Cable.
E mily Thornberry replaced Diane Abbott at the Evening Standard hustings after the shadow home secretary pulled out at the last minute citing illness.

The shadow foreign secretary met Greg Hands, the Conservative candidate for Chelsea and Fulham, Green London Assembly member Sian Berry, and Sir Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Twickenham, in the clash two days ahead of the election.

Ms Abbott withdrew from the debate following a disastrous interview on Sky News on Monday and amid claims the Labour leader's office is trying to rein in her media appearances.

ITV's Robert Peston chaired the event in Westminster, which was hosted by Evening Standard editor George Osborne. This is how events unfolded.

#ESHustings
G eorge Turner, the Liberal Democrat candidate for Vauxhall, was standing outside Stockwell station when a passer-by punched the air and shouted: Hope you win, man! That Hoey is finished around here!

For Danny Herman, 24, a Left-leaning Londoner who likes Corbyn but voted Remain, Labours Kate Hoeys vociferous support for a Ukip-style Brexit has put her beyond the pale. Minutes later, as Mr Turner knocked on doors around affluent Albert Square, anger towards Ms Hoey  who posed with Ukip leader Nigel Farage on a boat on the Thames during the Leave campaign last summer  boiled over.

I am historically a Labour voter but I was outraged to see Hoey standing shoulder to shoulder with Nigel Farage, said Fiona Czerniawska, a company director. I will be voting Lib Dem this time and a lot of my neighbours who voted Labour before say they are voting Lib Dem as well.

Lib Dem challenger: George Turner with Stephen Barlow / Nigel Howard

Sean Leach, 38, a lawyer who has always voted Labour, told the Standard: I feel shocked that Hoey went on the boat with Farage. Her actions were a slap in the face for her constituents. I no longer feel she represents us. For me this election is first, second and third about Brexit.

Could Ms Hoey  who won this safe seat with a 12,708 majority in 2015 and has held it since 1989  really be in trouble? Lambeth voted 79 per cent for Remain, the highest in the country, but Mr Turner, 34, a housing activist and investigative journalist, is an unknown up against a hard-working MP who, Brexit aside, is highly regarded locally.

The Standard caught up with Ms Hoey as she headed on to the Solon New Road estate and asked her if she was concerned she could lose. She said: No, Im not. This election is not about Brexit. People are relaxed. On most estates, almost nobody talks about it.

But the scale and tone of the Lib Dem onslaught has rattled her, she admitted. They have put out thousands more leaflets than we have, she said. They must be close to the 13,000 spending limit. Well be keeping an eye on that.

Attacks on her have been nasty, she said. They have made it personal. Theyve put out thousands of Hoey out posters in which my face is merged with Farages.

Did she regret going on that boat with Mr Farage? I wasnt on the boat with Farage, she fired back. Nobody ever listens to me! I was on the boat but I was there to support the fishing unions Id met in Aberdeen. Just because Im photographed with Farage, what does that say? Just like people who were photographed with Idi Amin, it doesnt mean they support Idi Amin. But Ms Hoey is no ingenue and her association with Ukip has done damage. Lib Dem leader Tim Farron called her Ukips candidate in Vauxhall and Ukips economics spokesman, Patrick OFlynn, has said the party decided not to field a candidate because of private assurances given to them by Ms Hoey over Brexit.

What assurances did she give? Would you listen! said Ms Hoey. I have had no contact at all with Ukip. Ive given no assurances to Ukip and they have given no assurances to me. Why would Ukip say something to harm the candidate they want to win if it were untrue? I dont know! she said.

But on and around the estates, her claim that people are more relaxed about Brexit than in affluent Stockwell seemed to stand up. You have my vote, said David Davids, 34, who runs a coffee shop. I voted Remain but we got to roll with the punches and move on and make Brexit work. Salwa Najib voted Remain but said: Its not going to affect my vote. I am still for Kate.

Several householders came out to thank her for personally coming to their aid. Andrea Golding gave her a hug and said: You helped me with my husband and immigration. I voted Remain but I will definitely be voting for you.

There were critical voices, too. Charlotte, 28, an accountant and avid Labour supporter, told Ms Hoey: My biggest issue is Remain and Im voting Lib Dems because they supported that. Ms Hoey shot back: Why not the Greens? She hopes Gulnar Hasnain, the Green party candidate who came third in 2015, could drain support from Mr Turner.

Yet Ms Hoeys big advantage may be Vauxhalls socio-economic breakdown, with estate and low-income residents said to comprise two thirds of the circa 80,000 electorate. It is perhaps why Ladbrokes have Labour at 1/8 with the Lib Dems drifting at 9/2. The Conservative candidate, Dolly Theis, is at 20/1.

Pairing: Kate Hoey and Nigel Farage / Jeff Spicer/Getty Image

For Mr Turner, the biggest challenge is recognition. He said: Last night I was on the doorstep and this Nigerian guy said to me, Who are you? Nobody ever heard of you! Its a mountain to climb but I am buoyed by the huge enthusiasm for my campaign and the hundreds who have volunteered to support us. We can overcome this the good old-fashioned way  by knocking on doors.

Mr Turners record shows he is up for the fight. In 2014 he campaigned against the 1.6 billion plan to redevelop the Shell Centre on the South Bank into luxury housing, arguing that the planning application process had been compromised. At the Royal Courts of Justice, he represented himself, speaking for five hours as he took on the four barristers representing the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, the Mayor of London, Lambeth council, Shell and Braeburn Estates. I lost the case but the judge found my case had merit and refused to award costs against me, he said.

Is this another impossible mission? People have to decide if they want Hoey to remain as their MP, although remain is probably the wrong word here, laughed Turner. At Joanna Lumleys house in Stockwell, her husband Stephen Barlow, a conductor, urged him: Go for it GT, youve got my vote.

Back on the street, resident Susan Bewley, 58, told Turner: I am the person you need to convince to win this. I have lived in Lambeth my whole life and I want an excellent local MP like Kate, but I am furious about Brexit and minded to give Hoey a bloody nose.
RED LODGE  Sharon Hill-Lamb decided in 2015 that her son-in-law, Robert James LeCou, could come live at her home in Belfry.

A state prosecutor said on Monday that, by no fault of her own, it became the consequential decision of her life.

It was decision that Sharon made  she had every right to make, said Assistant Attorney General Dan Guzynski. But that decision cost her her life. It cost Sharons sister her life. It cost Lloyd Lamb his life.

In April 2016, 72-year-old Hill-Lamb was found dead, shot in the face four times. Her husband, Lloyd Lamb, 76, was shot dead in his bed. Her sister, 54-year-old Karen Hill-LeCou  and Robert LeCous wife  was also shot and later found face-down in the bathroom.

Prosecutors argue that it was LeCou, who was arrested days later in his home state of Washington, who shot the family and then left in his wifes truck. LeCou was charged with three counts of deliberate homicide for the shooting deaths of his wife and in-laws.

The triple homicide trial began on Monday in the Carbon County Courthouse in Red Lodge, where the proceedings could extend into next week.

In their opening statement, the prosecution did not outline a motive for LeCou to kill the three family members.

As prosecutors present their evidence, LeCous defense attorneys will argue that investigators left many questions unanswered in the case. LeCou maintains his innocence.

More needed to be done, said defense attorney Edward Werner. Because he did not kill his wife. And he did not kill Sharon and he did not kill Lloyd.

After the jury of seven men and seven women were seated, Guzynski introduced the investigators evidence surrounding April 5, 2016, when LeCou is accused of killing the family.

LeCou followed his wife in 2015 to Belfry, where he would be seen riding his bike around town or smoking outside the RV where he stayed, Guzynski said. LeCou worked on home maintenance and helped his wife take care of Lamb, his older brother-in-law.

On April 5, Hill-LeCou and Hill-Lamb were both seen on surveillance tapes in Belfry businesses while they were searching for their Chihuahua, Precious, Guzynski said. It was the same clothing that Carbon County deputies found them in later.

Guzynski said theres strong evidence that LeCou used Lloyd Lambs 9 mm handgun in the crimes. Lambs son, Lynn, testified on Monday that he got it in the mid-1960s, and it didnt leave his side until later in life when his health turned. At that time, it was kept in a soft case.

While the 9 mm was never recovered, the soft case was found in an RV where LeCou stayed. Court documents said LeCou went with his wife to the Billings Cabelas store, where she purchased 9 mm ammunition weeks before the killings. LeCou couldnt own firearms due to a prior conviction for a violent crime.

Lambs 9 mm was never recovered.

The evidence will show that Lloyds 9 mm handgun, even though we dont have it to show you, was what shot and killed Lloyd, Sharon and Karen, Guzynski said.

He said investigators found that LeCou spent that afternoon at Belfry bars. LeCous phone registered a signal in Belfry by 6:24 that evening.

By 4:45 a.m., an Idaho law enforcement plate reader picked up LeCous wifes truck near Coeur DAlene, Idaho.

LeCou was arrested near Spokane on April 8. He initially told investigators an intruder must have broken into the home and killed his family, according to court documents in the case.

In opening for the defense, Werner said that LeCou was in Washington to help fix up his parents home. He characterized the case against LeCou as based merely off hunches, easy first impressions and conclusions that dont have a real basis.

The killings shocked the small town of Belfry, which Guzynski said was tight-knit enough that everyone knew about the familys missing Chihuahua. Both sides indicated that residents will be called to testify.

Carbon County Attorney Alex Nixon said the case is arguably one of the biggest trials Carbon County has ever had.

Prosecutors will begin to call as many as 30 witnesses for their case against LeCou on Tuesday.
S adiq Khan has issued a stark warning that London will lose thousands of frontline police officers under Conservative spending plans.

The Labour Mayor said the Metropolitan Police could lose as many as 12,800 constables  a reduction in its strength of up to 40 per cent  as it seeks to slash at least 400 million from its budget.

Scotland Yard has already had to make savings of 600m since 2010, with more cuts to come.

Mr Khan said that on top of the 400m, the Met could also face a further loss of up to 700m a year under Tory plans to change the formula for determining police funding.

Cuts warning: Sadiq Khan and Cressida Dick / Jeremy Selwyn

"Our city has suffered two awful terrorist attacks since I was elected as mayor - and we must do everything possible to stop there being any more," said Mr Khan, who praised emergency services after seven people were killed in Saturday nights London Bridge attack.

Sadiq Khan criticised cuts to London's policing budget

"Police officers in our communities act as the eyes and ears of the security services, providing the intelligence and information that allows us to disrupt attempted terrorist attacks.

"Cuts on this scale would make it harder to foil future terrorist attacks on our city - and as the mayor of London I'm simply not willing to stand by and let that happen."

The warning comes as Theresa May faces growing pressure over police cuts after presiding over a loss of almost 20,000 officers during her time as Home Secretary between 2010 and 2016.

Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick asked for extra resources after the third terror attack in 10 weeks hit Britain at the weekend.

In the face of this changing and changed threat, absolutely I will be seeking for London and for policing generally more resourcing obviously," she said on Monday.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called for Theresa May to resign over policing cuts, but the Prime Minister insisted she had protected numbers of counter-terror officers.
T heresa May today hit back at claims by senior Conservatives that she runs the Government by a committee of three at No 10.

In an interview with the Standard, the Prime Minister denied that the U-turn on the so-called dementia tax was caused by her reliance on a tight circle of close advisers.

No, she said to a suggestion, made by senior backbenchers, that she did not consult enough before rushing out the elderly care policy. One of the great things about being Prime Minister is that actually you are able to take advice from a huge variety of people.

Her defiant comments will dismay Conservatives candidates who distanced themselves from the manifesto announcement during the campaign. Executive members of the 1922 Committee, which represents backbenchers, expect discontent over the episode to be raised with Mrs May after the election. Some want her to clip the wings of aides such as Nicholas Timothy, who reportedly wrote the policy.

Mrs May said she took advice more widely than predecessors. I believe it is important to have leadership  but I said right at the beginning we would have more green papers and white papers to consult with the public.

The Prime Minister confirmed that the cap on individual payments for care in old age  which was rushed out after the original announcement bombed with voters  would be funded by means-testing winter fuel payments. These are worth up to 300 a year and claimed by 12 million pensioners.

But Mrs May declined to say what level the cap would be at  or how many pensioners would lose the fuel bills help. I genuinely want to consult, she insisted, saying the public must wait for a summer green paper.

Asked if she regretted the policy, which was blamed for a major wobble in the campaign, she declared: No, I think it is right to be open and honest about the hard choices we need to make. Theres no magic money tree in our manifesto  unlike [in] our opponents.

However, Mrs May was not open when asked to name a single industry that should have to hire fewer immigrants under her plan to reduce numbers below 100,000. She said the Migration Advisory Committee would recommend which businesses were short of skills.

But what if the MAC said 150,000 or more visas were needed by industry? Governments policy is very clear, she said. We believe net migration should be brought down to the tens of thousands. The Prime Minister tried to allay fears that a free trade deal with Donald Trump would expose the NHS to aggressive US health corporations. I know this was raised during the EUs TTIP [Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership] discussions with the US, but I was very clear that the NHS was not under threat, she said.

Asked if Britain would be forced to import chlorine-washed US chicken or hormone-injected meat, she admitted that these were among a whole range of issues to be discussed.

Mrs May insisted she was not planning a reshuffle after the election, saying: I am proud of my Cabinet [but] I am focused on Thursday. She refused to speculate about the result or say what majority she would count as a success, saying: I never set goals like that. I just go out and work.

The Tory leader said she had seen a bit of David Cameron and revealed that her husband Philip had been given advice by Samantha Cameron when he moved into the Downing Street flat.

Asked if Mr May was ready for five more years living over the shop, Mrs May smiled and said: Absolutely! That is what we are both working for.
T heresa May came under high-level pressure to delay Donald Trumps state visit today amid anger over the Presidents behaviour following the London Bridge attacks.

Senior former diplomat Lord Ricketts said the official invitation could not be rescinded but should be left on the table for the time being.

The intervention of the respected life peer - who served as head of the Foreign Office and as Britains first National Security Adviser - follows outrage that Mr Trump chose to attack Mayor of London Sadiq Khan within hours of the London Bridge and Borough Market atrocity.

Mr Khan called the president ignorant and wrong in interviews today his strongest remarks since the latest row began, and said the visit should be cancelled.

Lord Ricketts said the Royal invitation should never have been offered in the first place.

Mayor Sadiq Khan with Met chief Cressida Dick / Jeremy Selwyn

Asked if it should be torn up, he said: I think it is hard to rescind it now. I think it can perhaps be left on the table and perhaps activated later.

He said he was in favour of Trump coming on an ordinary visit to understand the fibre of this country and see for himself the determination and resilience not to be cowed by these terrorist attacks. But I would leave a state visit for later.

Mr Trump tweeted after the murders on Saturday night with mockery of Mr Khans appeal to Londoners not to be alarm by an increased police presence on the streets and transport system.

Donald Trump slams Sadiq Khan on London terror attack

When critics rounded on him, saying he had not understood Mr Khan was talking about the police presence and not the terrorist threat, the president responded: Pathetic excuse by London Mayor Sadiq Khan who had to think fast on his no reason to be alarmed statement.

But foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said he had seen no reason to rescind the invitation for a state visit after President Trumps tweets.

I do not wish to interpose myself between the Mayor of London and the President of the United States, he said.

A US Conference of Mayors representing more than 1,400 cities said it stood united with Mr Khan following the attacks and praised his leadership.

New York City mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted: Mayor Sadiq Khan is doing an extraordinary job supporting Londoners in a time of pain. President Trumps attack on him is unacceptable.
 I don't talk about numbers, explains Tania Mathias when asked about immigration. Its always about people and what we need.

Her note of independence against Theresa Mays pledge to cut net migration to below 100,000 is striking. But then Dr Mathias is no traditional Tory parliamentary candidate. An ophthalmologist, she was a refugee officer for the UN Relief and Works Agency in the Gaza Strip, looked after HIV, Aids and TB patients in KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, has treated leprosy patients in India, and more recently worked in the NHS in and around London.

Two years ago, she claimed the scalp of Liberal Democrat big beast Sir Vince Cable, one of the biggest shocks of the election night. However, with Sir Vince standing again, she appears to be facing a formidable challenge to hold on to the seat that she won with a 2,017 majority.

People toot their car horn or shout out Vince as the former business secretary cycles around the constituency. In 2015, the senior Lib Dem was swimming against an anti-Coalition, anti-tuition fees tide faced by his party, which was also hampered by Tory warnings of a Labour government being propped up by the SNP.

Big beast: Sir Vince Cable / Alex Lentati

Things appear to have changed. There is a good mood and we are getting quite a lot of switching from Labour people, unhappy during the Coalition, and some Tories are coming across, says Sir Vince. Neither Ukip, which got 3,069 votes in 2015, nor the Greens, 2,463, are standing. Much depends on what happens to the 7,129 Labour votes. As she knocks on doors in Hampton Wick, an anti-Brexit area, the impeccably mannered Dr Mathias, 52, brings a doctors touch. Richard Curling, 66, a retired accountant backs her, saying: The worry with Labour is their plans cost too much. Vince Cable was a very good MP. But I dont like their current leader.

The focus of the election started on Brexit, says Sir Vince, but has since shifted towards schools, the NHS, social care and Heathrow expansion.

He was the local MP for 18 years. Now 74, Sir Vince dismisses suggestions that he is too old for a Westminster comeback, saying he is probably fitter than most 50-year-olds. Could he have one last tilt at the Lib Dem leadership? If he wins on Thursday, he insists: Im going to concentrate on being a good constituency MP.
O pinion polls continued to point to a wide range of possible results as millions of Britons headed out to cast their votes.

The Conservatives lead ranged from a single point to a double-digit cushion after a campaign in which Jeremy Corbyns Labour slashed Theresa Mays lead.

YouGov, whose polls had shown some of the tightest gaps in the campaign, had even predicted a hung parliament in some of its models.

But its final poll for The Times showed the Tories with a seven-point lead over Labour, which would give Theresa Mays party a majority of almost 50 seats, up from 17. It showed a late drop in Labours support, with the Conservatives on 42 per cent and Labour down three points on 35 per cent. The Lib Dems were on 10 per cent and Ukip was on five per cent.

But the mixed selection, which means the vote will likely be decided by turnout, was shown by a Survation poll which had the two parties almost neck and neck as voters prepared to cast their ballots.

TODO: define component type apester

Survation's final pre-election survey put the Tories on 41.3 per cent with Labour on 40.4 per cent, the Liberal Democrats on 7.8 per cent, SNP on 3.6 per cent, Ukip on 2.4 per cent and the Greens on 2.3 per cent.

Election battle: Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn

Here is the latest graph showing the poll of polls from Britain Elects  providing a clear picture of how the parties stand as voters head to the polls.

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Latest election odds from Betfair Exchange:

General Election 2017: What you need to know

Overall Majority - 14m matched

Conservative Majority 1.23 (2/9 or an 81% chance)

No Overall Majority 6.2 (5/1 or a 16% chance)

Labour Majority 30 (29/1)

Any Other Majority 1000 (999/1)

Most Seats - 17.9m matched

Conservative 1.09 (1/11 or a 91% chance)

Labour 11.5 (10/1 or a 8% chance)

Lib Dems 1000 (999/1)

UKIP 1000 (999/1)

Any Other 1000 (999/1)
C hinese zookeepers have been filmed pushing a live donkey into the jaws of two hungry tigers in front of shocked onlookers.

In the gory footage, the terrified animal can be seen clinging for life as workers push it off a ledge into the tigers enclosure.

After crashing into water, the predators pounce on the struggling donkey in what is believed to be Changzhou zoo in eastern China.

The video only shows the beginning of the attack, but local media reports the donkey was mauled to death by the tigers over a period of half an hour.

A zoo official told the South China Morning Post that a shareholder involved in a dispute with the zoo was behind the incident that emerged this week.

The shareholder had allegedly arranged for a group of men to take some of the zoos animals, including the donkey, outside to sell them.

But they were stopped by security and then tried to push the animals into the tiger enclosure instead, the official told the newspaper.
A hammer-wielding man was shot town after attacking a police officer outside Notre Dame Cathedral in a suspected terror incident.

Armed officers swarmed the area and warned the public to stay away after reports of gunshots and panic outside the central Paris landmark.

Police confirmed the suspect was "neutralised" and local news sites were reporting that he was injured, but not killed, in the shooting.

French authorities confirmed the country's counter-terrorism office has launched an investigation into the incident, which left one police officer injured.

Terror incident: The man was 'neutralised' by armed police / Sky News

It is not yet clear if the attacker was acting alone when he attacked the police officer who had been patrolling in the Thorax.

According to Reuters, he threatened officers with a hammer and refused to stop when instructed, before officers opened fire.

Attack: Scores of police attended the scene / Reuters

Up to 900 tourists were locked inside the cathedral for their own safety as the incident unfolded.

A police source confirmed: "The area is in lock down, but the assailant has been neutralised."

They later added: "Situation under control, one policeman injured, the assailant was neutralised and taken to hospital."

One eyewitness said he and his family were among the people trapped inside Notre Dame after officers locked all the doors.

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He wrote: "Me and my family are stuck in the church. Quick note. Everyone inside the church is safe. Whatever was happening happened outside."

He shared pictures of tourists standing with their hands over their heads at the request of police.

Referring to the UK terror attack over the weekend, he added: "Needless to say my family and I are a little on edge. We were in London when London Bridge attacks happened."

Another holidaymaker inside Notre Dame wrote on Twitter: "Not the holiday experience wanted. Trapped in Notre Dame Cathedral after police shoot a man. We are with our 2 terrified children."

Notre Dame: Police swarmed to the central Paris monument / Sky News

France is currently under a state of emergency following a series of lethal attacks by Islamic State and al-Qaeda operatives.

This story is being updated.
A n Algerian student shouted This is for Syria! as he attacked police outside Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris today before being shot and wounded in a suspected terrorist incident.

The otherwise unidentified suspect was neutralised in the main square outside the ancient place of worship shortly after 4.20pm.

After he hit an officer with a hammer, witnesses heard two shots, before the man  who is in his 40s  fell to the ground.

Anti-terrorist prosecutors in the French capital have already opened an enquiry into the incident, which took place in front of hundreds of tourists.

Attack: Armed police swarmed the area in central Paris / AFP/Getty Images

During a visit to the scene, French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said the man was believed to be acting alone and used rudimentary items to attack the forces of law and order.

Beyond the hammer, he had two kitchen knives on him, and was identified via a student identity card in his pocket.

Terror: French authorities are investigating the incident / Reuters

Mr Collomb said the man was in hospital, but had no further details of his condition.

One officer was lightly injured and the assailant was shot in the chest, according to another source.

Around 900 people inside the cathedral were told to sit on wooden pews and put their hands up as police investigated the attack.

Large numbers of police vehicles meanwhile filled the area on the Ile de Cite island in the River Seine, where Notre Dame is situated.

Lawrence Langner, a 73-year-old American tourist, told the AP news agency that he suddenly heard a commotion and two detonations, which were believed to be the gunshots.

Police: Tourists were locked in the cathedral as officers patrolled outside / Sky News

Others posted photos online of what appeared to be the interior of medieval Notre Dame, one of France's most-visited monuments.

France remains on high alert after a series of deadly terror attacks in recent years.

Paris: A picture of the aftermath of the incident / @enraje

In April, traffic officer Xavier Jugele was shot dead while on duty on the Champs Elysees just days before the French presidential election.

ISIS claimed the killing by 39-year-old Karim Cheurfi, who was shot dead by police in a gun battle. Two other officers were injured in the attack.

A month earlier a convicted criminal with links to radical Islam shouted 'I am here to die for Allah, there will be deaths' seconds before he was shot dead during an attack at Paris Orly airport.

The 39-year-old, named locally as career criminal Ziyed Ben Belgacem, was killed after wrestling a soldier's gun from her and fleeing into a McDonald's. He sent a text message to his brother and father stating 'I shot the police', shortly before he was killed.

It followed the shooting in February of a man outside the Louvre museum in the heart of Paris after he attempted to storm the historic art gallery.

On July 14 last year amid Bastille Day celebrations in the Riviera city of Nice, a large truck was driven into a festive crowd killing 86 people. The driver was shot dead. ISIS extremists claimed responsibility for the attack.

Just 12 days later two ISIS fanatics stormed into a church in Normandy and slit the throat of a priest as he was celebrating mass.

A month earlier, two French police officers were murdered in their Paris home in front of their three-year-old son.

The killings came after a massacre in the French capital in November 2015 in which ISIS militants went on the rampage murdering 130 people.

They used machine guns to slaughter revellers at the Bataclan music hall and in bars and restaurants in some of the city's most popular night spots. A suicide bomber also targeted to Stade de France stadium.

The atrocity led to the declaration of a state of emergency in France.

In January the same year, two brothers killed 11 people inside the Paris building where the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo is headquartered in what ISIS claimed was retaliation for the publication of cartoons about the Prophet Muhammad.

More were killed subsequently in attacks on a kosher market in eastern Paris and on police. There were 17 victims in all, including two police officers. The attackers were killed.


A riana Grande has announced that she will be releasing her version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow to raise more funds for the victims of the Manchester terror attack.

The 23-year-old pop star closed the One Love Manchester benefit concert with an emotional rendition of Judy Garlands 1939 classic on Sunday.

Although 10 million has already been raised for the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund, Grande is keen to add to the total with the release of another single.

Arianas team are working out behind the scenes what is necessary for the song to be released, a source told The Sun.

Ariana Grande performs with school choir at One Love Manchester event

But everyones confident there wont be anything stopping it getting out there and continuing to help those affected by the tragedy.

Sundays concert, which included performances by Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry and Justin Bieber, raised more than 2 million alone for the fund.

One Love Manchester Concert 1 /41 One Love Manchester Concert Ariana Grande AP The crowd at One Love Manchester PA Jesy Nelson, Perrie Edwards, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall of Little Mix PA Katy Perry BBC Robbie Williams with Howard Donald, Gary Barlow and Mark Owen of Take That Getty Images for One Love Manchester Ariana and Miley perform a duet Dave Hogan/Getty Images One Love Manchester AP Justin Bieber PA Miley Cyrus and Pharrell Williams lead the crowd in a rendition of Happy Dave Hogan/Getty Images Ariana Grande takes to the stage One Love Manchester BBC Nail Horan performs single Slow Hands Ariana Grande takes to the stage One Love Manchester BBC will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Ariana Grande PA Liam Gallagher PA Ariana Grande Dave Hogan via AP Katy Perry PA Ariana Grande PA Robbie Williams Getty Images for One Love Manchester Miley Cyrus Getty Images for One Love Manchester One Love Manchester PA Ariana Grande PA Chris Martin PA Little Mix BBC Ariana Grande PA Howard Donald, Gary Barlow and Mark Owen of Take That Getty Images for One Love Manchester Liam Gallagher puts in a surprise appearance BBC Katy Perry performs Roar on stage Dave Hogan/Getty Images Justin Bieber gets emotional during Love Yourself BBC Liam Gallagher and Chris Martin (ri PA Little Mix's Perrie Edwards, Jesy Nelson, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall PA Marcus Mumford Getty Images for One Love Manchester

Proceeds from Grandes re-release of single One Last Time, which has already shot up the iTunes chart this week, will also go to the fund.

The pop star honoured the victims and survivors of the May 22 terror attacks on stage during Sundays concert, saying: Thank you for coming together and being so loving and strong. The love that we have here is the medicine that we need right now.

Grande and her team of backing dancers are all thought to have been inked with tribute Manchester bee tattoos following the show.
C hris Martin has defended Noel Gallagher over his absence from the One Love Manchester benefit concert, insisting that everyone knew that he wasnt able to attend in person.

Following Liam Gallaghers angry tweets about his brothers no-show, the Coldplay frontman has said that Noel gave his blessing for him to perform in his place.

Thank you @noelgallagher for giving your blessing and encouragement to play don't look back in anger and live forever on Sunday, he posted on the bands official account on Tuesday.

Everyone knew in advance you couldn't be there physically, so thank you for being there in spirit and for lending us those incredible songs. love cm.

Later, he added: And thank you @liamgallagher, that was awesome x cm + jb.

Martin performed Dont Look Back in Anger at the concert to raise money for the victims of the May 22 terror attacks and then dueted with Liam on Live Forever.

Liam Gallagher slams Noel for Manchester concert absence

Speculation that Liam and Noel would put their feud behind them to reunite at the concert was rife in the lead up to the event.

On Monday, Liam blamed his brother in a series of tweets, writing: Manchester Id like to apologise for my brothers absence last night very disappointed stay beautiful stay safe LG x.

Noels out of the f****** country weren't we all love get on a f****** plane and play your tunes for the kids you sad f***.

The mother of Liams daughter Molly, Lisa Moorish, later revealed that Noel had been with them during the concert.


L ena Dunham has endorsed Jeremy Corbyn for Prime Minister, urging British fans to vote Labour in the June 8 General Election.

While the US citizen wont actually be able to vote herself, she has spoken out in support of Corbyn, saying that the UK has a chance at a fair and just leader.

In a lengthy Instagram post on Monday evening, Dunham referenced the fact that US President Donald Trump had criticised London Mayor Sadiq Khan on Twitter following the London Bridge terror attack.

We here in America have watched in horror as our siblings in the U.K. have been attacked these past weeks and our president has been unable to offer so much as a word of condolence, only using this to push forward his racist and xenophobic agenda, she wrote.

We no longer have the option to pretend that what happens in Britain or America is separate. We do not live in fiefdoms. We must all work together to quell the tide of hate and complacency.

The Girls star continued: Which is why, despite my US Passport, I desperately urge my U.K. friends/fans/frenemies to get out and vote for the Labour Party. With Jeremy Corbyn you have a chance at a fair and just leader who will temper the fascism and darkness of our current American moment.

General Election 2017 Campaign - In pictures 1 /57 General Election 2017 Campaign - In pictures Jeremy Corbyn joins leaders for the BBC's Election Debate Stefan Rousseau/PA Prime Minister Theresa May samples cheese at the Royal Bath and West Show in Shepton Mallet Leon Neal/Pool/Reuters First Minister Nicola Sturgeon during the launch of the SNP General Election manifesto at Perth Concert Hall Jane Barlow/PA Former Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg at the launch in central London of a Liberal Democrats campaign poster attacking the Conservatives' school meals policy Victoria Jones/PA Jeremy Corbyn appears on The One Show BBC Liberal Democrats leader Tim Farron and the party's local candidate Sir Simon Hughes are given a baking lesson at Comptoir Gourmand, an artisan bakery in Bermondsey, London Gareth Fuller/PA Prime Minister Theresa May answers questions from the studio audience during a joint Channel 4 and Sky News general election programme recorded at Sky studios Stefan Rousseau/PA Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is interviewed by Jeremy Paxman during a joint Channel 4 and Sky News general election programme 'May v Corbyn Live: The Battle for Number 10' at Sky studios Stefan Rousseau/WPA Pool/Getty Images Home Secretary Amber Rudd (left) and Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott appearing on the BBC One current affairs programme, The Andrew Marr Show. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Sunday May 28, 2017. Abbott has said she no longer opposed the security services as she insisted her time as a graduate civil servant would prepare her for becoming home secretary Jeff Overs/BBC/PA A new poster by the Green Party featuring pictures of the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary either side US Preseident Donald J Trump Green Party/PA Conservative party leader Theresa May during the Welsh Conservative manifesto launch at Gresford Memorial Hall, Gresford, Wrexham Stefan Rousseau/PA Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn with former Labour deputy prime minister John Prescott during General Election campaigning in Hull Chris Radburn/PA A man is arrested after protesting against fox hunting as Theresa May arrives at the Welsh Conservative manifesto launch at Gresford Memorial Hall, Gresford, Wrexham Stefan Rousseau/PA Green Party co-leaders Caroline Lucas and Jonathan Bartley launch the Green Party's 'Green Guarantee' of key priorities for the party at a general election campaign event in London AFP/Getty Images Julie Etchingham presents the ITV Leaders' Debate, a live two-hour debate with Caroline Lucas, Tim Farron, Leanne Wood, Paul Nuttall, Nicola Sturgeon ITV/PA Conservative party leader Theresa May during her party's general election manifesto launch in Halifax Danny Lawson/PA Demonstrations take place before the arrival of Prime Minister Theresa May as she launches the Conservative Party Election Manifesto in Halifax Getty Images Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond listens as Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May speaks during an election campaign event in east London Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn launches the party's manifesto at the University of Bradford, in Bradford Nigel Roddis/EPA Prime Minister Theresa May meets Cathy Mohan at Abingdon market in Oxfordshire during an General Election campaign visit Stefan Rousseau/PA Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron leaves the Royal College of Nursing conference at Liverpool Arena and Convention Centre following a General Election campaign visit Gareth Fuller/PA Screengrab taken from Facebook Live broadcast, hosted by ITV News of Prime Minister Theresa May answering questions sent in by users of the social media website, with presenter Robert Peston ITV News Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn speaking about national security and foreign policy at Chatham House in Londo David Mirzeoff/PA Jeremy Corbyn the leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party holds one year old Angelo during a campaign event in Harlow, Essex Neil Hall/Reuters Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn reads with children as he visits Brentry Children Centre in Bristol on 21 April 2017 during Labour's election campaign. Steve Parsons/PA Jeremy Corbyn looks around as he arrives at Savoy Place. His vehicle hit BBC Cameraman Giles Wooltorton on the way into the garage entrance Neil P. Mockford/Getty Images British Trade Union leader Len McCluskey falls on the steps outside the Clause 5 Labour meeting to finalise the Labour manifesto in Londo Andy Rain/EPA Pro-EU campaigner Gina Miller breaks down after receiving an ovation from the crowd during her speech at the Convention on Brexit in central London Andy Rain/EPA The Liberal Democrat party campaign bus is unveiled at an event at the Harts Boatyard on 01 May 2017 in Surbiton Leon Neal/Getty Images Co-Leader of the Green Party, Caroline Lucas, speaks during the launch of the Green Party Brexit policy at the Space Studio in London Stefan Rousseau/PA The Liberal Democrat party leader Tim Farron listens to a speech during an event at the Harts Boatyard on May 1, 2017 in Surbiton Leon Neal/Getty Images Anti-racism protesters speak to the media after being removed ahead of UKIP Leader Paul Nuttall's speech Jack Taylor/Getty Images UKIP Leader Paul Nuttall gestures as he makes a speech as the party launch their general election campaign at the Marriott County Hall Hotel on 28 April 2017 in London Jack Taylor/Getty Images Britain's opposition Labour party Leader Jeremy Corbyn walks past a bus shelter with Alan Whitehead, Labour MP for Southampton, and local councillor Satvir Kaur (right), before meeting local residents Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott Diane leaving Four Millbank in Westminster, London, following her stumbling explanation of how the party would fund its plans for 10,000 extra police in an interview that left her struggling to do the sums live on air. Victoria Jones/PA Philip Hammond and David Davis at a General Election campaign event in Central London Jeremy Selwyn Pensioner Malcolm Baker confronts Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron while he was the election campaign trail in Kidlington, near Oxford Sam Lister/PA Prime Minister Theresa May eats chips as she meets with residents in Mevagissey, south-west England Dylan Martinez/AFP/Getty Images Conservative party handout of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on a new poster, warning that families face a tax and debt bombshell under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership Conservative Party/PA Nick Clegg delivers a campaign speech on the European Union at the National Liberal Club in London Stefan Rousseau/PA Ukip leader Paul Nuttall (left) eats grapes during a walkabout in Dudley town centre in the West Midlands, with Ukip West Midlands MEP Bill Etheridge (right) and Phil Durnell, West Midlands Metro Mayor candidate Richard Vernalls/PA Former Labour Party leader Ed Miliband retweeted a photo of him mowing a lawn whilst canvassing in his Doncaster North constituency Jane Nightingale Prime Minister Theresa May makes a statement on 18 April calling for a general election Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Dunham is the latest big name star to back Corbyn, after fellow comedians Ricky Gervais and Russell Brand tweeted their support for the Labour leader earlier this week.

OK. I'm not telling you how to vote, but this is a fact. The only vote that will keep Theresa May out is a vote for @jeremycorbyn. Cheers, Gervais wrote on Monday.

Thanks, Ricky. You are exactly right. Only a vote for @UKLabour on Thursday can help bring about a better Britain, #ForTheMany, not the few, Corbyn replied.

In a blog post for Huffington Post, Brand wrote: Jeremy Corbyn wont be perfect, he is a human being. We have a chance to elect a politician who is committed to serving the people of Britain. To supporting the NHS, public services and educating the young people to whom the future belongs.
SCOTTSBLUFF  Friends, family and colleagues gathered together to celebrate the career of Nebraska State Trooper Lt. Monica Shambaugh. Through laughter, tears and stories, they recognized her as a compassionate professional who worked to better the lives of others.

Nebraska State Patrol Major Mike Gaudreault, her former captain, said Shambaugh inspired those around her to do more, to dream more and to become more. He learned many things from Shambaugh over the years, but one of the most important was to never be afraid to help, he said.

Gaudreault credited her leadership and positive interactions as reasons his son is now following the same path into law enforcement.

When the Nebraska State Patrol was looking for a new mission statement, Shambaugh submitted one of dozens of entries. Her entry, The Nebraska State Patrol shall provide law enforcement of the highest quality to ensure a safe and secure Nebraska, was chosen, Gaudreault said.

In reflecting how she came up with that statement, it dawned on me, she simply looked in the mirror, Gaudreault said. That is exactly what she gave the agency for 28 years.

Shambaugh leaves a legacy of making Nebraska a safer place, Gaudreault said.

In 1987, Shambaugh was working for Keenan Beverages in Kearney and saw an ad that said Nebraska was looking for state troopers. For 28 years, her colleagues have praised her for her character, her passion and her heart.

Stacie Lundgren, investigator with the state patrol in Wahoo, said Shambaugh is one of the few women in the agency who has retired.

We have a lot of work to do to meet the high standards you have set for us, Lundgren said.

Lundgren spoke of the legacy Shambaugh leaves behind after helping to start CAPStone, a child advocacy center which provides support to child victims of sexual abuse and severe physical abuse, and their family members. She also spoke of Shambaugs commitment to helping others.

One of the true rarities in society is genuinely a leader who is a friend, a steady hand to guide you when you need direction, pull you when you need help, push you along when you need confidence and pat you on the back for a job well done, Lundgren said.

Scotts Bluff County Sheriff Mark Overman remembered when he worked with Shambaugh on the WING Task Force and the Kerra Wilson case, in which he says Shambaugh exemplified the qualities of law enforcement. Eight-year old Wilson was murdered in 2011 by her stepfather.

Overman said Shambaugh became the face and spokesperson for that investigation through her professionalism, caring and compassion.

Assistant Superintendent Lt. Col. Tom Schwarten commended Shambaugh for her work on that case, and others.

Us sitting in Lincoln, watching that, understood the pain you went through and the seriousness of the event and how hard it was, Schwarten said. Even though it was a terrible situation, there was a job that had to be done.

Schwarten said the jobs Shambaugh did were done for the betterment of the community. She also had a keen understanding of working with people and understood the nuances and making things come together.

Theres good in everybody and Monica has the ability to bring that out, Schwarten said.

Shambaughs son, Joshua, was overwhelmed with emotion after listening to others speak highly of his mother. Joshua was adopted when he was young and said he didnt know where he would be without her.

Thank you for keeping her safe all these years, Joshua Shambaugh said.

The hardest thing for Shambaugh is walking away after 28 years of doing what she loved to do and making a difference in other peoples lives.

To those of you still working, please be safe, Shambaugh said. We hold you in our prayers to come home at night because thats the most important thing.
When the Nebraska State Legislature debated making cuts in the State Budget to the University of Nebraska system, Don Walton, responded by writing an opinion column in the Lincoln Journal Star newspaper. In his article, he described certain opponents of the budgetary cuts as arguing that the cuts would be draconian and deeply damaging both to the university and to the state, a cut so deep that it would reverse the university's upward trajectory and leave permanent scar tissue. To be sure, I have received e-mails which echo similar sentiments. Therefore, I would like to set the record straight about the budgetary cuts which have been made to the University of Nebraska system.

The University of Nebraska system began the year with a budget of $583 million. The colleges took a mid-year cut of $13 million. The final budget passed by the Nebraska State Legislature carved out another $10 million in cuts. Then, the Governors line item veto took another $5.8 million away from the Universities, but spread it out over two years. So, the University of Nebraska system took a total of $26 million in cuts this year.

Last Thursday the Regents of the University of Nebraska approved budgetary cuts estimated at $30 million, which was enough to cover all of these budgetary cuts. At the same time they approved a 5.4 percent tuition increase for the 2017-2018 school year, and another 3.2 percent tuition increase for the 2018-2019 school year.

So, why did the Regents approve these tuition rate hikes? One reason for the tuition rate hikes was to pay for the salary raises approved for the administrators of these schools. For instance, University of Nebraska President, Hank Bounds, received a 6.3 percent salary increase last September, raising his salary from $480,000 to $510,000. Meanwhile, the chancellors each received three percent increases in their salaries. Finally, Hank Bounds most recent proposal included a 1.75 percent increase in the NU salary pool for faculty, with increases based upon merit.

On April 3, 2017 University President, Hank Bounds, said that the Legislatures proposed budgetary cuts would hurt the University of Nebraskas ability to attract new students and retain faculty. However, last week he projected enrollment to increase by one percent. President Bounds also vowed to trim more than 100 positions from the University of Nebraska system without eliminating any faculty positions.

The fact of the matter is that the University of Nebraska system has been bloated with an abundance of fat available for trimming. According to Nebraska State Sen. Tom Briese of Albion, the University of Nebraska system has been operating at a rate which is 34 percent higher than the national average for public universities.

The University of Nebraska system has plenty of room to make budgetary cuts without eliminating faculty positions or compromising the integrity of its degree programs. For instance, in the past each college has had its own IT center. However, going forward these IT centers will be consolidated into one center, which will serve the entire University of Nebraska system. Besides information technology, similar kinds of cuts will also be made in human resources, financial operations, and travel.

Although the Board of Regents approved tuition rate increases for each of the schools in the University of Nebraska system, the colleges will remain affordable and competitive. Once these tuition rate hikes go into effect, the University of Nebraska will continue to remain a bargain compared to the other Big Ten universities. By way of comparison, the University of Nebraska will continue to rank within the 40th percentile of Big Ten universities.

It has been my pleasure to serve the people of District 47 this year in the Nebraska State Legislature. Now that the Legislative Session has finally come to a close, I thank you for the opportunity to have represented you. Moreover, I look forward to doing much more to bring relief to your property tax burden.
KANSAS CITY, Kan.  The first of tens of thousands of U.S. lawsuits was to go to trial Monday in Kansas against Swiss agribusiness giant Syngenta over its decision to introduce a genetically engineered corn seed variety to the U.S. market before China approved it for imports.

The lawsuits allege Syngenta's move wrecked an increasingly important export market for U.S. corn and resulted in price drops that hurt all producers. Court filings show Syngenta aggressively marketed the seeds even when it knew Chinese approval was going to be a problem.

Plaintiffs' experts estimate the economic damage at about $5 billion, though Syngenta denies its actions caused any losses for farmers.

Monday's trial in Kansas City, Kansas, involves four Kansas farmers representing roughly 7,300 farmers from that state, according to William Chaney, an attorney for the plaintiffs. It will mark the first test case. The second, involving about 60,000 cases, goes to trial July 10 in a state court in Minnesota, where Syngenta's North American seed business is based, in suburban Minneapolis. The two cases are meant to provide guidance for how the complex web of litigation in state and federal courts could be resolved.

Syngenta decided to commercialize its Viptera brand of genetically modified corn seeds before China approved importing it. Syngenta invested over $100 million and 15 years in developing Viptera, which has a trait called MIR162 that protects against pests such as earworms, cutworms, armyworms and corn borers.

With U.S. government approval, Syngenta began selling Viptera in the U.S. for the 2011 growing season. But China didn't approve it until December 2014.

Court papers show that Syngenta initially assured stakeholders that China would approve MIR162 in time for the 2011 crop. But the date kept slipping. Some exporters sent shipments containing the trait to China anyway. After two years of accepting them, China began rejecting them in late 2013.

One expert working for the plaintiffs estimated the damage to U.S. farmers to be $5.77 billion; another pegged it at $4.68 billion.

Most plaintiffs didn't grow Viptera, but China excluded their grain, too, because elevators and shippers typically mix grain from large numbers of suppliers, making it difficult to source corn that was free of the trait. So they say all farmers were hurt by the resulting price drop.

The Kansas litigation has been consolidated before U.S. District Judge John Lungstrum in Kansas City, Kansas, where the trial is scheduled to take at least 20 days.

The Kansas trial and the one in Minnesota will serve as bellwether trials, which courts often use when there are large numbers of lawsuits concerning similar legal issue. Attorneys can see how juries react and determine whether to settle other cases or take them to trial.

A few thousand other less advanced cases have been consolidated with a federal judge in Illinois, while lawsuits by grain handlers including Cargill and Archer Daniels Midland are pending in Louisiana.

Syngenta attorney Mike Jones said the company sold a legal product fully approved for sale in the U.S. and other key importing countries, and that it complied with industry standards for international marketing. The company also argues that China's rejection had no meaningful impact on U.S. corn prices.
A white University of Kentucky student accused of physically assaulting a Black student worker while repeatedly using racial slurs says she will withdraw from the school. The decision announced Tuesday by a lawyer for 22-year-old Sophia Rosing came after hundreds of students rallied on campus the night before. News outlets report the students called for unity and for the university to quickly address the situation. Officials say Rosing has been charged with assault, public intoxication and disorderly conduct. She pleaded not guilty during an arraignment Monday afternoon. The altercation at Boyd Hall was captured on video and posted to multiple social media platforms.
By MARK EVANS mevans@stegenherald.com Westover and Smith roads, on the far western edge of the county, will get paving priority for 2023. Country commissioners and Scott Schmieder, county road and bridge foreman, decided at last Thursdays commission meeting to go ahead and seal up that corner of the county. That way, graders will not have
DECATUR - The Decatur Township Cemetery Board violated the Open Meetings Act when it first met to fire former Greenwood Cemetery Director Lynn Dixon at its April 18 meeting.

But because the township held another meeting on April 25 to take action on the same agenda items, no further action will be taken on the matter by the Illinois Attorney Generals Office.

The decision was announced in a letter from Assistant Attorney General Matt Hartman dated May 26, but not received by the Herald & Review until Monday afternoon. According to the letter, the violation was due to the cemetery boards failure to post the agenda for the April 18 meeting in an area that would allow for public review for the entire 48-hour period before the meeting.

The agenda was posted about 2:20 p.m. on Sunday, April 16, at two bulletin boards inside the township building. However, the township building was closed until Monday morning, and township officials like Supervisor Lisa Stanley said afterward she could see how it could be difficult to read the agenda.

In a response to the Attorney Generals office that was sent to the Herald & Review on May 11, township attorney Jeffrey Jurgens said he could understand where concerns could be raised about the continuous availability to view the agenda and apologized for any confusion.

Once this was fully realized, the Cemetery Board took steps to hold the meeting again after proper 48-hour posting and re-train on these issues, Jurgens said in the letter. That said, we do not believe there will be any future issues associated with this and regret the situation.

Stanley said last month the township would change how future agendas are posted for public viewing.

The Herald & Review sent a request for review by public access counselor to the Illinois Attorney General's Office on April 19, the day after the three-person cemetery board voted unanimously to eliminate the executive director position that oversees Greenwood and two other cemeteries under township control.

Several days after the initial meeting, the cemetery board announced it would hold another meeting on April 25, where they again unanimously voted to eliminate the executive director position.

Hartman said because of the second meeting, the matter is now closed.

Because the Board has confirmed that it held another meeting on April 25, 2017, where the items on the agenda for the April 18, 2017, meeting were reconsidered and for which an agenda was properly posted and available for continuous review by the public at least 48 hours before the meeting commenced, this office concludes that no further action by the Board is necessary to remedy its violation of section 2.02(c) of OMA, he wrote in the letter.
The Bucharest Polytechnic University will be hosting June 13 - 15 an international workshop on biofuels.

According to spokesman of the higher education institution Cornel Chira, the workshop will be organized as part of the project "Biofuels Production by Innovative Pyrolysis/Gasification Methods and Advanced Technologies", aimed at recruiting and training young Romanian energy and biomass production researchers.

The major goal of the project is to create an international competitive core research resource at the Bucharest Polytehnic University, specializing in the production of biofuels and green energy, based on US-developed expertise, with direct access to state-of-the-art installations and technologies.

The project is co-funded from the Social European Fund through the Operational Program Competitiveness 2014 - 2020.

agerpres.
The tender for the purchase of ambulances will be coordinated by the General Secretariat of the Government (SGG), Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu announced on Tuesday.

"Everyone is working in a team, a team whose first task will be to organise this tender for the purchase of ambulances, be them B, C, A1, A2 - type ambulances, all these things have too be carried out in one tender, which is coordinated by the General Secretariat of the Government and where there will be representatives from the Inspectorate General for Emergency Situations (IGSU), the Ministry of Health, from the Emergency Situations Department (DSU) and the SGG," stated Grindeanu.

The head of the Executive held a meeting at Victoria Palace with Minister for Internal Affairs Carmen Dan, Minister of Health Florian Bodog, and MAI Secretary of State Raed Arafat.

"We have an outdated park, a park that needs to be changed. The beneficiaries are, actually, the two entities - the Ministry of Health and IGSU - everyone knows. (...) As Prime Minister, I am interested in solving this problem, beyond certain intermissions, which have not only occurred in recent times but (...) and during other governments' administration. I found my colleagues open to solving these things," Grindeanu stated after the meeting at Victoria Palace.

According to the head of Government, SGG coordinating the acquisition of ambulances is a solution "beneficial for everyone", so that the time allocated for the tender is the shortest as compared to the one that would have been required if the tenders had been held by IGSU or the Health Ministry..

"We were also joined by the director of ANAP (the National Agency for Public Procurement - ed.n.), who introduced all these deadlines, and showed us how these tenders can be held as briefly as possible," Grindeanu said.

The head of the Executive specified that the financing sources for the purchase of ambulances could be found at the budget rectification.

"With the budget rectification (...), sources of financing will be found, precisely because it is extremely important to us (...) that the tender be held until then (...) I am interested (...) in finding the sources of financing, because otherwise this so-called scandal (...) is pointless, that is, the bear's fur is sold before you hunt it," Grindeanu said.

The premier specified that he would also discuss about identifying these financing sources during his working visit to the Ministry of Finance on Tuesday.

agerpres.
President of Romania Klaus Iohannis meets with the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Mike Pompeo on Tuesday, at 14:30 hrs local time, informs the Presidential Administration.

Before the meeting with Pompeo, the President will attend a wreath-laying ceremony at the Arlington National Cemetery at 10:30.

The head of the Romanian state was awarded on Tuesday by the Global Forum of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) the "Light Unto the Nations", the highest distinction of the organization, which is granted to heads of state or of government as a sign of appreciation for the significant international impact on peace, security, democracy and the promotion of human values.

agerpres.
Luxembourg, Slovenia, Ireland, Slovakia and Romania recorded in April the most significant advance in the European Union retail trade as compared to the same period of 2016, according to data released on Tuesday by the European Statistics Office (Eurostat).

In the euro area, retail trade grew by 2.5 pct year-on-year, while in the European Union there was an advance of 3 pct. Retail trade in the 28 EU countries was influenced by the fact that non-food sales increased by 4.2 pct, food, beverages and cigarettes grew by 2.6 pct, while fuel sales declined by 1.1 pct.

The largest increases were reported in Luxembourg (11.3 pct), Slovenia (10.4 pct), Ireland (8.4 pct), Slovakia (7.1 pct) and Romania (5.6 pct), the only decrease being recorded in Belgium (minus 0.8 pct).

In April 2017, retail trade grew by 0.1 pct in the euro area and by 0.5 pct in the 28 EU countries, against the previous month, after March saw a 0.2 pct advance in the euro area and a 0.1 pct decline in the European Union. Retail trade in the 28 EU countries was influenced by the fact that non-food sales went up by 0.4 pct, food, beverages and cigarettes increased by 0.6 pct, while fuel sales fell by 0.3 pct.

The largest increases were recorded in the UK (2.8 pct), Finland (2 pct), Portugal and Sweden (both by 1.5 pct), the most significant decline being reported in Croatia (minus 2.1 pct), Austria (minus 1.2 pct) and Hungary (minus 0.8 pct).

In Romania, retail trade decreased by 0.2 pct in April, as compared to the previous month, when there was an advance of 0.8 pct.

agerpres.
DECATUR -- In what officials from the city of Decatur and the union that represents more than 100 city employees call a "win-win," most new city hires will be required to live in the city for at least five years.

That residency requirement for all new employees represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 and Local 268 was among the changes in the new bargaining agreement approved Monday night by the Decatur city council.

The requirement for all city employees has been discussed for years at the council level, with several officials stating the importance of those who represent the city also living in the city.

We like to have as many people living in Decatur as possible, said Mayor Julie Moore Wolfe after the meeting. Especially when they work for the city, it sends a message that we believe in our community.

The union, which represents about 125 general service workers, ratified the agreement on May 30 by a vote of 82-1, said AFSCME representative Randy Hellman. He said after the meeting the union fully support a "reasonable" residency requirement that is not overtly restrictive on those who may wish to move later in their careers.

We know we work in the community, and were a viable part of the community, and were invested in the community, Hellman said. A residency requirement that is reasonable works for us.

The contract, which is retroactive to May 1 and goes until Dec. 31, 2020, will provide a 1.75 percent wage increase for this year, a 2.25 percent increase for the next two years, and a two percent increase for the final year.

Council members took turns to congratulate city staff and the union for being able to come together on an agreement that Gleason and Hellman both referred to as a "win-win" for all parties.

This is a tremendous win for our community, said Councilman Bill Faber.

A residency requirement is now in place for all new employees in the city, with the exception of the Decatur Police Benevolent and Protective Association Labor Committee. Negotiations are ongoing between that union and the city, and city manager Tim Gleason said they hope to have a residency requirement for new employees in that agreement.

In other business, the council unanimously gave the go-ahead to move forward on phase 2 of the City Fiber Project, which would expand the existing network to the Illinois Century Network at Richland Community College.

I think this is really going to make things take off and go, Moore Wolfe said. Being able to be able to take this step is major for our community.

The cost for phase 2 of the project is $413,516.39, with $330,000 of which to be covered by the Howard G. Buffett Foundation. The city will pay the remaining $83,516.39. The hope is the city will recoup that cost as it would lease some of its fiber to other users at a cost that could be more than 75 percent less than what is currently paid and offer what is expected to be faster internet service.

The project is intended to provide what could be a critical network for future law enforcement needs and save money for local government entities, nonprofits and health care providers. City offices at the Decatur Civic Center are currently connected by fiber to the Municipal Services Center.

Work is expected to be finished before the end of summer.
Updated at 12:51 p.m.

GANZHOU, China  China's government on Tuesday rejected a U.S. State Department call to release three activists detained while investigating a Chinese company that produced shoes for Ivanka Trump and other brands. It sought instead to enforce a cone of silence around the men, according to a lawyer and a family member who was interrogated and told not to speak to the foreign press.

Deng Guilian, the wife of one of the detainees, told The Associated Press that she had been interrogated twice by police in her hometown in central China's Hubei province. The police pulled her in for four hours of questioning that lasted past midnight on Friday, and then called her for a further interrogation on Saturday. She said police questioned her sharply about her contacts with foreign media.

She said that on Friday four policemen sat in a close circle around her, one asking questions, one examining her phone, one taking notes and one just staring at her.

"In a normal situation, as a woman at midnight squeezed in the middle of four men  moreover they're policemen  it's impossible not to be nervous," she said. "I was terrified."

On Saturday, they played nice, she said, reminding her of the heavy duty she faced in taking care of her sick mother, aging in-laws and two children and urged her to make smart decisions. "I felt I was going to collapse," she said.

Such tactics are not uncommon in China, which has been cracking down on perceived threats to the ruling Communist Party, particularly from sources with foreign ties such as China Labor Watch, the New York-based nonprofit that was leading the investigation.

The group planned to publish a report this month alleging low pay, excessive overtime, verbal abuse and possible misuse of student labor at factories belonging to the Huajian Group. The company has denied the allegations and says it stopped producing Ivanka Trump shoes months ago.

The U.S. State Department called Monday for the release of the three men.

"We urge China to release them immediately and otherwise afford them the judicial and fair trial protections to which they are entitled," said Alicia Edwards, a U.S. State Department spokeswoman.

She said the U.S. remains concerned by "the pattern of arrests and detentions." She said labor activists are instrumental in helping American companies understand conditions in their supply chains and holding Chinese manufacturers accountable under Chinese labor laws. White House spokesman Josh Raffel declined to comment.

Hua Chunying, spokeswoman for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a regular news briefing Tuesday that the men working with China Labor Watch had been accused of using secret recording devices to disrupt normal commercial operations and would be dealt with under Chinese law.

"Other nations have no right to interfere in our judicial sovereignty and independence," she said, adding, "The police found these people illegally possessed secret cameras, secret listening devices and other illegal monitoring devices."

Hua's lawyer, Wen Yu, said Tuesday that all three of the activists are being held at the Ganzhou City Detention Center in southeastern Jiangxi province.

Yu said that after a day and a half of waiting he was finally able to consult with his client Tuesday afternoon.

"His condition inside is OK. Nobody beat him," Yu said. "It's just that he has to sleep next to the toilet. People go to pee all night." He said the cell was crowded with 21 people who have been ordered not to speak with Hua.

Yu said he had applied for bail for Hua, who faces imprisonment of up to two years if found guilty. Then Yu was contacted by city authorities who told him not to speak with foreign media and he stopped responding to questions.

China Labor Watch executive director Li Qiang has said all three men, whom he lost contact with late last month, are not guilty and did not use secret recording devices. In an April letter to Ivanka Trump, he urged her to press for better conditions in her brand's supply chain. "Your words and deeds can make a difference in these workers' lives," he wrote.

Ivanka Trump's brand has declined to comment on the allegations or the arrests. She stepped back from day-to-day management of the company when she took on a White House role as adviser to her father, but retains ownership. Marc Fisher, which produces shoes for Ivanka Trump and other brands, has said it is looking into the allegations.

Associated Press writer Matthew Pennington in Washington and researcher Fu Ting in Ganzhou contributed to this report.
After blocking Google users from reading free articles in February, the Wall Street Journal's subscription business soared, with a fourfold increase in the rate of visitors converting into paying customers. But there was a trade-off: Traffic from Google plummeted 44 percent.

The reason: Google search results are based on an algorithm that scans the internet for free content. After the Journal's free articles went behind a paywall, Google's bot only saw the first few paragraphs and started ranking them lower, limiting the Journal's viewership.

Executives at the Journal, owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., argue that Google's policy is unfairly punishing them for trying to attract more digital subscribers. They want Google to treat their articles equally in search rankings, despite being behind a paywall.

"Any site like ours automatically doesn't get the visibility in search that a free site would," Suzi Watford, the Journal's chief marketing officer, said in an interview. "You are definitely being discriminated against as a paid news site."

The Journal's experience could have implications across the news industry, where publishers are relying more on convincing readers to pay for their articles because tech giants like Google and Facebook are vacuuming up the lion's share of online advertising.

The Journal's owner, News Corp., competes with Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News, in providing financial news and information.

With Google, publishers try to strike a balance. While they may want to sign up more subscribers by not giving away free articles, they also don't want their content to drop in search results, which drives traffic to their sites and can boost advertising sales. For that reason, many outlets with subscription businesses  like the New York Times and Financial Times  let Google users read at least one free article so they still rank high in search results.

Google says its "first click free" policy is good for both consumers and publishers. People want to get the news quickly and don't want to immediately encounter a paywall. Plus, if publishers let Google users sample articles for free, there's a better chance they'll end up subscribing, Google says. The tech giant likens its policy to stores allowing people to flip through newspapers and magazines before choosing which one to buy.

"For the many publishers who already take advantage of this approach, it provides the ability to protect their business model and the opportunity to convert people who sample their content into paying customers," Google said in a statement.

The Journal decided to stop letting people read articles free from Google after discovering nearly 1 million people each month were abusing the three-article limit. They would copy and paste Journal headlines into Google and read the articles for free, then clear their cookies to reset the meter and read more, Watford said.

The Journal now only lets Google users see a short snippet at the top of its articles, restricting the rest to its 2.2 million subscribers or people who arrive via social media. In the most recent quarter, the Journal's digital subscribers grew about 30 percent compared with the prior year, driven partly by barring Google users from reading for free.

Google, meanwhile, displays a "subscription" label next to Journal articles in Google News search results, alerting users that they won't be getting a full article.

The Journal's ad revenue wasn't affected by its recent drop in Google traffic because social media visits grew 34 percent in that time, keeping overall web traffic flat, Watford said. The Journal lets readers get some articles for free via social media like Twitter and Facebook, which the paper views as a marketing tool.

Publishers have long complained about how their articles appear in search results. For years, many newspapers complained that online media companies published posts based on their reporting with a Google-friendly headline and appeared higher in search results.

The Journal's parent company, News Corp., has a tense history with Google. In 2009, Murdoch accused Google of stealing articles and threatened to pull his company's stories from its search results.

News Corp. also competes with the tech giant in various ways. It's an investor in AppNexus, an advertising technology company that rivals Google's DoubleClick platform. News Corp. also owns Unruly, which competes with Google's YouTube in social video advertising.

The Journal isn't the only publisher skeptical of Google's policy. Jessica Lessin, founder of The Information, a technology publication, said sampling options like Google's "first click free" program "have not proven to be as beneficial as many publishers thought."

Her publication, which charges $399 a year for an online subscription, doesn't let Google users read any articles for free because it's focused on a Silicon Valley audience that's more likely to find its journalism through social media than from a Google search, she said.

Google and publishers often have different objectives, said Lessin, a former Wall Street Journal reporter. Google wants to capture attention so it can sell advertising. Many publishers want to convince readers to pay.

"Tech companies are always going to do what's in the interest of their business," Lessin said. That's not always the same as what's in the interest of publishers, she said.
An activist who resigned from the St. Louis Police Board in 2001 because of a 1973 arrest for punching a police officer now works for city Prosecuting Attorney Kim Gardner.

Khatib Waheed was hired March 20 as a diversion manager. The job carries a $45,000 annual salary and a 30-hour weekly workload, Gardner said in a statement. The salary is paid through a U.S. Department of Justice grant.

Gardner said in her statement that she was aware of Waheed's history.

"Im also very familiar with the work he has done in this community over the past 20 years to make St. Louis a more fair and just place for all people," she said. Waheed has worked as a community organizer and has given presentations to law enforcement on racial bias.

"Everyone makes mistakes," Gardner continued. "Its a part of what makes us all very human."

Waheed's job includes helping non-violent, low-level offenders stay out of jail or prison "by providing them support and resources to become contributing members of society," the statement said.

In December 2001, Waheed resigned from the St. Louis Police Board after his arrest record came to light.

At the time, the Missouri governor appointed members to the police board. Then-Gov. Bob Holden never said if he had been aware of Waheed's assault arrest when he appointed him.

Kansas City Police Department files show that Waheed was arrested on July 3, 1973, and charged with two counts of assaulting a police officer.

At the time, Waheed was a student at Rockhurst College and was using his birth name, Robert Foxworth Jr., before converting to Islam several years later.

Waheed is no relation to Maurice Foxworth, Gardner's transition adviser, a spokeswoman for Gardner said.

When the issue first caused a stir in 2001, Waheed, who is black, said the incident began after a traffic altercation that he and friends had with white youths in another car. The two sides fought, and then police showed up with guns drawn. He said one officer grabbed him and used a racial slur.

"I threw a left. It connected with his chest," Waheed said in 2001. "Then we tussled and more police showed up."

The St. Louis Police Officers Association, which represents rank-and-file officers, opposed Waheed's appointment in 2001.

But one officer involved in the issue at the time was not opposed, Lt. Greg Wurm, president of the St. Louis Police Fraternal Organization, which represents senior officers.

"If I was judged on a thing I did 28 years ago," Wurm said in 2001, "I might not be where I'm at either."
From City Hall to the Capitol, metro columnist Tony Messenger shines light on what public officials are doing, tells stories of the disaffected, and brings voice to the issues that matter.
An SUV fleeing police crashed into a Metro bus Tuesday afternoon near the intersection of Cherokee Street and Nebraska Avenue, police said.

Several people on the bus were being treated by paramedics. Their injuries were not life-threatening, according to police.

The driver of the SUV ran off after the crash, leaving a gun behind, according to police.

Police said it began shortly after 1 p.m. when officers tried to pull over a vehicle in the 2600 block of Miami Street for a traffic violation. The SUV didn't stop, and fled north on Nebraska.

Police did not pursue it, and lost sight of the vehicle, police spokeswoman Leah K. Freeman said.

It apparently crashed at Cherokee Street, two blocks north of Miami Street.

Police were looking for the driver of the SUV.
WEBSTER GROVES  The first thing Deniya Irving would do when she would meet with her math tutor each day is grab her hand, then she'd flash her famous smile, showing her missing front teeth.

"She had this just infectious smile," Patricia Creek, who tutored the 7-year-old and a handful of other kindergartners daily over the past year. "And she was impeccably dressed, with all these cute outfits. She was just a happy-go-lucky kindergartner."

Creek was one of nearly 200 people who gathered Monday evening outside Avery Elementary School in Webster Groves to pray for Deniya and support her family. Deniya was critically injured Thursday in a quadruple shooting in St. Louis that killed her mother, father and another man.

Her grandmother, Andrea Cunningham, said Monday that she is on life support at a hospital. She said she is praying Deniya will recover.

"It's so close, keep praying for her," she said through tears at the gathering Monday night. "All things are possible. God can make anything happen."

Deniya is well-known among her kindergarten class at Avery, which has a little more than 520 students, Principal Tony Arnold said. Arnold said he would talk to Deniya as he passed her in the hallway or waited for her parents to pick her up from school.

"She is sweet, caring, thoughtful  just a happy-go-lucky girl," he said.

Arnold said the school had provided resources to parents to talk to their children about the tragedy. Parents of Deniya's kindergarten class set up a GoFundMe account for her family.

Arnold said the community, which he described as a tight-knit and very supportive, was in grief and taking it day by day.

"Everyone is shocked," he said. "Just speechless. And with a heavy, heavy heart."

LaQonna Anderson, whose daughter is a classmate of Deniya's, was one of two parents who organized the gathering Monday. She spoke to the group as they bowed their heads in a moment of silence and then prayer for Deniya to recover.

"She has more teeth to lose, more friends to make," she said to the gathering. "When you go to sleep at night, say a prayer for Deniya."

Young students signed get well cards for Deniya as their parents offered their condolences to her family. The group shared photos and memories, joined together in prayer and then walked to a nearby park Deniya loves to play at to release balloons.

"It's beautiful that they're doing this for her," Cunningham said.

A cousin of Cunningham's, Rochelle Shipman, said people had been sharing photos and videos of the aftermath of the shooting on social media. She criticized what she said were media outlets and other people drawing attention to the family's grief.

"If you're going to talk about anything, why don't you share information," she said. "Step up and help find who did this."

Anderson also called for someone to help police find the shooter.

"I know someone knows something, and they need to step up," she said. "It's not snitching, it's cooperating," she said.

Creek said that the tutoring group would finish their session each day with a group hug, after which Deniya would often start running back to class. Creek would tell Deniya not to run, and the kindergartner would turn and smile, before skipping the rest of the way.

"It's such a shame that violence happens and innocent people get hurt," she said. "She didn't deserve this."

Authorities asked anyone with information regarding the fatal shootings to call CrimeStoppers at 866-371-8477.
Dear Abby: I am 55 now. Between the ages of 18 and 26, I was married four times to three different men. I was stupid. I had no direction in life and thought marriage was the answer. At 27, I went back to college, graduated and became a CPA.

I married again at 34. My husband was abusive, and the marriage was rocky, to say the least. He hit me, shoved me, kicked me, drank too much, passed out in the street and was a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to live with. I hung in with him for 20 years because I was desperate to make a marriage work and avoid further shame.

I finally left him last year. I feel damaged, empty and ashamed, and I don't know how to start over at this point. I have been fighting a chronic illness for eight years, which contributes to my feelings of hopelessness.

Have you any advice about where I can turn to start a new life? Please don't suggest counseling. I have already done that and gotten as much healing from it as possible. Now I need to know how to move forward.

-- Shamed But Not Stupid

Dear Shamed: Your new life began the moment you walked out the door and left your abuser behind. I have often asked, "If marriage is the answer, what is the question?" Now that you know marriage isn't the answer, you can begin building your new life by first forgiving yourself, and then learning to like yourself again.

There are online support groups for divorced people as well as those recovering from abusive relationships. It may be helpful to sample a few to see if you can find the support you're looking for. I wish you luck, because you are finally on the right track.

Not smoke-free

Dear Abby: My husband of 20 years has always been a smoker. I worry nonstop about it affecting his health. Our children have begged him to quit.

A couple of months ago we made a bet. I would give up social media for a week if he would quit smoking for a week. It was awesome! He quit smoking -- or so I thought.

I found out last week that he only quit smoking AT HOME. He has still been doing it at work. I asked him to please not start smoking at home. After all, if he can go all weekend without a cigarette, why does he need to smoke at all?

My issue: I caught him smoking in the garage. I was furious and didn't handle it well. Am I wrong for being upset that he went against my wishes? By the way, the kids don't know he has started again.

-- Smoke-free Wife

Dear Smoke-free: No, you're not wrong. It's understandable that you are upset. You love your husband. If the kids don't know he has started smoking again, they'll soon realize it because they'll smell it on him.

It should be clear to you that your husband has a serious addiction to nicotine. You have my sympathy, but you cannot "make" him do this or do it "for" him. Secondhand smoke is unhealthy for those who are exposed to it, so unless you can convince your spouse to get help from his doctor, the rule should be that he smokes outside the house when he needs a "fix."
EDITOR'S NOTE: An earlier version of this story reported the death of a 7-year-old girl who was shot on Thursday, based on information from family. The girl's grandmother, however, says the girl remains on life support, and police say they have not been notified of her death. Police also say two people were killed in a shooting on Union Boulevard. They had initially reported three dead. This story has been updated.

ST. LOUIS  Two people were shot to death and two others critically wounded early Saturday morning in the latest outbreak of gun violence on the city's north side.

The incident took place shortly after 1 a.m. at Union Boulevard and Paulian Place near Sherman Park, police said.

Police have yet to release the identities of the victims or provide details on what happened.

The incident Saturday was the second multiple-death shooting in three days on the north side.

On Thursday, three people  two men and a woman  were fatally shot and a girl, 7, was critically injured at Beacon and Lillian avenues. Some family members said Saturday that the girl had died of her injuries, but the girl's grandmother said Sunday that she is brain dead but remains on life support with her heart beating.

Among the victims were Jessica L. Garth, 24, and her boyfriend, Derrick D. Irving, 27. The identity of the other man who died has not been released.

Anyone who may have information regarding the fatal shootings are ask to call CrimeStoppers at 866-371-8477.
The problem with "America First" is that it describes an attitude, not a purpose. It substitutes selfishness for realism.

It implies that nations can go it alone, that we stand for nothing beyond our immediate self-interest, and that we should give little thought to how the rest of humanity thinks or lives. It suggests that if we are strong enough, we can prosper no matter how much chaos, disorder or injustice surrounds us.

America First leads to the diplomacy of narcissism, to use what has become a loaded word in the Trump era. And narcissism is as unhealthy for nations as it is for people.

Perhaps the best approach to the problem as it affects us both individually and collectively was offered by Rabbi Hillel, who lived in the century before the birth of Christ. Hillel's lesson to us began with two questions: "If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I?"

Precisely. All of us should be prepared to stand up for ourselves. We are patriots because we love our own land in a way we can love no other. But we live in a world of more than 7 billion people and nearly 200 countries. Does our nation not stand for something more than its own existence? Can we possibly survive and prosper if we are only for ourselves?

A constricted view of identity encourages destructive ways of thinking and, paradoxically, actions that reduce the United States' long-term influence. Almost as disturbing as the irresponsibility of President Trump's decision to abdicate American global leadership on the environment by pulling out of the Paris climate accord was the language he used to justify it. He cast the U.S.  our beloved republic  as stupid and easily duped, not the shaper of our own fate but the victim of invidious foreign leaders whom he cast as far shrewder than we are.

"The rest of the world applauded when we signed the Paris agreement  they went wild; they were so happy  for the simple reason that it put our country, the United States of America, which we all love, at a very, very big economic disadvantage," Trump declared. "A cynic would say the obvious reason for economic competitors and their wish to see us remain in the agreement is so that we continue to suffer this self-inflicted major economic wound."

Really? Our very best friends in the world, starting with Canada, were just trying to scam us? The climate pact was not even a little bit about staving off a catastrophe for the planet we all share? Should we take no pride in helping nudge the environment in a better direction?

And does Trump truly believe that President Obama and the leaders of General Electric, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Google, IBM, BP, Disney and Shell are naive idiots? One more question: How could what even Trump had to concede is a "nonbinding" agreement bring about all the horrors he described?

A diplomacy of narcissism is of a piece, to borrow from the historian Richard Hofstadter, with the paranoid style of this president. In his statement, Trump spoke of "foreign lobbyists" who "wish to keep our magnificent country tied up and bound down by this agreement." He painted our nation as a pitiful heap of insecurity. "At what point does America get demeaned?" he asked. "At what point do they start laughing at us as a country?"

If anyone is laughing after Trump's decision, it is our actual enemies and adversaries. They welcome an American leader who wants to rip up or weaken alliances and other forms of collective security that our own practical visionaries, since the days of Harry Truman, Dean Acheson and George Marshall, put in place to advance our purposes.

Tragically, this choice was partly driven by selfish political motives. This only reinforces how narrow a definition of self-interest is in play here. Trump seems to realize how much trouble he is in from the metastasizing Russia story. So he sought to appeal to his political base, shrunken though it is, by re-embracing his "nationalist" side. He said he'd pull out of the Paris agreement and, by God, he did it! Doesn't that make him look strong?

Quite the opposite. The genuinely strong regularly ponder Hillel's second inquiry, "If I am only for myself, what am I?" I don't expect Trump to be troubled by this question, but as a nation, we cannot give up asking it.

E.J. Dionne

Copyright The Washington Post
Bless our families and our children,

and choose from our homes those who you desire for this holy work.

Heavenly Father,your divine Son taught usto pray to the Lord of the harvestto send laborers into His vineyard.We earnestly beg youto bless our Diocese and our worldwith many priests and religiouswho will love you fervently and gladlyand courageously spend their livesin service to your Son's Church,especially the poor and the needy.Teach them to respond generouslyand keep them ever faithfulin following your Son Jesus Christ,that under the guidance of the HolySpiritand with the inspiration ofSaint Damien and Blessed Mariannethe Good News of redemptionmay be brought to all.We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Dr Diana Owen, chief executive of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

THE chief executive of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust is to step down from her role next year.

Dr Diana Owen has been at the helm for ten years.

She said: "It has been a real privilege, and a fantastic pleasure, to be at the helm of the UK's first and oldest conservation charity, promoting the world's foremost playwright to worldwide audiences today.

"After ten years and the success of the 400th anniversary, I feel that the time is right to hand on the baton and I look forward to seeing the inspiring plans for the future development of our charity come to fruition.

Peter Kyle, chairman of the trust, added: Diana has transformed the trust into an inclusive, participative charity that puts Shakespeare and his home town of Stratford-upon-Avon on the world stage.

"She has achieved strong visitor and revenue growth, forged successful partnerships and created new opportunities for people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to enjoy Shakespeare.

"It has been a real pleasure to work with Diana and we wish her great happiness and success in the future.

Full interview with Dr Owen in this week's Herald. Download a copy on Thursday morning HERE
Sharpening the Edge: The Evolution of CDN and Cloud Security

Id like to begin with little bit of background about myself to help explain what we do at StackPath. In 2005, I was one of the founders and the CEO of a company called SoftLayer. It was one of the first Cloud Computing companies in the world. We grew rapidly through 2007 and 2008. Our company really exploded when iTunes and the App Store, Google, Android, and the rest of the mobile tools came out.

In 2013, we sold SoftLayer to IBM. I stayed with IBM for two years, and SoftLayer became the basis of the IBM Cloud and Bluemix. Over the course of those two years, we expanded to 40 data centers worldwide. These data centers encompassed tens of millions of physical and virtual machines in a scale that known by only four companies worldwide: Amazon Web Services, Google, Azure, and IBM SoftLayer. So, I come the CDN world from a world of scale.

From that perspective, when I looked at what was wrong with cloud, I concluded, Were missing the security piece, because up until cloud, security was very easy. With on-premise, security was traditional--firewalls, IPS, IDS, AV, those types of services. Then we got to cloud scale or hyperscale. None of those things worked anymore. I said, Why isnt anyone focusing on security for cloud?

Starting With CDN

When I left SoftLayer in February 2015, I began thinking about how to implement security for cloud. After a few months of study, I realized I needed to start with CDN. CDN is the man in the middle between all the data and all the eyeballs. You have to start with CDN and then wrap security around it so you can protect customers both ways.

Looking at the internet in 2015, I made some proclamations that made some people think I was crazy. I said, By 2020, I dont think the internet will be usable anymore. Unless someone fixes security, its not going to work. Youll connect to it and do what you have to do, and then youll disconnect from it because itll be such a filthy, nasty, dangerous place that you wont want to be connected 24/7. If we look at the size of the DDoS attacks, the amount of malware that comes out every day, the iterations on that and you put IoT and machine learning on top of that, its going to become such a nasty world that you won't want to stay connected to it 24/7. Somebody, some company, some industry has to solve the security issue or the internet is not going to work like it does today.

Traffic Projections

When I looked at all the traffic projections, the numbers were way low. When I looked at traffic by Cisco, I said, Were doing one zettabyte today. By 2020, its gonna get to 2.3.

Those are staggering numbers, but theyre from Cisco. When you really dive in to the big four, the companies that are operating at scale, guess who theyre not using? Theyre not using Cisco. Theyre not using Juniper. Theyre rolling their routers. Theyre rolling their own switches. So, nobody really knows how big the big four are in the scale that theyre growing at. We had a Google representative at Content Delivery Summit who showed a lot of numbers, but didnt talk about their scale. No one really talks about their scale when its hyperscale or at full scale. When I look at this 2.3 zettabyte projection, I think its going to be 5 or 10.

When you add into that IoT coming online, were putting 5 million IoT devices online every single day. The IoT devices alone 600 Zettabytes by 2020. Thats going to be almost 300 times the traffic of normal content traffic that we see today. If you have all of those things out there--as weve already seen with Mirai BotNet--that traffic is not secure. Those IoT widgets out there are not playing well and could be used and abused by hackers to create even bigger problems.

Malicious activity continues to rise. In the first weekend after WikiLeaks released the NSA tools to the world, on May 15, there were 45,000 companies in 74 countries that had been compromised by security.

If there was man in the middle security out there, we could have stopped that, but as it sits today, no one is able to do anything. DDoS attacks are growing faster than ever. In 2015, my business plan reflected my expectation that DDoS attacks would get to 10 terabits by 2020. Donald Trumps website was the largest at 350 gigs last march. Then we had the Krebs attack, which was almost 700 gigs, in August. Then we had the Dyn attack, which was a terabit, a month later. Then we had the OVH attack, which was almost two terabits, a month later. Now we have the Mirai BotNet out there that theyre saying is capable of 4-5 terabits. I think 10 terabits will happen before the end of this year.

Hyperscale Changes Everything

Thats how big and how fast this problem is growing. You cant really blame the experts because theyre all using linear math to predict whats going on, the growth of the traffic, the growth of the malware, the growth of DDoS attacks. What theyre not taking into account is hyperscale. Hyperscale changes everything. These things are changing exponentially and theyre growing exponentially. Four or five companies in the world are large enough to understand it. Buy they dont talk about how fast theyre growing, which makes it even harder for researchers to figure out whats going on. I even hate to show the slide below about companies that have gotten hacked. It happens so often no one cares anymore.

I stood in my kitchen two weeks ago with my wife and we had five things laying on the bar. Two of our credit cards hacked, our insurance hacked, our kids preschool had been hacked, and the Dallas municipal alarm system had been hacked. Five things laying on my counter in one day. We both looked at each other and said, Yeah, whatever. We can get new credit cards. Weve become so used to it nobodys focused on it. Nobodys really talking about it. CDN is evolving because its in the middle.

When I look at the numbers, the numbers provided by Dan Rayburn, by Gardner, by Forrester, I see staggering growth. 34% CAGR is a very large number. I would tell you, I think these numbers are half or 20% of what its actually going to be, because no one really talks about the hyper-growth of the cloud. You don't see Amazon releasing how much Cloudfront uses. You dont see Google releasing how much theirs uses. You dont hear the big guys talking about how much is actually being pushed and consumed out there from a CDN perspective. Its much larger than the traditional CDN industry.

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Pakistans ambassador to the United States, Aizaz Chaudhry in an interview with the Washington Times on Monday said that Afghan terrorism is a threat to Pakistan s economy.

Aizaz Chaudhry said that our military has swept terrorist groups from the tribal areas of Pakistan, but the gains could be put at risk if the security situation across the border in Afghanistan is not brought under control.

Aizaz Chaudhry further said that Pakistan is waiting for the Trump administration to clarify its strategy for the Afghanistan conflict.
Iran's Foreign Ministry has urged Qatar and its neighboring countries in the Persian Gulf to resolve their disputes through diplomacy and explicit dialogue after six Arab states severed diplomatic relations with the gas-rich peninsula and imposed travel and transport blockades on it.

The solution to differences among regional countries, including the current dispute between Qatar and its three neighboring states, is possible only through political and peaceful methods as well as transparent and explicit dialogue among the involved parties," Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Monday.

He added that no country in the region and the world would benefit from the escalation of tensions among neighboring states, particularly at a time when both regional and world nations were suffering from the widespread consequences of the spread of terrorism and extremism and the continuation of Palestines occupation by the Israeli regime.

The Islamic Republic of Iran calls on all neighbors involved in the ongoing disputes in south of the Persian Gulf to learn from the bitter experiences in the regionand move toward decreasing tension and restoring peace while exercising restraint, Qassemi said.

The Iranian spokesperson emphasized that using sanctions in the current interlinked world was an inefficient and unacceptable move.

He said the maintenance of national sovereignty and territorial integrity of independent countries and non-interference in their domestic affairs as well as showing respect for recognized international borders were among the fundamental principles of international law, which should be observed by all.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed their diplomatic ties and all land, sea and air contacts with Qatar on Monday, accusing Doha of supporting terrorism and extremism and interfering in their internal affairs, in the biggest diplomatic crisis to hit the region in years.

Later in the day, Libyas Foreign Minister Mohamed Dayri said that his country also followed suit with regional allies and cut its diplomatic relations with Qatar. The Maldives and Yemen's former government have also taken a similar step.

Meanwhile, the so-called Saudi-led "coalition," which is currently involved in a war on Yemen said it was ending Qatar's membership. The measure, it said, was due to Doha's "practices that strengthen terrorism and its support to organizations in Yemen, including al-Qaeda and Daesh, as well as dealing with the rebel militias."

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday stressed the importance of dialogue among the regional countries, particularly during the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

Neighbors are permanent; geography can't be changed. Coercion is never the solution. Dialog is imperative, especially during blessed Ramadan, Zarif said in a post on his Twitter account.

Following the unprecedented escalation in regional tensions, the Iranian foreign minister held separate phone calls with his Turkish, Indonesian, Iraqi and Omani counterparts, Mevlut Cavusoglu, Retno Marsudi, Ibrahim al-Jaafari and Yousef bin Alawi, respectively.

Meanwhile, a senior Iranian lawmaker said on Monday that the latest dispute among Arab countries in the region was rooted in US interference, adding that Tehran had always opposed meddling by foreign powers in regional affairs.

The first outcome of US President Donald Trump's visit to the [Middle East] region was the emergence of divisions among regional countries," Chairman of the Iranian Parliament's Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy Alaeddin Boroujerdi said.

Iran has always emphasized that regional issues must be resolved by the countries in the region, he added.

The Iranian legislator reiterated that the interference of foreign countries, particularly the US as a known enemy of Muslim nations, would never lead to the settlement of regional conflicts.

Boroujerdi expressed hope that regional countries would pay heed to the important policy that they, themselves, must solve issues in the region.
Share your opinion on this topic by sending a letter to the editor to tctvoice@madison.com. Include your full name, hometown and phone number. Your name and town will be published. The phone number is for verification purposes only. Please keep your letter to 250 words or less.
A local expert says council plans to deal with menacing dogs will do little to solve the problem, and actively encourages bad dog owners, while punishing good dog owners.

Tauranga Council City Council and Western Bay of Plenty Council recently announced they were to offer an amnesty for owners of menacing dogs by giving them free neutering and microchipping, in addition to a subsidised muzzle and registration.

However, local pet food business owner Nita Maaka says these owners will still have no idea how to rear a dog or change any behaviour of their dogs, and does nothing to stop owners having more menacing dogs in the future.

All dogs can be menacing, not just certain breeds. In fact out of all the dogs we have done training with, there has actually only been a couple of dogs that I would call menacing, the rest really just had status and boundary issues.

Nita thinks a better solution would be for the council to create a licensing system funded by the local government and local council dog registration fees.

Every dog owner has to hold a license, the license system is an opportunity for dog owners to learn about dogs and their behaviour. Just like when you are learning to drive, there are some basics that can save a lot of heartache, because a lot of people do not know how to rear dogs, or how to pro-actively train them into their family lifestyle. A lot of the problems people have is with all breeds, not just so called menacing breeds.

People are very quick to blame dogs for bad or menacing behaviour  but dogs are not born this way, they are reared this way. What the local councils and central government is doing may be a start, but much more can be done to dissolve the problems in the long term. Educate the problem out of society, says Nita.

Western Bay of Plenty Council compliance and monitoring manager Alison Curtis agrees a de-sexing campaign on its own will not solve the problem.

Its important to know this current national campaign, supported by both Western Bay and Tauranga City councils, to provide de-sexing for high risk dogs is just the first step in a national action plan to reduce the risk and harm of dog attacks, says Alison.

The Department of Internal Affairs has plenty of information from their national survey on reducing dog attacks, which showed respondents believe requiring owners to complete classes, and further education on dog behaviour are the two biggest requirements for reducing dog attacks.

Our staff work closely with vet services locally to deliver puppy classes to new dog owners. These classes educate dog owners on the positives and pitfalls of dog ownership and provide dog (and owner) training. They are strongly recommended for all new dog owners.

Tauranga City Council animal services team leader Brent Lincoln says the funding for this programme has largely been provided by central government and has minimal impact on local registration fees.

One of the proposals from government will require owners of menacing dogs to demonstrate they have the skills and knowledge to manage such a dog. These processes are yet to be developed.

He says Tauranga City Council has recently employed an education officer and is developing targeted programmes with a view to reducing harm caused by dogs in society.

Council animal control officers also work with dog owners to help them understand the obligations and responsibilities associated with owning a dog. Generally a dogs demeanour is a combination of the breeding, the dogs personality, and ownership.
The president of the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party is resigning his office and party membership to join the Opportunities Party.

Abe Gray says for the first time since the ALCPs inception 20 years ago, there is now another party that can be trusted to deliver real positive reform on the cannabis issue if it gets into parliament.

He says ALCP members know from bitter experience with other parties like the Greens that establishment parties dont walk the talk once theyve been elected.

The Opportunities Party is different, says Abe.

Their evidence based, harm reduction approach is what ALCP members have been wanting for so long, and experts in the field recognise TOPs Real Deal Cannabis reform is the way forward.

We could stay campaigning as a single-issue party and pick up our usual half a per cent, before watching the old guard return to their do-nothing approach. Or we can throw our support behind TOP, help it reach five per cent and finally achieve our goals.

He has sent a letter to all ALCP members urging them to publically join him in backing the Opportunities Party.

Abe is a former Deputy Leader of the ALCP, a past candidate for the party, former vice president of NORML NZ, former tutor and past lecturer in biology, ecology and botany at Otago University and founder and curator of the Whakamana Cannabis Museum in Dunedin.
The stalled title process for the Dive Crescent land is underway again with the city council expected to approve a joint council/Maori ownership bid for land.

The land has remained in limbo since the 1989 local government changes.

That was when the reclaimed strip of land on the harbour side of Dive Crescent reverted to Crown ownership when the former owner, the Bay of Plenty Harbour Board, was dissolved.

The councils City Transformation Committee is expected to recommend the re-establishment of the Dive Crescent Governance Group to plan for and manage the seaward land in partnership with the Otamataha Trust this week.

The re-development of what the council sees as a key waterfront area and a gateway to the CBD is stalled over the ownership process. The governance group was first established in 2010. In 2012 it put in a joint ownership allocation for the land to Land Information New Zealand, and dissolved following the 2013 elections.

The application remains stalled by LINZ, specifically the valuation process  how much will have to be paid to the government for the return of the reclaimed land.

Agenda reports state LINZ doesnt dispute the joint ownership proposal. The process stalled over the valuation, which was done under LINZ guidelines.

Council staff and Trust representatives met with LINZ on April 12, 2017, to discuss how the joint application can be resolved.

The Dive Crescent land. Photo: Supplied.

The LINZ Group Manager of Crown Property has the delegation to sell Crown land provided that the value is justified by independent valuation and any discounting factors that can be applied in line with the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011. Any negotiation in terms of sale price that cannot be justified via valuation or the coastal marine Act has to go to the Minister for Land Information for approval.

While Council and the Trust finalise negotiations over the title and ownership of the seaward land, only short-term bookings are being considered for the use of the Cargo Shed - a minimum of one day, maximum of one month.

Lease information for other assets at Dive Crescent, including Maui Ocean Products, the fish and chip shop and wharf, remain confidential.
Torremolinos town hall has begun working on the much-needed regeneration of the Avenida Carlota Alessandri.

Once a thriving commercial area, complete with shops, bars and restaurants, the road that connects Torremolinos to Benalmadena has deteriorated into a virtual ghost town over the past few decades.

The council has begun the alterations by removing all of the bollards that currently prevent parking in the street, and the next stage will be to reduce the dual carriageway to just two lanes.

This will enable a wider pedestrian footpath and more room for vehicles to park or make deliveries.

During a meeting attended by Jose Ortiz, Mayor of Torremolinos, and Maribel Tocon, councilor for urban planning, residents and business owners in the area raised their concerns about the lack of initiative to boost economic activity in the street.

However, the worried locals were assured that the town hall intends to regenerate the area and make it pedestrian-friendly, while hopefully making it attractive to investors once again.

The mayor of Torremolinos explained that the final plans were waiting the approval of the planning department of the provincial government in Malaga, and these include the installation of a new roundabout, pedestrian crossings and a bicycle lane.

Ortiz expressed his intentions to stop the decline of the area by regenerating the commercial activity it enjoyed during the 1960s and 70s.

He claimed that they would take advantage of the low density of traffic that uses this street, by transforming it into a public space within a friendly town.

We will promote these improvements so that the Avenida Carlota Alessandri is transformed back into an attractive area that focuses on investment, the mayor said.

Business owners have claimed that one of the main reasons for the deterioration of commercial activity in the area has been the lack of parking.

Maribel Tocon was quick to point out that the installation of the bollards, installed by the former PP council, was the beginning of the deterioration of the area and the closure of many businesses.

She said, The project in preparation for the Avenida Carlota Alessandri will make the area more sustainable and much safer, and it will help to regenerate this nostalgic part of Torremolinos.
AUBURN, N.Y. -- Brandon Hinman is back in Cayuga County jail for violating the terms of his probation from his 2014 forgery conviction, according to Cayuga County District Attorney Jon Budelmann.

Hinman faces numerous violations of his probation, including failure to report to probation six times between February and May, failure to report to court four times since November and failure to submit to a drug test. Hinman also allegedly provided a sample for a drug test that appeared to be tampered with, Budelmann said.

Budelmann said Hinman also admitted to using opioids and cocaine during the last two months, which is a violation of his probation.

Hinman, 34, is the widower of Jenna Hinman, a 26-year-old Central New York mother whose battle with a rare pregnancy-related cancer and premature delivery of twin daughters captured the attention of people around the world. She died in May 2014, and is survived by her twin girls, who turned 3 in March.

Hinman was arrested several months after his wife's death and charged with stealing about $45,000 worth of donations from a bank account set up to help cover medical expenses and to benefit his daughters. He was charged in July 2014 with the two felonies in connection with allegedly forging names on checks to get money from the account.

He pleaded guilty in April 2015 to second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument and third-degree grand larceny, both felonies. Hinman was sentenced in June 2015 to six months in jail and 5 years probation.

Cayuga County Judge Thomas Leone warned in 2015 that if Hinman violated probation, he would face 2 1/3 to 7 years in prison for the charges.

But Hinman has violated the terms of his conviction since being released from jail.

In November 2015, he went back to jail for five days for failing to follow the orders of Judge Michael McKeon, who supervises felony treatment court. One day after being released, he was caught driving with a suspended license and sent back to jail until February 2016.

Hinman is also required to pay $45,300 in restitution. Budelmann said Hinman is behind on his payments. Hinman is required to pay $850 a month and has paid about $13,000 in three years. He still owes $32,000, Budelmann said.

Jeff and Kim Blaisdell, Jenna Hinman's parents, are raising the twins.

"When he was sentenced I wanted him to get help and be a father," Kim Blaisdell said about Brandon Hinman. "He hasn't done that. He needs to face the consequences."

Blaisdell said Brandon and Jenna Hinman's twins are doing well. She posted a photo of the girls on their birthday in March on the Twice Blessed: Jenna's Legacy Facebook page, which still has more than 400,000 followers. She said Hinman has only visited the girls three times since Thanksgiving.

"All my daughter ever wanted was to be a mother," she said. "And he can be a father and he's choosing not to be. Justice needs to be served."

Hinman is scheduled to return to Judge McKeon's court on Monday. Budelmann said his office is requesting the case be moved out of felony treatment court and back to Judge Leone.

Hinman has been in Cayuga County jail since May 15.
Syracuse, NY -- A former bookkeeper at an East Syracuse real estate firm has been charged with stealing $88,000 over nearly a decade.

Fae Lawton, 64, was indicted earlier this spring on felony charges of grand larceny and falsifying business records during her tenure at Highlander Associates Ltd.

The thefts took place from September 2006 to May 2015, the indictment alleges.

Lawton, who remains free, has appeared in court a few times. The district attorney's office has offered her a plea deal that would send her to prison for one to three years and require her to repay the money.

In all likelihood, the debt would simply be filed as a court judgment -- much like a credit card debt -- in the county clerk's office.

An insurance company has repaid the business for its losses.

Lawton is due back to court June 23 to decide if she wants to take the plea deal. She faces up to 15 years in prison, if convicted, though no jail is required.
MATTYDALE, N.Y. -- A driver was trapped Tuesday morning in Mattydale after his car crashed through a pole and flipped onto its roof.

A man was driving from LeMoyne Avenue onto Brewerton Road around 7 a.m. when he lost control of his Mustang, said Assistant Chief Dave Fitch, of the Mattydale Fire Department.

"It was raining very hard at the time," he said.

After the car slipped on the rain-slicked road, the driver tried to compensate, Fitch said. He veered off Brewerton Road and hit a telephone pole -- snapping the wooden pole in half.

The car then flipped over onto its roof, coming to a stop near an auto shop's parking lot. The driver was trapped inside his crumpled car.

Mattydale, Liverpool and Hinsdale firefighters rushed to the scene to free the driver.

"Because the car was on its roof, stabilization becomes more of a task," Fitch said.

After stabilizing the Mustang on four sides, firefighters cut away part of the car. The man slowly blinked as he was wheeled away from the scene and into a North Area Volunteer Ambulance Corps ambulance.

A driver became trapped Tuesday morning after his car crashed through a telephone pole on Brewerton Road in Mattydale and flipped onto its roof.

The man was safely rescued from the car and taken to a hospital, Fitch said. He did not know how badly the man was injured.

The Mustang did not get tangled in the downed telephone pole's wires during the crash, Fitch said. That "helped out" firefighters when they were working to free the driver from his car.

It's unclear if speed was factor in the crash, Fitch said.

The New York State Police and the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office were on scene.

After paramedics rushed the driver to a hospital, half of the severed pole was still dangling from the sagging wires. National Grid workers pulled down the broken pole and started to tie up the wires.

Shredded wood and shattered glass were scattered across the pavement. Pieces of the Mustang -- including a bumper and a door -- rested a few feet away from the damaged car.
Syracuse, NY -- An Onondaga County judge today called the evidence against a Corcoran High School junior "overwhelming" in the May 25 stabbing of a substitute teacher.

Zhuantina Hayes, 17, is facing a felony assault charge, accused of stabbing the teacher at least twice while fighting with another student. She faces up to seven years in prison, if convicted, though no prison time is required under law.

But this isn't the first time Hayes has been in trouble. Her five previous felony charges were the main focus of a bail hearing today before Judge Stephen J. Dougherty.

Assigned defense lawyer Kerilyn Micale wanted bail lowered to $5,000 cash or bond. Prosecutor Anthony Copani wanted the bail to remain at $25,000 cash or $50,000 bond.

Dougherty said it was "very difficult to wrap my mind around the fact that someone has five pending felonies at 16 -- and now 17 -- years old."

Hayes was arrested in September on three counts of burglary and one count each of robbery and grand larceny. A proposed plea deal in that case spared her jail, but required her to do 100 hours of community service, regularly attend school and pass her classes, Micale said today.

Hayes would have pleaded guilty to three felonies and been put on probation. But her record would have been sealed as a youthful offender.

Hayes did her community service at a high school non-violence program and at the Boys and Girls Club, Micale said. She stayed out of trouble at school -- until now.

The plea deal was delayed because Hayes was failing an art studio class, Micale said. She needed to pass that class to keep the bargain.

Dougherty noted that deal was off the table now that Hayes had been arrested again.

Prior to her arrest last month, Hayes had never been suspended for fighting and had no record of disciplinary action at school, Micale said.

Copani said the fight was caught on video and that Hayes had admitted to possessing a knife. Dougherty said the proof of Hayes' guilt appeared to be "overwhelming."

"I can't understand how someone has a knife as a junior at Corcoran High School," the judge remarked.

Micale used Hayes' previous scrapes with the law to argue that her client had never sought to flee prosecution. Hayes had always appeared in court and had family support, the lawyer argued.

Even before her current arrests, Hayes had been brought before the city's adolescent diversion court, which seeks to help troubled youth get on the right track and avoid a criminal conviction. Only misdemeanors and violations are eligible for that court, not felonies.

Hayes successfully completed that program, so no record of that earlier transgression is public.

Micale noted that the purpose of bail is to ensure Hayes' return to court, not to punish.

But the five felonies from September remain open. It's likely that whatever plea offer is made in the stabbing case will include those felonies, as well.

Dougherty called Hayes' pending charges "very bad." He decided to keep bail at $25,000 cash or $50,000 bond.

The judge indicated that there's a good chance Hayes will go to prison if convicted of the stabbing. That's way down the road, though: her case will now likely be presented to a grand jury, absent any out-of-court negotiations.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Syracuse police responded to a report of a man shot in the head Monday night in the city's Valley section.

Several people called the Onondaga County 911 Center at 11:20 p.m. to say a man in his 20s had been shot in the head in front of 624 Barnes Ave.

One 911 caller told dispatchers the man who had been shot was 21 years old, according to unofficial police scanner reports.

An American Medical Response (AMR) ambulance transported the man to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse. His condition was not immediately known.

When Syracuse police arrived at the scene shortly after the shooting, they reported seeing "an unknown male" running from the area. It was not immediately clear if police found that man or if they suspected he was involved in the shooting. Police were continuing to search for a suspect in the area of Barnes, Englewood and Camp avenues, as well as Valley Drive late Monday.

The shooting happened just north of West Seneca Turnpike in the Valley section of Syracuse.

Do you know Rasheed Baker? Syracuse.com would like to speak to family or friends willing to share insights into his life. Reach reporter Kira Maddox at 315-470-2146 or by email at kmaddox@syracuse.com.
Syracuse, N.Y. -- The Lipe Art Park is getting a makeover and it's looking for help from artists in the community for the grand opening.

The park has been under construction for the better part of the past year, going from a grassy field with sculptures in it to a "real" park with trails, benches and parking, said Rick Destito, who has been working with the city and the Syracuse Industrial Development Agency to redevelop the park.

The grand opening is July 22 and the park is looking for three artists to install outdoor pieces in the park. The work doesn't have to be permanent. It will be on display for four weeks. It can intentionally decay or otherwise evolve as it's exposed to the elements. Each of the three artists will be awarded $500.

To apply, send materials to Caitlin Albright at saltquarters@gmail.com. Applicants should include a bio and CV, images of previous work or links to it; a written description of the proposed project and sketches of it. Proposals are due June 9 and the work must be installed by July 20.

Lipe Art Park had been an abandoned rail yard on the edge of the redevelopment on the city's Near West Side. A group of community activists turned it into an art park in 2007. The redevelopment makes the space more usable -- with walking trails and community space.

"(It's) as if it just graduated from a pretend park to a real, real park finally," Destito said.

Proposals for the new artwork will be reviewed by the Stewards of Lipe Art Park June 12th. The park will have an opening reception July 22.

The Lipe Art Park on Syracuse's Near West Side has been re-imagined: It now has walking trails and will have new art, too.

Marnie Eisenstadt writes about people, life and culture in Central New York. Have an idea or question? Contact her anytime: email | twitter | Facebook | 315-470-2246
To the Editor:

On May 24, 2017, the board of OnTECH Charter High School held a public meeting at White Branch Public Library to engage the Syracuse community. There, speakers expressed solidarity with the goals of the school and others raised valid concerns. OnTECH actively seeks dialogue with students, parents and leaders in our community. Information about the school can be found on our website at www.ontechcharter.com, and we invite all who are interested in the school to attend an upcoming meeting or email the school directly at info@ontechcharter.com. Each message will receive individualized attention from the school's leadership.



On May 31, syracuse.com published a letter to the editor by Matthew Johnson, who attended the recent meeting at White Branch Library. We appreciate Johnson's letter and will certainly think about and discuss his concerns. At the same time several concerns about OnTECH are based upon misunderstandings about the school's mission, operational plans and previous outreach, which we would like to clarify with the following points:



* OnTECH is a public, nonprofit school and received its charter from the New York State Board of Regents in December 2016. The school will open in August 2018. Over the past three years, OnTECH has hosted community meetings and received media coverage by television, radio, print and online in order to gather community input and grow awareness. The program has iterated in response to community comments, and we will continue community outreach as the program develops. However, it is important to note that in order to be granted a charter, OnTECH had to pass a rigorous review by the New York State Education Department, which scrutinized our outreach efforts and found them to be thorough.



* OnTECH's mission is to reach students who will thrive in a non-traditional educational environment. Many of these students are "at-risk" of dropping out or have already dropped out. We want to help them gain access to an educational pipeline by making school exciting with a unique curriculum. The school's mission and curriculum supports students with a range of challenges, including, but not limited to, English language learners in the New American community.



* OnTECH's instructional program is designed to incorporate project-based learning, bring experts into the classroom through telepresence and incorporate the latest research in neuroscience. We intend to be an incubator for new ideas drawn from the most successful 21st century schools around the country. Those features include starting the school day at 10 a.m. when adolescent brains are known to be more active, and extending the school year.



* The curricular focus on agriculture, agribusiness, sustainable sciences and renewable energy sources reflects the great industrial expertise and potential of the Central New York region. The school curriculum includes hydroponic, aeroponic and vertical farming systems -- the latest developments that are reshaping agribusiness. Graduates will meet all Regents requirements and be ready to gain employment in high-tech careers and continue to pursue academic opportunities in higher education.



* Learning through agriculture and sustainable sciences is a starting point to engage some students in the world around them, and, for other students, it may seed a life long passion or profession. OnTECH will take the students that choose to apply and create an educational plan for each student so that he or she can not only earn the credits to gain a high-school diploma and the skill set to be viable members of our community, but become life-long learners.



It is important to remember that enrolling in OnTECH is purely a matter of choice. For students and families who find the school's program compelling and choose to attend, OnTECH will provide unique opportunities to develop skills and knowledge, build meaningful careers, and fulfill entrepreneurial dreams.

Ellen K. Eagen

Founder

OnTECH Charter High School

Syracuse
U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins, R-Port Barre, bared his own extreme proposal for suspected Islamic extremists after the latest terrorist attack in London: "Kill them all," his campaign's Facebook page stated Sunday (June 4).

(Facebook screenshot)

Higgins' strong words were posted after seven people were killed and dozens injured on Saturday in London. It appeared due process was not a priority Higgins, a freshman congressman and former police officer, as he called for killing anyone suspected of being a radicalized Muslim.

His remarks sparked outcries on social media.

Clay Higgins used to be a POLICE OFFICER and he's literally saying that we should kill anyone SUSPECTED of being radicalized. pic.twitter.com/aUmju0IKm5  The Volatile Mermaid (@OhNoSheTwitnt) June 5, 2017

In case you thought 45 had the worst post-attack hot take, may I present to you Rep. Clay Higgins (LA-03): https://t.co/tKuFfFbGQR  Lara Crigger (@LaraCrigger) June 5, 2017

Question for Congressman Clay Higgins: Does the same go for White Supremacist Christian extremists, cuz they commit most mass murders in US.  PassMeAPickle (@CeeLeeMusic) June 5, 2017

Higgins is no stranger to controversy. He parlayed his nickname "Cajun John Wayne," which he obtained by posting viral YouTube videos calling out criminal suspects, into political success last fall.

When asked for comment on the blowback to his Facebook post, Higgins stood his ground "The terrorists certainly take advantage of the politically correct madness that consumes the West. They revel that many in the western world are frightened to speak freely," he said.

"I've never been accused of being politically correct. I call things the way I see them."
Cambridge, Mass. - Harvard University has withdrawn admissions offers to several incoming freshmen after the school found out the students were sharing explicit, obscene and offensive memes online.

The university rescinded admissions offers to at least 10 prospective students, according to The Harvard Crimson, Harvard's student newspaper. The memes were sexually explicit and sometimes targeted minority groups.

The students shared the memes in a private group chat on Facebook, the Crimson said.

The images and memes mocked sexual assault, the Holocaust and the deaths of children, according to the Crimson. Some of the messages suggested that abusing children was sexually arousing while others had punchlines aimed at ethnic or racial groups.

One called the hypothetical hanging of a Mexican child "pinata time," according to the Crimson.

Harvard administrators eventually learned of the chat's contents, the Crimson said. The admissions office soon began asking students who posted material to explain themselves.

The school pulled the admissions offers in April, according to the Crimson. Officials have said in the past that decisions to rescind admissions offers are final.

School officials wouldn't comment on the specifics of this incident, according to the Crimson.

School policies allow Harvard to pull admissions offers if a student participates in behavior that raises questions about his or her "moral character," according to Boston.com. Harvard accepted 2,056 students for its Class of 2021 out of nearly 40,000 who applied.

The private chat grew from a 100-member messaging group that members of the Class of 2021 set up in December to share memes about pop culture, according to the Crimson. Admitted students found and contacted each other using the official Harvard Facebook group for the incoming freshman class.

Messages in the original group were mostly lighthearted, one student told the Crimson. Some members eventually formed the second meme group to post more "R-rated" content, the paper said.
Ada, Okla. -- An Oklahoma man shot and killed a father as the man was trying to drown his infant twins in a bathtub.

The 3-month-old babies have been released from the hospital and are doing fine, according to NBC News.

The killing appears to have been justified, authorities said, according to The Oklahoman. Prosecutors said they would await a police report on the matter to make a final determination on charges.

Police are not recommending any charges, according to The Ada News in Oklahoma.

The incident occurred Friday when 27-year-old Leland Foster forced his way inside a home in Ada, Oklahoma, about 50 miles southeast of Oklahoma City, according to NBC. The mother of Foster's infant twins was at the house.

The two had argued earlier, according to News 12 in Sherman, Texas. The mother told the station that once inside, Foster picked up the two babies and started trying to drown them in the tub.

The mother said he also hit and choked her, according to News 12.

Officials said Foster threatened the mother of his children with a knife during the incident as well, according to News Channel 4 in Oklahoma.

A 12-year-old girl who was at the home ran to a neighbor's house for help.

That's when a neighbor, Cash Freeman, grabbed his gun and entered the home. He saw Foster trying to kill the children and shot him twice in the back, according to NBC.

Freeman told News Channel 4 he did what he had to do to save the babies.

The mother of the twins told The Ada News that Foster "just snapped." She also said if Freeman hadn't intervened, she and her children would be dead.

"He saved me and my babies' lives and there will not be a day that will go by that I won't thank him for that," the mother said, according to News 12.

Contact Kevin Tampone anytime: Email | Twitter | Google + | 315-454-2112
The National Weather Service in Buffalo has issued a "lakeshore flood warnings" for Lake Ontario property owners and businesses in three Western New York counties beginning at 4 p.m. his afternoon and continuing until late Wednesday morning.

The warning was issued for Niagara, Monroe and Orleans counties.

Forecasters are predicting waves on the lake of up to 6 feet today and Wednesday that will pound the lake's south shore in those counties. Weather Service meteorologist Shawn Smith has said the highest wave action will take place tonight.

"By Wednesday, he said, waves are expected to subside, from 3 to 5 feet early in the day down to one-foot waves later Wednesday," according to Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.

In their meeting this afternoon, the International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence Board discussed a strategy to increase Lake Ontario outflows. The strategy is still being refined and details should be available in the next day or so.

"The combination of very high lake levels and brisk northeast winds will locally increase lake levels along the south shore of Lake Ontario. Wave action may further increase shoreline flooding and erosion," notes the Weather Service.

"The flooding will worsen in low lying coastal locations .. especially in the many bays and inlets along the south shore."

The water levels at Lake Ontario continues to be a record high. Frank Bevqcqua, a spokesman for the International Joint Commission, which manages the lake's water level, said water releases at the Moses-Saunders Dam in Massena are likewise at record levels.

The Commission's board met Monday afternoon to discuss possibly increasing the dam's water releases even more. The water levels downstream from the dam around Montreal are going down, though still at flood levels, Bevacqua said.

"In their meeting this afternoon, the International Lake Ontario-St. Lawrence Board discussed a strategy to increase Lake Ontario outflows. The strategy is still being refined and details should be available in the next day or so," he said.
Apple has announced its long-rumored answer to the Amazon Echo and Google Home. Dubbed the HomePod, its a $349 Siri-powered speaker that will try to outshine its competitors in terms of audio quality. Just like the iPod reinvented music in our pockets, HomePod is going to reinvent music in our homes, said Apples head of worldwide marketing Phil Schiller at the companys Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday.

Mentioned in this article Echo Dot (2nd generation) Read our review

On stage, Schiller talked up the HomePods acoustic qualities, which include seven beam-forming horn-loaded tweeters, each with its own amplifier, and a four-inch powered woofer that can adapt to the acoustic characteristics of the room its playing in. All thats driven by an Apple A8 processor, similar to whats inside the iPhone 6 and fourth-generation Apple TV. Users can also set up two HomePods next to one another, and theyll synchronize for better sound, the speaker will support whole-home audio with other speakers that support Apples AirPlay 2 wireless audio technology. TechHive The HomePod flexes its audio quality muscles. To activate the speaker, users can say Hey Siri and then ask to play songs from Apple Music. Schiller talked up the HomePods musicologist features, which can answer requests like Play something new, What was the top song in 1983? and Whos the drummer in this? The top of the HomePod is also touch-sensitive for controlling volume and pausing.

Schiller had much less to say about HomePods broader Siri smarts, although the product page on Apples website hints that it can perform many of the smart-home tasks that an Amazon Echo or Google Home can do. In addition to playing music, HomePod can provide news, general knowledge, reminders, podcasts, translation, weather, and HomeKit controls, among other things. But Apple did not announce support for third-party voice skills, like Amazon and Google offer with their smart speakers. Although Siri does support a narrow set of third-party voice actions on iOS devices, its unclear whether these will be accessible on HomePod.

Mentioned in this article Play:5 (2015 Edition) Read our review
Verizon Enterprise Solutions on Friday released Visual Interactive Calling, a software development kit and platform in the Verizon network designed to enable banks, retailers, airlines, travel and hospitality companies, and other firms to communicate visually with their customers.

The sweet spot for this solution is enterprises that have deep mobile app penetration into their customer base, and those with complex interactions that users may need agent assistance with, said Tom Smith, senior manager of customer experience innovation for Verizon.

Apps developed with this SDK will transition customers using a companys self-service mobile app directly to a live agent.

This will maintain the security of the transaction and minimize the number of steps required. The customers confirmed identity and information about the reason for the call will be on the agents screen, and customers wont have to log out of the mobile app and go through the process of connecting with a live agent over a standard interactive voice response system.

This SDK is used to enhance the mobile app rather than replacing existing app development tools, Smith told CRM Buyer. It provides APIs and sample code that can be used by the app to interface with the Verizon platform and the enterprise.

The Verizon platform performs authentication, translation, security and call control functions.

Visual Interactive Calling is immediately available to companies based in the United States.

Visual Interactive Callings Impact

Visual Interactive Calling will help companies better cater to customers increasingly mobile habits.

Consumers in the United States spent more than five hours a day on their devices, according to recent research.

Our enterprise clients need to adapt to the communications preferences of their own customers, Smith noted. So many of our clients  have adopted a mobile-first service strategy, and legacy contact center solutions arent optimizing the mobile user experience.

Verizons Visual Interactive Calling product enables them to compete against the rise in enterprise adoption of cloud-based contact center providers  and in particular, Amazons new Connect solution, said Cindy Zhou, a principal analyst at Constellation Research.

One of the primary reasons for enterprises switching contact center software providers is for platform ease, pricing, and integration with their existing CRM technology, she told CRM Buyer. I didnt see any reference to external CRM integration in [Verizons] announcement.

Businesses would want to use the SDK to develop their own apps instead of leveraging Apples FaceTime and Googles Duo apps, which dont offer the queuing, routing and blending thats needed for a best-practice call center, said Holger Mueller, also a principal analyst at Constellation Research.

Blending is key to have a high-value customer overtake lower-value customers in the queue, he told CRM Buyer, or getting the same agent to the same customer as last time.

Not Your Daddys Visual IVR

Google received a patent for Visual IVR in 2005 from Nortel, which had submitted the design in 2000.

Visual IVR was seen as a blending of the mobile phones visual display with speech-enabled IVRs, as offered by DiaLogic and ChoiceView, and unveiled last year by Zappix.

Verizon is certainly not the first in the space, as many CRM providers have introduced similar capabilities, said Rebecca Wettemann, VP of research at Nucleus Research.

Further, Verizon is seen as a telecoms provider, not a customer experience or CRM software provider, she told CRM Buyer.

Visual Interactive Calling is unlikely to drive new business, Wettemann said, as customers buying patterns and decision process in this space arent aligned with Verizons core expertise.

However, we dont view [Visual Interactive Calling] as a visual IVR, said Verizons Smith.

Visual IVR applications typically start out with a phone call, and are designed with the IVR experience as a baseline, he said, but Verizon [looked] at the types of interactions that are escalated from mobile app self-service to contact center agents, and is working with enterprises and consumers to figure out how to optimize the experience.
Snap shares appear to have rebounded from the plunge they took earlier this month, after the newly public company released a massive US$2.2 billion loss in the first quarter, but investors still are scratching their heads over the companys prospects.

Trading just over $20 at mid-day Tuesday, Snap looks to some like it has regained its early bloom. Others suspect that darker days are yet to come, as signs of robust growth have been lacking.

Snaps revenue and subscriber growth figures missed consensus estimates in its first quarter, sending shares down to a low of $17.59.

Revenue rose sharply to $149.6 million in the quarter, compared with $38.8 million in the year-earlier period, but still fell short of consensus estimates of $158 million.

Investors also were spooked by slow growth in daily active users, which totaled 166 million in the quarter, compared with 122 million in the year-ago quarter, a 36 percent gain. DAUs increased by a slim 5 percent from the 4th quarter of 2016. A DAU is defined as a registered Snapchat user who opens the app at least once during a defined 24-hour period.

Average revenue per user rose 181 percent to 90 cents during the first quarter, compared with 32 cents a year earlier. ARPU was down 14 percent from fourth-quarter 2016 figures, when ARPU was $1.05.

Snaps Progress

During the conference call with analysts, CEO Evan Spiegel said the company was pleased with Snap highlighted its gains in engagement during the quarter. Users created 3 billion Snaps daily, noted CEO Evan Spiegel.

The company made strong inroads with Android users, who comprised 30 percent of net additional users compared with 20 percent in the previous quarter.

Users spent an average of 30 minutes a day on Snapchat, according to Chief Strategy Officer Imran Khan, who pointed to a Nielsen report indicating that 45 percent of 18-34-year-olds interacted with Snapchat on any given day.

Although, most of Snaps first-quarter losses were attributable to one-time stock compensation, analysts nevertheless remain concerned about the companys user growth and engagement metrics.

Challenges Ahead

The underlying numbers do present a mixed picture for Snap, highlighting some clear challenges, Jack Kent, IHS Markit director, operators and mobile media, said following the companys earnings report.

The slowing user growth rate is an indication that Snap is already well penetrated among its main youth audience in core Western markets, and so will have to adapt to broaden its user base either internationally or in new demographic segments, he told the E-Commerce Times.

Even if Snap gains new user segments, they may not monetize as well as their existing base, Kent warned.

Snaps stock plunge earlier this month reflects Wall Streets reluctance to take the long view when it comes to tech stocks, observed Midia Research analyst Zach Fuller.

Growth metrics often define valuations over revenue, he noted.

The fact that they slowed in the face of Snapchats fierce competition with Facebooks Instagram likely spooked investors, Fuller told the E-Commerce Times.

When Snapchat first came on the scene, it was not much different than a dot-com like Twitter, as compared to a viable entity like Facebook, suggested Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group.

They were popularity first, figure out revenue and profit later, he recalled.

That was the problem with the old dot-coms  no real business plan, just the idea for a free product, which exposes the firm to emulation by someone that can better monetize the effort, like Facebook, Enderle told the E-Commerce Times. Snapchat and Twitter are the poster children for this at the moment.
Apple raised the curtain on HomePod, its upcoming smart speaker, during Mondays keynote presentation at its Worldwide Developers Conference.

The company also announced some desktop OS features for the iPad, and revealed its plans to become an augmented reality powerhouse.

Just like iPod reinvented music in our pockets, HomePod is going to reinvent music in our homes, Phil Schiller, Apples senior vice president for worldwide marketing, told an enthusiastic crowd at the San Jose Convention Center in California.

HomePod, which will sell for US$350, is slightly less than 7 inches tall and is covered with a seamless 3D mesh fabric which, Schiller said, has incredible acoustic properties.

Inside the speaker, there are seven tweeters, each with their own driver, that give sound precise directional control. HomePod also has a 4-inch woofer that uses dynamic software modeling to eliminate distortion as the volume is cranked up.

The smarts of the speaker is from an Apple A8 processor.

Its perhaps the biggest brain ever in a speaker, Schiller said.

The HomePod will be available in December.

Heat on Sonos and Bose

The processor, which can be found in older iPhones, allows the speaker to do real-time acoustic modeling, audio beam forming and multichannel echo cancellation.

You dont have to know what any of that is, said Schiller. Just know that it sounds incredible.

There are six microphones in HomePod, so it can handle voice commands  even when its playing music  through Apples digital assistant Siri.

We really believe its going to take your home music experience to the next level, Apple CEO Tim Cook said at the event.

Although the smart speaker market is dominated by Amazon and Google, Apple appears to have set its sights on other players in the speaker market.

Its going after Sonos and Bose sound systems in the home, noted Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies.

This is a powerful home audio speaker first that also supports Siri, he told TechNewsWorld.

Focus on Music

Apple is positioning HomePod more as an audio device than a smart home interface, said Jonathan Collins, a research director at ABI Research.

The focus looks to be more about competing with Sonos and supporting Apples Music service than its HomeKit efforts, he told TechNewsWorld.

The price tag is notably higher than both Amazon and Googles smart home offerings, he pointed out, and while it will no doubt appeal to Apple fans, there is little to suggest  at least from the initial details  that this will directly compete against those Echo and Home devices.

More iPad Muscle

In addition to announcing a new 10.5-inch iPad Pro, Apple revealed a number of features in iOS 11, which will be released in the fall, that give the tablets desktop operating features like drag and drop, an expanded dock for quick access to favorite programs, and support of a file system, including baked in support for popular third-party apps like Dropbox and One Drive.

Those are the features on the Mac that most of us have been wanting on the iPad for at least three years, Creative Strategies Bajarin said.

Now the iPad is very similar in experience to the Macintosh, he added. That tells me that Apple believes that the iPad is the future form factor for mobile computing.

The iOS 11 features were needed if the iPad Pro wanted to live up to its pro name, maintained Kevin Krewell, a principal analyst at Tirias Research.

Without a file manager, you really couldnt use it as a professional tool, he told TechNewsWorld.

Now the iPad is much more functional for a professional whos used to using a file manager in their work, Krewell added. This is a big step up for iOS.

AR Powerhouse?

Apple also introduced to developers a new AR kit that it believes will make the company a leader in the augmented reality domain. With AR kit, iOS 11 becomes the worlds largest augmented reality platform, Cook said.

What Apple introduced with AR on mobile is significant, maintained Bajarin.

Theyll dominate the AR space in mobile almost overnight, he said. The AR kit will create a level of innovation within their software developer community that is going to result in an amazing amount of new apps.

While there may be lots of new apps, whether or not there will be a lot innovation remains to be seen.

Theyre not adding any hardware, Krewell noted. Theyre just using the existing iPhone platform for AR, so its a limited version of AR  a better version of Pokemon Go.
A top-secret NSA report obtained by The Intercept has revealed that Russian military intelligence launched a hacking campaign against at least one US voting software supplier and sent spear-phishing emails to over 100 local election officials. The cyberattacks took place just days before last November's presidential election.

Back in January, the Director of National Intelligence said the Democratic National Committee (DNC) hack, which saw emails stolen from the DNC and Hilary Clinton campaign leaked online, was ordered by the Russian government. Following the release of a declassified joint report from the FBI and DHS in December, the Obama Administration announced sanctions against the country, including the expulsion of 35 Russian diplomats.

Today's NSA report suggests the Russian hacks went deeper than previously realized, though it doesn't reveal if they successfully affected the results of the election directly, as opposed to just influencing it through the DNC/Clinton leaks.

The report reveals that the hackers, posing as Google employees, sent spoofed emails to employees of a US election software company. While the firm isn't identified, there are references to EViD, a product made by Florida-based VR Systems.

Seven employees received the emails, and while three were rejected by an email server, at least one account was likely compromised. Two months later, the hackers used the stolen information to set up a Gmail account designed to appear as if it came from an employee at VR Systems. They then sent 122 local government officials and organizations two Microsoft Word documents booby-trapped with trojans, which would allow the hackers to access the computers of anyone who opened them. The NSA said it's unclear how successful this secondary attack proved.

Another operation saw test emails sent to addresses at the American Samoa Election Office. It's thought these were to determine whether the accounts existed before launching another phishing attack. The NSA believes the Russians were intent on"mimicking a legitimate absentee ballot-related service provider."

While the report indicates the Russian General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate, or GRU, was behind the attacks, Vladimir Putin continues to deny his government's involvement. The Russian President recently said "patriotic hackers" may have meddled in the US election.

It appears that the source of the leak has been identified. Not long after The Intercept's report was published, the Department of Justice announced that 25-year-old federal contractor Reality Leigh Winner had been charged with removing classified material from a government facility and mailing it to a news outlet.

"The US Government Agency examined the document shared by the News Outlet and determined the pages of the intelligence reporting appeared to be folded and/or creased, suggesting they had been printed and hand-carried out of a secured space," the affidavit reads. Six people printed the report, but only Winner mailed the news outlet. She has admitted to the leak.
Internet companies have long been accused of not doing enough to quell the spread of online extremist content. Following the recent Manchester and London attacks, British Prime Minister Theresa May said the internet cannot be a "safe space" for terrorists, and called for international agreements to be introduced so the web can be regulated.

In the aftermath of the latest van and knife attack in London that saw seven people killed and dozens injured, May pointed the finger of blame at "big" internet firms.

"We cannot allow this ideology the safe space it needs to breed. Yet that is precisely what the internet - and the big companies that provide internet-based services - provide," May said. "We need to work with allied, democratic governments to reach international agreements that regulate cyberspace to prevent the spread of extremism and terrorist planning. And we need to do everything we can at home to reduce the risks of extremism online."

UK Home Secretary Amber Rudd echoed May's comments during a TV interview. She said tech companies must do more to remove extremist propaganda and recruitment material and limit the end-to-end encryption used by terrorists.

Rudd had previously called for weakened encryption following the Westminster attack last March. She met with senior executives from tech firms including Google, Facebook, and Twitter, and while a joint statement said they promised to "tackle this vital issue" of extremist material, there was no mention of encryption.

Both Google and Facebook have defended themselves following the Prime Minister's recent comments, saying they are committed to fighting online terrorist activities. Twitter, which suspended over 600,000 terrorist accounts between 2015 and 2016, said "terrorist content has no place" on its site.

The argument to weaken end-to-end encryption in services such as WhatsApp has been around for a long time. It's something security experts say would do more harm than good. After the 2015 Paris attacks, the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), which contains over 60 tech giants such as Apple, Google, and Microsoft, said it opposes "any policy actions or measures that would undermine encryption as an available and effective tool."

While some say more could be done by the tech firms, many agree that admonishing sites like Facebook isn't the answer.

"Blaming social media platforms is politically convenient but intellectually lazy," tweeted Professor Peter Neumann, director of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence. "Most jihadists are now using end-to-end encrypted messenger platforms e.g. Telegram. This has not solved the problem, just made it different."

Moreover, few people radicalised exclusively online. Blaming social media platforms is politically convenient but intellectually lazy 6/ --- Peter R. Neumann (@PeterRNeumann) June 4, 2017

Ultimately, coming up with an international agreement for regulating the internet seems extremely unlikely. It's worth noting that the UK already has some of the most intrusive surveillance powers in a democracy, thanks to the Snooper's Charter.
After initially filing a complaint against Microsoft with Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service, the antivirus maker is now taking the fight to Europe where it has filed an antitrust complaint claiming the company is using its dominant position with Windows "to fiercely promote its own - inferior - security software at the expense of users' previously self-chosen security solution."

Kaspersky claims that with the release of Windows 10, Microsoft started to create obstacles to competing manufacturers of security solutions, and introduce different ways of pushing users to forgo third-party software in favor of its own Windows Defender. Specifically, the company says that when users upgrade to Windows 10, its software is automatically disabled in favor of Windows Defender.

The reason given during the upgrade is that it's incompatible with the version of Windows. The software still appears as installed on the machine but most of the files have been removed and it no longer runs.

In a detailed blog post, Eugene Kaspersky, the Russian co-founder of the anti-virus company explains that sometimes updates break compatibility with third party software. The company allegues Microsoft is only providing independent developers a couple of weeks to test the latest Windows 10 upgrades to ensure compatibility. If compatibility-breaking changes can't be fixed before Microsoft releases the update, the software is detected as incompatible and removed from users machines.

Microsoft is no stranger to antitrust battles in Europe as it's already paid billions in cases related to browser choice and how streaming media technologies are integrated with Windows, among others.

In a statement sent to Bloomberg, Microsoft said its primary objective is to keep customers protected, that it remains "confident that the security features of Windows 10 comply with competition laws," and that its ready to answer any questions regulators might have about the Kaspersky complaint.

Update: Here's the complete statement sent to us, "Microsoft's primary objective is to keep customers protected and we are confident that the security features of Windows 10 comply with competition laws. We're always interested in feedback from other companies and we engage deeply with antimalware vendors and have taken a number of steps to address their feedback. We reached out directly to Kaspersky a number of months ago offering to meet directly at an executive level to better understand their concerns, but that meeting has not yet taken place."
Facebook spoke strongly against Saturday's London Bridge terrorist attacks, promising to "aggressively remove terrorist content" from the social media platform.

Similarly, Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May said Sunday that Britain must work with allied democratic governments to strengthen internet regulation, as a way to prevent terrorists from using a tool to plan and organize attacks, in addition to spreading extremism.

Facebook Condemns Terrorism

May's comments come at a time of difficulty in finding balance between free speech and terrorism. However, in a way, Facebook's own condemnation of the attacks seemed to amplify May's statements.

Facebook aims to "provide a service where people feel safe," according to Simon Milner, the company's director of policy.

"[W]e do not allow groups or people that engage in terrorist activity, or posts that express support for terrorism. We want Facebook to be a hostile environment for terrorists."

Facebook's Treatment Of Harmful Content

Facebook still receives criticism for its slow response to a series of violent attacks, some of them depicting murder and sexual assault, that were broadcasted in the last few months using the site's live streaming functionality. Many highlight Facebook's failure to target terrorist propaganda on the site, let alone the troubling distribution of fake news.

To push its efforts, Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg last month said he'll add 3,000 people to monitor, filter, and manage harmful content shared on the site. In late May, The Guardian published a series of documents detailing Facebook's monitoring process, the gist of which showed the site receives an enormous amount of reports, and often, moderators find it difficult to determine what's harmful because of Facebook's perplexing  and sometimes conflicting  guidelines.

The problem is, social media has made it easier to like or share content as much as possible instead of reporting it, presumably because sites have a financial incentive to convince users to share content as often as possible. That's according to Hany Farid, Dartmouth's computer science department chair.

Farid helped Microsoft develop a program called PhotoDNA that targeted child pornography shared on the internet. During last month's episode of On the Media, a radio program, he said that he approached Facebook offering a similar type of technology for terrorist detection, which Facebook rejected.

The process by which social media sites, or internet sites in general, respond to attacks and controversy has left people largely underwhelmed. There'll be a troubling situation or accusation, followed by a press release condemning the said situation, and then more often than not  nada. Nothing follows but "commitment."

That said, Milner did share that Facebook alerts authorities to prevent a potential terrorist attack.

"If we become aware of an emergency involving imminent harm to someone's safety, we notify law enforcement."

London Bridge Attacks

At least seven people were killed and 48 were injured Saturday night in London when three men drove into pedestrians on London Bridge. Afterward, they stabbed people in establishments nearby.

The attack occurred less than a month after 22 people were killed in an incident linked to terrorism during an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester.

Thoughts about the London Bridge attacks? What about Facebook's statements regarding the incident? Feel free to sound off in the comments section below!

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Foxconn wants to purchase Toshiba's semiconductor chip business and Apple and Amazon will apparently chip in to back the bid.

Should it be successful, the deal could help the two companies get better access to flash memory, likely at a more affordable price, to use in devices such as iPhones, iPads, Kindles and the likes.

Foxconn has some serious competition with at least five other bidders looking to snatch up Toshiba's chip business. At least two of those rival bidders reportedly have the support of the Japanese government, which doesn't want to see Toshiba's chips owned by foreigners.

Apple, Amazon Backing Foxconn's Bid For Toshiba Chip Business

As Nikkei Asian Review reports, Foxconn chairman Terry Gou said on Monday, June 5, that Apple and Amazon will also "chip in funds" to back up its bid. It remains unclear, however, if the support will be a direct investment in the semiconductor business or it would simply be financing for the deal.

Toshiba is the second largest NAND chip maker in the world, but it needs to sell its chip business to cover the hefty cost overruns worth billions of dollars from its U.S. Westinghouse nuclear unit, which is now bankrupt. Its memory chip business is the only one that's still profitable, and Toshiba reportedly seeks to sell it by the end of this fiscal year.

Why It Matters

If Apple and Amazon manage to get a piece of the pie in case Foxconn wins the bid, they could get a significant edge in a segment currently dominated by Samsung, Apple's archrival on the smartphone scene.

Foxconn already acquired Sharp and with Toshiba's chips under its belt as well, it could seriously compete against Samsung. Memory chips and panels are among Samsung's most profitable businesses, and Foxconn would make a fierce rival if it manages to grab Toshiba's chip business.

Competition is heating up, and Foxconn is striving to get a bigger piece of the market. Last year, the company agreed to buy Nokia's feature phone business from Microsoft. Finnish company HMD Global licensed the Nokia brand for a decade to release Nokia-branded smartphones, and Foxconn is making them.

At the same time, Gou also told the Nikkei Asian Review on Saturday that Foxconn is among the financial backers for Andy Rubin's Essential Phone, which is shaping up as a real game changer ready to shake up the smartphone scene.

Foxconn's Challenges

However, Foxconn is not considered a frontrunner in the bidding war for Toshiba's chip business because it has solid ties with China. The Japanese government is expected to block all deals that would see Toshiba's key chip technology in foreign hands, so Foxconn might not have much of a chance to win this bidding war even with Apple and Amazon on its side.

In other words, it would be a major boon for Foxconn, Apple, and Amazon if Foxconn's bid proves to be successful, but winning the bid will definitely not be easy. It remains to be seen how things will unfold and we'll keep you up to date as soon as more information becomes available.

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Uber is refunding all passengers who used its service on Saturday, June 3, in the aftermath of the terrorist attack in London, in the affected areas.

On Saturday, attackers drove a van into pedestrians on London Bridge and attacked people with knives, killing seven and injuring dozens. Police shot and killed the attackers within eight minutes after the first call to emergency services, and people who remained unharmed fled the scene in a hurry.

Following the terrorist attack in London, Uber faced a great deal of criticism over surge pricing, as its fees went up after 10 p.m. when the attack occurred. The company canceled surge pricing late on Saturday and prices went back to normal, but many took to social media and other online venues to slam Uber for spiking the prices to capitalize on a tragedy.

Uber Surge Pricing After Terrorist Attack

When demand is too high, meaning that Uber customers requesting taxis outnumber the number of available Uber drivers in the area, the Uber app automatically spikes the prices for passengers. When frightened people trying to leave the London Bridge area started requesting Ubers to flee the scene, they outnumbered the number of available drivers so the price went up.

Uber apologized for the occurrence and set out to make things right, explaining that it paid people back and canceled the surge pricing.

Uber Refunds London Bridge Passengers

Uber has issued a statement regarding the terrorist attack on London Bridge, expressing its regrets and explaining the situation. The company also announced that it refunded the rides of all passengers who used its service after the attack on Saturday within the affected areas. According to the statement, it offered refunds to tens of thousands of passengers.

"As soon as we heard about the incident we immediately suspended dynamic pricing all around the area of the attacks  and shortly afterwards across the whole of central London  just as we did following the attacks in Manchester and Westminster," said Tom Elvidge, Uber's general manager in London.

This sends a message to customers: in case of emergency, feel free to use Uber without worrying about the price surge they may notice on the spot. Uber will take care of it.

"We are also ensuring all rides from around the affected area were free of charge," the company further noted.

Uber also added that its team is cooperating with the London Metropolitan Police to hand over any footage that drivers in the area have captured. The company also donated to #OneLoveManchester, Ariana Grande's benefit concert to help victims of the London attack.

Uber customers who used the app on Saturday night around the London Bridge area should have already received their refunds. Those who did not should contact customer support to get their money back.

However, this is not the first time that Uber goes under fire over price surges when terror attacks occurred. Back in September 2016, when dozens of people suffered injuries when a bomb went off in New York City, Uber spiked the prices as well. In some cases, such as the terror attack that hit Paris in November 2015, Uber canceled the surge just as it did now for the London attack.

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To put it lightly, Amazon's Fire Phone didn't perform very well, but now the company is hoping to put that behind them with a new smartphone. Rumors suggest that the online retailer may soon unveil the Ice Phone.

A Look Back At The Fire Phone

The Fire Phone, despite having a few neat ideas, did not perform well for Amazon. Before we look at the Ice, it is important to look at why the Fire failed and what the company can do to ensure the Ice doesn't meet the same fate.

Google Play Store

One of the biggest issues with the Fire was the lack of app support. Amazon used its own version of the Android operating system but did not include the Google Play Store, meaning that thousands of popular apps were unavailable on the device.

Unfortunately, this is one issue that Amazon is unlikely to address. Its popular Fire line of tablets do not support the Google Play Store. There are some workarounds to the lack of Google Play Store support, but many users may not want to go through the hassle when they could simply buy a standard Android phone. Fortunately, it appears that Amazon won't be repeating that mistake. Current rumors indicate that the Ice, unlike the Fire tablets, will support the Google Play Store.

Carrier Exclusivity

When the Fire Phone launched, it was exclusive to AT&T. This, unsurprisingly, turned out to be one of the phone's biggest weaknesses. Perhaps Amazon was trying to imitate the success of the iPhone, which did convince people to switch to AT&T, but the Fire lacked any compelling reason for people to make that switch. We expect that Amazon will launch the Ice on all networks as they simply don't have the market clout to benefit from a single carrier.

Ice Phone

Right now, everything we know about the Ice consists of rumors and speculations so take them with a grain of salt. In terms of price, it is speculated that Amazon will focus on emerging markets so the Ice will be more affordable than premium phones. This makes sense considering its Fire tablets have done very well as budget devices.

The release date has not been announced, but current rumors suggest Amazon hopes to have it ready for launch within this year.

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Using its most powerful rocket, India, on Monday, June 5, launched a communication satellite into orbit, boosting the country's prospect of getting a bigger share of the global space industry and raising hopes for a manned mission in the future.

Perfect Launch Of GSAT-19 Communication Satellite Into Orbit

At 5:28 p.m. (11:58 GMT), the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mk III, also known as "Fat Boy," blasted off from India's Sriharikota space center, one of the two sites that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) uses to launch satellites, carrying GSAT-19, a communication satellite of India.

The GSLV Mk III rocket carried the satellite that weighs 3,136 kilograms or more than 3 tons, with height equivalent to that of a 13-story building, the heaviest that India attempted to place into orbit.

"GSLV Mk III has put GSAT-19, which is a next generation satellite, into orbit," ISRO chief A.S. Kiran Kumar said of what he described as a perfect launch. "The information from the satellite is being tracked. And it is good."

GSLV Mk III Mega-Rocket

The GSLV Mk III rocket features a powerful engine that India developed over many years as the Asian country hopes to reduce its reliance on European engines that has propelled some of India's spacecraft in the past. It is a cryogenic engine that took the country 20 years to develop.

"GSLV Mk III is a three-stage heavy lift launch vehicle developed by ISRO. The vehicle has two solid strap-ons, a core liquid booster and a cryogenic upper stage," ISRO described the rocket on its website.

"GSLV Mk III is designed to carry 4 ton class of satellites into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) or about 10 tons to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), which is about twice the capability of GSLV Mk II."

New Feather In The Cap Of ISRO Scientists

The launch places another feather in the cap of ISRO scientists who won Asia's race to Mars in 2014, when an Indian-made spacecraft reached planet Mars with a relatively small budget of $73 million when compared with NASA's Maven Mars mission that cost the United States $671 million. ISRO now considers the idea of sending missions to Venus and Jupiter.

"The GSLV - MKIII D1/GSAT-19 mission takes India closer to the next generation launch vehicle and satellite capability," Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted. "The nation is proud!"

Other Plans Under India's Space Program

India aims to get a bigger share of the booming commercial satellite. Earlier this year, India launched a record 104 satellites into orbit using a single rocket, which surpassed Russia's record of 39 satellites in a June 2014 mission.

ISRO has also considered a crewed space mission that would send astronauts into low-Earth orbit albeit the Indian government has not yet green-lighted this program.

The countries that have successfully sent astronauts into orbit are Russia, United States, and China. India appears keen on becoming the fourth nation to be included in this elite group of countries that have left their mark in the field of spaceflight.

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On Monday, June 5, a Manhattan doctor Martin Tesher was arrested for unnecessary prescription of more than 14,000 oxycodone pain pills and many other types of painkillers from 2012 to 2017.

On June 5, the Brooklyn federal court charged the 81-year old New York City doctor with distribution of controlled substance at a single count. According to the police, Dr. Tesher prescribed more than 2.2 million unneeded oxycodone prescriptions during the five-year period from his family medical practice in Manhattan.

Charges Against Dr. Tesher

The authorities state that Dr. Tesher provided patients with powerful opioids worth $20 million in the last five years. This is an extremely high number of prescriptions for a doctor who does not specialize in pain management treatment.

Dr. Tesher's website describes him as a "good old-fashioned family doctor." The court documents establish that Dr. Tesher provided three confidential informants with oxycodone painkillers at his office, located in the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

Manhattan Doctor Arrested For Prescribing Unneeded Painkillers

The NYPD informant who visited the Manhattan doctor was given a prescription of 15 oxycodone pain pills. Dr. Tesher stated that he believed that the patient was addicted to pain meds. According to Dr. Tesher's arrest papers, not once did he check the patients for injury and did not look into their medical history before prescribing unneeded painkillers.

The investigators stated that they also consulted another doctor, who stated that there was no reason  at least medically  to prescribe oxycodone painkillers in bulk to a patient with no serious injury or pain.

In a separate testimony, another NYPD informant who visited Dr. Tesher in the guise of a patient said that the 81-year old physician prescribed him "hundreds" of oxycodone pills on every visit, even after knowing that his "patient" was addicted to pain meds.

However, never once did Dr. Tesher go for an anti-opiate addiction drug such as Suboxone or recommended that the patient seek help from an anti-addiction counsellor or enrol themselves for addiction treatment.

The 81-year old Manhattan doctor was released on bond worth $250,000 and faces up to 20 years of jail for the unnecessary distribution of a controlled substance. As part of the bond agreement, Dr. Tesher is not allowed to write prescriptions for a number of drugs, which include oxycodone.

Manhattan Doctor Used Positon To Foster Opioid Addiction: Court

The June 5 court proceedings revealed that Dr. Tesher had earnings of nearly $800,000 a year. However, it was discovered that the Manhattan doctor was carrying a burden of huge debts, which amounted to approximately $130,000. Dr. Tesher owed this sum to private nurses who were hired to take care of his hospitalized wife.

Acting attorney Bridget Rohde stated that Dr. Tesher "'used his position as a doctor not to heal but to foster opioid addiction." The DEA or Drug Enforcement Administration said that although Dr. Tesher was based in Manhattan, his prescribed opioids were smuggled all over Staten Island, Brooklyn, Long Island, and Queens.

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ABC News is accused of making misleading and false statements in a 2012 report series. The U.S.-based news network is currently heading to a trial in South Dakota as Beef Products Inc. has slapped it with a $5.7 billion lawsuit.

In a 2012 news report series, ABC News allegedly characterized the ground beef product of Beef Products as "pink slime" which is a kind of food additive.

Due to this misreporting, the South Dakota-based beef company alleges that it faced a monetary loss of $1.9 billion and was forced to lay off many employees. Beef Products' lawyer stated that the news coverage resulted in a decrease in sales and nearly led to the company shutting down.

Pink Slime: What Is It?

Pink slime is an unflattering term used to refer to low-cost processed beef trimmings, which Beef Products sells. These beef trimmings  also known as LFTB or lean finely-textured beef  were once a popular ingredient in ground beef food items. Burger King and McDonalds' food items at one time included LFTBs.

However, the term "pink slime" was used for the first time by Gerald Zirnstein, a former scientist at the Agriculture Department in the United States. Zirnstein used this term in an email in 2002, expressing his concerns about the niche beef product.

According to Zirnstein, the LFTB was produced by placing the trimmings in centrifuges, which separated the lean meat from fat. The separated lean meat was then treated with ammonia to remove harmful pathogens and make it fit for consumption. Over time, the process was perfected and led to the production of 10 to 20 extra pounds of LFTB per cow.

In 2012, ABC News revealed that ground beef that was sold in U.S. supermarkets had 70 percent of LFTB in it as a filler to reduce the overall fat content. However, this vital information was omitted from the food label.

Beef Product's Lawsuit And ABC's Response

In September 2012, after the coverage, Beef Product sued ABC News, accusing the network of intentionally damaging the brand's reputation and its products, specifically the LFTB. The meat processing company also accused ABC News of implying that the LFTB they were making was not actually beef.

ABC News, on the other hand, stands its ground and maintains that people deserved to know the truth about the kind of food they were consuming.

"We believe in the principle that people deserve to know what's in the food they eat and are confident that when all the facts are presented in court, ABC's reporting will be fully vindicated," the network's attorney Kevin Baine said.

ABC News' Pink Slime Trial

The trial is expected to last for about eight weeks and will mainly concentrate on Beef Products' claims that ABC News launched a "disinformation campaign" against it and carried out the coverage "with reckless disregard" for the true facts.

"We look forward to the opportunity to present our case and establish for the jury that B.P.I. has suffered significant financial harm because of the wrongful conduct by ABC," Dan Webb, a lawyer representing Beef Product said.

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Sustain Rural Wisconsin Network is calling for a moratorium on expansion of existing as well as new concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, until water pollution issues are resolved.
President-elect Lula da Silva and Sonia Gujajara are expected to meet at the 2022 UN Climate Change next week. | Read More
We don't know for sure what Frank Lloyd Wright would think of Donald Trump, but it's a good bet that America's greatest architect would have little use for the real estate developer who now occupies the Oval Office. Wright, shown here in his studio, was a proud and passionate American who never hesitated to raise his voice against demagogues. PHOTO FROM MADISON NEWSPAPERS ARCHIVES
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A video that shows the victims of a double homicide alive in Baton Rouge after a witness said they would have already been dead has raised more questions for police and led to the release of a suspect, Baker Police Chief Carl Dunn said.

The witness originally told investigators he saw 22-year-old Dashawn Whitfield fatally shoot two men at 8:30 p.m. May 31 at a home on Debra Drive in Baker, according to a police report. The video, however, shows the two victims alive at 1:30 a.m. June 1 in north Baton Rouge about 10 miles from Baker.

Because the video contradicts the witness's statement, which officers relied on in their arrest of Whitfield, they had to release him, Dunn said. Whitfield, of 5275 Kimberlin Drive, had been arrested Saturday on two counts of first-degree murder.

The bodies of Dedrick Dewayne Williams, 23, and Mohamed Sead Hussain, 29, were found about 1 p.m. Thursday in the back seat of a car abandoned in a field in St. Helena Parish.

The St. Helena Parish Sheriff's Office initially started investigating the case but the Baker Police Department has since taken it over.

+2 Two Baker men found shot to death on rural road in St. Helena parish GRANGEVILLE  The bodies of two men were discovered Thursday in the back seat of a car in th

The witness, 17-year-old Adam Wright of 4305 Gibbens-Payne Ave., Baker, was also arrested Saturday on two counts of accessory after the fact to first-degree murder. He told police he saw everything, but failed to report it at the time. It was immediately unclear what the new video will mean for Wright's case.

When police questioned Wright on June 2 about the slayings, officers said he "gave several inconsistent versions of what occurred," according to a police report.

Wright told police Whitfield shot the men in the head, including one at point blank range, over an argument about money and mojo, which is synthetic marijuana.

When questioned, Whitfield told officers that he had fought with one of the men about a drug transaction within the last two years and that he smoked with them numerous times. He did, however, deny any involvement with the double homicide.

The video of the victims also shows a group of people that did not include Whitfield, Dunn said. Investigators have developed new leads and suspects from the video.

Dunn said his department will continue the investigation.
A second man who police believe was part of a fatal shooting on the citys North Side last week was arrested after being taken into custody in Beloit on Monday.

Steven T. Johnson, 26, of Madison, was tentatively charged with felony murder and being party to a crime of armed robbery in the shooting death of Michael Meaderds, 33, who was shot in his home in the 500 block of Northport Drive during a home invasion last Tuesday, according to Madison police spokesman Joel DeSpain.

Emmanuel J. Johnson, 30, of Sun Prairie, was arrested last week on the same tentative charges. He appeared Tuesday in court where bond was set at $500,000, according to online court records.

Madison police are looking for a third suspect, Odum L. Carter, 31, of Sun Prairie, as well as a 2010 Buick LaCrosse with Wisconsin license plate number 908-XXA.

Steven Johnson was arrested with the help of a person who identified him from surveillance photos released by Madison police last week, DeSpain said.

Meaderds was the father of five children and worked as a cook at a local Italian restaurant. At least one of his children was home at the time of the shooting, police said.

Felony murder is sometimes charged when a death occurs during the commission of another crime, such as armed robbery.

Last week, Police Chief Mike Koval said it was difficult to know at this point what relationship there might have been between the men.

It appears that there is a tacit understanding and knowledge of one another, but we dont know until we actually have a chance to do probative interviews to what extent that relationship was more casual or was more connected, Koval said.

Koval wouldnt speculate on whether images on Meaderds Facebook page showing him with apparent stacks of cash might have been motivation for the robbery that led to his death.
In an unusual move, a member of the board of the residential high school whose name change sparked controversy in the Legislature declined reappointment to the board Tuesday and said the issue is riddled with politics.

Lovan Thomas, whose board nomination to the state Senate was first scuttled, then resurrected, ended the back and forth by saying he wants off the board for the Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts.

Thomas was informed by Gov. John Bel Edwards' office last weekend that he would not be reappointed, apparently because of informal Senate objections.

The veteran board member had earlier urged a Senate committee not to endorse a bill that would change the name of the school to the Jimmy D. Long Sr. Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts. Thomas, who has been on the board for 35 years, believes his frequent criticism of the legislation  sponsored by two influential senators  killed his nomination initially.

"It is a sad day when one cannot express objection in a Senate committee hearing without retaliation," he said in a press release.

"I am 80 years old and have served on the LSMSA Board for 35 years and have plenty of other things to do rather than volunteer my time on a state board of directors and wonder what would happen if I expressed an objectionable opinion," Thomas said. "The political patronage system in the Legislature is alive and well!

The nomination of Thomas was earlier derailed when an unnamed senator or senators put a "hold" on the move, which senators are allowed to do.

+4 Name change to Natchitoches high school sparks an unlikely controversy, and angry exchanges What started as a seemingly simple bill to change the name of a school has mushroomed into a

The name change push was led by Sen. Francis Thompson, D-Delhi and sponsor of the bill, and Sen. Gerald Long, R-Winnfield and the younger brother of Jimmy Long. Thompson is the second longest serving member of the Legislature.

Thomas said he was told Monday evening by Long that the "two objections" to his reappointment for the board of directors had been lifted, which paved the way for Senate approval.

He got the news after the state House on Monday approved the name change proposal, which is Senate Bill 1.

"Since the offer was made after it did not matter what he did, he decided not to accept the reappointment and to resign from the board," Thomas said.

The Senate gave the measure final approval Tuesday 28-3.

Long declined comment.

The current term of Thomas, who is the publisher of the Natchitoches Times, expires on Thursday when the 2017 regular legislative session ends at 6 p.m.

The LSMSA serves about 300 gifted and talented students.

Jimmy Long, who died last year, is former chairman of the House Education Committee and played a major role in the bill that launched the school in 1981.

The legislation to rename the Louisiana School after Long sparked one of the most unexpected controversies of the session, and featured an intense campaign by some LSMSA graduates and others to preserve the current name.

Thompson said he offered the bill because Jimmy Long deserves credit for his role in the school.

Critics said it made more sense to name a planned, $23 million dormitory after the late lawmaker. They also said it will regionalize a statewide school, and set it apart from similar schools nationwide.

In a bid to placate critics, the bill says the name change will not affect diplomas, transcripts, logos and other items.

In addition, the LSMSA board of directors will have authority on exactly how the legislation is carried out, including signs.

However, what was touted as a compromise left some LSMSA graduates and their allies unmoved, and angry about how the name change came about.
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Canberra families will face a hit to their wallets as the ACT government targets living costs in its latest budget.

They'll pay higher household rates and fork out more money for car expenses, emergency protection and electricity.

Erica Mitchell and her family are considering moving out of Canberra to a regional town as they struggle to cost with rising living expenses. L-R: Josh and Erica Mitchell with their children Sofia, 2, Aria, 6, and Phoenix, 9. Credit:Sitthixay Ditthavong

Families will cop these downfalls as the ACT government instead looks to accommodate the capital's rapidly rising population.

Rates will rise to $2295 for houses and $1352 for apartments, car registration will jump five per cent and parking fines will see a six per cent increase. Electricity prices will hike 10 per cent, gas four per cent and the fire and emergency services levy from $42 to $294 per household.
Banks put themselves in an "untenable situation" by failing to sack any of the senior executives who presided over a series of scandals involving misconduct in recent years, says the chairman of the government's bank inquiry, David Coleman.

The fresh criticism of banks came as the corporate regulator also pressed its case for stronger powers to ban senior bankers, something it believes is "crucial" to improving the culture in financial services.

When asked about Mr Coleman's comments, National Australia Bank chief Andrew Thorburn responded that culture was the top priority at the bank he leads, while restating there had not been systemic failings at NAB.

After new restrictions on senior bank executives were unveiled in the budget, Mr Coleman said banker testimony on accountability had been one of the most "striking" aspects of the inquiry he leads into the four major banks.
A fire early Monday morning in Mauston led to one death and caused the evacuation of sixteen apartment units, authorities reported.

According to a press release from the Mauston Police Department, the citys fire department was dispatched to 514 McEvoy Street at 1:09 a.m. June 5. The Mauston PD was the first to respond to the structure fire and began evacuating tenants out of the apartment complex.

In the release, Mauston Police Chief Mike Zilisch said the name of the deceased will not be released at this time pending notification of family members and as the department continues to investigate. The State Fire Marshals Office is assisting in the death investigation.

The Juneau County Sheriffs Office and the Wisconsin State Patrol assisted in evacuating the apartment complex. Other fire departments responding to the blaze were New Lisbon, Lyndon Station, Oakdale, Necedah and the Mauston Area Ambulance. The American Red Cross assisted with the displaced residence in the complex.
The future belongs to technology that can warn people  to leave early for a doctor's appointment if traffic is bad, or a car that drives itself to that doctor's appointment. The future belongs to technology that lets someone see virtual images of sofas in their living room so they can pick the best one. The future is technology that sifts through years of data to notify a corporate executive about an inventory shortage before it happens.

This future of smart software and computing woven into every molecule of life is coming fast. And Apple isn't ready for it.

Apple's new 'HomePod' speaker.

In the technology industry, it's conventional wisdom that Apple is weak in crucial areas such as cloud computing and artificial intelligence that are foundations for driverless cars, complex data predictions and computing that blends seamlessly into work and personal lives.

Apple on Monday outlined how the company's phones, computers, tablets, watches and web TV hardware are becoming smarter and more capable. Apple's message was the company is on the cutting edge of emerging trends such as artificial intelligence and about how Apple is ushering in the future. Don't believe it.
At 14, enraged by the dismissal of Gough Whitlam, he rode his bike to the office of his federal MP, Joan Child, and tried to join the Labor Party. You're too young, she said.

He was a brilliant, driven boy from middle-class East Malvern, the son of a kidney specialist and a nurse. When he was 10 The Herald published a poem of his on the world as seen through the eyes of a paraplegic; it was so convincing that an elderly woman wrote to say she was sorry to hear of his condition and sent him a $2 note (which he returned). His grandmother begged him to write poems on more cheerful subjects than the Vietnam War.

Fiercely anti-religious, he nevertheless wrote plays that address what faith and commitment to a cause might look like in contemporary times. He saw far too much comedy in life to ever write propaganda and his characters were flawed, complex and real. Yet the words he used to describe one of them, "crazy brave, something of the fundamentalist, something of the visionary," could equally apply to him.

Michael Gurr, who died on May 2 at the age of 55, was a playwright and speechwriter who lived in the belief that "politics and art would somehow set the world to rights".

But he was always precocious. He found his lifelong love for the theatre, "the first place I felt excited and at ease," when he turned up at Saturday classes at the National Theatre in St Kilda at the age of 12. The director, Joan Harris, saw his talent, and the two began a friendship that would last until her death last year. It was Harris who, in 1981, bundled up Gurr's first plays and sent them to the playwright Ray Lawler, author of Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, and then literary adviser at the Melbourne Theatre Company.

Gurr never went to university, but in the theatre he was taught by the best. The MTC paid him simply to write, sit in on rehearsals, and learn from Lawler, actor and director Bruce Myles and the company's founder, John Sumner. The first of Gurr's plays for the MTC, Magnetic North, was performed when he was just 21. Yet Lawler, now 96, says that "when Michael came to the MTC as a playwright in residence, he was already beyond any need of me as a literary mentor or adviser. What we found instead was an immediate understanding based on laughter. Laughter based on mutual appreciation of so many good and true things."

He was a funny man. At a packed memorial service at the Malthouse Theatre last month, Gurr's sister Mary-Anne recalled how, when they both lived in the sleazy St Kilda of 30 years ago, as the restaurant tram trundled down Fitzroy Street her brother would mime strangling her then dragging her body down the street, to give the tourists value for their dollar.

Gurr forged his closest theatre relationship with Myles, who would direct most of his plays. Myles says "working with Michael was unusually intimate  the plays and our lives were not separated".

Gurr was devoted to his actors, and they to him. He would listen closely to his lines in the actors' mouths, and rewrite them if they sounded wrong. Myles says he was rare among playwrights in that actors enjoyed his presence at rehearsals. "He was the only writer I have worked with who belonged on the floor."
Of all places to strike, Brighton might actually be the obvious target precisely because it's not the kind of neighbourhood used to gritty, bloody crime.

The posh Melbourne bayside suburb is a place where you pay $300,000 plus for a wooden box to store your bathers and towels on the Dendy foreshore.

Cafes on Church Street, Brighton. Credit:Michael Dodge

It's better known for its residents who sip coffee while wearing Lululemon leisure wear, own fluffy Cavoodles and drive BMW X3 four-wheel-drives.

So when the news came through that a terror-related hostage drama was under way on Bay Street, many were shocked. Not just by the violence of events but also, to a lesser extent, the location.
Kardashian decided to go down the mature route, a road often trampled on by her sisters, by calling out "snakes", which sounded a little hypocritical as she was acting a bit shady herself by not naming the person she seems to be having the problems with. "Snakes" was also the term Kardashian West used last year to refer to Taylor Swift during their epic fallout over Kanye West.

There has been much speculation surrounding what happened between Kardashian and Rose. Kardashian West was asked last week when she appeared on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, but the highly media trained app mogul, 36, sort of dodged the question.

"I haven't worked with her in maybe four years, so my reason is not connected to this," she said, hinting that there was another major impetus for the alleged drama.
My first inkling that my NAB Traveller Card won't live up to its slogan and let me "pay like a local" comes early. I'm at my aunt's house in Los Angeles, trying to buy a pair of shoes online. But my NAB Traveller Card is declined. I try again. Declined. I give up and ask to use my aunt's American credit card instead, promising to repay her in cash.

Later, I notice that the cost of the shoes  some $US40  has been debited, twice, from my Traveller Card balance. Even though the transactions were declined. And because NAB's Traveller Card is a debit card and not a credit card, that means I'm missing $US80 from my carefully saved spending money.

Elana Benjamin went on the holiday in the US and her NAB Traveller Card didn't work as promised. Credit:Katherine Griffiths

Before I left Sydney, the NAB Traveller Card seemed ideal: it's fee free, has a competitive exchange rate, and  unlike my regular Visa card  has no international transaction fee for foreign currency purchases. Plus I could instantaneously top up my balance using internet banking.

But on holiday in California, the Traveller Card causes me grief. Admittedly, it does meet expectations some of the time: I use it easily at Macy's department store, to buy Disneyland tickets online, and to pay for car hire.
Everyone remembers the nerves on their first day of school, but Margaret Gordon had it especially tough.

The 22-year-old was made to stand up in front of the entire assembly at her school on the NSW Central Coast and introduced by the principal as "Miss Gordon, who has just graduated from Sydney University".

"It just felt like the workload snowballed," early career teacher Margaret Gordon says of her first year on the job.

Ten minutes later, the new primary school teacher was shown to a classroom full of year 2 students.

"It just felt like the workload snowballed," Miss Gordon, now 25, said. "Early on, I was at school by 8 every morning and I'd leave hopefully by 6pm when the cleaners kick you out, and weekends would just be planning and gathering resources.
A man has been charged with murder following a brawl at a park in northern NSW that left one man dead and another fighting for his life with a stab wound to his chest.

Police were called to Knox Park in Murwillumbah, about 12 kilometres south of the Queensland border, just before 12.30pm on Tuesday, with reports a fight had broken out.

They found three injured men. One, aged 46, was rushed to Tweed Heads Hospital where he died from stab wounds to his chest a short time later.

An 18-year-old man was also taken to hospital in a critical condition after he was stabbed in the chest and shoulder.
CAMBRIA  Riley Didions T-shirt  with the words DIDION NEVER STOPS in white letters on a black background  told the story that he wanted to tell Monday night to people of Cambria.

Five days after an explosion rocked Didion Milling in the village of just under 800 people, employees have begun to return to work. Didion, president of the company that bears his name, said it is a matter of days  maybe four to 10  before the neighboring ethanol plant, which was not damaged by Wednesdays explosion, will begin to accept loads of corn from farmers.

At the start of Mondays regular monthly Village Board meeting, Kurt Baird, Didions safety officer, choked back tears as he thanked village officials, especially Fire Chief Cody Doucette, for their work during the past few days.

We need, he said, to rebuild.

Toward that end, Baird said, Didion needs the following help from the village in the next few days:

More parking near the site of the damage

Access for heavy equipment to aid in the demolition and cleanup

A lowered speed limit on Highway 146 near the plant, where the limit is now 45 mph, according to Village President Glen Williams

Trustee Jim Bubba Williams asked what speed limit would meet Didions needs. He invited Baird to get back to village officials with any specific requests, so that the village may accommodate them.

Riley Didion said he had no word on the condition of the employees who were injured in the explosion, which killed three people. However, he said, he expects all the remaining workers at the Cambria operation to be back on the job within four or five days.

Didions ethanol opertation is unusal, in that the alcohol is extracted from milled corn, and the milling is usually done at the milling operation in Cambria.

Without specifying, Riley Didion said the company has a way to mill the corn that is expected to start coming in by the truckload.

The Didion website, www.didionmilling.com, says that 42 percent of the corn grown in our tri-county area is processed by Didion, although the site does not specify which counties are included in the area.

Riley Didion said the producers who bring their corn to Didion have been kept informed of the plants status and will be told soon when they can start bringing in more corn. What has to happen first, he said, is mainly that the site needs to be cleared for safety.

Baird  who has regularly appeared at the Village Boards monthly meeting over the last three years to provide Didion-related updates  said at the outset that this is going to be really tough for me

He said he and Doucette (a village trustee, who was not present at Mondays meeting) shared a lot of tears in the last few days.

And he was absolutely amazing through the whole thing, Barid said of Doucette.

Pardeeville Fire Chief Rick Wendt came to Mondays meeting just to pay his personal compliments to the Cambria public safety workers who responded to the explosion.

I wanted to let you people know what a great job your Fire Department and EMS did, he said.

Baird said the healing at Didion has only just begun.

You are going to see a lot of demolition, and a lot of debris, he said. We have a lot to do to get back into the thick of things.

Still smoldering

The remains of the obliterated building continued to smolder Monday.

Along with many of the other members of Cambrias volunteer fire department, Doucette was back at his regular full-time job on Monday, though still on alert for a possible return if the smoking remains of the building were to flare up.

Its all about public safety and they cant get to the fire, and its not going anywhere. It is surrounded by cement, so we cant get to the fire and its not worth putting somebodys life at risk to put out that fire, said Doucette. The ones that we could take care of from the outside, we took care of, and the rest will just burn themselves out. Its like a barn fire. Hay will smolder until you break it apart and here its the same thing with corn meal, and once it is out of fuel it will burn out.

Ordinarily, the 23-member department deals with car crashes and agency assists, covering the village of Cambria and the town of Springvale, along with sharing parts of the towns of Cortland and Randolph.

Doucette estimated about 25 calls for an average year, with the Didion Milling plant the 13th this year. The Cambria Fire Department responded to a fire call at the plant the Monday before the explosion, though in a news conference Friday, Didion Vice President of Operations Derrick Clark insisted that the fire was in a separate division and unrelated to Wednesday nights explosion.

The earlier fire will be examined in the investigation of the explosion Wednesday night, with results expected from Doucettes office several weeks from now.

Alert activated

Among the details yet to be sorted out are exactly how many people had arrived at the site to put out the fire and transport the injured to hospitals in Portage and Columbus. As an initial measure, Doucette is able to say that he activated a MABAS alertthe Mutual Aid Box Alarm Systemwhich calls nearby agencies for assistance for high-urgency situations.

For a possible disaster, a department will fill out a MABAS card that notes all of the relevant departments that would be asked to respond without second thought. At the actual time of such disasters with time being crucial, second thoughts by any party are expensive and potentially dangerous.

The Cambria Fire Department registered a card for a target hazard for Didion Milling and Ethanol, Seneca, Del Monte or Landmark in January 2015. The list of responding organizations includes fire engines from Randolph, Fox Lake, Doylestown, Kilbourn and Sun Prairie, trucks from Portage, Beaver Dam, Markesan, Columbus and Baraboo, and ambulances from Life Star Columbus, Southern Green Lake County, Dells-Delton, and Sun Prairie.

We turned the facility (Didion mill) back over to the company on Friday, said Doucette, and OSHA took over at about 2 oclock and then we were back in the middle of the night for a spot fire that we had to put out and then we were out again.

At Fridays news conference, Clark said that the company intended to keep those employed with the company despite the uncertainty of the near future. The company employs more than 200 in facilities in Johnson Creek, Cambria and Markesan, with 16 employees working at the Cambria mill at the time of the explosion.
Lots of discussion on radio and television on parole after the Brighton attack.

In a sharp exchange between the Premier Daniel Andrews and Sunrise host David Koch the following was asked.

Kochie asked Mr Andrews: "You have got 300 on your watch list... here's another suggestion - anyone who is on your terror watch list, the 'burden of proof' is reversed. If you're on that watch list, you're presumed guilty until you can prove yourself innocent. We do it with tax cheats, why can't we do it with suspected terrorists?"

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews plans to call on the Federal Government to play a greater role in Victoria's parole laws.
Beijing: Chinese citizens have been told a Fairfax Media/Four Corners investigation into Chinese spying in Australia is "loose speculation" that blackens their country.

For the second day in a row, the Chinese-language Global Times, with a circulation of over 2 million, has prominently reported allegations made by the joint investigation on page three, along with the Chinese Foreign Ministry's comments that the reports were "groundless and extremely irresponsible".

Roger Uren and Sheri Yan. Credit:Black Tie Magazine

The Global Times said the Four Corners broadcast on Monday evening was "full of old news and retrospect". It said the experts and officials interviewed were guessing in "an attempt to prove its opinion that the Chinese government has a spy network in Australia" that harms Australia's national interest.

"The program was full of loose speculation and evidence-less conclusions, making people very deeply disappointed in this masterpiece which took five months," the paper reported, after a journalist viewed the broadcast.
Wellington: The weather was awful and the mood of the locals wasn't much better when US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrived in Wellington on Tuesday.

US media travelling with Tillerson were surprised by the number of people flipping the bird at Tillerson as his motorcade sped through town.

Rex Tillerson is greeted with a hongi by Parliamentary kaumatua Kura Moeahu and Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee on Tuesday. Credit:Getty Images

New York Times correspondent Gardiner Harris said he had been in a lot of motorcades but even he was taken aback by the negative reaction.

"I've been in motorcades for a couple of years now ... I've never seen so many people flip the bird at an American motorcade as I saw today," Harris said.
Dayton: Ohio, a bellwether for US elections in general and the Rust Belt in particular, has in the course of the past month become a single-issue state.

The field for next year's gubernatorial election has made it plain that the only issue in the state is the opioid epidemic that has killed thousands and touched candidates across the urban-rural and Republican-Democrat divide.

Doug Rolf, a firefighter and medic restocks medicine after responding to an overdose, in Colerain, Ohio. Credit:New York Times

Ohio Attorney-General Mike DeWine, one of those candidates, announced on Tuesday that the state was suing five pharmaceutical manufacturers of opioid pain medication, the makers of pills such as Oxycontin and Percocet.

Many of these drugs were marketed as non-addictive alternatives to other pain medications. Doctors prescribed them under this assumption, according to DeWine, and the results are 25,000 dead in 2015 alone from opioid overdoses in the United States. In Ohio, 21,000 have died in 10 years.
U.S. Diesel Market Shows Resilience in 2016 as Passenger Vehicle Registrations Increase by Over 280,000







WASHINGTON - June 5, 2017: The U.S. added more than 280,00 new clean diesel passenger vehicles across the country last year, with Texas, California and Florida having the highest numbers of diesel vehicles, according to a Diesel Technology Forum analysis of the latest Vehicles in Operation (VIO) data compiled by IHS Automotive.

"This level of increase in registrations of new diesel cars, SUVs and light pickup trucks in the U.S. in 2016 is impressive particularly when you consider there were 25 percent fewer choices in the market compared to 2015. It demonstrates the American consumer's confidence in clean diesel vehicles and what they have to offer  the combination of a proven technology with high fuel efficiency, great driving range and no sacrifices in vehicle capabilities or performance," said Allen Schaeffer, the Executive Director of the Diesel Technology Forum.



Texas continued to be number one in the nation in total number of registered diesel vehicles ahead of California, Florida, Washington and Pennsylvania (see below). (To see where your state ranks go to: http://dieselforum.org/in-your-state)

Total All Diesel Vehicles 2016

(Cars/SUVS/Light Pickup Trucks/Vans)



State 1) Texas 2) California 3) Florida 4) Washington 5) Pennsylvania 6) North Carolina 7) Colorado 8) Oregon 9) Georgia 10) Illinois

(Diesel Technology Forum analysis based on IHS Automotive 2016 vehicles in operation data, December 2016)

For an infographic on the U.S. 2016 clean diesel vehicle registrations go to:

http://www.dieselforum.org/diesel-drivers/why-diesel

"The 2016 increase in diesel registrations was due to the expanding popularity and increasing number of choices in the light duty pickup market. This more than offset the slight decrease in diesel car registrations due to the drop-in number of choices available. Solid performances from both new and existing SUV and luxury sedans continue to demonstrate the utility of diesel engines in these segments," Schaeffer said.

Three Northeastern states had the highest percentage of new diesel car and SUV registrations in 2016 led by Vermont (+35%), Maine (+29%) and New Hampshire (+12%).

Fastest Growth Diesel Cars & SUVS 2015-16



State % Increase 2015-2016 1) Vermont + 35.6% 2) Maine + 29.3% 3) New Hampshire + 12.1% 4) Michigan + 10.4% 5) District of Columbia + 8.5% 6) Wisconsin + 8.2% 7) Oregon + 7.8% 8) Hawaii + 7.1% 9) Montana + 6.7% 10) Washington + 6.3%

(Diesel Technology Forum analysis based on IHS Automotive 2016 vehicles in operation data, December 2016)

For additional data on diesel car, SUV and pickup truck registrations in 2016 go to:

http://dieselforum.org/news/u-s-diesel-market-shows-resilience-in-2016-as-passenger-vehicle-registrations-increase-by-over-280-000

New Diesels Coming to U.S. Provide Optimism for 2017 & 2018 Growth

"We're extremely optimistic about the U.S. diesel market this year and 2018 because of the introduction of new diesels like the 52 mpg (highway) Chevy Cruze Diesel, the Ford F-150 diesel pickup, along with the Mazda CX-5 SKYACTIV-D SUV diesel and the Chevy Equinox diesel. All of these new diesels will complement existing strongholds or fill voids in the marketplace for affordable, proven and fuel-efficient technologies," Schaeffer said.

The analysis is based on 2016 data of vehicles in operation (VIO) that were compiled by IHS Automotive in all 50 states and the District of Columbia through December 31, 2016. The analysis reviewed VIO data for passenger vehicles defined as cars, SUVS, light pickup trucks, heavy-duty pickup trucks and vans. The Diesel Technology Forum used the VIO data to calculate the top states in registrations and the percentages of diesel and hybrid registrations in each state. The analysis also compared 2016 to 2015 data.

8 Million Diesel Passenger Vehicles Now in the U.S.

The number of diesel car, SUV, full-size pickup trucks and vans in operation reached 8 million in 2016  an increase of 280,000 over 2015. Schaeffer also noted that the data showed that diesel passenger vehicles continued to outnumber hybrid vehicles in all states except California, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia.

Highlights

Eastern states showed the fastest growth in diesel light pickup registrations , led by the District of Columbia (+20%), New Jersey (+17%) and New York (+15%). In fact, eight of the Top 10 fastest growth states were in the East.

, led by the (+20%), (+17%) and (+15%). In fact, eight of the Top 10 fastest growth states were in the East. Three Northeastern states had the highest percentage of new diesel car and SUV registrations in 2016 led by Vermont (+35%), Maine (+29%) and New Hampshire (+12%).

2016 led by (+35%), (+29%) and (+12%). Similar to 2015, California was number one in the total number of diesel cars and SUVs followed by Texas and Florida.

followed by and Florida. Texas once again held the number one spot in the pickup segment (which includes light duty and heavy-duty pick-ups), followed by California and Florida .

(which includes light duty and heavy-duty pick-ups), followed by and . North Carolina (+9%) was the top state in the growth of all diesel passenger vehicles (cars, SUVs, light pickups and vans) followed by Georgia (+6.5%) and Utah (+6.3%).

followed by (+6.5%) and (+6.3%). Smaller population Western states had the overall highest percentage of diesel passenger vehicles led by Wyoming (11%), Montana (8%) and Idaho (7.5%). All 10 of the states with highest percentage of diesels were from West of the Mississippi River.

led by (11%), (8%) and (7.5%). All 10 of the states with highest percentage of diesels were from West of the Mississippi River. Diesel passenger vehicles (cars, pickup trucks and SUVs) continued to outnumber hybrid vehicles in all states except California , Massachusetts and the District of Columbia.

(To see last year's Top 10 lists go to: http://dieselforum.org/news/over-300-000-increase-in-clean-diesel-vehicle-registrations-in-u-s )

Connect with the Diesel Technology Forum

For the latest insights and information from the leaders in clean diesel technology, join us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter @DieselTechForum, or YouTube @DieselTechForum and connect with us on LinkedIn. Get it all by subscribing to our newsletter Diesel Direct for a weekly wrap-up of clean diesel news, policy analysis and more direct to your inbox.

ABOUT THE DIESEL TECHNOLOGY FORUM

The Diesel Technology Forum is a non-profit national organization dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of diesel engines, fuel and technology. Forum members are leaders in clean diesel technology and represent the three key elements of the modern clean-diesel system: advanced engines, vehicles and equipment, cleaner diesel fuel and emissions-control systems. For more information visit www.dieselforum.org.
Lands' End's sales continued to slip and its losses widened as the Dodgeville clothing and home goods retailer started its 2017 fiscal year.

Lands' End reported a net loss of $7.8 million, or 24 cents a share, for the first quarter that ended April 28 compared with a net loss of $5.8 million, or 18 cents a share, for the same period last year.

Revenue for the quarter was $268.4 million, down from $273.4 million a year ago. It was the eleventh consecutive quarter of sales declines.

The company's stock price per share, which closed at $16.65 on Monday, steadily dropped throughout Tuesday and closed at $14.95, a more than 10 percent decrease.

Jim Gooch, chief operating officer and chief financial officer, said that's partly due to the continuing reduction of Lands' End shops within Sears stores. In the first quarter, there were 20 fewer than a year ago. He also said a delay in the timing of a company's order of uniforms was another factor.

Gooch told a conference call with analysts, though, Lands' End saw double-digit increases in the number of new shoppers and of "lapsed" shoppers who returned. "We attribute this to a better product offering and enhanced responsive design website" as well as data-driven marketing decisions, he said.

CEO Jerome Griffith, who took over in March, said the financial results were "in line with expectations."

He reiterated his interest in opening more Lands' End stores -- the company currently owns and operates 11 shops -- and said preliminary plans are to launch a handful of stores in fiscal 2018.

Griffith also said he has reduced employment in Lands' End's New York City office, and brought the work to Dodgeville.

"We believe that an important part of our success is merging the design and merchandising talent under one roof at our headquarters, which will make us a far more effective and efficient organization throughout the entire product cycle. It will also help to build a stronger culture within the company with our teams working side by side to create the best product and overall experience for our consumers," Griffith told the conference call.

The employment change resulted in about $1.4 million in severance costs during the first quarter.

Lands' End has 5,000 employees worldwide, with about 3,000 of them in Dodgeville.
Withdrawing from the UN Paris Climate Accord is one of more than a hundred electoral campaign promises that Donald Trump made. By delivering on that promise, the US now joined Nicaragua and Syria, the only countries that did not sign the agreement. Nicaragua did not sign due to indifference or denialism of climate change - it's reason was the contrary. Nicaragua's decision was based on its view that it is not enough to address the climate crisis. Syria is in the middle of civil war and under US and European sanctions.

Trump's decision to pull out of the Paris Agreement is undeniably wrong, narrow-minded, irresponsible, and destructive. It is right that concerned people all over the world are appalled and world leaders are condemning the normalisation of climate denialism by the current United States administration. But, let us also be reminded of the important facts about the UN Paris Agreement and look at how this affects the status of the US as a world leader.

Climate justice campaigners in the Global South, alongside many in the US, know that the US, even before Trump's election, is quite far from being a climate leader'. The US is the biggest historical greenhouse gas emitter and source of almost a third of the global carbon emissions. Despite that, it has weakened the Kyoto Protocol and has consistently used its power in the climate negotiation, together with other rich countries, to water-down or reduce the ambitions of the process. The market mechanisms and the overall climate politics of the process favoured climate profiteers or global corporations and the interests of rich countries.

The Paris Agreement is non-binding and falls far short of what must be done to even reach the already-weak target of keeping global average temperature increase to under 2 degrees or even the more ambitious 1.5 degrees in the preamble of the agreement. The international climate regime perpetuates the subordination of the Global South and many solutions that come out of it at best, do not match the scale of the problem or at worst, are false solutions. Telling the rest of the world that the US will no longer do what it intended to as its contribution in the 2015 accord is the height of irresponsibility and arrogance.

The UN climate process has been frustrating for many developing countries which attend it in the hope of pushing for globally-binding and appropriate solutions to climate change. Poor and vulnerable countries that have contributed very little to the current level of greenhouse gasses are already experiencing tremendous climate-related catastrophe. The people of Carteret Islands of Papua New Guinea have already been dislocated and have become the first climate refugees, while farmers in many countries in sub-saharan Africa are already finding it difficult to farm and are losing their livelihoods. Archipelagic countries like the Philippines are increasingly visited by severe storms. Many cities are facing the possibilities of sinking under the increasing sea level rise. Even the US is not spared from flooding.
Making a return to our two favourite summer locations, Mount Maunganui and Nelson in early January 2023, we've got whiff of the first release lineup and me oh my, yes boy
A man who ran a car repair shop on Madisons Southwest Side was sentenced Tuesday to 25 years in prison for shooting the man from whom he was buying the building, along with the mans neighbor, who had come along to help change the locks.

Sophea Bruce Mouth, 53, of Madison, hung his head for much of Tuesdays sentencing hearing before Dane County Circuit Judge Nicholas McNamara, including points when the widow of the buildings owner and the mans neighbor, now paralyzed by the shooting, spoke in court.

Of course, you dont have the character or the balls to look at me, Gregory Pongratz, who survived the shooting, said to Mouth as he spoke. Look at me. Look at me. Raise your head and look at me.

Mouth kept his head lowered.

McNamara sentenced Mouth to concurrent terms totaling 25 years for second-degree intentional homicide and attempted second-degree intentional homicide, for shootings that killed Thomas Dreger, 70, and left Pongratz, 53, a quadriplegic. He also received 15 years of extended supervision.

McNamara recognized the unlikely course that Mouths life has taken him, from surviving polio and the killing fields of Cambodia, to becoming an educated and respected man in Madison, whose wisdom and life experience helped and inspired others.

There are cases where good people commit bad crimes, McNamara said. But sometimes the harm caused is so grave that it is the most important factor in sentencing. This is such a case.

McNamara said he hopes that Mouth will rediscover peace and gentleness that had marked his life and writings before the shooting.

From eviction to violence

The sentence was five years shy of the 30-year sentence sought by Assistant District Attorney Andrea Raymond.

Mouths lawyer, state Assistant Public Defender Stan Woodard, asked for concurrent sentences that would have kept Mouth in prison for eight to 12 years.

About 300 supporters signed a petition asking McNamara for leniency for Mouth because of his importance to the Cambodian community and to local Buddhists, and many supporters filled the side of the courtroom behind the defense table.

Thomas Dreger, frustrated that Mouth had repeatedly failed to make payments on a land contract for the auto shop property at 2003 Freeport Road, had gotten a foreclosure judgment, and had gone to the shop after the end of a redemption period to evict Mouth.

Witnesses said there were some slightly raised voices, but no threats or physical contact between Dreger and Mouth. Pongratz, who said he had never met Mouth, said little. Mouth then pulled a gun and shot Dreger and Pongratz.

In testimony at his trial, Mouth claimed that Dreger had threatened him, and that he felt afraid that Dreger and Pongratz were going to hurt him.

McNamara expressed skepticism at some of Mouths story at Tuesdays sentencing, questioning how, for example, the gun used to shoot the men ended up hidden inside a shop vacuum, while Mouth himself was found several feet away, his legs partly pinned under Dreger. McNamara said he believed Mouth had positioned himself under Dreger after hiding the gun.

In his sentencing argument, Woodard said Dreger made a bad choice by going to the shop to try to evict Mouth, instead of getting a court order for his removal. Woodard said he wasnt arguing that Dreger and Pongratz deserved to be shot, rather that their actions set events into motion.

Raymond said Mouth was free to call the police if he felt threatened, but instead shot Dreger and Pongratz. She added that he didnt have a concealed carry permit for the gun he said he carried for his own protection.

An instant of fear

Dr. Roger Garms, a clinical psychologist who examined Mouth, said he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and a persistent depressive disorder, like many who survived the Cambodian holocaust of the 1970s. Despite receiving a masters degree from Edgewood College, Garms wrote, Mouth has been unable to work full time because of the problems he continues to experience as a survivor of trauma.

In a five-minute statement to McNamara, Mouth briefly recounted the horrors of his life in Cambodia and as a refugee, the education he received here and his public service before turning to the shooting.

My passion to serve the community and my compassion for everybodys well-being torments me every day with the realization that I was the cause of Mr. Dregers death and the maiming of Mr. Pongratz for life, he said. I am truly sorry for my actions, which caused their families tremendous suffering. In an instant of fear I did not follow my religious beliefs.

Dregers widow, Constance Dreger, asked that Mouth go to prison for the rest of his life.

Bruce has ripped our family apart, she said. You took from us the most sacred gift  the life of Tom Dreger. The emotional toll is overwhelming. Financial burdens have caused hardship for me. I was faced with selling the shop after paying almost $20,000 in back taxes you owed.

She called her husband a soft-spoken, gentle and kind-hearted individual, an integral part of our family, contrasting that to the portrayal of her husband as a bully by Mouths defense during his trial.

Pongratz said it was a miracle that although shot in the face, he survived so that he could testify and keep Mouth from getting away with murder.

Pongratz added that he hopes terrible things happen to Mouth in prison, like you deserve. You deserve nothing from me. No pity, no recognition, absolutely nothing. I hope you die in prison. I hope you suffer many, many days of pain and suffering, and thats what I wish for you.
WACO gets a crack at the first state championship game in school history
The expulsion of Alec Cook, a UW-Madison student accused of serial sexual assault and harassment, is final despite his attorneys attempt to appeal a disciplinary panels recommendation.

The three-person panel voted after a private hearing in February to expel Cook, 21, of Edina, Minnesota, who is awaiting trial after prosecutors charged him with 21 criminal counts involving 10 women last year.

Cooks attorneys alleged in their appeal that the university did not provide a fair and impartial hearing because panelists may have been swayed by media reports and UW-Madison notifications about the charges against him.

UW-Madison spokeswoman Meredith McGlone said Tuesday that Cooks case is complete and the final outcome is expulsion, and declined to provide further information, citing federal education privacy laws.

His attorneys said the universitys statement was accurate but otherwise did not comment.

Cook was arrested in October, and his case drew national attention to the university as multiple women came forward alleging he had sexually assaulted and harassed them in incidents dating back to March 2015. Criminal charges against Cook include multiple counts of second-degree sexual assault with the use of force.

He is next due in court for an appearance June 15.
Contributed Photo / Contributed Photo

NORWALK  Former Westport Police Chief Alfred Fiore applied to a diversionary program at his arraignment Monday when appearing for a drunken-driving charge over Memorial Day weekend.

Westport Police arrested Fiore, a longtime town resident and 33-year veteran of the department, on May 26 after a minor accident. The 61-year-old, who retired as chief in 2011, allegedly showed signs of intoxication and failed field sobriety tests at the scene of a Compo Road South crash, leading to his arrest.
A Weston woman who operated a physical therapy practice in Norwalk has been sentenced for obstruction and tax offenses.

Danielle Faux was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to two years of probation, the first six months of which Faux must spend in home confinement for obstruction and tax offenses. Underhill also ordered her to perform 100 hours of community service and pay a $3,000 fine.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Faux owned and operated Danielle Faux PT, LLC, a physical therapy clinic located at 27 Lois St. in Norwalk.

Federal prosecutors say in August 2009, a contractor for the Medicare program conducting an audit of Fauxs physical therapy practice contacted Faux and requested records of 40 claims for physical therapy that Faux had submitted to Medicare.

The requested records included appropriate documentation to support the services billed, including the physical therapy progress notes, physical therapy flow sheet/activity sheets, and any additional documentation verifying medical necessity for the physical therapy procedures.

Because no patient progress notes or similar records existed that would support many of the Medicare claims, Faux instructed a physical therapist working for her to create detailed notes in the patient files that were requested in the audit, and Faux similarly created such records.

In addition, from 2008 through 2011, Faux skimmed checks and cash proceeds from her physical therapy practice and did not declare the skimmed proceeds on her federal income tax returns, according to federal officials.

Through this conduct, Faux avoided paying $77,640 in taxes over the four-year period.

Underhill ordered Faux to pay full restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.

On Sept, 22, 2016, Faux pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of a federal audit, and one count of making false statement on a federal income tax return.

In a related civil matter, she agreed to pay $50,000 to settle allegations that she and her practice submitted false records to the Medicare program in violation of the False Claims Act.

Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said Danielle Faux defrauded Medicaid and Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield by filing false claims. The Medicare related charges involve documentation failures to Medicare. The Medicare patients were treated and several wrote to the judge in support.
Contributed photo

WILTON  Eight students from Wilton were honored as several of the brightest young students in the world at recent awards ceremonies sponsored by the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth.

Kyle Abrahamsen, a student at Ridgefield Academy and participant in the CTY Talent Search, was recognized for scoring exceptionally high on a rigorous, above-grade-level test and traveled to the campus of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md. on May 21, to be recognized in an awards ceremony there.
BROKEN BOW  An Aurora mans case that had just been bound over to Custer County District Court on Friday has been dismissed.

Ross Carstensen, 41, was charged with five counts of felony child pornography after he was accused of creating a fake Facebook account and luring young women and asking for and obtaining nude photos in 2015. According to the arrest warrant affidavit, these charges stemmed from an investigation into a Hamilton County rape case. Charges against Carstensen in that case were dismissed due to a motion made by the plaintiff.

On Monday, the plaintiff made a motion to dismiss the child pornography case without prejudice. The motion to dismiss document states the plaintiff prays for an order from this Court sustaining this Motion and dismissing plaintiffs action against the defendant, Ross J. Carstensen, without prejudice, each party to bear their own costs.

Carstensen was set for a preliminary hearing on June 8, but on Friday chose to waive that hearing and his appearance. He was set for an arraignment at 9:30 a.m. June 22 in Custer County District Court and had been released on bond.

According to online court records, District Judge Karin Noakes dismissed the child pornography case on Monday afternoon with prejudice. A case that is dismissed with prejudice means it is closed and cannot be brought back into court.

The Nebraska attorney generals office was contacted concerning the case, but did not immediately respond.
When beef tycoons Joesley and Wesley Batista sat down with Brazilian prosecutors last month and told them all they knew about the metastatic corruption scandal known as Carwash, they also let the world in on a dirty family secret.

The meteoric rise of the Batistas JBS, the global meat powerhouse that seemed to come out of nowhere a decade ago, wouldnt have been possible without a top politician on the take, hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes and a series of sweetheart deals with Brazils state development bank.

It wouldnt have worked, Joesley Batista told them, according to videos of his testimony. It wouldnt have been so fast.

Not since a former oil executive-turned-state witness kicked off Carwash three years ago has testimony in the case been so explosive and threatened to do so much damage to Brazils economy and its political institutions. The fraud that the brothers described in at least seven hours of testimony is so pervasive that it has tipped Brazil back into political chaos less than a year after the nations last president was impeached.

In addition to handing over documents allegedly implicating more than 1,800 politicians in the scheme, the beef magnates also provided prosecutors with an audio recording in which President Michel Temer appears to be endorsing Joesley Batistas payment of hush money to a jailed former lawmaker.

S&P Global Ratings said May 22, five days after the testimony went public, that it may cut Brazils sovereign-credit rating even further into junk territory amid concern that the allegations put Temers ambitious reform agenda  and even his presidency  at risk. Temer has denied any wrongdoing.

The Batistas, led by the 45-year-old Joesley and older brother Wesley, shot into the global spotlight during the decade-long, $20 billion acquisition spree that turned their family-owned slaughterhouse into the worlds biggest meat producer. That the brothers are now poised to emerge from the Carwash scandal without facing any criminal charges is a testament to their near-preternatural acumen for bargaining.

When the two Batistas approached Brazils prosecutor general last month offering to trade all the evidence theyd collected in exchange for immunity, the official had no other alternative but to give them what they wanted, he recently recalled.

The revelations raise questions about unfair competition abroad as the company gobbled up more than 40 rivals on four continents between 2007 and 2017. According to Joesley Batista, the state-development bank known as BNDES played a crucial role in JBSs expansion in the U.S. The lender injected 5.6 billion reais (worth about $3.2 billion using the average exchange rate at the time) in capital for the acquisition of Swift & Co. in 2007, the beef-producing units of Smithfield Foods Inc. in 2008, and the chicken producer Pilgrims Pride Corp. in 2009.

In his testimony, Joesley Batista recounted how the decade-long scheme all started at a fateful 2005 meeting with Guido Mantega, who served as the president of BNDES from 2004 to 2006 before taking over as Brazils finance minister from 2006 to 2014. JBS was then just a privately held slaughterhouse, but it had ambitious plans to be much more. While other BNDES executives present at the meeting that took place at the banks Rio de Janeiro headquarters appeared skeptical, Mantega showed strong signs of support, Batista said.

Mantegas lawyer didnt respond to e-mail and phone requests for comment. BNDESs press office and a JBS spokeswoman also didnt respond to requests for comment.

With Mantegas blessing, Batista alleged, JBS started looking for opportunities abroad. It quickly found one, and in September 2005 it made a $200 million offer to buy Swift Armour SA in Argentina. BNDES agreed to lend the company $80 million, and the Batistas allegedly paid 4 percent of the value, or $3.2 million, as a bribe to an associate of Mantega, Batista said.

Even with the bribe, Batista remembers thinking the terms of the loan were steep, but it was all they could get. Thats what it took for us to get the deal done, he told prosecutors.

The brothers claimed to have continued paying kickbacks to that associate until 2009, when they allegedly started negotiating directly with Mantega, Batista said. Overall, Batista said they paid $220 million in bribes, with most of the money being funneled into political campaigns. JBS and other companies under the umbrella of family holding company J&F Investimentos were the biggest campaign contributors in the 2014 elections, in which President Dilma Rousseff won her bid for a second term, according to Brazils electoral tribunal.

Despite the favorable treatment, JBS soon found itself overloaded with debt. Once again BNDES came to the rescue. In 2009, BNDES acquired 3.4 billion reais in local JBS notes that could be converted into stock of JBS USA, the American unit that the parent company planned to spin off in an initial public offering.

When JBS failed to carry out the share sale, BNDES converted the debt into the Brazilian companys shares, only it bought the stock at a premium that led to 267 million reais in losses for the bank, according to the nations audit court. The lender also let JBS off the hook for a 345 million-real penalty it was contractually obligated to pay.

To many long-time Brazil watchers, the allegations are shocking but not altogether surprising. In public financing, the ideal is to seek out companies that have a good prospect of generating developments inside the country and who cant obtain funds in the private sector  neither was true for JBS, said Sergio Lazzarini, a professor at Insper business school in Sao Paulo and co-author of Reinventing State Capitalism about the relationship between government and corporations in Brazil.

In an open letter last week, Joesley Batista said they were wrong to have participated in the scheme and apologized. While we have explanations for what we did, we have no justification, he said. Batista said Brazils system often creates barriers for businesses that want to carry transactions and because of that they opted to pay the bribes instead. In other countries outside Brazil, we were able to expand our business without violating ethical values.

Bill Bullard, the CEO of R-Calf, a cattle industry group in Billings, Montana, thats long been critical of big meatpacking companies, recalls the raised eyebrows when JBS first broke into the market.

Not only was JBS able to make purchases for loans secured with bribes, they were able to jump into the U.S. cattle market and outbid potential U.S. investors for these assets, he said. Through ill-gotten means, JBS has been able to gain control of a large portion of the U.S. cattle industry.

In addition to copping to paying bribes for BNDES resources, Wesley Batista also admitted to paying kickbacks in return for tax breaks and said hed provide evidence on alleged wrongdoing involving the nations food safety regulators. In March, JBS was roped into another investigation when one of its plants, along with 20 other meatpackers, were accused to bribing federal inspectors to approve the sale of tainted meat.
Earl Haworth of Grand Island had a major heart attack in January 2016, surviving it though his health declined  and then he had a heart transplant on April 24 of this year in Omaha, and everything has gone well since then.

The six-hour surgery was performed by a team under the leadership of Dr. John Um at Nebraska Medicine. Um is the surgery director of the medical centers Heart Transplant Program.

The outcome went just fine, Haworth said.

The transplant and its preliminary and follow-up events were a whirlwind ride, he added.

On April 12, Haworth was approved by doctors for the surgery and put on the hospitals active heart-transplant list. Only 12 days later, at 1:30 a.m., Haworth and his wife, Kat Bortz, received a phone call saying that an appropriate heart for transplanting was available. Haworth and Bortz were amazed because the average waiting time is about four months. They were in Omaha at the hospital by 5:30 a.m.

After Um verified that the donated heart was viable, medical preps were completed and six hours of surgery began about noon on April 24.

They said everything went fine, Haworth said.

As is customary, he had to be in the hospital about two weeks before returning home.

Believe it or not, I had absolutely no pain with this  no pain killers, not even a Tylenol, he said.

After the transplant, Haworth and Bortz went to Omaha for a biopsy of tiny pieces of heart tissue to be done weekly at first. No evidence of significant tissue rejection has been found so far.

He began official cardiac rehab procedures on Monday at CHI Health St. Francis in Grand Island.

Nebraska Medicine is the only Medicare-approved adult heart-transplant facility in Nebraska. Um usually performs at least one heart transplant, and sometimes up to four, in a week, Haworth said.

Someone had to give up a loved one for us, Bortz said. Thats a little breath-taking. Hes decided that this heart hes going to take care of.

Yeah, I wasnt too good a caretaker on the first one, Haworth said.

He smoked. He ate whatever he wanted to. He did not exercise, his wife added.

Id also like to say thanks to all of my doctors, including my primary-care doctor in Grand Island, Dr. Gary Settje, and my cardiologist at Nebraska Heart Institute, Dr. Douglas Kosmicki, and also Dr. Khalid at the Heart Institute, and transplant surgeon Dr. Um, Haworth said. All of them are equally responsible for saving my life.

Not to mention all the nurses, all the techs, Bortz added.
Hundreds of hours, more than 3,000 conversations and a year of work will culminate at Thursdays Grand Island school board meeting when Jennifer Worthington leads the presentation of the districts strategic plan to the board.

The plan proposes to focus the school districts vision on four main areas: empowering principals and teachers to be instructional leaders, personalizing learning pathways for students, designing decisions with data and partnering with the community.

The school boards approval would endorse the prioritization of those four goals and recommend the district make decisions with the four goals in mind.

Identifying the four areas and creating a plan to address them has been an effort from the start of the 2016-2017 school year.

GIPS Superintendent Tawana Grover started her inaugural year with a goal to unify GIPS in its vision. Using community conversations, focus groups, faculty and student surveys and classroom observations, Grover and a team focused their foresight to empower, personalize, design and partner.

We believe that if we do those four things well, our students will be more successful, said Worthington, the districts chief innovation and engagement officer.

The school district will use 11 measurable goals to define its success in the four areas. By focusing on empowerment, personalization, design and partnerships, the school will aim to improve students meeting or exceeding Nebraska proficiency rates, decrease achievement gaps and absenteeism, and increase students self-reporting growth mindsets and social awareness, among other goals.

Worthington said the school district has identified areas for improvement in the past, but the strategic plan takes proposals to a new level.

She said board members have been involved in the conversations and design of the proposal.

Its as much their plan as it is ours, Worthington said.

If the plan is approved, its execution will fall to school administration. The plan entails a five-year commitment and Worthington said the implementation would adapt along the way to find what works for each GIPS school.

The four focus areas and 11 goals require new staff, curriculum and equipment.

Worthington said the school district would provide these resources by allocating budget funds, as well as accepting donations from the community through the Grand Island Public Schools Foundation.

Not all donations come with a dollar sign, she noted. Through the Grand Island Senior High Career Pathways Institute, the school has accepted machinery, equipment and professional advice from local businesses to help students realize careers in health sciences, communications, agriculture or manufacturing.

If approved, Worthington said, the community can expect to see the impact of the plan.

By focusing on these four goals, well have more successful students, accomplishing more for the community, she said.

The school board meeting begins at 6:40 p.m. Thursday at the Kneale Administration Building. The board will also discuss recommendations for the GIPS accreditation process, policies for homeless students and the 2017-2018 school year bus routes. The agenda can be found at https://meeting.nasbonline.org/public/Meeting.aspx?PublicAgencyID=

4339&PublicMeetingID=17038&AgencyTypeID=

At 6:30 p.m. Thursday, the board will have a public hearing on a proposed FY16-17 budget amendment regarding the issuance of new bonds.
Children were able to learn about science firsthand through demonstrations as part of the CAPOW! science show Monday morning at the Grand Island Public Library.

Dan Sullivan, a retired University of Nebraska at Omaha chemistry professor, began the CAPOW! science show, which stands for Chemistry and Physics on Wheels, by demonstrating the effects of liquid nitrogen when it was poured onto the floor of the library conference room.

The kids gathered on the floor watching the science show were awed by the fog generated from the liquid nitrogen and crawled quickly to catch the fog.

As Sullivan began the show, he read aloud from a chemistry textbook. While he read from it, flames erupted from the inside of the textbook.

Whoa, the children in the audience said in unison, before discussing among themselves how Sullivan made this happen.

Sullivan said most of his demonstrations were used in his chemistry classes at UNO.

If you show somebody something, they are likely to remember it. If you tell them something, they wont remember it as much, he said. The idea is (for the kids) to have a lot of fun, maybe learn something in the process, think about the world as we know it and imagine what it could be. These little guys will do things you and I can only dream of.

Sullivan said he started doing his science show for the public about 50 years ago. He has traveled to places such as Seattle, Disney World and Canada, doing about 100 shows a year and seeing more than a million kids all over the country.

During his science show, he also taught about atoms  which he explained are little tiny particles that make up the human body. To demonstrate how atoms work and to get his audience involved in his show, he had the kids stand up and dance.

All those atoms in your bodies and mine make up molecules and molecules are dancing all the time. The music they are dancing to is energy, Sullivan said. The average molecule is dancing about 600 miles an hour. But some dance faster and some dance more slowly.

He also demonstrated the reactions of atoms by lighting balloons on fire. He said this represented a really fast reaction of atoms. He told the children to cover their ears as a loud boom went off as he lit each balloon. They were in awe as he popped each balloon with fire.

When the balloons were popped, a straight line of fire emerged from the balloons. Sullivan said this was a result of momentum.

Momentum tends to keep things moving in a straight line if they are going straight, he said. As I am driving down the street, I come to a stop sign and step on the brakes. My body goes forward because theres momentum. The balloons (in the seat beside Sullivan) go backwards. Why do the balloons go backwards? When I step on the brakes and I go forward, all the air goes forward.

After his show, Sullivan said that he hopes the children watching the CAPOW! science show gained an interest in science and a desire to learn more about the world around them.

When I was their age, I didnt have any idea of what was going on in the world around me, he said. They (kids) were thinking as they went and as they saw something happening, they could think about why it might be happening and come up with answers for a possible explanation.
America is facing its worst drug crisis in history, medical experts declare. Opioid abuse has swept across the country, leaving many victims dead and others with shattered lives.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 33,000 Americans died from opioid overdoses in 2015. That nearly equaled the number killed in car accidents and heroin deaths alone surpassed gun homicides.

Nebraskans may feel they have escaped the opioid scourge. However, local health officials told the Independent recently that isnt true. While reported deaths have been lower in Nebraska than other states, opioid abuse is still a major problem here, they said.

People throughout Nebraska should heed that warning and take what steps they can to fend off the epidemic.

Much of the abuse is traced to the overuse of prescription painkillers. Physicians and pharmacists almost have to be detectives these days in determining whether pain complaints are legitimate. Many addicts fake symptoms to get the painkillers.

So first, physicians must be cautious in prescribing the often-abused medicines. Instead, they may have to urge patients to use other methods to control pain.

Unfortunately, in many rural areas there are few if any doctors who specialize in pain management. So the physicians in these locations have few resources in which to turn.

Second, people must properly dispose of unused medications. Often addicts will steal prescription medicine from relatives and friends or by breaking into homes. So individuals should keep track of their medicines and make sure they dont fall into the wrong hands.

Another important measure is treatment. Communities need to have treatment options available. Intervention is often required. People taking legal pain medication may not even realize they have an addiction.

What has scared many medical professionals, law officers and treatment specialists is the rise in the use of fentanyl, a potent, synthetic opioid pain medication. The National Institute on Drug Abuse describes fentanyl as a powerful synthetic opioid analgesic that is similar to morphine but is 50 to 100 times more potent.

There have even been recent national reports of first responders having dangerous exposure to the drug just by responding to emergency calls dealing with an overdose.

Fentanyl abuse is likely to make the overdose numbers grow even more in coming years.

National, state and local governments, along with medical professionals, need to develop battle strategies against opioid abuse. It has devastated families and communities throughout the country. Nebraskans can stick their heads in the sand, but they cant avoid the fact that the epidemic is even here in Nebraska.
Once again this year we will all have an opportunity to help those among us who are less fortunate than most of us.

On Wednesday, June 7, we will be holding the 30th annual 10/11 and NBC Nebraska Can Care-a-Van. It will be held at Hy-Vee at 115 Wilmar Avenue here in Grand Island from 8 a.m to 4 p.m.

We gratefully appreciate any donations of non-perishable foods that we receive. For example: cereal, canned fruit, pasta and pasta sauce. Protein items such as canned tuna or chicken. Soup and crackers are always a comfort food. Peanut butter and jelly may be a treat for the young children. Boxed meals or macaroni and cheese are also good.

Personal items are needed also: soap, tooth paste, toilet tissue, etc. Or if you prefer, monetary donations are always welcome.

All food and monetary donations remain in Grand Island at these four food pantries: Blessed Sacrament, Camilles Cupboard-St. Marys Cathedral, Hope Harbor and the Salvation Army.

Grand Island and our surrounding neighbors have always been very generous in their giving.

We look forward to seeing you Wednesday. And have a hot dog and a cold drink if youre at HyVee between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

May God richly bless you.
For nearly a quarter century, a display mannequin propped up inside the cockpit of a US Navy Corsair Plane has kept watch over Edwardsville Township Park.

In recent days, though, the mannequin, dubbed Mabel by township officials, has gone missing from her usual post atop a stack of phone books, and now, with a project to restore the airplane set to begin this weekend, the search for the missing pilot continues.

Its disappointing, but it is what it is, Township Supervisor Frank Miles said on Monday.

The heist happened at some point during the Memorial Day weekend and was discovered shortly thereafter.

On Monday the Township issued a press release. Edwardsville Police, the press release said, have been reviewing surveillance footage and are urging anyone with information about the incident to call the departments anonymous tip line at 692-7552.

It has been a quarter century since then Township Supervisor Robert Stille put the mannequin inside the plane and propped her up on a stack of phone books, high enough so that passersby could catch of glimpse of her as they drove down Center Grove Road.

The plane itself, on loan from the US Department of Defense, was helicoptered over to Township Park in 1991. The agreement requires Edwardsville Township to keep the Corsair in top condition, or at least displayable condition, Miles has said.

Several attempts have been made over the years to fix the plane up. At one point, several aviation experts  Edwardsville residents who worked for Scott Air Force Bases TRANSCOM unit  looked the plane over, offered suggestions, and drew up specs to have the plane painted and refurbished.

But they were transferred from the area before the project got under way.

Then last year the township reached out to the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Fla., sending them detailed photos of the plane, inside and out.

A Mission: Preservation, a Campaign to Restore the Plane, helped raise money for the project.

In October, the township approved a contract with the Flight Deck Veterans Group, a nationwide non-profit group based in Tennessee whose purpose is to restore historic aircraft as part of its mission of serving veterans and passing on the history and legacy of veterans and flight deck operations.

The plane was lowered recently for restoration. The project is set to begin Saturday with a thorough cleaning of the aircraft, followed by necessary repairs to the exterior.

The restoration effort will be comprised of both national and local volunteers. Anyone interested in helping with the project can contact Edwardsville Township at 656-0292.

Also, if anyone has any information pertaining to the missing pilot, contact the Edwardsville Police Department at 618-656-2131.
A modest increase in deductibles, expanded wellness incentives and excess reserve funds could let Wisconsin save $60 million from state worker benefits without shifting to self-insurance, leaders of the state Legislatures budget committee said Monday.

Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, and Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette, reaffirmed their opposition to Gov. Scott Walkers plan to move 250,000 government workers and family members away from a program in which the state pays premiums to 17 HMOs.

But the co-chairs of the Joint Finance Committee said theyre committed to finding $60 million in savings Walker counted on from self-insurance in the 2017-19 budget. One step, they said, is to tap reserves from state worker benefits  which reached $144.4 million last year, $18.4 million to $68.8 million more than the range allowed, the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau reported last week.

Is it because theyre overcharging? Nygren asked at a Wisconsin Health News forum. Are there built-in savings that are already there that arent being realized?

Darling said benefits can be redesigned to save money, such as offering more incentives for healthy behaviors. The last state budget called for $85 million in savings from state worker benefits, prompting the Group Insurance Board to add deductibles, increase co-payments and boost out-of-pocket limits.

To save $60 million without self-insurance in the upcoming budget, the state would have to make workers pay 18 percent of their premium, up from 12 percent, or increase deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums by $1,000 for individuals and $2,000 for families, according to Segal Consulting, which was hired by the state Department of Employee Trust Funds.

Nygren, who works as an insurance agent, said he disagrees. Just with a simple, modest deductible increase, theres potential to see significant savings there, he said.

The fiscal bureau report  which put the base savings from self-insurance at $47 million over two years, not $60 million as estimated by Walker and Segal  prompted Darling and Nygren to call for an audit of state worker benefits.

On Monday, they said they will again seek broad oversight of the benefits program. Two years ago, Walker vetoed a bill to let the budget committee have significant oversight, letting it only approve or deny self-insurance contracts.

Walker also vetoed a measure that would have given the Legislature more say over appointments to the 11-member Group Insurance Board, controlled by the governor.

With the budget committee poised to vote down Walkers self-insurance plan after a hearing next week, Darling said the governor may be more open to allowing more oversight now.

Hes learned that hes a partner with us, she said.
When Philip Alabi, a Nigerian chemistry graduate student and teaching assistant at SIUE, saw how quickly college textbooks became outdated and of little value in the United States, he took action. He began collecting textbooks and eventually shipped over 1,000 of them last fall to his alma mater, Tai Solarin University of Education, in Nigeria where having access to current textbooks is a luxury.

After Alabi's textbooks arrived in Nigeria in February, Alabi began a larger effort to build a non-profit organization, EFIWE, that would serve as the hub for other college campuses to gather used textbooks from their schools and ship them to college libraries in Africa for college students to use.

The EFIWE website, Efiwe.org, went live last month, and now Alabi is seeking to connect with students at other universities across the U.S. who will organize textbook drives on their college campuses.

Alabi's idea was born last May when after the spring semester a stack of chemistry books remained in front of the chemistry office for several days. When Alabi inquired about the books, he was told that he could have them.

From that moment, Alabi began collecting unwanted college textbooks from friends, Edwardsville area residents and SIUE staff, and he made a plan to ship the textbooks back home to his Alma mater.

He raised $1,288 through an online crowd-funding drive to ship the 1,000 plus books to Nigeria last winter. After the books arrived by air in Ghana, Alabi arranged for them to be transported by bus to Nigeria. The books arrived safely in Nigeria in late February. Motivated to continue the textbook drive but on a grander scale so that he could benefit more under-served colleges in Nigeria and around the globe, Alabi began developing Efiwe. He turned to volunteers to help him develop a web site which has recently gone live, and he has recently filed paperwork for the organization to be a 501c non-profit.

Alabi is currently seeking to find college students attending other universities across the U.S. who would organize textbook drives on their college campuses. He sees Efiwe as another club option for college students. So those clubs will be run by students with a faculty advisor, Alabi noted. Those students that work in that club will be involved with collecting the books.

Alabi is also working on a platform that will allow them to keep track of what books have been collected. They can enter the books they've collected, he explained. So it's like a database for all the books collected.

He then plans to share the database with the Nigerian libraries he will be collaborating with back home. I can bring them on the platform so they will be able to pick books they want, Alabi pointed out. I also want the students that collect the books to see if their books have been picked and to see how relevant the materials are that they get. So they can begin to say, ok, so those books are not picked.

Alabi also sees the clubs at other universities using their alumni network to raise funding for the shipment of the books they collect. He estimated that the last shipment of textbooks cost about $1 a book.

He also anticipates that the organization will help out with the shipment of textbooks from under-privileged schools.

Since the Efiwe relies completely on volunteers, Alabi is looking for possibly two or three volunteer coders  design, front-end or back-end coding. I need two hours in a week. That's all they need to commit, he said.

Alabi is also continuing his textbook collection at SIUE. His present collection, which began about a month ago, has over 674 books and 378 journals, and he is always interested in any college textbook donations.

Anyone with unwanted textbooks is encouraged to contact Alabi even if the textbook seems old. A chemistry textbook of 90s still is very good. Maybe not in the U.S., Alabi explained. The book I studied with for example in organic chemistry ...was a 1970 book we were using. In fact we did not even have it in the library. It is not a good year of what is used here. So that 1970 book (used) in 1990-95 is very relevant.

Alabi added that the usefulness of an older textbook often depends on its subject. Chemistry or math is fine. Computer science is not fine maybe, he noted.

Since Alabi has to see the books to know if it is relevant, he encouraged anyone who has textbooks to donate to contact him. Let us see the books because when we see them we can decide, he said.

While collecting books and gathering a few more volunteers would be beneficial, he stressed that his biggest need right now is connecting with college students on other college campuses who would be interested in organizing book drives on their college campuses.

Anyone interested in the coding volunteer positions, know someone who would be interested in organizing a book drive on a different college campus or who has college textbooks to donate can email Alabi at info@efiwe.org. The organization is also active on Facebook at EfiweNGO.

Incidentally, Alabi will be leaving SIUE in August as he continues his education in Rhode Island.

He will be studying to earn a PhD in Chemistry.
The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Cougar Baja team showed off its latest off-road vehicle during a Baja SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) competition held May 25-28 in Pittsburg, Kan.

The team, comprising mostly engineering students, designed, funded, built and tested their vehicle in preparation for the collegiate race which includes teams from around the world. Their next competition will be held June 7-10 in Peoria.

The SIUE Cougar Baja team is a student organization within the School of Engineering. Participating students included Adam Brocksieck, a native of Quincy who earned a bachelors in mechanical engineering in spring 2017, as well as mechanical engineering majors Tim Talbert, of Hebron, Tim Koehler, of Mt. Pulaski, Seth Kirchner, of Chillicothe, and accounting major Alexandra Turner.

This year we did most of the design work in the fall semester, and we began building our car in January, 2017, said Koehler. Team members used their free time, as much as 40 hours a week, throughout the spring semester building the car and preparing the necessary documents for competition. Once the car was painted during finals week, we assembled it, tested it and prepared for our trip.

The Baja SAE events feature four days of competition, added Brocksieck. On day one, teams do an engine check and give a sales presentation on the cost of the prototype we have built. On day two, teams go through a technical inspection, give a design presentation to judges from Polaris and perform a brake check.

Then, on day three, the dynamic events begin, including acceleration, a suspension and traction course, a tight maneuverability course and a sled pull event. Finally, day four features the big test with a grueling four-hour endurance race where the cars are placed on a course to test the strength and mechanical longevity of our vehicles.

The SIUE Cougar Baja team is in its 11th year and continues to make adjustments and learn from past competitions to come back with a better, lighter, faster and more competitive vehicle.

We begin by creating a 3D model of the chassis, suspension components and other items, Kirchner explained. We then take a pile of steel tubing and sheet metal and cut, bend, notch and weld the tubing together and assemble the rest of the components. In previous years, our teams have tried unique ideas like four-wheel drive, but now were focused on competing better with quality vehicles.

The team eagerly awaits the completion of the School of Engineerings Student Design Center, which they say will help them excel greatly.

As members, we learn problem solving, communication, teamwork, and leadership skills that will prepare us for the workforce and build our resumes, explained Turner. The hands-on side of our organization builds off the skills were learning in the classroom and allows us to apply our knowledge in a real-life setting.

Employers look for students with experience, and many global companies hire students for internships and full-time positions on site during Baja SAE competitions, added Talbert. These companies know that the students attending these competitions have the hands-on experience that will make them a valuable asset from the start of their career.

Multiple sponsors contribute to the success of the SIUE Cougar Baja team. A complete list is available on the teams Facebook page.

Students pursuing any major or possessing any skill level are encouraged to join the SIUE Cougar Baja team. For more information, email cougarbaja@gmail.com.
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Linkedin EDITORIAL (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, June 6, 2017 08:08 1983 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a3ec3cb 4 Editorial #Editorial,Islamic-State,survey,democracy,Pancasila,aceh,radicalism,Islamic-extremism Free

Nothing is surprising about the recent survey conducted by Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC), which found that 9.2 percent of respondents supported the formation of a theocratic Islamic state in Indonesia to replace the existing democratic republic, with nearly 80 percent rejecting the idea.

Such a composition seems to represent the reality today and perhaps the history of aspiration for an Islamic state in the country. In 1945, when the Indonesian nation state was still in the making, the majority of members of a committee designing the structure of the independent state preferred a republic in which people of various ethnicities and religions would live together, over a sharia-based state.

The choice of an Islamic state was  and is  understandable given the fact that Muslims make up the majority of Indonesias population. Its no wonder that since independence such an aspiration has remained alive.

Since 1955, Islamic-based parties have contested general elections but won an insufficient percent of the vote to realize their long-standing dream of formalizing Islam through legislation, or creating an Islamic state to put it simply. Currently, only the minority Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and United Development Party (PPP) openly claim to be the vanguards of political Islam, although they refuse to explicitly express support for an Islamic state.

Since the fall of the New Order in 1998 the PPP has twice formally proposed the implementation of sharia in the General Session of the Peoples Consultative Assembly, but, as expected, to no avail.

The fact that Islamic law is enforced in Aceh is an exception based on a political compromise. The adoption of sharia in Aceh, where rebels fought for independence and where state-sponsored human-rights abuses were rampant, is the price Jakarta has to pay to maintain territorial integrity between Sabang in Aceh and Merauke in Papua.

Sharia in Aceh is the result of political negotiations that have seemingly been accepted nationwide. Anyone or any group could therefore theoretically bring the nationwide implementation of sharia, or even the establishment of an Islamic state, to the negotiation table too, through democratic channels of course.

Nobody, including the government, has the right to curtail such an aspiration or brand it a threat to the Pancasila state ideology and national security. Such a restriction would drag Indonesia back to its former period of authoritarianism, when the authorities determined what was right or wrong.

As long as the demand for a caliphate, or Islamic state, is expressed on the streets or in the legislature, as the PPP has done in vain, there is nothing to be worried about. The aspiration instead serves as a reminder that something wrong may have happened to our democracy or that our democratic system is not working well enough to realize the noble objectives promulgated in the Constitution.

Our tolerance must end only when those aspiring for a caliphate justify acts of violence or armed resistance as the rebel group Darul Islam DI/TII (House of Islam/ Military of Islam Indonesian) and the Islamic State (IS) movement have done.
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Linkedin Minister Susi Pudjiastuti and Trevor Matheson (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, June 6, 2017

Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) is a global threat impacting on many countries including in Asia and the Pacific region. It results in direct loss of income from catch that could have been taken by local fishermen. It can seriously impair efforts to achieve sustainable fisheries and can, in some cases, ultimately lead to the collapse of stocks and livelihoods for local communities.



Indonesia has the worlds sixth largest exclusive economic zone (EEZ), while New Zealand has the ninth largest EEZ. Both countries have a strong interest in protecting fisheries resources and its small-scale fishermen. Such interest has triggered Indonesia and New Zealand to cooperate in tackling the challenges of IUU fishing.



In 2016, Indonesia and New Zealand signed a Joint Communique to Combat IUU Fishing and to Promote Sustainable Fisheries Governance.



The oceans that in the past have separated us now join us in a common purpose.



Enhanced cooperation between fisheries and maritime agencies and law enforcement is critical in combating IUU fishing. Therefore, frequent sharing of information and cooperation by law enforcement in, and between, our regions is a necessity.



As a concrete sign of the intention to work closer together, Indonesias Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry recently hosted a two-day workshop in collaboration with the New Zealand Embassy on efforts to disrupt illegal/criminal activity along the fisheries value chain: customs and fisheries fraud, tax evasion and smuggling.



This workshop also focused on the challenges of corrupt companies and agents which take advantage of, and exploit, fishermen and the best ways to break open the secretive culture on these vessels.



Protecting vulnerable workers on fishing vessels is a major priority for both governments. Indonesia has introduced human rights certification for fishing companies to ensure the industry is free from human rights violations (Ministerial Regulation No. 2/2017).



New Zealand has similarly grappled with how best to protect the human rights of fishermen. In 2014, the New Zealand Parliament passed the Fisheries (Foreign Charter Vessels and Other Matters) Amendment Law to introduce greater protection for all workers on foreign fishing vessels in New Zealands EEZ. This law ensures that New Zealands Human Rights Act and employment protection applies to all crew on fishing vessels operating in New Zealand waters.



While these law changes show progress, the problem is larger than just Indonesia and New Zealand. One of the main international agreements to stop IUU Fishing is the Food and Agriculture Organizations Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA).



The agreement aims to prevent illegally caught fish from entering international markets through ports. Under the terms of the treaty, foreign vessels will provide advance notice and request permission for port entry, countries will conduct regular inspections in accordance with universal minimum standards, offending vessels will be denied use of port or certain port services and information sharing networks will be created.



Indonesia and New Zealand have ratified the PSMA, but broader buy-in is needed. Governments must be constantly vigilant to combat IUU fishing and protect their own citizens and neighbors citizens from abuses that can occur through criminal practices and unscrupulous companies. Indonesia, in particular, therefore encourages its neighbors in Asia and the Pacific to ratify the PSMA and step up their efforts to stop IUU fishing.



New Zealand is investing in a Pacific-wide framework to improve Port State Measures, and to support Pacific Island countries that have ratified the PSMA to enhance their efforts over time. The New Zealand government wants to see a similar approach in the Southeast Asia region.



Indonesia and New Zealand, alongside their Pacific Island neighbors, are working closer together than ever before, to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and to secure a sustainable ocean for future generations.



We are only at the beginning of this critical effort to save our marine resources and ensure our future generations have access to the livelihoods, products and income upon which we have been built over many, many centuries.



There is much more we need to do  and the engagement of all our regional neighbors is the next vital step in the effort. Not only do we owe it to future generations, they are depending on us to ensure it.

***

Susi Pudjiastuti is Indonesian Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister and Trevor Matheson is New Zealand ambassador to Indonesia.

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Linkedin Glenn Chapman (Agence France-Presse) San Jose, United States  Tue, June 6, 2017 10:10 1983 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a3f4a21 2 Science & Tech Apple,HomePod,smart-speaker,speaker,music Free

Apple will later this year release a "HomePod" music-centric smart home speaker, challenging a market currently dominated by Amazon and Google in its latest move to weave deeper into people's lives.

HomePod, aided by Apple's Siri digital assistant, will be priced at $349 when it begins shipping in December in the United States, Australia and Britain, the tech giant announced at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference.

"We really believe it is going to take your home music experience to the next level," Apple chief executive Tim Cook said as he unveiled it.

HomePod will take on lower priced Amazon Echo and Google Home, which have had momentum in the arena of voice-controlled speakers capable of controlling smart appliances, fetching content from the internet and more.

Apple's Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Phil Schiller announces HomePod as he speaks during the opening keynote address the 2017 Apple Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) at the San Jose Convention Center on June 5, 2017 in San Jose, California. Apple CEO Tim Cook kicked off the five-day WWDC that runs through June 9.( GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP/Justin Sullivan)

It is designed to work with the Apple Music subscription service and can produce rich sound while tapping into the artificial intelligence power of Siri.

Apple vice president Phil Schiller said the company's Siri team had tuned the assistant into a "musicologist" that learns the tastes of listeners and gets songs from the internet cloud.

The speaker has the "power to rock the house," according to Schiller, and the aim is to make HomePod a potent assistant for news, messages, weather, traffic, home controls and more.

Playing to strength

HomePod capped a keynote presentation that included updates to Apple's iPad and Mac laptop lines, and upgraded operating software enabling augmented reality for iPhones and iPads.

Analysts said Apple is playing to its strength in the music industry by focusing on sound quality and its catalog of songs.

"Apple is smart to frame the HomePod as a music-centric and audio-centric device rather than just another smart speaker or another home for Siri," said Jackdaw Research analyst Jan Dawson.

"The fact that Apple is claiming to marry really great and smart audio with a smart assistant and cloud music service makes this device unique in the market."

A prototype of Apple's new HomePod is displayed during the 2017 Apple Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) at the San Jose Convention Center on June 5, 2017 in San Jose, California. Apple CEO Tim Cook kicked off the five-day WWDC with announcements of a a new operating system, a new iPad Pro and a the HomePod, a music speaker and home assistant. WWDC runs through June 9. ( GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP/Justin Sullivan)

Read also: Four online shopping tips for Ramadhan

Some industry insiders, however, note Apple will be under more pressure to improve the computing smarts of its Siri software in the face of offerings from rivals Google and Amazon.

Apple has given Siri new male and female voices, described as more natural and expressive, and added abilities such as translating English phrases into Chinese, French, German, Italian or Spanish.

Apple said it is also using 'on-device learning' to enable Siri to take people's tastes into account.

Amazon has dominated the connected speakers category since 2014 when it introduced its first Echo, which responds to voice commands and allows users to order goods and control connected appliances.

A survey released last month by research firm eMarketer found Echo speakers held 70.6 percent of the US market, compared with 23.8 percent for Google Home.

Macs and iPads

Cook also used the Apple keynote to show off new iPad and Mac computer models, as well as provide glimpses at coming versions of the software powering the technology titan's devices.

Apple senior vice president of software engineering Craig Federighi said the next Mac operating system will be named "High Sierra" in tribute to the California mountain range.

High Sierra features will include being able to stop unexpected videos from starting to play automatically when landing on web pages and "intelligent tracking prevention" that will prevent ads from following people about the internet.

High Sierra will be released later this year as a free update, according to Federighi.

Along with upgraded versions of iPad and Mac laptops, Apple unveiled an iMac Pro work station that had the computing built in behind the screen and was touted as the most powerful computer the company has ever made.

Aimed at high-end design professionals rather than the home market, the iMac Pro is to begin shipping in December with a starting price of $4,999.

A new Apple HomePod smart speaker is seen on display during Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose, California on June 05, 2017. (AFP/Josh Edelson)

Mac models were also boosted to work with virtual reality gear, a move by Apple into technology that Facebook has embraced with its Oculus unit.

Apple told the developers they were overhauling the App Store, giving it a fresh look, and beginning to add the floor plans of shops and airports to its map program.

And the operating system for mobile devices is getting a major update with iOS 11.

Changes included making iPads more efficient and being able to send money to friends using Apple's messaging application for mobile devices.

A set of iOS 11 features including enabling smartphone cameras to read QR codes are aimed at the China market, where Apple would like to bolster iPhone sales.
How may we define Indonesian art? Unlike other nations, Indonesia is without an international standard museum as a foundation through which its distinct art narratives and identity may be imparted internationally and locally.

We can, however, reference a different platform, ART|JOG, the art fair that supports artists over galleries. Celebrating its tenth edition this year, the festival has grown to iconic status, presenting the voice of Indonesian contemporary art diversity to a global audience.

ART|JOG|10 Changing Perspectives opened with a limited preview on May 19 at the Jogja National Museum (JNM), Yogyakarta, officiated by GKR Mangkubumi, the eldest child of Yogyakarta Governor Sultan Hamengkubuwono.

Annually the event attracts additional foreign visitors, this year there were more international art industry insiders, many expressing ideas about future collaborations.

Read also: ART|JOG|10: Changing perspective

Running parallel to Jogja Art Weeks, a month long abundance of events set throughout the Special regency, and now in its second year, (another organizational feat by Heri Pemad Art Management), ART|JOG is a fixture on the international art map, a boom for cultural tourism in Central Java.

The combination of an art fair founded for artists by an artist, hosted at the Jogja National Museum, over a relaxed time frame with daily performances and artist interactivity against a backdrop of the uniquely engaging energy of the Yogyakarta arts community is highly inspiring in a world where art fair fatigue is prevalent, said artist, art historian, curator, gallerist and collector Jane Walker, who is London and Singapore based, on her first visit to the fair.

ART|JOG|10s Open Call Application granted entrance to 15 artists, while a further 58 artists were invited. One of the most enjoyable features of its format is the freedom to observe works without any presence/pressure of sales, gallery staff and infrastructure.

Both local and foreign, emerging and established artists exhibit side-by-side over 3 floors. The JNM designed alternative shaped showrooms offers possibilities for varying art encounters. Artists granted individual space, who understood how to create intimate art experiences, were generally the most memorable.

A giant batik parasol depicting the sky spans the ceiling and a mural rendered in clay revealing order and disorder are the two prominent features of Seti Legus installation, Universal Syndrome. Observers are immersed within an intriguing reconstruction of opposing positive and negative forces -- the world according to Javanese cosmology -- where human and environmental exploitation contrasts with ideology, religion and materialism; the modern world in conflict with the past. Legu sits and reads poetry aloud, while a traditionally attired elderly musician completes the distinctive ambiance.

Invited Chinese artist Geng Xue presents a 13-minute animation, Mr Sea. Her two characters, set within a surreal forest landscape are all made from porcelain. In this extraordinarily sensitive tale, that takes the art form to wonderful innovative heights, breath taking beauty and tragedy go hand-in-hand. This is a mesmerizing, emotional journey.

Syagini Ratna Wulans Chromatic Chimera, and Chromatic Myth 1,2&3 together create a tangible atmosphere. Her gloomy skyscapes feature tiny colored figures floating seemingly without purpose. A hanging geometric form projected with colored light creates beautiful patterns up into a corner, its energetic distinctions, married with her painted compositions create a potent, mysterious abstract experience. While other artists exhibit abstract works, many fail to excite, Wulans imagination, however fully engages our senses via the subtle powers of suggestion.

Season In The Abyss, Jim Allen Abels commemorative installation honoring 102 people lost in 2007 on an Adam Air flight from Surabaya, East Java to Manado, is thought provoking, and ultimately touching. At front a display case presents facts and details including archive photos. Within the darkened space the installation merges elements, projected images, and flashing lights reflect upon mirrors from the ceiling to the floor, and wall. The experience is intriguing and upsetting, yet beautiful as well. Such a thematic is bold, revealing artistic maturity.

Angki Purbandono collaborated with adventure traveler/actor and advocate for the preservation of Indonesias endangered Sumatran elephant, Nicholas Saputra, to make a documentary describing the alarming decline of this species. Post Jungle  Tangkahan Project introduces an alternative story, in a visual art language aimed at inciting the publics curiosity and concern toward grave Indonesian environmental issues.

Floating Eyes, the commissioned work by Wedhar Riyadi of giant eyeballs floating in water, is spectacular. Positioned at the front facade of JNM, evening time it contrasts wonderfully against the white building and the night sky, in the presence of the new, honorary R.J Katamsi statue, flanked by majestic banyan trees. The work, however, lacks any local iconography.

Some other works of note include J Aryadhitya Pramuhendras Holy Lamb, Mulyana Mogus beguiling visual world, Silent Prayers, Agung Prabowos linocut reduction print on handmade paper, Study of Convex and Concave by M.C Escher 1955 and Hendra Blankon Priyadhanis, Fashion As A Weapon. Recipients of this years Young Artists Award, a program open to artists under 33 years in appreciation of artistic endeavor, were Bagus Pandega and Syaiful Garibaldi.

The popular Fringe Program, headlined by the Curators Tour, Meet The Artists, and the ASRI Historical Tour, enhanced the publics engagement. This years new Merchandise Project gave selected local creative communities and artists a chance to showcase their signature works. The strong line-up of Daily Performances including performance art, music, dance, fashion shows and theater, featured well-known artists Melati Suryodharmo, Garin Nugroho and Rahayu Supanggah, Bimo Wiwohatmo and Astri Kusuma Wardani.

The post preview consensus was, however, that the quality of art was down from 2016. The works were less innovative and less challenging this year compared to last, said art critic Jean Couteau. While the local component was minor, the visual and symbolic language is global.

A decade of ART|JOG is a huge distinction. Such an event faces great challenges, both internal and external. The vision of Heri Pemad, along with the vigor of Heri Pemad Art Management deserves enormous credit. Indonesia, and the global art world, please take note!

--------------------------------------------------

Title: ART|JOG|10

Date: Continuing through to June 19; daily from 9 a.m.  5 p.m.

Place: Jogja National Museum, Jl. Prof. Ki Amri Yahya No. 1, Yogyakarta

Website: www.artjog.co.id
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Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Miami, United States  Tue, June 6, 2017 13:01 1983 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a3fb72a 2 Science & Tech spaceship,#aerospace,aerospace,SpaceX,NASA Free

SpaceX's first-ever recycled spaceship arrived Monday at the International Space Station, two days after the unmanned Dragon cargo capsule launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Live images on NASA television showed the spaceship approaching the orbiting outpost, then being grabbed with the station's robotic arm at 9:52 am (1352 GMT).

"Capture complete," said NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, who operated the robotic arm from inside the station.

The spaceship is carrying almost 6,000 pounds (2,700 kilograms) of science research, crew supplies and hardware.

It was originally flown on SpaceX's fourth resupply mission in 2014.

Its arrival makes it the first US spaceship to return to the space station since the American space shuttle program ended in 2011.

Read also: SpaceX says it will fly 2 people to moon next year

The latest mission is SpaceX's 11th cargo resupply trip to the ISS under a $1.6 billion contract with NASA.

"We also want to note the special significance of SpaceX 11, which if we followed the naming convention of the artist Prince, could be called 'The SpaceX formerly known as SpaceX 4,'" quipped NASA astronaut Jack Fischer as he spoke to mission control in Houston.

"We have a new generation of vehicles now, led by commercial partners like SpaceX, as they build the infrastructure that will carry us into the future of exploration," he said.

"Now we'd better get back to work. We have a lot of stuff to unload."

SpaceX is working on a version of its Dragon capsule that will carry crew to the space station, perhaps as early as next year.

The California-based company headed by Elon Musk also regularly returns the first stage of its Falcon 9 rockets to upright landings on Earth, as part of an effort to increase reusability and lower the cost of spaceflight.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, June 6, 2017 15:02 1983 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a401adf 1 National Qatar-Airways,flight,pilgrimage,haj-pilgrimage Free

At least 65 Indonesian haj pilgrims have been transferred from Qatar Airways to other airlines following severed ties between some Arab countries and Qatar resulting in the closure of flights from and to Qatar, an official has said on Tuesday.

Transportation Ministrys air transport director Maria Kristi Endah Murni said 20 pilgrims were shifted to Saudi Airlines on Monday evening and 45 others reassigned to Garuda Indonesia on Tuesday morning.

We prioritize handling pilgrims traveling via Doha [Qatar]. So far, things have been under control, Kristi was quoted by Antara.

(Read also: Saudi and allies cut Qatar ties in diplomatic crisis)

Kristi said the ministry data shows at least 200 pilgrims have recently obtained visas to fly to Arab Saudi via Doha.

We are still collecting passenger data day by day. Qatar [Airways] has offered two options to passengers, the passengers can get a full refund or be transferred to other airlines, Kristi said, adding that the ministry has deployed officers to anticipate stranded pilgrims.

She added that the ministry would also monitor connecting flights from Qatar to other countries since four countries, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and United Arab Emirates, have banned any flights from Qatar.

Qatar Airways said on its official website it had suspended all flights to Saudi Arabia. (dmr)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, June 6, 2017 14:53 1983 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a400b5d 1 City basuki-tjahaja-purnama,ahok,detention,activities Free

Non-active Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama now has a new activity to keep him busy during his detention at the Mobile Brigade Command detention center (Mako Brimob) in Kelapa Dua, Depok, West Java.

He spends most of his time replying to letters from his supporters, said his sister cum lawyer Fifi Letty Indra.

"There are hundreds of letters arriving everyday. Some people also send books, cards and others," she said as quoted by kompas.com on Tuesday.

The letters, she said, make him as busy as when he was still an active governor.

"He's as busy as when he still worked at City Hall. He used to check documents but now he checks mail," she added.

She said that Ahok was happy to receive the mail, which has become a form of support during his detention.

Among the letters was one from a 12-year old child named Allegra Freya Berlianawan. Both Allegra's and Ahok's letters have gone viral on social media. (agn)
Students at a Madison Catholic school collected coins to make a $500 gift to the Read Up Madison Fund.

The effort by students at St. Maria Goretti School was on top of the $112,000 raised during the now-concluded 2017 campaign that benefits the Madison School Districts summer reading program Read Up.

The fund, launched last year by the Wisconsin State Journal and WISC-TV, allowed the program to grow from two to four sites last year, while this years campaign will put the program at six sites.

Students in the Read Up program receive special reading help throughout the summer and get to pick and bring home five new books.

The contribution from the St. Maria Goretti School students was among 740 donations from individuals, companies and foundations supporting the Read Up spring campaign.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to clarify that the money raised by St. Maria Goretti students was in addition to the previous Read Up Madison Fund campaign.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, June 6, 2017 22:27 1983 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a414c09 1 National Fahd-El-Fouz,quran,Quran-procurement-graft,Religious-Affairs-Ministry,corruption,KPK Free

Golkar politician Fahd El Fouz, a suspect in a graft case related to the procurement of Qurans at the Religious Affairs Ministry in 2012, claimed that all 2009-2014 members of the House of Representatives' Commission VIII overseeing religious and social affairs were implicated in the investigation.

I have disclosed all the information about the involvement of Commission VIII members and the amount [of money allegedly distributed to them] to investigators, the Golkar Youth Generation (AMPG) chairman told reporters after being questioned by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in South Jakarta on Tuesday as reported by kompas.com.

(Read also: KPK stirs political pot with major graft investigations)

However, Fahd refused to go into detail.

The KPK has named Fahd a suspect for his alleged role in the embezzlement of funds meant to procure Qurans at the Religious Affairs Ministrys directorate general of Islamic mass organizations, as well as computer laboratories for senior Islamic high schools.

Fahd was the third suspect named in the case, after former Golkar politician Zulkarnaen Djabar and his son Dendy Prasetia.

Zulkarnaen has been convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison, with a fine of Rp 300 million (US$22,600), while his son received eight years in prison and a Rp 300 million fine.

KPK has launched a fresh investigation into the case, which was stalled in 2012, after investigators found new evidence suggesting that Fahd had accepted Rp 3.4 billion  from a total commission of Rp 14.8 billion  from the two projects. (ecn/bbs)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, June 6, 2017 23:00 1983 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a416bba 1 National ASEAN,plastic-waste,#plastic-waste,maritime-sector,MaritimeSector,Luhut-Binsar-Pandjaitan,coordinating-maritime-affairs-minister,fisheries Free

Indonesia has called on ASEAN countries to cooperate to reduce plastic waste in the sea.

In a luncheon with representatives from 10 ASEAN countries in New York, in the United States, on Monday local time, Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan elaborated the importance of a High-Level Conference of Plastic Waste in the Sea slated for September to address the issue.

Plastic waste in the sea has inflicted losses of US$1.2 billion in the fisheries, shipping and tourism sectors and insurance business, said Luhut in the event, which took place at the office of the Permanent Mission of Indonesia to the UN.

This can lead to a great disaster if we do not take immediate steps because unemployment can trigger poverty and social problems that may eventually lead to radicalism and terrorism, he went on.

To tackle the problem, Luhut said, Indonesia had cooperated with the World Bank and Denmark to carry out research activities in 15 locations across Indonesia. Indonesia also partnered with the US to research fish populations suspected to have consumed plastic waste.

Several research reports show that many vessels throw plastic waste in the ocean. Two thirds of the total plastic waste in the world is in South Asian waters, said Luhut.

Therefore, the Coordinating Maritime Affairs Ministry has arranged action plans to address the issue. They include campaign activities to change people's habits and the issuance of policy reforms and law enforcement to reduce sea-based leakage and plastic production and consumption. (foy/ebf)
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Linkedin James Pheby (AFP) London  Tue, June 6, 2017 07:45 1983 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a3eabef 2 World London,London-attack,#London-attack,#London,Theresa-May,Islamic-State,IS,Extremists Free

Police identified two of the London attackers on Monday after Britain's third terror assault in less than three months, as Prime Minister Theresa May came under mounting pressure over security just days ahead of elections.

National counter-terrorism police chief Mark Rowley named two of the three slain assailants as Khuram Butt and Rachid Redouane, revealing that Butt had been known to security services.

The aftermath of Saturday night's rampage, which left seven dead and dozens wounded, dominated the campaign trail ahead of Thursday's general election.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he would support calls for May to quit, as she had overseen a sharp reduction in police numbers in her past job as interior minister.

The attack, claimed by the Islamic State group, saw three men wearing fake suicide vests use a white van to mow down people on London Bridge and then slash and stab revellers enjoying a Saturday night in the bustling Borough Market area.

Armed police reacted swiftly, killing the attackers within eight minutes with 50 shots.

Butt was 27 and a British citizen born in Pakistan.

He appeared in a Channel 4 documentary entitled "The Jihadis Next Door" about British extremists that was broadcast last year, local media reported.

Redouane was 30 and "claimed to be Moroccan and Libyan". Police said he also used the name of Rachid Elkhdar and a different date of birth that gave his age as 25.

Both men lived in Barking, an ethnically diverse part of east London where police carried out several raids on Sunday and Monday.

All 10 people still being held as part of the investigation were released without charge on Monday.

Police chief Cressida Dick said investigators had seized "a huge amount of forensic material" from the attackers' van.

"A very high priority for us is to try to understand whether they were working with anybody else," she told BBC television.

She and Mayor Sadiq Khan visited London Bridge as commuters returned to work after some security cordons were removed, and hundreds of mourners turned out later for a vigil on nearby Tower Bridge.

"To the sick and evil extremists who commit these hideous crimes, we will defeat you. You will not win," Khan said to applause.

The Amaq news agency, which is affiliated with the IS group, said the attacks were carried out by "a detachment of fighters from Islamic State".

A Canadian and a Frenchman were among the dead and citizens of several nations were among the 48 injured, including Australia, Bulgaria, France, Greece and New Zealand.

Eighteen are still in critical condition, according to health authorities.

- 'Evil' ideology -

May blamed "evil" Islamist ideology and vowed to crack down on extremist content online, warning that attackers were "copying one another".

She said the same ideology was behind the May 22 suicide bombing at a pop concert in Manchester that left 22 people dead, and the Westminster Bridge attack in March, which killed five.

Britain's response to the terror threat must change, she said.

"We cannot and must not pretend that things can continue as they are," she said, adding there was "far too much tolerance of extremism in our country".

But May's own record came under fire from Labour, which -- according to opinion polls questioned for their reliability -- has closed the gap on her Conservatives ahead of Thursday's election.

Campaigning resumed Monday after being suspended for a day.

Corbyn noted that for six years, police numbers fell while May was in charge of security as interior minister, implementing a budget-cutting drive.

Asked by ITV television if he backed the calls for May to resign, he said: "Indeed I would."

His party is calling for a drive to hire thousands of officers for neighbourhood duties, arguing that a grassroots approach would curb crime and radicalisation.

May insisted London police were happy with their resources, while counter-terrorism budgets had been protected and the number of armed officers had increased.

Britain was already on high alert following the attack at a concert by US pop star Ariana Grande in Manchester in which seven children were among the dead.

Grande headlined a benefit concert in the northwestern city on Sunday, alongside stars including Pharrell Williams and Justin Bieber.

The national threat level was raised to maximum after the Manchester attack and troops were deployed at key public sites, but reduced to its second-highest level last weekend.

Saturday's rampage was the latest in a string of attacks to hit Europe, including in Paris, Berlin and Saint Petersburg. (**)
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Linkedin Ni Komang Erviani (The Jakarta Post) Denpasar, Bali  Tue, June 6, 2017 10:02 1983 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a3ef8f0 1 National Australian-citizen,Kuta-Police,bali,dead-incident,police,Australian Free

An Australian citizen was found dead in his hotel room in Bali on Monday afternoon. Police suspected the man died from illness as there was no signs of violence on his body.

Dennis Francis O'Brien, 76, was found lying dead at Room 101 of Zest Hotel in Legian, Kuta, where he was staying during his holiday in Bali.

The Kuta Police's general crime unit head First Insp. Ario Seno explained that OBrien checked into the hotel on June 1 and he was expected to check out on June 22.

"He was seen for the last time after eating breakfast on Sunday morning. Since then, he never left his room.

Hotel staff began to feel concerned when as of Monday afternoon, OBrien had not been seen leaving his room. They phoned him several times but there was no answer. They later decided to check the room using a master key.

When the door was opened, a very bad odor emanated from inside the room. OBrien was found lying face down on the bed. Hotel staffers decided to call a doctor from a nearby clinic to check whether or not he was still alive. After examining his body, the doctor declared the Australian citizen had died.

It is suspected he died more than 12 hours before he was found, " Ario said.

No sign of violence was found. We suspect he died from illnesses. We found various medicine inside the room, Ario said. The Australian consulate has been contacted. (ebf)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, June 6, 2017 20:49 1983 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a413316 1 City ahok,Jokowi,hate-speech Free

Jail terms and monetary fines have not made brothers Rizal and Jamran, who were found guilty of spreading hate speech against the country's president and Jakarta's governor on social media, regret their actions.

The brothers said the sentences the South Jakarta District Court gave them for uttering hate speech involving religion and ethnicity against now non-active Jakarta governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama and for accusing President Joko Jokowi Widodo of belonging to the defunct Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), were acceptable consequences of their struggle.

What we do is right. It is about freedom of speech [that is guaranteed by] the Constitution, Jamran said after the reading of the verdicts on Monday as quoted by kompas.com.

Separate court hearings on Monday found them guilty of violating the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law and sentenced them each to six months and fifteen days. The panel of judges also ordered them to pay Rp 10 million (US$753) in fines.

The sentences and fines against the siblings were lower than what was demanded by prosecutors.

Prosecutors demanded a one-year prison term and a Rp 75 million fine for Jamran and a 10-month jail term and a Rp 50 million fine for Rizal.

The brothers had yet to decide whether to file an appeal against the judges decision. Both will be released on June 18 because they have been detained since Dec. 3. They were arrested along with treason suspects on Dec. 2 last year, hours before a mass rally against Ahok. (hol)
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Linkedin Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Medan  Tue, June 6 2017

Two alleged drug dealers from Aceh were fatally shot by officers from the North Sumatra Polices drug unit during a raid in Tanjung Mulia, Medan, North Sumatra, on Saturday evening.

One of those suspects was Mahdi, also known as Panglima (Commander) Mahdi, 43, of Gureb Blang subdistrict in Idi Rayeuk district, Aceh, a former field commander of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

His accomplice has been identified as Zahri, 39, of Kambam subdistrict in Muara Baru district, Aceh.

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Linkedin Nurul Fitri Ramadhani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, June 6, 2017 16:30 1983 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a409cf5 1 National graft,corruption,KPK,house-of-representatives,Hanura,Hanura-Party,Miryam-S-Haryani,e-ID,#e-ID Free

The United Development Party (PPP) has suggested that the inquiry team the House of Representatives (DPR) will set up to look into the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) should not be led by factions whose members are implicated in the e-ID graft case.

The PPP made the statement in response to the Houses insistence on pushing ahead with its inquiry into the anti-graft body. An inquiry team usually consists of one chairman and three deputy chairmen.

The Hanura Party and the Golkar Party, two of five factions that have appointed representatives to the inquiry team, are reportedly ready to propose that their lawmakers lead the team.

Members from both factions, however, have been alleged of playing major roles in the e-ID graft case.

The Houses plan to exercise its right of inquiry into the KPK was launched following court testimony by Hanura Party politician Miryam S. Haryani, a suspect in the e-ID case now charged with perjury, that she had been intimidated by several lawmakers not to reveal her knowledge about the case.

Meanwhile, Golkar chairman and House Speaker Setya Novanto has been alleged by KPK prosecutors of receiving the largest cut of embezzled funds in the mega corruption scandal.

No faction has yet proposed a candidate to lead the team. Maybe it would be better that the Gerindra Party faction leads it, because its lawmakers are unconnected to the case so far," said PPP secretary-general Arsul Sani, an inquiry team member.

"If a faction allegedly involved in the case is allowed to lead the team, this may, indeed, raise public uncertainty.

The inquiry team consists of 16 lawmakers from five factions, namely the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the Golkar Party, the NasDem Party, the Hanura Party and the PPP. The National Mandate Party is expected to join the team soon. (ebf)
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Linkedin Nurul Fitri Ramadhani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, June 7, 2017 05:54 1982 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a4197a2 1 National Pesantren,tolerance,CSRC,Syarif-Hidayatullah,NU,UIN,Muhammadiyah Free

In a move to curb the intolerance triggered by growing sectarian sentiment, hundreds of pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) from across Java Island are set to gather in a workshop slated from June 7 to 8 where they will declare an alliance of pesantren promoting moderate Islam.

The workshop will conclude the Pesantren for Peace (PfP) program initiated by the Center for the Study of Religion and Culture (CSRC) of the Syarif Hidayatullah Islamic State University (UIN) Jakarta, which kicked off in 2015 and involved 750 pesantren across the island.

(Read also: Muhammadiyah rejects hard-liners, promotes moderate Islam)

The program is aimed at strengthening the role of Indonesian Islamic schools in promoting human rights and peaceful conflict resolution.

CSRC director Irfan Abubakar told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday that the workshop and alliance were expected to help eliminate the contradiction between human rights values and Islamic teaching. Most pesantren, he said, tended to defy human rights concepts.

We want to encourage them to understand that supporting human rights means you are being a better Muslim. We also aim to strengthen the role of Muslims in promoting tolerance, Irfan said.

The two-day workshop will have three discussion sessions where UIN professor Azyumardi Azra, the secretary of the countrys second-largest Islamic organization Muhammadiyah, Abdul Muti, and executive of the largest Muslim organization Nahdlatul Ulaman (NU), Masdar F Masudi, are scheduled to speak.

We have seen that intolerance is growing and moderate power is crumbling. We hope [teaching staff] at pesantren can bring the human rights concept to their preaching and teaching," he said. (bbs)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, June 6, 2017 15:14 1983 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a402a53 1 Business OPEC,Indonesia,membership Free

The Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry says that Indonesia may again become an active member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), after suspending its membership for the second time in November last year.

Earlier, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had requested Indonesia to end its inactive membership in the organization.

In response to the request, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Ignasius Jonan sent a letter to OPEC on May 25, saying that Indonesia was ready to be active again in OPEC on the condition that Indonesia would not be required to cut its oil production, considering that Indonesia's daily production had already been declining.

Ministry spokesman Sujatmiko said if Indonesia finally decided to be active again in OPEC, it would take more action to balance conflicting interests among member countries.

Indonesia has long history in OPEC. [With this standing,] Indonesia will help smooth OPEC's internal mechanism, he added as reported by kompas.com.

Indonesia suspended its OPEC membership for the first time in 2008 after the country became a net importer of the commodity.

Indonesia restored its active OPEC membership in early 2016, but decided to suspend its membership again on Nov. 30, 2016, after the organization required Indonesia to cut production by 5 percent.

The minister said that Indonesia could not accept the requirement. As a net importer, the production cut does not benefit us, Jonan added. (bbn)

Topics : OPEC Indonesia membership
For employees of the state electricity firm PLN in North Sumatra, having disgruntled residents complain to them on a daily basis has become an inseparable part of the job.

Over the past decades, residents of the countrys fourth most populous province have experienced recurring blackouts in most parts of the region, a condition long attributed to an inadequate power supply on the northern tip of Sumatra Island.

The regular power outages have inevitably disrupted business and social activities in North Sumatra, as well as in neighboring Aceh province, home to more than 13 million and 5 million people, respectively.

PLN workers, however, can now expect to soon sigh in relief following the companys plan to add 240 megawatts (MW) of electricity to the existing power grid with power generated by a Turkish floating power plant.

I have been scolded by many customers because of the recurring blackouts. If we can solve the problem, then I will be able to sleep well, Agil, a PLN supervisor in the North Sumatran capital of Medan, told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

Indonesia is currently attempting to develop the capacity to generate an additional 35,000 MW of electricity in the country, in hopes of boosting the national electrification ratio to 97 percent by 2019, as well as to meet the continuously increasing demand for electricity from household customers and industry players.

In North Sumatra and Aceh, the latest data show that the neighboring provinces are experiencing a power deficit of up to 200 MW during peak hours.

To provide a temporary solution for the problem, the Indonesian government has rented a Turkish marine vessel power plant (MVPP) for the next five years while it is completing the construction of several generating stations in northern Sumatra.

The 300-meter-long MVPP, named the Karadeniz Powership Onur Sultan, arrived at Medans Belawan Port on May 20 and underwent trial operations.

PLN Northern Sumatra spokesman Binharun M. Nababan said that the trial had gone well and the floating power plant was ready to provide 240 MW of additional power to PLNs power grid starting this week.

According to our schedule, the floating power plant will be connected to the PLN system by Friday, Binharun told the Post.

North Sumatra Governor Tengku Erry Nuradi said the floating power plant was essential to meet the electricity demands in North Sumatra and Aceh, eliminating the blackouts locals have been complaining about.

PLN, meanwhile, expects to see the completion of the Sarulla geothermal power plant in North Sumatras North Tapanuli regency and the Pangkalan Susu coal-fired power plant in Langkat regency by 2018. The former would be able to supply 3x110 MW of electricity, while the latter 2x200 MW.

Despite their abundant natural resources and a relatively large markets, North Sumatra and Aceh have been struggling to attract foreign investors, mainly because of infrastructure problems, including those related to electricity supply.

During the first quarter of 2017, North Sumatra received US$195.3 million in foreign investment, putting it in 14th position among the countrys 34 provinces in terms of attractiveness to foreign investors. Aceh, meanwhile, stood at the bottom of the list with less than $1 million of realized foreign investment.

The deputy chairman of the North Sumatra chapter of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo), Johan Brien, said he appreciated the authorities efforts to overcome the power crisis in the region by bringing in the floating power plant.

There are many businesses that have been complaining about the blackouts. I hope the floating power plant can provide a solution for the power crisis in North Sumatra, he said. (dea/rdi)
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Linkedin Fedina S. Sundaryani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, June 6, 2017 21:33 1983 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a41396e 1 National Jokowi,Gorontalo,poverty,agriculture,fisheries,forestry,development Free

President Joko Jokowi Widodo has called on the Gorontalo provincial administration to pay serious attention to the development of its agriculture, fisheries and forestry sectors to decrease the regions poverty rate.

Jokowi noted that Gorontalos economic growth reached 6.52 percent last year, surpassing the national rate, but poverty remained staggeringly high.

While the growth rate is pretty high, it is still not enough as the data shows that the poverty rate is still 17.63 percent  much higher than the national percentage, the President said in his opening speech of the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

In order to lower the poverty rate, we need to focus on developing the agriculture, fisheries and forestry sectors, which do not only function as the engine for Gorontalos economic growth, but also contribute significantly to employment.

Jokowi also noted that Gorontalo was the production center of several significant commodities, such as rice, corn, coconuts, cacao and palm sugar.

The President also underlined the importance of further developing manufacturing industries to help increase added value of the agricultural and fishery sectors, and supporting infrastructure for better transportation, logistics, as well as better energy and water supplies. (bbn)

Topics : Jokowi Gorontalo poverty agriculture fisheries forestry development
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, June 6, 2017 12:56 1983 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a3fac38 1 Business jusuf-kalla,Shinzo-Abe,meeting,Jakarta-Surabaya-medium-speed-railway Free

Vice President Jusuf Kalla and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe discussed the acceleration of the development of the Jakarta-Surabaya medium speed railway project when they met in Tokyo on Monday.

They met after attending the 23rd International Forum: Future of Asia in Tokyo.

The tender process for the project that will be implemented after a feasibility study is completed by the end of 2017, was a focus of discussions between the two leaders, said Kalla.

(Read also: Japan selected as partner for Jakarta-Surabaya railway project)

"The most important thing now is how to accelerate the development of the project. Japan remains committed," he remarked as reported by Antara.

He believed there would be no significant problems developing the project because Indonesia already had the basic infrastructure, such as railways, stations and human resources.

The Jakarta-Surabaya medium-speed railway project is set to reduce travel time from about nine hours to only five hours.

Indonesia and Japan will hold another meeting in Jakarta in September to discuss the results of the feasibility study.

During their 30-minute bilateral meeting, Kalla and Abe also discussed other issues, including investment in the other infrastructure projects and the manufacturing sector as well as efforts to increase the number of Indonesian people working in Japan and boosting cooperation to commemorate 60 years of diplomatic relations between the countries.(bbn)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, June 6, 2017 22:43 1983 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a416555 1 National Komnas,Komnas-HAM,vigilantism,National-Police,FPI,Rizieq-Shihab,intolerance,freedom-of-expression Free

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) conveyed its support for the National Police to take tough legal measures against vigilantism allegedly committed by hard-line groups because such acts violated freedom of expression.

We want to express our respect of the National Police who have tackled the [vigilantism] cases and support them in tackling several other [similar] cases, Komnas HAM chairman Nur Kholis said on Tuesday.

Police recently named two men in East Jakarta suspects for verbally and physically abusing a 15-year-old boy of Chinese descent whom they accused of having insulted Islam Defenders Front (FPI) leader Rizieq Shihab with humorous memes on his social media account.

(Read also: Lawyers support police's fight against radicalism, intolerance)

Police have also dismissed the police chief of Solok, West Sumatra, Adj. Sr. Comr. Susmelawati Rosya for failing to protect Fiera Lovita, a female physician who was targeted by FPI members because she criticized Rizieq's immoral behavior.

Freedom of expression is a [basic] human right, which must be respected, protected and fulfilled by the government. Therefore, we condemn individuals or organizations taking arbitrary measures [that harm freedom of expression], Nur said.

Meanwhile, Komnas HAM commissioner M. Imdadun Rahmat said cases of vigilantism were processed under the Criminal Code (KUHP) and the commission would supervise and make sure that the police worked under proper procedures when tackling the cases. (yon/ebf)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, June 6, 2017 22:11 1983 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a414703 2 National KPK,corruption,DPRD,East-Java Free

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) named six suspects on Tuesday for allegedly paying and accepting bribes in a case of budget misuse and bylaw brokering.

The suspects include an East Java Legislative Council (DPRD) member and two senior officials, arrested following the antigraft body's raids on several locations the previous day.

The six are East Java DPRD member Mochamad Basuki, Bambang Heryanto, the province's agriculture agency head Bambang Heryanto and the husbandry agency head Rohayati, as well as two council staff members Rahman Agung and Santoso, and an adjutant to Bambang.

(Read also: Golkar politician accused of impeding e-ID graft probe)

The KPK also confiscated Rp 150 million (US$11,284) in cash believed to have been paid by Bambang to Basuki, an ex-graft convict who was sentenced to a year in prison for insurance fraud in 2003.

Bambang was accused of paying quarterly commitment fees to Basuki regarding the council's monitoring of the agency's budget, while Rohayati was accused of being paid for the revision of a provincial bylaw about livestock control.

"The commitment fees amounted to Rp 150 million per payment, with a total of Rp 600 million over a year," KPK deputy chairman Basaria Panjaitan said. "It could be concluded that the suspected graft centers on the council's monitoring of agencies' budget usage in 2017. (kuk/ina)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, June 6, 2017 10:42 1983 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a3f5347 1 National radicalism,intolerance,FPI,Islam-Defenders-Front,Rizieq-Shihab,National-Police,Tito-Karnavian,Pancasila Free

A group of lawyers attached to the Pancasila Defenders Forum of Advocates (FAPP) have declared their support for the National Police in their fight against radicalism and intolerance.

FAPP chairman Teguh Samudra said the support derived from their concerns over the increasing cases of intolerance and intimidation against minority groups, which could threaten Indonesias unity.

We support the police in their fight against radicalism and intolerance. Police should not be afraid of being accused of criminalizing ulemas. We believe what the police have done [so far] is in line with the law, Teguh told journalists after extending the forums official support to the police on Monday.

National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian expressed his thanks for the support, saying it would make the police stronger in combating radicalism and intolerance.

The police have always referred to two pillars for carrying out their actions. They are legal and societal legitimacy. Legal legitimacy means we must always follow the rule of law, while societal legitimacy requires support from the people, Tito said.

Vigilantism has recently occupied media headlines following a pornography case allegedly involving Islam Defenders Front (FPI) chairman Rizieq Shihab.

The police named Rizieq a pornography suspect on Monday last week. In the following days, the police issued an arrest warrant for Rizieq, who skipped a police summons and is reportedly seeking shelter in Saudi Arabia. FPI members accused the police of criminalizing ulemas for naming Rizieq a suspect and ordering his arrest. (yon/ebf)
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Linkedin Djemi Amnifu (The Jakarta Post) Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara  Tue, June 6, 2017 22:39 1983 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a415753 1 National police,NTT,suicide,crime,Kupang Free

Adj. First Insp. Fransisco De Araujo, the head of the Vital Installation Security Unit for the Kupang Kota Police in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), was found in critical condition in his house in Oebobo district, Kupang, on Tuesday morning after he apparently shot himself in the head.

We are still investigating the reason why he shot himself, NTT Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Jules Abast told The Jakarta Post.

A witness, Saladin, heard a gunshot at about 7.30 a.m. Along with the victims neighbors, they forcefully opened his rooms door, which was locked from inside, Jules said.

(Read also: Student commits suicide due to bad result)

Fransisco was found lying on a bed with a bullet wound to the head. We have seized the pistol, which was found on the floor, the spokesman added.

The man has been treated at the Bhayangkara Hospital, Kupang.

A criminal expert from Nusa Cendana University, Dedy Manafe, said the police needed to conduct annual psychological tests on every officer who carried firearms.

Many police officers suffered from psychological disorder because of pressure, such as financial problems or receiving punishment from superiors. If an officer is found to be not mentally fit, his or her firearm must be withdrawn, he said. (bbs)

Topics : police NTT suicide crime Kupang
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, June 6, 2017 13:50 1983 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a3fdce0 1 City police,Taman-Sari-Police,drugstore,naked-woman,video-footage,viral-video Free

The police have arrested Vionina Magdalena, a 26-year old woman who appeared almost naked in a recent viral video. In the video, Vionina wore nothing but a thong as she made a purchase at a drug store in Taman Sari, West Jakarta.

Another photo, which showed her walking along a street almost naked, also went viral over the weekend.

Taman Sari Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Erick Frendriz said the police arrested Vionina at her residence at Rasuna Said Apartment in Kuningan, South Jakarta, on Monday evening.

We will summon her family to complete our investigation, Erick said as quoted by tribunnews.com on Monday.

He said further that the police could not yet give any information on whether or not Vionina had violated certain laws as they were still questioning her.

The West Jakarta Social Affairs Agencys rehabilitation department head Sutawijaya suspected Vionina suffered from a mental illness. However, it was also possible she was threatened by someone.

She was crying when the incident occurred. A parking attendant said she went to the drugstore to buy medicine and went by a cab, Suta said. (cal/ebf)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, June 6, 2017 23:05 1983 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a417aee 1 City blasphemy,Facebook,teenagers,vigilantism,Bekasi Free

Bekasi Police brought in a 15-year-old identified only as BBS from his home in Kaliabang, North Bekasi, on Monday, after receiving a formal complaint from a group who claimed the boy had posted a comment on his Facebook page that offended their religion.

The group reportedly surrounded BBSs house after discovering the social media post.

This is not considered an act of persecution because there were no signs of intimidation from the group, said Bekasi Police chief Sr. Comr. Hero Bahtiar. We came directly to [BBSs home] and brought him to the police station.

Hero pointed out that BBSs case was different from that of PMA, a 15-year-old resident of Cipinang Muara, East Jakarta, who had been harassed and intimidated by alleged members of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI). The incident was filmed and the video went viral on social media.

Hero said BBS admitted that his Facebook post had been a spontaneous response to another comment made on the social media platform.

The case has been reported to the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI).

Police decided to release BBS back to his family after the received counseling, Hero said.

However, the case will proceed with mobile phone screenshots as preliminary evidence.

Topics : blasphemy Facebook teenagers vigilantism Bekasi
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Linkedin Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Medan  Tue, June 6 2017

For employees of the state electricity firm PLN in North Sumatra, having disgruntled residents complain to them on a daily basis has become an inseparable part of the job.

Over the past decades, residents of the countrys fourth most populous province have experienced recurring blackouts in most parts of the region, a condition long attributed to an inadequate power supply on the northern tip of Sumatra Island.

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Linkedin Haeril Halim and Nurul Fitri Ramadhani (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, June 6 2017

With state universities now becoming bastions of radical ideologies, a senior government official has proposed a highly controversial idea: giving the President a say in the selection of university rectors.

Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo, a senior member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), has said that such a policy was necessary as there are concerns that radical movements that are trying to replace Pancasila are thriving at universities.

There was a dean who was about to be appointed a leader of a university. Shortly before his inauguration, it was found out that he was a supporter of IS [the Islamic State group], the minister told reporters as quoted by tribunnews.com last week.

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If the headline to Tom Still's May 28 column, " Walker backing autos of future ," were accurate, I'd be able to purchase a Tesla automobile in Wisconsin.

Tesla sells its electric cars online and delivers them directly to its customers. But it can't do that in Wisconsin. Wisconsin has an outdated dealer franchise law requiring automakers to sell their cars through independent dealers. If Tesla service centers were allowed to operate in Wisconsin, it would add jobs and tax revenue.
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Linkedin Alice Ritchie (AFP) Bradford, United Kingdom  Tue, June 6, 2017 08:45 1983 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a3ed469 2 World Tory,British-Prime-Minister-Theresa-May,Theresa-May,Conservative,election,terrorism Free

Outside, the deserted stadium terraces were dark and wet, but inside British Prime Minister Theresa May basked in warm admiration as she fired up supporters in the final stretch before Thursday's vote.

After stops in London and Edinburgh, the Conservative leader finished off a gruelling day of campaigning Monday with a rally with party members on the outskirts of Bradford, northern England.

Unlike opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, May does not favour large crowds and there were scarcely more than 100 people packed into the corner of a conference room overlooking the 26,000-capacity Odsal Stadium, home of the Bradford Bulls rugby league club.

But they loved her, cheering and wolf-whistling as she delivered her message of "strong and stable leadership" as Britain heads into Brexit, and faces a renewed threat of terrorism.

"Who has the will, who has the plan?" asked May, standing on a small podium in the middle of the throng -- prompting a cry of "Theresa May!"

The crowd broke into laughs, and the prime minister -- wearing a dark blue suit and white shirt -- gave a thumbs up.

"She's very determined, and she oozes confidence. She speaks and you trust her," said Safia Hussain, a 46-year-old care industry manager, after taking a selfie with May.

"She's no-nonsense, and comes across as trustworthy," added Harry Coates, a 27-year-old general manager.

- 'Won my heart' -

May has had a tougher-than-expected campaign, and even faced calls to resign Monday for cutting police numbers in her six years as interior minister -- an issue now at the forefront of debate following the Manchester and London attacks.

"Oh come on -- how desperate can you get?," laughed Ian Krasner, 60, holding up a placard saying "Theresa May Standing Up For Britain".

He welcomed May's speech on Sunday promising to tackle the "evil ideology of Islamist extremism" and warning there was "far too much tolerance of extremism in our country".

"She said what people feel -- enough is enough," Krasner told AFP.

One of the men who went on the rampage at a busy night spot in London on Saturday night was born in Pakistan, while another claimed to be Morroccan and Libyan.

Bradford has a large Muslim population and in areas is segregated, with some communities accused of living separate lives.

Mukhtar Ramzan, a Muslim chauffeur and party activist from the city, said May "didn't do much as interior minister" but welcomed her current approach, warning something had to change.

"She won my heart with her speech that she's going to tackle the ideology of Islamism," he said.

His friend, 46-year-old postmaster Talib Hussain, added: "We've got double the risk -- I feel threatened by Islamic terrorists as well as Islamophobic people."

He expressed concern about police cuts, but said of May's Conservatives: "They're more experienced -- and Jeremy Corbyn can't be trusted on security."

"You always worry about security these days, it's just a sign of the times," said Jean Hodgkinson, a 68-year-old pensioner.

She urged May to "stick to her guns".

And with that, they were ushered out into the rain.

May had spoken for less than eight minutes, shaken only a couple of hands and taken no questions. But for her fans, that seemed enough. (**)
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Linkedin Andrew Beatty (AFP) Washington, United States  Tue, June 6, 2017 08:03 1983 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a3eb801 2 World DonaldTrump,Donald-Trump,London,London-attack,travel-ban,Muslim-countries,jihadist,#London,#London-attack,Extremists,Islamic-State,IS Free

President Donald Trump seized on the London terror attack to demand the US ban on travelers from some Muslim countries be reinstated Monday, sparking a diplomatic row with Britain and jeopardizing his legal defense of the measure in the process.

In the wake of Saturday's deadly attack, Trump renewed calls for a travel crackdown, while attacking London's Muslim mayor, the media, Democrats, judges and opponents who accuse him of playing the politics of fear.

Trump has made combatting jihadists a central plank of his politics, using deliberately inflammatory rhetoric and attacking the "political correctness" of those advocating a nuanced approach.

The "special relationship" with Britain became the latest casualty of that hardline stance Monday.

With the seven victims of Saturday's attack not yet buried, Trump repeatedly criticized London Mayor Sadiq Khan, whom he accused of playing down the terror threat.

Khan had warned Londoners that an increased police presence in the wake of the attacks was nothing to worry about.

Trump misconstrued that statement, and went on to accuse Khan of making up a "pathetic excuse" for his remarks.

"We must stop being politically correct and get down to the business of security for our people. If we don't get smart it will only get worse," Trump said.

Privately, British officials -- many of whom call London home -- were incandescent with rage.

- 'Feud and division' -

Prime Minister Theresa May, who is under growing pressure to denounce Trump ahead of Thursday's election, came to Khan's defense.

"I think Sadiq Khan is doing a good job and it's wrong to say anything else -- he's doing a good job," she said, despite the pair being from opposite political parties.

May had already faced pressure to criticize Trump or even withdraw his invitation for a state visit after he pulled out of a global climate deal and edged away from collective security arrangements under NATO.

Khan, London's first Muslim mayor told British media he had "better and more important things to focus on" than responding to Trump's tweets.

"Some people thrive on feud and division. We are not going to let Donald Trump divide our communities," he later added.

- 'Unacceptable' attack or media 'spin'? -

In the United States, many veteran diplomats and officials decried Trump's remarks.

"To my friends in the UK: I apologize for this," said Ben Rhodes, a former national security aide to Barack Obama.

New York Mayor Bill De Blasio said Khan was "doing an extraordinary job supporting Londoners in a time of pain. President Trump's attack on him is unacceptable."

The White House later tried to play down Trump's tweets.

"I don't see that the president is picking a fight with the mayor of London at all," said spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

She accused the media of putting "spin" on the issue.

"I think the point is, is there is a reason to be alarmed. We have constant attacks going on, not just there, but across the globe, and we have to start putting national security and global security at an all-time high," she said.

- In the Supreme Court's hands -

Trump also found himself in hot water over his tough-talking tweets defending his ban on travelers from several Muslim countries, which is currently stalled in the federal courts.

The White House has struggled to prevent the measures from being permanently struck down, insisting it is not a "ban" and does not target Muslims -- which would almost certainly be unconstitutional.

Trump did not mince words.

"People, the lawyers and the courts can call it whatever they want, but I am calling it what we need and what it is, a TRAVEL BAN!" he tweeted.

"In any event we are EXTREME VETTING people coming into the US in order to help keep our country safe. The courts are slow and political!" he said, attacking the judiciary in a way that is rare in American politics.

The husband of senior Trump aide Kellyanne Conway was among those who warned those remarks may pose legal problems for the administration at the Supreme Court.

"These tweets may make some ppl feel better," George Conway said on Twitter, but "certainly won't help" get five votes on the Supreme Court.

In a rare move on Friday, the Supreme Court expedited consideration of the case, ordering the American Civil Liberties Union -- which represents the plaintiffs -- to respond by June 12 to the Trump administration's petition for court consideration.

Once it receives the response, the high court could quickly rule on whether to take up the case.

Trump called Monday for a "much tougher version" of his travel ban and an "expedited" hearing for the measure before the Supreme Court.

Trump issued his initial travel ban by executive order in January, but that measure -- which banned entry to nationals from seven countries for 90 days and suspended the nation's refugee program for 120 days -- was quickly halted by the courts.

He then issued a second version, but that too was put on ice. (**)
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Linkedin Bina Bektiati (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, June 6, 2017 09:18 1983 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a3edd9e 4 Destinations coffee,coffee-maker,aceh,tour Free

What could unite a cafe owner, IT specialists, a financial expert, an environmentalist, a barista and an employee of an energy company? Its coffee. They all went on a recent trip organized by the Specialty Coffee Association of Indonesia (SCAI) to Central Aceh and Bener Meriah, both in Aceh province, to explore the world of coffee.

Coffee connects me to people of various backgrounds, said trip participant Hans Suke, an IT specialist who started a coffee cafe business in 2012 in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan.

As a coffee organization with members of various backgrounds  from coffee traders to farmers; coffee experts to coffee lovers  SCAI has a mission to promote coffee the right way.

Cleansing: The coffee beans undergo a wet process method that removes the fruit covering the beans before they are dried.(JP/Bina Bektiati)

The trip was a unique way to gain knowledge about coffee as participants were given the opportunity to meet farmers and learn about mills, the coffee process, flavor profiles and technical farming terms such as microclimate. The trip also offered numerous fun activities such as coffee and local cuisine tastings, sight-seeing, local cafes visits and meet-ups with local baristas.

Read also: Five coffee shops to spend the rainy season in

There is no better way of getting the whole picture on coffee chain production than to go to Central Aceh and Bener Meriah, both home to the famous Gayo coffee. With the mountainous terrain of Bukit Barisan, winding and bumpy roads, rain, fog and cold weather, an adventurous trip awaits those looking to enjoy the provinces breathtaking scenery and coffee trees grown at 1,200 meters above sea level.

Being there means indulging in flavors of strong-bodied Gayo coffee, which leaves a certain low-acidity thickness on the palate, entertaining the taste buds with complex flavors ranging from earthy to spicy, and often times sweet with dark chocolate, caramel and berry options. Regardless of the flavor, the local cafes offer high-quality beverages.

Open air: Coffee beans are dried under the sun.(JP/Bina Bektiati)

The story of Gayo coffee is the story about farmers, soil and their livelihood. Organic cultivation and shade trees create a comfortable ecosystem for the coffee trees. The 94,500 hectares of coffee plantations in the Gayo highlands provide a suitable climate for the growth of this Arabica coffee. The plantations are mostly owned by smallholders, with a typical family of farmers having an average of one hectare to cultivate.

Coffee farming has been in the blood of locals living in the area for generations. A coffee farmer usually has parents, grandparents or even great-grandparents who make a living from coffee.

Rahmah, the leader of Ketiara Cooperative, a coffee producer that implements fair trade and organic practices, is part of a family that has been involved in the coffee business for four generations. She started as a farmer-to-farmer coffee collector about 20 years ago. In 2013, she became a coffee exporter for Ketiara Cooperative, which has 1,768 members, most of whom are women.

We reward and punish our members, said Rahmah.

If a member uses pesticides on coffee trees, they will be banned from our cooperative.

Rahmah said farmer consciousness in cultivating coffee in sustainable ways was increasingly important. Originally, the group was not driven by environmental issues, but by the high price of Gayo coffee in the international market  around 90 percent was for export.

One by one: A woman manually sorts the coffee beans.(JP/Bina Bektiati)

Awareness on high-quality coffee beans is high among Gayo coffee farmers, who have been trained on respecting the cultivation process.

Rasyid, the founder of Oro Coffee Gayo, intensively and consistently shares knowledge with the farmers, holding them to a high standard. He even enforced a 73-step process in processing specialty coffee.

Read also: Coffee lovers, here are some fun facts about coffee

Specialty coffee, which Rasyid said is typically cultivated only during the peak of the harvest season, is unique because it comes from coffee trees nurtured in special microclimate conditions. The beans have almost no defects. Its unique flavor and taste is attributed to the soil in which it is grown.

For a coffee to achieve specialty coffee status, its beans must be ranked by coffee professionals and experts as 80 or above on a scale from 1 to 100.

The coffee origin trip to Aceh was special for its participants, as they could learn directly about the beans from the farmers. One participant, Pinan Masakaraeng, was inspired to apply his newfound knowledge to empower coffee farmers in his birthplace of Mamasa, West Sulawesi.

Another participant, Muhammad Arifin, who works at a research center at the Bogor Institute of Agriculture, said he learned a lot from the trip, especially on sustainable development in which the farmers play an important role.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, June 6, 2017 13:39 1983 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a3fd484 1 News travel,tourism-promotion,Tourism-Ministry-Pesona-Indonesia,tourism-ministry-wonderful-Indonesia,Hong-Kong,tourism,#tourism Free

The Tourism Ministry is bringing eight tourism players to the International Travel Expo (ITE) in Hong Kong set to run from June 15 to 18 in a bid to promote Indonesian destinations to the Hong Kong market.

Hong Kong contributed 83,830 to the total 12,023,971 foreign tourists who visited Indonesia in 2016, said the ministry's deputy minister for Overseas Promotion, I Gde Pitana.

At this years ITE, Indonesia's booth will be designed to resemble a phinisi (the traditional two-masted sailing ship of the South Sulawesi Bugis people) to highlight the archipelago's charecter as a maritime nation consisting of more than 17,000 exotic islands.

Read also: Madame Tussauds Hong Kong to feature Jokowi wax figure this summer

[Indonesia will also present] traditional dance performances, Indonesian dishes and coffee at the booth, said the ministry's deputy assistant for Asia-Pacific Tourism Promotion, Vinsensius Jemadu.

According to Central Statistics Agency (BPS) data, Indonesia welcomed 20,074 tourists from Hong Kong between January and March this year; an 11.9 percent increase from 2016.

As part of this year's target to attract 15 million foreign tourists, the government is seeking to lure up to 2,453,000 tourists from Greater China, including 132,000 from Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is a very strategic market for the Wonderful Indonesia [tourism brand]. 60.8 million tourists visit Hong Kong per year, 60 percent of which are from mainland China, said Tourism Minister Arief Yahya.

Read also: Macau: A jackpot of bright city lights and heritage sites

Hong Kong is also near Macau, which welcomes 35 million tourists a year, most of whom are also from mainland China.

The ministry is currently supporting the opening of more direct flights from Hong Kong to Jakarta, Denpasar and other cities.

The percentage of direct flights to Indonesia is only 37 percent, while the remaining 63 percent are transit flights that make a stop in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur or Hong Kong. Our accessibility is still low in comparison to Thailand and Malaysia that have an average of 80 percent direct flights. This technical issue is what were going to pursue in Hong Kong, added Arief. (kes)
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Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Doha, Qatar  Tue, June 6, 2017 11:09 1983 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a3f6f97 2 News Qatar-Airways,aviation Free

Qatar Airways said on Monday it had suspended all flights to Saudi Arabia as a major diplomatic crisis escalated in the Gulf region.

The move by the Doha-based carrier came just hours after Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt cut diplomatic ties with Doha over accusations it supports extremism.

Several airlines from those countries earlier announced they would no longer fly to Qatar.

"Qatar Airways has suspended all flights to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia" until 1159 GMT the same day, a statement from the airline said.

A spokeswoman said it was unclear if the suspension would be extended.

Read also: Asiana Airlines offers royal business service

Qatar Airways flies to nine cities in Saudi Arabia.

UAE carriers Emirates, Etihad, Fly Dubai and Air Arabia, as well as Saudi Airlines, all announced earlier on Monday they would suspend flights to Doha starting from Tuesday morning.

It was not immediately clear if Qatar Airways would also suspend flights to other countries.

Regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia on Monday ordered its nationals to leave Qatar within 14 days and barred Qataris from the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia has also closed its border with Qatar.
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Linkedin Olivia Estrada (Inquirer.net/Asia News Network)  Tue, June 6, 2017 19:34 1983 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a4131ae 2 News Harvard-University,student,#students,university,#university,Racism Free

The Harvard Crimson reports that at least 10 students have found themselves no longer eligible for acceptance into Harvard after it was proven that they had participated in a group chat that exchanged obscene memes, racist slurs, among other posts that mocked victims of sexual assault.

The student publication says it had obtained screenshots of the said group, formed outside the official Harvard Class of 2021 Facebook group, that verify these incidents.

At one point, the group was reportedly named Harvard memes for horny bourgeois teens. The report also obtained a confession from one of the students whose acceptance letter was rescinded that they were asked first by the admissions office to explain their actions following the reports.

Read also: Harvard student composes rap album for thesis

Although the college spokesperson Rachel Dane maintains that the institution doesnt speak of the admission status of students publicly, the report collected testimonies of the students who were part of the dubious social media group.

One student, speaking anonymously, said that the admissions office asked them to submit explanation letters regarding behavior. They were also advised not to attend the orientation for new students which happened nearing the end of April. Soon enough, these students received word that their acceptance into Harvard was withdrawn and that the decision of the institute was final.

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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
New York City landlord Steve Croman, who owns numerous Lower East Side buildings, pleaded guilty today to fraudulently refinancing loans and committing tax fraud. Under a plea deal with the state attorney general, hell serve one year in prison and pay the government $5 million.

Croman was arrested in May of 2016 and accused by the AG of conducting a long campaign of intimidation and harassment against his rent stabilized tenants. A press release from the attorney generals office calls the settlement, a significant precedent in the effort to combat landlords who base their business model on the displacement of rent-stabilized tenants.

In state supreme court this morning, Croman pleaded guilty to grand larceny in the third degree, falsifying business records in the first degree and criminal tax fraud in the fourth degree. Prosecutors said he fraudulently secured several refinancing loans and committed tax fraud by failing to withhold payroll taxes from employee paychecks. Croman will be sentenced on Sept. 19. More details from the press release:

Pursuant to the plea agreement and the defendants allocution, Croman submitted false documents to banks, including rent rolls that falsely reflected market rate rents for units that were actually occupied by rent-stabilized tenants. Croman also inflated the amount of rent charged for certain commercial spaces in his buildings in an effort to show greater rental income. Croman falsified these rent rolls in order to inflate the annual rental income of his buildings, upon which his refinancing terms are partially based. All told, over a three-year period, Croman received more than $45 million in loans under these false pretenses. Croman also intentionally failed to withhold New York State payroll taxes from bonus payments made to a former Croman Real Estate property manager, who was paid bonuses to get rent stabilized and rent controlled tenants out of Croman apartment buildings.

In a statement, AG Eric Schneiderman said, Steven Croman is a fraudster and a criminal who engaged in a deliberate and illegal scheme to fraudulently obtain bank loans. He went to outrageous lengths to boost his bottom line  including falsely listing rent-stabilized units at market rates when his efforts to displace those renters had failed. Now Mr. Croman faces a year in Rikers and a $5 million settlement  and unscrupulous landlords are on notice that well pursue them to the fullest extent of the law.

A civil case against Croman by the attorney general is still ongoing.

The infamous property owner controls 140 New York City buildings, including 159 Stanton St., where tenants were relocated in February due to safety concerns from the Department of Buildings.
Our obsession with Sylvia Plath is longstanding and continuous. Her work has spawned documentaries, posthumous psychoanalyses, and film adaptations such as The Bell Jar, which is set to hit cinemas in 2018.

Plaths poetry and her death have been used for different agendas. Her story has been reinterpreted and re-appropriated, with many drawing comparisons between her and our current celebrity culture.

Despite the controversy surrounding her death, and newly discovered letters which allege Ted Hughes was abusive toward her, the reasons why Plath is a household name are mainly her talent, her personality, and her tragedy.

The uniqueness of Plaths work is one of the biggest reasons we are so fascinated with her. Scholars agree that Plath discovered her true voice while composing the poems which make up her most acclaimed collection: Ariel. Previously, as most young poets do, Plath was recreating literary techniques and formulae she enjoyed. Yet the poems that composed Ariel were written after her divorce, as this caused a creative burst that would often leave her writing at until 4am.

Her work carries an emotional authenticity and frankness that creates an intense reading experience. Tulips is one such example. Here, Plath describes wanting to lie quietly in the snow but the bright colours of the flowers drawing her back into the world. At the same time, Plath captures the hardships of being alive, as well as the rewards. Her poems are tragic, bold, and observational monologues, but in all instances, they are relatable and unapologetic representations of her life.

Some scholars argue that both Sylvia Plath and her husband, Ted Hughes, would not have become successful writers if they never met each other. Their marriage was based on encouraging each others genius, which resulted in some of their best work. The bond between Plath and Hughes was immense. Hughes even sidestepped his impersonal style and spoke deeply of their relationship in Birthday Letters.

Our natural allure to tragedy is also a strong factor which has propelled writers, moviemakers, and scholars to keep returning to Sylvia Plaths work. Poems such as Lady Lazarus, which details her first suicide attempt, are incredibly impressionable and hard hitting.

Regardless of the fact that Plath published her first poem at eight, or that she endured one of the most tumultuous literary relationships of the 20th Century, the most fascinating aspect of her story is that she created such a powerful style that leaves no reader untouched by her poems. She showed an immense dedication to her work at a time when being a female writer was anything but easy. Undoubtedly, she will remain a widely-read and discussed figure throughout literary history.
Harper Lees classic American book To Kill A Mockingbird is to be turned into a graphic novel for the first time.

London artist Fred Fordham will illustrate a new edition of the much-loved story, told through the eyes of Alabama six-year-old, Scout Finch.

Translated into 40 languages, the Pulitzer Prize-winning book still sells more than one million copies across the globe every year.

William Heinemann publishers, which originally released the book in the UK in 1960, acquired the rights to the story from the estate of Harper Lee.

A statement from the group read: The estate is very happy to be working with Fred Fordham on this wonderful project.

Freds work has a quality that surpasses time, just like the novel he will bring to life in a new way. We cant wait to hear the reaction from old and new fans.

Fred added: Adapting a story that means so much to so many  and finding the appropriate art style to give it life in a long-form visual medium  is a great honour and responsibility and, mercifully, also a great pleasure.

The finished work will hit shelves on November 1 next year.

The novel was brought to the Barbican Theatre in 2015 (Daniel Leal-Olivas/PA)

Jason Arthur, who obtained the UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) from Andrew Nurnberg Associates for the publisher, said the first work on the new book already looks stunning.

To Kill A Mockingbird regularly tops polls as the nations most loved book and we are delighted that readers will be able to revisit it  or discover it for the first time  in graphic novel form, he said.

The art Ive seen so far from Fred is stunning and his adaptation storyboard is utterly true to the original novel.

Fred recently created the illustrations for Philip Pullmans debut graphic novel, The Adventures Of John Blake: Mystery Of The Ghost Ship.
The double Olivier nominated Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour has transferred to the West End for a strictly limited season.

I spoke to actress Frances Mayli McCann about the production and how it has been taking on the role of Kylah.

Caroline Deyga (Chell), Dawn Sievewright (Fionnula), Frances Mayli McCann (Kylah), Kirsty MacLaren (Manda), Karen Fishwick (Kay) and Isis Hainsworth (Orla). Photo credit Manuel Harlan

I've been with the show since its first run back at the Edinburgh festival in 2015, Frances says.

I auditioned for the show earlier that year. In the initial audition, we were given the script to read and asked to prepare Orla's monologue and bring a song of our own choice.

I honestly thought it was one of my worst auditions. I loved the script and put so much pressure on myself to do well, I felt like I was overthinking everything. But then I got a recall to do a read through with the five other girls and I got the job, so obviously wasn't as bad as I thought.

Despite auditioning with Orlas monologue, Frances was offered the role of Kylah, a passionate musician with a no bullshit attitude.

In the first audition Vicky Featherstone, our director, asked what character I related to the most, and although I could relate to many different characters for different reasons, Kylah was definitely the one that stood out, explains Frances.

I related to her because from a young age I wanted to sing and perform and I could sense that same drive in her. I also admire her and all the girls bravery and unapologetic selves. I wish I had been more like that in my teens.

Before the play came to the West End, it had sold out seasons at the National Theatre, Edinburgh Festival Fringe and on a UK tour. Frances has been a part of the production since the very beginning.

The play is constantly growing and changing, she says. Even in rehearsals, for the third time round, Vicky and Lee Hall, the playwright, were astounded by the fact we were continuing to find new things in the piece.

I think having the time apart from the show, between tours and the transfer to the West End, has given us time to reflect on what we have done and come at it again with fresh eyes.

"When we were creating and rehearsing the play back in the beginning, we had so much license to play that I don't think we've ever really stopped creating and changing, which is exciting and is a great gift for an actor to have on stage, so no show is ever the same.

The play follows six Catholic choir girls from Oban, let loose in Edinburgh for one day only. The entire ensemble is made up of women, which Frances describes simply as fucking awesome!

There is a real power and unity being in an all-female ensemble, she tells me. We have so much love for each other and have all been through so much in the past few years on and off stage that, just like the girls in the play, we've got each other's backs and support each other and only make each other stronger.

And its the ensemble that makes Frances love the production so much.

There is something in all of them that everyone can relate to or recognise from their own youth and growing up, she says. You admire them, their carefree attitudes, their passion for life and having a good time. If you weren't one of them in school, you certainly knew them.

Upon entry to the theatre, there is a warning sign that reads 'prepare thyself for really really rude language, flashing lights pyrotechnics, sexual references, excessive drinking and extensive use of the smoke machine', which Frances says pretty much sums it up. But not only that, she says you should expect some kick ass tunes and girls going mental in a funny and poignant story about growing up and finding yourself.
Lewys Ball British beauty blogger, 17, has just been named the first ever male ambassador of make-up brand Rimmel London, in their campaign 'Edge Your Look'.

A post shared by lew (@lookingforlewys) on Jan 18, 2017 at 10:37am PST

Ball is among other faces, including Portia Ferrari and model Maddi Waterhouse, involved in a campaign that's said to "embrace diversity" and to promote self love.

Commenting on the announcement, Ball said: When they contacted me a couple of months ago I was super excited! I've always loved Rimmel and doing the shoots were so much fun. My first makeup product was actually from Rimmel so it's super surreal for me.

The message at the heart of the campaign is crushing gender stereotypes; proving firsthand that its not just girls that can wear makeup - guys can too.

The statement is loud and clear - makeup is art; plain and simple and anyone can rock it.

Ball said: I think it's quite a surprise at how many men are actually interested and even wear make-up day to day, to just cover up some imperfections they may not feel confident about.

By including men in makeup campaigns it shows everyone that it's normal for men to wear makeup, and allows them to feel more confident wearing it and helps break the gender stereotypes. I think brands are starting to see that men are using make-up, even if it's borrowing their girlfriend's or sister's foundation.

Fans are now being encouraged to share their makeup looks, whilst sporting the signature double-L pose (using the thumb and index finger) on social media using the hashtag #EdgeYourLook

You can view the Rimmel ad here:
Mischa Barton has won a legal battle to block the spread of revenge porn that was allegedly secretly filmed by her ex-partner, her lawyer has said.

The British-American, who starred in The OC, celebrated the result on Monday, saying she hopes the case sets a precedent for women everywhere.

COURT VICTORY today with Mischa Barton. Distribution of the explicit images banned, ex stays 100 yards away forever. pic.twitter.com/cr0cWtveYg  Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) June 5, 2017

Human rights attorney Lisa Bloom said Mischa, 31, won a permanent restraining order against her ex, named in court papers as Jon Zacharias, after a hearing in Los Angeles Superior Court.

Outside court, the actress said: Today was major not just for me but for women everywhere who get to decide what images of their body are shown.

I hope that this case helps set a precedent for women everywhere that they should stand up for their rights.

Im happy to be putting this behind me and its been a bit of an ordeal and a crazy experience.

Today we have justice and it feels good.

So proud to stand with Mischa Barton for a woman's right to control which images of her body will be released. Off to our hearing now.  Lisa Bloom (@LisaBloom) June 5, 2017

Bloom said they had won court orders preventing people from trafficking explicit videos and images of Mischa without consent.

Mischas ex-partner must stay 100 yards (91 metres) away from her permanently and turn over all of the explicit images, the lawyer said.

Bloom added: Mischa wants everyone to know that we have the right to control our own bodies and decide whether or not to have explicit photos out there for the world to see.

If a woman wants to do that, fine. If she doesnt, fine. The choice is hers and hers alone.

Mischa previously said that her ex-partner had used hidden cameras to film their most intimate moments.

She launched the legal bid in March after learning images and videos were being sold and published on adult websites.
A party with a regional focus is hoping to stand up for Yorkshire on June 8.

We spoke to Stewart Arnold, leader of the Yorkshire Party , about the partys progress and policies.

What does the Yorkshire Party stand for?

Yorkshire Party Speaking Up for Yorkshire 2017 General Election Manifesto https://t.co/6CWQ4ySKSe pic.twitter.com/HOen2m09vC  Yorkshire Party (@Yorkshire_Party) May 30, 2017

The party argues that with a population the size of Scotland, the people of Yorkshire need to be given more representation. Perhaps unsurprisingly, they support a devolved government for the region.

This would involve establishing a Yorkshire Parliament, cutting district and county councillors by 50% and giving more power to Town and Parish councils. The party estimates this could save 14 million over the next four years.

As a way of improving innovation & connectivity @Yorkshire_Party wants to see free wifi across the whole #Yorkshire pic.twitter.com/W2YcZlQigR  Yorkshire Party (@Yorkshire_Party) June 1, 2017

Manifesto pledges include giving Yorkshire an equal share of UK funding for education and infrastructure projects, investing in green technology projects and free WiFi in all urban areas in Yorkshire.

When was the party set up and where is it standing?

#ChapelAllerton I'm coming at you this afternoon! Talking devolution and more power to the people of #Yorkshire #VoteTess move over Theresa pic.twitter.com/SoerxDq1NC  Tess Seddon (@SeddonTess) May 29, 2017

The party fielded its first candidate under the moniker of Yorkshire First (since changed to the Yorkshire Party) in the European elections of 2014. The party won 19,017 votes from the region of Yorkshire and Humber, which Arnold says was enough for us to say, well theres some interest there, maybe there is an idea.

Subsequently we got a lot of support in emails and phone calls with people saying, we didnt know about you until the last few days of the campaign and keep it going, so thats what we did.

The party is fielding 21 candidates on June 8, seven more than in 2015. Its a representative group with an average age of 35 and 20% LGBT candidates.

Arnold sees the election as an opportunity to get the Yorkshire Partys message out to the public. I think general elections focus peoples minds on politics and on political parties and get them thinking about who they might support, so its inevitable that we would get a boost in that way.

What are their chances?

Recent electoral results would say its looking good for the Yorkshire Party.

Arnold said: The most recent elections in Doncaster a few weeks ago were very encouraging for us. We got 33% in one ward and we got an average of about 25% in the four other wards as well.

Arnold said these results show that theres no reason to think that theres a ceiling to what we can achieve.

How would the party like to see British democracy change?

The Yorkshire Party is for people who'd benefit from a strong and successful Yorkshire. That's everyone in the UK.  Tom Forth (@thomasforth) May 13, 2017

Arnold thinks the regional party model is one that could translate to other areas of the UK.

He compares the Yorkshire Party to Plaid Cymru, the SNP and Ukip, not because they have the same aims, but because of their ability to change policy of the main parties by threatening their vote.

If you look back at the history of devolution in Wales and Scotland back in the 1960s, the SNP and Plaid Cymru started really threatening the major parties by winning seats at parliamentary by-elections and local council elections. Suddenly the main parties thought we need to do something about this.

Well see what it takes to get there.
Labour is committed to stopping weapons trades with repressive regimes if it wins this weeks general election.

Jeremy Corbyn, Labour's leader via Wikimedia Commons

The party has declared that it is looking into new policies to ensure weapons and military technology built in the UK are not sold to regimes that could use them to abuse human rights.

After the outrage following the governments endorsement of 3.5 billion of arms sales to Saudi Arabia, the Labour Party is pledging more ethical trade deals.

The trade was solicited by numerous ministers, despite Saudi Arabia being involved in brutal bombing in Yemen.

Labour's proposed measure was revealed days after the Defence Secretary, Sir Michael Fallow, praised a UK firm as a model for post-Brexit trade. The firm had previously sold missiles to Colonel Gaddafi, in 2007, and missiles to the Saudi air force.

Sir Michael Fallow, Secretary of Defence, via Wikimedia Commons

Although Jeremy Corbyn had already opposed arms export to Saudi Arabia, this measure would be part of a larger strategy to boost home industries by exploiting trade opportunities abroad. This could include abolition of tariffs on environmental technology.

Barry Gardiner, the International Trade Secretary, said: In particular, our industrial strategy is predicated on the Paris [climate change] Agreement and the fact that in the second half of this century we are going to be living in a zero-carbon economy."

This measure comes at a time when Britain is the second biggest arms exporter in the world, having sold weapons to 22 out of 30 countries on the British human rights watchlist.

Betting on environmental technology means that Labours measures could not only prevent human rights abuse perpetrated by British arms, but also act as a political and ethical response to the U.S's Paris Agreement withdrawal.
A Conservative candidate was booed at an election hustings after telling the audience she was really pleased we have food banks.

(Leah Browning/Facebook)

Sheryll Murray, who has been MP for South East Cornwall since 2010, asked an aide to call police after being heckled at the event in Callington on Saturday.

Her team later claimed they feared for her safety following sustained abuse  including a woman waving pink underwear  from a group of supporters of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Ms Murray told the audience that people could require the help of food banks if their circumstances changed, such as moving house or benefits being delayed.

I am really pleased that we have food banks in South East Cornwall, Ms Murray said.

Video of the event showed audience members loudly booing the comments, with one man shouting: Society shouldnt need it.

Ms Murray gestured to a section of the audience and said Lets ignore these, prompting gasps and one woman to stand up and say: How dare you stand there and say that you can ignore me. Im sitting down now but you are being rude.

Ms Murray replied: I think we should leave because obviously I am not being subjected to this.

Youve all witnessed this horrendous behaviour. I came here in good faith today.

She then suggested the woman who stood up should leave. The woman said: If you want me to leave, you call the police.

Ms Murray turned to an aide and said: Right Bob, would you like to go and try and do that please?
The live TV debate; an important part of any party's election campaign, you would think. In a bizarre week in which Nigel Farage even extended praise to Corbyn via twitter, Wednesday's leaders debate was also a strange event, given that not all leaders were present.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd, who stepped in for Theresa May on Wednesday

I'm not sure whether Jeremy Corbyn actually changed his mind last minute to attend Wednesday's leaders debate, or whether it's some psychological game he's been planning for weeks, but his arrival in Cambridge was met with both praise and loud cheer from Labour supporters, and I'm certain the surprise appearance has done nothing but bolster his already reasonably successful campaign.

Like many young left- wing millennials, and most of the opposition party leaders, I took to Twitter to call Theresa May out on the fact she had failed to appear in a live television debate, instead sending home secretary Amber Rudd on her behalf. It certainly portrays our current prime minister as 'weak and wobbly', but even I must admit given the situation she was in, Amber Rudd held her own reasonably well, given that at times it seemed everyone was against her.

Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron didn't hold back, slating Theresa May's absence in both his opening and closing statement. May also came under fire from Corbyn, Nuttall and Green Party's Caroline Lucas - who I also thought presented herself, and her party's views, successfully.

My issue with Theresa May's absence lays in her reasonings. I recall an interview I watched, in which her reason for not debating with Jeremy Corbyn was that she doesn't think "people get much out of watching politicians having a go at each other". One of the other reasons she gave closer to the event itself, was that she was busy thinking about Brexit negotiations. Also worrying.

It concerns me that one of, if not the, most powerful figures in Britain currently, is unable to juggle planning Brexit negotiations and a live TV debate, and yet the same figure will jump at any opportunity to criticize Corbyn for not talking about Brexit enough, and being more concerned with TV appearances.

A futher concern of mine is that this is a general election called by Theresa May herself, in the midst of these Brexit negotiations, but it appears she is not treating it as such. This is an opportunity for the British public to vote for a future and society they want, not the Brexit they want. As far as I'm concerned, this election is not about Brexit, as it could be May, Corbyn, or myself in charge of the negotiations - the outcome will always be the same.

Theresa May has failed to show that she understands the implications of what she has done. The Conservative campaign has been incredibly uninspiring, and as members of the British public we should demand more from our leader. This election was her doing, and was her opportunity to convince us she is the right person to lead us forward, but instead failure to attend debates, a questionable manifesto, and some unbelievable policies have proven the Tories do not value the opinions of the public.

If she is the 'strong and stable' leader she claims so often to be, then maybe she wouldn't have called this election in the first place, but as it is happening, it is her responsibility to confidently inform the voters of her plans, her budgets, and her beliefs. It is a leader's responsibility to give us the debate we need; it gives the voters a chance to put that leader under the microscope in an unbias and controlled environment.

The debate got me thinking in a very different way; my vote will still go to Labour of course, and yet I now have a lot more respect for the Green party's campaign, and not so much in a political sense, but I now have a slightly greater appreciation for Tim Farron after his humorous opening statement. The point is I learnt something from the debate, and I know I won't be alone on that. Not only it is very typical of British culture to enjoy seeing cringe- worthy exchanges between people under pressure, but these leaders debates exist to help the voters make their decision. Our prime minister's lack of willing and effort to give us the debate we want is not only a serious misjudgement of the British public, but it is an insult to us as voters and to democracy.
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Hard work and dedication does not go unnoticed.

The Wyandotte Figure Skating Club recently received notification from United States Figure Skating that four high school graduating senior club members have received special recognition for their dedication to the sport.

This recognition is applied for by the skaters and is reviewed and selected by USFS officials.

USFS Graduating Seniors Program was developed to recognize the achievements of those individuals graduating from high school who have made the commitment to continue their training in figure skating while pursuing their studies.

This is the first time anyone from our club has been recognized, so having four at one time receive this honor is incredible, said Julie OConnor, a spokeswoman for the club.

The award recipients are:

?Haley Elliott, Silver level  Roosevelt High School.

?Lauren Harven, Gold level  Cabrini High School (Allen Park).

?Cameron Lindstrom, Gold level  Roosevelt High School.

?Allyson Trombley, Silver level  Roosevelt High School.

Paula Chinavare, president of Wyandotte Figure Skating Club, said participating in extracurricular activities such as figure skating can make a positive impact on student outcomes.

Figure skaters such as Haley Elliott, Lauren Harven, Cameron Lindstrom and Allyson Trombley dedicate much time and effort to training for major competitions, testing sessions and ice shows, all while juggling their studies and other important activities, Chinavare said.

These four young ladies have shown much dedication to the sport of figure skating while maintaining excellent grades throughout their high school years. We are proud of all their accomplishments, and look forward to watching them achieve their goals in college, as well as continuing figure skating as they pursue their dreams.

USFS student athletes are rewarded based on their highest level of achievement. A total of 700 figure skaters received the Graduating Seniors Program award this year.
Book looks into 52 cases unsolved murders with ties to South Dakota

Christine Wevik started researching cold cases in South Dakota thinking there were about 30. She found 155.
It's our annual Labour Weekend tradition ...The Sound 'Hall Of Fame' Countdown... Where we honor the greatest 500 songs of all time as voted by you.
Former American supermodel and actress Cindy Crawford feels truly blessed to have Rande Gerber as her husband and celebrates her 19 years of marriage to him.

"Cheers to 19 years with this guy! Happy anniversary! So blessed to have you as my husband. Thanks for putting up with me Rande Gerber," Crawford wrote alongside an image she posted on Instagram. The couple married on 29 May 1998. She was earlier married to Richard Gere.

Mother of two  son Presley and daughter Kaia  Crawford also shared an image of her with Gerber in which she is dressed in an all-black ensemble, and she looks as beautiful as before.

So, what's the secret behind Crawford's graceful beauty? Born on 20 February 1966, the once supermodel is today 51 years old, but looks as gorgeous as ever. Well, she earned all that ageless beauty through strong commitment to regular fitness regimen.

Crawford was once quoted as saying: "The face you have at age 25 is the face God gave you, but the face you have after 50 is the face you earned".

Much has been said and written about beauty secrets and she had said that beauty to her is passion and confidence, but there's no such thing as secret anymore. Let's look back at what the beautiful Crawford had to say on beauty.

"I've always found that beauty and confidence are synonymous. If you feel confident, that's what people see".

While confidence can make you look smart and good, happiness do make you look beautiful. A happy look is always attractive.

"True beauty is the energy you give out, and that comes through being happy".

Acceptance of self comes through years of growing and helps you grow beautiful inside out.

"I don't look the same as I was 20 years ago, nor should I".
Megastar Amitabh Bachchan and veteran actor Rishi Kapoor-starrer "102 Not Out", directed by Umesh Shukla, will release on December 1 and will be clashing with Vidya Balan-starrer "Tumhari Sulu".

The film features Amitabh as a 102-year-old and Rishi as his 75-year-old son. The makers aim to wrap up the shoot by July, read a statement.

"102 Not Out" is based on writer-director Saumya Joshi's successful Gujarati play by the same name. The film is a sweet story between a father and a son and the duo will also speak a few lines in Gujarati in the film!

Amitabh and Rishi, who will be seen sharing screen space after two decades, have previously worked in films like "Amar Akbar Anthony", "Naseeb" and "Kabhi Kabhie".
Veteran actor Anupam Kher is set to play former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in a movie based on a memoir by Singh's media adviser Sanjay Baru.

While Kher has been finalised to play Singh, the remaining cast is being decided.

"The research on the movie is already over. Auditioning (for the remaining cast) is in its final lap. The movie will hit the screens next year," said Sunil Bohra, who is the producer of the film and has earlier co-produced films like Gangs of Wasseypur and Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster.

Sanjay Baru's book The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh, is the critical account of Manmohan Singh's first term as the Prime Minister of India and the book carries the details of the 2014 elections.

Kher confirmed his role in the movie..

"Acting the role of anyone in contemporary history is extremely challenging, as comparisons are bound to be instant and inevitable. But as I have always revelled in challenges, right from my first film Saaransh, I look forward to the experience of portraying PM Manmohan Singh," he was quoted as saying to a leading national daily.
Actor Farhan Akhtar, who had a gala time shooting for his film Zindagi Na Milegi Dobaara in Spain, has gone back to the city to relive his days!

According to sources, the actor has taken some time off and has planned this mini trip of sorts with a little help from his friends.

"Meeting old friends .. Claudia worked on ZNMD and Dil Dhadakne Do.. #festival #primaVera #musiclove #funtimes #barcelona," wrote Farhan on his Facebook page.

Farhan has some really fond memories of the place as 'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara' was extensively shot in Spain.

After the release of the 'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobaara', Spain had suddenly become the top destination for people to plan their ideal vacation with either friends or family!

Farhan had also shared an interesting image on his social media account saying, which read,

"Off to Spain next week to get high with a little help from my friends bring it On!! #funtimes#skydivempuriabrava#ultimateplayground some days back, It seems as if the actor just like the film, this time around too has some adventures planned!"

The actor has finished shooting for his coming film Lucknow Central, which is all slated to release in September!


Actor Shahid Kapoor, who is one of the most health-conscious stars in Bollywood, is a frequent visitor to a gym which is also visited by his ex-girlfriend Kareena Kapoor.

Although Shahid and Kareena were never spotted talking to each other, they have been spotted exiting and entering the same gym.

The sources reveal that they prefer going to the gym at different times and they don't even have the same trainer. But if rumours are to be believed, Shahid and Kareena were spotted leaving the gym one after the other, which clearly proves that the ex-flames were in the gym at the same time.

Kareena and Shahid had a rather inglorious past with each other. They were the lovebirds of Bollywood for four years but their unexpected breakup shook up the world. Although they have never spoken openly about the reason for their break up, they have always been very careful of each other's presence and maintained a safe distance.

Coincidently, both the ex-lovers are enjoying parenthood as Shahid's daughter Misha and Kareena' son Taimur were born in the same year.
The one undeniable fact about Sidharth Malhotra and Jacqueline Fernandez is the electrifying chemistry they share, and the actors gave a sneak-peak of their time together onscreen for their fans, with teasers and posters of their first looks, on Twitter

Living up to the audience's anticipation of their onscreen pairing, the two will be starring together for the first time in a new film  A Gentleman  Sundar, Susheel, Risky. Revealing more of the great spark they share, both Sidharth and Jacqueline indulged in a Twitter banter as they released the posters of their film.

"[email protected] when do I see your face?? #AGentleman," Jacqueline wrote while Sidharth tweeted: 'Hey @Asli_Jacqueline been waiting for you'.

Jacqueline picked u the line with excitement as she responded to Sidharth's tweet: "Hey @S1dharthM, let's do it in an hour?! #AGentleman'.

Sidhart aka Gaurav, too couldn't stop his excitement and continued: "Hey @Asli_Jacqueline I want to show you off to the world ! you did some sick stuff in #AGentleman"

With their fun Twitter banter, the actors kept their audience on their toes throughout the day, releasing treats from their new film.

"Get ready to meet the Sundar, Susheel, Risky me. Catch a glimpse of #AGentleman! @Asli_Jacqueline @foxstarhindi," Sidharth Malhotra tweeted,

To which, Jacqueline tweeted: "All set for a sundar, susheel & risky Gentleman!? Here's a glimpse of #AGentleman @S1dharthM @foxstarhindi @krishdk"

As the clock struck midnight, the two launched the first look of Sidharth Malhotra as Gaurav in the film. In the first look, Sidharth is seen carrying a pressure cooker and a gun.

The look fueled high curiosity among their following. Now, fans are eagerly waiting for Jacqueline's first look from the film.

To the delight of the fans, the actors also revealed a poster featuring both Sidharth aka Gaurav and Jacqueline aka Kavya in an action packed avatar. reacting to the poster, Jacqueline wrote: 'Ooh this was mad fun @S1dharthM!! The second poster of #AGentleman is here. What do you think?!' To which, Sidharth tweeted back: "Hey @Asli_Jacqueline you remember shooting this one #AGentleman second poster! Watch out for Jackie taking on the bad guys !'

While the posters garnered a lot of appreciation and attention, the chemistry between the actors seems to be spilling all over their tweets

Directed by Raj & DK, the film is all set to release on 25 August 2017.
Five farmers were reportedly killed and many injured when security forces opened fire at the protesting peasants in Madhya Pradeshs Mandsaur district on Tuesday. Farmers are protesting for about a week, demanding fair price to their produce and loan-waiver.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan announced a compensation of Rs. 5 lakh to the families of farmers killed in the firing.

Earlier, state Home Minister Bhupendra Singh, however, denied that the police resorted to firing. As per reports, a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) team called to assist the police fired shots at the protesters when they resorted to violence and set five buses on fire.

The farmers are demanding remunerative prices for their produce, including milk, and loan-waiver.

On Monday, Chouhan had blamed a few people for giving a wrong direction to the farmers protest at a press conference on Monday. If this does not stop, such people will face consequences, Chouhan had said. He said a Rs. 1,000-crore price-stabilisation fund would be created and that onions will be bought at Rs. 8 per kg.

Farmers had clashed with police in Neemuch on Monday. At least two police personnel and many farmers were injured in the clashes.
A conglomerate of NGOs and student bodies in Mizoram-Assam border district of Kolasib began indefinite blockade of NH-54, considered lifeline of Mizoram, from 5 am today.

The Joint Action Committee (JAC) said it took this step as the people of Kolasib district were protesting against transfer of a surgeon from the district hospital without posting a replacement.

The 850 km long national highway connects Assam and Mizoram and the blockade, if prolonged, could create problem in availability of essential commodities.

Ruling Congress leaders said that there was another surgeon in the district hospital and the blockade was uncalled for.

Health Minister Lal Thanzara expressed hope that the problem of shortage of doctors would be solved after recruitment of 26 doctors by the state public service commission and the process of recruitment was going on.
With many parts of the city facing power cuts in the summer heat, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday ordered authorities to submit a report to him on outages every day and also increase the capacity of discoms' call centres for satisfactory disposal of people's complaints.

In his direction to the chief secretary, Keriwal said power distribution companies should send messages to consumers in affected areas if they resort to unscheduled power cuts.

Addressing a press conference here, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the chief secretary will ensure that discoms list the scheduled power cuts on their websites so that people can know about it in advance.

He said that it is the responsibility of all three discoms  Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL), BSES Rajdhani and BSES Yamuna  to provide power to Delhiites 247.

With the mercury rising in the last two days, several areas in the city have been facing outages, Sisodia said

On Tuesday, the power demand soared to 6,526 megawatts at 3.31 pm, the highest ever in the capital.

He said the chief minister held a meeting with Chief Secretary M M Kutty and power department officials o Tuesday and issued a nuber of directions to tackle the situation.

"The chief minister has directed that the capacity of discoms call centres be increased for handling public complaints. The CM has said that power department should record, transcribe and analyse each complaint call for public satisfaction.

"He has sought a daily report on outages at 11 AM," the deputy chief minister also said.

Sisodia said Delhi does not have shortage of power but has surplus.

"The government is fully prepared to meet even 8,000 MW demand. In some areas, transformers had tripped because of excessive heat and high demand, that is why outages occurred in the last two days," Sisodia added.

He said that the chief minister also directed that hoardings be put up across the city with complaint numbers of all three discoms.

on Monday, the peak power demand shot up to 6,361 MW at 3:06 pm.

The peak power demand in the capital this year breached the 6,000 MW mark in May. It was 6,021 MW on May 17, the second highest this year.

The power discoms have expected the peak demand this year to be around 6,600 MW.

The peak demand of Delhi, even at the 6,000 MW level, is three-fold of Kolkata (2,100 MW) and about 60 per cent more than that of Mumbai(4,900 MW).
Schools in Puducherry and Karaikal regions will reopen on June 12 instead of tomorrow in view of the continued hot weather, Agriculture and Education Minister R Kamalakannan announced in the Assembly today.

During zero hour, the minister said though the schools were already having limited working days and the syllabus had to be covered, the administration has now decided to extend summer vacation for both government and private schools.

The schools would reopen on June 12 as was requested by members because of the continued hot spell, he added.

Members cutting across party lines had earlier pleaded with the government that the reopening date be put off as the hot spell continued.
Wahhabism or fundamentalist Islam has made its way to Jammu and Kashmir, Union minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said.

Speaking at the BJP state headquarters here, he noted that the situation in the Valley was under control and the government has given a free hand to the forces.

"Whatever is going on in Kashmir had developed in the ten years before 2014. Kashmir was known for Sufism, but in those ten years it has gradually moved towards Wahhabism," the Minister of state for Information and Broadcasting said.

"The situation in Kashmir is under control and the Army is independent and need not seek Delhi's permission before taking action," he said.

After attending a coordination meeting of MPs and MLAs at the party office, Rathore said the saffron party has been sweeping elections and people are getting its advantages.

Wahhabism is an Islamic doctrine and religious movement, often described as ultraconservative, austere, fundamentalist or puritan.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday welcomed the resignation of two of its leaders in Meghalaya who quit over the new cattle trade and slaughter rules.

While Bachu Marak resigned on Monday, Bernard Marak quit last week.

"These persons were actively working to sabotage the prospects of our candidates for the state elections next year. They were aspirants themselves and the party did not see them as winning candidates," said Nalin Kohli, the BJP General Secretary in-charge of Meghalaya.

"We welcome it since disciplinary action against him (Bachu Marak) was in process," he added in a Whatsapp message.

Bachu Marak, the district president of the BJP in North Garo Hills, quit alleging that party leaders were "attempting to impose its non-secular ideology on the indigenous people in Meghalaya".

Earlier, Bernard Marak, who quit as the district president in West Garo Hills, accused the BJP of "not respecting the tradition and culture of the indigenous people".

Kohli said: "The BJP is gearing up to contest the coming Meghalaya election on a positive agenda of development and exposing the rampant corruption, unfulfilled promises and lack of development under the Congress government of Mukul Sangma."

He added: " the Congress is trying to communalise the agenda with untruth that the BJP wants to impose a beef ban in Meghalaya. Nothing is farther from the truth."
Of late, many creative directors were spotted at actor Saif Ali Khan's residence and the recent one to visit him was Trapped' director Vikramaditya Motwane.

It's been learned that the actor has been quietly working on his forthcoming projects.

From meeting writers to directors, Saif is also having creative sessions with various industry folks. The actor's place is buzzing with new content makers.

"Saif has been quietly working on an incredible line up of good content films. He is also having creative discussions with several studio heads and has been pretty occupied of late," a source close to the actor revealed.

With Vikramaditya's recent meeting with the actor, it seems there's a new announcement in the offing!

Saif Ali Khan is currently working in Chef, Kaalakandi and Bazaar.


Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday slammed Bengali scholar Partha Chatterjee for comparing Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat, who backed Major Leetul Gogoi over the human shield controversy in Kashmir, to British General Dyer.

Major Gogoi did a great job by saving lives but few people have to condemn Army than condemning acts of Pakistan, Naidu told a news agency.

Earlier during the day, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra called the comparison as abhorring and appalling.

As far as the issue of Partha Chatterjee is concerned, it is really abhorring and appalling that Indian Army Chief is compared with General Dyer. Do these people not see the basic difference? One (General Dyer) was a killer who massacred innocent Indians and the other one (Indian Army) is saviour of humanity, Patra said.

Meanwhile, another BJP leader TN GVL Narsihma Rao was of the opinion that the academician was trying to attract unnecessary attention by involving in such controversial acts.

There are many who are ganging up with foreigners and stabbing India in the back. They are trying to give bad name to the Indian armed forces. This exposes their lack of commitment towards their country, Rao said.

However, Chatterjee refused to withdraw his opinion and strongly said that he "sticks" to his opinion. "I have made my arguments as clearly and precisely as I could in my article. If I need to clarify or change anything then I will write again. I stand by what I wrote. I am not seeking any publicity, Chatterjee said.

The 69-year-old Bengali scholar in his article titled In Kashmir, India Is Witnessing Its General Dyer Moment had written, There are chilling similarities between the justifications advanced for the actions of the British Indian army in Punjab in 1919 and those being offered today in defence of the acts of the Indian army in Kashmir.

This comparison came after General Rawat justified Major Gogois innovative tactics of using human shield to keep stone-pelters at bay in Kashmir.

Major Gogoi had tied one Farooq Ahmed Dar to the bonnet of a jeep and paraded him down the streets through a stone-pelting crowd on 9 April. The video of the incident was widely circulated and created quite a controversy with many condemning the act.
Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday visited a Dalit's house in south Bengaluru for breakfast and assured that the Narendra Modi government would implement reservation for the community.

"I had a delicious breakfast. It is a memorable moment in my life. I visited this home as per BJP President Amit Shah's directive," he told reporters at Hongasandra of Bommanahalli Assembly constituency, adding that his visit had "nothing" to do with the Karnataka Assembly elections.

The Power Minister, who had lemon rice and chapatti for breakfast at the Dalit's residence, later participated in the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan at Bommanhalli along with the BJP activists.

"Dalits need not worry about losing reservation benefits. The NDA government led by Narendra Modi will implement reservation for Dalits without fail," he said.

Goyal advised the Dalits to avail the benefits of welfare schemes launched by the government.

"I want all Dalits to have Aadhaar cards and open bank accounts to avail the benefits of welfare schemes," he said.

Later, he attended a youth convention organised at the Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association auditorium, Vijayanagar, in south Bengaluru.

Goyal also used the occasion to blast the Congress government in Karnataka as there was a power outage for four times in one hour during his speech.

"I think the Congress has no right to continue in power in Karnataka. If the government fails to ensure uninterrupted power supply at a Union Minister's programme, why should the Congress continue in power? It is a shame on the state government," he said.

Elaborating on the welfare programmes and reforms launched by Prime Minister Modi, Goyal said not a single corruption case was reported against the Union Ministers in the last three years.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has become more popular after demonetisation of high value currency notes. He has been working day and night for welfare of the people. He has not taken a single day leave in three years," he said.


Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called up Sher Bahadur Deuba to congratulate him on his election as the Prime Minister of Nepal.

The post of the prime minister fell vacant on May 25 when Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' resigned under a power-sharing deal with Deuba, the Nepali Congress leader.

Deuba, 70, was the sole candidate to contest the prime ministerial election as the main opposition UML or any other party didn't register their candidacies.

"Called Shri Sher Bahadur Deuba to congratulate him on being elected the Prime Minister of Nepal," Modi tweeted.

"I conveyed my best wishes to Shri Deuba for peace, prosperity and progress in Nepal under his leadership," he said in another tweet.

Deuba, a veteran politician of Nepal, secured 388 votes in his favour and 170 votes against him. A total of 558 votes were cast and he needed 297 in the 593-strong Parliament to prove his majority.

Deuba became the 40th Prime Minister of Nepal.
The Indian Navy's sailing vessel with an all-woman crew, INSV Tarini, which is due to begin a circumnavigation of the globe in August, on Tuesday reached Mauritius on its first sea voyage, a defence statement said.

This vessel, inducted into the Indian Navy in February, is a sister vessel of Indian Navy's first sailing vessel INSV Mhadei.

"Tarini has begun a new chapter in the history of ocean sailing by Indian women, wherein the first Indian all-woman crew of IN would endeavour to circumnavigate the globe in August 2017," the statement said.

"Tarini aims to promote a spirit of adventure and camaraderie amongst the young Naval personnel in the years ahead."

INSV Tarini is 55 feet in length and built in India in line with the 'Make in India' initiative of the Indian Navy at Aquarius Shipyard Pvt Ltd at Divar, Goa.

The boat has been built to a stock design by Van de Stadt of the Netherlands.

The hull is made of wooden core fiberglass sandwich construction for a better performance than aluminum and steel and the vessel carries a suite of six sails.

The mast of the boat is 25 metres tall and has been custom built by Southern Spars, Cape Town, for sailing in extreme conditions.

The Vessel is skippered by Lt Commander Vartika Joshi, a naval architect, and the all-woman naval officers crew comprises Lt Commander Pratibha Jamwal, Lieutenants P. Swathi, Vijaya Devi, Payal Gupta and B. Aishwarya.

The all-woman team has already sailed INSV Mhadei to Visakhapatnam from Goa for the International Fleet Review 2016 and thereafter to Mauritius and back.

Following that, they sailed the boat on a grueling voyage to Cape Town in December 2016.
Qatar stands isolated as the four Arab allies  Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates  of the US have declared to snap diplomatic ties with the regions financial superpower for its alleged support to Islamist groups and its closeness to Iran.

Not surprising that this has happened a fortnight after US President Donald Trump visited Saudi Arabia, which banned Qatari planes from landing on its land. As per reports there was chaos at Doha airport as flights to Saudi Arabia and UAE were stopped.

However, this has not happened for the first time as in 2014 also, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain had temporarily withdrew their ambassadors from Qatar.

Its time for India to tread with care amid the Gulf stand-off. India cant afford to take sides. Prime Minister had visited Saudi Arabia and UAE in 2016 and 2015, respectively, to bolster ties with the oil-rich countries. Indias ties with Qatar are mainly based on energy and economic links, besides the presence of about half-a-million Indian people living there.

As of now, Qatari FDI in India is modest, but private investors from the country are looking at investment options in real estate, roads and highways, airports and airlines, ports, petrochemicals and tourism/hospitality.

The stand-off is unlikely to affect energy exports from the Gulf, but it may have far-reaching effects in the region grappling with wars from Syria to Yemen.

Saudi Arabia has been accusing Qatar of supporting Iranian-backed terrorist groups operating in the kingdom's eastern province as well as Bahrain. It also accused Qatar of supporting terror groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood, Islamic State and al-Qaeda.

Qatar is accused of playing a key role in supporting anti-regime movements during the Arab Spring, and acted against Saudi and UAE interests allegedly by funding the Muslim Brotherhood's government in Egypt. Qatar also hosts members of the exiled leadership of the Iranian-backed Hamas militant group that rules the Gaza Strip.
Mamata Banerjee has announced a bold decision that ought to have been in place a long while ago. To say this is in no way to debunk the history of British India, when 19th century Calcuttas College Square was the nerve-centre of demonstrations, pre-eminently by Derozios Young Bengal movement.

Political rallies and demonstrations in College Square have been banned with immediate effect, and it redounds to the credit of Kolkata Police that it has been remarkably prompt in its follow-through, making it explicit that no fresh applications for meetings will be accepted.

Quite the most remarkable feature of the chief ministers announcement is that she has readily conceded to the demand of students who had drawn her attention to the high-decibel noise pollution that hinders the pursuit of academics and the conduct of exams in Calcutta and Presidency Universities and the two reputed government schools ~ Hindu and Hare, not to forget Sanskrit College and Sanskrit Collegiate School.

It is almost as if Kolkatas academic hub is expected to brazen out the almost perpetual hubbub, indeed the passing show of the political class. College Square has been a threat both to learning and public health as the rallies have disturbed Calcutta Medical College & Hospital no less acutely. Not that the chief minister has never used College Square for Trinamul rallies; but she has been remarkably forthright in her directive to minister Firhad Hakim ~ You instruct our party that from today we will not hold anything there.

An equally critical responsibility must now devolve on the Bengal Left and it was rather presumptuous on the part of the CPI-M MLA from Jadavpur, Sujan Chakraborty, to aver that the chief minister is intent on scuttling the Oppositions political agitprop after the siege of Nabanna that wasnt.

In retrospect, the decision to keep College Square out of bounds for the political class ought to have been announced by the CPI-M, when in power, after it had banned similar rallies in Esplanade East. Public meetings in both Esplanade ~ once one of the finest spots of urban landscaping ~ and College Square can dislocate traffic along the citys arterial stretch, with repercussions further afield.

Given the phenomenal increase in the number of vehicles and the restricted road-space, the city is no longer in a position to suffer an arterial block, almost chronic.

It would be useful to recall that the proposal on an alternate site for political rallies was mooted in the early 1990s by none other then Jyoti Basu.

But the land in question, as he would often say, belongs to the military in a far corner of the Maidan which arguably is why the essay towards Kolkatas Hyde Park has never attained fruition.

Let College Square be reserved for swimmers and learners.
Among the various regions affected most by drinking water scarcity in India, the name of Bundelkhand has been mentioned frequently.

This region is spread over 13 districts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh in central India. A recent visit to several remote villages of three districts of this region at the peak of the scorching summer revealed that even though the officially declared drought ended several months back, there is a very serious water shortage in vast rural areas as well as in some urban areas.

In fact the water scarcity was so acute that villagers told me time and again that arranging the days water supply has become their biggest task. This takes up a lot of their time thereby affecting their livelihoods.

In seven out of eight villages that I visited people said that several farm and dairy animals particularly cows and bullocks have perished largely due to water shortage related factors during the last three months as the temperature started shooting up rather early this year.

Water shortage forces people to drink and use contaminated water and this exposes them to several diseases. Although Bundelkhands plateaus and rocky, granitefilled terrain leads to several problems, communities have traditionally adjusted to these by creating well-planned and carefully built tanks as well as other water-bodies several of which are also connected to each other. Instead of learning from and further building on such strengths, recent times have seen a failure to properly protect these structures and to preserve their catchments.

There is much that can be done at comparatively low budgets for protecting, repairing and renovating these traditional water works using local wisdom so that the ability of these structures to conserve rainwater is retained.

In addition when we visit villages affected by water scarcity, people talk about relatively low-cost , small-scale, decentralised solutions to their problems. They are keen about such short-gestation and small-scale projects which can give results in a relatively short time, providing considerable relief to the rural communities.

Hence the participation of people is likely to be easy to secure in the case of such localised, low-cost projects. In fact some efforts are already on to improve community involvement in water conservation with special emphasis on improving the participation of weaker sections. In one such project supported by the European Union and WHH, paani panchayats have been mobilised in several villages and jal sahelis have been selected from the more active local women to take forward the task of water conservation.

In some cases some remedial works have already been approved and in others some work has been taken up only to be left incomplete due to resource constraints or other problems. People also give examples of possible remedial actions being messed up due to corruption.

While much of this relatively lower-cost is languishing as enough resources are not made available, at the same time the authorities have no hesitation in making available huge or even colossal amounts for large-scale projects of dubious value. Bundelkhand has had more than its share of large dams but their cost-benefit estimation has been suspect.

Several years after dam construction one still meets several displaced people who have not recovered from the trauma and multiple problems caused by displacement. Excessive discharges from several dams have led several times to very destructive floods.

At present the biggest such project being taken up for implementation is the Ken Betwa Link Project which involves the construction of one large dam, a 250 km. canal and other related structures.

This is planned at present estimates and prices at a whopping Rs. 18,000 crore. This project has been criticised as it is likely to lead to the cutting of an estimated 1.8 million trees apart from causing very serious damage to Panna Tiger Reserve area and other protected areas for gharials.

This project is aimed at diverting water of Ken river to Betwa river. For this it is essential to establish the existence of a surplus in Ken for transfer to deficit-hit Betwa but this has not been done yet.

This project has been promoted in the name of solving the water crisis of Bundelkhand but it involves transfer to upper reaches of Betwa river, upstream of Bundelkhand while the adverse impact on water recharge in the downstream areas of Ken river flowing into Bundelkhand have been neglected.

Serious questions arise as to why these adverse aspects are being ignored while promoting the costly project. Priorities in the water sector have to be defined properly in a just and unbiased way if we sincerely want to quench the thirst of many parched villages and their people.

The writer is a freelance journalist who has been involved with several social initiatives and movements.
This is Narendra Modis government but the third anniversary luncheon celebrations were hosted by BJP president Amit Shah. Modi didnt put in even a brief appearance although he heads the government whose third anniversary was being celebrated.

It is interesting how much Shah has started filling in for Modi although he is not officially part of the government. This year, there were four grand lunch parties to mark the third anniversary and Shah presided over all of them. They were held at the Ashok Hotel in New Delhi.

The media was invited in batches. The lunch was preceded by a oneand-a-half-hour power point presentation on the Modi governments achievements. Shah sat through the entire thing and fielded questions from the media after the presentation.

Three senior ministers of the government were present: Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj and Venkaiah Naidu. But they were mere spectators.

It was obvious that Shah was calling the shots. Such is his authority in the present dispensation. Media persons were surprised by the lavish scale of the celebration. The lunch menu was all vegetarian but far more extensive than previous lunches at the same venue.

The decorations were over-the-top and the Ashoks giant convention hall was filled with banners, buntings and massive cutouts of the BJPs lotus symbol. This years celebration was so different from events held in the last two years. On the governments first anniversary, Arun Jaitley as I & B minister hosted a series of dinners for media persons. Modi attended all of them and spent more than an hour at each one, answering questions and chatting informally with the journalists present. The second anniversary merited just one lunch at Ashoka Hotel.

Modi did not put in an appearance but all senior ministers were present including Jaitley. Amit Shah was there of course but not in such a prominent role as this year. Clearly, this year, on its third anniversary, the Modi government had much to celebrate, thanks to the BJP stunning victory in the UP assembly polls.

And pride of place belonged to the architect of that victory  Amit Shah.

Worried leaders

Some of the opposition leaders who attended Sonia Gandhis lunch last week are worried that the event may have boomeranged on them.

The lunch was billed as a show of strength by the opposition to count its numbers for the upcoming election of the next President of India. But it was obvious from the number of parties that skipped the lunch that the opposition is woefully short of numbers to get its candidate elected. According to one calculation, the combined strength of all those present left the opposition short of 1.5 lakh votes in the electoral college.

This is largely because the AIADMK and BJD, which have overwhelming majorities in their state assemblies and substantial numbers in Parliament, stayed away from Sonias lunch.

The realisation that their numbers are simply not adding up forced the opposition to abandon the idea of announcing a joint nominee. In fact, the opposition may not even go in for a contest it is bound to lose.

So the ball is now in Modis court. He has to announce his choice for President and hope that recalcitrant allies like Shiv Sena do not create last minute problems for him.

AAP achievement

If only Arvind Kejriwal refrained from unnecessary dramatics. This years Class 12 CBSE results are a feather in the cap of his governments education policy for Delhi schools. Government schools in the capital have outshone private schools with several top slots going to students from Delhis government schools.

These students have also performed remarkably well in the JEE IIT entrance exams. These are remarkable achievements, all thanks to efforts put in by Delhi education minister Manish Sisodia and AAP education consultant Atishi Marlena.

The steps they took included close monitoring of schools, retraining teachers through special courses in top educational institutions outside Delhi and incentivising teachers and students to perform better. The Kejriwal government can rightfully count an improved government education system as one of its achievements. Unfortunately, the governments achievements go unnoticed because of Kejriwals confrontational politics.

AAPs tendency to get embroiled in fights and quarrels on every issue and turn even the most innocuous matter into a political battle with Modi has obscured the small strides the Kejriwal government has made in basic areas that matter like health and education.

After the pounding in the Delhi municipal election, Kejriwal seems to be trying to mend his ways. He is now concentrating on the essentials of governance and reconnecting with the people of Delhi. A priority area is to prevent an outbreak of dengue, malaria and chikanguniya like last year. Can Delhi dare to hope for a healthier and cleaner summer/monsoon season?

Inexperienced Yogi

Even as crime rates soar in Yogi Adityanaths UP, the BJP insists on blaming the media for exaggerating the mounting law and order problems. Amit Shah blasted media persons at the third anniversary lunch for asking questions on the crime situation in UP. He claimed that the recent murder and gang-rape incident on the Bulandshahr highway was blown out of proportion by the media.

According to him, a similar incident occurred near the very same spot during the Akhilesh governments tenure but television gave barely 28 minutes of coverage.

The recent incident was aired for three consecutive days, he complained, claiming that the media was biased against the BJP government in UP.

Those present at the lunch said that his body language suggested that the BJP is extremely worried about the law and order problems in UP. There is a feeling that Yogi Adityanaths inexperience as an administrator is beginning to show.
It is of lesser significance that the substantial seizures during the raids against the funding of militancy in Jammu and Kashmir puncture another myth in the demonetisation fanfare ~ that terrorism would be starved of financial backing.

What is of greater significance is that the raids conducted by the National Investigation Agency point to the injection of some grey matter into the counter-productive, escalatory, bullet-for-bullet strategy recently favoured by the NDA government: and implemented by an Army leadership that erroneously clings to the belief that there is a military solution to what has vexed the nation since Independence.

The raids in several parts of the Valley, New Delhi and its satellite cities confirm that a widespread, fairly efficient funding mechanism has been functioning for a considerable period.

Little point would be served in raising questions about why the crackdown was not initiated earlier: it is important to stress that there must be no relaxation after the raids have yielded their headlines and political dividends, and various financial probe agencies are drafted into the exercise.

Any choking of money flowing to terrorists or militants will hamper their nefarious activity ~ be it in J-K or the Maoist corridor. Sustaining the NIA drive will hurt the separatists campaign, as is evident from the strong reaction from the All Party Hurriyat Conferece: it will have to devise new systems to keep its poison flowing.

Both wings of North Block must join forces and keep up the pressure, break down the links between the militants and the common folk suffering economic hardship. It would, however, be incorrect to assume that the resentment to the state in the Valley is fuelled by a desire to have access to easy money.

Sure money did play a part in enabling the effective use of social media to spread anti-national propaganda, yet it would be self-deception and suicidal to think that the young men and women who pelt stones at the security forces are doing so only for pocket-money.

They have both aspirations and frustrations, some firmly believe their religion is under threat ~ and not just in J-K. Conventional methods of reaching out, activating back channels etc have hardly worked because there is no comprehensive policy, so no workable action-plan.

Cutting the financial supply line is not enough, like military action it can only provide a little breathing space. Such space has been created in the past, never utilised.

The Modi government is unlikely to muster the political courage to admit it, but its J-K policy is as ineffective as the UPAs. The home minister claims to have a game-plan, little of it is visible.

And the manner in which BJP leaders use television to project every Kashmiri as a Pakistan-lover will thwart anything that Rajnath Singh may have in mind.
Manmade devices now surpass the ability of living things in data communication and machines can send messages, act on messages received and send responses to other machines.

Huge data transfer, automation and complex tasks by robots have thus become possible. The same communication capability, however, cannot be transferred to the nanoscale and this limits what use we can make of nanodevices that have become feasible.

Antoni Llopis-Lorente, Paula Diez, Alfredo Sanchez, Maria D Marcos, Felix Sancenon, Paloma Matinez-Ruiz, Reynaldo Villalonga and Ramon MartinezManez from institutes in Valencia and Madrid, in Spain, report in the journal, Nature Communications, that they have devised nanoparticles that use molecules, or chemical signals, for passing and receiving messages.

It is the method that the smallest living things, like cells, neurons, insects and bacteria rely on, as they do not have the energy to use the methods of larger animals.

At the larger scale, the sophistication of electronics has made it possible to exercise automated, intelligent and interactive control of powerful machinery  train control and air traffic control, for instance, or even robotics that can assemble other machines or sense defects and take steps to correct them.

And the machines we use have become progressively smaller. Drones, for instance, that can fly through inaccessible areas to take pictures, or even carry out operations, in electronic communication with a control centre.

While yet smaller devices are used as medical or surgical implants to carry out intelligent tasks within the bloodstream or organs of the body, it would be useful to employ drones at the level of cells, to deal with cancers, to deliver drugs or even surgery at a very fine level.

At the level of very small devices, however, for measurable work, it would be necessary for groups, even swarms of nanoparticles to be in communication. The trouble is that at these dimensions, embedding electronic sensors or transmitters in the devices is not feasible.

What any system of communication calls for, the authors explain, is that a first entity respond to a stimulus by creating a signal. The signal should then be received by another entity and the receipt of the signal should act as a stimulus to a change in the state of the receiver. Ideally, the change includes sending a message back to the first sender, which needs to have the capacity to receive signals.

While humans have great capacity to communicate and work in teams, animals also communicate, usually with sounds or visual signals, to hunt and to find safety in large groupings. The smallest living things, however, are too small for visual signals to be seen and they cannot create sounds that carry very far. Insects thus make extensive use of chemical signals, a method also used by other animals as scents.

And the cells in the body, and single celled animals like bacteria, communicate exclusively by exchange of molecules or chemical signals. These molecules are released when electric charges accumulate within the cells and their reception by the correspondent cell usually also brings about changes in electric charges, to set off other processes. A great deal of progress has been made in the use of chemical processes to classify information or computing.

Strands of DNA, for instance, are employed to recognise chemical patterns and carry out computations. Computer memories based on protein molecules have also been conjectured. A man-made nanoparticle, of submicron dimensions, which can deliver a payload and has the capacity to send and receive chemical signals, however, has been a challenge, the authors of the Nature Communications paper say.

In the work now reported, the team recognises that what is required is a particle that can respond to stimuli in two different ways, or to have two faces, so to speak. The team hence makes use of a class of Janus particles or nanoparticles that have different physical properties on opposing faces.

The same Janus particle can thus allow different chemicals processes to take place. A simplest example would be a particle that is water attracting on one side and water repelling on the other. Such particles would align themselves along an oil-water boundary for instance.

Alternatively, they could attach to a water-like portion of so-me target molecule or structure and present the water repelling side to others that approach the target. Following this line of thinking, the Valencia-Madrid group created nanoparticles of porous silica, to one side of which nanoparticles of gold were attached.

The method described is that the silica nanoparticles were first confined to a water-paraffin interface and first coated with paraffin wax on one side. Gold nanoparticles could then be attached to the face that was not covered by paraffin and the paraffin finally washed away.

The result was particles that presented a silica face on one side and a gold face on the other. The payload, or the material to be delivered was loaded in the pores of the silicon side of a first set of particles and the holes were closed with stoppers that opened when there was a specific chemical stimulus.

And the gold coated side had a function that worked with a different set of stimuli. In a second set of particles, the gold side was sensitised to the signal sent by the gold side of the first set, and the response was for the silicon side to release the signal that induced the first set to release the payload.

The payload was hence released when the carrier of the payload sent a message to another set of particles, and when a response was received from the other set. As shown in the picture, the first set of particles, which carries the payload, is stimulated by the sugar, lactose.

This acts on the gold side of the particles, to release the messenger, glucose. When the second set receives the messenger, it reacts by release of a second messenger, which gets the first set of particles to release the payload. Trials were carried out with a mixture of samples of the two kinds of nanoparticles, the first one with a load.

It was clearly seen that it was only when the lactose, the stimulus for the first kind of particle, was added to the mixture that there was progressive release of the load in the first group. The trial was hence of effective, interactive communication, based on scalable chemical exchange.

The idea of establishing communication between nanodevices embraces an enormous potential for the design of more advanced and complex nanoscale systems and the development of nanodevice communities, the authors of the paper say.

The writer can be contacted at [email protected]
Chemicals found in fossil fuel-powered vehicle exhausts, cosmetics, electric and traditional cigarettes, glue and building materials may increase the risk of cancer because they can interfere with the bodys natural repair mechanism, according to a new study.

Researchers found that formaldehyde stalls and destabilises structures involved in replication of DNA and selectively depletes the BRCA2 gene, which helps suppress tumours.

They suggested the chemical and other aldehydes might trigger cancer in people with a faulty copy of the gene. However, another scientist, commenting on the research, said it was rather misleading to suggest that everyday items containing the chemical, like shampoo, could be an important cause of cancer in humans.

Many things are carcinogenic but the effect is so low they are not considered major health problems. For example, toast, coffee, sunlight and granite all increase the risk of cancer. But, writing in the journal Cell, the researchers said their discovery of aldehydes effect on DNA could be important.

The public health significance of our findings is emphasised by the ubiquity of exposure to formaldehyde and acetaldehyde, particularly in the urban environment, from sources including tobacco smoke, e-cigarettes, automobile combustion emissions, building materials, and even cosmetics, they said.

Professor Ashok Venkitaraman, director of the Medical Research Council Cancer Unit at Cambridge University, added, Our study shows how chemicals,  to which we are increasingly exposed in our day-to-day lives  may increase the risk of diseases like cancer.

He said people who inherited a faulty BRCA2 gene might be particularly affected by the chemicals. However, another scientist at Cambridge University said no one should worry about the studys findings.

Professor Paul Pharoah, a cancer epidemiologist, said the link between aldehydes and the risk of cancer had been known for a long time. He said, This study tells us little about how important those risks are and it is rather misleading to suggest that shampoo, for example, is an important cause of cancer in humans.
An international team of scientists has announced the third detection of gravitational waves  ripples in space and time  demonstrating that a new window in astronomy has been firmly opened. As was the case with the first two detections, the waves were generated when two black holes collided to form a larger black hole.

The newfound black hole, detected by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory, formed by the merger, has a mass about 49 times that of our sun.

This fills in a gap between the masses of the two merged back holes detected previously by Ligo, with solar masses of 62 (first detection) and 21 (second detection). The new observation was made by the Ligo Scientific Collaboration together with the European-based Virgo Collaboration, which includes Ed Daw from the University of Sheffields department of physics and astronomy.

Because black holes dont emit light, we dont know as much about them as we do about stars that shine, said Daw, By observing the waves of gravity that some black hole systems emit, we can infer the physics driving the emission of the gravitational waves, and probe the ideas of Einstein and others of how gravity works.

We can also start to conduct a sort of black hole census  how many black holes are in your average galaxy and how massive are they? We currently dont really understand how the universe produced so many black hole, binaries tens of times as massive as our sun, and the quest to understand how they came about is an interesting one in its own right.

Daw added, This latest discovery is further evidence of Ligo developing from a first-discovery instrument to an observatory that explores our mysterious universe.

The new detection occurred during Ligos current observing run, which began on 30 November 2016, and will continue through the summer. Ligo is an international collaboration with members around the globe.

Its observations are carried out by twin detectors  one in Hanford, Washington, and the other in Livingston, Louisiana  operated by the California Institute of Technology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with funding from the National Science Foundation.

Ligo made the first-ever direct observation of gravitational waves in September 2015 during its first observing run since undergoing major upgrades in a programme called Advanced Ligo.

The second detection was made in December 2015. The third detection, called GW170104 and made on 4 January 2017, has been described in a new paper accepted for publication in the journal Physical Review Letters.

In all three cases, each of the twin detectors of Ligo detected gravitational waves from the tremendously energetic mergers of black hole pairs. These are collisions that produce more power than is radiated as light by all the stars and galaxies in the universe at any given time.

The recent detection appears to be the farthest yet with the black holes located about three billion light years away. The black holes in the first and second detections are located 1.3 and 1.4 billion light years away, respectively. The newest observation also provides clues about the directions in which the black holes are spinning.

As pairs of black holes spiral around each other, they also spin on their own axes-like a pair of ice skaters spinning individually while also circling around each other. Sometimes black holes spin in the same overall orbital direction as the pair is moving  what astronomers refer to as aligned spins  and sometimes they spin in the opposite direction of the orbital motion.

Whats more, black holes can also be tilted away from the orbital plane. Essentially, black holes can spin in any direction. Ligo scientific collaboration spokesperson, David Shoemaker from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said, We have further confirmation of the existence of stellar-mass black holes that are larger than 20 solar masses  these are objects we didnt know existed before Ligo detected them.

It is remarkable that humans can put together a story, and test it, for such strange and extreme events that took place billions of years ago and billions of light-years distant from us. The entire Ligo and Virgo scientific collaborations worked to put all these pieces together.

The new Ligo data cannot determine if the recently observed black holes were tilted but they imply that at least one of the black holes may have been non-aligned compared to the overall orbital motion.

More observations with Ligo are needed to say anything definitive about the spins of binary black holes but these early data offer clues about how these pairs may form.
Scientists have for the first time demonstrated that it is possible to covertly siphon sensitive files, passwords or other critical data from any common router.

Researchers at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) in Israel demonstrated how functionality light-emitting diodes (LEDs) can be silently overridden by malware they developed (code named "xLED"), which infects firmware in the device.

Once the xLED malware infects the network device, it gains full control of the LEDs that flash to indicate status.

Network devices such as routers and local area network switches typically include activity and status LEDs used to monitor traffic activity, alerts and provide status.

"Sensitive data can be encoded and sent via the LED light pulses in various ways," said Mordechai Guri, head of research and development at the BGU Cyber Security Research Center (CSRC).

"An attacker with access to a remote or local camera, or with a light sensor hidden in the room, can record the LED's activity and decode the signals," said Guri.

"Unlike network traffic that is heavily monitored and controlled by firewalls, this covert channel is currently not monitored," said Guri.

"As a result, it enables attackers to leak data while evading firewalls, air-gaps (computers not hooked up to the internet) and other data-leakage prevention methods," he said.

The xLED malware can programme the LEDs to flash at very fast speeds  more than 1,000 flickers per second for each LED.

Since a typical router or network switch includes six or more status LEDs, the transmission rate can be multiplied significantly to as much as thousands of bits per second.

As a result, a significant amount of highly sensitive information can be encoded and leaked over the fast LED signals, which can be received and recorded by a remote camera or light sensor.


Comedian Bill Cosby attended the first day of his trial for alleged sexual assault of Canadian Andrea Constand, one of more than 60 women who have filed criminal charges against him.

The 79-year-old remained silent during the the trial, which began on Monday amid strong security measures at the Norristown courthouse, outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, reported Efe.

The trial, which will go on for about two weeks, focuses on Constand, who claims that in early 2004 Cosby invited her to his mansion in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, and gave her some pills which made her dizzy, and which allowed him to abuse her.

Constand, 44, is expected to testify at the trial, although it is not yet known when.

Instead, another woman testified on Monday. Known only by the alias Kacey, she said that in 1996 Cosby invited her to a hotel in Los Angeles, California, drugged and paralysed her, and later abused her  a story that Constand as well as dozens of other women claim to have happened to them as well, Efe reported.

The comedian's defence, led by lawyer Brian McMonagle, objected to Kacey's testimony at the trial as they believe it was not relevant to Constand's case or the "romantic" relationship that, according to them, Cosby and Constand had.

Cosby has repeatedly rejected the allegations of sexual abuse and claimed that his relationship with Constand was consensual, although he said that he used drugs as a lure to attract women but never as a tool to incapacitate them.

Allegations of sexual abuse by Cosby date back to the 1960s and are too old to be prosecuted, so prosecutors believe that Constand's case can be crucial to prove the alleged sexual assaults that dozens of women suffered for years.

Cosby is charged with three counts of sexual abuse, each carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of $25,000.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Tuesday termed the Melbourne hostage crisis as a "terrorist incident", as police launched a probe into the attack claimed by the Islamic State that left two men dead and three officers injured.

Turnbull said there was no evidence to suggest that the last night's attack was a coordinated attack and that others were involved in planning and carrying out the assault.

"This terrorist attack by a known criminal, a man who was only recently released on parole, is a shocking, cowardly crime. It is a terrorist attack and it underlines the need for us to be constantly vigilant, never to be deterred, always defiant, in the face of Islamist terrorism," he said.

"What is clear here is that we face a growing threat from Islamist terrorism in Australia, in our region and around the world. We will continue to defy it and we will continue to defeat it."

Turnbull confirmed that the dead gunman, Yacqub Khayre, had been previously acquitted of terror-related charges, and said there were "grave questions" about why he was out on parole despite a known record of violent offending.

"I have raised these with the Victorian Premier, whom I called last night and I called again this morning. How was this man on parole? He had a long record of violenceHe had been charged with a terrorist offence some years ago and had been acquitted," he said.

"Now, there is an investigation going on at the moment.

There is a lot about this incident that is not known. But we do know it was a terrorist attack and he has claimed, the offender claimed that quite specifically," Turnbull said.

Meanwhile, the bomb disposal squad and forensics police today searched the scene of the siege in Brighton suburb of Melbourne while officers were raiding the home of the gunman who killed one man yesterday.

Local media reports said that police carried paper bags of evidence containing a book with Arabic writing from Buckingham Serviced Apartments on Bay Street, where Khayre held a sex worker hostage before he was killed by police.

Khayre had been on parole since late last year and had a long record of serious criminal offending including offences for drugs, firearms and violence and was being investigated for possible links to terrorism.

He was acquitted in a 2009 terror plot to kill military personnel at Holsworthy army barracks in Sydney.

Police believe he became radicalised after attending Preston mosque with other men who were also charged over the barracks plot.

Khayre was later jailed for five years and six months for a violent home invasion in 2013.

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said the incident was being treated as "an act of terrorism".

Police said they believe that Khayre was acting alone and have released a statement encouraging Victorians to go about their daily business, saying there is no current threat.

"Nothing we have found thus far suggests to us this was anything that was planned or done in concert with others," he said. "We believe at this stage he was acting alone and there is no ongoing threat in relation to a plot."

Islamic State's Amaq propaganda news agency today claimed responsibility for the attack.

A review into the Khayre's prison and parole management has been ordered.

Khayre shot dead a China-born clerk working at an apartment building yesterday and took a female escort hostage.

He was shot dead following a stand-off with police.
A bomb explosion outside a mosque in the Afghan city of Herat killed at least seven people and wounded 15 on Tuesday, hours after the Indian ambassadors residence in Kabul was attacked with a rocket-launched grenade.

Locals were quoted as saying by a news agency that a bomb was detonated right outside the Jama Masjid when a prayer service was taking place inside.

Explosives were hidden in a motorcycle parked outside the mosque.

These attacks came the day the Kabul Peace Process Conference began. The conference, inaugurated by President Ashraf Ghani, is being attended by the leaders of 27 nations and representatives of international organisations.

In a bomb blast outside the Indian embassy last week, 150 people were killed.

Several protesters were killed in clashes with police on Friday at the bomb site, and at least a dozen people others lost their lives when suicide bombers attacked the funeral of one of the victims on Saturday.
British police on Monday named two of the three terrorists who carried out the London Bridge attack as Khuram Shazad Butt and Rachid Redouane.

Butt, 27, who was born in Pakistan, lived in east London with his wife and children for years, Xinhua reported.

He was even once featured in a BBC documentary about Islamist extremists called "The Jihadis Next Door."

The other attacker, Rachid Redouane, 30, claimed to be Moroccan-Libyan descent, also lived in the same area of east London.

According to media reports, Rachid Redouane was believed to have lived in Ireland for over one year between 2014 and 2016 and married to a Scottish wife.

Scotland Yard said Butt was known to police two years ago but with no intelligence suggesting an attack.

The two attackers' pictures were released by police and inquiries were ongoing to confirm the identity of their accomplice. Police asked for people with information about any of these men to come forward.

Six women and four men arrested by police after the attack are still being questioned, police said.

The three attackers were shot dead by police on Saturday night after they drove a hired van into pedestrians on London Bridge and then stabbed people in the nearby Borough Market, leaving seven people killed and 48 injured.

NHS England said on Monday that 36 people remained in hospital, with 18 in a critical condition.
Veteran Nepalese politician Sher Bahadur Deuba is set to become Nepal's prime minister for the fourth time on Tuesday after the main opposition party decided to end the obstruction of parliament.

Nepal Parliament is conducting election to the post of Prime Minister this afternoon.

Deuba, 70, is the sole candidate to contest in the prime minister election as the main opposition UML or any other party didn't register their candidacies. Deuba has the support of more than 50 per cent of the lawmakers needed for his election to the top post.

He needs to secure 297 votes in the 593-strong Parliament to prove his majority during today's election, and with the NC-Maoist Centre alliance enjoying 287 seats in Parliament and four other parties supporting the alliance having 21 seats, it looks plain sailing for Deuba.

The election was postponed from Sunday to today after the main opposition CPN-UML launched a protest over re-election in a ward.

However, now with the main opposition party agreeing to end obstruction of the parliament, Nepali Congress (NC) President Deuba is become the country's 40th prime minister.

The CPN-UML decided to end House obstruction after the ruling parties agreed to hold local elections in the remaining four provinces on June 28 and the provincial and parliamentary elections by January, 2018.

"We decided to end the obstruction in parliament after the ruling parties agreed to commit in the House to hold elections in the remaining four provinces and not repeating any irregularities," said former UML chairman Jhal Nath Khanal after the meeting between the government and the Opposition.

As per the Constitution, a candidate must secure a simple majority in parliament to get elected as the head of the government. CPN-Maoist Centre, Madhesi Peoples Rights Forum Democratic, Rastriya Prajatantra Party and other fringe parties have agreed to vote in favour of Deuba.

Deuba is likely to form a small Cabinet tomorrow which will be expanded in a few days and some of the Madhesi parties are also likely to join the coalition. The responsibility of conducting the second phase of local level election will rest upon Deuba.

Outgoing Prime Minister Prachanda of the CPN (Maoist Centre) proposed Deuba's candidacy while senior NC leader Ram Chandra Poudel seconded the proposal at the Parliament Secretariat which on Friday published the schedule to elect the new prime minister on majority basis.

Prachanda resigned on May 24 after a brief stint of nine months, honouring a power sharing understanding with the ruling coalition partner Nepali Congress to hand over the country's leadership to the largest party in Parliament.

Deuba served as the prime minister from 1995 to 1997, from 2001 to 2002, and from 2004 to 2005. Deuba was sacked by the then King Gyanendra Shah in 2005 over failure to hold elections and bring Maoist rebels to a round table negotiation.
The first World Pest Day was launched here in China on Tuesday, aimed at eventual reduction and elimination of pest-borne diseases.

The inaugural World Pest Day, initiated by the Chinese Pest Control Association (CPCA), proposed to increase awareness of pest-borne diseases and safeguard public health through scientific and professional pest control methods.

More than 30 national and international organisations signed to support the initiative, Xinhua news agency reported.

CPCA President Xu Jianguo said the launch of World Pest Day came at the right time as the number of mosquito, tick, and rodent-borne diseases, such as Zika virus, yellow fever, dengue fever and malaria, were on the rise.

The severity of these diseases has increased due to a rapidly warming planet, accelerating urbanisation and booming trade and tourism, according to Xu.

Statistics from the World Health Organization show that more than one billion people worldwide were exposed to vector-borne diseases, and every year one million people lose their lives as a result.

The economic costs of these diseases amount to more than 17 per cent of the total costs of infectious diseases.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday called for achieving a negotiated two-state solution to resolve the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

Monday marks 50 years of the start of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, which resulted in Israel's occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza and the Syrian Golan.

"Ending the occupation that began in 1967 and achieving a negotiated two-state outcome is the only way to lay the foundations for enduring peace that meets Israeli security needs and Palestinian aspirations for statehood and sovereignty," Xinhua quoted Guterres as saying.

Guterres said resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will remove a driver of violent extremism and terrorism in the Middle East and open the doors to cooperation, security, prosperity and human rights for all.

He called on both sides to return to direct negotiations to resolve all final status issues on the basis of relevant UN resolutions, agreements and international law.
The UN migration agency IOM on Tuesday said it plans to provide 3,700 shelter repair kits, 5,000 non-food relief item kits and 250 temporary shelters to assist the worst flood-affected areas in Sri Lanka.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said it would seek funding from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, and the intervention would help an estimated 74,750 people, Xinhua news agency reported.

Heavy flooding, landslides and flash floods have affected some 684,000 people in south and central Sri Lanka.

The flooding, which is believed to be the worst in over a decade, has left at least 212 people dead and 79 missing.

The IOM's initial rapid assessments conducted last week in some district of Sri Lanka showed that homes and villages were swept away by the flood waters and mud slides.

The IOM cited Sri Lanka's Disaster Management Centre figure of over 2,500 houses which were destroyed and nearly 15,900 houses damaged.

"These numbers could rise as data from damage assessments is compiled in the coming weeks," the IOM said in a statement issued Tuesday.

According to the UN agency, nearly 22,000 people were still sheltering in some 200 over-crowded "safe sites" including schools, temples and churches.

People currently staying in evacuation centres or with relatives and friends were unlikely to be able to return to their homes in the short term, the IOM said.

"People will need shelter and other non-food relief items (when they leave the sites) and we will need to ensure that aid is distributed at the location most useful and appropriate for each affected family," said IOM Sri Lanka Chief of Mission Giuseppe Crocetti.

Earlier on June 2, the UN Humanitarian Country Team launched an Emergency Response Plan seeking $22.7 million to address the critical life-saving and protection needs of 374,000 people in seven districts, targeting four priority sectors, including shelter, food, health and water and sanitation.

The IOM said it is already supporting the Sri Lankan government and humanitarian agencies with displacement tracking maps generated from its monitoring system updates.
The deaths in last week's truck bombing in Kabul have climbed to 150, making the attack deadliest since 2001, President Ashraf Ghani said on Tuesday.

Ghani said over 300 persons were also injured in the bombing last Wednesday when a truck packed with explosives blew up at an entrance to a fortified area of the city that includes foreign embassies and government buildings.

"We were not the only targets, the entire diplomatic community was the target of this attack," Ghani told foreign diplomats gathered an international peace conference in Kabul.

Over 20 countries and international organisations, including the US, Russia, China, the United Nations, NATO and the EU were participating in the conference titled "Kabul Process" that kicked off on Tuesday, Efe news reported.

Although, the Islamic State claimed the attack, Afghan intelligence agency, the National Directorate of Security (NDS) blamed the Taliban-allied Haqqani network for the bombing.

The agency also accused Pakistan's spy agency ISI of helping the terror group plan the attack, a charge Islamabad has denied.

Official estimates had earlier put the toll at 90 with over 460 persons injured in the attack.


Kuwait has offered to mediate in the crisis between Qatar and its estranged Arab neighbours, a media report said on Tuesday.

The Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah, asked his Qatari counterpart, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to exercise self-control and refrain from taking steps which could worsen the situation, the Kuwaiti news agency Kuna reported.

Following the telephonic conversation, Al Thani decided to postpone the speech he had planned to give to the Qatari people following the diplomatic crisis, Efe news reported.

This was to give the Kuwait Emir the time to make contacts with the parties of the conflict and try to contain the damage, a Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry statement said.

Following the diplomatic crisis, Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani met his Omani counterpart Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah.

Oman, which has not joined the diplomatic boycott, has mediated in other times in regional conflicts such as the war in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain announced on Monday they had cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, whom they accuse of supporting terrorism and undermining stability in the region. Libya and the Maldives followed suit.
Nepal has expressed concerns over the situation of its workers employed in the Gulf nations after seven countries, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Egypt and Libya, cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates took the largest number of Nepali migrant workers in the year 2015-16, the Department of Foreign Employment of Nepal said.

A total of 320,360 Nepalis reached these three countries for employment while a total of 3,146 reached Bahrain in 2015-16, Xinhua news agency reported.

Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said it was monitoring the situation following the diplomatic stand-off among Gulf nations.

"We have instructed Nepali embassies in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Egypt to assess situation for Nepali migrant workers," MoFA spokesman Bharat Raj Paudyal said.

Rohan Gurung, General Secretary of Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies, said: "Question has arisen over what happens to Nepalis working in branches of Qatari companies in other countries which severed ties with Qatar."

He also said that until Qatar Airlines and Himalayan Airlines which have direct air connectivity with Doha increase number of flights, movement of Nepali migrant workers to Qatar may come down.

However, Nepal's Ministry of Labour and Employment said that it is yet to assess impact of diplomatic stand-off between Qatar and other Gulf countries on the Nepali migrant workers.

"We have not seen much impact immediately because there are not many Nepalis who have to travel from one country to another for employment," said Govindamani Bhurtel, spokesperson of the Ministry.


Intelligence officials around the world on Tuesday were jolted by revelations in a top-secret report from the US National Security Agency that Russia made hacking attacks to influence the 2016 American presidential election.

The NSA report published on Monday by online news organisation The Intercept said that Russia's military intelligence conducted over 100 cyberattacks on voting software providers and local election officials.

According to the leaked document, which was dated May 5, Russia's Military Intelligence Directorate (GRU) allegedly launched an attack in August 2016 against a US company "evidently to obtain information on elections-related software and hardware solutions".

"The actors likely used data obtained from that operation to launch a voter registration-themed 'spear-phishing' campaign targeting US local government organisations," reported Efe news, citing the classified NSA report.

Spear-phishing is an information-gathering technique directed at specific individuals or companies, which often uses fake e-mails as a way to extract passwords from unwitting targets.

A 25-year-old US government contractor, Reality Leigh Winner, was accused by authorities of leaking the NSA report and charged with mishandling classified information.

Winner was arrested last week and remains in jail pending a detention hearing this week, according to her attorney Titus T. Nichols.

Nichols called for the release of his client, saying: "She has no criminal history; it's not as if she's a threat to anyone."

Winner worked for the Pluribus International Corporation consulting firm and had top secret clearance, which allowed her to handle classified information.

Pluribus International's clients include the Defence Intelligence Agency, the US Army and US Central Command.

The US Department of Justice said in a statement that Winner printed out a classified document from her office computer on May 9 and mailed it to The Intercept.

However, the indictment shows that investigators managed to track down the suspect when they noted that the document posted on The Intercept's website showed folding marks.

They then deduced that the document had been sent by mail and further determined that six people had access to the document.

Authorities found that only Winner had made email contact with The Intercept.


Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba was on Tuesday elected the new Prime Minister of Nepal  12 years after he was removed from the post by the then King Gyanendra Shah.

Deuba, 71, received wide political support, apart from the main opposition, Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist, during voting.

His victory was certain after none of the political parties fielded a candidate against him.

On May 24, the then Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' had announced his resignation, in keeping with his agreement with the Nepali Congress, which had propped up his coalition government since last August.
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has said that he will convene an international donor conference to coordinate assistance for rebuilding the island nation's flood-hit areas.

"We hope to be able to convene this international donor conference," Sirisena told a government conference last night.

He said that all international aid pledged so far would be used to rebuild the homes destroyed in the recent landslides and floods triggered by monsoon rains.

"We will have all money received from international donors in one bank account and use. We will invite all donors to the conference," he said, without announcing dates for the conference.

Sri Lanka received support from several countries during the recent floods with immediate response and relief from India, China, Pakistan, the US, EU, Japan and Australia.

According to the Disaster Management Center, 2,545 houses have been fully damaged while more than 15,000 others have been partially damaged.

At least 212 died and 79 still missing in the country's worst torrential rains since 2003 that displaced nearly half a million people. More than 500 millimeters of rain devastated 14 of the 25 administrative districts.

There are 21,000 families housed in 202 welfare centers with nearly 700,000 people affected.

The Meteorological Department said that worst affected districts of Ratnapura, Kalutara, Galle, Kegalle, Matara, Nuwara Eliya and Hambantota districts would see average rain fall during June. Yet landslide warnings will be in effect for all districts.

According to authorities, over 89,000 wells are contaminated.

With close to 50 per cent of people using wells for their daily needs in the affected areas, access to clean water is urgently needed, the relief agencies said.

The UN Humanitarian Country team has launched an Emergency Response Plan with support from UN agencies, local and international NGOs, officials said.

The World Food Programme (WFP) said it was preparing to assist 75,000 of the most vulnerable people in the hardest-hit flood areas for a two month period. This is in addition to 25,000 people who need assistance in drought affected areas.

The south of the island has experienced heavy rains with flooding, while drought conditions prevail in the north.

The WFP is seeking an additional USD 2.6 million bringing the total funding required to assist those affected by the drought and the floods to USD 5.7 million.


Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has spoken to key players in the dispute between Qatar and neighbouring Gulf Arab countries in efforts to find a solution, his spokesman said.

Erdogan "has initiated diplomatic efforts to resolve this dispute between friends and brothers in line with the spirit of the holy month of Ramadan," spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said in a statement late yesterday.

Erdogan has not yet commented on the crisis, in which Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Yemen, cut ties with Qatar Monday, accusing it of supporting extremism.

But deputy prime minister Numan Kurtulmus said Monday that Erdogan had already been in contact with several key players.

He spoke by phone with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, and King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

He also discussed the crisis, the biggest in the region for years, with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"I would like to take this opportunity to declare once again that Turkey is prepared to do its due over the next days and weeks," Kalin said in the statement.

Turkey enjoys friendly relations with Qatar including in the energy sector, but also maintains good ties with other Gulf countries.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu yesterday called for dialogue and said Turkey was ready to help defuse the row.


Mumbai,June 6 (IBNS): Denmark based Advantage Media ventures into the Indian Market, through a collaboration with White Rivers Media, to bring their proprietary Remarketing Tool to the country.

White Rivers Media will be the exclusive representative of this tool in the Indian sub-continent.

With this collaboration, together they aim to provide strategic online re-targeting solutions tothe top eCommerce players in India.



The collaboration plans to deliver definitive value to the eCommerce industry in terms of improved Conversion Rates and Personalized Retargeting.

They will be closely working with the Confederation of Danish Industry to create mutually beneficial solutions for companies from both the countries.

On partnering with Advantage Media, Shrenik Gandhi, CEO and Co-Founder, White Rivers Media, said, "The Indian eCommerce sector is one of the fastest growing in the world with home grown and global heavyweights trying to reach maximum customers in the most optimised way. This remarketing tool holds enormous promise for increasing the return on investment on sustainable basis. Advantage Media in bringing the properiteary tool to India for the first time. Their solution has already proven its mettel for eCommerce industry across 20 countries. Retargeting solution adds up to the promise of White Rivers Media to bring the most effective ROI driven marketing startegy for our clients. We already provide ROI oriented digital and social media services; this new retargeting solution seemlessly syncronizes and adds upto our service range.



According to Jonas Frederiksen,Global Founder - Advantage Media, This is the next step towards following the strategy we started almost 4 years ago.India was a natural choice for the next step; the growth is over 51% in the e-commerce as the population is buying more and more online. This growth is amazing and we would, of course, like to be part of this, the next coming years.

He also added, We found the right partner in White Rivers Media, they have shown to have exactly what we were searching for,partner wise. We bring a unique product with a unique payment model i.e. our clients only pay if we bring revenue.
Patnaik's close aides say that to understand him, one has to understand his empathy

By Pratul Sharma/Photos Sanjay Ahlawat
Five people were killed on Tuesday as the farmers' agitation turned violent in Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh, prompting the authorities to clamp curfew in the trouble-hit area.

Some eyewitnesses alleged that the victims suffered bullet wounds, but Mandsaur district authorities denied that police fired on the protesters, who were on a rampage.

While the Congress called for state bandh on Wednesday, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan blamed the opposition party for instigating the violence.

Mandsaur collector S.K. Singh confirmed death of five persons and said a magisterial inquiry has been ordered. As tension prevailed, mobile internet service were suspended in Mandsaur, Ratlam and Neemuch districts since morning to check spread of rumours.

Singh also said that police categorically told him that they did not fire at the protesters.

The deceased were identified as Kanhaiyalal Patidar, Bablu Patidar, Chain Singh Patidar, Abhishek Patidar and Satynarayan. Abhishek and Satynarayan died en route to a hospital in Indore, police said.

Curfew has been imposed in Pipalya Mandi police station area of Mandsaur district where the incident took place, while prohibitory orders restricting movement under section 144 of CrPC have been imposed in rest of the district, the collector said.

"Police have told me that neither did they fire nor did they have any orders to fire," Singh added.

In-camera autopsy of bodies was going on and the cause of death will be known after it, the collector said, adding that families of the deceased will get financial aid.

According to eyewitnesses, protesting farmers torched vehicles and indulged in stone pelting in Parshvanath area under Pipaliya Mandi police station limits of the district.

The CM announced a financial help of Rs 10 lakh to the kin of the deceased.

"I request the farmers to be patient. Do not fall in the trap of anyone. The government stands with farmers. We will solve all problems through discussion," Chouhan tweeted while blaming Congress for the violence.

Farmers in western Madhya Pradesh are protesting since June one demanding higher minimum support prices (MSP) among others.

In Ratlam, the district collector Ashok Bhargava imposed prohibitory orders under section 144 of CrPC following the violence in neighbouring Mandsaur district.

Ratlam superintendent of police Amit Singh announced a reward of Rs 10,000 each for information about absconding farmer leaders D.P. Dhakad, Rajesh Bharava, Bhagwati Patidar (said to be Congress members) and others who were allegedly involved in violence in the district on Sunday in which two police personnel had been injured.

Meanwhile, the state Congress and the Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangh have given a call for bandh on Wednesday across the state to protest the farmers' death in Mandsaur.

"We have called for a massive MP bandh tomorrow," state Congress chief Arun Yadav said.

The Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Ajay Singh, demanded resignation of Chouhan, saying the incident of firing in Mandsaur is shameful for a chief minister who claims to be a farmer's son.

"All the claims of the chief minister have proved false so far. Now the government is using bullets to suppress farmers' voice. Chouhan should resign immediately," the Congress leader said.

The main opposition party also constituted a committee of MLAs "to investigate" the Mandsaur firing incident. Singh and the state Congress chief would visit Mandsaur on Wednesday.

Senior Congress leader and MP Jyotiraditya Scindia also condemned the incident. The BJP government dealt with the agitation through bullets instead of talks, he said.

"This is a black day in the history of the state. It is shameful that the state government is crushing farmers' agitation. Farmers' demands are genuine," Scindia added.

Trouble was reported from many parts of western Madhya Pradesh as farmers' stir continued for the sixth day on Tuesday.

In Indore, police used lathi charge following stone- pelting during a march by farmers.

A police officer said that people taking part in the march started throwing stones at the police near Devi Ahilyabai Fruits and Vegetable Market, which led to lathi- charge.

In Dhar, farmers blocked the Indore-Ahmedabad national highway for about three hours. Farmers also staged protests at Amjhera and Ghoda Chowpati in the city.

The shops in the local market remained closed all day in Neemuch city.

Meanwhile, Mahendra Patidar, president of MP Patidar Samaj, said they would cremate the bodies of victims who died in Mandsaur district today only in the presence of the chief minister.
London's terror attack on Saturday came as a bolt from the blue. Just two weeks after the Manchester massacre, and three months after the Westminster mayhem, Britons as resilient as they are, could not imagine they would be victims of another extremist onslaught.

It is a very critical and delicate time for the UK. There are several layers of problems and no ready solution available. With general elections in two days time, Britain already has a lot at stake, especially surrounding Brexit. And Saturday's event has just made things more complicated for any political party that aims to win this election.

People's skepticism is just not about who they are voting for. It is also about what they are voting for. Theresa May as a leader is 'lethal'she is described as a very difficult and hard negotiator. Britain, perhaps, needs someone of her calibre to lead this country in the coming few monthsiron-fisted and headstrong. But ironically Britain has also been allegedly failed by the same MPin her capacity as the Home Secretary, representing the same Conservative governmentin her previous role.

There is no straight answer to how will terrorism affect the outcome of June 8 election. According to a recent poll, terrorism has been the second most important issue Britons have been worried about, after health care and before immigration. Even last month, the Conservative party led the poll by 20 per cent. After the bank holiday debate, Jeremy Corbyn caught up with Theresa May, and polls started suggesting Labour may even win the election, as the gap between the two parties narrowed.

May, of course, has promised to take action against the ISIS and also remarked that UK must destroy extremism in its safe placesboth online and in the real world. Many people have criticised her for 'politicising' this attack ahead of the general election, but more have noted that she was the Home Secretary in David Cameron's government and oversaw the drastic cuts in police numbers and budget.

The community members are blaming her for failing themespecially as they had taken the initiative to warn the authority about the attackersyet no action was taken. May has always stressed on the 'prevent' mechanism, where people from the same community are urged to look closely and report anyone suspicious. London's recent terror attack was carried forward by a Pakistani man27-year old Khuram Buttnot only known and reported against by the Muslim community, but also known to the Police and MI5 for his extremist views, especially after appearing in a Channel 4 documentary on Britain's own jihadists.

Security has been believed to be one of May's stronger suits, given she was the Home Secretary and knows the security portfolio inside out. A further advantage for the Conservatives is that they are believed to be taking stronger stands against extremismwhether right or wrong. In a press conference when May was asked if she was wrong on police cuts, she insisted that she had protected counter-terrorism budgets and given police extra powers to deal with terrorism. But after the two consecutive terror attacks, so close to a general election, it does challenge the government's line that they have successfully defended Britain against terrorism.

On the other hand, Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn faces backlash for being soft on terrorism. While he allegedly disapproves of 'gunning down' extremists as an idea, he has also been accused of 'politicising' the matter of May's cuts on police numbers and budget. He promised to provide more police on the streets, under Labour's leadership. But to his credit, he has boldly admitted that UK's tactics to tackle terrorism is not working and suggested we need a smarter approach.

He has also asked about the possible impacts of UKs involvement in foreign wars on our domestic security and thats a view that polls show resonating with a majority of Britons, both on the left and the right.

Calling off this election or suspending it is not an option for Britain at this point. First, because it needs several levels of complex sanctions and approvals and second it involves changing several rules and mandatesthat are just not feasible. But what it also stands for is UK's strong and united voice against inhumanity, cowardice and religious bigotrysomething Britons refuse to compromise on, come what may.
The third Islamist militant who carried out an attack on Saturday in London that killed seven people was a Moroccan-Italian called Youssef Zaghba, an Italian intelligence source said on Tuesday.

Zaghba's mother lives in the northern Italian city of Bologna and he had broken off relations with his Moroccan father, the source said, confirming a report on the website of newspaper Corriere della Sera.

Corriere wrote that Zaghba was stopped at Bologna airport in 2016 when he was trying to fly to Syria via Turkey, and that Italian authorities had tipped off Britain about his movements. He was born in the Moroccan city of Fez in 1995.

London police, who have identified the two other attackers as Khuram Shazad Butt and Rachid Redouane, said they were not naming the third attacker yet.

"We are making inquiries and when we are able to confirm the name we will," a spokesman said.

In Britain's third Islamist attack in as many months, three men on Saturday rammed a van into pedestrians on London Bridge before running into the Borough Market area, where they slit throats and stabbed people indiscriminately.

After a period living together in Morocco, Zaghba's parents separated and the mother returned to Italy, Corriere wrote.

Zaghba visited her at her home near Bologna several times and in March 2016, after being stopped at Bologna airport, he was investigated for possible international terrorist activity but released, according to the newspaper.

However, Italy put him on a list of people considered "at risk," and informed both British and Moroccan authorities of his movements, the paper said.

At the time of the attack he was working in a London restaurant and continued to have contacts with his mother in Italy, which he visited last year, Corriere wrote.
Mumbai, Jun 6 (IBNS): The Indian market closed lower on Tuesday largely due to investors booking profits prior to the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) Monetary Policy meeting on Wednesday, according to media reports.

According to an RBI release, "the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will meet on June 6 and 7, 2017 for the Second Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement for 2017-18. The resolution of the MPC will be placed on the website at 2.30 pm on June 7, 2017."

On Tuesday, the BSE Sensex fell 118.93 points to 31,190.56 while NSE Nifty fell 37.95 points to 9,637.15.

According to media reports, the Met Department, on Tuesday, has upgraded its monsoon rains forecast to 98 per cent of long-term period average from 96 per cent estimated in April.

The debate of counting of demonetised notes by the RBI continued on Tuesday.

According to media reports, the Congress President Sonia Gandhi alleged on Tuesday, " Till today, the government refuses to disclose how much of demonetised currency in circulation actually returned to banks."

On Monday, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said that the RBi will take a long time to complete counting the banned notes deposited post demonetisation which is to the tune of Rs 14-15 lakh crore, according to media reports.

The RBI cannot give any fixed timeline as to when the note counting will be completed, the minister said.

On Tuesday, some of the key stocks that gained were TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Dr Reddy's Labs and Adani Ports while Tata Motors, NTPC, ONGC, ITC and L&T declined.
London, June 6 (IBNS): The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that Goh Choon Phong, CEO of Singapore Airlines, has assumed his duties as Chairman of the IATA Board of Governors (BoG) for a one-year term, effective from the conclusion of the 73rd IATA Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Cancun, Mexico. Goh is the 76th Chair of the IATA BoG, and the third CEO of Singapore Airlines to hold this position.

Goh succeeds Willie Walsh, CEO of International Airlines Group. Walsh will continue to serve on the BoG and the Chair Committee.

It is an honor to serve as IATAs Chairman for the coming year. While the industrys global profitability may be strengthening, there is more work to be done as it is not evenly spread. Security is at the top of the agenda. We must improve our partnership with governments to meet the many emerging threats. Additionally, I will be paying special attention to progressing preparations for the Carbon Offset and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), driving the modernization of cargo processes, and increasing transaction volumes with the New Distribution Capability. We have a busy year ahead. I look forward to working with Alexandre and his team to represent, lead and serve the airline industry, said Goh.

Goh joined Singapore Airlines in 1990 and held senior management roles in Singapore and overseas before being appointed CEO in 2011. He was President of the 68th IATA AGM which was held in Singapore in 2011 and has served on the IATA BoG since then.

I want to express my sincere appreciation to Willie Walsh for his strong support and leadership as Chairman of the IATA Board of Governors. Willies insights were especially helpful as I settled into the job of Director General. And it was great to see the historic CORSIA agreement being achieved during his tenure as Chairman. Willie has been a long-time advocate for a market-based measure to help meet our climate change commitments, said Alexandre de Juniac, IATAs Director General and CEO.

I look forward to working closely with Choon Phong during his term as Chairman. Singapore is a rare example of a country where all the dots in aviation have been connected to create a powerful aviation success story. Strong partnerships are also needed at the global level to deliver aviations economic and social benefits. Choon Phongs experience and insight in this area will be invaluable as we address the many issues that confront the industry, said de Juniac.

IATA also announced the BoG agreed to appoint Akbar Al Baker, CEO of Qatar Airways, to serve for a one-year term as Chairman of the IATA BoG from June 2018, following Gohs term.

Image: IATA website
Interior Minister Aryeh Deri is expected to tell the High Court of Justice he is weighing accepting the plan to incorporate Bat Yam into the Tel Aviv/Yaffo Municipality in 2023.

Bat Yam turned to the High Court of Justice in 2014 against the Interior Minister who wished to probe the possibility of dividing the income of Bat Yam, Rishon LTzion, Holon and Tel Aviv/Yaffo. A committee was formed and it submitted its recommendations to the minister, recommending merging Bat Yam with Tel Aviv/Yaffo.

A new planning entity is expected to be formed in the near future to begin the transition, which only begin officially with the mayoral elections in 2023, at which time they will elect a mayor of the new united city.

Deri explains this is vital towards extricating Bat Yam from severe economic deficit. Hence, he is weighing the recommendation, which will go into effect in 2023. During the coming years, the Interior and Finance Ministries will work together on gradually incorporating Bat Yam into Tel Aviv/Yaffo.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
(PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE)

Police are investigating another vandalism (price tag) attack in the French Hill area of Yerushalayim near the hotels on Bar Lev.

Cars were targeted during the early morning hours a Jerusalem police spokesman reports, citing revenge was painted on a number of vehicles as well as their tires being punctured.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Photo Credit: Police spokesman unit)
Srinagar, Jun 6 (IBNS): Director General of Central Reserve Police Force Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar is on a visit to Kashmir on Tuesday.

Sources said the Director General will assess the situation in the Kashmir Valley.

He will also interact with 45 Battalion CRPF HQ in Sumbal Bandipora of North Kashmir where four militants were killed when the militants tried to storm the camp on Monday morning.



Image: Kiren Rijiju Twitter






Former Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, is hoping prison officials will wipe one-third from his sentence for good behavior. An Israel Prison Authority parole board will be convening later in June to weigh Olmerts early release. Olmerts leave was canceled after his attorney was apprehended smuggling documents out of prison following a visit.

Nevertheless, according to a Channel 2 News report, Israel Police officials announce they will not object to his early release.

Even if released, the former Prime Minister will have to continue a rehabilitation program that was begun in prison, and once discharged from prison, he will begin volunteering for the Leket food collection organization.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
A child complained of hand pain and he was taken to a Terem private emergency clinic. An x-ray revealed the child had a bullet in his hand, which was determined to have been there for three months.

The child arrived in the Terem emergency clinic in the Romeima neighborhood of Yerushalayim with hand pain. Doctors began to examine the 11-year-old to determine if he fell or sustained injury. As they took his medical history doctors learned that the child recalled his hand was bleeding three months earlier, but at the time, he did not feel pain and did nothing about it.

The child was referred to a local hospital. Police and social services were notified as well.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
A 20-year-old chareidi soldier from Bnei Brak was arrested after he tried to get friends to assist him in carrying out an attack at the toeiva parade. His posting read Whos coming to join me in an attack on the Gay Pride parade? He expressed his intentions on social media and reached out for supporters to assist him. He removed the original post about an hour after posting it and replaced it with one explaining he did not mean it, but was bored.

After his arrest, he explained to police he never planned to carry out an attack and simply posted what he did out of boredom. Police however are not willing to forget about his posts and an investigation is being conducted as a parade is set for Tel Aviv this coming erev Shabbos. Police are monitoring a number of persons who are perceived as possible threats ahead of the parade.

It was another chareidi, Yishai Schlisel, who murdered Shira Banki AH, 16, as he attacked participants in a Jerusalem toeiva parade. Ironically, Banki was not part of the parade but was in the area and fell victim.

Schlisel is currently serving life in prison plus 31 years.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
A joint event with the US Congress in honor of the 50th anniversary of the unification of Jerusalem will be held at the Knesset on Wednesday, 13 Sivanat 9:00PM. The event will take place simultaneously in Jerusalem and Washington under the direction of Israeli Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer.

Among the speakers will be Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, US House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

The hour-long event will be broadcast live, from the US as well.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Teach NYS, a project of the Orthodox Union, brought New York Majority Leader John Flanagan to the Hebrew Academy of Five Towns and Rockaway on Friday, June 2 to thank him for his tireless support for nonpublic school education.

Leader Flanagan was a driving force in the New York State Senate in support of the historic STEM program, which begins to reimburse nonpublic schools for math and science teachers. In total, the New York legislature and Gov. Cuomo provided nearly $300 million for New York nonpublic schools in this years budget in late April at the urging of Teach NYS.

Leader Flanagan also engaged the fifth to eight grade students in a model legislative session to teach them about how state government works.

Our primary obligation in the state of New York is public and nonpublic education, Leader Flanagan said. As a father of three children, I care very deeply about the quality, the opportunity, and the access for all kids of all kinds of different faiths. Im so proud of the work we did in the legislature this year to provide funding for nonpublic schools like HAFTR, including the historic STEM program to help schools hire quality math and science teachers.

We still have a lot of work to do to eliminate the disparity in funding for nonpublic schools, but we are making so much progress because of the support of organizations like Teach NYS and the teachers, parents, and students on the ground who fight for the education their community deserves.

We are so grateful for Leader Flanagans time and support for nonpublic schools, including Jewish day schools and yeshivas, said Jake Adler, director of government affairs for Teach NYS. Leader Flanagan has been a true friend to the nonpublic school community since day one, and we would not have been successful in Albany without his tireless support.

(YWN Headquarters  NYC)
Weeks after becoming U.S. President Donald Trumps ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley described the U.N.s Human Rights Council as so corrupt. Expect some sparks to fly, then, when she addresses that body for the first time.

En route to the Middle East, Haley drops in Tuesday at the meeting in Geneva to deliver a speech and take part in a side event focusing on rights in Venezuela. Her one-day appearance is shaping up as perhaps the standout event of the councils three-week session because the U.S. has a reputation as a key human-rights defender and is the single largest donor to the United Nations.

Her boss, however, has shaken up that image and raised doubts about Americas global commitments.

Trump is seeking deep cuts in U.S. funding for international organizations like the U.N. and the council. On Thursday, he announced the U.S. will withdraw from the Paris climate accord, denting Washingtons moral capital. Last month in Riyadh, he announced hundreds of billions of dollars in arms sales over 10 years to Saudi Arabia, which is leading a military campaign in neighboring Yemen that has killed hundreds of civilians.

Despite criticism of the kingdom on issues like womens rights and quelling of political dissent, Trump insisted: We are not here to lecture.

Haley, on the other hand, will most certainly be in Geneva to lecture.

Laying out her tack in an opinion piece Friday in The Washington Post, Haley said the council must end its practice of wrongly singling out Israel for criticism. She said the presence of multiple human rights-violating countries  has damaged both the reputation of the council and the cause of human rights. She called for competitive voting to keep the worst human rights abusers from obtaining seats.

I will outline changes that must be made, Haley wrote. When the worlds pre-eminent human rights body is turned into a haven for dictators, the idea of international cooperation in support of human dignity is discredited.

The council now counts among its 47 members Burundi, China, Congo, Cuba, Egypt, Ethiopia, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, all of which have spotty rights records but won seats through its arcane system of regional blocs.

And like all things U.N., it is eminently political: North Korea, for example, has used it to bash racial discrimination and gun violence in the United States, and CIA secret prisons abroad, calling the U.S. the worst-ever tundra of human rights in the world in its typically colorful prose during the March council session.

John Fisher, Geneva director for Human Rights Watch, said many will be listening out for Haleys tone.

If the tone seeks to set the U.S. above the rest of the world in terms of its commitment to human rights and multilateralism, I think thats a message that will fall a bit flat he said.

That said, if the message is one of Lets work together to strengthen multilateral institutions to the benefit of everyone involved, then I think thats a message that we can all work with, he added.

Rights advocates say key stakes in this session include a possible resolution about Congo, where concerns have risen about government repression, and the release of a U.N. human rights office review about how the councils recommendations on Israel and the Palestinian territories have been applied since 2009  a subject likely to be watched closely by the U.S. after Haley departs.

U.N. officials say the council is a reflection of the world and insist that human rights would be worse off if it didnt exist, while acknowledging its shortcomings. They say its an important venue to name and shame rights abusers and to hold countries to their own principles, because no country is perfect or fully above reproach.

In her piece, Haley took aim at Cuba, a longtime U.S. nemesis despite a thaw under President Barack Obama, and Venezuela, where protests against the government of President Nicolas Maduro have left at least 60 people dead. She noted the council has been effective at times, such as by helping monitor violations in Syria and North Korea.

But she made no mention of abuses in Egypt or Saudi Arabia, nor the Philippines, whose President Rodrigo Duterte has drawn international scorn for calling for vigilante justice against drug dealers and users. Despite that outrage, Trump has praised Duterte and invited him to the White House.

U.S. criticism of the council is nothing new: President George W. Bushs administration kept the United States out when it was created in 2006 in part because of repeated criticism of Israel. Obama brought back the U.S. in 2009, hoping to make it more effective and even appointing an ambassador exclusively devoted to the council.

Trump has not nominated anyone to fill that post, and its far from certain whether he will.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in March said the United States will not continue participating in the council unless it undergoes considerable reform, without elaborating. That same month, Haley told the Council on Foreign Relations : I mean, the Human Rights Council is so corrupt  I think that we need to look at it.

We need to tell them what we want to see to make it effective, she said.

(AP)
Israel Police officials have already announced they will not object to the early release from prison of former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, whose request comes before a parole board later this month.

The State Prosecutor however is not as forgiving as police, and it says it will object to his early release on good behavior. The State Prosecutor feels that since Olmerts attorney was apprehended smuggling documents for him, he should not be permitted to benefit from early release for good behavior, even if his actions were not criminal, as he still was in violation of prison regulations.

The former Prime Minister is serving 27 months in Massiyahu Prison after being convicted of several white-collar crimes including bribery. He is scheduled for release from prison in the summer of 2018 if not granted an early release by a parole board.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
A special parole board in the northern district has ruled that terrorist Yousef Abu el-Hir will be returned to prison to complete serving his life sentence.

Abu Hir was convicted by an IDF military court of serious security crimes including placing a number of explosive devices on railway tracks, at beaches and different venues. In one case, a bomb placed at a home led to the killing of two people and wounding of others. The suspect was convicted on all counts of the indictment against him  sentenced to 15 life sentences plus 20 years plus 10 years.

Back in 1983, he was one of the fortunate terrorists to be released in the infamous Jibril Rajoub prisoner release just 14 years after entering prison. He left Israel the same day and did not return until May 25, 2017. He was immediately arrested and brought before the parole board along with a request to cancel his release immediately, return him to prison to permit him to complete the life sentences.

The state explained that in line with the position of the IDF Chief of Staff, his release was contingent on his leaving the country and by returning, he violated the terms of his release. Hence, he no longer has the right to benefit from the prisoner exchange.

The parole board accepted the states position, and he was returned to prison, explaining he was given the keys to freedom in hand, yet he decided to return them by his actions

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
The Chilul Hashem associated with the state giving the Vatican rights at Kever Dovid HaMelech not only continues, but worsens. There is a kollel and daily efforts to maintain and strengthen the Jewish presence as the unwanted church presence increases RL. Many come for melave malka on motzei Shabbos to give a chizuk too.

In a recent case, a bris was about to take place when police arrived at the tziyun and informed the family they must halt to accommodate a Christian group. The mohel had already prepared the child for the mitzvah, but police would not hear of it, backed by Rabbi of the Kosel and Holy Sites Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, who explained, in this case police were correct.

The incident occurred on Monday 11 Sivan, with police announcing the tziyun was closed to accommodate a Christian group.

The bris was conducted outside the tziyun.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
(PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ARTICLE)

According to a report from Jerusalem district border police, a bomb manufacturing operation in Abu Dis was raided and dismantled. It is located under the jurisdiction of the IDFs Etzion Brigade.

Authorities report some 30 bombs hurled at security forces in the region since the beginning of the Gregorian year were manufactured in the facility. Two arrests were made in connection to bomb attacks in the past.

Border police raided the facility following a prolonged undercover investigation. Bomb components were found and confiscated in the facility, including pipes, fuses, and ingredients used in making pipe bombs. Additional arrests are expected.

An officer involved in questioning suspects explains this was a big raid as it was one of the more active bomb-making facilities found in the last year.

(YWN  Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Photo Credit: Police spokesman unit)
New Delhi, June 6 (IBNS) : A day after Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) personnel raided the residence of eminent journalist Prannoy Roy, NDTV came up with an updated statement claiming that it was a "blatant political attack" carried out for "witch- hunt against independent media."

The statement claimed that the searches in the Greater Kailash-1 residence of NDTV co-founders Prannoy and his wife Radhika Roy has been "confirmed" to have been carried out by the CBI under compulsion.

It said the searches were based on "false allegations" of an individual even though his complaints had failed to obtain any order from the court of law.

"It is shocking that the CBI conducted searches on the NDTV offices and residence of the promoters without even conducting a preliminary enquiry," it said.

"This is a blatant political attack on the freedom of the press as sources confirm that under pressure, the CBI has been compelled to file an FIR based on a shoddy complaint by a disgruntled former consultant at NDTV called Sanjay Dutt, who has been making false allegations and filing cases in courts of law with these false allegations. So far, he has not obtained a single order from any of these courts."

Roy has been long hailed as a father of modern TV journalism in India and was highly respected as a journalist till in recent years controversies dogged the channel and its star reporters.

According to reports, the CBI confirmed that searches were carried out at four places in New Delhi and Dehradun.

The CBI has registered a case against the Roys, a private company and others for causing an alleged loss of Rs. 48 crore to ICICI Bank.

The FIR said the defaulted loan by Roy is for a private company RRPR Holdings Private Limited.

However, NDTV claims that the allegation appears to be for a loan which has been repaid by Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy more than seven years ago..."NDTV and its promoters have never defaulted on any loan to ICICI or any other bank. We adhere to the highest levels of integrity and independence."

" It is clearly the independence and fearlessness of NDTV's team that the ruling party's politicians cannot stomach and the CBI raid is merely another attempt at silencing the media," the statement said.

"Even though lakhs and crores of rupees of dues have not been paid by several industrialists and no criminal case has yet been registered against any of them by the CBI, the CBI has chosen not only to register an FIR, but also conduct a search for a loan which has been duly repaid to ICICI Bank. Moreover, ICICI is a private bank."

Discounting the allegation that no disclosure was made to SEBI and other regulatory authorities, NDTV says this is "not only incorrect and false but also does not clothe the CBI with any power to register cases and search which further amplifies the fact that the search by the CBI is only a witch-hunt against independent media."
The Jerusaem Post reports: US Senator Bernie Sanders delivered a video message Saturday to the left-wing Meretz party, which plans to hold a conference on Sunday to mark 50 years of occupation.

Sanders, who has run as an Independent in Vermont before challenging former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination last year, addressed members of the party in a recorded speech.
President Donald Trump for a second day lashed out at Londons mayor on Twitter in the wake of a deadly terror attack in the city.

Trump stated on Twitter Monday morning that London Mayor Sadiq Khan had offered a pathetic excuse and had to think fast on his no reason to be alarmed statement.

Trumps tweet renews his mischaracterization of Khans statement to London residents following a vehicle and knife attack that left seven people dead and dozens injured. The mayor had told London residents not to be concerned by a stepped-up police presence in the city after the incident.

In a Sunday tweet, Trump mischaracterized Khans remarks by suggesting the mayor had said there was no reason to be alarmed about the attack itself. Khans spokesman said he was too busy to respond to Trumps ill-informed tweet.

On Monday, a spokesman for Khan responded to the latest statement from Trump, saying: Nothing has changed since yesterday.

He said: The mayor is focused on dealing with Saturdays horrific and cowardly attack and working with the police, the emergency services and the Government to keep London safe.

Asked if Trump was wrong to make the comments, British Prime Minister Theresa May said at a news conference Monday that Sadiq Khan is doing a good job and its wrong to say anything else  hes doing a good job.

Trumps latest missive at Khan was part of several Monday morning tweeted statements from the president. Trump also lashed out at his own Justice Department for seeking a watered down version of the travel ban he signed in March instead of a broader directive that was also blocked by the courts.

The war of words was the latest episode in a long simmering feud between Trump and Khan, a Muslim who was elected as Londons mayor in May 2016. After his election last year, Khan tweeted criticism of then-candidate Trumps rhetoric, saying that his ignorant view of Islam could make both our countries less safe. It risks alienating mainstream Muslims. Trump later challenged Khan to an IQ test during an interview on ITV.

Senior White House adviser Kellyanne Conway on Monday condemned what she called the medias obsession with covering everything he says on Twitter and very little of what he does as president.

In an appearance on NBCs Today Show, Conway said people should pay attention to what the president is doing, saying people in England had tried to inform authorities about the terrorists before the attacks happened.

If youre going to see something and say something, it has to be followed by, do something, she said. And this president is trying to do something to protect the people of this country.

Trump said he had spoken with May to express Americas unwavering support and offer U.S. assistance as the British government works to protect its citizens and bring the guilty to justice.

British authorities say that have identified the three attackers but have not revealed that information publicly.

(AP)
American retail giant Sears has put a line of Free Palestine apparel up for sale on its website, including t-shirts, hoodies, and tank tops.

The shirts bear slogans including Free Palestine, End Israeli Occupation, Free Gaza, and Freedom For Palestine. Others feature the Palestine Liberation Organization flag and logo, and are accompanied by a symbolic clenched fist in the flags colors.

The clothing is being offered for sale by a German company, Spread Shirt, which allows third-parties to market their designs on the companys website, or through larger retailers like Sears Marketplace.

Spread Shirts company code of responsibility says that it does not print things that are bound to offend people. Apparently this does not apply to Israelis or millions of Jewish and pro-Israel people around the world.

Sears Customer Service has been contacted regarding the offensive merchandise. An agent has said the company is escalating this to our back end team, and claims they will be removed within 24 hours.

(Nat Golden  YWN)
(COMMUNICATED CONTENT)

In its inaugural year, Kollel Torah was comprised of just twenty five locations. Now, in its third year, the organization has grown to more than 100 centers for Torah learning.

Gathering in these cities, 3000 men meet daily for the study of Talmud, Jewish law, and Chasidic texts, while 1500 women in more than 60 select cities convene weekly for intensive learning. As in the traditional kollel system, each participant receives a stipend and is expected to pass a test to ensure comprehension.

We know that Chabad representatives are doing great things in their cities, holiday programming, schools for children, Shabbat meals, but organized learning was a challenge, explains Rabbi Bentzi Lipsker of Petersburg, Russia.

He joined forces with Rabbi Moshe Weber, his colleague in Dnepetrovsk, Ukraine, to design this systematic study system geared for adults.

A team of rabbis in Berdichev prepares the texts, in Hebrew and Russian, so that each kollel can follow the same curriculum. The 18th volume was delivered last week.

We saw a real desire for learning in an authentic way, but until now, there was no framework, Weber explains. We created Kollel Torah because we believe strongly that every person should have the choice, and the chance, to study Torah.

For nine years, Rabbi Yechiel Levitansky struggled to get a minyan for Shabbat and holidays, never mind daily prayers. He would spend hours on the phone inviting people to come to Shabbat meals or holiday programs.

When he heard about Kollel Torah, he was eager to sign up, but concerned that he wouldnt find the requisite 10 men needed to register. A month in, there were 12 regulars. These days, 20 men gather at 7:15 each morning for prayers and study.

The men, between the ages of 21 and 65, come before work or university.

It looks like any shul in the world, Levitansky says proudly. Over coffee and cake, everyone has a chance to read the text and ask questions and we explain and discuss the various topics. Last year, when we learned the laws of Shabbat, it was completely novel. They couldnt get enough of it.

Kollel Torah has literally transformed my people, my city, and me, says Levitansky. These men didnt know each other before, but we are now a real club. People flock to his events and for the last 18 months, there has been a minyan every Shabbat and Jewish holiday. The new-found connections run deep. Two men became business partners after meeting at the Kollel and one member, a surgeon, has helped many people with medical matters.

On his fathers tenth yahrzeit, just a few days ago Levitansky was joined by a full minyan from the kolel for shacharis, mincha and maariv, something which would have been nearly unfathomable in the years prior to Kolel Torah.

Today, people flock to his events and for the last 18 months, there has been a minyan every Shabbat and Jewish holiday. The new-found connections run deep. Two men became business partners after meeting at the Kollel and one member, a surgeon, has helped many people with medical matters.

Kollel Torah has literally transformed my people, my city, and me, says Levitansky. These men didnt know each other before, but we are now a real club.

Today Kollel Torah is running a joint Giving Day with the ambitious goal of raising $3,000,000. To become a partner visit www.charidy.com/kt to donate to all or choose your specific city to support.
Catastrophe bonds - insurance taken out by insurers - are a multi-billion-pound business

Every year about one million earthquakes and 90 hurricanes are recorded worldwide.

For families affected, these can be devastating. And for insurers, financially crippling.

When Hurricane Katrina hit the U.S. more than a decade ago, it was estimated to have cost insurance companies 62billion.

Hurricane Sandy, which followed seven years later, cost them 15.5billion when it hit several states, including New York.

So it is no wonder that, just as an individual takes out home, car or health insurance to protect against the unexpected, insurers also take out cover.

These policies, known as catastrophe bonds, are a multi-billion-pound business.

The insurer pays investors in the bond a premium  just as you would for car or home cover. Then cash in the bond is used to foot the bill should the worst happen.

As with any insurance, the higher the risk, the more expensive the premium for the insurer. Typically, these policies pay an income of between 2 per cent and 8 per cent a year.

When you think the average savings account pays less than 1 per cent, this seems an attractive return.

But to get it you are backing something that is high risk.

Catastrophe bonds have only been around since the mid-Nineties, but are today issued by many of the world's biggest insurers including Lloyds, Swiss Re and AIG.

They are most common in the U.S., where there is a strong insurance market and natural disasters are more frequent.

They are even issued by government catastrophe schemes such as the California Earthquake Authority and big organisations, such as U.S. rail operator Amtrak.

Simon Vuille, co-manager of the Lombard Odier CAT Bond fund, says the bonds are unique as their price and payouts are linked to the weather  and unaffected by stock market crashes or political crises.

They are also popular as the interest they pay usually climbs if the base rate rises, he says.

Downtown New Orleans is submerged in the wake of Hurricane Katrina which hit the U.S. more than a decade ago. It was estimated to have cost insurance companies 62bn

The less risk of the catastrophe the lower the return

Each catastrophe bond issued is very specific. For example, in Mr Vuille's fund, there is a holding for insurance against an event such as the 1926 Great Miami Hurricane, which devastated Florida and much of the Caribbean.

In today's money, the damage caused would cost insurers more than 115billion.

Because such an event happens only about every 200 years, the bond pays just 3 per cent.

Because such an event happens only about every 200 years, the bond pays just 3%

Another example is insurance against earthquakes in California. The payout, at 2 per cent, is even lower as a large earthquake only occurs in the Golden State approximately once a century.

An earthquake is also likely to cost insurers less than a flood or storm, meaning the risk is lower, as it is not standard on home insurance policies.

A more unusual holding in Mr Vuille's fund is protection against mortality. 'This would be triggered if there were an extreme number of deaths in a specific country in one year, in the hundreds of thousands, and a life insurer would have to pay out on those deaths,' he says.

'Typically, what would cause this is a catastrophe such as a tsunami or, more likely, a pandemic.'

Specific things that must happen before bonds pay out

Each of the 94 bonds Mr Vuille invests in has specific criteria that must be met before it will pay out to the insurer.

The risk is that if the worst case scenario does happen, the money in the bond will be used to cover the insurer's costs.

This means the fund manager could lose all of the money he holds in that bond, which could hit the fund's return and value of your savings.

Dr John Seo, co-founder of Fermat Capital Management, which manages the GAM Star Cat Bond fund, says: 'The biggest risk in any typical year is that there is another Great Miami Hurricane.

The risk is that if the worst case scenario does happen, the money in the bond will be used to cover the insurer's costs

'Such an event could see catastrophe bond funds lose around 25 per cent of their value.'

Mr Vuille says, however, that the default rate on the bonds he's held in the past has been very low  the last default followed the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. The average payout of the bonds in his fund is 4.5 per cent.

His Lombard Odier CAT Bond fund is down 0.2 per cent over the past year, while the GAM Star Cat Bond fund is up 2.8 per cent in the same period, turning 10,000 into 12,800 and yields in the region of 4.1 per cent.

Nathan Sweeney, manager of the Architas Diversified Real Assets fund, has been investing more cash in catastrophe bonds ahead of the General Election.

He has 3 per cent of his 183million fund in the CATCo Reinsurance Opportunities fund, which has returned 26.5 per cent in a year, turning 10,000 into 12,650.

Mr Sweeney says: 'If there are no major disasters then the returns on offer from catastrophe bonds are very attractive.'

However, Juliet Schooling Latter, from Chelsea Financial Services, warns: 'These funds often pay a very high income, which is attractive. But with that high yield comes high risk, so catastrophe bonds are not for everyone.'

And James de Bunsen, manager of the Henderson Alternative Strategies Trust fund, says: 'I don't think catastrophe bonds pay enough for the risk you take.'
Payday: Countryside Properties boss Graham Cherry

Two brothers have sold nearly 36million of shares in the housebuilding company set up by their father six decades ago.

Richard and Graham Cherry offloaded a total of just over 11million shares in Countryside Properties for 325p each.

But they still own around 15.5million Countryside shares worth nearly 50million at last nights closing price of 318.6p.

Essex-based Countryside, which specialises in housebuilding and regeneration, was founded by Alan Cherry in 1958.

A well-known industry figure, he remained chairman until his death aged 76 in 2010.

Graham Cherry, 57, joined the company as a graduate trainee in 1980 and was appointed to the board in 1984, and runs the housebuilding arm of the business.

Richard Cherry, 56, also joined as a graduate trainee in 1982 and was appointed to the board in 1986.

In April this year, he announced plans to step down as chief executive of the urban regeneration arm of the business and retire.

The brothers sold nearly 3.3million shares each when the company returned to the stock market in February last year.

The sale would have earned them a total of around 15million at the float price of 225p.
Chelsea boots and floral flip flops have driven sales at British brand Joules, which said profits would be ahead of expectations.

The upmarket fashion retailer, known for its printed wellies, reported a 19.6 per cent rise in overall sales to 156million, as international shoppers continued to fall for its British charm.

Retail sales leapt around 19.4 per cent higher in the year to May 28, while wholesale revenues rose 20.3 per cent thanks to strong demand in the UK and the US.

Joules reported a 19.6% rise in overall sales to 156m, as international shoppers continued to fall for its British charm

Joules has received a boost from the Brexit-vote-hit pound, which has sent international shoppers flocking to its website.

This season's success stories include coral-coloured garments, along with its collection of embroidered tops.

Shares rose 5.2 per cent or 15p to 301p.

Colin Porter, chief executive, said: 'The appeal and strength of the Joules brand continues to resonate with our loyal and growing customer base.

'This confidence is supported by the growth in our customer base and our exciting new store opening plans, as well as a robust autumn/winter wholesale order-book both in the UK and internationally.'

Popular with middle-class families, Joules was founded in the 1980s as an equestrian-style range sold at country shows.

It eventually branched onto the High Street, becoming known for its 'time-off' countryside fashion with pops of colour.'

The brand now has 108 stores across airports, railway stations and 'at-home' holiday destinations such as Southwold in Suffolk. Over the next year it said it would open another ten to 12 shops.

Its entry to the junior market last may May saw founder Tom Joule pocket 40million as he trimmed his 80 per cent stake to below 50 per cent.

Driving sales in the US has been key to its growth, where it is stocked in department stores including Von Maur and Nordstrom.
New Delhi, June 6 (IBNS): Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said that the schedule of the organisational poll was approved at the party's working committee meeting on Tuesday. The meeting was chaired by party president, Sonia Gandhi.

Azad said the present situation in Kashmir was also discussed.

Azad also said that the upcoming election of the President of India was briefly touched upon as a detailed discussion had taken place during the all-party meet organised by Sonia Gandhi, the party chief, sometime ago.

He said that at that meeting it was decided to form a sub-group. The sub-group is expected to meet soon, he said.

The last Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting was held on November and it was chaired by Rahul Gandhi. His mother was absent as she was unwell.

According to reports, the meeting -- chaired by party President Sonia Gandhi -- was held after a gap of seven months, a period during which the party performed much below expectations in a series of Assembly elections.

Sonia Gandhi, who took over the Congress helm in May 1998, is already the longest serving president of the party. Rahul Gandhi took over as Vice President, the number two position, in January 2013.

In her opening speech at the CWC meeting, Sonia Gandhi said, "The Modi government completed three years in office. ... Ironically, whatever success or progress this government has scored has come from programmes and projects that were started by the UPA government."

Talking about the party's recent show, she said, "The recently concluded Assembly elections hold vital lessons for us both in UP and Uttarakhand. With an energised cadre and effective leadership, we were able to defeat a sitting NDA government in Punjab but in Manipur and Goa we failed to convert our winning numbers into forming a government. This outcome reminds us that the BJP will use their enormous resources and muscle power to steal mandates from us... ".

Her entire speech was later tweeted by the party's official website.

The party also tweeted former prime minister Dr Manmohan Sigh's intervention where he gave his observations about the economic situation of the country.

Dr Singh said, "India's economic growth has slowed down sharply, driven primarily by the notebandi announcement of November 2016."

Citing the recently published GVA figures, he said, "The most worrisome aspect of all this is the impact on job creation."

Azad said that the present government has done nothing substantial in the last three years. Minorities, Dalits are not feeling safe and secure in country.

Later, the party vice president, Rahul Gandhi, tweeted through Office of RG, "Discussed vital political issues including crisis in J&K,Govt's mishandling of the economy, Presidential polls as well as INC org elections."



Images: INCIndia Twitter
Image: NDTV TV grab

Indore, June 6 (IBNS): A protest rally by farmers turned violent on Tuesday when shots were fired, leaving four people killed, in Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh, media reports said.

Curfew has been imposed in Mandsaur and Pipliamandi.

State Home Minister Bhupendra Singh told NDTV that the police did not shoot at the crowd in Mandsaur.

"There was no firing by the police, an investigation has been launched," he said, adding that bullets were shot by "anti-social elements," the Minister told the news channel.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has ordered a judicial probe into the incident.

Moreover, he also announced compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the kin of the deceased and assistance of Rs 1 lakh to the injured.

Congress vice-president attacked the government over the incident and tweeted: "This Govt is at war with the farmers of our country#Mandsaur #MadhyaPradesh."


Srinagar, June 6 (IBNS): A civilian was killed, while several others were injured, during clashes in Shopian district of south Kashmir on Tuesday evening.

According to reports, 44RR and SOG of Kashmir police cordoned off Ganowpora village of Shopian town after inputs about the presence of militants.

However, youth took to streets and clashed with the forces to help the militants escape, resulting clashes between forces and youths.

An eyewitness said that one youth suffered a serious bullet injury during the clashes, following which he was rushed to District Hospital Shopian for treatment but he was declared dead by doctors.

The deceased was identified as Adil Farooq Magray.

He is a student of senior secondary level.



(Reporting by Saleem Iqbal Qadri)
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By Naeisha Rose

Members of the York College alumni association held a networking forum May 6 with officials from the island of Jamaica to help develop the nations health-care system.

York College has a robust nursing program that many Jamaican and Jamaican-Americans attend. Nursing is also one of the most stable job professions on the island, according to the Jamaican Ministry of Labours website.

The Organization for Strategic Development in Jamaica and the Organization for International Development hosted the Jamaican Ministry of Health at a networking forum at the university on May 6.

During the event the OID gave out small medical equipment that monitors heart health and diabetes to the ministry so it could be used in hospitals in the rural areas of Jamaica.

The purpose of the event was to find ways to have an educational exchange that will aid in developing the health-care system in Jamaica.

Two of the professors at the event were Dr. Claudette McFarquhar and Marguarett Alexander, both of whom started working at the schools nursing department in 2012.

Im from Jamaica and Im at that giving-back stage of my life, McFarquchar said. So that is why, right now, we have a service-learning course at the nursing department.

Dr. Mhas traveled back with me to Haiti, so we have a spectrum in terms of need, Alexander said. We are really looking to see what are the areas of partnership and what is needed.

Running the hospitals in the four medical regions of Jamaica does not come without issues.

These hospitals lack of durable medical equipment, such as your wheelchair, your bed, and supplies are always short of equipment, said Claudette Powell, a representative of the Jamaicas Nurses Group, a health organization. They are short of specialty nurses, so the education part is needed. Information technology, something that in this day and age where you can make a medical record, is badly in need.

Jamaican Ministry of Health specialist Sonia Copeland is elated about addressing the need for better hospitals and nurses.

Its very exciting that we are having this conference in New York, Copeland said. This meeting is very significant because this is where you have a very large diaspora.

There are over 300,000 Jamaicans in New York state alone, according to the City- data.com .

Helping to address the problem was Wayland Richards, the founder of the Organization for International Development. Through his organization and the U.S. Department of Health, students in the medical field in Jamaica get specialized training in developed countries, and students from developed countries get to work in the island and bring their knowledge in different specialities, like intensive care medicine.

Thousands of people from the U.K. and the U.S. get to engage in a cultural exchange and vice versa, Richards said.  We hope to see sustainable relationships in some form at the institutional level.
Fyodor Stolypin Moscow, Russia

Meshchansky District court of Moscow had sentenced former director of Moscow library of Ukrainian literature, Natalia Sharina, 60, to 4-year suspended sentence. The essence of the charge was that several books, restricted by the Russian law, were found in the library. This trial looks like the plot of Ray Bradburys masterpiece Fahrenheit 451. Unfortunately, in Russia  this is far from a single such criminal case. Notorious Article 282 of russian Criminal code Inciting hatred or enmity, or humiliation of human dignity allows to punish for hate speech against such social groups like hooligans, neo-nazis, marxists, policemen, deputies, ministers, officials or even president (yes, social group, consisting of one man!)

This article is widely used by Putins regime for political repressions against opposition and clampdown off all attempts of self-organization of Russian people. In Russian province regional officials also use 282 against political activists and simple citizens, who had went against local authorities or businessmen, affiliated with the governance.

Wording of this article is very blurred and allows to sentence to a big fine, public works or a long-term imprisonment for practically every public statement including Internet-statements.

All this actions in Russia are interpreted as an extremism. This term is very blurred in Russian law. In the Shanghai Convention on Combating Terrorism, Separatism, and Extremism, signed by Moscow in 2001, extremism was defined only as violent actions, aimed at seizure of power or encroachment on public safety or separatism. But already by 2008 Russia had included many types of non-violent actions to the term of the extremism.

Enlarging of the punishment by Article 282 was among the law amendments of The Yarovaya\s Act, adopted in 2016. Prison term has grown to 2-5 years. With aggravating circumstances punishment is already 3-6 years. In Russia you can get this term for the post in social media. For comparison  Russian Penal code provides the same punishment for rape and many other dangerous violent crimes.

In 2011-2015 the number of people, convicted under articles 282, 282.1, 282.2, 282.3, has grown from 137 to 414. Besides, number of people, convicted under articles 280 and 280.1 (Exhortation to the extremist actions) has also grown from 12 to 69. According to Office of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation number registered extremist crimes in 2015-2016 has grown from 1308 to 1410. The fault of most, who was sentenced for the extremism was in making posts or comments in the Internet, or pressing buttons like or share  according to Russian law, such actions are called distribution of extremist information.

Criminal cases are often initiated only for statistics. Russian Centers for Combating Extremism (CCE) have to implement plans, so they use the path of least resistance. Instead of searching, for example, ISIS recruiters, they prefer to search simple users, who made Internet statements, which can be identified as hate speech. As a result, even the schoolchildren, posting memes, can become extremists.

Practically all criminal cases are based on the posts and comments in the largest social network of Russia and Europe  VK (VKontakte, Russian: ). It is 4th most popular site in the world with more than 410 million users. Founder of VK, Pavel Durov, 32, was forced to leave Russia because of political pressure  in 2011-2013, during mass protests in Russia, Durov refused to block protest groups, public pages and events.

First of all CCE official searches the statements, which can be regard as hate speech. Then he have to identify the author. It is very simple to do this  new VK administration immediately gives all requested information to the law enforcement agencies. For this reason it is hard to be punished for extremist posts in Facebook or Twitter in Russia. Administration of American sites usually dont respond to the requests of Russian officials. Because of this, they often offer to block this sites in Russia. For example, Putins Internet counselor, German Klimenko, 50, several times have made such offers. Also, in March 2017 Russian officials has been rumored to plan to slow down foreign sites, which arent following the decisions of Russian courts. Of course, this measure will harm Russian Internet-users. Also, experts argue this step to be technically impracticable.

After receiving all requested information CCE officer sends extremist statement for examination. Usually experts recognize received material as hate speech. Russian lawyers, who specialize on hate speech criminal cases, for example famous advocate Matthew Tszen, often say, that the quality of this examination is very low. For example, one of such experts, professor Galina Melnik, 66, had established, that combinations of words like great Russian folk are inciting hatred. With justification of this examination, person receives the stigma of a criminal and serious punishment. Also suspected in extremism has his bank accounts blocked. Even the court pleads him not guilty, unblocking of the accounts comes not very soon.

Most extremist criminal cases amaze by their absurdity. In Moscow now is going a trial against group of left activists from organization The Call (Russian:   ). Their crime is the attempt to organize referendum About responsibility of government to the people. Though officials responsibility to the folk is enshrined in Russian Constitution, prosecutor\s office says, that members of The Call had been inciting hatred to the government officials.

In June 2016 Taganrog citizen Elizabeth Tsvetkova, 31 was sentenced to 1 year of public works for criticizing police. She has been plead guilty in Inciting hatred against social group policemen.

At the end of last year Moscow citizen Eugene Kort, 20, was condemned to a 1 year of prison for reposting a picture with two people  one of them looks like Russian nationalist Maxim Martsinkevich, 33, another looks like great Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. After appeal the sentence was changed to the 200.000 rubles fine (about $3.600). For comparison medium Russian salary is about $650. Money for payment of this fine for Kort had been collected by not indifferent Russian users of the Internet.

At the same time Russian blogger from Tyumen, Aleksey Kungurov, 40, was sentenced to 2,5 years for the Internet-post, in which he said, that Russian Air Forces in Syria are bombing not ISIS, but anti-Assad opposition.

In Perm assistant professor of local university and human rights activist Roman Yushkov, 46, was sentenced to the 350.000 rubles ($6300) fine for calling to boycott of shops, owned by natives of Azerbaijan, former Soviet Central Asia and Caucasus. Also he is prohibited from teaching for 2 years.

Article 282 is often called Russian, because it is widely used against Russian nationalists  for example for exhortation of introduction of a visa regime with former Soviet republics of Central Asia and Transcaucasia. For example in January 2017 Saint-Petersburg activist and nationalist Nikolai Bondarik, 51, was condemned to 5-year suspended sentence with 5 years of probation for VK post, in which he sharply criticized natives of Russian North Caucasus, who killed Russian MMA-fighter, Ivan Stanin, 20. Young sportsmen had been stabbed in March, 2015.

In April 2017 Russian nationalist Dmitry Demushkin, 38, was condemned to 2,5 years of prison for publishing photos of Russian march-2014. He was punished, though that march was legal procession of Russian right-wing political organizations and police hadnt complained about its slogans.

In 2016 activists of organization Attack was sentenced to the terms from 10-month suspended sentence to 2,5-years real sentence. Attack consisted of young Russian nationalists, who created internet media about actual political, economic and social problems of Russia. Authors called for democratic reforms, respect of human rights, stopping degradation of Russian social sphere. Also Attack members had created discussion club and advertised their organization online and offline. Some of Attack members had also participated in war in Donbass on the side of pro-Russian unrecognized republics. But even this fact had not saved activists from the political repressions.

In 2013 founder of National-Democratic party, Konstantin Krylov, 49, was sentenced to 120 hours of public works for statement on the rally, which he had made 2 years before. Krylov had doubted the effectiveness of large-scale subsidies, which federal government sends to Russian North Caucasus regions, like Chechnya, ruled by Ramzan Kadyrov, 40. Immediate cause for criminal case became Krylovs phrase Lets abandon this strange economic model. In this way, though many Western politics call president Putin Russian nationalist, it is very dangerous to be real nationalist in Russia.

282 is not only article, providing for the punishment for the words in Russia. Number of such laws is constantly growing during last several years. Another example is an article about blasphemy (Insulting of believers feelings). It had appeared in Russian Criminal code after the famous action of Pussy Riot punk rock group inside Moscow\s Cathedral of Christ the Savior in 2012. This article provides for punishment till 3 years of imprisonment or public works, or fine. Even though its impossible to give juridical evaluation of terms like feelings or insulting, criminal cases under this article appearing in Russia more and more often. All the more so, small but active groups of Russian religious activists are always ready to be insulted for every reason or even without it.

One off the last examples is the case of popular YouTube vlogger from Yekaterinburg Ruslan Sokolovsky, 22. In August 2016 he posted video in which he is playing Pokemon Go in one of the city Orthodox Churches. Now this video has about 2 million views, 60.000 likes and 16.000 comments. Soon Sokolovsky had been arrested and placed to pre-trial detention. Later Sokolovsky was placed to house arrest. Apart from hate speech and insulting of believers feelings he had been accused in possession of a pen with camera (according to absurd Russian law, its also a crime). Prosecutor demanded to sentence Sokolovsky to 3,5 years of prison. The final punishment was 3,5-year suspended sentence. Though UN had repeatedly recommended to Russian Government to abolish the article about blasphemy, the situation isnt changing.

Furthermore, in Russia you can also be punished even for publication of anti-Nazi caricatures or archive photos of World War II  if the image contains Nazi symbols like swastika. Even you had published this files in the context of the condemnation of Nazism, law enforcement organs can convict you in distribution of the extremist information (to 15 days of prison). Also this law allows to punish for distribution of many other images, which looks like Nazi symbols  for example Buddhist symbol of the sun or ancient Slavic runes, or finish swastika which is still depicted on the president\s standard of Finland.

Also Russian officials constantly offer with new mad initiatives, directed against the freedom of speech. For example, deputy of the State Duma, Vitaly Milonov, 43, had come up with a bill, restricting of pseudonyms in social networks under the threat of the 5.000 rubles (90$) fine. Also Milonov had offered to require users to provide passport data during the registration in social networks. Either his bill consists the ban of social media for the users under 14 and restriction of informing about protest rallies through social networks. Fortunately this law had not been adopted. But in itself the fact, that Russian deputies are spending their working time (which is paid for by Russian taxpayers money) for inventing insane initiatives, is scandalous.

Russian nationalistic and part of liberal opposition insisting on the cancellation of the article 282 and similar laws. The most famous Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, 41, is known as the sequential opponent of the article 282. Also in March 2017 head of the campaign headquarters, Leonid Volkov, 36, had been charged under article 282. Well-known Russian blogger, Anton Nosik, 50, in 2016 sentenced under article 282 to the 300.000 rubles ($5400 fine), had placed a petition for cancellation of article 282 to the roi.ru  official petitioning system of Russian government. For now this petition is signed by 14.000 people. But for example another oppositionist, Lev Shlosberg, 53, in one of his interviews said, that article 282 should stay in Russian Criminal code. His point of view is supported by the part of Russian liberals.

Also in Russia there are several organizations, defending freedom of speech in the Internet. For example, Roscomsvoboda (it is named in the tune with the government agency Roscomnadzor (Russian: ), Federal Service for Supervision in the Sphere of Telecom, Information Technologies and Mass Communications, which is responsible for blocking of Internet-sites ). Volunteers of this organization are conducting various campaigns against restrictive government measures, monitoring the activities of government agencies on Internet regulation, protecting human rights.

Unfortunately, Russian government is still ignoring the demands of civil society. It is continuing to engage in the suppression of freedom of speech and fighting any activity, including non-political.
Lucknow, June 6 (IBNS): Yoga Guru Swami Ramdev on Tuesday met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Swami Ramdev said he discussed with the Chief Minister on the issue of upcoming International Yoga Day and its preparations.

"Met @myogiadityanath at Lucknow and discussed about International Yoga Day preparations," Swami tweeted.

The International Yoga Day is observed on June 21.

Image: Yogi Adityanath Twitter page
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Foxconn Technology Group, the Taiwan electronics parts manufacturer that supplies components to Apple's iPhone, says it is not behind a series of tweets that have disparaged New York state and its high-tech manufacturing sector over the past several months.

New York is one of at least two states believed to be courting Foxconn, which confirmed earlier this year it is considering plans to build a $7 billion factory in the United States to make flat-panel display screens. The other known suitor is Pennsylvania.

The Twitter account for @FoxConnUS, which claims to be an official Foxconn Twitter account, has repeatedly thrown cold water on New York's efforts to land the flat panel display factory.

But it turns out to have all been a hoax, according to Foxconn.

Last month, Chris Souzzi, an official with the Genesee County Economic Development Center, tweeted an open invitation to Foxconn to consider the 1,250-acre Western New York Science and Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park outside Batavia for the factory.

On May 25, the twitter account of @FoxConnUS replied to Souzzi that it was not interested in the STAMP site - or any other New York state locations.

"Unfortunately NYS is very unfavorable to our industry," @FoxConnUS tweeted. "Good effort & you got our attention! We wish you success!"

Taking the tweet seriously, Souzzi asked for feedback on how to improve the state's prospects.

"Industry study finds systemic corruption, worst economic prospects in US, unstable energy outlook and social/race issues among others," @FoxConnUS responded.

However, Foxconn officials told the Times Union this week that it was not the source of the tweets.

"The Twitter account @FoxConnUS was not created by Foxconn and our company is not responsible for any of the content posted on that account," Foxconn spokeswoman Genevieve Chow said late Monday.

Souzzi says he is not certain at this point who was behind the Twitter posts either. He says like other economic development officials, he was just trying to use social media the best he could to promote his region and the STAMP tech park to the world.

"I am aware that the company has made some public statements about locating in the United States so our team has been working to engage the customer in many different ways," Souzzi said.

"Twitter is a great forum for connecting and we hope that our overall interactions with the company will remain positive and that they are able to visit the (STAMP) site in Genesee County in the near future."

The incident with Souzzi wasn't the only time that @FoxConnUS dissed New York state.

Back in March, @FoxConnUS tweeted that another upstate tech park owned by SUNY Polytechnic Institute, the Marcy Nanocenter outside of Utica, was also not a candidate for the FoxConn facility, despite attempts by local political leaders to lure the company there after another company, ams AG, back out of a previous commitment.

"#Marcy #Utica site was never in play," @FoxConnUS tweeted on March 20. "Negative 2014 #TSMC study and report was forwarded to fab industry group #G450c."

That tweet appears to reference Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., a computer chip manufacturer that had once considered the Marcy site for a potential U.S. factory. TSMC makes the processor chips used in the current iPhone 6 and 6s.

The G450C is a reference to the Global 450 Consortium, a chip research consortium at SUNY Poly's Albany campus that disbanded late last year. That consortium had also been considering building a chip development facility at the Marcy Nanocenter, which is located next to SUNY Poly's Utica campus in the town of Marcy.

There is no evidence that any TSMC study exists, however. TSMC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Although New York state has never explicitly said it was talking to Foxconn about its U.S. plans, Howard Zemsky, CEO of Empire State Development, the state's economic development arm, hinted earlier in the year that the state pursues all opportunities. The state has approved more than $100 million in grants for Marcy Nanocenter infrastructure construction since 2008.

"Of course, we're going to pursue this aggressively," Zemsky said during a visit to Utica back in January after Foxconn announced its intentions according to the Utica Observer-Dispatch. "We're not going to be spectators."

Zemsky has repeatedly told state officials that his office is hopeful that the state can land a new tenant at the Marcy Nanocenter without declining to name prospects.
Albany County Sheriff's Office

ALBANY  A city man accused of possessing and promoting child pornography allegedly told investigators that he's exposed himself to several hundred victims nationwide since the 1990s, the Albany County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday.

Anyone who has been a victim of these crimes is asked to called the sheriff's Criminal Investigations Unit at 518-765-2351.
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ALBANY  As the director of the Stratton VA Medical Center leaves his post with no announced replacement, the former director of the Albany VA continues to appeal her firing last year.

After nine months as director of the Albany VA, D. Scott Guermonprez is relocating to Long Island to head the Northport VA.

Guermonprez replaced Linda Weiss, a VA employee for more than 40 years who was fired in January 2016 over her slow response to an incident involving potential patient abuse. Guermonprez took the helm of the Albany VA on an interim basis in November 2015 after Weiss was put on administrative leave, and was officially named director last September.

Weiss, meanwhile, is pursuing further review of an appeal she made over her firing to a quasi-judicial review board. A New York City-based administrative law judge in February 2016 overturned the decision to remove her from her post.

Reached at her home Tuesday, Weiss would not discuss her pending case on the advice of her attorney. She did say, however, that a federal appeals court decision last month that found part of the process for appealing the firing of VA employees to be unconstitutional is relevant to her case.

Guermonprez will become director of the Northport VA on June 26, according to a press release from the Long Island medical center. Stratton VA spokesman Peter Potter said Guermonprezs departure from Albany might actually occur later, depending on issues to be worked out with his transfer.

Guermonprez's move is not connected to Weiss's ongoing appeal, Potter said.

No one has yet been tapped to fill the directors position in Albany, Potter said, adding that Guermonprez is traveling this week and not available to comment.

A retired Air Force colonel with 30 years of military service, Guermonprez joined the VA three years ago as associate director at Stratton.

He was named interim director when Weiss was put on leave and remained in the position after former VA Deputy Secretary Sloan Gibson removed her from the $165,000-a-year post in January 2016. Her firing was overturned a month later by Arthur S. Joseph, a chief administrative judge with the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, a review body intended to protect federal employees from abusive actions.

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Joseph determined that Sloan was right to discipline Weiss, but went too far in firing her. He concluded it was "unreasonable to remove an employee who has very positively contributed to the agency for more than 42 years for this one offense."

Gibson claimed at the time, however, that because Josephs decision came after a 21-day deadline for such reviews, Weiss was not entitled to return to a VA job.

The conflict put Weiss' firing in the center of a controversy over the boards authority to overturn the removal of VA executives. Last month, a federal appeals court handed down a decision in a case involving the former director of the Phoenix, Ariz., VA, saying it was unconstitutional to leave the appeal of her firing in the hands of a single administrative law judge.

Due to a lack of a quorum on the board that would consider Weiss' appeal, it could be months before her case is dealt with.
WATERFORD  The Waterford Public Library will hold a vote on its proposed 2018 budget of $294,346 Wednesday at the library.

The budget increases spending by 2.32 percent with $271,846 raised by the property tax levy. The remaining $22,500 is from other revenue source.
Valley Falls

The village will finally move toward removing the blighted former Thompson Mill on the bank of the Hoosic River after the Environmental Protection Agency announced it has received money toward testing and cleanup.

The EPA is providing $200,000 that will be used for testing for contaminants at the mill site off Route 67, which has sat partially collapsed since a suspicious fire destroyed most of the mill in 2009. The property's owner hasn't paid taxes in years and has essentially abandoned the property.

Valley Falls officials lost out on a grant after applying in 2015, but the tiny Rensselaer County locality made it into the EPA's 2016 round of funding. Village clerk Janet Weber said they were unsure any money would be provided after President Donald Trump's order earlier this year to freeze EPA grants.

The mill and its derelict condition was profiled as part of the Times Union's Toxic Risks last summer.

"It's an eyesore, but it's also a danger," Weber said. "Kids go down there and play  when is the next wall going to fall down? It's not safe to have it down there."

The Rensselaer Land Trust wrote the village's grant application to the EPA, and the village has also been assisted by the Hoosic River Watershed Association, which does work in both New York and Massachusetts.

Rensselaer County has agreed to take the property for back taxes and then hand it over to the village. Environmental testing will be done to determine if the site is contaminated with asbestos, or other common remnants of manufacturing like lead, mercury or PCBs. The state Department of Environmental Conservation had previously ruled that the site does not pose a hazard to human health, so it was never granted Superfund status or the funding attached to that.

After testing, the village will then need to seek other grants to demolish what is left of the mill and develop the site into a public park. The EPA's release on the award said bricks and large wooden beams will be reclaimed from the mill and incorporated into the park. The mill was opened in 1860 by Scottish immigrant James Thompson and specialized in making buckram, a cotton used in hatmaking that was stiffened by adding starch, as well as twine and mosquito netting. It once employed a fourth of the village, the mill's lunch and dismissal whistles a constant part of village life. But in 1992 the jobs were moved to Mexico and the plant was shuttered.

Valley Falls is one of only three locations in New York state to receive money as part of $56.8 million in handed out in brownfield grants across the U.S. Locations in Niagara and Sullivan counties also received EPA monies.

lstanforth@timesunion.com  518-454-5697
New York, June 6(Just Earth News): Marking 50 years since the start of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, which resulted in Israel's occupation of the Palestinian Territory, United Nations Secretary-General AntAnio Guterres on Monday reiterated a call for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

Now is the time to end the conflict by establishing an independent Palestinian state, living side by side in peace and security with the State of Israel, Guterres said in his statement on the 50 year occupation.

The occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza and the Syrian Golan, which displaced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and Syrians, has imposed a heavy humanitarian and development burden on the Palestinian people, he said.

Among them are generation after generation of Palestinians who have been compelled to grow-up and live in ever more crowded refugee camps, many in abject poverty, and with little or no prospect of a better life for their children, he added.

Ending the occupation that began in 1967 and achieving a negotiated two-state outcome is the only way to lay the foundations for enduring peace that meets Israeli security needs and Palestinian aspirations for statehood and sovereignty, he stressed.

Now is not the time to give up on this goal but is the time to return to direct negotiations to resolve all final status issues on the basis of relevant UN resolutions, agreements and international law, Guterres said.

He warned that continued settlement construction and expansion, violence and incitement and the illicit arms build-up and militant activity in Gaza risk creating a one-state reality that is incompatible with realizing the legitimate national and historic aspirations of both peoples.

He recalled that in 1947, the world recognized the two-state solution and called for the emergence of independent Arab and Jewish states on the basis of UN General Assembly resolution 181.

On 14 May 1948, the State of Israel was born, but almost seven decades later, the world still awaits the birth of an independent Palestinian state, he said, offering once again to work with all relevant stakeholders to support a genuine peace process.

Photo: UNRWA/Isabel de la Cruz



Source: www.justearthnews.com


Los Angeles

Actor Roger Smith, who brought glamour to the TV detective genre as a hip private eye on "77 Sunset Strip," has died. He was 84.

Jack Gilardi, who is the agent of Smith's widow, actress Ann-Margret, said the actor died Sunday morning at a Los Angeles hospital after battling a terminal illness. Smith had battled the nerve disease myasthenia gravis for many years.

The actor launched his career in the 1950s when James Cagney spotted him and recommended him for films. He survived two serious illnesses to have a second career after "77 Sunset Strip" as manager of his second wife, entertainer Ann-Margret.

From 1958 to 1963, he co-starred with Efrem Zimbalist Jr. on the glossy ABC series. It made stars of both men and a teen heartthrob out of Edd Byrnes, who played a colorful parking lot attendant named Kookie.

Smith told the Los Angeles Times that the series aimed to show that private investigators were well-trained, serious men, and not the movie and TV stereotype with "dangling cigarettes and large chips on their shoulders." He was chosen for the part because "I don't look like a detective."

In its Encyclopedia of Television, the Museum of Broadcast Communications said the show revived the crime drama and became "the epicenter of hipness on television, a sun-drenched world of cocktails, cool jazz and convertibles."

Then Smith was hospitalized after falling down at home and losing consciousness. He was diagnosed two days later with a blood clot on the brain. In a March 1960 story on the incident, Look magazine blamed medical mistakes for the delay in diagnosis and quoted a doctor as saying, "This boy came too close to being buried  needlessly."

He rejoined "77 Sunset Strip" after recovering and continued in his role as Jeff Spencer until 1963 when the entire cast except Zimbalist was dropped in an attempt to revitalize it. The show lingered for only one more year.

In 1965, Smith was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, a disorder that disrupts the transmission of nerve signals to the muscles, causing severe muscle weakness. Despite the disease, Smith continued working when he was able.
Showtime will film "Escape at Dannemora," an eight-hour series, at upstate locations later this year, the premium network announced.

Ben Stiller is the executive producer and director of the series based on the stranger-than-fiction account of the 2015 prison break from Clinton Correctional Facility. The escape sparked a massive manhunt for convicted murderers Richard Matt and Matthew Sweat, who were aided by Joyce Mitchell, a married female prison employee with whom they both became sexually entangled.
Washington

Memo from legal experts to President Donald Trump on resurrecting his stalled travel ban: Put down the Twitter.

Trump's 140-character musings Monday may have undercut his own efforts to persuade the Supreme Court to reinstate his revised travel ban, which Trump called a "watered-down, politically correct" version of what he'd originally sought. Just as Trump's Justice Department is arguing the ban doesn't target Muslims, legal experts said the president seems to be suggesting the opposite.

Those who oppose the travel ban said Trump's Tweetstorm helps their case. Neal Katyal, the former acting solicitor general representing Hawaii in its lawsuit against the ban, said it was as if Trump was his co-counsel.

"We don't need the help but will take it!" Katyal wrote in his Twitter post.

The courts in January halted Trump's initial order, which banned travel from seven majority-Muslim countries and halted entry to Syrian refugees. Trump begrudgingly scaled back the order by removing Iraq from the list and making the Syria refugee ban only temporary, but that order was blocked by the courts, too.

At the heart of the legal wrangling is whether Trump's proposed ban violates the Constitution by discriminating on the basis of religion. As a candidate, Trump called for a "Muslim ban," comments that came back to haunt Trump as president when the courts determined that even Trump's scaled-down order was "rooted in religious animus and intended to bar Muslims from this country."

Not so, the Justice Department has argued, insisting the temporary ban is based on credible national security concerns unrelated to religion. But Steven Vladeck, a University of Texas law professor, said Trump was making that argument less tenable by calling the revised order "politically correct."

"These tweets are basically winking at his supporters to say, obviously, I'm only doing this so that the courts will uphold it," Vladeck said. "It makes it harder to argue this is not a Muslim ban, and more importantly, it makes it harder to argue that the president's statements should be irrelevant."

In a series of early-morning tweets, Trump bashed the Justice Department for its decision to ask the Supreme Court to review the second version of the ban.

"The Justice Dept. should have stayed with the original Travel Ban, not the watered down, politically correct version they submitted to S.C.," Trump said. He urged the Justice Department, which he oversees, to seek a "much tougher version" of the order.

Hoping to shore up the order's legal underpinnings, both the White House and Trump's Homeland Security chief have insisted it's not actually a "travel ban," criticizing reporters for mischaracterizing it. But Trump Monday was having none of it.

"People, the lawyers and the courts can call it whatever they want, but I am calling it what we need and what it is, a TRAVEL BAN!" Trump wrote.

The inconsistency put White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders in a delicate spot Monday as questions streamed in about why Trump was contradicting his aides. Sanders insisted Trump "isn't concerned with what you call it," only with protecting Americans.

Sanders said the president had asked the Justice Department to pursue an expedited hearing at the Supreme Court, adding Trump "wants to go as far and as strong as possible under the Constitution to protect the people of this country." Still, she said he'd signed the revised ban "for the purposes of expediency" and wasn't considering a third version of the ban.

Trump argues the ban is crucial for safeguarding American security, and he has intensified his push for it in the wake of the weekend attack in London that left seven people dead and dozens injured. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility.

The second-guessing about Trump's Twitter strategy extended to the husband of one Trump's senior advisers. New York lawyer George T. Conway III, whose wife is White House aide Kellyanne Conway, wrote that online statements "may make some ppl feel better," but won't help win a Supreme Court majority.
THE ISSUE:

Bills to open police disciplinary records and compensate citizens who sue governments illegally withholding public information could become law.

THE STAKES:

The more accountability, the better.

More Information To comment: tuletters@timesunion.com or at http://blog.timesunion.com/opinion See More Collapse

What started 41 years ago as a sensible-sounding bill to keep overly zealous criminal defense lawyers from using police officers' personnel files against them has in recent years been perverted. You might call it the Police Unaccountability Act.

New York could finally fix that this year with a bill to repeal a misused, outdated law. It's one of two key measures that would do much to restore accountability in government.

A bill sponsored by Assemblymember Daniel O'Donnell, D-Manhattan, would repeal Section 50-a of the state Civil Rights Law. Passed in 1976, it was intended to prevent lawyers from unfairly using police officers' personnel records in cross examination. Over the years, however, court rulings over the application of 50-a have cast a broad blanket of secrecy over the disciplinary records of police, along with firefighters and correction officers.

Lawmakers have gone along with this, fearful of angering powerful public safety unions by fixing a statute that is no longer in the public interest.

This deep secrecy was reaffirmed just last month in a state Supreme Court ruling that the New York Police Department doesn't have to release even basic details in cases of proven misconduct  information the NYPD had provided for decades before deciding last year not to do so anymore.

The reality is that 50-a is unnecessary. The state's Freedom of Information Law already exempts disclosure of public records if it would mean an unwarranted invasion of privacy.

Misconduct that leads to disciplinary action, however, is no mere privacy issue, nor is it a private matter. Police records shouldn't automatically be shielded in high-profile cases in which discipline doesn't result, like a shooting or alleged abuse of civilians. The public deserves to know why no action is taken in such matters.

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The bill is set for a key review Tuesday before the Assembly Codes Committee. It should go to the floor for a vote, and be passed in the Senate, and signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

The governor should also correct his past mistake and sign another bill, sponsored by Assemblymember Amy Paulin, D-Brooklyn, and Sen. Patrick Gallivan, R-Elma, that passed the Senate unanimously on Monday after the Assembly passed it earlier. It would require governments to pay the legal costs of people, groups and businesses that win Freedom of Information cases. It would apply only when agencies had no legitimate reason to withhold public records.

It's this simple: Governments should not be able to illegally stonewall citizens with no repercussions.

Mr. Cuomo, unfortunately, vetoed a similar bill in 2015, saying that it didn't put the same onus on citizens who lose these cases. That's a false equivalency. Who, after all, has the deeper pockets and more lawyers on their payroll: governments, or average citizens?

As with 50-a, this is about government being accountable to the public  especially when someone in government breaks the rules, or the law.
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It's an accomplishment in the fickle culinary world for any restaurant to reach its 35th year. At Cafe Capriccio, longevity is testament to owner Jim Rua's umbilical-cord connection to Italy. Private chef's table dinners draw lifeblood from frequent visits that re-ink three core beliefs: the centrality of Italian ingredients and technique, the importance of memory and ritual as it relates to food, and sempre famiglia  "family always."

How do I know? The man has written four cookbooks and, like William Kennedy and Jack McEneny, is a beloved son, part of Albany's legend and lore. His son, Franco, has long been part of the fold, co-running the chef's table dinners and the now-closed Capriccio Saratoga in Saratoga Springs.

Early midweek, tables are filled with suits in loosened collars, and couples pouring chartreuse olive oil in familiar silence as the frustrated screeches of a small child, too tired to be contained in a booth, slip into the air utterly ignored. The unassuming basement eatery still appeals to businessmen and families alike.

Capriccio's awnings are more weathered than when I first went 20 years ago. Tucked away on Grand Street, its back to recent downtown development, Capriccio has the air of a hunched old man oblivious to the changing landscape. The narrow basement foyer with its uneven walls and thread-worn carpet smells of history. Young loves' names scratched into the maple walls of the dining room, graffiti leftover from Lo Presti's, a popular restaurant in the 1960s and '70s, are patinaed now. (Rua says some guests have fessed up to their high school handiwork.) On the other side, a booth-lined bar is empty and staidly old fashioned.

More Information Cafe Capriccio 49 Grand St. Albany Phone: 465-0439 Web: www.cafecapriccio.com Reservations: Recommended. Credit cards: All major. Hours: 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday to Thursday, 5 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Parking: Street. Next door state-operated parking lot is free after 5 p.m. and $5 on event nights. Disabled access: No. Grandfathered in. Attire: Casual/business casual. Prices: Antipasti, $8 to $16; pasta and risotto, $12 to $25; mains, $28 to $34; sides, $6; desserts, $4.75 to $11.50. Food: (**) The best of Capriccio featuring popular dishes, Italian classics (chicken cacciatore to puttanesca), excellent house-cured charcuterie using local Kinderhook pork, and a mix of house-made and Crisan Bakery desserts. Beverage: (***) Cocktail list, $10 to $16. Rua's tightly curated list of around 50 Italian wines: By the bottle, $27 to $126; by the glass, $8 to $12, plus a few half bottles. After dinner spirits, $7 to $38. Service: (***1/2) Excellent and knowledgeable. Interestingly, our server sat down for dinner at another table and a new waiter stepped in. Ambiance: (***) Classically casual Italian in a historic basement space. Personality: (***) Warmly furnished but showing its age. Subterranean, old Albany Italian. Overall Rating: *** See More Collapse

You come here for service you can't buy or demand. Experience from 20 years on the job, confidence from top-down empowerment. Noting our expansive order, our server wasted no time in setting us straight with the unequivocal surety of mother knows best. Skip the bruschetta on our list, she says; mop the house bread in the Tuscan olive oil. She's right. We sop up as much of the vibrant, racy press as we can without drinking it straight.

That's before she abruptly reroutes our confident oenophile picks. By the glass, we should choose the 2015 Barbera over the 2015 Chianti but, by the bottle, the 2009 Chianta Rufina Reserva ($49) is her recommendation. Robust, darkly pigmented and ripe with dried berries, it's a smooth, storied choice that matches her talk of terroir and the natural winery. She visited it on Rua's dime; we thank her for the steer.

Franco's cured meats  prosciutto, sopressata, salumi, capicola, guanciale among them  are aged upwards of a year and a half in-house, and we are struck by the buttery, silky prosciutto, and rich soppressato in the Tuscan antipasto ($16). Sadly, their appearance is only a cameo and we swiftly pluck six slices from a hill of mesclun greens, Pecorino and wincingly tart quick-pickled veg. At that price, we'd expected a charcuterie plate.

The menu runs through Capriccio's classics like a "best of" album. There are veal cheeks and chicken piccata, cacciatore and puttanesca. I can close my eyes and remember the squid ink dish I had in 1997, and here it still is, calamari neri. Greens and beans Passannante ($13), the heavenly garlic-fumed broth with escarole and soft cannellini beans, salted with Parmesan and housemade pancetta, is still as irresistible as a spin on a Vespa. So our eyes spring open at clonkers: saffron risotto that's grainy under tooth; the ill-advised ice cream Pisa tower swamped in a warm "figs Foster" ($8) moat that takes out the base like hot oil to a castle siege. It's also weird to be offered pumpkin-spice bread pudding in May.

Italians cite the simplicity of three ingredients. But that's if you're in Italy, where a ripe tomato can bring you to tears. Otherwise, it's take seasoning and a reliable grasp of tenet No. 2: Technique.

Although mascarpone, peas, basil and mint are lovely and springy for ravioli in their zippy house sauce, the triple-cream filling is curdled from high heat, and finding no sign of peas we're told "there's something inside," which leaves me humming Labi Siffre for the rest of the meal. My guest's dreary swordfish ($33) has been neutered of big fish vigor and tries to borrow lemon-cilantro pep from a toasted almond puree spooned on top.

True horror is an octopus "leg" sheathed in purple, mucous-y skin. It's part of an amputee trio (a crisp duck leg and snap-skinned chicken sausage  oddly, not Franco's  are the other two "limbs") on crisply seared polenta with tomato jam ($34). I'm so flummoxed I take it home to dissect, watching octopus tutorials and calling up chef friends. Large octopus usually have their stretchy, slimy outer skin removed, suckers left in place (mine had mysteriously gone); left on, it's best rendered crisp, not presented as a gelatinous sleeve. I've had octopus bashed on island rocks and hung to dry in the sun, never wet and snotty like this.

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Capriccio is old school, Italian and family-run, bar one change: Jim Rua is not in the kitchen.

For almost a decade, head chef Nick Gulbrandsen, who trained under Rua, has handled Capriccio's menus and nightly inspirations. A team of pasta makers, Franco among them, turn out a lovely mix of rustic, thick-cut, al-dente pasta. And seeing proletarian vegetables on every diner's plate, we recalibrate our thinking and imagine we're at a family-style meal. It's a better way of understanding kitchen output. There's nothing edgy or Instagram-able here. Plates are straightforward compositions; flavors aren't always there.

It's not damning with faint praise to put Capriccio's little subterranean space above the food. Well, maybe a little. I feel fondly about its history, server aprons and white tablecloths. Solid service and wine takes you places, and pasta classics cover the bases, but the leading man has exited stage left and, like "Hamilton" without Lin-Manuel Miranda, it's not the same. Prices are steep for Italian standards, and food flaws, though not life-threatening, are most certainly there.

Dinner for two  including three appetizers, two entrees, one dessert, coffee and a $49 bottle of wine  came to $219.12 with tax and 20 percent tip.

Susie Davidson Powell is a freelance writer from East Greenbush. Follow her on Twitter, @SusieDP. To comment on this review, visit the Table Hopping blog, blog.timesunion.com/tablehopping.
New York, June 6(Just Earth News): Emphasizing the potential for 'greening' the world of work, the top United Nations labour official told delegates at the International Labour Conference on Monday that job creation and the protection of the planet can and must work together to ensure a sustainable future for all.

Decent green jobs are the future and they must be placed at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Guy Ryder, the Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO), said, adding that: Nothing will more clearly distinguish the first hundred years of the ILO's history from the second than the necessary greening of the world of work.

Ryder made this plea during his opening address to the 106th session of the Conference running in Geneva through 16 June as he introduced his annual report which is on Work in a changing climate: The Green Initiative and provides a roadmap for a just transition to a green economy.

On Monday, the Paris Agreement and the national commitments made under its terms, together with the 2030 Agenda, provide a unique opportunity to translate the tripartite consensus we have constructed into large scale practical ILO work with member States, Ryder said, stressing that the greening of production could be a powerful engine for decent work creation, and strong and balanced growth and development.

As such, he told the 5,000 delegates at the Conference that: We need the right policies to make transition happen and to make it just. And like any process of change at work that will require the combined efforts of governments, employers and workers through social dialogue.

Along with green jobs and sustainable development, the 2017 edition of the Conference will also consider labour migration, transition to peace and fundamental principles and rights at work.

Committees of workers, employers and government representatives will be considering how best to promote peace and stability through a possible revision of the Employment (Transition from War to Peace) Recommendation, 1944 (No.71). The promotion of Decent Work opportunities is key in countries emerging from crisis, conflict and disaster.

Other committees will discuss fundamental principles and rights at work as a follow up to the ILO's Social Justice Declaration. The Conference Committee on the Application of Standards will address the situation of labour rights in countries around the globe and focus particularly on occupational safety and health (OSH).

Photo: Dana Smillie / World Bank


Officials are weighing five options for the future of the University of Pittsburgh at Titusville, ranging from an all-out closure of the campus in two years time to a drastic overhaul of programs and ownership changes. A forum at Henne Auditorium on June 9 will offer the public the opportunity to give input on the options to university officials.
[June 06, 2017] A3 Mexico Offers Free Automation Training Sessions at EXPO PACK Guadalajara in Mexico

Today, the Association for Advancing Automation (A3), the leading global advocate for the benefits of automating, announced it will offer free automation training sessions on June 13 and 14 in Guadalajara, Mexico. In conjunction with EXPO PACK Guadalajra, the training covers the fundamental automation disciplines of robotics, vision and motion control and will provide insight on how companies can successfully implement robotics and automation. A free networking reception will follow the training and provide a forum for automation companies to network, share knowledge and best practices needed to move the Mexican robotics market forward. A3 Mexico Free Training Sessions

The four training sessions, located at Expo Guadalajara, introduce the key automation disciplines of robotics, vision and motion control. With training guidance ranging from how to evaluate and budget robotic equipment and suppliers, how to work with robotics system integrators to ensure success, and how to avoid common pitfalls of machine vision deployment, launch and production to examining the principals behind motion control, attendees will gain solid insight into fundamental principles needed in adopting automation technologies. The training sessions include: Tuesday, June 13, 8:30am - 11:00am Getting Started with Robotics (in English, with live Spanish translation)

Fundamental of Machine Vision (in Spanish) Wednesday, June 14 (both sessions in Spanish) Successfully Working with a Robotic System Integrator 8:30am-11:00am

Basic Machine Design and the Physics of Motion 8:30am-9:30am Register for the free training at: http://www.a3mexico.com.mx/events/entrenamiento-de-automatizacion/unete-gratis-formacion-en-automatizacion?section=ria "Mexico's $2.2 trillion economy is poied to enjoy rapid growth in automation technologies and A3 Mexico is dedicated to support and promote the automation ecosystem here," said Jeff Burnstein, A3 president. "These training courses and networking event tap into the collective knowledge and expertise we've gained working with 1000+ companies on implementing automation technologies into their businesses. As outlined in our recent white paper, the age of automation will bring many new opportunities and benefits, and key to all of it will be training and skill development."



A3 Mexico Reception Provides Strong Networking Opportunities To encourage networking of automation-related companies in Mexico, A3 Mexico is hosting a free reception at Westin Guadalajara located near Expo Guadalajara where EXPO PACK Guadalajara is held.

The event, which will include a review of the robotics market and its opportunities, offers companies a venue to network, learn more about automation and discuss ways that A3 Mexico can best support the Mexican automation industry. Companies that conduct business in Mexico are invited to share this invite with Mexican colleagues and partners based in Mexico. All attendees need to RSVP. A3 Mexico to Foster Rapidly Growing Automation Industry A3 Mexico, an association formed earlier this year by A3, the Association for Advancing Automation, serves as a networking hub, fostering interaction between entrepreneurs, investors, vendors, customers, students, educators, scientists, journalists and industry analysts. Embracing Mexico's vast array of industries including substantial automotive and aerospace manufacturing sectors, A3 Mexico will support and promote the rapidly growing Mexican automation industry. In Mexico, the Robotic Industries Association (RIA), AIA - Advancing Vision + Imaging, and Motion Control & Motor Association (MCMA) will operate as individual groups under A3 Mexico offering focused support for relevant member companies. For more information about A3 Mexico, please visit our new website www.a3mexico.com.mx. About Association for Advancing Automation (A3)

The Association for Advancing Automation is the global advocate for the benefits of automating. A3 promotes automation technologies and ideas that transform the way business is done. A3 is the umbrella group for Robotic Industries Association (RIA), AIA - Advancing Vision + Imaging, Motion Control & Motor Association, and A3 Mexico (MCMA). RIA, AIA, MCMA, and A3 Mexico combined represent over 1,000 automation manufacturers, component suppliers, system integrators, end users, research groups and consulting firms from throughout the world that drive automation forward. For more information, please visit our websites: A3 - www.A3automate.org. RIA - www.robotics.org. AIA - www.visiononline.org. MCMA - www.motioncontrolonline.org. A3 Mexico - www.a3mexico.com.mx. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170606005352/en/

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[June 06, 2017] CSI's Secure Connect Endorsed by the Ohio Bankers League

The Ohio Bankers League (OBL) has endorsed CSI (News - Alert) Secure Connect from Computer Services, Inc. (CSI) (OTCQX: CSVI), a provider of end-to-end financial technology solutions. Through CSI Secure Connect, OBL members can enhance corporate communication among both employees and board members, as well as increase productivity and decrease costs. OBL's endorsement becomes the seventeenth such commendation for CSI's portal solution by a state banking association. "As technology continues to drive change and communication becomes more vital to success, banks are keen on leveraging online portals to simplify day-to-day operations," said J. Michelle Crume, senior vice president and executive director for OBL. "We are pleased to endorse CSI Secure Connect as a solution to help our members manage employee and board communication more effectively, while maintaining top-notch security." CSI Secure Connect leverages robust technology that allows institutions to utilize the portal in various ways: employee intranet, board portal and loan committee portal. As an online communication and collaboration tool, the portal simplifies the process of securely accessing, sharing and utilizing data across all organizational levels. Since CSI Secure Connect facilitates secure communication for various audiences throughout the organization, the solution increases productivity and decreases costs while maximizing overall communication in the following ways: Allowing the ability to access materials via mobile devices

Establishing secure centralized communication across the entire institution

Conveniently storing and archiving documents



online board portal, CSI Secure Connect allows remote access to board materials and other confidential documents, eliminating the need to print and ship sensitive information; it also permits specific committees within the organization to facilitate and collaborate on management activities, including reviewing and approving confidential materials. In addition, as an employee intranet, CSI Secure Connect enables organizations, like OBL members, to decrease such communications as mass emails, paper forms and faxes, while utilizing policy manager to automatically distribute necessary information and verify employee receipt. "As banks look for ways in which they can enhance organizational communication, CSI Secure Connect not only simplifies interactions within the organization, but also drives operational cost savings," said Paul Koziarz, group president for CSI Regulatory Compliance. "We are excited to partner with OBL to help Ohio banks streamline complicated communication processes by empowering them to leverage secure portal technology that enhances how, when and where important communication occurs."

About Computer Services, Inc.

Computer Services, Inc. (CSI) delivers core processing, managed services, mobile and Internet solutions, payments processing, print and electronic distribution, regulatory compliance and treasury management solutions to financial institutions and corporate customers across the nation. Exceptional service, dynamic solutions and superior results are the foundation of CSI's reputation and have resulted in the company's inclusion in such top industry-wide rankings as the FinTech 100, Talkin' Cloud 100 and MSPmentor Top 501 Global Managed Service Providers List. CSI's stock is traded on OTCQX under the symbol CSVI. For more information about CSI, visit www.csiweb.com. About the Ohio Bankers League

The Ohio Bankers League is the trade association for the Ohio banking industry - and is Ohio's only organization focused on meeting the needs of all banks and thrifts in the Buckeye State. For more than 125 years, the OBL has been the voice of the Ohio banking industry fostering a cooperation that has made it one of the strongest and most reputable financial trade associations in the country. By linking banks, bankers, and industry experts - and by pooling their intellectual and capital resources - the OBL serves as a powerful creator of knowledge and collective resources. The non-profit association is comprised of 194 FDIC-insured financial institutions including commercial banks, savings banks, and savings and loan associations ranging in size from just over $13 million in assets to more than $2.7 trillion. For more information, visit www.ohiobankersleague.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170606005023/en/

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[June 06, 2017] The European Commission Signs Framework Agreement for Ex Libris Alma and Primo

PARIS, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Ex Libris, a ProQuest company, is pleased to announce that the European Commission has signed an inter-institutional framework agreement for the supply of the Ex Libris Alma library services platform and Ex Libris Primo discovery and delivery solution. Libraries from ten European institutions and bodies will benefit from the agreement, including the libraries of the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee, the European Committee of the Regions, and the European Court of Auditors. The expiration of the current library-system agreement this year gave the European Commission the opportunity to evaluate ways to improve library services for all of its users. After an extensive tendering process, Alma and Primo were selected for their ability to enable librarians to increase their efficiency in managing print resources and e-resources and to provide library users with a powerful and customizable search and discovery experience. Theo Duivenvoorde, Head of the Library and e-Resources Centre of the European Commission, said, "Alma will provide us with a single solution for managing print and electronic resources with streamlined, automated workflows. The advanced analytics will help us manage and develop collections and improve resource availability, while Primo will enable users to search for resources in the library and beyond very effectively. The cloud-based architecture will ensure that we stay at the forefront of enhancements and developments, assisting us in continuing to provide optimal service." The agreement also covers the European Union Intellectual Property Office in Alicante, Spain; the Europen Centre for the Development of Vocational Training in Thessaloniki, Greece; the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions in Dublin, Ireland; and the European Institute for Gender Equality located in Vilnius, Lithuania.



Ofer Mosseri, corporate vice president and general manager of Ex Libris EMEA, said, "We are honored to have these ten EU institutions join our Alma and Primo community. Our European customer base continues to grow rapidly, and this decision by the European Commission once again shows that Alma and Primo satisfy the needs of a wide range of academic, research, and national institutions, regardless of their size, requirements, or mission." About the Library of the European Commission

In 2018, the European Commission Library and e-Resources Centre will celebrate its sixtieth birthday. The library, a central service for all Commission staff, is part of the Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (EAC) and has sites in both Brussels and Luxembourg. Since the library's inception, its mission has remained largely unchanged: to help Commission staff obtain high-quality information on a given subject as quickly and effectively as possible. As one of the main repositories for all that has happened since the Treaty of Rome was signed in 1957, the library's print and online collections are a unique source of information on European integration. Commission staff, the staff of other EU institutions, and people from outside the Commission can use Find-eRthe library's search and discovery toolor one of the library's reading rooms to search the collection. In recent years, the Library and e-Resources Centre has significantly expanded its electronic collection, added reference services, and implemented tools to make searching easier. For more information about the European Commission Library, visit their website and join them on Facebook. About Ex Libris Ex Libris, a ProQuest company, is a leading global provider of cloud-based solutions for higher education. Offering SaaS solutions for the management and discovery of the full spectrum of library and scholarly materials, as well as mobile campus solutions driving student engagement and success, Ex Libris serves thousands of customers in 90 countries. For more information about Ex Libris, see our website, and join us on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitter. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-european-commission-signs-framework-agreement-for-ex-libris-alma-and-primo-300469258.html SOURCE Ex Libris

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SHAREHOLDER ALERT: Goldberg Law PC Announces an Investigation of Petrofac Limited

Goldberg Law PC, a national shareholder rights litigation firm, announces that it is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Petrofac Limited ("Petrofac" or the "Company") (Other OTC: POFCY) (Other OTC: POFCF).

If you purchased or otherwise acquired shares of Petrofac Limited, and would like more information about the investigation, we encourage you to contact Michael Goldberg or Brian Schall, of Goldberg Law PC, 1999 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 1100, Los Angeles, CA (News - Alert) 90067, at 800-977-7401, to discuss your rights without cost to you.

You can also reach us through the firm's website at http://www.Goldberglawpc.com, or by email at [email protected]dberglawpc.com.







The investigation focuses on whether Petrofac and certain of its officers and/or directors violated federal securities laws. On May 12, 2017, the United Kingdom's Serious Fraud Office ("SFO") revealed that it launched an investigation into the Company for alleged "bribery, corruption and money laundering." On May 25, 2017, the SFO arrested and questioned Petrofac's CEO, Ayman Asfari, and COO, Marwan Chedid, in connection with alleged bribes paid to secure lucrative contracts. Both were released without charge. The Company suspended Mr. Chedid and set up a new committee to oversee the response to the bribery investigation, precluding Mr. Asfari from involvement. Following this news, Petrofac's stock price dropped significantly.

If you have any questions about your legal rights, please immediately contact Goldberg Law PC at 800-977-7401, or visit our website at http://www.Goldberglawpc.com, or email us at [email protected].

Goldberg Law PC represents investors around the world, and specializes in securities class action lawsuits and shareholder rights litigation.

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and rules of ethics.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170605006260/en/
[June 05, 2017]

Confirmation.com Expands Global Sales Team in Europe and South America

BRENTWOOD, Tenn., June 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Confirmation.com, the leading provider of online audit confirmations, announced today the expansion of its global sales team with three new managers across Europe and South America.

Joining the Confirmation.com sales team to support its global growth are Khalid Ramdani as Regional Account Manager for France, Fernando Lopez-Fando as Regional Account Manager for Spain, and Felipe Lima as Director South American Sales.

"Fernando and Khalid both come to Confirmation.com with a deep understanding of the accounting and banking industries. Each member of our sales team is responsible for ensuring Confirmation.com continues to grow in their respective region, capitalizing on the growing global demand for our online audit confirmation solution," explained Dave Malone, president of Confirmation.com International.

Confirmation.com strives to attract top talent from the sales, banking, and accounting industries to further strengthen its position s the leading provider for online audit confirmations around the world.







"We are encouraged with the existing growth and future opportunity across South America. Felipe fills a key role within our organization and will continue to aggressively add account managers across South America allowing team members to better serve our growing list of clients," explained Mark Portanova, vice president sales for the Americas.

"With a growing global presence, it was apparent we needed to hire additional team members to support the ongoing demand of international accounting firms, banks, and law firms. We're excited to continue expanding our sales team with these talented and proven individuals," said Chris Schellhorn, CEO of Confirmation.com.

To learn more, visit www.confirmation.com.

About Confirmation.com

Confirmation.com is the world's leading provider of secure online audit confirmations. Today, 14,000 audit firms confirm over $1 trillion annually for 400,000 clients worldwide. Confirmation.com is used in over 160 countries by banks, companies, and law firms to respond to audit confirmation requests. Confirmation.com has offices in Europe, India, Japan, and North America, and reseller partners Confirmations Asia Pacific covering the Asia Pacific region, CQS Technology Holdings covering Sub-Saharan Africa, and Global International Management, LLC in the Dutch Caribbean and Suriname. For more information, visit Confirmation.com.

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/confirmationcom-expands-global-sales-team-in-europe-and-south-america-300468826.html

SOURCE Confirmation.com
IMPORTANT SHAREHOLDER ALERT: Lundin Law PC Announces an Investigation of Herbalife Ltd. and Advises Investors with Losses to Contact the Firm

Lundin Law PC, a shareholder rights firm, announces that it is investigating claims against Herbalife Ltd. ("Herbalife" or the "Company") (NYSE: HLF) concerning possible violations of federal securities laws.

To get more information about this investigation, please contact Brian Lundin, Esquire, of Lundin Law PC, at 888-713-1033, or by email at [email protected].







On June 5, 2017, Herbalife announced that it was lowering its sales guidance, due to new Federal Trade Commission regulations that will hurt its sales more than expected. The Company's stock price fell more than 6% when this news was announced, after having increased over 50% year-to-date through Friday. News sources reported that several insiders at Herbalife sold stocks and options in the past month, and that some executives, including general counsel, left the Company.

Lundin Law PC was founded by Brian Lundin, a securities litigator based in Los Angeles dedicated to upholding shareholders' rights.

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170605006271/en/
[June 05, 2017] Aztec Exchange Launches PayMe in Canada with EDI Gateway

DUBLIN and MONTREAL, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Aztec Exchange, a global supplier of invoice finance products and services, and Canadian EDI provider EDI Gateway today announced a partnership to deliver Aztec's breakthrough early e-invoice payment service PayMe (payme.cloud) to EDI Gateway's (edigateway.com) Canadian supplier and corporate clients. "We're pleased to introduce PayMe to the Canadian market with EDI Gateway. There's been tremendous enthusiasm for PayMe among both SMEs and corporates because buyers are able to use it to secure their supply chain while suppliers benefit from getting their invoices paid sooner," said Edwin Hagan-Emmin, CEO of Aztec Exchange. "We expect that interest level to continue as we roll out in Canada and look forward to working with EDI Gateway to deliver this valued service." "We are thrilled to launch this innovative customer-centric solution for our clients of the retail industry. We have been working to integrate this exclusive solution into our online platform and can now offer a complete tool that will allow our vendors to benefit from this swift payment process and for the retailers to increase cash flow and increase efficiencies in accounts payable operations," said Sophie Barbara Desilets, President of EDI Gateway. "Aztec and EDI Gateway have partnered up to offer the retail industry a simple, user-friendly solution that addresses the concerns of all SMEs and CFOs." PayMe is unique in the early payment market because, unlike with factoring firms, creditworthiness is based on that of the buyer, not the supplier. There is complete pricing transparency, meaning there are no hidden fees or interest charges. Suppliers are only required to pay a minimal invoice discount charge and a standard transaction fee. For customers on the EDI Gateway platform using PayMe, this means they'll typically receive payment within 24 hours. Furthermore, because it's entirely online, they can submit for early payment any time from any internet-connected device. There are also no restrictive long-term contracts and suppliers can sell as many approved invoices as they want. This partnership with EDI Gateway is the latest for PayMe, which launched in May 2016. Over the course of the past year, PayMe has had tremendous growth and is now available to more than 100,000 SMEs globally via e-invoice providers as a white label solution for traditional banks. It will soon be launched directly through corporates. For EDI Gateway, PayMe complements their existing e-invoicing solution, enabling them to offer an integrated payment and financing service. The firm looks to continue this approach going forward to attract and retain their retail and vendor clients. About Aztec Exchange Aztec Exchange is a leading payment company dedicated to streamlining global supplier finance. Founded by former Morgan Stanley and HSBC executives, Aztec Exchange's flagship service is PayMe (known as ePayMe in Latin America and Spain) - a reliable, cost-effective and easy-to-use early payment solution. With PayMe, suppliers sell their invoices and receive working capital within days rather than weeks or even months. PayMe is available as a white-label service and can be easily integrated into e-invoicing networks. Aztec Exchange was named to Forbes 2016 Fintech 50, a list that features companies that use technology to disrupt "the way we save, invest, spend and borrow." Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and with operations in Los Angeles and Miami, Aztec can be found online at PayMe.cloud. About EDI Gateway Inc. EDI Gateway, an MXS Commerce Group company, is a leading North American service provider who has been helping small to medium size companies become EDI compliant and e-commerce capable since 1993. Specializing in EDI and B2B applications, EDI Gateway offers an array of solutions and services both standardized and customized, developed to accommodate and complement the evolving needs and demands of today's diverse e-market, in a cost-effective fashion. Gold Certified Microsoft partner, servicing over 2,500 customers and their trading partners meeting all EDI and supply chain requirements, EDI Gateway has been collaborating in a consortium with various key players servicing the retail industry, to offer a one stop, one path solution.







CONTACT: David Eckstein Sophie Barbara Desilets Aztec Exchange EDI Gateway [email protected] [email protected] 415-385-9676 1-800-267-3130

SOURCE Aztec Exchange

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New York, June 6(Just Earth News): The vital link between oceans and climate change is among the issues at the forefront of discussions at the United Nations Ocean Conference taking place in New York from 5 to 9 June.

The oceans, which cover three quarters of the Earths surface, play a vital role in the global climate system, generating oxygen and absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Changes to the climate, brought about by increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, will thus lead to changes in the oceans, including sea-level rise and ocean acidification, which will put marine ecosystems and coastal communities at risk.

World leaders acknowledged the importance of the oceans when they adopted the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the universal blueprint for ending poverty, protecting the planet and ensuring that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. SDG 14 sets out specific targets to be met in order to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.

SDG 14 is the only universally agreed road map for conserving and sustainably managing marine resources. Its faithful implementation is therefore our best hope for remedying the ocean's woes, said Peter Thomson, President of the 71st session of the UN General Assembly.

Rising ocean temperatures

Although the ocean is the single largest habitat on the planet and is inextricably linked to human survival, climate change and the impact of increasing carbon dioxide emissions on the oceans have been largely overshadowed in the climate change debate, according to Isabella Lovin, Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden, one of the co-chairs of the Ocean Conference.

The oceans  which produce half of the worlds oxygen, regulate the earth's climate and temperature, provide food and water, and are home to hundreds of thousands of species  have been a staunch ally in curbing climate change.

More than 93 per cent of all the heat people have added to the planet since the 1950s has been absorbed by the oceans  but at a price, Lovin stressed. Rising ocean temperatures and increased acidification are now becoming apparent in melting Arctic sea ice and coral bleaching. Immediate mitigation, protection, restoration and adaptation actions are needed.

Healthy oceans, stable climate

Whether on the coast or in the high seas far away from all, safeguarding biodiverse marine sites is vital for ensuring the sustainable long-term use of precious natural resources, says Irina Bokova, Director-General of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The importance of the ocean to global climate cannot be underestimated, according to UNESCO. It absorbs a significant portion of carbon and an overwhelming amount of excess heat. Still, warmer atmospheric temperatures and increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases exert an enormous pressure on the ocean's ability to regulate the climate.

UNESCOs Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) helps in developing ocean sciences, observations and capacity-building to monitor the oceans major role in the climate system and predict ocean changes.

Laying the ground for efficient climate adaptation and mitigation strategies, IOC focuses on the most damaging impacts, such as temperature increase, sea-level rise, storm variations and changes in marine biodiversity. Its scientifically-founded services help countries, particularly coastal and small island developing States, become more resilient to present and future climate impacts.

Impact of sea-level rise

The oceans are experiencing major stress from climate change, according to Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed. Globally, the sea level has risen by 20 centimetres since the start of the 20th century, due mostly to thermal expansion of the oceans and melting of glaciers and ice caps. Some regions are experiencing even greater sea level rise.

General warming trends, massive episodes of coral bleaching, acidification and the sea level rise are affecting ecosystems in all regions, threatening fisheries, food chains and the oceans' ability to act as efficient carbon sinks.

Warmer temperatures are causing more extreme weather events, and a projected two-metre rise in sea levels by the end of the century would be catastrophic for coastal habitats and economies. Hundreds of millions of people are at risk, she warns.

Particularly at risk are the inhabitants of small island States, with hurricanes, cyclones and tsunamis becoming increasingly more common threats.

Ocean health and economic prosperity

Trouble for the oceans means trouble for people. Human well-being and health, economic prosperity, and a stable climate depend on healthy oceans, says Wu Hongbo, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs and Secretary-General of the Ocean Conference.

According to the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), losses due to disasters from natural and man-made hazards including floods, storms and the impacts of climate change are mounting, costing governments over $300 billion globally each year.

UNISDR recently aligned its Disaster Resilience Scorecard, which provides a set of overarching assessments on disaster resilience, with the Sendai Framework  boosting the number of cities and towns capable of reducing their disaster losses by 2020

Global warming and the Polar Region

The effects of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions, one of the leading causes of global warming, are felt most intensely in the Polar Region.

According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), both the Artic and Antarctica are warming twice as fast as the rest of the world. Glaciers and ice shelves are melting and sea ice and snow coverage are shrinking.

Polar wildlife ecosystems and indigenous population are already feeling the impact of climate change as polar conditions impact weather across the globe.

Because of teleconnections, the poles influence weather and climate conditions in lower latitudes where hundreds of millions of people live, warns Petteri Taalas, WMOs Secretary-General. Warming Arctic air masses and declining sea ice are believed to affect ocean circulation and the jet stream, and are potentially linked to extreme phenomena such as cold spells, heat waves and droughts in the northern hemisphere.

With relatively little data available on the Earths Polar Regions, the UN weather agency kicked off of a two-year international effort to close gaps in polar forecasting capacity and improve future environmental safety.

The Year of Polar Prediction was launched in May to close the gaps in polar forecasting capacity and improve predictions of weather, climate and ice conditions in the farthest reaches of the planet. The global campaign aims to minimize environmental risks and maximize opportunities associated with climate change in polar regions.

Social scientists will examine how polar forecasts can be factored into socio-economic decision making while stakeholders in transport, shipping and tourism will provide input on community needs.

Coral reefs under threat from climate change

Tropical coral reefs cover a mere 1 per cent of the ocean but are among the most bio-diverse systems on the planet, supporting one quarter of all marine species.

According to the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), coral reefs exist in over 100 nations, including more than 80 developing countries. They sustain human society through a range of ecosystem services, such as livelihoods and food security from fisheries; revenue from tourism; erosion prevention; and protection from extreme weather events through dissipation of wave energy. They also help to lessen inundation and damage during stor

Among the planets natural ecosystems, mangroves, sea-grass beds and coral reefs return the highest value in terms of ecosystem services. A square kilometre of healthy, well-managed coral reef can yield a catch of over 15 tons of fish and other seafood every year. Some 850 million people live within 100 km of coral reefs, deriving some benefits with at least 275 million depending directly on reefs for livelihoods and sustenance.

Climate change and water supply

According to the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the planets freshwater and oceans are inextricably linked through the earths water cycle. The agency notes that 97 per cent of the worlds water is in the ocean and the ocean supplies almost all the water that falls on land as rain and snow. Of the small portion that is fresh water; about a third is in in the ground and a mere .3 per cent in accessible surface waters.

Climate change scenarios project that discrepancies between water supply and demand will heighten. The frequency and severity of floods and droughts will likely change many river basins worldwide  with droughts causing significant socio-economic and environmental consequences.

The UNEP estimates the cumulative economic impact of poor ocean management practices at minimally $200 billion per year. In the absence of mitigation measures, climate change will increase the cost of damage to the ocean by an additional $322 billion annually by 2050.

In a world where demands for freshwater are ever growing, and where limited water resources are increasingly stressed by over-abstraction, pollution and climate change, neglecting the opportunities arising from improved wastewater management is nothing less than unthinkable in the context of a circular economy, according to the UN World Water Development Report 2017, Wastewater: The Untapped Resource

Weighing the linkages and significant socio-economic benefits of the earths freshwater and marine systems, UNDP underscores the need to take adaptive, integrated, ecosystem-based approaches to manage freshwater and ocean resources.

As such, UNDP is assisting countries in equitably allocating water resources and implementing integrated management through adaptive water governance, which helps to reduce poverty and vulnerability, sustain and enhance livelihoods and protect environmental resources.

Oceans are part of the solution

Humanity owes much to the oceans in many aspects of life: providing invaluable ecosystems, climate regulation and cultural support to the millions of people who live near the sea, according to Jose Graziano da Silva, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

As 3 billion people ultimately depend on marine and coastal biodiversity, all nations agree on the need to step up efforts to protect oceans and seas, especially in the era of climate change, when transformational interventions are becoming even more urgent and encompassing.

The oceans cover almost three quarters of the Earth's surface, storing one third of all the carbon emissions stemming from human activity. They are part of the solution, and they must be a key focus of global efforts to cope with and mitigate climate change, he stresses.

Oceans play a crucial role in the achievement of global food security, as well as human health and well-being, says Miguel de Serpa Soares, UN Legal Counsel and Special Adviser to the Presidents of the Ocean Conference on oceans and legal matters.

They are the primary regulator of the global climate, function as an important sink for greenhouse gases, serve as the host for huge reservoirs of biodiversity and play a major role in producing the oxygen we breathe.

He adds that oceans, seas and marine resources are increasingly threatened by human activities, including increased CO2 emissions, climate change, marine pollution, unsustainable extraction of marine resources, and physical alterations and destruction of marine and coastal habitats.

UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
[June 06, 2017] Basilea announces presentation of interim phase 1/2a clinical data with anticancer drug candidate BAL101553 at ASCO meeting

Basel, Switzerland, June 6, 2017 - Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. (SIX: BSLN) announced today that updates were presented on the ongoing clinical phase 1/2a program with its anticancer drug candidate BAL101553, a novel tumor checkpoint controller, at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago on June 2-6, 2017. "We are pleased with the progress in our phase 1/2a clinical program evaluating BAL101553 in patients with advanced solid tumors and glioblastoma," said Prof. Achim Kaufhold, Chief Medical Officer of Basilea. "Daily oral administration provides an improved therapeutic window over a weekly 2-hour infusion, the previously evaluated regimen. We look forward this year to completing the dose-escalation in our clinical studies exploring daily oral dosing and weekly 48-hour continuous infusion in patients with solid tumors." In a previously conducted phase 1/2a study with weekly 2-hour intravenous (i.v.) infusion of BAL101553, dose-limiting vascular effects were observed.1 These appeared to be related to the maximum plasma concentration (C max ), while non-clinical models indicated that the antiproliferative effect of the drug candidate is driven by total exposure (area under the curve, AUC). Therefore, Basilea initiated two clinical phase 1/2a studies to explore different dosing regimens to maximize the AUC and minimize the C max . The overview and design of these ongoing studies as well as first interim data were presented at the ASCO meeting. In an open-label phase 1/2a study, Basilea is exploring once-daily oral dosing of BAL101553 in adult patients with advanced solid tumors who failed standard therapy. In the cohorts completed so far, there was a dose-proportional up to five-fold higher weekly exposure at reduced maximum plasma concentrations compared with 2-hour weekly infusion. Oral BAL101553 had no effect on blood pressure and the vascular toxicity observed with the 2-hour i.v. regimen was not seen when using oral daily dosing. Of the 19 patients evaluated so far, eight had stable disease as best objective response. The determination of the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) is expected to be achieved in 2017. Given the absence of vascular toxicity of oral BAL101553 and based on promising antitumor activity of BAL101553 in preclinical models of brain cancer,2, 3, 4 the study with once-daily oral BAL101553 was amended in late 2016 to enroll adult patients with recurrent or progressive glioblastoma after prior radiotherapy with or without chemotherapy. Phase 1 dose-escalation is currently ongoing to determine the MTD, characterize dose-limiting toxicities and assess the pharmacokinetic (PK), pharmacodynamics (PD) and antitumor properties of oral BAL101553 in this patient population. Two cohorts have been completed without dose-limiting toxicities. Glioblastoma is the most common primary brain tumor and one of the most lethal types of cancer. In another phase 1/2a clinical study, Basilea is exploring weekly 48-hour continuous infusion of BAL101553 as an alternative high exposure/low maximum concentration dosing regimen. This study is conducted with adult patients with advanced solid tumors. Two dose cohorts have been completed so far without observation of vascular toxicity. The study continues with expected completion of dose-escalation towards the end of 2017. BAL101553 posters at ASCO 2017 Phase 1/2a trial of daily oral BAL101553, a novel tumor checkpoint controller (TCC), in advanced solid tumors - R S. Kristeleit, T.R. J. Evans, A. H. Ingles Garces, S. Slater, Y. Drew, M.-J. Devlin, N. R. Md Haris, N. Diamantis, J. MacDonld, F. Bachmann, A. L. Hannah, S.Anderson, H. A. Lane, A. Schmitt-Hoffmann, P. McKernan, M. F. Engelhardt, A. Greystoke, R. Miller, E. R. Plummer, J. S. Lopez; abstract 2532 A phase 1 study to assess the safety, pharmacokinetics (PK), pharmacodynamics (PD) and antitumor activities of daily oral BAL101553, a novel tumor checkpoint controller (TCC) in adult patients with progressive or recurrent glioblastoma (GBM) or high-grade glioma - A. H. Ingles Garces, E. R. Plummer, J. S. Lopez, R. S. Kristeleit, J. MacDonald, L. Sweeting, M.-J. Devlin, Y. Drew, A. L. Hannah, N. Aceto, S. Anderson, H. A Lane, P. Larger, M. Maurer, P. McKernan, M. F. Engelhardt, A. Greystoke, N. Coleman, T. R. J. Evans, P. J. Mulholland; abstract TPS2601 A phase 1 study to assess the safety, pharmacokinetics (PK), pharmacodynamics (PD) and antitumor activities of BAL101553, a novel tumor checkpoint controller (TCC), administered as 48-hour infusion in adult patients with advanced solid tumors - M. Joerger, A. Stathis, I. Metaxas, D. Hess, A. G. Omlin, G. Mayer, S. Gaggetta, S. Anderson, M. G. Pasqualotto, F. Hutter, N. Levy, S. Stuedeli, M. Landau-Salzberg, P. McKernan, H. A. Lane, P. Larger, R. Scheerlinck, M. F. Engelhardt, R. Von Moos, C. Sessa; abstract TPS2602



https://am.asco.org/. About BAL101553

Basilea's small molecule oncology drug candidate BAL101553 (the prodrug of BAL27862)5 is being developed as a potential therapy for diverse cancers. BAL101553 is currently undergoing clinical phase 1/2a evaluation in patients with advanced solid tumors or glioblastoma (brain cancer). In preclinical studies, the drug candidate demonstrated in-vitro and in-vivo activity against diverse treatment-resistant cancer models, including tumors refractory to conventional approved therapeutics and radiotherapy.6, 7, 8 BAL101553 efficiently distributes to the brain, with anticancer activity in glioblastoma models.2, 3, 4 The active moiety BAL27862 binds the colchicine site of tubulin with distinct effects on microtubule organization,9 resulting in the activation of the "spindle assembly checkpoint" which promotes tumor cell death.10 About Basilea Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. is a biopharmaceutical company developing products that address the medical problem of increasing resistance and non-response to current treatment options in the therapeutic areas of bacterial infections, fungal infections and cancer. The company uses the integrated research, development and commercial operations of its subsidiary Basilea Pharmaceutica International Ltd. to discover, develop and commercialize innovative pharmaceutical products to meet the medical needs of patients with serious and life-threatening conditions. Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland and listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (SIX: BSLN). Additional information can be found at Basilea's website www.basilea.com. Disclaimer This communication expressly or implicitly contains certain forward-looking statements concerning Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. and its business. Such statements involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. is providing this communication as of this date and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. For further information, please contact: Peer Nils Schroder, PhD

Head of Corporate Communications & Investor Relations

+41 61 606 1102

[email protected]

[email protected] This press release can be downloaded from www.basilea.com. References 1 J. Lopez et al. Phase 1/2a trial of intravenous BAL101553, a novel tumor checkpoint controller (TCC), in advanced solid tumors. Journal of Clinical Oncology 2016 (34), suppl., abstract 2525 2 R. Berges et al. The novel tubulin-binding checkpoint activator BAL101553 inhibits EB1-dependent migration and invasion and promotes differentiation of glioblastoma stem-like cells. Molecular Cancer Therapeutics 2016 (15), 2740-2749 3 A. Schmitt-Hoffmann et al. BAL27862: a unique microtubule-targeted agent with a potential for the treatment of human brain tumors. AACR-NCI-EORTC symposium 2009, abstract C233; Molecular Cancer Therapeutics 2009, 8 (12 Supplement) 4 A. C. Mladek et al. The novel tubulin-binding 'tumor checkpoint controller' BAL101553 has anti-cancer activity alone and in combination treatments across a panel of GBM patient-derived xenografts. American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting 2016, abstract 4781 5 J. Pohlmann et al. BAL101553: An optimized prodrug of the microtubule destabilizer BAL27862 with superior antitumor activity. American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting 2011, abstract 1347; Cancer Research 2011, 71 (8 Supplement) 6 A. Broggini-Tenzer et al. The novel microtubule-destabilizing drug BAL101553 (prodrug of BAL27862) sensitizes a treatment refractory tumor model to ionizing radiation. EORTC-NCI-AACR symposium 2014, abstract 202 7 G. E. Duran et al. In vitro activity of the novel tubulin active agent BAL27862 in MDR1(+) and MDR1(-) human breast and ovarian cancer variants selected for resistance to taxanes. American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting 2010, abstract 4412 8 F. Bachmann et al. BAL101553 (prodrug of BAL27862): A unique microtubule destabilizer active against drug refractory breast cancers alone and in combination with trastuzumab. American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting 2014, abstract 831 9 A. E. Prota et al. The novel microtubule-destabilizing drug BAL27862 binds to the colchicine site of tubulin with distinct effects on microtubule organization. Journal of Molecular Biology 2014 (426), 1848-1860 10 F. Bachmann et al. BAL101553 (prodrug of BAL27862): the spindle assembly checkpoint is required for anticancer activity. American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting 2015, abstract 3789 Attachments: //www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2913bb57-0dbc-40bc-a36d-68cc971a2154

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[June 06, 2017]

Stars of IP Party To Rock Austin Again

Santa Clara, Calif., June 06, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Silvaco, Inc. today announced collaboration with key players in the semiconductor intellectual property (IP) ecosystem to host the annual Stars of IP party at Speakeasy in Austin, Texas, on the evening of Tuesday, June 20, 2017. The event coincides with the 54th Design Automation Conference (DAC), which takes place June 18  21 at the Austin Convention Center.

Stars of IP seeks to strengthen the semiconductor ecosystem by fostering networking and forging closer ties among IP provider companies, partners, and users. The success of the inaugural event at DAC 2013 in Austin and the growth of the party with each subsequent year have established Stars of IP as a fixture at DAC and one of the most sought-after tickets at each years conference.

Over the years, Stars of IP has become an event that our customers look forward to, said Warren Savage, General Manager of the IP Division at Silvaco. We pride ourselves on keeping this party fun and fresh each year. I look forward to a fun evening where we can kick back and relax as we come together to celebrate IP.

This years Stars of IP party co-hosts represent all corners of the IP ecosystem, from providers to industry partners and organizations: Andes Tech, ARM, Avery Design , CAST, Certus Semiconductor, DAC, Electronic System Design (ESD) Alliance, Menta, Omni Design Tech, Silicon Creations, Silvaco, SoC Solutions, Sonics, Synopsys, True Circuits, TSMC, and Uniquify.







Together, the co-hosts will invite over 300 of their best customers and partners to enjoy the party.

Event Details at a Glance:

Date: Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Time: 7:00PM  12:00AM

Place: Speakeasy, 412 Congress Ave D, Austin, TX 78701

Twitter: #StarsofIP

Highlights of the Evening:

Cool, funky vibed venue at Speakeasy featuring the Music Lounge, the Bowling Mezzanine, the Kabaret Room and the rooftop lounge

Only steps away from the Austin Convention Center and all the DAC action

Local indie icons, Quiet Company, a staple in the Austin music scene playing at the event

Host bar featuring top shelf spirits, fine wines, & over 40 local and craft beers on draught

Bountiful hors doeuvres showcasing the vibrant flavors of Texas and the Southwest

A special gift for our first 150 guestscome early to claim yours

How to Attend

Stars of IP is a private, invitation-only event. A handful of tickets may be available to the general publicwe encourage interested parties to seek out our co-hosts on the DAC exhibit floor to connect and inquire.

About Silvaco

Silvaco, Inc. is a leading provider of IP and EDA software tools used for process and device development and for analog/mixed-signal, power IC and memory design. The portfolio also includes tools for power integrity sign off, reduction of extracted netlist for simulation speed up and variation analysis. Silvaco delivers a full TCAD-to-Signoff flow for displays, power electronics, radiation and advanced CMOS along with a complete production-proven IP portfolio including IP licensing and IP management solutions. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Silvaco has a global presence with offices in North America, Europe, and Asia. www.silvaco.com
[June 06, 2017] Navigant to Present at William Blair's Growth Stock Conference

Navigant (NYSE: NCI) announced today that Julie Howard, chairman and CEO, and Stephen Lieberman, executive vice president and chief financial officer, will present at the William Blair Growth Stock Conference to be held at the Four Seasons Hotel at 120 E. Delaware Place, Chicago on Tues., June 13, 2017 at 2:10 p.m. Central Time. About Navigant Navigant Consulting, Inc. (NYSE: NCI) is a specialized, global professional services firm that helps clients take control of their future. Navigant's professionals apply deep industry knowledge, substantive technical expertise, and an enterprisin approach to help clients build, manage, and/or protect their business interests. With a focus on markets and clients facing transformational change and significant regulatory or legal pressures, the firm primarily serves clients in the healthcare, energy, and financial services industries. Across a range of advisory, consulting, outsourcing, and technology/analytics services, Navigant's practitioners bring sharp insight that pinpoints opportunities and delivers powerful results. More information about Navigant can be found at navigant.com.





View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170606005324/en/

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[June 06, 2017] Mosaic451 Named to CRN's 2017 Solution Provider 500 List

PHOENIX, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Mosaic451, a bespoke cybersecurity services provider and consultancy, announced today that CRN, a brand of The Channel Company, has named Mosaic451 to its 2017 Solution Provider 500 list. The Solution Provider 500 is CRN's annual ranking of the largest technology integrators, solution providers and IT consultants in North America by revenue. The Solution Provider 500 is CRN's predominant channel partner award list, serving as the industry standard for recognition of the most successful solution provider companies in the channel since 1995. This year, for the first time since 2010, the complete list will be published on CRN.com, making it readily available to vendors seeking out top solution providers to partner with. "CRN's Solution Provider 500 list spotlights the North American IT channel partner organizations that have earned the highest revenue over the past year, providing a valuable resource to vendors looking for top solution providers to partner with," said Robert Faletra, CEO of The Channel Company. "The companies on this year's list represent an incredible, combined revenue of over $318 billion, a sum that attests to their success in staying ahead of rapidly changing market demands. We extend our sincerest congratulations to each of these top-performing solutio providers and look forward to their future pursuits and successes."



"We are honoured to be included in this year's Solution Provider 500 list," says Mike Baker, Managing Director of Mosaic451. "Mosaic451 consistently aims to be at the forefront of IT and Security, combining the latest in security technology with the deep industry knowledge of our highly trained and experienced technical staff. The growth we experience reflects the trust in our services, and we are gratified by this recognition from CRN. Mosaic Hybrid is an industry first solution, providing specialized staff onsite to work alongside clients' own in house technology and security staff, developing tailored security solutions for its customers. The use of human understanding and intelligence coupled with their "converged view" of networks gives Mosaic451 the unique ability to empower security analysts to provide advanced data analysis and determine threat vectors, threat actors, and intelligent root causes for every incident.

Learn more about Mosaic451 HybridTM at www.mosaic451.com. The complete 2017 Solution Provider 500 list is available online at www.crn.com/sp500 and a sample from the list will be featured in the June issue of CRN Magazine About Mosaic451 Headquartered in Arizona, Mosaic451 is a bespoke cyber security service provider and consultancy with expertise in building, operating and defending some of the most highly-secure networks in North America. Its Mosaic Hybrid is an industry first solution, providing monitoring service through its operations centers as well as specialized staff onsite during business hours to work alongside clients' in house technology and security staff. This hybrid model gives Mosaic451 the unique ability to empower security analysts to provide advanced data analysis and determine threat vectors, threat actors, and intelligent root causes for every incident. Mosaic451 aggregates and empowers intelligent humans in the service of information security and IT operations excellence for our clients. For more information, visit www.mosaic451.com. Media Contact: Lisa Wang, [email protected], 1-888-317-4687 ext. 703 To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mosaic451-named-to-crns-2017-solution-provider-500-list-300469195.html SOURCE Mosaic451, LLC

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[June 06, 2017] FI Navigator and Sievewright & Associates Join Forces on Mobile Banking Benchmarking for Credit Unions

FI Navigator Corporation and Sievewright & Associates have entered into an agreement to provide credit unions with the most comprehensive mobile banking benchmarking solution. The report provides data for a three-year period as of March 31, 2017 covering the nearly 2,900 U.S. credit unions offering a retail mobile banking application and the nearly 50 vendors that serve them. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170606005500/en/ Commenting on the collaboration, credit union movement thought-leader and Sievewright & Associates founder, Mark Sievewright said, "The rapid digital transformation of financial services requires credit unions to prioritize their mobile banking and mobile payments investments and assess their own performance in these critical areas. The Retail Mobile Banking Performance product developed by FI Navigator provides unique, in-depth quantitative analysis of mobile banking trends, performance and consumer ratings. I'm delighted to collaborate with FI Navigator by augmenting their data and findings with perspectives that can help credit unions develop and execute successful mobile banking strategies which, in turn, will enable them to drive business growth and capitalize on innovation." FI Navigator's CEO and founder, Steve Cotton, said, "Credit union executives understand the critical importance of effecting their institutions' digital transformation. The mobile channel is at the forefront of that transformation, but peer context for mobile performance and offering is lacking. Through Retail Mobile Banking Performance, these executives gain the abilities to answer, 'how are we doing?' in mobile banking and develop strategies to keep pace in this rapidly evolving channel. We're privileged to team with Sievewright & Associates to help credit unions continue their leadership of mobile banking's evolution." Highlights from the initial joint "Retail Mobile Banking Performance" report include: Industry Coverage of 2,847 credit unions offering retail mobile banking apps and 45 hoste mobile vendors. The average credit union released its initial retail mobile banking app 3.51 years ago and 95.4 percent above $100 million in assets offer an app; Institution Analytics including mobile adoption, member enrollment, member satisfaction, mobile features, feature impact and churn rates (vendor turnover). Member enrollment for credit unions exceeding $10 billion in assets is nearly 28 percent higher than those in the smallest asset segment;

including mobile adoption, member enrollment, member satisfaction, mobile features, feature impact and churn rates (vendor turnover). Member enrollment for credit unions exceeding $10 billion in assets is nearly 28 percent higher than those in the smallest asset segment; Vendor Analytics providing analyses of market share, market share accretion, churn rates, member enrollment, member satisfaction and client demographics - all leveraging multiple metrics. Credit unions switching vendors in the past year averaged just 54.3 percent of the enrollment to members of non-converting institutions;

providing analyses of market share, market share accretion, churn rates, member enrollment, member satisfaction and client demographics - all leveraging multiple metrics. Credit unions switching vendors in the past year averaged just 54.3 percent of the enrollment to members of non-converting institutions; Feature Provision by asset segment covering nearly 40 features in feature segments including Basic Banking, Enhanced Banking, Mobile Access, Quick Access, Payments, Fraud Management and Support & Information. In addition, Feature Leaderboards pinpointing the most frequently added features for different time horizons such as Quick Balance with 482 additions by credit unions in the past year;

by asset segment covering nearly 40 features in feature segments including Basic Banking, Enhanced Banking, Mobile Access, Quick Access, Payments, Fraud Management and Support & Information. In addition, Feature Leaderboards pinpointing the most frequently added features for different time horizons such as Quick Balance with 482 additions by credit unions in the past year; Performance Graphics with 39 current and historical mobile banking performance charts included in the Institution and Vendor Analytics.



"Retail Mobile Banking Performance" report is now available to credit unions. For more information, visit http://finav.co/cumobile. About FI Navigator

FI Navigator provides a web-based bank data and analytics platform for the banking vertical delivering institution-specific insights and industrywide research to FinTech vendors and financial institutions. By integrating unstructured website data and conventional financial institution data, FI Navigator expands the depth of peer analytics and the breadth of market research to create vertical analytics on more than 13,000 financial institutions and their technology providers. The platform's initial mobile banking data and analytics module provides unprecedented vertical intelligence on over 7,000 financial institutions and more than 50 vendors. The online banking module covers over 10,000 financial institutions and over 60 vendor solutions. For more information, visit www.fi-navigator.com or follow the company on LinkedIn (News - Alert) at www.linkedin.com/company/fi-navigator-corporation and Twitter (News - Alert) @FINavigator. About Sievewright & Associates With more than 30 years of financial services experience, Sievewright is a renowned industry thought-leader who has held senior leadership positions at HSBC, MasterCard (News - Alert) International (where he led the firm's commercial services division in the EMEA region), Payment Systems Inc. (where he served as CEO), TowerGroup (where he served as CEO) and Fiserv (where he served as vice chairman and president of the company's Credit Union Solutions division). Sievewright has worked directly with numerous credit unions in the successful formulation and execution of their strategic plans and is the recipient of a number of industry awards. For example, in 2010, he was merited the Ambassador Award by the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU). View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170606005500/en/

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[June 06, 2017] OptimizeRx Launches Automated Financial Messaging within Glenwood Systems EHR, Providing Prescriptions Cost Savings

WATERBURY, Conn. and ROCHESTER, Mich., June 06, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OptimizeRx Corp. (OTCQB:OPRX), the leading aggregator of pharmaceutical-sponsored services in electronic health record (EHR) platforms, has partnered with Glenwood Systems, a leading healthcare software development company.

Glenwood provides software and billing services to ambulatory medical practices, surgical centers and hospitals that are designed to improve patient care and patient satisfaction. Glenwoods EHR reduces healthcare delivery costs, while increasing revenue and profitability through a dynamic integration with existing patient management systems. OptimizeRx services will operate seamlessly within the Glenwoods EHR, and alert health care providers (HCPs) to potential prescription savings and support information for patients. OptimizeRx integration with our EHR allows valuable financial support and education to be delivered right at the point of prescribe for physicians using our platform, said Ron Flormann, CCO Glenwood Systems. Incorporating OptimizeRx represents another important way we are empowering physicians to help patients better afford and comply with their medicines." OptimizeRx growing eRx network includes more than 370 EHRs that reach over 500,000 HCPs in the U.S., making it the healthcare industrys largest point-of-prescribe promotional network. OptimizeRxs services can be integrated quickly and seamlessly into virtually any EHR platform, usually within a matter of hours. We welcome Glenwood Systems, a leader in the digital health industry, to our growing OptimizeRx EHR network, said OptimizeRx CEO, William Febbo. Healthcare providers are now spending more than three hours a day on average engaged in their EHR. Glenwood Systems HCPs can now dramatically enhance their workflow experience with OptimizeRxs suite of services which allow for access to financial assistance, patient educatin and assistance with prior authorization.



About Glenwood

Glenwood Systems is a privately-held software development firm providing webbased medical practice software, billing services and custom software solutions to manage clinical documentation, workflow and revenue. Glenwood Systems emphasizes product excellence, a high-level of customer service and exceptional stakeholder value. Founded in 1998, Glenwood Systems has established itself as a first to market leader offering EHR software, practice management software, physician billing services and custom software solutions. More information about Glenwood and the Glace family of products can be found at www.glenwoodsystems.com or contact Ron Flormann.

About OptimizeRx Corp

Based in Rochester, Michigan, OptimizeRx Corporation (OTCQB:OPRX) is a health technology software company that is revolutionizing the point of care experience through technology to improve clinical decisions and outcomes. OptimizeRxs unique consumer and physician platforms help patients better afford and comply with their medicines and healthcare products, while offering pharmaceutical and healthcare companies effective ways to expand awareness, access and adherence to their medications. OptimizeRx core product replaces drug samples with electronic trial vouchers and copay coupon savings that are electronically added to an e-Prescription and sent electronically to the pharmacy and is integrated within leading electronic health record (EHR) platforms in the country, including Allscripts, DrFirst, NewCrop, Quest Diagnostics, Practice Fusion and other EHRs to reach over 500,000 healthcare providers. In turn, OptimizeRx promotes patient savings and support from the worlds largest pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer, Merck, Lilly, Novartis, AstraZeneca and many others. For more information, visit www.optimizerx.com. Important Cautions Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the definition of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and such section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934, amended. These forward-looking statements should not be used to make an investment decision. The words 'estimate,' 'possible' and 'seeking' and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, which speak only as to the date the statement was made. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events, or otherwise. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted, or quantified. Future events and actual results could differ materially from those set forth in, contemplated by, or underlying the forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties to which forward-looking statements are subject include, but are not limited to, the effect of government regulation, competition and other material risks. Glenwood Systems Contact:

Ron Flormann

Chief Commercial Officer

[email protected] Investor Relations Contact for OptimizeRx:

Ron Both, CMA

Tel (949) 432-7557

[email protected]

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[June 06, 2017] Hitachi Content Platform Portfolio Transforms Cloud Infrastructure To Achieve Over 60% TCO Savings Versus Public Cloud

NEW YORK, June 06, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hitachi Data Systems (HDS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE:6501), announced major updates to the Hitachi Content Platform (HCP) portfolio, providing a path to digital transformation for enterprises while achieving significant cost savings over public cloud. The integrated portfolio offers the capability to increase profitability and productivity through cloud economics and by applying analytics to uncover new opportunities and insights. It also can reduce risk by enhancing security, availability and data protection. With this release, HCP gains a 400 percent increase in usable storage per cluster, 67 percent more storage node capacity via 10TB drives, a 55 percent increase in objects per node and simplified software licensing so customers can achieve over 5x lower storage costs than public cloud, which leads to over 60% TCO savings than public cloud for enterprise use cases. Once again, weve raised the bar for object storage with our uniquely integrated Hitachi Content Platform portfolio. Hitachi Content Platform provides the ideal ecosystem to support customers existing content-centric applications and newer cloud use cases and workloads simultaneously. It also provides a central way for customers to securely incorporate hybrid cloud storage on their terms to react faster to change and to optimize costs. -- Peter Sjoberg, Chief Technology Officer, Cloud and Mobility, Hitachi Data Systems The HCP portfolio is a unique end-to-end solution that eliminates silos; promotes collaboration; enables governance and compliance; provides safeguards for sensitive data; automates management in private, hybrid and multicloud environments; and surfaces insights through sophisticated search and analytics. The HCP portfolio includes Hitachi Content Platform for software-defined object storage; HCP Anywhere for file synchronization and sharing and data protection capabilities; Hitachi Data Ingestor (HDI), an elastic-scale cloud file gateway; and Hitachi Content Intelligence, where rapid insights emerge from your data. At MCIS, Inc., we are a healthcare information technology company dedicated to delivering and managing innovative products and services. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Marshfield Clinic Health System (MCHS), MCIS products and services deliver better outcomes at lower costs across the system. Hitachi helped us decrease costs with the Hitachi Content Platform portfolios native, self-healing capabilities, which removed the need for traditional backups. Weve expanded with Hitachi to include other medical imaging sources and as a replacement of traditional backups for large static datasets within MCHS. The flexible security, multi-tenant support, and built-in encryption, combined with other products from the Hitachi Content Platform portfolio, have also allowed us to realize true cost savings by enabling us to repurpose existing primary storage capacity, deferring budgeted upgrades and delaying new purchases. -- Tim Buss, Vice President, Infrastructure Services and Chief Technology Officer, Marshfield Clinic Information Services (MCIS) Klinikum Wels-Grieskirchen is committed to leveraging innovative IT solutions to provide the best healthcare to our patients. Over the past four years, Hitachi Content Platform has consistently delivered value as a highly scalable cloud-based clinical repository that can integrate with any clinical system. Furthermore, the healthcare data stored on HCP is readily available, which has drastically improved the speed and quality of our response to patient emergencies. We are excited about the addition of Hitachi Content Intelligence to the HCP product portfolio based on the potential to use sophisticated analytics to accelerate diagnoses. -- Elmar Flamme, CIO, Klinikum Wels-Grieskirchen The challenges surrounding unstructured data growth has triggered a renaissance in object storage; both on-premises and in the cloud. The key to next-generation data management lies in collecting the high quality metadata needed to provide enhanced data visibility, automation and policy-based management regardless of where the data may physically reside. The economics of storage are evolving, and the smart move may be to start with an on-prem object storage framework that best matches cmpany needs and is extensible to public cloud options; rather than the other way around. -- Steven Hill, Senior Storage Analyst, 451 Research



Hitachi Content Platform Updates

As traditional organizations transform to compete with companies born in the digital era, they need a cloud-driven infrastructure for greater agility. With this release, HCP gains a 400 percent increase in usable storage per cluster, 67 percent more storage node capacity via 10TB drives, a 55 percent increase in objects per node and simplified software licensing so customers can achieve over 5x lower storage costs than public cloud alone. Customers can also take advantage of enhanced multipart file transfers to speed performance of large file uploads, downloads and range reads for Amazon cloud storage applications. APIs have also been enhanced to give organizations greater visibility to analyze the performance and health of their infrastructure. For todays always-on IT environments, HCP offers several reliability, availability, security and flexibility improvements. HCP adds geo-distributed erasure coding for multisite deployments, resulting in lower capacity overheads, reduced total cost of ownership (TCO), and faster rebuilds. Corrupted files are restored from storage across geographies, rather than from redundant sites, which maintains availability during adverse events, such as a large-scale outage. HCP users may choose the right combination of data protection options including local and geographically distributed erasure coding, RAID and replication based on their business, regulatory and performance requirements. This release also includes a variety of customer-driven enhancements to further extend existing serviceability and monitoring capabilities. To provide customers with even greater flexibility, HCP has added KVM Hypervisor support to further improve the total cost of ownership and extend software-defined capabilities. To address security-conscious customer needs, HCP has added a dedicated management port that isolates user and administrator network traffic for an added level of security.

Hitachi Data Ingestor Updates

With Hitachi Data Ingestor, organizations can greatly reduce risk, cost and complexity of providing IT services to geographically dispersed locations and cloud users. New features include multipart file transfers to HCP for faster uploads of large files such as videos. Other enhancements include: easier resolution of content sharing conflicts, universal file migration improvements that boost performance, and updated cryptographic hash algorithms to further protect data. Hitachi Content Platform Anywhere Updates

This announcement builds on HCP Anywhere updates announced last month to enable organizations to advance their digital workplace experience in a way that incorporates existing content repositories; delivers next-generation file sharing, collaboration and data protection capabilities; simplify searches; and provides APIs to design new workflows and customize the user experience. For additional details, the full release is available here. Hitachi Content Intelligence

Announced in November 2016, this search and analytics solution is the latest addition to the portfolio which allows organizations to exploit the value of their data. The Hitachi Content Platform portfolio is the only offering that allows organizations to bring together object storage, file sync and share, cloud storage gateways, and sophisticated search and analytics to create a tightly integrated, simple and smart cloud storage solution. For additional details the full release is available here. Enrico Signoretti, Head of Product Strategy at OpenIO, in a March 2017 Gigaom report called Sector Roadmap: Object storage for enterprise capacity-driven workloads, wrote the following: The HCP (Hitachi Content Platform) is one of the most successful enterprise object storage platforms in the market. It has more than 1700 customers, with an average cluster capacity between 200 and 300TB.  Alongside the hardware ecosystem, HDI (remote NAS gateway) and HCP Anywhere (Sync & Share) stand out for the quality of their integration and feature set. Hitachi Data Systems is a sponsor at the Cloud Expo, June 6-8, 2017, at the Javits Center in New York City. Learn More. Join the Conversation. Hu Yoshida's Blog Twitter LinkedIn Facebook About Hitachi Data Systems

Hitachi Data Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., offers an integrated portfolio of services and solutions that enable digital transformation through enhanced data management, governance, mobility and analytics. We help global organizations open new revenue streams, increase efficiencies, improve customer experience and ensure rapid time to market in the digital age. Only Hitachi Data Systems powers the digital enterprise by integrating the best information technology and operational technology from across the Hitachi family of companies. We combine this experience with Hitachi expertise in the internet of things to deliver the exceptional insights business and society need to transform and thrive. Visit us at HDS.com. About Hitachi, Ltd. Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE:6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, delivers innovations that answer societys challenges. The companys consolidated revenues for fiscal 2016 (ended March 31, 2017) totaled 9,162.2 billion yen ($81.8 billion). The Hitachi Group is a global leader in the Social Innovation Business, and it has approximately 304,000 employees worldwide. Through collaborative creation, Hitachi is providing solutions to customers in a broad range of sectors, including Power / Energy, Industry / Distribution / Water, Urban Development, and Finance / Government & Public / Healthcare. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com. HITACHI is a trademark or registered trademark of Hitachi, Ltd. All other trademarks, service marks, and company names are properties of their respective owners. Company Contact: Stefani Finch Hitachi Data Systems +1 408-499-7349

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[June 06, 2017] Mojo Networks Named Finalist at 2017 Red Herring Top 100 North America

Mojo Networks, a pioneer in Cognitive WiFi (News - Alert), has been selected as a finalist for Red Herring's (News - Alert) Top 100 North America award, one of the technology industry's most prestigious prizes. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170606006079/en/ Finalists for the awards are among the continent's brightest and most innovative private ventures. Their place among North America's tech elite has been chosen by Red Herring's editorial team, during a months-long process that takes into account criteria including disruptive impact, proof of concept, financial performance, market footprint and quality of management. For over two decades Red Herring's team has seen through the tech sector's hype to select brands that have become industry benchmarks. Previous Top 100 finalists have included Alibaba, Facebook, Google, Skype, SuperCell, Spotify, Twitter, and YouTube (News - Alert).



The Top 100 North America has become not only a springboard for some of tech's biggest names, but a valued and trusted tool for venture capitalists, experts and analysts predicting trends at the industry's sharpest edge. "Selecting finalists for this year's Top 100 has proved more difficult than ever," said Alex Vieux, publisher and chairman of Red Herring. "North America has been tech's beating heart for years-but never have I seen such an exciting, disruptive and innovative generation as we have in 2017.

"Mojo Networks fully deserves its place among our finalists, and I've every confidence it will make a significant impact in the tech world," added Vieux. According to Rick Wilmer, CEO of Mojo Networks, "The team at Mojo is thrilled by the recognition and the validation of our strategy. We're disrupting the WiFi industry with the power of the cloud, artificial intelligence (AI), and open standards." Mojo Networks will present at the Red Herring Top 100 North America conference in Los Angeles, held June 12-14, 2017. The Top 100 winners will be announced at a special awards ceremony on the evening of June 14 at the event. About Mojo Networks, Inc. At Mojo, we're shaking up the Enterprise WiFi industry. We know that customers are ready for a modern WiFi network that doesn't rely on outdated controllers and proprietary hardware. Our cloud-managed WiFi solution is based on a radical vision for creating networks that reach new heights in performance, security, scalability, and ease-of-use. Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Mountain View, CA (News - Alert), Mojo Networks delivers brilliant WiFi to many of the world's top brands and highest levels of government. Learn more about our vision and products at www.mojonetworks.com. Mojo and Mojo Networks are registered trademarks of Mojo Networks, Inc. All third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170606006079/en/

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[June 06, 2017] Hillstone Networks Selects Lastline to Provide Advanced Malware Detection

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., June 06, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lastline Inc., the leader in advanced threat protection, and Hillstone Networks, a leading provider of network firewall solutions, today jointly announced a technology partnership and the OEM licensing of Lastlines platform as part of Hillstone Networks Cloud Sandbox solution. Enterprises will now be able to take advantage of Lastline advanced malware detection completely integrated with Hillstone Networks Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW), Hillstones intelligent Next-Generation Firewall (iNGFW) and Hillstones CloudEdge solution.

Were honored that Hillstone Networks selected Lastline for their Cloud Sandbox, said Paul Jespersen, VP of Business Development for Lastline. Our top performing advanced malware detection is a great fit with the Hillstone solutions and the integration of our platform into their Cloud Sandbox offering has been seamless. They are joining an impressive list of market-leading partner companies that have selected Lastline to directly integrate into their own solutions. This will be a tremendous benefit to their customers looking to secure their networks from todays malicious threat environment. The seamless integration of Lastline into Hillstone Networks solutions and ease of deployment means their customers can immediately benefit from full advanced malware detection. Hillstone Networks selecting Lastline for this critically important capability demonstrates Lastlines bst-in-class reputation. After considering options available internally and from competitors, Hillstone Networks selected Lastline based on demonstrably better detection, ease of integration, and cost effectiveness, providing the highest possible added value to their existing security offerings.



Hillstones vision is to deliver cutting edge security solutions for our customers that provide the broadest spectrum of protection, said Lingling Zhang, VP of Products and Business Development at Hillstone Networks. Lastlines file analysis technology adds an important correlation dimension to Hillstones intelligent malware detection. Hillstones NGFW offers are greatly enhanced with the integration. We are delighted to be working with Lastline to deliver the most comprehensive network protection available today to our customers. Independent third parties have validated the superior performance of Lastline for detecting advanced malware. NSS Labs 2016 Breach Detection Systems Test recognized Lastline as the only breach detection offering they have ever tested to achieve 100 percent detection effectiveness with zero false positives. And the Forrester Wave: Automated Malware Analysis Q2 Report identifies Lastline as the strongest current offering on the market.

About Lastline

Lastline provides advanced malware protection that is innovating the way companies protect themselves against advanced persistent threats, targeted attacks, and evasive malware. Lastline provides the threat visibility and context needed to respond quickly and effectively to malicious activity before damaging and costly data breaches occur. Headquartered in Redwood City, California with offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia, Lastlines platform is used by Global 5000 enterprises, offered directly and through global managed security service providers, and integrated into the solutions of leading security technology vendors worldwide. www.lastline.com About Hillstone Networks, Inc.

Networks and critical assets need to be protected from multiple postures: server front, at the perimeter and in the cloud, for a layered security defense  this is what Hillstone delivers. Hillstones innovative security platform combines Behavioral Intelligence with high-performance networking, stopping threats within minutes, and protecting the network. For cloud deployments, Hillstone offers a virtual firewall solution for perimeter protection, and leverages micro-segmentation technology to protect East-West traffic. Established in 2006 by NetScreen, Cisco and Juniper executives, Hillstone Networks is relied on by more than 14,000 customers globally, including Fortune 500 companies, higher education, financial institutions and service providers. Hillstone Networks US headquarters are located in Sunnyvale, California. Media Contact: [email protected] Noe Sacoco for Lastline (408) 340-8130

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[June 06, 2017] TriCore Solutions Receives ISO 27001:2013 Certification, Demonstrating a Continued Commitment to Compliance

TriCore Solutions, the application management experts, announced today the company formally completed the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 27001:2013 certification. The ISO established ISO/IEC (News - Alert) 27001:2013 as a standard to help organizations manage the security of assets such as financial information, intellectual property, employee details or information entrusted by third parties. The certification specifies requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining and continually improving an information security management system within the context of the organization. It also includes requirements for the assessment and treatment of information security risks tailored to the needs of the organization. "Security and compliance are of the upmost importance in today's digital age," said Prashant Sharma, audit and compliance manager, TriCore Solutions. "We are laser-focused on achieving top-notch security and compliance standards for our clients so they can rest assured we are embedding international best practices within every facet of our company." By completing the rigorous 12-month process, which involves designing, planning, training, implementing, delivering, monitoring and improving TriCore's information security management system (ISMS) in adherence to the strict ISO/IEC 27001:2013 standard requirement, TriCore is strengthening its ability to help organizations keep information assets secure. This certification is the third the company has received since the start of 2015. TriCore will complete two additional industry-recognized certifications and attestations for information security this fiscal year, including: PCI (News - Alert) DSS 3.0 and HiTrust certification.



"Security and compliance has always been, and continues to be, a top priority for our team and our strategic roadmap," said Gina Murphy, COO, TriCore Solutions. "Today's announcement of ISO 27001:2013 is not just about a certification, it is proof of our dedication and commitment that our customers will receive the highest level of international standards. We are continually updating our staff's skills and advancing security and compliance management to ensure we are surpassing our clients' expectations." The company has already been certified and is meeting requirements in accordance with the following standards: ISO/IEC 20000-1:2011, SSAE16 SOC 1, SSAE16 SOC 2, HIPAA Business Associate, US EU Data Privacy Shield and US Swiss Data Privacy Shield.

Bureau Veritas (News - Alert) performed the audit on behalf of the Company. To learn more about TriCore Solutions' managed security service offerings, visit: http://www.tricoresolutions.com/managed-infrastructure/security/. About TriCore Solutions

TriCore Solutions, the application management experts, provides a full suite of scalable and reliable managed application, cloud and infrastructure hosting, and consulting services to enterprise organizations. With 18 years of experience, the Company delivers its services and the TriCore Trusted Promise to more than 260 enterprise-class companies worldwide to reduce costs, raise service levels, improve customer experience, increase business agility, and accelerate innovation, unlocking the business value from their IT investments. Our partners include industry leaders such as Oracle, SAP, Microsoft (News - Alert), AWS, IBM, HPE and EMC. TriCore Solutions is headquartered in Boston, MA, with offices in India and throughout North America. For more information, please visit www.tricoresolutions.com and @tricorenow on Twitter (News - Alert). View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170606006131/en/

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New York, June 6 (Just Earth News): UN mourns passing of population agency chief Babatunde Osotimehin, 'a champion of health for all'

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and other senior United Nations officials have paid tribute to Babatunde Osotimehin, the Executive Director of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), who passed away suddenly this morning at the age of 68.

Dr. Osotimehin was admired globally for his leadership of the UN Population Fund and for his forceful advocacy for the world's women and girls in particular, said Secretary-General Guterres in a statement.

The world has lost a great champion of health and well-being for all.

A renowned global public health leader, Dr. Osotimehin was widely regarded for his work on sexual and reproductive health. He was appointed as the head UNFPA in November 2010 and assumed office on 1 January 2011. He also held senior positions in the Nigeria, including the country's Minister of Health.

In his statement, the UN chief also recalled Dr. Osotimehin's calm yet ardent efforts that helped families avail of sexual and reproductive health services they needed, as well as his work in helping the world advance the landmark 1994 Cairo Programme of Action on Population and Development, which continues to serve as a comprehensive guide to people-centred development progress.

His voice was invaluable over the years, including his time as Nigeria's Minister of Health, in pressing for family planning, women's education, children's health and action on HIV/AIDS as vital ingredients in human progress, he added, offering his sincere condolences to Dr. Osotimehin's family, the staff of UNFPA as well as to the Government and people of Nigeria.

Also on Monday, UNFPA said that Dr. Osotimehin's passing was a devastating loss for the agency and the people  especially women, girls and youth  to whom he dedicated his life.

Dr. Osotimehin was bold and never afraid of a challenge and his strong leadership helped keep the health and rights of the world's women and girls high on the global agenda. He understood that the world's 1.8 billion young people are truly its greatest hope for the future, read a statement issued by the UN agency.

UNFPA is dedicated to continuing Dr. Osotimehin's grand vision for women and young people and will continue to stand up for the human rights and dignity of everyone, particularly the most vulnerable adolescent girls, the statement added.

In a separate statement on Monday, Antohony Lake, the Executive Director of UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) also mourned Dr. Osotimehin's passing.

Dr. Osotimehin was a constant partner and respected leader in the global effort to provide essential health care to women and adolescents around the world, said Lake. He was also a vocal advocate for improving collaboration across the UN family, with a focus on achieving results, especially for the poorest and most disadvantaged.

For his part, the head of the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Michel Sidibe, also recalled the life and work of Dr. Osotimehin, noting that he will be remembered for improving the lives of women and young people and promoting sexual and reproductive health.

Young people have lost a champion on Monday, Sidibe added.

Dr. Osotimehin qualified as a doctor from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, in 1972, and went to the University of Birmingham, England, where he got a doctorate in medicine in 1979. Among other honours, he received the Nigerian national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger in December 2005. He led several councils, including in the World Economic Forum.

He was married, had five children and several grandchildren.

Photo: UNFPA/Nezih Tavlas

Source: www.justearthnews.com
[June 06, 2017] Zero Liquid Discharge Systems Market expected to reach USD 6.88 billion by 2021

LONDON, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Highlights  The zero liquid discharge systems market is projected to reach USD 6.88 billion by 2021  The Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) systems market is projected to grow from an estimated USD 4.67 billion in 2016 to USD 6.88 billion by 2021, at a CAGR of 8.1% from 2016 to 2021.  Key factors expected to drive the zero liquid discharge systems market include the implementation of stringent environmental regulations.  Increasing concerns over the disposal of brine concentrates into water streams is also expected to fuel the growth of this market.  Zero liquid discharge systems market growth is expected to be restricted due to the high cost of installation and operations.  Based on system, the hybrid ZLD system segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period  Based on system, the zero liquid discharge systems market has been segmented into conventional ZLD system and hybrid ZLD system.  Based on end-use industry, the energy & power segment is expected to grow at the highest rate during the forecast period  The energy & power end-use industry segment of the zero liquid discharge systems market is expected to grow at the highest rate during the forecast period. The zero liquid discharge systems market is projected to reach USD 6.88 billion by 2021

The Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) systems market is projected to grow from an estimated USD 4.67 billion in 2016 to USD 6.88 billion by 2021, at a CAGR of 8.1% from 2016 to 2021. Key factors expected to drive the zero liquid discharge systems market include the implementation of stringent environmental regulations. Increasing concerns over the disposal of brine concentrates into water streams is also expected to fuel the growth of this market. Zero liquid discharge systems market growth is expected to be restricted due to the high cost of installation and operations.



Based on system, the hybrid ZLD system segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period

Based on system, the zero liquid discharge systems market has been segmented into conventional ZLD system and hybrd ZLD system. The market for the hybrid ZLD system segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Hybrid ZLD systems are used across end-use industries such as energy & power, chemicals & petrochemicals, and pharmaceuticals among others.







Based on end-use industry, the energy & power segment is expected to grow at the highest rate during the forecast period

The energy & power end-use industry segment of the zero liquid discharge systems market is expected to grow at the highest rate during the forecast period. This growth can be attributed to the rise in the global demand for zero liquid discharge systems in coal-to-chemical plants and oil refineries. In addition, this industry is expected to witness a growing demand from developed regions such as North America and Europe . The hybrid ZLD system is widely used in the energy & power end-use industry owing to the require to treat high concentrations of chemicals and contaminants present in the effluents.



Latin America market is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period

The Latin America zero liquid discharge systems market is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Huge demand from Brazil and Argentina are expected to drive the market for zero liquid discharge systems in this region. Increasing populations, demand for fresh water, and improving economic conditions in the countries in this region are fueling the growth of the zero liquid discharge systems market.







Breakdown of profiles of primary participants:

 By Company Type: Tier 1  40%, Tier 2  40%, and Tier 3 - 20%

 By Designation: Director Level - 67%, C Level - 16%, and Others  17%

 By Region: Asia-Pacific - 29%, Middle East & Africa - 29%, Europe  14%, North America - 14%, and Latin America  14%



As part of the qualitative analysis, this report provides a comprehensive analysis of major market drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges. It also discusses competitive strategies adopted by different market players such as Aquatech International LLC (U.S.), GE Water Process & Technologies (U.S.), Veolia Water Technologies ( France ), GEA Group ( Germany ), Praj Industries Ltd. ( India ), H2O GmbH ( Germany ), U.S. Water Services (U.S.), Aquarion AG ( Switzerland ), Doosan Hydro Technology LLC (U.S.), Saltworks Technologies Inc. ( Canada ), Petro Sep Corporation ( Canada ), IDE Technologies ( Israel ), Degremont Technologies Ltd. ( Switzerland ), and Oasys Water, Inc. (U.S.), among others.





Research Coverage:

The report provides an analysis of the zero liquid discharge systems market across different regions. It aims at the estimation of the market size and growth potential of this market across different segments such as system, process and end-use industry. Furthermore, the report also includes an in-depth competitive analysis of key players in the market, along with their company profiles, recent developments, and key market strategies. The global report covers key regions such as North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , Latin America , and the Middle East & Africa , along with country-level analysis.





Reasons to buy this report:

This report covers the following key aspects:

 The market size by 2021 and its growth rate

 The key factors that are expected to drive the market

 The challenges that impact market growth

 The key players in this market

Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/4927579/



About Reportbuyer

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For more information:

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Email: [email protected]

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Website: www.reportbuyer.com To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/zero-liquid-discharge-systems-market-expected-to-reach-usd-688-billion-by-2021-300469609.html SOURCE ReportBuyer

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[June 06, 2017] UBC research supports on-farm adoption of clean technologies and practices

KELOWNA, BC, June 6, 2017 /CNW/ - Farmers know the importance of keeping the land, water and air healthy to sustain their farms from one generation to the next. They also know that a clean environment and a strong economy go hand-in-hand. Member of Parliament Stephen Fuhr (Kelowna  Lake Country) today announced a $1.4 million investment with the University of British Columbia to identify irrigation practices that can help reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, while increasing nitrogen and carbon storage in soil. This project with the University of British Columbia is one of 20 new research projects supported by the $27 million Agricultural Greenhouse Gases Program (AGGP), a partnership with universities and conservation groups across Canada. The program supports research into greenhouse gas mitigation practices and technologies that can be adopted on the farm. Quick facts The AGGP covers four priority areas of research: livestock systems, cropping systems, agricultural water use efficiency and agro-forestry.

The new AGGP investments will continue to support the work of the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases, which brings together 47 countries to find ways to grow more food without growing greenhouse gas emissions. Quotes "Canadian farmers are great stewards of the land and the environment. These new investments are part of the government's commitment to addressing climate change and ensuring our farmers are world leaders in the use and development of clean and sustainabletechnology and processes."





Lawrence MacAulay , Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food "Science and innovation will be the greatest allies in helping the agriculture industry to meet the challenges of climate change. Climate change and sustainability are key priorities for the government and this project with the University of British Columbia will help farmers adopt sustainable practices that will strengthen farm businesses and protect the planet."

- Stephen Fuhr, Member of Parliament (Kelowna  Lake Country)

"We are looking at whether irrigation causes an increase or decrease in the storage of carbon and nitrogen in soil. Irrigation is essential to produce enough food to feed the growing global population, but we do not yet know enough about its effect on soil carbon storage. This study will start to give us a better idea, and hopefully lead to irrigation strategies to help retain more carbon and nitrogen in the soil."

- Dr. Melanie Jones, Professor, University of British Columbia, Okanagan campus "We are delighted by this opportunity to collaborate with regional partners such as Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Summerland Research and Development Centre, the Okanagan Basin Water Board, and the Interior Health Authority. Thank you to the Government of Canada for its continued support of ground-breaking agricultural and climate change mitigation research at UBC."

- Deborah Buszard, Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Principal, University of British Columbia, Okanagan campus Additional links Minister MacAulay's announcement of 20 new AGGP projects ( Apr 21, 2016 )

) Minister MacAulay's announcement renewing AGGP ( Mar. 30, 2016 )

) Agricultural Greenhouse Gases Program

Global Research Alliance Follow us on Twitter: @AAFC_Canada

Like us on Facebook: CanadianAgriculture BACKGROUND The 20 new research projects supported by AGGP span from coast-to-coast, from the University of British Columbia to collaborative research with conservation groups in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. They range in scope from studying GHG emissions from blueberry, potato and forage crops in B.C. to planting willow trees in areas irrigated by rivers in the Atlantic as a means to sequester carbon. Most of the research work on this project led by the University of British Columbia will take place in the Okanagan Valley. This project will provide new science-based knowledge for farmers looking to manage soil and water resources more effectively with the goal of improving nutrient-use efficiency, reducing inputs of fertilizer and lowering GHG emissions. UBC researchers Melanie Jones, Louise Nelson and Nathan Pelletier received this five-year funding from the program to study the effects of long-term irrigation on soil carbon and nitrogen stocks in the Okanagan Valley, along with some life cycle assessments of irrigation and mulches. Soil holds almost three times as much carbon as the atmosphere, making it the third largest pool of carbon on Earth. Good agricultural practices can help remove carbon from the atmosphere and move it into soil, while poor practices can release it from soil into the atmosphere. SOURCE Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

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[June 06, 2017]

MGIC Integrates Affordable Mortgage Insurance Rates within Optimal Blue

MILWAUKEE, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation (NYSE: MTG), the nation's first private mortgage insurer, announced today the availability of affordable lending mortgage insurance rates through Optimal Blue's Product and Pricing Engine.

Access to affordable housing mortgage insurance rates is an enhancement to MGIC's existing integration, where Optimal Blue customers can price mortgage insurance with standard coverage. With this enhancement, when customers choose affordable product coverage, the interface displays HomeReady, Home Possible and HFA mortgage insurance rates.

"The enhancement provides a market advantage to Optimal Blue and MGIC customers," said Harper Wong, Director of Community Lending Solutions at MGIC. "Loan officers can now target borrowers who qualify for affordable products by providing accurate MI quotes in real-time."

"As the industry's leading secondary market automation platform, Optimal Blue's mission is to provide the most accurate product eligibility and pricing content to our lenders -- wherever and whenever it matters most," said Bob Brandt, Vice President of Marketing & Alliances for Optimal Blue. "In patnership with MGIC, we are proud to take another step forward with that mission by incorporating more precise mortgage insurance rates for affordable housing."







"We're pleased to expand our partnership with Optimal Blue, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and our HFA relationships to offer our mutual customers a superior experience," said Margaret Crowley, Vice President of Marketing and Customer Experience at MGIC. "It demonstrates our continued commitment to offering affordable solutions to our customers and ultimately the borrowers."

About MGIC

MGIC, the principal subsidiary of MGIC Investment Corporation, this year celebrates 60 years of serving the mortgage finance industry. As the founder of modern private mortgage insurance, MGIC is committed to providing products and services that make originating affordable low-down-payment mortgages safer for the financial institutions served. Fulfilling this vital role helps families achieve homeownership sooner. At April 30, 2017, MGIC had $184.3 billion of primary insurance in force covering approximately 1 million mortgages.

About Optimal Blue

Optimal Blue operates the mortgage industry's digital marketplace, connecting lenders, investors, and providers with comprehensive secondary marketing solutions, market-leading capabilities and value-added services that deliver results. For more information, please visit www.optimalblue.com.

HomeReady is a registered Fannie Mae trademark. Home Possible is a registered Freddie Mac trademark.

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mgic-integrates-affordable-mortgage-insurance-rates-within-optimal-blue-300469652.html

SOURCE MGIC Investment Corporation
[June 06, 2017] Township of Springfield Notifies Community Members, Visitors Following Cyberattack

SPRINGFIELD, N.J., June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Township of Springfield ("Township") announced today that, during a network security review, it identified suspicious activity on its Police Department management server, which may have potentially exposed some personal information of certain Township residents and visitors. At this time, the Township has no evidence that any personal information has been viewed or used inappropriately. What Happened? As a result of a network security review, we identified suspicious activity on our Police Department management server. Once we discovered this suspicious activity, we immediately initiated an internal investigation and IT remediation. We also engaged external forensic IT experts to assist in our investigation, and the incident was subject to ongoing police investigation. The forensic IT experts have confirmed that there was unauthorized access to the server between Feb. 22, 2017 and March 9, 2017, when the threat was eliminated. What Information Was Involved? The information may have included full name, Social Security number, driver's license or state card identification number, State and Federal Bureau Investigation number, credit card numers provided to authorities or that were subject to police investigation, birth date, address, telephone number and police narrative. Each individual may have been impacted differently. For additional information on what information might have been potentially impacted, or if you believe your information may have been maintained by the Township of Springfield Police Department but you did not receive a written notice, please call 1-855-361-3678.



What We Are Doing. In addition to the steps immediately taken in response to this event, the Township remains vigilant in its efforts to protect confidential information of its citizens and visitors and has already implemented additional safeguards to help prevent additional cyber-attacks. We also continue to work closely with the FBI, and we have notified the New Jersey State Police, all applicable state agencies, and all three credit bureaus. Lastly, we will pursue prosecution of these criminals to the full extent of U.S. law.

While we have no indication that any personal information has been accessed or used inappropriately, as an added precaution, the Township is also providing all potentially impacted individuals with identity repair services, and additional services may be available to some individuals depending on the type of information potentially involved. For More Information. If you have questions or need additional information, please call toll free number 1-855-361-3678, Monday through Saturday, from 9:00 A.M. to 9 P.M. EST. You may also write us at 100 Mountain Avenue, Springfield, NJ 07081. The Township values and respects the privacy of our residents and visitors and regrets any concern or inconvenience this matter may cause. Media Contact: [email protected] To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/township-of-springfield-notifies-community-members-visitors-following-cyberattack-300469628.html SOURCE The Township of Springfield

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[June 06, 2017] Vistaar Strengthens Position as Leading Pricing Solution for Beverage Alcohol Companies with New Beer Customer

PARSIPPANY, N.J., June 06, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vistaar Technologies, Inc. (Vistaar), a leading provider of pricing and promotion software in the beverage alcohol industry, today announced the addition of its first beer customer, Two Roads Brewing Company (Two Roads), to the companys growing list of customers. Known as one of the fastest growing craft beer companies and its Road Less Traveled philosophy, Two Roads plans to deploy Vistaars price structure management (PSM) SaaS solution.

Vistaar was selected for its comprehensive end-to-end pricing solution and demonstrated expertise in the beverage alcohol industry. The company will use Vistaars solution to enhance its price structure planning process, manage pricing across the value chain and improve price execution. Vistaar currently helps over 65 percent of all premium spirits and almost half of all wine companies in the United States transform their pricing operations into a strategic advantage and leverage pricing best practices to drive growth. < align="justify">Two Roads looked for a partner with proven success in the beverage alcohol industry, stated Clement Pellani, co-founder and chief commercial officer, Two Roads Brewing Company. Vistaar provides an innovative pricing solution coupled with the expert domain knowledge necessary to allow Two Roads to compete in this complex beer market. We are confident the Vistaar solution will allow us to become more efficient in how we handle pricing and improve bottom line results.



The addition of Two Roads to the Vistaar customer base is a testament to our long history of providing exceptional value to the beverage alcohol industry, said Paul Greifenberger, senior vice-president of sales and marketing, Vistaar Technologies. We have every reason to believe that Two Roads will enjoy a sustainable competitive advantage through the use of our pricing software. About Two Roads Brewing Company

Two Roads opened its doors in December 2012 having earlier acquired and revitalized a vacant, 100-year-old landmark brick factory building in Stratford, Connecticut. Its name and philosophy are inspired by the Robert Frost poem The Road Not Taken  a philosophy brought to life in the beers they create using the highest quality brewing and packaging equipment. Two Roads Brewing Companys tasting room is open seven days a week and conducts tours Friday through Sunday; for more information go to www.tworoadsbrewing.com

About Vistaar Technologies, Inc.

Vistaar is a leading provider of price management solutions that enable companies to achieve pricing best practices through price analytics, price optimization, price list management and deal management. Our technology transforms pricing and related operations into a strategic advantage for some of the worlds largest manufacturers, distributors and service providers. For these companies, Vistaar pricing solutions drive measurable price and margin improvements to deliver profitable growth and maximum shareholder value. Vistaars operations include offices across North America, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.vistaar.com. Press Contact: Edward Lin DPR Group, Inc. (240) 686-1000 [email protected] Company Contact: Jodi Lozauskas Vistaar Technologies, Inc. (973) 581-6300 [email protected]

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[June 06, 2017] Authentica Solutions Recognized as Finalist for 2017 Microsoft Public Sector: Education Partner of the Year Award

ATLANTA, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Authentica Solutions today announced they have been named a finalist for the 2017 Microsoft Public Sector: Education Partner of the Year Award. The company was honored among a global field of top Microsoft partners for demonstrating excellence in innovation and implementation of customer solutions based on Microsoft technology. Awards were presented in several categories, with winners chosen from a set of more than 2,800 entrants representing 115 countries. Authentica Solutions was recognized for providing outstanding solutions and services for the development and delivery of a custom application with the Houston ISD Medicaid Billing Application built on Microsoft Azure. Russell Long, Authentica's CEO, said "We are very honored to be named a finalist for the Education Partner of the Year in the Public Sector division at Microsoft. We enjoy working with the Microsoft Education team in helping schools achieve their goals with applications and data. The partnership between Authentica Solutions and Microsoft has been a beautiful story of how a K-12 education company, such as ours, has embedded their expertise into Microsoft technologies to create innovative solutions that significantly impact the success outcomes of students such as those served by Houston ISD's Medicaid Billing Application." Michael Gonzales, Director of Medicaid Finance and Consulting Services at Houston ISD, said "We are extremely excited to have the increased capabilities, capacity and utilize the latest in Azure cloud technologies that Authentica and Microsoft have made available to our team. We have been striving for years to get a next generation solution into place and Authentica was able to make that happen in less than a year. Our extended capabilities enable us to serve our wonderful K12 districts with greater ease of use, increased capacity for compliancy, and increased reimbursements for our districts." "We are honored to recognize Authentica Solutions of the United States of America as a Microsoft Country Partner of the Year," said Ron Huddleston corporate vice president, One Commercial Partner, Microsoft Corp. "Authentica Solutions is a prime example of the expertise and innovation we see in our Microsoft partner community to deliver transformative solutions." The Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards recognize Microsoft partners that have developed and delivered exceptional Microsoft-based solutions during the past year. About Authentica Solutions Authentica Solutions is an education data management company providing data driven software solutions with a core focus on:







 K-12 Data Integration  Centralized Data Management  Education Data Visualization  EdTech Cloud Engineering

Authentica Solutions was established in 2013 after our many years in K-12 to serve school districts, departments of education, and Ed Tech software companies seeking to design, develop and implement highly technical, enterprise software and interoperability solutions. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/authentica-solutions-recognized-as-finalist-for-2017-microsoft-public-sector-education-partner-of-the-year-award-300469680.html SOURCE Authentica Solutions

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[June 06, 2017] Kudelski Security's Darrell Switzer to Participate in Red Team Panel at ILTA's LegalSEC Summit 2017

CHESEAUX-SUR-LAUSANNE, Switzerland and PHOENIX, June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Kudelski Security, the cybersecurity division within the Kudelski Group (SIX:KUD.S) and trusted innovator for the world's most security-conscious organizations, today announced that Darrell Switzer, managing director, incident response & cyber resilience services at Kudelski Security, will speak at ILTA's LegalSEC Summit 2017 on Tuesday, June 13 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Virginia. He will join Brad Causey, senior penetration tester at SecurIT360 and Dana Morrow, manager, security & compliance operations at Digital Defense, Inc. for a presentation on making the most of penetration testing (pen test).







What: A pen test might be a compliance requirement check box, but that doesn't always equate to a secure environment or a proper assessment of entreprises' operational security. This panel of Red Team members will gather to share their pen test insights on: objectives, planning, implementing and using the results to strengthen your security posture. More information can be found here.



Who: As the leader of Kudelski Security's global incident response, threat and vulnerability management teams, Darrell Switzer is charged with helping clients prepare for and react to criminal attacks and data breaches. He leverages more than 17 years of hands-on penetration testing and incident response experience to lead teams of world-class experts working with some of today's most high-profile companies. Prior to joining Kudelski Security, Darrell Switzer held senior positions with PricewaterhouseCoopers, Citibank, FishNet Security and BAE Systems.



When: 11:00 am ET, Tuesday, June 13, 2017



Where: Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Va. (Salon I)

Media and analysts interested in meeting with Darrell Switzer or Kudelski Security executives at the show should contact [email protected]. About Kudelski Security

Kudelski Security is the premier advisor and cybersecurity innovator for today's most security-conscious organizations. Our long-term approach to client partnerships enables us to continuously evaluate their security posture to recommend solutions that reduce business risk, maintain compliance and increase overall security effectiveness. With clients that include Fortune 500 enterprises and government organizations in Europe and across the United States, we address the most complex environments through an unparalleled set of solution capabilities including consulting, technology, managed security services and custom innovation. For more information, visit www.kudelskisecurity.com. Media Contact:

John Van Blaricum

Vice President, Global Marketing

Kudelski Security

1.650.966.4320

[email protected] To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kudelski-securitys-darrell-switzer-to-participate-in-red-team-panel-at-iltas-legalsec-summit-2017-300469632.html SOURCE Kudelski Security

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[June 06, 2017] MediConnect to Take Part in Military Hiring Fair at 2017 Pittsburgh Expo with the Pittsburgh Pirates

MediConnect is honored to take part in the 2017 Pittsburgh Expo with the Pittsburgh Pirates, a military hiring fair that is part of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation's Hiring Our Heroes initiative. The event is set to take place on Friday, June 16th from 9:30am-2pm at PNC (News - Alert) Park in Pittsburgh. Open to veterans, active duty, guard and reserve personnel as well as their spouses, the Military Hiring Fair is an all-encompassing career event. In addition to discussing career opportunities with MediConnect and several other organizations, participants will be able to engage in professional networking and workshops. The event kicks off with a free personal branding workshop at 9:30am dedicated to resume building, networking and interview tips. MediConnect Vice President, Ron Moore, said of the organization's involvement, "We are excited to announce that here at MediConnect, we will have the chance to meet our brave men and women who served our country, along with their military spouses, and introduce them to what could possibly be their new careers. We are attending the Military Hiring Fair; look for us there!" In addition to career guidance, participants are also eligible to receive two (2) free tickets to the 7:05pm Pirates game against the Cubs that same night. T register for the Military Hiring Fair, visit HiringOurHeroes.org.



About MediConnect Established in 2016, MediConnect is a fiercely-independent insurance organization in Pittsburgh, PA, and your source for healthcare coverage. Partnering with well-known insurance providers in nine states, MediConnect bridges the healthcare gap by finding and securing the most optimal plans to fit the consumer's individualized needs. For more information, visit www.MediConnectInsurance.com.

About Hiring Our Heroes Hiring Our Heroes, a program of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, launched in March 2011 as a nationwide initiative to help veterans, transitioning service members and military spouses find meaningful employment opportunities. Working with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's vast network of state and local chambers and strategic partners from the public, private and nonprofit sectors, Hiring Our Heroes aims to create a movement across America in hundreds of communities where veterans and military families return every day. For more information, visit HiringOurHeroes.org. Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from MediConnect, journalists and analysts may call 888.818.MEDI (6334). Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170606006416/en/

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Kendall Law Group Obtains Dismissal of Federal Criminal Charges Pending Against Narashima Bhogavalli

Kendall Law Group announced today that Narashima Bhogavalli, a Texas owner of an IT company who was previously indicted in federal court in Dallas, Texas, has had all charges against him dropped by the U.S. Government. He was alleged to have been involved in an international IRS tax scam. He pled "not guilty" to the allegations.

After a presentation by his defense lawyers to the prosecutors and the FBI, United States District Judge Sam Lindsay signed a Court Order dismissing the indictment against Mr. Bhogavalli.

"We are grateful that the U.S. Attorney's office in Dallas listened to us and upon further investigation by them dropped all charges against Nara Bhogavalli. They were very fair," said Joe Kendall, Mr. Bhogavalli's criminal defense lawyer.







The case against Mr. Narashima Bhogavalli was filed in the Northern District of Texas, and both the Motion to Dismiss the Indictment and the federal judge's Order Dismissing the Indictment are available online through the court records on its PACER system, and on the Kendall Law Group, PLLC's website at www.kendalllawgroup.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170606006521/en/
[June 06, 2017] Ascensus Announces Acquisition of Kravitz, Inc.

DRESHER, Pa., June 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Ascensus, a service and technology provider that helps more than 7 million Americans save for the future, has announced the acquisition of independently owned Kravitz, Inc., a retirement administration firm and Cash Balance specialist focused on bringing its clients the latest in the design, administration, and management of corporate retirement plans. Kravitz, founded in 1977, designed its first Cash Balance plan in 1989 and has since grown into the nation's Cash Balance leader, helping more than 125,000 Americans retire with innovative, tax-efficient retirement plans. The firm offers extensive training, education, and support on Cash Balance plans to its clients and an extensive network of financial advisors and third-party administrator partners. It employs more than 85 individuals and services more than 1,400 clients with retirement plans. As a result of the acquisition, Ascensus will serve approximately 50,000 retirement plans. Kravitz will maintain its focus on Cash Balance plans, with Dan Kravitz continuing in a senior leadership role. "Kravitz is reowned for its Cash Balance plan expertise, market leadership, and client focuswe're excited for its team of actuaries and retirement plan professionals to join the Ascensus family," states Shannon Kelly, Ascensus' president of retirement. "Cash Balance plans are sophisticated and complex retirement plans that require a superior level of actuarial acumen; under Dan's ongoing leadership, we anticipate extending our company's growth into the mid-market segment."



"The Kravitz team is looking forward to becoming part of Ascensus and continuing to help our clients save for a more secure retirement," said Kravitz. "Our clients, employees, and industry partners can expect us to keep providing state-of-the-art plan design and expert administration while remaining dedicated to our values of innovation, accountability, and integrity." About Ascensus

Ascensus helps more than 7 million Americans save for the futureretirement, college, and healthcarethrough service and technology solutions. With more than 35 years of experience, the firm offers tailored solutions that meet the needs of banks, credit unions, states, governments, financial professionals, employers, and individuals. Ascensus supports over 50,000 retirement plans, more than 4 million 529 college savings accounts, and a growing number of ABLE savings accounts. It also administers more than 1.5 million IRAs and health savings accounts. For more information about Ascensus, visit www.ascensus.com.

View career opportunities at careers.ascensus.com or on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/ascensus. For the latest company news, follow @AscensusInc on Twitter. To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ascensus-announces-acquisition-of-kravitz-inc-300469758.html SOURCE Ascensus

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New York, June 6 (Just Earth News): Opening a agame-changinga international conference on the health of the worldas oceans and seas, top United Nations officials on Monday urged coordinated global action to protect the planet.

Speaking in the UN General Assembly Hall, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres cautioned Governments that unless they overcome short-term territorial and resource interests, the state of the oceans will continue to deteriorate.

Improving the health of our oceans is a test for multilateralism, and we cannot afford to fail, the Secretary-General said addressing his first major UN conference since taking on his post.

We must jointly address the problems of governance that have held us back, he said, calling for a new strategic vision of how to govern the oceans and marine resources.

One of the main challenges, he said, is to end the artificial dichotomy between jobs and healthy oceans: The conservation and sustainable use of marine resources are two sides of the same coin.

He called for strong political leadership and new partnerships, based on the existing legal framework, and concrete steps, such as expanding marine protected areas and reducing plastic waste pollution.

Among other specific actions, Guterres urged Governments to allocate the promised funding for the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, the Paris Agreement on climate change and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, as well as improving data collection and sharing their best experiences.

These works are supported by the UN, he added, which among its work, is building partnerships with Governments, the private sector, civil society and others, and working with international financial institutions to allocate resources.

Also addressing the thousands of participants  including heads of State and Government, civil society representatives, business people, as well as actors, and ocean and marine life advocates  was the President of the General Assembly, Peter Thomson.

The time has come for us to correct our wrongful ways, said Thomson, who hails from the island of Fiji, which is co-hosting the event alongside Sweden.

He spoke out against inexcusable actions, such as dumping the equivalent of one large garbage truck of plastic into the oceans every minute of every day, driving fish stocks to the points of collapse, and destroying marine life through acidification and deoxygenation.

We are here on behalf of humanity to restore sustainability, balance and respect to our relationship with our primal mother, the source of life, the Ocean, he noted.

Also speaking at the opening was Wu Hongo, the Secretary-General of The Ocean Conference, who pointed out that without oceans and seas, where would be no life on the planet.

Wu, who is also the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, noted that everyone must work together  not in silos  to achieve the goals of the Conference.

The Ocean Conference, which runs through Friday, focuses on the targets outlined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by Governments in 2015. In particular among the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Goal 14 highlights the need to conserve and sustainably use oceans, seas and marine resources to benefit present and future generations.

The main areas of work at The Ocean Conference will be a political call to action, a segment on partnership dialogues and voluntary commitments. Hundreds of commitments were already registered by the time the conference opened earlier on Monday.

Additional discussions with high-level officials, actors and activists will take place in the SDG Media Zone.

UN Photo/Tsagris

Source: www.justearthnews.com
[June 06, 2017] Village Farms International and Emerald Health Form Joint Venture for Large-Scale Greenhouse Cannabis Production

 Transformational Opportunity Will See Conversion of Certain Village Farms' BC Greenhouse Assets to An Economically Superior Product with Cannabis Production   Joint Venture Expects to be the Low-Cost Producer in the Canadian Cannabis Industry  VANCOUVER, June 6, 2017 /CNW/ - Village Farms International, Inc. ("Village Farms") (TSX: VFF) (OTC: VFFIF) and Emerald Health Therapeutics Inc., together with its affiliates ("Emerald") (TSXV: EMH), today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement to form a joint venture for large-scale, high-quality, low-cost cannabis production. Under the terms of the agreement, Village Farms will initially contribute a 1.1 million-square foot (25-acre) greenhouse facility in Delta, British Columbia, located on a 50-acre parcel of land (with ancillary buildings) (the "Initial Greenhouse"), which will be converted to ACMPR (Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations)-compliant production and, if permitted by applicable law, production for the non-therapeutic adult-use market. Emerald will initially contribute an aggregate of $20 million in cash (of which $2 million was advanced at closing and the remaining $18 million will be advanced in tranches upon satisfaction of certain milestones to be determined by the board of directors of the joint venture) to fund conversion of the Initial Greenhouse and each party will have a 50% ownership stake in the joint venture. (All figures are presented in Canadian dollars.) Highlights of the Joint Venture Agreement 1.1 million square feet of initial potential greenhouse cannabis production (estimated to yield more than 75,000 kg of product annually) upon completion of full licencing and greenhouse conversion;

Formation of the joint venture is a transformational opportunity for Village Farms that will see the conversion of one of its existing Delta, BC greenhouse assets to grow a substantially more profitable agricultural product;

greenhouse assets to grow a substantially more profitable agricultural product; Village Farms is one of the largest, most experienced and technically advanced greenhouse growers in North America , with an ingrained culture of low-cost production;

, with an ingrained culture of low-cost production; Formation of the joint venture strategically positions Emerald for rapid production capacity expansion in partnership with world-class greenhouse operators, preparing it for the future non-therapeutic market and existing undersupplied medical cannabis market;

Emerald has significant cannabis industry experience, including a portfolio of high-quality genetics and refined standard operating procedures, with a flawless record of operations under Health Canada's stringent ACMPR regime;

The joint venture has the goal to be the lowest-cost cannabis producer in Canada ;

; In the future, the joint venture has the potential to have access to up to 4.8 million square feet of greenhouse cannabis production (estimated to yield more than 300,000 kg of product annually), which would supply a considerable portion of the expected future cannabis demand in Canada or for export abroad;

or for export abroad; The joint venture expects its production will address a diverse array of cannabis products, including dried cannabis and quality inputs for extraction-based products, currently the fastest growing segment in the Canadian medical cannabis market and expected to be a meaningful part of the non-therapeutic adult-use market; and,

Village Farms remains committed to its existing greenhouse produce business and customers. "Diversification into cannabis production is a truly transformational opportunity for Village Farms, with a portion of its Canadian assets, to apply our core capabilities and expertise as a technology-driven, low-cost, high-quality greenhouse grower and our significant investment in our existing facilities to a product that is substantially more profitable," said Michael DeGiglio, Chief Executive Officer of Village Farms International. "Based on our conservative market pricing forecasts and yield projections, conversion of our Canadian greenhouse facilities to cannabis production could generate revenue of 10- to 15-times that of our current Canadian vegetable production with EBITDA margins potentially expanding to more than 50% compared with our current Canadian vegetable margins." (See "Non-IFRS Measures" below.) Village Farms will leverage the combined 750 years of experience of its master grower team, and its history and expertise as an established low-cost, high-quality greenhouse agricultural producer, within a vertically integrated business model. The goal of the joint venture is to be the lowest-cost, highest-quality cannabis producer in Canada, with a targeted production cost of less than $1.00 per gram. Mr. DeGiglio continued, "Emerald is an excellent, and very complementary, partner for Village Farms in this endeavour, bringing with it a seasoned management team with specific cannabis industry experience, having obtained the eighth federal licence granted under the MMPR (now ACMPR) to cultivate medicinal cannabis. Emerald has tremendous downstream product development expertise and extensive experience in pharmaceutical and nutraceuticals product development for medical purposes. It is uniquely positioned in the Canadian cannabis industry, pursuing the development of cannabinoid medicines that are less toxic, more efficacious and safer therapeutic alternatives to conventional pharmaceutical medicines." "Partnering with Village Farms, one of NorthAmerica's largest and most technologically driven greenhouse growers, on this tremendous opportunity, is a very exciting development for Emerald," said Avtar Dhillon, MD, Executive Chairman, Emerald Health Therapeutics. "Village Farms is a global leader in greenhouse growing and, importantly, an expert in the complex matter of safety for agricultural consumables, which is a critical competency in the production of cannabis. Together we have the experience, expertise, and capital to become not only Canada's, but one of the world's premier greenhouse cannabis growers."



The transaction closed concurrently with the signing of a definitive agreement, at which time the joint venture leased (with the option to buy) Village Farms' Delta 3 greenhouse assets. The joint venture also entered into an agreement with Village Farms for options to lease or purchase from Village Farms a second 1.1 million square foot greenhouse (25 acre) and a 2.6 million square foot (60 acre) greenhouse, both located adjacent to the Initial Greenhouse. Combined, these three greenhouse assets could provide the joint venture with a total potential aggregate production capacity of approximately 4.8 million square feet (110 acres). Village Farms and Emerald believe currently announced planned production by licensed cannabis producers in Canada falls well short of the projected demand over the next four years following the anticipated legalization of non-therapeutic adult-use cannabis in Canada. The potential conversion of all of Village Farms' Delta, BC greenhouse operations, if the applicable options were exercised, would conservatively be expected to yield approximately 300,000 kg of cannabis annually. Village Farms and Emerald believe this has the potential to fill a substantial portion of the potential Canadian production gap for both medical and non-therapeutic adult-use cannabis.

The joint venture will immediately initiate the process to obtain a Health Canada license to grow cannabis under ACMPR regulations and concurrently commence the process of converting the Initial Greenhouse for cannabis cultivation. Any additional capital requirements of the joint venture are to be contributed on a pro-rata basis by Village Farms and Emerald, or by outside third-party funding. (Please see "Forward Looking Statements" below.) Advantages of Greenhouse Growing Greenhouse growing has significant proven advantages over conventional indoor growing. Growing with natural sunlight produces a sustainable, high-quality product. Greenhouse growing requires substantially less energy inputs, which are costly to install and operate as well as not being environmentally sustainable. A large greenhouse footprint enables more efficient operating logistics and economies of scale all of which result in a significantly lower cost of production versus conventional (non-greenhouse) indoor growing. Greenhouse facilities also require substantially lower capital investment than conventional indoor growing facilities. Village Farms is one of the most experienced, oldest and technologically-advanced greenhouse growers in the industry and one of the lowest-cost, highest-quality growers of hydroponic produce in the U.S. and Canada. It is also a leader in agricultural research and foremost in North America for developing record breaking greenhouse vegetable production technology in inhospitable climates. Its Applied Research Division continues to make meaningful advancements in the areas of Climate Engineering, Plant Biology & Pathology, Entomology, and Ecology. Continued Commitment to Produce Business and Customers Village Farms does not expect its growth of cannabis or other alternative crops to have a material impact on its existing produce production and distribution business. "Although diversification into cannabis is a tremendous opportunity, we remain steadfastly committed to our existing produce business. We will continue to provide our customers with the premium-quality products they have come to know and expect throughout our 30-year history," said Mr. DeGiglio. "In fact, the favourable economics of cannabis production are expected to provide Village Farms with the financial strength and resources necessary to further expand and solidify our industry-leading position. We fully expect to continue to expand capacity in our produce business to meet customer demand by exploring consolidation opportunities, as we have successfully done in the past, and through organic initiatives at our U.S. operations. Financial and Legal Advisors National Bank Financial acted as financial advisor and Torys LLP acted as legal advisor to Village Farms and McCullogh O'Connor Irwin LLP acted as legal advisor to Emerald with respect to the joint venture transaction. Conference Call Village Farms' and Emerald's management teams will host a joint conference call tomorrow, Wednesday, June 7, 2017, at 10:00 a.m. ET to discuss today's announcement. Participants can access the conference call by dialing (647) 427-7450 or (888) 231-8191, or via the Internet at http://bit.ly/2qXtHYQ. For those unable to participate in the conference call at the scheduled time, it will be archived for replay both by telephone and via the Internet beginning approximately one hour following completion of the call. To access the archived conference call by telephone, dial (416) 849-0833 or (866) 859-2056 and enter the passcode 35029750 followed by the pound key. The telephone replay will be available until Wednesday, June 14, 2017 at midnight. The conference call will also be archived on Village Farm's web site at: http://villagefarms.com/investor-relations/investor-calls. Material Change Report Each of Village Farms and Emerald will file a material change report with the applicable Canadian securities regulators within 10 days of the date of this news release, both of which will be available under the respective issuer's SEDAR profiles at www.sedar.com. About Emerald Health Therapeutics Inc. Emerald Health Therapeutics wholly owns Emerald Health Botanicals, which holds a license under the ACMPR to cultivate and sell medical cannabis flower and oils out of its facility located in Victoria, British Columbia. Emerald's focus is on extraction and downstream product development, with a strategy including the purchase of cannabis from high quality low cost producers, such as the joint venture. Emerald is also developing 32 acres in the Lower Mainland (BC) to grow its unique strains of cannabis with the intention of treating medical conditions and developing consumer products. About Village Farms International, Inc. Village Farms International, Inc. is one of the largest and longest-operating vertically integrated greenhouse growers in North America and the only publicly traded greenhouse produce company in Canada. With more than 750 years of accumulated master grower experience coupled with advanced proprietary technology and environmentally sustainable growing practices, Village Farms is highly resource efficient. Village Farms produces and distributes fresh, premium-quality produce with consistency 365-days a year to national grocers in the U.S. and Canada from its large-scale Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) greenhouses in British Columbia and Texas, as well as from its partner greenhouses in BC, Ontario, and Mexico. Cautionary Language This press release contains certain "forward looking statements". These statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect the various party's expectations, results of operations, performance, business prospects, opportunities, industry performance and trends. These forward looking statements reflect the party's current internal projections, expectations or beliefs and are based on information currently available. In some cases, forward looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "may", "will", "should", "expect", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "predict" , "potential", "continue" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. A number of factors could cause actual events or results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward looking statements. In evaluating these statements, you should specifically consider various factors, including, but not limited to, such risks and uncertainties as the joint venture not obtaining the necessary Health Canada licenses, in which case the joint venture will not be permitted to grow cannabis under the ACMPR regulations, and the parties may elect to terminate the joint venture in accordance with its terms, availability of resources, other regulatory requirements and all of the other "Risk Factors" set out in the Village Farms' and Emerald's respective annual information forms and management's discussion and analyses for the year ended December 31, 2016, and for the three-month period ended March 31, 2017, which are available electronically at www.sedar.com. Actual results may differ materially from any forward looking statement. Although Village Farms and Emerald believe that their respective forward looking statements contained in this press release are based upon reasonable assumptions, you cannot be assured that actual results will be consistent with these forward looking statements. These forward looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, and other than as specifically required by applicable law, neither Village Farms nor Emerald assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new information, events or circumstances. Non-IFRS Measures References in this press release to "EBITDA" are to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, foreign currency exchange gains and losses on translation of long-term debt, unrealized change in biological asset, stock compensation, and gains and losses on asset sales. EBITDA is a cash flow measure that is not recognized under IFRS and does not have a standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS. Therefore, EBITDA may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. Investors are cautioned that EBITDA should not be construed as an alternative to net income or loss determined in accordance with IFRS as an indicator of Village Farm's performance or to cash flows from operating, investing and financing activities as measures of liquidity and cash flows. Management of Village Farms believes that EBITDA is an important measure in evaluating the historical performance of the Company. SOURCE Village Farms International, Inc.

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New York, June 6(Just Earth News): In the aftermath of a devastating tropical storm in Sri Lanka, United Nations agencies are working to provide shelters and other emergency kits while seeking to contain a mosquito-borne disease that is starting to aspiral out of control.a

Heavy flooding, landslides and flash floods caused by Tropical Cyclone Mora in Myanmar and Bangladesh, and torrential monsoon rains have affected some 684,000 people in south and central Sri Lanka. The flooding, which is believed to be the worst in over a decade, has left at least 212 people dead and 79 missing.

Sri Lanka's Disaster Management Centre (DMC) estimates that over 2,500 houses were destroyed and nearly 15,900 damaged. These numbers could rise as data from damage assessments is compiled in the coming weeks.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) plans to provide 3,700 shelter repair kits, 5,000 non-food relief item kits and 250 temporary shelters, with funding sought from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), said the UN migration agency in a press release. The intervention will help an estimated 74,750 people.

Nearly 22,000 people are still sheltering in over 200 overcrowded sites, including schools, temples and churches, the agency said.

In flood-affected areas people are expected to return to their homes as water levels recede. But in landslide-affected areas, people currently staying in evacuation centres or with relatives and friends are unlikely to be able to return to their homes in the short term.

There will likely be a need to track displacement, return, and site closure. People will need shelter and other non-food relief items (when they leave the sites) and we will need to ensure that aid is distributed at the location most useful and appropriate for each affected family, said IOM Sri Lanka Chief of Mission Giuseppe Crocetti.

On Friday, the UN Humanitarian Country Team launched an emergency response plan seeking $22.7 million to address the critical life-saving and protection needs of 374,000 people in seven districts, targeting four priority sectors, including shelter, food, health and water and sanitation.

IOM will co-lead the emergency shelter and non-food item sector, which is appealing for $6.5 million.

Meanwhile, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) is calling for $3.5 million to keep vulnerable children safe.

So far we have delivered water and sanitation supplies, we are working on education supplies, strengthening health systems and rehabilitating basic health services and working on disease control for both diarrhoea and dengue which is starting to spiral out of control, said UNICEF country representative Tim Sutton.

He said flood waters have not receded in the southern district of Matara, raising fears of mosquito-borne disease transmission. He noted that so far this year there have already been more than 53,000 cases of dengue, a mosquito-borne tropical disease, which causes severe flu-like symptoIt is a leading cause of death among children and adults in Sri Lanka.

Photo: IOM

Source: www.justearthnews.com
Washington, Jun 6 (IBNS): Amidst the increasing terrorist attacks in the holy month of Ramadan by Islamist militants, US President Donald Trump has reiterated his earlier stance of putting a travel embargo on certain 'dangerous countries'.

The US President came down heavy on these 'dangerous countries' without naming them.

According to him, mere 'politically correct' words will not protect his people.

"That's right, we need a TRAVEL BAN for certain DANGEROUS countries, not some politically correct term that won't help us protect our people!," Trump's tweet read.

In another tweet, he said, "People, the lawyers and the courts can call it whatever they want, but I am calling it what we need and what it is, a TRAVEL BAN!"

Trump had earlier brewed a storm and invited scathing criticism when he first came up with the idea, during his presidential campaign last year.

Just 10 days into the Oval Office and the US President signed an executive order placing a travel ban into America for citizens from seven countries.

The 90-day ban was imposed on people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

However, following a revised order, Iraq was removed from the list.

Though majority of the world saw it as a vendetta against the Muslim world, Trump said it wasn't about a particular religion and was done in accordance with a list prepared by the Obama government in 2011.

"This is not about religion - this is about terror and keeping our country safe. There are over 40 different countries worldwide that are majority Muslim that are not affected by this order. We will again be issuing visas to all countries once we are sure we have reviewed and implemented the most secure policies over the next 90 days," his official statement read.

The US President, who is at loggerheads with the American media, did not shy away from it either as he accused the latter of 'false reporting'.

"We will keep it free and keep it safe, as the media knows, but refuses to say. My policy is similar to what President Obama did in 2011 when he banned visas for refugees from Iraq for six months. The seven countries named in the Executive Order are the same countries previously identified by the Obama administration as sources of terror. To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting.

The exclusion of certain Middle Eastern countries from the list also did not go down too well with a certain section of public.

Accusing Trump of bias, they said the US President did not take action against those countries due to vested interest, citing his business ties with the Gulf.



image: Internet Wallpapers
The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 is the best big-screen phone yet, thanks to its versatile dual cameras, S Pen improvements and beautiful 6.3-inch screen.

Why you can trust Tom's Guide Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test .

Samsung's Galaxy Note 8 is a big-screen phone that commands your attention  and not just because it's a sequel to a device the company was forced to recall. It's because the Note 8 ushers in a new class of smartphones that is super-premium.

Priced between $930 and $960 (depending on the carrier), Samsung's new phablet has the loftiest price tag of any mainstream Android handset yet. But the Note 8 tries to justify its high price with the first dual-camera setup ever on a Samsung phone; the biggest screen ever offered by Samsung, at 6.3 inches; and a host of new tricks for the S Pen. The Note 8 also offers more RAM than the Galaxy S8 and S8+, as well as a smart new way to multitask.

Is all of that worth about $80 to $100 more than the already large-and-in-charge Galaxy S8+? After living with the Note 8 for more than a week, I would say "yes."

We've updated our review of the Galaxy Note 8 based on our in-depth smartphone drop tests. See the results below.

Design: The pinnacle of phablets

With its curved Infinity Display that goes from nearly edge to edge, the glass front of the Galaxy Note 8 is simply stunning. In fact, it makes other big-screen phones like the LG V30, Google Pixel XL and iPhone 7 Plus look downright dowdy.

I know what you're wondering: Is 6.3 inches too big? Not really, and I have pretty small hands. That's because this phone has the same narrow 18.5:9 aspect ratio as the Galaxy S8 and S8+. I found I could reach across the screen with my thumb, but because the Note's design is so tall, I sometimes had to reposition the phone in my hand to target items on the top or bottom of the display.

Samsung purposely made the curves on this screen less severe than those on the S8 or S8+, which gives you more usable real estate for the pen. I dig these more slanted edges, as they also help visually differentiate the Note 8 from its siblings. However, I do wish Samsung would offer more color options in the U.S. to make this phone truly pop. U.S. carriers are offering midnight black and orchid gray, but I want to see the gold and blue versions that are available overseas arrive stateside, too.

Around the back, you'll find the dual-lens cameras and a fingerprint reader to the right of the flash. I'm not a fan of this somewhat awkward placement, as it would be easier if the sensor were beneath the camera. It also didnt always work on the first try; fortunately, you can log in via facial recognition or iris scanning.

MORE: Which Carrier Has the Best Note 8 Deal?



Measuring 6.4 x 2.9 x 0.34 inches and weighing 6.9 ounces, the Note 8 is on the heavy side, but it feels pretty balanced in my hand. By comparison, the S8+ is slightly shorter, at 6.3 inches, but significantly lighter, at 6.1 ounces. That's to be expected, though, because the Note 8 carries a stylus.



Durability: It could be tougher

As with the Galaxy S8, the Note 8 is water-resistant. It's also pretty tough; I accidentally stepped on the screen, and it didn't crack.

But to get a better sense of the phone's durability, we tested the toughness of the Galaxy Note 8 by dropping it on its face onto wood from a height of 4 feet and 6 feet; we then dropped it on its edge and face onto concrete from 4 feet; we then dropped it on its edge and face from 6 feet onto concrete.

Samsung's phablet withstood 4- and 6-foot drops on its face onto a wood surface without any difficulty. A 4-foot fall on its edge onto concrete caused some minor scratches on the bottom edge, but a 4-foot drop on its face cracked the screen in a number of places, including in front of its front-facing camera, which gave selfies a very artistic look. A 6-foot face drop onto concrete caused the Note 8's screen to start flashing white, black and green, and the touch screen was completely unresponsive.

As a result, the Note 8 earned a low toughness score of 4.3 out of 10. To see the results of other smartphones, as well as our complete scoring methodology, check out our smartphone drop tests.

Galaxy Note 8 Specs

Swipe to scroll horizontally Price $930 to $960, depending on carrier

Display: A big and beautiful canvas with more purpose

The 6.3-inch Infinity Display on the Note 8 makes your jaw drop even before you put it in your hands, and Samsung devised a clever new way to make the most of the phone's billboard-like real estate.

For starters, the Note 8's screen is deliciously colorful. I was mesmerized by the multifaceted silver armor of Cyborg in the Justice League trailer, as well as his piercing red eye. When playing Mortal Kombat X, I marveled at how grotesquely awesome the gooey brains of my splayed enemy looked when they spilled out of his head.

MORE: The Best Smartphones Available Right Now



In our lab tests, the Note 8's display covered 204.8 percent of the sRGB color gamut. By comparison, the Moto Z2 Force's OLED screen hit 199.7 percent, and the LG G6's LCD displayed 134 percent. The Note 8's display delivers accurate hues, too, as it registered a Delta-E score of 0.5; a score of 0 is perfect. The Z2 Force notched 1.06, and the LG G6 scored 1.1.

Because the Note 8's panel supports HDR (high dynamic range), you should be able to enjoy better contrast and more colors when streaming HDR content.

To maximize this phone's ultrawide screen, Samsung introduced a feature called App Pair with the Note 8. When you swipe in from the right side of the screen, you can launch two apps on the screen at once  side by side or on top of each other, depending on how you hold the phone. It's also pretty easy to create pairs.

I liked being able to have the Email app open on the left and the Calendar app on the right, or the browser on one side and YouTube on the other.

Dual Cameras: Amazing photos, great flexibility

Samsung isn't just playing catch-up with the dual cameras on the Note 8. It has leaped ahead of the iPhone  at least for now. That's because both 12-megapixel cameras on this device offer optical image stabilization; the iPhone 7 Plus' telephoto lens doesn't have that feature.

What can you do with these dual shooters? For starters, you get a 2x optical zoom with a simple tap on the screen. In Union Square, I could easily zoom in on a statue from afar without losing any detail.

You also get a new Live Focus mode, which is similar to the Portrait mode on the iPhone 7 Plus, which blurs the background and makes your subject pop. But only the Note 8 lets you adjust the intensity of this effect both before and after you snap the photo.



I felt like a pro when I snapped an image of purple flowers in front of a fountain. The iPhone 7 Plus did a better job than the Note 8 of blurring the background more consistently through the frame, but I liked that I could control how much of the fountain I could see.



I also really like the Dual Capture feature on the Note 8, which snaps both a close-up and a wide-angle photo at the same time, and then lets you toggle between both views in the gallery. One pic I took of the New York City skyline looked so good that a woman sitting next to me on the bus asked me to text it to her. Even in a moving vehicle, the picture turned out fairly sharp, thanks to the optical image stabilization.

My only complaint is that I sometimes had to tap more than once on the screen to switch between the close-up and wide-angle views.

In terms of image quality, the Note 8 delivered the same type of remarkably sharp and colorful pics that made the Galaxy S8 our top camera phone.

Compared with a shot taken with the iPhone 7 Plus, a Note 8 photo of trees and a statue in Union Square had richer greens and slightly more refined details around the edges when zoomed in. However, as with most iPhone photos, its colors were warmer than the Note 8's, and the Samsung image ran a bit cooler and nearly blew out some of the highlights.



S Pen: Neat new tricks (with some kinks)

Samsung has been broadening the appeal of the S Pen for the past few years, and the Note 8 takes it to the next level.

For starters, you can now take up to 100 pages of notes using the Screen Off memo feature. You just take out the pen and start writing. It's easy to pin notes to the always-on display and to edit notes in place. I found this feature handy when crossing off items on my to-do list and shopping lists.

The coolest new S Pen feature is Live Message, which turns your scribbles into animated GIFs to share with others. For example, I wrote "Love you" on top of a photo with a fun sparkle pen tip and then tried to send it to my wife via text message. I say "tried" because I got an error message that said "Maximum total size of attachments exceeded." Strangely, other times, I didn't get that error, so it might depend on the size of the image captured.

The other noteworthy new S Pen feature is the ability to translate full sentences into different languages just by hovering the pen above the screen. This worked well when I visited the French site Le Monde and highlighted a few rows of text.

For those so inclined, the S Pen remains a viable tool for sketching and drawing. I handed the Note 8 off to a colleague to create a couple of sketches, and he found the pen to be fairly accurate. However, he wished that the pen offered more nuanced control, as the Apple Pencil does on the iPad.

Battery Life: Surprisingly good

We'll have to wait and see whether the Note 8's battery lives up to Samsung's safety claims, but I can say that the phone lasts quite a long time on a charge. Although the battery's 3,300-mAh capacity is a bit lower than that of the battery inside the ill-fated Note 7, as well as the battery in the Galaxy S8+ (both 3,500 mAh), it turned in excellent results.

On the Tom's Guide Battery Test, which involves continuous web surfing over 4G on 150 nits of screen brightness, the Note 8 lasted a very strong 11 hours and 11 minutes on T-Mobile's network. That's even better than the 11:04 that the S8+ turned in and the 10:39 runtime from the S8, both also tested on T-Mobile. It's possible that the Note 8's extra RAM makes it slightly more efficient.

MORE: Smartphones with the Longest Battery Life

By comparison, the iPhone 7 Plus lasted 10:38, and the Moto Z2 Force ran for 10:23. The LG G6 mustered only 8:39.

Performance: More RAM, serious power

The Note 8 has the same Snapdragon 835 processor as other current Android flagships, but it ups the ante with 6GB of RAM. Most other phones make do with 4GB of RAM; exceptions include the OnePlus 5, which comes with up to 8GB of RAM.

In everyday use, the Note 8 was very swift, whether I was jumping right into the camera from the lock screen instantly (just double-press the home button) or playing Injustice 2 with silky-smooth frame rates. However, there were more than a couple of times when I had to tap the screen more than once for the phone to do what I wanted.

On Geekbench, which measures overall performance, the Note 8 scored 6,564 on the multicore portion of the test. That's better than the Galaxy S8 (6,124), a bit better than the Moto Z2 Force (6,489) and just slightly faster than the OnePlus 5 with 8GB of RAM (6,542).

When it comes to graphics performance, the Note 8 more than holds its own. It notched 39,834 on the 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited test, which beat the Galaxy S8 (35,903) and edged out the Z2 Force (39,807) and the OnePlus 5 (39,576).

Software: Bixby is underrated

Other than the added capabilities of the S Pen and the App Pair feature for split-screen multitasking, Bixby is the highlight software feature on the Note 8, which runs Android 7.1.1. It's best not to think of Bixby as a direct Siri competitor but rather more of a personal assistant that speeds up tasks that typically take multiple taps.

For instance, I said, "Capture a screenshot, and show it to me in the gallery," and the Note 8 did both tasks in succession successfully. I also liked that I could add specific items to my to-do list by saying them aloud, such as "Add 'approve vacation day' to my task list." At first, Bixby thought I said "A prove," but the mistake was easy to correct.

MORE: Galaxy Note 8: Features to Enable and Disable

The other main highlight is the Apps Edge menu, which makes it easy to pull up your favorite apps without having to go back to the home screen. You can also quickly access your favorite contacts from this menu.

Accessories Aplenty

The Galaxy Note 8 has a new design, so you're definitely going to need a new case for this 6.3-inch monster. The good news is that there are plenty of options to choose from already, including a suede-like Alcantara cover that's available in multiple colors. My favorite is green.

MORE: 11 Best Galaxy Note 8 Accessories

The Note 8 also supports a new version of the Gear VR headset ($129) for people who want to get into virtual reality. The headset comes with a motion controller to make the VR experience more immersive.

DeX Station

If you want to leverage the full power of the Note 8 on a bigger screen, check out the DeX Station, which costs about $125. With this dock, you can run Android apps on a full-size HD monitor, and get a desktop-like experience with a mouse and keyboard connected to the peripheral. More developers are starting to support this accessory, including Zoom, which lets you seamlessly continue your conference call after you plug the phone into the dock.

Bottom Line

Spending nearly $1,000 on a smartphone seems a bit nuts when you can get a very good phone, like the OnePlus 5, for less than $500. But the Note 8 isn't just very good  it is awesome. The combination of its glorious 6.3-inch Infinity Display, excellent dual cameras and more versatile S Pen makes it the big-screen phone to beat. Some people may want to wait for the iPhone 8, but if you're an Android fan, you need look no further.

The Note 8 could be better in some ways. The fingerprint sensor is located in an awkward spot, and the Live Message feature (as novel as it is) doesn't always work the way it should. Then, there's the price. If you don't have a need for the S Pen and you just want a big screen, you'll be plenty happy with the $850 Galaxy S8 Plus. But I'd spend the extra dough on the Note 8 simply because of its dual-lens camera and what you can do with it.

Credit: Shaun Lucas/Tom's Guide


Federal prison ordered for carjacking that led to death of pet dog A 27-year-old Kansas City, Kan., man was sentenced Tuesday for an armed carjacking that ended in a wreck and the death of the victim's dog. Stephen D. Bagley was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Kansas City to 12 years and 10 months in prison for the June 2014 crime.

Reality check reminds us that even the justice system has a weakness for exceptionally cute doggies and any harm they might suffer. Take a look:
Last night Council Dude Dan Fowler argued that indecision from Kansas City could cost taxpayers despite the fact that most airport experts agree that funding for either renovation or a new terminal will come mostly from airport review derived from airlines.

Nobody is mentioning the airport gate downgrade that irks Council and voter opposition of the plan. NOT SO FUN FACT: Single-Terminal Airport Plans DOWNGRADE THE NUMBER OF GATES currently in use and the war against airline competition that will cost travelers is at the heart of this local discussion to make a quick buck. Last night Council Lady Teresa Loar called out airport dude Patrick Klein on this topic in no uncertain terms and revealed that current honcho can't count the gates at his facility . . .

Tonight: "Kansas City Councilmembers Teresa Loar and Dan Fowler will be hosting a Town Hall meeting Tuesday, June 6th , 6 pm at the Northland Cathedral, 101 NW 99th. This event will give residents the opportunity to freely voice their opinions on the Kansas City International Airport and its future. Everyone is encouraged to attend- this is a public forum."





The topic of a new single-terminal airport has once again inspired a great deal of loose talk among the leaders of Kansas City's political scene . . . Most of the chatter hopes to scare voters into a quick decision that's worth more than abucks.We'll have more on this later but for now there are just a couple of things worth pointing out . . .Moreover . . .Again, there's a lot more to this but for now the fear and tough talk that accompanies most airport rhetoric is a sign that some local leaders want a quick ballot effort rather than a real discussion about the best move for Kansas City's future.Read more as the Council meets with a legal team right now and we do it again tonight . . .Developing . . .
Jackson County prosecutors have charged a 31-year-old man of attacking and raping a woman he allegedly met at a bar near Westport. Derek D. Donnell of Kansas City, Kan., was charged with two counts of rape, kidnapping and sodomy for the attack that occurred early Friday. Donnell is being held on $100,000 cash bond.
Pesky Local Problem

Warning: ticks likely abundant in Kansas City this summer KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Health and agriculture professionals are warning everyone in the region that ticks and the diseases they carry could be on the rise this summer. The concern comes after consecutive mild winters and an increase in tick activity this spring.

Kansas City History Buried

Unmarked graves at KCI? Man hopes past isn't forgotten A Kansas City man says he wants to make sure that the past is not left behind as the future of Kansas City International Airport is debated. "We're talking about tens of thousands of unmarked graves, white folks and slaves too," said Warren Watkins. Watkins thinks those bodies could be on KCI property.

Meth Town Suspect Denial

Suspect in deadly road rage shooting pleads not guilty KANSAS CITY, Mo. - John Young is the man police say shot and killed 19-year-old Christopher Hutson last Thursday afternoon at 104th and Holmes. Young made his first court appearance on multiple charges that include murder and unlawful use of a weapon.

More Deets On Kangaroo Acting Up

UMKC Theatre Says Budget Cuts Threaten Program's Future The University of Missouri system is facing a $101 million budget crunch due to cuts in state funding, as well as declining enrollment at the campus in Columbia. UM System President Mun Choi on Friday presented plans for the budget in fiscal year 2018.

Forecast This Week

First Alert: Next chance of rain not expected until Fri. WEBVTT TIME.FIRST ALERT LIVE RADAR, FURTHERDOWN TO THE SOUTH, YOU CAN SEETHIS ONCE AGAIN FROM SEDALIA,PUSHING AWAY.IT MEANS FOR THE TO THE NORTHAND NORTHWEST, THINGS ARELOOKING GOOD.87 BY FIVE, 86 DEGREES BY 6:00P.M.

Candice hotness inspires tonight's wave of all the important Kansas City mainstream media news links . . .And this is thefor tonight . . .
Love Those Kansas City Cans!!!

Boulevard Brewing Company adding canning line in Kansas City Boulevard Brewing Company has announced that it is breaking ground on a $10 million expansion that will include a canning line for its beers. The 24,000 square foot single-story building will house a canning line designed to fill 350 12-ounce cans per minute.

Kansas City Still Popping Off

No injuries reported after shots fired in Northeast By Michael Bushnell KANSAS CITY, Missouri - Police were called Monday evening to the 3600 block of Windsor Avenue in the Scarritt Renaissance neighborhood on a sound of shots call. Upon arrival officers quickly established a crime scene but were hard-pressed to locate any victims or suspects in the case.

Hammer Time Today In Paris

Notre Dame 'hammer attack' - Paris cathedral in lockdown amid reports of shots The French landmark was put on lockdown as witnesses told of hearing explosions. Parisian police warned people to avoid the area before confirming a suspect was shot and injured. French TV reported that an officer shot a man acting "aggressively". He was said to be hit in the throat.

Give Local Workers A Brake

MoDOT urges caution after two KC area work zone accidents The Missouri Department of Transportation is asking drivers to be more cautious after drivers plowed into two different work zones on Monday. The first accident happened on the northbound lanes of Interstate-29 near Platte City. The second occurred on the eastbound lanes of Interstate-435, in the Grandview Triangle area.

Golden Ghetto Suspect Caught

Man arrested in connection to string of burglaries in Lenexa A man is facing a list of charges after a string of burglaries in a Lenexa neighborhood. Lenexa police arrested Ron Larsen on Monday evening. The burglaries happened last week in neighborhoods ...

Fanboys Celebrate Their Faves

Kansas City Royals: Appreciating Ned Yost as Royals manager I was listening to a Fescoe in The Morning the other day and it got me thinking. We as fans tend to forget the recent past quickly. Bob made some good points about the great job Ned has done with the Kansas City Royals and I agree.

Today's Forecast

First Alert: Warm, but less humid day ahead It's going to be warm, but also less humid for your Tuesday. Look for a high in the low 80s.

Rising star curvy babebegins our Kansas City midday as we check some of the top news links for right now.Take a peek:And this is thefor right now . . .
Clay Chastain issues Notice of Intent to recall Kansas City Mayor Sly James

Today I issue a Notice of Intent to commence a petition drive to recall Kansas City Mayor Sly James from office for his multiple acts of fraudulent misconduct against valid petitions from the people.Ideally, Kansas City's government should be working with its citizens, not against them. Kansas City's government should welcome citizens who care enough and have taken their time to design and circulate petitions that seek to offer the community assistance in how best to move the city forward.And assuming a citizen's intent is sincere, and that individual is playing by the rules outlined in the city charter for placing petition questions before Kansas City voters, the focus should be on the what is the idea not who is proposing it, or where that individual resides. It is ideas that will move Kansas City forward, not who is behind them.Unfortunately Kansas City Mayor Sly James, since he first took office, has been hostile to, and sicked the city's legal staff on, valid petitions from the people that challenge his leadership. Especially petitions submitted to the city from Clay Chastain. As the leader of the city, Mayor Sly James is responsible for the multiple acts of fraudulent misconduct directed by the city against valid petitions from the people. These dark, un-Democratic and un-American actions have had the affect of undermining those petitions and manipulating the results of the following Kansas City petition elections...1. Sly's manipulation of the 2014 Light Rail petition election in which he led the city in placing fraudulent petition ballot language before voters that not only did not reflect the substance of the petition proposal itself, but was also in clear violation of Section 712 of the City Charter which reads the petition ballot language is to be..."a concise and unprejudiced statement of the substance of such (petition) ordinance.." Sly's James' ballot language for the Kansas City, Missouri 2014 Light Rail Petition Election did not even mention the words light rail!2. Sly's manipulation of the 2016 Light Rail petition election in which Sly fraudulently set up me, the Committee of Petitioners and our Attorney Jeffrey Carey by fraudulently instructing the (former) City Attorney Bill Geary to lead us to believe the light rail petition was lawful before we began circulating it only for Geary to later (after we submitted the petition to the city) give public testimony to the city council, media and public that the light rail petition was "illegal" and thus could be repealed by the council, if approved by voters! This dark cloud orchestrated by Mayor Sly James, suggesting the people were voting on an unlawful petition, hung over the campaign and negatively affected the outcome of the election.3. Sly's manipulation of the up-coming Kansas City August 8 transit petition election in which Sly has led the city, yet again, in placing fraudulent petition ballot language before voters that not only does not reflect the substance of the transit petition proposal signed in support of by Kansas City voters, but is also in violation of Section 712 of the City Charter as stated above. The city's ballot language says the transit petition proposal is for the..." purpose of constructing, maintaining and operating one or more extensions to the streetcar system..." The petition ballot language (in its "original form") begins..."Transform the city's downtown streetcar system into a more rapid rail system (operating at faster speeds, with fewer stops and predominantly in new transit greenways separated from traffic) and also expand it into a more citywide streetcar system by adding 4 new lines..."Obviously the substance of the petition is to transform the city's downtown streetcar system into a rapid citywide rail system with the rail cars running in their own right of way, and not in traffic, and along 4-specified routes with connections to a new electric bus system and bikeway network. The city's fraudulent and deliberately vague and incorrect ballot language suggest the transit petition merely calls for extending the city's downtown streetcar system, and how it currently operates, in whatever direction suits Sly.This petition drive to recall Mayor Sly James from office for his multiple fraudulent acts of misconduct against valid petitions from the people (as stated above) will be cancelled under one condition:* The city council will immediately move to seek a court order for the purpose of withdrawing Question #2 from the KCMO August 8 ballot, and replace it with a new Ballot Question #2 that states the transit petition proposal in its "original form" as found in City Ordinance No. 170043 and required by Section 702 of the City Charter.We do not take lightly this radical action to attempt to recall Kansas City Mayor Sly James from office. But we have tried repeatedly (to no avail) to get the city to do the right thing and place before voters ballot language that correctly and fairly represents the "substance" of the people's valid transit petition proposal that the city is required to do according to City Charter law.My foremost duty, as a petition-oriented activist, is to protect Kansas City's Democratic Petition Process from being rendered meaningless by Kansas City Mayor Sly James.Kansas City Community Activist, Clay Chastain########
Greece is always on the side of UNICEF and is doing its best especially for children refugees

Despite the great social and economic crisis, Greece is always on the side of UNICEF and is doing its best especially for children refugees, Greek President Prokopios Pavlpopoulos said on Tuesday in a meeting with UNICEF Regional Director Afshan Khan, at the presidential mansion.

The President pointed out that it is a shame for our culture, especially during the 21st century, with such accumulated wealth, with such technological advances, that there are so many children who are victims of poverty and hunger, so many child victims of war and migration.

He stressed that there is need for an international and especially European alarm to restore the principles and values of humanity, peace and social justice, and noted that in this area Unicef must and can play a decisive role. On her part, Khan thanked the President of the Republic, the Greek people for their generosity and hospitality to refugees and especially to children.

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

Source: ANA-MPA
The Concordia Europe Summit in Athens will continue and conclude on Wednesday.

President of the Hellenic Republic Prokopis Pavlopoulos on Tuesday opened the Concordia Europe Summit in Athens, a platform to exchange ideas so that Europe meets the challenges of the 21st Century through public-private partnerships.

Concordia believes that public-private partnerships (P3s) have great potential for impact in Europe as it works to preserve a modern-day union, calm a burgeoning refugee crisis, and reignite regional economic growth, while remaining on the path to achieving the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, says the press release.

On the first day of the two-day event the issues discussed were:

The first issue was: EU-US Relations: Opportunities for Trade, Investment, and Growth. Concordia will host a fireside chat with former President of the European Commission and former Prime Minister of Portugal, Jose Manuel Barroso, to discuss aspects of, and opportunities for, the economic relationship between the United States and the European Union. Moderator for the talk was Alexis Papahelas, Executive Editor of Greek daily newspaper Kathimerini.

The talk that followed was: Building a Culture of Leadership: Realizing the Private Sectors Impact Potential. Muhtar Kent, Chairman of The Coca-Cola Company spoke of an organizations potential for social impact, based on ethos and values cultivated by its leadership. Moderator was Matthew Swift, Concordia Co-Founder, Chairman & CEO.

The next topic was: Going Global: Scaling Local Partnerships in Health, Education, and Community Development. A panel discussion regarding the development of public-private partnerships (P3s) for social impact. In the session, the Athens Partnership in Greece and My Brothers Keeper Alliance in the United States will be highlighted as case studies of organizations promoting the value of strong cross-sector collaboration, which can spark innovation and help local, national, and global leaders alike to rethink their path to social and economic impact.

The speakers for this session were Giorgos Kaminis, Mayor of Athens; Alexandros Kambouroglou, Executive Director of Athens Partnership; Nicholas Logothetis, Concordia Co-Founder & Chairman; David Simas, Chief Executive Officer of Obama Foundation.

European Action for Sustainability: Investing in Partnerships to Achieve the SDGs, was the last issue discussed on the first day. Speakers participating were Muhtar Kent, Nestor Osorio Londono, Ambassador of Colombia to the United Kingdom; Dimitri Papalexopoulos, Chief Executive Officer of Titan Cement Company SA; Valdis Zatlers, Former President of the Republic of Latvia, Despina Anastasiou, Regional Leader Central Europe &

President Dow Hellas, Dow Chemical; Peggy Antonakou, CEO of Microsoft Hellas; David Horner, President of The American College of Greece; Spyros Kouvelis, Senior Expert of Sustainable Development & Circular Economy, UN Environment Programme-MAP; Jean-Yves Le Saux, Director of the Bureau of Strategic Planning of UNESCO; Tim McBride, SVP, Government Relations, United Technologies; Ted Mitchell, Under Secretary, U.S. Department of Education; Eduardo Padron, College President, Miami Dade College; David Simas; Christos Stylianides, Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management of the European Commission; Kristina Tremonti, Anti-Corruption Analyst, OECD; Nikos Trantas, Head of Unit, General Secretariat of the Government, Greece; Marianna Vardinoyannis, Goodwill Ambassador UNESCO, Marianna Vardinoyannis Foundation; Grigoris Zarifopoulos, Google Country Manager for Greece, Cyprus and Malta.

The Concordia Europe Summit in Athens will continue and conclude on Wednesday.

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
Congrats future pharmacists! Touro College of Pharmacy held its White Coat Ceremony for the Class of 2026 last Thursday evening at the Alhambra Ballroom in Harlem! Friends and family were in attendance to witness the important milestone on the students journeys towards becoming pharmacists. Keynote speaker Dr. Daryl Schiller, Senior Director of Pharmacy Services at Montefiore Nyack Hospital, provided inspirational remarks in advance of the cloaking. "The White Coat ceremony was better than I could have ever imagined, said Nadia Malik. When the video played, it truly showed just how much we have grown together and have come to appreciate one another within such a short span of time. If this is any indicator of how the rest of our time here will go, then I cannot wait. Next stop, graduation!" Added Victoria Kostantakis, During this White Coat ceremony I took a moment to reflect on how fortunate I am that I get to spend the next four years with these great minds, who were strangers just two months ago. Im so proud of all of my classmates already and cant wait to see the big things they accomplish.
Travellers expectations have changed drastically during the pandemic and the travel industry needs to better understand the behaviours and expectations of the new traveller in order to respond to them, says Roshan Mendis of Sabre.
GAC Motor, one of China's leading automobile manufacturers, has unveiled two of its flagship vehicles - the GS8 and GA8 - at a launch ceremony held recently in Kuwait.



GAC Motor, one of China's leading automobile manufacturers, has unveiled the GS8 and GA8, two flagship vehicles at a launch ceremony held recently in Kuwait.



Both these models boast GAC Motors newest second generation 320T engine, said a statement from the company.



Since the sales of GS8 kicked off in China this year, GS8 has been the top grosser amongst sales in full size 7-seater SUV category which includes brands like Ford Edge, Toyota Highlander and claimed the top position in April, it said.



GA8 incorporates the companys highest quality resources for engine, gear box and chassis. The interior configuration and exterior design reflect GAC Motors excellence in defining the new meaning of luxury. The GA8 is set to exceed expectations with its quality of luxury, it added.



The event was held in the presence of Cheng Yongru, commercial counsellor of China in Kuwait; Wang Shunsheng, deputy general manager of GAC Motor; Liu Haoyuan, chief of international business division of GAC Motor and Omar Alkazi, chairman of Mutawa Alkazi Company, the exclusive distributors for GAC in Kuwait.-TradeArabia News Service
Saudi Arabias Ministry of Culture and Information has ordered the closure of the office of Qatari news channel Al Jazeera in Saudi Arabia and withdrawn its licence, said a report.



The Al Jazeera office shut down comes after the channel promoted the plots of terrorist groups, supported Houthi coup militias in Yemen, and tried to break the Saudi internal ranks by inciting them against the state and harming the sovereignty of the country, reported Emirati news agency Wam.



Earlier in the day, Saudi Arabia along with its Gulf neighbours Bahrain, UAE and Egypt announced that it had severed diplomatic relations with Qatar over security issues.



Saudi news agency SPA said Riyadh has decided to close borders with Qatar to protect its national security from the dangers of terrorism and extremism.



The decisive measure was due to gross violations committed by authorities in Qatar over the past years, the Saudi statement said.


The US State Department has approved the potential sale of more than $1.4 billion worth of military training and equipment for Saudi Arabia, a report said.



The deal includes a radar system made by Lockheed Martin Corp as well as a training programme for the Royal Saudi Air Force and other Saudi forces inside and outside of Saudi Arabia, Sky News reported, citing two notices issued by the Pentagon on Monday.



Lockheed is the prime contractor for radar systems that were approved for potential sale, it said.



The Pentagon said Saudi Arabia intended to use the radars to support its border security by locating the source of incoming artillery, rockets and mortars and defending against them.



The radars were a part of a $662 million State Department approval which included ammunition, trucks and technical support.



A separate $750 million 'blanket order training program' contract, included flight training, professional military education, and English language training, the Pentagon was quoted as saying.



The Pentagon said the training would include how to avoid civilian casualties, legal instruction related to armed conflict, and training about human rights.
A team of global energy firms including Russia's Gazprom Neft , Austria's OMV and the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) will jointly study oilfields in Iran, a report said.



Gazprom Neft and OMV signed the relevant memorandum of understanding at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Iran Daily reported, citing Russian news agency Tass.



The area of possible cooperation includes preliminary analysis, assessment and study of oilfields located in Iran in cooperation with NIOC.



"The company is already implementing a large project to develop the Badra field in Iraq and is studying the possibility of participating in the development of two blocks in Iran. Taking into account the extensive experience of OMV in the Middle East and, in particular, in Iran, I am sure that joint geological assessment of assets will be most effective," first deputy general director of Gazprom Neft, Vadim Yakovlev was quoted as saying by the press service.
The top Middle East-based airlines will now add more flights to one of the top tourist destinations in Asia. Emirates and Qatar Airways will operate additional flights to Bali this July.

According to an article published in The Jakarta Post, Emirates and Qatar Airways will add more flights to the tropical paradise of Indonesia starting July.

"Qatar Airways and Emirates have made sure to add one flight each to Bali in July," I Gde Pitana, Indonesia's Tourism Ministry's deputy for overseas promotion, said.

On July 2, Emirates will officially have two more daily flights to Bali from Dubai. Meanwhile, Qatar Airways will have one additional flight to Bali from Doha, the capital city of Qatar.

In an article published by Asia One, Emirates has only one flight to Bali before this announcement. Meanwhile, Qatar only had two flights to Bali from Doha before.

Moreover, Emirates will also offer its passengers some special travel packages for those who are interested in visiting the Island of the Gods in Bali.

"As part of the agreement, Qatar Airways is asking for Wonderful Indonesia promotional videos as a promotional tool and a list of high-end properties and accommodation since Indonesia is included in the top five prime destinations for tourists from the Middle East," Ni Niscaya, the ministry's deputy assistant for Europe, the United States, Middle East and Africa tourism promotion, has said.

This move is celebrated among tourists who wants to go to Bali and experience flight from the top tier airlines in the world. Last May 28, Qatar Airways was named as the "Best Airline Innovation" at this year;s Telegraph Ultratravel Awards while Emirates was declared as the "Best Airline" at the same award giving body this year.

See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018
Indonesian budget carrier Lion Air may be the first one to introduce the new Boeing 737 MAX 10 to its customers, according to three reliable sources who are close to the people making plans about it. The new Boeing plane will become the largest member of its 737 medium-haul jet family.

In an article published in Reuters, Lion Air might launch the Boeing 737 MAX 10 at the Paris Airshow this Monday, June 19. The order of the new plane may, however, include some aircraft originally ordered in a smaller size and upgraded to a proposed new 190- to 230-seat model, according to the two reliable sources.

Lion Air Group President Director Edward Sirait confirmed that Lion Air will indeed be the launch customer for the Boeing 737 MAX 10, although he did not provide immediately the number of planes ordered. Boeing declined to give a comment about it.

In an article published by The New York Times, it is not only the Lion Air that is studying about the Boeing 737 MAX 19. Indian budget carrier SpiceJet Ltd is also among the carriers seen as a potential target for the aircraft, according to one source. However, SpiceJet has yet to give a comment about the incident.

Just like Lion Air, the United Airlines is also closely studying the Boeing 737 MAX 10 as the company pitches for a marquee customer in launching the fifth variant of its 737 MAX family. United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz declined to give a comment.

Jet Airways Ltd, India's biggest full-service carrier by market share, is in talks of buying 75 single-aisle aircraft from either Airbus or Boeing. The one with the Boeing 737 MAX 10 would be dependent on the launch of Lion Air, a source said.

If the deal is awarded to Jet Airways, they would buy some new Boeing 737 MAX 10 model according to all the sources. They refused to be named because the talks should remain confidential.

Lion Air ordered 201 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft back in 2012. The Indonesian airline also placed options for another 150.

See Now: The U.S. had the highest number of Most Wanted properties, dominating the Hotels.com Loved By Guests Awards 2018
Travel Weekly and TravelAge West host top travel advisors at Global Travel Marketplace West



(TRAVPR.COM) USA - June 5th, 2017 - Spring, TX - Travel Weekly and TravelAge West are proud to announce that Keli Washburn was selected from among hundreds of applicants to attend the fourth-annual Global Travel Marketplace West (GTM West), which took place at the Westin Lake Las Vegas Resort & Spa in Henderson/Las Vegas, Nevada, May 18-20, 2017. GTM West is a two-and-a-half day appointment-only event for top-producing travel advisors in North America and leading cruise, hotel, tour and destination suppliers seeking to conduct business face-to-face.

Only 100 of the 800+ applicants were selected to participate. A GTM West advisor is one that recognizes the importance of creating new business relationships and fostering existing ones, and understands how crucial it is to be well educated in this ever-changing industry, says Jacqueline Hurst, Director, Trade Recruitment and Engagement, Travel Weekly Events. With up-to-date knowledge and valuable relationships in their arsenal, these advisors are fully equipped to provide each client with a unique experience, tailored to their travel preferences.

One hundred suppliers engaged with travel advisors though a variety of one-on-one pre-scheduled meetings, exclusive Boardroom presentations and networking events.

It is a great honor to be selected for GTM West and to interact with so many quality suppliers and travel advisors. My business will boom with all the great contacts I made during the event and GTM West sparked my passion for the travel industry into a roaring fire again. Thank you GTM West!, says Keli Washburn, Owner, World of Magic Travel and All Luxury Travel.

GTM West advisors exhibit unparalleled industry expertise and have relationships with key individuals in hotel, cruise, tour and destination organizations, allowing them to best meet their valuable clients needs.

The advisors chosen to attended this event represent the best in todays travel business. The knowledge and experience they offer their clients is second to none, and is undoubtedly enhanced as a result of attending the event, said Alicia Evanko-Lewis, Senior Vice President of Events, Travel Group, Northstar Travel Group. GTM West provided the platform for these travel professionals to network with like-minded individuals who all have the same goal: To build and grow their business.

ABOUT TRAVEL WEEKLY:

Travel Weekly, the national newspaper of the travel industry, is the most influential provider of news, research, opinion and analysis to the North American travel trade marketplace. In addition to a weekly print publication, TravelWeekly.com, updated several times daily, is the most-visited industry website. Travel Weekly is a division of Secaucus, New Jersey-based Northstar Travel Group, the largest travel business-to-business travel publisher in the world.

ABOUT TRAVELAGE WEST:

For more than 46 years, TravelAge West has been the trusted voice of the travel industry in the Western U.S. With award-winning writing and design, the publication brings the best of travel to life for readers. The magazine's first-hand, on-site reports and fresh destination coverage is a valued resource for travel advisors. TravelAge West is a division of Secaucus, New Jersey-based Northstar Travel Group, the largest travel business-to-business travel publisher in the world.

ABOUT WORLD OF MAGIC TRAVEL:

World of Magic Travel Services is a full service agency. We provide our guests with top notch service to ensure they experience memorable vacations to favorite or new destinations. Comprised of over 80 travel magicians located all over the United States, our World of Magic Travel team has extensive experience and first-hand knowledge of countless vacation spots all over the world. Theme parks to cruises and all-inclusive destinations to family favorites from sea to shining sea!

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Patricia Affonso-Dass (second from left) with Frank Comito, Director General of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (left), CHTA President Karolin Troubetzkoy and Rudy Grant, CEO of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association.

BARBADOS HOTELIER NAMED PRESIDENT-ELECT OF CARIBBEAN HOTEL AND TOURISM ASSOCIATION

MIAMI (June 6, 2017) - Leading hotelier Patricia Affonso-Dass is the new President-elect of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA).

The Group General Manager at Ocean Hotels in Barbados, Mrs. Affonso-Dass was elected to the important leadership role on Friday at the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association's AGM, held alongside the Caribbean Hospitality Industry Exchange Forum (CHIEF) and Taste of the Caribbean at the Hyatt Regency in Miami this past weekend.

Affonso-Dass, a graduate of Florida International University's School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, serves as president-elect for the next year before taking over the presidency of the travel trade association next summer from current incumbent Karolin Troubetzkoy, Executive Director of the renowned Jade Mountain and Anse Chastanet resorts in St. Lucia.

After the appointment, Affonso-Dass said: "I am thankful for the vote of confidence from our members and look forward to serving CHTA with distinction and excellence, both as president-elect and president in the years ahead."

Karolin Troubetzkoy, President of CHTA, thanked Affonso-Dass for accepting the task to serve the association at a higher level. "We have benefited from Patricia's talents on our Board of Directors, and are proud to have an exceptional woman from the region lead our association into the future."

Affonso-Dass has been the president of both the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana and the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association and runs the Ocean Hotels group, a family-owned company located on the south coast of Barbados, with three unique hotels: Ocean Two Resort & Residences, the four diamond oceanfront venue on Dover Beach; Sea Breeze Beach Hotel, the all-inclusive hotel on Maxwell Coast Road; and South Beach Hotel, the chic boutique hotel near Rockley Beach.

She will serve the association as president for two years after Troubetzkoy's tenure ends in a year's time.
eZee solutions are being preferred by hostels across industry. When it comes to hostel management software and distribution technology, eZee gives it all what hostels require.



(TRAVPR.COM) INDIA - June 6th, 2017 - Breaking the myth that hostels need a dedicated operations management software, eZee is attracting a high number of enrollments from hostel segment. Many establishments including branded chains of hostels are digitally up and running with eZee solutions at their properties.



Hostels basically look for a PMS or software that would help them automate operations as per their need. All PMSs available in market are de facto built keeping hotel operations in center. Whereas running a hostel is way too different as compared to running a hotel, as well as they have different operational requirements. With systematic front desk operations, eZee solutions have been configured with all aspects that a hostel requires.



Since hostels cater to travelers looking for budget accommodation, eZee identified their need to be present on online channels and went forward to develop interfaces with hostel dominant online booking portals like Hostel club, hostelbookers, Hostelworld as well as many significant vacation rental portals across the world. Many hostels have stressed upon using a Channel Manager that connects them with popular hostel bed booking platforms.



Apart from that, eZee recognized the importance of direct bookings in maximizing yield and put forward the booking engine that blends with hostels website as well as integrates with PMS. Thus, a hostel manager has always up to date and accurate inventory.



Hostel operations management becomes straightforward with hassle-free reservations and real time distribution of inventory.In addition to superior booking options, eZee solutions include Mobile app for PMS available on Google Play Store and Apple Store.

Zostel Hostels are located across multiple locations pan India. Managing bookings coming from so many channels and syncing it centrally with all locations are what eZee solutions simplify for us. eZee has played an integral part in smoothening our operations and maintaining control. Indeed, hostel businesses do need such automation solutions. said Deep Banka, sales manager at Zostel.

Rajesh Borah, Co-Founder & COO of Roadhouse Hostels said, Ezee gave us exactly what we were looking for. Not only does Ezee comprehensively solve our product requirements from a sales and coordination perspective, it also leads to the maximization of exposure of our hostels across all sales channels. Manual errors are minimized, which in turn, lends a higher brand perception and maximized revenue."

According to an observation that small establishments have limited staff, eZee software have proven to be effortless to operate with user friendly UI. eZee support team remains active to back them up 24/7 with swift online training. Hostel staff gets more time to focus on guest experience at their establishment with reduced manual errors and efforts.



Accordingly, cost management is important aspect for hostels. Since the system is cloud based, it requires no installation and hostels can always use the latest version. Hostel owners would need just a personal computer with an internet connection to begin automating their operations.



Interestingly, eZee solutions are operated by many popular hostel chains in India. To name a few famous hostel chains; Zostel, Roadhouse hostels, Bonfire Hostels, Stops Hostel and HosteLavie pan-India. Witnessing high frequency of travellers, these hostels have preferred eZee as technology providers since all their operations are fulfilled effectively with all-in-one integrated eZee hospitality solutions.



About eZee Technosys



eZee Technosys is one of the few complete hospitality IT solutions providers in the world. Offering solutions that cover hotel management, booking management, online room distribution, restaurant management, guest feedback and hotel mobile apps. eZee offers on-premise along with cloud based solutions as well as mobile applications for eZee solutions. Founded in 2005, eZee Technosys today serves more than 6000 clients in more than 140 countries across the globe.

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Melbourne, June 6

Indian conglomerate Adani Group today gave the final investment approval for its 21.7 billion dollars Carmichael coal mine project in Australia, which has faced many roadblocks over environmental concerns due to its proximity to the iconic Great Barrier Reef.

I am proud to announce the project has Final Investment Decision (FID) approval which marks the official start of one of the largest single infrastructure  and job creating  developments in Australias recent history, Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani said.

Adani claimed that the project, which has undergone state and federal assessments while also facing several legal challenges by environmental groups, would generate 10,000 direct and indirect jobs with pre-construction work starting in September this year.

The announcement comes just days after the Adani Group agreed to pay royalties on coal produced from its project after it struck an agreement with the Queensland government to help the controversy-hit project move forward.

This is the largest single investment by an Indian corporation in Australia, and I believe others will follow with investments and trade deals, the Adani Group chairman said.

We have been challenged by activists in the courts, in inner city streets, and even outside banks that have not even been approached to finance the project. We are still facing activists. But we are committed to this project, Adani said, adding that the group is committed to Queensland and to addressing energy poverty in India.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk opened Adanis regional headquarters for the project, saying the decision was a vote of confidence in the Queensland economy. The regional headquarters will also accommodate Adanis Remote Operations Centre, the first time that such a centre has been set up in an Australian regional city.

Meanwhile, a group of religious leaders camped out today at the Sydney-based Commonwealth Banks headquarters to protest against the Adani mega coal mine project.  PTI

Environmental concerns
New Delhi: With the farm sector facing stress, the countrys largest lender State Bank of India will organise farmers meets at 15,500 rural and semi-urban branches across the country on June 8 to connect with 10 lakh farmers. The bank hopes to reach out to at least 10 lakh farmers through this meet. A statement said amid growing stress in the farm sector, the SBI had taken the initiative to reach out to farmers to smoothen the flow in credit for agriculture. During the meet, branches will receive applications for fresh loans as well as for renewal of existing loan. As the normal monsoon is being preducted, we expect credit off-take to be good this season, said Rajnish Kumar, MD, National Banking Group, SBI. tns
Tribune News Service

Panchkula, June 6

It seems there is no fear of law-enforcing agencies among criminals in Panchkula. In yet another incident, Maruti Swift-borne snatchers allegedly cut four fingers of an employee of the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) and robbed him of Rs 12,000 in Sector 5, Panchkula, last night.

The Panchkula police today lodged an FIR at the Sector 5 police station and formed four teams, including the CIA-1 and the CIA-2, to crack the case.

The victim has been identified as Jaipal (40), posted as a clerk in the Faridabad office of HUDA. A few days ago, he came to Panchkula in connection with some official work and was staying at the field hostel of HUDA in Sector 6.

Last night, after having dinner, he went out for a walk. When he reached near Vishal Mega Mart in Sector 5, three people in a Maruti Swift offered him a lift. As soon as he sat in the car, a youth, who was sitting on the rear seat attacked him with a knife and cut four fingers of his left hand. He snatched his purse and bag, and the cash kept in his shirt pocket. A few meters away, they pushed him out of the car and fled away.

Jaipal was rushed to the General Hospital, Sector 6, Panchkula, from where he was referred to the PGI, where he is undergoing treatment. A senior police official said they were scrutinising the CCTV footage of nearby shops and hotels to get a clue about the car. They would record the statement of Jaipal once he was in a condition to do so.
Yogendra Yadav

SOMETHING unusual happened last week. Farmers in Maharashtra organised an amazing strike. Last month farmers in a village of Ahmednagar decided that they would stop sending their produce  food grains, vegetables, etc.  to cities from June 1. Soon, the call was adopted by the farmers of the entire district. Before anyone could realise, this resolve had extended to several districts of Maharashtra. The farmers stuck to their decision and on June 1 and 2, an overwhelming majority of APMC (Agriculture Produce Marketing Cooperative) did not receive any produce. There were stray incidents of coercion and violence, highlighted by the media, but by and large, it was a peaceful and voluntary affair. The state government, which took the protest lightly to begin with, was forced to come to the negotiating table. Chief Minister Fadnavis sat till early morning of June 3 to work out a deal with the leaders of one section of the farmers.

Also read: Fadnavis faces flak over farmers arrest

The matter is far from over. The deal with the CM was rejected by most farmers organisations, saying it was a sellout. Even the BJPs partner organisation, Swabhimani Shetkari Paksha, was forced to reject this deal. The farmers organised a successful statewide bandh on June 5. Media reports tell us that this strike has already spread to many districts of Madhya Pradesh. Farmer organisations in other states also feel charged and energised.

This chain of events is extraordinary. The spontaneous nature of this protests and its rapid spread reminds us of peasant rebellions during colonial times. The Fadnavis government has alleged that the strike is the handiwork of its political opponents, mainly, the Shiv Sena and the NCP. Facts deny this claim. While the opposition parties have certainly extended covert support, the organisations and leaders involved in bringing the farmers together are not affiliate to any of the major parties. In fact, the Congress and the NCP are yet to recover from the shock defeat in the recent municipal elections across the state. The farmers are unlikely to heed to the largely discredited Opposition. It seems that a new generation of farmers leadership is emerging in Maharashtra.

What makes this protest even more unusual is that it is not happening in a year of natural calamity and crop loss. Maharashtra has seen normal rainfall and bumper crop in the last agricultural season following two successive droughts in 2014-15 and 2015-16. Usually farmers protests are triggered by crop loss. This year the farmers of Maharashtra had normal, if not bountiful, harvest.

What, then, explains this sudden burst of farmers movement? Two developments seemed to have triggered the current protest. On the one hand, bumper crops have led to crashing down of crop prices for the farmer. On the other hand, the crop loan waiver announced by the newly elected BJP government in UP has reminded the famers of their long unfulfilled demand.

Crash in prices is most evident in the case of pulses. Following a shortage of pulses in the country, the Central government had enhanced the MSP for tur from Rs 4,500 to a little over Rs 5,000 per quintal. This was presented as a major step to promote higher production of pulses. The farmers obliged, cultivation and production of pulses went up, but the government failed to keep its part of the promise. State agencies failed to procure much of the production at the assured price. Instead of getting Rs 5,000 a quintal, the farmers were forced to sell tur at Rs 3,000. Similar tragedy has befallen the soyabean farmers of Madhya Pradesh and chilli farmers in Telangana. There were reports that tomato and potato growers from different parts of the country preferred to throw their produce than sell it for a ridiculous price in the mandi. Thus the farmers suffer not merely when there is a crop failure, but also when there is a good monsoon and a bumper crop. This angst seems to be driving the current protest.

This is the real significance of the farmers strike in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. It is not a localised, seasonal, crop-specific or calamity-driven distress. This protest is linked directly to the crisis of Indian agriculture. This crisis, in todays India, takes three forms. First, there is an ecological crisis of Indian agriculture. Modern agricultural practices associated with Green Revolution are unsustainable. Resource and water-intensive, fertilisers and pesticide-heavy farming has now reached a dead-end. Second, there is an economic crisis of Indian farming. The agrarian productivity is not in keeping with the countrys requirement and the availability of land and resources. And linked with that, the third is the existential crisis of the farmer. Farming is an unviable proposition, and is mostly a loss-making activity. Price of agricultural commodities has not kept pace with input costs and consumption expenditure of the farmer. The farmers barely manage to survive in a good year and find themselves in a debt-trap in any adversity. The phenomenon of farmers suicide is directly related to this crisis.

What is remarkable about the farmers strike in Maharashtra is that it has sought to address this basic crisis. The farmers demands are not for any immediate, localised relief. Instead, they have raised the fundamental issue of determination of crop prices. They have reminded the ruling party of its electoral promise of fixing the MSP so as to yield 50 per cent over and above the cost of the farmers. They have demanded implementation of many structural reforms suggested by the Swaminathan Commission. And, of course, they have demanded a loan waiver for all farmers. These are some of the long-standing demands of the movement that no party is willing to address.

The Fadnavis government has agreed to a partial and conditional loan waiver. But that is not going to satisfy the farmers. The CM has assured that procurement shall take place as per the MSP. But that does not address the basic issue of how the MSP is fixed in the first place. Fadnavis is much unlikely to get any support from the Centre. The NDA government is arguably the most farmer unfriendly Central government in the history of Independent India. We do not know how long the strike will last, but we do know that its real demands are unlikely to be met.

Farmers in Maharashtra have shown the path. Farmers in the rest of the country shall have to hold the baton now and take this struggle to its logical conclusion.

yogendra.yadav@gmail.com
As Modi government representatives promise to double farmers' income by 2022, the ground reality is turning grimmer by the day. States are faced with farmers protests. The latest to hit the headlines are Madhya Pradesh farmers who have dumped vegetables and spilled milk on roads and cut off supplies to cities, including Bhopal and Indore, to express their outrage. In Maharashtra the Devendra Fadnavis government, after messing up the farmer agitation, has announced a partial loan waiver. The drought-hit farmers of Tamil Nadu, who had agitated in Delhi for a month and a half, have been pacified with Rs 1,712 crore Central relief against their demand for a Rs 40,000-crore package. In Haryana farmer distress erupted in the form of a reservation agitation, resulting in unprecedented violence.

The Congress government in Punjab, elected on the promise of a complete loan waiver, is struggling to deliver what was promised. Since the state treasury is empty, it expects a Central bailout even though in March Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had ruled out any Central help for farm loan waivers to states. With the Centre running away from the problem, states are devising their own ways to deal with angry farmers. The Amarinder Singh government has limited options. To keep its promise, it can either hike taxes or add to the states debt pile-up. No one knows the exact size of the debt except what is officially stated in the budget.

The Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh has limited itself to crop loan write-offs of not more than Rs 1 lakh, owed by small and marginal farmers. In Madhya Pradesh the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government has promised to extend the MSP benefit to other crops, but this has not calmed down agitated farmers. Instead of loan waivers and subsidies, the Centre and states can coordinate to implement the Swaminathan Commission recommendation of giving farmers a 50 per cent profit over input costs. A loan waiver offers only temporary relief like bandage. The problem reappears after a few years. More than loan waivers remunerative farm prices can help reduce agrarian distress. This is not possible without an active involvement of the Centre.
Many would say Qatar had it coming. For years it was playing an outsized role in regional conflicts. Saudi Arabia, the big boss of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the regional school bully, swallowed Qatar's dalliance with Iran because it supported Riyadh's dabbling in the civil wars in Syria and Yemen. With his first visit to the region, US President Donald Trump has upset the precarious balance that prevented regional antagonists from going for each other's jugular. The $350 billion worth of Saudi orders to the businessman-led US seems to have given Riyadh the idea that it has a carte blanche to set right the dissenters in its backyard.

The Saudis and their camp followers have tried to chastise Qatar earlier. But this time it has thrown the book with conditions too humiliating for a self-respecting ruler to accept. The saving grace is that oil and gas are excluded from the Saudi-led sanctions. India thus need not fear disruption to its long-term sweetheart deal for gas imports from Qatar. But economic fencing does take its toll and the most vulnerable are those at the bottom of the ladder. In West Asia that would mean jobs of lakhs of Indians hang in balance, especially the seven lakhs employed in Qatar. And there is nothing that New Delhi can do about it.

What India can do is play an extremely interested party in ensuring the dispute does not spiral out of control. Indias neighbour, the Maldives, has joined the anti-Qatar bandwagon while Pakistan may get sucked because its previous army chief heads the Saudi-led Sunni military alliance. It was Trumps thumbs-up to this alliance that encouraged the Saudis to up the ante against Qatar. He is currently weighing calls to relocate the US forces from Qatar, leaving it vulnerable at a time when militias in the region are on the rampage. The split on sectarian lines  Shias vs Sunnis  has come at an inopportune time. Iran under Rouhani is inclined to jettison extra regional ambitions. The situation requires all mainstream strains of Islamic belief to band together and must be retrieved.
Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 6

More than 25 years after cops in Haryana were proceeded against for participating in a strike, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has applied the principle of equal treatment by directing the state to extend the benefit of continuity in service with 50 per cent back wages to 43 Kurukshetra police officials.

The judgment by Justice Rajiv Narain Raina came amidst allegations of discrimination by the state against the appellants, who were on probation when discharged from service. The statewide strike was resorted to by policemen in 1991.

Their counsel had argued that hundreds of employees were discharged and dismissed from service on the ground of the same misconduct. Regular employees were taken back in service with 50 per cent back wages without awarding punishment.

In districts other than Kurukshetra, even employees on probation discharged from service were reinstated and granted 50 per cent back wages during the period they remained out of service.

In the petitioners case, a former Director General of Police granted 50 per cent back wages in December 2004. But his successor-in-interest withdrew the order. Their counsel added that he could not have withdrawn the same order with the same material on record.

Justice Raina added that the trial court judgments and lower appellate courts decision against the appellant-cops had been challenged on the ground of violation of Article 14 of the Constitution, which guaranteed equality before the law.

Justice Raina noted, The basic issue was that the punishing authority did not care to treat the plaintiffs as similarly situated employees were dealt with by the Police Department. When the principles of unfair discrimination are invoked and proved beyond doubt, the civil court ought not to sit back and refuse to apply the principles of Article 14 of the Constitution.

The subordinate courts are equally protectors of the law and are duty bound to give effect to Article 14 in the same manner as this court is called upon to in original writ proceedings and in appeals.

The trial court has surrendered and refused to exercise its jurisdiction vested in it while the appellate court has not entered upon any discussion on principles of equality and has limited its jurisdiction to hold that the inquiry has been conducted manifestly in a fair and proper manner, which is not open to be tinkered with.

Justice Raina added that if the principle was to be upheld with eyes shut, there would be further invidious and hostile bifurcation among homogeneous class of discharged probationers.

Justice Raina observed, This means that there will be intra-class discrimination between the probationers and appellants and regular police officials involved in the same incident, pardoned by the state in a compromise between the Haryana Police Sangathan and the state government.
Deepender Deswal

Tribune News Service

Hisar, June 6

BJP general secretary Anil Jain said it was not possible to meet the demands of farmers by implementing the Swaminathan Commission recommendations.

At a press conference today, Jain, who is Haryana affairs in charge, said: We cannot implement the report but will make sure that the farmers get good prices of their produce. We will also see to it that input cost comes down and they get fertilisers and seeds on time. The government is putting in efforts to make their lives better by introducing soil health cards, he said.

On the ongoing agitation of farmers in Maharashtra and Haryana, he said everybody had the right to raise their issues in a democratic way. The BJP government is pro-farmer and will improve their income by 2022, he said.

When asked about the diatribe of BJPs Karnal MP Ashwani Chopra against Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma, the BJP leader said the MP had crossed his maryada. I dont want to discuss the issue, he said.

Jain claimed that the government had ended corruption.

He said there was no resentment among the MLAs and that the entire party stood by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. Reports that the MLAs have filed a complaint against the Chief Minister are not true. Jain said there was no possibility of the partys alliance with the INLD.

Nehrus policies not in sync with ground reality

BJP general secretary and in charge of Haryana affairs Anil Jain said the policies of the first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, were not in sync with the ground reality, culture and heritage of the country. Addressing a meeting of the BJPs intellectual cell at Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agriculture University (HAU) on Tuesday, Jain said a section of people realised that Nehrus policies would take the country to some other destination so they founded the Jana Sangh in 1951.
Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 6

OPD services at private hospitals across the state were affected today as doctors observed a strike on a call by the Indian Medical Association (IMA). Many doctors went to New Delhi for a national-level protest.

Dr Atam Prakash Setia, state IMA president, said OPD services remained shut in private hospitals in all 22 districts of the state. He said super-speciality hospitals in Gurugram and Faridabad also observed no-OPD day today. Over 1,500 members went to New Delhi today to participate in their march from Rajghat to Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, he said.

The IMA had given a call for todays strike in support of many demands, the most important being stern government action on increasing violence against doctors. Relatives of patients resort to violence at the drop of a hat. Hospitals are ransacked, but the government fails to take action, leading to repetition of such incidents. We want the government to come out with sterner laws to make the offence non-bailable with harsher punishment, he said. Dr Setia said the state government had enacted the Haryana Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage to Property) Act, but no case had been registered under this law because of the governments failure to sensitise the police.

We demand standard operating procedures for implementation of the Act and sensitisation of the police. Whenever our members approach the police to lodge complaints under this Act, they are told that the police do not have any information about the law, he said.

The state IMA had also been protesting harassment of doctors for clerical errors in implementation of the PC&PNDT Act and forcing them to prescribe generic drugs. Doctors said they did not have any problem in prescribing generic medicines provided these were of as good quality as branded ones.

If the government is keen to make drugs cheaper for the poor, it should make these tax-free. If it can make waive tax on films, nothing stops it from doing so in case of medicines, Dr Setia reasoned.
Chandigarh, June 6

Haryana Health minister Anil Vij on Tuesday attacked Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, alleging his remarks that Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue could revive militancy in that state were "encouraging terrorist ideology".

Making it clear that Haryana will not back down until it gets its share of Ravi-Beas waters through SYL canal, he accused the Punjab chief minister of committing "a contempt of the Supreme Court".

Also read: SYL can revive militancy, warns CM

Singh had on Monday warned that the construction of the SYL canal to provide water to Haryana could trigger revival of militancy in Punjab.

The chief minister was speaking at the launch of a news channel here.

Asserting that any move to deprive the people of Punjab of their water rights could lead to the revival of militancy in the state, which it had witnessed in the 1980s and the early 1990s, he had said that 'Amarinder rahe na rahe' (whether Amarinder is there or not), SYL will become a national problem if the final judgement goes against Punjab.

"The main issue for the people of Haryana pertains to bringing the Ravi-Beas waters through SYL canal. The statement made by Amarinder Singh here yesterday was clearly a contempt of the Supreme Court," Vij told reporters here.

"Amarinder Singh is also encouraging terrorist ideology through his statements which is not good for Punjab," he said.

Singh, Lok Sabha MP from Amritsar, had resigned last year on the SYL issue after the Supreme Court ruling on a Presidential Reference on sharing of river waters with Haryana.

The Supreme Court on November 10 last year held as "unconstitutional" the 2004 law passed by the Punjab assembly which was intended to deny Haryana its share in the river waters through the SYL canal.

Singh was the Chief Minister when the Punjab assembly passed the Punjab Termination of Water Agreements Act, 2004.

PTI
Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, June 6

Six more hotels in McLeodganj have lost power connections due to illegal constructions. Commissioner, Dharamsala Municipal Corporation, Lalit Jain has passed an order in this regard.

Lalit Jain said the orders had been issued to the electricity authorities to disconnect power of six hotels as these were violating building bylaws. He said 70 more cases were under scrutiny and if these were found defying the bylaws, these would lose power connections.

Earlier, the Dharamsala MC had disconnected power connections to three hotels in McLeodganj.

It was for the first time that the MC authorities had taken strict action against a prestigious hotel. The action has sent panic waves among hoteliers in McLeodganj. Some hoteliers have given an undertaking to the corporation that they would demolish the illegal structures. Some hotel owners moved local courts but failed to get any relief against the corporation action.

Sources said some hotels did not have papers. They were registered as residential accommodations in municipal council and town and country planning records but over a period of time had evolved into seven storey hotels. The owners of such hotels were now in trouble.

In the notices given to the violators, the corporation has sought a detailed map approved by the MC and Town and Country Planning Department, completion certificates of the building issued by the departments and clearance certificate issued by the pollution control board among other documents.

Illegal constructions have mushroomed in the Dharamsala region, especially in McLeodganj when the state government announced its retention policy. Under the policy, the state government has decided to regularise 100 per cent deviations from approved maps. However, most of the hoteliers in the region carried out extensive illegal constructions.

The liaison officer to the Dalai Lama, who is an official of the Union Ministry for External Affairs, had also complained against the illegal constructions carried out in the vicinity of their office. Security experts had written regarding the threat posed to the Dalai Lama due to the illegal buildings in Upper Dharamsala.

As per the rules, power and water connections cannot be given to building till they have No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Municipal Corporation and the Town and Country Planning Department. However, in many cases, illegal buildings have been given power and water connections.

More under lens
Amit Khajuria

Tribune News Service

Jammu, June 6

The rental compensation for the land used for fencing on the Indo-Pak border is still pending with the Central government. However, all other states are getting full rent for their land since 1999, but the J&K Government couldnt compile the land record even after 18 years.

The Centre had hurriedly started fencing the border in 1999 and after the ceasefire agreement in November 2003, the work was started for a 44-foot-wide fence which was upgraded from time to time with the latest equipment.

The fence on the India-Pakistan Border and the Line of Control (LoC) has controlled the infiltration from the other side of the border, but it has also occupied the agricultural land of farmers living in the border villages. The border villagers who voluntarily handed over their land for the construction of fence on the assurance of rental compensation are still waiting for their due share.

Weve had a double whammy as the on one side, we are facing shelling from Pakistan and on the other, we are awaiting rental compensation for our land for the last 18 years, which is being used by the BSF for fencing, said Beli Ram of Chalariayan village at Samba district on the International Border.

Border residents of other states are getting the rent at the rate of Rs 3,000 per acre and are now appealing the government through the court to increase it to Rs 10,000 per acre. But we are just waiting for the minimal rent which was promised at the time of acquiring the land, he added.

The fence in Jammu and Kashmir runs up to 202 km. It is not along the border, but inside the Indian territory, at certain points more than 1 km within and overlapping the agricultural land.

Mohammad Ashraf Mir, secretary, state Revenue Department, told The Tribune, Wherever the land is acquired through the Revenue Department, we have given proper compensation to the owner. But sometimes, the Army or the BSF themselves acquire the land, for which they deal directly with the owners through the district administration.

The district administration was asked to prepare the proposal for the rental compensation for the 44-foot-wide land used for fencing. But a few years ago, on the request of the BSF, the Central government had asked them to prepare the proposal for the 135-foot-wide land near the fence. Later, the plan was again changed and now again the district administration has started preparing the record for the previous fence.
Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, June 6

A day after a fidayeen attack was foiled in north Kashmirs Bandipora district, the J&K Police today said the four militants killed in the gunfight belonged to the Lashkar-e-Toiba.

The investigators are, however, not sure whether the slain militants were fresh infiltrators or had already been operating in the area.

In the wee hours on Monday, the security forces foiled a major fidayeen attack at Sumbal, Bandipora, by killing four heavily armed foreign militants who intended to set the Central Reserve Police Force camp on fire to cause massive casualties.

The CRPF Director General, Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar, and Director General of Police Shesh Paul Vaid today visited the camp and interacted with the men who foiled the attack, appreciating their work.

We succeeded in foiling the fidayeen attack and the Jammu and Kashmir Police also helped us. There is a great coordination between the forces, Bhatnagar told reporters after visiting the camp.

The DGP awarded the security men at the camp who foiled the fidayeen attack. The fidayeen belonged to the Lashkar-e-Toiba. They didnt appear to be locals, their identification is being ascertained, Vaid said. The DGP, however, said that they were investigating whether they were fresh infiltrators or had been active in the area. Police sources said the Lashkar was active in the area and many of its men had been killed in encounters this year.

The post-mortem of the slain militants could not be done yesterday due to clashes that broke out in the area after the gunfight. After medical examination, the bodies of the four militants were taken to Baramulla for burial.
Pervin Malhotra

Q.After completing my bachelors in home science, I am now thinking of specialising in child psychology. Could you please tell me about the job opportunities that would be available to me in this field?  Sara Pinto

A.Shockingly, more than 10 per cent of children and adolescents are affected by psychiatric disorders at any given time in India. While this is the case, owing to the acute demand-supply gap of qualified child psychiatrists and psychologists and structured courses in this field, many problems remain untreated, affecting the childs development and even leading to full-blown mental disorders in later life.

Child psychologists deal with behavioural problems like withdrawal, learning disabilities, aggression, dyslexia, attention deficiency, hypertension, and other stress related problems in children.

Increasingly schools, especially in urban areas, have begun to provide guidance and counselling to students in educational, personal and vocational matters. This has generated a need for professional counsellors who provide care, support and a congenial environment during the childs development processes at school.

Training for the job of a counsellor is rigorous and specialised. However, once in the job, you have to keep yourself well informed of the current developments in the fields of education and careers. On the other hand, tact, patience and persuasive skills are called for in tackling behavioural problems and learning blocks. Children with learning difficulties need careful and intelligent handling.

A wide array of professional opportunities open up for those specialising in this field: Armed with sufficient professional and practical exposure, youll be able to carry out psychological assessments, besides planning a comprehensive and holistic treatment approach for the case. Let me outline them for you.

You can work as a Consultant Child & Adolescent Psychologist in a private clinic or government hospital that has resident child psychologists and work in collaboration with other specialists (e.g. Paediatricians, Psychiatrists)

You can decide to settle in your own private practice after youve gained sufficient practical experience.

Get associated with the organisations and CSR departments of companies that focus on Family & Child Welfare.

Work with family welfare centres and NGOs in the development sector that focus on childcare and child development.

Work as a Child & Adolescent Psychologist in a school

Work as an academician in a college/university

Work as a trainer in the educational/corporate sectors

Work on research projects.

While Child psychology forms part of most MA (Psychology) programmes, standalone courses in child psychology & development are also offered at the MPhil level.

Should you wish to study still further, you can go for higher studies and research (PhD) in your area of specialisation.

In case youre interested in counselling, you could opt for a Diploma course in Guidance & Counselling.

Alternatively, you can do a BEd and teach psychology at the high school level. You can also do a BEd in Special Education if you like, and handle the kids with sp) or look for a counsellors job in a school.

Different pharma degrees

Q.I am a science student (medical stream). Can you please tell me the difference between DPharm and PharmaD?  Umang Khanna

A.PharmaD is a 6-year programme after Class XII.

Armed with this qualification, you can work in a hospital/clinic/community pharmacy, clinical research Organisations, clinical trial management field, medical writing or even entrepreneurship.

On the other hand, DPharm is a two-year diploma programme after Class XII. This will qualify you to work in retail pharmacy, hospital pharmacy, community pharmacy and industry.

Email your queries to careers@tribunemail.com
Usha Albuquerque

In today's multicultural workplace and global economy, basic knowledge about other cultures and religious perspectives is crucial. Moreover, given the overall atmosphere of fear, tensions, and religious conflicts, there is an urgent need for a greater understanding of religious perspectives, particularly in a country like India, with its unique multi-faith population, and diverse cultural and social underpinnings.

Studying religion involves studying about people and their many perspectives, so there are opportunities in jobs that require relating to others, reaching out to them, making connections, building bridges, or incorporating many perspectives at once.

It was a study of religion that inspired many of our modern world leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela. In fact, Martin Luther King was a graduate of theology, and it was not simply knowledge about the world, but wisdom about right relationships within the world, that propelled leaders like them, to challenge the dominant culture and bring about major social changes that have helped make the world a more just and caring place for everyone.

A degree in religious studies can be challenging and meaningful, an opportunity to gain a greater worldview, expand your historical, philosophical, and cultural knowledge base and take you in many unique directions.

Courses

There are several different courses of study at BA and MA level for a study of practically all religions, in addition to courses in Vedic Studies, Development of Jainism & Buddhism, Christianity studies, as well as comparative religion. The degree courses pertaining to the study of specific religions, cover in depth study of the religion, its origin, sources and history. Buddhist studies relate to Buddha, his teachings and principles, in the context of their relevance today, Jainism similarly covers the life and teachings of Lord Mahavir and 24 Tirthankas, and similarly for Islam and Christianity.

A study of Religion and Comparative Religion Studies provides students with a deeper understanding of global cultures. It is an excellent programme for those who want to expand their historical, philosophical, and cultural knowledge base, as religion is tied to everything around us, and shapes human thought and behaviour.

The study of Comparative Religions provides learners with the knowledge of the worlds major religious faiths, and subjects like science, psychology, literature and culture in relationship to various world religions. Students delve into specific religious faiths, including their history and development with a learned understanding of human beliefs and practices.

All courses are open to students from any subject.

Some of the more interesting courses include those at:

Nalanda University  MA in Buddhist Studies, Philosphy & Comparative Religion

University of Lucknow  PG diploma in Buddhist Studies

Panjab University, Chandigarh  PG in Buddhist Studies

Banares Hindu University  PG diploma in Indian philosophy & religion

Shree Shankaracharya University of Sanskrit  MA in Vedic Studies

Guru Nank Dev University, Amritsar  MA

Punjabi University, Patiala  MA

Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh  BA & MA in Islamic Studies

Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi  BA & MA in Islamic Studies

University of Madras  BA & MA in Islamic Studies

Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Hyderabad - BA & MA in Islamic Studies

Vishwa Bharati University, West Bengal  MA in Comparative Religions

University of Mysore - MA/ M Phil in Christianity/ Theology

University of Madras  MA Comparative Religions & Philosophy with specialisation in Christian Studies

Students with a degree in religious studies can, therefore, not only take up work positions which require a knowledge of religion, but also through a deeper understanding of religious and social beliefs impact their work in a whole range of professions, especially where a multicultural dimension exists.

Work prospects

Gathering data, organising it, understanding it, and presenting it are the vital skills in the study of religion. In addition, good interpreters of information are in high demand. For those with a religious bent of mind or an interest in religious studies it is good to know that there are avenues for work. Besides jobs in the Indian Army there are several other avenues of work available to students graduating in this field.

So, graduates can move to a diverse range of occupations, particularly in development work, community-based roles, aspects of welfare, social care and counseling, plus government policymaking and administrative departments. In addition, many commercial organisations welcome them in human resources, or general management roles, as also in the legal profession, broadcasting and journalism, and corporate communications.

Some careers for graduates of religious

Counseling and Social Work

Teaching & Education

Journalism

Communications

Law

Medicine

Business (particularly international business)

Religious posts in Indian Army

It may surprise many to know that the Indian Army regularly recruits male candidates for the posts of Religious Teachers as Junior Commissioned Officers. Religion plays an important part in our lives and the Army recognising that it provides great strength to soldiers in difficult times, has intelligently incorporated this practice into its services.

Each unit has its Mandir, Masjid or Church, and these religious teachers preach religious scriptures to troops and conduct various rituals when required. The duties of the pandits, maulvis, or Christian priests also include attending funerals, reading prayers to the sick in hospitals, visiting soldiers undergoing sentence, giving special religious instructions to the children and enlisted boys besides attending generally to the religious institutions and welfare of the officers, soldiers and their families. They also often serve as psychological counselors for the troops.

For those interested in joining in a religious post with the Army, graduation in any discipline from a recognised university is the basic requirement, with an age between 27-34 years . You must be religiously qualified too. For the post of a granthi, you should be proficient in Punjabi. Any person who has been ordained as a Buddhist monk can apply for a monks post. You can become a maulvi if you have done your studies in Arabic or Urdu, whereas to become a Christian priest in the Army, you need to be ordained by a bishop.

Educational Qualifications

Pandit Hindu candidates with Madhyama in Sanskrit or Bhushan in Hindi or equivalent standard in the regional language concerned. Those who have not done Madhyama in Sanskrit or Bhushan in Hindi must have passed BA with Sanskrit / Hindi as one of the elective (Main) subjects.

Granthi Sikh Candidates with Vidwan in Punjabi or equivalent standard in the regional language concerned. Those who have not done Vidwan in Punjabi must have passed BA with Punjabi as one of the elective (main) subjects.

Maulvi (Shia) for Ladakh Scouts Candidates with Maulvi Alim in Arabic, Adib Alim in Urdu or equivalent standard in the regional language concerned. Those who have not done Maulvi Alim in Arabic or Adib Alim in Urdu must have passed BA with Arabic/Urdu as one of the elective (Main) subjects.

Bodh Monk Buddhist (Mahayana) candidates who have been ordained Monk/Budhist Priest, by the Appropriate Authority ( Head Priest of the Monastery) where the person has been initiated into priesthood.

For more details check the Indian Army website - www.joinindianarmy.nic.in
Bhopal, June 6

At least five persons were killed and four others were injured on Tuesday as violence broke out during an ongoing farmers agitation in Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh, prompting the authorities to clamp curfew in the trouble-hit area.

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Some eyewitnesses alleged that the victims suffered bullet wounds but district authorities denied that there was any firing by the police on the protesters, who went on a rampage.

A magisterial inquiry has been ordered into the deaths, Mandsaur Collector S K Singh said, adding that police categorically told him that they didnt fire at the protesters.

Three of the five deceased were identified as Kanhaiyalal Patidar, Bablu Patidar and Prem Singh Patidar.

Read: Maharashtra CM under fire for arrest of striking farmers

Curfew has been imposed in Pipalya Mandi police station area of the district where the incident took place, while prohibitory orders restricting movement under Section 144 of CrPC have been imposed in rest of the district.

The police have told me that neither did they fire nor did they have any orders to fire, Singh added.

However, the spokesman of one farming union alleged that the police had fired on the protesters.

The police started firing to disperse the crowd. Farmers were not carrying weapons, said Gajendra Tokas of the Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangh, or National Farm Workers Union, which has called a state-wide strike on Wednesday.

The states Home Minister, Bhupendra Singh, said the police had not shot at the protesters, adding that anti-social elements in the crowd fired bullets.

Singh ordered an investigation into the deaths. We have asked for details - how the firing started, how many people were killed, he told a TV channel.

The police said they could not confirm the toll.

Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan has ordered a judicial inquiry into the shooting. He also increased the compensation from Rs 5 lakh to 10 lakh for the kin of deceased

Farmers in western Madhya Pradesh are protesting since June 1, demanding higher minimum support prices among other things.

In-camera autopsy of bodies was going on and the cause of death will be known after it, the Collector said, adding that families of the deceased will get financial aid.

According to eyewitnesses, protesting farmers torched vehicles and indulged in stone pelting in Parshvanath area under Pipaliya Mandi police station limits.

Meanwhile, the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Ajay Singh, demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, saying it is a shameful incident for a Chief Minister who claims to be a farmers son.

All the claims of the Chief Minister have proved false so far. Now the government is using bullets to suppress farmers voice. Chouhan should resign immediately, the Congress leader said.

The main opposition party also constituted a committee of MLAs to investigate the Mandsaur firing incident. Singh and state Congress chief Arun Yadav would visit Mandsaur tomorrow.

Senior Congress leader and MP Jyotiraditya Scindia also condemned the incident. The BJP government dealt with the agitation through bullets instead of talks, he said.

This is a black day in the history of state. It is shameful that the state government is crushing farmers agitation. Their demands are genuine, Scindia added.

Trouble was reported from many parts of western Madhya Pradesh as farmers stir continued for the sixth day on Tuesday.

In Indore, the police resorted to lathicharge following stone pelting during a march by farmers.

A police officer said that people taking part in the march started throwing stones at the police near Devi Ahilyabai Fruits and Vegetable Market, which led to lathicharge. Agencies
Melbourne, June 6

Indian conglomerate Adani Group on Tuesday gave the final investment approval for its controversy-hit 21.7 billion dollars Carmichael coal mine project in Australia which had hit several roadblocks over environmental concerns due to its proximity to the Great Barrier Reef.

I am proud to announce the project has Final Investment Decision (FID) approval which marks the official start of one of the largest single infrastructure--and job creating--developments in Australias recent history, Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani said.

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This is a historic day for Adani, a historic day for regional Queensland, and a historic day for the Indian investment in Australia, he said.

The announcement comes just days after the Adani Group agreed to pay royalties on coal produced from its project after it struck an agreement with the Queensland government to help the controversy-hit project move forward.

This is the largest single investment by an Indian corporation in Australia, and I believe others will follow with investments and trade deals, the Adani Group Chairman said.

We have been challenged by activists in the courts, in inner city streets, and even outside banks that have not even been approached to finance the project. We are still facing activists. But we are committed to this project, Adani said, adding that the group is committed to Queensland and to addressing energy poverty in India.

Adani said the Carmichael projects would generate 10,000 direct and indirect jobs, with pre-construction works starting in the September Quarter 2017.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Tuesday officially opened Adanis Regional Headquarters (RHQ) in Townsville from where the company would oversee the construction and operations of the project.

The regional headquarters will also accommodate Adanis Remote Operations Centre, the first time that such a centre has been set up in an Australian regional city.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was represented at the ceremony by the Federal Minister for Northern Australia and Resources, Senator Matt Canavan.

Adani Australia Head of Country and Chief Executive Jeyakumar Janakaraj said the company had already invested 3.3 billion dollars in the project, including buying the bulk coal handling port of Abbot Point.

Adani on Tuesday also signed letters of award for design, construction, operations, supply of materials and professional services.

The biggest deal is with Downer Mining for the construction and operation of the Carmichael mine.

The company has also announced in the past few weeks contracts totalling more than 150 million dollars for the railway tracks and concrete sleepers for the planned 388-km standard gauge rail link between the mine and Abbot Point.

Importantly, these contracts had gone to regional cities to generate jobs--74 million dollars for railway tracks (Arrium Steel, Whyalla) and 82 million dollars for sleepers (Austrak, Rockhampton).

Janakaraj also announced another contract for the Carmichael Rail Network linking Galilee Basin mines, including the Adani mine, to the port of Abbot Point.

This contract is with AECOM, who are regionally based in Townsville.

The AECOM deal covers surveying and design for the rail link with the company basing 70 people in Townsville.

But we are building more than a rail line, Janakaraj said.

We are building a line that will open the Galilee Basin, linking that massive coal reserve to markets around the world, generating power, and--importantly--generating many thousands of direct and indirect jobs in regional Queensland, Janakaraj said.

In Adanis case, it will link its Carmichael coal mine to its bulk loading facility at the port of Abbot Point from where it will be shipped to Adanis power stations in India.

While some may be looking for ways to leave regional Queensland, Adani is looking to the future, he said.

We are looking to ensure regional Queensland remains a great place to live, work and to raise a family. To achieve that, Adani is delivering on its promise to address power poverty for hundreds of millions in India and unacceptably high unemployment in regional Queensland, he added.

To those activists who sit in creature comfort and criticise us, I ask a simple question--what are you doing for those people? Janakaraj said.

Meanwhile, a group of religious leaders camped out on Tuesday at the Sydney-based Commonwealth Banks headquarters to protest against the proposed Adani mega coal mine project.

Local media reported that 10 Buddhist and Christian leaders rallied outside the Darling Harbour office, holding signs with messages, including People of faith say rule out Adani and Grandpa what did you do about global warming?

Uniting Church Minister Rex Graham said the group was opposed to the expansion of coal mines in Australia.

The other banks have heard the message, particularly National Australian Bank and Westpac, and thats what were looking for the Commonwealth Bank to also do so, he was quoted as saying.

The Carmichael coal project, Australias largest, has been delayed since first being proposed in 2010 due to protests by green groups over its environmental impact.

The Indian energy giant has for more than five years battled the opposition to any expansion of the Abbot Point port, saying it will cut into the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.

The project involves dredging 1.1 million cubic metres of soil near the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, which will then be disposed of on land.

The Adani Group entered Australia in 2010 with the purchase of the greenfield Carmichael coal mine in the Galilee Basin in central Queensland, and the Abbot Point port near Bowen in the north. PTI
Agra, June 6

A BJP leader was shot dead by two brothers over a financial dispute in Mehra Naharganj village of Fatehabad area here, police said on Tuesday.

The attackers were travelling in the same car with BJP worker Nathuram Verma last night. The trio was returning from the village when the brothers Samar and Sudhir Singh fired several rounds at him, killing him on the spot, they said.

Agitated by the attack, local people overpowered the brothers and lynched Sudhir, whereas Samar managed to flee.

Police officials, who reached the spot to control the situation, were also assaulted and pelted with stones by the enraged villagers, a police vehicle was set ablaze.

SP Dinesh Chandra and District Magistrate Gaurav Dayal rushed to the spot and sought additional force various police stations to bring the situation under control.

Chandra said police teams have been formed to identify the persons who assaulted the policemen. Police officials have been deployed in the village to thwart any untoward incident.

He said a hunt is on for Samar and investigation is underway.

Police sources said the motive behind the killing is stated to be a dispute over benami assets worth several crore rupees belonging to Baba Munshidas, who was found murdered on May 26. PTI
Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 6

Accusing the BJP of whipping up divisive issues and attempting to control food habits of people, Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday said lynch mobs with close ideological affinity to the ruling establishment were rising in India.

Obliquely referring to the ongoing debate around the new government rules banning sale of cattle for slaughter in animal markets, Sonia said that after three years of Modi government rule there is discord where earlier there was harmony.

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Where there was harmony theres discord, where there was tolerance theres provocation. Where there was relative call in J&K there is growing confrontation, tension and fear. Where there was economic potential theres stagnation. Where there was rich diversity theres a brazen campaign to straitjacket the whole country into a regressive world view, Gandhi said in her opening remarks at the meeting of Congress Working Committee which blamed the Centres demonetisation drive for recent GDP growth fall and slammed it for politics of alienation in the Valley.

Gandhi spoke of how former PM Manmohan Singhs prediction on economic slowdown due to note ban had come true. She also dared the government to disclose how much demonetised currency returned to the banks.

The meeting attended by Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi and senior leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, AK Antony, Ahmed Patel, P Chidambaram and Karan Singh among others also discussed the upcoming presidential and vice presidential polls with Sonia Gandhi constituting a sub group of opposition representatives to take the joint strategy forward. The group will meet shortly.

On the economic front, Gandhi questioned job losses while Manmohan Singh said the worst impact of note ban was on job creation.

The CWC didnt discuss the elevation of Rahul Gandhi though in its last meeting it had unanimously resolved that Rahul lead the Congress.

A source said the meeting ratified the ongoing organisational election schedule of the party which would end with the election of the new Congress President. The source said Rahuls elevation was a foregone conclusion and would happen as part of the ongoing internal elections.

Azad, when asked if Rahuls elevation was spoken of, replied in the negative.

Sonia on her part urged the Congress to get together during the organisational polls and be ready for the 2019 Lok Sabha poll which she said wasnt far.

After the meeting, Rahul Gandhi tweeted: "Discussed vital political issues including crisis in J&K, Government's mishandling of the economy, Presidential polls as well as Congress organisational elections".
Shiv Kumar

Tribune News Service

Mumbai, June 6

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is facing fire from farmers organisations and the Shiv Sena over the arrest of protesting farmers in different parts of the state.

While farmers have accused the CM of trying to obstruct the strike, the Shiv Sena warned Fadnavis that farmers anger would consume the state government if he did not change course. The government should not tag the farmers as violent criminals for protesting on the streets. It is their prolonged agony which is on display here, an editorial in Shiv Senas mouthpiece Saamna said.

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The newspaper hit out at the government for the large-scale arrests of farmers and suspension of mobile Internet in Nashik, where the strike is almost total. The farmers of Nashik are being treated like the traitors of Kashmir who are hurling stones at Indian soldiers... The whole of Nashik district is being treated as a disturbed area where mobile Internet has been suspended, Saamna added.

The newspaper also hit out at the BJPs trolls who have been making fun of protesting farmers on the social media. Saamna said the protesting farmers who have shaved their heads and demonstrated atop water tanks should not be ridiculed by the BJP or it would pay the price.

Meanwhile, Fadnavis said his government would not negotiate with political leaders who claim to represent the farmers. The government will hold talks only with genuine farmers, Fadnavis was quoted as saying.

Promises biggest ever farm loan waiver
Shiv Kumar

Tribune News Service



Mumbai, June 6



Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday came under fire from farmer organisations and the Shiv Sena over the arrests of striking farmers in different parts of the state.



While the farmer organisations have accused the Chief Minister of trying to break the strike, the Shiv Sena warned Fadnavis that farmers anger would consume the state government if he did not change course. The government should not tag the farmers as violent criminals for protesting on the streets. It is their prolonged agony which is on display here, an editorial in Shiv Senas mouthpiece Saamna said.



The newspaper hit out at the government for the large-scale arrests of farmers and suspension of mobile Internet services in Nashik, where the strike is near-total. The farmers of Nashik are being treated like the traitors of Kashmir who are throwing stones at Indian soldiers.... The whole of Nashik district is being treated as a disturbed area where mobile Internet has been suspended, Saamna added.



The newspaper also hit out the BJPs trolls who have been making fun of protesting farmers on social media. Saamna said the protesting farmers who have shaved their heads and demonstrated atop water tanks should not be ridiculed by the BJP or it would pay the price.



Meanwhile, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said his government would not negotiate with political leaders who claim to represent the farmers. The government will hold talks only with genuine farmers, Fadnavis was quoted as saying.

Farmer allegedly commits suicide in Nashik

Meanwhile, the police said a farmer in Yeola tehsil of Nashik district, where the agitation is intense, committed suicide.

Navnath Changdev Bhalerao, resident of Pimpri village in the district, ended his life by consuming a poisonous chemical, said a local police officer.

As the agitation continued in Nashik district, the police have prohibited assembly of people in public places under CrPC section 144 till June 19.

All 17 agriculture produce market committees (APMCs) and 20 sub-APMCs in the district remained closed today too, and onion auctions couldn't take place, said Jaidutta Holkar, chairman of Lasalgaon APMC.

On Monday, another farmer, Gorakh Savaliram Kokane, resident of Waki Budruk in Chandvad tehsil of Nashik district, allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself at his house.

The agitation continued in the district with several vehicles carrying vegetables to Mumbai stopped by protesters.

Protesting farmers also locked down the office of talathi (village revenue officer) at Naitale in Nifad tehsil.

Vegetable-carrying trucks heading for Mumbai faced protesters in the neighbouring Ahmednagar district too. With PTI inputs
New Delhi, June 6

Raids on the residence of NDTV founder Prannoy Roy drew widespread criticism from political parties and press bodies on Tuesday, with the chief ministers of Kerala and West Bengal describing the searches as an attempt to muzzle the media.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called Monday's action a "disturbing trend" while her Kerala counterpart, Pinarayi Vijayan, said it sought to "threaten" a critical media.

Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said the raids reflected "shamelessness".

He said: "Yesterday, we were seeing shamelessness. While people have vanished with thousands of crores (of rupees), why is the government so rattled by a Rs 50 crore matter?"

In Thiruvananthapuram, Vijayan said the searches were "an attempt to threaten the media that criticises the functioning of the Central government headed by Narendra Modi".

Banerjee tweeted she was "shocked" at the raids. "He (Roy) is highly respected and reputed. Disturbing trend," she said.

Calling it a "serious matter", the CPI said the action reflected the Narendra Modi government's plan to curb the freedom of expression.

"The party expresses its deep concern over the raids...a part of the Modi government's plan to curb freedom of expression," it said in a statement.

A number of media bodies also condemned the raids.

The All India Newspaper Editors' Conference said it was "clearly a case of am attack on the freedom of the press", while the Press Club of India (PCI) in Delhi expressed its "grave" concern.

"While we maintain that all individuals and every institution have to abide by the law of the land, we condemn any attempt to either intimidate the media or put curbs on its freedom," PCI president Gautam Lahiri said.

The Indian Women's Press Corps (IWPC) here alleged that the law of the land should not be applied "selectively", nor should it be "used as an instrument to harass anyone including the media".

The Kashmir Editors Guild described it as a "muscular manifestation".

A group of intellectuals under the banner of SAHMAT, a platform for artistes, academics and others, condemned the raids as "totally unwarranted" and said they were an "intimidatory" tactic.

"By attacking the media, the present government is undermining the freedom of the press, so essential for a democratic polity," it said.

In the Himachal Pradesh capital of Shimla, citizens expressed their solidarity with NDTV at a protest in front of a statue of Mahatama Gandhi at the Ridge.

The protesters, who gathered under the banner of Citizens of Shimla, were led by CPI (M) leaders Sanjay Chauhan and Tikender Singh Panwar.

Deputy Advocate General Anoop Rattan said the action was an attempt to stop the media from questioning the actions of the BJP leadership.

The CBI converted a private complaint against NDTV into an FIR and carried out searches on the premises of its founders Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy, and their company RRPR Pvt Limited, on Monday.

NDTV said in a statement that the channel and its promoters would fight tirelessly against this "witch-hunt" by multiple agencies.

"We will not succumb to these attempts to blatantly undermine democracy and free speech in India. We have one message to those who are trying to destroy the institutions of India and everything it stands for: we will fight for our country and overcome these forces," the statement said.  PTI
Bijapur, June 6

In a dreadful incident of honour killing, a pregnant woman in Karnatakas Bijapur district was burnt alive by her family for allegedly marrying a Dalit man.

The incident took place in a village called Gundanakala.

The 21-year-old Banu Begum was in love with 24-year-old Sayabanna Sharnappa Konnur, a young man from the same village.

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After firm resistance from the girls parents who refused to accept their relationship, the couple decided to elope to Goa and get married.

Banus family was so enraged that they dragged the girl to the local police station and sought a case of POCSO to be filed against Sayabanna.

On June 3, the duo returned home after she got pregnant, with the hope that they will have to accept their marriage. However, both the families were unwilling to change their stand and soon got into a fight.

Sayabanna was brutally assaulted by the girls family but he managed to escape with bite marks all over his body but Banu could not escape.

When Sayabanna returned with police, the family members had set Banu on fire.

According to reports, four members--Banus mother, her sister, brother and brother-in-law--have been arrested. ANI
Jaipur, June 6

A mysterious rock-like object, which appears to have fallen from the sky, in an open field near Bhankhrora area on the outskirts of the city caused panic among locals.

The dark grey-coloured object appears to be a meteorite and weighs around four kg. A few other pieces of the rock-like object were also found, police said.

Locals spotted the object in the morning and informed us. It seems the object fell at a great speed as it has created a small crater on the ground in Mukundpura village, SHO of Bhankhrora Police Station Hemendra Sharma told PTI.

He said the Geological Survey of India and Forensic Science Laboratory officials have been informed about it.  PTI
New Delhi, June 6

The University Grants Commission (UGC) and All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) are soon going to be a thing of the past with the government planning to replace these with a single higher education regulator.

The proposed Higher Education Empowerment Regulation Agency (HEERA) is aimed at eliminating overlaps in jurisdiction and remove irrelevant regulatory provisions. The HRD Ministry is working with Niti Aayog on the plan of bringing technical as well as non-technical institutions under the same umbrella.

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According to sources, a detailed blueprint of the proposed regulator and its legislation is being worked upon. It was felt that multiple regulatory bodies led to excessive and restrictive regulation and contributed to lack of institutional autonomy.

A single higher education regulator is not a new plan and has been recommended by various committees.  PTI

Major revamp of ITIs on cards

New Delhi: Students enrolled in industrial training institutes will now be given Class X, XII equivalent certificates and facilities benchmarked with those provided in CBSE, ICSE schools, with the government set to undertake a major revamp of ITIs. Around 23 lakh students are enrolled in 13,000 ITIs. Union Minister for Skill Development Rajiv Pratap Rudy said the ministry is mulling over whether it should set up a board. The first batch of students has already appeared for CBSE exams. PTI
Chandigarh, June 6

The much-awaited debt relief for farmers is likely to be made a part of the Punjab Budget proposals and is expected to be announced towards the end of this month.

An informal meeting of a group of experts, headed by Dr T Haque, was held in Delhi yesterday. The Special Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Suresh Kumar, was also present in the deliberations. Sources say that the group is working on two suggestions  one on a waiver of up to Rs5 lakh for all small and marginal farmers and the other on giving upto Rs1 lakh as relief to all debt-ridden farmers who have taken a crop loan.

Though the expert group was to give its suggestions by June 7, it is now expected to do so by June 15. Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh will take the decision thereafter. Sources say that this is most likely to be included in the Budget proposals.  TNS
Sanjeev Singh Bariana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 6

Hinting at levying entry fee at tourist places and incorporating fund-raising activities for self-sustainability of tourism projects, Minister for Tourism Navjot Singh Sidhu today said the Virasat-e-Khalsa project of the previous SAD-BJP government was proving a white elephant.

Despite best intentions, the mega project, which has a maintenance cost of around Rs12 crore annually, cannot survive, he said

Announcing the inauguration of the Partition Museum in Amritsar on August 17 by Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh at a press conference here, Sidhu said: Our cultural policy will underline its commercial feasibility. Tourism projects have the potential to provide employment opportunities to the youth who constitute 56 per cent of the state population. Revenue generation is equally important for all tourism projects.

The Partition Museum, which will be thrown open to the public on Partition Remembrance Day, will be dedicated to ordinary and extraordinary people, particularly from Punjab and Bengal, who lost everything during the Partition, but went on to build a new India with their indomitable spirit and resilience.

The museum being set up by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Trust has been assured support by the state.

Kishwar Desai, chairperson of the Trust, said: We have asked people to contribute items from their personal treasure. A few interesting collections included a wrist watch of the father-in-law of Sudarshana Kumari, who died in the violence, and the original copy of the memorandum submitted by the Punjab Boundary Commission. We are expecting filmmakers Mahesh Bhatt and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra at the inaugural ceremony.
Aparna Banerji

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, June 6

Delhi University student and martyrs daughter Gurmehar Kaur today said the country was facing tough times in view of curbs on freedom of speech and expression with regard to both press and students.

She was in the city to announce her alignment with Future Talent Society  a students group which will hold a national conclave on Responsible Freedom of Expression.

Asked whether she thought that the country faced an undeclared emergency, she said, I agree to the statement to some extent because if a students questioning of violence against a 17-year-old can be blown up into such a huge issue, then we are living in a tough time.

Trolled for her video questioning the ABVP, Gurmehar has ever since been celebrated as a champion for the freedom of speech.

Terming it a national students movement, society president Gautam Seth said, The aim of the conclave is to make the forces, working to rob us of our freedom, aware that we are free and our freedom cant be snatched by anyone. Over 5,000 students and youths from across the country will participate.

Gurmehar said, What angered me initially was seeing friends with broken wrists and lathi marks. There was a whole bunch of them who returned from the campaign which I had missed due to classes. You cant impose violence on young girls just because you believe they did something wrong. You cant do that.
Amaninder Pal

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 6

After the Education Department recently cancelled deputation orders of teachers, all posts of teacher have fallen vacant in four out of 10 meritorious schools in the state.

The situation has come to pass because the state government has not cleared a file related to the appointment of teachers in meritorious schools in spite of Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU), Amritsar, conducting the test for recruitment earlier this year.

The summer vacation that will end on June 30 is the only breather for the schools. The authorities hope that the state government will clear the file by then and teachers will be hired by the first week of July.

The four schools are in Ghabdan (Sangrur), Gurdaspur and Hakumat Singh Wala (Ferozepur) and Talwara (Hoshiarpur).

The ones in Sangrur, Gurdaspur and Ferozepur were started last year during the previous SAD-BJP governments rule. And teachers for the three schools were never hired. They were run by teachers of the Education Department on deputation.

Teachers from meritorious schools were called back to the department on May 3. But there is no effect on studies as schools are closed for vacation. The state will clear the file related to recruitment in a couple of days. We will be in position to hire teachers before the admissions, said Major General KAS Bhullar (retd), Project Director of meritorious schools.

The meritorious schools have recorded an impressive pass percentage 98 in Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) Class XII exams. Their result is far ahead of the overall pass percentage of 62.
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 6

The Amarinder Singh government has welcomed the launch of a unique initiative to commemorate August 17 as Partition Remembrance Day in memory of those, especially from Punjab and Bengal, who lost everything to Partition but went on to build a new India with their indomitable spirit and resilience.

The government will extend all support to the Arts and Cultural Heritage Trust, which is setting up the worlds Partition Museum at Town Hall in Amritsar to mark the event on August 17, Minister for Culture and Tourism Navjot Singh Sidhu told mediapersons here.

The museum will contribute significantly to further boosting tourism in Amritsar, he added.

The inauguration of the museum, which will be attended by Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, will be preceded by a unique online campaign Chalo Amritsar 17th August, 2017, for Partition Remembrance Day. Several high-level national and international dignitaries, with a large number of NRIs from Partition-affected families, are expected to be present at the inauguration of the museum that will narrate the story of the triumph of the hope of the Partition survivors over despair, noted author and columnist, and the Chair of the Trust, Kishwar Desai, said.

The inaugural event will be followed by an evening of Sufi music, under the Aegis of the Arts and Literature Festival of Amritsar (ALFA), and a nostalgic recreation of the pre-1947 streets of Amritsar and Lahore, with street food and other memorabilia. The function will be open to the public.
Neena Sharma

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, June 6

The state Aviation Department will intensify the process of upgrading the existing air strips and raising some new ones in the state, a top official in the Uttarakhand Government said yesterday.

The expansion of aviation infrastructure in Uttarakhand also figured during the discussion held yesterday with officials from the Disaster Management and the Department of Aviation with the visiting senior Air Force officers  Air Marshal SBP Sinha, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Central Air Command and Air Marshal Arvind Butola.

There was a general agreement for enhancing and upgrading the airstrips in the state, said Amit Negi, Secretary, Department of Disaster Management and link officer for the Department of Civil Aviation.

He said the senior Air Force officers had also assured the state of providing all assistance for the upgrade process of air strips.

The upgrade of civil aviation infrastructure is also being seen in the backdrop of increasing Chinese air incursions over the Indian air space in the Barahoti area of Chamoli. Those in the know claim that better civil aviation infrastructure could prove useful in the event of breakdown of road connectivity during natural disasters and requirement of landing for Air force choppers, for surveillance and warding off of hostile attacks.

In Uttarakhand, out of a total of five airstrips, the Jolly Grant airport in Dehradun is already carrying out day and night civil operations, while the Pant Nagar airport in Udham Singh Nagar district is open for day operations.

The upgradation work on the remaining air strips like Naini Saini airport in Pithoragarh, Chinyalisaur airport in Uttarkashi district and Gauchar airport in Chamoli district is in the various stages of completion.

Further, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is also assisting the Uttarakhand Government in the construction of 27 helipads, the approval for the construction of these helipads was given in the aftermath of the 2013 natural disaster. The work is already under way on these helidromes.
Kathmandu, June 6

Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba was on Tuesday elected the new Prime Minister of Nepal -- returning to the post 12 years after he was removed from the post by then King Gyanendra.

He said his priorities would be holding the local elections and the constitution's implementation. On foreign policy, he said he will maintain good relations with both India and China. He had, while presenting his candidacy, said he will honestly work for implementation of the new constitution, and will brace his political acumen to address the grievances of the Madhesis and other outstanding political issues.

Seventy-year-old Deuba, who was elected for his fourth stint as Premier exactly a week short of his 71st birthday, received wide political support during the voting in parliament. Of the total 593 voters, 388 voted in his favour as opposed to 170 votes against -- the main opposition Communist Party of Nepal cast their votes against him.  IANS
Washington, June 6

US President Donald Trump said today his trip to the Middle East was already paying off as regional leaders followed through on their promise to take a hard line on funding militant groups.

So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism! Trump said in a series of Twitter posts. Reuters

Travel ban needed for dangerous countries

Trump has insisted the need for a travel ban for certain dangerous countries.

Thats right, we need a TRAVEL BAN for certain DANGEROUS countries, not some politically correct term that wont help us protect our people!, Trump tweeted.

In the aftermath of the London terror attack, Trump retorted once again to the US courts for blocking his attempted travel ban against people from six Muslim-majority countries.

People, the lawyers and the courts can call it whatever they want, but I am calling it what we need and what it is, a TRAVEL BAN! the President tweeted.

His comments drew the ire of legal experts, including a supreme court lawyer representing Hawaii against the White House and George Conway, husband of Trumps aide Kellyanne Conway and an attorney who has been considered for senior federal posts, the Guardian reported.

Neil Katyal, a supreme court lawyer, tweeted in response to Trump, Its kinda odd to have the defendant in Hawaii v Trump acting as our co-counsel. We dont need the help but will take it! The White House appealed to the Supreme Court after Trumps executive order restricting entry to the U.S. from Iran, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, Libya and Syria was blocked by federal courts in Maryland and Hawaii. ANI

Qatar ready for mediation

Dubai: Qatars foreign minister said on Tuesday that Doha was ready for mediation efforts after the Arab worlds biggest powers severed ties with it, adding that Qatars ruler had delayed a speech in order to give Kuwait a chance to ease regional tensions. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severed diplomatic relations with Qatar in a coordinated move on Monday. Yemen, Libyas eastern-based government and the Maldives joined later and transport links were shut down. Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani spoke by telephone overnight with his counterpart in Kuwait, which has maintained diplomatic ties with Qatar, and decided to postpone a speech to the Qatari people as requested. Qatar believes such differences between sister countries must be resolved through dialogue. Reuters

UAE wants guarantees before mending ties

Abu Dhabi: The United Arab Emirates said today that Qatar would need to provide a guaranteed roadmap before it would consider mending ties. Along with neighbouring Saudi Arabia and its closest allies, the UAE severed relations with Qatar on Monday, suspending all flights and giving Qataris 14 days to leave in the biggest diplomatic crisis to hit the region in years. We need a guaranteed roadmap to rebuild confidence after our covenants were broken, UAE state minister for foreign affairs Anwar Gargash said on Twitter. AFP

Kuwait ruler to meet Saudi King

Dubai: Kuwaits ruler will travel to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for talks with King Salman over a Gulf Arab dispute with Qatar, Gulf Arab officials said. Kuwaits emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber al-Sabah is acting as a mediator between Doha and some other Gulf Arab states including Saudi Arabia, which have severed diplomatic and transport ties with Doha. Reuters
Paris: Police in Paris shot and wounded a man who attacked an officer outside the Notre Dame cathedral on Tuesday, the Paris police headquarters said. Police had earlier said they were dealing with an incident in the courtyard outside the world-famous tourist site and warned the public to stay away. Police sources said the officers shot at the man after he had threatened them with a hammer and refused to stop. One officer was lightly injured and the assailant was shot in the thorax, according to one source.  Reuters

7 killed in blast near Afghan mosque

Kabul: Seven civilians were killed and 17 others injured in an explosion near a mosque in Afghanistan's Herat city on Tuesday. The explosive device was planted in a motorbike and detonated near the northern gate of the Great Mosque of Herat around 3 pm. Without pointing finger at any group or individual, the official said an investigation was initiated into the case. Earlier, another blast shocked Kabul while an international conference on peace process in Afghanistan with the participation of delegates from over 20 countries was underway. IANS
London, June 6

British police named the third of the jihadis who killed seven people in a knife and van attack in London as Youssef Zaghba, 22, believed to be an Italian national of Moroccan descent.

The fallout from the attack eclipsed all other subjects in the political campaign ahead of Thursdays general election, with both the ruling Conservatives and opposition Labour Party battling to defend their records on security.

Police said Zaghba had not been a subject of interest for them or for the MI5 domestic intelligence agency.

Earlier, Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera had reported that Zaghba had been stopped at an Italian airport because authorities believed he was on his way to Syria, and that Italian officials had warned British counterparts about him.

In Britains third Islamist attack in as many months, the three men rammed a van into pedestrians on London Bridge on Saturday evening before running into the bustling Borough Market area, where they slit throats and stabbed people.

Police had named the other two attackers as Khuram Butt, 27, a British national born in Pakistan, and Rachid Redouane, 30, who had claimed to be Moroccan and Libyan. Butt was previously known to security agencies and had appeared in a British TV documentary called The Jihadis Next Door.

As these details have emerged, Prime Minister Theresa May has faced questions about her record overseeing cuts to police numbers when she was interior minister. Reuters

Hotel owned by London attackers family raided in Pakistan

Islamabad/London: Pakistani security agencies today raided a hotel owned by a relative of a Pakistani-origin militant responsible for carrying out the deadly terror attack in London that killed seven people, according to officials and media reports. Khuram Butt, 27, along with two other militants plowed a van into pedestrians on the iconic London Bridge and then started stabbing revellers in nearby Borough market last Saturday, killing seven people. The UK police yesterday identified two of the attackers- Pakistani-origin Butt and Moroccan-Libyan Rachid Redouane. This morning, dozens of plain clothes officers in Pakistan searched a hotel on the Grand Trunk Road in Punjab provinces Jhelum area. The hotel belonged to one of Butts relatives. The officers - believed to be from Pakistans Inter Service Intelligence agency (ISI)- were seen outside the premises thought to belong to Nasir Butt, a well-known businessman in the area. Butt is believed to have been born in the Jhelum area. PTI
Moscow, June 6

Russia scrambled a Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jet on Tuesday to intercept a US B-52 strategic bomber which it said was flying close to its border over the Baltic Sea, Russias Defence Ministry said.

Russian air defence systems detected the bomber at around 1000 Moscow time as it was flying over neutral waters parallel to the Russian border, the ministry said in a statement.

The Russian SU-27 crew, having approached at a safe distance, identified the aircraft as an American B-52 strategic bomber and escorted it until such time as it changed course and flew away from the border area, the ministry said.

Russia said the SU-27 had been scrambled from its Baltic Fleet air defence unit which is based in Kaliningrad.

The B-52 Stratofortress, a long-range nuclear-capable bomber, is one of the most recognisable symbols of the Cold War and entered service in the 1950s.

In another sign of Moscows unease over NATOs proximity to its borders, Russia also scrambled a MiG-31 jet fighter later on Tuesday to intercept a Norwegian patrol plane over the Barents Sea. Russias Defence Ministry identified the plane as a P-3 Orion anti-submarine aircraft.

The Defence Ministry said the Norwegian plane had flown close to Russias state border with its transponders switched off.

The Norwegian military confirmed the encounter and said it was normal.  Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the Group of 20 summit in Indonesia next week, avoiding a possible confrontation with the United States and its allies over his war in Ukraine.
Kabul, June 6

The death toll from a devastating truck bomb in Kabuls diplomatic quarter last week has jumped to more than 150, President Ashraf Ghani told an international peace conference in the capital on Tuesday.

Kabul has been on edge since the bombing in the highly fortified area last Wednesday, the deadliest in the city since 2001.

Over 150 innocent Afghan sons and daughters were killed and more than 300 wounded were brought to hospitals with burns and amputations, Ghani said. Previously officials had put the number of dead at 90.

Four more people were killed Friday when hundreds of protesters incensed by the bombing clashed with police, prompting officials to force them back with live rounds fired in the air, tear gas and water cannon.

The protesters, holding a sit-in for a fifth day today near the bombing site, have demanded the resignation of Afghanistans security chiefs, including national security adviser Hanif Atmara demand that Ghani has turned down.

And on Saturday, at least seven people were killed when suicide bombers tore through a row of mourners who were attending the funeral of one of the protesters, the son of an influential Afghan senator.

No group has claimed the attacks, but the government has blamed the Taliban-allied Haqqani Network for Wednesdays bombing.  AFP
Doha/Dubai June 6

DOHA/DUBAI: US President Donald Trump, wading into the worst split between powerful Arab states in decades, said on Tuesday his trip to the Middle East was already paying off with leaders there taking a hard new line in accusing Qatar of funding of militant groups.

His blunt remarks cast the anti-Islamist speech he gave at a Riyadh summit in May as the inspiration for a decision by leading Arab powers to sever ties and transport links to Qatar in protest at what they say is its support for terrorism.

In fact, US officials were blindsided by Saudi Arabias decision to sever diplomatic ties with Qatar in a coordinated move with Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, current and former officials in Washington told Reuters.

So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off. They said they would take a hard line on funding extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism! Trump on Twitter.

The commentsTrumps first about the rift between Qatar and major Arab nations over its alleged support of Iran and Islamist groupsemerged at a delicate moment in the crisis as the leader of Kuwait was to meet in Saudi Arabia to try to mediate the dispute.

Qatar vehemently denies the accusations against it, calling them baseless. Ordinary Qataris, however, were to be found crowding into supermarkets to stock up on goods against the crisis.

Trump said, in apparent reference to top Gulf Arab powers Saudi Arabia and the UAE, that leaders he met on his trip had warned him Qatar was funding radical ideology after he had demanded they take action to stop financing militants.

It was not immediately clear what effect Trumps high profile intervention in the crisis would have.

US officials had said on Monday that the United States would quietly try to calm the waters between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, arguing that the small Gulf state was too important to US military and diplomatic interests to be isolated.

Qatar hosts 8,000 US military personnel at al Udeid, the largest US air base in the Middle East and a staging ground for U.S.-led strikes on the Islamic State militant group that has seized parts of Syria and Iraq.

There are also deep financial and business links between the two based on Qatars leading world role in gas.

Mediation and consequences

Gulf Arab officials said Kuwaits Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber al-Sabah will meet Saudi Arabias King Salman hoping to heal the damaging rift which has affected global oil prices, hit travel plans and sown confusion among bankers and businesses in the region.

In a sign of the potential consequences for the Qatari economy, a number of banks in the region began stepping back from business dealings with Qatar. Saudi Arabias central bank advised banks in the kingdom not to trade with Qatari banks in Qatari riyals, sources said.

Oil prices also fell on concern that the rift would undermine efforts by OPEC to tighten production.

Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani told Qatar-based Al Jazeera TV that Qatar will not retaliate, hoping Kuwait will help resolve the dispute. It wants to give Kuwaits ruler the ability to proceed and communicate with the parties to the crisis and to try to contain the issue.

Qatars leader, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, spoke by telephone overnight with his counterpart in Kuwait and, in order to allow Kuwait to mediate, decided to put off a planned speech to the nation, the foreign minister said.

The split among the Sunni states erupted last month after the summit of Muslim leaders in Saudi Arabia where Trump denounced Shiite Irans destablising interventions in Arab lands, where Tehran is locked in a tussle with Riyadh for influence.

Qatar has for years parlayed its enormous gas wealth and media influence into a broad influence in the region. But Gulf Arab neighbours and Egypt have long been irked by its maverick stances and support for the Muslim Brotherhood, which they regard as a political enemy.

Banks shun Qatar, flights diverted

Tightening pressure, Saudi Arabias aviation authority revoked the license of Qatar Airways and ordered its offices to be closed within 48 hours, a day after the kingdom, the UAE and Bahrain closed their airspace to Qatari commercial flights.

Flight tracker websites showed Qatar Airways flights taking a circuitous route mostly over Iran to avoid their neighbours.

Some Saudi Arabian and UAE commercial banks were also shunning Qatari banks, holding off on letters of credit, banking sources told Reuters on Tuesday.

With an estimated $335 billion of assets in its sovereign wealth fund and its gas exports earning billions of dollars every month, Qatar, however, has enough financial power to protect its banks.

Qatars stock market rebounded in early trade on Tuesday after plunging the previous day but the Qatari riyal fell against the US dollar.

Mondays decision forbids Saudi, UAE and Bahraini citizens from travelling to Qatar, residing in it or passing through it, instructing their citizens to leave Qatar within 14 days and Qatari nationals were given 14 days to leave those countries.

The measures are more severe than during a previous eight-month rift in 2014, when Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE withdrew their ambassadors from Doha, again alleging Qatari support for militant groups.  Reuters
Washington, June 6

US President Donald Trump has renewed his call for a travel ban to protect Americans from certain dangerous countries after the latest terror attack in London.

However, he did not name the countries he considers dangerous.

Thats right, we need a TRAVEL BAN for certain DANGEROUS countries, not some politically correct term that wont help us protect our people! Trump told his 31.6 million followers on Twitter last night.

The president posted a series of tweets earlier Monday morning, saying the Department of Justice should have pushed the initial order rather than the watered down, politically correct version he submitted to the Supreme Court.

Trumps executive order with regard to travel ban for people coming from six Muslim majority countries  Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen  has been shot down by the US judiciary.

Meanwhile, the White House ruled out a new executive order in this regard.

Not that Im aware of. But the president is going to continue taking aggressive steps every single day to protect the people in this country, said the White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary, Sarah Sanders.

The president is very focused on exactly what that order spells out, and thats protecting Americans, protecting national security. And he has every constitutional authority to do that through that executive order, and he maintains that and that position hasnt changed in the slightest, she said.

She said Trump cares about national security.

He cares that we call it national security and that we take steps to protect the people of this country. Its real simple. Everybody wants to get into the labels and the semantics of it, but the bottom line is hes trying to protect the citizens of this country, she said.

The danger is extremely clear. The law is very clear.

And the need for this executive order is very clear. And the presidents priority in protecting the people is very clear.

Full stop, Sanders said in response to a question.

On Saturday night, three knife-wielding attackers in fake suicide vests unleashed a terror rampage in the British capital, plowing a van into pedestrians on the iconic London Bridge before stabbing revellers in nearby Borough market, killing seven people.  PTI
Volvo's Magnus Koeck says a new industry emphasis on regional haul routes was a prime design driver for the OEM's new VNR tractor. Photo: Volvo

The long-haul model has been the dominant model for moving freight in North America for decades, but there are signs that could be changing, according to Magnus Koeck, vice president, marketing, and brand management for Volvo Trucks North America.

The long-haul model for freight distribution developed organically after the Second World War in an age of cheap diesel fuel, a large driver pool, and infrastructure limitations at the time: The Panama Canal was not able to accommodate larger freighters and a new class of container ships. This placed an emphasis on East and West Coast ports, with corresponding long-haul truck routes becoming the norm.

A lot of the pieces that set the long-haul freight model in place have changed dramatically over the past several years, however. The size of the driver pool has not kept pace with the rise in freight volumes. Moreover, a new generation of potential drivers sees the isolation and long periods away from home associated with long-haul routes as a distinct negative.

At the same time, the widening of the Panama Canal (with a new, Chinese-funded canal across Nicaragua under construction now) has made it easier for larger container vessels to reach Gulf Coast ports.

Industry experts tracking these trends have predicted they could lead many truck fleets to adopt short-haul, regional, or super-regional routes, leveraging port expansions on the Gulf Coast to get drivers home sooner, while still maintaining increasingly important efficient freight deliveries.

While there is still some ways to go before trucking sees a full-blown shift away from long-haul routes, Koeck sees signs the shift is underway. We actually dont see that happening yet in a larger scale as there are still some work to do (renovations, dredging, blasting and bridge raising) in some of the Eastern seaboard ports to be able to accommodate the largest container ships, Koeck said. The Panama Canal is ready, but some of the ports are not. The Panama Canal did open up in the end of June last year for larger ships. Were monitoring the development closely and were confident that there eventually will be changes in the freight patterns because of this.

Volvo reported last week at a press event unveiling its new VNR tractor that its Class 8 build number for 2017 is beginning to indicate a move toward more regional delivery routes by fleets, with production of long-haul specd trucks falling off by 5%, compared to 2016, while regional-specd truck production has remained steady.

Its hard to tell if this is a long-term trend or simply a market correction, Koeck said. We do see a declining trend for long haul and a steady, slight upward trend for regional haul, although were also positive that the long-haul segment will recover in the years to come and the construction segment will decline sometime after 2019.

"The regional haul segment stands for close to 30% today of the total market and thats a strong number," he continued. "We truly believe that we are extremely competitive now with our new lineup of VNR tractors, reflecting that we have seen a higher demand for daycabs and smaller sleepers in the last few years.

Another driver that could push growth in regional and super-regional markets is the increasing pressure for faster delivery times, including a new emphasis on efficient last mile delivery, although Koeck said it is again too soon to say for sure if those forces are fueling a significant shift in freight delivery patterns.

The future will tell if this is happening now, he said. But our customers certainly have demands on them for quicker, on-time deliveries, and that trend will continue. We will see different business models for the future. Just see what has happened thanks to companies like Uber and Airbnb. Connectivity and digitalization are enablers for all this. Nevertheless, I believe that we will see long-haul trucks also in the future and it will be the dominant segment in the foreseeable future, but maybe in the context of different business models among our customers.

For the time being, Koeck said the driver shortage, in his opinion, remains the main driver for shorter transport distances. Younger drivers also have somewhat different values than older drivers, he noted. And they highly value time off with family and friends, meaning it will be harder and harder to recruit drivers just for long-haul operations. Thats also why we at Volvo put a lot of effort into making the best possible driving and living environments in our trucks, both for our long-haul and regional-haul products. We truly believe that our customers have a competitive advantage when they have Volvos in their fleets when it comes to recruiting drivers.
Lana Batts moderates a fleet panel discussion at a past Truckload Carriers Association annual meeting. Photo: TCA

Its been a long time since weve seen the number and size of trucking mergers and acquisitions like we have lately. Theres the merger of Knight Transportation and Swift Transportation, plus numerous acquisitions in the flatbed market by Daseke. Before that, XPO Logistics purchased Con-way, later selling off its truckload component to a Canadian company while keeping the less-than-truckload.

To get some perspective, I contacted Lana Batts. Shes currently partner emeritus of Transport Capital Partners, a consulting firm specializing in transportation mergers and acquisitions. However, she is known for much more than that. Her 40-plus years in trucking includes being president of the Truckload Carriers Association and senior vice president of government affairs for the American Trucking Associations.

Here are the highlights from our conversation, which has been edited for length and clarity.

HDT. Lana, what is driving all of this mergers and acquisitions activity?

Batts: When you look at the Knight-Swift merger its the maturing of the truckload industryand faith in the future. Nobody really has any market share to talk about compared to what you see in other segments of trucking. And the reality of it is, contrary to what we always thought prior to deregulation in 1980, there are in fact economies of scale in truckload. Its all the back office stuff, and a lot of that is driven by regulation. With the regulations the industry is facing, youve got to spread that out over enough trucks.

HDT. What about the many acquisitions by Daseke, which is reportedly now the largest flatbed operation in the country?

Batts: There wasnt a dominant player in the flatbed sector. And what Don Daseke did as an outsider with outside money, is nobody in the trucking industry could finance those deals. Hes done very well and is a very smart man. Hes got a game plan and hes exercised it well. I dont know if an insider would have seen what he saw. You know, sometimes it takes somebody from the outside.

HDT. Could you elaborate on your description of these recent deals as the maturing of the truckload industry and faith in the future?

Batts: The truckload industry was really born out of deregulation. Now, fast-forward since 1980. In almost 40 years, [nearly] all those young bucks who started those truckload [fleets have] died or retired. Now its the second generation, an outsider generation coming in. Its totally different. That faith in the future means the economy is on a fairly strong footing, or at least a different footing, because of the way the regulations are coming out and the rise of the third party logistics providers.

HDT. Why arent we seeing such mergers and acquisitions activity on the less than truckload side?

Batts: Those already took place and the heyday for them was shortly after deregulation. What youve got left is some really strong national carriers and some really strong regional guys, some of which have become very strong national players. I live up here in northwest Montana and [Old Dominion Freight Line] bought a small company up here, and I think its just hilarious to see Old Dominion in Montana. Nobody up here even knows what Old Dominion stands for.

HDT: Where do you see the trucking mergers and acquisitions market headed the rest of this year and into 2018?

Batts: I think there will be a lot. Now youve got a situation where.the sellers are willing to get out, the prices are realistic in terms of their net worth, but you know its taken a long time to get out of that quagmire. What buyers are looking for by and large are well-run companies, with the freight up to date, with a management team that will stay after the owner leaves.

This column originally appeared as Economic Watch, part of the Hotline department, in the June issue of HDT.
By Vidya : Bombay High Court has decided to consider hearing the writ petition filed by Maharashtra government against Vinita Kamte -- widow of slain cop Additional Commissioner Of Mumbai Police Ashok Kamte, on merits of the case. Kamte was one of the martyred officers in the 26/11 terror attack and his wife has been in an ongoing battle to get details of the horrifying night when 166 lives were lost in 2008.

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Under Right to Information (RTI) Vinita Kamte had filed for some information about the main control room on the night of 26/11. She had been denied this information on the grounds that the case was under investigation. She went in appeal and the appellate authority ordered that she be allowed to get inspection of the records of conversations between various police units and control room.

Kamte then filed a second appeal alleging that the material given to her had been tampered with. She also wrote to the State Information Commissioner stating that the material given to her did not tally with the one that had been filed by Mumbai Police along with the chargesheet in the 26/11 case against Pakistan terrorist Ajmal Kasab.

Her lawyer Sachindra Shete told the division bench header by Justice Naresh Patil, "there was an entirely trial held in 26/11 but we don't know which recording are correct. The one they gave us or the one which was used as evidence during trial." Kamte sought an action against police officers under RTI.

The state government pointed out that the then Information Commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad did not give any finding and simply ordered the Additional Chief Secretary (Home) to conduct an enquiry who in turn submitted a report after enquiring. The information commissioner then passed an order, without even giving a show cause notice to these officers, to institute a commission under Commission Of Enquiry Act against the then additional chief secretary Amitabh Rajan, then Mumbai Police Commissioner Rakesh Maria and Vijay Mukane who was at that time the assistant commissioner of police at the police head quarters. This order was passed in 2014 but it was an year later that the state decided to challenge this order.

Although Kamte's lawyers opposed the fact that the state public prosecutor himself was representing these police officers while "they should have put up their own lawyers. Why should the state pay to defend them?" asked advocate Sachindra Shete representing Kamte. He also pointed out that the only reason Kamte has been persuing this is because she wants to know why the response teams did not teach the spot where Kamte and others were shot dead when its just a stone throw from the police head quarters.

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The public pleader Abhinandan Vagyani however pointed out to the court that at this juncture the issue is not whether the information that Kamte got was right or wrong. "This is state governments petition challengeing the 2014 order. According to RTI act the commissioner can order an officer to give information and if the information is not given then the penalities can be composed. But information commissioner does not have the power to order a commission of enquiry."

The case will now be heart by the Bombay High Court on Thursday.

--- ENDS ---
OKLAHOMA CITY - A former Ada bail bondsman was sentenced Monday to five years in federal prison for traveling to Peru and having sex there with underage girls.

Robert Earl Pierce, 63, also was fined $17,500 and required to register as a sex offender after his release.

"For the rest of my life, I'll bear this shame, this humiliation, this stigma," he told the judge Monday in a voice choked with emotion. "It will never go away I know."

Pierce pleaded guilty last year in Oklahoma City federal court to engaging in an illicit sex act with one underage girl in Peru in 2012. A prosecutor said Monday the investigation actually turned up three specific victims. Two were 15 at the time.
By Press Trust of India: in US

By Lalit K Jha

Washington, Jun 6 (PTI) Four Indians and a Pakistani national have pleaded guilty to the charges for their role in a massive telephone impersonation fraud and money laundering scheme in the US perpetrated by India-based call centres, the Department of Justice has said.

Three Indians Rajubhai Patel, 32, Viraj Patel, 33, Dilip Kumar Ambal Patel, 53, and Fahad Ali, 25, a Pakistani national each pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy before US District Court Judge David Hittner of the Southern District of Texas.

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Hardik Patel, 31, an Indian national pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy before the same court on June 2.

Sentencing dates are pending for all five defendants, the Department of Justice said.

Based on the statements in his June 2 guilty plea, beginning August 2012, Hardik owned and managed the day-to-day operations of an India-based scam call centre before later leaving for the US.

While in India, in his capacity as a manager, Hardik communicated extensively via email, text, and other means with various India-based co-defendants to operate the scheme and exchange scripts used in the scheme, coordinate the processing of payments from scammed victims, obtain and exchange lead lists used by callers to target US victims, and exchange spreadsheets containing the personal identifying information (PII) of US persons misappropriated by the scammers to register reloadable cards used in the scheme.

He also managed worker payroll and kept detailed records of profits and expenses for various associated scam call centres.

According to his June 6 guilty plea, Rajubhai Patel operated as a runner and assisted a co-defendant in managing the activities of a crew of other runners, based primarily out of Illinois, who liquidated victim funds in various locales in the US for conspirators from India-based call centres.

Viraj Patel first became involved in the conspiracy between April and September 2013, prior to entering the US, when he worked at and assisted with overseeing the operations of a call centre in India engaging in scam activity at the behest of a co-defendant.

Dilipkumar A Patel operated as a runner in and around Southern California, along with other co-defendants based in the region.

Fahad Ali worked as a member of a crew of runners operating in the Chicago, Illinois area, the Southern District of Texas and elsewhere throughout the country.

To date, 56 individuals and five India-based call centres have been charged for their roles in the fraud and money laundering scheme in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Texas on October 19, 2016. PTI LKJ AJR AKJ AKJ

--- ENDS ---

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Tulsa Public Schools Superintendent Deborah Gist earned her $25,000 bonus this year, but she wont be taking it.

Under the terms of Gists contract with the district, she gets an annual review from the school board, and if she scores highly, she gets a big check. Thats performance-based merit pay, and we endorse it.

Gist aced her review and earned the money. That was the judgment of the board, and we agree. She has been a strong, creative, energetic leader, despite the extremely challenging atmosphere of public education in Oklahoma.

But, acknowledging that the district is struggling financially (through no fault of her own), Gist said she wouldnt accept the bonus money. She announced that she would donate the money to the Foundation for Tulsa Schools, as she did last year. The money will flow back to TPS classrooms, where it will do a great deal of good.

Gist is well paid  her total compensation, including fringe benefits for 2016-17, is approximately $352,183  which puts the donation in perspective; but it doesnt reduce our admiration for her commitment to the children of Tulsa.

She earned the money, and her donation is a selfless, generous act that deserves the thanks of the district, its employees and the public.

We wish Gist had more time to work on things other than worrying about the districts bottom line. She acknowledges that she and the districts top administrators have dedicated 70 percent to 80 percent of their time since January dealing with the districts budget issues.

Thats not surprising, considering that the state has shortchanged TPS and every other district in the state for two consecutive years. The state budget approved by the Legislature last month is a victory for schools, but only because it wasnt any worse. The budget continues the inadequate levels of school funding from last year, unless we have another state budget failure.

As a result of the states funding failure, west Tulsa schools are consolidating, 37 teaching positions have been eliminated and high school class sizes are going up. While planned school furloughs are now off the table, more cuts are still possible.

We congratulate Gist on an effective year, despite being hamstrung by the Legislature, and we wish her another year of success. We look forward to a day when she can earn her bonus  and cash the check  knowing the state has finally lived up to its promise to prioritize public schools and fund them at an adequate level.
WATCH: Bolt calls out masked Left-wing fascists after a cowardly attack in Melbourne. They got a lot more back than they expected. pic.twitter.com/6IsxyIPKUu  The Bolt Report (@theboltreport) June 6, 2017

SKY News presenter Andrew Bolt fought back yesterday after two men surprised him outside a Carlton restaurant.

Bolt alleged the two men jumped him while he took a selfie with a woman, ahead of a book launch.

Bad luck for them, of course. I dont do running and hiding, Bolt told viewers last night.

Police were now searching for the men, one of whom would be sporting a big bruise on the left side of his face and another bruise between his legs. For which I apologise, I guess. I dont really fight nice if Im pushed too far, he said.

Victoria Police confirmed the incident, which took place about 12.15pm on Tuesday, was under investigation and said no one was injured.

Victoria Police confirmed two males threw what appeared to be glitter and shaving cream.

A short scuffle has taken place before the offenders fled the scene. Another male who was in the area at the time appeared to be filming or taking photos.
Weve been getting a fair few period dramas that delve into the underbelly of American art.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip dissected variety television, Vinyl ripped the 70s music industry apart, Roadies immersed itself into rock touring roadshows (notably all three were not successes). HBO is lining up The Deuce to do the same to the porn industry.

Showtime takes aim at the world of stand-up comedy in the 1970s in Im Dying Up Here, a comedy / drama inspired by the book by William Knoedelseder. Produced by Jim Carrey, it is written by Dave Flebotte (Masters of Sex, Raising Hope, Dirt, Men in Trees) and directed by Jonathan Levine (50 / 50, Warm Bodies).

Steeped in the smoky, beer-stained carpets of a comedy club managed by ruthless broad Goldie (Melissa Leo) -and yes its politically incorrect throughout- Im Dying Up Here is full of sad, sometime angry clowns, busting for their shot at fame.

The ultimate prize from Open Mike night is a gig on The Tonight Show which young comedian Clay (Sebastian Stan) manages at the top of the series. His envious peers are amazed when Johnny Carson (Dylan Baker) invites him to the couch after a successful debut. But the night doesnt end well for Clay who watches his performance alone in a hotel room before being hit by a bus (is that a pun in the title?).

This unravels his surviving friends, who each have their own demons, ambitions and punchlines to peddle. Amongst them are ex-girlfriend Cassie (Ari Graynor), resentful Bill (Andrew Santino), emerging Boston comics Ron (Clark Duke) and Eddie (Michael Angarano), Vietnam vet Ralph (Erik Griffin) and struggling black comedian Adam (RJ Cyler).

Paying the rent is tough. So is getting a break in the main room, managed by Goldie. Female comedians have to be doubly-good to survive the show us your tits heckling. But even Adam, hoping his manager (Alfred Molina) will book a paying gig, will find seedy ways to pay the bills. And there is a surprising reintroduction of Clay which struck me as unnecessary.

Im Dying Up Here revels in its period flaws. Misogyny, nudity, language, drugs and racism are all along for the ride. While the humour takes a back seat to the drama, the character actors deliver, notably Melissa Leo and Ari Graynor. But the ensemble is top heavy and the opening lacks a central character for us to hang off. The first episode also includes lovely cameos by Robert Forster and Cathy Moriarty.

While this isnt as bleak as bios of tragic comedians such as Andy Kaufmann, Freddie Prinze or John Belushi, Im Dying Up Here, is no walk in the park. Knoedelseders original book detailed a strike by comedians who protested at a lack of compensation against Comedy Store owner Mitzi Shore who was in cahoots, as they say, with Tonight Show producers.

That augurs well for where this series could go, provided you are happy to maintain the rage.

Episodes 1 & 2 of Im Dying Up Here, are now available on Stan.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan ordered a judicial enquiry into the incident which took the lives of five protesting farmers.

By India Today Web Desk: A clash broke out today between agitating farmers and police in Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur district after which five farmers were killed in police firing.

Farmers have been protesting for a week demanding loan waiver and fair price for their produce in the district. The situation got violent when the farmers resorted to stone pelting at police due to which police had to open fire.

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Although the government initially denied that the bloodshed was a result of police firing but later on Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan ordered a judicial enquiry into the incident. A curfew was also imposed in the affected areas.

The government hiked the compensation of Rs 5 lakh to 10 lakh to the kin of deceased.

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE MANDSAUR FIRING: "I appeal my farmer brothers to keep patience. Don't get carried away by provocation from others. The government is with you. We will find solution to all problems," Chouhan said.He also blamed the Congress for aggravating the situation saying that they have been trying to give political colours to the protests. "Congress has made the protests violent," Chouhan said. Madhya Pradesh's Home Minister Bhupendra Singh said police had not shot at the protesters. He had instead blamed "anti-social elements" in the crowd for firing bullets. The farmers however have a different story to tell. "Police started firing to disperse the crowd. Farmers were not carrying weapons," said Gajendra Tokas of the Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangh, or National Farm Workers' Union, which has called a state-wide strike on Wednesday. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi accused the Centre of waging a war against the country's farmers. "In Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) new India, our farmers get the bullets when they ask for their rights. This government is at war with the farmers of our country," the Congress leader tweeted. Tensions began in Mandsaur after the agitating farmers surrounded Piplya Mandi police station which soon snowballed into a clash. Heavy police reinforcement was sent to control the situation. Curfew was later clamped in Pipalya Mandi area and prohibitory orders imposed in other parts of the district, officials said. Farmers in western Madhya Pradesh are protesting since June 1 demanding minimum support price for their farm produce, among other things. Farmers last week started a strike in the state and in western Maharashtra, dumping vegetables and milk on the roads to demand billions of dollars in debt forgiveness and better prices for produce. On Monday, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan assured that the government would purchase onions at Rs 8/kg and moong dal at an agreed price and to set up a Rs 1,000 crore stabilisation fund. Though the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh called off its strike, the other organisations have continued with the stir. The state has been facing shortage of milk and vegetables, leading to price hike. Farmers threw milk on the Agra-Malwa Highway last week and barred trucks from carrying vegetables. Several parts of the state faced a similar situation.

Also read:

MP CM Shivraj Chouhan announces measures to end farmers' agitation, protesters respond with more violence

Farmers' shutdown receives mix response in Maharashtra

Also watch:

MP minister denies police fired on farmers, says no state-wide protests taking place

--- ENDS ---
Former Womans Day journalist Shari Nemetzi, who wrote the Womans Day article which triggered the Rebel Wilson trial, defended her article in court yesterday.

I dont believe I misled my readers, Ms Nementzik said.

I still stand by the story.

Bauer Media paid $2000 for the anonymous tip, to a former classmate of Wilsons. She told the court everyone knows tabloid magazines work on cheque book journalism in order to secure stories.

The story had first been pitched in 2012 but was shelved due to legal concerns, before later being published in 2015.

Rebel Wilson sobbed loudly in court as her lawyer, Dr Matthew Collins, QC, quoted from her own evidence about the impact of Ms Nementziks story.

I was just doing my job, Nementzik told the court.

Closing arguments in the Rebel Wilson case are expected to be heard today.

Source: Herald Sun, The Age
Brisbane radio host David Luttsy Lutteral (pictured, right) has implied True Story with Hamish & Andy was his idea.

He claimed he told Andy Lee in 2014 about his concept Cracking Yarns which had begun filming with Channel Nine, but was not completed.

Ive read the press release blurb for (True Story and it) is word for word the concept that I told Andy in 2014 in December, he told fellow NOVA presenters Ashley Bradnam and Kip Wightman.

Ash, you were part of the pilot we did, Luttsy said. Id half shot that pilot and then other things have taken over so I havent actually completed it.

But a Nine spokesman has denied the claims, stating: Radio Karate have confirmed that the format for the program True Story with Hamish & Andy was conceived, and was in development by Radio Karate, over a year before Andy and Luttsy met for a drink in New York.

True Story with Hamish & Andy is created and produced by Tim Bartley, Hamish Blake, Andy Lee and Ryan Shelton.

Hamish Blake recently told TV Tonight the idea was developed after taking a break from Gap Year.

Essentially it came back to What do we love doing the most? he replied.

We were challenging ourselves to think of the simplest answer to that question. For us it was hearing someone tell a funny, true story. Thats definitely something that sings to us.

Even Gap Year in a way was meeting people who were making their own fun, but the realness of it was what we were hooked on.

Is it 5 people just talking to us? But over time the idea began to metamorphasize with something that was a little bit scripted.

Last night the show topped the ratings, but drew mixed reviews on social media.

Source: News Corp
US actor Roger Smith, best known for 77 Sunset Strip, has died, aged 84.

He died at a Los Angeles hospital after battling the nerve disease myasthenia gravis for many years.

Smith launched his career in the 1950s when James Cagney spotted him and recommended him for films.

From 1958 to 1963, he co-starred with Efrem Zimbalist Jr., playing Jeff Spencer on 77 Sunset Strip, a fore-runner to Hawaiian Eye, Surfside 6 and Bourbon Street Beat. In its Encyclopedia of Television, the Museum of Broadcast Communications said the show revived the crime drama and became the epicenter of hipness on television, a sun-drenched world of cocktails, cool jazz and convertibles.

Smith once told the Los Angeles Times that the series aimed to show that private investigators were well-trained, serious men, and not the movie and TV stereotype with dangling cigarettes and large chips on their shoulders.

Later Smith got the title role on Mister Roberts, based on the 1955 comedy-drama about Navy life. It lasted from 1965-66.

Other credits included Father Knows Best, Wagon Train, and Auntie Mame.

Smith survived two serious illnesses to have a second career as manager of his second wife, entertainer Ann-Margret.

He was previously married to a glamorous Australian actress, Victoria Shaw.

Source: USA Today
Udaku Special

NAFASI ZA AJIRA BONYEZA HAPA













Dar es Salaam. The fear that President John Magufuli could interfere in the Kenyan presidential election slated for August this year in favour of the opposition candidate Raila Odinga seems to be real in President Uhuru Kenyattas camp.





Whether the fear is founded or unfounded it remains to be seen but the Jubilee party has, clear, demonstrated some signs of panic over the purpoted conspiracy from the southern neighbor.





In fact the issue was so serious that JPMs plans for evil machinations warranted being mentioned in the Jubilees National Delegates Conference on Saturday May 6, 2017 in front of President Kenyatta who was crowned the same day as Jubilees flag-bearer.





It was Aden Duale, the Majority Leader of the National Assembly of Kenya and a close political confidant of President Kenyatta, who had the task of warning Raila (as they refer to him in Kenya) against using Tanzania as the base for hacking the elections.





Mr Duale said; We are aware they are setting up a tallying centre in Tanzania. We are also aware the tallying centre is for hacking the IEBC [Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission] system. And they want to use fake results and imaginary voters to claim victory. But we the Jubilee leaders will form teams that will guide our votes.





Mr Duale did not mention Dr Magufulis name. But the implications were clear. A foreign political party cannot form a tallying centre in Tanzania without a nod from the top leadership.





In the past, reports of plans Dr Magufulis interference in the Kenyan elections were treated only as rumours, propagated in the social media and in the yellow press in Kenya.





And the fear that Dr Magufuli could play a hand in Kenyan presidential election seem to have originated from his close personal friendship with Raila. Their friendship started when they were both Works ministers in their respective countries in the early 2000s. The two have since exchanged visits in personal capacity for political and family events.





Dr Magufuli attended the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM)s conference in December 2012 that endorsed Raila as the flag-bearer in the 2013 presidential election. When given a chance to address the conference he urged Kenyans to vote for Raila because he was the transformative candidate.





This prompted a strong reaction from Tanzanias main opposition party Chadema who wanted the government to state clarify on Dr Magufulis support of Raila.





The government must come out and say if it condones Dr Magufulis statements and his presence in the ODM meeting in Kenya last week. If not, it should take action against its minister for getting involved in the campaign politics of a neighbouring country, Chademas Foreign Affairs Director Ezekia Wenje had said.





Given the fact that Kenyas politics are driven along ethnic lines and its history of post-election violence, Mr Wenje had added, Dr Magufulis statements were a diplomatic disaster.





As things turned out, no diplomatic disaster ensued. Either way ODMs opponents, the National Alliance (TNA) that had fronted Kenyatta and Ruto as the flagbearer and running mate, respectively, did not make much noise about it.





But visits between the two continued. Dr Magufuli, again, attended the burial ceremony of Railas son Fidel in January 2015.





Raila visited Dr Magufuli only a couple of days after the latter was nominated CCMs presidential candidate. Again Raila led an ODM delegation to attended Dr Magufulis swearing in ceremony at the National Stadium in November 2015. Mr Kenyatta also attended the event in his capacity as the President of Kenya.





In April 2016, about five months after Dr Magufulis swearing in Raila and his wife Idda joined the Tanzanian Presidents family in their ancestral home of Chato for the Easter Holidays.





It was soon after this visit that reports of Dr Magufulis plotting with Raila for Kenyas presidential elections started receiving much attention.





In May 2016 a Kenyan MP, Maina Kamanda alleged that Dr Magufuli and South Sudans President Salvar Kiir and some other foreign powers were funding Raila to destabilise Kenya.





Kamandas remarks at a press conference in Nairobi echoed a Kenyan governments spokesperson statement claiming that some individuals were working with foreign government, including some Kenyas neighbours, to destabilise the country. Mr Eric Kiraithe did not mention the countries but warned Kenyans found to be working with foreigners will face treason charges.





Again in December 12, 2016 President Kenyatta, addressing an Independence Day rally in Nairobi, claimed that some external powers wanted to influence Kenyas August 2017 polls. He did not mention those powers but a section of the Kenyan media went ahead and said Tanzania was one of those powers working to influence polls.





The Tanzania State House has not commented on Mr Duales remarks at the Jubilee conference on Saturday, but it remains to be seen how watertight these allegations of Tanzanias influence in the Kenyan elections are and how they would weigh in in diplomatic relations between the two friendly nations.





Ironically Mr Kenyatta also faced similar allegations, from some ODM supporters in Kenya, of seeking to interfere with the outcome of Tanzanias 2015 presidential election. These allegations were heightened by the inclusion of a Kenyan, Julius Mwonga Matei, reportedly a Kenyan intelligence agent, among the seven people arrested on October 25, 2015 on allegations of trying to hack the Tanzanian presidential election tallying.





The seven were apprehended in an illegal tallying centre set by Chadema in Dar es Salaam along two other foreign nationals, an Angolan and a South Korean and four locals.





They were charged in court in October 28, 2015 but were released in December 2016 after the Director of Public Prosecution dropped charges.





Could the panick in Uhurus camp over Tanzanias plans for a conspiracy against Kenyan presidential election been driven by fears of reprisals from Dr Magufuli?
Volker Turk gives an address at the IIEA  IIEA

Ireland's comprehensive response to refugees shows a level of commitment that is urgently needed from all countries, said Volker Turk, UNHCR's Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, in Dublin today (Tuesday June 6).

Speaking at the Institute of International and European Affairs, Mr Turk said that Ireland's willingness to engage internationally on refugee issues, co-leading the process that led to the New York declaration, conducting search and rescue activities in the Mediterranean, and increasing commitments to resettlement should serve as an example to other countries grappling with how to respond to the growing numbers of people forced to flee their homes because of war and persecution.

"Refugees are an international responsibility, and all countries need to share this equitably" said Mr Turk. "The Irish people have a long history of advocating strongly for the fundamental rights of all human beings, and they carry into the present and future a firm belief in the power of moral force to move mountains."

As co-chair of the UN Refugee and Migrant process last year, Ireland was an instrumental force in the adoption of the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants by 193 countries. It has also been a powerful voice for the implementation of the 2013 Sustainable Development Agenda, which calls for leaving no one, including refugees, behind.

In the afternoon, Mr Turk met Tanaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality Frances Fitzgerald, and Minister Stanton, where they discussed recent progress on reforms of the protection system in Ireland as well as UNHCR priorities for forthcoming discussions at EU level on reform of the Common European Asylum System.

Volker Turk IIEA speech

Mr. Turk stated, "Ireland's international engagement shows the power of all countries, no matter their size, to affect real change. In practical terms, Ireland has not been found wanting - it is supporting those developing and middle income countries hosting the majority of the world's refugees. It is also providing opportunities for some of the most vulnerable refugees to be resettled out of precarious situations so they build a future for themselves and their families. Ireland is now resettling 520 refugees a year, a figure we strongly encourage the authorities to maintain into the future."

Mr. Turk said that much progress has been made in Ireland since the visit of the former High Commissioner for Refugees, and current Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres in 2012. Recognition rates of refugees had returned to European Union averages, while crucial reforms of asylum legislation and decreases in average processing times showed that change is possible with the right levels of political commitment.

He added, however, that in light of recent limitations introduced on family reunification, it will be important for Ireland to consider new pathways for refugees to find safety, including through private sponsorship schemes.

"There are those who argue that the conditions of refugees living far away are not our concern, or our duty. However Ireland's history of flight and migration put it in a unique position to remind the world that refugees are an international responsibility, and all countries need to share this equitably. "
Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon Season 3 will premiere soon on Star Plus.

By India Today Web Desk: Popular show Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon is all set to hit the small screen with its third installment, and fans can't contain themselves; understandably so. TV heartthrob Barun Sobti is making his return to Indian television with Gul Khan's romantic drama, but without IPKKND Season 1's leading lady Sanaya Irani. This time Barun will be accompanied by Kasam actress Shivani Tomar, but we can never get over how amazing Barun and Sanaya looked together on screen.

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Also read: Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon 3: Barun Sobti's new female lead Shivani Tomar's look on the show finally revealed

Barun and Sanaya's sizzling chemistry

Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon's Arnav and Khushi were a huge hit with the viewers, mainly because they shared a great chemistry. Both Barun Sobti and Sanaya Irani were awarded the best jodi a couple of times for their performances.

We don't want to be superficial, but they look REALLY GOOD together

Put them together in a frame and witness magic. Any time. Pick up any episode of Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon Season 1, watch it, and you will know what we are talking about.

Their banters are the best

#IPKKND3 A post shared by Barun Sobti (@barunsobtisays) on May 23, 2017 at 1:28pm PDT

As Arnav and Khushi, they had little and big spats on screen, and they were all a treat to watch. Why, you ask? Because they are just that good.

The fact that they are really good friends in real life also helps

Barun and Sanaya became really good friends while working on IPKKND together, and their natural affection for each other translated wonderfully well on the screen. Even their interviews are fun to watch when they do it together. Friendship goals.

Barun and Sanaya are really good actors

Because if they weren't, we wouldn't have witnessed the magic that we did. We really believed in their love story.

Makers, please let Sanaya Irani make a guest appearance on Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon Season 3. Please.

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A Syrian woman in Mafraq, Jordan takes cash from an ATM after using the iris scan technology to identify herself. Many of the 80% of Syrian refugee living outside of camps rely heavily on UNHCR cash assistance.  UNHCR/Jared J. Kohler

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, warns that without urgent additional funding, some 60,000 Syrian refugee families will be cut from monthly cash assistance programmes in Lebanon and Jordan as early as July.

Vital parts of UNHCRs response to the needs of Syrian refugees are critically underfunded. Additional contributions are urgently required to avoid dramatic and deep cuts to both basic and life-saving services to Syrian refugees in the second half of the year.

Despite generous pledges, humanitarian programmes in support of Syrian refugee and communities hosting them are quickly running out of resources. The situation is most dramatic in Lebanon and Jordan where a number of direct cash assistance activities could dry up in less than four weeks.

Syrian refugees in Lebanon  70 per cent of whom are living under the national poverty line - say that without this lifeline, they don't know how they will manage to survive. For many, cash assistance is the only means of buying medicine for sick family members and paying off their bills and fast-accumulating debts. Refugees tell UNHCR that every month they struggle to pay their rent and face the threat of eviction.

Those who fled to Jordan face equally stark challenges. Refugees tell our staff that UNHCR monthly cash support means a meal a day, a better roof, their dignity. Now they fear losing everything. Many say would prefer to go back to Syria to die if they stop receiving this assistance. For every third family in the cash assistance programme in Jordan this is their sole source of income, making them particularly vulnerable to any cuts.

UNHCR scaled up and pioneered new approaches in delivery of cash assistance programmes in 2011 to assist massive number of Syrian refugees in the neighbouring middle-income countries. Well-established infrastructure and services meant that UNHCR could work with banks to deliver cash to refugees, reducing overheads and fraud, and giving a choice to refugees to buy what they needed, avoiding the stigma of distribution queues. They allow vulnerable families to cope with hardships of displacement and help them to restore their dignity. They have been key in helping refugee families to avoid destitution, exploitation or abuse and to evade resorting to child labour, early marriages, survival sex or other negative coping practices.

In Lebanon, where UNHCR urgently needs USD 116 million, direct cash assistance programmes for refugees will be affected first. These include a lifeline multi-purpose cash for 30,000 Syrian refugee families, a winter cash assistance for two months for another 174,000 families and protection cash assistance for 1,500 refugee households to help them overcome periods of hardship. The funding gap also jeopardises 65,000 life-saving secondary health care interventions and support to UNHCRs and the Lebanese Authorities capacity to issue and renew documentation for refugees, following a recent decision to waive the residency renewal fees which most refugees could not afford.

Meanwhile in Jordan, we urgently require USD 71 million to provide monthly cash assistance for 30,000 Syrian refugee families, support to the estimated 60,000 Syrians stranded at the Syria-Jordan border, secure 115,000 primary health consultations and 12,000 referrals to secondary health care services for refugees in camps and urban areas as well as to ensure timely support this winter for 35,000 Syrians.

More than five million Syrians live as refugees in neighbouring countries. This makes Syrians the largest refugee group in the world. Another 6.3 million are displaced inside Syria.

Mid-way through this year, the 2017 inter-agency appeal (USD 4.6 billion) to meet the immediate humanitarian needs of Syrian refugees across the Middle East and North Africa is only 18 per cent funded. Given the challenges of responding to humanitarian needs at such a scale and across the entire region, early and adequate contributions are vital to ensure timely and planned delivery of refugee protection and aid programmes.

For more information on this topic, please contact:
There is no row at position 0.
There are several anticipations surrounding the much awaited iOS 10.3.1 Jailbreak tool. Reports even suggest that famous jailbreak makers like Luca Todesco, Pangu and TaiG are apparently working on a jailbreak tool together. Nonetheless, Todesco unleashed his jailbreak tool which is meant for iOS 10.3.1.

A Yalu jailbreak tool has been unleashed by Italian hacker Todesco, and the jailbreak tool is for Apple's iOS 10.3.1. While the jailbreak tool might not work on some of Apple's iPad and iPhone devices, this jailbreak tool works on 64-bit devices, which include the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 7 Plus, Blorge reported.

Reports are claiming that this jailbreak tool is more stable compared to the beta three. But, if a person wants to jailbreak their iPhone 7 Plus, that person might consider waiting for Pangu's jailbreak tool, which will be released in August, I4U News reported.

The Chinese jailbreak team PanGu made it known that they will be launching an iOS 10.3.1 jailbreak tool as soon as Apple launches the iOS 10.3.2. But, as the Cupertino based tech giant has rolled out the new version a few weeks ago, there is still no word on PanGu's new jailbreak tool.

Meanwhile, new line of reports suggests that Luca Todesco, Pangu and TaiG are apparently working on a jailbreak tool together. The famous jailbreak makers are said to make installing jailbreak versions of Apple's iPhones much easier. The jailbreak tool can reportedly give access to numerous apps, features, themes, as well as other stuffs on Cydia.

In spite of that, the Cupertino based tech company has included security measures, called APFS, that will make the iOS almost impossible to breach. Also, the tech giant appears to roll out the iOS 10.3 beta 2 version, a version which is packed with all bug fixes that will prevent any sort of exploit.

Watch The Video Here:
Illegal metal salvagers pillaged Australia's famous World War II warship, HMAS Perth. Australian National Maritime Museum director, Kevin Sumption, stated that this is not what they were hoping to find.

One of Australia's most treasured World War II warship, HMAS Perth, has been illegally salvaged for metal. Maritime archaeologists claim that HMAS Perth devastated the war grave of more than 300 sailors.

An Australian-Indonesian expedition conducted a dive on May 14 to 17 on HMAS Perth's wreck, which sank in 1942 following a battle against the Japanese Navy. Nonetheless, Sumption stated that it is with great regret that their joint maritime archaeologist diving team has discovered sections of the World War II warship are missing. Reports are claiming that only approximately 40 percent of the HMAS Perth remains, The Guardian reported.

Director Sumption also said that some damage of the HMAS Perth is a result of the Japanese torpedo strikes that sank the warship in 1942. But, the HMAS Perth warship also has signs of salvage, with some salvage equipment are still visible around the site, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Nonetheless, sunken ships scraps are worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, which makes the illegal salvage operations a valuable proposition. Wherein, five shipwrecks in the Java Sea that were intact in 2002 were likely salvaged in November 2016.

In spite of that, the commercial salvaging of war wrecks has upset veterans like the 97-year-old Frank McGovern. McGovern is the gunner who escaped the battle that sank Australia's famous World War II warship. McGovern said that there were two of them left out of the 682 on board the HMAS Perth.

McGovern also stated that they have learned through the years that some damage had been done to the HMAS Perth. They are hoping now that by means of negotiations with the Indonesian authorities, something might be done about Australia's famous World War II warship.

Watch The Video Here:
For information only - not an official document

UNIS/MA/173

2 June 2017

MEDIA ADVISORY

Media representatives are invited to a

High-level panel discussion on

"The Outer Space Treaty: 50 years - looking ahead towards 2030"

on Wednesday, 7 June 2017, 15:00-18:00

Boardroom D, C Building, Vienna International Centre

Vienna, 2 June (United Nations Information Service) - The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) will organize a high-level panel discussion on the 50th anniversary of the Outer Space Treaty on Wednesday 7 June 2017 from 15:00 to 18:00 in the Vienna International Centre (VIC), C Building, Boardroom D.

A range of experts will share their perspectives on the Outer Space Treaty - the founding constitution of outer space activities - which entered into force on 10 October 1967. The discussion will address the impact of the Outer Space Treaty and the wider legal regime on space exploration, science, technology, policy and law, and the interaction between developments in those fields and the Treaty.

Speakers and themes include:

Yury Fedotov , Director-General of the United Nations Office in Vienna, who will open the high-level panel with a special address

, Director-General of the United Nations Office in Vienna, who will open the high-level panel with a special address David Kendall , Chair of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), who will moderate the panel discussion and deliver introductory remarks on space governance

, Chair of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), who will moderate the panel discussion and deliver introductory remarks on space governance Simonetta Di Pippo , Director of UNOOSA, on UNISPACE+50

, Director of UNOOSA, on UNISPACE+50 Kai-Uwe Schrogl , President of the International Institute of Space Law (IISL), on space policy

, President of the International Institute of Space Law (IISL), on space policy Lennard A. Fisk , President of the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR), on space science

, President of the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR), on space science Jean-Yves LeGall , President of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF), on space technology via a pre-recorded presentation

, President of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF), on space technology via a pre-recorded presentation Sergio Marchisio, President of the European Centre for Space Law (ECSL), on space law.

The panelists represent the organizations mandated by COPUOS to organize long-standing dedicated symposiums at the annual sessions of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee and Legal Subcommittee.

This event takes place during the annual session of the COPUOS, which is convening in Vienna from 7 to 16 June.

The discussion will be streamed at www.unoosa.org.

* *** *

Media representatives who wish to attend the event, and who are not accredited to the VIC, should write to press[at]unvienna.org.

Access to the C-building is via Gate One of the Vienna International Centre.

* *** *

For more information about UNOOSA, please contact:

Daria Brankin

United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)

Telephone: +43 699 1459 8718

Email: daria.brankin[at]unoosa.org
By Press Trust of India: (EDs: Incorporates related series)

Tura (Meghalaya), Jun 6 (PTI) A second BJP leader from Meghalaya has quit the party over the Centres ban on the sale of cattle in markets for slaughter.

The resignation of North Garo Hills district BJP president Bachu Marak last night comes four days after West Garo Hills district president Bernard Marak made an exit from the party on the same issue.

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Bachu Marak said he cannot compromise on the sentiments of the Garos, asserting that beef eating is part of their culture and tradition.

"I cannot compromise on the sentiments of the Garos. As a Garo, it is my responsibility to protect the interest of my community. Beef eating is part of our culture and tradition. Imposition of BJPs non-secular ideology on us is not acceptable," he said after resigning from the party.

Bachu Marak submitted his resignation to state party president Shibun Lyngdoh.

He had proposed a bitchi (rice beer) and beef party in the Garo Hills on his Facebook page recently to mark the Narendra Modi governments three years in office and had attracted the criticism of the party leadership. Bitchi is a local brew usually partaken during festivals among the Garo tribals in western Meghalaya.

BJP national spokesperson Nalin Kohli had warned of stringent action against Bachu Marak.

Later, announcing his resignation from the party in another Facebook post, he said, "My Tradition and Cultures is (sic) my first priority and Party at Last. Why is beef Everytime the issue, why not pig, chicken, goat and other animals."

Bernard Marak is organising a beef party at the Eden Bari locality of Tura on June 10 and Bachu is expected to participate in the event.

"I will attend the beef party in Tura to register our voice against such moves of the BJP," Bachu Marak said.

Stung by the resignation of the two party leaders in the state, Kohli said today that those who resigned are "ticket aspirants" against whom "disciplinary proceedings" are on.

Kohli said the two leaders were trying to "sabotage" the 2018 assembly polls in the state.

"These persons were actively working to sabotage the prospects of our potential candidates for the state elections next year. They were aspirants themselves and the party did not see them as winning candidates," he told PTI.

Welcoming the resignation of Bachu Marak, Kohli said it was on "expected" lines since disciplinary action against him was underway.

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He went on to put the blame on the ruling Congress for trying to ?communalize the agenda with a false and malicious untruth? about the party?s plan to impose beef ban in Meghalaya.

"Nothing is farther from the truth since under our constitutional scheme, the Central government cannot encroach on the area of what a state government has to decide," he said.

Bernard Marak, who had joined the BJP last year, had resigned on June one.

"In the interest of the Garo people, I have put in my papers as a mark of protest against the party?s stand on beef," Bernard Marak had said.

"I have resigned because I am a Christian and a Garo first. Steps taken by the party, especially in the Garo Hills are not in the interest of the people," he said.

Bernard , a former leader of an armed militant group ? the Achik National Volunteer Council - had recently said on the social media that the BJP, if voted to power in Meghalaya in 2018, will make beef cheaper, a statement which did not go down well with the party leadership.

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The state BJP had disowned Marak?s remark although the state BJP chief, Shibun Lyndoh, admitted the party "is not against" people having beef.

Shibun said a tribal state like Meghalaya, where beef consumption is the highest in the country, cannot impose a ban against the will of the people.

"What we would like to have is regulations to check that slaughter houses are hygienic and clean in the interest of all beef eaters," he said. PTI COR DKB NN BSA GSN GSN

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